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Targeting Cookies We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated sale of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website. Biologist receives national funding for cervical cancer research Thursday, May 7, 2020 This image of cervical cancer cells was captured with fluorescence microscopy. | Download this photo. MANHATTAN More than half a million cervical cancers are diagnosed worldwide each year. Although most of them can be treated effectively with a drug called Cisplatin, some are resistant to it. A Kansas State University biologist is working to understand Cisplatin-resistant cervical cancers. Nicholas Wallace, assistant professor in the Division of Biology, studies human papillomavirus, or HPV, a common virus that causes almost all cervical cancers. He has received a $454,466 R15 Academic Research Enhancement Award from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health for his study, "HPV Oncogenes Dysregulate Translesion Synthesis." According to Wallace, the tumors that do not respond to Cisplatin are quite deadly. But if Cisplatin resistance were identified early, more effective treatment options could be used. His team is working to discover the unique features of Cisplatin-resistant cancers. "Our goal is to help doctors identify cervical cancers that would respond better if treated with a different approach," Wallace said. "Sadly, there is currently no established method to distinguish cervical cancers that will respond to Cisplatin from those that will not." Wallace's team has already identified one way cervical cancers become resistant to Cisplatin. Cancerous cervical cells can change how they respond to damage caused by sunlight, a process called translesion synthesis. The changes protect them against Cisplatin. The initial studies were supported by the Johnson Cancer Research Center at Kansas State University with a gift from the late Les Clow. The National Cancer Institute award will help them expand on this research. "We hope our efforts will improve the lives of women fighting cervical cancer around the world," Wallace said. NIH Academic Research Enhancement Awards support small-scale research projects at educational institutions that provide baccalaureate or advanced degrees for a significant number of the nation's research scientists to support meritorious research, expose students to research and strengthen the research environment of the institution. The Johnson Cancer Research Center in the College of Arts and Sciences at Kansas State University supports and advances cancer research and education with competitive award programs funded through private donations. NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Closing Front Street to traffic as part of the citys plan to open streets across the city to pedestrian and cyclists is hurting the areas small businesses and another street must be selected, Borough President James Oddo said Wednesday. Last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would close down nearly a mile of streets between Forest Avenue and Victory Boulevard around Silver Lake Park and another half mile of roadway on Front Street, between Canal Street and Edgewater Street. Its all part of the citys plan to close down 40 miles of city streets over the course of the next month with the goal of closing up to 100 miles of streets, opening them up to pedestrians and cyclists during the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, Oddo questioned closing down streets in the borough of parks, to begin with. By Wednesday, he said the city needed to choose another street altogether. ODDO URGES CITY TO TALK TO HURTING BUSINESSES IN AND AROUND URBY Oddo said that closing Front Street had made things worse for the small businesses in and around the upscale Stapleton apartment complex Urby, which had already been crushed by the pandemic. Closing Front Street is hurting the already pummeled small businesses in and around Urby, plus not many people are using the closed street,'' Oddo said in a Twitter post Wednesday. We cant bemoan the devastation to small biz and then institute a policy exacerbating the problem. So, its time to pick another street. He urged the city to speak to Urby about the street closure plan, but he did not elaborate on which alternative street the city should consider. Someone needs to consider them,'' Oddo told the Advance. "Someone needs to talk to them. And for what? There was no critical mass of pedestrians flocking to Front Street. So, pick another street. I am not even lobbying a broadside against the entire initiative on Staten Island. Pick a more appropriate street if you want. He suggested finding a street that pedestrians might use and wont kill a struggling business. "What we should not tolerate is having city government bemoan the struggles and demise of small business while implementing policies that end up hurting those very businesses, Oddo said. Closing Front Street is hurting the already pummeled small businesses in and around Urby, plus not many people are using the closed street. We cant bemoan the devastation to small biz and then institute a policy exacerbating the problem. So, its time to pick another street. Jimmy Oddo (@HeyNowJO) May 6, 2020 As part of the plan, pedestrians and cyclists are able to use the roadbed of each street. No through traffic is permitted within the closed street area and any vehicle traffic is being limited to local deliveries, pick-ups and drop-offs, necessary city service vehicles, and emergency vehicles. On Wednesday, the mayor announced the closure of two more miles of streets in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx. The city plans to close more streets in the coming weeks. Streets will only remain closed to traffic for the duration of the states Pause program with the exception of bike lanes. New Yorks Pause program is currently in effect until May 15. FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER. *** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK *** Against the reservations of medical experts and intelligence agencies, US President Donald Trump refuses to back down from his claim that coronavirus originated in a Chinese laboratory. After initially praising Chinas response to the crisis, the president has changed his tune over the past few days, escalating a war of rhetoric with China over the pandemic and the concealment of early data on the outbreak. China, says Trump, could have stopped the disease from spreading. (Though, he has also criticized the World Health Organization (WHO) and withdrawn US funding). Trump has also accused China of desiring his election defeat in November. Larry Kudlow, Trump's top economic adviser, told CNBC last week that the United States will hold China accountable for the coronavirus pandemic. On the China business, its up in the air. They are going to be held accountable for it. Theres no question about that. How, when, where and why Im going to leave that up to the president, Kudlow said. The Trump administration is weighing a long-term plan to punish China on multiple fronts for the coronavirus pandemic, including leveling new tariffs on imports from China. The administration is reportedly considering stripping Beijing of its sovereign immunity, as well, which would allow the US government or private citizens to sue China. Another idea on the table is canceling some or all of the interest payments on the more than $1 trillion in debt the US owes to China. Also, since early February, dozens of bills, initiatives or proposals related to China have been introduced in Congress. The latest proposal came from Republican congressman Matt Gaetz who said that the US should seize the assets of Chinese businesses operating in the U.S. to cover coronavirus damage payments. Instead of bailing out Chinese businesses in the United States, we should seize their assets and put them in receivership to pay damages to Americans, Gaetz said. Senator Ted Cruz introduced a bill that punishes Hollywood studios that allow the Chinese government to gain creative control over the content of their films. Related: Brace For A Year Of Crisis And Upheaval Senate Republicans have also called for economic sanctions; cancellation of visas for Chinese officials and families; and investigations into the pandemic, including Chinas culpability and its relationship with the WHO. It is likely that the shift in Trumps sentiment toward Chinas handling of the pandemic is part of the administrations efforts to deflect blame for its own handling of the pandemic, as well as to create a new 2020 re-election argument. (The last time around, it was the Wall). As the economy is crumbling and his dealing with a pandemic is lowering his approval rates, Trump shifted his campaign against Biden, accusing him of being too soft on China or even of being controlled outright by Beijing. President Trump recently warned that if Joe Biden wins the election, China, among other nations, would own the US. But there is another angle to consider, as well. When the coronavirus threat subsides, the world is not likely to emerge as a more unified force than before. Instead, governments like Beijing and Washington are more likely to heighten moves intended to shore up national security, whether its a new angle on an old trade war, the war for 5G domination or the battle for control of critical metals. By Charles Benavidez for Safehaven.com More Top Reads From Safehaven.com: Legislators in Michigan have given the green light for online wagering on horse racing in the state, although the 2020 opening date for Michigan's only remaining racetrack, Northville Downs, remains up in the air. On Wednesday, May 6, the Michigan Gaming Control Board issued an order that legalizes the online wagering, according to an article by Crain's Detroit Business. In a press release from the MGCB, Richard Kalm, the control board's executive director, said that, "The order should enable the state's horse racing industry to gain new followers through (advance deposit wagering) and maintain protection for citizens who wish to place wagers on live and simulcast pari-mutuel racing in Michigan using their mobile phones." Last November, Northville was allocated 52 dates for the 2020 season. It was announced in March that there would be no live racing at Northville this year until state regulators believe the track can be opened safely, in light of the COVID-10 pandemic. (With files from Crain's Detroit Business) TRENTON Can you believe this? Councilwoman Robin Vaughn has moved to censure councilman Joe Harrison following her homophobic rant against openly gay Mayor Reed Gusciora. Now, the city is involved in a legal imbroglio over whether state law requires that council members receive Rice notices before they can be censured. Its a novel issue and city law director John Morelli has already weighed in, believing the disciplinary Rice notices are required for council members. But a New Jersey Supreme Court decision seems to cast doubt on that. Erring on the side of caution, city clerk Dwayne Harris on Thursday served Vaughn and Harrison with the Rice notices per the Open Public Meetings Act after Vaughn insisted on one during Tuesdays meeting. If Im going to be censured, I want to be Riced and notified that the censure is going to take place, and I want an opportunity to decide whether I want this issue to be publicly heard or behind closed doors in executive session, Vaughn said, according to an audio recording obtained by The Trentonian. I am not waiving that option. Per the Rice notice, council members can choose to have the discussion held publicly, and Harrison said he signed a waiver electing to do so. Vaughn could not be reached for comment about whether she wants the discussion to be public or private. The Trentonian has reached out to city officials with concerns about the legality of the council meeting in executive session at 5:30 p.m. Thursday to discuss the legislators barbs on Saturdays conference call. After the newspaper raised the issue, Mayor Reed Gusciora, also an attorney, asked the law director to review case law to determine whether the executive session should go forward. Gusciora said he felt Vaughn and Harrison arent on the same playing field as other city employees who are entitled to disciplinary Rice notices because of their roles in city government. The whole purpose of the Rice notice is so council doesnt discuss somebodys disciplinary action without notice and time to get an attorney, he said. With a public official, theyre already out in the public. Vaughn avoided a censure Tuesday night after telling councilman Harrison to suck Guscioras d**k, calling the mayor a pedophile and claiming he runs young boys through City Hall. She also went low on Harrison, calling his mom a whore and suggesting his father is a deadbeat. Now she wants Harrison censured for the indecorous comments he made on the call, in a move that appears as payback. Harrison told The Trentonian that Vaughns push to have him admonished by the legislative body shows her apology Wednesday night was disingenuous and will only bring more negativity to a city that has been in the national headlines. He read a text message Vaughn sent Sunday night that said, I will not be resigning. Try again. Youre censuring me because Im the only one who would step up and say this kind of behavior is unacceptable, the East Ward councilman told The Trentonian by phone Thursday. If this apology was so genuine, she could have apologized Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. To Rice or Not to Rice At-large councilman Jerell Blakeley accused council members of hiding behind the Rice notice in voting 5 to 2 against censuring Vaughn. That allegation raised council president Kathy McBrides ire since she said Blakeley did the same thing when the governing body attempted to censure him months ago for allegedly accosting vice president Marge Caldwell-Wilson and calling her an old hag. He was also accused of calling another councilmans wife white trash. A censure is a non-binding expression of disapproval of a council members actions and has no bearing on his or her ability to continue holding office. But Caldwell-Wilson and other council members were apprehensive to do anything to Vaughn without first Ricing her. I didnt like what was said, the vice president said but she added she could not vote for a censure until Vaughn was Riced. South Ward councilman George Muschal said if they were going to consider taking action against Vaughn they also had to consider the insults made by Gusciora and Harrison. This has got to be done 100 percent, he said. [Vaughns] innocent just like Mr. Harrisons innocent and just like the mayors innocent. Everybody is innocent is until proven guilty. Even you, Mr. Blakeley. Youre innocent until youre proven guilty, too, with all the assaults you did on my wife. The council eventually voted no on Harrisons motion to censure Vaughn after Morelli said at Tuesdays meeting that he felt Vaughn needed to be Riced. Morelli said his opinion remained consistent from the last time the issue came up with Blakeley, that a Rice notice was required by law even though a censure couldnt be used to remove Vaughn or Harrison from the governing body. They can only be removed from office if they commit crimes touching upon their official duties or by a recall initiated by the voters in their wards. And 25 percent of the registered voters in each ward must sign recall petitions to initiate the process. I can only be consistent with the opinion I gave the last time this issue came up that a censure may affect the ability of someone to be re-elected and is therefore related to someones job performance, Morelli said, according to an audio recording obtained by The Trentonian. I found no case law on that particular subject when it came to council members and Rice notice. Its always best to be conservative and give the Rice notice if it affects someones job performance or youre talking about someones job performance. The state Supreme Court appeared to nix this blanket Rice requirement in reversing an appeals courts decision in Kean Federation of Teachers v. Ada Morell. The court ruled, The personnel exceptions language is not applicable when a public entity already intends to take public action on a personnel matter implicating employees whose rights could be adversely affected by that action. That appears to be the case here as there was already a motion on the floor to censure Vaughn. The Trentonian emailed Morelli asking if the high courts ruling changed his interpretation that Vaughn needed to be Riced and was waiting to hear back. Council-appointed attorney Edward Kologi agreed with Morelli that Vaughn needed a Rice notice if the council planned to discuss her actions on the call in executive session. This is a matter that would involve the employment, appointment, termination of employment, terms and conditions of and the statute uses the term public officer then you are supposed to give them written notice that you are supposed to go into executive session to so discuss them, he said. Even though the statute does not specifically mention elected officials I totally agree with Mr. Morelli that the appropriate conservative approach would be to assume it could certainly be deemed to apply because a public official would be implicated. If the governing body is going to go into executive session to discuss this in detail, to create a resolution, something like that then I believe Mr. Morelli is absolutely correct. The person would have to be Riced. On the other hand, if the governing body is not going to executive session for any aspect of this my limited view is that Rice wouldnt apply. Blakeley pointed out the obvious in arguing against any Rice notice. Were not going into executive session. This is open session. I dont necessarily believe we need to go behind closed doors to have a conversation about this, he said. We all know what was said. we all heard the audio. The council president then went on the offensive. My colleague wants one of his peers to not have the same privilege when he hid behind the Rice notice, McBride said. If youre going to talk about being a coward then you speak for yourself because you hid behind the Rice notice when it was sent to you. Harrison also accused fellow council members of trying to duck and hide on censuring Vaughn after he jumped in to defend the mayor against Vaughns venom. Vaughn called Gusciora a motherf***king drug addict pedophile and told him to get the f**k out of office and get the f**k out of Trenton. Harrison admitted that emotions got the best of him after Vaughn attacked his family. The councilman continued to exchange words with Vaughn after McBride tried to end the call. Harrison and Vaughn stayed on the line arguing well after it appeared everyone else hung up. Why dont you go find your father, Joe Harrison? Go find your father, you village idiot, Vaughn said at one point during the meltdown. Be careful what you say, ugly, Harrison responded. Harrison said he was talking about Vaughns behavior, not making a crack about her physical appearance. He also called Vaughn a coward on the call and suggested her sister was afraid of her. That was a reference to an altercation Vaughn had with her sister in Ewing which was investigated by city police. Its not like I pulled something out of thin air and made something up, Harrison said. Its a pattern of her acting this way toward people. Whens it enough? Blindsided Harrison grew emotional Thursday when talking about the impact of Vaughns attacks on his mother, Dolores. She has always been the guiding force in the councilmans life, accompanying him to watch the counting of provisional ballots that gave Harrison a razor-thin win over Taiwanda Terry-Wilson. Harrison credited his mother for helping him land on council and become a man who always tries to do the right thing. So it cut him deep when Vaughn told him to, Go ask your whore-a** mom who your father is? Everybody in this city knows who my father is, motherf**ker. And my brother. We dont have b**ch-ass men in my family. We dont have b**ch-ass men like you and Reed Gusciora in my family. We got real men in my family. B**ch-a**es. Nothing but a bunch of women. Thats all you are. B**ches. Thats right. Running around here with young men. Reed aint nothing but an old pedophile. B**ch-ass motherf**kin mayor. Harrison said Vaughns comments hit hard, and thats why hes considering legal action against the West Ward legislator. It felt like I got blindsided. And then I heard chirps, he said. Nobody said thats disgusting what she said. My moms not in politics. If you attack me, OK, thats life, because Im a politician. But why are you dragging my mom into this? Harrison said hell accept whatever the vote is. But he reminded his colleagues that the voters are watching them. If you do it, so be it, he said. But the public is going to see that and say, Wait, the guy who was trying to stop this you want to censure [him] That shows you why the five of them shouldnt even be in office. Editors Note: This story has been updated with additional information and context from public recordings and recordings. 06.05.2020 LISTEN After the tweet by Bisa Kdei went viral while having a Q&A session with his followers for alleging that some folks in the media are sabotaging his works, there have been incessant calls on him to retract that statement and apologize unreservedly. Ghanaian highlife artiste, Bisa Kdei born Ronald Kwaku Dei Appiah has sought to clarify issues and shift blame unto his personal assistant. In an exclusive interview with Amansan Krakye on Radio Central in Cape Coast, Bisa Kdei was asked what provoked him to blame the media for his career nosedive, he said "I have not insulted the media fraternity. I have explained myself on several platforms as to what brought about the tweet. "There is a problem with everyone's account. I said I wasn't the one who put out that tweet. "It was a mistake that happened and it was out of the person's bad context. "So I will seize this opportunity on your big platform to apologize to everyone in the media who felt insulted to forgive me wholeheartedly. "That wasn't what I meant to say though the context is perfect, it was supposed to be some people, not the entire media fraternity". Bisa Kdei is currently promoting a song he released recently featuring Sista Afia titled 'Ofie Nipa' however controversies have overshadowed his works. The state government has abandoned a pilot program to house rough sleepers in Perth's five-star hotels after more than half of the participants walked out mid-trial. Community Services Minister Simone McGurk said the Hotels with Heart program had seen "mixed results", with several participants choosing to leave within the first 48 hours after struggling with drug and alcohol use, family pressures and being confined to their rooms. A pilot program by the state government to house homeless people in Perth hotels has been scrapped. Credit:PA In March, Ms McGurk announced 20 homeless people would be moved to the Pan Pacific Hotel in the Perth CBD to self-isolate for four weeks to prevent the spread of coronavirus. If successful, the program would be scaled up to support people fleeing domestic violence and struggling with mental health issues, Ms McGurk said. Nearly three years after receiving an initial payment for appearances he did not make, Brett Favre says he is now repaying the $1.1 million total received, which came out of Mississippis federal welfare fund. Thats after an audit of the Mississippi Department of Human Services revealed Favre received two payments from the Mississippi Community Education Center. One payment for $500,000 in Dec. 2017, the second for $600,000 in June 2018. The report revealed that Favre, who resides in the state, was never present for the contracted events. On Wednesday night, Favre issued a statement via social media, denying any wrongdoing. My agent is often approached by different products or brands for me to appear in one way or another. This request was no different, and I did numerous ads for Family First,'' Favre wrote. I have never received moneys for obligations I didnt meet. To reiterate Auditors Whites statement, I was unaware that the money being dispensed was paid for out of funds not intended for that purpose, and because of that I am refunding the full amount back to the state of Mississippi. I have spent my entire career helping children through Favre 4 Hope donating nearly $10 million to underserved and underprivileged children in Mississippi and Wisconsin. It has brought a ton of joy to my life, and I would certainly never do anything to take away from the children I have fought to help! I love Mississippi and I would never knowingly do anything to take away from those that need it most. Auditor Shad White told the Associated Press his office received $500,000 from Favre on Wednesday, with the promise of repaying the remaining $600,000 over the next few months. I want to applaud Mr. Favre for his good faith effort to make this right and make the taxpayers and (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) families whole, White said in a statement. To date, we have seen no records indicating Mr. Favre knew that TANF was the program that served as the source of the money he was paid. Favre faces no criminal charges. The audit of the Mississippi Department of Human Services identified $94 million in questionable spending by the agency, with funds that have been earmarked for the needy. The audit was released after a former Human Services director and five other people were indicted on state charges of embezzling about $4 million. Photo: Rachel Kramer Bussel/Flickr Missed the most recent top news in Charlotte? Read on for everything you need to know. NC attorney general sues Charlotte company in first price-gouging case of pandemic The lawsuit claims the towing company charged drivers up to $4,400 to get their vehicles back. Read the full story on The News & Observer. Charlotte grocers tighten restrictions on meat, poultry purchases in COVID-19 crisis Grocery stores remain stocked in meat supplies as coronavirus hits processing plants, but shoppers may find item purchase limits. Read the full story on The News & Observer. NC mom beats cancer, graduates nursing school with daughter A mother who beat cancer is graduating from UNC Charlotte with her daughter, both with Master's degrees in nursing. Read the full story on WNCN. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. An Indianapolis man has been arrested in a quadruple homicide that followed an alleged argument over a stimulus check, according to a probable cause affidavit. Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently announced his plans to allow non-essential businesses to reopen their doors to customers despite a rising number of coronavirus hotspots in the state. During a news conference on Tuesday, Abbott said cosmetology salons, barbershops, and tanning salons could reopen on May 8, Friday. They are required to follow certain guidelines. Under the newly released restrictions, hairstylists should only work with a single customer at a time. People waiting in line outside the shops should maintain a 6-foot separation. Businesses are also encouraged to apply an appointment system to prevent a surge of customers. Stylists and customers are also required to wear face coverings. Gyms can resume operations on May 18. Customers are required to wear gloves and observe social distancing. The management must also limit the number of members inside the establishment at a time at a maximum of 25 percent of its usual capacity. Also, showers and locker rooms are to remain closed. Gym equipment should also be disinfected after every use. Other Establishments Apart from salons and gyms, office buildings with either 25 percent of the workforce will be allowed to reopen. Manufacturers that were previously deemed non-essential can restart production at 25 percent occupancy. Abbott did not mention pools, but he revealed pool owners would be allowed to reopen at a later date. According to his executive order, which is published on the state's government website, pools will be allowed to operate at 25 percent capacity. Local public swimming pools are required to get permission to reopen from the local government. Flaring Hotspots Texas has been seeing outbreaks in its prisons, meatpacking plants, and nursing homes in recent days. Health care workers recorded more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the state's total number of cases now over 33,000. Travis County reported 70 additional coronavirus cases on Wednesday with 57 deaths on Tuesday. Hays County also reported 12 new cases. Experts say loosening the coronavirus restrictions could place many people together, creating places for the virus to thrive and rapidly spread. Greg Abbott said they had put together surge response teams who will be responsible for tending to hot spots. A week ago, more than 303 people had died in long-term care facilities in Texas. State officials, however, have withheld information about where the fatalities happened. Neither the public nor the victims' families were given details about the deaths. Health officials are also refusing to name places with known cases and are accused of underreporting the total number of infections in all care centers. The state has also failed to provide more information on prisoners and employees of the prison system who tested positive for the virus. Families, activists, and federal judges are among those urging the state government to reveal how big the outbreaks are. With the reopening of businesses and encouraging the state's residents to step out and get back to work, moving back and forth from hot spots to public places could prove devastating. Without widespread testing in Texas, the uncertainty of what's safe and who's been exposed certainly increases. Watch his entire press conference below: Want to read other news? Check these out: Twenty-seven beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme who completed a six-month training in automobile engineering at the Hyundai Automobile Centre in Koforidua, Eastern Region, Ghana, on April 2, have been evacuated to Nigeria amidst daunting challenges occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. They arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Wednesday aboard an Air Peace chartered flight at about 2pm and were received by officials of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Amnesty Office. In line with the protocols put in place by the Presidential Task Force for management of the coronavirus, the 27 returnees were taken to a hotel at the highbrow Maitama district of Abuja, to be quarantined for 14 days. The visibly elated Amnesty beneficiaries who returned to the country after undergoing a comprehensive training in automobile assemblage, repairs and maintenance at the Hyundai Automobile Centre in Ghana, popularly known as the Hyundai Dream Centre, commended the National Security Adviser, Gen. Babagana Monguno retd, for authorizing their airlifting back to Nigeria. Leader of the beneficiaries,Mr. Omieh Orlando, also thanked the chairman and members of the caretaker committee superintending over the Amnesty Programme for facilitating the smooth evacuation process, as well as President Muhammadu Buhari for the gesture and sustaining the Amnesty Programme in his determination to reposition the Niger Delta region. Mr. Emmanuel Ifie, managing director, Esco & Jester Services Limited, the consultant for the training of the beneficiaries expressed joy over the evacuation exercise, which he said, was a huge success. The Amnesty Programme caretaker committee has been remarkable; efficient in terms of the evacuation, which was timely. They consulted effectively and the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana was also helpful. Brussels: European Union officials on Thursday defended their handling of relations with China during the coronavirus pandemic, a day after the EU ambassador to Beijing allowed an opinion article about EU-Chinese relations that he co-wrote to be censored before publication in a state-run newspaper. Diplomatic unequals: EU and China. Pictured: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Credit:AP The censored phrase was a reference to the Chinese origins of the virus: "the outbreak of the coronavirus in China, and its subsequent spread to the rest of the world." The censorship marked the second time in two weeks that the European Commission's foreign policy branch made a concession to Chinese demands to tone down criticism, after it softened elements of a leaked report that analysed Chinese coronavirus disinformation before publishing the final version. The incidents indicate a discordant approach from Europe toward China at a moment when the continent is heading into what it expects will be the worst economic collapse in its post-World War II history. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip may be living together now due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Her Majesty needs to be separated from him soon. For more than 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip have shared their lives both as husband and wife and as the leaders of the monarchy. After they started to live in different residences in 2017, they are now back together due to coronavirus pandemic scare. However, that is only temporary. The Duke of Edinburgh held his final royal engagement in August 2017 by meeting the Royal Marines and retired at the age of 96. He then left London to have a more peaceful life at their Wood Farm Cottage located in Norfolk on the Sandringham estate. "It is away from the public eye and it's so peaceful and such a beautiful location," a royal source said that time before adding that "[Philip] also spends time at Windsor Castle and goes to Buckingham Palace on the odd occasion, like for Remembrance Day." Meanwhile, as Queen Elizabeth II continues her work as the reigning monarch, she will -- again -- return to Buckingham Palace since it is the official working residence of the Queen. It only means that once the lockdown has been lifted, Prince Philip will return on the Sandringham estate alone because Her Majesty's duty is not over yet. Moreover, it seems like she does not have any plans on stepping down anytime soon. That is because she has made it clear that she will not retire or abdicate to give the crown to her son and the heir to the throne, Prince Charles. She pledged that either of the two will only happen when she becomes physically incapable of being the monarch. During her 21st birthday, she stated that she would be dedicating her whole life to serve the monarchy, and she is not breaking that promise. "I should like to make that dedication now. It is very simple. I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong," the Queen proclaimed in her 21st birthday speech. Clarence House also stood firm as they confirmed that the Queen will not abdicate at the age of 95 or any other age. Because of their set-up, it is highly likely that Queen Elizabeth II will separate from Prince Philip soon, and they will not live their final years together. What Are They Up To Now? Since the lockdown has been implemented, the two moved at Windsor Castle in Berkshire, England and placed themselves in quarantine together. The Express reported that they are currently living together with only a dozen staff members working for them. While they are not allowed to leave the castle yet, a source told The Times that the royal couple is spending their time on the things they enjoy doing together and separately. Prince Philip is reportedly having a "me-time" by reading and painting, while the Queen has been checking on the royal family members through video chats and still keeping up with the news through the newspapers. Returnees from abroad, suspect or confirmed cases of COVID-19 or their contacts coming from outside India may opt for paid facilities such as hotels, service apartments and lodges for self-quarantine or isolation if they do not have requisite space at home, the Union Health ministry said on Thursday. In the 'Additional guidelines for quarantine of returnees from abroad/contacts/ isolation of suspect or confirmed cases in private facilities', released on Thursday evening, the ministry said there are large number of facilities such as hotels, service apartments and lodges which are "unoccupied due to impact of COVID-19 on travel and tourism". "There are also instances where people who don't have requisite space at home may opt for such facilities," the ministry said. This is likely to reduce the pressure on the family, give comfort to the person, and protect the family members and immediate neighbourhood, it stated. The guidelines were issued after the government initiated the process of bringing back stranded Indians from a few countries. According to the standard operating procedures, the quarantine and isolation facility will not co-exist and these facilities will offer single room on pay basis to contacts or cases with attached washrooms. The tariff for the accommodation and services shall be fixed by the facility in consultation with the state government and widely publicised. The facility dedicated for isolation will follow the norms established for COVID Care Centres and the cases clinically assessed to be pre-symptomatic or very mild should only be kept. Such facility that opts for isolation will have separate earmarked areas for keeping suspect cases and confirmed cases and will ensure no inter-mingling of these two categories, the guidelines stated. The owner of the quarantine or isolation facility will have ensure in-house availability of a trained doctor and a nurse on 24x7 basis. The doctor will monitor the contacts or cases in quarantine or isolation facilities once a day on basic parameters of temperature, pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and pulse oxymetry and keep record of the same, the guidelines stated. The doctor will also inform the district surveillance officer regarding the list of cases or contacts admitted to such facility and their health status. The facility should network with an approved laboratory for testing samples according to ICMR guidelines and the quarantined or isolated persons should not be allowed to meet visitors. "They can talk on phone. The facility will provide wi-fi facility and ensure that the client downloads the Aarogya Setu app on mobile and it should remain active at all times. "The linens, towels etc and rooms should be disinfected and the facility will follow infection prevention control practices as per guidelines," the SOPs said. The in-house catering should only provide room services for freshly cooked food duly following physical distancing and environmental sanitation. The facility owner will have to give an undertaking to follow the SOP and to have adequate manpower including the above mentioned health workers as per the prescribed protocol, the ministry said. On Thursday, two Air India Express flights left Kerala for the UAE as India set in motion the exercise to evacuate its citizens stranded in the Gulf region due to the COVID-19 lockdown. At least 340 passengers, mostly Keralites, including pregnant women, infants and those with medical emergencies, will be among those to be brought back from Abu Dhabi and Dubai on board the two flights. In addition to the air evacuation, three naval ships, left for the Maldives and the UAE on Tuesday to bring back Indian citizens. The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 1783 on Thursday and the number of cases stood at 52,952, according to the Union Health Ministry. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Camp Galileo, a Bay Area childrens summer camp program, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, blaming financial setbacks caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The company, based in Oakland, sent an email to registered families announcing its decision to voluntarily file for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday. While we had very much hoped to avoid turning to the courts, the severity of the pandemic economic crisis and the complete cancellation of our 2020 in-person camp season has made business as usual impossible, said Jessica Berg, spokesperson for Galileo Learning LLC, in a statement to The Chronicle. With 45,000 children enrolled in its 70 camps in California, Colorado and Illinois, the company took in approximately $12 million in revenue between September and March, according to bankruptcy documents. The average cost of a weekly program is $400. Galileo founder and CEO Glen Tripp left many parents angry when he initially announced the decision to pull the plug on the programs summer season on April 16 without offering paid registrants refunds. The company, which Tripp said was forced to furlough or lay off 80% of its 140 employees, told The Chronicle it already spent $9 million preparing for camp, leaving it with $3 million in cash. The decision to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code came after Galileo said it attempted to make amends with enrolled families through a poll that asked parents whether they would like a full or partial refund or a credit for their 2020 enrollment fees. While we had hoped that the number of requests for refunds from families would be manageable and we were buoyed by the number of families who expressed both compassion and support for Galileo unfortunately the refund requests far exceed Galileos current financial means, Berg said. Many families that reached out to The Chronicle said they never received the poll. Galileo is holding $6,244,000 in total. The bankruptcy documents show that sum includes a $500,000 disaster loan from the Small Business Administration and a $2,539,805 Paycheck Protection Plan loan implemented through the federal coronavirus relief effort, commonly known as the Cares Act. Berg said that money can not be used for refunds. I am a single mom and run a very small business myself, said Katie Piro, a Los Gatos parent who had registered for the summer season. We all feel it. My daughter is enrolled in four summer camps, and Galileo is the only one managing it so poorly. Many are reaching out and working with parents, moving dates and working with county regulations. According to the documents filed with the bankruptcy court, Galileo hopes to offer families a 110% credit toward any future Galileo program, including online options that they can use over the next five years, or a 50% discount toward its programs each year for the same period. Tripp declined to comment to The Chronicle, but in a statement he said, When I think about how far weve come over the last 18 years, my heart goes out to our Galileo community. Just like thousands of other small businesses, we are not going to give up and let this pandemic win we are absolutely resolved to figure out a way to continue bringing joy to families for many more years to come. On April 23, a lawsuit seeking class-action status was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, seeking alleged damages of $20 million against Galileo and Tripp. 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. The suit alleges that Tripp made a television appearance on March 13 assuring families that camp would still be held this summer; and through early April told enrollees that Galileos cancellation policy remained in effect. Despite the setbacks, Berg said the camp, which began in 2002, hopes to return with a full summer program in 2021. With the pandemic still raging, Galileo joins a long list of summer camp programs that are struggling to figure out how to move forward. Girl Scouts of Northern California decided to delay the start of its 2020 camp season to July 19, canceling the first four weeks of its scheduled nine-week program. Camp Edmo has switched to an online model. Both those camps offered families refunds. Other regional camps including those run by the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, YMCA and the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco are still weighing their options for the summer. The latest Bay Area order, effective as of Monday, allows summer camps and other educational or recreational programs to reopen as long as they serve a stable group of 12 or fewer children. The caveat is that they can only serve families of essential workers, those who perform outdoor jobs or minimum basic operations. In the coming days, as more employees are allowed to go back to work, family eligibility guidelines for child care and summer camps will change accordingly, a spokesperson from Childrens Council of San Francisco told The Chronicle. Aidin Vaziri is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avaziri@sfchronicle.com Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal About 225 people logged on for a candidate forum held via Zoom on Wednesday night for what the Democratic Party of Santa Fe County billed as The Magnificent Seven Democrats running for the 3rd Congressional District. Less than a month before the June 2 primary election, the candidates had an opportunity to present their views on issues, talk about what distinguishes them from the other candidates and what they would do to benefit their northern New Mexico constituents if they are elected to Congress to replace Ben Ray Lujan, who is running for retiring U.S. Sen. Tom Udalls seat. Santa Fe attorney Teresa Leger Fernandez brought up changing tax policy in her responses to two different questions. Asked which House committee they would like to be assigned to, she said the Ways and Means Committee because it addresses tax policy. She later cited tax policy reform and access to health care as two actions that could be taken in Congress to address inequality. Laura Montoya pointed to the outreach program she established as Sandoval County treasurer as an example of what she has done to hold herself responsible to her constituency and get their feedback. Noting that she worked previously in a constituent services position, she mentioned locating tax payment drop boxes at different locations around the county and signs with her offices phone number as some of the steps she took to be accessible to constituents. First Judicial District Attorney Marco Serna said helping change the viewpoint and culture surrounding the opioid epidemic was the one accomplishment hes most proud of that highlighted his skill set. He said he created a wellness court for nonviolent drug offenders and helped secure funding for the program. He called addressing that issue his main focus and one that would have a positive impact on the people he would represent in Congress. State Rep. Joseph Sanchez of Alcalde said he would most like to be assigned to the House Appropriations Committee, which regulates government spending. He noted he currently is vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee in the statehouse, and highlighted his past experience as general manager of the Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative and as a problem-solving engineer at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Valerie Plame said her proudest accomplishment was serving her country as a covert CIA officer with expertise in counter-nuclear proliferation. Sometimes, she said, intelligence she gathered would end up on the presidents desk. She said her job at the CIA required skills in problem-solving, crisis management and the ability to bring people from different parts of the world to the table. John Blair of Santa Fe, who has worked in government positions at the state and federal level, said the two issues he would most like to take on in Congress to address inequality were overturning President Donald Trumps tax cuts for the rich and helping push through the Equality Act. Blair, who is gay, said the one accomplishment hes most proud of is working to establish the Stonewall National Monument in New York City, the first LGBTQ national monument. Kyle Tisdel, a public interest environmental attorney from Taos, worked to distinguish himself from the others by saying he was the one candidate who didnt build a career around politics. He said that the current political system is bogged down by the status quo and outside voices are needed. He said he has spent a career fighting against the status quo on environmental issues, such as fracking and the extraction of fossil fuels. At the start of the forum, each candidate was asked to name a mentor or historical figure that had a significant influence on them. Plame said Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; Serna cited civil rights activist Cesar Chavez; Blair went with former Sen. Jeff Bingaman, whom he used to work for; Montoya hailed another former senator from New Mexico, Dennis Chavez; Tisdel said Franklin Delano Roosevelt; Sanchez said John F. Kennedy; and Leger Fernandez said her late father, former state Sen. Ray Leger. 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New Delhi: After the abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu Kashmir and turning it into two separate Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has included regions of Gilgit-Baltistan and Muzaffarabad, territories currently under Pak occupied Kashmir (PoK), in its daily weather bulletin. The IMD has now included this addition in the Jammu and Kashmir meteorological subdivisions. The news of adding regions of POK into the Indian weather forecast came after Pakistan Supreme court's decision to allow Islamabad to hold elections in Gilgit-Baltistan. India lodged a strong protest against the Pakistan SC's decision stating that the institutions of the neighbouring nation has "no locus standi on territories illegally or forcibly occupied by it". The IMD's latest move is seen to be a strong message to Pakistan. The IMD, however, said that it has already started mentioning the region in its national weather bulletin since J&K and Ladakh were made two separate Union territories after the abrogation of Article 370. "This region was not explicitly mentioned in the regional forecast for Northwest India, which is started now," it said. As per the latest forecast by the IMD, "thunderstorm accompanied with lightning, hail and gusty winds to be witnessed at isolated places over Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan and Muzaffarabadon 9th May. Mritunjay Mohapatra, Director General of IMD, New Delhi said, "we will share the weather forecast for whatever region that comes under the Indian territory. Earlier, Ladakh was a part of J&K state, but now the situation is different, so when we mention Ladakh, we decided to mention Gilgit-Baltistan and Muzaffarabad as well." A married coronavirus researcher who died in an apparent-murder suicide may have been involved in a long-term love triangle with his alleged killer, police say. Dr Bing Liu, 37, was found dead with gunshot wounds to the head, neck and torso at his home in the suburb of Ross Township on Saturday afternoon. Ross Township police said another man, identified as 46-year-old software engineer Hao Gu, entered Liu's home through an unlocked door and opened fire before going back to his car parked 100 yards away and turning the gun on himself. On Wednesday investigators revealed that they believe the attack was motivated by a 'lengthy dispute regarding an intimate partner'. Dr Bing Liu (left) was shot dead in an apparent murder-suicide at his home in suburban Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon. The shooter was identified as 46-year-old software engineer Hao Gu (right), who was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot near Liu's home Gu allegedly entered Liu's home (pictured) in Ross Township through an unlocked door The investigators did not offer any additional details about how Liu and Gu knew each other, nor did they say who they believe the 'intimate partner' is. Liu was married and lived with his wife at the home where the attack occurred, but she was not there at the time. It's unclear whether Gu - a software programmer at Eaton Corp - is married. Police said neither of the men were US citizens, so their findings are being forwarded to federal authorities. They also reiterated that there is 'zero evidence' to suggest that the killing had anything to do with the coronavirus research Liu was doing with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Liu was 'on the verge of making very significant findings' in his COVID-19 research at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Liu was a research assistant professor in UPMC's Computational and Systems Biology Department, according to a statement released by his employer announcing his untimely death. 'Bing was on the verge of making very significant findings toward understanding the cellular mechanisms that underlie SARS-CoV-2 [COVID-19] infection and the cellular basis of the following complications,' the statement read. 'We will make an effort to complete what he started in an effort to pay homage to his scientific excellence.' Liu, a native of China, earned his Bachelor's degree and PhD in computer science at the National University of Singapore, and then did his postdoctoral studies at the prestigious Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. 'Dr. Bing Liu was an outstanding researcher, who has earned the respect and appreciation of many colleagues in the field, and made unique contributions to science,' the statement said. He joined UPMC six years ago and went on to co-author a book and more than 30 publications, earning a reputation as a prolific researcher and well-regarded mentor to younger colleagues. Dr Ivet Bahar, head of the Computational and Systems Biology Department, told the Post-Gazette that Liu had only recently begun researching COVID-19 and 'was just starting to obtain interesting results'. Liu is survived by his wife and parents, who still live in China. The UPMC lab where Liu worked on COVID-19 research is pictured above Gu was also born in China but became a naturalized US citizen after moving to America over two decades ago, police said. According to his LinkedIn profile, Gu studied Computer Science at Tongi University in Shanghai before getting a Masters degree in Software Engineering at East Tennessee State University. He joined Eaton Corp, a power management company based in Ireland, at its satellite office in the Pittsburgh suburb of Moon in 2004. Gu rose through the ranks and held the role of Chief Software Architect at the time of his death. The government is planning to build highways worth Rs 15 lakh crore in the next two years, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday. The road transport, highways and MSME minister also said that the auto scrapping policy is likely to be finalised soon. In a video conference with the members of SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) Institute over impact of COVID-19 on the automobile sector, the minister suggested to focus on enhancing liquidity in business, as ups and downs are common. He stressed that one needs to plan for bad times while working for growth and added that the industry should focus more on innovation, technology and research skill to become competitive in global market. "I have set a target of constructing roads worth Rs 15 lakh crore in the next two years," Gadkari said, adding that his ministry is working overtime to clear all arbitration cases with concessionaires. The minister informed that he has directed the ministry officials to finalise the auto scrapping policy quickly, and said it will go a long way in cost reduction. He also suggested exploring cheaper credits, including foreign capital for enhancing liquidity in the automobile manufacturing sector. On the question of BS-IV vehicles, he said the government is bound by the Supreme Court verdict on the same. However, on industry suggestion, he will get the matter examined afresh. Regarding relaxations sought on other regulations, Gadkari stated that he will endeavour to provide relief wherever possible where industry is seeking extension of time. Gadkari responded to the questions from representatives and assured all possible help from the government. He informed that he would take up the issues at the appropriate level in the government and other departments. The video conference was also attended by the Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways VK Singh and Secretary, Road Transport and Highways Giridhar Aramane, among other senior officials. During this interaction, members expressed concerns regarding various challenges being faced by industry amid COVID-19 pandemic along with few suggestions and requested support from the government to keep the sector afloat. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A sense of relief was palpable among a batch of migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh when they arrived by a special train at Habibganj station here on Thursday from Panvel in Maharashtra. The special train, carrying 1,168 migrant labourers from Madhya Pradesh, had left Panvel on Wednesday night and reached Habibganj station around noon, said a district administration official. The migrant workers, who were stranded in Maharashtra because of the coronavirus-induced lockdown, which has rendered them jobless, were warmly received by district officials at the station. A labourer said I was stuck in Mumbai since the last one-and-a-half months and rendered jobless because of the lockdown. But now I will be able to reach my home. A team of officials led by Bhopal collector Tarun Pithode along with more than 35 health professionals, including doctors, received them at the station. After intense medical screening they were provided with water and food, the official said. "Those arrived here included elderlies, women and children. They were later sent to their respective home districts in buses," he said. Among them, 452 are from Barwani district, 192 from Dhar, 80 from Chhattarpur, 78 from Shahdol, 67 from Shivpuri, 54 from Umaria, 45 from Agar Malwa, 36 from Sidhi, 26 from Jhabua and 16 from Harda, among other districts, the official said. After the lockdown, we were stranded in Maharashtra and were unable to go back to our homes. We were rendered jobless and are now facing financial crisis, another labourer said. Earlier, on May 2, a special train carrying 347 labourers arrived here from Nashik in Maharashtra, while another train from Hyderabad, with 1030 migrant workers, reached here on May 6, the official added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Poulomi Pavini Shukla And Prashant Sharma By Like the catchphrase there will be blood, with Covid-19, there will be loss. Loss of life, business, growth. Efforts can only be to minimise losses. What is the option for minimum loss? Restricting movement is the accepted way to slow the virus, ranging from mild precautions in Sweden to curfew in China. India has had a national lockdown for 40 days extended for 14 days with modifications. Lockdowns have critics who criticise the high economic cost. There are pressures to lift lockdowns ignoring illness possibilities. However, as the trajectory of the pandemic is unclear, a lockdown is the least loss-causing option. This becomes unambiguous when we take probable virus scenarios, consider GDP cost of lockdowns and apply the human capital concept of economics. For Covid-19 probable scenarios, the most authoritative study was by the US governments Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with global consultation. The CDC estimated infections for 60-70% of the population with fatalities between 2-7%. These figures forced action from a recalcitrant US President Donald Trump and influenced decisions worldwide. In India, assuming a higher level of immunity and a reduction of 50% in spread, CDCs epidemiological exercise still implies, with no lockdown, infections for 30% of the 1.37 billion population. India has a fatality rate of 3.3% with 37% below 60 years, implying 5 million deaths in the 18-60 age bracket. Due to Covid-19 and lockdown, the World Bank has reduced estimated growth of Indias GDP in 2020 to 1.5-2.8% from 4.2-5.4%, IMF to 1.9% and ADB to 4%. The losses are 2-4% of the $2.9 trillion GDP that work out to Rs 3.7-7.5 lakh crore. These estimates have not considered the cost of deaths and illnesses and have disregarded the human capital element. That human beings should be taken as a component of capital and assigned economic values was labelled the human capital revolution in economics and resulted in Nobel prizes for Theodore Schultz and Gary Becker. Loss to the economy due to Covid-19 must include human capital losses too. Besides being capital, humans are also producers and consumers. Deaths reduce this component of capital and impact current and future economic growth. Losses due to deaths have to be considered in the economic cost of pandemics as there are varying death numbers in different strategies. How is loss due to death assessed? Gary Becker, in Health as Human Capital: Synthesis and Extensions, calculates the cost of human life. Beginning with the monetary value placed on a mans deaths probabilities, Becker takes average annual earning over 1,900 working hours, which was $40,000 in the US in 2007, adds hours spent in the household sector and extends the calculation to estimate value of an American life for a person dying young in 2007 at about $4.4 million. He substantiates this with empirical estimates in literature. For calculating the cost of lives in other nations, the ratio of per capita income of that country is taken against the American per capita income with extrapolations for different ages. Doing this for India for death at the age of 47 in 2020 gives $58,000 or around Rs 39 lakh. The average age of those dying from Covid-19 in India is 47 in the age group 18-60 years, the productive age of humans in society. Deaths in this are a direct loss to the economy. Rs 39 lakh in India or $4.4 million in the US for the economic value of life may sound excessive, but Becker explains that it is because usually we think of value of life in terms of earnings alone. In India, even if the value of human life is calculated only by earnings, then too a lockdown has a lesser loss than the no-lockdown scenario. For daily earnings at MGNREGS wage of Rs 202, assuming, with Becker, a 1:1 ratio of work and household gives an annual earning capacity of Rs 1,47,460, which is near the per capita net national income of Rs 1,35,050. Fourteen years of working life from 47 to 60 years gives Rs 20.6 lakh as the average Indian earning capacity value of life at 47 years. If there had been no lockdown in India, the loss in the productive 18-60 age group due to the projected 5 million deaths with an average economic value of Rs 39 lakh is Rs 19.5 lakh crore. With earning value of life in terms of minimum MGNREGS wages, this economic cost is Rs 10.3 lakh crore. We are not considering other age deaths or losses due to illnesses as our thesis is proved with only these. Thus, due to deaths in the productive age group, economic loss in a no-lockdown scenario, ranging from Rs 10.3-19.5 lakh crore, is much higher than the losses to GDP due to lockdown, as projected by World Bank, IMF or ADB, which range from Rs 3.7-7.5 lakh crore. The US Federal Bank and MIT compared the severity of measures taken by 43 American cities in the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic. The analysis of employment, manufacturing and bank losses established that the ultimate economic cost of stopping a pandemic by lockdowns was lesser than that of not stopping it. Seattle, with five months of lockdown and a booming post-flu economy, and Saint Paul in Minnesota with one month of lockdown and a scarred post-flu trajectory were a compelling comparative example. Further, lockdowns can be area-specific for tackling a pandemic that is not spread uniformly over a nation. For affected regions, lockdown and restrictions are the best response and the total loss is lesser than if there are no restrictions. So the lockdown from March 25 was the most sound decision for the people and economy of India. (Email addresses:poulomi@shuklasharma.in, prashant@shuklasharma.in) Poulomi Pavini Shukla Economist & advocate at the Supreme Court of India Prashant Sharma IAS officer of 2012 batch, working in Uttar Pradesh cadre Trump administration has ramped up criticism of China, describing ties as disappointing The White House has described the US relationship with China as disappointing and frustrating, as a rift deepens over the origins of the coronavirus. President Donald Trump maintains it came from a Chinese lab but Beijing says there is no evidence of that. Trump has intensified his rhetoric against China recently and some analysts say this is a pre-election gambit. Al Jazeeras Mike Hanna reports from the US capital, Washington, DC. "Our entire team is committed to getting our customers access to the right information at the right time in as few steps as possible. That is why we are making Pumper available to our existing customers free of charge for the next six months as we work through this crisis." WolfePak Software, a leading provider of oil and gas accounting, regulatory compliance and automation software, today announced its new native Pumper solution for automated data collection, reconciliation and management of production and well data. Benefits to customers include reduced data entry and duplication errors, increased capacity per pumper, more production oversight and analysis, and streamlined employee and contractor management. WolfePak Software is offering its new Pumper and supporting Production Module for free for six months, with no obligation to purchase at any time. Oil and gas companies can accelerate their move to new digital workflows and experience immediate efficiency gains by having direct, fast access to production field data. No complex or third-party integrations are needed. WolfePak Pumper provides an all-in-one solution that makes it easy to collect, manage and analyze field data. It allows companies to monitor and operate more wells per pumper, while reducing the time spent collecting and entering data. Operators can determine production plans and actions faster to help mitigate market risk, as well as keep field teams safe with mobile data collection. Key features include: A native mobile app for both iOS and Android; Accommodates all readings for oil, gas and water, such as BS&W, gravity, temperature and more; Real-time comparison of pumper and purchaser readings to validate or catch inaccuracies; An intuitive interface for ticket data entry and data capture of downtime, test data, well treatments and more for individual tanks; Configurable access for both contract and employee pumpers; Automated scheduling based on the operators preferred service schedule with a list of tanks associated with each lease; Secure transmission of pumper ticket data to WolfePaks ERP solution; and Intelligent insights and analytics available on demand. Do more with less and faster, has always been our industry mantra regardless of current market conditions. We realize that right now, our customers need immediate access to accurate production data to make the best strategic decisions for their operations, said Brent Rhymes, CEO of WolfePak Software. Our entire team is committed to getting our customers access to the right information at the right time in as few steps as possible. That is why we are making Pumper available to our existing customers free of charge for the next six months as we work through this crisis. WolfePak Software securely streamlines the entire data lifecycle from the field to the office, providing an open and integrated approach to data management. With a 95% customer satisfaction rating and a Net Promoter Score of 80, thousands of oil and gas companies rely on WolfePak Software and its solutions to enhance their decision making and better manage profitability. For more information: About WolfePak Software WolfePak Software offers a fully integrated suite of software products for oil and gas upstream and midstream customers, including exploration and production well operators, crude oil purchasers, transporters, haulers, investors, CPA firms and service companies. Located in Abilene, deep in the heart of the Texas oil patch, WolfePak serves customers throughout the United States and the world. With its staff of experienced software developers, CPAs and oil and gas professionals, WolfePak has provided best-of-breed accounting and automation software and services since 1986. For more information, please visit http://www.wolfepak.com. GUELPH My symptoms began with a sore throat and a bit of a headache nothing a good nights rest couldnt fix, I thought. But when the night brought chills, fever and fatigue, I began to retrace my steps over the past week. Had I slipped up in my physical distancing? Scanning over a list of possible COVID-19 symptoms on the public health website, I began checking off what I was feeling. Headache, fever, fatigue these could point to a number of different ailments, but all I could think of was one. With my fever rising past 38 degrees, I knew I needed to get tested. One afternoon last week, I donned a cloth face mask and drove to the assessment centre on Victoria Road in Guelph, not far from my home. When I pulled in, the parking lot was mostly empty and I could see people in gowns and masks through the big glass windows. The building is a city-owned community centre where I used to swim each week, in the before times. It was strange to see it repurposed in this way. Before I reached the side entrance, a health worker in full personal protective equipment was waiting for me at the door. She directed me to pocket my mask and use the hand sanitizer provided outside. Once my hands were clean, she handed me a disposable medical mask, watched me put it on correctly and let me in. Widely-spaced arrows on the floor led to a line made of tape that kept me a safe distance from the health worker sitting at a table. She took down my name, doctors name, address, contact information and symptoms. She also asked if I worked in health care and then handed me a bright green sticker to put on my shirt. Following the arrows further, I walked past the pool where I used to swim. The water was still and the rec centre was quiet. Only one other person was sitting in the hallway. She also wore a green sticker on her shirt. At the desk where I used to scan my pool pass sat another health worker. Standing behind the line, I read out my health card number and was handed a sticker with all my information on it. I didnt wait long before my name was called and I was led into a former conference room, now sectioned off by temporary walls. The doctor quickly assessed my vitals and put a thermometer to my ear: 37.4 degrees. It seems the Tylenol had brought my temperature down. Then he brought out the swab. As he tilted my head back and got me to pull down my mask, he told me this particular swab wasnt going as deep as other swab tests, but it still might be uncomfortable. He was right. Holding up my nose and twirling the end of the swab with his fingers, I felt my right eye begin to water. He suggested I breathe through my mouth as he fed the device inside my head in a careful, smooth motion. The process didnt hurt, but it didnt feel comfortable. I found out afterwards the assessment centre had been using nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs up until mid-April, but had since changed to using mid-turbinate swabs. The former swabs went a bit deeper than the treatment I was given. When he pulled the swab out, he put it inside a tube and broke off the end of it. He said someone would call me with the results in up to four business days. The whole experience took less than 15 minutes. I didnt have to touch anything except the documents handed to me about the 14-day isolation period. I was surprised I even was able to get a test. Im not on the priority groups. When I asked Wellington Dufferin Guelph Public Health, I was told the assessment centre was following guidelines by Public Health Ontario. Included in those guidelines is the suggestion: Clinicians should continue to use their discretion on which individuals to test. Four days later, I was feeling much better. My symptoms were mostly gone, but I still hadnt received a call from public health. Feeling anxious and curious, I went online to check my results. Punching in my information and waiting for the screen to load, I could feel my pulse racing. When the page finally loaded, my eyes were drawn to a check mark beside bold green letters that read, Negative. I did a double-take just to confirm, but there it was: the date of my test and the corresponding result.. Before this is all over, many people may go through a similar process, especially if testing capabilities continue to expand. Heres hoping you get the smaller swab. Zoom reached an agreement with New York Attorney General Letitia James' office Thursday, closing the state's inquiry into its security practices without an admission of wrongdoing from the company. The agreement comes one day after the New York City Department of Education lifted its ban on Zoom after working with the company to ensure the proper safety features were in place. Taken together, the deals put momentum behind Zoom's 90-day plan announced April 1 to fix its security flaws and could help it regain consumer confidence in its product after a shaky couple of months. James' office had been looking into Zoom's security measures for more than a month, according to a press release. The inquiry came as more and more people, including New York City students and teachers, were logging onto the platform to work remotely during the pandemic. As new users flocked to Zoom, the enterprise tool began to see the type of abuse common on consumer platforms. Zoom users began experiencing "zoombombing," where their conversations were infiltrated by unwanted guests, sometimes sharing profanities and explicit remarks. This even happened to the Connecticut attorney general, who opened his own probe into the company, working with attorneys general in New York and Florida. A representative for Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said the office's probe into Zoom is still ongoing. In addition to the probe led by Tong, Zoom still faces an investor lawsuit that claims the company failed to tell shareholders about privacy and security issues with its platform. Some of the abuse resulted from open features that Zoom had in place to aid its rapid growth. Users were able to join conversations with the click of a link, for example, which worked fine when they were shared mainly with coworkers, but less so when they were used to invite large groups of strangers to chats. The NYC DOE is requiring students and teachers to use a DOE-licensed version of the program, which includes certain protections, such as only allowing teachers to share screens or invite students to sessions. The attorney general's agreement also includes protections for students. All free kindergarten through 12th grade education accounts will have to allow hosts to control access to conferences with a password or digital waiting room. They also must be able to control access to private messages, email domains and whether participants can share screens, according to the agreement. Many of the measures Zoom agreed to implement have already been completed or planned for. Zoom agreed, for example, to stop sharing user data with Facebook and disable a feature with LinkedIn that shares profiles of users with other users even if they chose to be anonymous. The company already removed code from its iOS app that sent data to Facebook, Motherboard reported in March. The agreement requires Zoom to maintain various security protocols, like its bug bounty program, use "reasonable encryption" and maintain a security chief that regularly reports to the CEO and board of directors. Zoom has agreed to submit a copy of its annual data security assessment to James' office for the three years in which the agreement is in place. "We are pleased to have reached a resolution with the New York Attorney General, which recognizes the substantial work that Zoom has completed as part of our 90-day security and privacy plan, including making a number of our pre-existing security features on by default and also introducing new security enhancements," a Zoom spokesperson said in a statement. "We are grateful for the New York Attorney General's engagement on these important issues and are glad to have reached this resolution so quickly." Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. WATCH: How Zoom rose to the top during social distancing By Express News Service COIMBATORE/TIRUPUR/SALEM: Despite demands from opposition parties not to open TASMAC outlets during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic situation and the sale of liquor has commenced across the State on Thursday, except Chennai, Chengaplattu, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts. From morning itself, tipplers thronged the TASMAC outlets, as the liquor shops were opened after a gap of 44 days. Volunteers employed by TASMAC management gave sanitizer to tipplers to clean their hands, before allowing them to buy liquor. Only 25 people were allowed in front of each shop and remaining persons were given token and made to wait in nearby places. Earlier, it was announced that liquor would be sold to people above 50 years of age between 10 am to 1 pm, between 40-50 age between 1 pm to 3 pm and below 40 years of age between 3 pm to 5 pm. But, on Thursday age proof was not checked. TASMAC authorities were seen making announcements using the public address system that liquor would be sold only to those who come with Aadhaar card and wearing mask. FOLLOW CORONVIRUS LIVE UPDATES HERE They also asked tipplers who buy liquor to come only after three days gap. But, TASMAC employees said it is not possible to check this. In rural areas like Kittampalayam near Annur, there was huge crowd to buy liquor. Due to public protest against the opening of TASMAC outlet on Boluvampatti road at Puthur near Thondamuthur, the shop was temporarily closed. Hindu Makkal Katchi founder Arjun Sampath, who staged a silent protest in front of Coimbatore Corporation main office opposing opening of TASMAC, was arrested by city police. Authorities also said that only one bottle of 750 ml of liquor or four bottles of 150 ml liquor or one bottle of 650 ml beer would be sold per person. In Tirupur district, as per the district collector K Vijaya Karthikeyans direction, liquor was sold only to those who come with an umbrella, so as to maintain social distancing. A total of 238 TASMAC outlets were opened in Tirupur district and 14 shops in the containment zone remained closed. Two police personnel were deployed in each outlet in the district for strict enforcement of distancing and monitoring of hygiene practices enforced by state government rules. In Salem district, police drew a line for tipplers to wait in the queue to buy liquor. At Gorimedu wine shop, around 200 tipplers, not bothered about scorching sun, waited in the long queue on both sides of the wine shop. Police were deployed in all shops to ensure tipplers maintain social distancing. Assistant commissioners and inspector of concerned station limits are going in rounds and monitoring that government rules are followed in TASMAC outlets. Speaking to Express, a tippler who was waiting in queue at Mulluvadi gate wine shop on condition of anonymity said that due to government fixing time for aged persons in the morning, we thought rush will be less. But, many have come early in the morning and are waiting in the queue. Due to checking of age by seeing Aadhaar card or driving license by police and TASMAC staff, distributing of liquor bottles takes time, he added. Opposition parties including DMK, communist parties have staged protest against the opening of TASMAC outlets on Thursday. While DMK cadres protested in front of their house by wearing black shirts, CPI and CPM cadres protested by holding black flags and wearing black badge and raised slogan condemning opening of the TASMAC outlets. Australia has secured the emphatic support of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in its push for an independent probe into the origins of the coronavirus as the United States retreats on claims it has evidence the disease started in a Chinese laboratory. Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently discussed the inquiry with Mr Johnson and has identified two mechanisms at the World Health Assembly that could lead the investigation. Australia will use a European Union motion to zero in on China's handling of the initial outbreak and the global health response. Scott Morrison has secured Boris Johnson's support for an independent probe into the origins of the coronavirus. Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on Thursday revealed there were rising suspicions within the Australian government and intelligence services that the US embassy in Canberra had leaked a western government dossier that tied the virus to a laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Senior sources said the research, reported by News Corp Australia on Saturday, contained no intelligence and was made up of publicly available material, including news reports. Australia has maintained that the most likely scenario is the virus emerged from a wildlife wet market in Wuhan. While many people believe interns do office admin and a coffee run here or there, these shock confessions suggest that some get up to a whole lot more. Interns from around the world took to anonymous app Whisper to reveal what really happens behind the scenes of an average working day. One trainee doctor revealed she will never forget the look on her patient's face when she placed a urinary catheter in incorrectly, while another intern admitted it was part of his job to hire escorts for his boss. Elsewhere, a further confessed to having an ongoing affair with a federal judge she was interning for - who was 39 years her senior. That's got to hurt! One intern, from an unknown location, recalled the look on their patient's face when they placed a urinary catheter in incorrectly This wasn't in the job description! Another junior, from an unknown location, who interned in a museum, told how the filter in the brine shrimp exhibit broke and she had to use her mouth to suck out debris from a tube At your service! One intern from an unknown location, who had always dreamed of working in law, was in for a shock after discovering his job role included hiring escorts for his boss White lie! Another intern, believed to be from the UK, admitted to telling classmates they work for a fancy law firm even though it's just an internship Undercover lover! A further intern, from an unknown location, admitted to having an ongoing affair with a judge she was interning for - who was 38 years her senior Man with a plan! One junior, from an unknown location, thought up a clever plan after his boss asked all employees to add her on Snapchat so she could keep an eye on them Coincidence? I think not! A male intern, from an unknown location, confessed to sleeping with his boss before shortly getting a job as her assistant The cheek of it! Another person, from an unknown location, was told never to steal from the office - while his boss was doing just that Cheers to that! Another intern, from Manhattan, must have made a good impression at his interview as he got the job - despite being drunk! Hero in disguise! Another, from an unknown location, confessed to putting on a Batman mask every time they are asked to dig for information on rival companies Are things really all that different for you? Apart from the gigs that were postponed, my life hasnt changed much. I didnt go out a lot, and theres always enough booze in the house for a nuclear winter. You wont hear me complain. Not when, every day, I see some millionaire celebrity going, Im sad that Im not on telly tonight. Or, I had a swim in the pool that made me feel a little bit better. [Begins to sing.] Imagine theres no heaven ... Your comedy is often critical of fame and the people who covet it. Do you think that the pandemic has accelerated our distaste for celebrity culture? Ive got nothing against anyone being a celebrity or being famous. I think that people are just a bit tired of being lectured to. Now celebrities think: The general public needs to see my face. They cant get to the cinema, I need to do something. And its when you look into their eyes, you know that, even if theyre doing something good, theyre sort of thinking, I could weep at what a good person I am. Oh dear. Ricky Gervais' hosting gig at the Golden Globes has led to furious debate. Credit:AP But when you perform a stand-up routine like the one you did at this years Golden Globes, you dont have to look over your shoulder when the night is over? No, the world hasnt changed. No one looks at me differently. And Ive got nothing against those people, really. I think thats the mistake people make: they think that every joke is a window to the comedians soul because I wrote it and performed it under my own name, that thats really me. And thats just not true. Ill flip a joke halfway through and change my stance to make the joke better. Ill pretend to be right wing, left wing, whatever wing, no wing. Ive got to go after the richest people in the room, and NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press [Association, which organises the Golden Globes]. Ive got to be a court jester, but a court jesters got to make sure that he doesnt get executed as well. Ive got to make all the peasants laugh at the king, but the kings sort of got to like it. [Laughs.] A lot of political conservatives became fans of yours after that performance because they felt youd finally stuck it to the Hollywood elite. Do you think any were driven away after they learned you didnt share their viewpoints on other issues? I didnt notice that on Twitter until a couple of disgruntled liberal elites suddenly said, Oh, Gervais is alt-right now. And I went, what? Whats right-wing about taking the mickey out of the richest, most powerful corporations on the planet? But Ive had this before. People that followed me, if they were far right, theyre probably not atheists like me. They probably dont like some of the language that I use. They probably dont agree with my anti-trophy hunting stance. In general, I think most normal people follow a person for a particular reason or two. If the tweets I hate outnumber the ones I like, Ill unfollow him. No one has to be perfect to have friends. They just have to be, on balance, OK. Ricky Gervais and David Bradley in After Life Credit:Netflix The themes of death and how we deal with loss are pervasive in After Life. Does that make it any more attuned to the current moment? Or does that make it harder to watch? I think we second-guess people too much. We worry about what the people at home can take. Real lifes worse. They can take all of this. It stuns me that people still think, Oh, you shouldnt joke about that. Were reading about it in the paper, why cant we joke about it? With other shows of mine, people come up to me on the street, and they usually say, I love the show. But with this one and this was before coronavirus they come up to me and say, I just want to say, I lost my sister three weeks ago. Or, I lost my husband. No one said, Oh, I had to turn it off because it was too upsetting, or, It reminded me of something bad. You suddenly realise, of course everyones grieving. And the older you get, the more youve got to grieve. Theres a scene in one of the new episodes when Tony tells another character: Everythings bad for you. Were all dying. Being healthy is just dying more slowly. Do you think about moments like that one differently now? I think it would be different if I did a show that was specifically about coronavirus [wearily] which there are going to be hundreds. And novels. And weird, fake reality shows. But in the abstract, its a joke about death, and people are dying all the time. People arent going, No one was dying until this year that joke didnt age well. Tonys acting nihilistically. Hes reminding people that hes not over it. He still wants to punish the world. Theres a narcissism to his grieving, in a way. And then he confronts people that are worse off than him and make him feel slightly spoiled. We all go through that. What gets us out of our nihilism and gets us over attitudes like that? Health officials say Mexico could see second wave in October Mexico City, Mexico The Undersecretary of Health warned that the coronavirus epidemic could re-emerge at the end of the year, affecting Mexico in October. The undersecretary of Health for Mexico, Hugo Lopez-Gatell, affirmed that the country can survive the epidemic saying that if social distancing measures had not been taken in time, the curve would be more pronounced and most of the countrys 126 million residents would be at risk. We are winning, said the doctor from the National Palace in Mexico City. The numbers are encouraging. We still have a very broad response capacity, he stressed, assuring that the measures adopted allowed the country to change the course of the epidemic and have very positive effects that have led to the reduction of transmission speed and contagion. Hugo Lopez-Gatell says that Mexico still has a margin of response against the coronavirus, but, as some experts have warned, the current one could be just the first wave of contagion of the virus. It is not logical to think that while there is an epidemic of infectious disease in the rest of the world, each country will be safe from reinfection, said the official who also participated in the H1N1 fight in 2009. (Seasonal) influenza is going to come back in October, and it is going to go away in March. This is definitely going to happen. What we do not know, and what is probable, is that along with influenza, the second great wave of Covid-19 could come, he explained. There are several people who say we are blind, we have no information. He who wants to go blind is blind. We have the adequate information to make decisions. You dont need the number of cases. What is needed is to understand the data and understand what the mechanics of an epidemic are like in order to make the most appropriate decisions. China says 'political virus' of violent protests must be removed in Hong Kong Iran Press TV Wednesday, 06 May 2020 9:45 AM China says violent protests in Hong Kong are a "political virus" that must be removed in order to restore calm to the territory. "The scorched-earth action of the black-clad violent protesters is a political virus in Hong Kong society," China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs office warned in a strongly-worded statement on Wednesday. It said there were many factors leading to Hong Kong's economic decline; however, the main preventable issue was the violent anti-government protests. "Hong Kong's biggest trouble comes from within, that is the violent forces openly calling for and engaging in [the] scorched-earth tactics," it said. "As long as the protesters are not removed, Hong Kong will never be calm." The Asian financial hub was rocked in 2019 by months of massive anti-government protests over a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed suspected criminals to be sent from Hong Kong to mainland China for trial. The protesters often heavily vandalized shops and public property and attacked citizens believed to be pro-government. A masked anti-government protester, wielding a hammer, attacks a man who bystanders suspected of being pro-Beijing, during a protest in the Mong Kok area in Hong Kong, China, on November 11, 2019. (Photo by Reuters) However, since the government imposed a ban on public meetings at the end of March to curb the coronavirus outbreak, Hong Kong has been relatively calm. There was only one instance of unrest when Hong Kong riot police dispersed a crowd of 300 protesters, some wearing black, late last month. Due to the anti-government protests in Hong Kong, business activity was already declining. More than 7,000 people have been taken into custody for their involvement in the protests since June last year, with many having been charged with rioting, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Hong Kong has been governed under a "one-country, two-system" model since the city, a former British colony, was returned to China in 1997. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address He's the 'foxy hunk of spunk' who stole the heart of Kath Day on classic Australian sitcom Kath & Kim. And Kel Knight is back to encourage Australians who haven't already downloaded the government's contact-tracing app, COVIDSafe, to do so as soon as possible. Actor Glenn Robbins reprised his role as Fountain Lakes' finest butcher in a public service announcement that was posted on Victorian Premier Daniel Andrew's Instagram account on Wednesday night. The hunk of spunk is back! Glenn Robins (right) reprised his Kath & Kim character, Kel Knight, to encourage Australians who haven't already downloaded the government's contact-tracing app, COVIDSafe, to do so as soon as possible. Pictured with Jane Turner as Kath Day Knight In the humorous clip, Kel calls his wife, Kath, before heading to the supermarket. 'How are we for toot paper? Got a roomful of it. Good,' he says. The pair continue to discuss coronavirus-related issues, including social distancing in public and how Kel must pack his own groceries. 'How are we for toot paper? Got a roomful of it. Good': Glenn reprised his role as Fountain Lakes' finest butcher in a public service announcement that was posted on Victorian Premier Daniel Andrew's Instagram account on Wednesday night Kel then asks Kath whether her daughter, Kim, has downloaded COVIDSafe yet. 'Tell Kim to download the app if she doesn't, tell her from me that she's a nong. I know... you can say it, I can't,' he says, while rolling his eyes. Kel finishes by reminding his wife to 'not be late' tonight because they are planning to dress up to take out their garbage bins. 'Tell her from me that shes a nong': Kel asks Kath if her daughter Kim (left, played by Gina Reilly) has downloaded COVIDSafe yet, saying she's a 'nong' if she has't Kel is planning to go as Daniel Andrews while Kath plans to dress up as New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden. The video concludes with Kath hanging up on Kel after he says her impression of Arden sounds more like Pauline Hanson. The video does not include comedians Jane Turner or Gina Reilly, who portrayed the mother-daughter duo in the ABC sitcom. 'Noice, strong, courageous': Magda Szubanski has also gotten into character as Kath & Kim's Sharon Strzelecki (centre) for a COVID-19 dance video with healthcare workers (left and right) Glenn isn't the only cast member who has been reprising their role from the hit show to spread some cheer during the COVID-19 crisis. Comedian Magda Szubanski recently got back into character as 'Kim's second-best friend' Sharon Strzelecki to show her appreciation for frontline healthcare workers. The 59-year-old sang 'COVID Bug', a parody of Soft Cell's Tainted Love with lyrics that reflect the health crisis, in a dance video that also featured staff from several Australian hospitals. Essential dancers! Workers from Ambulance Victoria, Footscray Hospital and Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital all danced along to the '80s tune Tainted Love 'This COVID bug you've given, you took all my PP (personal protection) equipment, you even took my mask and that's not all,' Sharon sang. The split-screen video featured Sharon busting out some dance moves in her signature netball uniform. Meanwhile, workers from Ambulance Victoria, Footscray Hospital and Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital all danced along to the '80s tune. 'This COVID bug you've given, you took all my PP (personal protection) equipment, you even took my mask and that's not all,' Sharon sang 'Noice, strong, courageous. A special Sharon shout-out to all our healthcare workers, on the frontline and behind the scenes,' Magda captioned the post. 'Health workers please send us vids of you dancing to this and we will update and add them in. Noice.' As of Thursday morning, there have been 6,875 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia, resulting in 97 deaths. RAMALLAH, West Bank Aishya Nimr (known by her nickname Umm Iyad), 58, heads in the early morning to the headquarters of the local council of the village of Qira in Salfit governorate in the northern West Bank to follow up on the councils emergency procedures as part of the efforts to stem the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. Umm Iyad has been heading the village council since 2017 and with the virus outbreak, she also started leading the emergency committee formed to this effect. Umm Iyad told Al-Monitor that she begins her workday by checking up on citizens in home quarantine in the village, whose number amounted to 21 at the beginning of the crisis but had dwindled to one at the time of this writing. She also is handling the issue of 144 of the village's workers in Israel. Most of the rest of the villages population of 1,370 work in agriculture. Umm Iyad also visits the checkpoints set up at the two entrances of the village to check up on the security officers before returning to the village council offices. The coronavirus outbreak and the consequent state of emergency had made my work more challenging. I dont get back home before 11 p.m., where I have to continue following up on every update regarding the measures to cope with the spread of the virus. I also follow up on the needs of citizens through the recently formed committees, such as the health committee, to follow up on the quarantined, or the medical committee to follow up on the elderly, as well the social committee to follow up on the citizens needs, Umm Iyad added. Umm Iyad is also currently working on a community initiative to cultivate 5 dunums of land and grow vegetables to achieve self-sufficiency for the villages citizens. The plot of land was offered by a citizen to the people of the village. On April 22, the first 2,500 seedlings arrived and were planted. The project requires 18,000 seedlings. We already managed to get some and we are seeking to secure the rest, she said. Since the beginning of the virus outbreak and the announcement of a state of emergency by President Mahmoud Abbas on March 5, Umm Iyad managed to equip and turn three apartments and a kindergarten into a quarantine area for those who do not have a place to be confined in. She stressed that she is greatly supported by the councils members and the townspeople. This positive image of Palestinian women during a time of pandemic is only one side of the story. The other side is darker and more terrifying with the rising rates of domestic violence, especially against women during the lockdown. Statistics from the Ministry of Social Development on April 21 showed that social workers across the Palestinian governorates have been dealing with some 70 women who have been victims of domestic violence since the beginning of 2020 through April 10. Also, 48% of the [cases of] abused women were received during the lockdown period (from March 5 to April 10). Minister of Social Development Ahmed Majdalani told Al-Monitor, Cases of domestic violence, be it physical or verbal abuse, and sexual assaults have increased during the confinement period. He explained that the economic and financial crisis also contributes in the increasing violence against women, not to mention the emotional stress resulting from the lockdown. Ministry statistics indicated that 40% of women have been subjected to emotional and mental abuse, and 31% to physical abuse. Other women also have suffered other forms of violence, such as restricted freedom, sexual harassment, financial abuse, rape, online bullying and forced marriage. This has led 60% of the victims to flee their houses and 21% to attempt suicide, not to mention the violences negative impact such as physical and mental illnesses, fractures and pregnancy out of wedlock, according to the ministry. Ministry Undersecretary Dawood al-Deek told Al-Monitor, The ministrys studies show that violence against women is likely to rise should the lockdown drag on. He said, The ministrys teams are working on resolving disputes and cases of violence by intervening at peoples homes, noting that the three shelter centers under the supervision of the ministry in the West Bank are open for battered women. All precautionary and health measures will be applied for newcomers, most notably a 14-day quarantine period inside the shelter home, Deek explained. He added that the actual cases of violence against women is higher than the registered cases at the ministry, as some women turn to social society institutions, which in turn try to mediate to resolve family disputes with social workers. Deek said that since the beginning of 2020, social workers have been working with some 70 women who have been subjected to violence, with a little over a fifth of these referred to women's protection centers under the supervision of the ministry. Shelter centers received six women since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis through April 10. According to its report, the ministry has also been offering psychological support and guidance to many of the affected women, in addition to other cash and in-kind assistance, emergency aid, medical insurance and economic empowerment, as well as child protection services for the children of violence victims. The Minister of Women's Affairs, Amal Hamad, told Al-Monitor that the number of complaints that have been lodged with the concerned parties that deal with violence against women this month have spiked compared with the same month last year. This prompted the ministry to adopt new mechanisms to resolve disputes within households, she said. Hamad said her ministry formed support committees in 200 local councils to immediately intervene with families at home, forming specialized committees made up of mental and social health experts. A hotline was also set up to receive complaints from battered and abused women. An opinion poll conducted by the Arab World for Research and Development, whose results were published April 20, showed that expectations that violence against women will continue increased 53% compared with the last poll published March 31. The research firm's director, Nader Said, told Al-Monitor that this alarming increase is a dangerous indicator of societal changes, which must be highlighted and that solutions must be found for. A farmer tweeting from FarmGreedy on twitter has cried out on the platform saying his car has been impounded. He claims as he left the farm this evening to go and make a delivery, some police men in Ede, Osun state stopped him and demanded a N500 bribe. But papi was fasting, so he couldnt take any risk. He turned them down, and so they took him to the station, he alleged. He then came back online to narrate how they are now allegedly demanding N10,000 so that his car will not be impounded. He also made a shocking revelation, saying no inventory was taken at the police station. Below are his heartbreaking tweets I was harassed by the men of the @PoliceNG A Divisional Police station Ede while coming back from the farm this evening despite the showing them my pass and seeing crates of eggs in my car. I was arrested and my car seized when I refused to give then #500 bribe.@PoliceNG_CRU My car was impounded because I refused to give bribe at Ede A Divisional Police station while coming back from the farm today. All plea fell on their deaf ear despite knowing am a farmer with lots of eggs in my car. The @NigeriaGov should please help the farmers What a joke These guys are requesting for 10k before my car is released. I will rather dash your station the car. I just left the @PoliceNG ADivision Police state Oja Timi,Ede,Osun State without my car,I need to break my fast. I must also say no inventory was made at the station. Unfortunately,these eggs are meant to be delivered tonight unfailingly. Its too bad farmers are treated ds way Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates DALLAS - A Texas salon owner who defied Republican Gov. Greg Abbotts emergency orders and was jailed for keeping her business open walked out free Thursday to cheering supporters after the governor weakened his enforcement of coronavirus safeguards and a court ordered her released. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 7/5/2020 (621 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. This Tuesday, May 5, 2020 booking photo provided by the Dallas County Sheriff's Office shows Shelly Luther. Luther was ordered to spend a week in jail after she continued to operate her business despite being issued a citation last month for keeping open her Dallas salon due to restrictions put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic. Luther's hearing occurred as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott relaxed more restrictions statewide, allowing barbershops and hair salons to reopen Friday. (Dallas County Sheriff's Office via AP) DALLAS - A Texas salon owner who defied Republican Gov. Greg Abbotts emergency orders and was jailed for keeping her business open walked out free Thursday to cheering supporters after the governor weakened his enforcement of coronavirus safeguards and a court ordered her released. Shelley Luther, owner of a Salon A La Mode in Dallas, wore a mask while leaving jail less than 48 hours after a judge sentenced her to a week behind bars for flouting public health orders meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Her punishment had become a rallying cry for Republican lawmakers and conservative activists who have railed against lockdown measures in Texas, even as the state reopens at a speed faster than many others in the U.S. Luther, who refused to apologize or promise to keep her business closed even after a Dallas judge said dong so might keep her out of jail, said she was overwhelmed as she walked toward a crowd chanting her name. In April, Luther tore up a cease-and-desist letter in front of TV cameras at an Open Texas" rally in the Dallas suburbs. I just want to thank all of you who I just barely met, and now youre all my friends," Luther said after leaving jail. This would have been nothing without you. Thank you so, so much." Salon owner Shelley Luther hugs a supporter after she was released from jail in Dallas, Thursday, May 7, 2020. Luther was jailed for refusing to keep her business closed amid concerns of the spread of COVID-19. (AP Photo/LM Otero) Her release came hours after Abbott rushed to her defence by removing jail as a punishment for defying virus safeguards, thereby removing the toughest penalty. His new order did not mention removing other penalties, including fines, but the relaxed rules reflects the increasing pressure Abbott is under to more quickly reboot the Texas economy, even though he has already allowed restaurants and retailers to start letting customers back inside a step many other governors have been reluctant to take. Abbott made the announcement in a statement just before meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss the response to the pandemic. That statement also mentioned two women along the Texas border, Ana Isabel Castro-Garcia and Brenda Stephanie Mata, who the Laredo Morning Times reports were similarly jailed and released the same day for violating restrictions on nonessential businesses. Their arrests, however, have not drawn as much attention or inspired protests. We should not be taking these people and put them behind bars, these people who have spent their life building up a business," Abbott told reporters in the Oval Office. When Trump asked if that included the beauty salon owner he had read about, Abbott said she was being released. Good," Trump said. On Tuesday, Luther refused to apologize for repeatedly flouting the order, leading the judge to find her in contempt of court and sentence her to a week behind bars. But on Thursday, the Texas Supreme Court ordered that Luther be released from jail. Facing protests and open defiance of his orders, Abbott seems to be moving ahead of his earlier timelines to gradually reopen the Texas economy. On Friday, the state will allow all hair salons to resume business, which comes just a week after Abbott suggested that he was aiming toward mid-May. Some have balked at his gradual pace, including two GOP state lawmakers who let reporters shoot video and photos of them getting haircuts outside of Houston this week. In Houston, where a strip club owner got a court order to stay open, Mayor Sylvester Turner said Thursday the city has tried to follow Abbott's rules. But Turner, a Democrat, said once you take the enforcement mechanism out of the order, you really dont have an order anymore. 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. Texas has had more than 35,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 970 deaths related to the virus. The number of cases continues to climb in the state, which has averaged more than 1,000 new ones per day in the week since Abbott's stay-at-home orders ended May 1. But Abbott has said he is focused on hospitalization rates that remain steady and infection rates that have dropped since mid-April. 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. ___ Weber reported from Austin. Associated Press reporter Juan A. Lozano in Houston contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak Carol Kaliff / Hearst Connecticut Media DANBURY The Womens Center of Greater Danbury has canceled its annual dinner this year due to the coronavirus. While the annual dinner is our largest fundraiser of the year, we realize the health and wellness of our attendees is much more important, the organization said in a statement. We also realize this is a very difficult emotional, physical, and financial time for everyone. Controversial journalist, Kemi Olunloyo has replied Bishop David Oyedepo over his comment querying why markets are allowed to operate for six hours daily whereas churches are not allowed to operate at all. Speaking via her official Twitter handle, the self-acclaimed investigative journalist stated that church is not essential, God is the essential entity. Read Also: How Abba Kyari Is Hero Nigerians Dont Know Kemi Olunloyo She further added that markets are not stationary in contrast to churches. Advertisement She wrote: Oyedepo go sit down. We have learned from South Korea. A pastor and mega-church spread #COVID19 to one single country. Pastor bowing begging journalists. Markets are not stationary, everyones moving. Church everyone is stationary, anyone could cough or sneeze. Pastor @DavidOyedepoMin Church is NOT essential, God is essential. I have worshipped online for three years. People can pay tithe online. We aint opening no damn church! https://twitter.com/KemiOlunloyo/status/1258141885123760129?s=19 AAPIMAGE via Reuters Connect Cardinal George Pell, the former Vatican treasurer who was released from prison in April after winning an appeal on his clerical sex-abuse conviction, lied about what he knew about abusive priests, according to unredacted parts of a report by an Australian commission investigating the matter. Why Wont Pope Francis Quit Cardinal Pell, His Sketchy No. 3? The lengthy Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Assault reportproduced during the investigation of the Diocese of Ballarat, the Archdiocese of Melbourne, and the Australian churchs protocols to address assault claimswas released in 2017, but all segments pertaining to Pell had been blacked out to protect the cardinal against prejudice in his own clerical sex-abuse trial. Pell was convicted of clerical sex abuse in 2018 and served 13 months in prison before his release in early April by an appellate court. Three of the previously redacted reports, all of which included testimony Pell gave from Rome in 2015, were released on the commissions website Thursday now that his trial has definitively concluded. In one report, the commission wrote that it did not accept Pells testimony when he said he knew nothing about Australias most prolific pedophile priest, Gerald Ridsdale, or about abusive priest Peter Searson. Ridsdale, who is in prison, has been convicted of abusing 69 young victims. Searson died in 2009 awaiting trial. He was never convicted of any of the sex-abuse crimes he was accused of. The commission found that Pell, as one of the highest-ranking prelates in Australia, had direct knowledge that these men were moved from parish to parish, rather than removed from the priesthood to protect children. It wrote that Pell was not only conscious of child sex abuse by clergy but that he also had considered measures of avoiding situations which might provoke gossip about it. In other words, he contributed to the culture of secrecy surrounding one of the biggest scourges of the Catholic Church. Story continues During his testimony, Pell repeatedly told the government inquiry panel that he either did not recall or was never told about either priest, both of whom he had jurisdiction over. On one occasion, he told the court, I would never have condoned or participated in a decision to transfer Ridsdale in the knowledge that he had abused children, and I did not do so. The commission found otherwise, writing, We do not accept that Bishop Pell was deceived, intentionally or otherwise. Instead, it believed he knew everything about the culture of secrecy about clerical sex abuse in Australia up until the time he left for Rome to become one of Pope Benedict XVIs closest advisers and, later, Pope Franciss choice to revamp the Vaticans economic arm. Clare Leaney, chief executive of Good Faith Foundation, which advocates for victims of clerical sex abuse, issued a statement to the press Thursday morning. Todays released findings confirm what survivors and advocates already knew to be true, she wrote. There has been a systematic failure of leadership within the Catholic Church for decades. The Vatican did not immediately respond to questions about the newly released report. Pell issued a statement from the seminary in Sydney where he is now staying before returning to Rome that he was surprised by some of the views which he insists are not supported by evidence. Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. US Senators 'Seek to Block Deployment of F-35A Jets to UK' Over Huawei's Role in 5G Rollout Sputnik News 06:15 GMT 06.05.2020 After Prime Minister Boris Johnson allowed Huawei to build "non-core" parts of the UK's 5G networks, the US has ramped up pressure on the country to reconsider, claiming the Chinese firm posed a security hazard, with Donald Trump previously suggesting that future intelligence-sharing with America's "Five Eyes" allies could be at risk. US Republican senators are seeking to use legislation to block the stationing of two squadrons of F-35A Lightning II aircraft in the UK, scheduled for next year, over its decision to grant China's Huawei access to the country's 5G network, according to The Telegraph. The move, which is being led by Republican senator for Arkansas Tom Cotton, who has previously passed anti-Huawei proposals into law, would suggest an amendment to the annual legislation that determines defence spending levels. The senators seek a modification to the piece of legislation that would ban deployments to countries where perceived "at-risk" companies like Huawei are allowed to operate, writes the outlet. A summary at the top of the amendment proposed by Cotton, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee which handles the legislation, reportedly reads: "To prohibit the stationing of new aircraft at bases in host countries with at-risk vendors in their 5G or 6G networks." If it becomes law, the change to the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act would stop 48 of the most advanced fighter jets from being permanently deployed to Britain. "While the United States will do all we can to maintain and strengthen the special relationship, protecting US airmen and our national security assets must come first," Cotton was cited as saying. To become law, the current proposal must find its way into the version of the legislation passed by the US Senate and the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, before getting signed off by the US President, with Congress ultimately making the decision. The amendment would put in jeopardy the aircraft project, worth an estimated $200 million, which has been almost half a decade in the making, with 1,200 US airmen already at RAF Lakenheath, in Suffolk, amid preparations for the deployment. A UK defense source was cited by the outlet as dismissing concerns, saying the F-35s would not use Huawei-built networks. The report comes as Washington has launched a major review into the UK's decision to allow Chinese telecom giant Huawei access in the UK. In January, Boris Johnson's government decided to grant China's Huawei a limited role in 5G wireless networks and fiber optics, while capping its market share and restricting it from the network core, which sees and controls sensitive information. The move came after UK security services claimed that alleged security risks associated with Huawei could be managed. Washington protested the deal at the time, insisting that allowing Huawei access to any part of the network compromised it entirely. The US has long insisted that the Chinese company is closely linked with the country's ruling Communist Party and that its equipment could be used for spying - an allegation that Huawei and Beijing have repeatedly denied. Besides the Trump administration, amid criticism of China's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnson has been facing pressure to renegotiate or scrap the deal from rank-and-file Conservative MPs. The MPs were cited as acknowledging that the stance towards China had considerably "hardened" among Johnson's fellow party members after reports suggested that Beijing "lied" about the pandemic and failed to "face up to its responsibilities". "I think it's hardened many views in the parliamentary [Conservative] party Clearly, it's going to have implications It makes the Huawei position hard," Tom Tugendhat, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Commons, was quoted as saying in April by Business Insider. China has been dismissing all accusations as groundless. "We hope the U.K. side can uphold principles of freedom and openness, maintain policy independence and provide Chinese companies with an open, fair and nondiscriminatory business environment," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a briefing in Beijing on 17 April. As the UK Government's Huawei decision is yet to become British law, a reversal is still possible, writes the outlet. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Axl Rose apparently isnt happy with the way the federal government is handling the coronavirus. He also, apparently, is really, really not a fan of U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. And we know that because its 2020 and Rose, of Guns N Roses fame, has Twitter. And he took to his Twitter Wednesday night to challenge Mnuchin and the governments response to COVID-19. And, because its 2020, Mnuchin also has Twitter and he fired back. Their spat rock star versus Treasury Secretary was trending on social media late Wednesday and early Thursday morning. Rose got things started with a Tweet that used some colorful language to describe Mnuchin. You can see that below, but, again, beware that the language might be offensive to some: Its official! Whatever anyone may have previously thought of Steve Mnuchin hes officially an asshole. Axl Rose (@axlrose) May 6, 2020 Mnuchin fired back with a question. What have you done for the country lately? Steven Mnuchin (@stevenmnuchin1) May 7, 2020 What have you done for the country lately? he asked. Mnuchin appeared to originally include an image of the Liberian flag, but deleted the tweet and reposted it with the American flag emoji. An exchange on Twitter. pic.twitter.com/OW07nX09zT Philip Crowther (@PhilipinDC) May 7, 2020 Rose answered him after midnight, taking shots at the direction of the economy and the current administration for the amount of COVID-19 related deaths. My bad I didnt get were hoping 2 emulate Liberias economic model but on the real unlike this admin Im not responsible for 70k+ deaths n unlike u I dont hold a fed gov position of responsibility 2 the American people n go on TV tellin them 2 travel the US during a pandemic, Rose wrote. My bad I didnt get were hoping 2 emulate Liberias economic model but on the real unlike this admin Im not responsible for 70k+ deaths n unlike u I dont hold a fed gov position of responsibility 2 the American people n go on TV tellin them 2 travel the US during a pandemic. Axl Rose (@axlrose) May 7, 2020 MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources As CNY coronavirus lockdown loosens, 98% of us could still get sick Where are Onondaga Co. health officials worried about coronavirus spread? The complete list Onondaga County sets daily records for tests, coronavirus infections; 41st death Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com Milan Station Holdings Limited (HKG:1150) shareholders will doubtless be very grateful to see the share price up 40% in the last month. But will that heal all the wounds inflicted over 5 years of declines? Unlikely. Indeed, the share price is down a whopping 96% in that time. So we don't gain too much confidence from the recent recovery. The real question is whether the business can leave its past behind and improve itself over the years ahead. We really hope anyone holding through that price crash has a diversified portfolio. Even when you lose money, you don't have to lose the lesson. Check out our latest analysis for Milan Station Holdings Given that Milan Station Holdings didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth. Over half a decade Milan Station Holdings reduced its trailing twelve month revenue by 17% for each year. That's definitely a weaker result than most pre-profit companies report. So it's not altogether surprising to see the share price down 47% per year in the same time period. We don't think this is a particularly promising picture. Of course, the poor performance could mean the market has been too severe selling down. That can happen. The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image). SEHK:1150 Income Statement May 6th 2020 This free interactive report on Milan Station Holdings's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further. A Different Perspective While the broader market lost about 13% in the twelve months, Milan Station Holdings shareholders did even worse, losing 59%. 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. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 47% per year over five years. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Milan Station Holdings (of which 1 doesn't sit too well with us!) you should know about. Story continues We will like Milan Station Holdings 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 HK 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. Family members of an elderly man who tested positive for Covid-19 and died last week in a Kolkata hospital on Thursday alleged that they were not informed of his demise even three days after his body was cremated by the local administration. Authorities of the MR Bangur Hospital where he was undergoing treatment, however, claimed that the family members, who were on institutional quarantine, have been informed. A health department official said the matter would be investigated. The septuagenarian from Keshab Chandra Sen Street in central Kolkata was admitted to the male isolation ward of the MR Bangur Hospital on April 29 and he died on May 2. The body was cremated on the same day, sources in the hospital said. The man's wife, two sons and a daughter-in-law were sent for quarantine in Rajarhat. Neither they nor his another son staying in Barrackpore were contacted by the hospital after his death, alleged his youngest son Arijit Sen. "Since we are in the quarantine centre and could not go to the hospital, we tried to keep in contact with the hospital via phone. The last time we managed to talk to anybody there was on May 1. Since then, there was not a single call from them," Sen told PTI. The call record in his phone can prove that none from the hospital contacted them, Sen said adding that he got the bad from someone from an insurance company on May 5. It was, however, not clear why the man from the insurance company had called him up as his father did not have any such policy, private or government, Sen said. "The man had called up to enquire whether or not my father had enrolled for any life insurance policy. He informed me that my father died on May 2," he said. The family members then started calling the number of the ward master at the isolation ward for Covid-19 patients at the MR Bangur hospital. "After at least four to five calls, someone answered it and said my father died around 4 PM on May 2 and his body was cremated by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) on that very day," the man's eldest son Abhijit Sen, who stays in Barrackpore, told PTI. "This is absolutely inhuman. We know the protocol of cremating a Covid-19 patient but at least the hospital authorities or the state health department could have informed us about my father's death. We have at least that right," Arijit Sen said. When contacted, MR Bangur Hospital superintendent Sisir Naskar said he came to know about the familys allegation from a social media post. "When I asked our nodal officer about it, he told me that he had informed them about the death. The state health department was also informed. The department, in turn, told KMC officials who took the body for the last rites," Naskar told PTI. A senior official of the state health department said a proper enquiry will be initiated into the matter. "This matter will definitely be looked into. There must have been some miscommunication," he said on condition of anonymity. Incidentally, two family members of the deceased tested positive for the virus on Thursday and were shifted from the quarantine centre to a hospital in Rajarhat. Till Wednesday, West Bengal has recorded 72 deaths directly due to Covid-19 while another 72 succumbed because of comorbidity conditions, where coronavirus was incidental. At the moment there are at least 1,047 active cases of Covid-19 in the state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) This article shows which states have suffered the greatest loss in critical business foot traffic and examines some of the reasons why. This article was first published on Stacker With the U.S. economy largely shut down and the number of jobless Americans growing by millions each week, lawmakers in March moved swiftly to approve a historic stimulus package that would inject trillions of dollars into the economy as incomes and revenues evaporated. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act injects more than $7 trillion into the economy: $2.2 trillion for direct checks to Americans, expanded unemployment benefits, money for health care, forgivable small business loans, and authorization for the Federal Reserve to invest more than $5 trillion into custom-made lending programs. In crafting the most expensive piece of legislation ever passed by Congress, lawmakers ripped out red tape and in some cases rules to get the money out faster. "The more requirements we came up with, the harder it was going to be to get the money out the door," said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee. "We erred on the side of expediency." With so much money being issued so quickly, the potential for scams and misuse runs rampant. Just one month after the stimulus bill became law, the Department of Justice has already charged three men with providing fraudulent information about businesses that no longer existed in an attempt to obtain loans from a new small business aid program. The inspector general for the Small Business Administration is expected to issue a "flash report" on the rollout of the two-part, $600 billion program by Friday just one of many expected from oversight teams at each agency on the pieces of the law that touch their departments and budgets. Watchdogs out To tamp down on illicit activity, the law itself also creates a slew of new watchdog roles, some of which have already fallen prey to politics as usual. The law outlines a new Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, filled mostly by existing agency watchdogs who would choose a chair. Their first selection Glenn Fine, the Pentagon's acting inspector didn't sit well with President Donald Trump. The president removed him from his acting role, thereby disqualifying him from sitting on the panel. Three weeks later, Trump replaced Christi Grimm, the acting IG from Health and Human Services Department, whom he said was biased in reporting that hospitals were short on vital supplies. "'Where did he come from, the inspector general? What's his name? No, what's his name? What's his name?" Trump asked reporters of Grimm, before later attacking her on Twitter for serving eight years under President Barack Obama. Ethics experts say the political nature of the president's moves is problematic. "The president has taken aggressive steps to undermine independent oversight," said Donald Sherman, deputy director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Purging inspectors general, Sherman said, shows "the president is less interested in getting a, you know, independent and rigorous oversight than he is in having loyalists rubber stamp this stimulus package," Under the law, Trump gets to pick a "special inspector general for pandemic recovery," a role created by lawmakers to oversee the disbursement of Treasury funds in this package and ensure they aren't paid to reward political favors. Trump selected Brian Miller, a White House lawyer and former IG at the General Services Administration, to serve in this role. Independence in question At his May 5 confirmation hearing, Miller attempted to allay concerns about his independence, given the recent actions by his most recent boss. "President Trump has shown outright hostility to anyone who has tried to hold him accountable," said Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, appearing on videoconference to comply with new social distancing rules. Miller, who along with lawmakers wore a nonmedical mask, declined to say whether he endorsed the president's personnel decisions. "I will be independent. I will follow the facts wherever they lead," Miller told the Senate Banking Committee. "If they're critical of the administration, I will say so. I will have no hesitancy to do so." Finally, the law provides for a five-member commission of congressional appointees to study whether money lent by the Treasury and Federal Reserve is done so in a way to ensure "financial well-being." So far, the group has met over Zoom video meetings, and is expected to issue its first report this week despite having the chairman post remain vacant and the goal of the group fairly nebulous. For exactly what "well-being" means, Rep. French Hill, R-Ark. selected by House minority leader Kevin McCarthy to join the commission is looking to the lenders themselves for answers. "We want to ask the Treasury and the Fed what's your strategy, what's your focus, how do you design this in order to benefit the economy as a whole, so the well-being of American families, the economy as a whole, how do we do that in a market transparent way." Democrats selected as one of their picks Bharat Ramamurti, an economic advisor to Sen. Elizabeth Warren who was instrumental in setting up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau after the last financial crisis. Ramamurti said he is particularly focused on making sure companies that take government money keep their workers employed. "Are the benefits of that flowing through to working people? Or are they being shunted off mostly to executives, and to shareholders?" Ramamurti asked. Other cops on the beat A pair of Indian identical twins, stranded at the Dubai airport for nearly 50 days due to the COVID-19-induced international travel lockdown, breathed a huge sigh of relief when they came to know that they are among the first 354 passengers to fly back to India from the United Arab Emirates on Thursday. IMAGE: Jackson and Benson Andrews were working in Lisbon when the coronavirus crisis hit. Photograph: Facebook The tired and homesick 30-year-old brothers, Jackson and Benson Andrews, have been stranded inside the Dubai International Airport's terminal 3 since March 19 while they were returning from Lisbon, Portugal, the Khaleej Times reported. The twins were among the 177 Indian passengers who will be boarding the second repatriation flight to Kozhikode in Kerala on Thursday, it said. They were among the 19 Indian passengers who were stuck inside the airport for over a month. "We received the letter from the consulate on Tuesday. A copy of our flight tickets have been sent to us as well," Jackson told the daily. Press consul at the Indian consulate, Neeraj Aggarwal, said, "Based on the schedule of flights and the destination of passengers, these 19 stranded Indians will all be flying out on priority in the coming week." Originally from Thiruvananthapuram, Benson and Jackson were working in Lisbon when the coronavirus crisis hit. They were transiting through Dubai when India announced a lockdown and suspended all domestic and international flights. On Monday, the Indian government announced plans to begin a phased repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad from May 7. The government also said that Air India will operate 64 flights from May 7 to May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals stranded abroad amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown. From the UAE, at least 2,00,000 Indian citizens have registered on the web portal collecting data of persons wishing to return home. "We are Indian citizens and have been working in Portugal for two years now. We decided to leave Lisbon when the situation was getting increasingly bad in Europe," Jackson was quoted as saying. The twins, who work in retail, said they used to live in the outskirts of Lisbon city. The brothers left from Lisbon on March 18 at 12 pm and landed in Dubai at 2 am the following day to take a flight to Thiruvananthapuram. "When we went to board the flight, we were told that we needed a 'Ok to board' permission from the airport in India. However, since we were passengers from Europe, we were not granted permission. Only my brother and I were not allowed to board," Jackson said. Though several flights continued to go to India till March 22, the twins remained stranded at the airport. "For the first 10 days, we were sleeping on the airport benches. Finally, airport authorities and the consulate arranged hotel rooms for us inside the airport," said Jackson. "We have no reason to complain. We were given five-star service here. However, we miss home," he added. Though the brothers are apprehensive about spending 14-days in quarantine in Kozhikode, some 370 kilometres from Thiruvananthapuram, Jackson said, "At least we are close to home." Setting at rest the panic in the area, the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) in Bareilly has stated that the eight bats which had been found dead near a pond in Meerut's Mehroli village on April 29, had died due to a "strong electric current". The recovery of bat carcasses in the area had generated considerable panic since bats are now being linked to the spread of coronavirus. The bats were found dead on two consecutive days near a pond in Mehroli village, situated on the outskirts of Meerut city. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Meerut, Aditi Sharma, said: "Earlier, we had thought that excessive spraying of pesticides on fruit trees in the nearby orchards could have caused these deaths. We had sent the viscera to the IVRI, which has attributed the deaths to strong electric shock. Now, we are investigating if there is any electric cable passing through the area." Mehroli village head, Ganga Ram, however, has rejected the IVRI report. "The nearest power line is at least half a kilometer from the site where the carcasses were found. Had they died of an electric shock, their remains would have found near the line and not so far away. How is it possible that for two consecutive days, bats were found dead and no other animal was affected? A deeper investigation is needed," he said. Bird watchers, however, do not rule out the possibility of killing having taken place. "In the post-Corona situation, bats are objects of hatred and one cannot rule out the possibility of their killings," said Rohit Khandelwal, a bird enthusiast. Screenshots show a Vietnamese-language RFA report, along with an alert informing the administrator of the RFA Vietnamese Service's Facebook page that the post linking to it was restricted in Vietnam. UPDATED at 9:29 a.m. EDT on 2020-05-07 Two posts critical of Vietnams Communist leaders were removed from the Facebook page of RFAs Vietnamese Service, the social media giant Facebook informed RFA, amid tensions between free speech concerns and Hanois tough information controls. The posts shared links to two Vietnamese-language RFA reports hosted on RFAs website, in which critics questioned the coronavirus and corruption policies of the government. The first of the two RFA reports, posted April 14 and removed by Facebook on April 21, chronicled a plea for help by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to overseas Vietnamese amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which activists said was out of touch because the Vietnamese diaspora themselves are dealing with the global pandemic. The second, posted April 27 and removed by Facebook Tuesday, dealt with a request by the Communist Party of Vietnams General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, to eliminate political rivals under the guise of reining in corruption. Facebook In both cases, Facebook alerted the administrator of the RFA Vietnamese Service Facebook page, Due to local legal restrictions, we limited access to your post in Vietnam. The stories can still be viewed on Facebook outside of Vietnam. Facebook recently came under fire from human rights organizations after two of its employees told Reuters news agency in late April that the companys local servers in Vietnam were taken offline earlier in the year until the company gave in to the demands of the government to remove posts, a period of about seven weeks when the website was often not usable by Facebooks 65 million users in Vietnam. After the revelation, Amnesty International released a statement condemning the company, saying it was complicit in the suppressing of freedom of expression, while Human Rights Watch said Facebook had bowed to the government of Vietnams extortion. Facebook had no immediate comment on the censored RFA posts, but has responded to the earlier Vietnam controversies by saying it is forced to follow Vietnamese laws or be shut down by Hanoi. Although we do not agree with these laws, if we continued to push back on lawful government requests to block access to content in Vietnam, it is highly likely our platforms would be blocked in their entirety, a Facebook spokesperson said last week. The net result of this is even greater restrictions on speech and expression - all voices in Vietnam would be silenced, she said. Nguyen Manh Hung, the director of information and communications in Quang Ngai province told RFAs Vietnamese Service Tuesday that Vietnam would block or remove Facebook content deemed to be untruthful or otherwise against the states regulations. Surely, if the host server is located in Vietnam, it must operate in line with Vietnams [laws], If Facebooks [servers are] located in Vietnam, Vietnam must be [allowed] to manage [them], he said. But the policy by which the government regulates Facebook content is entirely subjective, according to La Viet Dung, an activist from Hanoi. Even if the [post] is 100 percent truthful, [the government] will censor, remove or block posts that go against their narrative on the justification that they were deemed untruthful, he told RFA Tuesday. Censorship of Facebook content is commonplace in Vietnam, Vo Van Tao, a journalist, told RFA. My friends have had their posts removed and Facebook even blocked one of my posts once, he said. Vo said that by removing RFAs posts or blocking its content in Vietnam, Facebook is protecting its own profits instead of the right to freedom of speech. La, meanwhile, said that by helping the Vietnamese government, Facebook was losing sight of what made it popular there to begin with. When it first appeared, Facebook was an invaluable resource that allowed people to raise their concerns publicly, without restrictions, and that is what made it successful, he said. Since January the Vietnamese government has been actively cracking down on dissent expressed on social media. At that time, much online discussion revolved around the Dong Tam land dispute protests, which turned violent and resulted in the deaths of an activist and three police officers. After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic 654 people were ordered to appear at police stations across the country for questioning pertaining to Facebook posts about the coronavirus. All of those summoned were forced to delete content they had posted online, and 146 were fined, According to Amnesty International. Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Huy Le. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Alphabet subsidiary Sidewalk Labs will no longer pursue its dream of a smart neighborhood in Toronto. In a Medium blog post, CEO Daniel Doctoroff said unprecedented economic uncertainty meant it was too difficult to achieve its dreams for Quayside, a proposed redevelopment on the citys waterfront. If the company pushed forward with its vision which was yet to receive sign-off from the Canadian government core parts of the plan would need to be sacrificed, he said. And so, after a great deal of deliberation, we concluded that it no longer made sense to proceed with the Quayside project, Doctoroff added. John Tory, mayor of Toronto said: "While I regret that Sidewalk is no longer pursuing the Quayside project, I am heartened by the fact that Sidewalk and Google -- which employs hundreds of residents -- will both remain in Toronto and a part of our strong tech and innovation sector." Waterfront Toronto, a public steward created by the Canadian government, announced its search for an innovation and funding partner back in March 2017. Sidewalk Labs put its name forward with a beautiful vision document that suggested, among other head-turning ideas, buildings made from timber, a flexible thermal grid and subterranean tunnels for deliveries and garbage disposal. The company won the bid in October and has spent the last two and half years turning its dreamy proposals into a plan that the public and politicians can scrutinise and ultimately vote on. The company hit a major milestone with the publication of its Master Innovation and Development Plan (MIDP) last June. It was the first version a self-described draft of a document that would explain exactly how Quayside should be built, funded and governed. It was extensive and included a few proposals that caught both the public and Waterfront Toronto by surprise. The biggest was a future expansion that would have included enough land for a new Google Canadian headquarters. Waterfront Toronto said the suggestion was premature and forced the company to walk back the idea, along with other threshold issues, last October. The organization then conducted a technical evaluation of the draft MIDP, which rejected 16 of the companys 160 proposals. According to a Sidewalk Labs spokesperson, most of the refusals were related to the threshold issues that had already been ironed out and were, therefore, not reflective of the companys current thinking. Waterfront Torontos vote on the draft MIDP has been delayed several times. It was was once scheduled for March then May before being pushed back to June because of the coronavirus pandemic. If the document had passed the vote, Sidewalk labs and Waterfront Toronto would have had until the end of until the end of the year to finalize some contract-style Principal Implementation Agreements. Now, however, that vote isnt necessary. Doctoroff said the coronavirus pandemic had made his team feel even more strongly about the importance of reimagining cities for the future. He highlighted some of the companies that Sidewalk Labs has helped create Replica, Cityblock and Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners and emphasized that his team would continue to work on smart city innovations including factory-made mass timber construction. The big question, though, is whether Sidewalk will attempt another large-scale development like Quayside. Other smart city projects exist, but few offer the same opportunity and Western influence as Toronto. If youre curious about Sidewalk Labs now-abandoned vision for Quayside, check out this explainer that links to all four draft MIDP sections. MCKINNEY, Texas, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As doctors search for ways to serve patients effectively while people are encouraged to stay home and prevent the spread of Covid-19, the newly launched Zeally Health (Zeally) virtual care platform offers a much-needed solution. Powered by MyTelemedicine, Zeally allows healthcare providers, small practices, and hospitals to deploy a telehealth solution, so doctors can connect with patients for virtual consultations anytime and anywhere via video or phone. Zeally Virtual Care Platform In a recent press briefing, The CDC and Health Officials' touted the benefits of telehealth to help "flatten the curve" by reducing the need for patients to schedule in-office consultations or make unnecessary trips to the emergency rooms. Medical providers now can leverage the growing trend and rapidly deploy a telehealth option using Zeally's self-provisioning, cloud-based technology. The software as a service (SaaS) lets doctors consult with a patient in a HIPAA/HITECH-compliant environment via video or phone, and can be licensed to an individual provider, practice, physician group or hospital. "As we learned with the Covid-19 outbreak, the demand on the healthcare system can change literally overnight. We want to ensure that people can get the medical attention they need 24/7, no matter where they live," says Rey Colon, founder and CEO of MyTelemedicine, the software engine behind Zeally Health. MyTelemedicine, the parent company of Zeally Health LLC, is a leader in the telehealth vertical and has been servicing patients since 2015. Since its launch, the company's virtual care platform has helped nearly 2 million patients and facilitated more than 125,000 virtual consultations nationwide. Although MyTelemedicine originally launched as a telehealth service for employers to provide their workforce affordable access to U.S.-licensed doctors, the sudden, urgent need for remote consultations in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak accelerated the company's efforts to roll out a SaaS solution. Recent legislative changes that let practitioners be reimbursed by insurance carriers for telemedicine consultations also have made adding telehealth services more appealing to doctors, clinics, and hospital systems. Healthcare providers who license Zeally can begin offering virtual consultations immediately after uploading their patient and practitioner data into the system. The cloud-based platform uses state-of-the-art encryption technology, so doctors can log in whether working at their office or from home supporting initiatives to self-quarantine. Patients, likewise, can log in online or via the Access a Doctor mobile app to manage their personal medical records and connect with their doctor in a secure environment. The end-to-end virtual care solution is both HIPAA and HITECH compliant and includes patient scheduling and management tools for practitioners, as well as an integrated e-commerce payment system and electronic prescribing. "We offer a range of customized integration options that let hospitals, clinics, and group practices seamlessly deploy telehealth services into their existing online and mobile platforms," says MyTelemedicine's Chief Security Officer, Alex Trican. In addition, the ability to provide virtual examinations on demand through Zeally can help providers triage patients more efficiently, routing them to the appropriate level of care. Patients with non-urgent matters can receive a diagnosis without having to visit the emergency room or medical clinic, while those requiring further treatment can be scheduled for in-person care. About Zeally Zeally Health is an enterprise-level Telehealth Virtual Care Platform that provides healthcare providers with a turn-key cloud-based technology that allows them the ability of connecting with their patient population via secure video. Zeally's robust enterprise technology can be deployed in any clinical environment to include individual providers, small-to-medium size practices and complex hospital systems. Zeally Health, LLC. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MyTelemedicine, Inc. For more information about the Zeally Virtual Care platform, visit http://zeal.ly. About MyTelemedicine MyTelemedicine developed a proprietary, HIPAA-compliant telemedicine platform lets healthcare providers consult with patients remotely. The digital healthcare technology company's advanced API technology allows third parties to integrate and offer a customized telemedicine experience to support their brand identity. Physicians can perform on-demand consultations with members anywhere via telephone and video technology. Patients get advice, recommendations, and a diagnosis, which may include a prescription for common illnesses. For more information please visit www.mytelemedicine.com. Media Contact: Yenny Nunez 469-640-6101 [email protected]il4pr.com SOURCE MyTelemedicine Related Links http://www.mytelemedicine.com * Euro zone periphery govt bond yields: http://tmsnrt.rs/2ii2Bqr By Yoruk Bahceli LONDON, May 7 (Reuters) - Italian bond yields rose to two-week highs on Thursday as euro zone bonds remained under pressure due to more hefty issuance while the German court ruling targeting an ECB bond purchase programme remained in focus. France and Spain were due to sell up to a combined 18.75 billion euros ($20.3 billion) of bonds on Thursday following Germany's first syndicated bond since 2015, which raised 7.5 billion euros on Wednesday alongside a 3.2 billion auction. "The auction volumes of today's government bond sales come as a gentle reminder of the ECB's important role in keeping mounting debt levels affordable," ING analysts said. The German court ruling threatens to jeopardise one of the ECB's bond buying programmes (PSPP) unless it can show the scheme was proportional and has worried investors about the future of the ECB's emergency purchase scheme (PEPP). However, the Bundesbank will have to take the lead in persuading authorities that the ECB has not exceeded its powers to avoid compromising the ECB's independence, sources told Reuters. Italian 10-year bond yields rose above 2% for the first time in nearly two weeks, a level that some analysts say starts to throw Italy's debt sustainability in danger. Yields were 3 basis points higher on the day after climbing 10 basis points on Wednesday as markets worried about the amount of upcoming issues. "The outright direction (of yields) is not a specific Italian story here, but the spread widening suggests that some investors remain at least irritated or concerned for the way forward for the ECB and whether this ruling out of Germany could change the purchase pattern in the future," said Commerzbank rates strategist Rainer Guntermann. German 10-year yields rose 1 basis point to -0.50% after rising 7 basis points on Wednesday in their worst trading session in a month. The country's industrial sector is expecting an unprecedented collapse in production, the Ifo institute said, citing its industrial output index for the coming three months. European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde will also be closely watched on Thursday, as she is scheduled to take part in a Bloomberg online webinar at 1400 GMT. ($1 = 0.9255 euros) (Reporting by Yoruk Bahceli; Editing by David Clarke) Delhi Police Commissioner SN Srivastava has directed his officers and rank and file to disinfect police stations and take adequate precautions against coronavirus, officials said on Wednesday. He held a video-conference meeting with his officials on Tuesday to review the force's preparedness to fight the coronavirus pandemic, they said. He also enquired about the health of police personnel. After it was reported that nine more police personnel were found positive for coronavirus, he directed that staff who came in contact with them be quarantined. He also directed that such police stations be properly disinfected and staff be briefed to take adequate precautions while discharging their duties, they said. He also took the stock of situation in the wake of opening of liquor vends and strategies made by Joint CPs (Commissioner of Police) for maintaining social distancing and controlling crowd. He directed the joints CPs to conduct meetings with DSIIDC officers and suggest them to execute sale through online portal to avoid crowding at liquor vends. Moreover, Joint CPs and district DCPs should ensure that instructions and norms issued by the government in this regard are meticulously complied with by all liquor vends, the officials said, adding he insisted on ensuring that sufficient arrangements are in place before opening of liquor vends. He also directed the joint CPs to implement lockdown from 7 pm to 7 am as per guidelines issued by the government. For this purpose, he asked the joint CPs, district DCPs and other officers to be available on ground much in advance to ensure an effective lockdown, they said. Reviewing the action taken by the Joint CPs against the receivers of stolen property, he directed that raids be conducted on known receivers of such property. The raiding parties should be equipped with PPE kits, face shields, hand gloves, masks etc. During the meeting, Special Commissioner of Police (Vigilance) pointed out there was a need for separate isolation facility for COVID positive asymptomatic policemen who are not admitted in hospitals. The Police Commissioner directed Special CP Law and Order (North) to designate a place where these policemen can be quarantined. Also read: Coronavirus lockdown 3.0: Public transport to soon resume operations with guidelines, says Gadkari Also read: Coronavirus lockdown: Noida, Gurugram issue new safety guidelines for private firms Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Getty One of the studies that the Trump administration is relying on as it moves ahead with plans to reopen the U.S. economy warns that even if states take the necessary steps to ease social distancing restrictions, counties across the countryboth big and smallwill see a significant spread of coronavirus. The study, which was put together by PolicyLab at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, is in the hands of top coronavirus task force officials and people working with the team, sources confirmed to The Daily Beast. It projects that if officials move too quickly and too aggressively to reopen in mid May, individual counties could witness hundreds, if not a thousand-plus, more coronavirus cases reported each day by August 1. Just two weeks more social distancing, the study projects, could reduce infections substantiallywith potentially hundreds of thousands of fewer cases if the projections are conservatively expanded out to all 3,000-plus counties across the country. The modeling shows that those counties exist in various parts of the country, in both urban and rural communities. In almost all cases, counties would see notably fewer cases per day if they waited to ease social distancing restrictions until June 1, according to the studys projections. The model also suggests that states moving to ease restrictions should consider allowing individual counties to craft their own policies. Under the projections, one county could experience significantly different daily case numbers than others in the stateeven those nearbymerely by continuing to adhere to social distancing protocols. Theres going to be transmission if people stop sheltering in place, Dr. Rubin, the director of PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said in an interview. Its not that all [counties] are safe to reopen. Every area is extremely sensitive to the amount of distancing youre doing. The more cautious you are the better. Dolly Parton Is Backing Research Into Promising COVID Treatment Story continues Two administration officials who have seen the PolicyLab study say it is one of the few being seriously considered by the Trump coronavirus task force and that the White House is using it to inform how they advise governors on easing social distancing restrictions. One other official said it is one of a number of studies and data that the administration is looking at in the process of safely reopening the country. The studys findings raise questions about the White Houses push to shift the focus of its coronavirus response away from combating and mitigating the disease and more towards managing it. In recent days, President Donald Trump has talked about reorienting his coronavirus task force towards reopening the economy and insisted that the shift in focus could happen without putting additional lives at risk. The data put together by PolicyLab suggests its not quite so risk-free. The authors laid out a variety of projections, including what would happen if there was roughly 33 percent less social distancing than prior to the pandemic. Such a percentage decrease, they calculated, would represent people in the county going roughly halfway back to normal travel (pre-epidemic) to non-essential businesses like bars and gyms. Trumps America Now Leads the Worldin Suicidal Stupidity Under their projections, if starting on May 15 residents in Los Angeles county were to conduct 33 percent less social distancing, the coronavirus daily case count would jump from about 471 cases to 1,467 by August 1. Similarly, Illinoiss Cook County, where Chicago is located, would see daily coronavirus case numbers spike from 626 to 2,494 between May 15 and August 1. Among officials working with the presidents coronavirus task force, projections like these have sparked fears that states will ignore warnings and move too quickly to completely reopen their economies, prompting coronavirus case numbers and related deaths to continue to rise. Thats already happening in states such as Kansas and Nebraska, according to publicly available data from the states health departments. A similar study reported by The Washington Post and The New York Times this week shows the coronavirus daily case count surging as high as 200,000 by June 1. The report includes stamps from the Center for Disease Control, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Homeland Security. But officials inside the administration have said the study was not vetted before release. Unlike that study, Rubins study looks at the diseases impact locally. His modeling case counts for individual counties as a way to show how smaller communities might begin to think about reopening. I think what people are taking from the study is that it is OK to have selective strategies for reopening, Rubin said, adding that the study is still in progress and currently under peer review. The study looks at the coronavirus epidemic across 260 counties throughout the country. The team used publicly available data to model how social distancing, population density, and daily temperatures affect the number and spread of coronavirus infections over time across a county. It accounts for population characteristics, such as age, health insurance status, and smoking prevalence and uses cellphone movement data to include factors related to social distancing. The model illustrates four scenarios in which social distancing practice reduces from its current national average of 70 percent, back to either 50 percent or 33 percent. It also considers two options for reopening: May 15 or June 1. If Cook County were to conduct 33 percent less social distancing (or, put another way again, bring its economy roughly halfway back to normal) starting on June 1, as opposed to May 15, it would see its daily case numbers go up to 701 by August 1 instead of 1,868. Los Angeles County would experience a similar phenomenon with its daily case numbers increasing up to 383 by August 1 if it were to bring its economy roughly halfway back to normal starting on June 1, instead of 1,467 if it did so from May 15. The model identifies social distancing as the most important factor in reducing transmission, but does not take into account what happens when people start ramping up commuting or flying, Rubin said. The outcomes and the forecasts transfer responsibility back to the individual and the businesses, he said. Three senior Trump administration officials acknowledged that the White House and the coronavirus task force have been working with doctors at Childrens Hospital in Philadelphia in drafting guidelines for reopening the country. One official said the task force is particularly interested in the studys findings that rising temperatures appear to be reducing the risk for large second peaks of coronavirus cases during the summer in many locations. But Rubin says that will only be the case as long as states move forward with reopening cautiously. No place, including those more rural areas, is immune from the effects of this virus, Rubin said. Temperature alone is not going to solve the problem. --With reporting by Asawin Suebsaeng Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. May 6, 2020 Andrew Taylor, Assistant Director of Marketing POCATELLO A total of 1,989 spring and summer graduates will receive 2,115 degrees and certificates from Idaho State University this spring; 119 students will receive multiple certificates and/or degrees. Commencement marks the culmination of years of determination, hard work, and perseverance, said Kevin Satterlee, ISU president. Our graduating students have received an education that will better their lives and improve the communities in which they reside. I am so proud of their accomplishments and look forward to celebrating their successes. At the 2019 winter commencement in December, ISU conferred 539 degrees to 510 graduates, so the total number degrees conferred by ISU during the 2019-20 academic year is 2,654 to 2,499 students. ISU commencement ceremonies in Holt Arena were canceled due to the coronavirus epidemic, but this springs graduates are invited to participate in ISUs winter commencement ceremonies in December. The last day of classes is May 8. The University is also honoring the graduates in a variety of ways, including several video tributes. This year each graduate will also be mailed a diploma, special diploma cover and printed program, which has been redesigned this year, and a gift from the ISU Alumni Association. The gift isnt the only thing the ISU Alumni Association is doing it is also sending out a special congratulations video from ISU alums, including famous ones including Marvin Lewis and Jared Allen. ISU will list many of the upcoming activities and a social media wall honoring graduates, with the hashtag #isuclassof2020 at www.isu.edu/commencement. Spring graduation events planned by the colleges include at least a dozen virtual graduation and awards ceremonies, including a carpool celebration drive by the College of Technology where graduates of its programs can pick up a medallion in front of the Eames Center on Alvin Ricken Drive. The breakdown of 2020 spring and summer ISU graduates includes 26 Doctor of Philosophy degrees, seven Doctor of Education degrees, three Doctor of Arts degrees, five Doctor of Audiology degrees, 17 Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees, 27 Doctor of Physical Therapy degrees, 79 Doctor of Pharmacy degrees, seven Educational Specialist degrees, 408 masters degrees, 52 academic certificates, 939 bachelors degrees, 419 associate degrees, and 126 certificates from the College of Technology. The 2020 ISU Distinguished Faculty are Distinguished Teacher Bob Fisher, associate dean and statistics professor in the College of Science and Engineering; Distinguished Service Cathleen Helen Tarp, associate professor of Spanish in the College of Arts and Letters; and Distinguished Researcher, Mark McBeth, professor of political science in the College of Arts and Letters. Outstanding Student Award recipients for 2020 are Dustyn Slade-Lee Walton, Gillette, Wyoming, College of Education; Sophia Perry, Eagle, College of Business; Charles Alan Kibbie, Seattle, Washington, College of Technology; Selene Ortiz, Aberdeen, College of Arts and Letters Fine Arts and Humanities; Kathryn Hogarth, McKinney, Texas, College of Science and Engineering Engineering; Caleb J. Renner, Inman, Kansas, College of Sciences and Engineering Natural Science and Physical Sciences; Cheyenne Dawn Stallions, Emmett, College of Health Professions; Jenna Hansen, Buhl, College of Rehabilitation and Communication Sciences; Kristin Cleverdon, Meridian, College of Pharmacy; Kelsey Shea Scott, Deary, College of Nursing; Averi McFarland, Rexburg, Graduate School Masters; Sheherezade Krzyzaniak, Federal Way, Washington, Graduate School Doctoral. Alumni Professional Achievement Award recipients for 2020 are: Professional Achievement Award recipients for 2020 are: Jesse C. Robison, Pocatello, College of Arts and Letters-Fine Arts and Humanities; Bette Kent-Cannon, Monterey, California, College of Arts and Letters-Social and Behavioral Sciences; Trisa Clemons, Seattle, College of Business; Brian Armes, Boise, Idaho College of Education; Stacy Shumway Manwaring, Salt Lake City, College of Rehabilitation and Communication Sciences; Corey L. Rasmussen, Pocatello Graduate School-Doctoral; Lynda Tanner, Solvang, California College of Nursing; Nicole L. Chopski, Pocatello, College of Pharmacy; James R. Bitter, Johnson City, Tennessee College of Science and Engineering; Virgil K. Moore, Boise, College of Science and Engineering; and James L. Stalnaker, Portland, Oregon College of Technology. Jammu and Kashmir reported 18 new novel coronavirus cases on Thursday, out of which nine were from three tertiary care hospitals in Srinagar, ringing alarm bells in the health community of the Union territory. The total number of cases rose to 793, out of which 68 people are afflicted with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Jammu region and 725 in the Kashmir Valley, the officials said. "Eighteen positive cases have been detected in the last 24 hours," the officials said. Among the new cases detected in Kashmir, nine are related to three tertiary care hospitals of the Valley, in a major setback to the efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Jammu and Kashmir. "Out of 719 samples tested at Chest Diseases Hospital, nine are positive," said Salim Khan, the nodal officer of COVID-19 at the Government Medical College, Srinagar. Khan told PTI that all these nine samples were related to three tertiary care hospitals in Srinagar. "Out of the nine, six samples were taken from patients admitted at Bone and Joint Hospital, while two, including the man who died late last night, are from the SMHS," Khan said. He said the other positive case was of a doctor working at a super speciality hospital in Srinagar. The emergence of cases from these three hospitals has rang alarm bells in the health community. "It is worrying because people are not cooperating. People with travel history are hiding it from authorities and infecting others," said the head of chest medicine at the Chest Diseases hospital -- one of the designated COVID-19 hospitals in the Valley. "Till the time people do not cooperate, it is impossible to contain the virus," he said, adding that all these cases would be shifted to the Chest Diseases hospital for treatment. Another doctor said the patient, in his mid-thirties, who passed away at the SMHS hospital on Wednesday night had no comorbidities, but his condition deteriorated within two days, which is worrying. "There was a belief that coronavirus could kill only elderly and people with comorbidities. But, his death has busted that myth," the doctor said. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir has tested over 3,000 samples in a day. "J&K breaks the 3000 tests a day barrier- 3429 samples tested; 18 positives detected," government spokesperson Rohit Kansal tweeted. "Total positives now 793- Jammu 68; Kashmir 725. Our positivity rate 2.1%; Mortality rate 1.13%," the official added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nigerian author Reno Omokri has penned down a post explaining why female kids are way more valuable than male kids. According to Omokri, female children are loyal and this is a thing that can not be said for most male children. Read Also: Reno Omokri Appeals To World Leaders To Reconsider Relaxing Lockdown In his words; Advertisement Dear men, Take a tour of any hospital of your choice. You will see wives and daughters sleeping there because of their husbands and fathers. Hardly will you find a husband or son. And you are saying you dont want a female child. You are a FOOL! All children are valuable, but a girl child is especially valuable, because women are likely to be more loyal than men. Christ had 12 disciples. But how many of them were at Golgotha during his death? Only one. Yet, 4 of His female followers were there. Loyalty is a WOMAN! They really didnt have much of an operation as far as I could tell, said Claire Sandberg, the national organizing director for Mr. Sanders. They were way behind. Contacting voters by the millions does not happen overnight, and late spring is often when hiring ramps up. Campaigns typically must rent field offices, train organizers and recruit volunteers. That first wave of volunteers recruits the next wave and so on, ideally a gradual build that grows exponentially. Its not something where you can flick a light switch. It is more like a ship you have to launch early, said David Bergstein, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, who said the party had shifted to an all-digital field program. That cycle at least the in-person portion has been halted for the foreseeable future as volunteer recruitment and organizing have migrated fully online. But Ms. Bond warned Democrats against any disinvestment in human-to-human interactions even if done virtually. Weve already seen Trump beat a Democrat that failed to run a big enough voter-contact campaign in enough states to win the Electoral College, she said. Up and down the ballot, campaigns in battleground states are assessing the effectiveness of texting efforts, Zoom calls for volunteers and remote organizing. In Minnesota, the chairman of the state Democratic Party said it had put on hold plans for 30 additional offices in a state that President Trump has vowed to contest. Theres no reason to incur the expense, said the chairman, Ken Martin, who leads the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and is vice-chair of the national Democratic National Committee, citing the uncertainty of the fall. In Florida, the executive director of the state Democratic Party, Juan Penalosa, said the party already had nearly two dozen offices but was adding new skills and social-media account information to its job listings. We need to get used to the new abnormal, he said. More than 100 campaign staff members have shifted to all-virtual organizing. Hanoi asked for permission to close shops and some business activities to fight against Covid-19 on March 25. Later, the Prime Minister released a decision on social distancing that began on April 1. Shippers then became the only link connecting buyers and sellers. They included delivery services for online sale apps, post office, freight and forwarding companies, and fast food delivery apps. Professional delivery services have to follow professional procedures. The workers receive base salaries and remuneration from companies. Shippers working for professional delivery firms, in addition to fixed salaries, get commissions, about VND3,000-4,000 per order. If they work hard, a shipper can fulfill 30-40 orders a day. Shippers working for professional delivery firms, in addition to fixed salaries, get commissions, about VND3,000-4,000 per order. If they work hard, a shipper can fulfill 30-40 orders a day. Meanwhile, freelance shippers are partners of delivery apps or fast food ordering apps, and they are affected more by the pandemic. Many shippers denied they were earning far more money these days, saying that the demand for shipping services had not increased as much as people thought. The number of orders has decreased compared with the pre-social distancing time. Thanh Hiep, 26, a shipper in Hanoi, said many shops closed their doors and stopped operation after the Prime Ministers decision on social distancing. Also, shippers now have more and more rivals because many workers in other business fields lost jobs and joined delivery services. Hiep said a shipper can fulfill 10-15 orders a day on average and 20 orders on a rush day. He had 20-25 orders a day in the past. As such, he can collect VND300,000 a day and has to spend a part of the amount on petrol and motorbike depreciation. An analyst said that shippers dont make big money, but the career can bring a stable income. Dinh Doanh, 30, said he previously worked for a Japanese factory in the suburbs of Hanoi. He decided to become a shipper after he was told to stay at home when the factory halted operation. His wife has also become redundant in the crisis. Doanh said he is not afraid of working hard, but he complained that being a shipper is a risky career because he has to contact many people every day. After many consecutive days of recording no new cases of COVID-19, social distancing regulations were eased in Hanoi at midnight on April 23. However, estaurants still have to separate tables at a safe distance. Shopping centers and supermarkets also have to ensure proper distancing. Mai Lan Vietnams startup makes delivery drone, gets patent in US Established in April 2019, Drone Pro Vietnam is a company operating in the field of hi-tech air transportation. The company develops flight technology in combination with automation. California is moving gradually in the reopening process, letting some businesses reopen for curbside pickup as early as Friday, but there is still tension between Gov. Gavin Newsom and a handful of rural counties that reopened larger parts of their economy early. Yuba and Sutter counties on Monday allowed a wide range of businesses, from restaurants to gyms to tattoo parlors, to open following weeks of shutdown under Newsom's statewide stay-at-home order, issued March 19 in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. They reopened under a new directive from bi-county public health officer Dr. Phuong Luu. The move directly defied Newsom's order, and during a Tuesday news briefing the governor called the decision to open personal service businesses like hair salons a "big mistake." "They're putting the public at risk, they're putting our progress at risk," Newsom said. "They put those businesses at risk, not only the health of those communities at risk." As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 73,000 people in the United States have died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the highly contagious coronavirus, with at least 2,412 of those fatalities coming in California, Newsom said during his daily news conference. The state saw 95 deaths in the preceding 24 hours, Newsom said, among the highest single-day increases since the pandemic began. The state is approaching 60,000 lab-confirmed cases. Newsom last week laid out his four-phase plan for the gradual lifting of his stay-at-home order. After Phase 1, which was the full order in effect, Phase 2 would see low-risk businesses including retail, manufacturing, offices and some public gathering spaces like shopping malls reopen, with significant modifications. Phase 3 includes personal service businesses that carry higher risk of virus transmission due to close contact with customers, such as hair salons, tattoo parlors, fitness centers, movie theaters and churches. Phase 4 represents the end of the stay-at-home order. Newsom said Tuesday the state is not yet ready for Phase 3, the reopening of "higher-risk environments." "I would just encourage them to do the right thing," Newsom said in response to Yuba and Sutter counties' early reopening. Some local leaders, especially in the northern reaches and more rural parts of California, have argued their economies and small business owners have been financially decimated by a shutdown order that has no set end date, and that Newsom and the state should allow for a region-by-region approach. "In the north state, our communities have met the scientific criteria for re-opening and we're not going to wait for San Francisco and Los Angeles in order to reopen," Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, said in a Monday statement. "If this is truly about science and not politics, the governor shouldn't push back against local public health officers who are moving forward with their phased re-opening plans." Newsom announced earlier this week that counties with low infection rates may be able to move further along in Phase 2 of reopenings sooner than those with bigger case numbers. The state on Thursday will share guidelines for counties to institute their own self-certified reopening plans with approval of their own public health officials, but Newsom warned the state will intervene if those that reopen early see a spike in infections. More than half of the state's deaths at over 1,300, and almost half of its total confirmed cases at just shy of 28,000, have come in Los Angeles County, which makes up about one-quarter of California's population. Free drive-through testing in Sacramento for those without symptoms Sacramento County announced Wednesday morning that drive-thru coronavirus testing in the parking lot at Cal Expo will now be available for residents who are asymptomatic. Those interested must still fill out a form online through the Verily website, making an appointment at https://www.projectbaseline.com/study/covid-19/eligibility. The site had previously accepted only those experiencing mild symptoms. It is still not intended for those with severe symptoms, who should instead seek immediate medical care. Participants remain in their cars while the tester takes a swab sample from the nose. The process at Cal Expo takes about 10 minutes. Newsom said Wednesday 800,000 Californians have been tested, but there's still an "enormous" amount of work to do, with "testing deserts" still found throughout the state. The governor said the state is averaging 30,000 tests a day, about half of the 60,000 he has mentioned as a daily goal. Cost of testing: California paid Verily $3.4 million for 10,000 tests California paid an average of almost $340 per COVID-19 test over the first month of its partnership with Verily Life Sciences, a sister company of Google. Verily charged the state about $3.4 million for the roughly 10,000 tests it conducted from mid-March through mid-April, according to the state's contract with Verily, obtained by The Bee through a Public Records Act request. The cost varied dramatically by county, with the highest prices in San Mateo, where each test cost $819. In Sacramento, Verily charged the state more than half a million dollars to conduct 3,191 tests for a $165 per-test cost. Cost varies based on what services and equipment Verily is providing at each site, said company spokeswoman Carloyn Wang. High rent at the San Mateo testing site and additional costs associated with launching the program drove up the prices, according to Kate Folmar, spokeswoman for California's Health and Human Services Agency. San Mateo County has since taken on the rental fee for the site. "As this testing program was brought to scale, costs have decreased," Folmar wrote in an email to The Bee. "The state entered into its partnership with Verily at a time when testing across the country was scarce, and we are grateful for the initial development work on the testing platform that Verily did without charge." Under the second phase of the state's agreement with the company, which runs from mid-April to June 17, the cost-per-test will drop to an estimated $127. At that price, Newsom's recently stated goal of 60,000 tests per day would cost the state more than $50 million a week. Verily is just one of several vendors the state is contracting with to provide testing. The rates California is paying Verily are "in line with industry norms," Folmar said. Through Verily's online screening platform, potential patients take a survey to see if they qualify for testing in their area. The platform then coordinates the entire testing process, including scheduling appointments, sending samples to the lab and processing the results. In its first month, Verily set up sites in seven counties, including a drive-thru testing site at Cal Expo in Sacramento. Verily contracted with 20 different vendors to provide everything from security to safety goggles, according to the initial contract. Verily itself collected only $30 per test, a "small, small fraction" of what it spent developing and managing the program, Wang said. California doctors stressed despite increase in PPE COVID-19 appears to be introducing high levels of anxiety among critical care physicians, emergency medicine doctors and their families that few other diseases have matched. Doctors expressed greater confidence in the availability of testing and personal protective equipment in a recent poll regarding COVID-19, but their personal stress levels remain high. The California Health Care Foundation has been working since March with physician market-research firm Truth on Call to survey 150 front-line physicians every two weeks, said Kristof Stremikis, director of market analysis and insight at the foundation. April 1 survey results showed 66 percent of physicians expected future shortages of PPE, the foundation reported, but Friday's survey results showed that only 21 percent rated that as a worry. And only 12 percent of doctors expressed worry about the availability of ICU space and ventilators in results released Friday, compared with 62 percent a month earlier. And, four weeks ago, half the doctors polled worried there wouldn't be enough staff to meet the surge in COVID-19 cases, but that concern now only plagues 9 percent of the doctors in the CHCF poll. But in the most recent survey, more physicians indicated their stress levels were about the same or higher. "If worries around PPE, if worries around space, if worries around workforce over the next month have fallen, why would your stress level increase or stay the same?" Stremikis said. "We don't know the answer to that. I think it's fair to say this pandemic is unprecedented." Concerns about the highly contagious virus are impacting doctors' home lives, too. Some spouses and their children started living in separate quarters as soon as their partners began treating COVID-19 patients, said education policy researcher Irina Okhremtchouk. They've instituted decontamination processes and avoid physical contact. Because many hospitals have restricted visitors for COVID-19 patients, medical personnel also now find themselves having to minister to patients in their last days or setting up video teleconferences to allow loved ones to say goodbye. What can open Friday? What can't? Newsom and state health officials during Monday and Tuesday's news briefings said businesses that may open on a curbside-pickup-only basis this Friday include things like bookstores, sporting goods stores, clothing retailers and florists. What it won't include, state Department of Public Health Director Dr. Sonia Angell said Monday, are offices in which remote work is possible, in-restaurant dining and shopping malls. Newsom promised more detailed guidelines to come Thursday. Latest Sacramento-area numbers: 75 dead, over 1,500 infected The four counties have seen a combined total of 75 COVID-19 fatalities among just over 1,500 confirmed positive cases. Sacramento County health officials have reported 1,142 cases of coronavirus and 47 deaths, last updated 8:45 a.m. Wednesday. Nine new infections were reported Wednesday morning and six on Tuesday, with no change to the fatality total after five new deaths were disclosed Monday. Of the deaths, 24 have come in the city of Sacramento, five in Citrus Heights, three in Elk Grove, three in Rancho Cordova, two in Folsom and 10 in unincorporated parts of the county. Yolo County reported another person had died from COVID-19, officials said Wednesday afternoon, raising the death toll in the county to 20. Fourteen of those deaths have been reported at Stollwood Convalescent Hospital in Woodland, including at least one employee of the skilled nursing facility. Placer County has confirmed 163 cases and eight deaths, last updated 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. The infection total increased by one over the previous update, and no new fatalities have been reported since April 15. El Dorado County has confirmed 54 COVID-19 cases, reporting an additional case Wednesday afternoon. The county has not reported any deaths related to the coronavirus so far. Nineteen have been infected in El Dorado Hills, and 20 have been infected in the Lake Tahoe region. World numbers: Global death toll surpasses 260,000 The coronavirus had infected more than 3.74 million people worldwide as of Wednesday afternoon, according to a data map maintained by Johns Hopkins University. More than 263,000 people have died worldwide, more than a quarter of them -- 73,000 -- in the United States. Within the U.S., New York remains the epicenter, having reported more than 25,000 COVID-19 deaths. New Jersey has surpassed a death toll of 8,500; More than 4,200 have died in Massachusetts and Michigan each; More than 3,300 have died in Pennsylvania. Ohio, Indiana, Georgia, Maryland, Florida, Louisiana, California, Connecticut and Illinois have each reported between about 1,000 and 2,800 coronavirus-related deaths, according to Johns Hopkins. After the U.S., the United Kingdom has overtaken Italy for the second-highest coronavirus death toll worldwide; both of the European nations have reported about 30,000 dead. Spain and France have each reported another roughly 25,000 deaths. Belgium has reported 8,400 fatalities, Brazil has seen over 8,000 die, Germany is close to 7,000, another 6,400 have died in Iran and the Netherlands reports 5,200 dead. China, the original epicenter for the virus, has reported only about 4,600 coronavirus fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins. What is COVID-19? How is the coronavirus spread? Coronavirus is spread through contact between people within 6 feet of each other, especially through coughing and sneezing that expels respiratory droplets that land in the mouths or noses of people nearby. The CDC says it's possible to catch the disease COVID-19 by touching something that has the virus on it, and then touching your own face, "but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads." Symptoms of the virus that causes COVID-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath, which may occur two days to two weeks after exposure. Most develop only mild symptoms, but some people develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal. The disease is especially dangerous to the elderly and others with weaker immune systems. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Aditya Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 12,760 Thanked: 57,415 Times View My Garage Is the tyre quality of Indian brands improving? Some of the older cars in my extended family had been fitted with tyres from various Indian manufacturers. All of them were fine for regular commuting, but not hard driving. Take a curve at higher speeds and you'd hear the tyres screeching and squealing!! Grip levels were quite mediocre. While driving in a straight line too, there was a lot of noise these tyres made (especially on concrete roads). Indian manufacturers used a harder compound in the construction of their tyres & only focused on durability. This made the ride quality firmer too. Ask any tyre shop owner what the mass market customer is primarily concerned with and he will tell you = "kitna deti hai" (tyre life in km) and price. With time, Indian cars have gotten faster and more capable. As a result, the demand for superior tyres has grown too....not just from customers, but even car manufacturers. The advent of international players made a dent in the clientele of Indian manufacturers. They just had to respond. Of late, we have been reading some positive reviews of Indian tyres - especially MRF and Apollo. Sure, the super-hard tyres are still available for the majority of the market that is focused only on durability, but the fact is, Indian brands are now offering more premium options too. Here are a few reviews for reference. Search within our tyre forum and you'll see loads more. Quote: jalsa777 Originally Posted by My brief APOLLO ALNAC 4Gs review I changed over to Apollo Alnac 4Gs on my Fiat Linea 1.4 recently and I am blown away with the characteristics of these tyres. They are simply too good considering their price. I changed from a combination of Yokohama C-drives up front and stock Goodyears on the rear and my car has literally come alive. Performance: Now, I am bit of a spirited driver (I may be understating that ) and these tyres really live up to my highG expectations. I took them on ghat sections and the already grippy Linea stuck to the tarmac like a leech. Its almost like they provide an infinite amount of grip. Yes, throwing no caution to safety and going hyper-ballistic on the corners would probably lead to them loosing grip, but I don't think many drivers will go that fast anyways. In short, THEY JUST STICK. Tyre noise (screeching sound) is non-existent, and the feedback provided about road conditions is excellent. The tyres are progressive and thus the car will not tend to just snap when on the limit. Fast aggressive turn-ins, no problem. Left-Right flicks, no problem. Braking forces are handled with aplomb and acceleration....well, I drive a NA Linea Comfort: All that performance is packed in a surprisingly comfortable package. The tyres absorb small undulations well and the noise levels are pretty low (although there are more silent tyres out there, these are not bad really). Tyre Life: I don't know. Verdict: JUST BUY THEM. You won't get better tyres at this price or even a price 2 levels higher. Period. PS: When I went to buy these tyres, my tyre guy (who is a Apollo dealer btw) strongly advised me not to buy these tyres. He was saying Apollos are crap and they have had a lot of complaints. I stuck to my guns and came out happy with the performance. Although lets see how these last over the long run. (I have a feeling they will do just fine). I changed over to Apollo Alnac 4Gs on my Fiat Linea 1.4 recently and I am blown away with the characteristics of these tyres. They are simply too good considering their price. I changed from a combination of Yokohama C-drives up front and stock Goodyears on the rear and my car has literally come alive.Now, I am bit of a spirited driver (I may be understating that) and these tyres really live up to my highG expectations. I took them on ghat sections and the already grippy Linea stuck to the tarmac like a leech. Its almost like they provide an infinite amount of grip. Yes, throwing no caution to safety and going hyper-ballistic on the corners would probably lead to them loosing grip, but I don't think many drivers will go that fast anyways. In short, THEY JUST STICK. Tyre noise (screeching sound) is non-existent, and the feedback provided about road conditions is excellent.The tyres are progressive and thus the car will not tend to just snap when on the limit. Fast aggressive turn-ins, no problem. Left-Right flicks, no problem.Braking forces are handled with aplomb and acceleration....well, I drive a NA LineaAll that performance is packed in a surprisingly comfortable package. The tyres absorb small undulations well and the noise levels are pretty low (although there are more silent tyres out there, these are not bad really).I don't know.You won't get better tyres at this price or even a price 2 levels higher. Period.When I went to buy these tyres, my tyre guy (who is a Apollo dealer btw) strongly advised me not to buy these tyres. He was saying Apollos are crap and they have had a lot of complaints. I stuck to my guns and came out happy with the performance. Although lets see how these last over the long run. (I have a feeling they will do just fine). Quote: Nikhilb2008 Originally Posted by My car completed 20,000 kms last week. This milestone was achieved in just a little bit more than 6.5 months. I've been lucky to have a lot of opportunities to drive in the last few months. I feel, it may reduce in the next few months due to work and family commitments. This post is a review of the set of MRF Perfinza Tyres that I'm using on the car. I have covered almost 12,000 kms on these tyres and I am very impressed. Theres a term called Surefooted. Google defines this word as below. unlikely to stumble or slip. confident and competent. The Perfinzas seem to demonstrate exactly that. I have been very happy with the Perfinzas ever since I got them installed at an odo reading of 8383 kms. Today, having crossed 20k kms, I can also report on the wear and tear on the tyre. A brand new Perfinza has a tread depth of approximately 8mm. My Perfinzas after 11,000 kms have a tread depth of 6mm. It is advisable to change tyres once the tread depth reaches 2mm. This is the legal limit in most Western countries. Knowing this, and assuming the wear on my Perfinzas continues at the same rate, this set should last for about 35k kms. Which isnt bad for a heavy 2.0 litre turbo petrol with 350NM of torque! Last week, I drove to MMST and back in a single day. The entire drive to MMST was done on wet roads thanks to overnight rains. On my return drive, the roads were dry for most of the time but at Krishnagiri, it started pouring. Some of the heaviest rain Ive driven through in my life. This was the first time I was driving the vRS with Perfinzas in wet conditions. I was absolutely blown away. There were multiple times I hit huge standing pools of water expecting the car to aquaplane. However, the car didnt. Clearly, the Perfinzas were doing a great job channeling water away from the tread and maximising the contact patch. On wet slippery roads, I had to do some hard braking and quick lane changes and the tyres were rock solid. The behaved as well as they would have in the wet. Coming to the surefooted feel. The tyres gave me immense confidence. On my return journey, for example, the sun had set, it was raining heavily and I am a scaredy cat when its dark. So, I was driving slow-ish. But I was still maintaining a good pace and the tyres gave me total confidence that I could cruise at whatever speed I wanted. Whenever I needed something from the tyres, it was there. A couple of lane changes on soaked roads and it was done with ZERO drama. A couple of hard stops and it was done with no drama. Even when I was just braking to slow down, the car felt very planted and gave me an immense amount of confidence. In the dry, I have of course been very happy. Even on this trip, I was following a truck and near the Arcot bridge, he had to brake very hard to avoid T-boning an idiot in an Etios. His tyres locked up and he slid in a straight line for a bit. I braked and then realised that I didnt have to stand on the brakes. I just braked calmly and surely and stopped well before the truck. The lateral grip in the wet was surprising. Lane changes or corners taken at triply digit speeds were easy. At the risk of repeating myself, the tyres gave me a lot of confidence. If I was a braver man, I may have even pushed harder. I know this sounds like an advertisment, but believe me, I am as surprised as anyone reading this report. I have had narrow escapes which could have been accidents if not for the Perfinzas. I found the Perfinzas to be quite silent as well above 100 kmph. Around 80-100 I found them to be a bit noisy, but post that, somehow they seem very silent. The tyre is comfortable too. However, I wouldnt say much about it as I still find the vRS suspension to be a bit too stiff for Bangalore roads. When I got the Road Force Balancing done, 3 tyres had very low road force variation. I think Ive explained earlier in one of my posts that a high end tyre generally has very low road force variation. The readings for the MRF was on par with any foreign made tyre after 11k kms. Please do not ask me how the Perfinza fares in comparison to any other tyre. I have only used the Hankooks and after 8k kms on the Hankooks and 12k on the MRFs, I can say its a no-contest. With regard to any other tyre, I cant compare. I am reviewing the Perfinzas and I am thrilled that they have met my expectations. I drive my car hard, I drive my car fast, I corner fast and at times, I brake hard and the Perfinzas have kept me happy. If this was a Michelin or any other big name brand, we wouldnt be this surprised. However, an MRF, made in-India tyre being this good is surely surprising. I can only hope MRF continues to make good tyres so that in a few years, this sort of a review isnt a surprise anymore! DISCLAIMER: While I am very happy with my Perfinzas, other people may have a different experience. Every car behaves differently. Please understand this is MY experience with the Perfinzas. Quote: D C Originally Posted by I recently replaced the Fluidic Verna stock tyres (Bridgestone B250 195/55 R16) with Apollo Alnac 4G 195/55/ R16 at 46,000 KMS. Two of the tyres had buldge, else I could have used stock tyres for another 3,000 KMs or so Here is a comparison: - The light steering of Verna feels better with Apollo, it doesn't feel that light now. - Road noise is slightly higher on Apollo, but is negligible - Each Bridgestone tyre is priced Rs. 700/- more than Apollo - The Bridgestone went flat only once in 46,000 KMs, will take time to realize if Apollo has the same credibility - If Apollo prove to be credible and can give a life of 45,000 to 50,000 KMs, I vote Apollo over Bridgstone DC Quote: DrANTO Originally Posted by Final update : Changed MRF perfinza tyres after 30000 km I usually change tyre a little bit early; so usable life is approximately 30-35k in my opinion My final impressions regarding MRF Perfinza 205/55/R16 1. Excellent grip 2. wet road performance is good 3. Good ride quality 4. tyre noise [ especially during last 10000 km] is relatively on the higher side 5. Only two punctures during entire 30000 km of ownership [ both of them during last 2000 km] 6. Durability is good/side wall is strong . I travel a lot on bad roads with large potholes. Overall a very good alternative to Michelin Primacy series considering the price advantage [ they are 20% cheaper] Note: I have changed back to stock size [195/55/R16] and Michelin XM2 tyres now. Very happy with Michelins after 14000 km Quote: Turbohead Originally Posted by Very little did I know that I'll actually try out these tyres after posting the very first tyre scoop on Team-BHP! To be short, these tyres perform beyond the limits of the car. You'll feel very confident cruising at illegal speeds ( even by T-BHP standards) and are all the tires you need. Brakes well even at very high speeds The highlight is the steering feedback which is immensely confidence inspiring and gives a nice weighted feel. Even if you go a bit too fast into a corner, you don't need to give more steering feedback in order to maintain the line. Road noise is well contained as of now. I can hear the engine more now. The Michelin Primacy 4st maybe more silent but it's pointless with this noisy engine. May make more sense if it's a petrol powered car or if the engine is quite silent! At 5400 per tyre, it's all that I need and I'm not sure how much better the Michelin primacy will be at 6300 per tyre. Extremely happy! Installed the Perfinzas on our Vento and have covered 5k kms already! It was an upsize to 195/60R15Very little did I know that I'll actually try out these tyres after posting the very first tyre scoop on Team-BHP!To be short, these tyres perform beyond the limits of the car. You'll feel very confident cruising at illegal speeds ( even by T-BHP standards) and are all the tires you need. Brakes well even at very high speedsThe highlight is the steering feedback which is immensely confidence inspiring and gives a nice weighted feel. Even if you go a bit too fast into a corner, you don't need to give more steering feedback in order to maintain the line.Road noise is well contained as of now. I can hear the engine more now. The Michelin Primacy 4st maybe more silent but it's pointless with this noisy engine. May make more sense if it's a petrol powered car or if the engine is quite silent!At 5400 per tyre, it's all that I need and I'm not sure how much better the Michelin primacy will be at 6300 per tyre.Extremely happy! Quote: proxax Originally Posted by I stuck out with the Apollo Alnac's and replaced tyres with the same brand/type that came with the car. Just need to rotate them every 10K km max. Holding out hurts the soft compound. I can vouch for the Apollo Alnac's performance based on my 55K km driving in two years in Chennai and multiple road trips; most recent and longest being Chennai-Shirdi-Mumbai-Panaji-Mangalore-Bangalore-Chennai in five days. They hold very well on highways when over 80kmph with the right tyre pressure. Road noise penetrates cabin only on roughed/knurled road sections being prepared for a asphalt new layer. Lower tyre pressure (below recommended 29Psi in rear tyres makes door/suspension grind/squeak). Overall, tyre pressure sensitive, soft and grippy when hot Quote: Agnijit Originally Posted by Its been a surprise 2nd Half of the year, in the past 7 months my Alto has scaled 10K Kms. Out doors, city drives etc... the Ceat Milaze have maintained their composure over this period. The Road noise and the comfort levels are good. I have maintained 31 PSI pressure throughout for all 4 tyres. No punctures, niggles or air leaks; though I switched from Tube Type tyres to Tubeless, reliability was a big question for me. Overall a very satisfying buy for me, VFM and a big from my end. Highly recommend this tyre, and hope to get more 30K-40K Kms riding it. 10K Update on the Ceat Milaze -Its been a surprise 2nd Half of the year, in the past 7 months my Alto has scaled 10K Kms. Out doors, city drives etc... the Ceat Milaze have maintained their composure over this period. The Road noise and the comfort levels are good. I have maintained 31 PSI pressure throughout for all 4 tyres. No punctures, niggles or air leaks; though I switched from Tube Type tyres to Tubeless, reliability was a big question for me. Overall a very satisfying buy for me, VFM and a bigfrom my end. Highly recommend this tyre, and hope to get more 30K-40K Kms riding it. Quote: Dr.Naren Originally Posted by Ride comfort and noise levels are also good, but I would rate them slightly lower than P3ST / P4ST. But, it's definitely better than Continental MC5. MC5's used to get very noisy at higher speeds, Perfinza's are much more silent . I have driven more than 3000 Kms with Perfinzas now. These tyres never let me down and perform very well on ghat sections. Braking is also superb now at higher speeds.Ride comfort and noise levels are also good, but I would rate them slightly lower than P3ST / P4ST. But, it's definitely better than Continental MC5. MC5's used to get very noisy at higher speeds, Perfinza's are much more silent Quote: nashok Originally Posted by Bought 4 tyres for my Ritz in stock size @Rs 2725/- per tyre (165/80 R14) from Mrf authorized shop. Dealer was quoting 3200/- per tyre. Showed him the price on MRF tyre and service website and told him to match it. For 4 tyres and immediate sale, he immediately agreed. Well, as fellow bhpian dass said it - it was a leap of faith for me too. Initial impressions - the bumps are totally gone. As is the body roll on speed breakers. These are certainly designed for comfort. Grip and breaking are right up there. This is unlike any other MRF tyre I have experienced. However, rolling resistance also seems high and could possibly effect mileage marginally. These tyres certainly match Michelins XM2 on comfort, but don't glide like Michelins. I understand from another review I had read that things improve after the initial 250 kms or so and the mileage bounces back. So far quite pleased with the purchase. This seems like money well spent. Quote: drjkonline Originally Posted by I had 3 punctures in these 3 years(the last one yesterday evening ). I used to inflate the tyres to 33psi front and back irrespective of load. Highway drives were fun. There has been good grip in dry and wet conditions, and confident predictable braking. I was super confident of muscling the car over those rough and unpaved patches, which was my main reason for avoiding Michelin. Why drive the Ecosport if you have to baby it through such patches is my logic. I will do it with a low slung sedan( an oblique reference to my 'ex' the 3rd gen Honda City aka ANHC). No abnormally high road noise I have felt, but never compared with another Ecosport on "silent" tyres. Tyre wear seems ok, not excessive after 35000 kms. The tyres may last another 10000 kms I feel. So in retrospect, we see that a lot of MRF tyre shod Ecosport owners are happy. MRFs didnt do that badly. I would rate my experience with the Apollo Alnacs as Good. The dust has not settled and the final verdict on the best tyres for the Ecosport is still not out. Thought of updating my experience. My Ecosport Diesel (2014 June) came with MRF tyres. As per the prevailing mood in Team BHP I decided to change the MRFs as soon as I got the car. As I was likely to drive on rough unpaved patches, I was hesitant about Michelin. I went for Apollo Alnac 4G in stock size after research. May be got carried away with Apollo's strides in Europe those days. Nobody at that time seems to have had much experience with these tyres on this forum.I had 3 punctures in these 3 years(the last one yesterday evening). I used to inflate the tyres to 33psi front and back irrespective of load. Highway drives were fun. There has been good grip in dry and wet conditions, and confident predictable braking. I was super confident of muscling the car over those rough and unpaved patches, which was my main reason for avoiding Michelin. Why drive the Ecosport if you have to baby it through such patches is my logic. I will do it with a low slung sedan( an oblique reference to my 'ex' the 3rd gen Honda City aka ANHC). No abnormally high road noise I have felt, but never compared with another Ecosport on "silent" tyres. Tyre wear seems ok, not excessive after 35000 kms. The tyres may last another 10000 kms I feel.So in retrospect, we see that a lot of MRF tyre shod Ecosport owners are happy. MRFs didnt do that badly. I would rate my experience with the Apollo Alnacs as Good. The dust has not settled and the final verdict on the best tyres for the Ecosport is still not out. Over the years, tyres manufactured by Indian companies have been good for commuting at best. Anyone who was an enthusiastic driver would opt for imported rubber. One glance at Team-BHP's tyre section will reveal that most talks revolve around brands like Yokohama, Pirelli, Michelin and other foreign companies. Names like MRF, Apollo, JK Tyres and Ceat have been brought up only if one's budget is low.Some of the older cars in my extended family had been fitted with tyres from various Indian manufacturers. All of them were fine for regular commuting, but not hard driving. Take a curve at higher speeds and you'd hear the tyres screeching and squealing!! Grip levels were quite mediocre. While driving in a straight line too, there was a lot of noise these tyres made (especially on concrete roads). Indian manufacturers used a harder compound in the construction of their tyres & only focused on durability. This made the ride quality firmer too. Ask any tyre shop owner what the mass market customer is primarily concerned with and he will tell you = "kitna deti hai" (tyre life in km) and price.With time, Indian cars have gotten faster and more capable. As a result, the demand for superior tyres has grown too....not just from customers, but even car manufacturers. The advent of international players made a dent in the clientele of Indian manufacturers. They just had to respond. Of late, we have been reading some positive reviews of Indian tyres - especially MRF and Apollo.Sure, the super-hard tyres are still available for the majority of the market that is focused only on durability, but the fact is, Indian brands are now offering more premium options too. Here are a few reviews for reference. Search within our tyre forum and you'll see loads more. Last edited by GTO : 6th May 2020 at 10:26 . Welcome to Morningstar.co.uk! You have been redirected here from Hemscott.com as we are merging our websites to provide you with a one-stop shop for all your investment research needs.To search for a security, type the name or ticker in the search box at the top of the page and select from the dropdown results.Registered Hemscott users can log in to Morningstar using the same login details. Similarly, if you are a Hemscott Premium user, you now have a Morningstar Premium account which you can access using the same login details. Rising star Loc, a Phu Quoc Ridgeback, is fast racking up the accolades at one dog show after another following two-months of training. Khieu Bang Doan, an expert dog trainer, said: "No Phu Quoc dog has ever achieved the highest title in such a short time." In his nine years of experience in the profession, training hundreds of dogs, Doan said Loc is his best pupil. Four-and-a-half-year old Loc, meaning tornado or swirl in Vietnamese, is famous for having a "nearly perfect" body ratio and topped six out of seven national dog shows after only two months of training. His owner is Le Thi Ha, a pharmacist running a chain of pharmacies. She owns an additional five dog training camps in Hanoi. Loc caught Ha's attention when he was just an "ordinary" dog belonging to a couple in northern Nam Dinh Province who Ha paid VND100 million ($4,270) in exchange for the animal. Loc is a four-and-a-half-year-old Phu Quoc Ridgeback. Photo by VnExpress/Tuan Kiet. "The former owners in Nam Dinh consider Loc their spiritual friend. When deciding to sell Loc, the couple told me about his personality and preferences. They agreed to sell me Loc since they knew I would bring out the best in him," Ha said. Loc is raised in a barn in the suburbs of Hanoi covering an area of over 400 square-meters with lots of open space, sand, and tall trees. The barn also houses other animals like rats, birds, and even snakes to satisfy the hunting nature of Phu Quoc Ridgebacks. Loc proved he was unique when he was just a pup. He would hold his ears taut and tightly forward, bark loudly and remain still when facing a stranger, contrary to other dogs that normally bark in retreat or attack. "It is the behavior of a dog with a stable and calm nerve," Doan said, sharing his first impression of Loc before deciding to train him in 2017. Doan said Loc has lots of standard Phu Quoc Ridgeback features, as defined by Vietnam Kennel Association (VKA) - long and slender head, deep abdomen deep, wide peck, seashells-shaped ears and curved tail. Like others, Loc has almond-shaped eyes, but "has a more intense yet friendly look." Loc has almond-shaped eyes and sword-shaped ridge on his back. Photo VnExpress/Tuan Kiet. In particular, a ridge of hair shaped like a sword covers the animals back. Ingrown hair is typical of Phu Quoc dogs with many different shapes located along the spine. Doan first met Loc at one-and-a half-years of age. With its outstanding beauty, Loc was already famous among dog trainers even though he had yet to win an award. From his first training session, Loc displayed a knack for memory. After two months, Loc headed to Saigon to participate in his first contest. Local judges praised him for carrying the "typical beauty of native Vietnamese dogs." An international examiner from World Canine Organization (FCI) in turn highlighted Loc's body proportions. He ranked first in his age group and finally won first prize. Loc then participated in different regional competitions and raked in the awards. At Vietnam Champion Dog Show in December 2017, he surpassed a H'Mong dog breed to claim Vietnam Grand Champion. Meet the national Phu Quoc Ridgeback champion barking up a storm cho Phu Quoc Loc sired many beautiful offspring, including three that later also scooped the Vietnam Grand Champion title. As a result, each of Locs offshoots are sold for tens of millions of dong (VND23,195= $1). One time, a person from Saigon offered to buy back Loc for $15,000. "I would not sell him even if I was offered a higher price," Ha said. She fell in love with Phu Quoc Ridgebacks when she was only a third grade student. With German Shepherds known for their intelligence and H'Mong dogs for their ferocity, Phu Quoc Ridgeback's are loyal and display a deep foresight. Once, when Ha was sick and could not go to work, Loc watched over her. "He understands my emotions. When I am sad, Loc walks quietly beside," she said. The last time Loc won a competition in Saigon, Ha was in her last month of pregnancy and couldn't go. "On the day of their return, the whole family came over to welcome him back. He ran back to me, wagged his tail, his ears pushed back and his face radiant with joy." Loc poses for picture next to owner Le Thi Ha. Photo by VnExpress/Tuan Kiet. Ha said Loc can be hyperactive, attempting to chase down a heard of cows only to have a bad fall from which he luckily recovered quickly. At the end of last year, Ha spent nearly VND300 million (around $12,800) to buy another Phu Quoc Ridgeback named Cop, one of the offspring of Dom who won a dog beauty pageant in Paris during 2011. Ha said Loc and Cop are the two most famous of the 100 Phu Quoc Ridgebacks she currently owns. "Letting my spiritual children shine is my greatest wish," Ha said, adding she is looking to bring them overseas to attend international competitions. The largest solar farm in the country will be built in Queensland, promising to create up to 400 jobs and 400 megawatts of renewable energy enough to power about 235,000 homes. The Western Downs Green Power Hub, to be managed by renewable generator CleanCo, will be built near Chinchilla, 250 kilometres north-west of Brisbane, with construction to begin in two months. FILE IMAGE: The Western Downs Green Power Hub will be CleanCo's second, and Neoen's first project in Queensland. Deputy Premier Jackie Trad said energy generation was due to start in the first quarter of 2022 and the solar farm would connect to the electricity grid, via a new overhead line, to Powerlinks existing Western Downs substation. "As our economy emerges from the worst impacts of COVID-19, we need projects ready to go that will create jobs and stimulate spending, especially in regional Queensland," Ms Trad said. Trump says U.S. coronavirus task force to continue "indefinitely" with possible personnel changes WASHINGTON, May 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the White House Coronavirus Task Force will continue "indefinitely" with possible personnel changes, one day after officials hinted that the team would wind down. The task force "will continue on indefinitely with its focus on SAFETY & OPENING UP OUR COUNTRY AGAIN," Trump tweeted, adding that the administration "may add or subtract people to it." He also said the response team will focus on developing vaccines and therapeutics for the coronavirus. Vice President Mike Pence, who heads the task force, said Tuesday that "conversations are being had about winding down the work for the task force," and that the White House is looking at the Memorial Day -- which falls on May 25 -- as a possible "window." The vice president made the remarks in a briefing in response to a question about a New York Times report on the potential disbanding of the team. "I think we're having conversations about that and about what the proper time is for the task force to complete its work and for the ongoing efforts to take place on an agency-by-agency level," Pence told reporters, adding that talks were ongoing about a transition plan with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The possible adjustment to the task force, whose members include the U.S. top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, comes at a time when confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States rose beyond 1.2 million, with the death toll surpassing 71,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Citing an internal document acquired from FEMA, the New York Times earlier reported that daily coronavirus-related deaths in the country could nearly double to reach about 3,000 by June 1. It also predicted that new cases will probably average at 200,000 a day by the end of May, up from the current daily rate of about 25,000. White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement on Monday that the document had nothing to do with the White House, "nor has it been presented to the coronavirus task force or gone through interagency vetting." US and UK Warn Hackers Targeting Orgs. Involved In COVID-19 Responses Malicious actors use Password Spraying to breach sensitive medical and health data A U.S. and UK joint alert on May 5 warns hackers are actively targeting organizations involved in both national and international COVID-19 responses. The UKs National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) exposed hacking campaigns (pdf) targeting organizations involved in the response to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus outbreak, commonly known as the novel coronavirus. According to the CISA alert, the campaigns were conducted by advanced persistent threat (APT) groups that used a password spraying technique to steal bulk personal information from health care, medical research, pharmaceutical, academic institutions as well as local governments. APT actors are typically hacking groups sponsored by foreign states which gain unauthorized access to computer networks to steal data, or destroy operations, and can continue to attack on the same network for months or years while remaining undetected, according to Fire Eye, a cyber security company. They are believed to be sponsored by China, Russia, Iran, and some other states. With the outbreak of the CCP virus, APT actors have intensified their activities to obtain intelligence on national and international healthcare policy or acquire sensitive data on COVID-19 related research for commercial and state benefits, according to the NCSC alert. Password spraying is a hacking technique that uses a single commonly used password against a large number of accounts. The password is used only once per account and if the attempt fails the next account is tried. The more accounts are attempted the higher the likelihood of finding an account that uses the password. Then the attacker can try to use a second commonly used password also for a large number of accounts. This approach allows hackers to avoid account lockout since many systems have a limit set on the number of invalid passwords and will lock an account when the limit of failed attempts is reached. Once an account is compromised the hacker can use the access to steal personal data, compromise more accounts, and steal intelligence, or intellectual property from the system. A computer screen is filled with code as Dan Vera writes a program that he hopes will allow people living in Cuba to bypass the Cuban government censorship of the internet during the Hackathon for Cuba event in Miami, Fla., on Feb. 1, 2014. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Preventing Cyberattacks To reduce the risk of hacking CISA recommends two measures, changing all passwords that can be easily guessed to stronger passwords using a sequence of three random words and implementing two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication requires the user to provide to the system two out of three pieces of information related to something you know such as a password, something you have such as a smartphone, a small hardware token, a credit card or something you are such as a biometric pattern of a fingerprint, an iris scan, or a voiceprint. Providing something you have means that the user needs to enter a system-generated code sent to the users smartphone or token device, or provide their credit card data. In addition, both U.S. and UK agencies have also issued guidelines for information technology professionals on how to secure their systems and make them resistant to potential cyberattacks. CISA has prioritized our cybersecurity services to healthcare and private organizations that provide medical support services and supplies in a concerted effort to prevent incidents and enable them to focus on their response to COVID-19, said Bryan Ware, CISA Assistant Director of Cybersecurity. The trusted and continuous cybersecurity collaboration CISA has with NCSC and industry partners plays a critical role in protecting the public and organizations, specifically during this time as healthcare organizations are working at maximum capacity, he added. Andhra Pradesh Industries Minister M Goutham Reddy on Thursday said the state government is airlifting 500 kg of inhibitors as a foolproof safety measure to neutralize the chemical substances in the Visakhapatnam gas leak incident. The company would be asked to explain what went wrong, even as the leak was contained within an hour, he said. Though the Minister had earlier said the government was airlifting 500 tons of inhibitors, his office later clarified it was 500 kg. The substance in one of the storage tanks became vapours due to heat and leaked and not because the plant was running, he said. "Immediately after the leak what we have done is, we have neutralised that compound at that time itself. We applied inhibitors and neutralised that liquid compound," Reddy, who was in Hyderabad, told PTI, when asked about the government's response. The liquid compound converted into vapours and leaked through one of the chimneys, he added. The administration responded immediately after receiving information about the incident. The minister said inhibitors were used to neutralise the impact of the leak and that more of them were being sourced. The administration is taking precautionary measures like watering the entire area. Such industries which fall under 'red' category have to maintain safety protocols 24x7 as they deal with hazardous chemicals and materials, he said. The government has laid out norms for such industries to be doubly careful against contamination of air, soil and towards value of life and environment, according to him. The management should have been proactive in ensuring that such incidents do not happen and the company will be asked to explain to the government about the leak, he said. The state government is also in touch with the Korean embassy, he added. The LG Polymers unit was supposed to reopen post-lockdown on Thursday. "We are trying to reach out to the top management of the (South Korean) company...our immediate priority is to arrest the leak and ensure proper medicare to the affected people," the minister had earlier said. Meanwhile, a senior official said inhibitors were being used to neutralise the vapours. "Slowly the vapours are reducing. It was not arrested fully. They are using neutralisers such as TBC (4-tert- Butylcatechol (TBC)," Joint Chief Inspector of Factories, Visakhapatnam, J Siva Sankar Reddy told PTI. A major early morning chemical leak from a polymer plant near Visakhapatnam impacted villages in a five-km radius, leaving eight people dead and scores of citizens suffering from breathlessness and other problems, as the AP government ordered a probe into the issue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A former boyfriend of late supermodel Anna Nicole Smith who she accused of threatening her with a knife and stalking her for two years - has been shot dead. Mark Hatten, was killed in Greelyville South Carolina on Sunday afternoon. Neighbors said that the day before he had been in an altercation with someone and police responded to the scene. Hatten who police said is also known as 'Hollywood' was arrested and spent the night in jail on a no trespass charge. It's unclear what occurred in the time between Hatten leaving jail and the shooting incident on Sunday. Mark Hatten was shot dead in Greelyville, South Carolina on Sunday afternoon Hatten was an ex-boyfriend of the late model Anna Nicole Smith and she accused him of threatening her with a knife An image showed authorities outside a home in the neighborhood but it was unclear who resided in the property. The incident is currently under investigation. Hatten had been living in Greelyville since 2000. He said in a May 2017 magazine interview that Anna Nicole Smith had been a family friend for a long time before they began dating. His sister had been best friends with the star since she modeled for Playboy in 1992. 'The first time I saw her she looked at me and said, "Oh my God, I want to have a baby with you!" We didn't really need an introduction because we had already talked on the phone and she just said she wanted to have a baby, a baby girl specifically,' he told In Touch. 'Then she even said she wanted to name the baby Nicolette, but then when she actually had a little girl she named her Dannielynn because of her son. We dated from January 2000 to March 2002. We were living together,' he said. However in 2012, Smith testified that she and Hatten only dated until June 2000 when he threatened her with a knife. She claimed he then stalked her for the next two years and when he showed up at her home in March 2002 her neighbor asked him to leave. Smith also claimed that he threatened her in a 2002 incident where he was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison for assaulting and threatening her neighbor The day before he was killed, police responded to a scene where Hatten had gotten into an altercation with another person He was arrested and spent the night in jail on a no trespass charge but it's unclear what happened in the lead-up to the shooting Hatten then got into an altercation with the neighbor and he was charged with assaulting the man. Hatten was also charged with making criminal threats to Smith and the neighbor. He was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison. But he claimed in an In Touch interview that the charge resulted from a misunderstanding. 'So I was charged on three things for Renee Navarro and two for Anna Nicole one was a criminal threat for allegedly saying that I was coming over and "packing my stuff" when "packing" supposedly meant a firearm. I didn't even own one!' Hatten added: 'Then there was a count of stalking on me because Howard K. Stern called 911 on me. Anna never called 911 on me, he did. I have the tape! He set me up as good as he could. He had a lot of juice with the DA in LA, he's an attorney, he knows the Jewish mafia, I'm a big Viking guy. In the 2017 interview Hatten claimed he tried to get Smith off drugs. He was arrested for public intoxication in 2018 (pictured) 'I was acquitted of the stalking charge and the criminal threat against Navarro. I was convicted of a threat against Anna Nicole for saying, "I'm coming over and packing my stuff," and I was convicted of the battery and injury from Navarro.' Smith died from an accidental drug overdose in 2007 caused by 'combined drug intoxication' with a sleeping medication as the 'major component.' It was a year after her son Daniel died from a combination of antidepressants and methadone. Her son passed away three days following the birth of her daughter Dannielynn. In the interview with In Touch on the 10-year anniversary of her death, Hatten said: 'When I heard Daniel died I knew she wouldn't last long. I've seen people pamper their kids but he was literally her world. She died of a broken heart.' In the 2017 interview Hatten claimed he tried to get Smith off drugs. He was arrested for public intoxication in 2018. 'I watched Anna have what's called a "grandma's seizure" just from drinking bottles of stuff that Howard would bring to her. Phenergan, cough syrup, Terpin hydrate cough syrup and she would drink it and get a good buzz, she would be fine and gelled out, but then all of a sudden she would turn gray and turn on her side and vomit all over herself,' Hatten added in the interview. 'It was sad and very disturbing to me. I did everything I could to get Anna off drugs and help her live her life. I was set up.' In 2017, Hatten told In Touch magazine in an interview for the 10-year anniversary of her death, that they dated from January 2000 to March 2002. 'We were living together,' he said However Smith testified that they split in June 2000 after he threatened her with a knife. She claimed he later stalked her for two years A billion years is missing from the geologic record; one UC Santa Barbara scientist believes he knows where it may have gone The geologic record is exactly that: a record. The strata of rock tell scientists about past environments, much like pages in an encyclopedia. Except this reference book has more pages missing than it has remaining. So geologists are tasked not only with understanding what is there, but also with figuring out what's not, and where it went. One omission in particular has puzzled scientists for well over a century. First noticed by John Wesley Powell in 1869 in the layers of the Grand Canyon, the Great Unconformity, as it's known, accounts for more than one billion years of missing rock in certain places. Scientists have developed several hypotheses to explain how, and when, this staggering amount of material may have been eroded. Now, UC Santa Barbara geologist Francis Macdonald and his colleagues at the University of Colorado, Boulder and at Colorado College believe they may have ruled out one of the more popular of these. Their study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "There are unconformities all through the rock record," explained Macdonald, a professor in the Department of Earth Science. "Unconformities are just gaps in time within the rock record. This one's called the Great Unconformity because it was thought to be a particularly large gap, maybe a global gap." A leading thought is that glaciers scoured away kilometers of rock around 720 to 635 million years ago, during a time known as Snowball Earth, when the planet was completely covered by ice. This hypothesis even has the benefit of helping to explain the rapid emergence of complex organisms shortly thereafter, in the Cambrian explosion, since all this eroded material could have seeded the oceans with tremendous amounts of nutrients. Macdonald was skeptical of this reasoning. Although analogues of the Great Unconformity appear throughout the world -- with similar amounts of rock missing from similar stretches of time -- they don't line up perfectly. This casts doubt as to whether they were truly eroded by a global event like Snowball Earth. Part of the challenge of investigating the Great Unconformity is that it happened so long ago, and the Earth is a messy system. "These rocks have been buried and eroded multiple times through their history," Macdonald said. Fortunately, the team was able to test this hypothesis using a technique called thermochronology. A few kilometers below the Earth's surface, the temperature begins to rise as you get closer to the planet's hot mantle. This creates a temperature gradient of roughly 50 degrees Celsius for every kilometer of depth. And this temperature regime can become imprinted in certain minerals. As certain radioactive elements in rocks break down, Helium-4 is produced. In fact helium is constantly being generated, but the fraction retained in different minerals is a function of temperature. As a result, scientists can use the ratio of helium to thorium and uranium in certain minerals as a paleo-thermometer. This phenomenon enabled Macdonald and his coauthors to track how rock moved in the crust as it was buried and eroded through the ages. "These unconformities are forming again and again through tectonic processes," Macdonald said. "What's really new is we can now access this much older history." The team took samples from granite just below the boundary of the Great Unconformity at Pikes Peak in Colorado. They extracted grains of a particularly resilient mineral, zircon, from the stone and analyzed the radio nucleotides of helium contained inside. The technique revealed that several kilometers of rock had been eroded from above this granite between 1,000 and 720 million years ago. Importantly, this stretch of time definitively came before the Snowball Earth episodes. In fact, it lines up much better with the periods in which the supercontinent Rodinia was forming and breaking apart. This offers a clue to the processes that may have stricken these years from the geologic record. "The basic hypothesis is that this large-scale erosion was driven by the formation and separation of supercontinents," Macdonald said. The Earth's cycle of supercontinent formation and separation uplifts and erodes incredible extents of rock over long periods of time. And because supercontinent processes, by definition, involve a lot of land, their effects can appear fairly synchronous across the geologic record. However, these processes don't happen simultaneously, as they would in a global event like Snowball Earth. "It's a messy process," Macdonald said. "There are differences, and now we have the ability to perhaps resolve those differences and pull that record out." While Macdonald's results are consistent with a tectonic origin for these great unconformities, they don't end the debate. Geologists will need to complement this work with similar studies in other regions of the world in order to better constrain these events. The mystery of the Great Unconformity is inherently tied to two of geology's other great enigmas: the rise and fall of Snowball Earth and the sudden emergence of complex life in the Ediacaran and Cambrian. Progress in any one could help researchers finally crack the lot. "The Cambrian explosion was Darwin's dilemma," Macdonald remarked. "This is a 200-year old question. If we can solve that, we would definitely be rock stars." ### Police have laid additional charges against former Edgecliff doctor Richard Reid over the alleged sexual and indecent assault of two patients. Police have charged former gynaecologist Richard Reid with an additional seven charges. In November 2018, a then 64-year-old woman attended Kings Cross police station and reported being sexually assaulted by the gynaecologist while receiving treatment a number of times between 2010 and 2014. Following an investigation, police charged Dr Reid, 77, in September 2019. On Monday, police laid a further seven charges, including five counts of aggravated sexual assault of a person under his authority, and two counts of aggravated indecent assault on a person under his authority. (TNS) California Attorney General Xavier Becerras office is gearing up to enforce the states landmark internet privacy law, despite pleas from business groups that say they arent ready because of the coronavirus pandemic.The California Consumer Privacy Act gives people the power to tell companies not to sell their personal data and to demand they delete the information altogether. The law took effect Jan. 1, but enforcement was delayed until July 1 to give businesses time to prepare for a mountain of data requests from their customers.Business groups across the state have asked Becerra to hold off. They warn many companies wont be in compliance by July because of staggering losses and layoffs brought on by the pandemic and state-ordered shutdowns of public life.Privacy advocates counter that the need to protect data is more crucial than ever, because so many people are now isolated at home and dependent on the internet to work, socialize, shop and learn.If Becerra sticks to the laws timetable, companies will face potential fines of up to $7,500 per violation in two months. That prospect has created anxiety for small brick-and-mortar shops already struggling to keep workers on the payroll, said Rachel Michelin, president of the California Retailers Association.She said that anxiety is growing because Becerras office has yet to issue its final regulatory rules, detailed guidelines that tell businesses how to comply with the law. Michelin said that, at this point, businesses will have no more than a few weeks to master the regulations.We dont know exactly yet what were complying to, she said. We need them to be able to bring their employees back. The goal should be to reignite the California economy.In March, 65 trade organizations, including tech representatives TechNet and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, wrote a letter to Becerra urging him to delay enforcement until January 2021. They warned that businesses will not have the operational capacity or time to bring their systems into compliance.Becerra has rejected those complaints, though he hasnt given a detailed response to industry concerns.Were committed to enforcing the law starting July 1, Becerras office said in a statement. We encourage businesses to be particularly mindful of data security in this time of emergency.Privacy advocates say businesses have had plenty of time to get ready for enforcement since the state passed its law in June 2018. They note that tech lobbyists repeatedly tried to delay its implementation before the coronavirus made its way to the U.S.First of all, they knew this was coming, said Maureen Mahoney, an analyst with Consumer Reports, the business watchdog group. These are things that companies should be doing anyway.Under Californias law, the first major statewide internet privacy act in the country, businesses that handle significant amounts of data must tell people what information they intend to collect about them before they do it.Businesses must comply if customers ask them not to sell their data or to delete it entirely. Customers can also request a copy of their data or an explanation about how the company uses or sells it.Tracy Rosenberg, co-coordinator of the group Oakland Privacy, said behavior changes brought on by Californias stay-at-home order make people more vulnerable to having their data used without their knowledge or permission. For example, she said, more people are banking online and having conversations over video sites like Zoom.All of these things are creating a much larger data footprint for all of us, Rosenberg said. The more we are running our lives through computer screens, the more critical (the state law) becomes.Zoom came under fire last month after media reports revealed it sent app user data to Facebook. Zoom says it has since changed its practices.The pandemic has also brought new privacy debates to the forefront. Gov. Gavin Newsom has discussed partnering with Google and Apple to use anonymous smartphone data to bolster contact tracing efforts to track who might have come close to people infected with the coronavirus.Some retailers, including Amazon and Walmart, are using thermometers to check the temperatures of employees when they come to work. Newsom has said temperature checks could also be used to fight the virus and help restaurants and other businesses reopen to in-person customers.Michelin of the California Retailers Association said many businesses will probably have to figure out how to handle health data about their employees and customers without clear guidance from the state.Were in a whole different ballgame, she said. Nobody really knows what the right answers are. What can we do and not do?Meanwhile, supporters of a proposed ballot initiative to expand the law are pushing ahead despite hurdles gathering signatures during the pandemic.On Monday, they submitted petitions with what they said were more than enough signatures to qualify the measure for the November ballot. However, its unclear whether counties will have enough time to validate the signatures before the June 25 deadline.The measure would enshrine the data privacy act in state law, so legislators cannot weaken it, and create an agency to enforce privacy protections. Its bankrolled by Alastair Mactaggart, a wealthy San Francisco developer who was also a prime force in pushing the privacy act through the Legislature.Even as weve worked to strengthen privacy laws here in California, weve realized that our laws need to keep pace with the ever-changing landscape of constant corporate surveillance, information gathering and distribution, Mactaggart said in a statement. Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander on Wednesday commented after the U.S. Department of Education made final its rule clarifying Title IX a federal law protecting students from sex discrimination in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance, so that schools will more fully understand their roles and responsibilities to better comply with the law:This final rule respects and supports victims and preserves due process rights for both the victim and the accused, Senator Alexander said.For example, the rule ensures victims get the support they need to change classes or dorms if they allege they have been sexually assaulted or sexually harassed and the rule ensures the victim and the accused get a fair hearing to resolve such allegations. I am glad Secretary DeVos undertook this rulemaking to help give more certainty to victims, the accused, and college administrators.Under the previous administration, a single official at the U.S. Department of Education was issuing edicts, without the proper public input, to 6,000 colleges and universities about how to handle the complex and sensitive problem of sexual assault on college campuses, Senator Alexander continued. To resolve this, Secretary DeVos undertook the appropriate public rulemaking process beginning in November 2018, including the opportunity for individuals, groups and educational institutions to review and submit comments. Ariel Winter had a nasty mishap while chopping vegetables in her kitchen she sliced off the tip of her thumb! The "Modern Family" alum, 22, opened up about her accident Wednesday during an interview with Access. "I was trying to make Greek food because I'm Greek ... I had chopped four onions just before I chopped this one thing. Chopped four onions and it was great and I just got new knives too," Winter recalled, showing off her bandaged thumb. "So I went to chop a peeled tomato and sliced the top part of my thumb off on a peeled tomato." Former The actress and her boyfriend, Luke Benward, were chatting when the grisly accident took place. Afterward, both stared at her thumb in disbelief. "I was so shocked ... it was more like I was hyperventilating. I was, like, I should be crying but I just can't believe it," Winter said, adding that she must have "sliced an artery" because she "bled so much." LA Screening of Benward had the presence of mind to bring the tip of Winter's thumb to the ER. The nurse who treated Winter handed her a plastic bag containing the piece of thumb. But the nurse never told the star what was inside it. "So I accidentally threw it away and we had to go get it," said Winter, adding, "It's definitely funny now." All things considered, Winter said she's doing fine. "I mean, it's the top of my thumb. It definitely hurt and wasn't fun ... but at the same time they took great care of me," she said, adding. "Like so many people are in (in the ER) for so much worse." Added Winter, "I sliced my thumb off and its sad, Ill have a mildly sad-looking thumb, but itll be okay." After the outbreak of COVID-19, several shoppers are looking for cost-effective solutions and purchasing that does not require them to step out from their homes. Almowafir (meaning economical), is one such e-commerce application offering savings on a wide range of high-demand products during this time. The application provides shoppers with access to a variety of exciting deals in English and Arabic, exclusively designed to meet their diverse shopping requirements. According to a report by Statista, in 2019, retail e-commerce sales worldwide totalled $3.53 trillion, with e-retail revenues projected to grow to approximately $6.54 trillion in 2023. Almowafir seeks to meet the growing demand of online shopping by providing some exclusive offers from some of the leading brands. Interested shoppers can download the application for absolutely free of cost and instantly get access to some of the hottest deals at reasonable prices. E-commerce shopping has completely changed the entire shopping experience for buyers, providing them access to a wide variety of items at the click of a button. Being an extremely convenient alternative, which can be remotely accessed on your devices at the comfort of your homes, its popularity continues to grow considering its easy accessibility. Through Almowafir, the goal is to meet the ever-increasing demand of online shopping, by providing some of the best deals on one platform. This not only enhances ones shopping experience but guarantees them some great deals with value for money. The Almowafir application at present has over 300 brands showcasing more than 1,500 offers and coupons. Available for shoppers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the application is very easy to navigate, sorted by brand, category and the discount amount. All in all, the applications has been designed to help shoppers save money and get their hands on some incredible bargains. -- Tradearabia News Service 104-year-old veterans VE Day toast to his colleagues This article is old - Published: Thursday, May 7th, 2020 A 104-year-old veteran from Wrexham will be toasting his former colleagues to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Geoff Patrick, who lives in Llay, served in the Royal Army Service Corps in Sicily, Italy and Austria towards the end of the war. He spent three and a half years of the Second World War on the front line of the North African Campaign, before progressing through Sicily, Italy and Austria. Geoff was a dispatch motorcycle rider, who would often come under enemy fire, once resulting in shrapnel getting caught in his neck. One of his other roles was with the Royal Engineers preparing airfields for the allied planes to operate from. The Second World War may have been 75 years ago but Geoff says that he recalls its events very clearly. He said: I recall the time when I was out and about on the motorcycle all alone. I could see in the distance mushrooms floating in the sky. As I got closer I could see they were not mushrooms but German paratroopers. Memories like stay with you forever. After the war, Geoff settled in Llay when he married Jean in 1947. Both Geoff and Jean are looking forward to their 73rd wedding anniversary later this month. Llays councillors have paid tribute to Geoff for his war time service. Councillor Rob Walsh, who is also Mayor of Wrexham, describes Geoff as a man of great strength. Cllr Walsh said: Geoff is a remarkable man, who I have always enjoyed visiting. He has such a strong mind and he is still determined to live as normal life as possible even at 104. Its a shame I wont be able to visit him due to the lockdown, but I will be raising a toast to him and all those served our country to liberate Europe. Fellow Llay councillor Bryan Apsley, who is also Chair of Llay Community Council, also praised Geoffs achievements, stating: Geoff is a credit to the village, the town and the country. We are all very proud of him. He still cooks the roast dinner every week, something that puts me to shame. Bill and Melinda Gates. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images Graduations across the world have been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Bill and Melinda Gates, whose foundation has pledged $250 million to fight the virus, penned a joint commencement speech for the class of 2020 in the Wall Street Journal. They acknowledge that the class of 2020 has an extremely difficult time ahead of them, but offered some words of optimism. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Billionaire philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates on Friday published a commencement speech for the entire class of 2020, whose graduations have been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Published in the Wall Street Journal, the couple address a class who are moving into adult life just as the globe faces "mass suffering and economic devastation." "So, what does all of this mean for the next chapter of your lives? As a member of our global community, your actions can have a global impact. Whatever your professional goals, wherever you live, whoever you are, there are ways, big and small, that you can participate in making the world better for everyone," they write. The couple acknowledge that for many graduates, making their mark on the world will be the last thing on their mind. "With so many things to worry about from your health to your family to what the job market means for your ability to pay off your loans it is understandable that you may need to put on hold the bigger questions about your role in improving the world," they write. Still, they offered a glimpse of optimism, saying the world has recovered from devastating events before. "That progress didn't happen by accident or fate. It was the result of people just like you who made a commitment that whatever else they did with their lives and careers, they would contribute to this shared mission of propelling us all forward." "Class of 2020, these are not easy times. But we will get through them. And with your leadership, the world will be stronger than before," the speech concludes. Bill and Melinda Gates have been very vocal on the subject of the pandemic, and their charitable foundation has donated $250 million to fighting the virus so far. Read the original article on Business Insider RESIDENTS are being encouraged by South Oxfordshire District Council and Oxfordshire County Council to celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE Day tomorrow (Friday). The district council wants everyone to take part in the nationwide commemoration, which marks the end of war in Europe after the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. It wants people to make red, white and blue cakes, buns or muffins and to decorate their homes. It is also asking for photographs and will collate these to form a photo montage to record the occasion. The county council will continue to mark the anniversary throughout the weekend by posting video messages on its Facebook page from Oxfordshires council leaders and serving military personnel. It will also upload residents photos of sites across the county that played a part in the war to its Twitter profile. The county council is reminding people to stay at home in line with the Governments coronavirus rules in order to protect each other and the NHS from the effects of the pandemic. A two-minute silence will be held from 11am today (Friday) across the country in a moment of remembrance. The Royal British Legion will then hold a VE Day livestream on its website from 11.15am. This will run for 80 minutes and feature people who were alive at the time speaking about their experiences. There will be stories and memories from those who served and made sacrifices during the war. This will be hosted by TV presenter Sonali Shah and the programme will also feature contributions from social historian Julie Summers and cook and influencer Melissa Hemsley. Tim Stevenson, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, will deliver a message about the importance of VE Day from 2.50pm via the county councils Facebook page. Then from 3pm residents are invited to take part in a nationwide toast of remembrance from their own homes. The official wording is: To those who gave so much, we thank you. The Queen will address the nation from 9pm on BBC 1 at the same time her father, George VI, gave his radio address in 1945. This will be followed by a national singalong of Dame Vera Lynns Well Meet Again. To submit photos to the district council, email communications@ southandvale.gov.uk MoS McEntee statement on EU Matters Statement In his Statement, the Taoiseach set out the wide range of measures already taken or under development at EU level to protect citizens and businesses during the current crisis. As at home, the focus has rightly been on protecting life and health in the first instance, as well as on working to mitigate economic damage and to chart a path to recovery. Leaders have also rightly recognised that, for the fight against Covid to be successful, it has to have a global reach and the EU has an important leadership role to play. We saw this in action on Monday when the EU took the lead in hosting a pledging conference in which 7.4 billion was pledged in support of the search for a vaccine, medicines and for tests. This is something that Ireland strongly supports and, as the House will be aware, the Taoiseach, on behalf of the Irish people announced a new pledge of 18 million euro to GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance. This will be paid over the course of the next five years, so that the poorest countries in the world will have access to the COVID-19 vaccine, if and when it is developed. That funding adds to the 60 million euro which Ireland has committed previously in direct or repurposed grants, enabling our UN and other partners to respond rapidly to the situation on the ground. As part of that, Ireland quadrupled our contribution to the World Health Organisation, to 9.5 million euros Until there are effective diagnostics, treatments and a vaccine universally available, every region and every country remains vulnerable to a new or renewed surge of the pandemic. On 8 April Development Ministers endorsed the Team Europe global response to Covid-19 with 15.6 billion mobilised by the Commission and the EIB and over 4 billion by Member States, targeting fragile and vulnerable countries. Such countries are facing enormous health and economic challenges as a result of the pandemic. The Team Europe collective approach is designed to provide a fast response on the ground where it is needed most, supporting health systems and helping to alleviate the socio-economic impacts of Covid-19. Later today the Taoiseach will take part by video conference in a Summit of EU and Western Balkan Leaders. A key focus of that Summit will be cooperation and support between the EU and the region throughout the crisis to date. On 29 April, the European Commission announced over 3.3 billion of EU financial support mobilised jointly with the European Investment Bank to the benefit of the Western Balkans' citizens. We have seen from the beginning of this crisis that the virus does not respect borders, and does not recognise countries. To beat this virus and to forge our recovery we, as Ireland, and as EU, will need to think and act globally. This week the EU took a significant step in this regard and Ireland has made clear that we are willing and ready to play our role with EU partners in the global fight against Covid-19. Previous Item | Next Item RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Ohio Making false alarms: Loganberry Drive Officers and fire personnel responded to an apartment May 5 for a report of a fire. It was determined that there was no fire. The tenant suspected that her ex-boyfriend, who is incarcerated in South Carolina, had reported the fire. Later that day, police received a report that the tenant had put her baby in the oven. The same incident had been reported previously with no cause. Officers contacted the correctional facility and the staff said it would search the cell of the man, 26, for any devices he may be using to make the calls. Charges are pending due to the volume and extent of the false reports he is believed to have made. Property damage: Loganberry Drive A man reported April 30 that the front windshield to his rental vehicle had been broken out while the vehicle was in the parking lot at Loganberry Ridge apartments. Police are investigating. Suspicion: Chardon Road Employees at the Early Steps Learning Center reported May 5 that it appeared someone was watching the daycare students from a third-floor neighboring apartment building. They were concerned that the person was either taking photos or videos of the children and said it had occurred on three separate occasions. Officers are trying to determine who resides in that apartment. Domestic violence: Highland Road Officers responded to a residence around 1 a.m. May 3 after receiving a 911 hang-up call with a woman screaming that she was being threatened with a gun. A man came to the front door and was identified as a 44-year-old resident of the home. He was subsequently charged with domestic violence. Larceny: Richmond Road A Speedway employee reported at 2:50 a.m. April 30 that a male suspect wearing a surgical mask had broken into the store and stolen an undetermined number of candy bars. Responding officers did not locate the suspect and it was unknown if he had left on foot or in a vehicle. The incident is under investigation. Found property: Jeanette Drive A resident found a gun on the sidewalk near Karl Drive April 29. The gun, which contained a magazine with 12 rounds, was turned over to police. Driving on lawn: Chardon Road Around 9 p.m. May 2, officers responded to a report of a vehicle that had driven over a residents lawn and appeared to be headed to a party at a home. They found numerous vehicles parked in the driveway and yard at the home and spoke with the homeowner. He was advised that the gathering was too large for the current orders set forth by the state. Several guests subsequently left without incident. Fraud: Pleasant Trail A resident reported May 1 that she had paid $29,000 to a private lender in Nevada for a $200,000 loan she never received. She said she had found information online for the investor and intended to use the funds to purchase rental property in Cleveland Heights. There is an ongoing investigation by her bank. Read more news from the Sun Messenger. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 00:25:11|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, May 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday discussed issues of COVID-19 and arms control during a phone conversation, the White House said. In the phone call to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, the two leaders discussed progress on defeating the coronavirus pandemic, and Trump said his country is ready to provide assistance to Russia, according to a White House statement. "President Trump reaffirmed that the United States is committed to effective arms control that includes not only Russia, but also China, and looks forward to future discussions to avoid a costly arms race," said the statement. China has repeatedly reiterated that it has no intention of participating in the so-called trilateral arms control negotiations with the United States and Russia. In 2010, Washington and Moscow signed the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which stipulates the limits to the numbers of deployed nuclear warheads and strategic delivery systems by both. The New START, the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty in force between the two nuclear superpowers, will expire on Feb. 5, 2021. The agreement can be extended for at most five years with the consent of the two countries. Russia has expressed willingness to extend the treaty, while the Trump administration has yet to officially reply. Enditem Researchers from University of Groningen, University of Mannheim, and SAP Germany published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that explores the potential benefits of winning back lost customers and the best strategies for accomplishing that goal. The study forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing is titled "Tolerating and Managing Failure: An Organizational Perspective on Customer Reacquisition Management" and is authored by Arnd Vomberg, Christian Homburg, and Olivia Gwinner. Do attempts to regain lost customers pay off? Experts report that the costs of reaching out to lost customers are generally far lower than the costs of contacting new customers. In addition, the chance of winning back a lost customer is up to eight times greater than of acquiring a new customer. In recognition of these advantages, McDonald's announced plans to invest from $150,000 to $700,000 per location in the U.S. to win back lost customers. However, experts also report that customers can defect strategically. Customers defect because they anticipate improved offers such as lower prices from competitors. In such a scenario, a firm's win-back activities could unnecessarily lower firm revenues. In addition, resources are misallocated if win-back offers to defected customers provoke negative attitudes in loyal customers (e.g., feelings of unfairness if loyal customers pay higher prices than defected customers). Using a cross-industry data set, the research team reports that reacquisition increases firm profits. The positive outcomes of customer reacquisition such as increased revenues more than offset the costs of customer reacquisition management such as price concessions. However, the study also demonstrates that managers need to understand the important role that a company's culture plays in effective customer win-back. While winning back lost customers can lead to increased profits, win-back processes are often unpleasant for employees. Vomberg explains that "Employees likely perceive customer defection as an undesirable occurrence. Usually, employees do not freely and deliberately discuss their mistakes. They may fear blame from colleagues or punishment by superiors. Thus, company cultures that reward success and punish failures can instill reluctance in employees to address customer defections." The study demonstrates that successful customer reacquisition management requires a failure-tolerant organizational culture that encourages a constructive treatment of failures. In failure-tolerant cultures, employees feel free to voice ideas, discuss customer defections openly, and assume responsibility for the reacquisition process. Such feelings of responsibility spur employees to work harder, be more creative, and act unconventionally when reacquiring customers. As a result, employees address more defections and increase win-back success. However, failure tolerance can also have a boomerang effect: High levels of failure tolerance reduce win-back success. Highly failure-tolerant cultures can induce laxness in employees. Once employees have internalized a tolerance for failure, they may make decisions with less due diligence and effort, provoking more and increasingly severe failures in customer relationships. More and increasingly severe failures can create irrecoverable damage to win-back success. Win-back guidelines also increase win-back success. Such guidelines establish and enforce strict formal rules and procedures that employees must follow when reacquiring customers. These guidelines help employees detect customer defection, formulate expected actions, and outline monitoring activities to ensure learning for future reacquisition attempts. Homburg adds, "Importantly, formal reacquisition guidelines do not conflict with motivational effects that failure tolerance raises in employees. Instead, the guidelines help unfold the full potential of failure tolerant cultures. In other words, such guidelines help employees structure the otherwise unstructured context of customer reacquisition management." These findings have managerial implications. First, even if customer acquisition and retention management are well-established in company practice, managers should stimulate reacquisition activities. Addressing failures, shortcomings, and defections is likely less appealing than acquiring new customers, so win-back endeavors must be encouraged. Second, to benefit from reacquisition activities, Gwinner suggests that "... managers organize for customer reacquisition management. Managers need to establish cultures that are open to failure. However, managers need to be aware that failure tolerance can create "too-much-of-a-good-thing" so that high levels of failure tolerance reduce reacquisition performance. Thus, managers also need to recognize that failure tolerance is not a substitute for management." Third, currently only few companies have comprehensive reacquisition guidelines in place. Because those guidelines steer employees towards successful win-back and also amplify the performance effects of failure-tolerance cultures, managers should establish reacquisition guidelines. ### Full article and author contact information available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242920916733 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. About the American Marketing Association (AMA) As the largest chapter-based marketing association in the world, the AMA is trusted by marketing and sales professionals to help them discover what's coming next in the industry. The AMA has a community of local chapters in more than 70 cities and 350 college campuses throughout North America. The AMA is home to award-winning content, PCM professional certification, premiere academic journals, and industry-leading training events and conferences. https://www.ama.org Two Illinois inmates switched identities and the wrong prisoner was released over the weekend after disguising himself in a coronavirus face mask, officials say. On Saturday at Cook County Jail inmate Quintin Henderson, 28, was scheduled to be released on a recognizance I-Bond for a drug charge. But in exchange for a promised $1,000 he let prisoner Jahquez Scott, 21, take on his identity and take his place to be released from the facility. The two men were caught on surveillance camera at the Cook County Jails receiving tunnel, where criminal defendants are processed into jail or released, Saturday evening. Henderson was seen handing over his personal information to Scott and they swapped sweatshirts, according to Assistant States Attorney James Murphy. Escaped: On Saturday Quintin Henderson, 28, (left) was scheduled to be released on a recognizance bond for a drug charge. But he let prisoner Jahquez Scott, 21, (right) take his place for a promised $1,000. Scott left the facility wearing a face mask that covered up his distinctive face tattoos that appear to show dripping blood on his right cheek and a heart on his left cheek When a corrections officer called Hendersons name, Scott stepped forward. Cops say that Scott left the facility wearing a face mask that covered up his distinctive face tattoos that appear to show dripping blood on his right cheek and a heart on his left cheek. The Cook County Sheriffs office was ordered by a federal judge to provide face masks for all inmates who are quarantined for any reason due to the coronavirus pandemic. He used Hendersons full name and other personal information to pose as him and leave the jail. Scott had been arrested the day before $50,000 bond for unlawful use of a weapon whole on parole for battery of an officer. He was going to be placed on electronic monitoring if he made bond, the Sheriffs said. This incident took place at Cook County Jail in Chicago's South Side on Saturday. The two men were caught on surveillance camera at the Cook County Jails receiving tunnel talking and swapping sweaters The jail realized the mistake when the real Henderson approached a jail guard claiming he had fallen asleep, asking when his name and number would be called, Murphy said. Officials realized the swap and quickly issued a warrant for Scott's arrest. As of Wednesday Scott is still at large and has been classified as an 'absconder', a fugitive, by the Illinois Department of Corrections. The US Marshals Service is assisting in the search for Scott. On Tuesday at a bail hearing at Leighton Criminal Court, Henderson told investigators he met Scott on the way to the bail hearing and Scott told him needed to get out of jail and promised him $1,000 for 'a favor'. In that agreement Scott would give Henderson the sum at at a later meeting, according to the Chicago Tribune. Scott pictured above on his social media pages. As of Wednesday he is still at large and US Marshals are aiding in the search for him Scott had been arrested Friday on $50,000 bond for unlawful use of a weapon whole on parole for battery of an officer. He was going to be placed on electronic monitoring if he made bond, police say. Pictured above on social media Judge Mary C. Marubio told Henderson via Zoom that he not only helped Scott escape, but hes also a violent felon convicted for aggravated battery to a police officer who is now on the loose. 'The nature of the offense isnt just aiding and abetting. Its who you aided and abetted a violent person, and a dangerous person on parole and thats weighing heavily against you' Marubio said. She ordered Henderson be held on $25,000 bail, as well as a no-bond hold for violation of bail bond on his original narcotics case. Henderson is slated to return to court May 20. Conservative Barry Farber, who was far behind in the New York City Mayoral race, thanks supporters at his headquarters, in New York, on Nov. 8, 1977. (Dan Grossi/AP Photo) Conservative Talk Radio Pioneer Barry Farber Dies: Daughter Barry Farber, a conservative radio host, died on Wednesday in New York City, according to his daughter and news reports. Farber died one day after his 90th birthday, said Celia Farber in a Twitter post He told me recently that his concept of death was going somewhere Ive never been before, like Finland or Estonia. May God rest his soul, his daughter wrote. Farber began broadcasting his own radio talk show in 1960 on WINS 1010 in New York and often commented on politics. His following grew as his show was broadcast on major radio networks across the United States, paving the way for the likes of Rush Limbaugh or Michael Savage. I would rather burn out than rust out, Farber said before he was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2014. I am one of those who will not retire. My father Barry Farber, beloved, died this evening, at 6:25 pm. He was home, in bed, and we were all with him. He turned 90 just yesterday. He told me recently that his concept of death was going somewhere Ive never been before, like Finland or Estonia. May God rest his soul. pic.twitter.com/5ocWK84gva Celia Ingrid Farber (@CeliaFarber) May 7, 2020 Farber has been described as the pioneer of talk radio. In 1977, he unsuccessfully ran for mayor of New York City as a Conservative Party candidate, ultimately losing to Democrat Ed Koch. Barry Farber was one of the founding fathers of talk radio whose influential career spanned both the modern and pre-modern eras of the format, said Talkers publisher Michael Harrison, reported the New York Daily News. He was among the finest public speakers of his time and a true wordsmith who served as an inspiration for generations of broadcasters who strived to be artists as well as communicators. According to The Associated Press, Farber spoke more than 20 languages, including Albanian, Swedish, Finnish and Yiddish, French, German, Spanish, and Chinese. Farber was also known for ending his show with the saying, To be continued. NongHyup (NH) Financial Group's executives and staff employees, including Business Strategy Group Head and Deputy President Kim Hyung-shin, left, volunteered to assist agricultural households located in Hongcheon County, Gangwon Province, Thursday. The deputy president said the co-op financial group will provide necessary support for agricultural households in need. / Courtesy of NongHyup Financial Group CYNTHIA CHANDRAN By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Over the past decade, close to 2,000 people have died in Kerala due to various communicable diseases. Deaths have resulted from epidemics like dengue, leptospirosis, malaria, H1N1, chickenpox, fever and Nipah, among others. That none of these diseases have foolproof vaccines makes the situation all the more grave. As indicated by the low mortality rate for the more infectious COVID-19, the states health sector has risen up to meet the crisis. But statistics show that it has been a dismal failure in sustaining systematic surveillance programmes to contain epidemics. From 2011 to 2019, 1,343 people died from various communicable diseases in the state's government hospitals alone. Deaths in private hospitals add a few hundred more every year, data for which is unavailable. Data on Communicable diseases death in Kerala during 2011-19 Year Fever Dengue Leptospirosis Malaria H1N1 Nipah Chickenpox Total deaths 2011 0 10 70 2 10 0 0 92 2012 11 16 18 3 0 0 0 48 2013 23 29 34 0 0 0 0 86 2014 29 13 43 6 0 0 0 91 2015 26 29 43 4 0 0 0 102 2016 18 21 35 3 0 0 0 77 2017 76 165 80 2 76 0 0 399 2018 63 32 99 0 50 16 0 260 2019 51 14 57 1 45 0 20 188 Total number of deaths from 8 communicable diseases during 2011-19 is 1343 (govt hospitals) (Source: Directorate of Health Services, Kerala) The figure excludes epidemics like acute encephalitis syndrome, Japanese encephalitis, hepatitis A and B, cholera, diphtheria, typhoid, diarrhoea, scrub typhus, Kyasanur forest disease (monkey fever) and West Nile fever which have accounted for another few hundred deaths. During 2006-07, more than 100 lives were lost to chikungunya. The then state government under V S Achuthanandan managed to contain the epidemic through vector-control methods. Unfortunately, dengue, H1N1, leptospirosis and fever-related illnesses continue to take a heavy toll. Dr V Meenakshy, additional director of health services (public health), told The New Indian Express that dengue remains a huge challenge. Dengue and leptospirosis have been a bane for us with repeated outbreaks. H1N1 has occurred almost every season. Despite bringing in vaccination for dengue, people still get affected," Dr Meenakshy said. Better waste management has helped contain H1N1 while effective treatment, personal protection and penicillin have enabled leptospirosis to be negated to an extent, she added. Dr T Jacob John, emeritus professor at CMC Vellore and the brain behind the setting up of the Kerala Institute of Virology and Infectious Diseases in Alappuzha, said the lack of a public health surveillance system is hitting Kerala hard. During 1997-98, Dr Jacob and his team had visited 128 towns across Kerala to study private and public sector hospitals, coming up with a surveillance system. Under his insistence, the Kerala Leptospirosis Elimination Programme (KLEP) was launched during P Sankarans tenure as health minister in 2002. Dr Jacob laments that this report must be lying in some ministerial shelf in the Secretariat, or else, several lives could have been saved from this epidemic alone. You cannot get rid of leptospirosis (the disease-causing bacteria being a soil organism), but can eliminate it from humans. The state government had accepted the report, but failed to implement it. Keralas health sector is good at managing crises, but never sustains surveillance programmes, the 84-year-old said. Last year, 20 people died of chickenpox. Dr Jacob is furious about this statistic, terming death due to chickenpox as "unethical". If I was the health minister, I would have brought out vaccines for chickenpox, he said. But he credits the Pinarayi Vijayan government for taking steps to combat the coronavirus even before the Centre arose from its slumber. The quarantine and infectious disease control was so perfect that other countries took notice of what K K Shailaja, the health minister, was doing. Kerala has received huge grades for combating COVID-19. Every other state imitated Kerala, which became the model and not the central government," Dr Jacob said. [May 07, 2020] BenchPrep Named to Inc. Magazine's Annual List of Best Workplaces for 2020 CHICAGO, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BenchPrep , the configurable cloud-based learning platform for corporations, training companies, and nonprofits, has been named to Inc. magazines annual list of the Best Workplaces for 2020 . Hitting newsstands May 12 in the May/June 2020 issue, and as part of a prominent Inc.com feature, the list is the result of a wide-ranging and comprehensive measurement of private American companies that have created exceptional workplaces through vibrant cultures, deep employee engagement, and stellar benefits. BenchPrep is an award-winning advanced online learning platform that helps organizations increase learner engagement, improve outcomes, and drive learner success. The technology delivers streamlined content management and instructional design, along with advanced educator tools, analytics dashboards, and reporting, in one comprehensive solution. Collecting data from more than 3,000 submissions, Inc. singled out 395 finalists for this years list. Each nominated company took part in an employee survey, conducted by Quantum Workplace, on topics including trust, management effectiveness, perks, and confidence in the future. Inc. gathered, analyzed, and audited the data. Then we ranked all the employers using a composite score of survey results. This year, 73.5 percent of surveyed employees were engaged by their work. The strongest engagement scores came from companies that prioritize the most human elements of work. These companies are leading the way in employee recognition, performance management, and diversity. It is a different playbook from a decade ago, when too many firms used the same template: free food, open work environments, and artifacts of fun. I am so proud and humbled that BenchPrep has been recognized on Inc.s Best Workplaces for 2020. With Crains Chicago and the Timmy Awards also recently recognizing our leadership in company culture, it is truly gratifying that we are now receiving national accolades in this regard too, said Ujjwal Gupta, Co-Founder & COO of BenchPrep. At BenchPrep, we have always believed that company culture and bottom line success are intertwined. We look forward to continuing to grow a successful organization led by happy, driven, and innovative employees. Building a great corporate culture comes only from strong leadership, says Inc. magazine editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. The companies on Inc.s Best Workplaces list are setting an example that the whole country can learn from, especially now, when company culture is more important to the workforce than ever. While researching the finalists, Inc. and Quantum saw distinct themes: 100 percent provide health insurance. 50 percent allow employees to bring pets to work. 62 percent take employees to offsite retreats to relax and recharge. 20 percent offer paid sabbaticals to reward length of service. About BenchPrep BenchPrep is a configurable cloud-based learning platform that delivers the best learning experience and drives revenue for corporations, training companies and nonprofits (credentialing bodies & associations). With an award-winning learner-centric platform, BenchPrep increases learner engagement, improves long-term learner retention, and reduces dropout rates. Many of the largest credentialing bodies, associations, and training organizations in the world now deliver learning programs through BenchPrep, including ACT, Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), CFA Institute, CompTIA, Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HR Certification Institute, Richardson Sales Training, Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM), American Institute of Architects (AIA), Relias, National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), ProLiteracy, Hobsons, McGraw Hill Education, and OnCourse Learning. More than 6 million learners have used BenchPreps platform to attain academic and professional success. To discover more about BenchPrep, please visit benchprep.com . About Inc. Media The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com . About Quantum Workplace Quantum Workplace, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is an HR technology company that serves organizations through employee-engagement surveys, action-planning tools, exit surveys, peer-to-peer recognition, performance evaluations, goal tracking, and leadership assessment. For more information, visit QuantumWorkplace.com. Media Contact: Jon Aderson Director of Marketing BenchPrep 312-650-5135 [email protected] A video accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/821b6400-74ca-487c-b57d-a514291a1108 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Popular Ghanaian Private Legal Practitioner, Maurice Ampaw, has waded into the discourse of a petition filed by former President John Dramani Mahama through his lawyer, Tony Lithur to the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to investigate NPPs Abronye DC. According to him, after critically examining the petition, he concluded that Mr. Lithur has been swayed by politics, leaving behind his noble profession. I am shocked he [Tony Lithur] signed that petition; indeed politicians are liars. I dont want to use harsh words on him but Tony Lithur must be honest as a lawyer, he said in an interview with Kwasi Aboagye, host of NEAT FMs morning show Ghana Montie. Mahamas Petition The former President is asking the Police Service to investigate murder allegations made against him by the Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe popularly known as Abronye DC. In the said letter, his lawyer, Tony Lithur said Abronye DC has accused his client, John Dramani Mahama, and some members of the NDC of planning to assassinate some members of the NPP. My instructions are that in a recording on a TV program on Net 2 TV, Madina, Accra which has been circulating on various social media platforms including Facebook and Whatsapp platforms, Abronye made certain false claims alleging a plot masterminded by His Excellency John Dramani Mahama to assassinate some NPP personalities including him, Abronye DC, himself . . ." the petition read. Wrong Move Maurice Ampaw, who described the petition as laughable, urged Tony Lithur to advise his client, the former President that they are on a wrong path. He [Tony Lithur] should advise Mahama that this cause of affection will expose him [Mahama] and his party [NDC] big time. He will be guilty of his own petition. When it comes to politics, politicians say worse things than this. They cause fear and panic, he said. Kevin Taylor Working For NDC The controversial lawyer also alleged that US-based Kevin Taylor who over the months has constantly accused the NPP of everything bad in Ghana, is a paid ally of the NDC whos duty is to tarnish the Nana Addo-led government reputation. You dont need evidence to conclude that Kevin Taylor is working for the NDC. His modus operandi which only attacks the NPP and its leaders shows clearly who he is operating for, he told the host. Call Your People To Order Maurice Ampaw, however, advised that If the former president wants these allegations to stop, he should also call his people to order to the ceasefire". I see what Abronye said as political talk. We are in a political year and politicians will spread falsehood to gain political votes. The police should be very careful with this kind of a petition from politicians, Mr. Ampaw advised. Useless Petition Adding that This is the most useless incompetent letter written by Tony Lithur. He is a lawyer and must act like one." Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/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. Featured Video Apache Corp became the latest oil major to report a negative net result for the first quarter, booking a loss of $4.5 billion, or $11.86 per share for the period. Like its peers, Apache also slashed its capital expenditure by 55 percent compared with 2019 to some $1.1 billion and cut its dividend by 90 percent. The company said it would use the cash saved from dividends to strengthen its financial position. Apache has reduced the number of its drilling rigs in the Permian from 21 at the start of the year to just one and plans to halt all drilling and fracking operations after it completes one last well for the year. The approach is likely to become more widespread in the shale patch, where oil prices have hit producers particularly hard. Last month, Apache said it had managed to cut annualized costs by more than $300 million, compared with an earlier target of $150 million in cost savings. This year alone, the company said, it will save some $225 million. We have made substantial progress on our organizational redesign initiative, which began in the fall of 2019. This is enabling more flexible resource allocation and increased collaboration while delivering cost savings that are critical in the current environment, chief executive John Christmann said at the time. Apache is one of the biggest players in the Permian, with average daily production of 96,919 barrels over the first quarter. This was down from 103,275 bpd at the end of 2019. Its international outputin Egypt and the North Seaalso declined during the first quarter, with the total, including U.S. and international production, down by more than 7,000 bpd during the reporting period. As production shrinks, however, Apache last month announced a second significant oil discovery in a block that it explores in partnership with French Total in Suriname. Drilling operations there will continue, the company said. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Bexar County officials on Wednesday reported 84 new cases of COVID-19 most of them at the Bexar County Jail and one new death. San Antonio, meanwhile, is opening two temporary, free testing sites where residents wont be required to show they have symptoms in order to be tested for the novel coronavirus. The San Antonio region has now had 1,761 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. A total of 53 people have died, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said at the daily city-county coronavirus briefing. On ExpressNews.com: Coronavirus live updates Nirenberg said the most recent fatality was a Latino male in his 60s. He offered no other details. Of the new cases of COVID-19, 54 are inmates at the Bexar County Jail, where an outbreak began in late March. The remaining 30 new cases were from community transmission of the virus, the mayor said. To date, 293 inmates and 49 jail staff members have tested positive for the virus, according to the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District. One inmate and one deputy have died. Were used to dealing with bad guys and bullets, said Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar, who oversees the jail and who attended Wednesdays briefing. Were not used to dealing with this unseen enemy like COVID has proven to be, but certainly a worthy opponent. Infected but asymptomatic Of the inmates who have tested positive, 222 did not have symptoms, Salazar said. The sheriff has said the prevalence of non-symptomatic inmates helps explain how the virus spread so rapidly inside the jail. On ExpressNews.com: Most Bexar County jail inmates who test positive show no symptoms Outside the jail, the situation is likely the same, with a high percentage of those exposed to the coronavirus showing no symptoms, said Dr. Bryan Alsip, chief medical officer for University Health System, which provides medical services at the jail. To try to curb transmission of the virus, Salazar has reduced the jail population by releasing hundreds of nonviolent offenders, increased cleaning and stepped up testing of inmates and employees. About 800 inmates have been tested, with about 2,000 to go, Salazar said. University Health System expects to finish testing jail staff by the end of the week, Alsip said. The rate of increase in confirmed cases among inmates has leveled off since Monday, Salazar said. Hospitals not strained On ExpressNews.com: Bexar County deputy dies after testing positive for COVID-19 Outside the jail, 60 people were in San Antonio-area hospitals with COVID-19 as of Wednesday, one fewer than on Tuesday. Of those, 34 were in intensive care down from 35 on Tuesday and 21 were connected to ventilators, four fewer than the day before. To date, 834 people have recovered from the disease, Nirenberg said. The pandemic has not yet strained the regions hospital capacity. Metro Health reported that of San Antonios 4,727 staffed hospital beds, only 68 percent were occupied. Nearly 80 percent of ventilators were available, the agency said. New test sites San Antonio is opening two temporary, walk-up COVID-19 testing locations that dont require an appointment. Residents dont have to show symptoms in order to get tested, Nirenberg said. The testing sites will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Las Palmas Library and Woodlawn Lake Park. Metro Health officials have sought to expand the regions testing capacity from 1,600 per day to 3,000 by the end of June. So far, 27,483 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in Bexar County. New cases in Comal On ExpressNews.com: Get the latest update on coronavirus and a tracking map of U.S. cases In Comal County, officials reported two more residents have contracted COVID-19, bringing the total there to 61. Forty-four Comal residents have recovered. Eleven residents currently have the disease. One is hospitalized. Six Comal residents have died of COVID-19 complications. 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 Patti Newton wore a face mask as she took three of her grandchildren and their dogs for a stroll on Thursday. The 75-year-old was every bit the doting grandmother as she walked alongside seven-year-old Lola and pushed one-year-old Perla in a pram. The Australian showbiz icon rugged up in a navy blue jacket, a long sleeve cheetah print blouse and casual jeans. Doting grandmother: Patti Newton, 75, headed to the park with her grandchildren Patti styled the simple ensemble with a Louis Vuitton handbag and dark sunglasses. The children enjoyed the cooler weather as they ran around the expansive park with Patti's two dogs. Patti was seemingly giving her daughter Lauren much-needed respite, as she is currently pregnant with her sixth child. Being careful: Patti Newton donned a face mask as she took four of her grandchildren and their dogs for a stroll on Thursday Family: The 75-year-old was every bit the doting grandmother as she walked alongside seven-year-old Lola and pushed one-year-old Perla in a pram The 40-year-old daughter of Australian TV royalty shared the happy news on Instagram in April. Lauren posted a sweet picture online of her youngest daughter Perla, 15 months, holding a sonogram photo and wrote: 'Perla is thrilled she is going to be a big sister!' Patti also shared her the exciting news on her own Instagram at the time. Keeping warm: The Australian showbiz icon rugged up in a navy blue jacket, a long sleeve cheetah print blouse and casual jeans Stylish: Patti wore the simple ensemble with a Louis Vuitton handbag and dark sunglasses 'Another beautiful baby to love. So lucky this baby is having number six,' Patti wrote. She added, referring to the coronavirus pandemic: 'In these sad and difficult times, wonderful to have such joy to look forward to.' 'The best parents and the most fabulous children, we miss you so much, our love Nana and Poppy.' Melbourne chill: The children enjoyed the cooler weather as they ran around the expansive park with Patti's two dogs Spacious: Patti was seemingly giving her daughter Lauren much-needed respite, as she is currently pregnant with her sixth child Patti and her husband Bert Newton are proud grandparents to Sam, 11, Eva and Lola, as well as grandson Monty, two, and baby granddaughter Perla. But quarantine hasn't been stress-free for the Newton clan, with Bert's ongoing health issues and their son Matthew currently in the U.S. Matthew Newton has been keeping a low profile since relocating to the U.S. in 2012. New addition soon: The 40-year-old daughter of Australian TV royalty, Bert and Patti, shared the happy news on Instagram in April Lauren posted a sweet picture online of her youngest daughter Perla (pictured in the pram), 16 months, holding a sonogram photo and wrote: 'Perla is thrilled she is going to be a big sister!' And according to Monday's Woman's Day, the actor's mother is urging him to return to Melbourne, in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Patti is said to be 'worried sick' for her 43-year-old son, who has suffered from mental health struggles through his life. An insider alleged that Patti has teamed up with Matthew's mother-in-law Jennifer Cunningham to help get the star and his wife Catherine Schnedierman to Australia. 'Another beautiful baby to love': Patti also shared her the exciting news on her own Instagram at the time Never-ending love: 'So lucky this baby is having number six,' Patti wrote 'She (Jennifer) is advising them to go to Australia and has enlisted the help of Patti to get them there,' the source claimed. They went on to say that Patti is concerned for Matthew and Catherine, considering the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) in New York. 'Outwardly, she (Patti) tells people she's happy for Matthew to make his own decisions, but truthfully not a single day goes by where she isn't worried sick for him, especially now,' the source claimed. Positive outlook: 'In these sad and difficult times, wonderful to have such joy to look forward to,' Patti said Meanwhile, Bert has likely been very cautious amid the pandemic, having suffered through multiple health scares in recent years, including three bouts of pneumonia. According New Idea, Bert has lost up to 15kg after a string of hospital visits left him feeling 'terrified' about his future. 'When he had a health scare with pneumonia in 2017, it shook him to the core,' a source said. 'He realised he was actually vulnerable and that terrified him. He knew he had a close call and had to take far better care of himself.' 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 As many as 77 inmates and 26 staff members from Arthur Road jail in Mumbai have contracted coronavirus, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said on Thursday. After the coronavirus epidemic broke out, the state government had isolated eight prisons in the state including the Arthur Road prison, and ordered that no new person will be allowed to enter and those inside, including jail staff, will not be allowed to leave prison during lockdown. But despite the precautions, 72 inmates of Arthur Road prison were found to have contracted coronavirus after coming in contact with a cook who had caught the infection, Deshmukh had told reporters in Palghar district earlier in the day. In a video message on Twitter, the minister informed that "coronavirus infection was found in one of the barracks of the Arthur Road Jail and tests of all the inmates in the barrack were immediately carried out". "It was found that 77 inmates had contracted the disease. Plus, 26 of police personnel too tested positive for coronavirus," he said. "So we have initiated the process of quarantining these 103 persons at St George Hospital," the minister added. Deshmukh also said that to prevent the spread of virus in jails, the state government had decided to release on parole some 5,000 prisoners who have been sentenced to less than seven years' imprisonment. The official previously led the Fund's missions in Moldova and North Macedonia Ivana Vladkova-Hollar became the leader of the IMF mission in Ukraine. The IMF press office reported this on May 7. The Bulgarian citizen chaied the Fund's delegation in Ukraine on May 1. She previously led the Fund's missions in Moldova and North Macedonia. Earlier, the National Bank of Ukraine said it expected a loan from the IMF in the second quarter of 2020. President Volodymyr Zelensky claims there are no threats to cooperation between Ukraine and the IMF, since the MPs have unblocked the process of passing the law on banking system activity; as is known, this is the IMF's key request for the loan to be transferred to Ukraine. he added that the IMF will provide funds that are necessary for Ukraine's economy - "in spite of certain political forces trying to impede that process", as he put it. In April 2020, the volume of state reserves of Ukraine grew by 800 million U.S. dollars. That's 3.1 percent more than last month's figure, National Bank says in a statement. As of May 1, Ukraine's international currency reserves make 25.7 billion U.S. dollars. The National Bank (NBU) explained that there are three factors for such growth: the drop in currency demand by businesses on the interbanking market, government operations to pay the state debts in currency, as well as re-evaluation of financial tools. The Kognito platform and product are a perfect solution for this moment in time." Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS), the nations fourth largest school district, is responding to concerns about student distress during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing all school staff with an innovative online training simulation that enables them to build skills in talking with students experiencing psychological distress. The simulation was developed by Kognito, a leader in health simulations for education and clinical healthcare. According to Kognito, all M-DCPS employees will have access to the simulation starting today, which is also National Childrens Mental Health Awareness Day. M-DCPSs Mental Health Services division is leading the initiative out of concern for students, who are experiencing a variety of stressors related to the pandemic. The simulation, Trauma-Informed Practices for K12 Schools, will be available to over 40,000 M-DCPS teachers, administrators, and other school personnel for 12 months. The skills taught will be instrumental in preparing school staff to create a more responsive and welcoming school climate now and through the fall as the districts 350,000 students start returning to the classroom. M-DCPS Assistant Superintendent Sally Alayon leads the Mental Health Services division and was instrumental in the decision to adopt the trauma training based on prior success working with Kognito and its programs. She says the enthusiastic reception from staff and the ease of implementation the District experienced using Kognitos mental health and suicide prevention series last year - part of a statewide initiative sponsored by the Florida Department of Education - made the decision an easy one. When schools went remote, we understood immediately that this would be challenging for our students, families and staff, said Alayon. The Kognito platform and product are a perfect solution for this moment in time. We went from idea to launch in about two weeks. The simulations are easy to rollout, highly engaging, and backed by evidence. We expect this training to help staff to respond to students, families, colleagues and most importantly themselves with greater empathy and compassion. Trauma-Informed Practices for K12 Schools uses interactive role-play scenarios to help educators and staff better support students. Originally created in partnership with UNICEF USA in response to Hurricane Harvey, it prepares users to spot warning signs of trauma, lead real-life conversations with students, improve their experience in class, and explore making a referral to a mental health professional. The simulation was developed with the expertise of internationally known trauma experts, teachers, counselors, nurses, and other school-based mental health professionals. Trauma-Informed Practices for K12 Schools will prepare educators to recognize and respond to student behavior that may be the result of trauma or distress. says Jennifer Spiegler, Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Kognito. Miami-Dade County Public Schools is responding to a critical need and taking decisive action that will promote a quicker recovery and a softer landing from this crisis. It is a privilege to witness the rapid decision-making and nimble teamwork of Ms. Alayon and her colleagues in the Mental Health Services division. The adoption of trauma-informed training in response to COVID-19 comes on the heels of several M-DCPS district initiatives to address student mental health. In July 2018, the district established the Department of Mental Health Services, whose mission is to promote students' social-emotional and academic well-being through the highest quality of school and community comprehensive, evidence-based mental health services. Districtwide activities include hiring mental health coordinators, strengthening community resources, mental health curricula for students, and professional development for administrators, educators, and staff. As a school district, we provide education, but there are so many factors that contribute to a students ability to succeed. The mental health of our students and families is always a priority, especially now, says Alayon. About Miami-Dade County Public Schools Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS), an A-rated district, is the nations fourth largest school system with nearly 400 schools and a diverse enrollment of more than 350,000 students from over 160 countries. Our ongoing tradition of groundbreaking achievement has earned top recognition at the national and international levels. M-DCPS also recently reached a landmark graduation rate of 89.2 percent. Learn more at dadeschools.net. About Kognito Kognito is a health simulation company whose evidence-based simulations harness the power of role-play conversations with virtual humans to improve social, emotional, and physical health. Learn more at kognito.com. This article is reprinted with permission from the George W. Bush Presidential Center. In 2019, Robert Kagan authored a long-form essay in the Washington Post in which he argued that the era of the strongman is back. The Brookings Institution senior fellow contends that authoritarianism is once again the greatest challenge to liberal democracy and the beneficiaries have been authoritarian states like Russia, China, and Iran. The historian echoed those themes in this conversation with the Bush Institutes Lindsay Lloyd, Chris Walsh, and Bill McKenzie. Part of the antidote, he believes, is that people in democratic societies should remember the benefits of liberal democracy. That includes recalling how putting the rights of the individual over the rights of the state has guarded democracies from the worst impulses in human nature. He also contends that America standing up for the principles of liberal democracy will lead to a more stable world. You wrote last year that authoritarianism has emerged as the greatest challenge facing the liberal democratic world. Assuming you think that remains true, where is the greatest resistance to the fundamentals of democracy today? Is that from state actors, non-state actors, something else? Authoritarianism has reemerged as the greatest challenge to liberal democracy. When liberalism and democracy took hold, particularly after the American Revolution, the great opponents were the autocracies of Eastern Europe: Russia, Austria, and Prussia -- the so-called Holy Alliance. During the Cold War, we got used to the idea that the challenge was communism. But looking at the larger sweep of history, the communism challenge was a shorter one. The challenge from authoritarianism varies from the autocracies of the 19th century to the fascist dictatorships of the first half of the 20th century. In a way, we have returned to a more normal challenge. As to where it is coming from, it is coming from human beings. For perfectly understandable reasons, we have gotten used to the idea that liberalism and democracy are the norms or are the products of a long process of human evolution. We dont sufficiently realize that liberalism is a historical aberration. It is not how humans have organized themselves throughout history. Some aspects in liberalism challenge natural impulses in human beings: attachment to family, tribe, religious beliefs, etc. Liberalism speaks to a universality of human existence, that all humans are the same. That runs counter to a lot of basic human feeling. What were seeing is a natural reaction against liberalism. I dont mean it is therefore good. I think its bad. A lot of negative attributes of human nature are playing themselves out. If you look at whats happening in Europe and the United States, there is a real loss of faith in liberalism. The beneficiaries have been the great authoritarian powers of Russia and China, and maybe Iran. Iran is not a great power but its still a power. They are more the beneficiaries than the cause of the problem. Theyre exacerbating it, and taking advantage of it. But the problem goes deeper. It is a problem in our own society. You also wrote about the primacy of the individual, which plays into what youre talking about now. How do we reestablish the primacy of the individual over the primacy of the state? People sort of forgot what liberalism is supposed to deliver. In the 1930s, there was a lot of criticism of liberalism and democracy for not delivering economic or spiritual wellbeing. What liberalism provides, and by liberalism I mean the primacy of individual rights over the rights of the state, is that the individual is protected against the power of the state in various ways. In the United States, we have our Bill of Rights, which are mostly about protecting the individual from having their rights trampled on by the state or community. Most societies throughout history have privileged the rights of the state over the rights of the individual. What people have forgotten is that liberalism protects them from being killed, tortured, or imprisoned by the state and having their rights trampled. Instead, they focus on the things theyre not getting out of liberalism. We need to remind people whats at stake. Wage stagnation is a problem, but its not a reason to get rid of liberalism. Many people have turned against liberalism for that reason, or they dont like the cultural developments in our society. They lose sight of what liberalism does for them and protects them against. In 2018, the Bush Institute partnered with Freedom House and the Penn-Biden Center on a public opinion researchproject that looks at American attitudes towards democracy. We didnt find an openness to other forms of government, but we did find a deep level of dissatisfaction across most demographics with how democracy is delivering. Large majorities say it is weak and getting weaker. How do you begin to restore confidence in institutions and our systems, when everything here has become so polarized? It would be good to have political leaders who extol the basic values of liberalism and democracy without regard to partisan advantage and that our system is based on protecting these basic rights. Its been a while since we have made a concerted effort to educate Americans on that front. It was easier during the Cold War for Americans to see the real alternative was unappealing and unsuccessful. A lot of what inspired the civil rights efforts among white people was this sense that we needed to live up to these ideals that we were claiming in competition with communist ideals. When the Cold War ended, we lost that set of alternatives. We havent looked at the authoritarian states as a potential alternative. But we are fighting over relatively minor issues and losing sight of the big issues. It took World War II to get us out of the grave doubts Americans were having about democracy in the 1930s, partly as a result of the Depression. It doesnt take that kind of crisis, but I dont see a clear way forward. Lets return to the primacy of the individual versus the primacy of the state. Is our desire for personal freedom running up against the need for security, whether thats being secure in a state, a nation, a tradition, or a culture? To some extent, yes. This has been the great tension in our society going back to the founding of the republic. We have an inherent schism in our worldview, which was born with the Declaration of Independence. That universal doctrine says that all people are equal. As I was saying earlier, thats not a normal human feeling. The normal human feeling is my people are good, I dont know about everyone else. The desire to provide protections to people that are regarded as the other is not a normal human impulse. Those protections are embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. But during the period of slavery, for example, Americas white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant population wanted to preserve its position in society. And since the Civil War, there has been a nervousness about the loss of Anglo-Saxon Protestant dominance that gets translated into nervousness about white cultural dominance. Usually, the Declaration of Independence and its universalist definition of American nationhood has triumphed over the particularist cultural definition of American nationalism. But were seeing that fight being fought out again today. Is this tension between personal freedom and the need for security in a tribe triggering a backlash against democracy around the world? That is clearly happening in the populist national movement in Europe, particularly in places like Hungary and Poland. Viktor Orban, the leader of Hungary, talks about a Christian democracy that privileges white Christian culture and beliefs within Hungary. That is a response to perceptions that Europe is being overrun by non-white and non-Christian peoples. This tension is even more stark in Europe than in the United States. The fear of Islamic culture swamping Europe is very prevalent. Of course, its a fear thats been prevalent in Europe in some respects for at least five centuries. It certainly has returned with all the refugees and immigration of Muslims from the Middle East and northern Africa. So there is this desire for cultural security, which is turning people away from the liberalism and democracy that protects the rights of all individuals universally. There is a desire to go back to privileging white Christian culture over what they regard as this invasion of other cultures, particularly Islamic cultures. That is the kind of security an Orban, the Law and Justice party in Poland, or Vladimir Putin is offering to particular tribes as they worry about the inundation from other tribes. What are the consequences if the U.S. pulls back from international leadership? The world weve been living in since 1945 is a world of increasing democratic government, a world of increasing liberalism, a world that has mostly avoided major wars and great power conflicts, and a world that has enjoyed historically unprecedented economic prosperity. That is all a creation of the international order the United States established after World War II. The decision by the United States to involve itself on a permanent basis in Europe put an end to a cycle of warfare that had been going on in Europe for a long time. Americas role in Asia similarly put an end to the kind of conflicts that had existed there and that had twice sucked the United States into conflict in Europe and Asia. We created this peaceful, benevolent international environment because the United States made itself a European and Asian power and did not regard itself as simply a Western Hemisphere power. To the degree the United States pulls back, the world will return to the path it was on before the United States intervened and set the world on a different direction. People are far too sanguine about what the world would look like with less American involvement, much less America pulling away from playing these security roles in Europe and Asia. People mindlessly hope Europe will stay peaceful. History suggests that is not only unlikely but probably impossible. How do you make the case to younger Americans who support human rights for moral reasons but are less sure about supporting them for the cause of democracy in part because they may equate the spread of democracy with military power? That has been a big problem but not a new problem. Americans have traditionally wanted to see good things happen in the world so as long the United States doesnt have to wield power to make them happen. That is for all sorts of reasons. Maybe it doesnt work; maybe we dont have the capacity; and wielding power is itself a morally dubious activity. What a lot of young people are expressing is a pretty traditional American view. We need to teach them history better, show them what happened when we didnt play a bigger role, and help them understand good things just dont happen. When you watch a place like Syria play out with a million dead and millions of refugees, it ought to tell people our abstention has not brought about a good outcome. For better or worse, history suggests generations learn by what happens to them as they go through life. The generation that created the post-World War II world is the same generation that didnt want to do anything in the 1930s. If you had asked young people in the 1930s whether the United States should be involved in the world, they would sound like young people do today. It was only the experience of World War II that led them to change their view. Events change what a generation thinks of things. The current generation of young Americans has grown up only with endless wars. They have not faced a fundamental crisis nor have they seen an example of successful American power. Its not surprising that they are skeptical. I can only hope that events will suggest otherwise to them before we reach a catastrophe. What effect, if any, do our current democratic shortcomings have on our ability to preach and support democracy and human rights overseas? We are not having that problem now since we are not in fact preaching democracy and human rights overseas. We werent during the last administration either. The degree to which other nations and people think about the United States is not heavily influenced by whether they admire us or not. Most people basically want to know what were doing for them now. The more we are a better model of democracy the better democracy is in general. If the worlds most leading democracy is not behaving like a good democracy, then its not as an attractive model as it might be. Most people who want democracy want it for the reasons anyone does. I dont think Egyptians would like to be relieved of their incredibly oppressive government because of American democracy. They have their own reasons for wanting to be relieved of this oppression. Lets wrap up with some hope. If you look across the world, who do you see taking seriously the obligation of freedom and human rights abroad? Tens of millions of people in the United States are committed to it. But right now the most liberal country in the world is Germany. Western Europe is still probably among the most liberal places. And Parasites winning of the Academy Award for Best Picture is an expression of how free things are in Korea. Thats miraculous, if you know Korean history. I find it inspirational that Koreans value their freedom of expression and right to criticize their government and society. There is this sort of love of liberalism all over the world, even in places like Russia and China. It is obviously there in Hong Kong. Even though aspects of human nature work against liberalism, aspects work for it. My main point is this is a never-ending struggle. Those who believe in the virtues of liberalism need to engage in that struggle. In the United States, we tend to look to our institutions or political leaders to protect us. Thats a mistake. Every individual here and around the world needs to take personal responsibility for defending liberalism and be more active in this unending historical struggle. As time goes on, more people are wondering, did I have coronavirus already. I can help the next patient [INAUDIBLE].. Now, Stanford hospitals in northern California are giving their health care workers the answer with antibody testing for all. We were given exclusive access to follow two caregivers and their blood through the antibody testing process. I do have a loved one at home, my mother, who is high risk. So I want to get tested just to make sure Im O.K., and kind of maybe surprise her and say, I get to come see you. First, theyre swabbed to make sure theyre not currently infected. Oh my god. And then they give a vial of blood for the antibody test. Theres so many asymptomatic carriers around, and theres so many people that may have had it or had mild symptoms, and not had known. If I have the antibodies and someone needs my plasma, Id love to help out. Honestly, Im hoping that comes back positive, that itll teach us a lot. the blood antibody test for the COVID-19 virus. This blood test, also known as serology, will show if they had coronavirus in the past, and their immune system raised antibodies to fight it off. But it cant predict if those antibodies will make them immune. What this and other reliable antibody tests can do is give us a better picture of how widespread coronavirus actually is. And theyre helping researchers design possible treatments and vaccines. More widespread testing will help us to better understand more quickly what are the important variables, you know, whos going to be protected, whos not. These are samples from the people we just met including, Heidi and Jamshid. Here, theyll be spun to separate blood cells from plasma. Next, that plasma is taken to a different lab on campus for analysis. You can see the robot is precisely putting in the right amount of each sample into the wells of the plate. Theres been great demand for the test. The lab is basically open 24 hours. The instruments have been running day and night. Dr. Scott Boyd and his team developed this test, and now theyre ramping up quickly. Theyve just received a new shipment of robots called ELISA Instruments. Soon, the team hopes to process at least 4,000 samples a day. They use controls to validate their tests, so they know it works. The positive controls are from coronavirus patients at Stanford, and the negative are from healthy blood donors, taken before coronavirus jumped to humans. Out of 200 people, the results for a few may be inaccurate. But this kind of test is among the best we have. You can see the controls here in the left column of each assay plate. Once the plate finishes processing, you can see a yellow color in the patient samples that have antibodies. The darker the color, the more antibodies there are. But just measuring the total quantity doesnt tell you all the information youd like to know. The question is, does somebody likely have immunity. The answers are not yet as clear. Only some antibodies actually fight or neutralize the virus. So the next step for researchers is to identify those ones. Then, how much of those neutralizing antibodies are needed to block the virus and prevent re infection? So were also now working on developing a neutralizing anybody test that would allow us to test a lot of patients in the hospital, and also health care workers. That neutralizing antibody test, which Dr. Boyd hopes to have ready by the end of May, will give a better sense of who is actually immune. Remember Heidi from earlier? Well, we watched her sample go through the process. Coronavirus. And now her results are in. Not detected. All right, so what did the results say? Negative. Negative COVID and negative serology, unfortunately. But its a good thing, right? It can still be good. Todays really my only safe day, because I go back to work tomorrow. So I feel pretty safe that I can go over, see my mom without a mask. I dont think shes got the ability to survive a disease like this, so Ive had to be very careful. I havent seen her face. She hasnt seen my face without a mask on since like, the beginning of March. Im negative. What? Yeah. Yay! You get to take your mask off, at least for today. Come out here. Oh my goodness. Im so happy. I missed you. I missed you. Oh, I havent had a hug forever. Oh, Im so happy. O.K. Bye bye, sweetheart. Bye bye. All right. Bye bye. Thank you. Jamshids results are the same as Heidis So I do not have the antibodies, which is great, because it means PPE works, which is fantastic. Ive definitely been in multiple rooms with people with known COVID, and Ive been wearing PPE. And Im glad that I was at a place that I didnt have to reuse or recycle my PPE. Preliminary data is starting to show that Heidi and Jamshids negative antibody results are representative. Hi, Romey. In places like the Bay Area that havent been hard hit, only a small fraction of people are testing positive for antibodies. You know, where I go to the grocery store, I get it. I go to work again, I get it. Its out there, so Im still going to take the same precautions. Im going to still wear a mask. But these tests are a first step towards understanding immunity. Just having antibodies is not a free pass. Hopefully if someones positive, it doesnt give a false sense of security. I still think that everybody needs to protect themselves just the way that we currently are. Jess Scarane is campaigning for Joe Bidens old Senate seat with a striking message for a Delaware Democrat: She believes his accuser, Tara Reade. Scarane, who said she is a victim of sexual assault, tweeted in March that when she listened to Reade talk about her claims, the assault I experienced as a teen at my first job came rushing back. She was telling my story, too. Almost word for word. She has called on Chris Coons, the incumbent she is trying to oust and a top Biden ally, to support an investigation. I debated sending the tweet that I first did, probably for hours, she told POLITICO. Because I was not only exposing my own story, but I think theres still a lot of fear and potential ramifications by just saying this deserves to be taken seriously. Scarane is one of more than a half-dozen progressive House and Senate challengers almost all of them millennials who have said publicly that they believe Reades claim that Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993 when she worked as his Senate aide or otherwise spoke out in support of her. Though most are long-shot candidates with limited resources, their remarks could stoke division at a time when Biden is trying to unite the partys warring factions. Their stance also risks exposing a rift between some younger and older Democrats as Biden works to strengthen his position as the Democratic nominee. There is a generational component, said Peter Daou, a progressive consultant who has advised some Democratic candidates who said they support Reade. This is part of the entire divide between people who came to politics through Bernie Sanders, principled progressivism, leftism. What Ive found is that for these types of activists and voters, there tends to be less willingness to be either incremental or to compromise with the Republican Party. Its a belief that the way we win is by adhering very firmly to our principles. Biden has vehemently denied Reades allegations. On MSNBC last week, he said, No, it is not true. I am saying unequivocally it never, never happened, and it didnt. It never happened. Bidens former Senate aides at the time said that Reade never complained about him to them, and no Biden staffer has corroborated her assault claim. Three people have said Reade told them about the alleged assault roughly around the time she said it happened or a few years afterward. Story continues Tara Reade in April 2019. The Biden campaign did not provide comment for this story. Sean Coit, a spokesman for Coons, said, "Since these allegations first surfaced, the Biden campaign has urged reporters to look into them and the campaign is urging the Secretary of the Senate to release records of any complaint Ms. Reade might have filed. Sen. Coons believes all allegations of assault should be taken seriously and investigated, and he believes Vice President Biden and his campaign are handling this appropriately." Forty percent of Democratic voters under the age of 45 the core of Sanders base said the party should pick a different nominee after watching a video of Bidens denial, according to a Morning Consult poll, whereas only 15 percent of Democrats 45 and up said the same thing. Another survey by Monmouth found that 45 percent of all voters between the ages of 18 and 34 said Reades allegation is likely true a larger portion than any other age group. Biden has struggled to win over young people in the primary, and some Democrats worry about a rerun of 2016, when Hillary Clinton failed to rally some of Sanders former supporters and lost to Donald Trump by a small margin in the critical battleground states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. Biden has worked to avoid such a scenario by talking positively about Sanders and his supporters, and announcing that he will create policy task forces with the Vermont senator. Lindsey Boylan, a 36-year-old running in New York against House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, has tweeted multiple times about Reade, including her frustration with House Speaker Nancy Pelosis defense of Biden and remarks that Joe Biden is Joe Biden. She said that her first political memory was of the controversy surrounding Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, something that she believes the media and Democrats handled poorly, and she wants to avoid such an error. I feel like the adults in the room at the time really did not handle anything about that with care, she said. The world I grew up in my early adulthood and my first awareness of politics and the business world is not a world I accept for my daughter. The divide among different generations of Democrats in their treatment of Reades allegations has been evident even among some elected officials. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a leading progressive, unequivocally said she trusted Biden: I saw the reports of what Ms. Reade said, I saw an interview with Vice President Biden. I appreciate that the vice president took a lot of questions, tough questions. And he answered them directly and respectfully. The vice president's answers were credible and convincing. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a member of the so-called Squad who endorsed Warren in the primary, wrote a nearly 700-word Medium post involving Reades allegations titled Its 2020 and we still dont know what survivor justice looks like. In it, she suggested Bidens response fell short. We are in the throes of an election of the greatest consequence one that will determine if core rights and tenets of democracy survive in this nation. The stakes cannot be overstated. But I have no patience for any person who tells me that is a reason to lower my voice. I reject the false choice that my party and our nominee cant address the allegations at hand and defeat the occupant of the White House. Several of the progressive challengers who believe Reade said they are concerned about Bidens ability to defeat President Donald Trump, who has been accused of sexual assault and misconduct by multiple women, because of the allegation. But Rebecca Parson, who is running against Washington Democratic Rep. Derek Kilmer, is one of the few who has called for Biden to withdraw from the race. She wants his delegates to be reallocated, and for other Democratic candidates to restart their campaigns so the party can nominate someone else. "We need to go against Trump with somebody who he can't attack on charges of hypocrisy, she said. Trump will not hesitate to seize on it and accuse Joe Biden of hypocrisy. Unfortunately with Trump, it doesn't matter that he has extremely serious allegations against him. Bidens supporters have argued that progressives such as Parson are politically motivated because they want a left-wing candidate such as Sanders to be able to rejoin the race and win. Parson denied that, saying she would support moderates as well as progressives who restart their campaigns. Despite their beliefs about Reades accusations, most of the challengers interviewed for this story said they would vote for the Democratic nominee regardless, though some hope that Biden somehow wont end up being that person. In the Monmouth survey, about one-third of voters who think Reades accusations are probably true said they also would vote for Biden a reflection of the large number of Americans who want Trump out above all else. A snake has hidden itself so well in between a pile of leaves that social media users have been left stumped trying to figure out where it is. The Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers asked viewers to spot the snake after sharing a photo on their Facebook page on Sunday. The post was flooded with different guesses before snake catcher Stuart McKenzie revealed the yellow faced whip snake had camouflaged itself into the bush. Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers asked viewers to spot the yellow faced whip snake hiding in the bush 'Let's be honest what better way is there to pass time whilst in isolation than a game of Spot the Snake!' he wrote along the post. Mr McKenzie told Daily Mail Australia the whip snakes were one of the hardest to catch. 'We know they're going to be so difficult to find. Not only are they a skinny snake but they're super quick hence their name whip,' he said. 'They're very hard to find (when called to a job).' Yellow faced whip snakes are venomous and can cause severe pain to anyone bitten. Snake catcher Stuart McKenzie revealed the snake had been hiding in between a pile of leave People were still stumped as to where the snake was until Mr McKenzie zoomed in to show the body of the snake YELLOW FACED WHIP SNAKE These snakes are venomous but are not known to be deadly to humans If bitten, a person can experience severe pain and nausea They are usually brown coloured or grey They can grow up to one metre long and are found throughout Australia Advertisement 'They're not considered to be that dangerous to humans but most people (bitten) will get pretty severe pain and some nausea,' Mr McKenzie said. The snake catcher also said due to the small size of whip snakes, they were often found inside people's homes. 'They do have the ability to squeeze into small gaps,' he said. 'Whip snakes seem to be the least defensive, they will always try to get away and dodge you.' Mr McKenzie said whip snakes are often mistaken with brown snakes - one of Australia's most deadly reptiles. trump rouhani iran 4x3 trump Michael Gruber/Getty Images; Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images; Samantha Lee/Business Insider President Donald Trump vetoed a resolution that sought to limit his ability to wage war against Iran, marking the seventh veto of his tenure. The resolution, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, passed with bipartisan support in both chambers. The measure was largely a response to a drone strike Trump ordered in early January that killed Iran's top general, which sparked fears of war. Trump said the resolution would've harmed his ability to protect the US. But Kaine said Trump "vetoed legislation that would help avoid unnecessary war in the Middle East." It's unlikely either chamber will gather the necessary votes to override Trump's veto. Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories. President Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed a resolution that sought to prevent him from taking military action against Iran without congressional approval. The measure, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, was introduced after Trump ordered the controversial, lethal drone strike on Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in January. It passed with bipartisan support in both chambers. The resolution passed in the Senate in February and in the House the following month. Normally, the president has 10 days to veto a resolution, but Congress delayed transmitting the measure to the White House due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Post reported. It's highly unlikely that either chamber will have the two-thirds majority that would be necessary to override Trump's veto. This marked the seventh veto of Trump's presidency, and the five attempts to override his previous vetoes failed. In a statement responding to Trump's veto, Kaine said: "Last year, in President Trump's State of the Union remarks, he said: 'Great nations do not fight endless wars.' But instead of following through on his word, President Trump vetoed legislation that would help avoid unnecessary war in the Middle East. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to override his veto. Unless there's a carefully reached consensus in Congress that war is necessary, we should not be sending our troops into harm's way." Story continues Trump said the resolution harmed his ability to protect the US In a statement, Trump said the resolution "purported to direct me to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces in hostilities against Iran." "This was a very insulting resolution, introduced by Democrats as part of a strategy to win an election on November 3 by dividing the Republican Party. The few Republicans who voted for it played right into their hands," Trump added. Trump said the resolution would have greatly harmed his ability to protect the US and its allies. "The resolution implies that the President's constitutional authority to use military force is limited to defense of the United States and its forces against imminent attack. That is incorrect," Trump said. "We live in a hostile world of evolving threats, and the Constitution recognizes that the President must be able to anticipate our adversaries' next moves and take swift and decisive action in response. That's what I did!" The statement went on to say that the strike on Soleimani was legal and justified under the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) and Article II of the Constitution. This echoed previous justifications of the strike from the administration, which top legal scholars have questioned. Article II provides the president with the power to act on imminent threats to the nation. But the Trump administration has not yet provided conclusive evidence that Soleimani posed an "imminent" danger to the US. A two-page White House memo on the Soleimani strike that was made public by a congressional committee in February didn't make any mention of an "imminent" threat. The 2002 AUMF, approved on October 16, 2002, authorized "the use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq." The Iraq AUMF included language that authorized the president "to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to (1) defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq; and (2) enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq." Relying on the 2002 AUMF to justify the strike "would require a conclusion that the threat from Soleimani, an Iranian government official, was posed by Iraq. In other words, relying on the law is as good as admitting there is no legal basis," Oona A. Hathaway, a professor of international law at Yale Law School, wrote in the Atlantic in January. Iranian holds a picture of late General Qassem Soleimani in Tehran Reuters Tensions between the US and Iran remain high amid the coronavirus pandemic The Soleimani strike, which took place in Iraq back in early January, pushed the US and Iran to the brink of war. It prompted an Iranian attack on US forces in Iraq. No US service members were killed, which is a large part of the reason the US and Iran were able to step away from a broader confrontation. The strike and its aftermath also shattered the already fragile 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which Trump controversially withdrew from in May 2018 against the wishes of key US allies. Tensions between Washington and Tehran remain high as the Trump administration continues to hammer Iran with crippling economic sanctions, even amid the coronavirus pandemic. In the latest example of the ongoing, incendiary rhetoric traded between the two countries, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday threatened the US with a "crushing response" if it moves to extend an arms embargo that the UN is poised to lift in October. Read the original article on Business Insider 07.05.2020 LISTEN Kindly Sign the petition using the link: http://chng.it/xQ2NW6s4jD Ghana's COVID-19 cases is over 2,000. Workers have resumed work due to the lifting of the lockdown in Ghana. However the Occupational Health, Safety and Environment guidelines Section (118-216) of the Labour Act 651, Regulations 2003 is not detailed and has not been implemented enough in our fight against COVID-19 and beyond to ensure that employers, employees and their families are healthy, safe, insured, well-taken care of and compensated in case of COVID-19 infection and death. Therefore there is an urgent need for the Parliament of Ghana to ensure the review and passing and implementation of the Occupational Health, Safety and Environment Bill to ensure that: 1. All Institutions implement Occupational Safety and Health(OHS) systems including Policy to ensure OHS training and PPEs use. 2. Inspection, Monitoring and Recommendation of OHS systems by the government and non-government agencies. 3. Employers and employees are healthy, safe, insured, well-taken care of, compensated in case of COVID-19 infection and death. To complement the efforts of health and safety PPEs and installations donated, organizations such as the Just Commit Foundation offers free OSH Policy for COVID-19 to ensure the effective use of PPEs and installations while they are developing an app to provide free Occupational Health and Safety services for COVID-19. By Janix Kwabena Asare Contact: +233 209 54 17 16 Email: [email protected] The Deputy Secretary-General hosted on Friday, May 1st, 2020, a roundtable on different aspects related to debt vulnerability and COVID-19, with over 20 policymakers, thought leaders, and experts from around the world. This note outlines some of the key messages expressed at the meeting. The COVID-19 pandemic and the social and economic crises it has already triggered will derail our chances to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development unless we respond rapidly, with new tools that enable a comprehensive global response, and build back better. In 2020 we expect to lose the equivalent of more than 300 million jobs; a decline in global trade between 13 and 32 per cent; remittance flows to low and middleincome countries to drop by around 20 per cent; and foreign direct investment to decline by 35 per cent. In this context, the first segment of the discussion was around options to support middle-income countries in this global crisis, based on their vulnerability. Middle-income countries, representing more than one third of global GDP, home to 75 per cent of the world's population and 62 per cent of the world's poor, are highly vulnerable to a debt crisis, lost market access and capital outflows. While it is not possible to know the depth and duration of the COVID-19 global pandemic and the economic crisis associated with its march across the globe, complacency could be very costly. It is important to consider preventive avenues and set up communication mechanisms between debtors and creditors to avoid a wave of disorderly defaults. The second segment of the conversation considered private sector engagement in creating solutions. The proposed debt standstill for low-income countries was welcomed and the importance of expediting it was underscored. However, it is insufficient. The Secretary-General has called for a debt standstill across all developing countries affected by debt vulnerabilities. This includes external public and commercial debt. The private sector's voluntary and well-coordinated engagement in debt relief discussions is crucial. The third segment was devoted to the Bretton Woods institutions and other international financial institutions (IFIs). Their swift actions to support member countries was commended. Greater resources for the IMF are needed, including through the issuance and leverage of Special Drawing Rights. Enhanced support for the World Bank Group, Regional Development Banks, and other IFIs and bilateral mechanisms was also underscored. Furthermore, IFIs should work together as one system to protect and prevent further financial distress in developing economies at large. Conditionalities, if any, should be directed to ensuring that resources liberated are focused on emergency health and socio-economic recovery efforts. Short term measures should be linked to a mid-term strategy to recover better. Investment for growth and sustainability should be the objective as without it there will be no debt sustainability. [May 07, 2020] PhysIQ, Department of Defense, and The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine Partner to Deploy Continuous Remote Monitoring Platform to Study COVID-19 PhysIQ, the Department of Defense, and The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. (HJF), in conjunction with the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND), announced the launch of an initiative to deploy physIQ's platform to collect and analyze wearable sensor data to better understand the pathophysiology of COVID-19. Continuous monitoring with sophisticated personalized algorithms will be used to evaluate physiologic signals to predict disease progression and early indication of infection, and potentially evaluate novel treatments for COVID-19. This objective corresponds with JPEO-CBRND's mission to evaluate advanced technologies for disease outbreak preparedness, as well as to understand how patients' physiological data can be monitored remotely using continuously streaming wearable sensor data and Artificial Intelligence (AI). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005160/en/ PhysIQ, Department of Defense, and HJF for the Advancement of Military Medicine partner to deploy continuous remote monitoring platform to study COVID-19 (Graphic: Business Wire) PhysIQ, a company that specializes in collecting and analyzing continuous physiological data collected from wearable biosensors through its pinpointIQTM platform, will deploy kits to individuals associated with military hospitals in the U.S., as well as across sites in Southeast Asia. Confirmed COVID-19 positive individuals and patients at high risk of exposure will wear a clinical-grade biosensor that continuously streams data to physIQ's platform where advanced FDA cleared AI-based analytics will process the raw vital sign data. "We are fortunate to have previously worked with physIQ in our fight against Ebola and Sepsis in Africa and are striving to rapidly translate those novel tools and strategies for the COVID-19 pandemic," said Dr. Danielle Clark, HJF's Director of the Austere Environments Consortium for Enhanced Sepsis Outcomes (ACESO) program. "Our goal is to develop a suite of technologies, including physiologic monitorig to identify patients at risk of progression to severe disease, detect infection prior to symptom onset, and ultimately guide clinical decisions. We plan to track thousands of patients and high-risk contacts, as well as front-line healthcare workers. It is critical that we have tools to differentiate those who should self-isolate at home from those who require hospitalization." Among the specific objectives of the study are to use continuous physiological data to characterize immune response to infection, evaluate novel diagnostic and prognostic tools, and investigate efficacy of emergency investigational new drug therapies that may be administered to enrolled participants. "As we find ourselves in these challenging times it is imperative to collaborate with the private sector in order to leverage every tool possible in this fight to understand COVID-19," said Dr. Matt Hepburn, Joint Project Lead CBRN Defense Enabling Biotechnologies. "Teaming up with physIQ will give us clinical insights into this virus on a scale that has not been done before, while allowing us to monitor the progress of those with the disease in an outpatient setting 24x7." "Every day it is becoming more obvious that we need to deliver COVID-19 care in the home, as hospital capacity cannot keep up with the fallout of this devastating virus," said Gary Conkright, CEO of physIQ. "Achieving this will require clinical and physiological insight traditionally not available in an outpatient environment or with periodic spot checks of vitals that appear to be lagging indicators with this virus. With wearable biosensors and advanced analytics, we can provide continuous, high-fidelity, multidimensional physiological insight required to understand and better treat this disease. We are honored to expand upon our breakthrough Ebola work with Dr. Clark to now address the most significant global crisis in our lifetime." PhysIQ and HJF clinical teams are currently implementing the global deployment plan and patient enrollment has already begun. PhysIQ technology is currently being utilized in observational studies on multiple protocols. The goal is to expand its use across additional protocols and clinical studies. Given the nature of the continuous data collection within the pinpointIQTM platform, study clinicians will have rapid access to the streaming data and analytics to monitor those individuals that have confirmed cases and those that have been exposed. About the JPEO-CBRND The Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense is the Joint Service's lead for development, acquisition, fielding and life-cycle support of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense equipment and medical countermeasures. As an effective acquisition program, we put capable and supportable systems in the hands of the service members and first responders, when and where it is needed, at an affordable price. Our vision is a resilient Joint Force enabled to fight and win unencumbered by a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear environment; championed by innovative and state-of-the-art solutions. Joint Project Lead CBRND Enabling Biotechnologies (JPL-CBRND-EB) is an organization established for the purpose of providing medical solutions, during a crisis, against future threats. About HJF The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. (HJF) is a global nonprofit organization with the mission to advance military medicine. HJF's scientific, administrative and program operations services empower investigators, clinicians, and medical researchers around the world to make discoveries in all areas of medicine. With more than 35 years of experience, HJF serves as a trusted and responsive link between the military medical community, federal and private partners, and the millions of warfighters, veterans, and civilians who benefit from military medicine. In addition, HJF's rapid response to recent COVID-19 outbreak and ability to initiate immediate support to COVID-19 clinical trials enable us to evaluate advanced technologies during the real-time outbreak. For more information, visit hjf.org. About physIQ PhysIQ is a leading digital medicine company dedicated to generating unprecedented health insight using continuous wearable biosensor data and advanced analytics. Our enterprise-ready cloud platform continuously collects and processes data from any wearable biosensor using a deep portfolio of FDA-cleared analytics. We have published one of the most rigorous clinical studies to date in digital medicine and are pioneers in developing, validating, and achieving regulatory approval of Artificial Intelligence-based analytics. With applications in both healthcare and clinical trial support, physIQ is transforming continuous physiological data into insight for health systems, payers, and pharmaceutical companies. For more information, please visit www.physIQ.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005160/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 07, 2020] MEDIA ADVISORY: Planning for a 2021 Recovery: At QuickBooks Town Hall Event, Senators Rubio and Cardin Lay out What's Next for Small Business Relief Efforts At a virtual QuickBooks Town Hall event this week, Senators Marco Rubio and Ben Cardin met with VP and Business Leader of QuickBooks Capital at Intuit (News - Alert), Luke Voiles, and QuickBooks' small business customers to discuss next steps for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and future relief efforts for small businesses in the wake of COVID-19 and social distancing restrictions. The senators, who serve together on the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, took a bipartisan approach to answering questions from small business owners, and demonstrated a clear understanding of the needs of small businesses during this difficult time. The senators addressed: COVID-19 safety restrictions may impact business through the end of 2021 a call for long-term payroll relief PPP loan availability PPP loan forgiveness Below are some transcript excerpts from the event, which have been lightly edited for length and readability. The full event can be viewed at quickbooks.com/smallbusinesshelp. On how long businesses may experience disruption: Senator Rubio: "We need to assume that we're going to be facing restrictions until the end of 2021 because that may be how long it takes to develop a vaccine, clear it and make it broadly available. So we have to start thinking in those terms, not in terms of everything will be fine by November." Is it too late to apply for a Paycheck Protection Program loan? Senator Rubio: "There's still about over a hundred billion dollars left of a guaranteed capacity under the program. Some lenders have stopped accepting applications as they work through their backlog or others have been up and running the whole time. But the answer [to] the question is no, there's still time and the average loan [amount] continues to drop. So if you need it, you should apply." About PPP loan forgiveness confusion and additional help: Luke Voiles: "The next thing that's on our customers' minds is the forgiveness components. A lot of questions came in for this town hall on forgiveness. We are waiting for the SBA to give us more detailed guidance on exactly how that forgiveness process is going to work, but once they do, our goal is to set up an automated process within QuickBooks to allow customers to track and apply for forgiveness, whether they applied through us or through any bank. We want to help them with a form that allows them to go and apply for forgiveness." Senator Rubio: "I think that by and large, if you adhere to the 75% and payroll mechanism that way, which the vast majority of companies will be able to, I think you're in good shape. I think where the question really lies is in the exemption language because the exemption is in statute, but how you apply for it and how they're going to interpret it is a matter of debate. And, I should say it's a matter of uncertainty right now. In the first four weeks of this, the calls were about the eTRAN system not working, what forms do we use, why hasn't my money been disbursed yet. I think in the last 72 hours it's become almost exclusively about this issue of forgiveness." Luke Voiles: "I would think about it the same way you think about your accounting. We have an automated accounting platform and if you use QuickBooks, I would make sure your accounting entries are up to date. We are working on forms that can produce reports out of QuickBooks to help automate the process for requesting forgiveness. But, as the senators have both mentioned, we are also waiting for the guidance from the Treasury and the SBA to understand exactly what the details look like so we can make sure our customers get it right." On the need for more stmulus: Senator Rubio: "This is a very unusual time up here, but I think we need to do it. And one of the biggest problems this program has had from the very beginning is not who got it, it's who didn't. And the reason why is because it became this sort of Hunger Games, free-for-all for limited funds. People figured out there's limited funds available, it's going to run out and it became a fight-for-survival type deal. The need was always greater than the capacity." Senator Cardin: "We didn't anticipate that we would still have the type of economic climate eight weeks later where small businesses can not operate at full capacity depending, of course, on what region of the country you may be located in. So we need to be flexible." On the need for longer-term payroll protection: Senator Rubio: "I still think there's more need. I think part of coming up with that program, that third phase, is going to be a combination of identifying who needs it that still hasn't gotten it. And I think part of it may have to be if this is going to go longer than the eight weeks, is this now the time to address a more extended period of payroll support." On using fintech to deliver long-term payroll protection: Senator Rubio: "The one thing I'm pretty confident of is that we've now built a stable of 5,400 lenders, including nonbank lenders and CDFIs and fintech and others. I think it makes sense to just continue to build out that capacity, but also to use it as the route by which any future assistance is now delivered. I mean, ideally if people have already applied and received a PPP loan and you wanted to add to what they've already gotten another four weeks, you could just simply process it that way and there's an additional payment through the same mechanism." On underserved small business communities: Senator Cardin: "I would hope that our target group on small business would be to make sure that those small businesses that are in underserved communities, those small businesses that are the really small, the small, small businesses [that] have had a dramatic reduction in revenues, can get the help that they need. When we first crafted a program, and it was the right way to do this, we wanted to get the money out quickly because we wanted to save small businesses. So this self-certification process was really streamlined so money could get out to businesses as quickly as possible. As we look to what comes next, I think we can be a little bit more selective and to make sure that we get the help to the small businesses that truly need the additional help." Luke Voiles: "Our base really is the underserved base. We have 6 million QuickBooks customers that use us for the accounting software. We have 1.4 million small businesses that use us for Payroll. And if you look at those payroll days, those businesses running payroll, 80% of them have less than 10 employees, 57% of them have less than five employees. On behalf of those 1.4 million small businesses, we actually pay one in 12 working Americans in the United States. We have a pretty large payroll business and we're really happy to try to help support these underserved populations." On what's next: Senator Rubio: "Both Senator Cardin and I and multiple members are actively engaged and involved every day with the Administration to make sure that the rules and the guidance that are issued are reflective of our intent. We know we have a lot more to do here. This is unprecedented, truly. There are things to come that we haven't yet anticipated that no one nation on earth is built to respond to. It's going to take a lot of work, some trial and error, but know that the intent is there, that we fully understand the crisis facing small business in America and we hope to do the very best we can to do as much good as possible and the least amount of harm as possible. And, and that's our goal." About Senator Marco Rubio Senator Marco Rubio (R) is the senior senator representing the state of Florida. First elected to the Senate in 2010, Senator Rubio is the Chairman of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Small Business Association. Senator Rubio is focused on sparking economic growth by capitalizing on innovation and the global economy. About Senator Ben Cardin Senator Ben Cardin (D) is the senior senator representing the state of Maryland. First elected to the Senate in 2006, Senator Cardin is the Ranking Member of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Small Business Association. Senator Cardin is focused on expanding access to contracts for women-owned, minority owned and veteran-owned businesses. About the QuickBooks Town Hall Series Intuit QuickBooks connects customers, small business owners, and self employed with lawmakers, business leaders and other experts. The first virtual town hall event was moderated by Sarah Paul, Intuit's Director of Global Policy and Regulatory Affairs and featured Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, Intuit's Luke Voiles, and live video questions from small business owners LaJuanna Russell and Allison DeVane, as well as questions submitted by other town-hall attendees. More than 10,000 people registered for the event and more than 4800 watched live. About Intuit Intuit's mission is to Power Prosperity Around the World. We are a global financial platform company with products including TurboTax, QuickBooks, Mint and Turbo, designed to empower consumers, self-employed and small businesses to improve their financial lives. Our platform and products help customers get more money with the least amount of work, while giving them complete confidence in their actions and decisions. Our innovative ecosystem of financial management solutions serves approximately 50 million customers worldwide. Please visit us for the latest news and in-depth information about Intuit and its brands and find us on social. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005332/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Leelanau County, Mich. Gale-force winds may have driven a two-masted schooner named the Jennie & Annie to its deadly demise near Empire nearly 150 years ago, but Mother Nature has a way of unearthing pieces of this shipwreck every few years as a maritime history lesson. Heavy wave action and shifting sands have again brought a piece of the 137-foot wooden ships wreckage to float at the shoreline along Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Kim Kelderhouse, curator of collections for the nearby Leelanau Historical Society Museum, heard the schooners pieces had made a reappearance recently. She and her husband set out for a walk along the beach to see if they could spot them. They saw a big chunk of the wreck floating in Lake Michigan, just off the shore. The past is still very much a part of our world and shipwrecks are a tangible reminder of that, said Kelderhouse, who is sharing her photographs with MLive readers. Artifacts still in their original location give us perspective and context of the place where we live. They remind us that history is all around us, not just in the past. As someone whose work days are steeped in the stories of Northern Michigans past, Kelderhouse said seeing the ships remains is not only a testament to the power of Mother Nature, but a reminder of how tough life was for those who worked the Great Lakes in other eras. "It is a final resting place for seven men and should be treated with respect, she said. Jennie & Annie had a short, tumultuous history. The history of this cargo-hauling schooner shows that while it had auspicious beginnings, it also went through many mishaps during its nine years plying the waves. The ship was built in 1863 in New York by William Crosthwaite, who for years was considered one of the leading shipbuilders on the Great Lakes. He lived in Bay City and Saginaw for a time, records show. The schooner was originally built for John Kelderhouse, the brother of Thomas Kelderhouse, a Port Oneida entrepreneur. The ships dual name was a hat-tip to their little sisters. National Park Service records show the ships early troubles included twice losing its canvas and gaffs during windstorms. In 1869, it was severely damaged when it went ashore near Racine, Wisconsin. It had to be rebuilt. It returned to cargo-running in 1870. The schooner was filled with a load of corn in mid-November, 1872 when gale-force winds likely pushed it into shallow water about nine miles south of Sleeping Bear Point. It was pounded by heavy surf, and eventually broke into pieces. The crew of 10 took to the masts and remained there until the vessel broke apart, according to a Port Huron Daily Times article that ran on Nov. 15, 1872. Only 3 of the crew made it to shore; the rest drowned in the strong surf and cold water. A piece of the Jennie & Annie, a schooner that met its demise in gale-force winds in 1872. Image courtesy of Kim Kelderhouse. A Peek-A-Boo Shipwreck Pieces of the Jennie & Annie have surfaced with some frequency over the years, according to park rangers and locals. In 1980, a section of bilges believed to have belonged to the schooner was found exposed between the outlets of North Bar Lake and South Bar Lake, park records show. The section, made of white oak and metal fasteners, was 105 feet long and 22 feet wide. Shifting sands reburied it before an official identification could be completed. In 2012, a 40-foot hull piece belonging to the Jennie & Annie was positively identified when it emerged along the shoreline. Locals again spotted the wreck fragments in 2015. Park Service historians have said this section of Sleeping Bear shore is dotted with shipwreck pieces that periodically wash ashore or are uncovered by winds and moving sand. While its fine to scout them out and take a look, all these shipwreck pieces are considered property of the state and cannot be removed or disturbed. A Pirate Tale While it may not have any real connection to the Jennie & Annie, there is a Great Lakes pirate tale that is associated with this wreck, according to park records. This lore is tied to a Northern Michigan pirate name Joe Perry, who supposedly worked the Manitou Passage area along the modern-day Sleeping Bear Dunes. In 1861, Perry lived near North Bar Lake, then called Perrys Lake. He reportedly would lure vessels ashore with a light, then plunder them after abandonment by the crew. Perry died in 1887. The Jennie & Annie loss in 1872 is associated with the Perry legend, according to an Empire Area Heritage Group publication. The 137 foot long, two master schooner Jennie & Annie was built by William Crosthwaite for John Kelderhouse in Buffalo,... Posted by Leelanau Historical Society Museum on Tuesday, May 5, 2020 READ MORE Great Lakes first woman boat captain remembered for steely nerve, sass 1903 shipwreck emerges from sand on U.P. peninsula Why this Michigan beach town is named after a shipwreck Shipwreck discovered on Lake Michigan beach near Ludington Help India! Dr Ram Puniyani Islamophobia as a word came more into vogue after 9/11 2001 twin tower attack. In the aftermath the American media popularised the word Islamic Terrorism and for the first time in global history a religion was given association with the political act of terrorism. In India the Hate against minorities had already been prevalent, but with different arguments. It was by-product of the communal politics, which came up during freedom movement as a reaction to Indian nationalism. Hindu communal politics propagated Islam as a religion associated with violence, it was propagated that it spread through force, it indulges in terrorism, Muslim kings destroyed Hindu temples, Muslims indulge in polygamy, produce more children, are more aggressive, eating beef etc. All this was already the part of social common sense here. Support TwoCircles The events in India during last few months, beginning with abolition of article 370, bringing of Citizenship Amendment Act and the spectacular democratic protest of Shaheen Bagh created a situation where the Hate spreading mechanisms became more aggressive. To cap it all came the Covid 19, the incident of Tablighi Jamaat, where the blame of spreading Corona was falsely put on Muslims as a whole. It was alleged that Muslims are out to launch Corona Jihad, are producing Corona bomb etc. became the part of popular thinking and life of Muslim community in general became unbearable. Even the lynching of Sadhus near Palghar by the local villagers was presented initially as the act of the Hated community. Normally the international community articulates an occasional protest and criticism against such gross inhumanity and violation of human rights of minorities. This time the levels of demonisation was so much that many international platforms and voices that matter expressed their unhappiness over the life of Muslims in India which is becoming unbearable and difficult. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, its Independent permanent Human Rights Commission, called for steps to protect the Muslims in India. In addition, a drama unfolded in UAE. Here there are lakhs of Indians, many of them being Hindus. Some of them are seeped in the core communal ideology, proudly displaying their photographs with Indian prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Few of them tweeted on Tablighi Jamaat, Indian Muslims as doing Islamic Jihad, Islamic virus, Muslim virus with gay abandon. Around this time one of the earlier tweets of the rising star of BJP, Tejaswi Surya resurfaced. In this tween Surya endorses the tweet of Tarek Fateh which is derogatory to Arab women. Some claimed that it is Indians who have contributed to the growth of gulf countries. As the whole atmosphere was becoming full of nauseating, labelling of Muslims in negative light. Some prominent members of Royal family took the cudgels to counter these hate warriors. The UAE Princess, one who upholds Gandhi, Hend Al Qassimi, tweeted, that the ruling family is friends with India, but your rudeness is not welcome. You make your bread and butter from this land which you scorn and your ridicule will not go unnoticed. She then quoted UAE laws prohibiting hate speech by citizens and non-citizens. This royal intervention has opened the floodgates to comments from other sources. She further made an important point Dont these successful so-called powerful millionaires know that hate speech is the prelude to genocide? Nazism wasnt born in a day. It was allowed to grow like a weed that went wild because people chose to look the other side and it thrived on that specific weakness called silence. Hate is being preached openly in India against Muslims, in a nation of 182 million Muslims. Narendra Modi, who generally has been responding late to such incidents earlier also, finally woke up with these goings on. One knows that not only large number of Indians are employed gainfully in these countries; they are also sending millions of dollars back home. India is the third major country having trade with these countries. Modis tweet is being taken in a positive light by most commentators, who see a ray of hope in this. Modi said in the tweet, COVID-19 does not see race, religion, color, caste, creed, language or border before striking. Our response and conduct thereafter should attach primacy to unity and brotherhood. We are in this together. He knows who in media, social media and through word to mouth channels are spreading this hate, but there is no reprimand against them in his tweet. On similar line, the Sarsanghchalak (Supreme Leader) of RSS Mohan Bhagwat also said that whole community should not be targeted for the actions of few. Both these top leaders of Hindu nationalist politics fortunately woke up after the international reprimand, particularly the reaction from UAE, gulf countries who have already started terminating the jobs of some Indians for spreading Hate. Interestingly at the same time, Modis Cabinet Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi described India being Jannat (Muslims heaven) for Muslims. Many commentators are hoping that the statements of Modi and Bhagwat can put a brake on the ongoing atmosphere of hatred against the hapless minority! Things are not so simple. This atmosphere today has been built up through close to a century long work of the communal forces. The molecular permeation of these hateful interpretations of history, and the presentation of Islam-Muslims by America dominated media after 9/11 are the twin pillars, which have been dug fairly deep in the social thinking in India. Covid 19 demonstrated as to how deep are the roots of this type of thinking that such concoctions could be made part of the social thinking. It is possible only because of the decades long propaganda, which is divisive and against the concept of fraternity, which is the foundation of Indian nationalism. The protests from UAE, which incidentally gave the highest civilian honor to Narendra Modi in 2019, may put a small brake on the unabashed process here, but the real struggle is inside the country, where we need to see that the social perceptions of Indian nationalism, articulated by Gandhi and Nehru in particular are made to reach all the Indians through innovative and rational mechanisms. SACRAMENTO California counties that want to go further than the state in reopening their local economies must meet testing benchmarks, be able to handle a hospital surge and have had no coronavirus deaths for 14 days, under rules that state officials laid out Thursday. Gov. Gavin Newsom said local governments would be able to ask the state public health director next week to let some businesses, including sit-down restaurants, reopen for more than the curbside pickups he is allowing in the first stage of his phased reopening. That stage begins Friday, although only two Bay Area counties are going ahead immediately. Some may see these variations of requirements to get into the second phase more deeply as impediments, Newsom said at a news conference. We see them as common-sense public health requisites. Criteria that counties must meet to move beyond curbside business include infection levels no higher than 1 case per 10,000 residents for 14 days; a minimum of 1.5 tests per 1,000 residents; an ability to temporarily house at least 15% of the county homeless population; and hospital capacity to accommodate a potential surge of at least 35% in coronavirus patients. Newsom said he expected to see restaurants begin reopening within the next week, because the likelihood of some counties meeting all the criteria ... is very high in certain parts of the state. But officials in many areas eager to reopen expressed concern that the new rules will leave them out. The governor is under growing pressure to get the economy moving again as losses mount under a 7-week-old statewide stay-at-home order. More than 4 million Californians have filed for unemployment benefits, and the state is facing a $54 billion budget deficit. The governor teased the first phase of reopening businesses Monday, which includes curbside pickup for retailers that sell nonessential goods such as clothing and books, as well as allowing the manufacturers and suppliers that serve them to resume operations. He called it a very positive sign that California is limiting the spread of the coronavirus. While the number of confirmed cases in California topped 60,000 this week, and nearly 2,500 people have died, hospitalizations have been holding steady. Newsom said that has made him confident the health care system can handle a potential increase of patients as he loosens restrictions. But he is also allowing regions to maintain stricter lockdown measures if they choose. The public health officers for six Bay Area counties, where coronavirus cases and deaths appear to have plateaued, said in a joint statement Thursday that they would keep in place a stricter shelter-in-place order through at least May 31 and would not yet permit curbside pickup for nonessential businesses. Two of the counties, however San Francisco and Marin said they would allow curbside pickup beginning May 18. Napa and Sonoma counties moved to realign their local measures with the state directive earlier in the week. They have experienced smaller outbreaks and are not part of the six-county group. In some rural regions of the state, officials are pushing to reopen even more quickly, in defiance of Newsoms stay-at-home order. Modoc County, in the northeastern corner of the state, gave restaurants, bars, hair salons, movie theaters, churches, schools and shops permission to reopen last week with some social distancing precautions. Sutter and Yuba counties, north of Sacramento, allowed a narrower reopening on Monday encompassing restaurants and retail, gyms, salons, tattoo parlors, parks and libraries. Newsom said Tuesday that the counties were making a big mistake. State regulators ordered dozens of restaurants and beauty salons to shut down again in compliance with the state order or risk losing their licenses to operate. Sutter County Supervisor Ron Sullenger said Thursday that his county, where only three people have died of coronavirus-related causes and just one person is hospitalized, probably meets most of the governors criteria. But he said he would continue to trust the guidance of the local public health officer over Newsom. It doesnt really make any difference as far as Im concerned, Sullenger said. We have a responsibility as county supervisors to try to salvage whats left of the local economy. Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa, whose sprawling northeastern California district includes Modoc County, said in a statement that continuing to effectively tighten the requirements is unfair for rural areas that have stayed healthy and done their due diligence to reduce risk. Meeting the benchmarks will be much more challenging for larger counties that have sought to reopen. Kristin Olsen, chair of the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors, said having no coronavirus deaths for two weeks was truly impossible for any county other than the smallest of the small. Local officials in the Central Valley county, which includes the city of Modesto and has more than 500,000 residents, sent a letter to Newsom last month requesting permission to pursue an aggressive strategy for reopening our county for business. The county has had 461 confirmed coronavirus infections, and two residents have died there since Tuesday. We want to make responsible, data-driven decisions that are in the best interest of the health and safety of our community, Olsen said in a text message. The state is making it very difficult to do that right now, especially since the guidance, timelines and goalposts keep changing. Despite a lawsuit this week by an organization of barbershop and hair salon owners, the state still does not plan to allow personal grooming services to resume until a much later phase of the reopening. Newsom said Thursday that the first known instance of community spread of the coronavirus in California was at a nail salon: Im very worried about that. Church services will also remain prohibited for now, Newsom said, because of concern about congregations of people mixing from far and wide, coming together proximate in closed space at large scales. Newsom said it was unlikely sporting events would resume, even without fans in the stands, until there is herd immunity or a vaccine for the virus. Its difficult for me to imagine what the leagues do when one or two of their key personnel or players are tested positive. Do they quarantine the rest of the team? he said. Its inconceivable to me that thats not a likely scenario, so its a very challenging question. The state is urging retailers that do reopen Friday to keep a distance between workers and customers during curbside pickup by loading items directly into the trunk or leaving them at the car door, and to install hands-free devices such as motion-sensor lights and contactless payment systems. Alexei Koseff is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff A 21-year-old man who met a 12-year-old girl on social media is accused of sexually assaulting her for a month after moving into her bedroom and hiding beneath her bed and in the closet to elude her grandfather. Zacharias Adrian Cavasos traveled from Washington to Oregon and clandestinely got into the girls bedroom, hiding in a cavity under the bed after removing slats that hold the mattress, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Martin said. He also sometimes hid in her bedroom closet, the prosecutor said. Hes now charged with sexual abuse of a minor in U.S. District Court in Portland. The charge is filed in federal court because the alleged offense occurred on the Umatilla Indian Reservation, according to prosecutors. On Wednesday, Cavasos defense lawyer, Thomas Price, convinced a judge to release his client from custody to a clean-and-sober house in Aloha under GPS monitoring and a curfew. The house is called Free on the Outside. U.S. Magistrate Judge Youlee Yim You said she was disturbed by the allegations and described her decision as a very close call. Cavasos was arrested March 11 in the girls bedroom. He first contacted the girl via social media in December and traveled from Washington state to meet her in early February after telling her to find him at the Wildhorse Resort and Casino, according to court records. He moved into her room on Feb. 10, according to prosecutors. The girls grandfather first spotted him in the home on Feb. 25, told him to get out and leave the girl alone. But Cavasos sneaked back onto the property, returned to the girls room and stayed there until he was discovered March 11, according to Martin. After his arrest, he admitted he had stayed in the girls bedroom and had sex with her on multiple occasions, the prosecutor wrote in a court filing. Martin argued to keep the 21-year-old locked up while he awaits trial, saying he has no family ties in the area, no job and returned to the girls house even after he was told to stay away. He had communicated with the girl previously on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and through text messaging, Martin said. Im troubled by the allegation that despite knowing the victims age and the fact that he was not to return to that residence, he went back and further allegedly engaged in the same criminal conduct, the judge said. When I started reading the nature of the allegations, I really was quite surprised by what I read, I have never been aware of anyone alleged to have been living in a 12-year-olds bedroom for a month. Cavasos, 21, is accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl after hiding in her bedroom for a month, according to federal prosecutors. Price argued that Cavasos may have an intellectual disability and is emotionally immature. Cavasos has no prior criminal record and the allegation didnt contend Cavasos was violent, he said. Price also suggested that Cavasos may have considered the encounter an inappropriate romantic relationship. Martin said she objected to any characterization of the interaction between a 20-year-old and a 12-year-old as any type of consensual sexual or romantic relationship. Thats not remotely possible since the victim cant legally provide consent. Before agreeing to his release, the judge ordered that Cavasos phone and computer be monitored and that he have no contact with the girl or travel to Umatilla County. -- Maxine Bernstein Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212 Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian Subscribe to Facebook page Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. After a few test runs last week, owner Brandon Peterson is ready to get his barbecue in the hands of San Antonio customers on a regular schedule at his new Bandit BBQ restaurant in the Lone Star District. Located inside the Freight Gallery & Studios at 1913 S. Flores St., Bandit currently is open for curbside takeout only from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. There are ordering instructions posted in front of the building, or customers can order ahead online through the link in bio on the Bandit Instagram account, @banditbbqsatx. Peterson said he can get food out to the vehicles in about 15 minutes or less. Cardinal George Pell was "conscious of child sexual abuse by clergy" as early as 1973 and failed to act on complaints about priests, according to royal commission findings released for the first time. The child abuse royal commission also rejected Cardinal Pell's evidence that he was deceived and lied to by Catholic Church officials about Australia's worst paedophile priest, Gerald Ridsdale, and Melbourne parish priest Peter Searson. The findings made by the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse in December 2017 were redacted to avoid prejudicing the trial of Cardinal Pell, who was then charged with child sexual abuse. Cardinal Pell was convicted in February 2019 and then acquitted last month, paving the way for the release of the redacted sections of the reports, which were tabled in the Senate on Thursday morning. More than 40 employees of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan have been dismissed within the scope of structural reforms, and another 40 employees have been dismissed from their positions held in the Affairs Department, as reported haqqin.az. Some of the positions on the staff list have been dissolved, and certain employees have been moved to other positions. Israel's Parliament on Thursday approved amendments to two basic laws by a hefty majority, paving the way for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a fully functioning unity government for the first time since December 2018. The Knesset or Parliament voted by 71 votes to 37 to back the power-sharing deal between Netanyahu's Likud and his main rival former military chief Benny Gantz's Blue and White parties. The bills were supported by the lawmakers in Netanyahu's Center-Right bloc, except for the lawmakers of Yamina, who absented themselves, because it is still unknown whether it will enter the coalition. Blue and White and Labor lawmakers voted in favour, except for Labor lawmaker Merav Michaeli, who opposes the government, The Jerusalem Post reported. The bills were necessary for Blue and White to be able to recommend Prime Minister Netanyahu to form a government by Thursday night's deadline to prevent a fourth election, the paper said. The party is gathering the signatures of its lawmakers, which together with 52 lawmakers in the Center-Right bloc will give Netanyahu more than the 61 he needs to submit to President Reuven Rivlin. The development came a day after Israeli High Court ruled on Wednesday that Netanyahu may form a new government while under indictment for corruption charges. In their ruling, the 11 justices said there was no legal cause to intervene in the coalition agreement between the two parties. The petitions against Netanyahu were filed by advocacy groups that have asked the court to ban any indicted politician, including Netanyahu, from being allowed to form a new government. Netanyahu, 70, was indicted earlier this year on charges of accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust. He has denied any wrongdoing. His trial was postponed due to restrictions his hand-picked interim justice minister placed on the courts after the coronavirus crisis erupted and is scheduled to commence later this month. Netanyahu had signed the agreement with Gantz to form a national government last month after an unprecedented third round of polls which again did not give anybody a clear verdict to form the government. The deal allows Netanyahu to serve the first 18 months as Prime Minister after which Gantz would assume power for the next 18 months. Netanyahu, Israel's longest serving prime minister, has held onto power as a caretaker leader for more than a year as political stalemate prevented the creation of a government and triggered successive elections. His ruling Likud party emerged as the single largest party with 36 seats in the 120-member Knesset after the third round of polls but the right-wing bloc led by him could garner only 58 seats, falling short of the simple majority of 61. Gantz won the backing of 61 Knesset members and was mandated by President Rivlin to form the next government but he chose to cut a deal with Netanyahu, even at the cost of splitting his Blue and White party given the difficulties of putting together a government in a highly divided Israeli polity. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi, May 7 : Indian Navy teams with about 50 breathing sets and associated portable air compressor rushed to help villagers affected by the gas leak near the LG Polymers Industry in Vizag during the wee hours of Thursday. The Indian Navy has provided five Portable Multifeed Oxygen Manifolds sets to the King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh to help the medical administration in tendering the villagers affected due to gas leak. The force said, "Naval teams with breathing sets and two ambulances are assisting the State Disaster Response team at the villages affected by gas leak near LG Polymers". "Technical Teams from the Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam (NDV) are at the King George Hospital to assist in quick installation to provide Oxygen to a large number of patients affected by gas leak from the LG Polymers Visakhapatnam this morning," said a top Indian Navy officer. The Portable Multifeed Oxygen Manifold system was designed by the Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam to enable one jumbo size Oxygen Bottle to supply Oxygen to six patients concurrently for COVID-19 Pandemic. Twenty-five such sets were provided to the district administration for use in treating COVID-19 patients earlier. Tragedy struck Andhra Pradesh early on Thursday as gas leaked from a chemical unit in the city, caused several deaths and left many unconscious in at least five sleeping hamlets. In scenes reminiscent of the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984, the streets and hospitals of Visakhapatnam were filled with people in panic, scared to breathe and unable to fathom the silent tragedy that struck them. According to the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation officials, the tragedy took place when the chemical unit, closed due to the lockdown, was being restarted on Thursday morning. The gas stored in tanks began leaking and spread in a radius of three km. Officials have zeroed in on two gases, styrene and pentine, as the likely cause for the accident. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were keeping abreast of all the details. Modi held a meeting with the NDMA officials. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy enquired about the gas leak incident in Visakhapatnam and directed the district officials to take every possible step to save lives and bring the situation under control. (Sumit Kumar Singh can be reached at sumit.k@ians.in) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / Blue Lagoon Resources Inc. (the "Company") (CSE:BLLG)(FSE:7BL)(OTCQB:BLAGF) is pleased to announce that it has started the process to form a strategic advisory board to advise and consult with the Company's board of directors and its senior management. The Company has appointed Yannis Tsitos as the initial member of the advisory board. Mr. Tsitos will be a valuable addition to the team and will greatly assist Blue Lagoon in realizing its vision and future goals. To further advance its advisory board "brain trust", the Company is in discussions with several other highly qualified and distinguished candidates with proven track records and expects to make those announcements in the coming weeks. Mr. Tsitos has over 30 years of experience in the mining industry, having spent 19 of those years with the BHP Billiton group. In his time in the industry, he has lived and worked in South Africa, Ecuador, Greece and United Kingdom, and has been working in Canada since 2000. Originally a physicist-geophysicist, he left BHP Billiton in December 2007, where he had the title of New Business Manager for Minerals Exploration with a global reach, but based in Vancouver. He has been instrumental in the identification, negotiation and execution of more than 50 exploration agreements over 11 different commodities with juniors, majors, as well as with state exploration and mining companies. Mr. Tsitos is currently the President of Goldsource Mines Inc. and sits on several companies' boards as an Independent Director, has published articles in exploration and mining magazines on relevant topics and has been a strong advocate of anti-corruption policies in the mining industry. Mr. Tsitos has also been part of two discovery teams with BHP Billiton in porphyry-copper and nickel-sulphide deposits. He holds a B.Sc. degree in Physics from the University of Athens and a master's degree in Applied Geophysics and Geology from the University of Birmingham, UK. In addition, he completed management and finance studies as part of an MBA program with Herriot Watt University, Edinburgh. "We are pleased to welcome Yannis to our team. His knowledge and experience are a valuable addition to Blue Lagoon. He brings a wealth of global contacts that we will surely leverage as we look to expand the company's investor base while at the same time advancing the Dome Mountain Gold Mine Project. On behalf of our whole team, we look forward to working with Mr. Tsitos." "I am excited to join Blue Lagoon as a strategic adviser and work closely with Rana and his team," said Mr. Tsitos. "Junior exploration, development and mining is heating up and I believe there's no better place to be right now than gold - particularly in the short to medium term - and copper in the long term. I believe Blue Lagoon is well-positioned in both of these spaces with great projects in a safe jurisdiction. I would like to help its management to ultimately build real value for shareholders and all other stakeholders in beautiful British Columbia." he added. For further information, please contact: Rana Vig President and Chief Executive Officer Telephone: 604-218-4766 Email: rana@ranavig.com The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Blue Lagoon Resources Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/588856/Blue-Lagoon-Appoints-Mining-Veteran-as-First-Member-of-its-Newly-Formed-Strategic-Advisory-Board WILMINGTON, Del., May 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rigrodsky & Long, P.A. reminds shareholders of iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc. (iAnthus or the Company) (OTC QX: ITHUF) of an upcoming deadline involving a securities fraud class action lawsuit commenced against the Company. R&L filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of all persons or entities that purchased the common stock of iAnthus between May 14, 2018 and April 6, 2020, inclusive (the Class Period), alleging violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 against the Company and certain of its officers (the Complaint). If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than June 19, 2020. If you purchased shares of iAnthus during the Class Period and wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact Seth D. Rigrodsky or Timothy J. MacFall at Rigrodsky & Long, P.A., 300 Delaware Avenue, Suite 1220, Wilmington, DE 19801, by telephone at (888) 969-4242, by e-mail at info@rl-legal.com, or at http://rigrodskylong.com/cases-ianthus-capital-holdings-inc. The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, defendants made materially false and misleading statements, and omitted materially adverse facts, about the Companys ability to pay its interest obligations under various debenture agreements. As a result of defendants alleged false and misleading statements, the Companys stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period. According to the Complaint, in May 2018, the Company entered into the $50 million 2018 Debenture Agreement with Gotham Green Partners (GGP). Among other things, that agreement provided for the withholding and escrow of $5,722,222.22 from the 2018 Debenture proceeds to pay one years interest on the 2018 Debentures in the event of iAnthus inability to make its interest payments under the agreement. Then, on September 30, 2019, iAnthus and GGP entered into the Amended Debenture Agreement, which provided an additional $20 million to the Company. The Amended Debenture Agreement included the provision from the 2018 Debenture Agreement that provided for the withholding and escrow of $5,722,222.22 to pay one years interest under the Amended Debenture Agreement in the event that iAnthus was unable to make the required interest payments. Although iAnthus never disclosed that the $5.72 million in escrowed funds was not available to fund iAnthus interest payments, on April 6, 2020, iAnthus announced that it had defaulted on $4.4 million in interest payments to GGP under the Amended Debenture Agreement on March 31, 2020. On this news, shares of iAnthus fell over 61%, closing at $0.179 per share on April 6, 2020, on heavy trading volume. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Any member of the proposed class may move the court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Rigrodsky & Long, P.A., with offices in Delaware and New York, has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of investors and achieved substantial corporate governance reforms in numerous cases nationwide, including federal securities fraud actions, shareholder class actions, and shareholder derivative actions. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Rigrodsky & Long, P.A. Seth D. Rigrodsky Timothy J. MacFall (888) 969-4242 (516) 683-3516 Fax: (302) 654-7530 info@rl-legal.com http://www.rigrodskylong.com Andre Valkenburg joins Payvision's management team as CEO, starting May 1, 2020 Corne van der Meijden continues to act as Payvision's Chief Financial Officer, while solidifying his role as a confirmed statutory member of the management board Rudolf Booker, Gijs op de Weegh and Cheng Liem Li stepped down from the management board and left the company on April 30, 2020, completing the agreed transition period following the acquisition by ING AMSTERDAM, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Payvision, a global fintech and omnichannel payments provider, announced today that it has appointed Andre Valkenburg as its new CEO. Andre brings more than 20 years of experience in the payments industry to his new role, having spent most of his career working for payment solutions companies such as Bibit and Worldpay. His previous senior executive appointments in the industry also include having been the CEO of Buckaroo, another Dutch-based payment solutions provider. As an entrepreneur himself, Andre also started a mobile software development company. "I am proud to be entrusted with leading Payvision into its next phase of growth as a global payments service provider and look forward to working with the professional and entrepreneurial people at Payvision," said Andre. "The company's integration with ING's business strategy, combined with the cutting-edge digital capabilities, create the promise of unbeatable value for our merchants, partners and shareholders." Andre joins Corne van der Meijden in Payvision's management board, whose appointment as Chief Financial Officer was approved by the Dutch Central Bank in February 2020. "We are extremely pleased to welcome Andre to the management board of Payvision as our new CEO. He brings a deep expertise in payments solutions, together with broad experience in business operations. I am confident that we will benefit from Andre's insights as we continue to deliver value for our clients. Together with Corne he will further build on Payvision's omnichannel strategy and strengthen Payvision's position as the Center of Excellence for Merchant Services within ING Group," declared Mark Buitenhek, Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Rudolf Booker founded Payvision in 2002, together with Gijs op de Weegh - Chief Operating Officer and Cheng Liem Li - Chief Commercial Officer. In 2018, the three founders formed a strategic partnership with ING Group with the aim of accelerating the company's innovation capabilities and business growth. In line with the terms of the acquisition agreement, they continued their leadership during the transition until April 30, 2020 when all three stepped down. ING acquired Payvision to support the bank's expansion of merchant services for business clients, particularly in the fast-growing e-commerce segment. This partnership is an investment in innovative financial services to support ING's Think Forward strategy, allowing clients to benefit from Payvision's omnichannel payments platform as well as ING's lending, working capital solutions and worldwide distribution network. About Payvision Payvision is a global payment processor that's driven by a passion for technology and simplifying payments. With one single, secure platform, we power transactions for businesses across the globe. We know our way around the latest techniques in artificial intelligence and omnichannel strategies. The dedication to our clients shows - this is where we truly make a difference. By enabling an intuitive and flawless customer experience on all channels, we bring a unique beat to payments. Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, we've grown into an international team with global knowledge and offices in North America, Europe and Asia. In 2018, ING bought Payvision, allowing us to offer an unstoppable combo of both the fintech and banking worlds put together. This partnership means cutting-edge technology and a startup mindset backed by ING's expertise and global network. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1165050/Payvision_Andre_Valkenburg.jpg Sure, it might be warm Wednesday, but what about the rest of the week? Ridgefield resident Barbara Jennes has seized the early lead in the Recreated Images Contest that Ridgefield Democrats are running to benefit the Ridgefield Food Pantry/Emergency Fund. As of Monday, May 4, at 4:30 p.m., the competition had generated 66 contributions totaling $2,390 for the Food Pantry/Emergency Fund in just the first week. Running through May 15, the contest features six classic American images recreated by Ridgefield residents using only items in their homes. Viewers are invited to vote for their favorite recreated image or images by clicking on them and contributing to the Ridgefield Food Bank/Emergency Fund. Each image is linked to a unique online contribution form so that contributions and dollars per image can be totaled to determine contest winner. Contestants donated their efforts to help neighbors in need. Contestants Recreated Image dollars so far are: Barbara Jennes, Emily Dickinson $600; Connelly family, Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima $495; Aimee Berger-Girvalo, Statue of Sybil Ludington $430; Jessica Mancini, We Can Do It $365; Susie Buckley, Saturday Evening Post cover $270; Carina Borgia-Drake, Hope $230. Total: $2,390 The contest is sponsored by the Ridgefield Democratic Town Committee (DTC). The six recreated images can be viewed at: ridgefielddems.net/recreated-images-food-pantry/. The contributions are collected by the Friends of Ridgefield Community Programs Inc., a 501(c)(3) tax exempt charitable organization that manages all online fundraising for the Ridgefield Food Pantry/Emergency Fund (and numerous other local charities). The Friends of Ridgefield will distribute all proceeds directly to the Food Pantry/Emergency Fund; the DTC has no insight into the contribution platform or contributors. The contest has been a great success so far, said town Social Services Director Tony Phillips. The Department of Social Services invites other local organizations to consider sponsoring similar efforts to raise funds for local relief. Visit ridgefielddems.net/recreated-images-food-pantry to vote in the contest by making a contribution to the Food Pantry/Emergency Fund. The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, on Wednesday, defended his labelling of the returned $311 million looted by a former Nigeria military leader, Sani Abacha, as Abacha assets. Mr Malami had in a tweet on Monday announcing the repatriation of the $311 million from the United States of America and Bailiwick of Jersey, referred to the funds as Abacha assets. His tweet angered some Twitter users who contended that the description of the recovered funds as Abacha assets could suggest that the funds may be returned to the former dictators family. This led to criticism on Twitter for what commentators, including the publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, described as the ministers improper labelling of the loot by the then maximum ruler. But in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Umar Gwandu, on Wednesday, the AGF said he considered referring to the funds as Abacha assets because it had been repatriated to Nigeria and qualified as Federal Governments assets. Mr Malami urged Nigerians to focus more on how the recovered funds would be used for public good, while describing the criticism of his reference to the funds as Abacha assets as a needless media hype. He noted that, The office (of the AGF) maintained that the choice of words was deliberate. It is to be noted that by way of antecedence that Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN has been consistently describing the recovered funds as Abacha loot at several fora during the process of recovery of the looted funds, particularly before the eventual repatriation of the funds. The point needs to be made that when the seal of legitimacy was appended to the funds by way of repatriation, it became an asset in favour of the Federal Government as a beneficial owner of same. The AGF further stated that, Beyond the issues of verbal dexterity and vocal acrobatics, Nigerians should focus more on effective utilisation of the recovered looted funds in accordance with the content of the signed tripartite agreement in the interest of the Nigerian public. It may interest the general public to note that there is a unit called Assets Recovery and Management Unit at the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. The use of the word assets in relation to the post-recovery of looted assets is to qualify same as Federal Government assets. It is palpable that news about successful return of the looted assets have brought nightmares to nay-sayers and pessimists who wanted to frustrate the repatriation process through campaign of calumny. Hence resorting to rhetoric instead of burying the heads in shame, the statement added. The AGF had pledged that the money would be expended on identified infrastructural projects as agreed in the tripartite contract between the governments of Nigeria, the US and Bailiwick of Jersey, before the repatriation of the funds. Since the end of April 2020, a new trojan has been affecting Portuguese users from several bank organizations. The modus operandi of this piece of malware is not new in Portugal. At least since the year of 2014 that new variants have been observed, with minor changes, and with the objective of collecting bank details of the victims. One of the last occurrences was last December 2019, where the Lampion trojan operated in a very similar way, changing only the way the malware was distributed (via AWS S3 buckets and with the first stage encoded in a highly obfuscated VBS file). This new variant has been distributed via malscam campaigns that impersonate invoices from the Vodafone group, as shown below. The first stage of this malware is an MSI (Microsoft Installer) file that downloads the malware from a google-sites server and deploys it in the Windows startup folder. After that, the infected computer is restarted to make the trojan persistent. Afterward, the malware runs on the compromised machine, collecting sensitive data from browsers, including credentials for accessing bank portals. The malware can also obtain data on the clipboard and it contains keylogger features to collect everything the victims are writing and send the information to the C2 server. As a way of obtaining banking details, when the malware detects that the victim is accessing a target homebanking portal, it triggers a window overlaid on the browser simulating the legitimate system and requesting additional details, such as credentials and SMS tokens. When malware initiates, it requests Google Drive documents for details on the C2s IP address. This is a mechanism that makes C2 persistence and dynamics. The number of victims in Portugal has increased significantly in recent weeks. The success of malicious campaigns always depends on the starting point of infection: social engineering. In this sense, users should be aware of emails of this nature and never click on email links or open attachments in case of suspected malicious activity. For more details on this finding see the Technical Analysis below. Technical Analysis Since the end of April 2020, a new Trojan variant is affecting users from several bank organizations in Portugal. At first glance, the malware is originated from Brazil based on artifacts collected during the analysis. The malware is disseminated via malspam campaigns phishing emails distributed for a high range of users and using a template that impersonates an invoice email from the Vodafone group. During Sl-LAB analysis, and also according to @t14g0p a Portuguese security researcher, this malware is similar to other threats from Brazil observed in Portugal since 2014. Lampion malware, for instance, was spread on end-December 2019 and took advantage of AWS buckets to host the first stage and to download the files into the victims machine. One of the files was a DLL that exported functions to capture home banking credentials. This new threat takes advantage of google-sites and Google Drive documents to distribute the threat in Portugal. The high-level diagram of this threat is presented below. The trojan modus operandi is the following: The user downloads a file after accessing the malicious URL available on the phishing email The user extracts the .msi file from the zip file and executes it (1st stage) The .msi file (the downloader) downloads the trojan malware from a google-sites domain and saves it into the Windows startup applications folder, thus ensuring that the malware will be executed whenever the user login in the system (2nd stage) The malware process starts, which in turn communicates with google docs to read the contents of 3 different documents. These documents contain the configuration of C2 addresses and a bitcoin address The malware is running and monitoring the users actions and periodically requesting commands from the command and control (C&C) server Browser overlay is performed in order to collect banking credentials when the victim accesses specific homebanking portals. Initial infection the zip file (1st stage) Threat name: FATURA34109093137173917200003123.zip MD5: 4410f53446fe6784f904a75df57e7ad7 SHA1: 814525924cd65f488348e921c1ca23a7da0085b5 First submission VT: 2020-05-02 01:32:12 After analyzing the compromised server distributed along with malspam email, two zip files with different names in distinct directories were observed. The reason why two paths were identified on the server is simple: the threat is the same but used in different phishing campaigns. After executing the .msi file, the 2nd stage is downloaded from the google-sites server. Next, the trojan is deployed into the Windows startup folder (a .zip file with an arbitrary name jmccnJJi.zip with the PE file inside). Finally, the PE file the trojan is dropped in the same folder (fZpoAruv.exe). When the .msi installation ends, the victims computer is rebooted to make the malware persistent. The malware starts whenever the victim login in the system. Trojan banker (2nd stage) Threat name: fZpoAruv.exe MD5: dc61d6239c2848bf8994df95740cbb13 SHA1: 7eb6088157f3fbc0a758c4402c563bdfe1e91ee2 First submission VT: 2020-05-03 07:35:06 In detail, the malware was developed in Delphi as usual in threats from Brazil. The Embarcaredo IDE was used to support its development. Delphi and Embarcadero have been used by Brazilian criminals to develop new malwares. Inside the trojan is possible to identify several Portuguese words, allowing to confirm its origin. As a way of preventing malware from running on virtual machines (VM-Protect) and analyzing it (anti-debug/reverse), the well-known packer Armadillo was used to make the Trojan protected. This type of protection makes it hard to analyze. As noted below, the malware has some calls in the IAT related to VM protection mechanisms. If the malware detects it is running inside a virtual machine, it kills the process itself and removes itself from the Windows startup folder. Packers and protectors like Armadillo are used to protect code, including malware, as they allow to add an extra layer against reversing and anti-VM. Continuing with the analysis, during the malware execution mutex were created in the system, a mechanism often used to avoid a new infection. Digging into the details As observed below, the initial sections of the trojan are empty, with raw size at zero. These are unusual sections, furthermore, there are two sections of the binary with execution privileges. This PE file has 16 sections, much more than normal ~10 sections. An interesting detail is that one of the sections: .pdata has an entropy of 8. This indicator corroborates that this section is packed. This detail can be observed on the next Figures. In the PortEx graphic below, its possible to see some details already mentioned. A great part of the PE file is packed (0.0 light gray), and the other part has code repetition (0.2 dark gray). The dark gray region is related to the PE file empty sections. IAT Keystrokes, clipboard and browser overlay From the IAT analysis, calls used to get key states are observed. This is a feature of this malware: capture keystrokes and send the information onto the C2 server. Also, functions to manage the clipboard were identified. Another feature of this malware is to create windows overlaid on the browser when the victim navigates to a homebanking portal (browser overlay). Additional artifacts of a specific Portuguese bank organization were found. Next Figure presents target messages hardcoded and used to create the overlay window during malware execution. This targeted message, in particular, is displayed in a Delphi overlay window when the victim accesses the target homebanking. Next, another message this line hardcoded, now about another bank. In detail, by building the Delphi source-code, obtaining all the overlay windows is possible. Looking at the Figure and the Picture.Data object in particular, it is base16 encoded, aka hex. The Picture.Data property data starts with a UTF-8 encoded ShortString containing the name of the TGraphic-derived class that produced the image data. In this case, that class name is encoded as: 0954506E67496D616765. The first byte (hex 09) is the number of bytes in the class name (9), the following 9 bytes (hex 54 50 6E 67 49 6D 61 67 65) are the UTF-8 octets of the class name (TPngImage), and the remaining stream bytes are the actual PNG image data. By ignoring this header, obtaining all the browser-overlay windows from the Delphi code is possible. Details inside malware (browser-overlay) Next, the browser-overlay windows created during malware execution are presented. Affected groups Whenever the application detects the victim is accessing a homebanking portal, it launches one of the following windows on the screen, maximized, and requesting the victims details. Communication with C&C server (C2) The malware communicates with the C2 server in order to receive additional commands and to send the exfiltrated information from the victims machine. To communicate with C2, the malware uses 3 Google Drive documents, where the addresses of the C2 controlled by criminals are available and encoded. With this approach in place, the C2s IP addresses can be changed at any time. On the other hand, removing google doc files from the cloud is a potential kill switch for this malware. According to a @t14g0p publication on his website, Google docs URLs, like other critical strings, are obfuscated and are unobfuscated and stored in a global variable during the initialization process. After obtaining the URL, a function responsible for reading the google docs document and extracting the content between the strings start = and = end is called. This content is finally passed to a function that decrypts it and is later stored in a global variable that stores the C2 address. We can confirm the exact time the docs are accessed below. By analyzing the memory of the compromised machine, it is possible to verify that the malware, once unpacked, communicates with 3 Google Docs documents to obtain the IP addresses of C2 and also a bitcoin address of a wallet with recent transactions. During the memory analysis, also the key used to decode the string obtained from Google Docs was collected. Key: qazxs441wert41080gbnhyujmuikolpcPOIU400941979418YTREWQASDFGH52421354JKLCMNBVCXZ098765ASJRUQ4OQ4JO1454515415RHAORHAOER43211234567890;/-@ The following code, distributed by @t14g0p, is a python implementation to decrypt the strings from google documents. Encoded string: work3 Decoded string: inicio= E86AFC51FA58A4E62D1324242C6B =fim Result: 23.108.57.243 Encoded string: work2 Decoded string: inicio= E86AFC51FA58A4E62D1324242C6B =fim Result: 23.108.57.243 Encoded string: btc Decoded string: inicio= C587DE50CC66FB0175C84BDE6491CA20AC2FE256C746CE3DE175B365D424022C638498 =fim Result: 18KdHi9CJea1AjEtrVQSfqyN6QXZvJZXqS In detail, the bitcoin wallet was used in recent transactions, last: 2020-01-14 00:22h. However, no malicious activities related to bitcoin was identified during the trojan analysis. By using Shodan The search engine for IoT some details about C2 were collected. During the execution of the malware, it was identified that it communicates with another address (the compromised server from where the payloads were initially downloaded). After a few minutes of collecting information about the infected machine, the trojan sends encrypted commands onto this server. This is a PHP service, probably a control panel to manage the victims and collect details on infections. In this specific request, and based on the path, the trojan sends details about which antivirus is installed on the victims machine. Malicious endpoints are still active at the moment of writing this report (05-05-2020). Additional details, including Indicators of Compromise and Yara rules are available in the report published by the Pedro Tavares. About the author Pedro Tavares Pedro Tavares is a professional in the field of information security, working as an Ethical Hacker, Malware Analyst, Cybersecurity Analyst and also a Security Evangelist. He is also a founding member at CSIRT.UBI and Editor-in-Chief of the security computer blog seguranca-informatica.pt. Please vote Security Affairs for European Cybersecurity Blogger Awards VOTE FOR YOUR WINNERS https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe8AkYMfAAwJ4JZzYRm8GfsJCDON8q83C9_wu5u10sNAt_CcA/viewform Pierluigi Paganini (SecurityAffairs Trojan banker, hacking) BARRIE, Ontario, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MediPharm Labs Corp., (TSX: LABS) (OTCQX: MEDIF) (FSE: MLZ) ("MediPharm Labs" or the "Company") a global leader in specialized, research-driven pharmaceutical-quality cannabis extraction, distillation and derivative products, is delighted to announce that its subsidiary, MediPharm Labs Australia Pty. Ltd. ("MediPharm Labs Australia") has been granted its GMP Certification and Licence to Manufacture Therapeutic Goods, a key milestone in the advancement of the Company's global supply chain strategy and a catalyst for revenue generation in Australia. The Licence was granted by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration, an international co-operative arrangement among regulatory authorities in the field of Good Manufacturing Practice ("GMP") for medicinal products. The PIC/S mission is to lead the development, implementation and maintenance of harmonised GMP standards and quality systems of inspectorates in the field of medicinal products. Many PIC/S members, such as the TGA, also enter into mutual recognition agreements with other PIC/S members whereby each regulatory authority specifically recognizes certain processes and procedures of the other country to expedite the international flow of goods. The Licence confirms that MediPharm Labs Australia complies with the internationally recognized GMP requirements of the PIC/S Guide for Medicinal Products and allows the manufacture of therapeutic goods intended for export or which are exempt from registration and listing on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods under the provisions of Section 18(1) or Section 19 (1)(a) of the Therapeutic Goods Act. Under the Licence, MediPharm Labs Australia may store cannabis resin as an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient ("API") and may engage in packaging, storage and release for supply as a Medicine Manufacturer of Oral Liquids within its specialized facility in Wonthaggi, Victoria. "As a GMP-compliant company situated in the emerging Asia-Pacific cannabis market, this is a milestone achievement and essential licence that clears the way for MediPharm Labs Australia to further accelerate supply opportunities, at home and abroad, and begin fulfilling our pipeline of customer orders for finished, formulated products," said Warren Everitt, Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific, MediPharm Labs. "This Licence is also emblematic of the tremendous duty of care we took in building our capabilities to the high standards required of GMP. MediPharm Labs Australia can now serve as a key link in the Company's international GMP-compliant supply chain complementing our state-of-the-art GMP certified facility in Canada." In 2020, MediPharm Labs Australia has secured several medicinal cannabis supply agreements for both Australia and New Zealand reflecting the growing commercial opportunity in these markets. With this licence in place, it expects to ramp up supply of GMP-compliant products and begin fulfilment of new and upcoming supply agreements upon receiving final product approvals. "We set out to make MediPharm Labs Australia the first mover in Australia and other quickly emerging Asian-Pacific markets for the production of pharma-quality cannabis products. With this new Licence, we have achieved that and more," said Pat McCutcheon, CEO of MediPharm Labs. "This Licence gives us an invaluable edge in the domestic Australian market by signalling to customers that our Company is the one to align with for the highest quality production. From a global market perspective, the TGA has mutual recognition agreements with various other PIC/S members, which means that products we make in Australia will satisfy requirements certain requirements in those other jurisdictions where we intend to seek import permits for our products. Accordingly, this development has wide-reaching implications for our business." Construction of the MediPharm Labs Australia facility began in 2018 and was completed in December 2019. Also in December 2019, MediPharm Labs Australia received State Licences for cannabis substances from the Department of Health and Human Services in Victoria, Australia. Under these State Licences, MediPharm Labs Australia is allowed to manufacture, store, and supply cannabis products and medicines and, for research purposes, test cannabis at its facility. MediPharm Labs Australia also has its Cannabis Manufacturing Licence from the Australian Office of Drug Control (ODC) under the Narcotic Drugs Act 1967. MediPharm Labs Australia holds ODC Import and Export Licences, allowing import and export of cannabis resin and extracts, bulk medicinal cannabis oil and finished medicinal cannabis products. MediPharm Labs Australia was designed to replicate the high-quality standards of the Company's Canadian production facility. It features multi-phase supercritical CO 2 extraction equipment, softgel capsule manufacturing equipment, clean rooms and testing laboratories and has TGA manufacturing approval for labelling and packaging lines. About GMP Good Manufacturing Practices are defined by the Quality Systems that relate to: Premises and Equipment; Personnel; Production Systems (Processing and Sanitation); Laboratory Controls; Materials System; Packaging & Labeling System; and the Overall Quality Management System. As such, MediPharm Labs Australia has been proactively working towards receiving its GMP certification since its inception in June 2017 through the specialized design and construction of its facility, by the hiring of its expert team with experience operating in pharmaceutical GMP environments, and through the selection of manufacturing technology which has been validated as meeting GMP requirements. Achieving GMP certification has been a complex, multi-year project with a series of milestones that involved multijurisdictional licenses and permits, building and documenting internal control systems, validating suppliers and equipment, and finally, successfully completing audits from regulators. About MediPharm Labs Founded in 2015, MediPharm Labs specializes in the production of purified, pharmaceutical-quality cannabis oil and concentrates and advanced derivative products utilizing a Good Manufacturing Practices certified facility with ISO standard-built clean rooms. MediPharm Labs has invested in an expert, research driven team, state-of-the-art technology, downstream purification methodologies and purpose-built facilities with five primary extraction lines for delivery of pure, trusted and precision-dosed cannabis products for its customers. Through its wholesale and white label platforms, MediPharm Labs formulates, develops (including through sensory testing), processes, packages and distributes cannabis extracts and advanced cannabinoid-based products to domestic and international markets. As a global leader, MediPharm Labs has completed commercial exports to Australia and is nearing commercialization of its Australian extraction facility. MediPharm Labs Australia was established in 2017. For further information, please contact: Laura Lepore, VP, Investor Relations and Communications Telephone: 416-913-7425 ext. 1525 Email: investors@medipharmlabs.com Website: www.medipharmlabs.com CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements". There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law, MediPharm Labs assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change. By PTI INDORE: In a bid to keep an eye on asymptomatic coronavirus patients, the city civic body has improvised its already existing mobile app 'Indore 311' and added some new features to it which will also facilitate treatment of such patients at their homes, an official said. An eight-member team of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) engaged in the fight against COVID-19 here is helping the city administration in fine-tuning the app, and the new features have been added on its suggestions. Indore, which is one the worst hit by COVID-19 in the country, has so far reported a total of 1,681 cases of the disease and 81 deaths, as per official figures. "The app is already being used by lakhs of people in Indore since quite some time, but the new features added to it will be available only to the asymptomatic COVID-19 patients who have been advised by the health department to get treatment while remaining home isolation," IMA team member Dr Subodh Chaturvedi told PTI. Such patients are being provided a pulse oximeter which would help in monitoring their oxygen level and pulse rate at home, he said. Based on a pre-loaded questionnaire on the app, the patient or his caregiver will have to daily upload information, like if he has a fever over 101 degrees Fahrenheit and breathing problems. The patient will also have to answer certain other questions based on common symptoms of COVID-19," Chaturvedi said. Doctors deputed at the IMA control room while constantly monitor the information provided by the patient and provide consultation accordingly. If required, the rapid response teams will shift the patient to hospital, he said. A patient or his caregiver can also press the red button available on the app to seek medical help in case of an emergency, he said. "If a patient does not follow the medical advice and steps out 100 metres away from his house, an alarm would ring at the IMA control room and the patient would be tracked through GPS and sent back home," the official said. Indore's chief medical and health officer Praveen Jadia said as per the government's new guidelines, the asymptomatic COVID-19 patients are being advised to stay in home isolation. A caregiver is also being deputed for such patient to get medicines for them. The caregiver would also monitor the health of a patient regularly and inform the health department about his condition. Based on the information, authorities would decide whether the patient needs to be hospitalised, he said. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Nearly 17 months of political paralysis in Israel could be nearing an end now that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has overcome court challenges to his continued rule and to the power-sharing agreement he signed with bitter rival Benny Gantz. It's a big achievement for Netanyahu because he gets to stay in power for the next 18 months even though he's charged in three corruption cases. For former military chief Gantz, it meant abandoning his pledge never to sit in government with the scandal-tainted leader, with no assurance he'll spend more than a few months in the prime minister's office. The pact paves the way for a broad government led by Netanyahu's Likud party and Gantz's Blue and White. It gives the indicted Netanyahu influence over senior judicial appointees, and allows him to pursue his promise of annexing West Bank territory the Palestinians want for a future state. The two leaders plan to swear in their joint administration on May 13. Here are some details: - Power sharing.While Israel had a rotating premiership once before in the 1980s, the current arrangement is unique in that it gives both Netanyahu and Gantz prime ministerial privileges and trappings, like official residences, simultaneously. Gantz -- who teamed with Netanyahu to tackle the coronavirus outbreak and avert another election after three inconclusive votes -- is to take over for 18 months in October 2021. After that, each man will serve an additional nine months. Other provisions in the pact threaten to set the stage for political paralysis by granting each camp parity in Cabinet and on parliamentary committees. During the first six months, when the government will be operating on an emergency footing to deal with the health emergency, Netanyahu and Gantz must agree on any legislation promoted. After that half-year period, they must agree on the legislative agenda. Gantz's camp will control the ministries of defense, foreign affairs and justice. Netanyahu and his partners will hold the finance and health ministries, and the parliamentary speakership. All this power-sharing is based on the notion the deal doesn't unravel. New elections will be set in motion if Netanyahu is barred for some reason from taking office. Analysts have also speculated that Netanyahu wants to run for president after his 18-month stint in the prime minister's office, to enjoy the immunity from prosecution that position confers. - Annexation. Netanyahu has spent the last year vowing to start applying Israeli sovereignty to territory in the West Bank, which the Palestinians view as the core of their future state. The push won the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump, and it was incorporated in the Middle East peace plan he unveiled in January. Starting July 1, lawmakers are allowed to go forward with the plan, according to the agreement. U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said in a recent interview with local media that America is ready to recognize an Israeli declaration of sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Such a unilateral move would sap the Palestinians' dream of an independent state, and after the power-sharing deal was signed, they lamented the prospect of another Netanyahu-led government. Annexation of West Bank territory, captured in the 1967 Middle East war, had been considered taboo for decades in Israeli politics because of the international outcry it would spark. But as religious and nationalist political parties gained clout, and peacemaking with the Palestinians drifted off the country's agenda amid continuing Palestinian attacks, the notion has won widespread currency. - Rule of law. Netanyahu stands accused of illicitly taking gifts and scheming to tilt legislation to benefit media publishers in exchange for sympathetic coverage. His trial is scheduled to begin May 24, and the prime minister has sought to hold onto his office hoping it would improve his legal prospects. The question of prime minister's fitness for office led to court challenges. An expanded 11-judge bench rejected petitions that sought to both bar him from forming the next government and strike down the accord, which required amendments to Israel's quasi-constitutional Basic Laws. Still, justices left the door open for future rulings on the pact, saying "at this point" there is no reason to intervene. The good governance group that launched the petitions has already filed another court challenge now that parliament has anchored the underpinnings of the deal in law. It claims sections of the agreement harm Israel's system of government. - Will It Last? Having co-opted Gantz into assisting him, Netanyahu may have an interest in ensuring the deal's success. "It legitimizes him because the party that ran on anything but Bibi will now allow him to stay in power," said Reuven Hazan, a Hebrew University political scientist, using Netanyahu's nickname. "Politically it decapitates the only real challenge he has had to his power since 2009." After Gantz agreed to team up with Netanyahu, two allied parties broke off from Blue and White, badly weakening him as a potential future challenger. While Netanyahu initially rode high in the polls because of his assertive response to the coronavirus, it's not clear his approval ratings will hold once the economic pain of the shutdowns deepens. That could make another snap election risky. The man behind Sweden's Covid-19 strategy has claimed the UK's lockdown has been "futile" in dealing with the outbreak, the Telegraph reports. Johan Giesecke, a epidemiologist in the Scandinavian country who advises the World Health Organisation, believes Britain's death toll suggests severe restrictions are not effective at containing the pandemic. Until now Sweden has refused to impose the kind of strict lockdown seen in many European countries. Currently the UK's official death toll is around 10 times higher than Sweden's. Coronavirus across the globe100 Prof Giesecke said: "A hard lockdown does not protect old and frail people living in care homes - a population the lockdown was designed to protect." He continied: "Neither does it decrease mortality from Covid-19, which is evident when comparing the UK's experience with that of other European countries." "There is very little we can do to prevent this spread: a lockdown might delay severe cases for a while, but once restrictions are eased, cases will reappear," he said. WALLOPS ISLAND, Va., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sentinel Robotic Solutions (SRS) has announced development of an access control device with technology that provides fever identification and adapts to antibody verification. Chief Operating Officer, John Robinson, of SRS commented "In this time of social distancing, it has become critically important to control access to sensitive areas in the healthcare, law enforcement, government, manufacturing, and other fields. The new need for screening the health of individuals has slowed and complicated the traditional procedures. The SRS Mobile Sentinel provides the necessary control, remotely and safely." Sentinel Robotic Solutions' Mobile Sentinel is an unmanned, transportable, networked, security gate that can be tailored to meet your specific surveillance, access control and security needs. Sentinel Robotic Solutions' Mobile Sentinel has technology that can be customized to meet your requirements. Mobile Sentinel is an unmanned, portable, first line of defense gate, applicable across multiple international industries. The Mobile Sentinel offers unparalleled network connectivity with enhanced 360 surveillance, granting best-in-class physical and visual access control. With a network backbone capable of connecting any type of IOT device, the options for function-specific security hardware integrations are endless. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, the Team from SRS integrated technology that recognizes antibody verification, external body temperature (EBT) and license plate readers to better equip the healthcare security industry during these trying times. Lead Engineer, Chase Riley, explains further, "Development of this system is more than a matter of placing new sensors in the vehicle. This is a flexible, integrated system that is made practical by Mobile Sentinel's open source Application Protocol Interface (API). API coordinates collection of data from sensing instruments, processing of that data and timely delivery of results to decision-making authority. It has been a challenge to create this system." (https://bit.ly/2SAxabG) Designed and manufactured on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, Mobile Sentinel is a commercialized version of an earlier technology, originally developed for NASA and still in use. With a grant from the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT), Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund (CRCF) in 2019, SRS developed this new system. SRS looks to grow its market share in the autonomous security industry while creating valuable career opportunities required for rapid production/distribution. "This Mobile Sentinel was not developed in response to the COVID-19 crisis," says CEO Peter Bale, "and our ability to have the system running with new capabilities on short notice demonstrates the value of this very flexible system in protecting any type of business/government property and anyone who enters." The Team at SRS aligns experience with solutions. We are mission-focused and customer-oriented while preserving a rewarding work/family balance. Learn more about the Team and all that SRS has to offer at www.srsgrp.com. Sentinel Robotic Solutions "It's never crowded along the extra mile." Contact : John Robinson, Chief Operating Officer 757-824-0600 / [email protected] SOURCE Sentinel Robotic Solutions Related Links http://www.srsgrp.com T he Notting Hill Carnival has been cancelled for the first time in its 54-year history after organisers accepted that the event could not be held safely. Todays decision came after increasing pressure to call off Europes biggest street festival, usually attended by more than two million people over the August Bank Holiday weekend. In a statement, Notting Hill Carnival Ltd said the decision was made after lengthy consultations with our strategic partners and our advisory council. It added: Notting Hill Carnival was founded to bring people together during trying times, and we intend to continue that legacy. We are working towards an alternate NHC 2020 that we hope will bring the carnival spirit to people from the safety of their homes, and make them feel connected and engaged. NHS managers had warned that its resources would be stretched as frontline staff continued to prioritise the epidemic. They also said that the nature of the Carnival, with thousands of revellers squeezed into narrow streets, would make it impossible to maintain social distancing or hygiene standards. Kensington & Chelsea council also told the organisers that the local community would be put at risk if the event went ahead. In pictures - Notting Hill Carnival 2019, day two 1 /74 In pictures - Notting Hill Carnival 2019, day two PA Getty Images Getty Images EPA PA EPA EPA EPA AFP/Getty Images EPA AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images EPA EPA EPA EPA EPA Reuters Getty Images for Redbull Getty Images for Redbull Reuters Getty Images for Redbull Getty Images for Redbull Getty Images for Redbull Getty Images for Redbull Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Reuters Reuters PA Reuters Reuters Reuters PA PA PA Reuters PA PA PA PA PA Reuters PA EPA EPA EPA AFP/Getty Images PA PA PA Notting Hill Carnival added: This has not been an easy decision to make, but the reality of the pandemic and the way in which it has unfolded means that this is the only safe option. Everyones health has to come first. We also have no wish to place extra strain on our colleagues at St John Ambulance and the NHS. We want to take this opportunity to express our utmost respect, admiration and gratitude for their work. Cllr Emma Will, Kensington and Chelsea Council's lead member for culture, leisure and community safety, said: "It has been very difficult for all those involved, but Carnival organisers need to be given real credit for making an early decision on this and following the guidance from health professionals. They have put the health of the local community and participants first. Listen to The Leader: Coronavirus Daily podcast "This now gives us all an opportunity to explore how we can still celebrate Carnival in different ways this summer, before bringing it back even better in 2021." Uber Technologies Inc laid off hundreds of office-based staff in Egypt on Wednesday as the ride-hailing firm made wider cuts amid the fallout from the new coronavirus, one current and two former employees said. The former employees, both of whom lost their jobs on Wednesday, and one employee who retained her post, said they had been told that about 40% of staff in Ubers Egypt offices had been laid off. That was out of a total headcount of 650-700, they said. It came as Uber announced it would cut about 3,700 full-time jobs globally, affecting 17% of its employee count. An Uber spokesman declined to share details of the layoffs in Egypt but said a total of 46 countries had been affected by the changes. The news comes three days after the announcement of its subsidiary Uber Eats it is discontinuing its services in the Middle East, including in Egypt, starting 18 May as it looks into "redirecting resources to other markets where its food delivery business is booming". On 6 May , Ubers ride-hailing company subsidiary Careem also announced that it was suspending its bus-service Careem Bus and laying off 536 of its staff worldwide due to the losses caused by Coronavirus. Egypt, with a swelling population of more than 100 million, is the biggest market in the Middle East for ride-hailing services and has been among Ubers top 10 markets globally. The country has taken a series of measures to curtail the spread of the new coronavirus, including a night curfew and the closure of schools and mosques. However, the government has stopped short of imposing a lockdown, and taxis have continued to operate during the day. Search Keywords: Short link: PM Shmyhal: Naftogaz to channel US$1.5 bln in dividends into budget for roads, hospitals development 18:40, 07.05.20 1077 The company has already paid UAH 8.5 billion (US$315.6 million) in dividends to the national budget. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel will be allowed to form a national unity government with his chief rival. (Abir Sultan / European Pressphoto Agency) Before there was Donald Trump there was Bibi Netanyahu. I first covered him in 1996 when he was running for prime minister of Israel. He was in his mid-40s then, a not-yet-proven leader, not considered in the same class with the grand old men of the nation, such as his opponent, Shimon Peres, or Yitzhak Rabin, who had recently been assassinated, or Gen. Ariel Sharon. Netanyahu was callow and undertested; his main claims to electability were his smooth, CNN-ready English and his monomaniacal focus on a single issue that was increasingly worrying Israelis: security. Who knew during that first campaign that Netanyahu would not only win but would go on to dominate Israeli politics for the next 25 years? Today, after losing and regaining power a few times, he has surpassed David Ben-Gurion as the countrys longest serving prime minister. He has presided over tectonic shifts in Israeli politics, undermining the peace process with the Palestinians, neutering the left (which had held power through much of Israels prior history). He has fought Hamas; he has challenged Iran; he has stubbornly maintained the occupation of the West Bank over the worlds objections. Over the years, I have lost count of how many political obituaries I have written about Netanyahu and how many resurrection stories. Todays column falls in the resurrection category. Israels Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Netanyahu, who is currently the country's prime minister, may indeed form a new unity government, despite the fact that he is under indictment in three separate corruption cases. Opponents had hoped to see him disqualified, but this clears the way for Netanyahu and his chief rival, Benny Gantz, to enter into an unusual power-sharing agreement. Israel has held three inconclusive elections in recent months; the decision to join forces was attributed to the coronavirus pandemic. Putting aside the legal merits of the courts decision, the bottom line is this: More Netanyahu is bad for the country. Not because Israels security isnt important. Certainly it is. A country that sits eyeball to eyeball with millions of people who oppose its very existence, and which has been at war repeatedly with its neighbors since 1948, must be concerned about its safety. Story continues But Netanyahu has always played on fear to his own advantage, emphasizing insecurity and summarily rejecting the steps toward peace that might have had a better chance in the long run of bringing lasting security. He is certainly aware that his popularity climbs when voters are especially worried about Hamas bombs or Hezbollah missiles or fiery rhetoric from Iran. At the moment, hes weakened by the ongoing corruption cases, the most serious of which accuses him of trading official favors in return for positive news coverage. The key issue before Netanyahu (and Gantz) in the months ahead other than the immediate threat of COVID-19 is annexation:" whether or not to push forward with Netanyahu's campaign promise to annex much of the West Bank, including not just the Israeli settlements but also parts of the Jordan Valley, and claim them as part of Israels territory. This is an awful idea. The land Netanyahu hopes to claim does not belong to Israel; it is land that was seized during the Six-Day War in 1967 and which is believed by almost all the world to have been illegally occupied ever since. Annexation would make the pursuit of a two-state solution far more difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish. Geographically, there would be less and less space to create a contiguous Palestinian state. Violence would be a not-unlikely outcome of annexation. The much-maligned two-state solution which, it is hoped, would allow a safe and secure Israel to live side by side with an independent Palestinian state is nearly moribund even without this. But annexation would continue the century-old conflict between Palestinians and Israelis into the indefinite future. And perhaps thats the point. For his whole career, Netanyahu has stood for one key proposition: that peace is not to be trusted; it is a pipe dream pushed by starry-eyed doves who fell hard for the likes of Yasser Arafat. According to Netanyahu, only battening down, fighting back hard, building walls and rejecting compromise protects the country. Annexation could be a death blow to whats left of the two-state solution, which remains, until someone comes up with something better, the only realistic hope for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. @Nick_Goldberg Democratic senators on Thursday questioned whether Amazon retaliated against whistle-blowers when it fired four employees who raised concerns about the spread of coronavirus in the companys warehouses. In a letter sent to Amazon, Senator Elizabeth Warren, a frequent critic of the e-commerce giant, and eight other senators asked Amazon to provide more information about its policies for firing employees. In order to understand how the termination of employees that raised concerns about health and safety conditions did not constitute retaliation for whistle-blowing, we are requesting information about Amazons policies regarding grounds for employee discipline and termination, the letter said. The letter was also signed by Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, as well as Cory Booker, Sherrod Brown, Kirsten Gillibrand, Edward J. Markey, Richard Blumenthal, Kamala Harris and Tammy Baldwin. It asked Amazon if it tracked unionization efforts in its warehouses and whether it tracked employees who participated in protests or spoke to the news media. Direct cremations have ovetaken traditional send-offs in the UK amid the coronavirus crisis - and an expert has predicted the low cost practice will 'fundamentally transform' the funeral sector. With the majority of Brits looking for options to delay full funerals until after lockdown so that loved ones can attend, experts report there has been a 300 per cent increase in demand for this more cost effective option. The cremation takes place without anyone present, and afterwards the ashes are brought to the family, who are then free to organise a celebration of the person's life at a later date if they wish. Dan Garrett, 30, of London, who founded Farewell - a UK-based will writing and death specialist - told FEMAIL the ceremonies are 'here to stay' and will surpass 'overtly Victorian' traditions which date back hundreds of years. Direct cremations have ovetaken traditional send-offs in the UK amid the coronavirus crisis - and an expert has predicted the low cost practice will 'fundamentally transform' the funeral sector. Pictured: stock image of a woman with an urn containing ashes 'I think it was already really growing,' he said. 'I think people are challenging traditions and rituals around death, which are so overtly Victorian. 'It's the fastest growing part of the funeral world, so it's definitely here to stay. The most interesting part of it is the memorial people have afterwards and how people choose to say goodbye. 'I think it will fundamentally transform the funeral sector and it's starting to happen already.' Dan, a designer who noticed a gap in the industry while working in Japan, explained that direct cremations are 'more secular' and allow for more 'personal and creative' memorial ceremonies. 'It's like an unattended funeral,' he said. 'We pick up the body, take it to a crematorium, do the cremation and deliver back the ashes, and what happens after is like a memorial service. With the UK's death toll hitting 30,540 today, the funeral industry has been struggling to cope with the influx of deaths. Pictured: a coffin of a Covid-19 victim entering a crematory oven in Spain 'It's the idea of separating the two parts of the process. It's a bit like what's happened with weddings in the last 20 years - it's a bit less traditional and more secular. 'You can do more personal, creative things with a funeral by not doing it at the place it took place.' With the UK's death toll hitting 30,540 today, it's no surprise that the funeral industry has been struggling to cope with the influx of deaths. 'It's been really tough to handle,' said Dan. 'I won't say it's as hard as working in the healthcare side of things, but the funeral industry in the UK has been really, really stretched. 'There are complications with picking up bodies in hazmat suits and there have been regional delays in access to crematorium facilities.' What is a direct cremation? The body of a loved one is collected and transported to a crematorium, where the company will work with doctors and nurses to deal with necessary paperwork. A simple cremation without a funeral service is carried out, and the ashes are then delivered to loved ones in a simple cardboard urn. You can then arrange your own personal memorial service before displaying the ashes or scattering them. Source: Farewill Advertisement The online wills and probate experts say direct cremations are 75 per cent cheaper than a standard ceremony, which usually cost around 4,800. A direct cremation with Farewill is priced at 1,200. Dan told how prices in the funeral sector have 'crept up' over the years, and believes lockdown will 'push forward' innovation within the industry. 'An increase in death rate means things do get quite busy, but the really interesting thing is, it's been a struggle in the industry for a few years,' he said. 'Costs have crept up over the last five or 10 years. A lot of that is because when someone dies, especially if it's not expected, you're slightly side-swiped. 'You wander off into the funeral directors and before you know it you've bought an 8,000 funeral, so there's been really little innovation in the sector for genuinely over 100 years. 'Since lockdown, it's pushed forward a lot of innovation that's been waiting to happen in the funeral industry. Prices are coming down and people are thinking about funerals differently.' Auburn, IN (46706) Today Overcast. Morning high of 38F with temps falling to near 25. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Low 14F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph. Singapore plans to test all 16,000 elderly residents of its nursing homes for the coronavirus over the coming weeks, as it edges towards exiting a nationwide lockdown next month. The city-state recorded 768 new coronavirus on Friday, taking its total infections to 21,707 - one of the highest rates in Asia largely due to mass outbreaks among a young population of low-paid migrant labourers living in crowded dormitories. It has recorded only 20 deaths from the virus, with the majority being over the age of 60. Four of the deaths have been residents of nursing homes. "We have not seen widespread COVID-19 outbreaks in our nursing homes locally but we cannot let our guard down," health minister Gan Kim Yong said at the announcement of the testing plan on Friday. "We expect that more cases will be identified within our nursing homes with this extensive testing in progress." Under lockdown rules to curb the virus due to last until June 1, Singapore residents can only leave their homes for essential trips like grocery shopping and must wear a mask in public. Breaches can result in hefty fines or jail. Gan said tests at all the nursing homes would be completed by early June, while a further 9000 staff working at the homes have already been tested. Some 2600 nursing home staff are also being moved into hotels to minimise the risk of infection, he added. Singapore, which already has one of the highest testing rates in the world at 2500 tests per 100,000 people, said earlier this week said it was planning a 500 per cent increase in its virus-testing capacity. [May 06, 2020] COVID-19 Impact and Recovery Analysis | Laser Cladding Equipment Market 2020-2024 | Declining Cost of Laser Systems to Boost Growth | Technavio Technavio has been monitoring the laser cladding equipment market and it is poised to grow by USD 18.19 million during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of almost 4% 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/20200506005892/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Laser Cladding Equipment 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. ALPHA LASER GmbH, Coherent Inc., Fraunhofer (News - Alert) Society for the Promotion of Applied Research eV, Gall & Seitz Systems GmbH, Optomec Inc., IPG Photonics Corp., Laserline GmbH, OC Oerlikon Corp. AG, and TRUMPF GmbH + Co. KG. are some of the major market participants. The declining cost of laser systems 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. Declining cost of laser systems has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. Laser Cladding Equipment Market 2020-2024: Segmentation Laser Cladding Equipment Market is segmented as below: Market Landscape High Power Low Power Geography Europe North America APAC MEA South America End-user Industrial Mining Power Generation Others To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: htps://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR43114 Laser Cladding Equipment 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 laser cladding equipment market report covers the following areas: Laser Cladding Equipment Market Size Laser Cladding Equipment Market Trends Laser Cladding Equipment Market Industry Analysis This study identifies the development of automatic laser cladding equipment as one of the prime reasons driving the laser cladding equipment market growth during the next few years. Laser Cladding Equipment Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the laser cladding equipment market, including some of the vendors such as ALPHA LASER GmbH, Coherent Inc., Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research eV, Gall & Seitz Systems GmbH, Optomec Inc., IPG Photonics (News - Alert) Corp., Laserline GmbH, OC Oerlikon Corp. AG, and TRUMPF GmbH + Co. KG. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the laser cladding equipment 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. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Laser Cladding Equipment Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024 Detailed information on factors that will assist laser cladding equipment market growth during the next five years Estimation of the laser cladding equipment market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the laser cladding equipment market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of laser cladding equipment market vendors Table Of Contents: Executive Summary Market Landscape Market ecosystem Market characteristics Value chain analysis Market Sizing Market definition Market segment analysis Market size 2019 Market outlook: Forecast for 2019 - 2024 Five Forces Analysis Five forces summary Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes Threat of rivalry Market condition Market Segmentation by End-user Market segments Comparison by End-user Industrial - Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Mining - Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Power generation - Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Others - Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Market opportunity by End-user Market Segmentation by Power Market segments Comparison by power High power - Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Low power - Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Market opportunity by power Customer Landscape 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 by geography Volume driver - Demand led growth Price driver - Supply led growth Market challenges Market trends Vendor Landscape Vendor landscape Landscape disruption Vendor Analysis Vendors covered Market positioning of vendors ALPHA LASER GmbH Coherent Inc. Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research eV Gall & Seitz Systems GmbH Han's Laser Corp.Ltd. IPG Photonics Corp. Laserline GmbH Optomec Inc. OC Oerlikon (News - Alert) Corp. AG TRUMPF GmbH + Co. KG Appendix Scope of the report Currency conversion rates for US$ Research methodology List of abbreviations 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/20200506005892/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. is awarding $10 million to Copan Diagnostics Inc., one of the leading makers of sample collection kits involved in Covid-19 testing. The grant comes from Apples Advanced Manufacturing Fund and will help Murrieta, California-based Copan accelerate its supply of testing kits for hospitals across the U.S. to more than 1 million a week by early July, from several thousand currently, Apple said Thursday in a statement. As part of the effort, Copan will also move to a new, larger facility with advanced equipment that Apple is helping design. We feel a deep sense of responsibility to do everything we can to help medical workers, patients, and communities support the global response to Covid-19, Jeff Williams, Apples chief operating officer, said in the statement. Apple is obtaining equipment and materials for Copan from companies across the U.S. Copan Diagnostics is the U.S. unit of the Italian company Copan Group. It is one of only about two manufacturers in the world for the specific types of nasal swabs used for collecting Covid-19 samples. Copan makes many of its swabs in Italy and has faced a surge in demand as the pandemic has spread and shortages in testing capacity have posed hurdles to stemming the outbreak and enabling an economic recovery. Apple also joined with Alphabet Inc.s Google to create a contact-tracing tool for Covid-19 to be built into iOS and Android smartphone operating systems. The system will help notify users when they have come in contact with a person who has the disease caused by the coronavirus. The company has also developed a symptom tracking website and app in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cupertino, California-based Apple has also designed, tested and distributed about 10 million face shields and helped procure more than 30 million face masks for health care professionals in hard-hit areas, the company said. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. The city of Worcester is looking to partner with the state to identify a hotel in the city that could house people who have COVID-19 and cannot isolate. In particular, the service would be for members of the homeless population and for people who reside in smaller spaces and cannot isolate from other family members, City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. said Thursday. The hotel would be part of a state-run effort. Five other such hotels are being used for this purpose across Massachusetts, Augustus said, including a hotel in Northampton to which 10 of Worcesters homeless individuals positive for COVID-19 were moved earlier this week. Augustus said the state is currently looking at hotels in Worcester. The state contracts with the hotels and pays for the rooms, the city manager said. The effort includes services like nursing, security, laundry and food. The state currently has 550 hotel beds reserved for this purpose at five hotels, located in Everett, Lexington, Northampton, Pittsfield and Taunton, Augustus said. The manager did not name the specific hotels. Worcester originally housed homeless individuals who had COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, at a shelter at Worcester Technical High School. When that shelter reached its capacity of 25, the individuals were transferred to the DCU Center, which currently has a field hospital to treat coronavirus patients. But, after nearly two months of providing those services, Augustus said it has been challenging to find the number of volunteers necessary to keep the services running. The manager said additional satellite shelters for members of the homeless population who do have coronavirus, which are at North High School and the Ascension Church, are not being shut down. Worcester continues to see increases in coronavirus cases. Augustus on Thursday announced an additional 109 cases, bringing the citys total to 2,698. Its another tough day numbers-wise, unfortunately, here in the city, Augustus said. The city has averaged 70 cases per day since April 1. As of Thursday, the field hospital at the DCU Center has 23 patients, a decrease of six from Wednesday. Between Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester and the UMass Memorial Health Care system, there are 277 inpatients with coronavirus as of Thursday, 16 more than Wednesday. Of those patients, 118 are in the intensive care unit, which is seven more than Wednesday, Augustus said. The systems have seen 150 patients die from coronavirus, six more than Wednesday. Both systems have had 228 employees test positive for the virus. At the Beaumont Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center, there are 70 patients on Thursday, with six admissions and three discharges, Augustus said. Related Content: The owner of a Cullman restaurant today backed off her plan to reopen open the dining room in violation of Alabamas coronavirus health order for a second day. Annette Harris, owner of Rumors Deli, changed her plan after getting a call from the health department this morning. She said if she opened the dining room today, the authorities could chain and lock the front door of her restaurant, shut it down completely and revoke her permit. So instead, shes back to offering only curbside and drive-thru service, which are allowed by the health order. Annette Harris opened her dining room at Rumors Deli in Cullman, Ala. on Wednesday in defiance of a statewide coronavirus health order. Were live at the restaurant today to report on developments. Posted by al.com on Thursday, May 7, 2020 I am painted into a corner and my hands are tied and I am controlled once again, Harris said in an interview with AL.com outside her deli this morning. The government is still controlling me and all these other businesses. Harris said its unfair that large retailers are allowed to open with hundreds of shoppers while small businesses like hers are limited to to-go service. In an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, Alabama in mid-March issued an order closing restaurants dining rooms and many other businesses. Some businesses, including retail stores, were allowed to reopen on April 30, but restaurants were told to keep their dining rooms closed. Harris said her revenue has fallen by as much as half since the health order first took effect. Thats why on Wednesday, with new safety precautions in place, she reopened the dining room. Harris said about 30 customers dined-in Wednesday during the 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. opening at the longtime local eatery that services sandwiches, soups and homemade desserts. Now situated just off U.S. 278 on Fourth Street Southwest, Rumors first opened in Cullman nearly 20 years ago. But when customers arrived today hoping to dine-in, Harris told them they would have to use the drive-thru or get their lunches curbside. Matt and Marisa Griffin, regular customers at Rumors, showed up around 10:30 a.m. hoping to dine-in and support Harris. They said they were disappointed the dining room was closed again. I dont think its right that the government gets to pick winners and losers, Matt Griffin said. She (Harris) can either try to make some money or the local government will ruin her life and I think thats a travesty that were in that position right now. Thats why I was here to help her do some business. Marisa Griffin agreed, saying its unfair large retailers are open while Harris restaurant is shuttered. She said she would feel far safer at Rumors than in a packed retail store. After speaking with Harris, the Griffins joined the drive-thru line. Several other customers took food to-go or ate in their cars outside the restaurant. Some people drove by, waving and honking their horns in support of Harris and her 10 employees. Harris said since her restaurant received publicity on Wednesday, shes heard a wave of feedback from the public, including one death threat called in to the restaurant phone. But, she said, most of the feedback has been supportive. A man from Birmingham showed up at Rumors this morning offering to pay if Harris was fined $500 for violating the state health order. Because she kept the dining room closed, Harris did not receive a fine today, nor was she fined on Wednesday. Harris said she recognizes the seriousness of the virus, which, according to the state health department, has infected more than 8,800 Alabamians and killed 349 of this morning. But fear of the virus, Harris said, shouldnt take negate the personal choice and responsibility of Alabama citizens. If you are not comfortable then dont get out and dont come here," she said. Dont come inside any place youre not comfortable." But, Harris added, Dont bash people that are OK with it. Youre not gonna be affected if youre staying home. A federal judge on Thursday announced he will allow gun stores to reopen in Massachusetts, after Governor Charlie Baker ordered gun stores to close during the coronavirus pandemic. Theres no justification here to close gun stores, said Judge Douglas Woodlock of the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts. I dont have anything like a substantial fit between the goals of the emergency declared by the commonwealth and the burdening of the constitutional rights of the defendants in this narrow area. Woodlock also criticized Governor Baker for failing to clearly explain the justification for a closure of those stores. When were dealing with constitutional rights, some degree of clarity that tells us that its necessary is perhaps a foundational requirement, Woodlock said. The judges order to reopen gun stores will include certain restrictions to enforce social distancing measures, such as limiting the shops to an appointment-only model with four appointments in an hour at most. The coronavirus pandemic has caused mass closures of businesses deemed nonessential by state governments. However, after Baker shut gun stores as part of the closures throughout Massachusetts, a group of firearm owners and gun rights advocates sued the state at the beginning of April. Closure of some of these institutions, like bookstores and schools, may implicate constitutional rights, attorney Julia Kobick wrote in an April 29 defense of Bakers order, but the health and welfare of the Massachusetts citizenry depend on these temporary closures. More from National Review Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili on Thursday was appointed to a Ukrainian advisory body on reforms, in a move that marks his comeback to the ex-Soviet country's politics. President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has vowed to secure Western investment and rid the country of corruption, last month proposed appointing Saakashvili as deputy prime minister in charge of reform efforts. But the candidacy of the 52-year-old has apparently failed to garner much support in Kiev and was not even put to a vote in parliament, which is controlled by Zelensky's ruling party. Saakashvili served as governor of a key Ukrainian region in the past but fell out with Zelensky's predecessor Petro Poroshenko. After several weeks of back-door negotiations, Zelensky appointed Saakashvili head of the executive committee of Ukraine's National Reform Council, a hitherto obscure body. The appointment, by decree, did not need parliamentary approval. "I believe that he will be able to give additional momentum to the National Reform Council and help make important changes to the life of the country," Zelensky said in a statement. Saakashvili's appointment comes at a particularly difficult time for Ukraine, with observers warning that the shocks of the coronavirus pandemic may lead the country's economy to shrink by up to 10 percent this year. It remains to be seen whether Saakashvili will be able to help shape Ukraine's political and economic policies as his new post is largely advisory in nature. Saakashvili has said he wants to help steer Ukraine through an economic crisis. "Ukraine is entering an economic storm. We have to make unconventional decisions in order to save the Ukrainian economy," Saakashvili told reporters last month. The appointment marks a new chapter in Saakashvili's turbulent career which saw him put ex-Soviet Georgia on a pro-Western path after leading the bloodless Rose Revolution in 2003. In 2004-2013 as president of Georgia, he reformed the country's economy and attracted foreign investment but he also went to war with Russia over two breakaway regions. In 2015, Zelensky's predecessor Poroshenko appointed Saakashvili governor of Ukraine's strategic Odessa region. But his stint at the helm of the Black-Sea outpost was dogged by controversy as he ruffled many feathers and criticised the huge wealth of some politicians. He was eventually kicked out of the country and accused of trying to stage a coup sponsored by Russia. Zelensky restored his Ukrainian citizenship last year. Prystaiko said Ukraine would like to see a greater presence of NATO and the U.S. naval forces in the Black Sea. Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Vadym Prystaiko has said Ukraine and NATO should develop a strategy to deter Russia in the Black Sea area. Read alsoStoltenberg comments on Ukraine's accession to NATO's Enhanced Opportunity Partnership "Security in the Black Sea area is of paramount importance to Ukraine, as well as to NATO and other allies. While implementing the Black Sea Package proposed by the Alliance, we would like to focus on strengthening our Navy, cybersecurity, and raising our partners' awareness about the situation in the region," Prystaiko said during a video conference on Ukraine-NATO relations, according to the government's portal. According to him, the strategy should cover such areas as information, economy, legal and military sectors. The official added Ukraine would like to see a greater presence of NATO and the U.S. naval forces in the Black Sea. PORTLAND, Ore., May 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For the third consecutive year, Northwest Natural Holding Company (NYSE: NWN), was recognized by 2020 Women on Boards as a Winning "W" company for 2019. Women on Boards is a non-profit dedicated to creating gender diversity at the executive level and urges corporations to meet or exceed 20% women on their boards by the year 2020. Due to its high percentage of female board members, NW Natural Holdings was recognized as a shining example of enlightened business leadership, along with the 52% of Russell 3000 companies that are currently "W" companies. NW Natural Holdings 12-member board includes four women with diverse professional backgrounds: Martha L. Stormy Byorum, chief executive officer of Cori Investment Advisors, LLC; Monica Enand, founder and chief executive officer, Zapproved; Jane L. Peverett, former president and chief executive officer, British Columbia Transmission Corporation; and Malia H. Wasson, president, Sand Creek Advisors LLC. Were pleased that our commitment to gender diversity at the companys highest level has been acknowledged, says said Tod Hamachek, chairman of the board, NW Natural. I am genuinely grateful to and inspired by our women board members who bring deep experience and insight to our corporate governance process. About NW Natural Holdings Northwest Natural Holding Company, (NYSE: NWN) (NW Natural Holdings), is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and through its subsidiaries has been doing business for more than 160 years. It owns NW Natural Gas Company (NW Natural), NW Natural Water Company (NW Natural Water), and other business interests and activities. NW Natural is a local distribution company that currently provides natural gas service to approximately 2.5 million people in more than 140 communities through more than 760,000 meters in Oregon and Southwest Washington with one of the most modern pipeline systems in the nation. NW Natural consistently leads the industry with high J.D. Power & Associates customer satisfaction scores. NW Natural Holdings subsidiaries own and operate 35 Bcf of underground gas storage capacity with NW Natural operating 20 Bcf in Oregon. NW Natural Water provides water distribution and wastewater services to communities throughout the Pacific Northwest and Texas. NW Natural Water currently serves approximately 61,000 people through about 25,000 connections. Learn more about our water business at nwnaturalwater.com . Lems Bar-B-Q. At the legendary South Side barbecue stand, you can buy their hot links uncooked ($30 for 7 pounds original pork, $35 for 8 pounds turkey). While youre there, you have to order a rib tips and hot link combo to be eaten in your car, or as soon as you get home. Those are just the unwritten rules at the award-winning house of smoke. 311 E. 75th St., 773-994-2428, lemsque.com A professor at the Bayero University Kano (BUK), Monsuru Lasun-Emiola, is dead. Mr Lasun-Emiola, a professor of Physical Health Education, died on Wednesday at the university clinic after a brief illness. Mr Lasun-Emiola, an indigene of Oyo State, until his death was a senior lecturer with the Department of Physical and Health Education, Faculty of Education of the university. Announcing the death in the early hours of Thursday, a senior lecturer at the institution, Garba Sheka, described the late professor as a devoted Muslim. The cause of his death was not disclosed. However, Kano has recorded dozens of high profile deaths many described as mysterious especially as the deadly coronavirus continues to ravage the nation. These deaths include that of six professors, a former Grand Khadi, a former state chairman of State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB), former commissioner of education, former editor of state owned Triumph Newspapers in addition to several others. A professor at the Bayero University Kano (BUK), Monsuru Lasun-Eniola String of deaths The first professor to die in this sequence was Aliyu Dikko of Bayero University Kano, who died on Saturday April 25. Before his demise, Mr Dikko, a professor of physiology, was a lecturer at the Department of Human Physiology, College of Health Sciences, Bayero University, Kano. He was also a former Deputy Vice Chancellor at the same institution. He was involved in the opening of three faculties of Medicine/Basic Medical Sciences in Bayero University, Kaduna State University and Yusuf Maitama Sule University. Another professor who died on the same day is Ibrahim Ayagi. A renowned professor of economics, Mr Ayagi attended Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, 1963 -70 and proceeded to University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the USA from 1970 74. As Kano State Commissioner of Education in the 1970s, Mr Ayagi had set up Kanos celebrated Twin Science Secondary Schools at Dawakin Kudu and Dawakin Tofa. Some analysts believed the graduates of these two schools became the creme de la creme of medicine and science in the Northern states. Mr Ayagi was also the chairman of the National Economic Intelligence Committee (NEIC) of the Obasanjo administration and proprietor of Hassan Ibrahim Gwarzo Secondary School. On April 26, Balarabe Maikaba of the Department of Mass Communication, BUK, died after an illness. A professor, Mr Maikaba was the former head of Mass Communication Department, BUK, and a visiting lecturer to Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, and Kaduna State University (KASU). On the same day, Sabo Kurawa of Department of Sociology passed on after a protracted illness. The academic held positions of deputy vice chancellor, administration and subsequently deputy vice chancellor, academics at the Bayero university. He is survived by his wife, Dije Kurawa, a professor of Accounting at Bayero University and many children including Najib Kurawa, a lecturer at the Federal University Dutse. On Monday April 27, Uba Adamu, a retired academic with Kano State Polytechnic died as a result of age-related complications at the age of 85. Born in the old quarters of Daneji in Kano in December, 1935, Mr Adamu obtained a BSc in political history in 1968 at Abdullahi Bayero College, now Bayero University. He also attended the University of Ife, (todays Obafemi Awolowo University) for a short course in public administration. Advertisements He is survived by two wives, 17 children and 54 grandchildren. His eldest son is Abdalla Uba-Adamu, the Vice-Chancellor of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). Also on Monday 27, Ghali Umar, another lecturer, died. The late Umar was a former head of department and a senior lecturer at the Department of Architecture, Kano University of Science and Technology. Emergency Fund Sustains Vulnerable, Accomplished UW Student For University of Wyoming psychology sophomore Adrian Seiloff, life during a global pandemic means having to stay indoors. He was born with a genetic primary immunodeficiency disorder, leaving him with a compromised immune system. Seiloff is one of the universitys best and brightest. As a top-performing student, he has worked hard to maintain a high grade-point average and is involved with Student Success Services, a UW program that works to empower students by providing tools for college life management. Hes passionate about helping others to heal and plans to attend graduate school to pursue clinical psychology. Before the COVID-19 health crisis, Seiloff would have described his financial stability and food security as comfortable. He was an employee for Safesplash Swim School, arranging swimming lessons for clients of all ages. His mother is the small-business owner of the successful Studio 12 Salon in Cheyenne. Until now, he and his brother had never had to face the fear of going hungry. You never realize just how close you are to stress and making things work until something terrible happens, Seiloff says. Since then, weve been shaky and worried about what comes next. The pandemic has affected many UW students and, for some, the outcome has been catastrophic. In addition to the economic hardship and general anxiety surrounding the crisis, some students are more vulnerable to the virus. This means additional precautions, including never leaving the house. Seiloff currently lives in Laramie, separated from his family. One of the most difficult aspects of his new reality is not being able to provide for his family back home. Right now, Im working to comfort my mother as she tries to get her salon up and running, but I cant even do that because we all fear that I could get sick, he says. The most I can offer her is a listening ear when it gets to be too much or helping my little brother as he prepares to graduate high school online. Accomplishing goals and a strong work ethic have been fundamental to Seiloffs upbringing. A Wyoming native, he was drawn to the university of his home state because it was close to family. He fell in love with UW because it had the same sense of community he had experienced growing up. He was looking for a true home away from home when he was considering where to attend college. He feels he has found another family in the university. My professors have always been receptive to me reaching out for help, Seiloff says. I absolutely feel supported. One of the greatest lessons I have learned is not to be afraid to ask for help. At the University of Wyoming, someone will always be there. Seiloff applied for the Pokes Make the Difference student emergency fund, hoping he could receive any kind of assistance to help his situation. The funding he received was the difference between having food and going hungry. If I hadnt received the funding, Im just not certain what my household and I would have been able to keep doing for food, or how we would have paid our water, electric bill or rent, he says. This money also means that my family back in Cheyenne doesnt have to worry about supporting me when they are already worried about supporting themselves. J ordan Sherman looks back warmly on choosing her bridal gown and marvels at how much she loved the process. Definitely not the way I pictured it happening, but really, really happy to have made it a part of our lives, the 30-year-old said. This bride-to-be dreamed of cake-testings, venue visits, florist meetings and, of course, shopping for the perfect wedding dress for her Oct. 24 nuptials to David Figueroa. When COVID-19 restrictions made this impossible, virtual shopping became the norm to find the one. It definitely was a pleasant surprise to see how comfortable and how natural it all feels, Sherman said about her Say Yes to the Dress experience. Only this didnt take place in a bridal salon, but via emails, three ZOOM meetings and mail deliveries. About her dream gown: Its ivory with an art deco, Victorian lace feel, with a little bit of glimmer and shimmer, Sherman said. Sherman, who grew up in Redding, is working with Chelsea Tyler McNamara, owner of Madisons Everthine Bridal Boutique. I grew up in this house that I tried the dresses on inso that was definitely a very sentimental moment for myself, Sherman said, about modeling the dresses in her childhood home. It just kind of gave me the opportunity to feel all the emotions that I would want to feel and be in a really safe space. Going virtual For McNamara, working with Sherman and all of her clients, has required adapting to the new normal. Our brides have been so positive and so genuinely excited about these virtual appointments, she said. I just keep telling them, over and over again, that they are giving me life every day and Im so happy to come to work, even if its just me, to have these moments with them. This is also true for Beth Chapman, owner of The White Dress by the Shore in Clinton. It is fun, because it allows us to connect with our clients, which is what we miss so much, she said. The two things that we love are bridal fashion and working with brides, she added. So, even though its virtual and its not in person were still able to connect with them and talk with them and help to create this look for them and were able to touch and feel gowns, she said. So, its super special for us to continue to that in whatever capacity we can. Virtual shopping also applies to bridesmaid, mother of the bride and flower girl dresses. While Lindsay Hile Spreyer, owner of Guilfords Blush Bridesmaid, considered closing her doors and opening back up when the pandemic subsided, she said she knew she had to find a way to keep her doors open. More Information Just add dress Blush Bridesmaid, 1250 Boston Post Road, Guilford, 203-453-0776; blushbridesmaid.com; Facebook Blush Bridesmaid Everthine Bridal Boutique, 33 Wall St., Madison, 203-421-6222; shopeverthine.com; Facebook Everthine Bridal Boutique; Instagram The White Dress by the Shore, 104 East Main St., Clinton, 860-669-4596; TheWhiteDressbytheShore.com; Facebook The White Dress by the Shore; Instagram thewhitedress. See More Collapse Theres tons of fall brides now that havent done their bridesmaid shopping and theyre all in kind of panic mode, she said. Prior to setting up virtual shopping dates, all shop owners talk and email the bride to make a connection. We really try to get to know their style, their venue, their vision, everything that we would get to know in a normal appointment, just not in person, McNamara said. Visual planning With all this information in hand, Everthine sets up Pinterest board and sets up the suggested gowns on mannequins. For Sherman, having McNamara model her choices was a unique and important part of the process. She had three different dresses, based off what we talked about, set up on mannequins and she actually gave me the option of trying them on herself so that I could see what they looked like on a real body type, not just a stuffed mannequin, which was really cool, she said. McNamara said that while her shop stresses advance wedding gown shopping, it is that much more important now. We always encourage, before COVID, to buy your wedding dress nine to 12 months in advance so you are able to have an easy, stress free time leading up to your wedding date, she said. Everything is sort of in haywire now, she added. Production schedules are messed up, timelines are different, dates are changing, so everyones really forced to adapt. At The White Dress by the Shore, Chapman brings ease to the experience through the TWD At Home program. In place for about two years, this option gives brides immediately access to wedding dresses. Those are gowns we are selling right off the rack for immediate sale, she said. We send it with try on instructions, clips and a little YES sign in case they say Yes to the Dress, they can share that with us on social media, Chapman said. This service includes a Facetime call with a stylist. Its awesome that that was already in place when this all this happened, because we have the infrastructure to, right off the bat, start to service our brides in some capacity online, she said. Accessories and masks Now, this virtual shopping includes special order dresses, as well as accessory shopping at The White Dress by the Shore. If its an accessory appointment and theyve purchased their gown through us, we will put their gown on a mannequin, well set up a ZOOM call and then well just have fun playing with veils and accessories, Chapman said. Chapman can sense real excitement as she and her team work virtually with the brides, especially when it comes to adding accessories. Its so fun for them to be able to visit with their gown and see it on a mannequin, she said. Theyre like, Oh, my gosh, there it is. Its so pretty. I think its exciting for them and its exciting for us because were really helping them just visualize what its going to look like on their wedding day, she said. Its giving them hope and its giving them excitement. It makes them really excited for their wedding, whether its going to happen this year or whether, unfortunately, it has to be pushed out a few months or even a year. Theyre still looking forward to getting married. McNamara stresses that COVID-19 may have derailed some plans, weddings are really all about the love between two people. Its been crazy, she said. We have a lot of our brides that still have their 2020 weddings booked, a lot of them have canceled - not canceled , we say postponed in our industry because its true, theyre not canceled and love isnt canceled . Were trying to encourage people to not use that word and say reschedule and say postponed to keep spirits up and alive, she said. Spreyer knew she had to create the easiest virtual shopping experience possible, to make everyone feel as comfortable as possible. Talking by phone, FaceTime or ZOOM, her first meeting with the bride, called Learning all About You, is when Spreyer gets to know all about the upcoming nuptials. The next contact is the bride, along with her wedding party, to virtually shop for dresses. This is where the fun begins, Spreyer said. We work together to browse dress designers, styles and colors to fit the brides budget and vision. In addition, Blush Bridesmaid has been working with Los Angeles dress designer Katie May to offer fun, jazzy face masks made of bridal fabric. Spreyer said that offering masks at this time makes her feel like she is helping during the pandemic. I have access to masks that are effective, she said. Theyre something that are comfortable, adjustable, washable. One of the masks is a white and nude mask, a very bridal mask, said Spreyer. Theres a lot of brides right now that are still getting married, even though theyre not having their big receptiontheyve been buying those for a commemorative photo of the times, she added. In addition, they have a filtered crepe material that are adjustable for men and women that come in a lot of colors, she said. We also have these fun sequined ones. (There are) rose gold and white, for anybody that wants to kind of feel fashionable while theyre having to wear masks at this time. While all brides have had to adapt to a new normal, for Sherman, working with Everthine to find her wedding dress virtually, was a unique and very positive experience. Freedom Angels co-founders, from left, Denise Aguilar, Heidi Munoz Gleisner and Tara Thornton as they are detained by California Highway Patrol officers during a demonstration against Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home orders aimed at slowing the spread of the new coronavirus, at the Capitol in Sacramento on May 1. (Rich Pedroncelli/ Associated Press) Protesters plan to gather in Sacramento Thursday for a second time in less than a week to demand that Gov. Gavin Newsom lift pandemic-related restrictions so that people can exercise their God-given right to spread the coronavirus. If that sounds familiar, that's because its essentially the same message pushed by protesters last year during the legislative battle over SB 276, a bill to make it harder to exempt students from mandatory vaccinations. Protesters framed their position as a defense of personal choice, even though the bill didn't deny parents the choice to leave their children uninoculated against measles and other easily preventable diseases. It prevented them only from enrolling their uninoculated children in schools, where they might risk the health of other people's kids. Vaccination opponents lost that fight, then failed to persuade enough Californians to sign on to their fringey, anti-science crusade to repeal the law through a ballot initiative. Polls show that most people understand that vaccinations are overwhelmingly safe and effective, which has been affirmed in study after study. Many of the faces at the coronavirus protests are familiar as well. Thats because the three protests at the state Capitol in Sacramento were organized by the Freedom Angels Foundation, which was formed by a trio of women who met during the SB 276 debates. Now, it seems, they have channeled their frustration into a new cause: fomenting dissent about the measures meant to stop the spread of COVID-19. Anti-vaxxers, as they are known, have become important players in protests around the country against social-distancing orders, joining other anti-government types at events in Texas, Michigan, Maryland and other states. They have attacked not just pandemic policies but also health experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, the well-respected head of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases. Along the way they are pushing their signature combination of junk science, misinformation and conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 is a hoax by the government (or maybe Microsoft founder Bill Gates?) to subdue Americans for reasons never made exactly clear. They say they want medical freedom, but to us it sounds more like they want the freedom to do whatever they want, pandemic be damned, even if it means other people might get sick or die because of their actions. People have a right to endanger their own lives, but not those of others. The pandemic restriction protesters are loud and persistent, but a core group of them are merely rebels in search of a cause, any cause, to push their nutty theories. And they found one with COVID-19. (Adds details of Greenbushes sale, stock movement) By Ernest Scheyder May 7 (Reuters) - Albemarle Corp said on Thursday it was interested in buying all or part of Tianqi Lithium Corp's controlling stake in Australia's Greenbushes, the world's largest lithium mine. Already the world's largest producer of lithium for electric vehicle batteries, Albemarle would cement its control over the global market for the white metal were it to take control of Greenbushes, a hard rock lithium mine. Shares of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Albemarle rose 3.4 percent to $59.89 in Thursday morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Chengdu, China-based Tianqi, which owns 51 percent of Greenbushes to Albemarle's 49 percent, said last month it was exploring selling equity and assets, including Greenbushes, to cut debt. "We're interested in it. We're following it, but we're also mindful of the current market environment," Albemarle Chief Executive Kent Masters told investors on a Thursday conference call. By taking over Greenbushes, Albemarle would gain control over another cheap source of the white metal, and one far closer to Chinese customers than Chilean operations. Separately, Albemarle said Tianqi has agreed to repay $100 million it owes the Greenbushes joint venture, officially known as Talison Lithium. "We expect that they'll meet that plan, and we have actions that we've put in place to mitigate, if, for some reason, they don't meet the plan," Masters, the Albemarle CEO, said. Albemarle posted better-than-expected quarterly results on Wednesday, but cut its 2020 budget and pulled its annual forecast on Wednesday as sales drop amid the global spread of the coronavirus. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Franklin Paul and Jonathan Oatis) +1-713-210-8512; Reuters Messaging: ernest.scheyder.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) The rate of coronavirus infection has slowed in Georgia over the past several days, with Georgia reporting just five new cases of coronavirus earlier today, while the figure stood at six yesterday and 11 on May 5. The total number of coronavirus cases is 615 as of May 7, 275 of the 615 patients have recovered, while nine have died. As of today 331 remain infected with COVID-19 in Georgia, Agenda.ge reported. Georgia has already lifted several, coronavirus-related restrictions and reopened the cities of Kutaisi and Batumi which have been on lockdown for 20 days. The government has plans to reopen the cities of Tbilisi and Rustavi by the end of the week. Skoltech scientists in collaboration with researchers from the University of Stuttgart, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the Russian Quantum Center achieved the first systematic experimental measurements of the electrical conductivity of pure interfacial water, hence producing new results significantly extending our knowledge of interfacial water. Interfacial water may be found everywhere around us. Biological systems, electrochemical devices, food preservation methods, climate-related processes to name a few, all depend on the properties of water near interfaces. However, direct access to the physical-chemical properties of pure interfacial water is arduous and explains why much remains to be discovered and understood. The results obtained by the scientists from the Skoltech Center for Energy Science and Technology (CEST) in collaboration with German researchers provide new and detailed insights into complex fluids. The discovery of new electrical properties of interfacial water will clearly have impact on the future development of electrochemical systems, both for electrical power generation and storage. "We used diamond-based ceramics with open-pore structure filled with water. By consistent reduction of the pore size from 500 nm to 5 nm, we increased the interfacial-to-bulk-water ratio up to its maximum, at which point the interfacial water showed anomalous DC conductivity, five orders of magnitude higher than that of the bulk water. Our analysis shows that this unusual conductivity is a genuine intrinsic property of the interfacial water, as the surface chemistry contribution clearly appears not to be the dominant one," explains Vasily Artemov, Senior Research Scientist in the group of Skoltech professor Henni Ouerdane. "The topic of interfacial water is of immense interest to a wide audience of physicists, electrochemists, climate researchers, geologists and biologists, and we anticipate that the research we report will be influential across a diverse range of scientific and technological fields, such as electrochemical energy systems, membrane technologies and nanofluidics," said Henni Ouerdane. ### The collaborative study was led by Dr. Vasily Artemov who joined professor Ouerdane's research group in November 2018. Thanks to the strong support from Skoltech, professor Ouerdane and Dr. Artemov succeeded in designing and building the Dielectric Lab Setup at CEST in a record time and producing world-class results. The setup now attracts local and international students for short research stays in the framework of the Global Campus program. Research projects in physical chemistry, materials science, biology and across these disciplines are sure to benefit from the new facility. Professor Ouerdane and Dr. Artemov are set on further fostering the broadband dielectric spectroscopy research at their lab. [May 07, 2020] PureFacts Acquires VennScience, a Full-Service Salesforce Consultancy Based in New Hampshire PureFacts Financial Solutions, a leading provider of mission-critical wealthtech solutions, has acquired VennScience, a full-service Salesforce consultancy headquartered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This strategic acquisition enriches and extends PureFacts' ability to provide meaningful insights and solutions to wealth firms to address their client's needs. PureFacts also gains a presence in key US markets such as Boston and New York. "We were looking for an exceptional partner to help us achieve our geographic expansion goals, but they had to be as passionate about client success as we are," says Robert Madej, PureFacts CEO. "VennScience had everything we were looking for: technical expertise, business acumen, a track record of driving continuous innovation on the Salesforce platform, and a shared client-cetric approach to problem solving. We're excited to combine the great people and strengths from our two firms." "We've always been hyper-focused on providing an elite level of value to our customers," says Mike McCann, President of VennScience. "Joining forces with PureFacts expands the ways we can help our customers solve their biggest challenges and support their growth. But what really sealed the deal for us was how well our values aligned. We're both insanely customer focused." As a well-established Salesforce consultancy, VennScience helps companies execute their vision, drive efficiency, and maximize the benefits of cloud-based business applications. VennScience takes a unique approach that differs from the traditional Salesforce consulting model. They emphasize strategic thinking to help clients unlock the power of Salesforce to transform their business. Together, PureFacts and VennScience will take advantage of cross-selling opportunities, and leverage the benefits of shared services to help both companies be more financially efficient. As well, they'll share their North American sales teams with representatives in Boston, New York, and Toronto, along with a UK representative in London. As a combined entity, they'll offer a wider breadth of solutions and services to meet the diverse challenges and enterprise-level needs of wealth management firms. About PureFacts Financial Solutions: Ranked a WealthTech 100 Company for 2020, PureFacts provides wealth management solutions for the financial services industry in Canada, USA, UK, and the Caribbean. PureFacts uses AI, big data, and their industry expertise to help firms realize value, increase productivity, reduce costs, and create an enhanced customer experience. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507006062/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The total number of coronavirus COVID-19 cases across 187 nations reached 3,784,085 and the death toll stood at 264,679 at 11.45 pm (IST) on Thursday (May 7). With the highest numbers both in positive cases and death toll, the US continues to remain the worst-hit with a total of 1,231,992 cases. It is followed by Spain with 220,325 cases, Italy with 215,858 cases, the UK with 202,359 cases, and Russia with 177,160 cases. With a massive jump, the US has witnessed the highest death toll across all the nations at 74,239, followed by the UK at 30,689, Italy at 29,684, Spain at 25,857 and France at 25,812. Regional and political fractures are emerging in many nations over how fast to lift the lid on the coronavirus lockdowns, as worries about economic devastation collide with fears of a second wave of deaths. French mayors are resisting the government's call to reopen schools, while Italian governors want Rome to ease lockdown measures faster. As the British government looks to reopen the economy, Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon has warned that acting too fast could let the virus wreak havoc again. The US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday laid out the broad outlines of the next massive coronavirus-response bill Democrats will seek, with possible votes as soon as next week. Pelosi said the bill`s major components will include additional aid to state and local governments, more money for coronavirus testing and help for the financially troubled US Postal Service. Just before she spoke, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, said such a bill was premature. Without providing dollar figures or details, Pelosi also discussed the need "for putting money in people`s pockets, direct payments." And while she said she was hoping that the Democratic-led House would be in session next week -- a hint that that is when votes on her coronavirus bill could be cast -- she also said of the legislation, "I have to get agreement among my caucus" on the bill`s many provisions. Spain weighed up further steps on Thursday to bring life back to normal as the coronavirus epidemic ebbed, but the capital Madrid and the city of Barcelona could remain under tight restrictions for the time being. Both cities and their surroundings have registered the highest number of coronavirus deaths and infections in Spain, one of the countries worst hit by the global pandemic. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez`s government is anxious to get the country up and running again without igniting the second wave of infections as the economy reels and Spaniards gradually emerge from nearly eight weeks under lockdown. Parliament voted on Wednesday night to extend a state of emergency for two more weeks from Sunday. This gives the government power to control people`s movements as it relaxes the lockdown which succeeded in curbing the outbreak. The Bank of England warned Thursday that the British economy could suffer its deepest annual contraction since the Spanish War of Succession a little over three centuries ago as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, before roaring back next year. In what it describes as a plausible scenario, the bank said the British economy will be 30% smaller at the end of the first half of the year than it was at the start of it, with the second quarter seeing a 25% slump alone following a 3% decline in the first. Unemployment is projected to more than double to around 9%, but that figure does not include the 6 million workers who have been retained by firms as part of a scheme that sees the government pay up to 80% of salaries. Many of those people furloughed may end up losing their jobs if the economy fails to recover as anticipated or the government starts withdrawing its support too soon. Every evening when health experts updated anxious Italians in televised briefings about their nation's devastating coronavirus outbreak, the lineup of authoritative figures included only one woman: the sign-language interpreter. And not a single woman was among the 20-member commission appointed to advise the government on how and when Italy could safely re-open its factories, stores, schools and parks a disparity all the more glaring because more than half the country's doctors and three-quarters of its nurses are women, many on the heroic front lines of the pandemic. Not to mention that the three researchers who isolated the coronavirus in the first days of Italy's outbreak were women. Indignation over the gender inequality has now exploded into the open, with some 70 female researchers and scientists signing a petition demanding the government include women in virus decision-making bodies as a matter of democracy and civilization. Everything should therefore be done to minimize the inconvenience to employees. Inviting spouses is one possible solution but causes its own problems: Most employees do not consider such invitations optional, and spouses may resent being asked to do work for their spouses employer. It also puts single workers in an awkward position (are they permitted a guest of their choosing?) and leaves employees with children searching and paying for child care. A better solution is the one you suggest: namely, being thoughtful about how many employees are invited, and how frequently. University staff boost Welsh skills over coffee and chat online This article is old - Published: Thursday, May 7th, 2020 Staff at Wrexham Glyndwr University are brushing on their Welsh language skills while enjoying some welcome social time during the lockdown. The university hosts a series of monthly Coffi a Chlonc (Coffee and Chat) sessions, where staff can practice Welsh in a friendly and informal environment. Meetings are usually held at Plas Coch campus but have moved online with staff working at home due to the coronavirus pandemic. The first virtual Coffi a Chlonc session was a success with more than 20 members of staff using Microsoft Teams to chat in Welsh and learning new phrases to boost their vocabulary. Elen Mai Nefydd, the universitys Welsh Language Champion, said: It worked really well and everyone had a chance to say something in Welsh. Everyones on different levels, some are more used to speaking in Welsh than others and some had joined us for the first time today, so its been brilliant. Maybe some see it as a chance to do something that they wouldnt normally do during their working day on campus. Perhaps its just a break for people from their daily work routine. Its a way of bringing people from all corners of the university, both academic and administrative staff, together to talk to each other in Welsh. The first virtual session, participants discussed how they are coping with working from home, and what they were hobbies and activities they are doing in their free time to while away the hours during lockdown. The coronavirus crisis has seen staff and students using technology to continue with their studies remotely. Elen, who is Programme Leader in Theatre, Television and Performance, has been conducting sessions with students online. It was a very odd experience to start with, especially as someone who co-ordinates a drama course. I felt that it was going to be impossible, and to be honest I think the students felt the same way, she said. But over the last few weeks the consensus has changed and I think people have found different ways of thinking creatively about their learning and its certainly made me look at my teaching and what is actually possible without having to be in the same room as someone. One of the ways Elen has challenged her students to stay creative is performing a dramatic piece or a song to camera. A lot of actors are doing that now on social media. Lots of people are performing online and are finding it very beneficial for them creatively, she said. Workers at Aperion Care in Jacksonville and more than 60 other healthcare facilities in Illinois have reached a tentative agreement that will prevent a strike Friday. SEIU Healthcare Illinois, the union representing the workers, said the agreement would improve both wages and working conditions for caregivers. The Mayor of Kumasi, Mr Osei Assibey Antwi together with Adumhene, Baffour Agyei Kese IV, and some Divisional Police Commanders in the metropolis, began the operation on Wednesday with a tour in the central business district to enforce compliance on compulsory nose mask wearing. The team which included police and military personnel ensured that each person in the business district wore the mask as a protective measure against the further spread of the coronavirus in the metropolis and its environs. Mr Osei Assibey Antwi said the exercise was part of efforts to ensure that all preventive protocols such as social distancing, wearing of nose masks, as well as washing of hands were strictly adhered to by all residents. He said the involvement of the police and the military was to ensure that every individual put on nose masks while walking or trading in public places. The Mayor said it was also part of a sustained educational campaign to ensure that people complied with all the outlined preventive protocols to prevent further spread of the virus in the country. Mr Osei Assibey commended the majority of people who have been wearing the nose masks and obeying the preventive rules and said concerted efforts were needed by all to fight the spread of the virus. Barfour Agyei Kese IV, Adumhene on his part, thanked the people, especially those in Adum, for complying with the President's order and hence, using the nose masks and obeying all other protocols. He advised the few recalcitrant to comply with the rules as a matter of urgency, and obey the simple instruction since that was the only way through which they could stay safe from catching and spreading the virus. Meanwhile, a section of the traders and buyers who spoke to the GNA during the exercise expressed worry over the rate at which the coronavirus infection was rising in the region. They called for strict enforcement of the various protocols to prevent further spread in the region. ---GNA For Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission Chairman Steven Hoffman, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought several concerns relating to the marijuana industry: first, the health and safety of employees, but also the long-term viability of small businesses that were just getting started. These are relatively new businesses, many of them are owned and operated by new and not particularly well-financed entrepreneurs, said Hoffman, who is among the panelists speaking during a webinar being hosted by NJ Cannabis Insider and Advance 360 and titled Cannabis and COVID-19: Where Does America Go From Here? presented by Duane Morris. At the May 13 event, the conversation will focus on medical marijuana, legalization, and the hemp and CBD industries during the coronavirus pandemic, while also looking ahead at the Nov. 3 national elections. Audience members will be able to submit questions ahead of the event, which starts at 1 p.m., and can purchase tickets, which cost $8.50, at advance360.com/cannabis-insider-live. As chair of the CCC, Hoffman and other Massachusetts marijuana regulators have been flexible as the pandemic has stretched on. The commission itself is working remotely. Since March, the commission has made changes to try and ease the burden on cannabis businesses and medical patients, allowing medical dispensaries to offer curbside pickup, allowing patients to renew their registration via telehealth methods and allowing the recreational market to support the medical market via wholesale transfers. In Massachusetts, recreational marijuana businesses have not been deemed essential business by Gov. Charlie Baker and have been forced to close while medical dispensaries can still operate. Massachusetts is the only state with legal marijuana that has shut down recreational stores. My biggest concern is some of them probably wont weather the storm, particularly the longer this order stays in place, the more likely it is that some of them just wont weather the storm and wont reopen and I think thats just a really, really sad outcome, said Hoffman, who added that he was not disputing the governors order. But, Hoffman said he is certain the CCC could enforce safe regulation of recreational businesses amid the pandemic. I think the criteria is increasingly going to be what can we do safely, weve got to start reopening our economies so lets start with the things that we can do safely and the message that I want to get across here is that we can absolutely can run the adult-use industry safely, said Hoffman. The closure of recreational stores has lead to a spike in new medical marijuana patient registrations in Massachusetts, steep financial losses for businesses and the layoffs and furloughs of employees. I am very concerned about the viability of many of these companies, said Hoffman, who noted that cannabis companies are not eligible for the federal Paycheck Protection Program because marijuana is still federally illegal. CCC commissioners have sent a letter to the states congressional delegation advocating for financial support for the states marijuana businesses. Legislation that would make cannabis businesses eligible for Small Business Administration COVID-19 relief programs has been recently introduced by U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, who is the keynote speaker for the webinar. Justin Zaremba, an NJ Cannabis Insider editor and a longtime news reporter for NJ.com, will moderate the discussion. In addition to Hoffman, panelists include: Karen OKeefe is the director of state policies for Marijuana Policy Project. Katie Neer, the director of government affairs for Acreage Holdings Chris Melillo, senior vice president of retail operations for Curaleaf Paul Josephson, a partner at Duane Morris where hes a constitutional and regulatory litigator who advises CEOs, elected officials, and agency heads on a broad spectrum of matters, including cannabis Imani Dawson, vice president of MJM Strategy, and communications director for Minorities for Medical Marijuana Joy Beckerman, founder of Hemp Ace International and a former president of the Hemp Industries Assn. After the live event, attendees will be able to continue the discussion and network in a closed forum, moderated by journalists covering marijuana and hemp industries. Related Content: Published on: 6 May 2020 People form a purple ribbon to raise awareness for domestic violence People form a purple ribbon to raise awareness for domestic violence Across the world, lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are putting women at increased risk of DVA. In England, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge, has seen a 50 per cent increase in calls compared to pre-COVID-19, along with a 400 per cent increase in web traffic In most settings, including high-income countries, healthcare is still not responding adequately to DVA. The World Health Organization, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Department of Health and Social Care have called for greater health sector involvement in helping those affected. IRIS (Identification and Referral to Improve Safety) is a training and support programme to help primary care teams identify and refer women affected by DVA. It involves training the whole primary care team at GP practices (GPs, nurses, practice managers and healthcare assistants and ancillary staff) in identifying DVA in their patients. This includes adapting electronic medical records to prompt health workers to ask further questions about DVA, when presented with clinical conditions such as depression, anxiety or injury. The programme also includes a simple referral pathway to a named DVA advocate, ensuring direct access for women to specialist services. The latest research, published in the journal BMC Medicine, looked at 205 general practices across London over four years. It compared practices in four London boroughs which had implemented the IRIS DVA training and referral programme, with general practices in a fifth borough which only had a stand-alone education session. The study found that the benefits seen in the 144 practices receiving the full IRIS DVA programme were substantial, increasing DVA referrals 30-fold, with no increase in the 61 practices in a comparator borough. IRIS also led to a 27 per cent increase in new identification of women affected by DVA in the implementation borough, but not in the comparator borough. Beth, who used the DVA service as a result of the IRIS programme, said: IRIS were the first people to get right into my life and begin to make that difference. I had stressed repeatedly about what was happening to many professionals in the past but no-one could really help to make it stop. By the time IRIS became involved I was exhausted. My Advocate Educator was incredible, so knowledgeable, patient and intent on transforming my stuck situation. I will always feel beyond grateful to her and the team at IRIS for giving me the freedom I have now. The children and I are now safe and happy. It feels amazing. Study lead Dr Alex Sohal from Queen Mary University of London said: This new work shows that implementation of the IRIS programme surprisingly remains highly effective at scale in day to day general practice. It allows GPs to engage constructively with DVA rather than turning their back on this vulnerable group of patients. A previous smaller randomised controlled trial in London and Bristol found IRIS to be very effective in identifying and referring women facing domestic abuse. The IRIS programme has been funded in 41 English and Welsh sites, but in one quarter of those, funding has since stopped despite the programme being effective Co-author Professor Chris Griffiths from Queen Mary University of London, said: Health commissioners can now commission this programme with the confidence that it works in practice. IRIS can help GPs respond to the increased needs of women during COVID-19. Our work shows that the Mayor of Londons recent investment in rolling out the IRIS DVA programme across a further seven London boroughs is an excellent use of resource. Boroughs and Violence Reduction Units across the UK should follow this lead. Professor Rosalind Raine (Director, NIHR ARC North Thames) said: We were delighted to be able to fund this research, which has profound implications for women and their families in great need. Our findings are timely given the new Domestic Abuse Bill in which the Government has committed to investing in domestic abuse training for responding agencies and professionals." Co-author Professor Gene Feder of University of Bristol said: This is a landmark study, showing that an evidence-based DVA programme commissioned within the NHS is effective and sustainable in general practice. Our findings strengthen the case for the implementation of IRIS across the whole NHS and further development of a global primary care based response to DVA. The social enterprise IRISi, who work to improve the healthcare response to gender-based violence, have recently been helping GP teams to continue to respond to domestic abuse during the COVID-19 lockdowns, by releasing guidance on how to apply IRIS during telephone and video consultations with their patients. The study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research through the NIHR North Thames Applied Research Collaboration (formerly NIHR CLAHRC North Thames). For support, call the Freephone 24-h National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge, on 0808 2000 247, or visit www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk. More information The following speech was delivered by Alex Lantier, founding member of the Parti de l'egalite socialiste (France) to the 2020 International May Day Online Rally held by the World Socialist Web Site and the International Committee of the Fourth International on May 2. Dear comrades and friends, I am honored to bring fraternal greetings from the Socialist Equality Party of France to this international gathering. Barely three months have passed since the first cases of COVID-19 emerged in Europe. But Europe has already suffered a massive and lasting blow. Around 1.5 million cases are confirmed here; hundreds of thousands more are infected, left out of the official statistics, suffering or dying at home or in retirement homes. Over 130,000 Europeans have died, and millions are mourning them. The confinement policies necessary to contain COVID-19s spread have brought the European economy to a halt. Over 11 million workers in France, 10 million in Germany, and 9 million in Spain are unemployed or underemployedseveral times more than after the 2008 crash. The survival of millions of small businesses is under threat. Europe is facing its deepest economic crisis since the Depression of the 1930s, which led to the outbreak of World War II. The speech by Alex Lantier begins at 1:02:57 in the video. This historic crisis has revealed the political rot of European capitalism and of the ruling financial aristocracy. Since 2008, Europes governments and central banks have poured over four trillion euros of public money into the banks, while imposing devastating austerity to workers and social services. Since then, social resources have gone not to buy masks or respirators, or to finance key scientific research, but the buy up big investors toxic debts and to wage war. What is the result? These mass deaths, which could have been avoided, are the product not only of nature but above all of class society. Now, across Europe, a continent with many of the worlds wealthiest countries, masks and other key medical supplies are unobtainable. Medical staff themselves have paid a heavy price: they are 20 percent of the sick in Spain, 10 percent in Italy, or over 60,000 people just in those two countries. The European Union abandoned the worst-hit countries to themselves: Berlin and Paris refused to export masks and other medical equipment to Italy or to other countries. As for a coronavirus vaccine, which scientists hoped to work on since the 2002 SARS epidemic, work must start virtually from scratch. Most projects that we had on the virus were on standby, explained one French scientist, for lack of funding. This decision is now costing not thousands of euros, but thousands of lives. The European Union and European capitalism are economically, politically and morally bankrupt. The working class now faces a struggle on two fronts: the war against COVID-19, and the class war. Firstly, the most oppressed layers of workers are on the front lines against the virus. CEOs and professionals are sheltering at home in country estates or big apartments in affluent neighborhoods, but truckers, deliverymen, caregivers and nurses are still at work. These essential but poorly paid workers are exposed to COVID-19, often living cramped together in small apartments, in working class districts classified as red zones due to the large number of cases there. Second, the pandemic is preparing a new eruption of class struggle. Already, it was only mass wildcat strikes by steelworkers, autoworkers, and other factory workers in Italy in early March that forced capitalist governments to agree to shelter-at-home orders demanded by health authorities. But the bourgeoisie relentlessly pursues a criminal policy. In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel declared that 60 to 70 percent of the population would catch COVID-19. The British government for its part calls this same sinister theory herd immunity. The European Union is launching a back-to-work campaign, carried out by all the European states, amid a raging pandemic with over 20,000 new cases each day across Europe. This will inevitably lead to an increase in numbers of new cases and of deaths. At the same time, the European Central Bank and the EU have announced trillions of euros in bank bailouts. To extract profits to be paid on this flood of fictitious capital, vast social attacks are planned on the workers now being forced back to work. The Medef, the French business federation, is demanding historic cuts to overtime and vacation days, while the tens of thousands of layoffs in European airlines and tourism are an initial sign of the jobs massacre now being planned. The union bureaucracies and petty-bourgeois populist parties like Podemos in Spain are complicit in this criminal policy. In Spain, the Podemos government is even sending police to assault steelworkers striking for the right to shelter at home amid the pandemic. But the working class is not a herd, and it will not let itself be culled. Since 2018, working class anger is shaking Europe. Frances yellow vest movement; strikes of Portuguese nurses, Polish teachers and German metalworkers; mass protests against political repression in Catalonia; and strikes of British and French rail workers have all marked the birth of a new era of the class struggle. The bankruptcy of European capitalism as it emerged from the Stalinist bureaucracys dissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of the European Union is provoking growing working class opposition. The pandemic does not lessen but intensifies class conflict. The working class faces the urgent necessity of smashing capitalist opposition to an all-out struggle against the pandemic, that places all social resources to a struggle to defend life. The only viable strategy for workers is a return to the struggle to transfer state power to the working class, a struggle launched a century ago in the October 1917 revolution in Russia. Today, on this day of the international working class, the International Committee of the Fourth International greets workers around the world as it undertakes to build among them a socialist movement that can carry out this revolutionary task. Faced with the undeniable bankruptcy of the European Union, it advances the struggle for the United Socialist States of Europe. [May 07, 2020] AlefEdge Secures Series B Financing AlefEdge, the Edge Internet leader, today confirmed it had completed a Series B preferred round of financing in April. The company's investors include established equity funds and family offices. With the completion of this round, the company-which is helping application developers and organizations take advantage of the Software Defined Mobile Edge (News - Alert) (SD-ME)-has now raised close to $40M in capital. "AlefEdge invented the concept of control and application layer separation that has formed today's understanding of SD-ME. Over the past few years, AlefEdge has hardened a production-ready SD-ME capability that will enable application developers to take full advantage of the power of the Edge Internet," said AlefEdge Executive Chairman Mike Mulica (News - Alert). "In the third quarter, AlefEdge will be launching easy-to-use SD-ME APIs to help application developers and the network community bring the Edge to life. This latest round of financing will accelerate the introduction of the SD-ME and help unleash a wave of innovation across the application developer and enterprise communities around the world." From the outset, AlefEdge has focused on a programmable Edge with dedicated Edge algorithms, intelligent Edge architectures, Edge services, Edge APIs and most importantly value extraction. The company has pioneered the innovation in the SD-ME category. AlefEdge has already been deployed across multiple connectivity technologies, including 3G, 4G LTE (News - Alert)/CBRS, and Wi-Fi, as we get ready for 5G. Any enterprise can now take advantage of these automated tools available through APIs and start executing on their Edge strategy in minutes. Iain Gillott, presiden and founder of iGR, a market research consultancy focused on the wireless industry, said: "The Edge is a critical and complex piece for delivering on the promises of a 5G world - in fact, 5G is not possible without an Edge computing architecture. AlefEdge understands this and the ease-of-use approach of its technology helps developers and end-users unlock the network's potential." Last month, AlefEdge announced that its Alef AdVision solution would be launching later this year on the Microsoft Azure Edge Zone platform. Alef AdVision API's bring real-time, targeted advertising to life with embedded intelligence enabling new revenue opportunities for connected screen owners and enhanced outcomes for participating brands. To learn more, visit: www.alefedge.com. About AlefEdge AlefEdge is a leader in the Edge Internet, delivering the power of the 5G based Edge Internet to application developers through our easy-to-use technologies. At AlefEdge, rich media applications, clouds and networks work in tandem to achieve an unprecedented level of performance. We enable 5G applications through open API's at the Edge that make service adoption and distribution friction free. AlefEdge works with partners to build the world's first Edge applications that leverage and realize Virtual and Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Industry 4.0, Smart Cities, IoT and Gaming. The AlefEdge Open5G Platform brings 5G applications to life, unleashing a massive Edge Internet economy. AlefEdge is headquartered in New York City, with offices in India and Brazil. Visit https://www.alefedge.com/ for more information on how we can help. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005268/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Newspaper: ECHR rulings increase after Armenia revolution in 2018 Newspaper: Armenia ex-President Sargsyan to give interview instead of press conference Azerbaijan MFA falls into hysterical rage by France FM statement The Pope to donate 100,000 to help migrants on border of Belarus and Poland Fourth vaccine against COVID-19 is not enough for Omicron 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 Azerbaijan to ban foreigners from visiting Nagorno-Karabakh occupied part European Parliament new speaker elected Armenian National Interests Fund participates in Abu Dhabi Sustainable Development Week summit North Korea fires missiles for fourth time this year ECHR recognizes violation of Armenian PM's rights after 2008 elections Turkey reveals plans to produce combat aircraft Karabakh official: Azerbaijan presidents impudent behavior is due to OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs silence Azerbaijan special services force Artsakh resident to intelligence work Copper price is stable Minister of State: OSCE MG Co-Chairs must accept exercise of Karabakh people's right to self-determination Armenia President, UAE Minister of State discuss possibilities of cooperation in science and technology Investigation into criminal case of several Armenia soldiers returned from Azerbaijan captivity is over Canada sends detachment of special forces to Ukraine Armenia ex-President Kocharyan, former deputy PM now MP Gevorgyan case trial resumes 2 more persons die of coronavirus in Artsakh Armenia family has 10th child Converse Bank brings Apple Pay to customers Gold is getting weaker 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 Norway to begin Breivik early release hearing Economy minister to head Armenia side of commission on economic cooperation with Kazakhstan Mexico crime photojournalist killed Newspaper: Criminal case against Armenia archbishop dropped Newspaper: Opposition Armenia Bloc in parliament to toughen its tactics Scientists discover large breeding colony of icefish in southern Antarctica China creates low-gravity artificial moon Tehran welcomes normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations Russian and Iranian Foreign Ministers discuss regional issues UN Secretary-General: Vaccinate whole world to end pandemic Giant asteroid to fly past our planet Armenian President meets with Executive Director of Mubadala Investment Company UAE counting on Turkey Indonesia to move capital by 2024 Passenger traffic at Armenian airports decreased by 30% Armenian Investigative Committee: Six soldiers captured in November arrested Turkish government to discuss Rubinyan-Kilic meeting results German FM threatens Russia in case of aggression against Ukraine Armenian MFA senior staff meets with ambassadors to European countries Turkish court acquits German journalist Mesale Tolu Turkish UAV intercepted over Greek island Protest in front of Armenian Health Ministry France introduces vaccine passes Bitcoin begins to lose out competitors Exchange rates in Armenia Safari browser caught leaking user data Xi Jinping: Confrontation between major powers can have disastrous consequences Lukashevich: Russia concerned that OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs may not be able to visit Nagorno-Karabakh Court obligates Armenia ruling force MP to prove ex-President Sargsyan lost more than $100M in casinos Ex-ruling party official: Armenia authorities may renounce Genocide, Karabakh Armenian PM's party decides to provide free textbooks to non-state schools Times: Johnson prepares cadre purge to save his own skin Pecresse accuses French government of inaction after Aliyev's statements on her Karabakh visit Armenia President attends Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week forum opening Armenia legislature ruling majority member: It is possible for us to have neighborly relations with Azerbaijan President approves Artsakh government decisions on provision of financial assistance Armenia parliament opposition faction leader on canceling US visit: We must fulfill our international duties Fire in Abu Dhabi kills three people ANIF Anti-Crisis Fund to invest in Armenia cargo transportation Azerbaijan to soon open bus routes to Artsakhs occupied Shushi [May 07, 2020] Great American Life Offers Enhanced Index Frontier Annuities in Wake of Unprecedented Market Volatility Great American Life enhanced its Index Frontier registered index-linked annuities with the addition of three new indexed strategies that provide varying levels of protection against loss: S&P 500 10% Buffer Indexed Strategy 500 10% Buffer Indexed Strategy iShares MSCI EAFE Conserve Indexed Strategy with 0% Floor iShares MSCI EAFE Growth Indexed Strategy with -10% Floor The Index Frontier annuities give consumers the opportunity to grow their money in rising markets, while providing a level of protection in down markets. The new Buffer strategy, which protects against the first 10% of losses at the end of each one-year term, gives consumers greater flexibility in how they choose to protect their money - and with the ability to reallocate among strategies at the end of each term, they can adjust their exposure in alignment with different market cycles. Additionally, the new iShares MSCI EAFE indexed strategies offer exposure to a new sector - developed international markets. Consumers can choose between the Conserve strategy, which offers complete downside protection, and the Growth strategy, which protects against losses in excess of 10%. These new strategies are in addition to the Index Frontier's current offerings, which provide exposure to the broad-based market, commodities and the real estate sector. Joe Maringer, SVP, National Sales Manager, Great American Life, commented on the timeliness of the new indexed strategies given recent market volatility. "With the severe market volatility experienced in early 2020, we recognize once again how important it is to have some level of protection in a financial portfolio. We are incredibly pleased to now offer our distributors and their clients buffer and floor options, which allow them to consider different market environments when allocating amng strategies," said Maringer. "To provide even more value, Index Frontier annuities offer a return of premium death benefit. Plus, clients don't have to pay mortality and expense fees or other administrative charges, demonstrating Great American Life's commitment to offering simple, transparent products that cater to our customers' needs." For more information on Great American Life's Index Frontier annuities, visit GAconnect.com/RILA. Great American Life Insurance Company is a member of Great American Insurance Group and is rated "A+" by Standard & Poor's and "A" (Excellent) by A.M. Best for financial strength and operating performance. About Great American Insurance Group The annuity operations of Great American Insurance Group (GAIG) offer retirement solutions through the sale of traditional fixed, fixed-indexed and registered index-linked annuities in the retail, broker-dealer, financial institutions and registered investment advisor markets. Annuity subsidiaries include Great American Life Insurance Company and Annuity Investors Life Insurance Company. GAIG's roots go back to 1872 with the founding of its flagship company, Great American Insurance Company. The members of GAIG are subsidiaries of American Financial Group, Inc. (AFG). AFG's common stock is listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFG. AFG is a Fortune 500 Company with approximately $68 billion in assets as of March 31, 2020. Learn more at GAIG.com. S&P rating affirmed March 5, 2020. "A+" is fifth highest of 21 categories. A.M. Best rating affirmed September 11, 2019. "A" (Excellent) is third highest out of 16 categories. The Index Frontier registered index-linked annuities can only be sold through a Broker/Dealer that is contracted with Great American Life Insurance Company ("Great American Life"). Sales solicitation must be accompanied or preceded by a prospectus. To obtain a copy of the prospectus, please visit GAIG.com/RILArates. Annuities are intended to be long-term products and may not be suitable for all investors. Withdrawals from an annuity contract may have tax consequences. Principal Underwriter/Distributor: Great American Advisors, Inc., member FINRA and an affiliate of Great American Life Insurance Company. All guarantees subject to the claims-paying ability of Great American Life. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005512/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Nursing (SON) May 2020 graduate Kathleen Antos is making history as she completes her degree, while putting her compassionate care and technical skills to critical use amid a global pandemic. Antos, of Crest Hill, will earn a bachelors in nursing from the SON during SIUEs May 2020 commencement ceremonies, being held virtually on Saturday, May 9. This has definitely not been the end of college that I expected, Antos explained. COVID-19 has created a scary and uncertain time for many. Her passion for taking care of others formed at an early age thanks to an extremely accident prone older brother. Her first patient is the one who suggested Antos study nursing. I started to research nursing schools, and found SIUE by looking up top nursing programs in the Midwest, Antos recalled. SIUE was ranked extremely high. I received a valuable scholarship and was offered direct admission into the program. Things just fell into place. Now, Antos is a nurse assistant at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Hospital in St. Louis, where she cares for patients with a variety of complex diseases who require high-quality care. I love caring for these children and working alongside the most inspiring nurses a student could ever wish to have as mentors, Antos said. She and her colleagues are exhibiting their compassionate care as much as ever as they deal with issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. At Ranken Jordan, we have implemented more intense protocols for personal protective equipment (PPE) and limited the number of visitors our children can see, she explained. The biggest impact on our day-to-day work involves caring even more for our kiddos. They miss their families and are only allowed a certain number of visitors. The staff at Ranken Jordan are wonderful. We attempt to show our love for these kids when their loved ones must remain physically distant. The kids have been able to call and video chat with their families during this time to stay connected and optimistic. In addition to the changes she has experienced at work, Antos has also had to make major adjustments to her academic studies as courses were moved online to meet health and safety directives. The greatest challenge I have faced while transitioning to an online education has been self-discipline, Antos said. I typically spend most of my waking hours at the library or in class/clinical. I do not study or focus well in the comfort of my own home and am missing my quiet Lovejoy Library. Despite the challenges shes faced at the end of her academic journey, Antos remains excited for her future nursing career and above all, grateful for the support she has received at home and SIUE. SIUE is truly blessed to have such amazing and caring staff members in the nursing program, she said. I have always felt supported and encouraged to be my best and keep moving forward even when this program gets difficult. Of course, I also have the best support system at home cheering me on through every exam, project and now the biggest milestone in my college career graduation, she added. My parents have had to answer endless phone calls where I cried and claimed I couldnt do this anymore. But, they never allowed me to quit. My fiance Ryan has also been incredibly encouraging and helpful during this change to online learning. I am thankful for his love and support, too! Chinese investment in Australia has continued to fall, putting it fifth behind the United States which has consolidated top spot in the foreign funding rankings. The Foreign Investment Review Board's annual report shows the value of Chinese investment approvals across all sectors fell from $23.7 billion in 2017/18 to $13.1 billion in 2018/19. That continued a four-year downward trend in the number and value of applications. The FIRB found the decline could be due to China increasing scrutiny of foreign direct investment and putting stricter capital controls in place. Chinese investment in Australia has fallen to fifth in the foreign funding rankings (stock image) The trend is global, with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development data showing a 30 per cent year-on-year decline in Chinese investment during 2017/18. The US consolidated top spot with approval values rising from $36.5 billion to $58.2 billion over the past financial year. The majority of the increase was attributed to Walt Disney Company's acquisition of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. Canada was the second largest source of investment, ahead of Singapore and Japan. Canada's lift in the rankings is the result of increases in transaction values across commercial real estate, services and mineral exploration and development. FIRB's figures show overall foreign investment in Australia increased by $67.9 billion to $231 billion in 2018/19. Chinatown in Sydney is deserted in March after non-essential travel was banned and due to COVID-19 There was a sharp increase in approvals valued at more than $2 billion, up from two to 23 compared with last financial year. Just one application was rejected with 8724 approvals from the 9466 considered. Approvals were down 2421 on last year, partly attributed to the introduction of application fees in 2015 forcing real estate investors to be confident of getting the green light. Investment in finance and insurance, manufacturing, electricity and gas and mineral exploration and development fell. But there was strong growth in services - which remained the biggest sector at $76 billion - and real estate, along with smaller increases in agriculture, fishing and forestry. All churches serve to unite community members in faith. Some also serve to support community members in need. Eleven United Methodist Churches and Hope Centers across the state have received NJ Pandemic Relief Fund (NJPRF) grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 that will be used to provide and distribute food to thousands of food insecure individuals during the coronavirus pandemic. Hope Centers work with local residents to address educational, social and economic challenges in communities, and have partnered with churches in connection with the A Future With Hope mission of United Methodists of Greater New Jersey. A Future With Hope was established to provide disaster relief in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, and its networks and relationships with state, federal and local agencies have been reactivated with the onset of the coronavirus outbreak to coordinate with Greater New Jersey congregations for the collection and distribution of food to the needy. CUMAC in Paterson and the Norwescap Traditions Family Success Center in Phillipsburg are two hope centers that both received grants last month. There are a total of 23 hope centers and 530 United Methodist Churches in the Greater New Jersey family, including small portions of Pennsylvania and New York. The following churches, several of which oversee local food pantries, were grant recipients: Grants were dually awarded to several interfaith food pantries with which United Methodist Churches collaborate, including Gods Interfaith Food Table in Berlin, which is supported by the Centenary United Methodist Church in Berlin, and the Dover United Coalition, which receives support from First United Methodist Church, Dover. Last year, 22,282 United Methodists in Greater New Jersey served 452,572 people in need throughout the state, region and world. Since the onset of the pandemic, United Methodist churches have seen a 30 to 60% increase in number of people asking and needing food, Bishop John Schol of the United Methodists of Greater New Jersey said in an interview with NJ Advance Media. Certainly COVID-19 has created a significant impact on people all across New Jersey. Its created challenges for our churches and the ministries, Schol said. During the pandemic, after health, food insecurity has emerged as the most immediate need in our communities. We are thankful to the NJ Pandemic Relief Fund for recognizing the important role United Methodists play in food distribution throughout the region. The NJ Pandemic Relief Fund, founded by First Lady of New Jersey Tammy Murphy, provides grants to organizations helping those in need as well those on frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. We organized the NJPRF to meet four critical challenges of our state in the face of the COVID-19 crisis, Murphy said in a press release shared with NJ Advance Media. Stop the spread, support the healthcare community, provide help for the vulnerable, and rebuild. We begin with this food distribution effort, as it is one that is most urgent. Without this assistance, some pantries might have had to close their doors or reduce services, leaving neighbors searching for their next meal and putting additional pressure on the other local organizations, she added. These threatened pantries include some of those overseen by the United Methodist Churches of Greater New Jersey, Schol confirmed. Some of our food distribution, because churches were shut down, were in jeopardy of not being able to open up and do this work, largely because it does take money to do that," Schol said. "And we are so appreciative of the governor and Mrs. Murphy and the leadership theyre providing in our state right now. The funds that theyre working on are going to be of significant help to our congregations. Rick Reinhard, executive director of A Future With Hope, said that the hundreds of food pantries overseen by United Methodists of Greater New Jersey have increased their capacity singularly or by combining with other local pantries in response to the pandemic, and seeks to continue expanding with support from the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund. After being packaged within the pantries, food is provided to those in need through efforts that adhere to social distancing guidelines, including curbside pick-up, porch delivery and parking lot drop-off. In addition to food distribution, our churches have become critical food collection sites to help stock the pantries," Reinhard said in the press release. Although only a few received financial rewards from the fund, hundreds of our congregations and thousands of our people are participating in food distribution in incredibly meaningful ways. United Methodist Churches that were not awarded grants from the NJ Pandemic Relief Fund but continue to feed New Jersey communities throughout the global crisis include Haddonfield United Methodist Church, which collected 400 pounds of food for a local food bank in Camden and continues to collect needed food for the Cherry Hill Food Pantry; Trinity United Methodist Church in Hackettstown, which has a food pantry that serves an average of one thousand people a month; and Frenchtown United Methodist Church, which has set up an outdoor mini pantry where neighbors can drop off and pick up food items. Individuals can support the United Methodist Churches of Greater New Jersey by donating to their Miracles Everywhere Campaign Relief Fund, which benefits local churches and Hope Centers, providing food services and other frontline help, as well as unemployed families in need of utility bill assistance and groceries, and ministries that have emerged to provide support during the pandemic. The campaign reflects the determination of the United Methodist Churches of Greater New Jersey to provide long-term aid to those affected by the global crisis. We anticipate this is going to go on for awhile, and the economic impact is really going to be quite severe, Schol said. And what weve committed to right now is certainly a year and longer, as necessary, to really strengthen our own food distribution. The campaign has a fundraising goal of $1.5 million, $500,000 of which has already been contributed by the churches. Another $35,000 has recently been raised thanks in great part to those who participated in Giving Tuesday. People who are out of work are making decisions to pay their utility bills or feed their family, and thats just a horrible decision to have to make," Schol said. "It breaks my heart to know that good people, hardworking people, are in the situations and conditions they are in at no fault of their own. And all of us need to do everything we can to help the people who are most hurting right now. And thats what weve always claimed: When people hurt, United Methodists help. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Caroline Fassett may be reached at cfassett@njadvancemedia.com. Israeli Defence Ministry Says It Signed Contract to Lease Greece Drones for Border Defence Sputnik News 15:31 GMT 06.05.2020 TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - Israel will be leasing reconnaissance drones to Greece for the protection of borders under a three-year agreement signed on Wednesday by the two countries' respective ministries of defence, the Israeli Defence Ministry said in a press release. This agreement is the first one ever signed between the defence ministries of Israel and Greece. Due to the coronavirus-related restrictions, it was signed electronically. "Under the agreement, the Israeli Ministry of Defense will provide Greece with an IAI Heron unmanned aerial vehicle system in its offshore configuration for three years with the possibility of purchasing the system after the completion of the leasing period," the Israeli ministry's press release read. According to the text, the leased system includes day and night work platforms, maritime patrol radars and satellite communications tools, as well as enhanced operational capacity in a wide range of scenarios, including maritime patrols, protection of maritime and land borders, search and rescue operations, disaster and emergency assistance, among others. The Israeli ministry has expressed hope that this agreement will launch a succession of many more in what it had described as "great security relations between Israel and Greece." "We hope to sign additional agreements with Greece, as well as with other European partners, helping them to solve security problems during and after the COVID-19 pandemic," Yair Kulas, the head of the ministry's Department of International Defense Cooperation, said, as quoted in the press release. Heron surveillance drones are already widely in use by the military in many countries and have a cumulative flight record of approximately 1.8 million hours. They are considered to be among the world's most advanced devices. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address In "Big Flavors From Italian America," the new cookbook from Cook's Country magazine, you get a healthy dose of history along with all the great recipes. There are countless cookbooks on Italian cooking, but this one focuses on how the Italian immigrants who settled in our country adapted dishes from their homeland. Tucker Shaw, editor in chief of Cook's Country, writes in the book that between 1880 and 1910 more than 5 million people immigrated to the United States from Italy. Money was tight for most of these immigrants so they adapted recipes to American ingredients and their tastes gradually evolved. OTTAWAAs Canadas closest allies call for a probe into Chinas early handling of the coronavirus outbreak, Ottawa is steering clear of the issue and for good reasons, experts say. The federal government is calling for a comprehensive postcrisis review into the COVID-19 pandemic, including the viruss origins and how countries and the World Health Organization have handled the outbreak. But unlike some closely allied governments, the Liberals are stopping short of singling out China as bearing special responsibility for its deadly spread. The United States, Australia and some European Union members have called for an international investigation into allegations the Communist Party of China covered up early data and warnings that may have saved lives in other countries. The Trump Administration, locked in a years-long trade war with China, has been the most vocal, with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accusing China of covering up the outbreak in Wuhan, and suggesting its actions contributed to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. Canada, however, has been much more cautious in its rhetoric amid rising tensions with China. Canadas 2018 arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at the request of American authorities set off a series of retaliatory measures from trade restrictions to Chinas arrests of Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor on national security grounds. Kovrig and Spavor have now spent more than 500 days in custody. Gordon Houlden, a former diplomat and the director of the University of Albertas China Institute, said Ottawas experience with Beijing over the last year and a half is likely one factor among many in the governments apparent reluctance to criticize Beijing now. If youre sitting there in the foreign ministers chair, or the prime ministers chair, wrestling with these issues the more strident the condemnation of Beijing, the less helpful for the two Michaels, Houlden said in an interview. On the other hand, if you pull all your punches and dont state the obvious that we need to get to the bottom of how this started and how it came to be then that doesnt serve Canadian interests. Paul Evans, a professor of trans-Pacific relations at the University of British Columbia, is also sympathetic to Ottawas approach. Evans suggested that some of the countries that have been most vocal in calling out Chinas handling of COVID-19 are also playing to domestic audiences. Ottawas basic strategy has been to say as little as possible about this, said Evans in an interview. Not because it isnt curious, not because it isnt angry about some of the Chinese actions in the early days, but that they dont want this to be politicized in the context of the U.S. election year, where passions in the U.S. (against China) are hot. Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus office said this week that Ottawa supports a lessons learned report into how countries, including China, handled the pandemic, but after the spread of the virus has slowed. Global Affairs Minister Francois-Phillipe Champagne is fond of putting it another way, according to a government source: the middle of the fire is probably the wrong time to check if the smoke detectors work. From initial responses, to how the (World Health Organization) handled it, to how individual countries, including Canada, handled it thats something that were looking to do broadly with international partners, the official said. But really, from our perspective at this time when were still in the middle of the crisis, we think that opening the book on these questions might be a little bit premature. Whether the Liberal government wants it or not, however, Chinas handling to COVID-19 has become a domestic political issue. The opposition Conservatives who have been advocating a reset in Canada-China relations since the lead up to last years election have accused the government of putting too much stock in Chinas early explanations and data on COVID-19s spread. The two leading contenders to lead the Conservative Party Peter MacKay and Erin OToole have both condemned Chinas handling of the crisis. The Conservatives have also questioned why Canada seems out of step with international allies such as the U.S., which has already directed its intelligence agencies to probe the origins of the pandemic. The European Union has also joined Australia in calling for an independent probe of the viruss origins, and will reportedly bring forward a resolution backing that investigation when the World Health Organization gathers for its annual assembly on May 18. Read more about: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Chairs Cabinet's Virtual Session Saudi Press Agency Wednesday 1441/9/13 - 2020/05/06 Riyadh, May 05, 2020, SPA -- Under the chairmanship of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Prime Minister, the Cabinet held a virtual meeting today. At the outset of the meeting, the Cabinet reviewed the latest developments and health and preventive measures to cope with the Coronavirus COVID-19 in view of the local and international relevant reports. The Cabinet was reassured of the cases recorded in the Kingdom, their health situations, the medical services being provided for them as well as the continuing efforts being rendered by the concerned authorities, levels of preparedness and future prospects to preserve public health and limit the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic at all levels. The Cabinet was briefed on the results of the active survey on a number of districts as the move contributes to scrutinizing the spots of spread of the disease and whereabouts of the suspects prior to treating them and preventing further outbreaks. The Cabinet followed-up the services being provided for Saudi nationals abroad who expressed wish to return to the Kingdom amid the spread of COVID-19 outside, including the potentials put under their disposal in implementation to the instructions of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister, reflecting part of their keenness on the safety and health of citizens and follow up of their situations through reassuring the provision of all services and care for them. The Cabinet hailed the strenuous and distinguished efforts being exerted by government agencies, ad hoc committees and task teams to combat Coronavirus COVID-19 and tackle the impacts incurred, on the health aspect in particular. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency following the meeting, Acting Minister of Media Dr. Majed bin Abdullah Al-Gasabi said that the Cabinet highlighted the Kingdom's position announced at the virtual summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, citing its commitment to the objectives and principles of the movement, unifying the efforts of member states against the common threat of COVID-19 targeting everyone, through enhancing the world response to confront its health, economic and social repercussions and taking urgent world-wide measures to combat health pandemics and guarantee treating their negative effects. Following that, the Cabinet was briefed on the outcome of the extraordinary meeting of the Arab League Council at the foreign ministers level, denouncing the plots of the Israel occupational authorities to annex any of the occupied Palestinian territories. The Kingdom put it unequivocally at the meeting that the Palestinian issue was and is still the Arab and Muslims central issue and the first priority for the Kingdom since its inception as it rejected any measure or type of occupation of the Palestinian territories and stood steadfast by the side of the Palestinian people in support of their options to achieve their hopes and aspirations in establishing an independent state on the 1967 parallel with East Al-Quds as capital. The Cabinet renewed the Kingdom's condemnation and denunciation of the terrorist attack that occurred in Sinai, and resulted in Killing and wounding a number of men in the Egyptian armed forces. The Cabinet also affirmed the Kingdom's solidarity with the Arab Republic of Egypt in its war on terrorism, expressing condolences and sympathy to the government and people of Egypt and to the families of the victims, and wishes for the speedy recovery. The Cabinet reviewed topics on its agenda, including some being co-studied by the Shura Council. The Cabinet was also briefed on the outcomes reached by the Economic and Development Affairs Council, the Political and Security Affairs Council, the General Committee of the Cabinet, and the Bureau of Experts at the Cabinet with regarding the topics on the agenda. The Cabinet decided the following: First: The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Culture or his deputy to discuss with the French side a draft of memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the cultural field between the Ministry of Culture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Culture in the Republic of France, sign it, and submit the final version to complete formal procedures. Second: The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Information, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) or his deputy to negotiate with the Kyrgyz side on a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation and exchange of news between the Saudi Press Agency and the Kyrgyz National News Agency, sign it, and submit the final version to complete formal procedures. Third: The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of the Republic of Djibouti in the field of environment. Fourth: The Cabinet approved an agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of Commonwealth of The Bahamas in the field of air transport services. Fifth: The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Transport, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority of Civil Aviation or his deputy to sign a draft agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of Mozambique in the field of air transport services, sign it, and submit the final version to complete formal procedures. Sixth: Approval of a memorandum of understanding between the General Auditing Bureau in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Federal Board of Supreme Audit in the Republic of Iraq for cooperation in the field of accounting, auditing and professional work. Seventh: Approval of the strategy for developing external advertisements inside Saudi cities, as stated in the decision. Eighth: Approval of amending Article (14) of the Board of Grievances, issued by Decree No. (M / 78) dated 9/19/1428 H by adding the phrase "and the Public Prosecution Council" to it. Ninth: Approval of the continuation of the work of the Supervisory Committee of the National Program for Crafts and Handicrafts, stipulated in paragraph (3) of item (second) of Cabinet Resolution No. (175) dated 2/6/1433 AH, and the National Program for the Development of Crafts and Handicrafts, stipulated in item (second) of the aforementioned Cabinet Resolution, until the Heritage Authority begins its duties and responsibilities related to crafts and handicrafts, according to what was included in item (third) of Cabinet Resolution No. (398) dated 10/6/1441 AH, the Cabinet also agreed to add a member from the Ministry of Culture to the aforementioned supervisory committee. Tenth: The cabinet approved a number of promotions for 14th Ranks. The Cabinet was briefed on a number of issues on its agenda, including an annual report of King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy for a previous fiscal year. In this regard, the Cabinet took relevant recommendations. --SPA 02:21 LOCAL TIME 23:21 GMT 0035 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Eric Gay /AP The number of coronavirus cases at the South Texas Detention Complex in Pearsall has leaped to 19, after only six reported earlier this week. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has ramped up testing, now at 1,460 tests, or about 5 percent of its detained population. ICE has reported 705 cases across its facilities. San Diegos Otay Mesa Detention Center has the highest number of cases, at 132. 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. ALBANY At least five Capital Region hospitals got the green-light this week to resume elective outpatient surgeries and procedures, roughly two months after the state ordered the procedures to stop amid the coronavirus pandemic. Albany Medical Center, Glens Falls Hospital, Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson and St. Mary's Healthcare in Amsterdam confirmed Thursday that the state Department of Health has approved their requests seeking a waiver from a recent set of state guidelines that had made them ineligible to resume the procedures. St. Peter's Health Partners, which has hospitals in Albany and Troy, confirmed Friday morning that it's waiver was approved overnight, sometime after midnight. The recent state guidelines said that hospitals could resume the procedures last week, so long as the individual hospital and the county where it is located had total hospital and ICU bed capacity of over 30 percent, and netted no more than nine new COVID-19 admissions within a 10-day lookback period. Most hospitals in the Capital Region failed to meet that criteria, in some cases by just a single patient. Latest coronavirus-related cancellations, postponements The latest coronavirus numbers in NY Sign up for the Times Union coronavirus newsletter Full coronavirus coverage This is great news for the community as well as the hospital, Glens Falls Hospital CEO Dianne Shugrue said Thursday in response to the waiver approval. A planned procedure does not mean it is not medically urgent these are patients who need a painful joint repaired, a diagnostic cardiac procedure, a gallbladder surgery, and many other surgeries and procedures that are important to the health of our patients. Hospital officials across the region have expressed concern that people aren't getting the care they need, due both to the ban on elective procedures and to a fear among the general population that to step foot in a hospital right now is to risk getting infected. They've been trying to make the case that their hospitals are safe, noting that any COVID-19 patients they have are cohorted within specific units and away from other patient areas. When setting its guidelines for the resumption of elective procedures, the state Department of Health provided a waiver option for hospitals that believe they can resume the procedures without jeopardizing their ability to care for a sudden surge of COVID-19 patients. In order to qualify for a waiver, the hospitals had to show the department that they had a detailed plan in place to resume procedures and that explicit measures would be taken to ensure any potential surge of COVID-19 patients going forward can be handled. At Albany Med, procedures are expected to resume Monday at the hospital's South Clinical campus on Hackett Boulevard. The building will have its own entrance for patients coming in for procedures and will be "fully contained," said Fred Venditti, executive vice president for system care delivery and Albany Med's hospital general director. The hospital will start with smaller procedures, he said, that require fewer than 60 minutes of operative time and that likely won't require intubation, or lead to blood loss or hospitalization post-surgery. Over time, the hospital will increase capacity and resume more complex procedures, he said. "We feel this is going to have absolutely no impact on our ability on this campus to provide for the more serious illness that we provide for on this campus, as well as the COVID patients and any surge that might happen," he said. Albany Med president and CEO Dennis McKenna also revealed Thursday that more than 6,000 procedures have been placed on pause as a result of the state's earlier directive. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. "That gives you some context as to how many people have been waiting to access care just on this campus," he said. Glens Falls Hospital said Thursday it has a plan in place to increase staffed bed capacity by 54 percent. Columbia Memorial spokesman Bill VanSlyke said the hospital is still working out the details of its plan to resume surgeries. "The approval of the waiver is the states recognition of our ability to provide these procedures safely," he said. "A number of our patients have been waiting for many weeks for procedures that are important to them medically, and important to them as it relates to the quality of life. So the most resounding message for our entire region is that all of our services are open for business and can be resumed safely." All patients scheduled for planned outpatient surgeries and procedures must be tested for COVID-19 beforehand and can only receive their planned care if the test comes back negative. They also must quarantine before and after their procedure. Glens Falls Hospital said Thursday that it has developed guides for all patients who will be undergoing a scheduled surgical or outpatient procedure. All of its COVID-19 inpatients are currently cohorted away from the outpatient procedure areas, the hospital said. In the event that complications from a surgery or procedure occur, the hospital said it has a sterilized wing that has not housed any sick patients ready to use for anyone who requires a longer stay. We also want to emphasize that we are well prepared to handle emergency cases, Shugrue said. If you have chest pains or you are injured whatever the reason you think you should seek emergency care we are open, we are taking every precaution to keep you safe, and keep our staff safe. The hospital said it will begin offering procedures immediately, with a goal of ramping up capacity as fast as is safe and prudent, beginning with simpler procedures and adding more complex procedures as time goes on. The return of elective procedures also means that furloughed staff can be brought back on as needed, the hospital said. Glens Falls Hospital has furloughed over 350 employees since the pandemic began, and revenues have dropped by 50 percent or less compared to this time last year. Columbia Memorial furloughed 125 workers, and said Thursday that it is evaluating those furloughs "on a regular basis." Ellis Medicine in Schenectady said Thursday that it was still waiting to hear back, but expected an answer within the day or next couple of days. Saratoga Hospital, Nathan Littauer Hospital in Gloversville and Cobleskill Regional Hospital were the only Capital Region-area hospitals to qualify to resume procedures under the state's recent guidelines. Saratoga Hospital resumed them right away and the others said they planned to resume them soon. Also this week, Southwestern Vermont Health Care announced it has resumed outpatient surgeries and diagnostic services, including those for imaging and laboratory work. That hospital serves a significant portion of Rensselaer County residents, who are right over the state border. After standalone shops are allowed to reopen in the lockdown 3.0, shopping mall owners have sought permission from the government to resume operations, and this may reduce the possibility of a conflict between them and retailers over rent, officials said. All major retailers of shopping malls recently sought waivers and relaxation in rentals in the wake of losses because of the Covid-19 triggered lockdown. "Retailers are in favour of enforcing the force majeure clause, to which mall owners objected and the matter may get dragged to court," a mall management executive told PTI, declining to be quoted. The 'force majeure' clause provides temporary reprieve to a party from performing its contractual obligations because of some event can be neither anticipated nor controlled. "However, profits or losses of retailers cannot be farther associated with the enforced closure, if malls are allowed to reopen," the executive said. Malls have been closed across the country since lockdown was announced in late March. At the national platform, Shopping Centre Association of India, an umbrella association of malls in the country, and realtors body Credai has sought government intervention to allow them to resume operation. "Both malls and retailers have lost business and it has to be shared. It will be sorted out through dialogue but first, the business has to resume," Credai Bengal president Sushil Mohta said. Developers have written to the Prime Minister's Office, the Union home ministry and chief ministers seeking permission to reopen malls, at least in a limited way. "Under the Disaster Management Act, the Centre has to allow first before state government can consider," an official said. "We are hopeful that the government will consider and support the retail industry that contributes to 10 per cent of the country's GDP," said Rahul Saraf, the owner of Forum mall in Kolkata. The Centre has allowed all standalone shops, essential and non-essential, to reopen, except those in containment zones from May 3. But they need to abide by safety protocols and social distancing norms. "Precautions at malls can be undertaken, practised and monitored better than standalone stores. So, ideally, the government should consider reopening of malls," Mohta said. Chairman of Ambuja Neotia group Harsh Neotia also said that malls are safer places. "We can control the safety and hygiene practises better. The government should allow malls to be reopened in a graded manner," Neotia said. However, an online survey recently found that footfall will be subdued in shopping malls immediately after they reopen. Lakhs of blue-collar employees are associated with malls and prolonged closure will add to pay cut and job losses, all major stakeholders pointed out. A section of Kishore Biyani controlled Future Group employees belonging to Big Bazaar mall in Kolkata on Wednesday protested against alleged non-payment of wages March and April. A Future Group spokesperson, however, said all employees were paid full salary for March. "There is a pay cut decision for three months from April for all employees and it had been communicated to them. This measure has been taken to protect jobs of all," the spokesperson said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A species of jellyfish that has invaded European waters eats its own offspring when food is low, researchers claim. The cannibalistic animal is a species called Mnemiopsis leidyi, which is also known as the warty comb jelly. It regularly washes up on Baltic shores and researchers now believe it eats its own larvae when food is scarce. Scroll down for video Pictured, evidence of cannibalistic behaviour. Here an adult Mnemiopsis leidyi is seen with larvae (next to red arrows) inside it. Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark say this discovery shows how cannibalism is prevalent across the animal kingdom. The jellyfish, which has wreaked havoc on local environments, is known to be able to survive significant hardship, but exactly how it coped was a mystery. However, researchers previously assumed it was due to a lack of predators in its native environment. The creature is native to western Atlantic but was introduced to Eurasian waters in the 1980s and has flourished since. They compete with native fish and severely affect food webs, having a knock-on impact on commercial fisheries. To understand why the numbers of these jellyfish soar even in times of hardship, a team of researchers from the University of Southern Denmark and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History studied a population living in the Baltic Sea off of northern Germany. Lead author Jamileh Javidpour, an assistant professor at the University of Southern Denmark, said: 'We combined a study of the population dynamics of this species with experimental feeding and geochemical tracers to show, for the first time, that adult jellies were actually consuming the blooms of their own offspring'. They found that when the main prey of the jellyfish, a water bug called a copepod, collapsed, the numbers of adult jellyfish remained unchanged. Normally, when the prey disappears from the food chain, the number of predators collapses as there is not enough food to go around. A combination of tests in the wild and lab-based experiments proved adult warty comb jellyfish eat their larvae to survive (stock photo) What the researchers did observe however, was a drastic reduction in the amount of jellyfish larvae. To find out whether the adults ate the larvae, the researchers studied comb jellies in the lab. It was there that the marine infanticide was observed. Thomas Larsen, co-author of the study at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, said: 'In some ways, the whole jelly population is acting as a single organism, with the younger groups supporting the adults through times of nutrient stress. 'Overall, it enables jellies to persist through extreme events and low food periods, colonising further than climate systems and other conditions would usually allow.' The data may help to allow conservationists to better combat the spread of these jellies which can disadvantage native species. Cannibalism has been recorded among over 1,500 species, including humans, chimpanzees, squirrels, fish, and dragonfly larvae. Professor Javidpour added: 'Because comb jellies trace their ancestry back to the beginning of most animal life as we know it during the Cambrian Period, 525 million years ago, it remains possible that it is a basic, unifying feature across the animal kingdom.' The findings were published in the journal Communications Biology. The office of the Vice President has countered claims that after assuming office in 2017, the current government has wounded the countrys energy sector with debts without adding a single megabyte of power. There have been counter-accusations from the Minority after the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia made a comparative analysis of the governments Coronavirus efforts and former President, John Dramani Mahamas handling of the power crisis during his era. The latest to join the raging debate is the Ranking Member on Parliament's Mines and Energy Committee, Adam Mutawakilu, who challenged the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration to enumerate the gains it has made in the energy sector thus far. But spokesperson for the Vice President, Dr. Gideon Boako believes the assumptions being made by the opposition are false insisting that the arguments cannot in any way be justified. The Vice President spoke to bring clarity on the matters raised by Mr. Mahama and talk about the politicization efforts by Mr. Mahama and the NDC just to derail the efforts that the government has been making. Sorry to say, here is the irresponsibility and the poverty in the arguments by Mr. Mutawakilu. At the time, there was some semblance of stability in power and Dr. Bawumia said you cant take credit for dumsor because there were teething problems. So after April 2016, dumsor came again. He goes further to say that in 2013 the NDC reduced electricity tariffs by 25 percent. This is a big untruth. Indeed, in 2013, the NDC increased electricity tariffs by 78 percent. They increased it by 28% in 2014 and increased it by 59 percent in 2015. In fact for the entire four year period of the rule of Mr. Mahama as the legitimate President of this country, there was never an occasion that electricity tariffs went down, he said on Eyewitness News. For the Veeps spokesperson, Mr. Mutawakilu who he says followed the energy issues under Mr. Mahama cannot come out today to lie that indeed electricity tariffs were reduced by 25 percent in 2013, I cannot fathom why he could say that. It could only be out of unconscious incompetence or intellectual dishonesty. That is exactly what he is doing. Who addressed dumsor? Dr. Boako also dismissed suggestions by the opposition party that the NDC government was responsible for relieving Ghanaians from the erratic power supply regime. Never in the history of the four year period of Mr. Mahama was electricity tariffs reduced. In fact, when we had dumsor and there was no electricity, instead of them to bring in measures to mitigate the sufferings of the people, they went ahead to increase electricity. It was that same year Mr. Mahama came to say that if you want power, pay more. Ghanaians have not forgotten about that. They should not lie to us today thinking that we have short memories and we will forget about that. He added that the NDC while in the office did nothing to tackle the power challenges that brought untold hardship on households and businesses. We had dumsor for four years, we never had any intervention or policy coming from the socialist acclaimed government, led by Mr. Mahama to cushion Ghanaians. That is the crux of the matter. That is why we are saying that between President Akufo-Addo and Mr. Mahama, who can Ghanaians trust with their destinies that in times of crisis who can help them, he added. NDCs fraudulent energy deals While accusing the NDC of embarking on underhand dealings to claim ownership of Ghanas energy sector reforms, Dr. Boako touted the NPP governments achievements in reducing energy sector debts as well as increasing the countrys power generation capacity. Now, this government has now converted the Karpowership to use gas and relocated it to Takoradi to use the surplus gas which was stranded there. If you look at the debt that we inherited in the energy sector which runs into over two million dollars in the midst of legacy debts, it required an ambitious policy to liquidate all those debts. This government has done that which is why we have a stable supply of power. So our approach was not to sign fraudulent deals that are painted in corruption sense and say we have produced excess power. What we needed to do was to inject the right financial resources into the energy sector and sure that power is stable. And that is what we have today. ---citinewsroom SOUTH BEND, Ind., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Every day, customers of Restaurantes Toks 208 locations across Mexico enjoy steaming cups of Cafe Americano, espresso, cappuccino, and traditional coffee crafted from the company's own sustainably sourced, expertly roasted and ground coffee beans. For many, welcoming the day with Toks coffee is a daily ritual to be savored. Meeting customers' expectations for quality and sustainability is not simply a source of pride for the popular restaurant chain owned by Grupo Gigante, S.A.B. DE C.V., but integral to the Toks business model. So important that Toks has signed a formal memorandum of understanding with blockchain innovator SIMBA Chain, to develop a distributed application (Dapp) prototype to register and track coffee beans purchased, processed, packaged, and sold by Toks, ensuring the integrity of its coffee supply chain and enabling it to better differentiate coffee products. Toks is leader in sustainability practices. The company works directly with cooperatives of small farmers, whose coffee beans go into every cup of coffee served. The supply chain is complex; the coffee beans are grown, harvested, graded, deshelled, roasted, and shipped to each restaurant. Toks turned to SIMBA Chain and the University of Notre Dame to gain greater visibility and traceability in its supply chain. SIMBA Chain worked with Notre Dame to define the pilot during a visit to Toks and the farming communities in late 2019. Among the goals is to validate and ensure quality along each supply chain step and help broaden coffee product lines to enable new, innovative business models for more ethical and sustainable production for the farming communities. SIMBA Chain's Smart Contract as a Service (SCaaS) was recently launched to enable companies to quickly develop and deploy business-specific applications. Smart contracts are attractive to many industries because they establish an audit-able, unchangeable history of transactions. As supply chains have become more complicated and vital to ensuring customer satisfaction, blockchain and smart contracts have become an increasingly attractive solution to ensuring supply chain integrity. Joel Neidig, CEO and Co-founder of SIMBA Chain, says his company's blockchain platform is a great solution for food and beverage companies facing regulatory and consumer demand for provenance information on consumable products. "Smart contracts are a powerful tool for food producers and restaurant companies that want to bring enhanced security and traceability to their supply chain. I commend Toks for taking a leadership role in developing a blockchain-enabled supply chain prototype that adds value for coffee farmers, restaurants, customers, and to the food and restaurant industries at large." Gustavo Perez Berlanga, Senior Vice President of sustainability and social responsibility for Toks Restaurant Group, says the restaurant group has high hopes for the relationship with SIMBA Chain. "Our customers expect us to uphold the highest standards in sustainability and food quality when they dine with us. It is important that we authenticate, track, and trace every bag by farmer, coffee grade as well as production dates. SIMBA Chain's smart contract solution will help Toks maintain the high quality that our customers expect and enjoy." The project is expected to begin May 2020, with the blockchain supply chain prototype delivered to Toks by September 2020. About SIMBA Chain, Inc. SIMBA Chain's cloud-based, Smart Contract as a Service (SCaaS) platform enables industry and governments to quickly develop and deploy Web 3.0 distributed applications (Dapps) for many blockchains and across many platforms. SIMBA Chain was the recipient of TechPoint's 2019 Mira Award for New Product of the Year and 1st Source Bank's 2019 Commercialization Award. The SIMBA Chain platform supports Ethereum, Quorum, rsk, Stellar and Hyperledger as well as other blockchain protocols. About Restaurantes TOKS, S.A de C.V. Since 1971, Toks Restaurantes has become one of the favorite restaurants for Mexican families. At the end of March 2020, Toks had 208 restaurants nationwide with over 30 million consumers each year. It holds the most prestigious award (Distintivo H) granted by the Mexican Tourism Ministry for its healthy and food security practices. In 2006, Toks became a member of the United Nations Global Compact Sustainability Supply Chain Working and has been awarded national and internationally for its socially responsible and sustainable practices. Media Contact: Anjon Roy Phone: 574.914.4446 Email: [email protected] Related Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar4GNKSndsg SOURCE SIMBA Chain Our Divisions Copyright 2021-22 DB Corp ltd., All Rights Reserved This website follows the DNPA Code of Ethics. A challenge to laws introduced by the State due to the Covid-19 pandemic is doomed to failure, the High Court has heard. The challenge by John Waters and Gemma O'Doherty was also described as "a full-frontal attack" on articles of the Constitution concerning the separation of powers. In judicial review proceedings against the State and the Health Minister the pair seek the quashing of various pieces of recently enacted legislation which they say are unconstitutional and flawed. They also want the court to make a declaration that the legislation challenged is unconstitutional. Priority Lawyers for State respondents, as well as lawyers for the Dail, Seanad and the Ceann Comhairle, who are notice parties, oppose the action. That preliminary application came before Mr Justice Charles Meenan, who, following the conclusion of submissions yesterday, reserved his decision. The judge, who did not say when the court would be able to deliver its decision, said he would give the matter his "complete priority". He said that in line with what has become normal practice during the pandemic, the judgment would be delivered electronically. On the second day of the hearing Patrick McCann SC, for the State, told the court the application was "doomed" on several grounds. It was procedurally flawed and should have been brought by way of plenary hearing which would involve the hearing of oral evidence, and not by way of judicial review, counsel said. There was a failure to put expert evidence supporting their challenge before the court, Mr McCann added. He also said the applicants lacked the legal standing to bring the case to a full hearing, as they had not set out how the regulations challenged personally affect them. Francis Kieran BL, for the Oireachtas notice parties, said the challenge was "a full-frontal attack" on articles on the Constitution and the separation of powers. Counsel said that the courts should not interfere with decisions made by the houses of the Oireachtas. Counsel said that the caretaker Government was entitled to bring forward the laws, that they were unanimously passed by agreement of the parties and technical groups of the incoming Dail. The Dail was perfectly entitled to have a reduced number of TDs attend and vote on the laws. There was no issue in relation to the outgoing Seanad voting on the laws. Counsel said while the Dail is dissolved on the calling of an election, the Seanad remains in place until the day before a new one is elected and is entitled to vote on legislation that comes before it. In their submissions, Mr Waters and Ms O'Doherty had raised questions about the manner how the new laws were passed by the legislature, and in particular by an outgoing Seanad, and that it was proposed by a caretaker Government. Ms O'Doherty, who said that the action was being brought "on behalf of the people of Ireland", described the situation as like living under "martial law". She described the actions of the Government as something "like a coup". During the hearing, the judge asked her to cease making what he described as speeches that were not assisting the court in the decision it had to make. Ms O'Doherty denied making speeches and said she had a right to be heard. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 01:07:00|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NAIROBI, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Africa is registering a surge in new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections, putting the continent on the spot as cases surpass the 50,000. The number of confirmed COVID-19 positive cases across Africa rose from 49,352 from Wednesday afternoon to 51,698 as of Thursday morning, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) disclosed on Thursday. From Nigeria in the west to South Africa and Kenya in the east, COVID-19 cases are accelerating at an alarming rate as most countries engage in mass testing. The World Health Organization (WHO) African regional office notes in its latest update that the disease has evolved since the first case was reported on February 14 in Egypt. Since then, COVID-19 has spread to over 30 countries in less than a month, and it is now affecting 53 member states except Lesotho. In Kenya, COVID-19 cases have taken a sharp trajectory since Monday, with the east African nation registering the highest cases in a day on Wednesday at 47. Infections stood at 607 on Thursday, according to the Ministry of Health of Kenya, with the disease said to be spreading in the community, especially in the capital Nairobi and the coastal city of Mombasa. "We are seeing deaths at a community level which is a concern to us since it is a sign of intense transmission of the disease," said Patrick Amoth, Kenya's director-general of health. Nigeria, similarly on Monday, confirmed 245 new cases of COVID-19, the highest in a single day. By late Wednesday, the infections in the most populous African nation stood at 3,145, according to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control(NCDC). South Africa's COVID-19 cases, on the other hand, stand at 7,808 on Wednesday night, according to Health minister Zweli Mkhize. Analysts attributed the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in Africa to the disease spreading in the community as countries grapple with a shortage of testing kits. "Over the past months, most African countries lacked the capacity to conduct mass testing, with the situation exacerbated by global shortage of gadgets. This saw Africa record low cases giving people a false sense of normalcy, which has helped contribute to the spread of the disease," said Eric Mang'unyi, a researcher at the Walter Sisulu University in South Africa. Mang'unyi noted that a number of African countries have lately acquired the gadgets, some donated by Chinese e-commerce mogul Jack Ma, thus ramped up testing, what has seen an exponential surge in numbers. "The fact that most Africans are asymptomatic has further helped to the spread of the disease because people see they are not sick yet they are," he said. But amid the spreading, African governments have stepped up measures to combat the disease, with most of them announcing partial or full lockdowns, closure of businesses and banned international flights as they battle the disease. In east Africa, for instance, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are collaborating on various measures to curb the spread of the disease, with the countries agreeing that truck drivers getting into their countries must be tested every 14 days. In the medicine front, African researchers have stepped up the search for a vaccine against the disease, with scientists in South Africa on Monday vaccinating hundreds of health workers with 100-year-old tuberculosis (TB) vaccine in a clinical trial in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The trial will determine if a booster shot of Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) reduces the probability of COVID-19 infection and the severity of the symptoms. In Kenya, researchers are seeking approvals to conduct trials to determine if certain antiretroviral drugs, as well as anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine and Lopinavir/ritonavir, also used on HIV patients, can effectively treat COVID-19 patients in the East African nation. The impact of COVID-19 on economies of the continent is substantial and would be long-term, said Mang'unyi. Most economies of African nations, according to him, will be hit harder by the disease. "World Bank forecasts that Sub-Saharan Africa will suffer its first recession in 25 years. This means industries and organizations are closing shop and no more jobs are being created, thus, people are losing their livelihoods. It is a catastrophic situation and economies will definitely take a longer time to recover, maybe up to three years or so," said Mang'unyi. As African countries grapple with the disease, Mang'unyi believes it is time for some with no capacity to fight COVID-19 to get external help. "Yes, in cases where nations have no capacity to tackle COVID-19, countries like China should help because they have successfully contained the disease. But some African nations have not done badly in fighting the disease if you go by the number of recoveries," he said. Enditem VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CloudMD Software & Services Inc. (CSE: DOC, OTCQB: DOCRF, Frankfurt: 6PH) (the Company or CloudMD), a telemedicine company revolutionizing the delivery of healthcare to patients, is excited to announce that it has entered into a Value Added Reseller Agreement (the Agreement) with IDYA4 Corp. (IDYA4), a leader in data interoperability and integration solutions within the government and private sectors. Under the Agreement, IDYA4 will resell CloudMDs Livecare technology in the United States. The partnership opens up a significant opportunity for CloudMD to expand its telemedicine platform into the U.S., and IDYA4 subject matter expertise and established client network adds significant value to CloudMDs expansion plan. The partnership further demonstrates CloudMDs ability to tap into this multi billion-dollar industry as an emerging leader in providing virtual healthcare. IDYA4 provides revolutionary technology solutions within public safety, corrections, health and human services sectors. IDYA4 has an impressive portfolio of clients including, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control, Experis US (Manpower Group) and Deloitte to name a few. CloudMD will be able to augment IDYA4 network and provide its Livecare telemedicine solution as part of the portfolio of products and services available to IDYA4 clients and partners. IDYA4 will act as a U.S. based partner and be selling the Livecare platform to associations nation-wide, providing distribution, infrastructure, on-boarding and IT support for Livecare in the U.S. As part of the Agreement and developing relationship, CloudMD will also look to include its broader portfolio, including Livecare Carts. These pre-configured Telehealth carts are used to achieve real-time diagnostic input and clinical evaluations for people in remote communities or those without immediate specialist clinical support and can be configured with the peripherals needed. These carts allow full remote high definition exams of patients for doctors who can be thousands of miles away. They can include Bluetooth stethoscopes, otoscopes, dermoscopes, oximeters, thermometers, blood pressure readers and opthalmascopes (more information here) . Dr. Amit Mathur, President of CloudMD commented, We are delighted to partner with IDYA4 Corp and utilize their experience and expertise to expand our Livecare platform into the United States. Its important for us to continue to follow our disciplined strategy and having a trusted partner like IDYA4 Corp in the U.S. will be incredibly valuable for us to start introducing Livecare to their network of leading organizations across multiple sectors. Sharad Rao, CEO of IDYA4 commented, We are excited to partner with the CloudMD to bring their innovative Livecare platform to the United States. The Livecare platform will help better serve our clients and fulfill the growing demand of the Telehealth within Corrections, Healthcare markets and rural areas with focus on keeping our communities safe and healthier. About CloudMD Software & Services CloudMD is digitizing the delivery of healthcare by providing patients access to all points of their care from their phone, tablet or desktop computer. The Company offers SAAS based health technology solutions to medical clinics across Canada and has developed proprietary technology that delivers quality healthcare through the combination of connected primary care clinics, telemedicine, and artificial intelligence (AI). CloudMD currently provides service to a combined ecosystem of 376 clinics, over 3000 licensed practitioners and almost 3 million patient charts across its servers. About IDYA4 Corp. IDYA4 Corp. is a leader in data interoperability and integration solutions within the government and private sectors. IDYA4 Corp. helps its customers develop communities of interests to leverage data to manage day-to-day operations and critical decision making. IDYA4 Corps mission is to build safer and healthier communities through data-driven solutions and digital transformation. For additional information on IDYA4, visit their website www.IDYA4.com . ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dr. Essam Hamza, MD" Chief Executive Officer FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT: CloudMD Software & Services Inc. investors.cloudmd.ca Email: investors@cloudmd.ca Forward Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on CloudMDs expectations, estimates and projections regarding its business and the economic environment in which it operates, including with respect to its business plans. Although CloudMD believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements and readers should not place undue reliance on such statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and CloudMD undertakes no obligation to update them publicly to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances, unless otherwise required to do so by law. The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Suppose youre working in an essential industry and your employer hasnt provided you with adequate personal protective equipment. Maybe you say to yourself, Okay, theres a shortage, theyre trying. Then you discover that just a couple of years ago, your employer had been warned that its supply of PPE was inadequate. Or maybe you find out that until recently, your employers supply of PPE was plentiful, but its all been sold off. Youd be furious. You might even decide to sue. Unless, of course, your employer is a state agency. Then youd be stuck. The doctrine of sovereign immunity would bar your lawsuit. Which provides more evidence, if any is needed, that the doctrine is in most instances a bad idea. The reason we impose tort liability on private companies is to force them to take into account the costs their operations impose on others. If a company dumps pollution in the river, we sock it with damages to create an incentive for this company and others to be more careful next time. (The technical term for this is mulcting, a legal word I love.) Governments, for the most part, face no such risk. When they mess up, theyre punished (if at all) at the ballot box. And yet there are plenty of situations when tort liability for state agencies could have made a difference in how much care was taken to avoid harm. Skeptical? Ask the people of Flint, Michigan, whose water supply wound up contaminated due to a series of decisions by state and local government. Ask anyone who lives near the Animas River in Colorado, accidentally polluted by the Environmental Protection Agency five years ago, after which the EPA refused to pay the cleanup costs, estimated in excess of $1 billion. Other Priorities The Covid-19 pandemic supplies a fresh example. Suppose, for instance, that youre an essential employee of the government of California but you lack sufficient PPE. During Governor Arnold Schwarzeneggers administration, the Golden State decided to invest heavily in pandemic preparedness, including ventilators, protective equipment, and even mini-hospitals. The plan was abandoned by Schwarzeneggers successor, who chose to invest in other priorities instead. A private company would consider liability before taking so great a chance. Government agencies at all levels had plenty of warning. There was, for instance, the detailed report on pandemic preparedness published by President George W. Bushs administration a report that urged specifically that private and public employers alike stockpile personal protective equipment. Prefer a more recent instance? Take a look at the 2019 review of New York States readiness to deal with a pandemic caused by a novel virus. This line jumps out: The stockpiles for vaccines, personal protective equipment, supplies for diagnosis, and antiviral medications, need to be procured, maintained and packaged for distribution. Oops. A private company that failed to heed warnings would be facing lawsuits aplenty from its employees. A public agency, not having to worry about liability, is free to claim that its all somebody elses fault. Shift the Blame Remember how, early in the pandemic, ordinary citizens were urged not to purchase protective equipment so that there would be enough for first responders? Another way of looking at those desperate pleas is that public agencies fire and police department, for example had failed to secure an adequate supply. Rather than confess their own negligence, they sought to shift blame by creating an atmosphere in which peoples private decisions on how to protect themselves and their families would be viewed as selfish. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has received thousands of complaints against private employers (particularly in health care) said to be taking inadequate precautions against the spread of the novel coronavirus. But if you try to file a similar complaint against a state employer, youll be told that OSHA has no jurisdiction. To be sure, one might reasonably argue that the imposition of liability would burden the ability of government at every level to weigh competing priorities and make choices. Maybe its not fair to blame them for choosing to fund other programs instead of securing more PPE. Excellent point. One might also respond that despite repeated and recent warnings, nobody was ready for Covid-19. As Judge Richard Posner has argued, disasters become disasters precisely because it is not possible to prepare adequately for everything bad that might occur. Its not reasonable, one could then conclude, to make state agencies liable for their failure to plan for so unlikely an event. Also an excellent point. Competing Priorities But the same points apply to private companies, which also must choose among competing priorities and also cant possibly prepare for everything bad that might occur. If we wouldnt be sympathetic to these defenses from a private employer, why should we accept them from a public one? To put the matter the other way around, why should we create an incentive for public employers to be less cautious than private ones? As Justice David Souter pointed out two decades ago, the status of sovereign immunity as a matter of constitutional history might charitably be described as shaky. The doctrine is a holdover from the days when rule was by the Crown, and theres a good case to be made that its inconsistent with principles of popular sovereignty and individual rights. If the government were small, and the market provided many of the services now provided by the state, the claim that public institutions need special protection might have merit. Given the sprawl of government authority, however, theres no reason that its agencies should be able to make decisions without regard to the costs they impose particularly on their own employees. Among the many hard lessons of the present crisis is that absent the discipline of tort liability, state agencies will make lots of wrong choices. Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics Lawsuits COVID-19 Agencies Pollution It is the 20th day in a row under 20 cases of infection and third under five. South Koreans can resume their daily activities, while respecting some basic precautions. Public facilities are open. From next month 19 air connections with foreign countries will be restored. 100 million masks to face a possible second wave. Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The new cases of coronavirus infection remain at a minimum even if the easing of social distancing started yesterday. Today, 4 infections have occurred in the country, three of which imported from abroad: the 20th day in a row under 20 and the third day under five. In total there are 10810 infected and 256 deaths. The government introduced restrictions in human contact and isolation measures in March. The drop in infections has allowed the authorities to remove many of these limitations. South Koreans can resume their daily activities, while respecting some basic precautions, such as wearing protective masks. The population again has access to public facilities, such as train and subway stations, which have returned to the normal crowding. Schools will gradually reopen next week. Churches have been open for the celebration of Mass as early as April 26th. The authorities remain vigilant. They fear the arrival of a second wave of infections after the summer. To prepare for the event, the government has allocated funds to produce 100 million new masks. Strict quarantine measures remain in force for those entering the country. Despite this, Korean Air Lines, the main South Korean air carrier, has announced that it will reactivate 19 air routes from next month; the connections will be restored with some airports in Canada, Germany, China, Malaysia and the United States. Thanks to an excellent health system and prompt intervention, South Korea is among the countries that have responded best to the global pandemic. It is seen as a model of democratic action, alternative to the draconian one used by Beijing. Seoul immediately closed the borders with China, the epicenter of the pandemic, introducing strict quarantine measures for those entering the country. Health authorities then launched mass diagnostic tests to identify possible cases of infection, and trace all their contacts. Highlights A report states that Google has directed its employees not to expense food or gym costs. The tech giant is known for the provision of free meals it offers its employees. Google CFO, Ruth Porat, last week said that the second quarter is expected to to be a difficult one. There is no such thing as a free lunch and Google employees would agree. The tech giant announced that its employees cannot expense food or gym costs even if they have extra money left, a report by CNBC stated. Google is often praised and known for the free meals it gives its employees. However, because of the pandemic, that provision will be changed. The company reportedly updated its policy stating employees cannot expense perks while they are working from home. These perks would include food, fitness, home office furniture, decoration, or gifts. The policy also stated that Google employees cannot use unused budgets to do things like purchasing meals for themselves or people outside of their office. Since a lot of events stood cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, a lot of travel money went unused. Google employees were strictly told that this money cannot be made use of. "The money cannot be used for anything outside their original purposes," a QandA by Google's blog stated. The report noted Google saying "This includes sending snack boxes/gifts to Googlers or allowing teams to expense breakfast/lunch/dinner as part of virtual gatherings. These policies help ensure reporting and tax compliance, as well as consistency and fairness for Googlers across teams." The budget can also not be used for charity, according to the company's policies. "We know that Googlers are eager to give back to their communities and support COVID-19 relief efforts, but the Internal Events budget should not be donated to local charities/organizations," it said. Google CFO, Ruth Porat, last week said that she expects the second quarter to be a difficult one. Last month Google said that it was slashing its marketing budget by almost half of 2020. The company also implemented a hiring freeze in some areas of the company, a report by Business Insider stated. Google CEO, Sundar Pichai said that work-from-home for Google's employees would go on till June 1. "Everyone who is in a recommended or mandatory work-from-home status should assume that will continue until at least June 1, 2020," Pichai had said. Last month, Pichai in an email to Google's employees had said that the company would slow its hiring process for the whole of 2020. "The entire global economy is hurting, and Google and Alphabet are not immune to the effects of this global pandemic. We exist in an ecosystem of partnerships and interconnected businesses, many of whom are feeling significant pain," Pichai had written. Two of the most accomplished and internationally recognized students in Iran are among those arrested and tortured as the regime's fear of an uprising escalates. The spokesman of Iran's Judiciary on Tuesday admitted to the arrest of two elite students from the Sharif University of Technology after detaining them for 26 days. Gholam-Hossein Esmaili, who was speaking to reporters, said the two students had linked up with the MEK. Reciting a series of trumped up charges, Esmaili alleged that the students who were not named had engaged in "diversionary actions" and were "attempting to carry out sabotage operations." "Explosive devices used in sabotage operations were discovered when their homes were searched," he said. Image by HRM-Iran. "Amid the Coronavirus, this was essentially a conspiracy by the enemies; they wanted to wreak havoc in the country, which was fortunately thwarted by the vigilance and timely action of intelligence ministry agents," Esmaili added. According to Human Right Monitor, it seems that the Judiciary spokesman is referring to the 20-year-old award-winning computer science student of Tehran's Sharif Industrial University, Ali Younesi, and another award-winning physics student, Amir-Hossein Moradi, who were both arrested on April 10. Amir-Hossein Moradi disappeared and Ali Younesi was brought home in the evening of the same day, with injuries and torture marks. The family of Ali Younesi says he was assaulted and injured by twelve security agents. After a few hours, his parents were taken away with him and interrogated for hours under pressure. Ali Younesi, who was the winner of the gold medal in the International Astronomy Olympiad in 2018 in China, is twenty years old and a second-year computer science student at Tehran's Sharif Industrial University. Amir-Hossein Moradi won the Olympiad silver medal in 2017. On May 6, the Human Right MonitorIran announced the names of 18 others, among the many who have been arrested, as follows: Mohammad Reza Ashrafi Samani, Isfahan Nahid Fat'halian, Tehran Kamran Rezaeifar, Tehran Sepehr Imam Jomeh, Tehran Parastoo Mo'ini, Tehran Zahra Safaei, Tehran Bijan Kazemi, Kuhdasht Forough Taghipour, Tehran Marzieh Farsi, Tehran Massoud Rad, Tehran Mohammad Mehri, Qom Somayeh Bidi, Karaj Mohammad Hassani, Karaj Rasool Hassanvand, Khorramabad Gholam Ali Alipour, Amol Mehran Gharabaghi, Behbahan Majid Khademi, Behbahan Saeed Rad, Semnan HRM added that the National Council of Resistance Iran (NCRI)'s leader emphasized that the detainees are subject to torture and face execution, as well as in danger of being exposed to the coronavirus, and urged the secretary-general of the United Nations, the high commissioner for human rights, and the Human Rights Council, as well as the international human rights organizations, to take urgent action to secure the release of the detainees and to send international missions to visit the regime's prisons and meet with these prisoners. At the same time, the NCRI said in a statement, "The clerical regime must publish the names of all the detainees and respect all their rights by the international conventions to which it is a party. Torture and ill treatment of political prisoners are well known practices of the regime. Since the December 2017 uprising, a significant number of prisoners have been murdered under torture. The regime maintains silence and engages in a cover-up about the fate of these prisoners. And when compelled to say anything, it claims they have committed suicide and killed themselves." Hassan Mahmoudi, social analyst, researcher, is an independent observer and commentator of Middle Eastern and Iranian affairs. The Senate today failed 49-44 to override President Donald Trumps veto of a resolution to limit his ability to wage offensive military action against Iran. The vote came after Trump vetoed the resolution Wednesday. In the process, he blasted his fellow Republicans who sided with Democrats on the legislation. This was a very insulting resolution, introduced by Democrats as part of a strategy to win an election on Nov. 3 by dividing the Republican Party, said Trump. The few Republicans who voted for it played right into their hands. The Republican-held Senate first passed the resolution 55-45 in February as a rebuke of the US assassination of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani in Iraq on Jan. 3, paving the way for a 227-186 vote in the House. Two Republicans joined Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., as initial sponsors of the resolution: Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Mike Lee, R-Utah. Paul and Lee joined five other Republican senators today in the unsuccessful attempt to override Trumps veto: Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Todd Young of Indiana. Congress needed to stand up in a bipartisan way to make plain that this president should not get into a war with Iran or any war without the vote of Congress, Kaine told reporters ahead of the vote. This is not about the president: President Trump or any president. Its about Congress, and that we should not be at war without a vote in Congress. The 1973 War Powers Act allows any lawmaker to force a vote directing the White House to end unauthorized hostilities abroad. While Congress has not voted to authorize military action against Iran, the Trump administration maintains that the strike on Soleimani was legal as a self-defense measure under the 2002 authorization to invade Iraq and Article 2 of the Constitution. The Trump administration claimed after the Soleimani strike that the Iranian Quds Force commander had been planning an imminent attack on US assets in Iraq but has refused to declassify the evidence. However, Trump neglected that argument in his veto message. Instead he argued that the presidents Article 2 authorities allow him to take military action beyond imminent self-defense. The resolution implies that the presidents constitutional authority to use military force is limited to defense of the United States and its forces against imminent attack, Trump said. That is incorrect. We live in a hostile world of evolving threats, and the Constitution recognizes that the president must be able to anticipate our adversaries next moves and take swift and decisive action in response. The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war. And the Vietnam-era War Powers Act states that the president may only introduce US forces into hostilities under congressional authorization or a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions or its armed forces. This is the seventh veto of Trumps presidency, and the fifth concerning US military engagement in the Middle East. The president vetoed three separate resolutions last year that would have blocked $8 billion in arms sales for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as a war powers resolution directing him to end support for the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemens Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Congress failed to override those vetoes as well. Kaine argued that congressional action on the Yemen war powers resolution prompted the Trump administration to end midair refueling for Saudi coalition warplanes in Yemen. He hopes that the Iran resolution will have a similar effect on Trumps calculus despite his veto. I think he realized that there was a creeping mission that was getting the US closer to another war that we shouldnt be in, said Kaine. And the congressional resolution, bipartisan, that landed on his desk, represented the collective wisdom of the Article 1 branch to listen to our voters that we dont need another war in the Middle East right now. The president doesnt care about Congress, but he does care about voters. Even before the hoped for May 20 loosening of shutdown rules, Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday that June 20 could mark a second new phase of reopening, but the details of what that phase and any phase thereafter could look like may never become crystal clear. Lamont said few details are worked out when it comes to timing of the reopening phases and which activities fit into which phase, and suggested decisions on events could require best judgment on a case-by-case basis rather than a sweeping set of reopening rules. Religious services, for example which can already happen in very small groups could be reopened based on individual communities circumstances. Its still a matter of judgment in terms of how we open, and what are those criteria and what are those protocols, Lamont said at his daily coronavirus briefing. Its an art as much as a science. We have to balance risk here, and we think weve got it right. But that reality may pose challenges for business owners and individuals trying to make decisions in the coming months, as the public seeks clarity on what to expect, especially over the summer, in a time where murkiness has become the norm. And on one thing Lamont was absolutely clear: any plan even the plan to reopen some things on May 20 is subject to change, especially if progress ceases or reverses toward any of the seven criteria required for reopening. Maybe June 20 will be our next decision point, maybe a little earlier, were learning all the time. Obviously a lot of people in congested areas are a lot less safe, Lamont said earlier in the day, speaking at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford after recognizing nurses for nurse appreciation week. As of Thursday, the state is well on its way to meeting those criteria, which Lamont outlined in his daily briefing, including a 14-day net decline in hospitalizations, increased testing capacity, sufficient contact tracing capacity, extra protections for vulnerable populations like the elderly, adequate healthcare capacity, an adequate supply of personal protective equipment and appropriate workplace safeguards. The state has officially achieved its goal in just two of those categories the decline in hospitalizations and maintaining hospital capacity at fewer than 20 percent of beds occupied by COVID-19 patients compared to the epidemic peak. Lamont said hes confident the state can achieve its goals, or at least get close to them, in the week and a half that remain until May 20. Weve got to get close to an A-plus, Lamont said. If were off by one or two well make a judgment on that, but I feel very confident were moving in the right direction on that. Developing guidance The seven criteria the standards and guidance for reopening have been in the works for weeks, and is necessary for those businesses able to open as soon as May 20. Businesses have requested that guidance as soon as possible in order to adequately prepare. That is the number one priority from where I sit, said Peter Denious, president and CEO of AdvanceCT and a member of the reopening committee. We are doing everything we can to make sure were getting input from these industries and developing guidelines that will sufficient and clear and have the health and safety of both employees and customers. Lamont said the states reopening advisory committee is expected to release specific guidance on Friday for the businesses affected by the first phase of the reopening. This is really what were going to start rolling out tomorrow so store owners and outside restaurants and salons have a couple weeks to prepare, and if thats not enough time then dont open up, Lamont said. May 20 is just a date that you can open up, not that you should open up until youre ready. Lamont provided few details Thursday, and said greater clarity will be presented Friday by David Lehman, commissioner for the Department Economic and Community Development and a member of the advisory committee. Lamont did said there will be an executive order to make it easier for restaurants to serve food and drinks outside, and his team is working with municipalities on local zoning regulations for restaurants. Tables will have to be six feet apart, for example, and customers and employees will need to wear appropriate personal protective equipment like face masks and gloves. Its going to take a while for people to get comfortable, said Indra Nooyi, co-chair of the advisory committee. To see the face masks, to see how the tables are set, the fact that waiters are going to have gloves. Its going to take some getting used to. Its a new way of life. But our hope is that two, three, four weeks after May 20 people will start to get a little more comfortable and life will start getting to normal. Coronavirus in Connecticut How CT wedding professionals still make it fun for brides Figuring out the phases Denious said Connecticut has not yet developed the next phases of Connecticuts reopening plan. The details of restarting things like concerts, sporting events and weddings are still being worked out among members of the governors appointed reopening committee. The focus right now is on May 20 and then in the not too distant future, we hope for more clarity in how we go beyond that, Denious said. Lamont went into some specifics Wednesday on the Chaz and A.J. In the Morning radio show on WPLR pressured by the hosts to assign phase numbers to certain types of businesses and events. On Thursday he backed away from that and said hes waiting for recommendations from the reopening committee. Its not official, Lamont said. They just put out a list and said what would you think. I was just giving them my first impressions. In a press release, the station said Lamont indicated that opening driving schools, the state Department of Motor Vehicles and gyms would be in phase two; that outdoor concerts, amusement parks and outdoor weddings would be in phase three; and indoor weddings in phase four. Outdoor sporting events, including the Hartford Yard Goats games, would be in phase two or three; opening dental offices, tattoo parlors in phase three or four; and outdoor weddings and parties also in phase three or four. It was clear from Lamonts first impressions that events that can be held outside are likely to be permitted sooner than indoor events. Weddings, concerts and church services, for example. Lamont hopes to have his daughters wedding over Labor Day weekend. As for some of the major events of the summer, like block parties, dont count on it. Id just hold off, Lamont said. You cant do that right now. A party is a party. You cant do that six feet apart, right? On religious services, he said, Right now we have a cap of 50 but thats a little arbitrary. What if its a small church? What if its a large church? We try and have people use judgment but were going to be pretty strict a little bit longer...It depends what age you are, too. He added, People are being very creative about how to do this. Earlier this week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo released guidelines for the first four phases of reopening in New York, and made it clear that rural parts of the state would be first to reemerge from the shutdown. Denious said that New Yorks plan should not be considered a blueprint for Connecticut, although the two states have attempted to work in tandem on many aspects of the crisis. For example, phase one of Cuomos reopening plan applies to manufacturing and construction, two industries Lamont never closed in Connecticut. Are we going to follow them, exactly? No, Denious said Wednesday. What we are trying to do is coordinate, and make sure were aware of the general frameworks of our neighbors. kkrasselt@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2563; @kaitlynkrasselt As Russia's number of confirmed coronavirus cases reaches new highs, its official death toll remains remarkably low compared to other European countries. Officials credit mass testing for identifying large numbers of people with only mild symptoms, but some say the discrepancy is due to how the death count is calculated. "If someone dies of a heart attack but has been diagnosed with COVID-19, the official cause of death will be heart attack," said Sergei Timonin from Moscow's Higher School of Economics. "In other words, not all deaths of those with coronavirus will be listed as deaths from coronavirus," said Timonin, deputy head of the university's International Laboratory for Population and Health. As of Wednesday, Russia ranked sixth in the world for virus cases with 165,929 confirmed infections. But it has reported only 1,537 deaths -- a rate of 0.9 percent that is far lower than in the other top 10 countries. By comparison, Germany, often lauded for its health service's response to the virus, has declared a death rate of 4.2 percent. Russians have widely disputed the figures, prompting the health ministry and the public health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor this week to insist the numbers reflect the country's rapid response to the pandemic. Rospotrebnadzor noted in a statement that "Russia is in second place in the world in terms of numbers of tests at more than 4.46 million," behind the United States. It said this allowed Russia to "identify and quickly isolate patients with mild forms as well as those without symptoms, which significantly lowered the spread of the virus among the public and in certain risk groups." - Massive testing - While there are some doubts over their reliability, virus tests are widely available in Moscow through private laboratory companies and clinics. Since the end of last month, internet giant Yandex has also offered free at-home tests. A Rospotrebnadzor official who asked to remain anonymous told AFP that the low infection rate among over-65s demonstrated the success of Russia's strategy. Moscow in particular ordered those over 65 not to leave their homes at all in mid-March. "Russia has done its best to delay the epidemic's peak: we closed our borders and immediately started monitoring those infected," said Yevgeny Timakov, a doctor specialising in infectious diseases who advises the health ministry. He says Russia gained a few weeks to prepare for the pandemic, "isolate those at risk and organise hospital beds". He predicts the final death rate among Russia's cases will be around three percent or "a third of that in Europe." - Lack of transparency - But lack of transparency over how the deaths are recorded casts doubt on the numbers. Local media has in recent weeks reported cases where the cause of death was recorded as pneumonia, despite the deceased having tested positive for coronavirus. That's what happened to Anastasia Petrova, a 36-year-old journalist who died in the Urals city of Perm on March 31. Her cause of death was recorded as "double pneumonia" and it was only officially changed to coronavirus when one of her friends spoke out, saying she had tested positive two days before her death. The first coronavirus fatality in Russia, a 79-year-old woman, was announced on March 19 by Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. Later that day the authorities changed their account, however, saying an autopsy showed the cause of death to be a blood clot, not the virus. This happens because in Russia "an autopsy is almost always obligatory and the cause of death is recorded after the autopsy", said Timonin. "It will only be at the end of May when the April statistics come out that we'll see the true death count from COVID-19 in Russia," he said. Cemetery workers in protective gear bury a coronavirus victim at a cemetery on the outskirts of Saint Petersburg. Russia has reported a remarkably low death toll but critics have cast doubt on the numbers Russia has registered the world's sixth-highest total number of coronavirus cases When the pandemic struck, the majority of the nations nursing homes were losing money, some were falling into disrepair, and others were struggling to attract new occupants, leaving many of them ill equipped to protect workers and residents as the coronavirus raged through their properties. Their troubled state was years in the making. Decades of ownership by private equity and other private investment firms left many nursing homes with staggering bills and razor-thin margins, while competition from home care attendants and assisted-living facilities further gutted their business. Even so, many of their owners still found creative ways to wring profits out of them, according to an analysis of federal and state data by The New York Times. In many cases, investors created new companies to hold the real estate assets because the buildings were more valuable than the businesses themselves, especially with fewer nursing homes being built. Sometimes, investors would buy a nursing home from an operator only to lease back the building and charge the operator hefty management and consulting fees. Investors also pushed nursing homes to buy ambulance transports, drugs, ventilators and other products or services at above-market rates from other companies they owned. These strategies paid off handsomely for investors, but they forced nursing homes to skimp on quality. For instance, for-profit nursing homes roughly 70 percent of the countrys 15,400 nursing homes and often owned by private investors disproportionately lag behind their nonprofit counterparts across a broad array of measures for quality, The Times found. Also, they are cited for violations at a higher rate than nonprofit facilities. BERKELEY, Calif. and GAITHERSBURG, Md., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Caribou Biosciences, Inc. ("Caribou"), a leading CRISPR genome editing company, and MaxCyte, Inc, a global cell-based therapies and life sciences company, today announced a clinical and commercial license agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Caribou gains rights to use MaxCyte's Flow Electroporation technology and ExPERT platform for the advancement of its CRISPR gene-edited allogeneic T cell therapy programs. Caribou will obtain non-exclusive clinical and commercial rights to use MaxCyte's platform to develop CRISPR gene-edited allogeneic T cell therapies. In return, MaxCyte will receive undisclosed development and approval milestones and sales-based payments in addition to other licensing fees. "As we advance our lead allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy program, we are preparing for the future by securing access to a transfection platform for both clinical and commercial implementation," said Steven Kanner, Ph.D., Caribou's Chief Scientific Officer. Doug Doerfler, President & CEO of MaxCyte, said: "We are proud to support Caribou Biosciences as it develops its allogeneic cell therapy programs. This important agreement represents another key expansion for MaxCyte, emphasizing the value of our technology platform to companies developing pioneering gene-editing and cell therapies. We believe that such programs have high potential to deliver positive clinical impact for patients facing serious and difficult-to-treat diseases." MaxCyte's ExPERT instrument family represents the next generation of leading, clinically validated, electroporation technology for complex and scalable cell engineering. By delivering high transfection efficiency, seamless scalability and enhanced functionality, the ExPERT platform delivers the high-end performance essential to enable the next wave of biological and cellular therapeutics. About Caribou Biosciences, Inc. Caribou is a leading company in CRISPR genome editing founded by pioneers of CRISPR biology. The company is developing an internal pipeline of off-the-shelf CAR-T cell therapies, other gene-edited cell therapies, and engineered gut microbes. Additionally, Caribou offers licenses to its CRISPR-Cas9 foundational IP in multiple fields including research tools, internal research use, diagnostics, and industrial biotechnology. Interested companies may contact Caribou at [email protected]. For more information about Caribou, visit www.cariboubio.com and follow the Company @CaribouBio. "Caribou Biosciences" and the Caribou logo are registered trademarks of Caribou Biosciences, Inc. About MaxCyte MaxCyte, the clinical-stage global cell-based therapies and life sciences company, uses its proprietary next-generation cell and gene therapies to revolutionise medical treatments and ultimately save lives. The Company's premier cell engineering enabling technology is currently being deployed by leading drug developers worldwide, including all of the top ten global biopharmaceutical companies. MaxCyte licences have been granted to more than 100 cell therapy programmes, with more than 70 licensed for clinical use, and the Company has now entered into ten clinical/commercial license agreements with leading cell therapy and gene editing developers. MaxCyte was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, US. For more information, visit www.maxcyte.com. SOURCE MaxCyte, Inc. Related Links http://www.maxcyte.com News Tucson, Arizona - At the Presidential Briefing on April 30, Dr. Anthony Fauci announced early results, prior to peer-review, of one clinical trial using remdesivir, an intravenous (IV) experimental antiviral medicine in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. At the warp speed currently in vogue for the Fauci-led push to a new vaccine, the very next day the FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EAU) for remdesivir to be used in seriously ill hospitalized patients. To announce the emergency approval, President Trump met with the CEO of the drugs manufacturer, Gilead Sciences, in the Oval Office. Such rapid authorization is quite unusual with the FDA. Unlike the experimental remdesivir with no prior FDA approval, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) required two months from reports of successful use in China and South Korea to get the Mar 28 FDA EUA for use in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. HCQ was approved in 1955 for malaria, and later for lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Over the last 65 years, hundreds of millions of prescriptions have been written for HCQ worldwide. The EUA for HCQ did not, however, expand its availability but imposed restrictions to prevent non-hospitalized patients from accessing the governments stockpile of the drug. Democrat Governors Cuomo (NY), Sisolak (NV), and Whitmer (MI), then imposed restrictive orders on outpatient use, and all but four states have followed their lead. In decades of widespread use, HCQ has an impressive safety record. Irregular heart rhythm or damage to the retina occur rarely, usually with high doses used long term. FDA shows only 62 cardiac deaths attributed to HCQ out of more than 50 million prescriptions, or 0.000124 percent (1.2 out of each 1 million Rx). Rheumatology guidelines for lupus and rheumatoid arthritis do not even require baseline electrocardiograms before prescribing HCQ, since the risk is minimal. Approximately $70 million in U.S. taxpayer funding began Gileads partnership with the U.S. Army, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop remdesivir. Initially for treating Ebola, it failed to show benefit and was shelved. If remdesivir is used to treat COVID-19, Gilead shareholders, not the taxpayers, will profit. Early results of the first clinical trial of remdesivir against placebo in coronavirus were announced at the White House Apr 30, and showed modest benefits, according to The New York Times. Surviving patients given remdesivir were discharged 4 days sooner than patients given placebo, though no criteria were given for determining improvement. Death rates were not significantly different. About 25 percent of patients receiving remdesivir had potentially severe side effects, including multiple organ dysfunction, septic shock, acute kidney injury, and low blood pressure. Another 23% showed evidence on lab tests of liver damage. Gileads own press release revealed the side effect of acute respiratory failure in 6 percent of patients in the remdesivir 5-day treatment group, and 10.7 percent of patients in the 10-day treatment group, clearly ominous findings with a drug designed to treat respiratory failure caused by COVID-19. Dr. Steven Nissen, Cleveland Clinic cardiologist who has conducted dozens of clinical trials, explained to The New York Times: The disclosure of trial results in a political setting, before peer review or publication, is very unusual. Scientists will need to see figures on harms associated with the drug in order to assess its benefits. This is too important to be handled in such a sloppy fashion. Dr. Michele Barry, a global health expert at Stanford University, expressed concern about Dr. Faucis overly enthusiastic praise for remdesivir: It is unusual to call a drug the standard of care until peer review of data and publication, and before studies have shown benefit in mortality. The leading communicable disease specialist in France, Professor Didier Raoult, asked about another odd aspect of the remdesivir trial: Could Anthony Fauci explain why the investigators of the NIAID remdesivir trial did change the primary outcome during the course of the project? Death as the primary outcome was moved to a secondary outcome, and days to recovery became the primary trial outcome. Changing the primary outcome before trial results are completed is highly unusual and suggests p-hackingmanipulating the data to get a statistically significant p value. In contrast, the multi-country compilation of evidence on HCQ and azithromycin in treatment of COVID-19 (updated Apr 27, 2020) has consistently shown that these older medicines prevent infections, significantly reduce severity of illness, reduce viral load and duration of infectivity, reduce number of hospitalizations, reduce ventilator use, and markedly reduce deaths. The data is far beyond anecodotal, as Dr. Fauci dismissively called it. Money appears to be trumping medical wisdom in the recent enthusiasm for remdesivir based on just one study with modest results. One naturally wonders whether this may have anything to do with the fact that the worlds largest asset manager, BlackRock, owns the largest share of all Gilead stock at 8.4%. BlackRocks influence in Washington, D.C., is legendary, and it recently was awarded the financial crown jewel of administering the Federal Reserves $4.5 Trillion COVID-19 loan bail-out program. Is someone stacking the deck in Gileads favor? Nineof the experts on the NIH COVID-19 Panel recommending treatment options have disclosed financial support from Gilead. Why did these nine experts not recuse themselves? Did financial conflicts of interest affect the recommendation against HCQ, the older, safer, cheaper medicine, and for use of remdesivir, the new, expensive experimental medicine, based on weak, not-yet-peer-reviewed evidence? HCQ has been off patent for decades, is available from a dozen U.S. generic manufacturers, and is also produced in China, India, Israel, and other countries. HCQ costs the patient on average less than $10 (range 37-63 cents per tablet), for the usual 5-7 day course of treatment. Remdesivir costs upwards of $1,000 per dose, plus the added costs of having to be hospitalized to receive it. In addition to HCQs low cost, major pharmaceutical companies (Novartis, Bayer, Teva, and others) have donated nearly 50 million doses to the Strategic National Stockpile. Tragically for Americans sick with COVID-19, most of this medicine still sits in warehouses because state governments are interfering with its use in outpatients when it has greatest effect. Patients lives are being sacrificed on the altar of financial interests and elite D.C. powerbrokers instead of being entrusted to the judgment of patients own physicians. We are witnessing the deadly consequences of bureaucrats and governors practicing medicine. Money over medical wisdom, and politics above patients: two viruses more lethal than COVID-19. Delivery workers at restaurants, grocery stores, and other essential businesses provide a lifeline to homebound shoppers while the highly infectious and deadly coronavirus circulates, so you might be wondering: When do I need to leave a tip? And how much gratuity is enough? From curbside pickup to alcohol delivery, there are many services that could warrant a tip, but the etiquette on tipping during a pandemic isnt obvious. This is the time when we should be generous if we can, but there is no hard and fast rule for how much extra to give, says Diane Gottsman, author of "Modern Etiquette for a Better Life" and founder of the Protocol School of Texas. So, what does generous mean in dollars and cents? Follow these pointers to avoid an etiquette error the next time you go to leave a tip. 1. Always tip for delivery and takeout/curbside pickup Whether youre getting Mexican food delivered for Taco Tuesday or placing an order for delivery from your local cannabis dispensary, right now you should tip at least 15% to 20%, Gottsman says. The same goes for grocery or alcohol delivery. If youre picking up from a restaurant that started offering curbside pickup in the wake of the pandemic, leave a tip. The people that are outside are probably employees theyre trying to save from losing their job, Gottsman says. Theyre probably working for gratuity but not a large hourly rate. But just how much should you tip for curbside or in-store pickup? That depends. While some etiquette experts suggest tipping the same 15% to 20% that you would tip for delivery, others say it's OK to go lower. "There is a difference between curbside pickup and actual delivery, and for delivery there's more involved," says Elaine Swann, a lifestyle and etiquette expert. "Anyone coming to your front door should get a little more money." Still, Swann suggests tipping at least 10% on pickup orders during a pandemic. When it comes to grocery pickup, the etiquette is a bit more complicated. Grocers normally dont allow their people to take tips; although in this scenario, they might have altered their policy, Gottsman says. If you want to tip the curbside pickup person at your grocery store, ask first if a gratuity can be accepted. Most of us arent in the habit of tipping drive-up window workers at fast-food restaurants, and thats still OK, Gottsman saysthose workers earn an hourly rate, and staffing the drive-up window is part of their regular job duties. 2. Tip just as generously regardless of who delivers Whether you order your lunch directly from a restaurant or through a third-party delivery service like Grubhub or DoorDash, you should tip the delivery driver the same amount. Gottsman suggests at least 15% to 20% here, tooalthough you might have noticed some delivery apps have a default tip set to 25%. If you're able to swing it, it's a nice way to thank the person facing the health risk to deliver essentials to you. Whether youre ordering through a third-party service or the restaurant itself, the tip is intended for the person delivering it to you, so I think they should be treated equally, Swann says. Even if you have to pay extra for delivery through a third-party service, service fees shouldnt cut into your tip. On that note 3. A service or delivery fee is not a tip When you see a delivery fee or service charge on your order total, that money doesnt go to your driverso dont use it as an excuse to pinch pennies with the tip. A delivery fee covers other costs for the restaurant, Gottsman says. Its really important not to confuse a delivery fee with a gratuity. They are two different things. 4. Some workers cant accept tips, but you can still offer a kind gesture Right now, you might be feeling extra grateful for postal workers delivering mail and packages every day. But mail carriers arent allowed to accept cash tips or gifts worth more than $20 in value. What you could do for somebody you appreciate is leave a nice candy in the mailbox or a gift card for a cup of coffee, Gottsman says. What about your local boutique thats started delivering home goods, or the pet supply store thats delivering dog food? Many small retail businesses dont expect tips, Swann says, but now is a great time to show gratitude by posting a glowing review online. Not only should we be patronizing our businesses, but we should be putting forth an effort to highlight our positive experiences, she says. If they can get that virtual high-five during this time, that would be very helpful. 5. Be cautious with cash For online or phone orders, youll likely add the tip when you provide your credit card information. But what about cash tips at a time when were all trying to eliminate unnecessary physical contact? If you do have to tip in cash, to put [workers] at ease, put the cash in an envelope in advance, Swann says. One of the core values of etiquette is to make sure were doing everything we can to put others at ease. And of course, if cash changes hands, sanitize or wash your hands before and after the interaction and follow Centers for Disease Control guidelines for maintaining safe social distance. 6. Tip on the total, not the subtotal Its the perennial debate: Should you tip on the subtotal before tax, or the total after tax? Just tip on the whole thing, Gottsman says. As essential workers gear up in masks and gloves and take extra precautions to deliver food and necessities so the rest of us can stay home, now isnt the time to be stingy. Do those few pennies matter? I think they matter to that person [youre tipping], she says. 7. Consider tipping contractors, fitness instructors, and others who go above and beyond You probably wouldnt normally tip a plumber or electrician who comes into your home, but if you can afford it, its not a bad idea, Gottsman says. If they come out in the middle of the night or they come out all masked and covered up, you might offer to give them some extra gratuity, she says. More than likely they will take it. ... They arent having the businesses they normally have. If your favorite trainer or fitness instructor offers free workout plans or streaming classes while gyms are closed, you may also want to send them a tip on Venmo or PayPal. If theyre not charging you but just doing it to keep you going, then why not go ahead and send them a little something? Swann asks. 8. When in doubt, just do what you can This is a tough financial time for many people. If tipping above and beyond your normal amount feels out of reach, dont beat yourself upjust do whats in your budget. The bottom line is, we give what we can afford at this time, Gottsman says. Some people are not impacted at all financially, and some people dont have jobs. To say across the board that everyone should tip more would be unfair. The post Tipping Etiquette in the Time of Coronavirus: How Much Is Enough? appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com. Premier Daniel Andrews dismissed the state opposition's criticisms as "completely irrelevant" and said he would not respond to "silly political games", despite the coronavirus outbreak linked to a Melbourne abattoir growing by another 13 cases on Thursday. The 13 new cases connected to the Cedar Meats abattoir, including seven workers and six contacts, takes the total to 62 Victoria's biggest cluster. Daniel Andrews addresses the media on Thursday. Credit:AAP As the state moves towards some easing of social restrictions on Monday, Mr Andrews backed up Health Minister Jenny Mikakos' assertion on Wednesday that health authorities had handled the Cedar Meats outbreak "perfectly". About 106,000 Victorians have been tested for COVID-19 since last Monday surpassing the state's goal of completing 100,000 tests by Sunday with only seven or eight cases of community transmission detected. At least 72 inmates and seven staff members of the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai have contracted coronavirus COVID-19 and they will be quarantined separately, said Maharashtra jail authorities on Thursday. A total of 200 samples were collected and except the 79, all other samples tested negative. All positive inmates will he shifted to GT Hospital and St George hospital in guarded vehicles on Friday morning. All staff members found positive will be shifted separately. So far, a total of 79 people have been found positive and there is a stir within the jail, while a team of doctors from JJ Hospital has collected samples of 200 new inmates on Thursday. Earlier, the state government had isolated eight prisons in the state including the Arthur Road prison and ordered that no new person will be allowed to enter and those inside, including jail staff, will not be allowed to leave prison during the lockdown. But despite the precautions, the 72 inmates were found to have contracted coronavirus after coming in contact with a cook who had caught the infection, news agency PTI reported quoting Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. "These prisoners will be quarantined with the help of the Mumbai civic body," he said. Deshmukh also said that to prevent the spread of the virus in jails, the state government had decided to release on parole some 5,000 prisoners who have been sentenced to less than seven years' imprisonment, reported PTI. The capacity of Arthur Road Jail is only 800 inmates, but at present, there are more than 2,500 prisoners in this jail. Following the directive of the Supreme Court, a High Power Committee was formed which directed that many inmates from this jail should be shifted to another place and deconstructed it, but even this order was still not fully implemented. Complete lockdown is being followed at Arthur Road Jail since April 4 under which neither new prisoners were being taken in nor was there any appearance in any court. The first case was revealed when a 45-year-old undertrial prisoner's health deteriorated and he was taken to JJ Hospital for treatment, he was found positive in the coronavirus test. After this, the samples of about 150 other prisoners and some security personnel, who came in contact with this prisoner, were collected and the report came out on Thursday. The United Nations (UN) has called on media owners and employers in Nigeria to provide minimum Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for their reporters who daily cover the coronavirus pandemic in the country. The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian-Coordinator for Nigeria, Edward Kallon, made the call Wednesday in solidarity with journalists on the frontline of COVID-19 response in Nigeria. Mr Kallon who spoke on the observance of the World Press Freedom Day in Nigeria, held May 5, via a webinar titled, Journalism without fear or favour in the period of pandemic, said that Media entrepreneurs must take the issue of welfare and safety of journalists more seriously, at this time of pandemic and at all time. The webinar, organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Abuja, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Channels Television and the UN Information Centre (UNIC) Nigeria, had 68 participants and speakers in attendance, including the Director of UNESCO Abuja Regional Office, Yao Ydo; and Chairman, Channels Television, John Momoh; Other participants include: President of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Chris Isiguzo; President of Press Union of Liberia (PUL), Charles Coffey; President, Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Ahmed Nasralla and President of Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Roland AffailMonney. Mr Kallon observed that journalists across the world, including Nigeria, had been infected with coronavirus in the line of duty, pointing out that, if we want journalism without fear or favour, media employers and entrepreneurs must be assuring in their duty of care to their reporters. The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, in his message on World Press Freedom Day, called on governments to protect media workers, and to strengthen and maintain press freedom, which is essential for a future of peace, justice and human rights for all. In the message delivered on his behalf by Mr Kallion, the UN scribe said, We particularly recognise those who are playing a life-saving role reporting on public health. We thank the media for providing facts and analysis; for holding leaders in every sector accountable; and for speaking truth to power. Mr Guterres called on governments and others, to guarantee that journalists can do their jobs throughout the coronavirus pandemic and beyond, stressing the press provides the antidote: verified, scientific, fact-based news and analysis. The founder of Channels Television, John Momoh, in his keynote address, charged journalists not to fear to do their work and not to work out of fear, adding, in the face of this pandemic, the media should be daring with its investigation, factual with its reports, courageous in the face of danger, and calculative in risk taking. He also called for media training on the preventive techniques of covering a pandemic as deadly as coronavirus. The UNESCO Director General, Audrey Azoulay, in her message noted that at a time when we are mired in worry and uncertainty because of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, free information is essential to helping us face, understand, think about and overcome this crisis. We must consider the vital importance of information in this situation: informing the public means giving everyone the means of combating the illness by adopting appropriate practices. 100 Years Ago 1920: Plans for the new First Presbyterian church buildings to be erected on the corner of Edgmont Avenue and 23rd Street, running through to 24th Street, where approved at a congregational meeting of the church and the building committee was instructed to secure funds for the construction of the first unit the church proper. It is estimated that the edifice will cost between $85- and $95,000. The parish house and manse are expected to entail an outlay of about $60,000. 75 Years Ago 1945: The annual parade and Thanksgiving service of the John A. Watts Lodge 224 and the Susan Shands Temple, 103, of the Elks Lodge, will be held in Chester Sunday, May 13, it was announced today by Albert Reading, deputy sheriff and grand marshal of the parade. A new marching club, composed of both men and women, and organized by the John A. Watts Lodge, will have its first public appearance in the parade, which will begin at 1:30 p.m. at Front and Market streets. 50 Years Ago 1970: May is cleanup month in Upland and borough council and th board of health is asking residents to cooperate in the project. The board of health will inspect backyards and alleys for litter and uncovered trash cans which attract rodents. Inspections will determine if grass and weeds are kept cut, according to a borough ordinance. 25 Years Ago 1995: Media Borough Council met Friday in order to move forward with the sale of the Media Water Company. Council passed three ordinances needed for defeasance of existing water revenue and general obligation bonds. Mark Stein, who serves as the boroughs bond counselor, oversaw the action which is necessary to deliver an unencumbered asset to Philadelphia Suburban Water. The borough expects to go to settlement with PSW on May 23 to finalize the $24 million deal. The 5-0 votes for passage of the ordinances cleared the title for the transfer. 10 Years Ago 2010: A community relations seminar at the Springfield Country Club hosted by the Darby Borough Police Department was hailed as a model for police/minority relations statewide by the NAACP. Held in two sessions presented by the state Human Relations Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice, the seminar focused on understanding and preventing hate crimes, as well as earning community trust. Pennsylvania NAACP attorney and 3rd Vice President Lacy Wheeler called the level of cooperation between local police departments with more than 200 officers from 38 of the countys 41 departments the state and the NAACP unprecedented. COLIN AINSWORTH HARTLAND TWP., MI - Police arrested an Ingham County man caught breaking into a Brighton area Target and stealing Apple computer products on Saturday, police said. Deputies responded to a burglary report in progress around 4 a.m., May 2 to the Target located at 10025 E. Highland Road in Hartland Township, said the Livingston County Sheriffs Office. After receiving a suspect description, deputies initiated a traffic stop with a suspect vehicle matching the details provided, police said. Further investigation pinned the burglary on the driver, a 25-year-old Holt man named Mark Anthony Pierce, police said. Pierce forced his way into the Target and pilfered multiple Apple products, but left them at the scene, police said. Police arrested him without incident and lodged him at the Livingston County Jail. The 53rd District Court in Howell arraigned Pierce on Monday, May 4 on Burglary Forced Entry charges, police said. Breaking into a store without an owners permission is a misdemeanor charge, according to state law. Pierce was given a $5,000 bond for the incident. The Michigan State Police, Hamburg Township Police Department, Brighton Police Department and Oakland County Sheriffs Office Aviation Unit assisted Livingston County with the incident. The case is under further investigation. Read more from the MLive: Man wanted on felony warrants, questioning in homicide case, arrested Tire tracks tarnish $15,000 worth of wet concrete in Ann Arbor area road construction Building, drain services to resume in Livingston County on Thursday US President Donald Trump speaks about COVID-19, known as coronavirus, after signing a Proclamation in honor of National Nurses Day in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, May 6, 2020. A personal valet for President Donald Trump, who among other things serves meals to the president, has tested positive for the coronavirus, but a White House spokesman said Thursday that Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have since tested negative. The valet, a member of the military, would have had very close contact with Trump, and assisted the president with his food, clothes and other personal needs. Trump, however, denied having close contact with the sick valet. "I've had very little personal contact with this gentleman," Trump told reporters Thursday in the Oval Office. "I know who he is, good person, but I've had very little contact." Nonetheless, Trump said, starting today he and Pence will be tested for coronavirus daily, instead of weekly, as had previously been the standard practice in the West Wing. A White House official who spoke to NBC News said the male valet, like other valets, does not wear a mask around the president. The official said Trump was "not happy" when he learned Wednesday that his valet had tested positive for the virus, which has killed more than 73,000 Americans. A source with knowledge of the situation described it to NBC News as an "operational failure," and said everyone who works in close proximity to the president should be wearing masks. "We were recently notified by the White House Medical Unit that a member of the United States Military, who works on the White House campus, has tested positive for Coronavirus," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement. "The President and the Vice President have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health." Pence was en route to visit a health-care facility in Alexandria, Virginia as news broke about the valet. The vice president did not wear a mask during his visit to the facility, which houses some patients with Covid-19. Pence did not respond to shouted questions from reporters about the valet being positive for coronavirus. President Xi Jinping has warned against complacency in the ongoing fight to curb the coronavirus outbreak in the country even as China on Thursday classified all its counties as low-risk for the Covid-19 disease. The decision to lower the risk level was taken as no domestic cases were reported in the Chinese mainland for four consecutive days as of Wednesday, and no new deaths for 22 consecutive days, national health commission (NHC) spokesperson, Mi Feng said on Thursday. The Chinese mainland reported two new imported Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of imported cases to 1,680, Mi added. Coronavirus outbreak: Full coverage China now has a total of 82885 confirmed cases of the disease and 4633 deaths from it. Xi, however, warned officials from relaxing in their fight against it despite the dramatic fall in numbers at a meeting of the Communist Party of Chinas Standing Committee, the top decision-making body in the country, on Wednesday. Xi stressed that authorities can afford zero complacency in their work on all fronts to consolidate the outcomes of epidemic containment, and must not undo all the efforts that have been made, state media quoted him as saying at the meeting. Xi said the spread of the virus overseas has not been effectively curbed yet and cluster cases were reported in a few areas in China, posing considerable uncertainty to the epidemic control. The epidemic prevention and control measures in Hubei, the Chinese province worst-hit by the coronavirus, should not be relaxed, Xi said. Meanwhile, Chinas diplomatic spat with the US continued on Thursday with the Chinese foreign ministry accusing US secretary of state Mike Pompeo of telling one lie to cover up another in his continued attacks against Beijing over the pandemic. Speaking at the regular ministry briefing on Thursday, spokesperson Hua Chunying said Beijing has been transparent about the Covid-19 outbreak that emerged in Hubei provinces capital Wuhan late last year and that the US politicians were making baseless accusations against China Washington has accused Beijing of covering up the outbreak and mishandling it. Hua added that China supported the efforts of the WHO to investigate the origin of the pandemic. We are always open to cooperate with the WHO on matters, including on the question of origin, she said. While scientists have not come to a conclusion, why is Secretary Pompeo drawing the hasty conclusion that the virus came from a Wuhan lab? Where is his proof? Show us the proof. If he cannot show any evidence, then he may still be in the process of making up this evidence, she said. Sheryl Pabatao, one of their daughters, said her mother would probably have died the day she learned of her husbands fate had she not been put on a breathing tube. Well before she took ill her mother had signed a health directive saying that in the event of an emergency she did not want to be resuscitated, her daughter said, but it was on file at a different hospital. When hospital aides found her passed out on the floor, doctors inserted the tube to keep her alive. But Mrs. Pabatao resisted, trying so often to remove the tube that she had to be sedated. She said, I cant breathe, I cant do this anymore, her daughter said. Ms. Pabatao and her four siblings were then faced with an excruciating choice whether to honor their mothers directive and ask the doctors to remove the tube, or to keep her alive against her wishes. They decided not to remove it. My dad had just passed away that morning, Ms. Pabatao said. We wanted her to fight. But she wanted to be with him. Dr. Dilip Jeste, a geriatric psychiatrist at the University of California, San Diego, said in an interview that long-term partners dying within a short time of each other is a long-observed phenomenon, but one that remains poorly understood. Help India! By Musheera Ashraf, TwoCircles.net Saharanpur: On April 26, videos of people at a COVID-19 quarantine centre in Agra being forced to crowd near the gate to receive essential supplies went viral forcing the senior officials to probe the matter. The district magistrate had ensured that the order has been issued and all is fine. Support TwoCircles At another quarantine centre up north in Saharanpur some 380 kilometres away from Agra, COVID-19 suspected patients are complaining of lack of facilities. TwoCircles.net spoke to students who had been quarantined at the Centre. The students, who wished to remain anonymous, said that they are facing difficulties at the center. There were 4 toilets for around 150-200 people in the quarantine centre at Hari International Academy in Gagalheri area of Saharanpur. If anyone had to take bath then we had to sit under a tap which is near the sink, a 25-year-old student said. The student said he was taken to the quarantine centre despite being at home after the lockdown started. We were caged in a hall behind a door that was hardly 7 feet in height. We were not allowed to come outside the door which was locked and only opened to serve us food, he said. According to the people who have been quarantined the situation at the centre was not good and they blame the carelessness of the government in failing to cater to the basic hygiene and needs of the people. The quarantined persons complain of poor food, sanitation and lack of physical distancing. No one wanted to talk to us and we were being treated as untouchables, in spite of our request to check the living condition inside the hall the police officials who came for inspection never bothered to enter the hall, says Rehan who was quarantined at two centres. He said the condition at the quarantine centre at Saraswati Vihar School, Saharanpur was quite good as compared to the other quarantine centres where he was kept afterwards. After being tested negative for COVID-19 he was shifted to another centre to complete his quarantine period. The officials never allowed the family of the quarantined people to bring something from home and the food quality at the centre was also bad, Rehan says. Women whose children were quarantined with them would ask the officials if they could allow biscuits or milk powder from their home, but the officials would deny it, TwoCircles.net has learnt. Even the mosquito net was denied to be sent inside, says Rehan. The quarantined persons told TwoCircles.net that the workers at the centre would also run away from them and they were made to feel like untouchables. Another person Junaid who was quarantined at IIT Roorkee Campus in Sheikhpora says the arrangements there were quite good, but it only lasted briefly as they were shifted. After our reports came negative, we were shifted to Dreams College in Saharanpur, where we faced the problem regarding food quality, he told TwoCircles.net. According to the data released by Health Ministry of India, there are 2998 confirmed corona cases in Uttar Pradesh out of which 1130 have recovered and 60 have died due to the disease. In responding to the pandemic, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asked officials to keep the quarantine centres, shelter homes and community kitchens ready for 10 lakh people as the state prepares for the return of migrant workers stranded in different states in India due to the coronavirus lockdown. Rehan says that it was the Pradhan from a nearby village who would bring dates and fruits to them. This was a blessing for us inside the cage, he says adding, After our continuous complaints, the quality of food was not enhanced but they assured that they will surely help us out with the food problem in Ramadan. Masood Akhtar, the Congress MLA from Saharanpur constituency told TwoCircles.net that they have been regularly trying to weed out the problem by talking to authorities. It is the carelessness of the government that people are still facing such problems and the government should take necessary steps to resolve such matters, he said. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 7, 2020) - Entheon Biomedical Corp. ("Entheon" or the "Company") announces that it intends to complete a private placement of up to 10,000,000 units (the "Units") at a price of $0.40 CDN per Unit for total gross proceeds of up to Cdn$4,000,000. Each Unit will consist of one common share and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant (a "Warrant") will entitle the holder to purchase one common share at a price of $0.60 for two years from the closing date, subject to accelerated expiry. If the volume weighted average trading price of the Company's common shares on any stock exchange on which the Company's common shares are then listed, is at a price equal to or greater than Cdn$1.00 for a period of ten (10) consecutive trading days, the Company will have the right to accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants by giving written notice to the holders of the Warrants that the Warrants will expire on the date that is not less than 30 days from the date notice is provided by the Company to the Warrant holders. In connection with the private placement, the Company may pay finder's fees in cash or securities or a combination of both. Proceeds of funds raised will go directly to advancing Entheon's drug program, and facilitate the completion of the following scientific/regulatory milestones: Literature, Experts & Submission IV Product, Stability Testing & Delivery Method Proof-of-Concept Study Meeting with Dutch Regulators Preclinical Phase 2b and Phase 3 studies Preclinical Animal Testing Pilot Study Phase 1/2a nicotine addiction Excited about Entheon's future, CEO Timothy Ko affirms: "Entheon Biomedical has made tremendous strides over the last year defining our path towards the development of psychedelic medicines. We have assembled a world class team of scientists and advisors that are second to none. While we are well capitalized to date, the Company is set to embark on the next phase of growth. In order to accomplish this, we are seeking to raise enough capital to advance discussions with GMP drug material providers and CROs in order to solidify all elements necessary to carry out our Phase 1 and 2a next year." Story continues "We are also in preliminary discussions with a Palo Alto based artificial intelligence company, about developing a home-based and hospital-based AI protocol. This would allow Entheon Biomedical to create AI driven psychedelic assisted therapies, that includes facial recognition and mood analysis software. This would greatly enhance the success of the treatments, while decreasing the cost and making the treatments more accessible to the public. We look forward to a very active 2020," he continued. Who we are Entheon Biomedical is a psychedelic R&D company investing in research and an intensive drug discovery program with the aim to commercialize a portfolio of psychedelic therapies specifically designed for the treatment of addictive disorders. Psychedelics have a long history in the treatment of addictive disorders, and we are all very excited to be working alongside a growing community of scientists and medical professionals to dispel and overcome the many misconceptions with respect to the clinical use of psychedelics. Current scientific trials, combined with the wisdom of indigenous societies, and psychedelic research of the past, all point to a growing wealth of evidence legitimizing psychedelic substances as a medical and healing tool that has the potential to revolutionize the mental health sciences. Entheon Biomedical is developing therapeutic formulations of psychedelic molecules that are designed to create different experiences in ways that will facilitate the healing process needed to resolve the underlying issues of addiction. Why we exist As evidenced by increasing rates of overdose deaths, societies all over the world have found themselves ill-equipped and overburdened in managing and mitigating the growing addiction crisis. More solutions are required to support and improve existing recovery methods, in order to develop a treatment model rooted in innovation and contemporary scientific findings. Several of Entheon Biomedical's founders have endured personal experiences with the loss of loved ones due to the absence of suitable treatment options for issues ranging from opiate addiction to treatment resistant depression. From this perspective, the Company's core mission is to investigate, manufacture, and commercialize scientifically valid treatment options to address, ameliorate and treat the addiction crisis that is plaguing many of our very own families and the modern world at large. "Entheon Biomedical believes that people suffering from life-inhibiting addiction disorders should have access to all scientifically-validated treatment protocols, and is committed to the development and commercialization of psychedelics that are FDA, EMA and Health Canada approved medicines designed to address the mounting public crisis of addiction and substance-related disorders," Mr. Ko stated. Social Responsibility Entheon Biomedical seeks to put aside a portion of funds it raises, and profits from its future operations, toward the preservation of the Amazon and the wisdom keepers of the region, so that they may continue their important traditions of medicine and healing. TEAM Timothy Ko Chief Executive Officer Timothy Ko has a broad background of leading private ventures in the service sector, investor relations, retail and technology. Most recently, he served as Director of Hyperbridge Technology, a company focused on the development of decentralized technologies that facilitate crowdfunding. Mr. Ko's passion for the psychedelic space and its potential for therapeutic use is shaped by firsthand knowledge of the shortcomings of the current mental health system and through his exposure to psychedelics, which he credits with saving his life. Following the loss of a loved one to a decades' long fight with mental health and addictions, and through his personal experiences, Mr. Ko has committed himself to developing and providing further access to the lifesaving potential of psychedelic medicines. Professor Matthew W. Johnson, Ph.D. Scientific Advisor Matthew Johnson is a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins, and an expert on psychoactive drugs and addiction. He is one of the world's most widely published scientists on the human effects of psychedelics. Prof. Johnson earned his Ph.D. in experimental psychology at the University of Vermont in 2004, and has published over 110 peer-reviewed articles. Working with psychedelics for 16 years, he published psychedelic safety guidelines in 2008, helping to resurrect psychedelic research. Prof. Johnson was the 2019 President of the Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse Division of the American Psychological Association, and is the current President of the International Society for Research on Psychedelics. He has received continuous funding as a principal investigator for over 12 years. Prof. Johnson has reviewed for over 75 scientific journals, and reviewed grants for the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, the United States Military, and multiple governments outside of the United States and has presented his research in 13 nations. He has been interviewed widely by media including 60 Minutes, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, BBC, CNN, NPR, and Fox Business News. Prof. Johnson and his research were featured in Michael Pollan's recent best-selling book, "How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence". Robin Carhart-Harris, Ph.D. Scientific Advisor Robin Carhart-Harris Heads the Psychedelic Research Group within the Centre for Psychiatry at Imperial College, London, where he has designed a number of functional brain imaging studies with psilocybin (magic mushrooms), LSD, MDMA (ecstasy) and DMT (ayahuasca), plus a clinical trial of psilocybin targeting treatment resistant depression. He has over 50 published papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals; two of which were ranked in the top 100 most impactful academic articles of 2016. Dr Carhart-Harris obtained his PhD in Psychopharmacology from the University of Bristol, and prior to that, an MA in Psychoanalysis at Brunel University. He has an honorary position at the University of Oxford. Dr. Dennis McKenna Scientific Advisor Dennis McKenna is an American ethnopharmacologist, research pharmacognosist, lecturer and author. He is the brother of well-known psychedelics proponent Terence McKenna and is a founding board member and the director of ethnopharmacology at the Heffter Research Institute. As advisor to Entheon, he brings with him decades of research and insight. Christopher Timmermann, PhD. Candidate, Scientific Advisor Christopher Timmermann is a psychologist educated at the Catholic University of Chile with a Masters in Neuroscience and Neuropsychological Therapy from the University of Bologna. He is a PhD Candidate at the Centre for Psychedelic Research / Psychedelic Research Group, based at The Computational, Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Laboratory (C3NL). His research focuses on the effects of DMT in the human brain. Andrew Hegle, Ph.D. Director of Operations Dr. Andrew Hegle has been an adjunct professor of Pharmacology at the University of British Columbia since 2015. He has a background in molecular biology and biochemistry and has published research investigating the role of membrane receptor proteins in physiology, behavior and disease. Andrew's main professional focus has been in the creation and management of laboratory operations. To that end, Andrew has held executive and operational management positions at several biotechnology companies, and was a cofounder of both Cannevert Therapeutics and Canalytic Laboratories in Vancouver. Dr Hegle has a long-held interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelic medicine and is delighted to commit himself to furthering this field. Christopher Gondi, Ph.D. Chief Science Officer Dr. Christopher Gondi is a Research Assistant Professor - Departments of Medicine, Surgery and Pathology at the University of Illinois, College of Medicine, Peoria. He is a professor of cancer biology and has extensive experience dealing with brain tumors and pancreatic cancer, for which the survival rates are very low. Knowing firsthand the difficulty many face as they approach the end of their lives, Dr. Gondi seeks to explore the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics in helping patients reconcile their views and prepare for whatever exists beyond life. He also sees the transformative potential of these drugs in positively affecting the lives of those suffering from substance use disorders. Yaron Eshel Project Manager Yaron Eshel has 15 years of experience in Life Sciences innovation. Having led efforts in product development, regulatory compliance, and operations, Mr. Eshel has worked within start-ups as well as having consulted for them. He has navigated the US, European, Israeli and Australian regulatory agencies including the registration of manufacturing facilities in the US, Central America, Israel and Australia to Good Manufacturing Practice levels. Mr. Eshel has led clinical trials in the US, Europe and Israel as well as worked with CRO's all over the world. Kenneth W. Tupper, Ph.D. Advisor of Ethics Kenneth W. Tupper served as an Adjunct Professor in the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia, and has been active in the field of psychedelic studies for more than fourteen years. Having completed an M.A. thesis and Ph.D. dissertation that developed the concept of "entheogenic education," a theoretical frame for understanding the kinds of learning that can be realized through the circumspect uses of psychedelics as cognitive tools. His other research interests include the cross-cultural and historical uses of psychoactive substances; public, professional and school-based drug education; and creating healthy public policy to maximize benefits and minimize harms from currently illegal drugs. Mr. Tupper is also currently a member of the Clinical & Scientific Advisory Board of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies - Canada (MAPS-Canada) and the Advisory Board of the Wasiwaska Research Centre in Brazil. Dr. Michael Walker Scientific Advisor Dr. Walker received his pharmacology training at the University of London which included a period of drug discovery training at Pfizer Ltd., (UK). Dr. Walker's main focus has been in the discovery of drugs, both naturally occurring and synthetic, and he has developed an expertise in traversing the path to successful drug discovery. Michael's commitment to the pharmaceutical/pharmacology industry includes 43 years of instruction at UBC and numerous contributions to universities around the world. Over the past 25 years, Dr. Walker was the founder or co-founder of eight different drug discovery companies, both public and private, including Cardiome Pharma (TSX:COM) in Canada and Verona Pharma Ltd. in London. In addition, Dr. Walker has researched and published in numerous journals, periodicals and other publications, while presenting widely at conferences around the world. Dana Nohynek, MSc. Regulatory Consultant Dana Nohynek is the director of regulatory affairs and quality assurance at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. She holds a BSc (Honors) from the University of Waterloo (1998), a MSc from the University of Toronto (2000) and a RAC certification (2006) granted by the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS). She has over 10 years of industry experience that includes the development of regulatory strategies throughout various phases of clinical investigation, extensive interactions with regulatory authorities, preparation and submission of applications to health agencies in Canada, the United States and Europe. In addition, Ms. Nohynek has implemented quality systems, developed internal training programs and participated in agency audits. She has worked for small to mid-size biotech and medical device companies as well as with large pharma. She is an executive member of RAPS's Southern BC chapter. Evelina Rubinchik, Ph.D. Preclinical Regulatory Consultant Evelina Rubinchik has over 25 years of industry and academic experience in drug development. She specializes in the creation of product development plans and liaises with the relevant regulatory authorities to ensure the acceptability of the plans. Throughout her career she has designed multiple pharmacokinetic studies, as well as spearheading pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analyses. Ms. Rubinchik started her own successful consulting practice in 2009, focusing on nonclinical toxicology and pharmacology. She has worked with biotechnology companies in Canada, America and Asia. She holds a B.Sc & M.Sc in Biochemistry and a Ph.D in Pharmacology. BioEnsemble LLC Drug Development & Regulatory Consultants BioEnsemble was established in 2006 and brings to all projects over 30 years of industry experience from leadership in small, medium and large pharmaceutical companies. Bioensemble has extensive experience in general management, business development, commercial strategy, product marketing, life-cycle management, clinical development, manufacturing and fundraising & financing. And has been involved in over 100 healthcare partnering discussions, valuations, due diligence and transactions and has developed and launched more than 20 brand products. If you have a moment, check out some of our recent media coverage: a feature article in Benzinga feature and an interview of CEO, TImothy Ko, by the emerging psychedelic publication DoubleBlind. Thank you for taking the time to familiarize yourself with Entheon Biomedical. Please visit our website at www.entheonbiomedical.com & follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. If you have any questions regarding this placement, or would like more information about the Company, please reach out to Timothy Ko through email or phone: +1 (604) 562-3932. Forward Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbour" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause Entheon Biomedical results to differ materially from expectations. These include risks relating to market fluctuations, property performance and other risks. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Certain statements contained in this press release and in certain documents incorporated by reference into this press release constitute forward-looking statements. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe" and "confident" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Entheon Biomedical believes that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in, or incorporated by reference into, this press release should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Entheon Biomedical undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55516 WASHINGTON Even for a White House that often seeks experts only for affirmation of President Trumps instincts, his acknowledgment on Tuesday that the coronavirus task force would go out of business around Memorial Day seemed like dismantling the wheelhouse while the ship was still in a raging storm. Then when the president reversed himself on Wednesday, he emphasized that he was keeping the task force going because he had discovered that it was popular, not because he needed its policy advice. Its membership might change, he said, presumably to focus more attention on his clear priority of getting the country back to work. All of which raised a question: Does it matter whether the coronavirus task force lives or dies? In ordinary times in Washington, it would matter a lot. It is hardly unusual for presidents to create new structures to navigate a crisis, gathering experts who can distill the work of departments and intelligence agencies and drive the execution of complex plans across a sprawling federal bureaucracy. It is why Harry S. Truman created the National Security Council to navigate Cold War realities in 1947, and why Dwight D. Eisenhower moved the science adviser into the White House a decade later to deal with the space race. Photo: The Canadian Press A union representative greets workers returning to the Cargill beef processing plant in High River, Alta., that was closed for two weeks because of COVID-19 Monday, May 4, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh A moment of silence to honour a worker who died of COVID-19 was held at a southern Alberta meat-packer Wednesday as news broke that the father of another plant employee had also died of the illness. A Cargill employee's father, who was visiting from the Philippines, died after contracting the novel coronavirus and being admitted to hospital, said the union that represents workers at the slaughterhouse near High River. "We join with the community that is supporting the worker right now in expressing our condolences, but we also wish to respect his space as he grieves this terrible loss," said Michael Hughes, a spokesman for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401. Cargill issued a statement. "We know COVID-19 has deeply impacted our community and our plant. Our deepest condolences go out to the family," it said. The memorial was for Hiep Bui, 67, who had worked at the plant for 23 years picking out beef bones from hamburger meat. She is believed to be the only worker infected at the plant, which has 2,000 employees, to die from COVID-19, although 949 cases have been recorded. The plant was shut down April 20 as the contagion spread, but reopened Monday. The union said most employees seem to be going back to work but only because they need the money. "People are under pressure," said Hughes. "We think it's driving a lot of people's decision that they need to get paid." Hughes said the union was receiving messages from some workers unwilling to go back. "We've received messages from people who said, 'I don't have any symptoms and I tested negative, but I'm not going in because I'm afraid for my five-month-old baby and my elderly mother who lives with me,'" he said. "There are people who have notified us that they're making that decision out of fear." At another meat plant with an outbreak, JBS in Brooks, Alta., absenteeism continues to rise, Hughes added. COVID-19 has affected 487 workers there and the company is running just one shift a day largely due to a shortage of workers. "We have ... proactively identified and adopted more than 100 preventive measures at our Brooks facility to ensure a safe working environment for our team members," said JBS Canada spokesman Rob Meijer. "We continue to carefully monitor COVID-19 testing and our risk mitigation on a daily basis, and we will make any future decisions based on the best available data and advice from both our team members and public health officials." In Edmonton, Premier Jason Kenney dismissed an Opposition call for a public inquiry into the Cargill outbreak. "The failures at Cargill are too many to count," said NDP Leader Rachel Notley during question period. "(There were) workers who tested positive ... ordered to come back to work, workers promised extra pay if they didn't call in sick or had their jobs threatened if they did, (and) managers wearing face masks while staff were given nothing. "It's outrageous." Kenney suggested that most outrageous was "the NDP's predictable desire to politicize these deaths ... and the broader crisis facing this province." A Co Tyrone man living in the US who came to journalism as a second career has won a prestigious Pulitzer Prize for reporting. File image posed by model A Co Tyrone man living in the US who came to journalism as a second career has won a prestigious Pulitzer Prize for reporting. Dominic Gates from Dungannon is sharing the 2020 Pulitzer for National Reporting with three colleagues from the Seattle Times for their reporting into crashes involving Boeing's 737 Max jet, which killed 346 people. Mr Gates told the Belfast Telegraph that he started out by writing unpaid articles for Belfast-based current affairs magazine Fortnight. But he said he had no verifiable journalism credentials when he arrived in the US in 1992. However, the Seattle Times had "taken a chance on him". Now Dominic and colleagues Steve Miletich, Mike Baker and Lewis Kamb have helped win the West Coast newspaper its 11th Pulitzer, and its third for covering aerospace giant Boeing, based in the city. The winning coverage included a report by Mr Gates in March 2019 revealing that Boeing had misinformed the Federal Aviation Administration and airlines about features of the plane's automated flight control system, which caused the crashes. The Seattle Times said its report "showed how a dysfunctional regulatory process allowed a flawed design to be approved while the FAA increasingly delegated responsibility for safety assessments to the manufacturer". Stories written by the team also examined the human toll of the crashes. Mr Gates told the Belfast Telegraph that he had arrived in the US in 1992 aged 37 with wife Nina Shapiro and an ambition to make it as a journalist. "I had to freelance for years, while subbing in the public schools, to compile enough clips that would serve as my credentials. My first real journalism job was an 18 month stint with a techie business magazine that went out of business when the DotCom bubble burst in 2001. "Then the Seattle Times took a chance and hired me in 2003. It's my first and only newspaper job." Mr Gates, whose siblings Paula and Patrick still live in Co Tyrone, is a past pupil of St Patrick's Academy in Dungannon. He became a teacher after graduating in maths from Queen's University, teaching maths in St Gemma's High School Ardoyne and St Mary's Grammar in Magherafelt. Mr Gates then moved to Zimbabwe where he met Nina before moving back to her US home. Nina is also a Seattle Times reporter. Migrants seeking to leave Maharashtra for their home states will no longer need to procure individual medical certificates, as per an order issued by the state government on Thursday. Migrant workers seeking to leave Maharashtra for their home states will no longer need to procure individual medical certificates, according to an order issued by the state government on Thursday. The relief comes two days after an Firstpost reported on the difficulties that migrant labourers have been facing in procuring these certificates. The order, signed by chief secretary Ajoy Mehta, states, "A single list of all passengers indicating that they have been screened and not found to be displaying any influenza-like illness (ILI) be issued by the medical person in-charge. There will be no need for individual certificates and a certification of passengers manifest shall suffice." Further, the order stated that migrants who want to leave for their home states "should be screened at the time of starting of journey, by use of digital thermometer and symptomatic examination. This be done free of cost through medical officers of government/municipal corporation or by hiring the services of registered medical practitioners by the municipal corporations." The Union home ministry, in order dated 29 April, allowed the movement of migrant workers back to their home states from 4 May. However, the guidelines stated that all those wishing to travel should be screened and only those found asymptomatic should be allowed to proceed. Given the large number of migrant labourers desperately waiting to get back to their native states due to the coronavirus lockdown, procuring an individual certificate was a difficult task, Firstpost reported. Near the Kurla railway station, long queues of migrant workers were seen in front of a clinic. After the order was issued on Thursday, the CPM's Maharashtra unit tweeted We appreciate @adv_anilparab ji and @rajeshtope11 ji for doing away with getting medical certificate #MigrantWorkers to travel to their native. This will help de-stress our migrant workers. From now on, the test will be conducted at the time of starting the journey free of cost. https://t.co/LZeBMPoZIv pic.twitter.com/7p6HQghcyX CPIM Maharashtra (@mahacpimspeak) May 7, 2020 Till Thursday, Maharashtra has reported 16,758 cases and 651 deaths due to COVID-19. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 04:24:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close VIENNA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Two Chinese banks operating in Austria donated on Thursday a batch of medical supplies to help the Alpine country fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Bank of China (Austria) donated 100,000 masks and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Austria) donated 38,500 masks and 3,000 test kits for the novel coronavirus to the Austrian Red Cross. China and Austria will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations next year, said Chinese Ambassador to Austria Li Xiaosi at the handover ceremony of the medical supplies. He believed that bilateral ties will become stronger through this common battle against COVID-19. The ambassador emphasized that the donation reflected the sense of social responsibility of Chinese enterprises and proved the solidarity of the two peoples in fighting the virus. Michael Opriesnig, secretary general of the Austrian Red Cross, expressed gratitude to the two Chinese companies for their donations, saying that such medical supplies are currently most urgently needed here. Austria has registered 15,672 coronavirus infections with 609 deaths as of Thursday evening. Of those infected, 360 are hospitalized, and 92 are in intensive care, according to data released by the Health Ministry. Enditem (Photo : Tai S captures on Unsplash) COVID-19 Parties: Health Offcials Found Some People Trying To Be Infected By Coronavirus To Have Immunity (Photo : Neonbrand on Unsplash) COVID-19 Parties: Health Offcials Found Some People Trying To Be Infected By Coronavirus To Have Immunity While communities around the world are in quarantine to prevent the spread of COVID-19, some people believe that by going out and attending social events, they can be infected with the coronavirus and thereby gain immunity. They're doing so by conducting "COVID-19 Parties." According to a New York Times report, at least two of these social events were identified by the authorities in southeast Washington State. The two parties in Washington State are believed to be the first dedicated events that were confirmed by public health officials. According to the news source, the participants in the party were said to deliberately mingling with an infected person hoping to get infected. COVID-19 Parties: Health officials found some people trying to be infected by coronavirus to have immunity According to The New York Times, Meghan Debolt, director of community health for Walla Walla County, said that two parties in the area were found by the county investigators on Wednesday, May 6. Two people who attended the parties who were among the 20 individuals, become sick and tested positive for the coronavirus. Local officials who had already been working to contain the outbreak at a local meat processing facility were surprised at the discovery. "We want to be able to start to reopen our community," said DeBolt in an interview. "But if our community isn't practicing proper physical distancing and social distancing guidelines, and they are intentionally trying to go and contract Covid-19, that sets us back pretty far from being able to open." The belief of the people who are conducting the parties is that they can be immune to the virus by first being infected with it. It was previously reported by the county's health officials that chickenpox parties were held at which parents have previously intended to expose their children who were unvaccinated in the hope of infecting their kids with the virus. Debolt said that the two individuals who became ill after attending one of the COVID-19 parties in the Walla Walla area did not need to be hospitalized since they were young and didn't need urgent medical care. The health investigators confirmed that the two infected young individuals will quickly recover from COVID-19. However, Debolt said that the two people didn't consider they could spread it to those who are more vulnerable with serious health complications which could lead to their death. "They feel really bad now, knowing that they put families and friends and others at risk," she said. Earlier, local health officials identified a major outbreak in a Tyson Foods processing facility in the county. Three deaths were linked to the outbreak. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh said that around 250 policemen from the city have tested positive for coronavirus disease Covid-19 till date. Singh on Thursday visited Sir JJ Marg police station, which has the maximum number of Covid-19 cases in the city. Twenty seven of the Covid-19 policemen are reportedly posted here. Other police stations like Dharavi, Wadala and Vakola are among the worst-hit across 94 police stations in the city. Singh also said that most of the infected policemen are asymptomatic and none of them are in the intensive care. So far, three policemen from Mumbai have died of Covid-19. Till Thursday morning, the Maharashtra Police department recorded 531 cases of Covid-19. This includes 250 cases from Mumbai Police. Out of the 531 cases, about 480 are police constables while rest 51 are officers. About 39 have recovered while total five died of the infection. Meanwhile, 40 more people, including undertrial prisoners and jail officials, inside Mumbais Arthur Road Prison tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday morning. The came a day after Maharashtra Prisons department reported its first Covid-19 case after a 45-year-old man, facing charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Pyschotropic Substance Act, tested positive for the disease. The Arthur Road Prison, which has a capacity to house 800 prisoners, currently has about 2,700 inmates. The tally in Mumbai, the worst hit city in the country by the coronavirus pandemic, crossed 10,000-mark on Thursday. It reported the highest single-day jump of 769 Covid-19 infections on Wednesday, state health department officials said. The total cases recorded in the city are 10,714. The city accounts for 63.93 per cent of the states total infections and 19.20 per cent of nationwide tally. Mumbais civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has made a projection of 75,000 cases by the end of May. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks on the phone in a file photograph. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images) Texas Official Offers to Pay Fine, Serve Jail Sentence for Arrested Salon Owner Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said he intends to pay the $7,000 fine imposed on a salon owner who reopened her business last month in defiance of the statewide lockdown, one of a number of business owners who have reopened in recent weeks. Patrick also said he would serve home confinement if local officials release the woman, Shelley Luther, from prison. Luther reopened Salon a la Mode in Dallas on April 24. She was cited by local police before being brought before a judge on Tuesday. Told she could avoid jail time if she apologized and admitted she was selfish, Luther declined and said she started serving customers again to make money to feed her children. Dallas County Judge Eric Moye sentenced her to seven days in prison and levied the fine. After Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called for Luthers immediate release, Patrick said in a statement that he was covering the $7,000 fine. Salon owner Shelley Luther holds a citation and speaks with a Dallas police officer after she was cited for reopening her Salon A la Mode in Dallas, Texas, on April 24, 2020. (LM Otero/AP Photo) I volunteer to be placed under house arrest so she can go to work and feed her kids, he added. Patrick said Luther should be with her children on Mothers Day, which takes place on Sunday. He also took aim at Moye, the judge. This judge showed no mercy and he showed no compassion, he said during an appearance on Fox News @ Night. Moye could have levied a small fine and a suspended jail sentence, he said. What this judge did was a total disgrace, he said, adding later, If hes a man, hell step up tomorrow or Friday, before Mothers Day and let her out of jail. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, said in a statement that putting people in jail for violating his lockdown order should have been the last available option. Compliance with executive orders during this pandemic is important to ensure public safety; however, surely there are less restrictive means to achieving that goal than jailing a Texas mother, he added. The contraceptive pill is 60 years old. It was on May 9, 1960, that the US Food and Drug Administration approved the drug for use, in what was seen as a significant step forward for women's reproductive rights. It wasn't until a year later that the pill, called Enovid, was made available in the UK through the National Health Service (NHS). The pill has changed the world, but it faced a long and rocky road to become the ubiquitous contraception it is today in both the US and the UK. Although it was approved for use by the FDA in 1960, it took until 1965 for married couples to be given the right to use the pill in the US. This was only available in 24 states, and it took until 1972 for the Supreme Court to make it legal to everyone in the country, no matter their marital status. The pill was available through the NHS from 1961, but it took until 1967 for unmarried women to be given the right to seek contraceptive advice and until 1974 for family planning advice to be formally included as part of the healthcare service. Despite the pill initially giving women sexual freedom and the ability to take control of their reproductive choices, by the 1970s, some women in the US campaigned against it. In 1970, women challenged the safety of the pill in publicised congressional hearings and argued that it was patriarchal for them to be responsible for contraception. The consequence of their campaign was that the pill was made safer, and information around side effects was made more readily available. Despite these changes, they were unable to sway movement on an oral male contraceptive, and although the invention is often mooted, an alternative for men is still yet to exist. Today, the pill is the most popular contraceptive today in both the US and UK, and four out of five sexually active women have used it in the former, according to the Guttmacher Institute. In the UK, it has been reported that 3.1m women use the pill and that nine out of ten women are prescribed it when they talk about contraception with their doctor. Contraceptive choices have become broader in both countries in the years since. Read on to see how the UK and US differ. Cost of the pill In the UK, the pill has always been easier to access, as it has been available for free through the NHS since it was first introduced in 1961. It is free of charge with the service and women are often prescribed the pill instead of alternatives, as it can work as both a temporary and long term contraceptive. For Americans, accessing the pill can be harder, and the American Pregnancy Association estimates that women pay between $20 (16) and $800 (646) a year on the contraceptive, depending on their insurance and healthcare plans. Recommended How contraception shortages are affecting women in the UK Due to The Affordable Care Act, contraception is free for a majority of American women with insurance, as the bill stipulated that most insurance plans must cover the cost of contraceptives. However, if someone does not have medical insurance, they will have to pay for the cost of the pill and the cost of a visit to a doctor to get it prescribed. On their website, Planned Parenthood says that a one month pack of the pill can cost up to $50 (40), while the visit to the doctor can cost between $35 (28) and $250 (201). For many women in the US who do not have insurance, this makes the pill unaffordable and restricts access to those who are unable to afford it. Restrictions to the pill There are very few restrictions for women in the UK when it comes to accessing the contraceptive pill, as they are able to be prescribed it even if they are under the age of 16. If someone is under the age of 16, then the NHS GP has to decide if they are mature enough to understand the decision involved before prescribing the contraceptive. In some circumstances the doctor will tell the parents, but this is very rare and is in exceptional circumstances. If they believe theres a risk to your safety and welfare, they may decide to tell your parents, the NHS guidelines read. The risk would need to be serious, and theyd usually discuss this with you first. In the US, access varies by state to state, but for a majority of places in the country, those under the age of 18 are able to purchase birth control without the permission from a parent, according to the Guttmacher Institute. In total, 27 states allow those under the age of 18 to consent to contraceptive healthcare, without permission from a parent, including Alaska, California and Georgia. Three states, including Alabama, Hawaii and Pennsylvania allow girls from the age of 14 to consent to contraceptive care. In some states, including Montana, Minnesota and Kentucky, people under the age of 18 are able to get contraceptives, but physicians are able to inform their parents. However, in Rhode Island, Ohio, North Dakota and Wisconsin, women need to be at least 18-years-old to consent to contraceptive services. The Goa government has cleared the transfer of 10 lakh square metre of land for setting up the IIT campus in North Goa's Sattari taluka. Speaking to reporters, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said a small function was held in Panaji on Wednesday to officially transfer 10 lakh square metre of land at Guleli village in Sattari for setting up the IIT campus. IIT-Goa is currently functioning from the campus of Goa Engineering College at Farmagudi in North Goa. Taking to Twitter, state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, in whose Assembly constituency the campus will be built, thanked the Chief Minister for sanctioning the transfer of land. The IIT campus, which can house at least 5,000 people, will help boost the economy of Sattari and surrounding areas, Rane tweeted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Power stocks were trading in red, with the S&P BSE Power index decreasing 29.64 points or 2.01% at 1445.84 at 13:53 IST. Among the components of the S&P BSE Power index, K E C International Ltd (down 3.82%), NTPC Ltd (down 3.54%),Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd (down 2.76%),Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (down 2.11%),Adani Transmission Ltd (down 1.97%), were the top losers. Among the other losers were Torrent Power Ltd (down 1.51%), Thermax Ltd (down 1.24%), and NHPC Ltd (down 0.49%). On the other hand, Tata Power Company Ltd (up 0.69%), Siemens Ltd (up 0.57%), and CESC Ltd (up 0.37%) turned up. At 13:53 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 277.27 or 0.88% at 31408.48. The Nifty 50 index was down 73.75 points or 0.8% at 9197.15. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 8.69 points or 0.08% at 10692.62. The S&P BSE 150 Midcap Index index was down 9.84 points or 0.26% at 3771.57. On BSE,1025 shares were trading in green, 1111 were trading in red and 155 were unchanged. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) CLEVELAND, Ohio A Cuyahoga County common pleas judge has ordered Clevelands Civil Service Commission to investigate allegations by the citys fire union that Fire Chief Angelo Calvillo should be fired for violating terms in the citys charter. Judge William McGinty said the commission is legally obligated to investigate the allegation that the chief engaged in illegal political activity by circulating candidate nominating petitions for Mayor Frank Jacksons re-election in 2017. McGinty ordered that the commission conduct an investigatory hearing no later than Aug. 4 to determine if action against the chief is needed. Jacksons administration did not have an immediate comment. Fire Lt. Francis Lally Jr., the unions president, and the fire union, Local 93 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, sued Cleveland last August after the citys law director declined to pursue a court order to force the Civil Service Commission to act against the chief. The union contends that Calvillo, under terms of the citys charter, should be fired. Certain political activity is barred for civil service employees under the charter, which provides for fines or jail time for violations. The charter also states that employees who violate the rules should be fired. A companion case filed in Cleveland Municipal Court seeking criminal prosecution of Calvillo was dismissed last November, when a special prosecutor said he would not pursue charges. The city has argued that under other civil service rules, Calvillos activity was allowed. In his order Tuesday, McGinty acknowledged a clash between the rules, but also noted that civil service rules could not trump the charter, and that the commission had a duty to investigate the complaints. The civil service commission failed to perform its duty, McGinty wrote. Cleveland Civil Service Commission has a duty to comply with and enforce the civil service rules. The commission is under a clear legal duty to investigate the political activity charge and conduct a hearing to determine whether Chief Angelo Calvillo engaged in illegal political activity. A day after 26 personnel from JJ Marg police station near Mohammad Ali Road were tested positive for coronavirus, Mumbai Police commissioner Parambir Singh on Thursday visited the police station to boost the morale of the personnel. On Wednesday, 60 personnel from JJ Marg police station were also quarantined, making it one of the worst-affected police stations in the city. My fellow mates at JJ Marg police station, after the Covid-19 cases were reported, there was a sense of panic among the public, I have been informed. I have faith that the morale in the police department is high. Mumbai Police has fought many battles before this which you all are aware of. Whether it was the fight against the underworld or the 26/11 terror attack, we fought with all our might. We suffered casualties, but emerged victorious each time. This is a similar war where the enemy cannot be seen but, we have to fight and along with the public, we will win this war. With team work and our efforts, we will overcome this unseen enemy, Singh said. Until Thursday, around 250 Mumbai Police personnel were tested positive for Covid-19, said Singh. From the Maharashtra Police, 531 personnel were tested positive for coronavirus, of which five died, 487 are treated and 39 recovered. 166 try leaving city, 4 booked RAK Marg police booked four people for allegedly attempting to transport 166 daily wage labourers to their native town in Uttar Pradesh in the early hours of Thursday. The workers claimed that they applied for police permission, but as no trains or buses were made available by the authorities, they decided to leave on their own in trucks. However, a police team stopped the three trucks during a check near Nyaneshwar Nagar. We have booked the truck drivers Tabrez Suleman, 25; Wasim Chaudhary, 50, and Dharmendra Harijan, 32 and a cleaner, Saifuddin Khan, 25, said Sunil Sohani, senior inspector, RAK Marg police station. All the workers were sent back to their respective accommodations in Mumbai. Meanwhile, the Santacruz police on Wednesday night stopped two cars and nabbed six people on Juhu Road which were trying to leave the city without e-passes. One of the cars was heading to Telangana, while the other to Gujarat, said Shriram Koregaonkar, senior inspector, Santacruz police station. 54 FIRs on Wednesday for lockdown violations Mumbai Police lodged 54 FIRs on Wednesday against 80 people and arrested 41 for lockdown violations. The maximum number of FIRs (22) was filed in central region, followed by 17 in west region both of which are the worst-hit by Covid-19. A majority of cases (20) were filed for gathering at one place, followed by 14 FIRs for not wearing masks, seven each against keeping hotels open and illegal use of vehicles, while five against shops for operating despite selling non-essential commodities. Jeweller booked for opening shop Santacruz police booked a jeweller for allegedly keeping his shop open. On May 6 while patrolling, our personnel found Shree Nivas Jewellery shop open on the pretext of cleaning it and booked Ganesh Padmnabhan, 37, who was running it, said a police officer. Wine shop manager booked Mahim police booked a wine shop manager for allegedly violating the excise department directive of not permitting more than five customers outside the shop. Around 100 people gathered outside the shop of Ram Gupta, located near the station on Tuesday around 10am. Liquor worth 2.9-lakh seized Vanrai police seized illegally stored liquor worth 2.96 lakh from a slum behind Udyog Bhavan in Goregaon (East) on Wednesday. We learnt that the liquor was being sold illegally during the lockdown. We have arrested the accused, said Gitendra Bhawsar of Vanrai police station. Dumper rams into man A dumper driver, Zabir Shaikh, 32, was arrested for allegedly crashing into a fabricator on May 3. The victim Zishan Khan, 56, suffered severe injuries to both his legs. An officer said, A temporary hospital for Covid patients is been constructed in Bandra and the victim was working at the project site as a labourer. Around 4pm, when he was resting under a tree, Shaikh was taking a reverse, when he accidentally drove over the victims legs. Khans elder son Imran said, My fathers legs are damaged badly. He is undergoing treatment at Shiv Hospital, Govandi. My father is the only breadwinner of his house and we have no money for his treatment. (Inputs from Faisal Tandel and Suraj Ojha) SHEET HARBOUR, N.S.Three days prior to the liberation of the Netherlands by Canadian troops, Frederick Hutchinson Behie of the West Nova Scotia Regiment was killed in Nijkerk on May 2, 1945. He was the only Canadian killed in Nijkerk. Seventy-five years later, Behies nephew, Harold Keith Conrod, stands in front of Canada Post holding a parcel addressed to the Netherlands. We were supposed to be flying to Holland, as we speak, but due to COVID-19, the trip is cancelled. Conrod and his wife were travelling to the Netherlands to pay respects to the fallen. My uncle Freddie is buried in the largest Canadian cemetery, Groesbeek Cemetery, Holland. Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery is near the city of Nijmegen and holds the graves of 2,300 Canadians. On May 5, 1945, the commander of the 1st Canadian Corps, Gen. Charles Foulkes, accepted the surrender of the Germans in the Netherlands. This May 5 marked the 75th year celebration of Liberation Day. Every year since, in a moving experience for all who participate, approximately a thousand people in surrounding villages meet an hour away and walk a silent pilgrimage into Groesbeek to remember and honour the fallen. They have never forgotten the Canadians who liberated their country from the Nazis who were starving them to death during the winter of 1945. The first thing they start with is O Canada, Conrod explains in an email interview with the Journal. There will be speeches, prayers, poems and remembrance as they express how eternally grateful they are. The Conrods had plans to stay with friends in Nijkerk and experience the remembrance of the historic occasion in person. Unable to go, I am sending Canadian memorabilia in this parcel. We have included Canadian flag pins, key chains, magnets, bags, flags and a few hats, Conrod says. These will be handed out to kids and others as a thank you for looking after our Canadian war dead buried there. The villagers look after the cemeteries and place flowers in profound gratitude to the fallen Canadian soldiers. The flowers are placed often, not just once a year. We, in turn, thank them for placing the flowers and remembering our fallen. This is our way of continuing to pay it forward. Conrods uncle, Freddie, was 26 years old when he was killed. Born in Sheet Harbour to Anderson and Rebecca Behie in 1919, he had enlisted at 23, left his Nova Scotia home, and was never to return. Neither parents ever visited his grave, but Conrod was given the opportunity two years ago by chance. Conrods wife, Raina, a volunteer for the Sheet Harbour Heritage Society, came across an email from Jaap and Yfke Vermeer of the Netherlands inquiring about Behie. They proved to be two, among many, who visit and care for the graves of the Canadian liberators of their homeland. The Vermeers were requesting a photograph of Behie to be framed and placed on his grave. In Holland, they are not graves ... not headstones ... they are people, Conrod explains. The schoolchildren learn from a young age about the war, the hunger, the Canadians and the liberation. The photographs on every grave makes them human and gives a face to the name. Recognizing the name of her husbands uncle, the couple responded and forwarded the photograph onto the Netherlands. A friendship was struck and in 2018, the Conrods spent eight days visiting the Vermeer family who care for Behies grave in Nijkerk. They had hoped, before the COVID-19 pandemic, to do the same this week to mark the significant 75th anniversary. For now, Conrod relies on memory. The highlight, certainly for me, was the visit to the cemetery. It was a very emotional experience that I wont soon forget. Philip Manshaus is accused of terror and murder after a failed shooting spree at a mosque and killing his stepsister. A Norwegian man accused of carrying out a shooting at a mosque near Oslo in August and murdering his stepsister denied guilt on both counts as his trial opened in Norway. Prosecutor Johan Overberg read out the charges separately on Thursday. When asked by the judge how he pleaded on each count, Philip Manshaus said he did not admit guilt. The 22-year-old made an OK gesture, an expression of white supremacy, with his hand before taking his seat. The proceedings were broadcast via video link due to the coronavirus pandemic. Overberg said Manshaus shot his 17-year-old stepsister Johanne Zhangjia Ihle-Hansen, who was adopted from China, four times. Her body was found at his home in Baerum, west of Oslo on August 10, the same day as the mosque attack. No one was shot or seriously injured at the al-Noor Islamic Centre mosque, where Manshaus, who had arrived at the place of worship with several weapons, was overpowered after a struggle with two members of the mosque. However, he was able to fire six shots and injured one elderly worshipper. Police have concluded that he acted alone. Before the attack, al-Noor Islamic Centre implemented extra security measures following the massacre of more than 50 people at two New Zealand mosques in Christchurch by a self-declared white supremacist. Norway was the scene of one of the worst-ever attacks by supporters of the far right in July 2011, when 77 people were killed by Anders Behring Breivik. Breivik said he was motivated by his hatred of multiculturalism, and detonated a massive bomb after which he opened fire on a gathering of the Labour Partys youth wing on the island of Utoya. By Express News Service GUWAHATI: The Border Security Force (BSF) stares at a manpower vacuum in Tripuras Dhalai district following the spike in COVID-19 cases. As many as 62 people, including 54 BSF personnel, wives of two personnel, their five children, and a mess worker of the 138 battalion, had tested positive over the past five days. Official sources declared the battalion headquarters, its administrative base camp at Gandachara, and Karina border outpost as containment zones. The 138 battalion headquarters has a strength of 700-800 people including the family members of a section of personnel. Around 200-300 people were being quarantined. The BSFs 86 battalion headquarters is also located at the same complex. BSF sources said as of now, there was no manpower crisis. After the Karina border outpost along India-Bangladesh was declared a containment zone, BSF personnel from the adjoining outposts were taking care of that stretch of the border, BSF sources said. I agree we will have a vacuum if cases are reported from the border outposts. We have to fill those as we cannot leave the border open. The 168 battalion guards the border in eastern Tripura. There are hills there. Also, movement (of Bangladeshis) is less compared to the porous border in western Tripura, a senior BSF official told this newspaper. According to him, the chances of infection are always high in the defence forces and the police as the troops live together and eat together in barracks. This is one reason why jawans after jawans got infected in Delhi, the official added. The Centre had on Monday declared Ambassa, the district headquarters of Dhalai, as Red Zone after the cases were detected from the BSF battalion headquarters. The infected jawans were undergoing treatment at the GB Pant Medical College and Hospital in Agartala. The states first two patients were a woman and a jawan of Tripura State Rifles. Both have already recovered. There has been growing speculation in recent weeks that temperature checks for air travelers could be the next big thing in airlines efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus, and a leading North American carrier has just taken the first step in that direction. Air Canada said this week that by May 15, it will become the first airline in the Western Hemisphere to require all passengers to undergo non-invasive infrared temperature checks at the airport before departure. Last month, Air Canada was the first big North American carrier to mandate face masks for passengers, a policy that was quickly adopted by U.S. airlines. According to Bloomberg News, the U.S. trade group Airlines for America has quietly started preliminary talks with the Transportation Security Administration about the possibility of TSA agents conducting temperature checks on passengers at airport checkpoints. An elevated body temperature is one of the initial symptoms of COVID-19. The practice is already in place at some Asian airports. Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said during a CBS interview this week that his company is urging the TSA ... to begin temperature scans as part of the screening process at the checkpoints. The agency has not yet said whether it is inclined to impose mandatory temperature checks. TSA has greatly reduced its ranks at the nations airports as passenger numbers have plummeted, and more than 500 TSA employees have contracted the virus. One U.S. airport Paine Field in Everett, Wash., north of Seattle recently installed thermal cameras just outside the TSA checkpoint to measure passengers temperature levels. Passengers flagged as having a temperature will be offered secondary screening and if a fever is confirmed, the passenger and the airline will determine their ability to travel, said Propeller Airports, the operator of the facility. Air Canada said that when it starts temperature checks this month, Customers who are deemed unfit to travel will be rebooked at no cost but be required to obtain medical clearance prior to travel. It noted that the Canadian government already requires all air travelers to fill out a health questionnaire to determine their fitness to fly. The Good Newsletter: A weekly dose of inspiring San Antonio stories, delivered to your inbox U.S. airlines are understandably concerned about getting fearful travelers back into their planes, and the deployment of a very visible effort like individual temperature checks is seen as a way to reassure them about personal safety. But some observers question whether widespread temperature checks can be an effective deterrent of virus spread or would simply amount to a public-relations effort to reassure travelers. According to a recent article in Science Magazine (a publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science), Exit and entry screening may look reassuring, but experience with other diseases shows its exceedingly rare for screeners to detect infected passengers. The article noted: There are many ways infected people can slip through the net. Thermal scanners and handheld thermometers arent perfect. The biggest shortcoming is that they measure skin temperature, which can be higher or lower than core body temperature, the key metric for fevers. The devices produce false positives as well as false negatives, according to the EU Health Programme. It also said that travelers who feel feverish can bring down their temperature simply by taking an over-the-counter medication like Tylenol. Other critics have pointed out that early COVID-19 infections can be asymptomatic, so that a traveler could be carrying the virus without a detectable fever and could transmit it to others. mySA participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on May 7, discussing arms control, oil prices, and the global coronavirus pandemic, according to the White House and the Kremlin. The presidents also discussed the upcoming 75th anniversary of the Allied defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The Kremlin said in a statement that the two leaders emphasized the historic significance of the World War II alliance between our peoples that allowed [us] to defeat the common enemy. The White House reported that Trump reaffirmed that the United States is committed to effective arms control that includes not only Russia, but also China. The only remaining bilateral nuclear-arms agreement still in force is the 2010 New START treaty. The agreement limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers. It also includes rigorous on-site inspection provisions. But it is set to expire in February 2021 unless the two sides agree to extend it by five more years. Russia has agreed to an extension, but the Trump administration has called for a new treaty that would include China. Beijing has said China is not interested in participating in such talks. The two presidents also reportedly discussed efforts to further stabilize oil prices, which have plummeted as global consumption was sharply reduced because of measures taken to combat the spread of the coronavirus. The White House statement said that Trump informed Putin that the United States is working hard to care for Americans at home in response to the pandemic and is also ready to provide assistance to any country in need, including Russia. It was not reported whether Putin asked for any assistance. As of May 7, Russia had officially reported 177,160 cases of coronavirus infection and 1,625 fatalities. The United States has reported 1.27 million infection cases and 75,587 deaths. With reporting by AP, Reuters, and Interfax Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. New Delhi: Markets ended in the negative zone on Thursday as poor macroeconomic data weighed investors sentiments. The BSE Sensex ended lower by 242.37 points or 0.76 percent at 31,443.38. On the other hand the NSE Nifty fell by 71.85 points or 0.78 percent to 9,199.05. Major losers in the Sensex pack were ONGC, NTPC, Kotak Bank, Bharti Airtel, Titan, Bajaj Auto, Powergrid, Ultrachem, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Maruti and L&T, falling by over 4.54 per cent. Only five Sensex constituents finished in the green -- IndusInd Bank, M&M, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank and Tech Mahindra, rising up to 6.58 per cent. Sectorally, BSE power, utilities, consumer durables, telecom, capital goods, FMCG and finance indices shed up to 2.47 per cent, while the energy index closed with gains. In the previous session, the BSE barometer closed 232.24 points or 0.74 per cent higher at 31,685.75, the broader Nifty rose 65.30 points, or 0.71 per cent, to finish at 9,270.90. Foreign portfolio investors were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday, as they offloaded equity shares worth Rs 493.68 crore, according to provisional exchange data. Finn Gomez has a lot going for him. At 17 years old, he showcases his trumpet-playing skill set in a number of different musical groups, while also serving as a role model to teens with hearing disabilities. Gomez was born with such deficiencies himself. All of this before he even finishes his junior year at Wyandotte Roosevelt High School. But a lot of people may not know that Gomez is also a businessman. If youve shopped at select Downriver-area markets, you may have come across products with the label of Detroit Salsa Co. on them. Those come courtesy of Gomez, as well. My family has always grown up with this amazing salsa, Gomez said. Back (in middle school) I was just like, Lets just go for it.' What started out as a seemingly normal and innocent middle school project has turned into a serious operation. The origins of the salsa comes from Gomezs great-grandmother, who while living in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit during the 1930s would cook and cater for immigrants who came to the area for work. Detroit Salsa Co. was formalized in March 2019. Its products can be found in 13 different markets, including some as far north as Royal Oak and as far south as Newport. There are plenty of Downriver options, as well, including Trentwood Farms and Total Health Foods. The salsa company also does weekly home deliveries. Detroit Salsa Co. makes both a mild and a hot sauce dubbed macho. There is also a guacamole salsa product that was concocted by Finns father, Ray Gomez. All of the salsa is made with the help of the kitchen at Bella Pizza in Allen Park. Nowadays, under the stay-at-home circumstances, Detroit Salsa Co. is making anywhere between 200-250 deliveries per week. The company has always delivered, but never near the level being done now. Theres been so much success, there have been talks to hopefully acquire a separate building exclusively for the business. Its just so crazy how it came together, Ray Gomez said. To see how it started out as a school project, sometimes we just have to sit back and laugh about it. For more information, visit facebook.com/detroitsalsaco. RIO RANCHO A candidate in a contentious Republican U.S. House primary in southern New Mexico is calling for one of her opponents to withdraw amid an increasingly personal and nasty contest. Oil executive Claire Chase demanded Monday that former state lawmaker Yvette Herrell exit the race over accusations Herrell was pushing false rumors around Chases first marriage charges Herrell vigorously denies. This despicable, untrue, and deeply personal attack reveals who Yvette Herrell is as a person, and it isnt pretty, Chase said in a statement. Yvettes candidacy is no longer viable and she should drop out of this race for the good of the Republican Party. In an interview with the Associated Press, retired U.S. Marine Jared Richardson said Herrell called last month after he announced his support for Chase on social media and told him that Chase cheated on her first husband while he was deployed in Afghanistan. But, according to Chase, she met her current husband after her divorce and two years following her former husbands return from deployment. She called on two different occasions to spread these (expletive) rumors. Really? said Richardson, a former Socorro resident who now lives in Panama City, Florida, while his wife is stationed at the Tyndall Air Force Base. I found that dirty. Who cares? Stick to the issues. Herrell said she called on April 8 to discuss her run for the seat in 2018 Richardson has supported another GOP candidate and said Richardson later called her back and accused her of spreading the Chase rumor. His allegation is 100% false, Herrell said. A text message exchange between a conservative provocateur cartoonist and Herrell shows that the former state lawmaker sought to make copywriting changes to a meme attacking Chase over her first marriage. According to the text messages obtained by the AP, Herrell offered suggestions about a meme created by Roger Rael that showed Chase with her current husband, Chance Chase, while her former husband, Ben Gray, looked on, confused. The second Claire is spelled wrong, Herrell texted back after receiving the meme. It should say gold digging, not good digging. Herrell then writes, Let me send them in the morning. There are a couple of more. Herrell campaign spokesman Paul Smith confirmed that the text messages are authentic, but said Herrell was just responding to Rael, who had texted her nonstop. Rael is facing disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property charges in connection with an alleged attack on a Republican state House candidate. He has pleaded not guilty. I have never attempted to use personal rumors about Claire in this race, and will never do so. Neither has my campaign, said Herrell, who has been divorced twice. I will take any legal steps necessary to protect myself against libel. Late Monday, Herrell added she would not be dropping out of the race. This is yet another disgraceful and false attack on my character, and we know New Mexico voters will see through these blatant lies, Herrell said. The people of our district deserve a race focused on the issues that matter, not sensationalist tabloid media stories. Gray, Chases first husband, said in a statement he and Chase are still friends, he is a member of the Veterans for Claire coalition and the rumors are false. I cant believe Yvette Herrell would try to use me in this false, disgusting attack, he said. What kind of person would smear a veteran to win a political campaign? Las Cruces businessman Chris Mathys also is seeking the GOP nomination. University of New Mexico political science professor Gabriel Sanchez said the nastiness of the GOP primary will leave the eventual winner so battered and bruised that Republicans will have a hard time going up against Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small of Las Cruces in the general election. Torres Smalls campaign is sitting on more than $3 million. File image: Twitter/@MEAIndia India will launch the Vande Bharat Mission later today, with Air India flights ferrying out passengers stranded in India. On the return journey, these flights will bring back Indians, stuck overseas. The Mission is claimed to be the biggest repatriation exercise ever. Air India subsidiary, Air India Express, will also operate flights, mainly to the Middle-East. The first Air India flight will take off from Delhi at 11.15 pm, on May 7, to Singapore. The next day, on May 8, flights will leave for Dhaka, London, Riyadh and San Francisco. These will be operated from Mumbai and Delhi. Air India has charted out a 8-day plan. Moneycontrol has seen a copy of it. 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 Similarly, Air India Express has a seven-day plan. Its first flights will take off on the Cochin-Abu Dhabi-Cochin and Kozhikode-Dubai-Kozhikode routes. About 1.9 lakh Indians have registered, all over the world, to get back home. At the same time, there are thousands in the country, who are unable to travel out. These are NRIs who had come visiting but got stuck due to the lockdown. On May 5, the Ministry of Home Affairs had released a list of SOPs that have to be followed by those looking to travel on these flights. Air India is said to have opened its counters for booking for these flights. The heavy traffic saw its website crashing for a bit, as tweeted by many on the social media platform. Volunteers line up to begin taking hundreds of free COVID-19 tests at a pop-up site at the House of Hope in Decatur, Ga. Read more Black people make up a disproportionate share of the population in 22 percent of U.S. counties, and those localities account for more than half of coronavirus cases and nearly 60 percent of deaths, a national study by an AIDS research group found. The study also found that socioeconomic factors such as employment status and access to health care were better predictors of infection and death rates than underlying health conditions. Gregorio Millett, vice president of Amfar, the Foundation for Aids Research, said the findings suggest that black people will be more vulnerable to the pandemic as states begin to reopen businesses and public spaces. "It's clear that there's a disproportionate impact of COVID-19 diagnoses and deaths among African Americans," Millett said, adding that the authors of the study released it early in the hope of influencing policy decisions about reopening businesses. "All of my colleagues fear that with these policies to open up communities, that the brunt of the COVID-19 epidemic is not going to be borne equally on all communities, that we will likely see greater COVID-19 deaths as well as cases in African American communities." Millett said researchers plan to track disproportionately black counties in four states - Georgia, Texas, Alabama and South Carolina - to see what effect loosening social distancing and sheltering requirements will have on COVID-19 cases and deaths. Researchers at Amfar and the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Georgia led the study team, which included investigators from Johns Hopkins, the University of Mississippi, Georgetown University and the nonprofit PATH. The study adds to a growing body of data that has shown that black people have been infected and killed at disproportionate rates by the novel coronavirus. It also raises concern, as have other studies and analyses, about gaps in data collected and reported by county, state and federal officials about the race and ethnicity of virus sufferers, including testing, cases, hospitalizations and deaths. The Amfar study, based on data collected April 13, focused on counties in which black people made up more than 13 percent of the population. Disproportionately black counties account for 22 percent of all U.S. counties but have been home to 52 percent of coronavirus cases and 58 percent of deaths from COVID-19, the disease the virus causes. Almost all disproportionately black counties have had at least one person diagnosed with the coronavirus, compared with 80 percent of other counties, and nearly half of counties with large black populations, 49 percent, have had at least one person die of COVID-19, the study found. The higher diagnoses were found in disproportionately black counties in urban, small metro and rural areas. Death rates were higher in smaller metro areas and rural communities. The study compared 677 disproportionately black counties in the country with 2,565 other counties. As of April 13, the United States had recorded 547,390 cases of COVID-19 and 21,634 deaths. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledges "a disproportionate burden of illness and death" among people of color. The agency is still criticized by civil rights groups for providing incomplete information about race and ethnicity for COVID-19 cases and deaths. Although public health experts and political leaders have attributed the high rate of serious illness and deaths from COVID-19 among black Americans to underlying health conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes, the Amfar study found that those factors were not the primary cause of the disparities. Rather, other social determinants, including employment, access to health insurance and medical care and poor air and water quality, were more predictive of infection and death from COVID-19. Millett, a former scientist with the CDC who focused on racial disparities in HIV infections, argues that it is "structural issues that are placing African Americans at greater risk for not only COVID-19, but multiple health conditions that we still have not adequately addressed as a society." The study noted that disproportionately black counties with higher unemployment actually had fewer coronavirus cases. It also noted that "black Americans are more likely to have jobs that increase exposure to COVID-19, including jobs deemed 'essential' during the current public health emergency." The study also pointed out that 91 percent of disproportionately black counties are in the South, where many states have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, leaving low-income adults without health insurance. Rural communities in the South also have fewer medical professionals and facilities. Even if elected leaders in these states are unwilling to immediately expand Medicaid, Millett said, there are "intermediate steps" that can be taken, including expanding testing in black communities, to improve prevention and treatment. He said officials also should take steps to reduce the populations of people in prisons and jails, which also have shown to be hot spots for COVID-19. Millett said that despite the disproportionate impact on communities of color, officials should remember that infectious diseases don't respect geographical boundaries. Just because communities of color are disproportionately getting COVID-19 or dying from it doesnt mean its not going to affect other communities. Even though we live in a segregated society, people move around fairly freely, he said. The Fianna Fail leader has said the lack of clarity on the Leaving Cert is unacceptable. The government has said the plan is for the exams to go ahead at the end of July. However, there are growing calls for the exams to be scrapped and replaced with predictive grading. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin says there needs to be clarity soon and that the failure to address the issue is "remarkable." He says every government in Europe has been "confronted with how to complete school-leaving exams and prepare for a new higher education year" and that nowhere has there been such a "lack of clarity and confusion" as in Ireland. 26,000 people sign petition to cancel Leaving Cert An online petition calling for the Leaving Cert to be cancelled has been signed by over 26,000 people. The current plan is to hold the exams at the end of July, but there are a number of health concerns, including social distancing. Teachers' unions met last night to discuss the various issues and are expected to hold more talks today. Fianna Fails education spokesperson, Thomas Byrne, thinks it will be called off. He says: "It's certainly looking like that. As an opposition TD, we have been completely locked out of the Department of Education on this one. So they are not keeping us informed. "I have to say that is unlike every other Department. All of my colleagues from the Taoiseach's Department, from the Health Department, are involving opposition TDs in briefings. Education is not. It strikes me as a Department that is not sure of its ground. Uncertainty continues on whether this years Leaving Cert exams will go ahead as expected in July as alternative assessments are officially brought to the table. Wednesday went by without a decision made on contingency plans for the Leaving Cert as students, parents, teaching unions, principals, school patrons and other educational bodies met with the Department of Education. Mumbai, May 7 : Maharashtra recorded 43 Covid-19 deaths, the highest in a single day, while the number of cases in Mumbai crossed 11,000, health officials said here on Wednesday. With 43 fatalities, the state death toll shot up to 694 and the total number of Coronavirus patients increased to 17,974. Of the total 43 deaths today, 25 were recorded in Mumbai alone - taking the city toll to 437 and the number of Covid-19 positive patients in the city shot up by 680 to 11,394A Among the Mumbai victims, one from Manipur and one from Bihar, said officials. Besides Mumbai's 25 deaths, Pune recorded 7 fresh fatalities, Palghar 6, Solapur two and one each was recorded in Akola and Aurangabad. The dead comprised 24 men and 19 women, and nearly 67 percent of them suffered from other serious ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, heart problems and asthma. Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that the number of Covid-19 tests in the state crossed 200,000-mark which is one of the reasons for the high number of cases detected. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (Thane Division) continued to cause major worries with 472 Covid-19 deaths and 13,717 patients. Pune Division trails a distant second with 141 fatalities and 2,406 patients. The next area of concern is Nashik Division with 31 deaths and 715 positive cases, followed by Aurangabad Division with 13 fatalities and 468 patients and finally, Akola Division with 21 deaths and 290 patients. On the positive side, 207 more fully cured patients returned home, taking the number of those discharged to 3,301 till date. Of the 8,816 patients admitted to various hospitals across Maharashtra, 96 are in ICU for various reasons, 92 are on ventilators, 236 required oxygen support, and 424 are serious. Another 5,228 patients are asymptomatic and 3,209 have mild to moderate Covid-19 symptoms. Meanwhile, the number of people in home quarantine increased to 212,742 and those in institutional quarantine increased to 13,494, while the state's containment zones increased to 1,087. As many as 12,021 teams have carried out a survey of a population of around 51.7 lakhs in the state till date. The child abuse royal commission made secret findings that Cardinal George Pell failed to act on complaints about a paedophile when it 'ought to have been obvious' for him to do so. More than 100 previously blacked out pages from two bombshell reports were released on Thursday detailing what Pell knew about complaints against paedophile priest in Ballarat and Melbourne in the 1970s and '80s. The reports could only be released after Pell was found not guilty of child sex abuse convictions by the High Court a month ago, and have been heavily redacted since 2017. In a damning finding, the commission found that as an assistant bishop in the Melbourne diocese in 1989, Pell failed to advise the archbishop to remove paedophile priest Father Peter Searson. The commission also found Pell knew priest Gerard Ridsdale had been moved between parishes by the church because he had sexually abused children, and was aware of abuse in the church as early as the 1970s. The child abuse royal commission made secret findings that Cardinal George Pell failed to remove a paedophile priest when it 'ought to have been obvious' for him to do so The royal commission heard Father Peter Searson (above) - infamous for his long, yellow fingernails - abused children across three districts. It found that Pell 'ought to' at least push for an investigation into allegations against Searson In Father Searson's case, the commission report said the 'disturbed' priest was the subject of child sex abuse complaints and reports of 'strange, aggressive and violent conduct' over several years, the report said. Searson died in 2009 without ever facing child sexual abuse charges, but the commission heard evidence he had abused children in three separate Victorian districts over the course of a decade. Pell, as Archbishop of Melbourne, placed Searson on administrative leave in March 1997, the same year Searson pleaded guilty to physically assaulting a child. But the commission said Pell 'ought reasonably to have concluded that action needed to be taken in relation to Father Searson' almost a decade earlier, in 1989, when he heard from seeing a delegation of teachers from a Catholic primary school in his role as a regional bishop. The delegation of Doveton teachers told Pell about Searson harrassing children, staff and parents, showing children a body ina coffin and animal cruelty. THE SINS OF FATHER SEARSON The commission found Pell may have known of a 'non-specific' allegation against Searson in 1989. What Searson alleged to have done to others that few others would know is disturbing. Over two years, the commission heard evidence Searson repeatedly sexually abused children. He recorded confessions he found 'hot' and repeatedly assaulted sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl in a confessional booth. One victim claimed he was sexually abused most Saturdays for a six month period. He swung a cat over a fence by its tail, killing it; murdered a bird with a screwdriver and showed children a dead body in a coffin. Advertisement At the royal commission, Pell had claimed the Catholic Education Office had failed to brief him properly on the complaints against Father Searson and that it was implied 'that the allegations could not be sustained'. Cardinal Pell claimed he might have been told ''in a non-specific way' that 'part of the story behind (school principal Graeme) Sleeman's resignation was that he had raised complaints of sexual misconduct by Father Searson.' Mr Sleeman resigned after a Grade 4 student was brought to him in 'obvious distress' after confession with Father Searson. Mr Sleeman had suspected a 'sexual interference' had occurred. But the commission ruled Pell's evidence he had been 'deceived' by the Catholic Education Office as they 'did not tell him what they knew about Father Searson's misbehaviour' was 'implausible'. The report said: 'We are satisfied that Cardinal Pell's evidence as to the reasons that the CEO deceived him was implausible. We do not accept that Bishop Pell was deceived, intentionally or otherwise. 'We are satisfied that, on the basis of the matters known to Bishop Pell on his own evidence (being the matters on the list of incidents and grievances and the 'non-specific' allegation of sexual misconduct), he ought reasonably to have concluded that action needed to be taken in relation to Father Searson. 'It was incumbent on Bishop Pell, as an Auxiliary Bishop with responsibilities for the welfare of the children in the Catholic community of his region, to take such action as he could to advocate that Father Searson be removed or suspended or, at least, that a thorough investigation be undertaken of the allegations,' the report said. The report said '(Pell) had) conceded that, in retrospect, he might have been 'a bit more pushy' with all of the parties involved. We do not accept any qualification that this conclusion is only appreciable in retrospect. 'On the basis of what was known to Bishop Pell in 1989, it ought to have been obvious to him at the time. 'He should have advised the Archbishop to remove Father Searson and he did not do so.' Blacked out: How the Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse reports looked before the Government released the details on Thursday Pell with his one-time housemate, the paedophile priest Gerard Ridsdale The commission also made findings about the church and Pell's one-time housemate, the priest Gerard Ridsdale - one of Australia's worst ever offenders. The commission found that then-Father Pell had 'turned his mind to the prudence of Ridsdale taking boys on overnight camps' by 1973. The report found by that year, 'Cardinal Pell was not only conscious of child sexual abuse by clergy but that he also had considered measures of avoiding situations which might provoke gossip about it.' Ridsdale was repeatedly moved between parishes by the 1971 to 1991 Ballarat Bishop Mulkearns, who knew about his offending, the commission found. The commission rejected Cardinal Pell's claim that Bishop Mulkearns lied to or deceived his advisers in 1982 when Ridsdale was removed from the parish of Mortlake, where the priest later admitted his behaviour was 'out of control'. Cardinal Pell gave evidence the bishop did not give the true reason for Ridsdale's removal and lied by not doing so. But the commissioners did not accept that Bishop Mulkearns lied to his consultors and were satisfied he did not deceive his consultors. The commission found Bishop Mulkearns told the advisers it was necessary to move Ridsdale from the diocese and from parish work because of complaints he had sexually abused children. 'Cardinal Pell's evidence that 'paedophilia was not mentioned' and that the 'true' reason was not given is not accepted,' the commission's said. 'It is implausible ... that Bishop Mulkearns did not inform those at the meeting of at least complaints of sexual abuse of children having been made.' In a statement on Thursday evening, Cardinal Pell said he was 'surprised' by some of the views of the commission, claiming 'these views are not supported by evidence'. He said he was 'especially surprised' by statements relating to transfers of Gerald Ridsdale. 'The consultors who gave evidence on the meetings in 1977 and 1982 either said they did not learn of Ridsdale's offending against children until much later or they had no recollection of what was discussed. None said they were made aware of Ridsdale's offending at these meetings.' Pell said he met a delegation from Doveton Parish 'which did not mention sexual assaults and did not ask for Searson's removal'. Following his release from prison, the former Vatican Treasurer said he did not expect negative findings against him. 'I'd be very surprised if there's any bad findings against me at all,' he told commentator Andrew Bolt last month. And the commission did find in Pell's favour on some matters. The commission ruled as unlikely claims Pell offered to bribe Gerard Ridsdale's nephew, David, in 1993. 'It is more likely that Mr Ridsdale misinterpreted an offer by Bishop Pell to assist as something more sinister,' the report said. Another witness claimed to have overheard Pell saying of Ridsdale: 'Huh, huh, I think Gerry's been rooting boys again'. That was strongly denied by Pell and the commission found the witness likely 'overheard the conversation, however, that conversation was not between the priests he nominated.' Pell gave evidence to the royal commission twice, in 2014, in Sydney, and in 2016, via video link from Rome. In 2016, Pell told the royal commission he was deceived about paedophile priests, describing it as a 'world of crimes and cover-ups'. Cardinal Pell was a Ballarat priest from 1973 until 1984, overseeing the diocese's schools and at times acting as an adviser to the bishop. He also served as one of the Melbourne archbishop's advisers while an auxiliary bishop between 1987 and 1996. As MacMurray College closes its doors for good, its American Sign Language (ASL) and interpreting program and its faculty still are trying to find a new home. I have left messages to several local colleges, emailed a document titled Viability of Having American Sign Language & Interpreting Program in Central Illinois to provosts and their assistants at Illinois College, Blackburn College, University of Illinois at Springfield, said Jerry Covell, director of the program at MacMurray. Covell, who is deaf, became coordinator-director of MacMurrays ASL and interpreting program in August 2010; he has been teaching since 2005. The document Covell sent explains how important it is to maintain an ASL program in the area, especially with a large deaf population in the community, which is home to the Illinois School for the Deaf. According to Covells executive summary in the document, Illinois has an increasing need for accessible communications, direct services and accommodations for the deaf and hard-of-hearing populations. It has created job opportunities in deaf-related fields including sign language interpreting, because the current pool of sign language interpreters is insufficient to meet demand. There is only one ASL interpreter for every 567 deaf people in Illinois, Covell said. More specifically, in central Illinois, there is one interpreter for every 195 deaf people. So far, only one college has informally entertained the idea of taking over the program. I have not heard back from (colleges in the region) except for Illinois Colleges provost, Dr. Catharine OConnell, Covell said. OConnell released a statement last week that Illinois College has expanded its nursing department to accommodate nursing students left in limbo by the loss of MacMurrays nursing program, but does not plan to create any other programs right now. We informally talked about it but we have decided not to create a new program, OConnell said of an interpreting program. Creating a college-level program from scratch could take several months, she said. Even in the best of circumstances it could take up to a year, she said, adding that there is a lot of behind the scenes work that goes into creating a program. It doesnt mean it couldnt happen in the future. With the COVID-19 pandemic causing schools to switch to online teaching and the states stay-at-home order in place, the timing was just off for IC to take on such a big project, OConnell said. Logistically, it became 10 times harder (because of the pandemic), but we did look at them seriously, she said. The requested page is currently unavailable on this server. Back to [RTHK News Homepage] Half of all US physicians actually experience burn-out, according to internist Colin West, who has studied at the Mayo Clinic on physician well-being for over 15 years. The pandemic has burdened the frontline health care workers with the systems glaring lack of preparation. The US governments sluggish response plus the bungled testing rollout gave the virus spread a good headstart. (Photo : Pixabay) Half of all US physicians actually experience burn-out, according to internist Colin West, who has studied at the Mayo Clinic on physician well-being for over 15 years. A journal Cureus review in 2018 described it to be a combination of perceived inefficacy, cynicism, and exhaustion. The pandemic has burdened the frontline health care workers with the system's glaring lack of preparation. The US government's sluggish response plus the bungled testing rollout gave the virus spread a good headstart. According to Scientific American, many years of lean operations has left a lot of hospitals with no resources to expand care rapidly. There is scarcity in PPE's or personal protective equipment and ventilators, as well as backup stocks. Worse, hospitals and institutions have been forced to compete with each other. Eerily quiet healthcare facilities have staff worried when the virus may hit them. Nurses are facilitating final telephone calls between dying patients and loved ones. West says that months of extreme uncertainty will cause negative effects on workers' psychological and even physical health. According to the CDC, hundreds of health workers have already died worldwide. Health workers are worried of infecting their loved ones, and the younger medical residents are telling each other to make living wills. Several hospitals muzzled staff due to concerns on misinformation and privacy of patients. Worldwide, workers who spoke out and shared experiences were fired or reprimanded. Experts predict these traumatic effects will have significant impacts long after this pandemic is gone. Prolonged uncertainty becomes compounded by moral anguish, as they have inadequate resources for treating patients, according to nonprofit Moral Injury of Healthcare co-founder and psychiatrist Wendy Dean. Dean says that moral injury is when someone does something against their moral beliefs. This occurs to health workers when the business aspect of health care impedes their ability to look after their patients. According to bioethicist and otolaryngologist G. Richard Holt, doctors are not adept at determining who gets to have life saving support versus who will not. He says they are trained to treat only one patient at a given time. According to American Psychiatric Association Committee on the Psychiatric Dimensions of Disaster chair Joshua Morganstein, workers are worried that they will bring the problem home with them; no place then becomes safe. Suneel Dhand, a Massachusetts internist, expressed concern regarding all the workers absorbing a lot of bad news on social media. Experts like Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis psychiatrist Jessica Gold think that health workers may develop depression, anxiety, acute stress, issues on substance use, and ultimately, PTSD. A study on health workers in the past SARS outbreak found that 89% had psychological damage. A different study also found fear of SARS correlated with PTSD. Half of 1,257 COVID-19 physicians and nurses surveyed in China had depression; 44% reported anxiety; and 34% got insomnia. Gold says they will not likely seek help, as most of them don't have time for therapy or considers psychological problems a stigma. Options for therapy have been expanded in terms of flexible scheduling, support hotline, and telehealth at institutions like North Carolina UNC Health. The UK COVID-19 Trauma Response Working Group gives guidance for pro-active interventions. Gold says that virtual health services such as teletherapy and meditation apps are also crucial tools for helping health workers. These efforts, she adds, have to have a wide scope and be ongoing. She Silence is golden for whales as lockdown reduces ocean noise by Karen McVeigh May 07,2020 | Source: The Guardian In cities, human lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic have offered some respite to the natural world, with clear skies and the return of wildlife to waterways. Now evidence of a drop in underwater noise pollution has led experts to predict the crisis may also be good news for whales and other sea mammals. Researchers examining real-time underwater sound signals from seabed observatories run by Ocean Networks Canada near the port of Vancouver found a significant drop in low-frequency sound associated with ships. David Barclay, assistant professor of oceanography at Dalhousie University, the co-author of a paper reviewing the phenomena, examined sound power a way of measuring loudness in the 100 Hz range from two sites, one inland and one farther offshore. He found a significant drop in noise from both. Generally, we know underwater noise at this frequency has effects on marine mammals, Barclay said. The findings of Barclay and his researchers were first published in The Narwhal. There has been a consistent drop in noise since 1 January, which has amounted to a change of four or five decibels in the period up to 1 April, he said. Economic data from the port showed a drop of around 20% in exports and imports over the same period, he said. The deep ocean site, around 60km from the shipping lanes and in 3,000 metres of water, also showed a drop in average weekly noise of 1.5 decibels, or around a 15% decrease in power, Barclay said. This gives us an idea of the scale over which this reduction in noise can be observed. The reduction in ship traffic in the ocean, which Barclay compares to a giant human experiment, has had scientists racing to find out the effect on marine life. We are facing a moment of truth, said Michelle Fournet, a marine acoustician at Cornell University, who studies humpback whales in south-east Alaska. We have an opportunity to listen and that opportunity to listen will not appear again in our lifetime. Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, when ship and air traffic fell in North America, US researchers were similarly able to study whales in a quieter ocean, with a landmark study concluding that ship noise was associated with chronic stress in baleen whales. Advertisement We have a generation of humpbacks that have never known a quiet ocean, said Fournet, whose work has shown that the whales alter their calling behaviour in response to a noisy ocean. Late April usually marks the beginning of the cruise ship season in south-east Alaska, with the boats docking at Vancouver before heading north. This year the health crisis has halted them. What we know about whales in south-east Alaska is that when it gets noisy they call less, and when boats go by they call less, said Fournet. I expect what we might see is an opportunity for whales to have more conversation and to have more complex conversation. Ocean scientists worldwide, many of whom are unable to carry out practical work due to the pandemic, are desperate to collect data from this once-in-a lifetime opportunity to listen. Nathan Merchant, a bioacoustics expert at the UK governments Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) in Lowestoft, said: We are on tenterhooks waiting to see what our records are saying. Cefas has hydrophones to collect noise date on four sites: two in the North Sea, one in Plymouth and one near Bangor. Merchant said there have been international efforts to coordinate the work of monitoring underwater noise. We will be looking at how the coronavirus is affecting underwater noise throughout Europe, so this work out of Canada will be the first of many, he said. He and his colleagues have long been discussing how they could ever conduct an experiment to make the ocean quieter, in order to find out what benefit it would have. We have this natural experiment going on. Of course it is a terrible crisis, but we may as well get on and look at the data, to find out what effect it is having. 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Theme(s): Others. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 16:03:32|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SEOUL, May 7 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju saw a double-digit decline in retail sale and services output in the first quarter due to an economic fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak, statistical office data showed Thursday. Retail sale in Jeju island dived 14.8 percent in the January-March quarter compared to the same quarter of last year, according to Statistics Korea. It came as the number of foreign tourists visiting the resort island tumbled in the quarter, leading to a 47 percent drop in revenue of duty-free shops in the island. Retail sale in the capital Seoul slumped 7.9 percent, while the reading in Daegu, about 300 km southeast of Seoul, slipped 9.9 percent. Daegu became the epicenter of the country's COVID-19 outbreak as the biggest cluster infection occurred in the metropolitan with a 2.5 million population. Production of the services industry in Jeju island contracted 10.3 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier as output in the lodging and eatery sector plunged 23.8 percent amid a sharp slide in the number of foreign travelers to the resort island. The services industry's output in Daegu dipped 4.4 percent in the quarter, but production in Seoul grew 2.3 percent, becoming the country's single city to see a growth in services output. Output of the finance and insurance industry in Seoul advanced 15.4 percent during the quarter. Enditem The Difference the Cross Made: a well-written devotional that tackles the magnificence and wisdom of the Lord that inspired the authors heart and blessed her with redemption and eternal life through the ultimate sacrifice on the cross. The Difference the Cross Made is the creation of published author Fran Farmer, a dedicated writer, family woman, and follower of the Lord. Farmer shares, Too many times people will make assumptions with just a few facts. Assumptions are not always the truth. The facts are all around us. Fran Farmer has a gift of gathering data until the facts make perfect sense. For her, its a practical approach when uncovering the truth. Many of us have questions about who we are. To be all we can become, we must first discover the right questions and find the answers. Fran knows what happens when we live in todays world and what life can be like when it all makes sense. She remembers those days of darkness and shares what happened when she found the truth which let the light shine into her life. In these pages, you will see she truly cares and wants the world to know The Difference the Cross Made in her life. She accepted Christ and was baptized when she was a child. It took another forty years before she discovered there is a major difference between believing in Jesus and being a child of God. Today, shes found a whole new beginning! Nobody is perfect. We are not perfect. In Jesus, we are forgiven. He wants us to let our light shine, so the whole world can see. Fran was in darkness, but now she shes fearless! Inside these pages, she reveals this secret to the world! Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Fran Farmers new book aspires to bring a holistic transformation to readers as they partake in the knowledge of Gods benevolence and mercy that paved a path for illumination. Readers are invited to witness the awe-inspiring journey of the author through thought-provoking circumstances that reflect Gods goodness in life. View the synopsis of The Difference the Cross Made on YouTube. Consumers can purchase The Difference the Cross Made at traditional brick-and-mortar bookstores or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about The Difference the Cross Made, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Every day, MySA.com compiles the latest headlines and helpful links on the COVID-19 pandemic in the San Antonio area. COVID-19 cases update: The city of San Antonio announced 84 new cases of COVID-19 in Bexar County and one additional death. The total number of cases in Bexar County has swelled to 1,761, and the death count grows to 53. Traders Village update: Traders Village and other flea markets have received approval by the state to reopen after the city denied their initial opening last weekend. Last week, the city sent told Traders Village officials the outlet could not open based on its understanding of Gov. Greg Abbotts executive order, which allowed places such as retail stores and malls to open, with restrictions. Bexar County first: In what could be a first for Bexar County, a man convicted of murder will be sentenced online. he was scheduled to be sentenced in March, but about that time, court proceedings were halted as coronavirus restrictions kicked in. Harlandale commencement: High school graduates at Harlandale Independent School District will have their commencement ceremonies on time, and theyll be with their classmates, but it will look a lot different this year. Wurstfest update: New Braunfels Wurstfest is keeping its 60th anniversary celebration on the calendar as crews continue rebuilding and repairing two iconic structures devastated by fire last year. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the cancellation of other annual gatherings well in advance, including Oktoberfest in Germany, officials are hopeful Wurstfest will go on. COVID-19 Tracker: Interactive maps track coronavirus cases in San Antonio, Texas counties and the U.S. THE GOOD NEWSLETTER: A weekly dose of inspiring San Antonio stories, delivered to your inbox House prices across Melbourne and Sydney face significant falls over the next 18 months, with National Australia Bank economists warning a shrinking economy, falling consumer confidence and a drop in migration will weigh on the two markets. NAB chief economist Alan Oster on Thursday said he expected Melbourne house prices to slip 4.8 per cent through 2020 and another 3.6 per cent next year. Sydney prices were expected to suffer a similar drop, down 2.9 per cent this year and then 3.6 per cent in 2021. NAB economists believe house prices in every capital city market are likely to go backwards over the next 18 months. Credit:Arsineh Houspian Brisbane house prices are expected to slip 3.7 per cent this year and then 8.6 per cent in 2021 while in Perth the falls are forecast to be 1.2 per cent and 3.5 per cent. The Guardian The Steelers quarterback is headed to the Hall of Fame. But he was unloved outside Pittsburgh for understandable reasons Ben Roethlisberger almost certainly played his final game in the NFL on Sunday. Photograph: Ed Zurga/AP Ben Roethlisberger is lucky that football legacies are not decided by finales. If Sunday night was indeed Big Bens last ever NFL game, as he has strongly hinted, it wasnt exactly a mic drop. In the 42-21 beatdown by the Chiefs, Roethlisberger struggled with rollouts, and l A man from Pennsylvania was criminally charged after his girlfriend's body was discovered in his apartment building on May 4. According to KDKA, the residents at a McKees Rocks apartment building informed police that they smelled a foul odor. An investigation led the police to the second floor of the apartment building, where they discovered Kirsty Jefferson's badly decomposed body. Jefferson was reported missing for days and her dead body found in a broken refrigerator. The murder According to The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Jefferson's body was wrapped in a sheet and her body was also described as being partially dismembered. WPXI also reported that the refrigerator containing Jefferson's body was located in a hallway around 20 feet from the front door of Daryl Jones, who is the suspect. Kirsty Jefferson was 38-years-old and was last seen on April 26. She FaceTimed her relatives who requested a welfare check before she went missing. Jones, who is 40-years-old, is said to have a violent past, and the neighbors stated that Jones and Jefferson fought a lot. The officers who searched the apartment building also smelled the foul odor that came from the basement. When they arrived at the basement of the apartment building, they discovered bags of bedsheets that were covered in bodily fluids. The police claimed that they also discovered numerous items with Jefferson's name on it both inside and outside the apartment of the suspect. Jones is now charged with abuse of a corpse and he is in jail without bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 14. The medical examiner is still working on the corpse to determine the cause of death of the victim. Also Read: Unrefrigerated Trucks in Brooklyn Found Full of Decomposing Dead Bodies Similar incident In February 2020, residents of an apartment building in Minneapolis discovered a disturbing scene as a blood-like liquid ran down the walls. It was later found out that a body was on the unit floor above them. The video posted by a tenant who captured the gruesome even has posted it online and has now been retweeted more than 16,000 times and has been viewed more than 1.5 million times. Evin Schultz, the tenant of the building, posted on his Twitter account @piggyazalea and said "This is like Paranormal Activity-type (expletive). This is like The Shining. Where is it coming from? Because I don't know. Nor does the maintenance man who came in now." John Elder, a Minneapolis police spokesperson confirmed that a body was found in an apartment on the 1800 block of Park Ave. in Minneapolis. The officers investigated the scene and nothing appeared suspicious. The identity and the cause of death of the deceased person will be released by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner. According to Elder, the case is a good example of why it is important to keep in contact with your neighbors. Another resident of the apartment building who posted a tweet showing the blood-like liquid on the wall has been retweeted for more than 30,000 times. The gruesome story was also posted by the other residents of the building through their respective social media accounts, including one that shows police and medical examiner cars outside of the building after the scene was called in. Related Article: Suspect in Utah Murder-Suicide Posts Graphic Video on Snapchat Before Killing Himself @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. It is not enough to just flatten the curve when it comes to coronavirus, a medical expert has said. Professor of general practice Liam Glynn told Newstalk FM that Ireland should not be satisfied with only lowering the level of Covid-19 transmission. He said: We have come a long way in terms of the flattening the curve, and all the signals in terms of hospitalisations and intensive care admissions all seem to be dropping. The question now is where we are going? It is not just enough to flatten the curve, in my view, I think we really need to be talking about crushing this curve and trying to eliminate Covid-19 entirely. #COVIDWATCHIRL May 7th @mikey0callaghan with @UL @ICGPnews Everyone has shown what we are capable of by decreasing #COVID19 daily growth from 30%+ to now under 2% We should as much as possible choose elimination not just suppression of #COVID lets finish the job #CrushTheCurve pic.twitter.com/jgnTK1vXLL Liam Glynn (@LiamGGlynn) May 7, 2020 The coronavirus death toll in Ireland rose to 1,375 on Wednesday after 37 more deaths were announced. There were 265 new confirmed cases, taking the total to 22,248. Prof Glynn said Ireland has an advantage in combating the virus, as it is an island. We have the advantage of trying to figure out how we do trade and travel across a border, and how we do it safely. If we go for elimination, the only way the virus can get on to this island is by importation. Meanwhile, teaching unions will meet on Thursday to discuss contingency plans for the Leaving Certificate exam if it cannot go ahead. There have been calls for clarity on the exams, which are scheduled to start on July 29. No decision was announced following a meeting between the education minister, education officials and school leadership groups on Wednesday. A top prosecutor removed himself Thursday from the criminal case against former national security advisor Michael Flynn, as well as from at least two other court cases involving Flynn. The Justice Department prosecutor, Brandon Van Grack, did not say in a court filing why he is withdrawing from Flynn's case. He heads a unit responsible for prosecuting violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Van Grack also withdrew from at least two other active cases Thursday, court filings show. Flynn is listed as an interested party in both of those cases. All three cases are in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., and all are presided over by Judge Emmet Sullivan. Flynn, President Donald Trump's first national security advisor, was charged as part of former special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe with lying to FBI agents about his discussions with Russia's ambassador to the United States before Trump took office. Flynn pleaded guilty to one count of lying to federal agents. The Pakistan Army on Thursday shelled forward posts and villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in three sectors of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, drawing retaliation from the Indian Army, a defence spokesperson said. This is the sixth consecutive day of firing and shelling by Pakistani troops along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. "At about 1100 hours today, Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and shelling with mortars along LoC in Qasba, Shahpur and Kirni sectors of Poonch", he said. He said the Indian Army retaliated befittingly and cross-border shelling between the two sides was going on when last reports came in. There was no immediate report of any casualty during the Pakistani shelling. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) While Andrew Stefanou Salon & Spa in Darien has been closed since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, owner Andrew Stefanou has not been sitting still. We have been getting ready the whole time we were closed, to reopen again, said Stefanou, in regard to the eight-year-old business. I was here every single day, preparing the place, he said. We were anxious from day one to get back to business. Andrew Stefanou Salon & Spa is one of the businesses now getting ready to reopen after learning of the recent announcement by Governor Lamont. As per the announcement, on May 20, some businesses will be allowed to reopen if the positive disease trends continue, on a limited basis and with proper protocols to be announced. Restaurants outdoor only, no bars Retail not open as essential Personal Services on limited basis just hair and nail Creating space Over the past few months, Andrew Stefanou Salon & Spa has completely reconfigured its space with the goal of creating a safe environment and respecting social distance requirements. On the styling floor, each stylist will be using every other station, skipping a station in between, which allows well over six feet of space between stations, he said, estimating there are about 10 feet between stations. Also, there are three new private pedicure rooms, one for each client. Additionally, work is in progress of an additional area that will add another six stations to the existing color room, as well as additional shampoo sinks. All our stylists as well as clients will be required to wear masks, and our stylist will also wear face shields. Our manicure tables will have a plexiglass divider between client and manicurist, Stefanou said. There will be a person at the door to welcome clients, test their temperature and make sure they have masks, if not we will provide. Additional employees will be present to thoroughly clean and sanitize chairs and equipment between each client. Staff, while out of work, were required to take classes and be certified in sanitization procedures such as Barbicide sanitization. For the entire time they have been closed, the salon has continued to take appointments because we didnt know when we will be able to open, Stefanou said. Every week, we call the clients and transfer them over. Some of my people are already booked through July. Stefanou transferred the stores business phone to his cell phone, and I had the phones ringing on my cell phone all the time. The salon will extended its hours to accommodate people. They will be open seven days a week, and will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. several days a week. At Andrew Stefanou Salon and Spa, we are anxious and excited to return back to serve our community and do what we love best, Stefanou said. We love what we do and we miss being here. Coming back to work We are ready now, Sandy Baldanza said, in response to Bistro Baldanza restaurant being able to reopen May 20. Weve been operating with 80 percent of my staff still working, owner Sandy Baldanza said. We can bring the other 20 percent back. They will be needed once we open the outside. The only staff members who have been furloughed were the runners and bussers. Baldanza has reconfigured his patio to accommodate for social distancing. Our patio is 40 feet by 14 feet, so in normal times we have seating for 25 on the patio, he said. Now, we will reduce that to around 12 individual spots, with seven feet of space between each. He added that his business is actually only down about 15 percent from prior to the pandemic. Each week, it gets closer to normal volume, he said. Before [the pandemic], we had no delivery, no curbside service or takeout, he said When we started doing the hospital meals for doctors and other hospital meals for their families, take-out was maybe five percent of our business a very small part, Baldanza added. Going forward, he said he expects take-out and delivery to become a normal part of the business. He said the added plus is the business has been providing meals to those less fortunate through Corbin Cares. Corbin Cares is an initiative that collaborates with local Darien restaurants to provide meals for the food-insecure in Darien and neighboring communities. Despite the new set-up, he said he is still not sure how many people will be making use of the outdoor accommodations. Its a problem in the sense that even though we are going to be open, I dont expert a lot of people are going to go eat out, Baldanza said. Out of any other age group, he said he expects to see the highest turnout of millennials. They feel like theyre indestructable, he said. I would expect they would be going out as they saw fit, like it was normal. For those older than himself, he said he expects much more caution will be used. Elvis Reyes, manager at Ten Twenty Post, is also preparing its outdoor seating accommodations. The restaurant can fit 12 tables on its patio seating 55 people, with enough space in between each. All staff will be wearing gloves and masks. Theyll also be using Purell food service sanitizer for all the tables, each time they are used. We will be opening the patio and serving cocktails on the inside bar, and bringing them onto the patio, he said They plan to bring all of their workers that were furloughed, back to work. Its been awhile people are out of jobs, Reyes said. Im pretty sure they are happy to come back. Whatever it takes Gina Zangrillo, owner of the Darien Sport Shop, said there will be a lot of changes in the store once it reopens to the public. We already put in place purchasing masks and gloves for all of our employees, much more frequent cleaning of high traffic areas, Zangrillo said. We also have a dedicated person to clean doorknobs and sitting rooms, benches and counters, an automatic front door, hands-free sanitizers in key areas, hands-free cash registers, and a contact-less checkout. In regard to social distancing, Zangrillo said she plans to adhere to state guidelines. They will probably allow us 10 people per 1,000 square feet, she said. The store is close to 40,000 square feet, so we have the ability for customers to stand six feet apart from each other. If the state limits the number of customers in the store, the Darien Sport Shop plans to have a staff person standing at the front door, counting the customers as they come in and out. The store will also provide more private services, including FaceTime shopping. Then, when customers select the items they would like to try on, we can put things on a rolling rack, bring them up to the fitting room door, hold them up, and customers can try them on, she said. A sales associate can also select the types of clothing customers are interested in and bring a selection of outfits that are in their size, into the stores fitting room. Staff can also bring items to customers cars. They can pop their trunk and we can put it right inside to go home, and try on, and then return if they arent interested, Zangrillo said. Additionally, customers dont have to leave their home at all. Aside from same-day shipping, staff can also personally deliver items to shoppers. We will do whatever it takes, Zangrillo said. We will be 100 percent ready. Masks for fashion The Darien Sport Shop will be selling some lines of fashion masks for men and women, including ones for the summer weather. Brands will include Johnny Was, Rails, Faherty and Greyson. They can be a fashion statement and complete peoples identity, Zangrillo said. They can reflect ones personality, just like with other articles of clothing. Parking lots for outdoor seating To assist restaurants with the new protocols, at its Tuesday meeting, Dariens Planning & Zoning Commission discussed a proposal to allow restaurants to use their on-site and adjacent municipal parking lots for outdoor seating. According to Olvany, this has historically been done by, and approved by the P&Z Commission for Bodega Taco Bar on Cinco de Mayo and the Darien Center Street Public House on St. Patrick's Day. At Tuesdays meeting, all members were in favor of the motion to allow a temporary restaurant outdoor seating amendment through Labor Day. They agreed there would be no maximum number of seating restaurants could have. However, if commission members or Planning & Zoning Director Jeremy Ginsberg are not comfortable with the proposed number, they would bring it issue back to the commission, and it would be decided on a case by case basis. In addition, members agreed the application fee for a special permit would be amended. Baywater Properties developer David Genovese, who has several restaurants with outdoor seating as tenants, was in support of this proposal. He said the outdoor dining-only aspect, from an economic point of view doesnt make any sense in reality for these folks. But that, coupled with take-out, we think could be psychologically important and helpful. Wed like to just work through it together and navigate. Genovese also spoke about the the building next door to the Sugar Bowl, Kirby and Company, which is now closed. Therefore, he suggested the Sugar Bowl could set some tables up in front of Kirby and Company to try to help them. To me, the key thing is helping these guys stay open, keep the lights on, keep the kitchen staff paid and keep the team intact, he said. Olvany said he hopes restaurants will start filing with the Planning & Zoning Commission immediately for the ability to offer outdoor seating if they dont already provide it, and would like to offer it for the May 20 reopening. The first step will be to design a sketch for approval by the Planning & Zoning Department staff and health department, along with the Board of Selectmen and Fire Marshal, if necessary, Olvany told The Darien Times after the meeting. Additionally, in order to provide temporary outdoor alcohol sales, a state application will be needed that requires the town sign-off from Planning & Zoning, Health, and Fire Marshal departments, Olvany said. Those dining establishments who wish to offer outdoor service of alcoholic beverages need local and state approvals. To fill out an application, which is free, visit ct.gov/dcp, click Liquor Control Division, and then Applications and Forms. The name of the form is Patio, Extension of Use, And/or Additional Consumer Bar Application. The Darien Planning & Zoning Commission is committed to helping our retailers and restaurants in the process of getting back to business, Olvany said. We all have to work together, including tenants, neighboring tenants and landlords. I can't think of a restaurant that wouldn't be able to have the option available to them. Our Planning & Zoning director, Jeremy Ginsburg, and his staff will be ready to assist. Business survey The town is spearheading a task force to help the Darien business community emerge from COVID quarantine. The group consists of members from town government, SCORE, the Darien Men's Association and the Darien Chamber of Commerce. Businesses were recently asked to complete a survey so this group can provide them with resources for their needs and concerns, according to Susan Cator, president and executive director of The Darien Chamber. We will aggregate all the responses and take action from there, Cator said. She added that the Chamber is really looking forward to our businesses getting their feet back on the ground so that we can all see our favorite shop owners again and enjoy our community which we all love so much. We want to facilitate and do anything we can to help our business from the chamber perspective, Cator said. We will do everything possible to help our community feel safe together. sfox@darientimes.com A contrast between temperatures on the West and East Coast on Saturday as a portion of the polar vortex brings bitter cold air to the Northeast. (NWS WPC) Potentially Historic May Snowstorm Headed for New England This Weekend A snowstorm could hit parts of the East Coast this weekend, and it might bring historic mid-May totals for New England and the Northeast United States. A late-season snowstorm becomes increasingly likely for the interior Northeast beginning Friday and culminating on Saturday, the National Weather Service (NWS) wrote on its website. A late-season snow event for the interior Northeast beginning on Friday could occur as a low-pressure system intensifies while moving across the Tennessee Valley before heading to the Appalachians. Rain can be expected to change over to wet snow, possibly heavy, over the central Appalachians on Friday before blustery winds and colder air ushering in on the back side of the storm. By Friday night, the low-pressure system is forecast to further intensify as the storm center skirts the New England coast, the weather agency said. The potential for heavy snow over portions of the higher terrain of northern New England Friday into Saturday is increasing. May daily snowfall records may be shattered, with several inches of snow possible. Residents of northern New England should monitor the latest forecast. pic.twitter.com/EUjTF6FxcW NWS WPC (@NWSWPC) May 7, 2020 A significant amount of wet snow can then be expected in the interior portion of New England after that, starting late on Friday into early Saturday, according to the NWS. Up to a foot of snow could be possible in the extreme northern part of New England, while some nearby areas could see 6 to 8 inches. Cities that may get snow include Syracuse, New York; Rochester, New York; Binghampton, New York; Albany, New York; Scranton, Pennsylvania; and Burlington, Vermont, forecasters said. Millions of people are already under freeze watches in the Midwest and Ohio Valley. The current heat wave is resulting in more than a dozen record or near record highs for today (Wednesday), with several high temperatures above 100 degrees. pic.twitter.com/ZxMEajya0x NWS WPC (@NWSWPC) May 7, 2020 Forecasters also say that heavy rain is also possible along the Interstate 95 corridor. Other than snow, there will be record low temperatures across much of the East Coast due to a cold air mass being pushed southward into the United States behind the storm. This will be in stark contrast with near record heat across southern California, the Desert Southwest, and the southern Rockies. In addition, fire danger will be very high today over much of the southern Rockies as the low pressure system develops over the central Plains, the agency said. U.S. Postal Service mail boxes at a post office in Encinitas, California, in a 2013 file photograph. (Mike Blake/Reuters) Businessman Who Donated to Trump Put in Charge of US Postal Service A businessman who donated to President Donald Trump was named as head of the U.S. Postal Service, which could face a significant restructuring as it faces pressure from the president to hike prices and billions in added debt. Louis DeJoys selection as postmaster general of the United States was announced Wednesday by the services Board of Governors. The businessman understands the critical public service role of the United States Postal Service, and the urgent need to strengthen it for future generations, Robert Duncan, chair of the board, said in a statement. Members appreciated Louiss depth of knowledge on the important issues facing the Postal Service and his desire to work with all of our stakeholders on preserving and protecting this essential institution, Duncan added. DeJoy was previously chairman and CEO of New Breed Logistics, a shipping company with over 9,000 employees. He said his work brought him into contact with the Postal Service. I have a great appreciation for this institution and the dedicated workers who faithfully execute its mission, he said in a statement. One of the CCP virus relief packages approved by Congress lets the Postal Service borrow up to $10 billion from the Department of the Treasury. Postmaster General Megan Brennan, who is retiring, said last month that sales were plummeting as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sudden drop in mail volumes, our most profitable revenue stream, is steep and may never fully recover, she said, releasing an estimate that the services net operating loss would grow by more than $22 billion by the end of 2021. President Donald Trump holds a CCP virus response meeting with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on April 30, 2020. (Carlos Barria/Reuters) Trump on Pricing Trump later in April said he wont authorize more funding for the Postal Service unless it raises shipping rates for Amazon and other companies it handles packages for. The Postal Service is a joke because theyre handing out packages for Amazon and other internet companies. And every time they bring a package, they lose money on it, Trump told reporters at the White House. Amazon and other online-based companies are dropping a big portion of packages off at post offices, leaving the Postal Service to deliver them but lose money in the process, the president said. The Postal Service should raise prices by about four times, he added. For some reasonthese people have been in there a long timebut for some reason, theyre very cozy with some of these companies, and they dont raise the price of a package, he added. United States Postal Service mail carrier Lizette Portugal finishes loading her truck amid the COVID-19 pandemic in El Paso, Texas, on April 30, 2020. (Paul Ratje/AFP via Getty Images) Donations Both DeJoy and his wife, Aldona Wos, have donated extensively to Trump and Republicans. DeJoy donated more than $1.1 million to the Republican National Committee (RNC) and nearly $1 million to Trump Victory, a joint fundraising committee between Trumps reelection campaign and the RNC. DeJoys latest donation saw $210,600 go to Trump Victory in February. Wos was named U.S. ambassador to Canada that month. Wos has donated about $150,000 to the RNC and tens of thousands to Trump Victory. DeJoy is also slated to serve as finance chairman for the committee hosting the upcoming RNC convention in North Carolina. He is advising Trump on how to best reopen the country from the pandemic-fueled lockdown. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), chairman of the House Government Operations subcommittee, in a statement accused Trump of rewarding a partisan donor by installing him at the United States Postal Service. The Postal Service is in crisis and needs real leadership and someone with knowledge of the issues. This crony doesnt cut it, he added. My understanding is that the Postmaster General is appointed by the board. The board is appointed by the president. So there you have it, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters in Washington on Thursday. New Breed DeJoy transformed New Breed Logistics, a small, family-owned company with 10 employees, into a nationwide provider of logistics solutions employing more than 9,000 people, according to the Board of Governors. New Breed was a contractor to the Postal Service for more than 25 years, receiving awards from the service during four of them. New Breed merged with another company in 2014. DeJoy retired in 2015. The board said it conducted an extensive nationwide search for a replacement for Brennan after she announced in October 2019 her intent to retire. The board reviewed the records of more than 200 candidates before narrowing the list to more than 50 candidates that underwent more in-depth vetting. The board interviewed more than a dozen candidates and followed up with seven of those. A small list of candidates received final vetting before the choice of DeJoy. [Maria Fortezas documentary] Mallorca, an eight-minute, black-and-white sweep across the Balearic island inspired by the music of the Spanish composer Isaac Albeniz, was donated to the national film archive in 1982 For 38 years, Mallorca languished in the collection, wrongly identified as a silent 1926 film made by a male director. The Guardian Health bosses today slammed the government for 'breaking promises' to frontline workers over the supply of PPE after it emerged a shipment of 400,000 gowns from Turkey has been found to be useless. The Turkish gowns were ordered last month amid great fanfare from ministers but the delivery descended into farce after arrival was delayed and RAF planes were sent to collect them. It has now been revealed the equipment is sitting in a warehouse near Heathrow Airport after inspectors discovered it fell short of UK standards amid reports the sleeves were the wrong length. Critics have accused ministers of presiding over an 'embarrassing' debacle as calls grow for the government to seek a refund. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis hinted this morning the government will try to get taxpayers' money back - but he did not guarantee it. Niall Dickson, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said the problems with the shipment 'show the absolute danger of making promises when you can't be sure you can keep them'. 'We know that the number of gowns, or masks or aprons or the type or the quality of equipment is not always what it says on the box,' he said. 'We have warned that setting targets that are not met or saying it is all going fine when in the frontline it manifestly in places is not going fine, undermines confidence and it undermines confidence not just of our members, local leaders, but among frontline staff. 'I think the message is it is better to under-promise and over-deliver than the other way round.' Mr Lewis was asked on LBC if ministers will try to get a refund and he replied: 'The health department will be looking at all of those issues and I know the team at the health department will be looking to ensure we get a positive outcome from this. 'At the moment, quite rightly, their core focus is on securing the PPE, of the right quality, that we do need to make sure our frontline staff have got the kit that they need.' 400,000 gowns ordered by the UK from Turkey are now sitting in a warehouse after inspectors deemed them useless. Pictured is an RAF C17 plane at Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, unloading PPE after arriving from Turkey The shipment was announced by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick on April 18 to much fanfare Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis, pictured on Sky News today, suggested the Department of Health will seek a refund over the Turkey shipment Boris Johnson prepares to loosen UK lockdown Boris Johnson is preparing to begin loosening draconian lockdown rules on Monday with a five-step plan to save the economy - as the government drops its 'Stay at Home' message. The shape of the 'new reality' Britons face is starting to emerge, with curbs on outdoor activities set to be eased and businesses encouraged to find ways to get back up and running amid social distancing rules. The lockdown measures are formally due to be extended this evening, after the Cabinet and Cobra meets to consider the desperate crisis gripping the nation. But the 'exit strategy' will not be announced until Sunday, when Mr Johnson will address the public to lay out the 'easements' to the misery of combating the deadly disease. The gravity of the situation the UK faces was underlined today as the Bank of England warned GDP will plunge nearly 30 per cent over the first half of this year, and unemployment could hit 9 per cent. The overall 14 per cent slump estimated for 2020 would wipe around 300billion off output and represent the worst recession for more than 300 years. Extraordinarily, former chancellor Alistair Darling warned this morning that the Bank might have been too optimistic. The stay at home message will be replaced with a 'be careful when you're out' mantra, according to one Cabinet minister, who added that the easing of lockdown will be based on how much each step of the plan affects the rate of infection - or R. The government is thought to have drawn up a draft 50-page blueprint to gradually ease lockown in staggered steps between now and October. This blueprint is expected to lead to a five step roadmap to see Britain leave lockdown completely by Autumn - but an 'emergency brake' could be applied if a second wave of the deadly virus arrives. Advertisement Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said the Turkish gowns shipment was 'embarrassing' for the government as she urged ministers to boost supply of PPE. Speaking on LBC, Ms Dodds said: 'I think it is embarrassing obviously and it looks like there wasn't proper quality assurance on those supplies. 'But the critical thing is how are we going to sort this out for the future, because we're talking to frontline workers in care homes in particular saying they are really concerned because they don't have access to the protective equipment they need.' Ms Dodds also accused the government of failing to utilise British manufacturers in increasing supply. 'We've got great British manufacturers who are crying out to be involved in this effort,' she said. The original shipment from Turkey was announced by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick on April 18, with the minister claiming that 84 tonnes of PPE would arrive the next day to aid NHS staff in the fight against coronavirus. But delivery was delayed as an RAF plane was then sent to collect the gowns only for it to be forced to wait at a Turkish airport after it was discovered the government apparently forgot to check whether the supplier had an export license. An international blame game with Turkish officials followed before the shipment eventually arrived in the UK on April 22. But in another farcical turn, Health and Safety inspectors have branded the 400,000 gowns useless and they are now sitting abandoned in a warehouse. Millions of masks bought from factories in China have also been impounded after being found to fall below UK standards - though there are fears some have already been used by NHS staff while treating patients. It is unclear if the government will be reimbursed after the materials failed to meet UK standards. Senior NHS sources suggested problems had been found with the type of material used and the length of the sleeves of the gowns. Mark Roscrow, the chairman of the Health Care Supplies Association, which represents NHS procurement teams, asked why government officials had failed to carry out proper checks before spending taxpayers' money. He told the Telegraph: 'Something very wrong has happened here. 'It's not clear to me why we weren't able to obtain samples in the usual way, and to see that these gowns weren't fit for purpose. 'We are being told that the people in charge know how to secure this vital equipment on our behalf, but the checks and balances clearly haven't been applied correctly. This equipment is still desperately needed at the front line, especially as hospitals begin to reopen other services which also require high quality PPE.' According to sources, the delivery of the gowns, dubbed 'Air Jenrick', was organised at the last minutes as pressure relating to PPE shortages grew. Downing Street reportedly ignored a Department of Health warning not to announce the delivery of the PPE from Turkey in April. Senior officials are thought to have warned No 10 and Mr Jenrick that any public confirmation of the plane-load of PPE could backfire. But Mr Jenrick was authorised to announce its imminent arrival on April 18, a decision which sparked major embarrassment when it became clear it would not be ready in time. The following day, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson was forced to admit the equipment would not arrive on schedule. UK officials had first contacted the Istanbul-based firm behind the shipment, Selegna, two weeks earlier after it had offered to help. The final order was signed on April 17, prompting Mr Jenrick's press conference promise. He said: 'Today I can report that a very large consignment of PPE is due to arrive in the UK tomorrow from Turkey, which amounts to 84 tonnes of PPE and will include for example, 400,000 gowns so a very significant additional shipment.' NHS sources have suggested problems had been found with the type of material used and the length of the sleeves of the gowns It is unclear if the government will be reimbursed after the materials failed to meet UK standards. Pictured is another order of PPE being delivered to the UK on April 10 However, the shipment was delayed, with an RAF plane only dispatched to pick up the items two days later. The plane then waited at an airport for 24 hours after it was found that an export licence had not been signed. The Turkish government then apparently stepped in, ordering state-owned health company Ushas to dispatch PPE so the plane could return to the UK. But the first flight only saw around 32,000 taken back, with two larger RAF planes travelling to Istanbul later that week to pick up the rest of the gowns that were supplied by Selegna. However, when UK officials inspected the Selegna-made gowns, they found several faults that made them too dangerous for use by NHS staff, according to The Telegraph. Last month, a spokesman for Selegna revealed the company had been founded by the owner's sister just four months before the PPE controversy. It originally produced shirts and tracksuits and only switched to the production of PPE as coronavirus spread around the world. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: 'This is a global pandemic with many countries procuring PPE, leading to shortages around the world, not just the UK. 'We are working night and day to source PPE internationally and domestically, and brought together the NHS, industry and the armed forces to create a comprehensive PPE distribution network to deliver critical supplies to the frontline. 'All deliveries of PPE are checked to ensure the equipment meets the safety and quality standards our frontline staff need. If equipment does not meet our specifications or pass our quality assurance processes, it is not distributed to the front line.' New Delhi: On the auspicious occasion of Buddha Purnima, also known as Buddha Jayanti - celebrating the birth of Lord Buddha, we thought of sharing the Purnima timings (tithi) and Buddhist chanting mantra which brings peace and mental stability. Buddha Purnima Timings: Purnima Tithi Begins - 07:44 PM on May 06, 2020 Purnima Tithi Ends - 04:14 PM on May 07, 2020 (as per drikpanchang.com) Traditionally, it's a holiday in Mahayana Buddhism commemorating the birth of the Prince Siddhartha Gautama, later the Gautama Buddhafounder of Buddhism. The birthday of Lord Buddha is widely celebrated across the globe and followers begin preparation, days in advance. Before denouncing the worldly pleasures, the Lord was known as Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who later transformed into Gautama Buddha and founded Buddhism as a path leading to the spiritual enlightenment of the soul. ALSO READ: How an 'enlightened' Siddhartha transformed from a prince to a spiritual seeker It is said that as per Theravada Tripitaka scriptures, Prince Gautama was born in Lumbini which is now known as modern-day Nepal, around 563 BCE. He was later raised in Kapilavastu. Buddhist chanting mantra: "Namu Myoho Renge Kyo" is chanted within all forms of Nichiren Buddhism as well as Tendai Buddhism. It is the Lotus Sutra which helps in attaining mental peace and people believe it cures them of all problems. In Buddhism, chanting of mantras sets the mind into the state of meditation. The common Theravada chants are usually based on Pali Canon, Mahayana and Vajrayana chants. ALSO READ: Lets look at the historic places associated with the life of Gautam Buddha There are various chanting mantras in Buddhism, the most common happens to be from the Nichiren Buddhism which is chanting of the five characters of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, meaning a tribute to the true dharma of the Lotus Sutra. This comes under the Mahayana Sutra chants. ALSO READ: Your guide on how to worship the lord on this auspicious festival Mahayana Sutra unfolds Shakyamuni's real self as a Buddha who attained enlightenment years back. Here's wishing our readers a very happy Buddha Purnima! The five states of the Upper MidwestMinnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakotaare similar in many ways, including demography, climate and history. But their politics are diverse, as has been reflected in their responses to the Wuhan virus. South Dakotas Governor Kristi Noem has declined to order her constituents to stay home and has not closed any businesses, while she has encouraged voluntary safety measures. Minnesotas feckless Governor Tim Walz, on the other hand, has ordered one of the nations most stringent shutdowns. As you would expect, Noem has been excoriated for her position on the virus, including by the national press that normally pays no attention to South Dakota, while Walz has been lionized. If you have been reading Scotts Coronavirus In One State series, you know that Walzs regime has been farcical. He has managed to destroy his states economy, while in the meantime failing to protect Minnesotas nursing home and assisted living residents, who have suffered 80% of the states COVID fatalities. At the American Experiment web site, my colleague Isaac Orr examines the five Upper Midwestern states and finds that Minnesota has both the highest unemployment rate and the worst COVID-19 death rate in the region. Heckuva job, Timmy! Nearly 625,000 Minnesotans have filed for unemployment since mid-March, and every day seems to bring new headlines of small businesses that will not survive the Coronavirus shutdown. Minnesota now has the highest unemployment rate of any of our neighboring states, according to the Tax Foundation. Despite the highest rate of unemployment in our area, Minnesota also has the distinction of having the highest COVID-19 death rate among these states, as well. In other words, it appears Minnesota has the worst of both worlds. This map shows unemployment rates, state by state: Note that South Dakota, by virtue of not destroying its own businesses, has the nations lowest unemployment rate. This map, produced by National Public Radio, shows Wuhan fatalities and death rates. It is a day or two old, and Minnesotas fatalities now stand at 508: So, as Isaac pointed out, Governor Tim Walz has achieved the exacta of misery: Minnesota has both the highest unemployment rate and the highest COVID death rate in its region. South Dakota, on the other hand, has both the lowest unemployment and the lowest death rate. Minnesotas per capita COVID death rate is 2 1/2 times that of South Dakota. An observer afflicted with common sense might infer that shutdown orders are a poor idea, and compliment Governor Noem on her successful policy. Rest assured, though, that no member of the national or local press corps will succumb to such logical thinking, even for a moment. COVID-19 is disrupting the Alamo City unlike anything seen before, leaving San Antonios small and minority business community reeling from the effects of the pandemic. Bexar County has roughly 1,700 confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 50 deaths, and the fallout has severely impacted our local economy. Travel has halted and large gatherings are prohibited; our once-thriving hospitality and tourism sector is crushed from the slew of festival, conference and other event cancellations. This drop has created a $100.9 million deficit in the city of San Antonios budget. Tens of thousands of people have filed for unemployment in Bexar County, and the county estimates an approximate $70 million to $100 million hit to its 2020 general fund. Theres little confidence going into the next few quarters after such major reductions in tax revenue, cuts to local services and layoffs about making up for these losses. In less than two weeks, the U.S. governments Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, ran out of its initial $350 billion budget before many Hispanic small businesses could be approved or even apply. Since running out of money, Congress moved rather slowly to come to an agreement to replenish the PPP. While many see Congress struggle to come to agreement as evidence of the usual partisan squabbling, there is probably more than meets the eye. Because of this, I lack confidence that enough San Antonio small businesses will greatly benefit from the latest round of PPP economic relief. Given the existing landscape, my attention instead is piqued by the independence of the Federal Reserve and COVID-19 offerings, including the Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility, or PPPLF, for additional SBA-qualified lenders, and the expansion of the scope and duration of the Municipal Liquidity Facility, or MLF, for Bexar County and San Antonio recovery efforts. As Congress fumbles, the Feds unlimited ability to create money may be the only lifeline that communities have left, Claudia Sahm, director of macroeconomic policy at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth and an economist from 2008 to 2019 at the Federal Reserve, wrote in a New York Times opinion piece. It is huge that, for the first time ever, the Federal Reserve is prioritizing Main Street over Wall Street. The MLF, which was announced on April 9 as part of an initiative to provide up to $2.3 trillion in loans to support U.S. households, businesses and communities, will offer up to $500 billion in lending to states and municipalities to help manage cash-flow stresses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. This is a big change that puts the Fed deep into uncharted territory, but these unprecedented times call for even more unprecedented actions. For the sake of self-preservation as well as the countrys well-being, the Fed must go further this time, Sahm explained in the commentary. San Antonio would be smart to consider Sahms suggestion. With many of San Antonios small and minority businesses unable to access PPP assistance, Alamo City officials should strongly consider working with the Federal Reserve in a big, bold and innovative way that is able to provide more relief to the most vulnerable in our community and to the most COVID-19-impacted small businesses being left out and left behind. Leonard B. Rodriguez is the senior vice president for the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the former president and CEO of the city of San Antonio Westside Development Corp. Good Morning, welcome to Information Nigerias Newspaper headlines for today, 7th May 2020. Here are the major headlines. Lockdown Nigeria For Two Months Sagay Tells Buhari Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) has told President Muhammadu Buhari to lock down Nigeria for a minimum of two months in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. Advertisement FG Extends Ban On Flights For Four Weeks As efforts to curb the spread of Coronavirus intensifies, President Muhammadu Buhari has extended the ban imposed on local and international flights by four weeks. Senate Urges Suspension Of 5G Deployment In Nigeria The Senate has asked the Federal Government to suspend the planned deployment of the fifth-generation (5G) network in Nigeria pending the resolution of all issues thrown up by the new technology. Two Patients Fled Oyo Isolation Center Makinde Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo state, has revealed that two COVID-19 patients in the state have fled the isolation centre. Buhari Issues New Directives On COVID-19 Donations President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the opening of five COVID-19 Donor Accounts. A further report revealed that the donor accounts are part of the existing Treasury Single Account (TSA) arrangement in five commercial banks. Buhari Writes Reps Seeks Approval Of N850bn Loan President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the House of Representatives, for the approval of N850 billion loan. The lawmakers read the letter on the floor of the House during its plenary session on Tuesday. FG Finally Reveals Drug Used In Treating COVID-19 The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, has revealed the drug used in treating COVID-19 patients in Nigeria. Ehanire, during a press briefing on Tuesday, said Nigeria has started using Remdesivir. Buhari Waives Import Duty On Medical Supplies President Muhammadu Buhari has approved a blanket waiver of import duties for medical equipment and supplies. Prepare For A Fresh Lockdown NCDC DG The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu has warned Nigerians of risking another lockdown if the guidelines were not observed and there was a surge in coronavirus cases. Delta Government Threatens To Quarantine Anyone Seen Without Facemask Delta Government has issued strong warning to residents who will go out without wearing a facemask, threatening that such persons will be quarantined at isolation centres in the State. The Coral Princess cruise ship, with coronavirus patients on board, docked in Miami on April 4. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Since Monday, thousands of cruise ship crew members have been approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to disembark in US waters to be repatriated to their home countries. The majority of approvals are for crew members on Norwegian Cruise Line and Disney Cruise Line ships, most of whom have been living on ships since mid-March when the CDC issued its No Sail order. Tensions between the CDC and cruise lines played out in public last week after the CDC told the Miami Herald that cruise lines did not want to pay the cost of charter flights to get their employees home. In a letter to staff Sunday, Royal Caribbean Cruises President and CEO Michael Bayley said that the company was nervous that the CDC regulations stipulated that company executives would be criminally liable if a cruise line's employees did not follow regulations, which prevent the use of most transportation and hotels. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Thousands of cruise ship workers will soon step on dry land for the first time in months, following agreements between embattled cruise lines and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since Monday, the CDC has agreed to let 2,352 cruise workers disembark from ships in US waters after their employers agreed to strict transfer guidelines which prevent the cruise workers from interacting with any members of the public, taking commercial flights or staying in hotels. The rules also hold corporate executives criminally liable if any of their employees don't follow the requirements. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings employees make up the majority of those approved this week with 1,308, followed closely by Disney Cruise Line with 1,031, according to numbers published by the CDC. The remaining 13 come from Royal Caribbean Cruises. The CDC, NCL and Disney Cruise Line did not respond to requests for comment. Jonathon Fishman, a spokesperson for Royal Caribbean Cruises, said the company had already disembarked more than 12,000 crew members through commercial flights, charter flights and direct sailings, and said that "thousands more are going home in coming weeks." Story continues "We are working with governments and health authorities around the world on our plans, and we very much appreciate our crews' patience, understanding and good spirit," Fishman said. Roger Frizzell, a spokesperson for Carnival Corporation, said the company "recently submitted our proposal into the CDC and have been awaiting its feedback and response." "As always, our ships will fully comply with the CDC and other health authorities," Frizzell said. "We have already repatriated thousands of crew members, via air charter and on our ships, to their respective home countries around the world." CDC, cruise lines disagree on cost and legal penalties Across cruise lines, thousands of workers have been stuck on ships since at least mid-March when coronavirus brought global travel to a halt. On March 14, the CDC announced its first No Sail order, which prevented new passengers from getting on cruise ships in the US. The CDC expanded that order on April 15 to prevent crew members from disembarking at US ports. Many of these crew members are not being paid, have stopped working, and spend their days sitting in the sun. Some crews, like the Norwegian Gem have seen multiple colleagues die, though there is little official information about which ships have been overtaken by coronavirus. The Norwegian Encore cruise ship at the Port of Miami on March 26, 2020. Al Diaz/Miami Herald via Getty Images Prior to this week, just 1,311 crew members had been approved to disembark in US waters since April 23, though the CDC says it "stands ready to approve these requests with same-day turnaround" as soon as "cruise lines submit a signed attestation stating that they have complied with requirements to safely disembark their crew members." Tensions between the CDC and the cruise lines played out in the press last week after the agency accused Royal Caribbean of falsely blaming it for keeping crew members at sea, while secretly complaining about the cost of charter flights. "Some of the lines have really disappointed us about not cooperating," Dr. Martin Cetron, the CDC's director of the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, told the Miami Herald on Friday. "What they've said repeatedly is we can't do that, we can't afford to do that. Their answers are not aligned with the public health needs." Read more: Hundreds of cruise crew members have been stuck on ships for months, and they say there's no end in sight In an April 3 letter to staff shared with Business Insider, Royal Caribbean President and CEO Michael Bayley wrote that the company had recently agreed to comply with the CDC, but said that the criminal penalties had given the company and its lawyers "pause." "While I have full faith and confidence in you and our suppliers to do the right things ... the legal risk to many people at the company for actions we may not be able to control could not be ignored," Bayley wrote. "Over the past several days we have discussed our concern with the CDC on the criminal penalties associated with guaranteeing future events that we had little to no control over. We remain hopeful that this language will eventually be adjusted," he wrote. Several of the ships run by NCL, which has aborted multiple disembarkment missions due to CDC intervention, are expected to dock in Florida on Friday. One crew member on the Norwegian Epic said the captain told crew members that NCL is working to have charter flights ready to gather employees by the time they dock. Read the original article on Business Insider A Wyoming resident who was selected as city treasurer for the city of Chattanooga has been placed on administrative leave prior to beginning her duties. Officials said there would be an investigation of the fact that Kate Farmer is a defendant in three different federal lawsuits in Wyoming. Maura Sullivan, city chief operating officer, said, "The city of Chattanooga has placed Kate Farmer on administrative leave until further notice and will be using outside counsel to conduct an independent investigation of the three pending civil cases in the Federal Court of Wyoming, in which she is named. Any questions regarding the pending litigation in the Federal Court of Wyoming should be directed toward Attorney John Bowers who is serving as counsel for the Town of Guernsey, Wyo., and all named parties in those three cases." Assistant City Treasurer Sharon Morris will be in charge of the office. City Council Chairman Chip Henderson and Vice Chairman Ken Smith said Ms. Farmer should have disclosed that she was a defendant in a federal lawsuit. Vice Chairman Smith said, "I appreciate the Administration taking steps to address the situation with the lawsuits pending against Ms. Farmer. While an accusation or lawsuit is not a sign of guilt, there is still no excuse that this information was not disclosed by her prior to the appointment this week. It creates serious doubt of her credibility and integrity required for the Treasurers role. I do not believe she did not know more than three days ago about the lawsuits and could have brought that to the attention of the Administration and Council. This is unacceptable." There were 60 applicants for the post. The wife of Earl Thomas held a loaded gun to the Baltimore Ravens safetys head last month after she found him in bed with another woman, according to an affidavit obtained by PennLive. Nina Thomas told police she logged into Earls Snapchat account to track him and his brother, Seth, to a house in Austin, Texas, early in the morning of April 13, the affidavit read. Earl and Seth told Austin police they were temporarily staying at the residence with two women. Nina, who arrived at the home with a friend and her sister, brought Earls pistol and pointed it at him, according to police, who say they reviewed a video from the altercation. Earl wrestled the gun away from his wife, he told police. Officers arrived shortly thereafter to find Nina chasing Earl, who held the gun, an officer wrote in the affidavit. Authorities charged Nina with first-degree felony burglary of a residence with intent to commit aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, court records show. She was released on $25,000 bond and is due in court on June 8, according to public records. Earl Thomas was not arrested. Wednesday night, Earl released a video on Instagram in which he addressed the incident. Stuff like this happens, bro. Were trying to live the best life we possibly can, but sometimes it doesnt go as planned, Thomas said. Just pray for us as we go through this stuff. Were back talking. Im seeing my kids. Just keep us in your prayers. TMZ was first to report this news Wednesday night. Earl and Nina were married in 2016 and have three children. A Ravens spokesman said in a statement that the team "became aware of the situation when we read and saw it on the reports late last night and early this morning. Jonathan Goins, a lawyer representing Nina, said in a press release that his client was wrongfully arrested. "As her attorney, I am here to declare that my client unequivocally and categorically denies these allegations and we look forward to our day in court where we can clear her good name, Goins said. Earl Thomas told police he and Nina engaged in an argument on April 12 in which his wife accused him of drinking too much alcohol. At about 4 p.m. that day, Thomas said he left home and gathered with Seth and two women at an AirBnB, according to the affidavit. After going to bed with a woman in the AirBnB around 1 a.m., Earl Thomas said he woke to the sound of screaming and saw Nina and two others in the home, an officer wrote in the affidavit. Per the affidavit, Nina told police she planned on scaring Earl with the gun. She said she disengaged the safety on the gun and was unaware it had a round in the chamber. Nina said she thought the gun could not fire because she took out the magazine, according to the affidavit. Ninas sister told police she took a video of the incident. According to the affidavit, the video shows Nina pointing the gun at Earls head from less than a foot away with her finger on the trigger. Earl flinched and ducked, the affidavit read. A woman in the home told police she heard a female voice tell Earl: The safety is off. If you come any closer, Ill shoot you. The affidavit did not indicate that anyone fired the gun or that anyone sustained serious injuries. Earl Thomas, a seven-time Pro Bowler, is entering the second season of a four-year contract he signed with Baltimore in 2019. The Ravens, along with other NFL teams, are holding a virtual offseason program while their facilities remain closed in the face of the coronavirus crisis. 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. Aaron Kasinitz covers the Baltimore Ravens for PennLive and can be reached at akasinitz@pennlive.com or on Twitter @AaronKazreports. Follow PennLives Ravens coverage on Facebook and Youtube. That should concern citizens everywhere, said Patti Kazmierski, 64, of Orland Park. Kazmierski is a straight mother of three adult children, she said. Two of her children are gay, which is why she said she became active in the local group Instill Pride, which has sponsored the Mokena Pride Parade for the past couple years. A pro-Gov. Phil Murphy group that has sparked an uproar among fellow Democrats in the past is now defending the governor against criticism that he is moving too slow in reopening New Jersey in response to the coronavirus. New Direction New Jersey, a nonprofit funded by Murphys staunchest allies and run by members of his inner circle, is sending out emails to supporters saying its not the time for partisan posturing and accused some in New Jersey of playing pandemic politics. This crisis calls for competent, compassionate leadership to bring together people of all stripes, at all levels of government, and get things done, the group said in one of the emails. The group didnt call anybody out by name. Instead, it boasted how the state will be able to at least double its daily number of COVID-19 tests after the governor secured kits and swabs following a White House meeting with President Donald Trump. The email blast comes on the heels of another poll that showed more than three-quarters of New Jerseyans applaud Murphys job performance as the state battles through the pandemic. Murphy has surpassed the rockstar status approval rating former Gov. Chris Christie received in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage A large majority 77% approve of the job Murphy is doing. Only 21% disapprove, according to the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll released Wednesday. Thats more than Christies 73% in February 2013 Rutgers-Eagleton poll. A growing number of Republican lawmakers are criticizing the Democratic governor for not talking enough about how the state will begin to effectively reopen after Murphy ordered tough restrictions to mitigate the spread of the virus. "It is very important to provide a detailed plan as we begin to see a flattening of the curve. Assemblyman Jon Bramnick, R-Union, said in a statement Wednesday. We all understand the seriousness of the virus and that we will need to change how we interact. The governor must discuss the details of reopening," he said. "We understand it may occur slowly, but it must be discussed. Another more outspoken Murphy critic, state Sen. Michael Doherty, R-Warren, has accused the governor of acting like a king and said hes trashing the New Jersey Constitution" with the restrictions. Members of Murphys own party have also called on the governor to look to reopening the state, though their comments have been more measured. "The governor has done a very good job of flattening the curve, state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, recently said. Now we have to start moving forward with the economy. There are other businesses that weve got to start opening up. Sweeney, who has often locked horns with the governor, was among the states top Democrats to sharply criticize the pro-Murphy group when New Direction New Jersey ran ads against members of the governors own party during terse budget negotiations. The group spent at least $1 million last year to lobby for a millionaires tax, something Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin both opposed. Coughlin, D-Middlesex, called it unacceptable at the time when New Direction New Jersey declared the Democratic-controlled state Legislature sent the Democratic governor a scam proposal that screws working people in our state. Last year, New Direction New Jersey named its group of supporters who shelled out nearly $6.8 million to fund it. Its backers that dug deepest into their pockets are some of Murphys staunchest allies: labor unions. The biggest support came from the states largest teachers union, the New Jersey Education Association, which gave the pro-Murphy group New Direction New Jersey $4.5 million New Direction New Jersey is run by members of Murphys inner circle, including former campaign manager Brendan Gill, long-time Democratic operatives and Murphy advisers Steve DeMicco and Brad Lawrence, and pollster Danny Franklin. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. HARARE, May 6 (Xinhua) -- China's northwest Gansu Province on Wednesday donated a consignment of medical supplies to Zimbabwe's Mashonaland West Province to help fight the spread of COVID-19. The medical supplies were handed over to the Minister of State for Mashonaland West Province Mary Mliswa by the Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Guo Shaochun at a ceremony in Harare. Goods donated include 12,000 face masks, and 1,000 protective suits. Speaking at the handover ceremony, Guo said the donations are a symbol of the friendship and the fraternity between Zimbabwe and China. "In the face of this pandemic, ordinary Chinese and Zimbabweans have supported each other from the bottom of their heart, as they have done in the numerous crises in the past," Guo said. "Our aid to Zimbabwe and cooperation with Zimbabwe are always practical and visible, which means they must be result oriented, and truly serve the development of Zimbabwe and well-being of Zimbabwean people," he added. A second batch of medical supplies is also expected from China, Guo said, adding that a team of Chinese health experts is expected in the country to work with their Zimbabwean counterparts in fighting the pandemic. Speaking on the same occasion, Mliswa expressed gratitude to Gansu Province and thanked the Chinese government for the generous donation. "This is testimony of the sound relationship between Mashonaland West province and Gansu province in China, and it was birthed through the twinning arrangement between our two provinces," said Mliswa. The twinning arrangement between Mashonaland West and Gansu Provinces was signed in 2004. Over the years, the two sides have broadened cooperation and trade in many sectors. Mliswa said the donation of the much needed medical equipment will go a long way in the province's fight against COVID-19. Since the virus was first detected in Zimbabwe, the Chinese government and businesses have acted swiftly to help Zimbabwe fight the spread of COVID-19. Zimbabwe's main coronavirus isolation and treatment center was upgraded by Chinese enterprises under the guidance of the Chinese Embassy at a cost of about 500,000 U.S. dollars. The Southern African country has also received donations of medical supplies from Chinese foundations. A protest demanding answers about the death of Ahmaud Arbery: AP A graphic video was released this week showing a black man, Ahmaud Arbery, being killed on a street in Georgia with a shotgun held by a white man, Travis McMichael. Dating from February, the violent footage has stoked both sorrow and fury across the US not least because, some three months later, neither of the white men shown has been arrested. Mr McMichael and his father, Gregory, had pursued Arbery as he jogged down the street, supposedly because they thought him to be responsible for a series of burglaries in the area. Bringing two guns with them, they stopped to try and talk to him, after which the altercation shown in the video began. The shotgun was fired, and Arbery died of his wounds at the scene. An attorney for Arberys mother gave a blunt assessment of what happened: These men were vigilantes, they were a posse and they performed a modern lynching in the middle of the day. To add to its grim resonance, Arberys death came just three days before the anniversary of the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida in 2012 by George Zimmerman, who first approached Martin in the street (against police instructions) and then shot him dead during the altercation that followed. The release of the video has vaulted Arberys killing to national attention, and a district attorney in Georgia has now recommended a grand jury be convened to consider criminal charges. That in turn raises the question of what defence the McMichaels might use. According to a police report describing the immediate aftermath of their altercation, Gregory McMichael told an officer he and his son decided to chase Arbery because they suspected him of being behind a series of break-ins. The report says Mr McMichael went to his bedroom and grabbed his .357 Magnum and Travis grabbed his shotgun because they didn t know if the male was armed or not. Michael stated the other night they saw the same male and he stuck his hand down his pants which lead [sic] them to believe the male was armed. Story continues The elder Mr McMichael went on to describe what happened next: McMichael stated the unidentified male began to violently attack Travis and the two men then started fighting over the shotgun at which point Travis fired a shot and then a second later there was a second shot. Michael stated the male fell face down on the pavement with his hand under his body. Should the McMichaels have to defend their actions in court, they may end up relying on what are known as stand your ground laws essentially a claim to self-defence. As in many other states, Georgias stand-your-ground law holds that killing another person or is justified provided the killer reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily injury to himself or herself or a third person or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony. That means the McMichaels could in theory argue that the struggle with Arbery made Travis fearful for his life, thereby justifying his pulling the trigger. In a letter seen by the New York Times, prosecutor George E Barnhill who has recused himself from the case over a perceived conflict argued the McMichaels were justified in chasing after Arbery under Georgias citizen arrest law, and that the self-defence law applies because of Arberys behaviour. The angle of the shots and the video show this was from the beginning or almost immediately became a fight over the shotgun. Given the fact Arbery initiated the fight, at the point Arbery grabbed the shotgun, under Georgia Law, McMichael was allowed to use deadly force to protect himself. To back up this conclusion, Mr Barnhill specifically cites the Georgia Code, which says once confronted with a deadly force situation an individual is allowed to use deadly force to defend themselves or others, and that the use of force which is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm ... is not justified unless the person using such force reasonably believes that it is necessary to prevent the commission of a forcible felony. Crucially, it also says: A person properly and legally defending themselves is immune from prosecution. On this basis, Mr Barnhill wrote that there is no probable cause to arrest those involved in Ahmauds death. Another lawyer commenting to the Times disagreed, saying since the McMichaels appeared to be the aggressors in the altercation, any argument of self-defence is not justified. These disagreements could be a preview of what is to come. The McMichaels have still not been arrested, much less charged but if these laws are put to the test in a trial over Arberys death, the furious fight over who can use lethal force to defend themselves, and in what circumstances, could be reignited all over again. Tracy Grimshaw has taken aim at Australians refusing to download the COVIDSafe app over privacy concerns despite continuing to share videos on TikTok. The Channel Nine television host hit out at skeptics of the government-run app and accused them of holding double standards when it comes to their private data. 'I wonder how many Australians refusing to download the COVIDSafe app due to privacy concerns have been passing their isolation time on TikTok? Because China is squeaky clean on cyber security,' she tweeted on Thursday. Scroll down for video Tracy Grimshaw suggested CovidSafe is safer than popular video-sharing app TikTok COVIDSafe was released to the public on April 26 and has been downloaded by more than 5.1million people since. The government wants 40 per cent of Australia's 16 million smartphone owners to download the app before they could begin lifting coronavirus restrictions. But millions of Australians have refused to download the app over concerns about the government having their private data and fears their location could be tracked. This is despite the government explaining that the app uses an encrypted user ID, which regenerates every two hours, and will not log any location data. It means neither a user's whereabouts nor activities will be tracked, with all data deleted after 21 days. Ms Grimshaw questioned how Australians could be skeptical about sharing information with the government, while having no qualms about using the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok. The tweet was met with mixed responses, with some saying the presenter's comparison was flawed. 'TikTok is not claiming that it can keep us "safe" from a novel coronavirus...this is a false equivalency. A retrospective contact tracing app on our mobile phones cannot protect anyone from infection in real time', one man said. Ms Grimshaw told the critic he had 'completely fudged the point.' 'It's not about what the apps ostensibly do - there's no comparison. It's about what access downloading an app allows. And whether the Australian govt is not to be trusted on cyber tech but China is?' she replied. TikTok, which was released in 2016, was named the seventh most-downloaded app of the decade in 2019. It was developed by Byte Dance, a Chinese tech company ran by Zhang Yiming. The video-sharing app recently rose to popularity even further thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. TikTok, which was released in 2016 by Chinese company Byte Dance was named the seventh most-downloaded app of the decade, in 2019 TikTok is the international version of Chinese app Douyin where users create and upload short videos and Gifs with a host of functions. The app asks users for access to their phone's camera, microphone contact list and location when they sign up. The company says it stores its data in the US and Singapore, not China - but experts fear it could still be accessed by the Chinese state. Fergus Ryan, an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), told ABC's 7.30: 'It could very well be the case that data is being stored in the United States. 'But it's highly likely that same data is being accessed by Beijing-based engineers in order to improve the app.' In January, the app was reported to have multiple security flaws which could have allowed hackers to access sensitive information. Cybersecurity experts at CheckPoint Research discovered two glaring security holes which allowed criminals access to private addresses, emails and date of birth. Hackers could also upload unauthorised videos, delete users' videos and switch videos from 'private' to 'public'. CheckPoint made TikTok aware of the weaknesses and the vulnerabilities were fixed in an app update. Users were later told to update their app to ensure they are fully protected. Continuano le azioni di Fondo di Garanzia Pmi e prestiti garantiti Sace a sostegno di credito e liquidita per famiglie e imprese In what can truly be attributed as a funnily awkward incident, a flush sound was heard during live audio streaming of a hearing that took place in the United States Supreme Court. The incident occurred when a case pertaining to robocalls was being heard. A sound of flush followed when a lawyer was presenting his side of the case. In the audio clip, which is going viral on social media, one can hear Roman Martinez, Attorney for American Association of Political Consultants Inc saying, What the FCC has said is that when [flush sound] the subject matter of the call ranges different topics then the call is transformed, and it is a call that would have been allowed, which is no longer allowed. LISTEN: Toilet flush during U.S. Supreme Court oral argument (h/t @nicninh) pic.twitter.com/He3QGMzvJI Jeremy Art (@cspanJeremy) May 6, 2020 Even though, the sound of flush was clearly audible it did not seem to have distracted Roman. As of now, it is not known who used the flush during the hearing. However, the clip which is now viral has got all kinds of reaction on Twitter. A user said, The sound of the toilet flushing during Supreme Court arguments is so loud that I have to believe the culprit was IN the bathroom, though not necessarily on the toilet. The sound of the toilet flushing during Supreme Court arguments is so loud that I have to believe the culprit was IN the bathroom, though not necessarily on the toilet. https://t.co/WqyK7RpAtZ Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) May 6, 2020 Another said, I just finished teaching my final class of the semester. I am going to miss seeing those 23 faces on Zoom every Wed afternoon. Feeling real emotional. I think Ill go listen to the #SCOTUS flush heard round the world to lift my spirits. I just finished teaching my final class of the semester. I am going to miss seeing those 23 faces on Zoom every Wed afternoon. Feeling real emotional. I think Ill go listen to the #SCOTUS flush heard round the world to lift my spirits. Amanda Hollis-Brusky (@HollisBrusky) May 7, 2020 Other reactions included: The audio is at the link below, and the #SCOTUS toilet flush is indeed loud https://t.co/JdTFPnnfEm Kristine Allen (@KristineTAllen) May 7, 2020 Did a toilet really flush while Justice Kagan was questioning an attorney? #SCOTUS William McElligott (@WBM_Law) May 6, 2020 07.05.2020 LISTEN May 7, 2020 Today, Afia Asantewaa Asare-Kyei, a human rights lawyer and Program Manager at the Open Society Initiative for West Africa from Ghana, Senegal, and South Africa was appointed as Board Member to the newly created Oversight Board. The Oversight Board will review certain content decisions by Facebook and Instagram and make binding decisions based on respect for freedom of expression and human rights. Afia joins two other Africans - Julie Owono, a digital rights advocate and Executive Director of Internet Sans Frontieres from Cameroon and Maina Kiai, a human rights activist and Director of Human Rights Watchs Global Alliances and Partnerships program from Kenya on the 20-member Oversight Board. The Oversight Board will tackle increasingly complex and contentious debates about what types of content should and should not be permitted on Facebook and Instagram and who should decide. The Board will prioritize cases that potentially impact many users, are of critical importance to public discourse or raise questions about Facebooks policies. Decisions made by the Board must be implemented by Facebook, as long as they do not violate the law. Oversight Board Members are independent from the company, funded by an independent trust, and cannot be removed by Facebook based on their decisions. In Her Own Words The very act of creating this Board shows Facebook has taken the criticism leveled against it seriously and I hope my membership can help address some of these criticisms. I am particularly focused on the Boards role in improving transparency and accountability, and creating an appeal process where people can bring their content issues. I feel strongly that the Board needs to be truly representative, not just in terms of geography, but age, subject matter and breadth of issues covered as well. Afia Asantewaa Asare-Kyei said. Afia will work in collaboration with 19 other Members who speak over 27 languages and have diverse professional, cultural, political, and religious backgrounds and viewpoints. Over time the Board will grow to around 40 Members. While no one can claim to represent everyone, Members are confident that the global composition will underpin, strengthen and guide decision-making. The Board was designed with transparency in mind All decisions will be made public, and Facebook must respond publicly to them. All Board decisions will be published on its website, while protecting the identity and privacy of those involved. Additionally, the Board will issue a public annual report on its work to evaluate how the Board is fulfilling its purpose and whether Members believe Facebook is living up to its commitments. Members are independent from Facebook Members contract directly with the Oversight Board, are not Facebook employees and cannot be removed by Facebook. Members will serve for a maximum of three 3-year terms and case panels will be confidential and assigned at random; no Member can choose the panel they sit on, and all opinions will be anonymous. The Boards financial independence is also guaranteed by the establishment of a $130 million trust fund that is completely independent of Facebook, which will fund its operations and cannot be revoked. The Oversight Board is focused on addressing some of the most significant content moderation decisions on Facebook and Instagram that are referred by both users and Facebook The Oversight Board will begin hearing cases in the coming months. Initially, users will be able to appeal to the Board in cases where Facebook has removed their content. Over the following months, the Board will also be able to review appeals from users who want Facebook to remove content, including advertising. The Board will not be able to make decisions on all of the many thousands of appeals from users that it anticipates receiving, but it will prioritise cases that potentially impact many users, are of critical importance to public discourse or that raise questions about Facebooks policies. Afia Asantewaa Asare-Kyei Afia Asantewaa Asare-Kyei is the Program Manager at the Open Society Initiative for West Africa, where she focuses on human rights, womens rights, criminal justice, access to information and media freedom issues, and previously worked at Save the Children and the U.S. Agency for International Development Biography Asare-Kyei is a human rights lawyer and development professional with extensive experience in strategy development, program design, grant management, research and stakeholder engagement in Southern, Western, and Central Africa. Of Ghanaian and South African citizenship, she has a varied background in supporting and developing transformational social programs and advocacy strategies through the provision of technical advice and input into policy and programming of civil society organizations on issues like access to information, freedom of expression, human rights and substantive justice, especially as they relate to the inclusion, equality of opportunity and empowerment of vulnerable and under-represented groups such as women, children, persons with disabilities and LGBTIQs. Asare-Kyei has also worked for a number of international development and philanthropic organizations in different capacities in Africa. She is passionate about Africa, its development and has a working knowledge of African regional mechanisms and institutions. She is a graduate of the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa. Her research interests include women, children and disability rights, critical race feminism and socioeconomic rights of the poor. The economy or your health. Which do you choose? Ive been really disturbed at discourse surrounding COVID-19. Its devolved into choosing the economy or choosing health. This argument is also partisan. A Republican president and some Republican governors are ready to open up, reopen or get the economy going while some Democrats want to move a little slower. The decision you make also demonstrates just how much you love America. Youre patriotic if you want to get back to work. Youre patriotic if you want to sacrifice lives for the economy. Your life is a small price to pay so your country and your grandchildren will have a good economy. We have a president talking about in the future there will be stadiums filled with dead people. It would be comical if it wasnt real. The fact that we are even entertaining such a conversation illustrates the sad state of America. Why is it an either or proposition? As rational, thinking people with common sense cant we be concerned about both? I think most people regardless of ideology understand we need to end the stay-at-home orders at some point. I think most people also realize the economy has taken a hit and things will continue to worsen the longer we stay at home. I think most people dont want the economy to tank any more than it has and want to get it going again. The number of people losing their jobs is astronomical. I imagine if you were working before the pandemic, chances are you still want to work. You probably enjoy getting a regular paycheck to pay your bills and feed your family. Yes, unemployment benefits were increased and extended to help those who lost their job through this time, but those benefits will eventually end. The economy is a real issue as is COVID-19. The idea behind asking people to stay at home was to decrease the spread so as not to overwhelm hospitals and medical personnel. This is still a risk and why reopening of the economy is gradual. It does no good to reopen the economy and everyone become ill. It puts us right back where we started if not farther behind. Predictions call for a second wave of COVID-19. This could stall the economy again. The economy cant run properly if a large number of Americans are sick and dying. You kind of need healthy people. Id prefer to not have enough people die to fill a stadium. I also like getting paid every two weeks. Much like I can walk and chew gum at the same time and pat my head and rub my stomach at the same time, I can care about the economy and my health, the health of my family, friends, coworkers and others at the same time. I appreciate Gov. Eric Holcombs and Mayor Joe Hogsetts gradual approach. Im curious to see how well things go and judging from this past weekend, not well but Im hopeful. It makes no sense to do this all again if we couldve done it right the first time. Once was enough for me. A novel artificial intelligence (AI) based food monitoring smartphone app can help households keep better track of their fridge and cupboard food stocks during the COVID-19 pandemic, say scientists, including those from India. The outbreak has totally changed most people's food buying habits -- from stockpiling groceries in the early weeks of the crisis to shopping less often, at different times and in different ways, according to the researchers at the University of Essex in the UK. However, these changes have also meant households run the risk of having more food wastage as they adapt to new shopping routines, they said. Using AI, the 'nosh' app allows the users to track the expiry date of food items along with their buying and food waste habits, which enables them to make an informed decision on what items to buy. The users can plan their shopping in-app before they go out to buy the items, said the researchers, including Suman Saha from the University of Engineering and Management (UEM) in Kolkata, and programming enthusiast Lakshya Gupta. The users are also able to get recipe suggestions on the stocked items so they can utilise the items better before they expire. "When the COVID-19 crisis started, we were no different from anyone else affected by the pandemic," explained Somdip Dey, who collaborated with Anupam Ghosal on the project. "Everyone started to overbuy food as they wanted to isolate and practice social distancing. However, the biggest issue faced was managing a lot of food items in the fridge, especially the ones which have short expiry dates," Dey said. With no app available on the market to make it easy for households to be reminded of food expiry dates while effectively managing their food supplies and track buying habits, the Essex team along with colleagues in India decided to develop one. "At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic there was uncertainty around supplies and people started to panic buy food and other necessary items," said Ghosal. Stores started running out and people started over-consuming. Due to a lack of management a lot of food was wasted every single day which could have fed someone in need, the researchers said. "We clearly realised the lack in management of food resources, so we came up with the 'nosh' app, the solution to the food problem during the pandemic," Ghosal added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Cirque du Soleil announced Thursday that it is canceling this summers performances of the big-top show Volta, which was scheduled to have an extended run at Portlands Expo Center beginning June 18. The cancellation is the latest casualty of the ongoing coronavirus crisis, which has sidelined hundreds of touring shows and concerts this spring and summer. Volta is one of the largest Portland cancellations to date. The show was scheduled to play at least six weeks, attracting as many as 100,000 audience members. The company also announced Thursday that it would be returning to Portland in 2021 with its revived production of Alegria, which is scheduled for a seven-week run next summer under the Big Top at the Expo Center. The show, which first played Portland in 2003, will run from June 3 to July 25, 2021. Alegria is considered one of Cirques masterpiece productions. It was recently revived to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its 1994 debut, and features new new acts, a modernized score, and refreshed costumes. Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter Tickets for Portland performances of Alegria are available online at cirquedusoleil.com/alegria. Customers who had tickets for Volta performances this summer will be contacted directly by a Cirque representative via email and will receive the details and procedures to get a refund, or to redeem and exchange their Volta tickets for new tickets for Alegria. -- Grant Butler gbutler@oregonian.com 503-221-8566; @grantbutler Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Allentown, PA (18103) Today Turning out mostly cloudy and not as cold. There might be a rain or snow shower late.. Tonight Mostly cloudy with some rain and snow showers. Any rain will be early in the night. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- The most important trait of any Covid-19 contact-tracing app is that people actually use it. Without widespread adoption, we may all be locked down for a lot longer. Just how widespread? In the U.K., at least 80% of smartphone users, covering 56% of the total population, will need to use the app to be effective in tracing contacts with those infected to control the novel coronaviruss spread, according to an April report led by Oxford Universitys Nuffield Department of Medicine. Winning popular trust has to be the priority. Unfortunately, Britains National Health Service seems to have gotten off on the wrong foot with the solution it started trialing on the Isle of Wight, off Englands southern coast, on Tuesday. The app has caused concern about the centralized collection of information. Even though its anonymized, and less specific than the location data that many happily share with Google Maps or running apps such as Strava (the NHS app just asks you to identify your district), the fact its a central repository of health data, with little clarity on who exactly holds it and for how long, has people in a tizzy. Dont get me wrong. The app appears thoughtful, seeming to keep user anonymity and privacy in mind, while providing health authorities with useful data for the epidemiological models developed to manage the pandemic in the U.K. But all of that becomes moot if people dont use it. Public opinion is fickle, and if people perceive this as a tool for government monitoring, then adoption will suffer. There are also questions about how it will interact with other nations approaches, affecting the prospects for international travel. Heres how it works: Once someone reports symptoms that suggest they have the virus, their phone will share anonymized data about who theyve been in contact with and for how long (it uses smartphones Bluetooth chips to detect whether people have been within six feet of each other for 15 minutes) with a central server operated by the NHS. Those contacts are then alerted by the server, and told to self-isolate. Doing it this way might help the NHS understand how many people the infected have crossed paths with and identify trends, making it easier to predict any new flareup. By identifying those with symptoms, rather than simply those who have tested positive, its trying to get ahead of the infection curve. Story continues I trust the NHS to use my data, which will be anonymized, responsibly. But its possible not enough other people will. An April survey of potential app users in the U.K. suggested that 74% would be likely to download a contact-tracing app, short of the 80% necessary. Beyond the privacy concerns, however, theres a technological weakness that may be more significant in denting the apps efficacy. The NHS solution seems to require that when two people are in close proximity with each other, at least one of the them has to either have the app open, or to have opened it in the past few minutes. If thats not the case, it wont log the contact. A spokeswoman for the health agency told the BBC last month it was satisfied that the solution worked sufficiently well. Well soon know: The Isle of Wight trial ought to reveal any shortcomings. Its reassuring that theres an alternative solution available developed by privacy advocates as well as Apple Inc. and Google, who between them make the operating system for almost every new smartphone on the planet. It takes a decentralized approach. Rather than passing data up to a central server, the Apple-Google app broadcasts the unique anonymized identifiers of those who have the virus to the other phones using the app. Those smartphones then tally the identifiers against the list of handsets with which they have crossed paths in the past 14 days, and alert the user. The other advantage of the tech giants approach is that phones will always be able to exchange identifiers in the background via Bluetooth. Thats the method already being pursued elsewhere, including in Austria, Switzerland and Germany. Germany is notable because its approach underwent a radical reversal: It had initially favored a centralized model, then changed course after public uproar. I understand why the NHS is, like France, pursuing the centralized approach. More data will help it manage the crisis better. I sincerely hope it works, and it can convince people to stomach their privacy concerns. But if it doesnt, and they dont, then Britains health service needs to be prepared to pivot, and quickly, before public opinion is poisoned against any app. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Alex Webb is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Europe's technology, media and communications industries. He previously covered Apple and other technology companies for Bloomberg News in San Francisco. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. The February shooting death of a young man at an Irondale apartment complex has been deemed accidental, for now, but his grieving mother says she doesnt buy that account and wants those she says are responsible for her sons death charged. Derrick Marks, 25, died in a hail of gunfire on Feb. 25 at Hunter Ridge Apartments. He had gone there with friends to get his mind off his best friends shooting death which had happened hours earlier outside a barber shop in Center Point. Instead, Marks ended up dead as well. My son was murdered, and I want justice, said his mother, Catrina Carey. It all began earlier in the day that Tuesday when one of Marks closest friends 21-year-old Delquan McNeily was shot to death outside Coreys Barber Shop in Center Point. Authorities said McNeily and another man got into an argument outside the shop when a third person emerged from the business and fired multiple shots, striking McNeily. The victim was pronounced dead on the scene at 1:50 p.m. The deadly shooting ultimately was ruled justifiable. Dozens of McNeilys friends and family members gathered outside the crime scene tape, visibly and audibly emotional. Among the mourners was Marks. They were best friends, Carey said. He (McNeily) used to be at my home all the time. They were very close. He was very sweet. He was the one in the bunch that never talked. He was on the timid side. When Marks returned from the Center Point crime scene, he and his mother met up again at their home. That is when Carey suggested he stay in. But Marks got a call and quickly began to load up his PlayStation, headed to Hunter Ridge where he and his friends would meet and play for money. Marks left their home about 6 p.m. and was gravely wounded just 15 minutes later. At least 30 shell casings were marked as evidence in the apartment complex parking lot. Though Marks was found sitting in a vehicle, investigators dont believe he was in that vehicle when he was shot. Carey said a bullet struck her son in the thigh, hitting a major artery. He was pronounced dead at St. Vincents East at 7:13 p.m. Carey said witnesses on the scene told her that her son was ambushed by one of the young men who had initially invited him to the complex. The two were friends but Carey said he shot her son. His money would turn up missing. All of the money was taken from his pockets, Carey said. We went out there the next day because his keys were missing. A woman there approached Carey and told her she had been praying for her. She said, What did they tell you happened? I told her and she said, Thats not what happened. Your son was ambushed. That friend, whose name authorities have not released because he hasnt been charged with any crime, has previously been charged with capital murder. That charge against him several years ago was dismissed. Irondale police Det. Sgt. Michael Mangina said the investigation showed that a group of young men juveniles were joyriding in the area. They had passed by Marks and his friends several times and one of those times the juveniles were playing with a BB gun inside their vehicle. At the same time, Mangina said, Marks and his friends thought they heard a gunshot. Marks friends pulled out guns and fired, believing they were being shot at even though police said no one did shoot at them. One of Marks friends was crouching down to take cover when one of his rounds struck his friend. It was that bullet that ultimately killed Marks. It was one lethal, terribly unlucky shot that killed him, Mangina said. We had the friends recreate where they were standing. Young people dont practice the safety measures that we do. Mangina said detectives presented their evidence to the Jefferson County District Attorneys Office, which declined to issue warrants under Alabamas Stand Your Ground law, or the Castle Doctrine. It states that a person is justified in using physical force upon another person in order to defend himself or herself or a third person from what he or she reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by that other person, and he or she may use a degree of force which he or she reasonably believes to be necessary for the purpose. A person may use deadly physical force and is legally presumed to be justified in using deadly physical force in self-defense or the defense of another person. We talked to the D.A.s Office two different times concerning potential charges, even possible misdemeanor charges, but were denied or advised against it, Mangina said. We really wanted some kind of criminal charge, but it just wasnt possible. We do respect our DA.s Office and we respect our process. When the health crisis is over, he said, we hope to sit down with (Carey) and the D.A.s Office and hopefully give her closure. Mangina said he understands the mothers anguish and sympathizes with her. Shes lost a child and I know shes going through terrible pain, he said. Unfortunately, however, there is no evidence or witnesses to confirm the shooting was anything other than an accident, he said. Carey has pointed investigators toward possible leads in the case and Mangina said they are following up on those. Jefferson County Assistant District Attorney Joe Hicks said the facts presented to their office showed the suspect was friends with the victim and when the suspect shot the victim, he did it accidentally as he was aiming at a vehicle which he believed to be firing at him. Marks was standing between the vehicle and the suspect. "Alabamas Stand Your Ground law would prevent a person from being charged under those circumstances,'' Hicks said. Our office will reevaluate the case should any new evidence arise. Carey, however, pointed to the reckless manslaughter charge this week issued against a man in the death of an 11-year-old Trussville boy killed during a turkey hunt in Jefferson County. These guys shot 35 rounds and youre telling me thats an accident? she said. I feel like everybody had there should have been charged in my sons murder. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 21:48:38|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close -- Chinese archaeologists announced significant achievements at the Shuanghuaishu site in central China's Henan Province, providing key proof of the origin of the over 5,000-year-long Chinese civilization. -- With an area of 1.17 million square meters, the Shuanghuaishu site, dating back to around 5,300 years, is located on the south bank of the Yellow River in the township of Heluo, Gongyi City, and was proposed to be named "Heluo kingdom." -- A large number of relics of the Yangshao Culture dating back 5,000 to 7,000 years have been discovered at the site. by Xinhua writers Xu Ruiqing, Wang Ding, Gui Juan, Shuang Rui ZHENGZHOU, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese archaeologists announced Thursday significant achievements at the Shuanghuaishu site in central China's Henan Province, providing key proof of the origin of the over 5,000-year-long Chinese civilization. With an area of 1.17 million square meters, the Shuanghuaishu site is located on the south bank of the Yellow River in the township of Heluo, Gongyi City. The ancient city relic dating back to around 5,300 years ago was proposed by Chinese archaeologists to be named "Heluo kingdom" after its location in the center of the Heluo area, where the Yellow River (known as He in ancient China) and the Luohe River meet. "The Shuanghuaishu site is the highest-standard cluster with the nature of a capital city discovered so far in the Yellow River basin in the middle and late stage of Yangshao Culture, the early stage of the formation of Chinese civilization," said Li Boqian, a professor at Peking University, at a press conference on major archaeological discoveries at Shuanghuaishu site held Thursday in Zhengzhou, the provincial capital. Aerial photo taken on Aug. 27, 2019 shows the Shuanghuaishu site in central China's Henan Province. (Xinhua/Li An) A large number of relics of the Yangshao Culture dating back 5,000 to 7,000 years have been discovered at the site, said Gu Wanfa, director of the Zhengzhou Municipal Research Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, at the press conference. "The important archaeological findings provide key proof of the origin of Chinese civilization, and also prove the representativeness and influence of the Heluo area in the golden stage of the origin of Chinese civilization around 5,300 years ago," said Wang Wei, a member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Since 2013, the Zhengzhou Municipal Research Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences have conducted continuous archaeological excavations on the site. According to archaeologists, the Shuanghuaishu site was about 1,500 meters long from east to west and 780 meters wide from north to south. It was surrounded by three ring trenches with each found to have external access, forming a strict defense system. Aerial photo taken on Aug. 27, 2019 shows the Shuanghuaishu site in central China's Henan Province. (Xinhua/Li An) The central residential area with four rows of houses was found in the northern part of the inner ring moat. Meanwhile, three public cemeteries with more than 1,700 tombs, three sacrificial remains, an astronomical relic, a pottery workshop area, a water storage area, a road system, and other facilities were also discovered at the city ruins. "The Shuanghuaishu site was a well-selected and scientifically planned settlement site," said Wang. "Based on the geographical location and scale, it's also the only large-scale city settlement discovered so far in the Yellow River basin from the middle and late stage of Yangshao Culture," Wang added. Archaeologists believe that the Heluo kingdom was the source of many typical characteristics of Chinese civilization. Silk originated in China and later became one of the country's major trade items. "The mulberry-growing and silkworm-raising culture was an important component of Chinese civilization," said Li. Among the unearthed relics at Shuanghuaishu, a boar tusk carving of a silkworm, 6.4 cm long, nearly 1 cm wide and 0.1 cm thick, was believed to be China's earliest carving depicting silkworms. Undated photo shows a boar tusk carving of a silkworm unearthed at the Shuanghuaishu site in central China's Henan Province. (Xinhua) Experts say that the carving depicts a spinning silkworm which is quite similar to modern silkworms in appearance. "The spinning shape of the carving suggests that ancient Chinese people were familiar with the habits of silkworms," said Gu. Along with silk fabrics unearthed at the surrounding Wanggou site and Qingtai site, archaeologists said they are solid evidence to prove that the ancient Chinese in the Yellow River basin began raising silkworms and silk production around 5,300 years ago. "Except Shuanghuaishu and its surrounding settlement sites, there were no definite discoveries from around 5,300 years ago related to the silk textile industry in other parts of the country," said Li. "In that sense, they are the earliest representatives in the development history of Chinese mulberry cultivation and silkworm-rearing culture." Meanwhile, at the astronomical relic at Shuanghuaishu, nine pottery pots were arranged in the pattern of the nine stars of the Big Dipper, which shows that the ancestors of Heluo had relatively mature astronomical knowledge. Photo taken on April 28, 2020 shows one of nine pottery pots arranged in the pattern of the nine stars of the Big Dipper, at an astronomical relic at the Shuanghuaishu site in central China's Henan Province. (Xinhua/Li An) "The relic also indicates the worship of the celestial body may have formed a grand sacrificial ceremony for observing the solar terms and praying for a good harvest," said Gu. Experts also believe the astronomical relic and the surrounding sacrificial remains constitute a whole, which is consistent with the records of winter solstice sacrifices in ancient Chinese documents. "It is of great significance to the study of early Chinese astronomy and the origin of Chinese civilization," added Gu. (Video reporters: Yuan Mingyue; Video editors: Hui Peipei) Experts say even $10 is too much for the US-made antiviral drug approved to treat the novel coronavirus. Gilead Sciences' medication, remdesivir, was shown to help reduce patients' hospital stays over a placebo, in a clinical trial run by the National Institutes of Health. Last week, it became the first drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat COVID-19 patients under emergency use authorization. The California-based pharmaceutical company has a past of exorbitant drug pricing, drawing intense scrutiny from the public - and raising questions about patients that might not be able to afford access. One research group says Gilead could charge anywhere from $10 for a treatment course to $4,500 depending on the cost-effectiveness of the drug. But consumer advocates that a very high price would be draw intense scruitny and lead to the public accusing Gillead of profiting off the virus that has killed more than 74,000 Americans. Gilead has not revealed how much its antiviral drug, remdesivir (pictured), which is approved by the FDA to treat coronavirus will cost The California-based company (pictured) drew intense public scrutiny when it priced its hepatitis C treatment at $1,000 per pill A report estimated that it costs $9.32 to manufacture one 10-day course of remdesivir treatment. Pictured: Medical workers take in patients outside a special coronavirus area at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, May 6 A decision on a price tag isn't only important on its own, but it will likely influence the pricing for all future coronavirus treatments. So far, Gilead's CEO Daniel O'Day has avoided answering any questions about what remdesivir will cost. 'I'm not suggesting that there won't continue to be focus and pressure on drug pricing...but it's being done now in a way where we can have an appreciation for the innovation the industry brings,' he said on recent conference call with investors. The company plans to donate the drug supply it has so far, which would treat about 140,000 patients, and says it won't consider a price until more data coming in. WHAT IS REMDESIVIR AND DOES IT WORK AGAINST CORONAVIRUS? Remdesivir was developed by Gilead Sciences to treat Ebola, the deadly hemorrhagic fever that emerged in West Africa in 2014. Ebola, like COVID-19, is caused by a virus, and scientists are now testing remdesivir to treat coronavirus patients, but it's too soon to know if the drug works or not. Trials produced encouraging results earlier this year when it showed promise for both preventing and treating MERS - another coronavirus - in macaque monkeys. The drug appears to help stop the replication of viruses like coronavirus and Ebola alike. It's not entirely clear how the drug accomplishes this feat, but it seems to stop the genetic material of the virus, RNA, from being able to copy itself. That, in turn, stops the virus from being able to proliferate further inside the patient's body. NIH researchers in charge of the macaque study recommended that it move ahead to human trials with the new coronavirus. Advertisement And at a meeting with President Donald Trump in the White House on Friday, O'Day pledged to make the therapy available to those in need. But Gilead is no stranger to debated over drug-pricing. Back in 2013, the company introduced Sovaldi, a treatment that essentially cured hepatitis C, but at $1,000 per pill. Public outrage - despite that it was a vast improvement over existing equally expensive therapies - ignited a national debate on fair pricing for prescription medicines that the pharmaceutical industry has fought to deflect ever since. That backlash has subsided considerably in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, during which drugmakers' efforts to develop vaccines and treatments is considered essential to battling the disease. Wall Street analysts say remdesivir could generate $750 million or more in worldwide sales next year, and $1.1 billion in 2022, assuming the pandemic continues. But Gilead, and other drugmakers, will need to avoid the appearance of taking advantage of a global health crisis to rake in profit, according to pharmaceutical industry consultants and former regulators. According to a new report from the Institute for Economical and Clinical Review (ICER), the drug likely costs about $9.32 - rounded up to $10 - to manufacture one 10-day course of treatment So, of course, the lowest cost to recoup the cost to produce the drugs is $10, but more would be needed if Gilead wanted to turn a profit. However, a report from the University of Liverpool calculated that $0.93 per dose is the cost of manufacturing remdesivir at scale with a reasonable profit. The report, from the Institute for Economical and Clinical Review, says the drug could cost up to $4,500 - but consumer advocates argue anything more than $10 is not fair pricing. Pictured: A lab technician inspects filled vials of remdesivir at a Gilead Sciences facility in La Verne, California, March 11 In another model, ICER says the drug should cost about $390 per treatment if continued research shows that the drug helps shorten hospital days but doesn't reduce the risk of death. In a third model, should drug trials prove that the drug saves lives, ICER says the company could charge a fair price of $4,460 per treatment. 'This large jump in price assumes clinical trial data would show the drug saves lives. That shows how important that mortality assumption is,' said ICER President Steve Pearson. Consumer advocate group Group Public Citizen argues that remdesivir should be priced at no more than $1 per day. 'If Gilead intends to price remdesivir at more than $1 per day, Gilead must fully disclose its research and development costs and all public contributions associated with remdesivir's development,' Public Citizen said in a statement. 'Then payers and independent experts can analyze again what constitutes fair pricing in a pandemic. ' Two Pakistani soldiers have been killed in a rocket attack in the North Waziristan tribal district bordering Afghanistan, officials say. Security officials told RFE/RL that unidentified attackers fired two rockets at a security post near the town of Mir Ali on May 7. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. There has been an increase in attacks on Pakistani security forces in parts of North Waziristan over the past weeks. Terrorists linked to Al-Qaeda, the Haqqani network of the Afghan Taliban, and Pakistani militants have all been active in the region during the past decade. The Pakistani military managed to push militants out of their border-region strongholds through a series of offensives since 2014. But militants continue to stage surprise attacks there. Home to eight World Heritage Sites, stunning stave churches, and historic archaeological finds dating back to the Vikings, there is no end of things to see and do in Norway. The unique Scandinavian landscape, carved out thousands of years of ice ages and glacial melt, offers remarkable views from waterfall to whirlpools, and is full of legendary stories of warring trolls and magical skies. Read on to discover 10 natural wonders of Norway. 10. Fjords Geiranger fjord, Norway. Image credit: Sergey_Bogomyako/Shutterstock.com The idyllic fjords of Norway are not-to-be-missed natural wonders. Formed during the ice ages by glacial erosion, these narrow clefts between high cliffs create tidal inlets. Here fresh and seawater meet along coastline dotted with glacier valleys, natural harbors, steep rock facing and lush greenery. 9. Kjeragbolten Man jumping over Kjeragbolten in Norway. Image credit:Viktor Hladchenko/Shutterstock.com This natural wonder will leave you wondering how did it happen? Located on the Kjerag mountain, the 176-cubic-feet boulder hovers more than half a mile above a dark abyss, wedged between a cleft on the mountainside. Not only a popular photo spot, Kjeragbolten is also a favorite launch for base jumpers. 8. Svartisen Glacier Svartisen Glacier in Norway. Image credit: Tom Pilgrim/Shutterstock.com Ironically, Svartisen means black ice, but the frozen tongue of this glacier appears as a pretty powder blue. Formed over thousands of years, the ice in Svartisen is largely without air bubbles, resulting in Norways second largest glacier reflecting the color blue more than any other on the light spectrum 7. Midnight Sun The Midnight sun in the Norway sky. Image credit: Elementals/Shutterstock.com Wishing for more hours in the day to sightsee? Youll have them as the natural phenomenon of midnight sun occurs along the northern coast of Norway. From April to August head to the cities of Bodo, Lofoten and the Svalbard to take part in festivals and festivities celebrating 24-hours of sunlight. 6. Torghatten Mountain Torghatten, Brnnysund, Nordland. Image credit: Terje Lillehaug/Shutterstock.com One of Norways most photographed spots, its famous for the hole piercing its centre where the sun shines through only twice a year. Legend says a trolls arrow formed the hole, but geologists agree it was created during the ice age as ice, water, and debris drilled their way through the rock. 5. Northern Lights Classic fisherman village in Lofoten island Norway with a beautiful Northern Lights. Image credit: Luca Tagliani/Shutterstock.com If youre looking for incredible nightly performances in Norway, just look up. Caused by the interplay between the suns electrically charged particles and the geomagnetic field at the Earth's poles, the natural wonder of the northern lights beautifies and brightens the night sky of Norways northern regions. 4. Saltstraumen Maelstrom Whirlpools of the maelstrom of Saltstraumen, Nordland, Norway. Image credit: Andrey Armyagov/Shutterstock.com Witness the worlds strongest whirlpool, as 9.5-cubic-miles of seawater charges through a narrow channel only 2-miles long and 490-feet wide. Rushing at speeds of up to 20 knots, the tidal waters of Saltstraumen spin in vortices as it makes its way between the Saltfjord and the Skjerstadfjord every six hours. 3. Nigardsbreen Ice Cave Nigardsbreen Ice Cave. Image credit: GaiBru Photo/Shutterstock.com Discover the deep blues of the Nigardsbreen Ice Cave. Formed from melting glacier ice, this cavernous 26-foot high grotto is constantly shifting in hue, while huge icicles form above the 100-feet deep lagoon. Hiking along the outer glacier is popular with tourists, but due to the active melting cycle only supervised tours are permitted into the cave. 2. Seven Sisters Waterfall Breathtaking view of Sunnylvsfjorden fjord and famous Seven Sisters waterfalls, near Geiranger village in western Norway. Image credit: Smit/Shutterstock.com Although not one of Norways tallest waterfalls, which can reach up to 900-feet, its most famous makes up in beauty what it lacks in height. Seven separate streams cascade over the north side of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Geirangerfjorden in a stunning 800-foot drop. 1. Trolltunga Literally meaning troll tongue this stone outcropping 2000-feet above Lake Ringedalsvatnet is one of the most breathtaking places in Norway. Situated along the western ridge of the Hardangervidda plateau, Trolltunga is a popular hiking destination but its not for beginners. Hikes to this iconic rock, formed by ancient ice caps that once covered all of Scandinavia, can take anywhere from 8-12 hours. Eight people have died, with hundreds of others taken ill, after a gas leak in south India. The leak, in the city of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh state, has been traced to the LG Polymers plant. Doctors say hundreds of people have been taken to hospital many complaining of a burning sensation in the eyes and difficulties breathing. The incident, which took place around 03:00 local time (21:30 GMT), may have been due to negligence, officials say. The leak occurred when the plant was being re-opened for the first time since 24 March when India went into lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus. The state Industries Minister Goutam Reddy told BBC Telugu that it looked as though proper procedures and guidelines were not followed when the plant was being re-opened. As the gas spread, residents ran out of their homes in panic. Distressing visuals of people fainting and dropping unconscious on the streets are being shared on social media. Some factory employees are believed to have been inside when the leak occurred, but officials say they have no information about them. It is feared that the fumes have spread over a radius of about 3km (2 miles) and officials have been evacuating people from surrounding areas. A senior district official said that initial attempts to control the gas leak were unsuccessful. However, local news agencies have reported that the situation is now under control. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates NEW YORK, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The global polymeric biomaterials market is expected to grow with a CAGR of 15.63%. Innovations in the field of polymeric biomaterials and increasing applications of polymeric biomaterials in tissue engineering are the factors that are responsible for the growth of the market. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05891618/?utm_source=PRN Among all the delivery modes, polymeric implants are anticipated to further develop in the upcoming years, boosting up the healthcare market. Also, polymeric micro/nano-spheres and micro/nano-fibers have gained popularity as potential substrates for the immobilization of biomolecules, providing a broad range of medical applications in diagnostics and bioseparation. Another aspect is the use of polymeric probes for positron emission tomography (PET), which has transformed the imaging technology. New emerging technologies, which are likely to propel the market with innovative approaches, have developed biostable polymeric valves. They come with the option of drug-eluting and/or valves with bioresorbable scaffolding in transcatheter heart valves, leadless pacemaker in a smaller size with longer life and bioresorbable and polymer-free drug-eluting stents with new surface modification technologies, new polymer chemistry, and new drugs. Therefore, such innovations in polymeric biomaterials are augmenting the growth of the market. Key Market Trends Cardiology is Expected to Hold its Highest Market Share in the Application Segment In the application segment of the market, cardiology is believed to have the largest market size and is expected to witness a CAGR of 16.0% during the forecast period. Recent years have observed promising applications of polymeric biomaterials in cardiac repair and regeneration. Organ failure is also one among the major health problems, globally recognized. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), it is estimated that there will be 23.6 million deaths annually by 2030, due to CVD, with the largest increase in Southeast Asia. To combat the rising burden of diseases and related unmet needs, several cardiac specialized universities across the world have launched initiatives in cardiac restoration therapy, to act as alternative therapeutic options to replace transplants. However, the growth is expected to be steady, as market approval is a major hindrance. Over the forecast period, the growth is estimated to be about 16.0%. North America Dominates the Market and is Expected to Remain the Same in the Forecast Period North America currently dominates the market for polymeric biomaterials and is expected to continue its stronghold for a few more years. In the United States, there are several private companies that have vast expertise in biopolymers with access to advanced technology and custom synthesis. These companies have businesses across drug research and medical device manufacturers, which act as contract research organizations acting as partners to major healthcare firms. Furthermore, the region has manufacturing units for several major medical device and pharmaceutical companies, such as Abbott, Allergan, 3M, and Baxter, among others, which have a wide range of products, across multiple therapeutic areas, which drives the investment opportunity by investors, high competition for raw material providers, and long-term partnerships for the development of advanced end products to be used in hospitals. Thus, over the forecast period, this region is likely to remain a major lucrative market, with an estimated CAGR of 15.9%. Competitive Landscape The polymeric biomaterials market is moderately competitive and consists of several major players. In terms of market share, a small number of major players are currently dominate the market. However, with technological advancements and product innovations, mid-size to smaller companies are increasing their market presence. Companies, like BASF SE, Bezwada Biomedical LLC, Corbion NV, Zimmer Biomet, and Royal DSM, hold a substantial share in the market. Reasons to Purchase this report: - The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format - 3 months of analyst support Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05891618/?utm_source=PRN About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker Related Links www.reportlinker.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 16:17:46|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SHENZHEN, May 7 (Xinhua) -- China Vanke Co., Ltd., one of China's largest property developers, posted contracted property sales decline in April. The developer said in a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange that it achieved a contracted property sales of 47.95 billion yuan (about 6.76 billion U.S. dollars) last month, compared with 60.17 billion yuan a year earlier. The company added that its contracted property sales for the January-April period fell to 185.83 billion yuan, from 209.61 billion yuan a year ago. Enditem SHELTON Area health officials reported two coronavirus-related deaths one laboratory-confirmed, one probable only 24 hours after the city had no such deaths for the first time in weeks. In Naugatuck Valley Health District data released Wednesday, there were nine new positive COVID-related cases in Shelton, bringing the total to 429. With the two deaths, the citys laboratory-confirmed COVID-19-related deaths stand at 86, with probable cases at 20. We extend our sincere condolences to the families of the individuals who have lost their loved ones due to COVID-19 complications, said NVHD Director Jessica Stelmaszek, adding that both deaths were residents in one of the citys nursing homes. Overall, as of Wednesday, there are 1,166 laboratory-confirmed positive cases in the Valley, with by far the most in Shelton. There were 213 in Naugatuck, 190 in Ansonia, 175 in Seymour, 118 in Derby and 41 in Beacon Falls. Data shows that 303, or 26 percent, of the 1,166 confirmed cases among Valley residents are individuals who currently reside in a nursing home, assisted living facility, group home or similar setting. Overall, 193 of Sheltons 429 confirmed COVID-19 cases are residents of nursing or assisting living facilities. According to NVHDs Wednesday data, 114, or 37 percent, of the 303 individuals have died due to COVID-19 complications. Statewide, positive cases stand at 30,995 12,455 of which sit in Fairfield County with 2,718 deaths from COVID-19-related complications. Hospitalizations dropped 55 to 1,445, the 13th such decrease in the past 14 days. The numbers prompted Gov. Ned Lamont to order that all residents wear masks or facial coverings when in public while also maintaining social distancing if leaving their home. For public health surveillance, laboratory-confirmed COVID-19-associated deaths are defined as patients who tested positive for COVID-19 around the time of death, said Stelmaszek, adding that this is not a determination of the cause of death. Area health district officials are continuing to urge residents to stay home as much as possible and practice social distancing by keeping 6 feet between you and others if you must go out. To minimize the amount of people who can be exposed, Stelmaszek said families should designate one person per household to do grocery shopping or other necessary errands. Of the Valley laboratory-confirmed COVID-19-related deaths, 94 were people 80 and older, 25 were between 70 and 79, six were between 60 and 69 years of age, and one was between 40 and 49. Positive cases cover a wide range of ages, with Valley data showing that 225 people are 80 and older; 110 are between 70 and 79; 175 are between 60 and 69; 187 are between 50 and 59; 177 are between 40 and 49; 155 are between 30 and 39; 116 are between 20 and 29; 19 between 10 and 19 years of age; and four between ages 0 and 9. Lamonts executive orders have shuttered all schools through the end of the present school year and directed employees at nonessential businesses to stay home until further notice. Gatherings of more than five people are prohibited. The state Department of Public Health now publishes a report at ct.gov/coronavirus that breaks down positive COVID-19 cases by town. brian.gioiele@hearstmediact.com Sentencing, Arrest of Activists Are Signs of China's Unrelenting Crackdown By Yibing Feng, Hai Yan May 06, 2020 China's recent sentencing of a blogger and its arrest of a veteran rights activist indicate that Beijing is determined to continue silencing any critics of the ruling party and government. Liu Yanli, a blogger in China's Hubei Province, was sentenced April 22 to four years in prison by the local court for crimes of provocation. The court document said she was guilty of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble," and that her online speech about current and former party leaders had damaged the government's image. A week later, police took activist Xie Wenfei into custody for "provoking trouble." Xie, who has long been part of China's pro-democracy movement, has criticized the disappearance of several citizen journalists and rights activists who were involved in posting information about the government's handling of the COVID-19 outbreak. Blogger Liu Yanli The verdict by the local court stated that Liu Yanli fabricated false information on messenger apps to attack the Communist Party of China and state leaders, and that her behavior constituted a crime of provocation. Liu had been active on Chinese social media accounts since 2009, commenting on democracy and politics. She circulated articles on WeChat about Chinese President Xi Jinping, former premier Zhou Enlai and Chairman Mao Zedong. She also maintained a blog which was often critical of the government and the police. Police repeatedly harassed her over her postings. Liu's defense lawyer, who is also a relative, said her treatment resembles detention practices from the Cultural Revolution, because the charges all related to her statements online, which should be protected as free speech by China's Constitution. Article 35 of the Constitution proclaims, "Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession, and of demonstration." However, the Constitution carries little weight in China's courts, where judges often rule in line with the Communist Party's preferences. "We were not allowed to visit her since the lockdown in January," her sister Liu Yuehua told VOA. "I believe in her innocence. As long as she's not tortured until she's crazy, we will continue to appeal." Liu made her last public appearance in court on Jan. 30, 2019. In her final statement, she said that this was not a legal case, but a political one. "I'm just an ordinary citizen, I'm not a party member. I use common sense to express my opinions, but now I'm facing a guilty verdict, I don't think this is in line with the party's slogan 'serve the people,'" she said. She also mentioned the Cultural Revolution, the decade in China when education ground to a halt, and society was overtaken by outbreaks of violence and political persecution. "During the Cultural Revolution, if you want to make someone suffer, you just have to say he/she is anti-Party, and you are all set," she said. Liu's defense lawyer Wu Kuiming told VOA that the 29 charges listed in the indictment were all related to online remarks, pointing out that the case was similar to that of Lin Zhao and Zhang Zhixin, who were shot during the Cultural Revolution because of their "counter-revolutionary" remarks. Veteran activist Xie Wenfei Meanwhile, police detained activist Xie Wenfei on April 29 on suspicion of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble." Xie is a veteran rights activist in China's Hunan province. He recently has criticized the detention of three young volunteers who archived censored information about COVID-19 online, and questioned the disappearance in Wuhan of citizen journalists Chen Qiushi and Fang Bing. He also signed an online petition to honor the COVID-19 whistleblower Dr. Li Wenliang. "This is not the first arrest," his brother Xie Qiufeng told VOA. "The police didn't tell me anything specific. I think it's about what he had posted on WeChat again." Born in 1977, Xie Yunfei is a veteran activist who has been detained many times for exercising his rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly over the years. He previously served a 4.5-year prison sentence for supporting the 2014 Occupy Central protests in Hong Kong. Xie's friend Ou Biaofeng, who is also an activist, told VOA that he's not surprised about Xie's arrest. Ou said that in recent years, the government has severely reduced the space for civil liberties by rounding up rights lawyers, labor activists and citizen journalists. He added that anyone who expresses a slightly different opinion online will have their account blocked immediately. "The pro-democracy movement in China has entered a freezing winter because of the crackdown," he said. "The pressure is just enormous. Also, for the past year or two, there's been less and less support of civil movements. It's quite sad." The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders ranked China near the bottom of its 2020 press freedom index. The group said President Xi is tightening control over news and information and trying to export the country's oppressive surveillance systems. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The owner of British Airways is hoping to put more planes in the air this summer but warned it will take until 2023 for business to return to normal. As it reported losses of 1.5billion for the first three months of the year, IAG said it is planning a meaningful return to service in July. But it conceded the plans were highly uncertain and subject to the easing of lockdowns and travel restrictions around the world. Grounded: As it reported losses of 1.5bn for the first three months of the year, IAG said it is 'planning a meaningful return to service' in July And warning that the second quarter of the year will be significantly worse than the first, it added: IAG does not expect the level of passenger demand in 2019 to recover before 2023. Shares fell 3.2 per cent, or 6.2p, to 190.45p taking losses for the year to 70 per cent. The airline industry has been crippled by the Covid-19 outbreak that has grounded planes all over the world. IAG, which also owns Iberia and Aer Lingus, has grounded 94 per cent of flights and estimates it could see a 50 per cent reduction in passenger numbers this year even if it manages to get more planes in the air from July. Chief executive Willie Walsh said a group-wide restructuring was essential in order to get through the crisis and preserve cash. The company is already in talks to cut 12,000 jobs at British Airways and 900 at Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus. But Walshs comments will raise concerns there could be more to follow. IAG Chief executive Willie Walsh (pictured) said a group-wide restructuring was 'essential in order to get through the crisis' and preserve cash It has tapped the Governments Coronavirus Revolving Credit Facility, secured 900million from the Spanish government and has extended its bank borrowing. But it has stopped short of calling for an industry-wide bailout, which others such as Sir Richard Bransons Virgin Atlantic have called for. Both Virgin and budget carrier Ryanair plan to slash thousands of jobs, Rolls-Royce is mulling cuts and plane maker Airbus has warned it might not survive the crisis unless it makes dramatic changes. IAG, which has a cash buffer of about 8.7billion, expects to defer the delivery of 68 new planes to help it save money. In a separate announcement, the company said long-running boss Walsh will step down at the annual meeting in September and will be replaced by Iberia boss Luis Gallego. Walsh has headed IAG since it was formed in 2011 having previously run BA. Most of the first-quarter loss 1.1billion was down to fuel and foreign currency hedges becoming worthless. But the remaining losses of almost half a billion pounds were virtually all racked up in just a two-week period. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, described the numbers as scary. Three patients were on Wednesday discharged from the Ondo State Infectious Disease Hospital after undergoing treatment and later testing negative for the coronavirus. This brings to six, the number of patients treated and discharged so far since the outbreak of the plague. The state commissioner for Information, Donald Ojogo, confirmed the release of the patients in a statement in Akure. According to him, those discharged include the first Police officer who earlier tested positive in Lagos but came to Akure out of panic; the woman from Owo; the lady who had arrived Akure from Abuja but was prevented from gaining access to her apartment by the vigilant landlord. He also said seven of the 13 confirmed cases in Ondo State were still on admission at the IDH under strict protocol The Commissioner for Health, Wahab Adegbenro, had earlier informed PREMIUM TIMES that the state was deploying hydroxyl chloroquine and erythromycin in the treatment of the virus and had so far been successful on the patients. The index case was a military officer who came from an international assignment in India and was positive for the virus. His infection also led to the infection of a medical doctor who had attended to him at the military clinic in Akure. The index case had been treated and discharged from the IDH after testing negative for the virus. A total of 481 persons have been treated and discharged nationwide out of a total of 2950 confirmed cases. Number of death is 98. However, the fresh concerns of the Ondo State government had been the transmission of the virus by persons coming in from outside the state, despite the lockdown order. Further measures had been installed, which include the compulsory use of face masks, and the reduction of the number of days for the opening of food markets. Laredo Police officers will continue enforcement efforts throughout the Gateway City in line with Governor Greg Abbott's latest executive order removing jail time as a punishment for those who violate coronavirus stay-at-home orders. The order came earlier today after the confinement of Dallas beauty salon owner Shelley Luther. Luther refused to close her business, violating the statewide stay-at-home order. Throwing Texans in jail who have had their businesses shut down through no fault of their own is nonsensical, and I will not allow it to happen, Abbott said in a statement. Also mentioned in the Governor's order were two Laredo women -- Ana Isabel Castro-Garcia, 31, and Brenda Stephanie Mata, 20. Both were arrested on April 15 after an undercover sting operation conducted by LPD found they were operating a cosmetics business inside their home. Both were released on bond shortly after their arrest. At the time, LPD was granted the authority to arrest the women based on the statewide emergency order, which has since expired. Both women originally faced a punishment of up to 180 days in jail and a fine up to $1,000. According to Laredo Police Chief Claudio Trevino, tips from concerned citizens are the primary way the order is enforced in Laredo. "Based on the tips we receive, that's when we decide to initiative undercover investigations." Trevino said. "We will continue to do so. and continue to look into any violation of the law and take appropriate enforcement efforts" Laredo officers will continue to visit businesses that have been mandated closed by the city to ensure they're in compliance with the city's emergency order, which expires on May 30. Businesses that have been ordered closed include bars, bingo halls, tattoo shops and bowling alleys. "Officers are out there enforcing in good faith and good discretion to the benefit of all our citizens," Trevino said. Additionally, they'll continue to enforce new restrictions, such as a 25% occupation cap, on businesses that have started to open after the Governor's order to reopen Texas. They will also continue to visit city parks to ensure all citizens are in compliance with the order. While Abbott also recently stripped the city's ability to fine those not covering their faces in public, face coverings will continue to be enforced throughout the city by Laredo officers. A curfew also continues to be in place from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily. On Wednesday, Laredo Police only issued one citation related to the city's emergency order: a curfew violation. T he Government has cautioned the public against overexcitement at the prospect of the coronavirus lockdown being eased. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said people should not read too much into media reports of plans to lift current restrictions, stressing no decisions have yet been made. Boris Johnson will thrash out the final details of his exit strategy today as he leads a meeting of Cabinet ministers, three weeks after the last review of social distancing measures. But Mr Lewis urged Britons to err on the side of caution, saying: Although we believe we are through the peak of this virus we are very cautious to ensure that we dont get a second peak." He told BBC Breakfast: "I would just say to people to not get too carried away with what we may be reading and just wait until the Government guidelines and the Prime Ministers statement. "The safest thing to do at the moment with this virus and the way it spreads is wherever you can stay home. In a separate interview with Sky News on Thursday morning, Mr Lewis explained: "We will be discussing some of the options and the advice that is being put to us in Cabinet later on today. "The Prime Minister will then outline if there are going to be any changes. But I think weve got to understand that this is a pandemic and a virus that spreads so easily that we have to be very cautious as we look at how we come out of the current lockdown. One month since UK lockdown - In pictures 1 /14 One month since UK lockdown - In pictures The M5 motorway, looking south towards Devon PA A nearly-deserted Reuters Square in Canary Wharf PA A popular riverside walk alongside the Thames near London's Tower Bridge is almost empty PA The concourse of London's Waterloo station is almost devoid of travellers PA Empty streets and pavements surround Little Ben, a cast iron miniature clock tower, situated at the intersection of Vauxhall Bridge Road and Victoria Street PA Horse Guards Parade in London is empty as tourists stay away PA Liverpool waterfront is practically deserted PA Empty streets in Newcastle upon Tyne PA An empty shopping arcade at Windsor Station PA King's Parade, with King's College (left) and the Senate House (distance) in Cambridge PA A view of a near-deserted Waterlooville town centre in Hampshire PA Mr Johnson will chair the legal review of existing restrictions, which cover England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, to see what freedoms the public can enjoy while the spread of the virus is kept under control. The PM hinted he will announce a limited return to pre-pandemic life in an address to the nation on Sunday, with new measures set to come in as early as Monday. Reports suggest changes to existing restrictions include unlimited exercise, the return of some sports, park picnics, and the opening of pub and cafe gardens but people would still be required to remain two metres apart. Thursday's meeting pre-empts a sunny Bank Holiday weekend, with fears that good weather will spark a rush to UK beauty spots. A student Artificial Intelligence (AI) start-up which turns sketches into 3D models has scooped a 10,000 prize and a 12-month membership to tech incubator SETsquared Bristol. Kaedim, whose prototype software is currently being tested by Aardman Animations, won the funding after being crowned the winner of the University of Bristols New Enterprise Competition. The company was founded in 2019 by University of Bristol undergraduates Konstantina Psoma and Roman Bromidge, who developed the idea during their Computer Science with Innovation Masters. They will be among the first to undergraduates to graduate from the Universitys new integrated innovation courses, run by its Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The degree the first of its kind in the UK - has allowed them to develop their idea, learn entrepreneurial skills and draw on a pool of expert industry mentors. The New Enterprise Competition is the University of Bristol's flagship start-up competition, run by the Basecamp Enterprise team. Previous winners include Ultraleap, which is now the world's leading mid-air haptics and 3D hand tracking technology company, and Lettus Grow, an indoor farming technology provider which recently secured 2.35 million in seed funding. Konstantina said: We are overjoyed and honoured to have won the New Enterprise Competition! It means we can put in place key measures to protect the IP weve created and gives us the breathing room to develop Kaedim into what we know it can become. We can now go forward with confidence during this summer without losing the momentum that weve built over the last year. Roman said: We are hugely grateful to the Basecamp Team for this amazing opportunity, and to the everyone at the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship who helped us make Kaedim a reality. Going from only an idea to testing our first prototype with Aardman and others, were proud of what weve already achieved, and were even more excited for the future! Paddy Ireland, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise said: The New Enterprise Competition is a great platform to showcase the innovations coming out of the University. Its long history has provided some of the best and brightest from the University with the strong platform they need to launch their businesses. This year's winners are carrying on that great tradition and I'm very proud of how the New Enterprise Competition continues to support business growth. Steve Edwards, Centre Director at SETsquared Bristol, said: The New Enterprise Competition is a fantastic example of how tech innovation is being spotted, celebrated and supported in a connected way across the University of Bristol. SETsquared Bristol is proud to have been part of the event and to welcome two new, incredible members to our growing community. Were really looking forward to taking on the baton to support them on the next commercial stage of their entrepreneurial journey. This year, the competition saw the greatest ever gender diversity in its 19-year history with seven out of 10 finalists businesses being led by a woman founder or co-founder thanks to a new, additional four-month programme of support which saw candidates paired with industry mentors. PHILADELPHIA A Michigan man faces charges in federal and county courts after he allegedly manufactured child pornography while engaging in text communications with a teenage Montgomery County girl who he then met and sexually assaulted at a Limerick Township hotel. Mark Allen Hillis, 57, of Southgate, Mich., was charged in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia with manufacture of child pornography, attempted manufacture of child pornography and willfully causing the manufacture of child pornography stemming from his alleged communications with a 13 year-old girl in December 2019. As alleged in the criminal complaint, the defendants conduct is abhorrent: manipulating a child into sending him graphic images and then luring her from home in the middle of the night in order to commit a sexual assault to satisfy his twisted desires, U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain said this week. Protecting children and seeking justice for those who are victims of sexual exploitation is one of my offices highest priorities and we will always aggressively investigate and prosecute cases such as this. Federal authorities alleged Hillis met the girl through a social media site and then directed her to produce and send him graphic images of herself via text messages. Hillis allegedly then traveled to Montgomery County and sexually assaulted the girl in a hotel room, after convincing her to meet up with him at a pizzeria in the middle of the night, federal prosecutors alleged. In addition to the federal child pornography charges, Hillis faces separate charges in county court related to the alleged Dec. 30, 2019, sexual assault in Limerick. According to court records, those sexual assault charges against Hillis were filed by Limerick police on Dec. 31. The local investigation began Dec. 30 when Limerick police received information that a 13-year-old girl received medical attention at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia as a result of a sexual assault, according to a criminal complaint. The investigation determined the girl had been assaulted at the Hampton Inn located on West Linfield Trappe Road, according to the arrest affidavit. Subsequently, the girl was interviewed by child social workers and revealed that she had become involved in an on-line relationship with a man she knew only as Mark, according to the criminal complaint filed by Limerick Detective Christopher Iochum. The pair began communicating through group chats on YouTube and eventually began text messaging directly with each other, authorities alleged. During the text messaging, Hillis solicited photographs and videos of the girl, including naked images of her body, Iochum alleged in court papers. Hillis also allegedly sent the girl photos and videos of his body parts. The girl told detectives that she informed Hillis that she was 13 years old, court papers alleged. On Dec. 29 and into the morning of Dec. 30, Hillis met the girl at a pizza shop near her home and the pair then drove to the Hampton Inn where Hillis alleged sexually assaulted the girl in a hotel room. After the sexual encounter at the hotel, Hillis drove the girl back to the pizza shop and dropped her off, according to the criminal complaint. On Dec. 31, Limerick police were contacted by a representative from the hotel advising that Hillis had checked back into the hotel, court papers indicate. Limerick police then tracked Hillis to a car wash on North Lewis Road and he was subsequently taken into custody. During questioning by detectives, Hillis allegedly admitted to meeting the girl online and to taking her to the hotel, according to the criminal complaint. After an April 27 preliminary hearing, Hillis was ordered to face trial in county court on charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, aggravated indecent assault, corruption of a minor and indecent assault in connection with the alleged Dec. 30 incident. Court records indicate Hillis is being held in jail in lieu of $1 million bail while awaiting trial. Hillis faces a formal arraignment in county court on the Limerick charges on June 17. If convicted of the sexual assault related charges in county court, Hillis potentially faces decades in prison. If convicted of the child porn related charges in federal court, Hillis faces a maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment and a fine up to $250,000. This arrest demonstrates the great lengths that dangerous child predators will go through to victimize our most vulnerable, said Brian A. Michael, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in Philadelphia. The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, a component of the federal Department of Homeland Security, and the Limerick Township Police Department, in conjunction with the Montgomery County Detective Bureau. The federal case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Deal. The county case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Bridget Gallagher. Holidaying in New Zealand could soon be far more expensive as residents push for freedom camping to be banned. Freedom camping is a popular activity for international travellers as it allows them to park a caravan or pitch a tent in some of the most scenic spots for free. But locals have been campaigning for the activity to be banned and for tourists to spend money on accommodation to boost the economy after the coronavirus pandemic. Tourism is the country's biggest export industry, generating $16.2billion directly to the GDP. The industry has come to a crashing halt since the COVID-19 lockdown. Jennifer Branje, who runs the South Island visitor guide website South Proud, launched a petition asking the Government to reassess the way the tourism industry operates. Holidaying in New Zealand could soon be far more expensive as residents push for freedom camping to be banned (pictured: Britz camper vans park for the night at a freedom camping spot on the south coast of Wellington New Zealand) Freedom camping is a popular activity for international travellers as it allows them to park a caravan or pitch a tent in some of the most scenic spots for free (pictured: Lake Pukaki in New Zealand) In her petition, which already has 1500 signatures, she said the government should abolish all freedom camping for non-residents of New Zealand and cease allocating taxpayer revenue for further development of free camping sites. 'I believe we need value not volume. While freedom camping has previously been allowed, I believe the way forward is to abolish freedom camping for all non-residents in support of our local tourism operators,' she said. 'New Zealand deserves to be a high-value destination, not a cheap and cheerful place where visitors are given the option to camp on our roadsides. NZ is valuable, let's put a value on it.' The calls come as the government considers opening its borders for Australian travellers as part of a 'trans-Tasman bubble'. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern dialled in for Australia's coronavirus cabinet meeting on Tuesday for the neighbouring countries to discuss reopening their borders to trans-Tasman travel following their successes in containing the disease. The travel zone would not include a 14-day quarantine period, both countries would need to be confident they would neither import or export cases before travel between the two countries is allowed. About 1.5 million Aussies visiting the country in 2019, pouring $2.5 billion into the New Zealand economy (Pictured: Supermoel Georgia Fowler going for a surf in New Zealand) Tourism is New Zealand's biggest export industry, contributing $16.2 billion directly to the GDP (Pictured: Supermodel Georgia Fowler poses for a photo in Piha, New Zealand) Australians flock to Queenstown every year during ski season, they are the biggest tourism group, behind Kiwis (Pictured: EFC star Red Dela Cruz, at Onsen Hot Pools in Queenstown) Ms Ardern and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison agreed it will take sometime before the safe travel zone is a reality. 'We need to be cautious as we progress this initiative. Neither country wants to see the virus rebound so its essential any such travel zone is safe,' Ms Ardern said. 'Relaxing travel restrictions at an appropriate time will clearly benefit both countries and demonstrates why getting on top of the virus early is the best strategy for economic recovery.' Mr Morrison said Australia would be focusing on reopening state borders first. Both countries closed their borders to travellers in March as the coronavirus crisis escalated. New Zealand has had great success in tackling coronavirus - with no new cases on 4 May The move brought the travel industry to a crashing halt and saw thousands of workers with jobs. Airlines have been struggling to stay afloat amid the pandemic. Virgin Australia was the first to fold with the company going into voluntary administration two weeks ago owing almost $7 billion. Qantas has recently secured funding to keep ensure the company survives until December 2021. It is preparing to lose $40million a week until the travel industry recovers. A Minnesota man who confessed he suffocated his wife with a plastic bag and duct tape told police he planned to use that same roll of tape to hang missing posters for her. Chilling new details in the murder of Maria Fury, 28, whose body was found buried in the crawl space of her Maple Grove home on Saturday, two days after her husband reported her missing, have emerged. Her husband Joshua David Fury, 28, reported Maria as missing to police on Thursday, launching a massive air and land police search for her. On Saturday investigators served a warrant at the couples home and sniffer dogs detected human remains in a four-feet high crawl space in the basement. Her body was found buried with the plastic bag duct taped around her mouth and nose. She was found with trauma to her neck, but it was not broken. Minnesota man Joshua David Fury, 28, confessed to killing his wife Maria Fury, 28, (together above) by strangling her and suffocating her with a plastic bag and duct tape. He later told police that he planned to use that very same roll of duct tape to hang up missing posters for Maria as he reported her missing Fury was charged with second-degree murder for Maria's death on Monday He told investigators he wanted to use the very same roll of tape he used to kill her to hang up missing posters for her. Missing poster for Maria shared on social media pictured above After her body was exhumed Fury confessed to the grisly killing and was charged with second-degree murder. Preliminary autopsy results from the Hennepin County medical examiner determined the cause of death was asphyxiation from duct tape and a plastic bag placed over Marias mouth and nose. Joshua admitted to the killing saying he strangled her during an argument about her leaving him. Joshua said he 'placed both hands around her neck and squeezed until he felt a snap', the charges said. When he found Maria was still breathing he put a plastic bag over her head and nose until she stopped. Police were dispatched to the couples Maple Grove home on the 11000 block of Red Fox Drive (above) last week following Joshua's missing report and a massive two-day search was launched for Maria. Her body was found Saturday buried in a crawl space in the basement of the home He said once she was dead he 'wrapped her arms in duct tape, carried her body to the crawl space, dug a hole, placed her body in the hole, filled it up, covered and chalked plastic over the space then cleaned up the surrounded area and himself before going to work.' Joshua told authorities it only took two hours to kill her and bury her body. He told police he intended to use the same duct tape roll he used to wrap her body to hang missing posters for her as he pretended that she had vanished during her walk around the neighborhood. Now prosecutors are requesting a high bail for Joshua due to the extremely violent nature of the crime and his cover-up plan. Friends and family of Maria said he was possessive and controlling and she intended to leave him. Maria Fury's body was found in a crawl space in their Minnesota home's basement on Saturday, two days after Joshua reported her missing to police on Thursday April 30. Fury said he killed his wife after they got into an argument about her leaving him Investigator interviews found the couple was having marital problems, Fury was 'controlling and possessive' and Maria intended to leave him He told investigators that he suffers from depression and attempted to commit suicide following the murder. He expected to make his first court appearance in the death of his wife on Wednesday. Prosecutors will be seeking bail of $2million. Maria Fury's parents, Lissa Weimelt and Bill Pew, condemned Fury's murder as a 'horrific, unthinkable crime'. 'Maria Pew is a victim of a horrific, unthinkable crime. But we will not allow her to be remembered that way; Maria would hate it if the world saw her as a victim. Maria was so much more. She was our daughter, our niece, our cousin, our friend; she loved her family and was fiercely loyal. A happy, strong, resilient, supportive, and caring individual, Maria did so much in her 28 years. But she also left behind hopes and dreams, and she left undone infinite possibilities,' they said in a family statement. The family is asking that people consider supporting Cornerstone, an organization that works with families experiencing domestic violence and have started a fundraiser to support to group in Maria's name. WASHINGTON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Evolent Health, Inc. (NYSE: EVH), a health care company that delivers proven clinical and administrative solutions to payers and providers, today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. Highlights from the first quarter of 2020 announcement include (all comparisons are to the quarter ended March 31, 2019): GAAP revenue of $247.3 million , an increase of 25.0%. , an increase of 25.0%. Net loss attributable to common shareholders of Evolent Health, Inc. of $(77.8) million , and Adjusted EBITDA of $3.6 million . , and Adjusted EBITDA of . Lives on platform of approximately 3.4 million. Evolent adds two new healthplan partners that will leverage New Century Health's specialty care management services. Frank Williams, chief executive officer of Evolent Health, Inc., commented, "I'm extremely proud of our rapid and comprehensive response to support our partners during the COVID-19 public health crisis. In the last several weeks, we developed a COVID-19 risk stratification model to identify members as high-risk; mobilized outreach to several hundred thousand of those members; and worked collaboratively with our partners to provide guidance on the virus while also addressing broader health and social needs. We are confident that our work meaningfully supported our payer and provider partners in their efforts to flatten the curve and reduce mortality rates in their respective communities." Mr. Williams commented, "In terms of our results for the quarter, we are pleased that we met our key financial, operational and new business objectives. Based on our experience to date with the COVID-19 crisis, we believe our business remains well-positioned in the market given the mission-critical nature of our service offering, as well as our diversified customer base and focus on Medicaid. In addition, we are continuing to make significant progress on our margin enhancement efforts while expanding and diversifying our national network of payer and provider partners. As a result, we continue to feel confident in achieving the revenue and profit targets for 2020 that we outlined at the beginning of the year. We of course acknowledge that this is an evolving situation, and we are closely monitoring the overall health care environment, as well as each of our businesses, to ensure we are prepared to address any important issues, should they arise." Mr. Williams continued, "It is also heartening to see the relevance of our data infrastructure and predictive analytics, as well as our population health orientation and virtual care management capabilities in today's environment. Our ability to impact vulnerable patient populations and drive demonstrable improvements in health outcomes has never been more relevant in the face of constrained resources and cost pressure across the health care landscape. Accordingly, we are continuing to see significant interest in our service offerings as reflected in our current pipeline and we're excited to add two new partners to our national network. First, EmblemHealth, one of the nation's largest non-profit health insurers, will be deploying a value-based New Century Health offering in New York to support its adult Medicaid and Medicare Advantage populations, as well as a portion of its Commercial and Individual Exchange members. Second, a large regional not-for-profit health plan based in the Northeast has also entered into a partnership with New Century Health to provide comprehensive oncology management services to more than 185,000 Medicaid, Dual-Eligible and Exchange members with a focus on medical oncology, radiation therapy and genetic testing. We are incredibly excited to launch new partnerships with these two highly-respected health plans with strong reputations in their respective communities." Mr. Williams concluded, "Overall, it has been an honor to support our partners during an incredibly challenging period and their dedication and commitment to community health has been extraordinary. Our focus over the coming weeks and months will be on deploying creative solutions that leverage our unique assets to try and limit incidence rates and mortality, as well as supporting patients with broader health needs. From a broader business perspective, we remain focused on driving growth and margin expansion across the remainder of the year to support our key financial and strategic objectives. Specifically, we have strong visibility into a minimum of 20% revenue growth in our Services business for this year, achieving our goal of becoming cash flow positive by this fall, and driving a strong exit run rate on the bottom line as we enter 2021." Financial Results of Evolent Health, Inc. In our earnings releases, prepared remarks, conference calls, slide presentations and webcasts, we may use or discuss non-GAAP financial measures. Definitions of the non-GAAP financial measures, as well as reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included in this earnings release. See "Financial Statement Presentation" and "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for more information. Reported Results Evolent Health, Inc. reported the following results in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"): Revenue of $247.3 million and $197.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, an increase of 25.0%; and for the three months ended and 2019, respectively, an increase of 25.0%; Services revenue of $221.4 million and $153.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, before intersegment eliminations of $(6.3) million and $(3.1) million , respectively; and and for the three months ended and 2019, respectively, before intersegment eliminations of and , respectively; and True Health premiums revenue of $32.4 million and $47.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, before intersegment eliminations of $(0.2) million and $(0.3) million , respectively. and for the three months ended and 2019, respectively, before intersegment eliminations of and , respectively. Cost of revenue of $175.7 million and $117.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, an increase of 49.6%. and for the three months ended and 2019, respectively, an increase of 49.6%. True Health claims expenses of $23.7 million and $37.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, a decrease of (37.3)%. and for the three months ended and 2019, respectively, a decrease of (37.3)%. Selling, general and administrative expenses of $54.7 million and $74.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, a decrease of (26.9)%. and for the three months ended and 2019, respectively, a decrease of (26.9)%. Net loss attributable to common shareholders of Evolent Health, Inc. of $(77.8) million and $(46.7) million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. and for the three months ended and 2019, respectively. Loss attributable to common shareholders of Evolent Health, Inc., per basic and diluted share, of $(0.92) and $(0.59) for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Adjusted Results Adjusted Revenue of $247.3 million and $198.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, an increase of 24.7%; and for the three months ended and 2019, respectively, an increase of 24.7%; Adjusted Services Revenue of $221.4 million and $154.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, before intersegment eliminations of $(6.3) million and $(3.1) million , respectively; and and for the three months ended and 2019, respectively, before intersegment eliminations of and , respectively; and True Health premiums revenue of $32.4 million and $47.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, before intersegment eliminations of $(0.2) million and $(0.3) million , respectively. and for the three months ended and 2019, respectively, before intersegment eliminations of and , respectively. Adjusted Cost of Revenue of $172.5 million and $115.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, an increase of 48.9%. and for the three months ended and 2019, respectively, an increase of 48.9%. True Health claims expenses of $23.7 million and $37.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, a decrease of (37.3)%. and for the three months ended and 2019, respectively, a decrease of (37.3)%. Adjusted selling, general and administrative expenses of $47.5 million and $59.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, a decrease of (20.2)%. and for the three months ended and 2019, respectively, a decrease of (20.2)%. Adjusted EBITDA of $3.6 million and $(14.8) million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. and for the three months ended and 2019, respectively. Adjusted Loss Available to Common Shareholders of $(12.1) million and $(25.3) million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. and for the three months ended and 2019, respectively. Adjusted Loss per Share Available to Common Shareholders of $(0.14) and $(0.31) for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Total cash and cash equivalents and investments as of March 31, 2020, was $87.2 million. Business Outlook We are not providing forward looking guidance for GAAP reported financial measures. A reconciliation of forward looking Adjusted EBITDA financial measures to net loss attributable to common shareholders of Evolent Health, Inc., the most comparable GAAP financial measure, is provided in the "Guidance Reconciliation" table below. For the full year 2020, Adjusted Revenue is expected to be in the range of approximately $935.0 million to $985.0 million. The components of Adjusted Revenue include Adjusted Services revenue, which is forecasted to be approximately $830.0 million to $870.0 million, and True Health premiums revenue, which is forecasted to be approximately $125.0 million to $135.0 million; intersegment eliminations are forecasted to be approximately $(20.0) million for the full year. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of approximately $24.0 million to $32.0 million. For the three months ended June 30, 2020, Adjusted Revenue is expected to be in the range of approximately $236.0 million to $247.0 million. The components of Adjusted Revenue include Adjusted Services revenue, which is forecasted to be approximately $210.0 million to $220.0 million, and True Health premiums revenue, which is forecasted to be approximately $30.0 million to $32.0 million; intersegment eliminations are forecasted to be approximately $(4.0) million to $(5.0) million for the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of approximately $5.0 million to $8.0 million. This "Business Outlook" section contains forward-looking statements, and actual results may differ materially. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations are set forth below in "Forward Looking Statements - Cautionary Language" and Evolent Health, Inc.'s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Web and Conference Call Information As previously announced, Evolent Health, Inc. will hold a conference call to discuss its first quarter and full year performance this evening, May 7, 2020, at 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time. The conference call will be available via live webcast on the Company's Investor Relations website at http://ir.evolenthealth.com. To participate by telephone, dial 855.940.9467 or 412.317.6034 for international callers, and ask to join the Evolent Health call. Participants are advised to dial in at least fifteen minutes prior to the call to register. The call will be archived on the company's website for one week and will be available beginning later this evening. Evolent Health invites all interested parties to attend the conference call. About Evolent Health Evolent Health (NYSE: EVH) delivers proven clinical and administrative solutions that improve whole-person health while making health care simpler and more affordable. Our solutions encompass total cost of care management, specialty care management, and administrative simplification. Evolent serves a national base of leading payers and providers, is the first company to receive the National Committee for Quality Assurance's Population Health Program Accreditation, and is consistently recognized as a top place to work in health care nationally. Learn more about how Evolent is changing the way health care is delivered by visiting evolenthealth.com. Contacts: Bob East Kim Conquest 443.213.0500 540.435.2095 Investor Relations Media Relations [email protected] [email protected] Financial Statement Presentation Evolent Health, Inc. is a holding company and its principal asset is all of the Class A common units in its operating subsidiary, Evolent Health LLC, which has owned all of our operating assets and substantially all of our business since inception. The financial results of Evolent Health LLC are consolidated in the financial statements of Evolent Health, Inc. Non-GAAP Financial Measures In addition to disclosing financial results that are determined in accordance with GAAP, we present and discuss Adjusted Revenue, Adjusted Services Revenue, Adjusted Transformation Services Revenue, Adjusted Platform and Operations Services Revenue, Adjusted Cost of Revenue, Adjusted Selling, General and Administrative Expenses, Adjusted Depreciation and Amortization Expenses, Adjusted Total Operating Expenses, Adjusted Operating Income (Loss), Adjusted EBITDA, Services Adjusted EBITDA, True Health Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Earnings (Loss) Available to Common Shareholders, Adjusted Earnings (Loss) per Share Available to Common Shareholders and Adjusted Weighted-Average Common Shares, which are all non-GAAP financial measures, as supplemental measures to help investors evaluate our fundamental operational performance. Adjusted Transformation Services Revenue and Adjusted Platform and Operations Services Revenue are defined as transformation services revenue and platform and operations services revenue, respectively, before the effect of intersegment eliminations and adjusted to exclude the impact of purchase accounting adjustments. Adjusted Services Revenue is defined as the sum of Adjusted Transformation Services Revenue and Adjusted Platform and Operations Services Revenue. Adjusted Revenue is defined as the sum of Adjusted Services Revenue and True Health premiums revenue, less relevant intersegment eliminations. Management uses Adjusted Revenue, Adjusted Services Revenue, Adjusted Transformation Services Revenue and Adjusted Platform and Operations Services Revenue as supplemental performance measures because they reflect a complete view of the operational results. The measures are also useful to investors because they reflect the full view of our operational performance in line with how we generate our long term forecasts. Adjusted Cost of Revenue and Adjusted Selling, General and Administrative Expenses are defined as cost of revenue and selling, general and administrative expenses, respectively, adjusted to exclude the impact of stock-based compensation expenses, severance costs, amortization of contract cost assets recorded as a result of a one-time ASC 606 transition adjustment, acquisition-related costs related to acquisitions and business combinations, securities offerings and other one-time adjustments. Management uses Adjusted Cost of Revenue and Adjusted Selling, General and Administrative Expenses as supplemental performance measures, which are also useful to investors, because they facilitate an understanding of our long term operational costs while removing the effect of costs that are not expected to reoccur frequently (e.g. acquisition-related costs) and non-cash (e.g. stock-based compensation expenses) in nature. Additionally, these supplemental performance measures facilitate understanding a breakdown of our Adjusted Total Operating Expenses. Adjustments for acquisition-related costs incurred generally represent professional service fees and direct expenses related to acquisitions. Because we do not acquire businesses on a predictable cycle, we do not consider the amount of acquisition-related costs to be a representative component of the day-to-day operating performance of our business. Adjusted Depreciation and Amortization Expenses is defined as depreciation and amortization expenses adjusted to exclude the impact of amortization expenses related to intangible assets acquired through acquisitions and business combinations. Management uses Adjusted Depreciation and Amortization Expenses as a supplemental performance measure because it reflects a complete view of the operational results. The measure is also useful to investors because it facilitates understanding a breakdown of our Adjusted Total Operating Expenses. Adjusted Total Operating Expenses is defined as the sum of Adjusted Cost of Revenue, Adjusted Selling, General and Administrative Expenses and Adjusted Depreciation and Amortization Expenses, and reflects the adjustments made in those non-GAAP measures. Adjusted Total Operating Expenses is further adjusted to exclude the impact of infrequent adjustments such as goodwill impairment, equity method investment impairment and one-time adjustments, such as severance costs, and items arising from acquisitions and business combinations, such as changes in fair value of contingent consideration and indemnification assets. Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) is defined as Adjusted Revenue less Adjusted Total Operating Expenses, and reflects the adjustments made in those non-GAAP measures. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA (net loss attributable to common shareholders of Evolent Health, Inc. before interest income, interest expense, (provision) benefit for income taxes, depreciation and amortization expenses), adjusted to exclude equity method investment impairment, loss from equity method investees, loss on disposal of assets, changes in fair value of contingent consideration and indemnification asset, other income (expense), net, net loss attributable to non-controlling interests, ASC 606 transition adjustments, purchase accounting adjustments, stock-based compensation expenses, severance costs, amortization of contract cost assets recorded as a result of a one-time ASC 606 transition adjustment, acquisition-related costs, and other infrequently occurring adjustments. Management uses Adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental performance measure because the removal of acquisition-related costs, one-time or non-cash items (e.g. depreciation, amortization and stock-based compensation expenses) allows us to focus on operational performance. We believe that this measure is also useful to investors because it allows further insight into the period over period operational performance in a manner that is comparable to other organizations in our industry and in the market in general. Adjusted Earnings (Loss) Available to Common Shareholders is defined as earnings (loss) available to common shareholders adjusted to exclude, income (loss) from equity method investees, (provision) benefit for income taxes, other income (expense), net, gain on disposal of assets, goodwill impairment, changes in fair value of contingent consideration and indemnification assets, net (income) loss attributable to non-controlling interests, purchase accounting adjustments, stock-based compensation expenses, severance costs, amortization of contract cost assets recorded as a result of a one-time ASC 606 transition adjustment, acquisition-related costs and other one-time adjustments. Adjusted Weighted-Average Common Shares is defined as weighted average common shares (diluted) adjusted to include, in periods of net loss, the dilutive or potentially dilutive effect of the assumed conversion of Class B common shares to Class A common shares. Adjusted Earnings (Loss) per Share Available to Common Shareholders is defined as Adjusted Earnings (Loss) Available to Common Shareholders divided by Adjusted Weighted-Average Common Shares, and reflects the adjustments made in those non-GAAP measures. Management uses Adjusted Earnings (Loss) Available to Common Shareholders, Adjusted Weighted-Average Common Shares and Adjusted Earnings (Loss) per Share Available to Common Shareholders because these performance measures represent our core operating performance distributed amongst all of our investors which is not represented by the GAAP results across time due to our complex equity structure. We believe that these measures are also useful to investors for the same reason. These adjusted measures do not represent and should not be considered as alternatives to GAAP measurements, and our calculations thereof may not be comparable to similarly entitled measures reported by other companies. A reconciliation of these adjusted measures to their most comparable GAAP financial measures is presented in the tables below. We believe these measures are useful across time in evaluating our fundamental core operating performance. Evolent Health, Inc. Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) (in thousands, except per share data) (unaudited) For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 Revenue Transformation services $ 5,238 $ 3,353 Platform and operations services 209,900 147,292 Premiums 32,147 47,111 Total revenue 247,285 197,756 Expenses Cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization expenses presented separately below) 175,653 117,441 Claims expenses 23,667 37,757 Selling, general and administrative expenses 54,698 74,838 Depreciation and amortization expenses 16,138 14,266 Loss on disposal of assets 6,447 Change in fair value of contingent consideration and indemnification asset (3,818) 100 Total operating expenses 272,785 244,402 Operating loss (25,500) (46,646) Interest income 919 1,060 Interest expense (6,285) (3,562) Impairment of equity method investments (46,133) Loss from equity method investees (412) (424) Other income (expense), net (71) 427 Loss before income taxes and non-controlling interests (77,482) (49,145) Provision (benefit) for income taxes 270 (496) Net loss (77,752) (48,649) Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests (1,910) Net loss attributable to common shareholders of Evolent Health, Inc. $ (77,752) $ (46,739) Loss per Common Share Basic and diluted $ (0.92) $ (0.59) Weighted-Average Common Shares Outstanding Basic and diluted 84,793 79,335 Comprehensive loss Net loss $ (77,752) $ (48,649) Other comprehensive loss, net of taxes, related to: Foreign currency translation adjustment (153) 24 Total comprehensive loss (77,905) (48,625) Total comprehensive loss attributable to non-controlling interests (1,910) Total comprehensive loss attributable to common shareholders of Evolent Health, Inc. $ (77,905) $ (46,715) Evolent Health, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (in thousands, unaudited) March 31, 2020 December 31, 2019 Cash and cash equivalents $ 67,944 $ 101,008 Restricted cash 61,854 27,523 Restricted investments 817 817 Total current assets 258,473 228,801 Investments, at amortized cost 19,279 18,558 Intangible assets, net 291,627 308,459 Goodwill 569,797 572,064 Total assets 1,451,754 1,498,015 Accounts payable 80,035 37,488 Long-term debt, net of discount 296,676 293,667 Total liabilities 603,682 568,968 Total shareholders' equity (deficit) attributable to Evolent Health, Inc. 848,072 922,358 Non-controlling interests 6,689 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity (deficit) 1,451,754 1,498,015 Evolent Health, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (in thousands, unaudited) For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 Net cash and restricted cash used in operating activities $ (20,541) (25,709) Net cash and restricted cash used in investing activities (10,807) (25,478) Net cash and restricted cash provided by (used in) financing activities 32,574 (109,665) Effect of exchange rate on cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash 41 (19) Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash 1,267 (160,871) Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash as of beginning-of-year 128,531 388,325 Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash as of end-of-year $ 129,798 227,454 Evolent Health, Inc. Reconciliation of Adjusted Results of Operations (in thousands, unaudited) For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2019 Evolent Health, Inc. as Reported Evolent Health, Inc. as Adjusted Evolent Evolent Evolent Evolent Health, Inc. Health, Inc. Health, Inc. Health, Inc. Change Over Prior Period Change Over Prior Period as Reported Adjustments as Adjusted as Reported Adjustments as Adjusted $ % $ % Revenue Transformation services $ 5,238 $ $ 5,238 $ 3,353 $ $ 3,353 $ 1,885 56.2 % $ 1,885 56.2 % Platform and operations services (1) 209,900 209,900 147,292 596 147,888 62,608 42.5 % 62,012 41.9 % Premiums 32,147 32,147 47,111 47,111 (14,964) (31.8) % (14,964) (31.8) % Total revenue 247,285 247,285 197,756 596 198,352 49,529 25.0 % 48,933 24.7 % Expenses Cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization expenses presented separately below) (2) 175,653 (3,153) 172,500 117,441 (1,609) 115,832 58,212 49.6 % 56,668 48.9 % Claims expenses 23,667 23,667 37,757 37,757 (14,090) (37.3) % (14,090) (37.3) % Selling, general and administrative expenses (3) 54,698 (7,207) 47,491 74,838 (15,297) 59,541 (20,140) (26.9) % (12,050) (20.2) % Depreciation and amortization expenses (4) 16,138 (6,027) 10,111 14,266 (5,735) 8,531 1,872 13.1 % 1,580 18.5 % Loss on disposal of assets 6,447 (6,447) 6,447 % % Change in fair value of contingent consideration (3,818) 3,818 100 (100) (3,918) (3,918.0) % % Total operating expenses 272,785 (19,016) 253,769 244,402 (22,741) 221,661 28,383 11.6 % 32,108 14.5 % Operating income (loss) $ (25,500) $ 19,016 $ (6,484) $ (46,646) $ 23,337 $ (23,309) $ 21,146 45.3 % $ 16,825 72.2 % Total operating expenses as a percentage of total revenue 110.3 % 102.6 % 123.6 % 111.8 % (1) Adjustments to platform and operations services revenue include deferred revenue purchase accounting adjustments of approximately $0.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019, resulting from our acquisitions and business combinations. (2) Adjustments to cost of revenue include $0.4 million and $0.8 million in stock-based compensation expense for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Adjustments also include acquisition-related costs of approximately $0.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020, resulting from acquisitions and business combinations. The adjustments also include approximately $0.8 million, related to the amortization of contract cost assets recorded as a result of the one-time ASC 606 transition adjustment, for the three months ended March 31, 2019. Adjustments for the three months ended March 31, 2020 also include $2.4 million of one-time severance costs. (3) Adjustments to selling, general and administrative expenses include $3.1 million and $3.7 million in stock-based compensation expense for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Adjustments also include acquisition-related costs of $0.4 million and $0.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, resulting from acquisitions and business combinations. Adjustments for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 also include $3.7 million and $10.6 million of one-time severance costs, respectively. (4) Adjustments to depreciation and amortization expenses of approximately $6.0 million and $5.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, relate to amortization of intangible assets acquired via asset acquisitions and business combinations. Evolent Health, Inc. Segment Results (in thousands, unaudited) Services True Health Intersegment Eliminations Consolidated Revenue For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 Services: Transformation services $ 5,238 $ $ $ 5,238 Platform and operations services 216,195 (6,295) 209,900 Services revenue 221,433 (6,295) 215,138 True Health: Premiums 32,387 (240) 32,147 Total revenue $ 221,433 $ 32,387 $ (6,535) $ 247,285 For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2019 Services: Transformation services $ 3,353 $ $ $ 3,353 Platform and operations services 150,351 (3,059) 147,292 Services revenue 153,704 (3,059) 150,645 True Health: Premiums 47,376 (265) 47,111 Total revenue $ 153,704 $ 47,376 $ (3,324) $ 197,756 Services True Health Segments Total For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 Adjusted EBITDA $ 3,876 $ (249) $ 3,627 For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2019 Adjusted EBITDA $ (15,499) $ 721 $ (14,778) Evolent Health, Inc. Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to Net Loss Attributable to Common Shareholders of Evolent Health, Inc. (in thousands, except per share data) (unaudited) For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 Net loss attributable to common shareholders of Evolent Health, Inc. $ (77,752) $ (46,739) Less: Interest income 919 1,060 Interest expense (6,285) (3,562) (Provision) benefit for income taxes (270) 496 Depreciation and amortization expenses (16,138) (14,266) EBITDA (55,978) (30,467) Less: Impairment of equity method investees (46,133) Loss from equity method investees (412) (424) Loss on disposal of assets (6,447) Change in fair value of contingent consideration and indemnification asset 3,818 (100) Other income (expense), net (71) 427 Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests 1,910 Purchase accounting adjustments (596) Stock-based compensation expense (3,508) (4,537) Severance costs (6,103) (10,602) Amortization of contract cost assets (440) (754) Acquisition-related costs (309) (1,013) Adjusted EBITDA $ 3,627 $ (14,778) Adjusted EBITDA per Common Share Basic and diluted $ 0.04 $ (0.19) Weighted-Average Common Shares Outstanding Basic and diluted 84,793 79,335 Evolent Health, Inc. Reconciliation of Adjusted Earnings (Loss) Available to Common Shareholders to Net Loss Available to Common Shareholders (in thousands, except per share data) (unaudited) For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 Net Loss Available to Common Shareholders - Basic and Diluted (a) $ (77,752) $ (46,739) Less: Loss from equity method investees (412) (424) Other income (expense), net (71) 431 Loss on disposal of assets (6,447) Impairment of equity method investees (46,133) Change in fair value of contingent consideration and indemnification asset 3,818 (100) Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests 1,910 Purchase accounting adjustments (6,027) (6,331) Stock-based compensation expense (3,508) (4,537) Severance costs (6,103) (10,602) Amortization of contract cost assets (440) (754) Acquisition-related costs (309) (1,013) Adjusted Loss Available to Common Shareholders (b) $ (12,120) $ (25,319) Loss per Share Available to Common Shareholders - Basic and Diluted (a) (1) $ (0.92) $ (0.59) Adjusted Loss per Share Available to Common Shareholders (b) (2) $ (0.14) $ (0.31) Weighted-average common shares - basic and diluted (1) 84,793 79,335 Adjusted Weighted-Average Common Shares (3) 84,793 82,525 (1) For periods of net loss, shares used in both the basic and diluted earnings per share calculation represent basic shares as using diluted shares would be anti-dilutive. (2) Represents Adjusted Earnings (Loss) Available to Common Shareholders divided by Adjusted Weighted-Average Common Shares as described in footnote 3 below. (3) Represents the weighted-average common shares (diluted) adjusted to include, in periods of net loss, the dilutive or potentially dilutive effect of the assumed conversion of Class B common shares to Class A common shares. See the reconciliation of Adjusted Weighted-Average Common to Diluted Weighted-Average Common Shares on the following page. Evolent Health, Inc. Reconciliation of Adjusted Weighted-Average Common Shares to Diluted Weighted-Average Common Shares (in thousands, unaudited) For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 Weighted-average common shares - diluted 84,793 79,335 Assumed conversion of Class B common shares to Class A common shares (1) 3,190 Adjusted Weighted-Average Common Shares 84,793 82,525 (1) All Class B common shares were converted to Class A common shares as of December 31, 2019. Evolent Health, Inc. Guidance Reconciliation (in thousands, unaudited) For the Three Months Ended June 30, 2020 For the Year Ended December 31, 2020 Net loss attributable to common shareholders of Evolent Health, Inc. $ (22,400) $ (138,903) Less: Interest expense (5,200) (21,000) Income tax expense (270) Depreciation and amortization expenses (16,500) (66,000) EBITDA (700) (51,633) Less: Impairment of equity method investments (46,133) Loss on disposal of assets (6,447) Change in fair value of contingent consideration and indemnification asset 3,818 Other income (expense), net (71) Stock-based compensation expense (3,750) (15,000) Severance costs (2,000) (10,000) Amortization of contract cost assets (450) (1,800) Acquisition-related costs (1,000) (4,000) Adjusted EBITDA $ 6,500 $ 28,000 The guidance reconciliation provided above reconciles the midpoint of the respective guidance ranges to the most comparable GAAP measure. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS - CAUTIONARY LANGUAGE Certain statements made in this report and in other written or oral statements made by us or on our behalf are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("PSLRA"). A forward-looking statement is a statement that is not a historical fact and, without limitation, includes any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain words like: "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "estimate," "aim," "predict," "potential," "continue," "plan," "project," "will," "should," "shall," "may," "might" and other words or phrases with similar meaning in connection with a discussion of future operating or financial performance. In particular, these include statements relating to future actions, trends in our businesses, prospective services, future performance or financial results and the outcome of contingencies, such as legal proceedings. We claim the protection afforded by the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by the PSLRA. These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and projections about future events. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results contained in the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary materially, some of which are described within the forward-looking statements, include, among others: the potential negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; the significant portion of revenue we derive from our largest partners, and the potential loss, termination or renegotiation of our relationship or contract with Passport or another significant partner, or multiple partners in the aggregate; uncertainty relating to expected future revenues from Passport, and the value of our investment in Passport, including as a result of the ongoing Medicaid request for proposal process in the Commonwealth of Kentucky ; ; the structural change in the market for health care in the United States ; ; uncertainty in the health care regulatory framework, including the potential impact of policy changes; uncertainty in the public exchange market; the uncertain impact of CMS waivers to Medicaid rules and changes in membership and rates; the uncertain impact the results of elections may have on health care laws and regulations; our ability to effectively manage our growth and maintain an efficient cost structure; our ability to offer new and innovative products and services; risks related to completed and future acquisitions, investments, alliances and joint ventures, including the partnership with GlobalHealth, the acquisition of assets from New Mexico Health Connections ("NMHC"), and the acquisitions of Valence Health Inc., excluding Cicerone Health Solutions, Inc. ("Valence Health"), Aldera Holdings, Inc. ("Aldera"), NCIS Holdings, Inc. ("New Century Health"), and Passport, which may be difficult to integrate, divert management resources, or result in unanticipated costs or dilute our stockholders; our ability to consummate opportunities in our pipeline; risks relating to our ability to maintain profitability for our total cost of care and New Century Health's performance-based contracts and products, including capitation and risk-bearing contracts; the growth and success of our partners, which is difficult to predict and is subject to factors outside of our control, including governmental funding reductions and other policy changes, enrollment numbers for our partners' plans (including in Florida ), premium pricing reductions, selection bias in at-risk membership and the ability to control and, if necessary, reduce health care costs; ), premium pricing reductions, selection bias in at-risk membership and the ability to control and, if necessary, reduce health care costs; our ability to attract new partners and successfully capture new growth opportunities; the increasing number of risk-sharing arrangements we enter into with our partners; our ability to recover the significant upfront costs in our partner relationships; our ability to estimate the size of our target markets; our ability to maintain and enhance our reputation and brand recognition; consolidation in the health care industry; competition which could limit our ability to maintain or expand market share within our industry; risks related to governmental payer audits and actions, including whistleblower claims; our ability to partner with providers due to exclusivity provisions in our contracts; restrictions and penalties as a result of privacy and data protection laws; adequate protection of our intellectual property, including trademarks; any alleged infringement, misappropriation or violation of third-party proprietary rights; our use of "open source" software; our ability to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, know-how and other proprietary information; our reliance on third parties and licensed technologies; our ability to use, disclose, de-identify or license data and to integrate third-party technologies; data loss or corruption due to failures or errors in our systems and service disruptions at our data centers; online security risks and breaches or failures of our security measures, including with respect to privacy of health information; our reliance on Internet infrastructure, bandwidth providers, data center providers, other third parties and our own systems for providing services to our users; our reliance on third-party vendors to host and maintain our technology platform; our ability to contain health care costs, implement increases in premium rates on a timely basis, maintain adequate reserves for policy benefits or maintain cost effective provider agreements; True Health's ability to enter the individual market; the risk of a significant reduction in the enrollment in our health plan; our ability to accurately underwrite performance-based risk-bearing contracts; risks related to our offshore operations; our dependency on our key personnel, and our ability to attract, hire, integrate and retain key personnel; the impact of additional goodwill and intangible asset impairments on our results of operations; our indebtedness, our ability to service our indebtedness, the impact of covenants in our credit agreement on our business, our ability to access the delayed draw loan under our credit facility and our ability to obtain additional financing; our ability to achieve profitability in the future; our adjusted results may not be representative of our future performance; the impact of litigation, including the ongoing class action lawsuit; the impact of changes in accounting principles and guidance on our reported results; our obligations to make payments to certain of our pre-IPO investors for certain tax benefits we may claim in the future; our ability to utilize benefits under the tax receivables agreement described herein; our ability to realize all or a portion of the tax benefits that we currently expect to result from exchanges of Class B common units of Evolent Health LLC for our Class A common stock, and to utilize certain tax attributes of Evolent Health Holdings and an affiliate of TPG Global, LLC (along with its affiliates, "TPG"); our obligations to make payments under the tax receivables agreement that may be accelerated or may exceed the tax benefits we realize; the terms of agreements between us and certain of our pre-IPO investors; the conditional conversion feature of the 2025 Notes, which, if triggered, could require us to settle the 2025 Notes in cash; the impact of the accounting method for convertible debt securities that may be settled in cash; the potential volatility of our Class A common stock price; the potential decline of our Class A common stock price if a substantial number of shares are sold or become available for sale; provisions in our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation and second amended and restated by-laws and provisions of Delaware law that discourage or prevent strategic transactions, including a takeover of us; law that discourage or prevent strategic transactions, including a takeover of us; the ability of certain of our investors to compete with us without restrictions; provisions in our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation which could limit our stockholders' ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees; our intention not to pay cash dividends on our Class A common stock; and our ability to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting. The risks included here are not exhaustive. Although we believe the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance or achievements. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, and other documents filed with the SEC include additional factors that could affect our businesses and financial performance. Moreover, we operate in a rapidly changing and competitive environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors. Further, it is not possible to assess the effect of all risk factors on our businesses or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. In addition, we disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release. SOURCE Evolent Health Related Links http://www.evolenthealth.com A former gynaecologist who was arrested over the sexual assault an elderly client has been hit with more charges after two more women have come forward to police. Dr Richard Reid, 77, was arrested in September 2019 after a woman, 64, alleged she had been sexually assaulted by him at his Edgecliff practice in Sydney's eastern suburbs while receiving treatment between 2010 and 2014. Seven more charges were laid against Reid on Wednesday after two other women - aged 25 and 28 at the time - alleged they were sexually assaulted during consultations between 2000 and 2001. Dr Richard Reid (pictured), 77, was arrested in September 2019 after a woman, 64, alleged she had been sexually assaulted by him The new charges are five counts of aggravated sexual assault victim under authority and two counts of aggravated indecent assault victim under authority. He remains on bail and will appear at Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday. Seven more charges have been laid against Reid on Wednesday after two other women - aged 25 and 28 at the time - alleged they were sexually assaulted during consultations between 2000 and 2001 (pictured: Downing Centre Local Court where Reid will appear on Thursday) In a statement, police reminded members of the public they can report incidents of sexual assault regardless of when they occurred. 'All information provided to police is treated with the strictest of confidence,' NSW Police said in a statement. Reid has since retired from gynaecology and lives with his Filipino wife in Toukley on the Central Coast of New South Wales. (Newser) Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose tangled with Treasury Department frontman Steven Mnuchin in a Twitter spat Wednesday night. "Its official! Whatever anyone may have previously thought of Steve Mnuchin hes officially an a--hole," Rose tweeted. Mnuchin soon responded, tweeting: "What have you done for the country lately?" He added an emoji of Liberia's red-and-white-striped flag. Minutes later, the Treasury secretary removed the tweet and replaced it with one featuring the American flag, Business Insider reports. Rose joked that he didn't know the US was trying to "emulate Liberia's economic model," and told Mnuchin: "unlike u I dont hold a fed gov position of responsibility 2 the American people n go on TV tellin them 2 travel the US during a pandemic." story continues below That last statement could be in reference to a Fox Business Network interview Mnuchin gave Monday, in which he said only time will tell if international travel will be feasible later in 2020 but encouraged domestic travel. "This is a great time for people to explore America," he said, per the Washington Post. Some Twitter users had a field day with the unexpected clash, with one tweeting: "As crazy as 2020 has been, absolutely no one had Mnuchin and Axl Rose fight on twitter on their Bingo card," Page Six reports. Seth Cohen at Forbes is surprised that Mnuchin, "tasked with the responsibility to help navigate our countrys finances at a time of national crisis," found the time to clash with a rock star. In 2018, Rose said the band asked President Trump to stop using their music at events. Their 1991 hit "Live and Let Die," however, was played when Trump visited a mask factory this week. (Read more Axl Rose stories.) Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Brasilia: Indigenous groups from nine countries in the Amazon basin are calling for donations to help protect 3 million rainforest inhabitants who are vulnerable to the spread of the novel coronavirus because they lack adequate access to healthcare. They said the failure of regional governments to consider the needs of indigenous people in their plans for curbing the pandemic made it imperative to find other funding to buy food, medicine and basic protective equipment such as masks. Relatives mourn at the roadside while awaiting the removal of the body of Arlen Bezerra, 39, a victim of COVID-19, in Manaus, Amazon state, Brazil. Credit:AP The Amazon Emergency Fund aims to raise $US3 million ($4.6 million) in the next two weeks and $US5 million over 60 days, its organisers at the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin (COICA) said. "We cannot wait any longer for our governments ... We are in danger of extinction," said Jose Gregorio Diaz Mirabal, general coordinator of COICA and a member of the Wakuenai Kurripaco people of Venezuela. ASX-listed shipbuilder Austal's boss David Singleton says the concerted push by Asian nations to boost their naval forces over the next decade could generate a steady pipeline of work for the company. In an interview with The Age and the Herald Mr Singleton said the ongoing tensions in the South China Sea have prompted regional players, including Japan, South Korea, The Philippines and Indonesia, to consider beefing up their naval capabilities. "Were all familiar with the geopolitics that's playing out in Asia and the South China Sea, and overlapping claims on islands and sea, and fishing grounds and all that sort of thing that's going on. And that's creating a change in the military posture of those countries. "And that's a really important change for us, because instead of us thinking about naval programs say in the Middle East, which are heavily contested by overseas and European companies, we're seeing what I think is going to be dramatic growth in the build programs for naval ships in Asia," he said. Capitalising on this demand for new naval vessels from the region would help cushion the blow the Perth-based shipbuilder suffered last week when a US Navy contract, potentially worth up to $8.5 billion, was awarded to a competitor. Montgomery County law enforcement officials were in support Thursday of Gov. Greg Abbott who announced he was removing confinement as a punishment for those who violate his orders outlining the reopening of Texas during the current COVID-19 crisis. However, County Judge Mark Keough, who has been vocal about his concerns over Abbotts plan, criticized the governor and his ever changing and vague executive orders. MORE FROM CATHERINE DOMINGUEZ: Montgomery County lawmaker thumbs nose at governor and gets a haircut How does he expect law enforcement to do their job when the governors order continually changes its meaning and implied consequences. Now that hes on the eve of reopening several businesses, he has retroactively stated they could have reopened on April 2, Keough said. The governor could solve this problem immediately by issuing an executive order to reopen all businesses and increase their operational occupancy. Abbotts faced some backlash, locally and statewide, over the criminal sanctions in his plan that could have put business owners in jail for 180 days to six months as well as facing potential fines. While local law enforcement leaders said they would follow the governors orders, officials with the Montgomery County District Attorneys Office and the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office told county commissioners earlier this month they would use a common sense approach and use discretion as struggling business owners work to reopen their doors. ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Coronavirus live updates: Will changing local, state safety guidelines confuse Texans? I absolutely agree with Governor Abbotts decision today to remove the confinement punishment from his executive orders, said MCSO Sheriff Rand Henderson. I believe in our rights and civil liberties as laid out in the constitution. Jailing or fining our citizens for non-compliance with these orders was always a last resort. Safeguards and precautions were taken to ensure the freedoms and liberties of our citizens were not infringed upon. Our goal from the onset was to ensure our communitys safety through appealing to our citizens sense of community and civic duty during this difficult time. According to MCSO Lt. Scott Spencer, there have been no arrests or tickets issued locally regarding violations of the governors order. District Attorney Brett Ligon echoed Henderson and said the orders never should have had criminal penalties. I am glad that Gov. Abbott has heard the concerns of myself and many others and has removed at least a portion of the criminal sanction for violation of his orders, Ligon said. I still believe that enforcement of his orders should be of a regulatory or administrative nature and should have no criminal sanction attached whatsoever, but am glad that no future officers will be in the situation of being forced to arrest someone at the governors behest. MORNING REPORT: Get the top stories on HoustonChronicle.com sent directly to your inbox People are aware of the risk of COVID-19 transmission and should act maturely and rationally on that and shouldnt be criminalized when taking that risk anyway. In March, Keough issued a disaster declaration for the county and issued orders limiting occupancy at businesses and public and private venues. On March 27, Keough, following the lead of neighboring counties, issued a stay-at-home order for Montgomery County but terminated that order April 17 to fall under the Abbotts stay-at-home order for the state. On April 27, Abbott issued his executive orders to reopen the state followed by the termination of the states stay-at-home order April 30. Ligon said Abbotts orders resulted in absurd arrests in other jurisdictions. The issue came to light after Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther was sentenced to a seven-day jail sentence and was facing thousands of dollars in fines for violating statewide stay-at-home orders. Luther reopened her business two weeks ago and then publicly tore up a cease-and-desist letter ordering her to close. Abbott called the confinement penalty nonsensical and made the change retroactive. Throwing Texans in jail who have had their businesses shut down through no fault of their own is nonsensical and I will not allow it to happen, Abbott said in a statement. That is why I am modifying my executive orders to ensure confinement is not a punishment for violating an order. This order is retroactive to April 2, supersedes local orders and if correctly applied should free Shelley Luther. It may also ensure that other Texans like Ana Isabel Castro-Garcia and Brenda Stephanie Mata who were arrested in Laredo, should not be subject to confinement. As some county judges advocate for releasing hardened criminals from jail to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it is absurd to have these business owners take their place. cdominguez@hcnonline.com HOD HASHARON, Israel, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Wize Pharma, Inc. (OTCQB: WIZP), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of ophthalmic disorders, today announced it has completed treating patients in its Phase IV clinical trial of its prescription eye drop formula, LO2A, for the symptomatic treatment of dry eye syndrome (DES) in patients with Sjogren's syndrome. This study is designed to demonstrate the clinical efficacy and safety of LO2A in DES patients with Sjogren's syndrome. Since LO2A has been previously approved for marketing in Israel for DES patients, the Israeli Ministry of Health classified the study as a post-marketing Phase IV study for the purpose of expanding LO2A's current approved status for the treatment of DES to include the symptomatic treatment of DES in patients with Sjogren's syndrome. "Having completed the study, we now look forward to evaluating the data resulting from this Phase IV trial in Sjogren's. We believe that positive results in this current study, when combined with the positive results from our Phase II conjunctivochalasis (CCh) study, will create a strong application package for an IND with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration," stated Noam Danenberg, CEO of Wize. "We previously expected to announce topline results in the second quarter of this year. Due to the impact of COVID-19 on the healthcare system and our current limited ability to access hospitals to monitor data, the release of topline results may potentially be delayed into the third fiscal quarter of 2020." More than 16 million adults have DES in the U.S., where the treatment market was valued at $4.5 billion in 2018 and is expected to grow to $6.2 billion in 2024. Growth in DES is driven by an aging population, increased screen usage, exposure to air conditioning and weather conditions, leading to an economic burden to U.S. economy of $55.4 billion. The Phase IV trial is a randomized, double-masked study intended to evaluate LO2A versus Alcon's Systane Ultra UD, an over-the-counter lubricant eye drop product used to relieve dry and irritated eyes. Approximately 60 evaluable patients with Sjogren's syndrome experiencing DES were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to one of two treatment groups, LO2A or Systane Ultra UD. Drops were administered topically to the eye over a three-month period. The primary endpoint of the study is change in corneal/conjunctival staining score using the National Eye Institute (NEI) Industry Grading System after 3 months of study treatment. This is an objective measure used to determine the severity of the damage caused by dryness of the eye. Secondary endpoints include corneal/conjunctival staining score after one month of treatment and change in quality of life with subjective questionnaires such as Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score after one and three months of treatment. LO2A is approved for the symptomatic treatment of DES in patients with Sjogren's syndrome in the Netherlands and Hungary. About Wize Pharma Wize Pharma, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company currently focused on the treatment of ophthalmic disorders, including DES. Wize has in-licensed certain rights to purchase, market, sell and distribute a formula known as LO2A, a drug developed for the treatment of DES, and other ophthalmological illnesses, including CCh and Sjogren's syndrome (Sjogren's). LO2A is currently registered and marketed by its inventor in Germany and Switzerland for the treatment of DES, in Hungary for the treatment of DES, CCh and Sjogren's and in the Netherlands for the treatment of DES and Sjogren's. Wize's strategy involves engaging local or multinational distributors to handle the distribution of LO2A. In November 2018, Wize completed a Phase II randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of LO2A for patients with CCh, which demonstrated a statistical significance result, using a mixed model with repeated measures (MMRM). Wize is currently conducting a Phase IV study for LO2A for DES in patients with Sjogren's, expected to publish results in either the second or third fiscal quarter of 2020. Forward Looking Statements Wize cautions you that statements in this press release that are not a description of historical fact are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words referencing future events or circumstances such as "expect," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," and "will," among others. For example, when we discuss that the study is designed to demonstrate the clinical efficacy of LO2A in DES patients with Sjogren's syndrome, the expected timing of the release of topline data from the Phase IV trial, and our belief that the data resulting from the Phase IV trial, combined with the with the positive results from our Phase II CCh study, will create a strong application package for an IND with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, we are using a forward-looking statement. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon Wize's current expectations and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, the possibility that we will not consummate the transactions with Bonus and the investors or, if we do consummate such transactions, that we will not receive the benefits we planned to achieve from such transactions; the possibility that we will not be able to successfully operate our joint venture with Cannabics Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; our needs for additional financing; our dependence on a single compound, LO2A and on the continuation of our license to commercialize LO2A; our inability to expand our rights under our license of LO2A; the initiation, timing, progress and results of our trials and product candidate development efforts; our ability to advance LO2A into clinical trials or to successfully complete our preclinical studies or clinical trials; our receipt of regulatory approvals for LO2A, and the timing of other regulatory filings and approvals; the clinical development, commercialization and market acceptance of LO2A; our ability to establish and maintain corporate collaborations; the implementation of our business model and strategic plans for our business and product candidates; the scope of protection we are able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering LO2A and our ability to operate our business without infringing the intellectual property rights of others; estimates of our expenses, future revenues, and capital requirements; competitive companies, technologies and our industry; and statements as to the impact of the political and security situation in Israel on our business. More detailed information about the risks and uncertainties affecting Wize is contained under the heading "Risk Factors" included in Wize's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 30, 2020, and in other filings that Wize has made and may make with the SEC in the future. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they were made. Wize does not undertake any obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as may be required by law. The contents of any website or hyperlinks mentioned in this press release are for informational purposes and the contents thereof are not part of this press release. For all investor enquiries, please contact: Or Eisenberg Chief Financial Officer +972-72-260-0536 [email protected] SOURCE Wize Pharma, Inc. Elon Musk is all over the news lately. From Teslas stocks sinking to a new baby, were wondering what the SpaceX founder is going to get into next. For now, its his personal life thats on full display, as he and famous musician Grimes, aka Claire Boucher, just brought a newborn into the world. Prior to Grimes, Musk had a number of high-profile marriages and divorces. He was with his first wife, Justine Wilson, for nearly a decade, and they had five sons together. Wilson has also commented on what she thinks of Talulah Riley, Musks second wife whom he married twice. And she believes Riley was a much better fit than she ever was. Justine Wilson said she turned into a trophy wife while married to Elon Musk Elon Musk, Founder and Chief Engineer of SpaceX, attends the Satellite 2020 Conference | Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Musk might be with Grimes now, but its Wilson who spoke out the most regarding her marriage to Musk. According to Wilson, she met Musk while she was at a University in Canada and while she didnt initially have interest in him, he wouldnt take no for an answer. Eventually, they developed a close bond and married in January 2000. But after having children and settling down, Wilson noted she had become a trophy wife she never wanted to be. It was a dream lifestyle, privileged and surreal. But the whirlwind of glitter couldnt disguise a growing void at the core, Wilson wrote for Marie Claire. Elon was obsessed with his work: When he was home, his mind was elsewhere. I longed for deep and heartfelt conversations, for intimacy and empathy. After marriage counseling, the couple knew they couldnt make their marriage work. One month and three sessions later, he gave me an ultimatum: Either we fix this marriage today or I will divorce you tomorrow, by which I understood he meant, Our status quo works for me, so it should work for you, she wrote. He filed for divorce the next morning. I felt numb, but strangely relieved. Musk married Talulah Riley twice after divorcing Wilson Actress Talulah Riley (L) and Elon Musk arrive at the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party | C Flanigan/WireImage Wilson wrote in her Marie Claire piece that just six weeks after her divorce, Musk texted her to tell her he was engaged to actress Talulah Riley. There was plenty of speculation that Musk may have been seeing Riley before his divorce, though hes adamantly claimed thats not the case. Musk met Riley shortly after his divorce while he was in a bar on a business trip to London. I remember thinking that this guy probably didnt get to talk to young actresses a lot and that he seemed quite nervous, Riley said of her first interaction with Musk, according to Business Insider. I decided to be really nice to him and give him a nice evening. Little did I know that hed spoken to a lot of pretty girls in his life. Musk and Riley married in 2010, but they divorced just two years later. Musk simply fell out of love with Riley at first, though they later reconciled and remarried in 2013. They couldnt make their second marriage work either, though, as they divorced for good in 2016. Wilson thinks Riley was better suited for Musk Elon Musk and wife Talulah Riley arrive at the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party | Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez/AFP via Getty Images Wilson noted in her Marie Claire piece that she spoke to Riley. While many would expect the two to hate each other, they appeared to get along. And Wilson even admitted that she thought Riley was way better suited for Musk than she ever was. Throughout the divorce proceedings, his fiancee and I discovered we liked each other. People were puzzled that I didnt want to poke chopsticks in her eyeballs, Wilson wrote. She is, by all accounts, a lovely, bright, and very young person, and better fitted to my ex-husbands lifestyle and personality than I ever was. Today, Wilson remains estranged from Musk, and it seems she deals with co-parenting through his assistant. Riley, however, has a different relationship with her ex-husband. They still appear to get along and have good things to say about each other. As for Grimes, were not sure if wedding bells are in her future with Musk. Well have to wait and see! Check out Showbiz Cheat Sheet on Facebook! Canadians are rallying behind their political leaders during the pandemic, a new poll suggests. The Campaign Research survey for the Star found approval ratings for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Quebec Premier Francois Legault, and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe have soared amid the COVID-19 crisis. Trudeaus numbers have improved since the (October) election, Campaign Research principal Nick Kouvalis said Wednesday. The Liberal prime minister had a 65 per cent approval rating, with 30 per cent disapproving and five per cent unsure for an overall rating of +35. Last October, Trudeaus performance was approved by 31 per cent, with 54 per cent disapproving and 14 per cent unsure, for an overall rating of -23. But the most startling change in political fortune has been for Ford, who was so unpopular last year that he was lustily booed at the Toronto Raptors victory celebrations in Nathan Phillips Square while Trudeau and Mayor John Tory were loudly cheered. In July, the Progressive Conservative premier had a 20 per cent approval while 69 per cent disapproved and 11 per cent had no opinion for an overall rating of -49. According to this latest survey, Ford, who has earned plaudits for his calm and methodical approach to the pandemic, had a 76 per cent approval, with 17 per cent disapproval and seven per cent unsure, for an overall rating of +59. Campaign Research polled 2,007 people across Canada on Saturday and Sunday using Maru Blues online panel. It is an opt-in poll, but for comparison purposes, a random sample of this size would have a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Doug Ford in year one is different from Doug Ford in year two, said Kouvalis, pointing out the premier made sweeping changes to his senior staff and cabinet last June. Trudeaus Liberals successfully used Fords unpopularity in Ontario last fall to mortally wound federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheers prospects in Canadas most populous province. The premier was seen as such an anchor on Scheer that the Tory chief barely mentioned him during the writ period, while the prime minister cited Fords name numerous times daily. But since the Oct. 21 election, Ford and Trudeau have not sparred publicly. People have noticed and they approve of Ford because this crisis has put him front and centre on a daily basis, said Kouvalis. He has refused to engage in public fights with the federal government and the relationship between Ottawa and the province is at a high point, but many of Premier Fords changes in approach and process happened in July and August of last year. The pollster noted the premier, who had been a fierce Tory partisan, has set aside political differences to work with Liberal Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and one-time Grit operative Flavio Volpe, the high-profile president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association. Ford, Trudeau, and Volpe have worked in lockstep to transition automotive companies to make ventilators and other urgently needed medical gear during the outbreak. Hes listening to the experts. Hes got medical people, economic people, and political advisers working together. In Quebec, the hardest hit province in the pandemic, Legault had the approval of 82 per cent of respondents, with 12 per cent disapproving and five per cent unsure, for an overall rating of +70. In Saskatchewan, Moe had the approval of 80 per cent, with 16 per cent disapproving and five per cent unsure for an overall rating of +64. In British Columbia, Premier John Horgan had a 73 per cent approval rating with 13 per cent disapproving and 13 per cent unsure for an overall rating of +60. But Kouvalis, who has worked with Conservative and Liberal candidates across Canada and managed the winning mayoral campaigns of John Tory and Rob Ford, emphasized caution to the premiers with high approval ratings and low disapproval ratings. Thats because in Alberta, which has had perhaps Canadas most effective response to COVID-19, Premier Jason Kenney had the approval of just 44 per cent of respondents with 48 per cent disapproving and eight per cent unsure for an overall rating of minus four. Its arguable that Kenneys performance has been the best in the country on coronavirus, but he still faces significant challenges, Kouvalis said, adding Albertas battered economy due to a global plunge in oil prices has left people there feeling no sense of hope for the future. In Manitoba, Premier Brian Pallister had the approval of 52 per cent of respondents, with 37 per cent disapproving and 12 per cent unsure for an overall rating of +15. Robert Benzie is the Star's Queen's Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie Read more about: Majority of bondholders voted for extension of the current term of the bond loan with one year The 2019 Annual Report will be published on the 4 th June 2020 The 2020 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) will be held on the 23rd July 2020 Deventer, 6th May 2020 RoodMicrotec N.V., a leading independent company for semiconductors supply and quality services, today announces the outcome of the Extraordinary Meeting of Bondholders, held today at 13.00 CET via online communication platform. An overwhelming majority of the bondholders voted for extension of the current term of the bond loan with one year and thus until 30th June 2021. This will provide RoodMicrotec sufficient time to complete the refinancing of the bond loan and redeem the original amount in full to the bondholders. This outcome enables RoodMicrotec to finalize the preparation of the 2019 Annual Report and the new date for publication is the 4th June 2020. The 2020 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders will be held on the 23rd July 2020. The existing bond loan in the amount of 2.5 million (2,500 with a par value of 1,000 each), issued in June 2014, can be traded on the platform provided by NPEX in The Hague (ISIN-code NL0010811030). About RoodMicrotec RoodMicrotec is a leading independent company for semiconductor supply and quality services. With 50 years of experience in the semiconductor and electronics industry, RoodMicrotec is well-established as a highly valued partner for many companies worldwide. The company provides full-turnkey ASIC services for complex microchips that are customized to handle specific applications for individual customers. In cooperation with strong partners, RoodMicrotec manages the entire development and production flow of ASICs in the target volume, ranging from low quantities up to multiple millions per year. The turnkey solution includes project management, wafer test, assembly, final test, qualification, failure analysis and logistics. All services comply with the industrial and quality requirements of the high reliability, aerospace, automotive, healthcare and industrial sectors. RoodMicrotecs headquarters are located in Deventer, Netherlands, with operational units in Nordlingen and Stuttgart, Germany. Story continues Further information Martin Sallenhag - CEO, Arvid Ladega CFO Telephone: +31 570 745623 Email: investor-relations@roodmicrotec.com Web: www.roodmicrotec.com This press release is published in English and German. In case of conflict between these versions the English version shall prevail. Attachment D rug dealers are adopting new disguises so they can move around freeley during the coronavirus lockdown, a gang expert has said. Professor Simon Harding, director of the National Centre for Gang Research (NCGR), also said they were using fake NHS ID badges to sell their products under the Covid-19 restrictions. The academic, based at the University of West London, stated that many dealers are heeding government advice on social distancing and adapting their business models to provide drive-by sales or letterbox drops to avoid infection. The news comes as the National Crime Agency (NCA) revealed drug prices have increased under lockdown, with fewer drugs entering the UK. On one hand they really are heeding Government advice on social distancing, but at the same time it is business as usual and as people were panic-buying food, dealers were running bulk deals and selling lockdown party packs, Prof Harding said. Vehicles are being used more often to carry out deals arranged by phone, with products thrown from windows and money chucked on the back seat to keep items clean. Prof Harding also revealed lockdown and travel restrictions are affecting the county lines gang model which sees young and vulnerable people used as couriers to move drugs and cash between cities and smaller towns. The new tactics have also led to a reduction in so-called cuckooing where gang members take over the home of a vulnerable person to cut, sort and deal drugs because it is seen as too risky for health, he explained. Sending groups of young lads out to Southend-on-Sea by train to carry drugs is too risky now, so increasingly dealers are driving runners around, or hiring local people to do the job, said Prof Harding. Street gangs are being forced to find new tactics, such as shifting grooming and recruitment online to social media. This means young people can become ensnared in dangerous gang activity from their phones while their families have no idea and that is a worry. Last month, (NCA) director general Lynn Owens said some drug dealers are trying to disguise themselves as key workers by wearing high visibility clothing or operating from supermarket car parks as they adapt to the coronavirus lockdown. They are having to find new ways of working and new networks, Ms Owens said. Drug dealers moving illicit drugs are concerned about greater scrutiny as they recognise that with less people on the streets, they are more visible. On April 14, UK Border Force officials found 14 kilos of cocaine stashed among two consignments of facemasks after stopping a Polish van driver near Calais. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 08:15:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland reported two new imported cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Wednesday, bringing the total number of imported cases to 1,680, the National Health Commission said Thursday. The two new cases were reported in Shanghai and Guangdong respectively, the commission said. Of the total imported cases, 1,434 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 246 remained hospitalized with five in severe conditions, the commission said. No deaths had been reported from the imported cases. Enditem In a major development, the Trump administration has urged a federal district court not to block an Obama-era rule allowing certain categories of spouses of H-1B visa-holders to work in the United States. In a submission before the US District Court, District Washington this week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) argued that the American technology workers, who had challenged the 2015 ruling on giving work permits to H-4 visa-holders, have not been irreparably harmed by such work authorisation. An H-4 visa is issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to the immediate family members (spouse and children under 21 years of age) of the H-1B visa-holders, most of whom are Indian IT professionals. It is normally issued to those who have already started the process of seeking employment-based lawful permanent resident status. The DHS, in its submission on May 5, said the argument by Save Jobs USA on behalf of American technology workers "only speculates about potential economic harm to its members, based on five-year-old affidavits". In its lawsuit filed in 2015, Save Jobs USA had argued that the regulation issued by the Obama administration to provide employment authorisation for certain H4 dependent spouses harms their members, who are American technology workers. After coming to power, the Trump administration in December 2017 informed the court that it plans to rescind the Obama-era regulations in this regard. Since then, it told the court about half-a-dozen times about its intention to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). However, the DHS has not rescinded "Employment Authorisation for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses" of 2015. The DHS's court submission was in response to the one by Save Jobs USA, which sought a preliminary injunction to stop the H-4 rule from providing qualifying H-4 visa-holders with temporary employment authorisation. Save Jobs USA had argued that the longer the case remains in abeyance, greater the harm to US workers. The DHS disagreed, asserting that there is no such indication. In an 11-page argument, the DHS asserted that Save Jobs USA failed to establish that its members' speculative economic injuries were sufficient to satisfy the DC Circuit's "high standard for irreparable injury". The claim of irreparable harm by Save Jobs USA relied on the H-4 rule eliminating or significantly reducing employment opportunities, meaning that the number of available information-technology jobs would significantly decline due to the H-4 rule, it said. "But this relationship has not been shown to be 'certain' and 'actual', rather than merely 'theoretical'," the DHS argued. As such the DHS urged the court to deny the motion of Save Jobs USA, seeking a preliminary injunction enjoining the H-4 rule. Save Jobs USA had sought a stay on the H-4 ruling. An H-4 visa is issued to the spouses of H-1B visa holders, a significantly large number of whom are high-skilled professionals from India. They had obtained work permits under a special order issued by the previous Obama administration in 2015. As of December 2017, the USCIS had approved 1,26,853 applications for employment authorisation for H-4 visa-holders. According to a 2018 report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), 93 per cent of approved applications for H-4 employment authorisation were issued to individuals born in India and five per cent to individuals born in China. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) If you plan on spending your weekly essentials shopping trip at Longos or Whole Foods, be sure to bring a mask. The grocery retailers, which have locations in the region, are now requiring all customers to wear masks while shopping. In an update posted to their website, Longos announced it would be requiring face covers as of May 4. Those shoppers that have forgotten one are encouraged to speak to a staff member at the store entrance. In an update on their website, Whole Foods announced it would be taking the same measure. The chain said they will also provide face masks to those customers who do not have one. Taking it a step further, Longos also announced that at select stores, guests are also now required to complete a wellness screening as part of a pilot project. The screening includes a contactless temperature check prior to shopping in the store. We understand that these are significant changes to your shopping experience and we thank you for your support and patience as we work together to keep everyone safe, reads the statement. Whole Foods has a location in Oakville. Longos has locations in Ancaster, Burlington, and Oakville. The Spectator took a look at what different grocery stores are requiring from shoppers and what changes have been made to stores: Costco Effective May 4, Costco said that it would be requiring all customers in the United States to wear a mask or face covering while shopping in its stores. As of May 6, Costco had not yet announced similar measures in Canada. The Hamilton Spectator has reached out to Costco and is awaiting additional comment. The company did however announce that, effective May 4, there would be a special operating hour from 8 to 9 a.m. from Monday to Friday for members who are 60 or older and those who have a physical disability. Costco has locations in Hamilton, Burlington and Oakville. Metro As of Wednesday, Metro has no plans to require customers to wear face masks while shopping, according to spokesperson Stephanie Bonk. The company, which includes Food Basics, has installed acrylic plastic at checkout lanes and has put greeters at the entrance to limit the number of customers to allow for physical distancing inside their stores. There are both Metro and Food Basics locations in Hamilton, Burlington and Oakville. No Frills As of Wednesday, No Frills was not requiring masks for its shoppers. Customer limits have been implemented to allow for proper social distancing. The Spectator is awaiting additional comment from the company. There are five No Frills stores in Hamilton, with additional locations in Burlington and Oakville. Superstore As of Wednesday, Superstore was not requiring masks for its shoppers. Customer limits have been implemented to allow for proper social distancing. The Spectator is awaiting additional comment from the company. There are two Superstore locations in Hamilton. Walmart As of Wednesday, Walmart Canada was not requiring masks for its shoppers. Customer limits have been implemented to allow for proper social distancing. The Spectator is awaiting additional comment from the company. There are more than nine Walmart located across Hamilton and Burlington. Sobeys Sobeys was not requiring masks for its shoppers, as of Wednesday. Customer limits have been implemented to allow for proper social distancing within stores. The Spectator is awaiting additional comment from the company. The grocer chain has locations in Hamilton, Burlington and Oakville. Read more about: LINDENHURST, NY The community came together to help a Lindenhurst couple to support them in their efforts to help others during the coronavirus crisis. A few weeks ago, Melissa and Andrew Iacona both started volunteering for Long Island Open Source Medical Supplies, a local group created in response to the coronavirus made up of 73 sewists, crafters, makers and 43 drivers who create and donate over items for frontline workers. The couple started helping out by running A.I. Labs which is an independent Maker Space making 3D printed face shields out of their living room. Even though they are both essential workers, Andrew works at The Home Depot and Melissa works Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center, when the pandemic hit New York, they put their 3D printing skills to work to help healthcare heroes and other frontline workers Since they began they have produced over 1,800 3D printed face shields and have donated them to the U.S. Government, Youth Enrichment Services, Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Hospital, Northwell Hospital chain, Home Depot, Stony Brook University, Yaphank Distribution Center EMS/PD/FD and Nassau Probation Officers. They have even been donating to individuals off of Facebook through COVID-19 Group. In order to help fund these donations, they have paid $2,300 of their own money, receiving about $1,000 from donations. So in an effort to help fund the rest of their efforts, the New York Turkish American Center and the Turkish American Steering Committee presented the local couple with a check for $1,300. This donation aimed to offset the difference in what they paid out-of-pocket. The surprise check presentation was conducted by Erol Akyurek, President, New York Turkish American Center. On hand to cheer for the couple and to recognize them for their hard work were: Town of Babylon Supervisor, Rich Schaffer; Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army Steven Castleton; Founder of the Long Island Open Source Medical Supplies group (LIOSMS), Rebecca Kassay; the President of the Suffolk County Police Asian Jade Society, Ed Hugh; and Long Island Love and Amo Long Island Founder, Miroslava Gonzalez. Story continues "The outpouring of love and support from our community has been humbling," Miroslava Gonzalez, founder of Long Island Love and Amo Long Island said. "We are proud of the efforts of the thousands of Long Island residents like Andrew and Melissa who are selflessly creating home-made PPE, donating their talents and countless hours for the sake of strangers affected by this pandemic." The couple plans to continue this project with the money from the stimulus check they are expecting to receive. "The Town Board members and I are very grateful to Andrew and Melissa for their selfless actions," Town of Babylon Supervisor, Rich Schaffer said. "They serve as role models for all of us in how we should act during these times of crisis. All of this is proof that we will overcome this challenge that this terrible virus presents to our country." In addition, the Suffolk County Police Asian Jade Society pledged to sponsor the Iaconas future projects so that they can continue to work without having to worry about finances. As a result, the society created a GoFundMe fundraiser to lobby the communitys support in their efforts to sponsor additional unsung heroes from Long Island who are going above and beyond to help out complete strangers during this pandemic. "The Suffolk County Police Asian Jade Society heard about Andrew and Melissas work, and the dedication, time, effort and personal money that they are investing for complete strangers and decided to help out our unsung Long Island heroes," Ed Hugh, President of the Suffolk County Police Asian Jade Society said. "We contacted several organizations and partnered up with them to bring Andrew some backup to reimburse him for all out of pocket expenses." Courtesy photos This article originally appeared on the Lindenhurst Patch There is something very interesting about figuring out if real-life doppelgangers truly do exist. Time and again we read about lookalikes of famous personalities causing a stir on social media. Just like in the case of North Korean leader Kim Jong-uns recent public appearances following rumours about his death, which are being claimed to have been made by a body-double. Twitter LouiseMensch Though the authenticity of the claims are still to be established, you will be amazed to know that Kim Jong-un isnt the only public figure who has been surrounded by body-double theories in recent times. Many other world leaders are said to have used body doubles on multiple occasions, and while a few have gained confirmation over time, others remain mere speculations to this day. Here are 5 such world leaders who are said to have used body-doubles: 1. Queen Elizabeth Twitter PapuCaro It was in 2017 when the world first set its eyes on royal stand-in Ella Slack. Then a 74-year-old, Slack admitted to having served as the Queen's double for more than 30 years. Vanity Fair_Reader's Digest As the Queens body-double, Slack would stand-in at rehearsals for big events on her behalf. Slack had reportedly stood-in for the Queen more than 50 times at the time. Slack also shared that she never took any payment for her services, because it was a "pleasure and an honour". 2. Vladimir Putin Wikipedia For years, speculations have been rife about the Russian Presidents possible use of a body double for security reasons. However, Putin has time and again called these theories baseless and denied using a lookalike. Dailystar But earlier this year, the Russian President shared that he was offered the use of a body double in the early 2000s, when Russia was fighting a war against separatists in Chechnya, though he declined it. Additionally, many reports also claim that Putin has been dead since 2014, and that the one occupying his position is an imposter! 3. Hillary Clinton Wikipedia On September 2016, when Hillary Clinton collapsed at a 9/11 ceremony in New York, rumours about her health began doing the rounds. Things got a little more intriguing for people when instead of heading to the hospital she was taken to her daughter Chelseas apartment. Dailymail However, within an hour or so, a more healthy-looking Hillary stepped out of the apartment and waved at the waiting paparazzi. Thus giving rise to theories which claimed it was a thinner and younger body-double instead and #ClintonsBodyDouble began trending on Twitter. 4. Uday Saddam Hussein Takayo(dot)info The world isnt unaware of the notoriety that is synonymous with Saddam Husseins son, Uday Hussein. Known for his fearless love for torture, killings and rape - the depth of Udays sadism only came to light when his body-double Latif Yahia escaped from the clutches of Husseins firstborn in the early 1990s. BCCL As Udays body-double, Yahia is said to have witnessed numerous killings and rapes, apart from surviving 26 bullet shots and many assassination attempts by his own people in his homeland. 5. Muhammadu Buhari Wikipedia Ever since Nigerian President Buhari took office in 2015, he has been troubled by health issues. But when he came back after taking a three-month-long medical leave in 2017 to seek treatment in the UK, people claimed that Buhari had been replaced by a lookalike named Jubri who hails from Sudan. Twitter sam_ezeh Even though Buhari has constantly denied the claims, things got all the more interesting when IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu alleged that a body double was sitting in Aso Rock, and that Jibril was transformed to look like Buhari except for a cleft ear, broad nose bridge and teenager-fresh hands which didnt fit. Quantzig's Sales Analytics Solutions Helps a FMCG Brand to Optimize Sales Processes Quantzig, a global data analytics and advisory firm, that delivers actionable analytics solutions to resolve complex business problems has announced the completion of its recent engagement - Sales Analytics: Optimize Sales Processes Amid The Covid-19 Crisis This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507006026/en/ The case study aligns perfectly with Quantzig's commitment to helping its clients transform business processes using data and analytical insights. It also offers comprehensive insights into: The role of sales analytics in boosting sales The role of sales analytics in devising robust sales strategy Ensuring business stability is a major challenge for businesses amid the crisis. Don't you agree? We can help you address this challenge using advanced AI-powered analytics solutions that'll help you turn data points into contextual insights and predictions that drive stronger business decisions. Request a FREE proof of concept for expert insights and personalized recommendations. According to Quantzig's sales analytics experts, "Sales analytics not only help businesses anticipate what their clients' needs will be but can also help them develop targeted campaigns to drive sales and profitability. " 2020 turned out to be a year of contradictions for FMCG brands that resulted in declining profit margins. Due to this FMCG brands are now leveraging technology and are substantially investing in sales optimization techniques. The client- a leading FMCG industry player was facing several challenges in converting potential sales leads to closed sales. The FMCG industry player wanted to identify an effective sales process and replicate them across the organization to substantially increase sales and optimize the sales process. The FMCG industry player wanted to launch an advanced sales analytics based initiative aimed at optimizing the local sales processes. Adopting holistic analytics-backed business continuity solutions have helped leading businesses navigate the crisis. Wonder how? Speak to an expert for comprehensive solution insights. Sales Force Analytics: Business Outcome 1: Boosted sales 2: identified FMCG market trends 3: Improved marketing effectiveness by 60% Take advantage of innovative, research-based solutions and subject matter expertise to power innovation and deliver solutions at scale. Learn more. The sales process template offered a holistic approach to sales optimization without resorting to the use of fragile spreadsheets and complex CRM systems. By increasing the alignment between the sales process and potential leads, the FMCG company was able to improve efficiency in many spheres including national portfolio and customer retention strategies down to the execution level. COVID-19 Resource Library: About Quantzig Quantzig is a global analytics and advisory firm with offices in the US, UK, Canada, China, and India. For more than 15 years, we have assisted our clients across the globe with end-to-end data modeling capabilities to leverage analytics for prudent decision making. Today, our firm consists of 120+ clients, including 45 Fortune 500 companies. For more information on our engagement policies and pricing plans, visit: https://www.quantzig.com/request-for-proposal View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507006026/en/ Comedian Peter Kay has reportedly been offered a guest role on Sky One series Brassic. The Phoenix Nights star, 46, has been absent from screens for a long time, due to being unwell, but he is said to be a fan of the comedy, starring Michelle Keegan. Speaking to Sky News, the series scribe Danny Brocklehurst said: 'There are so many people it would be good fun to have [on the show]. I know Peter Kay loved the shows season one. Back on screens: Comedian Peter Kay has reportedly been offered a guest role on Sky One series Brassic 'Itd be amazing if we could get him in it.' Peter made a return to TV briefly two weeks ago during BBC telethon Big Night In, raising funds to battle COVID-19. But viewers expressed concerns when they watched the pre-recorded clip from his Bolton home to introduce a new version of his classic Comic Relief track Is This The Way To Amarillo. Fans claimed he looked 'far from 100 per cent', despite his colourful shirt, sunhat and sunglasses. Joining the show? The Phoenix Nights star, 46, has been absent from screens for a long time, due to being unwell, but he is said to be a fan of the comedy, starring Michelle Keegan Speaking to Sky News, the series scribe Danny Brocklehurst said: 'There are so many people it would be good fun to have [on the show]. I know Peter Kay loved the shows season one' Kay cancelled a tour in 2017 and has rarely been seen in public since. He was last on TV in 2018 when he appeared in two special episodes of his series Car Share. One Twitter user said of his first TV appearance in two years: 'Loved seeing @peterkay_co_uk on #BigNightIn but very concerned he didn't look or sound 'right' hope he's ok.' Someone else wrote: 'Peter Kay didn't look or sound well on the Tele then didn't he. Sad to see! #BigNightIn' Another fan commented: 'Great to see Peter Kay, although the legend is obviously far from 100%. Whatever he's battling,I and I'm sure the rest of the country wish him to get well very soon! God bless.' Introducing the video, Kay said: 'Hello everybody. I'm just sitting outside enjoying the rather clement weather, which is rare for Bolton. Last appearance: Peter made a return to TV briefly two weeks ago during BBC telethon Big Night In, raising funds to battle COVID-19 Concerned: Viewers took to Twitter to share their concerns over the 46-year-old comedian 'Fifteen years ago I did a sketch for Comic Relief. I never imagined that it would go down so well and make everybody happy, and I thought what a perfect time to recreate it again, so I've asked a lot of you to film yourself and send it in.' He ended his message by saying 'take care and enjoy yourselves lots of love to you all'. Peter was forced to cancel his Dance For Life tour due to the pandemic in March. It would have been his first return to the spotlight after cancelling all of his work commitments in 2017 due to 'unforeseen family circumstances'. He said: 'Obviously this is disappointing news but well and truly justified given the circumstances. We'll get through this, together and then we'll all have a great big dance for life. Stay safe and look after yourselves and the people around you.' The old days: Kay is pictured 15 years ago when he first mimed a version of Is This The Way to Amarillo by Tony Christie for Comic Relief A shame: Peter was forced to cancel his Dance For Life tour due to the pandemic in March. It would have been his first return to the spotlight after cancelling all of his work commitments in 2017 due to 'unforeseen family circumstances' The comedian is married to Susan Gargan, who he wed in 2001. They have three children together a 16-year-old son called Charlie Michael Kay and two younger children, who the pair have kept shielded from the public eye. Since his self-imposed hiatus, the Lancashire-born comic has rarely been seen in public but has promoted charity events. Peter's last stage appearance was when he spoke to an audience gathered to see a charity screening of his BBC comedy Car Share in April 2018. The three screenings were to raise money for The Lily Foundation, supporting children with mitochondrial disease, that the Phoenix Nights star had 'first-hand experience of'. Peter was photographed for the first time in eight months on December 27 when he made an appearance at the Crewe Lyceum Theatre to watch X Factor star Chico and iconic duo Canon and Ball in a production of Peter Pan. Axed: Kay cancelled a tour in 2017 and has rarely been seen in public since Classic comedy: He was last on TV in 2018 when he appeared in two special episodes of his series Car Share On December 29 he was seen looking in high spirits as he smiled for a photograph at the final performance of Nativity! The Musical in London. This came hours after Peter broke his social media silence to slam Channel 5 for using an 'incredibly misleading title' for a documentary on his life and career. Peter Kay: In His Own Words aired on the channel, but didn't feature any new interviews with the comedy legend. A strongly-worded statement posted on the funnyman's official Twitter account hours before the programme aired stated that Peter wasn't involved with the two-hour documentary in any way. BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 Trend: First Vice President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has once again addressed the nation in connection with coronavirus infection. Trend presents the address: "Dear fellow compatriots! I want to share with you my thoughts on the current situation of the COVID-19 epidemic in our country. Assessing the path traveled, we can already say today that there was too little information at the very beginning of this massive viral attack to evaluate and understand its real extent, the degree of its danger and its possible consequences. One thing was obvious it was necessary to consolidate all resources and take decisive measures. It is possible to say with full confidence that our country has coped with this task with dignity. According to experts, both Azerbaijani and international, Azerbaijan is among the states that survived the first and very dangerous stage of the epidemic with the least losses. We have managed to achieve the main thing stop the uncontrolled spread of the virus, create a professional team that coordinates all aspects of the fight against the epidemic and consolidate the necessary technical and human resources. Tight quarantine measures have helped to reduce the spread of coronavirus. In the shortest possible time, the healthcare system has built up an effective strategy for countering the dangerous epidemic. Urgent tasks were addressed by people working in life support systems of cities and villages. In order to support small and medium-sized businesses and provide social assistance to the population, the state has developed and is implementing packages worth more than 3 billion manats. In a word, thanks to timely and thoughtful measures, the country managed to avoid a truly catastrophic scenario. I want to express my deep gratitude to all and everyone whose work was the guarantor of our success. In the days of difficult trials, our people again showed their best qualities and deserve the highest credit for that. We cared and are caring about the security of our homeland, we are united and cohesive in the face of danger. Together, dear fellow citizens, we were able to protect our home from the disastrously rapid spread of the disease. Thank you all so much! I once again express my sincere and endless gratitude to our fearless medical workers doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, laboratory assistants, technical staff of hospitals and clinics, to all those who continue to struggle for the life and health of our people around the clock. I am deeply grateful to the police and personnel of the internal troops. After all, it is them who provide order, security and compliance with quarantine measures in these difficult days. I want to thank all the employees of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the Regional Development Public Union, social workers and volunteers. I thank all caring people, all those who help others and show mercy. The Almighty will reward everyone for their good deeds! Dear friends! Thanks to the undoubted positive results, we can afford some relaxation of the isolation regime. The activity of a number of state bodies and private businesses is being restored. Some quarantine measures introduced earlier are being removed. Does this mean that the worst is over and we can return to our usual lives? Alas, this time has not arrived yet. Yes, we have won the first battle, but the war with the pandemic is still ongoing in our country and around the world. The virus, which has brought so much misery and suffering to all countries and peoples, is still not defeated. It continues to pose a serious threat to all. It is still among us. Today, no-one can say for sure when the vaccine for COVID-19 will be created and when there will be a quick and effective way to treat it. Until this happens, it is necessary to understand and accept that we have to live with this new reality. Under no circumstances should we lose our vigilance. Against the backdrop of encouraging figures, we cannot afford to be light-minded. It is unacceptable to nullify and lose all the results that we managed to achieve with such difficulty. Carelessness will create a real threat to each of us, our loved ones, our country. We all need to learn to live by the new rules. In fact, these rules are not so complicated to keep a distance, use protective equipment, wash hands more often. On the other side of the scale there is life and health. This is a new implacable reality and everyone has to reckon with it from the president to ordinary citizens. Dear fellow compatriots! Without a doubt, the day will come when the scary story called COVID-19 will be a thing of the past. I do hope that this day is not far off. But until that happens, dear brothers and sisters, I ask you to be patient and responsible, be vigilant and disciplined, take the new rules and requirements seriously. Take care of yourself and your loved ones! Take care of our beloved land, our Azerbaijan! With deep respect and love, Your MEHRIBAN" A digest of recent news from the EBRD Local currency support for businesses in Ukraine The EBRD and the National Bank of Ukraine agreed to set up a US$ 500 million swap facility to increase the availability of Ukrainian hryvnias (UAH) to local businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. First transactions are expected in the coming weeks. Learn more Stepping up support in Turkey DenizBank, a key Turkish lender, will scale up its trade finance activities and lending to smaller municipalities and agricultural firms amid the coronavirus pandemic thanks to a comprehensive US$ 175 million financial package under the EBRD Solidarity Package. Learn more EBRD is extending a 25 million loan to Netlog Logistics, the largest provider of logistics services in Turkey, to make supply chains more resilient and support domestic and international trade specifically during the coronavirus crisis. Learn more EBRD Managing Director Arvid Tuerkner tells how the Bank is helping Turkeys banks in The Bankers latest issue. Learn more EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti gave an interview to Turkeys Anadolu Agency which he used to reiterate the Banks support for the country and especially its vibrant private sector. EBRD pledges increased investment at EU/Western Balkans Summit EBRD President Chakrabarti told a European Union-Western Balkans summit that the Bank is planning a sharp rise of 1.7 billion in financing for the Western Balkans this year. The SEENews agency reported that this will be combined with grant contributions from EU partners. The Bank has also stepped up its support for reforms to help the region. "The Western Balkans cannot shoulder this burden alone," EBRD Regional Director Zsuzsanna Hargitai wrote in an op-ed for the newspaper Danas. She underlined the Banks long-term commitment to the region. Learn more New trade finance record The EBRD set a new record in trade finance delivering an unprecedented 503.5 million via 179 trade transactions in April under its Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP), compared with 385.6 million for 144 operations in March 2020, which itself had already been a new record. Learn more In a series of interviews, the head of TFP, Rudolf Putz, set out how the EBRD is addressing the current threats to international trade. The Austrian daily Die Presse said the Vienna Institute for Economics had praised the EBRDs response. Chief Economist Javorcik: World needs a new free trade order EBRD Chief Economist Beata Javorcik proposed in an interview with The Daily Telegraph a new Bretton Woods conference to promote free trade in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. She also used an interview on Sky News on Sunday to warn against a return to protectionism. Learn more Economist event with Ivan Krastev The EBRDs Office of the Chief Economist held a special live event on the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the future with the political scientist and commentator Ivan Krastev. He warned of the crisiss severe political implications and the possible erosion of traditional civil rights. He was joined in a debate by EBRD Chief Economist Javorcik and the Financial Times columnist Martin Sandbu. Learn more New Podcast: What does coronavirus pandemic mean for gender inequality? The EBRD #PocketDilemmas podcast discussed this week What does the coronavirus pandemic mean for gender inequality? with Linda Midgeley of PwC, Dawn Duhaney from the Wellcome Trust and Sonya Barlow of Like Minded Females. Learn more SEMED Managing Director on Covid-19 response in Egypt The EBRD is the first international institution to respond to Egypts efforts to alleviate the economic impacts of the coronavirus outbreak. The Bank approved an initial US$850 million in loans under our Solidarity Package to the financial sector in Egypt with a special focus on trade facilities and SMEs, Heike Harmgart, the Managing Director for the southern and eastern Mediterranean region told Ahram Online. Uranium legacy remediation fund reports progresses The Kyrgyz Republic signed a contract for remediation works in Shekaftar under the EBRDs Environmental Remediation Account for Central Asia (ERA). Meanwhile, a framework agreement with Tajikistan went into force as the basis for work to begin. Learn more EBRD clients responding to the coronavirus pandemic: Youspital, an online platform providing access to discounted healthcare services and member of the European Union and Korea funded EBRD Programme, Star Venture in Egypt, responded to the Covid-19 pandemic by offering home testing to clients for EGP 500 (around 30). This includes two rapid preliminary tests and ensures that underserved communities can afford to be tested for the virus. Learn more As part of its Covid-19 response, our innovative client Amplitudo from Montenegro partnered with the Montenegrin Ministry of Education to develop a free-of-charge online platform, Ucidoma (Learn at home), to help teachers and students keep up with the school schedule. Learn more AugmentAR, an Armenian 3D printing company supported by the EBRD and the EUs EU4Business initiative through the Advice for Small Businesses programme produced over 4,000 masks and glasses and donated them to 50 hospitals around the country. Learn more A driver who led Mobile police on a wild chase into Mississippi died early Thursday morning after his vehicle became fully engulfed in flames. Police attempted to stop the suspect on Government Street at South Royal Street around 5:11 a.m. Thursday, according to Mobile police Sgt. LaDerrick DuBose. The suspect refused police orders to stop the vehicle, driving west on Government Street. At one point, the driver stopped the vehicle and pulled out a gun and pointed it at himself after officers approached him. As the officers moved away from the vehicle, the driver sped down Government Street toward Airport Boulevard. Once at Airport Boulevard, officers deployed stop sticks that flattened three of the vehicles tires, but the driver continued going west at high speeds until he entered Mississippi. While in Mississippi, the driver went off into a wooded area and his vehicle became disabled. Officers then approached the vehicle again when the driver accelerated the engine, causing underbrush to catch fire. The driver failed to comply with police orders to get out of the vehicle and the vehicle became fully engulfed in flames. The suspect was unable to get out of the vehicle and he died inside, police said. Further information was unavailable as police continue to investigate the incident. Citing an incredible new career opportunity, J. Taylor Gantt, president of St. Michaels High School in Santa Fe, is leaving to take a position as chief financial and operations officer for the United World College in Montezuma. Gantt, 39, submitted his resignation letter to St. Michaels on Tuesday. It becomes effective June 30, the date his employment contract expires. He will start his new job the next day. Having the opportunity to go to a new job had a big impact on the decision, but Ive also been at St. Michaels for 11 years, six of them as president, and the shelf life of most presidents is between four and eight years, so I was right in there, he told the Journal in a phone conversation Wednesday. Im very grateful for my time at St. Michaels. I learned professionally and personally. I sent all my kids there and my family hosted four exchange students. Ill probably forever be connected to that school, he said. Its just time for me to go in a different direction. Im leaving on really good terms and Im looking forward to the next step. Gantt was 28 when he began working at St. Michaels as a teacher and just 33 when the board of trustees, the Christian Brothers and others involved in the hiring process took a risk to hire such a young and inexperienced president back then, he said. In his resignation letter, Gantt noted he had two personal goals as president: First, to leave the school in better shape than I found it. Second, for the St. Michaels Board of Trustees to be arguably the most boring board in all of Santa Fe free from scandal, controversy, or emergency meetings. Both of those goals were realized, he said, as well as navigating the school through declining enrollment in a very competitive Santa Fe educational climate. A statement released by the board of trustees on Tuesday praised Gantt and said he and his team substantially improved the schools facilities, financial standing and academic performance. It also indicated that over the next few weeks, Gantt and the Board of Trustees will work to develop an interim plan for school leadership for the 2020-2021 school year, as well as search for a new president. A number of police officers have been injured after responding to reports that men were "acting suspiciously" in Finsbury Park. Police said they were patrolling along Blackstock Road at 8pm on Thursday when they came across a group of people "acting suspiciously". A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman told the Evening Standard: "Officers stopped to engage with them and subsequently conduct a routine search. "The group resisted police and became violent, a number of officers suffered minor injuries." The injured officers were treated by the London Ambulance Service and none were taken to hospital. Five men have been arrested on suspicion of public order offences and assaulting an emergency worker. Patrick Baker tweeted that it was "mayhem" on Blackstock Road. Police vans and cars were seen parked in Blackstock Road / Patrick Baker He said: "As many as 30 cop cars and 70 or 80 coppers at the scene." Reporter Rob Hastings said a fight had broken out and that more police arrived after one officer "was hit". An emergency worker was assaulted following the incident in Blackstock Road / Rob Hastings He tweeted: "It looked like a fight broke out by the library, where groups of young men have been gathering every evening since the start of Ramadan. "It then looked like a police officer was hit by someone who then ran away and was chased by an officer." He added that this was the second time police had responded to an incident in the area after a fight broke out on Saturday. Police enquiries into the incident are ongoing. For many college seniors, school is a time for self-exploration, considering options, leisurely contemplating the future. Yet that's rarely the case for computer engineering students who either attend the world's best universities or rise to the very top of their classes. Almost immediately after choosing their courses during the first week of school, they typically find themselves at their college career fair, wondering if they should interview with the likes of Google or Facebook . And, when they do, they often receive an offer with a signing bonus and often with a 48-hour exploding deadline. The perception is that saying no means becoming forever blacklisted by that outfit. But serial founder turned investor Ali Partovi -- who has enjoyed success over his career with, and alongside, twin brother Hadi -- insists it's smoke and mirrors. "There are only so many great students graduating, and there are way, way, way more jobs to be filled than there are CS graduates. Like, the students should be giving the companies deadlines." To get out that message -- that students have options and needn't allow big tech companies to narrow these prematurely -- Partovi is organizing something new. Through his four-year-old networking organization, Neo, and its associated venture fund, he is staging a kind of virtual matchmaking extravaganza on August 8 that introduces students to an entirely different kind of opportunity. Called Neo Startup Connect, the idea is to introduce students it vets to fast-growing -- but stable -- companies like the design software Figma, which just announced $50 million in Series D funding last week. Partovi thinks there are opportunities to learn a wider number of things at companies that have closer to 100 people than tens of thousands. He also believes there's a world of startups that might align better with students' interests, if only they knew about them. "Every day," says Partovi, "I'll be talking to a someone who is a top student from, let's say, Princeton, and this person tells me that she's passionate about healthcare and machine learning, and she has a job offer to join Goldman Sachs. And I'll be like, 'Why would you go join a bank or a hedge fund?'" Story continues Of course, it's in Partovi's interests to foster all of these connections. In fact, Neo Startup Connect is a natural offshoot of what Neo has been working on in recent years, which is trying to identify the strongest engineering talent coming out of schools and promising to invest in anything the students might launch later on based on the belief that they'll invariably become successful. The approach has become more widespread throughout Silicon Valley, but it means playing the long game. With Neo Startup Connect, Partovi can have a more immediate impact on someone's future, as well as strengthen Neo's relationships to companies that Neo has either backed in the past or might like to back in the future. In addition to Figma, some companies participating in the event include Forethought, a past TechCrunch Battlefield winner whose AI systems boost customer support productivity; and Notion, a buzzy maker of collaboration software that announced $50 million in funding at the start of the month and counts famed angel investor Ram Shriram as an early backer. None are backed by Neo. Other participants that have received funding from Neo include the on-demand trucking platform Convoy, which closed on $400 million in Series D funding late last year; Bubble, a no-code point-and-click programming tool that has disclosed just $6.25 million in seed funding to date; and the AI chip company Luminous, which last year raised $9 million in seed funding, including from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick and current Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi (who happens to be Partovi's first cousin). As for the advantage to the students themselves, Neo is promising to not only widen their eyes and their opportunity set, but to make the application process easier by first screening them itself using a coding assessment program used by Quora and other companies, as well as through in-person interviews. (These will be conducted by Partovi, along with a "mix of seasoned veterans from the Neo community," he says.) Whether that screening process fully satisfies participating companies is a question mark. For example, Kris Rasmussen, the vice president of engineering at Figma, says via email that while Neo "does a great job of surfacing highly qualified candidates for us from their community," he adds that "all Figma candidates go through the same technical interview process." In other words, there are no shortcuts. Neo's endorsement definitely counts for something. Partovi is highly networked. He has co-founded numerous companies, including LinkExchange, which sold to Microsoft for roughly $250 million in stock in the late '90s. He also has a solid track record of investing in talented founders, including Mark Zuckerberg and Drew Houston of Dropbox. "I've come to trust that when Ali has vetted someone, they're going to be world-class in terms of both IQ and EQ," says Deon Nicholas, the CEO of Forethought, whose participation in the August event is a "no-brainer." The "only hard part is to make sure [the participating students] don't take offers from Google," he adds. It raises the question of whether it's so terrible to start a career with a tech giant in the first place. Partovi himself interned at Microsoft as a Harvard student, then bounced between Oracle and a tech startup after graduating. Nicholas worked for some sizable companies, too, including Dropbox and Pure Storage. Not to put too fine a point on things, but Rasmussen also worked for Microsoft straight out of college, though he spent less than a year with the corporate behemoth. Asked over email if he regretted logging time with the company before heading into the startup world and eventually to Figma, he skipped over the question. Is it possible -- we ask Partovi -- that freshly minted college graduates can learn a lot from inside a big company, including how that company works with startups? Is it possible the credential boosts their earning potential? Gives them more options? Partovi says he "won't argue" with any of these questions. "Different paths are right for different individuals -- from a corporate job, to joining a startup, to starting your own." Unfortunately," he continues, "even for the most entrepreneurial, top-performing students, the startup path has systemic impediments. It's unmapped, unguided, intimidating, and has structural obstacles." If Neo can help remove these obstacles, he'll have succeeded. In a world where ever bigger companies continue to absorb the best talent, one might argue that society could also benefit from intervention in the way things currently work. Skipping past the tech giants might not be such a gamble, in any case. According to one former recruiter for Google, most candidates who turn down the company stay on its radar. In some cases, it will keep trying to hire them for the rest of their lives. (Note: If you're a student who is interested in participating in Neo Startup Connect, the outfit opened registration today and will be screening candidates through the end of June. Partovi says the plan is to accept and try to place roughly 150 individuals.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 20:23:11|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HONG KONG, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Asia-Pacific countries are still fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic, with mounting cases and deaths reported in India on Thursday. India's total number of COVID-19 cases crossed the 50,000 mark on Thursday. A total of 52,952 COVID-19 cases and 1,783 deaths were reported by the federal health ministry at 8:00 a.m. (local time), an increase of 3,561 cases and 89 deaths in the past 24 hours. Mumbai has become the first Indian city to surpass the 10,000 cases mark of COVID-19 with the detection of 769 fresh cases Wednesday, said an update by the city civic authority late Wednesday. India's Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday the clinical trials of Ayurvedic medicines to fight COVID-19 has begun in the country. The Indonesian government reported that 35 new deaths of the COVID-19 were registered on Thursday, raising the total fatalities in the archipelagic country to 930, the highest in Southeast Asia. At a press conference, the government's spokesperson for the COVID-19-related matters Achmad Yurianto said that there were 338 new confirmed cases, bringing the total number of infections to 12,776. Meanwhile, 64 more people have been discharged from hospitals, making the total number of recovered patients stand at 2,381. The Philippines on Thursday reported 339 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of the COVID-19 cases in the country to 10,343. The Department of Health (DOH) said the country now has a total of 1,618 recoveries, with 112 more patients surviving the disease. According to DOH, 27 new deaths have been tallied, bringing the country's death toll to 685. A total of 171 more COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Afghanistan over the 24 hours, bringing the number of patients infected with the disease to 3,563 in the country, spokesman for the Public Health Ministry Wahidullah Mayar said Thursday. Two patients have died due to COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the number of total deaths to 106 since the outbreak of the virus in Afghanistan in February, the spokesman added. According to Mayar, eight more patients have been discharged from hospital after recovery, bringing the number of recovered to 468 in the country. Malaysia reported 39 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the total number in the country to 6,467, the Health Ministry said. Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said 74 cases had been released, bringing the number of those cured and discharged to 4,776. No new deaths had been reported, leaving the total fatalities at 107. South Korea reported four more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of midnight Thursday, raising the total number of infections to 10,810. The daily caseload hovered below 20 for 20 straight days, staying below five for three days in a row. New Zealand reported one more COVID-19 case on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases to 1,489, as some Kiwis and businesses look to further loosening restrictions in Alert Level 2. No more deaths were reported over the past 24 hours, with the death toll remaining at 21, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield told a press conference. Some schools in Japan that had temporarily closed amid a nationwide effort to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic opened their doors to students on Thursday. The reopening of the schools came despite the nationwide state of emergency being extended through the end of May by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The decision to reopen the schools was made by the local boards of education as the government has permitted some prefectures that are not under a special alert to ease some of the restrictions put in place under the nationwide state of emergency that was first declared last month before being extended. Enditem ANSONIA When twins Bobby and Sara Penzerro turned 10 years old last month, never did they or their parents imagine theyd be celebrating their birthday in semi-quarantine. Even though the coronavirus pandemic is putting the kibosh on many a celebration this spring, Mayor David Cassetti wants city kids to know hes thinking about them on their special day. So, Cassetti, along with Corporation Counsel John Marini, came up with a way to honor city kids with birthdays in April and May while adhering to health safety guidelines. Thanks to a toy donation of teddy bears and stuffed animals from Walmart, Cassetti also opened his wallet and purchased $200 worth of age-appropriate toys for gifting. The toy stash, piled high on Cassettis desk at City Hall, includes everything from classic board games like Sorry and Candy Land to Hot Wheels multi-packs and ball-and-mitt sets for hours of outdoor fun. Cassetti put out a message on the citys Facebook page asking parents to let him know if their child wanted to be part of the birthday project. Of course, Cassettis office was quickly inundated with phone calls from parents who were thrilled by the mayors gesture. The mayors phone has been ringing nonstop which is what he loves, said Economic Development Director Sheila OMalley. Mayor Cassetti adores kids and always wants to bring a smile to their faces. He gets a lot of enjoyment in that. He has genuine concern for all residents, but especially the elderly and the young during these times. OMalley said she and Marini are getting into the act as well, and are buying even more toys out of their own pockets to donate to kids celebrating birthdays amid the pandemic. Cassetti, a father of five himself, knows how important it is to make kids feel special on their big day, especially during these unusual times when celebrating in person with family and friends is not happening. Its important to have something to look forward to and to remain positive, Cassetti said. While City Hall remains closed to the public, Cassetti still comes to work every day, and he takes the utmost precautions when the birthday boy or girl, accompanied by their parents, visit to receive their gift. Everyone wears masks and practives social distancing. One lucky birthday girl was Noa Couture, who picked out a Trolls puzzle and a stuffed platypus from Cassettis toy stash. In a thank you note to Cassetti, Noas parents, Glenn and Dionne Couture, said Noa has not let go of the furry platypus and finished the puzzle in no time flat. They said Cassettis efforts really brightened their daughters day. Christina Penzerro Spear said her twins, Bobby and Sara, were excited to receive their Spider-Man and Toy Story birthday gifts courtesy of Cassetti. Raul Ruiz said his son, Gidon, was very happy to receive a cool gift of Hot Wheels cars from the mayor, as well, adding Thank you for the gift and your hard work during these times. jean.sos@snet.net US Space Force General John Raymond testifies during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the impact of the Federal Communications Commission's Ligado Decision on National Security on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on May 6, 2020. WASHINGTON Pentagon officials on Wednesday slammed a recent Federal Communications Commission decision to allow Ligado to deploy a nationwide mobile broadband network, saying it may disrupt GPS signals crucial to military operations. "I spent most of my military career, integrating GPS and other space capabilities into everything that we do as a joint force. And today there's absolutely nothing that we do as a joint force that isn't enabled by space and specifically GPS," explained U.S. Space Force Gen. John Raymond in his opening remarks before the Senate Armed Service Committee. "It [GPS] has revolutionized military operations and it is employed in every step of the kill chain to defeat our adversaries," the nation's top military space officer added. Dana Deasy, the Defense Department's chief information officer, told the committee that the risk posed by Ligado was significant and unacceptable. "Ligado and 5G simply do not go together. It is clear to the DoD that the risk to GPS far outweighs the benefits of this FCC decision and the FCC needs to reverse their decision," Deasy said. Senator James Inhofe, R-Okla., who chairs the panel, and the top Democrat, Senator Jack Reed, D-R.I., both criticized the FCC decision in their opening remarks. "I do not think it is a good idea to place at risk the GPS signals that enable our national and economic security for the benefit of one company and its investors," Inhofe said. "This is about much more than risking our military readiness and capabilities. Interfering with GPS will hurt the entire American economy." Several senators from both parties raised concerns that the committee had yet to hear testimony from the FCC or Ligado. "There are two sides to this," said Senator Tim Kaine, D-Va., adding that it was difficult to "reverse a decision based upon the presence of one side." Ligado said Wednesday in a statement that it has gone to great lengths to prevent interference and will provide "a 24/7 monitoring capability, a hotline, a stop buzzer or kill switch" and will "repair or replace at Ligado's cost any government device shown to be susceptible to harmful interference." By Express News Service PUDUCHERRY: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy has written to the Prime Minister urging him to empower states to decide on the area of the COVID-19 containment zones as they are more familiar with the ground situation. Briefing newsmen, Narayanasamy said the decision on containment zones should not be done by officials of the central government. In small Puducherry, bringing a 500 metre area into the containment zone is unnecessary, he said, adding that a few streets would be enough to prevent the spread. He said that people of Sorna Nagar are in confinement for 30 days following three cases in connection with the Tabligi Jamaat conference. While two are cured, one remains hospitalized and there have been no other cases, he said after interacting with them at the border of the containment zone on Thursday. The Chief Minister said that all patients from other states requiring medical attention for serious ailments including dialysis would be allowed treatment in Puducherry even without any pass. The police have been advised in this regard. Further, he said that people from intermittent areas of Tamil Nadu would be allowed in Puducherry for healthcare, groceries, vegetables and other needs. However they will be screened before entry. Cordial relations would be maintained on the border areas with Tamil Nadu, he said. As the two are inter-locked, people from Puducherry will have to enter one area of Tamil Nadu to go to another area of the Union Territory. If Tamil Nadu closes the borders, then it would be difficult to reach another area of Puducherry, he added. The music of Thomas Ades isnt easy not for listeners, and especially not for performers. His style, whether in a small solo or a work on the grand scale of his opera The Exterminating Angel, is full of contradictions: looking more complex than it sounds, teasing the ear with elusively familiar melodic strands, evoking clutter with meticulous precision. Even for the pianist Kirill Gerstein, one of Mr. Adess most capable interpreters, it exists precariously at the edge of possibility. If you practice a lot, Mr. Gerstein said in a recent interview, its almost comfortable. That might be a tad too humble coming from Mr. Gerstein, who over the past decade has become a master of Mr. Adess piano works and a muse. In one of the most productive and thrilling artistic partnerships of our time, they have not only toured together and revisited older pieces in virtuosic arrangements, but also produced a piano concerto that has been that rarity in contemporary classical music: a hit. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 7, 2020 13:33 622 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6835f2 1 National garlic-import,PDI-P,lawmaker,bribery-case,KPK,kasus-suap Free Jakarta Corruption Court judges sentenced former Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker I Nyoman Dhamantra to seven years of imprisonment on Wednesday for bribery relating to garlic import permits. According to Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) spokesperson Ali Fikri, Nyoman was found guilty of violating Article 12 of the 2001 Corruption Law prohibiting civil servants or state organizers from receiving bribes. He was also ordered to pay a fine of Rp 500 million (US$32,878), which would be substituted for another three months of imprisonment should he fail to pay. Additionally, his right to run for public office will be suspended for four years. The sentence was lower than the KPK prosecutors demand for 10 years of imprisonment and a Rp 1 million fine, based on Nyoman having received Rp 2 billion in bribes from businesspeople Chandry Suanda, Doddy Wahyudi and Zulfikar, with Rp 1.5 million more being promised. Read also: Import relaxations not enough to secure garlic supply: Business watchdog The judges also sentenced Mirawati and Elviyanto, two of Nyomans close aides that also received some of the bribery money, to five years' imprisonment and a Rp 500 million fine each. Ali said legal representatives of Nyoman, Mirawati and Elviyanto would file an appeal against the judges decision. In comparison, the KPK prosecutors are still considering filing an appeal The KPK stated that Nyoman, through Mirawati, had initially asked for a total of Rp 3.6 billion in fees from the businesspeople in exchange for issuing an import quota permit of 20,000 tons of garlic to several companies, including Chandrys PT Chaya Sakti Agro. During raids conducted in August 2019, the KPK seized S$50,000 (US$36,180) from Mirawati and documents concerning the alleged transfer of Rp 2.1 billion from Doddy to an account in Indocev Money Changer. Nyoman previously served in House of Representatives Commission VI on trade, industry, investment, cooperatives, small and medium enterprises and state-owned companies from 2014 to 2019. Chandry, Doddy and Zulfikar are still on trial in the bribery case. A new five year conservation programme has been launched to help reverse the decline of the Longwool sheep breeds native to the UK. Six of the nine native UK Longwool sheep breeds were classified as 'vulnerable' or 'at risk' according to the latest Rare Breeds Survival Trust watchlist. While Greyface Dartmoors and Border Leicesters have seen positive growth in their numbers, other breeds such as Lincoln Longwool and Leicester Longwool have declined in number. There were just 251 Lincoln Longwool breeding females registered in 2019. RBST Chief Executive Christopher Price said the breeds made a 'huge contribution' to rural communities when the UK wool trade was booming and it would be 'devastating' if they were to disappear. Longwool sheep are striking animals thanks to features such as long fleeces and pricked ears," he said. "Their grazing encourages biodiversity on farms and their tasty meat and natural wool offer good commercial opportunities for their keepers." In general, the Longwool breeds have seen a steady decline and some of the breeds now have very low numbers. But the RBST explained that it is not too late to secure their future, which is why the new Love a Longwool campaign has been launched. As part of the new conservation programme, the charity will work with breed societies to increase the diversity within each breed, making the Longwools more resilient. The programme will work to limit inbreeding in each of the Longwool breeds through bespoke breeding programmes and employ conservation techniques to safeguard each of the breeds for the next generations. The campaign will also improve the breeds chances of survival by promoting their uses for fibre, meat and conservation grazing, which encourages biodiversity and the regeneration of habitats. The nine Longwool sheep breeds are Border Leicester, Cotswold, Devon & Cornwall Longwool, Greyface Dartmoor, Leicester Longwool, Lincoln Longwool, Teeswater, Wensleydale and Whiteface Dartmoor. Dhinesh Kallungal By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The first aircraft of the Kochi-headquartered Air India Express will take off from Cochin International Airport at 12.30 pm local time on Thursday for evacuation of Indian expatriates stranded in the Gulf because of Covid-19 spread. The low-budget arm of the national carrier will airlift over 4,000 expatriates from May 7 to 13. The first aircraft will touch down at Abu Dhabi International Airport at 3.15 pm local time and take to the skies again with 177 passengers on board by around 4.15 pm, the airline said, but CIAL said in its press release in the evening that 179 passengers will arrive on the flight. By 9.40 pm, the flight is expected to land at the Kochi airport, creating history in evacuation if everything goes according to plan. The largest civilian evacuation by air ever in the history of the country was in 1990 during the Gulf War, during which Air India had operated around 488 flights over 59 days carrying around 1.12 lakh Indians back to Mumbai. As per the initial information, Air India Express will operate 23 flights from May 7 to 13 from Gulf countries, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Singapore to airports in Kerala, Bengaluru, Chennai, Tiruchy, Lucknow and Amritsar. Of these flights, 13 are scheduled to fly into Kerala. Sources close to the national carrier said if everything goes according to plan, the whole evacuation exercise would last for over two months, making it the largest civilian airlift, as Kerala alone expects to bring around 2 lakh expats. As many as 8 aircraft would be pressed into service by Air India Express for the evacuation scheduled for the first week. Each aircraft will carry as many as 177 passengers and six crew including one flight commander and a co-pilot, taking the total number of people on board to 183. While the Gulf sector and Far East would be handled by Air India Express, the evacuation from the US, the UK and European countries would be handled by Air India. The passengers will be given a snack box and a 500ml bottle of water inside the flight apart from masks and sanitisers. The Central Warehousing Corporation will disinfect the aircraft after every evacuation flight. Thiruvananthapuram International Airport director C V Ravindran said, The airport has made all arrangements to receive the expats. As per Covid protocol, the passengers can get out of the airport in two hours. A limited space inside the airport has been earmarked for the handling of the returning passengers while ensuring enough space for maintaining social distancing inside terminal building. Similarly, minimal staff would be deployed for the handling of passengers, he said. Though the evacuation would begin on Thursday, the first flight with evacuees will land at the Thiruvananthapuram airport only on Sunday, from Doha. Police in Vancouver, Canada, are seeking the publics assistance in identifying a man who punched a young Asian woman in what they said was an unprovoked assault on April 12. According to the Vancouver Police Department, the woman was approached by a man while standing at a bus stop on Granville Street in downtown Vancouver. Surveillance footage released by police shows a man walk up to her, punch her in the face, and walk away. Police said there was no communication between the woman and the suspect prior to the assault. Police describe the suspect as a white male in his mid-20s with a medium build. He was wearing a dark T-shirt with a distinctive deer emblem on the front, a grey long-sleeved shirt, and a beanie-style hat. Police have reported an increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in the city. Twenty, they said, had been reported so far this year, compared with 12 for all of 2019. Credit: Vancouver Police Department via Storyful Story Highlights Two-thirds of Americans support COVID relief money for local news Half are concerned about impact of economic downturn on local news Americans no more likely than pre-COVID to see local news as public good WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The economic slowdown affecting the U.S. is worsening an already perilous financial situation for local news organizations, especially local newspapers. While Americans are not overly concerned about the effect of the downturn on local news in their area, they do support financial assistance for local news organizations as part of COVID-19 relief legislation. At a time when Americans are paying increased attention to local news and acknowledge its importance in providing information in a time of crisis, they are unlikely to indicate a willingness to personally pay for news if they are not currently doing so. They are also no more likely than a year ago to view local news as a public good that should be supported, even if it can't sustain itself financially. These results are from an April 14-20 Gallup/Knight Foundation survey focused on the coronavirus situation, part of Knight Foundation's Trust, Media and Democracy initiative. Americans Favor Local News Financial Assistance Americans support directing federal money to local news organizations as part of coronavirus relief efforts, something that has bipartisan congressional support. Sixty-five percent are in favor of including money to help local news organizations in coronavirus relief aid, while 34% are opposed. Eighty-seven percent of Democrats, 60% of independents and 43% of Republicans favor federal assistance to local news organizations. However, funding local news is a much lower priority for Americans than providing support for local businesses or individuals affected by the coronavirus situation. When asked how they would allocate a hypothetical $10 million of government relief to their local community among four possible groups, on average, they would give 40% to local residents who lost their job, 34% to local stores/restaurants/businesses, 17% to local charities and 9% to local news organizations. Although 9% is a small proportion to devote to local news, the fact that Americans are willing to support it on any level could be seen as a positive sign -- especially considering the other competing needs in one's community and the amount of money needed to adequately address those. As might be expected, those who say they favor devoting some COVID-19 relief funds to local news organizations are willing to dedicate a higher proportion of the hypothetical $10 million to local news organizations (11%, on average) than are those who oppose such efforts (3%, on average). Local News Financial Plight About half of Americans say they are very (14%) or moderately (35%) concerned that news organizations in their local area will be harmed by the financial downturn. Concern is greater among those who pay a great deal of attention to local news, who currently subscribe to a local news source, who indicate a strong attachment to their local community, and who have a positive opinion of the news media, generally. Concern also differs greatly by political party identification -- 66% of Democrats, 45% of independents and 30% of Republicans are very or moderately concerned. The coronavirus situation -- and the resulting increase in news attention -- has not prompted a shift in Americans' attitudes about whether local news constitutes a public good that should be funded for the benefit of the community. They remain divided on whether local newspapers should be viewed as any other business that should be allowed to fail if it can't sustain itself financially, or as a vital resource that should be preserved. The division occurs largely along party lines: 73% of Democrats, versus 18% of Republicans, view local newspapers as vital institutions that should be preserved even if they can't sustain themselves financially. Forty-two percent of independents agree. The coronavirus situation also has not encouraged Americans to personally pay for local news. Twenty-eight percent of those surveyed say they currently subscribe to, donate to or otherwise personally pay for local news. Among those who do not, just 13% say they are likely to pay for local news in some fashion in the coming year, with only 2% saying they are "very likely" to do so. Implications The coronavirus situation provided the local news sector with an opportunity to convince the public of the vital role it can play in shepherding them through a crisis, something Americans largely acknowledge. But other than support for perhaps limited federal assistance for local news, the public does not appear willing to personally pay for local news coverage in the future, or more willing than in the past to fund it like public goods such as parks, libraries or roads. Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker says bringing another season of his dystopian anthology series during the coronavirus pandemic would not be a good move. The writer said he is unsure if the audience could stomach another chapter of the Netflix cult sci-fi show, exploring the negative impact new technology on the modern world, in such depressing times. Asked about another season, Brooker told Radio Times, Ive been busy, doing things. I dont know what I can say about what Im doing and not doing. At the moment, I dont know what stomach there would be for stories about societies falling apart, so Im not working away on one of those. The fifth season of Black Mirror released last June and consisted of just three episodes starring Anthony Mackie, Andrew Scott, Topher Grace and Miley Cyrus among others. The last instalment followed the release of Bandersnatch - an interactive Black Mirror stand-alone film, where viewers are asked at various points to make a choice which affects the storyline. It starred Fionn Whitehead and Will Poulter. Also read: Ramayans Sita Dipika Chikhlia turns 55, says When I am no more, my body of work shouldnt only be Ramayan Brooker further said he is keen to revisit his comic skill set, so he has been writing scripts aimed at making myself laugh. The British writer is returning to the BBC with a special coronavirus-centric episode in his famous Screenwipe series. It will premiere on May 14 on BBC Two. Follow @htshowbiz for more The exodus of migrant labourers from Punjab to their native states will adversely impact the state's industrial and farm sectors, fear industry representatives and farmers. Their apprehensions emerged after more than 8 lakh migrant workers got themselves registered for going back to their home states. The Centre is running 'Shramik' trains to ferry migrants to their respective home states as they were stranded in other states because of the lockdown. Onkar Singh Pahwa, the president of All India Cycle Manufacturers Association on Thursday said the availability of minimum workforce is a prerequisite for the purpose of resumption of industry. He said the Centre has allowed only stranded migrants to be sent back home. But now even those labourers who are not stranded are getting tempted for registration to return to their home states because of the availability of free rail travel, he further 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 is inexplicable that the governments did not foresee the current exodus, triggered by the desperation of the workforce, which is not stranded, Pahwa said. "If bulk migration of workers is not stopped then Punjab will be ruined economically," said Rahul Ahuja, the chairman of the Punjab unit of industry body CII. Gurmeet Singh Kular, the president of Federation of Industrial and Commercial Organisations, said the migration of workers will prove to be a death knell for industrial activities in the state. "There was not even a single death in the state due to hunger. Thus, the propaganda of non-supply of the ration is false and motivated," he said on Thursday. D S Chawla, the President of the United Cycle and Parts Manufacturers Association, said the bulk migration of workers will turn out to be counterproductive for the industry as it will not allow industrial activities to restart. Representatives of All India Cycle Manufacturers Association, Chamber of Industrial & Commercial Undertakings, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and FICO on Thursday appealed to the Centre and state governments to stop the exodus of workers. They also said the state government should reach out to migrant workers to provide whatever assistance they require. Majority of migrant labourers who work in Punjab are from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. Meanwhile, farmers are equally worried over the fate of paddy sowing which will start next month. Paddy growers said it is going to be a difficult task of paddy transplantation in the wake of labour shortage. Sowing paddy seedlings will be costlier, they added. Sukhdev Singh Khokri Kalan, general secretary, Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) said at least 50 per cent labour which works in paddy sowing season in Punjab is from other states. "Labour is going to be scarce and costly. Farmers will bear the burden of extra financial burden. We appeal to government to allow paddy transplanting now from June 1 so that farmers get time to complete sowing in time and yield is not affected, he said. Paddy transplanting machines are rarely used because most farmers do not have them and moreover, it will be expensive to use them on rent. He said the government must make these machines available to small and marginal farmers through cooperative societies. Paddy is sown over 30 lakh hectares area in Punjab. The family of Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, clashed with the Borno COVID-19 team over the initial refusal of the government to r... The family of Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, clashed with the Borno COVID-19 team over the initial refusal of the government to release the body of the late mother of the armys chief, TheCable reports Kakah Hajja, Buratais mother, who died on Tuesday, was said to have suffered complications of COVID-19. Sources at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) said Hajja was brought into the intensive care unit of the hospital and tested positive for the disease before she died. Umar Kadafur, Borno deputy governor and coordinator of the states COVID-19 team, was said to have told the family that there was a protocol to be followed when a person dies of the disease. But the Buratai family members reportedly disagreed with the deputy governor and this led to a heated argument, according to one of the sources. Ibrahim Buratai, a brother to the army chief who led others to the hospital, insisted that their mother had been battling with this illness for over three months and cant be said to have died COVID-19. The deputy governor also insisted on the regulation that corpses of COVID-19 patients should not be released to the family. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has specified conditions under which bodies of those who died from COVID-19 can be released. One of the conditions is that the body would have been treated properly by medical experts before it is released. But the Buratai family members were said to have demanded the corpse immediately after the woman died. The issue was said to have degenerated from an argument into a fight between the deputy governors security aides and soldiers from 7 division of the army who escorted Buratais family members to the hospital. The deputy governor had and the senior army officer at the scene had to intervene before the body was released to the family and they left, another source said. She had since been buried at the Maimalari cantonment, the source added. The deputy governor hails from Biu local government, where Buratai is also from. When contacted, Bakura Abba, the states commissioner of information, said he was not aware of the incident. Musa Sagir, spokesman of the Nigerian Army, neither responded to calls nor text messages. The state has been responsible for burial of people suspected to have died from COVID-19 complications, including Muhammed Goni, a former governor of the state, who died in April. By PTI LUCKNOW: The number of coronavirus patients in Uttar Pradesh crossed the 3000-mark, with 73 fresh cases and two more deaths reported on Thursday, officials said. The death toll due to the disease has risen to 62 in the state. According to a health department bulletin, 67 of the 75 districts in the state have detected a total of 3,071 patients, of which 1250 recovered, while 1759 are undergoing treatment. On Thursday, Kanpur Nagar and Meerut reported one death each, it said. Agra reported 15 of the total 73 fresh cases, followed by Meerut 10, Hapur seven, Lucknow and Ghaziabad six each, among others, the bulletin said. Males account for 75.16 percent of the total coronavirus patients in UP, an official said. Principal Secretary Health Amit Mohan Prasad said Uttar Pradesh ranks second in testing COVID-19 samples in the country. On Wednesday, over 1 lakh samples were tested in private and government labs in the state. The number of ventilators has also increased to 1,300, he said. He said private hospitals engaged in non-COVID-19 health facilities should treat people without any fear. Hospitals that are providing emergency services to the people under Ayushman Bharat Scheme will get 50 percent subsidy on PPE kits and masks, he added. L.A. City Council President Nury Martinez has warned landlords who are "bad operators" that the city is "putting you on notice." (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times) Tenants will soon have the right to sue landlords who violate restrictions that Los Angeles has placed on evicting renters during the coronavirus crisis, under a law passed Wednesday by the City Council. Renters could potentially win penalties of up to $10,000 per violation or $15,000 per violation if the tenant is disabled or a senior. The effort was about "giving the tenants a big stick," Councilman Bob Blumenfield said. After the vote, Council President Nury Martinez said in a statement that although good landlords were working to help tenants stay in their units, "I want the bad operators to know, today, the city of Los Angeles is putting you on notice. Landlords are currently barred from evicting tenants who have been affected by the coronavirus, although the council has held off on imposing a blanket ban on evictions sought by tenant activists. The City Attorney's Office said in a report that the new measure would help deter "bad conduct" by landlords such as posting eviction notices that cannot be legally enforced during the pandemic, a tactic that might nonetheless spur tenants to leave if they don't understand their rights. A recent UCLA analysis found that many economically vulnerable households also face barriers to learning about those rights, including lack of broadband internet and limited English proficiency. The law also prohibits landlords from pressuring tenants to hand over money from the federal stimulus or other government relief programs. Tenant advocates have complained about landlords pushing those who can't cover their rents during the COVID-19 pandemic to agree to unusual terms for repayment plans, including handing over money from stimulus checks. The council voted 13-0 to approve the new law, after accepting an amendment from Councilman John Lee to give landlords 15 days to fix any violations before tenants can exercise their right to go to court. Tenant advocates celebrated the move, saying it would give renters a needed tool to fend off harassment during the pandemic. Story continues Landlords are "notching up the pressure on these tenants who are extremely vulnerable in this time of crisis," said Larry Gross, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival, who said he had seen cases of landlords trying to demand stimulus money from their tenants. "It's an extremely needed ordinance to protect tenants." Several landlords phoned in to the meeting ahead of the vote, arguing that the measure would lead to costly and frivolous litigation. One complained she was losing money on a tenant who stopped paying rent long before the crisis. "I feel our plight has been largely overlooked by this council," the woman said. "We are not faceless corporations. We are individuals and small businesses." The Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles argued that the measure would impose excessive penalties and exacerbate financial hardships for building owners, even if violations were minor or unwitting. "All these overreaching regulations do is punish small owners for issues that do not exist" and add "unnecessary costs at a time when owners are not collecting rent and dealing with COVID-19 themselves," executive director Daniel Yukelson said. Council members also voted to prevent any rent increases in units covered by the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, which limits annual hikes in older apartments, for a year after the end of the emergency period. Mayor Eric Garcetti had already ordered a freeze on rent hikes in such units, but that measure only lasted 60 days after the end of the emergency. Some council members had also pushed unsuccessfully for the city to order a halt to rent increases in other apartments that are not covered by the Rent Stabilization Ordinance. City attorneys had warned that unless a California law known as Costa-Hawkins was suspended, the city would probably be blocked from doing that in court. The council voted 14 to 1 Wednesday to support any state efforts to suspend or lift Costa-Hawkins, with Lee casting the sole vote against the move. Business and landlord groups argued against the effort, pointing out that California voters turned down an earlier push to repeal the law at the ballot box. In a tech park in Garudacharpalya, civic officials had to be called after 1,600 labourers were locked in their camps after they had demanded pending wages to return home. Bengaluru: On a balmy Wednesday afternoon, tempers rose by the gates of a sprawling construction site in southern Bengaluru. In the backdrop of five under-construction residential towers, that will house over 2,500 families in 31-storey buildings, hundreds of labourers shouted out one demand: let us go home, even if it is by walk. Bags had been packed and were lying piled up by the gates that had been closed by the construction contractors guards. They are telling us there are no trains to go home. Then let us walk home. We cant be here anymore, says Bihari Sa, a 30-year-old labourer who had migrated from Pande Chapra village in Saran district of Bihar in February. The relaxation of the lockdown on 3 May to allow for limited inter-state movement of migrants had raised hopes for many in the city wanting to return to their families in villages. However, on Tuesday night, the state government cancelled all scheduled inter-state trains indefinitely. Migrants were instead requested to refrain from going home and to resume construction work. But, labourers had already spent 1.5 months cooped up in tiny tin sheds with little ration and the pervasive stench of open drains. Interest in resuming work gradually faded. For Bihari Sa his desperation to return stems from his deepening worries about his four children and his wife. He is the sole earner and he has not sent them money for two months now. I had come to Bengaluru hoping to earn Rs 10,000 monthly which I would send back home. I have not been paid since the lockdown started. Now, Im forced to spend my savings on my food. My family tells me they are starving. How am I supposed to sit idle here when I know they are suffering, he says. As the labourers gathered in an impromptu-protest, construction managers resort to threats: ration and drinking water supply will be denied to those who dont return to work. Tabreez Ansari, who has not visited his family in over a year since he migrated to Bengaluru from Palamu in Jharkhand, is in no mood to comply with the threat. It may take a month to walk home to Jharkhand? Ill take the chance. Walking will give us some hope of reaching our homes, but here, I have lost all hope, he says. This anger is palpable across labour camps across Bengaluru. On Wednesday, police resorted to lathicharge after hundreds of labourers arrived at Marathahalli police station where registration for inter-state train travel was taking place. In a tech park in Garudacharpalya, civic officials had to be called after 1,600 labourers were locked in their camps after they had demanded pending wages to return home. In Madavara on Bengalurus outskirts, there were physical confrontations between police and migrant workers. Click here for Coronavirus Outbreak LIVE Updates In these camps, the faint hope of going back was dissipating quickly. At Whitefield, a sprawling tech hub that is the India home for some of the largest tech companies in the world and also arguably home to some of the largest labour populations, a senior police official had a dire prognosis: There is considerable resentment. We can convince them to stay put for a couple of days. But, we fear it'll boil over in a couple of days. A migrant city Bengalurus rapid growth, which is among the fastest-growing cities in the country, has come on the backs of hundreds of thousands of migrants. The Census 2011 figures estimate that 8.9 percent of the citys or, nearly 7.5 lakh of Bengalurus then 85 lakh population had migrated into the city for work recently (less than nine years). This may be a considerable underestimation. Their desperation to return is seen in the applications for train tickets, which is done through an online form developed by the state government. While over 2.13 lakh migrant workers in the state had registered to return home, barely 9,600 workers had boarded inter-state trains between 3 and 5 May. On 5 May, members of the real estate body Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) met with Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa. Along with their demands, which included restarting of construction work as well as free movement of workers between building sites, they expressed a fear of an exodus of migrant labour. Workers should understand that if they go home they'll be quarantined and can't work. Here, they will get work and steady income now that construction can begin," says Suresh Hari, president of CREDAIs Bengaluru chapter who says more should be done to counsel workers. While BJP leaders have called the cancellation of migrant movements as a bold move, over 500 labour unions, organisations and individuals have slammed it as a capitulation of the state government to appease the building lobby. By not giving the option to take trains back home, the state government has effectively curtailed the fundamental rights of workers, including their freedom of movement and work. This is forced labour, says Clifton Rosario, an advocate with Manthan Law Chambers who filed an application against the state governments orders in the Karnataka High Court. The Ministry of Home Affairs allows for the movement of workers between states. Karnatakas decision to hold them against their will here just so that cheap labour is available in building sites is grossly illegal, he says. Searching for a way home Far away from the machinations of policy decisions are thousands of migrants who spend their days shuttling from police station to the railway station to their temporary homes in the hope of a passage out of Bengaluru. At KSR Bengaluru Railway Station, labourers continue to clutch to hope and arrive in groups. They stop to observe an event where volunteers shower roses as a gesture of appreciation to bus drivers who were ferrying persons travelling home to other districts in the state. But for inter-state migrants, they are greeted with police barricades that have shut off entrances to Bengalurus central railway station. Bipul Gamago, a Saora tribal community from Gajapati district in Odisha, had paid Rs 550 to travel here from his dry-cleaning centre on the outskirts of the city towards the station. I saw in an Odiya news channel that trains were running between states. We came here thinking we can go back, says Bipul. There is no work, there is no money. We have to go back somehow. Shabab Ali, 28-year-old, had already spent the day travelling from his home to a police station where he hoped to register for a train ticket, and then to the Central Railway Station. He had migrated from Amroha district in Uttar Pradesh in February to work in the construction of a large hospital. He had already spent Rs 500 travelling. Im worried sick about my family. I have to go back now even if it means Ill end up spending all my earnings, Ali says. - Key companies covered are Freudenberg Group, DELCOTEX DELIUS TECHTEX GMBH & CO. KG, TenCate Fabrics, Arrow Technical Textiles Private Limited, SKAPS Industries, SRF Limited, International Fibres Group, DuPont de Nemours, Inc., among others PUNE, India, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The global technical textiles market size is projected to reach USD 195.36 Billion by 2026; attributed to the increasing number of applications including construction and civil engineering, household furnishings, and others. Technical textiles are materials that focus more on performance rather than appearance and are currently in demand from multiple industries. According to a recently published report by Fortune Business Insights titled, "Technical Textiles Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Product Type (Agrotech, Buildtech, Clothtech, Geotech, Hometech, Indutech, Medtech, Mobiltech, Packtech, Protech, Sporttech and Oekotech), By Fiber Type (Natural Fiber and Synthetic Fiber), By Product Form (Fabric, Fiber, and Yarn) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026," the market value was USD 159.29 billion in 2018 and will rise at a CAGR of 2.7% during the forecast period set from 2010 to 2026. Browse Summary of this Research Report Enable with Detailed Table of Content: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/technical-textiles-market-102716 Worldwide COVID-19 Impact on Technical Textiles Market: The emergence of COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill. We understand that this health crisis has brought an unprecedented impact on businesses across industries. However, this, too, shall pass. Rising support from governments and several companies can help in the fight against this highly contagious disease. Some industries are struggling, and some are thriving. Overall, almost every sector is anticipated to be impacted by the pandemic. We are making continuous efforts to help your business sustain and grow during COVID-19 pandemics. Based on our experience and expertise, we will offer you an impact analysis of coronavirus outbreak across industries to help you prepare for the future. To Get The Short-Term and Long-Term Impact of COVID-19 on this Market, Please Visit: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/covid19-impact/technical-textiles-market-102716 What are the Report Highlights? The report provides a comprehensive overview of the market and its prime growth trajectories such as drivers, restraints, challenges, and upcoming opportunities. It also discusses the details of the market segmentation based on factors such as product type, product form, fiber type, and region. It also provides insights into the market, major industry developments, and current technical textiles market trends. Besides this, the report throws light on the competitive landscape of the market, the list of players operating in it and the major strategies adopted by them to gain a competitive edge in the market. The report is available for sale on the company website. Market Drivers: Increasing Demand for Advanced Technical Textiles for Household Furnishing Applications will Drive Market The increasing demand from applications such as cleaning and conveying industrial equipment, agriculture and horticulture, environmental protection, sport and leisure, household furnishing and coverings, packaging industry, and personal protective equipment among others, serves as the key technical textiles market growth driver. Besides this, the multi-dimensional properties such as high versatility, strength, durability, and lightweight will also boost the market. In addition to this, the high chemical, mechanical, and thermal resistance properties of these textiles will aid in the expansion of the market in the forecast period. On the contrary, technical textiles are highly expensive as compared to conventional textiles and this may pose a major threat to the market size in the forecast period. This, coupled with the high cost of manufacturing and the need for more skilled manpower may cause major hindrance to the market in the long run. Nevertheless, the constantly evolving technology and product innovations will also create lucrative growth opportunities for the market in the coming years. Speak to Analyst: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/technical-textiles-market-102716 Regional Segmentation: Asia Pacific will Dominate Market with Presence of Major Manufacturing Nations Geographically Asia Pacific held the largest technical textiles market share with countries such as Japan, China and Japan emerging as the key markets. This is further attributed to the abundant availability of raw materials in the region and the favorable growth of textile end-use industries such as packaging, automotive, construction, clothing, and others. In addition to that, India is the fastest-growing market owing to increasing investment by the national government to support the textile business. However, North America witness significant growth and earned a revenue of $44.18 billion in 2018. Growth in this region is attributed to the well-established industrial sector and the presence of the largest import-export textile nation, namely, the U.S. Competitive Landscape: Intense Competition Witnessed Owing to Presence of Many Vendors Players operating in the global technical textiles market are investing massive amounts on the development of products with qualities such as high durability, soft and dependable, to reach for the top position in the market. Players are also adopting other strategies such as contracts and agreements, company collaborations, mergers and acquisitions, and others to attract high technical textiles market revenue in the forthcoming years. List of Key Companies Operating in the Technical Textiles Market are: Freudenberg Group DELCOTEX DELIUS TECHTEX GMBH & CO. KG TenCate Fabrics Arrow Technical Textiles Private Limited SKAPS Industries SRF Limited International Fibres Group DuPont de Nemours, Inc. Strata Geosystems Terram (Berry Global) Johns Manville PPSS Group Officine Maccaferri S.p.A. Asahi Kasei company HUESKER Group Milliken & Company Other Vendors Quick Buy - Technical Textiles Market Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/102716 Detailed Table of Content: Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions Executive Summary Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Key Insights Key Emerging Trends in Global Market Latest Technological Advancements Insights on Regulatory Scenario Porters Five Forces Analysis Key developments: Acquisition, Collaboration, Strategic Partnership, and Joint Venture Global Technical Textiles Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast - By Product Type, 2015-2026 Key Findings / Summary Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast - By Product Type Agrotech Buildtech Clothtech Geotech Hometech Indutech Medtech Mobiltech Packtech Protech Sporttech Oekotech TOC Continued! Get your Customized Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/technical-textiles-market-102716 Significant Industry Developments of the Technical Textiles Market include: February 2020 - The company manufacturing advanced textile called Quantum Materials invested USD 3.5 million to expand its production in the U.S by manufacturing high quality woven textile solutions. March 2020 - PPSS Group launched its latest black version of Cut- Tex Pro fabric, the soft, dependable, and durable cut resistance fabric to be used as a workwear uniform in manufacturing industries. Have a Look at Related Research Insights: Antimicrobial Textiles Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Agents (Synthetic Organic Compounds, Bio-Based Compounds, Metal & Metallic Salts and Others), By Fabric (Cotton, Polyester, and Others), By Application (Home, Commercial, Medical, Apparel, Industrial, and Others) and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027 Geosynthetics Market Size, Share and Industry Analysis, By Product (Geotextile Geogrid, Geonets, Geocells, Geofoam, Geosynthetic Clay Liner, Geocomposites), By Application and Regional Forecast 2019-2026 Polyethylene Terephthalate Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Grade (Textile, Bottle, Film), By End-Use Industry (Packaging, Textiles, Automotive, Electrical and electronics) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 Sodium Metasilicate Pentahydrate Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Application (Detergents, Cement, Textiles, Metal Surface Treatment, Others) Others and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 About Us: Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them to address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Our reports contain a unique mix of tangible insights and qualitative analysis to help companies achieve sustainable growth. Our team of experienced analysts and consultants use industry-leading research tools and techniques to compile comprehensive market studies, interspersed with relevant data. At Fortune Business Insights, we aim at highlighting the most lucrative growth opportunities for our clients. We, therefore, offer recommendations, making it easier for them to navigate through technological and market-related changes. Our consulting services are designed to help organizations identify hidden opportunities and understand prevailing competitive challenges. Contact Us: Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd. 308, Supreme Headquarters, Survey No. 36, Baner, Pune-Bangalore Highway, Pune - 411045, Maharashtra, India. Phone: US: +1-424-253-0390 UK: +44-2071-939123 APAC: +91-744-740-1245 Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com Fortune Business Insights LinkedIn | Twitter | Blogs Read Press Release: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/press-release/technical-textile-market-9863 Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1165221/Technical_Textiles_Market.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/881202/Fortune_Business_Insights_Logo.jpg Iran Navy industries heart of country's marine military: Cmdr IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, May 6, IRNA -- Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi said on Wednesday that the Defense Ministry's Marine Industries Organization is actually the heart of the country's marine military industry and has an important role in the strategic goals of the country. Rear Admiral Khanzadi and Head of the Iranian Defense Ministry's Marine Industries Organization Rear Admiral Amir Rastegari inspected the organization's projects in progress in Bandar Abbas in southern Iran. Thanking the organization, Khanzadi said that the Iranian Defense Ministry's Marine Industries Organization has a pivotal role in the strategic goals of Iran. 9417**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The social profile of the migrant workers and the modus operandi of the labour industry in Bengaluru is a disturbing tale, one that is never discussed as part of its proud economic activity The Karnataka government has decided to resume trains for migrant workers stranded in the state, after facing sharp criticism from trade unions, civil society groups and the opposition Congress. Despite the U-turn, the decision to prevent migrants from leaving the state, has brought back the focus on the dark underbelly of the booming economy of the Silicon City of Bengaluru and how it is vulnerable without the migrant labourers. Karnataka seemed to have woken up to the migrant workers crisis, perhaps after Mumbai and Delhi episodes, wherein lakhs of migrant labourers walked back to their native places in north India. The authorities from the Karnataka government first identified the labourers, around a lakh in number spread across the city, and then swung into action. It distributed food packets and many of them were put up in marriage halls as short-term measures. Thereafter, it held talks with the Indian Railways and planned to send these workers to their home states. As a result, hundreds of workers from states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, availed the facility while several thousand migrant labourers from the Hyderabad-Karnataka region were sent to their native places through state-run Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation busses. A crisis-like situation cropped up when more and more labourers, mainly from north India, started moving towards city railway stations to get trains scheduled for their home states. One such lot, comprising of nearly 6,000 workers hired by a gutka factory near Tumakuru, came to Bengaluru and camped near the Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre, 20 kilometres away from the central business district of the city. By that time, however, the trains had stopped. This led to a hue and cry as opposition Congress leaders started issuing statements criticising the governments inhuman attitude towards a genuine problem. To stir the conscience of the public, former minister and Congress leader, Krishna Byre Gowda had posted a video these of workers walking on Ballari highway. In the video clip, they were seen speaking: We are from Uttar Pradesh. We want to go back to our native place. We will walk. Gowda told this journalist that it was inhuman to refrain these labourers from going to their native places. You can check the dictionary and find out for yourself the meaning of bonded labour. The government has encouraged bonded labour which is illegal and inhuman. What is wrong in arranging transport facility so that they (migrant labourers) can go to their native places and come back after two or three months? he asked. The crisis forced labour unions to take up cudgel as well as many of them held a virtual protest on Twitter posting their pictures seeking justice for these migrant labourers. Labourers, a dark underbelly of a vibrant economy The social profile of the migrant labourers and the modus operandi of the labour industry in Bengaluru is a disturbing tale, one that is never discussed as part of its proud economic activity. Based on the origin of this work force, there are two groups of labourers. One group includes thousands of people from Hyderabad-Karnataka region, mainly from Kalaburgi, Yadgir, Koppal, Bidar districts, who come to work in the construction industry in Bengaluru city. Many of them, in spite of having small land holdings, cant grow second crop in their farm land situated in the arid agro-climatic region situated in the northeast side of the state. They are not skilled in any of the economic activities of the city and so, they prefer to work in construction industry where they can utilise their masculine power to compensate the skills required for the construction industry. The second group comes from north India, and are semi-skilled. For instance, people from Rajasthan take up contracts of tile-laying work while those from Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur and surrounding areas prefer to do painting work. There are two categories among those from West Bengal and the North East. One section of labourers from this region work in Chinese kitchens while a large set works in housekeeping. Labourers felt the pinch of the COVID-19 crisis when the agencies which hired them failed to pay. None of the agencies agreed to come on record to talk about their business for the article. A north Indian who runs an agency of contract labourers of over 600, says: Many of the companies and industries who got our services, did not make payments during this lockdown. But, I paid my workers for a month. Another entrepreneur too echoed a similar view and said, I keep Rs 500 per person per month from the contract amount. When I do not get funds from business houses, how can I pay them? There seems to be no robust data on how many labour recruitment agencies work in Bengaluru. Tekendra Thapa, a labourer from Nepal works in the upscale Koramangala area, felt the pinch too but not to the extent that many other labours have. He has been attached to a housekeeping staff of a bank. I prepare food at my room, says Thapa. When asked whether he wanted to go home, he said, No sir. No transport facility, so I am not bothered. Thapa came to Bengaluru seven years ago only because his uncle is here. Similarly, Johorulam, who is from Tripura, works as a security guard. He too landed in the city a few years ago because some peope from his native place were already settled here. For the last 40 days, I had lunch downstairs where one local group served food. Now, Ramadan has started, so I prepare my food in the evening, he said. When people like Thapa and Johorulam come to Bengaluru, they approach labour-recruitment agencies for jobs. Since many of them are in the age group of 18-22 and have no prior experience in any field, the agencies exploit them and send them as housekeeping staff or on security duty which may not need any specific skills. It is almost clear that these labourers were at the receiving end when the agencies that hired them turned their back on them. Passing the buck on the business houses/industries who failed to make payments, the recruitment agencies disappeared from the scene instead of helping the labourers. The end result? The labourers suffered. These agencies will re-activate themselves after the lockdown and since there is no strong regulatory mechanism, they will do 'business as usual'. Government changes its stand Karnataka revenue minister R Ashok, who had brokered peace with the gutka factory workers has a different point of view. He denies that the state government has refraining migrant labourers from going to their native places. Please mention that our government is ready to send them back. We will not stop them, he says. Asked about how the 6,000-strong labour force was convinced three days back, Ashok said, We told them, even if they go back, they will be quarantined for two weeks. We gave them food kits that will sustain them for 45 days. I spoke to the owner of the factory who agreed to pay the salary at once. They agreed and went back. Then why did the Karnataka government suddenly stop the trains? Sources in the government revealed that the states from which these people have come from, have refused to take them back. They fear, these people, on landing there, may worsen the coronavirus problem. I would like to request my Congress friends that they should convince West Bengal chief minister Mamta Banerjee to take the people from her state. She has made it clear that she would not take back Bengalis working outside at this juncture. We will send trains if she agrees, said Ashok. The author is a senior journalist and political commentator, based in Bengaluru China News on Women Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to reporters during a media briefing at the State Department in Washington on May 6, 2020. (Kevin Lamarque/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Pandemic Prompts World to Wake Up to Threats Posed by Communist China: Pompeo U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on May 7 the pandemic has prompted the world to become alert to the threats posed by the Chinese communist regime. I think the whole world is now waking up, Pompeo said in a radio interview on The Steve Gruber Show. I think theyve [other countries] seen what President Trump has done and theyre waking up to the challenge as well, referring to the administrations hardline stance on China. I think the whole world can now see that this regime, this authoritarian regime, is just different than we are. The secretarys remarks come amid rising scrutiny of Beijings coverup of the outbreak. A growing number of Western countries, including those in the European Union, are demanding an investigation into the origins of the pandemic. Freedom Versus Tyranny In a May 6 interview with The Epoch Times American Thought Leaders program, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus elaborated on the idea. She said the pandemic has thrown into sharp relief the ways that free and unfree states handle a crisiscontrasting openness and opacity. If anybody was sort of curious about how do authoritarian societies handle a pandemic versus democraciesfor me, its crystal clear now more than ever that type of transparency, you only get from free and open societies, Ortagus said. Pointing to authoritarian regimes like China, North Korea, and Iran, she said, Not only do we believe that they are underreporting the number of cases, theyre also likely grossly underreporting the number of deaths as well. Previous reporting by The Epoch Times, based on leaked documents and first-hand accounts from Chinese residents, shows that authorities have underreported the number of CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus infections and death figures. They continue to cover up the severity of new outbreaks in northern China. On North Koreas claim that it has no virus cases, Ortagus said, Sure, miracles happen every dayI dont think thats one of them. Conflating the Issues Pompeo has repeatedly called on the Chinese regime to provide information about the origins of the outbreak. We still dont have the samples that we need. We still dont have the access, Pompeo said at a May 6 press conference. They continue to be opaque, and they continue to deny access for this important information that our researchers, our epidemiologists, need. The administration hasnt yet reached a conclusion about the origins of the pandemic. The intelligence community is still figuring out precisely where the virus began, Pompeo said. Ortagus disagreed with media claims that recent statements by senior U.S. officials about the virus origins were inconsistent. She suggested that people were conflating the issues concerning whether the virus was naturally occurring and whether it was leaked from a lab. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley said on May 5 that the weight of evidence is that the virus is natural and not man-madethe same conclusion reached last week by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. On the second issue of whether it was accidentally or intentionally released from a lab, Milley said, We do not have conclusive evidence in any of that but the weight of evidence is that it was probably not intentional. Ortagus said: Obviously, its possible for a natural virus to emanate from a lab. It doesnt just have to be a man-made virus. Its also possible as many in the intelligence community have pointed out, that things can accidentally leak from a lab without it being a purposeful or an intentional leak. Pompeo, in the radio interview, said the CCP has a choice to make on whether it wants to participate in the international community as a member of civilized society. We all know the history of the Soviet Union, he said. Do they want to behave in a way thats more consistent with what authoritarian regimes have done on this planet for an awfully long time? If they do, I know that President Trump will do the right thing to make sure we protect the American people. "We believe CBGF will be able to provide us with the capital, guidance and expertise to help us execute our growth plans as our first institutional investor," said Xello Co-founder Matt McQuillen. Xello, the award-winning program that helps K-12 students prepare for college, career, and future success, today announced that the Canadian Business Growth Fund (CBGF) has made a minority equity investment in the company. Co-founders Matt McQuillen and Jeff Harris formed Xello in 1995, and for the past 25 years theyve steadily grown the companys reputation and footprint in K-12 school districts across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, without ever taking outside funding. We believe CBGF will be able to provide us with the capital, guidance and expertise to help us execute our growth plans as our first institutional investor, McQuillen said. Today, Xello supports over 9 million students and educators with a modern web-based platform that truly engages students in building the skills, knowledge, and plans needed for post-secondary success. Helping students prepare for the future is hard. To do it well, its essential that we provide them with tools and experiences that they find engaging,McQuillen said. With Xello, we've reimagined how students prepare for the future so that regardless of background, ability, or pathway, all can be successful. Our inclusive approach has helped some of the largest and most diverse school districts in North America achieve triple digit increases in student engagement. Were raising the bar when it comes to the student experience because its the linchpin for ensuring children do the work required for long-term success. The investment by CBGF will help fuel Xellos growth and continuing enhancements to its assessments, original content, integrated course planner, college application tools, forthcoming parent portal, and work-based learning initiatives. We are proud to announce our partnership with Matt McQuillen, Jeff Harris and the Xello team, said George Rossolatos, CEO of the Canadian Business Growth Fund. We have built an excellent relationship with Matt and Jeff since we first met a year ago and believe that, with our shared vision and alignment on values, CBGF can support them on their path to continued growth. We are thrilled they have chosen CBGF as their capital partner. Finding the right partner was paramount, according to Harris. Taking on investment is never something you go into lightly, but its especially significant if youve been an organically funded company like ours, he said. It was really important to find the right partner. Weve found that in CBGF. Their passion, experience, and collaborative approach align perfectly with our own company values, and we cant wait to have their voice at the table. To learn more about Xello, visit https://xello.world/en/. About Canadian Business Growth Fund The Canadian Business Growth Fund (CBGF) provides long-term, patient, minority capital to ambitious entrepreneurs to fund growth and expansion of mid-market businesses with investments between $3 and $20 million. An evergreen investment fund with capital commitments of $545 million, CBGF is committed to long-term partnerships with the companies it invests in. As part of its mission to drive growth, CBGF connects business leaders and sector experts to help its partner businesses achieve their full potential. For companies seeking investment opportunities, please email us at contact@cbgf.com. To learn more, please visit us at http://www.cbgf.com. About Xello Xello is a modern K-12 college, career and future readiness program that helps students achieve a deeper understanding of themselves, explore pathways, and plan for the future. Using Xello's discovery-based model, students build knowledge, real-world skills and confidence to prepare for the rapidly evolving world of post-secondary academics and work. Xello supports multiple student pathways and helps students build essential skills. Over 9 million students and educators work with Xello in their efforts to become future-ready. Learn more at https://www.xello.world. A father-of-five has become the latest Amazon worker to die from COVID-19 amid calls from his colleagues for greater coronavirus safety measures. The unnamed employee, 50, worked the night shift as a picker at the online retail giant's facility in Waukegan, Illinois. He died on April 18, leaving behind his wife, five children and two stepchildren. He becomes at least the fourth Amazon staff member to die from the virus. The company will not confirm exact numbers but there have been reported deaths in Staten Island, New York and Hawthorne and Tracy, both in California. The worker had last been in the facility on March 19 and tested positive for the virus five days later. One employee told CNBC they heard about the death 'through the grapevine'. Another said: 'If someone I know doesnt show up one day, and its because they got sick and died, are we just not going to acknowledge that loss?' Amazon say the nature of shift work may have meant the death announcement was not heard by all staff members. They insist they have prioritized workers safety, spending nearly $700 million on higher pay and more than 150 measures such as providing masks and performing temperature checks. A spokesperson said: 'We are saddened by the loss of an associate at our site in Waukegan, Illinois. His family and loved ones are in our thoughts, and we are supporting his fellow colleagues.' DailyMail.com has contacted Amazon for comment. The unnamed employee, 50, worked the night shift as a picker at the online retail giant's facility in Waukegan, Illinois, pictured. He died on April 18 Amazon has faced protests from warehouse workers who claim the company has failed to do enough to keep them safe. The Illinois becomes at least the fourth Amazon staff member to die from the virus. The company will not confirm exact numbers but there have been reported deaths in Staten Island, New York and Hawthorne and Tracy, both in California Amazon has become a lifeline for consumers facing lockdowns and restrictions around the world, and the company is in the process of adding some 175,000 new employees to cope with surging demand. But the company has also faced protests from warehouse workers and activists who claim Amazon has failed to do enough to keep them safe. An Amazon worker at a warehouse in Staten Island, New York - where employees called for greater coronavirus safety measures - died of COVID-19 after contracting the virus last month. The company said the employee was last onsite on April 5 and was confirmed to have the virus on April 11 as he remained in quarantine. Contact tracing revealed no link to other employees. More than a dozen demonstrators, including employees and activists, had protested outside the Staten Island warehouse last week. In March, New York Attorney General Letitia James called for an investigation after Amazon fired employee Chris Smalls after he organized a walkout of workers at the warehouse. Smalls claimed the company was failing to take precautions to protect warehouse staff from COVID-19, and said that between 50 and 60 employees at the facility had contracted the illness. Amazon said Smalls was fired after he went to work after contracting coronavirus, in a violation of quarantining rules. Amazon insists it has invested to protect staff and says the rate of infection at the Staten Island facility is significantly below the community rate. The company says it believes its employees at the Staten Island facility who tested positive were likely exposed at home or in the community, and that there was no evidence that they were linked through the workplace. Former Amazon employee, Christian Smalls, stands with fellow demonstrators during a protest outside of an Amazon warehouse on May 1 as the outbreak of the coronavirus continues in the Staten Island borough of New York One employee told CNBC they heard about the death 'through the grapevine'. Another said: 'If someone I know doesnt show up one day, and its because they got sick and died, are we just not going to acknowledge that loss?' A message is painted by activists on the street outside of one of homes of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Washington on April 29 Amazon says that it is spending $800 million in the first half of the year on safety precautions to protect its workforce from coronavirus. But on Monday, Tim Bray, an Amazon vice president, said he had resigned in protest at the company sacking three staff who spoke out against treatment in warehouses. Engineer Tim Bray announced he was leaving the online retail giant after more than five years, citing the 'vein of toxicity running through the company culture'. He also slammed the tech giant's actions as 'chickens**t'. The VP at Amazon Web Services says at least six of his colleagues have been fired for speaking out; Courtney Bowden, Gerald Bryson, Maren Costa, Emily Cunningham, Bashir Mohammed, and Chris Smalls. In a blog post, Bray says the move will 'probably cost me over a million (pre-tax) dollars' but adds: 'Firing whistleblowers...is evidence of a vein of toxicity running through the company culture. I choose neither to serve nor drink that poison' He added: 'The warehouse workers are weak and getting weaker, what with mass unemployment and (in the US) job-linked health insurance. 'So they're gonna get treated like crap, because capitalism. Any plausible solution has to start with increasing their collective strength.' Tim Bray, pictured, announced he has quit his job 'in dismay' at the firing of whistleblowers who raised concerns about unsafe warehouse working conditions amid coronavirus Designers Emily Cunningham, left, and Maren Costa, right, both critics of the online retail giant's working conditions in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, were fired from Amazon The company last week warned that it could post a loss in the second quarter as it tacked on about $4 billion in costs related to the coronavirus pandemic. For the quarter ended in March, Amazon's revenue rose by 26 percent from last year, to $75.45 billion, as the retail giant recorded a surge in demand for online orders of essential goods during pandemic. However, profits were down 30 percent from the same period last year amid higher spending, with earnings per share of $5.01 missing Wall Street expectations of $6.25 per share. Gerard Tuzara, an Air Force veteran, became the first known Amazon warehouse worker to die from the coronavirus on March 31 The e-commerce giant has been spending heavily to keep up with a surge in online orders. Amazon had earlier said it would hire about 175,000 workers and raise wages by $2 for hourly workers as well as overtime pay, which would increase expenses by nearly $700 million. 'If you're a shareowner in Amazon, you may want to take a seat, because we're not thinking small,' CEO Jeff Bezos said in a press release. 'Under normal circumstances, in this coming Q2, we'd expect to make some $4 billion or more in operating profit,' Bezos continued. '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.' Gerard Tuzara, an Air Force veteran, became the first known Amazon warehouse worker to die from the coronavirus on March 31. The 35-year-old worked as an operations manager at Amazon's Hawthorne facility near LAX airport in Southern California. Tuzara's last day of work was March 6 after which point he was on vacation in Mexico until March 20. A week later, he began experiencing flu-like symptoms and was admitted to hospital Amazon confirmed to DailyMail.com on Tuesday. One of Tuzara's friends wrote a tribute which has been posted in the warehouse where he worked. 'Gerry was an Air Force officer, a loving husband, son and uncle,' the letter read. 'He will be greatly missed.' Family members also posted their own touching tributes including Tuzara's sister, Jess. 'I refuse to believe you're not here anymore. Everything feels so unreal and i wish to wake up from this. I feel so helpless not being able to see, hold nor talk to you one last time. I would give everything back to tell and make you feel one last time that we love you. Im sorry you left with no one by your side', she wrote. This news story was updated on May 8, 2020 with new information Medical experts have some advice for Americans thinking about getting coronavirus antibody tests: Don't at least not until the questionable ones have been weeded out and scientists know whether people who survived COVID-19 are immune from the virus. Until then, some scientists say, manufacturers should stop advertising the antibody tests, for as little as $25, that many Americans use to decide if they can safely stop social distancing or return to work. Nikole Carlson Hartzell said she felt invincible after an antibody test for COVID-19 at an urgent care center in Brighton, Michigan, reported what she said was "no active infection, no prior infection and no evidence of immunity." "Knowing I wasn't infected, I immediately visited my niece and hugged my sister," said Hartzell, who reasoned she could not transmit the coronavirus at that moment. "The novelty of it quickly wore off, as once I was home and saw my husband, I was no longer superhuman and could not guarantee anything anymore." Nikole Hartzell gets a COVID-19 antibody test at an urgent care center in Brighton, Michigan. Experts say people should be careful about how they interpret and act on results of COVID-19 antibody tests that haven't been validated by government regulators. Antibody tests "may give people a false sense of security, said Kamran Kadkhoda, medical director of immunopathology at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Test manufacturers "should stop offering them until we know more." During the past few months, many people with symptoms of COVID-19 were told to stay home and not use up the scarce diagnostic tests that could confirm they were infected with the coronavirus. There was little doctors could do, whether someone had a diagnosis or not. Now that another type of exam antibody tests is more readily available, thousands are lining up at urgent care clinics, workplaces or even drive-thru sites. Some hope at a minimum to satisfy their curiosity about that fever or dry cough months ago. Story continues In late January, Bob Nadeau got a case of the flu like hed never had before. His chest was heavy, like there was a weight on it. He couldnt taste or smell normally. Coffee tasted terrible, and I love coffee in the morning, said the Naples, Florida, resident. And I love to have a beer, you know, at beer-thirty. Beer tasted terrible. A flu test came up negative. He hopes to confirm his suspicions with a COVID-19 antibody test. Bob Nadeau of Naples, Fla., hopes to confirm his suspicions about a bad virus he suffered through in January. Antibody tests that have been properly constructed and validated are useful. They can identify blood donors for coronavirus research and help scientists determine how widely the virus has spread in a particular community or population, according to the Infectious Disease Society of America. They could even aid the global quest for a vaccine by helping researchers understand which antibodies, if any, provide immunity, the organization said. However, manufacturers have flooded the U.S. market with antibody tests that vary widely in accuracy. Even if the tests are accurate, scientists don't know how long antibodies will last or what level someone needs to be immune. "Until we fully understand the performance of these assays we won't know the best way to use them," said Dr. Angela Caliendo, the executive vice chair of the department of medicine at Brown University's Alpert Medical School. "There's tremendous pressure to offer it, and then you don't know how to interpret it," she added during a May 8 briefing by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration made the rush to market possible by allowing COVID-19 antibody test manufacturers to self-validate their products without first submitting the data to regulators. Amid criticism of that policy, the FDA changed course Monday. Citing unnamed unscrupulous actors marketing fraudulent tests, the agency said manufacturers must meet new accuracy standards and submit proof of testing quality. At that point, the FDA had given emergency use approval to 12 out of more than 200 antibody test manufacturers. The FDA is working with other government offices to assess the performance of antibody tests. Results have not been made public. Partly filling the information void, a few independent and government organizations have analyzed some of the COVID-19 antibody tests. One group, partly funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, reported the tests did not always work as advertised. External data posted by the Geneva-based Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics showed that some tests performed poorly. The pitch for antibody tests : 'Let's put America back to work' Motivations behind antibody testing vary. "Let's put America back to work," says the website for one test manufacturer, Abacus Pharma International. The website of Abbott Labs, a U.S. testing giant, says its antibody test "could be a critical next step in battling this virus." HealthLabs.com, a lab that uses tests from Quest Diagnostics, LabCorp and other laboratories, offers COVID-19 antibody tests at 4,500 sites nationwide. Fiyyaz Pirani, the companys founder and CEO, said the test primarily satisfies people's curiosity about whether they have been infected. Quest Diagnostics, another lab testing giant, offers COVID-19 antibody tests online. To qualify, a person must be symptom-free for at least 10 days. A USA TODAY reporter who took the test got the result negative within a day. Hartzell received her test results faster, and for just $25. She was partly motivated by curiosity. For 12 days in January, she had been immobilized with a fever, sore throat and chills. Tests for flu and strep throat came back negative. Since then, she'd wondered: Did she have COVID-19? If she did and had recovered, she figured, she could continue to help her sister and 16-month-old niece without the risk of getting them sick. Hartzell drove an hour to an urgent care antibody testing site outside Detroit. She almost missed out because the clinic was booked solid, but some people didn't show up. "I waited about 25 minutes in my car, came inside to a sparse waiting room with only two available chairs and was soon taken to a room," said Hartzell, who documented the moment with a selfie. "The test was very simple, a prick of the finger, and a few squeezes because quite a few drops of blood are required." Roughly seven minutes later, she got the negative results and went straight to see her sister and 16-month-old niece. Hartzell said she normally would have looked for more information about the antibody test and its manufacturer. But not this time. Had any results come back positive, I'd have checked into it more," she said. "And had the test cost more than $25, I'd have thought more about it." When told by a USA TODAY reporter that the manufacturer of her test had not received FDA emergency use authorization, Hartzell said she was bummed. She's back to self-quarantining for two weeks before visiting her sister and niece. Antibody tests are available, but what do they tell people? The test Hartzell got isn't the one many experts say is needed most. Though tests to detect an active coronavirus infection are more available than they were a short time ago, it still can be difficult for Americans to get one. Governors and health leaders complain about shortages, particularly the swabs and chemical reagents required to run the tests. "We desperately need highly specific and sensitive tests" that confirm whether patients with COVID-19 symptoms have the coronavirus, said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. "That's the test we really need. But that's the test we don't have enough reagents for." Antibody tests, also called serology tests, detect whether someone has developed antibodies to fight off SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus behind the COVID-19 disease. Those antibodies generally cant be detected until two weeks after infection. Antibody tests use blood samples, unlike the molecular tests that typically require long swabs to collect samples of mucus from the nose and throat. Then there are questions about the accuracy of tests. Like some other medical tests, the quality of a coronavirus antibody test is measured in two ways. Sensitivity is the test's ability to detect antibodies for the disease. An error in sensitivity could produce a false negative, indicating the absence of these antibodies when they exist. Specificity represents a test's ability to identify people who were not infected with the coronavirus and did not produce antibodies to the disease. An error in specificity could produce a false positive, indicating the presence of antibodies that aren't actually there. A false positive could result from a test that detects antibodies to other coronaviruses in a blood sample, not the one that causes COVID-19. A test with a specificity rate of 95% might seem great, but it's not, said Dr. Geoffrey Baird, the interim chair of laboratory medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. Consider a situation in which 3% of people are infected. If a test with a 95% specificity were used to test 1,000 people, it would identify the 30 people who had been infected and developed antibodies, Baird said, but it would also identify roughly 50 false positives. False positives are of particular concern because they could lead people to believe they are immune to the coronavirus when they don't actually have antibodies for it. Chai Bunyagidj is the president and chief executive officer of Alfa Scientific Design, a San Diego company that manufactured the antibody test used to check Hartzell. He said his test is among the few developed and manufactured in the USA. Lab studies show the test has a 97.8% sensitivity and 94.7% specificity, Bunyagidj said. After two months in lockdown, some people might hope they had COVID-19 and didn't realize it at the time, and immunity might free them from being so careful. Alan Green of Naples, Fla., went to a clinic for a coronavirus antibody test. He was told the testing slots were all booked. He got tested later and learned he had not been infected. Alan Green, 83, of Naples, Florida, took a cruise through the Panama Canal in March, ending in San Diego. I would expect I might have come in contact with a number of people who may have been exposed to the virus, Green said through a face mask bright with red, white and blue stars. He hasn't had any flu-like symptoms, but several health conditions put him at increased risk if he gets the virus. Green figured he had at least a 50-50 chance of testing positive for coronavirus antibodies, which is why he showed up at a Quest Diagnostics lab last week. If he tested positive, he hoped to return to a more normal routine: seeing his girlfriend and perhaps eating at restaurants with outdoor tables and distance between customers. His dreams have been deferred. He tested negative. 'More information is better than nothing' Employees of Snap Logistics, a Milwaukee trucking company, were anxious about contracting the coronavirus because they regularly interact with other people on the job. Nate Rupp, the company's owner, paid $3,000 for about 30 employees and contractors to get antibody tests at work. ARCpoint Labs, a drug testing company with a location near Milwaukee, came out to perform the 15-minute, rapid-result finger-prick tests. ARCpoint advertises the tests as a tool in your staffs return to work or safe interaction with others. The company acknowledges on its website that the exam has not been reviewed by the FDA and should not be used as the sole basis to diagnose or exclude an infection. In April, a U.S. House oversight subcommittee sent ARCpoint a letter raising concerns about the tests. The letter said the companys protocol for interpreting test results appeared to overstate scientific knowledge by encouraging test takers with one type of antibody to disregard social distancing procedures. ARCpoint wrote back, saying the tests complied with FDA regulations which until Monday simply required antibody test manufacturers to validate the tests on their own. Nate Rupp, owner of Snap Logistics, a trucking company in Milwaukee, paid $3,000 for about 30 employees and contractors to be tested at their suburban office. None of Rupps drivers or employees tested positive for the coronavirus antibodies. Im not sure what we would have done if we had positive tests, Rupp said. "I think it calmed them down a bit. He's mindful of the limitations of the tests. "I did it for peace of mind, with the understanding well still need to keep social distancing and wearing (personal protection equipment) and, of course, washing hands. More than 100 employees for the Oneida County Sheriffs Office in northern Wisconsin took ARCpoint antibody tests last week. Capt. Tyler Young said the agency paid for the tests fully aware they're imperfect. Young said the department had planned to ask for volunteers to work in the county jail if they tested positive because they would have less risk for contracting the coronavirus. But no employees indicated they had. For him, the quick test result came with mixed emotions. Its a bit of a relief because it maybe confirms what weve been doing to keep safe is working, Young said. Its not perfect, but more information is better than nothing. Some tests don't measure up to manufacturers' claims Some health care experts aren't as accepting. This is as close to the Wild West as I've ever seen in terms of laboratory tests," said Osterholm, the director of the infectious disease research center in Minnesota. Even the good tests will likely give results that are virtually meaningless. The Minnesota-headquartered Mayo Clinic validated eight antibody tests before selecting what it considered to be the two best performers for its own use. Elitza Theel, director of the Mayo Clinic Infectious Diseases Serology Laboratory, said its analysis showed some of the tests weren't as accurate as companies asserted to the FDA. One test had a false positive rate of 15%. Thats pretty poor, she said. We would be telling 15 people out of 100 that they had had COVID-19 when they didnt. Theel said Mayo Clinic policy doesnt allow her to identify the makers of the tests now. She expects to publish a scientific journal article about the assessments soon. FIND, the Geneva-based nonprofit group, is working with several partners, including the World Health Organization, to validate hundreds of COVID-19 antibody tests submitted by manufacturers. External data posted on FIND's website shows sensitivity rates of 6% and 4.3% for rapid antibody tests made by two manufacturers in China. The data shows a specificity rate of 36.4% for a rapid antibody test made by a different Chinese manufacturer. Tests with such rates "are more likely to give you the wrong result," Baird said. The external data of 40 COVID-19 antibody tests showed specificity rates close to 100% for several manufacturers' tests. That means virtually no false positives. Antibody testing in Los Angeles County started with collecting blood samples from 1,000 volunteers. Cassandra Kelly-Cirino, an infectious disease scientist and director of emerging threats at FIND, explained why manufacturers' claims often dont hold up in independent testing. For one thing, results vary depending on how recently the infection occurred. The tests assessed by FIND are abysmal in detecting antibodies formed in the first few days after someone has been infected with the coronavirus, Kelly-Cirino said. For anything less than eight days, the tests "have very, very poor performance, she said. Some of the antibodies the body produces to fight COVID-19 dissipate quickly. After about the 14-day mark, what we're seeing as well is a tail-off, where (the tests) don't work as well, she said. Another problem is that manufacturers often use small samples to validate their tests, Kelly-Cirino said. Abbott and Ortho Diagnostics, whose tests were authorized for emergency use by the FDA, didnt use any samples from people whose immune systems were compromised, she said. Older people and those with health conditions don't produce as many antibodies, so they're harder to detect, she said. If test manufacturers "decided to exclude all patients that are falling in that area, that's because it likely would have brought their performance levels down," Kelly-Cirino said. That's a problem, she said, because those people especially need accurate tests. Testing perfection wasn't necessarily the top item on Desiree Callahan's agenda when the information technologist drove her GMC Denali up to an antibody testing site in San Diego last month. Desiree Callahan was curious to know whether she'd been infected, so she went to a San Diego drive-up spot for COVID-19 antibody testing on April 30. Callahan, 55, said she had a flu-like illness in late 2019 and was just curious to know whether shed had a bout with COVID-19. Matt Collins, a spokesman for COVID Clinic, the company that arranged the drive-thru testing, said the tests help us to understand an accurate picture of the virus by telling us how many people have been or are currently affected. Such antibody surveys are typically done by researchers who strive to test a representative sample of the population. Callahan paid $125 for her test. She said she wanted to believe the procedure was 100% accurate. "I'm not uncomfortable. It is what it is," she said. Days later, she learned the test showed she never had COVID-19. "Whether I tested positive or negative for the antibodies," she said, "I would still take precautions when in public, as I feel we just do not have enough information surrounding this virus that has so quickly devastated our nation." Contributing: Ryan Mills, Nick Penzenstadler, Dennis Wagner and Ken Alltucker This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus antibody testing doesn't provide answers on immunity C.S. Goldsmith, A. Tamin, HOGP / Associated Press Clear Lake-area residents will be able to pick up free face masks at a distribution event at Clear Lake City County Freeman Branch Library starting at 8 a.m. Friday, May 8. Organized by the office of Houston District E Council member Dave Martin, officials will hand out masks on a first-come, first-served basis to residents via drive-through at the library, 16616 Diana Lane, Houston. Each vehicle will be limited to four masks. After a brief lull in the war of words between Beijing and Washington, the latter is ramping up its rhetoric. It wont help stem the coronavirus pandemic At the end of March, US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, agreed in a phone call on cooperation between their respective governments in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. In the same phone conversation, both leaders favoured a truce in the war of words between China and the United States. Earlier on, and immediately after the outbreak of the coronavirus, President Trump in his press briefings used the term the Chinese virus, and when asked why, he said the virus originated in China. The truce agreed on between the two presidents meant that the spirit of cooperation precludes the use of such terms, whether or not the result of purpose, that antagonised the Chinese leadership. This much-hoped for truce proved to be short-lived, unfortunately. With the pandemic hitting the United States fiercely, the US administration changed tactics and the war of words between Washington and Beijing resumed, but this time in the context of a strategy aiming at laying the blame for the pandemic and economic devastation it has caused around the world on China. The apparent objective of the US administration is to investigate the origin of the coronavirus. In order to establish the truth, it needs access to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. One of the theories that tries to explain where and how the coronavirus started has been that some kind of an unintentional accident happened at the institute. It is known as the lab theory. However, there has been a near consensus among scientists and intelligence officials and analysts that there has been no hard evidence to corroborate it. And the Chinese government has officially dismissed the theory. Notwithstanding Chinese denials, the US administration has tasked its intelligence community to investigate the matter further. On Thursday, 30 April, President Trump said that there are a lot of theories, but we have people looking at it very, very strongly. Scientific people, intelligence people and others. Answering a reporter at the White House on the same day, Trump stressed that he had intelligence that supported the idea, meaning the lab theory. He added that he was not allowed to share the intelligence, and that experts are studying various theories about the origin of the coronavirus. On the same day, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said 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. Furthermore, the intelligence community concurs with the wide scientific consensus that COVID19 virus was not man-made or genetically-modified. That position was bolstered by an article penned by five renowned scientists published in March in Nature Medicine, in which the five said they do not believe any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible. Still, Richard Grenel, the acting director of National Intelligence, told intelligence agencies to make a priority of determining the origin of the coronavirus, as cited in The New York Times last week. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, one of the leading hawks within the Trump administration in targeting China, told Hugh Hewitt, a conservative radio host, that the administration knows that the Chinese Communist Party, when it began to evaluate what to do inside of Wuhan, considered whether the WIV (the Wuhan Institute of Virology) was in fact the place where this came from. Secretary Pompeo, talking to Simon Conway of News Radio 1040, on Friday, 1 May, was more emphatic in this regard when he told his host that the Chinese Communist Party has a special responsibility to explain how this happened, to let the world come in to see what took place, and added that, we need the Chinese Communist Party to begin to be a better partner here for lots of reasons, and not necessarily directly linked to the question of the coronavirus. It goes without saying that the emphasis on the ruling Chinese Communist Party indirectly means President Xi Jinping. As late as Sunday, 3 May, the US secretary of state reiterated his accusations against China and this time left no doubt that the US administration has irrefutable evidence that the virus originated in the Wuhan lab. Talking to Martha Raddatz of ABCs This Week with George Stephanopoulos, he said that, we can confirm that the Chinese Communist Party did all it could to make sure that the world did not learn in a timely fashion about what was taking place, and stressed that the United States will hold those responsible accountable and we will do so on a timeline that is our own. The Spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Geng Shuang, commented 27 April that China does not know the motive behind calling for an investigation, seeking damages and compensation, and made it clear that it is a political manipulation. Furthermore, the Chinese government warned the European Union against accusing China in the same way the Trump administration has done. Two weeks ago, the German tabloid Bild talked about charging the Chinese government more than $160 billion as compensation for what it termed a failure in containing the virus within its borders. Unsurprisingly enough, the US president talked of a lot more in terms of financial compensation. On Monday, 26 April, Trump said the United States is talking about a lot more money than Germany is talking about. He believes the virus could have been stopped quickly, and it would not have spread all over the world, had the Chinese side been more transparent. It is difficult to imagine the Chinese government agreeing to pay financial compensation, be it to the United States or to any other government. Surely there is a need for transparency as to the reasons behind the spread of the coronavirus within China and its origins. This calls for international cooperation decoupled from domestic political considerations. Scapegoating wont be of any help in the pursuit of the truth. Ryan Hass, a senior director in the Obama administrations National Security Council, and now with the Brookings Institution, said that in a normal functioning administration, my advice would be to identify practical ways where the United States and China can pool resources and expertise to help get the global spread of coronavirus under control. He thinks that such an approach is a bridge too far for the current administration, sadly. Lets hope that the Trump administration will prove him wrong and we will witness American-Chinese cooperation in the months ahead to defeat the coronavirus pandemic. The writer is former assistant foreign minister. *A version of this article appears in print in the 7 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Massachusetts must allow gun shops to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic after the businesses were previously designated as non-essential by Gov. Charlie Baker, a federal judge ruled this week. U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock ruled on Thursday that that the restrictions Baker ordered in response to the public health crisis posed an improper burden to the constitutional rights of individuals seeking to purchase firearms, Reuters reported. The state will now have to allow licensed firearms dealers to sell guns, ammunition and other goods by appointment only, with no more than four appointments per hour. Dealers can only operate from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily starting Saturday. Under Woodlocks order, gun dealers must follow proper social distancing and public health requirements, including having employees wear proper face coverings and establishing procedures to sanitize frequent touch points throughout the day. The decision comes after a legal battle was mounted by a group of four gun store operators, six people seeking to become gun owners and various nonprofits, who claimed Bakers restrictions violated their Second Amendment rights. The coalition requested in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts an order blocking the state from banning gun sales and sought an unspecified amount of damages. The Plaintiffs bringing this action do not mean to minimize the severity or urgency of the coronavirus pandemic, the group wrote in its lawsuit against the governor. "However, this emergency - like any other emergency - has its constitutional limits. It would not justify a prior restraint on speech, nor a suspension of the right to vote. Just the same, it does not justify a ban on obtaining guns and ammunition." The plaintiffs included the operators of Troy City Tactical LLC in Fall River, Precision Point Firearms in Woburn, Shooting Supply LLC in Westport and Cape Gun Works in Hyannis as well as Michael McCarthy of Boston, William R. Biewenga of Wellfleet, Timothy Galligan of Easton, Jim Simmons of New Bedford, David Lantagne of Dunstable and Alfred Morin of Brewster. Bakers initial executive order that closed non-essential businesses did not exempt gun shops, which drew criticism from gun rights advocates and those working in the firearms industry. The governor afterward updated the order to include gun retailers and shooting ranges, which in turn sparked outrage from gun control advocates. Both gun retailers and shooting ranges were later removed from the states essential business list. Related Content: Baker County has had its first confirmed case of coronavirus, Commissioner Mark Bennett announced during a Board of Commissioners meeting. The individual has been directed to isolate from others for the duration of their illness, which is until they are symptom-free for 72 hours (3 days), according to the Baker County Health Department. Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter The Health Department is performing contact tracing to identify and isolate anyone who may have come in close contact with this individual in the last 14 days. Nursing Supervisor Alicia Hills will be leading the investigation effort with public health staff and the support of the Oregon Health Authority. Health privacy laws prohibit releasing identifying information about the individual who has tested positive or their contacts. Bennett said he is frustrated that he hasnt been given any other information, including general information such as when and where the person was tested. Its hard for us to be responsive if we cant know any of it, Bennett said Wednesday. Bennett said he and the two other commissioners, Bill Harvey and Bruce Nichols, know they will field questions from residents. Bennett emphasized, though, that having a confirmed case which officials have been expecting doesnt change the situation in the county, including its efforts to get approval from Gov. Kate Brown to begin the countys three-phase plan to reopen its economy. Nancy Staten, Baker County Health Department Director, said, Our Health Department, County and Community Partners have been preparing for this day since we learned of this virus spreading its way across the world. Now that it is here, we need to not panic, but pull together as a community. Just because we have a confirmed case of COVID-19 in Baker County doesnt change the everyday precautions that are already in place. Please understand this is a serious illness and take the appropriate measures to keep ourselves, our families and our community safe. Residents are urged to take precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus to those most vulnerable to complications from COVID-19. The high-risk populations include adults age 60 and over, those suffering from a serious health condition including lung/heart issues, diabetes, and kidney disease, or anyone with a suppressed immune system. Those vulnerable to complications are advised to follow the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stay home as much as possible and avoid gatherings. This article was originally published by the the Baker City Herald, one of more than a dozen news organizations throughout the state sharing their coverage of the novel coronavirus outbreak to help inform Oregonians about this evolving health issue. Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said that a central government team held a meeting with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday and suggested that more people should be placed in institutional quarantine. The number of coronavirus cases in the state has crossed 17,000. "The state government has issued necessary instructions to the BMC (Mumbai civic body) administration to increase its capacity for institutional quarantine," Tope said. There are 64 laboratories in the state and 9,000 to 10,000 tests for COVID-19 are being carried out on daily basis, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) J ulian Dunkerton could be forgiven for regretting his dramatic return to Superdry. The fashion entrepreneur last year forced his way back into the driving seat of the brand he launched in 2003, clutching a plan to revamp its products and stores. But a January profit warning set the tone for a dismal year for the stock, down nearly 90% before today and its UK stores are all shut due to the pandemic. However the tycoon was in bullish mood as the shares rose on signs the crisis might not have hit Superdry as hard as feared. The retailer reported fourth-quarter sales had dived 36.9%, but online sales are up more than 100% over the past four weeks and womenswear now makes up half of sales, a key signal for future growth at the traditionally blokey label. Investors still had to suck up a suspension of the dividend but were encouraged that the firm has nearly 40 million of cash on the balance sheet. The stock rose 7% to 127p. Asked if he rued returning, Dunkerton said: No, no, no, I love this job. He said stores in Germany, Sweden Denmark and Austria had reopened, adding: The world is coming back to normality quicker than we had expected. Analysts at Liberum said: The group has managed cash flow very well, and as we are seeing stores re-open over the next month too, we are very encouraged the group could come out of the crisis in a much cleaner position that most had feared. The FTSE 100 was steady as better-than-expected Chinese exports data pushed commodity stocks higher. The Footsie rose 29.12 points to 5,882.88. Widespread travel bans have proved devastating for rail tickets seller Trainline, which had enjoyed a sunny start to life as a public company since floating at 350p last June. The firm today said sales were up 24% to 261 million in 2020 and that it could survive for 12 months in the unlikely scenario it received no revenues. But the shares were off 5p to 345p. One train that is still running is the City fundraising service, which is steaming (virtually, of course) through Canary Wharf as bankers help companies bolster their balance sheets. Today it was the turn of the contractor Costain and events operator Hyve. Costain raised 100 million through an equity raise backed by UAE-based construction group ASGC, aided by Liberum, Investec and HSBC. It will improve its cash position and make the company look more attractive when bidding for contracts against rivals who may not look as financially secure. Trade shows operator Hyve, formerly known as ITE, looked to secure its future with a 126.6 million rights issue, underwritten by Numis, Barclays and HSBC. The shares, which neared 100p before the crisis, fell 9% to 19.6p. Hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, the exports of Swiss watches fell by more than 20 percent in March compared to last year, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry. The report showed that Swiss watch exports decreased by 21.9 percent to 1.4 billion CHF (1.44 billion U.S. dollars) in March, while a more gloomy outcome is expected for the month of April. According to the report, some 5,000 jobs could be lost in the industry due to the impact of the pandemic. However, although most markets declined significantly in March, a few leading markets saw a significant increase, the report said, adding that the export to China this March increased by 10.5 percent, probably in anticipation of the end of the crisis and going hand-in-hand with an increase in domestic consumption. The watch industry is Switzerland's third-largest exporter after chemicals and machines. In 2019, Swiss watch exports totaled 21.7 billion CHF. So far, Switzerland has reported 30,060 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,505 deaths in total. (1 CHF = 1.03 U.S. dollars) 7 Indians kidnapped in Libya; govt in touch with Libyan authorities to rescue them: MEA Two ships with 39 Indians on board not yet allowed to unload cargo by China: India Funds of Indians in Swiss banks rise to Rs 20,700 cr, highest in 13 years; customer deposits down for 2nd year India evacuation: First flight takes off from Kerala, INS Jalashwa at Male port India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, May 07: India has launched a massive evacuation operation to bring back Indians stranded in different parts of the world. The first flight has taken off from Kerala, while the INS Jalashwa has entered the Male port. Air India will operate special flights from New Delhi, Cochin and Kozhikode to Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. #VandeBharatMission, Evacuation of stranded Indians abroad begins today; here is the plan for today; in total over 14,800 stranded Indians will be brought back from 12 countries this week#IndiaFightsCoronavirus pic.twitter.com/OzpTWjF8yU PIB India #StayHome #StaySafe (@PIB_India) May 7, 2020 The flights under the Vande Bharat Mission starts today. 2,300 passengers will be brought back today, a statement by the Press Information Bureau said. The highest number of passengers-300 will be coming back from the United States. 250 each from UK, Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines are being brought back, while 200 each from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, Doha and Dhaka are also being brought back. Air India bookings open from May 8 for passengers to London,Singapore, US PIB said in a tweet said that in all 14,800 stranded passengers will be brought back. Air India is following the standard operating procedures which were released on Tuesday. As Waterloo Region grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, testing is a major focus to contain the spread. Each day, public health reports how many tests have been done on those residents suspected of having the respiratory virus, either because theyre experiencing symptoms or because theyre part of a target group that is especially vulnerable, and may get a test even if theyre not showing symptoms. Who is being tested? Across Ontario, there are 100 assessment centres for ongoing testing of the general public. Two are operating in Waterloo Region, in Cambridge and Waterloo. Sanguen Health Centre also runs a mobile clinic targeting the homeless and others who are hard to reach. The province is also proactively testing several priority groups, which continue to be expanded. Those now include: Residents of long-term care and retirement homes Health-care workers, caregivers, care providers, paramedics, and first responders including police and firefighters Remote, isolated, rural and Indigenous communities Other congregate living centres including homeless shelters, prisons and group homes Specific vulnerable populations including patients undergoing chemotherapy or hemodialysis and requiring transplants, as well as pregnant women, newborns and cross-border workers Other essential workers, as defined by provincial orders. Do we have enough testing capacity and laboratories? The backlog of 11,000 tests in Ontario has been eliminated. More than 10,000 tests are now done a day, with the aim of ramping up to 16,000 daily this week. The increased capacity was achieved by creating a provincewide testing network including Public Health Ontario, hospital laboratories and private laboratories. All the labs now operate as an integrated system to meet current needs. Public Health Ontario laboratories locations include Toronto, Hamilton, London, Kingston and Ottawa. They operate seven days a week. There are global shortages of collection kits. In Ontario, swabs acceptable for testing are procured from a number of manufacturers. How is a sample taken? The sample commonly taken from a patient suspected to have COVID-19 is using a nasopharyngeal swab. To get that, the swab goes into a nostril and through the nose to the back of the throat. For patients not admitted to hospital, a single upper respirator tract specimen is accepted for testing. Those include a nasopharyngeal or throat swab. For patients in hospital, both an upper and lower respiratory tract specimen is recommended when possible. Specimens are put in a sealed biohazard bag and shipped on ice. What happens to the sample? Genetic material is extracted from the swab sample to test for the presence of the virus that causes COVID-19. Testing looks for two genes specific to the virus, with the amount of those genes indicating the amount of virus in a sample. In order to be able to do this testing, a lab needs to both have the specialized equipment used for the genetic testing (called real-time polymerase chain reaction) and also be validated to do the test, which is a process to prove the results are reliable. How do people get their test results? Ontario launched an online portal on April 1 for the public to access COVID-19 test results. That makes it easy and safe for patients to get their results at home, while reducing the burden on public health departments and front-line staff. Same-day results are available though the portal. What about other types of testing? Blood tests for antibodies to the virus are not currently available at Public Health Ontario Laboratory. Ontario has obtained Spartan bioscience kits, which are point-of-care tests that can be done where the patient is and generate results within an hour or so. The plan is to strategically deploy these in the coming weeks to remote and rural areas to improve access and reduce turnaround times. Other companies developing kits and rapid-testing methods are being evaluated for possible use. Information provided by Public Health Ontario, Ministry of Health and Ontario Health. The death toll in NI has risen to 422. First Minister Arlene Foster and deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill during the daily media broadcast in the Long Gallery at Parliament Buildings, Stormont on Thursday. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Health care workers and Unison members working at the Mater Hospital Belfast hold a short Clap for Healthcare Workers event to recognise and acknowledge the public support they have received over the last several weeks. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Staff at the Mater Hospital in Belfast clap for the NHS on May 7th 2020 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Northern Ireland's coronavirus infection rate is still too high to ease restrictions, the first and deputy first ministers have said. While restrictions are not being lifted, Northern Ireland's "road map to recovery" is set to be published early next week. Arlene Foster also announced the Executive had agreed it was advisable the public wear "face coverings" for short periods of time in enclosed spaces where social distancing was not possible. But she stressed that did not mean members of the public should use surgical face masks. Speaking from a Stormont press conference on Thursday, Mrs Foster said the Executive will continue its work on the phased plan to exit lockdown over the coming days. However, she said it has not been possible to change coronavirus restrictions or guidelines due to the rate of transmission hovering between 0.8 and 0.9. It comes as a further four coronavirus-linked deaths have been reported by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland Figures released on Thursday show that up to 9.30am there were two deaths in the past 24 hours and another two previously unreported. The death toll in Northern Ireland now stands at 422. Read More Here's how Thursday unfolded: Rite Aid's COO, Jim Peters, said the drugstore chain will significantly expand COVID-19 testing by Monday, and will offer them to all adults whether they have had symptoms of the virus or not. 'We are tripling. By Monday we expect to have capacity to be able to deliver up to 10,000 tests per day, which is a substantial increase from where we're at today,' Peters said during a Good Morning America interview on Thursday. Peters said Rite Aid currently doesnt see a demand for that many tests per day, but noted that there may be an uptick in testing once asymptomatic people start signing up. He also said he doesnt know how long itll take for everyone who wants a test to get one. The company piloted its first COVID-19 testing site in Philadelphia on March 22. Currently, the company has 25 no-charge testing sites, but that number will increase to about 71 sites by Monday, Peters said. Rite Aid's sites can currently test 400 people a day. Rite Aid's COO, Jim Peters (right), said the company will significantly expand testing sites by Monday and will include all adults both symptomatic and asymptomatic Peters (pictured) then touched on antibody testing, saying that the 'science has not yet arrived at a conclusion that antibody testing will create more benefit than potential harm' 'We are now deploying this testing model to include all adults both symptomatic and asymptomatic,' Peters said, adding that the company is in a position to 'handle the capacity that we currently have and the demand that we expect to have'. But Peters issued a warning, saying testing positive for antibodies would not necessarily mean someone is immune to the virus. He said: 'Science has not yet arrived at a conclusion that antibody testing will create more benefit than potential harm'. 'Sending people back to work for example after a positive antibody test may not be appropriate and may be dangerous if we don't have confidence that those tests are accurate and before we know whether or not those tests even if accurately positive will protect someone from getting the virus again,' Peters told GMA. In a press statement, Rite Aid said the 71 sites will span across 12 states through its partnership with the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Rite Aid's testing locations utilize self-swab nasal tests overseen by the company's pharmacists. Patients are required to provide government issued identification, be at least 18 years old, and need to pre-register on the company's website in order to schedule a time slot for testing. Rite Aid has partnered with Verily and will use its Baseline COVID-19 Program to provide screening, scheduling and return of results to participants for Rite Aid testing sites. In a press statement, the company said the 71 sites will span across 12 states (Michigan pictured) through its partnership with the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Rite Aid's testing locations utilize self-swab nasal tests overseen by the company's pharmacists The company also uses BioReference Laboratories to provide COVID-19 laboratory testing to all drive-up locations. Last week, a new study showed that eight out of 14 coronavirus antibody tests currently on the market had an accuracy rate of more than 95 per cent and three of those were more than 99 per cent accurate. Doctors remain concerned that more work needs to be done before the tests can be solely relied upon to restart the world's economy. There are dozens of tests being sold to the US from manufacturers including some in China which tests the blood for antibodies that scientists hope reveal an immunity to COVID-19. But none have received FDA approval and there are growing questions over how reliable they really are. Many return false positive results and it remains unconfirmed that even when antibodies are accurately detected, that they offer long-term immunity to the virus. There are more than 1.2 million coronavirus cases in the US with at least 74,708 deaths Antibody tests can help calculate what portion of the population has already been infected, as well as whether infections were mild or severe. Governments and companies could use antibody tests to determine who would most likely be safe to return to work and public interactions, and whether it is safe to lift stay-at-home orders all at once in some regions or in stages based on infection risk. People with negative antibody tests or very low antibody levels would likely have higher risk of infection than people with high antibody levels. While antibodies to many infectious diseases typically confer some level of immunity, whether that is the case with this unique coronavirus is not yet known. And how strong immunity might be, or how long it might last in people previously infected, is not clear. With some diseases like measles the immunity can be lifelong. With others, immunity can wane over time. Scientists cannot know with certainty that reinfection is not possible until further research has been done. Antibody tests could inform not just lockdown exits, but the best approach to treatments and vaccines. COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Improved crop performance, high-quality inputs, and cost-cutting are the key drivers behind Meristem Crop Performance Group, LLC, a new start-up officially launched here today by crop input channel veterans Mitch Eviston and Rob McClelland, principals of the new company. After a year of pilot-testing on more than a half-million acres with hundreds of corn belt growers, Meristem Crop Performance is ramping up to provide their unique high-quality, no-frills approach to select American farmers. "Top farm businesses clearly understand the need to reduce costs if they are to successfully compete in today's global grain trade," says Eviston, Meristem founder and former senior vice president of WinField with 30 years of experience in every aspect of the crop input distribution business. "We've set up Meristem to be the lean provider of high-quality crop input additives to help these global players cut costs and increase yields." Company leaders also revealed the new Meristem Board of Advisors, an all-star team of players with wide experience in a variety of disciplines within food and agriculture. Led by proven agribusiness leader, Rod Schroeder, the Meristem Board of Advisors will endeavor to deliver even more value to top growers. Eviston says nearly 200 such growers have already experienced the Meristem advantage. "We are building the most efficient, direct-to-farm system which allows us to provide high-quality products that can save farmers up to 30 percent compared to conventional suppliers," he says, "and we've spent the past crop season working with top farmers to better understand exactly what they need." Eviston is quick to admit, though, that Meristem won't work for everyone. "We're laser-focused on serving large-scale growers who have their own spray rigs, on-farm storage, and infrastructure to support timely, effective application," he says. Meristem's initial product portfolio includes crop input additives widely used by corn, soybean, wheat, sugar beet, cotton, and potato growers. The list includes seed treatments under the brand RACEREADYtm, REVLINEtm plant growth regulators, TRUTRACKtm drift control, AQUADRAFTtm water conditioners and surfactants and HOMESTRETCHtm nitrogen stabilizers, micronutrients, and foliar nutritionals. BLUE DEFtm diesel exhaust fluid rounds out the current offering. It's About the Economics "This is just math," says Rob McClelland, past president of Farm Journal Performance Marketing and co-founder and past CEO of FLM Harvest. McClelland, an economist by training, explains that this kind of streamlining is long overdue. "If we truly desire to help American farmers compete globally, we have to cut the fat from our distribution system," he says. Meristem, says McClelland, will connect top farmers directly with manufacturers to collapse a multi-step, distribution channel. "We've learned from growers that e-commerce is not necessarily bringing the savings and ease of use they expected," says McClelland. "Savings come from tightening up logistics, not necessarily writing new software and over-promising on data solutions." Among the pilot operations was Armstrong Family Farms, farming more than 10,000 acres near New Castle, Indiana. Craig Armstrong helped Eviston start Meristem to meet needs he saw in his own operation. "We have to be aggressive in cutting costs if we are to compete globally," says Armstrong. "Meristem has figured out a way to make good products and ship them direct. That saved us a lot of money last season." "The margins on a farm are pretty tight," agrees Todd McGuire, Urbana, Ohio. "It all comes down to return on investment." He says the Meristem products he's used have "worked well" and the money he's saved has been "substantial." "We are always looking for ways to drive cost out of production and companies like Meristem are providing solutions to help us achieve that goal," adds Nathan Smith of Smith Farms in Sawyer, North Dakota. An "All-star" Board of Advisors "Intelligence and insight are valuable components of what we will bring to every Meristem client," McClelland says. "Farmers competing globally desire strategic thinking and deeper insight. Our board of advisors will help us deliver it to clients of Meristem Crop Performance." Heading the board as chairman is Rod Schroeder, former chief operating officer of Land O'Lakes/WinField. Schroeder and his colleagues are credited with turning that organization into a multi-billion dollar distribution leader in providing inputs and innovative agronomic solutions to farmers. Currently an active ag entrepreneur and investor, Schroeder has a unique perspective encompassing how farmers will win moving forward. "Farm businesses now operate in a global competitive environment where operators in countries such as the Ukraine and Brazil are busy lowering their production costs," he says. Boosting American farmers to keep their world leadership in crop production, he adds, means helping them make the most of every resource land, people, inputs, and even the value of knowledge local retailers provide. "Top farm businesses know they are competing in a world market and must make the most of every dollar they spend if they want to be in this game long-term," says Schroeder. Schroeder will lead an experienced group of diverse experts and innovators including: Jeff Troendle , President, Hertz Farm Management , President, Hertz Farm Management Kess Berg, Ph.D., President/CEO, Advanced Agrilytics Tom Dorr, Past Under Secretary, USDA Rural Development and former President and CEO, U.S. Grains Council Kevin Born , CEO, Environmental Tillage Systems , CEO, Environmental Tillage Systems Justin Crownover , Owner, Lone Star Family Farms , Owner, Lone Star Family Farms Owen Palm , CEO, 21 st Century Equipment, LLC , CEO, 21 Century Equipment, LLC Kevin Van Trump , President/Owner, Farm Direction/Van Trump Report , President/Owner, Farm Direction/Van Trump Report Rich Wildman , Managing Member, Agricultural Development Services, LLC , Managing Member, Agricultural Development Services, LLC Dave Alpert , Investor, Ag and Food Sectors To learn more about these members of the Meristem board please visit www.meristemag.com/pages/team. Meristem Crop Performance Group, LLC ( www.meristemag.com ) is a joint venture between Old World Specialty Products and a group of talented agriculturalists with extraordinary backgrounds in agronomy and global agribusiness. Meristem works with farm businesses to drive out cost of production, increase productivity, diversify income, and increase access to new technologies. Meristem is keenly focused on providing products that can save farmers up to 30% compared to traditional market prices. Contact: K. Elliott Nowels Phone: 833-637-4783 ext. 703 SOURCE Meristem Crop Performance Group, LLC Related Links http://www.meristemag.com The Scottish government has been told to be 'more ambitious' in its agricultural policy as MSPs voted to progress a post-Brexit farming bill to stage 2. After a delay of several months, the Scottish Parliament held their stage 1 debate on the Agriculture (Retained EU Law and Data) (Scotland) Bill and voted to progress it. The legislation allows the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to be simplified and improved post-Brexit for Scottish farmers and crofters. It creates powers to enable ministers to ensure CAP schemes can continue beyond 2020 and also modify retained EU Law in relation to the Common Agricultural Policy. The powers in the bill have the potential to make significant changes to the way farmers work and how land is managed. While the Scottish Land & Estates said it supports the bill in general, it called for 'bold' and 'ambitious' leadership which sets out a long-term plan for farming. The rural group has called for greater detail on post-2024 policy ambition - the end of the transition period - as a 'clearer direction' is needed. Eleanor Kay, SLE agriculture policy adviser said: We urge the Scottish government to seize this opportunity to identify what we want to achieve from investment in rural Scotland. "We need to use this time to start planning how we can help deliver a resilient, efficient and thriving rural sector and tackle the climate emergency head on. This bill will not be a long-term solution, and so we would like to see a sunset-clause added to ensure there is an end date for these short-term measures," she said. "This will help focus minds on planning the long-term future of Scotlands agriculture. SLE also briefed MSPs on the need for these new regulations to receive appropriate scrutiny and consultation with relevant parties. The group said it is 'essential' that any further legislation made as a result of this bill is 'fully scrutinised' with stakeholder consultation. By contrast, those in places like Oregon and Washington tend to be lower income, with lower educational levels, lower levels of health insurance and more employment in essential services, Mr. Lopez-Cevallos said. They have fewer support systems in place. According to a Pew Research Center survey in April, about half of the Latinos questioned said they or someone in their household had either lost a job or taken a pay cut, or both, because of the outbreak compared with a third of all adults in the United States. The data from a number of states takes an unexpected turn: It indicates that even though Latinos may have higher rates of infection, they have been dying from the virus at lower reported rates over all than other groups. But experts say those raw numbers understate the risks for those who become sick, because they do not take into account that the Latino population the countrys second-largest ethnic group is significantly younger than other groups. And there have been much fewer deaths among the young from a virus whose lethality grows sharply with its victims age. But among adult Latinos, fatality rates can be much higher. That was what officials in California found when they took a closer look. There, Latinos, who are 39 percent of the population, account for almost half of all reported virus cases but only 35 percent of deaths placing their overall death rate slightly below that of whites who are not Hispanic. FOLLY BEACH, S.C. - A former South Carolina high school teacher who was accused of killing his wife died of a heart attack last week, nearly six months after being released from jail on bond, officials said. Officials on Wednesday released the cause of death of James Stanton Yarborough, 65, who died April 30, The Post and Courier reported. An incident report said Yarborough was found by a family friend who was acting as his caretaker. The friend said Yarboroughs front door was open but that was often the case because he liked the breeze to go through the house, the report said. No signs of foul play were found, police said. Yarborough called police last September to report his wife, Karen Simmons Yarborough, 63, was missing. He said he hadnt seen her since the night before when she went on a walk. While speaking with him, police spotted a red stain on Yarboroughs shirt and a bullet without a shell casing on the floor of the master bedroom, according to the police report. He said he was on blood thinners and the stain was probably his own blood, and he had no idea why the bullet would be there because he didnt have a gun. Karen Yarboroughs body was later found in a wooded area in unincorporated Dorchester County. James Yarborough was charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime and obstruction of justice. He was released from jail on bond in November and placed on house arrest, news outlets reported. Yarborough had been the principal at Summerville High School from 1994 to 1998. MANZINI - The country has recorded a second death of COVID-19. Information gathered was that the deceased was a manager at Thekwini Spar, situated adjacent to Manzini Bus Rank. This was confirmed by Eswatini Spar Group Communications Officer yesterday. According to the communications officer, the Spar family was sad to announce that they had lost one of their colleagues who answered to the Lords call on May 5, 2020. The officer said the deceased was among the second group from the store to be tested for COVID-19 and further extended the companys condolences to his family and community. However, the officer was quick to mention that at this point she could not disclose much information about the deceased. Also confirming the death of the second COVID-19 patient was Dr Vusi Magagula. Treatment The patient succumbed to his illness while undergoing treatment. According to impeccable sources, the patient had been admitted on April 25, 2020. He was part of the four cases that were from Manzini and they were all contacts of confirmed cases. There were 16 confirmed cases on the day and the Ministry of Health said it was the biggest jump since the first case was reported in the country. The deceased was said to have been diabetic, which according to the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO), compromised ones immune system. Dr Magagula, when confirming the death, requested that further information be sourced from the ministerial update released by Minister Lizzie Nkosi. During a press conference at Cabinet Offices yesterday, the minister acknowledged receiving information about the death. The Ministry of Health is sad to announce a second death of a confirmed COVID-19 case. The deceased was a 57-year-old male admitted to Lubombo Referral Hospital. On admission, he had moderate to severe disease with other medical conditions. He had been managed under oxygen support and other medication. He was in a stable-severe condition which deteriorated rapidly. Attempts to resuscitate him were not successful and he died in the early morning hours of May 6, 2020. May his soul rest in peace, the minister said. Meanwhile, in another matter, the communications officer at Spar Group, when addressing the issue of a message which had been circulating on social media, said it was false. The sequence of events as mentioned therein are incorrect and offensive to the company, the officer said, adding that the company had observed all protocols, procedures and regulations announced by the Ministry of Health in the fight against COVID-19. Tested We have been working very closely with the ministry, we have also at company costs, tested our staff members and we have also involved the ministry in testing of our staff, the officer said. The company, according to the officer, took the pandemic very seriously and as such, requested members of the public not to issue irresponsible and unfounded statements. As we speak our stores were closed since April 25, 2020, and furthermore the store has been sanitised and fumigated, she said. She pointed out that the store was opened on April 30, fumigated and sanitised and has been closed since then. Closed She said the last time the store was closed was on May 1, 2020 and reopened on May 2 with another team (Team B). Inspite of this, the company still took it upon itself to retest all staff once again on May 4 and currently await tests before any work begins. The officer further pleaded with the public to desist from issuing misleading and false information as the company had done all it possibly could to combat the spread of COVID-19. If you pause to ponder, how many companies have taken the initiative to test their employees at their own cost? She wondered. The false circulating message was to the effect that the retailers branch near the bus rank had 17 confirmed COVID-19 cases. COLLEGEVILLE, Pa., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Perkiomen Valley School District (PVSD) has selected the industry-leading Synergy Education Platform by Edupoint Educational Systems for its K-12 student information management needs. The district's Synergy solution will include Synergy Student Information System, Synergy Online Registration, and Synergy Special Education. PVSD serves over 5,500 students in the Philadelphia region. With Synergy Education Platform, PVSD will get a comprehensive student data management ecosystem in which the SIS and all core student data management solutions talk to each other by design, sharing data in real time from a single database for a seamless user experience. District leaders at PVSD became interested in Synergy after attending a demo at a neighboring school district. The SIS selection committee then evaluated Synergy against several other student information systems, involving as many as 60 participants from every stakeholder group. The committee selected Synergy from four finalists after a round of full-day demos. Key considerations in Perkiomen Valley's selection of Synergy included the platform's overall flexibility, the ease of transition for special education, the robust suite of role-based mobile apps, and the partner relationship the district would have with Edupoint. "From a technical perspective, a smooth implementation is critical, and the references we spoke to put my mind at ease about working with Edupoint," said Karthik Ganesh, Chief Information Officer at Perkiomen Valley. "Our special education team is pleased because Edupoint will be doing the heavy lifting on moving our documents over. Synergy will also help us improve our scheduling efficiency to recoup a significant amount of time for our scheduling staff, and we'll have the ability to provide real-time information to families through the parent portal." "Perkiomen Valley School District can be expected to see many improvements with their migration to Synergy," said Bob Weathers, Founder and CEO of Edupoint, "from extensive Google integration in the gradebook to greater overall efficiency and ease of use. We are pleased to have PVSD come on board and look forward to continuing to serve additional districts in Pennsylvania." About Edupoint Educational Systems For over 35 years, the leadership of Edupoint Educational Systems has provided well-designed, technologically advanced student data management systems that empower K-12 stakeholders to improve student achievement. Synergy Education Platform by Edupoint is an industry-leading student data management ecosystem built to fit the way educators already work, with seamlessly integrated student information management, learning management, MTSS, assessment, special education management, and analytics. Synergy is unique among K-12 student data management solutions in providing an array of role-based mobile apps designed to give all stakeholders access to the tools they need when and where they need them. Thousands of schools nationwide choose the Synergy Education Platform to support 4.5 million students in 21 states. https://www.edupoint.com/. *PHOTO: https://www.Send2Press.com/300dpi/19-0430s2p-edupoint-sis-300dpi.jpg This release was issued through Send2Press, a unit of Neotrope. For more information, visit Send2Press Newswire at https://www.Send2Press.com SOURCE Edupoint Educational Systems Related Links https://www.edupoint.com A worker at an abattoir which became one of Australia's worst coronavirus clusters fears he will also be diagnosed with COVID-19. The unnamed worker has worked at Cedar Meats in Brooklyn, based in Melbourne's west, for several years and was shocked when he heard about the outbreak. He said it's almost impossible to know how far the spread has reached as staff come in close contact daily. 'We work in different sections but we all eat together,' he told The Age. Scroll down for video The unnamed employee has worked at Cedar Meats in Brooklyn, based in Melbourne's west, for several years The man said he has not heard from anyone at the company since the news broke and he was unsure what was happening as no one had returned his calls. He is desperately trying to contact his bosses to find out when his last pay packet will be and if he will receive any benefits during his 14-day quarantine. General Manager Tony Kairouz of Cedar Meats told Daily Mail Australia: 'We are working to access JobKeeper or any other financial support that may be able for our 350 staff so that they do not have to use their entitlements during this time. 'Until we have an outcome, our advice to staff is to utilise any entitlements that they have. Like all businesses impacted by COVID-19 we are devastated that this has provided temporary financial uncertainty and potentially financial loss for our people. 'We are focused on opening the operations on May 18, 2020, and really hopeful that we will get a positive outcome from JobKeeper' The company, which now has 62 cases of the virus, told staff about the outbreak on May 1. Authorities initially suggested the first case was identified on April 27, but have now admitted an employee contracted the virus three weeks earlier, on April 2. The company, which now has 62 cases of the virus, told staff about the outbreak on May 1. Pictured: Medical practitioners take the information of people being tested for coronavirus in Melbourne Health authorities did not consider his place of work an area for concern, because he 'had not been an work while infectious.' Mr Kairouz said one of his 350 employees had been rushed to Sunshine Hospital for an unrelated issue - he had severed his thumb - and was identified as a coronavirus carrier on April 27. Medics are still working to establish the source of infection. There have been 6,875 cases of coronavirus with 5,975 people having recovered from the infection The worker said social distancing at the abattoir was hard to maintain but staff regularly had their temperatures checked and were encouraged to sit apart. Victoria's Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton said some of the staff also lived together but the company had taken protective measures where possible. 'But this facility, as I understand, had taken to screening for symptoms in their workforce, spacing to the fullest extent that they could, to have a generous policy to make sure that they weren't turning up to work unwell, and twice daily disinfection. But they are well-known places, a bit like aged care facilities and other close settings, where the risk is just intrinsically higher,' he said. Expert on IT Solutions, Kyiv, Ukraine Organization: UNDP - United Nations Development Programme Country: Ukraine City: Kyiv, Ukraine Office: UNDP Ukraine Closing date: Friday, 8 May 2020 Expert on IT Solutions Location : Kyiv, UKRAINE Application Deadline : 08-May-20 (Midnight New York, USA) Type of Contract : Individual Contract Post Level : National Consultant Languages Required : Starting Date : (date when the selected candidate is expected to start) 18-May-2020 Expected Duration of Assignment : Up to 120 working days within 6 months Background The first COVID-19 case in Ukraine was detected on 3 March in the western oblast of Chernivtsi. As of 2 April, the number of confirmed cases has reached 804, including 20 deaths. It is important to note that the case identification is only a reflection of what has been laboratory tested, hence the actual number of cases is feared to be much higher. This outbreak coincided with the government turnover in the country, exacerbated by the insufficient progress of reforms, weakened health system, ageing population, macroeconomic decline and the protracted armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, which may lead to a COVID-19 outbreak of considerable scale. According to the World Health Organisation, Ukraine is among the most vulnerable countries affected by the COVID-19, where the situation is deteriorating rapidly, and the risk of massive outbreak is very high. The socioeconomic impact of the pandemic is already visible, disproportionately affecting women and girls. Women are on the forefront of the fight against the outbreak as health care workers (82% women), scientists, researchers, educators, and as family caregivers. In Ukraine, an unemployment rise to 4% due to COVID-19 and an increase of unpaid care and domestic work shared largely by women and girls affect their independence and economic empowerment. Also, in Ukraine, 2 in 3 women experience psychological, physical, or sexual violence. During the pandemic, the number tends to increase, when women are trapped in homes with abusers. The Government of Ukraine has taken several steps to prevent and mitigate the spread of the COVID-19, notably: 1) developed a National Preparedness and Response Plan (NPRP) with the support provided by WHO and few other UN agencies; 2) on 25 March introduced emergency situation countrywide (currently until 24 April); and 3) established five crisis centres under different government authorities: Presidential Office; Ministry of Health; Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the coordination unit under the Prime Minister. The above-mentioned mechanisms lack proper consultations with stakeholders and effective and efficient coordination. Government capacity for preparedness and response to the outbreak that affects disproportionally the most vulnerable, including for a resilient health system is very week. Therefore, there is an immediate need for technical assistance to establish an inclusive and integrated crisis management and response unit under the leadership of the Prime Minister. The existing crisis management and response centre has not yet become operational because it lacks human resource and technical capacity to start functioning efficiently. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is playing an important role in coordinating humanitarian assistance provided to Ukraine, while formally this portfolio belongs to the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, as well as in dealing with the Diaspora and Ukrainians working abroad. Its current capacity requires enhancement, particularly with a strong focus on crisis management and communication support that take into account the situation of women and men from diverse groups. The project is based on urgent needs and strategic priorities to support the government in major crisis governance, coordination and management schemes in response to COVID-19 pandemic defined by the Government Decree as of 11 March 2020 (in Ukrainian). These strategic priorities include improved coordination of all government institutions and local authorities for effective response, enhanced preparedness of the health system, and better communication of life-saving information among population for minimizing the risks of accelerated outbreak of the pandemic. UNDP Ukraine has been providing support to the Government to prepare, respond and recover from the pandemic since the very beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, focusing on the most vulnerable. This support focuses mainly on strengthening capacities of the crisis management governance structure of the Ministry of Health to procure medicine, personal protective equipment and other medical devices; including in the conflict-affected areas; supporting key government institutions to transition to working online, assisting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to coordinate the communication and outreach to the diaspora and also organizing and facilitating the return of Ukrainian citizens back home in view of the introduced restrictive measures; strengthening the crisis communications and outreach capacities of the government institutions by using UNDPs broad-based partner network in the country, both at the national and regional/local level. UNDP is also providing technical expertise to the leadership of the Government on alignment of national government strategies and programmes with the Agenda 2030 with gender equality as critical to delivering on all the SDGs. We have deployed two strategic advisors in the Cabinet of Ministers who have already laid the groundwork for establishing the above-mentioned National Crisis Management Unit headed by the Prime Minister. Two Crisis Management Units will be established within the project - one under the Office of the Prime-Minister of Ukraine (to be managed on a technical level by the Vice-Prime-Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration), and one under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (under the leadership of the Minister of Foreign Affairs). In this context, the United Nations Development Programme is recruiting an Expert on IT Solutions for the Crisis Management Unit under the Prime-Minister with relevant experience and track record. The Expert will be directly responsible for supporting the Government of Ukraine through Crisis Management Unit on IT support and development of digital governance solutions to address the challenges and consequences of COVID-19. Duties and Responsibilities The incumbent will provide advice to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Vice Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers and the State Commission on Technical-Environmental and Emergency Situations on IT support and development of digital governance solutions to address the challenges and consequences of COVID-19. The incumbent will report primarily to Prime Minister of Ukraine, Vice Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, in liaison with the UNDP Strategic Adviser to the Government of Ukraine with a reporting line to the UNDP Ukraine and the Project Manager as part of the Democratic Governance Team. The Expert will work closely with the other members of the Crisis Management Unit and Office of the Prime Minister of Ukraine. S/he will provide support to the Office of Prime Minister, the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers and the State Commission on Technical-Environmental and Emergency Situations and their respective staffs through the following functions: Provide support to organize technical work of the State Commission on Technical-Environmental and Emergency Situations, preparing its agenda, decisions. Facilitate the use of digital governance tools for meetings and decisions of the State Commission on Technical-Environmental and Emergency Situations, state agencies work. Manage the process of IT tools/ solutions development and usage of the existing platforms and tools for better crisis response. Provide support to develop and introduce digital solutions for government coordination, remote access of civil servants to their workplaces, COVID19 prevalence/incidence mapping, data/analytics for early warning and crisis management, and information sharing to citizens in partnership with mobile operators aiming at prevention, preparedness, behavior change, social solidarity and zero tolerance to stigma, discrimination, and abuse of human rights and universal freedoms of women, men, girls and boys. Develop TORs for the new IT solutions and manage the process of their implementation. Ensure the transfer of ownership for the developed IT tools/solutions to the respective government agencies. Measurable outputs of the work assignment/deliverables: Information materials, papers, protocols, IT tools developed in cooperation with the representatives of the Office of the Prime Minister of Ukraine, the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers and the State Commission on Technical-Environmental and Emergency Situations, with proper reference to the COVID-19 - monthly. Advisory service on the above-mentioned issues provided - monthly. Progress reports are provided to UNDP - monthly. Performance Indicators for evaluation of results: Number of information materials, papers, protocols, IT solutions developed in cooperation with the representatives of the Office of the Prime Minister of Ukraine, the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers and the State Commission on Technical-Environmental and Emergency Situations. Timely submission of the regular performance reports. Monitoring / reporting requirements: Work-progress reporting/monitoring meetings will be held with the consultant on a weekly basis. UNDP will be the final authority to control the quality and evaluate the work. No reports or documents should be published or distributed to third parties without approval of UNDP. The consultant will work under the daily supervision of the Project Manager in liaison with the UNDP Strategic Adviser to the Government and Democratic Governance Team Leader and will interact with UNDP to receive any clarifications and guidance that may be needed. The satisfactory completion of each of the deliverables shall be subject to endorsement of the Project Manager. The Consultant will duly inform UNDP of any problems, issues or delays arising in the course of implementation of assignment and take necessary steps to address them. All reports and results are to be submitted to the UNDP in electronic form (*.docx, *.xlsx, *.pptx, and *.pdf or other formats accepted by UNDP). Competencies Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UNs values and ethical standards; Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP; Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability; Tags behavior change civil servants computer science crisis communication crisis management diaspora emergency situation human rights humanitarian assistance medical devices project manager public administration sdgs sexual violence social policy time management ukrainian ukrainian language unpaid women and girls Treats all people fairly without favouritism; Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment. Required Skills and Experience Education Advanced University degree (Specialist) or equivalent in computer science, IT or public administration. Experience At least 7 years of relevant experience at the national or international level in IT sector, public administration; At least 3 relevant IT projects developed according to the basic requirements of the customer under the support of the incumbent (with indicating his/ her role in the process); Previous experience with a multilateral or international organization/foundation, state and/ or private institutions will be considered as a strong asset. Languages Fluency in English and Ukrainian languages is required. Skills to be evaluated during validation interview stage with technically compliant candidates: Knowledge of state standards in software development; Strong managerial and leadership skills, notably planning, organizing, coordinating and controlling, problem solving and decision-making; Mature judgment combined with a proactive, energetic approach to problem solving; excellent interpersonal skills; Integrity by modelling the UNs values and ethical standards; Strong organizational and time management skills; Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines; Excellent analytical skills; Excellent writing, proficient communication and organization skills. Application procedure The application package containing the following (to be uploaded as one file): Online application with brief description of why the Offer considers her/himself the most suitable for the assignment; and Personal CV or P11, including information about past experience in similar projects / assignments, as well as the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references. Financial proposal. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP. Example of at least 3 (three) relevant IT projects developed according to the basic requirements of the customer under the support of the applicant (with indicating his/ her role in the process). Provide link to the sample or scanned copy. Financial proposal Contracts based on daily fee The financial proposal will specify the daily fee and payments will be made to the Individual Consultant based on the number of days worked. Travel costs Should any travel be necessary in connection to this TOR, UNDP will reimburse the expenses based on the duly authorized travel details, including travel and per diems. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources. In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. Evaluation criteria Educational background - 10 points max 10 pts - Advanced University degree (Masters) or equivalent in computer science, IT or public administration; 9 pts - Advanced University degree (Specialist) or equivalent in computer science, IT or public administration. Relevant professional experience at the national or international level in IT sector, public administration - 30 points max 30 pts - 10 years and more; 25 pts - 8-9 years; 20 pts - 7 years. Experience in IT projects development according to the basic requirements of the customer - 20 points max 20 pts - 7 and more; 18 pts - 4-6 IT projects developed; 15 pts - 3 IT projects developed. Previous experience with a multilateral or international organization/foundation, state and/ or private institutions - 5 points max 5 pts - the candidate has previous experience; 0 pts - the candidate does not have previous experience. Language Skills - 5 points max 5 pts - Fluency in English and Ukrainian. Maximum available technical score - 70 points. Evaluation method - Cumulative analysis Contract award shall be made to the incumbent whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and b) having received the cumulative highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. Technical Criteria weight: 70% Financial Criteria weight: 30% Only candidates obtaining a minimum 70% from the maximum available technical score (49 points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal and will equal to 30. All other price proposals will be evaluated and assigned points, as per below formula: 30 points [max points available for financial part] x [lowest of all evaluated offered prices among responsive offers] / [evaluated price]. The proposal obtaining the overall cumulatively highest score after adding the score of the technical proposal and the financial proposal will be considered as the most compliant offer and will be awarded a contract. UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks. In Akbar: The Great Mughal, writer Ira Mukhoty demystifies the 16th century ruler and sheds light on why he continues to hold sway on the culture and society of the subcontinent. In her new book, Akbar: The Great Mughal (published by Aleph Book Company), writer Ira Mukhoty sheds light on the various myths surrounding the enigmatic 16th century ruler, attributing his undying relevance to his vision of a horizon lit up by the light from many different faiths. The book comes at a time when instances of the current dispensation's erasure of Mughal history abound. Akbar, as Mukhoty noted in an interview with Firstpost, is "the acceptable face of an Islamic monarch; a good Muslim". But, "I wanted to go beyond these infantilising notions to show a more nuanced narrative, in which we see the evolution of Akbars ideas, along with the mistakes he made," Mukhoty says. Speaking to Firstpost, Mukhoty breaks down the journey of the book, from idea to print, and tells us what made Akbar truly 'great'. To begin with, what would you say is the reason behind no notable biographical work done on Akbar in the past 20 years? Biographies of historical figures in India is in general a relatively unexplored genre, only recently becoming popular. Where Akbar is concerned, the sheer volume of primary sources, scholarly work, the extent of Akbars own achievements over 50 years, makes this a completely foolhardy enterprise, shadowed by hubris. In terms of scholarship and literature, Akbar's life has been extremely well documented through the ages. However, not much of it has forayed into popular literature. How long back did you locate this lacuna? Was this a primary reason behind taking up this project in the first place, that is, in order to fill the gap, or was the subject compelling enough for you to do so anyway? Did your narrative style evolve at a later stage? Akbar is a talismanic figure who hovers at the edge of our subconscious. We all believe we know him and we have internalised his myths and legends. Given the current political climate and the vicious nature of so much public discourse, it seemed to me to be an interesting area of research; to bring back some ideas and facts to challenge these preconceived notions. As we know, academic knowledge tends to remain within academia in India, and school-learning is still limited and quite un-engaging. So a biography of a man like Akbar, combining the latest academic knowledge with an engaging narrative style, seemed to me a worthwhile endeavour, and also a personally demanding and rewarding one. After Heroines (2017) and Daughters of the Sun (2018), how did you come to take interest in the emperors of the Mughal dynasty, especially Akbar? Was it a natural progression? It was quite a natural progression. In fact, because ever since I discovered Jahanara Begum in Heroines, I started to wonder about this empire, that had given so much power and wealth to an unmarried princess, all of which had been lost to destruction and neglect. Then with Daughters of the Sun, it was impossible to avoid the figure of Akbar, a colossus. A fascinating aspect of the women of the Mughal empire was that it was exactly around the time of Akbar that they became invisible, hidden behind titles and stone walls, whereas earlier, they had been visibly caught up in the territorial wandering of their men, active ambassadors, and participants in empire formation. At the same time, it was known that Akbar had clear and progressive views about women. So I was drawn to this dichotomy in Akbars life, and wanted to discover the many textures and layers that led him to becoming this towering figure in Indian history. What I find extremely interesting about Akbar is the way in which it weaves together several vastly different accounts (in terms of insight and perspective) and testimonies about the man from the Jesuits, to Badauni and Abu'l Fazl. How difficult in terms of scope was this process, and whose works or which sources did you fall back on repeatedly through it? The many sources for Akbar were both a blessing and a curse! And yet, all the sources are valuable in different ways. Abul Fazl is most reliable about chronology and events, for example, whereas Badauni is much more cavalier with his dates. But Badauni is more truthful about Akbars religious experimentation, and the disquiet it sometimes caused, whereas Abul Fazl was always laudatory. The Jesuits added details of Akbars life which an Indian writer would not have thought relevant, such as the description of cities and villages, of landscape, of rituals, of animals. The have also left us detailed and moving descriptions of Akbar himself, his presence, personality and habits. But there are also additional sources that I used in specific places, such as Gulbadans Humayunama, and the writings of other sects and groups who encountered Akbar, like the Jain accounts, the Sikh writings, and the Brajbhasha texts of some Rajput courts. These give us a fascinating picture of how these groups negotiated momentous, changing times, and a new Mughal reality. And lastly, and most excitingly I think, I have been able to use Mughal miniature paintings as a primary source. Art historians have done amazing work in recent times to bring to to life previously unknown aspects of the Mughal empire through the analysis of paintings, and I have used this research extensively wherever possible. In terms of Akbar's belief in human dignity, it's evident from how he practiced what he preached whether it's through sending his son Murad to the Jesuits for education; not forcing his wives into converting to Islam; encouraging widow remarriage under his reign; or even recruiting officials in his court based on merit. However, over the past couple of years, his legacy, besides that of other Muslim rulers, has been under constant attack, with history being rewritten in India. Is this damage to Akbar's legacy already visible in popular imagination, according to you? If yes, to what extent? I think Akbar remains, despite the current climate, a beloved figure. He is what we may describe as the acceptable face of an Islamic monarch; a good Muslim. I wanted to go beyond these infantilising notions to show a more nuanced narrative, in which we see the evolution of Akbars ideas, along with the mistakes he made. I believe this will allow us a more robust dialogue with our past, if we are able to understand fully the complicated landscape Akbar negotiated, the many different clans and tribes of people he had to accommodate. What was the biggest challenge you faced while working on this book? Unlike the challenge I faced while writing my previous books, which focused on the histories of women, in the case of Akbar it was trying to assess what information to leave out. There is so much material available on Akbar, that there is a danger that a biography could become a bewildering listing of achievements. My target was to find patterns, such as his changing attitudes towards women, the evolving Rajput-Mughal interaction, the Padshahs own spiritual search, and weave these into a story which would hold the readers attention. Another lacuna with Akbar is that he did not leave a biography behind, unlike Babur and Jahangir, for example. So the challenge was negotiating this material with its absences, to understand a complicated man. Akbar's judicious approach to running a kingdom is evident in how figures like Man Singh, Todar Mal and Tansen held as much sway over him and the kingdom as Muslim figures like Shirazi or Bairam Khan did. Besides, his group of mansabdars was also fairly and uniformly constituted of the various religious communities in his empire. However, not much of this makes its way into books at primary education levels. Do you see that as a problem? Yes, certainly. Here we have one of the greatest leaders in the world, who negotiated the creation of an enormous empire made of a multitude of peoples and faith. How he managed to do that while ensuring a place of safety and dignity for every person should be something that is absolutely understood and discussed, because we are beset with the same problems even today. If Akbar was able to say that for a ruler, The best prayer is service to humanity, and that The Truth was the inhabitant of everyplace, then surely these are intensely relevant issues in todays troubled times, and therefore worth studying. Through the length of your book, you bring to the fore the pivotal role Akbar's harem played in his life and politics. Why did you choose to do that? What about Akbar's relationship with his harem intrigued and surprised you the most? I have always been interested in rediscovering the forgotten voices of women. And I wouldnt want their histories to be separate from that of men, like a lesser genre, in a way. So when I began working on Akbar, I was actively looking for evidence of the influence of the women in his life women I had already encountered while writing Daughters of the Sun. I wanted to place these women geographically and temporally within Akbars life, so that we could discover the texture of these influences. There is the influence of the Timurid matriarchs, the milk mothers and their families, and Akbars Rajput wives. Where Akbars wives are concerned, I wanted to explore more thoroughly how the system of the Rajput zenana may have filtered into the Mughal harem. Because the extraordinary and contradictory evidence we have suggests that while Akbar grew increasingly sensitive and vociferous about the vulnerability of women under both Islam and Hinduism, he nonetheless, along with Abul Fazl, completely wrote these women out of the records, rendered them voiceless, invisible and chaste. Even though your book is anecdotal in nature, your eye for detail as a historian seems extremely methodical and precise, considering how Akbar touches upon most aspects and perspectives on his life and personality. Have you consciously, or unconsciously, incorporated your learnings in the sciences into your research process? I suppose that is inevitable. I was trained for five years in the natural sciences, with its emphasis on academic rigour, research and analysis. I think it then becomes an innate part of your thought process, how to see patterns and trends, so as to present a progressive unfolding of some ideas, instead of a chaotic jumble of information. What about history captures your imagination? How important is academic training in the discipline, in order to become a successful and empathetic historian, or can one learn purely through interest and will? (In other words, have you ever felt disadvantaged as a 'historian' for not holding a formal degree in the subject?) I think what attracts me to history, particularly in India, is that it helps to make sense of so much of the material and cultural world around us. The different threads that make up the tapestry of Indian life begin to make sense when we understand where they came from, who brought them, how they interacted with one another to create a new, chimeric creation. History is not a technical field per se, unlike physics or mathematics, for example, in which the very language is unfathomable for a layperson. In a sense, it can even be an advantage to arrive at some of these histories from outside the field, perhaps bringing a different nuance and filter to the evocation of these stories. Where I feel at a disadvantage is in not having access to certain academic resources, like the libraries and scholarly community. What message do you hope for your readers to carry home after reading Akbar? I think if there was one message I would hope readers would keep in their hearts, above all else, is the spirit of 'sulh-e-kul' of active compassion and peace with all. If a monarch in the 16th century, in the midst of the churn of empire formation, could develop and live by such a luminous idea, encompassing all of humanity over a single tribe or peoples, then surely we should be able to as well. Are you planning your next book already? If yes, could you tell us a little about it? I am, yes. But I have several ideas that I am working on in parallel at the moment. All images courtesy Aleph Book Company Washington The economic catastrophe caused by the viral outbreak likely sent the U.S. unemployment rate in April to its highest level since the Great Depression and caused a record-shattering loss of jobs. With the economy paralyzed by business closures, the unemployment rate likely jumped to at least 16% from just 4.4% in March and employers cut a stunning 21 million or more jobs in April, economists have forecast, according to data provider FactSet. If so, it would mean that nearly all the job growth in the 11 years since the Great Recession had vanished in a single month. Yet even those breathtaking figures wont fully capture the magnitude of the damage the coronavirus has inflicted on the job market. Many people still employed have had their hours reduced. Others have suffered pay cuts. Some whove lost jobs won't have been able to look for work amid widespread shutdowns and wont even be counted as unemployed. A broader measure the proportion of adults with jobs could plunge to a record low. What we're talking about here is pretty stunning, said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton. The shock is unique because the cause is unique. Its such a different animal from anything that weve ever seen. The government will issue the April jobs report on Friday morning. On Thursday, it will release the latest weekly report on applications for unemployment benefits. It will likely show that about 3.5 million people sought jobless aid last week. That would bring the total number of layoffs to nearly 34 million since the shutdowns began seven weeks ago. That figure is much larger than the expected April job loss because the two are measured differently: The government calculates job losses by surveying businesses and households. It's a net figure that also counts the hiring that some companies, like Amazon and many grocery stores, have done despite the widespread layoffs. By contrast, the total jobless claims is a cumulative figure that includes aid applications that began in March. Still, the job loss for April may be much larger than expected, with most economists acknowledging that their usual models might not work as well in a collapsing job market. Swonk notes that several million unauthorized immigrants who weren't able to file for unemployment benefits were nevertheless probably laid off last month. Those jobs losses would be counted, though, in the government's surveys. Swonk estimates that April's job loss could total as high as 34 million. Companies are still cutting jobs in the midst of a severe downturn, with the economy possibly shrinking at an unheard-of 40% annual rate in the April-June quarter. GE Aviation said it is cutting up to 13,000 jobs. Uber will shed 3,700 positions. Amy Egert, a dental hygienist in Severn, Maryland, was laid off in mid-March. She was told she could return a month later, but she's still waiting and its unclear when she will able to go back. She monitors Maryland statistics on coronavirus cases in hopes that the figures will show enough of a downward trend for her to work again. As I watch the numbers, its like OK, are we going to make it back by the end of May?" Egert asked. "Is it going to be the first of June? Is it going to be mid-June? She is receiving the extra $600 in unemployment included in the government's relief package but still wants to return. Ive got diabetics out there that havent had their teeth cleaned, Egert said. They come every four months, and Im thinking theyre going to be a mess." Even as the unemployment rate reaches dizzying heights, it will likely be held down by several factors. The Labor Department counts people as unemployed only if they're actively searching for work. Yet many laid-off workers may be discouraged from looking for a new job given that so many non-essential businesses are closed. Others may stay home to protect their health. Still others may feel they have to stay with children who are home from school. In addition, some workers on temporary layoff might be incorrectly classified as what the government calls employed, but absent from work. This can happen if employees assume they will return to their jobs once their employer reopens. In March, the Labor Department said that such misclassification by its survey takers who have never before dealt with pandemic-related shutdowns lowered the unemployment rate by a full percentage point. Jason Faberman, senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, says that including those workers, as well as millions who still have jobs but who have been reduced to part-time status, could raise a broader gauge of what's called under-employment to 25% or higher on Friday. Alexander Bick and Adam Blandin, economists at Arizona State University and Virginia Commonwealth University, respectively, have conducted two surveys since the virus outbreak began that mirror the government's monthly survey that it uses to calculate the unemployment rate. They conclude that the proportion of American adults in their prime working years 25 through 54 who have jobs, fell to just 60.4% in April, the lowest on record. They also noted that millions of Americans have had their hours cut in April. We have never had such low hours worked, on average, for each employed person, Bick said. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Green Empire Farms outbreak: Madison County tests 150 more farmworkers for coronavirus McMahon: Mobile coronavirus testing could be coming to your neighborhood soon Beyond Pizze Frittes: This week its a drive-thru NY State Fair Food Fest Onondaga County sets daily records for tests, coronavirus infections; 41st death Supplier News 7 May 2020 Amid the crisis that has swept up a storm for the hospitality industry as countries across the globe implement travel and mobility bans, Sweden has yet to order any lockdowns. Contrasting sharply with the rest of Europe and beyond, Sweden has only imposed relatively lenient restrictions, meaning that most hotels and restaurants remain open despite the COVID-19 situation. At The Hotels Network, we've been observed many Swedish hotels who, understanding the importance of focusing on the domestic market, securing direct bookings and maintaining ADR, have been employing practices to do exactly so. As countries, such as Spain and Austria, start to announce their plans for deconfinement, hotels in other markets may soon be finding themselves in a similar position as those currently open for business in Sweden. That is to say, operating within an industry that has been turned on its head and with a completely new set of challenges and dynamics; but open at least. So now the question is: what can we learn from the experience of hotels in Sweden as restrictions start to lift gradually in other markets? The Hospitality Scene in Sweden Before we dive into the tactics Swedish hoteliers have employed to survive during these times, let's have a look at the hospitality landscape in Sweden and how it may differ to some European markets. Source: Dagens Nyheter Photo: The Hotels Network Having restrictions not nearly as limiting as fellow European countries, the impact on Sweden's hotel industry has been cushioned to a certain extent. Looking at the change in mobility from the beginning of the year to the end of the first quarter, Sweden has seen the least difference with only a -24% drop in contrast to Spain and Italy who have suffered from a -94% decrease in mobility. Hotels in Sweden - Evolution of website visitors, bookings & conversion rate Source: The Hotels Network Hotels in Spain - Evolution of website visitors, bookings & conversion rate Source: The Hotels Network Looking at direct booking trends using The Hotels Network dataset (see full details on our COVID in Hospitality resources page), we can see that in March hotels located in Sweden did not experience the sudden dramatic drop in booking engine traffic and direct bookings that was seen in Spain. Although there was a clear decline, the curve is more gradual with booking volume being supported primarily by domestic visitors, most likely due to their higher mobility. Conversion rates in Sweden also showed signs of recovery at the start of April, helping to boost booking volume slightly. In terms of rates, a recent study by Benchmark Alliance looking at the impact of the COVID-19 crisis shows that the ADR in cities such as Stockholm has remained relatively stable, suggesting that hotels have realized that slashing their rates will not be beneficial in the long-term. Instead of cutting rates, many hotels in Sweden have taken on a more proactive approach when it comes to shaping their game plan during the crisis. 6 strategies Swedish hotels are already putting into practice In today's challenging environment, many hotels in Sweden have turned to their direct booking channel and communication strategy, seeking to increase online conversions with guests, and putting themselves in an advantageous position for recovery. Here are six strategies Swedish hotels are employing now that could help inspire your marketing plan of attack as mobility starts to recover in your markets. 1. Providing peace of mind Ligula Hotels Welcome Layer with a Reassuring Message Photo: The Hotels Network In a world where travel sentiment is quite sensitive, the first step to capturing online bookings should be to reassure visitors, and doing so boils down to the two words: communication and flexibility. You've probably heard this said a hundred times in the past weeks, but there is a good reason why companies and experts keep hammering home this important message. Making sure your online visitors know that you have implemented a worry-free booking policy can inspire trust and increase the probability of them moving forward with a booking. Ligula Hotels were quick to take action by grabbing the attention of users arriving on their website using a Layer to display such a message, guaranteeing customers a safe booking thanks to their flexible cancellation and rebooking policies. 2. Promoting staycations to attract local travelers today Hotel at Six Promoting Staycations Photo: The Hotels Network With incoming international travel very limited but local mobility relatively high, hotels in Sweden seized the chance to promote the idea of having a staycation. A contemporary and modern luxury hotel in central Stockholm, Hotel At Six by Nordic Hotels & Resorts, is putting the spotlight on the alluring experience they can offer locals. Creating a package for guests to feel pampered, the hotel offers the perfect staycation for those who need a break from everything going on at home. By using targeting options within The Hotels Network tool, the Layer message on the homepage is only displayed to visitors within Stockholm, enabling the hotel to show a personalized message to appeal to their local market. 3. Encouraging guests to book longer stays Hotel Kungstradgarden Targeted Messaging Photo: The Hotels Network As sentiment to travel, especially international travel reduced significantly, it could be difficult for hotels to convince visitors convert. However, there isn't nothing to be done. When faced with a much smaller level of demand, hotels are looking for ways to increase the average value of each booking they receive. An effective tactic to encourage longer stays is by offering benefits to guests already looking to book to incite them to book an extra night with you. With this in mind, Hotel Kungstradgarden launched a series of Smart Notes within their booking engine targeting visitors booking for 2 nights. The messages highlight the benefits of staying an extra one or two nights exclusively to those visitors, giving them motive to extend their booking. By using targeted messaging, hotels in Sweden are nudging guests that are already likely to convert to increase their booking value. 4. Driving immediate revenue through gift vouchers Hotel Kungstradgarden Offering Hotel Vouchers Photo: The Hotels Network Making hotel vouchers available to visitors is a clever way to generate immediate revenue while current demand remains low. Using our Hotel Voucher tool, Hotel Kungstradgarden launched a Layer with an integrated voucher feature, encouraging guests to purchase a gift card today. Aiming to attract potential guests who are thinking about traveling after restrictions have loosened, promoting your hotel vouchers (especially at a discounted rate) will enable you to capture extra revenue while providing visitors with the incentive to stay with you in the future. For those who aren't able to offer voucher offers yet on their hotel website, The Hotels Network has recently released a new Hotel Voucher tool, allowing hoteliers to easily create and showcase their voucher options. 5. Leveraging technology to make smart pricing decisions Hyper-targeted Offers & Promotions Photo: The Hotels Network Offering some discounts or promotions to stimulate potential demand is certainly something you could build into your plan of action. However, offering a blanket sale to all your visitors might not be the smartest move. In Sweden, it appears that hoteliers have understood the importance of keeping their discount strategy under control to maintain a high ADR. One tactic is to leverage AI technology, such as The Hotels Network machine learning product Oraculo, so you can segment your hotel website traffic in real time based on purchase intent, ranging from low-intent users (those who are unlikely to convert) to high-intent users (those who are most likely to convert). The technology enables you to automatically personalise the website experience for each visitor with the strongest and most relevant messaging and offer. This means that you can decide to only show offers to users who really need an extra incentive to make a booking, generating savings in promotional costs. Conversely, instead of offering discounts to high-intent users who are likely to make a booking anyway, you can communicate upselling messages such as promoting a higher room category or longer stay to boost average booking value. 6. Building a strong community of followers Hotel C Stockholm by Nordic Hotels & Resorts - A newsletter subscription Layer Photo: The Hotels Network Other than capitalizing on whatever travel demand there is to secure direct bookings, now is a good time to think about how you can build a strong pool of loyal followers for the future. Unsurprisingly, in Sweden, hotel website booking conversion rates have taken a hit these past weeks, albeit slightly less than in other markets. With increased uncertainty in the minds of visitors, many are not ready to confirm a reservation today, but hotels are finding other ways to generate engagement with their website visitors. The above example shows how Hotel C Stockholm is taking advantage of The Hotel Network's subscription feature to launch an integrated Layer to capture emails and grow their base of newsletter subscribers. Given the current situation, it makes sense to collect opt-in subscribers to be able to keep visitors updated by email about any developments at your hotel or exclusive offers. By continuing to nurture followers in this way, moving forward you can hopefully convert more website visitors into loyal brand advocates. Much can be learned from the experience of Swedish hotels during a time when properties are open but travel restrictions are still in place. Being mindful of the bigger picture, they've shaped their strategic plan with specific goals in mind. Despite the current drop in international travel and demand, these hotels have fine-tuned their marketing tactics to help them weather the storm. It's never too early to start planning your next steps. No matter if your property is closed or still open for business, your website is always there as your most important window to communicate with guests and potential guests, with its content potentially needing to be updated daily. Now is the time to make sure you are ready to switch on carefully crafted, personalized marketing campaigns the very second you have confirmation of when your hotel doors will reopen or when you see the first green shoots of recovery in travel intent within your markets. This is part of an occasional series of Yahoo News articles and accompanying videos on how the issues America faced in the 1920s aka the Roaring 20s have echoes in our own decade, a century later. In the fall of 1918, Republican Gov. Charles Seymour Whitman was up for reelection in New York. But there was a catch. May abandon campaign. Theatres closed and meetings prohibited because of influenza, a New York Times headline on Oct. 16, 1918, read. Campaign events that had been scheduled upstate were held in limbo by both the Democratic and Republican candidates, pending assurance that the epidemic of Spanish Influenza has been abated sufficiently to permit the ban against public meetings, now rigidly enforced, being lifted. Whitman would ultimately lose his reelection bid, but the snag he encountered wasnt unique. In a move that has become all too familiar to modern-day Americans amid the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, across the U.S. 100 years ago, businesses, schools and events were being shuttered in an effort to stem the spread of a different virus: the so-called Spanish influenza of 1918 or, as President Trump persists in calling it, the 1917 Spanish flu. Today, were already seeing the economic consequences of COVID-19. The April employment report is expected to show a jobless rate as high as 20 percent, with tens of millions of Americans filing for unemployment in the past six weeks alone. Some, including the president, have wondered if the cure that is, social distancing and lockdowns isnt worse than the disease itself. Trump is eager to restart business and return to what he refers to as the greatest economy in the history of the world. But one of the lessons of the 1918 pandemic is that we may not have to choose between saving lives and saving the economy. A working paper on the economic impact of the Spanish flu concluded that its pandemics themselves, not the public health interventions enacted to mitigate them, that hurt the economy. In fact, the study found that cities that swiftly implemented public health measures such as lockdowns not only saved lives but actually helped their economies recover more quickly. Story continues The paper, which appeared in March and has not yet been peer-reviewed, was authored by Sergio Correia, an economist with the Federal Reserve Board; Stephan Luck, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; and Emil Verner, an assistant professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management. They examined the use of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), or actions such as social distancing that can mitigate the spread of disease in the absence of a vaccine or treatment. They focused on the medium term effects of such interventions looking beyond the immediate period right after social distancing measures were lifted, but no later than 1923. Two women wearing masks during the flu pandemic that occurred near the end of World War I. (Keystone/Getty Images) We find that cities that intervened earlier and more aggressively do not perform worse and, if anything, grow faster after the pandemic is over, the study says. Our findings thus indicate that NPIs not only lower mortality; they may also mitigate the adverse economic consequences of a pandemic. Cities that intervened earlier and more aggressively experienced a relative increase in manufacturing employment, manufacturing output, and bank assets in 1919, after the end of the pandemic, the authors wrote in a blog post about their findings, adding that their estimates suggest that the effects were economically sizable. Reacting ten days earlier to the arrival of the pandemic in a given city increased manufacturing employment by around 5 percent in the post-pandemic period. Likewise, implementing NPIs for an additional fifty days increased manufacturing employment by 6.5 percent after the pandemic. In literature on the Spanish flu, Philadelphia is frequently cited as an example of what not to do during a pandemic. In September 1918, despite the arrival of the pandemic in the city, officials went ahead with a Liberty Loan parade to raise money for the war effort. It drew 200,000 Philadelphians, and within days there were hundreds of new cases in the city. More than 12,000 people died there within six weeks. This difference is clear when you compare Philadelphia with Cleveland, Verner wrote in an op-ed in the Boston Globe. Philadelphia was relatively slow in implementing interventions and kept them in place for a short amount of time during the 1918 pandemic. Philadelphia saw a high mortality rate, with about 900 deaths per 100,000 people, and a weak economy following the pandemic. In comparison, Cleveland took a more aggressive approach, which led to a lower mortality rate of about 600 deaths per 100,000 and significantly better economic performance in 1919. The authors of the paper mention several caveats. Their analysis includes data on only 30 states, and manufacturing data in the early 20th century was limited, meaning they couldnt carefully examine pre-epidemic trends from the period between 1914 and 1919. Theyre also cautious about drawing direct parallels between the Spanish flu and the coronavirus pandemic, which is still ongoing. Despite some similarities, 1918 was a different world than the one we live in today. World War I, which ended on Nov. 11, 1918, had already created an unusual economic environment even before the pandemic occurred. And markets were a lot more localized and less global than they are today. Seattle policemen wearing protective gauze face masks during the influenza pandemic of 1918. (Time Life Pictures/National Archives/The Life Picture Collection via Getty Images) The complex nature of modern global supply chains, the larger role of services, and improvements in communication technology are mechanisms we cannot capture in our analysis, the authors write, but these are important factors for understanding the macroeconomic effects of COVID-19. A 2003 paper by Elizabeth Brainerd and Mark Siegler for the Centre for Economic Policy Research also points to a morbid factor unique to the 1918 pandemic to explain why personal income increased so markedly in the subsequent decade. Unlike most diseases whose victims tend to be small children and the elderly, the Spanish flu disproportionately affected men and women of working age: those 15 to 44. And the unusually high mortality rate for this age group compared with the rate during nonpandemic years had some economic benefits for those who survived. Taking into account multiple variables, Brainerd and Sieglers results suggested that one more death per thousand resulted in an average annual increase in the rate of growth of real per capita income over the next ten years of at least 0.15% per year, and indicated a large and robust positive effect of the influenza epidemic on per capita income growth across states during the 1920s. But the conclusions in Correia, Luck and Verners paper could have some relevance for the coronavirus pandemic as well. Their study argues that during a pandemic, even in the absence of mandatory lockdowns and social distancing rules, many consumers take precautions on their own, passing up activities like dining in restaurants or attending sporting events or concerts. So the effect of NPIs on business can appear exaggerated; much of the economic activity they suppress wouldnt have taken place anyway. At the margins, stopping one additional person from going shopping doesnt hurt the economy very much but if that one person happens to be contagious, keeping them home can have a big, if not immediately visible, effect on the spread of the disease. By reducing the prevalence or severity of a pandemic, NPIs can indirectly have a positive effect on the economy. So in the same way that NPIs flatten the curve of infections, they can also flatten the economic curve (from the other side i.e., the bottom) by lessening the immediate shock of a pandemic on the economy. That phrase was used by Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, a professor of economics at UC Berkeley, while discussing the role of government intervention in pandemics in a paper published in March. A man spraying the top of a bus with an anti-flu virus during the 1918 pandemic. (Davis/Getty Images) Even if no containment measures were implemented, a recession would occur anyway, fueled by the precautionary and/or panic behavior of households and firms faced with the uncertainty of dealing with a pandemic with an inadequate public health response, Gourinchas wrote, saying that bold policy initiatives can at least contain the looming recession. Society as a whole recovered from the 1918 influenza quickly, but individuals who were affected by the influenza had their lives changed forever, Thomas Garrett, an assistant vice president and economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, wrote in 2007. Using data from mortality rates as well as anecdotal evidence from newspaper articles of the period, Garretts paper also discussed what he concluded would be the likely effects of a modern-day influenza pandemic. Local quarantines would likely hurt businesses in the short run. Employees would likely be laid off. Families with no contact to the influenza may too experience financial hardships. To prevent spread, quarantines would have to be complete (i.e., no activity allowed outside of the home). Partial quarantines, such as closing schools and churches but not public transportation or restaurants (as done in Philadelphia, St. Louis and Washington, D.C.) would do little to stop the spread of influenza, Garrett wrote. Red Cross volunteers fighting against the flu epidemic in the United States in 1918. (Apic/Getty Images) In total, at least 50 million worldwide died from the Spanish flu, with 675,000 deaths in the U.S. It killed many more people around the world and in the United States than anybody thinks the COVID-19 will. But the economy snapped back, Alan Blinder, the Gordon S. Rentschler Memorial Professor of Economics at Princeton University, said of the 1918 flu on a Princeton University podcast Monday while discussing parallels between that pandemic and the coronavirus. The Roaring 20s were called roaring because of how great the economy was going and leading eventually to a stock market bubble and a stock market crash. But never mind the crash. The point is that the 20s were roaring. So this is not going to last forever. And the economy will come back. _____ 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. Read more: Police officers in Spain recovered several rare pre-Columbian objects at Madrids Barajas airport, including a unique Tumaco gold mask, gold figurines and pieces of ancient jewellery. All had been illegally acquired by looting in Colombia. The Guardian Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 00:30:25|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LISBON, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The Portuguese government announced on Thursday that it will ban all music festivals until Sept. 30. "It is necessary to prohibit the holding of music festivals, until September 30, 2020 " due to the pandemic, said a statement by the Council of Ministers. The statement added that the government has adopted an exceptional regime "aimed at music festivals that cannot be held at the scheduled place, day or time," to protect consumers' rights. If shows, scheduled between Feb. 28 and Sept. 30, are not performed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the consumers will be provided with "a voucher of equal value to the ticket price paid," it explained. Portugal's Association of Promoters and Shows, Festivals and Events (APEFE) has said that nearly 25,000 cultural events have been canceled, postponed or suspended between March 8 and May 31. "This (the pandemic) is an unprecedented crisis in the culture market in Portugal, a very serious problem of subsistence and survival for thousands of people and companies," APEFE said early last month. As of Thursday, Portugal has reported a total of 26,715 COVID-19 cases, with 1,105 deaths, according to the epidemiological bulletin released by the General Directorate of Health. Enditem The constitutionality of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmers emergency orders intended to curb the coronavirus outbreak is again being questioned in court. At issue is whether public health concerns outweigh the right to religious assembly. Churches, pastors, churchgoers and a former Republican delegate on Tuesday, May 6, sued Whitmer in federal court over claims the governors executive orders banning public gatherings violate constitutionally granted rights to free exercise of religion and freedom of assembly. Whitmers May 1 executive order, in effect until May 15, said neither a place of religious worship nor its owner could be penalized or charged with a misdemeanor for allowing religious worship at such place. It also said no individual would be subject to penalties for not wearing a face mask, which is currently a legal requirement in confined public places, including grocery stores. Nothing in this provision applies to individuals attending a place or worship as clergy or congregants, the lawsuit says. A promise to not subject a geographic location or its owner to the criminal penalty ... merely adorns the Constitution with a fig leaf and does not protect individuals or change the clear language of the order prohibiting any religious services or other ministry functions at a church or religious organization. The lawsuit asks a federal judge to deem the 1945 Emergency Powers Act and the 1976 Emergency Management Act, which afforded Whitmer the power to issue her executive orders, unconstitutional. Nothing in the U.S. Constitution authorizes a state governor to suspend constitutional representative governance by declaring new emergencies every 28 days into perpetuity, the complaint says. Allowing one person to wield absolute power is not a republican form of government, it is tyranny. Full lawsuit: The Great Lakes Justice Center, a legal entity that is part of Salt and Light Global, a Lansing-based, Christian advocacy group, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs include: Word of Faith Christian Center Church, a Southfield nonprofit that operates other churches and Bible training centers; Word of Faith Christian Center Church Bishop Keith Butler; Michigan Association of Christian Schools Director Timothy Schmig; Sturgis-based Whole Life Church; Whole Life Chirch Pastor Chuck Vizthum; and Northern Michigan Baptist Bible Church Pastor Stanley Chatfield III, who also served as am Emmett County Republican delegate in 2018. The lawsuit comes in the wake of multiple other lawsuits that accuse Whitmers orders of going to far. The Republican-led Michigan House and Senate filed a lawsuit in the Michigan Court of Claims on Wednesday, May 6, accusing the governor of improperly extending the coronavirus state of emergency without their approval. A group of Michigan political candidates also have a pending lawsuit against Whitmer, claiming her stay-home orders blocked their ability to run for office. And a U.S. Congressman filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday saying Whitmers executive orders violate constitutional due process rights. Whitmer first ordered most Michigan residents to remain in their homes, with certain exceptions, on March 23. She later extended the order without legislative approval to May 15, while loosening restrictions on certain industries, including construction and real estate, which are slated to reopen May 7. Michigan has had 45,054 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 4,250 deaths related to the coronavirus outbreak. Sorry, but your browser does not support frames. 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. Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces. Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus. Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus. Related stories: Wednesday, May 6: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan 5 reasons Michigan lawmakers are suing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Eight weeks after Michigans first coronavirus cases, an animated map tracks its spread through the state Michigans approach to reopening the economy: slow, steady and safe Coronavirus continues to disrupt mail service in parts of Michigan Six weeks into extreme social distancing, how are Michiganders still catching coronavirus? Qatar Airways is in talks with banks for loans worth billions of dollars, three sources familiar with the matter said, as the state-owned airline readies to begin rebuilding its network that has been crushed by the coronavirus pandemic, Trend reports with reference to Reuters. The talks with banks are happening on a bilateral basis, the sources said, with one of them adding the company could explore offering a guarantee from the ministry of finance for the fundraising. Qatar Airways, which declined to comment on the talks, announced on Wednesday it would start re-opening routes that it had been forced to abandon during the outbreak that has virtually halted international travel. That follows a March warning it was burning through cash as it remained one of few global airlines continuing to operate regular, scheduled - though limited - services. Qatar Airways has, like other airlines, said it would have to eventually seek state aid and has since temporarily cut salaries and told staff to prepare for substantial job cuts. The airline last month signed an $850 million financing provided by Standard Chartered for seven Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Gulf rival Emirates, in the United Arab Emirates, has also been recently in discussions with lenders about financing, sources have said. Kakoli Mukherjee By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Some of us are using our precious outings during the COVID-19 lockdown to buy groceries, and many to buy liquor. Ayatullah Malike, a Rohingya Muslim living at Balapur, however, has to step out to get something vital for his children - blood. Ahead of World Thalassemia Day on May 8, we talk to a father about his struggles in this lockdown. Two of his children, Usma Malike (8) and Abdul Rasool (3), were born with thalassemia. They need blood every 21 days and the lockdown has made procuring blood a struggle for him. The cards issued by Center for Thalassemia and Blood Disorders in Banjara Hills to his children have helped him escape the scrutiny of police, and also get free blood transfusion from Aarohi Blood Bank, but recently, he had to take matters in his own hands. "After the second lockdown was extended, there was a scarcity of blood in the bank. Any delay in transfusion puts my childrens lives at risk. I am unemployed and I cannot afford to buy blood. That is why, I had to ask a Rohingya friend of mine to donate blood. My son received the transfusion after that. However, his haemoglobin count is stuck at 6, and I am worried." Even if the children get blood transfusion for free, Ayatullah has to arrange for medicines, which can cost up to Rs 5,500 a month. "The lockdown has made it difficult for me to find work. Following an appendicitis surgery, I cannot work in any field which requires lifting of heavy weights. Perhaps, I can work as a security guard?" he wonders. The lockdown has brought about more woes for this father of four, who came to Hyderabad from Delhi three years ago. "Earlier, I was receiving a financial assistance of Rs 8,000 for my daughter from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), but due to the pandemic, that has been halted. I am yet to receive any assistance from them for my son. I was optimistic that I could find a job after the lockdown ends. However, the recent extension has nipped my plans in the bud." Fleeing persecution, Ayatullah came to India from Rakhine in Myanmar in 2012. (The author can be contacted at kakoli_mukherjee@newindianexpress.com) Twitter: @KakoliMukherje2 WSJ: four batteries of Patriot surface-to-air missiles sent to deter Iranians will be removed from Saudi oil facilities. The United States is reportedly removing Patriot anti-missile systems, along with other military assets, from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia as it winds down a military build-up that began when tensions with Iran flared up last year. The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous US officials, reported on Thursday that four batteries of Patriot surface-to-air missiles, meant to protect ground assets from missile and aircraft attacks, will be removed from Saudi oil facilities. Dozens of military personnel deployed along with the batteries will also be reassigned, officials told the WSJ. The redeployment of the Patriot systems, which now is under way, has not been previously disclosed. Two squadrons of US fighter jets have already left the region, and US officials are said to be considering a reduction in the US Navy presence in the Gulf. The reductions are said to be based on assessments by some officials that Tehran no longer poses an immediate threat to US strategic interests. Saudi officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Reuters news agency. Iran has denied taking part in the attack on Saudi oil facilities. US officials said they believe that a January strike that killed Iranian commander General Qassem Soleimani, along with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that has hobbled Iran, have reduced Tehrans capabilities in the region. Pentagon planners are considering shifting the limited assets to deal with other priorities, including efforts to counter expanding Chinese military influence in Asia. The traditionally warm relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia has been strained in recent weeks, as the price of oil crashed because of a Saudi oil price war with Russia and cratering demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many US oil firms are facing bankruptcy, and US politicians from President Donald Trump on down are under pressure to help curtail imports from the kingdom. According to a report from Reuters last week, Trump told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in early April that unless the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries started cutting oil production, he would be powerless to stop lawmakers from passing legislation to withdraw US troops from the kingdom. Oil prices surged 11 percent on Thursday after Saudi Arabia announced that it would raise prices to boost the commoditys recovery. The increased prices are a reversal from earlier in the year, when Saudi Arabia was selling crude at huge discounts, initiating the price war. A portion of the military hardware now being removed from Saudi Arabia was deployed last September following a series of attacks on Saudi oil facilities. At a news conference at the time announcing the move, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the move was needed to protect critical Saudi oil infrastructure, and called on other nations to condemn the attacks. The Iranian regime is waging a deliberate campaign to destabilize the Middle East and impose costs on the international economy, Esper said. Psychologists and support groups are calling on the federal government to at least double the number of counselling sessions provided through Medicare amid fears the coronavirus pandemic will do lasting damage to many Australians' mental health. The Australian Psychological Society is leading the push to raise the number of sessions from 10 to 20 over a 12-month period as concerns rise that many people will have used up their allocation. The coronavirus pandemic is taking its toll on mental health. Credit: iStockphoto The system currently provides 10 Medicare-funded sessions per calendar year. Mental health services are bracing for a surge in demand once social restrictions are eased and more people gain referrals from their GPs. The societys president Ros Knight said the allocation of sessions funded under Medicares mental health treatment plans fell far short of what many people required. Vanessa Bryant found a love letter addressed to her from her late husband, Kobe Bryant, one day before her birthday on May 5, according to a recently published article. Love Letter from Kobe Surpised Vanessa Vanessa Bryant did not expect to read one more love letter from Kobe. It has been nearly five months since Kobe Bryant and her daughter died due to a tragic helicopter crash that killed several other persons as well on January 26 at Calabasas, California. It was the very first time that Vanessa celebrated her 38th birthday without Kobe and Gigi. If they were there on that day, it could be happier. Until today, the Bryant family still mourn for their loss. An incident they never expected to happen in their lives. One day before Vanessa's birthday, she found a love letter from Kobe but decided not to open it. On her Instagram post, she wrote: "Yesterday I found an envelope labeled To The Love of my Life. From, Tu Papi, I waited to open one more letter on my birthday. It gave me something to look forward to today. The irony is that Kobe had a photo of me drawn with an Angel holding me up by an artist on the cover. Missing the Love of my Life and my sweet little Mamacita- my fellow Taurus. Grateful to wake up to my 3 sweet girls today. Wish we were all together." Moreover, Vanessa opted not to share on her Instagram account the content of Kobe's letter for her, but one thing is just for sure, it reminds her how much Kobe loves her even after his death. Additionally, you can imagine how emotional her experience was while reading the love letter. Kobe and Vanessa got married in 2001, and they could have celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary last month. On their wedding anniversary, she kissed the photo of Kobe saying, "My king, my heart, my best friend. Happy 19th wedding anniversary, baby. I miss you so much. I wish you were here to hold me in your arms. I love you." It can be recounted from a previous article by Latin Post that Vanessa is a very private person and keeps away from the spotlight. Vanessa's Tribute to Her late Daughter Gianna Meanwhile, on May 1 or just days before Vanessa's birthday was the natal day of Gianna. Gigi was supposed to turn 14 years old. Vanessa paid tribute to her daughter by asking her friends, family, and fans to wear the favorite color of Gianna, red. On her Instagram post, she wrote: "Consider wearing red, caption an act of kindness or show how you will play Gigi's way since she always gave everything she did her all and led with kindness." She also asked fans to use the hashtag #PlayGigisWay to join in celebrating her daughter while also sharing an image of a special bracelet with her daughter's nickname on it. She also added, "We are in the process of making this bracelet available for proceeds to benefit our Mamba and Mambacita foundation. I will update you with a post when we have them available for purchase)." Read related articles: New guidelines for treating the sickest COVID-19 patients As the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise and the deaths mount, the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs (ASAIO) has drafted a set of recommendations for health care workers on the front lines, to help them make decisions on how to treat the most critical patients, those with severe lung or heart failure "An urgent need exists to enhance our understanding of the roles of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and other types of artificial lung and heart support in the management of severely ill patients with COVID-19 who develop acute respiratory, and less commonly cardiac, compromise untreatable by conventional therapy," reports lead author Dr. Keshava Rajagopal, professor of clinical sciences at the University of Houston College of Medicine, in both Circulation: Heart Failure and ASAIO Journal. Dr. Faisal Cheema, associate professor of clinical sciences, is a co-author on the paper. ECMO circuits contain a pump and a gas exchanger and can be used to support the lungs and/or heart, depending upon the way in which the circuitry is connected to a patient. Because the coronavirus pandemic emerged and spread so quickly, clinical unknowns exist of when to apply such drastic measures. "It is not known when it is clinically appropriate to use the most advanced forms of lung and heart support for COVID-related respiratory and heart failure and so we discuss this in terms of non-COVID usage," said Rajagopal, who said these decisions are critical in a resource-scarce environment. The more advanced the therapy, generally the less of it exists in supply. How to deploy the scarcest of resources under pandemic circumstances is not well defined. The new guidelines recommend that a critical consideration in deciding when to deploy ECMO and other types of artificial lung/heart support, and even lesser therapies such as mechanical ventilation, is to assess whether the patient has a good likelihood of recovery. "In a pandemic we have to decide how to allocate limited resources, and the first two questions that need to be asked are: One, is the patient sick enough to warrant the therapy, and two, is the patient well enough to tolerate the risks of the therapy? Next, we have to determine if the supply of the resource sufficient at the given time," said Rajagopal, who compares what could happen with the most advanced therapies, supply wise, to what has already happened with ventilators in some hospitals. The recommendations call for non-invasive therapies first, such as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) for short durations. Once a patient fails these and requires invasive mechanical ventilation (MV), then other recommendations are: Whenever feasible, all patients with severe hypoxemic respiratory failure with COVID-19 ARDS should undergo either manual or artificial prone-positioning, depending upon the resources available. Lung-protective mechanical ventilation (MV) should be used in patients with COVID-19-related acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. The decision to implement ECMO should follow a clear failure of invasive MV, paralytic agents and prone positioning. Because little has been written about the protocol doctors must take when treating the serious or critical COVID-19 patients, the recommendations will be updated. "We call this a living, working document because we are still getting information and we intend to republish a final version and second paper once we have more experience from around the world," said Rajagopal. ### Additional authors on the paper include Marvin J. Slepian, MD, University of Arizona and ASAIO president; Bindu Akkanti, MD, University of Texas-Houston and Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, Houston; Christian Bime, MD, University of Arizona College of Medicine; Aly el-Banayosy, MD, Integris Baptist Medical Center, Oklahoma City; Steven P. Keller, MD, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston; Pranav Loyalka, MD, Houston Heart, HCA Houston Healthcare; Federico Pappalardo, MD, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy; Mark S. Slaughter, MD, University of Louisville School of Medicine and Jewish Hospital; and, Joseph B. Zwischenberger, MD, University of Kentucky. This story has been published on: 2020-05-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Southern Cross Electrical Engineering Limited (ASX:SXE), which is in the construction business, and is based in Australia, led the ASX gainers with a relatively large price hike in the past couple of weeks. Less-covered, small caps tend to present more of an opportunity for mispricing due to the lack of information available to the public, which can be a good thing. So, could the stock still be trading at a low price relative to its actual value? Today I will analyse the most recent data on Southern Cross Electrical Engineerings outlook and valuation to see if the opportunity still exists. See our latest analysis for Southern Cross Electrical Engineering What's the opportunity in Southern Cross Electrical Engineering? Good news, investors! Southern Cross Electrical Engineering is still a bargain right now according to my price multiple model, which compares the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. Ive used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because theres not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stocks ratio of 7.57x is currently well-below the industry average of 15.69x, meaning that it is trading at a cheaper price relative to its peers. Whats more interesting is that, Southern Cross Electrical Engineerings share price is quite stable, which could mean two things: firstly, it may take the share price a while to move closer to its industry peers, and secondly, there may be less chances to buy low in the future once it reaches that value. This is because the stock is less volatile than the wider market given its low beta. What kind of growth will Southern Cross Electrical Engineering generate? ASX:SXE Past and Future Earnings May 7th 2020 Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so lets also take a look at the company's future expectations. With profit expected to grow by a double-digit 11% over the next couple of years, the outlook is positive for Southern Cross Electrical Engineering. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation. Story continues What this means for you: Are you a shareholder? Since SXE is currently trading below the industry PE ratio, it may be a great time to accumulate more of your holdings in the stock. With an optimistic profit outlook on the horizon, it seems like this growth has not yet been fully factored into the share price. However, there are also other factors such as capital structure to consider, which could explain the current price multiple. Are you a potential investor? If youve been keeping an eye on SXE for a while, now might be the time to make a leap. Its prosperous future profit outlook isnt fully reflected in the current share price yet, which means its not too late to buy SXE. But before you make any investment decisions, consider other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to make a well-informed assessment. Price is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig deeper into what truly matters the fundamentals before you make a decision on Southern Cross Electrical Engineering. You can find everything you need to know about Southern Cross Electrical Engineering in the latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in Southern Cross Electrical Engineering, you can use our free platform to see my list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential. 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. Saif Ali Khan Recalls His First Day On The Sets Of Bekhudi Revealing that he was shooting for a song with co-star Kajol, the actor told Mumbai Mirror, "I had to tear through fake cobwebs and emerge, singing a line that went, Chaahat Ki Raahon Mein, Kyun Itna Darti Hai'. It was not easy because my expression had to change as I went from chaahat ki raahon mein' to kyun itna darti hai.'" The Director Threw Saif Out Of The Film Because He Wasn't Showing Enough Interest "I might just about pull it off today, but, back then, straight out of a boarding school in England, I was petrified. I must have performed really badly because soon after, Rahul Rawail threw me out of the film, complaining I wasn't showing enough interest. That shot, I must admit, was particularly appalling. I lost Bekhudi to Kamal Sadanah, but fortunately, I landed Parampara, which Yashji (Chopra) was directing," said Saif. Saif Ali Khan Was Unhappy With His Performance In Parampara "My first shot was by the swimming pool, at Jaipur's Rambagh palace, which was passed off as Mayo College in the film. When my grandfather turns up at the college unexpectedly, I had to turn around, see him and smile. Today, I understand that there has to be a gap between me registering his presence and smiling in response, but back then, such technicalities escaped me completely. I was pretty bad in Parampara, too, and my voice didn't help. Fortunately, there were several big names in the film, so either I must have stood out like a sore thumb or simply gone unnoticed. I still don't know which," the actor told the tabloid. Saif Reveals When Acting Became A Serious Business For Him He told the daily, "Dil Chahta Hai was a turnaround because for the first time, I could be myself on screen rather than aping someone or adjusting to a different school of thought. In the first Race, I was offered the younger brother's part, but I asked if I could play the older brother instead. "It's not as exciting," I was told, and I pointed out that "it was more responsible." The Tanhaji Actor On Reinventing Himself "Around Baazaar, I began to approach acting differently, perhaps because it heralded a new wave in Hindi cinema, giving actors like me a chance to reinvent," the tabloid quoted Saif as saying. More than four years have passed since the events of the four-day April war in Nagorno-Karabakh, and even though the soldiers who died then are considered heroes in Armenia, their families sometimes live without money, not to mention honors. According to the article of Armenia's Factor.am " , " , , the family of Grigor Harutyunyan, who died in Karabakh on April 2, 2016 and was posthumously awarded with "For Courage" medal, lives in Erebuni district in very troubled social circumstances. Grigors mother Anahit Harutyunyan told Factor.am that they plan to cut the power in their apartment today. The family's utility bills exceed the threshold set by the government to neutralize the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, so the Harutyunyans were not able to use the electricity benefits as part of the support program. "Thanks to these programs, they reduced the gas price by only two thousand drams, but not the electricity price. They came yesterday and warned that if I do not pay, they will have to cut the power. I have to pay 23 thousand drams, but I have it. I have 100 thousand drams of debts for food in the store, and I dont know how to pay this debt," Anahit Harutyunyan says. The family's only income was her salary of 80 thousand drams and 170 thousand drams, which she received from the Military Insurance Fund. "In 2016, I received a one-time grant in the amount of 4.1 million drams from the fund, of which 1.7 million drams were paid to erect a tombstone on my son's grave in Yerablur, and the rest is left to us. We get 170 thousand drams a year, for twenty years. I got into debts, I am a lonely woman, I gave three sons to the Armenian army, my husband is dead, I am the only employee. I have only 80 thousand drams and this bonus." Anahit Harutyunyan says that almost everyone in her family has health issues. The apartment was offered for sale to pay off debts. Harutyunyan tried to inform Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan about her problems. "I cant meet with the mayor, he refuses to receive me even for five minutes. I applied for an appointment, but they didnt call me, I said that Im the heros mother, they said that it doesnt matter," Harutyunyan says. "I will live on the street, but I will pay my debts. My mother had surgery, now she is undergoing chemotherapy. My oldest son had surgery, now he is in Moscow, my relatives take care of him. I got into debts and now owe five million drams. They think that I am manipulating them with the death of my child, but Im actually broke, and they call me and say I have to find money," the widow complains. She had to change the photo on the monument to her son, since the photo on the tombstone, established by the government, did not even remotely resemble her son's face. "At first I thought that it's someone elses grave. I asked to change the image for two years, but they didnt do this. This year I was told I should change the photo for my money and they wont refund me. It's not that much - around 100 thousand drams, but I still owe the master 50 thousand drams," she said. Factor.am asked director of the War Insurance Fund Varujan Avetikyan to clarify the situation the deceased soldier's mother in. He said: "If the incident occurred after January 1, 2017, families will receive 5-10 million drams at a time: 10 million if it is death or a first degree disability, 5 million if it is a second degree disability. And if it happened before 2017, a one-time payment is not made. " Deputy General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Obiri Boahen, has said the suspension of the Former Central Regional Chairman of the NDC, Allotey Jacobs is in the right direction. According to him, the party has every right to suspend any member who flouts its rules and regulations hence, Mr. Allotey Jacobs suspension is justifiable. Honestly speaking I will not fault NDC. It is a political party with a constitution, so if you are a member, you have to obey their rules and regulations. If the party thinks Allotey Jacobs is flouting their rules, so therefore he must be suspended, I dont know why others will still criticize, he said in an interview with NEAT FMs morning show Ghana Montie. Allotey Jacobs Could Be Sacked If Obiri Boahenes comment follows remarks by the opposition NDC's General Secretary that Allotey Jacobs could be expelled from the party based on the gravity of his offense. Asiedu Nketia believes Allotey Jacobs actions are deliberate because he has been cautioned on several occasions by the party Chairman, Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo but to no avail. The worst of penalties is that he could be expelled from the party. Based on the gravity of his offense he could be asked to leave the party, Johnson Asiedu Nketia established. Background The opposition National Democratic Congress suspended its former Central Regional Chairman, Bernard Allotey Jacobs based on what it described as his "consistent anti-party conduct". Allotey was originally representing the opposition NDC until the current Communications officer of the party, Sammy Gyamfi, found it difficult to accommodate his independent views, stripping him of his representation. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/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. Featured Video Bloomberg photo by Angel Garcia. Spain recorded a drop in the nation's daily coronavirus death toll and a small increase in the number of new cases, as the government moves ahead with a gradual easing of the nation's eight-week lockdown. The number of fatalities rose by 213 to 26,070 in the 24 hours through Thursday, compared with an increase of 244 on Wednesday, according to Health Ministry data. Infections rose by 754 to 221,447 after the previous day's gain of 685. The total number of cases was adjusted to reflect changes in data for the Madrid region. 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. Thursday, 7th May 2020: Intersociety, Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria. From several independent sources, it is reliably confirmed that corpses of Igbo citizens, resident in the North particularly in Kano State are being smuggled into old Eastern Nigeria in body bags. The body bag haulage of the corpses is so syndicated that in most cases, the travelers, except the relatives of the corpses are not aware that the long passenger vehicles with which they are traveling, are carrying body bagged corpses. Properly sealed with anti stench chemicals sprayed, their haulage arrangements are struck and sealed at loading points between the drivers of the long passenger vehicles (undertakers) and the dead victims relatives. To avoid open suspicion, not more than two-three corpses mixed with ware-billed goods are carried and conveyed per long passenger vehicle. Their haulage is patterned using contraband haulage methods including special price negotiation and payment, after which the body bagged corpses are brought and specially loaded off the prying eyes of the passengers, usually executed before the passengers start arriving. Not less than N100, 000 is charged and paid on the spot for each of the body bagged corpses for purpose of same being smuggled into Onitsha from where the relatives disappear with same into his or her community or State of origin. Done or executed outside the prying eyes of the Government, this must have led to community spreads and infections, with alarming dark figures. It is from this illicit sum paid per body bagged corpse that stationed or drafted security agents are beat-settled in a manner they are settled (bribed) by contraband carriers. If for any reason the passage becomes difficult at Onitsha Niger Bridge, the body bagged corpse will be trans-loaded and crossed using sand tippers or any other lesser exposed means The Northern route land transportation in the country is known for its age-long night traveling between old Eastern Nigeria and the core north. This is usually as a result of far distances between the two regions; commonly known as good evening the East and good morning the north. An under-cover source had told Intersociety days back that between five and ten corpses of dead Igbo citizens from different parts of the north particularly Kano State are headed daily into old Eastern Nigeria through the Niger River Bridge or Delta and Anambra boundary. The haulage wears the look of organized crime syndicate and is usually executed at hours of the blue law or late night. Our Investigation : We had followed a lead sighted on a Facebook page of the Southeast & South-south Youth Forum, which alleged among others, that Igbo corpses are being smuggled into Igbo Land from Kano with COVID-19 health hazards posed by same. As a result, Intersociety reached out to its wide contacts in the East and North. Initially, we ran into a print media contact who painted the picture differently and we later found that the contact was a victim of highly institutionalized Government censorship in Northern Nigeria media practice. Our lead-focus was to find out if the Kano harvest of deaths which swept and still sweeping its metropolis and others have also affected or not affected the Igbo populations resident in the State, living in the heart of city. In the end, it was found that the Igbo populations are involved but not yet as devastating as they are in indigenous settlement areas. One of those contacted was Nze Ugo-Akpe Onwuka (Oyi n Oyi 11), intl coordinator of Igbo Renaissance Forum and outspoken critic, who told Intersociety that at least three Igbo citizens died on daily in Kano in the past weeks. We further contacted some socially enlightened traders in Kano who also confirmed same. From the above, we moved to why the Igbo deaths in Kano and it was found that some died of suspected COVID-19 virus while others died because they have been living with protracted illnesses and were denied access to their hospitals and doctors for routine checks and treatments following the total lockdown in the State. From general knowledge, too, those living with protracted or long illnesses once hit by COVID-19 symptoms are capable of being killed. Such deaths are referred to as COVID-19 related deaths. It was from the above that we moved to where are the dead bodies of Igbo citizens in Kano and it was found that they were being moved or smuggled out of the State to their various States of origin in old Eastern Nigeria. This further led us to discovering of the patterns of their haulage and it was found that apart from morgues in Kano being totally shut down, the Igbo People have an age-long tradition of bringing their dead back home for interment. It is also a taboo in Igbo Land for an Igbo corpse to be abandoned within or outside Igbo Nation, not minding the ailment that led to his or her death. The recent resort to body bagging and smuggling of Igbo dead bodies follows the social stigmatization associated with death arising from COVID-19 and fears by their relatives and associates of Government hash responses including arrest of their family members and likelihood of them being quarantined and exposed as COVID-19 carriers. Other Supporting Facts: Apart from the circumstantially sound and proven findings highlighted above, there have been media reports of nocturnal movements in the past weeks of suspected COVID-19 patients and dead bodies of Igbo stock from the North particularly Kano State into Igbo Land. One of such was reported in Enugu State where local vigilantes spotted a Kano bound dead corpse and its relatives attempting to deposit same in a local morgue. In the late night of Sunday, 3rd May 2020, our board chair interacted with Anambra State Commissioner for Transport (Christian Mmadubuko) who told him that his team just arrested a family arriving from Kano with malicious intent at Onitsha Niger Bridge Why We Are Deeply Worried: We have since past weeks expressed deep concerns over the poor COVID-19 handling in Nigeria or any part thereof. We had specifically in our statement of 23rd April 2020 expressed fears that Nigeria is most likely to experience explosion of COVID-19 infections and deaths. Today, we have seen it happening in Kano-a State where its integrity challenged Government was busy engaging in false denials and mangling of death figures until it found itself at crossroads. Jigawa State is not left as it has recorded over 100 strange deaths in ten days. In Kano, at least six renowned professors and other prominent figures have untimely passed on. Medicine-After-Death Admission Of COVID-19 Deaths In Kano : According to Mr. Nasiru Gwarzo, the head of Kano Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19, our careful observation and understanding indicated that coronavirus is the cause of mass deaths in Kano. Mr. Gwarzo disclosed this on Sunday, 3rd May 2020. Source: Sundiata News, 6th May 2020. By the account of Mr. Isa Abubakar, director of Centre for Infectious Diseases & Research at Bayero University, Kano, this disease (coronavirus) has spread among almost every strata of our society and if Kano had the testing capacity of Lagos, it would probably surpass the State. Till date, it is shocking that the National Center for Disease Control has refused to capture the deaths in Kano and Jigawa States in its COVID-19 data of infections and deaths. The Escape Of Delta COVID-19 Patient To Enugu: Just days ago, it was reported in the media that a coronavirus patient quarantined to isolation and treatment center in Delta State made an escape and landed in Enugu where he was arrested. This was according to Enugu State Health Commissioner, Dr Ike Obi. In other words, the COVID-19 escapee must have passed through Onitsha and Awka by road transport before landing in Enugu and must have infected dozens of others, if not hundreds who came in contact with him or her. This is more so when what Kano is to Northern Nigeria and Lagos to South-west, is what Anambra State is to old Eastern Nigeria particularly the Southeast and anything that affects Anambra State has affected the entire old Eastern Nigeria particularly the Southeast. Importation Of Over 100 Potentially COVID-19 Almajirai Into Southeast : As if the above were not enough, another shocking news yesterday broke out that over 100 Northern retreatists or almajirai (plural) were caught being transported like food stuffs and animal livestock into Abia part of old Eastern Nigeria at its boundary with Akwa Ibom. This was according to the Government of Abia State and its Homeland Security. The Abia case is likely to be a tip of the iceberg considering the number of potential COVID-19 carriers from the North being imported into the Southeast and other parts of the Old Eastern Nigeria. In Kaduna State, Gov Nasiru el-Rufai confirmed days ago that 50 of the almajirai sent back to the State from Kano had tested positive to killer virus or COVID-19. Testing Centers & Extra Vigilance Are Required From Govs: The most effective way to checkmate the raging importation of COVID-19 into Eastern Nigeria using body-bagging of dead bodies and mass population of almajirai is not only to tighten the open and boundary security in the East, but most importantly for the Govs in the two regions to get the regions flooded with COVID-19 testing centers and their trained handlers. Without availability and proximity of testing centers, there is little or nothing Governments of the two regions can do, except continuous bragging of being on top of the situation when the contrary is the case. There ought to be at least 33 COVID-19 testing centers in the eleven states of the Southeast and South-south regions; on average of three per State; contrarily, only two centers are presently located in the eleven States as against ten in Lagos State alone. This formed our recent letter to NCDC in this regard. It is most likely correct to say that the Southeast and the South-south are secretly living with thousands, if not tens of thousands of coronavirus patients in secret and associated deaths likely to be in hundreds, if not thousands. Assuming Enugu State Government, for instance, de-contaminated the spot where the escaped Delta COVID-19 patient was arrested in the State, what happened to those he or she was with from Asaba to Onitsha and from Onitsha to Awka and from Awka to Enugu State? How many were they and where are they? In their homes living unexamined or in Government quarantine centers? This is nothing short of indication that the East is in danger! Finally, the saddest of it all is that Onitsha, the major gateway into the old Eastern Nigeria particularly the Southeast, does not have a single testing center. The testing center in Onitsha would have formalized the haulage of corpses of Igbo population resident in different parts of the country particularly Kano State and stopped them from being body bagged or smuggled into the region. The formalization would have also involved deployment of trained health officers at the Niger Bridgehead for purpose of screening and testing the corpses and their relatives so as to fish out those infected, or killed, or living with the killer virus-with those suspected tested and made to have their results out in a day or two. Signed: Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chair, Obianuju Igboeli, Esq., Head, Civil Liberties & Rule of Law Contacts: Phone: +2348174090052, Email: [email protected] , Site: intersociety-ng.org NAIROBI, KenyaU.S. Africa Command, known as AFRICOM, has been conducting air and ground operations, mainly targeting the al Qaeda affiliate al Shabaab, in Somalia since 2007. In those 13 years it has admitted to four civilian deaths. On the Eve of Congressional Hearings, New Evidence About Alleged U.S. Massacre in Somalia The difference between the number of civilian casualties declared by AFRICOM compared to those recorded by organizations like Amnesty International and Airwars is so vast that it has prompted members of Congress to write directly to the American general in charge. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn) is leading the initiative. The letter is co-signed by seven other Democratic representatives, all of them chairs of relevant committees and subcommittees, including Eliot Engel (D-NY), the Chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Adam Smith (D-WA), the Chair of the House Armed Services Committee. The letter, shared exclusively with The Daily Beast, requests that the military clarify how it investigatives civilian casualty allegations. It suggests that an explanation of the research process might help explain the discrepancy between the figures reported by human rights organizations and the numbers acknowledged by the military. It also reminds AFRICOM that providing clarity about the reasons for discrepancies and defining who the military considers a combatant is required by recent legislation passed by Congress as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, Section 1703. Allegations of civilian casualties in Somalia have increased since the Trump administration gave AFRICOM commanders more flexibility to carry out offensive strikes against suspected militants in 2017. With the loosened restrictions, theres been a steady drumbeat of reports of civilian deaths documented by international human rights organizations, local and foreign journalists, Somali politicians and officials. Omar was born in Somalia and there is a significant Somali diaspora in her Minnesota constituency. Story continues AFRICOMs efforts to degrade the military capabilities of al Shabaab are greatly welcomed by most Somalis, but they seem to be rushing at targets blindly, without proper intelligence resulting in many civilian deaths and a public outcry, Hussein Sheikh-Ali, the national security adviser and counterterrorism adviser to the current and former presidents of Somalia, told The Daily Beast. With testimonial evidence, corroborating accounts and expert analysis of images and video from strike sites, satellite imagery, and weapons identification, Amnesty International has investigated nine airstrikes, and of those nine incidents found 21 civilians dead and 11 injured. Analyzing all strikes and ground operations via official AFRICOM statements, open-source information on social media and internal military documents obtained by journalists with the Freedom of Information Act, London-based airstrike monitoring group Airwars estimates that up to 142 civilians have been killed in the 227 declared actions the U.S. has conducted since 2007. We urge you to, wherever possible and consistent with the need to protect classified information, provide detail on how assessments are made and acknowledge where they may differ from the assessments of credible, independent non-governmental organizations and others, says the letter, addressed to U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, the chief of U.S. Africa Command. When reporting comes from credible and sophisticated NGOs with cultural and linguistic capacity, civilian casualty reports are not easily dismissed. At the end of March, the command committed to issuing quarterly reports on civilian casualty allegations in Africa. The announcement was met with cautious optimism. We welcome this step to provide increased transparency and public accounting of U.S. military operations and as part of our national commitment to minimizing civilian casualties, the letter reads. Last week AFRICOM released the first report. It said in the last 14 months it had conducted 91 airstrikes in Somalia and Libya (of those 87 were conducted in Somalia, four in Libya, LT Christina M. Gibson, a spokesperson for AFRICOM explained to The Daily Beast in an email). Of those 91 airstrikes AFRICOM received 70 allegations of about 27 separate possible civilian casualty incidents with approximately 90 alleged civilian casualties. Of those 27 incidents, one was acknowledged to have caused civilian casualties. Seven incidents are still under review. The rest AFRICOM considered to be unsubstantiated. The report did not mention any claims of civilian casualties in ground raids. U.S. Special Forces regularly carry out raids with Somali soldiers belonging to the Danab Brigade, who are supposed to be highly trained commandos. AFRICOM told The Daily Beast it does not conduct assessments of civilian casualty claims related to partner forces, although it would investigate if a U.S. service member was directly accused. Airwars has reported 14 incidents with civilian casualty allegations from ground raids. The response to the first installment of AFRICOMs report was less enthusiastic in some quarters. The report was a disappointment, Sheikh-Ali said. It fell short of any meaningful engagement with the concerned population. As the congressional letter notes, AFRICOM has not explained how it investigates civilian casualty claims, saying for security concerns it cannot go into detail about its methodology. Amnesty International has found the U.S. military does not speak to witnesses, family members, friends or colleagues of the deceased even when their contact information has been shared. Luke Hartig, the senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council from 2013 to 2017 confirmed that AFRICOM does not speak to witnesses or family members, and said, This produces a significant gap in their ability to gather local knowledge in support of their assessments. He noted that organizations like Amnesty and Airwars are not privy to the intelligence that underpins AFRICOMs assessments and cautioned, this is a significant gap for outside investigators. In Somalia there is a history of international actors, including the U.S., being misled by false intelligence reports used to extract revenge in local disputes. The letter suggests that the reports should include a public accounting of basic questions of methodology and the Commands definitions of combatants and non-combatants. AFRICOM has not explained how it defines "combatant. Without that definition, the military can essentially designate anyone a terrorist. It is plausible that AFRICOM counts individualsparticularly military aged males in Al-Shabaab controlled locations as combatants whereas depending on our investigations we could classify such people as civilians, hence the discrepancies, Abdullahi Hassan, the Somalia Researcher at Amnesty International, told The Daily Beast. AFRICOM did not provide an answer when The Daily Beast asked if any or every military aged male in Somalia is considered a combatant. AFRICOMand other U.S. military commandsneed to be far more transparent about how exactly they are distinguishing between combatants and civilians, says Priyanka Motaparthy, director of the Project on Armed Conflict, Counterterrorism, and Human Rights at Columbia Law School. For the communities affected by their operations, this is a life or death question. It is not clear if AFRICOM has yet contacted the families of the four civilians it has admitted to killing by mistake. Hartig says this is a particular area of concern, given that ex gratia payments are U.S. policy. He also added, This is beyond AFRICOM's control, but I think we're still missing a lot of information on the context for U.S. operations in Somaliathe scale of our effort, our objectives, and what policies govern our use of force there. That sort of information should be coming from senior officials at the Pentagon or the White House, but we haven't seen that level of transparency from this administration. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. FILE PHOTO: The logo of PKN Orlen, Poland's top oil refiner, is pictured at a petrol station in Warsaw By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Poland's biggest refiner PKN Orlen has offered to sell assets in its home market as part of a package of concessions aimed at allaying EU antitrust concerns over its Lotos bid, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The offer came after the European Commission last month set out its concerns about the deal in a so-called statement of objections, making it near impossible for PKN to win approval without concessions. The extensive package of concessions includes quasi-structural and also so-called behavioural concessions, the people said. Structural concessions normally refer to asset sales and access to key infrastructure or inputs while behavioural means pledges to abstain from certain practices such as hiking prices or reduce the range of products. PKN's concessions cover the wholesale fuels market, retail supply of fuels and supply of jet fuel, bitumen and lubricants, areas singled out by the European Commission when it launched a full-scale investigation into the deal in August last year, the people said. The Commission, which has set a June 30 deadline for its decision, declined to comment, as did PKN. The EU executive will seek feedback from rivals and customers before deciding either to accept the offer or demand more. State-run PKN announced its bid for at least 53% of smaller rival Lotos, in which Poland holds a 53.19% stake, in 2018. EU competition enforcers, however, said the deal may lead to higher prices and lessen competition in Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Slovakia. PKN is hoping that regulators will take the impact of COVID-19 into account when assessing the deal and efforts by Poland to comply with EU climate goals. The argument is that a merged company will have the financial firepower to make the hefty investments required to help the country, which relies heavily on coal-fired power stations, to decarbonise. PKN and Lotos, which respectively operate 1,800 and 506 Polish petrol stations, will defend the deal to senior Commission officials and national competition agencies during a video hearing on Monday. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, additional reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko in Warsaw; editing by Robin Emmott, Elaine Hardcastle and Emelia Sithole-Matarise) Deborah Kafoury Kafoury is chair of the Multnomah County Commission. At the end of January, Multnomah County began preparing for the arrival of a global pandemic. From the very beginning of this crisis, our highest priority has been to slow the spread of the virus and to flatten the curve. The near-empty streets, the business closures and the increasingly ubiquitous face masks attest to how our community has responded, practiced social distancing and stayed at home. So, when thousands of people began to lose their jobs in March, Multnomah County adopted an eviction moratorium to ensure residents could remain safe and stably sheltered. It was based on the simple truth that you cant stay at home if you dont have a home. But as public health officials now consider how best to allow businesses to reopen, it is difficult to say exactly when those jobs, or how many of them, will reappear. Because of this uncertainty and because of the pain it presents for vulnerable communities, I fully support efforts by members of our Congressional delegation and others to secure $100 billion in rent assistance in the next federal relief package. The deep and lasting help needed through this crisis and beyond will far exceed what city and county governments, or even states, can provide. Congress is the only recourse we have, not just to make sure that all of our neighbors can remain stably housed, but also protect them from economic catastrophe once deferred rent payments finally come due. For county chairs like myself, protecting the health and safety of every single person in our communities is our first obligation. Thats why, as we start planning for reopening, we can and must prioritize protections for communities who are most at risk. Until we have a vaccine for COVID-19, data tells us overwhelmingly that people of color will be among the most vulnerable, both in terms of exposure through their public-facing jobs and severe health consequences, when people begin to leave their homes again. These are also the very same communities who will bear the brunt of the immediate and long-term impacts of layoffs and unpaid rent, as data showing the disparate impacts of the Great Recession show. And as millions of people across the nation face the personal anxiety of this growing debt, we know that they are not alone; every month that goes by also affects both mom-and-pop landlords and corporate property owners whose mortgages become increasingly tenuous. We need look back only 12 years to know what happens when property owners default on mortgages en masse. That growing debt, without help, will be punishing. We know that it will be a long journey for our economy to return to anything close to what it was. Withholding immediate and life-saving relief rent assistance from millions of Americans on the edge would deepen an economic and humanitarian catastrophe of the federal governments own making. The rent crisis in our country requires the kind of national response that only the federal government can and should provide. The size of the need is just too great, and the consequences of inaction too dire, to leave local governments to address this on their own. Rent assistance is the highest economic priority for Multnomah County, and it should be for the entire nation. Take a look back at some of the social distancing parades, birthday greetings and other socially distanced events that have happened in the Ca Air India has opened bookings for eligible foreign nationals and valid visa holders of the UK, the USA and Singapore for outbound repatriation flights that will be operated between May 7 and May 14 under the Vande Bharat mission, officials said. Foreign nationals or valid visa holders will be charged the same fare as Indian nationals who want a seat on the inbound repatriation flights, they said. For all flights between India and the USA under the Vande Bharat mission, Air India is charging a fixed fare of Rs 1 lakh per passenger. For flights between India and Singapore, the charge is Rs 18,000-20,000 per passenger, and it is Rs 50,000 per person for India-UK flights. On Tuesday, the Ministry of Home Affairs had clarified that a person who has an Overseas Indian Citizenship (OCI) card, or citizenship of a foreign country, or a valid visa of more than one year of that country, or the green card of that country can travel on repatriation flights leaving India under the Vande Bharat mission. Air India will be conducting 64 flights to 12 countries between May 7 and May 13 to bring back approximately 15,000 Indians stranded due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had announced on Tuesday. However, some flights have been delayed and therefore, this set of 64 flights will be operated between May 7 and May 14, the airline officials said. On Wednesday, an Indian businessman and his cook landed at Delhi airport from Lusaka in Zambia in a plane that was supposed to come without any passengers, senior government officials said. The private chartered aircraft was scheduled to come empty and take around 40 Zambian nationals to Lusaka in a repatriation flight, they added. "We had not permitted any incoming passengers. We will seek explanation from the airline (private operator) as to how it happened. BOI (Bureau of Immigration) has a very stringent protocol for dealing with such deviations, which must have been acted upon," said a senior official of aviation regulator DGCA. It is not clear if the businessman and his cook were deported or sent to a quarantine facility within India. India has been under a lockdown since March 25 to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. All scheduled commercial passenger flights have been suspended during the lockdown. However, cargo flights, medical evacuation flights and special flights permitted by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have been allowed to operate during this time. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A health worker vaccinates a woman against the flu. Faced with the threat of Covid-19, the world needs a vaccine, and fast. But typical timelines for vaccine development are years, even decades, long. Thats why some epidemiologists are calling for so-called challenge trials to speed things up. When researchers test vaccines, they typically inject thousands of people with either the vaccine or a placebo, then wait months or years to see who gets sick. Challenge trials present a faster alternative: A few hundred people are given either placebo or the vaccine, and then deliberately are exposed to the virus. Challenge trials have previously been used to choose the right dosage of vaccines or pick between candidates ahead of larger trials. But they havent been used to validate vaccines ahead of widespread useat least, not since the first vaccine ever created in 1796, whose methods wouldnt meet todays ethical standards. Currently, more than 10,000 people have said they would volunteer for a challenge trial. But no vaccine shortcut is straightforward. Here are some of the challenges to making challenge trials work for Covid-19. Timing Based on what we know about Covid-19 infections, scientists would have to wait just three weeks after infecting their participants to start collecting results, says Peter G. Smith, co-author of a Journal of Infectious Diseases article on Covid-19 challenge trials. Within a month or maybe two of starting the trial, he expects scientists to have final results. Overall, he estimates challenge trials would be at least four months quicker than standard trials. The pace of a standard trial, on the other hand, depends on local infection rates. And given protective measures such as self-isolation, a large coronavirus vaccine trial that simply waited for people to get sick might never finish, says Smiths co-author Nir Eyal, a professor of bioethics at Rutgers University. A coronavirus study that started in Wuhan, China, for example, might now peter out given the low number of cases there. This was a major issue in testing Ebola vaccines; trials in Liberia and Sierra Leone had to be abandoned because there werent enough patients to complete the study. Story continues But while challenge trials themselves are faster, it still takes considerable work to prepare for them. Scientists need to grow supplies of the virus, test it in animals, and get it certified for human use. Then they need to determine a dosage that mimics a natural infection, but is less dangerous than a severe case. To be safe, they would start testing low doses and gradually increase how much is used. This just doesnt happen overnight, says Holly Fernandez Lynch, a medical ethics professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Stanley Plotkin, whose research contributed to the development of vaccines for rubella, rabies, and polio, says hes speaking with the US Food and Drug Administration and World Health Organization about whether theyll consider evidence from challenge trials. If they do, scientists should start working to develop the Covid-19 strain immediately. Unless we start now, challenge studies will be useless. It has to be something we start making now, he says. Plotkin also raises the possibility that, in areas where contagion is extremely high, standard vaccine trials could advance extremely quickly. If the usual way of doing things moves faster, then challenge studies may not be necessary, he says. Efficacy Deliberately infecting trial participants with a deadly disease is morally questionable. Even more so when only a portion of them will receive a vaccine. So a Covid-19 challenge trial would only recruit young, healthy people who are more likely to survive. Smith and his co-authors propose enrolling healthy people aged 20-45. But, of course, that means a challenge trial would only show how a vaccine works within that limited age group. Even if a vaccine worked in young people, there would be no guarantee it would work in the same way for elderly people, says Smith. Older people have weaker immune systems, and its common for vaccines to be less effective in elderly people, he says. Testing vaccines in young people could also make it difficult to determine whether they work at all. Many vaccines dont prevent infection altogether, but limit the severity of symptoms, and Smith says symptoms would likely be the main readout for efficacy in a challenge trial. If only a tiny proportion of people in their twenties to mid-forties show symptoms after theyre infected, challenge trials would have to enroll far greater numbers of participants to show a clear effect. Plotkin suggests an alternative: Focus on immune responses, not symptoms. In this kind of challenge trial, the end point would be whether the blood of vaccinated participants includes the same antibodies as people who have been naturally infected. It wouldnt directly answer the question of whether a vaccine prevents clinical symptoms. But it could help keep minimize the number of participants needed in the earliest stages of research. Safety A challenge trial can tackle the question of a vaccines efficacy. But because of its small sample size, its unable to give clear information about the other crucial trait of a vaccine: safety. The authors of the Journal of Infectious Diseases article suggest that, if a challenge trial had good results, it should be followed by a larger study to assess short-term safety and efficacy in different age and risk groups. It could test around 3,000 people, and take a matter of months. That plan still wouldnt provide information about long-term risks, and no vaccine could be formally approved based on such studies. But it could allow wider use of the vaccine in real-world studies, with scientists continuing to collect data on effectiveness and safety. Challenge studies would give crucial info that would allow the FDA to permit vaccine use, perhaps under some sort of emergency clause, before giving a license later based on an accumulation of information derived from widespread use, says Plotkin. In such circumstances, those who receive the vaccine would have to be clearly told that the vaccine is still going through testing procedures, and make a personal choice about whether to be vaccinated. To be absolutely safe, monitoring the long term effects of vaccines takes considerable time. You have to balance that against the millions who will die in the meantime, says Smith. Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief, our free daily newsletter with the worlds most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: DEARBORN (dpa-AFX) - Ford (F) said the company is targeting a phased restart for its North America operations beginning May 18, including restarting vehicle production. Ford is also implementing a staggered approach to bring back approximately 12,000 location-dependent employees who are not able to do their jobs remotely. The staggered approach ensures proper personal protective equipment (PPE) for the employees. The company noted that its employees able to do their jobs remotely will continue to do so. Ford stated that company-provided face masks will be required for anyone working at a Ford site, while safety glasses or face shields will be required in some instances. 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. TDs may be monitored by new cameras and forced to scan their fingerprint to vote as part of an attempt to avoid another Dail voting scandal. An expert review of Dail voting sparked by revelations about TDs casting votes for each other has outlined a series of costly solutions aimed at preventing further controversy. A soon-to-be-published independent report by UCD Professor David Farrell suggested spending 600,000 on new technology which will require TDs to scan their fingerprints before voting. A similar system is used in the Italian parliament. Prof Farrell also suggested giving TDs chipped ID cards which would have to be inserted into a portal before a vote could be cast. However, he said fingerprint scanners are the preferred option as it reduces the possibility of voting fraud. It is also suggested that the voting display in the Dail chamber could be changed to show the name of TDs who voted rather than just displaying whether they voted for, against or abstained. The final recommendation was to put more cameras in the Dail to ensure every seat in the chamber can be monitored. The expert review was sparked by revelations last October that former Fianna Fail TD Timmy Dooley was recorded voting six times in the Dail despite not being in the chamber. His colleague Niall Collins admitted he had pressed Mr Dooley's voting button having been of the mistaken belief that his fellow Fianna Fail TD was in the chamber. Both were sacked from Fianna Fail's front bench. It later emerged that on another day, seven votes were cast in Mr Dooley's name while former Fianna Fail TD Lisa Chambers was sitting in his seat. Ms Chambers escaped any reprimand from the party but lost her seat in the General Election, as did Mr Dooley. Slashing Separately, the Green Party has been finalising its preparations for entering government formation talks with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael today. The line-up of its negotiating team was not expected to be decided until late last night. It emerged yesterday that slashing of the VAT rate for the tourism sector is on the cards if Fianna Fail and Fine Gael form a government amid the devastating effect of the coronavirus crisis on the industry. Senior figures in both parties want to see the rate cut, with several TDs suggesting it should be reduced to as low as 0pc. Others expressed doubts that it could be cut by this much, but did leave open the possibility of some VAT relief. Fine Gael Junior Minister Brendan Griffin told the Dail that it is estimated that more than 200,000 jobs have been lost in tourism and it is expected it will take years to recover. He said that a 0pc VAT rate for the industry would be appropriate in the circumstances, though he added it would be a matter for the Department of Finance. Fianna Fail TDs including deputy leader Dara Calleary and tourism spokesman Marc MacSharry said the rate should be set at 0pc. The VAT rate currently stands at 13.5pc. It was reduced to 9pc to support the industry after the last recession but was increased back to 13.5pc in Budget 2019. A restaurant worker wearing a mask (file photo). reklamlar/Getty Images Employees at Hillstone Restaurant Group establishments in Dallas, Texas, said that as locations reopened to 25% capacity this week, they were told to take off their masks, or leave. Hillstone restaurants in Texas reopened after the state relaxed its stay-at-home orders put in place to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. One employee told CBS Dallas that she was taken off a restaurant's schedule after raising concerns about the mask ban. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Employees for a Texas restaurant group said managers told them they aren't permitted to wear masks at work as the coronavirus pandemic rages on. Staff from Hillstone Restaurant Group establishments in Dallas, Texas, told CBS Dallas that they were told to take off their masks, or leave. Hillstone has locations across the US, and the brand is known for its unpretentious atmosphere in a refined space. Locations in Texas reopened on Friday at 25% capacity as stay-at-home orders were relaxed. According to Dallas Morning Star News, the company operates under four different restaurant brand names in Dallas. Employees at the Dallas locations said management told them that face masks don't fit the restaurant's hospitality mold. One employee who voiced concern over the policy told CBS Dallas that she was removed from the schedule. Another told CBS Dallas that they were told they wouldn't be rehired if they wanted to wear a mask while working. One employee told People Newspapers that it was "disappointing that an organization that employs so many people and that serves even more people in the Dallas community would disregard the recommendations of health officials and government." Dr. Diana Cervantes, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, criticized Hillstone's decision. "It is really important to be able to wear those face coverings, especially if you can't keep that six foot social distancing," she said in a statement to CBS Dallas. "Of course when you go to a restaurant, that [is] very hard to maintain." Story continues In a statement online, Hillstone cites state orders as a justification to not wear masks. "Current orders do not require our staff or guests to wear face masks. If you are concerned about your safety in this respect, we hope you will join us at a later date," the company's website says. The website says restaurants would only seat parties of two for the time being. "While you can be assured we are diligent in our practices with respect to health, sanitization and other requirements, the best way to ensure your own safety and others' is for our guests to follow best practices, including washing hands and maintaining appropriate distance where possible," it says. When Insider tried calling the hospitality group's Dallas Hillstone location, staff said they're not taking calls from reporters. Insider left a message with Hillstone's corporate office, but its voicemail said offices were closed. Read the original article on Insider The dining area at a McDonald's in Oklahoma City had been closed because of safety precautions intended to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. But when a customer entered Wednesday evening and was informed of the rules, things got violent. A woman authorities identified Thursday as Gloricia Woody got into a physical confrontation with an employee after being told to leave, police said in a statement. Employees forced the 32-year-old out of the restaurant, but she returned with a handgun. She fired about three rounds. One employee was hit in the arm, while shrapnel struck two others. The employee involved in the initial encounter with Woody had a head injury. Three of the four employees were taken to the hospital, but all were expected to recover, police said. The incident was the latest in a growing trend of violence directed at employees of businesses trying to enforce social-distancing measures. Last week, a Family Dollar security guard was fatally shot in Flint, Michigan, after telling a customer that her child had to wear a face mask to enter the store. "Obviously it's a heinous crime, particularly because these two people were trying to really support public health," McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski said Thursday on "Good Morning America." "I think what you're seeing in this situation is really what you're seeing in a variety of situations across the country, which is this tension about opening and people's concern about it. But there's absolutely no excuse for violence, particularly gun violence." Restaurants in Oklahoma City were allowed to open for dine-in service at the start of this month, after a local shelter-in-place order expired April 30. The state of Oklahoma, meanwhile, never issued formal restrictions on restaurants. But many businesses, including the McDonald's, were implementing voluntary measures to contain the coronavirus, and additional social-distancing requirements were still in place. In 911 calls obtained by the Oklahoman, the employee who was shot in the arm told a dispatcher that there had been an argument after Woody was told she couldn't be inside the restaurant. He pleaded for help. "Someone came in and shot," he said. "I got hit. Please I need help. Send help please." Another employee said in a 911 call that the woman "pulled out a gun and she started shooting up McDonald's and all the workers just ran." "I just saw her shooting and I swear I thought she was going to shoot me," she said, according to the newspaper. Initial reports said that two suspects were involved in Wednesday's incident. But police said they later determined only Woody was involved. She was found a few blocks away from the McDonald's and taken into custody. Woody faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon, the Oklahoman reported. "The people are with us, the armed forces who are in line with the law, order, democracy, and freedom are also on our side," Bolsonaro declared to a sea of protesters huddled together. Many of whom are not wearing PPE as they chant and raise Brazilian flags. On Sunday, Brazilian President Jair Bolosonaro was greeted by thousands of his supporters outside the presidential palace, calling for the restoration of the military regime in the nation and a stop to the quarantine initiatives implemented to curb the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. The Crisis of the Brazilian President Bolsonaro terminated a prominent political figure, Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta in mid-April, after the dispute over initiatives to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Like many other medical professionals, Mandetta had proposed implementing social distancing all around the country- a proposal Bolsonaro strongly opposed. Mandetta, who was removed from office by the president, was replaced with an enthusiast for reopening the country, causing rallies by citizens banging out of windows and balconies seeking Boslonaro's resignation. Bolsonaro, who pointed to the COVID-19 as "a little cold" and associated with his supporters lacking a face mask, claimed that quarantine initiative's economic effects would be more lethal than the disease itself. Moreover, Bolsonaro has also strongly urged his people to ignore the social distancing policies imposed in place by governors, insisting on people to come back to work and engage in public gatherings, despite the total of COVID-19 reports in the country reaching 100,000, with even more than 7,900 fatalities. In late April, Sergio Moro, Bolsonaro's justice minister, withdrew accusing the president of meddling in an investigation as well as removing the head of federal police for political and personal motives. Bolsonaro denied the allegations against him by Moro and claimed he has the power to expel federal police authorities. Yet the Supreme Court ordered an investigation regarding accusations that Bolsonaro was attempting to meddle for political purposes in the operation of the nation's federal police force. Check these out! Bolsonaro May Not Be Impeached Amid the problems and concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, some experts claimed that while Bolsonaro may walk a fine line, he is not under immediate threat of impeachment. The lower house of Congress will have to authorize a president's impeachment before the Supreme Court could push forward with a jury. Nevertheless, Bolsonaro's supporters govern the House, as well as impeachment, which is unlikely to be approved. "He is not very vulnerable," Thiago de Arago, Director of Strategy at Arko Advice, stated. "He still has a level of popular support and alliances in the parliament that protect him against impeachment, but this can change, the more he challenges the severity of the virus and the more the virus shows its severity, this will lead him to become further weakened." Some note, nonetheless, that it could only be a matter of time before Brazil experiences a significant turning point, one in which countless lives and the presidency of Bolsonaro may be at risk. Homeless people are populating parts of the Terminal A-East baggage claim, not in use by travelers, at Philadelphia International Airport. A man believed to be homeless was found inside a plane on Saturday. Some 100 people live in the airport, a result of overcrowding at city shelters caused by COVID-19. Read more Southwest Airlines personnel were preparing a plane at Gate E17 for a flight from Philadelphia International Airport to Tampa, Fla., at 5:20 a.m. Saturday when they made a startling discovery: a man inside one of the bathrooms. He had no ticket, and an airport security crew who then swept the aircraft with a K-9 unit did not specify how long hed been there or how hed gotten aboard, according to a security report obtained by The Inquirer. Officials surmised that the man, identified by Philadelphia police as Jeremiah Meade, 36, of Lexington, Ky., may have been part of a growing group of about 100 homeless people whove occupied the largely empty airport since the coronavirus appeared. Meade was arrested for criminal trespassing and released on unsecured bail. Airport officials had been allowing people to stay in Terminal A-East, homeless advocates said. A different plane at another gate was used for the Tampa flight later Saturday. While passengers likely never knew what happened, city officials along with homeless providers and advocates were left to confront yet another troublesome incident in the predicament of Philadelphias homeless a population estimated at 5,500 in shelters and 1,000 on the streets during the pandemic. For nearly two months, tensions have been rising between the city and those who serve and house the homeless. On Sunday, The Inquirer reported the first known death of a homeless person in a shelter. On Monday and Tuesday, providers and advocates exchanged letters with Mayor Jim Kenney that expressed widely varying views on the subject. And on Wednesday, a group of protesters chanting Shelters equal death gathered outside Managing Director Brian Abernathys home in Mount Airy, demanding the city move homeless individuals out of shelters and into safer locations such as hotel rooms. Of the airport situation, Abernathy said Wednesday, What is happening there is inappropriate. Were going to have to make changes, but we also have to make sure that we do that in a humane and just fashion so that people have somewhere to go. Sister Mary Scullion, president and executive director of Project HOME, the homeless advocacy group, said its not unusual for 15 to 25 people to live at the airport year-round. But, she added, numbers have never been this high. Its a whole new reality since COVID-19. As shelters take in fewer people in an attempt to make conditions safer, homeless people are saying theyve drifted to the airport. The problem, advocates say, is lack of services to help those whove gathered there. Many are suffering more from mental health disabilities than from addiction issues, Scullion said. She added that quite a few come from Delaware County and other suburban locales. Agreeing with Scullion, a Philadelphia city official said, People get dumped by other counties at the airport. Theyre literally pushed to go there. Its infuriating. Officials from Delaware County did not return calls for comment. Doing everything we can On Wednesday, Abernathy said that he shared some of the concerns of the protesters outside his home, but that the city is doing everything we can for our unsheltered population. While shelters have had to de-densify as a precaution against the virus spread, Abernathy said as many shelter beds are available today in the city as there were a year ago. The written exchange this week between Mayor Kenney and 14 service providers and advocates exposed a chasm in the way experts believe the homeless should be served during the pandemic. In their letter, sent Monday, the group expressed concern with the pace and breadth with which the city has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic among the homeless, saying that utmost urgency and increased transparency were warranted. On Tuesday, Kenney answered. The group, he wrote, should be assured that the points you raise will be given serious consideration. He acknowledged the on-the-ground support they provide to ensure that homeless individuals are safe. He cited increased numbers of public restrooms and hand-washing stations in Kensington and Center City for the homeless. That the groups letter was six pages long and Kenneys response was 2 did little to convince providers and advocates that they were being heard. We want to thank the mayor and his team for their quick response, said Michael Hinson, president and COO of SELF, the largest provider of emergency housing in the city. But we are not completely satisfied with his answers. We didnt view his response as representing the urgency we need to have. One advocate, who requested anonymity, decried Kenneys letter as the city phoning it in, calling it pat and condescending. Saving lives In one point of contention, the providers and advocates wrote that the city must continue to provide more non-congregate housing for the elderly and/or infirm, with fewer restrictions on entry and duration of stay, and it must do so quickly to save lives. Kenney responded that the city is constantly monitoring this question to determine if additional sites must be secured ... and will be ... if needed. The city has announced that it will allow shelter residents who are older than 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. Advocates and providers applaud the decision but say young people with underlying conditions, or elderly who have not been exposed, should automatically be removed from tight quarters in shelters to prevent a catastrophic sweep of the virus through the population. ASK US: Do you have a question about the coronavirus and how it affects your health, work, and life? Ask our reporters. The only person who has succumbed to the coronavirus while living in a shelter was a 46-year-old man from Puerto Rico with undisclosed underlying conditions, who died on April 2 after an outbreak of the disease infected more than three dozen people at the facility Our Brothers Place in Center City. Michael Dahl, executive director of Broad Street Ministry and a signatory of the letter, said that the winter shelter program he runs ended last Thursday. Afterward, as many as 60 homeless people no longer had a place to sleep. But because of restrictions on where people can go, they werent permitted to enter the COVID hotels, he said. An advocate said not putting these people into a safe space will lead to disaster. Agree to testing Providers and advocates asked the city for more protective masks for the homeless, who are denied access to pharmacies and food sites without them. Both sides agreed that more testing is needed. Expressing frustration, advocates and providers said that they dont believe their concerns are registering with the city. Kenney said he believes mechanisms to take up their worries are in place. David Fair, who serves on SELFs board of directors and was deputy commissioner for the citys AIDS program in the 1980s, said thats not the case. The contention that providers are consulted in the citys planning is disingenuous, he said, adding that weekly calls between city officials and 100 advocates and providers cannot be represented as a mutual process of debate. Both sides say they expect to keep talking through the crisis. 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. This week, Facebook released Discover, the latest take on its Free Basics web for all work. Available in Peru, Discover is a mobile web and Android app that provides users with a daily balance of free data from participating mobile operators. Its meant to provide access to the internet after users exhaust their data allowances. Facebook says it is especially important to keep people connected during the coronavirus pandemic. But in the past, its Free Basics initiatives havent always gone well. A successor to Facebooks Internet.org service, Free Basics was pulled from several markets and criticized for violating net neutrality, among other things, because it originally allowed access to some sites but not others. Facebook says it considered that feedback while building Discover. The new app treats all websites equally, and Facebook says personal browsing history is not used for things like targeted ads or friend suggestions. Facebook will encrypt info sent between its servers and any device that supports HTTPS. Discover only supports low-bandwidth traffic, so some content, like video and audio, is not supported. In the coming weeks, Facebook plans to launch Discover in a few other countries, including Iraq, the Philippines and Thailand, where the product features are in beta-testing. For now, users in Peru can access Discover by visiting 0.discoverapp.com on any mobile web browser or by downloading the Discover app in the Google Play store. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 20:55:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MOSCOW, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe discussed the coronavirus pandemic during a telephone conversation on Thursday, the Kremlin said in a statement. "Putin and Abe informed each other about measures taken to combat the spread of infection," the statement said. The parties confirmed plans for expanding cooperation between relevant departments in the health field, including the joint development of medicines, it said. The two sides discussed other pressing issues concerning Russian-Japanese cooperation, including the trade and economic fields, and agreed to continue contacts at various levels as the epidemiological situation normalizes, it said. Abe also congratulated Putin on the 75th anniversary of the World War II victory, it said. Enditem Reliance Industries Ltd is quoting at Rs 1483.6, up 1.56% on the day as on 12:54 IST on the NSE. The stock is up 14.17% in last one year as compared to a 18.85% slide in NIFTY and a 19.45% slide in the Nifty Energy index. Reliance Industries Ltd is up for a third straight session today. The stock is quoting at Rs 1483.6, up 1.56% on the day as on 12:54 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is down around 0.57% on the day, quoting at 9218.3. The Sensex is at 31478.13, down 0.66%. Reliance Industries Ltd has gained around 24.45% in last one month. Meanwhile, Nifty Energy index of which Reliance Industries Ltd is a constituent, has gained around 9.78% in last one month and is currently quoting at 12912.4, down 0.66% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 96.01 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 263.58 lakh shares in last one month. The benchmark May futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 1483.2, up 1.43% on the day. Reliance Industries Ltd is up 14.17% in last one year as compared to a 18.85% slide in NIFTY and a 19.45% slide in the Nifty Energy index. The PE of the stock is 27.13 based on TTM earnings ending March 20. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least seven people died of COVID-19 in West Bengal in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll in the state to 79 on Thursday, the Health Department said. The number of active cases in the state rose of 1,101, with 92 more people testing positive for the infection during the period. The total confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 1,548, the department said in its bulletin. Of the seven who died due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), five are from Kolkata, it said, adding that the number of fatalities rose to 79. The state has so far registered 72 deaths due to comorbidities, where the COVID-19 was incidental, the bulletin said. Thirty one people have been discharged from different hospitals since Wednesday evening. According to the Health Department, 2,611 samples were examined on Thursday. The number of samples tested in the state so far climbed to 32,752. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Auto components major Bosch Ltd on Thursday said it has resumed production at several plants across India following relaxation of guidelines for the third phase of lockdown. On March 25, the company had announced suspension of operations at its plants in Bengaluru, Naganathapura and Bidadi in Karnataka, Nashik in Maharashtra, Jaipur in Rajasthan, Oragadam and Gangaikondan in Tamil Nadu beyond March 31 till further notice to contain spread of COVID-19 pandemic. "...we wish to inform you that the operations have been resumed at the above mentioned plants except plants situated at Oragadam which will resume its operations on May 8, 2020 and plant situated at Gangaikondan which will resume its operation on May 11, 2020," Bosch Ltd said in a regulatory filing. The company further said all the necessary precautions and measures have been taken to gradually ramp up operations at the respective plants. The Home Ministry has allowed factories in rural areas and those outside municipal limits to resume operations under strict safety and hygiene norms with the aim to kick start economic activity in the third phase of lockdown till May 17. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Matt Kennedy/Netflix The impact of COVID-19 has devastated the world as we know it, and although we have taken to social distancing in many areas of society, the incarcerated are still in danger, with at least 14,000 inmates testing positive in a six-week span. Jeffrey Wright, who stars in Netflix's newest crime drama about the vicious cycle of the prison system All Day and a Night, recently learned that Charles Lawrence, his costar from last year's HBO film O.G., died from COVID-19 while incarcerated at Pendelton Correctional Facility. "They've committed serious crimes, no question about it, but many of them, like Charles, were working their way down a pathway of a very difficult redemption," Wright tells EW. "He left an impression that won't leave me." In O.G., Wright played a convicted murderer serving the end of his 24 years in an Indiana prison, seeking justice for the new wave of prisoners while on his way out. The film was shot in a real prison with real inmates as co-stars, including Warren. Wright said they kept in touch after the filming. "With the shortages we have, you could only imagine the access the men and women who are incarcerated in America have with protective gear," Wright adds, mentioning another O.G. castmate he's in contact with who said he was worried because he's in a cell next to someone with COVID-19. After filming O.G., Wright wanted to continue exploring that same world but from a different vantage point: a father and son relationship. That's where All Day and a Night, which reached no.4 in Netflix's Top 10 in the first week of release, comes in. In All Day and a Night, Wright plays J.D., the absent and abusive father to Jahkor (Ashton Sanders), a deeply troubled teen who is imprisoned for the murder of his father's drug dealer. In prison, after years apart, J.D. reunites with Jahkor, a reunion that quite literally put a mirror to the brutal truth about the criminal justice system. Story continues "There are societal pressures that leave individuals with limited choices and limited opportunities. There's far greater opportunity toward self-destruction, then toward a positive outcome," Wright says. All Day and a Night, directed by Black Panther c0-writer Joe Robert Cole, cuts back and forth between Jahkor's life in prison, just before the murder, and his childhood. In one scene, between Jahkor and a prosecuting officer, the officer digs into him about how he's now just like his father. "Is it genetic?" he asks. It's J.D's dream, we learn in glimpses of Jahkor's earlier life, for his son to escape his fate, and rise above it. "A lot of those guys [in prison], they never had a chance," Wright says. "Or if they had a chance, they had to be Superman from the time they were children to adulthood to even try to succeed in a positive way." He adds of the film's approach, "It's not an excuse, rather it's trying to understand why they made the mistake they made." Wright says he is currently looking for ways to help Pendleton Correctional Facility during COVID-19. Wright has been leading the fundraiser Brooklyn For Life with Mike Thompson, who owns Brooklyn Moon in Fort Greene, where Thompson and Wright used to come together for chess. Wright says Brooklyn For Life has provided 100,000 meals to Brooklyn hospitals in the frontlines from over 40 restaurants. All Day and a Night is now streaming on Netflix. Related content: The biggest divide in the Democratic Party, Pfeiffer observes, is not between left and center. Its between those who believe once Trump is gone things will go back to normal, and those who believe that our democracy is under a threat that goes beyond Trump. Once hopeful that the fever may break within the GOP (as his former boss put it), Pfeiffer is now squarely in the democracy under threat camp. Yet the candidate who is claiming the Obama mantle, Biden, seems inclined toward the go-back-to-normal diagnosis. In other words, serious questions remain about whether Pfeiffers to my mind, insufficient alarm will drive the party going forward. After two days of trying to defend its order cancelling the Shramik Special trains for migrant workers to reopen the state's construction sector, the Karnataka government has decided to resume the service. The BS Yeddyurappa government on Thursday wrote to nodal officers of various states seeking their consent to operate trains to their states from May 8 to 15. BCCL While the government has reached out to Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha, so far only two states have agreed to take the stranded migrant workers back. Earlier the Karnataka government and several BJP leaders from the state had defended the government decision with BJP MP from Bengaluru South, Tejasvi Surya defended the stoppage of inter-state trains calling it a bold and necessary move. He also went on to claim that it will help migrant labourers who came here with the hope of a better life to restart their dreams and will kick-start economic activities full throttle. BCCL CM Yediyurappa defended his actions saying that the exodus will affect the construction sector. Already, the construction work has resumed. Several members from the construction sector said that if labourers return at this juncture, it would affect them, he said. Karnataka which had already operated several Shramik Special trains had on Wednesday cancelled the services, after the CM's meeting with the leaders of the construction industry in the state. BCCL With the lockdown restrictions easing, Karnataka, much like other states was eager to kickstart some desperately needed economic activity and the constrictions sector was one of the key priorities. In the meeting, the builders reportedly told the CM that the migrant workers leaving will affect the resumption of the construction activities. After the meeting, Yediyurappa appealed to the migrant workers to stay back and said that the builders have agreed to pay wages to workers for the entire period of lockdown and ensure all essential facilities, including safety gear, at workplaces. Many migrant workers who were left without jobs and income for nearly one and a half months were desperate and were unconvinced by the promises. BCCL Since Wednesday, hundreds of them have started walking back to their homes, which are hundreds of kilometres away. While Karnataka was the only state that tried to stop the migrant workers from leaving, others too are facing a similar crisis. Many fear that the migrant workers will not return even after the locdown ends and that is bad news for the states which are dependent on them to keep key sectors moving. The number of COVID-19 patients in Dharavi, Mumbai's biggest slum sprawl, reached 783 with 50 new cases surfacing there on Thursday, a senior official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. So far 21 people have died due to the infection in the slum, but no death was reported on Thursday, the official said. According to the official, the fresh cases were detected in Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, 60-feet Road, transit camp, 90-feet Road, Matunga Labour camp, Kumbharwada,Indira Nagar, Kala Kills and some other localities of Dharavi. On Wednesday, 68 persons had tested positive and one person had died due to the infection, the BMC official said. Kiran Dighavkar, assistant commissioner of BMC's G- North ward, requested all public representatives and local NGOs to appeal to the residents of Dharavi to immediately contact the quarantine facility at Dharavi municipal school, if any symptoms of coronavirus were found in them. Dharavi, believed to be the biggest slum in India, is posing a tough challenge for the BMC and the Maharashtra government to contain the coronavirus spread, mainly due to its population density, which makes social distancing very difficult. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi, May 7 : The Delhi government has collected Rs 3.15 crore as 'special corona fee' on liquor sale of Rs 4.50 crore on Tuesday, officials said on Thursday. A day after allowing reopening of 150 state-run liquor vends in the city on Monday, the Delhi government imposed a 'special corona fee' on alcohol, equal to 70 per cent of the MRP from Tuesday. The Delhi Excise Department said: "On Monday, liquor valued at Rs four crore was sold. On Tuesday, liquor valued at Rs 7.65 crore was sold in the city, which included Rs 3.15 crore as special corona fee." As the Delhi government allowed the sale of liquor in Delhi, standalone shops having L6 and L8 licences have been operating in the city from Monday as the government extended the lockdown for two weeks with some relaxations based on the Centre's guidelines. The Delhi government issues licences to sell liquor to its tourism and related undertakings -- Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation; Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation; Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited; and Delhi Consumer's Cooperative Wholesale Store. These agencies can further issue licences to those who want to use their premises to sell liquor. Currently, the standalone liquor shops are allowed to open between 9 am and 6.30 pm. The Delhi government's excise revenue was badly affected by the coronavirus lockdown. While it levied additional levey on liquor, it also increased the Value Added Tax on petrol and diesel. According to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, every year the estimated revenue of Delhi government in April is Rs 3,500 crore, though it is just Rs 300 crore this year. He said if the situation continues, it will be difficult for the Delhi government to pay salaries to its employees. For many families, moving an elderly loved one into a nursing home is an emotionally fraught decision. Its a choice that can be loaded with regret, guilt and shame even if its the best option to meet a vulnerable seniors needs. Many facilities ensure residents live with dignity and treat them with respect, but for some seniors, the fear is they will end up alone, imperiled and far from their families as mortality encroaches. For both groups, the novel coronavirus is a nightmare made real. The outbreak has spread through the nations nursing homes and assisted living facilities like wildfire, stoked by the susceptibility of older adults and those with underlying conditions. The virus has claimed the lives of more than 11,000 nursing home residents nationwide, and these deaths account for more than 40 percent of all COVID-19 related deaths in Texas. The vulnerability extends beyond seniors themselves to the nursing home industry, which in Texas has been beset with long-standing problems of substandard patient care. Add to that a lack of testing across the state and shortages of personal protective equipment and youve got a disaster. Texas nursing homes consistently rank among the worst in the nation, according to Families For Better Care. In its 2019 report, the Austin-based watchdog group found that 1 in 5 Texas nursing homes were cited over severe deficiencies and that state regulators cited 93 percent of nursing homes for violations of federal or state laws. The industry also continues to struggle to employ enough licensed nursing staff, and low wages and lack of paid sick leave for nurse aides, who provide most of the direct care to residents, force many of these workers to take jobs at several facilities. This is believed to have contributed to the coronavirus spread. Texas must do more to safeguard the elderly and keep their families and the public informed. As of Wednesday, 260 nursing facilities and 93 assisted living facilities in Texas had one or more confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to Texas Health and Human Services. So far, more than 400 people have died as a result. Tragically, many families were left in the dark until it was too late. Since March 13, Texas wisely has barred visits to nursing homes for anything other than end-of-life reasons. But the states restrictions on publicly sharing where outbreaks and deaths were happening citing health privacy laws left it up to individual facilities, local health districts or the media to share information. Fortunately, new federal rules announced last month require nursing homes funded by public insurance programs and regulated by the federal government to inform residents and their families of any COVID-19 cases. More transparency is needed. Texas continues to be part of the half-dozen or so states including Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Michigan that continue to withhold the names of facilities where the coronavirus has spread, limiting a communitys ability to respond. The new federal rules also dont apply to assisted living centers, which are overseen by the states. As part of his report to open Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott included critical recommendations to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, but they are almost exclusively focused on long-term care facilities reporting cases of infection. Mandatory testing for all nursing facilities, regardless of whether a case has been reported, should be a priority. Most facilities now use checkpoints to screen staff, asking questions and taking temperatures, but the possibility of asymptomatic transmission poses a constant risk. Harris County began deploying a mobile testing team last week, but limited resources mean it can visit only one facility per day out of more than 500 in the county. Immediate safety concerns need to be addressed, but once the pandemic has ended, a complete reevaluation of nursing home regulations must take place. Families deserve peace of mind and seniors deserve to be protected. Karnataka state BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel on Thursday mounted a sharp attack on former chief minister Siddaramaiah for terming as "too little" the state government's latest relief package to farmers and weaker sections and accused him of playing politics during COVID-19 crisis. Congratulating Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa for the special package announced for agriculturists, flower growers, weavers, barbers and other deprived sections, he said it was regrettable that Siddaramaiah has come out against it. Yediyurappa on Wednesday announced a Rs 1,610 crore package, including a one-time compensation of Rs 5,000 each to thousands of washermen, barbers, auto rickshaw and taxi drivers and Rs 25,000 per hectare for affected flower growers. Siddaramaiah in a series of tweets has termed the package as "Too little, too late" and accused the chief minister of "completely ignoring farmers". Referring to Siddaramaiah's reported comment that a flower grower spends Rs 50 lakh per acre, Kateel said it was surprising that the Congress leader, who had held the Finance portfolio and presented several budgets, does not have the basic knowledge about the money spent by farmers and flower growers. The Dakshina Kannada MP alleged that Siddaramaiah was playing politics at a difficult time when the state had been trying its best to tackle the Covid crisis. As an experienced politician, he should have welcomed the initiative of the state government, Kateel said. The state BJP chief alleged that Siddaramaiah had not provided any relief to farmers during his rule though there were a number of farmer's suicides reported from different parts of the state then. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Small retailers are rejecting the Morrison government's $130 billion JobKeeper wage subsidy program as too costly, even as two-fifths of the nation's private-sector workers rely on taxpayer support for their wages. The National Retail Association says while the JobKeeper program, the most expensive element of the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic, is helping the sector, many firms are not using it because it sharply increases their weekly wages bill. Small businesses say JobKeeper's upfront costs make it difficult to use as figures show two-in-five Australians are getting income support from taxpayers. Credit:Edwina Pickles Federal Treasury on Thursday revealed 768,000 firms had enrolled for JobKeeper, which provides a $1500-a-fortnight wage subsidy per employee for firms whose revenue has dropped at least 30 to 50 per cent. Five million workers are now covered by the program, 1 million short of the government's original expectations. The number of people on JobSeeker, which recently replaced Newstart unemployment benefits, surged by more than 800,000 between mid-March and late April. (Reuters) - Trade negotiators from the United States and China will hold a phone call as early as next week, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The call will include Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, according to the report bloom.bg/3dpgPyo. The talks will be about progress in implementing a Phase 1 trade deal after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened its termination if China was not adhering to the terms, the report added. The report comes as tensions have flared up between Washington and Beijing in recent days over the origins of the coronavirus. The United States had earlier pledged to launch negotiations with China on a Phase 2 trade deal tackling government subsidies and thornier technology transfer issues, but there have been no efforts to start these talks since the coronavirus outbreak has locked down large parts of the U.S. economy. Trump's favorability among white Christians in battleground states falls 27% since March: poll Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment President Trumps favorability among white Christians in battleground states has dropped by 27 percentage points since mid-March as the country has dealt with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, according to data released by the Public Religion Research Institute. PRRI, a nonprofit polling firm that researches the intersection of religion, culture and public policy, released a new survey Thursday of 1,008 Americans conducted from April 21 to April 26. The survey found that since March, the percentage of white Christians in presidential battleground states who say they hold a mostly or very favorable view of the president has dropped from 75% to 48%. According to PRRI, the decline puts the presidents favorability among White Christians in those states more in line with the demographics view of him recorded in 2019 (55%). Trump's favorability among respondents from battleground states fell from 53% in March to 38% in April. Among all Americans surveyed, only 43% said they hold a mostly or very favorable view of Trump. Meanwhile, 54% of respondents said they hold a mostly or very unfavorable view of him. The survey shows that Trumps favorability rating dropped 7 percentage points over the last four weeks when it was at 49%. The March result equated to the highest favorability rating for Trump since 2015 and marked the first time in PRRIs polling that Americans were more likely to say they hold a favorable view of than an unfavorable view (46%) of Trump. Trump benefited from a brief rally around the flag effect as the coronavirus pandemic began to spread in the U.S. But over the last four weeks as the total number of reported U.S. cases of the coronavirus increased exponentially from around 33,000 cases to more than 900,000 cases this boost has rapidly dissipated, a PRRI analysis of the new data reads. Trumps current favorability rating (43%) is similar to the 40% of Americans who held favorable views of him in February shortly after he was acquitted of impeachment charges, and the 41% of Americans who held favorable views of him between March and December 2019. When broken down by religious affiliation, the PRRI data shows that Trumps favorability among white evangelical Protestants declined 11 percentage points since March to 66% in April. Among white mainline Protestants, Trumps favorability rate declined from 62% to 44%. The favorability rate among white Catholics declined from 60% to 48%. As for non-white Protestants, PRRI found no significant change as the favorability rate dropped from 40% in March to 36% in April. In the 2016 presidential election, Trumps victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton relied heavily on the support of Christians. According to exit polls, 58% of respondents who identified as Christian or Protestant said they voted for the real estate mogul in 2016. Meanwhile, 52% of Catholics and 81% of white evangelical or born-again Christians said the same. PRRI also found no significant change in Trumps favorability rate among religiously unaffiliated Americans (37%). The demographics numbers have not changed notably since 2019. In 2016, exit polls indicated that about 26% of people who identified their religion as none said they voted for Trump. The survey, which contains an error margin of +/- 3.5 percentage points, suggests a divide among white Christians based on those living in counties below or above the median number of novel coronavirus cases. According to the data, white Christians in counties less impacted by COVID-19 are more likely (63% to 50%) than those living in counties more affected by the virus to say they have a favorable view of the president. According to PRRI, there is no such difference among other religious groups. In total, the study suggests that people of all demographics in counties hit hardest by coronavirus are 10% less likely to have a favorable view of the president. About half (49%) of respondents living in areas of Republican-leaning states with higher numbers of coronavirus cases per capita say they view Trump favorably. By comparison, only 40% of respondents living in areas of Democrat-leaning states with higher numbers of COVID-19 cases and 36% of respondents living in areas of battleground states hit hard by the virus said they hold a favorable view of Trump. For all three types of states, Trumps favorability in these counties with higher counts of COVID-19 cases closely resembles his favorability overall, the analysis reads. Shakeel 'Qazi' Pathan was a police officer with unmatched bravery who took part in several anti-terror operations braving all odds, his seniors remember as they paid tributes to the Special Operation Group Sub Inspector who was killed in the Handwara gunfight. Besides Qazi, a colonel, a major and two soldiers were also killed in the shootout with terrorists in Chanjmulla village in north Kashmir. Narrating the story of Qazi's bravery, Superintendent of Police (SP) V K Bhat told PTI that he used to be part of the escort party of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) P N Tickoo when he was posted in the militancy-hit Kupwara-Handwara belt in 2000. "I vividly remember that in one of the incidents, which happened on May 14, 2001, when Tickoo on his way back to Kupwara, the convoy was ambushed in the forest of Didikote and Qazi got badly injured along with his escort party," Bhat, who led the SOG team as a DySP, said. Undeterred by the surprise attack, Qazi showed unique presence of mind despite "bleeding profusely" and launched a counter-attack against the terrorists, he said. Qazi, then a special grade constable, along with constables Faisal, Ashish and others spread in different directions and engaged the big group of terrorists in a gunfight till reinforcements reached the area, Bhat added. The terrorists managed to escape leaving behind one unused rocket launcher among other ammunition. "This is just a glimpse of Qazi's admirable courage and valour which depict that he valued the safety and security of this great nation over his own life," Bhat said, adding his supreme sacrifice and ability will inspire all. Previous SOG team heads uploaded Qazi's old videos of counter terrorism operations in highly snowbound and difficult mountanous belts of Kupwara and Handwara belts on social media to pay homage to him. Tickoo said Qazi is an inspiration to police and security forces involved in counter-terrorism operations. "He ensured that terrorists are eliminated in his area of operation and peace to prevail," he said. Qazi was born in 1978 in Trad Karnah of Kupwara district was appointed as constable in 1999 in the Armed Wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police, officials said. He volunteered to work in the SOG, an elite Counter-Terrorist Force setup in 2006 to take on terrorists, and continued till his last breathe. During his posting in the SOG, he led various successful anti-terror operations. In recognition of his immense contribution, he was granted three out-of-turn promotions and rose from the rank of a constable to sub-inspector over the years, an officer said. Qazi was honoured with various medals which included Sheri-Kashmir Police Medal for Gallantry in2009, Police Medal for Gallantry by President of India in 2011, DGP J&K Commendation Medal and GOC-in-C, Northern Command Commendation Disc. He is survived by three daughters, a son and aged parents. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government is being urged to take decisive action and force landlords to slash rent during the Covid crisis following the announcement that iconic cafe Bewleys is to close. Adrian Cummins, CEO of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, said landlords need to take some pain if the hospitality industry is to survive. You are going to have a domino fall of businesses that cant pay their rent, that wont be able to open and I cant see 90pc of restaurants opening up on June 29 unless drastic action is taken, he said. This has to be a wake up call to the government that if a company in hospitality like Bewleys can fall, what is going to happen in the future for smaller businesses who are having huge difficulty with landlords with no light at the end of the tunnel. Landlords are issuing 21 day notices and putting severe pressure on highly stressed businesses and landlords are pushing for rent to be paid when businesses cant afford it. His comments come as a fresh dispute is unfolding between the owners of Bewleys and its landlord RGRE Grafton Limited, a company controlled by property developer Johnny Ronan. Bewleys, which pays annual rent of 1.5m to RGRE Grafton Limited, cited a combination of factors for the closure including high rents and operating costs, coupled with the loss of footfall during the current Covid-19 lockdown. A source close to Johnny Ronan accused Bewleys of seeking to put blame on the landlord. Expand Close Bewleys Cafe is to close down (Artur Widak/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Bewleys Cafe is to close down (Artur Widak/PA) The source said Bewleys asked for a six-month rent holiday at the end of March and RGRE was not in a position to grant this as the company has an obligation to its own stakeholders. Every business is dealing with its own issues the crisis threatens landlords and tenants and both sides have obligations. Landlords, like their tenants, come in all shapes and sizes as do their financial structures and balance sheets, the source added. Bewleys took legal action in 2012 to reduce the rent for the premises to 728,000, as recommended by an independent arbitrator. However, the proposal was rejected by the Ronan Group, which went on to win a Supreme Court action overturning the earlier High Court ruling. Bewleys had annual sales of 4.5m last year and recorded losses of around 1.5m. The cafe is currently owned by artist Paddy Campbell, and is a protected structure and a landmark for generations of Dubliners and visitors to the capital alike. In a statement, RGRE Group said it was not in a position to subsidise its business when its shareholders are perfectly capable of doing so. Bewleys is a successful and profitable company and has generated significant earnings for its shareholders over a period of many years. We call on the Campbell family to enter into meaningful dialogue with Ronan Group to see if this unfortunate outcome can be avoided. By PTI PALGHAR: As many as 72 inmates of Arthur Road jail in Mumbai have contracted coronavirus and they will be quarantined separately, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said here on Thursday. Earlier, the state government had isolated eight prisons in the state including the Arthur Road prison and ordered that no new person will be allowed to enter and those insides, including jail staff, will not be allowed to leave prison during the lockdown. But despite the precautions, 72 inmates of Arthur Road prison were found to have contracted coronavirus after coming in contact with a cook who had caught the infection, Deshmukh told reporters here. "These prisoners will be quarantined with the help of the Mumbai civic body," he said. The home minister was speaking to the media after visiting Gadchinchale village in the district where three persons including two monks were lynched by a mob on suspicion of being thieves on April 16. Deshmukh also said that to prevent the spread of the virus in jails, the state government had decided to release on parole some 5,000 prisoners who have been sentenced to less than seven years' imprisonment. BEIJING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Over 90 percent of the respondents in a recent survey said they have resumed their work as the novel coronavirus epidemic subsides in China, according to a survey by China Youth Daily. The survey, published by the newspaper Thursday, polled 2,015 people. Over 58 percent of the people resuming work said their employers have fully restored ordinary work, according to the survey. Over 34 percent said their employers practice rotating working hours, and around 45 percent said they have been asked to either work from home or adopt flexible working times. A total of 64.3 percent of the respondents said their companies have the workplace better ventilated, and close to 60 percent of companies monitor their employees' body temperature at the entrance. Over half of the companies ensure broader workspaces for employees. More than 57 percent of those surveyed said their employers provide face masks for work. There are also measures such as preparing sanitizer for employees, shortening meeting times and regular disinfection in public areas. Xiao Hua, a worker at a public institution in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, told the newspaper that he had to go back to work from early February, but his employer has been very strict about anti-epidemic measures. "We have to pass multiple checks at the building entrance and practice proper disinfection before being allowed into the workplace,' Xiao said. "Some even need to disinfect their vehicles in the parking lot." Xu Jie, who works for a design company in Beijing, said his company also implements prevention measures, requiring its employees to sit with one empty seat in between them at all meetings and avoid having meals at the same time. Amber Heard returned to social media for the first time since her mother's tragic death on Wednesday afternoon while remaining at home with her family. The actress, who confirmed her mother's death on Sunday, is currently adhering to social distancing measures in the fight against coronavirus covid-19 by staying behind closed doors. And she she had good company in the form of young nephew Hunter while occupying her time as the world works its way through another week of precautionary quarantine. In good company: Amber Heard was joined by infant nephew Hunter as she relaxed in self-qurantine on Wednesday. The infant is younger sister Whitney's son with Gavin Henriquez Taking to Instagram, the actress, 34, shared a cute image of the pair modelling identical top knots as she read a script on the steps of her family home. Hunter, her younger sister Whitney's son with Gavin Henriquez, shows off a thick mane of blonde hair as he stands next to his famous aunt in a diaper. Captioning the shot, she wrote: 'Top knot twins.... enjoying a tiny bit of peace from the tiniesttt [sic] member of the family.' Cute: Amber described her nephew as 'the tiniest member of the family' in an accompanying caption Gone too soon: The post comes just three days after Amber revealed her mother Paige Heard had died Tragic: Sharing vintage photos of the two on Sunday, she told Instagram followers, 'I am heartbroken and devastated beyond belief at the loss of my mom, Paige Heard' The post comes just three days after Amber revealed her mother Paige Heard had died. Sharing vintage photos of the two on Sunday, she told Instagram followers: 'I am heartbroken and devastated beyond belief at the loss of my mom, Paige Heard.' 'She left us too early, clasping onto the memory of her beautiful, gentle soul. She will be missed from the very depths of our hearts forever. Final photo: Her latest Instagram shot of her mother, which also included her younger sister Whitney, was a tribute in March for International Women's Day 'Her unflinching, open heart made her the most beautiful woman I had ever known. Its hard to imagine and even more difficult to say but I feel truly lucky to have been her daughter and been given the gift of having the light she shone on everyone, fall on me for nearly 34 years. 'This has been an unbelievably painful time but in that, I am reminded of what survives us all, love. The kindness, support and generosity my sister Whit and I have received from friends and family has been utterly soul-saving.' Amber's post included a sweet throwback photo of herself as a child, while her mother held her. The actress's father David Heard could also be seen in the background. She also posted a more recent black and white photo in which Paige hugged a fresh-faced Amber. Paige was occasionally featured on Amber's Instagram, and she made her most recent appearance on March 8 when Amber posted a raucous photo of her mother, who worked as an internet researcher, and her sister Whitney in honor of International Women's Day. Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots has announced a series of measures to protect the security of food supply lines during the coronavirus pandemic. Mr Poots confirmed that his department has been appointed as the lead for Northern Ireland's food security with responsibility for imports from the UK, EU and the rest of the world. Mr Poots said: "Covid-19 has highlighted the importance of our food chain, at a local, national and international level. "Our local supply lines are quite secure and food is moving well off-farm and onto our shelves. "There is more than enough for us all, given that NI produces enough to feed 10 million people across the globe. "The current situation has, however, highlighted the need to look at this issue on a system-wide and coherent basis, to keep food on our shelves," he added. Mr Poots said his department has developed an initial plan on food supply which covers the management of risk along the entire food chain, including: the import of raw materials such as animal feedstuffs; food processing; distribution and consumption; food availability; access; affordability; safety; nutrition and quality; resilience and confidence. The DUP minister added: "We are also developing a Food Observatory to continuously assess the health of the food system, with a view to encouraging and supporting measures to maintain its flexibility and resilience. "If we have learned one thing from the current crisis, it's that we shouldn't take the supply of food for granted," the Lagan Valley MLA added. (CNN) In hospitals around the world, doctors are shaking their heads in disbelief as they watch Covid-19 patients who should be comatose or "seizing" from hypoxia a lack of oxygen in the body's tissues check social media, chat with nurses and barely complain of discomfort while breathing. Some have dubbed them "happy hypoxics," a terrible misnomer for what could be a long, slow recovery or worse. The proper medical term is "silent hypoxia." It happens when people are unaware they are being deprived of oxygen and are therefore showing up to the hospital in much worse health than they realize. Typically, these patients have experienced some Covid-19 symptoms for two to seven days before they show up at the hospital complaining of sudden chest tightness or an inability to breathe deeply, said Dr. Richard Levitan, who's been an emergency room physician for some 30 years. While he practices at Littleton Regional Healthcare in New Hampshire, Levitan recently spent almost two weeks volunteering in the emergency room of a New York City hospital near the epicenter of the city's devastating outbreak. There he watched patients come into the emergency room with blood oxygen levels as low as 50%, so low they should have been incoherent, even unconscious. Normal blood oxygen saturation is between 95% and 100%, and anything below 90% is considered abnormal. In addition, Levitan said, scans of these patients' lungs showed signs of pneumonia so severe they should be in terrible pain as they gasp for their next breath. "Their X-ray's looked awful, their oxygen was terrible, and yet they're completely awake, alert on a cell phone, and they all said is they've been somewhat sick for days," he said. "And then only recently did they notice either shortness of breath or fatigue or something else," Levitan added. "That's what is so fascinating about this disease and also so terrible." It's terrible because by the time a person realizes they are having trouble taking a deep breath and reaches out for help, they are already dangerously sick. "Some may ultimately require a ventilator." Levitan said, "As levels of carbon dioxide rise, fluid builds up in the air sacs and the lungs become stiff, leading to acute respiratory failure." How can this happen? Doctors speculate that, for some people, Covid-19 lung problems progress in a way that isn't immediately apparent. As patients focus on battling such symptoms as fever and diarrhea, the body begins fighting back against the lack of oxygen by speeding up breathing to compensate. "Just imagine that you had a full glass of air, and now that cup becomes half full," said critical care pulmonologist Dr. Cedric Rutland, a spokesperson for the American Lung Association. "What are you naturally going to do? You're going to try to fill it twice as fast because you lost half," said Rutland, who is also a assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Riverside. People may not be aware of their more rapid breathing rate and don't seek help, yet blood oxygen levels continue to fall. In the meantime, the body slowly becomes somewhat adjusted to the lower levels of oxygen, much like what happens when a person travels to a higher altitude. By the time these patients get to the hospital with crippled lungs and crashing oxygen levels, "this has been taking place for a bit of time." Rutland said. "So your body is kind of used to it." Yet the damage has already taken place. Not only are the lungs severely ravaged, the lack of oxygen may have already comprised other organs in the body, such as the heart, kidneys and brain. A silent hypoxia that progresses rapidly to respiratory failure may explain why some younger Covid-19 patients with no underlying health conditions have died suddenly after not experiencing any serious shortness of breath. Trying to avoid ventilators Early in the crisis, doctors were putting nearly everyone who came in with breathing difficulties on ventilators. Now they reserve those for the severely sick, realizing that other measures, such as supplemental oxygen and body positioning, may work just as well for some patients. In 2012, Levitan coauthored a paper in which doctors offered 50 patients supplemental oxygen instead of ventilators and positioned them on their sides and tummy, positions often used to help open the lower lungs. "We found two out of three patients can avoid a ventilator during the first 24 hours by putting them on oxygen and doing these positioning maneuvers, such as laying them prone on their stomach," he said. Keeping patients off ventilators is a huge win-win for doctors and patients. Ventilators are scarce and need to be reserved for the sickest of patients. But even if every hospital had a surplus of ventilators, there are many reasons to try other methods first. In addition to a tube inserted down the nose into the stomach or surgically implanted into the trachea via the throat, patients can have tubes implanted for feeding and to use the restroom. Breathing tubes aren't pleasant. Many patients require multiple sedatives so they don't pull them out. Bacteria can easily grow, causing "ventilator-associated pneumonia." There is an increased risk of blood clots. Finally, people on ventilators have to be "weaned off," a painful and scary experience during which some people struggle. Once they do manage to reduce their dependence, about a third of patients on ventilators come out of the experience with anxiety, depression or delirium, often referred to as "ventilator brain." Early detection is key Levitan recently wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times in which he called for earlier diagnosis of Covid-19 respiratory concerns by having people with mild symptoms use pulse oximeters during their two-week quarantine to monitor their blood oxygen levels. "Widespread pulse oximetry screening for Covid pneumonia whether people check themselves on home devices or go to clinics or doctors' offices could provide an early warning system for the kinds of breathing problems associated with Covid pneumonia," he wrote. However, questions remain about the merits of home use of pulse oximeters to measure blood oxygen levels. First, a number of the devices on the market may not be accurate. A 2016 study found only two of six popular oximeters met the criteria for accuracy set by the International Organization for Standardization, an independent, non-governmental international organization dedicated to setting global standards. In addition, misuse can affect readings. The device must be worn correctly; hands should be at room temperature; and dark nail polish can affect readings, as can holding your breath. Rutland is encouraging patients he sees via telemedicine to use oximeters to monitor their oxygen levels. He feels the devices, while not perfect, provide doctors with a way to triage regular patients they can't see in person during isolation. "As long as someone has a home oximeter and you know the person well enough, you can help them monitor this at home to get a jump start on whether or not they need to go to the hospital," he said. "I believe pulse oximetry is incredibly valuable if we were to use it in the window of time that the disease begins to gather strength, which is usually five to 10 days out from when someone is first infected," Levitan said. "Then the other thing is to measure inflammatory markers when we observe them in the hospital and use the variety of medicines at our disposal to address inflammation. It's time to get ahead of this virus instead of chasing it." This story was first published on CNN.com "Silent hypoxia: Covid-19 patients who should be gasping for air but aren't" OTTAWAWe have supplies. We have lab capacity. Now its about using them to test for COVID-19 in the best way as provinces relax coronavirus lockdowns, Canadas top public health officer says. Speaking on Parliament Hill, Dr. Theresa Tam said Thursday that public health laboratories across Canada now have the capacity to conduct 60,000 COVID-19 tests per day more than double the daily average of more than 25,000 carried out over the past week. Tam, Canadas chief public health officer, said while provinces still need to increase how many tests they are doing, it might not be necessary to use the countrys full testing capacity every day. Its better to continue using these tests for the right people, at the right place, in the right time, Tam said. That way any new surge of infections can be caught and dealt with as health restrictions that have shuttered schools, businesses and public spaces across Canada are slowly lifted in the coming days and weeks, she said. Testing remains a very key aspect of the next phase, because we want to tread carefully. And if theres any inkling of cases or clusters, provinces will be homing in on those really, really fast so that we dont get any further escalations after weve calmed down the first wave, said Tam. (Provinces) will have enough tests to detect any kind of upsurge or circulation of the virus in the population. So that is the ultimate goal, she said. Experts at Canadian universities and the World Health Organization have stressed how testing is a vital part of any successful effort to combat the novel coronavirus. Some have also pointed out that several other countries were able to more rapidly increase their capacities to test than Canada has. Germany, for example, has reportedly managed to test 900,000 people per week. Thats almost as much in a single week as Canada has tested during the entire crisis. Tam reported Thursday that more than 1 million people have been tested across the country since the beginning of the pandemic. In recent days, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has vented frustration about the level of testing in his province, which trails other jurisdictions, according to the federal governments daily summary of COVID-19 data. Quebec, the province with the most deaths and infections, has also fallen short of its daily testing target so far, according to its top health official. But the national supply of necessary testing components flagged as an obstacle to broader testing in late March seems to be addressed for the time being. As of Wednesday, the federal government had received about 2 million swabs used for extracting samples from people being tested for the virus above and beyond what provinces and local health authorities have ordered themselves, Procurement Minister Anita Anands office told the Star by email. The Public Health Agency of Canada has also secured a steady, domestic supply of reagents, the chemicals used to extract the molecular code of the virus from samples that are taken. Last week, the government inked a contract with New Brunswick-based LuminUltra, a chemical manufacturer that will supply the agency with enough material for 500,000 tests per week until March 2021. LuminUltras chair and chief executive officer, Pat Whalen, told the Star the company has already delivered enough chemicals for 1.5 million tests and that the materials are being distributed by the federal health agency to provinces and territories roughly in proportion to their populations. Whalen said 90 to 95 per cent of the raw materials LuminUltra uses to make these chemicals are already sourced within Canada, making the governments new supply of these chemicals less vulnerable to global competition than personal protective equipment that is being purchased largely from manufacturers in China. Amir Attaran, a professor of law and epidemiology at the University of Ottawa, said the problems with testing have never really been about supplies. Countries like Germany had a central agency establish firm and clear testing protocols as early as January, he said, while Canadas federal health agency has left much of the response to the provinces and territories. There has been no guidance to co-ordinate lab testing across the country, he said, adding that the lack of central control has also left the national health agency with patchy data on the pandemic in Canada because it has to wait for provinces to collect and share it. We are organizationally inept, and everybody across the country is having to reinvent the wheel, because the Public Health Agency of Canada which is undeserving of the name never sought to provide guidance on this, he said. University of Toronto health professor Erica Di Ruggiero said Canada was less prepared for the pandemic than other countries, like South Korea, which quickly imposed broad testing and systems to trace people possibly exposed to infection. We perhaps were not as ready to test and ramp up testing and to put emphasis on testing early and often, she said. Canadas ability to maintain testing capacity and expand it further will be crucial to ensure the process of lifting restrictions to contain the spread dont trigger a renewed wave of infections, Di Ruggiero said. Read more about: Supervisor Janice Hahn smiles after a debate in May. (Los Angeles Times) Starting on May 12, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will allow the public to comment live by phone for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak shut down in-person meetings. The decision comes after the board has met three times virtually on March 31, April 14 and April 28 without allowing for live public comment via phone or video. Instead, supervisors asked that residents email or mail in their comments before the meetings. Those comments were then sent to the board, a county spokesperson said. According to Supervisor Janice Hahn's office, the public will now be able to call in for one hour at the beginning of the meeting. They will be able to speak on items of their choice from the meeting's agenda, offer general comment, or do a combination of both. Each person will receive one minute if they are speaking on one agenda item, two minutes for two or more items, and one minute for general comment, according to Hahn's office. It is a similar format to what's being used by the Los Angeles City Council, which has allowed for live comment by phone several times since the pandemic stopped in-person meetings. The council has set aside roughly an hour, and residents have been getting to speak for up to one minute on as many as three items, plus one minute for public comment, allowing them four minutes total. They have also, at some meetings, taken additional comment on specific agenda items. The board has faced criticism for being slow to set up a way to hear public comment live, including from Hahn. Hahn told The Times that the board was told by county counsel it was in compliance with the Brown Act, which spells out the rules for public access during government meetings, by allowing the public to email comments. But Hahn said there's a big difference between following "the letter of the law and the spirit of the law." There are times when she or another supervisor is moved to make a "friendly amendment" to a fellow board member's motion because of an issue raised by a resident during public comment. Additionally, she said, there are times when someone raises an issue that's so significant, a supervisor will ask a department head to come to the microphone and immediately address it. "We are making decisions that truly impact the social, financial and physical landscape for people who live here, and were their government, and they have a right to weigh in in a way thats meaningful," Hahn said. Times staff writers Emily Alpert Reyes and David Zahniser contributed to this report. The first special train from Delhi carrying around 1,200 migrant workers who were stranded in the national capital due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown will leave for Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, officials said. "About 1,200 migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh staying in shelter homes in Delhi will leave for their native state," an official said. The Delhi government is also in talks with Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to run special trains for migrant workers from the two states who wish to return, the official added. Also read: Coronavirus lockdown: Over 2,500 migrant labourers reach UP from Gujarat Also read: Coronavirus India Live Updates: PM Modi calls emergency meet at 11 am on Vizag gas leak; total cases-52,952 The spread of coronavirus cases and deaths into rural areas across the United States and internationally lays bare the lie that the response by the Trump administration and other governments is a success story and the war against the pandemic is being won. There are more than 3.8 million confirmed coronavirus cases internationally and 264,000 deaths. So far, less than 1.3 million have recovered, meaning that more than 2.2 million lives across the planet still hang in the balance. Moreover, there has been a sharp increase in the number of new cases in Russia, Brazil and India, which are on their way to becoming new epicenters of COVID-19. Even in countries where the official total of new cases has been decreasing in densely packed urban areas thanks to physical distancing measures, such as the United States, the case counts and death tolls in rural areas have begun to increase. In fact, if the cases in New York City are not counted, the number of new cases in the US overall is still increasing. A family at the Galleria Dallas shopping mall in Dallas, Texas, May 4, 2020. (AP Photo/LM Otero) It is well known that the official figures for both infections and deaths vastly underestimate the actual toll of the virus, in part because in most countries testing remains wholly inadequate. The criminality of the policies being pursued in country after country was further exposed by a report published Tuesday on the preprint server bioRxiv, which documents a mutated strain of the coronavirus, one that started in Europe and is much more infectious than the original strain that emerged in Wuhan, China. Not only are mutations potentially more infectious and/or deadly, the strain of the virus may be sufficiently different to require a different vaccine. This is why a new flu vaccine is developed each year, because new strains of the virus are always evolving. Such a situation in the case of the coronavirus would be an order of magnitude more severe. Not only is there not a working vaccine or known therapeutic, there is no natural immunity to the disease among the worlds population, meaning that a second strain is a potential second infection. As such, the policy implicitly being put forward by sending workers back to offices and factoriesthat of herd immunitybecomes even more homicidal in its implications for the vast majority of the worlds people. There is very little known about the virus from an epidemiological standpoint. The World Health Organization has warned that it is unclear if surviving the virus provides meaningful immunity in the first place. And a variety of medical reports have been produced showing that even those who do recover from the pandemic are often beset with lung, heart, liver or brain problems that can last decades. Age has proven to be no defense. Even infants have died from the coronavirus, and adults in their 30s are suffering strokes after being infected. In recent weeks, a mysterious new COVID-related syndrome has emerged among children on Long Island, in New York City and in other hot spots around the US. According to the New York Times, at least 50 children on Long Island and in the city have been treated for the disease, which doctors are calling pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome. The illness involves inflammation of the blood vessels and has caused a number of its child victims to become critically ill and be placed into intensive care units. According to the John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, some of the areas now being hit the hardest in the US are among the most isolated in the country. One of the worst-hit areas is Hall County, Nebraska, with a population of 58,600. It has 1,284 cases and 28 deaths, giving it a per capita case count that rivals New York City. It also is one of the least prepared for a pandemic. According to StatNews, it has less than 30 critical staff within a 40-minute drive of residents and has less than 650 hospital beds for all medical care, not just coronavirus cases. Nationally, 130 rural hospitals have shut down since 2010, and more than 450 are at risk of closing because of the pandemic. According to the Chartis Center for Rural Health, rural hospitals have lost between 50 and 80 percent of their income because outpatient services have largely been canceled in an effort to prevent hospitals from becoming transmission vectors for the disease. Many of these outbreaks are centered around workplaces that are deemed essential for the US economy. Cass County, Indiana, which hosts a major Tyson meatpacking plant, has 1,406 coronavirus cases and an infection rate 10 times the national average. Ford County, Kansas has 869 coronavirus cases, many of which are connected to the Cargill and National Beef plants in the area. These regions are accounting for an increasingly large fraction of the total US death toll, which has grown to nearly 75,000 in two months. They are facing only the beginnings of their outbreaks. Even the more optimistic models of the pandemic project that many rural areas will not hit their peak number of cases until late August. Yet most rural states have already begun opening up, underscoring the dangers of the back-to-work orders being imposed on their respective populations. Similar situations exist in rural communities around the world. In Valderrobres, Spain, a town of only 2,400, half of the health care workers at the local nursing home and 50 out of 60 of its residents contracted the coronavirus. Twelve have so far died. The country as a whole has suffered 253,682 cases and 25,857 deaths. Indias rural population has been particularly hard hit. An estimated 120 million people travel to cities on a regular basis for work, often dozens or hundreds of miles, to take care of their families and communities in the more remote areas of the country. Virtually all of them were stranded on March 24 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered a hasty nationwide lockdown. As a result, this section of the population began to travel home, most of whom simply started walking. Without any protection from the pandemic, many have succumbed to the disease and many more have become carriers, bringing the contagion to the nonurban parts of the country. The official case count stands at 52,987 with 1,785 deaths, and the countrys rate of new cases and deaths is one of the highest in the world, even as thousands of factories are being reopened. The pandemic has reached even the most isolated parts of the worlds population. A fifteen-year-old Yanomami boy from the Amazonian village of Rehebe, in Brazil recently died. Rehebe is on the Uraricoera River, which snakes through the mountains and rainforests of southern Venezuela and northern Brazil. Venezuela has 367 cases and 10 deaths, while Brazil has 123,089 cases and 8,412 deaths. It currently has the third most new coronavirus cases and new deaths in the world. These figures are only precursors to the death tolls that are to come. There is no evidence that the coronavirus pandemic has been contained, despite claims to that effect from virtually every government. Yet it is now being fueled by the worlds ruling elites in their frenzied drive to reopen the economy. They are aware that without a vaccine or a system of testing and contact tracing, they are condemning additional millions to suffer infection and possibly die. In the midst of this human tragedyincluding unemployment, poverty and hunger on a scale not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930sstock markets around the world continue to rise, fueled by the trillions upon trillions of public funds being injected into the markets by governments and central banks on behalf of the corporate-financial oligarchy. Masses of workers and oppressed people are becoming increasingly aware that their most fundamental interests, including life itself, are incompatible with the existing economic and political system, based on the accumulation of private profit. A global upheaval is coming. The struggle against the coronavirus pandemic is a struggle against the capitalism system. The most critical question is the construction of a new political leadership in the working class to imbue this movement with an understanding of its revolutionary and socialist tasks. By PTI SURAT: At least 15 people were detained after they allegedly created ruckus and pelted stones at police over the issue of movement restrictions in a COVID-19 cluster quarantined area of Gujarat's Surat district, an official said on Thursday. Some areas of Paligam locality near Sachin industrial area in Surat were cluster quarantined and sealed after a resident tested positive for coronavirus a few days back, Deputy Commissioner of Police Vidhi Chaudhari said. Though residents were asked to stay inside the barricaded area, many did not listen and started moving in and out of the sealed area on Wednesday night, she said. "When police asked the residents to follow quarantine rules, they started arguing with the security personnel. Later, two groups of residents engaged in a heated debate over some issue and started throwing stones at each other. When police teams went there, they started throwing stones on the police personnel also," Chaudhari said. A video of the incident later surfaced in which policemen were purportedly seen trying to save themselves from stones being thrown from terraces in the area. Chaudhari said while no policeman was injured in the stone-pelting, nearly 15 people from the area were detained late night. The situation in the area was under control, she added. Drug dealers are making fake NHS ID badges to move around freely during the UKs coronavirus lockdown, a report has revealed. The National Centre for Gang Research (NCGR) found that members of county lines gangs were also dressing as joggers, posting drugs through letterboxes and doing drive-by sales to evade police detection. There have been numerous reports of police officers asking key workers for identification, although official guidance says it is not required. A report released on Thursday found that as shoppers were panic buying food, dealers were running bulk deals and selling lockdown party packs to capitalise on the restrictions. Covid-19 has brought swift changes in how drug gangs are doing business, with many dealers adhering to social distancing and safety measures, said professor Simon Harding, director of the NCGR. Vehicles are being used more often to carry out deals arranged by phone, with products thrown from windows and money chucked on the back seat to keep items clean. He said the previous model of county lines dealing, which sees children used to transport drugs from urban hubs to smaller towns and rural areas, had been made too risky. Increasingly dealers are driving runners around, or hiring local people to do the job, Prof Harding said. Street gangs are being forced to find new tactics, such as shifting grooming and recruitment online to social media. This means young people can become ensnared in dangerous gang activity from their phones while their families have no idea and that is a worry. The report found that street gangs were being forced to set up their own bases because coronavirus had made the process of cuckooing, where they take over a vulnerable persons home, more difficult. Life as a teenage drug dealer It was released weeks after the National Crime Agency (NCA) warned that gangs were also dealing from supermarket car parks in an attempt to mix in with crowds. We know that some groups are finding it harder to transport their commodities and are adapting their methods, director-general Lynne Owens said. Intelligence indicates that they are seeking to deal drugs in supermarket car parks, and to portray themselves as key workers to prevent being stopped by police. Ms Owens said some dealers were wearing hi-vis amid concerns about closer police scrutiny as fewer people are on the streets. The global coronavirus pandemic has also made it more difficult for international organised crime groups to smuggle drugs into the UK. The Border Force and NCA have announced several significant seizures of cocaine and other drugs in boats, vans and lorries trying to enter the UK. Supply problems are driving up prices for users and some police officers have raised concern that desperation may cause an increase in theft and shoplifting. New DNA testing has revealed that a prized variety of grapes used to make a number of popular Australian wines has been mislabeled for decades. The testing was done by the French National Institute of for Agriculture Research, which discovered that Australian wine labeled as 'petit manseng' actually comes from a related grape variety called 'gros manseng.' According to Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CISRO), there are currently between 15 and 20 growers in the country that have been unintentionally mislabeling these grapes. New DNA testing has reveled that the popular petit manseng variety of grape grown by Australian wine makers is actually another kind of grape and has been mislabeled since it was first imported from France in 1979 These growers will be allowed to continue using the petit manseng label for their current crop, but beginning with the next season, they'll be required to change over to gros manseng. According the CISRO, the issue stems from the grapes having originally been mislabeled by a French supplier in 1979, when the grapes were first imported to Australia. 'Unbeknownst to us, we have distributed something we called petit manseng over a number of years,' CISRO's Dr Ian Dry told ABC News. 'At the time there were no really objective measures which would allow us to identify them you would need to be a real expert in the area of ampelography.' Petit manseng grapes are frequently used in so-called 'New World' wines because they're uniquely suited to sunny environments like Australia and also Georgia, Virginia and California. They've been described by Wine Enthusiast as having a 'rich floral, spicy and tropical aromas.' Gros manseng grapes by comparison are larger and can have a crude and less concentrated flavor; and if prepared improperly will have unpleasantly excessive tannin levels. The discovery has caught many of Australia's wine growers off guard. Wine makers will be allowed to use the inaccurate petit manseng label for the current crop, but for the next growing season they'll have to relabel their products to gros manseng. The change will affect between 15 and 20 wineries in Australia 'We didn't realize there was any doubt or research going on in the background, so we were a little surprised,' Lilian Carter of Symphonia Wines said. 'It's a little disappointing, but the wine we've been making is of a high quality and it ages fantastically in a bottle.' Symphony Hill Wines' Ewan McPherson is unsure of how marketable gros manseng grapes will be compared to petit manseng, just based on how the words sound. 'I love the wine itself, the wine we make is gorgeous," McPherson said. 'But the name, I think, is more gorgeous when it's called petit manseng compared to gros manseng.' 'I'm actually looking at a great opportunity to make an interesting label out of it with the word "gros" being highlighted and celebrating how funny that is.' Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 14:51:02|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SEOUL, May 7 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in's approval rating rose this week ahead of the provision of relief grants to all households next week, a weekly poll showed Thursday. According to the Realmeter survey, support for Moon gained 0.8 percentage points over the week to 61.4 percent this week. The negative assessment on Moon's conduct of state affairs declined 3.0 percentage points to 32.4 percent. It came ahead of the offer of government grants to households beginning next week. About 2.7 million households in the low-income bracket were provided with relief grants from Monday, and the remaining 19 million households or so will be given from next week. Every household with four family members or more will be granted 1 million won (810 U.S. dollars), three-person household 800,000 won (650 U.S. dollars), two-person household 600,000 won (490 U.S. dollars), and one-person household 400,000 won (330 U.S. dollars) each. It was aimed to prop up private consumption that was hit hardest by the COVID-19 outbreak. Consumers refrained from outside activities such as traveling, shopping and eating out to avoid social gatherings. Support for the ruling Democratic Party dipped 2.6 percentage points over the week to 42.6 percent this week, and the score for the main conservative opposition United Future Party slipped 1.7 percentage points to 26.3 percent. The minor progressive Justice Party gained 6 percent of support, followed by the center-left Open Democratic Party with 5.4 percent and the centrist People's Party with 3 percent. The results were based on a poll of 1,508 voters conducted on Monday and Wednesday. It had plus and minus 2.5 percentage points in margin of error with a 95-percent confidence level. Enditem Since the easing of Greeces lockdown began on 4 May, protesters have descended upon parliament in Athenss Syntagma Square to demand the withdrawal of a new environmental bill, accusing the government of rushing the law through parliament while the country has been on lockdown and citizens unable to gather and rally against it. The bill was put forward by prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis widely praised both for his environmental credentials and for his stringent measures in keeping Covid-19 at bay in Greece. To date, there have been just 146 deaths among a population of 10.72 million. But the new law, dubbed the Modernisation of Environmental Legislation Bill, would allow for the exploitation of biodiversity-rich sites previously given protection under the Natura 2000 scheme, an EU network of nature protection areas. Jerry Rice Open source The International Monetary Fund and Ukraine will sign an agreement on the new 18-months-long program. Jerry Rice, the IMF representative in this country said so in a commentary for Interfax-Ukraine news agency. "The negotiations switched to 18-months-long stand-by program", he said as cited by the agency during the regular briefing in Washington. This terminates the three-years-long EFF program that the sides agreed on before. The last stand-by program between Ukraine and the IMF ran for 14 months; it was signed in late 2018, and the first tranche for 1.4 billion dollars was issued then. Ukraine never received the remaining loans - because of the 2019 presidential election and failure to live up to the Fund's demands. We recently reported that Ivana Vladkova-Hollar became the leader of the IMF mission in Ukraine. The IMF press office reported this on May 7. The Bulgarian citizen chaied the Fund's delegation in Ukraine on May 1. She previousy led the Fund's missions in Moldova and North Macedonia. Earlier, the National Bank of Ukraine said it expected a loan from the IMF in the second quarter of 2020. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leonard Clough representing 140,000 of the Mogo Inc. (MOGO.TO) (Mogo) 10% Convertible Senior Secured Debentures due May 31, 2020 (the Debentures), has some serious concerns about the proposed amendments and urges shareholders to vote AGAINST the management proxy dated April 17, 2020 (the Circular) which was filed on www.sedar.com on April 27, 2020. The amendments appear to only benefit the common shareholders, like Mr. Michael Wekerle (Director) and Mr. Greg Feller (CFO & Director) who own significant share positions and relatively few debentures (see sedi.ca for disclosure of their securities holdings of Mogo). April 27, 2020 News Release Mogos April 27, 2020 news release states: If the Amendments are not approved by the Convertible Debentureholders at the Meeting, the Company intends to repay the principal amount and all accrued interest owing under all of the Convertible Debentures through the issuance of common shares on May 31, 2020, as permitted by the governing indenture. Paying back the Debentures on May 31, 2020 through the issuance of common shares of Mogo benefits the Debentureholders as they are repaid in full at $100 (a 100% increase from the current price of approximately $50) but dilutes the common shareholders (including management/directors). Management, as major common shareholders, does not want that to happen and therefore want the Debentureholders to vote to approve the proposed amendments to benefit the current shareholders and management and to the detriment of the Debentureholders. The Debentureholders currently have rights and expectations and Mogo wants to change those rights and previous expectations with the proposed amendments set forth in the Circular. Vote AGAINST the proposed amendments and receive full repayment with shares in the coming weeks. Additionally, in the April 27, 2020 news release, management cleverly omitted the proposed amendment to create a $1.50 minimum price at which common shares may be issued to repay the principal amount of the Debentures at maturity. This omission introduces a scenario to Debentureholders that could result in a significant loss, a loss that is not currently possible if you vote AGAINST the proposed amendments. Read the Circular and analyze the risks and calculations to understand the full scope of the proposed amendments. Story continues The Choice/Analysis to Make The Debentureholders need to decide to either: vote AGAINST the proposed amendments set forth in the Circular and have the Debentures repaid within the next few weeks with common shares of Mogo at a price based on the 20 day VWAP preceding the current maturity date; or vote FOR the proposed amendments set forth in the Circular if you believe the Company will continue to be a going concern in two years and that the share price will be above $1.50, so that no loss is taken on your investment. In other words, the same opportunity as you have now to recoup your losses that currently sit at approximately 50% if you purchased at par. Mr. Clough commented, The proposal to amend the indenture of the Debentures is an effort by management to prolong the inevitable equity dilution by two years. The proposed amendments extend the time risk by another two years and introduces a whole new risk that doesnt exist now, namely the floor price on future share issuances ($1.50). Beyond that, this whole thing is riddled with conflict, from the recommendation by management who receive the biggest benefit as the largest common shareholders and the proxy solicitation firm who recommended it. Go read the fine print and vote AGAINST the proxy statement and say no to Wekerle and Feller. Responses to Three Significant Amendments Extension of the Maturity date to May 31, 2022. It is unlikely Debentureholders will receive cash upon maturity in two years (May 31, 2022 amended maturity date) as Mogo has certain financial covenants that restrict cash uses. It is a fair expectation that Debentureholders will have to take shares. So why wait? Vote NO and take the shares now. Management has suggested that by agreeing to extend the Debentures, there would be more time to increase the share price creating a more orderly market in the event that Debentureholders are issued shares. Based on that logic, who would agree to take less shares in the future than they could receive now? So why wait? Vote NO and take the shares now. The current market price of the Debentures is approximately $50, which is an indication of what the Debentureholders think of the proposal, as the price of the Debentures have declined since the announcement of the proposed amendments. This is a decline of 50%. However, if the Debentureholders vote AGAINST the proposed amendments in the Circular and it is defeated, then Debentureholders will get repaid $100 per debenture (in shares) almost immediately. A return of 100%. Even if the shares received are liquidated at a lower price than the value originally received, there is still a significant cushion of 100%. So why wait? Vote NO and take the shares now. Reduction of the Conversion Price from $5 to $3.50. At a current share price of approximately $1.00, this amendment has little to no value to the current Debentureholders but it is likely management will say otherwise, despite the Mogo share price performance since inception that might suggest otherwise. Analyze the audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 which are available on www.sedar.com and pay attention to the net loss year over year. So why wait? Vote NO and take the shares now. Establish a minimum price of $1.50 at which common shares may be issued to repay the principal amount of the Convertible Debentures at maturity. Considering the following, if the shares trade at the current price of approximately $1.00 in two years, upon maturity, Debentureholders would receive only two thirds of their original investment payable in shares, a 33% loss, as shares can only be issued at $1.50. In another example, if the stock was at $0.50, Debentureholders would lose 66% of their investment. So why wouldnt debenture holders opt for $100 per debenture now as discussed in 1(c)? Presently, there is no floor, or minimum. Why would debenture holders vote in favour of this new risk that only benefits the common shareholders (management) with less dilution? Run the calculations and analyze the risks and realities before you make your decision. So why wait? Vote NO and take the shares now. In the April 27, 2020 news release, management cleverly omitted the proposed amendment to create a $1.50 minimum price at which common shares may be issued to repay the principal amount of the Debentures at maturity which is why Debentureholders must not rely on Management and read the Circular before making your decision. So why wait? Vote NO and take the shares now. Audited Financial Statements The December 31, 2019 audited financial statements of Mogo represents Mogo as a going concern based in part on managements belief of the base of investors and debt lenders historically available to the Company. Analyze the audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 which are available on www.sedar.com and pay attention to the net loss year over year. Annual Information Form Mogos annual information form dated March 27,202, states that We have a history of losses and may not achieve consistent profitability in the future. In addition, if we continue to grow rapidly, we may not be able to manage our growth effectively. We generated net losses of $10.8 million in 2019. As of December 31, 2019, we had an accumulated deficit of $101.6 million If we are unable to achieve and sustain profitability, the market price of our publicly listed securities may significantly decrease. Read the Circular and analyze the risks and calculations to understand the full scope of the proposed amendments. Vote AGAINST the proposed amendments and receive full repayment in shares at these prices levels now as opposed to hoping that things improve in the future and receive less shares for repayment and expose yourself to new risks that are not present today. Mr. Clough is relying on the exemption under section 9.2(4) of National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations (NI 51-102) to make public broadcast solicitations. The foregoing information is provided in accordance with corporate and securities laws applicable to public broadcast solicitations. This news release and any solicitation made by Mr. Clough in advance of the Mogo Debentureholders meeting is, or will be, as applicable, made by Mr. Clough, and not by or on behalf of the management of Mogo. A copy of this news release containing the information required in section 9.2(4) of NI 51-102 will be filed on Mogos company profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com . A proxy may be revoked by instrument in writing executed by a shareholder or by his or her attorney authorized in writing or, if the shareholder is a body corporate, by an officer or attorney thereof duly authorized or by any other manner permitted by law. Mogos office is located at 2100 401 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC, V6B 5A1. Contact: Leonard Clough 604-800-4715 RTHK: US urges WHO to invite Taiwan to annual meeting The United States on Wednesday urged the World Health Organisation to defy pressure from Beijing and invite Taiwan to its annual meeting, which will discuss the coronavirus pandemic. The United States itself has yet to confirm its participation in the May 18-19 talks of the World Health Assembly, which comes after President Donald Trump vowed to slash funding for the UN body. "I want to call on all nations, including those in Europe, to support Taiwan's participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly and other relevant United Nations venues," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters. "I also call upon WHO Director-General Tedros (Adhanom Ghebreyesus) to invite Taiwan to observe this month's WHA, as he has the power to do, and as his predecessors have done on multiple occasions," he said. China, which wields a veto on the UN Security Council, considers Taiwan a province awaiting reunification and fights to block it from all international institutions. China's defeated nationalists fled to Taiwan in 1949 but the island has evolved into a self-ruling democracy. Taiwan has become a model for its swift response to the coronavirus outbreak, with just six deaths despite its close proximity and economic ties with mainland China. The Trump administration has lashed out at the WHO and Beijing over the illness, which first appeared in the mainland Chinese metropolis of Wuhan and has since killed more than 250,000 people worldwide. Critics say that Trump is seeking to deflect from his own handling of the crisis, with the United States suffering by far the world's highest death toll. The State Department did not reply to questions on whether the United States will take part in the World Health Assembly, which sets global health policy and is generally attended by health ministers or other senior officials. Until Trump's announcement, the United States was the top contributor to the WHO, giving more than US$400 million a year to help global efforts on fighting myriad illnesses including malaria and polio. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2020-05-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Obviously they cant do a complete 180 and just change what makes the Republican Party what it is, she said, but it would help on climate change, health care, immigration, just to be a little more open-minded and a little less stuck in one mindset about it, saying, We have to stick with this because weve always done it this way. Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) Colorado's GOP party chair has gotten himself into an election scandal that has nothing to do with his own election. Colorado state Rep. Larry Liston and GOP activist David Stiver both competed in the Republican primary for Colorado's 10th District state senate seat in March, with Liston getting 74 percent of the vote and Stiver getting 24 percent. Candidates need 30 percent to make it onto the November ballot, but Buck tried to push Stiver forward anyway, Eli Bremer, the GOP chairman for state Senate District 10, tells The Denver Post. On an April 17 conference call with around 200 GOP elected officials and county officers from around Colorado, the group voted to push Stiver to the November ballot even though the 10th District hadn't voted to do so. "Do you understand the order of the executive committee and the central committee that you will submit the paperwork to include Mr. Stiver and Mr. Liston on the ballot, with Mr. Liston receiving the top-line vote?" Buck asked Bremer on the call, according to a recording obtained by The Denver Post. Bremer responded by calling the order a "false affidavit" and said he'd seek "legal counsel" to ensure the move wasn't a "misdemeanor" before doing so. Buck pushed Bremer multiple times before agreeing to "move on." "You've got a sitting congressman, a sitting state party chair, who is trying to bully a volunteer I'm a volunteer; I don't get paid for this into committing a crime," Bremer told The Denver Post in confirming the account. Buck said he wasn't asking Bremer to "commit fraud," rather he was just "asking Eli if he understood the decision of the central committee" and would "follow" its "request." The issue of adding Stiver to the ballot has landed in a Denver District Court. More stories from theweek.com Trump reportedly got 'lava level mad' over potential exposure to coronavirus Trump cryptically tells reporters 'a lot of things' might happen soon following call with Putin Sen. Joe Manchin forgot to mute a call with Senate Democrats while he went through an Arby's drive-through Why Americans Don't Have Any Savings In response to a likely worldwide recession, governments have turned on full blast the fiscal and monetary spigots. A $2 trillion spending plan has just been approved in the USA, central banks are on a buying spree, and the $1200 stimulus payment is just helicopter money. Since the government does not have a magical tree of plenty and can only redistribute from the left pocket to the right by taxing, borrowing, or printing money, how does this make any economic sense or make any country better off? Government and Keynesian economists will tell you its to protect us from the coming dangers of hoarding; specifically, that banks will stop lending and just let funds sit. Keynes brought hoarding to the forefront of economics in his The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money; a concept that the classical economist considered to be irrelevant. In a circular flow economy, the value of output must be equal to income. Income represents an ability to purchase goods and services and can be divided into three categories: it can be consumed, saved, or hoarded. Consumption is using income to obtain goods and services for current personal satisfaction. Savings is (correctly) defined as a transfer of purchasing power from one group to another.1 The saver is giving up his current access to goods and services to be able to consume more of them in the future. These transfers allow investors to use these claims to purchase plants and equipment to produce goods and services in the future. The last category is hoarding, which in the Keynesian view is the equivalent of stuffing money in your mattress for a rainy day. It is the only claim on income that is not used to purchase currently produced goods and services. This Keynesian nonsense about hoarding has been around for nearly a century and has led to some very bad economic decisions over the last eighty years. In reality, hoarding is just saving, and a simple example will show how the fear of hoarding is grossly overblown. Hoarding simply increases the value of dollars in circulation and is hardly anything to panic about. Suppose there are ten pencils and only $10. Supply and demand will ensure that the price of each pencil will be $1 each. If the price of each pencil was $2, you could only afford to buy half of the pencils, and the unsold pencils would drive the price down. If the price was only 50 cents, then people would still have $5 looking for pencils to buy, driving their price up. Now suppose that people hoard or stuff their mattresses with $2 and we only have $8 left to buy ten pencils. The price for each pencil will normally decline to eighty cents, putting us back in equilibrium. The Keynesian fear, though, is that prices are rather inflexible or adjust poorly, such that the price remains at $1 and we are left with two unsold pencils. There's not enough demand at the old prices. Keynesians advocate government spending to replace this lost demand. Another Keynesian fear is that if input costs such as wages dont adjust and the cost of each pencil is stuck at ninety cents when the price has fallen to eighty cents, then businesses will be selling at a loss, leading to reductions in output, bankruptcies, more hoarding, and a downward spiral in the economy. This is the Keynesian fear of deflation. Hence, for a Keynesian either output prices dont adjust or if they do, input prices dont adjust fast enough. Of course, this entire Keynesian nightmare scenario assumes that in a market economy both input and output prices adjust slowly or with a long lag. This scenario has not been shown to be true in the real worldunless, of course, governments interfereand we then might as well assume a world with negative gravity and suggest a policy of large nets to catch people from flying into outer space. If we assume that the successful entrepreneurs are the ones who best forecast output prices and then bid for input prices, there is no real reason to believe that prices in a market economy wont adjust quickly. There is no empirical evidence that prices are sticky when governments allow them to adjust. If you need a current example, just look at the recent steep dive in oil prices. Although governments continue their war on cash for fear of hoarding, their real concern today is not individuals stuffing their mattresses, but bank lending. When you put money in your checking account, you are expressing a desire to store purchasing power: otherwise, you would have put this cash in a savings account or purchased a bond. You assume that this money is always there, but banks take this money and lend it to other individuals and businesses in a practice known as fractional reserve banking. This process creates money out of thin air when a bank credits a borrowers account without debiting the same amount from someone elses account. It converts your desire to hoardi.e., saveinto spending by someone else with newly created money. The government fear is that a recession will increase bankruptcies, nonperforming loans, and induce banks to cut back on lending, or essentially allow the money in checking accounts to revert to its intended function as a store (or reserve) of purchasing power. The money supply will then contract, leading to the Keynesian nightmare scenarios described above. But this money contraction results not from hoarding, but from fractional reserve banking. It is this process which leads to swift contractions in the money supply when recessions strike. This problem would be mitigated by more real saving, including the type of saving that Keynesians call "hoarding." Frank Hollenbeck teaches finance and economics at the International University of Geneva. He has previously held positions as a Senior Economist at the State Department, Chief Economist at Caterpillar Overseas, and as an Associate Director of a Swiss private bank. See Frank Hollenbeck's article archives. You can subscribe to future articles by Frank Hollenbeck via this RSS feed.. 2020 Copyright Frank Hollenbeck - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors. 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. She's been holed up at home amid the UK's seven-week coronavirus lockdown. And Chloe Ross appeared to pine for happier times as she uploaded a sizzling snap from her January trip to South Africa on Instagram on Thursday. The TOWIE star, 27, caught the eye as she highlighted her incredible figure in a hot pink swimsuit while posing by an infinity pool during a sun-soaked photoshoot. 'Back in January before all this madness': Chloe Ross appeared to pine for happier times as she uploaded a sizzling snap from her January trip to South Africa on Instagram on Thursday With her locks styled into a braided ponytail, the model turned heads as she accentuated her out-of-this-world beauty with matte make-up. The TV star captioned the images: 'Back in January before all this madness started.' [sic] The media personality later shared an image of herself in a pale pink two-piece as she prepared to sunbathe. Working it: The TOWIE star, 27, caught the eye as she highlighted her incredible figure in a hot pink swimsuit while posing by an infinity pool during a sun-soaked photoshoot Perky: The model later shared an image of herself in a pale pink two-piece by Oh Polly as she prepared to sunbathe Back in January, a TOWIE spokesperson confirmed Chloe's exit from the long-running show, sharing: 'We review our cast every series to ensure we're keeping the show fresh and relevant.' After being axed, the honey-blonde beauty insisted to OK! that viewers may see her return to screens in the near future. The media personality said: 'They've said to me that the door's always open so never say never. In January 2019, the series axed 10 stars including Myles Barnett, Jon and Chris Clark, Chloe Lewis and Adam Oukhellou. The year before that Amber Dowding and Mike Hassini parted ways with the ITVBe favourite, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in October. Long-standing cast members such as Chloe Sims, Gemma Collins, Bobby Norris and Georgia Kousoulou remain on the series. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 21:03:03|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KUWAIT CITY, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Amid the coronavirus pandemic, many cultural institutions were forced to close their doors in Kuwait. Kuwait Free Art Atelier, one of the art museums in Kuwait, organized a virtual gallery on its social media account for art lovers under the current circumstances. Ibtisam Al-Asfour, an exhibition organizer, had the idea for an online Ramadan exhibition entitled "Kuwait is our home" where she invited a group of artists to participate in the exhibition with their artworks related to the Muslim holy month. The exhibition was hosted by the museum on social media, Al-Asfour told Xinhua, adding that the idea was well-received by the museum and artists. The museum's Instagram account received a beautiful collection of artworks from Kuwait and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, she said. "At the beginning of Ramadan, artists were invited to display their works that match the spirit and atmosphere of the holy month, including religious paintings, Arabic calligraphy, and Ramadan traditions and customs," she explained. The artworks were displayed to encourage artists to produce and exchange experiences and knowledge in light of the current situation that we are living in, and to enhance the spirit of optimism and belief in a better tomorrow, she stressed. There is a jury committee choosing the best paintings to display, she said, noting that 22 artists participated in the exhibition and the museum will still accept paintings until May 23. Mathail Al-Metlaa, one of the participants and a Kuwaiti artist, shared her watercolor and gouache painting, saying that art was her passion since childhood and she likes to focus on little details in her paintings. "I have thought a lot about drawing Al-Misaharaty. I was fascinated by this career that started in Morocco and then spread in the Arab world," she said. Al-Misaharaty is the name given to the person who walks and beats a drum in residential areas to wake people up to eat their suhur -- last meal before fasting during Ramadan. "This drawing was a new piece for me, I enjoyed it a lot," she said, noting that this kind of drawing documents the beautiful past and freezes the moment of their impact on the community. She told Xinhua that this painting took her about four hours to finish, but it worth the while as it "allows the spread of art instead of the virus." Al-Misaharaty was also the choice of subject for Omani artist Saleh Al-Alawi. Drawing the character with watercolors was the admired by many because of its simplicity, he said. "My painting entitled 'Dukhoon' reflects the Omani character in traditional costumes surrounded by the smell of Omani Bakhoor (woodchip submerged in perfumed oil and mixed with other natural ingredients)," he explained. Al-Alawi praised the exhibition idea, saying that it allows the audience around the world to interact while they are at home and this action indicates the high status of culture in Kuwait. Speaking to Xinhua, Kuwaiti artist Tahani Al-Ayoub expressed her happiness to be able to participate in the exhibition. "I received an invitation to participate in the exhibition, and two of my paintings were displayed," she said. Al-Ayoub's painting, drawn with acrylic and oil paints, shared Ramadan vibes in mosques which are prepared for worship in a moony night. The Magic of the East was the title for Kuwaiti artist Fatima Al-Azmi. "The painting, depicting a woman in a traditional costumes, aims to strengthen the identity of Arab women," she said. Enditem A five-member committee set up by the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO) has met with the youth of Damongo over the abrupt power fluctuation that happened a fortnight ago. The youth were represented by the leadership of the Damongo Branch of the Gonjaland Youth Association (GLYA) and its sister youth group, the Damongo Youth Parliament (DYP). The committee is chaired by Mr.John Teiko, Chief Technician Engineer. Other members are Mr.Edward Nii Aryeetey, Chief Technician Engineer(member); Ing. David Dagbui, Electrical Engineer(Member); Mr.Frank Agbarti, Assistant Chief Technician Engineer(Member), with Mr. Emmanuel Baba, the Damongo Area manager for VRA being a co-opted member. The committee interacted extensively with the youth fronts with the mandate to investigate into circumstances that led to the high voltage transmission that caused abrupt power fluctuation in Damongo and its environs on 24th April, 2020 and the damages therefrom. The Secretary to the committee said even though they received several complaints, the greatest concern that prompted them to act came from the youth fronts of the Damongo Branch of the Gonjaland Youth Association and its sister youth group,Damongo Youth Parliament. He said as a cooperate entity, their soul purpose is to serve the customer to the best of ability,adding that,"without you the customer,we are nothing". Mr.John Teiko in his welcome address apologised to the youth over the unfortunate incident and encouraged the leadership to help the committee come out with a comprehensive report which would be a "win-win for all. According to him,the essence of the investigation is not just to find out the cause of the incident,but to forestall any future occurrences from both the technical and social point of view. He invited comments from the youth fronts on how the incident occurred and the damages caused. The chairman of the Damongo Branch of the Gonjaland Youth Association who doubles as the youth chief, Nyiribiwura Yakubu Jaga,lamented the extent of damages the incident had caused residents of the district. He said but for the timely intervention of the leadership of the youth in managing tensions, the story would have been different from the enraged public. The youth chief reiterated that the extent of damages caused cannot be quantified. Secretary to the Damongo Youth Parliament and Assemblyman for Canteen, Mr.Ananpansah B Abraham narrated that the regrettable incident which merits compensation from VRA/NEDCO happened in the full glare of his very eyes. According to him,he was watching television with his friends when all of a sudden,he noticed smoke emanating from the television set. The lights suddenly went off in a scary manner and he instructed a colleague to switch off the main power supply. Minutes after, he got inundated with calls from electorates,friends and people complaining about damages to their electrical appliances as a result of the sudden spike in power supply to their homes. Some houses caught fire in the process coupled with severe damages to electrical appliances, he added. Whilst calling of VRA to always give prior notice before putting out lights, he placed a strong call on the body to urgently fix a damaged transformer in his electoral area, Canteen which has since kept the area where the West Gonja Hospital is situated in darkness for days. Mr, Kelly Gbolo, Madam Alijata and Hon. Mary who are all executive members of the Gonjaland youth association reiterated the need for VRA/NEDCO to appropriately compensate residents. They also called on the corporate body to maintain close ties and strengthen its communication with customers, since VRA/NEDCO did not come out with any apology after the incident. Hon. Adamu Zomnura Shaibu of Damongo Youth Parliament, Mr. Musah Majeed and Mr.Sumaila sought for explanation about the 50% free power supply by the president. It was explained that March consumption has been used as a benchmark to do the calculation and that all Ghanaians are entitled to the package. The National P.R.O. of the GLYA, Mr. Mufti Habid emphasized the need for VRA/NEDCO to deploy effective ways of communicating with its clients by employing the local media houses as well as social media. The committee applauded the youth for invaluable contributions and promised to come out with a comprehensive report that will reflect the situation on the ground. On the issue of compensation, they admonished leadership of the youth to manage the expectations of the people, further noting that any decision to that effect would depend on the outcome of the investigation and what they have heard from the youth fronts. The Damongo Area manager owing to the concerns raised by the Assembly Man of Canteen, Mr. Abraham Ananpansah, was charged to move in and fix the Canteen situation with immediate effect. One of the valets for President Donald Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a report from CNN. Trump was informed on Wednesday that a member of the US Navy, who has worked as a valet to Trump and his family with personal tasks, and the White House later confirmed the reported positive test to CNN. Following the news of the positive test, Trump was tested by the White House physician. A statement from the White House said that he and Vice President Mike Pence both tested negative for the coronavirus. --Check out all of PennLives coronavirus coverage by clicking here-- ""We were recently notified by the White House Medical Unit that a member of the United States Military, who works on the White House campus, has tested positive for Coronavirus," deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement to CNN. CNN reported that Trump was upset after learning about the valet testing positive. The report also said that the valet had begun to show symptoms Wednesday morning. Valets play a crucial role in the lives of presidents, often being responsible for food being brought to and from the West Wing, as well as traveling with the presidents family. According to CNN, Trump, Pence and senior staffers continue to receive weekly coronavirus tests. -- Follow Ed Sutelan on Twitter, @EdwardSutelan 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. After slumping much of yesterday, Brent soared on Thursday morning, after Saudi Arabia stepped in to prop up the recovery in the energy market by raising crude prices for its customers worldwide. Saudi Aramco increased pricing for most of its grades for shipment in June. According to a price list seen by Bloomberg, Aramco raised its official selling price for flagship Arab Light crude to buyers in Asia by $1.40 a barrel, to a discount of $5.90 below the Middle East benchmark. The company was expected to reduce its official pricing by $2.50 a barrel, to a discount of $9.80, according to the median estimates in a Bloomberg survey of seven traders and refiners. By increasing pricing for Asia, Aramco is also indicating it sees demand beginning to recover in its largest regional market. The company is reversing three consecutive months of reductions in pricing for the worlds largest oil-consuming region. Saudi Arabia - which at the start of March launch an unprecedented price war that crashed the market - is now telegraphing that it will "do whatever it takes" to support an oil price recovery. The kingdom narrowed discounts most notably for Europe and the Mediterranean, the main market for Russian crude. That appears to be a signal to the Kremlin after Riyadh and Moscow agreed last month to work together again through the OPEC+ alliance and bring the price war to an end. The price hike takes place as the worlds biggest exporter is also cutting production as part of a global pact aimed at tightening supply and buttressing prices. Brent gained as much as 7%, rising by more than $2/barrel, and was last trading at $31.60. Related: Buffet, Bezos And Blackrock Are Betting Big On This $30 Trillion Mega-Trend As a reminder, Saudi Arabia began paring production late last month, after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners, including Russia, agreed to slash output by 9.7 million barrels a day starting May 1. Oil prices have plunged this year and many drillers may stop pumping at wells that are no longer profitable. As Bloomberg notes, raising prices to the U.S. will make Saudi barrels less attractive in a market where the main crude benchmark went negative last month. Selling less in the U.S. may also help appease President Donald Trump who helped orchestrate last months historic production-cutting agreement and who has threatened tariffs against Saudi crude imports. Trump is keen on protecting U.S. jobs in the oil industry in an election year. Of course, it also means that US shale producers will sense a shift in the tide and aggressively pursue maximum output which, ironically, may lead to another glut if demand does not rebound as fast. By Zerohedge.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: By Gabriela Mello SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian telecoms firms Telefonica Brasil SA and TIM Participacoes SA are moving ahead with a potential joint bid for rival Oi SA's mobile unit despite the challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak, executives said Wednesday. The carriers have begun due diligence on a plan announced in March to acquire Oi's assets together. Meanwhile, they remain focused on expanding their fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network, as well as fourth-generation (4G) mobile coverage, while a long-awaited auction for next-generation spectrum remains uncertain. "We're confident that our strategy is the right one," Telefonica Brasil Chief Executive Christian Gebara told investors on a call, noting it is still early to assess the full extent of the global pandemic. "The level of uncertainty is much higher, but we're not willing to cut costs or capital expenditure that will help us grow and compete in the long term," TIM Chief Executive Pietro Labriola said on a separate call. The executives did not detail how long the due diligence on Oi's mobile unit would take, but said they would have a clearer idea on the timeline in coming months. TIM and Telefonica Brasil are also working together on an infrastructure sharing agreement, pending regulatory approval, as well as exploring other partnerships to accelerate FTTH deployment in Brazil, they said. In the first-quarter, the two companies reported weaker-than-expected results, as the pandemic hit revenues, mostly in pre-paid plans and handset sales, overshadowing efficiency gains from digitalization efforts and other cost-cutting initiatives. TIM shares fell nearly 2% in afternoon trading and Telefonica Brasil slipped around 1%. UBS analysts see Telefonica Brasil, the local unit of Spain's Telefonica SA , which operates under the brand Vivo, less affected by economic and mobility challenges in the country given its premium brand and subscriber mix. Story continues "FTTH momentum and apparent competitive landscape stability provide evidence of Vivo's resiliency, which should remain even as the pandemic and its effects further hinder economic activity," UBS analyst Vinicius Ribeiro wrote in a report. At the end of March, 58.5% of Telefonica Brasil's mobile customers were using post-paid plans. For TIM, Ribeiro flagged uncertainty about the impact of the coronavirus crisis, given the carrier's higher exposure to pre-paid plans, which represented 59% of its mobile base in March. In the last two weeks of March, the local subsidiary of Telecom Italia saw pre-paid recharges drop as much as 25%, said Labriola, adding that numbers are slowly improving as social distancing measures are relaxed. Vivo has also noted a slight recovery in handset sales and mobile data usage in April compared with the second half of March, when stay-at-home measures led customers to use more home internet and stores were shut by lockdowns. "We don't expect customers to downgrade their post-paid plans because we offered a lot of benefits," Gebara added. (Reporting by Gabriela Mello; Editing by Brad Haynes, Louise Heavens and Andrea Ricci) HOUSTON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Goodrich Petroleum Corporation (NYSE American: GDP) (the "Company") today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020. THE COMPANY HAS POSTED A NEW PRESENTATION ON ITS WEBSITE WHICH WILL BE REVIEWED ON THE EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALL. INVESTORS CAN ACCESS THE SLIDES AT: http://goodrichpetroleumcorp.investorroom.com/presentations QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS Net Income: Net income was $3.0 million in the quarter ($0.24 per basic, $0.22 per diluted share). Adjusted EBITDA: Adjusted EBITDA was $16.6 million in the quarter. Production: Production averaged approximately 137,000 Mcfe per day for the quarter. The Company completed 5.0 gross (1.8 net) wells in the quarter, with 1.0 gross (1.0 net) operated well added in January and 4 gross (0.8 net) non-operated wells added at the end of March. Cash Operating Expenses: Per unit cash operating expense was $1.03 per Mcfe for the quarter, broken out as follows: Lease operating expense ("LOE") was $0.27 per Mcfe, which included workover expense of $0.04 per Mcfe per Mcfe, which included workover expense of per Mcfe Production and other taxes were $0.07 per Mcfe, which included $0.04 per Mcfe for production taxes and $0.03 per Mcfe for ad valorem taxes per Mcfe, which included per Mcfe for production taxes and per Mcfe for ad valorem taxes Transportation and processing expense was $0.39 per Mcfe per Mcfe General and Administrative ("G&A") expense payable in cash was $0.30 per Mcfe Return on Capital Employed ("ROCE"), defined as trailing twelve months earnings before interest and taxes ("EBIT") divided by total assets less current liabilities, was 12.5% at quarter-end. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS SPRING REDETERMINATION UNDER SENIOR CREDIT FACILITY: In conjunction with its spring redetermination under its reserve based lending facility, the Company and the participating banks have executed an amendment to the credit facility establishing a new borrowing base of $120 million, down from $125 million, with no material changes to terms and conditions. SECOND LIEN NOTES: The Company has entered into an amendment to its second lien note indenture extending the maturity date to May 31, 2022, with no additional changes to terms and conditions. SERVICE COST DEFLATION: The Company is currently seeing a 15-20% reduction in service company bids for its next set of wells, which have increased its field level returns as shown in its earnings call presentation. FINANCIAL RESULTS CASH FLOW Adjusted EBITDA was $16.6 million in the quarter and discretionary cash flow ("DCF"), defined as net cash provided by operating activities before changes in working capital, was $15.4 million in the quarter versus Adjusted EBITDA of $15.2 million and DCF of $14.8 million in the prior year period. (See accompanying tables at the end of this press release that reconcile Adjusted EBITDA and DCF, each of which are non-US GAAP financial measures, to their most directly comparable US GAAP financial measure.) NET INCOME Net income was $3.0 million in the quarter, or $0.24 per basic and $0.22 per fully diluted share, versus net income of $0.4 million, or $0.04 per basic and $0.03 per fully diluted share, in the prior year period. PRODUCTION Production totaled approximately 12.5 Bcfe in the quarter, or an average of approximately 137,000 Mcfe (98% natural gas) per day, versus 9.3 Bcfe, or an average daily production of approximately 104,000 Mcfe (97% natural gas) per day, in the prior year period. REVENUES Oil and natural gas revenues adjusted for cash settled derivatives of $6.0 million was $29.0 million. Oil and natural gas revenues prior to cash settled derivatives was $23.0 million. Oil and gas revenues including cash settled derivatives was $27.4 million in the prior year period. Average realized price per unit was $1.84 per Mcfe ($1.73 per Mcf of gas and $47.64 per barrel of oil) in the quarter, versus $3.12 per Mcfe in the prior year period ($2.91 per Mcf of gas and $59.45 per barrel of oil). Average realized price per unit when incorporating the Company's settled derivatives for the quarter was $2.32 per Mcfe. (See accompanying table at the end of this press release that reconciles oil and natural gas revenues adjusted for cash settled derivatives, which is a non-US GAAP financial measure, to its most directly comparable US GAAP financial measure.) OPERATING EXPENSES Lease operating expense ("LOE") was $3.3 million in the quarter, or $0.27 per Mcfe, which included $0.5 million, or $0.04 per Mcfe, for workovers. LOE was $3.3 million, or $0.36 per Mcfe, in the prior year period, which included $0.6 million, or $0.07 per Mcfe, for workovers. Production and other taxes were $0.9 million in the quarter, or $0.07 per Mcfe, versus $0.6 million, or $0.07 per Mcfe, in the prior year period. Transportation and processing expense was $4.9 million in the quarter, or $0.39 per Mcfe, versus $4.7 million, or $0.50 per Mcfe, in the prior year period. Depreciation, depletion and amortization ("DD&A") expense was $13.3 million in the quarter, or $1.06 per Mcfe, versus $10.0 million, or $1.08 per Mcfe, in the prior year period. General and administrative expense ("G&A") was $4.9 million in the quarter, or $0.39 per Mcfe, versus $5.3 million, or $0.57 per Mcfe, in the prior year period. G&A expense payable in cash was $3.8 million, or $0.30 per Mcfe, versus $3.8 million, or $0.40 per Mcfe, in the prior year period. (See accompanying table at the end of this press release that reconciles G&A expense payable in cash, which is a non-US GAAP financial measure, to its most directly comparable US GAAP financial measure.) OPERATING INCOME/LOSS Operating income adjusted for cash settled derivatives was $1.7 million for the quarter, which included $6.0 million received for cash settled derivatives. Operating loss, defined as revenues minus operating expenses, totaled $4.3 million in the quarter prior to cash settled derivatives. Operating income adjusted for cash settled derivatives was $3.3 million in the prior year period, which included $1.8 million paid for cash settled derivatives. Operating income totaled $5.1 million in the prior year period prior to cash settled derivatives. (See accompanying table at the end of this press release that reconciles operating income adjusted for cash settled derivatives, which is a non-US GAAP financial measure, to its most directly comparable US GAAP financial measure.) INTEREST EXPENSE Interest expense totaled $2.0 million in the quarter, which included interest payable in cash of $1.2 million incurred on the credit facility and non-cash interest of $0.8 million incurred primarily on the Company's second lien notes, which included $0.4 million paid in-kind interest and $0.4 million amortization of debt discount and issuance costs. Interest expense for the prior year period was $3.7 million, which included interest payable in cash of $0.5 million incurred on the credit facility and non-cash interest of $3.2 million incurred on the Company's second lien notes, which included $1.8 million paid in-kind interest and $1.4 million amortization of debt discount and issuance costs. (See accompanying table at the end of this press release that reconciles interest payable in cash, which is a non-US GAAP financial measure, to its most directly comparable US GAAP financial measure.) CAPITAL EXPENDITURES Capital expenditures totaled $18.4 million in the quarter, of which a majority was spent on drilling and completion costs, versus $29.5 million in the prior year period, of which $28.5 million was spent on drilling and completion costs and $1.0 million on other expenditures. The Company conducted drilling operations on 12.0 gross (4.0 net) wells in the quarter and added 5 gross (1.8 net) wells to production, with 4 gross (0.8 net) wells added at the end of March. The Company had 10.0 gross (4.6 net) drilled but uncompleted ("DUC") wells at the end of the quarter, which the Company plans to complete in the future in a better price environment. The Company reaffirms its full year preliminary budget of $40 - $50 million and the Board of Directors will review the 2020 capital expenditure budget quarterly and adjust, if necessary, based on commodity prices and the goal of free cash flow generation from moderate growth in volumes and a further reduction in per unit costs. BALANCE SHEET The Company exited the quarter with $1.3 million of cash, $92.9 million outstanding under the Company's credit facility, and total principal debt outstanding, including the credit facility and second lien notes, of $106.3 million. CRUDE OIL AND NATURAL GAS DERIVATIVES The Company had a gain of $9.1 million on its derivatives not designated as hedges in the quarter, which was comprised of a gain of $6.0 million on cash settlements and a $3.1 million gain representing the change of the fair value of our open natural gas and oil derivative contracts, versus a loss of $1.0 million on its derivatives not designated as hedges in the prior year period, which was comprised of a loss of $1.8 million on cash settlements offset by a $0.8 million gain representing the change in fair value of our open natural gas and oil derivative contracts. OTHER INFORMATION In this press release, the Company refers to several non-US GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted EBITDA, DCF, Return on Capital Employed ("ROCE"), operating income adjusted for cash settled derivatives, oil and natural gas revenues adjusted for cash settled derivatives, G&A expense payable in cash and interest expense payable in cash. Management believes Adjusted EBITDA, DCF and ROCE are good financial indicators of the Company's performance and ability to internally generate operating funds. DCF should not be considered an alternative to net cash provided by operating activities, as defined by US GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered an alternative to net income (loss) applicable to common stock, as defined by US GAAP. Operating income adjusted for cash settled derivatives should not be considered an alternative for operating income, as defined by US GAAP. Oil and natural gas revenues adjusted for cash settled derivatives should not be considered an alternative for oil and natural gas revenues, as defined by US GAAP. G&A payable in cash should not be considered an alternative to general and administrative expense, as defined by US GAAP. Interest expense payable in cash should not be considered an alternative to interest expense, as defined by US GAAP. Management believes that all of these non-US GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors because they are monitored and used by Company management and widely used by professional research analysts in the valuation and investment recommendations of companies within the oil and gas exploration and production industry. Unless otherwise stated, oil production volumes include condensate. Certain statements in this news release regarding future expectations and plans for future activities may be regarded as "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act. They are subject to various risks, such as financial market conditions, changes in commodities prices and costs of drilling and completion, operating hazards, drilling risks, and the inherent uncertainties in interpreting engineering data relating to underground accumulations of oil and gas, as well as other risks discussed in detail in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and other subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Goodrich Petroleum is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company listed on the NYSE American under the symbol "GDP". GOODRICH PETROLEUM CORPORATION SELECTED INCOME AND PRODUCTION DATA (In thousands, except per share amounts) (Unaudited) Three Months Ended Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 March 31, 2019 Volumes Natural gas (MMcf) 12,242 9,060 Oil and condensate (MBbls) 38 47 Mmcfe Total 12,471 9,342 Mcfe per day 137,042 103,795 Reconciliation of Oil and natural gas revenues adjusted for cash settled derivatives (non-US GAAP) Three Months Ended Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 March 31, 2019 Oil and natural gas revenues (US GAAP) $ 22,983 $ 29,146 Net cash received (paid) for settlement of derivative instruments 5,969 (1,760) Oil and natural gas revenues adjusted for cash settled derivatives $ 28,952 $ 27,386 Oil and natural gas revenues $ 22,983 $ 29,146 Other 3 (6) $ 22,986 $ 29,140 Operating Expenses Lease operating expense (LOE excluding workovers - $2,843 and $2,687, respectively) 3,328 3,335 Production and other taxes 863 631 Transportation and processing 4,875 4,701 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 13,267 10,046 General and administrative (payable in cash - $3,780 and $3,766, respectively) 4,914 5,310 Other 8 10 Operating income (loss) (4,269) 5,107 Other income (expense) Interest expense (payable in cash - $1,170 and $465, respectively) (1,952) (3,657) Interest income and other expense 119 6 Gain (loss) on commodity derivatives not designated as hedges 9,138 (1,008) 7,305 (4,659) Income before income taxes 3,036 448 Income tax benefit - - Net income $ 3,036 $ 448 Discretionary cash flow (see non-US GAAP reconciliation) (1) $ 15,385 $ 14,800 Adjusted EBITDA (see calculation and non-US GAAP reconciliation) (2) $ 16,648 $ 15,214 Weighted average common shares outstanding - basic 12,533 12,151 Weighted average common shares outstanding - diluted (3) 13,849 14,132 Income per share Net income per common share - basic $ 0.24 $ 0.04 Net income per common share - diluted $ 0.22 $ 0.03 (1) Discretionary cash flow is defined as net cash provided by operating activities before changes in operating assets and liabilities. Management believes that the non-US GAAP measure of discretionary cash flow is useful as an indicator of an oil and natural gas exploration and production company's ability to internally fund exploration and development activities and to service or incur additional debt. The company has also included this information because changes in operating assets and liabilities relate to the timing of cash receipts and disbursements which the company may not control and may not relate to the period in which the operating activities occurred. Operating cash flow should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net cash provided by operating activities prepared in accordance with US GAAP. (2) Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest expense, income and similar taxes, DD&A, share based compensation expense and impairment of oil and natural gas properties. In calculating adjusted EBITDA, reorganization gains/losses and gains/losses on commodity derivatives not designated as hedges net of cash received or paid in settlement of derivative instruments are also excluded. Other excluded items include interest income and other, adjustments per our 2019 Senior Credit Facility agreement for operating leases under ASC 842 and any other extraordinary non-cash gains/losses. (3) Fully diluted shares excludes approximately 0.6 million and 1.9 million potentially dilutive instruments that were anti-dilutive for the three months March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. GOODRICH PETROLEUM CORPORATION Per Unit Sales Prices and Costs (Unaudited) Three Months Ended Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 March 31, 2019 Average sales price per unit: Oil (per Bbl) Including net cash received from/paid to settle oil derivatives $ 56.23 $ 57.06 Excluding net cash received from/paid to settle oil derivatives $ 47.64 $ 59.45 Natural gas (per Mcf) Including net cash received from/paid to settle natural gas derivatives $ 2.19 $ 2.73 Excluding net cash received from/paid to settle natural gas derivatives $ 1.73 $ 2.91 Oil and natural gas (per Mcfe) Including net cash received from/paid to settle oil and natural gas derivatives $ 2.32 $ 2.93 Excluding net cash received from/paid to settle oil and natural gas derivatives $ 1.84 $ 3.12 Costs Per Mcfe Lease operating expense ($0.23 and $0.29 per Mcfe excluding workovers, respectively) $ 0.27 $ 0.36 Production and other taxes $ 0.07 $ 0.07 Transportation and processing $ 0.39 $ 0.50 Depreciation, depletion and amortization $ 1.06 $ 1.08 General and administrative (payable in cash - $0.30 and $0.40, respectively) $ 0.39 $ 0.57 Other $ - $ - $ 2.19 $ 2.57 . Note: Amounts on a per Mcfe basis may not total due to rounding. GOODRICH PETROLEUM CORPORATION Cash Flow Data (In thousands) (Unaudited) Reconciliation of discretionary cash flow and net cash provided by operating activities (non-US GAAP) Three Months Ended Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 March 31, 2019 Net cash provided by operating activities (US GAAP) $ 14,850 $ 17,907 Net changes in working capital (535) 3,107 Discretionary cash flow (1) $ 15,385 $ 14,800 Three Months Ended Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 March 31, 2019 CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES: Net income $ 3,036 $ 448 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities Depletion, depreciation and amortization 13,267 10,046 Right of use asset depreciation 313 285 (Gain) loss on derivatives not designated as hedges (9,138) 1,008 Net cash received (paid) for settlement of derivative instruments 5,969 (1,760) Share based compensation (non-cash) 1,156 1,568 Amortization of finance cost, debt discount, paid in-kind interest and accretion 782 3,193 Other - 12 Change in assets and liabilities: Accounts receivable, trade and other, net of allowance (173) (656) Accrued oil and gas revenue 3,735 2,236 Prepaid expenses and other 4 35 Accounts payable (69) 2,641 Accrued liabilities (4,032) (1,149) Net cash provided by operating activities 14,850 17,907 CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES: Capital expenditures (15,038) (28,254) Proceeds from sale of assets - 1,284 Net cash used in investing activities (15,038) (26,970) CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES: Principal payments of bank borrowings - (2,000) Proceeds from bank borrowings - 7,000 Purchase of treasury stock (2) (5) Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities (2) 4,995 Decrease in cash and cash equivalents (190) (4,068) Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 1,452 4,068 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 1,262 $ - GOODRICH PETROLEUM CORPORATION Other Information and Reconciliations (In thousands) Supplemental Balance Sheet Data (unaudited) As of March 31, 2020 Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,262 Long-term debt, net $ 105,089 Unamortized debt discount and issuance cost 1,218 Total principal amount of debt $ 106,307 Reconciliation of Net income to Adjusted EBITDA (non-US GAAP) Three Months Ended Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 March 31, 2019 Net income (US GAAP) $ 3,036 $ 448 Interest expense 1,952 3,657 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 13,267 10,046 Share-based compensation expense (non-cash) 1,155 1,568 Gain on commodity derivatives not designated as hedges, not settled (3,169) (752) Other items ** 407 247 Adjusted EBITDA (2) $ 16,648 $ 15,214 ** Other items include $0.4 million and $0.3 million from the impact of accounting for operating leases under ASC 842 as well as interest income for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Reconciliation of Return on Capital Employed ("ROCE") (non-US GAAP) For the trailing 12 months ended March 31, 2020 Net income (US GAAP) $ 15,876 Add: Interest expense 9,296 Earnings before Interest and Income Taxes ("EBIT") (non-US GAAP) $ 25,172 As of March 31, 2020 Total Assets (US GAAP) $ 243,905 Less: Current Liabilities (US GAAP) (42,615) Capital Employed ("CE") (non-US GAAP) $ 201,290 Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) (EBIT / CE) 12.5% Derivative Activity (unaudited) Three Months Ended Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 March 31, 2019 Gain (loss) on commodity derivatives not designated as hedges, settled $ 5,969 $ (1,760) Gain on commodity derivatives not designated as hedges, not settled 3,169 752 Total gain (loss) on commodity derivatives not designated as hedges $ 9,138 $ (1,008) Reconciliation of interest payable in cash to interest expense (unaudited) Three Months Ended Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 March 31, 2019 Interest expense (US GAAP) $ 1,952 $ 3,657 Amortization of debt discount and issuance cost and paid-in-kind interest (782) (3,192) Interest payable in cash $ 1,170 $ 465 GOODRICH PETROLEUM CORPORATION Other Information and Reconciliations continued (In thousands, except per unit amounts) Reconciliation of capital expenditures (unaudited) Three Months Ended Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 March 31, 2019 Net cash used in investing activities (US GAAP) $ (15,038) $ (26,970) Cash proceeds related to sale of assets - (1,284) Miscellaneous capitalized costs & ARO adjustments (166) (202) Cost incurred in prior period and paid in current period 6,175 8,086 Capital accrual at period end (9,330) (9,145) Total capital expenditures $ (18,359) $ (29,515) Reconciliation of general & administrative expense payable in cash to general and administrative expense (non-US GAAP) Three Months Ended Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 March 31, 2019 General & administrative expense (US GAAP) $ 4,914 $ 5,310 Share based compensation (1,134) (1,544) General & administrative expense payable in cash $ 3,780 $ 3,766 Oil and natural gas production (Mcfe) 12,471 9,342 General and administrative expense payable in cash per Mcfe $ 0.30 $ 0.40 Reconciliation of Operating income adjusted for cash settled derivatives (non-US GAAP) Three Months Ended Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 March 31, 2019 Operating income (loss) (US GAAP) $ (4,269) $ 5,107 Net cash received in (paid for) settlement of derivative instruments 5,969 (1,760) Operating income adjusted for cash settled derivatives $ 1,700 $ 3,347 SOURCE Goodrich Petroleum Corporation Related Links http://www.goodrichpetroleum.com The Indian Railways on Thursday said it has no plans to shift century-old IRIMEE from Jamalpur in Munger district to Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, and any such assertions are "incorrect and misleading". The statement comes after senior Bihar minister Sanjay Kumar Jha urged Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to rescind the "outrageous order" of shifting the institution. Jha, a close confidante of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, had said the "intriguing" move to shift the institution out of Jamalpur has hurt the emotions of the state's people. Kumar, who served as railway minister in the NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had written to Goyal on May 1, urging him to immediately revoke the decision. With the issue having the potential to give ammunition to the opposition ahead of the Bihar polls that is due at the end of this year, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi dialled Goyal on Wednesday evening. Goyal promised him to issue a clarification on the issue. In a statement, the railways said it has planned to enlarge the activities of the Indian Railways Institute for Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (IRIMEE) to also impart programs in transportation technology and management. Several additional educational programmes starting with one-year diploma courses at Jamalpur are planned to be introduced for which curriculum development and design is underway, the statement released by the Hajipur-headquartered East Central Railway (ECR) zone said. "Indian Railways is very proud of the history and legacy of IRIMEE and there is no question of it being transferred from its present location," it added. In fact, all efforts are to further strengthen it and enlarge its role at the existing location, it said. Founded in 1888, IRIMEE has produced several illustrious railwaymen, including former Railway Board chairman Ashwani Lohani. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More On May 6, the fully written down AT1 (Additional Tier 1) bonds, worth Rs 8,415 crore, helped Yes Bank post a surprise profit of Rs 2,629 crore in the January-March quarter (a loss of Rs3,668 crore if one excludes this component). But the case, which also involves scores of retail bond holders who lost money in these instruments on account of alleged mis-selling, is likely to return to haunt Yes Bank. AT1 securities are a type of contingent convertible bonds designed after the financial crisis to try to ensure that investors would be on the hook if a bank runs into financial stress. Alleged mis-selling of these bonds to retail bond holders by Yes Banks executives is likely to be made part of an existing petition in the High Court of Bombay filed by Axis Trustee, said one of its senior officials, which is representing the AT1 bond holders of Yes Bank. Yes Banks retail bond holders alleged that bank executives sold these instruments to them pitching these perpetual bonds as super FDs offering safety and relatively high return compared with regular fixed deposits. We have received phone calls and emails from retail bond holders alleging mis-selling of these bonds, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity. We have forwarded these details to our legal team who will make this part of the petition when the next hearing happens, the official added. The AT1 case was slated to be heard on March 25 in High Court of Bombay but due to COVID-19, this has been postponed. During the course of the hearing, the HC had told the parties that any further action on the AT1 bond issue will be subject to further orders of the court. But some of the retail bond holders, Moneycontrol spoke with, said they arent very confident of getting a fair representation in the case. It was after sending several emails that they responded to our concerns. There has been major mis-selling of these bonds to many retail investors, including senior citizens, whose life savings vanished with the write down of these bonds, said one of the investors. The person didnt want to be named. Retail bonders are also exploring options to separately seek legal recourse since they feel that Axis Trustee is not adequately representing concerns of retail investors. This is also because of a proposal from the Trustee to take a significant haircut on bond holdings and convert part of the holdings to equity. Retail investors feel that this plan will leave nothing much for them at the end of the exercise. According to at least three such investors that Moneycontrol spoke to Yes Banks executives pitched these bonds as super FDs, which will offer consistent returns and safety of a regular fixed deposit. In most cases, these investors had existing regular fixed deposits in Yes Bank that fetched them a rate of interest of around 8 percent. Yes Bank executives offered 9-9.5 percent return on these bonds and made them transfer substantially high amounts (in some cases Rs 1 crore to Rs 1.5 crore) to these instruments. This was done without explaining the high risk associated with these bonds, especially the provision that says these bonds will be extinguished and capital foregone in the event of a financial failure of the bank, said another investor requesting anonymity. After the bail-out of Yes Bank, some of these retail investors approached the bank only to receive a response that the matter is sub judice. An email sent to Yes Bank seeking response on charge of mis-selling and the actions taken so far remained unanswered till the time of filing this story. According to experts, prevailing Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulations do not bar banks from selling perpetual bonds to retailers, but the rules clearly say that these instruments should not be pitched with fixed deposits as a benchmark. Also, the risks involved in these instruments must be clearly be explained to investors, the rules stated. Yes Banks retail AT1 bond holders allege that these norms were not followed by Yes Bank executives while selling these instruments. Bondholders have invested nearly Rs 94,000 crore in AT1 bonds issued by Indian banks, according to rating agency ICRA. AT1 bonds, also called perpetual bonds, are considered quasi-equity instruments and are riskier than Tier 1 bonds. After the Yes Bank reconstruction scheme was notified by the government, there was a confusion in the market on March 14 on whether these bonds will be honoured or extinguished as said in the draft reconstruction scheme made public by RBI. But, Yes Banks RBI-appointed administrator, Prashant Kumar later clarified that these bonds will be written down fully, as per the agreed reconstruction scheme. This is because the reconstruction scheme was formed after the RBI invoked Section 45 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, which arises when the bank is deemed to be non-viable or approaching non-viability, enabling the write-down of certain Basel III AT1 Bonds. In light of the above provisions of the Basel III circular, the Perpetual Subordinated Basel III Compliant Additional Tier I Bonds issued by the bank for an amount of Rs 3,000 crore on December 23, 2016 and the Perpetual Subordinated Basel III Compliant Additional Tier I Bonds issued by the bank for an amount of Rs. 5,415 crore on October 18, 2017 have been fully written down and stand extinguished with immediate effect, Kumar informed exchanges. PETROZAVODSK, Russia -- A court in Russia has upheld a lower-court decision to extend the detention of Yury Dmitriyev, a Russian historian and prominent Gulag researcher, who is being tried on charges of sexually assaulting his adopted daughter, which he and his supporters deny. The Supreme Court of the northwestern region of Karelia on May 7 rejected Dmitriyev's appeal and remanded him in custody at least until June 25 while his trial continues behind closed doors. A lower court extended Dmitriyev's detention until June 25 in late March. Dmitriyev's supporters have said the charges were brought against him because of his research into a side of history that complicates the Kremlin's glorification of the Soviet past. The 64-year-old heads the Karelia branch of the Moscow-based human rights group Memorial, whose decades-long efforts to expose the extent of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's crimes have met with opposition from the government of President Vladimir Putin. On May 6, dozens of Russian scholars, historians, writers, poets, opposition politicians, artists, and actors signed an open letter asking the Karelia Supreme Court to release Dmitriyev, expressing concerns over the researcher's health as cases of coronavirus infection have been found in the detention center where he is being held. The European Union has called on the Russian authorities to release Dmitriyev and reconsider the charges against him. Dmitriyev was arrested in 2016 on child-pornography charges based on photographs of his adopted daughter that authorities found on his computer. He has proclaimed his innocence, contending that the images were not pornographic and were made at the request of social workers concerned about the childs development. He says the case is an attempt to thwart his research into extrajudicial executions in Karelia under Stalin. A local court acquitted Dmitriyev in April 2018, but the Karelia Supreme Court subsequently upheld an appeal by prosecutors and ordered a new trial. The historian was rearrested in June 2018 and is currently on trial on the more severe charge of "violent acts of a sexual nature committed against a person under 14 years of age" -- again referring to his adopted daughter. China is at present busy with a global campaign to rid itself of the taint of an alleged cover-up of and misinformation about the Corona Virus outbreak. But is the world convinced? US President Donald Trump has his tail high as he taunts and flays China. A German lawsuit and a Japanese declaration of intent to withdraw investments from China are the big bubbles of exasperation, with little bubbles forming in various other countries. However, it is a surge in global outrage that China is worried about. Yes. The Dragon has exhibited, for the first time in recent years, a sense of anxiety about its public relations. The latest in the Chinese global campaign to redeem itself is an animation video, released by the official Xinhua news agency, to cock a snook at the United States claiming a Chinese cover-up of the virus outbreak. The video continues the tale of how the USA initially ignored all Chinese warnings about the intensity of the new virus and subsequently claimed that China hid the truth from the world about the virus. Officially, the United States did not formally denounce the animation, but President Trump allowed no let-up in his anti-China harangue in his May Day press meet: "They could've kept it, they could've stopped it but they didn't." He went on to insinuate if the virus was a leak from a Chinese virology laboratory: "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?" China went on the defensive, defending the institute. Its director, Yuan Zhiming, was quoted by the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, that there was no question of any virus escaping the laboratory as the security measures were fail-safe. The one thing that exposes the Chinese publicity campaign for 'redemption' is the timeline of the Corona cover-up. Such has been the publicity blitz from the Chinese official media that even accepted facts about the Chinese responses in the initial days of the outbreak now appear hazy. A careful scan of the events since December, 2019 gives the true trail of what happened and justifies the scale of the publicity campaign: It was on December 1, 2019 that the first patient with the now well-known virus symptoms was identified in the city of Wuhan in the Hubei province. #Cover-up 1: China initially denied the existence of the virus or that it could spread from human to human. #Cover-up 2: By December 25, as virus cases grew exponentially, Wuhan municipal health commission said at the end of an investigation that there was no human to human transfer of the virus. #Cover-up 3: Chinese ophthalmologist Dr Li Wenliang of Wuhan became the first doctor to blow the lid off the untruths over the virus saying it was a SARS-like illness and that urgent anti-infection measures were needed. He was formally censured and made to sign an error statement! He would later contract the virus and succumb to it. #Cover-up 4: By January 15, a Chinese woman in Thailand and a Japanese national had contracted the virus -- the first two cases outside China -- and the issue turned global. #Cover-up 5: Worse still, China centralised the system of releasing medical data -- read as releasing doctored data -- and confirmed the censorship by announcing it was sending 300 journalists to Wuhan! It was not until January 20, by which time thousands of Chinese in Wuhan were affected and quarantine measures were being enforced, that China formally admitted that the virus was spreading from human to human contact. The next day, the first case of the virus was reported in the USA, the affected person having returned from China the previous week. On January 22, the world finally got a confirmed report about the existence of Corona virus when a team of the World Health Organisation visited Wuhan and reported that testing of patients confirmed that the human-to-human transmission was rampant. The rest is history, so to say, which China is now trying to re-write or even erase. Part of the campaign was in response to the 'western' Press reportedly ignoring China's side of the story. However, the world, save countries like Argentina and Turkey, refused to accept the Chinese publicity version. Major countries like the USA, UK, France and Germany confronted China directly. Several African nations including Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana protested to China for the alleged cover-up. Japan promised $2 billion to its companies if they shifted their production bases out of China. A German paper, Bild, even presented a mock bill of 149 billion euros to China for the economic losses it suffered on account of the virus. Reports from India say that wary of possible attempts by Chinese companies to buy distressed companies at cheap prices during the Corona pandemic, it banned foreign direct investment under the automatic route from its neighbours. Needless to say, China was rattled as the nations one by one began re-working their relations with the Dragon. The intensity of the Chinese campaign, analysts say, is evidence of the Chinese realisation that the relationship of China with the outside world will change once it comes out of the virus trap. China certainly awaits the backlash and what form it takes, irrespective of whether the world is really determined or is still assessing the implications of confronting China. For once, the traditional system of misinformation backfired. Australia's National Rugby League backed down Thursday on a demand that players undergo compulsory flu vaccinations before playing in a resumed competition, clearing another hurdle in its bid to restart its virus-interrupted season on May 28. The jabs had been included in strict health protocols agreed by the league in return for clearance to resume play, but several players had refused the injections. On Thursday, the NRL announced that players could decline the vaccination for "compelling reasons" such as medical, religious or conscientious grounds if they signed a liability waiver acknowledging their heightened risk of contracting influenza. "Until an NRL-approved release is acknowledged and signed by players, they will not be permitted to train," the league said in a statement. It was not immediately clear if Australian health authorities had approved the exemptions, after both Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his powerful home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, insisted on a "no jab, no play" condition for allowing the NRL to resume competition. The official nrl.com website had reported that players refusing to get the vaccination included the Gold Coast's Bryce Cartwright and the Canberra Raiders trio of Sia Soliola, Josh Papalii and Joseph Tapine. It said 97 percent of the league's 800 players had already had the vaccination. The cash-strapped NRL suspended its season on March 24 due to Australia's coronavirus shutdown and has pushed hard to resume play so it can retain revenue from broadcasting rights. It plans to stage matches in Sydney, with the New Zealand Warriors based in rural New South Wales and the Melbourne Storm setting up camp on the NSW-Victoria border. But a string of lockdown breaches by high-profile players has prompted warnings from authorities that the competition will not go ahead if the rules are not obeyed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Lidl has been criticised by egg industry bodies after it imported fresh shell eggs from the Netherlands to keep up with demand in the UK. The British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) has said it is 'extremely disappointed' in the discount chain, according to The Grocer. The retailer has been stocking caged Dutch white eggs sold under a North Egg brand due to a supply shortage triggered by the coronavirus crisis and avian flu outbreaks earlier this year. Retail demand for shell eggs has increased significantly over the past six weeks, which has created some logistical challenges for supermarkets in keeping shelves stocked. But imported eggs were not produced to the same high food safety standards of the comprehensive and independently audited British Lion code of practice, said BEIC's chairman Andrew Joret. The group's research, undertaken following the Dutch egg fipronil scandal, shows that consumers expect eggs to be British. "We are very concerned that vulnerable groups, who cannot obviously see that these eggs are not produced in the UK, could potentially be putting themselves at risk if these eggs make it into their hands," Mr Joret said. The British Free Range Egg Producers' Association said major retailers in the UK are traditionally big buyers of British eggs produced under the Lion scheme The Food Standards Agency advises that British Lion eggs are the only ones that are safe to be consumed runny, or even raw, by vulnerable groups such as young children, the elderly and the infirm. The British Free Range Egg Producers' Association (BFREPA) added that major retailers in the UK are traditionally big buyers of British eggs produced under the Lion scheme. "We are not aware of any current shortages of UK egg. We would hope that all retailers would stock British eggs wherever possible," BFREPA CEO, Robert Gooch said. The British Lion scheme has been such a success story for the past 30 years that most, if not all, shell eggs sold in the UKs major retailers have been from British farms. "Its extremely rare for imported eggs from any production system to be stocked in these stores. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump praised another Republican governor for rolling back state coronavirus restrictions despite failing to meet the administrations recommended benchmarks as he welcomed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to the White House on Thursday. Trump also held a National Day of Prayer service in the Rose Garden, praying for frontline workers and the families of those who have fallen sick. Texas is opening up and a lot of places are opening up. And we want to do it, and Im not sure that we even have a choice, Trump told reporters. I think we have to do it. You know, this country cant stay closed and locked down for years. Abbotts visit comes as he faces mounting pressure back home to reboot the Texas economy at a faster pace, even as cases in his state are on the upswing. Restaurants and retailers in the state have already been allowed to resume limited service and hair salons and barber shops will be allowed to reopen Friday. Just hours before appearing with Trump, Abbott removed jail as a punishment for flouting virus safeguards still in place in Texas amid an outcry over a Dallas salon owner who was jailed for keeping her business open in defiance of Abbotts restrictions. Texas is among a long list of states that have been gradually allowing business to reopen despite failing to reach the guidelines spelled out by the White House last month. Those guidelines recommend that states wait until they have seen a two-week decline in documented cases before beginning phased reopenings. Texas has had more than 34,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 940 deaths. And cases have been creeping up. The state has averaged 1,043 new cases a day in the seven days since stay-at-home orders expired May 1, up from an average of 846 new cases daily during the seven days prior. Thats a 23% increase. But Abbott on Thursday insisted the state was containing the spread and had created surge forces to deal with virus flareups, with a focus on jails, meatpacking plants and senior homes, where the virus has proven particularly deadly. Its like putting out a fire, he said, echoing language used by Trump. Trump has taken a hands-off approach to the reopening process, insisting that decisions be left to the states. The governors have great power as to that given by us, he said. The president has not spelled out what authority he is referring to. During a visit to deliver protective gear to a nursing home in Alexandria, Virginia, Vice-President Mike Pence brushed off states disregard for the federal guidance, saying he was very confident that governors are moving in a responsible way. It appears to me that states are taking a phased approach, he told reporters. Theyre following the data, theyre following the science and they are implementing the kind of testing and resource assessment that is contemplated in the presidents guidelines to open up America again. Governors across the country have been struggling with the competing priorities of averting deaths that could be prevented, while trying to mitigate near-unprecedented economic suffering. Trump in recent days has been trying to persuade Americans to accept the human cost of returning to normalcy as he tries to quickly reverse the economic meltdown ahead of the November election. Were looking forward to getting on with it, Trump said Thursday, later adding, Were all warriors together. Later, in the Rose Garden, the president and first lady Melania Trump expressed their sympathies for those who have lost loved ones before faith leaders from different religious affiliations offered prayers from a separate lectern. In recent days and weeks, our country has endured a grave hardship. We pray for every family stricken with grief and devastated with a tragic loss, as well as the doctors, nurses and first responders waging war against the invisible enemy, Trump said. ___ Weber reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press writer Kevin Freking in Alexandria, Virginia, contributed to this report. Paramedics burst through the emergency department doors. Patient in respiratory distress. Suspected COVID-19 infection. Nurses and doctors take over. Patient needs intubation to breathe, an invasive procedure known to spread an infectious disease through droplets expelled, sometimes violently, from the mouth and nose. In most emergency departments built after SARS the patient would be rushed into a large negative pressure room in the critical care section just inside the ambulance bay door. Any virus expelled while the patient was treated would be kept in by the rooms negative pressure system. Then it would be removed by a special ventilation system. But not in the Markham Stouffville Hospital, one of the GTA hospitals that has seen high numbers of COVID-19 cases. Somehow, in the hospitals $400 million design and construction of a new emergency department and other wings, completed in 2014, no negative pressure (also called airborne isolation) treatment rooms were built in the critical care section. The hospital does have four smaller negative pressure rooms in an area of its emergency department designed to treat less ill patients but they are not adjacent to the ambulance bay. Why this happened, the hospital will not say. Staff have raised concerns to the Toronto Star. Management of the hospital would not agree to be interviewed. However, as part of a back-and-forth email correspondence between the Star and the hospital over the past two weeks, the hospital said there was a change during the design phase that left the hospital without negative pressure treatment rooms in the Red Zone the emergency departments critical care section. While it is accurate to say there have been, over the years, post-construction discussions about a desire for additional negative pressure rooms in the red zone of our Emergency Department because those rooms are larger and more room is always helpful for any medical procedure it is inaccurate to say that staff and patients are at risk, said Dr. Andrew Arcand, Markham Stouffville Hospitals chief of emergency medicine, in an emailed statement. Proper wearing of personal protection equipment (PPE) is what keeps staff and patients safe, Arcand said. Its important to note that it is not (a) negative pressure room that protects health care workers or patients from COVID-19 during an aerosol generating procedure like an intubation: it is the appropriate use of PPE, said Arcand. Let me emphasize again that the number of negative pressure rooms and their location in the Emergency Department do not constitute a risk to patient or staff safety, said Arcand. Other hospitals built post-SARS a contagious virus that hit Ontario and its hospitals hard in the early 2000s and revealed shortcomings in the health-care system chose to spend dollars on negative pressure rooms in critical care areas of their new emergency departments. Medical experts the world over agree on the importance of negative pressure environments, with their sealed doors and special air flow system that keeps a contagion contained and then removes it. Resuscitating a patient or putting a breathing tube down the throat (intubation) are known as aerosol-generating procedures, which can easily spread a virus. The Star surveyed other hospitals with emergency departments built post-SARS, which reported they included negative pressure rooms in their critical care sections. Sunnybrook hospital has two resuscitation rooms that are negative pressure in the critical care section of their emergency department, said spokesperson Craig Duhamel. There are seven other negative pressure rooms in other parts of the emergency department. Construction began in 2009 on the $62 million project. Humber River Hospital completed its hospital in 2015, and the $1.6 billion complex has five negative pressure treatment rooms in its emergency department two in the critical care or acute area and three in the next level of treatment (sub-acute). Spokesperson Joe Gorman said Humber spent a great deal of time making sure they got the design right, making sure each of these rooms functioned independently of the next room. An alarm system sounds if for some reason the pressure differential drops below what is required. The new Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital opened in late 2015 ($2.7 billion new build). Its emergency department has three negative pressure rooms, one of them in the critical care area adjacent to the ambulance bay entrance, said Trish Carlton, a spokesperson for Halton Healthcare. The Milton District Hospital, also part of Halton Healthcare, received a major expansion in 2017 ($512 million) that included a new emergency department. Like Oakville Trafalgar, it has three negative pressure rooms, one immediately inside the ambulance bay arrival area. The Markham Stouffville Hospital serves Markham, Stouffville and Uxbridge. The redevelopment of the hospital by Infrastructure Ontario doubled the size of the original hospital. The lack of negative pressure treatment rooms in the critical care area of Markham Stouffville Hospital has been concerning to nurses and doctors who work there. Staff the Star spoke to about this issue would only do so as long as their identity was protected, as they feared retribution from the hospital. Markham Stouffville was the subject of a Deloitte LLP investigation on behalf of the hospital board in 2016, which revealed numerous shortcomings in how the $400 million hospital construction project was managed, including lack of internal controls over procurement of supplies. Included in the new sections of the Markham Stouffville Hospital is an emergency department three times the size of the previous department, which has been converted to another use. The hospitals website states that 360 patients have screened positive for COVID-19 during the pandemic. In its correspondence with the Star on the negative pressure issue, the hospital did not answer specific questions as to why it planned to have negative pressure rooms in the critical care section at the start of the project and then dropped that. Originally, the hospital planned for eight negative pressure treatment rooms, but ended up with four, all in smaller rooms in the emergency department where less critical patients are taken. Rebecca Mackenzie, a hospital spokesperson, said Markham Stouffville exceeds building construction guidelines in Canada for negative pressure rooms. A minimum of one negative pressure room is required in the emergency department, the spokesperson said. Mackenzie said the hospital does have 36 other airborne isolation rooms across the hospital in other areas. (Other hospitals the Star surveyed also have multiple negative pressure rooms in other wings.) However, Mackenzie did say the hospital is aware that staff are concerned over this issue and that there was a failure to provide a complete answer to staff concerns. It is clear that (the hospital) could have communicated more effectively to ensure all staff and physicians in the hospital were aware that a change occurred between the planning stage of the new Emergency Department and the final construction, Mackenzie said in one of several statements to the Star. As we learn lessons from our management of COVID-19 patients and receive feedback from our front line providers we will examine, among other things, whether there is a need for additional airborne isolation rooms. A clutch of automakers including Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, Mercedes Benz India, Eicher Motors, TVS Motor, and Isuzu Motors India announced they had got the clearance from the governments of the states they operate in to resume operations. After being shuttered for more than a month following the nationwide lockdown, automobile factories and their suppliers will soon start cranking out models, parts, and sub-assemblies, as the government allows industrial activity to restart in select regions of the country. On Wednesday, a clutch of automakers including Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, Mercedes Benz India, Eicher Motors, TVS Motor, and Isuzu Motors India announced they had got the clearance from the governments of the states they operate in to resume operations. The companies also announced opening their dealerships in a phased manner. Maruti Suzuki, Indias largest carmaker, said it would restart production at its Manesar plant on May 12. All activities would be carried out strictly in accordance with government regulations and guidelines and observing the companys own concern for the highest standards of safety, Maruti Suzuki said in a stock exchange notification. Maruti Suzuki has re-opened 600 of its 3,086 dealerships in the past few days after putting in place standard operating procedures. Hero MotoCorp, the countrys largest two-wheeler player, began operations in a graded manner at three manufacturing plants. India, the worlds fifth-largest auto market by volumes, reported no sales in April, which is a first in its history, as dealerships and factories remained shut due to the pandemic. Among the major auto markets of the world, India was the only country to have reported no sales, according to IHS Markit, a sales forecast and research arm. All the firms that resume operations or have done so reiterated their commitment to meet the highest standards of hygiene and social-distancing norms. Most of them have indicated the start will be in single shift. Luxury car market leader Mercedes-Benz India said it had started production at its manufacturing facility at Chakan, Pune. Production has commenced in a graded manner following directives from the government of Maharashtra to reopen and resume operations. "The company will plan a gradual ramp-up in the coming weeks, depending on the evolving current situation, which is being monitored closely by the leadership team, it said. TVS Motor Company said it had commenced operations in all its factories in Hosur, Mysuru, and Nalagarh. The company has taken measures to ensure a safe workplace for employees with appropriate social distancing and highest standards of hygiene, it said. Eicher Motors resumed Royal Enfield operations at its manufacturing facilities on May 6, the company said, adding, it would begin work in a staggered manner at its Oragadam unit, near Chennai, with minimal staff in a single shift. Operations at the other two manufacturing facilities will start in a phased manner. Hyundai Motors India and Toyota Kirloskar have begun preparatory work. Meanwhile, Honda Cars India said it had not been able to resume production at either of the two plants due to restricted movements of manpower and lack of clearance from the local authorities. With the new relaxations rolled out by the government, we were planning to restart operations at our Tapukara plant in Rajasthan sometime next week, said a Honda spokesperson. However, in order to resume production even at a lower level and in a single shift, the company requires people living in the neighbourhood and also from nearby areas of Dharuhera, Rewari etc. Owing to travel restrictions it is unable to get its workers. "We will keep assessing manpower availability and the supply-chain position closely to take a decision on when to start production, the spokesperson added. The Greater Noida facility has yet to get the clearance. As major economic indicators are wrecked by the coronavirus, the clamour for a substantial government stimulus is growing. The equity market is waryit sees profit-booking after every rise. Experts say a stimulus is much needed and will offer relief to the market and the economy, which has been ravaged by the virus and the subsequent lockdown. Domestic economic reality is the biggest trigger for the market. In the short-to-medium term, the market is expected to tread water. Investors have pinned hopes on the government, seeking assurance that the economy will not be allowed to fall to unprecedented lows. Now, as the lockdown has been partially lifted and India divided into red, green and orange zones to reflect the severity of the virus, experts believe that aggressive measures from the government will help the economy. Is there a room for stimulus? The delay in announcing a stimulus package indicates the government does not have enough room as of now. Even if a stimulus is announced, it is unlikely to exceed Rs 1-1.5 lakh crore, experts say, which appears to be inadequate. BOBCAPS (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda) highlighted that the governments initial stimulus of Rs 1.7 lakh crore and more than Rs 3 lakh crore in liquidity inducement measures by the RBI are clearly falling short. As per media reports, a plan for an additional stimulus to prop up MSMEs is in the works. The recent excise duty hikes could give the government headroom to facilitate such measures. The government had begun to benefit from low oil prices via an about Rs 15 per litre hike in excise duties on petrol and diesel (yielding nearly Rs 2 lakh crore in additional revenues for FY21) and savings on petroleum subsidies (budgeted at Rs 35,000 crore for FY21), a BOBCAPS report said. The Centre could target cumulative gains of about Rs 4 lakh crore in order to neutralise potentially lower GST collections and divestment revenues, implying a further excise hike of Rs 10 per litre in FY21," the report said. However, the government has a huge fiscal gap to plug so the hope of a big-bang move appears irrational. What does market want? The market is not expecting a bazooka from the government as it has limited fiscal space, say experts. The stimulus will be more of limited and specific relief that will mostly be filtered via banks. While a delay is getting investors worried, the most important thing to watch out for will be its area of focus. Sameer Kalra, Founder, Target Investing, said the stimulus would not address the urgent need for a cash-flow boost required by corporates and individuals. "The market is mostly peaked out in terms of expectations, now real numbers getting disclosed by corporate results and the macro data will start the second leg of broad-based selling," he said. G Chokkalingam, Founder & MD, Equinomics Research Advisory, said the market should not expect too much. "The market cannot expect the stimulus similar to the US and Europe. People understand that the target of fiscal deficit is already breached. The RBI has already done a lot from whatever was possible from the balance sheet," he said. The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Rishi Kapoor passed away on April 30 and since then, his near and dear ones have been sharing fond memories of the late actor. Recently, Kareena Kapoor Khan paid a heartwarming tribute to her 'Chintu uncle' with a vintage picture. The actress pulled out a black-and-white picture from her throwback archives and captioned it as, 'Irreplaceable'. The picture features the Bobby star with her parents, Randhir Kapoor and Babita and late music director RD Burman. While a young Babita is seen holding RD Burman's hand, Rishi and Randhir standing next to her, are all smiles for the photo. Neetu Kapoor reacted to Kareena's post by dropping a heart emoticon in the comments section. Earlier, Kareena had posted a picture of Rishi and her late father-in-law Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and captioned it as, 'Two Tigers'. She had shared one more picture of her father and uncle and wrote, "The best boys I know... Papa and Chintu uncle." Ever since Rishi's demise, Kareena has been a pillar of support to her aunt Neetu and cousins, Ranbir Kapoor and Riddhima Kapoor. She and her husband Saif Ali Khan were among the few ones to be present at the hospital after the veteran actor's death. Later, after the rituals were done, she even paid a visit to Neetu and Ranbir. Rishi Kapoor was diagnosed with cancer in 2018 and left for New York for his treatment. He and his wife Neetu Kapoor, were stationed there for almost a year. During that period, many of their industry colleagues including Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Anupam Kher, Alia Bhatt, Arjun Kapoor and Malaika Arora, and others visited them. Last year, Rishi returned to India in September. However, he fell ill again in February this year and finally, breathed his last on April 30. Rishi Kapoor's Uncle Prem Chopra Called Up Neetu Post His Death: She & Ranbir Have Taken It Bravely Rishi Kapoor Choked When He Told A Friend About His Cancer Diagnosis: 'Thakur Acchi Khabar Nahi Hai' Chandigarh, May 7 : Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh rejected, here on Thursday, former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini's allegation of political motivation in the filling of a first information report (FIR) against him in a kidnapping case of 1991. There was no question of political interference, said the Chief Minister, asserting the law would take its course in the matter. A police spokesperson said the case against Saini, in the matter of disappearance of Balwant Singh Multani, was filed on the basis of a fresh application by the victim's brother Palwinder Singh Multani, a resident of Jalandhar. Based on Multani's complaint, the case was registered under Sections 364 (kidnapping or abduction in order to murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 344 (wrongful confinement), 330 (voluntarily causing hurt to exhort confession) and 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy) in Mohali on Wednesday. The fresh complaint was received by the police on Tuesday. The spokesperson said the complainant had cited the Supreme Court order of December 7, 2011 that it was "open to the applicants who had filed the petitions under Section 482 of the CrPC to take recourse to fresh proceedings, if permissible in law". SAN FRANCISCO, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A world-renowned leader in infectious disease and transfusion medicine research, Vitalant Research Institute (VRI) is expanding plasma collections in San Francisco in the fight against COVID-19. Individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 and want to donate plasma now have two options to help sick patients receive immune-boosting antibodies. In addition to convalescent plasma, the latest option is in support of a new investigational medication, known as hyperimmune globulin (H-Ig). Through an unprecedented partnership of world-leading plasma companies, the CoVIg-19 Plasma Alliance was formed to develop this non-branded plasma-derived therapy. VRI is in partnership with Takeda, one of the Alliance members. VRI is a division of Vitalant, the nation's largest independent blood service provider, whose site in San Francisco is now collecting donated plasma for hyperimmune globulin (H-Ig). H-Ig is a pooled, large-batch plasma product, which can potentially be used as a medication for prevention of infection (prophylaxis) or to treat people who are diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 virus infection and are at risk for serious complications from COVID-19. Donated plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients contains antibodies that could help the immune system fight the new coronavirus. The process purifies it to remove or inactivate any viruses and standardizes it so it has a consistent level of virus-specific antibodies in each unit. H-Ig is the result of this process. Once produced, H-Ig will have a shelf-life of 24-26 months, making it a long-term option for treatment in the event of future outbreaks. "Recovered COVID-19 patients who donate plasma create the momentum for finding a treatment," states Kadi Schroeder, director of cell sourcing and specialized collections at Vitalant Research Institute. "We encourage everyone eligible to join us in this journey. Their antibodies offer researchers the ability to study and create potential new medications that will have both short-term and long-term impact which is critical when battling new infectious diseases." In addition to participating in research for the H-Ig product, those who have recovered from COVID-19 can donate convalescent plasma, which is currently the only plasma-derived antibody treatment available to COVID-19 patients and a promising immediate response tool. Vitalant collects convalescent plasma at its fixed blood donation sites across the country and distributes to its national hospital network as needed. Although the donation for both H-Ig and convalescent plasma is similar, convalescent plasma donations are used for transfusions for hospital patients whereas the H-Ig product collections support research and ultimately, could provide the raw material for a biologic that can treat patients in the future. "This pandemic created a unity of purpose that is both urgent and transformational," commented Cliff Numark, chief of marketing for Vitalant. "It is inspiring to see diverse organizations and individuals working together to find a treatment for the greater good." For individuals wishing to donate plasma for hyperimmune globulin (H-Ig), the eligibility* criteria are: Prior diagnosis of COVID-19, documented by a laboratory test Complete resolution of symptoms for at least 14 days Meet all other current FDA donor eligibility requirements to donate plasma Donors who meet the criteria and want to donate plasma for H-Ig treatment should call 1-877-TAKEDA-7 (1-877-825-3327) to qualify and schedule their appointment. Donors who meet the criteria and want to donate convalescent plasma are encouraged to apply through the Vitalant website Vitalant.org/covidfree. *Donors who do not meet the eligibility criteria for convalescent plasma or H-Ig plasma donation may still qualify to donate plasma for research purposes. For more information email [email protected], About Vitalant Vitalant ("Vye-TAL-ent") is a national community blood service provider, supplying comprehensive transfusion medicine services for nearly 1,000 hospitals and health care partners for patients in need across 40 states. Vitalant inspires local communities to serve the needs of others and transform lives through the selfless act of donating blood. Every day, almost 5,000 blood donations are needed to meet the needs of people throughout the country, and Vitalant's 800,000 donors supply 1.8 million donations a year. In addition to blood products, Vitalant offers customers transfusion services, medical consulting, quality guidance, ongoing education, research and more. For more information and to schedule a donation, visit vitalant.org or call 877-25-VITAL (877-258-4825). Join the conversation about impacting the lives of others on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Contact: Chandra Stewart 602.315.0043 [email protected] SOURCE Vitalant Related Links http://www.bloodsystems.org As social distancing rules change in Vietnam, new shopping habits may emerge, Photo: Le Toan Prior to the coronavirus reaching Vietnam, department stores were already in trouble after failing to keep up with shoppers changing tastes. As a result, Malaysias Parkson, which entered the market in 2005 and eventually opened nine properties, has been closing down malls since 2015, reflecting the mounting pressure in the market and continued losses since 2014. Several other department stores including Pico Saigon and Zen Plaza, have also closed or curtailed their scope of operations, according to Deloittes Retail in Vietnam report. With stores closed and shoppers staying home and more likely to utilise online methods through most of April, retail traffic has all but vanished. Ralf Matthaes, managing director of market research firm Infocus Mekong, told VIR that historically, department stores have suffered from exceedingly high rents driving up prices for consumers and a lack of variety. Also, the pandemic will further erode the desire for consumers to spend money in crowded places. In the United States, many department store operators have furloughed workers, cut dividends, and sought emergency financing, with some weighing bankruptcy to sail through the waves. Meanwhile, major Japanese retailers including Takashimaya are also bracing themselves for a tough year due to the coronavirus outbreak, highlighting the seriousness of Japans consumption slump. As Vietnam lifts its nationwide social distancing, retailers are allowed to open their stores. However, the crisis has affected their businesses as time-poor, thrifty consumers opt for the internet over their local high street. According to the latest survey from CBRE Vietnam, the first quarter of this year saw numerous corporations halting land lease contracts at shopping malls. However, the number of businesses stopping lease contracts outside these malls was much higher. Since the nation began social distancing, revenues of these businesses has plunged so heavily that many were pushed to the brink of bankruptcy. This is also the main reason why they stopped working with landlords during the health crisis. Although social distancing has been eased, many companies cannot resume normal operations. Their monthly earnings are estimated to drop by 90-100 per cent on-year, and 60-70 per cent against March, stated CBRE Vietnam. Richard Burrage, managing partner of Cimigo, said that the pandemic has altered consumer behaviour. Life will not return to normal, and a new normal will evolve with new habits and rituals. Consumer mindsets and behaviours have changed. Some of these changes will be temporary but others will stick, he said. Burrage expected shopping channels to shift as people have experienced new methods and now seek to avoid crowds. High-traffic environments will be avoided by some for a time, including malls and wet markets. These changes may be sustained for months, and will perhaps never fully return to pre-pandemic norms. Shopping behaviour at malls will have shifted to online shopping, and trips will become less frequent for most shoppers. Malls will need to ramp up consumer experiences even more in order to bring footfall back. Many consumers will have experienced the convenience of online shopping and have built trust in the channel, accelerating the growth of online platforms, Burrage said. Echoing this view, Vo Thi Phuong Mai, head of the Retail Land Leasing Service Department at CBRE Vietnam, said COVID-19 has negatively impacted traditional shopping channels but is also creating positive opportunities for online businesses and the e-commerce sector. E-commerce is a bright spot that has changed the development trend of retail. Instead of depending on physical stores, companies can now improve their sales by accelerating their business online, said Mai. Indeed, Fredrik Famm from H&M Southeast Asia told VIR that opening an online business is one of the companys long-term strategies in Vietnam, and currently, the fashion brand is researching the market before materialising this plan. Similarly, Japan-based UNIQLO, a newcomer in Vietnam, has already integrated this into its strategy. The fashion brand offers online shopping in many markets, and says opening the same channel in Vietnam is a given. The Vietnamese e-commerce market has seen great growth over the years. Based on a survey from Google and Temasek, with the scale of $15 billion, the e-commerce sector will make up 10 per cent of total retail sales in Vietnam by 2025. During 2017-2019, the growth rate of the sector was around 25-30 per cent annually. The Government has issued a new decree on environmental protection fees for industrial wastewater treatment that will replace Decree 154 in 2016. A system of the wastewater treatment plant at Diem Thuy Industrial Zone in Thai Nguyen Province. Photo dwrn.gov.vn The new one, Decree 53/2020N-CP, which will take effect in January 2021, regulates that the wastewater treatment fee is maximum VND4 million per year for production and processing establishments which have volume of wastewater discharged of 20cu.m per day, compared to VND1.5 million (US$63.8) as previously. Accordingly, production and processing workshops which discharge from 10 to 20cu.m of wastewater per day will have to pay VND4 million ($170) per year. Workshops with wastewater volume of 5 to 10cu.m per day will have to pay VND3 million per year. The fee for workshops which discharge wastewater volume of less than 5cu.m per day is VND2.5 million per year. Production workshops which have released a volume of wastewater of more than 20cu.m a day will have to pay a fixed fee of VND4 million a year and additional fee corresponding to environmental pollutants contained in wastewater such as chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), Arsenic (As) and Cadimium (Cd). The fee for these environmental pollutants ranges from VND2,000 to VND20 million per kilogramme. For example, the fee for COD will be VND2,000 per kg and the highest fee is for mercury at VND20 million per kg. The fee for domestic wastewater treatment is planned to be equivalent to 10 per cent of the water price (VAT excluded). VNS More than $120 million to be spent on Quang Ngai wastewater treatment system The southern central province of Quang Ngai plans to invest VND2.8 trillion (US$121.2 million) in a wastewater treatment system from 2020 to 2025. WEST HAVEN - Several workers were injured after a driver, who state police said was DUI, slammed into a stationary trailer in a construction zone Wednesday night. After crashing into the trailer, troopers said Tye Terell Johnson attempted to flee on foot, but was caught and detained by construction workers until police arrived. Johnson was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol due to his speech being slurred, an odor of an alcoholic type beverage coming off his breathe, and empty bottles of liquor inside the vehicle, state police said. The crash happened just before 9 p.m. near Exit 43 on northbound I-95. State police said the area was a designated highway construction zone with proper advanced warning signs/ traffic cone patterns indicating that the left and center lanes were closed due to construction work. According to the accident report, Johnson was driving a 2007 Nissan Muran in the right lane. While negotiating a right curve on the highway, he lost control of the vehicle, causing it to veer across the closed travel lanes and strike the concrete median divider. After striking the median, Johnsons vehicle veered back to the right, hitting three construction workers. The vehicle then collided into the rear of a stationary trailer in the center lane. The 41-year-old Johnson, state police said, then attempted to flee the scene on foot. Workers were able to detain restrain Johnson until state police arrived. The construction workers who were hit had minor injuries and refused medical attention from EMS on the scene, state police said. Johnson complained of chest pains and was transported to Yale New Haven Hospital for treatment. He was later arrested and charged with operating under the influence in a construction zone, operating with a suspended license, failure to maintain the proper lane in a construction zone, evading responsibility resulting in property damage/injury in a construction zone, misuse of registration plates and failure to meet minimum insurance requirements. Johnson, who lives on Valley Street in New Haven, was released after posting a $5,000 bond. He will appear in Milford Superior Court on July 2. Troopers want to remind the public that when approaching a work zone stay alert, reduce your speed, move over, and never operate a motor vehicle while under the influence, state police said. Tara ONeill contributed to this story. Bengaluru, May 7 : Under public pressure and outrage in the social media, the Karnataka government, here on Thursday, decided to resume special trains to ferry over one lakh migrant workers to their native states from Friday after stopping them for two days, leaving the stranded workers in despair. "Shramik special trains will resume from Friday. The first will leave for Dhanapur in Bihar, followed by another to Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh on Friday evening or Saturday morning with the receiving state's concurrence," South Western Railway (SWR) Divisional Railway Manager A.K. Verma told IANS. Thousands of migrants from other states have been stranded in Karnataka for over 45 days since the Covid-19 induced lockdown was clamped on March 24 and public transport, including trains, buses and flights were suspended since March 25 to contain the virus spread. The lockdown was extended twice since April 15 and May 4 up to May 17 for enforcing social or physical distancing and containing the infection. "Though the state government informed us to arrange 96-100 special trains to send over one lakh migrants from Friday till May 15, their departure from Bengaluru depends on the consent of receiving states, as they have to be ready to receive, screen and test them to ensure they are virus-free for 14-day quarantine," Verma said. After operating eight special trains on May 3-5 and ferrying 9,600 migrants to Bhubaneswar (Odisha), Dhanapur (Bihar), Hatia near Ranchi and Barakhana (Jharkhand), Jaipur (Rajasthan) and Lucknow (UP), no train was run on Wednesday and Thursday, as the state government wanted them to stay back. Their presence is needed for reviving economic activities and to restart infrastructure and construction projects. "We sent letters to 9 states -- Bihar, Jharkhand, MP, Manipur, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tripura, UP and West Bengal -- for the consent to send their citizens from Bengaluru in special trains," state nodal officer N. Manjunath Prasad told IANS. As over one lakh migrants from 9 states registered their names in the local police stations or in the 'Seva Sindu' portal of the state government for going home, Prasad has written to the zonal railway division to arrange two trains each for eight days to Hatia, Dhanapur, Lucknow and Howrah and one train each for eight days to Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Bhopal, Manipur and Tripura. Besides migrant workers, stranded tourists, students, pilgrims and others have been allowed to travel by the special trains to their home states. "As we got consent from Bihar and MP, trains to Dhanapur and Bhopal will leave on Friday and Saturday. Trains to other cities will depend on consent from their states," Prasad said. The Karnataka government paid the railways fare for migrants who travelled in eight trains so far and also for Friday's train. "The MP government has agreed to pay the fare of its migrants," said Verma. Security forces in Nepal on Thursday fired in the air after some Indian nationals allegedly tried to forcibly enter into the Nepalese territory despite the coronavirus lockdown and pelted stones when they were stopped in a border area in southern Nepal, according to a media report. Two vehicles with Indian number plates entered Kabahigath area of Bara district near the Nepal-India border despite the lockdown, but they were stopped at a checkpoint, a local TV channel reported. After failing to enter Nepal, they pelted stones on the police checkpoint, the report said. The Armed Police Force (APF) opened fired to disperse them and sent them back to the Indian side, police officials were quoted as saying. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ambassador Alice Wells, Trump administration's point person for South and Central Asia for the last three years, who is scheduled to retire from the US foreign service this month, is an exemplary diplomat, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday. "I want to give a shout out to one of my colleagues, Alice Wells, as she prepares to depart the State Department. She has done remarkable work," Pompeo told reporters at a news conference here. Wells, the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia for over three years now, is scheduled to retire later this month. "I have worked closely with her. She is an exemplary diplomat who, for more than three decades now, has served the American people. I want to wish her all the best in her future endeavours," Pompeo said. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Thomas L Vajda will head the South and Central Asia (SCA) Bureau of the State Department temporarily. Earlier this week, Vajda was nominated by President Donald Trump as the US Ambassador to Myanmar. "Deputy Assistant Secretary Tom Vajda was recently nominated for the position of US Ambassador to Burma. Following Ambassador Wells' retirement and pending action on DAS Vajda's nomination, he will be serving as the SCA Bureau's senior bureau official on an interim basis," a State Department spokesperson said. This is the first time that the position of Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia has remained vacant for over three years. Indian-American Nisha Desai Biswal was the last one to serve in this position. Trump had nominated Robert William for this position, but he withdrew himself. However, for all practical purposes, Wells led the SCA Bureau in the State Department for the entire term of the Trump administration, serving under two secretaries of state -- Rex Tillerson and Pompeo. In January, Wells visited India and met senior government officials to advance the US-India strategic global partnership, following the success of the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in Washington in December last year. A votary of strong US-India ties, including enhanced military cooperation amidst China flexing its muscles in the Indo-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions, she has frequently highlighted the commonalities between the world's biggest democracy and oldest democracy. Wells has said the quality and frequency of India-US naval cooperation, especially the information sharing, have reached unprecedented levels with continued progress on defence cooperation, peacekeeping operations, space, counter-terrorism, trade, people-to-people initiatives and more. Terming the bilateral ties as "unshakeable", she has said the US and India enjoy a close partnership that grows stronger day by day. Her significant travel to New Delhi happened a month ahead of Trump's state visit to India on February 24-25 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Wells has also been wary of some of the Indian government's decisions on Jammu and Kashmir and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and has publicly raised them. New Delhi has defended its move, saying Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and the issue is strictly internal to the country, and the special status provisions only gave rise to terrorism in the region. The Indian government has maintained that the CAA, which was passed by Parliament, is an internal matter of the country and stressed that the goal is to protect the oppressed minorities of neighbouring countries. Wells has also been putting pressure on Pakistan to rein-in the terror groups on its soil and help lower tensions with India. During her tenure, she has expressed concerns over terrorist groups continuing to enjoy a safe haven in Pakistan and asked the country to do more against "externally-oriented" extremist outfits. Wells has also been critical of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a planned network of roads, railways and energy projects linking China's Xinjiang province with Pakistan's Gwadar Port, saying there is no transparency and firms blacklisted by the World Bank have got contracts, which will increase the cash-strapped country's debt burden. (Picture credit: AP) A Roman Catholic bishop in Cincinnati has resigned after not going to his superiors with concerns about a priest who now is set to be tried on charges that he raped a boy. Pope Francis recently accepted the resignation of Auxiliary Bishop Joseph R. Binzer, the Vatican announced Thursday. The announcement gave no details. But the Archdiocese of Cincinnati noted that Binzer had already been removed as director of priest personnel after he failed to bring past concerns about Father Geoffrey Drew's conduct to the attention of Archbishop Dennis Schnurr and the priests' personnel board. Drew is accused of raping the boy in the 1980s and 1990s, years before he was ordained as a priest and while he was music director at a suburban Cincinnati parish. Drew has pleaded not guilty to nine counts of rape. His trial was scheduled for October. I am deeply sorry for my role in addressing the concerns raised about Father Drew, which has had a negative impact on the trust and faith of the people of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, the archdiocese quoted Binzer as saying. In April, having studied this matter since last summer, the Holy See informed me that it agreed with this assessment. Binzer, a Cincinnati native, was ordained as a priest on June 4, 1994, and later served as chancellor of the archdiocese for eight years before being ordained a bishop. He was installed as auxiliary bishop in 2011. Binzer remains a priest in the archdiocese. I have been blessed to serve the people of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati as a priest for almost 26 years and hope to do so for years to come. I will continue to pray for all of you, and for all those I have affected, Binzer said. In this difficult and unfortunate time, please keep Bishop Binzer and all the people of the archdiocese in your prayers, Schnurr said. Bishop Binzer will continue to serve the people of the Archdiocese with the title of Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus. What exactly that ministry will look like will be determined after discussions between Bishop Binzer, the Priest Personnel Board, and me. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) About Bavarian Nordic Bavarian Nordic is a fully integrated biotechnology company focused on the development, manufacture and commercialization of life-saving vaccines. We are a global leader in smallpox vaccines and has been a long-term supplier to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile of a non-replicating smallpox vaccine, which has been approved by the FDA, also for the protection against monkeypox. Our commercial product portfolio furthermore contains market-leading vaccines against rabies and tick-borne encephalitis. Using our live virus vaccine platform technology, MVA-BN, we have created a diverse portfolio of proprietary and partnered product candidates designed to save and improve lives by unlocking the power of the immune system, including an investigational Ebola vaccine, licensed to Janssen. For more information visit www.bavarian-nordic.com . 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. Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is closely monitoring the gas leak incident in Visakhapatnam and has directed district officials to take steps to bring the situation under control. At least six people have died and around 100 hospitalised after gas leaked from a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam. The chief minister will be visiting the King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam where the injured are being treated. "Hon'ble CM @ysjagan will leave for Vizag to visit the hospital where the affected are being treated," his office tweeted. The chief minister is closely monitoring the situation and has directed the district officials to take every possible step to save lives and bring the situation under control, it added. The toxic gas leaked from a plant of LG Polymers in Visakhapatnam in the early hours on Thursday. The plant had reopened after being shut due to the COVID-19 lockdown. In a series of tweets, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) has asked people of colonies and villages around the plant to leave for safe locations and use wet cloth as a mask to cover their nose and mouth. South Korean company LG Polymers makes polystyrene and expandable polystyrene, a versatile plastic used to make a wide variety of consumer products like toys and appliances and has been in operation since 1961. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On 30 April, Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared that the UK was past the peak of the coronavirus outbreak. In the week since, there have been more than 25,000 new confirmed cases of Covid-19, and close to 5,000 people have died from the virus. The latest death toll of 30,076 makes the UK the worst hit country in Europe, and second only to the US globally. But after a sharp increase in daily new cases in late March and early April, the number has levelled off in recent weeks, thanks in part to lockdown measures put in place on 23 March. Unlike other badly affected countries that have introduced lockdowns, however, the UK is yet to see any sustained decline in new cases. Other countries in Europe were initially hit far harder than the UK by the coronavirus, leading the World Health Organisation to declare Europe the epicentre of the pandemic on 13 March. A severe outbreak in northern Italy saw it become the first country outside of Asia to introduce a lockdown, which soon spread nationwide and then to Ireland, Spain and other European countries. Recommended Seven charts that show the true scale of the UK coronavirus outbreak The lockdowns were often far stricter than the one put in place in the UK on 23 March. Italy banned outdoor exercise, while France enforced its lockdown with hundreds of thousands of fines for people breaking the rules. Both countries hit their peaks within around two weeks of the lockdowns starting, and In the weeks following there was a steady decline in new daily cases. It took 55 days for Italy to begin to emerge from its lockdown. France plans to begin lifting containment restrictions on 11 May also 55 days after it entered lockdown. By this measure, the UK should begin easing its lockdown on 17 May, however its trajectory for new confirmed cases is far behind its European neighbours. On 6 May, Italy recorded its lowest number of new daily cases since before its lockdown began on 9 March. France crossed this threshold of new daily cases dipping below pre-lockdown levels on 1 May. It has been 45 days since the UK entered its comparatively lax lockdown, and new daily cases of 4,406 (on Wednesday 7 May) remain more than six-times higher than pre-lockdown levels. These daily levels are also not far off the UKs highest three-day average peak of 6,400 daily cases, which was similar to that of France, Italy and Spain. Trends from other countries suggest it is too early to tell whether the UK is actually past its peak, and medical experts warn that lifting lockdown measures too early could result in a new wave of infections. Despite this, plans to lift the UKs lockdown appear to already be in place, with Johnson announcing on Wednesday his intention for an unlockdown from as early as next week. Jennifer Aniston has been holed up in her Bel Air mansion with dogs, Clyde and Sophia, amid COVID-19. And on Wednesday, the 51-year-old actress took to Instagram to express a sentiment all too familiar to those under lockdown: she is 'bored.' In a brief clip shared to her Story, Aniston sat before her washing machine as she watched it spin to the tune of Tyga's hit single Bored In The House. Bored: In a brief clip shared to her Story, Jennifer Aniston sat before her washing machine as she watched it spin to the tune of Tyga's hit single Bored In The House Though her face was distorted, Jennifer appeared to be keeping it cozy in a pair of flaming red sweatpants and a white cotton tee. A few minutes after her comical post, the Friends star posted a string of clips of her darling Schnauzer mix Clyde enjoying a sniff around her backyard. She followed the curious pup around as he ran through shrubbery and chased after various toys she threw in his direction. Enviable existence: Jennifer purchased her midcentury modern home in 2011 and has since revamped the property with the help of interior designer Stephen Shadley and ex Justin Theroux; Jennifer pictured in January of 2020 Jennifer purchased her midcentury modern home in 2011 and has since revamped the property with the help of interior designer Stephen Shadley and ex Justin Theroux. The 10,186-square-foot estate cost Aniston nearly $21million and comes with seven bedrooms and 11 bathrooms, according to Architectural Digest. Though Aniston's appears to be suffering from boredom in quarantine, she has kept her social media presence to a minimum. Most recently, the actress reposted a video of a reimagined version of the iconic theme song I'll Be There For You from Friends. Outdoor adventure: A few minutes after her comical post, the Friends star posted a string of clips of her darling Schnauzer mix Clyde enjoying a sniff around her backyard On the hunt: She followed the curious pup around as he ran through shrubbery and chased after various toys she threw in his direction The new version of the catchy track had been adapted to suit the pandemic and included the line 'I'll be here all day', rather than the original 'I'll be there for you'. Aside from sharing her spotlight with online talents, Jennifer often uses her page to pay homage to her canine crew. In late April, the Leprechaun star shared back-to-back images of Sophie and Clyde snoozing on her couch. The picture of Clyde lying on the sofa had a caption which read, 'Big day...' while Sophie's portrait, showing her nearly passed out on some couch cushions as well, echoed the same sentiment with the word 'Exhausted.' Puppy love: Jennifer often uses her Instagram as a platform to pay tribute to the pups that brighten her life Nap time: In late April, the Leprechaun star shared back-to-back images of Sophie and Clyde snoozing on her couch Back in March, Jennifer's highly anticipated Friends reunion set to premiere on HBO Max was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the unscripted special was supposed to begin filming in late March 'on the show's iconic and former home at Stage 24 of the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank.' Reports in March claimed that filming would resume in May, but there have since been no updates as cross-country lockdowns persist. Reunited: According to The Hollywood Reporter , the unscripted special was supposed to begin filming in late March 'on the show's iconic and former home at Stage 24 of the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank' Once filming is able to resume, the special will reunite all six original cast members, Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer. Aniston shared to Instagram that a Friends VIP experience is up for grabs, which will allow one lucky winner (and five of their friends) to attend the reunion special. Friends came to a close in May of 2004 after 10 seasons on NBC. Washington governor Jay Inslee has issued an emergency warning about a possible infestation of gypsy moths, just days after scientists revealed dangerous Asian hornets had been spotted in the state. Both Asian gypsy moths and Asian-European hybrid gypsy moths pose a threat to Washington, according to the governor. The moths can severely damage trees and shrubs, according to the the US Department of Agriculture. Large infestations can completely defoliate trees, the department said. This defoliation can severely weaken trees and shrubs, making them more susceptible to disease. Repeated defoliation can lead to the death of large sections of forests, orchards and landscaping. Mr Inslee said that the moths are also able to cause major damage to the states agricultural industry. This imminent danger of infestation seriously endangers the agricultural and horticultural industries of the state of Washington and seriously threatens the economic well-being and quality of life of state residents, he said. Officials plan to begin aerial spraying of a bacteria-based insecticide in order to avert a full-blown infestation. The moths are such a threat because females can fly up to 25 miles and their larvae can feed on hundreds of different kinds of plants - meaning their potential habitat is huge. It adds to the woes of Washington scientists, after it was revealed this week that they had also spotted Asian giant hornets in the state. The Washington state agriculture department revealed that the bugs, which have been nicknamed murder hornets for their ferocious nature, had been in the country since December. They are able to destroy beehives and even kill humans. Environment news in pictures Show all 8 1 /8 Environment news in pictures Environment news in pictures Davos 2019: David Attenborough issues stark warning about future of civilisation as he demands practical solutions to combat climate change Sir David Attenborough has issued a stark warning about climate change to business figures gathered in Davos, telling them that "what we do now...will profoundly affect the next few thousand years". On the eve of this year's World Economic Forum, the renowned naturalist told the audience that the worlds of business and politics should "get on with the practical solutions" needed to prevent environmental damage. "As a species we are expert problem solvers. But we've not yet applied ourselves to this problem with the focus it requires. "We can create a world with clean air and water, unlimited energy, and fish stocks that will sustain us well into the future. But to do that, we need a plan," he said. The broadcaster made his speech after receiving a Crystal Award, which is awarded by the forum to "exceptional cultural leaders". AFP/Getty Environment news in pictures At least 60% of wild coffee species face extinction triggered by climate change and disease Two decades of research have revealed that 60 per cent of the worlds coffee species face extinction due to the combined threats of deforestation, disease and climate change. The wild strain of arabica, the most widely consumed coffee on the planet, is among those now recognised as endangered, raising concerns about its long-term survival. These results are worrying for the millions of farmers around the world who depend on the continued survival of coffee for their livelihoods. As conditions for coffee farming become tougher, scientists predict the industry will need to rely on wild varieties to develop more resilient strains Alan Schaller Environment news in pictures Warming Antarctic waters are speeding the rate at which glaciers are melting The Antarctic ice sheet is losing six times as much ice each year as it was in the 1980s and the pace is accelerating, one of the most comprehensive studies of climate change effects on the continent has shown. More than half an inch has been added to global sea levels since 1979, but if current trends continue it will be responsible for metres more in future, the Nasa-funded study found. The international effort used aerial photos, satellite data and climate models dating back to the 1970s across18 Antarctic regions to get the most complete picture to date on the impacts of the changing climate. It found that between 1979 and 1990 Antarctica lost an average of 40 gigatonnes (40 billion tonnes) of its mass each year. Between 2009 and 2017 it lost an average 252 gigatonnes a year. This has added 3.6mm per decade to sea levels, or around 14mm since 1979, the study shows Nasa/Getty Environment news in pictures Greater Manchester to ban fracking, paving way for confrontation with government over controversial industry Greater Manchester is to effectively ban fracking, raising the prospect of fresh confrontation with the government over the controversial industry. All of the regions 10 councils are to implement planning policies which create a presumption against drilling for shale gas in their areas, Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has announced. Campaigners said the move was the latest sign that the tide was turning against fracking, which has been the subject of multiple legal battles across the country. Critics of fracking say it poses environmental and health risks. Drilling at the UKs only operational fracking site, run by Cuadrilla in Lancashire, has repeatedly been halted due to earth tremors. But ministers support the industry and last year unveiled plans to accelerate the development of new drilling sites Ross Wills Environment news in pictures Japan confirms plan to resume commercial whaling in its waters from next year Japan will resume commercial whaling next year for the first time in more than three decades, in a move that has provoked strong criticism from campaigners and the international community. Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said his nation would leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to resume hunting the marine mammals in Japanese waters. However, he stated the activity would be limited to Japans territory and the 200 mile exclusive economic zone along its coasts. This means controversial scientific trips to Antarctica in which Japanese vessels killed hundreds of whales, as well as activity in the northwest Pacific, will stop in 2019 AP Environment news in pictures COP24: Environmental groups criticise morally unacceptable climate deal reached after major Poland summit Diplomats from around the world have agreed a major climate deal after two weeks of United Nations talks in Poland. But climate campaigners warned the deal effectively a set of rules for how to govern the 2015 Paris climate accord agreed between almost 200 countries lacked ambition or a clear promise of enhanced climate action. Activists cautiously welcomed elements of the plan, saying important progress had been made on ensuring that efforts to tackle climate change by individual nations can be measured and compared. But environmental groups were also highly critical of the agreement, warning it lacked ambition and clarity on key issues, including financing for climate projects for developing countries. The COP24 deal, which is aimed at providing firm guidelines for countries on how to transparently report their greenhouse gas emissions and their efforts to reduce them, was confirmed on 15 December, after talks overran Reuters Environment news in pictures Unprecedented changes needed to stop global warming as UN report reveals islands starting to vanish and coral reefs dying Greenhouse gas emissions must be cut almost in half by 2030 to avert global environmental catastrophe, including the total loss of every coral reef, the disappearance of Arctic ice and the destruction of island communities, a landmark UN report has concluded. Drawing on more than 6,000 scientific studies and compiled over two years, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) findings, released this morning, warn enormous and rapid changes to the way everyone on Earth eats, travels and produces energy need to be brought in immediately. Though the scientists behind the report said there is cause for optimism, they recognised the grim reality that nations are currently nowhere near on track to avert disaster AFP/Getty Environment news in pictures Africas three biggest elephant poaching cartels exposed using DNA from illegal ivory shipments DNA taken from massive shipments of ivory has been used to identify the three largest wildlife trafficking gangs operating at the height of Africas elephant poaching epidemic. Ivory tends to be shipped around the world from African ports in bulk, and scientists have used genetic evidence gleaned from intercepted batches to reveal their origins. Led by Dr Samuel Wasser from the University of Washington, they traced a number of these shipments to three cartels operating out of Kenya, Uganda and Togo. Evidence collected by Dr Wasser has already helped convict ivory kingpin Feisal Mohamed Ali, and as his team joins the dots between shipments they plan to shore up the cases against more of the continents most prolific smugglers Art Wolfe You may not see Asian giant hornets themselves, but you may see the aftermath of an Asian giant hornet attack, the department said. These hornets will leave piles of dead bees, most of them headless, outside their beehive. Error. Page cannot be displayed. Please contact your service provider for more details. (27) Manila (CNN Philippines Life) Our days in quarantine are truly uncertain times, with a pandemic that has revealed the lapses in our health system and governance, and a society that now struggles to craft the new normal or whether we should actually embrace one. Were two months into a quarantine that has been extended twice, and another extension is yet to be decided. The relatively short span of time, faced with so many changes and somber news, slowly eats away at everyones tolerance. Most of us at this point are simply trying to get by and cope with all that has been happening. Through a webcomic, comic artist Hulyen details, in a humorous package, things one can do to keep ones self sane during lockdown most of which, she shares, are things she finds herself doing. Everything is uncertain right now, she says. I find it difficult to think of reasons to continue living normally. Whenever I have to work on something, I cant help but think, Whats the point? Im really worried [about] whats happening right now, she adds. Sobrang nakakagalit every time I read about the news. I hope the government will focus more on medical solutions, mass testing, and giving aid to people in need instead of military and police presence. Im not convinced that it will be safe to go outside once the ECQ is lifted. Despite these circumstances, Hulyen finds refuge in the little things: what I do is just cling to the few things left that give me happiness during this time, such as new hobbies or talking to people I care about. Those things help me feel that theres still something to look forward to everyday and I should not lose hope. Typically inspired by things she observes around her, the quarantine took a definite toll on Hulyens creative process. For this comic, she instead drew inspiration from the very things that she experiences first-hand amid the lockdown. By offering what can be considered as tidbits of her own quarantining as comedic read, she says, I hope somehow reading my comics can help people feel less sad even for a bit. Read Things to do to keep you sane during quarantine below. By PTI KOCHI: The Kerala government on Thursday informed the High Court that 1.35 lakh rooms with attached toilets are available for quarantining the Keralites returning from foreign countries due to COVID-19 pandemic. It also submitted that the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority with the help of the Tourism Department and Public Works Department has prepared a list of infrastructure that could be used for temporary accommodation of the affected. "A number of Rs 13.45 crore has been provided from State Disaster Response Fund till date since April 1, 2020, to the District Disaster Management Authorities for the purpose as laid by the Union Home Ministry vide a letter dated March 28, this year," the government said in a statement submitted before the High Court. The statement was submitted in response to petitions related to the problems of the expatriates, who are presently outside India and are unable to come back on account of the lockdown announced by the government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The state government said about 1.35 lakh rooms with attached toilets is readily available to accommodate the expatriates for purpose of quarantining. In addition to this, about 9,000 rooms in hotels and resorts have been identified for the purpose of housing those NRIs who wished to stay in these places at their own cost, it said. The government said the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited has in its possession about 40,000 RT-PCR test kits to conduct tests. KEY HIGHLIGHTS Vizag gas leak death toll rises to 11 Four-member NDRF team from Pune to rush to Vizag A lesson for all chemical factories to follow strict chemical safety norms while restarting operations The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will fly a four-member expert team from Pune to Vizag to assess the situation at the gas leak site that has killed 11 people in Vizag this morning. All chemical factories resuming operations after a month-long coronavirus lockdown will have to strictly adhere to the chemical safety protocols and guidelines that are already in place, government officials said. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, the officials said the leakage at the LG Polymers factory has been arrested completely. "The chemical gas leak from the silo is almost completely plugged, but NDRF team will remain at the site until their services are required," S N Pradhan, director general, NDRF said. Also read: Vizag gas tragedy: What is the chemical that leaked? While 11 patients have died, most others are out of danger, the officials said. They also added that the investigation into the exact reasons for gas leak, which happened at 2:30 am, is being carried out by the local police. Dr Randeep Guleria, director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), said that the patients affected by the gas leak are unlikely to develop long-term complications. The situation is under control. Now, it is a question of rehabilitation and treatment, officials said. Also read: Vizag gas tragedy: Human rights commission sends notice to Andhra govt, Centre The gas leak disaster happened while the LG Polymers factory was in the process of restarting operations after a month-long COVID lockdown. The factory is owned by South Korean industrial major LG Chem. In a statement, the company said it was assessing the extent of the damage on residents in the town and taking all necessary measures to protect residents and employees in collaboration with related organisations. Also read: Vizag gas leak: Probing extent of damage, cause of leak, says LG Chem; South Korea's envoy terms incident 'tragic' Also read: Vizag gas leak a serious lesson on plant maintenance during coronavirus lockdown The 2020 Q1 U.S. Fertility Forecast Particularly deep declines in populations of children under the age of eight are expected to be seen in rapidly aging states Child populations are declining nationally and in most U.S. states. Particularly deep declines in populations of children under the age of eight are expected to be seen in rapidly aging states with low birth rates like California, Illinois, Hawaii, Vermont, New Mexico and West Virginia. States that benefit from intra-country migration, and which have relatively higher birth rates, like Florida, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Nevada can expect more stable child populations. However, no state should expect significant growth in child populations in the foreseeable future. Even high-fertility states with strong economies and in-migration like Utah, North Dakota and Texas have experienced declining child populations in recent years as fertility rates tumble across the board. Florida stands out as one of the few states to see an uptick in births over the last decade. The Sunshine State recorded 214,590 births in 2010; Demographic Intelligence expects that figure to rise to 223,524 by the end of 2020 and climb further to more than 226,000 in 2021. It is one of just a handful of states that DI anticipates will see its population under the age of five to continue rising through 2021. This means schools will continue to see more children entering Kindergarten in the Sunshine State for the near future. Texas has seen its population swell in recent years thanks to migration trends across the U.S. Its fertility picture was also fairly sunny in the first half of the last decade, as births rose from 386,118 in 2010 to 403,618 in 2015. But that trend has since reversed, falling to 375,859 in 2019. Demographic Intelligence expects a continued decline in the next two years. The number of children entering Texas schools as kindergartners is also expected to decline in the next two years. Migration trends within the U.S. have been kind to Utah, but its fertility rate has been steadily declining in recent years. Once a high-fertility state thanks to the powerful influence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, its fertility rate recently fell below replacement level. Demographic Intelligence does not anticipate births falling much further in the near term, however, because of in migration into Utah. Births in Utah should remain around 48,000 in 2020 and 2021. Likewise, DI expects the population of those in the earliest elementary school grades to be fairly steady in the next couple of years, thanks to families moving into the state. But in most states, the number of school-aged children is falling. The consequences of fewer primary school-aged children in the U.S. are likely to be significant. Many schools will be partially empty and demand for many categories of educational service will fall. Likewise, products marketed to children, especially mass-market products, will struggle to find sufficient customers. Even residential real estate will be impacted, as demand for family housing will eventually decline in parts of the country where more and more of life is spent without a spouse or children. # # # About Demographic Intelligence Demographic Intelligence (DI) is the premier provider of U.S. birth forecasts and fertility analytics for businesses with an interest in birth trends in the United States. DI provides reports and consulting services to companies in the following sectors: juvenile products, healthcare, media, financial services, consumer food, and household products. Demographic Intelligence is advised in its work by five leading family scholars: Princeton economist Alicia Adsera, University of Pennsylvania demographer Hans-Peter Kohler, University of North Carolina demographer Philip Morgan, economist and Chief Information Officer Lyman Stone and University of Virginia sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox. CONTACT: Steven Morales Chief Operating Officer Demographic Intelligence Steve@USbirthrate.com US President Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed what he called a very insulting congressional resolution seeking to limit his war powers in Iran. In a statement, Trump said he had used his veto because the resolution -- a rare bipartisan rebuke to the president approved in March -- was based on misunderstandings of facts and law. The measure stemmed from fears among both Trumps Republicans and Democrats that the White House was stumbling into war with the Islamic republic. In the statement, Trump says Congress misinterpreted his constitutional authority as being limited to defense of the United States and its forces against imminent attack. That is incorrect, he said. We live in a hostile world of evolving threats, and the Constitution recognizes that the President must be able to anticipate our adversaries next moves and take swift and decisive action in response. Thats what I did! The resolution said the US president cannot commit his military to hostilities against Iran or any part of its government or military without explicit authorization from Congress. Supporters said they wanted to ensure that Congress had the unique power to declare war, as outlined in the US Constitution. Trump has preached the need for a drawdown of American military entanglements abroad, but has ramped up a hostile relationship with Iran. His administration has imposed crippling economic sanctions on Tehran. In January, Trump ordered a drone strike that killed Irans most powerful general, Qassem Soleimani, at the Baghdad airport. The assassination has inflamed tensions between the two countries. Soleimani was widely seen as the architect of destabilizing activities by Iran around the world, but Democrats and many experts condemned the decision to kill him as disproportionate and provocative. Tehran retaliated with a strike against bases used by the US military in Iraq without causing any fatalities, easing fears of a dramatic escalation. The Trump administration claims it has put Iran back in its box. But a recent verbal escalation following an incident between US ships and Iranian speedboats in the Gulf showed that tensions remain high. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine hit out at Trump for blocking the resolution. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to override his veto -- Congress must vote before sending our troops into harms way, he tweeted. To override a veto, two-thirds of the members of both houses of Congress must vote to do so -- unlikely, given the Republican majority in the Senate. It is the second time Trump has vetoed an attempt by Congress to control his military initiatives. In 2019, he blocked an resolution to end US support for Saudi Arabias offensive in Yemen. Bolts of lightning illuminated the sky in Charlotte, North Carolina, on May 5 as a thunderstorm passed over the city. Local Karen Friel, who recorded this footage, was attending a Cinco de Mayo party on the roof of her apartment building when the storm first began to brew. She moved indoors as the storm intensified, and began recording footage of the dramatic lightning strikes over the city skyline. She told Storyful, The lightning strikes were shooting clear across the sky at a very low altitude, which made them seem more dynamic. She added, The storm lasted hours, but this particular segment was about 30 minutes long. Credit: Karen Friel via Storyful Photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows the launch of intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 at an undisclosed location, July 4, 2017. A Washington think tank report that North Korea is nearing completion of a ballistic missile facility capable of accommodating Pyongyangs entire ballistic missile arsenal highlights the modernization and expansion of the countrys ICBM program despite global efforts to stop it, experts said Wednesday. The Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) Tuesday revealed the near-complete Sil-li Ballistic Missile Support Facility, citing satellite imagery. According to CSIS, the site, located near Pyongyang International Airport, includes a high bay building capable of housing any of North Koreas known ballistic missile types in its arsenal. It also was built near an underground facility large enough to fit all known North Korean missiles, including launchers and support vehicles. Taken as a whole, these characteristics suggest that this facility is likely designed to support ballistic missile operations, the report said. As such, it is another component of the North Korean ballistic missile infrastructure that has been undergoing both modernization and expansion during the past 10 years, it added. The images likely confirm that North Korea has continued to develop and expand its ballistic missile infrastructure, according to CSIS senior imagery analyst Joseph Bermudez, who wrote the report. There has been no slow down at all that we can detect at present, Bermudez told RFAs Korean Service Wednesday. "It is part of North Koreas expanding ballistic missile structure and it needs to be addressed at any future North Korean and US discussions, he added. What it does however is to bring this to the public light to discuss the issue in a more informed manner, it helps citizens of South Korea influence South Korean policy [toward North Korea], and it does the same thing here in the United States, [and in] Japan, Russia, and China, he said. To inform the public on the characteristics of North Korean ballistic missile threats is important, because the public influence the policy, and the policy ultimately influence the diplomatic development between the world and North Korea, he added. The continuing development of Pyongyangs missile capabilities is in line Kim Jong Uns 2017 promise to produce ICBMs on a large scale, Michael Ellerman of the International Institute for Strategic Studies told RFA. In short, the article highlights North Koreas efforts to build up its strategic missile forces, and is consistent with Kim Jong Uns pledge at the end of 2017, where he boasted that North Korea would begin serial production of its long-range, nuclear-armed missiles, the non-proliferation and nuclear policy director said. The building of missile support facilities suggests that long-range missiles are being produced at pace. However, questions about the operational viability and reliability of its long-range missiles remains an open question, as too few test launches of Hwasong-14 and 15 missile prototypes have been undertaken, Ellerman added. The two prototypes were first tested in 2017, with several analysts saying both designs could potentially have the capability of hitting the United States. A South Korean expert told RFA that while the site indicates that North Korea has not stopped its missile infrastructure development efforts, the facility serves to defend only the Pyongyang Airport. It seems that North Korea is continuously trying to strengthen and develop short, medium, and long-range ballistic missile capabilities since the completion of nuclear weapons in 2017, said Park Young-ho, the Director of the Peace Research Institute Seoul, referring to language used by Kim Jong Un in an April 2018 declaration that North Korea had built a bomb and would stop nuclear tests and launches of ICBMs, ahead of his historic summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in that month. Since the facility is located near Pyongyang Sunan Airport, it can be seen as a missile base to defend the Sunan Airport in the event of military crisis, said Park. RFA contacted South Koreas Unification Ministry, and a spokesperson said only that the ministry was aware of the CSIS report but declined to comment further, saying that it would not be appropriate for the ministry to speak publicly about information related to North Koreas military. Meanwhile, the Blue House, South Koreas presidential office, told RFA says it was not aware of the report. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State declined to comment on matters of intelligence. Additional reporting by Hee Jung Yang and Jaeduk Seo for RFAs Korean Service. Translation by Leejin Jun. ST. JACOBS Ed Strauss surprised the enemy on D-Day, attacking them from above and behind. He was a gunner on board an Allied bomber, flying above Normandy as the Allies invaded Nazi-occupied France on June 6, 1944. On the beaches below he spied German soldiers in open-air pillboxes. They were fixated on the sand in front of them. He asked the pilot if he could fly in low and over the pillboxes, approaching from behind. I can skim the treetops, the pilot said. The enemy never saw them coming. From his rear turret, Strauss fired four Browning machine guns into the men below. I think I killed them all, he recalls. They didnt have a chance to shoot at me. It was war. Strauss ably defended comrades who were storming the beaches. But still. Im sorry I was there that day, he said. I have paid the price. You never forget it. Strauss, 97, completed dozens of missions with the Royal Canadian Air Force in helping to defeat Nazi Germany, 75 years ago on May 8, 1945. The St. Jacobs man spoke about his war to grandson Kevin Strauss, 22, who recorded their conversations. When Strauss enlisted he wasnt thinking of glory or patriotism. I was looking for work. I either had to join up or starve, he said. In December 1941 he crossed the Atlantic to reach England. He was 19. On the troop ship he learned that Japan had attacked the U.S. at Pearl Harbour. Those were dark days. People did not know how the war would end in 1942. Allied victory seemed unlikely as Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler rampaged across Europe and the Japanese Empire charged across the Pacific. Germany had the war won but didnt know it, Strauss said. It shocked him to land in England under siege. Before troops could disembark, an enemy air raid forced their ship back out to sea, where they waited to come ashore later. England was under a blackout, a new experience for Strauss. You more or less felt your way around. He eventually reached his billet but hardly slept the first night. Horns sounded. Bells clanged. Everyone had to take shelter from another enemy air raid, in a backyard trench dug six feet deep. Strauss was a tail gunner with the RCAFs 426 Thunderbird squadron. It lost 426 aircrew during the war. He helped drop leaflets over Nazi-occupied territory. He helped drop bombs over German cities. He learned to fear anti-aircraft shrapnel. He dreaded reading the daily orders published by the RCAF, because it listed aircrews who did not return. He learned to respect superior German weapons. Late in the war he marvelled at Nazi jet fighters, deployed too late and too few to make a difference. The Germans were miles ahead of us. Miles ahead, he said. He became combat-savvy enough to tell if the enemy pilot shadowing his bomber was a wily veteran or a green rookie. You always fired ahead of them and let them fly into it, he said. He figures he shot down at least four enemy fighters. But Strauss was lucky more than invincible. When enemy fighters shot down his bomber over Nazi-occupied Holland I heard the pilot Bail out, were going down! His parachute brought him safely to earth, but without his shoes after the hard yank of the chute tore them from his feet. He approached two Dutch women working in a field. They brought him to a home where a man who spoke English turned him over to the resistance. He was taken by boat to neutral Spain. From there he returned safely to England. But first he had to hide out in a windmill, eating little more than boiled dandelions. The noise never stopped. Ill never forget the sound of a windmill, he said. Two weeks hidden inside it seemed like two years. Strauss wondered if the war would ever end. He knew the tide had turned late in 1944. The enemy that once ruled the air could no longer fight off Allied bombers. Germany was done and we knew it. It was like going out sightseeing, he said. His crewmates celebrated their domination by having the nose and tail painted on their four-engine Halifax bomber in 1944. They decorated the nose with Willie the Wolf from the West. On the rear turret, Strauss arranged to showcase Ol Daid Eye, a rifle-firing hillbilly. Strauss has a picture of the smiling crew in front of their plane, before it was adorned. They are a band of brothers. The crew hoped their bomber would last forever. And it did, Strauss said. The art that decorated its nose and tail is on display at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. Strauss returned from war to marry his sweetheart, Mary, in 1946. They raised seven children and he worked as a millwright. For decades he said little about the war. More recently, he has spoken about it more often. Kevin, his grandson who attends the University of Waterloo, sees the horror in his stories. But he also sees his grandfathers humanity. What would Strauss tell a young person today about war? Dont join the next one, he told his grandson. Because youll never live it down. Real war, its rough. 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. Gov. Tom Wolf is proposing to create a Commonwealth Civilian Coronavirus Corps to assist with COVID-19 containment efforts, as the state approaches the rollout of Wolfs phased re-opening plan. The corps will be a public service program that recruits Pennsylvanians to assist with matters such as contact tracing, helping the states currently limited number of public health workers track COVID-19 outbreaks and identify those at risk. The corps is a unique opportunity for Pennsylvania to recruit and train COVID-19-impacted dislocated and unemployed workers into public service for contact tracing roles, which would address Pennsylvanias health and economic needs, Wolf wrote in an announcement Wednesday. Few additional details were offered at Wolfs Wednesday press briefing, with the governor saying he would continue to unveil aspects of this plan in the coming weeks. Wolf said the state still had a long road ahead in a return to normalcy. We need to use that time to build a program to allow our commonwealth to function as much as possible while we wait for a vaccine, Wolf said. Friday will mark the movement of 24 counties in the northcentral and northwestern region of the state into a "phase yellow" plan that will ease some of the restrictions that have been in place since Wolfs March 19 shutdown order. Wednesday was the fourth day in a row that Pennsylvania saw fewer than 1,000 new cases, PA Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine noted, although she cautioned it was too soon to say conclusively that the spread of the disease was stabilizing. The state has reported 3,106 COVID-19 deaths since the outbreak began in March. Statewide numbers have been skewed by delays in local health agencies reporting to the state health department, particularly in Philadelphia, a consequence of Pennsylvanias relatively de-centralized governmental structure. Levine said Wednesday that reporting has certainly been a challenge and that we are going to be working every day to reconcile our data with Philadelphia health agencies and others. Cumberland Countys tally of new reported cases has also dropped slightly in recent days, with four new cases announced Wednesday. The county has averaged 13 new cases per day over the past two weeks, but only about five new cases reported each day over the past four days. However, Pennsylvanias testing volume has also declined recently, throwing into doubt how indicative the data is of the real spread of COIVD-19. When asked Wednesday, Levine said that the state was still working on a way to make testing more broadly accessible testing is still typically only done for those who are seriously ill and have a doctors referral. Were trying to figure out how we would do the type of population-based testing, which is very different, Levine said, suggesting that pharmacies could be allowed to administer tests, although plans are still in their early stages. Wolf said that his evolving plan for a public service corps would hopefully be funded by federal appropriations through the CARES Act. The governor, a Democrat, said he had consulted with the legislature about the proposal but did not believe it required lawmakers explicit authorization. I think they agree at this point that theres not a need for legislative approval on this, Wolf said. Some legislators pushed back on the idea Wednesday night locally, Republican Rep. Torren Ecker said the legislature was alerted to the initiative a mere four minutes before Wolfs afternoon briefing. In a press statement, Ecker expressed skepticism over Wolfs decision to unilaterally create a new governmental program that has the potential to cost taxpayers millions of dollars without any legislative oversight, and other GOP officials voiced similar concerns on social media. CASES In the latest report from state Department of Health Wednesday, Cumberland County's COVID-19 numbers again rose slightly, largely because of more cases in nursing homes. The department reported Wednesday that Cumberland County had four new cases, all located in one of four long-term care facilities. The county also saw one new death reported, raising its number to 26. Unlike in previous reports, the number of nursing home deaths did not rise with this number. Cumberland County now has 386 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases, as well as 26 confirmed deaths. Of those, the DOH reports 183 residents and 46 workers in four long-term care facilities in the county who haves tested positive for COVID-19, with 23 deaths. So 229 of the county's 386 cases are in long-term care facilities. The new figures mean the county has 179 new cases in the past 14 days, or 70.65 cases per 100,000 people in the county. That's the fourth straight day the cases per 100,000 has dropped for the county and it's the lowest rate per 100,000 people since April 28. Overall in the southcentral region, the number of COVID-19 cases rose modestly, with most counties reporting only a few new cases, if that. The largest increases were in Dauphin County, which now sits at 711 cases of the disease, Franklin County with 406 cases currently, Lebanon County with 774 cases and York County with 722 cases. Dauphin, Franklin and Lebanon all reported rises in nursing home cases close to their new case counts. Across the state, the department only reported 888 new cases of COVID-19 and 94 new deaths. So far, 204,495 negative tests have been reported to the state. Photos: Construction crews back to work in Midstate Charles Scott Crowley, age 28, from Katy was arrested and charged with a litany of sex crimes against children, including the possession of child pornography and aggravated sexual assault of a child. He was also charged with super aggravated sexual assault of a child, meaning at least one of his alleged victims is under the age of 6. The arrest was a collaborative sting operation between multiple law enforcement agencies, said Bruce Moats, a cybercrime investigator with the Fort Bend County District Attorneys Office. MORE FROM CLAIRE GOODMAN: Online predators 'more active than ever' during COVID-19 crisis, experts say The task force was comprised of investigators from the Fort Bend County District Attorneys Office, Houston Cyber Investigations Group, Houston Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, Texas Department of Public Safety, Katy ISD Police Department, Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Office of Inspector General, Cy-Creek Tactical EMS and Child Safe Harbour of Montgomery County. According to Moats, the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force began investigating Crowley in early April. Investigators in the task force allege that they discovered Crowley searching for children online. Upon Crowleys arrest, authorities said, three victims, all young children, were rescued. The three children were victims of sexual assault, and at least one was under the age of 6, resulting in a charge of super aggravated sexual assault. The charge of super aggravated sexual assault carries a sentence of up to life in prison. BREAKING NEWS UPDATES: Get your Houston breaking news alerts delivered to your Inbox Two of the identified victims lived in Fort Bend County. The third was a resident of Montgomery County. According to Moats, authorities believe there are more victims that have yet to be identified. A press release from the District Attorneys Office said, During this investigation, we have discovered that there may be other children who were victimized While Crowley resided in the Katy area, his exposure and access to children could have occurred anywhere in Fort Bend County or elsewhere. Our biggest priority right now is identifying other potential victims so they can get the help they need, Moats said. If anybodys child has had contact with Crowley, please come forward. We absolutely believe there are more victims. SMARTPHONE TIPS: Police say these apps could be dangerous for children Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton commended the work of the task force and added, If you are seeking to harm our children, know that the Task Force is looking for you. If you seek to harm children in our county, know that the ICAC Task Force will find you and stop you, and we will be relentless in our prosecution of these crimes. Anyone with information about Charles Scott Crowley is encouraged to contact the Fort Bend County District Attorneys Office, the Montgomery County District Attorneys Office or their local law enforcement agency, the press release said. claire.goodman@chron.com Haiti - Agriculture : Minister Severe working so that Haitians do not starve Wednesday, during his speech at the Permanent Information Center on the Coronavirus, Agronomist Patrick Severe, Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, said he was concerned about fighting famine in the framework of Covid-19 and planning the territory so that Haitians do not starve. He said that 2,000 hectares of land have already been plowed in the South for the rapid production of crops such as okra (Kalalou), potato, corn, etc... In the West department, 4,500 hectares of land have already been watered and planted. At the river Grise level 400 hectares have already been irrigated. Another 1,000 hectares of land were also worked at Arcahaie and in the vicinity of the Momance River. In the Artibonite Valley, he informed that the Ministry had already adopted provisions to clean the canals at Marchand-Dessalines where 7 kilometers of canals were cleaned up. He announced that from Thursday, May 7, assessments of the agricultural situation will begin in particular in this area. 65 tillers will plow 65 hectares of land daily, says the Minister of Agriculture, who adds that 70 to 80 tractors are already at the service of the Artibonite Valley, adding that 2,000 tonnes of seeds are also available for planters. this rice valley. Minister Patrick Severe has announced that he will be visiting the great north of the country shortly as part of the arrangements adopted to support planters during this particular period. He asked the latter (the planters) for their support in relation to the initiatives of the MARNDR in order to face the famine that the country could experience in the months to come. The Minister Severe informs that he will also seed the water bodies in order to allow the stockbreeders to find food for the cattle stressing that 164 hectares of ground were already plowed in this direction in Nippes. He advises farmers to take advantage of the drought season to plant, so that during the next rainy season they can benefit as much as possible, recalling "[...] the technique of planting during the dry season will be very profitable in terms of agricultural production when the rainy season arrives." HL/ HaitiLibre Midland Memorial Hospital employees who found themselves without work after elective surgeries were canceled began sewing masks to address a shortage of personal protective equipment. During the five weeks their departments were shut down, they sewed more than 10,000 masks for their colleagues and patients in the hospital. Chris Bejil, director of perioperative services, said he pitched the idea for displaced employees sewing masks after being inspired by the efforts of his wife, Kassi, who was making masks for staff and others in the community who needed them. When the opportunity came up, I asked our leadership, why cant we do some of this work here? Why cant we help the community the way that she is? he said. They started with three sewing machines in the surgical waiting room, then with the help of donations, expanded that operation to 16 machines until they had a full-fledged factory, Bejil said. On their busiest day, there were about 30 employees cutting fabric and sewing masks and they made 150 to 200 an hour. Bejil said the endeavor addressed two problems at once: employees with no work who werent needed elsewhere in the hospital and a shortage of protective gear. The cloth masks are worn by staff who arent in direct contact with COVID-19 patients to preserve N95 respirators and isolation masks, he said. Theyre also being used on patients in the emergency room to lower the risk of exposure for employees. Its not a secret to anybody that there was a shortage nationally, he said. So, as we were encountered with this problem where were shutting down the operating room just in perioperative services, we probably have 150 people that were going to be struggling to find work if we didnt do something and we kind of put the two together -- how we can help our PPE problem and how we can help people stay motivated and engaged and employed. Kristen Nall said it was scary watching employees who work in elective procedures be furloughed nationwide and in Odessa, where nearly 100 employees were furloughed at Medical Center Hospital and Odessa Regional Medical Center. I looked at all of this happening with COVID and the possibility of not having a job because our department was being shut down, she said. And so, for me, administration and management seeing an opportunity to employ us, to keep us working, it's huge. I know all of us are grateful to have had that. The sewing group also provided a way for staff who mostly work alone to form friendships with their colleagues, said Jordan Napoli. Being in endoscopy and the [operating room] are both very secluded units, she said. We usually just interact within ourselves, so getting to work as a team with everyone else was awesome. Bejil joked that now staff who met through the project can recognize the people theyve passed in the hallways for years. Its strange because this group of people is one of the most isolated groups in the hospital, he said. We stand behind big red doors that say, No, you cant come in. So, to interact with so many different people on so many different levels, it was really good for all of us, I think. SHANGHAI, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The APAC Provenance Council supported by government, export and industry bodies, standards agencies, packaging and labelling service providers, finance giants and blockchain technology providers, is established to integrate blockchain technology into the food supply chain finance in Australia-China trades. Currently, the core founding members include Fresh Supply Co, Source Certain International, and Laava, joined by affiliate members VeChain, FoodAgility CRC (Cooperative Research Centre), DNV GL Business Assurance, Australian Made, GS1, Blockchain Australia and several others. The New Roadmap To a Post-COVID Food Industry In February 2020, the Australian Government published The National Blockchain Roadmap , proactively addressing opportunities in the Agritech & Food industry, which directly accelerates the establishment of the Council. The impact from COVID-19 further lifts the urgency of pushing forward this initiative. On one hand, the pandemic is posing a direct threat to food & beverage vendors around the globe, particularly in cross-continental trading, the suppliers are heavily impacting their cash flows, which calls for immediate invoice finance to quickly unlock unpaid invoices and stimulate business growth. On the other hand, the public awareness of food safety is unprecedentedly high. According to a study of InTarget Shanghai , Chinese consumers have become more health and safety-conscious and this will continue to be reflected in future. Blockchain-enabled APAC Provenance Council To Stimulate The Market By combining resources from all members, the Council aims to provide a comprehensive blockchain-enabled food supply chain finance ecosystem, bridging traceable, safe and trusted trades with shorter billing terms between Australian suppliers and Chinese importers. David Inderias, APAC Provenance Council Executive Chairman says, "Many solution providers have offered 'track and trace' services, but haven't addressed industry needs in a comprehensive way. In a post-COVID world when many commercial entities are in decline, we are growing by making sure to deliver real economic value, meeting industry needs, as well as including funding sources for industry." Powered by AliPay in Australia, all the B2B payments for China-destined trades from Australian food suppliers will receive milestone-based payments of the total fiat payment upfront upon meeting the first milestone of their delivery terms. For food suppliers in Australia, when they export food products traced by VeChain ToolChain, the entire process of product delivery will be recorded, including logistics information, temperature during the process and so forth. Acting as the "trust machine" in multiparty collaboration, blockchain provides immutable and authentic records, which not only ensures the secured process of logistics transfer, bringing transparency and trust into the cross-continental trade, but also helps shorten the billing period for suppliers. VeChain To Be The Sole Public Blockchain Protocol In The Consortium VeChain is dedicated to enabling its partners to implement blockchain technology in various industries to solve real problems. The proven cases such as FoodGates, pave the way for making the supply chain finance more effective at an all-new level. Sunny Lu, CEO at VeChain, stressed that, "Guided by the mission of powering the real economy, VeChain positions itself to be an Enabler to empower our partners with blockchain to build business applications in various sectors. The implementation of blockchain certainly contributes to buffering the immediate economic impacts of the pandemic for the enterprises, and will help improve productivity by unleashing more resources and growth opportunities." The Australian Department of Agriculture predicts China will account for 43% of global growth in demand for agricultural products by 2050. Since the Australian products have an enviable reputation for being high-quality, Australian exporters can strongly take advantage of China's growing demand for quality produce and its need for food security. With the market evolving, the demand for business-ready standard blockchain tools will also see a dramatic growth, which positions VeChain ToolChain to seize the opportunity to support more enterprises and create more value. About APAC Provenance Council The Asia Pacific Provenance Council is an industry alliance which helps exporters digitally enable and scientifically prove the provenance, traceability and authenticity of their products, and tell the stories behind their brands. The Council will soon be taking expressions of interest for multiple food production verticals in Food Agility backed pilots, corporates and industry bodies are urged to. About VeChain Launched in 2015, VeChain connects blockchain technology to the real world by providing a comprehensive governance structure, a robust economic model, and IoT integration. VeChain is the pioneer of real-world applications using public blockchain technology, with international operations in Singapore, Luxembourg, Tokyo, Shanghai, Paris, Hong Kong, and San Francisco. Together with our strategic partners PwC and DNV GL, we have established cooperative relations with many leading enterprises in different industries, including Walmart China, BMW, BYD Auto, H&M, LVMH, D.I.G, AWS, PICC, ASI etc. Official website www.vechain.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/738221/VeChain_Logo.jpg By Helen Coster and Joshua Franklin NEW YORK (Reuters) - Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd's $3.5 billion in cash on hand will be enough to bankroll the company for "at least 18 months" without any new revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic that has halted voyages, Chief Executive Frank Del Rio said on Thursday. "That's enough to cover our cash burn under a zero-revenue environment for at least 18 months, not 12, 18 months," Del Rio told Reuters in a phone interview. Norwegian's shares, which have lost almost 80% of their market value this year, extended intraday gains after Del Rio's remarks to trade up as much as 12% at $12.43 on the New York Stock Exchange, far outpacing a broader market rally. The comments come a day after Norwegian completed a $2.4 billion fundraising through debt and equity offerings, giving the idled cruise operator needed funds to survive extended voyage suspensions due to the pandemic. "So unless you want to make the case that this pandemic is going to close us down more than a year and a half into almost 2022, we believe the company is in a great financial position, has all the cash and liquidity needed to survive a prolonged lay-up and be in a position to come out strong," he added. Del Rio said he hopes the company will restart operations at some time in the third quarter, and that it is seeing high demand for cruises in Asia. The company's larger rival, Carnival Corp , said on Monday it plans to resume some cruises beginning Aug. 1, pending continued efforts to coordinate with government officials. The possibility there will be no cruises in 12 months is "near zero," Del Rio said. To help prepare for a resumption of business, Norwegian is consulting with former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb to develop health protocols, which may include improving and increasing the frequency of disinfecting and cleaning, Del Rio said. In an interview with USA Today on March 9, Gottlieb said, It's an awful risk to pack a lot of people on a cruise ship. Story continues The Miami-headquartered company faces proposed class-action lawsuits alleging it made false and misleading statements to the market and customers about COVID-19 - the illness caused by the novel coronavirus - and its impact on its business. The company has said the allegations are without merit. In March, Floridas attorney general announced an investigation related to Norwegians marketing to customers during the coronavirus outbreak, based on allegations it downplayed the severity and highly contagious nature of the virus in an effort to sell cruises. Other attorneys general and governmental agencies are conducting similar investigations, according to the company. Cruise ships can be among the healthiest places in the world to be during a pandemic, Del Rio said on Thursday. It is a controlled environment. Some of the earliest large COVID-19 outbreak clusters were aboard huge cruise ships in which thousands of passengers and crew were packed in tight quarters as the virus quickly spread. (Reporting by Helen Coster and Joshua Franklin in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot) The Coalition of Parents of Students in Private Institutions (COPOSIPI), has called on the government to show interest in companies around the world that are in the process of producing vaccines for the COVID-19 pandemic. The Association pointed out that the government could only get access to such vaccines when produced if they showed interest and commitment from the beginning. This was contained in a press statement signed by the Executive Secretary of the Association, Dr Simon Gbene, and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA). There is competition all over the world, so the government should make our interest known to companies that are rising the vaccines so that if it is gotten anywhere, Ghana would be considered, he said in the statement. He said the Government should also consider as part of the solutions to the COVID-19, how to achieve herd immunity, especially in heavily populated communities. He stated, Herd immunity can be attained by simply working around the disease itself. We know COVID-19 has the potential of affecting about 82 per cent of the population where there is an outbreak, the victims will show mild symptoms and 18 per cent will show severe symptoms. So our recommendation is that in populated areas where there is an outbreak and we are not able to do this form of isolation and quarantine then what we can do is to move immediately, people who are more susceptible, that is aged and those sick from the place then whatever population is left if the disease is run through them it cannot spread anymore, he noted. He advised students to practice simple hygienic behaviour such as hand washing and strict adherence to the precautionary protocols. Dr Gbene pleaded with students to help educate their parents to observe physical distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in their respective communities. The Executive Secretary further expressed gratitude to the Telecommunication networks for providing free services to electronic learning sites for the use of students. He appealed to teachers that when parents call on them to help their wards they should be willing to do so. 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 Error. Page cannot be displayed. Please contact your service provider for more details. (28) The changes also address a concern about the future of advanced astronomical research. When Starlink initially began, astronomers worried that the satellites would interfere with the view of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, an American telescope in Chile that will scan the entire sky every three nights when it begins fully operating in 2023. At that pace, scientists will build a movie of the cosmos and hunt for anything that goes bump in the night from near-Earth asteroids to exploding stars and much more. That information will then get sent along to every major ground- and space-based observatory alerting the entire astronomical community to new discoveries within 60 seconds so that they can follow-up as rapidly as possible. Any threat to the Rubin observatory will therefore ripple throughout the entire field, and Starlink might have created such interference. Whenever a satellite photo-bombs an exposure, it causes a streak of light. And if that satellite is sufficiently bright, it can create ghost imprints elsewhere because of effects on the telescopes detector. To bypass those ghost images, Anthony Tyson, a physicist at the University of California, Davis, and the chief scientist of the Rubin Observatory, and his colleagues have built an extensive algorithm. But it only works for faint satellites. With SpaceXs newest plans, he is cautiously optimistic that interference from Starlink satellites will become ghosts of the past. But the satellite streaks wont disappear from view. And as more and more launch, they will crowd the skies during the hours surrounding twilight and dawn. Thats a prescription for disaster, Dr. Tyson said, because that is precisely when astronomers search for Earth-threatening asteroids. The Rubin Observatory will also study the universes mysterious dark matter and dark energy. Both can be surveyed when invisible clouds of dark matter act to distort background objects, creating strange rings, arcs of light and magnified images. But those signatures look eerily similar to the artifacts created when scientists imperfectly remove satellites from their images, making it hard to distinguish between the two. Meghan Markle has a lot to celebrate this week with her son, Archie Harrison, turning one year old. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex marked Archies birthday by posting a special video on social media, offering royal watchers their first look at him in months. While the couple was very happy about sharing Archies big day with their fans, his birthday is not the only thing Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has to celebrate this week. Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, and Archie Harrison | DOMINIC LIPINSKI/AFP via Getty Images Meghan Markle celebrates Archie Harrisons first birthday Now that they are no longer active members of the royal family, Prince Harry and Meghan have agreed to stop using their titles. This includes dropping their main account on Instagram, Sussex Royal, which they launched last year. The decision to stop using Sussex Royal raised questions about were Harry and Meghan were going to post the photo of Archie. The couple ended up using Save the Childrens Instagram account to share a new video of Archie, which worked out for all the parties involved. The clip features Meghan reading Archies favorite book to him. The caption revealed that Harry filmed the video as part of the companys Save with Stories program, which provides food for people impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Duck! Rabbit! read by Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, the caption read. Harry and Meghan are currently living in Los Angeles and have been staying low-key amid the lockdown. The birthday post was the first time weve seen Archie in action since back in December. Archie looks just like Prince Harry did as a baby Following the birthday pic, royal watchers commented about how Archie looks almost identical to Harry when he was around the same age. Back in 1985, Prince Charles and Princess Diana published a black-and-white photo of Harry during a trip on their yacht, Britannia. Comparing the pics, Archie clearly has Harrys red hair and the same toothy grin. Last year, Harry was asked about who Archie Harrison favors. According to Hello Magazine, the Duke of Sussex admitted that they still couldnt figure out if Archie took after him or Meghan more. Were still trying to figure that out, he shared. Everyone says that babies change so much over two weeks. Were basically monitoring how the changing process happens over this next month really. But his looks are changing every single day, so who knows. Fans have only seen Archie on a handful of occasions. This includes Archies christening last summer and a rare public appearance during the couples tour of South Africa last fall. We dont know if the couple plans on sharing more photos of Archie now that they are out of the royal family. Inside Archie Harrisons birth Meghan and Harry welcomed Archie on May 6, 2019. There was plenty of buzz surrounding Archies birth, and the Sussexes went to great lengths to keep things tightly under wraps in the weeks leading up to the big day. This level of secrecy led to many false reports regarding Archies birth, including the idea that Meghan opted for a home birth. But Archie Harrisons official birth certificate proves that he was born inside The Portland hospital in London. According to Hello Magazine, this is the same facility that Sarah Ferguson delivered her two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. Several celebrities have also used the hospital to give birth, including Jools Oliver and Victoria Beckham. After giving birth, Harry and Meghan returned to their home, Frogmore Cottage, where the Duke of Sussex confirmed that his new baby was a boy. The pair introduced Archie to the world a few days later inside St. Georges Hall. Meghan Markle looks forward to Mothers Day While all of the attention has been on Archie Harrisons birthday, Meghan has another reason to celebrate this week. On Sunday, the former Suits star will take part in her first Mothers Day in the United States. This is the second year Meghan has celebrated the holiday, but this will be her first in the states. Last year, Meghan marked the occasion by sharing a photo of Archies baby toes at their home. Paying tribute to all mothers today past, present, mothers-to-be, and those lost but forever remembered. We honoUr and celebrate each and every one of you. Today is Mothers Day in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Kenya, Japan, and several countries across Europe. This is the first Mothers Day for The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan shared. Prince Harry, Meghan, and Archie Harrison hare currently quarantining in the Los Angeles area. DAYTON, Ohio, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- St. Mary Development Corporation has become a Certified Organization for Resident Engagement & Services (CORES), one of only 18 organizations nationally with the designation. The CORES program recognizes organizations with a robust commitment, capacity and competency in providing resident services coordination in affordable rental housing. CORES is a program of Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future. St. Mary, a Dayton, Ohio, faith-based non-profit with a focus on affordable apartment communities with service coordination, has served the needs of older people for 30 years. Their residents have an average income of just more than $13,000 per year and often struggle with negative social determinants of health such as lack of access to food, healthcare and transportation. St. Mary's Service Coordination program connects residents to programs that allow them to continue living independentlysomething that is good for both the residents and Ohio taxpayers. An economic impact study by the Greater Ohio Policy Center showed that St. Mary's Service Coordination programs saved Ohio taxpayers more than $38 million over a five-year period by keeping older people independent and out of nursing homes. In Ohio, research has shown that taxpayers save $4,469 every month a low-income older adult continues living independently. Other research has suggested the average length of stay for an elderly resident in independent living was six months longer for residents in properties with service coordination (which is likely a conservative estimate) compared to residents in properties with no service coordination. St. Mary provided service coordination to 1,422 unique residents over the five-year period of 2014 to 2018, saving taxpayers a staggering $38 million or more than $7.5 million per year. "Our Service Coordination program has been especially important during the COVID crisis," says Natalynne Baker, St. Mary's Vice President of Resident Services. "Our residents often don't have family members to look after them. With our partners, we've been delivering food boxes to the doors of our residents as well as regularly talking with them on the telephone. When they need help connecting to healthcare services, finding transportation or any other issue, we're here to assist them." St. Mary partners with more than a hundred social services, real estate, healthcare and technology organizations to serve their residents. Potential partners can contact Cathy Campbell, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, using the links below. SOURCE St. Mary Development Corporation Related Links http://www.StMaryDevelopment.org The public confusion and angst created by the March 17 shutdown of the state-run liquor stores has senators demanding answers about who is running the show over at the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. The Senate Law & Justice Committee, which is where legislation dealing with the liquor system in that chamber is vetted, set out on Wednesday to explore that question, along with others. Pennsylvanians in much of the state still are finding themselves unable to gain access to their favorite wine and spirits. The PLCB launched its online sales system on April 1 and introduced curbside service at some liquor stores on April 20. Neither effort has cut it with many customers. Gaining access to the online system became nearly impossible. Getting something other than a busy signal to arrange for curbside pickup proved just as difficult. Restaurants and other small businesses that rely on the PLCB for wine also encountered similar problems. Neither of those options cut it with consumers, who have had one question on their minds now for seven weeks: When will liquor stores reopen for in-person sales? The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board on Wednesday partially answered that question less than an hour before the Senate hearings scheduled start. It announced 77 liquor stores would reopen for limited in-store sales in the 24 counties that Gov. Tom Wolf announced on Friday would move into the yellow phase of his color-coded three-tiered reopening plan for the state. At the hearing, Republican Sen. Gene Yaw of Lycoming County asked if the PLCB planned to open all stores when a region moves from the red phase to the yellow phase. PLCB Chairman Tim Holden said that was the plan to the extent possible. He pointed out 11 stores in those 24 counties would remain limited to curbside sales due to inadequate staffing. Liquor Control Board member Mike Negra explained those 11 are one-employee stores. We dont feel that its possible for one person to handle the monitoring of the number of people coming in, handling curbside which we want to continue, handling customers inside the store, phone calls which are part of the curbside [sales], and sanitation, he said. The agency was looking to add part-time or seasonal employees at those 11 locations so they can open, Negra said. Without that extra staff, we didnt feel comfortable opening those stores for in-person transactions. "That sounds completely reasonable to treat it that way, Yaw said. But other decisions made by the PLCB were not as well-received by senators. It is alarming to me that so many of the decisions seem to be made spontaneously and as a result were poorly implemented," said Sen. Pat Stefano, R-Fayette County. Just as alarming is the fiscal result of these decisions not only for the PLCB but for the licensees who were forced to suffer as a result of these decisions. Here are some highlights from the nearly three-hour-long hearing: Who ordered the liquor stores to close? Holden said it was done by the board in consultation with the governors office. Negra gave Wolf full credit for that decision. He said the board never voted to close the stores. In fact, Negra said he opposed closing them because it created the panic buying situation with no social distancing that did occur in stores on March 16 and 17, once the governor announced that liquor stores statewide would be closing. Holden responded to Negras comments, saying the decision to close was the right decision "to protect our employees and our customers. These responses led to Senate GOP leaders firing off a letter to Holden expressing dismay that the agency didnt make the decision by its own official action and instead took direction from Wolf. The expectation is that you oversee an independent agency with a board that makes significant decisions in a public forum, stated the letter from Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson County; Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre County; and Stefano. We consider a decision to shutter all of your physical locations a significant one. Your actions have consequences, affecting your employees and all other residents of Pennsylvania as taxpayers and customers. To learn that there was no official action in the decision to mandate closure of physical locations brings into question the role of the board in overseeing the organization. Financial impact of closure Prior to March 17, PLCB officials said the agency was on track to top last years $2.6 billion in sales. But the agency has had to absorb losses over the last seven weeks as a result of the stores closing and sales being limited to online purchases and curbside service since then. Still, Holden said he was confident the agency would finish the fiscal year on June 30 in a solvent position. Negra admits there is a financial risk to the agency the longer the stay-at-home orders remain in place in counties. He projects the agency will end June with $130 million in reserves. Pre-COVID-19, he said that figure was $320 million. "I think weve done better than what I expected at one point in time, Negra said. "I thought wed be out of money by the middle of May. March sales were down $5 million to $6 million, the PLCB officials said. In April, early estimates put the sales down about $93 million. But due to the record pace sales were on prior to the pandemic, PLCB executive director Charlie Mooney said he estimates that with more stores reopening as more counties enter the yellow phase, the agency could still end the year between 2 and 4.5% above last years sales. Restaurants were cut off John Longstreet, president & CEO of the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association, said grocery stores with permits to sell wine continued to receive wine for five weeks while restaurants with the same permits were not able to access product, were not able to get answers and suffered even more financial hardship." He said he is grateful that the last two weeks, licensees have been able to access wine but said the situation could have been handled better and may have contributed to restaurants closing for good. Representatives from Tria restaurant group in Philadelphia and The Artisans Cellar, an importer and distributor of boutique wines in Delaware County, complained that working with the PLCB was not easy and seemed unnecessarily bureaucratic before the pandemic. But the roadblocks and lack of communication with licensees thrown in the way over the last eight weeks have created even more hardships. Sean Faeth, sales and operations director for The Artisans Cellar, said the situation was even more galling when the PLCB reached out to one of his business largest accounts and offered delivery of 50 cases of a special order wine. So not only did the PLCB shut us off, they tried to steal our business and a top account, he said. Sen. Judi Ward, R-Blair County, called it unacceptable that the state-owned stores disenfranchised businesses. The PLCB is not a partner with many of these businesses. Its a hindrance. You heard many of these small business. You put the nail in the coffin. Yaw said allowing grocery stores to sell beer and wine while closing liquor stores struck him as illogical. If the idea is to social distance people, he said, it seems to me by keeping the beer and wine sales in grocery stores, we concentrated on the areas to allow sales to where people are. Holden said the board would take into consideration the concerns business owners raised. Board member Mary Isenhour offered an apology, saying, Its never our intention to hurt your business or any business. Negra attributed some of the hardships that were cited to unrealistic timelines" to pivot the way the agency does business and having all the problems bubble up at once. One of the ways we can improve is through better communication with all parties, Negra said. PLCB is no Amazon Agency officials admitted they are not set up to be an online store. They also had no experience offering curbside service. We were totally in uncharted territory, Holden said. After all the public outrage raised about the inadequacies of the PLCBs online order system, Negra said the governors office pushed the agency to begin offering curbside service at 176 stores on April 14 to show they were making progress. Negra said that equally was poorly received by the public. No, we havent been perfect in any way, shape or form but we have been put in two situations that we had no experience in and our stores were not designed to do," Negra said. Hopefully, well get back to some sense of normal. State Sen. Mike Regan, R-Cumberland/York, asked if the governor had been advised that the e-commerce system wouldnt be able to handle the demand if stores were closed. Holden replied, I think financial consequences were not a consideration. I think it was the public safety and the public health of our employees and of the citizens of the commonwealth. I dont think it was economically driven at all. But Holden agreed that they knew the system couldnt fully replace consumers demand for alcohol sold in stores. So, Regan said, "This was an exercise in futility. You kinda made a claim go online and order your alcohol but you knew it would never work. Time to privatize the system? Some Democratic senators made a point of saying the failures and shortcomings that have arisen with the PLCBs handling of liquor sales during the pandemic should be the focus of the committees discussion, not privatization. They said that was a conversation that could occur after the state gets through this crisis. Republican senators disagreed. I found it quite remarkable to hear some of my colleagues state that this discussion with the failure of the bureaucracy of the PLCB should somehow be separate from further reform and perhaps privatization," said Sen. Ryan Aument, R-Lancaster County. The crushing blow that it has rendered to our small businesses more than reinforces the need for reform. Its absolutely relevant and its absolutely relevant now. I guess, I suspect its certainly relevant to many of our small businesses who may never again open their doors." But broaching this controversial topic, of course, brought sparks. Sen. Tony Williams, D-Philadelphia, said near the start of the hearing he saw the privatization issue as separate from the PLCBs failures and shortcomings exhibited during the pandemic. Personally, he doesnt favor less regulation of alcohol because, I am a person who represents a district who frankly could use less alcohol, a lot less alcohol especially during these periods of time where domestic violence and people who are of modest means intersect [with alcohol] in very negative ways." Regan said he was taken aback by Williams making a judgment about who can drink and how much they want to drink. "One of the great things about being American is that some senator from Philadelphia or from anywhere else, its none of their damn business how much people drink and no judgment as to when you drink or when you dont drink. Williams later responded, "I have every bit of business to protect the whole of all of us as we are sworn to do. He said Regan, a former U.S. marshal and now policymaker, should know "we do write laws that tell you where, when and how much you can drink. Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy. 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. Vials of investigational COVID-19 treatment drug remdesivir are capped at a Gilead Sciences facility in La Verne, Calif., on March 18, 2020. (Gilead Sciences via Reuters) Japan Approves Remdesivir for Treatment of COVID-19 Japanese authorities on Thursday approved remdesivir for treatment of COVID-19, the new disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Japans Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare granted regulatory approval to Veklury, or remdesivir. The approval came several days after an application was made for the drug to be approved to treat COVID-19 patients, NHK reported. The drug will primarily be used in the coming weeks to treat hospitalized patients. California-based Gilead Sciences, which created the experimental drug, touted the approval. The Japanese approval of remdesivir is in recognition of the urgent need to treat critically ill patients in Japan. It is a reflection of the exceptional circumstances of this pandemic, Dr. Merdad Parsey, Gileads chief medical officer, said in a statement. Remdesivir was approved for emergency use against COVID-19 by U.S. regulatory authorities last week, the only drug to receive such approval outside of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine. Because of the lack of adequate, approved, or available alternative treatments, the known and potential benefits outweigh the known and potential risks, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said in a statement. A sign is posted in front of the Gilead Sciences headquarters in Foster City, Calif., on April 29, 2020. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) A clinical trial sponsored by U.S. authorities showed remdesivir quickened the time to recovery but received criticism because the endpoint was changed. The trial and approval helped lead to Japans clearance, Gilead said. The company previously donated 1.5 million doses around the world, including about 607,000 to the United States. Pricing of additional doses is unclear. A 10-day course of the drug could cost thousands of dollars, according to the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (pdf), though that figure could drop to $390 if it doesnt show efficacy in preventing death. Jefferies analyst Michael Yee said in a note that a $1,000 price tag would be pretty reasonable. Other financial analysts said in notes that the drug could cost between $5,000 and $10,000. Gilead didnt respond to a request for information on planned pricing. Some lawmakers are pressing for pricing information, noting that Gilead received funds from the government. American taxpayers have made a big investment in remdesivir, but now in return, those who need treatment may get only a big bill while Gilead gets a big payoff, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), chairman of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, said in a statement on Monday. In pricing remdesivir for the desperate, both the amounts of that production cost and the taxpayer investment should be fully disclosed and factored into pricing decisions, he added. Doggett and nine other lawmakers wrote a letter (pdf) to Gilead CEO Daniel ODay about pricing. I remember when I was younger there wouldnt be a lot of representation of people like me, and I feel like when a younger brown girl gets to watch this documentary, shes going to see that someone is out there trying to better themselves, Cervantes said. And I hope that gives them some sense of comfort, knowing that maybe in the future they could be part of something big and important, and that no matter what, how they do it or when they do it, theyre always going to be successful. Willie Walsh has said there is no prospect of and no reason for any re-nationalisation of Aer Lingus, as has been suggested by opposition TDs. The chief executive of IAG which owns Aer Lingus, along with British Airways and Spanish airlines Iberia and Vueling said the idea that there would be no coronavirus effect on Aer Lingus if it were State-owned is total nonsense. He said privatising Aer Lingus had been absolutely the right thing to do and that it along with all other airlines is suffering through no fault of its own. He also said he doesnt see IAG being broken up as a result of the Covid-19 fallout, saying the group was established to benefit from airline consolidation and will continue to look for such opportunities after the current crisis. Speaking on the back of IAG reporting a post-tax loss of 1.7bn for the first quarter of the year, compared to a 70m profit for the same period last year, Mr Walsh confirmed that Aer Lingus staff numbers are likely to be 20% smaller by next year. He stopped short of confirming that 900 job cuts are being sought at Aer Lingus, as was reported last week. That figure, however, is 20% of its total 4,500 workforce. IAG is also looking to cut around a quarter of its workforce at British Airways. Group-wide restructuring is essential in order to get through the crisis and preserve an adequate level of liquidity. We intend to come out of the crisis as a stronger group, Mr Walsh said. IAG plans a meaningful return to the skies by July, but Mr Walsh warned that normal levels of passenger demand are unlikely to return until 2023 at the earliest. The group expects to fly with 50% less passenger capacity next year and said its recovery plans remain highly uncertain and subject to the easing of international lockdowns and travel restrictions. Mr Walsh said the scale of Aer Lingus schedules may be impacted by the crisis, but he said he doesnt see Aer Lingus model mix of short haul and North American transatlantic routes changing. Mr Walsh said each of IAGs carriers saw a year-on-year performance decline in the first three months of the year. British Airways suffered the largest fall, followed by Iberia and Aer Lingus. IAG also announced that Mr Walsh will be replaced as CEO by Luis Gallego near the end of September. mental health grief depression anxiety stress disorder ADD panic OCD mood trauma sad tired cox 26 Crystal Cox/Business Insider During a May 7 press briefing, the World Health Organization discussed the rise of domestic violence cases globally. Data from the United Nations Population Fund suggests a 600% increase in the number women who have experienced domestic violence from their partner, according to Dr. Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe. Kluge said if coronavirus lockdowns continue for six more months, there will be an estimated 31 million additional domestic violence cases around the world. He said that "violence is preventable, not inevitable," and called on governments to provide health services and hotlines, and local communities to check in on those around them. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Anxiety, stress, and anger continue to run high during coronavirus lockdowns continue, and those feelings could be life-threatening for people who experience domestic violence. During a May 7 press briefing, the World Health Organization's Regional Director for Europe Dr. Hans Kluge highlighted the rise of domestic violence as a result of stay-at-home orders and lockdowns. Kluge said little data exists because only a fraction of cases are ever reported, but information the WHO has gathered from member countries like Spain, France, Belgium, and Bulgaria, and from the United Nations Population Fund, is alarming. He said there's been a 600% increase in women subjected to violence by their partners. If lockdowns continue for six more months, there will be an estimated additional 31 million domestic violence cases globally, according to UNFPA data projections based on estimates of how often interpersonal violence occurs. "This is unacceptable," Kluge said. To help those dealing with domestic violence behind closed doors, Kluge called on government officials and local communities. He said governments should continue to provide and expand services like hotlines and health services that support victims of domestic violence, and consider these things "moral obligations." Story continues He also called on the public to check in with neighbors, friends, and family through texts and calls since they can't see what their lives are like in person. "Stay in touch. Contact and support your neighbors, acquaintances, family, and friends," Kluge said. WHO said it will release a detailed memo on how to better support victims of violence in the coming days. Read the original article on Business Insider Yellowstone National Park is expecting to see a substantial number of people when it reopens to the public, whenever that may be, said Cam Sholly, park superintendent. An announcement on when Yellowstone will reopen and what that will look like is coming soon, he hinted, a decision that comes after talking to about 600 business people, county health officials and governors in the three surrounding states. I think were going to have a plan very soon, Sholly said during a Thursday virtual meeting hosted by the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce. His talk came a day before Wyomings order requiring out-of-state visitors to self-quarantine for 14 days was set to expire. Montanas similar order is still in effect, meaning that although 96% of the park is in Wyoming, three of the five entry gates to Yellowstone are in Montana. How do we balance that out? Sholly questioned. He later answered his own question by saying the park may not open all five entrances at once. Opening doesnt mean normal in any sense of the term, Sholly said. It hasnt been easy for anyone, though. We (teachers and students) have been experiencing a number of issues ranging from internet/phone services to a high level of anxiety/fear, Trautman said. Nothing can take the place of working with students face-to-face in the classroom. Kemling said in a virtual environment, a staff member cant apply many of the usual approaches used to help students stay calm and focused. If a child has a meltdown, its much more difficult to comfort them over Zoom, she said. Some students who had difficulty focusing even when we were sitting right beside them, are really struggling in less-structured settings, Engstrom said. Its been challenging for everyone to find a new routine. Some teachers also have students living at home to teach, some parents are balancing daytime jobs. I think the most challenging part for parents was having to take on a new routine because of school closures, especially if you have a child with an IEP, Mize said. Most parents work full time. I know that many parents became very stressed when quarantine started and they werent quite sure how to help their child at home." SAN DIEGO, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTC: MJNA) (the "Company"), the first-ever publicly traded cannabis company in the United States that launched the world's first-ever cannabis-derived nutraceutical products, brands and supply chain, announced today that it has named Caroline Heinz and Raul Elizalde co-CEOs of its subsidiary HempMeds . "It's been a humbling experience to see the drive and dedication that both of these professionals have showcased over the years," said Medical Marijuana, Inc. CEO Dr. Stuart Titus. "We saw our Latin American sales explode during 2018 and 2019, especially in Brazil and Mexico. We are optimistic about how Raul and Caroline are adding their leadership to the global HempMeds brand." Caroline Heinz, formerly the Vice President of HempMeds Brasil, joined the Company in 2014 when Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) approved the import of HempMeds' Real Scientific Hemp Oil as the first-ever legally imported hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) product. With the help of numerous families using CBD, Heinz helped pass legislation to get the Brazilian government to subsidize CBD for several indications. She was also able to grow the Company's sales in Brazil, successfully established two HempMeds Brasil offices, created a network of Brazilian doctors and medical professionals, and has partnered with research organizations to study the Company's CBD oil for safety and efficacy. Raul Elizalde, formerly the President of HempMeds Mexico and Latin American operations, joined the Company in June 2017. He was an active medical cannabis advocate prior to joining the Company because of his fight to gain access to CBD hemp oil for his daughter Grace. Elizalde's fight led to the legalization of medical cannabis in Mexico and, since joining the company, he has significantly grown HempMeds' presence and sales throughout Latin America, especially in Mexico. In Nov. 2017, Elizalde was invited to speak to the World Health Organization at the Expert Committee on Drug Dependence Conference in Geneva, Switzerland. "Medical Marijuana, Inc. is my family and I am very proud to be asked to step into this new role with such a smart and talented professional like Caroline," said Elizalde. "In my new role, I aim to utilize the successful strategies I used to grow HempMeds' sales in Latin America and apply them to the U.S. market. We will continue to build a brand that consumers can trust." In their new roles, Heinz and Elizalde will continue to lead daily operations for HempMeds in Latin America, but will also oversee all marketing, sales and operations for HempMeds in the U.S. and globally. The Company currently ships its products across the U.S. in all states where it is legal and in 40 other countries around the world. As Elizalde waits to be granted his work visa in the U.S., Heinz will oversee CEO duties from the Company's headquarters in San Diego. "Growth happens when we stretch ourselves in new directions," said Heinz. "Working with HempMeds for half a decade now has taught me so much about myself and about the tremendous need the world has for CBD. Raul and I already make such a great team and we believe that we will be able to take our U.S. operations to the next level." In addition to these exciting announcements, HempMeds President Todd Morrow was promoted to become Chief Information Officer for Medical Marijuana, Inc. In his new role, Morrow will work with the Company's executive team to lead strategic decision making, cross-collaboration and planning to raise revenue and drive greater profitability within the organization's family of companies. About HempMeds Founded in 2012, HempMeds was the first company to bring hemp-based cannabidiol (CBD) oil products to market in the U.S. As a subsidiary of Medical Marijuana, Inc., HempMeds is the exclusive distributor for premium brands including Real Scientific Hemp Oil and Dixie Botanicals, and operates in all 50 states and 40 countries. HempMeds is the only company to have its CBD products listed in the Prescribers' Digital Reference (PDR), the only company invited to speak to the World Health Organization and FDA on the benefits of CBD, and one of the first to be certified by the U.S. Hemp Authority. To learn more, please visit www.hempmedspx.com . About Medical Marijuana, Inc. We are a company of firsts . Medical Marijuana, Inc. ( MJNA ) is a cannabis company with three distinct business units in the non-psychoactive cannabinoid space: a global portfolio of cannabinoid-based nutraceutical brands led by Kannaway and HempMeds ; a pioneer in sourcing the highest-quality legal non-psychoactive cannabis products derived from industrial hemp; and a cannabinoid-based clinical research and botanical drug development sector led by its pharmaceutical investment companies and partners including AXIM Biotechnologies, Inc. and Kannalife, Inc . Medical Marijuana, Inc. was named a top CBD producer by CNBC . Medical Marijuana, Inc. was also the first company to receive historic import permits for CBD products from the governments of Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Paraguay and is a leader in the development of international markets. The company's flagship product Real Scientific Hemp Oil has been used in several successful clinical studies throughout Mexico and Brazil to understand its safety and efficacy. Medical Marijuana, Inc.'s headquarters is in San Diego, California, and additional information is available at OTCMarkets.com or by visiting www.medicalmarijuanainc.com . To see Medical Marijuana, Inc.'s corporate video, click here . Shareholders and consumers are also encouraged to buy CBD oil and other products at Medical Marijuana, Inc.'s shop. FORWARD-LOOKING DISCLAIMER This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Medical Marijuana, Inc. to be materially different from the statements made herein. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) DISCLOSURE These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. LEGAL DISCLOSURE Medical Marijuana, Inc. does not sell or distribute any products that are in violation of the United States Controlled Substances Act. CONTACT: Public Relations Contact: Andrew Hard Chief Executive Officer CMW Media P. 858-264-6600 [email protected] www.cmwmedia.com Investor Relations Contact: P. (858) 283-4016 [email protected] SOURCE Medical Marijuana, Inc. Related Links https://www.medicalmarijuanainc.com/ The number of Covid-19 infections among medical personnel in Egyptian hospitals has been rising, with critics pointing to a lack of protective materials Among Egypts 6,813 cases of Covid-19, there have been 113 doctors, eight of whom have lost their lives after being infected in the course of duty. A report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) states that around 13 per cent of those infected in Egypt are among healthcare staff. On 4 May, the Ministry of Health ordered the closure of the Al-Raquda Hospital in Alexandria for 14 days, due to the spread of Covid-19 among its personnel. The decision came a couple of weeks after a hospital in the Daqahliya governorate was shut down for two weeks after 21 doctors, nurses, and radiologists tested positive for the coronavirus. A few days earlier, the National Cancer Institute saw the infection of several healthcare workers with the coronavirus, leading to concerns among patients and staff members. Some doctors said they were risking their personal safety due to poor working conditions, mismanagement, and shortages of protective materials, adding that they felt their worries were not being taken sufficiently seriously. The Doctors Syndicate filed a complaint with the prosecutor-general on 3 May against the head of the Agami Hospital in Alexandria for ignoring a doctors request to be tested for the coronavirus after being in contact with coronavirus cases. The doctor, who tested positive for the virus, asked to undergo the test for two days. He tested positive on a third test but was forced to return to work after the first two tests were negative for the virus. Secretary-General of the Doctors Syndicate Ihab Al-Taher told Al-Ahram Weekly that the syndicates board had issued a statement expressing its concern over the high rates of infection among healthcare staff. The syndicate expects further health professionals, including pharmacists, dentists, nurses and other medical specialists, to have also contacted the disease, Al-Taher said. He said the syndicate had not received complaints of a shortage of protective supplies in hospitals, but the ministry was depending on serological testing, which has not always been proven effective in detecting the disease, thus risking the lives of healthcare workers. Medical protective supplies required for protecting doctors and staff members are available only at quarantine hospitals and fever hospitals designated for quarantine, Al-Taher said, adding that according to WHO guidelines rapid serological tests cannot be relied on for diagnosis of the coronavirus and that the only approved test for the moment was the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test. According to Maher Al-Garhi, manager of the Imbaba Fever Hospital, the Ministry of Health is generally providing enough protective supplies to medical teams. My staff wears gloves and face masks, but the ministry has not provided us with the protective medical vests that doctors and nurses dealing with Covid-19 patients should be wearing. These vests are available only for staff members working at quarantine hospitals, Al-Garhi said. Khairia Ebeid, a staff member at the Menouf Chest Hospital, said the high rate of infection among health workers was due to a lack of protective supplies. Neither the disposable face masks that surgeons use during surgical operations nor masks made of cloth protect doctors against contracting the virus from infected patients. Only N95 face masks protect against contracting the virus, though by 95 per cent and not 100 per cent, Ebeid said, adding that the ministry does not provide these masks to general hospitals on a regular basis. According to Ebeid, N95 face masks are reusable if used by the same person and if properly sterilised. They are expensive, with one mask costing more than LE200. Not many doctors or nurses can afford to buy masks every day at this price, Ebeid said, adding that they were standard issue at quarantine hospitals along with special vests. Osama Mahmoud, a doctor at the Menoufiya Public Hospital, said that though the ministry provides hospitals with the necessary preventive supplies, some doctors either do not use them or misuse them. Some doctors put on and take off the face masks in the wrong way, thus increasing the possibility of being infected, especially when dealing with patients positive for the coronavirus, he said. Ahmed Leila, a doctor at the Um Al-Masryeen Public Hospital, said that the high infection rates among doctors and nurses was to be expected as they were dealing closely with the virus. Doctors working in quarantine hospitals would be dealing with infected patients, he said. Doctors dealing with Covid-19 patients who are being placed on ventilators have to insert the ventilators tube into the patients throat. They have to be very close to the patient to see the tube. The body, even if under anesthesia or in a coma, makes a gag reflex reaction against the tube. So, the patient unconsciously coughs, thus spreading respiratory droplets, Leila said. *A version of this article appears in print in the 7 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: and US presidents have held a phone talk and discussed COVID-19 and oil issues. According to the Kremlins press service, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have exchanged congratulations on the 75th anniversary of the Victory over fascism. In discussing the situation on the coronavirus pandemic, a positive assessment was given to bilateral cooperation. The parties agreed to further increase coordination in this regard. The American side proposed to send a batch of medical equipment to Russia. Presidents touched upon the situation in the world oil market. The timeliness of the conclusion of the new OPEC + agreement has been noted. The importance of maintaining Russian-American dialogue and contacts in various fields has been reaffirmed. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 01:54:12|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JERUSALEM, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Thursday tasked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with forming a new government. Rivlin formally informed Netanyahu in a letter that he has two weeks to put together a new coalition government. "We are in the midst of an unprecedented period, during which the country has undergone three consecutive rounds of elections in the last year and has, in addition, faced the coronavirus along with the rest of the world," Rivlin said. Rivlin's move came after Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, Netanyahu's former rival-turned ally, that 72 lawmakers of the 120-member parliament endorsed Netanyahu. The endorsement means Netanyahu has the majority needed to form a government. Netanyahu's rightwing Likud party and Gantz's centrist Blue and White party signed a power-sharing deal under which Netanyahu will continue to serve as prime minister for at least 18 months, followed by Gantz. Earlier Thursday, the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, approved a package of the bills required by the controversial power-sharing deal between Netanyahu and Gantz. The new legislation came a day after Israel's Supreme Court ruled that Netanyahu could form a new government while facing criminal charges. His trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust is expected to begin on May 24. Enditem Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said vandals setting fire to cellphone towers can face serious criminal charges. Vandalizing cellphone towers does nothing but threaten emergency services and impact the daily lives of Canadians across the country," he wrote on Twitter. These recent acts are serious criminal offences and carry severe penalties." It comes after at least four cellphone towers were set on fire in Quebec over the span of a few days. A spokeswoman for the Town of Prevost, Que., where a Rogers-operated tower was hit Monday, said many residents have brought up unfounded conspiracy theories linking 5G technology to COVID-19 in recent weeks. The fifth-generation technology standard has been offered by cellphone companies since 2019. A spokesperson for Quebec provincial police said they are investigating whether the fires are linked to the 5G conspiracy theories. The four towers that were targeted didnt have 5G capabilities. Similar fires have been spotted in Europe. Some 50 fires targeting cell towers and other equipment have been recently reported in Britain, leading to three arrests. About 16 have been torched in the Netherlands, with attacks also reported in Ireland, Cyprus, and Belgium. With files from the Canadian Press. Read more about: A worker uses a thermal fogger to disinfect outside of a church in Thessaloniki, Greece, on March 12, 2020. (Sakis Mitrolidis/AFP/Getty Images) Greece Set to Welcome Tourists by July, Encouraged by Low COVID-19 Counts Greece is seeking to pitch itself as a safe vacation destination by the second half of summer amid broader hopes that some of Europes tight travel restrictions might be easing and so throwing the blocs struggling tourism industry a welcome lifeline. As the number of CCP virus infections rose, the European Union shut its external boundaries to nonessential travel in March, as country after country imposed various lockdown measures to prevent the spread. Greece has seen 2,663 cases of COVID-19 and 147 deaths from the virus so far, Johns Hopkins data shows. The country has already reopened some businesses this week, and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told CNN he hopes to reactivate the tourism industry by July. The tourism experience this summer may be slightly different from what youve had in previous years, Mitsotakis said. Maybe no bars may be open, or no tight crowds, but you can still get a fantastic experience in Greeceprovided that the global epidemic is on a downward path. European tourism has been one of the industries hit hardest by the shutdowns. The European Commission, the blocs executive, estimates that the EUs hotels and restaurants will lose half their income this year. We estimate that revenue losses at European level are 50 percent for hotels/restaurants, 70 percent for tour operators and travel agencies, and 90 percent for cruises and airlines, said Thierry Breton, a member of the European Commission who deals with the blocs tourism policy, in a recent speech. Beyond the health emergency, we are experiencing an economic shock on a scale that has not been seen since 1929, Breton said, noting that regions more reliant on tourism would suffer disproportionately. He told French radio recently that its likely that certain parts of the EU would be open to tourists, while others would remain under lockdown. It is like this, and it has to be accepted, he said, The Washington Post reported. The borders of the pandemic do not match geographical borders. Greece, whose economy is highly dependent on tourism, accounting for some 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), hopes to be one of the countries to resume welcoming back tourists, although in modified formats that incorporate social-distancing guidelines. Yachting, for example, where you have a fewer number of people who are on a boat, and then they go out to eat or buy provisions, Mitsotakis told CNN, adding that part of the countrys strategy for accommodating tourists during the pandemic would be to target more high-end tourists. Agrotourism, tourism in smaller hotels seems to me to be better suited for this new sort of post-pandemic world. It comes as other European regions, including Portugal and Sicily, have expressed hopes of welcoming back tourists, while others, such as France and Britain, have sounded a cautious note. It is too soon to say whether we can take holidays, French President Emmanuel Macron said on May 5, France24 reported. What I can say is that we will limit major international travel, even during the summer. We will stay among Europeans, and depending on how the epidemic evolves, we might have to reduce that a little more. Britain, too, has been cautious about opening its borders. British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told the BBC on May 3 that the government was considering subjecting incoming travelers to a 14-day mandatory quarantine, so that when we have infection rates within the country under control, were not importing. Lobbyists for British airlines warned that a quarantine would be a blunt tool that would effectively kill air travel. While the European Unions ban on nonessential travel from countries outside the bloc is set to expire May 15, questions have been mounting about whether that might be extended. Identity and access management in 2022 - what will the future look like? As we enter into 2022, there is still a level of uncertainty in place. Its unclear what the future holds, as companies around the world still contend with the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote working has been encouraged by most organisations and the move to a hybrid working system has become business as usual, for the majority of businesses. Some have reduced their office space or done away with their locations altogether. Following best security practices With all this change in place, there are problems to deal with. According to research, 32.7% of IT admins say they are concerned about employees using unsecured networks to carry out that work. Alongside this, 74% of IT admins thought that remote work makes it harder for employees to follow best security practices. This need to manage security around remote work is no longer temporary. Instead, companies have to build permanent strategies around remote work and security. The coming year will also create a different landscape for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). Here are some key predictions for next year and what to start preparing for in 2022: The reality of SMB spending around security will hit home SMBs had to undertake significant investments to adapt to remote working SMBs had to undertake significant investments to adapt to remote working, especially in comparison to their size. They had to undertake significant digital transformation projects that made it possible to deliver services remotely, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Weve seen a shift in mindset for these companies, which are now more tech-focused in their approach to problem solving. According to our research, 45% of SMBs plan to increase their spending towards IT services in 2022. Around half of all organisations think their IT budgets are adequate for their needs, while 14.5% of those surveyed believe they will need more, to cover all that needs to be done. Identity management spending to support remote work For others, the COVID-19 pandemic led to over-spending, just to get ahead of things and they will spend in 2022, looking at what they should keep and what they can reduce their spending on. Areas like identity management will stay in place, as companies struggle to support remote work and security, without this in place. However, on-premise IT spending will be reduced or cut, as those solutions are not relevant for the new work model. Services that rely on on-premise IT will be cut or replaced. The device will lead the way for security We rely on our phones to work and to communicate. In 2022, they will become central to how we manage access, to all our assets and locations, IT and physical. When employees can use company devices and their own phones for work, security is more difficult. IT teams have to ensure that theyre prepared for this, by making sure that these devices can be trusted. Wide use of digital certificates and strong MFA factors Rather than requiring a separate smart card or fingerprint reader, devices can be used for access using push authentication There are multiple ways that companies can achieve this, for example - By using digital certificates to identify company devices as trusted, an agent, or strong MFA factors, like a FIDO security key or mobile push authentication. Whichever approach you choose, this can prevent unauthorised access to IT assets and applications, and these same devices can be used for authentication into physical locations too. Rather than requiring a separate smart card or fingerprint reader, devices can be used for access using push authentication. Understanding human behaviour Alongside this, it is important to understand human behaviour. Anything that introduces an extra step for authentication can lead to employees taking workarounds. To stop this, it is important to put an employee education process in place, in order to emphasize on the importance of security. The next step is to think about adopting passwordless security, to further reduce friction and increase adoption. Lastly, as devices become the starting point for security and trust, remote device management will be needed too. More companies will need to manage devices remotely, from wiping an asset remotely if it gets lost or stolen, through to de-provisioning users easily and removing their access rights, when they leave the company. Identity will be a layer cake Zero Trust approaches to security Identity management relies on being able to trust that someone is who they say they are. Zero Trust approaches to security can support this effectively, particularly when aligned with least privilege access models. In order to turn theory into practical easy-to-deploy steps, companies need to use contextual access, as part of their identity management strategy. This involves looking at the context that employees will work in and putting together the right management approach for those circumstances. For typical employee behaviour, using two factor authentication might be enough to help them work, without security getting in the way. How enterprises manage, access and store identity data There will also be a shift in how enterprises manage, access, and store that identity data over time For areas where security is more important, additional security policies can be put over the top, to ensure that only the right people have access. A step-up in authentication can be added, based on the sensitivity of resources or risk-based adaptive authentication policies might be needed. There will also be a shift in how enterprises manage, access, and store that identity data over time, so that it aligns more closely with those use cases. Identity management critical to secure assets in 2022 There are bigger conversations taking place around digital identity for citizenship, as more services move online as well. Any moves that take place in this arena will affect how businesses think about their identity management processes too, encouraging them to look at their requirements in more detail. Overall, 2022 will be the year when identity will be critical to how companies keep their assets secure and their employees productive. With employees working remotely and businesses becoming decentralised, identity strategies will have to take the same approach. This will put the emphasis on strong identity management as the starting point for all security planning. - The aim of the digital magazine is to compliment the print magazine as well as fully adapt to the digital era to enable readers to access it faster and more conveniently - The adoption of the online version was necessitated by the evolving needs and lifestyles of the readers - The magazine which was launched in July 1986, provides practical solutions on family matters to empower families Parents, one of the most popular family and lifestyle magazines in Kenya, has announced the launch of an e-magazine. The aim of the digital magazine is to compliment the print magazine as well as fully adapt to the digital era to enable readers to access it faster and more conveniently. READ ALSO: 87-year-old grandfather sells houses he gave his children after they refused to attend his wedding A united family is always happy. Parents magazine provides practical solutions on family matters. Photo: Ebru TV. Source: UGC READ ALSO: Nurses host special graduation ceremony for colleague: "So beautiful" The adoption of the e-magazine was necessitated by the evolving readers needs and lifestyles. The new platform would ensure the magazine is available to those who cannot access it through the traditional distribution points and was an innovation to increase audience reach. Musicians Nameless and Wahu on Parents Magazine. Photo: Parents Magazine. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Idadi jumla ya walioangamia kutokana na mafuriko nchini yafika 194 Readers can access online copies at www.parentsafrica.com/e-paper The hard copy will continue to sell in supermarkets and newspaper vendors across the country. Parents magazine will continue with the monthly publication uninterrupted despite the challenges caused by the novel coronavirus. The magazine was launched in July 1986, and has been the leading family and lifestyle magazine in Kenya with a wide circulation that serves to educate and inspire masses. The magazine provides practical solutions on family matters to empower families and has published 405 monthly publications to date. 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 Covid-19 Updates Kenya-May 6th 2020 | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke Lisa laces up her sneakers, pops in her earbuds and touches the pocket of her sweatshirt to confirm her phone is tucked inside. Im going for a run, she shouts to her husband who is working in the other room. Lisa takes off down the road, but her feet wont pound the pavement for long. Her paramour is parked around the corner. She will slide into his car. Theyll drive around and chat. Sometimes they park and, well, not talk. While Lisa (her name has understandably been changed) continues her clandestine meetings, there has been a dramatic decrease in marital/cheating cases since the COVID pandemic began, says Patrick Anastasi, a licensed private investigator who owns East Coast Investigations in Latham. Affairs are still occurring, but the physical aspects have been put on hold as people have lost their excuses for having to work late, business trips, etc., says Anastasi. People are staying home out of necessity, concern or respect for others in their community. Places where people previously met their side pieces such as motels, restaurants or parks are closed or have guidelines that make the once-common, down-low meetings a challenge. But some people like Lisa and others continue their meet-ups. The interesting thing about affairs is that people compartmentalize and go into denial about it. They are able to put it in a box that is separate from the rest of their life, so that they dont think about it most of the time when they are in their normal day-to-day life, says Steve Abrahamsen, a licensed mental counselor based in Saratoga Springs. He compares an affair to other types of addiction. And, as we know, addictions are not easily broken. That leads to continuing the behavior even when it is incredibly high-risk. Comment on this story on Kristi's blog Neil Ferguson, a British expert on coronavirus who was active in pushing England to institute lockdown measures, resigned earlier this week. The college professor received at least two visits from his married lover, according to The Telegraph, a UK-based newspaper. This practice violated the social distancing rules Ferguson had strongly encouraged for the country. While affairs are emotionally and physically risky, we have the added layer of one or both of the people potentially bringing COVID-19 home to their family. But that isnt stopping everyone. Instead, some are forgoing in-person meetings, but utilizing technology. People are still texting and emailing their secret lovers, in anticipation for this all to be over, says Anastasi. Jessica is one of those people. The Albany county resident whose name has also been changed has an on-again, off-again relationship with her childs biological father. David the father, but not the father's name is engaged. Jessica is casually dating someone, but is drawn to David. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. We came up with a COVID thing, says Jessica. The two only see one another briefly during the weekly custody exchange and there is no physical contact. We stand 6-feet apart. Him telling me what he wants to do to me ... and I would do the same. The couple is in a parking lot. Their child is young and buckled in the car seat during the duos chat that typically lasts fewer than five minutes. The youngster is not privy to the discussion outside the car. The couples conversation will continue over text, though, and go on for hours after their daughter is asleep. Another means of tech-based affairs? Ashley Madison, an online dating site geared toward people who are married or in a relationship. They have seen an increase in memberships, which was expected, says Paul Keable, chief strategy officer for the company. Numbers typically rise for them after couples have spent an elongated period of time together such as in early January, following the Christmas holiday period. They are now starting to see a similar effect, with an average of 16,760 new members joining every day over the past seven days a 25 percent increase over the previous four weeks when self-isolation measures first came into force across North America, and many other parts of the world, Keable says. Prior to this period of social isolation, people were likely using distractions to avoid facing the cracks within a relationship. With unmet needs in the home, members may have previously distracted themselves with a girls night out, by going to the gym, or staying in the office for longer, says Keable. We no longer have these distractions, so for many, they are forced to deal with the unmet needs. But, says Anastasi, all this together time is having the opposite effect for some couples, helping them repair relationships that were cracking or all-together broken. We have also seen some clients who were having difficulties in their relationships now working things out and getting along much better, says the private investigator. Many times, time together can be a good thing. It's sad that sometimes it takes a forced situation to see that, but it speaks volumes as to how quickly we all lose sight of what is most important in our lives and how busy we all really are but don't always need to be. Kate Carroll with her son Shane who died this week Devastated PSNI widow Kate Carroll's only son will be buried alongside his late stepfather Stephen on Saturday. Shane Carroll died suddenly at his Katesbridge home in Co Down on Tuesday, aged 48. His grieving mother said the father-of-ten's request had always been to be interred alongside the first PSNI officer to be murdered by terrorists. "Shane always used to say that if anything happened to him that was what he wanted," Kate told the Belfast Telegraph. "My reply was always that I'd be there long before him...how could I have been so wrong about that?" Shane's lifeless body was discovered by his distraught wife Elaine. Read More And although Kate was aware that he had been fighting depression for many years, she admitted she was "shocked beyond belief" by what had happened. She added: "A very distressing thing for me is that Steve and Shane were both 48 when they died." Messages of sympathy for the widow of Constable Stephen Carroll, murdered by the Continuity IRA (CIRA) 11 years ago, have been flooding in from across the world. The slain officer's death was a catalyst for change in Northern Ireland, with the then First Minister Peter Robinson, deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde standing together outside Stormont Castle to condemn the killers. Mr Carroll was shot dead in Craigavon two days after sappers Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimcar died in a Real IRA gun attack at Massereene Army Barracks. And Kate, who became a high-profile advocate for peace, said she never thought she be going through a similar grief again. "I saw Shane for the last time - he was in his coffin," she said. "My heart is breaking - but at least he looks at peace now." She added: "When I lost Steve I thought there was no pain like it...but now, losing Shane, I'm in the same position again." Shane's funeral service will take place at St Patrick's Cemetery at 12.30pm on Saturday. Read More Shortly after his death earlier this week, heartbroken Kate told the Belfast Telegraph that Shane, her only child from a previous relationship, had failed to recover from the trauma caused by the brutal death of the man he always called Dad. Kate (69) also told how he bonded instantly with Mr Carroll, her soul mate and husband of 24 years, but she also said Shane struggled with depression in the aftermath of his stepfather's horrific murder. Expand Close Kate Carroll's late husband Stephen / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kate Carroll's late husband Stephen When Constable Carroll was shot dead by the CIRA after answering a bogus emergency call in March 2009, he became the first PSNI officer to die at the hands of paramilitaries. Kate said Shane "used to spend hours" visiting his grave, which is in a cemetery that can be seen from her Banbridge home. He leaves behind 10 children - Jake (21), Dean (20), Katelyn (13), Jordan (11), Skye (7), Carly-Rose (6), Riley (5), Arianna (4), Harley (3) and two-year-old Ella-Rose. South East Fermanagh Foundation director of services Kenny Donaldson said he was devastated to learn the "horrific news" of Shane's untimely death. "Our hearts are breaking for Elaine, Shane's children and his dear mummy Kate," said Mr Donaldson. "The Carrolls are much loved and respected members within SEFF." Mr Donaldson said he spent time at the home of Shane and Elaine last Christmas. "In the times ahead the SEFF family and others will do all that we can in supporting the family through the turmoil they will surely have to face," he said. "We pray that God's comfort blanket will surround them all and hold them tightly together." Mr Donaldson added that "those who murdered Stephen Carroll hold a level of responsibility for this tragedy". "The emotional and mental turmoil Shane had to carry since the brutal murder of his stepdad and best friend has been immense," he said. "The legacy of terrorism and violence destroys lives." Weather Alert ...Bitterly cold temperatures expected starting Wednesday Afternoon... ...Slick Roads possible late Wednesday Afternoon and Night... An Arctic blast of cold air will move into the Quad State region Wednesday afternoon, pushing the entire region below the freezing mark by 7 pm Wednesday. Once the cold air moves in, temperatures are not expected to rise above freezing until early Saturday afternoon. Gusty north winds will produce very low wind chills Thursday into Friday morning. Wind chills below zero will be likely over southern Illinois and southeast Missouri, with barely above zero wind chills over west Kentucky and southwest Indiana. Wind Chills will remain in the single digits for parts of the area all day on Thursday and into early Friday morning. Anyone traveling or working outdoors should bundle up in layers to protect yourself from developing hypothermia and frostbite. Consideration should also be given to protect pets and livestock left outdoors. For those with water systems vulnerable to an extended period of sub-freezing temperatures, be sure to keep a trickle of water running through those systems. A Winter Weather Advisory is currently posted for part of southwest Indiana and the Pennyrile region of west Kentucky late Wednesday afternoon and night, where the best accumulation of wintry precipitation is expected. However, with temperatures expected to plummet and remain below freezing, any wintry precipitation still left on roadways and sidewalks across the Quad State late Wednesday afternoon and night will freeze. Travelers should use caution while traveling and be watchful for any slick spots on roadways, especially elevated bridges and overpasses. Please stay tuned to the National Weather Service in Paducah for the latest forecasts and statements associated with this winter event. In the request to the Supreme Court that it halt the appeals courts order that the Justice Department turn over the material by May 11, Francisco argued that at least four justices the number necessary to take an appeal are likely to decide that the Supreme Court should weigh in on the issue and that there is at least a fair prospect that a majority will eventually rule in favor of Trump. By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped on Thursday as global supply and demand worries erased earlier gains seen from an increase in Saudi Arabia's official crude selling price and a surprise rise in Chinese exports last month. Brent futures fell 26 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $29.46 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude lost 44 cents, or 1.8%, to settle at $23.55. Earlier in the day, Brent was up over 5% and WTI up over 10%. For the week, Brent was still up about 11% and WTI up about 18%. Both benchmarks have rallied sharply this week as countries have eased coronavirus-related lockdowns and fuel demand has rebounded modestly. Oil production worldwide is also declining to reduce a growing supply glut. "We continue to be in a volatile market and this price pull back does not surprise me. I think there was some profit taking," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York. "The Saudi (price news) was supportive early in the day, but we still have significant headwinds in terms of the economy, demand and storage," Kilduff said. U.S. crude inventories at the Cushing storage hub in Oklahoma rose by about 407,000 barrels in the week through May 5, traders said citing Genscape data. U.S. jobless claims, meanwhile, continued to rise, although at a slower pace with 3.2 million more people seeking unemployment benefits for the week ended May 2. The latest numbers lifted the total to about 33 million claims since March 21. Analysts at Rystad Energy projected global oil demand would decrease 10.9% in 2020 to 88.7 million barrels per day (bpd) from around 99.5 million bpd in 2019. Last week, the energy consultant forecast demand next year would average 88.8 million bpd. Oil prices were much higher earlier in the day following reports from Saudi Arabia on crude prices and imports and exports in China. Saudi Arabia increased its official selling prices (OSP) for June after cutting May exports to almost the lowest in a decade following a deal by global producers to reduce output to prop up prices. "It is ... likely seen as a strong indication that the Kingdom will follow through on its pledged supply cuts agreed at the 12 April OPEC+ emergency meeting," Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodity research at BNP Paribas, said. Story continues The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied producers - a grouping known as OPEC+ - agreed to cut production from May 1 by around 10 million bpd to help support prices. In China, meanwhile, oil imports climbed to 10.42 million bpd in April from 9.68 million bpd in March, according to Reuters calculations based on customs data for the first four months of 2020. However, the country's imports for all goods fell, suggesting any recovery is some way off as economies around the world fall into recession. (Additional reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York, Julia Payne in London and Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio) Three years ago, the UN declared plastic pollution a global crisis, more than three decades after the discovery of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch--a collection of marine debris 2x the size of Texas. The Year 2020 was supposed to be a watershed moment for the plastic industry after dozens of state and local policymakers planned to make the ultimate shift away from plastics. They clearly underestimated the sheer tenacity of the plucky industry and a global pandemic. The plastic industry has quickly seized the unexpected opportunity provided by the Covid-19 pandemic and an indulgent government to push back on plastic bans. The plastics and petrochemicals sector received a much-needed shot in the arm after the Trump administration gave it an open license to pollute after relaxing tough environmental laws and fines for environmental pollution during the COVID-19 crisis. But maybe they have done the victory lap too soon, and the Trump bonanza will be hardly enough to overcome a much bigger existential crisis. The demise of the shale and fracking boom that has been powering a plastics renaissance is beginning to take a heavy toll on the plastics sector as well. Source: World Economic Forum Big Trouble for Petrochemicals The shale boom led to an overabundance of cheap oil and natural gas, key commodities used in the manufacture of plastics both as feedstocks and as fuel. The fossil fuel industry has been heavily pivoting into the petrochemical sector as a second cash cow even as the world grew increasingly weary of its role in environmental degradation, and investors started giving it a wide berth. Related: The Terrifying Truth About Trading Oil Indeed, the plastics industry was poised for an epic explosion--until the coronavirus crisis and subsequent oil price collapse dealt it a potential death blow. Time magazine has reported that South Africas integrated energy and chemical giant, Sasol Ltd, opened a new plastic plant in Louisiana last year, one of seven such projects it had in the works while Shell was is in the process of building a huge multi-billion dollar ethane cracker plant in Pittsburgh with the capacity to churn out 1.8 million tons of plastic each year. According to the American Chemistry Council, no less than 343 new plastic production plants and expansions were given the green light in the month of February or planned in the near future. Global plastics production was set to increase by about a third over the next five years and triple over the next three decades. But the ongoing energy and health crisis have put paid to these plans and rosy projections. Thailand-based PTT Global Chemical has announced that it will indefinitely delay its plan to build an ethane cracker plant in Ohio, citing uncertainty amid the health crisis while Shell said in March that it was shelving its Pennsylvania project. Meanwhile, Chinas plans to invest $84 billion in plastic and energy investment in West Virginia are yet to materialize three years since the promise was made. The plastic bloodbath could be just beginning. Kevin Swift, MD for economics and statistics at the American Chemistry Council, has told Time that the oil price and economic crisis means that everybody is trying to conserve cash, and spending is likely to be severely curtailed. Last week, Shell shocked the world after cutting its dividend for the first since WWII on top of the 20% Capex cut it had announced in March. The Dutch energy giant also warned that oil demand might never fully recover. Related: Saudi Arabia Raises Oil Prices As Demand Recovers Global oil companies are set to cut 2020 capex by ~$62.5B, or 27% of previous projections. The recent spate of poor results by the Chemicals divisions of most oil majors suggests that many will not be in a hurry to pour their cash into the sector any time soon. Plastic IOverproduction Some of the problems are the industrys own making, though. Last year, Chemical Week predicted growing pains for the industry due to the increasing rate of production threatened to exceed consumption. The Covid-19 pandemic has given a boost to single-use plastics--about 40% of the market--due to growing demand for PPE, disposable bags, cups, bottles, and boxes due to hygiene issues. However, its unlikely to offer adequate long-term support for the entire plastic industry with China maintaining a sweeping ban on single-use plastics with similar bans expected to come into effect in the EU, Canada, and at least 34 African nations. With a global freeze on capital spending that might take years to return to pre-crisis levels, weak economies, and stiff public opposition, the plastic and petrochemical industries are standing on very shaky grounds indeed. By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Experts in the fields of health, education, criminal justice and the economy shared what they think the future could hold in Hearst Connecticut Medias Innovation Edition on Sunday. During a webinar hosted by Editor-in-Chief Wendy Metcalfe on Thursday they took reader questions about what lies ahead for Connecticut residents. The panelists included: Mike Lawlor, an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of New Haven and formerly Gov. Dannel P. Malloys undersecretary for criminal justice policy and planning in the Office of Policy and Management. Summer Johnson McGee, dean of the school of health sciences at the University of New Haven. Sousan Arafeh, professor of educational leadership and policy studies at Southern Connecticut State University. Fred McKinney, the Carlton Highsmith chairman for innovation and entrepreneurship and director of the Peoples United Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Quinnipiac University. Dan Haar, Hearst Connecticut Media Group columnist and associate editor. James Walker, Hearst Connecticut Media Group columnist and host of the podcast, Real talk, Real people. Here are some of the points made by the panelists. Mike Lawlor Lawlor said there is an extraordinary opportunity to change the criminal justice system in Connecticut. There will be fewer and fewer prisoners, he said. Prisons will be sparsely populated and a fair number will close. Lawlor said since fewer young people are being arrested, the need for prisons will also decline. He also sees a large number of retirements in the Department of Correction. With 6,000 employees, it is the largest department in the state. We have an opportunity to reboot the prison system, Lawlor said. He said Connecticut correctional facilities should be more like Europe which are more humane and safer. Fred McKinney McKinney sees our backs are against the wall. We are spending a ton of money, he said, some of it isnt thought through. He views the economy as pessimistic in the short term and optimistic in the long run. He said the pandemic will cause people to rethink which workers are essential. Now, its the people who work low-wage jobs like the grocery store employee and the meat packer. Essential has a new meaning, he said. We dont think about how valuable things are until we lose them. The pandemic has shown us the market system has real flaws: We need to rethink societys priorities, he said. McKinney said municipalities will need help because revenue is shrinking and costs are increasing. Its a formula for disaster, he said. There should be more regionalization in Connecticut towns for such services as fire, police and public works, he said. Regional partnerships would save money and reduce the need to raise taxes. Now is the time to do it. No good crisis should go to waste, McKinney said. Summer Johnson McGee As the crisis worsens, there will be calls for significant health care reform and a dramatic change on how we provide health services, Johnson McGee said. It will be a different kind of health care system where more personal information is shared with government agencies, she said. Tracking people who have the coronavirus to stop its spread may require us to give up some of our freedom, liberties and privacy, she said. People who had the coronavirus should be willing to share information and their immunity, she said. Sousan Arafeh The pandemic will give us new opportunities on how we provide education, Arafeh said. How we are going to attend school in person and online, she said. We need to think more broadly to address the severe inequity it has given students and families. Look at the inequity we have seen, she said. Some people are not valued like some racial groups and those who are have lower income, she said. Arafeh doesnt know if nursery schools will reopen in September. We dont have enough health information at this time to make that decision. she said. We need to rethink what we are doing to safeguard our children, she said. James Walker We have to regain trust in our government. Trust a system that works for everyone, Walker said. The current system gives little support to people with with low income, who need affordable housing and job resources, he said. We need to help people get back on their feet, he said. Walker said three months ago, we didnt care about the grocery worker who couldnt get a full weeks work. We put little value there, he said. Now we do. He said the criminal justice system is antiquated with bail so high that people arrested on a misdemeanor charge stay behind bars. We need to give low-income people a hand up, he said. Dan Haar Five years out, we will not forget the tragedy of families and the economy. We will find out what we learned and move forward, especially with the economy, Haar said. Haar has an optimistic view that we will become a stronger nation and have more social programs to help people. He said in 2016, there was bipartisan support for rebuilding infrastructure. He believes we will find the $3 trillion to rebuild the infrastructure. It will also extend to rebuilding systems that lead to health equality in the United States, he said. Foreign netizens cheer for Shanghai Disneys reopening By:Zheng Qian | From:english.eastday.com | 2020-05-07 10:17 As the coronavirus outbreak in China has been brought largely under control, the Walt Disney Company sees encouraging signsand is targeting May 11 to reopen Shanghai Disneyland Resort, which was shut down due to the epidemic at the end of January. According to a report by CNBC, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said on a Tuesday earnings call that the company is looking for a "cautious, sensible approach" to reopening parks. Density control, limited capacity and health measures are all on the table, he noted. The Shanghai park has a capacity of 80,000, but under government restrictions it must be capped at 30 percent, which is 24,000 visitors a day. Chapek noted the park would open with an even lower capacity and after a few weeks increase to the 24,000 figure. Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy said it is unclear when Disney's other parks, resorts, cruise ships and Disney-branded stores will reopen. However, a report by Orlando Sentinel said that Disneyland parks in other parts of the world are also preparing for reopening and when appropriate, these parks will welcome guests back. Besides the Shanghai one, 12 other Disney theme parks worldwide have been closed for more than a month. The Shanghai one which closed first is to become the first reopened one. Public data shows that since the beginning of the outbreak, Disney's stock price has fallen by a quarter, and rumors even occurred that some employees' salaries would be lost/delayed. Disney said in theearnings report that market segments, including theme parks, have lost $1 billion in operating income in the past three months. It is estimated that all business units will suffer another $1.4 billion in losses this quarter. The news that Shanghai Disney resort is to reopen has caused a sensation on the internet, especially among the foreign netizens. (I wish I lived in Shanghai right about now...) (Awesome! I hope Orlando follows suit as soon as possible.) (Its a good sign!!) Pastors, evangelical leaders condemn Ahmaud Arbery killing, issue call for justice Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment UPDATE 9:35 p.m. ET May 7: Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, were arrested Thursday evening and charged with murder and aggravated assault in the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, according to a statement released by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Original: Prominent pastors and evangelical leaders are calling for justice in the case of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man who was gunned down by a white former police officer and his son in a south Georgia neighborhood. Russell Moore, J.D. Greear, Priscilla Shirer, and Beth Moore are among the Christian leaders who've publicly condemned the killing of 25-year-old Arbery, who was gunned down on Feb. 23 while jogging outside the city of Brunswick after being chased by two armed men. The men, identified as Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son, Travis McMichael, 34, told police Arbery looked like a suspect in a spate of recent break-ins. News of Arberys killing made headlines Tuesday after Lee Merritt, the familys attorney, shared a graphic video of the shooting. In the video filmed by a witness, Arbery is being chased by both men in a white Ford pickup truck as he runs through a neighborhood. As the witness gets closer, Arbery briefly disappears off camera and a gunshot rings out. The elder McMichael appears to stand in the pickup truck bed, holding a shotgun. Two more shots ring out as Arbery appears back in the frame before falling to the ground. Arbery was unarmed and dead when police arrived at the scene. No arrests have been made but on Tuesday, district attorney Tom Durden said in a statement that the case should be presented to a grand jury for consideration of criminal charges, The Associated Press reported. Two prosecutors previously assigned to the case both recused themselves over conflicts of interest. Jackie Johnson, prosecutor for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit, recused herself because Gregory McMichael had worked in her office. George E. Barnhill, the district attorney in Waycross, Georgia, recused himself last month, but before he handed over the case he wrote a letter to the Glynn County Police Department saying "that arrests were not warranted because the men were acting within Georgias citizen arrest and self-defense statutes," The New York Times reported. After reviewing the tape, many disagree with Barnhill's conclusion. S. Lee Merritt, an attorney for the Arbery family, says the two men must be taken into custody pending their indictment, and Gov. Brian Kemp tweeted that Georgians deserve answers and pledged to send resources to the investigation. Here are 11 responses from Christian and evangelical leaders who've publicly condemned Arberys killing and issued a call for justice. NASA has selected a new pathfinding CubeSat mission to gather data not collected since the agency flew the Dynamics Explorer in the early 1980s. The new mission, called Dione after the ancient Greek goddess of the oracles, will carry four miniaturized instruments to study how Earth's upper atmospheric layers react to the ever-changing flow of solar energy into the magnetosphere -- the enveloping bubble of magnetic field around Earth that deflects most of the particles that erupt from the Sun. Earth's upper atmosphere is where most low-Earth-orbiting satellites reside, and their orbits are strongly affected by sudden density changes created by space weather. Expected to launch in 2022, Dione will help give scientists insights into these physical processes -- which contribute to atmospheric drag, a process that causes low-Earth-orbiting satellites to prematurely reenter the atmosphere -- and provide data needed to improve space weather forecasts. "As more aspects of everyday lives depend on the predictable functioning of satellites in low-Earth orbit, the understanding and ability to forecast the impact of space weather on these assets has become a national security need," said mission Principal Investigator Eftyhia Zesta, a scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "Measurements traditionally gathered by larger, more costly satellites must now be accomplished by thinking out of the box -- or rather inside a CubeSat box. Dione will open the way for accomplishing exactly that." The pathfinding Dione spacecraft is a prototype. It would complement the conceptual Geospace Dynamics Constellation, a mission proposed by the 2013 Heliophysics Decadal Survey, which, if developed, would gather similar data from multiple similarly equipped spacecraft, Zesta said. "Our team wants to show we can do this type of measurement with a CubeSat and eventually fly Dione-type spacecraft in a constellation," Zesta said. With a constellation, scientists could collect simultaneous, multi-point observations of Earth's ionosphere and thermosphere, to learn more particularly how these upper atmospheric layers respond to energy dumped from the magnetosphere. First Data Since the Dynamics Explorer Dione will provide the first set of energy input data and ionospheric-thermospheric data in more than three decades. "We haven't gathered this type of specific data since NASA launched the Dynamics Explorer in 1981," said Zesta, whose team includes Deputy Principal Investigator Marilia Samara and Dione System Engineer Jaime Esper as well as a number of Goddard and university scientists providing the instruments. The Dynamics Explorer consisted of two satellites that investigated interactions between plasmas in the magnetosphere and those in Earth's ionosphere. However, it will accomplish these goals with distinct differences. Where the Dynamics Explorer gathered data maybe once every three orbits, Dione will collect measurements from successive orbits due to Dione's lower power requirements and miniaturized systems. It will also do this from a much smaller platform -- a shoebox-sized, 6U platform that leverages experience gained from the Goddard-developed Dellingr spacecraft. A team of Goddard engineers and scientists specifically developed Dellingr to improve the reliability and robustness of these tiny spacecraft, but at a dramatically reduced cost. Dellingr launched in 2017. Densely Packed Platform "This will be perhaps the most densely packed CubeSat ever flown," Esper added. "We're flying four science instruments and one engineering experiment in a 6U CubeSat. That's very unusual." Three of the instruments will be provided by Goddard; all were developed with funding from Goddard's Internal Research and Development program and all have either flown or are slated to fly during upcoming CubeSat or suborbital missions. They include a flight-proven fluxgate magnetometer, which debuted on Dellingr's maiden flight, and the Ion-Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS), another instrument that flew on Dellingr as well as on a National Science Foundation-funded mission called ExoCube. On both Dellingr and ExoCube, the INMS was slated to measure the matter that creates atmospheric drag on satellites. Goddard's third contribution, the Dual Electrostatic Analyzer will fly on Endurance, a pioneering mission that will directly measure a particular component of Earth's electrical field generated in the ionosphere. Utah State University and Virginia Tech are providing the fourth instrument, the Gridded Retarding Ion Distribution Sensor (GRIDS). GRIDS is designed to measure the distribution, motion, and velocity of ions and will fly on the Goddard-developed PetitSat mission scheduled to launch in 2021. Zesta said she conceived the Dione concept several years ago while still working with the U.S. Air Force. "I came to NASA (in 2012) and the dream didn't die," Zesta said. For more information about Goddard technology, go to: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/spring_2020_final_web_version_0.pdf ### Three Nick Holonyak Jr., Micro and Nanotechnology Lab (HMNTL) faculty members have received NSF Rapid Response Research (RAPID) program grants, all of which aim to shorten the amount of time it takes to process a COVID-19 test. Current tests can take as long as five days for results to be returned to the patient. Although more rapid nucleic acid tests that can give a result within an hour have become available, there are reports of a high rate of false negatives among these tests. With the United States reaching the highest number of SARS-CoV-2 (this particular strain of coronavirus) cases out of any infected country, it is a national imperative to be able to test people before they show symptoms to reduce the spread of the deadly disease. "As one of the only facilities in the country that incorporates both micro and nanofabrication cleanroom facilities and a BioNanotechnology Laboratory (BNL) under the same roof, HMNTL is proud to meet the moment and provide support to COVID-19 related essential research," said Xiuling Li, HMNTL interim director and Donald Biggar Willett Professor in Engineering. Here is a more in-depth look at how HMNTL faculty are helping: Rapid electrical detection of COVID-19 at point-of-care A team led by Rashid Bashir, Dean of the Grainger College of Engineering, and Holonyak Lab faculty researcher, has proposed the development of a point-of-care device that uses nasal fluid samples to detect the presence of COVID-19 within 10 minutes. Current tests are complex and labor-intensive, requiring each sample to be sent to a laboratory for confirmation. The test being developed by Bashir's group will simplify the process by eliminating the need to extract RNA from samples and simplify the test it as a whole. The new test will electrically detect specific nucleic acid molecules associated with the SARS-CoV2-2. "Our approach can provide for a rapid electrical detection of the RNA amplification using graphene sensors and result in a miniaturized format for the test and also reduce the test's total processing time," said Bashir, Abel Bliss Professor of Engineering, professor of bioengineering, and member of the Center for Genomic Diagnostics. The team hopes the proposed approach can be expanded beyond COVID-19 detection to become a global health technology that contributes to providing low-cost diagnostics of a number of viruses around the world in a portable and inexpensive way. Rapid Single-Step Reagentless SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load Test by Detection of Intact Virus Particles The next COVID-19 detection project combines capturing intact COVID-19 viruses with custom-designed DNA nanostructures so they can be immediately counted with a newly-invented type of biosensor imaging. This process could be completed and produce results in less than 15 minutes. This new method would allow diagnostic facilities at the point of care to count each virus directly using a new form of ultrasensitive biosensor microscopy that amplifies the magnitude of light scattering produced by the virus when it is illuminated with a laser. To determine if the viewed virus is SARS-CoV-2, customized DNA nanostructure-based capture probes would be immobilized on a photonic crystal biosensor surface. When exposed to a sample, such as material eluted from a nasal swab, the DNA rhombus-shaped "virus net" would selectively attach the virus to the biosensor surface, while allowing all other materials to pass over the sensor without capture. "Our approach would represent a new paradigm for virus diagnostics that does not require the chemical enzymatic amplification of nucleic acids, and so does not require temperature control, thermal cycles, viral lysis, nucleic acid purification, or fluorescent dyes," said Cunningham, Donald Biggar Willett Professor in Engineering and professor of electrical and computer engineering. "We just capture and count, so it is the simplest possible process, and our sensing method gives a result immediately as the viruses are captured." The technology used in this method was recently demonstrated as a new form of biosensor microscopy called Photonic Resonator Interference Scattering Microscopy (PRISM), which allows researchers to detect and digitally count virus particles, protein molecules, and a variety of nanoparticles in real time without the use of additional labels or stains. The team for this research also includes Xing Wang, associate professor of Chemistry, Taylor Canady, postdoc fellow at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, and Nantao Li, Cunningham's ECE graduate student. RAPID: Developing a novel biosensor for rapid, direct, and selective detection of COVID-19 using DNA aptamer-nanopore Holonyak Lab affiliate faculty member Yi Lu is working with Lijun Rong from the University of Illinois at Chicago to develop a biosensor that could detect and differentiate infectious SARS-CoV-2 from the SARS-CoV-2 that have been rendered noninfectious by patient's antibodies or disinfectants. This would allow patients to receive proper treatment in a timely manner, and would allow people who aren't infected or contagious to be released from quarantine. The project aims to develop a modular and scalable sensor for direct detection of the intact coronavirus using DNA aptamers, short, single-stranded DNA molecules that can selectively bind infectious SARS-CoV-2. When coupled with nanopore, a pore of nanometer size, the result would be able to differentiate the infectious SARS-CoV-2 from the non-infectious forms or other viruses such as flu viruses with a high level of specificity. "Achieving such a high level of specificity is very important for COVID-19 diagnostics," said Yi Lu, professor of chemistry and bioengineering. "This is because studies have shown that viral RNA levels that are being used in most COVID-19 diagnostic tests do not always correlate with viral transmissibility." This technique is less resource-intensive than current methods due to not requiring pretreatment or RNA amplification. It also decreases the likelihood of cross contamination. It could also be used to test surface areas to ensure they have been properly sanitized after coming in contact with an infected patient. ### Visit the COVID-19-specific websites to learn more about how the University of Illinois and the Grainger College of Engineering are combatting this infectious disease. An advocate recently approached the Bandra police station to file a complaint against Bandra gymkhana for allegedly holding a gathering to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the establishment, amidst the Covid-19 lockdown. However, a senior police officer from the police station said no complaint has been filed. The gymkhana president did not respond to repeated calls and messages. Adil Khatri, an advocate, said that to celebrate 85th anniversary of the gymkhana, members gathered, sang and danced at the premises, even when the gymkhana was shut. A video of the event was posted on social media which was pulled down on Thursday. People can be seen dancing in the video, some of them are wearing masks, some are without it. Action should be taken against them, said Khatri. A source said the video was recorded on April 18. Christianity is belonging to a people, to a people chosen by God for freedom. If we do not have this consciousness of belonging to a people we would be ideological Christians, with a small doctrine of affirmation of truth, with an ethics, with a morality "or considering ourselves" an elite ". Vatican City (AsiaNews) May the Lord bless artists, because artists make us understand what beauty is and without beauty the Gospel cannot be understood. Let's pray again for the artists." This Pope Francis invitation to prayer at mass celebrated this morning at Casa Santa Marta, in the homily he commented on the passage from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 13, 13-25). In it, Paul, having arrived in Antioch in Pisidia, goes to the synagogue and tells the history of the people of Israel and proclaims Jesus, our Saviour. When Paul is invited to speak in the Synagogue of Antioch, to explain this new doctrine, namely, to explain Jesus, to proclaim Jesus, Paul begins by talking about the history of salvation. What is there behind Jesus? There is a history, a history of grace, a history of election, a history of promise. The Lord chose Abraham and went with His people. At the beginning of the Mass, in the hymn of the beginning, we said: When You advanced, Lord, in front of your people and opened the way and walked next to your people, close to your people. There is a history of God with His people. And because of this, when Paul was asked to explain the reason for faith in Jesus Christ, he doesnt begin from Jesus Christ; he begins from the history. Christianity is a doctrine, yes, but not only. Its not just the things that we believe: it is a history that brings this doctrine, which is Gods promise, Gods Covenant, to be chosen by God. Pope Francis insisted: Christianity isnt just ethics. Yes, truly, it has moral principles, but one is not Christian with just a vision of ethics. It is more. Christianity is not an elite of people chosen for truth. This elitist sense that then goes on in the Church, no? For instance, I am of that institution, I belong to this movement, which is better than yours . . . than this, than that. Its an elitist sense. No, Christianity isnt this: Christianity is belonging to a people, to a people chosen freely by God. If we dont have this awareness of belonging to a people we are ideological Christians, with a little doctrine of affirmation of truth, with ethics, with a morality thats fine or with an elite. We Christian feel part of a group; the others will go to hell or, if they are saved, its by Gods mercy, but they are the rejected . . . And so on. If we dont have an awareness of belonging to a people, were not true Christians. Therefore, from the beginning Paul explains Jesus as belonging to a people. And many times, many times, we fall into this partiality; we are dogmatic, moral or elitist, no? The sense of elitism does so much harm and we lose the sense of belonging to the holy faithful people of God, which God chose in Abraham and has promised, the great promise, Jesus, and made him go with hope and made a Covenant with him; the awareness of being a people. If someone asked me: For you, what is the deviation of Christians today and always? What are, for you, the most dangerous deviations of Christians? I would say, without a doubt: the lack of memory of belonging to a people. When this is lacking, dogmatisms, moralism, ethicalism, elitist movements come. The people are missing. A sinful people always, we are all so, but that is not generally wrong which has the scent of being a chosen people, which walks behind a promise and which has made a Covenant, which perhaps it doesnt fulfil, but knows it. Ask the Lord for this awareness, that we are a people, may Our Lady who sang beautifully her Magnificat (Cf. Luke 1:46-56); may Zechariah who sang his Benedictus so beautifully (Cf. vv. 67-79), canticles that we pray every day, in the morning and in the evening. Awareness that we are a people: we are the holy faithful people of God that, as Vatican Council I, then II say has in its totality the scent of faith and is infallible in this way of believing. Scoota, a London, UK-based automated omni-channel digital branding technology company, raised 2m in funding. Backers included Notion Capital, the Angel CoFund (ACF) and VentureFounders. The company intends to use the funds for rapid US expansion plans during 2020 and early 2021. Led by James Booth, CEO, Scoota provides an automated omni-channel digital branding platform which allows users to deliver ad campaigns across OOH, mobile, desktop and beyond. The company, which is based in London and New York, has already delivered campaigns for over 500 tier-1 brands, including: Ford, Coca Cola, Microsoft, Unilever, and P&G. FinSMEs 07/05/2020 In every country, with the spread of coronavirus there has also been a spread of misinformation about it. In America, it was President Trump who reportedly spoke of 'injecting disinfectants' to rid the body of coronavirus. In India, too, there were plenty of desi nuske--minus the crucial scientific backing--when it came to counting the ways to ward of the disease. CGTN Now it seems Madagascar has joined this strange race too. Reportedly, the country is building a factory to mass-produce a drink that is being touted by authorities and some African leaders as the best 'cure' to treat COVID-19. The drink has reportedly not even been clinically tested or approved by drug regulators. AFP According to Gulf News, the drink called Covid-Organics, contains extracts of the artimisia annua plant, which is used to treat malaria. The factory to mass produce the drink will be operational within a month, President Andry Rajoelina told media. "Our researchers and scientists are doing the necessary to make our coronavirus remedy a drug that meets the standards," he said on state TV. Anadolu Agency The president of Tanzania, John Magufuli, will also sending a plane to Madagascar to fetch the tonic. Other countries that have shown interest are Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Comoros. It is either blind faith or outright stupidity which is making a number of countries trust something that hasn't even been clinically tested. M ore than 40 children have been treated in a specialist London hospital for a hyper inflammatory new disease after apparently contracting coronavirus, the Standard has been told. A cluster of cases has been detected in South-East London, focusing on Southwark and Woolwich. One child, a 14-year-old boy with no underlying health problems, has died. Doctors at Evelina London childrens hospital say the disease is similar to Kawasaki disease, a rare inflammatory disease, and can cause major problems with the heart. Hospitals across the country have been alerted by NHS England to what Evelina doctors, in an article in The Lancet medical journal, describe as a new phenomenon linked to coronavirus. Dr Sara Hanna, the Evelinas medical director, told the Standard: We probably saw the first case in the middle of March. We had a child admitted with something very like Kawasaki a bit like something we call toxic shock syndrome. Loading.... In the last two weeks, we have just seen this cluster of children where some of them look very like Kawasaki they have a high persistent fever, they have got red eyes, they have got a rash, they have got swollen hands and feet. She said blood tests were not detecting the virus in children but other indicators in the blood were remarkably similar to those seen in adults with Covid-19. Antibodies indicating recovery from the virus were later found in about half the children. She said the timing of the outbreak in terms of a link to coronavirus made it very suspicious. She said: We cant say for certain its related to the virus but its difficult to understand how it wouldnt be. Loading.... The Lancet article reveals the first eight cases at the Evelina involved children aged between four and 14. Seven required ventilation. Two tested positive for Covid-19, including the deceased teenager in a post mortem, but four of the eight were in households where a parent or grandparent was suspected or confirmed to have had the virus. Six of the children were of Afro-Caribbean descent, one was Asian and one had Middle Eastern heritage. Black and ethnic minority children make up the majority of the 40-plus cases but this may reflect the South East London population rather than suggest a genetic link. Early intervention and anti-inflammatory treatment with aspirin, steroids and immunoglobulin blood products can lead to quick recovery, though the long-term outcomes are unknown. Some children had severe abdominal pain and had undergone operations for suspected appendicitis. Others were in shock with very low blood pressure. Some have recovered and have been discharged home. Others are recovering in the hospital. Other children with similar symptoms living north of the Thames have been admitted to Great Ormond Street hospital. Listen to The Leader: Coronavirus Daily podcast Dr Hanna said it was vital that children washed their hands regularly and urged parents never to delay seeking medical help if a child became ill. She said: We look after a massive population of children probably about two million. This is a very small number of children, and we do see conditions like this in children that get other infections. Overall children are very much less affected by this virus than older people. Detected early and treated, these children are doing extremely well. In a bid to shrink the wide missile gap, the United States initiated stockpiling of new weapons and strategies in a long-term struggle for power with China as the two pacific powers have a faceoff over the coronavirus pandemic, according to a news agency reports. In recent times, as China expanded its military firepower, the US was on standby, however, the Pentagon has now resorted to ramp up its armament having shed the constraints of a Cold War-era arms control treaty. As of May 6, the Trump administration rolled out a plan to deploy long-range, ground-launched cruise missiles in the Asia-Pacific region, according to reports. In a bid to surpass the pacific superpower China, US reportedly said that it will deploy Marines with versions of the Tomahawk cruise missile now carried on US warships, according to the White House budget requests for 2021 and Congressional testimony in March of senior U.S. military commanders, a news agency reported. New long-range anti-ship missiles deliveries are being enhanced to counter Chinas overwhelming advantage in land-based cruise and ballistic missiles. "Stop flexing military power" As per Chinas statement on the latest US developments, it urged that the US had to be cautious in word and deed, and it needed to stop moving chess pieces around the region, and to stop flexing its military muscles around China, a news agency quoted. However, in a radical shift in tactics, US Marines armed with anti-ship missiles will join forces with the US Navy and will be dispersed at key points in the Western Pacific. Read: Military Jets Honour New Orleans Virus Workers Read: North Korea Exchanged Fire With South Korea's Military Across Border: Reports Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, General David Berger, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 5 that Tomahawk missile could assist the U.S. Navy to gain control of seas along the so-called first island chain, US media reports confirmed. Enclosing Chinas coastal seas, the first island chain runs from the Japanese archipelago, through Taiwan, the Philippines, and on to Borneo. According to senior U.S. and other Western strategists, the US military shift reportedly intends to send a strong political signal to compete with Chinas massive arsenal. With US Navy and Air Force strike aircraft deploying new, long-range anti-ship missiles, Trump administration aims to convey an immediate threat to the PLA and Chinese forces, as per media reports. However, Chinese military spokesman, Senior Colonel Wu Qian, warned last October that China would not stand by if the US deployed land-based, long-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region, as per State-run media reports. Read: Quarantined Military Engineering Services Personnel Hangs Self Read: NATO Air Forces Scramble Jets Thrice In Two Days To Intercept Russian Military Planes Chinese scientists have detected coronavirus in the semen of infected men but further research will be needed to determine whether the virus can be sexually transmitted. The findings from a study of coronavirus patients at a Chinese hospital were published on Thursday in the JAMA Network Open medical journal. COVID-19 is spread through respiratory droplets or contact and the virus has also been detected in feces, saliva and urine. Researchers at the Shangqiu Municipal Hospital in China's Henan Province conducted a study to determine whether the virus was present in semen. They tested the semen of 38 coronavirus patients aged 15 to their 50s. Genetic material from the coronavirus was found in the semen of six patients -- four of whom were at the "acute stage of infection" and two of whom were "recovering." The researchers noted that the study was "limited by the small sample size" and further research would be required to determine whether the virus can be sexually transmitted. "If it could be proved that SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted sexually in future studies, sexual transmission might be a critical part of the prevention of transmission," the study said. "Abstinence or condom use might be considered as preventive means for these patients," it said. Srinagar, May 7 : The police claimed to have apprehended a terrorist sympathiser or an 'over ground worker' (OGW) of Hizbul Mujahideen from Doda in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday. The OGW has been identified as Raqib Alam, a resident of Swanda in Doda. "One pistol and a wireless set was recovered from village Shiva upon his disclosure," the police said. The arrest comes just two days after Tanveer Ahmad, a militant linked to the Hizbul Mujahideen, was held from Doda. Alam was arrested after Tanveer disclosed about his association with Hizb militant Haroon, killed in an encounter in January, the police said. During the questioning, Raqib confessed about hiding one pistol and a wireless set given to him by the terrorists. "He was taken to village Shiva from where pistol and the wireless set were recovered," the police said. Nordstrom announced Tuesday that it has plans to permanently close 16 of its department stores. The statement says the store closures are to strengthen its business for the long-term. A list of store closures have not yet been disclosed. A Nordstrom spokesperson didnt respond to immediate request for comment. There are currently five Nordstrom stores in New Jersey, along with 116 department stores in total, according to its website. All stores have been temporarily closed to the public since March 17 amid the coronavirus pandemic, including its Nordstrom Rack stores, but have been offering curbside-pickup. The company also says while its stores have been temporarily closed, solid online traffic has been generated and excess inventory has been cleared through its increased marketing and promotional efforts. Nordstrom is currently holding a sale that is offering up to 50% off on popular brands like Steve Madden, Topshop and Hugo Boss. Weve been investing in our digital and physical capabilities to keep pace with rapidly changing customer expectations," Erik Nordstrom, CEO of Nordstrom, said in the statement. "The impact of COVID-19 is only accelerating the importance of these capabilities in serving customers. Other retailers including Neiman Marcus and J.Crew have also been struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic. Both companies have filed for bankruptcy this week. Nordstrom was founded in 1901 in Seattle, Washington as a shoe store. RELATED STORIES ABOUT RETAIL AND CORONAVIRUS: Mothers Day 2020 gift guide: Gift cards you can send via email The retail chains weighing bankruptcy as coronavirus slams industry DSWs 40% off sandal sale will get you ready for summer Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Nicolette Accardi can be reached at naccardi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter: @N_Accardi. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips (Newser) A US Navy member who serves as one of President Trump's personal valets has tested positive for the coronavirus, reports CNN and Politico. The White House confirmed the diagnosis of a military member who works at the White House, though not that it was one of the president's valets. "We were recently notified by the White House Medical Unit that a member of the United States Military, who works on the White House campus, has tested positive for Coronavirus," deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, who have been undergoing weekly tests, "have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health," Gidley adds. story continues below It's unclear when Trump was last in contact with the US Navy member, who began exhibiting symptoms Wednesday morning. White House valets are part of an "elite military unit" who frequently work in close proximity to the first family, explains CNN. The valet is the second known person who works at the White House to test positive for COVID-19, per the Hill. A staffer in Pence's office contracted the virus back in March. Trump is not a fan of wearing face masks, and the AP reports he has told confidants that he fears wearing one will backfire on him in political ads. (Read more coronavirus stories.) This will create parity with Russia as it was only Moscow who had been inviting representatives of the occupied Donbas to partake in TCG meetings. Ukraine from May 14 will start inviting to the Trilateral Contact Group meetings on Donbas settlement as representatives of the occupied territories a number of internally displaced persons (IDPs), says head of the Presidents Office, Andriy Yermak. Speaking at a briefing on Thursday, Yermak said IDPs from war-struck Donetsk and Luhansk regions who have not acquired Russian citizenship will attend the next TCG meeting as early as May 14, an UNIAN correspondent reports. "We will attract IDPs who are forced to live in unoccupied territories. They are registered residents of the occupied territories but have been forced to flee their homes. We will be inviting them to all subsequent meetings of the TCG," said Yermak. In turn, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for the Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Oleksiy Reznikov, who has recently appointed First Deputy Head of the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG, noted that 10 IDPs will attend the negotiations. Nominees for participation are yet to be approved. He also added that by such a step Ukraine will establish parity with Russia, since so far it has only the Russian side who has invited representatives of the occupied areas to TCG meetings. Also, Yermak said that tomorrow he would officially notify Germany, France, and Russia about the increased level of the Ukrainian representation in the TCG. The Russian side is already aware of changes in the composition of the Ukrainian delegation, the chief of the president's office added. Read alsoFM Kuleba comments on idea of setting up "advisory council" with representatives of occupied Donbas "Yesterday I already spoke about our idea in great detail. We agreed that I would elaborate on this in written form, and I think I'll do it tomorrow. Not only they, but also our French and German counterparts will receive letters. If they [Russia] provide some kind of response, well inform the public," said Yermak. The official has assured that the Ukrainian delegation would dominate the negotiations within the TCG framework. "I'd like you to hear a very important message we set such tone from the very start, and it will only be rising. Ukraine will be the initiator, it will be the dominant side in all further negotiations. No one will wait. We know for sure that the war is ongoing in our territory, it's our people who have been dying," Yermak said. As UNIAN reported earlier, on May 5, President Volodymyr Zelensky approved an updated composition of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk. It is headed by ex-president Leonid Kuchma, his first deputy is Vice Prime Minister, Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Oleksiy Reznikov, and his deputy is Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy and Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Oleksandr Merezhko. Also, representatives of ministries and heads of relevant parliamentary committees are now involved in Minsk talks. At least eleven persons have died and hundreds fell sick due to a massive gas leakage in LG Polymers plant at R R Venkatapuram on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam in the wee hours of Thursday. More than 800 people were evacuated from R R Venkatapuram following a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) styrene gas leak and most of them only needed first aid. Of this, at least 246 persons with health complications are undergoing treatment at the King George Hospital, Visakhapatnam and 20 of them are on ventilator support. Also Read: Vizag gas leak: 8 dead, over 200 hospitalised after leakage at LG plant in Visakhapatnam As per reports, gas started leaking in the early hours today when the workers were preparing for the reopening of the plant. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the situation is being monitored closely and he spoke to the officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs and National Disaster Management Authority. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy held a high-level review meeting to take stock of the situation and ordered a probe into the matter, according to state DGP D Gautam Sawang. Also Read: Coronavirus India Live Updates: Mumbai COVID-19 cases can soar to 80,000, says BMC; country's tally-52,952 Here's all you need to know about LG Polymers plant where toxic gas leak incident happened: May 7 (Reuters) - The United States has recorded its first death of an immigration detainee from the coronavirus, local health authorities in the state of California said on Thursday. A 57-year-old man who was held at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center near the U.S.-Mexico border before being hospitalized died on Wednesday, the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency said. The man had been held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego and hospitalized since late April, according to the agency. The ICE did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Local media reported earlier that a family representative of the deceased man had identified him. They said the man was a diabetic who had left El Salvador with his mother and sisters in 1980, adding he had lived in the Los Angeles area and had been detained since January. "This tragic news is even more evidence that failing to act will result in cruel and needless death," Monika Langarica, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, said after the death was reported. The Otay Mesa facility, which can hold up to nearly 2,000 ICE detainees and U.S. Marshals Service inmates, reported its first positive COVID-19 case in late in March. While ICE has dialed back arrest operations and agreed to review cases of some at-risk immigrants in custody, it still has tens of thousands in detention and is proceeding with deportation flights. Pro-immigrant advocates have called for detainees - particularly low-level offenders - to be released from custody given the risks of contracting COVID-19 in detention. The coronavirus has infected about 1.2 million people in the United States and killed around 74,000 as of late Wednesday. The global death toll from COVID-19, the deadly respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, stands at over 262,000 with about 3.8 million infections. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru, editing by Mark Heinrich) (Newser) Two employees of a McDonald's in southwest Oklahoma City were shot Wednesday in what authorities described as a dispute involving the closure of the restaurant's dining area. A third employee who fell and suffered a head injury during the scuffle was also taken to hospital, per KOCO. Oklahoma City Police Lt. Michelle Henderson tells NBC News that the victims, including two 17-year-olds, are in non-life-threatening condition. One male employee was shot in the upper arm and another in the shoulder, per KOCO. story continues below Two customers fled the scene but were arrested nearby, per CNN. Henderson said the man and woman were asked to leave as the dining area was closed due to COVID-19, but "they refused and produced a gun," per NBC. (Other reports describe two female suspects.) Nonessential businesses were closed through much of April in Oklahoma, which doesn't have a formal stay-at-home order. Per KOCO, restaurant dining rooms were allowed to reopen with strict sanitation protocols beginning May 1. (Police say a Family Dollar security guard was killed in a dispute over a face mask.) To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! Dilday, a member of a longtime Long Beach family, died unexpectedly of a heart attack in his sleep at his home Jan. 10, according to his wife, Diane. Every year toward the end of the legislative session, some bill or another, or a few of them, end up getting loaded up like Christmas trees. In other words, a bill intended for one purpose ends up serving as a vehicle to try to pass all sorts of legislation, and lawmakers add amendments to the original bill the tree like so many lights and tinsel and ornaments. Sometimes, its a strategy to gain unrelated votes. Lawmaker A needs Lawmaker Bs vote on something else and so agrees to add an amendment even though its totally unrelated. Eventually all the deal-making weighs down a bill and often kills it once everybody figures out whats going on, tipping the Christmas tree over until all the ornaments fall to the ground and break into a hundred little pieces. Credit: CC0 Public Domain France is "ready to massively test" people suspected of having the coronavirus and anyone who has come into contact with them from next week, the country's health minister said Thursday. Olivier Veran said France will be able carry out 700,000 PCR tests a week for the virus from Monday when it begins the fraught process of relaxing its almost eight-week lockdown. The minister said the authoritieswhich have been heavily criticised for the lack of mass testingnow have enough capacity to cover the needs of the whole population. France has been one of the hardest hit European countries, with some 26,000 deaths since March. Testing and tracing are regarded as key to allowing the country to get back to work, pinpointing those with the virus so they can be quickly isolated. Veran admitted that there may have been a "gap between the theory and the practice" of testing in France, with many people with doctor's prescriptions for tests unable to get them. But he insisted that "our capacity for testing is today at the level of our estimated needs." Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2020 AFP Last updated on: May 07, 2020 19:30 IST Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday took stock of the situation in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam where a gas leak from a chemical plant has left 11 dead, and assured all possible assistance to state Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. The prime minister also chaired a meeting of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to assess the situation. The prime minister wrote on Twitter that he spoke with officials of the Union Home Ministry and NDMA regarding the situation 'which is being monitored closely'. 'I pray for everyone's safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam,' he said. The Prime Minister's Office said Modi spoke to the state chief minister. 'He assured all help and support,' a PMO tweet said. After the meeting of NDMA chaired by Modi, his principal secretary P K Mishra reviewed the situation with top government officials. In the review meeting with cabinet secretary, home secretary, NDMA, National Disaster Response Force, director All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and medical experts, Mishra directed that team of experts be sent to the spot. He also directed that short term as also long term medical impact of the gas leak be looked into, sources said. At least 11 people have died and several hospitalised after a gas leak at a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam in the early hours of Thursday. BRUSSELS - European Union officials on Thursday defended their handling of relations with China during the coronavirus pandemic, a day after the E.U. ambassador to Beijing allowed an opinion article about E.U.-Chinese relations that he co-wrote to be censored before publication in a state-run newspaper. The censorship marked the second time in two weeks that the European Commission's foreign policy branch made a concession to Chinese demands to tone down criticism, after it softened elements of a leaked report that analyzed Chinese coronavirus disinformation before publishing the final version. The incidents indicate a discordant approach from Europe toward China at a moment when the continent is heading into what it expects will be the worst economic collapse in its post-World War II history. Europe is eager for Chinese trade as an economic lifeline and seeks to hedge its bets if China manages to be the first to develop a vaccine against the virus. But it also prides itself as a defender of liberal democracy, press freedoms and human rights - all areas where European policymakers have criticized Beijing. "We regret that this op-ed, that this joint op-ed was not published in full by the China Daily," European Commission spokeswoman Virginie Battu-Henriksson told reporters Thursday. "The E.U. delegation to China made known its concern to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in no uncertain terms." It was with "considerable reluctance" that the delegation agreed to the publication of the censored article, Battu-Henriksson said. She said the E.U. mission in China ultimately decided that the broader benefit from publishing the messages contained within the edited version of the opinion article outweighed its unhappiness over the line's removal. The censored phrase was a reference to the Chinese origins of the virus: "the outbreak of the coronavirus in China, and its subsequent spread to the rest of the world." The op-ed was published Wednesday and was co-signed by the ambassadors to China of the 27 E.U. member states. The E.U. delegation to China published the unredacted opinion piece on its own website, and Battu-Henriksson said it was made available to other Chinese outlets, as well. But the censored version was promoted on Twitter by Gunnar Wiegand, the top official for Asian affairs at the European Commission's diplomatic arm. China initially sought to cover up the outbreak, which is believed to have started in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. It has since been sensitive to criticism of its handling of the pandemic. The E.U.'s handling of the censorship incident came under heavy fire from European lawmakers who have been critical of China. "This is simply unacceptable," tweeted Reinhard Butikofer, a German member of the European Parliament from the Green Party. "If the EU ambassador decided on his own to kowtow, he should be relieved of his post. If he was given green light for kowtowing from Brussels, the European Parliament must censure" E.U. foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. Even in its uncensored form, the op-ed, celebrating the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Europe and Beijing, was notably gentle with China at a time when Beijing's diplomatic missions in Europe have been unrestrained in their broadsides against both Europe's own response to the pandemic and its criticism of China. "At different stages of the pandemic, there has been reciprocal assistance between Europe, China, and others, demonstrating mutual support," read one line of the op-ed. "That is how true partners act." In contrast, an unsigned opinion piece posted late last month on the website of China's embassy to France said that "some Westerners are starting to lose confidence in liberal democracy" amid the pandemic. Another post said France had abandoned its senior citizens to "die from starvation and disease," leading the French Foreign Ministry to lodge an official protest. European officials may simply be trying to avoid yet another fight at a moment when they are also clashing with Washington on several issues, including trade, defense and vaccine development, analysts said. And European economies are in free fall: Figures released Wednesday suggested that they are suffering a vastly worse blow than during the 2008 financial crisis or anything outside of war or total economic collapse. "We're in an economic disaster. It's a very weak moment for Europe. There is very little unity. There are doubts about solidarity," said Janka Oertel, director of the Asia program at the European Council on Foreign Relations. "The question is how many battle fronts you can afford." But Oertel warned that the concessions may weaken European leaders' ability to put limits on Chinese behavior on their territory. "There is a lot of noise in the relationship at the moment. They likely thought this is a good opportunity to turn down the volume, but when you choose to publish in China Daily, then it will necessarily be on China's terms," she said. "The text is astonishing, even without the censored parts." Some observers questioned why the ambassadors to China of the 27 E.U. states had signed off on such a platitude-filled message in the middle of a confrontation with Beijing. "I am shocked not once but twice: First the #EU ambassadors generously adopt #Chinese narratives & then the EU representation on top accepts Chinese censorship of the joint op-ed," tweeted the chairman of the German parliament's foreign affairs committee, Norbert Rottgen. "Speaking with one voice is important, but it has to reflect our shared European values and interests!" Top E.U. leaders in recent weeks have been willing to criticize China, including Borrell, who supervises the E.U. ambassador in Beijing, Nicolas Chapuis. During a hearing last week at the European Parliament that was requested after the disinformation report was softened, he called China "a competitor and a systemic rival." Some national leaders of E.U. states also have been tough. So the conciliatory moves toward Beijing may reflect a conflict of visions about how to handle relations with it rather than a coherent policy of appeasement, observers said. And China's aggressive public tone toward Europe may be backfiring, souring opinions at a time when it might otherwise have been able to reap a public relations bonanza from its shipments of medical equipment to hard-hit European countries. One notable bellwether emerged this weekend in Germany, whose manufacturing-heavy economy is deeply dependent on good relations with China. German leaders have often advocated a go-gentle approach with Beijing. But a prominent business executive, the chief executive of the powerful Axel Springer publishing group, on Sunday called for a decisive break. "There is no need for finely crafted rhetoric here, we need to make a fundamental political decision. China or the US. It is no longer possible to go with both," Mathias Dopfner wrote in an op-ed published in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper and in Business Insider. "Should we allow the state capitalism of a totalitarian global power to continue to infiltrate or even take over key industries?" Debt-ridden Pakistan is going ahead with its strategic USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, despite the country's further economic downturn due to the coronavirus crisis. Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui on Thursday told a regular media briefing that the CPEC comprised long-term projects whose completion, in many cases, was spread over many years. "We are quite confident that we will be able to complete CPEC projects in time and, going forward, the short-term impact of the coronavirus will be counterbalanced by effective and swift mobilisation of resources for timely completion of the CPEC, she said. The work for the completion of the project is in progress on a fast pace, CPEC Authority Chairman Lt-Gen (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa told a group of journalists on Wednesday. "There is no political hindrance in its way. The project is Pakistan's future as well as a tangible reality and no compromise will be made on it," Bajwa said. Pakistan takes decisions in its interest and there should be no doubt that the CPEC project "is in the best interest of the country" and "no external pressure will be accepted", the Express Tribune quoted Bajwa as saying. India has objected to the CPEC -- a planned network of roads, railways and energy projects linking China's Xinjiang province with Pakistan's Gwadar Port -- as it is being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The US has also been critical of the ambitious infrastructure project for being non-transparent. It has said that firms blacklisted by the World Bank have got contracts, which will increase Pakistan's debt burden. Cash-strapped Pakistan, which is grappling with the economic fallout triggered by the coronavirus crisis, has approached several multilateral donors for additional funds to fight the pandemic and its economic implications. The COVID-19 cases in the country have crossed 24,000, while the death toll has jumped to 564. Last month, Pakistan received an emergency loan of USD 1.39 billion from the International Monetary Fund to boost its foreign exchange reserves. This fund was in addition to the USD 6 billion bailout package that Islamabad had signed with the global money lender in July last year to stave off a balance of payment crisis. The World Bank has earlier approved USD 1 billion and the Asian Development Bank USD 1.5 billion for Pakistan to keep its economy afloat. During his interaction with the journalists, Bajwa said the working plan of both the routes from Khunjrab to Gwadar has been completed and the remaining link routes will be added into the plan in the next few months. "The second phase of this multibillion-dollar project is crucial for the development of the country and construction work will soon be started," said Bajwa, who is also the Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information. Gwadar's development projects have been included in the second phase. Describing the projects in the second phase of the CPEC, Bajwa said, "Special emphasis is on agriculture, industries, trade, and science and technology sectors." He said the highest priority was to make functional the economic zones in four provinces -- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. Bajwa served as the head of the army's media wing when General Raheel Sharif was the army chief. He was appointed as head of the CPEC Authority last year and given additional portfolio of Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information last month to help improve government ties with media. So. Bewley's, Grafton Street's 'legendary, lofty, clattery cafe', one-time haunt of Maud Gonne, James Joyce, Micheal Mac Liammoir and Hilton Edwards, is gone - again - and this time it appears to be for good. Landlord Johnny Ronan is painted as the villain of the piece, castigated for refusing to reduce the eye-watering 1.5m annual rent and give Bewley's a break. And while one would need to have a heart of stone not to sympathise with those who have lost their jobs, Ronan is not the only landlord in the capital declining to negotiate these days. One restaurant owner with several sites across Dublin told me within the last fortnight that he is dealing with very different scenarios in respect of each of his premises, with some landlords willing to discuss rent reductions, while others play hardball. While an inability to negotiate on the rent may have been the final nail in Bewley's coffin, it's been clear for some time that the cafe has been struggling. It may well have succumbed even without the added pressure of Covid-19, despite 600,000 customers passing through its doors each year, according to its website. Read More Founded in 1840, Bewley's began as a coffee and tea company, built on the entrepreneurial success of Samuel Bewley and his son Charles, from a prominent Quaker family. They broke the East India Company's monopoly by importing 2,099 chests of tea directly from China to Dublin. The Grafton Street Cafe was opened by Ernest Bewley in 1927 and, according to Hugh Oram, author of the definitive history of Bewley's, the cost of developing the Grafton Street premises, complete with the famous stained-glass windows commissioned from Harry Clarke, was such that the firm nearly went bankrupt. Not until the end of the 1930s did Bewley's start to overcome the debt mountain created by its Grafton Street cafe. One of Ernest's sons, Victor, took over the running of the business in 1932 after the sudden death of his father and later handed the firm over to his employees, complete with a profit-sharing scheme. The business declined, though, and in 1986 was taken over by Paddy Campbell's Campbell Catering, which ran it until 2004, when it closed. The following year, Jay Bourke - then riding high in the Dublin restaurant scene - came on board in a joint venture and Bewley's Grafton Street became Mackerel, which lasted until the crash, before reverting to being Bewley's. The cafe limped along until 2016, when it closed for refurbishment. The 12m refurbishment work took much longer than planned - the building is a protected structure both inside and out - and the cafe eventually reopened in late 2017. Now it is no more. So what went wrong? Theories abound, but it's clear from the outpouring on social media that those who are sad about the loss of Bewley's are nostalgic for its distant past, rather than its most recent incarnation. Back in the 1980s, when I was a student in Trinity, I spent a lot of time in Bewley's. We lingered there for hours. Those who could stomach it opted for milky coffee (I thought it disgusting), the rest of us for strong tea. We trimmed the cakes that sat uncovered on a plate in the middle of the table in the smoky room so that we could taste without paying. Kathleen 'Tattens' Toomey and the other black-uniformed waitresses turned a blind eye. Because of the way they were constructed, the almond buns lent themselves to trimming more than the cherry version. Every city has its iconic cafes - think of Cafe Montmartre in Prague, Colbert in Rome and Cafe Central in Vienna - and Dublin's was once Bewley's. However, there are those who feel it was desecrated under Campbell Catering's ownership, in terms of the physical building and in the application of an industrial catering model. In recent years, people complained about the prices, but prices in prime locations are high because rents are high, and they don't stop us wanting to go there and even perhaps to pay more to sit on the terrace, as you will in many of the most famous cafes around the world. We are happy to pay for the pleasure of lingering over our macchiato for the sheer pleasure of being somewhere gorgeous. Bewley's could have been that place, but it was not. Last summer, I visited Bewley's in my capacity as the Irish Independent's restaurant critic for the first time since the refurbishment, having been on only a handful of occasions since my student days. I had held off because I didn't want to ruin all the great memories I had of Bewley's back in the '80s. Read More What I found was a place that should have been a showcase for simple Irish food and good baking - the cherry and almond buns most of all - but instead offered a hot mess of a menu trying to be all things to all men. This is what I wrote at the time: "By virtue of its long history and prime position Bewley's is a national institution, somewhere for which many locals hold a soft spot, as well as an establishment that's on every tourist's list of places to visit. "As such, it's perfectly placed to be a showcase for excellent Irish food. I'd go further... it's obliged to be just that. And on the basis of my recent visit, it's failing miserably. "No one expects or wants Bewley's to do anything other than keep dishing up the signature buns and cakes that many remember so fondly, and serve simple, tasty food with an Irish sensibility." The lunch menu that day featured everything from crayfish linguine to chicken cassoulet to mozzarella and plum tomato bruschetta to new season (in July?) asparagus salad to a tartine of shredded chicken seasoned with chilli and spiced mayonnaise, served on turmeric-infused cornflour sourdough bread and another of 'coronation' chickpeas mixed with vegan mayonnaise, soya yoghurt, mango chutney and curry spices, topped with grated carrot and red cabbage on walnut and raisin sourdough bread. Yes, really. The pre-prepared tartines were presented in a display case by the counter and looked as sad and confused as they sound, while the cafe was littered with terrible pieces of sculpture that I learned later were the work of Paddy Campbell himself. In my review, I wrote that I could not think of another capital city in the world where the most-famous cafe on the best-known street would squander an opportunity to make a proud statement about the food of the nation. My lunch that day came to an abrupt end when I discovered an insect in my salad. So, yes, we mourn the loss of a once-great institution and, yes, the loss of the lunchtime cafe theatre is a blow. But let's be honest, the reason that Bewley's has failed is because it simply wasn't good enough. When the Covid-19 crisis has passed, it will be interesting to see what happens to the building next. A few years back, Zara and H&M were both known to be keen to take it on, but a more interesting rumour doing the rounds recently was that The Wolseley is on the hunt for premises in Dublin. Whether that ambition remains in the current circumstances is anyone's guess, but those familiar with the classy operation that Chris Corbin and Jeremy King run in London will find that a tasty prospect. COLOGNE (dpa-AFX) - Deutsche Lufthansa (DLAKF, DLAKY) stated that the company is negotiating a stabilization package for 9 billion euros with the Federal Economic Stabilization Fund (WSF) to finance the Lufthansa Group. The company noted that a stake by the German government in its share capital is also part of the negotiations. The conditions also include the waiver of future dividend payments. The WSF is seeking representation within the Supervisory Board. The company stated that, as part of the talks, various alternatives of a capital increase are being discussed, including an increase at the nominal value of the share, if necessary after a capital cut, to create a shareholding of up to 25% plus one share. 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. A German journalist has accused former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing of repeatedly grabbing her during an interview, and filed a sexual assault complaint with Paris prosecutors, according to French and German reports. Giscard's French lawyer said Thursday that the 94-year-old former president retains no memory of the incident. Giscard was president of France from 1974-1981. German broadcaster WDR reported Wednesday night that it investigated the alleged misconduct after the journalist interviewed Giscard for WDR in December 2018. The journalist said Giscard grabbed her buttocks three times and she tried to push his hand away, according to reports by French daily Le Monde and German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung. WDR said it asked lawyers to investigate, and then sent a protest letter to Giscard last year saying, we cannot tolerate our employees being confronted with such situations. The journalist filed a legal complaint this March with Paris prosecutors, the reports said. The prosecutor's office would not comment Thursday. In a statement to The Associated Press, Giscard's lawyer Jean-Marc Fedida suggested possible legal retaliation against a particularly undignified and offensive media (attack)" around the accusation. According to Le Monde, the journalist didn't file a complaint right away because she didn't understand enough about the French justice system, but later changed her mind in part thanks to inspiration from the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Accomplished oboist and McCallie student Jacks Pollard 21 has been accepted into the National Youth Orchestra as part of their summer 2020 cohort. In July, Jacks will travel to the State University of New York in Purchase, N.Y. for a two-week residency, where he will rehearse with world-class musicians from all over the globe. The NYO had previously planned a two and a half week national tour to follow the residency, but it has since been canceled because of COVID concerns. Jacks applied for the NYO position in the fall through a multi-step process that included writing an essay about his future goals, a video essay, recording audition tapes, and three recommendations. He received the good news of his acceptance in early March. More good news came later in the month when Jacks learned that he had been accepted to the highly selective and prestigious music conservatory, The Juilliard School, based in New York City. After a summer course to finish his high school graduation requirements, he will then move to New York in September to begin his undergraduate studies and launch his professional music career. Jacks has been playing the oboe since he was in 7th grade; he had played piano and cello prior to that. His dedication to his craft is apparent as he spends at least two hours a day practicing and another two hours making his own reeds. Jacks is the son of Heather Landreth of Chattanooga, and Matt Pollard of Lookout Mountain, Tn. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday expressed shock over the gas leak incident in Visakhapatnam and prayed for the speedy recovery of those hospitalised. He also urged Congress workers in the area to provide all necessary support to those affected. Im shocked to hear about Vizag Gas Leak. I urge our Congress workers and leaders in the area to provide all necessary support and assistance to those affected. My condolences to the families of those who have perished. I pray that those hospitalised make a speedy recovery, he said on Twitter. At least six people have died and over 100 hospitalised after gas leaked from a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam. A video lawyers say shows Arberys killing by two armed white men has ignited fury and calls for justice across the US. The parents of an African-American man slain in a pursuit by two armed white men have called for the immediate arrest of those responsible instead of waiting a month or longer before a grand jury in Georgia could consider bringing charges as national outrage in the United States continued to swell. I think no arrests have been made because of the title he carried as a retired police officer. Wanda Cooper-Jones, Arberys mother, said in an appearance on Good Morning America on Thursday. One of the men alleged to have killed Ahmaud Arbery, Gregory McMichael, worked as an investigator in the Glynn County district attorneys office. He retired last year. An outside prosecutor in charge of the case said he wants a grand jury to decide whether criminal charges are warranted. That will not happen until at least mid-June, since Georgia courts remain largely closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. George Barnhill, the district attorney for Waycross County, Georgia who has recused himself from the case, sent a letter to the Glynn County police chief in April explaining why he did not believe the incident warranted an arrest, local media Action News Jax reported. The letter said it appears the intent of the men who killed Arbery was to stop and hold this criminal suspect until law enforcement arrived. The men who pursued Arbery before shooting him told police they believed he had committed a recent burglary in the area. Barnhill also said, Arberys mental health and prior convictions help explain his apparent aggressive nature and his possible thought pattern to attack an armed man. Arberys prior convictions did not include any violent offenses, according to Action News Jax. A swelling outcry over the February 23 shooting of Arbery a former high school sports star remembered by friends and family as a kind young man intensified this week after a mobile phone video, which lawyers for his family say shows the killing, surfaced online Tuesday. Attorneys for Arberys family said the father and son shooters, who have acknowledged in a police report that they grabbed guns and pursued Arbery in a truck after seeing him running in their neighbourhood, should be arrested now instead of awaiting an indictment from a grand jury, as often happens in criminal cases. These men were vigilantes, they were a posse, and they performed a modern lynching in the middle of the day, said Lee Merritt, a lawyer for Arberys mother. The horrific murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia is a reminder that we still do not live the truth that all are created equal. He was gunned down without regard for his humanity. The video is sickening and heartbreaking, and his family deserves justice. Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 6, 2020 According to an incident report filed by Glynn County police, Arbery was shot after two men spotted him running in their neighbourhood on a Sunday afternoon. McMichael told police that he and his adult son, Travis, thought the runner matched the description of someone caught on a security camera committing a recent break-in in the neighbourhood. They armed themselves with guns before getting in a truck to pursue him. The McMichaels said they got out of the truck holding a shotgun, and Arbery began to violently attack. Arbery was shot by Travis McMichael as the two men fought over the shotgun, according to the police report. After Arbery was shot, the police report says, Gregory McMichael turned him onto his back to see if he was armed. The report does not say whether he had a weapon. Macabre video The mobile phone video, initially posted by a Brunswick radio station, shows an African-American man jogging along the left side of a road. A pickup truck is parked in the road ahead of him. One man is inside the trucks bed, and another is standing beside the open drivers side door. The runner crosses the road to pass the truck on the passenger side, then crosses back in front of the truck. A gunshot sounds, and the video shows the runner grappling with a man in the street over what appears to be a shotgun or rifle. A second shot can be heard, and the runner can be seen punching the man. A third shot is fired at point-blank range. The runner staggers a few feet and falls, face down. Political outcry Republican lawmakers Senator Kelly Loeffler and Representative Doug Collins, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee who are embroiled in a bitter re-election campaign against each other both decried the video of the attack on Thursday. What I saw on the video is disturbing and wrong and looks like a criminal act. It must be thoroughly investigated and I can't imagine why it has taken this long to come to light. https://t.co/uFC3bhzJ8m Doug Collins (@CollinsforGA) May 7, 2020 Officials at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) have assigned three supervisory-level agents to the case. Merritt, the attorney for Arberys mother, said the US Department of Justice (DOJ) should also investigate the death as a hate crime. The FBI has said its assisting, said DOJ spokesman Matt Lloyd, and as is standard protocol, we look forward to working with them should information come to light of a potential federal violation. The killing has drawn calls for justice from state and national authorities across the political spectrum. Republican Governor Brian Kemp late Tuesday threw his support behind the GBI probe. He tweeted: Georgians deserve answers. State law enforcement stands ready to ensure justice is served. .@GBI_GA Director Reynolds has offered resources & manpower to D.A. Durden to ensure a thorough, independent investigation into the death of #AhmaudArbery. Georgians deserve answers. State law enforcement stands ready to ensure justice is served. https://t.co/ktLiPf7LoY Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) May 6, 2020 Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, also a Republican, spoke out as well. Based on the video footage and news reports that I have seen, I am deeply concerned with the events surrounding the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, Carr said in a statement. I expect justice to be carried out as swiftly as possible. Former US Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, also weighed in. The video is clear: Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood, Biden tweeted, referring to the death as a murder. The video is clear: Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood. My heart goes out to his family, who deserve justice and deserve it now. It is time for a swift, full, and transparent investigation into his murder. https://t.co/alvY5WjdHx Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 6, 2020 Jackie Johnson, the district attorney for Glynn County, recused herself from the case because Gregory McMichael worked as an investigator in her office. George Barnhill, the first outside prosecutor on the case, stepped aside in mid-April at the urging of Arberys family. Barnhill has a son who works as an assistant prosecutor for Johnson. Odisha on Thursday reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases in a day as 34 people, including 30 who recently returned from Surat, tested positive for coronavirus, an official said. With these new cases, the total number has climbed to 219 in the state, the official said. The number of active cases now stands at 155 with 62 people recovering from the disease. Two persons from Bhubaneswar have died of the infection. Of the 34 new cases, 24 are from Ganjam district, four from Mayurbhanj, three from Bhubaneswar, two from Balasore and one from Jagatsinghpur district. Mayurbhanj has joined the list of districts where coronavirus cases have been reported, the official from the Information and Public Relations department said. Thirty of the 34 new patients had recently returned from Surat and are in quarantine centres, the official said. Migrant workers from Odisha stranded in Gujarat's Surat city during lockdown are returning back home in droves by buses and trains after the Centre allowed their movement. Nearly three lakh Odia workers mostly from Ganjam district are engaged in diamond cutting, textiles and other works in Surat. While the travel history of three patients detected in Bhubaneswar is yet to be verified, the lone case confirmed in Jagatsinghpur district had recently returned from West Bengal, the official said. In Bhubaneswar, the cases were reported from Mancheswar, VSS Nagar and Surya Nagar. While eight COVID-19 cases had earlier been confirmed in Surya Nagar area, Mancheswar and VSS Nagar reported coronavirus cases for the first time. Following the spurt in COVID-19 cases, the state government declared Ganjam as a red zone, while Mayurbhanj and Jagatsinghpur were classified as orange zones. The first case in Ganjam was reported on May 2 and since then, there has been a sudden spurt in the number of cases, the official said. "All necessary stipulations by the Centre and the state government applicable for different zones in the districts and municipal corporation areas are to be followed scrupulously," Health and Family Welfare department Additional Chief Secretary P K Mohapatra said in a letter to the three district administrations and the commissioner of Berhampur Municipal Corporation. Ganjam district collector V A Kulange said the administration is taking care of those who have returned to the state, and only authorised persons are allowed to enter the quarantine centres or temporary medical facilities. Apart from Ganjam, three districts -- Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore -- and areas under Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) in Khurda are classified as red zones. There are 10 orange and 14 green zones for coronavirus in the state. Altogether 3,060 samples were tested on Wednesday, the Information and Public Relations department official said, adding a total of 50,514 samples have been tested so far in the state. Jajpur district has reported the maximum number of cases at 55, followed by Bhubaneswar in Khurda district 50, Ganjam 28, Balasore 27, Bhadrak 21, Sundergarh 12, Jagatsinghpur 5, Mayurbhanj 4 and Kendrapara 3. Two cases each have been detected in Cuttack, Jharsuguda, Bolangir, Keonjhar and Kalahandi, and one each in Puri, Dhenkanal, Deogarh and Koraput districts. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) HUL was the top loser in the Sensex pack, dropping over 3 percent, followed by Kotak Bank, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, PowerGrid, Titan and Nestle. The Sensex fell over 300 points in early trade on Thursday as spiking COVID-19 cases in the country and poor macroeconomic data weighed on investor sentiment. After touching a low of 31,362.96, the 30-share index was trading 158.23 points or 0.50 percent lower at 31,527.52. Similarly, NSE Nifty slipped 33 points, or 0.36 percent, to 9,237.90. HUL was the top loser in the Sensex pack, dropping over 3 percent, followed by Kotak Bank, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, PowerGrid, Titan and Nestle. On the other hand, HCL Tech jumped over 3 percent, after the company posted 22.8 percent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 3,154 crore for the March quarter driven by strong growth across verticals. Sun Pharma, Axis Bank and Bajaj Finance were also among the gainers. In the previous session, the BSE barometer closed 232.24 points or 0.74 percent higher at 31,685.75, the broader Nifty rose 65.30 points, or 0.71 percent, to finish at 9,270.90. International oil benchmark Brent crude futures were trading 0.25 percent higher at $29.79 per barrel. Oil prices rose on Thursday after US inventories swelled less than expected, but market watchers predicted further gains could be capped by the ongoing glut in crude supplies as the coronavirus pandemic crushes fuel demand. Foreign portfolio investors were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday, as they offloaded equity shares worth Rs 493.68 crore, according to provisional exchange data, according to a PTI report. According to analysts, massive surge in COVID-19 cases in recent days, disappointing corporate earnings and weak macroeconomic data have had an adverse impact on investor sentiment. In India, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 1,783 and the number of cases climbed to 52,952, according to the health ministry. Globally, the number of cases linked to the disease has crossed 37.55 lakh and the death toll has topped 2.63 lakh. Meanwhile, bourses in Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul were trading on a positive note, while those in Hong Kong were in the red. Stock exchanges on Wall Street ended on a mixed note in overnight session. Currency markets closed The currency market is shut today on account of 'Buddha Purnima'. The rupee depreciated 9 paise to close at 75.72 against the US dollar on Wednesday, following a strong American currency overseas and fears of a renewed trade war between the US and China. Forex traders said the weakness in the rupee was largely due to the strengthening of the US dollar and sustained foreign fund outflows. Moreover, rising coronavirus cases in the country also weighed on the local unit. The rupee opened weak at 75.77 at the interbank forex market and then pared some losses to finally settle at 75.72, down 9 paise over its last close. It had settled at 75.63 against the US dollar on Tuesday. "The risk tone has been tepid and will remain like that on renewed US-China spat. The trade war can reignite going ahead and prop up the safe-haven dollar demand. --With inputs from agencies TREVOSE, Pa., May 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- StoneMor Inc. (STON), a leading owner and operator of cemeteries and funeral homes, today announced it expects to release 2020 first quarter financial results on Thursday, May 14, 2020 after the market closes. In connection with this announcement, StoneMor plans to hold a conference call to discuss its results later that day at 4:30 p.m. eastern time. This conference call can be accessed by calling (800) 734-8592. No reservation number is necessary; however, due to the on-going pandemic, it is advised that interested parties access the call-in number 5 to 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time to avoid delays. StoneMor will also host a live webcast of this conference call. Investors may access the live webcast via the Investors page of the StoneMor website www.stonemor.com under Events & Presentations. About StoneMor Inc. StoneMor Inc., headquartered in Trevose, Pennsylvania, is an owner and operator of cemeteries and funeral homes in the United States, with 318 cemeteries and 88 funeral homes in 27 states and Puerto Rico. StoneMors cemetery products and services, which are sold on both a pre-need (before death) and at-need (at death) basis, include: burial lots, lawn and mausoleum crypts, burial vaults, caskets, memorials, and all services which provide for the installation of this merchandise. For additional information about StoneMor Inc., please visit StoneMors website, and the investors section, at http://www.stonemor.com . CONTACT Investor Relations StoneMor Inc. (215) 826-4438 As the world continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, the global response is having unintended yet drastic consequences on tuberculosis (TB) services, a study has said. The new study, commissioned on Tuesday via a zoom meeting by Stop TB Partnership, is in collaboration with the Imperial College, Avenir Health and Johns Hopkins University, and was supported by USAID. Length of quarantine, movement restrictions and disruption of TB services could spell disaster for hundreds of thousands at risk, the study said. The modelling of the study was constructed on assumptions drawn from a rapid assessment done by The Stop TB Partnership on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, it related measures on the TB response in 20 high-burden TB countries representing 54 per cent of the global TB burden. While focusing on three high burdened countries India, Kenya, and Ukraine, it extrapolated estimates from those countries to create global estimates of the impact of COVID-19 on TB. In the study, the authors indicated that the model can be replicated in any other country. They said the findings can be used by countries for data-driven decisions and financial requests. With lockdowns and limitations on diagnosis, treatment and prevention services expected to increase the annual number of TB cases and deaths over the next five years; at least five years of progress on TB response will be lost, it said. The modeling analysis released by the Stop TB Partnership shows that under a three-month lockdown and a protracted 10-month restoration of services, the world could see an additional 6.3 million cases of TB between 2020 and 2025 and an additional 1.4 million TB deaths during that same period, it said. At the meeting, the executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership said Lucica Ditiu, said TB, a respiratory disease, has remained the biggest infectious disease killer because the TB agenda consistently became less visible in front of other priorities. We never learn from mistakes. For the past five years, she said. Today, governments face a torturous path, navigating between the imminent disaster of COVID-19 and the long-running plague of TB, Ms Ditiu said She said choosing to ignore TB again would erase at least half a decade of hard-earned progress against the worlds most deadly infection and make millions more people sick. Another statement by TB Partnership on Wednesday highlighted that in 2018, during the UN General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on TB, Heads of States and governments committed to significantly scale up the TB response. In 2018, this resulted in identifying an additional 600,000 people who could access TB care. In 2019, we also saw very promising progress, the statement said. It said the COVID-19 pandemic, especially considering the mitigation measures put in place, has proven to be a major setback in achieving the UNGA targets. This is because as TB case detection has dramatically fallen, treatments have often been delayed and the risk of interruption of treatment and potential increase of people with drug-resistant TB has increased. TB is a forgotten respiratory disease that still kills 1.5 million people each year, more than any other infectious disease, it said The statement said incidence and deaths due to TB have been declining steadily over the last several years as a result of intensified activities by high burden countries to find people with TB early and provide appropriate treatment. The new study revealed that with a three-month lockdown and a protracted 10-month restoration of services, global TB incidence and deaths in 2021 would increase to levels last seen in between 2013 and 2016 respectively. This implies that a setback of at least five to eight years in the fight against TB. To minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on TB, save millions of lives and get the world back on track in achieving the UNGA targets, national governments need to take immediate measures that ensure the continuity of TB diagnostic, the study said. Advertisements Call for support Stop TB Partnership and partners in the meeting call upon the leadership of all countriesparticularly those with high TB burdensto ensure the continuity of the TB response in the time of COVID-19. It advised the countries to take proactive measures that include those who are most vulnerable and to provide protection against economic hardship, isolation, stigma and discrimination. We urge governments to secure the human and financial resources needed for seamless continuation of TB services amid the COVID-19 response, Ms Ditiu said. Recognizing that this is an unprecedented situation, the Stop TB Partnership is continuing support for national TB Programmes and partners through its multiple technical, innovative and people-centered platforms, she said To ensure access to TB and COVID-19 resources, the Stop TB Partnership is sharing actions, experiences and recommendations from countries and partners through a dedicated TB and COVID-19 webpage and has recently published interactive maps with TB and COVID-19 situations in countries. About the Stop TB Partnership The Stop TB Partnership is a unique United Nations hosted entity based in Geneva, Switzerland, committed to revolutionizing tuberculosis (TB) space to end the disease by 2030. The organisation aligns more than 2,000 partners worldwide to promote cross-sectoral collaboration. The Stop TB Partnerships various teams and initiatives take bold and smart risks to identify, fund and support innovative approaches, ideas, and solutions to ensure the TB community has a voice at the highest political levels and that all TB affected people have access to affordable, quality, and people-centered care. For most of the world, the sound of a toilet flushing during Supreme Court oral arguments on Wednesday was an amusing distraction, a curiosity that humanized the justices. For the court itself, I am quite certain, it was an utter disaster, a direct threat to the institutions prestige and, by extension, its legitimacy. The flush may set back transparency at the court for years and probably traumatized Chief Justice John Roberts for life. It is exactly why the justices dragged their feet for so long before embracing arguments by phone. And the public reaction confirms their worst nightmares about the consequences of media access. (One sample joke: Most insightful comment Alito has made in years.) The court wants to be an American Vatican that sends up smoke to alert a rapt nation to its semi-divine judgments. Instead, on Wednesday, it became the one thing the justices dread the most: a joke. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LISTEN: Toilet flush during U.S. Supreme Court oral argument (h/t @nicninh) pic.twitter.com/He3QGMzvJI Jeremy Art (@cspanJeremy) May 6, 2020 To see why the toilet flush was so shocking, it helps to understand the extreme measures the court takes to preserve its status as a mythical temple of justice during normal times. Visitors must walk down a gleaming marble plaza to enter the building, passing by ornamentation that seems to have been stolen from some ancient Greek palace: There are turtles holding up lampposts and friezes and monumental statues, including a giant robed lady holding a tiny robed lady. The courtroom itself is the buildings inner sanctum, flanked by heavy red velvet curtains, with huge columns that reach up to a coffered ceiling. At the appointed hour, the justices emerge from behind the curtain, clad in their black robes, as the marshal cries oyez, an archaic Anglo-Norman expression that calls the court into session. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Is this formality silly? Reading it on the page, you may think so. But attend court arguments and you might find yourself surprised by the power of the rituals. When the justices take their seats behind the elevated mahogany bench, they look like a council of oracles prepared to reveal a sacred text. In a sense, they are: The justices pronouncements carry the force of law; their words can alter the ground rules that govern our nation. You might roll your eyes at the ceremonial pomposity. But when the court speaks, the country listens. Advertisement Advertisement This legal liturgy serves a profound purpose. The court presents itself as a majestic body of immense authority because, on some level, its members are insecure about their ability to exercise any authority at all. SCOTUS tiny police force cannot march into Congress or state legislatures to enforce a decision. The chief justice cannot order the president to send in the National Guard if a governor defies a ruling. There is simply no constitutional mechanism for implementing a Supreme Court order. SCOTUS derives its power from the rest of Americas willingness to abide by its decisions. Its capacity to turn majority opinions into the law of the land is a magic trick. Right now, it is working: A 2019 poll found that the public mostly believes the court has the right amount of power and trusts the justices to wield it in the publics best interest. If we stop believing in that magic, however, the court will effectively lose the ability to say what the law is. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are few things less magical than the sound of a toilet flushing. It makes us think of base human functions, of the necessary yet foul things our bodies do every day. We are supposed to view the justices as brains in a jar who operate on a higher plane of intellect than many of us can even access. If we think too much about the justices bodies, we might begin to question if theyre really high priests who transcend human limitationsor if theyre just ordinary people, weighed down by the same errors and flaws and biases as the rest of us. And if theyre just ordinary people, then why, exactly, do five of them get to make the rules that the rest of us have to live by? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are few things less magical than the sound of a toilet flushing. When the justices face risk of embarrassment in the courtroomlike, for instance, a protest during argumentsthe audience is limited: A few hundred attendees might witness it, but the court can edit it out of the audio recording it releases days later. When arguments are livestreamed on C-SPAN, as they have been during the coronavirus pandemic, the court has less control. It can edit out a humiliating blip afterward.* But it cannot scrub the C-SPAN clip from the internet. Advertisement No one understands this problem better than Roberts. The lack of control is one reason he resists cameras in the courtroom or livestreaming audio during normal times. He feels an urgent need to maintain the courts mystique as the presidency collapses into corrupt dysfunction and Congress remains hopelessly gridlocked. In opposing cameras in the courtroom, he frequently asserts that cameras harmed the Senate, leading lawmakers to turn their eloquent debates into empty grandstanding. He has indicated that he wants his court to stand above these institutions that have debased themselves with public access. The Supreme Court is different, Roberts has said, not only domestically, but in terms of its impact worldwide. Roberts seems convinced that public access to the courts proceedings will diminish its allureand, thus, its powerby revealing the justices as regular people. The courtroom is a very special place, the chief justice has said, and maybe part of what makes it special is that you dont see it on television. Advertisement I dont think that intuition is accurate; the justices generally sound smart and engaged during oral arguments, and the people they serve would be impressed if they could see them at work in the courtroom. But livestreamed audio is a different beast. Veteran court-watcher Lyle Denniston has condemned telephone arguments, claiming they make the justices look amateurish. While I disagree, Flushgate certainly bolsters Dennistons argument, and may be enough to doom this experiment. The court will likely continue with live telephone arguments for the remainder of the pandemic. But I doubt it will retain livestreamed audio when the justices finally return to the courtroom. There are no toilets in the courtroom, but there are ample opportunities for other embarrassments, bodily and otherwise. (In 1946, Chief Justice Harlan F. Stone had a massive stroke while reading an opinion from the bench, dying shortly thereafter.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its easy to dismiss the toilet flush as a hiccup during an otherwise efficient transition to transparency. But we should never underestimate the Supreme Courts commitment to its secular sacraments. The justices, and the chief especially, may come to view these coronavirus accommodations as an existential threat to the courts authority and cite Flushgate as a reason to abandon livestreamed audio when the crisis has passed. For a few hours on Wednesday, the court became the butt of the joke. And for an institution that needs the public to believe in its infallibility, that is no laughing matter. For more on the impact of the coronavirus, listen to the Political Gabfest. SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Aarki, a leading AI-enabled mobile marketing platform, today announced it is expanding operations in APAC, growing its teams within existing locations and opening an office in Vietnam. Their website localization launch supports the goal of providing greater service to its clientele in the APAC region. Aarki The growth in operations and the team expansions in Japan, South Korea, India, China, Singapore, and the Philippines, come at a time when APAC's mobile advertising industry is experiencing remarkable growth. The BusinessOfApps states that APAC is leading the global mobile app growth index with three countries in the top five fastest-growing markets. "We've seen tremendous growth throughout the APAC region, and we are committed to closely serving our growing client base in this region with our team of dedicated professionals," said Sid Bhatt, CEO and co-founder of Aarki. "With our mission to connect users to apps they love, our team is ready to deliver performance at scale to mobile marketers, as well as present the most engaging ad experience to end users." To overcome language barriers and to bridge the distance gap with its clients and partners, Aarki has launched localized versions of its website in three languages: Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. "We believe that each market is unique, and speaking the language of your partners and clients is the first step to a strong partnership," said Naoki Kobayashi, Vice President of Asia at Aarki. "With the localized websites, we allow our clients and prospects to take a peek at Aarki's capabilities and access valuable insights on the mobile marketing industry." About Aarki Aarki helps companies grow and re-engage their mobile users, using machine learning (AI), big data and engaging creative. We strive to deliver performance at scale across different marketing objectives to meet the target return on investment. Our data offers deep insights into user intent and usage habits. To drive performance, we activate our data assets through proprietary machine learning algorithms and engage users in real-time with personalized creative. Aarki has been recognized by The American Business Awards, Red Herring 100, Internet Advertising Competition, Deloitte's Technology Fast 500, The Drum Advertising Awards US, Horizon Interactive Awards, Effective Mobile Marketing Awards, The Wires by Exchange Wire, and Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards. For more information, please visit www.aarki.com or follow us on Twitter: @aarkimobile. Media Contact: Fellese Co Email: [email protected] Related Images aarki-apac-expansion.jpg Aarki_APAC_Expansion SOURCE Aarki (Photo : Jake Blucker on Unsplash) First Data Center Of Microsoft In New Zealand Will Open As Cloud Usage Grows: Azure And Aws Revenue Rate Rose To 60 Billion Dollars! (Photo : Ben O. Bro on Unsplash) First Data Center Of Microsoft In New Zealand Will Open As Cloud Usage Grows: Azure And Aws Revenue Rate Rose To 60 Billion Dollars! With more people working from home, the demand for cloud services has grown. Microsoft is planning to open its first data center in New Zealand to answer this demand amid the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus. According to Techcrunch's latest report, cloud computing is one area within Microsoft that is currently thriving. They have therefore made the decision to open a new data center in New Zealand once it receives approval from the Overseas Investment Office. In a previous Techcrunch report, they stated that cloud infrastructure revenue has also soared during the pandemic. Companies had already begun a steady march to the cloud even before the impact of the novel coronavirus. This fact was shared by Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon Web Services, during his keynote address at Re-Invent 2019 late last year. The recent quarter's earnings of the main companies in the market showed that economic fallout and the pandemic had done little to hamper their revenue--and it might also be contributing to its growth. In the first quarter of 2020, $29 billion of cloud revenue of the infrastructure market was reported. John Dinsdale of Synergy, who has been watching the market for a long time, believed that the pandemic had been modestly contributing to the revenue growth. Although he clarified that the market might not get out unscathed from the pandemic, he concluded that the companies' shift operations from offices might be one of the reasons why the demand increased in the first quarter. "For sure, the pandemic is causing some issues for cloud providers, but in uncertain times, the public cloud is providing flexibility and a safe haven for enterprises that are struggling to maintain normal operations," said Dinsdale in a statement. First data center of Microsoft in New Zealand will open as Cloud usage grows: Azure and Aws revenue rate rose to $60 billion According to Techcrunch, the company considers the project a weapon against the backdrop of accelerating digital transformation currently happening as the pandemic forces companies to move to the cloud. "This significant investment in New Zealand's digital infrastructure is a testament to the remarkable spirit of New Zealand's innovation and reflects how we're pushing the boundaries of what is possible as a nation," said Vanessa Sorenson, general manager at Microsoft New Zealand. CEO Satya Nadella reiterated that the project should help the companies in New Zealand during this transformation. "Now more than ever, we're seeing the power of digital transformation, and today we're announcing a new datacenter region in New Zealand to help every organization in the country build their own digital capability." Aside from simply building a data center, Microsoft ia also planning to make the project part of a broader investment in the country, including reducing the environmental footprint of the data center and skills training. Once the data center opens, the company will boast 60 regions allowing it to cover 140 countries across the world. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Thanks to Friday's cold front San Antonians will wake up to some chilly mornings this Mother's Day weekend. Thursday (High 86 and Low 65) Before the cold front strikes San Antonio will feel the warmth and humidity. Winds will also kick up by the afternoon with gusts near 15 mph and stay throughout the evening. A 13-year-old boy died in Rohinis Prashant Vihar on Wednesday, following which local residents accused a policeman of hitting him with a stick while he was waiting outside a shop to photocopy an Aadhaar card to obtain ration. The police denied the allegations, saying it was an accidental death caused by a fall in a public park. The police have requested the constitution of a panel of experts to oversee an autopsy of the body. The boy, who lived with his parents and three siblings in Rajapur neighbourhood of Rohini Sector 9, was a class 8 student of a government school and used to help his ailing father sell vegetables and fruits on a pushcart. I have suffered paralysis twice in the past and have poor health. My son was an intelligent boy and would help me negotiate with customers and receive payments, the boys father said. The family used to also run a tea stall, which has been shut since the lockdown. The boys mother said, On Tuesday afternoon, we heard that ration would be provided to the poor (in our neighbourhood) who could provide a copy of their Aadhaar card. Since we were short of money, we also decided to seek ration. She said her son, accompanied by some neighbours, had gone to get a photocopy of her husbands Aadhaar card. A youngster, who claimed to be an eyewitness, said that the boy was playing a game on his mobile phone while waiting outside the photocopy shop, when two policemen on a motorcycle approached them. They began hitting us with a stick. One hit was directed at another man, but it missed its mark and landed on the boys neck. He collapsed right away, the eyewitness said. Residents called for CCTV footage from the market to be checked to ascertain the truth. However, the police had an entirely different version of the events leading to death. Pramod Kumar Mishra, the deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Rohini, said that as per the initial inquiry, the boy and a few others were seated inside a park, defying the lockdown orders and social distancing norms. Two beat constables were patrolling the area on a motorcycle and noticed them. From outside the park boundary, the policemen asked them to leave. The youngsters began running away. It was during that time that the boy fell and fainted. The others managed to escape, said DCP Mishra. The officer said that while one policeman immediately brought water for the unconscious boy, the other rushed to bring a jeep from the police station in the vicinity. He was taken to Ambedkar Hospital, from where be was referred to Safdarjung Hospital. He died on Wednesday morning, the DCP said. Mishra said that while there were no external injuries on the boys body, a request has been made to form a panel of doctors to carry out his autopsy. We have not given a clean chit to anyone and will probe the case impartially, said the DCP, adding that a first information report (FIR) will be filed only if there is an indication of foul play. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON I thought she wouldve gone for a weirder name tbh Reply Thread Link nah the baby has a nice name, not a bad pick at all. Reply Parent Thread Link Hi I'm Chloe Sevennhee. Reply Thread Link I cant believe shes 45 Reply Thread Link he looks like one of the dads on teen mom from that pic Reply Thread Link lmfao agreed. Reply Parent Thread Link He looks like Vadim Black Reply Parent Thread Link no ma'am. Reply Parent Thread Link I see john krasinski. who else is in the face? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I get her confused with maggie "Idgaf creating a safe work environment for my casts" Gylenhaal. It was so jarring seeing her and Flea from RHCP in queen and Slim LMAO Reply Thread Link remember when she sucked vincent gallo's cock on camera for real in the brown bunny Reply Thread Link queen Reply Parent Thread Link Daniel Day Lewis who? I say that, but it has always given me shades of the misogyny the way people speak about this and her/her career. Maybe Im bias because I just really like her though? Reply Parent Thread Link Yea I'm not really but people always bring it up and it definitely misogyny. Reply Parent Thread Link I remember when Roger Ebert slammed that movie and Gallo in his butthurtness called Ebert fat and Ebert retorted with it is true that I am fat, but one day I will be thin, and he will still be the director of The Brown Bunny lmfaoooo But anyway Gallo is a humongous fucking creep who likely coaxed a younger actress to felate him onscreen under the pretense of being artiste and Im glad his career doesnt exist anymore Edited at 2020-05-07 03:55 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link whatever happened to him? I remember 2 girls in my class were obsessed with him and spent all their time constructing the perfect letter to send him. Reply Parent Thread Link Congrats to them! And because I know ONTD usually likes when celebs do this... Vanja might be one of the few unisex slavic names I can think of. Reply Thread Link Is it unisex though? Maybe as an exotic name but not as an actual slavic name. Reply Parent Thread Link I live in a slavic country and I know both men and women called Vanja... Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I'm Serbian (like her partner) and it absolutely is unisex Reply Parent Thread Link Which country, if you don't m8nd me asking? In my country it's only male name. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Id be so paranoid to give birth at this time. I wonder what its like to be in the hospital for non-covid related matters. Glad she and the baby are healthy and safe! Reply Thread Link There are actually some limited reports from the UK that babies are losing less weight and having more success breastfeeding without the moms and staff having to deal with visitors. Reply Parent Thread Link As a stan, this makes me happy just because she's talked about the possibility of having kids for the longest time.. I'm just shocked she's no longer with Ricky Saiz, she was with him for a long time (that's who I thought she had the baby with).... this dude is a special snowflake tbh... Reply Thread Link yeah she's been talking about possibly having kids for what, 15 years now?? I'm happy she finally got her wish. Reply Parent Thread Link Maybe he didn't want kids? Reply Parent Thread Link I thought it said VANJI and I just about died That gif makes me realize that for years I thought Kate Beckinsales daughter looked like Michael Sheen, when in reality she looks like natural Kate with factory issued stock parts, no upgrades. Edited at 2020-05-07 06:33 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link I think Lily has Michaels nose and upper lip situation but otherwise is all Kate. Reply Parent Thread Link Vanja is a really cute name! Reply Thread Link awww congrats!! indie queen Reply Thread Link Is her bf of legal age? That pic is inconclusive. Reply Thread Link Edited at 2020-05-07 07:17 am (UTC) He's 38, 39 in the summer. Reply Parent Thread Link She allowed him out of the house dressed like that? Reply Parent Thread Link Omg he looks like Dj from Roseanne. Reply Parent Thread Link There's a lot of chin in this photo Reply Parent Thread Link lol yeah he looks so young Reply Parent Thread Link Misss Vaannnja Reply Thread Link A 71-year-old prisoner, who had tested positive for COVID-19, returned to the Central Jail in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city on Thursday, after recovering from the infection. The elderly inmate was admitted to a private hospital on April 16, after he contracted the infection from an undertrial prisoner at the jail, deputy superintendent of the Central Jail Laxman Bhadoriya said. "The prisoner has recovered from COVID-19 and was discharged from a private hospital. He will now undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine at a facility inside the prison," he said. The inmate was serving a life sentence in a 2010 rape case, he added. So far, 32 people, including eight guards and 24 prisoners, have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Indore Central Jail and seven inmates have recovered, Bhadoriya said. "We hope other prisoners overcome the fear of COVID-19 after seeing this elderly inmate recover from the deadly infection," an official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Postal Service has been around forever. Its in the Constitution. But despite how ubiquitous post offices are, and despite the fact that many people feel thankful for the work mail carriers are doing during the pandemic, the USPS is in trouble. A few weeks back, Democratic legislators warned that economic devastation from the coronavirus might force the Postal Service to shut down entirely over the summerthe agency just doesnt have the money to keep operating. Meanwhile, Washington has bailed out various private industries, but that money hasnt gone to the Postal Service. Advertisement On Thursdays episode of What Next, I spoke with Devin Leonard, a writer for Bloomberg and author of a history of the USPS, about why the Postal Service is in such a terrible state, the surprising factors that have blocked further reform, and what can be done to save it. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mary Harris: Throughout the past couple of decades, mail volume has plummeted. Recently its gotten even worse. The agency projects that business could be cut in half by June. Part of what tipped the USPS over and made it so fragile during this time is that it lost a lot of mail from advertisers, in the form of junk mail. It seems to me like if the USPS is relying on junk mail to remain solvent, maybe we just need to rethink this thing. Advertisement Advertisement Devin Leonard: Four or five years ago, junk mail surpassed first-class mail as the largest portion of the Postal Services volume. We kind of have a government-subsidized junk mail system. But in the early 2000s, the USPS was making money. And then around 2005 and 2006, that really changed. What happened? In 2006, Congress and the George W. Bush administration started looking at the future of the Postal Service. Everybody could see that volume was trending downward, and that probably wasnt going to stop. So they passed a big postal reform bill. What they were concerned about was that postal workers get very generous health benefits. And there was this concern that at some point in the future, mail revenue wouldnt be able to cover that. During that time, the Postal Service was still doing pretty well. The economy was doing really well. So Congress passed a law saying that the agency had to pay about $5 billion a year to pre-fund those retiree health benefits. And the Postal Service could do it for about two years. Then the bottom fell out of the economy, mail volume kept going down, and the USPS just got crushed. Advertisement Advertisement Lets talk about what that means, because pre-funding retirement sounds great. But it also means you have to set aside a lot of money right away that you could be investing or spending in different ways. Explain a little bit why it became a problem. Advertisement Advertisement Health care costs were going up. So the idea was to build up a fund so that at some point down the line, taxpayers wouldnt have to pick up the bill for that. The problem is, people didnt realize mail volume was going to go down to the extent that it did. Even before the coronavirus hit, mail volume was down 30 percent postGreat Recession. The post office has been thinking about its bottom line ever since the 1970s, when President Richard Nixon signed the Postal Reorganization Act. Before that, the post office operated as a government department, part of the Presidents Cabinet. The point of this legislation was to get Congressand politics in generalout of the Postal Services way. But thats really not how it panned out. Advertisement Advertisement Now the agency cant close a post office without going through this extensive review. And theres always a lot of backlash. Nobody in Congress wants to let a post office close. Oftentimes that basically keeps the USPS from doing so. Also, it cant raise prices. The Postal Service would like to raise prices, but again, that has to go through a long review before the Postal Regulatory Commission, which sort of treats it like an arbitration. And theres always a lot of pushback from the big mailers, the junk mailers and such. They dont want prices to go up. I think the Postal Service, left to its own devices, knows what to do and has a lot of good ideas. The problem is its not really allowed to do any of them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lets talk about the workers unions. What is the role theyve played in terms of making change for the Postal Service, or even preventing change? Advertisement The interesting thing about the postal worker unions is that theyre all in a bind too, because they know that the future is pretty grim. I know in particular the letter carriers have worked to try to combine routes and save money. But at the same time, they dont want to do anything that would threaten their membership. They dont want to give up jobs. Theres a limit to how much they can go along with cost cutting. So theyve definitely worked to try to stop a lot of proposed changes, like ending Saturday delivery. Advertisement The junk mailers are also very active and effective at lobbying. Theyre on the same page on a lot of stuff with the unions: Both would like to see costs cut a lot more, but they dont really want to see big change. They benefit from the way things are working now. Even in this sort of diminished state, Americans want their mail. Devin Leonard Its funny because youre talking about the junk mailers like a constituency. Ive never thought of them that way. Advertisement Well, theyre the biggest users of the Postal Service. When you have a big constituency like that, they usually get organized and try to make sure their voices are heard in Washington, just like the unions do. What are the reforms that you see out there that could dig USPS out of this mess? Advertisement It needs to have more control over pricing. And it needs to be able to reduce its infrastructure. You know, there are 31,000 post offices. But a lot of the rural post offices have really reduced hours. They save money doing that. Some post offices could also be closedI think a third of them lose money. Then you have about 250 big distribution centers. Some of those could probably be cut. And at some point the USPS has to reduce its workforce because about 80 percent of its costs are spent on employees. So it has to be able to make some adjustments, make more money, lower costs. And then maybe theres a future. Advertisement Advertisement One really interesting proposal I saw talked about the retirement investment for USPS. Someone wrote that if we changed the way the retirement worked, it could become a massive influx into the stock market, which needs that right now to potentially jolt it back to life. That could bring together some constituencies that otherwise wouldnt be on the same page. Im curious if you see anyone whos looking to do that work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Something previous postmaster generals have wanted to do is shift the all the postal workers into Medicare. That has support from the unions too. It would take care of the need to pre-fund care because it would just be picked up as part of Medicare. So not Medicare for All, but Medicare for all postal workers. Yeah. But there are issues with that in Congress because Republicans dont want to increase the size of the Medicare trust fund. But some blending of a few thingssome cost cutting and business model changingwould please the more conservative side, and then a change in the retiree health care pre-funding would please the liberal side, since you wouldnt have to cut as many employees if you shifted from that system. Advertisement Off and on, people talk about privatization, and if you look around the world, countries like Germany and England have privatized their postal services. It seems to be working OK for them. But that seems like a leap too far right now in the U.S. A little while ago, I saw this video on a Facebook group for a Postal Service union in the New York metro area. I was struck by the fact that the union leader was talking about shutting down the USPS for a couple of weeks and resetting because the workers felt vulnerable right now, because of the coronavirus and because they dont know where the money is going to come from. It got me wondering what a postal strike would look like right now, because we are all at home and in some ways are relying on the Postal Service more than ever. There have been postal strikes before, in different times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1970, there was a big strike by postal worker unions, mainly in big cities like New York and Chicago. But even just that almost brought the country to its knees because people still depended so much on the mail. That was the crisis that sort of led to the reconfiguring of the Postal Service itself. But you dont think another strike will be necessary to force Postal Service reform in Congress. And you dont think the USPS will completely shut down either, because the prospect of hitting financial rock bottom is scary enough for legislators. Its not going to shut down. But what happens when it doesnt have the money? I think the short answer is that Congress is going to do something. I dont think Senate Republicans actually want to be responsible for shutting down the Postal Service. Advertisement Whats more interesting is that you had the postmaster general telling Congress weeks ago that mail volume is going to be down by 50 percent in the next few weeks compared with last year. Thats a huge drop in volume. Whats that going to going to look like? The losses are going to skyrocket. The Postal Service is going to need some kind of a bailout because even in this sort of diminished state, Americans want their mail. Listen to the full episode using the player below, or subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba discussed the development of US-Ukraine strategic partnership in a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo. We are determined to further develop the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the United States. Not for the sake of diplomatic formality, but for the sake of strengthening the true friendship between the Ukrainian and American peoples, Kuleba said, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine informs. The Ukrainian minister paid special attention to the development of mutually beneficial economic cooperation between Ukraine and the United States, the importance of which becomes especially significant during the pandemic. Ukraine is becoming a guarantor of global food security amidst the pandemic and its consequences, the minister noted. The official assured the U.S. Secretary of State that Ukraine was ready to create favorable conditions for American companies which currently consider a possibility of relocating production facilities from other regions in order to optimize supply chains. Kuleba suggested that promising cooperation projects should form the basis of the next meeting of the US-Ukraine Strategic Partnership Commission which could be held this year. The parties paid special attention to the results of the video conference of the Normandy format countries foreign ministers which took place on April 30. They noted the important role of Germany and France in facilitating Russia's participation in the dialogue and fulfilling its obligations. Pompeo assured of the United States' unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The interlocutors focused on the reform process in Ukraine, including projects and programs supported by the U.S. Government. The Foreign Minister briefed the Secretary of State on the process of adopting key reform laws necessary for further successful cooperation with the International Monetary Fund. In particular, Kuleba reaffirmed the commitment to adopt a bank law. ol Illinois could lose close to $560 million in gas tax revenue this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, which may delay some big state road and rail projects, according to a new report. Last year, the Illinois legislature passed a six-year, $45 billion infrastructure package that provided $33 billion in funding for transportation, including road repairs around the state, train line extensions, new locomotives and other equipment. The legislation came after a 10-year drought in funding for transportation projects. The bill included money for Amtrak service to Rockford, Metra service to Kendall County, an expansion of a busy portion of Interstate 80 and repairs to the CTA Green Lines Cottage Grove station. The transportation projects are being paid for primarily through a doubling of the states 19-cent-a-gallon motor fuel tax, which started in July. But the report from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute, a non-profit think tank, found that with road travel down by almost half, the state could lose $296 million to $559 million this year alone, depending on different scenarios. The bottom line here is none of us really knows whats going to happen, said Mary Tyler, the institutes transportation analyst and co-author of the report, released Wednesday. Its safe to assume were going to see some reductions moving forward. A lot of people may be extending working from home, even after the stay-at-home order is lifted. The scenario for state funding could be even worse than the report predicts, and could extend into next year and beyond, said Frank Manzo IV, report co-author and the institutes policy director. If we do not have more testing, if we dont have more treatments and a clinically proven vaccine there is a chance that our estimate is conservative, Manzo said. The report recommends that the federal government provide emergency relief for state and local governments, or else some transportation projects face the risk of being delayed or canceled altogether. There is no indication that delays to any large projects could happen this year, according to transit officials and a representative for road builders. The construction industry does not expect this years work on Illinois Department of Transportation projects to be impacted much by the loss in gas tax revenue, because the work already has begun and been assigned to contractors, said Michael Sturino, president and CEO of the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association, a trade group. However, he said the industry is concerned and already has seen local governments pulling back on smaller projects, like resurfacing. The Illinois Department of Transportation already has issued bonds to generate funds for projects in the bill, including about $1.36 billion for transit, according to Regional Transportation Authority executive director Leanne Redden. The RTA, which oversees the budgets for the CTA, Metra and Pace, has applied for grants for about 31 projects, including new rail cars and locomotives for Metra, new rail cars for the CTA and a bus garage for Pace on I-55, Redden said. Redden said she is not too concerned about delays at this point, since the money is available. We feel like we got a good jump start on that, Redden said. So I guess were hopeful. Longer term, beyond that, the worlds kind of taking a lets see what happens approach. Transportation departments around the country are seeing tax revenues decline. Last month, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, which represents state departments of transportation, asked Congress for $50 billion in direct emergency assistance to states over two years. Preliminary projections from state transportation departments show at least a 30% decline in transportation revenues on average for the next 18 months, according to the association. Illinois is in an unique situation in that it already had a backlog of infrastructure shortfalls, which the new Rebuild Illinois bill was supposed to address. A fifth of Illinois Department of Transportation roads were considered to be in poor condition, and more than a third of the states bridges are either structurally deficient or had exceeded their design life, according to the Illinois Economic Policy Institute report. Road construction, which provides both good-paying jobs and good opportunities for social distancing at job sites, has been one of the state economys bright spots during the pandemic. But that could be hurt in the future by the tax shortfall, Manzo said. Federal funding would allow Illinois to get back on the right track and put Illinois residents back to work, and that would help us get back to some semblance of normalcy and generate as much of that $45 billion as we can in the next few years, Manzo said. Tyler said continuous funding is especially important for projects that are safety concerns, like bridge repairs and the widening of I-80. Pace spokeswoman Maggie Daly Skogsbakken said in an email that the agency has not received any of the Rebuild Illinois funding yet, but noted that collection of gas taxes for the program began in July. We are hopeful that the revenue already collected and the revenue that comes in after people get back to work will fulfill the budgetary needs of the bill, Daly Skogsbakken said. We anticipate the funding to start flowing soon and are ready to go on a few projects. Metra still plans to finalize procurement for new rail cars later this year, and is planning station projects and other work, spokesman Michael Gillis said. Asked if lower gas tax funding could delay projects in the future, Gillis said the commuter railroad is keeping a close eye on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on all its funding, operating and capital. But there are so many unknowns at this point that there is no clear picture, Gillis said. CTA spokesman Brian Steele said the agency is continuing construction on several major projects, including Red and Purple lines modernization and traction power upgrades for the Blue Line. Though it is too soon to know what the impacts of funding for the state capital bill might be, these investments are crucial to modernizing and improving public transit, Steele said in an email. "We can see it clearly now more than ever; our firefighters and EMS personnel need better funding and updated equipment. They sacrifice and risk so much for us on the front lines, the least we can do is provide what they need to do their jobs safely and effectively. As part of their 2020 Voter Initiative, Firefighters & EMS Fund has kicked off a mail campaign to reach hundreds of thousands of Americans over the next few months and encourage them to vote in favor of Fire & EMS departments in their local and state elections. Firefighters & EMS Fund is a grassroots nonprofit political organization that provides a voice for firefighters & EMS in the political process by supporting ballot initiatives and working to elect political leaders at the state and local level who understand our firefighters and public safety officers interests. We are very excited to launch this mail campaign, said Firefighters & EMS Fund President Nile Porter. Change starts with individual citizens deciding to step up and use their voice and their vote to support our first responders. We can see it clearly now more than ever; our firefighters and EMS personnel need better funding and updated equipment. They sacrifice and risk so much for us on the front lines, the least we can do is provide what they need to do their jobs safely and effectively. The mail campaign kicked off at the end of April, and will continue over the next few months to reach as many people as possible. As part of the mailing, citizens will receive a guide on issues to keep in mind as they head to the ballot box. For more information, supporters are also welcome to to download the full Firefighters & EMS Fund 2020 Voter Guide at fireandemsfund.com/voter-guide. Firefighters & EMS Fund is a national political organization organized under Section 527 of the IRS Tax Code. Contributions made to Firefighters & EMS Fund are not tax-deductible. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Illegal armed formations violated the ceasefire regime in Donbas 13 times over the past day, with six Ukrainian servicemen reported as wounded in action, the press center of the headquarters of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) has reported. "Today, armed formations of the Russian Federation violated the ceasefire 13 times, while using 122-mm artillery systems, 120-mm and 82-mm mortars, as well as grenade launchers of various systems, UAVs, weapons of military vehicles, infantry, heavy machine guns and small arms which are forbidden to be placed on the contact line. ... As a result of enemy shelling attacks, six members of the Joint Forces have been injured," the JFO headquarters said on its Facebook page. Being confined to a digital meeting did not stop the Chattanooga Downtown Rotary Club from conducting their meeting on Thursday at noon. For their first May edition, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton gave a presentation on what he believes the state needs to do as it reopens. The governor has done a fabulous job, and there is no right answer. The action that he took really did flatten the curve, and he bought us more time, said Rep. Sexton. It wasnt to stop the economy or stop infections. Its that we werent prepared to handle an increase in infection, and we didnt have the PPE and we didnt know if we had the hospital capacity to handle it at one time. Speaking of hospitals, the representative implored the Rotary Club and citizens in Tennessee to go to the hospital if they feel unwell. He attempted to dispel the myth that hospitals are the unsafe dens of virus. It is safe to go to the hospitals, and I think we need to do a better job of letting people know that the hospital is one of the safest places you can go if you need help, said Rep. Sexton. A lot of people are not going because theyre afraid of getting COVID, so theyre letting their chest pains take them at home and not going and getting help. In addition to hospitals, the speaker discussed the importance of making people feel safe in other public places. In his eyes, there is no benefit to opening up the economy if no one is comfortable with leaving their houses and spending their money at businesses. We have to instill consumer confidence that they can go there and spend their money and be safe when they go out in public, said Rep. Sexton. All Tennesseans need to feel safe again, and when you ask the question in polling, only 30 percent of people in the state feel safe to start back as if nothing happened. The representative also touched upon helping out businesses around the state. Among the ideas being tossed around are credits for tax reductions. As we look to reboot the economy, one of the thing we talked about was is there a way to help businesses get credit for a tax reduction for a year, said the representative. That can have them continue to build upon what theyre trying to do, while also providing relief. While Rep. Sexton is in favor of helping businesses, he also made it clear that he is not a supporter of bailing out entities. This includes states in debt, and he took several shots at states he believes are stalling in reopening their economy. Its like one step closer to California. They had to borrow money to pay their unemployment fund from the federal government, which is one step closer to bankruptcy, said Rep. Sexton. So if youre stalling your reboot, youre affecting lives and youre affecting businesses and youre affecting what may happen in the future. Were willing to help communities, but we are not willing to bail out. Rep. Sexton ended the presentation by giving the Rotary Club a peek into what he believed the biggest topics of the post-COVID world will be. Chief among them is the future of healthcare. How do you balance government regulations with independent freedom to practice healthcare, and trying to protect peoples interests, said Rep. Sexton. We really need to have a discussion about what is a basic healthcare plan in our state. Until we define that, it might be a high deductible, that one may be a $25 copay, and yours might be a health savings account. Everyone has a different definition of what a basic healthcare plan is. He said these questions will be the main topic of conversation over the next few years, or even decade. Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article implied that people should not sing during gatherings. The authors suggestion is to wear a face mask when singing or talking. (See updated table for more information.) Over the past four months, the spread of a new coronavirus has exploded across the globe, leaving packed ERs, ICU patients on ventilators, and families grieving over the loss of their loved ones. To limit the spread of this virus, most governments implemented strict stay-at-home orders. This very blunt instrument was necessary because many countries were simply unprepared for the rapid spread of this virus. If nothing was done, the rising number of infections would have overwhelmed health care systems, and deaths would have quickly escalated. During this period, churches across the US and around the world have closed their doors to in-person worship and ministries. As with many preventive actions, we may never know how this has limited the spread of COVID-19. But as a global health professional who has worked for 25 years to control diseases around the world, I am certain that this has prevented many infections and deaths that would have occurred among congregants and their families and friends. After six or more weeks of stay-at-home orders in the US, unemployment claims are piling up, people are getting antsy in their homes, and loud voices are increasingly calling for governments to relax their restrictions. Public health experts warn that the US lacks the testing, contact tracing, and quarantining capabilities needed to bring and keep the pandemic under control, yet some states are already loosening their restrictions and allowing nonessential businesses to reopen. Our churches are now facing a set of difficult decisions: when to resume in-person ministries and how to carry out these ministries safely. I propose that the way forward is to take a step-by-step approach that helps the global church live out its missional calling, meet the needs of its congregants, and protect the health of those in the church and in the community. Our guideposts for decision-making To discern Gods call for the churches I am advising in my city of Seattle, I have relied on two guideposts: biblical truths and scientific knowledge, both of which have been given by God. The Great Commandment states, You shall love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:3739, ESV). During this pandemic, love for ourselves is expressed in the ways we protect ourselves from getting infected. In the same way, love for our neighbor is expressed in the ways we protect them from getting infected. Even as we focus on preventing COVID-19 infections, however, we should not neglect spiritual, emotional, and social needsin ourselves and others. During this period of social distancing, it is perhaps even more important that churches meet these needs. As Christs disciples, these needs are met as we live out our calling to worship, pray, encourage, witness, disciple, and serve. However, we now must do these in a way that minimizes the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Therefore, we need to use scientific knowledge about this virus to prevent its spread in our churches. Recent scientific knowledge about COVID-19 With the best minds in the world working on COVID-19 right now, there is a rapidly expanding body of scientific knowledge about this virus. We are also accumulating lessons from many countries on what is and is not working to control the spread of COVID-19. Some of these recent insights are particularly relevant to churches as they consider how to resume in-person ministries: Article continues below First, we have a better understanding about how the virus spreads. Contrary to our initial assumptions, we now know that COVID-19 can be transmitted before a person develops symptoms. This explains why the virus spreads so easily and stealthily, and it greatly complicates efforts to contain its spread. We also know that not every infected person will infect another person. Other factors are needed to facilitate transmission. They include: Infectiousness of a COVID-19 patient Actions that increase the release of respiratory droplets and aerosols into the surrounding air Proximity to an infected person (within six feet is considered high risk) Enclosed environment with limited ventilation to the outside Amount of time spent with an infected person Type of social network, e.g. inter-generational mixing The more these factors are present, the higher is the risk of transmission. But the more we can mitigate these factors, the lower the risk of transmission. (see table below). There is growing evidence that younger people and children are less susceptible to COVID-19. Children are also less likely to display symptoms when infected with the coronavirus. However, the quantity of viruses they harbor and their ability to spread to others may not be different. Because older people are more susceptible to getting COVID-19, the implication is that intergenerational contact should be minimized to reduce COVID-19 transmission. Second, we know much more about harmful effects of COVID-19. Initially, most of the attention about the danger of COVID-19 focused on the elderly because they have a much higher case-fatality rate. Then we learned that younger adults with common chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes also have an increased risk of serious complications. In fact, nearly 60 percent of COVID-19 hospital admissions in the US are for those less than 65 years old. A recent study reported that 45 percent of American adults have factors that place them at risk for serious COVID-19 complications. Because those attending churches are on average older than the general population, an even higher proportion of church congregants are at risk for serious COVID-19 complications. Third, we have a better understanding of what control measures work. Testing, contact tracing, and quarantining of cases and contacts can mitigate the COVID-19 epidemic without a major lockdown. However, such actions must be taken very rapidly and effectively. South Korea and Taiwan have done this successfully. Within two or three days from symptom onset, COVID-19 patients are tested and most of their contacts are effectively quarantined. This has worked because South Korea and Taiwan have some of the highest testing rates in the world and a well-trained cadre of contact tracers to quickly locate contacts and implement quarantine. They also use some electronic tracking, which may not be acceptable in other countries. There is good evidence that using a face mask substantially reduces the release of respiratory droplets and aerosols into the surrounding air, even when a person coughs or shouts. The primary benefit from using a face mask is to reduce the spread of COVID-19 from the source of infectionan infected person. Homemade masks are less effective than surgical masks but still helpful. In addition, wearing a face mask prevents an infected person from rubbing her nose and then depositing viruses on surfaces that she touches. Face mask users also get limited protection from COVID-19 infection. Fourth, experts agree that COVID-19 will be in the US for the foreseeable future, with fluctuating levels of infection in the community. Several states have started to lift stay-at-home orders, even though their COVID-19 case counts remain high or have just started to decline. This will lead to an increase in transmission and new cases. This increase can be mitigated by extensive testing, effective contact tracing, and quarantining of contacts. But no state yet has the testing capacity and the trained personnel to carry out effective tracing and quarantining. Article continues below Then there is the challenge of COVID-19 spreading from one state to another. As long as one part of the country has a poorly controlled epidemic, states that have significantly reduced their cases will remain vulnerable to COVID-19 spread from those areas. The same can be said of spread from one country to another. A prime example of this is Singapore, which controlled the first wave of infection from China only to experience a second wave of infection from Europe. Making a science-based plan The church is a high-risk setting for COVID-19 transmission. Church activities contain multiple factors that facilitate airborne COVID-19 spread (see table below). In addition, our congregants are at greater risk for serious complications from COVID-19. Therefore, churches should carefully consider when and how to resume in-person ministries and have a clear plan to do so. This plan should achieve the following: Mitigate the risk of airborne COVID-19 transmission during church activities. Be able to dial up and dial down church activities as COVID-19 infection in the community waxes and wanes. Be able to rapidly identify contacts with an infected person and help trace them if necessary. Resume in-person church activities only when there is clear evidence of a declining and low level of infection in the community. A step-by-step approach to resume in-person ministries I have developed a four-step plan with modified activities that churches can use. This plan can be dialed up or dialed down depending on the level of infection in the community. During this pandemic, the plan aims to help churches: Live out their missional calling Meet social, emotional, and spiritual needs Provide protection against COVID-19 Support the broader effort to contain COVID-19 When adapting this plan to your church, it is very important to adhere to local government guidelines. Therefore, the number of people allowed to gather in your plan may differ from this plan due to local restrictions. The table only includes some of the more common church activities. When making decisions on how other activities can be implemented safely, consider the factors in the first table and where modified activities should be placed in the second table. Living out our missional calling through small group gatherings As stay-at-home restrictions are loosened, gathering in small numbers will frequently be allowed first. Therefore, small group gatherings should be the first activity to be implemented. We should be excited about this because small group gatherings are a wonderful way to live out Gods call for us. In small groups, we can build deeper relationships with each other, grow in Gods Word, foster a safer environment for mutual accountability, and encourage one another to love and good works. These groups can reach out to many who would not want to enter a church building but would accept an invitation to a home. They can also help prepare for the start of in-person worship services by gathering each week for worship and then joining with other small groups to attend in-person worship when it resumes. Like the persecuted Christians in Acts 8, who were scattered beyond Jerusalem, our ministries have been scattered from the confines of our church buildings. By building strong small groups in our communities and organizing around them for return, we are building a solid and flexible foundation for eventual church ministry all together. Article continues below The risk for COVID-19 transmission in these groups is low. The risk can be further reduced by keeping group members constant and within the same age group. When infection in the community is still high, use of face masks provides an added layer of protection. Because members know each other, they can quickly inform each other if a person develops COVID-19 symptoms. This will facilitate rapid self-quarantine by other group members. Meeting social, emotional, and spiritual needs We all need human contact, but sometimes contacts feel superficial. This pandemic offers a chance to build deeper relationships. To reduce the risk of infection, we should reduce the number of people we are in contact with. But meeting with the same people all the time and meeting only with people in our age group also reduce the risk of getting infected. Gathering with the same group of people who are at the same life stage can also better meet our social, emotional, and spiritual needs. Imagine the strategy as creating small bubbles of safety across the church. The more congregants stay within their bubble, the safer everyone in the congregation will be while infection in the community remains. Providing protection against COVID-19 When in-person ministries in the church resume, it is essential to observe a physical distance of at least six feet. Although physical distancing is usually observed at the individual level, it can be observed at the level of a social unit. For instance, those who live together as one social unit do not need to be physically separated at church. As a unit they can be physically separated from other social units. Use of face masks can be very helpful. Because anyone who walks into a church could be an asymptomatic spreader, putting a face mask on everyone entering the church can reduce the spread of the virus. To increase the proportion of face mask users, ask everyone to use them. This takes away the stigma and employs peer pressure to encourage use. Because face masks, especially homemade ones, will not prevent all transmission, they should not replace other approaches to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Physical distancing is usually not practical for small group gatherings in a home, so using face masks there is important while there is still a high level of infection in the community. Supporting the broader effort to contain COVID-19 Because COVID-19 will be with us for the foreseeable future, transmission of this virus could occur during the resumption of in-person church activities. Therefore, for the safety of the whole congregation as well as their friends and neighbors, churches should be prepared to assist public health departments to identify and find the contacts of people who discover they are infected. The first task is to rapidly identify all the contacts to a COVID-19 patient who attended the church. Then, if requested, churches should be prepared to quickly notify these contacts so they can self-quarantine and be evaluated for COVID-19. In this way, even if these contacts were infected, any transmission onward can be minimized. Remember, speed is of the essence when it comes to contact identification and tracing. Therefore, your church should set up a system to collect information for all participants. The following are some suggestions for doing this: Keep a log of where every person sits. Assign seat and row number (or table number) to your sanctuary and meeting rooms. Register everyone entering a meeting. Record name, contact information, and where they are sitting. For each household, only one person needs to register but should list the number of people in group. Maintain the record for at least three weeks. Have a designated person in the church responsible for maintaining the meeting registration, liaising with public health department, and helping to identify and notify contacts if necessary. Article continues below When to move into different phases Perhaps the most difficult aspect of using this step-by-step approach is deciding when to move from one step to anotherwhether to dial up or dial down a churchs activities. There are many factors to consider. One of the most important factors to consider is the needs of church members. When a real need exists that is best met or can only be met face-to-face, we should find a way to resume in-person ministries more quickly. Church should closely monitor the level of infection in its community. If it is going up or is still high, it is not the right time to resume in-person ministries. But if the level of infection is going down and is low, then it is safe to move into step 1 of my plan. Specifically, a consistent downward trend in COVID-19 cases and deaths for at least three weeks is one metric to use before considering step 1 of this plan. But a downward trend is not enough, we also must have a low level of infection. This is where it gets tricky because, without extensive testing, we dont know the true number of infections in our communities. Until testing gets ramped up, we can only make a guess based on the number of cases and deaths reported. But this is not ideal. For now, with a downward trend and a low number of reported deaths and cases, we can consider other factors that may move us into step 1 earlier or later. Engaging our church leadership and the general congregation throughout this process is important. Having a clear plan will help our congregants understand why and how we are making these decisions. As an example, for a population like King County, Washington, where I live (2.2 million people), and with a consistent decline in reported deaths and cases as the foundation, one set of criteria might look like this (using rolling averages over three days): Step 1: Consistently <5 deaths per day for 3 consecutive weeks Step 2: Consistently <1 death per day for 3 consecutive weeks Step 3: Consistently <5 cases per day for 3 consecutive weeks Step 4: Consistently <1 case per day for 3 consecutive weeks As testing increases and we learn more about COVID-19, churches can develop more precise guidance on when to move from one step to another. Because the COVID-19 pandemic will wax and wane, an increase in the reported number of cases and deaths can be used to move back a step if necessary. Living our calling This pandemic has dramatically changed our lives and has turned our world upside down. We are just a couple of months into this pandemic, but the pain and anxieties around us are so real. To serve those in our community, the desire to open our church doors as soon as possible to serve those in our community is understandable. Our churches can use biblical truths and the available scientific knowledge to guide decisions on when to resume in-person ministries and how to do it safely. As knowledge accumulates, we will be able to make better decisions and the plan that I have proposed can be improved. Churches in other parts of the world face the same challenges as government-mandated lockdowns eases. The step-by-step plan as described is not hard or expensive to implement and can help ensure a safe environment for congregants around the world. In closing, I want to remind us of one certainty. The COVID-19 pandemic in its present form will pass. One day we will look back on this time and see clearly that God was with us and was working in our midst for good. Knowing this, we can turn to him today and ask him to give us the discernment, compassion, and faith to make the right decisions for our churches at this time. My prayer is that this article will help your church live out its missional calling, meet the needs of your congregants, and protect the health of those in your church and community at this critical time. Daniel Chin is a physician trained in pulmonary and critical care medicine and epidemiology with 25 years of global public health experience. In 2003, he led much of WHOs support to China to contain the SARS epidemic. [ This article is also available in espanol, Portugues, , Francais, , , Indonesian, , , and Tagalog. ] BNP hired lobbyists in US for anti-B'desh campaign: SS Alam 19 Jan 2022 | 11:16 AM Dhaka, Jan 19 (UNI) State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Shah Shahriar Alam on Wednesday said that the main opposition party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) hired foreign lobbyists in the US to run an anti-Bangladesh campaign. see more.. US warns travel to 22 countries 19 Jan 2022 | 10:43 AM Washington, Jan 19 (UNI) The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has added 22 countries into its list of high-risk travel category amid rise in Covid-19 cases. see more.. US reports 9 5 mn child Covid cases 19 Jan 2022 | 10:33 AM Washington, Jan 19 (UNI/Xinhua) Nearly 9.5 million children in the United States have tested positive for Covid-19 since the onset of the pandemic, and child Covid-19 cases have "spiked dramatically" across the country, according to the latest report of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association. see more.. SKorea reports 5,805 Covid cases 19 Jan 2022 | 10:23 AM Seoul, Jan 19 (UNI/Xinhua) South Korea reported 5,805 more Covid-19 cases raising the total number of infections to 705,902, as per the country's health department. see more.. BEIJING, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Phoenix Tree Holdings Limited ("Danke" or the "Company") (NYSE: DNK), one of the largest co-living platforms in China with the fastest growth, has launched a series of new measures this month to provide its tenants with safe rental apartments and services during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Amid the global battle against COVID-19, safety and health have become the top priority for most people in China. With its advantages in data and technology, Danke has launched a complete service system to ensure residents' safety, including safe apartments, safe viewing and selection, safe move in and safe services. With Danke's powerful online platform, residents can view and select their desired apartments online, so they don't need to travel or physically visit an apartment. After signing a contract online, they can immediately move into the safe apartment they have selected. Danke also makes sure that its housekeepers, cleaners and maintenance staff all take the necessary precautions to provide safe services to residents. Danke and its ecosystem partners have prepared some safety and gift packages for residents, including physical examinations and health packages, coupons for moving services, and fresh flowers. Residents can also participate in a lucky draw on Danke's app to win free installment of Danke's innovative intelligent ventilation system, which can effectively improve air quality. As a leading co-living platform in China, Danke pioneered an innovative ''new rental'' business model, which features centralization, standardization and online experience to address the numerous pain points suffered by both individual property owners and renters. Founded in 2015, Danke now operates apartments in 13 major cities around the country. ABOUT DANKE Danke, one of the largest co-living platforms in China with the fastest growth, is redefining the residential rental market through technology and aims to help people live better. Empowered by data, technology, and a large-scale apartment network, Danke's vibrant and expanding ecosystem connects and benefits property owners, residents, and third-party service providers, and delivers quality and best-in-class services through an innovative "new rental" business model featuring centralization, standardization, and a seamless online experience. Danke was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Beijing, China. For more information, please visit ir.danke.com. CONTACTS Danke PR Email: [email protected] Jeff Pei ICR, Inc. Email: [email protected] Phone: +86 (10) 6583-7514 SOURCE Phoenix Tree Holdings Limited Related Links http://ir.danke.com The Government has confirmed it's preparing to launch a tendering process for the supply of a new, long-term helicopter search and rescue contract. The current contract is held by the Irish unit of US firm CHC. It's worth about 500m. But in a pre-tendering notice, the Department of Transport and the Irish Coast Guard said a procurement process will be undertaken to provide an "updated long-term SAR [search and rescue] aviation service to replace the current SAR helicopter contract". "A market engagement process will be announced in due course," they said. It's expected the tender notice will be published in the final quarter of this year and a contract awarded in the final quarter of 2021. The contract will start towards the end of 2023. The precise procurement procedure has yet to be decided. The search and rescue services operate out of Dublin, Shannon, Waterford and Sligo. In 2010, CHC was awarded the current 10-year contract by the Government. It began in 2012. The Air Corps indicated to then-Transport Minister Noel Dempsey in 2010 that it could provide the service at a considerable discount to the price CHC would be paid, with savings of tens of millions of euro to the taxpayer, but Mr Dempsey refused to discuss the Air Corps proposals. In its 2019 financial year, CHC Ireland flew 2,911 hours of operations, compared to 2,600 the previous year. Its directors noted in the accounts that the company "believes its competitive position will enable it to continue to be a major provider of these services". Search and rescue helicopter services operate on a 15-minute notice period during the day and 45 minutes at night. Last year, Coast Guard helicopters flew more than 770 missions. These also include inland searches for missing persons in support of An Garda Siochana and Mountain Rescue teams. In 2019, the Coast Guard flew 123 emergency missions from offshore islands to the mainland. Coast Guard helicopters also provide the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service to the National Ambulance Service, which includes inter-hospital transfers. In 2017, CHC's R116 search and rescue helicopter crashed near Blacksod in Co Mayo, with the loss of all crew members. The Air Accident Investigation unit circulated a draft report on the crash last November and was due to publish its final report in January. However, one stakeholder requested a review of the report, delaying its publication. Last month, Transport Minister Shane Ross appointed senior counsel Patrick McCann to chair the review of the draft final report. At least 40 people, including undertrial prisoners and jail officials, tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the Mumbai Central Prison on Thursday, according to a senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer who did not want to be named. The fresh infections were reported a day after a 45-year-old inmate, facing charges under the narcotics act, tested positive for the disease. The Arthur Road jail, which has a capacity of 800, is housing about 2,700 prisoners. After the inmate tested positive, JJ Hospital authorities took swab samples of 150 people from the prison, also known as Arthur Road prison . More swabs are being currently taken from Arthur Road prison, said the IPS officer, requesting anonymity. The 45-year-old inmate suffered a paralytic attack on May 2 and was taken to JJ Hospital. He had intermittent high fever since April 30. The patient was admitted on May 2. A swab test was done and his samples tested positive. On Tuesday, two jail staff, who were staying at a guest house near Byculla jail, tested positive. Jail authorities are yet to find out how the Sars-CoV-2 virus which causes Covid-19 entered the jail premises despite no new prisoners coming in since the first week of April. The possibility of Covid-19 having entered the prison through BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) cleaning staff, sanitisation workers, or through essential services that used to come to jail cannot be ruled out, said the officer. By John Lesinski Lesinski is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 5th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. On April 29, Attorney General Mark Herring made the encouraging announcement that absentee ballots in the Commonwealth will be counted in the June 23rd primary without requiring a witness. The announcement is an effort to mitigate any unnecessary voting barriers in the middle of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Further, this move strengthens Gov. Northams efforts to encourage individuals to vote absentee to limit the number of people going to the polls in person on June 23rd. The Virginia GOP, in response, has filed a lawsuit in Lynchburg seeking to block this move. They want to dismantle and disrupt the state leaderships desire to not recreate the unsafe voting conditions seen in Wisconsins most recent election. By joining with President Trumps public efforts to erode trust in voting by mail, the Virginia GOP is demonstrating a profound disregard for the health of the Commonwealth, the democratic process, and, indeed, facts. Despite having voted by mail himself in Florida, President Trump has continually denounced the practice as an insecure means of voting. The fact of the matter is that voter fraud is a vanishingly rare occurrence in the United States. The attacks on voting by mail would be irresponsible in the best of times. During a pandemic, these Republican actions show a flagrant disregard for the public health and safety of Virginias citizens. This also is a thinly veiled effort to suppress the vote, especially in communities of color and with those who feel too vulnerable to expose themselves to the pandemic. Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy and a persons ability to participate in elections should not come at the expense of ones health. COVID-19 is still very much present in the Commonwealth. So far, stay at home orders and leadership from Governor Northam have proven to be meaningful in combating the virus. Voting by mail is simply the responsible thing to do in these conditions. Currently I am a candidate in the Democratic primary for Virginias fifth congressional district. My campaign for Congress has taken great strides to adapt to social distancing protocols while continuing to be present to the voters in Virginias fifth. The safety of my staff, volunteers and the citizenry is our number one priority. In these tough times we are called to think beyond ourselves in an effort to care for our neighbors. I call on Democrats and Republicans across the Commonwealth to stand up for what is right: unfettered voter participation for all registered voters, continued fair elections, and public safety. Pursuant to the Document No. 63/CV-DT dated 29th April 2020 of regarding the cancellation of the shareholder list for attending 2020 Annual General Meeting, Vietnam Securities Depository (VSD) would like to announce as follows: Cancelling the shareholder list for holding 2020 Annual General Meeting on the record date of 03rd March 2020 Reason for cancellation: Due to the complicated developments of the Covid 19 pandemic, the company decided to change the meeting date of 2020 Annual General Meeting. Senator John Cornyn of Texas called the expanded unemployment benefits enacted as part of the coronavirus stimulus law a lifeline. Senator Steve Daines of Montana said they were protecting vulnerable families. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, called the aid an effort to expand relief for those suddenly left unemployed by the pandemic. Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, called his Republican colleagues who had resisted the generous expansion of jobless aid nervy. With more than 30 million Americans unemployed through no fault of their own, those Republicans sure have chutzpah, said Mr. Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, noting that those same Republicans voted to limit the assistance. They have been out boasting about getting unemployment increases they voted against. The aid set off a partisan divide during the last round of coronavirus relief legislation and has emerged as a sticking point again as lawmakers begin hammering out the fourth phase of government help. The additional money $600 per week for 16 weeks is set to expire at the end of July. The Green Party has asked their members not to speak to the media before informing the party press office. An email, seen by the Irish Examiner, sent by party cathaoirleach and Dublin City councillor Hazel Chu, sent to constituency chairs within the Green Party on Thursday, said that following the decision to enter formal negotiations with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, it "is a condition of the negotiations that we don't offer running commentary". "This will continue to be a pressurised time for the party with mounting scrutiny from the public and media," she wrote. "If you are receiving any media requests please tie in with our press office and let them know beforehand. I ask that we unite and support our colleagues as much as possible so they can secure the very best deal. We will endeavour to keep everyone posted as negotiations continue but we ask that you bear in mind that there will be many aspects of the process that cannot be discussed. Talks between Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and the Green Party began on Thursday in Agriculture House, with the Green Party naming their negotiating team, as Deputy Leader Catherine Martin,Ossian Smyth, Marc O Cathasaigh, Roderic OGorman and Neasa Hourigan. The decision to enter talks has been viewed as controversial by some within the party membership, who have been vocal on social and traditional media about their distrust of Micheal Martin and Leo Varadkar's parties, and their willingness to compromise on issues around the climate emergency and housing. The email comes as reports of a split within the parliamentary party hit fever pitch over the weekend, with the Irish Examiner reporting that some TDs were considering walking away from the party entirely as the talks on whether to enter government had become increasingly tense. The Green Party would need a two thirds membership vote to enter a government coalition, due to Covid-19 social distancing measures, the party have had to look at alternative voting options including a postal vote. Ms Chu added: "We are currently looking at the process to ensure there is room for discussion in lieu of a special convention in the current circumstances." The series, hosted by NEFT Master Mixologist Luke Barr from the NEFT Lounge in Los Angeles, streams live every Thursday night with replays available throughout the week on NEFT's Facebook page. Barr showcases bartenders and other experts from the food and spirits industries at their remote locations, both locally and around the country. Some might demonstrate favorite new cocktail tricks and recipes, while others provide views and insights on what new industry trends we might expect as we emerge from the pandemic. Viewers can opt to share their video feed as well, digitally engaging with Barr and the other guests through various games, and with an open Q&A chat room. Throughout the show, viewers are also encouraged to donate to a designated GoFundMe page where 100 percent of the proceeds will go directly to those in the industry who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19. Participating bartenders and service people will be compensated for their time and efforts. "It is during challenging times that a community must unite and come together to help one another," said Jeffrey Mahony, CEO of NEFT Vodka. "At NEFT, we believe this weekly series is one way for us to provide some much-needed support to our community while also creating human connection and interaction in a fun and engaging way." Details: Weekly Facebook Live streaming every Thursday evening. Check out NEFT's FB page for exact start times: neftvodkafacebook.com To join, you must have a Facebook account, and then access the show at neftafterdark.com Donations can be made at any time to the Bartender GoFundMe page at bartendersfund.com NEFT Vodka will match all donations to the fund, up to $10,000 each week. The amount raised will be updated each week to reflect the individual week's donations. NEFT Vodka is currently available in California, New York, New Jersey, Texas, Utah, Wyoming and South Carolina. It is also available online through various outlets, including ReserveBar, Bounty Hunter, Drizly, and Remedy Liquor. Please visit https://www.getneft.com for more information. ABOUT NEFT VODKA USA, INC. Since debuting in the U.S. in 2017, NEFT has received multiple accolades and awards, including: a 98-point rating from The Tasting Panel magazine; winning Double Gold medals at the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition, becoming one of only three vodkas to win that recognition consecutively over the past two years (2018, 2019); and significantly, in the same competition, won "Best Vodka" in 2018. For additional information, visit www.neftvodkaus.com. Contact: Bonnie McBride [email protected] 415-806-0385 SOURCE NEFT Vodka, USA Related Links http://www.neftvodkaus.com AUSTIN, Texas, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- goLock's latest awarded patent U.S. Patent No. 10,641,013 describes the company's uniquely designed cable and locking system that provides constant monitoring and real-time wireless communication to remote mobile devices and servers. goLock utilizes the latest IoT components to deploy a variety of different sensors for outdoor and indoor security applications. This patented technology and product design enables goLock to offer broader security monitoring and protection for construction and industrial sites, farm equipment assets, outdoor retailer assets, bikes and e-bikes, yachts, ATVs, RV's, fishing and hunting equipment and gear and more. goLock's mobile app is designed to manage the entire security system and is currently designed to work on iOS devices and with Android based systems by the end of 2020. The portable VENTURE system is battery powered and utilizes multiple internal sensors along with the company's unique cable and locking system to deliver real-time alarm based, remote security monitoring. The entire system can also be connected wirelessly to other goLock mobile devices for motion, shock, GPS, and camera detection. The VENTURE system operates on a highly secure internal connected VPN network so that every portable unit is always in communication with the user's mobile device or one of goLock's regional servers - or both to provide uninterrupted monitoring and warning alerts if an asset is compromised. The company's main unit communicates primarily over cellular networks with monthly service fees. However, the system also allows communication via Bluetooth, WiFi, satellite or any other similar communication methods. goLock's security app allows users to select from different goLock monitoring devices and the app allows changes in sensitivity levels of those devices in order to better dial in the right protection requirements. The system also allows multiple users to monitor the same asset(s) and each user quickly receiving alerts if the asset(s) are being tampered with or stolen. The GPS enabled devices have the ability to collect data and track the location and movement of assets. Monitoring the security and protection of high value assets has never been easier. About goLock Technology, Inc. A privately held Texas Corporation based in Spicewood, Texas specializing in wireless communication outdoor security. www.mygolock.com For additional information please contact: Vicki Jones 512-848-7044 [email protected] SOURCE goLock Technology, Inc Related Links http://www.mygolock.com More work needs to be done to find out what level of compliance with the gun buy-back scheme has achieved. The Auditor-General has released a report into the system, which was implemented following the Christchurch Mosque attacks. On March 15, 2019, attacks at two Christchurch mosques left 51 people dead and a great many others with injuries that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. The violence on that day deeply affected the Muslim community, the first responders and hospital staff, the residents of Christchurch, and all New Zealanders. As part of the response to the attacks, Parliament passed the Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Act 2019 on April 11, 2019, which prohibited firearms with the ability to cause harm in a rapid and highly destructive way from a distance. The Act included a provision for a firearms buy-back and amnesty scheme, which allowed firearms owners to hand in their prohibited items to the New Zealand Police for destruction. Firearms owners would receive compensation for the prohibited items they handed in. Implementing the scheme was a complex, challenging, and high-risk task, and the Police had to do it in tight time frames. The police managed the scheme effectively, providing people with many opportunities to hand in their prohibited items, says a report from the Auditor-Generals office. We found that the police, firearms assessors, and support staff treated people handing in firearms with empathy and respect. Firearms assessors were trained extensively to make fair decisions on compensating people for their firearms. The polices provisional information, as at February 13, 2020, shows that 61,332 newly prohibited firearms had been collected and destroyed, or modified by police-approved gunsmiths so that they comply with the new requirements and remain the property of their owners. Controller and Auditor-General John Ryan. Supplied photo. However, neither the police nor any other agency know how many prohibited firearms, magazines, and parts were in the community when the law was changed. Without this information, we do not yet know how effective the scheme was. More work should be done to find out what level of compliance with the scheme has been achieved and the extent to which it has made New Zealanders safer. Police should also continue to improve their understanding of the firearms environment, build on their strengthened relationships with firearms owners and dealers, and make effective use of relevant information they have gathered to support their regulatory responsibilities. Administrative costs of the scheme, by category, as at December 31, 2019. New Zealand Police assistant commissioner Tusha Penny says police welcome the findings from the Auditor-General. I am proud that throughout the entire scheme, our staff showed empathy and respect for our firearms community, as acknowledged in the audit report, says Assistant Commissioner Tusha Penny. Our philosophy from the start was to treat our licence holders like they could be our friends or family members. In turn our communities showed understanding and commitment to the aim of the scheme to remove prohibited firearms from our communities so they could not fall into the wrong hands and cause such harm and devastation like the horrific attack. The Auditor-General has recognised that implementing the Amnesty and Buy-back scheme was a challenging and high-risk task under tight time constraints. I am happy the report shows that Police were up to the task and that we did it with compassion. Police acknowledges the report recommendations and is now considering how to implement them. The police's estimates of the number of newly prohibited firearms in New Zealand. Police Minister Stuart Nash says the report is a vote of confidence in police for the way they ran the process, communicated with gun owners, and paid compensation. It is heartening to learn the Auditor-General has been able to provide this level of reassurance about how Police ran the buyback and amnesty. New Zealand had never run such a scheme before the terror attack that took the lives of 51 worshippers and injured around 45 others. Police made extraordinary efforts to reach out to firearms owners. Officers travelled to all corners of the country, including offshore islands, to make it easy for people to comply with the law. We know we have more work to do to make New Zealand a safer place. We are bringing in a firearms register to better track guns in the community, and tougher penalties for gun crime. Not everyone is full of praise following the reports release. National Party spokesperson for police Brett Hudson says the gun buy-back system was not worth the money spent. He says the Government has spent $103 million on a buyback scheme it knew it would be unable to substantiate whether it was successful in making New Zealand safer. However, given police estimated there were 50,000 to 240,000 prohibited firearms in New Zealand, and only 57,716 firearms were handed in, its clear which way this went. Both Customs and the police record lawfully imported firearms, but in different ways. Instead of undertaking the work to ensure these records were reconciled, Police put this in the too hard basket. If they had undertaken this work in parallel with the buyback process, we may have been able to determine whether the buyback had been a success. You can read the report here. CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Flexential, a leading provider of data center colocation and hybrid IT solutions, today announced it will build its largest data center to date, 358,000 sq. ft. on 20 acres of land outside of Portland, Ore., adding to its Pacific Northwest campus. The Portland-Hillsboro 3 data center will be part of the FlexAnywhere ecosystem, connected to the company's 100 GB network backbone. It will meet the growing and anticipated demand caused by accelerated digital transformation and the COVID-19 pandemic, which has increased data production, straining bandwidth and network resources. Rendering of the new Flexential Portland-Hillsboro 3 data center scheduled to break ground this summer and open in 2021. "In a time when some companies are scaling back, Flexential is moving forward with a multi-million dollar investment in our infrastructure, building our largest data center to date, providing inventory and low latency connections for our customers to manage their technology and SaaS requirements," Flexential Chief Executive Officer Chris Downie said. "The mounting customer demand and disruption to the supply chain are making cloud and connectivity even more relevant in areas such as healthcare, transportation, technology and financial services. We are adding solutions and expanding capacity to meet the current and anticipated needs to support this new way of doing business during and after the pandemic." To meet the long-term need, Flexential will break ground this summer on a highly connected, 36 MW state-of-the-art data center on Flexential's Hillsboro campus, complementing the two existing Flexential data centers in the market. The campus will offer customers a total of nearly 700,000 sq. ft. of space and almost 60 MWs of power. The new Portland-Hillsboro 3 data center is available now under pre-lease. "Flexential was the first colocation company to build in Hillsboro 20 years ago and has continued to innovate and grow ever since, making significant investments and providing critical infrastructure services to the region. Over the years, the company provided new services to its data centers, including a cloud on ramp and connections to several subsea cables. We look forward to Flexential being a part of our community for years to come," according to Dan Dias, director, Economic and Community Development, Hillsboro, Ore. This new data center will connect to Flexential's Portland-Hillsboro 2 data center, which is also expanding this month by 66,000 sq. ft. and adding more than 5 MW. Portland-Hillsboro 2 includes multi-tenant cloud, private cloud, DRAAS and a full suite of data protection capabilities, and is home to ONTAP AI, a fully optimized and tested infrastructure solution for AI workloads, available to data scientists wanting to take a test drive. It is the first Nvidia-certified colocation site globally to host the program. "Oregon is a very appealing market for our customers who seek an alternative to Silicon Valley because Hillsboro provides lower power rates, no sales tax, a lower threat of earthquakes, and the fastest, lowest latency subsea cable connectivity to the APAC region," added Downie. "Plus, Hillsboro provides some of the lowest latency access to AWS and Azure." Flexential's Hillsboro 3 data center will have access to renewable, green energy options and offer the highest levels of cooling efficiency and high-density capabilities, capable of handling deployments of more than 1500 watts per sq. ft. for the most intensive applications, including AI. As part of the FlexAnywhere ecosystem, Hillsboro 3 will use the connectivity benefits of all carriers within the Portland region, including the FlexAnywhere network fabric, which ensures maximum performance and reliability. Included is access to the Wave metro fiber system that will connect up to 14 existing or planned data centers and will service seven trans-Pacific submarine cable systems. The newest ring boasts 3,456 strands of fiber optic network, of which 1728 run between Flexential's Hillsboro 2 and Hillsboro 3 facilities. Hillsboro 3 will have direct access to Flexential's NAP of the Northwest facility that hosts two high capacity trans-Pacific cables: New Cross Pacific and Hawaiki, which connect Hillsboro and Asia Pacific, including Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, China, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. Access to additional trans-Pacific subsea cable destinations is planned for the future. The Hillsboro 3 and Hillsboro 2 expansions build on the Flexential momentum started in 2019, when the company added nearly 150,000 sq. ft. of white floor to its various data centers to serve growing financial services, healthcare and technology customers. For more information on Flexential's data centers, visit the interactive map at Flexential.com. About Flexential Flexential empowers the IT journey of the nation's most complex businesses by offering flexible and tailored solutions in colocation, cloud, data protection, managed and professional services. The company builds on a platform of three million square feet of data center space, in 20 highly connected markets and on the FlexAnywhere 100 GB private backbone, to meet the most stringent challenges in security, compliance and resiliency. Visit www.flexential.com. Flexential is a registered trademark of the Flexential Corp. Follow Flexential on LinkedIn , Twitter . and Facebook. Contact: Lori Stafford-Thomas Senior Director, Corporate Marketing, Flexential [email protected] SOURCE Flexential 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 Singapore Press Holdings Limited's (SGX:T39), to help you decide if the stock is worth further research. Based on the last twelve months, Singapore Press Holdings's P/E ratio is 13.47. That corresponds to an earnings yield of approximately 7.4%. View our latest analysis for Singapore Press Holdings How Do I Calculate A Price To Earnings Ratio? The formula for P/E is: Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price Earnings per Share (EPS) Or for Singapore Press Holdings: P/E of 13.47 = SGD1.600 SGD0.119 (Based on the trailing twelve months to February 2020.) (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 implies that investors pay a higher price for the earning power of the business. All else being equal, it's better to pay a low price -- but as Warren Buffett said, 'It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price'. Does Singapore Press Holdings Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry? We can get an indication of market expectations by looking at the P/E ratio. If you look at the image below, you can see Singapore Press Holdings has a lower P/E than the average (16.6) in the media industry classification. SGX:T39 Price Estimation Relative to Market May 7th 2020 This suggests that market participants think Singapore Press Holdings will underperform other companies in its industry. Many investors like to buy stocks when the market is pessimistic about their prospects. 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 Companies that shrink earnings per share quickly will rapidly decrease the 'E' in the equation. That means unless the share price falls, the P/E will increase in a few years. A higher P/E should indicate the stock is expensive relative to others -- and that may encourage shareholders to sell. Story continues Singapore Press Holdings saw earnings per share decrease by 26% last year. And it has shrunk its earnings per share by 12% per year over the last five years. This could justify a pessimistic P/E. Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet It's important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. 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. Such spending might be good or bad, overall, but the key point here is that you need to look at debt to understand the P/E ratio in context. Singapore Press Holdings's Balance Sheet Net debt totals 100% of Singapore Press Holdings's market cap. This is enough debt that you'd have to make some adjustments before using the P/E ratio to compare it to a company with net cash. The Bottom Line On Singapore Press Holdings's P/E Ratio Singapore Press Holdings's P/E is 13.5 which is above average (11.2) in its market. With relatively high debt, and no earnings per share growth over twelve months, it's safe to say the market believes the company will improve its earnings growth in the future. When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. If the reality for a company is better than it expects, you can make money by buying and holding for the long term. 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. Buddhism began with the Buddha. The birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha is celebrated as Buddha Purnima or Buddha Jayanti. It falls on a full moon day in the months of April or May (Vaisakh or Vesak) according to the Hindu calendar. This year Buddha Purnima will be celebrated on May 7. The word Buddha means one who is awake or the enlightened one. The Buddha was born as Siddhartha Gautama into the royal family of a small kingdom on the Indo-Nepalese border. Although he had a privileged upbringing, he was jolted out of his sheltered life upon realising that life includes the harsh realities of old age, sickness, and death which then prompted him to think about the meaning of life. Eventually, he left his palace and all the comforts behind to seek answers to his questions. It is said that Buddha had a vision soon after attaining Enlightenment where he saw the human race as a bed of lotus flowers. Some of these lotuses were still covered in mud, others were emerging from it, while the remainder were on the verge of blooming. In other words, everyone had the ability to unfold their potential to its fullest capacity. The teachings of Buddhism may be seen as attempts by the Buddha to fulfil this vision and to help people grow towards Enlightenment. ALSO READ: Buddha Purnima 2020: Heres everything you need to know about Gautam Buddhas birth anniversary Buddha gave his first discourse called Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta or Turning the Wheel of Dhamma. The Wheel is the symbol of the Dharma (religion) and is represented with eight spokes, one for each of the paths in the Eightfold Path: They are: Right View; Right Thought; Right Speech; Right Action; Right Livelihood; Right Effort; Right Mindfulness; Right Concentration. The five ascetics to whom Buddha gave the first discourse became his first disciples and his teachings attracted many followers, who then joined the Sangha or the community of monks. Gautama Buddha thereafter visited his ailing father to preach the Dhamma. After hearing his teachings, the king attained arahatta (perfect sanctity) before passing away. This was followed by preaching the Abhidhamma or the Higher Doctrine to his former mother, who was reborn as a deva with other deities in the Tavatimsa heaven. What does Buddhism teach? The universe is the product of karma, the law of the cause and effect of actions, according to which virtuous actions create pleasure in the future and non-virtuous actions create pain. The beings of the universe are reborn without beginning in six realms: as gods, demigods, humans, animals, ghosts, and hell-beings. Their actions create not only their individual experiences but the domains in which they dwell. The cycle of rebirth, called samsara is regarded as a domain of suffering, and the ultimate goal of Buddhist practice is to escape from that suffering. The means of escape remains unknown until, over the course of millions of lifetimes, a person perfects himself, ultimately gaining the power to discover the path out of samsara and then compassionately revealing that path to the world. (Source: Brittanica.com) Here are some of Buddhas quotes that you can apply in your life to lead a happier, more content life: * Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good. * Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. * It is easy to see the faults of others, but difficult to see ones own faults. * Three things cannot hide for long: the Moon, the Sun and the Truth. * Conquer the angry one by not getting angry; conquer the wicked by goodness; conquer the stingy by generosity, and the liar by speaking the truth. * Do not look for a sanctuary in anyone except yourself. * If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows him like a shadow that never leaves him. * As a mountain of rock is unshaken by wind, so also, the wise are unperturbed by blame or by praise. * Better than a hundred years in the life of a person who is idle and inactive, is a day in the life of one who makes a zealous and strenuous effort. * Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule. * It is a mans own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways. * You only lose what you cling to. * The past is already gone, the future is not yet here. Theres only one moment for you to live. * The trouble is, you think you have time. * Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it. Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Huge fire broke out at Tripura's GB power station resulting on Wednesday (may 6) leading to complete power cut in capital Agartala. No casualty has been reported so far. The cause of the fire is still unknown and officials are trying to ascertain the reason behind the incident. Situation is tense in the area. (This is a developing story. More details are awaited) Additive manufacturing is a technique in which the final three-dimensional object is produced by successively adding new layers of building material to those that have already been deposited. Recently, the commercially available 3D printers have been experiencing rapid development and so do the 3D-printers materials, including transparent media of high optical quality. These advancements open up new possibilities in many fields of science and technology including biology, medicine, metamaterials studies, robotics and micro-optics. Researchers from the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, Poland, have designed tiny lenses (with dimensions as small as a fraction of the human hair diameter) that can easily be manufactured by laser 3D printing technique on top of various materials, including fragile novel 2D graphene-like materials. The presented lenses increase the extraction of light emitted from semiconductor samples and reshape its outgoing part into an ultra-narrow beam. Thanks to this property, there is no longer a need for including a bulky microscope objective in the experimental setup when performing optical measurements of single nanometre-sized light emitters (like quantum dots), which up to now could not be avoided. A typical microscope objective used in such a study has roughly a handbreadth size, weights up to one pound (half a kilogram) and must be placed at a distance of about one-tenth of an inch (few millimetres) from the analysed sample. These impose significant limitations on many types of modern experiments, like measurements in pulsed high magnetic fields, at cryogenic temperatures or in microwave cavities, which on the other hand can easily be lifted by the presented lenses. High speed of the 3D-printing technique makes it very easy to produce hundreds of microlenses on one sample. Arranging them into regular arrays provides a convenient coordinate system, which accurately specifies the location of a chosen nanoobject and allows for its multiple measurements in different laboratories all over the world. The invaluable opportunity of coming back to the same light emitter allows for much more time-efficient research and hypothesis testing. Specifically, one can entirely focus on designing and performing a new experiment on the nanoobject studied before, instead of carrying out a time-consuming investigation of thousands of other nanoobjects before eventually finding an analogue to the previous one. The shape of the proposed microlenses can easily be adapted to the so-called 2.5D microfabrication technique. The objects satisfying its prerequisites can be produced over large-scale surfaces by pressing a patterned stamp against the layer of material they are supposed to be made of. The 2.5D fabrication protocol is especially attractive from the viewpoint of potential applications of the microlenses, as can be readily up-scaled which is an important factor in possible future industrial use. Physics and Astronomy first appeared at the University of Warsaw in 1816, under the then Faculty of Philosophy. In 1825 the Astronomical Observatory was established. Currently, the Faculty of Physics' Institutes include Experimental Physics, Theoretical Physics, Geophysics, Department of Mathematical Methods and an Astronomical Observatory. The research covers almost all areas of modern physics, on scales from the quantum to the cosmological. The Faculty's research and teaching staff includes ca. 200 university teachers, of which 78 are employees with the title of professor. The Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, is attended by ca. 1000 students and more than 170 doctoral students. ### Dennis Ruhnke holds two of his remaining N-95 masks as he stands with his wife, Sharon at their home near Troy, Kan. Friday, April 24, 2020. Associated Press/Charlie Riedel A Kansas university has granted a bachelor's degree to a farmer who recently donated one of his only N95 masks to New York to help a nurse or doctor. The farmer, Dennis Ruhnke, mailed New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo praising him for his leadership and urging him to pass along the unused mask to a worker who needed it. Cuomo thanked him on Twitter and in one of his daily news briefings, calling Ruhnke "humanity at its best." Ruhnke was honored Tuesday by Kansas State University, the same school he dropped out of in 1971 after his father died and he had to take care of his mother and the family farm. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Related Video: How to Help Hospitals and Healthcare Workers Fighting the Coronavirus A Kansas farmer who mailed one of his only five N95 masks to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been honored for his generosity by the same university he was forced to drop out of in 1971 when his father died. In March, Dennis Ruhnke mailed Cuomo a letter praising his approach to New York's coronavirus outbreak as "spot-on correct," and commending him for "telling the truth" about the severity of the virus. Enclosed in the envelope was one N95 mask that Ruhnke said had never been used. He urged Cuomo to give it to a doctor or nurse in New York City, then the epicenter of the US's coronavirus outbreak. Ruhnke told Cuomo in the letter that he and his wife were in their 70s, and his wife had both lung problems and diabetes. "Frankly, I am afraid for her," Ruhnke wrote. Nevertheless, he enclosed the N95 mask, noting that he was keeping just four for his immediate family members. Ruhnke said it made him feel 'pretty good' to pass the mask along to someone who needed it Cuomo tweeted out a picture of the letter on April 24, hailing Ruhnke as "humanity at its best," and discussed the act of kindness at his daily news briefing. Story continues "You want to talk about a snapshot of humanity," Cuomo told reporters. "You have five masks, what do you do? Do you keep all five? Do you hide the five masks, do you keep them for yourself or others? No, you send one mask. You send one mask to New York for a doctor or nurse. How beautiful is that? How selfless is that? How giving is that?" Ruhnke told the Associated Press that same day that he had decided to send the mask after watching the news and watching New York's death toll tick upwards, meanwhile, doctors and nurses complained of mask shortages. "They were pushing the N95 thing so much. I thought I had some masks somewhere. I went back to the farm, dug around in some masks and lo and behold they were there," he said. "I would have felt terrible if I threw it away, but it made me feel pretty good to send it on to somebody who might be able to use it." Kansas farmer Dennis Ruhnke was awarded an honorary degree after he donated one of his only N95 masks to New York. Facebook/Laura Kelly Just two weeks later, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced on Facebook that Ruhnke had been conferred a bachelor's degree from Kansas State University the same school he left when he was forced to drop out and help his family on their farm. Kelly posted photos of the ceremony, showing a masked Ruhnke holding his new degree. "In 1971, Dennis was two credits away from earning his degree in agriculture when his father passed away. He chose to leave school to take care of his mother and the family farm," Kelly said. "Dennis' kindness and lifelong careering agriculture make him more than qualified to receive a degree." Read the original article on Insider Hagens Berman: USC Student Files Class-Action Lawsuit for University's Failure to Repay Tuition and other Costs Lost During COVID-19 Shutdown An anonymous student of the University of Southern California filed a class-action lawsuit seeking to represent all USC students enrolled at the university for the spring 2020 semester to obtain repayment of tuition, room and board and other expenses in light of the outbreak of COVID-19, according to attorneys at Hagens Berman. The anonymous female student referred to in the lawsuit as Jane Doe is represented by Hagens Berman, which led a landmark sexual harassment class action against USC resulting in a $215 million settlement with the university and its former full-time gynecologist, Dr. George Tyndall. Approximately 18,000 individuals are covered by the settlement. The firm has also recently brought tuition and fee refund suits against Boston University, Brown University, George Washington University and Vanderbilt University, in which students and parents sued their universities. The class-action lawsuit against USC and its board of trustees has been brought by a fulltime USC student and California resident. The case was filed May 7, 2020, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and accuses the university of breach of contract, unjust enrichment, conversion and violations of the California Business & Professional Code. 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. The law firm is investigating all higher education institutions in the U.S. "Students at USC have been left completely powerless as their dorms have closed, often with their belongings still inside, and campus closures have left them without many of the amenities they expected in attending USC and are still paying for," said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman and attorneyfor students in the class action. "USC, like many universities, has a choice. They can choose to do the right thing and reimburse students and parents. Unfortunately, USC has chosen otherwise, and we believe that choice violates the law." USC's Responsibility to its Students The suit's anonymous plaintiff states in the complaint that she enrolled at USC due to the appeal of the in-person experience she would receive with faculty and fellow students, as well as its academic rigor. The lawsuit says USC has failed to maintain those promises: "While USC publicly maintains the position that it continues to offer a high-quality education and a robust learning environment, the reality as reflected by Plaintiff's experience is far different." The lawsuit says USC's in-and-out Zoom conferences, "rote emails," professors' "sterilized lectures" and lack of office hours have left students empty-handed, but still holding the bill. The suit states, "On top of these examples, her professors have outright cut out key assignments vital to her educational experience, including assignments that would provide her with important learning opportunities and access to USC's alumni network." USC is accused of flagrantly ignoring its responsibility to students at a time when "layoffs and furloughs are at record levels." USC's actions, attorneys say, are further financially damaging students, parents and guardians paying for USC's services. "Social distancing, shelter-in-place orders, and efforts to 'flatten the curve' prompted colleges and universities across the country to shut down their campuses, evict students from campus residence halls, and switch to online 'distance' learning," the lawsuit begins. "Despite sending students home and closing its campus(es), Defendant continues to charge for tuition, fees, and room and board as if nothing has changed, continuing to reap the financial benefit of millions of dollars from students." The suit states that the Campaign for USC, a multi-year fundraising campaign saw more than 400,000 donors provide $7.16 billion in funds between 2011-2018. The campaign was the second largest fundraising effort in the history of U.S. higher education. During the spring 2020 semester, USC costs students approximately $32,335.17 including tuition, room and board, and other expenses, "significantly higher than online only programs." 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 across the nation 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/20200507006179/en/ Florence Pugh has admitted she was 'scared' of doing a Russian accent for her role in Black Widow. The actress, 24, revealed her misgivings while talking with ELLE UK on Wednesday about her role as Yelena Belova in the forthcoming Marvel flick, a sister figure to Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff. Saying it was 'daunting' to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Little Women star explained: 'I was scared because my Russian accent was going to be out there and I didn't know what it sounded like. Fears: Florence Pugh revealed on Wednesday that she was 'scared' of doing a Russian accent for her role in Black Widow and found joining the Marvel 'daunting' (pictured in February 2020) 'I'm also playing a character who no-one's seen before but they've read about her. I didn't know whether people were going to hate me!' While she said of being part of the superhero juggernaut: 'When you think of Marvel, it's big and daunting. 'Especially being a relatively small actor to look at it and go, "Oh! I'm going to be a part of this", that's a big decision.' 'Daunting': The Little Women star said of her character: 'I was scared because my Russian accent was going to be out there and I didn't know what it sounded like' Florence also shared her delight at finding Scarlett felt as nervous as she did during the Black Widow announcement at San Diego Comic Con last year. 'Scarlett gave me her hand and we squeezed each other, and she also had clammy hands!' she said. 'And then I was like, "Oh, this never gets old. This is just as powerful [for you] and you're their legend!"' The film, directed by Cate Shortland, also stars Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff, an experienced spy trainer who serves as a mother-figure to Natasha. Role: Florence plays Yelena Belova in the forthcoming Marvel flick, a sister figure to Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff (pictured) Full interview: The June issue of ELLE UK is on sale now In April, a slate of Marvel projects got new release dates brought about by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic including Black Widow. The standalone film was originally set to be released on May 1, but has now been moved to November 6. The Eternals, whose cast includes Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek, was also moved to next February 12 from its original release date of November 6, 2020. While Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings was moved to May 7, 2021 from the previously planned February 12, 2021, Chinese New Year. The June issue of ELLE UK is on sale now. * During this climate, readers are able to get ELLE UK delivered to their door, either by purchasing a single copy via www.magsdirect.co.uk/elle, or subscribe today and get 6 issues for 6 at www.hearstmagazines.co.uk. A Care Army volunteer and two local police officers have rescued a Queensland woman who broke a hip during a fall and lay stricken on her floor for four days. Erika Freingruber, 80, fell at her Beaudesert home at the end of last month. She was found after a Care Army volunteer was unable to make contact and called police to request a welfare check. "I just stepped out of bed, which I always do the same, I don't know what happened because I must have fallen unconscious because there is some time I cannot account for," Ms Freingruber from her bed at Brisbane's QEII Hospital. "If you [police officers] wouldn't have come, I don't think I would be sitting here ... every doctor who came here has said: 'You don't know how lucky you are to be alive'. Could Thessaloniki Water Supply & Sewerage Co S.A. (ATH:EYAPS) be an attractive dividend share to own for the long haul? Investors are often drawn to strong companies with the idea of reinvesting the dividends. If you are hoping to live on your dividends, it's important to be more stringent with your investments than the average punter. Regular readers know we like to apply the same approach to each dividend stock, and we hope you'll find our analysis useful. In this case, Thessaloniki Water Supply & Sewerage Co likely looks attractive to investors, given its 3.3% dividend yield and a payment history of over ten years. It would not be a surprise to discover that many investors buy it for the dividends. Some simple analysis can offer a lot of insights when buying a company for its dividend, and we'll go through this below. Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Thessaloniki Water Supply & Sewerage Co! ATSE:EYAPS Historical Dividend Yield May 7th 2020 Payout ratios Companies (usually) pay dividends out of their earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, the dividend might have to be cut. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. In the last year, Thessaloniki Water Supply & Sewerage Co paid out 47% of its profit as dividends. A medium payout ratio strikes a good balance between paying dividends, and keeping enough back to invest in the business. Plus, there is room to increase the payout ratio over time. With a strong net cash balance, Thessaloniki Water Supply & Sewerage Co investors may not have much to worry about in the near term from a dividend perspective. Remember, you can always get a snapshot of Thessaloniki Water Supply & Sewerage Co'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. For the purpose of this article, we only scrutinise the last decade of Thessaloniki Water Supply & Sewerage Co's dividend 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 0.13 in 2010, compared to 0.13 last year. The dividend has shrunk at a rate of less than 1% a year over this period. Story continues When a company's per-share dividend falls we question if this reflects poorly on either external business conditions, or the company's capital allocation decisions. Either way, we find it hard to get excited about a company with a declining dividend. Dividend Growth Potential Given that the dividend has been cut in the past, we need to check if earnings are growing and if that might lead to stronger dividends in the future. It's not great to see that Thessaloniki Water Supply & Sewerage Co's have fallen at approximately 5.6% over the past five years. A modest decline in earnings per share is not great to see, but it doesn't automatically make a dividend unsustainable. Still, we'd vastly prefer to see EPS growth when researching dividend stocks. Conclusion When we look at a dividend stock, we need to form a judgement on whether the dividend will grow, if the company is able to maintain it in a wide range of economic circumstances, and if the dividend payout is sustainable. We're glad to see Thessaloniki Water Supply & Sewerage Co has a low payout ratio, as this suggests earnings are being reinvested in the business. 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 Thessaloniki Water Supply & Sewerage Co out there. It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. For instance, we've picked out 3 warning signs for Thessaloniki Water Supply & Sewerage Co that investors should take into consideration. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our curated list of dividend stocks with a yield 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. Technavio has been monitoring the gas turbine market and it is poised to grow by USD 2.44 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of almost 2% 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/20200507005335/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Gas Turbine 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. Ansaldo Energia Spa, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., Capstone Turbine Corp., Caterpillar Inc., General Electric Co., IHI Corp., Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., OPRA Turbines, and Siemens AG are some of the major market participants. Although the enhanced efficiency and robustness of gas turbines will offer immense growth opportunities, investments in alternate energy sources 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. Enhanced efficiency and robustness of gas turbines have been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. However, investments in alternate energy sources might hamper market growth. Gas Turbine Market 2020-2024: Segmentation Gas Turbine Market is segmented as below: Product Heavy-duty Gas Turbine Aeroderivative Gas Turbine End-user Power Generation Mobility Oil And Gas Others Technology CCGT OCGT Geography APAC MEA North America Europe 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=IRTNTR43446 Gas Turbine 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 gas turbine market report covers the following areas: Gas Turbine Market Size Gas Turbine Market Trends Gas Turbine Market Industry Analysis This study identifies the development of GTCC and IGCC technologies as one of the prime reasons driving the gas turbine market growth during the next few years. Gas Turbine Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the gas turbine market, including some of the vendors such as Ansaldo Energia Spa, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., Capstone Turbine Corp., Caterpillar Inc., General Electric Co., IHI Corp., Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., OPRA Turbines, and Siemens AG. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the gas turbine 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. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Gas Turbine Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024 Detailed information on factors that will assist gas turbine market growth during the next five years Estimation of the gas turbine market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the gas turbine market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of gas turbine market vendors Table Of Contents : Executive Summary Market Landscape Market ecosystem Value chain analysis Market Sizing Market definition Market segment analysis Market size 2019 Market outlook: Forecast for 2019 2024 Five Forces Analysis Five forces summary Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes Threat of rivalry Market condition Market Segmentation by Product Market segments Comparison by Product Heavy-duty gas turbine Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Aeroderivative gas turbine Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Market opportunity by Product Market Segmentation by Technology Market segments Comparison by Technology CCGT Market size and forecast 2019-2024 OCGT Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Market opportunity by Technology Market Segmentation by End-user Market segments Comparison by End-user Power generation Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Mobility Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Oil and gas Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Others Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Market opportunity by End-user Customer Landscape Geographic Landscape Geographic segmentation Geographic comparison APAC Market size and forecast 2019-2024 MEA Market size and forecast 2019-2024 North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Europe Market size and forecast 2019-2024 South America Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Key leading countries Market opportunity by geography Market drivers Demand led growth Market challenges Market trends Vendor Landscape Vendor landscape Vendor landscape Landscape disruption Vendor Analysis Vendors covered Market positioning of vendors Ansaldo Energia Spa Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. Capstone Turbine Corp. Caterpillar Inc. General Electric Co. IHI Corp. Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. OPRA Turbines Siemens AG Appendix Scope of the report Currency conversion rates for US$ Research methodology List of abbreviations 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/20200507005335/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ UPDATE (5/8): 13 more Pa. counties to begin reopening from coronavirus shutdown; 1.3K new cases, 200 more deaths reported The number of new Pennsylvania coronavirus cases increased by more than 1,000 on Thursday, breaking a four-day streak of three-digit daily reports, the longest such streak since April 1. Meanwhile, the coronavirus death toll spiked by 310, another instance of the Pennsylvania Department of Health trying to reconcile its data with local sources. Pennsylvanias confirmed coronavirus cases now total 52,915 and at least 3,416 people have died, according to Thursdays daily report from the health department. The report includes 5,467 cases and 263 deaths from COVID-19 in the Lehigh Valley. (Cant see the map? Click here.) Residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities account for about two-thirds of Pennsylvanias coronavirus deaths to date, though only about one-fifth of the cases. In addition to the data, Health Secretary Rachel Levine on Thursday fielded questions from media, like how to celebrate Mothers Day and if trips to the Jersey Shore are still allowed. Heres a roundup of coronavirus information for May 7, 2020. Another spike in COVID-19 death toll The 310 deaths reported Thursday happened over the past several weeks, according to the health departments daily update. State health officials have explained that these sorts of jumps happen as they reconcile their reporting systems with coroners, hospitals and local health departments. We want to make sure we have the most accurate data possible, Levine told media. (Cant see the chart? Click here.) Though nursing homes and similar facilities account for 68% of Pennsylvanias coronavirus deaths, the Wolf administration has said it will not filter them from the data used to determine which areas can begin to reopen, as some counties have requested. As for the case count, the number of daily new cases reported Thursday outpaced the last four days, in part, Levine said, due to a data dump from a commercial lab. Overall, new cases appear to be trending downward. Well see if the trend continues, Levine said. (Cant see the chart? Click here.) Coronavirus in the Lehigh Valley The state lists 263 coronavirus-related deaths in the Lehigh Valley, more than what the counties themselves have reported periodically in the last several days. In reconciling its data, the state added 30 more deaths in Northampton County, where it now counts 152 dead. The county itself on Thursday announced 123 COVID-19 deaths among residents within the county -- but that does not include residents who may have died elsewhere, which could explain the difference. Nine more deaths were reported in Lehigh County, where the official death toll now stands at 111. (Cant see the map? Click here.) More deaths were also reported in nearby counties: Berks County had 20 more deaths reported. It now has 168 dead. Bucks County had 16 more deaths reported. It now has 320 dead. Monroe County had three more deaths reported. It now has 63 dead. Montgomery County had 35 more deaths reported. It now has 506 dead. Schuylkill County had one more death reported, its 10th. (Cant see the table? Click here.) Pa. counties reopening. Who will be next? On Friday, the reopening process will begin in Pennsylvania. Twenty-four counties announced last week will move from the red phase to the yellow phase, the second of Gov. Tom Wolfs three-tiered plan, which is based on new cases over the last two weeks, testing ability and other criteria. All of those counties are in the north-central and northwestern regions. Under the yellow phase, some restrictions will be lifted, but many businesses will remain closed and large groups prohibited. The governor is expected to announce the next round of yellow-phase counties on Friday. (Cant see the map? Click here.) Going home for Mothers Day? Dont plan on going to see mom on Sunday if you live in a red-phase county. "The safest thing you can do for yourself, the safest thing you could do for your mother, for your family, for you community is to do that virtually," Levine said Thursday in response to a question from media. An in-person gathering may be an option in yellow-phase counties if the group is kept small, she said. But she said not to visit relatives in nursing homes, where the population is more vulnerable. Can we go to the Jersey Shore? Travel within Pennsylvania or out of state is still allowed, but not recommended, Levine said in response to a question about the Jersey Shore. New Jersey coronavirus cases far outnumber those in Pennsylvania, and if a lot of people are sharing the sand it will be difficult to maintain social distancing, she said. Unemployment claims Nationwide, nearly 3.2 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, The Associated Press reports. (Cant see the chart? Click here.) Roughly 33.5 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the last seven weeks as businesses shut down over the coronavirus. But the Labor Departments report Thursday suggests that layoffs are declining after sharp spikes in late March and early April. Initial claims in Pennsylvania were down about 67,000 from the previous week, according to the federal report. (Cant see the map? Click here.) Supreme Court declines shutdown challenge The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday decided not to hear a lawsuit challenging Gov. Wolfs stay-at-home order, essentially ruling that the order was within the governors rights. Still, some businesses are defying the stay-at-home order and have resumed serving customers, The Associated Press reports. In a conference call with media this week, Wolf said he believes that businesses reopening too soon will ultimately hurt themselves by eroding trust in both customers and employees. Expanded testing On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it is awarding $16.8 million to 43 Pennsylvania health centers to expand coronavirus testing. Locally, that includes $186,634 for Neighborhood Health Centers of Lehigh Valley in Allentown and $297,124 for the Berks Community Health Center in Reading. The state intends to expand testing everywhere for anyone with symptoms and has set up a drive-up test site at Mohegan Sun in Wilkes-Barre. Northampton County has set up a mobile testing site of its own. Some pharmacies around the state are offering coronavirus tests as well. 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. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. No US state currently meets the testing, contact tracing, and other standards required to reopen its economy safely amid the coronavirus pandemic, an epidemiological expert told Congress this week, even as many states have begun lifting stay-at-home orders and restrictions on non-essential businesses. The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security (CHS) released a four-point checklist in April meant to help states ensure they are lifting restrictions at an appropriate time. Those criteria were: A decline in the number of new cases for 14 straight days; A diagnostic testing capacity for anyone with Covid-19 symptoms, those who have come into close contact with them, and anyone else in essential roles; A health care system with the capacity to care for anyone who contracts Covid-19 and has enough personal protective equipment for health care workers; A robust contact tracing regime for all new cases and their close contacts. There are no states that meet all four of those criteria, Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins CHS, testified on Wednesday before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on labour, health and human services, education, and related agencies. Twenty-four states, mostly with Republican governors, have already begun partially reopening their economies. Jared Polis of Colorado is the only Democratic governor who has partially reopened his state so far. Ms Rivers warned that if states reopen too quickly without proper social distancing measures in place or a more fleshed-out plan for controlling the virus, the US could be right back at square one in a matter of months. It is clear to me that we are in a critical moment in this fight. We risk complacency in accepting the preventable deaths of 2,000 Americans each day. We risk complacency in accepting that our healthcare workers do not have what they need to do their jobs safely. And we risk complacency in recognising that without continued vigilance in slowing transmission, we will again create the conditions that led to us being the worst-affected country in the world, Ms Rivers told lawmakers. Of the 3.78m confirmed cases of Covid-19 worldwide, 1.26m have been in the US. Nearly 75,000 Americans have died from the illness so far this year, with that number expected to climb to well past 100,000 over the next several weeks. While many of the subcommittee members appeared to agree with Ms Rivers assessment of the need for states to reach certain benchmarks before reopening, GOP Congressman Andy Harris of Maryland questioned whether that is economically feasible for many communities that have been crippled by stay-at-home orders. Many of the communities in his district cant last until Maryland reaches those statewide benchmarks, said Mr Harris, who is an anaesthesiologist Mr Harris also spoke at a rally on Sunday calling for Maryland to reopen immediately. I think customers wont want to visit if they arent confident they can do so safely, Ms Rivers said in response to a question from Mr Harris. Thats their choice, Mr Harris replied, adding later that Americans must resign themselves to some element of risk if theyre to ever resume normal life. You are safer, far safer, if you are not born, Mr Harris said, sardonically. An Australian man who was sent into quarantine at a Sydney hotel delivered an on-camera review of the food he received while in isolation. Alex Mackenzie was sent to the Travelodge Hotel after returning from Japan on May 4. People returning to Australia from overseas were being sent into 14-day quarantine in hotels in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus. During his quarantine, Mackenzie posted a video on YouTube giving a rundown of the food provided to him in isolation. Thats actually pretty damn good, Im pretty happy, Mackenzie says in the video after tasting one dish. Reading from a piece of paper included with the meal, he says the dinner consists of sauteed chicken with fried rice and steamed greens, a bread roll, and a strawberry rhubarb pudding. Not Uber Eats tonight, dont need that. Got a sufficient meal here paid by Australian tax payers, so thanks for that, Mackenzie says, a reference to his government-paid quarantine. Mackenzie told Storyful that he got three meals and one snack per day. He said the only hot meal of the day was dinner, and the portion was quite small for him. We do have access to order Uber Eats or Woolworths deliveries at our expense if we want to. For now, the food has been good enough that I have not had to resort to food orders yet, he added. Mackenzie said he would be released on May 17, and he planned to return to his home city of Brisbane. Credit: Alex Mackenzie via Storyful - Kalidou Koulibaly is wanted by top clubs in England - Newcastle are the latest club to be preparing a bid for the defender - Manchester United have also been linked with the Napoli star With the imminent takeover by rich Saudi-based consortium, Kalidou Koulibaly could be heading to Premier League club Newcastle United. The 70million-rated defender is reportedly interested in the move only if the oil rich Saudi officials finalise their purchase of the club. READ ALSO: Hilarious moment as Premier League title winners wife interrupts hubbys live interview READ ALSO: Lionel Messi blamed by Rivaldo for Coutinho's failure to impress at Barcelona The Napoli of Italy star is also said to be keen on leaving the Italian giants, but he wont force his way out unless the Toon management is completely taken over. Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is reportedly doing everything within his might to finally acquire the club. The Wall Street Journal claim a final deal between President of Magpies Mike Ashley and the Crown Prince is in its final stage. READ ALSO: Arsenal midfielder beats Pogba, Salah to emerge as top earner on Instagram this season Saudi royalty was responsible for holding top events in the Arabian nation in 2019 including a major WWE event and Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz rematch. Salman previously tried to buy Premier League giants Man United for KSh 300 billion or supporting a state bid last year but could not persuade the Glazers to sell. Newcastle is on the verge of a sensational takeover from Saudi Arabia billionaires. Photo: Getty Images. Source: UGC READ ALSO: Premier League set to ban goal celebrations when football resumes Taking over the St, James' Park outfit could be similar to the Abu Dhabi's acquisition of Manchester City in 2008 as team overhaul is imminent. Ex-Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is already favourite to take over from Steve Bruce. And it appears Newcastles new owners already have their gazes fixed firmly on 28-year-old Koulibaly. The giant centre-back is in his sixth season at Napoli and has clocked up a whopping 233 appearances. He has long been linked with a move to England, and Man United are understood to retain an interest in his services. Most recently, Liverpool have been tipped to make a bid for the 70million-rated defender, but it could be Newcastle who win the race for his signature should they welcome new owners to St James Park. 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 My wife left me at my lowest - Kennedy Mwangi | My Story | Tuko TV: Source: TUKO.co.ke File photo shows a protester walking by a restaurant as fellow protesters gather outside the Capital Complex in Harrisburg, calling on Gov. Wolf to reopen up the state's economy during the coronavirus outbreak. Read more Almost 3.2 million Americans filed new unemployment claims last week, federal figures showed Thursday, as the economic destruction from the coronavirus pandemic has now impacted 33.5 million jobs nationwide in seven weeks, and states are rapidly burning through cash reserves set aside to pay out jobless benefits. The numbers of new claims have subsided in Pennsylvania and New Jersey from the startling peaks reached in the first weeks after COVID-19 lockdown orders brought the economy to a standstill: More than 1.7 million Pennsylvanians have now filed claims, or 26% of the workforce, along with 978,000 New Jersey workers, or 21% of the workforce, according to the weekly report from the U.S. Department of Labor. Economists expect that monthly government unemployment figures due Friday which explore job losses more deeply than the weekly reports will show that the erosion of jobs in April was historic. The payroll processing company ADP said Wednesday that the private sector lost more than 20 million jobs in April, and MarketWatch expects the report to show that 22 million jobs were lost last month. During the worst month of the Great Recession a decade ago, the nation lost 800,000 jobs. The greatest losses, not surprisingly, were in the hospitality, construction, trade and transportation sectors, Joel Naroff, president and founder of Naroff Economic Advisors in Bucks County, said in a note to clients Wednesday. However, every industrial sector of the economy and every size grouping was battered by the shutdowns. At least 96,603 Pennsylvanians filed new claims in the week ending May 2 after losing their jobs or getting hours reduced down from more than 400,000 claims filed during the worst week ending March 28. In New Jersey, 87,540 workers filed new claims for assistance last week, according to federal data. The avalanche of claims has overwhelmed state unemployment offices. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industrys Unemployment Compensation Office, which has called in retirees and workers from other state departments, says it responded to 5,196 emails on Tuesday. Despite the added help, the backlog is now so large that the wait time for an email reply has grown to 34 days. READ MORE: The deluge of newly jobless workers is crashing the Pa. unemployment system The unprecedented payouts of billions of dollars in jobless benefits is also rapidly depleting government unemployment insurance coffers, pushing trust funds close to insolvency. State officials say the cash-burn rate will not jeopardize payments, but it will force many states to borrow funds, which will need to be repaid with higher unemployment insurance taxes on employers in future years. Pennsylvania will be bearing the burden of this on our unemployment compensation system for a long, long, long, long time, said Gene Barr, president of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry. The state has paid out record amounts to unemployed workers about nine million payments to claimants totaling more than $5.34 billion in benefits, officials said Monday. Since the lockdown began, Pennsylvania has paid out three times more unemployment claims than it did for all of last year. In the last two months, it has paid out more than it did in all of 2009, the worst year of the last recession. Most of the payouts, almost $3.9 billion, were regular Unemployment Compensation payments derived from state funds. The state also paid out $1.4 billion in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation benefits, an extra $600 per week. The federal government will pick up the tab for the supplemental benefits. READ MORE: Do I have to pay my rent? Renters rights in Philadelphia during the coronavirus pandemic. New Jersey paid out about $1.9 billion in unemployment benefits since the pandemic began. More than half the amount, or $989 million, were distributed under the federal governments supplemental $600-per-week pandemic payments. To pay unemployment claims, states set aside money that is held in trust funds managed by the U.S. Treasury. But Pennsylvania and New Jersey had among the smallest reserves relative to their workforces, putting their trust funds under strain. Some states have already asked the federal government for no-interest loans to shore up their unemployment trust funds. Pennsylvania has reached out to Washington to begin a process of borrowing money, Jerry Oleksiak, Pennsylvanias secretary of labor and industry, said Monday. Depending on how long this pandemic continues and we have high unemployment that were seeing now, there will be some stress on the system, Oleksiak said. But we are already working with the US Department of Labor who make sure that the payments that we are obligated to will continue. The new crisis comes as Pennsylvania was just emerging from the financial hole into which it fell during the Great Recession, when it was forced to borrow more than $3 billion from the federal government to keep up with unemployment compensation claims. Though the federal loans initially come without interest, they eventually begin to accumulate fees and penalties. In 2012, the state issued revenue bonds that generated $3.2 billion in proceeds, to repay the interim federal financing and current unemployment claims. The state had just paid off that bond late last year, and was on its way to recovering its cash reserves when the pandemic hit. We were well on our way to being a solvent in the spring or summer, Oleksiak said. Experts in unemployment compensation say there is no danger of state funds running out, but the consequences will be felt in years to come. Theres not an immediate concern because states can borrow money interest free, but long-term if theres no relief for that, states are going to have to pay it back," said Andrew Stettner, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation. "Often what happens is when theyre feeling the pinch, they dont want to increase taxes on employers, they end up cutting back the benefits. Some in Pennsylvania would welcome that debate. Pennsylvanias unemployment fund was never refinanced after the last recession they never got back to the solvency level, and dont have enough to pay for a normal crisis, let alone this, said Andrew Abramczyk, a senior analyst, with the Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative think tank. That will inevitably mean an increase in unemployment insurance taxes on employers, who in 2018 paid on average about 5.1% on the first $10,000 in earnings of each employee (the tax rate varies for each employer, depending upon how frequently its workforce taps into the unemployment system). Employers pay the biggest share of the cost, but the state also assesses a small 0.06% payroll tax on employee earnings. Higher unemployment and a greater tax burden in years to come will only slow an economic recovery, Abramczyk said. The more viable your economy is, the more jobs there are, the more unemployment tax is being paid, and the easier it is for this fund to get replenished," he said. "Anything that reduces your employment base tends to make unemployment taxes higher, which hurts your unemployment base. Its vicious cycle. Staff Writer Chris A. Williams contributed to this article. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / Sky Gold Corp. (TSX-V:SKYG)(OTC PINK:SRKZF) ("Sky Gold Corp." or the "Company") is pleased to announce the expansion of the "Mustang Property", in Central Newfoundland, contiguous to the north-eastern portion of the Queensway Gold Project, owned by New Found Gold Corp. ("New Found Gold"). The "Mustang Expansion" Property comprises 57 claims over 1,425 ha and connect the eastern and western Mustang block, which hosts known mineral occurrences. The newly acquired claims represent more than a 300% increase in land holdings for a total of 1,875 ha for the property (see Figure 1). The Mustang Expansion extends across the Gander Lake outflow to the eastern shore contiguous to New Found Gold's Queensway Project and covers a portion of their interpreted Appleton Fault Zone. Figure 1. - Location map of Sky Gold Corp.'s Newfoundland Projects As previously reported (see press release dated January 31, 2020) Sky Gold had acquired the Mustang property, comprising two non-contiguous blocks of claims. The eastern claim block hosting the Outflow prospect, comprising the Mustang and Piper mineralized zones. The eastern claim block is contiguous to New Found Gold's Queensway gold project to the south. The western claim block is located approximately 2.2 kilometres west-northwest of the eastern claims. With the Mustang Expansion, the two blocks are now part of the larger property. The northern part of the current Mustang Property is only 2.5 kilometers south of the village of Glenwood, with abandoned logging road accessing the area. Glenwood is located on the Trans-Canada Highway 25 kilometres west of an international airport in Gander. Gold mineralization was discovered at the Outflow prospect in 1987 by Noranda Exploration Company Ltd., which completed geologic mapping, trenching and shallow (average 84 metres) diamond drilling (12 holes totaling 1,007.6 metres). In late 2001, Altius Minerals Corp. held the current claim area, with the Mustang zone anchoring a major northeast-southwest structural feature of prospective geology covered by a large property project known as the Mustang trend. Altius optioned the property to Barrick Gold Corp., which undertook reconnaissance exploration in 2002 which resulted in the discovery of several new gold showings, including the Road Breccia, Barite, Jasperoid and Gervase's Lane showings. Exploration on the property was curtailed in late July 2003, when Barrick terminated its option. Highest gold values, up to 28 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) over 0.8 metres, occur in dark grey hydrobreccia units, associated with higher arsenopyrite concentrations. Selected diamond drill assay results from Noranda's drill program include 1.27 g/t Au over 11.3 metres, 0.67 g/t Au over 18.3 metres and 0.92 g/t Au over 9.0 metres.* *Gold values on adjacent properties in similar rocks, and assays based on historical work, are not representative of the mineralization on the property, have not been verified and should not be relied upon. Two geologic models have been proposed for the gold mineralization at the Mustang prospect. A low sulphidation epithermal model is proposed, based on the silicified zones, locally in association with fault zones, and consist of chalcedonic silica in association with comb-textured and crustiform quartz and hydrothermal breccia. However, Altius Minerals Corp. considered the Mustang prospect as a possible example of Carlin-style mineralization (Altius Minerals press release dated Aug. 21, 2003), supported by typical enriched trace-element assemblages (As, Sb, Tl, Hg and Ba) of Carlin deposits, and barite veins, breccia matrix and stockwork hosted by calcareous sedimentary rocks. President Mike England states: "With the expansion of the Mustang property, we considerably increase the prospectivity and potential of the project, in an active, emerging gold district, led by the recent success of New Found Gold. The company is currently reviewing assessment reports on the expanded property, with an aggressive Phase 1 exploration planned for the summer, subject to provincial health and safety protocols related to the COVID-19 pandemic." To earn a 100-per-cent interest in the Mustang Expansion property from an arm's-length party, the company will make a one-time payment of $12,000 cash, the issuance of 600,000 common shares plus grant the underlying vendor a 2-per-cent net smelter royalty (NSR), 50 per cent of which is purchasable by Sky Gold for $1 million at any time. This transaction is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. Qualified Person Catherine Fitzgerald, P.Geo., a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, is the Qualified Person responsible for reviewing and approving the technical contents of this news release as they pertain to the Clone property. About Sky Gold Corp. Sky Gold Corp. is a junior mineral exploration company engaged in acquiring and advancing mineral properties in Canada and the USA. The Company is now positioned in Newfoundland with the Mustang Gold project plus in Nevada with the Evening Star polymetallic property. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Mike England" __________________________ Mike England, CEO & DIRECTOR FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Telephone: 1-604-683-3995 Toll Free: 1-888-945-4770 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. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. These forward -looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and by those made in our filings with SEDAR in Canada (available at WWW.SEDAR.COM). SOURCE: Sky Gold Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/588868/Sky-Gold-Expands-Mustang-Property-in-Central-Newfoundland-Contiguous-to-New-Found-Golds-Queensway-Gold-Project The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is planning a sharp rise in financing for the Western Balkans this year and has stepped up support for reforms to help the region deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus, EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti said. He told a European Union-Western Balkans summit that the EBRD would also be combining its own financial firepower with grant contributions from European Union (EU) partners. The EBRD President said financing to the Western Balkans was expected to rise by around one-third to 1.7 billion from a record 1.3 billion in 2019. With its Solidarity Package of response and recovery measures to combat the impact of Covid-19, the EBRD was proud to be supporting the efforts of Team Europe in the region, he told the virtual summit, which was initially scheduled to have been held in Zagreb, Croatia. President Chakrabarti said EBRD financing in the Western Balkans would specifically target micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and trade finance, as well as infrastructure services in the energy and municipal sectors. The Bank would also deliver investments aimed at the creation of growth and jobs during the post-pandemic recovery period. The impact of our investments will be significant, he said, noting that EBRD financing would be combined with work on policy reforms the region needed in the context of EU approximation. The EBRD had longstanding experience in helping to deliver reforms. In the Western Balkans, policy support would focus on improving efficiency and transparency of public governance, developing competitive and inclusive economies, accelerating a fair and equitable transition to a green economy and enhancing regional integration. President Chakrabarti said: The success of that mix of investment and policy reform can be seen in our achievements on the ground in the region.I am confident it will continue to have far-reaching impact during and after the pandemic. The EBRD sees the Western Balkans as a priority region with 13 billion total financing of to date. The Bank has also been driving forward support for the region via the EBRD-Western Balkans investment summits it has hosted every two years since 2014, bringing together all the regional leaders on one platform. The summit this week included heads of state or government from EU member states and leaders from the six Western Balkans partners: Albania,Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. In addition to the EBRD President, the meeting was attended by representatives from the European Investment Bank, the World Bank and the Regional Cooperation Council. The central governments May 1 directive to make the mobile application, Aarogya Setu, mandatory for all working in government and private companies was challenged in the Kerala high court on Thursday for violation of the right to privacy and autonomy. The Aarogya Setu app collects personal information of an individual without his or her consent and such coercive and forcible extraction of personal information is unheard of in a democratic and republic setup and it is the attribute of a dictatorial system, the plea by the General Secretary of the Thrissur District Congress Committee, John Daniel alleged. The petitioner is aggrieved by the order issued by Government of India, which makes the use of the mobile application, Aarogya Setu, mandatory for all. The petitioner is aggrieved by the dilution of the concepts of personal autonomy and informed consent effected by virtue of this mandatory imposition, the plea filed through advocates Sriram Parakkat, KR Sripathi and Anupama Subramanian stated. The central government had launched Aarogya Setu on April 2 to disseminate information regarding Covid-19 and to collect data from individuals. Aarogya Setu is a tracking mobile application which uses the smartphones GPS and Bluetooth features to track the coronavirus infection. The application is available for Android and iOS mobile operating systems. The petition pointed out that the application uses Bluetooth to determine whether or not an individual has been within six feet of a Covid-19 infected person, by scanning through a database of known cases across India. On April 29, the app was made mandatory for all central government employees. On May 1, the Centre issued another order making the app mandatory for all employees, whether employed by government or private institutions. The petitioners case was built on the argument that the app is a tracking mobile application which continuously collects data of an individual once it is installed on the mobile phone. The petitioner argued that Aarogya Setu collects the personal information of a registered user including name, phone number, age, sex, and profession, countries visited in the last 30 days and whether a person is a smoker or non smoker and his or her medical condition. The application continuously collects the location data of the registered user and maintains a record of the places where the user had come in contact with other registered users, the plea said. The May 1 order of the central government also directed state governments to proceed under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against anyone who violates lockdown measures including the failure to install the app. Section 188 of the IPC states that any person who disobeys an order given by a public servant can be punished with imprisonment up to 6 months. If a particular citizen disapproves the use of the same, it could be said that the information was forcibly and coercively taken from him without his consent and by inflicting fear of penal consequences. Such coercive and forcible extraction of personal information from an individual is unheard of in a democratic and republic setup and it is the attribute of a dictatorial system, the petition stated. The plea specifically assailed clause 15 of Annexure 1 of the May 1 order as per which the use of the app was made mandatory for all employees. Clause 15 also states that it shall be the responsibility of the head of the respective organisations to ensure that all employees use the Aarogya Setu app. Clause 15 mandating the use of the application, Aarogya Setu takes away the right of a person to decide and control the use of information pertaining to him. He is forced to give away data to a system which he may or may not approve of, thereby attacking his right of informational autonomy, the petition said. Autonomy of an individual is central to the right to life as per the 2017 judgment of the Supreme Court in KS Puttaswamy case, the petitioner submitted. Aarogya Setu, it was claimed; forces an individual to give away data to a system which he may or may not approve of and, thereby, attacks his autonomy. There arises no question of consent in the providing of information which has been made compulsory. Hence, when a citizen of the nation downloads and uses the application, complying with the directives [of the central government], there is absolutely no consent obtained from him, the petition stated. Imperial Valley News Center Owner of U.S. Navy Husbanding Services Provider Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Bribery Washington, DC - The owner and Chief Executive Officer of a Republic of Koreabased company, DK Marine, that provided ship husbanding services to the U.S. Navy pleaded guilty today for his role in a bribery conspiracy. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge David Bell of the Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS) Far East Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Stanley A. Newell of the Defense Criminal Investigative Services (DCIS) Transnational Operations Field Office made the announcement. Sung Yol David Kim, 49, a citizen of the Republic of Korea, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery before U.S. District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith of the Eastern District of Michigan. Sentencing has been scheduled for November 17, 2020, before Judge Goldsmith. Pursuant to his guilty plea, Kim admitted that between October 2013 and January 2014, Kim conspired with James Russell Driver III, a civilian U.S. Navy cargo ship captain, and another civilian U.S. Navy employee to have Kim and his company provide husbanding services for Drivers ship during a December 2013 port visit in Chinhae, Republic of Korea, in violation of appropriate U.S. Navy husbanding procedures. Driver also provided Kim with confidential and other proprietary, internal U.S. Navy information. In exchange, Kim paid bribes to Driver, including personal travel expenses for Driver and his family. Driver pleaded guilty for his role in the conspiracy in March 2019. NCIS and DCIS investigated the case. Trial Attorney Jessee Alexander-Hoeppner of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section is prosecuting the case. Confusion about whether LG Chem plant leaking more toxic gas, after 11 killed and hundreds made sick on Thursday. Officials in India were on Friday morning evacuating more people from the area around a chemical factory that leaked toxic gas, after at least 11 people were killed in a leak from the site on Thursday. There was confusion about whether the wider evacuation was the result of a renewed leak at the LG Chem plant in the eastern state of Andhra Pradesh or by concern that higher temperatures in the factory could trigger another leak. The situation is tense, district fire officer N Surendra Anand told Reuters news agency early on Friday, adding that people in a 5km (3 mile) radius of the factory in the east coast city of Visakhapatnam were being moved out. Hours earlier, authorities had said that the situation was under control at the plant on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam, after hundreds of people were sickened by the fumes. Andhra Pradesh: PTBC (Para-tertiary butyl catechol) brought to Visakhapatnam from Gujarat,on an Air India special cargo flight,for neutralizing #VizagGasLeak. Earlier tonight, gas fumes leaked again from the tanker at LG Polymers in Vizag. The leak had y'day claimed 11 lives. pic.twitter.com/RmpCCUODg5 ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 The factory is operated by LG Polymers, a unit of South Koreas biggest petrochemical maker, LG Chem. The Seoul-based company said on Friday the expanded evacuation was a precaution. There was not a second leak and LG Chem has asked the police to evacuate residents as a precautionary measure as there are concerns that tank temperatures could rise, the company said in a statement. We are taking necessary measures, including putting water into the tank. Deadly gas leak At least 11 people were killed and several hundred admitted to hospitals after Thursdays leak. A further 1,500 people were evacuated, mostly from a neighbouring village, some 14km (9 miles) inland from Visakhapatnam. Footage on Indian television channels showed people, including women and children, lying motionless in the streets of Visakhapatnam, an industrial port city. #VizagGasLeak@NDRFHQ has been working to assist in evacuation of local people & admin on site. As first responders, they have a lot of work laid out.@satyaprad1 is leading a strong team.@PIBHomeAffairs @ndmaindia @vizagcitypolice @vizagcollectorpic.twitter.com/jqtXrTA9Cc Geeta Mohan (@Geeta_Mohan) May 7, 2020 Srijana Gummalla, Commissioner of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, said styrene leaked from the plant during the early hours of the morning, when families in the surrounding villages were asleep. Gas emissions had fluctuated throughout the day and had largely stabilised, he told Reuters. The plant, which makes polystyrene products for use in fan blades, cosmetic containers and other plastic, was being reopened after India began to relax a nationwide lockdown imposed on March 25 to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. In a televised address on Thursday, Andhra Pradheshs chief minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy, said the leak occurred because the styrene had been stored for a long period of time. We are looking into the exact damages, cause of the death and details of the incident, LG Chem said in a statement. People lying unconscious on roads Images posted on Twitter showed emergency service providers including police officers, firefighters and ambulances at the location. However, Al Jazeera could not verify the authenticity of the images. G Kishan Reddy, Indias deputy home minister, told Indian news agency ANI that the National Disaster Response Force teams have been asked to provide immediate relief measures. Spoke to officials of MHA and NDMA regarding the situation in Visakhapatnam, which is being monitored closely. I pray for everyones safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 7, 2020 Areas within an approximately 3km (nearly 2 miles) radius of the plant were vulnerable, the municipal corporation said in a tweet. In an interview with local news channel NDTV, SN Pradhan, director general of the National Disaster Response Force, said the situation is now under control at the site. The gas leakage has been stopped and the quantities should now be more manageable and we should be able to evacuate people to safety, said Pradhan. According to the Times of India newspaper, the incident led to panic among the residents, with many people seen lying unconscious on the roads. Others were having breathing problems and complained of rashes on their bodies and sore eyes, it added. Children affected by a gas leak lay on beds at the King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam, India [AFP] Ambulances were shown arriving to collect the injured on the roadside to take them to hospitals in the area. India was the site of one of the worst industrial disasters in history when gas leaked from a pesticide plant in the central city of Bhopal in December 1984. About 3,500 people, mainly in shanties around the Union Carbide plant, died in the days that followed and thousands more in the following years. Government statistics say that at least 100,000 people living near the Union Carbide plant are victims of chronic illnesses, suffering from ailments such as respiratory and kidney problems, hormonal imbalances, mental illness and several forms of cancer. The real chief of the US Space Force said on Wednesday he had hoped actor Bruce Willis would have played him on the upcoming Netflix show lampooning the military's newest branch of service - instead of comic actor Steve Carell. But he jokingly offered The Office actor some constructive criticism. "The one piece of advice I'd give Steve Carell is to get a haircut," quipped Air Force General John Raymond, Space Force's chief of space operations, who is bald. "He's looking a little too shaggy if he wants to play the Space Force chief," he added, speaking at an online event. The trailer for Space Force was released on Tuesday, showing Carell as a bumbling four-star general who was drafted into leading the Space Force after initially dismissing it as a joke. Carell's character's mission appears to get off to a very rocky start. He overhears a fellow officer declare: "He's blowing it, just like you thought." The comedy -- which debuts on May 29 -- could present another challenge to Space Force's image as it tries to lift off as the military's newest branch of service, a project personally championed by President Donald Trump. Chief of Space Operations at U.S. Space Force General John Raymond. (REUTERS) Raymond says his inbox was full of emails from people seeking to join the Space Force. He joked about how he tried to cancel Netflix last year but had to resubscribe after a backlash from his children. It was shortly after that that Raymond said he learned about Netflix's plans to make a series about the Space Force, starring Carell. "I said, 'That can't be. (Carell) doesn't look like me,'" Raymond recounted. Raymond said there was voting on Twitter about who should play Pentagon leaders in the show. Bruce Willis was the top vote for the head of Space Force, he said. "So I was hoping for Bruce Willis. But Steve Carell's a great actor," Raymond said. "I love his shows, so we're looking forward to that." Follow @htshowbiz for more 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. Featured stories Ashtabula man sentenced to 25 years for rape of 12-year-old (WEWS Channel 5) Ohio House Republicans move to limit Health Director Amy Actons authority (cleveland.com) Jarring numbers for how dangerous coronavirus has been for older Ohioans, and how few younger people have died (cleveland.com) 2,354 patients, staff from these Ohio nursing homes, long-term facilities have coronavirus; 499 patients have died (cleveland.com) Ohio tax revenues plummeted in April during first full month of coronavirus closures, new numbers show (cleveland.com) Coronavirus in Ohio Ohio reported its first three cases of coronavirus on March 9. On Wednesday, the total reached 21,576.Rich Exner, cleveland.com State reports 1,225 coronavirus deaths: Wednesday update (cleveland.com) Mapping Ohios 21,576 coronavirus cases, Wednesdays updates and trends (cleveland.com) Ohio House passes bill that would decriminalize violating coronavirus health order (cleveland.com) Ohio Senate sends House bill providing $350M in CARES Act cash to local governments (cleveland.com) Ohio man becomes eighth Elkton federal prison inmate to die of coronavirus (cleveland.com) Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine hasnt released records from groups advising on business reopenings (cleveland.com) See how much each Ohio school district will lose under Gov. Mike DeWines coronavirus-related budget cut (cleveland.com) See how much Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is cutting funding to each college and university (cleveland.com) Ashland County judge postpones trial at center of debate over coronavirus measures and fair trial rights (cleveland.com) Cytokine storms: Why doctors are exploring extreme inflammatory response in severe coronavirus patients (cleveland.com) Crime Cleveland man charged in 1987 murder of Barbara Blatnik near Blossom Music Center (cleveland.com) Woman pleads guilty to robbery, having dogs attack worker at Akron grocery store (cleveland.com) Lorain man charged in hit-and-run crash that severed womans leg (cleveland.com) One dead, two injured in high-speed crash in Cleveland, police say (cleveland.com) 82-year-old man granted new trial in Cuyahoga County after maintaining innocence in 1974 murder of wife (WOIO Channel 19) Cleveland / Cuyahoga County Residents of downtown Cleveland are living in a different downtown than they were used to. Brent McGarry walks through an empty East Fourth Street in downtown Cleveland. David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com 13 new COVID-19 coronavirus cases confirmed in the city of Cleveland (cleveland.com) 95 suburban Cuyahoga County residents dead from COVID-19, Board of Health reports (cleveland.com) Cuyahoga common pleas judge orders Cleveland to investigate fire unions charge that chief should be fired (cleveland.com) Cleveland Clinic to coordinate American Heart Association COVID-19 research effort (cleveland.com) High rent, but now a ghost town: Downtown Cleveland residents weather coronavirus pandemic (photos) (cleveland.com) Testing poop at wastewater treatment plants could help predict coronavirus outbreaks, research says (cleveland.com) Cleveland music venues join national coalition in effort to survive coronavirus pandemic (cleveland.com) Cuyahoga County property tax deadline delayed to Aug. 13 (cleveland.com) Cleveland Kosher Food Pantry helping feed people for four decades (photos) (cleveland.com) Local news East Kent States Board of Trustees approves employee pay cuts, buyouts to cut expenses during coronavirus pandemic (cleveland.com) Mayfield Village Cruise Night likely wont happen in 2020; Memorial Day plans altered (cleveland.com) Mentor Farmers Market set to open in June with social-distancing guidelines (cleveland.com) Local news West 15 $1 million in orchids donated to frontline workers across country by local company, May 6, 2020 $1 million in orchids donated to coronavirus frontline workers across country by Oberlin greenhouse (photos) (cleveland.com) Cedar Fair considering capacity limits, virtual queuing, in reopening of Cedar Point, other parks (cleveland.com) Lakewood City School District moves last day of instruction up to May 20, looks ahead to fall curriculum (cleveland.com) Economic downturn forces Fairview Park to lay off 13 full-time employees (cleveland.com) Fairview Park High School announces socially distant-friendly commencement plans (cleveland.com) North Olmsted High School heading to the drive-in for Class of 2020 commencement (cleveland.com) Lakewood Public Library reopens with drive-thru window and curbside service (cleveland.com) Akron / Canton area GOJO Industries, maker of Purell, to open warehouse in Stark County for sanitizers in high demand due to coronavirus crisis (cleveland.com) Family blames coronavirus pandemic, health care system for loved ones puzzling death (Akron Beacon Journal) Medinas Jazz Under the Stars concert series moves to cyberspace (cleveland.com) State Is Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio the most conservative Congress member of all time? (cleveland.com) Atokaa new brand of herbalist crafted, plant-based functional beveragesis providing thousands of herbal tonics and shots to first responders in New York, D.C., Massachusetts, Washington State, and other locations across the country. The functional beverages are made with restorative herbs and nutrient dense dark fruits, and are being provided to healthcare workers in a variety of blends, including the Calm Blend to help relax after a long day, and the Well Blend to help support general health and wellness. "As frontline healthcare workers step forward to address this public health challenge, it's essential that we step forward to support them," said Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO of Thrive Global. "Ocean Spray's Atoka beverages provide a healthy way for these first responders to recharge and refresh themselves as they go about their life-saving work." "We are humbled to support first responders during this pandemic," said Rizal Hamdallah, Chief Global Innovation Officer at Ocean Spray. "We hope our Atoka products are a way to help healthcare workers maintain wholesome nutrition for their own health and wellness as they continue to act selflessly and inspire us all with their courage and compassion." Atoka will continue donations of its functional beverages to first responders. In addition, Atoka products are now available direct-to-consumer on www.atokawellness.com to help people prioritize holistic wellness while staying at home. Now more than ever, Atoka is dedicated to both help people care for themselves, and to help care for others during this unprecedented time. "We launched online knowing that people are looking for ways to expand their holistic health and wellness habits while at home. We are trying to encourage people to not only maintain and improve their health and wellness habits at home, but also let them know that they are taking action to support our first responders, together," said Hamdallah. About #FirstRespondersFirst: #FirstRespondersFirst, an initiative of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Thrive Global, and the CAA Foundation, takes a whole human approach to supporting first responder healthcare workers as they serve on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. #FirstRespondersFirst's fundraising call to action helps provide essential protective equipment, accommodations, child care, food, mental health support, and other resources to this demographically and socially diverse workforce, ranging from minimum-wage hourly workers in home-care settings to social workers, nurses, physicians, and beyond, through its implementing collaborators Americares, Direct Relief, World Central Kitchen, and Bright Horizons, with additional support from Cisco, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International, Mattel, and Modelo, among others. Powered by Thrive Global's behavior change platform, #FirstRespondersFirst also provides access to Harvard Chan School's evidence-based content, specifically tailored to this critical workforce, to help improve the physical and mental well-being of healthcare workers. Dutch Bros Coffee, the country's largest privately held drive-thru coffee company, serves as #FirstRespondersFirst's premier corporate donor. About OceanSpray: Founded in 1930, Ocean Spray is a vibrant agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 cranberry farmers in the United States, Canada and Chile who have helped preserve the family farming way of life for generations. The Cooperative's cranberries are currently featured in more than a thousand great-tasting, nutritious products in over 100 countries worldwide. Leading by purpose, Ocean Spray is committed to the power of goodcreating good, nutritious food that has a direct and powerful impact for the health of people and planet. All for good. Good for all. For more information visit: www.oceanspray.com For PR Inquiries: JONESWORKS Ayla Richards [email protected] 212-839-0111 SOURCE Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. Related Links http://www.oceanspray.com Barry Farber, an original pioneer of talk radio who shared his intelligent conservatism with untold millions of listeners during a career in broadcasting that spanned 60 years, has passed away. One day after his 90th birthday on Tuesday, Farber died peacefully at home in New York City, with members of his family at his bedside. On Tuesday, a live program celebrating Farber's birthday was on in his time slot, featuring his younger brother Jerry, his two daughters Celia and Bibi, and his producer Dahlia Weinstein. During the program, Barry Farber took the mic briefly and spoke his last words that would ever be broadcast. In 2009, Talkers Magazine placed Farber at number nine on its list of the most influential talk show hosts in American history. In 2014, he was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame. In 1960, 28 years prior to the arrival of Rush Limbaugh on national radio and more than three decades before the internet and the new media gave citizens a wide range of information choices, Farber began broadcasting his own radio talk show on WINS 1010 in New York City. In the decades that followed, he and a small group of talented and innovative broadcasters brought alternative political insights to mainstream audiences on some of the biggest radio stations and later, on major radio networks in the country. Barry Farber at the mic in the 1980s. A native of North Carolina, for most of his adult life, Farber was based in New York City. After several years on the air at WINS, The Barry Farber Show moved to another 50-kw powerhouse station, WOR AM 710. Farber remained at WOR until 1977, when he took a break to enter politics and mounted a strong campaign for NYC mayor in the Republican primary. Later that year, he ran unsuccessfully for the mayoral office in the general election under the Conservative Party's banner. In all of the years since then, Farber was rarely not on the radio, either locally or nationally. Last May, he turned 89 and was still hosting a live show five nights a week from his apartment on CRN Digital Talk, which had carried his program since 2009. The Barry Farber Show featured a variety of guests, including this author. In recent months, Farber's health began to decline after he suffered a series of falls. He hosted his last live program on CRN Talk last week. A number of successful members of the media have cited Farber as a major, positive inspiration and influence in their career choices, including John B. Wells and Sean Hannity. Hannity often mentioned Farber on his radio and Fox News television shows as one of his mentors. Wells and Farber were guests on each other's shows, with Wells appearing on the Farber program again on April 22. Apprised of Farber's death Wednesday evening, Wells replied in an email, "I'm grateful to have known him. Amazing. He never quit working all the way to the 90 Line and then checked out of here. That's what legends do." L. to R: talk show hosts Curtis Sliwa, Barry Farber, and Sean Hannity in a photo taken about a decade ago. My two dozen appearances as a guest on The Barry Farber Show since 2018, including 13 this year, were always special events for me. As a teenager growing up in the NYC metro area, I was a fan of Farber's late-night radio program on WOR. I still have some tapes of his program back then that I recorded off the air. Two years ago, I wrote an article about Barry Farber, "The Godfather of Modern Talk Radio," for American Thinker that included many details about his career. It was republished with photographs at the CRN Digital Talk site here. Farber was also a writer and authored several bestselling books. He continued to write a weekly column for World Net Daily from 2009 until last March 17, when his article about the coronavirus, "The word that gets us through national crises: 'Together,'" was published. Farber was well known for his recognition of his friends and colleagues, and I was deeply touched when one of his last columns on February 18 took generous note of this author's reporting on the 2020 race for the presidency. An archive of hundreds of Farber's WND columns can be accessed from this page. Barry Farber is survived by his wife Sara and his daughters Celia and Bibi. It's an understatement to say his passing is a major loss and that he will be greatly missed. Prophetically, in 2014 in a conversation with his daughters, Farber said, "I would rather burn out than rust out. I am one of those who will not retire." Wednesday evening, in a tweet that announced her father's death, Celia Farber wrote: "He told me recently that his concept of death was 'going somewhere I've never been before, like Finland or Estonia.' May God rest his soul." Peter Barry Chowka is a veteran journalist who writes about politics, media, popular culture, and health care for American Thinker and other publications. He also appears in the media, including recently on BBC World News. Peter's website is http://peter.media. Follow Peter on Twitter at @pchowka. In fact, Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the court, was unsparing in her criticism of the scheme. But she said the goal of Kelly, Christies former deputy chief of staff, and Baroni, formerly deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, was not to secure money or property, which is a requirement of the federal statute under which they were convicted. Imperial Valley News Center Leading Cancer Treatment Center Admits to Antitrust Crime Tampa, Florida - Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute LLC (FCS), an oncology group headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, was charged with conspiring to allocate medical and radiation oncology treatments for cancer patients in Southwest Florida, the Department of Justice announced. This charge is the first in the departments ongoing investigation into market allocation in the oncology industry. According to a one-count felony charge filed today in the U.S. District Court in Fort Myers, Florida, FCS participated in a criminal antitrust conspiracy with a competing oncology group in Collier, Lee, and Charlotte counties (Southwest Florida). FCS and its co-conspirators agreed not to compete to provide chemotherapy and radiation treatments to cancer patients in Southwest Florida. Beginning as early as 1999 and continuing until at least 2016, FCS entered into an illegal agreement that allocated chemotherapy treatments to FCS and radiation treatments to a competing oncology group. This conspiracy allowed FCS to operate with minimal competition in Southwest Florida and limited valuable integrated care options and choices for cancer patients. The Antitrust Division also announced a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) resolving the charge against FCS, under which the company admitted to conspiring to allocate chemotherapy and radiation treatments for cancer patients. FCS has agreed to pay a $100 million criminal penalty the statutory maximum and to cooperate fully with the Antitrust Divisions ongoing investigation. FCS has also agreed to maintain an effective compliance program designed to prevent and detect criminal antitrust violations. Todays resolution, with one of the largest independent oncology groups in the United States, is a significant step toward ensuring that cancer patients in Southwest Florida are afforded the benefits of competition for life-saving treatments, said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justices Antitrust Division. For almost two decades, FCS and its co-conspirators agreed to cheat by limiting treatment options available to cancer patients in order to line their pockets. The Antitrust Division is continuing its investigation to ensure that all responsible participants are held accountable to the maximum extent possible. The FBI has no tolerance for medical providers who stand to profit by criminally exploiting cancer patients, said Michael McPherson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBIs Tampa Field Office. We will not turn a blind eye while executives pad their pockets to the detriment of vulnerable Americans. We will use every tool at our disposal to ensure that the public has access to a competitive marketplace for healthcare. Additionally, the agreement includes a non-compete waiver aimed at increasing competition in the treatment of cancer patients in Southwest Florida. Under the agreements terms, FCS has agreed not to enforce any non-compete provisions with its current or former oncologists or other employees who, during the term of the DPA, open or join an oncology practice in Southwest Florida. This charge is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into market allocation and other anticompetitive conduct in the oncology industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division and the FBIs Tampa Field Office Fort Meyers RA. The Florida Office of the Attorney General separately announced today that, in connection with its own independent investigation, FCS agreed to settle civil claims that it violated Florida antitrust laws. Take a look at some of the biggest movers in the premarket: Raytheon Technologies (RTX) The defense contractor reported quarterly profit of $1.78 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 a share. Revenue also beat forecasts and Raytheon said it would not provide a financial outlook at this time due to pandemic-related uncertainty. ViacomCBS (VIAC) The media company beat estimates by 17 cents a share, with quarterly earnings of $1.13 per share. Revenue also came in above estimates. ViacomCBS logged a 51% increase during the quarter in domestic streaming and digital video revenue. AmerisourceBergen (ABC) The drug distributor reported quarterly earnings of $2.40 per share, 13 cents a share above estimates. Revenue also exceeding forecasts. The company cut its full-year earnings forecast to incorporate the potential impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) The drugmaker earned $1.72 per share for the first quarter, 23 cents a share above estimates. Revenue also topped analysts' projections. The company said it was maintaining its 2020 earnings forecast, despite the pandemic that it thinks will shave $500 million off 2020 revenue. Dish Network (DISH) The satellite TV provider reported better-than-expected first-quarter revenue, but lost 250,000 subscribers during the quarter due to disconnections in the airline and hospitality sectors. Edgewell Personal Care (EPC) The maker of Schick razors, Edge shaving cream, and other personal care products missed estimates by a penny a share, with quarterly earnings of 92 cents per share. Revenue beat forecasts. Edgewell withdrew its full-year forecast due to pandemic-related uncertainty. Hilton Worldwide (HLT) The hotel operator reported quarterly earnings of 74 cents per share for the first quarter, beating the 55 cents a share consensus estimate. Revenue was essentially in line with expectations. Hilton said the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic did not become significant until March, although comparable systemwide revenue per available room did tumble 22.6% during the quarter on a currency-neutral basis. JetBlue (JBLU) JetBlue lost 42 cents per share during the first quarter, wider than the 36 cents a share loss anticipated by Wall Street. Revenue was shy of expectations as well. Like other airlines, JetBlue was impacted by the severe drop in travel demand, although it did say it expects its daily cash burn rate to fall to $10 million this month from $18 million during the second half of March. Moderna (MRNA) Moderna said it had received Food and Drug Administration approval for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate to proceed to a phase 2 study. Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) The drugmaker reported quarterly earnings of 76 cents per share, 17 cents a share above estimates. Revenue also beat forecasts. Teva saw stronger demand for its generic and over-the-counter drugs, and also reaffirmed its 2020 outlook. Costco (COST) Costco reported a 4.7% drop in comparable-store sales for April, with the warehouse retailer saying its sales were impacted by some mandatory closures and the implementation of social distancing at open locations. T-Mobile US (TMUS) T-Mobile beat estimates by 8 cents a share, with quarterly earnings of $1.10 per share. The wireless carrier's revenue was slightly below forecasts. T-Mobile said it expected the pandemic to negatively impact its results through at least the end of the year. PayPal (PYPL) PayPal earned 66 cents per share for its latest quarter, 9 cents a share shy of estimates. The payment services company's revenue also registered a miss. PayPal said it expects a strong recovery during the current quarter as more people shift to online shopping. Square (SQ) Square reported a quarterly loss of 2 cents per share, surprising analysts who had forecast a 13 cents per share profit for the mobile payment services provider. The pandemic resulted in a significant drop in transaction volume for the quarter, and Square expects a material impact for the current quarter as well. Etsy (ETSY) Etsy fell 9 cents a share shy of estimates, with quarterly earnings of 10 cents per share. The online crafts marketplace's revenue beat Wall Street forecasts. The revenue performance got a boost from sales of face masks, a trend that Etsy expects to grow in the current quarter. Grubhub (GRUB) Grubhub broke even for its latest quarter, surpassing expectations of a loss. The food delivery service's revenue came in above estimates. Grubhub said it is seeing a rebound in delivery sales, reversing a drop that occurred at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Fox Corp. (FOXA) Fox reported quarterly earnings of 93 cents per share, beating the consensus estimate of 71 cents a share. Revenue topped estimates as well. Fox said that the pandemic is having a negative impact on its operations, however, especially for its local TV stations where advertisers have been cutting back. Peloton Interactive (PTON) Peloton lost 20 cents per share for its fiscal third quarter, wider than the 17 cents a share loss predicted by analysts. The exercise equipment maker's revenue came in well above estimates, however, with stay-at-home orders resulting in a 66% jump in sales. The company also raised its current-quarter sales forecast. Lyft (LYFT) Lyft lost $1.09 per share for the first quarter, compared to the loss of 63 cents per share forecast by Wall Street. The ride-hailing service's revenue beat estimates, however, jumping 23% from a year earlier. Wynn Resorts (WYNN) Wynn posted a wider-than-expected loss and revenue below analysts' estimates. The casino operator saw a significant impact from coronavirus-related shutdowns. Wynn also suspended its quarterly dividend. Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) Anheuser-Busch saw a 13.7% drop in first-quarter profit, with the world's largest beer brewer predicting a "materially worse" performance for the current quarter amid bar and restaurant shutdowns due to the coronavirus outbreak. Flir Systems (FLIR) Flir will provide General Motors (GM) with 377 of its thermal scanners to help detect fever among the automaker's employees when they return to work at GM factories, according to a Reuters report. Domino's Pizza (DPZ), DexCom (DXCM) The pizza chain and the glucose monitoring system maker will join the S&P 500 next week, replacing Michael Kors parent Capri Holdings (CPRI) and drugmaker Allergan (AGN). Capri is moving to the S&P SmallCap 600, while Allergan is being acquired by drugmaker AbbVie (ABBV). A member of the US Navy who serves a personal valet to Donald Trump has tested positive for Covid-19, according to reports, raising questions about whether the president was recently exposed to the novel virus. Deputy White House Press Secretary Hogan Gidley confirmed the news in a statement on Thursday that said in part: We were recently notified by the White House Medical Unit that a member of the United States Military, who works on the White House campus, has tested positive for Coronavirus. The statement continued: The President and the Vice President have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health." Mr Trump and Mike Pence has both received multiple coronavirus tests since the pandemic began in March, as multiple officials close to the president and vice president have since tested positive for the disease. The service member has not been publicly identified. They serve on an elite force that protects the president during his travels, along with the US Secret Service and other agencies. They began exhibiting symptoms on Wednesday, according to CNN, which cited anonymous sources. White House officials, including the president, have continually received Abbott Labs rapid coronavirus tests which are capable of producing results in nearly 15 minutes. The personal valet to the president was known to work closely with the first family and top officials in the West Wing. The Defence Department also confirmed the presidents personal valet had tested positive for coronavirus. As with any other service member who tests positive, the individual will quarantine in their residence, and will receive medical care as needed, the statement read. As the news broke, Mr Pence was on his way to a health-care facility in Virginia where the vice president was scheduled to visit and meet workers on the front lines of the pandemic. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 7, 2020 16:02 621 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd68c692 1 Science & Tech Facebook,facebook-oversight-board,freedom-of-speech,freedom-of-expression,human-rights,harrasment,journalism,Endy-Bayuni,journalists,Instagram Free Endy M. Bayuni, senior editor of The Jakarta Post and former editor in chief, has been appointed the first Indonesian member of the newly established Facebook Oversight Board. Endy will join 19 other board members from 16 countries, including journalists, former judges, and human rights activists. The board has been described as Facebooks supreme court and will be responsible for reviewing Facebook and Instagram content decisions and making binding decisions based on respect for freedom of expression and human rights. Im a Facebook user, and while I see the benefits of the platform, I also see big issues related to content, Endy told the Post on Thursday. On the one hand, we have to protect freedom of speech, but we cannot let free speech lead to harassment or violence. I hope that as part of the Oversight Board I can help to address this balance. Endy said he was selected because of his background in journalism. He hoped to bring a journalistic perspective on the freedom of expression and human rights alongside the two other journalists on the board. We at The Jakarta Post have always been on the front lines in pushing for greater free speech in Indonesia and the wider Asian region, he said. Endy is a member of the Posts board and served as its editor-in-chief for two separate terms: from 2004 to 2010 and 2016 to 2018. He also co-founded the International Association of Religion Journalists in 2012 and currently serves as its executive director. Read also: Facebook reveals members of its 'supreme court' for content Press Council inter-institutional and international relations commission head Agus Sudibyo praised the appointment, saying that he hoped Endy could represent the 151 million Facebook users and 59.8 million Instagram users in Indonesia. This is something special for Endy and Indonesia, Agus told the Post on Tuesday. His concern for public space and democratic freedom of speech is high, and I think his appointment is appropriate. He also expressed his hope that the appointment would lead to a more responsible and accountable social media space in Indonesia, from both the users and the platform providers. Facebook public policy director Brent Harris described the creation of the board, which was initially proposed in 2018 by Facebook co-founder and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg, as the "beginning of a fundamental change in the way some of the most difficult content decisions on Facebook will be made." The board will review appeals from users whose content has been removed by Facebook as well requests for Facebook to remove content. Board members are independent of Facebook, and the boards operations are supported by a newly established, irrevocable US$130 million trust fund that is also independent of Facebook. Harris said Facebook would implement all of the boards decisions which would be made public as long as they did not violate the law. Pursuant to Central and respective state governments permitting operations, the company has resumed operations in a partial manner in about two-thirds of the plant locations, Tube Investments said in a BSE filing. Chennai: With the easing of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions most areas, Tube Investments of India Ltd, has resumed operations in two-thirds of its plant locations, giving paramount regard for health and safety of its workforce, the company said. The city-based company, formerly TI Financial Holdings Ltd, said it was awaiting permissions from local authorities to resume operations in remaining plant locations. Flagship entity of diversified conglomerate Murugappa Group, Tube Investments manufactures a range of products for automotive, railway, construction, mining, agriculture at its 18 plants across the country. The resumption of operations comes after the Centre and various state governments allowed industries to function in green and orange zones, where the coronavirus cases are nil or within certain parameters, since the third phase of lockdown began on 4 May. No relaxations are allowed in red zones, where the cases and doubling rates are higher. "...pursuant to Central and respective state governments'' permitting operations, the company has resumed operations in a partial manner in about two-thirds of the plant locations", the company said in a BSE filing. As the situation improved the operations would be scaled up to full level, it added. "...operations in all plants are done subject to total adherence of the guidelines issued by the governments concerned and local authorities, with paramount regard for health and safety of workforce," the company said. Click here to follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak Tube Investments has three main verticals -- engineering, metal formed products and bicycles. The year 22-year-old Emily Roznowski overdosed in a Starbucks parking lot across from the Harrisburg Mall, some 70,000 Americans succumbed to opioid addiction, including nearly 5,000 Pennsylvanians. That was 2016. The nationwide crisis stealing thousands of people in their 20s, 30s and 40s had been branded an epidemic. But many of the families left behind now see the epidemic label was in name only. Their hindsight comes four short years later, as America and the world are embroiled in the coronavirus pandemic. The response this time has been massive: Entire countries and their economies have been shut down. Mountains of medical equipment have been mobilized and moved. First-responders and healthcare workers are rightly hailed as heroes. And victims and families are drawing support, too, with nurses and doctors lining up in applause as COVID-19 survivors are discharged. While not diminishing the severity of the coronavirus in any way, families still suffering the long legacy of loss from opioids say its hard not to feel a little epidemic envy. I think there is a little bit of that, said Joanne Clough, Emilys mom and a family law attorney now working with many of those whose lives have been forever altered by opioids. Some people are posting, this is terrible that people are dying of this (coronavirus), but wouldnt it be nice if people reacted this way to the opioid epidemic? Clough said of the rising resentment within opioid support circles. Some people feel like their kids just didnt matter, Clough continued. You look at how many people died. The year Emily died, almost 5,000 people died in Pennsylvania and 70,000 in the country that year. And thats every year for several years. Its just incredible. In addition to this perceived epidemic double-standard, there are grandparents, like Clough, whove been thrust into parenting roles for young children left behind by addicts. Now, theyre deathly afraid of contracting COVID-19. The virus has been proven most dangerous to older people with pre-existing conditions. Of the more than 3,000 Pennsylvanians who have died, the vast majority had at least one other condition, such as heart disease or diabetes, Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine told lawmakers this week. At 63, a heart-attack survivor and with lungs scarred from multiple bouts with pneumonia, Clough says she fits the virus prime target to a T. So do the primary parents in many other opioid-altered families. A lot of the grandparents are really worried when things open up again and the kids go back to school and daycare, that they will bring home the coronavirus, Clough said. Theyre going to bring it back home to us -- and Im high risk. These are just some of the ways the Hampden Township attorney said her professional and private life continues to be utterly upended by her most personal experience with the opioid epidemic. Clough now focuses much of her time advocating for addicts and supporting the families. For Clough, the battle began May 6, 2013. That afternoon, Emily, having been banished from the family home for bizarre behavior at age 18, phoned her mother and asked to meet at a public park. There, Emily made a tearful confession. READ MORE: Heres more evidence COVID-19 lockdowns and job losses are fueling a big spike in opioid abuse She told me she couldnt stop, Clough recounted Emily as saying. She said, Mommy, Mommy, Im so sorry. Ive tried and tried, and I just cant stop. I need help. I need help. With that, Clough received what she calls her one-way ticket to ride the "heroin roller-coaster. Ever since, shes been unable to get off. The 4-year-old girl bouncing off the walls of Cloughs home as both the attorney and her younger daughter, Diane Roznowski, attempt to work from home is proof. I always tell people, we got on a heroin roller-coaster ride and we didnt buy a ticket, Clough said. It was horrible, absolutely horrible. The ups and downs. The constant worry of whether she was going to be alive or dead. Its the worst state of chaos to live in. WATCH: Opioid epidemics tragic legacy Baby Carter was supposed to be Emilys saving grace. Emily was at the height of her addiction shooting 24 stamp bags of heroin a day when she learned she was more than 5 months pregnant in 2015. At first, Emily was terrified about what her continuing opioid abuse would mean for her baby. Then, the thought of another life growing inside her provided a new lease on her own. Emily went on a methadone program. Clough said she later learned Emily was still shooting up. But at around 7 months into her pregnancy, Emily stopped -- cold. There was another complication, however. Emily was diagnosed with placenta accrete. Part of the babys placenta was attached to Emilys uterine wall. The mother-to-be was at mortal risk for massive bleeding during labor and delivery. Its among the reasons most in-patient rehabs wouldnt touch Emily during her pregnancy. One that would was in a neighboring state that could have taken custody of Emilys baby due to her ongoing methadone maintenance, Clough said. The family would go it alone. Amid the joy of Emilys baby shower, she began bleeding. First a little, then profusely. It was a month before her due date, but the already-compromised placenta had ruptured. The baby was coming. The questions now were whether mother and baby would survive the birth? And if so, would the newborn enter the world addicted to opioids? Emily underwent an emergency C-section on February 27, 2016. Her daughter, Carter Harrison Gens, was born premature. But she was free of any signs of opioid withdrawal. In fact, this little girl was strong, right from her early start on life. They were really lucky that they both survived, Clough said. Carter was doing great. She was happy, healthy -- not fussy at all. There were other babies going through withdrawal. It was very sad to hear those babies squeal and cry. Carter wasnt just premature; she was impatient. She routinely ripped off her diapers in the preemie unit. She plucked out her feeding tube, determined to eat on her own. The precocious premie lasted all of six days in the hospital neonatal unit before being discharged on the seventh day. The extended family spanning three generation were now under one roof in Cloughs Hampden Township home. But make no mistake, Emily was the mommy. I was really worried about her being a mom, Clough confessed. There was no need. Emily appeared to transform overnight. A light went on. Suddenly the whole world seemed different. Now it revolved around a premature baby born during the height of heroin addiction. Yet, her darling daughter had been delivered safe, sound and totally healthy. It all had the feel of a second chance. Thats the way it went for months. Emily stayed clean with the help of low-dose methadone maintenance. She breastfed Carter at all hours. And just weeks after the birth, Emily returned to her waitressing job at the Aroogas on Second Street in Harrisburg, working evenings and nights. Slowly, however, Emilys dormant but not defeated addiction exacted its toll. She was exhausted, Clough recalled. She was nursing every two or three hours. At four weeks, she started working again. There were bad days, and Emily confessed she simply didnt feel right anymore. She would say, Mommy, I just dont feel normal. Im not happy anymore. I mean, I love Carter and you, but I just dont feel normal, Clough recounted. A couple of nice guys asked her out, and she said no, I dont belong with anyone normal. In hindsight, Clough now recognizes all the tell-tale symptoms of opioid brain. The addiction alters the brains dopamine response, making life after heroin seem zombie-like. The lows are lower than ever. And the highs are never nearly as lofty, Clough said. She said, Im doing everything right and I just dont feel the happiness, Clough said. She said, I just dont feel like I belong anywhere. It was sad. Added sister, Diane: For four years, she had been numbing all of her bad feelings out of herself. Now, runaway negative thoughts were crashing down all around Emily. She was in trouble. We didnt know, Clough said. The biggest regret I have is, I wish Emily, Diane and I knew more before Emily died about the whole dopamine thing and how heroin chemically alters the way your brain works. Maybe if she understood that, it wouldve helped her a little bit. Instead, nearly a year after Emily first learned of her surprise pregnancy, Diane found a used syringe in the house. Clough didnt hesitate. The family law attorney phoned child protective services. She wanted Emily kept away from now 8-month old Carter. Late that night, as Emily returned home from working at Aroogas, she was blindsided by the turn-about. She came home from work and said, what do you mean youre not letting me touch my baby? Diane recounted. We said, well how can we trust you right now? It was enough to convince Emily to sign herself in at in-patient treatment. But because she had relapsed just that once, Emily didnt go through withdrawal, Clough said. She was out in a week. Whats more, Emily was determined to get off methadone, altogether, although this was considered premature, too. Emily touted it as a success story. So much so, she was talking excitedly with her mom about both of them taking their story of addiction to others -- most especially high school students. Someone shot a video during one of Emilys early speeches. She also appeared on a podcast about opioid addiction for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, for which Diane was a staffer. It was supposed to be just the beginning. She said, Mommy when I get myself together a little better with Carter, I want us to go around and maybe talk to high schools me from my perspective and you as the mom cause what I was always told about drugs is not what happened to me, Clough said. She said, I think if people knew, maybe we could stop one person. If one person who was pregnant didnt go through what I went through and got help -- it would be worth it. Mother and daughter would never get the chance to appear together to talk in public about their heroin roller-coaster. Within weeks, Emily was dead. On Dec. 3, 2016, Emily failed to show up for her shift at Aroogas, despite having left the house early that day. She was missing for 15 agonizing hours. Then, her car was found in the Starbucks parking lot in Swatara Township. Emily was inside, along with stamp bags of what turned out to be almost pure fentanyl. Clough insisted upon seeing her daughter at the Dauphin County morgue. They dont let you see the people, but I made them let me see Emily, she said. She had her little Aroogas referee shirt on. She was all ready to go to work. She just didnt make it. Emilys autopsy revealed the only toxins in her system to be caffeine, nicotine and the nearly pure, ultimately fatal, fentanyl. The pack she got was a death pack, Clough said. 100% pure. Clough said evidence of who sold Emily the fentanyl was on her daughters cellphone. Alas, police were never able to make a drug delivery death case against the suspected dealer. Clough said word of Emilys overdose leaked on social media, and the suspected dealer didnt take the bait when police attempted a controlled buy that might have linked his product to Emilys death. In a small triumph, Clough said she was eventually able to put a detective in touch with one of Emilys old high school friends. A recovering heroin user himself, the friend agreed to make a buy from the same dealer months later. This culminated in the dealers arrest and conviction, with counts for possession and selling netting him months in prison. But Clough said the dealer continued to deny any link to Emilys death, and no connection was ever proven. In other words, it was nothing close to closure. Instead, Clough said shes left with the cruel but necessary lesson that the battle against opioid addiction never ends. We had a great Thanksgiving and we were looking forward to Christmas, Clough said of the time surrounding Emilys death. She did have a cold that day. And she was quarreling with Carters father. She was having a bad day. She figured shed buy it on her way to work. Its all it takes. The most insidious thing about this is, it can take you out anytime, Clough said. Theres no amount of clean time that makes you safe. You have to work the rest of your life to not die from this. Its a terminal disease that you have to keep working every day to stay alive from. Otherwise, you either end up dead or in jail. In other words: No finish lines. No success stories. Only the fight. The constant battle, the forever roller-coaster. The saddest thing for us is we got her back that last year, Clough said. We really thought she was going to make it. Such are the embers of the opioid epidemic that still smolder, even as the fires of another epidemic now rage. Worse yet, all the carnage caused by the coronavirus the unemployment, dislocation, isolation and social disruption present grave threats to recovering addicts far beyond the virus, itself, Clough warned. She described the dictates of social distancing as severing support systems for many: 12-step meetings upended or ended. In-patient treatment and group therapy delayed or disrupted. Clough worries the anxiety and hardships caused by coronavirus lockdowns could push more people into depression -- and ultimately -- onto opioids. Shes sounding the alarm about a second wave of death from a coronavirus-caused resurgence of the opioid epidemic. In fact, all of whats happening now is fuel for new addiction and relapse, she said. This pandemic has played havoc with the lifelines for many addicts, Clough concluded. Its why both she and her daughter soldier on. Clough provides legal services and advocates for addicts and their families. Diane works for the Washington, D.C., nonprofit Generations United, home to the National Center of Grand Families. These are grandparents, like Clough, and other close relatives now raising children. Many as a direct result of the opioid epidemic. Its completely changed Dianes focus on what she does, Clough said of the familys ongoing battle with opioid addiction. Its changed a lot of what I do. Ive helped a lot of grandparents in our situation. And that includes relatives of those who are active addicts and those who have passed away. For Clough, it means securing the best possible custody arrangements for the most innocent of all opioid victims the children. An entire generation left behind. Theyre the living legacy of the opioid epidemic. For Clough, its embodied by Carter. Its why she wills herself to keep up with the feisty 4-year-old, now trapped at home due to the coronavirus. Carter has taken to calling her grandmother Mommy." But Clough says she has nothing in common with all the other younger parents. Nothing except the unconditional love she has for Carter. I had single-handedly raised two daughters, Clough said. When Emily died, she was 22 and Diane was 20. I sole-parented them since they were 4 and 5. I was done with that phase of my life. Emily dies, and now Im raising a 9-month-old all by myself. I would fight to the death to take care of Carter, but its not what I ever thought my life would be. But where Clough never had the opportunity to partner with Emily to publicly fight opioids, Carter has joined her in public service videos, including one made by Sen. Bob Caseys office. For her part, Clough has lost count of all her many speeches, association memberships, committee meetings and appearances all aspects of her ongoing advocacy. Once I started speaking, I just started speaking more and more and more, she said. Ive done a lot of advocating. When I start making a list of all the things Ive done, its way more than I ever thought. We do what we can, wherever we can, and try to remove the stigma from it. But the victim-blaming and family-shaming go on, she said. This public perception prevents opioid addiction from being treated as a true health crisis and an actual epidemic. The result is more lives lost. Emily wasnt the first kid from her class to die from our high school, Diane said of the seeming suburban utopia of their alma mater, Cumberland Valley School District. Now, shes probably the seventh or eighth -- maybe more. Like, its happening. By ignoring it, were not going to fix it. Despite all the talk of opioids and addiction that takes place around Carter on a daily basis, the inquisitive little girl has yet to ask the biggest question of all how her Mommy Emily died. Clough knows its coming. Shes bracing for it. And she wont shy away. I dont believe in lying at all, she said. I dont believe in covering it up at all. When she does ask, I will try to respond in an age-appropriate way. Most of all, Clough said shell be guided by her late daughters good advice, given when the two were discussing plans to fight opioid addiction together. Emily always used to say, this addiction thrives in the darkness and only dies in the light, Clough said. I firmly believe that. Emilys there in other ways, too. Before Clough took the podium to deliver one of her many speeches on the subject, they played a video clip of Emily. Shed been recorded speaking just weeks before she died. There was real optimism in her eyes, long left vacant and hollow by heroin. If only for a moment, Emily had won. It came to Clough then: A mother and daughter could still do this together. I dont talk to Emilys spirit very much, but I did say to her, we always wanted to do it together, and today we did, Clough recounted. Now Emilys video is a constant part of Cloughs presentations. Its not the way we wanted to do it, but I do use that clip a lot when I speak. We are able to do it together, she said. WATCH: Emilys video legacy To Our Readers: 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. TDT | Manama Travel to Manila has been put off for at least a week after the Philippine government announced yesterday the suspension of all inbound international commercial flights. National carrier Gulf Air is currently operating one flight per week, every Saturday, to the Philippine capital. The airline confirmed last night that this weeks flight is cancelled due to the suspension, which came into effect yesterday. The temporary suspension was issued because coronavirus (COVID-19) quarantine facilities in Metro Manila, intended to accommodate Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) returning to the country, are nearly full. The Philippine government currently requires all OFWs flying home to undergo a 14-day quarantine period upon their arrival, and before being able to reunite with their families. This is part of the countrys measures being taken to help further mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision is meant to decongest our quarantine facilities to protect our people by preventing the further spread of COVID-19 and also ensure that our OFWs are well taken care of when they arrive from abroad, the Philippines National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. was quoted as saying. As of today, there are already approximately 20,000 OFWs undergoing mandatory quarantine in Metro Manila. The new flight restriction is only temporary and will be implemented for one week to give the government the opportunity to decongest the quarantine facilities. Certain other inbound and outbound international commercial flights will be allowed, with approval from authorities and under certain conditions. The move is deemed necessary in order to ensure that our country will not experience a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic due to the increasing number of international passenger arrivals, the Department of Transportation said in a statement. According to reports, one of the last flights out of Manila yesterday, right after the suspension was announced, was a Gulf Air flight that landed earlier in the day carrying OFWs from Bahrain. It departed one hour later. Earlier reports claimed the former president of Georgia and ex-Odesa governor was offered to become vice PM, which caused a spat with Tbilisi. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky by his decree has appointed Mikheil Saakashvili chairman of the Executive Reform Committee, the advisory body created in 2014. "I sincerely congratulate Mikheil Nikolozovich [Saakashvili] on the new responsible challenge. I believe he will be able to give an impetus to the National Reform Council and will help in the implementation of important changes in the country's life," Zelensky said, according to his Office's press service. By the same decree, the president appointed Oleksandr Olshansky a former Georgian president's deputy. "The document amends the decrees of the head of state on a unified state reform policy in Ukraine, ensuring the activities of the National Reform Council and the Executive Reform Committee and the provision on the National Reform Council. The decree shall come into force on the day it is published," the statement said. Read alsoSaakashvili confirms reports about possible appointment to Reforms Council As UNIAN reported earlier, on April 22, Saakashvili claimed he had received from President Zelensky an offer to become vice prime minister for reform. According to media reports, after long negotiations, the People's Servant ruling parliamentary faction at its meeting failed to gather enough votes to secure Saakashvili's appointment. After that, reports said, the Cabinet of Ministers withdrew from the Verkhovna Rada a relevant submission. The news on possible plans to offer Saaksashvili a senior government post sparked a row with Georgia, where its former president has been found guilty of a criminal offense and sentenced in absentia. The incumbent President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, on April 29 expressed concern about the news coming from Kyiv. At the same time, she added that she wouldnt want to undermine cooperation with Ukraine in joint efforts toward protecting territorial integrity and sovereignty. "I can't even imagine how anyone could be so important as to jeopardize long-term relations between our states, neglect our institutions and insult our society," the Georgian leader said. "I hope that the joint past, present, and future of our fraternal nations will never be called into question," the Georgian president said. Loading... 0 Two years into the pandemic, the story of Danny Burtch is the story of incalculable loss and choices: whether to be vaccinated, whether to leave the isolation of home for fellowship, whether to partake in a game of cards. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said that the government will soon set up a task force to create investor-friendly environment in the state so that the economy can get back on track at the earliest. "The government is aware of the problems being faced by the industries due to coronavirus infection and lockdown. The government stands with entrepreneurs in this hour of crisis. We will make every effort so that industries can get support," Gehlot in a videoconferencing with entrepreneurs. He said that a large number of industrial activities have restarted. Entrepreneurial units should continue production activities following social distancing and other protocols, he said. He clarified that no action will be taken against the entrepreneur if any worker is found to be infected, but they should act with caution. He directed the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) to remove obstacles faced by the entrepreneurs and workers of Bhiwadi due to the sealing of the inter-state border. He said that due to coronavirus, investors from all over the world are exploring possibilities in India, and Rajasthan can become a good destination for them. The Chief Minister said that the lockdown has adversely affected the revenue of the state governments. The Central government should give a big economic stimulus package so that the conditions of the states improve and industries get relief, he said. Industries Minister Parsadi Lal Meena said that nearly two lakh workers have rejoined industrial activities in the state. Additional Chief Secretary Industries Subodh Agarwal said that 10,000 to 15,000 workers are returning to work again every day, which is a good sign. In the video conference, representatives of the seven divisions and industrial organisations from Pali, Balotra, Bhiwadi, Barmer, Bhilwara and other places gave suggestions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) [May 07, 2020] ALYI Announces Current Revenue And $300 Million Electric Mobility Project Remain On Track DALLAS, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Alternet Systems, Inc. (USOTC: ALYI) today announced that the company's revenue has not been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. ALYI management further confirms that its $300 million African electric mobility project also remains on track and to date, has not been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. ALYI management acknowledges the company has held off on publishing regular updates lately. "The world has been understandably preoccupied by an historic world event threatening everyone's health and welfare," stated Randell Torno, Alternet Systems CEO. "We felt the state of our company was relatively inconsequential and news from us might even be disrespectful. Now that the lifestyle and economic conditions surrounding the pandemic are becoming more routine and in confidence that a vaccine will be found greenlighting a once again robust return to unrestricted economic activity, we thought the time was right to at least provide a brief update." The consulting revenue the company currently earns has not been impacted. At the company's current design and engineering phase of development with its African electric mobility project, again the pandemic has had no impact at this time. ALYI is business as usual. The company has made substantial strides of late with its funding partner for the African electric moility project. At the time of our last published updates, our funding partner had already partitioned its own cryptocurrency on the Ethereum Blockchain. A pre ICO funding round is preparing to launch and ICO details are being finalized. ALYI management is optimistic that the timing of the ICO will coincide with a window of relief in the pandemic. ALYI recently filed to extend the date to publish its annual report for 2019 in conjunction with the OTC Markets current requirements. The report is expected to soon be filed within the extension period. Following the report being published, management plans to issue a more comprehensive update. For more information and to stay up to date on the latest developments, please visit: http://www.alternetsystemsinc.com Disclaimer/Safe Harbor: This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act. The statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events that involve risks and uncertainties. Among others, these risks include the expectation that any of the companies mentioned herein will achieve significant sales, the failure to meet schedule or performance requirements of the companies' contracts, the companies' liquidity position, the companies' ability to obtain new contracts, the emergence of competitors with greater financial resources and the impact of competitive pricing. In the light of these uncertainties, the forward-looking events referred to in this release might not occur. Alternet Systems, Inc. Contact: Randell Torno [email protected] +1-800-713-0297 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alyi-announces-current-revenue-and-300-million-electric-mobility-project-remain-on-track-301055010.html SOURCE Alternet Systems, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] ~Dr. Kim Verschueren and Dr. Katja Andeweg return from the Netherlands to help fight COVID-19~ CAY HILL:--- St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) is temporarily receiving assistance from two medical doctors who are very familiar with the island, Dr. Kim Verschueren, who was born and raised on St. Maarten and Dr. Katja Andeweg, who has worked on the island for several years in the past. Dr. Kim Verschueren was born and raised on the island and has been a medical doctor for two and a half years. In 2011, she graduated from MPC and left the island to study medicine in Utrecht, the Netherlands. In the beginning of her fourth year, in 2014, her first rotation (internships in medical school) was on the surgical ward in SMMC under the supervision of SMMC Medical Director and General Surgeon Dr. Felix Holiday. She graduated as a medical doctor in 2017 and a year after that she started working in The Hague until coming to St. Maarten. In October 2020, she will be starting her six-year residency in Gynecology/Obstetrics in The Hague/Leiden. Dr. Katja Andeweg is a Dutch medical doctor with a special love for Sint Maarten and its people. Nine years ago, she interned at the Bush Road Clinic and after graduating, she worked at the Emergency Room (ER) of SMMC for a year and a half, after which she returned to the Bush Road Clinic and also taught at the American University of the Caribbean (AUC). After completing her Masters degree, she now works as a GP in training Amsterdam and will return to the Netherlands in July. What made you decide to assist SMMC during the COVID-19 pandemic? KV: As health care workers, many of us feel the urge to help your 'own' country, especially when you feel potentially more valuable. In my situation, with the guarantee of starting my specialization at the end of the year, I felt free and able to quit my job in the Netherlands and come home to help where necessary. Quite some colleagues of mine, working abroad (in Suriname, Curacao, Sub-Sahara Africa), returned to the Netherlands as soon as the pandemic threat grew. In addition to this, some of the richest countries in the world (UK and USA) are currently recruiting doctors from all over the world to help during this COVID-19 pandemic. This has catastrophic consequences for countries most in need of their health care professionals and made me feel inclined to come back to St. Maarten. KA: The main reason to come back is because of the request of the hospital for doctors. In my workplace in the Netherlands, it was very quiet and wanting to make myself more useful I decided to come back. The GP-specialty training (huisartsenopleiding) and the foundation (SBOH) agreed that I could be working in the SMMC to help fight the COVID-pandemic instead of working in a GP-office in Amsterdam. They promised to allow me to continue my training while still paying me and I am very grateful that they gave me this opportunity. In a nutshell, can you tell us what your primary role will be while here? KV: I will help where necessary as a general doctor. From what I've understood, this may be the general wards, the COVID-19 ward, the intensive care unit, the emergency rooms, or wherever else. KA: I will work as a medical doctor where ever is needed: on the ER-department, the general wards or the COVID-19 ward. Another contribution will most likely be improving the communication between the hospital and general practitioners and helping setting up COVID-protocols for the hospital. My working experience on the island, also after hurricane Irma, and the experience with COVID in the Netherlands as a general practitioner will certainly contribute to that. What has your first day(s) working at SMMC been like? KV: Katja and I were immediately tested upon arrival (blood and swab) and have been quarantining ourselves awaiting the results. We also received work instructions and learn how to work with the electronic patient database via a video-conference. KA: The first thing we got when arriving in the hospital was a COVID rapid test and a swab. Until both results were in, we didnt have any patient contact. What is your first impression of SMMCs COVID response? KV: SMMC's COVID response seems very adequate, even better than the initial response in the hospital I worked in the Netherlands. Instructions are clear (wash, social distancing, self-quarantine), gatherings are avoided and video-conference are used to provide work instructions. Next to this, triage of patients is done outside the emergency department and a separate Covid-19 pavilion is built next to the hospital to be able to keep providing regular, Covid-19 free, care in the SMMC building. KA: The first impression that I got from the video SMMC made is that it looks very professional. All details on the floor I still have to look into, but in the hospital, everything seems to be well controlled. SMMC is proud and grateful to welcome Dr. Verschueren and Dr. Andeweg back to the hospital and thank them for their commitment and dedication to the health and wellbeing of the people of St. Maarten. Out-of-state students at the University of Georgia have experienced several abrupt life changes in little time with the closure of campus due to COVID-19. The Red & Black interviewed out-of-state students from around the country to see how the COVID-19 outbreak has personally affected them. Antonio Gonzalez Pacheco, a notorious former Spanish police officer known as Billy the Kid, died on Thursday morning from coronavirus at the San Francisco de Asis clinic in Madrid, according to police sources. In recent times, the 73-year-old has come to be known as one of the leading torturers of the Franco dictatorship. Gonzalez Pacheco was a member of the National Police force for 11 years (he left in 1982), and in that time, he was accused by hundreds of victims of torture and became the source of dozens of grisly legends. He entered the force in 1971 as a deputy inspector and was placed in the Social Investigation Brigade, better known as the Social-Political Brigade. This body was tasked with investigating and repressing anti-Franco groups, who were largely communists. According to his colleagues, Gonzalez Pacheco quickly became famous among the force for his sagacity, extraordinary memory, and later, for his aggressive attitude and habit of spinning a pistol on his finger, Far West-style. This earned him the nickname of Billy the Kid. Fellow officers in the Social-Political Brigade addressed him as Billy the Kid in the presence of inmates; members of the brigade never called each other by their real names. Over time, this name became well known in the anti-Franco movement, as Gonzalez Pacheco took part in multiple arrests, especially in Madrid. He was a compulsive torturer. He enjoyed doing it Victim Chato Galante He became one of the most feared men in the cells of the General Security headquarters in the capitals Puerta del Sol square, which was used as a detention and torture center. Neither the National Polices General Directorate nor the Interior Ministry wanted on Thursday to confirm the death of Gonzalez Pacheco, responding instead: He is not one of us, he is a retired police officer. The sinister history surrounding Billy the Kid and the scandals that erupted every time he made contact with former colleagues in the police force have meant that departments that he once answered to lately wanted nothing to do with him. Gonzalez Pacheco was admitted into hospital with coronavirus 10 days ago, according to sources close to him. He tried to avoid it at all costs because he didnt want even more of a media circus, these sources explained. The former officer had lately fled from the media gaze, even wearing a motorcycle helmet to avoid being photographed. He came under greater scrutiny in recent years, after the anti-austerity party Unidas Podemos started campaigning for him to be stripped of his medals for service. According to the National Police, Gonzalez Pacheco had been enjoying a 15% pension raise thanks to a medal that was bestowed upon him on June 13, 1977. The interior minister at the time, Rodolfo Martin Villa, presented the award on the basis of merit and for services of extraordinary character. In 2018, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska announced that his department had prepared a regulatory text to strip Gonzalez Pachecho of his medals and would soon decide how to apply the regulation. Arrest warrant In 2013 a judge from Argentina, Maria Servini de Cubria, issued an international arrest warrant for Gonzalez Pacheco for 13 counts of torture, in an investigation into crimes committed by former officials during the Franco dictatorship. The case was brought to Buenos Aires by relatives of Francos victims after they ran into a legal dead end back in Spain. But in 2014, the Spanish High Court, the Audiencia Nacional, rejected the order, arguing the crimes had passed the statute of limitations. In the past few years, more victims have added new accusations of torture to the Argentine complaint. He stank of alcohol. He was 28 years old, just two years older than me. And he enjoyed torturing. You could tell because in the middle of the fury, as he was kicking and punching you, there was a sign of pleasure, of satisfaction, Felisa Echegoyen told EL PAIS. Chato Galante remembers another incident: One time, I was handcuffed to the radiator in an office .... He arrived, kicked me and said, You have had the honor of being kicked by Billy the Kid. He was very dangerous because he was not very bright and had absolute impunity. He would perform karate moves in front of you, kick you and say, you are a big punching bag. He was a compulsive torturer. He enjoyed doing it. He would say, Im going to destroy you. English version by Melissa Kitson. With the elimination of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Riyaz Naikoo on May 6 by security forces, the Pakistan-based terror sponsors have suffered a major jolt in destabilising peace in Jammu and Kashmir. Naikoo became the de facto commander of terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen after Burhan Wani, the poster boy of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, was eliminated in July 2016. Rated as an A++ category terrorist or the most-wanted, Naikoo carried a bounty of Rs 12 lakh on his head. The encounter of Burhan Wani had in mid-2016 sparked a massive uproar in the Valley and the ripple effects were felt as far as Islamabad. Locals look out a funeral procession for Wani following by massive violence in the Valley. Riyaz Naikoo, who had been on the run for over eight years, was counted as one from the Burhan Wani group of Kashmiri terrorists. The group comprised Burhan Wani and his associates Sabzar Bhat, Waseem Malla, Naseer Pandit, Ishfaq Hameed, Tariq Pandit, Afaqullah, Adil Khandey, Saddam Paddar, Wasim Shah and Anees. All these locals became poster boys of militancy in Kashmir and they even pushed foreign terrorists to the background. The Burhan gang sold terrorism to the educated and unemployed youth of the Valley and recruited them in large numbers. A brief detail of the Burhan Wani-led group of Kashmiri terrorists and how they were killed by the Indian Army, Central Reserve Police Force and Jammu and Kashmir Police is given below: 1. Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces in the Kokernag area of south Kashmir's Anantnag district on July 8, 2016. The encounter followed pinpointed information about the presence of three highly-trained terrorists in Bundoora village at Kokernag in South Kashmir. Police parties swung into action and laid an outer cordon along with Army and moved into the village after sealing every exit point. 2. Abu Dujana was most wanted Lashkar-e-Taiba commander. He was killed with another terrorist in an encounter at Hakripora village in Pulwama district of south Kashmir in July 2018. A joint search operation was launched by 182 Battalion, 183 Battalion, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), 55 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), and J&K Police Special Operations Group (SOG) in Hakripora on specific intelligence input. Dujana and his accomplice Arif were trapped inside a house and security personnel eliminated them. 3. Junaid Ahmad Mattu, top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander and his accomplice Muzamil were killed in an encounter with security forces in Arwani village of Bijbihara in Anantnag district of south Kashmir in June 2017. Mattoo was trapped for more than eight hours with two other local Lashkar terrorists. A joint team of Army, J&K police and CRPF cordoned off Arwani village on specific input about the presence of Lashkar terrorists in the area and then eliminated them. 4. Sabzar Ahmad Bhat was killed with another terrorist in an encounter with security forces in Tral area of Kashmirs Pulwama district in May 2017. The security forces had zeroed in on a house in Saimoo village of Tral town and trapped Bhat and two of his associates and the encounter lasted several hours. 5. Saddam Padder was killed in an encounter in the Shopian district of south Kashmir in May 2018. The encounter in Badigam village of Zainpora in the Shopian district was launched jointly by 44, 34, 3 Rashtriya Rifles of Army, CRPF battalions, J&K Police SOG. 6. Wasim Shah along with his bodyguard Nisar Ahmed Mir was killed in a gun battle with security forces in Pulwama on October 14, 2017. The encounter began as the terrorists holed up in a house opened fire on security forces after the village was cordoned off. Shah and his bodyguard made an attempt to flee but were eliminated. 7. Adil Khanday, a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist, along with his associate was killed in a gunfight with security forces in south Kashmirs Shopian district on October 22, 2015. The encounter broke out at around 4.30 pm when a joint team of J&K police and Rashtriya Rifles started a search operation after getting specific information about the presence of terrorists in the area. 8. Tariq Pandit was caught in Pulwama on May 28, 2016. Based on specific intelligence input regarding the movement of a Hizbul Mujahideen member near Karimabad, a joint mobile vehicle check post was established by the Army and J&K police. His movement was kept under constant surveillance and a Rashtriya Rifles battalion apprehended Tariq. 9. Naseer Pandit was killed in an encounter with security forces in Shopian on April 7, 2016. BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend: OSCE has appraised Turkmenistans National Strategy to prevent violent extremism and counter terrorism for 2020-2024, said Thomas Greminger Secretary-general of OSCE, Trend reports with reference to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. A May 6 videoconference meeting was held between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov and Secretary-General of OSCE Thomas Greminger. The parties highlighted the high level of partnership in the fight against terrorism, drug and human trafficking. Secretary-general of OSCE highlighted the measures taken by Turkmenistan in the field of public health and safety. He stressed the importance of Turkmenistans actions taken to develop international mechanisms that ensure stability of cargo flows and transit transport in emergency conditions. Issues of interaction between Turkmenistan and the OSCE were discussed. The parties also stressed the need to resolve socio-economic and humanitarian problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-07 22:33:02 TORONTO, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mandalay Resources Corporation (Mandalay or the Company) (TSX: MND, OTCQB: MNDJF) today announced that its first quarter 2020 financial results will be released after market close on May 13, 2020, followed by a conference call with Dominic Duffy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mandalay, for investors and analysts on May 14, 2020 at 8:00 AM (Toronto time). Analysts and interested investors are invited to participate using the following dial-in numbers: Participant Number: (201) 689-8341 Participant Number (Toll free): (877) 407-8289 Conference ID: 13703470 A replay of the conference call will be available until 11:59 PM (Toronto time), May 28, 2020 and can be accessed using the following dial-in number: Encore Toll Free Dial-in Number: (877) 660-6853 Encore ID: 13703470 For Further Information: Dominic Duffy President and Chief Executive Officer Edison Nguyen Manager, Analytics and Investor Relations Contact: (647) 260-1566 About Mandalay Resources Corporation: Mandalay Resources is a Canadian-based natural resource company with producing assets in Australia and Sweden, and care and maintenance and development projects in Chile. The Company is focused on growing production at its gold and antimony operation in Australia, and gold production from its operation in Sweden to generate near term cash flow. IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) Investigators from multiple states were looking Thursday into whether a long-haul trucker from Iowa who's implicated in at least three women's slayings in the 1990s could be responsible for other unsolved homicides. Officers arrested Clark Perry Baldwin, 58, in Waterloo on Wednesday after new DNA evidence allegedly tied him to three women whose bodies were dumped in Wyoming and Tennessee. Court documents allege that he also raped and choked a woman in Texas in 1991. Detectives with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are looking at any connections that Baldwin may have to cold cases from that era, special agent Mike Krapfl said. He said other agencies were scrutinizing Baldwin given that he traveled the country. Obviously there are several cases that need to be followed up on, Krapfl said. One case of interest is the 1992 death of Tammy Jo Zywicki, 21, an Iowa college student who was last seen after her car broke down on an Illinois highway. A man driving a semitrailer was seen near her vehicle. Zywickis body was found in rural Missouri. Another involves Rhonda Knutson, 22, a truck stop convenience store clerk in northern Iowa who was bludgeoned to death during an overnight shift in 1992. Investigators have released sketches of two men who were in the store, including one trucker. Baldwin lived in nearby Nashua, Iowa. In Wyoming, Baldwin is charged in the deaths of two women whose bodies were found in 1992 roughly 400 miles apart. Investigators never identified the women, nicknaming them Bitter Creek Betty and I-90 Jane Doe. In Tennessee, Baldwin is charged with two counts of murder in the 1991 killing of a 32-year-old pregnant woman from Topping, Virginia, Pamela McCall, and her fetus. DNA trail A Tennessee crime lab developed a DNA profile of the suspect in McCall's death last year after a cold case investigator submitted evidence for analysis. A check in a national database matched the profile to one that had been developed years earlier linking the two Wyoming deaths. Investigators zeroed in on Baldwin after finding DNA in commercial genealogy databases of someone related to the suspects profile, court documents say. Last month in Waterloo, the FBI secretly collected DNA from Baldwins trash and a shopping cart he used at Walmart and testing revealed that it was a match. Tennessee District Attorney General Brent Cooper praised investigators for bringing this serial killer to justice. I'm also very happy to be able to give Rose McCall's mother a chance to see justice for her daughter's and granddaughter's murders, he said. As she put it in a recent phone call, At least I have a grave to visit, some moms dont even that.'" Past allegations A similar allegation of violence against Baldwin also helped investigators make their case. Court documents say that Baldwin allegedly raped a female hitchhiker from Kansas in Wheeler County, Texas, at gunpoint in his truck in 1991. The 21-year-old woman told police that Baldwin struck her on the head, bound her hands and mouth and tried to choke her to death. He allegedly admitted to the assault but was released pending grand jury proceedings. Ultimately, he wasn't prosecuted. Baldwin, who has previously lived in Nashua, Iowa, and Springfield, Missouri, was a cross-country truck driver for Marten Transport. Baldwin's name also surfaced during a 1992 homicide investigation in Iowa. His ex-wife told police then that Baldwin once bragged about killing a girl out west by strangulation and throwing her out of his truck, court documents say. In 1997, Secret Service agents raided Baldwins apartment in Springfield, Missouri, after learning he was making counterfeit U.S. currency on a personal computer. He and two female associates were indicted on counterfeiting charges. Baldwin was sentenced to 18 months in prison and released in 1999. Baldwin is being held at the Black Hawk County jail pending extradition proceedings to Tennessee. The charges stunned Jazz Baldwin, 32, of New Hampton, Iowa, who said she learned two years ago that Baldwin was her father after he purchased a DNA test kit. The two had been in contact over Facebook since then, she said. I heard rumors about his possible crimes but always thought they were bogus, she wrote in a Facebook message. Murder was NOT on the list of things we thought he had done and gotten away with. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 President Xi Jinping has cautioned people against complacency over the declining trend of coronavirus cases in the country as China on Thursday downgraded COVID-19 risk levels in all regions, signalling its successful containment. All regions in China have seen their risk level downgraded to the lowest level starting Thursday, state-run China Daily reported. China has already reduced risk levels in Hubei province and its capital Wuhan -- the epicentres of the virus, while business and factories across the country have resumed operations. China's National Health Commission (NHC) on Thursday said while no new domestically transmitted coronavirus case was reported on Wednesday, two imported cases were detected. Hubei province and its capital Wuhan, which were free from new coronavirus cases for the last 33 days, reported six asymptomatic cases on Wednesday, taking the total number of such patients in the province to 626, the local health commission said. The total number of asymptomatic patients in the country now stands at 880. Asymptomatic cases refer to people who are tested COVID-19 positive but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. However, they pose a risk of spreading the disease to others. No new fatalities were reported on Wednesday and the death toll in China remained at 4,633, the NHC said. The total number of COVID-19 cases in China now stands at 82,885, it said. Meanwhile, President Xi in a meeting with the central guiding group for novel coronavirus prevention and control cautioned people against lowering their guard following the declining trend of the coronavirus cases in the country. Addressing the meeting on Thursday, Xi said the spread of the virus overseas has not been effectively curbed yet and cluster cases were reported in a few areas in China, posing considerable uncertainty to the epidemic control. The epidemic prevention and control measures in Hubei should not be relaxed, Xi said. Praising the work of the central guiding group, he said it has spared no effort to curb the spread of the virus and worked hard to build a strong first line of defence, making important contributions to winning the people's war against the epidemic. The group, headed by Premier Li Keqiang, spearheaded the fight against the COVID-19 since January fourth week. Last month, China had announced to hold its annual parliament session from May 22, signalling that the pandemic which paralysed the country for over three months is finally under control. The session was earlier scheduled to be held from March 5 and got postponed for the first time due to the coronavirus outbreak. The annual session of the national advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), is also expected to be held in Beijing on May 21. China's GDP took the worst hit since the disastrous Cultural Revolution in 1976, plummeting by 6.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 as a result of the pandemic. President Xi was reported to have said recently that the country must get ready for unprecedented external adversity and challenges in the long run over COVID-19 crisis . China is also fighting back mounting calls for an international enquiry into the origin of coronavirus and allegation that the COVID-19 broke out from Wuhan Institute of Virology, the country's premier lab researching a host of viruses. US President Donald Trump has accused China for failing to tame the coronavirus at its very origin, saying it has led to 184 countries "going through hell. For its part, China is stonewalling any international enquiry asserting that the origin of the virus is a matter of science and should be studied by scientists and professionals and such investigations into the pandemics in the past have not achieved any conclusive results. However, amid the global criticism, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recently praised China for handling the coronavirus pandemic and said the countries need to learn from Wuhan on how the epicentre of the virus was bringing the society back to normal. Also read: Coronavirus India Live Updates: Video shows corpses next to patients at Mumbai hospital; country tally-52,952 Also read: RSS-affiliated trade union cautions against 'mad run' to provide China-like cheap labour India on Thursday conveyed its strong concerns about a spike in terrorist violence in Afghanistan to US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, and called for rooting out terror sanctuaries in Pakistan to ensure peace in the war-torn country, people familiar with developments said. The concerns were conveyed to the US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation during his meetings with external affairs minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity. The existence of terror sanctuaries in Pakistan and their role in terrorist violence in Afghanistan figured in the meetings, said one of the people cited above, without giving details. The development came against the backdrop of worries in New Delhi that Indias viewpoint on the Afghan peace process is being given the short shrift by the US, which is apparently focused solely on implementing its deal with the Taliban to facilitate the withdrawal of American forces. India has also been concerned about the increased activities of Pakistan-based terror groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed in Afghanistan and the targeting of minorities, including the March 25 attack on a Sikh place of worship in Kabul that killed nearly 30 people, including an Indian citizen. Indian intelligence agencies believe the Islamic State, which claimed the attack, targeted the Sikhs after being unable to go ahead with plans to strike the Indian embassy. India is deeply concerned at the upsurge in violence and supports call for immediate ceasefire and [the] need to assist the people of Afghanistan in dealing with [the] coronavirus pandemic, the external affairs ministry said in a statement on Khalilzads meetings. The Indian side emphasised that putting an end to terrorist safe havens and sanctuaries is necessary for enduring and sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan, the statement added, without naming Pakistan. Both Jaishankar and Doval, the statement said, reiterated Indias continued support for strengthening peace, security, unity, democratic and inclusive polity and protection of rights of all sections of the Afghan society, including Afghan Hindus and Sikhs. Khalilzad, the first high-level foreign dignitary to travel to New Delhi since Covid-19-related travel restrictions came into effect, visited India as part of a three-nation tour that will also take him to Qatar and Pakistan. He provided an update on the US peace and reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan. The US side recognised Indias constructive contribution in economic development, reconstruction and humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and laid importance to Indias crucial and continuing role in sustainable peace, security and stability in Afghanistan, the external affairs ministrys statement said. The Indian side also said it will continue extending humanitarian food and medical supplies to Afghanistan to deal with the pandemic. India recently shipped another 10,000 tonnes of 75,000 tonnes of wheat gifted to Afghanistan from Kandla port to Chabahar port in Iran. The wheat will then be transported by road to Afghanistan. Another 5,000 tonnes of wheat was shipped via Chabahar last month. Khalilzad was accompanied for his meetings by List Curtis, senior director in the National Security Council, and US ambassador Kenneth Juster. In Doha, Khalilzad met Taliban representatives to press for the full implementation of the US-Taliban agreement. In Islamabad, he will meet Pakistani officials to discuss the Afghan peace process. At each stop, he will urge support for an immediate reduction in violence, accelerated timeline for the start of intra-Afghan negotiations, and cooperation among all sides in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic in Afghanistan, said a statement issued by the US state department on Wednesday. Many essential workers are in lower paid jobs and the ability to pay for additional childcare services is likely to be substantially constrained, a report has found. The study, which examined the family structure and childcare responsibilities of essential workers, found that many of them have substantial childcare requirements. Following the closure of school and creches in March, employees have faced significant challenges in trying to balance work and family responsibilities. The study, carried out by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), stated it is critical that essential workers have adequate childcare provision if Ireland is to respond effectively to the Covid-19 crisis. The authors of the report said they used Irish Labour Force Survey data to identify essential employees, however they faced some data constraints. The report stated that the groups identified are not an exhaustive list of essential employees. Health professionals (including doctors and nursing professionals) Health associate professionals (including medical technicians, ambulance workers and community health workers) Other health employees including health workers in hospitals and nursing care facilities Armed Forces Defence and public administration including police officers, prison guards and firefighters Retail sales workers Transport operatives including train, bus, taxi and tram drivers Essential workers account for 22% of all employees in Ireland. Retail employees are the largest group of essential workers at 7% of all employees. Health professionals and health associate professionals combined also account for approximately 7% of employees. Other health employees account for 5%, and transport workers 1.5% of all employees. Armed Forces and defence and public administration employees make up just over 1% of all employees. The study found that the majority of essential employees are female and just over half of all essential employees have children. Some 4% are part of a couple with children, while 9% are lone parents. It found that the rate of lone parenthood is higher among essential employees compared to other employees. The report said this is primarily driven by a high rate of lone parent employees in the other health employee group, at 14%. Of those essential workers with children, approximately two-thirds have a youngest child aged 14 or below. Of all essential employees who have children and live with a partner, approximately 80% have a partner that also works. The study found that approximately 20% have a partner who is also an essential employee. However, this statistic is much higher for defence (32%) and armed forces (26%) employees. Many essential workers are concentrated in lower paid occupations, such as retail and other health employees. The authors of the report said that the capacity of many employees to pay for additional childcare services is likely to be substantially constrained. Unlike other countries, such as the UK, there has not yet been direct government provision for the childcare needs of essential employees. Dr Paul Redmond, who helped author the report, said: The research demonstrates that essential employees in Ireland have substantial childcare responsibilities and many are likely to face significant barriers to accessing effective services. The continued ability of essential employees to carry out their duties is a critical aspect of Irelands ability to combat the Covid-19 crisis. The evidence suggests that policies should be quickly developed to ensure that the childcare needs of effective workers in Ireland are met. A view of the bottle shop inside Bloomsday Cafe in Philadelphia last September. Bloomsday is a lead plaintiff in a proposed class-action lawsuit against Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Read more Two Pennsylvania restaurateurs are leading a proposed class action lawsuit in state Commonwealth Court that would force the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to repay millions in fees it collected from restaurants during the last three years on grounds that it improperly blocked them from obtaining wines directly from distributors. The lawsuit, filed late Wednesday, followed a Commonwealth Court decision the previous Friday that PLCB had violated a 2016 law by not allowing wines that are not available in state stores to be delivered directly to restaurants from wine importers and distributors. The judge ordered the PLCB to comply with the law. The 2016 law was also supposed to eliminate a handling fee that amounts to as much as $1.75 per 750-milliliter bottle after taxes, but the PLCB has continued charging it. Because the PLCB failed to implement the required change, Bloomsday Cafe in Philadelphia and Log Cabin restaurant in Leola in Lancaster County, lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit, had to continue paying not just the handling fee but also bear the costs of going to a state store to pick up the bottles that they ordered through the PLCB website under the states special-order system, according to the lawsuit. One estimate put the total handling fees at $10 million or more since June 1, 2017. Thats when direct shipping was supposed to become part of the special-order system which accounted for $112.8 million of the state systems $2.5 billion in sales last year. The proposed class action seeks the repayment of that money plus compensation for the costs of picking up orders from the store rather than having them delivered directly. The PLCB did not immediately provide details on how much it has collected since 2017 in handling fees and declined to comment on the new lawsuit. We will review and respond through appropriate legal channels, however we wont comment publicly on active litigation, PLCB spokesperson Elizabeth Brassell said. Meanwhile, in his decision last week, Commonwealth Court Judge P. Kevin Brobson did not give the PLCB a deadline for implementing a special-orders procedure that bypasses state stores. The Court is confident that PLCB has the resources and ingenuity to do so without unreasonable delay, he wrote in his opinion. Both suits were handled by lawyers for Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads. The latest: IRS says stimulus checks sent to people who died must be returned Federal stimulus payments sent to people who have died must be returned, the Internal Revenue Service said in new guidance released Wednesday. In a rush to get stimulus payments out as fast as possible, some of the money was sent to people who had died but had filed taxes within the past two years. The IRS has to cross-check with another federal agency to get a list of the deceased. It was previously unclear whether family members could keep the money, but the IRS now says the full payment must be returned, unless the deceased was married and filed tax returns jointly with a spouse who is still alive. In that case only the portion of the payment belonging to the deceased needs to be returned, the agency said. If the couple received $2,400, for example, $1,200 needs to be sent back. If a check was received, it must be mailed back to the Treasury Department. If the check was cashed or the payment was directly deposited into the bank account, the IRS is asking people to send a personal check or money order. Further instructions were posted online by the IRS. Pentagon considering banning recruits who have been hospitalized by coronavirus The Pentagon is considering banning new recruits from joining the military if they have been hospitalized for the coronavirus unless they get a waiver from the service they want to sign up with, according to a defense official. The official said the guidance is being put in place because there is little understanding of the "long-term" effects of the virus and there is a concern that potential recruits who have been hospitalized may need further medical assessments. The new policy is being finalized to set medical restrictions on recruits who may have tested positive or have been treated for COVID-19. Department of Defense medical waivers are required for a wide variety of medical conditions ranging from heart disease to a loss of vision. U.S. firms return virus loans as Treasury threatens penalties More than 40 public companies are pledging to return money to the government's small business coronavirus fund now that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is threatening criminal prosecutions for violating the rules of the program. The administration has given companies until May 14 to give back money without penalty. It's a key test for President Donald Trump's administration as it tries to ensure the $600 billion-plus emergency lending program helps small employers preserve jobs in an economy shedding them at a staggering rate. The challenge is considerable. The Small Business Administration is pushing out unprecedented federal assistance at a rapid clip, but the pace of the program has raised questions about how thoroughly applications are vetted. Youve got to do it both efficiently and responsibly, and its hard, said James Thurber, a professor of government at American University who founded its Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies. He said Mnuchin is using the bully pulpit to scare companies." President Trump says White House coronavirus task force will remain President Donald Trump on Wednesday reversed course on plans to wind down his COVID-19 task force, attempting to balance his enthusiasm for reopening the country with rising infection rates in parts of the nation. One day after the administration suggested that its work would be done around Memorial Day, Trump said the White House task force of public health professionals and senior government officials would continue after all, indefinitely, with its focus shifting toward rebooting the economy and the development of a vaccine. "I thought we could wind it down sooner, Trump said, adding, I had no idea how popular the task force is. Democrats criticized Trump's reopening strategy Wednesday, saying more federal support for testing and contact tracing is needed. While the daily number of new deaths in the New York area has declined markedly in recent weeks, deaths have essentially plateaued in the rest of the U.S. A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal thinking, acknowledged that signaling on Tuesday that the task force was preparing to shut down had sent the wrong message and created a media maelstrom. While the task force has already been meeting less frequently, its medical experts, particularly Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, have emerged as among the most trusted voices on the virus response. The Tuesday announcement of ending the task force sparked concerns that they would be sidelined as the outbreak continues amid fears of a fresh wave of illness in the fall. Trump said Tuesday he would still seek their counsel, regardless of the fate of the task force. It is appreciated by the public, he said of the task force. Trump said membership in the group would change as the nature of the crisis evolves. In the Wednesday tweets Trump said the Task Force will continue on indefinitely. He added that the White House "may add or subtract people to it, as appropriate. The Task Force will also be very focused on Vaccines & Therapeutics. Analysis shows infection rate rising outside New York metro area Take the New York metropolitan areas progress against the coronavirus out of the equation and the numbers show the rest of the U.S. is moving in the wrong direction, with the known infection rate rising even as states move to lift their lockdowns, an Associated Press analysis found Tuesday. New confirmed infections per day in the U.S. exceed 20,000, and deaths per day are well over 1,000, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. And public health officials warn that the failure to flatten the curve and drive down the infection rate in places could lead to many more deaths perhaps tens of thousands as people are allowed to venture out and businesses reopen. Make no mistakes: This virus is still circulating in our community, perhaps even more now than in previous weeks said Linda Ochs, director of the Health Department in Shawnee County, Kansas. The densely packed New York metropolitan area, consisting of about 20 million people across a region that encompasses the city's northern suburbs, Long Island and northern New Jersey, has been the hardest-hit corner of the country, accounting for at least one-third of the nation's 70,000 deaths. African Americans hit harder than any other US group Although communities across the U.S. have been devastated, a new study suggests more African Americans are dying from the virus in the U.S. than whites or other ethic groups. Black Americans represent 13.4% of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, but counties with higher black populations account for more than half of all coronavirus cases and almost 60% of deaths, the study found. Epidemiologists and clinicians from four universities worked with amfAR, the AIDS research nonprofit, and Seattle's Center for Vaccine Innovation and Access, PATH, and analyzed cases and deaths using county-level comparisons. They compared counties with a disproportionate number of black residents those with a population of 13% or more with those with lower numbers of African American residents. Counties with higher populations of black residents accounted for 52% of coronavirus diagnoses and 58% of COVID-19 deaths nationally, they said. Virus spread extremely quickly starting late last year As they reopen, some states have pushed to build stronger contact tracing frameworks and conduct more antibody tests to get a better understanding of just how far and fast the virus has spread. But officials are still learning about the virus. For example, a new genetic analysis of the virus taken from more than 7,600 patients around the world shows it has been circulating in people since late last year, and must have spread extremely quickly after the first infection. Researchers in Britain looked at mutations in the virus and found evidence of quick spread, but no evidence the virus is becoming more easily transmitted or more likely to cause serious disease. "The virus is changing, but this in itself does not mean it's getting worse," genetics researcher Francois Balloux of the University College London Genetics Institute told CNN. The analysis also ruled out scenarios that assumed coronavirus was circulating for months before it was identified and had by now infected "large proportions of the population," the researchers wrote. At most, 10% of the global population has been exposed to the virus, Balloux estimated. That's grim news. Michael Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said the novel coronavirus which by his estimate has infected between 5% to 15% of the population will continue to spread until about 60 to 70% are infected. "Think how much pain, suffering, death and economic disruption we've had in getting from 5% to 15% of the population infected and hopefully protected," Osterholm said. "Wake up, world. Do not believe the rhetoric that says this is going to go away." The Associated Press contributed to this report. The Adams Square Baptist Church in Worcester will likely be facing another fine after holding an in-person service with more than 10 people on Wednesday evening, the third such service the church has hosted in defiance of an order from the governor amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On Wednesday evening, at least 25 people wearing masks, some grasping bibles, walked into the church for a 7 p.m. service. Pastor Kristopher Casey stood outside greeting parishioners as they walked in under light rainfall. The pastor declined to say exactly how many people were inside the Lincoln Street church but said the number was more than 10. Gov. Charlie Baker in March signed an order banning gatherings of more than 10 people to try and limit the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. The order is in place through May 18. Those who defy the order can face fines of up to $500. Im not worried about what fines will come in, Casey told reporters from the steps of the church minutes before the service began, saying that he was going to continue to hold services taking a stand for the Lord. Worcester Police Chief Steven Sargent delivered a $300 fine to the pastor on Monday, Casey said. Casey said he doesnt believe he will have to pay the fines, adding that he believes the governor will back down. Bill McGowan came to the church from Brighton on Wednesday. He said that while hes Catholic and not Baptist, he wanted to see what was going on for himself. I think whats happening here is very important and I wanted to see for myself and judge for myself whats going on, at least from my interpretation, from my standpoint, McGowan said. I just wanted to see it live, uninterrupted, unedited and see whats actually going on to the best that I can. McGowan said he had some concerns about coronavirus and the potential of picking up the virus at the service but he thought he had to weigh the concerns about the virus versus our rights to practice our religion. The past two Sundays, the church has held in-person services with groups larger than 10. But, last Wednesday, the church held a service with fewer than 10 people inside, staying within the rules of the governors order. This is day nine of the battle for us and its been weary, Casey said during the live-streamed service, adding that God has renewed his strength. Casey, who was wearing a face mask made of superhero-themed fabric, told reporters that the church was cleaned Tuesday and will be cleaned again on Friday before an upcoming service on Sunday. Weve got the cleanest church in the city, in the state, in the northeast, Casey said. The pastor is requiring people who come in to attend service to wear a mask, gloves and sit six feet apart from one another. City officials declined to make a comment Wednesday evening. A city spokesman referred to previous statements from the city, as officials have said authorities will continue to monitor the church. After the service, Casey stood on the steps of the church with his wife and children and said these services are vital to the community. Weve had hundreds of phone calls from people supporting us. I want to say its 10-to-1, 11-to-1 supporting us, Casey said. Asked if he might consider a lawsuit if the fines continue, Casey said he wasnt in charge of that decision. Whatever happens, happens. Im not in charge of all that, Casey said. I would just caution and urge the city and the state to reconsider. Its our constitutional right and I dont want to go the whole court route ... give us our due reward. Give us what were asking for and make church essential." Another in-person service is expected on Sunday and Casey said a baptism is planned for after the service. The Wednesday service stirred up some activity in the neighborhood. A man who did not enter the church Wednesday walked back and forth on the sidewalk with a sign that read recall mayor, fire manager. Someone in a car yelled, Thats not right. Thats wrong," as they passed by the church. On Facebook, Casey and the church have received both praise and criticism for holding the services amid the pandemic. Officials in Worcester have said this week that the region is still seeing a surge of patients suffering from coronavirus. In Worcester, there are 2,588 coronavirus cases as of Wednesday, officials said. Since April 1, the city has averaged 69 new cases per day. Across Massachusetts, 4,420 residents have died from illness related to coronavirus and at least 72,025 people have tested positive as of Wednesday afternoon, according to state health officials. Related Content: As countries work to reopen after weeks of lockdown, contact-tracing apps help to understand the spread of the deadly coronavirus strain, COVID-19. While most governments lean toward privacy-focused apps that use Bluetooth signals to create an anonymous profile of a person's whereabouts, others, like Israel, use location and cell phone data to track the spread of the virus. Israel-based private security firm NSO Group, known for making mobile hacking tools, is leading one of Israel's contact-tracing efforts. Security researcher Bob Diachenko discovered one of NSO's contact-tracing systems on the internet, unprotected and without a password, for anyone to access. After he contacted the company, NSO pulled the unprotected database offline. Diachenko said he believes the database contains dummy data. NSO told TechCrunch that the system was only for demonstrating its technology and denied it was exposed because of a security lapse. NSO is still waiting for the Israeli government's approval to feed cell records into the system. But experts say the system should not have been open to begin with, and that centralized databases of citizens' location data pose a security and privacy risk. Codename 'Fleming' NSO began work on its contact-tracing system codenamed Fleming in March. Fleming is designed to "pour" in confirmed coronavirus test data from the health authorities and phone location data from the cell networks to identify people who may have been exposed to a person with the virus. Anyone who came into close proximity to a person diagnosed with coronavirus would be notified. The unprotected database was hosted on an Amazon Web Services server in Frankfurt, where the data protection regime is one of the strictest in the world. It contained about six weeks of location data, spanning around March 10 to April 23. It also included specific dates, times and the location of a "target" a term that NSO used in the database to describe people that may have come into contact with a potentially infected person. Story continues The data also included the duration of the encounter to help score the likelihood of a transmitted infection. The login page for NSO's Fleming is protected with a password. Its backend database was unprotected. (Image: TechCrunch) "NSO Group has successfully developed 'Fleming', an innovative, unique and purely analytical system designed to respond to the coronavirus pandemic," said Oren Ganz, a director at NSO Group. "Fleming has been designed for the benefit of government decision-makers, without compromising individual privacy. This system has been demonstrated worldwide with great transparency to media organizations, and approximately 100 individual countries," he said. TechCrunch was also given a demonstration of how the system works. "This transparent demo, the same shown to individual countries and media organizations, was the one located on the open random server in question, and the very same demo observed today by TechCrunch. All other speculation about this overt, open system is not correct, and does not align with the basic fact this transparent demonstration has been seen by hundreds of people in media and government worldwide," said Ganz. John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the Citizen Lab, part of the Munk School at the University of Toronto, said that any database storing location data poses a privacy risk. "Not securing a server would be an embarrassment for a school project," said Scott-Railton. "For a billion-dollar company to not password protect a secretive project that hopes to handle location and health data suggest a quick and sloppy roll out." "NSO's case is the precedent that proves the problem: rushed COVID-19 tracking efforts will imperil our privacy and online safety," he said. Israel's two tracing systems As global coronavirus infections began to spike in March, the Israeli government passed an emergency law giving its domestic security service Shin Bet "unprecedented access" to collect vast amounts of cell data from the phone companies to help identify possible infections. By the end of March, Israeli defense minister Naftali Bennett said the government was working on a new contact tracing system, separate from the one used by Shin Bet. It was later revealed that NSO was building the second contact-tracing system. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, a privacy expert and a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, told TechCrunch that she too was given a demonstration of Fleming over a Zoom call in the early days of the outbreak. Without the authority to obtain cell records, NSO told her that it used location data gathered from advertising platforms, or so-called data brokers. Israeli media also reported that NSO used advertising data for "training" the system. Data brokers amass and sell vast troves of location data collected from the apps installed on millions of phones. The apps that track your movements and whereabouts are often also selling those locations to data brokers, which then resell the data to advertisers to serve more targeted ads. NSO denied it used location data from a data broker for its Fleming demo. "The Fleming demo is not based on real and genuine data," said Ganz. "The demo is rather an illustration of public obfuscated data. It does not contain any personal identifying information of any sort." Since governments began to outline their plans for contact-tracing systems, experts warned that location data is not accurate and can lead to both false positives and false negatives. Currently, NSO's system appears to rely on this data for its core functions. "This kind of location data will not get you a reliable measure of whether two people came into close contact," said Scott-Railton. NSO's connection to the Middle East Israel is not the only government interested in Fleming. Bloomberg reported in March that a dozen nations were allegedly testing NSO's contact-tracing technology. A review of the unprotected database showed large amounts of location data points in Israel, but also Rwanda, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Spokespeople for the Saudi, Rwandan and Emirati consulates in New York did not respond to our emails. NSO did not answer our questions about its relationship if any with these governments. A map showing a sample of about 20,000 location data points across Israel (top-left); Abu Dhabi and Dubai, United Arab Emirates (top-right); Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (bottom-left) and Rwanda (bottom-right). (Image: TechCrunch) Saudi Arabia is a known customer of NSO Group. United Nations experts have called for an investigation into allegations that the Saudi government used NSO's Pegasus spyware to hack into the phone of Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos. NSO has denied the claims. NSO is also embroiled in a legal battle with Facebook-owned WhatsApp for allegedly building a hacking tool designed to be delivered over WhatsApp, which was used to hack into the cell phones of 1,400 users, including government officials, journalists and human rights activists, using AWS servers based in the U.S. and Frankfurt. NSO also rebuffed the claims. Privacy concerns Experts have expressed concerns over the use of centralized data, fearing that it could become a target for hackers. Most countries are favoring decentralized efforts, like the joint project between Apple and Google, which uses anonymized Bluetooth signals picked up from phones in near proximity, instead of collecting cell location data into a single database. Bluetooth contact tracing has won the support of academics and security researchers over location-based contact-tracing efforts, which they say would enable large-scale surveillance. Shwartz Altshuler told TechCrunch that location-based contact tracing is a "huge infringement" of privacy. "It means that you can't have any secrets," she said. "You can't have any meetings if you're a journalist, and you can't go to places where people want to know where you are." Favoring their own contact-tracing efforts, Apple and Google have already banned governments building contact-tracing apps utilizing their joint API from using location tracking, fearing that data stored on a centralized server could be breached. Just this week, the U.S. and U.K. governments warned that nation-state hackers are targeting organizations involved in the coronavirus response. Alan Woodward, a professor at the University of Surrey, said location data makes it "possible to build social graphs and to begin identifying who met who, when and where." "Even if it is just trial data, its still sensitive if it's real people," he said. PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-07 09:02:17 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 552 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / Blue Lagoon Resources Inc. (the "Company") (CSE:BLLG)(FSE:7BL)(OTCQB:BLAGF) is pleased to announce that it has started the process to form a strategic advisory board to advise and consult with the Company's board of directors and its senior management.The Company has appointed Yannis Tsitos as the initial member of the advisory board. Mr. Tsitos will be a valuable addition to the team and will greatly assist Blue Lagoon in realizing its vision and future goals. To further advance its advisory board "brain trust", the Company is in discussions with several other highly qualified and distinguished candidates with proven track records and expects to make those announcements in the coming weeks.Mr. Tsitos has over 30 years of experience in the mining industry, having spent 19 of those years with the BHP Billiton group. In his time in the industry, he has lived and worked in South Africa, Ecuador, Greece and United Kingdom, and has been working in Canada since 2000. Originally a physicist-geophysicist, he left BHP Billiton in December 2007, where he had the title of New Business Manager for Minerals Exploration with a global reach, but based in Vancouver. He has been instrumental in the identification, negotiation and execution of more than 50 exploration agreements over 11 different commodities with juniors, majors, as well as with state exploration and mining companies. Mr. Tsitos is currently the President of Goldsource Mines Inc. and sits on several companies' boards as an Independent Director, has published articles in exploration and mining magazines on relevant topics and has been a strong advocate of anti-corruption policies in the mining industry.Mr. Tsitos has also been part of two discovery teams with BHP Billiton in porphyry-copper and nickel-sulphide deposits. He holds a B.Sc. degree in Physics from the University of Athens and a master's degree in Applied Geophysics and Geology from the University of Birmingham, UK. In addition, he completed management and finance studies as part of an MBA program with Herriot Watt University, Edinburgh."We are pleased to welcome Yannis to our team. His knowledge and experience are a valuable addition to Blue Lagoon. He brings a wealth of global contacts that we will surely leverage as we look to expand the company's investor base while at the same time advancing the Dome Mountain Gold Mine Project. On behalf of our whole team, we look forward to working with Mr. Tsitos." "I am excited to join Blue Lagoon as a strategic adviser and work closely with Rana and his team," said Mr. Tsitos. "Junior exploration, development and mining is heating up and I believe there's no better place to be right now than gold - particularly in the short to medium term - and copper in the long term. I believe Blue Lagoon is well-positioned in both of these spaces with great projects in a safe jurisdiction. I would like to help its management to ultimately build real value for shareholders and all other stakeholders in beautiful British Columbia." he added.For further information, please contact:Rana VigPresident and Chief Executive OfficerTelephone: 604-218-4766Email: rana@ ranavig.com The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.SOURCE: Blue Lagoon Resources Inc. After a week of confusion over whether Traders Village was eligible to reopen in accordance with a state order, the popular Southwest Side flea market learned Wednesday it could get back to business this weekend. Tim Anderson, president of Traders Village, said a state agency clarified in an email that flea markets are considered a type of mall. Today, Traders Village received an email from the the Texas Division of Emergency Managements office confirming what we already knew; Traders Village San Antonio is allowed to be open, Anderson said. The city had denied reopening the market last week under its interpretation of Gov. Greg Abbotts executive order, which allowed retail stores and malls to reopen with restrictions. Now Playing: The mayor met with the Express-News Editorial Board to discuss the reopening of San Antonio after Governor Abbott announced reopening Texas. You can watch the full video of the 1-hour session on https://www.expressnews.com/opinion/ Video: mySA City officials said in their decision that Traders Village was not specifically addressed as a reopened service or business listed in the governors order. The state has now provided clear guidance that flea markets may operate as a reopened service, City Attorney Andy Segovia said Wednesday. They must operate at 25 percent capacity and comply with the guidelines on social distancing and hygiene within Gov. Abbotts plan. This weekend, Anderson said Traders Village wont have rides or live music, but will have limited food stands. We are all set with our plans for maintaining social distancing and approved occupancy, Anderson said. Brian Billeck, marketing manager for Traders Village, said the goal is to limit visitors to 20 percent capacity, or 8,000 people. He said their IT department created an application that monitors attendance in real time. Three toll lanes will allow vehicles to enter, but there will only be one exit to keep an accurate account of how many people are at the flea market. We wish to thank everyone for their continued support and patience, Anderson said. We are very excited to get our over 500 small business owners back to work and welcome back some of our team members. Rex Stearns, a vendor at Traders Village, was excited to learn that the flea market got the green light to reopen. I think its great, Stearns said. Not so much for me, but for the majority of people out there. Thats their livelihood. Stearns was at the market last Friday as preparations were being made for what they thought would be their opening weekend. People put all their money they had left in their stock and then they werent opening, Stearns said. The outdoor market was thoroughly cleaned, coverings were put on every other table to space people apart, and hand sanitizer was placed throughout the grounds, Stearns said. Many shops also had social distancing markers taped on the ground. If people abide by these lines just like in shopping centers, there will be no problems, he said. Stearns said in the past he would organize two boxing or wrestling matches a year. He was not planning on hosting one this year to avoid creating a crowd. We cut back on a lot of things for the safety of the customers, he said. Traders Village is open weekends from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free, with a parking fee of $4 per vehicle. Jacob Beltran is a reporter covering San Antonio and Bexar County. To read more from Jacob, become a subscriber. jbeltran@express-news.net | Twitter: @JBfromSA Its not the way she planned to leave, but shes making the best of it. McCullough Junior High band director Susan Meyer Patterson is retiring after this year and when COVID-19 closed schools she embraced the challenge and created something her students will remember for years. Online performance As classes moved predominantly online, Meyer Patterson got her students on Zoom and has been holding regular practices. As a special project for the last few weeks, because they would no longer be performing and competing as they had anticipated, she taught them a piece she performed in college, and with help from her colleague Aaron Martinez pulled together the Zoom performances into one video. MORE FROM JAMIE SWINNERTON: Montgomery Countys senior class faces a very different year amid coronavirus It just seemed like the only thing that I knew of that we would be able to do to give the students a real performance, she said. At spring break we were right on the cusp of starting our performance season and so that was taken from us. While distance learning she still wanted her students to have an opportunity to get better and to make music. She chose Rhosymedre by Ralph Vaughan Williams as the piece for her students to perform because it was what inspired her to become a music teacher 30 years ago. Her husband, Pat, is a composer and helped translate the piece for her students. In order t play it, the students had to listen to a copy of the music embedded with a metronome in order to keep the correct pace. The video of the performance was released on the day the class had originally been scheduled to have their UIL evaluation performance. ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Many Texas special education students say they are still waiting for help to make up for delays and denials I always tell my students, always, when we are preparing for any type of performance or competition, that the goal is not to win, the goal is not to earn a trophy, but the goal is to have our music played for as many people as possible as a gift, Meyer Patterson said. I want the world to hear your hard work. Global audience The video of the performance was put on YouTube and has since been seen by people in at least 12 countries. Ironically, the world has been able to hear their music, which would not have been the case if we were at school, she said. Not being able to give her students the opportunity to perform the way they had planned has left a hole in her heart, Meyer Patterson said. But being able to give them this lasting memory. Earlier this year, her class received the award for Exemplary Junior High Band Program 2020 by the Texas Band Masters Association, which is an accomplishment she has encouraged her students to hold onto during this trying time. MISSING A MILESTONE: Conroe ISDs Class of 2020 finds coronavirus cancels plans for prom Alex Thomas is currently one of Meyer Pattersons students and plays the clarinet. He knows she cares by how she pushes her students to try their best. Putting together the video was exciting, he said because they still got to share their music with people. Shes very caring, shes excited when she teaches us new music, she makes sure that everyone is doing the right thing and playing their best and having a good time, Thomas said. She makes me want to try harder and play harder music. Several years ago, Alexs brother Jack, now a sophomore at The Woodlands High School, also played clarinet in Meyer Pattersons class. Because of her, Jack said, he is still in band now. Caring and compassionate Shes one of the best teachers Ive ever had and is very caring and compassionate about all her students, Jack said. MORNING REPORT: Get the top stories on HoustonChronicle.com sent directly to your inbox Meyer Patterson started teaching in 1990 in Katy ISD and joined Conroe ISD in 2005 at Deretchin Elementary, then came to McCullough in 2007. I am very passionate about using music and the arts to help young people learn teamwork and accountability and commitment and how to become a part of something bigger than themselves and continuing holding onto that music to create experiences that they never even knew were possible, Meyer Patterson said. And at the same time, developing friendships and relationships. The hardest part of the distance learning she said, becoming emotional, is that she misses her students. This time of the school year is a special one because the students usually have hit their stride and are putting together the things theyve learned. Staying connected, and to continue to nurture them, is difficult. She wants to give a special thanks to her colleagues, Andrea Maher and Lilia Gonzalez Penny, as well as Martinez, for helping her create the video performance. She has a special message for all of her students, past and present. I want them to know that Im so proud of them, she said. It has meant the world just to hear their music. It has been the honor of my career being their teacher. They need to keep it going, McCullough style, because the best is yet to come for them. She may be disappointed that her last year didnt end the way she had planned, but she can easily take pride in how her students have responded to the changes. They were bound for greatness this year and I have to think that they did achieve that, she said. jamie.swinnerton@chron.com Mr Frank Fusieni Adongo Deputy Upper East Regional Minister and Member of Parliament (MP) of Zebilla Constituency has reiterated the need to collectively fight against the novel coronavirus, CSM and Cholera to protect the human resource of the country. Mr Adongo noted that the health of the human resource was paramount to the growth of the economy and the need to adhere to strict measures rolled out by the government was important to safeguard their health since they were the driving force for the growth of the economy. Mr Adongo made the call in a press statement signed by him and copied to ModernGhana News, urging residents in the Zebilla constituency to strictly adhere to the Presidents directives on safety protocols against Covid-19 and other related diseases. He said the Coronavirus was a threat to productivity because many workers and stakeholders who contribute in the building up the economy could no longer go to work due to the fear of contracting the deadly disease which retires the development of the economy in many forms. Mr Adongo pointed that, in recognition of the threat of COVID-19 to life and its high potential to escalate in the country, the President has taken time to address the nation several times, on measures being taken by him and his government in response to this pandemic. According to him, these measures are intended to limit and stop the importation of the virus, contain its spread, provide adequate care for the sick as well as limit the impact of the virus on the social and economic life of all Ghanaians, including the Zebilla Constituency and by far, the Upper East Region. The MP lamented that the constituency was strategically located on the borders of Burkina Faso and Togo and as far as this pandemic is concerned, the communities which share common boundaries with these countries should take caution as many people have cross-border relations and clan-members across the borders. He explained that as people continue to relate with these cross-border families and clan members there is the need to bear in mind that they were at risk, to the virus. He stressed that, due to the official closure of Ghanas borders with neighboring countries, there would be miscreants who may like to take advantage of the cross-border, blood relationships, to smuggle this deadly virus in and out of both territories, either deliberately or ignorantly. He called on commercial transport operators, including motor-bike (okada) riders, tri-cycle(motor-king) riders, and donkey cart drivers, within Zebilla and its environs, to abide by the governments directives regarding the closure of the borders. The MP urged the people to continue to observe the protocols including avoiding crowded areas, avoiding hand-shakes, washing of hands with soap under running water, covering of mouths and nose while coughing or sneezing, reporting to the nearest health facility with symptoms such as fever, coughing, running nose keeping our internal and external environments clean, and devoid of all forms of filth. He assured to continue to procure protective and hygiene materials for distribution to the various health care centers within the Zebilla constituency, adding that he was working hard at procuring more of these vital materials for further distribution, in order to add to the wonderful efforts of the President, in the fight against the virus in the area. Finally, it is equally important for all of us in the Upper East Region, to remember that we are currently within the heat season, and one of the diseases that has been common to us over the years, is Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM). I wish therefore to advise all of us in our various communities, within the entire Upper East Region, to take the necessary precautionary measures to avoid contracting CSM, alongside our fight against COVID19, he emphasised. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 6) Lawmakers should deliberate on the renewal of franchise of ABS-CBN without fear of President Rodrigo Dutertes wrath, his spokesperson said on Wednesday. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque directly referred to Dutertes allies in the Congress who failed to grant a fresh 25-year franchise to operate before ABS-CBNs license expired on May 4, leading to the closure of one of the countrys biggest broadcast network. Ang paninindigan ng Presidente, neutral siya diyan. Huwag po kayong mag-alala, mga congressmen. Hindi po magagagalit, hindi matutuwa ang Presidente kung inyong ipasa ang prangkisa ng ABS-CBN. Completely neutral ang Presidente, he said in an interview with state-owned television network PTV. [Translation: The President is neutral on this issue. The congressmen shouldnt worry because he will not be happy nor sad if they decide to grant ABS-CBN a franchise. President Duterte is completely neutral on this.] Dutertes spokesman said the Senate and House of Representatives should maximize the return of the Congress sessions amid the COVID-19 pandemic to finally grant the franchise so ABS-CBN can return on air after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) ordered it to immediately stop broadcast operations on Tuesday. A joint resolution granting a temporary franchise to ABS-CBN Corporation to operate until June 2022 was filed at the House on Wednesday. Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said the process of passing this resolution will be faster as compared to hearing legislative franchise bills. Mas mabilis yung joint House resolution because this one, alam mo kasi for the franchise bill of 25 years, we have to hear from all stakeholders. It's quite difficult now because of COVID-19. We are going to have a virtual session and committee hearing so we can now pass this within the month, he told CNN Philippines. [Translation: The joint House resolution will be completed faster. To pass a franchise bill that will last for 25 years, we have to listen to all the stakeholders. That will be a challenge with the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.] He urged the Senate to come up with a similar resolution and to act on the issue after NTC failed to keep its word and so-called double crossed the Congress that it will issue a provisional permit to ABS-CBN. Huwag na nating ibigay sa NTC, niloloko lang tayo ng NTC. What we are going to do is to have Congress itself act on this House joint resolution with the Senate, the lawmaker added. [Translation: Let us not depend on NTC, we are being duped. Now the Congress has to act on it.] Numerous bills have been filed before the House since November 2016 to extend ABS-CBNs franchise for another 25 years to continue airing on radio and free TV. These have been set aside by the "too busy" 18th Congress which is dominated by Dutertes allies as the country faced the Taal volcano eruption and the COVID-19 pandemic in the months running up to the expiry of the franchise. TIMELINE: ABS-CBN franchise With several bills languishing in the House as time was running out, House panel on Legislative Franchises Chairman Rep. Franz Alvarez and House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano wrote a letter to the National Telecommunications Commission urging commissioners to grant the network a provisional permit. But instead of holding its promise to issue a provisional authority, NTC issued a cease and desist order. Rodriguez said that with the expiration of ABS-CBNs franchise, all bills seeking to renew the license is no longer valid. So he filed a new bill that will grant the network a new franchise. This is the 12th ABS-CBN franchise bill filed in the 18th Congress. The House Committee on Legislative Franchises is now waiting for Cayetanos go signal to hold hearings on ABS-CBNs franchise application. Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin said Alvarez told him that hes ready to start the hearings once he gets the green light from Cayetano. Roque reminded lawmakers that Duterte is no longer holding a grudge against the media giant after ABS-CBN President Carlo Katigbak apologized and explained the networks failure to air his campaign ads. The President has been publicly ranting against ABS-CBN since assuming office in 2016, saying the network refused to carry his campaign commercials even if they have been already paid for. You can vote as you please. Simula pa po hindi naman siya nanghihimasok at nagdidikta. Sana po makarating ang mensahe sa mga kaalyado ni President sa Kongreso, he said. [Translation: You can vote as you please. The President does not meddle nor dictate. I hope this reaches his allies in the Congress.] Rep. Edcel Lagman said the House might have been reluctant to pass the bill due to Duterte's ire against the network. He reminded all lawmakers to act independently, without fear or fervor to the President. He added House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano Dutertes close ally is ultimately to blame for dragging its feet on the ABS-CBN. This is a lesson for the HRep that it should exercise its constitutional powers independently without succumbing to the President, he told CNN Philippines The Source. The prospects of widespread in-person summer school for Houston-area children appear increasingly dim, creating another barrier to catching up students falling behind during the novel coronavirus pandemic, multiple education leaders said in recent days. Superintendents throughout the region and state have started signaling that in-person instruction would only resume this summer for a small number of the neediest students if children can return to campuses at all. The states second- and seventh-largest districts Dallas and Katy ISDs, respectively already announced in recent days that all summer school classes will take place virtually this year. With schools across the state closed since mid-March due to the pandemic, education leaders have looked to summer school as an opportunity to support the states neediest students, including those who lack the technology needed to participate in online learning. The continued outbreak of the novel coronavirus, however, likely will dash those hopes. While state officials have not yet banned in-person classes this summer, safety concerns for staff and students persist. Thats why our summer school is, most likely, not going to be face-to-face, said Alief ISD Superintendent HD Chambers, whose district has not yet announced summer school plans. And thats why were still working on what the 2020-21 school year might look like, particularly in August and September. Traditionally, districts use June and July to offer remedial classes for students at risk of failing to advance grades or graduate, and dual-credit opportunities to high school students. GRADUATIONS IN TEXAS: State OKs outdoor ceremonies, keeps indoor event ban In the first few weeks of the pandemics arrival in Houston, several superintendents said they hoped to offer summer school to more children than usual. In Clear Creek ISD, where roughly 2,000 students attended summer school last year, Superintendent Greg Smith said buildings would be more crowded than ever before in June and July if not for social distancing requirements. To date, only a few large Texas districts have formally announced their schedules for summer school. Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa said Monday that there is no way we can do it face-to-face as he announced plans for virtual summer school. Katy ISD officials, who declined an interview request this week, said they planned to hold all summer classes online due to social distancing guidelines and our efforts to minimize unnecessary health and safety risks. Clear Creek ISD, the Houston areas 11th-largest district, also announced online-only summer school. Other districts remain hopeful for some form of in-person instruction this summer though none of the regions large districts have announced such plans. Houston ISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan, who leads the states largest district, said administrators have not yet formalized their approach to summer school. RINGING THE BELL: How 10 Houston-area teachers, support staff are staying connected to kids In Fort Bend ISD, the regions fourth-largest district, Superintendent Charles Dupre said administrators are discussing the possibility of in-school support for students receiving special education services. He cautioned that there remains a lot of uncertainty around this. We believe some of those students have lost a lot of ground, and we need to support them and their parents by getting them back in the classroom as soon as possible, Dupre said. Extended school year is something we do every year anyway, and so we think if its possible to do that in small groups with proper social distancing and proper (personal protective equipment), were going to do our best to put on some type of program for those kiddos in June and July. A national poll conducted in late April by NPR, PBS and Marist College, as well as a state-specific poll conducted by the University of Texas and Texas Tribune in mid-April, both found widespread support for closing public schools in the first several weeks of the pandemic. The polling organizations did not ask about support for extending closures into the summer and beginning of the 2020-21 school year. jacob.carpenter@chron.com This transmission electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19. isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab. Source: NIAID-RML As the world waits for a Covid-19 vaccine, some doctors and scientists have been looking for other methods of slowing its spread or eradicating it. One of them is Fred Maxik, a former NASA scientist and the founder and chief scientific officer of Healthe. His company has developed what it claims is the first-ever human-safe Far-UVC technology to combat coronavirus. Far-UVC is a form of ultraviolet light, and at specific frequencies, ultraviolet light has been known to cause such harmful side effects as skin cancer and blindness. However, an April 21 Columbia University study showed that Far-UVC's narrow band of wavelengths approximately 207222 nanometers (nm) is short enough to prevent it from damaging living human cells. But it can still penetrate and kill small viruses and bacteria on surfaces and in the air. Maxik said that the idea is for this technology to be deployed in the places where healthcare providers tend to the sick. For example, Far-UVC light could radiate from doorways and decontaminate the hair, skin and clothes of those entering a building, whether they know they're carrying the virus or not. An entrance way that uses Healthe's Far-UVC light to decontaminate people from any viruses or bacteria. Healthe "If nurses and doctors passed through a portal archway as they enter or leave a unit like intensive care, it would drastically reduce the chance they bring coronavirus or other germs in on their clothes, skin or whatever they're carrying," he explained. "Importantly, it would also drastically reduce the chance they take any pathogens home with them at the end of the day." He added that this technology could also be deployed in a variety of ways and locations. "We also have Far-UVC downlights, which can replace standard recessed lights to provide surface and air sanitation on an ongoing basis," he said. "Installing these in hospitals, nursing homes, or other health care facilities would fight surface and airborne contamination whenever the lights are on, as opposed to whenever someone gets around to spraying or wiping disinfectant on the surfaces." More from Technology Executive Council: Software thinks its revenue is crisis-proof. This time may be different Google, Facebook, Twitter team up yo support addiction recovery during pandemic Vet telehealth surges as first US pets test positive for coronavirus Columbia University is not the only institution to find that Far-UVC light is safe for human beings to use. A joint study between Kobe University in Japan and Ushio, Inc. found that "repeated irradiation of 222nm ultraviolet radiation (UV-C) with high disinfection power does not cause skin cancer, suggesting its safety on human skin and eyes." Another study, from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, found that "far-UVC light (207-222 nm) efficiently inactivates bacteria without harm to exposed mammalian skin Continuous very low dose-rate Far-UVC light in indoor public locations is a promising, safe, and inexpensive tool to reduce the spread of airborne-mediated microbial diseases." Far-UVC downlights, which can replace standard recessed lights to provide surface and air sanitation. Healthe Jose Morey, M.D., Chief Medical Innovation Officer for Liberty BioSecurity and advisor for MIT Solve and NASA iTech, said that while Far-UVC technology shows a lot of promise, it's not quite ready for prime time just yet. "The angle and duration of the exposure are still yet to be determined," he said. "The exposures to date have been controlled, and [there have been] mixed results depending on the type of surface, fabric, and curvatures. The concept is similar to the [World Health Organization] standards for disinfecting water in underdeveloped environments and other traditional UV mitigations There is a lot of promise here, but still many questions." The science behind the technology 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. Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists. Jazmine Greene walks east along Lancaster Ave with her children on Thursday afternoon. Behind her is an abstract painting on plywood telling passersby to "Keep your head up!" Read more The coronavirus epidemic in Philadelphia is getting better in several ways, officials said Thursday; the number of new cases over time is continuing to go down in Pennsylvania, and New Jersey is seeing its lowest hospitalization rates since health officials began publicly reporting those numbers in early April. If we want to get to the point where we can safely reopen, said Philadelphia Health Commissioner Thomas Farley, we need to just keep doing what were doing. As 24 counties in northern and western Pennsylvania enter the first reopening phase Friday, Gov. Tom Wolf said he would announce additional counties cleared to move from the states red phase to yellow on Friday. He didnt say where, but infection rate data indicated some counties in the southwest have reached at least one of the states benchmarks for reopening. Pennsylvania on Thursday reported 1,070 additional confirmed coronavirus cases, for a total of 52,915 cases, and 310 additional deaths, jumps attributed to data reconciliation between state and local health departments and a data dump from a commercial lab. The deaths occurred over the last several weeks, Health Secretary Rachel Levine said. Were going to see what the numbers are tomorrow and over the weekend and into next week to follow trends, Levine said. Overall, the number of new cases over time continues to go down. Philadelphia reported a drop in new cases of the virus, cases in the citys prisons and nursing homes, and hospitalizations. The slowing of new cases is picking up speed, Farley said, a good sign, and the number of deaths reported per day is also on a downward trend. Still, Farley urged residents to wear masks in public. The fact that we have 350 cases in a day means that there are plenty of people out there with this infection, so we are not ready to reopen yet, he said. Several groups advocating for the reopening of city businesses in spite of health officials warnings that the region cannot yet safely reopen, along with counterprotesters from the Refuse Fascism Philly organization, plan to demonstrate at City Hall on Friday. READ MORE: Coronavirus: Tracking the Spread The number of patients hospitalized with the virus was 10% lower Thursday than it was at its peak, Farley said. As of Thursday, 911 patients with the virus were hospitalized in Philadelphia and 1,677 were hospitalized in Southeastern Pennsylvania, Farley said. He reported 350 new confirmed cases in the city. New Jerseys peak in April resulted in over 8,200 people hospitalized a number officials said could have been much worse without social distancing measures. On Thursday, Gov. Phil Murphy reported 4,996 people hospitalized. Having fewer than 5,000 people in the hospital for COVID-19 is a milestone, Murphy said. It means, among other things, that the stress on capacity is lessening. New Jersey reported an additional 1,827 confirmed cases, bringing the states total to 133,635, and 254 deaths, increasing the state toll to 8,801. And the virus continued to exact a financial toll: Nearly one-third of the one million New Jerseyans who have filed for unemployment benefits are still waiting, state officials reported Thursday, and the state plans to get another call center up and running in the next couple of weeks to help process claims. One-quarter of Pennsylvanias workforce more than 1.7 million people has filed for unemployment benefits in the last seven weeks, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. In New Jersey, about 23% of the workforce has filed jobless claims. Self-employed, independent contractors, and gig workers in Pennsylvania can now file unemployment claims backdated to as early as Jan. 27. Many have encountered glitches in the states new system. Philadelphia collected only half as much revenue in April as it did during the same month in 2019, Mayor Jim Kenney announced Thursday. The citys $385 million in revenue collections for the month of April was 47% lower than the amount collected in April 2019, Kenney said. This is the first clear indicator of the local impact of COVID-19 on the citys revenue collections, Kenney said during a virtual news conference. Protection against evictions and foreclosures was extended until at least July 10 by an executive order signed by Wolf on Thursday. No one in Pennsylvania can be evicted or have their home foreclosed on due to inability to pay until that date, Wolf and state Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced. Meanwhile, health officials continued imploring people to stay home. While there are no formal travel restrictions for Pennsylvania residents, Levine said she would discourage them from flocking to reopening New Jersey beaches as the weather warms up. My recommendation is not to do that, Levine said, citing New Jerseys high infection rates. If you go to the Shore, I bet you other people will go to the Shore, and itll almost be impossible to practice social distancing. And with Mothers Day on Sunday, New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli urged the states long term care facilities to provide socially distanced ways for families to honor their mothers. Love your moms from a distance, Persichilli said. I understand how difficult it is to adhere to all of our restrictions, particularly those on visitation in health-care facilities. But they must remain in place to protect your loved ones. More than 120 New Jersey National Guard members are being deployed to long-term care centers across the state to help with the crisis; 51% of those who have died of the coronavirus in New Jersey have been residents of nursing and long-term-care homes. In Southeastern Pennsylvania, Bucks County officials who requested that the state assess coronavirus cases in nursing homes separately from cases in the broader community when determining which areas can reopen said they have not received a direct response from the governor. Wolf told reporters Tuesday in response to the suggestion from Bucks and Delaware Counties commissioners and state lawmakers that he would not change the reopening metrics, but said there will always be a measure of subjectivity in the process. It didnt appear to me from his comments that anybody had closed the door on the idea of a separate assessment of community spread outside long-term-care facilities, said Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo. Were looking forward to working with the governor in the future. Montgomery County Commissioner Joseph C. Gale on Thursday called for his county to reopen despite an infection rate that remains much higher than the states benchmark. He said the governor has failed as a leader and also called for the county to reopen with cases in nursing homes removed from the countys overall infection rate. We must begin the process of reopening Montgomery County, said Gale, a Republican. This has gone extremely too far, and we have to get back to commonsense basics. Common sense is the key medicine to combating the coronavirus. READ MORE: Get the facts: Your coronavirus questions answered The county reported 563 confirmed and probable deaths from the virus on Thursday. Commissioners Chair Val Arkoosh, a physician, said after Gale spoke that the county was not ready to reopen. There is no amount of common sense thats going to make [this virus] go away, said Arkoosh. Theres only one thing, and thats science and data. But heres the thing, we have to stay the course. We are just not quite there yet. This is not the time to throw our hands up in disgust and walk away. Staff writers Anna Orso, Laura McCrystal, Ellie Rushing, and Rob Tornoe contributed to this article. By Trend Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 23 times, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry. 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. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz A few years ago, it was a matter of a raging debate on social media. Facebook was rolling out the Free Basics platform in India in 2015, which allowed free access to certain pre-listed content such as websites and online service. Facebooks pitch was simple. They said they wanted to connect users with the internet, the same demographic for whom mobile data was still too expensive or had no access to internet services till now. Arguments against the app centered around net neutrality. Could we be heading for another showdown between advocacy groups and the worlds largest social media network which still harbors aspirations of connecting the masses. Or some may suspiciously say, internet domination. Let us look at things objectively for a second, before jumping to conclusions. Or revisiting the past. Facebook is testing a new app that offers internet access in developing countries. It is called Discover and is being first trialed in Peru. The company confirms it will be launched subsequently in a number of countries, including Thailand, Philippines, and Iraq. No mention of India, yet. Activists can breathe. Carrying on, this is how it works. Facebook Discover requires residents of Peru to have a SIM card from one of the partner providers, and download the Discover app from the Google Play Store. At this time, Discover is available for Android phones . Bitel, Claro, Entel, and Movistar are on board Facebook Discover project in Peru. It is expected that Facebook will have similar partnerships for Discover in the countries it subsequently launches in. Telecom partners feed in the free daily data With this tie-up, Facebook wants to bring internet connectivity to people who may still either not be connected with the internet (yes, there are still millions like that around the world, something difficult to fathom while enjoying our 100Mbps internet lines), or may still find data packs too expensive. The partner cellular companies will bundle a daily data limit for free, which users who have Discover on their phone, can use to browse the internet. This will off-course be low-bandwidth browsingyou will not be able to view videos on this, for instance, or load data intensive elements. This will be a very lean app, because it is meant for low-end phones which dont necessarily have very powerful specs driving the Android experience and most also dont have very large displays. This will be mobile web browsing, at its very basic. You do not need a Facebook account for this to work. The Big Takeaway: All websites are treated equally The reason why Facebook Free Basics was immediately in the line of fire was because it did something similar but restricted the free internet access to certain websites and services. Therefore, the argument about preferential treatment for certain content while taking away the choice for the user, if they wished to access some other websites as well. This time, it is clear. Discover allows access to any and all websites via the app . Just that what you will see will be a stripped-down version of the web page, to keep it low bandwidth. In response to feedback, weve developed Discover to allow people to browse all websites using a daily balance of free data from participating mobile operators, Facebook confirms. This is the biggest change between the Free Basics of the past, and the Discover of the here and now. It could also be the single biggest change to eliminate the criticism. There is no preferential treatment for any websites or services. There is no slicing of the internet into two-halves or morebased on priority. It is the same platform for everyone, where the choice seems to be with the user. Now it is up to how good your product is, for the users to return. Net neutrality, by its very premise, dictates that Internet service providersbe it mobile networks or wired broadband services or internet accessing appsshould not discriminate among web services by prioritizing some over others by either blocking any app or service, throttling the access to any app or service or limiting the quantity of consumption. There should be no such preferential treatment based on websites, content, apps, device in device, a users browsing history and more. Facebook will filter the elements on the page, but no ads based on browsing Facebook says that they do not store any users browsing history, it can in no way be identified with any particular user and the browsing activity is not used by Facebook to serve ads. But mind you, everything that you browse via Discover does get decrypted temporarily to strip down the bandwidth hogging elements. Facebook says they will route web traffic through the Discover proxy and temporarily decrypt it to remove video, audio, and high-bandwidth content that is not supported on Discover . To support security, we encrypt information between our servers and any device that supports HTTPS where possible even if the service being accessed runs only over HTTP. For websites that support HTTPS, a second certificate is used for traffic encrypted between our servers and the developers, they say. Rural users are getting connected; Facebook Discover needs to move fast India could be a big market for Facebooks Discover. If at all. Perhaps at some point in the future. Research firm Statista suggests that India will have as many as 564 million internet users by the end of this year, and more than 666 million by the end of the year 2023. The COVID pandemic has sped up the process of getting many more people online, particularly in rural areas. According to an Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) report released earlier this month, there are more than 227 million active internet users in rural India, a number that is 10% higher than the number of urban users, who clock in at 205 million. But if India is on the agenda, Facebook may need to move fast with Discover here. Once habits form, it is hard to get users to shift from one app to another. WWE MAIN EVENT REPORT: SANE VS RIOTT, R TRUTH We are at the WWE Performance Center and your announcers are Tom Phillips and Montel Vontavious Porter. Match Number One: R Truth versus Cal Bloom They lock up and Truth with a side head lock. They lock up again and Bloom with a clean break but he misses a punch. Truth with a back elbow. Bloom with an Irish whip but he runs into Truths boots. Truth with forearms and Bloom with a kick and forearm. Bloom with a slam. Bloom sends Truth into the turnbuckles and he kicks Truth in the corner. Bloom with an Irish whip and Truth floats over and hits an arm drag followed by a split and hip toss. Truth with a split and a leg drop for a near fall. Truth punches Bloom in the corner and then he goes to the turnbuckles and punches Bloom. Bloom with a hot shot into the turnbuckles. Bloom with a butterfly suplex. Bloom chokes Truth in the ropes. Bloom with boots to Truth and then he goes to the floor and connects with a forearm across the chest. Bloom gets a near fall. Bloom with a reverse chin lockTruth with elbows and a punch. Truth with more punches followed by two flying shoulder tackles. Truth with a Blue Thunder Bomb and the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Truth tries to get Bloom up for the Attitude Adjustment but Truth cannot get him up. Bloom with a power slam for a near fall. Bloom sets for a power bomb but Truth gets Bloom up and hits the Attitude Adjustment for the three count. Winner: R Truth We go to commercial. We are back with a look at the two qualifying matches from last weeks Smackdown. We go to commercial. We are back with a look at the Gauntlet Match from Raw to find out who would replace Apollo Crews in the Money in the Bank ladder match. Match Number Two: Kairi Sane versus Ruby Riott They lock up and Sane with a clean break. Riott avoids a clothesline and applies a side head lock. Sane with a wrist lock. Riott backs Sane into the ropes and pushes her. Sane pushes back. Sane and Ruby miss strikes and Riott stomps on the foot. Sane with a head scissors take down and a running blockbuster. Sane goes to the turnbuckles and hits a flying forearm for a near fall. Sane with a Japanese Stranglehold. Riott gets to her feet and escapes with a snap mare. Riott with a head scissors that sends Sane into the turnbuckles. We go to commercial. We are back and Ruby with a full nelson. Riott sends Sane into the turnbuckles and kicks Sane. Riott misses a knee and a kick and Sane with a rollup for a near fall. Sane with a spinning back fist followed by a chop. Sane with a running forearm into the corner. Sane sets up for the Sliding D and hits it. Sane gets a near fall. Sane goes up top but Riott recovers and stops Sane with a palm strike. Sane with forearms and Riott punches back. They both fight on the turnbuckles. Riott with an arm bar and she works on the wrist. Riott goes for a superplex and Sane blocks it. Sane knocks Riott off the turnbuckles but Riott with a kick to stop Sane. Sane is sent to the mat. Riott goes to the turnbuckles and hits a back senton for a near fall. Riott pulls Sane into the corner again and Sane stops Riott and Sane with a kick to the head. Sane with an Alabama Slam and then she goes up top and hits the InSane Elbow for the three count. Winner: Kairi Sane We take a look at the latest between Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt. We go to commercial. We are back with a look at Drew McIntyre versus Buddy Murphy from Raw. We go to credits. If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here! Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Layan Odeh (Bloomberg) Thu, May 7, 2020 19:05 621 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd699752 2 News Qatar-Airways,Airlines,travel,coronavirus,COVID-19 Free Qatar Airways plans to boost flights to about half of its network by the end of June, as governments around the globe start easing travel restrictions following months of lockdown. The state-owned airline aims to have 80 destinations by the end of June, according to the statement sent on Wednesday. Currently, the airline operates flights to more than 30 destinations around the world. The gradual expansion will focus on connections between the airlines hub in Doha and airports in London, Chicago, Dallas and Hong Kong, the company said. Qatar Airways plans, which assume inbound travel, are subject to coronavirus bans being lifted at these destinations. Governments in Europe, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have started taking steps to reopen their shuttered economies. Airlines have been particularly hit with the unprecedented near-total shutdown of travel with 70 percent of global carrier capacity idled. The industry could burn through $61 billion in the second quarter alone, according to the International Air Transport Association. In a separate statement, Qatar Airways revealed plans to cut an unspecified number of jobs due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Acting Police Commissioner McDonald Jacob has been given notice by leader of The First Wave Movement, Umar Abdullah, that there will be two more peaceful marches this month. It comes on the heels of Abdullah being charged on Monday for leading a march around the Queens Park Savannah without permission from the acting police commissioner. At issue for the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit is the family planning program known as Title X. Congress has long prohibited the use of federal funds to pay for abortions. Under the rule issued last year, the Department of Health and Human Services banned health centers that provide abortions or refer patients for abortions from receiving any money from the 50-year-old program that primarily serves low-income women. Welspun Enterprises announced its plans to acquire a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Toll project from Essel group's company Mukarba Chowk - Panipat Toll Roads (MCPTRL), subject to NHAI final approval. This acquisition through a subsidiary (Welspun Infrafacility), is being done by way of Harmonious Substitution which was recommended by the Project Lenders and subsequently approved by NHAI. As on date, MCPTRL had completed ~31% of the 71.1 km long Mukarba Chowk - Panipat Highway (NH-44) project (the Project). The original Total Project cost was estimated to be Rs 2,122 crore out of which Rs 1,593 crore is the balance to be incurred, to complete the project. All existing Lenders to the project have agreed to continue supporting the project; thus the project is fully financially tied up. The Company expects to complete the project by June 2021. As per the Concession Agreement, the scheduled concession end date is October 2033, extendable up to 3.4 years based on actual average traffic in year 2025. The current toll revenue for only Haryana section is about Rs 200 crore per annum. Upon achieving COD for both Haryana and Delhi section, the Company expects to collect toll of Rs 300 crore per annum. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Global warming is approaching a tipping point that during this century could reawaken an ancient climate pattern similar to El Nino in the Indian Ocean, new research led by scientists from The University of Texas at Austin has found. If it comes to pass, floods, storms and drought are likely to worsen and become more regular, disproportionately affecting populations most vulnerable to climate change. Computer simulations of climate change during the second half of the century show that global warming could disturb the Indian Ocean's surface temperatures, causing them to rise and fall year to year much more steeply than they do today. The seesaw pattern is strikingly similar to El Nino, a climate phenomenon that occurs in the Pacific Ocean and affects weather globally. "Our research shows that raising or lowering the average global temperature just a few degrees triggers the Indian Ocean to operate exactly the same as the other tropical oceans, with less uniform surface temperatures across the equator, more variable climate, and with its own El Nino," said lead author Pedro DiNezio, a climate scientist at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, a research unit of the UT Jackson School of Geosciences. According to the research, if current warming trends continue, an Indian Ocean El Nino could emerge as early as 2050. The results, which were published May 6 in the journal Science Advances, build on a 2019 paper by many of the same authors who found evidence of a past Indian Ocean El Nino hidden in the shells of microscopic sea life, called forams, that lived 21,000 years ago -- the peak of the last ice age when the Earth was much cooler. advertisement To show whether an Indian Ocean El Nino can occur in a warming world, the scientists analyzed climate simulations, grouping them according to how well they matched present-day observations. When global warming trends were included, the most accurate simulations were those showing an Indian Ocean El Nino emerging by 2100. "Greenhouse warming is creating a planet that will be completely different from what we know today, or what we have known in the 20th century," DiNezio said. The latest findings add to a growing body of evidence that the Indian Ocean has potential to drive much stronger climate swings than it does today. Co-author Kaustubh Thirumalai, who led the study that discovered evidence of the ice age Indian Ocean El Nino, said that the way glacial conditions affected wind and ocean currents in the Indian Ocean in the past is similar to the way global warming affects them in the simulations. "This means the present-day Indian Ocean might in fact be unusual," said Thirumalai, who is an assistant professor at the University of Arizona. advertisement The Indian Ocean today experiences very slight year-to-year climate swings because the prevailing winds blow gently from west to east, keeping ocean conditions stable. According to the simulations, global warming could reverse the direction of these winds, destabilizing the ocean and tipping the climate into swings of warming and cooling akin to the El Nino and La Nina climate phenomena in the Pacific Ocean. The result is new climate extremes across the region, including disruption of the monsoons over East Africa and Asia. Thirumalai said that a break in the monsoons would be a significant concern for populations dependent on the regular annual rains to grow their food. For Michael McPhaden, a physical oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who pioneered research into tropical climate variability, the paper highlights the potential for how human-driven climate change can unevenly affect vulnerable populations. "If greenhouse gas emissions continue on their current trends, by the end of the century, extreme climate events will hit countries surrounding the Indian Ocean, such as Indonesia, Australia and East Africa with increasing intensity," said McPhaden, who was not involved in the study. "Many developing countries in this region are at heightened risk to these kinds of extreme events even in the modern climate." The research was funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant under the NSF Paleoclimate Program. Saudi Cloud Communications Provider unifonic Partners with WhatsApp Voice over IP (VoIP) that many businesses and individuals take for granted, but in some parts of the world, the technology has a history as a battleground technology between governments and citizens. After the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011, some countries, including Saudi Arabia, began using IP address-blocking to prevent citizens accessing 400,000 websites, including most Internet-based communication tools. In 2017, Saudi Arabia lifted the ban on VoIP calling in an effort to boost productivity and economic growth. Now, in 2020, the same countries that were hesitant in allowing citizenry access to global digital communications platforms are finding it absolutely necessary in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, the Riyadh, Saudi-Arabia based cloud communications company unifonic announced signed an agreement with Facebook messaging subsidiary WhatsApp. The resulting service is expected to offer timely and scalable solutions that address communication challenges between local and regional companies and their clients. The new service will use the WhatsApp business API to connect software platforms and allow companies to easily and seamlessly connect with their client base, which may be thousands and even millions of users. Eng. Ahmed Hamdan, CEO and co-founder of unifonic, noted that the new service uses WhatsApps platform to enhance customer experiences and improve business performance, especially in light of the current situation imposed as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic, where people are compelled to stay at home and resort to automated and digital communication methods as an alternative to visiting offices and service branches. In announcing the partnership with WhatsApp, unifonic says it is seeking to provide the WhatsApp Business API service to various sectors, most notably e-commerce, retail, logistics, telecommunications, financial, insurance services, and travel and hospitality service sectors. The company is one of the organizations that has signed on to support the Kingdoms development efforts through launching various services, contributions, and plans designed to augment the digital transformation journey under Saudi Vision 2030. Please enable JavaScript to view the Edited by Maurice Nagle At least 11 people have died so far in the styrene gas leak at a polymer plant in Visakhapatnam early Thursday. The leak also forced authorities to evacuate about 250 families around a 3-km radius of the factory. Here is a timeline of the tragedy that unfolded in the morning. Around 3 am: Styrene gas leaks from one of the two storage tanks of the capacity of 2,000 metric tonnes at LG Polymers (India) Private Limited 3.30 am: Visakhapatnam police control room receives a call from a resident of R R Venkatapuram village about foul pungent smell spreading over the area, suffocating people. 3.45 am: A team of police, along with a fire tenders and an ambulance rush to Venkatapuram, about 3 km from Visakhapatnam airport. 4 am: Cops cannot enter the village due to foul smell and alert higher officials. 4.30 am: People start coming out of their houses and rushing towards safer places like Meghadrigadda. Some of them collapse on roads. Police summon more ambulances and shift them to nearby hospitals and some to King George Hospital. 5 am: Senior police officials rush to Venkatapuram. Police go around the area in vehicles blaring sirens alerting the people to come out and move to safer places. Police use several vehicles to shift people to Simhachalam, Meghadrigadda areas. NDRF team reaches accident site. 5.30 am: Gas leakage arrested by the company staff and situation eases to some extent 6 am: District Collector Vinay Chand and senior officials of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation alert the chief ministers camp office in Tadepalli in Amaravati and apprise the officials of the situation 6.30 am: People continue to come out of their houses and are rushed to hospitals. Local industry department alert state industries minister M Gautam Reddy. 8 am: Additional police forces rush to the area along with more ambulances to shift the affected people to various hospitals 10 am: All residents of Venkatapuram and four other surrounding villages evacuated completely 10.15 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi calls up Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy to enquire about the Visakhapatnam gas leakage mishap 10.30 am: Jagan apprises Governor Biswabhushan Harichandan of the situation. 11.30 am: Jagan leaves for Visakhapatnam by helicopter. 12.45 pm: Jagan reaches Vizag, visits King George Hospital and calls on victims 1.30 pm: Chief minister holds official review meeting 2.30 pm: Addresses press conference where he announces ex gratia to victims kin and also constitutes a committee to probe the gas leak incident SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Seeing hundreds of people line up each day for free meals at the Rev. Al Sharptons National Action Network Tech World building on Hawthorne Avenue in Newark gives Ameer Natson an incredible feeling. In this pandemic, for me, it was very important for me to give back to my home roots, said Natson, who was born and raised in Newark and went on to become a chef for celebrities like Beyonce and Jay-Z. Thank you Chef Ameer for your leadership in Newark, making sure nobody goes hungry! Proud to be working side by side#ChefsForAmerica https://t.co/hDmMMNAsT7 World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) April 28, 2020 Hes returned to help during a great time of need for Newark. The financial effects of the coronavirus have made it difficult for residents all over the state to make ends meet. Natson wears several caps these days: he is a chef, pastor and the New Jersey youth director for National Action Network, a civil rights organization that was founded by Sharpton in 1991. He now works with World Central Kitchen, a food relief nonprofit, too. The chef helped get World Central Kitchen to donate the meals that are distributed at the National Action Networks building and the operation has now been going strong more than 45 days. About 2,500 meals are distributed every day without making any contact with guests, Natson said. People wait in line for meals and masks outside of Newark's National Action Network (NAN) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media Audible recently donated $1 million to World Central Kitchen to boost its work in Newark, too. On Wednesday, Natson was joined by Gov. Jim McGreevey and Mayor Ras Baraka while New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy and Sharpton helped distribute food and masks on site. I think that people are forgetting how many people need something as simple as a meal," Sharpton said. "If you look at some of the people lined up and theyre coming through all day, you will see that this is the real problem on the ground. The National Action Network building, located at 400 Hawthorne Ave., has been used as an after-school computer science training program for Newark children. The states first lady noted shortfalls in technology, especially for school children, amid the pandemic and applauded those who have stepped up to help provide for those in need. We understand that we are in this together," Murphy said. Were only going to get over this if we all come together and continue to treat every single precious life as exactly that. Theres not one person in this state who we can just throw away. We will not do that. We are here to protect every single person. New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy, right, helps distribute meals and masks to help Newark's most vulnerable residents during the COVID-19 pandemic outside of National Action Network (NAN) building. Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media Natson, meanwhile, said the food will be distributed for as long as there is a need. He decided to set up the operation once business at his restaurants, including Bistro Six49 in Irvington, started to slow due to the coronavirus. "My restaurants were also affected due to the pandemic so I thought why not take this time to give back and contribute. NJ Advance Media photographer Patti Sapone contributed to this report. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com. In late April, Israels National Cyber Directorate received reports about an attempted major cyberattack on its water infrastructure. According to a statement issued by the directorate, the attack consisted of assault attempts on control and control systems of wastewater treatment plants, pumping stations and sewers. The directorate called on water companies to change their internet passwords, make sure their control system software is updated, and undertake other cyber hygiene measures to tighten security. The attempted attacks were unsuccessful, according to the directorate, and appeared to be coordinated. Of concern was the level of chlorine in the water supply. The directorate asked water companies look for any disruptions, particularly regarding chlorine use in the water supply. The geopolitical nature of the attack points to actors who favor an independent Palestinian state. Its more likely a state actor that would be supporting them, such as the Iranians who have built quite a cyber force, says Matt Lampe, who most recently served as CIO for Los Angeles Water and Power and is now a partner in critical infrastructure cybersecurity advisory firm Fortium Partners. Whoever the attackers are, the timing could not have been worse, taking place as the globe grappled with the worst period of the COVID-19 crisis. "I think its really unfortunate to see that there are still really bad actors out there trying to infiltrate critical infrastructure even in the face of the pandemic, says Maria Bocanegra, commissioner at the Illinois Commerce Commission and vice chair of the water committee at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. Water facility attacks low profile, high impact Although cyberattacks on the electric grid grab the lions share of attention, attacks on water facilities typically generate little press coverage or public focus, making the directorates public statement of an attack something of an anomaly. The lower profile of water companies when it comes to cybersecurity is surprising given the far more significant damage a water supply attack could pose. Water has always been the one industry that is least resourced and the most capable of causing impact to life and safety, Lesley Carhart, principal threat analyst at industrial cybersecurity company Dragos, tells CSO. This is something I have been expecting to happen for a long time. The first cyber incident directed at a critical infrastructure facility was not Stuxnet. It was a sewage treatment plant that was attacked, she says, referring to the 2000 Maroochy Shire malicious control system cyberattack in Queensland Australia. In that incident, a SCADA contractor for the Maroochy Shire Council applied for a job with the council, which runs the water system. After failing to land the position, the contractor packed his car with stolen radio equipment and, using a possibly stolen computer, issued radio commands to the sewage equipment in the treatment plant. This unauthorized intrusion caused 800,000 liters of raw sewage to spill out into local parks and rivers and the grounds of a Hyatt Regency hotel. In the most recent Israeli incident, however, the apparent goal was not to dump anything but to raise the level of chlorine in the water supply. One of the major industrial control systems [ICS] that are involved in water treatment are those systems that put the correct level of chemicals in the water supply that is then distributed, Carhart says. Having the wrong levels of chlorine in your water is a very unfortunate situation. Lampe thinks the attempted attack in Israel must have been undertaken by a very sophisticated threat actor, most likely a nation-state. That kind of attack has to be very specifically tailored to very specific control systems to be disguised, he tells CSO. ICS attacks require knowledge and planning Carhart stresses that ICS cyberattacks require a lot of knowledge and planning. Industrial control system attacks take a long time to launch because adversaries have to know a lot about the systems, she says. Industrial control systems arent just digital; theyre also analog and mechanical. Usually, you have all different kinds of combinations of those things in your industrial environment as well as having your digital PLCs [programmable logic controllers] that are programmed to do things, as well as your DCS [distributed control system] and SCADA [supervisory control and data acquisition] systems. If youre a bad person who wants to do something to an industrial process, you have to understand all those things. You cant just go after the digital system. My sense is that what they were trying to do is manipulate the chlorine levels and at the same time send operators a signal that the chlorine levels were fine, Lampe says, which would put the attempted attack, conceptually at least, on the level of Stuxnet. If you think about something like the Stuxnet attack, where basically the whole attack was targeted around the control system for those centrifuges, and a lot of what they did was disguise what the operators were seeing. Assuming something like this happened, this would mean the Israeli authorities are warning water utilities to check their chlorine levels because those utilities instruments could incorrectly indicate that the chlorine levels are acceptable, when in reality a cyberattack on the system might have caused excessive chlorine to be introduced into the water supply. The behavior of the system and what was being reported were two different things [in Stuxnet], says Lampe. What I would sense is that this was the type of attack being done [in Israel], and that would entail knowing a lot of detail about the control systems themselves. One of the things our cybersecurity office is always mindful of, and we try to impart to our water utilities in this context, is being careful not to place too big an emphasis or undue levels of trust in our digital systems and really having procedures in place in physically confirming the status of our systems, Bocanegra tells CSO. Water is the one utility that you actually ingest. Its that important. You cannot live without water. Water utilities under-resourced for cybersecurity Water utilities around the world, but particularly in the US, which has an estimated 70,000 water utilities, are vulnerable to attacks because they are usually small and have almost no cybersecurity expertise among staff members. The people that work [at water facilities] are very much concerned about cybersecurity threats, Carhart says, but its usually just one or two IT people at those facilities. They care a lot about cybersecurity. Theyre engaged, they ask questions, they understand where the vulnerabilities are, but in a large number of municipalities, they are not being given adequate resources to do cybersecurity well. Because of this, and because so few water utilities have the tools to detect an attack in the first place, theyre attractive targets for well-financed threat actors who are looking to test new methods. What we often see is adversaries using small utilities and local utilities as proving grounds. These more well-resourced adversaries have found that it's more effective to go after mom and pop utilities, Carhart said. No cybersecurity requirements for water utilities Unlike the electric industry, the water industry faces no regulatory requirements when it comes to cybersecurity, although there is a Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center (WaterISAC) that serves as an all-threats security information source for the water and wastewater sector. However, the guidelines issued by the WaterISAC are voluntary, and many water companies lack the resources to implement them. Bocanegra points to pending congressional legislation, the Safe Communities Act of 2020, as at least a partial solution. That bill aims to strengthen critical infrastructure security across all utility sectors against acts of terrorism and other homeland security threats. It calls for a clearinghouse of security guidance, best practices, and other voluntary content developed by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Creating more comprehensive security regulation for the industry will be a challenge, however. I remember a few years ago sitting down and talking with DHS, and unlike the bulk power system, with all the NERC CIP, there were only some fairly basic guidelines for water utilities with no enforcement, Lampe says. I asked them, When are you going to tackle that? They basically said, Were not quite sure how to tackle it because so many water districts are so localized, so small, they have a couple of people, that theres just no way they are going to do something. A crime spree that crossed two states Tuesday ended when the alleged suspect was fatally shot by a man crabbing on Pleasure Island. The Port Arthur Police Department on Wednesday identified the suspect as Leon Jones III, 25. Jones is from Opelousas, Louisiana, where he allegedly got into an unmarked narcotics police unit during a drug raid. He then took the stolen vehicle, which had a rifle inside, across state lines. At about 6:36 p.m. Tuesday, a call was made to PAPD in reference to an active robbery at Island Grocery, 1900 S. Texas 82. The caller told police the suspect was a man with a rifle. While heading to the scene, officers were told the man fled eastbound down the highway. When police arrived at the scene, the victims told said the suspect tried to take their vehicle at gunpoint. While officers talked with victims, a 911 caller told police that a shooting had taken place 3-4 miles away, according to a news release from the Port Arthur Police Department. When officers, arrived, they found Jones dead in the road. During a preliminary investigation, officers found him to be the suspect from the first attempted robbery. Prior to his death, Jones allegedly approached a couple who were crabbing and demanded money and property. Police said the victim was able to get to his truck and retrieve a handgun. The suspect and male victim exchanged gunfire and the suspect was struck multiple times, the release said. The woman had minor injuries from the exchange of gunfire and was treated on scene by EMS. Port Arthur Det. Mike Hebert said the department is investigating why Jones decided to come to Port Arthur, which is nearly two hours from Opelousas. Another 20,000 Oregonians filed for new unemployment benefits last week, adding to the states staggering tally of job losses during the coronavirus outbreak. The volume of new claims has declined in each of the past four weeks. It remains at a historic high, though, and even the reduced number of claims last week is more than four times higher than the weekly average before the outbreak. And the total number of claims is extraordinary. Nearly 382,000 Oregonians have filed for jobless claims during the first seven weeks of the pandemic, approaching 1 in 5 workers altogether. Job losses that were initially concentrated in the restaurant, hospitality and retail sectors have now spread across industries as the states broader economic outlook dims. Oregon has paid out more than $675 million in benefits since the outbreak started, according to Oregon Employment Department documents reviewed by The Oregonian/OregonLive. The state is in no immediate danger of running out of funds, though. Oregons unemployment insurance trust fund is among the best capitalized in the nation, with $5 billion on hand at the start of the outbreak. And much of the money Oregon has paid came from the federal government, which has boosted weekly payments by $600 through July. Still, tens of thousands of out-of-work Oregonians have yet to receive any benefits. The employment department has struggled throughout the crisis in the face of the unprecedented claims volume, antiquated computers and administrative blunders. The states total unemployment claims backlog stands at 62,000, according to the employment department. Those laid-off workers have flooded the employment departments phone lines seeking clarity on their claims, making it impossible for most people to get through. While the state says 83% of claims filed since March 15 have been filed, about 6,000 from March remain unprocessed. The state says it is prioritizing those, which have left workers without their benefits for weeks during the heart of Oregons economic catastrophe. The employment department said it is working to improve communication but said it is hamstrung by its aging computer systems and by the complexity of many claims. The department said it now has 635 workers processing claims, up from a little more than 100 at the start of the outbreak. Late last month Oregon began processing claims for self-employed workers and contractors. The employment department said Thursday it has now processed 10,000 of those claims. All laid-off Oregonians are still waiting for benefits from their first week of unemployment. Under congressional pressure, Gov. Kate Brown agreed to a policy change last month that will make Oregonians eligible for benefits immediately when they lose their jobs, without the customary waiting week. However, the governor warned the change requires thousands of hours of computer programming. That work likely wont start until the state addresses its current claims backlog, meaning it could be many months before Oregonians receive their checks for that first week. -- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway | Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. MIDDLETOWN Wesleyan University has awarded the 2020 Morgenstern-Clarren Social Justice Employee Prize posthumously to Brooke Rich, a city mother and college employee who was struck and killed March 4 by a car while crossing the street. The award was created in 2009 in memory of Peter Morgenstern-Clarren, 03, who pursued social justice while a student at Wesleyan, according to a press release. Morgenstern-Clarrens activism included securing benefits for Wesleyan custodial staff, participating in the United Student and Labor Action Committee, and contributing his leadership to the campus chapter of Amnesty International. His parents, Dr. Hadley Morgenstern-Clarren and former judge Pat Morgenstern-Clarren of Shaker Heights, Ohio, are sponsoring this award that honors their sons activism for the public good, according to the university. A long-time Middletown resident and loving mother of three children, Rich worked as a cashier at Bon Appetit Management Co., Wesleyans food service provider, from 2007 until her untimely passing in March at 41, the release said. Nominator Jen Wood wrote about how students who worked with Rich or met her at Bon Appetit adored her, and spoke of how much she was appreciated and valued by the Wesleyan community. Lets remember Brooke for the joy she brought to all those she greeted at Daniel Family Commons. Her friendly, open smile brightened many a day, Wesleyan President Michael Roth said. The Wesleyan students who worked with her at Bon Appetit loved the light, the laughter and the kindness she radiated, her daughter Shaune Rich wrote. She is missed by colleagues, as well as the entire Wesleyan and Middletown communities. We will always remember the joy that Brooke brought to everyone with her smile, kindness, and frequent changes to her hair color, said Michael Strumpf, Bon Appetit resident district manager. The award, which includes a cash prize, is to honor and thank the people whose every day work helps the students at Wesleyan, and Brooke Rich truly embodied the spirit of the award in all she did, the news release said. The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) last year paid more than 900,000 to recruitment companies to assist with the hiring of 58 staff. According to figures provided by the NTMA in response to a Freedom of Information request, it paid out 907,685 for the recruitment of the 58 staff. They included seven staff assigned to Nama, and the recruitment costs for those seven totalled 93,633. The NTMA paid four firms between 100,000 and 200,000: FK International (178,842), CPL Solutions (148,368), Bridgewater Recruitment Specialists (124,094) and Merc Partners (105,909). Paragon Executive Ltd was paid 80,552, Morgan McKinley 74,095 and Executive Connections Ltd 71,678. Kashmir: Curfew was extended to more areas of Kashmir today to thwart a planned march by separatists to Hazratbal shrine here even as normal life in the Valley remained paralysed for the 28th consecutive day. "Curfew has been imposed in entire Srinagar district in view of the call for march by some elements to Hazratbal. "Curfew has also been imposed in Ganderbal, Budgam, Anantnag town, Awantipora, Kulgam town, Baramulla district excluding Sopore, Shopian town, Kaloosa in Bandipora and parts of Handwara," a police official said. He said restrictions on assembly of four or more persons in rest of the Valley as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order. Security forces have been deployed in strength in sensitive and vulnerable areas to maintain law and order. Normal life in the Valley remained affected for the 28th consecutive day due to the curbs imposed by the authorities and separatist sponsored strike against the death of civilians in clashes between protesters and security forces following the killing of Hizbul Majahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter July 8. Schools, colleges, business establishments, petrol pumps banks and private offices remained closed while public transport remained off roads. Attendance in government offices was also thin, the official said. For the last couple of days, many shops and business establishments open after sundown after the separatists announced relaxation in the agitation programme to allow people to buy essentials in view of the prolonged shut down. Mobile internet services continued to remain snapped in the entire Valley where the outgoing facility on prepaid connections is barred. The separatist, who have has extended the shutdown call in Kashmir till August 12, have demanded that mainstream politicians resign from their parties and posts. They have called for blocking routes to Civil Secretariat here and other government offices in districts to "ensure that no employee is able to join the duty". "A poster letter asking pro-India politicians and their workers including panchs and sarpanchs to resign from their parties and positions to be pasted on the gates of their homes," the agitation calendar, issued jointly by the separatist camp, said. 51 persons were killed in the violence and 5,500 injured. Police had launched a massive crackdown against "hooligans and miscreants" in Kashmir, arresting nearly 500 youths from across the Valley. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The systems also add to electricity bills and require cleaning and maintenance. Theyre not plug in and walk away forever, Dr. Nardell said. In the 1930s, the first upper-room ultraviolet fixtures were installed around Philadelphia. During five years of experiments at several schools there, students in classrooms outfitted with ultraviolet fixtures were less likely to catch and spread some contagious diseases, such as smallpox and mumps. The most striking divergence occurred during the spring of 1941 when measles swept through schools around Philadelphia. At Germantown Friends School, one of the schools studied, ultraviolet fixtures had been installed in the primary grade classrooms. There, about 15 percent of children who did not possess immunity to measles that is, those who had not previously contracted the disease became sick. In the upper-grade classrooms, where ultraviolet fixtures had not been installed, more than half of the susceptible students contracted measles. Theres no doubt that wavelength band will kill or inactivate micro-organisms, said Dr. Bahnfleth, who recently presented an online seminar on the topic. But experts concede that the use of ultraviolet light indoors could be a tough sell. After all, people have been told for decades to wear sunscreen to ward off skin cancer caused by the ultraviolet rays in sunlight the wavelengths known as UVA and UVB. For that reason, the germicidal fixtures employ wavelengths of light known as UVC that are shorter than UVA and UVB. The shorter wavelengths mean that the particles of light, or photons, are of higher energy. Counterintuitively, this means UVC is safer for people, because it is absorbed by proteins in the outer layer of dead skin cells before reaching the DNA in the living cells. (Outdoor sunlight is devoid of UVC, because Earths atmosphere blocks it.) NEW YORK, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Busbar Trunking System market worldwide is projected to grow by US$3.5 Billion, driven by a compounded growth of 6.6%. Industrial, one of the segments analyzed and sized in this study, displays the potential to grow at over 7.1%. The shifting dynamics supporting this growth makes it critical for businesses in this space to keep abreast of the changing pulse of the market. Poised to reach over US$3.6 Billion by the year 2025, Industrial will bring in healthy gains adding significant momentum to global growth. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05798084/?utm_source=PRN - Representing the developed world, the United States will maintain a 7.5% growth momentum. Within Europe, which continues to remain an important element in the world economy, Germany will add over US$161.7 Million to the region's size and clout in the next 5 to 6 years. Over US$164.7 Million worth of projected demand in the region will come from Rest of Europe markets. In Japan, Industrial will reach a market size of US$321 Million by the close of the analysis period. As the world's second largest economy and the new game changer in global markets, China exhibits the potential to grow at 6.3% over the next couple of years and add approximately US$607.8 Million in terms of addressable opportunity for the picking by aspiring businesses and their astute leaders. Presented in visually rich graphics are these and many more need-to-know quantitative data important in ensuring quality of strategy decisions, be it entry into new markets or allocation of resources within a portfolio. Several macroeconomic factors and internal market forces will shape growth and development of demand patterns in emerging countries in Asia-Pacific. All research viewpoints presented are based on validated engagements from influencers in the market, whose opinions supersede all other research methodologies. - Competitors identified in this market include, among others, ABB Ltd. ARJ Holding LLC Busbar Services C&S Electric Ltd. Dbts Industries Sdn. Bhd. E.A.E Elektrik A.S. Eaton Corporation PLC Entraco Power Systems GE Industrial Solutions Gersan Elektrik Tic. Ve San . A.S . A.S Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Graziadio & C. SpA KGS Engineering Ltd. Larsen & Toubro Ltd. Legrand SA Megabarre Europe Srl Naxso S.R.L NOVA Limited. Pogliano S.R.L Power Distribution, Inc. (PDI) Power Plug Busduct Sdn. Bhd. Powerbar Gulf LLC Rittal GmbH & Co. KG Schneider Electric SA Siemens AG Vass Electrical Industries VMtec Maschinen-und Anlagenbau GmbH Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05798084/?utm_source=PRN I. INTRODUCTION, METHODOLOGY & REPORT SCOPE II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. MARKET OVERVIEW Global Competitor Market Shares Busbar Trunking System Competitor Market Share Scenario Worldwide (in %): 2019 & 2025 2. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS 3. MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS 4. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE Table 1: Busbar Trunking System Global Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 2: Busbar Trunking System Global Retrospective Market Scenario in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2009-2017 Table 3: Busbar Trunking System Market Share Shift across Key Geographies Worldwide: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 4: Industrial (End-Use) Global Opportunity Assessment in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 5: Industrial (End-Use) Historic Sales Analysis in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2009-2017 Table 6: Industrial (End-Use) Percentage Share Breakdown of Global Sales by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 7: Commercial (End-Use) Worldwide Sales in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 8: Commercial (End-Use) Historic Demand Patterns in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2009-2017 Table 9: Commercial (End-Use) Market Share Shift across Key Geographies: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 10: Large Residential (End-Use) Global Market Estimates & Forecasts in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 11: Large Residential (End-Use) Retrospective Demand Analysis in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2009-2017 Table 12: Large Residential (End-Use) Market Share Breakdown by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 13: Transportation (End-Use) Demand Potential Worldwide in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 14: Transportation (End-Use) Historic Sales Analysis in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2009-2017 Table 15: Transportation (End-Use) Share Breakdown Review by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 16: Other End-Uses (End-Use) Worldwide Latent Demand Forecasts in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 17: Other End-Uses (End-Use) Global Historic Analysis in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2009-2017 Table 18: Other End-Uses (End-Use) Distribution of Global Sales by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 19: Air Insulation (Insulation) World Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018 to 2025 Table 20: Air Insulation (Insulation) Market Worldwide Historic Review by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 21: Air Insulation (Insulation) Market Percentage Share Distribution by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 22: Sandwich (Insulation) Market Opportunity Analysis Worldwide in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018 to 2025 Table 23: Sandwich (Insulation) Global Historic Demand in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2009 to 2017 Table 24: Sandwich (Insulation) Market Share Distribution in Percentage by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 III. MARKET ANALYSIS GEOGRAPHIC MARKET ANALYSIS UNITED STATES Market Facts & Figures US Busbar Trunking System Market Share (in %) by Company: 2019 & 2025 Market Analytics Table 25: United States Busbar Trunking System Latent Demand Forecasts in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 26: Busbar Trunking System Historic Demand Patterns in the United States by End-Use in US$ Million for 2009-2017 Table 27: Busbar Trunking System Market Share Breakdown in the United States by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 28: United States Busbar Trunking System Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Insulation: 2018 to 2025 Table 29: Busbar Trunking System Market in the United States by Insulation: A Historic Review in US$ Million for 2009-2017 Table 30: United States Busbar Trunking System Market Share Breakdown by Insulation: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 CANADA Table 31: Canadian Busbar Trunking System Market Quantitative Demand Analysis in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 32: Busbar Trunking System Market in Canada: Summarization of Historic Demand Patterns in US$ Million by End-Use for 2009-2017 Table 33: Canadian Busbar Trunking System Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 34: Canadian Busbar Trunking System Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Insulation: 2018 to 2025 Table 35: Canadian Busbar Trunking System Historic Market Review by Insulation in US$ Million: 2009-2017 Table 36: Busbar Trunking System Market in Canada: Percentage Share Breakdown of Sales by Insulation for 2009, 2019, and 2025 JAPAN Table 37: Japanese Demand Estimates and Forecasts for Busbar Trunking System in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 38: Japanese Busbar Trunking System Market in US$ Million by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 39: Busbar Trunking System Market Share Shift in Japan by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 40: Japanese Market for Busbar Trunking System: Annual Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Insulation for the Period 2018-2025 Table 41: Busbar Trunking System Market in Japan: Historic Sales Analysis in US$ Million by Insulation for the Period 2009-2017 Table 42: Japanese Busbar Trunking System Market Share Analysis by Insulation: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 CHINA Table 43: Chinese Demand for Busbar Trunking System in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 44: Busbar Trunking System Market Review in China in US$ Million by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 45: Chinese Busbar Trunking System Market Share Breakdown by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 46: Chinese Busbar Trunking System Market Growth Prospects in US$ Million by Insulation for the Period 2018-2025 Table 47: Busbar Trunking System Historic Market Analysis in China in US$ Million by Insulation: 2009-2017 Table 48: Chinese Busbar Trunking System Market by Insulation: Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025 EUROPE Market Facts & Figures European Busbar Trunking System Market: Competitor Market Share Scenario (in %) for 2019 & 2025 Market Analytics Table 49: European Busbar Trunking System Market Demand Scenario in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 50: Busbar Trunking System Market in Europe: A Historic Market Perspective in US$ Million by Region/Country for the Period 2009-2017 Table 51: European Busbar Trunking System Market Share Shift by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 52: European Busbar Trunking System Addressable Market Opportunity in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018-2025 Table 53: Busbar Trunking System Market in Europe: Summarization of Historic Demand in US$ Million by End-Use for the Period 2009-2017 Table 54: European Busbar Trunking System Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 55: European Busbar Trunking System Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Insulation: 2018-2025 Table 56: Busbar Trunking System Market in Europe in US$ Million by Insulation: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017 Table 57: European Busbar Trunking System Market Share Breakdown by Insulation: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 FRANCE Table 58: Busbar Trunking System Quantitative Demand Analysis in France in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018-2025 Table 59: French Busbar Trunking System Historic Market Review in US$ Million by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 60: French Busbar Trunking System Market Share Analysis: A 17-Year Perspective by End-Use for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 61: Busbar Trunking System Market in France by Insulation: Estimates and Projections in US$ Million for the Period 2018-2025 Table 62: French Busbar Trunking System Historic Market Scenario in US$ Million by Insulation: 2009-2017 Table 63: French Busbar Trunking System Market Share Analysis by Insulation: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 GERMANY Table 64: Busbar Trunking System Market in Germany: Annual Sales Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by End-Use for the Period 2018-2025 Table 65: German Busbar Trunking System Market in Retrospect in US$ Million by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 66: Busbar Trunking System Market Share Distribution in Germany by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 67: Busbar Trunking System Market in Germany: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Insulation for the Period 2018-2025 Table 68: German Busbar Trunking System Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Insulation: 2009-2017 Table 69: German Busbar Trunking System Market Share Breakdown by Insulation: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 ITALY Table 70: Italian Demand for Busbar Trunking System in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 71: Busbar Trunking System Market Review in Italy in US$ Million by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 72: Italian Busbar Trunking System Market Share Breakdown by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 73: Italian Busbar Trunking System Market Growth Prospects in US$ Million by Insulation for the Period 2018-2025 Table 74: Busbar Trunking System Historic Market Analysis in Italy in US$ Million by Insulation: 2009-2017 Table 75: Italian Busbar Trunking System Market by Insulation: Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025 UNITED KINGDOM Table 76: United Kingdom Demand Estimates and Forecasts for Busbar Trunking System in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 77: United Kingdom Busbar Trunking System Market in US$ Million by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 78: Busbar Trunking System Market Share Shift in the United Kingdom by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 79: United Kingdom Market for Busbar Trunking System: Annual Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Insulation for the Period 2018-2025 Table 80: Busbar Trunking System Market in the United Kingdom: Historic Sales Analysis in US$ Million by Insulation for the Period 2009-2017 Table 81: United Kingdom Busbar Trunking System Market Share Analysis by Insulation: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 REST OF EUROPE Table 82: Rest of Europe Busbar Trunking System Addressable Market Opportunity in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018-2025 Table 83: Busbar Trunking System Market in Rest of Europe: Summarization of Historic Demand in US$ Million by End-Use for the Period 2009-2017 Table 84: Rest of Europe Busbar Trunking System Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 85: Rest of Europe Busbar Trunking System Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Insulation: 2018-2025 Table 86: Busbar Trunking System Market in Rest of Europe in US$ Million by Insulation: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017 Table 87: Rest of Europe Busbar Trunking System Market Share Breakdown by Insulation: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 ASIA-PACIFIC Table 88: Busbar Trunking System Quantitative Demand Analysis in Asia-Pacific in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018-2025 Table 89: Asia-Pacific Busbar Trunking System Historic Market Review in US$ Million by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 90: Asia-Pacific Busbar Trunking System Market Share Analysis: A 17-Year Perspective by End-Use for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 91: Busbar Trunking System Market in Asia-Pacific by Insulation: Estimates and Projections in US$ Million for the Period 2018-2025 Table 92: Asia-Pacific Busbar Trunking System Historic Market Scenario in US$ Million by Insulation: 2009-2017 Table 93: Asia-Pacific Busbar Trunking System Market Share Analysis by Insulation: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 REST OF WORLD Table 94: Rest of World Busbar Trunking System Market Quantitative Demand Analysis in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 95: Busbar Trunking System Market in Rest of World: Summarization of Historic Demand Patterns in US$ Million by End-Use for 2009-2017 Table 96: Rest of World Busbar Trunking System Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 97: Rest of World Busbar Trunking System Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Insulation: 2018 to 2025 Table 98: Rest of World Busbar Trunking System Historic Market Review by Insulation in US$ Million: 2009-2017 Table 99: Busbar Trunking System Market in Rest of World: Percentage Share Breakdown of Sales by Insulation for 2009, 2019, and 2025 IV. COMPETITION ABB GROUP ARJ HOLDING BUSBAR SERVICES C&S ELECTRIC DBTS INDUSTRIES SDN. BHD. E.A.E ELEKTRIK A.S. EATON CORPORATION PLC ENTRACO POWER SYSTEMS GE INDUSTRIAL SOLUTIONS GERSAN ELEKTRIK TIC. VE SAN. A.S GODREJ & BOYCE MANUFACTURING GRAZIADIO & C. SPA KGS ENGINEERING LARSEN & TOUBRO LEGRAND SA MEGABARRE EUROPE SRL NOVA LIMITED NAXSO S.R.L POGLIANO S.R.L POWER DISTRIBUTION, INC. (PDI) POWER PLUG BUSDUCT SDN. BHD. POWERBAR GULF RITTAL GMBH & CO. KG SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC SA SIEMENS AG VMTEC MASCHINEN-UND ANLAGENBAU GMBH VASS ELECTRICAL INDUSTRIES V. CURATED RESEARCH Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05798084/?utm_source=PRN About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker Related Links www.reportlinker.com Having been adopted in 2011, the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) is about to go through some its biggest adjustments yet - whether the proposed AIFMD 2 or the choices for both regulators and fund managers when it comes to dealing with the UKs potential divergence. IFLR spoke with market participants about what we can expect next. What is the AIFMD? AIFMD is a directive requiring all covered AIFMs to obtain authorisation from national competent authorities (NCA) while making disclosures in line with compliance requirements. Its creation followed the 2008-9 financial crisis. Fund managers had never been regulated like this before. AIFMD has contributed to a more uniform, harmonised European market, said a spokesperson for the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). The European passport is often used as a way to access the markets of various member states, while many firms effectively engage in cross-border activities based on the regime provided by AIFMD. However, the spokesperson added that there is still room for improvement, for example, through further harmonisation of passporting procedures and costs, as well as a more harmonised explanation of definitions and specific regulatory requirements some of these already being accounted for in the cross-border distribution directive and regulation. The directive creates a much more level playing field, even though member states such as Ireland and Germany have goldplated the rules in some specific areas, pointed out Dentons partner Michael Huertas. Its created a minimum common understanding that is quite advanced, while having flexibility for different kinds of funds. Huertas added that its levelling effect has allowed asset managers to scale their business in a way they hadnt before. Is it business as usual by now? A reasonable amount of firms, particularly in the UK and US, were unhappy at the start, said Sidley Austin partner and co-head of their EU Financial Services Regulatory group, Leonard Ng. However, if you said to fund managers now that this would be up for a complete overhaul, theyd probably say dont. Ng continued that some improvements could be made, but firms fundamentally dont want more change, considering they have put a lot of time and expense into the new framework, something that was echoed by Chiara Sandon, senior policy advisor at the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA). When it comes to the review of this directive, tweaks would be welcome but we are not pushing for a complete reopening of level one, she said. This has now been in place for some time and if there are to be changes made, then they must be targeted toward the provisions that need to be addressed. Sandon referenced KMPGs 2018 report into the efficiencies of the regulation, which indicated that improvements could be made in harmonising laws between member states, as well as disclosure reporting overlaps. The biggest challenge with AIFMD was the initial implementation and the compliance costs that those in scope came up against, said Sandon. The various data fields in Annex IV proved time consuming and demanding. Gibson Dunn partner Michelle Kirschner added that while a lot of US managers decided to give Europe a wide berth, firms are now marketing again. We now know where the disparities are, which in the immediate aftermath of implementation wasnt the case, she said, adding that the client advice has shifted to issues such as Brexit and the upcoming EEA cross-border marketing reforms. What do firms struggle with most? Weve seen many managers are struggling with the AIFMD reporting requirements, and there is work to be done on this topic, said a spokesperson for the Swedish regulator Finansinspektionen. Under article 24, it is required that an AIFM shall regularly report to the competent authorities of its home Member State on the principal markets and instruments in which it trades on behalf of the alternative investment funds (AIFs) it manages. The reporting guidelines have been issued by ESMA under annexe IV. Although most information as required in annexe IV will be available to firms, specific formats, levels of aggregation or reporting frequencies usually require a substantial operational effort, agreed the AFM spokesperson. This includes information on the main instruments in which it is trading, on the markets that it operates in, and where it actively trades. It is also required to report on the principal exposures and most important concentrations of each of the funds it manages. One issue has been the disclosure of leverage this proves tricky for some firms, added Ng. The directive provides a list of items managers must disclose to investors, which includes a disclosure of the maximum level of leverage. According to Article 4, which covers definitions, leverage is defined as the method by which the AIFM increases the exposure of an AIF it manages whether through borrowing of cash or securities, or leverage embedded in derivative positions or by any other means. However, while EU-authorised AIFMs are required to set a maximum level of leverage, non-EU managers marketing into the EU do not. This means the disclosure is not the same, and might be confusing for some investors, Ng pointed out. Kirschner agreed. The definition of leverage has been industry driven, with firms coalescing around how to interpret it, she added. The regulators have never explicitly said yes we agree but equally havent taken another point of view. The spokesperson added that the authorisation process has also been a challenge for some market participants. Some managers have had difficulties adopting a business model in line with the requirements in the AIFMD, he said. To gain authorisation, an AIFM has to provide information on personnel, direct and indirect shareholders as well as a programme of activity that sets out the organisational structure of the fund manager. This includes information on how it will comply with its obligations considering the directives requirements. How to market? One of the crucial issues that has come with AIFMD has been the marketing requirements. Marketing is defined in Article 4 as a direct or indirect offering or placement at the initiative of the AIFM or on behalf of the AIFM of units or shares of an AIF it manages to or with investors domiciled or with a registered office in the Union. The AIFMD was impactful in creating a single marketplace for AIF marketing, known as the marketing passport. There is an issue with the dividing line between marketing and pre-marketing, only the former being covered by AIFMD, argued Kirschner. Pre-marketing is interpreted as the promotional activities a fund manager can undertake that fall short of the marketing definition. She added that this has given rise to lots of different interpretations of pre-marketing and has meant that different member states have taken a different point of view though jurisdictions such as the UK and the Netherlands have been more liberal. The upcoming cross border marketing regime is intended to address this disparity, in particular by introducing a harmonised definition of pre-marketing, she said. Stumbling blocks may exist around more trivial matters, but theres no major roadblocks that we know of, said Sandon, referencing the informal notification requirement by the AIFM to its NCA within two weeks from the de facto start of the pre-marketing regime in a given jurisdiction was deemed problematic. We understand why the Commission wanted a pre-notification requirement in place, even if via an informal letter, she continued. However, two weeks risks being too little time for prospective investors to decide if they want to invest into an AIF or not. What about AIFMD2 and Brexit? AIFMD is being reviewed by the European Commission, with proposals expected in early 2021. Most managers dont appear to want to a complete change, but they do want harmonisation on a cross-border basis, said Ng. For example, if youre a non-EEA AIFM and you market your funds into the trading bloc, you need to do a private placement in each member state under Article 42. The issue here is that the directive is implemented differently in different member states, resulting in multiple forms and processes for reporting, for example, the Annex IV reports, Ng continued, with firms arguing it would make sense for it to be one single form, submitted via Esma. How players decide to move after Brexit is something that will take time considering marketing and fundraising. If there is a move by the asset management industry to not branch out into Europe with a physical presence, then you will have to consider where, when and how quickly to get a private placement regime approval, said Huertas. There is also the argument that some EU-domiciled asset managers could start new or expand existing UK operations, but at present I see this as less likely for smaller firms. What we do think is essential is for continental funds to be allowed to delegate the management of a portfolio to a non-EU domicile, said Sandon, adding that EFAMA has found ESMA is concerned about continental funds being managed out of non-EU entities. Cooperation agreements between continental authorities and their non-EU counterparts are already in place to verify whether any activities have been delegated to so-called letterbox entities, so limiting delegation agreements would be harmful and disproportionate. Sandon's colleague, senior regulatory policy advisor Federico Cupelli said that, on the opportunity to introduce a third-country passport, the association feels it should not happen until an agreement is reached. The national private placement regimes should remain in place. Until the negotiations are finalised, it would be counterproductive for the Commission to change the system. Debate has also begun on whether the UK should or will remain aligned. Sources suggest that authorities in the UK are waiting on the Commissions review to take place before they decide. The AIFMD has a disproportionately negative impact on UK firms, given the concentration of fund managers in London. The UK was one of the key drivers for MiFID II and the Investment Firms Directive/Regulation, so divergence there is less likely, said Ng. However, the UK government has already signalled its intent to go its own way, perhaps so that it can compete on its own terms with other fund management centres like New York. As of yet weve not seen an interest in UK AIFMs moving business to Sweden, said the Finansinspektionen. There are however a number of AIFMs and AIFs in UK that will need to apply to a new marketing licence should they wish to continue to carry out marketing in Sweden following a potential no-deal Brexit. The current stance of the regulator is to hold off with any such Brexit-driven applications, at least until July 1 2020, depending on whether the transition period will be extended. 2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQs. Share this article American comedian Gilda Radner said motherhood is an act of infinite optimism. As our nation grapples with the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, I suspect many Australian mothers will find it hard to be infinitely optimistic this Mothers Day. Illustration: Dionne Gain Credit: Even before COVID-19 upended our lives, Australian mothers faced significant challenges. At work, they confront the motherhood penalty, suffering substantial wage penalties and trading away career progress. At home, they shoulder a double burden, picking up the bulk of the domestic work. Last years Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey showed that two-thirds of working-age couples are now dual earners. Yet women still do most of the unpaid domestic and care work at home. Women spend 64.4 per cent of their average weekly working time on unpaid care work compared to 36.1 per cent for men. For every hour of unpaid care work done by men, women do one hour and 46 minutes. The impact of COVID-19 has made womens lives even tougher. With many schools closed due to lockdowns, Australian mothers are now carrying a quadruple load, adding home-schooling and the mental labour of worrying to the daily juggle of paid work and unpaid care responsibilities. That is, if they still have a job. BRUSSELS The good news for Europe is that the worst of the pandemic is beginning to ease. This week deaths in Italy hit a nearly two-month low. And the German leader Angela Merkel announced that schools, day care centers and restaurants would reopen in the next few days. But the relief could be short-lived. The European Commission released projections on Wednesday that Europes economy will shrink by 7.4 percent this year. A top official told residents of the European Union, first formed in the aftermath of the Second World War, to expect the deepest economic recession in its history. To put this figure in perspective, the 27-nation blocs economy had been predicted to grow by 1.2 percent this year. In 2009, at the back of the global financial crisis, it shrank by 4.5 percent. Its a grim reminder that even if the virus dissipates, the economic fallout could pressure the world economy for months, if not years. Brexit talks erupted into a furious war of words today as the EU's trade chief claimed the UK does not have a plan to make discussions a success and is preparing to blame coronavirus for any economic damage if no deal is agreed. The EU's Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said there had only been 'very slow progress' in the talks to date. He claimed there was 'no real sign' Downing Street is taking negotiations seriously with the current outbreak being lined up to be 'blamed for all the fallout from Brexit'. The bombshell claims prompted a swift rebuttal from Number 10, with the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman insisting the UK is working 'constructively' with Brussels. But the spokesman said just because the UK is willing to talk that 'doesn't make us any more likely to agree to EU proposals in certain areas'. The UK and EU are currently in a 'standstill' transition period lasting until the end of the year during which a trade deal is expected to be hammered out. Downing Street has repeatedly said the transition period will not be extended despite coronavirus disruption. EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan has claimed the UK does not have a 'plan to succeed' during Brexit talks Boris Johnson, pictured in the House of Commons, has repeatedly said he will not seek an extension to the Brexit transition period The terms of the UK's departure from the EU state that the talks deadline can be pushed back by up to two years but a decision on doing so must be agreed by both sides and made before the end of June. Critics believe if the UK does not ask for an extension and then the two sides fail to agree a comprehensive deal by December, there is a risk of a double hit to the economy: One because of Brexit and one because of Covid-19. Talks have become increasingly strained in recent weeks due to the EU's hardline stance on issues like fishing. Mr Hogan's comments today risked further souring relations as he told RTE's Today with Sean O'Rourke: 'Despite the urgency and enormity of the negotiating challenge, I am afraid we are only making very slow progress in the Brexit negotiations. 'There is no real sign that our British friends are approaching the negotiations with a plan to succeed. I hope I am wrong, but I don't think so. 'I think that the United Kingdom politicians and government have certainly decided that Covid is going to be blamed for all the fallout from Brexit and my perception of it is they don't want to drag the negotiations out into 2021 because they can effectively blame Covid for everything.' Number 10 hit back and rejected the suggestion that the UK is not taking talks seriously. The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman said: 'I don't accept that at all. We look forward to negotiating constructively in the next round of talks starting on May 11. 'We are ready to keep talking with the EU but that doesn't make us any more likely to agree to EU proposals in certain areas.' UK sources have previously warned negotiations between Britain and the bloc could collapse within weeks unless the EU 'gets real'. Britain is urging Brussels to adopt a more realistic approach to the negotiations and include more one-on-one 'political' talks between Michel Barnier and the UK's lead negotiator David Frost. The UK side believe the EU is deluded if it thinks Britain is prepared to sign up to strict 'level playing field' red-tape rules, and continue to allow EU boats unfettered access to our fishing waters. A Government source said: 'The EU team are not used to the approach of the UK negotiating team, who will not put anything on the table just to keep talks going. 'We're ready to talk but there's no point wasting time on proposals that don't match up to the political realities.' PUNE, India, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The COVID-19 pandemic is predicted to impact the global employee communication software market in a positive way. The healthcare industry will garner a considerable amount of the global market share. The small & medium enterprise end-user is anticipated to reach newer heights. The cloud-based development type will acquire a significant sum of the global market share. Asia-Pacific region will generate huge investment opportunities in the forecast period. The key players of the market are concentrating on various strategies to sustain in these trying times. The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has imposed a considerable impact on the employee communication software market. Low employee commitments include various issues such as employees leaving emails or channels on read that results ineffective sharing of information, which in turn has impacted positively on the market. Ineffective sharing of information includes various problems such as disseminating inappropriate information, usage of wrong channels, and infrequent sharing of information. For example, well known G2's market research analyst specialized in HR technology named as Courtney Moran stated that employee commitment is an important factor for flourishing company culture. This cataclysmic condition has put employee communication software to good use by using them in improvement of employee engagement. In the course of this havoc, we are offering complete support to our clients in understanding the influence of COVID-19 on the global employee communication software market. Our report consists of: Technological Impact Social Impact Investment Opportunity Analysis Pre- & Post-COVID Market Scenario Infrastructure Analysis Supply Side & Demand Side Impact According to a recent report published by Research Dive, "Impact Analysis of COVID-19 on Employee Communication Software Market" is projected to garner $1,605.3 million by 2026, growing at a growth rate of 15.2% from 2018 to 2026. The report segments the global market on the basis of development type, end-user, industry, and regions. This report is a comprehensive analysis of recent drivers, key segments, opportunities, restraints, and major players of the market. Factors Affecting the Market Growth As per the report, low employee engagement and ineffective information sharing are expected to greatly fuel the growth of the employee communication software market, during the forecast period. On the other hand, towering capital investment for installation of employee communication software is likely to hamper the development of the global employee communication software market. Get Analyst Overview on Impact of COVID-19 on Employee Communication Software Market: https://www.researchdive.com/covid-19-insights/183/employee-communication-software-market#myQueryForm Cloud-Based Development Type to be at the Forefront during the Projected Timeframe By development type, the report categorizes the market for employee communication software into on-premise and cloud-based. Among these, the cloud-based segment is expected to grab highest share of the market by collecting revenue of $796.7 million in 2026 and growing at a healthy growth rate of 16.0% during the forecasted timeframe. This is mainly due to the flexibility, compatibility, and ease of the software, for example, this cloud type allows management team to gain access to the software through their mobiles. Small & Medium Enterprise Segment to be Most Profitable On the basis of end-user, the report classifies the global market into large scale and small & medium scale enterprises. The small & medium scale enterprises end-user is expected to garner $687.1 million in 2026, and grow at a CAGR of 15.5% during the forecast period. This is mainly due to growth in the importance of employee communication software attributed by the growth of SME's across the world to share information and intermingle with each other. Healthcare Industry to Occupy Major Share of the Market Based on industry, the global market for employee communication software is classified into BFSI, healthcare, manufacturing, IT & telecom, retail, and others. Among these, the healthcare segment was valued for $128.4 million in 2026 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 17.1%. This growth is attributed due to the requirement of information to be shared from numerous locations to sustain the operational performance along with patient wellbeing. Regional Breakdown of the Market Regionally, the report evaluates the global market across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and LAMEA. Among these, the Asia-Pacific regionis anticipated to generate revenue of $320.4 million in 2026 and grow at a CAGR 16.7% during the projected period. This growth is mainly due to the concern for digitalization of various organizations along with the increased investments in communication software's in these regions. Top Companies Leading the Market The major players of the global employee communication software market are GuideSpark, Sociabble, Nudge Rewards Inc., Guide Sparke, Poppulo, Smarp, The Employee App, Social Chorus Inc., and others. These players are implementing various business strategies like mergers and acquisitions, collaborations & partnerships in order to gain a major market share in the global industry. Access Varied Market Reports Bearing Extensive Analysis of the Market Situation, Updated With the Impact Of COVID-19 https://www.researchdive.com/covid-19-insights Similar Reports: About Research Dive Research Dive is a market research firm based in Pune, India. Maintaining the integrity and authenticity of the services, the firm provides the services that are solely based on its exclusive data model, compelled by the 360-degree research methodology, which guarantees comprehensive and accurate analysis. With an unprecedented access to several paid data resources, team of expert researchers, and strict work ethic, the firm offers insights that are extremely precise and reliable. Scrutinizing relevant news releases, government publications, decades of trade data, and technical & white papers, Research dive deliver the required services to its clients well within the required timeframe. Its expertise is focused on examining niche markets, targeting its major driving factors, and spotting threatening hindrances. Complementarily, it also has a seamless collaboration with the major industry aficionado that further offers its research an edge. Contact: Mr. Abhishek Paliwal Research Dive 30 Wall St. 8th Floor, New York NY 10005 (P) +91-(788)-802-9103 (India) +1-(917)-444-1262 (US) Toll Free: +1-888-961-4454 E-mail: [email protected] Website: https://www.researchdive.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/research-dive/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ResearchDive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Research-Dive-1385542314927521 SOURCE Research Dive T housands of cancelled weddings across the UK will cost insurer RSA an estimated 7 million in claim payouts as it revealed the claims hit from Covid-19 on Thursday The firm, led by Stephen Hester, is a significant insurer of UK weddings, offering cover if the big day is cancelled due to venues closing down. The UK Government has banned weddings and forced many venues to shut, triggering policies designed to cover the cancellation of weddings. Hester said the wedding hit was a manageable number. The cost of getting hitched has soared in recent years, with the average wedding now costing 32,000, leading to higher levels of demand for insurance. In total Covid-19 claims will cost RSA 25 million net of reinsurance, mostly from travel claims. Of the 25,000 claims, RSA said 23,000 related to travel claims mostly from its Canadian business. Business interruption insurance, which has led to disagreement between some customers and insurers, will cost an estimated 17 million. The product has become a lightening rod for criticism due to the vague wording of many policies, and arguments over whether the coronavirus lockdown trigger payouts. Hester said: "Its important to underline that it did not intend to underwrite pandemics, it did not charge premiums to underwrite pandemics and as a result the great majority do not respond to pandemics." Tel Aviv University (TAU) researchers have developed a safe and accurate 3D imaging method to identify sperm cells moving at a high speed. The research, a study of which was published in Science Advances on April 10, was led by Prof. Natan Shaked of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at TAU's Faculty of Engineering together with TAU doctoral student Gili Dardikman-Yoffe. The new technology could provide doctors with the ability to select the highest-quality sperm for injection into an egg during IVF treatment, potentially increasing a woman's chance of becoming pregnant and giving birth to a healthy baby. "The IVF procedure was invented to help fertility problems," explains Prof. Shaked. "The most common type of IVF today is intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), which involves sperm selection by a clinical embryologist and injection into the woman's egg. To that end, an effort is made to select the sperm cell that is most likely to create a healthy embryo." Under natural fertilization in the woman's body, the fastest sperm to reach an egg is supposed to bear high-quality genetic material. Progressive movement allows this "best" sperm to overcome the veritable obstacle course of a woman's reproductive system. "But this 'natural selection' is not available to the embryologist, who selects a sperm and injects it into the egg," Prof. Shaked says. "Sperm cells not only move fast, they are also mostly transparent under regular light microscopy, and cell staining is not allowed in human IVF. Existing imaging technology that can examine the quality of the sperm's genetic material may cause embryonic damage, so that too is prohibited. In the absence of more precise criteria, sperm cells are selected primarily according to external characteristics and their motility while swimming in water in a dish, which is very different from the natural environment of a woman's body. "In our study, we sought to develop an entirely new type of imaging technology that would provide as much information as possible about individual sperm cells, does not require cell staining to enhance contrast, and has the potential for enabling the selection of optimal sperm in fertilization treatments." The researchers chose light computed tomography (CT) technology for the unique task of sperm cell imaging. "In a standard medical CT scan, the device rotates around the subject and sends out X-rays that produce multiple projections, ultimately creating a 3D image of the body," says Prof. Shaked. "In the case of the sperm, instead of rotating the device around this tiny subject, we relied on a natural feature of the sperm itself: Its head is constantly rotating during the forward movement. We used weak light (and not X-rays), which does not damage the cell. We recorded a hologram of the sperm cell during ultrafast movement and identified various internal components according to their refractive index. This creates an accurate, highly dynamic 3D map of its contents without using cell staining." Using this technique, the researchers obtained a clear and accurate CT image of the sperm at very high resolution in four dimensions: three dimensions in the space at resolution of less than half a micron (one micron equals one millionth of a meter) and the exact time (motion) dimension of the second sub-millisecond. "Our new development provides a comprehensive solution to many known problems of sperm imaging," Prof. Shaked says. "We were able to create high-resolution imaging of the sperm head while it was moving fast, without the need for stains that could harm the embryo. The new technology can greatly improve the selection of sperm cells in vitro, potentially increasing the chance of pregnancy and the birth of a healthy baby. "To help diagnose male fertility problems, we intend to use our new technique to shed light on the relationship between the 3D movement, structure and contents of sperm and its ability to fertilize an egg and produce a viable pregnancy," Prof. Shaked concludes. "We believe that such imaging capabilities will contribute to other medical applications, such as developing efficient biomimetic micro-robots to carry drugs within the body." ### American Friends of Tel Aviv University supports Israel's most influential, comprehensive and sought-after center of higher learning, Tel Aviv University (TAU). TAU is recognized and celebrated internationally for creating an innovative, entrepreneurial culture on campus that generates inventions, startups and economic development in Israel. TAU is ranked ninth in the world, and first in Israel, for producing start-up founders of billion-dollar companies, an achievement that surpassed several Ivy League universities. To date, 2,500 US patents have been filed by Tel Aviv University researchers -- ranking TAU #1 in Israel, #10 outside of the US and #66 in the world. Ukraine's international reserves grew by almost USD 0.8 billion in April, to USD 25.7 billion as of May 1, according to the press service of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). "As of May 1, 2020, Ukraine's international reserves amounted to USD 25,695.0 million (in equivalent), according to preliminary figures. In April, they grew by 3.1%. The increase in international reserves was primarily due to the National Bank's operations on reserves management and in the foreign exchange market, reads the statement. In general, the dynamics of reserves in April was determined by the following factors: First, the operations of the National Bank in the interbank foreign exchange market. Demand for foreign currency from businesses after the excessive demand in March fell sharply in April. The supply of foreign currency was more than enough to satisfy client requests, so the hryvnia strengthened its position, and the National Bank resumed operations to increase international reserves. The National Bank's net purchase of foreign currency in April amounted to USD 678.8 million. Second, government operations on public debt management. A total of USD 303.9 million (in equivalent) was allocated for servicing and repayment of state and state-guaranteed debt in foreign currency. Of this amount, USD 128.6 million was paid for government domestic loan bonds denominated in foreign currency, another USD 78.0 million - on Eurobonds, the rest of the funds were paid on other liabilities to foreign creditors. These expenditures from reserves were partially offset by new revenues from the government's placement of government domestic loan bonds denominated in foreign currency for USD 164.4 million. Third, the revaluation of financial instruments (due to changes in market value and exchange rates). In April, their value increased by USD 232.0 million (in equivalent). The current amount of international reserves covers 4.5 months of future imports, which is sufficient to meet Ukraines obligations and the current operations of the government and the National Bank. As Ukrinform reported, Ukraine's international reserves decreased by 7.8% in March 2020, to USD 24.9 billion (in equivalent) as of April 1. iy At a time when several state governments are arranging special trains for migrants workers stranded in their states due to the lockdown to ferry them back to their native places, Karnataka took the unusual step of canceling already scheduled trains to stop them leaving. BCCL The BS Yediyurappa government took the decision after the Chief Minister met representatives from the construction sector who expressed fears that they will face a manpower shortage if the migrant workers left, as the state was getting ready to open up economic activity after the lockdown was eased. This came as a shock to the thousands of migrant workers who were left with no jobs and income for nearly one and a half months who were hoping to go back to their villages on the special trains. BCCL Most of the migrant workers in Karnataka are from states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar. Now, out of sheer desperation, many have started walking back home, which are thousands of kilometers away. A group of workers from Jharkhand, who had decided to walk all the way till Jharkhand, were stopped by the police on the Bengaluru - Hyderabad road on Wednesday. BCCL We do not want money, we do not want to work under anyone. We just want to return home and be with our family. If the government does not arrange trains, then we will go by foot, Ritesh one of the migrant workers told Bangalore Mirror. He added that about 30 men from the construction site he works at, managed to jump the gates and escaped. All of us are panicking as we do not know what to do. Those who are young have managed to flee from here during the early hours of Wednesday and have now reached the Karnataka border he said. Despite the heavy criticism and some even calling it modern-day slavery, Yediyurappa defended his actions saying that the exodus will affect the construction sector. Already, the construction work has resumed. Several members from the construction sector said that if labourers return at this juncture, it would affect them, he said. BCCL Earlier, after the meeting with industry leaders, Yediyurappa had said that the builders have agreed to pay wages to workers for the entire period of lockdown and ensure all essential facilities, including safety gear, at workplaces. Controversial BJP MP from Bengaluru South, Tejasvi Suryas defended the stoppage of inter-state trains calling it a bold and necessary move. He also went on to claim that it will help migrant labourers who came here with the hope of a better life to restart their dreams and will kick-start economic activities full throttle. The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. South African engineers and doctors are designing makeshift, inexpensive devices to address a major challenge posed by the coronavirus - the lack of ventilators for patients. South Africa is scrambling for thousands more ventilators as confirmed COVID-19 cases have increased to more than 7,200. Award-winning Nigerian music video director, Clarence Peters has regained freedom after days of being detained by the police over the death of Video Vixen, Kodak, has been granted bail. The Lagos state Police recently revealed the reasons behind the detention of music video director, Clarence Peters over the death of popular dancer, Kodak. Police claimed are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of the dancer and also waiting for the autopsy result. According Dailypost, everyone who was present at the music directors house when the unfortunate incident happened were also invited for questioning. The report also confirmed that the music director and others detained have been released. The Lagos State Police Spokesman, Bala Elkana has now disclosed that they were released pending the outcome of the investigation. They were granted bail while the investigation is ongoing. Members of the public will be updated on the outcome of the investigation as soon as it is concluded, he added. The post Kodaks Death: Lagos Police Disclose That Clarence Peters & Others Have Been Granted Bail appeared first on . Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting Thursday morning to take stock of the steps being taken in response to the Vishakhapatnam gas leak incident, the government said in an official statement. He discussed at length the measures being taken for the safety of the affected people as well as for securing the site affected by the disaster, the statement said. Defence minister Rajnath Singh, home minister Amit Shah, and ministers of state for home affairs, Nityanand Rai and G. Kishan Reddy and other senior officers also attended the meeting. On receiving the first information about the incident today morning, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister talked with CM, Andhra Pradesh and assured all required aid and assistance from the Centre to tackle the situation. They are monitoring the situation closely and continuously, it said. Eleven people have died in the incident so far and 300 others have been hospitalised. Immediately after this meeting, the cabinet secretary held a detailed review meeting with the secretaries of the ministries of home affairs, environment, forest and climate change, chemicals and petrochemicals, Pharmaceuticals, information and broadcasting; members of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and director general (DG), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF); director general of health services (DGHS) and director AIIMS, and other medical experts; to chart out specific steps to support the management of the situation on the ground. It was decided that a team from CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) unit of NDRF from Pune, along with an expert team of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur would be rushed to Vishakhapatnam immediately to support the State Government in the management of the crisis on the ground, and also to take measures for resolving the short term as also long term medical impact of the leak, the statement said.. The styrene gas leak occurred in a chemical plant at 3 am in RR Venkatapuram village, Gopalapatnam Mandal in Visakhpatnam District. It affected the surrounding villages namely Narava, B.C Colony, Bapuji Nagar, Kampalapalem and Krishna Nagar. Styrene gas, which is toxic in nature, may cause irritation to the skin, eyes and causes respiratory problems and other medical conditions. The NDRF at Vishakhapatnam was deployed immediately to support the State Government and local administration. The NDRF team carried out immediate evacuation of communities living in the immediate vicinity of the site, the statement said. Rent The Runway workers have said they risk catching coronavirus because they feel they have no choice but to keep working in its warehouses handling 'dirty clothes' after the company was declared an essential business. Twenty-two current and former employees and three former contractors - ranging from entry-level associates to managers in the warehouses, call centers and retail stores - have spoken out about their treatment at the hands of the fashion rental company, as it encourages shoppers to rent its designer dresses to wear in Zoom meetings and for lockdown selfies. The billion-dollar start-up has been able to keep its warehouses open under New Jersey's and Texas's executive orders around essential businesses, meaning staff who turn down work may not be eligible for unemployment benefits. Workers have described how they must travel to their jobs - often for measly two-hour shifts - in what they describe as unsanitary conditions, as the rental business model means they are handling and cleaning dirty clothes returned by customers. This has left warehouse staff feeling forced to choose between their health and putting food on the table amid the pandemic. Workers have also slammed the company's initial response to the pandemic, including failing to implement social distancing and provide masks for workers early on and its handling of staff layoffs. 'We've always been expendable. I guess it took a pandemic to bring that to light,' one worker told the Huffington Post. The Rent The Runway store in San Francisco. Rent The Runway workers have said they risk catching coronavirus because they feel they have no choice but to keep working in its warehouses handling 'dirty clothes' after the company was declared an essential business The workforce has said staff are risking their lives in the company's warehouses to provide designer clothes to its customers. Martina, 43, a warehouse worker at the Secaucus, New Jersey, warehouse, told The Post she like many others has been stuck in limbo facing the impossible choice of working without hazard pay and risking infection or earning no money to feed her family. Another shipping associate in New Jersey, Sofia, said she has been going to her job at the warehouse despite showing coronavirus symptoms as she cannot afford to keep a roof over her head if she doesn't. She said often the risks she is taking have been for as little as $24 pay - as Rent the Runway guaranteed a minimum of just two hours' pay per shift (the company later updated this to four hours on April 27). 'They don't care about us,' Sofia told The Post. 'We come from other countries, but we have rights. They have to treat us like human beings.' Staff who have refused to risk their lives by coming to work have been left without a dime as, under New Jersey and Texas law, if employees refuse to accept available work while their employer remains legally open or they quit their jobs amid the pandemic, they will not be able to claim unemployment benefits. One employee, Kevin, told The Post he was forced to return to work in order to get money to feed his family after he temporarily stopped working in early April, when his great aunt was killed by coronavirus and he feared for the safety of his partner and child. 'It's like they just don't care,' he said. 'It's heartless. It's really heartless.' The company told DailyMail.com it is not forcing staff to work and that workers can call out and still be paid by using their annual leave allowance. All staff will be given a clean attendance slate when the company returns to its regular operations, it said. The company also said the company has given employees the choice to stay home and apply for unemployment benefits. A photo obtained by the Post shows a packed break room full of staff sitting side by side without gloves or masks on March 19 Warehouse workers have said they fear for their lives going in to the company warehouses in New Jersey (above) and Texas The company's warehouses - in Secaucus, New Jersey, and Arlington, Texas - have been able to stay open in the face of non-essential business closures because of exemptions for fulfillment center operations. Under New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy's order, businesses classed as 'warehouse/distribution and fulfillment' are deemed essential - a move designed primarily for companies delivering essential food and medical supplies. Texas's order has a similar caveat, meaning Rent The Runway warehouses fall into the 'essential' business category. But one worker branded the move to stay open a 'loophole' and questioned the start-up's ability to class its work sending designer dresses to women as 'essential'. 'They found a loophole they could take advantage of,' Randy, a 58-year-old clothing cleaner, told The Post. 'It was very sneaky of the company to remain open in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic so that women could order dresses and wear them for mirror selfies.' Rent The Runway told DailyMail.com the company is not operating through a loophole but has continued to keep its warehouses open in compliance with the executive orders in Texas and New Jersey. A group of workers said they had reported Rent The Runway to the New Jersey government in early April saying the company was violating the state's executive order, but have never had a response. Staff have taken to social media to beg the company to close its warehouses Secaucus staff have been given letters (above) to carry with them as they travel to and from work in case they are stopped by police Instead, Secaucus staff have been given letters to carry with them as they travel to and from work in case they are stopped by police. The letter reads 'Our operations are not covered by New Jersey Executive Order 107 and this employee is needed to provide on-site services,' according to the Post. Staff have resorted to social media to beg the company to close its warehouses. 'Your warehouses workers in Secaucus are worried about the situation, we have to work close some people that we don't know at all,' one anxious worker wrote on RTR's Instagram account. Another posted: 'Hi so when are you going to close your warehouses that has confirmed positive cases?' The company's rental model is also exposing workers to greater risk than other warehouse work, many workers have said. Rent the Runway works by sending designer clothing to a membership of women, who rent the garments for a limited time before sending them back to warehouses where they are cleaned and inspected by staff and sent to the next customer. 'We're dealing with clothes, man. We're touching dirty clothes all day,' said Kevin. 'The average human being accidentally touches their face a billion times a day. How is that safe?' Madalyn, a 22-year-old former retail associate at Rent the Runway's New York City store, said staff were left handling clothes that were regularly returned stained with menstrual blood, sweat, vomit and other bodily secretions. RTR told DailyMail.com there is no evidence coronavirus can spread via clothing. RTR cofounder and CEO Jenn Hyman tweeted a message praising Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for setting up the CARES Act, to support businesses hit by the pandemic, the same day staff said they were laid off Several workers also told The Post RTR did not introduce social distancing practices into the warehouses until late March. RTR told DailyMail.com it began implementing social distancing and other measures to protect staff mid-March, in line with CDC guidelines and state and local laws. However, a photo obtained by the Post shows a packed break room full of staff sitting side by side without gloves or masks on March 19. Employees also said face masks were not provided until mid-April. Rent the Runway laid off all of its retail workers back in March but several workers have also slammed the company's handling of this situation. Lauren, a former retail associate, told The Post many workers felt the company was too slow to shutter its five brick-and-mortar stores as the outbreak ramped up across the US and the New York head office staff moved to working from home. 'They were hellbent on staying open,' she said. 'Everyone was on edge. I would even have these tough conversations with customers who would ask, 'When are you guys gonna close? It's unsafe for you and for us,' and I'd just have to be like, 'I honestly don't know.' The company issued statements saying the company has worked to keep staff safe amid the pandemic Retail staff took to social media, writing on the company's Instagram account pleading with management to close the stores. Some staff in hard-hit New York rallied together to organize a call out, before stores were shuttered on March 16. Workers said they were then told on March 27 that some staff were being furloughed and corporate salaries slashed. Just hours later that day, retail workers were told via a Zoom call that they were all being laid off and their health cover would expire at the end of April, the Post reported. 'We were all completely shocked,' said 27-year-old Shanice. 'There was no compassion.' The same day, RTR cofounder and CEO Jenn Hyman tweeted a message praising Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for setting up the CARES Act, to support businesses hit by the pandemic. Many fans have taken to social media to upload images of them decked out in the high fashion apparel - with some taking selfies of them in ballgowns while cleaning and in suits in their bedrooms The company has been encouraging its network of renters to keep renting amid the pandemic - so they can wear designer clothing while on work conference calls or simply in their homes during isolation. Many fans have taken to social media to upload images of them decked out in the high fashion apparel - with some taking selfies of themselves in ballgowns while cleaning and in suits in their bedrooms. The company issued statements on its social media accounts saying it has worked to keep staff safe amid the pandemic. 'Like thousands of e-commerce businesses across categories we remain operational during this unprecedented time to serve our customers and provide employment for our teams safely,' a Twitter post read. 'Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, RTRs sales have dropped significantly. We therefore have had to make difficult decisions to sustain the business by cutting costs across the board. Actions have included corporate employee furloughs, temporary pay reductions and layoffs. Our philosophy behind the cuts was to do as much as we could before we had to impact our warehouse employees. 'We implemented a plan to prioritize the wellbeing, benefits and continued employment of our warehouse teams. Our goal was to provide each warehouse employee with the flexibility to make the right decision for their personal circumstances at this time. We adjusted our warehouse attendance policy so employees can choose not to work for any reason without any implications. No one is obligated to work if they are not comfortable doing so.' BINGHAM FARMS, Mich., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- FOURMIDABLE, a diversified, national real estate management company specializing in managing public housing, senior and family government assisted, market rate, tax credit, rural development and condominium communities, is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year. Regularly honored as one of the top property management organizations in the United States, FOURMIDABLE is led by CEO Jeri Hays and President Michael Schocker. The company currently manages 69 properties totaling 7,035 units across 11 states, employing more than 250 people. "We are thrilled to be 45 years strong this year," said Hays. "Our success is built around an amazing staff that works hard managing and maintaining our extensive portfolio of properties around the country." Founded by Ronald Slavik in April of 1975, Michigan-based FOURMIDABLE has developed, constructed and/or managed at least 6,000 single family homes, 20,000 multi-family residences, 3,000 hotel suites and more than 3 million square feet of commercial/offices space. The company expanded in 2007 to include FOURMIDABLE South, LLC. "Our focus this year will continue to be on great customer service," said Slavik, FOURMIDABLE Chairman of the Board. "It is something that has always set us apart and we pride ourselves on working closely with all of our clients, some of whom have been with us for 30 years or more." In 2020, FOURMIDABLE has already added approximately 600 new units to its portfolio in Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi and Ohio with plans to add an additional 400 new units in Michigan and Tennessee by the end of the year. With its strong national reputation in the affordable and tax credit markets as well as its experience in managing high end conventional communities, FOURMIDABLE is often honored nationally as a top property management company. In 2019 Midwest Real Estate News Magazine named FOURMIDABLE one of the "best of the best" and the National Affordable Housing Management Association again recognized the firm on its "Affordable 100" list. "Forty-five years is a cause for celebration in a tough industry like ours," said Schocker. "We've seen many ups and downs and we are still standing. We are still growing and we're serving our clients and our residents." An anniversary celebration is being planned for later this year due to the ongoing public health crisis in the U.S., said company leaders. About FOURMIDABLE FOURMIDABLE is a national real estate management and brokerage company that specializes in managing, marketing and leasing market rate, tax credit, senior and family government assisted, public housing and rural development apartment communities. Founded in 1975, FOURMIDABLE currently manages 69 communities in 11 states, with approximately 7,035 units under management. FOURMIDABLE is a member of the elite AMO (Accredited Management Organization) and is an approved management firm for HUD, MSHDA and other State Agencies. Additionally, FOURMIDABLE affiliated companies offer support for property management companies and owners, including agility-pm, a provider of back office accounting, HR, IT and compliance support; eCrosstown, a provider of free Wi-Fi amenity services to apartment residents; and ePhonz, a specialized telephone product for apartment management companies. For more information, please call 248-593-4603 or visit www.fourmidable.com CONTACT: Michael Schocker 248-593-4634 Sue Voyles, Logos Communications 734-667-2005 SOURCE FOURMIDABLE Related Links https://www.fourmidable.com/ Health officials said the guide, due to be released last week, would never see the light of day. A set of detailed documents created by top disease investigators in the United States meant to give step-by-step advice to local leaders deciding when and how to reopen public places such as mass transit, daycare centres and restaurants during the coronavirus pandemic has been shelved by the Trump administration. The 17-page report by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) team, titled Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework, was researched and written to help faith leaders, business owners, educators and state and local officials as they begin to reopen. It was supposed to be published last Friday, but agency scientists were told the guidance would never see the light of day, a CDC official told the Associated Press news agency. The AP obtained a copy from a second federal official who was not authorised to release it. The guidance was described in AP stories last week, prior to the White House decision to shelve it. A White House told Axios on Thursday that administration officials were unaware of the guidelines existence until it was leaked to the media and described the original document as overly prescriptive. Requested revisions were never delivered, the official said. Guidance in rural Tennessee shouldnt be the same guidance for urban New York City, the official said. The Trump administration has been closely controlling the release of guidance and information during the pandemic spurred by a new coronavirus that scientists are still trying to understand, with the president himself leading freewheeling daily briefings until last week. Traditionally, it has been the CDCs role to give the public and local officials guidance and science-based information during public health crises. During this one, however, the CDC has not had a regular, pandemic-related news briefing in nearly two months. CDC Director Dr Robert Redfield has been a member of the White House coronavirus taskforce, but largely absent from public appearances. The dearth of real-time, public information from the nations experts has struck many current and former government health officials as dangerous. CDC has always been the public health agency Americans turn to in a time of crisis, said Dr Howard Koh, a Harvard professor and former health official in the Obama administration during the H1N1 swine flu pandemic in 2009. The standard in a crisis is to turn to them for the latest data and latest guidance and the latest press briefing. That has not occurred, and everyone sees that. The Trump administration has instead sought to put the onus on states to handle COVID-19 response. This approach to managing the pandemic has been reflected in President Donald Trumps public statements, from the assertion that he is not responsible for the countrys lacklustre early testing efforts, to his description last week of the federal governments role as a supplier of last resort for states in need of testing aid. White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany echoed that at a briefing on Wednesday. Weve consulted individually with states, but as I said, its [a] governor-led effort. Its a state-led effort on which the federal government will consult. And we do so each and every day. Resources are available to states, tribes, localities, & territories to help to get and keep America open. See important info on identifying new #COVID19 cases, protecting healthcare workers, and more: https://t.co/9GuA4VA7sy. pic.twitter.com/tneqh6eLI7 CDC (@CDCgov) May 5, 2020 The rejected reopening guidance was described by one of the federal officials as a touchstone document that was to be used as a blueprint for other groups inside the CDC who are creating the same type of instructional materials for other facilities. The guidance contained detailed advice for making site-specific decisions related to reopening schools, restaurants, summer camps, churches, daycare centres and other institutions. It had been widely shared within the CDC, and included detailed decision trees, flow charts to be used by local officials to think through different scenarios. For example, the report suggested restaurants and bars should install sneeze guards at cash registers and avoid having buffets, salad bars and drink stations. Similar tips appear on the CDCs site and a Food and Drug Administration page. But the shelved report also said that as restaurants start seating diners again, they should space tables at least 6 feet (about 1.8 metres) apart and try to use phone app technology to alert a patron when their table is ready to avoid touching and use of buzzers. You can say that restaurants can open and you need to follow social distancing guidelines. But restaurants want to know, What does that look like? States would like more guidance, said Dr Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. The White Houses own Opening Up America Again guidelines released last month were vaguer than the CDCs unpublished report. They instructed state and local governments to reopen in accordance with federal and local regulations and guidance, and to monitor employees for symptoms of COVID-19. The White House guidance also included advice developed earlier in the pandemic that remains important like social distancing and encouraging working from home. A person close to the White Houses coronavirus taskforce said the CDC documents were never cleared by CDC leadership for public release. The person said White House officials do not want to offer detailed guidance for how specific sectors can reopen, calling it a slippery slope because the virus is affecting various parts of the country differently. ALBANY Adam Catlin wanted a test. He knew he was in contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19 and now feared for his family, especially his 9-year-old daughter who suffers from asthma. But as a resident of Greenwich, its not that easy. There are no test sites available in his town nor any in his county. After calling the state Department of Healths hotline, he was scheduled a week later to take the test at the University at Albany drive-through an hour away. Thats two hours, Catlin said. What if I was really sick? And if I was working or school was still in session, it could have been a big issue. But as a resident of one of the states rural counties, that's typical. Rural residents usually have to drive up to an hour away for tests because counties such as Fulton, Greene, Hamilton and Washington have no testing sites. Other counties like Essex, Montgomery, Saratoga and Schoharie only have in-county hospitals or doctors available to symptomatic patients, where a copay is often required. Columbia County will have its first free testing on Friday for its residents, but it will only administer 100 tests; and those kits were purchased by a county resident who wanted to save others from having to drive to Albany, Kingston or Poughkeepsie. Of 10 rural counties that the Times Union looked into, only one, Warren County, has a free drive-through test site available. And the lack of tests poses a challenge to New York's counties preparing to reopen after months with businesses and schools closed to slow the spread of the virus. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has repeatedly said that a requirement to reopen the economy includes more testing. On Monday, he unveiled his seven metrics that the states 10 designated regions would have to meet in order to reopen. One is 30 residents per 1,000 must be tested monthly in each region. And though county health officials say they would like to do more testing, their current capacities make that metric impossible to meet. Wed love to have more testing done, said Laurel Headwell, director of Fulton County Public Health Department. With that comes security and all those other things. People to perform the test, to do the lab slip and send it out. And then are the labs able to handle it. Staffing is a big issue as well. We dont have the staff of a big city with a large health department. Headwell said her county, with a population of about 54,000, has only three public health nurses with one supervising health nurse. As of Tuesday, 1,036 county residents have been tested. Thats short of the 1,600 region needs to do monthly. In Washington County, where Catlin lives, county attorney Roger Wickes agreed staffing is an issue. His county, he explained, hired three more public health nurses, bringing his total to 10, who are in daily contact - up to twice a day - with those in quarantine. He feels confident that the county, whose residents go not just to Albany but to Saratoga, Queensbury and Vermont to be tested, can reach the tally required. In Washington County that is about about 1,800 people. As of Thursday, 1,297 county residents have been tested. The problem, Wickes said, is doing it every month. Its not like its a big day at the fair and everyone comes down and gets a test and everybody goes home, Wickes said. To do it monthly that operational tempo would be a horror for us. We couldnt do it by ourselves. Cuomo frequently boasts that New York state has tested more people -- more than a million -- than any state in the nation. Cuomo spokesman Jason Conwall wrote in a statement to the Times Union that the state is doing everything it can to expand testing and hire contact tracers for every area of the state. "We have already been working with every county within the state's 10 regions to help them meet the necessary criteria for phased, regional reopening," Conwall wrote. He added the state is increasingly testing by authorizing pharmacies to conduct the tests, providing a drive through testing site per region and state officials "are in daily communication with local officials to ensure we know what resources they need." Conwall also noted the state's initiative with Michael Bloomberg to build an "army" of contact tracers. "As the governor has said repeatedly, reopening will be done regionally and counties will need to work together, along with the state, to meet the criteria for Phase I," he wrote. Stephen Acquario, the executive director of the New York State Association of Counties, said the state's response upstate has been slower because the rate of infection and hospitalizations are low. He said the state had to zero in on the parts of the state where the pandemic was catastrophic, primarily New York City and it suburbs. He also said the test kits provided to the counties have been limited to the hospitals. For example, the only place to get tested in Saratoga County is Saratoga Hospital. Residents who are not symptomatic must go to the drive-through sites in Queensbury, set up at Warren County office complex, or at UAlbany. And before going there, they must be screened to meet protocols for eligibility. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Counties are in a new unique regional role to assist with testing - whether in nursing homes, the public at large or coordinating with pharmacies, Acquario said. Its a natural relationship for us to be involved with the testing - improve, expand and have it be as efficient as possible. Erica Mahoney, the director of Public Health in Hamilton County, said her county is in a unique situation. As the least populated county in the state with only 4,800 residents, she feels that testing has not been a problem. As of Tuesday, 53 residents, who either drove outside the county to Saranac Lake or Amsterdam, have been tested. We are doing just fine, she said. Everyone who needs to be tested is able to get tested. Her fear is what will happen this summer when the countys tiny population triples with summer visitors. Thats a tricky question, Mahoney said. Its scary to reopen, but our rates are so low. She thinks that over the last six weeks, the public health care system has had a chance to get stronger and better and develop good policies. And she agrees with the governor that the North Country region should be one of the first to open because of its low rates of infection. But again, that region meets every state metric except the monthly testing number, which for Hamilton would be 144 a month. There is also the issue of contact tracers, which the state is requiring 30 for every 100,000. County leaders, earlier this week, questioned if that would be feasible as well. Aquario said the pandemic has exposed the cracks in the public health care system that cannot meet the needs of residents. And that ultimately, the state will have to coordinate a system for the counties. In Washington County, Wickes said he would welcome that. "Wed love firm guidance on how this is going to happen," Wickes said. "Its tough. We are trying to do our best to keep everybody safe, but we need help. We need tests and people to administer the tests. Meanwhile, Catlin said hes just happy he was able to get a test but is troubled that the results were inconclusive. He could take the test again but wont bother with the drive, especially since his partner Darcy Burleigh-Curry tested negative. I would if I needed to, he said. If we didnt know one of us was negative, I would go back. A day after a hard lockdown was announced in Ahmedabad, the coronavirus epicentre of Gujarat registered 275 new coronavirus cases out of a total of 388 registered in the whole state. The total number of positive cases in the state has reached 7,013 on Thursday, a senior health official quoted by PTI said. Ahmedabad also accounted for 23 fatalities out of a total of 29 registered in the state in the last 24 hours followed by four in Surat, the second-worst affected city, which will also slip into a partial hard-lockdown mode beginning Saturday. A complete lockdown beginning Wednesday midnight was announced in Ahmedabad city, which accounts for more than 70% of total cases (7013) and deaths (over 400). Everything has been shut down in Ahmedabad except ATMs and health facilities. Administration has also banned all shops except those selling milk and medicines. Nodal officers have been appointed for each zone to ensure home delivery of essential goods. Since March 19, when the first case was reported from the state, an analysis of Gujarats official Covid data reveals that the rate of spread has increased in the state after it touch the 4,000-mark. The data also shows that the mortality rate has steadily increased from 3.7% (when the state had just 1000 cases) to 4.3% (at 4000 cases) to 5.9% (at over 6,000 cases). One of the officials in the new team that has taken the charge for Ahmedabad said that the lockdown was not enforced properly and initially, there was laxity in identifying persons infected with the virus. In the first week to ten days, only those who visited hospital with Covid symptoms were tested. No random testing was done, he said. Another official of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation said the government reacted only when the cases were reported from localities outside the walled city. It was found that many residents from the walled city areas were allowed to move around in Ahmedabad resulting in the spread of the virus. Several of the super-spreaders in the city were vegetable vendors and workers in grocery stores. Gujarat chief minister, Vijay Rupani in an interview to HT had attributed the high number of cases to large number of international and domestic travellers. He also said that Tablighi Jamaat members were not traced in time upon their return from Delhi Markaz resulting in the spread of the disease. The HT Guide to Coronavirus Covid-19 Experts, however, say that the cases increased because of initial laxity and failure to enforce lockdown seriously. While the shutdown of Ahmedabad is likely to show results after some days, the administration announced shutting down of all shops selling vegetables and fruits in Surat as well from May 9 to May 14, said PTI. Surat municipal commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani said that such a step was necessary to contain the spread of the disease as large crowds were gathering at vegetable shops without respecting physical distancing norms. Howard Rollins, a 42-year-old US citizen also known as Luna Cobra, is on trial after pleading not guilty to being an accessory to female genital mutilation in January 2015 A woman has angrily denied being too drug-affected to remember her labia being burned off in a Newcastle tattoo parlour, declaring: 'I know my vagina like the back of my hand.' During a colourful and often-fiery day in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court, the alleged victim of illegal genital mutilation said touring body modification artist Howard Rollins played a key role in the procedure. Rollins, a 42-year-old US citizen also known as Luna Cobra, is on trial after pleading not guilty to being an accessory to female genital mutilation in January 2015. The alleged victim and Rollins have painted different pictures of what occurred during the incident, with the latter denying he was even present. The woman has throughout the judge-only trial accused Rollins of being in the room, aiding the procedure and offering advice to the person performing it. Giving evidence via video link, she repeatedly clashed with defence barrister Margaret Cunneen SC, who accused her of numerous inconsistencies. At one point, Ms Cunneen implied the woman was having trouble remembering the incident because she'd been given valium tablets and an anaesthetic. The alleged victim replied: 'No it's not hard for me to remember. I remember. I know my vagina like the back of my hand.' The woman had a series of running battles with Ms Cunneen on Thursday and was repeatedly reminded by Judge Ian Bourke not to veer off-topic. She described Ms Cunneen's questioning as 'rude' and 'inappropriate' and insisted she had a 'photographic memory'. She has accused Rollins and the other man of 'burning away my labia with a branding iron' and then giving her the discarded body part in a jar. The alleged victim and Rollins have painted different pictures of what occurred during the incident, with the latter denying he was even present Asked if she could smell anything burning during the procedure, she curtly replied: 'My head is not in my vagina.' Ms Cunneen accused the woman of contradicting several of her previous statements including how many valium tablets she had been given by those working at the studio. At one point the alleged victim insisted Rollins had held her labia while she was given a painkilling injection. But Ms Cunneen forced her to admit she had not made that claim in two statements to police made in February this year and on Sunday. 'I'm asking you, ma'am, about your (police) statements at this stage,' Ms Cunneen said. The woman conceded: 'It doesn't say that in there, does it.' The woman had told the court Rollins played a central part in the modification and acted as a mentor to the man performing the procedure. However, Ms Cunneen claimed Rollins had counselled her that she did not have to go through with the procedure. The woman insists he only offered that advice halfway through. 'I agree he did say something along those lines ... but I had half of one side of my vagina removed and I could feel it,' the woman said. 'Of course I needed to get it fixed. What, I'm just going to leave half my vagina chopped off like a ripped t-shirt or whatever?' A summer blast is set to sweep across Sydney with temperatures soaring to 27C just weeks out from winter. The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast a maximum of 24C for the Harbour City on Thursday, before climbing to 27C on Friday and 26C on Saturday. But the warm weather will be short-lived, with the temperature forecast to drop to 19C on Mother's Day. Weatherzone meteorologist Brett Dutschke said the May average for the city is 19.5C but the random burst of heat is not 'unusual'. A summer blast is set to sweep across Sydney with temperatures soaring to 27C on Friday. Pictured: Swimmers at Bondi Beach on Sunday The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast a maximum of 24C for the harbour city on Thursday, before climbing to 27C on Friday and 26C on Saturday. Pictured: Temperature forecast for Australia on Friday at midday 'We're still in autumn, so we still get a little hit of early autumn weather or summer-like weather,' he said. 'It's the time of year where winter is trying to fight off summer I suppose. The odd occasional burst.' Mr Dutschke said Sydney hit 27C towards the end of May last year and 26C the year before. 'Over these next few days, winds are going north westerly.... That's going to draw a bit more warmth from the interior,' he said. 'Looks like tomorrow [Friday] will be the warmest day. Saturday should be windier. 'Cooler change will arrive on Saturday night and it's a fairly strong, cool change.' Weatherzone meteorologist Brett Dutschke said the May average for the city is 19.5C. Pictured: Residents walk at Manly Beach Mr Dutschke said windy conditions on Sunday and Monday will make the lower temperatures feel even colder. There will be a 'really long dry spell' before 'significant rain' in about a weeks time, he added. 'Unfortunately not a lot of rain with this cool change [on Saturday night], just a few spots,' Mr Dutschke said. Brisbane will also enjoy sunshine and temperatures nudging above 25C over the weekend. Sunday is expected to be the city's warmest day, with 28C forecast. 'The days leading up to that look pretty comfortable,' Mr Dutschke said. 'Cooling will be slight compared to as far south as Sydney.' The temperature in Brisbane is expected to drop to 24C by Monday. Pictured: Swimmers at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Sunday. Bondi was previously shut due to crowds gathering despite coronavirus restrictions Melbourne could hit a high of 19C on Friday, before plummeting to 15C on Saturday and 14C on Sunday. Thousands of customers remain without power after wild weather along Western Australia's southwest coast caused outages to more than 55,000 homes. Western Power crews have restored power to most homes overnight although 4,000 properties need to be reconnected to the grid after lines were damaged by fallen trees and debris. About 1,500 customers near Perth are affected by outages spread across more than 30 sites. Crews are also working to restore power to 2,500 customers around Margret River, Vass, Busselton, and Bunbury. 'With the large geographical area to cover in the regional recovery, we have mobilised teams from surrounding depots to assist with this effort,' a Western Power spokesman said on Thursday. The Bureau has a severe weather warning in place for parts of South Australia as a deep low-pressure system moves across the state. The system, which is bringing vigorous cold fronts across the state, will extend eastwards during Thursday after reaching Eyre Peninsula overnight. Damaging winds of up to 100 km/h have been forecast along with squally rain. Locations which may be affected include Adelaide, Port Lincoln, Whyalla, Mount Gambier, Clare, Maitland, Murray Bridge, Kingscote and Naracoorte. President Moon Jae-in attends a meeting on COVID-19 treatment and vaccine development at the Institut Pasteur Korea in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday./ Yonhap By Kim Se-jeong The government promised Tuesday to give comprehensive support to local companies developing vaccines or drugs to combat COVID-19 to help them become among the first to produce a treatment for the novel coronavirus. It said drugs for treatment and vaccines would be available as early as next year. "Developing treatments and vaccines is a challenge we must overcome in order to stay safe from COVID-19," said Yoon Tae-ho, a senior health ministry official in charge of quarantine efforts against the pandemic, during a press conference. Yoon said the National Institute of Health and local pharmaceutical company, Celltrion, were working on an antiviral medicine for coronavirus patients. "They are aiming to start clinical trials for an antiviral drug sometime this year, and if that happens, the medicine could be on the market as early as next year," he said. "When it comes to plasma therapy, the institute is also conducting joint research with another company and they are seeking to be able to offer treatments within two or three months." Plasma therapy involves injecting patients with COVID-19 antibodies harvested from people who have recovered from the disease. Those who recover from COVID-19 develop the antibodies which then give them immunity and by giving these to sick patients it is hoped they will help them also recover. Irish humanitarian aid agency, GOAL, has reached over 9 million people in its 13 countries of operation in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America since the Covid-19 crisis emerged in March. GOAL Senior Communications Manager, Miriam Donohoe, who is from Goresbridge, Co Kilkenny, said this week the scale of the Covid-19 pandemic is like nothing the world has seen before. What really makes this crisis so different and challenging is the fact that we are dealing with a crisis in all countries. Usually an emergency we would be responding to such as a cyclone or weather-related disaster, a famine, an earthquake would be confined to one country. But in this case we are dealing with a crisis in all of our countries of operation. she told the Kilkenny People. With previous emergency responses we would be able to send staff from Ireland and from other countries where we work to the centre of a crisis to help. And we would be able to get equipment and supplies into countries. With COVID-10 this is not possible. For one with travel restrictions we cannot deploy staff. She said Ireland and developed countries with sophisticated health systems and Governments that were able to provide economic packages for those who have lost their jobs are finding they are under massive strain and are being overwhelmed by Covid-19.So you can imagine if developed countries are finding it hard to cope what it is like for countries where GOAL works with weak and sometimes non-existent health systems, and no financial supports. These countries are already in crisis facing drought, food shortages, and conflict. It is unthinkable the impact if the virus really gets a hold, While the virus is still in relatively low numbers in Africa, GOAL is supporting communities with awareness and education on social distancing and hand hygiene to prevent the spread of the crisis. It is in all of our countries of operation, but thankfully so far Africa has not been as badly hit as we expected. Our worst hit country is Turkey where there are 120,000 cases and more than 3,000 deaths The scale and speed of infection is devastating, as is its capacity to take lives, destroy economies, and put an enormous strain on resources in even the most capable healthcare-systems in the world. Whatever chance countries like Ireland have to cope with Covid-19, it has the potential to have a catastrophic impact on millions of vulnerable people living in the developing countries in which GOAL serves. She said the real fear is if the virus hits refugee camps where large numbers of people are confined to small areas. For example social distancing in these contexts will be nearly impossible Of special concern is Idlib in North West Syria where GOAL is supporting more than 1.1 million people who have been displaced from their homes due to the war there. In total in Idlib there are more than 3 million displaced people in an area the size of Co. Galway. To date the virus is not in this area, although there have been cases confirmed in southern Syria. But if it takes a hold it could be disastrous. So the main focus of GOALs work at present is to educate communities and support them to stop the virus. It was clear in mid-March that Covid-19 was spreading around the world and was going to affect all of GOALs countries. A Covid-19 Task Force was established which meets three times a week to oversee response activities. The Task Force includes senior staff and representatives of GOALs countries abroad, including Miriam Donohoe. GOAL was at the centre of the international response to the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone in West Africa in 2014 where it used a Community-Led Approach (CLA) to respond. GOAL is adopting this approach in its Covid-19 response which sees GOAL working with communities developing action plans at local level to isolate and shield those most at risk, and manage cases of infection. This will involve offering practical household hygiene guidance and supporting communities to plan controlling their movements and still be able to sustain their daily income. Covid-19 is confirmed in GOALs 13 countries. The worst hit is Turkey where more than 100,000 cases have been confirmed and almost 3,000 people have died. In its African countries the virus has not spread as quickly as originally feared. Since it started its response has reached more than nine million vulnerable people across its 13 countries. Of this almost 1.4 million with Covid-19 have been reached in communities with Covid-19 preparedness and hygiene messaging, whilst more than 7.5 million have been reached through radio ad campaigns in Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and Uganda. The Zimbabwean broadcast campaign was supported with funds from Irish Aid. In addition GOAL has Distributed 20,000 hygiene items, including soap, to households in nine of its countries; Increased the capacity of health centres in South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone to implement infection control measures to over 2.3 million; Supported 10 health centres in Malawi with hygiene materials; Helped almost 30,000 people access safe water in Sierra Leone and continues to provide over 900,000 internally displaced with water in Syria; Reached over 40,000 people in Uganda and Honduras with WhatsApp social media messaging This virus has rapidly spread from East to West and is likely to overwhelm weak or limited healthcare systems. The key to containing this problem is education on prevention and community engagement, and helping to sustain incomes. We need to act now to help vulnerable communities prepare, said Miriam Donohoe. As the pandemic spikes in the coming weeks and months, it will become much more difficult to reach the affected areas and communities and critically needed supplies will become more difficult to secure. We are responding as quickly as possible to help prepare the most vulnerable people for the coming outbreak. Our response plans will be implemented in partnership with Governments and Agencies as we partner for maximum impact and we will adapt according to needs as they emerge. Anyone who wants to support GOALs work can donate at goalglobal.org President Akufo-Addo is to lead a three-day meeting of Cabinet to examine data gathered so far on the impact of the Covid-19 disease across all governance sectors in Ghana. The meeting, according to Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, starts Thursday and will expect sector ministers to report on the impact of the disease across their ministries and recommendations thereof. Oppong-Nkrumah announced the meeting at the usual Covid-19 press updates in Accra. It would be recalled that from the onset of the pandemic the Minister responsible for Finance, the Honourable Ken Ofori-Atta briefed the nation through parliament on the projected economic impact of the pandemic and measures that the government was projecting to take to mitigate the impact. Since then, under the leadership of the President the government of Ghana has rolled out a number of measures in responding first, to the health crisis specifically, and second, to the socio-economic challenges that come with managing it. These measures as you would recall include free water for three months, free electricity for three months for lifeline consumers and 50% discount for non-lifeline consumers, among others. Ghana currently has recorded 3,091 cases since reporting her first two cases of the #Covid-19 disease on March 12. Of the number, 18 have died while 303 have recovered, with a total of 137, 924 tests. He said after about eight weeks of the pandemic in Ghana and as we inch closer to mid-year, the government of Ghana has actual data on Covid-19 and its real impact across various sectors education, health, trade, the economy and etc. The president has instructed all ministers to report on the impact across their sectors and proffer recommendations for recovery. According to Oppong Nkrumah, government would examine the observed impact, the recommendations that are being made, the implications and commence preparations for laying same before parliament. The country has instituted various measures, including a previous partial lockdown of Accra, Tema, Kumasi and Kasoa, as well as social engagement protocols that has banned many activities, and a current mandatory wearing of face masks in public spaces. Source: Daily Graphic 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 A day after laying off 14% of its staff, Uber reported Thursday that it lost $2.9 billion in the first quarter more than analysts had expected but showed strong growth in its Eats food delivery division and a decline in its ride-hailing business, as the pandemic affected them in different ways. Also Thursday, Uber said it is investing in the San Francisco scooter-rental company Lime, and transferring its Jump bike/scooter division to Lime, which will result in most of Jumps 600 employees being laid off. Ubers revenue of $3.54 billion topped analysts expectations of $3.02 billion and was up 14% from the same time last year. Ubers gross bookings were $15.8 billion, up 8% from the same time last year. Rides bookings were $10.9 billion, down 3%. Uber Eats grew 54% to $4.7 billion. The Uber Freight division, which arranges deliveries by truck, had $198 million in bookings, up 55%. Much of Ubers $2.9 billion loss came from write-downs in overseas investments in ride-hailing companies like Grab and Didi. Excluding those write-downs for stock compensation and investments, the loss would have been $1.1 billion. Uber shares were down about 4% in after-hours trading. While our Rides business has been hit hard by the ongoing pandemic, we have taken quick action to preserve the strength of our balance sheet, focus additional resources on Uber Eats, and prepare us for any recovery scenario, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement. Along with the surge in food delivery, we are encouraged by the early signs we are seeing in markets that are beginning to open back up. The pandemic has had a dramatic impact on Ubers ride-hailing business, which plunged 80% in April, Khosrowshahi said on a conference call with investors. But its starting to slowly return with four subsequent weeks of growth. While recent bookings rose modestly in markets such as San Francisco (up 8%), they had strong recoveries in states that had already reopened from shelter-in-place orders, he said. Uber bookings were up 43% in Georgia and 50% in Texas. Going forward, Khosrowshahi said he thinks that more companies may partner with Uber to ferry workers to work rather than asking them to brave public transit. Commute is the use case that will lead the recovery from the shutdown, he said. At the same time, Uber is increasing partnerships with transit systems to offer late-night service so they can close for cleaning, for instance. Uber is working on plans to require face coverings for both drivers and riders in the U.S. and other countries, he said. Uber Eats has accelerated its growth far beyond projections, with an 89% increase in April bookings, excluding India, Khosrowshahi said. Many additional restaurants, including high-end ones, have signed up for the delivery service. Uber is also pursuing grocery delivery, partnering with supermarkets and convenience stores to transport a limited menu of items. Its acquisition of Cornershop, the largest grocery delivery service in Latin America, should become final soon. Khosrowshahi said that workforce reductions and other cost-cutting steps will save $1 billion in annualized fixed costs. Uber on Wednesday laid off 3,700 customer support and recruiting workers worldwide, and signaled that more cuts could follow. Smaller rival Lyft last week said it would lay off 17% of its staff, about 982 jobs; furlough hundreds; and cut salaries for many employees. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Despite its belt-tightening for staff, Uber opened its wallet to invest $85 million in Lime, whose business has been buffeted by the pandemic and stay-in-place orders. Existing Lime investors Alphabet, Bain Capital Ventures and GV also joined the Lime investment round, which totaled $170 million. Lyft, which offers street-rental bikes called Bay Wheels, sued San Francisco in June to get Jump bikes off the street, saying it was promised exclusivity. On Thursday, Lyft said it had reached a deal with the city to end Jumps service in San Francisco by May 26. Many drivers, who are independent contractors, say their income has plummeted. Khosrowshahi said that having the option to switch to making Uber Eats deliveries has helped them. Both Lyft and Uber now face a significant legal threat. On Wednesday, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the city attorneys of San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego sued both companies, saying that their drivers should be employees under the states AB5 gig-work law that took effect in January. Covering employee benefits would add millions to the companies expenses. Meanwhile, the two have joined forces with DoorDash, Instacart and Postmates on a $110 million initiative for the November ballot, asking voters to allow their drivers and couriers to remain independent contractors who are entitled to some wage guarantees and some benefits. Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid Colorized scanning electron micrograph of cell (green) heavily infected with CCP virus particles (purple), commonly known as SARS-CoV-2 or novel coronavirus, isolated from a patient sample. Photo published on March 16, 2020. (NIAID) More Children Hospitalized in NYC With Rare Condition Possibly Linked to COVID-19 Health officials said May 6 that dozens more children have been hospitalized in New York City with symptoms suggestive of a rare disease with possible links to COVID-19, multiple news outlets reported. The number of children admitted to area hospitals has nearly quadrupled to 64, according to state officials cited by CNN, with doctors describing the unknown syndrome as pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome that bears some semblance to Kawasaki disease. With symptoms that can include high fever and peeling skin, Kawasaki disease causes swelling of arteries throughout the body, according to the Mayo Clinic. The inflammation it causes tends to affect the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart. A pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome, recently reported by authorities in the United Kingdom, is also being observed among children and young adults in New York City and elsewhere in the United States, said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, deputy commissioner of the New York City Health Departments Division of Disease Control, in a statement (pdf) on May 4, which noted that 15 children in the area had been hospitalized with the unknown syndrome and that many of them had been sick with COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Following reports of children being diagnosed with Kawasaki disease-like symptoms, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that parents should call a doctor immediately if they notice their children having persistent fever, rash, abdominal pain, or vomiting. We havent seen any fatalities yet, but we are very concerned by what were seeing, he said. Were learning more every day about how COVID-19 affects the body. This is a ferocious disease. New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot wrote in a tweet that health care providers in the city have been warned to be on the lookout for children exhibiting the above-described symptoms. We will spare no effort to protect the health of our Citys children. We alerted thousands of providers throughout the city of this recently recognized syndrome in children so that they can be diagnosed and treated early to avoid long-term complications, Barbot said. Daskalakis wrote in his statement that the full spectrum of disease is not yet known, adding that it resembled a condition that was recently reported by British authorities, who on April 27 published a bulletin (pdf) noting a small rise in the number of cases of critically ill children presenting with an unusual clinical picture. The British notice, issued by the Paediatric Intensive Care Society, said many of these children tested positive for COVID-19 and that the cases have in common overlapping features of toxic shock syndrome and atypical Kawasaki disease with blood parameters consistent with severe COVID-19 in children, according to a NHS England alert. Daskalakis wrote that all of the first 15 children had symptoms of fever, either measured or subjective, and more than half of them reported rash, abdominal pain, vomiting, or diarrhea. Less than half had respiratory symptoms. Ten of the 15 children tested positive for COVID-19 or had positive antibody tests. When testing for antibodies, we are testing if someone had the virus at some point and if their body was able to clear the infection. When testing for #COVID19, we are testing if a patient is currently infected with the virus, Barbot explained in a tweet. None of the first 15 in New York with the unknown syndrome died, though all who were admitted to intensive care needed either cardiac or respiratory support, or both. Health authorities said more than half needed blood pressure support and five had to be put on a mechanical ventilator. We are learning that even though children are by and large mildly affected when it comes to COVID-19, that there can be situations that they are more severely affected, Barbot said May 5 in remarks to CBS News. And thank God in this situation we havent had any children who have died with this Kawasaki or Kawasaki-like illness. In his statement, Daskalakis urged parents who suspect the above-described inflammatory syndrome in their children to seek medical attention immediately, as early diagnosis and treatment of patients meeting full or partial criteria for Kawasaki disease is critical to preventing end-organ damage and other long-term complications. COVID-19 appears rare in children, and the vast majority of deaths due to the disease are in people with underlying conditions and the elderly. Mosquitoes carrying diseases such as dengue, zika and yellow fever could be common throughout parts of Europe by 2030 due to global warming, a study warns. Changes to traditional rainfall patterns and soaring temperatures will make more parts of the world viable homes for the mosquitoes. The insect, known by the scientific name Aedes aegypti as well as the common name 'yellow fever mosquito', currently only thrives in the world's hottest regions. But this range could expand from Africa, the Amazon and northern Australia to include Spain, Portugal, Greece and Turkey in the next decade. The ongoing invasion of China and the southern continental US will also be accelerated by around four miles per year by 2050. Scroll down for video Change to traditional rainfall patterns and soaring temperatures make more parts of the world viable homes for the bugs, known by the scientific name Aedes aegypti as well as the common name 'yellow fever mosquito' Modelling from Imperial College London and Tel Aviv University looked at what would happen to global temperatures as greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. The researchers investigated various scenarios based on current rates of emissions and a potential future where current emission rates are stymied. The study then looked at how these changes to the environment would influence the life cycle of the mosquitoes. Dr Kris Murray, from the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis in the School of Public Health and the Grantham Institute Climate Change and Environment at Imperial, said: 'This work helps reveal the potential long-term costs of failing to curb greenhouse gas emissions right now. 'Our results show that this species of mosquito has very likely already benefited from recent climate change across much of the world. But this increase in suitability is now also starting to accelerate. 'We predict that significant emissions cuts can help slow it down.' Researchers assessed various lab-based studies which grew mosquitoes at different temperatures to find out how they would cope in different environments. The team looked at the effect of temperature on A. aegypti as an egg, larvae, pupae and an adult. A piece of modelling software then worked out how many times the mosquito could reproduce and forecast its range through to the 2050s. Two potential futures were envisioned, one under business as usual conditions where emissions continue to be produced at the current rate, and another where the global emissions level drops. Pictured, a comparison picture between the prevalence of A. aegypti with data from the mid 2000s and the 50s. The pale and 'cool' colours reveal the mosquito has become more common recently This map shows a comparison between data from the mid 00s with predicted range of the mosquitoes in the mid 2050s under the 'business as usual' climate future, where the scientists predicted the world's temperatures if emissions continued at their current rates for three decades. It shows how the mosquito will be found throughout the world, including Europe According to the modelling, the ongoing mosquito invasion of China and the southern continental US will also be accelerated by around four miles per year by 2050 (pictured) Land-based insects are in serious decline Insect populations around the world are in flux, with land-based bugs seeing a dramatic decline over 30 years - whereas their water-based cousins are thriving. A team of scientists from around the world made their findings by analysing 166 long-term survey of insects from 1,676 sites worldwide. They used their data to track populations of insects going as far back as 1925 and found expanding towns could be blamed for the decline in land-dwelling bugs. In contrast, the increase by more than a third in populations of water-based insects could be down to environmentally friendly water policies protecting habitats. The massive study found that, while numbers of insects varied wildly from place to place - even among nearby sites, global averages showed significant drops. Advertisement The results suggest that between 1950 and 2000, the world became 1.5 per cent per decade 'more suitable' for A. aegypti. Future predictions show this could increase to 3.2 percent per decade for the emissions-control scenario and 4.4 per cent per decade for the business as usual scenario by 2050. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, found insects could also exist for longer periods every year due to the warmer temperatures. Higher peaks of growth and longer growing seasons would see them flourish for long bouts of time. This means the areas currently afflicted with the insects will be even harder hit than they are currently, increasing the exposure of people to the potentially deadly diseases carried by the mosquitoes. Lead author Dr Takuya Iwamura from Tel Aviv University said: 'By translating biological knowledge from the laboratory into maps of environmental suitability through time, we think our approach can provide locally specific and policy-relevant insights for mosquito and possibly disease management under a changing climate.' Why are the national media and Canadians putting up with the parliamentary lockdown imposed by Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party of Canada? In this time of unprecedented pandemic Trudeau and the Liberal Party along with their pals in the NDP and the Bloq have voted to shutdown the Canadian parliament to a one day a week sitting to address the concerns of our nation. Are you kidding? Seriously one day a week to discuss the nations affairs of the day. Shame! Our front line workers and essential services people are showing up for their jobs on a daily basis and hear praises from afar about how wonderful they are to show up for work. Why wouldnt Justin Trudeau and his government have the same courage and leadership to do the same? Today, May 6, the House of Commons will have a sitting. Our Prime Minister has chosen not to attend as he will be attending the service for the six Canadian military personnel recently killed serving our nation. Perhaps that service could have been held a different day or our Prime Minister could have chosen someone else to attend on behalf of our government. The Governor General perhaps. I do not want anyone to think I am being disrespectful to our military that is not my point. Mr. Trudeau has chosen to use this exercise as a public relations drama event rather than having the courage to discuss the orders of the day in Canada. Many thousands of people across Canada who have lost loved ones or are struggling to make ends meet may have the same opinion. Justin Trudeau will return to his bunker in Ottawa to hide away once more from the Canadian electorate. Canadians deserve better. Patrick Boyle, Kelowna New Music Community App Globally Empowers Independent Musicians, Promotes Music Discovery & Live Interaction with Fans SINGAPORE, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Soundfyr (pronounced, Sound-fire), a global music community championing original independent music founded by renowned Radio DJ and producer, fyr aka doctormix, to support independent young musicians worldwide in 'Any Language, Any Genre', has amassed 350,000 downloads in the first month of its worldwide launch. Launched on 1st April 2020, Soundfyr is a new music community app designed to promote and introduce regional talents to the world through an intuitive set of social networking tools designed for anyone and everyone interested in music. From Music Teachers, Conductors and Guitar Technicians, Sound Engineers to Jam Studios, AV Rental Companies and Event Organisers, all are welcome to join, connect, share and enjoy a new world of music. Through the uniquely created, multi-language homepage, young artists and users can post their latest and original lyrical creations, get social on 'The Wall', post photos/songs/videos, comment, share and collect 'Superloves' (Soundfyr's version of Likes). As artists shoot to fame, they can be contacted directly through 'Chatify' on the app by fans, gig promoters, event companies, record labels, or even other artists to perform in a concert or collaborate. Soundfyr also creates original content. Soundfyr Original Shows include 'Soundfyr Represents' a feature supported by Samsung Singapore, Spotlight Series, Selfie Video Interviews, and 'Amplifyr Daily' which promotes Musicians and Talents within the Soundfyr community. "Soundfyr puts musicians first," said fyr, Founder of Soundfyr, "having experienced the music industry from a young age, I know how incredibly difficult it can be for young aspiring musicians. We want to create something with soul, from the heart and provide young artists with an equal shot at success. No matter your circumstances or where you are in the world. To see that the current community support this initiative is fantastic. We hope more people can benefit from our platform and make their dreams a reality." Before the worldwide launch of the app, Soundfyr, raised almost US$2 million in stages with Sound 360 & venture company CATALYST+ and will be going into Pre-Series A funding soon. The app has already got off to a flying start with downloads in the US, the Philippines, Russia, and India. "After a strong start, we will start ramping up and raising funds to grow our music platform, increase functionality and keep evolving our initiative to the benefit of young musicians," added fyr. Soundfyr is available in 10 languages: English, Thai, Simplified Chinese, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish & French, with more Languages to be added soon. Download the Soundfyr app for FREE today from: Google Play The App Store www.Soundfyr.com About fyr (aka doctormix) Prior to developing the Soundfyr app, fyr spent the last 30 years building his career as a heavyweight in the corporate events and music industry, playing for Singapore's Top English Radio Stations like Class 95 as doctormix and 98.7FM as a Radio DJ. A venerated music producer and pioneer in the radio and DJ scene, having syndicated his own radio show to 100 cities across the globe. He has won many awards and accolades for his contribution to the music industry. fyr was also in a rock band signed by EMI records with members from the US, Russia & Singapore. The band found success playing at renowned venues such as Johnny Depp's Viper Room, was featured on MTV & Radio Stations globally, and played alongside Puddle of Mudd, Tommy Lee, JET, and more at festivals worldwide. About Soundfyr Soundfyr. A Global Home for Musicians, Fans, Talents & Professionals in the Music Industry, Music Related Businesses, Gigs, Interviews & More. Available now on Google Play & The App Store. Soundfyr, My Life, My Music! Any Language, Any Genre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA01k1l9nYA&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MZx4gk2dos&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJHymwoWyuw&feature=youtu.be For Media Enquiries, please contact fyr Founder & CEO Soundfyr fyr@soundfyr.com +65 98289412 +65 69206FYR Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1164566/image_5010703_16921351.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1164567/1.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1164568/2.jpg This special edition of the show features John Hinderaker joining me today as co-host, and then we have a side order of Scott Johnson at the end. Yesterday Facebook announced the creation of a 20-member oversight board that some media accounts describe as a supreme court to advise and in some cases rule on what kind of material can be taken down from the popular global site. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been talking about this idea for a while, saying saying in 2018 that he wanted to create some sort of structure, almost like a Supreme Court for users to get a final judgment call on what is acceptable speech. Two members of the oversight board caught our immediate attention as both are long time friend and readers of Power Line: Michael McConnell of Stanford Law School, who will co-chair the oversight board along with Helle Thorning-Schmidt, a former prime minister of Denmark; and John Samples of the Cato Institute. And we were fortunate to get both Mike and John to join us today to walk through how the oversight board will operate, and what kind of free speech law and principles should apply to a global platform. But waittheres more! In the middle of our taping the news broke that the Justice Department had dropped the prosecution of General Michael Flynn, despite Flynn having pled guilty to charges way back in 2017. So we got Scott on the line, since he has been following the case and updating readers on a daily basis as the Justice Department case against Flynn unraveled, to give his reaction and sum up this scandalous episode, offering some speculation about what might be the next shoe to drop. And now you know what to do next: Listen here, or download the show from our hosts at Ricochet, or from your favorite podcast platform. [May 07, 2020] Privacy guardians issue joint statement on COVID-19 contact tracing applications GATINEAU, QC, May 7, 2020 /CNW/ - Federal, provincial and territorial privacy guardians today issued the following joint statement calling on governments to ensure that COVID-19 contact tracing applications respect key privacy principles: Supporting public health, building public trust: Privacy principles for contact tracing and similar apps Joint Statement by Federal, Provincial and Territorial Privacy Commissioners1 May 7, 2020 The safety and security of Canadians is of grave concern in the current COVID-19 health crisis. The urgency of limiting the spread of the virus is a significant challenge for government and public health authorities, who are looking for ways to leverage personal information to contain and gain insights about the novel virus and the global threat it presents. In this context, we may see more extraordinary measures being contemplated. Some of these measures will have significant implications for privacy and other fundamental rights. The choices that our governments make today about how to achieve both public health protection and respect for our fundamental Canadian values, including the right to privacy, will shape the future of our country. One of the measures currently being contemplated or already being implemented in some jurisdictions within Canada and around the world is the launch of smart phone apps as a public health tool. Many of these apps are either for the purposes of contact tracing or for purposes of notifying individuals of the fact that they have been in close proximity of someone who has been confirmed or is assessed as likely to be a carrier of COVID-19, in order to help prevent further spread of the virus. Commissioners felt it important to issue a common statement to Canadians because these applications raise important privacy risks. While applicable privacy laws must be observed, some of them do not provide an effective level of protection suited to the digital environment, as was highlighted in a joint resolution last fall. This is why we invite our respective governments, insofar as they plan to use contact-tracingapplications, to respect at least the following principles: Consent and trust: The use of apps must be voluntary. This will be indispensable to building public trust. Trust will also require that governments demonstrate a high level of transparency and accountability. The use of apps must be voluntary. This will be indispensable to building public trust. Trust will also require that governments demonstrate a high level of transparency and accountability. Legal authority: The proposed measures must have a clear legal basis and consent must be meaningful. Separate consent must be provided for all specific public health purposes intended. Personal information should not be accessible or compellable by service providers or other organizations. The proposed measures must have a clear legal basis and consent must be meaningful. Separate consent must be provided for all specific public health purposes intended. Personal information should not be accessible or compellable by service providers or other organizations. Necessity and Proportionality: Measures must be necessary and proportionate and, therefore, be science-based, necessary for a specific purpose, tailored to that purpose and likely to be effective. To assist in determining whether the measure in question is justifiable in the circumstances, governments should consider the following: Measures must be necessary and proportionate and, therefore, be science-based, necessary for a specific purpose, tailored to that purpose and likely to be effective. To assist in determining whether the measure in question is justifiable in the circumstances, governments should consider the following: Necessity: the public health purpose or purposes underlying a measure must be evidence-based and defined with some specificity. Is the purpose to notify users and advise them to take certain actions? Is it to assist public health authorities to better understand local conditions for resource allocation purposes? Is it for another purpose? the public health purpose or purposes underlying a measure must be evidence-based and defined with some specificity. Is the purpose to notify users and advise them to take certain actions? Is it to assist public health authorities to better understand local conditions for resource allocation purposes? Is it for another purpose? Proportionality: the measure should be carefully tailored in a way that is rationally connected to the specific purpose(s) to be achieved, the measure should be carefully tailored in a way that is rationally connected to the specific purpose(s) to be achieved, Effectiveness: the measure must be likely to be effective at achieving the defined purpose(s), and, the measure must be likely to be effective at achieving the defined purpose(s), and, Minimal intrusiveness: while the least intrusive option for the intended purpose should be chosen, and data minimization should be applied, where that cannot be achieved or demonstrated, governments should clearly communicate the rationale for the level of personal information that they need to collect. while the least intrusive option for the intended purpose should be chosen, and data minimization should be applied, where that cannot be achieved or demonstrated, governments should clearly communicate the rationale for the level of personal information that they need to collect. Purpose Limitation: Personal information must be used for its intended public health purpose, and for no other purpose. Personal information must be used for its intended public health purpose, and for no other purpose. De-identification: De-identified or aggregate data should be used whenever possible, unless it will not achieve the defined purpose. Consideration should be given to the risk of re-identification, which can be heightened in the case of location data. De-identified or aggregate data should be used whenever possible, unless it will not achieve the defined purpose. Consideration should be given to the risk of re-identification, which can be heightened in the case of location data. Time-Limitation: Exceptional measures should be time-limited: any personal information collected during this period should be destroyed when the crisis ends, and the application decommissioned. Exceptional measures should be time-limited: any personal information collected during this period should be destroyed when the crisis ends, and the application decommissioned. Transparency: Government should be clear about the basis and the terms applicable to exceptional measures. Canadians should be fully informed about the information to be collected, how it will be used, who will have access to it, where it will be stored, how it will be securely retained and when it will be destroyed. Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) or meaningful privacy analysis should be completed, reviewed by Privacy Commissioners, and a plain-language summary published proactively. Government should be clear about the basis and the terms applicable to exceptional measures. Canadians should be fully informed about the information to be collected, how it will be used, who will have access to it, where it will be stored, how it will be securely retained and when it will be destroyed. Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) or meaningful privacy analysis should be completed, reviewed by Privacy Commissioners, and a plain-language summary published proactively. Accountability: Governments should develop and make public an ongoing monitoring and evaluation plan concerning the effectiveness of these initiatives and commit to publicly posting the evaluation report within a specific timeline. Oversight by an independent third-party such as review and implementation monitoring by a privacy commissioner's office will help ensure accountability and reinforce public trust. While some privacy commissioners have the legal authority to conduct independent audits, it is encouraged that others be given this mandate by government through appropriate means. If effectiveness of the application cannot be demonstrated, it should be decommissioned and any personal information collected should be destroyed. Governments should develop and make public an ongoing monitoring and evaluation plan concerning the effectiveness of these initiatives and commit to publicly posting the evaluation report within a specific timeline. Oversight by an independent third-party such as review and implementation monitoring by a privacy commissioner's office will help ensure accountability and reinforce public trust. While some privacy commissioners have the legal authority to conduct independent audits, it is encouraged that others be given this mandate by government through appropriate means. If effectiveness of the application cannot be demonstrated, it should be decommissioned and any personal information collected should be destroyed. Safeguards: Appropriate legal and technical security safeguards, including strong contractual measures with developers, must be put in place to ensure that any non-authorized parties do not access data and not to be used for any purpose other than its intended public health purpose. Authorities must ensure the public are aware of associated risks and threats (e.g. online fraud or malware). __________________________________________ 1 The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta is reviewing a privacy impact assessment for the ABTraceTogether app that was recently launched in Alberta, and will provide recommendations directly to the Government of Alberta. Provincial and territorial privacy oversight offices SOURCE Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The state of Alabama sued Tyson Foods on Thursday over a 2019 wastewater spill that caused the largest recorded fish kill in the state. The Alabama attorney generals office filed the suit, saying Tyson was negligent by causing a public nuisance, AL.com reported. A pipe failure at the Tyson plant caused over 200,000 gallons of insufficiently-treated wastewater to flow into the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River, leading to the death of around 175,000 fish, the attorney generals office said. A statement from Attorney General Steve Marshall said the office wants the state and the community to be compensated for damages done to the environment. Tyson Foods spokesman Worth Sparkman said the company was disappointed with the states decision to file the lawsuit. Sparkman said the company has tried for months to work with the state, offering to initiate conservation and community projects including river access in the area of the accidental release. On June 8, a pipe failed at the River Valley Ingredients poultry processing facility in Hanceville, sending huge amounts of partially treated wastewater into the river, the paper reported. Described as the largest poultry rendering facility in the country, the facility would take parts of chicken not desired for human consumption and turn it into animal and pet feed. The wastewater largely contained organic poultry material, which later caused bacteria in the water to increase, depriving the fish of oxygen. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources said the reported number of fish killed was conservative considering direct counting wasnt possible. Tyson said an outside contractor poorly installed temporary piping, which caused the spill. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits Alabama Many governments and academics around the world are calling for widespread or even universal testing for SARS-CoV-2, "the coronavirus." Before endorsing, it's worthwhile becoming familiar with the clever stratagem of eighteenth-century Presbyterian minister Thomas Bayes. It wouldn't be the first time his calculations will have come in handy: Alan Turing used Bayesian probabilities to help crack the Nazi Enigma Code. Reverend Bayes died without knowing the value his statistical speculation would bring to the world but people, examining posthumous notebooks, realized he'd discovered a fascinating trick of statistics. Simply put, he calculated that the likelihood of an outcome's occurring depends on the background incidence of that outcome. For example, is that potted palm real or fake? Beware of being fooled by its lush green leaves; the likelihood that it contains chlorophyll instead of green dye depends on whether you're outdoors in Miami or in a corridor of a Chicago high rise. The body of statistics Thomas Bayes wrapped around this phenomenon deservedly carries his name. Bayes's Theorem stress-tests proposed coronavirus widespread-testing policy yet outside data sciences, it's been nowhere mentioned during this crisis. Since no diagnostic test can be 100% accurate, results are a probability game. If you're in London or New York, the ensuing number of false COVID-19 diagnoses is inconvenient but relatively small. But Bayes, peering through the centuries, demonstrates that the ratio of false results balloons when we extensively test symptomless people in communities with a low incidence of COVID-19. Bayes's greatest import occurs twice: as populations enter into and leave coronavirus-active phases. At those times of low disease prevalence, test imperfections are magnified, causing more "positive" tests than naively expected, bringing "false alarm" panics early on and inappropriate delays to normalcy after the fact. Why is that? Although "a rose is a rose is a rose," not every positive is positively positive. Modern laboratory tests carry "sensitivity" and "specificity" ratings of ~9099%. Sensitivity is "high" if the process finds nearly every truly sought object. Specificity is the mirror ability to eliminate genuine negatives. Societies value sensitivity over specificity accepting, for instance, the TSA's occasionally mislabeling a harmless suitcase over allowing an actual bomb. In peacetime, false triggers vastly outnumber true threats. Similarly, the same coronavirus test has different meanings in different contexts. To demonstrate, we're (briefly) going to be like the TSA, in two vastly different circumstances: wartime Baghdad, peacetime Kalamazoo. Let's assume that our "sensitivity" is nearly perfect: every genuine device, we can positively identify as a bomb. Our "specificity" isn't quite as high, because mundane electrical items have similar patterns, and bombs are designed to look mundane. But, let's say we're pretty good: 95% of the time we think we've found one, we correctly identified it as real. Conversely, 5% of items scanned are mistakenly deemed threats. At a time in which Baghdad-bombs are fairly common (here 35% of total luggage), nearly all (87.5%) of our positive identifications will be accurate (Figure 1). Figure 1: More true positives per false-positive test in high prevalence testing. Conversely, a situation where only 1% of Kalamazoo-luggage is dangerous presents a far different scenario. Searching 100 pieces, our "high sensitivity" finds the real one (~99% of the time) but (as before) mistakenly misidentifies as "real" 5% of general items (given our 95%- specificity). With a low prevalence of devices, we wind up with the overwhelming majority of positive-IDs not the real deal (Figure 2). Figure 2: Fewer true positives per false-positive test in low-prevalence testing. A Baghdad "positive" ID is almost always an actual threat; Kalamazoo's are nearly entirely false alarms. Let's refocus on the coronavirus. Imagine twin sisters testing COVID-19-positive. Jean's a NYC front-line nurse; Jennifer's back home in rural Michigan. Performing the same test on (essentially) the same person, merely at different locations, most everyone would assume that Jean and Jennifer equally likely corona-infected. But, while coronavirus-epicenter NYC's prevalence rate approximates "Baghdad's," relatively untouched rural Michigan's is...well, Kalamazoo's. Viewed through Bayes's prism, the same test's positive result nonetheless indicates to nearly the same level of certainty that Jean (Figure 1) has coronavirus infection and Jennifer (Figure 2) does not. The two sisters can commiserate, but they should temper their expectations accordingly and so should we. A suspicious-suitcase's resolution is perfunctory and swift. A "positive" coronavirus test's ramifications are upsetting and long-lasting not just for the individual, but for families and neighborhoods, producing weeks of potentially unnecessary self-quarantine and cascading financial implications. Universal testing, in the absence of a general likelihood of having the condition, entails havoc and upheaval in its indiscriminate wake. The best testing is performed with and for other reasons. Coronavirus testing is efficacious only where the disease is most likely to exist, and in those with documentable contact with active cases, or having symptoms themselves. There's one other potential caveat on testing. The coronavirus has been around as long as humans. Less famous than SARS and COVID-19, other benign coronaviruses constitute ~18% of "common colds." How many of those coronaviruses are floating around? Does COVID-19 testing exclude their confounding presence? The FDA won't approve tests unless this is the case, and companies so affirm but every (pre-coronavirus) SARS test did cross-react with benign coronaviruses. Additionally the determined accuracy levels emanate from closed-loop, reusable sample sets not the general population. Those percentage numbers are therefore unverified and frankly unverifiable in real time. These factors are not commonly addressed during the calls for universal testing, yet they should be. There's been enough confusion about numbers of cases without adding more. Dr. Bock is a Yale University and University of Rochester Medical Schooltrained primary care physician currently working in business development, biomedical devices, and angel investment. Loosely Defined National Security Gives FBI Broad Powers to Spy on Americans News Analysis As evidence mounts that the FBI has engaged in questionable, and even illegal, surveillance on Americans, experts and lawmakers are questioning whether the bureau has been given too much leeway over whom it can single out for investigation and surveillance. As a general rule, the FBI investigates federal crimes. But it also has the power to target Americans for threatening national security, a term with broad political meaning. In fact, national security doesnt have much of a legal definition. Each president sets a national security framework that reflects his policy priorities. The FBI enjoys broad latitude to open investigations into national security matters. It only needs an articulable factual basis that reasonably indicates an activity constituting a threat to national security may occur, and the investigation may obtain information relating to it (pdf). Once an investigation had been opened, the bureau not only can deploy informants to spy on related targets, but also can query the National Security Agencys foreign intelligence database, which commonly sweeps up communications of Americans in its collection. Only in recent years has the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court forced the FBI to include an explanation with each query on why it was deemed useful in returning foreign intelligence information or evidence of a crime. So what is a threat to national security? Anything that threatens the independence and sovereignty of the nation, said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert Spalding, the former senior director for strategic planning at the National Security Council and co-author of President Donald Trumps 2017 National Security Strategy. A 1956 Supreme Court opinion in Cole v. Young defined national security as those activities of the Government that are directly concerned with the protection of the Nation from internal subversion or foreign aggression, and not those which contribute to the strength of the Nation only through their impact on the general welfare. The description, however, only applied to the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950. In practice, each administration issues every few years its own National Security Strategy, which generally enumerates the presidents national security priorities. The document commonly includes matters only indirectly related to the independence and sovereignty of the nation. Trumps strategy, for instance, has a goal to reduce regulatory burden. Onerous regulations impede research and development, discourage hiring, and incentivize domestic businesses to move overseas, which, in turn, affects national security, according to the document. Another goal was to promote tax reform, with the aim of boosting the competitiveness of U.S. companies and encouraging them to return their operations from overseasa goal linked to national security. The 2015 National Security Strategy of President Barack Obama includes priorities that appear far removed from Spaldings definition of national security. One subchapter is dedicated to a historic opportunity to end extreme poverty within a generation. It says that lifting people out of extreme poverty overseas increases their purchasing power, which then allows American companies to sell them goods, improving the U.S. economy, which then benefits national security. Achieving such a goal would also decrease the need for costly military interventions, the document states. The United States has intervened militarily in a number of less-developed countries in recent decades, mainly in the Middle East and northern Africa. Yet nearly all of the poorest countries are in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, and pose little threat to the United States, let alone necessitate costly military interventions. The document also assigns high priority to mobilizing the international community to meet the urgent challenges posed by climate change. A subchapter dedicated to the goal of confronting climate change, calls it an urgent and growing threat to our national security. The document attributes climate change to a wide range of phenomena, including refugee flows, water conflicts, sea levels, storm surges, and natural disasters, implying that the economic impact of climate change has an effect on national security. The broad and mutable definition of national security is why Congress shouldnt delegate to the president powers conditioned on the term, according to Matt Pinsker, adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and expert on national security and constitutional law. Everything can some way or another be connected to national security, he told The Epoch Times. On the other hand, he cautioned against imposing too many limitations on law enforcements ability to begin investigations. There are rules in place to be followed, he said, but a lot of things just come down to a matter of human judgmentIs this a national security issue? Does this person pose a threat?which is why we ought to have the right people with the right training. Broadening the definition of national security is dangerous, he said, mainly because it can be used by the government to wrest for itself more power over the populace. Liam Glynn, Professor of General Practice at UL and a GP in Ballyvaughan in Clare, has said Ireland should be aiming to crush the Covid curve rather than just flatten it. We have come a huge, long way towards flattening the curve. Recent figures do seem to be dropping, but the question now is where are we going? What are we aiming for? We need to be talking about crushing, not flattening the curve, he told Newstalk Breakfast. As an island Ireland has the opportunity to stamp down the coronavirus to a really low level, he added. Or are we just happy to get it to an acceptable level where it is allowed to circulate? Cocooners would prefer to live in a society with as low a level of the virus as possible, where it is not a threat, he said. This is not a small challenge. Does society just throw up its hands, he asked. Is it going to control us rather than us controlling it? Comparisons with New Zealand were not fair, he said given its remote location and the fact that it was not part of an organisation like the European Union. We have the advantage of being an island, we can do trade safely, but it will take some level of border patrol to stop cases from coming onto the island. There are things we can do safely. Prof. Glynn said he had faith in the ability of humans to adapt and survive. I want to put my money on the human race and my faith in the Irish nation. There can be a safer environment through a new way of living with social distancing and face covering in crowds. That is something to aim for. Antoinette Carolina Ragazzino Bianchini has gone by many names over the years, but to Pleasantville, New York, locals, she's simply known as "Mima." "That's what everyone calls her around here," Bianchini's granddaughter Jenn Sparano said. "She's kind of a celebrity in our community." The mother of three, grandmother of five and great-grandmother of seven normally likes to bake cheesecakes for the local fire department and make Tic Tok videos with her grandkids. But for the past seven weeks, she's been quarantined at home with Sparano alone due to the coronavirus crisis. PHOTO: Nettie Bianchini turned 98-years-old on April 30, 2020, so friends and family surprised her with a birthday parade to celebrate while social distancing. (Donna Mueller Photography) MORE: FedEx delivery man surprises little girl with cupcakes to celebrate her birthday "I thought I'd move in with her for a bit because she loves to sing, dance and be social," Sparano explained. "As you get older you lose sense of how important you are to people because so many loved ones pass away. I didn't want her to have to go through this quarantine alone." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines state older adults are at a higher risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19, and recommends that seniors "stay at home as much as possible." Bianchini turned 98 years old last Thursday, so naturally Sparano wanted her grandma's day to feel special while social distancing. She began texting family, friends and neighbors, asking loved ones to make signs for a drive-by parade to celebrate their favorite matriarch's milestone. PHOTO: Nettie Bianchini turned 98-years-old on April 30, 2020, so friends and family surprised her with a birthday parade to celebrate while social distancing. (Donna Mueller Photography) MORE: Teacher takes in newborn as parents recover from coronavirus The 20 cars lined up with banners, with drivers singing 'Happy Birthday' and honking. PHOTO: Nettie Bianchini turned 98-years-old on April 30, 2020, so friends and family surprised her with a birthday parade to celebrate while social distancing. (Donna Mueller Photography) Troopers from the local police department even stopped by with the fire chief, blaring patrol car sirens to honor Bianchini's big day. PHOTO: Nettie Bianchini turned 98-years-old on April 30, 2020, so friends and family surprised her with a birthday parade to celebrate while social distancing. (Donna Mueller Photography) "She just started to cry and goes, 'Everyone's making me feel so special, I haven't felt like this in so long," Sparano said. "Her entire face lit up and she was grinning ear-to-ear, waving at everyone that went by. It was great that she could see how many people around here care about her." Story continues PHOTO: Nettie Bianchini turned 98-years-old on April 30, 2020, so friends and family surprised her with a birthday parade to celebrate while social distancing. (Donna Mueller Photography) Sparano shared photos of the celebration in a Facebook post that has since received hundreds of likes and comments, all wishing "Mima" the best while quarantining. Neighbors help 'Mima' celebrate 98th birthday with parade originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a news conference at Rideau Cottage, as efforts continue to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on April 24, 2020. (Blair Gable/Reuters) Canada Will Help Fund Pay Hikes for Essential Workers OTTAWACanada and the countrys 10 provinces will boost pay for essential workers such as employees in seniors residences, which are linked to 80 percent of coronavirus deaths, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday. If youre risking your health to keep this country moving and youre making minimum wage, you deserve a raise, he told a daily briefing. The total number of COVID-19-related deaths in Canada rose by just over 4 percent to 4,280 on Thursday from 4,111 a day earlier, the public health agency said, further evidence that the outbreak has peaked. The number of positive diagnoses edged up to 63,895 from 62,458. Quebec, the province hardest hit by the coronavirus, has unveiled plans to gradually restart its economy but on Thursday pushed back for the second time the date when businesses can reopen in Montreal, Canadas second biggest city. Premier Francois Legault cited shortages of personnel in hospitals and said Quebec would offer higher pay to part-time medical workers to cover the shortfall. Montreal firms can now open on May 25, not May 11 as originally planned. Canadas military is increasing its support in Quebec and aims to have more than 1,350 members in 25 different homes in coming days, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan told reporters. Trudeau made his announcement a day before Statistics Canada releases unemployment data for April. Analysts say they expect around 4 million people to have lost their jobs after a record 1 million were thrown out of work in March. Under the deal with the provinces, Ottawa will contribute C$3 billion (US$2.1 billion), representing 75 percent of the total cost of the increased wages, the government said in a statement. Trudeau earlier told reporters the amount was C$4 billion. The provinces will be responsible for determining who is essential and how much they receive, he added. Ontario, Canadas most populous province, will slowly begin resuming elective and non-essential surgeries, Premier Doug Ford announced on Thursday, starting with the most urgent procedures such as cancer and cardiac surgeries. By David Ljunggren and Steve Scherer Israel threatens to shut down new evangelical GOD TV channel if it proselytizes Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A new evangelical Christian television channel in Israel has been threatened with being shut down if it engages in any type of missionary activity, according to Israeli media reports. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports that the international television network GOD TVs new Hebrew-language channel Shelanu began airing last week on Israels HOT cable network after receiving a seven-year license from the Israeli Communications Ministry. GOD TV CEO Ward Simpson announced the launch and declared that the network has been given government permission to broadcast the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Israel, something he said has never been done before. Proselytizing to people younger than 18 without their parents' consent is against the law in Israel, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. And under the terms of the Shelanu license, the network is forbidden from engaging in missionary activities. The Chairman of the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council, Asher Biton, told the newspaper that he was unaware when the license was granted to Shelanu that the new channel planned to engage in activities that are prohibited under the terms of the license. Biton told the newspaper that he has ordered an investigation into the channel. Biton was quoted as saying that if it's determined that the license terms have been violated or there is any intention to violate them, Shelanu would be shut down. According to our regulations, it is fine to broadcast religious programming, Biton was quoted as saying. [B]ut it is forbidden to broadcast content that has the potential to influence viewers in an undue fashion, and most certainly young and impressionable viewers. Biton said he doesn't want to rush to judgment because shutting down television networks isn't something the council does often. A HOT spokesperson told the newspaper that Shelanu is one of a number of religious channels that are broadcast in the country. It received a permit from the council and is broadcasting according to law, the spokesperson declared, adding that full information was provided to the council and the channel is operating in accordance with the permit it received. According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Communications Minister David Amsalem said he will not allow any missionary channel to operate in Israel, at no time and under no circumstances. Amsalem also demanded that if an investigation finds the channel to be engaging in missionary activities that it be removed immediately. The Christian Post reached out to GOD TV for comment on the reports. A response is pending. According to a statement from GOD TV, Shelanu translates to the word ours in Hebrew. The channel aims to present new and original programming from local congregations on the ground in Israel. Additionally, international Messianic voices will share powerful real-life testimonies of Israelis who have come to know Yeshua as Messiah, the statement reads. The channel, which wont carry fundraising, is being financed by Christians across the globe who want to empower Messianic congregations. The GOD TV statement also states that Shelanu wants every person in Israel to know, not a foreign Messiah, but a Jewish one! His name is Yeshua and He has not forgotten His people, the statement adds. Shelanu is operated in partnership with Tikkun International, an Israel-based network of Christian ministries. We want Jewish viewers to grasp the fact that Jesus is theirs, a statement from Tikkun International on the new channel reads. He is not a foreigner, intruder or imposter. He is their Jewish Messiah, born in Israel, raised as a Jew. According to the news outlets, other Christian channels such as Daystar and Middle East Television also broadcast in Israel but do not flaunt their missionary activities. A German journalist has accused former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing of repeatedly grabbing her during an interview, and filed a sexual assault complaint with Paris prosecutors, according to French and German news reports. Giscard's French lawyer said Thursday that the 94-year-old former president retains "no memory" of the incident. Giscard was president of France from 1974-1981. German broadcaster WDR reported Wednesday night that it investigated the alleged misconduct after the journalist interviewed Giscard for WDR in December 2018. The journalist said Giscard grabbed her buttocks three times and she tried to push his hand away, according to reports by French daily Le Monde and German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung. WDR said it asked lawyers to investigate, and then sent a protest letter to Giscard last year saying, we cannot tolerate our employees being confronted with such situations. The journalist filed a legal complaint this March with Paris prosecutors, the reports said. The prosecutor's office would not comment Thursday. In a statement to The Associated Press, Giscard's lawyer Jean-Marc Fedida suggested possible legal retaliation against a particularly undignified and offensive media (attack)" around the accusation. According to Le Monde, the journalist didn't file a complaint right away because she didn't understand enough about the French justice system, but later changed her mind in part thanks to inspiration from the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct. Workers in a paper mill in Raigarh were exposed to a gas leak reportedly while cleaning a tank in the early hours of Thursday. As many as seven workers of a paper mill in Chhattigarh's Raigarh were hospitalised after being exposed to a gas leakage while reportedly cleaning a tank in the mill in the early hours of Thursday, the district's Superintendent of Police (SP) Santosh Singh told ANI. Three of them are in a critical condition, the SP said. "The interrogation of the mill owner is underway. The incident was reported in the early hours of Thursday," he added. Times Now also quoted Singh as saying that the paper mill owner did not inform the police about the leak, who got to know about the incident from the hospital where those exposed are admitted. The official said that a case will be registered in the matter. This is the second incident of gas poisoning to have occurred on Thursday. Earlier in the day, Styrene gas leaked from the LG Polymers factory in RR Venkatapuram village in Visakhapatnam, claiming 11 lives. Nearly 1,000 people have been exposed to the gas and styrene has leaked out of the factory, according to the NDMA. With inputs from ANI National Travel and Tourism Week (NTTW), the annual celebration of the contributions and accomplishments of the U.S. travel industry, will spotlight resilience and hope in the face of the coronavirus pandemic with this years theme: the Spirit of Travel. Celebrated annually the first full week in May, NTTW was created by Congress in 1983 to underscore the economic power of travel in the U.S. The 37th NTTW (May 3-9) arrives at an opportune moment to unite the industry, celebrate its indomitable spirit and elevate the role it will play in Americas economic recovery. Through every hardship, I find myself in awe of the travel industrys ability to join together, adapt, and emerge stronger than before, said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow. This is our toughest challenge yet, but what Ive seen is that the spirit of travel has not been shattered. Reliancy lies in the heart of how we adapt and overcome adversity, said Jennifer Costa, Executive Director of Elizabeths tourism initiative. The Elizabeth Destination Marketing Organization is engaging in innovative unique examples like virtually supporting all of its community and local businesses including but not limited to its awesome tourist assets of hotels, attractions, and dining venues through this unprecedented time. The tourism office, in partnership with the Greater Elizabeth Chamber of Commerce and the City of Elizabeth, is all working closely together to empower local businesses, ensuring they are up to date with the latest information on relief assistance and reopening preparedness strategies. The weather is getting warmer and the trees are blossoming, however, the streets are still fairly empty due to the unprecedented times we are in and the travel restrictions put into place, said Mayor J. Christian Bollwage of Elizabeth, NJ. Our residents and visitors health remains a top priority for us, but we will overcome this pandemic and we will get back to normal. When we do, our restaurants and stores will be booming, our hotels will be filled, and our historic attractions and other amenities will be well-visited. As the fourth largest city in New Jersey, we have so much to offer and we cannot wait until we can show those who visit; until then, stay safe and stay healthy. We are Elizabeth. # # # Please visit https://www.goelizabethnj.com/nttw/ to learn more about EDMOs NTTW plans and visit ustravel.org/NTTW to learn more about the week. Gadkari informed that he has directed the ministry officials to finalise the auto scrapping policy quickly, and said it will go a long way in cost reduction. New Delhi: The government is planning to build highways worth Rs 15 lakh crore in the next two years, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday. The road transport, highways and MSME minister also said that the auto scrapping policy is likely to be finalised soon. In a video conference with the members of SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) Institute over impact of COVID-19 on the automobile sector, the minister suggested to focus on enhancing liquidity in business, as ups and downs are common. He stressed that one needs to plan for bad times while working for growth and added that the industry should focus more on innovation, technology and research skill to become competitive in global market. "I have set a target of constructing roads worth Rs 15 lakh crore in the next two years," Gadkari said, adding that his ministry is working overtime to clear all arbitration cases with concessionaires. The minister informed that he has directed the ministry officials to finalise the auto scrapping policy quickly, and said it will go a long way in cost reduction. He also suggested exploring cheaper credits, including foreign capital for enhancing liquidity in the automobile manufacturing sector. On the question of BS-IV vehicles, he said the government is bound by the Supreme Court verdict on the same. However, on industry suggestion, he will get the matter examined afresh. Regarding relaxations sought on other regulations, Gadkari stated that he will endeavour to provide relief wherever possible where industry is seeking extension of time. Click here to follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak Gadkari responded to the questions from representatives and assured all possible help from the government. He informed that he would take up the issues at the appropriate level in the government and other departments. The video conference was also attended by the Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways VK Singh and Secretary, Road Transport and Highways Giridhar Aramane, among other senior officials. During this interaction, members expressed concerns regarding various challenges being faced by industry amid COVID-19 pandemic along with few suggestions and requested support from the government to keep the sector afloat. Shares of HCL Technologies gave up all its early gains and closed nearly 2 percent lower on Thursday due to profit-booking New Delhi: Shares of HCL Technologies gave up all its early gains and closed nearly 2 percent lower on Thursday due to profit-booking. In the early trade, it had jumped over 4 percent after the company posted 22.8 percent rise in its consolidated net profit for the March quarter. On the BSE, the scrip which advanced 4.38 percent to Rs 542.40 during the day, later witnessed profit-booking and closed at Rs 511.80, down 1.50 percent. On the NSE, it closed at Rs 510.50, a decline of 1.65 percent after rising 4.37 percent to Rs 541.80 during the day. On traded volume terms, 6.32 lakh shares were traded at the BSE and about 2 crore units on the NSE during the day. Earlier in the day, the IT firm posted 22.8 percent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 3,154 crore for the March quarter driven by strong growth across verticals. It had registered a net profit of Rs 2,568 crore in the January-March 2019 quarter, HCL said in a regulatory filing. Its revenue grew 16.3 percent to Rs 18,590 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 15,990 crore in the corresponding quarter last year, as per the US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). For FY20, HCL Tech''s consolidated net profit increased 9.3 percent to Rs 11,062 crore, while revenue grew 17 percent to Rs 70,678 crore from the previous financial year. Like its peers, Infosys and Wipro, HCL Technologies has refrained from offering revenue guidance amid uncertainties on account of COVID-19 pandemic. Slidell High School senior Georgia Peck was preparing to don her cap and gown Monday for a day she had long regarded as the pinnacle of her high school career: Graduation. Graduating means youve done it, youre moving on to the next chapter, she said. But the 18-year-old, like everyone else in the Class of 2020, knew that the special day was going be far different than what she had imagined. Coronavirus has not only claimed thousands of lives, it has forced everyone to change how they work, play and mark major life milestones. And for this year's seniors, celebrating the passage to the next next chapter has become a lesson in flexibility and creativity. Take Peck and her classmates, for instance. Instead of marching across a stage to receive a diploma, surrounded by her friends and hounded by parents with cameras, Peck and the other seniors were part of car parade around Slidell Highs campus her father at the wheel, her mother in the backseat and Georgia riding shotgun, waving at cheering teachers clad in their academic regalia. In the end, the Slidell students and their teachers were able to make the most of end-of-school-year plans in this age of fear and uncertainty, when coronavirus-related social distancing orders put a damper on everything from parties and trips to college enrollment plans. Cognizant of how its seniors were feeling as traditions like senior trips and picnics fall by the wayside, dozens of schools across metro New Orleans have organized poster displays, highway billboard messages -- even virtual proms and drive-through celebrations to salvage some of what's been lost to the pandemic. Im so happy we at least get to do this, Peck said after the ceremony Monday night. Slidell High School chorus teacher Melanie St. Cyr was one of those waving signs as a recording of each seniors name, with the strains of Pomp and Circumstance in the background, played over a sound system. It was one of the coolest things, she said. Similar non-traditional celebrations have been popping up across the region for weeks. Faculty at KIPP New Orleans high schools, Sophie B. Wright High School and others arranged for surprise visits from faculty, created yard displays with giant senior photos, and held virtual "senior assemblies" with famous guest speakers. At Lusher, students got virtual performances from Grammy-nominated artists like Big Freedia, and a tribute in the form of a large mural painted by Brandan "B-mike" Odums. At International High School of Louisiana, officials arranged for a virtual Senior International Baccalaureate Virtual Art Show for students to showcase their work. More celebrations are yet to come in the Crescent City. Lusher, for example, is planning an elaborate "senior stroll" on May 23, where the graduates will drive decorated cars through various neighborhoods where families will cheer for them on their porches before they collect diplomas one by one from school. Lusher principal Steve Corbett said it's an effort to keep morale as high as possible for a group of students that deserved more. "We have to keep mental health at forefront, which is why we're trying to do these assemblies and create these moments for seniors," he said. "I dont want to minimize the fact this is very real and been very tough." 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 In Jefferson Parish, most schools were creating social media campaigns for seniors, complete with photos and quotes, and were busy planning graduations the district still hopes can be held later in the summer. The inaugural graduating class for Kenner Discovery Health Sciences Academy will celebrate in mid-June, for example, at a ceremony modeled after a drive-in theater to comply with socially distant guidelines. We are really excited about it, said Head of School Patty Glaser. We are determined to give our seniors an unforgettable celebration to honor their accomplishments and celebrate their future." In St. John the Baptist Parish, high schools hosted "academic signing" days, where seniors signed a board and named the college they chose. The district has plans for a virtual prom, with DJ's playing music, on Facebook and Instagram. This weekend, St. Charles officials have scheduled "Be the Light Night," an event where seniors will drive through schools' parking lots with stadium lights on for their final sendoff, while faculty and staff cheer them on from a distance. St. Charles Superintendent Ken Oertling said he had started passing out senior pins to the more than 600 graduates, and students had gotten a chance to visit teachers at school, too. "We had several students get very emotional when they saw their teachers," said Hahnville High School principal Brian Lumar. "It brings them back to a sense of normalcy, to do these things." Officials in several parishes, including St. Tammany, say they're still committed to having traditional commencement ceremony for this years crop of graduates, planned for anytime between June and August. Whether those commencement ceremonies can be held, of course, remains a question. St. Bernard Parish school officials said they would do small-group ceremonies for a few families at a time. And several also said they had prepared for virtual graduation and some had already taped speeches. NOLA Public Schools, for instance, said they planned a virtual address over the district's television channel. But others said it was important to celebrate seniors now -- not to wait for the possibility of a traditional graduation that may or may not happen in the summer. +32 Photos: Slidell High holds graduation parade to honor 2020 grads during coronavirus pandemic Graduation plans, derailed by the deadly coronavirus pandemic, have evolved as schools scramble for ways to honor members of the Class of 2020 "The reality is we are trying to make a certain moment in uncertain times," Corbett said. "At this point I'm not willing to roll the dice by not holding something in person that can validate academic careers and successes." Back on the north shore, Johnny Vitrano, principal of Fontainebleau High School near Mandeville, agreed that recognition is important. His school held a drive-by for seniors and spring athletes and earlier a neighborhood organized a cap and gown parade that was bumper to bumper, he said. Anything we can do to recognize these kids is important, Vitrano said. They are missing out on a huge milestone in their life.This group of seniors was born when the world was gripped with 9/11, and now they are graduating when the world is gripped by a pandemic. Residents from St. Joseph's Senior Home are helped onto buses in Woodbridge, N.J., Wednesday, March 25. More than 90 residents of the nursing home were transferred to a facility in Whippany after 24 tested positive for COVID-19, according to a spokeswoman for CareOne, which operates the facility. Read more COVID-19 is ravaging nursing homes throughout the nation, with staggering impact in New Jersey. As of May 4, 508 long term care facilities in New Jersey reported 22,061 confirmed cases, with 4,010 COVID-related deaths, accounting for over half of deaths from coronavirus in the state. The residents, their families and loved ones, and the providers who care for them are all victims of this sweeping pandemic. The stress and fear of contracting the virus, the 24/7 demands of providing medical and nursing care to very sick nursing facility residents, and adjusting to day-to-day challenges like shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), testing kits, staff, and inadequate training and monitoring of infection control practices make the jobs of health care providers and support staff more difficult than ever. To address this problem, public health officials, health care professionals and the public need to understand the complexity of how the coronavirus spreads in nursing homes, where residents are isolated and do not leave the facility. The virus was brought to themby those who provide their care, family members, or other visitors who were asymptomatic. The current nursing home wave of COVID-19 mortality predominantly stems from the domino effect of not having adequate testing kits and PPE available back in mid-March, as state and local governments directed attention and resources to the hospitals, where they were expecting a surge of COVID-19 patients. Even as everyone acknowledged early on the high risk COVID posed to health-compromised older people, nursing homes were simply not prioritized in response preparation. READ MORE: Hundreds of South Jersey nursing home residents have had coronavirus, new figures show For example, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) criteria early on for testing for COVID-19 included symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath. Yet older patients often have different symptoms, such as low-grade fever, poor appetite, and in some instances, diarrhea or vomiting. Cough and shortness of breath are uncommon, even though their chest X-rays may show evidence of pneumonia. Nursing home residents who develop undetected COVID-19 infections are more liable to infect each other and nursing home staff. They cannot socially distance because they need assistance with daily activities. Some residents with dementia are unable to understand the importance of hand-washing and social distancing and wander, touching everything and further spreading the virus. And once the members of nursing home support staff become sick, facilities become further understaffed. There are not enough employees to feed residents in each of their own isolated rooms. With staff members delivering individual services, fewer are available to remind residents to drink water. Residents become dehydrated and more compromised, and therefore more vulnerable to the devastating effects of COVID-19. Physicians and nurse practitioners from New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine have been on the front lines since the beginning of the pandemic, providing care to the most vulnerable elderly in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and their homes throughout Camden, Burlington and Gloucester counties. They work physically and remotely with staff every day, caring for very sick residents, allaying fears, and communicating with families and loved ones. READ MORE: The U.S. is still failing older communities in nursing homes | Expert Opinion Our providers try to treat nursing home residents in place at a nursing home rather than in the hospital. If there is a lack of supplies and staff, plus inadequate training and enforcement of infectious disease precautions, residents will decline in health and either need hospitalization or comfort care in the nursing home. The choices are not easy for families. If families choose hospice and comfort care, nursing home residents will die in the facility. If families choose hospitalization, hospitals will become overwhelmed with nursing home patients and start consulting palliative care/hospice services. Even though the statistics reveal a grim picture, we must acknowledge the tireless efforts of physicians, nurses, nursing assistants, housekeeping, dining services, and other staff in nursing homes who still come in to work double shifts, carrying double the workload. Politicians and other leaders directing our pandemic response should recognize and protect these workers as the front line responders they are, and give them the tools to better care for nursing home residents. Anita Chopra, MD, FACP, is Professor and William G. Rohrer Endowed Chair in Geriatrics and Director of the New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's nominee to the most influential federal appeals court clashed with Democrats over his past comments about the Affordable Care Act, while Republicans praised his recent ruling allowing limited Easter church services during the coronavirus pandemic. Judge Justin Walker, a protege of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, faced criticism at Wednesday's confirmation hearing over his remarks two years ago that rulings upholding the ACA were "indefensible" and about jokes he made at the law's expense at a ceremony in March marking his entry onto the federal bench. Republicans are pushing to elevate Walker to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit - a promotion that Democrats decry as too quick for the 37-year-old after just six months as a district judge in Kentucky. Democrats pointed to the early March ceremony in which Walker spoke before a crowd that included McConnell, Kavanaugh and former Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy, for whom Walker served as law clerk when Kennedy was in the minority in a ruling upholding the ACA. Walker defended his comments in March - that the "worst words" he ever had to deliver to Kennedy was that Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the liberal bloc, tipping the case - as a lighthearted joke trying to praise someone he considered a mentor. "He has been an invaluable mentor and friend to me since I clerked for him in 2011 and 2012," Walker said of Kennedy. "It was not meant as anything more than a reference to the dissent that he wrote, and again, a bit of a tongue in cheek, tongue in cheek allusion to the reality that no Supreme Court justice likes being in the dissent." Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the committee, said health care groups have raised concerns that Walker's confirmation could "exacerbate the health crisis in this country." Wednesday's hearing came as the coronavirus played a central role in the hearing, both physically and in terms of Walker's legal background. Rather than the usual cramped committee hearing room, on the second floor of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, the Senate Judiciary Committee convened in a large room on the ground floor so that senators and the witness could observe social distancing guidelines. Many senators appeared via video to question the nominee. And Republicans sought to highlight Walker's Easter service ruling in Louisville, from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who introduced him to the panel, to Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the chairman who used his first question to ask about the decision. Last month, Walker blocked Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, D, from forbidding drive-in church services on Easter to slow the spread of the coronavirus, a decision hailed by McConnell and other conservatives. "I had to make a decision and I had to make a decision quickly so that people could know on Saturday whether they could go to church on Easter Sunday and looking at the law. It seemed to me that the free exercise clause of the First Amendment prohibited the action that the mayor was taking," Walker told Graham. He acknowledged Wednesday that his decision, coming days after his nomination to the D.C. circuit, was a long opinion because of the pandemic. "It was a momentous and even severe thing for a court to enjoin a mayor in the midst of this terrible pandemic, when the mayor is asserting that his actions could save lives," he said. In that opinion, Walker wrote that Fischer had "criminalized the communal celebration of Easter," adding that Fischer's decision was "beyond all reason." Walker's nomination received a surprise boost late Tuesday when the American Bar Association reversed its initial "Not Qualified" rating during his 2019 confirmation process for the post in the lower trial court, instead deeming him "Well Qualified" for this more prominent post. The ABA said that its switch came from the differences between the courts, with the appellate court post placing less emphasis on trial experience and instead a "high degree of legal scholarship, academic talent, analytical and writing abilities, and overall excellence." The ABA said that although a nominee should have 12 years of experience in the practice of law, Walker's varied accomplishments offset concerns about his brief time. In remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday, McConnell highlighted Walker's decision and the ABA rating. "In the span of just a couple of weeks, almost simultaneously, Judge Walker has won praise from religious freedom advocates - freedom advocates nationwide and the approval of the ABA, which Democrats call the gold standard," McConnell said. "That illustrates the kind of impressive individual that the committee is considering this morning." Walker previously served as a law clerk for Kavanaugh, when he served as a judge on the D.C. Circuit, and then for Kennedy before his retirement. Kennedy was replaced by Kavanaugh after a 2018 confirmation battle that included allegations of sexual assault when Kavanaugh was a high school student, an accusation he denied. Both Kennedy and Kavanaugh recommended Walker to Trump, and in early March, Kavanaugh flew to Kentucky, along with McConnell, for an investiture ceremony for the senator's protege. At the ceremony, Walker recalled that as an 8-year-old, he asked his mother why they had a lawn sign for McConnell during the 1994 election. "My mom said, 'We have this yard sign because this election is important,' " Walker said. "I got to hand it to you, Mom, it has been extremely important to me that Kentucky's senior senator is Mitch McConnell." Trump taps former Kavanaugh clerk to fill vacancy on powerful D.C. appeals court Democrats have blasted McConnell's decision to bring the Senate back into session without a legislative agenda focused on battling the coronavirus pandemic, accusing him of instead using the time to advance Walker, who grew up in Kentucky and whose family has known the majority leader for decades. "Coming back for Mitch McConnell's former intern to be promoted to the second-highest court in the land doesn't fit the description of a national emergency," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, said Monday just after the Senate convened its first full session in nearly six weeks. If confirmed, Walker would not tip the ideological balance of the D.C. court, which considers many of the most contentious constitutional clashes involving the federal government, sometimes having the final word on key legal matters if the Supreme Court does not take up the case. Walker would replace retiring Judge Thomas Griffith, 65, who issued a statement Tuesday declaring that he faced no political pressure to step down so that someone much younger could be confirmed to the influential court. The "sole reason," Griffith said, was his wife's health and the need to care for her, a move he decided on last June and kept private among his family, law clerks and close friends. For more than three years, McConnell has moved at a rapid tempo to fill the judicial openings inherited by Trump after the GOP Senate leader refused to act on dozens of President Barack Obama's nominees, most notably Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, who has served on the D.C. Circuit since 1997. McConnell has vowed to leave no vacancy behind as the president faces reelection this November and Senate Republicans face the risk of losing control of the chamber. McConnell has paid particular attention to the nation's appellate courts, one step below the Supreme Court where the vast majority of cases stop. Trump has 51 circuit court appointees, which translates to 1 out of every 4 appellate judges. McConnell says the circumstances are different now because both the Senate and the White House are of the same party, which was not the case four years ago. - - - The Washington Post's Ann Marimow contributed to this report. Mumbai, May 7 : Actor Rahul Sharma is overwhelmed on receiving a portrait that a fan in China made of him out of small pins. The actor says gifts such as these are gestures that encourage him to put in more effort to entertain audiences. "It is a very unique portrait/painting made by Li Bai, a fan turned friend from China," said Rahul. "It has been created by intricately placing small pins together culminating into a beautiful portrait like image of me. It is a whole month of effort and artistry and looks like no easy job. I received this impeccable piece of art as an appreciation of my work. I have hung the painting in my hall as it helps me reminisce the love each moment," added the actor, who is currently playing the role of Sarthak in the show "Pyar Ki Luka Chuppi". Further talking about getting appreciation from fans, Rahul said: 'I am overwhelmed and thankful for the love and adulation I am receiving from my fans and well-wishers across continents. This encourages me no end and peps me to put in all the effort and continue entertaining audiences. I am extremely grateful for all of it." "Pyar Ki Luka Chuppi" airs on Dangal TV. Last updated on: May 14, 2020 12:08 IST 'Strengthen hospital capacity, look after patients who need care, primarily ICU care...' 'Train doctors, get PPE, get ventilators, have treatment protocols in place.' IMAGE: Passengers undergo thermal screening before boarding a bus in Bengaluru, May 6, 2020. Photograph: Shailendra Bhojak/PTI The Indian Council of Medical Research in New Delhi is responsible for much of India's COVID-19 strategy. How long shall the lockdown be for? Should it be extended further? How should India function after lockdown and what differences in daily life need to be instituted? What are the treatment guidelines for this virus infection? What are the case projections now and post-lockdown? What kind of containment policy should India have post-lockdown? And much more. It advises both the central government and state governments. The ICMR, in turn, is guided by several task forces. Dr O C Abraham is a senior member of the clinical research group, a medical task force that counsels the ICMR. An expert in infectious diseases, he is the professor and head of the department of one of the units of internal medicine at the Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu. This disease specialist did his postgraduate training from Vellore and his Master's in public health from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and fellowship in infectious disease from Wayne State, Detroit, both in the USA. Dr Abraham offers Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com a long-term, cautious view for India, as it confronts and overcomes the COVID-19 pandemic. The first of a multi-part interview: IMAGE: Medics collect samples from a COVID-19 patient to test the status of his infection at the Chaudhary Brahm Prakash Ayurved Charak Sansthan in New Delhi. Photograph: PTI Photo Why is India's graph not like the other 'normal' COVID-19 graphs? The India graph has not had the very rapid escalations, so far, that one saw for Italy or Spain or America. Its graph is not showing the patterns of a lot of other places yet. What is your view on that? The number of cases may be low - maybe artificial -- because we are not testing like lots of other countries are doing. Not testing like South Korea is doing, Singapore is doing or Iceland is doing. That may be one reason. The other is the virus came into India much after the other countries. Then maybe all the measures we adopted have helped us to 'flatten the curve'. Maybe we will see a slow rise and a less-taller peak. That's what everybody is hoping for. This is a novel virus. That means all of us are susceptible. None of us are immune. Highly contagious. The experience in other countries is that you have a very rapid rise or surge... It looks like, till now, whatever measures we have adopted, we are not seeing that kind of rise. So, that's been a good thing. We don't know what the future holds. Hopefully, as the lockdown is released, in a gradual fashion, maybe we will build up this concept of herd immunity and protect our most vulnerable. And maybe we will not be witness to scenes like we have witnessed in other parts of the world. That's what we are hoping for. IMAGE: Dr O C Abraham IMAGE: Dr O C Abraham When COVID-19 first arrived, we watched its rise in China, and then the way it galloped furiously through, first Italy and then Spain. Later it surged ahead in America with a staggering nearly 1.3 million cases (as of May 4). And there's no comparison there. They look like two different diseases. Why has it been so different country to country? Several reasons. One thing could be the demography itself. It could be coexistent serious medical conditions, which have made the patients more vulnerable. Maybe it is the way you are classifying the death, as due to coronavirus. Or maybe (because of) your testing policies. Maybe genetics. I have not seen any work on it, only a postulate. The influence of age and another underlying serious medical condition, can have a really bad impact on patients coming in (contact with this) virus. According to one source, each country has to do an evaluation of the mortality and morbidity of COVID-19 in its people, as soon as possible. If the indicators are on the high side, a longer lockdown, more aggressive case identification and preparation for many more hospital beds is suggested. But if the morbidity and mortality indicators are more like a flu or other ordinary viral infections, the lockdown can be lifted in a graded manner and there should be a strict continuance of a proper hygiene and distancing regimen. Which category are we in exactly? We are still in -- as the phrase goes -- in the fog of the pandemic. Everything is hazy now. We don't have good data. When you look at mortality rates, for not just COVID-19, influenza, everything, you should look at both the numerator and denominator. See (for example) an Italian gentleman, who is 85 years old, has diabetes, heart disease and cancer. He also gets COVID-19 and he dies, unfortunately. Are you saying that he died of coronavirus or with coronavirus? It is a good question to ask. We saw this in the 2009 influenza pandemic (the swine flu outbreak from January 2009 to August 2010). When they started to trace the fatality rate -- that means you died due to this influenza pandemic, ie you are a case among all the cases -- they said it is a very high number, 5 per cent. But finally, it was some 0.1 per cent or something, an extremely small number. So, people have estimated that -- there's a publication from this group in Imperial College in London -- the infection fatality rate. The numerator is everybody who gets COVID-19 infection; some don't even have symptoms, they may not even come to medical attention because the illness is so trivial (and the denominator is deaths). The infection fatality rate is way below 1 per thousand, 0.145 per cent, a number something like that. Each country should have a good assessment of their infection fatality rate. Less ideal would be the case fatality rate. If you look at Iceland: Iceland went into the general population and tested everybody there. Their mortality rate is 0.5 per cent. That is closer to the infection fatality rate. The absolute risk of dying is very low (in Iceland). So, what should India do now? India should on one side: Continue its efforts at lockdown, social distancing, stringent hand hygiene, cough etiquette and everything. On the other side: We should also get our hospitals ready for the second wave. That is, strengthen hospital capacity, look after patients who need care, primarily ICU care, ventilation and things like that. Train doctors, get PPE, get ventilators, have treatment protocols in place. Remember this virus spreads very rapidly and efficiently from an infected to an uninfected person. Most people have only mild symptoms. Even when you have not yet developed symptoms you can transfer COVID. Aggressively testing, finding cases, isolating them, tracing contacts and quarantining them, will go only a certain extent. Korea has managed to do it to some extent. Kerala maybe. But you're all worried about the so-called second wave. Let's all hope and pray that it doesn't happen. But in case we have a surge, like what we saw in New York or Wuhan or Lombardy (Italy), we should be ready for that. IMAGE: Municipal workers sanitize the premises of a quarantine centre in Jabalpur, May 5, 2020. Photograph: PTI America's confounding surge may be as you mentioned because a lot of the population in America does have some of these comorbidity issues. In India also has that in urban areas. But generally, our population doesn't have that much comorbidity. Would you agree or disagree? If you are less than 65 and you do not have any major medical problems, your absolute risk of dying from this infection is extremely low. There is a (recent) peer-reviewed publication, which has looked at mortality, ie the absolute risk of dying from COVID-19 infection in Europe and cities in the US, in New York. It is something like 70 -- I might not be exactly correct -- per million. If you are less than 65, your absolute risk of dying is 70 per million. So that is a very small number. For most people who get this virus infection, it behaves like you had a mild attack of flu. But if you are an older individual, have significant medical problems, everything from obesity to chronic lung disease or chronic heart disease, you are a sitting duck. In India, we have a lot of that in the urban areas, but the general population is quite healthy and tough? Isn't that true? Being healthy is not just the absence of disease. People of poor socio-economic status, (lack of) access to medical care. Smoking, you know, is really bad, all those kinds of things -- it is not just that you have a diagnosis of diabetes or heart disease. Those from poorer (backgrounds) don't have access to a lot of things. That can also contribute to increased mortality. What we have seen in the US, in New York, a lot of people are homeless, who are dying, minorities in the US, the blacks, the Hispanics, Asians. Production: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com WASHINGTON President Trumps choice to be the secretary of the Navy testified on Thursday that the sea service had suffered through rough waters over its handling of the virus-stricken aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and other recent episodes, largely because of poor leadership. The comments by the nominee, Kenneth J. Braithwaite, were a blunt indictment of senior civilians and admirals who have led a Navy that in recent years has been racked by scandals and accidents. He cited the Fat Leonard bribery scandal that tainted much of the services top leadership as well as two ship collisions in 2017, nine weeks apart, that together killed 17 sailors. They are all indicative of a breakdown in the trust of those leading the service, said Mr. Braithwaite, a Naval Academy graduate and retired one-star admiral. It saddens me to say that the Department of the Navy is in rough waters due to many factors but primarily the failure of leadership. He pledged to the Senate Armed Services Committee to restore the appropriate culture in the United States Navy. He added: I wont say its broken. I think its been tarnished. High drama was seen outside the Ajnara Daffodil society in Sector 137 on Thursday after the medical and paramedical staff of Felix hospital staged a protest against residents, in the wake of a breast cancer patient, a resident of the society, testing positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on May 4. Her husband, two children and six relatives have been put under institutional quarantine. Health officials said the woman is undergoing treatment for Covid-19 and cancer at a private hospital in Delhi. Her breast carcinoma, in its third stage, was detected on April 8 and she underwent one chemotherapy session in Delhi. But on April 27, her blood count dipped drastically and the womans husband called home a nurse from the Felix hospital to give her an injection. On Thursday, the 22-year-old nurse and her 20-year-old male colleague were among 10 people who tested positive for Covid-19 in Gautam Budh Nagar. The total number of cases in the district has now reached 202. The husband of the cancer patient said there were high chances that his wife got the infection from the nurse. Also, on May 4, a 47-year-old man from Ghaziabad who was undergoing treatment at the Felix Hospital in Sector 137 had died of Covid-19. The husband tweeted on Thursday that a majority of the Felix hospital staff are infected which is leading to the spread of the infection. His tweet started a panic in the society. The Felix hospital staff and its chairman took umbrage to the claims made by the man and other residents. The doctors and paramedical then reached Ajnara Daffodil society and staged a protest against residents trying to defame the hospital. The nurse who was visiting my wife was positive for Covid-19 as well as a colleague of hers. I suspect that my wife might have contracted the infection from her. I am currently in paid quarantine along with my two children, aged 6 and 12 years. Our samples have also been taken for testing. It is very upsetting that the Felix hospital, instead of taking responsibility for the spread of the disease, is blaming us and other residents, the cancer patients husband said. The Felix hospital chairman said he will take legal action against residents who have claimed that his hospital staff are infected. I am going to lodge an FIR against the husband of the cancer patient for trying to defame our hospital. We are providing our services in this crisis situation but even then, people are trying to malign our image. This man has been tweeting that 80% of our staff are Covid-19 positive, which is not true as only two of our staff members have tested positive till now. We are the front-line warriors in the fight against Covid-19 and if this is how we are treated, then we will not be able to provide our services. We held a protest outside the society against the allegations made by residents there, Dr DK Gupta, chairman, Felix hospital, said. The society people are also worried because the husband of the woman had distributed food among the security guards and maintenance persons before his wife was found positive for the infection. All guards and maintenance persons have now been quarantined. All our guards and maintenance persons have been quarantined as they had come in contact with the family. People are now panicking. The nurse who tested positive was also visiting our society. She was also attending to patients in nearby societies, an Ajnara Daffodil resident, who did not want to be named, said. Some of the residents sought the district magistrates help on social media to take legal action against the hospital for staging a protest when prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC has been imposed in the district. No protest is allowed till the time the prohibitory orders are in place. The protest by the Felix staff is in direct violation of the Section 144 and we will take strict legal action against the hospital, Harish Chander, deputy commissioner of police, zone 2, said. We are already looking into the matter. Protests are not allowed when Section 144 is enforced in the district and police will take the required action, Suhas LY, district magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar, said. On Thursday, three male housekeeping staff from the Sharda Hospital tested positive for Covid-19. Three female patients -- a 4-year-old, a 5-year-old and 33-year-old from the Nat Madiya village in Greater Noida --were also positive for the infection. The three females are linked to a paramedical staff of the Government Institute of Medical Sciences who tested positive for Covid-19 earlier. A 17-year-old girl from sector 8 and a 55-year-old man from sector 15 were also found positive for the infection. A photo shows the Jin Ding Casino on Cambodia's Koh Rong Samloem Island in May 2020. More than two months after being ordered to demolish a casino closed for polluting a beach in Cambodias Sihanoukville, the Chinese owners have yet to tear it down, an activist said Thursday, suggesting that authorities dont intend to resolve the issue. The Jin Ding casino located on Koh Rong Samloem Island, a popular tourist destination in the seaside resort town, was ordered to close in May because it was operating without a license, promoting illegal online betting games, and releasing untreated sewage directly into the sea. Cambodian activists have long called for the demolition of Jin Ding, saying that if the structure is not destroyed it will likely be reopened at a later date. But provincial authorities have delayed in tearing the casino down, despite issuing a directive to do so and to clean the surrounding beach on Feb. 28. Long Kunthea, an activist with the environmental advocacy group Mother Nature, told RFAs Khmer Service that only the Jin Dings signage had been removed as of Thursday. We cant believe that [the authorities] forgot about the building because its huge and stands right on the beach, she said. I think they dont intend to resolve the issue. Sihanoukville provincial government spokesman Kheang Phearum told RFA he has yet to receive information from local authorities regarding the building demolition and refused to comment on the situation. In October, Kheang Phearum said that the Jin Dings owners had applied for permission to build the casino again at a new location and would demolish the old buildings when the new facility is built. Authorities regularly monitor the former structures to ensure that business operations there have not resumed, he said at the time. Koh Rong district chief Lok Vannarin could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday. Cheap Sotheary, Sihanoukville provincial coordinator for local rights group Adhoc, told RFA that the authorities must implement the law equally for both Chinese and Cambodians. She said the owner of the casino should be summoned for questioning over why they have yet to demolish the building. If the authorities dont take action, it demonstrates a double standard, she said. Long Kunthea said Mother Nature intends to file a complaint with the provincial court against the casino for encroaching on a public beach and releasing sewage into the sea. Chinese investment has flowed into Sihanoukville in recent years, but Cambodians regularly chafe at what they call unscrupulous business practices and unbecoming behavior by Chinese businessmen and residents. A report by Agence France-Presse in January on how Sihanoukville had become a sizeable gambling playground for Chinese tourists said at least 50 Chinese-owned casinos were operating in the province. Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. The state government has quietly appointed a new board to oversee one of the largest infrastructure projects in Queensland's history after the old board was publicly given its marching orders earlier this year. The 10-member board overseeing the Cross River Rail project was sacked in April as Minister Kate Jones took control to give herself more oversight ahead of the construction phase. Kate Jones (centre) took over as Cross River Rail Minister last year. The contracts of most of the 10 current board members were due to expire in April. They were told in February their contracts would not be renewed. Brisbane Times understands the previous board, headed by former Labor deputy premier Paul Lucas, was dumped because Ms Jones was unsatisfied with its ability to manage industrial relations disputes. France-based Thales Group, a leader in electrical systems, and Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA) have signed a cooperation agreement to establish a Digital Competence Centre in Qatar Free Zones. Ahmad bin Mohamed Al-Sayed, Minister of State and Chairman of QFZA, and Thales Group Chairman and CEO Patrice Caine signed the agreement during a virtual signing ceremony in Doha and Paris. The centre will be a hub for software development and facilitate large-scale projects including events and security solutions, playing a key role in Qatar Free Zones growing technology ecosystem. In the short term, this includes providing development support for large applications such as FAN ID, to manage spectator flows and access during large sporting events. Over the longer term, QFZA and Thales expect the Centre to support projects in areas including counter-UAV, airport security and operations optimization, large event security, mobility and experience solutions. Thales and QFZA will also investigate the opportunity to create a start-up incubator and research partnerships to grow a local/international ecosystem and explore in the future the development of other activities in Thales areas of expertise. Al-Sayed said: We look forward to working with Thales, already a key player in Qatar Free Zones, to set up this hub for innovation and technological exploration. The centre will be able to support a very exciting range of projects, and provide leading technological support for other companies in Qatar Free Zones, and across the country. Todays agreement builds on the strategic collaboration agreement we signed recently with Google Cloud to launch a new Cloud region in Doha, based in Qatar Free Zones, as well as our existing cooperation with Microsoft. These agreements are key pillars in our strategy to localize agreements and international centres and to further develop our leading technology ecosystem, for the benefit of Qatar and all our investors. Patrice Caine said: Innovation and digital transformation are at the heart of Thales strategy. Our vision is aligned with Qatar National Vision 2030 to develop local competencies in digital and innovate for the future of the countrys industrial ecosystem. We are honoured to launch this strategic collaboration with Qatar Free Zones in order to provide leading technological support as well as groundbreaking solutions in different areas including large events security, counter-UAV, airport security, operations optimization, and mobility. Thales is proud to be contributing further to the growth and expansion plans of the State of Qatar by creating highly skilled jobs and establishing a hub for innovation in Qatar. TradeArabia News Service Sharjah police has cited the use of banned 'aluminium composite cladding' as the main cause for the blaze at the 49-storey building on Tuesday night, said a report. An initial probe revealed that highly flammable cladding was used in the facade, which caused the fire to spread throughout the tower in minutes, reported Khaleej Times, citing Brig Ahmed Al Serkal, acting director of operation room and director-general of forensic department at Sharjah Police. Aluminium composite cladding - widely used to cover a building's exteriors - has been banned in Sharjah since 2017, after it was found to be a primary factor in massive fires in 2015, 2016, and 2017, stated Brig Al Serkal. Such cladding issues were also detected in the fire incidents at The Address Downtown and The Torch in Dubai Marina. Though the Abbco Tower was built before the cladding ban, its owner had already been ordered to remove the aluminium panels from its facade. Following the blaze, Sharjah authorities have announced that inspections of buildings, especially those found with aluminium cladding, would be ramped up. "The municipality has issued rules and ordered the owners of all the old buildings with aluminium facade to replace it," said a senior municipal official. A comprehensive survey of existing buildings with aluminium facades has been conducted across the city. Owners are being given a grace period to change the exteriors and replace the material, he stated. After this, the violators will have to pay hefty fines, he added. COVID-19 deaths, hospitalisations and lockdowns could be over this year, says WHO COVID-19 crisis: UP Police book 24 Tablighi Jamaat members for staying in mosque India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P Muzaffarnagar, May 07: As many as 24 Tablighi Jamaat members from Karnataka and Assam were booked for staying in a mosque without giving information to police in Kairana town in Shamli district, a police official said. According to SHO Yashpal Dhama, a case was registered on May 6 against 24 people of the Jamaat under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897. How the number of coronavirus positive cases increased from 40,000 to 50,000 in just three days The accused were found residing in Patwari mosque in Kairana town in Shamli district since April 23. In another similar case, police registered a case against ten Tablighi Jamaat members for residing in a mosque without giving prior information at Shernagar village under New Mandi police station in Muzaffarnagar district. Police said a case was registered on Wednesday against the 10 Jamaat members under IPC Section 188 and Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act in this connection. Among the 10 people, one member tested positive for the COVID-19 and Shernagar village was declared a hotspot by authorities. The Jamaat members residing in Shernagar village had apparently come from Delhi's Nizamuddin on March 23. The Mizoram government has quarantined over 150 people who have returned to the state without informing the state authorities, an official said. They came back to the state from Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura, the home department official said. "A total of 154 people, who returned from four northeastern states, have been quarantined in different districts," home secretary Lalbiaksangi told PTI. These people, who were stuck in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura due to the ongoing lockdown, have travelled back without informing the government, deputy resident commissioners (DRCs) of Mizoram houses and Young Mizo Associations (YMAs), creating a gap in the management system, she said. "It does not mean that these people were not sent to quarantine facilities. But the fact is that they were left out from the list as they did not report to DRCs and YMAs before they returned," she said on Wednesday. The Mizoram government had carried out an exercise to bring back nearly 700 people, who were stranded in the four states of the north-east region, between April 30 and May 2. The people were asked to report with DRCs and YMA of states where they were stranded to facilitate their return. The home department asked people, who had failed to return during the exercise, not to come back on their own. Meanwhile, main opposition party in the state, Zoram People's Movement (ZPM), has demanded disciplinary action against those who had returned on their own from outside. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday his White House coronavirus task force would remain in place but with a focus on medical treatments and easing restrictions on businesses and social life and perhaps with different advisers. Trump had said on Tuesday he planned to replace the task force with 'something in a different form.' In a series of tweets on Wednesday, however, Trump said that because of its success, 'the Task Force will continue on indefinitely with its focus on SAFETY & OPENING UP OUR COUNTRY AGAIN. By Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday his White House coronavirus task force would remain in place but with a focus on medical treatments and easing restrictions on businesses and social life and perhaps with different advisers. Trump had said on Tuesday he planned to replace the task force with "something in a different form." In a series of tweets on Wednesday, however, Trump said that because of its success, "the Task Force will continue on indefinitely with its focus on SAFETY & OPENING UP OUR COUNTRY AGAIN. We may add or subtract people to it, as appropriate." He added: "The Task Force will also be very focused on Vaccines & Therapeutics." The task force to date has included medical professionals focused on battling the pandemic, some of whom have at times offered guidance at odds with Trump's, including on when to ease stay-at-home orders and lockdowns on the economy. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert and most high-profile member of the task force, acknowledged in a CNN interview that he was losing the argument against reopening the country too quickly. "There are counties and cities in which you can do that safely now, but there are others that if you do that, it's really dangerous," he said on Tuesday night. White House guidelines say that the number of new cases must be trending downward for 14 days and that vastly expanded coronavirus testing and other safeguards must be put in place before the shutdowns can be phased out. A number of U.S. states saw a record increase in cases on Tuesday, including Kentucky, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin, while Arizona, Illinois, and Mississippi reached new record deaths. More than 71,000 people in the United States have died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, and more than 1.2 million people have been infected, according to a Reuters tally. ECONOMIC PRESSURES The Trump administration and many state governors have emphasized the political and social pressures they face getting the U.S. economy going again. ADP National Employment Report data on Wednesday showed that U.S. private employers laid off a record 20.236 million workers in April, suggesting the lockdowns could leave lasting scars on the economy. "One thing for sure is that this pandemic health crisis has produced depression-magnitude job losses which means this recovery is going to take longer than many are thinking," said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG in New York. "The Great Depression lasted three-and-a-half years, and it will be a miracle if the economy gets anywhere near back to normal within the next couple of years," he said. State governors who have started lifting restrictions have said business reopenings will be gradual and that people should continue to observe social distancing and other guidelines. But the mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms, who has clashed with Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp over his moves to reopen, said she saw people partying and celebrating on the annual Cinco de Mayo holiday on Tuesday. "It was disappointing. And what was very clear was that people didn't get anything past the message that we were open up for business," she told CNN on Wednesday. "They didn't get to the part that said that this was still a deadly virus and that you needed to continue to socially distance and wear masks, and I think that's the shortcoming of this order." Democratic governors of states hardest hit by the outbreak have at times been at odds with the Republican Trump over easing restrictions. But even California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, was feeling the urge to get back to normal. On Monday, Newsom announced plans to relax some restrictions starting on Friday if the data allows and said he would allow some communities with low incidence of COVID-10 infections to reopen earlier than others. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose city has been the hardest hit in the country, warned against a swift return to activity before the number of cases recedes. De Blasio said in television interviews on Wednesday that he was hopeful the country's largest city had turned the corner, but that he did not expect to reopen until September after shutting down with the rest of New York state on March 20. "My message to the rest of the country is: learn from how much effort, how much discipline it took to finally bring these numbers down and follow the same path until you're sure that it's being beaten back," de Blasio told CNN. "Or else, if this thing boomerangs you're putting off any kind of restart or recovery a hell of a lot longer." (Reporting by Susan Heavey, Doina Chiacu, Lucia Mutikani and Jeff Mason in Washington; Maria Caspani in New York, Writing by Sonya Hepinstall; Editing by Howard Goller) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (May 6) said that the coronavirus COVID-19 has been the "worst attack" ever on the United States, adding that it is worse than Pearl Harbour and 9/11 terror attacks. Trump once again blamed China for the outbreak saying Beijing could have stopped it from spreading across the world. "This is really the worst attack weve ever had. This is worse than Pearl Harbor. This is worse than the World Trade Center. Theres never been an attack like this. And it should have never happened. It could have been stopped at the source. It could have been stopped in China. It should have been stopped right at the source, and it wasnt," President Trump said. On Sunday (May 3), US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said in an interview on American Network television that there is enormous evidence to suggest that coronavirus originated from the virology laboratory in Wuhan. "We took a lot of grief for that from the outset. But I think the whole world can see now. Remember, China has a history of infecting the world, and they have a history of running substandard laboratories," Pompeo added. Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic that had over 13,46,800 worldwide cases exactly one month back, has now infected more than 37.8 lakh people with taking 2.61 lakh lives by Wednesday (May 6, 2020) evening. As per the COVID-19 data by the Worldometers website at 11:30 PM IST, around 37,80,620 people have contracted the coronavirus across the world. More than 2,61,700 people have lost their lives after testing positive for COVID-19. The US has been the worst affected country in the world where over 12,45,800 people have been tested positive. The US in the last 24 hours reported over 8,000 cases. By Park Jae-hyuk Visa has been facing difficulties in retaking its leading status in the Korean market, since the world's largest credit card network lost its lead to MasterCard in late 2019. Data compiled by the nation's six card issuers Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Hyundai, Lotte, Woori and Hana cards showed as of the end of March, their Visa-branded cards accounted for 21.2 percent of their active cards that have been used over the past year. Their MasterCard-branded cards accounted for 25.1 percent of their active cards. The gap between Visa and MasterCard in terms of the Korean market share has widened, since the latter overtook the former in December 2019 for the first time since 1998. As of the end of last year, Visa and MasterCard occupied a respective 21.4 percent and 24.5 percent of the nation's credit card network market. The outcome is attributed to Visa's unilateral increase of commission rates for overseas payment to 1.1 percent in May 2016 from 1 percent, which led Korean card firms to pay more to their U.S. counterpart. As domestic card issuers lack global networks, they have had to pay a certain amount in fees to international credit card networks, such as Visa, MasterCard, UnionPay, American Express and JCB, whenever their customers make payments overseas. After the commission hike, Visa came into conflict with Korean card firms which alleged the U.S. financial giant did not discuss the matter with its Korean partners. Visa was also embroiled in controversy as it did not raise its commission rates in China and Japan. Back then, Korean card issuers filed petitions with the Fair Trade Commission, saying Visa was taking advantage of its monopolistic status. The antitrust watchdog, however, ruled in favor of Visa in 2018, denying its monopolistic status in the domestic market. Against this backdrop, MasterCard did not raise its commission rate from 1 percent. Local card firms, which have also suffered deteriorating profits since the government ordered them to cut the fees they receive from their affiliated merchants, have eventually reduced issuance of Visa-branded cards, while offering more MasterCard-branded ones to their customers. "Most customers do not care about affiliated global brands, because they do not make frequent overseas payments," a local card firm official said. "In contrast, card firms take into account commission rates and marketing campaigns when they join hands with global brands." Visa declined to comment on data compiled by the six domestic card issuers. Elle cover girl Elsa Hosk knows how to brighten her mood on a rainy day. The 31-year-old supermodel put colorful sheets on her bed to feel like she is on 'vacation,' she said on Instagram on Wednesday. The Swedish catwalk princess was modeling a bra and shorts that showed off her slender figure that has helped her get jobs with Victoria's Secret, H&M and Shiseido. She was also photo-bombed by her cat. Light colors equal light mood: Elle cover girl Elsa Hosk knows how to brighten her mood on a rainy day. The 31-year-old supermodel put colorful sheets on her bed to feel like she is on 'vacation,' she said on Instagram on Wednesday 'Taking you through a week of looks in @voguemagazine,' said the looker from Stockholm. And she also said, 'This look is Jacquemus.' Simon Porte Jacquemus is a 30-year-old French fashion designer and the founder of the Jacquemus fashion label. Here kitty: The Swedish catwalk princess was modeling a bra and shorts that showed off her slender figure that has helped her get jobs with Victoria's Secret, H&M and Shiseido. She was also photo-bombed by her cat, far left She added, 'It's raining today, and this look makes me feel like it's sunny and I'm on vacation. I love Jacquemus; I met Simon for the first time at a dinner he had in Paris. He is so sweet. I respect the brand he has built so much. 'And he has such a clear and beautiful aesthetic from the colors he uses to the food, places, architecture, and ceramics. I put these sheets on from a Swedish brand called Tekla to match my look. They make the prettiest colors.' In April the Marie Claire model applied a beauty mask to make sure her skin has a supermodel glow. Designer duds: 'This look is Jacquemus.' Simon Porte Jacquemus is a 30-year-old French fashion designer and the founder of the Jacquemus fashion label The CoverGirl vet made sure her post was anything but dull as she wore not a robe but something with much less fabric: her bra and underwear. The lingerie was beige silk and both items put her incredible figure on display. Elsa wore her hair pulled up in a scrunchie and proving she is on trend, the siren had blue nail polish on. Goodbye blues: She added, 'It's raining today, and this look makes me feel like it's sunny and I'm on vacation' 'Self-care monday, happy Easter,' the runway vet wrote in the caption to her 6.1M followers. In late March she lit up her Instagram account. Meow: Her cat was part of the shoot The blonde bombshell was modeling black Gucci lingerie as she reclined in a chair for two sizzling black-and-white photos. In this new images, Elsa was fully made up with dramatic makeup and her blonde hair blown out. New York City has been suffering some of the worst of the coronavirus outbreaks. Most residents don't dare leave their home unless it is for essentials. And on Sunday Elsa kept up with the mandate from health officials when she went for a stroll in and around a park with boyfriend Tom Daly. The looker kept it casual in grey sweatpants and a pink Kansas State Wildcats sweatshirt. Just hanging out in her lingerie at home: Last month she was seen in silk and lace She also donned white sneakers and wore her blonde tresses long and flowing with a part in the middle. Daly, who's the co-founder and creative director of Running Vision, a company that sells sunglasses made for running, looked casual-cool in tan pants with a blue button-down short and brown jacket. When the Angel returned home, she fielded fielded questions with some of her Instagram followers. And as expected some of them pertained to the coronavirus crisis. Four in one: The post was actually of all four of the photos together Staying healthy under pressure: Hosk revealed how she's been tasking care of her mental health during the coronavirus crisis One person opened up about their rising anxiety in the wake of COVID-19, and asked how she's been taking care of her mental health. Hosk responded with a number of things that have been helpful to her since the outbreak that includes: 'meditation, cooking, not sleeping longer than usual, working out, staying creative, taking pictures, drawing, painting , playing games, and checking in on family and friends.' During the crisis, Hosk has been very open proactive about spreading the word of home sequestering to her six million followers. Hosk and Daley first got together in 2015 after being friends for a number of years. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Ashanti Region has expressed dismay in some comments made by the Roads and Highways Minister, Kwesi Amoako Atta made in relation to the construction of roads in the Region. According to them, the Ministers statements are outrageous and non-factual. Mr. Amoako Attah, speaking to the media as part of a tour to inspect ongoing road projects in the Ashanti Region, claimed that the current government had undertaken various road activities targeted at improving the road network in the region, unlike the previous NDC administration. Talking about successes that the government had chalked in terms on road projects being undertaken in the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area, he noted that a total of 156 road projects are in currency and are at various stages of completion. But the members of the opposition NDC in the region disagree with these claims, saying that the Mills-Mahama administration, if for nothing at all, made sure to improve on roads in all 18 constituencies in the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area. Speaking on Eyewitness News, the Communications Officer of the NDC the Region, Abass Nurudeen, said that the case made by the Roads Minister is quite outrageous. We could have let it pass if it had come from an ordinary NPP member but for a Roads Minister to make such baseless claims in spite of the availability of overwhelming data pointing to the contrary, we think it is a matter that requires urgent attention. For the avoidance of doubt, for the past eight years that Prof Mills and John Mahama were in office, more than 400 kilometre stretch of roads were constructed in the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area that the Minister claimed no single kilometre of road has been constructed for the past 14 years. We find these claims outrageous and unfactual, and its unbecoming of a Minister. These are facts that could easily be accessed from the urban roads and highways [department]. Sofoline interchange project As part of the tour in the Region, the sector Minister also disclosed that feasibility studies have been completed to construct additional interchanges to complement the ongoing Sofoline interchange project in Kumasi. Traffic will reduce significantly in Kumasi and by the time we finish this road in conjunction with all the interchanges that I have already mentioned and the improvement of the road generally in Kumasi, Kumasi and Ashanti Region will be a place to visit because people will have driving comfort not only in terms of traffic being eased but you will have a smooth driving surface and you will enjoy driving in Kumasi, the Minister promised. The completion of this project is expected to ease vehicular traffic experienced at major intersections within the Ashanti Region. Suame, Oforikrom, Airport Roundabout, and the Ahodwo-Santasi have been identified as areas the interchange projects will impact. Abandoned road projects The country has a plethora of abandoned road projects, amid the already deteriorating ones and feeder road networks. Some of these issues have to do with a lack of funds, like in the case of the Eastern Corridor. Till recently, long stretches of the project had been abandoned, with contractors citing a lack of funds for their inability to continue with the work. The deplorable state of roads in many parts of the country has become a challenge to many, leaving most residents who have been outraged by the poor roads to resort to series of protests to pile pressure on authorities to get their roads fixed. But the government declared 2020, as the year of roads, promising that it will largely focus and prioritize road projects to improve infrastructure in that sector and bring an end to the cries of Ghanaians for better roads. ---citinewsroom A Dallas salon owner was released from jail Thursday after a backlash from leading Republicans over her treatment for defying a statewide stay-at-home order. The Texas Supreme Court issued a temporary order freeing Shelley Luther shortly after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott amended his executive order on the closures to prevent incarceration as a punishment. It had previously threatened violators with up to 180 days in jail. "Throwing Texans in jail who have had their businesses shut down through no fault of their own is nonsensical, and I will not allow it," Abbott said in a statement. IN-DEPTH: Gov. Abbott, Texas Attorney General champion salon owner jailed over COVID-19 restrictions Luther was sentenced on Tuesday to a week in jail and fined $7,000 after refusing to close her salon during the lockdown. She has been championed by some conservatives who say their rights and livelihoods were infringed under the emergency restrictions. On Wednesday, several prominent Republicans came to Luther's defense, including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who offered to pay Luther's fine and serve her sentence himself, under house arrest. Dallas County Judge Eric Moye had offered to only impose a fine if Luther apologized, but she refused. Moye called her defiance "selfish," saying she was "putting your own interest ahead of those in the community in which you live." In his statement Thursday, Abbott said the changes to his order "should free Shelley Luther" and ensure that others aren't subject to the same fate. In April, two Latina women in Laredo were arrested and briefly jailed for defying the lockdown by running nail salons out of their homes. No state officials intervened in their cases. TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox The Dallas County Sheriffs Department said the governors action had no impact on the release, because Luther had been jailed for contempt of court, not for defying his order. Her appeal to the high court over her incarceration is still pending. Luther left the jail around 2 p.m., welcomed by a small crowd of cheering protesters. The Texas Democratic Party, which has been critical of Abbotts response to the pandemic, accused him of using the case as a stunt to distract from the public health crisis. Instead of prioritizing public health measures, the governor dangles political red meat for his base while ignoring his own established guidelines and executive orders, Executive Director Manny Garcia said in a statement. On Thursday, Moye and eleven fellow Dallas judges shot back at Paxton, who had urged Moye in a letter to reverse his ruling. For you to urge a judge towards a particular substantive outcome in this matter is most inappropriate and equally unwelcome, they wrote in a response obtained by WFAA-TV of Dallas. Paxton later dismissed the censure, saying he was not speaking on behalf of Luther, but instead for the countless Texans outraged by Judge Moyes order jailing a mother trying to provide for her children. BOISE, Idaho, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE: IDA) will hold its 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders at 10:00 a.m. Mountain Time on Thursday, May 21. The meeting will be held in virtual-only format, accessible via the Internet. IDACORP shareholders may attend the annual meeting by registering for the meeting at www.proxydocs.com/IDA no later than 3:00 p.m. Mountain Time on May 18, 2020. Additional information related to the meeting is available in IDACORP's 2020 proxy statement. During the meeting, IDACORP President and Chief Executive Officer Darrel Anderson and Idaho Power Company President Lisa Grow will discuss the 2019 performance of IDACORP and its primary subsidiary, Idaho Power Company, as well as company initiatives for 2020 and beyond. Shareholders will have an opportunity to vote and submit questions electronically during the meeting. Additionally, an audio stream of the meeting will be webcast live at www.idacorpinc.com, available in listen-only mode to both shareholders and non-shareholders. Webcast access information will be posted on the IDACORP website the morning of the meeting and presentation slides for the meeting will be available on the IDACORP website before the meeting begins. Following the meeting, all annual meeting webcast materials will be available on IDACORP's website for 12 months. About IDACORP, Inc. IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE: IDA), Boise, Idaho-based and formed in 1998, is a holding company comprised of Idaho Power, a regulated electric utility; IDACORP Financial, a holder of affordable housing projects and other real estate investments; and Ida-West Energy, an operator of small hydroelectric generation projects that satisfy the requirements of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978. Idaho Power began operations in 1916 and employs approximately 2,000 people to serve a 24,000-square-mile service area in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon. Idaho Power's goal of 100% clean energy by 2045 builds on its long history as a clean energy leader providing reliable service at affordable prices. With 17 low-cost hydropower projects at the core of its diverse energy mix, Idaho Power's more than 570,000 residential, business, and agricultural customers pay among the nation's lowest prices for electricity. To learn more about IDACORP or Idaho Power, visit idacorpinc.com or idahopower.com. SOURCE IDACORP, Inc. Related Links http://www.idacorpinc.com Damaged cabling and telecommunications equipment is pictured following a fire at a phone mast, attached to the chimney at the converted Fearnley Mill residential apartment block complex in Huddersfield, northern England, on April 17, 2020. OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images A conspiracy theory that baselessly links 5G technology with the coronavirus has led to a series of arson attacks on cell phone towers in the UK. The attacks started in early April, and 77 towers have now been attacked, an industry group told Business Insider. Engineers have also been attacked, with one stabbed and hospitalized according to the CEO of UK telecoms firm BT. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. A conspiracy theory that claims that 5G internet is behind the coronavirus outbreak has led to arson attacks on more than 70 cell phone towers in the UK. The conspiracy theory began to gain traction in the UK in late March and early April, coinciding with the rising number of cases in the country and its nationwide lockdown. Conspiracies around phone signals have existed for years, however. The scaremongering is thought to have led directly to arson attacks on mobile phone infrastructure. On April 15, Mobile UK, an organization representing Britain's four mobile operators, told Business Insider that roughly 50 phone masts had been attacked across the country the majority of which were not actually 5G-enabled. Mobile UK told Business Insider on Wednesday that the number has now risen to 77, and that the rate of attacks was thankfully slowing. "Daily attacks are very low now but have not stopped entirely," a spokesman said. The inside of an attacked phone mast. OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images Anti-5G conspiracy theorists don't just appear to be attacking masts, however. Philip Jansen, CEO of British telecoms company BT, said that one engineer had been violently assaulted while out maintaining network infrastructure. "We have 40 incidents where people have attacked, either physically or verbally, our staff. We've had engineers being driven at by people and swerve away at the last minute, and we've even had one Openreach engineer stabbed and put in hospital," Jansen said on a YouTube video on April 21. Story continues The outbreak of attacks has been condemned by the heads of the four UK mobile operators. Mobile UK told BI in April: "Theories being spread about 5G are baseless and are not grounded in credible scientific theory. "Mobile operators are dedicated to keeping the UK connected, and careless talk could cause untold damage. Continuing attacks on mobile infrastructure risks lives and at this challenging time the UK's critical sectors must be able to focus all their efforts fighting this pandemic." Conspiracy theories around 5G have spread on social media, with Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter all taking action to try and curb the spread. One offshoot of the theory claims that 5G accelerates the spread of the virus by lowering the body's immune system and that the coronavirus is itself a fiction designed to cover up damage being done by 5G. Both these claims are false. You can read a more in-depth examination of the theory here. Read the original article on Business Insider Kerala maintained a clean slate for the second consecutive day on Thursday with no new cases of Covid-19 as it prepared to receive the first batch of evacuees from West Asia. Two Air India (AI) Express flights Abu Dhabi-Kochi and Dubai-Kozhikode -- carrying the first batch of 347 evacuees from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will reach the state on Thursday night. In a Facebook post Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said no positive case was reported in the state and five people were discharged from hospitals. Out of 502 positive cases, 474 have been discharged leaving 25 patients in the hospitals. Though the state had recorded four deaths it is yet to include the death of a man from Mahe in the state list. Mahe is part of Puducherry. Click here for full Covid-19 coverage. The CM said 16,693 people are under observation out of which 16,338 are in their homes and 310 in hospitals. He said the state has started sentinel surveillance to monitor health conditions of a large number of people at one go. Out of 3,035 samples collected for this, 2,337 have tested negative and other results are awaited, he said. The good news came at a time when the state is expected to witness an exodus of expatriates. Called Vande Bharat operation, the latest evacuation is being dubbed as the largest since the Kuwait evacuation in 1990 when Iraq invaded that country. But some of the expatriates expressed reservations over the term evacuation and insisted that they have paid for their tickets and these are special flights. But many especially pregnant women said they were really thankful to the state and central governments. I was really worried but now dark clouds have moved. I am delighted to go back to my parents for my first delivery. Really grateful to the both the governments, said one of them, M S Sanila before boarding the flight to Kozhikokde. The first flight from Abu Dhabi to Kochi is carrying 179 passengers. The second flight from Dubai to Kozhikode has 168 passengers where the maximum number of passengers are from Malappuram. The state government has decided all those found asymptomatic at the airport will have to spend the next seven days at quarantine facilities arranged by the government. After the seven-day period, they will be tested for Covid-19. If they found negative they will be allowed to return to their home where they will have to spend the next seven days in quarantine. But this arrangement goes against the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs which mandates 14 days of institutional quarantine. Since health is a state subject, Kerala has taken a stand that it can decide on such matters. Paramilitary forces conducted flag marches in Covid-19 containment areas of Ahmedabad and Surat, Gujarats worst-hit cities by the pandemic, as they were deployed there to enforce a week-long hard lockdown from Thursday to check the spread of the pandemic. Gujarat had reported 7,013 Covid-19 cases and 425 deaths as of Thursday. Ahmedabad accounted for more than half of the cases--4,991-- and Surat 799. Of the 425 deaths, 321 have been reported from Ahmedabad and 37 from Surat. Gujarat was among the states where the Centre last month deputed interministerial teams to probe perceived lapses in efforts to control Covid-19 and violations of lockdown regulations. Gujarat police chief Shivanand Jha said the paramilitary forces will monitor the containment areas in Ahmedabad and Surat as the rate of transmission of the virus is higher there. A special reserve force has been assigned to Gujarat for the strict implementation of lockdown as per chief minister Vijay Rupanis request to the Centre, he said. He added all shops except pharmacies and dairies will remain shut in the state until May 15. Jha said the paramilitary forces were deployed to curb the movement of people. He added the lockdown will be stricter in the containment areas. We have issued orders for continuous patrolling to ensure no one violates the lockdown. ...in such areas, only certain roads will be open, and only authorised persons will be allowed to move. Legal actions will be taken against those stepping out without permissions and their vehicles will be impounded. If shops other than those selling medicines and milk are found to be open, their owners will be arrested and strict action will be taken, Jha said. The state government has barred all movement from 7 pm to 7 am and ordered the closure of roads and bridges for the purpose. The state police have been instructed to increase checking while the paramilitary, civil defense, home guard, and all other forces were on high alert. Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, Kweku Baako Jnr. says the International Monetary Fund (IMF) $1 billion loan facility to the Government of Ghana is not because President Nana Akufo-Addo has mismanaged the economy. According to Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, the loan was transferred into Ghanas account to be used to mitigate the impact of the raging coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic affecting the lives of the people and the economy at large. He emphasized that the IMF loan is interest-free, hence there are no conditionalities attached to the grant. But members of the NDC have chided the government for reverting to the IMF when they rebuked the Mahama government for borrowing from the same entity. Kweku Baako, setting the record straight on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo', disclosed that the IMF loan facility under the Akufo-Addo administration serves a different purpose and therefore asked the opposition National Democratic Congress to stop scoring political points with the issue. "We haven't gone back to IMF because we (government) have mismanaged and going for the program. There's a distinction. This return to IMF, quote unquote, is not the same IMF entry we made in 2015 or so . . . The conditions, the circumstances and indeed the conditionalities and other things are totally different. So, you can't do that. When you do that, you actually ridiculing the situation and indeed you're inviting people to look from a purely political perspective," he said. Watch his submission in the video below IMF Executive Board approves a US$1 billion disbursement to Ghana to address the COVID-19 Pandemic IMF Executive Board approves a US$1 billion disbursement to Ghana to address the COVID-19 Pandemic. On April 13, 2020, the IMF Executive Board approved the disbursement of US$1 billion to be drawn under the Rapid Credit Facility. The disbursement will help address the urgent fiscal and balance of payments needs that Ghana is facing, improve confidence, and catalyze support from other development partners. Following the Executive Boards discussion of Ghana, Mr. Zhang, Deputy Managing Director and Chair, issued the following statement: The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting Ghana severely. Growth is projected to slow down, financial conditions have tightened, and the exchange rate is under pressure. The budget deficit is projected to widen this year given expected lower government revenues and higher spending needs related to the pandemic. The Funds emergency financial assistance under the Rapid Credit Facility will help address the countrys urgent financing needs, improve confidence, and catalyze support from other international partners. The authorities response has been timely, targeted, and proactive, focused on increasing health and social spending to support affected households and firms. The Central Bank has recently taken steps to ensure adequate liquidity, preserve financial stability, and mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic, while allowing for exchange rate flexibility to preserve external buffers. The uncertain dynamics of the pandemic creates significant risks to the macroeconomic outlook. Ghana continues to be classified at high risk of debt distress. The authorities remain committed to policies consistent with strong growth, rapid poverty reduction, and macroeconomic stability over the medium-term. Additional support from other development partners will be required and critical to close the remaining external financing gap and ease budget constraints. 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. Featured Video Fox Business Networks Stuart Varney not often a critic of the current administration by any means wasnt thrilled to see Vice President Mike Pence touring a hospital Tuesday with no protective mask on, defying the hospitals policy. It does not help when public officials ignore their own rules like Vice President Mike Pence at the Mayo Clinic yesterday, he told viewers Wednesday. He should have worn a mask. He didnt. We should all obey the rules coming out this week. Varney, who has criticized what hes seen as public insults to President Donald Trump and has insisted Trump exaggerates and spins but doesnt lie, was doing a segment on carefulness around re-opening the economy as temperatures rise. Also Read: 'Morning Joe' Hosts Accuse Trump of 'Pathetic' Lack of Empathy for Coronavirus Victims Across the country, businesses are re-opening. The restraints are coming off. As weve said all week long, cabin fever is meeting spring fever and we are getting out and about. Can we enjoy the spring responsibly? We better, because a spike in new cases will mean a second wave and perhaps a new and more crippling lockdown. Nobody wants that. Surely the answer is this: Wash your hands, wear a mask and keep your distance. That minimizes risk and if youre still worried, stay home, he told his audience. Pence was roundly criticized Tuesday when pictures from his visit to the Minnesota hospital showed he was the only person not wearing a mask, in spite of Mayo Clinic guidelines that said everyone should be. In a now-deleted tweet, Mayo even said it had informed @VP of the masking policy prior to his arrival Tuesday. He later told reporters that he is tested regularly for coronavirus, as is everyone around him, and he wanted to be able to speak to these researchers, these incredible health care personnel, and look them in the eye and say thank you. Read original story Fox Business Stuart Varney Lectures Pence on Not Wearing Mask at Hospital: We Should All Obey the Rules At TheWrap A school in China has forced its students to run nearly two hours every day during 'weight-loss classes' to help the pupils get fit after spending three months at home due to the coronavirus lockdown. The jogging sessions were introduced by the school principal who said that he noticed the students gained weight after 'eating and sleeping too well' at home. A video filmed Wednesday showed two rows of students running around the field track at the Shuguang Bilingual School in Huai'an, Jiangsu province of eastern China. It comes as tens of millions of Chinese pupils have returned to the campus following three months of school closure. A school in China has forced its students to run nearly two hours every day during 'weight-loss classes' to help the pupils get fit after spending three months at home Zhu Yongqian, the school principal, has ordered his students to jog for at least 100 minutes every day to help them 'lose some timber' and improve their fitness. 'After the school restarted, we noticed that a lot of students have gained weight, maybe because they were eating and sleeping too well at home,' Mr Zhu told the press. The concerned headteacher introduced the 'weight-loss classes' the day after students returned to the school on March 30. Mr Zhu said that Chinese authorities suggested that pupils should jog no less than 60 minutes every day, but the school felt the need to extend the exercise time due to the coronavirus lockdown. 'Considering the unusual circumstances this year, we've created the plan that students need to run no less than 100 minutes,' the principal added. The footage from yesterday showed the headteacher running next to the students on the field track as he cheered them up with a loud speaker. The school principal can be heard shouting: 'Keep running! Very good!' The 100-minute-run is divided into three sessions which are about half an hour long each. Teachers are asked to oversee their students and make sure that they meet the daily target. 'After a while, we've noticed that the students' fitness has improved and they are more motivated at school,' Mr Zhu said. One female student told the press: 'Our principal suggested us to exercise more. He said that girls would be prettier if they are skinnier.' Another pupil said that he had lost three kilos (six pounds) after joining the 'weight-loss classes'. Zhu Yongqian (right), the school principal, has ordered his students to jog for at least 100 minutes every day to help them 'lose some timber' and improve their fitness Footage from yesterday showed the headteacher running next to the students on the field track as he cheered them up with a loud speaker But other Chinese schools have cancelled running tests out of concerns that pupils who hadn't exercised much during the lockdown would struggle with heavy physical activities. Authorities from several major cities including Tianjin and Shanghai - have cancelled such tests for students this year amid concerns over pupils' fitness following the school closures. The provinces of Shaanxi and Zhejiang have also removed running from PE exams while manufacturing hub Shenzhen said it would offer an alternative option for its physical training exam due to the Guangdong provincial government's decision to leave plans unchanged. It is believed that at least three students in China died in April during PE lessons after they resumed classes. The news comes as life in China has been moving to a post-lockdown phase after the nation sees a steady drop in its active cases. People are encouraged to resume work as tens of millions of pupils are returning to the campus in the past few weeks. Students wearing face masks are pictured reading books on a playground of Pingmin middle school on the first day of its reopening on April 25 Express News Service By KOLKATA: A Kolkata based biotech firm has developed an indigenous corona test kit which costs only Rs 500 for a single test,. The test kit includes a one-step QRT PCR Master Mix primer-probe as well as RNA template each of which has been locally developed at the laboratory of the company located on the southern outskirts of Kolkata. Describing the latest development as a real-time kit, Raja Majumdar, the managing director of GCC Biotech, a start-up, said it can detect a single-day infection and takes only 95 minutes to give the result. Despite the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) that visited Bengal and stayed two weeks to conduct ground reality study in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak accused the state government of conducting least number of tests, the Bengal government is yet to collaborate with the company which has already started supplying to neighbouring states like Odisha and Assam. "It is totally indigenous because it contains all reagents produced by us. We are not importing anything. Everything has been produced by our team," said Majumdar. Majumdar said his company had the advantage of producing the reagents that have been used in the indigenous Covid test kit. "We have been supplying these reagents to a host of top research bodies across the country. With our existing capacity, we are in a position to manufacture one crore tests per month," he said. According to ICMR guidelines, the cost of a single Covid test in a private lab cannot exceed Rs 4,500. "Our product costs one-ninth of it that is Rs 500 only," Majumdar said adding, "Even if a person with very low viral load and just a single day exposure to the infection, the kit will pick up signals. The kit will not need an incubation period." While communicating with the Bengal government, both the IMCT and the Ministry of Home Affairs pointed out the low-test issue in the state against its total population. Bengal, the fourth populous state in the country, recorded 30,141 tests since the outbreak of the coronavirus infection. The state presently has a population of more than 11 crore. Bengal home secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay said 2570 tests had been conducted in part 24 hours which was highest in a single day. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and top functionaries of the state government, including chief secretary Rajiva Sinha, have accused the central government on several occasions of not supplying enough kits for tests. The state government also accused the ICMR of supplying 10,000 faulty kits which were returned to the nodal body. The class of 2020 is unfortunately missing out on a lot due to the coronavirus pandemic -- proms, commencement ceremonies and more have been cancelled or postponed. But Arandas Bakery is stepping up to celebrate graduating college and high school seniors with free cake. Webb has been president of Union Institute & University since July 2018. She brings to the Board more than 20 years of executive leadership experience in higher education, most recently as Midwest Campus President (Yellow Springs, Ohio) for Antioch University. Prior to her work at Antioch, Webb served as founding dean of the California School of Education at the Alliant International University System. About Union Institute & University Union Institute & University offers educational programs for adults who wish to achieve their professional goals and pursue a lifetime of learning, service and social responsibility. Since its founding in 1964, Union has been a leader in the development and delivery of high-quality undergraduate, master's and doctoral degree programs designed for busy adults. Students can choose to complete their studies online, in the classroom or through a blend of the two, depending on the program and location. A private nonprofit institution, Union is a regionally accredited international university with academic centers located in Ohio, Florida and California. To learn more about Union Institute & University, visit www.myunion.edu or call 1- 800-861-6400. About ACE ACE is a membership organization that mobilizes the higher education community to shape effective public policy and foster innovative, high-quality practice. As the major coordinating body for the nation's colleges and universities, our strength lies in our diverse membership of more than 1,700 colleges and universities, related associations, and other organizations in America and abroad. ACE is the only major higher education association to represent all types of U.S. accredited, degree-granting institutions: two-year and four-year, public and private. For more information, please visit www.acenet.edu or follow ACE on Twitter @ACEducation. SOURCE Union Institute & University Related Links https://myunion.edu Winston Watusi Music Plus I have a strange tale for you today. It involves the notion of being an artist and, I guess, that age-old question: what is art? I find the whole being an artist question quite an interesting one, though I don't mean the word artist here as in someone who paints a nice watercolour of the Mount. Anyone doing that is certainly an artist in the sense of painting something and watercolours are notoriously more difficult that many imagine but not necessarily in the more esoteric meaning of being a person who creates art. Writers, musicians, painters and even chefs are called this. Artists. Even that orange-haired pathological liar currently helping destroy America had the nerve to call his fictional ghost-written apology of a biography The Art Of The Deal. Hmmm... Well, he can call it art but it's not exactly Michaelangelo. It's a label that is hard to pin down, one that some folk happily embrace, one that others shy away from, usually out of some sort of embarrassment. It's long interested me that the great Richard O'Brien, who of all the Bay's songwriters would most likely have a claim to be an artist, always declines the description. Instead, he claims to be craftsman, a humble artisan toiling at his craft. Being art But what if, instead of being an artist, you were actually art? This is one of several conundrums facing Tim Steiner. Tim is a former tattoo parlour owner from Zurich. He is also a work of art. In 2006, Tim's girlfriend met Belgian artist Wim Delvoye. Delvoye was well know and not a little controversial due to previous works which involved tattooing pigs. He was looking for someone to be a human canvas for a new piece. She called Tim and spontaneously he said: I'd like to do that. It's possible that Tim didn't immediately realise how much his life was about to change. Two years later, after 40 hours of tattooing, the artwork covered his entire back: a Madonna crowned by a Mexican-style skull, with yellow rays emanating from her halo. There are swooping swallows, red and blue roses, and two Chinese-style koi carp, ridden by children, swimming past lotus flowers. Delvoye signed the work on the right hand side. And when the tattoo was finished it was sold to a German curator and collector, Rik Reinking, for NZ$275,000. Tim got a third of the sale price. When he eventually dies, his skin will be removed and preserved as a canvas. Tim is now, in pretty much every sense of the word, a walking work of art. Exhibiting It sounds like a horror movie plot just waiting to happen. But that's not all Tim signed up for... What's the point of a work of art if no one can see it? Art was created for people to view, whatever the ultra-rich with Dutch masterpieces stashed in temperature-controlled underground bunkers might think, and Wim Delvoye and Tim Steiner concur. As part of his contract, Tim agreed to sit in galleries around the world three times a year, and for over a decade that's exactly what he's done. Currently he is contracted to the Museum of Old and New Art in Tasmania (Mona). Since 2011 Tim has come to Mona for seasons that can last six months at a time. Since his current term began in November he has come to the gallery every day except Tuesdays, when the gallery is shut and sat on his plinth from 10am to 4.30pm. When Tim sits he doesn't move; he doesn't speak; he is lit from his lower neck to his waist, creating the impression of a headless tattooed torso. Then on March 18, Mona closed its doors to visitors due to the coronavirus lockdown. The vast spaces stretched out silent and empty. But Tim continued to sit each day. He sat in stillness on his plinth in Mona for more than 3,500 hours. Until April 30. Last week Tim's contract finished and the gallery was again deserted. The man whose flesh is a living work of art slipped away to be his own private exhibition. A well-known market intelligence company, Infiniti Research, has announced the completion of its latest article how will telemedicine revolutionize the healthcare industry This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005860/en/ This blog provides comprehensive insights on: An overview of the healthcare industry How telemedicine will revolutionize the healthcare industry The healthcare industry has seen numerous technological advancements that are driving growth and efficiency. Generic medicines, data analytics, real-world evidence, electronic health records (EHR), and medical wearables are some of the examples of such technological advancements. However, despite these developments, physicians and patients are more excited about telemedicine. Telemedicine makes use of telecommunications technology such as phones, tablets, and computers so that healthcare professionals can deliver quality healthcare to patients from any part of the world. Additionally, telemedicine also allows doctors and physicians to consult with one another in the diagnosis or treatment of the patient without having to leave their facilities. Ensuring business continuity a challenge due to COVID-19? Contact us to learn how Infiniti is helping companies around the globe assess the business impact of the coronavirus outbreak and plan for business revival post-COVID-19. The experts at Infiniti Research have listed out how telemedicine will revolutionize the healthcare industry: Convenient and Accessible Healthcare: Each place has a geographical distribution that is not always ideal. For instance, the majority of the population will be centered around main cities, with few dispersed in the outskirts and small towns. The problem with such dispersion is that even the infrastructure such as healthcare facilities will be sparsely distributed. Such distribution can be problematic for patients who might not be able to access healthcare facilities easily. Telemedicine arrives as a boon to the healthcare industry as it can deliver healthcare services even in remote or rural areas; thereby, negating the shortage of medical professionals or hospitals. Additionally, it also extends to urban lifestyles where busy schedules can make it difficult to avail healthcare services on-demand. Reduction in Healthcare Costs: Apart from assisting medical professionals and patients, telemedicine also enables medical providers, insurers, and employees to reduce healthcare costs and save money. The emergence of HIPAA-compliant mHealth (mobile health) apps, secure messaging solutions, and remote monitoring and online management systems has drastically reduced unnecessary physical check-ups and ER visits. Diagnosis of simple health issues such as skin rashes, colds, sore throats, and flu can be easily eliminated by doctors remotely analyzing the symptoms. You may also like to read some of our recent articles on healthcare industry: Staying Prepared to Combat the Pandemic: Lessons for the US Healthcare Industry from Italy's Response Flaws Confronting Change Fatigue in the Healthcare Industry The US Healthcare Industry Analysis 2020 Want to know more about the market trends and strategies to gain a better foothold in the healthcare industry post-COVID-19 crisis? Request more info. About Infiniti Research Established in 2003, Infiniti Research is a leading market intelligence company providing smart solutions to address your business challenges. Infiniti Research studies markets in more than 100 countries to help analyze competitive activity, see beyond market disruptions, and develop intelligent business strategies. To know more, visit: https://www.infinitiresearch.com/about-us View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005860/en/ Contacts: Press Contact Infiniti Research Anirban Choudhury Marketing Manager US: +1 844 778 0600 UK: +44 203 893 3400 https://www.infinitiresearch.com/contact-us Ever since Independence, we have known of our states, districts, blocks and panchayats as different administrative units to facilitate the smooth governance of our country. In our battle against the Covid-19, pandemic, new administrative units have been created namely the three zones: red, orange and green, identified by the levels of the virus spread in these areas. There is, however, another category which also got created during our fight against Covid-19: of two deeply divided economic classes the rich and the poor. While the colour-coded zones could be identified with clearly demarcated geographical boundaries, this class divide between the rich and poor do not coincide with any geographical boundary, but there are social boundaries. I am sure that the colour-coded three zones (red, orange and green) will disappear one day, but this class divide which has been created by the governments unplanned strategy to fight the pandemic might linger. This class divide is not always visible from the naked eye, but goes very deep, and may not be very easy to remove. India has always had faultlines of caste, religion and region, to which we have added one more the faultline of economic class. Not that this divide was non-existent even earlier. It was always there, but now the divide is far deeper and wider. There is a good reason why this class divide between the rich and the poor widened during the lockdown. When the lockdown was announced all of a sudden, a large number of daily wage labourers and others wanted to return to their villages even if it meant walking thousands of kilometres, as no transport was available. While the government did make some arrangements for buses to send them home, as things got out of hand in some locations, a large number of migrant workers were chased away by the police with lathis and batons, on the instructions of their political bosses. The government did make an appeal and provided whatever help it could to the poor migrant workers and things calmed down to some extent after a while. But soon after the lockdown was extended till May 3, buses were sent to Kota, Rajasthan, by several state governments, starting with Uttar Pradesh, to bring back students to their respective states. These governments hardly needed any time to obtain the necessary permissions for these buses to run hundreds of kilometres despite the complete lockdown in place. Earlier, chartered flights were sent to different countries to bring back Indians who were stuck abroad. The government went out of its way to help the middle classes and gave all possible help to bring them back home as the lockdown remained, but looked the other way when the poor needed similar help. While it is true that government did its best to provide food and other necessary items to poor migrants, mostly daily wage earners, in many cases the amount of help which was provided was far less than what was required. Not that the students who were stranded in Kota were not getting food to eat, they were also getting food to survive, but the need they felt was to be with their own family members at this moment of crisis. Even if the government had made some arrangements to give food to the stranded migrants, many of them still wanted to return to be with their families. There is no reason why the poor should not have the same desire as the middle classes in the times of crisis. In an age of 24/7 news television channels, and with several social media platforms active, such information spreads faster and wider than we think. There is no reason why these poor people wont be upset with the efforts of the government, and by default with middle class people in general, as the poor generally believe that the middle classes and rich people are able to get their work done more easily as they have good connections with government officials and politicians. The story of the stepmotherly treatment with migrants did not stop here: while in most other rescue operations involving the Centre and the state governments, the economic burden was taken up by the State, in various instances migrants who had to go back home to their villages and small towns were made to pay for their journey. It is important to note that the civil aviation ministry, which arranged Air India flights to bring Indians stranded abroad back home, has raised a bill of nearly Rs 6 crores to the Government of India for providing their services. Those Indians who were brought back were not required to pay, but a large number of poor migrants had to pay for their journey back home. It is strange that not only were the rich given priority in rescue, but it was free of cost, while the relief for migrants not only came late, but they had to pay as well. The question simply cannot be avoided: why this double standard for different classes of people? During the first few days of the lockdown, the economic hardships of a large number of daily wage earners were not even marginally less than what they face at this moment, but the social divide between the rich and the poor was far less then compared to what we see now. The initial days of the lockdown also saw the middle classes coming out in large numbers to support their livelihood, which is somehow missing during this period of extended lockdown. Brining back lakhs of migrant workers home is a herculean task, and the government must be complimented for that. Had the government given a few days time to these migrants to go home before the lockdown curbs came into force, the migrants in large numbers would have gone home on their own, and saved the government a lot of problems, and expense too. But even if the government is successful in sending all the migrants home now the divide which has been created between the rich and the poor in our society, especially in urban India, will be difficult to bridge once again. Controlling the epidemic, however deadly it may turn out to be, might be much easier than rebuilding trust among various classes of people in Indian society. Love Hemp online sales increase as overall growth strategy is implemented Wholly owned subsidiary Love Hemp grows online presence and product portfolio, increases sales month over month during pandemic LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / World High Life PLC, the AQSE and OTCQB listed investment company, is pleased to provide an update on the progress of its wholly owned subsidiary, Love Hemp, during the global Covid-19 pandemic. Love Hemp is passionate about creating the UK's leading range of trusted CBD products, with new product development at the heart of the brand. Love Hemp was the first company to produce functional spring water in the UK infused with CBD. Oils, sprays, vapes, chocolate, jelly domes and beauty products including its innovative CBD infused face mask and body salves have all followed. In response to current challenges, Love Hemp has shifted its focus, building on the opportunity to achieve stronger online sales, achieving a 39% increase month-on-month since January 2020, whilst expanding its offerings to meet consumer demand. Corporate Highlights The Love Hemp brand (www.love-hemp.com) has increased online sales by 39% month over month since January 2020 The brand has secured a number of notable listings with leading retailers including Boots, to complement its existing listings with Ocado, Holland and Barrett and Sainsbury's According to Alliance Healthcare, the UK's leading distributor to Pharmacies and Independent Retailers, the Love Hemp brand is now its best-selling CBD brand The brand is in negotiations with some of the UKs' largest retailers for multiple new product listings from September 2020 To support growing demand and sales, Love Hemp's secondary online retailer, CBDOilsUK (www.cbdoilsuk.com), is expanding its product portfolio with three new brands and a renewed web presence in the near future LH Botanicals (www.lhbotanicals.com), Love Hemp's CBD wholesale production business, is adding production capacity and new product lines with the acquisition of new machines Having secured a number of notable listings with leading retailers including Boots, Ocado, Holland and Barrett and Sainsbury's, as well as being recognized on the list of Best CBD Oil Brands in the UK by the Evening Standard in August 2019, Love Hemp also won the best CBD Brand in The Beauty Shortlist Awards 2020. New product development is at the heart of the business, with Love Hemp Immune launching in April 2020, more than six-months ahead of schedule, highlighting the brand's ability to be flexible and agile, whilst responding to consumer needs amidst the current circumstances. There is also a range of new products in development ranging from confectionary to drinks, oils and sprays. Brand renewal work carried out by external marketing partners, Propaganda, will be live in retail stores and online from October 2020. Additionally, the company's online retailer, CBDOilsUK, is expanding its product portfolio with the launch of three brands within the next two months, whilst its wholesale production unit, LH Botanicals, is committed to fully supporting customers through this challenging time and has increased production capacity with the acquisition of new capsule and bath bomb production machines. Tony Calamita, CEO at Love Hemp commented: "There's no question that the challenges businesses across the world are facing currently are unique. Whilst bricks and mortar stores have either closed or experienced less foot traffic and reduced hours, it has highlighted the need for us to have a robust online presence in order to keep people engaged with our brands and products. We have expanded our online offerings and are committed to continuing to provide the best experience for our customers, so they are able to continue to purchase and engage with us in an efficient way, with minimal disruption. Fortunately, consumer demand for our products is growing and we have adapted, thanks to a great team effort, to be able to grow the business under new circumstances, expanding our e-commerce presence and education marketing, which will be the foundations of our model going forward." For further information please contact: David Stadnyk Founder & CEO World High Life PLC +44 (0) 7926 397 675 info@worldhighlife.uk AQSE Corporate Adviser Mark Anwyl/Allie Feuerlein Peterhouse Capital Limited +44 (0) 20 7469 0930 ma@peterhousecap.com af@peterhousecap.com Financial PR Camilla Horsfall/Megan Ray Blytheweigh +44 (0) 20 7138 3224 Camilla.horsfall@blytheweigh.com Megan.Ray@blytheweigh.com For more information on World High Life please visit: www.worldhighlife.uk Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain. This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com SOURCE: World High Life PLC View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/588847/World-High-Life-PLC-Announces-Love-Hemp-Results A low-priced COVID-19 testing kit designed by a group of researchers in West Bengal has received the approval of ICMR, and would soon be employed to examine samples, an official statement said on Thursday. The kit 'DiAGSure nCOV-19 Detection Assay' can meet the growing demand for testing equipment across the country to a certain extent. Priced around Rs 500, the device has demonstrated a near-100 per cent accuracy in detecting the virus in a short span of 90 minutes, the statement said quoting an ICMR report. Developed indigenously, one kit can test up to 160 patients, it said. The researchers, under the guidance of former CSIR scientist Samit Adhyay, put together the kit in a matter of one-and-half months with logistic support from Koustubh Panda, the head of the biotechnology department, University of Calcutta, the statement said. The equipment was then developed by GCC Biotech (India) Private Ltd, a company based in Bakrahat, South 24 Parganas, following rigorous clinical trials, it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Here are the latest developments from Asia related to the novel coronavirus pandemic: - Students in Wuhan return to school - Chinese youngsters in Wuhan, where the coronavirus first emerged, filed back to class, wearing masks and walking in single file past thermal scanners. Senior school students in 121 institutions were back in front of chalkboards and digital displays for the first time since their city shut down in January. "School is finally reopening!" posted one user on Weibo, China's Twitter-like short messaging platform. - Pompeo has no evidence about virus lab leak: China - China hit back at US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over his claims that the coronavirus originated in a lab in Wuhan, saying he "doesn't have any" evidence. Washington and Beijing have clashed repeatedly over the virus, which emerged in China late last year but has since spiralled into a global pandemic. Meanwhile, Beijing's ambassador to the UN in Geneva said China will not prioritise inviting international experts in to investigate the source of the virus until after the pandemic is beaten. - South Korea returns largely to normal - South Korea returned largely to normal as workers went back to offices, and museums and libraries reopened under eased social distancing rules after new coronavirus cases dropped to a trickle. The country endured one of the worst early outbreaks of the disease outside China and while it never imposed a compulsory lockdown, strict social distancing had been widely observed since March. - Stocks enjoy further gains as restrictions eased - Most equities rose again as investors grew increasingly, but cautiously, hopeful that the worst of the coronavirus has passed and as countries begin to slowly open up from lockdown. While a string of data highlighted the calamity visited upon the global economy by COVID-19, a slowdown in both infections and deaths in some nations is allowing them to ease restrictions that have kept half the planet stuck at home. - Taiwan company eyes human trials for vaccine - A Taiwanese company said it was seeking approval to begin human trials after a COVID-19 vaccine they developed over the last four months had worked in animals. Adimmune Corporation said their candidate vaccine had produced antibodies that could "effectively inhibit the virus" within mice during testing, and it hoped to start human trials later this year. In Australia, research is set to begin into using blood plasma from recovered coronavirus patients as a therapy for those who become infected, the latest country to investigate the possible treatment. Melbourne-based bio-pharmaceutical firm CSL Behring said the first phase of research in Australia would focus on developing a test to detect the presence of antibodies that fight the virus in plasma. - Macau reaches infection-free milestone - The tiny gambling enclave of Macau reached the landmark of 28 days in a row with no new confirmed cases -- which many epidemiologists says is the threshold for being able to declare an outbreak over. The densely crowded semi-autonomous Chinese city had early infections but quickly shut its borders. It has recorded just 45 cases and no deaths. - Bangkok millionaires' club enjoys lockdown luxury - Gourmet take-out delivered by a butler in a black sedan -- Thailand's super-rich have not forgone luxury during a pandemic which has locked the country down, crushed the economy and left millions unemployed. For the rich in Bangkok, the pandemic has brought the inconvenience of restricted movement -- with an overnight curfew still in place despite some businesses reopening -- but no end to the lifestyle of plenty. Concierge company the Silver Voyage Club has retooled its services to meet the cravings of the elite, delivering high-end meals from top-tier restaurants. burs-sr/rma New Delhi: Migrant labourers from Madhya Pradesh who were stranded in Delhi due to the ongoing nationwide lockdown imposed to mitigate the spread of coronavirus, being transported to the New Delhi Railway Station from where they will return back home Image Source: IANS News New Delhi: Migrant labourers from Madhya Pradesh who were stranded in Delhi due to the ongoing nationwide lockdown imposed to mitigate the spread of coronavirus, being transported to the New Delhi Railway Station from where they will return back home Image Source: IANS News New Delhi: Migrant labourers from Madhya Pradesh who were stranded in Delhi due to the ongoing nationwide lockdown imposed to mitigate the spread of coronavirus, being transported to the New Delhi Railway Station from where they will return back home Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, May 7 : At least 1,050 migrants hailing from Madhya Pradesh left Delhi on Thursday in the first train carrying stranded people from the national capital. Sharing a video of the train, Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said more trains will be taking the migrants in the coming days. "First train carrying 1,050 migrants from Delhi left for Chattarpur, MP, today at 8 p.m. A series of such trains would be carrying migrants to different parts of India in the coming days," he tweeted. These migrants were staying in different shelter homes in Delhi. Speaking to IANS, a government official said before coming to the New Delhi Railway Station in DTC buses, the migrants were screened by doctors and only asymptomatic were allowed to travel. "Followed by the screening, they were sent to the New Delhi station for boarding the train. The District Administration is providing them food and water bottles for consumption during their journey back to their home state," the official told IANS. It was the first special train for migrants stuck in the national capital. Thousands of migrants belonging to different parts of the country were stuck in the national capital due to the sudden announcement of the nationwide lockdown. The central government has now allowed their movement. Ahead of starting the procedure of sending and receiving the migrants, the Delhi government on Tuesday issued an SOP saying only asymptomatic people will be allowed in and out of the city. The Directorate General of Health Services issued the standard operating procedure for screening the stranded persons before travel. In its first response after a major gas leak at its plant in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, LG Chem has said the situation is now under control and it is exploring "all ways to provide speedy treatment" for victims. The company said it was investing the exact cause of the leak and deaths. "The gas leak situation is now under control and we are exploring all ways to provide speedy treatment for those who suffered from inhaling the leaked gas. We are investigating the extent of damage and exact cause of the leak and deaths," a company statement said. Also read: Vizag gas leak: Gas valve malfunction triggered accident; 8 dead, 200 hospitalised Since LG Chem is a South Korean company, South Korea's Ambassador to India, Shin Bong-kil, issued a statement, saying he was shocked and saddened by the news of the accident. Calling it an "unfortunate incident", he expressed deepest condolences to those affected. "We pray for the speedy recovery of those who have been taken ill," he added. Also read: Vizag gas leak: All you need to know about LG Polymers plant As per initial reports, the gas leak at the Vizag factory was apparently triggered by malfunctioning of a valve. Total 11 people have died and more than 200 have been hospitalised in the incident. A senior official investigating the matter said the "the valve controls for the gas were not handled properly and they burst causing the leak". The leakage happened around 2:30 am at LG's Polymers unit at RR Venkatapuram near Naiduthota, Gopalapatnam, and impacted villages in a five-km radius. The gas is used in production of plastic. The styrene gas can have serious effects on health and cause upper respiratory tract problems and irritation in eyes and skin. Exposure to styrene, also known as ethenylbenzene, vinylbenzene can also affect the central nervous system (CNS), causing headache, fatigue, weakness, and depression. LG Polymers India Private Limited, owned by South Korean battery maker LG Chemical, was established in 1961 as "Hindustan Polymers" for manufacturing polystyrene and its co-polymers at Visakhapatnam, India. In 1978, the company was later merged with McDowell & Company Ltd. of Vittal Mallya-led United Breweries Group. In July, 1997, LG Chemical acquired 100 per cent stake in Hindustan Polymers and renamed it as LG Polymers India Private Limited (LGPI). Also Read: Vizag gas leak: 8 dead, over 200 hospitalised after leakage at LG plant in Visakhapatnam Brown County will extend on-site testing in Mount Sterling after the number of positive cases of COVID-19 in the county tripled in a day, and state officials have confirmed several dozen cases among workers at a Cass County processing plant. Brown County had reported two cases of coronavirus disease Tuesday, when Wellness Express a partnership that includes the Brown and Adams counties health departments and the Southern Illinois University Center for Family Medicine in Quincy began offering COVID-19 testing in the city. On Wednesday, the health department reported four new cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in Brown County to six. The cases involve a woman in her 20s and three women in their 50s. All are isolated and recovering at home. On-site testing will continue from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily through Friday. Anyone with COVID-like symptoms or those without symptoms who work in front-line positions such as grocery stores, gas stations or healthcare facilities can be tested. Results usually are returned in one to two days, and those tested are asked to self-quarantine. These new cases demonstrate the continued spread of COVID-19, both in Brown County and in other areas, according to the Brown County Health Department. COVID-19 is spread through contact with other individuals. Please keep in mind that the best way to avoid COVID-19 exposure is to avoid unnecessary activities in public places. In neighboring Cass County, the long-speculated presence of COVID-19 among employees at JBS USAs pork processing plant was confirmed Wednesday. Melaney Arnold, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public Health, told the State Journal-Register in Springfield that she can confirm an outbreak. Cass County health officials acknowledged several weeks ago that positive cases had been reported involving a major Beardstown employer, but they declined to identify the facility. JBS has about 2,000 workers at the plant, which was widely discussed as being the facility involved. Officials told the State Journal-Register at least 30 people associated with the plant were involved, but because they may live outside of the county would not necessarily be among the 49 cases the Illinois Department of Public Health reported in the county as of Wednesday. That number is up five from Tuesday. The newest cases involve a woman in her 20s, two men in their 30s, and two men in their 40s, according to the Cass County Health Department. In west-central Illinois, two cases of coronavirus disease have been reported in Schuyler county, Pike County has one case, there are three in Greene County, 15 in Jersey County up one from Tuesday 39 in Macoupin County which is an increase of three since Tuesday and 231 in Sangamon County, which is an increase of 15 from the previous day, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Morgan County saw no new cases Wednesday. There have been 27 positive tests in the county. Statewide, 2,270 new cases of coronavirus disease and 136 additional deaths were reported Wednesday. There were 68,232 cases in 97 counties in Illinois as of Wednesday and there have been 2,974 deaths, according to the state health department. The states case that Sarah Spiers was the first victim of the Claremont serial killer has been dealt two major blows with prosecutors reneging on their alleged motive for the murder and the judge indicating other evidence about the identity of her attacker was inadmissible. Prosecutors allege Bradley Edwards murdered Ms Spiers on January 27, 1996 after she was last seen at 2.06am in Claremont waiting by a phone booth for a taxi to take her to Mosman Park. Sarah Spiers is an alleged victim of the accused Claremont serial killer. The 18-year-olds body has never been found and the case against Mr Edwards in relation to her murder is circumstantial. Prosecutor Carmel Barbagallo originally claimed the Telstra technician killed Ms Spiers in the hours after his first wife rejected his invitation to attend the Australia Day fireworks together. The federal government has said no COVID-19 patient will be released to herbal practitioners to test the efficacy of their drugs. The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, made the stance known at the daily Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday. Mr Ehanire said many traditional medicines being suggested as cure for COVID-19 had not been tested and might be toxic. On the cure of COVID-19, the traditional medicines that people said they had, we have referred them to Traditional Complementary Medicine Department of the Federal Ministry of Health and to the Nigerian Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development to evaluate. But some of them, who have written to me that they have medicines, have asked me to give them 10 patients so that they can cure them. But we dont do it like that in medicine. We dont have human guinea pigs. Anybody who knows that he or she has a cure must prove to me that it was tried and it worked, he said. The Nigerian government has been advised to follow the steps of other Africa countries by trying some herbal medicines in treating COVID-19 patients. READ ALSO: Last Month, the Madagascan President, Andry Rajoelina, launched a herbal remedy that he said could prevent and cure patients infected with the virus. Countries like Tanzania, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, and the Republic of Congo have indicated interest in the herbal remedy. The World Health Organisation (WHO) however said it did not recommend self-medication with any medicines as a prevention or cure for COVID-19. The health agency said there is no short-cuts to finding effective medication to fight COVID-19. Research Mr Ehanire said all herbal medicines must go through the research cycle to ensure they are not toxic. He also said such drugs will first be tested on animals before it can be certified. Of course, I am not giving them anyone to go and carry out their tests. That is why they have to go through the research cycle to make sure that their medicines are not toxic and you can also check the efficacy. Any kind of medicine can be toxic. The toxicity can be checked and you can also check the efficacy. And as you know, you have to try it on animals such as rats and mouse, before it is certified, he said. Wednesday, May 6, 2020 at 4:13PM Here's one debunked hoax from Poynter's WhatsApp chatbot Poynter Institute, a non-profit organization that supports journalism, recently introduced a new chatbot on WhatsApp to debunk thousands of hoaxes about COVID-19. The bot relies on information from over 100 independent fact-checkers in over 70 countries, making it the largest database to debunk falsehoods about the pandemic (at least according to Poynter). At the moment, it is only available in English, but support for languages like Spanish, Hindi, and Portuguese is in the works. To talk to the chatbot, you'll either need to save +1 (727) 2912606 as a contact number and text the word "hi" or click on this link, if you don't want to save it. You will then be prompted to type a certain number to navigate different options. You may have to wait around two to three seconds for the chatbot to respond to you. The chatbot identifies your country by checking your mobile country code, but you can also ask it to share debunked information from other countries. The service will be available around the clock, and while it may aggregate and share anonymous results of users' queries and interactions with the research community and program partners, "your personal information, however, will never be shared." Source: TechCrunch When is the extra $600 in benefits provided by the federal government set to expire? The additional $600 in benefits provided by the federal government (known as Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, in the CARES Act) will be in effect until July 31 for those who are eligible to receive unemployment insurance or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. What are the options for self-employed people or independent contractors affected by the pandemic? Self-employed people who did not have any regular employment or did not earn sufficient earnings as an employee during the 2019 calendar year will be eligible to apply for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which is intended to be a benefit of last recourse for those who are not eligible to receive unemployment. What is being done for workers who were mostly paid in cash for the past few years? Can they collect unemployment? Workers who were paid in cash may face additional barriers when applying for unemployment if their employer did not report their earnings to the Employment Development Department. They should still be eligible for unemployment benefits, but they will likely need to undergo a wage audit, and may be asked to submit an Affidavit of Wages. [See our map of coronavirus cases in California by county.] How is the Employment Development Department currently certifying ongoing eligibility for benefits? Generally, workers need to certify ongoing eligibility to receive their benefits every two weeks. However, certification is not required at this time for benefits for weeks ending March 14 through May 9. E.D.D. should automatically pay workers who are found eligible for benefits during this time. The one exception is if you return to work and earn wages; you should contact E.D.D. to notify them of your earnings. At a later date, the E.D.D. will contact workers to certify for these weeks. Workers should consider keeping the answers to the following questions so that when E.D.D. asks workers to certify, that information is readily available and makes certification easier: Are you physically able to work? (Note exact dates that you are NOT able.) Are you available for work? (Note exact dates that you are NOT available.) Are you ready and willing to accept work immediately? Did you refuse work? Did you work and earn wages? (For regular unemployment insurance, wages are to be reported when worked, and NOT when paid.) Note that workers are not being asked whether they searched for work, because that requirement has been suspended. Also, if workers are unintentionally overpaid, they should consider filing an appeal when they receive a Notice of Overpayment. 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. When I sat down to watch Americas favorite big-cat-themed streaming show, the last thing on my mind was that it would be relevant to my professional life. But then, out of nowhere, I found myself screaming at the television, Thats a fair use! At the end of Tiger King (spoiler alert!), we learn that Joe Exotica mullet-sporting, glitter-leopard-print-wearing man from Oklahoma and Americas quarantine obsessionhad settled his copyright case with Carole Baskin. But Joe Exotic was clearly in the right. What happened? Bad lawyering? Did Joe Exotics attorney make a deal that was smaller in total cash in conjunction with the settlement of Baskins meritorious companion trademark claim? Or was Exotic bullied into submission, not wanting to keep spending on attorneys when he knew Baskin and her team were going to keep coming after him? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the copyright case in question, volunteers at Carole and Howard Baskins Big Cat Rescue took a picture smiling happily while holding dead bloody rabbits. While the Baskins have improperly tried to scrub the image from the internet using copyright law, I found a copy thanks to the Internet Archives Wayback Machine. While the women were smiling about feeding the rabbits to other animals, Joe Exotic started using the photo in many places to highlight what he saw as the hypocrisy of the Baskins accusations against him for cruelty to animals. Carole proceeded to sue him for copyright infringement because of his use of the photo. Before the case went to trial, Joe Exotic settled for $50,000 and was enjoined from further use of the photo in question. Advertisement Advertisement Unfortunately, now we need to go through the boring copyright law. When someone takes a photograph, that person automatically has a copyright for that photo. Copyright holders can transfer their rights to others, which happened in the case of the smiling bloody rabbit photosthe rights were granted to Baskin. On the face of it, it may seem pretty clear. Joe Exotic used a copyrighted photograph without the permission of the owner; he must be guilty of a copyright violation. Advertisement However, that is not how copyright law works. Copyright has limits, known as the fair use doctrine, which is codified into U.S. copyright law. Put in its simplest terms, fair use allows copyrighted works to be used without the permission of the author in certain limited circumstances where the use is one that benefits society. Common examples of fair use include allowing teachers to photocopy handouts for a classroom or quoting an author in a newspaper article. Fair use enables copyright law to coexist with the First Amendments freedom of speech protections and looks to prevent copyright from being used as a weapon rather than its true purpose: to incentivize creativity. Its pretty clear that Baskin was using her copyrights as a weapon, to try and silence her sworn enemy from exercising his right to free speech. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Criticism, commentary, or parody of an existing copyrighted work is a clear fair use that courts have allowed time after time. After all, we dont want people using copyright to shield themselves from criticism. Otherwise, a copyright holder could prevent a movie critic from giving a bad review of their movie that used a clip from it. That is exactly what happened in this case. Baskin was suing a rival for using a photograph to criticize her. Advertisement Advertisement Unfortunately, that is not where this copyright story ends. (Im not going to get into alleged murder plots or animal abuse or meth useIm sticking with the intellectual property elements here.) It gets far worse. Baskin was not just subjecting Joe Exotic to massive legal expenses against a copyright claim that had little merit. She engaged in the very definition of a strategic lawsuit against public participation. SLAPP suits are an abuse of our legal system, with people trying to silence or punish critics by subjecting them to lawsuits that are expensive, time-consuming, and often just not worth it for the defendant. As an example, Oprah Winfrey was sued by Texas Cattle Ranchers after broadcasting a show on the dangers of meat and mad cow disease. The case was baseless; the cattle ranchers just wanted to threaten and quiet Oprah. She was forced to go to court, where she won, and then to an appellate court, where she also won. Oprah had the money to stand her ground and fight, but not everyone does. Advertisement Advertisement While some states have passed legislation attempting to prevent SLAPP lawsuits, the federal government has not. There have been efforts to do sothe most recent introduction of federal anti-SLAPP even received a congressional hearing in 2016. Unfortunately, two groups have been stonewalling the bipartisan effort: trial lawyers and copyright attorneys (and, with them, major copyright holders). Trial lawyers opposing federal anti-SLAPP makes sense. If enacted, it would take a big tiger bite out of their business. Copyright holders care because copyright is a federal action in federal courts; state anti-SLAPP statutes dont apply. Federal legislation would be different. Hollywood, the music industry, the video game industry, photographers, publishers, and many others that profit off the copyright ecosystem will oppose any legislation, no matter how sensible, because they do not want anything to prevent copyright suits from being brought. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright is the perfect vehicle for SLAPP suits. First of all, copyright is a government-granted, exclusive right to speech. There is no better way to prevent someone from publicly criticizing you than to use copyright law. Copyright lawsuits are expensive and place enormous costs on defendants. Fair use has to be raised once you are sued, so defendants will likely have to spend more. The potential damages are extreme: For every violation of a copyright, you can get $150,000 in statutory damages. Additionally, copyright law has injunctive reliefyou can actually stop the speech from happening. One would think that Congress would recognize this and specifically include copyright in federal anti-SLAPP efforts. But that is not happening anytime soon. Instead, thanks to their lobbying and fundraising, copyright holders have been successful in convincing senior members of Congress in both parties to exclude copyright. These members have told federal anti-SLAPP advocates that they need to be willing to give up copyright for a chance of being successful. There is not a single good policy argument to exclude copyright. Copyright litigation abuse is exactly what anti-SLAPP legislation should be designed to prevent. This type of abuse is the reason we need a federal fix. In my dream world, the saturation of Joe Exotics story will help everyday Americans understand the relevance of copyright law in our daily livesmaybe even spur federal lawmakers to introduce and pass anti-SLAPP law without a special carve-out for copyright. Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. Glassons are here to help you refresh your wardrobe because you know, new Alert Level, new you. The good news is, it's not going to break your bank because they're having a warehouse sale right now with nothing over $40. That does mean the bad news is, you're going to break your bank they're having a warehouse sale right now with nothing over $40. With over 20 pages full of sale items you're definitely going to find a treat, whether it's a new skirt, dress, top, or even a co-ord. We've found two different tabs of the warehouse sale so check it all out here, and here but you better be quick before it all sells out! NEW YORK, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The antibiotics was valued at US$ 43,348.38 million in 2019 and is projected to reach US$ 56,351.33 million by 2027; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.6% from 2020 to 2027. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05891641/?utm_source=PRN The growing prevalence of bacterial infection is one of the major factors increasing the demand for antibiotics globally. However, expensive process of antibiotic development is likely to pose a negative impact on the market growth, which in turn will restrain the growth of the market during the forecast years. Bacteria are microscopic and single-cell omnipresent organisms.Bacterial infection refers to the proliferation of harmful bacterial strains on or inside the human body. These microorganisms can infect any area of the body and may lead to severe consequences.A few of the indications of bacterial infections include pneumonia, meningitis, and food poisoning. Several commonly occurring pediatric bacterial infections are acute otitis media (AOM), sinusitis, bronchitis, upper respiratory tract infection, and pharyngitis. The prevalence of infectious disease caused by bacteria is increasing day by day worldwide. According to a study published by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) in 2019, 1.5-4.5 million infections across the world are caused by the Carbapenem-resistant bacterial strains belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae group every year. Additionally, the same risk factor leads to ~49,000 hospitalization cases in the US every year. Moreover, according to a study published by UNICEF, in 2018, pneumonia was the cause for ~1,755,000 deaths among children below the age of five; moreover, ~1,200,000 children lost their lives by diarrhea around the globe. Further, according to a study published by the NCBI in 2018, campylobacterial infection, which is transmitted through the consumption of poultry, is one of the leading causes of bacterial foodborne infections in developed countries, which is causing a major economic burden. According to estimates given by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2018, every year, ~33 million people die of campylobacteriosis worldwide. Such potential increase in prevalence of bacterial infections is expected to continue to drive the growth of antibiotics market during the forecast period. Thus, the increasing prevalence of such drug-resistant bacteria compels the manufacturers and R&D faculties to come up with new variants of antimicrobials effective against the new, as well as old, bacterial strains, thereby fueling the growth of the antibiotics market. The global antibiotics market is segmented into drug class and action mechanism.Based on drug class, the antibiotics market is segmented into sulfonamides, aminoglycosides, carbapenem, macrolides, fluoroquinolones, penicillin, cephalosporin, and others. The cephalosporin segment held the largest share of the market in 2019; whereas the fluoroquinolones segment is anticipated to register the highest CAGR in the market during the forecast period.Based on action mechanism, the antibiotics market is segmented into mycolic acid inhibitors, RNA synthesis inhibitors, DNA synthesis inhibitors, protein synthesis inhibitors, and cell wall synthesis inhibitors. The cell wall synthesis inhibitors segment held the largest share of the market in 2019; whereas the DNA synthesis inhibitors segment is estimated to register the highest CAGR in the market during the forecast period. A few of the essential primary and secondary sources referred during the preparation of the report are, Food and Drug Administration, World Health Organization (WHO), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and National Cancer Foundations Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05891641/?utm_source=PRN About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker Related Links www.reportlinker.com Pompeo Pledges To Use 'Every Tool' To Maintain Arms Embargo On Iran Radio Farda May 06, 2020 A day after a large majority of the members of the U.S. House of Representatives called on President Donald Trump's administration to do its best to push for an extension of a United Nations arms embargo on Iran, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that every tool will be used to prevent the Islamic Republic from procuring more arms. Highlighting a part of his interview with Fox News on April 29, Pompeo tweeted on Tuesday, May 5, "What the American people should know is President Donald 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." A day earlier, on Monday, 387 members of the House of Representatives from both sides of the aisle had urged the State Department to apply "robust diplomacy" to renew the embargo as well as travel restrictions on people aiding in Iran's proliferation activities. The embargo expires on October 18. In his interview with Fox News' Shanon Bream, Secretary of State Pompeo expanded on the State Department's plan to "make sure" that the Iran arms embargo would not expire in a handful of months. "We're working with our British, our French partners, our friends, saying you all know this doesn't make sense either. I think they agree with us on that. We hope the Russians and the Chinese will see it that way, too. But make no mistake about it; we're going to use every tool we can in our diplomatic capability to ensure that that prohibition on arms sales to Iran doesn't expire in just a handful of months," Pompeo reiterated. However, the Islamic Republic Foreign Minister, Mohammad Java Zarif has argued that as Washington has withdrawn from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, it has no right to use the same deal against Tehran. Moscow has repeatedly noted that it will oppose the extension of the arms embargo on Tehran, and Beijing isn't likely to go along with Washington's proposal either. China and Russia have veto power on the UN Security Council. Meanwhile, Bloomberg News says, "Even if the embargo were to expire, plenty of obstacles remain for Iran to buy weapons. Secondary U.S. sanctions, for instance, would make any country think twice before selling to Iran. The European Union also has its own arms embargo on Iran." Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/pompeo- pledges-to-use-every-tool-to-maintain-arms- embargo-on-iran/30595411.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A new study available on the preprint server bioRxiv* used phylogenetic analysis to demonstrate how certain groups of bats harbor multiple coronavirus lineages that are not readily transmitted across different bat taxa. However, the researchers caution that another novel human coronavirus outbreak originating from bats is imminent due to the destruction of wildlife habitats. Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat - Cynopterus brachyotis species of megabat within the family Pteropodidae. Image Credit: Martin Pelanek / Shutterstock The ongoing, disruptive pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The spillover event to humans likely occurred in late 2019, and the exact source is still a matter of intense research debates. But emerging infectious diseases due to coronavirus infections are not new and have received global attention after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) outbreak in 2002-2003 and the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS CoV) outbreak in 2012. Together with SARS-CoV-2, all of them belong to the same group of Betacoronaviruses. There is increasing evidence for the role of bats one of the most widely distributed and diverse animals as hosts of emerging pathogens, especially viruses. In particular, the aforementioned emerging human coronaviruses have been linked to bat sources. Moreover, the whole-genome analysis revealed that SARS-CoV2 is 96% identical to a bat coronavirus. However, bat coronaviruses comprise only 6% of the current coronavirus database, even though approximately three thousand genetic lineages of bat coronaviruses are believed to circulate globally. Furthermore, based on specific bat species distribution, future coronavirus outbreaks may even be predicted on a geographical level. These were primary reasons why researchers from the University of the Philippines Mindanao, University of the Philippines Manila, and Animal Solutions Veterinary Hospital in Bolcan decided to expand the knowledge on the evolution, diversity, distribution, host specificity, and zoonotic transmission of bat coronaviruses. A deep gaze into the genes of coronaviruses In order to classify representative and unresolved Betacoronaviruses, phylogenetic analysis of their RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) sequences was pursued, while patterns of geographic and host distribution were done by network analysis. RdRp is an important enzyme that the virus uses to replicate its genome and carry out the transcription process. Samples of bat coronaviruses were obtained from Southern Philippines from an exploratory surveillance effort. There were five sampling sites in total, comprised of two residential sites, two agricultural sites, and one forest site at Malagos, Davao City. Genomic material was extracted from small and large intestine samples. "The analysis validated the current classification scheme of Betacoronaviruses with potentially novel groupings and subgroupings identified," study authors say. "Comparative phylogenetics demonstrated a strong tendency towards host specificity of bat Betacoronaviruses, although there was poor evidence of co-evolution with their hosts", they add. Host specificity and potential spillovers This study showed that certain bat taxa harbor multiple coronavirus lineages, and also points to bats as potential origins of other mammalian coronaviruses. Hence, the authors of this new study (available on bioRxiv preprint server) recommend that the database of Betacoronaviruses is continually expanded via continuous surveillance. However, switching to another taxon would necessitate specific genetic alterations, which implies a strong selection pressure. Factors that hamper successful transmission to a different host taxon include viral replication fitness, host immune responses, and cell surface receptors. All of them serve as critical natural barriers in the transmission of bat coronaviruses, which is why their evolution occurs in a step-wise fashion. In other words, host jumping and co-infection (which would otherwise produce new viral strains with the propensity to switch animal hosts) is severely limited. However, we cannot completely discount potential future spillover events. "Continued ecological imbalances that alter bat distribution may eventually lead to loss of host specificity for bat Betacoronaviruses through cross-taxon transmission and adaptation of multiple coronavirus lineages", caution study authors. "Diverse wildlife-livestock-human interfaces created by urbanization could further increase the selection pressure resulting in spillover events in human populations," they add. Fruit bats as a risk forecasting model This is precisely the case with the Cynopterus brachyotis (also known as the lesser dog-faced fruit bats), whose presence in urban Philippine communities makes them a hazard for future spillover infections in animal and human populations. And albeit the researchers have not detected coronaviruses in other fruit bat species, sampling bias may have played a role here. "Should there be a novel zoonotic coronavirus arising from fruit bats such as Cynopterus brachyotis, it is predicted to be genetically distinct from SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, or MERS-CoV", say study authors in regards to the host-specificity issue. "However, this novel virus may be just as virulent or highly contagious," they conclude. In any case, ecological imbalances that muddle with bat distribution may even lead to the loss of host specificity and transmission of bat coronaviruses across taxa. Therefore, initiatives that reduce the destruction of wildlife habitats and restrict wildlife-livestock-human interfaces are vital to aid in maintaining the natural wild state of bat coronaviruses. *Important Notice bioRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 12:28:44|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CANBERRA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- More than 6,000 Australians have recovered from the coronavirus, said Health Minister Greg Hunt Thursday morning. Hunt told reporters that the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia grew by 18 to 6,891 over a 24-hour period, and 6,023 patients have officially recovered while 97 have died. "That's an immensely important statistic. Sadly, we have lost 97 beautiful lives along the way, many of them elderly. So that's why we'll continue to fight," Hunt said. Of the 771 active cases, 24 were being treated in intensive care units (ICUs) as of Thursday morning, with 17 on ventilators. Hunt praised the work of Australia's health care workers and said the government was making an additional 40 million protective facemasks available from the national medical stockpile. A vast majority of the masks, 35 million, will go to hospital staff with 1.5 million for aged care workers and 3.5 million for primary health care workers. The National Cabinet, which is comprised of Prime Minister Scott Morrison and state and territory leaders, will meet on Friday to discuss easing Australia's coronavirus restrictions. "What we hope comes out of National Cabinet tomorrow, and what I expect, is a clear road map out, with clear stages," Hunt said. "And then each state will be able to judge and we'll support each of the states as they make their judgements of their own circumstances and readiness to go to easing restrictions." Enditem Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Britons are being urged not to buy 'miracle coronavirus cures' on the internet by the UK's drugs watchdog. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said there had been a surge in bogus oils and sprays appearing online. The MHRA warned these unregulated products 'pose a risk to your health' and could make could make the illness worse in infected patients. It came after a south London church was caught selling 91 'divine cleansing oil' it claimed could cure the disease if inhaled. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said there had been a surge in bogus cleansing oils claiming to cure the virus (pictured, one was being sold by a south London church) Kingdom Church in Camberwell is under investigation for selling the fake cure for 91 Lynda Scammell, Senior Enforcement Advisor at the MHRA, said: 'We have been receiving reports of 'miracle cures', 'antiviral misting sprays', antiviral medicines being sold through websites. 'Don't be fooled by online offers for medical products to help prevent or treat COVID-19. At this time there is no medicine licensed specifically to treat or prevent the illness. 'We cannot guarantee the safety or quality of these products and this poses a risk to your health. 'One of the risks of buying medicines and medical devices from unregulated sources is that you just don't know what you will receive. Church caught selling fake coronavirus cure for 91 that is bottle of 'divine cleansing oil' A church is under investigation for selling 91 'cleansing oil' and claiming it cures coronavirus. Kingdom Church in Camberwell, South London, was caught flogging bottles of the bogus cure called 'divine plague protection kits' for 91. It was advising church members to inhale it with a towel or in a bowl of hot water to cure themselves of the virus, or smear it on their bodies to avoid catching it. The Charity Commission and Trading Standards has launched an investigation into the church after a BBC investigation found staff bragging about selling more than 2,000 batches. The church's bishop, Climate Wiseman, wrote in a blog post that people would be protected 'by covering yourself with the divine plague protection oil'. 'That is why I want to encourage you, if you haven't done so already, to get your divine plague protection kit today,' he wrote. Advertisement 'You could be risking your health, and this could further spread the virus and increase pressure on our NHS and social care systems.' 'We are working alongside other law enforcement agencies to combat this type of criminal activity.' It came after Kingdom Church in Camberwell, South London, was caught flogging bottles of the bogus cure called 'divine plague protection kits' for 91. The church was advising members to inhale it with a towel or in a bowl of hot water to cure themselves of the virus, or smear it on their bodies to avoid catching it. The Charity Commission and Trading Standards has launched an investigation into the church after a BBC investigation found staff bragging about selling more than 2,000 batches. The church's bishop, Climate Wiseman, wrote in a blog post that people would be protected 'by covering yourself with the divine plague protection oil'. 'That is why I want to encourage you, if you haven't done so already, to get your divine plague protection kit today,' he wrote. Meanwhile, experts today warned there is no 'magic bullet' to treat coronavirus and several drugs will probably be needed to tackle the virus. They said repurposing existing medicines is a faster alternative to developing and manufacturing new vaccines. A team of researchers representing the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology caution that an effective and scalable vaccine is likely to take more than a year before it can be used to tackle the global pandemic. Kingdom Church's bishop, Climate Wiseman (pictured), says his followers will be protected from coronavirus if they cover themselves with 'divine plague protection oil' Dr Steve Alexander from the University of Nottingham said: 'While we're waiting for a vaccine, drugs currently being used to treat other illnesses can be investigated as treatments for COVID-19 - in other words repurposed. 'There's unlikely to be a single magic bullet - we will probably need several drugs in our armoury, some that will need to be used in combination with others. 'The important thing is that these drugs are cheap to produce and easy to manufacture. That way, we can ensure access to affordable drugs across the globe, not just for wealthier nations.' The review, published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, looks at potential therapeutic drug targets - the chinks in the virus's armour or weak spots in the body's defences. Two key targets appear to be proteins on the surface of our cells, to which Sars-CoV-2 binds allowing it entry - ACE2 and TMPRSS2. TMPRSS2 appears to be common on cells, whereas ACE2 is usually present at low levels that increase depending on sex, age and smoking history. Professor Anthony Davenport from the University of Cambridge said: 'As we know these two proteins play a role in this coronavirus infection, we can focus on repurposing drugs that already have regulatory approval or are in the late stages of clinical trials. 'These treatments will have already been shown to be safe and so, if they can now be shown to be effective in Covid-19, they could be brought to clinical use relatively quickly.' He added that any drug would need to focus on the three key stages of infection - preventing the virus entering human cells, stopping it replicating if it gets inside the cells, and reducing damage to tissue. The team said existing drugs that are effective in clinical trials need to be rapidly identified so patients can be treated as soon as possible. It said this needs to be done quickly also because cases are likely to fall during the summer, meaning there will be fewer people who can be recruited to clinical trials. One existing drug being considered is remdesivir - originally developed for Ebola. Clinical trials in America have suggested the drug may be beneficial for patients admitted to hospital with Covid-19, and the US Food and Drug Administration has approved it for emergency use. The experts added that patience was needed in the wait for an effective vaccine. Dr Alexander said: 'Although there are a lot of vaccines being developed around the world, which we hope will be successful, it's still going to take a long time before those vaccines are shown to be effective and can be manufactured at the scale needed to make an impact.' Tim Balk, New York Daily News A University of Pittsburgh coronavirus researcher killed on Saturday, apparently in a murder-suicide, was in a lengthy dispute over an intimate partner at the time of the slaying, cops said. Bing Liu, 37, was shot repeatedly at his townhome in Ross Township, north of Pittsburgh, according to authorities. After his death, the University of Pittsburgh said in a statement that Liu was on the verge of uncovering significant findings in COVID-19 research. Ross Police said they believed the second man in the case, Hao Gu, 46, fatally shot himself in his car after unloading his weapon on Liu. An investigation found no evidence that Lius death was related to his work at the university, cops said. The local police said the case was being transferred to federal authorities, because the individuals involved were not U.S. citizens. Lius work had appeared in more than 30 publications, and he was patient, intelligent, and extremely mature, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine said in its statement. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources As CNY coronavirus lockdown loosens, 98% of us could still get sick Where are Onondaga Co. health officials worried about coronavirus spread? The complete list Onondaga County sets daily records for tests, coronavirus infections; 41st death Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com The rugged handheld devices market is expected to grow by USD 1.22 billion during 2020-2024. The report also provides the market impact and new opportunities created due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact can be expected to be significant in the first quarter but gradually lessen in subsequent quarters with a limited impact on the full-year economic growth, according to the latest market research report by Technavio. Request a free sample report This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200506006126/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Rugged Handheld Devices Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire) The growing preference for android-based devices is expected to drive the growth of the market during the forecast period. End-users prefer Android-based rugged handheld devices over Windows-based systems. This is due to the popularity of Android devices. The Android platform also offers better APIs for enterprise mobility management and provides a comparatively wider range of business applications. Moreover, in 2015, Microsoft announced its decision to stop support services for Windows-Embedded 6.0 from 2018 and Windows-Embedded handheld 6.5 from 2020. These factors have led many end-users to adopt rugged handheld devices that operate on the Android-based platform. 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=IRTNTR43111 As per Technavio, the growing demand for IoT-based rugged handheld devices will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other significant trends and market drivers that will influence market growth over 2020-2024. Rugged Handheld Devices Market: Growing Demand for IoT-based Rugged Handheld Devices The proliferation of IoT devices across various sectors is driving the need for rugged handheld devices that are capable of data communication. This has led to the integration of technologies such as RFID and 4G/LTE and a wide range of sensor technologies such as E-compass, GPS navigation and barometer, and gyroscope with rugged handheld devices. These devices can, thus, be directly connected to the central server enabling businesses to monitor their operational cycles. The integration of IoT technologies also ensures the safety of equipment through automation and real-time updates. Owing to such advantages, many market vendors are introducing IoT-based rugged handheld devices. This trend is expected to boost the growth of the global rugged handheld devices market during the forecast period. "Factors such as the growth of rugged handheld devices market with Industry 4.0, and the new applications for rugged handheld devices will have a significant impact on the growth of the rugged handheld devices market value during the forecast period," says a senior analyst at Technavio. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Rugged Handheld Devices Market: Segmentation Analysis This market research report segments the rugged handheld devices market by end-user (industrial, commercial, military, and government), product (rugged mobile computers and rugged tablets), type (semi-rugged, fully-rugged and ultra-rugged), and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA.). The North American region led the rugged handheld devices market in 2019, followed by Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA. respectively. During the forecast period, the North American region is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to the growing use of rugged handheld devices in warehouse and logistics, as well as the military and defense sectors. Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report Some of the key topics covered in the report include: Market Drivers Market Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Competitive scenario About Technavio 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/20200506006126/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ United States special envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, will visit India to discuss the important role of New Delhi in sustainable peace in Kabul and the region, the State Department said on Wednesday. In New Delhi, he (Ambassador Khalilzad) will meet with Indian officials to discuss the important role of India in sustainable peace in Afghanistan and the region, the State Department said on Wednesday. Last month, Khalilzad spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and welcomed Indias engagement in regional and international efforts for lasting peace in war-torn Afghanistan. The State Department said Khalilzad departed on Tuesday and will first visit the Qatari capital Doha to press full implementation of the U.S.-Taliban agreement the two sides signed in February. During his tour, Khalilzad will also visit Pakistan. In Islamabad, the US envoy will meet with Pakistani officials and also discuss the Afghan peace process. (ANI) Carol Berul of Sacramento, California, retired from state government on Feb. 1. She said she's still trying to figure out what happened to her Medicare Part B application, which she mailed in January. In her early 70s, Berul said she's worried her health could be jeopardized by bogged-down paperwork. She has an immune system disorder triggered by a medication that she once took. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / MGX Minerals Inc. ("MGX" or the "Company") (CSE:XMG)(FKT:1MG)(OTC PINK:MGXMF) is pleased to announce an agreement to purchase a 100% interest in the Heino-Money gold deposit and Tillicum Claims (MINFILE 082FNW234 including Grizzley, Annie Flats, and Silver Queen occurrences, located approximately 12 kilometres east of Burton (110 km east of Kelowna), in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. By issuing shares and cash totaling $5,000,000 CDN and completing a work program of $1,050,000 CDN over a three year term, MGX will acquire a 100% interest in the property with a Net Smelter Return to the Vendors of 5%, which may be bought back for $1,000,000 CDN. Figure 1 - 3D Drill Hole Model (Assessment Report 27144) Property Exploration History In 1981, a bulk sample of 58 tonnes shipped from the Money Pit averaged 78.8 grams per tonne gold. In 1986, a 3175- tonne bulk sample was shipped to the Dankoe mill at Keremeos and yielded 109.44 kilograms of gold (Assessment Report 19437). In 1993, as a result of mining at the Heino-Money zone, a total of 5503 tonnes of mineralization with an estimated head grade of 24.4 grams per tonne gold was shipped to the Goldstream mill (MINFILE 082M 141) for processing. Approximately 102,443 grams of gold and 149,546 grams of silver were recovered into concentrates that were shipped to Japan for smelting (George Cross News Letter No. 237 December 10, 1993). Summary of production from Heino-Money zone, 1981 to 1993: Year Mined tonnes Milled tonnes Au grams recovered Au troy ounces recovered Au troy oz/t (recovered ounces/ton) Ag troy ounces recovered Ag troy oz/t (recovered ounces/ton) 1993 5,503 5,503 102,455 3,294 0.599 5,275 0.959 1991 9,207 296 1985 227 168 48,351 1,554 6.850 1,658 7.304 1981 58 58 4,239 146 2.517 105 1.810 Exploration activity in 1982 included 1128 metres of diamond drilling in 16 holes on the Heino-Money zone, eight holes on the East Ridge zone and three holes on the Jenny zone. In 1983, a 60.9-metre crosscut adit was driven on the East Ridge zone and further geochemical surveys and trenching carried out. Diamond drilling was done in 18 holes on the Heino-Money zone. Drilling in 1983 totalled 2319 metres in 38 holes. In 1984, a 60-metre adit was driven into the upper part of the Heino-Money zone. Further diamond drilling was done in five holes on the East Ridge zone. La Teko provided financing of exploration to the end of 1985 ($2.28 million) to earn a 39.6 per cent interest in Esperanza. La Teko was unable to provide further financing and the 1982 option agreement expired at the end of 1985. In 1986, Esperanza Explorations completed a drill program of 25 surface diamond drill holes, totalling 835.5 metres and nine underground diamond drill holes, totalling 176.8 metres, including DDH Haus86-6 which intercepted 12.8 meters @ 90.57 g/t Au. Underground development, included 153 metres of drifting and 46.5 metres of raises. By this time, 5 levels had been developed at elevations of 2112, 2130, 2148, 2160 and 2171 metres on the Heino-Money zone. In 1989, a further 10 diamond drill holes, totalling 1437.6 metres, were completed on the East Ridge zone. The East Ridge zone is 300 metres east of the Heino-Money zone. Gold mineralization occurs in a blanket-like zone that straddles the contact between porphyritic diorite and meta-arkose, quartzite, siltstone and minor argillite. The gold-bearing, near-vertical calc-silicate skarn structures occur within a 9.1 to 24.3- metre zone that strikes northeast and dips 70 degrees northwest. The skarn structures have widths that vary from 1.5 to 4.6 metres, but average 2.1 metres. The East Ridge zone has been traced by drilling for 1100 metres along strike and 365 metres down-dip at an average width of 1.5 metres. The East Ridge zone is comprised of two parallel upper skarn structures 0.9 to 1.5 metres thick and a lower skarn structure. Gold occurs in randomly distributed high- grade pockets separated by areas of lower grade material. Within the zone, gold-bearing sulphide mineralization consists of pyrrhotite, pyrite-marcasite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena and native gold with traces In 1989, Esperanza Explorations Ltd wrote a summary of the mineralization on the Heino-Money Zone (Property File 825275, Roberts, 1989): The gold mineralization is contained in a near vertical skarn structure which averages about six feet in width and which, to date, has been delineated over a strike length of about 600 feet and a vertical extent of 300 feet. The mineralized zone remains open both on strike and to depth. In 1993, Bethlehem Resources Corporation and Goldnev Resources Inc. optioned the property and obtained a permit for an underground mining operation. Mining commenced in mid-August of that year and was completed in late October. A total of 29,009m of surface and 3,865m of underground drilling for a total of 376 holes. In addition, underground development consisting of 1,374m in the Heino-Money zone and 410m in the East Ridge zone was completed. In 1994 Columbia Gold Mines Ltd. (formerly Esperanza Explorations Ltd.) commissioned Ross Glanville & Associates to carry out a valuation of the Tillicum Mountain project. Figure 2 - Topography with Zones of Mineralization (Assessment Report 35269) Property Geology The Tillicum Mountain area is underlain by metamorphosed siltstone, calcareous siltstone, arkose, and wacke, with lesser amounts of basalt, tuff, argillite, impure carbonate and marble layers, that have been subjected to Lower Jurassic regional metamorphism and folding that predates the Middle to Upper Jurassic intrusion of the monzonitic stocks. This resulted in sillimanite- grade metamorphism throughout most of the Nemo Lakes Belt, however, the metamorphic grade is lower around Tillicum Mountain and resulted in the formation of biotite, muscovite, chlorite and amphibole. In addition to the regional metamorphism, the rocks were locally subjected to two episodes of contact metamorphism. The first is associated with swarms of dioritic sills that probably accompanied the regional deformation, the second is hornfelsing related to the intrusion of the large monzonitic stocks and postdates the regional deformation. The structure on the property is dominated by steep angle normal and reverse faults. Most faults have little offsets, however, several faults with major displacements divide the property into fault-bounded blocks. The metamorphic fabric of the rock closely parallels the bedding planes with minor or parasitic folding only very rarely observed. The Heino-Money zone is offset by a series of left-lateral, steep- angle, northeast- striking faults that have displacements of up to 9.0 metres. Within a 500 metre radius of the Heino-Money zone, three other significant mineralized zones have been discovered. These are the East Ridge zone, the Jenny zone and the Blue zone. At the Heino-Money zone, strata-bound, gold-bearing, siliceous calc-silicate skarn alteration is hosted in a thin, wedge-shaped package of basaltic tuff and tuffaceous sedimentary rocks, which is bounded to the west by metabasalts and to the east by a large, altered feldspar porphyritic diorite body. The skarn is pinkish-green and is generally well layered with sub-parallel thin quartz veins and variable amounts of sulphides. The skarn assemblage includes quartz, tremolite-actinolite, clinozoisite, plagioclase, diopside, biotite, garnet and microcline, with minor amounts of sericite and carbonate. Free gold occurs as fine to coarse disseminations and fracture fillings within and along walls of the quartz sulphide veins; gold is generally associated with pyrrhotite, pyrite, galena and sphalerite. The zone is cut by north-trending, steeply dipping lamprophyre dykes, which postdate both the skarn development and sulphide mineralization. A polished section study of this mineralization shows that gold grains are generally free, but may also be intimately associated with pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite and pyrite-marcasite. Some pyrrhotite grains are rimmed with colloform pyrite-marcasite while others contain small masses of hematite and graphitic material. Minor to trace amounts of tetrahedrite, chalcopyrite and possibly electrum also occur. Polished thin section studies and geochemical studies suggest that the mineralizing process at the Heino-Money zone involved two phases of precious metal deposition. The first phase included the introduction of gold, arsenopyrite and possibly sphalerite, accompanied by the crystallization of quartz, carbonate and calc-silicate minerals. This was followed by the deposition of argentiferous galena and the continued introduction of arsenopyrite and sphalerite. Gold and silver-bearing horizons are present in the skarns at the Heino-Money zone but they do not occur together. Silver Queen Geology The Silver Queen Crown Grants are underlain by highly deformed Triassic and older volcanic and sedimentary rocks of and younger aplite and feldspar porphyry dikes, and granitic intrusions. Locally, impure tuffs and sandy sediments, striking east to north east and dipping steeply south to west, have been intruded by numerous dykes. An open cut at a point 50 metres down the southern slope, at an elevation of 2350 metres, exposes a carbonate band, approximately 1 metre wide, in these sedimentary rocks that hosts concentrations of pyrite. The gold and silver mineralization is associated with various dykes and sills and the mid-Jurassic Goat Canyon granitic stock. A 10-metre shaft at 2,100 metres elevation and an adit 100 metres to the south west develop similar occurrences. The main adit is driven north east for 35 metres then turns north for approximately the same distance before ending in aplitic granite. The adit is principally in limy and garnetiferous greenstone. Mineralization has been traced over a strike length of 950 metres. Drilling on the zone has identified several 20- metre thick mineralized skarn zones hosted in a 30- metre wide sequence of impure calcareous quartzites, siltstones and thin marble beds marginal to feldspar porphyry sills. Sulphide mineralization consisted of pyrite, pyrrhotite, tetrahedrite, sphalerite, galena, pyrargyrite and arsenopyrite. Alteration minerals include quartz, tremolite, actinolite and anhedral garnet. In 1982, sampling of an open-cut exposing the carbonate band assayed 3.4 grams per tonne gold and 960 grams per tonne silver. While, a silicified sample from the portal of the adit assayed 3.4 grams per tonne gold and 1060 grams per tonne silver In 1984, diamond drilling intersected values from 40.1 grams per tonne silver over 3.65 metres to 144.7 grams per tonne over 4.51 metres. In 2001, samples from the adit dump assayed from 1.4 to 3.4 grams per tonne gold and 685 to 1060 grams per tonne silver with 2.7 per cent lead and 2.6 per cent zinc. Another mineralized zone, located approximately 300 metres north east of the adit, yielded up to 2.1 grams per tonne gold and 257 grams per tonne silver, while another sample from the ridge crest approximately 200 metres west of the mountain summit assayed 3.4 grams per tonne gold and 960 grams per tonne silver (MINFILE 082FNW220). Payments and Exploration Commitments (a) The Purchaser agrees to pay to the Vendors cash payments totaling $2,000,000 for the 90% Consideration under the following schedule: (i) $25,000 within 14 days of the Execution Date; (ii) $50,000 prior to July 15th 2020; (iii) $100,000 prior to October 1, 2020; (iv) $100,000 prior to January 1, 2021; (v) $100,000 prior to March 1, 2021; (vi) $125,000 prior to July 1, 2021; (vii) $125,000 prior to October 1, 2021; (viii) $125,000 prior to January 1, 2022; (ix) $125,000 prior to March 1, 2022; (x) $125,000 prior to May 1, 2022; (xi) $125,000 prior to October 1, 2022; (xii) $125,000 prior to January 1, 2023; (xiii) $125,000 prior to March 1, 2023; (xiv) $125,000 prior to May 1, 2023; (xv) $125,000 prior to October 1, 2023 (xvi) $125,000 prior to January 1, 2024; (xvii) $125,000 prior to March 1, 2024; (xviii) $125,000 prior to May 1, 2024; (b) The Purchaser agrees to issue 20,000,000 common shares of the Purchaser, at a deemed price of $0.10 per share, to the Vendors, and together with Initial Cash Payment, for the 90% Consideration under the following schedule: (i) 2,000,000 within 14 days of the Effective Date; (ii) 2,000,000 prior to October 1st, 2020; (iii) 2,000,000 prior to May 1, 2021. (iv) 2,000,000 prior to October 1st, 2021 (v) 2,000,000 prior to May 1, 2022 (vi) 2,000,000 prior to October 1, 2022 (vii) 2,000,000 prior to May 1, 2023 (viii) 2,000,000 prior to October 1, 2023 (ix) 4,000,000 prior to May 1, 2024; (c) The 10% remaining interest maybe purchased for $1 million at any time. (d) The Purchaser grants to the Vendors a Net Smelter Return of 5% which may be bought back for $1 million. (e) The Company shall fund and pay exploration expenditures, in respect of the project, in the aggregate amount of $1,050,000 as follows: $50,000 shall be expended by the Purchaser prior to August 1, 2020, $500,000 shall be expended by the Purchaser prior to December 01, 2021 and $500,000 shall be expended by the Purchaser prior to December 01, 2023. N.I. 43-101 and Customary Approvals The Company will complete a N.I. 43-101 Technical Report within 45 days and will seek to verify data and previous work. All work prior to the implementation of N.I. 43-101 was completed by qualified professionals of their day and is believed to be accurate, but is not N.I. 43-101 compliant. The Company is currently seeking final exchange and corporate approvals. Qualified Person Andris Kikauka (P. Geo.), Vice President of Exploration for MGX Minerals, has prepared, reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release. Mr. Kikauka is a non-independent Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 Standards. About MGX Minerals Inc. MGX Minerals invests in commodity and technology companies and projects focusing on battery and energy mass storage technology, extraction of minerals from fluids, and exploration for battery metals, industrial minerals, and precious metals. Contact Information Patrick Power Chief Executive Officer ppower@mgxminerals.com Web: www.mgxminerals.com 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. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "potentially" and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking information as a result of various factors. The reader is referred to the Company's public filings for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects which may be accessed through the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. SOURCE: MGX Minerals Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/588862/MGX-Minerals-Announces-Acquisition-of-Heino-Money-Gold-Deposit-and-Tillicum-Claims-Located-in-the-West-Kootenay-Region-British-Columbia Mumbai, May 7 : Oscar-nominated and National Award-winning filmmaker Ashvin Kumar worked with Irrfan in his 48-minute short film "Road To Ladakh" in 2004, and he says the experience changed his outlook towards professionalism and filmmaking. An emotional Ashvin says he feels "cheated" on Irrfans sudden demise, on April 29. Drop out of London Film School, Ashvin recalls he had no budget to pay the actor. He requested Irrfan if he could come forward to support the film. "I wrote 'Road To Ladakh' keeping Irrfan bhai in mind. I needed his support and he did that quite willingly. I remember when we were in Delhi before leaving for Ladakh, that evening bhai had met with an accident. He injured his wrist. He had all the medical reason to back out as I was not paying him and he was voluntarily supporting the film. But he said, 'I promised you, I will keep my words'. The more I got to know him, my respect for him as an individual amplified. He did not know back then that he had high altitude sickness, and we discovered that once we went to Ladakh. He was sick, with an injured wrist and living under extreme weather condition inside a tent like all of us. But he did not give up. He constantly supported us ," recalled Ashvin, speaking to IANS. The story of the film revolves around a strange relationship between a terrorist and coke-snorting fashion model on a chance road trip they end up sharing in Ladakh. The last leg of the film involves a bed scene that was quite aesthetically shot, and which unveils the truth of the male protagonist. Being a debutant, how was it to direct an actor like Irrfan in such a scene in such a vital stage of the story? Ashvin recalled: "That was a crucial scene and I had to justify the scene with certain aesthetics and projection of raw emotions. I remember Koel was a little reluctant. Although Irrfan made her comfortable, there was a certain inhibition. So, I said to Irrfan if he could remove his clothes to justify the moment. He did, and finally, it came across very beautifully. You see, in the film, Sharon (Koel Puri) was the safety blanket of Shafiq (Irrfan). Once he came out of that, he was killed." How does the filmmaker wish to remember the actor? "Irrfan bhai had a tremendous sense of destiny and way ahead of his time. That is why perhaps he struggled much more than many, despite being so talented, in his short-lived career. I so wanted to collaborate with him once again because every time I had word with him -- especially when he visited London -- I just realised he had so much to offer. He changed the scene in 'alternative cinema' and I wanted to make more film with him. In a way, emotionally, I feel cheated! Irrfan bhai left too soon," Ashvin signed off. (Arundhuti Banerjee can be contacted at arundhuti.b@ians.in) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text The first modular hospital complex has opened in Baku. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva attended the inauguration of the complex. The head of state and first lady were informed of the conditions created at the modular hospital complex. The construction and installation of the first modular hospital complex was completed within three weeks. The complex, which covers an area of 3,000 square meters, will operate under the Clinical Medical Center No 1. The 200-bed modular hospital consists of three blocks and has 100 wards. All conditions were created here to treat infectious patients with moderate-to-severe symptoms. After viewing the complex, the head of state and first lady met with health workers. The head of state made a speech at the meeting. Speech of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev - We are marking the opening of a new hospital of a modular type. This is a very significant event. The opening of any hospital is a significant event. If we consider the fact that more than 700 healthcare facilities have been built or refurbished in our country over the past 16 years, it is easy to imagine the scope of what has been done. We believe that the already existing hospitals, especially the modern ones, will provide our needs for many years. However, the coronavirus pandemic certainly dictates its own rules, so the construction of new hospitals is inevitable. Of course, the construction of hospitals takes a lot of time design work, the technical side, the choice of location. I believe that by giving preference to new technologies, we made the right choice, of course we ensured the construction of modular hospitals which can be quickly assembled, disassembled and moved to another place. I recently informed the public about this, and today we are celebrating the opening of such a hospital. In a matter of one month, a hospital with 200 beds has been commissioned. Of course, this hospital and the hospitals that will be built in the future will play a major role in the fight against coronavirus. There are plans to build 10 such hospitals in various regions of our country. Of course, the increase in the number of beds plays a special role in the fight against coronavirus for each country. Currently, we see the experience of some developed countries. We see that due to the lack of beds, patients cannot receive treatment in a timely manner there. Many people infected with coronavirus are not hospitalized at all and stay at home. Of course, it is impossible to treat them and monitor their condition at home. I believe that our experience in the fight against coronavirus in Azerbaijan is the most progressive and humane because all our patients are placed in hospitals where doctors take care of them day and night. The construction of new hospitals, of course, is designed for the future because the hospitals available now provide for our needs. More than 20 state hospitals, including the newest and most modern Yeni klinika hospital with 575 beds, have been made available for the treatment of coronavirus patients. Patients undergo treatment there now. This is the right step for the future because no-one knows how long the pandemic will last. No-one knows its further stages. Therefore, we must be fully prepared. All the steps we have taken are preventive in nature. The commissioning of this hospital and another nine similar hospitals is scheduled to take place in the next one to two months. All these steps have been anticipatory, which is why I think we have managed to win the first stage of the fight against coronavirus. But the fight continues, the coronavirus has not disappeared anywhere, it wanders and will continue to wander, so everyone should know this. Great success has been achieved in the field of testing today. Azerbaijan is in one of the leading places on a global scale for the number of tests per capita. To do the testing, new laboratories have been acquired. Their number has now reached 23 and the creation of new laboratories is on the agenda. All necessary medical equipment is being purchased. As you know, 100 million manats were allocated from the Presidents Contingency Fund for the acquisition of medical equipment, supplies and proper organization of work. This is the first tranche and an additional 150 million manats is already in a state of readiness. If necessary, we will use that as well. Of course, all these comprehensive measures testing, the operation of hospitals, laboratories, the professionalism of doctors and the proper organization of work - have allowed us, as we wanted, the opportunity to come out of this situation with small losses. The death of each person is a great tragedy for their loved ones, relatives. The life of each person is very valuable to us. But cognition comes through comparison, and when we see that hundreds of people, sometimes even more than a thousand people die in developed countries, then, of course, we see that the work done in this area in Azerbaijan is of particular importance, and everyone sees that. Even in countries with similar population figures as ours, hundreds of people have been dying every day for a long time. The healthcare of these countries has always been cited as an example throughout the world, including for us. However, during this period, everyone saw that the situation there had reached a critical point. Therefore, of course, if we compare the work done by the Azerbaijani state, it has a significant advantage. We are paying special attention to keeping the situation under control, and at the first stage we succeeded in doing that. Therefore, the adoption of comprehensive measures, including the gradual introduction of a quarantine regime in accordance with the situation, its tightening and recent relaxation are all balanced steps. Why has the quarantine regime tightened? In order to prevent the spread of the infection, and we did achieve that. At the initial stage, this virus, if I may say so, was imported to Azerbaijan, but then cases of internal infection began to occur. Operational measures were taken immediately and it was thanks to the strict quarantine rules that we completed this stage with minimum losses. On seeing that the number of people those recovering significantly exceeds the number of those infected every day for three weeks, we began to take mitigating measures. Unfortunately, some people perceived this as the removal of the quarantine regime. Unfortunately, some people do not comply with the quarantine regime. Mitigation measures pursued only one goal: to restore the customary way of life to some extent. The mitigation of the quarantine regime does not mean the end of the quarantine regime. No. The quarantine regime will be in place until at least 31 May, after which it may be extended if necessary. Therefore, frankly speaking, the picture of recent days frustrates and worries me because in the last two to three days the number of infected people exceeds the number of those recovering, and if this trends increases sharply I want to say this openly for everyone to know we will have to bring the quarantine regime to its previous state, tighten it and take stricter punitive measures in relation to those violating order, so that we can constantly keep the situation under control. The policy of the Azerbaijan state and the day-to-day management of the Task Force of this work pursue one key goal: protect the life and health of our citizens and, within the framework of the restrictive regime, create maximum opportunities for people so that they do not move too far away from their usual way of life. Therefore, we took mitigating measures. On 27 April and then from 4 May, a milder regime was introduced. But what do we see? We see that some irresponsible people dont comply with any rules, dont wear masks, dont mind their distance, act as if the virus has already been defeated. This should not be allowed under any circumstances. Therefore, strict measures will be taken against such people. Let everyone know this and make the right conclusions. We cannot allow some irresponsible citizens to endanger people's lives. This is absolutely impossible! Therefore, it seems as though a new stage of the pandemic is beginning in some regions of our country today, in particular in Ganja. We must treat this very seriously. This is why the current quarantine regime provides for special rules for Baku, Sumgayit, Absheron, Ganja, Lankaran. Why? Because there are more patients and cases of infection in these places and cities. In recent days, it is possible to say that 30, 40 or 50 percent of those infected were in the city of Ganja. Therefore, the situation there should be the cause for concern. We are currently clarifying what the reason for this is. The main reason is the failure to take timely measures by people and leaders. Where timely measures are taken and the adopted rules are implemented, the situation is under control. We will tighten control. Therefore, the tightening of measures in relation to the quarantine regime is not ruled out. I want to say again that we won the first stage of the fight against the virus. But the virus has not disappeared, it wanders and will continue to wander here. Doctors and specialists know this very well, and I would like our people to know this. Awareness work should be expanded. Some people believe that the virus is not there more, the whole world is in crisis but in Azerbaijan, as if on an island at sea, everything is and will be good. Of course, the situation in comparison with many countries is good, but we cant say that it is absolutely good. Of course, people need to maintain personal hygiene. I believe that this will be a kind of new reality for a long time and we must come to terms with it whether we want it or not. Wearing a mask, keeping a distance, washing your hands with soap several times a day, using disinfectants all should be the rule. You know, sometimes we compare ourselves with several countries and say I am also saying this today that the situation in many developed countries is deplorable, critical. Unlike Azerbaijan, these countries do not know how to deal with the crisis. But, on the other hand, we see that in these countries, developed countries, countries where responsibility and discipline are at a high level, people keep a distance. We see on TV that people in queues keep a distance of one and a half to two meters and wear masks. Do we have people keeping distance? Watch any TV channel. I saw yesterday: people stand in front of a bank close to each other and there are no masks. Correspondents ask them why, but they, like schoolchildren, provide thousands of reasons I forgot, I do not need a mask in the open air, I have it in my pocket. We cannot tolerate such an attitude. This is no joke. Everyone should take this very seriously. Severe penalties will be applied in relation to such people. I am telling all relevant authorities today: tighten the penalties. We must protect citizens. We cannot allow our citizens to get sick or die because of some discipline violator and irresponsible person. Therefore, everyone must abide by these rules, from now on and for a long time. Doctors and specialists are well aware of this and the general public should know this as well the fight against coronavirus will end when the vaccine is developed. The whole world is waiting for this vaccine today. Scientists in many countries are working to develop it. After the vaccine is developed we will be able to say that we can protect ourselves from this virus. Until that time, the virus will be there and let everyone know this. Therefore, I believe that as a result of all the comprehensive measures, responsibility of citizens and discipline we will be able to keep the situation under control because the issue here depends not only on the activities of state bodies. State bodies, civil society, citizens all of us must work towards one goal. We have solidarity and show unity. One of the manifestations of solidarity is that the state, the private sector, entrepreneurs and ordinary individuals help and provide assistance to the poor, provide them with food. They make donations into the Fund to Support Fight against Coronavirus set up on my initiative. The Fund has already accumulated more than 100 million manats. All this testifies to the highest qualities of our people mercy, attention to the poor, desire to help, unity, solidarity. But it is also necessary to show responsibility and discipline. We are still talking about this in the form of an appeal but, if necessary, this will be enforced. Doctors are risking their lives and health, the health of their loved ones. They take care of the sick around the clock. We highly appreciate the dedication of doctors. The people of Azerbaijan have once again become convinced that in the most difficult time, during the pandemic, doctors are the leading people, the people who protect peoples lives. Of course, along with all other factors, the state is taking the necessary measures. But at the end of the day, it is the doctors who treat patients and bring them back to life. Doctors work day and night to save people. All patients who have got rid of this disease should first of all be grateful to the doctors. Our police officers, employees of the internal troops are on the streets day and night, risking their lives and trying to reason people. We must appreciate their work. Why should anyone want some special privileges? I must note in this regard that the pandemic has shown the whole world: everyone is equal before this disease. No-one has or will have any privileges. This is one of the main components of our policy the rule of law and equality must be always ensured. Therefore, no privileges will be granted to anyone. Strict punitive measures are being taken in relation to those who violate the quarantine regime, who want to spend time in some public catering facilities, including senior officials. Some of them have already been punished for violating the quarantine regime. At the same time, unfortunately, we see the true colors of national traitors in this situation. Those who set their eyes on the property and the food ration of the poor are traitors. There is no other name for that. This is not a theft, not some petty crime. How can one describe the actions of officials trying to appropriate the food rations sent by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation? Only as betrayal. I have already said this but want to say again: many call the pandemic a war. In fact, it is a war. How can one describe these people in this situation? Therefore, they will inevitably be punished. In addition, to embezzle the wages, especially those of the poor, the payment cards of those involved in community service, withdrawing their money in the current circumstances is also a betrayal. All five heads of the executive authority arrested recently are accused of these abominable acts. Recent arrests also testify to this. Hundreds of payment cards were found in the offices of these heads of executive authority, their relatives and assistants. Hundreds! I am told that 140 payment cards were found in the office of the head of the executive authority who was last to be arrested. What it this? We give these cards to those who cannot find a job. We gave them earlier too. Every year we engaged 30,000, 40,000 of such people in public work painting a building, landscaping a garden and other work. They received a salary at the level of the minimum wage, which is 250 manats today. But the cards due to them are appropriated by the heads of the executive authority and then this money is appropriated. And poor people are left without work and money. Is this a petty crime? No! This is betrayal. There is no other name for that. They continued doing this in the current conditions. These people have no conscience, they have lost it completely. We will continue to mercilessly fight such elements. Today, all the healthy forces of our society have rallied around one goal: to come out of this situation with small losses, to save people, to cure the sick. We must take care of the doctors so that they could take care of our people and themselves. Therefore, such dirty acts in the current situation are completely unacceptable. I want to say again: those who take such steps and commit such crimes will receive a deserved punishment. I can also say that our economy is also suffering from the pandemic, of course. It is possible that the results of the second quarter will not be very reassuring. But this is a secondary issue. The primary issue is the health of our citizens. We know that if we tighten the quarantine regime for the reasons I have mentioned, this will have a very negative effect on our economic situation. But we will go for it because the health and social well-being of our people are in the first place. For this purpose, 3.5 billion manats were allocated. The state pays a significant part of the salaries of about 700,000 people who lost their jobs in the areas worst affected by the pandemic. To this end, 600,000 unemployed, low-income and unofficially employed people are provided with material assistance by the state. We are doing all this work in order to keep the social and material situation of citizens stable. Of course, all these steps are also being evaluated by the international community. I have already said this but I want to say again that the World Health Organization appreciates the measures taken in Azerbaijan in the field of combating the pandemic and describes us as an exemplary country. This is really the case. We are taking all necessary measures in Azerbaijan, first of all domestically. At the same time, we are speaking our word on the international plane. I can say that we have provided assistance to more than 10 countries. We sent technical and financial assistance, airplanes, transport airplanes to countries that asked us for help, countries with limited financial capabilities which had no-one else to turn to, lets put it that way. We have assisted more than 10 countries, and I believe that we did the right thing. Because it is on such days and at such a time that the true face of both people and countries is manifested. In a good situation, everyone is friends with everyone. Everyone says nice words, speaks at international events, discusses mutual support, but this must be shown in practice. In practice. We are the country that has demonstrated this in practice. In the global fight against the pandemic, we were one of the first countries to donate $5 million to the World Health Organization. Recently, as the country chairing the Non-Aligned Movement, we donated an additional $5 million to the World Health Organization so that, in agreement with us, assistance was provided to member countries of the movement. As you know, two summits were held on my initiative the Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States and the Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement. Azerbaijan currently chairs both these organizations. This initiative was timely and appropriate. We can say that the whole world community welcomes this and acknowledges the role of Azerbaijan. We didnt have to do that. Would anyone blame us for that? No! Who could blame us for not putting forward this initiative in such a difficult time? But we did this because we are a responsible country and a reliable partner. The Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States was the first summit in an online format on a global scale. And the Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement brought together 120 countries. I should note that UN Secretary General Guterres, the President of the UN General Assembly, the Chairman of the African Union and the Vice President of the European Commission sent greetings to the Summit. I must also say that, as far as I know, there were no serious contacts between the Non-Aligned Movement and the European Union because these two institutions are at different poles and their views often dont coincide. Therefore, this was also the first time. If we take the number of countries, we can see that 120 members are united in the Non-Aligned Movement, 27 in the European Union, which makes up 147, and there are 55 members in the African Union. True, some of them are members of the Non-Aligned Movement too. Despite this, the absolute majority of the world has, on the initiative of Azerbaijan, formed a single platform against COVID-19. I can say quite frankly not for boasting but simply to voice the truth that Azerbaijan unites the world. First, on a national basis, i.e. all work and the measures carried out on the territory of the country are exemplary. In terms of the per capita spending, the socioeconomic package we have initiated is perhaps among the first in the world. Azerbaijan acts as a responsible participant on the international plane. Again, in proportion to the gross domestic product, there is no country that would make such a donation as us. True, some countries have declared large figures but where are these funds? They are not there. We provided cash. Initiatives put forward within the framework of international organizations are also appreciated and endorsed by the international community. In this difficult time, it is possible to see the true face of everyone. Who is capable of what, who and how controls the country, who does what against the crisis, who was able to mobilize people, society and who simply remains dependent on external assistance and asks for outside help. So we have once again shown ourselves, our people and the whole world that we are a dignified country. National interests are a priority for us. And people's health takes priority among national interests. Today's opening ceremony is of great importance. First, because after the commissioning of 10 hospitals, we will have an additional 2,000 beds. But most importantly, it shows that having mobilized all the resources in a short time we, we were able to achieve great results. Of course, I would like to once again note the activities of doctors. They have indeed shown great dedication and heroism. I wish you continued success. But I also want to ask you to take care of yourself, dont come down, always live on and create as patriots, professionals and people who love others and provide medical services to citizens. Thank you! --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz New Delhi, May 7 : National passenger carrier Air India on Thursday operated its first evacuation flights under India's "Vande Bharat Mission" from New Delhi to Singapore. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft departed the national capital's IGI Airport around 11.30 p.m. The return flight is expected to reach back to New Delhi at 11.30 a.m. on Friday. As per schedule, the flight has ferried 14 passengers to Singapore. Besides Air India, its subsidiary Air India Express operated two flights from Kerala to Gulf on Thursday. Air India Express operated the Cochin-Abu Dhabi-Cochin and Kozhikode-Dubai-Kozhikode service. These are the first in the 64 ferry services which will be operated by the two airlines from May 7-13. Besides the one-way ferry service, Air India has also invited passengers, who qualify under the government's new international travel norms to apply for passage from India to various destinations the airline will send its aircraft to conduct evacuation flights. India has commenced one of the world's largest air evacuation operations from May 7, when the two airlines will start the first phase of the mission. As per plans, these two airlines will operate 64 flights in seven days to bring back 14,800 stranded Indians from 12 countries. Overall, more than 190,000 Indian nationals, who would have to pay a one-way ferry service charge, are expected to be brought back in the airlift operation. Seeking an answer from China about the origins of the deadly coronavirus, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday said that the US needs to know the details of patient zero. Slamming China for a disinformation campaign, Pompeo in an interview to Jack Heath of The Jack Heath Radio Show also accused the World Health Organization of failing in its mission to provide the information to the world in a timely fashion about the risk that was emanating from China. "We know that this originated in Wuhan, China. That was challenged by the Chinese at the front end. This administration was very clear we weren't going to accept that disinformation, pushed back. I think the whole world knows that this began and originated there in Wuhan, he said. "Where exactly it came from, it matters. We want to know the answers to that. There's evidence that it came from somewhere in the vicinity of the lab, but that could be wrong. We need to get the answer to that. It matters because we need to know where patient zero came from, he said. The US needs it for all of the epidemiological work that needs to be done to protect Americans today and tomorrow, he asserted. In recent days, US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo have claimed that the deadly virus originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak was first detected last December. Since emerging in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December, the coronavirus is confirmed to have infected 1.2 million Americans, killing more than 73,000. Pompeo said that the US has no confidence in the data coming from China with respect to coronavirus. "There's no reason to believe that information that's coming out of China. As for how many there were, we're trying to figure our way through that, but we are watching what China has done, he said. "There's no reason to believe that either the reported cases that are coming out of China or the death totals that they have provided remotely reflect what actually took place and continues to take place there," he said. The United States, he said, is working with partners in many countries around the world, sharing information, sharing data, trying to get both therapeutics and a vaccine. It is unfortunate that the Chinese Communist Party has chosen not to share their data, not to behave in a transparent way. They have a special obligation this is where it broke out to share that data with the world, and they have chosen not to do so, he noted. "I think that's indicative of what communist parties do. It's what communist institutions do. Freedom-loving nations want information shared, want transparency, and want good things for people all around the world, he said. Pompeo alleged that the WHO didn't get it right. "The WHO failed in its mission to provide the information to the world in a timely fashion about the risk that was emanating from China, he said. "They knew it; they saw it. There was pressure from the Chinese government not to declare this a pandemic, and it became a political institution rather than a medical, scientific institution that it was designed to be, Pompeo said, adding that the United States needs an institution that's going to deliver good outcomes for the American people. The US has suspended over USD 400 million funding for the WHO pending an inquiry. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An insurer that failed to pay a claim within 60 days cannot be considered the prevailing party even if a claimant is eventually awarded less than the carriers settlement offer, a divided Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled. The 6-3 opinion marks a hard-fought victory for the plaintiffs bar, which argued insurers were trying to use the states attorney fee statute for insurance claims as both a sword and a shield. The legal dispute between convenience store owner Hamilton and Northfield Insurance Co. initially was decided in favor of the insurer at the trial court and on appeal, but then a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals panel reversed itself and asked Oklahomas high court to interpret a statute that had flummoxed all of the federal judges assigned to the case so far. The Oklahoma Supreme Courts decision, handed down Tuesday, answered the 10th Circuits certified question, which in short was whether the insurer was a prevailing party because the jurys $10,652 award to Hamilton was less than the $45,000 it had offered to settle the case. Tim Hummel, an Oklahoma City attorney who filed an amicus brief on Hamiltons behalf, said Wednesday that it was clear to him all along that Oklahoma statutes Section 3629 would not allow an insurer to recoup its attorney fees when it failed to pay the claim within 60 days. The insurance companies are billion-dollar companies and theyve got smart lawyers, Hummel said. They can make it sound like zero is more than $10,000. Hummel said the state legislature passed the attorney fee statute to encourage insurers to quickly settle valid claims. If they dont pay in 60 days, the court can award attorney fees in addition to actual damages. The statute also allows insurers to recover their attorney fees if the policyholder refuses a reasonable settlement offer and takes the carrier to court. But does the statute that requires the prevailing party to pay apply when the claim isnt timely paid? That is the question that launched Billy Hamiltons claim for repairs to a leaky roof on his convenience store in Council Hills, Okla. on its long voyage through state and federal courts. Hamilton filed a lawsuit in December 2015 after Northfield refused to pay the claim, alleging bad faith and breach of contract. Northfield removed the case to federal court. In June 2017, his attorney Kris Ted Ledford of Owasso, Okla. demanded the insurer make a serious settlement offer, saying he had invested $12,000 in hard costs so far. Northfield offered $45,000. Ledford refused and took the case to trial. A district court judge granted summary judgment to Northfield on the bad-faith claim and instructed the jury to award no more than the cost of repairing the roof of Hamiltons store. The jury awarded exactly that: $10,652. Hamilton asked the court to award attorney fees and costs, but the district court ruled that the insurer, not the policyholder, had prevailed. He appealed to the 10th Circuit. Initially, an appellate panel affirmed the trial court, but reversed itself after Ledford asked for en banc reconsideration from all of the circuit judges. Ledford argued that accepting Northfields argument that it could be deemed the prevailing part after failing to pay the claim within 60 days would allow insurers to use Section 3629 as both a shield and a sword. As a result, citizens who are financially unable to afford paying attorneys on an hourly rate basis will be deprived of judicial access, he argued in his petition for en banc reconsideration. The economics of insurance litigation will prevent attorneys from handling insurance disputes on a contingency fee basis unless they involve six figure actual damages. Insurers will handle the vast majority of insurance claims knowing their decisions will go unchallenged. After reconsidering its initial decision, the 10th Circuit panel decided that it could not resolve the case until the Oklahoma Supreme Court answered two questions: 1. In determining which is the prevailing party under 36 O.S. 3629(B), should a court consider settlement offers made by the insurer outside the sixty- (formerly, ninety-) day window for making such offers pursuant to the statute? 2. In determining which is the prevailing party under 36 O.S. 3629(B), should a court add to the verdict costs and attorney fees incurred up until the offer of settlement for comparison with a settlement offer that contemplated costs and fees? The Oklahoma Supreme Court agreed with Ledfords assertion that the fee-shifting requirement of Section 3629 does not contemplate claims that are paid after the 60-day deadline has expired. The statute speaks about settling insurance claims, not lawsuits, the court said. Quite plainly, the statute never discusses an offer to settle a lawsuit initiated beyond that period the whole purpose of the statute is to avoid litigation by creating fee-shifting disincentives if the insureds claim is not speedily resolved, Supreme Court Justice Noma Gurich wrote for the majority. Justices James R. Winchester, John Kane IV and Dustin Rowe dissented, but no dissenting opinion was attached to the ruling. HELSINKI, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The load-bearing wooden structures for Metsa Pavilion were assembled in only 11 days. The Pavilion, built on the grounds of the Finnish Embassy in Tokyo, is Business Finland's project and Metsa Group is the main partner. The Pavilion will be used as a venue for different Embassy meetings and Business Finland events. It will also host the Finnish national team during the 2021 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Prefabricated wood elements manufactured from Kerto LVL (laminated veneer lumber) enable fast, light and green construction. The Kerto LVL elements for the Metsa Pavilion were manufactured at Timberpoint's factory in Finland. The packaging of the elements was optimized for the minimum possible number of containers, 16 altogether. The elements were packaged carefully keeping in mind the logistics in Japan: the elements were placed in the containers in the order of assembly. The containers were sent from Finland to Japan in February and arrived at Yokohama harbour after 45 days. Wood elements are easy to handle in busy urban areas Japanese legislation prohibits large transport vehicles in the city area. Therefore, thorough logistics planning was required when designing the elements for Metsa Pavilion. The elements were a maximum of nine metres long so they could easily be transported on the narrow, busy streets. A ten-tonne truck brought the Kerto LVL elements to the site in 20 batches, with four to five batches per day. The low weight of Kerto LVL elements was an advantage in the transport, and the lightness also made onsite handling easy. "The elements could be quickly put together on site. The lighter the elements are, the easier they are to assemble, too," says Jyrki Huttunen, CEO of Puurakentajat Oy, the company responsible for the erection of the Pavilion in Tokyo. "This helped the assembly on the small embassy site. And of course, we do have extensive experience of building in Finnish city sites." Huttunen was in charge of assembling Metsa Pavilion in Tokyo with his team. On site, Japanese architect Atsushi Ueda was monitoring the construction. After Puurakentajat Oy finished assembling the wooden structures, it was Ueda's team's turn to install windows and finish up the interior and the visible surfaces of the Pavilion. "The design of the pavilion was quite different from Japanese style and structural design. The best thing is the prefabrication. Everything is manufactured in the factory, then just assembled on site. The pavilion was completed in a quite short time," says Ueda. Simple connections Metsa Pavilion was partly built on top of an existing concrete garage, which served as the foundation for the pavilion. "Lightweight wood elements are a great choice for building on top of existing structures. When designed well, new wooden structures can be easily built on top of older foundations," Huttunen says. Wooden elements are generally 4-5 times lighter than concrete or steel, so the machinery can also be lighter. A simple 25-tonne mobile crane was more than enough to lift the Kerto LVL elements into place. The connections between Kerto LVL elements were done as simply as possible, so no special tools were needed. After the Olympics, the pavilion can be disassembled, and reassembled at another location. Atsushi Ueda and his company will be in charge of the disassembly, and the simple connections will make the task easy. "The Japanese carpenters have been very easy to work with, even though we don't have a common language," says Huttunen. "We all know what we are doing." "It would be beneficial for both countries if we develop this connection and network for the future," Ueda says. "The new era of construction with wood has just started in Japan. I strongly believe that this is a big opportunity for Finland, too." Watch a Talking Wood video with architect Atsushi Ueda talking about the Japanese and Finnish wood construction. Read more about the Metsa Pavilion project. Images: https://databank.metsagroup.com/l/Rw99dNpKTzDS For more information, please contact: Viivi Kylama Marketing Manager, Metsa Wood tel. +358-40-820-9850 viivi.kylama@metsagroup.com Kirk Nichols VP Sales, Americas, Metsa Wood USA mobile: +(404)-861-1098 kirk.nichols@metsagroup.com For press information in UK, please contact: Matt Trace Director, Defero Communications tel. 07828663988 matt@deferouk.co.uk This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/metsa-wood/r/metsa-wood-metsa-pavilion---rapid-construction-with-wooden-elements,c3106252 The following files are available for download: A second member of a defiant left-wing folk band has died while on a hunger strike protesting the Turkish government. Ibrahim Gokcek died today, two days after suspending his death fast to receive medical treatment. Gokcek had gone 323 days without food, and was in critical condition. Gokcek was a member of Grup Yorum, a popular music group barred from performing in Turkey since 2016. The countrys ruling Justice and Development Party had jailed many of its members, including Gokcek, on trumped-up terror charges. Gokcek and bandmate Helin Bolek began a hunger strike while in prison to draw attention to the governments treatment of the group. The two were released in November but continued their hunger strike in solidarity with their fellow jailed bandmates. On March 11, Turkish police raided their homes and forcibly took them to the hospital, but Bolek and Gokcek refused treatment and were released a week later. No one can silence Grup Yorum. Its either victory or death, said Gokcek at the time. Bolek died April 3, the 288th day of her hunger strike. Formed in 1985 by students at Marmara University in Istanbul, their music covered a range of sensitive topics in Turkey, including Kurdish rights, Marxism, anti-authoritarianism and womens issues. Grup Yorum chose to be a group of the people. They were always on the side of the oppressed, those who had experienced cruelty, and those engaged in resistance, and they gave them strength with their songs, Murat Meric, a music writer and radio host, told Al-Monitor in March. Turkey accuses Grup Yorum of links to the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front, a leftist militant group designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. The music collective has dedicated songs to the militant group's members, but denied any official ties to the organization. Gokcek was among the thousands of political prisoners languishing in Turkish prisons on terrorism charges for alleged ties to various groups, including the banned Kurdistan Workers Party and the Fethullah Gulen movement, which the government blames for the failed coup attempt in 2016. Rights organizations and opposition groups have called on the Turkish government to unconditionally release journalists, activists, academics and others jailed solely for their political views. Recent legislation to release tens of thousands of inmates over coronavirus fears excluded political prisoners. The Turkish authorities grievous attempts to silence their voices is abominable, said PEN Americas Julie Trebault in a statement on Gokceks hunger strike. Artists should be allowed to live and work without fear, and they should not have to deprive themselves of their life and wellbeing in order to do so. The COVID-19 pandemics impact on health and the global economy is forcing companies to face one of the greatest business challenges in recent decades. Many of the changes that enterprises need to make in order to continue key business operations, such as a move to remote work, depend on technology. Working remotely, though, is not something new for Abu Dhabi Terminals (ADT), established in 2006 and located at Khalifa Port, halfway between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. ADTs core business is managing and operating the Khalifa Port Container Terminal (KPCT), which is the largest semi-automated port in the region. Since commencing operations in 2012, ADT has used technology to remotely operate some of the day-to-day functions in the container yard. Remote Operating Stations (ROSes) in the operations centre allow operators to load and unload containers from trucks remotely, as opposed to having operators in the cranes. The company is in the process of automating this process in order to improve efficiency. ADT also uses remote operators located at its BPO (business processing outsourcing) centre in the Philippines to handle exceptions and remotely operate the truck gates. Automation is key, according to Arturo Garcia, chief automation officer at ADT. The terminal operators vision, since its inception, is to bring and maintain consistency across its operations. This is why its invested heavily in automation technology the key, along with cloud, to its business continuity plan. Automation helps maintain productivity The COVID-19 situation has shown that our investment has paid dividends by allowing us to be better peepared to handle any situation without impacting service to our customers. There has been no reduction in productivity, proving that ADT was far better prepared than other terminals worldwide, Garcia says. We are taking the lessons learned from the COVID-19 situation and incorporating these into our five-year plan to assure that we can easily handle any future crisis, he adds. Excluding operators, mechanics, and security personnel, ADT has nearly 100 percent of its employees working remotely. These remote workers include staff in Management, Information Technology, Finance, Commercial, Human Resources, and Operations Control Center personnel. We are able to achieve this because we have a high level of automation and our container yard is 100 percent automated, Garcia says. To manage automation, ADT uses a terminal operating system (TOS), from California-based Navis. The TOS controls real-time monitoring, equipment management and unmanned technology such as automated machinery. For robotics, ADT uses two vendors: Konecranes, from Finland, and TMEIC, based in Virginia, in the U.S. The companies supply a variety of cranes and automated shipyard equipment. This gives us a tremendous business advantage since we are able to operate with reduced manpower requirements and therefore minimal interruptions. Prior to the COVID-19 situation, we were in the process of further automation in order to assure consistency with our operation, Garcia says. Changes in law paves way to use of cloud Recent changes in UAE law some of which were spurred by the pandemic has given ADT more flexibility in how it uses technology to enhance business continuity practices and allow personnel to work remotely. Historically, ADT was not allowed to use cloud technology, according to UAE law. A month or two prior to the COVID outbreak, though, the rules changed and permission was granted to use cloud technology (as long as data was kept within the UAE). Subsequently, due to the spread of the virus and the lockdown in the UAE, the country lifted its ban on VoIP apps, thus allowing companies to use apps such as Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business and Zoom. Investments made by ADT in cloud technology prior to the coronavirus outbreak have benefited the company. For example, its investment in cloud tech put it in position to make full use of MS Teams. Once the government gave the go-ahead to use Teams, we immediately employed this platform to hold meetings with our customers, contractors, vendors, and stakeholders in addition to internal meetings, Garcia says. The pandemic has essentially sped up the rollout of ADTs work from home (WH) program, Garcia says. Our infrastructure and architecture were already in place for the cloud, he says. This is the reason we were ready when COVID emerged and were able to easily institute a remote work strategy without any impact on our productivity. ADT invests in AI In addition to automation, ADT is investing heavily in artificial intelligence technology to complement its automation program. Worldwide, the port industry lags behind other industries when it comes to using new technology, Garcia explains. At ADT, we are committed to using the latest cutting-edge technology and are currently working with vendors to develop and deploy artificial intelligence at Khalifa Port. We will be the first terminal on earth to use this technology and this will cement our place as a world leader in the global ports industry. In turbulent times, organizations must ensure business continuity. ADT already had a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) in place, centered on automation and the capability to work remotely. Although the specific situation that now confronts the company was not reflected in the plan, similar scenarios were considered, Garcia explains. This has allowed us to respond to and tackle this aggressive scenario in record time. Because we were ahead of the curve, only necessary personnel such as operators, mechanics, technicians, and security need to physically be at the port and all others are working remotely including our Operations Control Center. Within any company, though, the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) should be reviewed on a regular basis and incorporate any new issues that the company has experienced, Garcia says. ADT will be reviewing its own plan. Because of COVID, not only will ADTs BCP change, BCPs worldwide will change, Garcia said. This COVID situation has provided a unique learning opportunity for ADT. We quickly responded to the rapidly changing circumstances and this experience has allowed us to learn and grow as an organization. You dont have to have read Normal People, the bestselling novel from Irish writer Sally Rooney, to fall in love with its TV counterpart, Normal People on Hulu. (Although, for the record, this PureWow editor read the book and loved it, too.) The series follows Marianne and Connell, two teenagers living in a small town in Ireland, exploring their sexual identitiesand their unexpected will-they-wont-they chemistry with one another. As Marianne, Daisy Edgar-Jones gives a captivating performance. From the first scene, we were hooked on the show, and also on her. But where have we seen her before? Or is this set to be her breakout role? Weve got the scoop on Daisy Edgar-Jones, up-and-coming star. 1. Who is Daisy Edgar-Jones? Well, of course, shes an actress, but one you probably dont know all that well. At 21-years-old, shes appeared in a variety of still-under-the-radar shows including War of the Worlds and the recent Cold Feet reboot, but always in a supporting role. Its likely that her performance in Normal People will be a career-defining one, especially given that the series centers almost exclusively on her character Marianne and her relationship with Connell. (Also, in an exciting turn of events, Edgar-Jones was actually a massive fan of the book before she landed the part, according to an interview with InStyle. Her mom even read it as part of her book club.) 2. Where did she grow up? Edgar-Jones grew up as an only child in Muswell Hill in Northern London. Her mom worked as a TV editorwith Irish roots, which helped her a lot when it came to Mariannes accentand her dad as a TV documentary producer. Edgar-Jones discovered her interest in acting at a fairly young age after she decided to try out for a school play. When I was young in primary school, I was very average at subjects, she said in an interview with Woodhouse College magazine. I wasnt really good at anything, just in the middleand quite shy. Then, when I was in year five, we did a school playand it was the first time I remember people saying, Wow, that was really good. I thought, Oh, Im good at something! It seemed acting was just the thing that I was best at. Story continues 3. Did she study acting? Yes! She actually auditioned and was accepted to the prestigious National Youth Theatre in the UK at the age of 14. (For reference, Dame Helen Mirren, Daniel Craig and Colin Firth are just a few of the schools notable alums.) 4. Is she dating anyone? Also yes! Edgar-Jones is dating Tom Varey, an actor best recognized for his role as Cley Cerwyn in season six of Game of Thrones. Hes also the reason she heard about the role of Marianne on Normal People in the first place. According to an interview in The Hollywood Reporter, Edgar-Jones overheard Varey on the phone helping an actor-friend record an interview tape for the very same role. About a month later, she was invited to audition for the exact same partand got it. (As for any hard feelings between her and Vareys actor friend, she said there werent any. Its strange when youre both actors, she told THR.) 5. Any other fun facts about her? According to InStyle, she loves to cook. (I made a very good five-spice pork the other day, which I was very proud of, and a sausage and sweet potato and red onion-like thing.) She also has acting aspirations beyond the small screen. She told Woodhouse magazine: Ultimately, Id love to become a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and do Shakespeare properlyto perform at The Globe would be amazing. But I think to be a working actor is good enough for me. Just to make a living at it, because its what I loveso to be able to do it as a career is my ambition, even its just little parts here and there on radio or whatever...well see. RELATED: 50 Binge-Worthy TV Shows and Where to Watch Them (CNN) A high-profile shipment to the UK of 400,000 surgical gowns, hailed by ministers as a solution to Britain's personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages, has ended in catastrophe -- with every one of the garments deemed unusable after arriving from Turkey. The gowns, made by a Turkish company and flown into the UK by the Royal Air Force on April 22, had been touted as an answer to the calls of underprotected health care workers. But they were never distributed to frontline workers, it has emerged. "If equipment does not meet our specifications or pass our quality assurance processes it is not distributed to the front line," a spokesperson for the UK's Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) told CNN on Thursday, when asked if the shipment in question had failed to meet safety standards. "All deliveries of PPE are checked to ensure the equipment meets the safety and quality standards our frontline staff need," the DHSC added. The gowns instead have sat impounded at a warehouse near Heathrow Airport, according to The Telegraph newspaper, which first reported the story. The revelation raises questions about why the public was not told that the equipment was unusable, given that government officials had repeatedly talked up the arrival in the days prior. "Supply in some areas, particularly gowns and certain types of masks and aprons, is in short supply at the moment, and that must be an extremely anxious time for people working on the frontline," Housing Minister Robert Jenrick said on April 18, when he unveiled the "very significant" order from Turkey. The next day, Michael Gove touted the arrival of the gowns on TV interviews. On April 21, minister Simon Clarke conceded that while the UK will not run out of PPE, the "margins can be tight." He cited the Turkey shipment as a factor behind that conclusion. "We've had three flights with gowns from Turkey -- because we know that every single one of those items of PPE is needed by those working so hard on the front line," First Secretary of State Dominic Raab added at the government's daily coronavirus briefing on April 29. Boris Johnson's government has faced repeated scrutiny over the lack of PPE in hospitals and care homes, as well as the availability of testing, and the new setback raises further concerns about his response. In an industry survey in late April, more than a third of British doctors said they did not have appropriate PPE. Of those surveyed, 75% said they did not have long-sleeved gowns, while 38% said they lack eye protection, according to the survey by the Doctors Association UK. "This is a global pandemic with many countries procuring PPE, leading to shortages around the world, not just the UK," the DHSC spokesperson said on Thursday. "We are working night and day to source PPE internationally and domestically and brought together the NHS, industry and the armed forces to create a comprehensive PPE distribution network to deliver critical supplies to the frontline." But the disappointment masks the latest example of a much-touted government target being missed. In March the UK ordered millions of antibody tests, described by Johnson as a potential "gamechanger," but ministers later walked back that optimism after the tests were found not to work. More recently, a self-imposed target of conducting 100,000 tests per day by the end of April was met -- but only for two days, and with the help of thousands of tests that were mailed to homes just before the deadline. Tests have subsequently dropped below that mark for four consecutive days, and slumped to just 69,463 on Tuesday. Earlier this week the UK took from Italy the unwanted mantle of having the deadliest coronavirus outbreak in Europe, according to official figures. At least 30,076 have died in the country since the start of the outbreak, compared to 29,684 in Italy. Only the US has suffered more fatalities. This story was first published on CNN.com, "The UK ordered 400,000 gowns from Turkey to address its PPE crisis. They didn't meet safety standards" AGAWAM - Police on Thursday announced they have arrested a 40-year-old Suffield man in connection with an April 8 armed robbery at the Walgreens Pharmacy on Springfield Street. The suspect, Michael Preli, is charged with armed robbery with a firearm and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon. He was taken into custody following an investigation that was aided by the Suffield police, Agawam police said. The pharmacy was robbed shortly after 3 p.m. when a man brandishing a handgun demanded pills from a pharmacist. He was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and a surgical mask. The suspect fled the scene on a bicycle fitted with a large handlebar basket. Police later released photos of the suspect on a bicycle, as well as a red pickup truck that was linked to the robbery. Police say Preli emerged as a suspect when detectives received tips from people who saw a post about the investigation on the Agawam Police page on Facebook. By Nikolaj Skydsgaard COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Iceland has all but eliminated the coronavirus outbreak as 97% of infected patients have recovered and only two new cases have been confirmed in the last week, the government said in a statement on Wednesday. After declaring its first confirmed cases in early March, the north Atlantic island nation went into a lockdown, closing schools and banning large public gatherings, and it put in place a rigorous testing and tracing strategy to curb the outbreak. That enabled the country of around 360,000 people to announce a partial reopening of society in mid-April after the outbreak peaked earlier in the month and showed clear signs of slowing. "We have been pleasantly surprised to see a very fast deceleration of the pandemic in Iceland. However, it is extremely important to remain vigilant and minimize the risk of a renewed outbreak," chief epidemiologist Thorolfur Gudnason said in a statement. Iceland has performed tests on 51,663 inhabitants, or more than 14% of people overall - a great proportion than in almost any other country, thanks in part to its small population. Most restrictions were eased on Monday, with the opening of schools, hair salons and museums, and gatherings of up to 50 people now allowed. "57% of those who have tested positive for COVID-19 were already isolated in quarantine when they were diagnosed, which is believed to underline the effectiveness of those measures in combating the spread of the virus," the government said. A two-metre social distancing rule will remain in place for some time, while gyms and pools will stay closed. Businesses requiring close proximity with customers would be allowed to resume and all children's activities are back to normal, it said. A total of 1,799 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Iceland, and 1,750 of those are no longer infected. There are now only 39 known infections and three people hospitalised by the virus. Story continues Ten people diagnosed with the virus have died, seven of whom were over 70 years old. Since the outbreak, the government has injected around $2 billion into the tourism-dependant economy in financial aid to businesses as well as measures to help vulnerable groups, students and jobseekers. Around Europe, countries including Austria, Portugal and Denmark have announced similar measures to lift lockdown restrictions, with Germany following suit earlier on Wednesday. (Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard; Editing by Sandra Maler and Hugh Lawson) Editors Note: This story has been corrected to reflect the date Frederick was found unresponsive at Lakeside Academy was Wednesday, April 29. KALAMAZOO, MI -- A week after an incident at a residential youth facility that ended in the death of a 16-year-old resident, family and others who knew the student are seeking answers. The Lakeside Academy resident who died Wednesday, April 29, was Cornelius Frederick, according to his aunt, Tenia Goshay, who MLive reached by phone. Fredericks death has left Goshay with a mix of guilt, grief and anger, she said. But, mostly, she wants answers about what happened to her nephew. Police were dispatched Wednesday to the facility on Oakland Drive on a report of a student who was unresponsive. Upon arrival, officers found the teenager in cardiac arrest. The student was restrained by staff at the facility after throwing a sandwich, police confirmed. Following the teens death, an investigation was launched by Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Both investigations are ongoing. Police have not yet identified the student who died, and could not be reached for comment Thursday on the status of the investigation. Frederick was 10 when his mother died, and he and his four siblings were put into the care of his stepfather, Goshay said. A year later, his stepfather was incarcerated and Frederick became a ward of the state, initially housed at Wolverine Human Services in Detroit. Wolverine offers residential services for young men who are wards of the state. Due to Fredericks behavioral problems and post-traumatic stress disorder, he stayed at the Wolverine facility for two years. Goshay said she did not feel equipped to raise Frederick, given his mental health and behavioral problems. He needed more help than I could give him, she said. They were supposed to do that. After two years at Wolverine, Frederick moved to Kalamazoo to be housed at Lakeside Academy, where he stayed for another two years until his death on May 1. Goshay said she talked to her nephew weekly. He would also talk with his younger brother, who was adopted by Goshay. I hear people say that he had no family, no one cared," she said. "He did have family. People did care. I care. The last time she spoke to her nephew was on the Monday before his death, Goshay said. His therapist indicated that if she could care for him he could leave potentially Lakeside Academy, she said. Goshay said she keeps replaying that conversation over and over in her head. Its hard not to blame yourself when you feel like you should have done more," she said. Now hes gone and we cant do more. Goshay received a phone call from Bronson Methodist Hospital after Frederick was transported there. They told her it was unlikely he was going to make it, she said. She drove the 2 1/2 hours from Detroit to sit with Frederick in the hospital, despite him being unconscious. She held his hand for two hours and told him she loved him, Goshay said. While at the hospital, hospital staff told her Fredericks COVID-19 test came back positive, sending her into another spiral. Since Monday, May 4, nine staff members and 37 students have tested positive, Lakeside Academy board chair Jeff Palmer said. Palmer said he could not comment on whether Frederick was tested on campus, due to patient privacy laws, but said campus-wide coronavirus testing did not occur until after the April 29 incident. More than anything, Goshay said she just wants answers about what happened. She said she has not heard from Lakeside Academy regarding the incident or Fredericks death. Fredericks family has reached out to Detroit lawyer Jon Marko. Although no lawsuit has been filed, the family is still seeking justice, Marko said. I dont care about money," Goshay said. You dont have to give me two pennies. I just want to know what happened to my nephew. On Wednesday night, former Wolverine staff and students gathered in Detroit for a vigil in Fredericks honor. Spencer Richardson-Moore was a youth care worker and supervisor at the Detroit facility while Frederick was there. Richardson-Moore said the group told stories, sang and prayed for their lost brother. Richardson-Moore met Frederick during his last year at Wolverine before the teen was transferred to Lakeside. He described Frederick as a bear sometimes fiercely protective, other times soft and gentle. Family trauma Frederick experienced gave him a hard shell and he was slow to open up, especially around men, Richardson-Moore said. But that trauma also gave Frederick strength, he said. Richardson-Moores favorite memories of Frederick included seeing him open presents on Christmas and seeing his confidence boosted by new clothes. Richardson-Moore even looks back fondly on memories of Frederick almost beating him in chess. Those are the moments that I cherish about Cornelius," he said. Its like youve suffered so much but youre still willing to find a moment to smile. Hes still willing to find a moment to laugh. Richardson-Moore is a former youth care worker, but given his training and knowledge of how to properly restrain a child he said has questions about how staff at Lakeside Academy handled Fredericks occasional outbursts. I just know there needs to be justice for his life," he said. Concerns surrounding the incident have been heightened as state records show prior reports of abuse involving Lakeside Academy and Sequel staff. Previous investigations by MDHHS indicate a staff member was suspended after reports of slapping, choking and scratching a student in January, according to the report. An investigation in November outlined allegations that a staff member pressed his elbow into a students thigh during a restraint and found those allegations credible, according to the report. Sequel, a company that contracts with youth facilities including Lakeside Academy to provide staffing, has faced legal and legislative scrutiny in at least three states. In Oregon, legislators have been pushing for the state to stop sending foster children to out-of-state facilities. There are two teenagers from Oregon at Lakeside Academy, according to reporting from Oregon Public Broadcasting. The TV network investigated several incidents of Oregon children being abused in facilities operated by Sequel. In Ohio, a Sequel-run teen psychiatric facility was ordered to stop admitting patients by child services. Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services investigated concerns about restraints and allegations of violence and sexual abuse, according to reporting from Columbus TV station 10 WBNS. Students are currently being removed from the Lakeside Academy, as mandated by the state. As of Thursday, 60 students remained on campus. Last week the facility was housing and educating 125 students, Palmer said. The facility was established as a boys orphanage in 1907. It has 126 beds available for vulnerable boys between the ages of 12 and 18. The boys receive year-round education while on the 48-acre campus off Oakland Drive in Kalamazoo. More on MLive: 37 students, 9 staff members test positive for coronavirus at Lakeside Academy Nothing like this has happened before, Lakeside Academy board chair says of student death Students removed from Lakeside Academy after 16-year-olds death 16-year-old Lakeside Academy student dead after being restrained by staff Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 19:51:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on May 6, 2020 shows a view of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Xinhua/Wang Quanchao) "In this condition, your very kind action of friendship and the donation of materials to fight against the novel coronavirus disease, the 1,000 suits of medical disposable protective clothing and 5,280 KN95 masks, (are) really welcome and all of us warmly thank you," read the letter. CHONGQING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- A mayor in Italy has written an acknowledgment letter to a district government in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality for helping with the fight against COVID-19. In the letter, Gian Vittorio Campus, the mayor of Sassari, expressed gratitude and appreciation to Chongqing's Ba'nan District for its friendship and donations in the fight against the epidemic. Sassari, located in the north of Sardinia, counts "several hundreds of affected people and some tens of deaths," the mayor wrote. "In this condition, your very kind action of friendship and the donation of materials to fight against the novel coronavirus disease, the 1,000 suits of medical disposable protective clothing and 5,280 KN95 masks, (are) really welcome and all of us warmly thank you," read the letter. "Your donation will help our population to go through these days and to look forward to future, better, days," the letter continued. "The present very difficult times will be overcome, and we will be very glad to contribute to strengthen the relations between Chongqing Ba'nan District and Sassari." The Ba'nan District government donated KN95 masks and protective suits to Sassari in April to aid its fight against the epidemic. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Isracann Biosciences Inc. (CSE: IPOT) (XFRA: A2PT0E) (OTC: ISCNF) (the Company or Isracann) an Israel-based company focused on becoming a premier low cost, high quality cannabis producer for both domestic and European export sales, is pleased to provide an update provided by its Cannation Ltd. (Cannation) joint venture partnership regarding ongoing farm operations located in the Hefer Valley region of Israel. Construction activities at the Cannation farms are nearing phase one completion and the recent offtake agreement with Israeli licensed producers Focus Medical Herbs Ltd. (Focus Medical) has greatly energized the Isracann team. With the increase in activities at its farm locations during the COVID-19 pandemic, Isracann continues to actively monitor the situation and is working closely with its in-country partners to implement preventative measures to safeguard the health of its stakeholders and contractors while ensuring scheduled milestones are met safely and efficiently. The property currently encompasses two adjoining farms, of which the first property contains a 55,000 sq. ft. greenhouse which is now completed and awaiting final security inspection. The second farm includes a 110,000 sq. ft. facility that will be used for expansion of the business as the Company continue to build supply capacity beyond Israeli demand towards satisfying commercial EU opportunities. The 55,000 sq. ft. farm is scheduled to complete related infrastructure construction approximately 2 weeks from today, which includes an adjoining building outfitted to become a certified EU GMP post harvest facility. Upon successful completion and harvest of the first crop, a government inspection will occur and upon acceptance, a greenhouse licence would be granted for ongoing operations and commercial sales. With the sale and use of medicinal cannabis an essential activity in Israel, Isracanns contracts to provide additional domestic supply become increasingly relevant and important due to global lockdown impacts to supply chain capacity. The country was already partially reliant on imported product prior to local lockdown measures and, under current conditions, domestic demand is anticipated to grow. In addition to generating revenues, the near term launch will provide added visibility to the Company through its ability to showcase the quality genetics, high-grade plant strains and proven production expertise from the Companys joint venture partners, Way of Life Medical Cannabis Company. Post government testing and approvals, the balance of the initial harvest will be submitted as part of the offtake agreement with Focus Medical. The agreement encompasses a three-year 7,800 kg supply agreement. Focus Medical has an exclusive commercial agreement with IM Cannabis Corp. (CSE: IMCC) to distribute its production under the IMC brand. Company CEO, Darryl Jones notes, Its gratifying to have achieved so much in just one year. From our ongoing development efforts at our initial Cannisra Holdings project, to our exciting advancements in the Hefer Valley, weve mapped out an integrated package of properties with a multi-greenhouse strategy which includes a network of important partners and stakeholders across Israel and Europe. Our in-country visibility, ideas and approach have accelerated our timelines and presented us with a number of new and exciting opportunities along the way. Yet our primary objective has not changed; we remain 100% focused on becoming a premier cannabis producer, offering low-cost production marketed as Israels sunshine-produced high-quality branded products to the undersupplied and potentially massive European marketplaces. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Darryl Jones Darryl Jones Chief Executive Officer and President About Isracann Biosciences Inc. (CSE: IPOT) (XFRA: A2PT0E) (OTC: ISCNF) Isracann is an Israeli-based cannabis company focused on becoming a premier cannabis producer offering low-cost production targeting undersupplied, major European marketplaces. Based in Israel's agricultural sector, Isracann will leverage its development within the most experienced country in the world with respect to cannabis research.The Company has secured agreements within Israel for medicinal marijuana cultivation. For more information visit: www.isracann.com . The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ, materially from the Companys expectations are disclosed in the Companys documents filed from time to time with the Canadian Securities Exchange, the British Columbia Securities Commission, the Ontario Securities Commission, and the Alberta Securities Commission. By Charles McLister Times Guest Columnist These days in the workplace, we can all put ourselves in one of two categories: Either you are staying at home and waiting the virus out, or you are considered an essential service and are required to continue working. Those who are staying at home have challenges, to be sure. For those working from home, things like internet connectivity and the limitations of videoconferences are factors, and for those who have been laid-off theres the stress of making ends meet. But for essential workers, the challenges are very different. Essential workers, who are estimated to include 30 to 40 percent of the U.S. workforce, must work in hazardous and uncertain conditions, while government and healthcare officials scramble to contain the epidemic. We have all heard about the crisis facing hospitals as the infections have increased and the impact on police, fire and other emergency responders. But essential services also include cashiers, bus drivers and package handlers. Elwyn, based in Media, is one of the largest and oldest nonprofits serving those with disabilities in the nation, and we too are considered an essential service. For the past six weeks, Elwyn has sent 3,000 staff into high-risk environments every day as we serve the vulnerable individuals in our programs, half of those in Delaware County. I have never been more proud of our staff while watching them transform into infection-control experts literally overnight. These direct support professionals are showing the very best of humanity they continue to support others at great risk to themselves. We often hear of police who run toward danger while other people would flee; I view Elwyns staff in residential programs and other facilities across Delaware County the same way. To combat the epidemic in the Elwyn community, we have developed health and safety protocols for all our programs, we have isolation facilities for those who test positive, and we have begun antibody testing and contact tracing. Despite all this, Elwyn and other providers like us are facing great challenges. We have spent nearly $3 million in personal protective equipment (PPE), which is also infamously difficult to procure. We have seen an increase in staff calling out for understandable personal reasons. We are trying to provide hero pay an increase in wages for those on the front lines. All these things impact Elwyns budget and our capacity to sustain services that are clearly essential to the community. Therefore, we need help. I would like to ask our neighbors in Delaware County to support Elwyn at this critical time. There are a number of ways to support this essential nonprofit, which has been here for 168 years: We need nurses. If you or someone you know is a nurse and wants to help, we have a job for you. Details can be found on Elwyns website at www.elwyn.org. We need government officials at the township, municipal and state levels to identify funding and aid for our life-sustaining services. We have started the Elwyn COVID-19 Emergency Fund to help us with our immediate and critical needs during this crisis. Donations will go directly to the procurement of PPE and the increased wages of direct-care staff. Please visit www.elwyn.org to make a gift. Lately there have been many references to the Spanish Flu of 1918 and how it compares to the current epidemic. Elwyn was here in 1918, and 132 people died on the Elwyn campus. Today, because of the heroism of our staff throughout the region, the fatality rate will thankfully be much lower. Please help me recognize the tremendous efforts of these essential workers and ensure that Elwyn can continue to do its great work here in Delaware County. Charles McLister is president and CEO of Elwyn. The Mumbai police on Thursday intercepted three trucks carrying 160 migrant labourers from the city to Utttar Pradesh, an official said. Drivers of the three trucks and another person were boooked for violation of lockdown, said an official of the RAK Marg police station. The trucks, which were covered with black tarpaulin, were stopped at Gyaneshwar Nagar Junction at Sewri in the morning, he said. When the black covers were removed, the police found in all 160 daily wage workers packed inside three trucks. They told police that they had paid Rs 3,000 per head to the truck drivers for taking them to Uttar Pradesh, their native state, the official said. Before the police allowed the workers to go, the drivers were made to return them the money. Cases were registered against the three drivers and a cleaner (assistant) under IPC sections 188 (Disobeying the order of public servant), 269 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and sections of the Epidemic Act. The trucks were seized, the official added. Two days ago, the city police had found 43 migrant labourers traveling to Uttar Pradesh by a mini truck, the police official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) LOS ANGELESThe word on everyones lips and the thoughts in everyones mind is all about the current state of the worldthe COVID pandemic. It is striking hard and deep, two words commonly used in the adult industry. With global stay-at-home orders in place, how is the buying public for pleasure products getting its needs met and how is the industry handling it? The brick-and-mortar stores are most certainly impacted and many are dealing with the new normal. Online sellers are now facing demand that they once only dreamed about. Distributors are contemplating opening to supply the needs of both the declining orders from their brick-and-mortar stores while still providing product for the uptick in fulfillment to their now in-demand online sellers. And some manufacturers are scrambling to balance all of the segments of product fulfillment. The COVID hiccup in the supply chain to ultimately get product into the hands of anxious and horny consumers has created different needs at every level. For Zondre Watson, general manager of Honolulus Sensually Yours store in business since 1984, shopping in the brick-and-mortar store has been halted since March 23 but he has been allowing for customer pickup via their online ordering portal. We are running with a limited staff that wears masks," Watson said. "We have customers call when they get to the store and we bring the orders out to them, which decreases customer contact. We eliminated cash transactions to limit contact with paper money. For those out of the area, we reduced the free-shipping threshold to encourage people to choose to have their items received at home. But being forced to pivot for the pandemic has drastically impacted our sales," Watson said. "Prior to the shutdown, we redesigned our website and created an omni-channel experience so we were already prepared for people to shop online and pick up in store, Watson continued. But with the government shutting down all non-essential businesses, we had to push all of our sales online which drastically decreased our sales. Prior to the shutdown, online sales were growing but were between 1-2 percent of our sales then suddenly, we became dependent on just those sales. Luckily, weve increased our online sales eight-fold. However, its way below our previous sales level and our break-even point. Zondre Watson of Sensually Yours in Honolulu In the middle of the country, Cherylynn Brunnemer, of Naughty Time Novelties in Clinton Township, Mich., shared similar experiences. Closed since March 15 by the governors executive order, the store at post time had planned to reopen on May 6, offering several new experiences to encourage shoppers to come into the store. We will offer curbside service and for added confidentiality, will be supported by a personal virtual presentation by appointment, prior to pick up," Brunnemer said. "In the store, well also offer complementary masks, touchless hand sanitizer, touchless payment options, only allow six people in store, special hours of operation for the vulnerable, face barriers, and have all staff wearing masks. Well provide mandatory sanitizing after anyone touches an object and of course, practice social distancing of six feet between everyone. She added, Well also be taking the temperature of employees coming onto their shifts. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Hubba Hubba, a kink-friendly store open since 1979, has faced a few unique challenges as well. MJ Pullins, the new owner since January 2019, brought a different skillset to adult retail and an interesting insight to the COVID shutdowns. We closed the store to the public on March 17 though the state mandate started on March 24," Pullins said. "Having a background in science, I couldnt risk infection to the public and sales had dropped so significantly that it was not worth the risk. She continued to share her scientific observation, Do not take this virus lightly! Clean often, especially your register! I am not in a place where I can do curbside pick-up because of the store being below street level, but I encourage others to utilize this. Be a referenceoffer to answer questions and make recommendations. Offering additional services that Amazon cannot is going to be the key to our survival. Kris and Fresca Black, operations managers for the four Southern California-based Secret Desires and Love Stuff stores, closed the establishments when the statewide moratorium went into effect on March 19. The stores came back online with an affiliate site associated with a single distributor who had shut down for weeks because of COVID and recently began fulfilling online orders for their customers. Aside from brick-and-mortar businesses defaulting to their online stores, sales at these storefront businesses is spotty, at best. Choosing to offer curbside delivery or closing altogether leaves only a few difficult options to remain in business. Naughty Time Novelties sales increased during the pandemic through their website, which is an affiliate of East Coast News. ECN has been wonderful with handling our increase in online sales, Cherylynn Brunnemer said. Since COVID, Hubba Hubba quickly pivoted by becoming an affiliate site of AdultShopping.com instead of struggling to redesign their own website. Making the shift that promptly resulted with money in the coffers to pay the never ending bills which are inevitable in retail. Susan Miller, of the versatile retailer Orchid and Serpent store, who primarily travels around the country selling at kink and fetish eventsincluding at The Lair at AVNs AEE Show in Las Vegashas always supported her business with her vast online presence, which the company handles itself. Our company's main platform for sales was conferences and trade shows, Miller said. Since COVID came to the US, all large gatherings ceased and our sales have changed dramatically. We've moved to more online sales and more social media posts. We've also started selling a lot more masks! We've always sold gas masks and facemasks and luckily, we were ahead of that curve. We have brought N95 masks into our inventory and we plan on selling those for a while at future events. She continued, Social media has been our savior through this. As people sit at home and scroll, they are seeing our posts and contacting us. I am able to offer a lot more personalized service now and that has also helped. Many online only retailers have noted a surge in home shopping, with some comparing it to the annual Cyber Monday buying spree. Carolyn Eagle, manager and co-owner of Canada-based online retailer Bettys Toy Box and Naughty North, had to bring on new staff and increase the work hours of existing staff to keep up with sales. We eat, sleep and dream sex toys right now, Eagle said. Sales on both sites have increased by a shocking amount. We noticed at the beginning of March that things were not slowing down after the usual Valentine's bump and then they began climbing and haven't slowed down week to week. April will be a record month for both sites despite having several popular items out of stock due to closures with our wholesalers. We noticed the first big jump on both sites between the weeks of March 16 and March 23. For Canadians, that was when the stay-at-home orders started and the schools closed. Now we are seeing a steady climb consistently week over week. Some things that have been quite popular have now sold out but customers seem determined to buy and have been asking for suggestions on alternatives. Lots of folks seem to be trying toys for the first time as well, so we are giving a lot of advice on strokers and vibrators. Since Eagles business is a drop-shipping business, the two companies fully expected to lose most of their wholesalers to mandated closures and have their orders dwindle. Instead, some distributors have managed to stay open with limited staff and have been total rock stars," Eagle said. "Big shout out to Holiday Products and Entrenue in the U.S. and JAL and Ultra Love in Canada. We couldn't have survived this without them," she added. Ann Houlihan is the CEO of CNV.com, Inc., which is the parent company of SexToy.com, the affiliate hosting site, AdultShopping.com, and wholesale site, SexToyClub.com and in the online biz since 1995. Houlihan noticed a ramping up in orders by the second week of the COVID closures. By the time of the stimulus check delivery, sales were significantly higher than the previous year-over-year timeframe," Houlihan said, adding that overall "weve had a 20-percent uptick in new sign-ups for both AdultShopping.com and SexToyClub.com. I attribute that to various news articles about how sex-toy sales have increased during COVID and people are seeing this as a revenue stream since their normal jobs are either not available, slowed down or not existent. Since CNV works strictly with drop-shipping distributors, some of which were closed for several weeks, Houlihan disclosed, not having access to extensive inventory online has been somewhat problematic. In normal times, having multiple distributors lends itself to maintaining inventory for our online orders and keeps shipping costs to a minimum. With COVID-19 closures, we were able to push all of the traffic to the distributors who were open. As they come back online, we will show more inventory and have more options for shipping. While many brick-and-mortar stores have defaulted to their websites in order to keep the cash flow going and employees paid, CNVs Houlihans thoughts for online sellers are the main thing to remember is whether youre selling sex toys or clothing, youre still dealing with items from manufacturers, warehouses, distribution centersand I think the misnomer is about our industry is that were drastically different than other supply chains. While our industry may be fun and necessary, a supply chain is a supply chain in the long run. When its fired up, its the money train and we all have a part in it. In return, we get to funnel some of the money to our business. The supply chain is functioning with distributors doing their part to keep online orders flowing despite most brick-and-mortar retailers being closed. Joe Casella, the CEO and owner of Phoenix-based boutique distributor Entrenue (and a 2020 inductee into the AVN Hall of Fame), has remained open throughout the closures, keeping their fully employed staff on their jobs while maintaining social distance in their 25,000 square-foot warehouse. Casella noticed shifts happening in his company early in the crisis. Now revenue just really looks different with brick-and-mortar stores not open," Casella said. "For obvious reasons, our internet retailers are doing well and we are holding our own with our online customers right now," he added. "We are currently expanding our drop-ship department to support this increased demand while keeping employees as safe as possible. Distributors are well aware of slowdowns occurring in their buying schedule, including Chinese New Year in late January, which this year coincided with the onset of COVID. Some of our key suppliers were very proactive and advised us to bulk up on those SKUs that could be affected," Casella explained. "We ordered accordingly in late February and early March, when COVID was becoming more of an issue and, in fact, only one key supplier of ours has really been impacted. Joe Casella, CEO of Entrenue San Fernando, California-based distributor Honeys Place, in business for 26 years and helmed by Bonnie Feingold, had a slightly different take on the impact of COVID on her company. Since the date that our governor in California closed retail in the state (March 16), sales have been slower," Feingold said. "Also, many other stores throughout the country were required to close. However, we have seen a large increase in online sales but that does not make up for the loss of the brick-and-mortar store revenue. "This week, as stores have started to re-open, we are seeing the brick-and-mortar sales increase but the sales are still not at the level they were before the crisis. Some stores are still required to stay closed, some can only open for curbside and others are fully open. Feingold's experience in the pleasure product industry prepared her for possible hiccups from manufacturers. Our fill rate has mostly not been impacted," she said. "When everything started occurring in China, I decided to stock up because I knew that this crisis might cause supply chain issues. We brought in six months of our bestsellers, and four or two months on everything else depending on the sell-through of each item. Overall, we are in great shape and are able to supply our customers with what they need. Her optimism also reflected the reality of the current condition. Don't get me wrong, there are some exceptions to this," Feingold added. "There have been some manufacturer back-orders due to the shutdown of China. A few popular items sold out quickly and in some cases, others are still not available. When it comes to keeping employees safe during COVID, Feingold has kept all office staff working at home; they only come into the office on an as-needed basis. The only employees in on a daily basis are the warehouse staff. Since the warehouse is sectionalized, there are not more than three to five people ever in one area and all workers in the warehouse must stay in their areas of work while wearing gloves and masks at all times and staying 6 feet apart. Everything is sanitized throughout the day and hand sanitizer is being used generously. While customer shopping has been allowed in the warehouse in the past, the post-COVID change is they can pick up orders while staying in their cars and no one that doesnt work for the company is permitted to enter the building. Entrenue has been accommodating self-imposed business restrictions by having some staff work from home, while one person in sales is in the building each day. All staff is rotating during the week, which Casella feels is more operational, and hands on. He elaborated, Weve cooperatively made decisions to maintain CDC rules outside of the warehouse and office to keep everyone here healthy. Im still here every single day to support my staff and be there for them. Of course, the end result of the supply chain is a happy retail buyer. That begins at the opposite end with the manufacturer. Its no secret that an overwhelming majority of adult products are manufactured in China, even though manufacturers are spread around the globe. From even the smallest manufacturers such as Shellie Yarnells Crystal Delights, based in Washington state, to mid-sized manufacturers such as Brian Pelhams Kheper Games, and to larger ones such as New Yorks Blush Novelties with Nancy Cosimini as Sales Manager; and reaching across the pond to JeJoues Dan Jackson, who is head of sales for the company, the impact of COVID is indeed global. Going from four to two employees, Crystal Delights Shellie Yarnell noticed several changes that have had a slight impact on the company. We first noticed this during January and since then, shipping from China has been slow and shipping costs more than doubled, Yarnell stated. However, we have increased sales on our website over the last month while wholesale sales are down over the last two months, almost certainly due to the massive shutdown of retail stores. We have seen an increase in sales of our newly launched Brought to You by Crystal Delights line of Sparkle Plugs. I'm sure partly because of the very reasonable price point and, of course, because they sparkle! Shellie Yarnell of Crystal Delights in Washington Brian Pelham of Kheper Games had 13 staff members and plans on bringing everyone back, which he says will likely be a gradual process. His post-COVID sales are down 40 percent compared to last years sales and noted that his company is now promoting games that can be played via Zoom and video chat. So we've seen an increase of those, such as Extreme Personal Questions and What the F*ck? Games, Pelham noted. All of the manufacturers agreed that the supply chain originating in China has not had a tremendous impact on the manufacturers. The manufacturers frequently prepare for their annual buying schedule ahead of Chinese New Year. Kheper Games Pelham admitted, We always load up before CNY, so we only have 2 of our 200-plus SKUs seeing a back-order issue now. Brian Pelham of Kheper Games In England, Je Joues Dan Jackson said, In the first couple of weeks of COVID confusion (last couple of weeks of March), distributors and retailers seemed to err on the side of caution when it came to ordering. Routine large orders from some distributors were made noticeably smaller, which seems to have been a sensible business move with many decisions on social distancing and closures not having been made yet. As April came around, many of the brick-and-mortar stores closed, as well as distributors, which immediately decreased sales. Jackson continued, Our online retailers sales are up including LoveHoney, Amorelie, and others, as well as our direct sales. April has been our largest sales month on our website, which should finish up with a 15-20 percent increase from February/Valentine's Day sales! However, Jackson expressed, Despite some increases, it still hasnt made up for the losses suffered as a result of the physical stores being closed. We hope that the retailers with a physical presence will survive through this period as theyre such an important part of our industry and business. Nancy Cosimini, sales manager for Blush Novelties, remarked, Sales are great! The only inhibitor we have had is related to our efforts to ensure the wellness of our team as caring for our staff has been our priority. Of course, the actions that many distributors have had to take in order to care for their teams has had an impact on sales as well. Being prepared for post Chinese New Years as well as COVID have been key factors for the company weathering the storm. Our growth before COVID has been extraordinary, and we added to inventory to accommodate it," Cosimini said. "No one knew how important that inventory investment would be! We are well stocked and have been able to maintain a solid fill rate through this and have been thrilled to be able to help customers keep their businesses going! She also noted that everything in the Blush catalog is movingfrom strokers and dildos to luxury vibes and wellness items. Every facet of the adult toy industry has learned to cope and pivot with the sudden on-set of such a substantial business shift. For brick-and-mortar companies that rely on foot traffic for sales, the governments small business loans available may provide some relief but the application process is tricky. A major stumbling block for applying is the prejudicial designation of adult businesses falling under the category of prurient interest, a term generally akin to the impossible to accurately define description of obscene. Sensually Yours Zondre Watson mentioned he had applied for the loans and chose to ignore the designation of adult businesses. And we did get approved and got the loan," Watson said. "The way I looked at it was the only specific businesses they outlined in the application were dance clubs and honestly, we dont consider ourselves a 'prurient interest' business. We are focused on sexual health and are a non-judgmental business that is all about expressing yourself sexually. Thats not prurient. However, Cherylynn Brunnemer of Michigans Naughty Time Novelties applied for the PPP loan but was denied by the SBA in Michigan due to selling more than 5 percent of adult products. Hubba Hubba, which has always been known as the purveyor of kink apparel and adornments, also applied for the small business loans. Owner MJ shared, I am still waiting to hear regarding federal loans. The store is over 50-percent clothing and accessories so my bank and tax forms can legally list me as a clothing or 'other' retailer. We will see how the government defines this. Sadly, another impact of brick-and-mortar closures has been the awareness that thieves know stores are not being attended to on a daily basis. Kris Black said that Secret Desires Torrance, California location, was broken into during their closure, resulting in a loss of tens of thousands of dollars in merchandise and store support hardware. The robbers came in, dismantled and stole the cameras, which werent being monitored since the store was closed, stole the computer register, countless merchandise and even broke into our safe. It was devastating," Black said with a sigh. My advice is to continue to monitor your business and check up with it regularly. Make sure you keep a watchful eye on it, even when its closed. Kris & Fresca Black, operations managers of Secret Desires and Love Stuff stores Ann Houlihan, of online seller CNV, had a tip for adult website companies to get through this and stand out in the crowd: Keep it simple. Dont try to be the coolest kid on the block. Have a site that is reliable, easy to use, and secure. When asked how companies can cope with this ongoing crisis, Entrenues CEO Joe Casella suggested, My best advice for brick-and-mortar businesses during this time is to embrace this time to do those projects and create a new standard in your store. Things like creating space for safe shopping and what that looks like. This quiet time is the time to redo or create your operations manual and your HR manual. He continued, In other words, improve your business when youre not swamped with your business. On a personal note, Casella found his hours at Entrenue increased to the same level as they were when he took over the company 14 years ago. Since COVID, he has worked in the warehouse doing fulfillment and for the first time realized the company had to change their shipping area of the warehouse. The restructuring resulted in a more productive workspace for order fulfillment. His advice is: "Its doing little things that will get you through and make your company even more successful. I want everyone to get through this healthy and successfully. Bonnie Feingold of Honeys Place concluded, We are all in this together and staying safe is the most important thing. As we all get back to work, we will all need to make modifications to the way we work. She continued, For brick-and-mortar stores, create an environment where people feel both safe and comfortable while shopping in your store. Perhaps limit the amount of customers allowed to shop at one time based on the square footage of the store. Play around with the floor layout to make sure the aisles are more open and the store has more of an open space concept. During COVID, other suggestions she has are implementing curbside pick-up, plexiglass barriers at cashier stations and having sanitizer throughout the store or extra masks on hand for customers who may want to wear them while shopping. To add a current spark to a retail staffs company branded t-shirts, Feingold suggested a whimsical and timely idea, Why not also brand the employees' masks with the companys logos? Also, be creative, use resources like Zoom to have Zoom nights or training for your customers. Regarding online companies, she suggested offering a wide variety of items with fast turnaround times and using a drop-shipper such as Honeys Place helps to streamline the shipping process and allows websites to offer a wider variety of items. Cyrstal Delights' Shellie Yarnell offered this advice to both online and storefront retail stores: Make sure you have a robust web presence as it is only going to become more important. Specialize, be unique! At Crystal Delights, we have put an emphasis on drop-shipping to our wholesale customers, allowing them to get product to their customers promptly and efficiently. Other suggestions I would recommend would be to take advantage of the social media marketing because it's excellent for getting new eyes to your website, and contests! Everyone loves to win something and a contest can bring you good traffic. Je Joues Dan Jackson suggested for both brick-and-mortar as well as online retailers, Get creative! So many retailers have done great jobs to work within their means to try and drive sales and get through this period. Weve seen online parties, amazing educational content, curb side drop-offs, etc. People are hustling to get through and survive which is inspiring to see. As a manufacturer, he continued , Were trying to create meaningful content which adds value to our customers livesfocusing on education. This has been one of the drivers to increase our web sales. Blush Novelties Nancy Cosimini shared her advice for brick-and-mortar stores: We want retailers to know they are not alone as we all seek to navigate these unprecedented times. Even before COVID came to be, building the customer relationship and creating a unique, fun store experience has been a priority for retailers. Kind customer service and curb side delivery service will only strengthen trust levels with customers, as will cash register barriers, availability of hand sanitizers, and all the little things we do today to let people know we care about them. I have seen many stores preparing for the new social distance shopping experience. Great job! Cosimini continued, Theres social media, having a shoppable website, and customer communication is going to be important. Blush Novelties is ready, willing and able to help retailers get creative and support them. History tells us that well get through this. The species will not be wiped out by this deadly and invasive infection and the numbers are still in favor for survivors of COVID, at the human level, and at the brick-and-mortar, online, distributor and manufacturing levels. Its people that run our precious adult business and allowing the public to experience life-affirming sexual pleasure that is our best contribution to the health of the world. [May 07, 2020] Gateway Team Members Included in Scotsman Guide's Top Women Originators Gateway (News - Alert) Mortgage Group, a division of Gateway First Bank, is proud to announce four of its team members have been named Top Women Originators by Scotsman Guide. Scotsman Guide introduced the inaugural Top Women Originators ranking in 2018 to celebrate outstanding women in the mortgage industry. These rankings draw upon thousands of submissions by mortgage professionals in the magazine's annual Top Originators list. The mortgage industry is made up of people from all walks of life, and Top Women Originators is an important benchmark in celebrating diversity and success. Gateway would like to recognize the following loan officers who produced more than 900 loans in 2019 with a total dollar volume of $192 million. Paddi Bailey-Lady's Island, SC Lisa Mathews-Cranford, NJ Jill Taylor-San Angelo, TX Teri Treadway-Matagorda, TX "At Gateway, we take pride in having a talented and hardworking team committed to the communities they serve, and these women are a testament to that," said Scott Gesell, CEO at Gateway. "I am thrilled that Paddi, Lisa, Jill and Teri have been recognized as Top Women Originators by Scotsman Guide this year. It is well deserved-they are top team members here at Gateway." Gateway's Retail Mortgage team ended 2019 with a record $7.6 billion loans funded, demonstrating strong growth and demand. The company currently has more than 150 mortgage centers across the nited States and operates in 40 states. To view the full list from Scotsman Guide, visit: https://www.scotsmanguide.com/rankings/top-women-originators. About Gateway First Bank Gateway First Bank is a leading financial institution that provides banking and mortgage services for consumers and commercial customers. Headquartered in Jenks, Oklahoma, Gateway is a $1.7 billion asset sized bank with a strong mortgage operation. Gateway is one of the largest banking and mortgage operations in the United States with six bank branches in Oklahoma, 150 mortgage centers in 40 states, and over 1,300 employees. Learn more at www.GatewayFirst.com. Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender (NMLS 7233) Follow Gateway First on Facebook (News - Alert) (https://www.facebook.com/GatewayFirstBank/), LinkedIn (News - Alert) (https://www.linkedin.com/company/gatewayfirst/) and Twitter (News - Alert) (https://twitter.com/Gateway1st). View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005578/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Pioneering radio host Barry Farber, who hosted a conservative talk show for decades in New York City and ran unsuccessfully for mayor against Ed Koch in 1977, has died. Farber died of natural causes Wednesday at home in New York, a day after his 90th birthday, his daughter, Celia Farber, said. Raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, Farber worked in New York City for his entire career and was still doing a regular digital talk show, 'THe Barry Farber Show,' for CRN up until last week. Injuries from a fall hastened his passing, his Celia daughter said. Pioneering radio host Barry Farber, who hosted a conservative talk show for decades in New York City and ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 1977, has died. He is pictured thanking supporters after his loss to Ed Koch Farber lost the 1977 mayoral election to Ed Koch, pictured walking in Manhattan's Soho Farber, second left, gestures as he makes a statement during a televised debate with other mayoral candidates, in New York during the 1977 mayor election Celia wrote on Twitter: 'My father Barry Farber, beloved, died this evening, at 6:25 pm. He was home, in bed, and we were all with him. He turned 90 just yesterday. 'He told me recently that his concept of death was 'going somewhere I've never been before, like Finland or Estonia.' May God rest his soul.' Farber, considered one of the pioneers of conservative radio, began his career on the air at WINS-AM, the only talk host on a rock n roll station. Farber moved to WOR-AM in 1962 and worked in the evening and through the night. He left the station for his mayoral run and, after losing as a Conservative Party candidate to Democratic Koch with 4 per cent of the vote, went to work for WMCA-AM for 11 years. He was also a member of the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2014, saying the night before his induction, 'I would rather burn out than rust out,' vowing never to retire.' Farber's daughter Celia tweeted the news about her father's passing. In her post (pictured) she mentions he had just turned 90-years-old 'He told me recently that his concept of death was 'going somewhere I've never been before, like Finland or Estonia.' May God rest his soul,' wrote Celia Farber (pictured) on Twitter about her father's passing Farber was a traditional conservative working in one of the nation's most liberal cities. He was a wordsmith and extraordinary orator, said Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers magazine. 'He spoke as if he was writing an essay,' Harrison said. He spoke more than 20 languages, including Albanian, Swedish, Finnish and Yiddish, along with the more standard French, German, Spanish and Chinese, according to an obituary. Farber is pictured with Katy Keeton, who was dating Penthouse Magazine publisher Bob Guccione, while attending a party celebrating actress Pia Zadora's nude photos in the publication in 1983 Farber was a traditional conservative working in one of the nation's most liberal cities. He is pictured in Manhattan's Battery Park arguing with a Puerto Rican demonstrator Farber was past his peak of influence by the time conservative talk radio became an industry that made national stars out of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. He would joke about 'being big in the old days and old in the big days,' Harrison said. 'I just wish we had started it in my generation,' Farber told Talkers in a 2012 interview. 'It never occurred to us.' Farber was known for ending his show with the phrase, 'To be continued.' Officials from the Chattanooga Housing Authority confirmed that COVID-19 testing will begin at five housing communities on Monday and Tuesday of next week. The National Guard will be providing tests at Mary Walker Tower and Emma Wheeler Homes on Monday and at College Hill Courts, East Lake Courts, and Greenwood Terrace on Tuesday. CHA Executive Director Betsy McCright said, We are extremely appreciative of those members of the National Guard who are coming into our communities to provide this important service. This has been a team effort with support from the Hamilton County Health Department, City of Chattanooga, State of Tennessee and various health officials in this community supporting the National Guard. The CHA has taken extraordinary efforts to keep our sites clean and sanitized during this time. Many of our residents are self-isolating to help the cause. The testing done by these partners is the next piece in determining what challenges if any, we have within the CHAs communities. The CHA is also working with UTC School of Nursing, CHI Memorial, and the Hamilton County Health Department to provide testing to the residents of Boynton Terrace, Dogwood Manor, and Gateway in the coming weeks. No firm date has been established yet. As soon as the details of the testing plans are available they will be shared through the CHAs social media platform: @CHAHousingAuthority on Facebook. A Specsavers eye doctor has been suspended for drunkenly streaking on a street 22 years ago during fresher's week at university. Optometrist Jagdip Dhariwal, 50, from Romsey, Hampshire, was given a criminal record for indecent exposure in 1998 after he and his friends stripped off at midnight as part of a 'foolish dare'. The then-28-year-old had been drinking at a party with university friends when he was arrested and later fined in court. Optometrist Jagdip Dhariwal, 50, from Romsey, Hampshire, has been suspended after a tribunal heard he was given a criminal record for indecent exposure in 1998 and failed to disclose it to regulation authority General Optical Council Dhariwal was taken to a tribunal after it emerged through an anonymous tip-off that he failed to tell regulation authority General Optical Council [GOC] about his conviction. He claimed he didn't view his indecent exposure as a proper criminal conviction but rather a 'slap on the wrist' for a 'student prank'. However, a GOC tribunal rejected the argument and suspended Dhariwal, a locum optometrist at Specsavers in Romsey, Hants, for six months. The optometrist of 27 years told the tribunal in London about the drunken streaking in September 1998. He said he and a group of friends were at home celebrating one of them getting engaged to their girlfriend. 'Five of us had gathered together for dinner and a few drinks. It was fresher's week and two of those invited were students at the university - everyone was in very high spirits at the time,' he added. 'By around midnight three of us were quite drunk and were being encouraged by the others to streak into the cold. It was a foolish dare but being silly we decided to strip off and ran outside. During fresher's week at university Mr Dhariwal drunkenly stripped off and ran into the street outside his house with friends in 1998 'We stood outside, only briefly, without any clothes on and laughed before dashing back inside. There were a few students who were milling around outside, and a police vehicle pulled up as the students raised their voices to cheer us on. 'Realising the dare had been inappropriate and stupid we quickly dressed as officers came to the door and demanded to be let in. 'I was taken to a police station and put in a police cell. I was not aware at the time that I was being arrested, probably because I was quite drunk.' He later appeared at Southampton Magistrates' Court, Hampshire, and admitted indecent exposure to the annoyance of residents before being fined 100 and ordered to pay costs of 45. In 2006 the GOC introduced paperwork to be completed on a yearly basis which asked for optometrists to declare criminal convictions however Dhariwal always ticked 'no'. The GOC were given an anonymous tip-off in December 2015 and after contacting Dhariwal he admitted having a conviction in 2016. He argued: 'At the material time I was not aware it was considered criminal behaviour or that it would mean I had a criminal record. The GOC rejected Dhariwal's claims that he didn't know it was a proper criminal conviction and he was suspended for six months 'In my mind it was a student prank for I had simply been fined and did not attach any 'conviction' to the matter.' A GOC tribunal report said: 'It was put to the registrant that he must have realised that the incident in 1998 had resulted in a criminal conviction. 'He did not regard himself as a criminal. The registrant, in his evidence, stated that he regarded criminals as thieves or murderers and that convictions were for dangerous people who get into fights or deal drugs.' The GOC rejected his argument concluding: 'The committee found it impossible to accept the registrant's account that he had not realised that at the time that he had received a criminal conviction. 'The formality of receiving a summons for the alleged offence and the experience of attending court and pleading guilty to that offence must have made it abundantly clear to the registrant that he was being convicted of a criminal offence. 'The registrant's intentional failures to disclose his conviction on annual retention forms between 2006 and 2015 was a lengthy period of time. His conduct involved active dishonesty during each decision to apply for renewal of registration.' Dhariwal admitted three misconduct breaches. The Rev. Ann Helmke, an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has served as the city of San Antonios liaison to faith-based communities for three years. She was previously Haven for Hopes director of spiritual services for seven years. She is also one of the co-founders of San Antonio peaceCENTER, an all-volunteer and interfaith nonprofit. We asked Helmke how faith and worship have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and what guidance the word of God offers for those navigating uncertain circumstances. Houses of worship are potential hot spots for COVID-19. How can churches can meet their congregants needs for community and connection without contributing to transmission of the virus? My quick answer to that is creatively. Which many have done. ... We have people out there who are doing regular YouTube (broadcasts) of support and inspiration. Some congregations have set up 24-hour-a-day volunteer phone lines for people to call not just for emergencies, but spiritual companion needs someone to talk to and reach out to. Theyve let their congregants know thats available, whether that might be prayer or just talking because you are lonely or might be in despair and have an emergency. My mothers 95 and lives in Illinois and shes still at home by herself. ... It limits a very active and engaged relational setting for her that also includes worship time, which is really important to my mother. She considers that an essential portion of her life. The two of us, every Sunday morning, spend an hour plus together (on the phone in worship). Whenever two or three are gathered, thats where church happens. Do you think this pandemic will cause permanent changes in the rituals of group worship that are central to so many faith traditions? Will things ever again be the way they used to be? I think that this global experience will, has and is changing all of us in many different ways. So its going to change even our gatherings and what they look like. People have found out in the process some whove gone virtual their attendance has gone way up. They have more people coming to worship than they had before. I think for some, they will definitely practice what they had been practicing before. But theyre also going to be utilizing technology in ways that they hadnt before. Ancient practices that have been done over millennia are still going to be there. One of the things were finding out in the pandemic is ... many are discovering the beauty of conversation again. The importance of playing board games. The importance of having a picnic and maybe the children had never experienced a picnic because the parents hadnt done it for years. There will be some that when we feel like we can really go back it will look just like perhaps what they were doing in February. Im sure there will be. But I also know there will be a lot of transformation that has occurred and well be seeing that as well. On ExpressNews.com: UT Health infectious disease expert offers advice on staying healthy as Texas reopens Anton Ostapenko /Getty Images / iStockphoto The Catholic Archdiocese, Episcopal Diocese, Community Bible Church and others have suspended their in-person worship services and turned to live streaming or broadcasts. But some churches have continued to hold in-person services, often with size limits and social distancing. Is there a division or varying opinions in the faith world over how to respond to this virus? There are various vantage points, as well as theological vantage points. I dont know if weve been at this long enough to cause division. Theological division usually takes a while to formulate. So, are there ways to be responsible to others while still providing those essential spiritual support systems? There are. People have discovered that. That doesnt disrespect or disregard what someone else is doing. But to think that we can only provide essential services, whatever they are, only one way, we see that thats simply not true almost in every case. I think sometimes (of) the people who really are putting their lives at risk. I think about the homeless hotel thats been set up for those who are more vulnerable within our homeless community and are being housed within hotel settings, and thats being operated by the city and Haven for Hope. There are things that still require humans to be connected to humans. And how brave those essential workers are by being there. In my mind, its exactly the same as essential workers who are in the health care and medical system. I thank God for them daily ... That translates as well into the essential service of the spiritual component. The Good Newsletter: A weekly dose of inspiring San Antonio stories, delivered to your inbox There have been limits and guidelines on worship that have been issued in recent weeks and months by mayors and county judges in various jurisdictions and the governor. Some of this has sparked strong criticism, even lawsuits, from people who view these measures as an infringement on freedom of religion. How can this tension be reconciled? Can churches stand apart from what government is requiring of everyone else during a pandemic? The only way I know that this tension can be reconciled is by respect and honoring. And I fully believe that our local government has done that. So lets take, for example, just this very last thing thats happened last week in terms of the Governor saying houses of worship are essential services and could reopen. So thats not a mandate, right? Then our local government came back, fully recognizing that, saying ... its your choice whether to reopen or not but from our knowledge and from this direction, staying home remains still the best option for stopping the spread. So in that sense ... the local government is respecting that separation of church and state. I feel really good about how our civic leaders approached it. For people whose faith and worship are central to their lives and who find themselves unable to attend church services right now because of the risks of the virus, what reassurance or words of comfort can you offer them? Particularly for senior citizens or folks who might be living alone during this period of staying at home? I think part of the comforting words are: youre not alone. In your aloneness, in your experience as difficult as it may be there are others who are experiencing separation in ways they dont want to. And a lot of the things that were central in our lives are absent. But that doesnt change the love, by any means. You are loved. Even if I dont know who you are, youre still loved. There are others who are here for you even if you cant see them or be with them. I encourage whoever is in that situation just as I encourage congregations to reach out. I encourage people who are alone and feeling alone and it can be so hard but to reach out as well and to say Hello, Im here, and I need someone. And not to make any assumptions. But I really encourage people who might not be as isolated, and might be in a more resilient place and not as at risk, to reach to people that they know who are. Ive seen wonderful exhibits of community by teachers forming parades in cars through neighborhoods where their students are. And Ive seen notes (left) at doors in the neighborhood - Hi, I live at 103. If you need anything, were still able to be out in the world and wed be more than glad to help you with your needs. Heres our phone number. On ExpressNews.com: How those living alone in S.A. are coping with social disconnection Billy Calzada /Staff file photo You also currently lead the citys interfaith initiative Compassionate San Antonio. How can San Antonio be a compassionate city during this pandemic? I think it already is. I think that the decisions that are being made by civic leaders are compassionate decisions. And when I say that compassionate based on the ethic of reciprocity, also known as the golden rule. So I think how the decisions are being made, it might not look like compassion because they are tough things that weve had to hear. But those were done with the greater good in mind and the greatest of respect for everyone who lives here. But the amount of obvious compassionate acts are almost endless ... I just think the list goes on and on of how compassion has shown itself ... Think about all the people making face masks to be given away because they care for other people. How can churches and temples of various faiths work together during this health crisis to best serve all people in San Antonio? We have more in common than we are different. And if we stay focused on serving the real needs of people that we share in common so, food, housing, health care thats how we can work together. Last week, I know the Hindu community donated almost 7,000 face masks. They were surgical grade, as well as N95 (masks). So those went to the first responders and health care workers. That was from the faith community. The most common thing that all the world religions have is that ethic of reciprocity, that golden rule. Its the most ancient of all wisdoms, and its found in every religion. If we can work from there ... we can work together. On ExpressNews.com: How San Antonio parents are helping kids cope during the coronavirus pandemic What would Jesus say or do during this pandemic? Its kind of a dangerous question to ask. Because if you start to get honest with yourself in asking the question, you might not like the answer that comes back ... In our current situation, am I at home, not working, because the office is closed, but Im still getting paid? And good for you if youre having a time in your life where you can regroup oh my goodness, what a great gift. But if its one big party, and its really just about you, then how are you doing the Jesus thing? Because Jesus was not about himself. When people were hungry, they were fed. When they were hurting, they were healed. Are you ready to be about that work? For me, it all boils down to love. The acts of compassion are how love is exhibited. So how are we loving others in this situation? Peggy OHare covers demographics, the census and occasionally crime and general assignment stories in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Peggy, become a subscriber. pohare@express-news.net | Twitter: @Peggy_OHare As we mark yet another National Day of Prayer, our freedoms here at home remind us of the need to pray for those who lack them around the world. In the United States, we can offer a prayer of thanks that religious freedom is not yet obliterated and faith is not yet coerced. As we acknowledge our blessings and lift our supplications to our Creator, this is an opportune moment to look outside ourselves and beyond our borders to pray for the needs of others including those being persecuted for their faith around the world. In the world's most populous country, the Chinese government seeks to suffocate Christianity and other faiths under the burden of a bureaucracy intensely hostile to the threat posed by a higher power. House churches not sanctioned by the state may be harassed by authorities and shut down, their members and pastors arrested. In state-approved churches, the government tears down crosses and removes copies of the Ten Commandments sometimes replacing them with quotes from President Xi Jinping. Facial recognition cameras are starting to be installed in churches to ensure compliance with government regulations. Beijing's now infamous oppression of Uyghur Muslims has revealed the brutality with which the Chinese government will treat its religious minorities. The secretive regime of North Korea continues to be widely considered the world's worst violator of religious freedom. The only faith allowed in the hermit kingdom is the worship of the Kim family dictators. Any expression of Christianity may land a person in a labor camp, where one is forced to suffer torture and perform hard labor, enduring horrific living conditions. The dire situation in the world's most isolated country requires our urgent prayers. Christians in India have experienced an uptick in religiously motivated attacks this year. Indian Christians and others regularly face violent attacks by Hindu mobs. Such attacks are implicitly encouraged by the ruling Hindu nationalist leaders, who advance the idea that to be "Indian is to be Hindu" a narrative that fuels cultural discrimination against the marginalized Christian community. In Pakistan, the country's notorious blasphemy laws are weaponized against the vulnerable Christian community, which faces an unsympathetic court system. False accusations of blasphemy often keep Christians imprisoned for years, with as many as 200 Christians in prison on blasphemy charges as of May 2019. Across the Middle East, Christians face an array of dangers and deprivations. Christians along Syria's war-torn northern border have become refugees, herded into crowded and unhygienic camps and other temporary shelters. Fears of Turkish military attacks and COVID-19 infections are rampant, thanks to broken treaties; home invasions; and a lack of clean water for drinking, cleaning, and bathing due to sabotaged water lines. ISIS drove thousands of Iraqi Christians from their homes in 2014, and many more remain displaced. Iraq once had an ancient Christian community of some 1.4 million before the ISIS invasion. Today, church leaders estimate that only about 150,000 Christians remain in the country where many suffer abuse at the hand of Iranian Islamists. Iran itself is controlled by a notoriously vicious regime, which continues its abuse of Christians and other religious minorities. It particularly targets converts from Islam, estimated to number in the tens of thousands. These Muslim-background believers, who continue to meet secretly in underground house churches while quietly evangelizing, are angrily targeted by the regime and face arrest and imprisonment in Iran's filthy, overcrowded prisons. In Egypt, Coptic Christians continue to be threatened, primarily by Islamic State radicals. Meanwhile, all across the vast continent of Africa, Christians face grave dangers at the hand of terrorist groups like Boko Haram, al-Qaeda, Fulani militants, al Shabaab, and the Islamic State. In West Africa, the Sahel region is experiencing increasingly deadly attacks. Nigeria is particularly victimized. Young women are kidnapped, churchgoers are murdered en masse, and Christian villages and towns are burned to the ground or seized by Islamist invaders. This quick survey of the globe can be distressing enough. Yet on this National Day of Prayer, anxiety and uncertainty about ensuing economic difficulties continue to spread here in America following the coronavirus pandemic. At this time, it is right that we intercede for our own families, friends, and loved ones while giving thanks for the blessings we still enjoy. At the same time, let us take a moment to look beyond ourselves and our borders, to consider the trials faced at this very moment by millions of our fellow Christians. Our own challenges are undeniable, but let us also reflect on those who endure indescribable dangers every day. We may not know their names, but they are part of our spiritual family and in grave need of our prayers. Let us remember to pray for our sisters and brothers who are struggling to survive overseas and around the world. Lela Gilbert is senior fellow for international religious freedom at the Family Research Council, and Arielle Del Turco is assistant director of the Center for Religious Liberty at the Family Research Council. Asia prepares for recovery BANGKOK: How do we sensibly and effectively restart travel and tourism, the industry that employs one in 10 workers globally? A workforce decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic. tourismeconomicsCOVID-19healthtransport By Andrew J Wood Thursday 7 May 2020, 09:11AM Image: TAT According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTCC) travel and tourisms direct, indirect and induced impact last year in 2019 accounted for: US$8.9 trillion contribution to the worlds GDP 10.3% of global GDP 330 million jobs, 1 in 10 jobs around the world US$1.7 trillion visitor exports (6.8% of total exports, 28.3% of global services exports) US$948 billion capital investment (4.3% of total investment) Tourism recovery is the No.1 topic and all sections of our industry are looking and learning. The plethora of webinars popping up with recovery and next step discussions is testament to the energy and interest in getting back to work. But are webinars useful? Earlier this week respected publisher Don Ross (TTR Weekly) suggests that webinars often fall short in good common sense. Since the COVID-19 pandemic banished us all to our homes to live under lockdown, we are inundated with promotions for webinars that promise to navigate the travel industry back from the brink to a new norm. The deluge of webinars promises to show us the way forward, but so often when we tune in to the talkfests, they fluff on the details. They avoid the obvious and concentrate on the obscure, I suspect we attend webinars hoping the experts can offer some old fashioned common sense to help us survive the financial storm, he wrote. The tourism industry has taken a huge hit from the coronavirus, the UNWTO puts the loss at US$450 billion. The virus has infected at least 3.48mn people worldwide and killed more than 244,000. Top tourist destinations such as the United States, Spain, Italy and France are among countries with the highest number of infections. People will only travel again if they feel it is safe to do so this was best expressed by Don Ross again when he wrote, In the COVID-19 world, common sense dictates we will travel when it is safe and when we have the spare cash. Thats what we are not addressing in webinars. The pandemic is breaking the bank for everyone, but how will we ensure health safety in order to reboot travel? Recovery is upper most in the minds of Skal International and the UNWTO. The Board of Affiliate Members, which CEO of Skal International, Daniela Otero, is a member, has been discussing how to structure a response for the tourism sector, especially in the recovery phase and what should be the priorities to be taken into consideration by governments. Work is already underway at the UNWTO on the first drafts of possible reopening protocols applicable to all the sectors of the industry, noting that once governments allow, it will be necessary to move quickly with action as tourism is among the hardest hit industries due to COVID-19 and its consequences. The UNWTO estimates the losses to international tourist arrivals worldwide this year could fall by as much as 30%. The UNWTO recalls that tourism has been a reliable driver of recovery in the wake of past crises, generating employment and revenue. Tourism, the UNWTO states, Has wide-ranging benefits that have transcended the sector, reflecting its broad-based economic value chain and deep social footprint. Around 80% of all tourism businesses are small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the sector has been leading the way in providing employment and other opportunities for women, youth and rural communities and tourism has a great capacity to create jobs after crisis situations. Since the start of the current crisis, UNWTO has been working closely alongside the World Health Organization (WHO) to guide the sector, issuing key recommendations for both high-level leaders and individual tourists. To rebuild and restart travel we are so dependant on air uplift. Once airlines start flying again the industry can recover. How long that will take is widely discussed. PATA CEO Dr Mario Hardy said, The number one question on everyones minds is, how long before we recover? This isnt a simple question to answer. Asia he believes, will deliver the largest rebound in travel to the Asia Pacific region in 2021, according to the updated forecast released by PATA. Their research claims visitors should deliver 610mn visitor arrivals in 2021 (of which 338mn are inter-regional). A growth in total visitor arrivals of 4.3% compared to 2019 (585mn). The growth in international visitor arrivals (IVAs) is likely to vary by source regions, with Asia expected to rebound with the fastest growth rates relative to 2019. During the expected recovery phase in 2021, Asia should generate significantly improved arrival numbers, rebounding from a loss of 104mn visitors between 2019 and 2020 to grow 5.6% to 338m in 2021 relative to 2019. It will not be all plain sailing. We will face competition from around the globe for tourists, and our regular visitors - including those from mainland China. Hong Kong Tourism Board chairman Pang Yiu-kai noted that while it was difficult to predict when the industry would recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, a V-shaped rebound was impossible in the face of restrictions overseas and flight suspensions. What was certain he said was that every market would spend hundreds of millions of dollars, or even billions, to chase after tourists as the pandemic had paralysed global travel and battered the industry since February, he said. "The tourism landscape will be reshaped, there will be a new normal," the HK tourism chief said during its annual conference to 1,500 industry stakeholders. Pang also said that based on market analysis, mainland tourists and those from short-haul markets would travel domestically soon after the pandemic died down. The tide will turn. The post-pandemic recovery would contrast with that after the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, he said. "In 2003, the SARS outbreak was mainly in Hong Kong. For COVID-19, the whole world is affected," Pang said. Although economic activities had gradually resumed across the border and people were returning to work, mainland travellers would place greater emphasis on health and nature after months of confinement, Pang said agreeing with our earlier comments from Don Ross. "When choosing destinations for future trips, they will be more price conscious and will favour those that pose low risks to health," he said. "The MICE market on the mainland has slowed down and activities have been held online or postponed." Regionally, young and middle-aged Japanese, Koreans and Taiwanese would be the most eager to travel, but would favour short-haul trips because of financial and holiday leave constraints, he said. Long-haul travel would take longer to recover and Hong Kongs outbound sector might not resume until the last quarter of this year, he added. Executive director Dane Cheng Ting-yat said the HK board had earmarked HK$400mn (B1.66bn) to support the industry through a three-stage approach. It was currently carving out a recovery plan as the first stage. Tourism is one of Hong Kongs four pillar industries, contributing 4.5% to gross domestic product in 2018. About the author: Andrew J Wood was born in Yorkshire England, he is a professional hotelier, Skalleague and travel writer. Andrew has over 40 years of hospitality and travel experience. He is a hotel graduate of Napier University, Edinburgh. Andrew is a past Director of Skal International (SI), National President SI Thailand and is currently President of SI Bangkok and a VP of both SI Thailand and SI Asia. He is a regular guest lecturer at various Universities in Thailand including Assumption Universitys Hospitality School and the Japan Hotel School in Tokyo. WASHINGTON, D.C., May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bank Director announced winners of the annual Best of FinXTech Awards. This years awards recognized the efforts of emerging financial technology solutions within Bank Directors FinXTech Connect platform that best help financial institutions grow revenue, create efficiency or reduce risks. Based on Bank Directors thorough analysis of each solutions capabilities - including performance results and feedback from bank partners - awards were given to the top-rated financial technology companies across seven categories. This years winners are: Best Solution for Customer Experience: NYMBUS SmartLaunch NYMBUS SmartLaunch is a digital bank in a box that helps banks establish a standalone digital brand under a banks existing charter. Best Solution for Loan Growth: SavvyMoney SavvyMoney provides bank customers with their credit scores and reports alongside pre-qualified loan offers from within the bank's online and mobile apps. Best Solution for Improving Operations: Cinchy Cinchy is a data collaboration platform that manages data as a network and enables banks to build their own business applications. Best Business Solution: Brex Brex partners with banks to issue co-branded credit cards designed specifically for startups. Best Solution for Protecting the Bank: ARGO OASIS ARGO OASIS leverages advanced AI neural networks to visually inspect payment instruments and identify fraud. Best Solution for Revenue Growth: Fintel Connect Fintel Connect helps banks amplify their marketing campaigns through its network of publishers and social influencers for performance-based marketing. Best of FinXTech Connect: Fintel Connect Recognizing the best partnership from innovation to integration, the Best of FinXTech Connect Award recognizes the overall winner in FinXTech Connect. As a leading information resource for all U.S. financial institutions, Bank Director is excited to once again recognize technology companies that help banks drive real growth through new products, increased security and operational enhancements. This years winners prove that significant results can be achieved by those banks who utilize technology to support their strategic goals and better serve their customers, said Amber Buker, program director of FinXTech Connect. The additional awards finalists recognized this year included: ALTR, Backbase, Blend, Blooma, CommonBond, Empyrean Solutions, Flybits, IDology, INETCO Systems Limited, Nest Egg, Pinkaloo and Shield Compliance. For more information about the 2020 Best of FinXTech Awards or FinXTech Connect, please visit Bank Director.com or FinXTech.com. About Bank Director Since 1991, Bank Director has served as a leading information resource for the directors and officers of financial institutions. Through its quarterly Bank Director magazine, executive-level research, annual conferences, and its website, BankDirector.com, Bank Director reaches the leaders of the institutions that comprise Americas banking industry. Bank Director is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee. For more information, please visit BankDirector.com. About FinXTech Launched in 2014, FinXTech is a resource powered by Bank Director, which specializes in connecting a hugely influential audience of U.S. bank leaders with technology partners at the forefront of innovation. FinXTech makes it easier for banks and technology companies to work together - through its exclusive in person events, editorial content and online FinXTech Connect platform. For more information, please visit FinXTech.com. By Jessica Resnick-Ault NEW YORK (Reuters) - North American oil companies have slashed production faster than skeptical OPEC officials and industry analysts expected, on course to cut roughly 1.7 million barrels per day by the end of June, according to a Reuters analysis of U.S. state and company data. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia struck a deal last month to contain a worsening supply glut as the coronavirus pandemic cratered global fuel demand by about 30%, sending prices plunging. The group, known as OPEC+, agreed to cut output by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) for May and June. They also pushed for non-OPEC+ members, including North American countries, to contribute another 10 million in output cuts, for total cuts of about 20% of world supply. During talks last month, some OPEC members raised concerns that nations like the United States and Canada couldn't muster that magnitude of cuts from private companies without state mandates. That hasn't turned out to be the case. Numerous producers in North America announced sizeable cuts, including ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, Chevron Corp and Canada's Cenovus Energy. The United States and Canada, which produce more than 17 million barrels per day, have already cut output by about 10%, according to Reuters estimates. U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said in April that the department expected U.S. production to drop by 2 to 3 million bpd by year-end. He and other U.S. officials said there was no need to mandate cuts because low prices would cause companies to shut production. Regulators in top oil states, including Texas and North Dakota, considered forced cuts, but none have limited production. "The power of the market can be ferocious sometimes," said a senior OPEC source, adding he was surprised at the speed of U.S. and Canadian supply reductions. Some energy ministers wanted formal commitments for cuts from non-OPEC nations prior to holding a meeting, emphasizing their countries have ceded market share for years. Story continues Iran's oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh, said in early April that cuts from countries such as the United States and Canada should be resolved before OPEC even held a meeting. Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said economically-induced cuts were not equal to more drastic, forced cuts from state oil producers designed to stabilize markets. They were concerned because U.S. producers have benefited from previous cuts by OPEC and Russia. While OPEC+ producers have been cutting production to raise prices since 2016, shale producers took advantage of those higher prices to pump more - effectively stealing market share. The United States has become the world's largest crude producer while OPEC and Russia kept output constrained. As of February, the latest month for which data is available, the Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude output was 12.8 million bpd. Weekly figures show output has dropped to 11.9 million bpd, but that data is considered less reliable than monthly figures. [EIA/S] In recent days, prices in physical markets have rebounded. Analysts revised their outlook for production shut-ins due to the swift response from operators. "When prices went negative it really accelerated some of the cuts," said Allyson Cutright, director at Rapidan Energy Group in Bethesda, Maryland. The consultancy recently increased its forecast for U.S. and Canada cuts to 2.3 million bpd in June. The heaviest reductions are coming from Texas, the largest U.S. producing-state, with 5 million bpd of output. Texas output is likely to drop by 20%, or 1 million barrels, by the end of May, said Karr Ingham, executive vice president of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers. "Operators are shutting in anywhere from 20% to 50%, and some more than that, based on what they think they can get to market," Ingham said. In North Dakota, output has dropped by at least 400,000 bpd since March 1, nearly a third of the state's around 1.4 million bpd output before the crisis. State officials expect the volume shut to rise further. This is worse than anything that any of us have ever seen, said Pete Miller, former CEO of Houston-based National Oilwell Varco, speaking on a call with investors Monday. ConocoPhillips has cut the most, saying it will reduce 460,000 bpd across the United States and Canada. Exxon Mobil announced worldwide cuts of roughly 400,000 bpd, with two-thirds of that from the two countries. Trump, on Tuesday, tweeted that the rise in oil prices was due to increased demand, but the rebound in consumption has so far been tepid. "The fierce response from the U.S. producers is what has turned the market around," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital in New York. On Tuesday, Brent crude futures closed at nearly $31 a barrel, the highest in three weeks. Billions of barrels have gushed into storage during the glut. The oversupply will weigh on the market for years if demand does not pick up. "There's just so much crude oil," said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York. (Reporting by Jessica Resnick-Ault, additional reporting by Jennifer Hiller in Houston and Dmitry Zhdannikov in London; Editing by David Gaffen, Simon Webb and Aurora Ellis) Each week Reckons Abbey Crain sends out the Reckon Women newsletter, an email newsletter for women in the South. Youll hear from the women who shape their communities, read interviews and personal essays, sample a selection of curated local and national news stories that effect us, and enjoy a few fun bits gathered from around the internet in the form of a digital junk drawer. You know that drawer in your kitchen with paperclips, spare batteries and other important things? Its like that, but less stressful. Sign up here to get it delivered to your email every Thursday. Hey yall, Happy Mothers Day week!Today were talking about incarcerated mothers, nursing during a pandemic and faith in the midst of an endometriosis diagnosis. We have some exciting things coming up next week, including a Zoom panel with the women behind Tutwiler, a documentary about motherhood in Alabamas Tutwiler prison. Keep reading for more details. I hope youll join. For all of AL.coms COVID-19 news follow along here. Got tips or just want some virtual company? Email me at acrain@al.com. Tutwiler documentary highlights pregnant mothers in Alabama prison Reckon Women partners with The Marshall Project and Frontline for a panel discussion on incarcerated pregnant people in Alabama. Women in Alabamas Tutwiler prison are given just 24 hours with their newborn children before mom and baby are seperated. Alabamas Prison Birth Project has worked since 2016 to provide doulas for incarcerated women before, during and after they give birth. Last year they initiated a program that would allow moms in Tutwiler to pump breast milk to give to their children on the outside. The Marshall Project and Frontline spent 40 days in Alabama, talking to moms, guards and the people on the outside fighting for incarcerated womens rights in their new documentary Tutwiler. Next week we are partnering with them to stream the documentary on Reckons Facebook page Tuesday, May 12 and hosting a Zoom panel Thursday, May 14 with Tutwilers director Elaine Mcmillion Sheldon, The Marshall Project reporter Alysia Santo, and Alabama Prison Birth Project doula Chauntel Norris. RSVP here! Alabama nurse in Boston COVID-19 unit: I hope Huntsville never sees what I am seeing here Liz Adams is a Huntsville native and currently works as a travel nurse in an intensive care unit in Boston, caring for COVID-19 patients. (Submitted) 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. 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. 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. Click here to read the rest of the story. Q&A with Ashley Lovell, director of the Alabama Prison Birth Project Ashley Lovell is the founder and director of Alabama Prison Birth Project, which was featured in a documentary by The Marshall Project. The Marshall Project and Frontlines new documentary Tutwiler, highlights incarcerated womens experience with birth and motherhood and focuses on the necessary work by the Alabama Prison Birth Projects efforts to improve the health of newborns birthed by women in custody and strengthen maternal bonds. I interviewed APBPs director and founder almost a year ago, but I wanted to catch up with her in light of the newly released documentary. Click here to read last years interview and to learn more about the Alabama Prison Birth Project. How did the film affect the work you do? What were some of the mothers reactions? This film has allowed us to have a bigger conversation about our work with corrections professionals everywhere, and its creating a vehicle to show the world what is happening with incarcerated pregnant and parenting people and their children. We often find ourselves walking a fine line between getting important stories into the world that arent being heard and respecting our clients journeys. It turns out, close-up observation of this experience is emotional, challenging and revealing in ways our clients and we didnt expect. Some of our clients chose not to be a part of it, and others wanted their voices heard. We think this film is a good window into the intersection of societal systems that affect, and often fail, women every day in our world, and how ultimately those difficulties are passed to new generations without fixing the problems at their core. We hope our work gets people thinking creatively about how we can ease those difficulties and chart new paths for vulnerable women and children. What do you hope women in Alabama take from the film? Having a program like this in Alabama is an opportunity for compassionate and forward-thinking people to wrap themselves around the most marginalized and help us contribute to a healthier life for ALL women and children in this state. What do you hope people keep in mind about the work you do as families celebrate Mothers Day this weekend? I think the mantra we bring with us every day and that we hear from our clients is this: bringing life into the world presents us with opportunities to heal deep wounds, generational wounds. And though every mothers and childs journey is different, biological or not, the two are two parts of a whole. Healing alongside one another can bring unimaginable hope and health and change to our society. How can we support incarcerated mothers in Alabama today, particularly in light of the pandemic? Support programs and ideas that address the gaps that perpetuate inequality in our world. Here are three ways to do that. First, bring ideas of equity and inclusion into your conversations with your families and children. Second, create a space to sit and watch the film Tutwiler, and then tell someone about your thoughts, especially people in your community that have power. Ask the question, who is falling through the cracks and why? How can we change that? And last, become a partner by giving to our program regularly, as we take the simple action of helping to carry a difficult burden alongside someone, and then watch the ripple effect it has in the lives of yourself and others. Your Voice: Maria Goretti, my faith crisis and me Lea Ervin grapples with her faith after an endometriosis diagnosis. Each week well include a column from an Alabama woman, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to sign up for the Reckon Women Facebook page. By: Lea Ervin I stared at my first real pair of high heels. This was a big deal since it was a complete venture outside of my black Doc Marten eight-hole boots. It was my first foray into womanhood, but it was short-lived. I learned, quickly, that day I didnt like high heels. I was dressed appropriately for my Confirmation at St. Marys Catholic Church in Helena, Arkansas. My olive green sundress swished as I approached Bishop Andrew J. McDonald in his full ensemble. I looked up at his mitre and could feel the flush rise in my cheeks as I bowed my head. I felt my grandmother, my confirmation sponsor, lovingly rest her hand on my shoulder as the bishop swiped the holy Chrism in a rood-shaped pattern on my forehead and murmured my chosen patron saints name, Maria Goretti. I accepted the Holy Spirit into my heart. I discovered Maria Goretti in fifth grade after reading her paragraph story in the Picture Book of Saints which I found in Sunday school class. As I thumbed through the pages, I came across an illustration of a beautiful blonde twelve-year-old wearing a white garment, holding a lamb, coronated with a golden nimbus of purity. She was Italian and flawless, the opposite of me. I pushed my thick glasses back up the bridge of my nose as my head, adorned with a frizzy bob, looked down closer to examine the page. As soon as Mass ended, I couldnt wait to tell my grandmother Marias story. Maria was a virgin-martyr who chose death over rape. She also forgave her attacker on her death bed. My enthusiasm made her proud, like anything I did, but anything regarding the Catholic faith elated her. Religion was central to our family unit and would remain so for most of my adult life. Most young adults move away from home, but I, ever so the late bloomer, stayed close with my family well into my 20s which meant regularly attending Mass on Sundays. Aside from worship, I taught pre-K Sunday school classes and was a confirmation sponsor for a close family friend. My faith was strongstrong enough to be shepherdess to the youngleading them to the God I loved. What God wanted was more important than what I wanted, which affected my first wedding. I gave up the dream of the destination wedding at Walt Disney World for a traditional Catholic ceremony inside a church. A few years into my marriage, I was diagnosed with endometriosis, and after failed treatment, decided to have a hysterectomy. I tried everything: various forms of birth control, Lupron injections and surgical ablation. Nothing helped, so I needed some finality and a decent quality of life. Twenty-eight is young for a life altering procedure and I had some emotional burdens to carry, like not being able to give my husband biological children or my parents grandchildren. Click here to read the rest. Reckonmendations The debate over what believe women means, explained. America still doesnt know what to do with allegations of sexual assault. (Vox.com) What can you do with $1,200? Heres how 7 women are spending their stimulus checks. (The Lily) Betsy DeVos releases final changes to campus sexual assault policies. Groups advocating for sexual assault victims worry that the changes will have a chilling effect on students coming forward. (NBC) I am just beside myself going through all of the reporting and personal essays of Refinery29s new series No Bad Moms. This piece on the COVID baby boom jokes while dealing with infertility hits close to home. And Im sure Im not the only one. (Refinery29) The Junk Drawer Shirley Mozingo, 83, of Hattiesburg, and Lucille Barraza, 90, of Jackson have become overnight sensations after their front-porch videos went viral on TikTok. The nude selfie is now high art. It has become an act of resilience in isolation, a way to seduce without touch. (The New York Times) Mississippis Twisted Sisters: Shirley Nenie Mozingo, 83, of Hattiesburg, and 90-year-old Lucille Grandma Cille Barraza of Jackson have become overnight sensations after their front-porch videos were shared on TikTok. (USA Today) How Karen became a Coronavirus villain. A popular joke about entitled white women is now a big pandemic meme. (The Atlantic) Thats all Ive got for today. LYLAS and Happy Mothers Day! Abbey Flash Chen Xu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva, on Wednesday highlighted the solidarity and cooperation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking at an online press conference, Chen said that the international community should not and will not allow accusations to derail cooperation in fighting against the pandemic. "Nor should it allow politicization and stigmatization to create disparity and confrontations," he added. He told reporters that China has always actively participated in international cooperation on fighting against COVID-19 in an open, transparent, and responsible manner. According to Chen, China has provided assistance to about 140 countries and four international organizations, and held video conferences with medical and health experts with more than 150 countries. China has also established an online knowledge center for the prevention and control of COVID-19 that is open to all countries, he said. Saying that at present, all countries are carrying out targeted epidemic prevention and control according to their own national conditions, the Chinese envoy said that it is of utmost importance to understand and respect the efforts made by different countries, to exchange and learn from each other's useful experiences. Chen stressed that all countries should firmly support multilateralism, by means of supporting the leading and coordinating role of the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO), strengthening coordination and cooperation within the framework of UN and G20. "We should work together to build a health community with a shared future. Victory will be won, only when the pandemic situation is brought under control in all countries," he said. CASPER Changes made to a federal lending program last week could open up loans to Wyoming oil and gas firms left reeling from volatile oil prices and low fuel demand during the pandemic. The Federal Reserve released new guidelines Thursday for its Main Street Lending Program, geared to provide an additional layer of financial relief to small to midsize companies, including some heavily indebted firms with low credit ratings, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wyomings oil and natural gas industry is overwhelmingly comprised of small and midsized operators, but some of those were not... A Discussion Among Boundary-Breaking Women 6 p.m. on Zoom Being brave and giving back in these challenging times. Thats the focus of an interactive discussion titled UnordinaryWomen, UnordinaryTimes. Among the nine panelists are Peggy Whitson, a former NASA chief astronaut and the first female commander of the International Space Station; Amy Sherald, a contemporary painter and the first African-American woman to paint the official portrait of a first lady, Michelle Obama; Anne Pasternak, the first woman to lead the Brooklyn Museum; Brittany Packnett Cunningham, co-host of Pod Save the People; and Julissa Arce, author of the best-selling book My (Underground) American Dream. The event hosted by the fashion brand Lafayette 148 in support of Girl Rising, a campaign for girls education will be moderated by the journalist Isha Sesay. When: 6 p.m. Where: Register here to receive a Zoom link ahead of the event. Indigo Girls Kick Off Concert Series From a room in Atlanta, where they will be appropriately socially distanced, the folk-rock duo Indigo Girls will begin a weekly livestream concert and Q. and A. series on Thursday. The format is request-based, so have yours ready. They will also perform songs from their upcoming studio album Look Long. The series will run through at least May 21, and the May 14 concert will include an optional donation, with all proceeds going to charity. When: 7 p.m. Where: The Indigo Girls Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages. Peter Libbey contributed research. AKRON, Ohio A Norton woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to two felony charges after she was accused of stealing a cart full of items from a grocery store, then having her dogs attack a store worker who attempted to stop her. Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh says Linda Snow, 65, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 9 on charges of aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, and felonious assault, a second-degree felony. Snows daughter, Jennifer Clark, 38, of Akron, pleaded guilty in January to robbery and endangering children in connection with the same incident. According to prosecutors, Snow and Clark took a the cart full of food from Acme Fresh Market in Akrons Kenmore neighborhood on Aug. 16, 2019. When a 55-year-old Acme worker confronted Snow and Clark in the parking lot of the store, Snow opened a door to her vehicle, where she had three pit bulls, prosecutors say. Two of the dogs attacked and seriously injured the worker, who had to be hospitalized, prosecutors say. Snow and Clark then drove off with the dogs. Clarks 11-year-old son also was in the vehicle. Clark is scheduled to be sentenced on May 27. After deadly styrene gas leak in Visakhapatnam, Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Thursday urged all public and private chemical makers to exercise caution and care while reopening their plants. Union Ministry and State Pollution Control Boards have also issued separate directives to all companies to take extreme precaution while restarting their units that remained suspended due to the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country, he said. There was a gas leak from LG Polymers plant at Visakhapatnam in the early hours on Thursday, causing 10 deaths and hundreds hospitalised. "LG Polymers does not come under direct control of our ministry. However, we have asked all public and private chemicals manufacturers to exercise caution and care while reopening their plants," Gowda told PTI. The minister said his officers are coordinating with the Andhra Pradesh government. He further said LG Polymers, a multinational chemical company, had kept its unit ready for reopening after one and half month of lockdown. The unit started leaking at around 3.40 am on Thursday due to pressure. "The toxic gas leak has affected both people and animals. Around 850 people have been hospitalised," Gowda said, adding that measures have been taken to control the situation at the plant site and final updates are awaited. At present, Indian chemicals market size is about USD 163 billion, which is only three per cent of the global chemical industry of USD 5 trillion, as per the official data. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Engineer Muaz Magaji Engineer Muaz Magaji, the Kano State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructures Development who was sacked after being accused of celebrating the death of late Chief of staff to the President, Abba Kyari, has tested positive for Coronavirus. The Kano Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba said Magaji was sacked over his unguarded utterances against the person of the late Chief of Staff to the President, Malam Abba Kyari who died from Coronavirus complications. In what seems to be a twist of event, Magaji has now announced the outcome of his Coronavirus test to his over 23,000 followers on Facebook. He further revealed that he has been moved to one of the isolation centres in the state. He wrote; This morning my NCDC test is out. I have been confirmed Covid-19 Positive And have been moved to one of the state facilitiespray for us! Going through a historical moment of our time A time we will either live to remember or we will be remembered having lived in! Which ever applies Alhamdulillah! Thank you all! Its our collective fight! Those you know and many that you dont know are in this. But together we will come out stronger.. Insha Allah! Magaji medical test was made public, hours after the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) confirmed 30 new cases of Coronavirus in Kano state. The state currently has 427 confirmed cases of Coronavirus. Section 1 Body Html The European Union (EU) Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) has launched today a public consultation to decide on the methodologies for assessing whether the EU, as a whole, has sufficient electricity resources to meet its future electricity needs. These methodologies, mandated by the Clean Energy Package legislation, are key in ensuring and improving the reliability of Europe's electricity supply. The methodologies, developed by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) and submitted to ACER for approval, are: Methodology for the European resource adequacy assessment (ERAA) to be conducted every year by ENTSO-E based on the data provided by national transmission system operators. This will allow assessing the overall adequacy of the electricity system to supply current and projected demands for electricity at Union level, at the level of Member States and at the level of individual bidding zones. Methodology for calculating the value of lost load, the cost of new entry and the reliability standard (VoLL, CoNE, RS) to provide the Member States with a common approach for determining their desired levels of security of electricity supply. ACER is competent to decide on these proposals in accordance with its founding Regulation and the recast Electricity Regulation, amending them where necessary. In order to inform our decisions, we are seeking views from all the interested parties during a three-week public consultation, until 27 May 2020. Find out more about the consultation. ACER's Public Notice informing about the initiation of this procedure can be found here. Footage of intensive care units in Lombardy in March was terrifying. Convoys of Italian military vehicles transporting the dead caused shock across the rest of Europe and beyond. Among many other things, these images made politicians and medics everywhere believe - for good reason - that their countries could be next. In Ireland, as in other countries, the ramping up of ICU preparedness went into overdrive. Mercifully, no other country has so far experienced the overwhelming of ICUs that happened in some parts of one region in Italy. But the response in Ireland and elsewhere was warranted given the uncertainties and risks (and the risk remains that another wave of the pandemic will overwhelm ICUs). The focus on ICUs in March was not a mistake. The much lower focus on places where older people cluster was a mistake. "If half the population of older people in Ireland were to contract the virus and fatality rates were half those in China [for the age group of over 60-year-olds], deaths would reach 17,000". Despite writing this here on March 5, I did not make the logical link with retirement/nursing homes. Nor did others. This suggests that shocking images from Italy at the worst of its outbreak were more important in everyone's thought processes than hard evidence from China on who is most vulnerable. If such a large collective oversight happened once in this emergency, it could happen again. As this column has suggested before, it is likely to be happening in relation to risks different age groups face to their health. Policy decisions are not being guided enough by one of the few reliable pieces of evidence we have on the virus. "This is a pretty harmless disease for people under 40," Professor Luke O'Neill said last week when we discussed the matter on the 'Tonight Show' on Virgin Media TV. Barra Roantree, an economist at the ESRI, estimates that around half of people under 25 who were at work before the pandemic have lost their jobs, twice the proportion of older age groups. As almost always happens in recessions, the young get clobbered the most. Many companies work on a last-in-first-out basis because those who have joined most recently are likely to be the least important for a business's functioning. Youth unemployment also tends to be higher and more persistent than for older age groups as recession gives way to recovery. That was certainly the case during Ireland's last slump. There is no reason to believe it will be any different this time. If the employment prospects for the young have been badly dented by the pandemic, yesterday brought one piece of good economic news, something that is very rare these days. Ireland's massive manufacturing sector surged in March, expanding its volume of output by 16pc on the previous month. This happened despite global supply chains being disrupted and demand for so many things that are made in factories collapsing across the world. What's going on? As Donald Trump told Americans last Sunday, Ireland is "a very tremendous producer" of medicines. He is not wrong. For some time, the value of pharmaceutical and chemical products has been greater than that of all other things manufactured in Ireland combined, including food products. This is reflected in exports. Last year pharmachem exports were worth 93bn, more than was earned from all other goods exports combined. In a global health emergency, the sector is one of a handful that is more likely to see demand for its products rise rather than fall. Much of that demand should come from the US. Last year, according to the CSO, Ireland Inc earned 35bn from sales of pharmachem products to the US. It is the largest single export market by a distance. This brings us back to Mr Trump. He has long been of the view that American medicine makers should make their products for the US market in the US, not in Ireland or elsewhere. Thus far, his words have not been matched by actions. But he has plenty of options if he chooses to act. The most obvious is tariffs. He could slap import taxes on medicines which would make it unprofitable to manufacture them in Ireland. In short, the threat to the sector in Ireland has never been clearer or more present. One reason to be hopeful that the status quo will prevail is strength in numbers. Ireland's international trade policy is made in Brussels. All 27 EU member countries are involved. If the US were to target Irish-made meds, some kind of retaliatory response could be expected from Brussels. The expectation of damaging retaliation is one reason Trump might not act on his words. As it happens, the EU's international trade commissioner, Phil Hogan, yesterday spoke at an online event at the Institute of International and European Affairs (where I work). He was not behind the door in pointing out that the transatlantic trade connection is a "central artery" of the global economy'. Who would slash an artery in a pandemic? He also pointed out that 60pc of all the foreign investment in the US is European. This could only be taken as a hint that if Trump sought to pull jobs out of Europe, Europe might seek to pull jobs out of the US. Unity makes European countries stronger externally. Disunity internally weakens them all. On Tuesday, the German constitutional court ruled on a case brought against the printing of money by the eurozone central banking system. Its ruling raised questions about a foundation of the rule of European law. The foundation in question is that when EU and national laws clash, the former is deemed supreme. This was established in the 1960s and accepted by all members ever since. Regardless of what one thinks about this, the bloc simply could not function if countries could ignore the jointly agreed rules. At a time when central banks from Washington to Tokyo are printing money to fight the pandemic, the German judges have thrown a spanner in the works. Their decision, at the very least, complicates the vital role of central banks in fighting the virus. It does not augur well for the future of Europe. Liverpool ChiroChem (LCC), a Liverpool, UK-based developer and manufacturer of chemical components for the research and development of new drugs, secured 2.25m in funding. The round was led by Deepbridge Capital and Praetura Ventures with participation from NPIF Maven Equity Finance, managed by Maven and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate growth. Led by Dr Paul Colbon, Liverpool ChiroChem is a chemistry-based contract research organization (CRO) that produces and supplies chiral small molecules to the global pharmaceutical and biotech research and development sector. Its goal is to accelerate the discovery and development of new drugs across multiple therapeutic areas including dementia, cancer and respiratory conditions. The business supports a global customer base from its research and development headquarters in Liverpool and its manufacturing facility in Taizhou, China. Recent client wins include two of the worlds top five pharmaceutical companies. LCC has also announced a number of senior appointments and the launch of a new scientific advisory board that will help maximise the commercial impact of the chemical components LCC develops. Stuart Noble joins the business as CFO and will work alongside Dr Colbon and his management team on the next stage of growth strategy. They will be supported by Dr Jason Tierney, who has joined to chair the scientific advisory board. He played a leading role in the design of multiple screening libraries for companies such as GSK, that allow new drugs to be discovered and developed. FinSMEs 07/05/2020 Thirteen states and Union Territories, including Kerala, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir, have not reported any new case of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday. Informing reporters that 3,561 new coronavirus cases have been reported and 1,084 patients have recovered in 24 hours since Wednesday morning, he asserted that "in comparison with other countries, India is in a better state as the fatality rate is 3.3 per cent and recovery rate is 28.83 per cent." Of the total 35,902 active cases, 4.8 per cent patients are in ICU, 1.1 per cent on ventilators and 3.3 per cent are on oxygen support. Vardhan reviewed the preparedness and containment measures for the management of COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal, and said 180 districts across the country have not reported any new instance of the respiratory infection in less than seven days. Another 180 districts had no fresh case in the last seven to 13 days. As many as 164 districts have not registered any new case in 14-20 days, while 136 districts have not reported any case of coronavirus infection in the last 21 to 28 days, he was quoted as saying in a health ministry statement. The 13 states and Union Territories which have not reported any new case in the last 24 hours are Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Mizoram, Manipur, Goa, Meghalaya, Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Daman and Diu, Sikkim, Nagaland and the Lakshadweep Islands have not reported a single case till date, he said. "COVID-19 testing capacity has increased. As many as 95,000 tests are being conducted daily in 327 government and 118 private laboratories. Cumulatively, 13,57,442 tests have been done so far," the minister said. Elaborating on the country's preparedness in terms of health infrastructure, Vardhan said as of now there are 821 dedicated COVID-19 hospitals with 1,50,059 beds (1,32,219 isolation and 17,840 ICU beds) and 1,898 dedicated health centres with 1,19,109 beds (1,09,286 isolation and 9,823 ICU beds) along with 7,569 quarantine centres. The Union health minister also said that 29.06 lakh personal protective equipment (PPEs) and 62.77 lakh N-95 masks have been distributed to states, Union Territories and central institutions. After a brief presentation on the status of COVID-19 cases in Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal, Vardhan said the states need to focus on effective surveillance, contact tracing and early diagnosis to the COVID-19 fatality rate low. "Surveillance for Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) and Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) should be intensified in unaffected districts and in areas which have not reported cases for the last 14 days and more through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) network in collaboration with medical college hospitals. "Such measures will help in indicating the presence of any possible hidden infection at an early stage and in turn timely containment," he said. Vardhan asked the states to ensure adoption of infection prevention and control practices in all healthcare facilities to reduce and avoid chances of infections among healthcare workers. He advised them to implement all central guidelines and advisories in the field level. The states have been informed about the measures taken to partner with private hospitals for COVID-19 management. Uttar Pradesh has stated that it has identified private hospitals as dedicated COVID-19 health facilities on payment basis. In view of the surge in the number of stranded migrant labourers expected to reach their native states in the coming days, Vardhan stressed on drawing up a robust strategy and mechanism for their testing, quarantine, and treatment of positive cases. "Some states shall people returning from abroad too. An effective strategy needs to be put in place for their testing, institutional quarantine and treatment if needed," he said. It was reiterated to the states to ensure provisioning of non-coronavirus essential health services such as immunisation drives, tuberculosis case finding and treatment, blood transfusion for patients requiring dialysis, treatment of cancer patients and antenatal care of pregnant women among others, the health ministry statement said. "It was also stated that the Ayushman Bharat - Health and Wellness Centres could be used for screening for hypertension, diabetes and three types of cancers. Telemedicine and tele-counselling could be used for a larger population in view of the lockdown. States were also advised to keep adequate stock of essential medicines. "They were also informed that helpline number 104 in addition to 1075 can be used for grievance redressal for non-COVID essential services, and for informing availability of these services etc," it said. The COVID-19 death toll rose to 1,783 and the number of cases climbed to 52,952 on Thursday, registering an increase of 89 fatalities and 3,561 cases in 24 hours since Wednesday morning, according to the Union Health Ministry. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The head of Australia's construction watchdog, who has doggedly prosecuted the militant construction union for breaches of workplace laws, has hailed its newly collaborative attitude with employers. The Construction, Forestry, Mining, Maritime and Energy Union's repeated breaches of industrial laws fed the government's case for its union-busting Ensuring Integrity Bill, but the pandemic has pushed the union's building division much closer to employers. Australian Building and Construction Commission boss Stephen McBurney at a Senate hearing in 2018. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer It has worked with Master Builders associations on safety and issued joint calls for restrictions on the industry to be lifted and for the government to invest billions in social housing in recent weeks as private contracts for new work dried up. Australian Building and Construction Commission boss Stephen McBurney said it was "heartening" to see high levels of co-operation between governments, employers and unions in the construction arena. "It is unprecedented," he said. President Donald Trump speaks to media before departing on Marine One en route to Ohio and Texas, from the White House South Lawn in Washington on Aug. 7, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Senate Fails to Override Trumps Veto on Iran War Powers Bill The Senate failed Thursday to override President Donald Trumps veto of a bill that would curb his ability to take military action against Iran. The Senate came up short of the two-thirds majority, and it voted 49-44, with seven GOP senators joining Democrats. Seven Republicans broke with Trump: Sens. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Todd Young of Indiana, and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) joined Democrats in February to pass the bill, but he did not vote Thursday. Trump on Wednesday night, in announcing the veto, said that Republicans who voted alongside Democrats were tricked by them. He also argued that the measure would hamper the executive branchs ability to protect allies in the Middle East against the Iranian regime. The resolution implies that the presidents constitutional authority to use military force is limited to defense of the United States and its forces against imminent attack, he said in a statement. That is incorrect. We live in a hostile world of evolving threats, and the Constitution recognizes that the president must be able to anticipate our adversaries next moves and take swift and decisive action in response. Thats what I did! A man holds a picture of Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with Iranian Revolutionary Guards Major General Qassem Soleimani (L) during a demonstration in Tehran on Jan. 3, 2020. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images) The resolution came weeks after Trump authorized a strike to kill top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, who U.S. officials said had been plotting attacks against American assets in the region and had blamed him for the deaths of hundreds of troops over the years. Iran launched a barrage of missiles at two Iraqi military bases housing U.S. soldiers, causing brain injuries to more than 100. Before Soleimanis death, Iraqi militia groups directed by Tehran attempted to storm the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and tried to set structures on fire. And days after the Iran missile attack, a Ukrainian Airlines passenger plane was shot down and dozens of people were killedincluding Canadian nationals. Tehran later claimed responsibility for the attack. In February, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who sponsored the war powers bill, argued that it wasnt about Trump but about how much power the executive branch should have in declaring war. He said Congress should be responsible for declaring war. What I find so notable about that statement is that the president could not see Congress expressing an opinion about war through any lens other than himself and his reelection, Kaine said on the Senate floor before the vote on Thursday, according to a live stream. The Senate passed the first war powers bill 55 to 45, and the House later approved it 227 to 186. Youre blessed when youre content with just who you are no more, no less. Thats the moment you find yourself proud owners of everything that cant be bought. (Matthew chapter 5, verse 5). We live in a society where ideas, belief systems and consumer habits are shaped by the media. In 2016 global advertising sales reached a record high of US $493 billion that lofty figure continues to grow. The global advertising and marketing industry is controlled by a handful of conglomerates: you could count these agencies that shape our global mindset through advertising on one hand! The world tries to tell us who we should be, what we should wear, watch, listen to and buy in order to be relevant, what jobs we should have so we can be successful, what we should think to be politically correct, how we should be spending our time to achieve happiness, and how we can become the best versions of ourselves. Advertising is a hungry monster and feeds on our feelings of not being satisfied with who we are: if we buy the Nikes were promised well feel better about ourselves. Soon the sneakers are smelly and dirty and were ready for another pair. But we havent dealt with the underlying issue: are we fulfilled with who we are? Identity crisis Our generation is having an identity crisis. In an attempt for our culture to be more accepting of others, we have only created more classifications. There are loads of labels floating around that try to identify us, which the media loves to cling to. These range from our job description, to the state of our mental health, to our belief systems, and to our sexuality, gender, politics, religious and spiritual views. We now have so many labelled boxes we can pack people neatly into, weve lost the adventure of discovering who we are outside of classifications. In the first century AD, Jesus of Nazareth climbed a hillside in Galilee to tell all who had gathered around Him: Youre blessed when youre content with just who you are. He knew we would need this message today. There are big issues of identity in this era that fight to define us. But the truth is unless we know who we are in Christ there is no label that will satisfy us or classify us. Hash-tagging some of these labels might sound awesome: feminist, activist, vegan, humanitarian, eco-warrior, evangelist, preacher. Others might appear heartbreaking: anxiety disorder, bipolar, chronic fatigue syndrome, addiction, cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder. Whether the labels are exciting or challenging, they dont define who we are. There is only One who holds our identity: Jesus. Thats a big statement thats contrary to everything the advertising agencies tell us we need in order to be content. The truth is: all we need is Jesus. Because Hes the only One who exemplifies everything humanity so desperately seeks: love, kindness, truth, compassion, generosity, humility, selflessness, joy and peace. Uniquely made No one is more ecstatic for you to become the person you were created to be than your Creator. You are divinely made to express a personal characteristic of God that only you can. God has inscribed Himself on your heart in a way that is unique to you alone, and Hes delighted when you express your God-flavour to the world around you. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Thats why Jesus says to be content with who you are. Dont try to squeeze into a mold of who the world says you should be. Stay true to God within you and your enthusiasm for life will transcend anything the marketing campaigns falsely promised you. The word enthusiasm comes from the Greek word entheos which means the God within. And the happiest, most interesting people are those who have found the secret of maintaining their enthusiasm, that God within. (Earl Nightingale) Draw near to God and He will show you how much you are loved, He will unveil your uniqueness, and He wont classify you with anything except the mark that you belong to Him. You matter. Dont change who you are. Jesus gave His life for you so you can soak forever in His love. Dont try to fit in when God created you to stand out with a light that keeps shining brighter. Be content with who you are and youll rise each day with enthusiastic confidence, because youre the proud owner of everything that cant be bought. Amy is a Press Services International Columnist from Adelaide. She has a BA in Creative Writing and Screen & Media, and now works as a freelance multimedia journalist. She was runner-up in the 2018 Basil Sellars Award. Her previous articles can be viewed here: http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/amy-manners.html Jyoti Punwani By Most of us didnt live under British rule, but over the last two days, imperial voices have been heard loud and clear. This is what the British must have sounded like. Be it the chairman of the Railway Board or the Nashik collector, theyve held forth as if citizens were mindless herds. The Railway Board chairman justified his decision to make migrants pay for their return home after six weeks of unemployment and hunger by saying this would ensure that everyone didnt travel. Later, after RJD Legislature Party Leader Tejashwi Yadav and Congress President Sonia Gandhi shamed the Centre by announcing that their parties would pay the fare, a railway official clarified that the states were only being asked to pay 15% so that they didnt end up incentivising travel. One assumes the Railways CEO follows the news like the rest of the hoi polloi. Did he really think that right now, given the situation across the country, the general public would hop on to Shramik Special trains for a lark? How is travel incentivised when every traveller has to get a medical certificate at a time doctors are the most elusive species? The attitude is typically colonial: Subjects have to be treated as if they have no capacity to reason and are only out to take advantage of every situation. Remember Rudyard Kipling bemoaning how sloth and heathen folly would bring to nought all the toils of the White Man? The same reasoning, though never articulated, has prevented the Centre from unburdening godowns bursting with 77 million tonnes of foodgrainsalmost three times the normal buffer stockby distributing free grains to everyone. This, even when reports dating from just before the March 24 lockdown showed that the majority of the poor were being forced to reduce their meals to one a day as cities wound down. It was just such an imperious attitude that made the Maharashtra government insist that ration card holders must buy their subsidised quota of foodgrains first before being given the Centres free quota. This diktat came without any steps being taken to discipline notoriously corrupt ration shop owners or repair perennial glitches in the rationing system, and without any acknowledgement of the reality that one-third of the urban poor do not have ration cards. In the same way, the Nashik collector suggestedin so many wordsthat those walking home could make their own travel arrangements. He would facilitate the return only of those living in Nashiks government shelter homes. Mere distress is not a sufficient reason for opening a relief work, Viceroy Lord Lytton had declared during the Great Famine of 1877-79. Indeed, for our rulers, its business as usual, mere distress or not. Look at the way the railways have calculated that they are bearing 85% of the migrants fare. From the loss incurred by running these trains at 60% capacity (a necessity), to the cost of the meals and water provided en route, theyve factored in every detail, including reservation and superfast charges, though the latter do not apply. After such subsidy, workers on some routes have ended up paying more than the normal sleeper fare! The East India Company would have been proud. Perhaps the most telling indicator of the disconnect between the rulers and the ruled are the English-language websites on which many states expect workers to register. The attitude of the government is not that workers must be brought home as effortlessly as possible because whats pushed them to bankruptcy is government policy, implemented inhumanly. There is no acknowledgement of their constitutional right to life, which includes their right to food and dignity. If some of them are being fed khichdi once a day after making them queue up for hours; if they are now being allowed to go home after their parents borrow from moneylenders to send them the farethats the mai baap sarkars largesse. And the police with their lathis make sure they dont forget this. But these new-caught sullen peoples/half-devil and half-child as Kipling called the colonised, may yet surprise their masters. Having seen that they matter neither to their home state that pushed them out, nor their host state, which they built, some might decide to chart a different future. What seemed glittering cities of opportunity just a months ago have turned into blood-sucking stifling hives of sickness. The urban economy that fed on migrant labour might find itself floundering as they decide to stay back in less hostile environments. The deprivations they suffer there may seem less painful than what theyve gone through during the lockdown. Already, some construction workers have told this columnist that once they return from their village, theyll never go back to work for their builder, who neither paid them back wages nor called to check how they were faring during the lockdown. Kiplings silent sullen peoples might just, silently and sullenly, exercise their rights. That would be a fitting payback. The states decisions left them gasping. Now it may well be their turn. Jyoti Punwani Freelance journalist based in Mumbai Oklahoma medical marijuana patients are confined mostly to their homes as are most of us, but it seems they're not letting that get in the way of buying their green medicine. According to state tax data obtained by The Oklahoman, in April, dispensaries remitted nearly $9.8 million in taxes to Oklahoma, shattering the previous monthly record of $7.8 million. The latter high, incidentally, was set in March. That $9.8 million is over half of the total collected by the state for all of 2019. The newspaper extrapolated the tax data to arrive at a total figure of $61.4 million for sales. This works out to nearly $217 per licensed patient. As with numerous other states that permit the sale and use of marijuana, the many dispensaries that serve Oklahomans have been classified as "essential" businesses through the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus outbreak. They are therefore allowed to continue to operate, while many other types of commerce have been temporarily halted. Typical for a state in the South-Central U.S., Oklahoma permits only medical cannabis. Of the six states bordering Oklahoma, only Colorado has legalized recreational marijuana. While there are a comparatively high number of dispensaries operating in Oklahoma, many are small operations; large multi-state operators (MSOs) do not have a dominant presence. One marijuana company that has a bit of a network is Grassroots, which has agreed to be acquired by Curaleaf (OTC:CURLF) in an acquisition that is taking some time to close. If and when it does, Curaleaf will likely take over the four Oklahoma Herbology stores operated by Grassroots and scattered through the state. Curaleaf's shares fell by 2.3% on Wednesday, a drop that was steeper than that of the broader stock market. Researchers launch clinical study to measure impact of prayer on coronavirus Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment An international team of doctors, led by Kansas City cardiologist Dr. Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy of the Kansas City Heart Rhythm Institute, is currently conducting a clinical study to measure the impact of prayer in the health outcomes of coronavirus patients. Prayer is often used as a medium to invoke divine intervention for affirmation of life, healing of the sick and protection of the vulnerable. This often remains a controversial intervention from a scientific perspective. Although used regularly in the inpatient setting of critically ill patients, the benefit of prayer on healthcare outcomes has been heavily debated, the researchers noted in the overview of the study. While historical studies have aimed at demonstrating improved health outcomes in patients who pray, these studies are typically difficult to reproduce and are subject to bias. Many studies have attempted to focus on improvement in quality of life or improvement in symptoms of psychiatric disease. The lack of available information regarding the impact of prayer on inpatient outcomes prompted our further investigation. Lakkireddy explained in an interview with NPR that the study will involve 1,000 patients with coronavirus infections severe enough that they require intensive care. All the patients will receive the standard of care prescribed by their medical providers but half of the randomly chosen patients will receive a "universal" prayer from one of five religions: Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism. The other 500 patients will constitute the control group. Lakkireddy said the medical professionals he has assembled for the studys steering committee are also all people of faith. "We all believe in science and we also believe in faith," he told NPR. "If there is a supernatural power, which a lot of us believe, would that power of prayer and divine intervention change the outcomes in a concerted fashion? That was our question." The study will measure outcomes such as mortality rate differences, hospital length of stay, length of ventilator support, and ICU length of stay, among other things. Lakkireddy, who was "born into Hinduism," noted that he attended a Catholic school and spent time in synagogues, Buddhist monasteries and mosques. "I believe in the power of all religions," he said. "I think if we believe in the wonders of God and the universal good of any religion, then we've got to combine hands and join the forces of each of these faiths together for the single cause of saving humanity from this pandemic." All patients in the study will receive a COVID PRAYER STUDY Identification number and the prayer below will be used, according to the study. Dear God We pray you to bless our friend (CPS ID) We pray you to give our friend the strength to pull through this sickness We pray you to heal our friend from this disease that is consuming him We pray you to give the health care professionals involved in our friends care, the necessary courage, wisdom and protection We pray you to quickly put an end to this global scourge, save the world and prevent sickness to the rest of our brothers and sisters We pray you to bring solace, strength and resolve to fight this deadly virus with all our might Thank you for hearing us out and bestowing your divine will on our friend and many others around us. While previous studies have found no significant effect of prayer on patient outcomes, Lakkireddy, who said his medical colleagues have had "a mixed reaction" to his study, said: "A miracle could happen. There's always hope, right?" Boss Mustapha The federal government has warned Nigerians, expressing displeasure over the continued disregard of the eased lockdown guidelines. The chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, while speaking at the daily briefing on Wednesday, said it sees danger ahead for the country. Mustapha said: The overall assessment of compliance with the measures and outcomes of modelling we have developed, point in the direction of danger ahead. We therefore need personal discipline, increased awareness and enforcement. I want to reiterate the fact that our individual and collective safety is in our hands and I re-echo my call and appeal to Nigerians to demonstrate our duty to ourselves and loved ones by minimising the risk of getting infected by the virus. President Muhammadu Buhari had on April 27, ordered the easing of the lockdown starting from Monday, May 4 and imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew nationwide. See Video Below; REDWOOD CITY, Calif., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Clickatell, a global leader in mobile communications and chat commerce platforms, today announced a swift to implement and cost-effective response solution for businesses' contact centers to deliver an enhanced customer experience. Clickatell's announcement of its new Automated FAQ Response solution comes as call center operations struggle with maintaining consistent customer experience amidst support agents working remotely, consumer anxiety, lockdowns and social distancing measures. "Businesses are experiencing ever higher customer queries, while also having to decentralize their contact center operations with thousands of frontline agents having to work from home. Some businesses are contending with less staff and even shutting some contact centers down, making customer service challenges a critical area of need," explained Jeppe Dorff, Clickatell Chief Product and Technology Officer. Clickatell's new Automated FAQ Response solution, integrated with Clickatell's cloud-based workflow automation software, enables enterprises to automate responses and provide immediate answers to customers' most frequently asked questions in WhatsApp improving customer experience and reducing operating costs. The cloud-based solution integrates into existing contact center interactive voice response (IVR) systems with minimal configuration changes. It includes Clickatell's Flow, a visual workflow editor, to manage the questions and responses. Clickatell enables this with a FAQ bot that gives customers instant answers to questions on WhatsApp. Businesses will be able to significantly reduce their contact center congestion. In addition to the solution for WhatsApp, businesses can also send out timely emergency text notifications through SMS using Clickatell's Campaign Manager, a free, no-code communication platform. Campaign Manager makes SMS messages and campaigns simple to launch in minutes for time-critical alerts and notifications at scale. "Our purpose at Clickatell is creating a better world through technology, and we have seen this amplified during several crises over our 20 years of leadership in mobile technology. We now find ourselves amidst a global public health crisis, and we're here to help our customers reach their audience through fast, reliable communications and digital commerce platforms," said Jeppe Dorff. Clickatell recognizes businesses' need to be responsive to customers in online and mobile channels is crucial during these extraordinary times. To help businesses get started, Clickatell is providing businesses a special offer that removes set-up fees and waives three months of software platform usage fees. For more information on Clickatell visit Clickatell.com. For details regarding our new contact center special offer, please visit our Automated FAQ Response page here. About Clickatell Todays' consumers spend more time on chat like text, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp than apps, and they expect a high degree of convenience in the way brands serve them. Clickatell makes it possible for brands and consumers to engage and transact via mobile chat and digital channels with industry-leading communications commerce platforms and solutions. With offices in San Francisco, Toronto, Cape Town, and Lagos, Clickatell serves more than 15,000 global brands, ranging from Fortune 500 organizations to well-known consumer brands and small businesses in over 220 countries worldwide. Visit Clickatell at www.clickatell.com. Media Contacts SOURCE Clickatell Related Links www.clickatell.com Kudelski Security Expands Business into Germany Global cybersecurity firm hires staff to offer managed security services to German businesses Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Switzerlandand Phoenix (AZ), USA, May 7th, 2020 -Kudelski Security, the cybersecurity division within the Kudelski Group (SIX:KUD.S), today announced its expansion into the German market, extending its unique combination of cybersecurity services and industry leading managed security solutions to enterprise clients based in Germany. The move follows three years of rapid European growth for Kudelski Security and includes hiring local German staff to support a growing base of German clients. Kudelski Security plans to leverage the offices of its parent company, the Kudelski Group, with facilities in Munich. Kudelski Security's Managed Security Services (MSS) provide companies across industries with an effective and scalable service that protects data, whether on premise or in the cloud, and reduces threat detection and response time to days or hours. Delivered from its Cyber Fusion Center, the endpoint detection and response services are particularly relevant for the current economic context, where CISOs need to establish how best to implement safe and secure remote working. Part of the Kudelski Group, Kudelski Security was founded almost 10 years ago. The company is headquartered in Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland, and Phoenix (AZ), USA, and employs over 300 people. The Group has a total of over 30 years of experience in security and encryption and maintains an annual research and development budget of around 150 million US dollars to drive innovation across its products and services. This is particularly evident in cybersecurity where the company has earned more than 10 analyst recognitions from Gartner, Forrester, IDC and others for advanced offerings such the company's Cyber Fusion Center. "The German market for cybersecurity in general and managed services in particular offers us and our partners much untapped revenue potential," explains Phillipe Borloz, Vice President EMEA Sales at Kudelski Security. "In order to offer companies from all sectors of industry the highest level of security, we not only improve our products and processes on a daily basis. We also take a unique approach in our industry, not only relying on technology but also on first-class consultants and security specialists for active security." About Kudelski Security Kudelski Security is the premier advisor and cybersecurity innovator for today's most security-conscious organizations. Our long-term approach to client partnerships enables us to continuously evaluate their security posture to recommend solutions that reduce business risk, maintain compliance and increase overall security effectiveness. With clients that include Fortune 500 enterprises and government organizations in Europe and across the United States, we address the most complex environments through an unparalleled set of solution capabilities including consulting, technology, managed security services and custom innovation. For more information, visit www.kudelskisecurity.com. Media Contact John Van Blaricum Vice President, Global Marketing +1 650 966 4320 john.vanblaricum@kudelskisecurity.com New Delhi, May 7 : An online petition has been moved asking the Environment Ministry to withdraw the draft EIA notification, 2020 in the light of the Covid-2019 pandemic. The petition for which 11,060 people have given their inputs, includes a letter to Environment Minister Prakash Jawadekar. The Environment Ministry has put out a draft EIA notification, 2020 on March 12, and sought comments from the public within sixty days from this date. Since 1994, this notification has been an important tool for the legal assessment of social and environmental impacts of development projects and for organising public participation before the setting up or expansion of industrial and infrastructure projects in the country. "It is appalling that the Ministry has put out a draft notification for public comments in the midst of a global economic and public health emergency. This makes us deeply concerned about your priorities," the petition said. When this notification was released, the US, Europe and India were already looking at an alarming situation due to the combined effects of an economic slowdown and a massive burden on the public system. Soon after, most countries including India went into a lockdown which imposed severe restrictions on the movement of people in public places, it said. "As you have probably realised, the shutting of many activities during this lockdown has improved the air quality in major cities and rivers are flowing relatively clean and free. This should show you that your system of regulating industrial and human activity has failed to protect our air and water from chemical toxins," the letter to Jawadekar said. The ministry is still giving approvals to more mining, more industries, more mega constructions and more highways. "These will destroy more forests, pollute more water sources, occupy more farm land, public space and coastal areas. You are doing this by using the EIA notification and other environmental laws," it added. The letter adds that for several affected people, the EIA regulation remains the only mechanism to ensure that project developers disclose the details of project design and impacts and that these projects are legally mandated to mitigate impacts and adhere to legal safeguards. "Now you are proposing to make regressive changes to the EIA notification at a time when we simply cannot respond to your call for public comments. Is this democratic? Is this fair? Is this even humane to make us more anxious about our environmental futures when we are struggling to cope with this corona virus, this lockdown and the suffering of millions of our people?" the letter said. "In public interest, we, the public, demand the environment ministry to immediately withdraw the Draft EIA notification 2020," the petition says. "We hope that when this COVID emergency is behind us all, the Environment Ministry will learn from the crisis and bring in amendments to the EIA notification that strengthen the role of environmental and social protection of all people and nature instead of justifying the present forms of harmful development," according to the petition. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 13:58:42|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KAMPALA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Wednesday its executive board has approved a 491.5-million-U.S.-dollar disbursement to Uganda to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds would be used to address the urgent balance-of-payments and fiscal needs in the east African country, the IMF said in a statement. "It will help finance the health, social protection and macroeconomic stabilization measures, meet the urgent balance-of-payments and fiscal needs arising from the COVID-19 outbreak and catalyze additional support from the international community," the statement said. Uganda's economy has been severely hit by the pandemic and sectors like tourism, transport, construction, manufacturing and agriculture, in particular, have suffered the most, according to the IMF. "The weakening economic conditions emanating from the COVID-19 pandemic have put significant pressures on revenue collection, expenditure, reserves and the exchange rate, creating urgent large external and fiscal financing needs," it said. The pandemic, according to the IMF, has also exacerbated the challenges posed by heavy rains in early 2020 and the ongoing locust invasion. Uganda currently has 100 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 55 recoveries since the outbreak was declared on March 21. The country is currently under a lockdown, with borders entry points, banned public gathering, stopped private and public transport in a bid to stop the spread of the virus. Enditem The former financial controller at Moriah College in Sydney's east has been arrested after a months-long investigation into allegations he misappropriated funds from the Jewish school. Augustine "Gus" Nosti was arrested by appointment at Waverley police station on Thursday afternoon, following an investigation of several months by detectives from the eastern suburbs local area command. A former financial controller at Moriah War Memorial College has been charged. Credit:Steve Lunam He was charged with five counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception, and granted bail to appear in Waverley Local Court in July. The alleged frauds were conducted over a 15-year period and worth $7 million, eastern suburbs police area command crime manager Detective Inspector Gretchen Atkins said on Friday. Visakhapatnam, May 7 : Tragedy struck the port city of Visakhapatnam early on Thursday as the gas leak from a chemical plant, which had re-opened only a day ago after lockdown, claimed 11 lives and landed over 300 in hospitals. In shocking scenes reminiscent of Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984, dozens of people were seen collapsing on ground as styrene gas, leaking from LG Polymers plant, affected RR Venkatapuram and four villages on the city outskirts. Officials said the incident occurred around 3.45 a.m., shattering the sleep and the peace of hundreds of people, who started having breathing problems, irritation in eyes and vomiting sensation. Eye witnesses said amid utter confusion and chaos, people ran helter-skelter to save their lives and in the process two people lost their lives by falling in a well and a drain. Acting swiftly, police and other personnel rushed the affected to hospitals and the situation was brought under control with the evacuation of people from the villages. As the emissions continued from the plant through the day, officials were busy trying to contain it till late evening. Industry Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy said they arranged for airlifting of PTBC inhibitor, an antidote for styrene, from Gujarat to cap the emissions. Water was also being sprinkled on the leaking tank to bring down its temperature. Confusion prevailed over the death toll. Though the death toll was put at 11, a senior official at King George Hospital (KGH) said late in the evening that 10 bodies were preserved in the morgue and an autopsy will be done on Friday. Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy rushed to Visakhapatnam and after calling on the affected at KGH, announced an exgratia of Rs 1 crore each to each of the nine families of the deceased besides a compensation package to the affected people. He constituted a high-level committee to probe the incident. He told reporters that those on ventilators will be paid Rs 10 lakh each while others undergoing treatment in hospitals for two-three days will be given Rs 1 lakh. People who were mildly affected will get Rs 25,000 each while the other residents in the most affected villages will be paid Rs 10,000 each. Terming it unfortunate that this disaster happened at the plant of a reputed company like LG, he also said that if necessary, the plant will be shifted to some other location. A five-member team of experts in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) disaster was flying from Pune to Visakhapatnam to assess the situation. S.N. Pradhan, Director General of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), said the initial movement was made by the local administration, the police and the fire services. "At around 5.30 a.m., the NDRF unit stationed in Vishakhapatnam was informed and our personnel immediately rushed to the spot. They helped in two ways - by neutralising the situation inside the LG Polymers factory and by evacuating the villagers living near the factory," Pradhan said. "NDRF will stay back in the area till we are absolutely sure that the situation is under control. It will assist the local administration till it is required," said Pradhan, stressing that the "situation is now under control". Prime Minister Narendra Modi called a meeting with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) officials in the wake of the gas leak incident. The Chief Minister also received a phone call from the Prime Minister who enquired about the incident and the steps being taken to tide over the crisis. Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, P.K. Mishra held a meeting with Cabinet Secretary, Home Secretary, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF), Director All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), and medical experts on Vishakhapatnam gas leak situation. In Amaravati, the Industry Minister said the negligence by LG Polymers led to gas leak from its plant. He said the company management would have to own the responsibility for the tragedy. Visakhapatnam police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against LG Polymers. The company management was booked for negligence and culpable homicide not amounting to murder, among other sections. Meanwhile, the company in a statement said it has mobilize its technical teams to work with the investigating authorities to arrive at the exact cause of the incident. Officials indicated that the gas leakage may have been caused by initiation of polymerisation of styrene in liquid form due to prolonged storage during the lockdown period. The disaster happened as the plant was re-starting its operations after more than 40 days due to the lockdown. Officials also believe that the safety system failed to prevent gasification of styrene, resulting in its leakage and spread of the gas to the surrounding villages. "Styrene in liquid form is safe when stored at below 20 degrees but due some technical problem, the refrigeration was not effective leading to rise of temperature and Styrene started gasifying and the leakage happened," Visakhapatnam District Collector V. Vinay Chand said Director General of Police Gautam Sawang said the police received the information about the gas leak through dial 100 in the early hours of Thursday. "Quick response teams were deployed soon after the outbreak and people were evacuated to safe places." National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Andhra Pradesh Special Police (APSP) and nearby police were deployed to rescue and shift people to safe places. Profits at Irish insulation maker Kingspan are expected to fall 27pc this year to 365m, according to Davy Stockbrokers. It predicts that profits will increase 32pc next year to 483m, but the figure will still be 15pc below the pre-crisis estimate for 2021. The Cavan-based company is one of the world's biggest operators in its sector. Davy said Kingspan's decade-long growth trajectory has been "ruptured" by recent developments, but it was no longer a "hostage to fortune" to a small number of markets. In March, Kingspan's chief executive Gene Murtagh described the coronavirus as a "monumental test" for the company. Kingspan employs more than 15,000 people at 159 locations globally. Last year, it generated revenue of 4.7bn and a 497.1m trading profit. Kingspan said last week that its activity in Ireland had slumped 80pc, while global sales in April were down 35pc year-on-year - reflecting the full or partial closure of construction sites across the world. "At this point, it is difficult to gauge the shape of the post-Covid-19 world," said Davy analyst Flor O'Donoghue. "Our instinct is that there could be considerable longer-term structural effects arising from the pandemic that will impact all aspects of society and the economy." He added: "More immediately, the shape of the recovery is debatable, but it is likely to be relatively restrained and uneven." He said Kingspan's earnings by the end of 2021 are likely to be below those of 2019. A man is fighting for life after he was pulled from a raging housefire. The 77-year-old suffered severe burns to his face, back and arms after the house caught alight on Balxcell Street in Granville, in Sydney's west. Five ambulance crews and a specialist medical team arrived at the home around 8.45am on Thursday to find him unconscious in the living room. The man was rushed to Concord Hospital where he remains in a critical condition. A man, 77, has been rushed to hospital after being caught in a house fire in Granville in Sydney's west Emergency crews arrived at the home around 8.45am on Thursday and rushed the man to hospital where he remains in a critical condition A number of firetrucks were also seen at the home while the man was taken away in am ambulance. Inspector Joe Ibrahim, duty operations manager for NSW Ambulance, said paramedics were concerned about the man's breathing. 'Arriving at a scene where a patient is suffering severe burns is very intense your mind tends to race until you get to them and see the extent of the injuries,' he said. 'The main concern around that would be if the patient had any airway involvement, because that creates fairly rapid onset of swelling, which can cause breathing problems and essentially the airway to close over. 'Never transport anyone suffering burns directly to hospital without cooling the area first - this can be extremely dangerous as the longer you wait to cool the burn, the worse it the injury can become. 'We urge people to make sure they run the burn under cool water immediately, but definitely not ice, and if it is a large area of burns, maybe run a shower. The idea is to take the heat out of a burn.' The fire has been contained and it is unclear how it started. Iran's supreme leader has threatened a "crushing response" to the US goes ahead with its bid to extend the UN Security Council arms embargo against Tehran, Express reports in its article World War 3 panic: Iran threatens 'CRUSHING response' to US over Trump's 'stupid mistake'. Under Iran's deal with world powers to accept limits to its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of sanctions, a UN weapons embargo is due to expire in October. The US, which exited the deal in 2018, has called for the embargo to be extended. In a strongly-worded speech, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani responded to the US' plot and repeated Iran's longstanding criticism of Washington's decision to exit the nuclear arms deal, which he called a "stupid mistake". He said: "If America wants to return to the deal, it should lift all the sanctions on Tehran and compensate for the reimposition of sanctions." "Iran will give a crushing response if the arms embargo on Tehran is extended." Iran has gradually rolled back its commitments under the accord in response to the US decision to quit, but says it wants the agreement to remain in place. It has criticised European parties to the deal for failing to salvage the pact by shielding its economy from US sanctions. He added: "Iran's nuclear steps are reversible if other parties to the deal fulfil their obligations and preserve Tehran's interests under the pact." President Rouhani's warning comes just days after Ianian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi threatened that its reaction would be "proportionate" and "firm" after the US moved to take a harder stance against the Islamic Republic. He said: "Iran is not seeking to exit the 2015 nuclear deal with six powers. "America's move is illegitimate and our reaction will be proportionate. The United States is not a member of the nuclear deal anymore. Iran's reaction to America's illegal measures will be firm." Mr Trump withdrew his nation from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Tehran that have crippled its economy. The US President has since imposed economic and trade sanctions on Iran, targeting its lucrative oil, financial and shipping sectors. The measures are part of a wider effort from Mr Trump to curb Irans missile and nuclear programmes while destroying its influence in the Middle East, particularly its support for proxies in Syria, Yemen and Lebanon. Under the deal, Iran agreed to halt its sensitive nuclear work in exchange for sanctions relief. Iran, which denies its nuclear programme is aimed at building a bomb, has gradually rolled back its commitments under the accord since the US quit. It argues that Washington's actions justify such actions. At 77, Claudette Russell has multiple sclerosis and a heart condition, and is an amputee. Her former home at the Villa at Windsor Park in Chicagos South Shore is one of 64 nursing homes targeted for a possible strike beginning Friday by certified nursing assistants and other workers. Eric Russell, an activist for the Tree of Life Justice League, was concerned with the care his mother would receive in case the CNAs, as theyre known, walk out. Latonya Johnson starts her day by giving her staff a pep talk as soon as she gets to work at UT Physicians. Were going to get through this. I know its daunting, Johnson says to her staff in the morning. As a nurse manager, Johnson tries to boost staff morale by getting their mind off COVID-19. MORE FROM RYAN NICKERSON: Bellaire High students create nonprofit for frontline workers Then Johnson puts on her personal protection equipment and starts testing people in a tent. It was only last week when she was testing a young boy in a tent when his father handed Johnson a letter. It was from the boys brother which read: I hope my brother doesnt have COVID-19 but thank you for all that youre doing. Around the globe, nurses have been heroes in the collective fight to treat and prevent the spread of COVID-19. As the standards and protocols change seemingly every day, nurses around the world step up to be the frontline of defense against the unprecedented virus. Sandy Peppers, a supervising manager at UT Physicians Multispecialty in Sienna, also helps run a testing tent, and at the same time coordinates schedules, makes sure people are trained, and assures that her staff is comfortable with what they are doing. Her biggest challenge is making sure all the people she supervises feel safe regarding handling the risk of exposing themselves, their family, and other employees to the virus. I dont think they realize how much organization, preparation, and just making sure that every detail is taken care of. I think people would be surprised at how much goes into what they see as an easy flow, said Peppers. For Peppers, being a frontline worker doesnt feel any different than what she does on a day to day basis. ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: As beef supplies dwindle, barbecue prices go up We realize that people are scared of catching this virus and that theyre hyper-alert. So that, in turn, makes us kind of hyper-alert to their feelings, said Peppers. Everything from assigning whos going to work the tent, whos going to work inside, getting all the supplies ready for the tent because we have to account for every test kit that we use, every protective equipment that we use, and every specimen were collecting from the tent, said Peppers. We have to account for all of those, reconcile everything, and make sure they get to where theyre going. For Kristopher Harris, who is on the Infection Prevention team at UT Physicians, his job requires him to be as adaptable as need be as the CDC requirements for his job change almost every day. The pandemic has really highlighted how much nurses and medical professionals are flexible and adaptable to situations, said Harris. ON THE FRONT LINES: Vintage photos of Houston nurses show what it means to be a hospital hero If a patient, employee, or visitor displays signs and symptoms of coronavirus or have possibly been exposed to it, Harris is part of the team that brings them to a containment area and see what clinics want them to do. When the virus was first being reported, the first two weeks of screening at UT School of Public Health were intense for Harris because his team was trying to figure out the most logistical way to screen people. Although they had screening questions available weeks ahead of time, the CDC constantly changes the requirements and require Harris to keep up with the changes. Today, the infection prevention team is trying to make sure they perfect how they screen people, making sure everyone has a mask, and are getting used to wearing a mask day in and day out themselves. They are also making sure all clinics have PPE and have the resources they need so they can plan ahead of time. All the responsibilities that nurses have during this time can severely impact their mental health. Frontline health care workers directly engaged in treating patients with COVID-19 are three times as likely to suffer insomnia and more than 50 percent more likely to suffer depression or anxiety, according to the results published online March 23 in JAMA Network Open. ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: First responders cant social distance. Some are getting sick. And departments say it could strain responses I pray to God for a hope that one day soon we will find some type of medication that can cure COVID-19, said Johnson, as faith is the main way she deals with the stress of being on the frontlines. Harris manages his stress by going outdoors with his wife when he gets home from work, giving him something to look forward to every day. For Peppers, being able to vent with her coworkers allows her to remain calm around patients. I work with two really great managers and they are instrumental in keeping me grounded. I think we work really well together and we can talk to each other about whats going on, vent to each other without involving anybody in the clinic so they dont see where our stress level is and they know were calm and were collected, said Peppers. While nurses are rising to the call of duty, most people would consider them heroes. It was only a month ago for Johnson, however, when she began to consider her and her colleagues as heroes. It was about a month ago when my husband asked me if I consider myself a hero and I said no, Im just doing my job, said Johnson. But the more I think about it and if you look up the definition of a hero, its courage. Its strength. It takes courage and strength to do this job. We sacrifice ourselves to take care of others. So yes, we are heroes. ryan.nickerson@hcnonline.com CAIRO Attacks against the Egyptian army in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula often occur during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Egyptian army spokesman Col. Tamer al-Rifai said in a statement April 30 that an improvised explosive device (IED) targeted a military vehicle near the city of Bir al-Abd in northern Sinai, killing and wounding 10 soldiers, including one officer and one noncommissioned officer. Rifai noted that the Egyptian armys operation against terrorist members in Sinai is ongoing, so as to preserve the countrys security and stability. The following day, on May 1, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. Rifai announced on the same day that the Egyptian army carried out a military raid on a small farm in northern Sinai, which resulted in the killing of two highly dangerous terrorists. The army found during the raid multiple weapons, a radio device and ammunition. Khaled Okasha, head of the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies, told Al-Monitor over the phone that terrorist elements in Sinai have always chosen the month of Ramadan more precisely the fasting time to conduct terrorist attacks. Okasha explained that the terrorists attack when the soldiers and officers are fasting or are breaking the fast (iftar), since their alertness would be relatively low. He listed two attacks that took place during Ramadan: the August 2012 attack that killed 16 Egyptian soldiers and officers in Sinai near the border with Israel, and a similar attack on Aug. 19, 2013, that killed 25 recruits. Okasha added that Ramadan 10 (Oct. 6, 1973) is a symbol of the victory over Israel in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, which the terrorist groups seek to erase from the Egyptian mind. Yet, he said, they will not succeed in turning this victory day into defeat, in the face of the Egyptian peoples steadfastness and determination. He noted that the armys response to the latest attack was swift, after the Egyptian Ministry of Interior announced in the early hours of May 3 the killing of 18 terrorists in the vicinity of Bir al-Abd during a shootout. The Interior Ministry said in a statement that the raid on the terrorists outpost was conducted after the ministrys National Security Agency obtained information that a group of terrorists are using a house in Bir al-Abd as a hideout to carry out terrorist and hostile attacks. It added that clashes and a shootout erupted with this group of terrorists who had in their possession 13 automatic firearms and three IEDs. Okasha further noted that the Egyptian army issued a statement May 3 stressing that its battle against terrorism in Sinai is ongoing, and that 126 terrorists have been killed recently without specifying when exactly in 22 raids they carried out against terrorists hideouts and in 16 military operations. The statement added that the Egyptian air force destroyed 228 terrorist hideouts, 116 four-wheel drive vehicles, 630 explosive devices and other weapons and ammunition. The air force also arrested 266 terrorists and criminals, and four officers, three noncommissioned officers and eight soldiers were killed in the operations against the terrorists outposts, the statement continued, without providing a timeline of said figures. Maj. Gen. Mohamed Nour al-Din, former adviser to the Ministry of Interior, agreed with Okasha, saying that terrorist members deliberately carried out operations during Ramadan while soldiers are fasting. Yet conducting attacks against Muslims who are fasting refutes the attackers' weak claim that they follow true Islam, and prove they are mere terrorist groups that only seek to destabilize the countrys security and stability, Nour al-Din told Al-Monitor. He pointed to the killing of 29 members of the Egyptian army in a car bomb attack on Oct. 24, 2014, at a security checkpoint in Karam al-Qawadis in the northern Sinai city of Sheikh Zuweid, and said it was during Ramadan when 21 members of the border guards were killed in Farafra on July 19, 2014. Nour al-Din said the Egyptian army launched an offensive dubbed "Comprehensive Operation - Sinai," on Feb. 9, 2018, to eliminate terrorist groups in northern Sinai. The announcement back then came after a terrorist attack targeted al-Rawda Mosque in northern Sinai on Nov. 26, 2017, killing 305 people and wounding 128. Nour al-Din believes the operation has indeed succeeded in eliminating a large number of terrorists, and airstrikes on their positions destroyed large quantities of weapons. Mustafa Sangar, a Sinai-based journalist, said that security is lacking in northern Sinai, which explains the recurrent terrorist attacks. He told Al-Monitor over the phone that the terrorists attack the army and police during the month of Ramadan, when the security is low. But since attacks are recurring during this time of fasting, the army should step up security measures, he concluded. Everyone knows who Prince Charles' sons are - Prince William and Prince Harry. They're really the only two royals we know that is the heir to the throne's children. But two other people actually call the Prince of Wales their "dad," aside from Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton, and those are the Parker Bowles children. Camilla Parker Bowles was once married to Andrew Parker Bowles. They have two children. Prince Harry and Prince William actually have a step-sister. Laura Lopes Laura Lopes is the 42-year-old daughter of Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall and Andrew Parker Bowles. She grew up in Wiltshire with her brother and were raised as Roman Catholics. Laura studied History of Art and Marketing at Oxford Brookes University and later became an art curator. She became a motoring correspondent for Tatler in 2001, along with her brother, Tom Parker Bowles, who was a food columnist in the magazine. Laura managed The Space Gallery in London in the mid-2000s and later becoming a partner and gallery director for London's Eleven Gallery. Not a Member of the Royal Family She attended her mom's wedding to Prince Charles and had an updated family portrait of the Wales' and Cornwalls' back in 2005. We don't see Laura so often because she is not a member of the royal family. According to an interview Tom gave to "Good Morning Britain," he expressed how he and his sister were "not quite part of the royal family, to be honest." Tom Parker Bowles added that his mother married into the royal family, so "she's part of it" and said that he and Laure were "the common children, we're just on the side." Happy Birthday Laura Lopes! She's the daughter of the Duchess of Cornwall! She turned 41 today! pic.twitter.com/adtslhDJ6V RoyalistSupporter #StayHome (@ProRoyalFamily) January 1, 2019 Personal Life Laura Lopes married former Calvin Klein model Harry Lopes in 2006, a year after her mother married Prince Charles. Harry Lopes is the grandson of a baron and is also related to the wealthy family of Astor. Laura's Children She has three children, one girl and twin boys. Her daughter Eliza was a bridesmaid at Prince William and Kate Middleton's royal wedding in 2011. Eliza was also seen being cradled by the Prince of Wales in the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Sibling Fights with Prince William Back when the Parker Bowles children and the Wales children were warming up to each other, it was reported that Prince William and Laura didn't get along back then. As written by royal author Katie Nicholl on her 2010 book "Harry and William," "William and Laure used to have terrible fights over who was to blame for their broken homes." She added that the Duke of Cambridge back then would blame Camilla for all the hurt she had caused his mother, which would then send Laura into a rage. "Laura was not having any of it. She would take a hard line and fire back at William, yelling, 'Your father has ruined my life!'" According to Robert Jobson, who wrote the book "William's Princess," while both Prince Harry and Prince William seemed like they accepted Camilla, things were much different behind closed doors. The royal author claims that the brothers were not happy that their father was getting married, but had accepted the fact that it was happening. "Sure enough, privately, their mood was more one of 'acceptance' and undiluted joy at the prospect of having Camilla as their stepmother.'" 'Duchess' or 'Countess' Laura? According to Express UK, there's a possibility that Prince Charles may give royal titles to his stepchildren. So once he ascends to the throne, Laura Lopes and Tom Parker Bowles may become a duchess or a countess, and a duke or a count, respectively. READ MORE: Naive Royal? Why Prince Harry Refused to Get a Prenup Before Marrying Meghan Markle IFLR is delighted to announce the winning deals, teams and law firms for the 2020 Asia-Pacific awards and to offer our congratulations. This announcement follows months of research by the team and careful deliberation by the editors and IFLR journalists that make up the internal judging panel. The IFLR awards recognise legal innovation in cross-border transactions. To be considered, all deals must have closed in 2019 and must meet the specific criteria to be categorised as cross-border and as Asia-Pacific. We do not include signed or announced deals. Given the difficult environment due to Covid-19 we are unable to host an awards ceremony this year to celebrate the work highlighted below. We do however believe that it is as important as ever to recognise the achievements, the legal ingenuity and potential for innovation that the market will depend on going forward. Please also listen to our first ever IFLR APAC awards podcast , where we discuss some of the key themes from the research and reveal the winning deals and international firms. Please note: we will be releasing a series of podcasts covering all the IFLR awards, including interviews with some of the individual award recipients. To find out more about taking part in a podcast to talk about your work please contact: James Murray at james.murray@euromoneyasia.com INDIVIDUAL AWARDS Market reform award Anna Wu Hung-yuk Anna Wu is the founding chairperson of the Hong Kong Competition Commission (Commission) and served in that position for seven years from May 2013 to April 2020. She has been a pioneering advocate for fair competition in the marketplace since the 1990s and has been the principal driving force behind the establishment, development and consolidation of a competition framework in Hong Kong. Wu took the lead in laying the foundations of the Commission and guided the preparatory work for the full implementation of Hong Kongs Competition Ordinance, heralding a paradigm shift in deep-rooted business practices in the city. Among the many milestones under Wus leadership, the Commission brought six cartel cases to court and published three decisions regarding applications for a block exemption order covering practices in the liner shipping industry, banking and the pharmaceutical sectors in Hong Kong. Internationally, the Commission has established strong ties with its overseas counterparts. Wu is dedicated to public service. She has held several influential posts, including serving as a member of the Executive Council of the HKSAR Government for more than eight years. She also previously chaired the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Consumer Council and the Operations Review Committee of the Independent Commission Against Corruption in Hong Kong. In-house contribution award David Chu Credit Suisse (Hong Kong SAR) David Chu is managing director and head of Credit Suisses APAC investment banking and capital markets general counsel team. He has been in that position since 2011 and he is also Credit Suisses general counsel for Hong Kong SAR. During his time in the role, Chu has built a highly respected team with a diverse mix of skills and backgrounds. The team has a slightly different approach to some of its competitors and its lawyers work across multiple practice areas. However, under Chus leadership it has developed a strong presence in the equity capital markets, convertible bonds and high yield spaces in particular. In 2019, the team helped structure the shortlisted Serba Dinamik sukuk offering, Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust offering, and Shanghai Dongzheng Automotive Finance IPO, among other deals. Chu and his team have won several awards from leading industry titles over recent years and are praised for the standards they promote. Chu is a thought leader in the region, especially in relation to equity capital markets and high yield, as well as on issues such as corporate integrity and governance. FIRMS OF THE YEAR International law firm of the year Allen & Overy Allen & Overy wins the 2020 firm of the year award. The firm had key roles on some of most interesting and challenging transactions in almost every deal category. Highlights include Heinekens collaboration with China Resources, Bank of Chinas SOFR bond, Bright Scholars high yield issuance, Ping Ans acquisition of TutorGroup, the restructuring of Kimberley Hotel, and the Mong Duong project refinancing. These deals showcased new approaches for cross-border collaboration and carved open new possibilities in the high yield market and in the use of VIE structures. The firm also showed its capacity for innovation in markets such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia. US law firm of the year Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Simpson Thacher & Bartlett picks up the US firm award off the back of a strong showing in the equity and private equity practices. The firm was shortlisted for private equity team of the year and led on the winning private equity deal: KKRs acquisition of LCY Chemical. It advised KKR and Blackstone on several novel transactions in Japan, India and elsewhere. These private equity deals are especially innovative in terms of their influence on developing M&A conventions. This includes advising Blackstone on the Embassy Office Parks REIT IPO. Another highlight was acting for the underwriters in the Lotte REITs IPO. China practice of the year international law firm Clifford Chance Clifford Chance proved beyond doubt that it is second to none in the Chinese market. The firm introduced several important new mechanisms for PRC issuers through the shortlisted transactions by the Agricultural Development Bank of China, China Railway Construction Corporation and China Grand Automotive Services. Its work on the VCredit high yield contributed to creating options for Chinese consumer finance. The firm also crafted a highly tailored framework between DHL and SF Holdings, Partners Group on the Dinghao Electronics Plaza acquisition, and had lead roles on challenging IPOs Chinas Hansoh Pharmaceutical and China Railway Signal, the first H to A IPO on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. India practice of the year international law firm Latham & Watkins Latham & Watkins picks up IFLRs inaugural India practice award. A quick look at some of the most interesting Indian deals across the shortlists will reveal Latham & Watkins impact. The firm advised the banks on Bharti Airtels perpetual securities, the lead managers on Embassy Office Parks REITs IPO and Renew Power on its senior secured bonds, all of which represent firsts in the market. Beyond that, the firm worked on a slew of challenging deals including the Sterling and Wilson Solar IPO (for the issuer), IndiGrids qualified institutional placement, and Azure Power Solar Energys US dollar notes. Regional law firm of the year King & Wood Mallesons KWM is at the cutting edge in China and Australia and is omnipresent through the awards. Highlights include advising ANZ Banking Group on its Sonia-linked covered bond and playing instrumental roles on Heinekens deal with China Resources, Budweiser APACs IPO, Ping Ans acquisition of TutorGroup, the Bright Scholar high yield and the debt transactions by China Grand Automotive Services and the Agricultural Development Bank of China. Its work on developing structures in capital markets, structured finance and securitisation, fintech and financial regulatory also deserves recognition. Offshore law firm of the year Conyers Dill & Pearman Conyers had a strong year in 2019, particularly on the Cayman structuring of many of the most interesting shortlisted deals. Among its highlights, the firm worked on the issuer side for the IPOs of Budweiser APAC and Jinxin Fertility Group. On the M&A side the team it acted for the buying consortiums in the acquisitions of eHi, which won deal of the year, and Dream Cruises. The team acted for the sellers in the innovative NWS Holdings acquisition of FTLife Insurance and worked on the Cayman law aspects of Ping Ans acquisition of TutorGroup. DEALS OF THE YEAR Debt and equity-linked Bank of China Macau Branch SOFR bond This is the first ever issuance of secured overnight financing rate (SOFR)-linked bonds in Asia. The US dollar bonds are the first public bonds out of China linked to Libor's successor floating rate. The deal had a limited number of floating rate note (FRN) precedents globally and had to contend with the absence of any standards or conventions for calculating SOFR and the interest payable on the bonds, or on disclosing risk factors. Further, the bonds were issued under a medium term note (MTN) programme that did not have SOFR-based provisions, so the mechanics had to be built into the programme. The bonds were also the first green bonds issued in Macau SAR. Law firms Allen & Overy - Bank of China, JP Morgan Securities, UBS, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Bank of Communications, China Construction Bank (JLMS) Jingtian & Gongcheng - JLMS JunZeJun Law Offices - Bank of China Macau Branch Linklaters - Bank of China Macau Branch MdME - Bank of China Macau Branch Equity Budweiser APAC IPO Budweiser APACs IPO was unique. As a spinoff from a European-listed parent (AB InBev) it raised myriad legal implications, not least in terms of managing the disclosure and underwriting process. A multi-phase pre-IPO restructuring spanned brands and production facilities across the globe. The company had 40 subsidiaries in China alone, each requiring due diligence and documentation from the relevant regional authority. There was substantial structuring in India, Vietnam, Australia and South Korea, as well as in the UK and Netherlands. Market and pricing issues forced the IPO to suspend at an advanced stage. The company then disposed of its Australia business in a $12 billion transaction, before completing its IPO. Law firms Clifford Chance JP Morgan Securities, Morgan Stanley Asia, Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas Securities, China International Capital Corporation, Citigroup Global Markets Asia, HSBC, BOCI Asia, ICBC International Securities, ING Bank, Mizuho Securities Asia and Societe Generale (joint sponsors and underwriters) Conyers Dill & Pearman Budweiser Brewing Company APAC Fangda Partners Budweiser Brewing Company APAC Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Budweiser Brewing Company APAC Gilbert + Tobin Budweiser Brewing Company APAC Kim & Chang Budweiser Brewing Company APAC King & Wood Mallesons Joint sponsors and underwriters Sullivan & Cromwell Budweiser Brewing Company APAC High yield Medco Energi Internasional This is one the few bridge-to-bond financings for a public takeover on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and it marks the first Indonesian takeover of a company (Ophir) listed on any large exchange. A key challenge was that the financing, documented under New York law and for an issuer with little covenant room, had to meet the LSE Takeover Panels requirements. The key innovation was the successful combination of an unrestricted subsidiary (SPV issuer) and escrow mechanism enabling Medco to fund the acquisition and meet the Takeover Panels certain funds requirement, while the bond proceeds were only released post acquisition but without requiring Medco to draw on the bridge facility. Law firms Allen & Gledhill Medco Energi Internasional Assegaf Hamza & Partners Medco Energi Internasional Sidley Austin Standard Chartered Bank, ANZ Banking Group, DBS Bank, ING Bank and Mandiri Sekuritas (underwriters) Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Medco Energi Internasional White & Case Standard Chartered Bank, ANZ Banking Group, DBS Bank, ING Bank and Mandiri Sekuritas (underwriters) Widyawan & Partners Underwriters M&A eHi take-private This is one of the regions landmark take-privates of recent years. The deal, which was underway by early 2018, developed into a nine-month long battle between rival bidders to win control of eHi, with litigation and arbitration in Hong Kong SAR and the Cayman Islands along the way. The buying consortium evolved during the deal and ended with MBK Partners, US car rental company Crawford Group, Ctrip, Ocean General Partners and Dongfeng Asset Management. As e-Hi was a US-listed PRC company the transaction was structured under US take-private rules. The deal obtained first-time SEC amendments relating to public M&A, resolved challenging capital markets dynamics, and required complex governance and shareholder arrangements. Law firms Conyers Dill & Pearman Consortium Fangda Partners Consortium Fenwick & West Special committee Maples Group Special committee OMelveny & Meyers eHi Car Services Pillar Legal Chairman Sheppard Mullin Dongfeng Asset Management (consortium member) Skadden Arps Meagher & Flom Ctrip and Ocean Link Partners Thompson Coburn Crawford Group Weil Gotshal & Manges Consortium (Chairman of eHi Car Services, MBK Partners, The Crawford Group, Ocean Link Partners and Ctrip Investment) Private equity KKR / LCY Chemical KKRs acquisition of LCY Chemical had to be innovative. It was KKRs first deal in Taiwan in over a decade and represented the largest-ever PE deal in the jurisdiction. To get there, the transaction had to negotiate Taiwans notoriously difficult environment for financial sponsors. The financing (fund flow mechanics) and rollover equity stake were especially complex. Unusually, the debt financing commitments were refinanced between tender offer announcement and closing. The deal introduced many new US-style merger terms, including a dissenting shareholders condition, regulatory approvals covenants, financing provisions and deal protection devices. These set a benchmark for Taiwanese merger documentation. It also overcame an uncertain regulatory process regarding commitments, labour rules and corporate governance. Law firms Baker McKenzie LCY Chemical Lee & Li Taiwan counsel to KKR Simpson Thacher & Bartlett KKR Project finance Project RAPID This project took about seven years to piece together. It has a bespoke framework, involving a Petronas-Saudi Aramco JV for a project that sits within Petronass Pengerang integrated complex. The project includes six facilities a cogeneration plant, LNG regasification terminal, air-separation unit, raw-water supply project, liquid bulk terminal, and central and shared installations that will integrate with refinery and petrochemical production sites. The financing was closed in 2019 after a two-phase signing. The structure was unusually complex, accommodating the dual-borrower nature and baking in flexibility for future debt raisings. The two project companies can cross-subsidise each other and, for certain tranches, on-loan proceeds to each other. Law firms Christopher & Lee Ong Lenders Milbank CESCE, JBIC, Kexim, K-sure, NEXI, SACE and UKEF (export credit agencies) and AmBank Group, ANZ, Banco Santander, Bank of China, BNP Paribas, China Construction Bank, CIMB Bank, Citi, CA-CIB, DZ Bank, HSBC, ICBC, Intesa Sanpaolo, JP Morgan, Maybank, Mizuho Bank, MUFG Bank, National Bank of Kuwait, Natixis, OCBC Bank, Societe Generale, Standard Chartered Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, United Overseas Bank (together: lenders) Shearman & Sterling Petronas White & Case Saudi Aramco Restructuring Maxpower Group A meaningful restructuring of Maxpower Group had failed to materialise over several years, with investigations by the US Justice Department (DoJ) complicating any attempt to reorganise the debt. The case involved a diverse group of 16 international and Indonesian banks (including state banks) and operations across Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar and the Middle East. It used a weakness in the financing documentation to build a plan that could pass with only majority lender approval, rather than the higher thresholds under Singapore of Indonesian law. This enabled the reduction of Maxpowers debt through several phases, including a haircut for exiting lenders and a sale of convertible debt, and the ultimate sale of Maxpower to InfraDaya. Law firms Gibson Dunn & Crutcher Maxpower and Infra Daya Energia Linklaters Standard Chartered Private Equity Umbra Indonesian lenders Structured finance and securitisation PeopleFund P2P loan securitisation This is the first ever securitisation of peer-to-peer (P2P) loans out of Korea, if not all Asia, and it made PeopleFund the first marketplace lender in Korea to receive foreign funding. The securitisation was led by Lending Ark Asia, a credit division of CLSA Capital Partners. The deal harnessed a vast number of lenders providing loans to a vast number of borrowers through the PeopleFund platform. The structure had to accommodate a constantly revolving asset, with an ever-changing collateral pool backing the bond. The notes were also Korean won-linked, requiring investors to enter into a cross-currency market swap outside the deal to hedge against won-USD exchange risk. Law firms Dentons Lending Ark Asia Secured Private Debt Fund and CLSA Capital Partners Shin & Kim CLSA Capital Partners TEAMS OF THE YEAR Debt and equity-linked Allen & Overy Debt and equity-linked is always a competitive category but Allen & Overy this year showed an impressive capacity for innovation across a broad swathe of sectors and southeast Asian jurisdictions. The teams standout work included this years winning deal, the Bank of China Macau Branch SOFR bond. The team also advised the dealers on the PTT tender offers (Thailand) and the Vietnam Prosperity MTN programme. Other notable work included roles on Bangkok Banks tier two subordinated notes, Bank of Chinas Kai Xuan debt, and Muthoot Finance, the first international bond by an Indian private sector non-banking financial company to debut in the 144A/Reg S market. Equity Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer The Freshfields equity team is second to none in the market. Over recent years it has worked on some of the most pioneering and challenging IPOs, a highlight here being the China Tower IPO of 2018. Few teams can operate at this level. In 2019 the team did it again, this time acting as lead counsel to Budweiser APAC on its HKSE IPO. Its performance impressed many peers and market commentators. Another highlight saw it advise the underwriters on ESR Caymans IPO. Elsewhere, the team acted for the banks on novel IPOs by China Merchants Commercial REIT, Jinshang Bank, and Topsports International. High yield Sidley Austin Sidley Austins high yield team often appears on some of the regions most complex offerings. The clearest examples of this from the past couple of years include advising on the debt offerings and exchange offers by Kaisa Group and Evergrande Group. In 2019, the firm acted as lead counsel to the underwriters on the winning Medco Energi Internasional high yield offering, which financed its acquisition of Ophir. The deal faced and resolved a broad spectrum of challenges in Asia, the US and the UK, in terms of public M&A rules and the issuers own dynamics and used some untested mechanisms. M&A Weil Gotshal & Manges It was a highly competitive field in M&A with a wide mix of transaction types on the shortlist across multiple sectors. In the end the take-private of eHi takes the accolade and Weil Gotshals role advising the buying consortium plays a key part in its team win. On display in this role is the teams ability to leverage off and harness expertise across different practice areas and jurisdictions, and to streamline this into a successful acquisition strategy. The deal approach and structure had to overcome myriad complications and the firms private equity experience no doubt played a part. Private equity Simpson Thacher & Bartlett The Simpson Thacher team is no stranger to this award. The team often advises KKR, putting it in a great position, and has an ability to manage complex deals, for example the 2018 acquisition by KKR and SinoCare of HeTia in China. This year the firm had the lead role advising KKR on its acquisition of LCY Chemical, which introduced significant deal innovations in Taiwan. The firm also advised Blackstone on its acquisition of Ayumi Pharmaceutical. The deal marked Blackstones entrance into Japan and had to introduce a new deal structuring approach to the market. The team also advised KKR on its Indian acquisitions of EuroKids Group and Ramky Enviro Engineers. Project finance Milbank Milbank had a great year across the spectrum, especially in anything relating to the Philippine market. Project finance was a very tough category, with many of the top projects teams across the region closing on novel project financings. Milbank takes the accolade thanks to its roles advising the vast lending syndicate to Project RAPID, this years winning deal. The team was also retained by the lenders to advise on the financing for the Jambaran-Tiung Biru Gas Field Development and the Riau IPP in Indonesia. These projects together introduced several untested structures that will develop financing approaches across the region. Restructuring Allen & Overy Allen & Overy undoubtedly has one of the premier restructuring teams in the region and it further swelled its ranks in 2019 at the senior, middle and junior levels. One of the cases that reflects its ability to manage complex and delicate restructurings is the shortlisted Kimberley Hotel project. The restructuring involved complex and novel issues in terms of capital structure, debt restructuring mechanics, the dynamics of receivership, and stamp duty exemption rules. The work also included running an auction for the asset, not to mention delicate negotiations between parties. Structured finance and securitisation King & Wood Mallesons King Wood & Mallesons has been a force in the region for structured finance and securitisation and 2019 was no different. To illustrate this, the team worked on the launch of a new category of derivatives warrants on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange known as inline warrants. This offers an entirely new listed product to investors. The team also worked on the asset-backed note (ABN) deal between Far East Horizon and China Resources SZITIC Trust. This represents the first financial leasing receivables securitisation product listed on the Bond Connect. Financial services regulatory Herbert Smith Freehills Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) wins the award for the second consecutive year. In 2019, HSF became one of only a few international firms to secure approval to form a joint operation in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, which will allow it to manage China-related regulatory work through a single relationship. The team is in high demand in contentious regulatory work and in a particularly high-profile case, the firm is advising an advisor in relation to an SFC investigation enquiry into transactions stemming from the 1MDB scandal. The team has worked on several complex investment rounds (including for Go-Jek) and has been at the forefront of fintech regulation and the SFC's internal investigation disclosure. Pro bono Allen & Overy In one of the firms biggest ever pro bono projects, involving 44 lawyers, Allen & Overy partnered with Hong Kong SARs Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) to produce an unprecedented report entitled The Recognition and Treatment of Relationships under Hong Kong law. Researchers reviewed over 1,700 provisions across 537 Ordinances and identified over 100 instances across 21 areas of law and government policy of inconsistent applications of differential treatment according to relationship status. Published in June 2019 after 12 months of research, the report details, for the first time, the serious impact of differential treatment based on relationship status, offering a solid basis for potential reform. This was a true highlight of pro bono work in 2019. IN-HOUSE TEAMS OF THE YEAR In-house debt HSBC HSBC was one of the most prolific banks in the debt markets in 2019 and it presented its in-house team with some novel challenges. Highlights are as varied as the LG Chem green bonds, the Mong Duong 2 bond refinancing, ANZ Banking Group Sonia-linked covered bond, Bharti Airtel perpetual securities, Renew Power high yield and Serba Dinamik sukuk offering, among others. The breadth of the work is notable as is the teams capacity for handling innovative structures and demands across a broad spectrum of deals. In all, the bank worked on at least 10 shortlisted transactions. In-house equity Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs picks up the equity team award for the second year running. The banks legal team has dedicated lawyers focusing on equity capital markets operating out of all the regions key hubs. Among the teams highlights were the legally novel and complex IPOs by ESR Cayman IPO and CStone Pharmaceuticals, both shortlisted. The team also worked on the China Railway Signal IPO, the first H to A IPO on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and on the IPO by Topsports International. Other notable equity work included Seas NYSE follow-on offering and SDIC Powers GDR offering. RISING STARS OF THE YEAR Global firms Kris Desrosiers Weil Gotshal & Manges Kris Desrosiers is an of counsel in Weil Gotshal & Manges corporate team who has been based in Hong Kong SAR since December 2016. In 2019, he was lead associate on TPG and OTPPs acquisition of Dream Cruises from Genting, shortlisted for private equity deal of the year, and the take-private of eHi, this years winning M&A deal. In both deals, he led on the drafting and negotiating of the key transaction documentation, as well as on the complex purchase price adjustment mechanics, minority interest protection provisions, and some matters of first impression. He also acted as lead associate in Advent Internationals acquisition of BioDuro. Viola Jing Allen & Overy Hong Kong SAR-based Viola Jing is an of counsel based in Allen & Overys Asia restructuring and recovery group. She is a fluent English, Mandarin and Cantonese speaker who combines contentious and non-contentious, and litigation and restructuring skills. She has an impressive track record on complex restructurings. In 2019, she acted as lead associate in the restructuring of The Kimberley Hotel, advising Industrial and Commercial Bank of China as senior secured lender and, subsequently, PwC as the receivers on security enforcement and the sale of the hotel. This role presented myriad novel challenges in a difficult situation. She also worked on CW Groups provisional liquidation. Xuelin (Steve) Wang Davis Polk & Wardwell Steve Wang is an of counsel in Davis Polk & Wardwells Hong Kong SAR office. He has played a pivotal role in shaping many of the jurisdictions biotech and life sciences IPOs; bolstered by his PhD in genetics and cell biology. In 2019, he played an instrumental role in CStone Pharmaceuticals IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) and Douyus US IPO. He has previously worked on HKSE IPOs by Innovent Biologics and BeiGene. He has also advised on a significant number of US and Hong Kong SAR equity transactions covering the new economy space, including biotech/healthcare, TMT and education. National firms Christina Chiang Lee and Li Christina Chiang is a senior attorney at top tier Taiwanese law firm Lee and Li. She was the lead associate in KKR take-private of LCY Chemical, where she advised on deal structure and transaction documentation, as well as conducting legal due diligence and managing a complex regulatory approvals process. The transaction, which this year is winning private equity deal of the year, required heavy involvement from Taiwanese counsel due the complex multi-stage approval process for the acquisition and the novel regulatory considerations. Chiang is a specialist in private equity and venture capital. Soong Wen E WongPartnership Soong Wen E is a lawyer in WongPartnerships corporate and M&A practice in Singapore. Soong had some impressive roles in 2019. She worked on Yanlord Investments mandatory general offer for United Engineers and WBL Corporation. These deals raised considerations that were unprecedented under the Takeover Code, and Soong played a key role in liaising with the Securities Industry Council of Singapore (SIC) to devise an appropriate transaction structure. She also had a lead role in Temaseks acquisition of DCrypt, cryptographic tech company. The transaction involved complex shareholder arrangement and listing considerations. Anita Karina Sungkono Hadiputranto Hadinoto & Partners Anita Karina Sungkono practises in top tier Indonesian law firm Hadiputranto Hadinoto & Partners. She reached senior associate level after only seven years and over 2018 and 2019 had an impressive series of roles in complex project financings. One highlight included being heavily involved in advising the sponsors in the first high-speed rail project in Indonesia, connecting Jakarta-Bandung. The deal included a first-of-its-kind concession agreement signed by the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation. Sungkono was also lead associate on the project development and financing for one of the largest renewable energy IPPs in Asia, the Tolo Wind Farm Project. MOST INNOVATIVE NATIONAL FIRMS Australia Gilbert + Tobin Gilbert + Tobin wins the award for most innovative Australian firm of the year. The firm handled complex legal work on an impressive range of novel cross-border deals. It managed the Australian law aspects of Budweiser APACs IPO on the HKSE and integrated with the listing, advised AB InBev (Budweisers parent) on the divestment of Carlton & United Breweries to Asahi Group. In other work, the firm advised Pacific Equity Partners on its sale of Allied Pinnacle to Japans Nisshin and managed a large divestment by Brookfield as part of its acquisition of US-based Genesee & Wyoming. China King & Wood Mallesons King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) appears on eight shortlisted transactions. The firm worked on Budweiser APACs IPO, the winning equity deal, with a challenging role advising the underwriters. The team also worked on Jinshang Banks HKSE IPO and the Huatai Securities IPO, the first under the Shanghai-London Stock Connect. KWM had key roles on shortlisted debt capital market transactions by Bright Scholar Education, China Grand Automotive Services and Agricultural Development Bank of China and corporate deals involving China Resources, Dinghao Electronics Plaza and TutorGroup. Its presence on legally innovative transactions across IFLRs practice areas is second to none. Debt firm of the year: China Jingtian & Gongcheng The Jingtian & Gongcheng capital markets practice always has a high profile in the awards across the debt and equity areas. This year, the team wins the debt award, in part off the back of its role advising the joint lead managers on the winning Bank of China Macau Branch SOFR bond. It also advised the underwriters on China Railway Construction Corporations securities and represented VCredit on its high yield offering. Away from the shortlist, the firm had notable underwriter-side roles on iQiyis convertible notes and Bank of Chinas Kai Xuan debt and Belt and Road bonds. Equity firm of the year: China Fangda Partners Fangda Partners wins the 2020 equity team of the year award. The firms corporate and equity practice is ever-present in the awards. In 2019, it advised Budweiser APAC as issuer on its HKSE IPO, this years winning equity deal. The firm also had issuer-side roles on the IPOs of Jinxin Fertility Group and CStone Pharmaceuticals. A seminal piece of work also saw the firm Huatai Securities on its IPO on the London Stock Exchange (which won Europes equity deal of the year). The IPO involved detailed work on the framework surrounding the Shanghai-London Stock Connect project. Corporate/M&A firm of the year: China King & Wood Mallesons King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) picks up the corporate team award this year. The firm worked on a mix of notable transactions. Among the most complex was advising China Resources Enterprise and China Resources Beer on its wide-ranging long-term strategic cooperation agreement with Heineken Group, which required complex cross-border considerations and detailed work on novel public M&A, governance, trademark licensing and other issues. The firm advised the sales of Dinghao Electronics Plaza and TutorGroup. Highlights also included its role on GTA Semiconductors privatisation of ASMC, via a merger by absorption, and Masterwork Groups acquisition of a stake in Heidelberger Druck. Hong Kong SAR Tanner de Witt Tanner de Witt wins this years most innovative Hong Kong SAR law firm. The firm has had a strong record on aspects of some of the most challenging restructurings involving the jurisdiction over the years. For example, in 2017 the team advised Kaisa Group on the multijurisdictional restructuring of its offshore debt, which won the 2017 restructuring award. One of the firms notable roles in 2019 was acting for the purchaser, China Cinda, on the restructuring of Kimberley Hotel. The project was uniquely demanding and confronted the firm with a raft of off-script challenges. India Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas It was a highly competitive Indian market in 2019 with several of the top Indian firms on shortlisted deals. Emerging just ahead this year is Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. Over 2019, the firm helped structure several market firsts. Among them was the Embassy Office Parks REIT IPO, Bharti Airtels perpetual securities, Renew Powers high yield offering, and the Azure rooftop financing. Other highlights were the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board bond, a ground-breaking municipal-level high yield offering that took almost a year to develop, and KKRs pathfinding acquisitions of EuroKids Group and Ramky Enviro Engineers. Indonesia Umbra This years winner for Indonesia comes from outside the top-tier firms and goes to new entrant Umbra. The firm makes an impressive debut, with involved roles on two shortlisted transactions. The firm advised PT Pertamina EP Cepu and Trustee in its capacity as sponsor on the Jambaran-Tiung Biru Gas Field Development. It also advised the Indonesian lenders on the restructuring of the Maxpower Group, this years winning restructuring project. Umbra had a pivotal role on the debt restructuring and the resultant acquisition of Maxpower Group, now called PT Infra Daya Energia. Japan Nishimura & Asahi Japans market is always extremely competitive. Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto and Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu all impressed. This years winner is Nishimura & Asahi. The win primarily reflects the firms M&A work in 2019, where it advised Nippon Paint Holdings on its acquisition of publicly listed Australian company DuluxGroup and Nisshin on its acquisition of Allied Pinnacle. The firm was also the lead architect of Takedas landmark acquisition of Shire. Other highlights include its long-running work for Works Applications and Toshiba Corporation, and its role advising Wendel Group in CITIC Capitals acquisition of Nippon Oil Pump. Malaysia Adnan Sundra & Low Adnan Sundra & Low is a well-established top-tier Malaysian law firm which played a key role on two shortlisted deals involving the Malaysian market. The firm advised the joint bookrunners on the Serba Dinamik sukuk offering, which represents a first-of-its-kind in Asia and is a key precedent deal for the Malaysian market. Its other awards highlight was advising Thailands national oil company PTT Exploration and Production Public Company on its acquisition of Murphy Oils Malaysian oil and gas operations: a bellwether deal for cross-border national oil company transactions. Myanmar Rajah & Tann Myanmar Rajah & Tann Myanmar wins this years most innovative Myanmar firm of the year. The key highlight was the firms role advising Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance on its JV agreement with AYA Myanmar General Insurance. This was a first-of-its-kind in Myanmar in a sector that was previously barred to foreign participants. The transactions required bespoke structuring and careful work relating to an uncertain regulatory landscape. Among other issues, the regulations permitting Myanmar general insurance and foreign insurance providers to form JVs was in constant flux. A two-phase deal was pieced together, combining a capital investment with a wide-ranging strategic alliance. New Zealand Bell Gully Bell Gully made a notable impression in the New Zealand market in 2019 in relation to M&A. The firm advised Vodafone Group on its sale of Vodafone New Zealand to Infratil and Brookfield Asset Management. It was the largest M&A transaction of 2019 and a complex piece of work. The firm also advised Fletcher Building on the sale of Formica Group to Amsterdam-listed HAL Trust and in a landmark scheme of arrangement deal, acted for Apax Partners on the takeover of e-commerce company Trade Me. A fourth highlight was advising Resolution Life in relation to its acquisition of AMP's wealth protection and mature businesses. Pakistan Kabraji & Tallibuddin Kabraji & Allibuddin wins the most innovative Pakistan firm of the year award. Among its shortlisted projects, the firm represented a lending consortium, comprising the IFC, Meezan Bank, Bank Al Habib, Bank Alfalah and DEG, on the financing for the Super Six Wind Projects. The deal represents an innovative platform financing approach. The firm also advised TPG Global on the complex Pakistan law aspects of its formation of its Evercare Fund and acquisition of three healthcare companies owned by the Abraaj Growth Markets Health Fund. This was coordinated with a global acquisition by TPG of Abraajs healthcare funds. Philippines Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & De Los Angeles The Philippines firm of the year goes to Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & De Los Angeles. The firm played instrumental roles on two shortlisted deals this year, both of which were pathfinder deals in their respective areas. The firm advised Udenna Corporation on its JV with China Telecommunications Corporation to win a bid to secure a third telecoms licence. It also acted for Warburg Pincus on its acquisition of Converge ICT Solutions. Another notable deal saw the firm advise the joint lead managers on first-ever public Swiss franc-denominated benchmark bond issued out of the Philippines, for the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI). Singapore Allen & Gledhill Allen & Gledhill scoops up this years Singapore firm award for another consecutive year. The firm operates at the top of the Singapore market across the board and has been pioneering across multiple practice areas. One shortlist highlight was its work advising Medco Energi Internasional in relation to the high yield financing as part of its acquisition of Ophir, which won high yield deal of the year. The firm also advised Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust Capital (LMIRT Capital) on its ground-breaking high yield offering. One of the firms notable Singapore-Myanmar deals was Singapore Petroleum Companys acquisition of Shwe Taung Energy. South Korea Bae Kim & Lee Bae Kim & Lee breaks a winning streak by Kim & Chang that has spanned the history of the awards. It was a competitive category with an impressive portfolio of novel transactions by Kim & Chang, Shin & Kim and Lee & Ko. One of Bae Kim & Lees standout deals was its role advising Lotte REIT on its IPO, the first ever international REIT IPO out of the jurisdiction. The firm also acted for Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction in relation to its cross-border debt restructuring. Other notable deals included representing Donga Tanker on its restructuring and advising LG Display on its convertible bonds. Taiwan Lee & Li Taiwan was a fruitful jurisdiction for legal innovation. Tsar & Tsai Law Firm and Lee & Li both led the way, but Lee & Li takes the accolade. The firm was Taiwanese counsel to KKR in its acquisition of LCY Chemical, this years winning private equity deal. It also advised JC Flowers in relation to the acquisition of Jintex. A real highlight was offshore wind. The firm advised the sponsors on the Formosa 2 (Hai Neng) Offshore Wind Project and Yunlin offshore wind farm, and also acted for rsted (issuer and guarantor) on the first ever NTD bonds issued by a foreign company in Taiwan. Thailand Weerawong Chinnavat & Partners Thailand was one of the most dynamic markets in the region. Weerawong Chinnavat & Partners (WCP) played a big role in several of the most challenging and impactful transactions. Among its highlights, the firm was Thai counsel to PTT, the state-owned listed oil and gas company, on its shortlisted tender offers and concurrent new bond. Away from the shortlist, the firm advised Asset World Corp on its IPO and pre-IPO restructuring. WCP also acted for Global Power Synergy on its majority acquisition of Glow Energy, an enormously complex deal that featured several legal firsts, especially in respect of antitrust considerations. Vietnam VILAF VILAF had another fantastic year and wins the most innovative Vietnam firm of the year award, even against strong local competition. Among its highlights the firm advised AES-VCM Mong Duong in relation to its landmark project refinancing and high yield bond, which required careful navigation through local law regulatory requirements. In a similar vein, the firm advised Sumitomo Corporation on the Van Phong 1 Thermal Power Plant project, which tested almost every aspect of Vietnams energy regulatory framework. The firm also provided Vietnamese law advice in the ICG Strategic Equity / Affirma Capital secondaries transaction. IOWA CITY, Iowa Investigators on Wednesday arrested a long-haul trucker from Iowa who they say is linked by DNA evidence to the killings of three women whose bodies were dumped in Wyoming and Tennessee in the early 1990s. Police arrested Clark Perry Baldwin, 58, at his home in Waterloo, Iowa, on murder charges filed in Wyoming and Tennessee in the deaths of the women, including two who were pregnant. Investigators said they were looking into whether Baldwin could be responsible for other unsolved slayings. Baldwin was arrested after investigators used semen and other material recovered from the victims to develop DNA profiles of their perpetrators, according to court documents in Wyoming. Last year, they learned that the same profile matched all three cases. Investigators zeroed in on Baldwin after finding DNA in commercial genealogy databases of someone related to the suspects profile, court documents say. Last month in Waterloo, the FBI secretly collected DNA from Baldwins trash and a shopping cart he used at Walmart and it matched the profile. In Wyoming, Baldwin is charged in the deaths of two unidentified women whose bodies were found in 1992 roughly 400 miles (643.74 kilometers) apart. A female trucker discovered the nude body of the first victim in March 1992 near the Bitter Creek Truck turnout on Interstate 80 in southwestern Wyoming. An autopsy determined the woman suffered head trauma consistent with strangulation and her body had likely been in the snow for weeks. A month later, Wyoming Department of Transportation workers found the partially mummified body of a pregnant woman in a ditch off of Interstate 90, near Sheridan in northern Wyoming. An autopsy didnt determine the cause of death but found the victim had an injury potentially consistent with suffering a blow to the head. Investigators never identified the women and referred to them as Bitter Creek Betty and I-90 Jane Doe. Both were believed to be in their late teens or early 20s, Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Cmdr. Matt Waldock said. In Tennessee, Baldwin is charged with two counts of murder in the 1991 killing of a 32-year-old pregnant woman from Virginia, Pamela McCall, and her fetus. McCall was found in woods off Interstate 65 in Spring Hill, Tennessee in March 1991. An autopsy determined McCall had neck injuries and died of strangulation. Sperm was recovered from pantyhose worn by McCall, who was last seen at a Tennessee truck stop days earlier. Court documents say that Baldwin allegedly raped a female hitchhiker in Wheeler County, Texas, at gunpoint in his truck in 1991. The 21-year-old woman told police that Baldwin struck her on the head, bound her hands and mouth and tried to choke her to death. He allegedly admitted to the assault but was released pending grand jury proceedings. Court documents do not indicate whether he was charged or prosecuted. Baldwin, who has previously lived in Nashua, Iowa, and Springfield, Missouri, was a cross-country truck driver for Marten Transport at the time. Baldwins name also surfaced during a 1992 homicide investigation in Iowa. His ex-wife told police then that Baldwin once bragged about killing a girl out west by strangulation and throwing her out of his truck, court documents say. Waldock said investigators were hopeful to solve other cases with Baldwins arrest. One case of interest is the 1992 death of Tammy Jo Zywicki, 21, an Iowa college student who was last seen after her car broke down on an Illinois highway. A white man who was driving a semi-trailer was seen near her vehicle. Zywickis body was found in rural Missouri, stabbed to death. Another is the 1992 killing of Rhonda Knutson, 22, a truck stop convenience store clerk in northern Iowa who was bludgeoned to death during an overnight shift. Investigators have released sketches of two men who were in the store, including one trucker. Baldwin lived in nearby Nashua then. In 1997, Secret Service agents raided Baldwins apartment in Springfield, Missouri, after learning he was making counterfeit U.S. currency on a personal computer. He and two female associates were indicted on counterfeiting charges. Baldwin was sentenced to 18 months in prison and released in 1999. In 2008, a fire destroyed a Nashua building where Baldwin operated a candle business and damaged two adjacent buildings, including one that housed the towns newspaper. The cause of the fire was never determined. Baldwin is being held at the Black Hawk County jail pending extradition proceedings to Tennessee. The charges stunned Jazz Baldwin, 32, of New Hampton, Iowa, who said she learned two years ago that Baldwin was her father after he purchased a DNA test kit. The two had been in contact over Facebook since then, she said. I heard rumors about his possible crimes but always thought they were bogus, she wrote in a Facebook message. Murder was NOT on the list of things we thought he had done and gotten away with. __ Associated Press journalists Rhonda Shafner in New York City and Mead Gruver in Cheyenne, Wyoming contributed to this report. A man was shot and killed as his wife and two children hid in a locked room early Thursday morning, police say. The suspected gunman forced his way into the familys apartment in the 15300 block of Ella Boulevard around 2 a.m., according to Harris County Sheriffs Office homicide detective Dennis Wollford. The man ordered two women and children who live inside the apartment to lock themselves into a room, Wollford said. The British authorities said that the data would not include personally identifiable information, and that access would be limited to those working on the pandemic response. A committee in Parliament has called for legislation creating privacy protections around the app. Image A privacy dispute has hampered the rollout of the app. Credit... Matrix, via ZUMA Press In opposing Britains effort, Apple and Google are supported by academics, security researchers and privacy groups that want to restrict government data collection, saying that, whatever the safeguards, a centralized database creates too much potential for abuse. Britains top privacy regulator, Elizabeth Denham, said last month that a decentralized model should be a starting point for contact tracing. It is vital that, when we come out of the current crisis, we have not created a tool that enables data collection on the population, or on targeted sections of society, for surveillance, a group of more than 170 scientists wrote in an April 29 statement opposing the British apps design. To enforce their view, the companies will provide important access to a phones Bluetooth signal only to tracing apps that store health information on a persons smartphone. This prohibits data from being uploaded and stored on government servers. Many have raised additional concerns that the British app allows self-reporting, a feature that could easily be abused. There are signs that Britain may be bending to the criticism. Mr. Gould told Parliament this week that the government was continuing to speak with Apple and Google, and that the country could change its approach. The health service awarded a contract to a Swiss company, Zuhlke Engineering, to investigate building a tracing app using the Apple and Google specifications, according to documents obtained by the research firm Tussell and first reported by The Financial Times. At least 11 people died after a leak in a chemical factory in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday. The toxic gas, Styrene, injured over 1000 people after they inhaled it once it mixed in the air following the leak around 2.30 am. Following the leak, the area has been vacated and over 250 families have been evacuated. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said that a specialized Chemical, Biological, Radiological (CBRN) team is being flown from Pune to assist the local teams in defusing the situation and that the leaking silos are at its minimum. What is styrene gas? The All India ... Opinion Article 7 May 2020 HVS ANAROCK spoke about ancillary revenues in early 2019 and the concept of focusing on Revenue Per Square Feet at our HOPE conference again in Bengaluru in August last year - thus, initiating a dialogue with the industry on the concepts of Total Revenue Management. When the times are good, Ancillary Revenues seem very small and we let the opportunity pass by, as the effort does not add up to the return! Yes, any new product or innovation starts small. For instance, let's take the example of the food delivery industry. Frost & Sullivan estimated the global food delivery industry to be worth $82 billion in terms of gross revenue bookings, expected to more than double by 2025, backed by a cumulative growth rate of 14%. Advertisements Photo: HVS Now, is that small? Have we, the hotel industry, missed a seemingly great opportunity by not being part of the delivery model in the early stages i.e. Cloud Kitchens, extending our restaurants for take-aways etc. No, we do not think so. We think this pandemic has given us the opportunity to reboot in the true sense and look at every revenue area & product we can market from the infrastructure we have: Lifestyle Health Management Services Wellness and not Gymnasiums as a product Cloud Kitchens to cater to a Billion$ food delivery industry Design a drive-in take away model in all future hotels Hotels as billboards There are several other areas that may need rebooting. This high capital infrastructure that we build needs to generate an ROI & Yield. We can continue to say that we are waiting for the right time or a good cycle, but we have not seen one in the last decade, with hotels barely managing to pay debts. In order to grow as an industry and attract serious investors, we must get the right yields in this ever-dynamic environment at the market pricing and occupancy levels. Hence, should we be rebooting and looking at the capital investments in building Hotels or looking at delivering incremental revenues, a more efficient per square foot model of revenues or continue waiting for the government to give us infrastructure status? The answers lies with us, what we should & can do, what is in our control now, rather than wait for another unprecedented event that may shake us again in the future. We need to make changes, so reboot now rather than later! Disney's streaming platform is set to be released in Luxembourg, Portugal and Scandinavia in September. Six months after its launch, Disney's streaming service counts more than 50 million subscribers across the globe. Launched in France at the start of April, Disney + will finally be released in the Grand Duchy in September, according to Disney CEO, Bob Chapek, who revealed the news on Wednesday. However, Luxembourg residents may need to be patient when it comes to Disney's most recent big releases, as Le Monde pointed out the European catalogue was somewhat lacking when compared to the US. 2019's biggest releases, Frozen 2 and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, are still not available on the French version of the streaming service, despite the fact that the final edition in the Star Wars sequel trilogy was released on Disney + in the USA and UK on 4 May. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More We think Indian pharma stocks will be the leaders of the next bull run for the 2-3 years as earnings, volumes & growth to outperform. Also, the need for medicine stocking may be more psychological which could drive higher volumes both globally & locally, Sanjiv Bhasin, Director at IIFL, said in an interview to Moneycontrol's Sunil Shankar Matkar. Edited excerpt: Q: Do you think it is really possible for the United States to start a fresh tariff war with China given the current health and economic situation? There will be rhetoric to divert the attention of the huge loss of lives in the US with President Trump also concentrating on his elections in November. We think it will be more rhetoric rather than any meaningful action. Either way India is in a sweet spot as World over will rethink outsourcing from China with India to grab share provided we rise to the occasion with simplification of entry barriers & incentives to invest in India offered to potential investors. So for India it could be a boon as World over China sees dissent rising even though most may not make such feelings public. Q: Pharma has been a great outperformer in the last one-and-half-month given the world's focus towards the sector. Do you think the rally is sustainable going forward and is it the right time to enter into the sector? After almost 4 years of under performance, Pharma seems to have regained its lost 'mojo' in the last 2 months as focus globally turns towards this sector. We think Indian pharma stocks will be the leaders of the next bull run for the next 2/3 years as earnings, volumes & growth will see outperform. Also the need for medicine stocking may be more psychological which could drive higher volumes both globally & locally. Q: The market made an attempt to move towards 10,000 on the Nifty in April. Is the level attainable? There was a very strong bounce in April after the decimation in March. Lack of early stimulus from the Government coupled with weak global cues has seen early May see a huge rise in volatility. We expect May 1st half to be volatile with global cues, weak earnings & weak macros seeing ETF related outflows. However, most of the bad news being priced in, a surprise Government stimulus larger than expected coupled with US markets seeing resumption of rally & locally lockdown reopening in tranches should see a retest of 10,000/10,500 by mid to late June. Q: Given a lot of opportunities available in the market and expected new opportunities to be created in the COVID-19 crisis, what are those five stocks to bet on and which can create humongous value for shareholders by next year? TCS: It should be a clear winner given that the work from home theme will extend to normal time also being introduced with client books being strong & good hedge against the rupee. Reliance Industries: The Facebook deal has set the cat amongst the pigeons as data & digital social media seem the new winners with company now looking to becoming the fastest tech play in India. Cipla: Pedigree pharma stock seeing huge re rating as it becomes best play on generic, API & export play with a strong pipeline of drugs both approved & under approval. HDFC: It will be the biggest gainer in the mortgage lending business as it gains market share & raises money at the lowest rates as markets distinguish between the best in business & enable company to gain market share as economic activity resumes. (People bank of China) Buying a huge stake indicates the pedigree the company enjoys globally. Hero MotoCorp: Excellent rabi crop coupled with return of food security will see rural incomes rise as the government gives more incentive to farmers in the shape of lower borrowing rates etc. Also the new norm will see reduction in public transport & shared mobility which will see 2 wheelers being the biggest gainers both in rural and urban India. Q: Auto has taken a huge beating given the slowdown in the sector before and now. Do you think one should look at auto now given the attractive valuations or better to stay away for the time being, why? Auto could be the star for the 2nd half of the year as streamlining of BS4-6 now over with last 2 years growth appetite making a huge comeback as the new normal sees reduction in public transport & shared mobility. The other positive would be lower rates as a precursor to global money printing being done will see pass on effect to the customer which would spur demand & thirdly emission norms will see huge changes which could be game changer for commercial vehicles. Q: Have you seen any change in the behaviour of retail investors in the current COVID-19-led steep fall and situation, compared to earlier crisis (2008 GFC, 2000 IT boom etc)? The retail investor has over the last 4 years after demonetisation realized that equity as an asset class is a necessity and the spread from just 3 percent of our population in equity has spread to almost 5 percent now which can accelerate to over 12 percent in next 5 years. The smart retail investor has used this great fear as an opportunity to increase his asset allocation to equity. Also, the present debt crisis in some select mutual funds will see equity inflows get stronger in the near and slightly longer term. Q: The market has been eagerly waiting for a bigger stimulus package which can help the economy revive faster. Do you think it is possible for government to announce a big package given the fiscal stress? The government has taken a measured approach in providing the stimulus, with first health, second poor and third taxation relief steps being announced. The wait till the curve flattens is now coming to an end and we expect that before the lockdown finally ends on May 17, we could see a sweet package to cover the entire MSME, NBFC and other industries most in need, with an extension of moratorium and relief to common man being the theme. Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on Moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. "Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd." NEW YORK, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CafeMedia, the world's largest ad management service, announced last week it will guarantee payments for its 2,500 high-quality publishers. Notably, the company will guarantee payments to its AdThrive and CafeMedia publishers, regardless of whether CafeMedia ultimately gets paid from advertisers or advertising technology partners. With 156 million US monthly users finding so much value in the content CafeMedia publishers produce, the company believes publishers deserve security and peace of mind. The company is committed to ensuring CafeMedia publishers earn what they deserve and now CafeMedia publishers can have no worries about getting paid for advertising sold. "We take our mission to build a creator-first future to heart," said Paul Bannister, CafeMedia's Chief Strategy Officer. "That means supporting content creators any way we can. We are willing to shoulder financial risk on behalf of our publishers because we believe it is the right thing to do." CafeMedia has always unofficially covered these losses for its publishers, including nearly $1 million last year, and is now making the guarantee an official policy. CafeMedia is the only digital advertising company to announce a formal payment guarantee during the Coronavirus pandemic. The guarantee will come at no additional cost to publishers and will automatically be included within the existing terms of service. This guarantee will also apply to all existing publishers and future publishers who join the company's network. "Now, more than ever, we're working to help the publishers who are shaping the internet earn as much as they deserve. Even in these difficult times, we're dialing up our investment to help our publishers make the most money they can today as well as when third-party cookies are phased out," Michael Sanchez, CafeMedia's CEO said. The company made the decision early on to invest strategically and responsibly to always support publishers and the growth of their businesses. The company continues to push forward on planned investments to tackle industry disruptions, like new identity solutions to replace third-party cookies, such that independent publishers are not at risk of losing advertising dollars. CafeMedia is also growing its own team during this time and hired for key roles in all areas of the company, including ad code, product development, content services, search engine optimization ("SEO") support and data analytics. About CafeMedia CafeMedia is the world's largest ad management service, providing the technology and services that help the highest quality publishers grow their businesses and maximize success. Serving 2,500 high-quality publishers through its AdThrive and CafeMedia brands, the company exclusively manages all digital advertising sales and technology, empowering content creators to make a living doing what they love producing great content. The company blends the best of both worlds: exceptional customer service and industry-leading monetization. The company's collective force of content creators reaches 156 million monthly unique visitors. Ranking as the 16th largest digital entity and as #1 in Food, Family, and Home, CafeMedia provides programmatic media solutions that connect brands to these deeply engaged audiences. Brand partners get access to a premium inventory with a focus on high viewability, brand-safety and the right context or audience to drive performance. CafeMedia is a portfolio company of ZMC (www.zmclp.com), a leading private equity firm comprised of experienced investors and executives that invests in and manages a diverse group of media and communications enterprises. Founded in 2001, ZMC's investment philosophy centers on operational value creation driven by targeted investment themes, deep sector expertise, and strong partnerships with industry and operating executives. For more information, please visit www.cafemedia.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter. SOURCE CafeMedia Related Links http://www.cafemedia.com Gardai have launched an investigation after a man died when he fell from a ladder in Co Donegal. The accident happened in the Mountaintop area of Letterkenny. While China Sunsine Chemical Holdings Ltd. (SGX:QES) shareholders are probably generally happy, the stock hasn't had particularly good run recently, with the share price falling 16% in the last quarter. Looking further back, the stock has generated good profits over five years. Its return of 85% has certainly bested the market return! Unfortunately not all shareholders will have held it for the long term, so spare a thought for those caught in the 32% decline over the last twelve months. View our latest analysis for China Sunsine Chemical Holdings There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time. Over half a decade, China Sunsine Chemical Holdings managed to grow its earnings per share at 11% a year. This EPS growth is reasonably close to the 13% average annual increase in the share price. Therefore one could conclude that sentiment towards the shares hasn't morphed very much. Rather, the share price has approximately tracked EPS growth. The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers). SGX:QES Past and Future Earnings May 7th 2020 It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here.. What About Dividends? When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of China Sunsine Chemical Holdings, it has a TSR of 111% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence! Story continues A Different Perspective While the broader market lost about 20% in the twelve months, China Sunsine Chemical Holdings shareholders did even worse, losing 32% (even including dividends) . Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 16% 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. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for China Sunsine Chemical Holdings (of which 1 is a bit concerning!) you should know about. Of course China Sunsine Chemical Holdings 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 SG 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. US Special Representative for Afghan peace process Zalmay Khalilzad on Thursday held extensive talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval over the fast-evolving political situation in Afghanistan after the Trump administration struck a deal with the Taliban in February. The Ministry of External Affairs said the US envoy laid importance to India's crucial and continuing role in sustainable peace, security and stability in Afghanistan while updating on the US peace and reconciliation efforts in the country. The Indian side emphasised that putting an end to terrorist safe havens and sanctuaries is necessary for enduring and sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan. Khalilzad arrived in Delhi as part of a three-nation tour of India, Qatar and Pakistan. In the talks, the US envoy was accompanied by Senior Director in the US National Security Council Lisa Curtis and US Ambassador to India Ken Juster. "The US side recognized India's constructive contribution in economic development, reconstruction and humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. They laid importance to India's crucial and continuing role in sustainable peace, security and stability in Afghanistan," the MEA said in a statement. The visit by Khalilzad assumes significance as it came in the midst of a nation-wide lockdown to fight COVID-19 in India. The MEA, in a statement, said both Jaishankar and Doval reiterated India's continued support for strengthening peace, security, unity, democratic polity as well as protection of rights of all sections of the Afghan society, including Afghan Hindus and Sikhs. "India is deeply concerned at the upsurge in violence and supports the call for an immediate ceasefire and need to assist the people of Afghanistan in dealing with coronavirus pandemic," it said. The MEA said India remains engaged in extending humanitarian and medical supplies to Afghanistan to deal with the situation triggered by coronavirus pandemic. "It was emphasised that putting an end to terrorist safe havens and sanctuaries is necessary for enduring and sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan," it said. The US struck a peace deal with the Taliban on February 29, which provided for the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan, effectively drawing curtains to Washington's 18-year war in the country. The US has lost over 2,400 soldiers in Afghanistan since late 2001. India has been a key stakeholder in the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan. India has been supporting a national peace and reconciliation process which is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan controlled. India has also been maintaining that care should be taken to ensure that any such process does not lead to any "ungoverned spaces" where terrorists and their proxies can relocate. Last month, India welcomed the decision by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to form a team for intra-Afghan negotiation. India has been calling upon all sections of the political spectrum in Afghanistan to work together to meet the aspirations of all people in that country including those from the minority community for a prosperous and safe future. There have been global concerns over Pakistan's support to Taliban and other terror groups operating in Afghanistan. Days before inking of the peace deal between the US and Taliban, India conveyed to the Trump administration that pressure on Pakistan to crack down on terror networks operating from its soil must be kept up. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) European stocks closed higher on Thursday as investors digested the latest news regarding the coronavirus outbreak and efforts to ease lockdown measures. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up by more than 1% provisionally, with most sectors and major bourses in positive territory. Retail stocks were the best performers, climbing over 3%. Coronavirus data remains in focus as the U.S. and Europe cautiously lift lockdowns; the virus has now killed at least 264,000 people worldwide and there are over 3.7 million confirmed cases of Covid-19. One of the countries that started to lift lockdown restrictions several weeks ago, Germany, reported 1,284 new cases on Thursday a jump from the 947 new infections a day earlier. That took its tally of confirmed cases to 166,091, according to the latest data by the Robert Koch Institute, the federal government agency responsible for disease monitoring and prevention. The country's death toll rose by 123 to 7,119. On Wednesday, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel announced steps to ease the lockdown, but also launched an "emergency brake" mechanism where restrictions could be imposed again if cases pick back up, according to Reuters. In the U.K., Prime Minister Boris Johnson indicated Wednesday that lockdown measures could start to be lifted as early as Monday. He is due to update the nation with details on Sunday. The Bank of England (BOE) on Thursday held interest rates at 0.1% but said it stands ready to take further action should the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic continue to deteriorate, with U.K. GDP (gross domestic product) expected to fall by 14% this year. On Wall Street, all the major bourses rose amid mounting bets on the U.S. economy reopening soon. Hispanics are nearly twice as likely as whites to have lost their jobs amid the coronavirus shutdowns, according to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll, underlining that the pandemic is wreaking a disproportionate toll on some racial and ethnic groups. The poll finds that 20 percent of Hispanic adults and 16 percent of blacks report being laid off or furloughed since the outbreak began in the United States, compared with 11 percent of whites and 12 percent of workers of other races. Blacks and Hispanics are also dying of covid-19 at higher rates than whites, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the seven weeks since states started issuing state-at-home orders, ADP Research Institute reported Wednesday that U.S. companies shed 20.2 million jobs from their payrolls in April alone. Economists predict that the picture will grow even more dire Friday when the Department of Labor releases the first jobs report covering an entire month of shutdowns. Economists expect to see unemployment rates of 16 percent and record job losses of more than 20 million, said Heidi Shierholz, policy director at Economic Policy Institute. That's a sharp rise from last month's report, which showed more than 700,000 jobs lost and the unemployment rate climbing from 3.5 percent to 4.4 percent. Hispanics suffered an especially sharp increase in the unemployment rate, from 4.4 percent to 6 percent. Age and education also factor into the layoffs. The Post-Ipsos poll finds younger and blue-collar workers, as well as those without college degrees, are most likely to have lost their jobs. Hispanic men are hit the hardest - with 22 percent saying they've been laid off or furloughed. Among Hispanic women, 18 percent report being furloughed or laid off. Robert Perez, a 33-year-old waiter in Victorville, California, was let go from his job in early March when the vegan restaurant where he had worked for six years closed. His girlfriend, with whom he shares an apartment, lost her job at the same restaurant. The couple are looking for other work and weighing whether to apply for positions in an Amazon warehouse about 40 miles away - but they are worried about exposing themselves to the novel coronavirus. "We have to consider it. We can't just stay in the house and starve," Perez said. "I watch the news. I wish things would reopen, but at the same time, if things open up now, everything is probably going to get worse. It's going to come to a point where you're going to have to go to work and take the risk." Perez had been making $40,000 a year working full time. Now, he and his girlfriend receive a combined $1,000 every two weeks in unemployment benefits, half of which goes toward their $1,000-a-month rent. The Post-Ipsos survey of more than 8,000 adults and over 900 laid-off workers finds half of those who were laid off have applied for unemployment since March 1, with 28 percent of all those laid off saying they received benefits. Among those who did not receive benefits, 40 percent say they could not complete the application because phone lines were busy, they got disconnected or the website did not work. Black and Hispanic workers are bearing the brunt of the economic crisis because they are overrepresented in industries that were hit first by social distancing mandates and stay-at-home orders, economists say. These include leisure and hospitality, such as hotels and restaurants; retail; and construction, where Latino men make up more than a quarter of workers. "We still have a lot of occupational segregation in this country," said Shierholz, chief economist to the secretary of labor during the Obama administration and an expert on wage inequality and unemployment. "Some of it is due to differences in educational attainment. Some of it is due to discrimination and people's access to networks." The Post-Ipsos poll finds workers in blue-collar industries are more than twice as likely to report being laid off or furloughed as those in white-collar industries, 26 percent compared with 11 percent. Racial disparities in income and wealth are expected to worsen as a result of the coronavirus-induced downturn, Shierholz said. If historic ratios hold and if the overall unemployment rate rises to 16 percent on Friday, the black unemployment rate, which is typically double that of whites, can be expected to reach nearly 30 percent, Shierholz said; the Hispanic unemployment rate can be expected to hit 20 percent. "All recessions exacerbate existing inequalities by race and ethnicity - and always hit black and Hispanic workers harder - but this one will be worse," she said. "It will be an absolute nightmare." The devastating economic impact of the pandemic on communities of color clouds President Donald Trump's oft-repeated claims that he is to thank for previous record-low black unemployment numbers, a trend that had begun under President Barack Obama. White families recovered from the Great Recession faster than black and Hispanic families, in part because white families hold much greater wealth to begin with, economists say. While net worth for all racial groups fell by about 30 percent during the recession, black and Hispanic families experienced an additional 20 percent decline between 2010 and 2013 at a time when wealth stabilized for white families, according to the Federal Reserve. "Our economic boom was fueled in part by the labor of Latinos, particularly Latino men in construction, and unfortunately those are the jobs that are gone in a recession," said Orson Aguilar, director of economic policy at UnidosUS, a nonprofit advocacy group. The disproportionate layoff rate among Hispanics is partially explained by citizenship status, The Post-Ipsos poll shows. Among Hispanics who are U.S. citizens, 15 percent report being laid off or furloughed, a rate similar to blacks. But among Hispanic noncitizens, which includes undocumented immigrants as well as green-card-holding permanent residents, 32 percent report being laid off or furloughed; they are also the most likely group to be left out of government assistance programs. Among those who have been laid off, Hispanics are most likely to say the pandemic has been "a serious source of stress" and are twice as likely as whites to say their families will face "real financial trouble" in a month or less if nothing changes. But they are also the least likely group to have applied for or received unemployment benefits since March 1 or to have received a federal relief check. Laid-off black and Hispanic workers are more than twice as likely as whites to report receiving food from a local school system or food bank. Black households with a layoff are three times as likely as whites to say they received food stamps since the shutdowns began. "The covid-19 pandemic exposed large gaps in the safety net for many workers, but black workers disproportionately so because of conditions that existed prior to the pandemic - a concentration of black workers into low-wage jobs and a lack of access to health care, employment, housing and other basic needs," said Tanya Wallace-Gobern, executive director of the National Black Worker Center Project. "Black workers face a racialized political economy in which they are exploited because of their race and their class." The layoffs have hit America's youngest workers particularly hard, with 20 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds reporting losing their jobs or being furloughed compared with 14 percent of those ages 30 to 64. In Phoenix, A. Guzman, a 23-year-old mechanical engineer, had just settled into her first job after graduating from Arizona State University, on track to making $68,000 a year and saving up for her first home. But four months in, she was laid off from her job at U-Haul. (Guzman asked that her full name be withheld for privacy reasons.) Before the coronavirus outbreak, Guzman had been looking for apartments, eager to move out of her parents' home and start life with her 7-year-old son. But she has a rare autoimmune disorder and grew increasingly anxious that she would contract the coronavirus by going into work. When she was the only employee to show up wearing a mask in April, a colleague told her to get away from him because he was afraid she would make him sick. "I had a breakdown, and I wasn't performing well," Guzman said. "I was terrified of getting sick." She said she greeted her layoff with a bit of relief because she no longer is required to go out. She and her son are living with her parents. Her father is also an engineer, now working reduced hours. Her mother is an elementary school teacher. Guzman tried applying for unemployment as soon as she was laid off but had to wait until she received her final paycheck to complete her application. For now, she's staying inside the house, where a stop sign on the front window alerts visitors of her weak immune system, and using the time to study for an engineering and training certification in hopes of landing a higher-paying job. Even as the Arizona governor begins to allow businesses to open, Guzman does not intend to look for a job immediately and is worried about a surge in coronavirus cases. "I don't want the state to open too early because if a new wave hits and everyone is out and about, more people will start getting sick and we have to close again," Guzman said. "The economy shouldn't be first. It should be safety." Other laid-off workers have already found new jobs - albeit at reduced hours or pay - with nearly a quarter reporting leaving home to work at least once in the past week. In an Orlando, Florida, suburb, a 44-year-old driver for Habitat for Humanity recently received a call back to work after being furloughed a month ago. Previously, he had made nearly $33,000 a year working full time, picking up and delivering building supplies and donations. The driver, who was preparing to pick up side jobs fixing cars with his brother, with whom he lives, said he's hoping he will get at least 20 hours back but is grateful for whatever comes his way. "It's not going to be like before. It's going to be very, very little hours, but it's going to be work," said the man, who has been in the driving business for 15 years and spoke on the condition of anonymity because he does not want to jeopardize his re-employment. So on Monday, he will carry a bottle of hand sanitizer in his pocket, don gloves and a mask, and get behind the wheel. The Washington Post-Ipsos poll was conducted April 27 through May 4 through Ipsos's KnowledgePanel, a large online survey panel recruited through random sampling of U.S. households. Overall results in The Washington Post-Ipsos poll among the sample of 8,086 U.S. adults have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus one percentage point. The error margin is 3.5 among the sample of 928 people who were laid off. - - - The Washington Post's Emily Guskin contributed to this report. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday demanded a probe into the gas leak incident in Visakhapatnam and asked the Centre to immediately shut down the chemical plant from where styrene vapour leaked. Six people, including a child, died and over 100 others were hospitalised due to the gas leakage early Thursday. The plant had reopened on Thursday after COVID-19 lockdown rules were eased. Naidu urged the Centre to immediately send medical experts to the district as it may not have the required expertise to treat people affected with styrene gas. In a letter to Union Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal, Naidu also asked the Centre to deploy veterinary experts to treat animals affected by the toxic gas. "Further, COVID-19 infects the lungs and reduces the immunity of the person. Hence, it is essential that the medical aid should be two pronged keeping in mind Styrene Gas and COVID-19," Naidu said in the letter. "It is also essential to immediately close down the LG Polymers Unit and initiate a thorough enquiry into the gas leakage," he said. The former chief minister suggested that the entire unit should be shifted to a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) that has no population in the vicinity. Expressing grief over the tragedy, Naidu said as of now few people have died, while around 2000 people have fallen sick due to the leakage. He said that the central government should provide necessary equipment for analysing the radius affected by styrene gas. "It is important to focus on mitigating further loss of lives and in the long run to minimise the adverse health effects on the people of Visakhapatnam," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. The letter called on the international community to ask Ethiopia to respect its international legal obligations to the 2015 Declaration of Principles Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told his Estonian counterpart Urmas Reinsalu over the phone on Wednesday that Egypt sent a letter to the president of the UN Security Council (UNSC) on 1 May about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis after the failure of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to reach an agreement on its filling and operation in the latest round of talks in the United States earlier this year, the Egyptian foreign ministry said. Estonia is currently a member of the UN Security Council and is heading the council in May. The letter Egypt sent to the Security Council details the stages the GERD issue has passed since its beginning and the actions and positions taken by Egypt in accordance with international law. In the letter, it is revealed that on 10 April 2020, the Ethiopian prime minister sent a letter to the president of Egypt and the prime minister of Sudan proposing they agree to an Ethiopian plan for the execution of the first stage of the filling of GERD. That plan was not shared with Egypt or Sudan. On 15 April 2020, Egypts president sent a message to the Ethiopian premier stating Egypts unwavering commitment to concluding beneficial agreement on GERD, reaffirming that the 2015 Declaration of Principles obliges the three countries to work towards a comprehensive agreement to regulate both the filling and operation of the dam. Egypt's letter moreover called on the international community to ask Ethiopia to respect its international legal obligations to the 2015 Declaration of Principles and to reconsider its position and to accept the agreement on the filling and operation of the dam initiated by Egypt in February 2020. Tensions have been building between Egypt and Ethiopia over technical details regarding the operation and filling of the dam, which is under construction near Ethiopia's border with Sudan. Ethiopia hopes that the massive $4.8 billion project on the Blue Nile will allow it to become Africas largest power exporter. Egypt, which is downstream from the dam, fears that the project will diminish its share of Nile water, on which it is almost entirely reliant for fresh water. Last November, the US stepped in to host negotiations after Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia announced that talks on the operation and filling of the dam had reached a dead end. The three sides were expected to sign a final deal in late February, when the last meeting was scheduled to be held in Washington, but Ethiopia skipped the meeting, citing domestic reasons. According to ministry statement, Shoukry also discussed in the call received from Reinsalu efforts to curb the Covid-19 outbreak, especially international cooperation and coordination to exchange expertise. In the phone call, the Egyptian foreign minister also discussed Egyptian views on the situation in the Middle East. Reinsalu expressed his aspiration for cooperation with Egypt, asserting that his country is ready to discuss issues of common interest, the foreign ministry said in its statement. Search Keywords: Short link: GREENWICH After a successful first run, Family Centers Inc. will run a second pop-up free testing site for the coronavirus on Friday. A mobile testing unit will set up at the nonprofit agencys health clinic at Wilbur Peck Court. The tests are aimed at low-income residents who might not have access to testing. Free tests will be conducted from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 8 at the clinic, which is located at 111 Wilbur Peck Court. They will administer the rapid test, with positive results for the coronavirus found within three minutes and negative results within 15 minutes. The tests are available to anyone with symptoms of the virus or anyone who has been exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus. Appointments must be made in advance by calling 203-717-1760 before arriving at the clinic. Testing went well at the initial pop-up testing site last week said Dennis Torres, vice president of health care programs at Family Centers. The testing is done through the Community Health Center Association of Connecticut in its partnership with the state Department of Public Health. It was very much a success, Torres said on Thursday. We were able to test 76 people, including 50 with the rapid tests, and we found six positive cases. Those kinds of diagnoses are going to help contain this virus. The clinic should be helpful to people who do not have health insurance or who are concerned about paying their deductible, he said. They hope to do 50 or 60 more tests on Friday, he said. More testing days are possible, if needed, Torres said. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the symptoms of coronavirus include a cough and shortness of breath, along with at least two of the following: fever, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, a sore throat or a new loss of taste or smell. Symptoms may appear between two and 14 days after a person is first exposed 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 serious complications, the CDC said. Greenwich Hospital has been testing for the coronavirus at a site in its employee parking lot since March. As of Wednesday, the hospital reported that 5,344 people have been tested and 1,734 of those tests have come 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, 706 residents had tested positive for coronavirus. According to the state, as of Tuesday, 40 Greenwich residents have died after being diagnosed with the coronavirus. kborsuk@greenwichtime.com By PTI NEW DELHI: Women students on Thursday expressed solidarity with jailed Jamia Millia Islamia student Safoora Zargar, who is three months pregnant and is being trolled online over the identity of her unborn child's father. The students used #WithSafooraAgainstSlander on social media, demanding that the online ''slandering'' against her must stop. Some students even posted their pictures carrying placards with slogans like 'Free Safoora' and 'Drop charges against her' and sought a legal action against those maligning her online. Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union president Aishe Ghosh tweeted a picture of Zargar and wrote, "A pregnant woman, been put behind the bars and the s*** shamming she is facing. Is this what makes our country great ? Arrest #KapilMishra #WithSafooraAgainstSlander. " On Wednesday, the Delhi Commission For Women had issued notice to police over trolls "slandering" Zargar on social media. Zargar, the media coordinator of the Jamia Coordination Committee, was arrested in April in connection with anti-CAA protests in northeast Delhi's Jaffrabad in February. Later, she was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in a case related to the communal violence over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in northeast district and sent to Tihar jail. Italy will give 600,000 illegal migrants the right to stay in the country after the government said they proved essential by caring for the elderly and picking crops during the coronavirus crisis. Unregistered migrants have worked in fields across the country to protect food supplies, all whilst risking being arrested if caught by police. 'The food on our table comes from these fields. Now we must hand over those rights which have been denied to those who work in them,' Peppe Provenzano, minister for the south of Italy, said. The permits - which won't give migrants the right to vote - will be valid for six months and will be renewable. They were proposed by the agricultural minister Teresa Bellanova. Unregistered migrants have worked in fields across the country to protect food supplies, all whilst risking being arrested if caught by police. Pictured: migrants from Nigeria near Naples The measure could be inserted into a temporary government decree with immediate effect but will be voted on in parliament after 60 days, according to The Times. Ms Bellanova said that forcing migrants to hide could mean outbreaks of the disease go unchecked. For example one shanty town near Foggia is home to 3,000 farm pickers - but there's no social distancing, hand sanitiser or masks. The Pope also seemed to back the message yesterday when he condemned the 'harsh exploitation' of migrant farm workers in Italy. He said: 'May the crisis give us the opportunity to make the dignity of the person and of work the centre of our concern.' There are also practical advantages to the new measure as 100,000 Romanian pickers who usually travel to Italy every year cannot fly over due to coronavirus travel bans. 'Italy needs the Indians, Pakistanis and Africans who are here now to fill that gap, and making them legal helps that,' a government source told The Times. The measure would also legalise around 100,000 illegal migrants who work as home carers. Many lost their jobs during lockdown and their permits are dependent on employment. The Pope also seemed to back the message yesterday when he condemned the 'harsh exploitation' of migrant farm workers in Italy. Pictured: a mother and baby in a town near Naples The 100,000 clandestine carers form part of the total number of 650,000 illegal migrants in Italy. Many of the Africans working in fields near Foggia are illegal after losing their jobs in factories in the north and therefore their permits. A local union official said that with permits they can rent somewhere and escape the shanty towns. One sociologist added that if the migrants had permits it would be harder for mafias involved in farming to pay them slave wages in the fields. The Italian farmers' association said it opposed the proposal, preferring the UK scheme of flying in eastern European pickers to make up any shortfall. Former Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini - now in opposition - claimed the government was more concerned with the rights of migrants than jobless Italians. 'It's madness, we will try to stop it by any means, inside and outside parliament,' he said. Vito Crimi, the interim head of Five Star, said he opposed the plan and instead wanted to give Italians receiving unemployment benefits the chance to earn money by picking crops. Ms Bellanova threatened to resign if the measure was blocked. Arson investigators are working to determine what sparked a fire inside an east Houston motel Thursday afternoon. The fire broke out around 1:20 p.m. in a second-story room at the Normandy Inn along the East Freeway at Normandy Street. There were initial reports that someone might be trapped inside the building, but fortunately, no one was found inside. When armed gunmen storm the Michigan state legislature, you know many things are very wrong in the US politically, and above all ideologically. With respect to the world at large, it is a sign of a state of confusion of a magnitude unseen in any contemporary crisis before the COVID-19 pandemic. An unprecedented degree of alarm and uncertainty over the future runs through all views on the post-coronavirus world, regardless of how these views may vary over what the world will look like once the dust settles and after the living bury the dead. The Foreign Affairs periodical solicited the views of 12 leading analysts and intellectuals to identify the contours of the world to come. The result reflected not just sharp disagreement between them, which is natural, but also the methodological and analytical difficulties they faced in contending with this problem. This applies as much to those who approach it from a birds eye view over the large global jungle as it does to those who look at it from the perspective of this or that tree behind which people or their societies are cowering. Some foreign affairs and international relations experts spoke of the end of higher strategies. The US has to think small, they argued. Others countered that the US should do the opposite. So, when one writer held that the US should divvy up spheres of influence with its global rivals, especially Russia and China, another challenged this. The US should not shrink from the international role it was meant to play. The US refused to allow the British Empire to survive after World War II, it fought Soviet domination over Eastern Europe and it did all it could to remain at the helm of the world order because this has been its historical destiny since the Monroe Doctrine that kept other world powers out of the Americas from which hemisphere the US positioned itself to assume the mantle of world leader in the framework of globalisation. There are countless other examples of intellectual confusion not just over the nature of the post-corona world, but its arrival date. There is considerable uncertainty over when this crisis will pass. Even if we presume the discovery of the antidote that will herald its end, this does not preclude a renewed assault or obviate the fact that there is much scientists still do not know about this novel virus. Of course, we can grant that the world was already in a mess before COVID-19 reared its head. Angry tides of opinion had already turned against globalisation and the workings of identity politics had long since pushed peoples inward into the confines of national, ethnic and other such affiliations due to the workings of identity politics. This contraction in horizons comes at a time when the fourth technological revolution and its applications are still progressing, which must cause considerable confusion and anxiety, especially given how world government, international organisations and multiparty regional organisations have weakened and lost their stature and, also, how various multiparty and international treaties are being eyed askance and have begun to unravel. But what does all this mean for us in the Arab world? How are we to handle all the confusion and disruption that are the chief properties of the world today and will remain so in the post-coronavirus world? On 27 April in The Washington Post, King Abdullah II Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan urged, its time to return to globalisation. But this time lets do it right. By right he means rebuilding a globalisation that strengthens and builds capacities within our countries and ushers in true cooperation rather than competition and that recognises that a single country, acting alone, cannot succeed We need to reconfigure international institutions and build new ones where needed. We need to create and sustain new organisations that draw on the skills and resources of different sectors, across national boundaries. The new globalisation that the Jordanian monarch advocates should be founded on a true cooperation that was lacking in the old version because in that version cooperation was tainted by factors related to international power balances and disparities between the haves and have-nots of the main military, economic, technological and soft sources of power. Historically, there have been three responses to this imbalance: to strive to complete or nearly complete self-sufficiency, to side with a superpower or superpower alliance, or to build a regional consortium that strengthens the power and negotiating position of its members. I have often spoken here about the new pan-Arabism that brings together geographically close and ideologically compatible Arab countries that share, among other things, a desire to retain their independence vis-a-vis the great powers, a determination to pursue sweeping economic and social reforms, and the pursuit of moderation and just peace in their regional relations. These countries are Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Arab Gulf countries and Jordan. They have just endured a successful trial against the coronavirus pandemic in which their health, scientific and governmental sectors have demonstrated undeniable valour despite strenuous international circumstances and harsh economic pressures aggravated by plummeting oil prices. These countries have understood that there is no alternative but to reform, diversify sources of wealth and consolidate the foundations of the state in the face of certain transnational ideologies, such as that of the Muslim Brotherhood and its terrorist offshoots, as well as in the face of a mode of globalisation that is controlled by parties that do not play by the rules of fairness. They also know that they cannot deal with the post-corona world on their own, whether that world will bring a better mode of international cooperation, a better equilibrium between China and the US or, as one writer put it, a world that looks at neither Washington or Beijing but rather at Berlin, which managed to cement Europe back together through this crisis, almost making it seem as though Germany had not been defeated in World War II. Naturally, there remain questions the Arabs need to ask themselves at this juncture. To answer them, the Arabs may have to re-examine previous experiments that did not turn out so well. Perhaps at times there will not be enough time for questions, let alone answers, because we are too preoccupied with dealing with the problems of the present and the current obstacles to development, which make it pointless to speculate about other matters. The strategic and economic dangers we face are many. Some are manageable and part of managing them will require a nearly 200 million strong market, a large and robust middle class, an academic and research and development base, significant influxes of tourism and a burgeoning natural gas and oil sector to help fuel things once things settle down again. Although, if things do not settle down, then the Arab consortium centred on the Red Sea and the Gulf has enough to draw on, at least for the coming phase. The writer is chairman of the board, CEO and director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies. *A version of this article appears in print in the 7 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Im Forschungskonsortium iCAIR (Fraunhofer International Consortium for Anti-Infective Research) entwickelt das Fraunhofer ITEM gemeinsam mit dem Institute for Glycomics (IfG) der Griffith University in Australien, der Medizinischen Hochschule Hannover (MHH) und dem TWINCORE , einer Kooperation von MHH und Helmholtz-Zentrum fur Infektionsforschung (HZI), neue, dringend benotigte Wirkstoffe gegen Atemwegsinfektionen. Mit dem Ziel der Entwicklung eines Medikaments gegen COVID-19 kombinieren wir in der Forschungsallianz unsere komplementaren Expertisen und bundeln ein breites Spektrum an Methoden von der Identifizierung therapeutischer Zielstrukturen und Wirkstoffkandidaten uber das Wirkstoffdesign und die Wirksamkeitstestung in praklinischen Modellen bis hin zu toxikologischen Studien, sagt Professor Armin Braun, Leiter der Praklinischen Pharmakologie und Toxikologie am Fraunhofer ITEM und Koordinator des iCAIR-Konsortiums. Zuallererst durchsuchen die Forscher Substanzbibliotheken nach geeigneten Wirkstoffkandidaten, die virostatisch auf SARS-CoV-2 wirken. Dabei haben wir auf Stoffsammlungen zuruckgegriffen, die am IfG und HZI vorhanden sind. Zusatzlich ist das Fraunhofer IME in Hamburg mit dem Institutsteil ScreeningPort und seiner Expertise in der pharmazeutischen Wirkstoffsuche mit dem sogenannten High-Throughput-Screening beteiligt, erlautert Braun. Die infrage kommenden Substanzkandidaten werden noch chemisch modifiziert, um ihre Effizienz und Sicherheit zu optimieren. Die Wirksamkeit und Vertraglichkeit der Wirkstoffkandidaten wird mit anspruchsvollen zellbasierten Infektionsmodellen sowie an menschlichen Prazisionslungenschnitten (PCLS) getestet. Dieses lebensfahige, immunkompetente Lungengewebe ermoglicht eine detaillierte Analyse der biologischen und immunologischen Reaktionen auf das Virus, die in der tiefen Lunge ablaufen dort, wo die SARS-CoV-2-Infektion den groten Schaden anrichtet. Damit steht ein einzigartiges humanes Modellsystem zur Testung der Sicherheit und Wirksamkeit neuer Wirkstoffe zur Verfugung. Die vielversprechendsten Wirkstoffkandidaten werden wir gezielt fur die inhalative Verabreichung weiterentwickeln, denn das Coronavirus-2 infiziert vorwiegend Atemwege und Lunge, erklart Braun. Werden Medikamente uber die Atemwege aufgenommen, konnen hohe lokale Konzentrationen am Infektionsort erreicht werden, wodurch weniger Wirkstoff benotigt wird. Zudem werden systemische Nebenwirkungen minimiert. Am Fraunhofer ITEM testen Experten die fur die inhalative Verabreichung ausgewahlten Wirkstoffe. Sie verwenden dafur ein eigens entwickeltes und patentiertes In-vitro-Expositionssystem, den P.R.I.T. ExpoCube. Mit diesem System kann die inhalative Verabreichung der Wirkstoffe in die Lunge anhand von menschlichen Atemwegsepithelzellen oder PCLS nachgestellt werden. Mogliche lokale zytotoxische Effekte konnen so ausgeschlossen und die besten Kandidaten fur die weitere praklinische Entwicklung ermittelt werden. Unser Anspruch in iCAIR ist hoch: Wir wollen gemeinsam neue Wirkstoffe schnellstmoglich vom Labor in die praklinische Phase uberfuhren. Denn zwischen der Entdeckung neuer Substanzen und deren Weiterentwicklung zu anwendbaren Medikamenten klafft derzeit eine Lucke, die wir mit unserer geballten Synergie in der aktuellen Situation noch schneller schlieen mussen, um die COVID-19-Pandemie einzudammen, sagt Professor Mark von Itzstein, Direktor des IfG und Projektleiter des australischen iCAIR-Teams. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1164898/iCAIR_Medical_Research.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/973057/Fraunhofer_Logo.jpg Dr. Cathrin Nastevska, [email protected], +49 511 5350-225 SOURCE Fraunhofer-Institut fur Toxikologie und Experimentelle Medizin ITEM The Emirates Centre for Government Knowledge (ECGK), the management consulting arm of the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG), has launched its Ask an Expert initiative with the aim of creating a valuable source of applied public management knowledge on the internet. Available on the professional social networking site LinkedIn, the platform has been set up to provide expert advisory opinion and facilitate the discussion of questions posed by the public about a variety of public management issues. Having addressed Human Resources Management in its first session, Ask an Expert will discuss Governance and Organisational Development today (Thursday, May 7). Live every Thursday for two hours from 12-2pm, the initiative provides an opportunity for experts and the public to find solutions to current and future public management and governance challenges and to raise various questions through the ECGKs profile on LinkedIn. The questions will be answered by a team of more than 70 resident and non-resident consultants from various disciplines from the ECGK. Dr Ali bin Sabaa Al-Marri, Executive President of MBRSG, affirmed that the school devotes its capabilities to engage students, specialists and members of the public who are interested in interacting and debating various issues related to management, administration and policy. He said that a main aspect of the schools mandate was to spread knowledge through platforms that can effectively facilitate communication between MBRSG and the public. "The Ask an Expert initiative reflects the continuous efforts of MBRSG to establish a learning approach based on spreading knowledge to the widest range using modern technology, especially in light of the current situation that requires us to reach out to scientific and academic societies and leaders in the government and private sectors. The platform enables us to strengthen our role in improving government performance in various fields in order to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and to continue to work efficiently and effectively, he said. "We are making every effort to provide real scientific value that leaves a sustainable impact for our students and government leaders in the UAE and the region. The forthcoming period will witness the launch of more initiatives through which we will be able to find solutions to all our current and future challenges, he added. The Ask an Expert initiative targets leaders and decision-makers in the federal and local governments in the UAE, the GCC, and the region as a whole. It also aims to be highly relevant to those who seek to understand and learn about the UAEs best practices, those who are interested in the public management, students conducting research as part of their graduate degrees (masters and graduate students). "Ask an Expert is an innovative initiative that uses modern communication technology to create a change in the methodology of distance learning and consulting. It employs LinkedIns flexible tools in disseminating knowledge and exchanging knowledge, expertise, insights and solutions on various management-related topics, said Sarah Talib, Director of the ECGK. "The initiative represents a sustainable reference for various public management specialisations. Ask an Expert enables its live discussions and content to be available to everyone and can be referred to at any time. This allows students, specialists and those interested in developing their respective fields of public management, to make the most of them, as a reliable and sustainable reference, Talib added. Talib pointed out that the Human Resources Management discussion that kicked off the initiative last week, touched on the role of human resources departments to take advantage of the current coronavirus pandemic and to turn it into an opportunity to develop and transform mindsets and the organisational cultures of their respective institutions. The session explored the extent of the current crisiss impact on human resources policies and the necessary policies and legislations that will need to be enacted post-COVID-19. It also discussed the feasibility of having different psychological qualifications for human resources departments and examined the necessity of achieving institutional development and shifting from the notions of human resources management to talent management, as well as the role of Artificial Intelligence and various technologies in providing human resources services post-pandemic. Talib highlighted that the inaugural discussion attracted more than 2,000 followers on ECGKs profile and received more than 100 questions, which were answered by the consultants at the centre. She said the topics that will be covered by the Ask an Expert initiative in the coming weeks will include Strategy and Organisational Performance, Innovation Management and Knowledge Management. -- Tradearabia News Service Embree L. Robinson TRC is saddened to announce the passing of Embree Robinson, co-founder and current TRC Chairman of the Board. In 1980, Embree was one of the original founders of TRC Staffing along with friend and business partner Roy Cannon. As a pillar in the Staffing community, both locally and nationally, Embree helped build TRC on principles and values that reflect the highest level of service to candidate and client alike. TRC became one of the fastest-growing temporary staffing companies in the US, helping Embree earn Ernst & Youngs Entrepreneur of the Year award in 1987. Through his leadership, acute knowledge of the marketplace, and ability to embrace change, Embree built an organization that has remained profitable each of its 40 years, even in tough market conditions. In January of 2009, he stepped out of the day-to-day operations of the company, handing over that responsibility to his son Brian Robinson as President and CEO. Throughout these last 11 years, Embree still remained on as Chairman of the Board of Directors and continued to serve as a close advisor. Although he is no longer with us, Embrees legacy will forever remain in both the organization and the lives of so many people that he mentored and invested in throughout the years. He is survived by Karen, his wife of 50 years, their children Christina and Brian, and grandchildren Tyler, Katie, and Emma. To learn more about the life and legacy of Embree Robinson, please click here. About TRC Staffing Services, Inc. TRC Staffing Services, Inc. is a full-service workforce solutions provider with 40 years of industry experience. Established in 1980, TRC is one of the largest privately-held staffing firms in the country. Like his father, President and CEO Brian Robinson remains focused on the idea that the marketplace continues to need a business built on principles and values, committed to providing the highest level of service in the industry. TRC has 38 locations in 12 states, providing traditional staffing services, professional and technical staffing, and management services to some of the country's leading companies. For more information, visit http://www.trcstaffing.com. SSI Energy, one of the leading provider of medical and technical personnel to the energy industry, has partnered with CHC, a global helicopter service company specialising in providing travel to remote and challenging locations. The partnership has been launched in response to the energy industrys requirements during the Covid-19 crisis, the company said in a statement. The North Sea platforms provide a bleak and isolated work environment at the best of times but the additional threat that Covid-19 brings has seen the operations around personnel safety intensify. The prevention of Covid-19 reaching the platforms in the North Sea is critical for operations to continue. The SSI-Energy/CHC partnership offers operators a collaborative turnkey solution to mitigate this risk. Screening centres, employing specialist SSI Energy medics, were quickly set up at airports to reduce the chance of transmitting the disease offshore. Simultaneously, work was undertaken to address a worse-case scenario - Covid-19 being present on a rig or vessel. CHC provided specialist Covid-19-adapted helicopters that could pick up infected personnel and bring them back to shore. This operation is supported by SSI Energy medics who accompany the helicopter to ensure any Covid-19 patients are given the best possible care, it said. SSI Energys Medical Director, Paddy Morgan, and his clinical governance team have scrutinised procedures to ensure that offshore personnel can receive the best medical care available at a moments notice. An SSI Energy medic can be mobilised via CHCs Covid-19 helicopter in under an hour, reaching the suspected case no more than three hours from the initial call. The safety and health of operatives working in the offshore industry is of paramount importance. SSI Energy have been forward thinking enough to realise that the key to flexible, professional and cutting-edge medical services has been to engage a suitably qualified and medically current Clinical Governance team to make sure that all medical aspects of any tasking are appropriate and timely. This enables us to offer a high level of care to our patients and maximum protection for any of the SSI Energy Medics on tasking. These in harmony assist overall performance and delivery of bespoke medical solutions like the CHC partnership. CHC and SSI have mirrored this partnership operation in Aberdeen, following its successful set up in Norwich. Lee James, Deputy General Operations Manager at CHC explained: We quickly recognised that the virus could have a significant impact on our customers operations. CHC developed a helicopter solution providing a dedicated aircraft and crew assigned to the recovery of suspected Covid-19 passengers, including, when requested, a fully qualified on-board medic. The service has been welcomed by our customers, allowing normal operations to be maintained whilst ensuring affected passengers are quickly and safely flown back to base.--TradeArabia News Service On Thursday night, the Brooklyn district attorneys office became the first prosecutor in the city to release statistics on social-distancing enforcement. In the borough, the police arrested 40 people for social-distancing violations from March 17 through May 4, the district attorneys office said. Of those arrested, 35 people were black, four were Hispanic and one was white. More than a third of the arrests were made in the predominantly black neighborhood of Brownsville. No arrests were made in the more white Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope. Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has long denounced the unconstitutional stop and frisk practices of the Bloomberg administration, has found himself in recent days forced to explain why enforcement of social distancing in predominantly minority neighborhoods is different than stop and frisk. At a news conference on Thursday, Mr. de Blasio called the comparison false, saying that the two approaches had nothing in common. What happened with stop and frisk was a systematic, oppressive, unconstitutional strategy that created a new problem much bigger than anything it purported to solve, he said. This is the farthest thing from that. This is addressing a pandemic. This is addressing the fact that lives are in danger all the time. By definition, our police department needs to be a part of that because safety is what they do. The developer planning to build homes on an unburnt patch of forest on the NSW South Coast has agreed to a two-week halt in land clearing while discussions about a land swap proceed. Greens MP David Shoebridge said Ozy Homes, the firm looking to build 182 homes near the town of Manyana, has agreed to a delay "to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome that will save the forest". The region is surrounded by the Conjola National Park, an area hard hit by last summer's bushfires. Developers have temporarily halted plans to develop unburnt forest land near the town of Manyana on the NSW South Coast after protests. Credit:AAP Mr Shoebridge has written to Planning Minister Rob Stokes to encourage him to join an online meeting next Wednesday with Shoalhaven mayor Amanda Findley and Ozy Homes boss Ghazi Sangari. VANCOUVER, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Equinox Gold Corp. (TSX: EQX, NYSE American: EQX) ("Equinox Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a positive preliminary economic assessment ("PEA") for development of an underground mine at the Company's 100% owned Aurizona Gold Mine ("Aurizona") in Brazil. The underground mine could be operated concurrently with the existing open-pit mine and has the potential to deliver an additional 740,500 ounces ("oz") of gold, $1 billion in revenue and $204 million in after-tax net cash flow over a ten-year mine life at a base case gold price of $1,350 per oz. PEA Highlights for the Piaba Underground Mine (at $1,350/oz gold) 740,500 oz gold production from the underground mine, in addition to existing open-pit gold production 2,800 tonnes per day ("t/d") mill feed at steady state from the underground mine PEA mine plan incorporates 2.8 million tonnes of Indicated Resources grading 2.73 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold and 6.2 million tonnes of Inferred Resources grading 2.89 g/t gold Mined using low-cost long-hole open stoping method Processed using the existing 8,000 t/d plant and other existing surface infrastructure Initial capital costs of $69.7 million and sustaining capital of $138.4 million 1 and sustaining capital of $1 billion gross revenue with a post-tax net cashflow of $204 million gross revenue with a post-tax net cashflow of All-in sustaining costs of $925 /oz 1 /oz $122 million after-tax net present value discounted at 5% ("NPV 5% ") ( $228 million at $1,620 /oz gold) after-tax net present value discounted at 5% ("NPV ") ( at /oz gold) 25% internal rate of return ("IRR") (38% at $1,620 /oz gold) 1 Sustaining capital and all-in sustaining costs are non-IFRS measures. See Cautionary Notes. Christian Milau, CEO of Equinox Gold, stated: "This PEA demonstrates the substantial opportunity for both mine life extension and increased annual gold production at Aurizona through development of an underground mine. With the potential for expansions to the current open-pit, additions of other near-surface resources and further opportunities for Piaba underground resource expansion at depth and along strike, Aurizona is expected to be a long-life cornerstone asset for Equinox Gold." The PEA is included in Section 24 of the "Technical Report on the Aurizona Gold Mine, Brazil" (the "Technical Report") dated April 27, 2020. The Technical Report was prepared by AGP Mining Consultants Inc. ("AGP") with contributions by Equity Exploration Consultants ("Equity") and will be filed within 45 days on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/EDGAR and on the Company's website at www.equinoxgold.com. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the results contemplated in the PEA will be realized. Overview The Piaba mineral deposit contains high-grade gold mineralization in a multiple vein system that extends at least 4 kilometres along the Aurizona Shear Zone. The mineralization extends below the open-pit that is currently in production at Aurizona, has been drill tested to a depth of approximately 600 metres from surface and remains open at depth and along strike. The current underground portion of the resource estimate includes an Indicated Resource of 7.3 million tonnes grading 1.96 g/t gold and an Inferred Resource of 16.5 million tonnes grading 1.98 g/t gold. Only the portion of the Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource that is within the PEA mine design and above a cut-off grade of 1.50 g/t to 1.85 g/t (depending on depth) is included in the base case PEA underground mine plan. The underground deposit could be mined and processed concurrently with mill feed from the open-pit at Aurizona resulting in a higher average mill feed grade. Underground mine production would be processed through the existing 8,000 t/d plant and use other existing surface infrastructure. Base case PEA economics for the underground mine were determined using a gold price of $1,350/oz and include a 1.5% royalty payable to the Brazilian government and a 3% royalty payable to Sandstorm Gold Royalties2. 2 Sandstorm royalty rate increases to 4% at gold prices from $1,500 to $2,000/oz and 5% at gold prices over $2,000/oz. Table 1: Summary of Results of Base Case PEA for the Piaba Underground Mine Description Unit Value Gold Price (base case) $/oz $1,350 Underground Production Tonnes1 kt 9,014 Grade1 g/t gold 2.84 Contained Gold koz 823.6 Recovery % 90% Gold Sold koz 740.5 Net Revenue $M $999.6 Capital Costs Initial Project Capital $M $69.7 Sustaining Capital2 $M $138.4 Financial Results All-In Sustaining Costs2 $/oz $925 Life of Mine Net Cashflow $M $204.2 After-tax Net Present Value (5%) $M $122.2 After-tax Internal Rate of Return % 24.9 Payback Period Years 3.3 1. The base case PEA underground mine plan extracts 2.8 million tonnes of Indicated Resources grading 2.73 g/t gold and 6.2 million tonnes of Inferred Resources grading 2.89 g/t gold over an operating period of approximately ten years. 2. Sustaining capital and all-in sustaining costs are non-IFRS measures. See Cautionary Notes. Mining The PEA contemplates development of an underground mine along a total strike length of 3.3 kilometres to access an initial eight separate mining areas. The internal ramps will be accessed from surface by a common main double ramp arrangement developed directly into fresh rock from within the existing open-pit. All mine development is in more stable rock units located on the hangingwall side of the mineralized body (Figure 1). Figure 1: PEA Underground Development Design (isometric view to southwest) Below Piaba Open-Pit The proposed mining method is long-hole stoping due to the good ground conditions and steep dip of the deposit. The PEA contemplates owner mining of stopes and underground development. Completed stopes would be filled by rockfill from underground development or open-pit waste. The addition of cement to rockfill is confined to the higher-grade areas where mining recovery can be maximized by eliminating the need for rib pillars and above sill pillars. First mill feed from the underground mine would be expected approximately 2.25 years after the start of underground mine development, with steady-state production of 2,800 t/d being achieved at the end of year four and continuing through year 11 within the currently defined mineral resource (Figure 2). The mine plan schedules higher-grade areas earlier in the underground mine life to enhance mine economics (Figure 3). Figure 2: PEA Production Schedule for Piaba Underground Mine Figure 3: PEA Recovered Gold for Piaba Underground Mine Capital & Operating Costs The underground mine will use and benefit from the existing process plant and other infrastructure currently used by the operating open-pit mine including power, water and tailings storage facilities. No additional processing or other surface infrastructure is contemplated in the PEA and capital estimates are confined to underground mine development and sustaining costs. Initial capital costs are estimated at $69.7 million and sustaining capital is estimated at $138.4 million over the duration of the PEA mine plan (Table 2). Total initial and sustaining capital cost estimates include a 25% contingency and recoverable and non-recoverable taxes. Table 2: Summary of Base Case PEA Underground Mine Capital Estimates Description Initial Capital ($M) Sustaining Capital ($M) Underground Mine Development 27.7 70.3 Initial Purchase of Mobile Equipment 17.9 21.6 Mobile Equipment Replacement - 6.0 Mine Infrastructure 5.8 5.2 Contingency (25%) 12.9 25.8 Non-recoverable Taxes 3.5 6.2 Recoverable Taxes 1.8 3.4 Total1 69.7 138.4 1. Numbers may not sum due to rounding. Base case PEA operating costs and site all-in sustaining costs for the underground mine are provided in Table 3. Table 3: Summary of Base Case PEA Operating Costs and AISC1 Description $/tonne $/oz Underground Mining 33.82 412 Processing 12.13 148 G&A 4.89 60 Non-recoverable Taxes (Operating) 45 Refining and Transport 20 Sub-total Cash Costs 683 Royalties 60 Total Cash Costs 743 Sustaining Capital Costs1 174 Non-recoverable Taxes (Capital) 8 All-In Sustaining Costs1 925 1. Sustaining capital and all-in sustaining costs are non-IFRS measures. See Cautionary Notes. Economic Sensitivities Using the base case gold price of $1,350/oz the underground mine has an after-tax NPV 5% of $122 million and an after-tax IRR of 25%. At $1,620/oz gold, the after-tax NPV 5% increases to $228 million with an after-tax IRR of 38%. The project's NPV 5% is most sensitive to fluctuations in the gold price, as summarized in the table below. Table 4: Base Case PEA After-tax NPV 5% Sensitivity to Gold Price and Cost Inputs ($M)1 Input -20% -10% Base Case +10% +20% Gold Price $3 $63 $122 $179 $228 Operating Costs $180 $151 $122 $92 $61 Capital Costs1 $152 $137 $122 $107 $92 1 Includes initial capital and sustaining capital costs. See Cautionary Notes. The PEA includes the results of additional studies examining potential improvements in overall mine (open-pit and underground) economics by raising the elevation of the current interface between the open-pit and underground mine and accelerating mine development to increase annual underground production rates. In all cases assessed, the addition of the underground component to the Aurizona open-pit operation as outlined in the July 2017 "Feasibility Study on the Aurizona Gold Mine Project, Maranhao, Brazil" (the "Feasibility Study") improves the net life-of-mine cash flow and NPV. The PEA clearly demonstrates the benefits of including underground mining beneath the currently defined Piaba open-pit, with the base case PEA underground development resulting in the highest NPV 5% . However, future delineation of additional open-pit reserves may improve the economics of alternative underground scenarios. Mineral Resources As reported by Equinox Gold on March 19, 2019, independent open-pit and underground resource models were prepared for Aurizona to provide an improved basis for assessing the potential for an underground mine. The underground resource model was informed by an updated geological model consisting of 16 high-grade gold-bearing structures having an average thickness of 3 metres to 6 metres and coincident with increased veining, sulphide mineralization and grades greater than or equal to 0.7 g/t gold. The open-pit and underground resource models are separated by a datum defined by a surface that is 20 metres below the lower of the upper contact of the fresh rock or the base of the Feasibility Study reserve open-pit. The Aurizona underground mineral resource is summarized in Table 5. Table 5: Aurizona Underground Mineral Resource Estimate Category Tonnes (kt) Grade (g/t) Contained Gold (koz) Total Underground Resource Indicated 7,317 1.96 460 Inferred 16,500 1.98 1,052 Portion of Underground Resource Used in PEA Mine Plan Indicated 2,832 2.73 249 Inferred 6,183 2.89 575 Notes. The underground resource estimate has an effective date of December 31, 2019 and is included in Section 14 of the "Technical Report on the Aurizona Gold Mine, Brazil" dated April 27, 2020 that will be filed within 45 days. The underground resource estimate presented herein is unchanged from the underground resource estimate disclosed by Equinox Gold in a press release dated March 19, 2019 that is available on the Company's website, on SEDAR and on EDGAR. Mineral resources are reported using a gold price of $1,500/oz gold, a cut-off grade of 1.0 g/t gold and constrained by using a 1.0 g/t gold confining solid. Mineral resources are reported exclusive of reserves. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of a mineral resource will be converted into mineral reserves. Numbers have been rounded to reflect the accuracy of the estimate. See Technical Disclosure and Cautionary Notes. Only a portion of underground Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources were considered in the PEA. The PEA underground mine plan used cut-off grades ranging from 1.50 g/t to 1.85 g/t gold. The 1.50 g/t gold cut-off grade was applied to material within 200 vertical metres of the delivery point elevation, and the cut-off grade was increased for every 100 vertical metres of depth to a depth of 500 vertical metres below the delivery point. A cut-off grade of 1.85 g/t gold was applied to all material greater than 500 vertical metres below the delivery point elevation. The portion of the underground Indicated and Inferred Resource used in the PEA underground mine plan, after application of the higher cut-off grades and base case PEA mine design, includes Indicated Resources of 2.8 million tonnes grading 2.73 g/t gold and Inferred Resources of 6.2 million tonnes grading 2.89 g/t gold (Table 5). Next Steps Equinox Gold will continue to advance studies focused on underground development and intends to complete a pre-feasibility study for the Piaba underground mine in 2021. The Company has commenced a 17,000-metre drill program aimed primarily at converting underground Inferred Resources to Indicated Resources in support of the pre-feasibility study. Future drilling will also target expansion of the Piaba underground deposit at depth and along strike. Qualified Persons Gordon Zurowski, P. Eng. (AGP), Neil Lincoln, P. Eng. (AGP), Eleanor Black, P. Geo. (Equity), and Trevor Rabb, P. Geo. (Equity) are the qualified persons as defined under National Instrument 43-101 that prepared the technical report entitled "Technical Report on the Aurizona Gold Mine, Brazil" dated April 27, 2020, which forms the basis of the disclosure and the PEA that is described in this news release. All of the qualified persons are independent of the Company and reviewed and approved of the contents of this news release. The mineral resource estimates were prepared in accordance with standards as defined by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") "CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves" adopted by CIM Council on May 10, 2014. Scott Heffernan, MSc, P.Geo., Equinox Gold's EVP Exploration, is responsible for the drilling programs at Aurizona, is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 for Equinox Gold and has reviewed, approved and verified the technical content of this news release. Doug Reddy, Equinox Gold's EVP Technical Services, is also a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 for Equinox Gold and has also reviewed and verified the content of this news release. About Equinox Gold Equinox Gold is a Canadian mining company with six producing gold mines, a multi-million-ounce gold reserve base and a strong growth profile from two development projects and two expansion projects. Equinox Gold operates entirely in the Americas, with two properties in the United States, one in Mexico and five in Brazil. Equinox Gold's common shares are listed on the TSX and the NYSE American under the trading symbol EQX. Further information about Equinox Gold's portfolio of assets and long-term growth strategy is available at www.equinoxgold.com or by email at [email protected]. Cautionary Notes and Forward-looking Statements Non-IFRS Measures This news release refers to all-in sustaining costs ("AISC"), AISC per ounce sold and sustaining and non-sustaining capital expenditures that are measures with no standardized meaning under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), i.e. they are non-IFRS measures, and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Their measurement and presentation is 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. AISC per Ounce Sold AISC per gold oz sold is a non-IFRS measure based on guidance announced by the World Gold Council ("WGC") in September 2013 and updated in November 2018. The WGC is a non-profit association of the world's leading gold mining companies established in 1987 to promote the use of gold to industry, consumers and investors. The WGC is not a regulatory body and does not have the authority to develop accounting standards or disclosure requirements. The WGC has worked with its member companies to develop a measure that expands on IFRS measures such as operating expenses and non-IFRS measures to provide visibility into the economics of a gold mining Company. Current IFRS measures used in the gold industry, such as operating expenses, do not capture all the expenditures incurred to discover, develop and sustain gold production. The Company believes the AISC measure provides further transparency into costs associated with producing gold and will assist analysts, investors and other stakeholders of the Company in assessing its operating performance, its ability to generate free cash flow from current operations and its overall value. Combined AISC does not include corporate G&A. Technical Disclosure The 2020 Piaba underground resource estimate was prepared by Trevor Rabb, P.Geo of Equity Exploration Consultants Ltd. Mr Rabb is a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101 and is considered to be "independent" for the purposes of Section 1.5 of NI 43-101. The underground resource estimate has an effective date of December 31, 2019 and is included in Section 14 of the "Technical Report on the Aurizona Gold Mine, Brazil" (the "Technical Report") dated April 27, 2020, that will be filed on SEDAR, on EDGAR and on the Company's website within the next 45 days. The underground resource estimate presented herein is unchanged from the underground resource estimate disclosed by Equinox Gold in a press release dated March 19, 2019 that is available on the Company's website, on SEDAR and on EDGAR. Mineral resources are reported using a gold price of $1,500/oz gold, a cut-off grade of 1.0 g/t gold and constrained by using a 1.0 g/t gold confining solid. Mineral resources are reported exclusive of reserves. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of a mineral resource will be converted into mineral reserves. Numbers have been rounded to reflect the accuracy of the estimate. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the results contemplated in the PEA will be realized. Estimates of Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources Information regarding resource estimates has been prepared in accordance with Canadian standards under applicable Canadian securities laws and may not be comparable to similar information for United States companies. The terms "Mineral Resource", "Indicated Mineral Resource" and "Inferred Mineral Resource" used in this news release are Canadian mining terms as defined in accordance with NI 43-101 under guidelines set out in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves adopted by the CIM Council on May 10, 2014. While the terms "Mineral Resource", "Measured Mineral Resource", "Indicated Mineral Resource" and "Inferred Mineral Resource" are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, they are not defined terms under standards of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Under United States standards, mineralization may not be classified as a "reserve" unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the reserve calculation is made. As such, certain information contained in this news release concerning descriptions of mineralization and resources under Canadian standards is not comparable to similar information made public by United States companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. An Inferred Mineral Resource has a great amount of uncertainty as to its existence and as to its economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of Inferred Mineral Resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. Readers are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of Measured or Indicated Resources will ever be converted into Mineral Reserves. Readers are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource exists or is economically or legally mineable. In addition, the definitions of "Proven Mineral Reserves" and "Probable Mineral Reserves" under CIM standards differ in certain respects from the standards of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking Statements This news release includes certain statements that constitute "forward-looking statements", and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws collectively "forward-looking statements". These include statements regarding the growth potential of the Company. When used in this news release, words such as "will", "could", "potential", "would", "contemplates", "proposed", "expected", "plan", "budget", "expected", "estimated", "may", "continue", "advance", "intends", "growth" and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements as well as phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation of such terms. As well, forward-looking statements may relate to future outlook and anticipated events, such as the Company's intention and ability to advance the Aurizona underground mine to a pre-feasibility level, the results of exploration drilling and the Company's ability to convert Inferred Resources to Indicated Resources for inclusion in a pre-feasibility study, the timing for completion of a pre-feasibility study, the likelihood of the Company ultimately advancing the underground mine to production, and the Company's ability to achieve the production and cost estimates outlined in the PEA. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the results contemplated in the PEA will be realized. Forward-looking statements also refer to the Company's ability to advance its development and expansion projects and achieve its growth objectives. These forward-looking statements involve assumptions, numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the Company's control including risks associated with or related to the volatility of metal prices and the Company's shares, there being no significant disruptions affecting the Company's operations or projects, risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic including government and health authority responses and increased regulations and restrictions regarding the flow of labour, materials and impact on the Company's business, projects and operations, as well as the risk factors identified in Equinox Gold's year-end MD&A dated February 28, 2020, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and EDGAR at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time those statements are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date those statements are made. The COVID-19 situation is changing rapidly and Equinox Gold will continue to review and adapt its response protocols as the situation unfolds, applying guidelines outlined by the World Health Organization and governments of countries within which the Company operates. The extent to which COVID-19 (or any other disease, epidemic or pandemic) impacts business activity, operations or financial results, and the duration of any such impact, will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information that may emerge concerning COVID-19 and the actions required to contain or treat its impact, among others. Except as required by applicable law, Equinox Gold assumes no obligation to update or to publicly announce the results of any change to any forward-looking statement contained or incorporated by reference herein to reflect actual results, future events or developments, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting the forward-looking statements. If Equinox Gold updates any one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that the company will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. SOURCE Equinox Gold Corp. The man accused of killing three men in a string of shootings on Houston's southwest side late Wednesday night was captured hours later. Joshua Kelsey, 35, was spotted driving a Kia Forte that was taken from one of the three victims hours after the killings, according to Houston police. Police identified him as the suspect in the shootings, although no formal charges appear to have been filed yet. Discovery Drills 168.8 m of 207 g/t AgEq, Comprised of 70 g/t Ag, 0.10 g/t Au, 1.5% Pb&1.9% Zn, Along North-East Extension at its Cordero Project, Mexico Posted by Publisher Internet Discovery Metals Corp. (TSX-V: DSV, OTCQX: DSVMF) (?Discovery? or the ?Company? https://www.commodity-tv.com/play/discovery-metals-finding-high-grade-silver-with-long-intercepts-in-mexico/ ) is pleased to announce results from eight diamond drill holes completed at its flagship Cordero project (?Cordero? or ?the Project?) located in Chihuahua State, Mexico. The holes are part of a 30,000-35,000 metre (?m?) Phase 1 drill program that commenced in September 2019. The goal of this program is to define a high-margin project with scale that retains excellent leverage to rising metal prices. Drill holes for this current release (C20-317 through C20-324) were focused on defining and extending the higher-grade mineralized footprint to the north-east and south-west of the previously defined limits of the Pozo de Plata zone. Taj Singh, President and CEO, states: ?These drill results continue to illustrate the strongly mineralized footprint at Cordero. Hole C20-319, the furthest north-east hole drilled by Discovery for which assays have been received, intercepted 168.8 m of 207 g/t AgEq1 (70 g/t Ag, 0.10 g/t Au, 1.5% Pb and 1.9% Zn). Hole C20-317, the Company?s furthest south-west hole drilled to date, intercepted 79.0 m of 159 AgEq1 g/t (90 g/t Ag, 0.22 g/t Au, 0.9% Pb and 0.5% Zn). In total there is approximately 1,250 m of strike extent between these two holes. This not only demonstrates the sheer scale of the mineralized system but the broad widths and excellent grades near-surface also highlight the high-margin potential that exists at Cordero.? DISCUSSION: 48 holes totaling 17,500 m have been completed to date at Cordero. Assays from 16 holes are pending. All holes have been drilled roughly perpendicular to the main structural north-east trend of higher-grade mineralization. Initial drilling from the Phase 1 drill program was focused on understanding the mineralizing controls in the Cordero system. Drill holes for this current release were focused on testing and defining the mineralization potential to the north-east and the south-west of the core Pozo de Plata zone. Drill hole locations of these holes are shown in Figure 1 (see Supporting Materials section). North-East Extension Drilling north-east of Pozo de Plata confirmed broad zones of silver-rich breccia mineralization across a strike length along this extension of approximately 600 m. Hole C20-319, the northeastern-most hole drilled by the Company for which assay results have been received, intercepted 168.8 m of 207 g/t AgEq1 (70 g/t Ag, 0.10 g/t Au, 1.5% Pb and 1.9% Zn).? The remaining holes in this news release drilled along this north-east trend also intercepted wide zones of breccia-hosted mineralization. Subsequent drilling has targeted mineralization further north-east of hole C20-319. South-West Extension Four holes were drilled to test the mineralization continuity to the south-west of Pozo de Plata. Hole C20-317, drilled 400 m south-west of Pozo de Plata, intercepted 79.0 m of 159 g/t AgEq1 (90 g/t Ag, 0.22 g/t Au, 0.9% Pb and 0.5% Zn) from surface, confirming the extension and continuation of near surface breccia-hosted mineralization in this direction. Supporting Materials Supporting maps and sections, drill hole locations and full assay results can be found at the following link: https://dsvmetals.com/site/assets/files/5187/20200507_sections_assays.pdf A copy of this release with supporting maps and sections included as appendices can be found at the following link: https://dsvmetals.com/site/assets/files/5187/20200507_drill_results.pdf DRILL UPDATE: The Company announced on March 31, 2020, that it had temporarily suspended all exploration activities at its Mexican operations due to the increased health and safety risks associated with the growing number of COVID-19 cases in the country. The shutdown is expected to last until at least May 30, 2020, as per the most recent administrative order from the Federal Government of Mexico suspending all non-essential business activities until that date. The Company has put in place business continuity plans so that exploration activity can quickly ramp up once it is deemed safe to do so. About the Cordero Project Cordero is located on the eastern edge of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains in the northern part of the Central Mexican Silver Belt, Mexico?s premier porphyry and carbonate replacement deposit district. Mineralization at Cordero is similar in nature to well-known nearby bulk tonnage precious metals mines and projects (e.g. Newmont Corporation?s Penasquito Mine and Orla Mining Ltd.?s Camino Rojo project). Historical mine workings and prospects at Cordero date back to the 17th century. There are currently about 40 shallow, vertical shafts and associated workings identified at Cordero, generally developed along outcropping, southwest-striking, high-grade silver-zinc-lead-gold sulphide veins as well as high-grade skarn mineralization. Local artisanal miners report most of the past and recent production was direct shipping ore, which was hand-sorted, shipped, and processed in the nearby town of Parral. Despite a long history of mining, these veins have never been explored by drilling, and have the potential to add significantly to the high-grade mineral endowment at Cordero. About Discovery Discovery Metals Corp. (TSX-V: DSV, OTCQX: DSVMF) is a Canadian exploration and development company headquartered in Toronto, Canada, and focused on historic mining districts in Mexico. Discovery?s flagship is its 100%-owned Cordero silver project in Chihuahua State, Mexico. The 35,000-hectare property covers a large district that hosts the announced resource as well as numerous exploration targets for bulk tonnage diatreme-hosted, porphyry-style, and carbonate replacement deposits. In addition, Discovery is also exploring multiple high-grade carbonate replacement-style silver-zinc-lead showings in a land package of approximately 150,000 hectares in Coahuila State, Mexico. The land holdings contain numerous historical direct-ship ore workings and significant underground development, but no drill-testing has ever been carried out on them. TECHNICAL NOTES & REFERENCES: 1 All results in this news release are rounded. Assays are uncut and undiluted. Widths are drilled widths, not true widths, as a full interpretation of the actual orientation of mineralization is not complete. Composites for this release were chosen at a 25 g/t AgEq cutoff, whereby no more than 5m of below-cutoff material is included in any composite interval. AgEq calculations are used as the basis for total metal content calculations given Ag is the dominant metal constituent as a percentage of AgEq value in approximately 70% of the Company?s mineralized intercepts. AgEq calculations for reported drill results are based on USD $16.50/oz Ag, $1,350/oz Au, $0.85/lb Pb, $1.00/lb Zn, and assume 100% metallurgical recovery. Refer to note two below for metallurgical recoveries assumed in the 2018 PEA completed on Cordero. 2 The most recent technical report for the Cordero Project is the 2018 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) authored by M3 Engineering and Technology Corp and includes the most recent resource estimate, completed by Independent Mining Consultants, Inc. It is available on Discovery?s website and on SEDAR under Levon Resources Ltd. The PEA assumes metallurgical recoveries of 89% for Ag, 84% for Pb, 72% for Zn and 40% for Au. Sample analysis and QA/QC Program: True widths of reported drill intercepts have not been determined. Assays are uncut except where indicated. All core assays are from HQ drill core unless stated otherwise. Drill core is logged and sampled in a secure core storage facility located at the project site 40km north of the city of Parral. Core samples from the program are cut in half, using a diamond cutting saw, and are sent to ALS Geochemistry-Mexico for preparation in Chihuahua City, Mexico, and subsequently pulps are sent to ALS Vancouver, Canada, which is an accredited mineral analysis laboratory, for analysis. All samples are prepared using a method whereby the entire sample is crushed to 70% passing -2mm, a split of 250g is taken and pulverized to better than 85% passing 75 microns. Samples are analyzed for gold using standard Fire Assay-AAS techniques (Au-AA24) from a 50g pulp.? Over limits are analyzed by fire assay and gravimetric finish. Samples are also analyzed using thirty three-element inductively coupled plasma method (?ME-ICP61?). Over limit sample values are re-assayed for: (1) values of zinc > 1%; (2) values of lead > 1%; and (3) values of silver > 100 g/t. Samples are re-assayed using the ME-OG62 (high-grade material ICP-AES) analytical package. For values of silver greater than 1,500 g/t, samples are re-assayed using the Ag-CON01 analytical method, a standard 30 g fire assay with gravimetric finish. Certified standards and blanks are routinely inserted into all sample shipments to ensure integrity of the assay process. Selected samples are chosen for duplicate assay from the coarse reject and pulps of the original sample. No QAQC issues were noted with the results reported herein. Qualified Person: Gernot Wober, P.Geo, VP Exploration, Discovery Metals Corp., is the Company\-\-s designated Qualified Person for this news release within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (?NI 43-101?) and has reviewed and validated that the information contained in this news release is accurate. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release is not for distribution to United States newswire services or for dissemination in the United States. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, including any of the securities in the United States of America. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the ?1933 Act?) or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for account or benefit of, U.S. Persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration requirements is available. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release may include forward-looking statements that are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. All statements within this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. Although Discovery believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements include fluctuations in market prices, including metal prices, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. There can be no assurance that the Private Placement will close on the announced terms. Discovery does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable laws. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- So orderly, so nit-picking, so German. This week, Germanys constitutional court in Karlsruhe finally delivered its verdict on the European Central Banks most prominent bond-buying program. Weighing in at 110 pages, this ruling was historic. For the first time, a national court in effect overruled the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. Well spaced out because of the new coronavirus rules, the red-robed judges didnt exactly blow up the ECB policy in question, known as the public sector purchase program (or PSPP). But they sure gave the German government, parliament and central bank, as well as the ECB, a lot of work to do if they want to keep it. The court told the ECB that it has three months to prove that its bond purchases are proportionate. And it ordered Germanys government and Bundestag to monitor the ECBs efforts. Otherwise Germanys Bundesbank, the ECBs largest shareholder, may no longer participate in this particular form of quantitative easing, in effect neutering the program. Across much of the European Union, above all in the southern member states, mouths were once again agape over such Germanic intransigence, stubbornness and legalism. Dont they get that the ECB is just trying to rescue the euro areas economy and preserve its cohesion? Maybe the bank does, here and there, blur the boundaries between monetary policy, which is its remit, and economic policy, which isnt. But thats only because Europes governments, above all Germanys, have long shirked their duty to help out with fiscal policy. And besides, many Europeans are wondering why, if there really are fundamental questions at stake in this case, only one member state, out of 19 in the euro area and 27 in the EU, is bothered about them. Other Europeans, including the judges of the EUs top court, are trying to be pragmatic and magnanimous in interpreting the European treaties. Only the Germans, it seems, will forever be so rule bound. Story continues Some of the cases plaintiffs, who include industrialists, conservative politicians and even a grandson of postwar Germanys first chancellor, may indeed be sticklers. In general, they like very little about the ECB and probably yearn in secret for their old Deutsche Mark. But the judges in Karlsruhe didnt exactly follow the plaintiffs logic. In particular, they exonerated the ECB from one central charge: that its bond purchases amounted to a covert way of printing money to finance government deficits. Instead, the judges emphasized other concerns. One point was that issue of proportionality I already mentioned. But their more interesting line of reasoning was buried in the fine print. Its the question of how democratic the EU still is. If the ECB, unelected and indeed independent (as Germany in the 1990s insisted it must be), decides to mop up vast quantities of iffy bonds, then the national central banks that own the ECB still have to execute the trades. So the Bundesbank, for example, keeps accumulating risky assets on its own balance sheet. If those lose value, the German government will have to cough up money from its national budget. But the Bundestag, which has the constitutional duty to approve that budget, was never part of the decision. And if its beyond parliament, its also beyond voters. In the same way, ECB policy is eroding the budget sovereignty of all member states. It is thereby creeping beyond the functions envisioned in the European treaties. Precisely because the EU has not evolved into a federal state, the verdict reads, certain tensions are thus inherent in the design of the European Union; they must be resolved in a cooperative manner. By overruling the Luxembourg court, Karlsruhe is objecting to an interpretation of the ECBs actions so liberal that it would essentially amount to a treaty amendment. What the judges didnt explicitly say, of course, is that this mission creep this treaty change on the down-low is not a bug but a feature of EU policy. National leaders, above all German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have never made the hard choices about their currency union, either during the euro crisis or in this pandemic. Should the euro area have its own budget? Its own tax revenues? Its own government and treasurer? Its own debt? Whenever these questions threaten to come through the front door of politics, theyre quickly pushed in through the back door instead. Thus the Germans, Dutch, Austrians and other northern members keep saying no to mutualized debt, for example, by nixing euro bonds and now coronabonds. But they keep nodding to incremental forms of joint liability within the EUs institutions, from the ECB to the European Stability Mechanism, the blocs rescue fund. The message from Karlsruhe is that this obfuscation must stop. If you want to save the euro permanently, the judges are saying, write new rules into the European treaties and explain them to your voters. These German judges would be happy to apply them, because they actually love Europe. But if youre not ready to have a proper currency union, with joint debt and governance, then at least be honest enough to admit that. In that case, we must have an open and democratic debate about how, gradually and cautiously, to unravel the euro area as it is. This is the fundamental question for Europeans of this generation. The red-robed judges of Karlsruhe deserve our gratitude for trying to force us to confront the choice. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Andreas Kluth is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. He was previously editor in chief of Handelsblatt Global and a writer for the Economist. He's the author of "Hannibal and Me." For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. PCL Construction has been responsible for some of the most challenging construction projects in the city, like the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and the Winnipeg Art Gallerys Inuit Art Centre now under construction. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 6/5/2020 (622 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. PCL Construction has been responsible for some of the most challenging construction projects in the city, like the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and the Winnipeg Art Gallerys Inuit Art Centre now under construction. Its Winnipeg operating group put its collective mind to work creating something that might help the COVID-19 efforts and has come up with the Quaran-Tin Can, a modular isolation unit built from a shipping container. Submitted Modular isolation care room. Designed to be customizable, its a portable facility that can be deployed to temporarily and quickly augment hospital facilities in case COVID-19 cases overwhelm a communitys physical hospital resources. Monique Buckberger, PCLs Manitoba district manager, said "It was something that germinated out of an idea in Winnipeg and I think it is great way to help solve potential issues that could arise in the COVID(-19) pandemic." With all sorts of ways to configure the setup, the design includes both 20-foot and 40-foot containers with room for between one and five beds. PCL has access to a supply chain that could provide the containers and Buckberger said it would take about two weeks from the time they ordered the container until it left PCLs Winnipeg yards completed. PCL could construct as many as 20 at a time. The company is not disclosing costs or pricing, but it also seems thats not the point. "I think most of us contributed to this out of the goodness of our hearts," said Justin Thorsteinson, vice-president of Thor Plumbing and Heating, who contributed some technical and inspirational design elements to the project. PCL also partnered with f-BLOK Architecture, E.H. Price and P4 Electrical Contractors. Metal shipping containers have proven to be durable, useful structures for every manner of deployment. There are plenty of examples of them being used for various styles of housing. Delta 9 Cannabis has built its entire cannabis production system using shipping containers. "They are a great structure to work with," Thorsteinson said. "They should be used more than they are in my opinion. Sometimes its tough to get permits to do stuff outside the box like that." Its not clear if there are any destinations pending, but the units are designed to be easily transported by truck, rail or cargo plane. Buckberger said there has been discussions with public health authorities in a few communities as well as some First Nation organizations and the Red Cross. 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. "From our view weve been very fortunate as to how well Manitoba has responded to the crisis," she said. "But we thought it was a good fit and maybe it will be a helpful solution to a constantly changing scenario." The simplicity of the modular design and ease of transport means that once the units get to their destination, a forklift is all that would be required to get them in position. They can be operational in minutes. Buckberger said, "These portable isolation units can be quickly and easily built and can be transportable across Manitoba and Northern Ontario and even further across the country if the need is there." They can be heated and air conditioned and the units allow for effective sterilization. Toilets and wash facilities can be installed and they can be connected together and easily located on an existing hospital site parking lot or green space. Once installed on-site, the units only require a power connection for air conditioning and electric heating. martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca Golden Pass LNG has added more than 280 acres to its reinvestment zone designated by Jefferson County as it continues to push toward a 2024 start date for its first of three liquefaction trains under construction. The Jefferson County Commissioners Court unanimously approved the addition at a Tuesday meeting, adding to the more than 1,100 acres in Sabine Pass the county designated for the venture in 2013 and 2014. The venture, currently a partnership between Exxon Mobil and Qatar Petroleum, has owned land on Jefferson Countys coast since at least 2005, when it started operation as a liquid natural gas import facility. It announced final plans for a $10 billion export project in early 2019. The C-shaped tract of land southwest of the facility currently has cattle grazing on it, but Renny DeVille, a spokesperson with the company, said it would soon have service roads running through it to aid in construction and future maintenance. This is buffer land in the footprint of the project and directly adjacent to processing trains on the property, he said. The land was purchased in January 2019 and was assessed at $562,000 by the Jefferson County Appraisal District. Crews are still moving a lot of dirt, Deville said, and are making progress toward its 2024 goal despite the coronavirus pandemic and related precautions. He said there werent any expected delays so far, but a long list of protocols is in place to protect worker safety. We even had random temperature checks throughout the day, he said. Its going well. The venture recently had to request a deadline change with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to extend its deadline for the start of service to align the project with its service dates. The deadline set by FERC was previously scheduled for the end of 2021. In a FERC application filed at the end of April, one of the ventures building a pipeline intended to eventually connect to Golden Pass showed it planned to have its facility online by the second half of 2022 to comply with an agreement with Golden Pass. The Enable Gulf Run Pipeline will connect to the Golden Pass Pipeline at Starks, Louisiana, and is contracted to serve the facility for 20 years. Enables project will make up about 67% of the facilitys capacity. Golden Pass has a 20-year agreement with Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America for transportation service to the terminal. jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/jdickjournalism WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - While reporting financial results for the first quarter on Thursday, aerospace and defense company Raytheon Technologies Corp. (RTX) said it is not providing an outlook at this time, due to the ongoing uncertainty regarding the scope, severity and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company added that it will revisit providing a 2020 outlook at its next earnings release. On April 3, 2020, Raytheon Technologies successfully completed the separation of Otis and Carrier and the merger with Raytheon Co., which was formed in 2020 through its combination with the United Technologies Corp.'s aerospace businesses. 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. New York Citys coronavirus outbreak grew so large by early March that the city became the primary source of new infections in the United States, new research reveals, as thousands of infected people traveled from the city and seeded outbreaks around the country. The research indicates that a wave of infections swept from New York City through much of the country before the city began setting social distancing limits to stop the growth. That helped to fuel outbreaks in Louisiana, Texas, Arizona and as far away as the West Coast. The findings are drawn from geneticists tracking signature mutations of the virus, travel histories of infected people and models of the outbreak by infectious disease experts. The video showed Luke Denman claiming the goal of the thwarted attempt was to capture and bring Maduro to the US. Venezuelan state television broadcast on Wednesday a video of captured American Luke Denman, in which he said he was instructed to seize control of Caracass airport and bring in a plane to fly President Nicolas Maduro to the United States. Venezuelan authorities on Monday arrested Denman, another US citizen, Airan Berry, and 11 other terrorists in what Maduro has called a failed plot coordinated with officials in Washington to enter the country via the Caribbean coast and oust him. Donald Trump is the direct chief of this invasion, Maduro said in televised comments, after the video of Denman was broadcast. Jordan Goudreau, head of Florida-based security company SilverCorp USA and a US military veteran, has claimed responsibility for the incursion. Goudreau said he was working with two US citizens in an operation designed to capture, not kill, Maduro and liberate Venezuela. The Associated Press news agency reported on Wednesday that Goudreau is currently under federal investigation for arms trafficking. The investigation is in its initial stages and its unclear if it will result in charges, a law enforcement official told the AP, and stems from a frenzy of contradictory comments Goudreau has made since Sundays raid. In Venezuelan custody, ex-Green Beret and Silvercorp mercenary Luke Denman confirms contract with Juan Guaido, says plan was to kidnap Venezuelan Pres. Maduro and fly him to the US as a captive #BayOfPiglets pic.twitter.com/hg46mbBfRz Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) May 6, 2020 Members of the US Congress are also asking the State Department about its knowledge of Goudreaus plans and raised concerns that he possibly violated arms trafficking rules. An AP investigation published prior to the failed raid places Goudreau at the center of a plot hatched with a rebellious former Venezuelan Army General, Cliver Alcala, to secretly train dozens of Venezuelan military deserters in secret camps in Colombia to carry out a swift operation against Maduro. Goudreaus possible involvement in weapons smuggling stems from the March 23 seizure by police in Colombia of a stockpile of weapons being transported in a truck. The stockpile, worth around $150,000, included spotting scopes, night vision goggles, two-way radios and 26 American-made assault rifles with the serial numbers filed off. Maduro said on Wednesday that he would seek Goudreaus extradition from the US. US President Donald Trump has denied involvement in Sundays ill-fated mission. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that the US government would use every tool to secure the Americans return if they were being held in Venezuela. Denman, 34, in the video statement from an undisclosed location, answered questions from a person off-camera speaking in English. Denman said his mission was to secure the airport and establish a security perimeter, though it was unclear how he planned to get Maduro on a plane. In March, the US Department of Justice charged Maduro and a dozen other current and former Venezuelan officials with narco-terrorism and the Trump administration offered a reward of $15m for information leading to his arrest. President Maduro said Venezuela has detained two American citizens working with a U.S. military veteran allegedly involved in a plot to enter the South American country and oust him https://t.co/0ngHr7dQV6 pic.twitter.com/mm5nsiQLu7 Reuters (@Reuters) May 5, 2020 I was helping Venezuelans take back control of their country, Denman said in the video. The alleged assassination plot comes at a time of high tensions between the US and Venezuela. The US is among nearly 60 countries that back opposition politician Juan Guaido as Venezuelas legitimate leader. It has also imposed tough economic sanctions against Caracas in an effort to force Maduro, whom it accuses of having rigged elections in 2018, to step down. The AP news agency reported that six people were killed on May 3 as they tried to enter Venezuela, citing Venezuelan government reports. As the rest of California moves towards reopening retail and manufacturing as part of the state's Stage 2 reopening, most of the Bay Area remains under its revised shelter-in-place order that only allows for the return of outdoor businesses and activities. Bookstores, florists and other stores are reopening in Los Angeles County Friday even when L.A. has had a worse coronavirus outbreak than the Bay Area by all relevant metrics. Bay Area officials have mostly danced around the issue of opening retail and manufacturing, and Santa Clara County health officer Dr. Sara Cody the architect of the region's original shelter-in-place order said her county and the rest of the region has yet to hit the testing and contract tracing criteria to further loosen restrictions. "Health officers across the Bay Area, we made an attempt to name a number, an indicator wed all follow," Cody told the Mercury News last week. "That was two tests per 1,000 residents a day. And in our county, that translates to 4,000 a day. You can see its picked up a little 800 to 1,000 a day. Maybe were 20-25% of the way toward our goal." Cody brought these figures to the Santa Clara Board of Supervisors Tuesday and was met with some consternation. "I don't yet understand how we're ever going to be able to test enough, or how we'll have enough tests in California, to open up, even slowly," board president Cindy Chavez told Cody, according to Bay City News. Others were annoyed with the slow pace of reopening and the mounting economic damage caused by shelter-in-place. "We do know if we dont let more people go back to work sooner than later, our economy will effectively go on life support," Supervisor Mike Wasserman told Cody, according to NBC Bay Area. The Mercury News reported that Supervisor Susan Ellenberg said her office has been "inundated" with calls from confused constituents asking questions about the differences between the state and local orders. Governor Gavin Newsom said the Bay Area has a right to enforce its stricter order. I have no interest in second-guessing your orders," Ellenberg said. "But I have some concerns about how we work through the gray areas, how we provide thoughtful, responsive guidance, particularly to business owners and community members who have really very fair questions." Cody reportedly did not give any indication if restrictions in the Bay Area would be loosened any sooner to catch up to the rest of the state, and added her county still has not hired enough contact tracers to safely reopen. She said Santa Clara County is "weeks" away from meeting its goal of hiring 1,000 people to trace contacts for each confirmed case. While Cody is largely credited as the driving force behind the orders in effect in Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa and Marin counties, the other counties can move at its own pace if they choose to do so. On Monday, San Mateo County health officer Dr. Scott Morrow told businesses in his county to "start thinking about" ways to safely reopen. "The next step in reopening businesses will probably be to allow those, regardless of what the business does, that can comply with and implement social distancing protocols to reopen under those procedural constraints, somewhat similar to what you now observe in grocery and other stores that are open," he wrote in a letter to the community. "These businesses should now begin thinking about how this would apply to their operations and what modifications need to be made." Morrow wrote that it is possible he writes an order that goes even further beyond the state's Stage 2 reopening prior to May 31 given the state order changes as well. "I have great hope that the indicators we are monitoring will continue to improve and this Order can be revised before May 31, 2020 in a manner that focuses more on behavior (social distancing, face masks, etc.) and risk of disease transmission in contrast to categories of businesses (essential vs. non-essential)," he writes. "However, for me to issue such an Order, the State first needs to revise its Order to allow it. While the Governor has indicated that the State will do so in weeks, not months, the actual date is uncertain. Modification by the State of its Order is a pre-requisite for such a change here." MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE: Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here. Eric Ting is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: eric.ting@sfgate.com | Twitter:@_ericting MINSK -- Belarusian authorities have stripped two Russian journalists of accreditation after their reports about the growing coronavirus outbreak in the country. The Foreign Ministry in Minsk did not specify why exactly journalist Aleksei Kruchinin and his cameraman Sergei Panasyuk, who work for Russia's Channel One television company, were deprived of their accreditation. But a Belarusian state television channel aired a report in response to Channel One's coverage of the coronavirus outbreak in Belarus, accusing Russian journalists of spreading false information. Channel One called Minsk's move "absolutely groundless" and company representatives told RFE/RL on May 7 that reactions to the move "will be made on diplomatic levels as well." According to Channel One's representatives, Kruchinin left Minsk for Moscow right after the ministry's announcement, while his family remains in the Belarusian capital. As of May 6, Belarus had reported 19,255 confirmed coronavirus cases and 112 deaths. Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has repeatedly derided concerns over COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. He has claimed disregard for the environment was in part to blame for the spread of the virus, and activities like planting trees could help defend against it. In stark contrast to other European countries that have adopted strict lockdown measures to contain the pandemic, Belarus has kept its borders open and allowed soccer matches in the national league to be played in front of spectators. On May 9, Minsk will host a military parade marking the 75th anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany, an event that was cancelled in Russia and other former Soviet republics, except Turkmenistan, over fears of large crowds gathering amid the coronavirus outbreak. With reporting by AP VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / Blue Lagoon Resources Inc. (the "Company") (BLLG.CN)(7BL.F)(BLAGF) is pleased to announce that it has started the process to form a strategic advisory board to advise and consult with the Company's board of directors and its senior management. The Company has appointed Yannis Tsitos as the initial member of the advisory board. Mr. Tsitos will be a valuable addition to the team and will greatly assist Blue Lagoon in realizing its vision and future goals. To further advance its advisory board "brain trust", the Company is in discussions with several other highly qualified and distinguished candidates with proven track records and expects to make those announcements in the coming weeks. Mr. Tsitos has over 30 years of experience in the mining industry, having spent 19 of those years with the BHP Billiton group. In his time in the industry, he has lived and worked in South Africa, Ecuador, Greece and United Kingdom, and has been working in Canada since 2000. Originally a physicist-geophysicist, he left BHP Billiton in December 2007, where he had the title of New Business Manager for Minerals Exploration with a global reach, but based in Vancouver. He has been instrumental in the identification, negotiation and execution of more than 50 exploration agreements over 11 different commodities with juniors, majors, as well as with state exploration and mining companies. Mr. Tsitos is currently the President of Goldsource Mines Inc. and sits on several companies' boards as an Independent Director, has published articles in exploration and mining magazines on relevant topics and has been a strong advocate of anti-corruption policies in the mining industry. Mr. Tsitos has also been part of two discovery teams with BHP Billiton in porphyry-copper and nickel-sulphide deposits. He holds a B.Sc. degree in Physics from the University of Athens and a master's degree in Applied Geophysics and Geology from the University of Birmingham, UK. In addition, he completed management and finance studies as part of an MBA program with Herriot Watt University, Edinburgh. Story continues "We are pleased to welcome Yannis to our team. His knowledge and experience are a valuable addition to Blue Lagoon. He brings a wealth of global contacts that we will surely leverage as we look to expand the company's investor base while at the same time advancing the Dome Mountain Gold Mine Project. On behalf of our whole team, we look forward to working with Mr. Tsitos." "I am excited to join Blue Lagoon as a strategic adviser and work closely with Rana and his team," said Mr. Tsitos. "Junior exploration, development and mining is heating up and I believe there's no better place to be right now than gold - particularly in the short to medium term - and copper in the long term. I believe Blue Lagoon is well-positioned in both of these spaces with great projects in a safe jurisdiction. I would like to help its management to ultimately build real value for shareholders and all other stakeholders in beautiful British Columbia." he added. For further information, please contact: Rana Vig President and Chief Executive Officer Telephone: 604-218-4766 Email: rana@ranavig.com The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Blue Lagoon Resources Inc. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/588856/Blue-Lagoon-Appoints-Mining-Veteran-as-First-Member-of-its-Newly-Formed-Strategic-Advisory-Board Over 51,000 stranded migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh have reached the state in 43 special Shramik' trains since the special service was launched in view of the nationwide lockdown to combat the novel coronavirus, officials said on Thusrday. Thirteen more trains carrying migrants are expected to arrive in different parts of the state by midnight, they said. The railways had started the migrant special trains on May 1 after the central government gave its approval for transportation of stranded workers on the railway network during the lockdown. These 43 trains arrived at stations such as Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Jaunpur, Gorakhpur, Pratapgarh, Rae Bareli, Kannauj, Banda, Azamgarh, Barabanki, Sitapur and Unnao. There were 51,371 workers and labourers on these 43 trains, Additional Chief Secretary Awanish Awasthi said. By midnight, 13 more trains will bring 15,500 migrant workers, he said. As many as 43 more trains with about 53,000 people from other parts of the country will be arriving from Friday onwards, he said. So far, the Uttar Pradesh government has made arrangements of 99 trains to bring migrants stranded in different states, Awasthi said. These trains have brought back migrant workers from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, Telangana and Karnataka, he said The first flight with those stranded abroad will arrive in the state capital on May 9 from Sharjah, As many as 200 passengers are expected, he said. Awasthi said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to follow medical testing protocol before sending them to different districts for home quarantine. We have requested the Maharashtra government for running 10 trains daily to bring back those stranded in that state, he said, adding that an understanding has been reached to run 17 trains from Punjab which are in different stages of ferrying migrant workers back. The chief minister has set a target of making arrangements for the return of some 30,000 migrants by train and 10,000 to 15,000 migrants by bus on a daily basis, Awasthi said. The process of bringing back natives of the state by Uttar Pradesh roadways buses is on. They are bringing 55,700 people, he said. The chief minister has stressed that no migrant worker should move on foot and proper arrangements have been made to bring them back to Uttar Pradesh, Awasthi said. Earlier a report from Banda said that a Shramik Express train arrived with 1,220 labourers who were stranded in Gujarat's Surat. Of these, 1,070 are from Banda and the rest from Fatehpur, Chitrakoot, Mahoba and Hamirpur, Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Banda, Santosh Bahadur Singh, said. He said they will be kept in 14 days of quarantine before being sent to their home. In Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC), managing director, Rajshekhar, said that a bus from Jalandhar arrived in Lucknow on Wednesday at 11.45 pm with migrant labourers. For them 38 buses were deployed and 1,164 passengers were sent to Bahraich, he said. Another train from Bengaluru arrived in Lucknow at 6.40 am on Thursday with 1,192 passengers, who were sent in 43 buses to Sonbhadra, Ghazipur, Gonda, Balrampur, Pratapgarh, Amroha, Ambedkar Nagar, Moradabad, Gorakhpur, Khushinagar and Deoria, the managing director said. Another train from Hyderabad reached Barabanki on Thursday at 6.30 am with 1,079 passengers. They were sent in 40 buses to their destinations, including Barabanki, Hardoi, Lucknow, Sitapur, and Lakhimpur, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The main task of the UN agency, headed by Pablo Mateu in Kyiv, is to help refugees. However, due to the war in Donbas, UNHCR undertook much of the work to help internally displaced persons (IDP) because of the conflict, as well as socially vulnerable people living in the war zone. Deutsche Welle journalist Eugene Teise spoke with Mr. Pablo Mateu: DW: Mr. Mateu, how aggravated are the social problems of the population in the conflict zone in Eastern Ukraine in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic? Pablo Mateu: As a result of the conflict, primarily people of working age and families with children left, many of whom moved to the capital, Dnipro, Odesa and other large cities of the country. The share of elderly people near the contact line in Donbas, usually of 23 %, reaches 41 % since the beginning of the conflict. Older people are most at risk during the Covid-19 pandemic, but at the same time, access to medical services is difficult in the conflict zone as many doctors have left the region. DW: How exactly can your organisation help? Pablo Mateu: The annual budget of the UNHCR office in Ukraine is $28 million. We have immediately allocated 10 % of this amount to the activities needed in view of the pandemic. We first started monitoring the situation along the contact line in 119 settlements of the government-controlled side. This became possible thanks to cooperation with our partner the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Proliska. Before the quarantine, 36 settlements did not have transport connections with the outside world. Now the number is 71. About 50 villages do not have access to primary health care and do not even have grocery stores. When people were told to stay home because of the quarantine, it became a problem to get basic groceries. We have arranged help from other humanitarian organisations, which deliver groceries to these villages now. A number of charities and the International Committee of the Red Cross distribute food kits. The Social Protection Departments of Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts also receive support so that social workers can visit the homes those who need it. Another big problem is for people to get their pensions. We are negotiating with Oschadbank to deliver pensions to places where there are no ATMs. Arent you afraid that in a crisis caused by a pandemic, the government will not meet the special needs of the people in the conflict zone? In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, international humanitarian organizations have agreed to allocate an additional $63 million for aid programs, the lions share of which will be allocated to the most vulnerable residents of Eastern Ukraine. The government is also increasing its support. Until recently, only the UN and the Red Cross, as well as NGOs, were involved in rebuilding houses destroyed during the fighting. However, since the end of last year, the State Emergency Service and regional administrations have joined this process. This is a very positive trend, which shows the readiness of the Ukrainian government to help citizens affected by the conflict more actively. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has recently called for the opening of the demarcation line in Donbas, which has been closed due to quarantine for several weeks. Why is this so important? Since the introduction of quarantine, neither the OSCE nor the UN have been able to enter this uncontrolled territory. We also cannot send humanitarian aid, except in the framework of the Covid-19 pandemic. We, along with other international organisations, are currently sending disinfectants and personal protective equipment, and the WHO and the Red Cross provide medical equipments. The second aspect is the need to open the contact line for the civilian population. There are many people stuck on the other side: for example, people who went to visit relatives on the eve of the closure of checkpoints and have not been able to return home for more than a month. In addition, many retirees live in non-government controlled areas (NGCA). Before the closure of the contact line, they regularly went to the controlled area to receive their pensions. Now they cannot get it. All those who come to Ukraine during quarantine are sent to a two-week self-isolation. Will it be necessary to create special entry conditions for those crossing the contact line in Donbas? At some checkpoints on the contact line, right behind the barrier of border guards there are branches of Oshchadbank, where people can get their pension. For example, there is such a branch in Stanytsia Luhanska. It would be worth opening more of those Oshchadbank mobile branches at other checkpoints so that people can withdraw their pensions and not go to the city for this purpose. If people want to visit relatives in Kyiv or other regions, they obviously have to be subject to the same self-isolation regulations that apply when crossing borders. However, this will not solve all the problems linked to receiving pensions. After all, people have to regularly certify their actual residence in government-controlled territory. How to solve this problem? A pension is a human right a person has earned by many years of work. The people did not choose to find themselves in NGCA. We are trying to persuade the Ukrainian government to abandon mandatory registration of IDPs wanting to receive their pension. This only forces people to obtain a fictitious IDP status in order to exercise their right to an earned pension. I hope that the pandemic can force the government to reconsider its approach to the registration of IDPs, as well as help increase the rights of Ukrainian citizens living in NGCA. According to Ukrainian legislation, the non-government controlled territories of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts are temporarily occupied and controlled by armed formations of the Russian Federation and the occupation administration of the Russian Federation. Doesnt this fall under the principles of international humanitarian law, which make the occupier responsible for respecting rights of the civilian population? This territory is a part of Ukraine. The people who live there are Ukrainians. They have not lost their Ukrainian citizenship. When you talk to them, you realize that many of them still feel Ukrainians. Most of them remain in NGCA, not out of ideological conviction they do not want to join Russia or have any independence but because they are elders and they simply do not want to go through the challenges faced by displaced persons. The more you cut ties with people living on the other side of the line, the harder it will be to find ways to resolve the conflict peacefully. It is very important to maintain these connections by giving people the opportunity to visit other regions of Ukraine, by giving young people the opportunity to receive an education and by providing access to medical services. It is equally important that people living in the territories often called occupied in Ukraine, receive humanitarian aid not from Russia or from the de facto authorities of those territories, but from international organisations and countries that are friends of Ukraine. In addition, the experience of other Russian-related unrecognised territories, such as South Ossetia or Abkhazia, shows that Russian aid is diminishing over time. Finally, I assume that the people living in the non-government controlled territory of Donbas understand the situation will become increasingly difficult. This interview was published in Ukrainian language on the Deutsche Welle website. Photo: UN/The Gate Agency Share on Facebook Share on Twitter The Illinois attorney generals office has filed a lawsuit against a developer and two contractors for the release of contaminants during the implosion of a smokestack at a defunct Chicago power station. The lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court alleges Hilco Redevelopment Partners and its general contractors, MCM Management and Controlled Demolition Inc. violated Illinois law and Pollution Control Board Air Pollution Regulations by causing air pollution during demolition of the 378-foot smokestack on April 11. The companies responsible for the demolition of the Crawford Power Generating Stations smokestack failed to take steps to protect the community from air pollution and compromised air quality at a time when we are urging residents to remain in their communities to minimize the spread of a deadly respiratory disease, Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a statement. Spokesmen for Hilco Redevelopment and Controlled Demolition did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for MCM Management could not be reached for comment. The botched implosion of the smokestack sparked outrage among residents of the Little Village neighborhood blanketed by the dust. Because of the neighborhoods high number of low-income and minority residents, the area is designated by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for environmental justice concern. Illinois EPA referred this matter to the attorney generals office to ensure the company and contractor are held responsible and are required to take the necessary steps to remediate the impacts, IEPA director John Kim said in a statement. The power station being demolished was a coal-fired plant, causing concern the neighborhood was contaminated with asbestos and other particulate matter and pollutants produced by coal-fire plants. Early air quality testing by city, state and federal authorities found no asbestos and that levels of particulate matter have not exceeded national standards in the area. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits Illinois Pollution Contractors People in Andhra to get quality liquor at Rs 50 if BJP comes to power: Somu Veerraju Night curfew in Andhra Pradesh: Know timings, guidelines, rules; What is allowed, what is not allowed Vizag gas leak: AP CM announces Rs 1 crore compensation to kin of deceased India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, May 07: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced Rs 1 crore each as compensation to the kin of those who lost their lives in the Vizag gas leak. 11 persons including a child died after a toxic gas leaked from a chemical plant of a multinational firm in Andhra Pradesh. The incident took place in Visakhapatnam. At least 5,000 have fallen sick due to the leak. Visakhapatnam Gas Leak: Death toll mounts to 11; Helpline numbers released After gas leakage was reported in the factory, lockdown procedure was initiated immediately. The local administration was informed. Gas was neutralised to harmless liquid form. But, little gas escaped factory premises and affected people in nearby areas, Andhra Pradesh Minister M G Reddy told ANI. The gas leaked at around 2.30 am and the exact reason is yet to be determined. The plant had been shut for 40 days due to the lockdown and only very few staff were deployed there. The gas leaked from two 5,000 tonne tanks which were unattended since March due to the coronavirus lockdown. This led to a chemical reaction and production of heat inside the tanks that caused the leakage, a New18 report said. The death toll may rise as 100s have inhaled the gas. They are either having breathing issues or have fallen unconscious. Meghan Markle might just have lost yet another potential friend in Hollywood. Author Emily Giffin made it very clear that she is not the Duchess' biggest fan. Cruel Honesty Giffin spoke her mind about the Duchess of Sussex on a very special day. The 48-year-old author of "Something Borrowed" took it to her Instagram Stories to speak out against Meghan. The Maryland native posted a screenshot of the royal message of Kensington Palace for the first birthday of Meghan's son. In the post, she speculated that the Palace made a good choice of highlighting the British royal family instead of going with a photo featuring just the Sussexes. Giffin also referred to Meghan as someone who was "unmaternal" and "such a phony" in a text exchange posted on her Instagram account. However, since the controversial post, Giffin's account has been set in private. Although it seemed as if the author has backed down a bit, she then uploaded a snapshot of the birthday video Meghan made in honor of her son's first birthday. Prince Harry was recording her as she read a book to their baby. "Happy Birthday, Archie," Giffin wrote before adding "Go away, Megan [sic]." Giffin just could not help herself. In addition, she shared the comment she wrote on an Instagram post of Meghan's video. It was posted by "What Meghan Wants," an account that claims to feature unbiased news coverage of the royal couple. Giffin wrote: "Adorable child and book. But... Holy 'me first.' This is the Megan [sic] show." She also noted that it would have been better if Harry was the one who read to Archie. "Why didn't she film and let Harry read? And why didn't she take the moment, in the end, to say 'He said, daddy!' Because that would make it about Harry for a split second," she continued. The author then commented on Meghan's idea of raising her child in "privacy," "God forbid. Also, you want privacy for your child so you put out a video (by your authorized biographer) of him ... wearing no pants?! Ooookay," Giffin furthered. On a lighter note, Emily ended her criticisms with a post about Prince Harry and the birthday boy Archie. She posted a photo of the 35-year old Prince while he was holding Archie. Prince Charles, Harry's father, was standing beside the two of them. "Happy 1st birthday to Prince Charles's youngest grandchild, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor," she captioned the pic that came with bear and balloon emojis. Not Really A Fan Emily Giffin has always made it known that she is not really a supporter of Meghan Markle. In fact, when the former "Suits" star welcomed Archie into the world, the "Baby Proof" author posted a picture of the Queen. In the caption, she wrote a short but blunt message. "FACT to keep in mind this week: The only reason the world cares about Meghan Markle's pregnancy is because of this woman. God save the Queen." Giffin never really liked Meghan, but during her interview with "The Columbus Dispatch," she admitted that she was excited to see Prince Harry's baby. She believed that the little one holds the future in his hands. "That's the future," she explained. "They'll be in the history books. Hundreds of years from now, Harry and Meghan will be a footnote." The Maharashtra government collected more than Rs 100 crore in taxes in three days after liquor shops in the state were allowed to reopen, excise minister Dilip Walse Patil said on Wednesday. Mumbai: The Maharashtra government collected more than Rs 100 crore in taxes in three days after liquor shops in the state were allowed to reopen, excise minister Dilip Walse Patil said on Wednesday. Sale of liquor was allowed in parts of the state as the lockdown to contain coronavirus entered its third phase on Monday. The excise department collected more than Rs 100 crore by Wednesday night with just one-third of the total number of liquor shops in the state remaining open, the minister said. An estimated 16.10 lakh litres of bottled IMFL (Indian-Made Foreign Liquor), beer, wine, and country liquor were sold on Tuesday. The trend continued despite the Mumbai municipal commissioners' decision to suspend the sale of liquor in the state capital. There are over 10,000 licensed shops in Maharashtra selling country liquor, IMFL, wine, and beer, of which merely 2,967 operated on Wednesday, Patil said. Unlike Tuesday, there were no incidents of police resorting to lathi charge or buyers violating social distancing norms on Wednesday, said an official. Liquor shops were closed for almost 40 days due to the lockdown to curb coronavirus outbreak. The lockdown has been extended till 17 May, but standalone liquor shops were permitted to operate as part of relaxations granted by the state government. 29 lakh litres of liquor were sold in the first three days after shops reopened, the official added. Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - Congolese religious bodies umder the committee for national solidarity (CASN) against the coronavirus Wednesday announced three days of prayer from 12-14 May for Congo in its period of confinement A new political structure opposed to the Polisario has been launched from Spain. The movement, dubbed Sahrawis for Peace (SpP), was born on Wednesday April 22 in Spain. SpP, declaring opposition to the Polisario leadership, brings together more than 150 former executives of the separatist front, civilians and soldiers as well as grandsons of members of the Jamaa Sahraouie, formed under the Spanish colonization of southern Morocco, say the founders of the SpP in a press release sent to our editorial staff. The members of the new movement specify that they defend a peaceful settlement and are willing to participate in a consensual and lasting solution to the Western Sahara issue. They did not refer, in their press release, to the right to self-determination of Sahrawi people or referendum. The movement said it plans to undertake diplomatic contacts with the United Nations, the African Union and the European Union, as well as with the governments of Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, France and the United States. Sahrawis for Peace intends to hold its first congress within a period not exceeding twenty-four months. Pending the holding of the congress, the SpP will be led by a political committee composed of 13 members and 6 advisors, the press release said. The founders of the SpP say they are determined to avoid falling into the same mistakes that caused the failure of the Sahrawi Initiative for Change, launched in November 2017 from inside the Tindouf camps. The experience failed, especially after the arrests of three of its members in June 2019: Abba Bouzeid, Fadel Breika and Mahmoud Zeidan. Staff at Belfasts Mater Hospital join in the clap for NHS workers. Key workers from Royal Mail at Belfast International Airport join in the clapping Healthcare staff at the Mater Hospital in Belfast unfurled a large banner thanking the local community for their continued support during Thursday night's Clap for Carers. Over 100 people wearing face masks lined the footpath outside the hospital with social distancing in place. Cars passing on the Crumlin Road sounded their horns and a piper played during what was a light-hearted event. The sign from the nursing staff read: "Thank you for all your continued support, you're making a difference." Adam Worthington, who dressed as a policeman and has autism, along with Tiana Nickel from north Belfast, crossed the road from their homes to join the staff outside the hospital. At the conclusion, several nurses jokingly wrapped one of their colleagues up in the banner before heading back inside the hospital to resume their shifts. Meanwhile at Belfast International Airport, the firefighters, airport police, Royal Mail staff and airport workers stood on the runway applauding the NHS. Elsewhere, Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted a video of himself applauding, saying: "Thank you to all of our carers for your fantastic work, day in, day out. You are pillars of society in the fight against coronavirus." It is just over a week since Mr Johnson's partner, Carrie Symonds, gave birth to their son Wilfred at University College Hospital in London (UCLH). She tweeted a picture, adding: "Spotted this flower rainbow leaving UCLH with Wilfred last week. Clapping again for our fantastic carers tonight." Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: "Another emotional moment as the country comes together to clap for our key workers, our carers and all those keeping our country going through this crisis." Offering a greater range of services, such as cultural and creative products, has become the main trend in the process of transformation for a growing number of Chinese brick-and-mortar bookstores. The photo shows a collection of books and cultural and creative products in a bookstore in east China's Shanghai. (Photo by Wang Gang/Peoples Daily) In the past three years, Hubei Xinhua Bookstore in central China's Hubei province has turned to a compound mode of business operations to increase profits, selling cultural and creative products including stationery alongside books. In addition, cafes, cultural salons, and training programs have become essential parts of its outlets. "Cultural and creative products have become an important part of the physical bookstores' transformation, as they expand our services, make the stores more attractive and increase our profits," said Zhao Li, a manager with the bookstore chain. So far, it has opened up about 40 cafes and 106 stationery outlets in its bookstores across the province, and its self-developed cultural and creative products have also been gaining popularity. Marketable cultural and creative products can generate considerable earnings for a bookstore, said Cheng Zhou, manager of a bookstore at the Beijing Language and Culture University. The bookstore's revenue from cultural and creative products totalled nearly 500,000 yuan in 2019. Currently, most bookstores mainly offer well-known and distinctive cultural and creative products, rather than develop them by themselves, due to the high cost of development, difficulty in pricing, and lack of diversified distribution channels, said Fu Shuai, general manager of the FLTRP Bookstore in Beijing. Suzhou Momicafe Books Co., Ltd. based in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu province, is one of the few bookstores that has an independent cultural and creative product department and design department, according to Xu Tao, founder of the bookstore chain. The company's cultural and creative products, such as music boxes and postcards, have become very popular in recent years. Hubei Xinhua Bookstore also has a company that specializes in developing cultural and creative products. Industry insiders have also called for competition between similar businesses to be avoided and for the hiring of sharp-sighted employees who can choose products with distinctive features. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 01:22:00|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DAKAR, May 7 (Xinhua) -- More than 2,000 street children, including 205 from neighboring countries, have been rescued since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Senegal, Senegalese government said Thursday. During a briefing on "Zero children in the street" operation, Mame Gor Diouf, general secretary of Ministry of Women, Family and Gender, said the rescued children are from 4 to 17 years old, among which 1,219 children were returned to their families, mainly in eight of the 14 regions across the country. More than 50 children have been infected with COVID-19 and taken care of by the health services, said Diouf, adding that some of them have already been cured. The Senegal government launched last Thursday a special operation to protect those children who are at risk in the current environment caused by COVID-19 crisis, and to ensure their safety and healthcare. So far, Senegal has reported 1,492 confirmed cases, including 13 deaths and 562 cured cases. Enditem May 7, 2020 Amsterdam, the Netherlands Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) today announced that it will convene an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders (EGM) and publish the agenda with explanatory note shortly. The sole purpose of the EGM is submit to Philips shareholders the revised proposal, as announced on April 20, 2020, to declare a distribution of EUR 0.85 per common share against the net income for 2019, in shares only. The EGM is scheduled to be held on June 26, 2020, beginning at 11:00 hours CET. To protect the health and safety of all participants in connection with COVID-19 and considering the temporary legislative measures from the Dutch government, shareholders are invited to submit their voting instructions and follow the meeting via the live webcast only, which will be available on Philips website. Upon convocation, the agenda with explanatory note and other information relevant for the EGM will be available here . If the above dividend proposal is adopted, the dividend timetable will be as follows: Ex-dividend date June 30, 2020 Dividend record date July 1, 2020 Announcement of ratio and number of dividend shares July 6, 2020 Payment date As from July 7, 2020 The number of share dividend rights entitled to one new common share will be determined based on the volume-weighted average price of all traded common shares of Koninklijke Philips N.V. at Euronext Amsterdam on June 30, and July 1 and 2, 2020. The company will calculate the number of share dividend rights entitled to one new common share, such that the gross dividend in shares would be approximately equal to EUR 0.85. For further information, please contact: Ben Zwirs Philips Global Press Office Tel.: +31 6 15213446 E-mail: ben.zwirs@philips.com Derya Guzel Philips Investor Relations Tel.: +31 20 59 77055 E-mail: derya.guzel@philips.com About Royal Philips Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips' health technology portfolio generated 2019 sales of EUR 19.5 billion and employs approximately 81,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter Forward-looking statements This release contains certain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of Philips and certain of the plans and objectives of Philips with respect to these items. Examples of forward-looking statements include statements made about the strategy, estimates of sales growth, future EBITA, future developments in Philips organic business and the completion of acquisitions and divestments. By their nature, these statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances and there are many factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. This press release contains inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation. [May 07, 2020] Richardson RFPD Announces Distribution Franchise Agreement with Swiss u-blox AG Richardson (News - Alert) RFPD, an Arrow Electronics company, today announced that it has entered into a global franchise distribution agreement with u-blox. u-blox (SIX:UBXN) is a global provider of leading positioning and wireless communication technologies for the automotive, industrial, and consumer markets. It is headquartered in Thalwil, Switzerland, with offices in Europe, Asia and the U.S. Richardson RFPD will promote the entire u-blox (News - Alert) suite of security, positioning and IoT communication services, based on a broad selection of short-range wireless (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and V2X communications), market-leading positioning (GPS/GNSS) chips and modules, and industrial grade cellular chips and modules (2G, 3G, LTE (News - Alert)). "u-blox is a leader in wireless communication and positioning technologies for IoT," said Rafael R. Salmi, Ph.D., Richardson RFPD's president. "We are excited to promote these exceptional products and services into smart city, automotive, industrial IoT, healthcare and other key markets." "Richardson RFPD is committed to the IoT market, transitioning quickly from a specialized component distributor with deep technical expertise to a global provider of IoT solutions and services. Our recent acquisition of Thingstream which will enable seamless connectivity services for our customers on top of our chips and modules will make Richardson RFPD an outstanding member of the team for us," said Markus Schaefer, head of global sales and marketing, of u-blox. "Together, we can do even more to enable quick and innovative solutions for IoT customers." Additional information isavailable at richardsonrfpd.com/u-blox. About Richardson RFPD Richardson RFPD, an Arrow Electronics (News - Alert) company, is a global leader in the RF, wireless, IoT and power technologies markets. It brings relationships with many of the industry's top radio frequency and power component suppliers. Whether it's designing components or engineering complete solutions, Richardson RFPD's worldwide design centers and technical sales team provide comprehensive support for customers' go-to-market strategy, from prototype to production. More information is available online at www.richardsonrfpd.com. Follow Richardson RFPD on Twitter (News - Alert) at www.twitter.com/Richardson_RFPD. To subscribe to Richardson RFPD's New Products e-newsletter, visit www.richardsonrfpd.com/subscribe. About u-blox u-blox (SIX:UBXN) is a global technology leader in positioning and wireless communication in automotive, industrial, and consumer markets. Their smart and reliable solutions, services and products let people, vehicles, and machines determine precise position and communicate wirelessly over cellular and short-range networks. With a broad portfolio of chips, modules, and secure data services and connectivity, u-blox is uniquely positioned to empower its customers to develop innovative and reliable solutions for the Internet of Things, quickly and cost effectively. With headquarters in Thalwil, Switzerland, the company is globally present with offices in Europe, Asia, and the USA. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005158/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 19:28:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MOSCOW, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Russia has reported a new daily record of 11,231 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, taking the total to 177,160 as of Thursday, the country's coronavirus response center said in a statement. The death toll from the pandemic increased by 88 to 1,625, while 23,803 people have recovered, including 2,476 over the last 24 hours, the statement said. Moscow, the country's worst-hit region, confirmed 6,703 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing its total to 92,676. Russia's consumer rights and human well-being watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said in a statement Thursday that 231,623 people were under medical observation as of Wednesday. More than 4.8 million lab tests for COVID-19 have been conducted across the country, it added. All citizens, except those working for essential institutions and establishments, are on paid leave from March 30 till May 11 and are asked to quarantine themselves at home. They are only permitted to go out to receive medical care, travel to work, shop at the nearest store or pharmacy, or walk a pet. The situation with the spread of coronavirus in Russia has developed unequally across regions. Some of them were allowed to tighten restrictions, while others were planning for lockdown relaxation measures, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday. Enditem Seeing how our customers were able to instantaneously utilize Encompass to motivate their supporters for this important initiative is a powerful reminder that we are not only helping advance the mission of higher education, but COVID-19 relief efforts for students as well iModules, the higher education fundraising and engagement leader, announced its customers raised nearly $2.7 million on #GivingTuesdayNow 2020. Additionally, iModules Encompass platform processed more than 11,000 gifts during the 24-hour time period and sent more than 13 million emails. Seeing how our customers were able to instantaneously utilize Encompass to motivate their supporters for this important initiative is a powerful reminder that we are not only helping advance the mission of higher education, but COVID-19 relief efforts for students as well, said Craig Heldman, president and CEO of iModules. It was an incredible giving day for our customers and we are proud to continually provide the tools that move the needle toward engagement and fundraising goals. Results for #GivingTuesdayNow across 270 participating iModules U.S. customers: $2,693,641 gift dollars were processed through iModules Encompass platform The average online gift size was $235.86 11,416 online gifts were made throughout the day Since 2002, iModules has given higher education institutions the power to make more strategic, data-driven marketing decisions that foster alumni engagement and elevate giving through its Encompass platform. By enriching the alumni experience and streamlining the daily workload of school staff, Encompass ensures that the institutions brand legacy flourishes. For more details about #GivingTuesdayNow, visit now.givingtuesday.org. About GivingTuesdayNow #GivingTuesdayNow is a new global day of giving and unity that took place on May 5, 2020 as an emergency response to the unprecedented need cause by COVID-19. This new day is organized by GivingTuesday, and is being held in addition to the annually scheduled GivingTuesday event that will still take place on December 1, 2020. In partnership with GivingTuesdays global network of leaders, partners, communities and generous individuals, this event is set to spark an increase in grassroots generosity, citizen engagement, business and philanthropy activation, and support for communities and nonprofits around the world. People can show their generosity in a variety of ways to participate in #GivingTuesdayNowwhether its helping a neighbor, advocating for an issue, sharing a skill, or giving to causes, every act of generosity counts. The movement is currently focused on opportunities to give back to communities and causes in safe ways that allow for social connection and kindness even while practicing physical distancing. About iModules Powerful technology. Inspired engagement. Lifelong relationships. More than 800 higher education institutions partner with iModules to drive larger gifts, increase event attendance and membership, and improve participation rates through data-driven, meaningful engagement. Learn more at imodules.com. While the coronavirus pandemic has compelled many Indian weddings to postpone, there are still many couples who are finding ways to marry online over video calls or with the assistance of the cops. In one such incident, the Nagpur Police was roped in as family members for a bride, who had lost her parents, and the lockdown made it impossible for her relatives to be present at the ceremony. A policeman was seen standing beside the couple wearing a face mask. The Nagpur Police took to Twitter to say that the police personnel attended the wedding "to bless the newly married couple." It also added, "The bride's parents had passed away. There was no one from her family to attend her marriage due to movement restrictions. #NagpurPolice tried to fulfill this absence." The bride's parents had passed away. There was no one from her family to attend her marriage due to movement restrictions. #NagpurPolice tried to fulfill this absence.PI and staff were present to bless the newly wedded couple at #Nagpur.#LockdownStories#alwaysthere4u pic.twitter.com/5tvBNt4EyF Nagpur City Police (@NagpurPolice) May 6, 2020 As soon as the post went viral, netizens hailed the police's "act of humanity and compassion towards society." Act of Humanity and Compassion towards society. https://t.co/51P07bDF9r Abhay Alode (@AbhayAlode) May 6, 2020 And whosoever said, police walas are heartless & rude!?!Kudos #NagpurCityPoliceGreat #humanitarian values worth appreciation! Mallika Kaleem (@MallikaKaleem) May 6, 2020 Truly Great drsharmask (@drsharmask) May 6, 2020 Thank you for helping citizens.Because of people like u we are assured that the city is safe!!God bless you n ur family!! #goodkarma #safecity mon_naturelover (@NatureloverMon) May 6, 2020 Good effort and muck appreciated. Saurabh Vishwakarma (@Citizen_Saurabh) May 6, 2020 Great job sir TARIQUE ANSARI (@TARIQUE18488052) May 6, 2020 We proud you. SANJIV M (@sansar1970) May 6, 2020 Earlier, another couple in Delhi had tied the knot with two policemen as their only guests. New Delhi: Rabindranath Tagore, one of the most celebrated and revered polymaths India ever had left behind a rich legacy of work inspiring generations across the globe. Tagore, also known as Gurudev played a pivotal role in shaping the Bengali literature, art and music. On his 159th birth anniversary, let's get to know him a little better. These lesser-known facts about Gurudev will surely inspire you: --Rabindranath Tagore was the youngest of thirteen surviving children. He was born in the Jorasanko mansion in Calcutta to Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi. Unfortunately, his mother died at an early age and father travelled widely for work. He was nicknamed as Rabi. --Interestingly, the Tagore family was at the forefront of the Bengal renaissance. Their family published literary magazines; theatre and recitals of Bengali and Western classical music featured regularly. --Rabindranath Tagore became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. It was for the beautifully written Gitanjali. --The Bard of Bengal's compositions were chosen by two nations as national anthems: India's Jana Gana Mana and Bangladesh's Amar Shonar Bangla. Also, the Sri Lankan national anthem was inspired by his work. --Tagore had a unique vision for school training which he conceptualised and named the school Visva-Bharati. Tagore employed a brahmacharya system: gurus gave pupils personal guidanceemotional, intellectual, and spiritual. Teaching was often done under trees. He staffed the school, contributed his Nobel Prize monies, and his duties as steward-mentor at Santiniketan kept him busy: mornings he taught classes; afternoons and evenings he wrote the students' textbooks. He fundraised widely for the school in Europe and the United States between 1919 and 1921. --Tagore's Nobel Prize was stolen from the safety vault of the Visva-Bharati University, along with several other of his belongings on March 25, 2004. However, on December 7, 2004, the Swedish Academy decided to present two replicas of Tagore's Nobel Prize, one made of gold and the other made of bronze, to the Visva-Bharati University. It inspired the fictional film Nobel Chor. In a unanimous and unambiguous ruling delivered in the late evening hours of May 6, an expanded panel of 11 Israeli Supreme Court justices green lighted the power-sharing agreement between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz. The ruling paves the way for the May 13 swearing-in of Israels 35th government, ending months of interim governments and setting aside prospects of a fourth round of elections. With the High Court ruling published, the Knesset adopted on the morning of May 7 amendments to quasi-constitutional basic laws, thus enabling Likud and Blue and White to proceed with the unity deal signed on April 20. Netanyahu is expected to present today to President Reuven Rivlin a Knesset majority backing him for the mission of composing the new government. The power of the ruling lies in its unanimity. Following two days of lengthy deliberations, the panel, led by Chief Justice Esther Hayut, rejected all the petitions filed against Netanyahus eligibility to form a government in light of his indictment on charges of corruption and against his rotation deal with Gantz. While the judges voiced reservations about the public and moral implications of a government led by an indicted politician, they stopped short of intervening and adhered to the letter of the law that does not disqualify Netanyahu for the position. The ruling brings to an end the political-legal drama that played out this week in two Jerusalem arenas: the Supreme Court and the nearby Knesset building, with its plenum and committees. While the justices were hearing the petitioners arguments, lawmakers conducted a blitz of legislation to anchor the coalition agreement between Netanyahus Likud and Gantzs Blue and White party, which entails unprecedented amendments of basic laws anchoring the authority of the government and Knesset. The court left open the possibility that it may intervene down the line on the issue of Netanyahus term as alternate prime minister, a newly minted title designed to cement the arrangement between Gantz and Netanyahu. However, the two will undoubtedly be able to overcome that obstacle by additional legislation when the time comes for them to switch seats 18 months from now. Netanyahu and Gantz are the two biggest winners of the ruling. Against all the odds, Netanyahu has not only managed to survive three rounds of elections in the past year and to dismantle Blue and White, the only party to seriously challenge his rule in over a decade, he has received a seal of approval from the nations top court to remain in power despite his indictment for bribery. Equally impressive was his feat in obtaining the support of his rivals, chief among them Gantz, who for the past year and up until weeks ago had been calling him a corrupt dictator Gantz even referred to him as an "Israeli Erdogan" and vowing never to join a government under his leadership. With the virtuosity of a master, Netanyahu played out a fascinating poker game in recent weeks, constantly upping the ante. With polls strongly in his favor, his evident success in curbing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and in breaking up Blue and White, he could have gambled on new elections. Experienced politicians, such as Yisrael Beitenu chief Avigdor Liberman, considered an expert on Netanyahus inner workings, warned Gantz that Netanyahu was setting him up for a fall and looking for suitable accuses to wriggle out of their deal. That did not happen. Since the March elections, Netanyahu had been engaged in risk management along two parallel axes: preparing for fourth elections while conducting negotiations on a power-sharing government with Gantz. A court ruling disqualifying him would have handed him the ultimate election campaign vis-a-vis his devoted voters convinced the system is hounding him. However, even without more elections, Netanyahu is getting a fifth term even as he faces the start of his trial on May 24. What's more, once he hands over the reins to Gantz in late 2021, he will continue to run the affairs of state as the alternate prime minister. Gantz is also a winner, having taken a tremendous gamble by dismantling his partnership with Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid, who refused to join a Netanyahu-led coalition. Gantz opted for uncharted waters, negotiating with Netanyahu despite his deep mistrust of the man, and ultimately ensuring his future term as prime minister, to the extent possible. Had Netanyahu chosen the route to new elections, Gantz would have found himself at a grave disadvantage, bereft of the strong voter backing that made him a realistic challenger to the prime minister in three election rounds. Instead, Gantz will be running the affairs of state alongside Netanyahu, while his former Blue and White partners Lapid and Moshe Yaalon are stuck on the benches of an opposition greatly outnumbered and outmaneuvered by a broad coalition of over 70 of the 120-Knesset members. Many losers have emerged from this controversial coupling, chief among them Liberman and Lapid, who cooperated over the past year and a half in a failed bid to bring down Netanyahu. Lapid, at least, will get a consolation prize as leader of the parliamentary opposition, a statutory role that provides him with various official trappings such as Shin Bet bodyguards. Liberman, on the other hand, will have to reinvent himself under less than auspicious terms as head of a small seven-member opposition faction. The Netanyahu-Gantz government is emerging after a painful birth, having overcome exhausting negotiations and devious machinations on the part of Netanyahu, who refused to give in on most of his key demands. The air in the closed-door negotiating rooms was thick with mistrust, with Gantz harboring well-founded concern that his interlocutor would bolt at the last minute. Nonetheless, surprisingly so, the new government could turn out to be one of the most stable to rule Israel in recent times. Neither side would have an interest in dismantling this platform. A few hours before the Supreme Court ruling, Netanyahu and Gantz decided to extend their agreement from three to four years, providing their government with a broad horizon. This will provide Netanyahu with political immunity during the period of his trial, safeguarding his position as head of the Likud and allowing him to push ahead with what he hopes will be his historic legacy the annexation of Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the auspices of the Donald Trump administration. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is reportedly planning to visit Israel next week and the Trump plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace will likely be on the agenda of his talks with Netanyahu. Gantz will have no incentive to walk away from this government, certainly not in its initial 18 months with the prize of the prime ministers office dangling before him. Not only that. Gantz is a convenient partner, a good-natured, newbie politician with a solid military background, able to put aside hurdles of ego and strife. In terms of ideology, too, he and Netanyahu are not too far apart, improving prospects that they will work together in harmony. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has convened a meeting of the National Disaster Management Authority in the wake of the situation in Visakhapatnam following a gas leak incident, the Prime Minister's Office said. The meet has been convened at 11.00 am, the PMO tweeted. At least six people died and nearly 100 were hospitalised after gas leaked from a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam in the early hours of Thursday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A majority of Manitobans support the idea of a guaranteed minimum income, and even more believe governments should lean on big business and rich people to pay for the COVID-19 pandemic, a new poll has found. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 6/5/2020 (622 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A majority of Manitobans support the idea of a guaranteed minimum income, and even more believe governments should lean on big business and rich people to pay for the COVID-19 pandemic, a new poll has found. METHODOLOGY Click to Expand Probe Research surveyed online 803 randomly selected Manitoba adults from April 24 to 28. The sample was taken from both Probes online panel and a national surveyor, and slightly weighted for age, gender and region. Technically, online samples do not have margins of errors like phone samples, but Probe says its results should be interpreted as having an MOE of 3.46 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. "This has really thrown into focus how precarious people's incomes are. And that's why I think we're seeing the high degree of support for a universal basic income (UBI)," said Curtis Brown, a principal at Probe Research. His firm polled 803 Manitobans online a week ago, asking to what extent theyd support governments taking various steps "after the pandemic is over" to "help people and businesses." The polling, released Tuesday to the Free Press and CTV Winnipeg, found the most support for raising taxes on corporations and high-income earners. But Probe also found 62 per cent support "introducing a universal basic income," with majority support across income, age and employment sector. PC voters, however, were the least supportive, at 40 per cent. The enthusiasm for a "mincome" doesnt justify rushing into such a program, said Derek Hum, a former University of Manitoba professor who oversaw Canadas only major basic-income experiment. "It is not a time to make dramatic social program changes on a permanent basis, with very questionable constitutional backing right now," said Hum, who oversaw the four-year "mincome" experiment in Winnipeg and Dauphin, which ended in 1978. While millions have embraced the federal Canada Emergency Response Benefit, Hum said the monthly $2,000 isnt necessarily how either a universal basic income or a guaranteed annual income would work. "The term basic income has cropped up in the context of this virus, but people have no idea what it is, and they are free to construct in their own mind what they think (it is)," he said. Hum said the Probe survey is interesting, but doesnt meet an academic standard for researching the issue. "There has never been a good, national poll in the pre-virus context of what people think about this, that I think is reliable," he said. "Obviously, there is a heightened awareness of it now, and probably an uptick in support that might not be there in normal times." Prior to the coronavirus shutdown, the Pallister government had favoured making Manitoba a low-tax destination for businesses. The premier might have to reconsider that policy, with the poll finding 82 per cent of Manitobans support "increasing tax rates paid by large corporations." The poll also found 75 per cent support for increasing income tax rates for higher-income citizens. Both measures were more popular among women and lower-income respondents, but they even garnered majority support among PC voters, who tend to dislike tax increases. "If the provincial or federal government were to think about ways to increase revenue, the easiest way for them to do that politically would be to increase taxes on wealthy people or corporations. But theres a lot of reasons why that might not happen," said Brown, noting that both tend to find ways to avoid paying taxes or move to other jurisdictions. Forty-two per cent of Manitobans said they support increasing sales taxes. Premier Brian Pallister had planned to drop the PST by a percentage point, to six per cent, but cancelled the plan when COVID-19 hit the province. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Brown said sales taxes tend to be a tangible expense, and people tend to support lowering them. "Its something that everyones affected by in some way, as opposed to saying companies should pay more," he said. Brown added that poll respondents tend to be reluctant to raise the PST when a specific percentage is proposed, because the cost is easier to understand. Among the five options in the poll, Manitobans had the least enthusiasm (16 per cent) for increasing taxes on small business. Brown said the views align with the popularity of buy-local campaigns and concern that large corporations will outlive local businesses because they can take on more debt and have more flexible supply chains. dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca The Uttar Pradesh government has withdrawn cases lodged in the state's Shamli district against 28 people during the 2013 Muzaffarnagar communal riots. In Shamli, BJP MLA Tejendra Nirwal said local party leader Dhanshyam Parcha was also among those against whom the cases were withdrawn. On the basis of the district administration's report, the case lodged against 28 persons has been withdrawn by the government earlier this week, state's Law Minister Brijesh Pathak said. The cases have been withdrawn following the necessary procedure, Pathak said, adding that since this was an important issue the opinion of the Attorney General was also taken. Nirwal had also made a recommendation in this regard, he said. Most of the cases have been withdrawn after proper examination, he said, adding that they were found to be politically motivated to harass people. The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh had decided in March 2018 to withdraw riot cases related to Muzaffarnagar and other places in the state if they smacked of being "politically motivated". At least 62 persons died and a large number of people lost their homes in the riots that took place in September 2013. Following the violence, a total of 503 cases were lodged against around 1,455 persons at police stations in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli by the then Samajwadi Party government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The most likely but worst possible response would be for Maryland to find another private partner who can take over the project. After all, the state has already spent money to begin the construction. However, this would be a classic misuse of the sunk cost argument that is both fundamentally flawed and dangerous. It is more rational to walk away from a project if the incremental benefits are less than the incremental costs. But how many dollars Maryland has already spent on the project is irrelevant to this analysis. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE A financial takeover of the Espanola Public School District by the New Mexico Public Education Department in 2016 led to a series of mistakes costing millions of dollars, according to an audit of the districts finances. The districts annual audit for fiscal year 2019, performed by Las Cruces-based firm Fierro and Fierro, found 17 instances of noncompliance in Espanola Public Schools finances, ranging from uncashed checks worth more than $140,000 to school accounts not matching PED cash reports. In one finding alone, auditors found 12 deficiencies in the districts accounting processes. A bond fund was overspent by more than $700,000. Future payroll costs were not figured into the cash balance. A failure to submit required IRS forms could lead to $1.2 million in fines. Throughout the 152-page report, auditors repeatedly cite PEDs contracted business managers as the cause behind many of the findings. PED originally took control of the districts finances in 2016, due to a series of procurement and budgetary violations committed by school officials. Over the next two years, PED contracted with two separate business managers to run Espanolas finances. Both were paid for by the district. Auditors wrote that PED failed to ensure a qualified business manager was present at the district and failed to monitor them while they controlled the districts finances. The method to resolve the deficiencies within the accounting system failed, auditors wrote of PEDs takeover. While this model may work for smaller entities, it did not work effectively for Espanola Public School District. PED returned financial control to the district last July. Months later, the district began reporting various errors made by PEDs fiscal agents. Espanola Superintendent Fred Trujillo said PED is not responsible for all of the findings, but the errors listed were surprising. Initially, when I looked at the report, it was concerning to me, he said. Its gonna have long-lasting effects on the district. In total, the errors made by PED have cost the district an estimated $3 million, then-chief operations officer Daniel Romero said in January. After multiple errors were revealed in 2019, some Espanola School Board members said PED should pay the district back, especially for the more than $1 million potentially lost to IRS fines. Trujillo said any future lawsuit would have to wait until the district receives a response from the IRS, from which the district hopes to receive forgiveness on the fines. PED spokeswoman Nancy Martira wrote Wednesday the department was still reviewing the findings, but they will reach out to district officials about the issues. We look forward to continuing to work together with the Espanola School District to resolve these challenges that arose under the previous administration, she wrote. At least 15 people were detained after they allegedly created ruckus and pelted stones at police over the issue of movement restrictions in a COVID-19 cluster quarantined area of Gujarat's Surat district, an official said on Thursday. Some areas of Paligam locality near Sachin industrial area in Surat were cluster quarantined and sealed after a resident tested positive for coronavirus a few days back, Deputy Commissioner of Police Vidhi Chaudhari said. Though residents were asked to stay inside the barricaded area, many did not listen and started moving in and out of the sealed area on Wednesday night, she said. "When police asked the residents to follow quarantine rules, they started arguing with the security personnel. Later, two groups of residents engaged in a heated debate over some issue and started throwing stones at each other. When police teams went there, they started throwing stones on the police personnel also," Chaudhari said. A video of the incident later surfaced in which policemen were purportedly seen trying to save themselves from stones being thrown from terraces in the area. Chaudhari said while no policeman was injured in the stone-pelting, nearly 15 people from the area were detained late night. The situation in the area was under control, she added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) For FY2020 Group revenue at $625.2 Mn (44,274 Mn); de-growth of 5.3% (4.0% in CC terms) and degrowth 4.1% YoY ( terms) Services revenue at $550.7 Mn ; de-growth of 5.1% (3.7% in CC terms) DLM revenue at $74.6 Mn ; de-growth of 6.6% Normalized EBIT excluding one-offs at 4,084 Mn; de-growth of 23.4% Normalized EBIT margins excluding one-offs at 9.2%; lower by 232 bps Normalized EBIT margin for services excluding one-offs at 10.5%, lower by 228bps Free Cash flow at 4,102Mn (highest ever) Free Cash Flow conversion at 56.9% Normalized PAT at 3,727 Mn; de-growth of 23.9% Total dividend for the year stood at Rs 15 /- per share For Q4 FY20 Consolidated revenue at $149.2 Mn ; degrowth of 3.8% QoQ and de-growth of 9.7% YoY ; degrowth of 3.8% QoQ and de-growth of 9.7% YoY Services revenue at $132.3 Mn ; de-growth of 5.6% QoQ (5.4% in CC) and de-growth 10.0% YoY ; de-growth of 5.6% QoQ (5.4% in CC) and de-growth 10.0% YoY DLM revenue at $17 Mn ; growth of 12.4% QoQ; de-growth of 7.1% YoY ; growth of 12.4% QoQ; de-growth of 7.1% YoY Cash flow to EBITDA conversion at 74.0% Normalized EBIT excluding one-offs at 905 Mn Normalized EBIT margin excluding one-offs 8.4%; lower by 118 bps QoQ Normalized EBIT margin for services excluding one-offs at 9.6%, lower by 100 bps QoQ Business Highlights Signed an agreement with Hitachi Rail to deliver a series of project engineering services to support and accelerate the evolution of its signaling technology and enhance its project execution capacity in April 2020 to deliver a series of project engineering services to support and accelerate the evolution of its signaling technology and enhance its project execution capacity in Mysore facility to support manufacturing of COVID-19 diagnosis units and X-ray system assemblies Providing Telangana State Police with drone-based surveillance technology to help implement the COVID-19 related lockdown in Hyderabad Contributed 20 Mn to the Telangana Chief Minister's Relief Fund to support the government's efforts in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020 Message from the Management Commenting on the results, Mr. Krishna Bodanapu, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Our performance was below expectations both on revenue and margin terms largely due to the impact of COVID which was significant on many parts of our business. Our revenue for the quarter stood at $149.2 Mn, 3.8% lower QoQ in constant currency. Services revenue at $132.3 Mn is lower by 5.4% in constant currency due to de-growth in Utilities and Semiconductor businesses and was offset by an increase in the Aerospace & Defense business. The DLM revenue at $17 Mn was higher by 12.4% QoQ. Our Gross margin at 33.5% was lower by 248 bps QoQ with significant impact due to the shortfall in revenue. DLM gross margin at 13.3% was lower due to changes in revenue mix. Lower utilization during the quarter due to COVID preparedness also impacted the margin. Our EBIT margin was lower by 120 bps mainly due to a volume drop. For the year, our revenue stood at $625.2 Mn which is 5.3% lower YoY. Services revenue at $550.7 Mn was lower by 5.1% YoY while DLM at $74.6 Mn was lower by 6.6%. Degrowth in the services business was driven predominantly by A&D, Communication and Portfolio BUs. We are focused on accelerating business growth and have strengthened our leadership team with the appointment of Karthik Natarajan as the President & Chief Operating Officer and Felice Gray-Kemp as Sr. Vice President & General Counsel. With both joining us we will strengthen our focus on winning new business, especially in digital focused, IP-driven solutions and services. We will continue to strengthen our capabilities across business verticals and realign ourselves to achieve growth through these challenging times." Commenting on the results, Mr. Ajay Aggarwal, President & CFO, said, "The revenue for FY20 stood at $625.2 Mn ( 44,274 Mn) with operating profit of $57 Mn ( 4,084 Mn) and normalized PAT of $52.2 Mn ( 3,727 Mn). Our sustained focus on collections led to a robust EBIDTA to FCF conversion of 56.9% and healthy cash balance of 9,518 Mn. We generated FCF of 4,102 Mn for the year. We are preparing to secure future in these challenging times with an aggressive cost control and optimization plan with primary focus on liquidity and cash. This includes rigorous initiatives on collections, working capital cycles, receivables, payables, and discretionary cost control. We continue to tap opportunities for automation, pyramid rationalization, subcontracting cost optimization and other cost levers. We expect our margins to strengthen in FY21 where the full benefits of improved operational efficiency will be visible. The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down the positive momentum that we had seen building in the overall performance. However, we stay confident in our ability to embrace and adapt to the new normal and to get back to an industry-leading growth and profitability position over the long term." Business Performance & Outlook Aerospace & Defense Aerospace & Defense BU witnessed a growth of 4.7% QoQ and de-growth of 6.9% YoY in Q4 FY20 predominately driven by weak customer spend and impact of COVID pandemic from mid of Q4. For full year, BU de-growth is at 4.7% YoY. Services business is expected to de-grow through the year due to the global industry challenges caused by COVID. Growth momentum is likely to be back in Q4. We continue to see growth in our DLM business with significant order wins. Defense market spends seems to be promising and is expected to grow in this FY which gives Cyient an opportunity for growth. Transportation Transportation BU witnessed a de-growth of 3.5% QoQ and 15.9% YoY in Q4 FY20 driven by supply side challenges in the Q4, in addition to delay in closure of new deals. For full year Transportation BU witnessed a de-growth of 4.2% YoY. The year we extended the MSA with a key client, new client wins and initiation of a strategic DLM project in signalling space. The outlook for the year continues to be moderate and we expect growth across several key clients. Communications Communications BU witnessed a de-growth of 2% QoQ and growth of 1.1% YoY in Q4 FY20. The performance was better in the second half of the year compared to first half with a growth of 11% driven by generation of new revenue streams in key clients, new client additions, revenue streams from 5G rollouts and expansion into new segment. For full year Communications BU witnessed a de-growth of 8.1% YoY. For the year the industry is expected to investment in improving network, 5G technology increasing adoption of IoT and smart city solutions. E&U The Energy and Utilities BU witnessed a de-growth of 20.5% QoQ and 18.3% YoY in Q4 FY20 impacted by closing of two major utilities projects and supply side challenges in Q4. For full year Energy and Utilities BU witnessed a de-growth of 0.6% YoY. The BU witnessed a flat growth YoY. The business is expected to be impacted in the near term with uncertainties over demand and supply, investment strategies and business models. We expect the business to recover in the second half of the year. Semiconductor Semiconductor business witnessed de-growth of 22.3% QoQ and 35.1% YoY in Q4 FY20 predominantly driven by IC chips delivery issues due to disruptions in the supply chain. For full year SIA BU witnessed a degrowth of 14.3% YoY. We expect positive business momentum through opportunities in design services for large digital chips, embedded systems and software for automotive and new turnkey silicon opportunities. Medical Technology and Healthcare The Medical and Healthcare business witnessed a de-growth of 10.9% QoQ and a growth of 12.7% YoY. Revenue from key clients has grown considerably through the year. For full year MT&H BU witnessed a growth of 18.5% YoY. We also witnessed a strong growth in the manufacturing side of the business. With the focus on COVID related services we expect positive momentum to be back in the second half of the year. Portfolio Portfolio BU witnessed a de-growth of 3.0% QoQ and 10.6% YoY. The business was impacted by supply side challenges in Q4 predominantly in the industrial business. For full year Portfolio BU witnessed a degrowth of 9.7% YoY. Our Geospatial business grew QoQ led by a strong performance in two of our top three clients. For the year we expect the revenue to decline as clients are likely to limit their IT spends. Operational Highlights CSR Activities Continue to support 28 Government Schools providing education to 18,500+ under privileged children Continue to support 70 Cyient Digital Centers (CDCs) in around Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Provided training to the 3rd pilot batch of 300 unemployed women on tailoring, bakery and beauty courses through the Cyient Urban Micro Skill Center (CUMSC) for urban poor Organized a blood donation drive to commemorate 100 years of the Indian Red Cross Society. Witnessed participation by more than 500 volunteers Took up the cause of girl child welfare by organizing activities geared to help under privileged adolescent girls Awards & Recognitions Won the Supplier Innovation Award for the seventh consecutive year and the Supplier Highest Productivity Award for the fourth year in a row at the Annual Pratt and Whitney Supplier Summit 2019 Won the 2019 Harithaharam Award at the CII Telangana State Annual Meeting 2019-20 for sustainable efforts in improving tree cover in the state About Cyient Cyient (Estd: 1991, NSE: CYIENT) provides engineering, manufacturing, geospatial, digital, networks, and operations management solutions to global industry leaders. Cyient leverages the power of digital technology and advanced analytics capabilities, along with domain knowledge and technical expertise, to solve complex business problems. As a Design, Build and Maintain partner, Cyient takes solution ownership across the value chain to help clients focus on their core, innovate, and stay ahead of the curve. Relationships form the core of how Cyient works. With over 15,000 employees in 22 countries, Cyient partners with clients to operate as part of their extended team, in ways that best suit their organization's culture and requirements. Cyient's industry focus includes aerospace and defense, medical, telecommunications, rail transportation, semiconductor, utilities, industrial, energy and natural resources. For more information, please visit www.cyient.com. Follow news about the company at @Cyient. Contact Details Media Relations Perfect Relations Vishal Thapa Mobile: +91 9701834446 Email: [email protected] Disclaimer This document contains certain forward-looking statements on our future prospects. Although Cyient believes that expectations contained in these statements are reasonable, their nature involves a number of risks and uncertainties that may lead to different results. These forward-looking statements represent only the current expectations and beliefs, and the company provides no assurance that such expectations will prove correct. All the references to Cyient's financial results in this update pertain to the company's consolidated operations comprising wholly-owned and Step-down subsidiaries Cyient Europe Limited; Cyient Inc.; Cyient GmbH; Cyient Australia Pty Ltd; Cyient Singapore Private Limited; Cyient KK; Cyient Israel India Limited; Cyient Insights Private Limited; Cyient Canada Inc.; Cyient Defense Services Inc.; Certon Software Inc.; Certon Instruments Inc.; B&F Design Inc.; New Technology Precision Machining Co. Inc.; Cyient Insights LLC; Cyient Benelux BV; Cyient Schweiz GmbH; Cyient SRO; AnSem NV; AnSem B.V.; Cyient AB; partly owned subsidiaries Cyient Solutions and Systems Private Limited; Cyient DLM Private Limited; joint venture Infotech HAL Ltd (HAL JV) & associate company Infotech Aerospace Services Inc. (IASI) until 8th December 2017. The income statement and cash flow provided is in the internal MIS format. MIS format is different from the income statement published as part of the financial results, which is as per the statutory requirement. SOURCE Cyient Related Links http://www.cyient.com By Supantha Mukherjee and Neha Malara (Reuters) - The New York Times Co crossed five million digital subscribers, adding a record number and withstanding a heavy drop in ad revenue in the first quarter that was dominated by heavy news coverage around the COVID-19 pandemic. Shares of the publisher, which beat quarterly profit and revenue estimates, were up 6% in afternoon trading. The media company, which gets nearly two-thirds of its revenue from subscriptions, said on Wednesday it expects revenue from digital subscriptions to increase in the high-twenties in the second quarter. By Supantha Mukherjee and Neha Malara (Reuters) - The New York Times Co crossed five million digital subscribers, adding a record number and withstanding a heavy drop in ad revenue in the first quarter that was dominated by heavy news coverage around the COVID-19 pandemic. Shares of the publisher, which beat quarterly profit and revenue estimates, were up 6% in afternoon trading. The media company, which gets nearly two-thirds of its revenue from subscriptions, said on Wednesday it expects revenue from digital subscriptions to increase in the high-twenties in the second quarter. The company added 587,000 net new digital subscriptions in the reported quarter. Of the additions, 468,000 were for its core news product, which has more than four million subscriptions. "The business model, with its growing focus on digital subscription growth and diminishing reliance on advertising, is very well positioned to ride out this storm and thrive in a post-pandemic world," Chief Executive Officer Mark Thompson said. The Times has focused on online for several years to stem losses from its print subscription platform and to lower its dependence on ad revenue. Advertising sales have been unpredictable and the sector is one of the hardest hit as companies slashed ad budgets to save cash and buffer the sharp drop in business due to global lockdowns. The publisher said it expects advertising revenue in the current quarter to slide between 50% and 55% from a year earlier. Advertising revenue in the first quarter fell 15% to $106.1 million. "Many investors anticipated that the company would not provide updated advertising guidance, and doing so should at least remove some uncertainty about forecasting the rest of 2020," Evercore analysts said. Chief Operating Officer Meredith Kopit Levien told Reuters that advertising revenue from categories like luxury, travel and real estate were more pressured than others. Meanwhile, podcast revenue for the company rose 30% in the quarter, boosted by its popular show "The Daily". "We have been investing a lot in a smaller number of growing categories like tech and telecom where we have very unique collaborations and that is holding up better," Levien said. On a conference call, CEO Thompson signaled cost cuts leading to job losses in the coming months, but said it would be a comparatively small number with no job reduction in journalism. The company's first-quarter revenue rose 1% to $443.6 million, edging past market expectations of $441.1 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Excluding items, it earned 17 cents per share, beating analysts' average estimate of 10 cents. (Reporting by Neha Malara and Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Bernard Orr, Arun Koyyur) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Prisons in Portlaoise and elsewhere in Ireland are still without a confirmed case of Coronavirus thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the Irish Red Cross volunteers and co-operation between prisoners and officers, according to the Irish Red Cross. International Red Cross Day is celebrated on May 8. Irish Red Cross (IRC) Chairperson Pat Carey chose the occasion to thank volunteers for their hard work during the Covid-19 crisis. He outlined what has happened in jails which have been closed to visitors for weeks as part of the national lockdown. "Irish prisons are still without a confirmed case of Coronavirus thanks to the extraordinary efforts of in-prison IRC volunteers who have been working closely with prison authorities, distributing information about the virus and ensuring that proper infection prevention procedures are in place. "The prisoners and prison officers have worked together to ensure that the prisons remain virus-free," he said. Sandra McCarthy is Director of Nursing at the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise. She told the Leinster Express that the hospital has worked closely with prison authorities in Portlaoise which is the location for Ireland's biggest prison campus. "We've done a lot of work with the Prison Service as well. It is important that we recognise them as a population that requires further assistance. We've had teleconferences with them looking at symptoms etc. I believe they haven't had any outbreak but we have planned as to how we will be there to assist. She said preparation for an outbreak is ongoing. "We have to look at the security plan for them clinical plan and how we can support the medical services that they have on-site augmented with decisions here to link in. They have a system if they're sending anybody over to us the will phone ahead," she said. The wife of Australian miner has shared the horror of watching her husband struggle to breathe after drinking two cans of expired soft drink in Bali. Former Kalgoorlie miner Kevin James Nunn died at his Denpasar home on Wednesday. The 68-year-old drank two cans of expired tonic water at 8am before complaining about chest pains and his struggle to breathe. Mr Nunn's wife Arianti told 7 News she was terrified as she watched her partner fight for his life. Arianti Nunn has described the horror of watching her husband Kevin James Nunn (pictured together) struggling to breathe before he died in Bali on Wednesday 'I start to panic, I start to panic and I just screaming, I screaming,' she said. 'He get hard to breathe, its very bad. Really, really bad.' Mrs Nunn consulted with a doctor at a nearby chemist and brought home malaria medication which she gave to her husband. The 29-year-old then gave him Bear Brand Milk, a form of sweet condensed local milk in a can, which made Mr Nunn vomit. Balinese police are conducting forensic tests on the cans of soft drink, which expired two months ago, to determine whether or not Mr Nunn was poisoned. Mr Nunn drank two cans of expired tonic water before complaining of chest pains, with Balinese police conducting tests on the drinks to determine whether he was poisoned Mrs Nunn said she panicked and screamed while watching Mr Nunn fighting for his life His body was taken to nearby Sanglah Hospital, where a COVID-19 test was conducted but came back negative. Mr Nunn's family and his wife believe he may have had a heart attack. It is understood that Mr Nunn drank whiskey and Coca-Cola the previous night. Aussie expats in Bali can been often seen wiping the tops of cans and bottles to avoid the rat urine-borne disease leptospirosis which can be fatal. Denpasar police chief Jansen Avitus Panjaitan said police were yet to confirm how Mr Nunn died. 'We found that he had drunk something that was expired but we dont know yet whether it has caused the death,' he said. 'We need a laboratory test and forensic tests and it is still ongoing.' Mr Nunn's family have granted permission for an autopsy to be conducted. The couple had returned to Bali, where Mr Nunn had lived for five years, on March 14 after a recent holiday in Australia. Mr Nunn's family and his wife believe the 68-year-old former miner may have had a heart attack Tributes began pouring over social media on Thursday for Mr Nunn, who was known by friends as 'Nunny'. 'Devastating to hear you've left us dude. My thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to your family, especially that beautiful little girl of yours. Till we meet again, Rest Easy big homie,' one friend wrote. His wife said she was heartbroken she had lost her best partner and asked for others prayers. 'With very heavy heart today my best partner, my husband, my love, passed away in the home at 2pm, after cannot breathing properly (heart attack) Please spare some time for prayer over his soul,' his wife wrote. 'I love you so much my best partner.' 'So sad and sorry to hear Kevin passed away. Very good and king guy,' one friend responded. Another wrote: 'He was a great bloke, I have known Nunny for years. Rest in peace Nunny.' Mr Nunn is the second Australian man to have died in Bali this week and the third in a month. Brisbane man Christopher Steven Tolley (right) was found dead in a Seminyak hotel room on Tuesday after he failed to check out at 12.30pm. He is pictured with his wife and sons His death comes a day after Brisbane man Christopher Steven Tolley was discovered unresponsive in bed by house keeping staff at the Fave Hotel in Seminyak after failing to check out of his room. The 47-year-old's cause and time of death is yet to be determined, with an autopsy expected in coming days. He has been tested for coronavirus, with the test results coming back negative. Last month, Perth travel app founder and surfer Rhodri Lloyd Thomas,31, was found dead in the pool of his Canggu villa he shared with his girlfriend. Local police believe Mr Thomas may have passed out underwater from exhaustion after running in blistering temperatures. A McDonald's worker has tested positive for coronavirus, but the fast food restaurant remains open to the public. The employee, from the Fawkner store in Melbourne's north, tested positive earlier this week. The infected staff member last worked in the store on Thursday, April 30. McDonald's Australia told 3AW on Thursday that the health department didn't tell the outlet to ask any other employees to isolate or get tested. But the fast food giant asked seven workers and one manager to self-isolate for 14 days as a precaution. The employee, from the Fawkner store (pictured) in Melbourne's north, tested positive earlier this week. The staff member last work in the store on April 30 McDonald's Australia confirmed in a statement that an employee at the Fawkner outlet has been diagnosed with COVID-19, and is now and is self-isolating at home McDonald's Australia confirmed in a statement that an employee at the Fawkner outlet has been diagnosed with COVID-19, and is now and is self-isolating at home. 'There is no suggestion the employee was exposed to COVID-19 in the restaurant. The employee last worked at the restaurant on Thursday 30 April,' the statement read. 'We have notified all restaurant employees and received official confirmation of a positive diagnosis from the Department of Health this morning. 'The Fawkner restaurant has continued to conduct strict cleaning and sanitisation procedures and remains open.' The McDonald's case comes as another 13 workers tested positive to COVID-19 at a Cedar Meats in Melbourne's west, bringing the cluster's total to 62. But Premier Daniel Andrews has hosed down any concerns about his government's handling of the outbreak. 'This has been a model example...of dealing with an outbreak,' he told reporters on Thursday. The fresh cases at the facility include seven infected workers and six of their close contacts. They are among 14 new infections in Victoria on Thursday, bringing the state's total to 1454. Mr Andrews said the new cases at Cedar Meats demonstrate just how contagious the illness is. 'That's the nature of outbreaks. This is a very infectious disease, it spreads rapidly,' he told reporters. An abattoir worker tested positive to COVID-19 on April 2, but the workplace wasn't regarded as an exposure site because the employee had told health officials they hadn't been at work for weeks. The McDonald's case comes as another 13 workers tested positive to COVID-19 at a Cedar Meats in Melbourne's west, bringing the cluster's total to 62 The second case linked to the workplace was diagnosed on April 24, followed by a third case about 24 hours later. The second case linked to the workplace was diagnosed on April 24, followed by a third case about 24 hours later. The department took further actions, including closing the site, on April 29. Mr Andrews said health officials were right not to question the account given by the worker who tested positive on April 2. 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 'If you say I have not been at work for four weeks, then we take you on face value,' he said. 'If you looked where people said they hadn't been, well that wouldn't have any sense and we could never have enough staff to do it.' He noted Australia's Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy had commended the state government's handling of the outbreak at a meeting earlier in the week. 'I am very confident that everything that can be done is being done by a dedicated team of contact tracers,' he said. The meat facility outbreak has rocked Victoria ahead of a national cabinet expected to outline a relaxation on coronavirus restrictions. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 03:39:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BRUSSELS, May 6 (Xinhua) -- China and European Union (EU) relations have kept a sound momentum of development in the past 45 years. Under the new circumstances, the two sides are now facing shared new missions, and it is more important than ever to keep the China-EU ties in good shape, Zhang Ming, head of the Chinese Mission to the EU, has said. Zhang made the remarks in an article published Wednesday by Brussels Times and Euroactiv on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the establishment of China-EU diplomatic ties. He said the two sides have in the past 45 years established the comprehensive strategic partnership, and are actively promoting partnerships for peace, growth, reform and civilization. "China-EU relations have been enhanced with new dynamism and dimensions over the past 45 years. Last year, our bilateral trade was worth 300 times as much as that in the early days of our diplomatic relations," he wrote, noting bilateral cooperation has expanded to many more areas such as peace and security, environment, science, technology, culture, education and health. Forty-five years on, the two sides are now facing shared new missions under the new circumstances, said the Chinese envoy. "The COVID-19 has posed unprecedented health, economic and social challenges to the whole international community, including China and the EU. This crisis has prompted us to carefully think about how to keep our economies and societies resilient, how to promote harmonious co-existence between man and nature, and how to steer globalization in the right direction. To find the answers, it is more important than ever to keep the China-EU relations in good shape," he noted. According to Zhang, the Chinese economy is moving from high-speed growth to high-quality development, in which technological innovation, digital connectivity and environmental protection play a more prominent role. The EU is in a twin transition to a green and digital economy. "We need higher-quality development. We must make economic growth less resource-intensive... It is up to us to foster new drivers of cooperation in these areas, which will help improve livelihoods and better protect the planet that we call home," he said. Zhang also called for closer cooperation. "In face of the pandemic, China and the EU choose to work together in solidarity. This illustrates once again that we are partners that need each other." Talking about the threat to globalization posed by the pandemic, Zhang maintained that "interdependence is not outdated, neither decoupling nor self-isolation offers a way out." "China will not stall its efforts to deepen reform and expand opening-up. We hope that the EU and other global partners will join us in safeguarding an open environment for global cooperation, upholding the multilateral trading system and keeping global supply chains stable," he said. The Chinese ambassador said: "We look forward to concluding a high-level and balanced investment agreement between China and the EU," referring to the ongoing negotiation for the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment between the EU and China, which started in 2013 and aimed to conclude in 2020. Zhang's view was echoed by the EU Ambassador to China Nicolas Chapuis, and the Ambassadors to China of the 27 EU member states, who also published an article both on the EU mission's website and on China Daily on Wednesday. "Successful cooperation on the EU-China bilateral front will be even more important. We will need more trade and investment on both sides, so a swift conclusion of negotiations on the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment will be crucial to this end," they said in the article. Enditem Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 7) The Philippine economy pulled back in the first quarter, contracting by 0.2 percent as the COVID-19 pandemic leaves millions of businesses and households paralyzed under lockdown. The Philippine Statistics Authority said the local economy shrank compared to January-March 2019, when it grew by 5.7 percent when computed using 2018 prices. This is also the first time since the fourth quarter of 1998 when the economy contracted, at the time bogged down by the Asian Financial Crisis and a bad hit from El Nino, Acting Secretary Karl Chua of the National Economic and Development Authority said Thursday. He attributed the worst two-decade drop to three things: the Taal volcano eruption in January, the local transmission of the novel coronavirus, and the subsequent declaration of an enhanced community quarantine in Luzon which accounts for 70 percent of the national output and copied by other provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao. "Containing the spread of the virus and saving hundreds of thousands of lives through the imposition of the ECQ has come at great cost to the Philippine economy," Chua said in a press briefing, adding that the narrow contraction was "respectable" compared to how other economies are faring. RELATED: Luzon braces for massive economic meltdown due to lockdown Global growth has also slumped, with economists saying this could be the worst performance since the Great Depression in the 1930s. Compared to the last three months of 2019, domestic output collapsed by 5.1 percent. The agriculture and industrial sectors slumped by 0.4 percent and 3 percent, respectively, suffering from the first two weeks of Luzon under lockdown. Meanwhile, the services sector managed to grow by 1.4 percent, but not enough to lift the overall performance, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said. The rebasing of government figures in measuring economic trends now uses 2018 prices, deemed a more accurate snapshot of local developments. Prior to this, the PSA has been using prices from the year 2000 for comparison. In terms of production, finance and insurance saw the biggest lift, rising by 9.6 percent during the period. However, manufacturing, transportation and storage, as well as accommodation and food service activities pulled down growth. The tourism sector has been hit hardest by the global pandemic, with cancelled local and international flights since early this year. Government spending also grew by 7.1 percent, but was still a letdown when compared to the 17 percent pickup during the previous quarter. Dwindling inventories, declines in durable equipment, and weaker construction tempered expansion plans. Consumer spending which usually drives economic activity as people eat, shop, and spend time outdoors managed a mere 0.2 percent pickup, attributed only to households investing on health-related expenses as they brace for infections. READ: Duterte adviser bats for gradual reopening of malls, restaurants, public transport after Luzon lockdown Q2 worse The worst may not be over for the Philippines, with Chua noting that the ECQ was extended for six weeks in the country's main financial hub. "Second quarter (growth) might be worse but we are using our policies to proactively manage our trajectory so that by the second half, we can recover gradually... We will see over the months if we need to be adaptive and be more realistic, but I think with the progress we are seeing on the health side, there's a very strong chance that we will have a good recovery," he added, noting that a rebound to growth may be expected during the second half of the year. Chua noted that the lifting of the strict stay-at-home rules in other parts of the country starting this month could revive some business activities, with authorities seeing a V-shaped recovery path. Even Malacanang foresees that growth will slump even further in the second quarter. "We expect the economy to shrink even more during the month of April because the whole month was basically under ECQ and in May, as well," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, Jr. said in a separate media briefing. "There will be a steep decline in the GDP for the second quarter. But we expect a very strong rebound through the government's 'Build, Build, Build' program." Chief market strategist of BDO Unibank Jonathan Ravales said he predicts the economy to contract by at least three percent in the second quarter. This can be expected, he said, considering the country lost the opportunity to do a lot of infrastructure spending in the summer due to the pandemic. But there is a silver lining to this, according to Ravales. I guess if we look at the internet, the informal economy is well and alive, he told CNN Philippines on Thursday. If you have a Facebook, there's such a thing as a marketplace. There's a Viber and there are communities there. They're actually thriving. It's just that it's the underground economy. Meanwhile, economic managers have said that they are now looking at a "zero growth" to a 0.8 contraction scenario for 2020, abandoning what used to be a 6.5-7.5 percent growth target as the coronavirus crisis hounds the economy and hijacks expansion plans. In 2019, the economy grew by 6 percent revised to take into account the 2018 base year. It was a slow start last year with the national budget delayed by four months, leaving new and continuing projects unfunded during the first semester. The COVID-19 crisis is estimated to cost businesses some 700 billion in losses, which could go as high as 1.1 trillion for the entire economy, Chua previously said. Meanwhile, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno has said that the economy will recover via a U-shaped trajectory, plunging this year before returning to the 6 percent level by 2021. The revival of infrastructure projects can also help stimulate activity, Chua said. "The key here in the recovery plan is first, to enhanced the confidence of the people that it is safe to be at home, to go to the groceries, it is safe to work. That is our top priority," the Cabinet official added, pointing out that expanded COVID-19 testing will help policymakers decide on relaxing ECQ measures. Sustained contraction seen Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said he was "disappointed" with the first-quarter slide, adding that he expects the drop to continue until the third quarter. "The BSP expects growth to contract in 2020. The outlook takes into account the contraction in tourist receipts and airline revenues, the decline in Philippine exports, a reduction in remittances from overseas Filipinos, and slower household consumption owing to various containment measures across the country," Diokno said. He asserted that the economy can bounce back by the last three months of the year. Diokno took a different view from Chua, saying he expects a U-shape or more gradual recovery in domestic activity. Some market watchers took the worse-than-expected economic turnout as a sign of a sustained contraction. "Its all but official. The Philippines will likely post a technical recession in 2020 as 1Q slipped into contraction," ING Bank senior economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa said, saying the dismal print showed "how detrimental the lockdown can be for the economy." RELATED: DTI issues list of allowed sectors to work during ECQ and GCQ Mapa said it's up to government to plug the huge gap in domestic activity, as most private businesses remain dark. Analysts at global bank HSBC also said that economic performance will worsen this quarter, but additional fiscal stimulus could help counter this: "Fiscal policy has been relatively slow to respond. Slow passage of the stimulus could lead to continued economic contraction for the remainder of the year and limit the economy's ability to bounce back once the pandemic passes." This was echoed by Ravales who said it is imperative that Congress passes the pending bill on the 700-billion post-quarantine economic stimulus package in order to keep jobs and businesses afloat. That should provide the potential U-shape recovery. A delay of the passage of these reforms is going to be difficult, he said. The ECQ in Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Central Luzon, Davao City, and Cebu will last until May 15, with no word yet regarding a possible lifting or extension. Both analysts said the slowdown will likely trigger another interest rate cut from the BSP, but Diokno said the 1.25 percentage point cut of the key yield is already "appropriate" for now. A version of Aarogya Setu will soon be available to 10 crore users of JioPhone, and testing of the solution is currently underway, a senior government official said. Aarogya Setu is currently available on iOS and Android, and nearly 9 crore users have already downloaded the app, which has now been made mandatory for government and private sector employees, as part of nationwide efforts to combat the spread of coronavirus. The mobile application helps users identify whether they are at risk of COVID-19. It also provides people with important information, including ways to avoid coronavirus and its symptoms. The new solution in the making will work on JioPhone, which supports KaiOS operating system, the official said. The official further said the integration is on, and tests are being conducted. "Soon, Aarogya Setu will be available on 10 crore JioPhones too...This will be available on Jio store and JioPhone users will be able to download the same," the official said. An e-mail sent to Reliance Jio did not elicit a response. The mobile application, Aarogya Setu, is used by the government for contact-tracing and disseminating medical advisories to users in order to contain the spread of COVID-19. The Union home ministry has also said the mobile app will be a must for people living in COVID-19 containment zones. On Wednesday, Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Aarogya Setu is "secure" and there was no privacy breach in it, rejecting charges that it was a "sophisticated surveillance system" that was leveraged to track citizens without their consent. The 'Aarogy Setu Interactive Voice Response System' has now also been implemented to include citizens with feature phones and landline connections under the ambit of the 'Aarogya Setu' mobile application. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been urging people to download the Aarogya Setu app, saying it is a fantastic use of technology to combat coronavirus. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tesla production has come to a worldwide standstill after the sudden shutdown of its China plant as US workers, meanwhile, prepare to reopen its California factory in the next week, according to reports. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News reported that the electric car manufacturer informed workers at its Gigafactory near Shanghai on Wednesday that their five-day Labor Day holiday would be extended. They were supposed to return to work on Wednesday 6 May, but were told to stay home and prepare to return as soon as 9 May, according to people who spoke Bloomberg News under condition of anonymity. In the company's San Francisco plant in Fremont, meanwhile, workers reportedly returned on Wednesday to prepare for a planned reopening of some production lines between now and next week, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but in a statement to Bloomberg News said its Shanghai factory is conducting normal maintenance work and that the company made use of the Labor Day holidays to conduct production-line adjustments. Chinese technology news site 36kr, meanwhile, reported that the shutdown was due to component shortages. Some employees reportedly remained for equipment inspection, maintenance and repair at the China plant, which shut down earlier this year due to the coronavirus outbreak until being one of the first automakers to resume production. The shuttering of its China factory has effectively ended worldwide production of Tesla vehicles as its plant in Fremont shut down on 23 March. Citing a person familiar with factory operations, The San Francisco Chronicle reported that a handful of employees have returned to Tesla's Fremont factory floor to put in additional safety measures to guard against coronavirus transmission ahead of a planned reopening. The county's shelter-in-place order was instituted on 17 March, and Tesla operated for nearly a week before halting production at the site. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been critical of coronavirus lockdowns as violating the constitutional rights of Americans, saying in a now-deleted tweet that the shelter-in-place orders were fascist and imprisoning people in their homes. Chennai, May 7 : Eight workers of NLC India Ltd were injured and hospitalised when a boiler in one of the power units in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore district exploded on Thursday evening, police said. The power stations of the integrated mining-cum-power generating company are located at Neyveli in Cuddalore. "The accident happened in the evening and the injured workers have been admitted to the hospital," a police official told IANS. Police and fire tenders reached the spot soon after getting the information. (Newser) A protest extended late into the night Wednesday in Indianapolis, where a black man was fatally shot by police in an encounter livestreamed on Facebook. A high-speed chase began around 6pm as police said they spotted a vehicle driving 90mph on Interstate 65, nearly hitting other cars and "disobeying all traffic signals," per the Washington Post. In a Facebook livestream titled "High speed chase lol," the shirtless driveridentified by family as 21-year-old Sean Reedis seen trying to evade officers. "Almost lost him y'all!" he says at one point, per the Indianapolis Star. "I'm not going to jail today!" He then gives his location as he parks the vehicle. "Somebody come get my stupid ass," he says to some 4,000 viewers, including his own family. "Please come get me!" He runs, refusing an officer's command to stop, before one or two pops are heard, per the Star. story continues below Police say the officer deployed his Taser. The man appears to collapse before 11 or 12 shots are heard in quick succession. Two more shots follow a short pause. Reed's sister tells WISH that her family had been watching the footage in real time. She rushed to the scene not knowing if her brother was alive. "Looks like it's going to be a closed casket, homey," a voice says following the shooting, per the Post. Police say both the officer and victim fired shots. A gun found at the scene doesn't belong to the officer, who was uninjured and is now on administrative leave, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. Officers haven't identified the victim or the officer but describe both as black men. As many as 150 protesters chanted "Murder!" in the aftermath. "I am disgusted, horrified, tired, and angry," one tells the Star. "We deserve better." (Read more police shooting stories.) USA Today Network/Reuters President Trump might have been welcomed to Arizona on Tuesday by the fellow truther once known as his political soul mate. But Joe Arpaio had trouble explaining misspent millions and hundreds of uninvestigated sex crime cases, and numerous civil rights violations during his long tenure as Maricopa County sheirff. Arpaio was voted out the same day Trump was voted in. The new Maricopa sheriff is Paul Penzone, who seeks to live up to his sworn duty to enforce the laws of Arizona as well as defend the U.S. Constitution. That includes a situation where, in Penzones words the governor, acting under his authority in a constitutional manner, executes an executive order. You cant pick and choose which laws to enforce when youre in law enforcement, Penzone told The Daily Beast. He is not one of the Arizona sheriffs who declared they would not enforce Gov. Doug Duceys stay home, stay safe emergency COVID-19 restrictions. Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb and Mohave County Sheriff Douglas Schuster are among at least a half-dozen sheriffs in other states who have made similar declarations, deeming stay-at-home and business shutdown orders unconstitutional. The so-called constitutionalist stance is embraced by Gerard Jerry Sheridan, Arpaios former chief deputy. Sheridan is seeking to unseat Penzone in November. The Sheriff of a county is elected by and reports only to the citizens in the county, Sheridan tweeted. No governor or mayor can tell him how to do his job. Sheriff Penzone of MCSO drop your snitch line to catch law abiding citizens doing Constitutional things. What Sheridan calls a snitch line is an online system that Penzone set up that allows people to report violations of the pandemic restrictions. Snitch is a pejorative used by criminals to describe people who cooperate with law enforcement. One longtime street rhyme is snitches get stitches. And here is someone using the word in an effort to get elected a countys top lawman. Story continues Initially, reports of violations of the governors stay-at-home, business shutdown order were handled via 911. Deputies were dispatched to the scene with instructions to begin by educating violators about the danger they were creating. Deputies were to summon a supervisor before taking any further actions. And citations were to be issued only where there was what Penzone terms aggressive and repeated behavior that left the deputies with no other choice. You have to find that balance, not to criminalize but also to promote health and safety, to save lives, Penzone said. The situation became more nuanced when the governor began to relax some business restrictions. Penzone had already become worried that the use of 911 tied up police resources when crime had remained essentially constant. Under the present system, citizens who call 911 with a COVID-19 restriction complaint are directed to file a report online. Some people just went directly to the sheriffs website. If you wish to contact MCSO with questions or concerns regarding the emergency order... reads a line at the top. A click on Contact Us brings the person to a Tips page. A civilian investigator will then respond to confirm there is a violation before any further action is taken. Penzone reports that only a minority of the people visiting the page report violations. The majority of that traffic has been the people who are complaining about the site, Penzone said. He added, Weve allowed politics to become divisive, even more so during a pandemic. He also said, If we want to see the economy come back and also be safe, we cant let politics decide how we behave. Penzone has emailed the county attorney to confirm that the governors order is indeed constitutional. The county attorney has not yet responded. The issue is likely to come up in court May 30, when Mertia Kraya, proprietor of Euro Pizza Cafe in Fountain Hills, contests a citation she received on April 5. Deputies visited her establishment on several occasions regarding patrons eating at outdoor tables and drinking beers from a bucket of ice marked To Go. She insisted that nobody was dining in as prohibited by the restrictions. "[Kraya] told me that my interpretation and her interpretation were different and that if I had to cite her for this, a judge would have to decide whose interpretation was right," a sheriff's captain wrote in a report. Kraya was issued summons #0700033420009801 charging her with violation of Section 26-317 of the Arizona Revised Statutes. A violation of an order, rule, or regulation issued pursuant to a State of Emergency is a Class 1 misdemeanor, the law reads. That was the lone such summons issued by the sheriff, so Kraya had no trouble figuring out who Penzone was talking about when he accused an unnamed restaurant owner who violated the order of being selfish. She faces a maximum $2,500 fine. She told The Daily Beast she intends to fight it. Ill see my day in court, she said. Well see what happens. She noted that she has a medical condition that leaves her immunocompromised, with particular reason to fear COVID-19. She added that she would never want to endanger her customers or her employees or her family at home, who include an EMT in the Air Force Reserve. She reported that her cause has been taken up by those who oppose the restrictions. They took my case and ran with it, she said. The Rosa Parks that stand up to the police. The anti-shutdown folks who are seeking to capitalize on the case will have reason to wish that the evidence did not include body camera footage that shows the deputies being only reasonable. Meanwhile, Sheridan is denouncing Penzones snitch line. He may be hoping to make voters forget his former boss many transgressions. It is typical of his liberal mentality to have people snitch each other out for going to get something to eat or go for a walk in the park, Sheirdan told The Daily Beast. Sheridan said that when I get elected, he will tutor his deputies on what the Founding Fathers meant when giving the people freedom and liberty. Sheridan said he would oppose a shutdown even in his native Queens, New York, where his father was an NYPD lieutenant and where thousands have died in the pandemic. Sheridan said it is up to people to take their own precautions. NYC Is Taking Hundreds of Body Bags Out of Housesand Soon They Will Be Counted There is a degree of personal responsibility that people have, he said. Lest anyone think Penzone is anti-business, the establishments that will soon reopen include a beauty parlor owned and operated by Penzones wife. He has been helping her install safety additions. He reports that her customers are clamoring to come back. There are a lot of roots out there, he said. As his wife goes back to work, the man who unseated Trump's political soulmate will be out enforcing the law in accordance with this oath. Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. The European Union has launched a delayed naval mission to enforce an arms embargo on Libya, the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Thursday. Operation IRINI, currently headquartered in Rome, aims to halt the flow of arms into Libya, where the Tripoli-based government is under attack from the Libyan National Army forces. The sea mission began on Monday with the French naval vessel Jean Bart and a maritime patrol aircraft contributed by Luxembourg, the EU said in a statement. "It shows EU commitment to peace in Libya, even at times when member states are battling the coronavirus pandemic," Borrell said in the statement. World leaders agreed to uphold the UN embargo at a Berlin peace conference in January. The mission's launch had been held up for nearly a month by bickering between Italy and Greece over who should hold the command. The EU agreed to rotate the operation's command between the two countries every six months. Search Keywords: Short link: Iraq's appointment of a new prime minister this week ends months of political deadlock, but to ease the country's accelerating crises, he will now have to win political backing for crucial reforms in the face of deep-rooted vested interests. Iraq named Mustafa al-Kadhimi, a former intelligence chief, as prime minister early Thursday, after two previous candidates had stepped aside in recent months. Iraq has been without a prime minister since November, when Adel Abdul-Mahdi resigned in the face of mass protests. The political odyssey it took to replace him underscored the depth of the divisions and parochial interests that have come to shape Iraq's political system. Kadhimi, 53, addressed the parliament early Thursday after a long night of negotiation among competing political blocs and said his government would "provide solutions, not add to the crises." In office, he will need to balance competing pressures from neighboring Iran and his allies in the United States, while also addressing parliamentary demands for the U.S.-led military coalition to withdraw its forces from Iraq. Simmering tensions between Iran and the United States have repeatedly spilled over into hostilities on Iraqi soil, threatening to subject the country to open warfare and also harm the fight against what remains of the Islamic State group. A former journalist, Kadhimi has a reputation for pragmatism and close ties to Iraqi President Barham Salih. Kadhimi's candidacy appears to have won the backing, or at least acceptance, of both Iran and the United States, powerful actors in a country that is center stage in their proxy fight. Although Kadhimi's candidacy earned an unusual degree of consensus, he was opposed by Kataib Hezbollah, one of the most powerful Iranian-backed militia groups in the country. The group has accused him of complicity in a U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the head of Iraq's militia network, in January. The group's statement Thursday was muted, stressing that its political allies in parliament had been under pressure to find a consensus candidate. "But this does not excuse anyone from not continuing to pursue those who were involved in the murder of the martyred leaders and their comrades, whatever his job description," the statement said. Washington welcomed Kadhimi's appointment Thursday. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the new prime minister shortly after the parliament accepted his nomination. "They discussed the urgent hard work ahead for the Iraqi government, implementing reforms, addressing covid-19, and fighting corruption," Morgan Ortagus, a State Department spokesman, said in a statement. The challenges facing Kadhimi are steep. Plunging oil prices have hastened a potential economic catastrophe, leaving the government unable to fund its provisional 2020 budget without changes. There is broad public anger about the extent of corruption, mismanagement and sectarianism. And the coronavirus is still stalking the country. Although the contagion rate appears to be lower than expected, health experts say that the risk of a second wave of infections is very real should Iraq's lockdown be eased too quickly. Following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, power in the country was divided among its different ethnic and sectarian groups, producing a deadlocked system where patronage is doled out to supporters by politicians and business executives with links to the different factions. That system's dismantling was a key demand of the October protests. The horse-trading that preceded Kadhimi's confirmation showed instead that it was as influential as ever. Officials and political analysts said that the host of mounting crises helped explain why Kadhimi had succeeded where two before him had not. "There was finally a realization on the part of the different parties that [a new prime minister] needed to get through," said Lahib Higel, the senior Iraq analyst with Crisis Group. Abdul-Mahdi, Kadhimi's predecessor, also came to office as a consensus candidate. His opening months in office seemed to usher in the start of a national recovery, after the hard years of the U.S.-led invasion, the sectarian conflict that followed, and, later, the rise of the Islamic State and its caliphate. In Baghdad, the highly fortified Green Zone was opened to civilian traffic under Abdul-Mahdi, and walls across the city came down. More broadly, he vowed to combat corruption and to rebuild the battle-scarred country. Abdul-Mahdi resigned a year and a half into his term, having been unable overcome the constraints of the political system he inherited and unable to address the popular anger behind the mass protests. As the country's former spy chief, Kadhimi has often remained in the shadows, and many Iraqis heard his voice for the first time only when he accepted the president's nomination for prime minister last month. To succeed in his new post, he will have to navigate deep-rooted vested interests, which have long stymied change, to win approval for government changes. Of highest priority will be saving the economy. With the pandemic cratering demand for oil, which overwhelmingly funds Iraq's budget for the year, the government is now discussing cuts to a public sector salary bill that totals about $50 billion each year. "He may be able to achieve temporary austerity measures," Higel said. "But it will he hard for him to achieve long-lasting, sustainable economic reforms that the country really needs." Kadhimi revised his list of proposed ministers at least three times in the week running up to the parliamentary vote as he sought to appease different political factions. As the bell sounded Thursday to signal the start of the parliamentary session, deals over the final cabinet lineup were still being struck. According to Iraq's constitution, more than half the proposed cabinet ministers must win approval for a new government to take office. In the final event, 15 of Kadhimi's proposed ministers passed a parliamentary vote while five did not. The oil and foreign affairs ministries were also left vacant, pending further negotiations. - - - Loveluck reported from London. The Washington Post's Mustafa Salim in Baghdad contributed to this report. The Donald Trump administration said Wednesday that the United States will renew a sanctions waiver for Iraq to continue importing Iranian electricity; the statement came shortly after Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi managed to form a new government following months of political gridlock. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made the announcement after a phone call with Kadhimi, who has received support from both the United States and Iran. They discussed the urgent hard work ahead for the Iraqi government, implementing reforms, addressing COVID-19 and fighting corruption, said State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus. In support of the new government, the United States will move forward with a 120-day electricity waiver as a display of our desire to help provide the right conditions for success. Why it matters: The United States has continued to issue periodic waivers for Iraq to import Iranian natural gas to meet the needs of its beleaguered electricity sector since President Donald Trump reimposed crippling sanctions on Tehran in 2018. But the previous waiver the State Department issued was only for a month. With the Trump administration intent on doubling down on its maximum pressure campaign against Iran, the four-month exemption signals US confidence in Kadhimis new government. Whats next: The waiver aside, the US-Iraq relationship is still far from rosy. After the US assassination of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani and a top leader of Iraqs Popular Mobilization Units in Baghdad in January, the Iraqi parliament passed a nonbinding resolution calling for the expulsion of US forces from the country. Pompeo announced last month that the two countries will convene a strategic dialogue in June to hammer out the future US force posture in Iraq. The secretary and prime minister also discussed the upcoming US-Iraq strategic dialogue and how they look forward to working together to provide the Iraqi people the prosperity and security they deserve, said Ortagus. Know more: Ali Mamouri walks through Kadhimis new government and promises, while Adnan Abu Zeed previews the US-Iraq strategic dialogue scheduled for next month. Tradeshift, the digital trade finance platform that uses blockchain to make payments instant and transparent, has proposed a scheme to the government of Denmark that will free billions of dollars from supply chains, the startup says. The COVID-19 crisis, like the 2008 financial crisis, has seen companies stretch payment terms and try to preserve cash, which causes a ripple effect down the supply chain and makes the overall situation steadily worsen. Tradeshifts plan is to motivate big companies that have applied the brakes, to pay their suppliers instantly rather than delaying, thus preventing further calcification of supply chains and possibly keeping many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from going under. Related: How the COVID-19 Crisis Revived the Digital Dollar Debate There is a cost involved in this, however. Offering the necessary additional credit lines to 250 of the biggest exporters operating in Denmark as a carrot to get them to pay their suppliers immediately would cost about 1.5 billion DKK (US$217 million) in interest, which Tradeshift is asking the Danish government to stump up. In return, this would release about 385 billion DKK ($55 billion) over the coming months, says Tradeshift, which is already working with the governments Danish Export Credit Agency (EKF) as part of a COVID-19 scheme to ensure trade finance insurance remains in place. We need to change the fundamental instinctive behavior of corporates in the current situation, said Tradeshift co-founder Mikkel Hippe Brun. These are very solid companies that will survive the COVID-19 crisis. The risk of providing them with extra liquidity so they can save their supply chain is very low. The media office of the Government of Denmark did not return requests for comment by press time. Related: Coinstar Plans Massive Expansion of Coinme Bitcoin ATMs as Usage Spikes 40% Read more: Tradeshift Says Its Slashed Cross-Border Transaction Costs Using Ethereum Story continues The Danish-born, San Francisco-based Tradeshift, which built the first e-invoicing scheme in Denmark, has been implementing instant payment programs for years, digitalizing the whole trade process to accelerate payments between big buyers and their suppliers. Over the past two years, the unicorn-status startup has added blockchain to its tech armory, providing an even more transparent and easily auditable system for invoices and purchase orders. All of the COVID-19 programs we are doing in Denmark come at a cost to the taxpayer. This is one of the cheapest things you can do in any economy, said Hippe Brun, citing the work of Aarhus University economics professor Philipp Schroder, who is involved in Denmarks COVID-19 response planning. What we need now is the government to step in, to provide insurance for the economy, but also help out and incentivize the corporates to pay now. Related Stories Sabato's Crystal ball has made three changes to its gubernatorial ratings, all favoring the incumbent. These moves leave Montana as the only highly-competitive race among the eleven governorships up for election in 2020. In North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper is favored to win a second term; that rating moves from Leans to Likely Democratic. Meanwhile, incumbents Chris Sununu in New Hampshire and Phil Scott in neighboring Vermont each look likely to win a third term - those go from Leans to Likely Republican. Those two New England states are the only ones where terms are two years instead of four. In Montana, Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock is termed out; his entry into the U.S. Senate race against incumbent Republican Steve Daines has made that race much competitive. The gubernatorial race is still taking shape; both parties have competitive primaries on June 2 and the general election is seen as a toss-up. It is a little surprising that these statewide races are so competitive in a year where President Trump is expected to easily win the state's three electoral votes. Drew Savicki will discuss Montana politics in the next Road to 270 installment on Monday. Click the image below for an interactive version of the forecast. The US embassy in Nigeria says another $319m (N121bn) looted by Sani Abacha, former military dictator, is in the United Kingdom and Fran... The US embassy in Nigeria says another $319m (N121bn) looted by Sani Abacha, former military dictator, is in the United Kingdom and France. This comes three days after Nigeria repatriated $311 million Abacha Loot from the US and the Bailiwick of Jersey. In a statement on Wednesday, the US embassy revealed that there is a separate $167 million in stolen assets in France and another $152 million in the UK which is still subject to litigation. The funds returned last week are distinct and separate from an additional $167m in stolen assets also forfeited in the United Kingdom and France, as well as $152m still in active litigation in the United Kingdom, the statement read. According to a report by Bloomberg, the UK is challenging the return of the funds to Nigeria due to the alleged plan of the federal government to transfer $110 million out of the money to Atiku Bagudu, Kebbi state governor. The U.S. Department of Justice says Bagudu was involved in corruption with Abacha, the report stated According to the repor, the federal government is seeking the approval of a UK court to take possession of the assets before transferring seventy percent of the proceeds to Bagudu under the terms of an agreement signed in 2018. However, the AGF has since denied the allegations stating that that Bagudus assets are not covered under the agreement which the federal government signed to recover funds looted by Abacha. An estimate of $5 billion is said to have been stolen from Nigeria during Abachas five-year rule. While previous Nigerian governments have repatriated billions of dollars looted by Abacha, who died in office in 1998, Buharis administration has said it is prevented from assisting the US ongoing forfeiture efforts by an agreement between Bagudu and the Obasanjos government in 2003. The 2003 settlement, which was approved by a UK court, allowed Bagudu to return $163 million to Nigeria without admitting to wrongdoing, according to US court filings. In return, the government dropped all outstanding civil and criminal claims against him. Bagudu was elected a senator in 2009 and the governor of Kebbi six years later. Five years after the US launched fresh forfeiture proceedings against him, Bagudu and the Buhari administration struck a new accord in October 2018 to transfer ownership of the investment portfolios to the Nigerian state, which would immediately pay 98.5 million euros to the Kebbi governor and his affiliates. Bloomberg said the terms of the updated settlement cannot be implemented while Nigerias application in a UK court is pending and a freezing order is still in place, according to a motion by Ibrahim Bagudu, who is entitled to a $100,000 annuity from the funds and is contesting the US confiscation efforts. Meanwhile, the US has said the $311 million that was returned to Nigeria last week must be used by the for infrastructural development. A woman has been charged with the murder of an elderly church warden and the attempted murder of three other people at a Co-op store in South Wales. Zara Anne Radcliffe, 29, will appear in court on Thursday accused of stabbing to death 88-year-old John Rees who was allegedly attacked at the store in Pen Y Graig, Rhondda Valley. South Wales Police said Radcliffe, from Porth, is also accused of three counts of attempted murder relating to other people who were also hurt in the incident on Tuesday afternoon. Mr Rees, who lived in the nearby village of Trealaw with his wife Eunice, was a church warden at All Saints Church. In a statement his family said: "John was the very definition of a good man, extremely respected and liked in the community. "He was proud of his family, proud to be a Welshman and devoted to All Saints Church. We will all miss him terribly." Other tributes have also been paid to Mr Rees. Local Plaid Cymru councillor Joshua Davies tweeted: "My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of John Rees from Trealaw. Rest in Peace John." Flowers have been left outside the convenience store and at All Saints Church. One said: "Our hearts go out for John and his beloved wife Eunice and family. We are all heartbroken. Such a lovely, lovely gentleman, kind and caring, so so sad. God bless. "Thanks for being the lovely man who has rang our church bells every Thursday night for the NHS. You will be very sadly missed by everyone." Another said: "Heartbreaking losing your life in such a horrific way. Can't stop thinking of your poor wife x Thoughts are with you and your family." A neighbour of Mr Rees, Tracey Goodridge, said he was a carer for his wife and that he was "a gentleman" who would "help anybody". "It's just so sad and unbelievable. The church bells at the end of the street, he'd be there doing them. And couldn't wait for the services to start back - he loved his church," she told ITV Wales. The incident on Tuesday afternoon left one man in a stable condition in hospital and two other people suffered non-life-threatening injuries. One of those injured was believed to be an NHS worker. Leanne Wood, Plaid Cymru Member of the Senedd for Rhondda, has written to the Cym Taf Morgannwg University Health Board asking that specialist support services are made available for those who witnessed the incident. The South Wales force had also referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, but did not say why. Louth TD and Labour Employment spokesperson Ged Nash, responding to comments of Fine Gael Ministers in the Irish Examiner today, said it is untenable for the Government to walk away from a long-standing pay deal when public servants are on the frontline of our effort to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic, and the cost is already accounted for in 2020 and 2021. Deputy Nash said: In the last 8 weeks public servants across the country have gone above and beyond the call of duty in our national effort to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. Today we read comments from Fine Gael Ministers saying any pay increase for public servants would not be credible. Some basic facts have been forgotten. The pay rise in October is the final instalment of a three-year deal and the cost of it has already been included in the budget for 2020 that was passed just months ago. When we are asking frontline workers to put themselves in harms way it would be a slap in the face to remove the final instalment of a long-awaited pay increase. The cost of the proposals in 2020 is estimated to be approximately 340 million and of that a large proportion relates to Health alone who are our frontline heroes right now. There is then a carry on cost of 227 million in 2021. What cant be lost however is that these figures are already included in the budget figures for this year and next. In the context of a multi-billion deficit due to the Covid-19 pandemic it would be grotesque that the first cut a new government makes would be to the pay of the workers who got us through this crisis. The same Ministers who are falling over themselves to be first in line to tweet their thanks to our nurses, doctors, healthcare assistants are now spoiling for a fight with them. It is two-faced and plain wrong for Fine Gael to try to divide workers at such a critical period of our national response. A new pay deal will have to be negotiated in the months ahead and it would be an incredible act of bad faith for the Government to renege on previous agreements before even sitting down with the trade unions that represent the workers on whom we all depend. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 01:12:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DAKAR, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Senegalese Ministry of Health and Social Action announced 59 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the total number of positive cases to 1,492 in the country. During the daily briefing of the pandemic, Senegalese Director General of Public Health Doctor Marie Khemesse Ngom Ndiaye said Senegal had carried out 1,027 tests in the past 24 hours, among which the health authorities detected 59 positive cases, including 51 follow-up contact cases and 8 community transmission cases. According to her, a record of 69 patients have been declared negative and cured, while six patients are in intensive care units of two hospitals in Dakar. Another death related to COVID-19 was confirmed by local health authorities, bring the death toll to 13. Among the 1,492 confirmed cases in the country, 1,433 are follow-up contact cases, 86 are imported cases and 140 are community transmission cases. Senegal has reported 13 deaths and 562 recovery cases since March 2. Senegal has suspended all its international flights since March 20. President Macky Sall extended last Saturday night Senegal's state of emergency and the curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. as part of the measures taken against COVID-19. Enditem [May 07, 2020] JustPierogi.com Celebrates National Strawberry Month With Special Offer BENSENVILLE, Ill., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of May being National Strawberry Month, JustPierogi.com is offering its award-worthy Strawberry Pierogi at 20% off per package throughout the month. That's 12 mouth-watering dessert pierogi for just $8.25 through the end of May. Originally produced in Central and Eastern Europe, pierogi are filled dumplings made by wrapping unleavened dough around savory or sweet fillings. They are then either boiled or pan-fried. Regarded as one of the world's most beloved flavors, strawberries come in over 100 varieties. Despite their sweet taste, strawberries are low in sugar and an excellent source of vitamins C and K. "Strawberry pierogi from JustPierogi.com are the perfect treat with which to celebrate National Strawberry Month throughout May," states Jake Brozek, president of the gourmet food supplier. "Our strawberry pierogi are packed with the tempting, sweet taste of berries combined with the luscious flavor of savory dough for a delicious treat all month long." Strawberries are the first fruit to ripen each spring and are grown in every single U.S. state and Canadian province. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Americans eat an average of 3.4 pounds of fresh strawberries each year, while a survey by Universty of Illinois Extension found that 94% of U.S. households enjoy strawberries. "Strawberries are a universal accessory fruit; they are enjoyed by people of all ages and all walks of life," explains Brozek." JustPierogi.com is dedicated to bringing delicious old-world flavors to households throughout the U.S." JustPierogi.com is one of the country's leading suppliers of Polish and Eastern European delicacies, including Pierogis, Uszka, Blintzes (Nalesniki), Pyzy, Finger Dumplings (Kopytka), and Silesian Dumplings (KluskiSlaskie). In addition to strawberry, JustPierogi.com offers 14 other pierogi flavors: Blueberry, Cabbage, Cherry, Cheese, Kraut & Mushroom, Kraut, Maultaschen, Meat, Mushroom, Plum, Potato & Cheddar, Potato & Cheese, Potato, and Spinach. Making pierogi from scratch takes hours in the kitchen, not to mention the lines at the grocery store shopping for ingredients. However, meals, sides, and deserts from JustPierogi.com are delivered to your doorstep and can be ready in minutes by boiling in water or frying in a pan. "Celebrate National Strawberry Month with the exciting flavor of strawberry pierogi from JustPierogi.com. We deliver comfort in every bite," concludes Brozek. To order, visit www.JustPierogi.com or call (888) 351-7710. Related Images image1.png View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/justpierogicom-celebrates-national-strawberry-month-with-special-offer-301055408.html SOURCE JustPierogi.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] NEW HAVEN A grassroots initiative is trying to help fill the aid gap for undocumented residents amid the coronavirus pandemic. A group of undocumented and immigrant community members recently launched the UndocuFund, a fundraising initiative to financially assist undocumented residents across Connecticut. Members includ Anghy Idrovo with CT Students for a Dream, Hazel Mencos with the Connecticut Bail Fund, Varun Khattar and Vania Galicia. The group has raised about $55,000 since mid-April, with a goal of $75,000. The group is made up of of mainly undocumented individuals and people of color with ties to their communities as organizers, teachers, activists and social workers. While many citizens are benefiting from government aid, including the federal stimulus checks, unemployment pay and the $600 a week unemployment COVID-19 assistance, undocumented residents cant take advantage of those. Undocumented residents often work in jobs that expose them to the virus, including food delivery, restaurants, small grocery stores, cleaning services and other essential jobs. If theyve been laid off those jobs because employers are struggling, they also cant get state unemployment. Undocumented residents also are less likely to have health insurance. The UdocuFund is trying to address that gap through fundraising, which will provide direct assistance to vulnerable communities affected by the crisis. We came together because we saw a need and we saw our community being left behind, the group said in a release. We are centering the voices and experiences of CT undocumented folks and working to provide relief to our populations that have been excluded from all government relief efforts during, and prior to, the Covid 19 pandemic. With a goal of providing financial relief for 75-150 undocumented people across Connecticut, the group is asking people who have or soon will receive a federal stimulus check to donate part of it after theyve covered their immediate expenses, to help those who cant receive one. A donation to the fund will put funds directly in the hands of those most suffering the financial impacts of this pandemic, providing food, healthcare, or relief with mounting bills, the group said. Donations are processed by the groups partner, the Neighbor Fund, a nonprofit based in eastern Connecticut that supports immigrant communities and individuals facing detention and deportation. Theyre also asking people to spread the word. Using #CTundocufund on social media, people can share the groups pages and donations links through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Lets remember that it is the work of our immigrant community that has helped to build our state but we rarely get to profit from its prosperity, the group said. We hope to support undocumented families and individuals so they can focus on taking care of themselves and their families and not be put at financial risk mdignan@hearstmediact.com Public health units in Ontario have been given too much leeway to determine what is and what isnt a COVID-related death, says an Ontario lawyer and epidemiologist. And inconsistencies in Hamilton-and-area data tracking further highlight his point. Amir Attaran, a University of Ottawa epidemiologist and law professor, said the provinces approach to tracking COVID-related deaths allows for variance in how local health units gather and record death data. This should not be left up to regions; this should be a standardized protocol at the very least out of the provincial, or better yet, federal government, Attaran said. Why are we proceeding in such a splintered, broken fashion? Each region is swimming on its own. Its unclear what guidance the province provides to local health units regarding COVID-death tracking. When asked if there was a standard for inclusion, a Ministry of Health spokesperson did not say if it had any direction to local health units for how and when to consider a death COVID-related, only saying, Deaths in a confirmed case would already be known to the public health unit or would become known if testing was done post-mortem. Public Health Ontario said local health unit death tallies for COVID-19 should include those who are lab-confirmed or those who were epidemiologically linked to a COVID-19 case in an outbreak setting. Locally, however, public health units appear to tally COVID-19 deaths in different ways. In Hamilton, the simple answer is somebody has tested positive and then has died, said Dr. Bart Harvey, the citys associate medical officer of health, when asked what public health considers a COVID-related death. That doesnt necessarily mean they died of COVID-19, it doesnt even mean COVID played a role in their death, but it does mean that they tested positive, Harvey said. But in Haldimand-Norfolk, its a different story. The recent deaths of four residents of Anson Place Care Centre, site of a devastating COVID-19 outbreak that has killed 27 residents, were not included in the regions most recent death toll. Its not clear if they were COVID-positive the nursing home says their deaths are not COVID-related but even if they were, public health follows the lead of the deceased persons physician, said the regions top doctor. Thats a judgment call, and we rely on the doctor who treated the patient to make their best determination, said Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, medical officer of health with the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit, at a Monday briefing. The recent deaths, even if they had a positive lab test, we would arbitrate them as not related to COVID-19. For Hamilton public healths death recording purposes, however, they only need to know if they had COVID-19 at the time of death. They dont see death certificates. Those kinds of inconsistencies arent surprising to epidemiologists. All the metrics being used to track the epidemic/pandemic are flawed, said Jack Siemiatycki, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Montreal, in an email. Deaths and causes of death are not always recorded in exactly the same way in different jurisdictions and at different times. In Hamilton, even if the primary cause of death appeared unrelated to the virus say, someone with COVID-19 falls off a chair and dies it would likely be included in the death tally, Harvey said. Is it possible they were weakened by the infection and when they got up they lost balance and hit their head? Harvey said. In a scenario like that (COVID) may have even played contributing cause. At least two deaths in Hamilton might fit into the category of died with but not from COVID-19. In April, two residents of Emmanuel House Hospice, a 67-year-old man and an 86-year-old woman, were included in the citys COVID-19 death tally. They were in hospice for non-COVID-19 reasons, but tested positive for the virus during their stay. Public health included them because they died and they had COVID-19, Harvey said. Harvey said hes not sure if the public health death toll would include a person who tested positive, but was considered recovered from COVID-19 at their time of death. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 06:26:08|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close RAMALLAH, May 6 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian justice minister said on Wednesday that the Palestinian Authority intends to file lawsuits against the United States for supporting Israel's plans to annex Palestinian lands in the West Bank. "We are looking for legal mechanisms to hold the U.S. government accountable in committing war crimes against the Palestinians together with Israel," Mohammed al-Shalaldeh told Xinhua. The U.S. support for Israel's plan to annex Palestinian lands in the West Bank is one of these crimes, he noted. "Recognizing the occupier's sovereignty on the occupied lands is a war crime in itself, and according to the international law, no state has the right to recognize the sovereignty of any occupying state on others' land," al-Shalaldeh explained. In addition, lawsuits will be filed against international companies that operate at Israeli settlements, the Palestinian minister said. The Palestinian government filed a lawsuit against the United States in the International Court of Justice for violating the Vienna Treaty of 1961 after it moved its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018, according to the minister. Fatou Bensouda, prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), issued a report on Thursday that confirmed the jurisdiction of the ICC to investigate in Palestine, al-Shalaldeh told Xinhua. Earlier in the day, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman announced that imposing Israeli sovereignty on parts of the West Bank "is Israel's decision," Israel Radio reported. The radio also reported that Friedman said Washington is preparing to recognize Israel's plans in the coming weeks. Enditem The government is not persuaded that the Jan. 24, 2017, interview was conducted with a legitimate investigative basis and therefore does not believe Mr. Flynns statements were material even if untrue, Mr. Shea wrote. Democrats condemned the move. A politicized and thoroughly corrupt Department of Justice is going to let the presidents crony simply walk away, said Representative Jerrold Nadler, Democrat of New York and the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Americans are right to be furious and worried about the continued erosion of our rule of law. He said he would ask the Justice Department inspector general to investigate and work to secure Mr. Barrs testimony before his committee as soon as possible. In dropping the charges, law enforcement officials abandoned the stance of the career prosecutors who had been on the case, who had argued that Mr. Flynns conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States at the time, Sergey I. Kislyak, went to the heart of the F.B.I.s Trump-Russia investigation. Mr. Trump told reporters on Thursday that Mr. Flynn was an innocent man and accused Obama administration officials of targeting him to try to take down a president. He angrily tore into his unnamed persecutors. I hope a lot of people are going to pay a big price because theyre dishonest, crooked people, Mr. Trump said. Theyre scum and I say it a lot, theyre scum, theyre human scum. This should never have happened in this country. Mr. Barr explained the decision as an effort to restore confidence in the system and that law enforcement officials had a duty to dismiss the charges. He said he was doing the laws bidding, not Mr. Trumps, and the Justice Department said that it did not brief the White House before it dropped the charges. Partisan feelings are so strong that people have lost any sense of justice, Mr. Barr said in an interview with CBS News. Credit: CC0 Public Domain After weeks of staying at home, Canadians are slowly beginning to see the impact of physical distancing on decelerating the spread of COVID-19. However, for some, prolonged social isolation amplifies feelings of disconnection and can result in negative psychological effects and disorders. Technology has been touted as a convenient, adaptable alternative to in-person socialization. After all, shouldn't eating takeout with friends over a Zoom call be just as socially fulfilling as a dinner party? As the principal investigator of the iBelong research study, Health Studies professor Shauna Burke is examining social media use and social connectedness during the COVID-19 pandemic, and its impact on all aspects of health and wellbeing. In collaboration with researchers at Western and Lakehead University, the study focuses on adolescents and young adults, a demographic who are simultaneously social media natives and particularly susceptible to the impacts of social isolation. "Their wellbeing depends largely on everyday social interactions with, and validation by, peers. Because these in-person interactions are no longer possible due to ongoing school closures and physical distancing requirements, identifying effective ways to maintain social contact is critical," Burke explained. Phase 1 of the study, which concluded in April 2020, captured young people's attitudes and perceptions around social media use, physical distancing as well as health and wellbeing. Moving forward, Burke and her team plans to investigate the ways social media helps and hinders in overcoming the various impacts currently faced by young people. "Our findings about the influence of social media on the wellbeing of young people, including their feelings about belonging and connectedness, are important and can be used to promote overall social and psychological wellbeing among young people now and in the future," she said. This includes young Canadians' feelings toward physical distancing, as well as how and why they're complying with public health measures. The iBelong team hopes the information they collect will inform future outreach and intervention initiatives directed at adolescents and young adults. "We might be able to identify tangible, evidence-based strategies that can be used to promote physical distancing adherence, and overall health and well-being in this population," Burke said. "Keeping young people safe and healthy at home not only protects them, but it could help to protect the health-care system and those most vulnerable by reducing the spread of the virus." Interacting with opposition leaders, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday expressed confidence that the coronavirus pandemic in the state will be curbed by the end of this month. The Union government was cooperating with the state and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was easily available for discussion and guidance, he said in the meeting which he addressed through video conference. "I have been talking to you over telephone and seeking your views. I am also reading what you say in the media. If they are good suggestions, I ask the administration to look into them," he said. "The Centre is also cooperating. The prime minister is easily available for guidance on critical issues," Thackeray said. "Due to lockdown, the number of patients did not rise (drastically) in April. We need to take care in May. The number of patients is growing in Mumbai and the government has created adequate isolation centers," he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office. "The pandemic shall be curbed by the end of this month," he said. The opposition leaders who attended the meeting assured that they were with the government during this crisis, the CMO statement said. The chief minister appealed to people living in containment zones in Malegaon and Aurangabad cities, which are emerging as infection hotspots, to follow rules, and added that local elected representatives should cooperate with the administration. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said opposition leaders should help the farmers who haven't got benefit of the farm loan waiver to get crop loans. The CMO statement said that Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Devendra Fadnavis stressed the need to focus on the situation in Mumbai and to improve the hospital management. There should be a planning to ensure the safety of medical workers, he said. The former chief minister also said the state government should demand more trains for ferrying migrant workers to their home states. Fadnavis also said that steps should be taken to boost the morale of the police force, and recommended formation of zone-wise expert groups for revival of industries. PWP leader Jayant Patil demanded protection for agriculture-based industries, while Bahujan Vikas Aghadi leader Hitendra thakur said local train services in Mumbai area should be resumed for few hours a day. VBA leader Prakash Ambedkar said cotton procurement in the state should not stop, while AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel said that hospitals should not neglect non-coronavirus patients. MNS leader Raj Thackeray said the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) should be deployed in containment zones to assist the police who have been working non-stop for two months. Migrant workers should be registered when they return to the state, he said, and demanded that the government declare its lockdown exit plan in advance. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Syracuse, N.Y. The Tampa Bay Lightning is continuing to put potential pieces in place for the Syracuse Crunchs 2020-21 roster. Tampa Bay on Thursday signed defenseman Dmitry Semykin to a three-year, entry-level contract beginning next year. Semykin, 20, was drafted by the Lightning in the third round, 90th overall, at the 2018 draft. He skated in 44 games for SKA-1946 of the MHL during the 2019-20 season, posting nine goals and 24 points to go along with 41 penalty minutes. The Moscow native has played in 82 games over the past two seasons with SKA-1946 of the MHL, recording 14 goals and 40 points. MORE ON THE CRUNCH Syracuse Crunch selling T-shirts to benefit coronavirus relief Syracuse Crunch, AHL likely to officially sound the horn on 2019-20 season Friday Heres how to get a Syracuse Crunch soundtrack to your hockey highlights (video) The 9 best playoff games in Syracuse Crunch history (videos) No gym? No problem. Syracuse Crunch trainer maps out in-home workout (videos) What are the contract statuses of Syracuse Crunch players heading into 2020-21? What you need to know about the Crunchs sanitizing machine and the fight against coronavirus Lindsay Kramer is a reporter for the Syracuse Post-Standard and Syracuse.com. Got a comment or idea for a story? He can be reached via email at LKramer@Syracuse.com. BJP MLA Surendra Singh on Thursday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to "reconsider" its decision to allow the sale of liquor in the state, saying that for the sake of revenue, comprising with human lives is not justified. While talking to reporters, he said other measures can be taken for revenue generation in the state. "The government should reconsider its decision to allow sale of liquor. The sale of liquor should be banned... other measures can be taken for revenue generation," Singh said while talking to reporters. "Due to liquor sale, implementation of the coronavirus lockdown is not possible. For revenue, compromising with human lives is not justified," he said and praised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for banning liquor. "Nitish is only one such leader who stopped big revenue source in poor state of Bihar for the people. It is only possible for a leader like him," he added. The MLA said that only Nitish Kumar is doing the work of a "jansewak", not Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US plans to grant Iraq a 120-day sanctions waiver enabling the country to import Iranian gas and electricity to meet its power needs, the State Department said, hours after a new prime minister was sworn in early Thursday. The exemption would be the longest period of time in months granted to Iraq to prove it is making progress in becoming less reliant on Iranian imports, a key condition of receiving the waiver. The waiver would indicate a show of support after the inauguration of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who was sworn in after lawmakers passed the majority of his Cabinet appointments early Thursday. Strategic talks between Washington and Baghdad are expected next month and will run the gamut of U.S.-Iraq relations, from military to economic support, according to Iraqi and U.S. officials. Key questions including the nature of US troop presence are expected to be discussed. Al-Kadhimi's new program includes a vow to hold early elections, address Iraq's severe health and economic woes amid falling oil prices, and bring arms under the control of the state. All are measures welcomed by the U.S. Lawmakers approved 15 appointees out of a Cabinet of 22, allowing al-Kadhimi to form a government under Iraqi constitutional guidelines. Other ministry portfolios will be subject to further negotiation with parliamentary political blocs. Shortly after he was officially named premier, al-Kadhimi spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, according to a statement from the U.S. State Department. In support of the new government the United States will move forward with a 120-day electricity waiver as a display of our desire to help provide the right conditions for success, said spokesperson Morgan Ortagus according to the statement. Recent waivers gave Iraq just 30 days to make headway in developing domestic gas supply or else find alternative sources to meet energy needs. They were a sign of growing impatience from Washington as Iraqi elites jockeyed over al-Kadhimi's proposed Cabinet lineup. Iraq needs Iranian gas and electricity imports to meet up to 30 per cent of domestic power needs. The US Embassy in Baghdad said talks next month would reaffirm ties with Iraq. The new government must now turn to the hard work of implementing much needed reforms and addressing the needs of the Iraqi people. Our upcoming Strategic Dialogue with the government of Iraq aims to reaffirm the value of the US-Iraqi partnership for both of our countries, the embassy said in a statement. US-Iraq ties suffered under the administration of former Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi. The tense relationship was exacerbated by a Washington-directed airstrike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani outside Baghdad airport. Abdul-Mahdi staunchly supported ejecting US troops from Iraq following the killing, which strained ties with Washington. The US-led coalition has withdrawn from several Iraqi bases across the country in line with a planned drawdown conceived in December. Troops have consolidated in Baghdad and the sprawling Ain al-Asad base in Anbar province. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tara Reade during an interview in Nevada City, Calif., on April 4, 2019. (Donald Thompson/AP Photo) Biden Accuser Tara Reade Calls For Him to Withdraw From 2020 Race The former staffer who accused presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden of sexual assault called on Thursday for him to drop out. I want to say: you and I were there, Joe Biden. Please step forward and be held accountable. You should not be running on character for the president of the United States, Tara Reade said when asked if she had a message to send to Biden. Asked if he should withdraw, Reade, said she wished he would. He wont, but I wish he would. Thats how I feel emotionally, Reade said in an interview with former Fox News and NBC anchor Megyn Kelly. Reade last month filed a police report against Biden accusing him of sexually assaulting her at the U.S. Capitol in Washington in 1993. At the time, Reade was a young woman working for Bidens Senate office. Bidens campaign didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. Reade, in her first video interview since Biden denied the accusation, said that some of Bidens surrogates are harassing her and spreading really horrible things about her on social media. Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden at an event in Wilmington, Del., on March 12, 2020. (Carlos Barria/Reuters) He hasnt himself, but theres a measure of hypocrisy with the campaign saying its safe. Its not been safe. All my social media has been hacked. All my personal information has been dragged through, she said. Every person who has a gripe against me has been able to have a platform, rather than me, talking about things that have nothing to do with 1993. Some of the things said about her are inciting people, Reade charged, leading to threats, including a death threat. His campaign is taking this position that they want all women to be able to speak safely. I have not experienced that, she added. Biden responded this week to Reades accusation for the first time, saying what she described never happened. Im saying unequivocally, it never, never happened. And it didnt, Biden said during an appearance on MSNBCs Morning Joe. Biden, who has received widespread support from Democratic Party leaders, dismissed calls for him to have a search conducted in his Senate files for Reades name. The University of Delaware was gifted the files in 2012. It pushed back a scheduled release date and is still busy curating the documents, a spokeswoman told The Epoch Times. Biden did ask for the release of any relevant records held by the Senate but lawyers forbade the release. Lawyers cited section 313 of the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991. On the same day that Elon Musk, the famously eccentric CEO of the electric-car company Tesla, saw his net worth hit $36.6 billion, Maricela Betancourt, one of the many people who work in his factories, was agonizing over her familys bills. Betancourt, 58, had been a janitor at Teslas Fremont, Calif., factory until April 7, when the company told her and 129 fellow janitors to go home and not come back until social-distancing measures were lifted. She got her last paycheck on April 8 and has no idea when the next ones coming. She owes $1,325 for an emergencyroom visit in March, and is struggling to pay for rent, Internet and food. Her husband, a construction worker, also lost his job during the COVID-19 economic collapse. So did their son Daniel, 20, who is the first in their family to go to college and was helping to pay his way with a job at an arcade. The family put their stimulus funds toward Daniels tuition and prays something will come through before June rent is due. Betancourts boss, meanwhile, might as well live in another stratosphere. While she relied on a food bank to supplement family dinner and Daniel turned to gig work for extra -income, Musk publicly mused that hes considering selling all of his possessions because they just weigh you down. Teslas stock price rose so steeply this year (28%) that on May 1, Musk tweeted that it was too high, sending the share price tumbling 10%. Its still more than triple what it was a year ago. Maricela Betancourt, 58, Janitor, San Jose, Calif. After decades of cleaning houses, Betancourt wanted a job with benefits, so she started working at Tesla. But her health insurance hadnt kicked in when severe abdominal pain brought her to the ER, and then Tesla sent the janitors home without pay. The hospital bill keeps rising as her family struggles to pay it and other bills. | Mark Mahaney for TIME Its obviously a millionaire company that has enough resources to thrive, Betancourt told me from her home in San Jose, Calif. But as workers, we live paycheck to paycheck, and now we dont even have that paycheck, so we dont know what were going to do. (Tesla did not reply to a request for comment.) The growing gap between Americas rich and everyone else is hardly new. But the extra-ordinarily rapid economic collapse catalyzed by COVID-19 has made the chasm deeper and wider, with edges that keep crumbling under the feet of those crowded on the edge. Since mid-March, more than 30 million people have filed for -unemploymentmore than three times as many as lost their jobs during the two-year-long Great Recession. Meanwhile, after a steep but brief dip in March, the stock market rallied. The richest and most wellconnected are seeing their wealth reaccumulate, as if by magic, while middle- and workingclass families drown in debt that deepens with every passing week. Story continues Fritz Francois, 41, Bell Captain, Miami. With no sign of his unemployment or stimulus checks, Francois, who worked at the Betsy Hotel, has been looking into delivery jobs. For now, though, hes home, trying to teach his 4-year-old son letters and numbers while his wife works as a patient-care associate at a hospital. Every day when I wake up, I ask God to shield her, he says. | Rose Marie Cromwell for TIME A playground in front of the temporarily closed Betsy Hotel is covered in caution tape as parks remain closed in Miami Beach. | Rose Marie Cromwell for TIME Eileen Cheng, 60, Florist, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Everything just went down to zero, says Cheng, who has owned Yacht Flowers with her daughter since 2009. The shop primarily provided arrangements to private yachts, but few people are making use of luxury pleasure cruisers lately. Cheng is worried about what this could mean for her retirement: Im asking myself, Am I able to recover? | Rose Marie Cromwell for TIME A bucket of flowers sit in a sparse walk-in freezer that is usually filled to the brim. | Rose Marie Cromwell for TIME The contrast isnt just between low-wage workers and billionaire bosses. Bills are mounting for small restaurants and retailers as their applications for the federal Paycheck Protection Program go unanswered. But firms like Hallador Energy, an Indiana coal company that hired former Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt as a lobbyist, raked in millions from the program. While the median home price rose 8% in March, families across the country began -receiving eviction notices, even in states with eviction moratoriums. Small retailers closed to comply with socialdistancing orders while e-commerce sales, especially from the biggest online platforms, have spiked. Amazon reported a 26% jump in revenue in the first quarter. Assistance is most readily available to those with lawyers and lobbyists on the payroll. Companies like Carnival and Boeing borrowed billions thanks to intervention from the Federal Reserve. In mid-April, Carnivals CEO told CNBC the company could survive the rest of 2020 without any revenue. Meanwhile, Cindy Kimbler, a -cashier in Columbus, Ohio, filed for bankruptcy after a collection agency began garnishing her wages over a payday loan shed taken out to fix the car she needed to get to work. Alexis Marchioni, 21, Bartender, State College, Pa. When a stay-at-home order closed the Lions Den, where she had worked for two years, Marchioni was overwhelmed. The Penn State University junior is studying kinesiology and hopes to become a physical therapist or physicians assistant one day. My tuition is in loans, so thats a future worry, she says, but I was using that money to pay rent. | Eva OLeary for TIME This yawning inequality will darken the coming years. The U.S. is the worlds largest economy, and so long as the majority of Americans are stumbling through a tunnel with no end in sight, its trading partners will suffer too. Its not an exaggeration to say that inequality has the potential to undermine democratic society and threaten global stability. The rapid shutdown of consumerfacing businesses makes this downturn unique. When cheaper foreign labor lured manufacturing jobs overseas, the U.S. became a service economy. In March and early April, as the novel coronavirus began killing Americans, shops and businesses closed overnight. Millions of workers-waitresses and nannies and hotel clerks and line cookswere instantly out of work. Mohamed Eleissawy, 63, Taxi Driver, Manhattan. The father of three has been a taxi driver for about 30 years. Hes gone from working five days a week to three since the lockdown started, often only giving four or five rides a day. After every stop, he wipes down the seat belts, doors and credit-card machine. I love Manhattan, but I feel bad for Manhattan, he says. | Andre D.Wagner for TIME Kim Jaemin, 58, Taxi Driver, Manhattan. Business has plummeted, so has the civility of the customers who enter Kims cab. We face a lot of crazy, racist people, says the South Korean driver (bottom far right). The yellow cab driver is an essential employee but I dont think the city respects us like doctors and nurses, the police, the subway workers. They never talk about the yellow-cab drivers risking their lives. We move the city. | Andre D. Wagner for TIME Almontasir Ahmed Mohamed, 33, Taxi Driver and Engineering Student, Brooklyn. Mohamed, who came to the U.S. from Sudan, says many of his customers recently have come from hospitals. Im just praying five times every day to keep this virus away, and for my family, he says. College-educated employees who can work remotely have, so far, largely been spared, still drawing paychecks and watching their savings grow as they cancel vacations and dinners out and complain about how boring it is to stay at home. One analysis of unemploymentinsurance claims in California found that nearly 37% of workers with just a high school diploma have filed for benefits since March 15, compared with less than 6% of those with a bachelors degree. That may change, of course. No group is safe in a recession of this magnitude. Yelp, Gap and Lyft each cut more than 1,000 corporate employees, and millions more have been furloughed or seen their pay reduced. But college-educated workers are more likely to have a cushion: they experienced wage gains since 2000 that passed those who make less. Only about 1 in 4 adults in lower-income households say they have enough money to cover expenses for three months in the case of an emergency, according to an April survey by Pew. For upperincome households, the number is 3 in 4. Tanisha Robinson, 41, Nanny, Alpharetta, GA. After losing her job as a nanny in March, Robinson could no longer afford health insurance, so shes been rationing her lupus and anxiety medications. She doesnt know when shell earn money again. My stimulus came and I was able to pay the balance of my rent for April and buy food, she says, and now Im right back where I started. | Irina Rozovsky for TIME While the ups and downs of the American economy have long been most destructive to the poor and middle class, this downturn is even more targeted: it is singularly affecting those who can least afford it. During the Great Recession, while pain was widespread across industries, many service workers kept their jobs as consumers decided a dinner out or a haircut were small luxuries they could afford. This time, the majority of people laid off are workingclass and disproportionately women and people of color, who had been living paycheck to paycheck, their expenses rising while their wages stagnated. One lost job or missed rent payment threatens to tip them into an economic abyss. Much of the country teeters behind them. The number of new COVID-19 cases shows no sign of receding, and consumers and businesses remain nervous about returning to the way things were. In the world of finance and business, nothing is less welcome than uncertainty. As the crisis lengthens and consumers continue to delay purchases, more businesses will fail, creating more unemployment and further diminishing consumer demand. Tierney Allen, 33, Lady Gaga Impersonator, Travis Allen, 42, Elvis Impersonator, and their daughter Charlotte, 3, Las Vegas. The couple is two of more than 80,000 gig workers in Las Vegas who are now unable to make a living. | Daniella Zalcman for TIME All day long, they record happy, reassuring video messages for Elvis and Gaga fans, but off camera they are terrified. On May 1, doctors found two masses in Tierneys left breast. Its one of those dreams where youre screaming for help and no one can hear you, she says. | Daniella Zalcman for TIME The safety netalready a dubious -patchworkgrows more tattered. In normal times, not quite a third of workers who have lost jobs receive jobless benefits. In April and May, thousands waited weeks to get through to unemployment offices, sometimes only to be told they werent eligible. Then there is the added expense of health care. About 12.7 million Americans have likely lost employerprovided health insurance since the pandemic began, according to the Economic Policy Institute, adding to the 27.5 million who didnt have it before this crisis. Tanisha Robinson, 41, could not afford health insurance after losing her job as a nanny in Alpharetta, Ga., in mid-March. As her savings dwindled, Robinson turned to what has become the fallback for many: asking strangers on the Internet for help. A $25 donation from a new Twitter friend paid for groceries; funds from another Twitter user, coupled with Robinsons stimulus payment, covered April rent. As May approached, she was again out of money. I literally have to choose which medications are most important and which I can get by without taking, she told me recently. One of the drugs to treat her lupus, hydroxychloroquine, has gotten harder to find since President Donald Trump touted it as a potential treatment for COVID-19. Shawn Best, 38, Cook, Las Vegas. Best loved his job as the breakfast guy at the Cosmopolitan, where hed worked since the hotel opened nearly a decade ago. Now when he talks to his parents in Buffalo, N.Y., he says, I feel like Im the retired one while my parents are still working. Since receiving his last paycheck in mid-April, hes been using his unemployment benefits and the stimulus check to pay his bills and buy food. | Daniella Zalcman for TIME The wealthy have never faced these impossible choices, but as more Americans do, the U.S. economy comes to resemble a game of chutes and ladders, where the richest are steadily climbing ever higher while workers without stable jobs, incomes or savings are sent plummeting downward. It will be more difficult than ever for them to catch up or to even stay in the game, given their disadvantages going in. After dipping in early March, the stock market has nearly returned to where it was in December, allowing the wealthiest tenth of Americans, who own 84% of all stocks, to breathe a sigh of relief. The 10% also had reasons to cheer the CARES Act, which Congress passed on March 27 with a tweak to the tax code that primarily benefits hedge-fund investors and owners of real estate businesses. Banks handling the governments $349 billion smallbusiness loan program collected more than $10 billion in fees, according to NPR. The Betancourts, meanwhile, worry that if their son cant keep paying his college tuition, hell lose his chance at a degree and be bumped back into the same economic category as his parents. America is still known to immigrants as the land of opportunity. But among experts who study its economy, it has become the land of income inequality. Epochal changes that lifted billions out of poverty-globalization, -technologyalso served to concentrate wealth in the hands of a few. Meanwhile, the U.S. has decided over time to allow a greater share of money to stay in private hands, and to collect less for the common good. Gladis Blanco, 40, Guest-room Attendant, Las Vegas. Blancos last day of work at the Bellagio was March 17, and she received only two weeks of pay from the company when she was laid off. Since then shes been living on savings and taking care of her son, 14, and daughter, 17. Its good to have more time with them, she says, but we have bills to pay. | Daniella Zalcman for TIME When adjusted for inflation, the wages of workers in the bottom tenth of the U.S. economy have risen just 3% since 2000, while those in the top tenth have risen 15.7%, according to the Pew Research Center. This stagnation, aggravated by the decline in labor unions, is driven by a rise in jobs without guaranteed hours, benefits or even pay. Retail and food-service workers get called in only if customers show up. The pandemic has reduced most of their hours to zero. Across the economy, a growing number of workersfrom truck drivers to researchers at Googleare independent contractors without the stability and protections of full-time employees. The same is true in the gig economy. Drivers for apps like Instacart, Uber, Lyft and Amazon Flex dont know if theyll make minimum wage on any given day after expenses. And yet, economic desperation drives more people to gig work, diluting the opportunities for all. Theres no reason to believe that the conditions that led us here will change on their own. Already, more companies are talking about replacing workers with machines. And recessions are not good for workers leverage. With millions of people now desperate for any income at all, companies can offer less and demand more. Christina Thomason 39, and son Logan, Tecumseh, Okla. You cant tell people to stay home and not care for them. Im watching everything we worked for being flushed down the toilet. How are we going to come back from this? she says. | September Dawn Bottoms for TIME Can things be different? Fairer? It may well be that the country emerges as a more generous place, buoyed by the communal spirit that brings New Yorkers to their windows every evening at 7, to cheer and bang pots in praise of those risking their lives to save others. Its no less possible that in the year or more it takes to create the vaccine that will allow a return to routine daily life, the virus will become one more corrosive element in public life, and we return to business as usual. Democratic policymakers have floated ideas like expanding Medicaid, forgiving student loans or canceling rent, and making it easier to unionize. But its not yet possible to discern how much the world will be changed by COVID-19. Already there are signs its gotten scarier for workers to stick their necks out. In March, Amazon fired a worker who helped organize a warehouse strike. The company said the worker had violated socialdistancing guidelines. In times of great economic insecurity, pundits often wonder why there arent widespread revolts. Where are the pitchforks, the ramparts? But its not that people do not feel the rage of injustice. Its that theyre too busy fighting to keep a roof over their heads. With reporting by Anna Purna Kambhampaty, Paul Moakley and Olivia B. Waxman - Kenya had requested for KSh 79.5 billion loan from IMF to help the government in responding to coronavirus effects - The IMF approved KSh 78.9 billion noting the impact of COVID-19 on Kenyan economy would be severe hence the need for the financial aid - The international lender advised the government to loosen its fiscal consolidation stance to allow space for coronavirus-related interventions on a temporary and targeted manner - Kenya is also expecting KSh 106 billion in new flows from the World Bank development policy operations The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a loan worth KSh 78. 3 billion to help the Kenyan government address the challenges brought about by coronavirus pandemic. The multilateral lender noted the impact of COVID-19 on Kenyan economy would be severe and urged the government to loosen its fiscal consolidation stance to allow space for coronavirusrelated interventions on a temporary and targeted manner. READ ALSO: Massawe Jappani pranks Rashid Abdalla on air pretends to call President Uhuru only to call wife, Lulu President Uhuru Kenyatta. Photo: State House. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Wakazi wa Eastleigh wakimbia mtaa wao baada ya serikali kuweka kufuli eneo hilo In a statement released by IMF board on Wednesday, May 6, the loan would help the Kenyan government safeguard public health and support households and firms affected by the pandemic. "Emergency financing under the RCF will deliver liquidity support to help Kenya cover its balance of payments gap this year. It will provide much-needed resources for fiscal interventions to safeguard public health and support households and firms affected by the crisis," said the IMF Deputy Managing Director Tao Zhang. Kenya had requested for KSh 79.5 billion loan from IMF to help the government in responding to the crisis. Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani. Photo: Daily Nation. Source: UGC The international lender noted the East African country was in dire need of the requested financial aid to address the pandemic challenges and salvage herself from the looming economic crisis. "The impact of COVID-19 on the Kenyan economy will be severe. It will act through both global and domestic channels, and downside risks remain large. While the authorities have taken decisive action to respond to the pandemics health and economic impacts, the sudden shock has left Kenya with significant fiscal and external financing needs, noted the IMF in a statement. The World Bank had earlier approved a grant of KSh 6 billion to boost the government's effort in fighting COVID-19. Kenya is also expectant of KSh 106 billion in new flows from the World Bank development policy operations (DPO). 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 Covid-19 Updates Kenya-May 6th 2020 | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke A reconstruction of the Tully Monster as it would have looked 300 million years ago, swimming in the Carboniferous seas. Notice the jointed proboscis, the multiple rows of teeth, and the dorsal eye bar. Credit: Sean McMahon / Yale University A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in the U.S. and one in Germany has found evidence that suggests the Tully monster was a vertebrate. In their paper published in the journal Geobiology, the group describes their Raman micro-spectroscopy study of the ancient creatures and what they learned about them. The Tully monster (Tullimonstrum gregarium) was first discovered in 1958 at a site in modern Illinois. Dating of the fossilized remains showed that it lived approximately 300 million years ago. But the researchers were not able to identify a vertebra, thus its status was not clear. Since that time, more Tully monster fossils have been uncovered (all from the same site at Mazon Creek) and more has been learned about itit had a long, streamlined body and eyes like a hammerhead. It was also relatively small, approximately the size of a bowling pin. But despite numerous studies, researchers could not reach a consensus regarding its backbone. In this new effort, the researchers approached the problem from a new angle. Instead of trying to figure out if the Tully monster was a true vertebrate by doing anatomical studies, the researchers instead chose to approach it from a chemical perspective. They noted that invertebrates have chitin in their harder tissues that help them keep their formchitin is made from long strings of sugar molecules. In contrast, vertebrates have certain kinds of proteins and keratin that make up the collagen that is found in back-boned animals. The work involved using Raman micro-spectroscopy to study the chemical structure in the parts of the fossils that were most likely to have been the site of a backbone, if the creature had one. Such an approach involves firing a laser in a non-destructive way at a specimen and then measuring the vibrations that are related to chemical bonds in the material under study. The work showed evidence of the types of proteins and keratins representative of vertebrates. They suggest their findings provide strong evidence that the Tully monster was a vertebrate, though they acknowledge that more work is required to make a final confirmation. More information: Victoria E. McCoy et al. Chemical signatures of soft tissues distinguish between vertebrates and invertebrates from the Carboniferous Mazon Creek Lagerstatte of Illinois, Geobiology (2020). Victoria E. McCoy et al. Chemical signatures of soft tissues distinguish between vertebrates and invertebrates from the Carboniferous Mazon Creek Lagerstatte of Illinois,(2020). DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12397 2020 Science X Network Indian companies in the UK created 110,793 jobs this year, over 6,000 more than 2019, and paid 462 million pounds in corporation tax to the country's economy, according to the latest analysis of 842 firms operating in Britain. The India Meets Britain Tracker 2020', collated annually by Grant Thornton and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to weigh up the contribution of Indian businesses to the UK economy, found that these firms generated 110,793 jobs in Britain up from 104,783 in 2019. The total turnover of these companies added up to GBP 41.2 billion, with corporation tax payments of GBP 462 million over the past year. The report showcases the continued strength of UK-India trade and the importance of India as one of our most critical bilateral investors and job creators, supporting over 110,000 jobs, with half of them outside London, said Lord Gerry Grimstone, UK Minister for Investment, at a virtual online launch of the report. More trade is essential if the UK is to overcome the unprecedented economic challenge posed by coronavirus. Investment will be key to ensuring a strong economy in the years to come, boosting productivity and creating jobs, and it is our strong trade relationships with partners like India that will support this, he said. While the total number of Indian companies operating in the UK remained similar to last year's Tracker at 842, new companies did enter the scene in the seventh edition of the publication this year while others restructured. The technology and telecom sector remains at the forefront of Indian interests in the country, followed by pharmaceuticals and chemicals, and engineering and manufacturing. These are unprecedented times for us as Indian industry, globally. As we navigate through the challenges posed by this sudden disruption caused by the pandemic, it is a useful reminder to note and underscore the valuable contribution of the Indian industry in the economy, especially as we launch the India Meets Britain Tracker 2020' mapping fastest growing Indian investments in the UK, said CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee. Anuj Chande, Partner and Head of South Asia Group at Grant Thornton UK LLP, added: As we rebuild the UK economy in the months to come, Indian owned businesses already operating here will continue to play an important role. We anticipate new Indian investments as both the UK and Indian economies start to re-emerge from the shadow of this pandemic. The most successful Indian businesses look at their UK investments from a long-term perspective and not for short-term gains. The report also provides a tracker of the fastest growing Indian companies on the list, as measured by those with turnover of more than GBP 5 million, year-on-year revenue growth of at least 10 per cent and a minimum two-year track-record in the UK. This year, 72 companies met the qualifying criteria and feature in the 2020 Tracker, achieving an average growth rate of 40 per cent, compared with 36.83 per cent in 2019. An annual award ceremony to mark this growth story was also shifted to an online webinar setting due to the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, with a green energy sector firm grabbing the dual awards of New Market Entrant and Fastest Growing Company of the Year. EESL EnergyPro Assets Ltd, a joint venture founded by India's Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), won the two awards as a result of several acquisitions in 2019 giving it a growth rate of 715 per cent. Route Mobile UK came in at No. 2 with 202 per cent growth, with Dhoot Transmission UK Ltd (186 per cent), Evolutionary Systems Company Ltd (142 per cent) and BB (UK) Ltd (120 per cent) completing the top five for the year. Lakshmi Kaul, Head & Representative UK, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), said: The India Meets Britain Tracker' is a reminder of the value that Indian companies add locally, not just in investment terms but more importantly in jobs terms. In the recent weeks, one has seen how India has stepped in and stepped up, beyond its usual business remit to support on ground in dealing with the pandemic. Whilst the urgent need has now become to address the pandemic, Indian industry will continue to be the UK's ally in navigating its way past Brexit. London remained the dominant base for Indian companies in 2020, a position the UK capital has held since 2015. However, the north of the UK also improved its showing in 2020 compared to the previous year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Wallet stolen from car Police are appealing for information after a wallet was stolen from a car. It happened between 4:30pm and 6pm on Friday 24th April. The vehicle was parked on Queen Street in Castletown when the wallet was stolen. Officers also want to hear from anyone who knows of someone in possession of Australian or Malaysian bank notes since that date. Anyone with information is urged to call Police Headquarters. Representative image Ahead of commencing their operations to airlift stranded Indians in foreigncountries, the pilots and cabin crew of the first batch of AirIndia Express evacuation flight on May 7 got to know howto handle in-flight operations at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Doctors and nurses of a government medical college hospital, experts in handling COVID-19 patients, imparted training to 12 airline staff, including four pilots, ahead of their departure from Kochi to participate in the biggest evacuation operation of Indian history. The pilots and cabin crew were provided training in all the steps on donning and doffing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) suits, infection control practices to be followed inflight and also the management of anticipated health emergencies during the flight, the medical college authorities said. A practical demonstration of both donning and doffing of PPE suites according to the protocol was also given to the crew. They were also provided with practice kits. "The training given by GMC Ernakulam has helped to build up the confidence level of the entire crew considerably and we are now fully confident to undertake the rescue mission," said Captain Paartha Sarkar. The expert panel was headed by medical college RMO Dr Ganesh Mohan, doctors Manoj Antony, Gokul Sanjeevan and infection control staff nurse Vidhya. Medical superintendent Dr Peter Vazhayil has offered further training sessions for air personnel, if requested by the Airline companies. A Cochin International Airport spokesman said there will be only one Air India Express flight operating on May 7 to airlift passengers stranded Keralites. 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 flight carrying evacuated citizens from Abu Dhabi will land at the Cochin International Airport Limited at 9.40 pm on Thursday, he said. The other (Doha-Kochi) flight, scheduled for Thursday's operation, has been rescheduled to Saturday, he added. Mississippi Public Universities support economic development efforts through institutes, centers Thu, 05/07/2020 - 13:45pm | By: Caron Blanton Mississippi Public Universities support economic development efforts across the state through a variety of programs and services. Many of these programs and services are provided through the Institutes and Centers housed on the university campuses. Mississippi Economic Development Week provides an opportunity to shine a light on the work of a few of them. The Trent Lott National Center for Excellence in Economic Development and Entrepreneurship at The University of Southern Mississippi serves as the catalyst for a university-wide focus on economic development training and research serving public entities, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and individuals. The Center provides client-requested assistance and offers expertise in strategic planning and leadership development; education and training; community analysis and research; and other technical support. The Trent Lott National Center is driven by passion, determination and commitment to be a leading force in advancing global competitiveness through knowledge-led economic development. The Center works with public entities, nonprofit organizations, businesses and individuals to plan and implement activities designed to generate jobs and income using data-driven economic development. The need for effective medical tests, treatments and vaccines has come to the forefront during the coronavirus pandemic. The research and trials necessary to bring those to a local pharmacy is a long and complicated process. The University of Mississippis Pii Center for Pharmaceutical Technology conducts interdisciplinary drug/polymer research that provides end-stage pharmaceutical products directed at therapeutic conditions, vaccines, antidotes and wound care. Utilizing cutting edge thermal processing, the Pii Center collaborates with private industry, government and academia to develop new, improved and expanded drug delivery systems. The Pii Center interfaces with the Department of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy and is housed under the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. The Department of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery and the Pii Center perform a wide range of formulation development activities to facilitate commercialization of pre-approved active pharmaceutical ingredients, new molecular entities, drug products and inactive ingredients. Helping entrepreneurs take an idea from concept to flourishing business is the focus of Mississippi State Universitys Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach. The Center helps students, faculty and community members start and grow successful companies. The Center helps entrepreneurs link with alumni, learn tactical business skills and launch companies that will help define tomorrows markets. The university understands entrepreneurs change the world and embraces its role as a major contributor to the economic development of the state through targeted research and the transfer of ideas and technology to the public. The Centers programs include VentureCatalyst, Non-Student Programs, and the NSF I-Corp Site program. VentureCatalyst is a comprehensive, co-curricular program for MSUs students and faculty who are interested in starting a successful, investor-backed company. The Non-Student Programs help any business large or small in the state of Mississippi. The National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps Site program provides training to learn the fundamentals of building business models and is open to all students, faculty, researchers and staff at the university. Delta State Universitys College of Business and Aviation assists economic development efforts in the Delta through its Center for Business and Entrepreneurial Research (CBER). In 2019, CBER presented workshops and presentations to potential and existing entrepreneurs and educators on job creation, workforce development, cost benefit analysis, the role of youth entrepreneurship in economic development, and workforce development for special needs students. In June and July 2019, CBER conducted a Summer Youth Entrepreneurship Program in partnership with Delta Health Alliance. The coronavirus pandemic has also brought to light the importance of farmers, ranchers and the food supply many Mississippians depend upon. Universities play an important role in supporting the agribusiness sector. The Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Policy Research Center at Alcorn State University specializes in policy research impacting socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. Through collaboration with universities and organizations inside and outside the land grant community, Alcorn State University leverages its employees expertise and increases personnel capacity with contractual partnerships with other universities and agencies. The mission of the Policy Research Center is to make policy recommendations that will improve the success of socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and support them through research, stakeholder engagement, and outreach. The Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning governs the public universities in Mississippi, including Alcorn State University; Delta State University; Jackson State University; Mississippi State University including the Mississippi State University Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine; Mississippi University for Women; Mississippi Valley State University; the University of Mississippi including the University of Mississippi Medical Center; and the University of Southern Mississippi. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump says he didnt know the Justice Department was planning to drop its case against his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. But it didnt really matter. The extraordinary action underscored the extent to which Trump and Attorney General William Barr have been in sync in their views on the federal Trump-Russia investigation with or without communicating about it. Barr himself has openly challenged the decisions of predecessors and his own prosecutors. Hes launched internal probes to investigate the investigators. Trump is emphatically welcoming the Flynn action. He has relentlessly railed against the special counsels inquiry into his 2016 campaigns contacts with Russia which the Flynn case grew out of and was eager for news in his favor to shift voters focus away from his administrations handling of the coronavirus pandemic that has crippled the U.S. economy. Beyond that, the decision to dismiss the Flynn case had the effect not only of undoing a key prosecution from special counsel Robert Muellers investigation of Trumps winning campaign, but also of sparing the president from having to make a politically charged pardon decision in the current election year. The sudden action on Flynn has produced familiar divisions in public opinion. Trump allies cheered the results, while Democrats and some current and former Justice Department officials expressed dismay. Bill Barr is a man of unbelievable credibility and courage, Trump said during a Friday telephone interview on Fox & Friends where he devoted substantial time to the news. And hes going to go down in the history books. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi agreed about going down in history but for a different reason. She said, Attorney General Barrs politicization of justice knows no bounds. Trump suggested Friday that more surprises could be afoot, saying a lot of things are going to be told over the next couple of weeks. He said the jurys still out with regard to FBI Director Chris Wray. If Trump was upset for political reasons about the case of Flynn, the Justice Department says Barr was troubled by legal issues. Those include what he believes were irregularities in the FBIs 2017 interview of Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to agents about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. The department points out the dismissal recommendation was made not by Barr but by Jeff Jensen, the U.S. attorney in St. Louis whom Barr appointed to review the handling of the case. Once the recommendation was made, senior leadership felt duty-bound to move to dismiss it. Jensens review continues. However, the dismissal was just the most recent example of Barr challenging conclusions from the Russia investigations in ways that have stirred criticism. Mueller privately criticized him last year for not adequately capturing the severity of the special counsels findings in the Trump-Russia investigation in Barrs four-page letter summarizing the probes conclusions. Barr has said he doesnt believe there was sufficient evidence for the FBI to open a full investigation, and that the FBI launched an intrusive investigation of a U.S. presidential campaign on the thinnest of suspicions. In February, he overruled prosecutors in the case of Trump ally Roger Stone, on grounds that they had recommended excessive prison time. He appointed one U.S. attorney to examine the origins of the Russia investigation now a criminal investigation and another to look into the Flynn case specifically. The entire Stone trial team quit the case, and in a likely sign of dissent Thursday, Flynn prosecutor and Mueller team member Brandon Van Grack withdrew shortly before the filing was submitted. The Flynn outcome was startling in multiple ways, not least because the Justice Department rarely undertakes internal reviews of its own prosecutions let alone cases in which a defendant has pleaded guilty. The Jan. 24, 2017, interview of Flynn came at a pivotal juncture, as the FBI scrambled to untangle potential ties between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. Agents knew from a transcript of Flynns call with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak that Flynn had discussed U.S. sanctions with Kislyak, but were distressed that White House officials were publicly insisting otherwise and scheduled an interview with him. The idea that it wasnt appropriate to go do some interview of Flynn, and that the basis of the investigation was somehow untoward, is obviously remarkable and unbelievable at the same time, said former Justice Department prosecutor Ryan Fayhee. Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general, would later be ousted from the White House, with officials saying he lied to them. But the Justice Department now says there was no basis to question Flynn, especially since agents were prepared to close their investigation into him weeks earlier after finding nothing to suggest he had committed a crime. The department also suggests the FBI erred by not advising Flynn that it was a crime to lie, even though the agency said less than two years ago it wasnt required. Some current and former officials say there are less extreme remedies for issues like the ones the department identified. The department, for instance, could have supported Flynns bid to withdraw his guilty plea. But a senior Justice Department official said the department believes concerns about the FBIs conduct one of the agents who interviewed Flynn was later fired for derogatory text messages about Trump during the investigation would have made it difficult to win at trial had a judge agreed to withdraw the plea. That official was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke only on condition of anonymity. One Justice Department prosecutor not involved in the case expressed bewilderment about the decision, especially since it involved walking away from a guilty plea and conviction. The prosecutor, who also spoke only on condition of anonymity, said the persistent attacks on the FBI have given defense lawyers ammunition to attack federal investigators as corrupt, and have exposed political divisions inside Justice Department offices that are meant to be apolitical. As for Flynn, he responded to the news by posting a video of his grandson holding an American flag and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Longtime friend Tom Heaney said Flynn felt vindicated and was relieved by the decision. He feels like a huge weight has been lifted off him, Heaney said. For all of us, we were never doubting the fact that he was innocent. ____ Associated Press writer Michelle R. Smith in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report. After nearly 30 years at the helm of a pioneering hotel management group, Hans R. Jenni is retiring today as president and director of GHM (General Hotel Management Ltd.). The groups current CEO, Tommy Lai, will assume responsibility for GHMs day-to-day operations and management. Since 1992, when Jenni co-founded GHM with Amanresorts group founder Adrian Zecha, his vision has led the management group down a succession of roads less travelled to little-known destinations. Names now synonymous with understated elegance and luxury accommodation The Datai in Langkawi, The Legian in Bali, The Nam Hai in Hoi An, and the very successful Chedi brand in Muscat, Andermatt and most recently in Sharjah, UAE are a testament to Jennis foresight. Hans Jenni was never interested in doing anything easy and was never infected by the complacency that sometimes comes with success, said Lai. He remade the wheel with each new project, which was oftentimes a necessity because many of the places he wanted to go required a whole new means of getting there. And when the group did get there, said Lai, these far-flung destinations started lighting on the radar screens of travellers around the world and emerged somewhat transformed and in an altogether more compelling light thanks to the presence of a GHM flag. A Swiss national, Jenni began his career in hospitality in 1966 and is a graduate of the prestigious Ecole Hoteliere Lausanne in Switzerland. Prior to the launch of GHM, he groomed his skill-set in hotel management at the Peninsula Hotels, Shangri-La International and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and Swiss-Belhotel Management Ltd., where he led the company as president. - TradeArabia News Service Switch the Market flag Open the menu and switch the Market flag for targeted data from your country of choice. for targeted data from your country of choice. Australian model Nicole Trunfio is relishing in every moment with her baby girl Ella Wolf after welcoming the bub into the world in February. On Thursday, the 34-year-old supermodel shared a series of sweet photos of her three-month-old daughter napping on her lap. In the pictures, Nicole, who is based in the US, showed off her incredible post-pregnancy figure in a black unitard. Sleeping beauty! Nicole Trunfio shared sweet photos of her baby daughter Ella Wolf napping on her lap on Wednesday In each photo, little Ella looked peacefully asleep wearing a pale yellow dress and a striped hat with a bow. The doting mother wrote in the caption of her post: 'Afternoon snooze with my newest love #ellawolf Im well and truly in heaven #momof3.' Nicole's adoring post comes after she revealed the secrets behind her impressive post-pregnancy figure. Hot mama! On Monday, she wowed fans after sharing photos of herself posed in front of her bathroom mirror while cradling her gorgeous two-month-old On Monday, she wowed fans after sharing photos of herself posed in front of her bathroom mirror while cradling her gorgeous two-month-old. She explained in the photo caption she managed to find little breaks to workout in between her daughter's feeds and naps. Nicole said she has been using the fitness app Keep It Cleaner for equipment-free exercises, recipes and daily affirmations. Keep It Cleaner was created by fitness enthusiasts and Instagram stars, Steph Claire Smith and Laura Henshaw. Secret to her success: She explained in the photo caption she managed to find little breaks to workout in between her daughter's feeds and naps. Nicole said she has been using the fitness app Keep It Cleaner for equipment-free exercises, recipes and daily affirmations 'This is how I am staying physically and mentally healthy these days. Thank you @keepitcleaner for creating this app!' she explained. Earlier this month, Nicole spoke about how she had been using a waist trainer to help her snap back into shape. She launched the trainer with her maternity line Bumpsuit, earlier this year. The model shared a photo of herself wearing the shapewear and said by using a waist trainer after each of her births has helped her get back into shape, give 'support during breastfeeding' and 'feel together' again. 'It's made for any and every woman': Earlier this month, she revealed she had been using a waist trainer to help her snap back into shape. She launched the trainer with her maternity line Bumpsuit, earlier this year 'It's made for any and every woman. It's great for day to day, postpartum recovery, C section recovery or just to be used as slimming shapewear under clothes,' she said, adding that she even sleeps in it. Nicole and her musician husband Gary Clark Jr. welcomed baby Ella Wolf on February 21. The couple, who tied the knot back in 2016, are also parents to five-year-old son Zion, and two-year-old daughter Gia. The family are currently in lockdown at their home on their ranch in Texas, in the US. [May 06, 2020] CooTek to Announce First Quarter 2020 Unaudited Financial Results on May 15, 2020 SHANGHAI, May 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CooTek (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: CTK) ("CooTek" or the "Company"), a fast-growing global mobile internet company, today announced that it will report its unaudited financial results for the first quarter 2020 ended March 31, 2020, before the open of U.S. markets on Friday, May 15, 2020. CooTek's management team will host an earnings conference call at 8:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time on Friday, May 15, 2020 (8:00 PM Beijing Time on the same day). Dial-in details for the earnings conference call are as follows: United States: 1-888-346-8982 Hong Kong: 800-905-945 Mainland China: 4001-201-203 International: 1-412-902-4272 Please dial in 15 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin and provide the passcode to join the call. A telephone replay of the call will be available after the conclusion of the conference call until 7:59 AM ET on May 22, 2020: United States: 1-877-344-7529 International: 1-412-317-0088 Passcode: 10143997 A live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available on the Investor Relations section of CooTek's website at https://ir.cootek.com/. About CooTek (Cayman) Inc. CooTek is a fast-growing mobile internet company with a global vision, offering mobile applications. Our mission is to empower everyone to enjoy relevant content seamlessly. The Company's user-centric and data-driven approach has enabled it to release appealing products to capture mobile internet users' ever-evolving content needs and helps it rapidly attract targeted users. CooTek has developed and brought to market content-rich mobile applications, focusing on three categories: online literature, casual games and scenario-based mobile apps. For more information on CooTek, please visit https://ir.cootek.com/ For more information, please contact: CooTek (Cayman) Inc. Mr. Jacky Lin [email protected] Christensen In China Mr. Christian Arnell Phone: +86-10-5900-1548 E-mail: [email protected] In U.S. Ms. Linda Bergkamp Phone: +1-480-614-3004 Email: [email protected] View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cootek-to-announce-first-quarter-2020-unaudited-financial-results-on-may-15-2020-301054506.html SOURCE CooTek Iraqi members of parliament vote on a new government led by Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhemi. AFP/VNA Photo BAGHDAD Iraqi premier Mustafa Kadhemi formally took office early on Thursday after parliament approved his cabinet line-up, taking the reins amid a staggering economic crisis, a health pandemic and the spectre of renewed protests. Observing social distancing to curb the spread of the coronavirus, lawmakers gathered at parliament in masks and gloves around 9:00pm local time, but the vote was delayed for hours to make last-minute edits to ministerial posts. MPs approved 15 ministers out of a prospective 22-seat cabinet, with seven ministries -- including the key oil and foreign affairs positions still empty as political parties squabble over shares. Kadhemi, the 53-year-old former head of the respected National Intelligence Service (INIS), was nominated by President Barham Saleh on April 9 -- the third attempt to replace outgoing premier Adel Abdel Mahdi. Abdel Mahdi, 77, resigned late last year following months of protests decrying rampant corruption, unemployment and a political class seen as beholden to neighbouring Iran. He became the first premier to step down since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, but stayed on as caretaker PM in the absence of a successor. Kadhemi's nomination came after weeks of lobbying deeply divided political parties, including those close to neighbouring Iran who had been wary of his ties to the US. One hardline faction had accused Kadhemi of conspiring with Washington over the January drone strike that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis outside Baghdad airport. A partial government The new PM appeared to have brought Iran-aligned factions on board, with endorsements from both Soleimani's successor as Quds Force chief Ismail Qaani, and from Mohammed Kawtharani, the pointman on Iraqi affairs for powerful Iran-backed Lebanese movement Hezbollah. Still, negotiations over the cabinet line-up extended until midnight, when 255 of parliament's 329 members entered the hall for the vote. Among the names passed were sensitive portfolios including the ministers of finance, interior, defence, health, electricity and others -- securing the majority that Kadhemi needed for his cabinet to be considered viable. The new body is meant to hold early elections seen as an opportunity for a political reset for the country, but it will also face urgent policy priorities. Iraq's GDP is set to shrink by 9.7 per cent this year and poverty rates may double, making it the country's worst annual performance since 2003, the World Bank has warned. The enormous deficit brought on by collapsing crude prices may force the cabinet to trim salaries for state workers, potentially sparking new anti-government rallies. Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 100 Iraqis and the country's dilapidated health system is at risk of being overwhelmed by a spike in cases. In-house trouble Kadhemi will also have to resolve budget and oil disputes with the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq and lead a strategic dialogue with the United States in June over bilateral economic and military ties. The new PM has pledged to balance between Iraq's competing allies Washington and Tehran, who have been at loggerheads since the US reimposed tough sanctions on Iran in 2018. The US has also blamed Iran and its allies for a spate of rocket attacks on American troops in Iraq that have killed US, British and Iraqi forces in recent months. Just hours before parliament's vote, a new rocket attack -- the first since late March -- hit a military complex outside the Baghdad airport where US troops are based. Iraq's parliament voted to oust all foreign forces, including some 5,200 US troops, after Soleimani's killing in January -- but the decision has yet to be implemented. And remnants of the Islamic State group have apparently stepped up attacks in recent weeks, two years after the country declared the jihadists defeated. In his overnight address to parliament, Kadhemi pledged to hold early elections, draft an emergency budget law. But Kadhemi's challenges are not just external, said Renad Mansour, a researcher at the London-based Chatham House. "Kadhemi will try to retain some level of independence from the political blocs as prime minister, but the biggest spoiler could be holdovers from Abdel Mahdi administration who will be wary of him," Mansour said. "It will be increasingly difficult to do the kind of horse-trading required to reach consensus in Iraq given the level of fragmentation in the political scene," he said. AFP SOUTHFIELD, Mich., May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) announced the launch of its Industry Restart Package for Quality, which includes, for the first time, free access to the Core Tools Self-Assessment, select Core Tools eLearning, and all Core Tools eDocuments, to the automotive supply chain through the end of the year. These products complement the recently launched Live Virtual Training for Quality Core Tools and IATF 16949:2016, traditional classroom training, certifications, and onsite training, rounding out AIAGs full portfolio of Quality resources. All of these products are available globally in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, and Russian. When the industry is down, we step up, explains J. Scot Sharland, Chief Executive Officer of AIAG. Access to our full suite of quality products and services is being provided to suppliers of all sizes and practitioners at every level, to assist them in the delivery of more predictable manufacturing outcomes. The Industry Restart Package for Quality helps position Quality professionals for the recovery by ensuring that everyone has critical and basic industry knowledge. Beginning with the Core Tools Self-Assessment, participants can benchmark their competency in the Core Tools against over 17,000 assessments completed globally, to date. Once participants have gained a better understanding of where additional knowledge may be required to meet industry benchmarks, they can then use select Core Tools eLearning in FMEA, APQP/PPAP, MSA and SPC and full versions of the Core Tools eDocuments to increase their knowledge and prepare for additional training. After taking advantage of the free resources included in the Industry Restart Package for Quality, participants can then turn to AIAGs new Live Virtual Training options, in the Core Tools and IATF 16949:2016, to further hone their skills. These virtual training opportunities provide the best of AIAGs classroom training live trainers and moderators, teams and breakout rooms in an online environment. As the industry continues to recover, and participants transition once more to classroom training, they can continue to increase their competency by completing traditional in-person classes and professional certifications. Sharland concludes: AIAG is reaffirming its commitment to ensure robust institutional knowledge transfer in new and innovative ways. By providing pervasive access to industry standards and proven best practices, we can help suppliers meet and exceed their customers quality expectations! Learn more: https://www.aiag.org/quality/industry-restart About AIAG: The Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) is a unique not-for-profit organization where OEMs, suppliers, service providers, government entities, and individuals in academia have worked collaboratively for more than 36 years to drive down costs and complexity from the automotive supply chain. AIAG membership includes leading global manufacturers, parts suppliers, and service providers. Visit www.aiag.org for more information. BAGHDAD - Despite a boost from the U.S. hours after his inauguration early Thursday, Iraqs new prime minister will have to walk a tightrope to appease both powerful Iran-backed political factions and allies in Washington. Shortly after Iraqi lawmakers approved the government of Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the U.S. said it plans to grant Iraq a 120-day sanctions waiver enabling the country to import gas and electricity from Iran to meet its power needs an indication of support for the new premier. The exemption would be the longest period of time in months granted to Iraq to prove it is making progress in becoming less reliant on Iranian imports, a key condition for receiving the waiver. Al-Kadhimis new program spells out measures welcomed by the U.S., including a vow to hold early elections, address Iraqs severe health and economic woes amid falling oil prices, and bring arms under the control of the state. But Iraqi officials and experts said the new prime minister will have to manoeuvr between the competing interests of Iran-backed factions and allies in Washington, while managing financial shortfalls, the coronavirus crisis and rampant political dysfunction. For now, al-Kadhimi has support from both Tehran and Washington. Earlier this week, an Iranian political delegation arrived in Baghdad to inform Shiite political blocs of Tehrans support for al-Kadhimis premiership, two senior Shiite political leaders said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to disclose the information. Strategic talks between Washington and Baghdad are expected next month and will run the gamut of U.S.-Iraq relations, from military to economic support, according to Iraqi and U.S. officials. Key questions, including the nature of U.S. troop presence in Iraq, are expected to be discussed. During these talks, al-Kadhimi will have the difficult task of pushing the Iraqi wish to reduce the controversy surrounding the American presence in Iraq without alienating Washington and losing financial support, said Toby Dodge, head of the London School for Economics Middle East Centre. With deals being struck up until the last minute, lawmakers approved 15 appointees out of a Cabinet of 22, allowing al-Kadhimi to form a government under Iraqi constitutional guidelines. Other ministry portfolios will be subject to further negotiation with parliamentary political blocs. That al-Kadhimi, who has no solid political base, had to change ministry portfolios to appease political blocs several times was a deliberate attempt to demonstrate power, said Dodge. Iraqi officials close to al-Kadhimi have said he plans to consolidate control within the prime ministers office to push out reforms. In the run-up to become prime minister he was deliberately outflanked and humiliated by political blocs who showed him who has the power, Dodge said. What he desperately needs to do is appeal to rally public opinion above the widely discredited political elite. Passing a budget law for the year will be his first big test, officials and experts said. With it, Iraq can unlock much needed international loans to plug in a growing deficit amid falling oil prices. But austerity measures to balance the budget, such as cutting the countrys bloated public wage bill, will likely create both political and public discontent. Shortly after he was officially named premier, al-Kadhimi spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, according to a statement from the U.S. State Department. In support of the new government the United States will move forward with a 120-day electricity waiver as a display of our desire to help provide the right conditions for success, said spokesperson Morgan Ortagus, according to the statement. Previous waivers gave Iraq just 30 days to make headway in developing domestic gas supply or else find alternative sources to meet energy needs. They were a sign of growing impatience from Washington as Iraqi elites jockeyed over al-Kadhimis proposed Cabinet lineup. Iraq needs Iranian gas and electricity to meet up to 30% of domestic power needs. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said talks next month would reaffirm ties with Iraq. The new government must now turn to the hard work of implementing much needed reforms and addressing the needs of the Iraqi people. Our upcoming Strategic Dialogue with the government of Iraq aims to reaffirm the value of the U.S.-Iraqi partnership for both of our countries, the embassy said in a statement. U.S.-Iraq ties suffered under the administration of former Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi. The tense relationship was exacerbated by a Washington-directed airstrike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani outside Baghdad airport earlier this year. Abdul-Mahdi staunchly supported ejecting U.S. troops from Iraq following the January killing, which strained ties with Washington. The U.S.-led coalition has withdrawn from several Iraqi bases across the country in line with a planned drawdown conceived in December. Troops have consolidated in Baghdad and the sprawling Ain al-Asad base in Iraqs western Anbar province. ___ Associated Press writer Matt Lee in Washington contributed to this report. A man has been charged with murder after a man died after a suspected stabbing in in west London. Tedros Haile, 30, was charged on Wednesday and will appear in Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday in connection with the incident in Hammersmith. Police were called to a flat off Fulham Palace Road near the junction with Hammersmith Square to reports of an injured man just before 8pm on Tuesday. A 32-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene. The man was pronounced dead at the scene / Google Maps A Met Police spokesman said his next of kin has been informed. A post-mortem examination is due to be held at Uxbridge Mortuary on Thursday. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 7) ABS-CBN sought relief from the Supreme Court on Thursday in a bid to nullify a regulatory body's order that forced it to go off the air. In its 46-page petition for certiorari and prohibition, the embattled network asked the Supreme Court to declare "null and void" the cease and desist order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission on Tuesday. Pending the proceedings, ABS-CBN pleaded for a temporary restraining order and/or writ of preliminary injunction "to prevent grave and irreparable injury" to the network and its employees, estimated to be around 11,000. ABS-CBN said it is losing 30 million to 35 million every day that it is off air. The media giant stressed that the NTC "materially and substantially invaded ABS-CBN's right" to due process, equal protection of the laws, and freedom of speech. "The NTC violated ABS-CBN's right to due process by issuing the order without any prior notice or hearing and by ignoring the serious and irreparable damage that the CDO will inflict on ABS-CBN and thousands of its employees," ABS-CBN said in its petition. It added there was "no urgent or paramount necessity" for it to stop broadcasting, noting that the NTC mentioned no grounds in its order aside from the expiration of its franchise last Monday. "On the contrary, it is the closure of ABS-CBN that will cause serious and irreparable damage not only to ABS-CBN, but more importantly to the public interest," ABS-CBN said. ABS-CBN said its forced closure also violated the public's right to information, and is a curtailment of the freedom of speech and of the press, which are all more crucial than ever amid the coronavirus pandemic. The government may also be taking a hit, since ABS-CBN is a significant source of tax revenues. In the past three years, it remitted at least 14.3 billion, the media giant said. "The CDO affects not only ABS-CBN or its employees, but also the Government and the public given the loss of a significant source of tax revenue as well as closure of one of the leading providers of news and entertainment. These roles are vital, particularly at the moment, when the country is faced with a pandemic," ABS-CBN said. Why run to the high court? The Lopez-owned network is asking the high court to rule whether there was grave abuse of discretion on the part of the NTC, an issue which officials such as Minority Leader Franklin Drilon have alleged. He is calling for the dismissal of the NTC commissioners, while House Minority Leader Benny Abante wants the body abolished. The network justified going directly to the Supreme Court, saying its petition "only seeks a resolution of questions of law, not of facts." It added that running to the Court of Appeals would take more time, when it needs to get back on air immediately. The Supreme Court's ruling will also establish jurisprudence, ABS-CBN said, noting that NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba himself admitted that the body had never shuttered a broadcast company in the past due to an expired franchise. Other media entities were allowed to operate while their franchise renewal bids were pending. "There is no reason why the same practice should not be applied to ABS-CBN," the network said. "The NTC's bad faith, malice, and underhandedness are simply choking and abhorrent," it added. It recalled how the regulatory body earlier promised to grant the network provisional authority to operate as advised by the Department of Justice and as requested by both the Senate and the House of Representatives. ABS-CBN acknowledged, however, that the NTC made a decision "with a threat hanging over its head." On the eve of the expiration of the network's franchise, Solicitor General Jose Calida warned NTC officials they may be charged with graft for allowing it to continue operating without a legislative franchise. "Under such climate, the NTC's impartiality is at best seriously suspect," ABS-CBN said. ABS-CBN's shutdown hogged international headlines as more than 11,000 media workers lost their jobs while the world is battling COVID-19, which has infected more than 3.7 million people globally. It was heavily criticized as an attack on press freedom, since President Rodrigo Duterte had publicly threatened ABS-CBN over the network's refusal to carry his campaign commercials in 2016. Duterte earlier accepted an apology from ABS-CBN. His spokesperson, Harry Roque said Duterte is "completely neutral" on ABS-CBN's franchise renewal, and the lawmakers should decide on it without worrying about what the President would feel. The House leadership has not made a comment amid calls for it to tackle pending bills seeking to grant ABS-CBN a fresh 25-year franchise. Totally, about 13,000 people crossed the Ukrainian border in the past day During the past 24 hours, over 470 passengers arrived at Boryspil Airport by three evacuation flights as the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reported. By flights from Toronto (Canada), Oslo (Norway), Goa (India) mostly our compatriots arrived in Ukraine. Besides the usual control procedures, the border guards of Detached checkpoint Kyiv held temperature screening of the passengers and interviews about the state of health, the message said. It is noted that there were no people with fever or complaints about the presence of the signs of the acute respiratory diseases among arrivals. After the check by the employees of the State Border Guard Service of the registration in the app, people were sent to two-week isolation at mentioned addresses. One passenger from Goa flight decided to stay in quarantine in the particular observatory, the message said. Less than 13,000 were proceeded by the employees of the State Border Guard Service at the border during the past 24 hours. On May 4, more than 350 Ukrainians returned to their homeland from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. An Iranian news agency with close ties to the Revolutionary Guard on Wednesday reported that the Intelligence Ministry has "tracked down and destroyed two terrorist cells". According to Tasnim News Agency the two cells were affiliated with "separatist groups that had entered the country from the neighboring eqlim [the Iraqi Kurdistan] to carry out harassment and terrorist activities". The Revolutionary Guard and the Intelligence Ministry often use Tasnim News Agency for making unofficial statements. The agency usually quotes "informed sources" in the Revolutionary Guard or the Intelligence Ministry to support its claims. The Tasnim report alleged that some of those who were detained had participated in "killing of innocent people and extortion from manufacturers and merchants in the west of the country". It also alleged that "the child of a supporter of the Islamic Republic was innocently killed by one of the terrorist teams in a murderous operation". A photo that accompanies the Tasnim report shows arms and ammunition allegedly "discovered from anti-revolutionary small groups in Piranshahr, West Azarbaijan Province" with a sign showing the date as May 6. In a separate development Mashreq News, a website which has similar affiliations as Tasnim on Wednesday published the photos of three revolutionary guards, including a colonel killed in "confrontation with anti-revolutionaries in Divandarreh", a city in Iran's Kurdestan Province. Tasnim News Agency on the same day reported that Colonel Shakiba Salimi, one of the three Guards, had been buried in his birth village after a funeral in Qorveh, another city in Kurdistan Province. Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) on May 7 reported that the Iranian Intelligence Ministry had arrested at least 15 citizens in Kurdestan and West Azarbaijan provinces "on alleged charges of cooperation with one of the Kurdish opposition parties". "Based on the investigation of the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, none of the detainees had come to Iran from the Kurdistan Regional Government as claimed by the Intelligence Ministry and are ordinary citizens of Baneh and Piranshahr," the KHRN maintained. The KHRN report which named the detainees in the two cities also said that they were currently held by the Intelligence Ministry in Urumiyeh (Urmia) and Sanandaj. According to the report the detainees have not been allowed to contact their families. The families of the detainees are concerned that the Intelligence Ministry may be using them in made-up scenarios involving torture to extract forced confessions, the report said. Hany Abu-Assad is the first interviewee in a series of discussions with salient filmmakers from the Arab world and beyond, live-streamed on Instagram The Arab Cinema Centre (ACC) announced the launch of its ACC Talks on Instagram, a series of in-depth interviews with salient filmmakers from the Arab world and beyond. The interviews are live-streamed on the ACC's official page on Instagram. The filmmakers will be interviewed by jury members from the Critics' Awards for Arab Films and Arab Critics' Awards for European Films. The first episode is scheduled to take place on Thursday 7 May, at 3pm Cairo time, featuring two-time Academy Award nominee, and Golden Globe winner, Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad. Abu-Assad will be hosted by Ola Al-Sheikh, a Palestinian film critic and jury member of the Critics' Awards for Arab Films and Arab Critics' Awards for European Films. During the interview, the audience will be able to ask questions through Instagram and Facebook comments. Held on a weekly basis, the interviews will be available in Arabic or English subtitles on the ACC's official social media pages and website: acc.film. Palestinian director Abu-Assad received two Academy Award nominations for his films Paradise Now (2006), winner of The Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and Omar (2013), winner of the Special Jury Prize-Un Certain Regard Prize at Cannes Film Festival. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, Abu-Assad made his cinematic breakthrough as a producer for the feature film Curfew (1994) by director Rashid Masharawi. His repertoire includes The Mountain Between Us (2017), starring Kate Winslet and Idris Elba,The Idol (2015) that was inspired by the real-life journey of artist Mohamed Assaf, The Courier (2012), starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Mickey Rourke, and the documentary film Ford Transit (2002). For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture Search Keywords: Short link: Understand the effects of adversity on children. While many kids are experiencing a stressful situation right now, those who have been exposed to other adverse events in childhood are at an increased risk of struggling during and after this crisis. A tally of adverse childhood experiences, known as an ACE score, can be used as an indicator of a persons risk for later health problems, so having a high ACE score is like a warning light. ACEs include aspects of the childs environment that can undermine their sense of safety, stability and bonding traumatic events like experiencing violence, abuse, neglect or substance abuse in the home. Covid-19 presents unique challenges to kids who have experienced a significant number of adverse events, said Dr. Burke Harris. An ACE score is not the be-all and end-all, Dr. Burke Harris said. Instead, she compares it to a thermometer. You can be sick and not have a fever. But if you have a fever, it is an indicator to everyone that you are sick, and that we need to pay close attention. When we can predict, hopefully we can prevent, Dr. Burke Harris said. By knowing who is most at risk to suffer toxic stress from Covid-19, policymakers can deliver community resources to those who are expected to need them most. Yo Jackson, a psychology professor at Pennsylvania State University, who also serves as the associate director of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network, stressed that it would be overly simplistic to say that children from homes with greater risk factors are suffering more right now. Dose matters, she said, but it is much more nuanced than that. We cant just check the boxes to decide how Covid-19 will affect a particular child. Dr. Burke Harris agreed. The same stressor wont elicit the same response in everyone, she said. Kids who were not at risk before Covid-19 may face new risks because the safety nets parents relied on in the past have disappeared, and those who relied on support networks in the past may be overwhelmed with the lack of resources currently available. Avoid making assumptions. Adults must recognize that for some kids, the newfound solitude brought on by Covid-19 feels like a gift. While we may be struggling with schools being closed, kids could be rejoicing in it. We might assume our kids miss their friends, but they may appreciate having more time with us. And some who were dealing with bullying or social challenges at school may be relieved not to have to see other kids. A mother appeared in court on Thursday accused of killing a churchwarden and trying to kill three other shoppers in a knife attack at a Co-op supermarket in Rhondda. Zara Radcliffe, 29, was charged with the murder of John Rees, 88, whose wife was waiting in their car outside for him to return with their shopping. She is also accused of attempted murder of nurse Lisa Way, 53, shopper Andrew Price, 58, and fellow nurse Gaynor Saurin, 65, at the Co-operative store. Zara Radcliffe was charged with the murder of one man and attempted murder of three others Police at the scene of the stabbing in the village of Pen Y Graig in Rhondda, South Wales Radcliffe, of Porth, Rhondda, was charged with the stabbing attacks at the store three miles away from her home in Penygraig, Rhondda. Dark-haired Radcliffe appeared wearing a grey sweatshirt and trousers. She spoke quietly to confirm her name and address. Cardiff magistrates court heard she was unable to make a bail application so she was remanded in custody and the case was adjourned. Radcliffe will appear at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday May 11. Nurse Lisa Way, 53, had completed her shift at Royal Glamorgan Hospital in nearby Llantrisant Radcliffe is mother to a young son and had recently been released from treatment at a psychiatric unit. A romantic relationship with a man had ended last weekend - and family say Radcliffe had made a complaint to police about it. She complained that police 'weren't taking her seriously' about an alleged assault against her. Shopper Andrew Price, 58, was also admitted to hospital for treatment following the attack Church warden Mr Rees was described as 'the very definition of a good man, extremely respected and liked in the community' by his family. His wife Eunice, 87, was left in their car for 15 minutes until police found her. She has dementia and keeps asking: 'Where's John?' Flowers were today put at All Saints church in nearby Trealaw where John was warden and wife Eunice was a member of the conregation. Rev Peter Gale said: 'He was a very dedicated and devoted man. That's the sort of person John was.' Flowers were left at the scene as part of the tributes for churchwarden John Rees John would ring the chapel bell each Thursday in respect to NHS workers - and plans were made for it to be rung at 8pm on Thursday night in his memory. Mr Rees, of nearby Trealaw, Tonypandy, died after being stabbed in the throat in the aisles on Tuesday afternoon. Detective Chief Inspector Mark O'Shea of South Wales Police's Major Crime Investigations Team said: 'This is a very tragic incident and we are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the matter. 'Our sympathies are with Mr Rees' family at this very distressing time for them and they are being supported by specially trained officers. 'This incident has understandably caused a lot of shock in the local community and I want to reassure residents that a full investigation is underway.' With the curfew in Chandigarh tricity being extended amid increasing cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19), students complain they are being asked to pay rent forcefully or vacate their paying guest accommodations. Most tenants who reside in such accommodations are outstation students are not living in their PGs currently as all educational institutes are closed. A ministry of home affairs order released on March 29 stated owners cannot ask for rent for a month, and in case of non-payment, a student cannot be evicted. However, there are no preceding instructions for April, adding to the confusion. UT adviser Manoj Parida said the Chandigarh administration will be writing to the centre for clear directions on the issue after which future course of action will be decided. Many students alleged that as they are unable to pay rent, landlords are forcing them to come back and take their belongings amid the lockdown. Last month, Chandigarh Police were approached by Kajal who said the landlord of her paying guest accommodation in Sector 22, Joginder Mahajan, a resident of sector 37, was forcing her to pay rent or leave. Following this, the station house officer of Sector 17 issued a warning to Mahajan. A similar case was witnessed in Mohali where Usha, a daily wager complained her PG owner, Harbir Singh, was forcing her to pay rent. He was booked under extortion, assault, criminal intimidation and forgery at Phase 8 police station. A student living at a PG in Phase 9, Mohali, said she pays 11,000 as monthly rent and is not in a position to continue paying till August, when she expects colleges to resume classes. A student living in a rented accommodation in Sector 11, Panchkula, said she was given an eviction notice and asked to vacate by the end of this month as her rest of the roommates had not pay their dues. They were paying 18,000 for three-BHK flat. Punjab University students forum has also raised the issue. They said many students are unable to afford rent during this hour of crisis, and requested for a waiver. Students of DAV College also raised the issue. Most tenants contacted by Hindustan Times requested anonymity fearing a harsh blowback from the landlords. A resident of Sector 19 said, My landlord is forcing me to pay rent for two months. I paid half the rent thinking they are dependent on us. But, they are still forcing us to pay the entire amount otherwise and threatening to give us a months notice to leave the place. Another girl living in a Sector 11 PG said, Not everyone is in the financial condition to pay rent. We didnt complain about the owner to the police as she will not let us live in peace later. When I told my landlord that I wont be able to pay rent, he asked me to collect my belongings and leave. I am based in Delhi, how can I go back now with no transport available? a student of DAV College said. Gaurav Sharma, a student leader from the same college said, Many students said they are being forced to pay rent. Most of them are outstation students. They cant come back and vacate the premises during this crisis. How will they arrange passes and transportation? Landlords should be more sensitive. Ashok Nanda, a landlord said, It is very sorry state of affairs for retired persons who were bearing household expenses through rents they were receiving. In general, tenants excuse for not paying rent is they have not got their salary. However, not all of them are telling the truth. The task of introducing a vaccine for the coronavirus faces an uphill struggle in Africa, where a flood of online misinformation is feeding on mistrust of Western medical research. Across the continent, Facebook, WhatsApp and other platforms have been swamped by messaging that characterises vaccine research as harmful or even part of a plot to kill black people. The world's poorest continent -- and the most vulnerable to the disease, given its poor health infrastructure -- Africa has recorded more than 48,000 COVID-19 cases, 1,900 of which have been fatal, according to an AFP tally as of Wednesday. The toll is below that of other continents, although the true figure may be considerably higher, given the lack of access to testing. The absence of a cure has sparked a flurry of claims for purported remedies. They range from consuming onions and ginger and drinking one's urine to a herbal formula touted by Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina -- assertions that fly in the face of stern scientific warnings. But it is the quest for a vaccine that has sparked particularly toxic disinformation, an investigation by AFP Fact Check has found. In Senegal, a rumour that seven children died after being given a COVID-19 vaccine was shared thousands of times in Facebook posts in English and French. In a video showing a crowd gathered in a Dakar street near a parked police car, a female voiceover presents the footage like a news report, explaining that the children "dropped dead" after receiving the vaccine. AFP found that the disturbance was in fact triggered when locals mistook a door-to-door cosmetics salesman for a health ministry worker. The government said that no children have died from a coronavirus vaccine. Another post shared on Facebook and Twitter refers to a US government experiment that started in the 1930s and saw health workers withhold treatment from black men with syphilis to study the disease. In 40 years, 28 of the test subjects died of syphilis and another 100 died of complications. "US government offers free healthcare to southern rural blacks. Intentionally injects them with syphilis. Still want a corona vaccine?" the post reads, next to a photograph of black men in flat caps and dungarees waiting to be seen by white health workers. And in another post widely shared around Africa, an illustration shows a black woman brandishing a machete towards a white doctor performing an injection. - Long history of mistrust - Experts point to entrenched suspicions in Africa that the continent's role is to be a test bench for novel drugs. "There is a long history of mistrust," Keymanthri Moodley, director of the Centre for Medical Ethics and Law at South Africa's Stellenbosch University, told AFP. This explains why comments made last month by two French researchers had an outsized impact south of the Sahara, Moodley said. On television, the pair discussed the benefits of holding drug trials in Africa. Jean-Paul Mira, head of intensive care at the Cochin hospital in Paris, suggested testing a vaccine in Africa "where there are no masks, no treatment, no intensive care, rather as was done with certain studies on AIDS, where things are tested on prostitutes because it's known that they are highly exposed". Vaccines are routinely tested in Africa and scientists point out that testing in a particular location can often provide key insights into how a drug works there. The pair later apologised for any offence -- but this did little to calm allegations that Africans were being manipulated or even used as guinea pigs. "It is as if we were back in the colonial era," Kenya's former justice minister Martha Karua told AFP. "I personally think it is racist and condescending." The storm unleashed a tsunami of misinformation and anti-vaccine sentiment online, including dozens of claims in several languages debunked by AFP Fact Check. A Facebook post shared thousands of times warned against a "Bill Gates" vaccine, after the billionaire pledged $250 million to fight COVID-19. The message, circulated widely in Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Benin, falsely claimed that French doctor Didier Raoult -- a maverick who promotes the malaria drug chloroquine as a possible treatment -- said the vaccine "contains poison" and that "the West wants to destroy Africa". The World Health Organization (WHO) has flagged earning public trust as an urgent health challenge and warned of an "infodemic" -- a deluge of information, including misinformation on social media -- that is hampering the COVID-19 response. The body says concerns that Africa could be abused as a vaccine testing ground are unfounded. "I would really reassure people that the clinical trials currently ongoing on the continent respect international standards and follow the same protocol as other developed countries," Richard Mihigo, the WHO's Programme Area Manager for Immunisation and Vaccine Development in Africa, told AFP. There are more than 100 candidate vaccines in development around the world, with eight already being tested in human trials. One such drug developed by Britain's Oxford University was hit by misinformation last month when a widely-shared South African news article debunked by AFP claimed that a woman taking part in trials died shortly after being given the vaccine. The volunteer, Elisa Granato, later confirmed she was "absolutely fine". - 'Recognise the concerns' - Sara Cooper, senior scientist at the South African Medical Research Council, said misinformation had to be tackled by targeting underlying sentiment. "Rather than dismissing these as 'false rumours' or 'erroneous beliefs', these concerns should be heard and recognised," she told AFP. She said ethical research led by African scientists rather than by "top-down" foreign programmes could "go a long way in rebuilding community trust and reducing resistance". In Nigeria, pharma giant Pfizer was sued when 11 children died in a meningitis trial in 1996. The families' lawyer claimed they could not have given proper consent as they did not speak English. Despite the problems of perception, the WHO's Mihigo was optimistic that when a coronavirus vaccine becomes available, it would be widely accepted in Africa. "Communities know very well that when immunisation is not given, outbreaks do occur. We've seen that with measles," he said. "People turn up overwhelmingly to vaccination campaigns. They know the benefits. They've seen people dying." cmb-burs/bh-gf-nla/ri/dl/kaf More than 100 prospective vaccines for coronavirus are in development WhatsApp, one of the most popular messaging platforms in Africa Barrier technique: A doctor at the Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi suits up for visiting a ward for people who had been quarantined after coming into contact with Kenya's first coronavirus patient The great state of Texas is having some schizophrenic convulsions as it tries to deal with the Wuhan virus. Even as the Republican state government is among the first in America to re-open, local governments are drilling down on tyrannical people-control efforts. In mid-April, Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, was one of the first governors in America to announce that he would begin re-opening his state. That was a tiered opening, however, and did not include barbershops, tanning salons, and hair salons, all of which tend to be small businesses with one or two owners entirely dependent on those businesses for their livelihood. Abbot's was a logical decision. Texas is home to 28,995,881 people, but it's had only 32,879 diagnosed Wuhan virus cases (that is, 0.11% of the population got diagnosed) and 890 virus deaths (0.003% of the population). These numbers aren't an epidemic, and they're certainly not an excuse to plunge the state into a deep depression. Not all of Texas has agreed at an ideological level with Abbott's plans. At the end of April, for example, Houston's Democrat town council tried to use police power to enforce extreme social distancing measures. The Houston Police Officers' Union refused to implement what it termed "draconian measures." Things went really crazy, though, in the City of Dallas, which is part of Dallas County. Dallas, incidentally, has a Democrat mayor. Shelley Luther, who owns a Dallas hair salon, needed to feed her family, and her employees needed to feed their families. She therefore opened up her shop last week. Dallas County sent Luther a cease-and-desist letter and, when she refused to comply, dragged her off to court. On Tuesday, the judge demanded that she grovel and, when she respectfully refused, slapped her with a seven-day jail sentence and a $7,000 fine. At more or less the same time, Gov. Abbott announced that hair salons could open on Friday. In response to the uproar about the judge's order, state attorney general Ken Paxton (a Republican) sent a letter to Judge Eric Moye accusing him of abusing his discretion: #NEW: Texas Attorney General @KenPaxtonTX sent letter to Dallas Judge Eric Moye saying Moye abused his discretion by putting Shelley Luther, owner of Salon A La Mode, in jail for opening her business despite the #COVID19 shutdown. pic.twitter.com/pWficGXz67 Jason Whitely (@JasonWhitely) May 6, 2020 The amazing takeaway in the letter is that the Dallas County D.A., while busy prosecuting Luther for trying to keep her business going and feeding her family, had earlier stated that he would "not prosecute theft of personal items less than $750 unless the evidence shows that the alleged theft was for economic gain." Gov. Abbot then issued a statement calling for Luther's immediate release from jail: NEW: Gov. @GregAbbott_TX now calling for immediate release of Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther from jail. Proud Texan right now. Now, LET HER FREE. pic.twitter.com/2kxXvz2YIp Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) May 6, 2020 Texas's lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick (a Republican), was even more proactive, offering to pay Luther's $7,000 fine and submit to house arrest in her place so she could return to work. 7 days in jail, no bail and a $7K fine is outrageous. No surprise Texans are responding. Im covering the $7K fine she had to pay and I volunteer to be placed under House Arrest so she can go to work and feed her kids. #txlege #TexansHelpingTexans https://t.co/gdtMLAHFV5 Dan Patrick (@DanPatrick) May 6, 2020 While Texas's Republican state officials were trying to rein in one power-crazed county, word was breaking about Ector County. On Tuesday, the county used its SWAT team to arrest peaceful armed protesters gathered outside a bar in West Odessa. Texas is an open-carry state, so their being armed was not illegal. The problem, according to the sheriff, was that the men were daring to protect the bar owner's decision to open her business, which she deemed essential to her. Ector, by the way, out of a population of 137,130, has had 90 cases of the Wuhan virus with four deaths. That's an 0.06% sickness rate and a 0.003% death rate. Video of the men's and bar owner's arrest went viral thanks to the overkill on the part of sheriff's team, which showed up with an MRAP and heavily armed sheriffs: Ector County Sheriffs SWAT team raiding a peaceful protest at Big Daddy Zanes in West Odessa. The bar opened this afternoon despite Abbotts latest orders, saying all businesses are essential. Full coverage tonight on @KPEJFOX24News & @Big2News pic.twitter.com/WHiwhmisgs JuYeon Kim (@JuYeonKimTV) May 5, 2020 The story also went viral because of two SWAT team members who were, to put it politely, amply endowed with abdominal avoirdupois. Look at the cops that did that swat thing today. Omg. pic.twitter.com/fnIOCroGLI VK2 Reject Tyranny (@2222vj) May 6, 2020 This is funny! They have a GoFundMe set up to buy these big guys a treadmill!! #EctorCountySheriff https://t.co/4nKPdV5e79 Genesis-129.org (@monkeysgirl351) May 5, 2020 (The GoFundMe later vanished.) Back when I was in law school, my torts professor always named his hypothetical tortfeasors Bubba and Big Belly. Those are appropriate names for law enforcement officials who apparently care more about donuts than the Constitution. The fact that Ector County is staunchly Republican shows that government power-grabs are not limited to Democrats. They're just more common with Democrats. This needs to stop, and it needs to stop now, while we're still vaguely recognizable as a constitutional republic with a Bill of Individual Rights. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 7, 2020) - Orestone Mining Corp. (TSXV: ORS) (FSE: O2R1) (WKN: A2DWW7) (the "Company") is pleased to provide this update on recent corporate and operational activities as well as an overview of 2020 planned exploration activities on the Resguardo copper-gold porphyry/manto project, Chile. COVID-19 Response During these extraordinary times of travel restrictions, the closing of non-essential businesses and stay at home orders around the globe due to the COVID-19 viral Pandemic, your management team continues to advance its two primary assets, albeit at a more modest pace. Orestone would like to thank its shareholders, contractors and all stakeholders for their patience and support. The Company is encouraging staff and contractors to work from home, where possible, to practice correct social distancing and is using this time to focus on initiatives that can be achieved efficiently. Financing In February prior to the global turmoil, Orestone announced a non-brokered private placement consisting of up to 5,000,000 units ("Units") at a price of $0.10 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $500,000 (the "Offering"). Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company and one-half of one common share purchase warrant. Each whole Warrant will be exercisable for one common share of the Company at a price of $0.15 for one year from the date of issuance. The financing is advancing under the same terms and we will have a further update in the coming weeks. Resguardo Copper-Gold Porphyry/Manto Project, Chile At the Resguardo Project located 75 kilometres northeast of Copiapo, Region III Northern Chile, the Company is actively engaged in property visits by contractors from three drill companies and two road construction contractors. Final bids will be evaluated for selection shortly. Once a selection is made Orestone will be in a position to drill test the Resguardo target as government acceptance of the Company's exploration plan is currently in place. We expect to release further progress in the near future. Historically near-surface oxide copper grading 1% to 7% and approximately 0.50 g/t gold was mined intermittently from pits and tunnels. Mineralization is hosted in mantos, skarn and breccias bodies. Although historic sampling is believed to have been competently carried out, it was not certified by a professional geologist, therefore the results are not NI43-101 compliant and cannot be relied upon. The Resguardo copper-gold porphyry or manto target is adjacent to these historic mine workings and is evidenced by an IP chargeability anomaly outlined over a strike length of 1400 metres, a width of 500-800 metres, at a depth of 150-200 metres. There is a central core of greater than 20 mv/V over a strike length of 1100 metres and width of 300-600 metres. The Resguardo target area is underlain by zones of strong hydrothermal alteration consisting of sericite-silica-clay with copper oxides at the junction of regional NNE trending low angle extensional faults with NW trending vertical faults. A program of road access and drill pad construction in preparation for drill testing will be the next step. Additional information will be released as it becomes available. Infrastructure for the Resguardo project, located 75 kilometres NE of the City of Copiapo along Highway 31 which is the main route to the La Coipa Mine and the northern part of the Maricunga Gold Belt. As part of this update, please watch the recent video interview with Gwen Preston discussing the recent results and future plans for the company. Cannot view this video? Visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE67fUhBJKE&feature=youtu.be We are committed to keeping our communications transparent and additional information will be released as it becomes available. To stay informed of the latest corporate activities please click here to provide consent and receive news and updates. Both of Orestone's projects in Chile and BC are located in structural corridors adjacent to large copper gold deposits. In Chile Orestone's Resguardo project is located in a NNE trending structural corridor 80 kilometres to the south of the El Salvador Mine and the past producing Potrerillos Mine, both large copper-gold porphyries. In Canada the100% percent owned Captain project is located 30 km south of the Mt. Milligan Mine, a large copper-gold porphyry. On both projects copper and gold mineralization in association with extensive hydrothermal alteration demonstrate the potential for discovery of large copper-gold deposits. For more information please visit: www.orestone.ca Gary Nordin, P.Geo, a director of the Company, is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Mr. Nordin has reviewed and approved the technical information in this press release. ON BEHALF OF ORESTONE MINING CORP. David Hottman CEO For further information contact: David Hottman at 604-629-1929 info@orestone.ca 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 News Release. This news release has been prepared by management and no regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected including, but not limited to, market conditions, availability of financing, currency rate fluctuations, actual results of exploration and development activities, environmental risks, future prices of copper, gold, silver and other metals, operating risks, accidents, labor issues, delays in obtaining governmental or regulatory approvals and permits, and other risks in the mining industry. In addition, there is uncertainty about the spread of the COVID-19 virus and the impact it will have on the Company's operations, global supply chains and economic activity in general. All the forward-looking statements made in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements and those in our continuous disclosure filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances save as required by applicable law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55529 Machines making music. Repetitive, metronomic, locked-in beats. Voices processed to sound as inexpressive as robots. A warning, and an embrace, of technology as both the shaper and subject of songs, of the ever-growing human codependence with the inhuman. In 21st-century art, especially music, these ideas and sounds are inescapable. Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider, the German musicians at the core of Kraftwerk, were already committed to those concepts way back in the analog 1970s, when synthesizers were primitive and the idea of a pop group as a man-machine was revolutionary. (The original German, Die Mensch-Maschine, isnt gendered; it means Human-Machine.) In an era of plush FM-radio pop, disco sensuality and punk rawness, Kraftwerks music was mechanical and coolly austere instead. Meanwhile, their songs sensed the coming digital era: impassive and heartless, but also seductive in its precision and possibility. Indirectly and directly, Kraftwerks music would quickly provide templates for popular music to come. Its songs showed the way toward synth-pop, electropop, techno and countless varieties of electronic dance music. And Kraftwerks crisp, flat electronic drum sounds and the synthesizer line of Trans-Europe Express were picked up by Afrika Bambaataa for his 1982 Planet Rock, a cornerstone single in hip-hops discography. Hutter, Kraftwerks machine-tuned vocalist and main lyricist, credited Schneider, who died last month, as the groups sound fetishist. While Hutter and other band members wrote some of Kraftwerks poppiest songs, Schneider was the one who coaxed the sound of Kraftwerk out of clunky 1970s technology and, through the years, deployed an ever-updated array of hardware and software. Schneider honed and then expanded Kraftwerks synthetic vocabulary of non-naturalistic blips, clicks and buzzes, Vocoder harmonies and tones sustained beyond human breath, echoes and reverberations that did not come out of physical spaces. BIRMINGHAM, Ala., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- RCA Communications Systems Inc., today announced that Falcon Wireless Direct of Birmingham, Alabama has been selected the newest member of the 100-year-old electronics and communication firm's growing two-way radio dealer distribution network. RCA Communications Systems provides professional grade two-way radio equipment to heavy duty industries like public safety, education, manufacturing, construction, oil and gas production, grain storage, and warehousing. As an authorized RCA Communications dealer, Falcon Wireless Direct will offer its Alabama-based customers professional grade two-way radio products, innovative application strategies, and best-in-class business practices. Candice Staggs became the owner of Falcon Wireless Direct following the passing of the founder, Burch Falkner, on July 4, 2019. After working for the company for 28 years, Staggs inherited the business and has become the new face of Falcon Direct Wireless. "I worked for him for nearly 30 years, and they gave me the company when he passed away. He was like my father and my grandfather. It has been rough with him not being here. I get calls every day from people who want to talk with him, and I have to explain to them what happened," explained Staggs. According to Staggs, being able to sell RCA two-way radios to her clients allows Staggs to keep the founder's dream alive and grow the business in ways he never thought possible. "I like the fact that when I call in to RCA for technical assistance, I get an answer right away. They are right there with someone to talk to me. The product line is superior to Hytera, and the pricing and warranty are far better than Motorola," said Staggs. Staggs explained that already St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham purchased nearly 100 RCA radios for the security, maintenance, and surgical departments. "They absolutely love the radios. I hope to be providing more radios to other hospitals, police departments, churches, schools, and manufacturing facilities in the very near future," said Staggs. According to RCA Communications Systems CEO, Ben Burns, RCA two-way radios are currently being sold in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. More locations are soon to follow, he added. "We are incredibly proud to include Falcon Wireless Direct into our RCA Communications Systems family. Our greatest point if differentiation is that we work closely with dealers, providing them with technical expertise and helping them provide professional, value-added solutions that will benefit their customers' efficiency, safety, and regulatory compliance," said Ben Burns, CEO of RCA Communications Systems. ABOUT RCA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS Based in Rancho Dominguez, CA, RCA Communications Systems is the master distributor for RCA two-way radio equipment. Currently, RCA Communications national network of dealer/distributors include locations in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Today RCA Communication Systems is reinventing value in the two-way radio industry, providing reliable and instantaneous communications to the industries of construction, manufacturing, oil and gas production, warehousing, education, facilities management and more. RCA Communications is the authority for the best communication devices available. SOURCE RCA Communications Systems While the Executive parties insist they are determined to act in the best interests of all of the people in Northern Ireland in the fight against Covid-19, there is a political reality they cannot escape. While it is true that many unionists - including those in the Assembly - have reservations about how Boris Johnson has handled the crisis, they remain cautious about pursuing any strategy which would see Northern Ireland significantly out-of-kilter with the rest of the United Kingdom. And Sinn Fein - very keen to play the "England's problem is Ireland's opportunity" card at the moment - doesn't want Executive strategy to be significantly out-of-kilter with the rest of Ireland. Issuing joint statements about working together in the Executive is one thing; but actually working together, particularly if it's in a way that seems to favour one national government approach over the other, is another thing entirely. In a letter on April 22, following Leo Varadkar's announcement that the Irish Government would begin a unilateral process to ease lockdown restrictions, Mary Lou McDonald wrote: "You announced last night that the caretaker government is preparing a plan to lift the public health emergency restrictions, with steps to progress this plan taken every two to three weeks ... A safe exit strategy must be, by definition, all-Ireland. This will require close collaboration and co-ordination with the Executive in Belfast." This all-Ireland mantra has been at the heart of Sinn Fein's approach to Covid-19 since the beginning, with many of their key players linking it to the much bigger constitutional project of Irish unity. Understandably, that approach has angered most of unionism, including many individual unionists who aren't, in fact, supportive of the UK Government's sluggish approach to the crisis, or the reality that there have been more Covid-19 deaths in the UK than in any other European country. There was also anger when Sinn Fein junior minister Declan Kearney wrote in his blog a few weeks ago: "Disturbingly, the extension of lockdown in the short term masks an argument which is being encouraged by some right-wing elements in the British Cabinet and also by some unionists in the north of Ireland that the lockdown measures should be relaxed and that economic activity and productivity should be resumed. It is the typical capitalist reflex which puts the market economy first." The problem for Sinn Fein is that Leo Varadkar has now pushed ahead with his own proposals to relax lockdown and encourage the resumption of economic activity and productivity, and has done so without consulting either Sinn Fein or the Northern Ireland Executive (although Simon Coveney says a heads-up was given to Arlene Foster, Michelle O'Neill and Robin Swann the night before Varadkar's speech) Yet, Regina Doherty, the Irish Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, seemed to defend not formally telling the Executive first: "At the end of the day, I think the most important thing that we needed to do was to tell the people that we serve; the Irish people. And that is what the Taoiseach did at the first opportunity after the cabinet meeting was over." Yet, even though Sinn Fein has expressed anger at Varadkar's not consulting the Executive and Doherty's defence of him, the party still feels obliged to support him, rather than any UK-led alternative. There had been hope in some quarters that the nature of the crisis would improve the relationship between the DUP and Sinn Fein. But evidence suggests that the constitutional gulf between them remains as wide and as divisive as ever. And while it is true that the number of deaths here is lower than originally predicted (primarily due to the scale and success of the lockdown), there has been no corresponding indication of cross-party agreement on what needs to be done next. Ironically, the success in keeping the numbers down seems to have exacerbated the policy/strategy disagreements between them. Sinn Fein has been pushing for the Executive to publish a plan for easing restrictions, but that seems to be more to do with keeping Northern Ireland in step with the Irish government rather than waiting to hear what Boris Johnson will say on Sunday. Michelle O'Neill wanted the plan published yesterday, but with the UK Government favouring a UK-wide strategy built on conversations with the devolved administrations, I'd be very surprised if the Executive agreed to jump the gun and publish its own proposals. From the unionist perspective, it's also a matter of not creating new gulfs with the UK Government, particularly at a time when the Executive and Northern Ireland will need massive economic support from that government for the next few years. That's not to say that the Executive couldn't, or won't, produce a recommendations document which might feed into Johnson's thinking before Sunday's speech. The Scottish Government (which will also require massive economic support from the Exchequer) has already made a case for some bespoke arrangements; while the nature of the relationship between Northern Ireland and the Republic also favours a bespoke approach in some, very specific, areas. But since the Irish Government has clearly embarked on its own approach to easing lockdown and kick-starting the economy, it would now seem odd if the Northern Ireland Executive decided not to wait for a lead from the UK Government. Indeed, Johnson may already be considering the Varadkar proposals as a potential template. It's also worth bearing in mind that nobody really knows how the easing of restrictions in some countries (particularly Spain, Italy and Ireland) will work. An awful lot seems to depend on people exercising common sense, avoiding complacency and adhering to social distancing rules and continuing lockdown regulations. There is no guarantee that will happen. And nor is there a guarantee that there won't be a second wave of Covid-19, which could actually be much more devastating than the first wave. For all of us, this is - and will remain - uncharted waters. Northern Ireland is in a very odd position: torn politically/constitutionally between London and Dublin and with both the DUP and Sinn Fein (although, in fairness, the same can be said of the UUP and SDLP) seemingly electorally obliged to support competing strategies from Johnson and Varadkar, even when they have difficulties with those strategies. But, as I have noted many, many times down the years, and in relation to a whole host of issues, the "dreary steeples" outlook will always trump a genuinely collective approach. And even though the Covid-19 crisis is a unique challenge we have, as ever, ended up in our default position. Am I surprised? Not really. The "border" continues to eclipse and predominate every other consideration - even a unique crisis of this magnitude - and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Right before entering a dealership, everyones body temperature will be taken, and those who register higher than normal numbers will not be allowed to enter. With regard to physical distancing, the showroom and service reception areas have been modified to allow the minimum distance of one meter between individuals. Regular and frequent disinfection will also be done in all areas of the dealerships. Quarantine rules in different areas of the country have either eased up or have been totally lifted. That means different businesses can resume their operations, and Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) is one of them. In the interest of everyones safety, they are showing us what they have done and will continue to do to protect employees and customers alike. TMP will also limit the number of people inside the premises, so depending on the size of the dealership, they will most likely come up with a reasonable and safe number for everyone. In that light, customers are highly encouraged to set appointments with their dealership of choice for servicing jobs. This is to avoid any inconvenience, and can simply be done through the MyToyota PH app that can be found in the mytoyota.ph website. While we are facing challenging times, this also presents an opportunity to come back better and stronger, to review our current processes and find improvements, to constantly provide ever better products and services, and to make our team members, customers, and partners lives safer and more convenient, says TMP President Mr. Atsuhiro Okamoto. The new normal will take a while to get used to but together we can overcome this. Stay home, stay safe, and please observe precautionary measures if you need to go out. We are working hard to prepare our dealerships and ensuring that everyone will be safe upon their visit. We look forward to serving our valued customers again. See you at our dealerships! As of writing, a good number of TMP dealerships have already re-opened in the country. These include La Union, Isabela, Tuguegarao, Calapan, Puerto Princesa, Camarines Sur, Roxas, Negros Occidental, Tagbilaran, Tacloban, Calbayog, Dumaguete, Aklan, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, Valencia, General Santos, Kidapawan, and Butuan. Toyota Financial Services Philippines (TFSP) has likewise taken the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic into consideration, and while some dealerships have returned to service, TFSP has extended customers payment terms for insurance policies and coverage durations for warranties whose expiries fell into the Quarantine dates. The same extension is applied for vehicles periodic maintenance services as well. Everyones safety and health have become the primary concern for everyone, and its good to know that companies are properly gearing up for this new normal. With simple and clear guidelines, this may be a testament to why Toyota continues to have the largest network of dealerships in the country. As part of their celebrations for the 75th anniversary of VE Day, albeit somewhat muted given the current pandemic, the Royal Air Force Museum has illuminated Spitfire Mk.I K9942 in red, white and blue at their RAF Cosford campus. This Spitfire, the oldest surviving example of its breed, first flew from Supermarines plant in Eastleigh on April 21st, 1939. Three days later, she joined No. 72 Squadron, at RAF Church Fenton. The legendary James Nicolson was one of her regular pilots during K9942s time with 72 Squadron. Nicolson became the only RAF Fighter Command pilot to receive the Victoria Cross, Britains highest military honor. He earned this honor on August 16th, 1940 during the height of the Battle of Britain. With his Hawker Hurricane ablaze, and badly wounded by cannon shell splinters, Nicolson elected to return to his burning cockpit, after having made preparations to bail out, when an enemy fighter presented itself before his guns. He fired at the Bf 109 until hed shot it down, and only then did exit the Hurricane, by now suffering serious burns to his hands, legs and face. As he descended on his parachute, he endured further indignity when members of the Home Guard fired upon him with their rifles, thinking him an enemy paratrooper. Thankfully, Nicolson avoided further injury, and recovered from his wounds sufficiently by late 1941 for a return to flying duties. He flew Beaufighters over Burma, adding a Distinguished Flying Cross to his awards, but his luck eventually ran out, sadly. Nicolson lost his life in a flying accident on May 2nd, 1945. The RAF 355 Squadron Liberator which he had been flying in as an observer caught fire and crashed over the Bay of Bengal. K9942 flew numerous combat sorties, racking up over 40 hours on operations, including combat over Dunkirk during the evacuation. A wheels-up forced landing at Gravesend on June 5th, 1940 ended her front line career. Following repairs, K9942 returned to service in training squadrons. At the end of her flying career, in mid-1944, the aircraft had nearly 1,100 hours flying time, quite a feat considering that most such fighters never came even close to that number. Interestingly, the RAF allocated K9942 for museum storage in August, 1944, recognizing the aircrafts significant history. She has served in various ceremonial roles over the eight decades since that time, and is presently on display at RAF Museum Cosford in Shropshire wearing her 72 Squadron colors. The Royal Air Force Museum announced that they are joining forces with the National Army Museum and the National Museum of the Royal Navy to host their first tri-service celebration with a Virtual VE Day 75 Festival taking place online from 7-9 May 2020, bringing to life the stories of those who helped deliver Victory in Europe. To find out more about the Virtual VE Day 75 Festival please visit rafmuseum.org. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 22:38:02|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LUSAKA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Zambia's regulator of the insurance industry on Thursday announced guidelines for the industry in view of the COVID-19. The guidelines are meant to guide the players in the industry on how to deal with their clients in view of the COVID-19 outbreak. Pensions and Insurance Authority Communications Manager Doreen Silungwe said in view of the impact of the pandemic on the economy, the insurance sector requires that all claims should be settled. She said the regulator will not reject claims due to delayed reporting or challenges that may arise due to COVID-19 related directives issued by the government, according to a release. The regulator has since appealed to insurance firms to submit stress tests on business activities which must include liquidity, capital adequacy and solvency due to the effects of COVID-19. Enditem Actor Shahid Kapoors wife, Mira Rajput, has expressed her feelings about the ongoing Bois Locker Room controversy, and shared journalist Rega Jhas essay on Instagram. The essay, written three years ago, was posted on social media by Rega after the incident. The excerpt shared by Mira talks about what boys in India should be taught by their parents at a young age, so that they do not perceive women in a negative manner. Some of the traits that Rega mentions should be taught to boys are consent, respect, gender equality, that they arent entitled to any womans body, attention, or time. Rega also mentions the things that women are taught not to do when they are young, and writes that attention should instead be paid to what boys are taught to do. She writes that girls are taught caution, fear, and modesty. The Bois Locker Room controversy began when screenshots of lewd conversations of boys from prominent Delhi schools were leaked online. The conversations were exposed after one of the boys in the group took screenshots and passed it on to someone else, said the officer, before it was posted on social media by one of the girls who was targeted. The administrator of the group, in which the boys talked about raping girls, has been arrested by the cyber crime cell of the Delhi Police. This is the second arrest in the case. Also read: Siddhant Chaturvedi calls Boys Locker Room controversy disgusting, Richa Chadha says its a multi-faceted problem Previously, actors Siddhant Chaturvedi, Richa Chadha and Swara Bhasker had tweeted about the case. This a multi-faceted problem. Because everyone is still squeamish about sex education in our populous/moralistic country, teenagers are confusing porn for sex education! And now data is free. How dangerous! This will explode in our faces in the next five years sadly, I reckon, Richa had written. Follow @htshowbiz for more WASHINGTON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Arcadia has been named to Inc. magazine's annual list of the Best Workplaces for 2020. Hitting newsstands May 12 in the May/June 2020 issue, and as part of a prominent Inc.com feature, the list is the result of a wide-ranging and comprehensive measurement of private American companies that have created exceptional workplaces through vibrant cultures, deep employee engagement, and stellar benefits. Collecting data from more than 3,000 submissions, Inc. singled out 395 finalists for this year's list. Each nominated company took part in an employee survey, conducted by Quantum Workplace, on topics including trust, management effectiveness, perks, and confidence in the future. According to Inc., the strongest engagement scores came from companies that prioritize the most human elements of work. These companies are leading the way in employee recognition, performance management, and diversity. "Arcadia was founded on the belief that choosing clean energy shouldn't be complicated, or expensive - for anyone," said Arcadia CEO Kiran Bhatraju. "This drive for greater simplicity, empowerment, access and environmental sustainability permeates through every aspect of the company's culture. We believe now more than ever diverse and inclusive workforces are critical." The company has grown rapidly in four years and is actively hiring for multiple roles based in DC and beyond. Arcadia recently made the decision to temporarily operate as a 100% remote workforce to preserve the health and safety of employees and the larger community but is still building together, quickly, while physically apart. "Building a great corporate culture comes only from strong leadership," says Inc. magazine editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. "The companies on Inc.'s Best Workplaces list are setting an example that the whole country can learn from, especially now, when company culture is more important to the workforce than ever." About Arcadia Arcadia makes choosing clean energy easy. As the only nationwide tech company focused on consumer energy, Arcadia's software manages consumer utility accounts to bundle clean energy, energy efficiency tools, rate monitoring and more in a simplified, modern account experience. Founded in 2014, the company's platform now integrates with more than 125 utilities in all 50 states, manages 4.5 terawatt-hours of residential energy demand, is the largest residential energy broker in the country, and manages the most community solar subscribers in the U.S. For more information, visit www.arcadia.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. About Inc. Media The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com. About Quantum Workplace Quantum Workplace, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is an HR technology company that serves organizations through employee-engagement surveys, action-planning tools, exit surveys, peer-to-peer recognition, performance evaluations, goal tracking, and leadership assessment. For more information, visit QuantumWorkplace.com. Contact: [email protected]. SOURCE Arcadia Power Related Links arcadiapower.com Union Minister of State (MoS) Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy on Thursday expressed condolences on the demise of victims in chemical gas leakage in Visakhapatnam. In a series of tweets, Reddy said that he has instructed NDRF teams to provide necessary relief measures at the mishap site. My condolences to the families of 5 people who passed away due to gas leak at a Pvt firm in Vizag, AP early hours today. Spoke to the CS& DGP of AP to take stock of the situation. Instructed NDRF teams to provide necessary relief measures. Im continuously monitoring the situation, Reddy tweeted. Hundreds of people have also been effected in the unprecedented and unfortunate event in Vizag, AP Spoke to the Home Secretary, GoI and requested him to provide all the required assistance to the state to tackle the difficulties, he said in another tweet. Styrene gas leakage was reported at LG Polymers industry in RR Venkatapuram village.Over 100 people have been admitted to hospital after they complained of burning sensation in eyes and breathing difficulties. On Monday, seven-year-old London Boyce from Cypress donned her personal protective equipment and headed to Houston Methodist Hospital. She handed out free ice cream to 250 nurses and doctors. TRAVEL TEMPTATIONS: Texas luxury hotels offering discounts upon reopening "I wanted to do it because healthcare workers make their patients feel better. I wanted to make them feel better and also proud of themselves," said London. GSA's North-Central Section Meeting goes virtual Boulder, CO, USA: The annual meeting of The Geological Society of America's North-Central Section, originally scheduled to take place in Duluth, Minnesota, will be held virtually on 18-19 May, with technical sessions in the morning and student programming in the afternoon. The online meeting is open and available to everyone for free. No registration is required. Both oral and poster presenters will prepare their presentations ahead of time, record them, and upload them to GSA's conference website by 11 May. All uploaded presentations will be viewable through 22 May. A schedule for oral and poster presentations will be determined and posted online by 14 May. On 18-19 May, all uploaded presentations will be shown through online webinars that anyone can watch in standard 20-minute slots, with a discussion time at the end of each technical session. Poster presenters will upload a poster and a 3-minute lightning talk to accompany it. Time for Q&A will be included. Student programming will be offered in the afternoon after the technical sessions. Two mentor meetings and three career workshops will be offered. All students are encouraged to attend. ### Meeting website: https:/ / www. geosociety. org/ GSA/ Events/ Section_Meetings/ GSA/ Sections/ nc/ 2020mtg/ home. aspx The Geological Society of America, founded in 1888, is a scientific society with more than 20,000 members around the world from academia, government, and industry. Through its meetings, publications, and programs, GSA enhances the professional growth of its members and promotes the geosciences in the service of humankind. Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, GSA encourages cooperative research among earth, life, planetary, and social scientists, fosters public dialogue on geoscience issues, and supports all levels of earth science education. https:/ / www. geosociety. org This story has been published on: 2020-05-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Myanmar Ruling Party Officials in Rakhine in Hiding After Attempted Arrests 2020-05-06 -- Several officials of Myanmar's ruling party in Rakhine state have gone into hiding after a group of unidentified men wearing police uniforms tried to arrest them at their homes, a lawmaker from the volatile region said Wednesday. The officials the group tried to arrest said they suspect that the disguised men were members of the Arakan Army (AA), a mostly ethnic Rakhine military that is fighting Myanmar forces for greater autonomy for the Rakhine people in the western state. Min Aung, a lawmaker from Taungup township's No. 2 electoral district, said some of the targeted officials, who are members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, are now on the run to avoid apprehension by the men. The group of men surrounded the home of Than Htay, a township-level NLD executive committee member who has a party signboard on his property in Bushwemaw village, prompting him to flee to safety, Min Aung said. A group of men in police uniforms also tried to arrest Win Hlaing, a state-level NLD executive committee member, at his home in Kyaw Kaing village, he said. "He was suspicious of them and has been on the run," he added. Min Aung also said that NLD members had recently received several death threats from fake user accounts on social media. Than Htay said he received a death threat by phone on April 9 from someone speaking in an ethnic Rakhine dialect. "On the night of April 9, someone called me saying they would come to kill me and they know what I did," he told RFA. "On the night of April 14, I heard someone trying to break the gate of the fence [to my home]," he said. "When I looked out, I saw five men, three of whom held rods, and two others who were not armed. I think they are the ones who called me with the death threat." The men ran away when relatives and neighbors noticed them trying to break into the housing compound and started to take action, Than Htay said, adding that he is certain they were AA members. Min Aung suggested that while the abductors intended to take Than Htay but could not find him, they instead seized his close friend, villager Than Shwe. Myanmar's military commander-in-chief's office later announced that the AA had abducted Than Shwe, who was identified as chairman of the village's COVID-19 Disease Protection Committee. The AA has engaged in intensified hostilities with the Myanmar military in northern Rakhine for 16 months, with clashes spilling over into neighboring Chin state. Both the AA and Myanmar military routinely detain and interrogate civilians and local government employees whom they believe may be assisting the enemy. Second incident Similarly on May 2, four men in plainclothes went to the home of the administrator of Kyaw Kaing village and demanded him to bring Win Hlaing to them. At the time, the administrator refused because the men were not wearing police uniforms, Than Htay said. Though the men later returned in uniform to seize Win Hlaing, the state-level NLD executive committee member avoided capture by hiding, he said. The group threatened the village administrator that they would kill his family if he could not bring Win Hlaing to them, Than Htay said. Police Major Than Naing, head of the Taungup Township Police, said the men who tried to arrest the NLD party members were not officers, but he declined to provide any details about the incidents. Neither Zaw Htay, spokesmen for the President's Office, nor Rakhine state municipal affairs minister and spokesman Win Myint were available for comment. NLD party spokesman Monywa Aung Shin told RFA that he had not yet received any reports about the incidents. "If they are true, they should have been reported to the state government or to local members of parliament," he said. "Going on the run to avoid being abducted is good," he added. "It's the right decision. We don't know which groups these assailants belong to, so I suggest they first inform local authorities first and second, avoid being abducted." Arakan Army responds AA spokesman Khine Thukha said that accusations that the men were AA members are groundless and suggested that they were fabrications to damage the reputation of the AA. "We have nothing to do with these issues," he said. The AA has seized other lawmakers and NLD party members in recent months. Whay Tin, an NLD lawmaker from Chin's Paletwa township, was abducted in November 2019 because the AA believed he was a Myanmar military informant who had helped soldiers arrest ethnic Rakhines in the township. The AA freed him in January as a goodwill gesture amid ongoing fighting. The AA also abducted Ye Thein, chairman of the NLD in Rakhine's Rathedaung township in December, for organizing a public rally in support of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi. Nearly two weeks later, the rebel force said he was killed in a mortar attack by the Myanmar military. Reported by RFA's Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Copyright 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content May not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Teachers everywhere have earned lots more respect and pay. Contributions via DonorsChoose are a solid way to show that respect. In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, Craig Newmark Philanthropies has donated $1 million to requests from public school teachers across the country on the nonprofit education crowdfunding site DonorsChoose. The gift empowered a $25 donation to more than 38,000 projects on the site. As part of the donation, Newmark is calling upon teachers to share on social media their experiences teaching during the coronavirus pandemic, using the hashtag #respectforteachers. Teachers everywhere have earned lots more respect and pay. Contributions via DonorsChoose are a solid way to show that respect, said Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist and Craig Newmark Philanthropies. The donation supported requests for materials that teachers will use when they return to the classroom, as well as the new Distance Learning Projects from DonorsChoose, which allow teachers to ship funded materials to their students home or their own home so that learning can continue while schools are closed. Our nations teachers are working harder than ever to ensure that their students are learning and succeeding. We are so grateful for Craigs Teacher Appreciation Week gift, said Charles Best, founder of DonorsChoose. His donation, as well as the conversation hes inspiring online, demonstrate the importance of supporting teachers who are going above and beyond during these difficult times, playing an essential role for our children and communities. Craig Newmark Philanthropies has been a long-time supporter of DonorsChoose. For Teacher Appreciation Week in 2019, Newmark gave $1 million to match public donations to teacher requests In 2017, he made a $1 million match donation to support the classroom projects of public schools that serve military children. In 2018, he gave over $1 million to match donations made to STEM classroom projects, with a special focus on efforts that supported girls education on these topics. He has also given to schools damaged by Hurricane Harvey and to classrooms in New Jersey. To support a teacher this Teacher Appreciation Week, visit http://www.donorschoose.org. About Craig Newmark Philanthropies Craig Newmark Philanthropies was created by craigslist founder Craig Newmark to support and connect people and drive broad civic engagement. The organization works to advance people and grassroots organizations that are getting stuff done in areas that include trustworthy journalism, voter protection, gender diversity in technology, and veterans and military families. For more information, please visit CraigNewmarkPhilanthropies.org. About DonorsChoose DonorsChoose is the leading way to give to public schools. Since 2000, more than 4.2 million people and partners have contributed $955 million to support 1.6 million teacher requests for classroom resources and experiences. As the most trusted crowdfunding platform for teachers, donors, and district administrators alike, DonorsChoose vets each request, ships the funded resources directly to the classroom, and provides thank yous and reporting to donors and school leaders. Charity Navigator and GuideStar have awarded DonorsChoose, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, their highest ratings for transparency and accountability. For more information, visit http://www.donorschoose.org. - Senator Tito Sotto is aware that some people are blaming President Rodrigo Duterte for ABS-CBN shutdown - He addressed the speculation through a recent interview with media reporters - The politician said that it is not accurate to blame the head of state for what happened to the media network - He pointed out that the bill for its franchise renewal was filed even before the President took office PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed Senator Tito Sotto willingly addressed the claim of some netizens that President Rodrigo Duterte is the person to be blamed for the shutdown of ABS-CBN. KAMI learned that the giant network has put an end to its broadcast operations after being unable to secure a legislative franchise from the Congress. PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! The countrys chief executive was blamed by other people for the shutdown, citing that he continuously said that he will block any attempt to renew its franchise. Sotto pointed out that the bill about ABS-CBN franchise renewal has been filed since several years ago, even before President Duterte took office. He stated that it will be inaccurate if the head of state will be blamed for the fate of the media giant since he was not the President in 2014. "Ang tagal na nito diba - 16th Congress, 17th Congress, 18th Congress. So let us not directly say na kasi ayaw ni Presidente kaya ayaw nilang kumilos," the Senator quipped. "Parang I cannot believe that because 2014, hindi naman si President (Rodrigo Duterte) ang Presidente," he added. In a previous article by , Senator Sotto criticized people who publicize their contributions amid COVID-19 pandemic. Tito Sotto is a Filipino politician who is now serving as the Senate President of the Republic of the Philippines. He won the 2016 elections with overwhelming 17.2 million votes. POPULAR: Read more news about Tito Sotto! Please like and share our Facebook posts to support KAMI team! Dont hesitate to comment and share your opinion about our stories either. We love reading about your thoughts! Filipino nurse: "We actually don't want to become heroes Si Kimberly ay isang nurse sa Bacolod, isa siya sa mga frontliners na binubuwis ang buhay araw-araw. Narito ang kanyang masasabi sa nararamdaman ng mga frontliners tulad niya. on HumanMeter! Source: KAMI.com.gh Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the European Council Charles Michel discussed on Thursday the situation arising out of the coronavirus outbreak and recognised the importance of regional and global coordination to effectively address the health and economic impact of the pandemic. The two leaders also discussed the situation of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in India and the European Union. They appreciated mutual cooperation extended in the face of the pandemic, including for ensuring supplies of essential pharmaceutical products, according to an official statement said. "The leaders recognised the importance of regional and global coordination to effectively address the health and economic impact of COVID-19," it said. They reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the India-EU strategic partnership. The two leaders agreed that their officials would work together to prepare a substantive agenda for the next India-EU Summit meeting. The 15thannual India-EU Summit, planned for March in Brussels, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The leaders decided to remain in touch on the evolving dimensions of the crisis as well as the post-coronavirus context, the statement said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Middlesex County is investing $25 million in New Jerseys first hospital dedicated exclusively to cancer care, officials announced Tuesday during a virtual press conference. The free-standing cancer pavilion a $750 million joint project between the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and RWJBarnabas Health is expected to be completed in 2023, and will include 12 stories and 96 beds. The development and construction of the pavilion is being overseen by DEVCO, a nonprofit firm that manages development in New Brunswick. The Rutgers Cancer Institute, which itself is not a hospital and doesnt have patient beds or operating rooms, will run the pavilion. Middlesex Countys $25 million dollar funding will be used to create "customized educational platforms within the facility, including state-of-the-art laboratory spaces, innovative imaging technology and equipment, as well as robust programming and curriculum which will engage and foster education in this critical field, said Ronald G. Rios, the director of the countys Board of Chosen Freeholders. From internships and hands-on training opportunities to creating an invaluable employment stream, this world-class oncology center will ensure that our Middlesex County College students will have access to the best possible education and preparation, he continued. Rios said the investment will be financed through the Middlesex County Improvement Authority. As part of our annual Capital Investment plan, the county invests $8-12 million to our County College and our Vocational schools, he said. The $25 million funding is part of the countys ongoing commitment to the health and education eco-system. Local activists have vehemently opposed the projects location at 165 Somerset Street in New Brunswick since Novemberwhere Lincoln Annex School, a local middle school that opened in 2016, sits. Scores of angry parents, teachers, and activists criticized the districts Board of Education for approving an initial step that allowed for the sale of the school in late February. The school district owns the property Lincoln Annex is on. Development officials have previously said the cancer institute needs to be adjacent to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Mayor Jim Cahill said the school board approved the exchange of land agreement with DEVCO at last Tuesdays meeting, approving the sale of Lincoln Annex in exchange for the property located at 50 Jersey Avenue. A new school will be built for 750 neighborhood children at the Jersey Avenue site. 50 Jersey Avenue is owned by Jack Morris, the chairman of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. He is donating the property to the city, officials confirmed Tuesday. Until then, the students will be sent to a 100,000-square-foot space on Van Dyke Avenue that has been used when other schools were under construction. The facility currently houses the P-Tech school, a six-year program that enables students to graduate with a high school diploma, an associates degree, and experience working in a science and technology job. DEVCO President Christopher J. Paladino said Tuesday that demolition on the Lincoln Annex School is expected to start around early October. You know, at a time when the media, every Zoom call that Im on, and around my kitchen table, everyone is talking on a daily basis about healthcare, access to healthcare, research, innovation, drug trials, and jobs, Paladino said. This project hits every touchstone. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Brianna Kudisch may be reached at bkudisch@njadvancemedia.com. Boris Johnson has been spending a lot of time out of the limelight, and it caused people to blame him for the heightened number of COVID-19 cases in the country. The people of the U.K. saw a little hope when Johnson finally came back after he took almost a one-month leave due to his coronavirus positive diagnosis. However, just a week after he came back to Downing Street, the prime minister was only able to attend one public appearance and missed the other eight coronavirus briefings. Because of this, a lot of people took their dismay online and blamed his absence for the sudden hike of COVID-19 cases in the country. Where Is Boris? On May 5, netizens started to trend #WhereIsBoris on Twitter in pursuit of grabbing his attention. The number of COVID-19 cases in the U.K. have suddenly skyrocketed, and the government's response seems to be not working at all. One netizen wrote, "Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson - the first British Prime Minister in history to be on a Zero Hours Contract." "Over 30k dead from COVID-19 in the U.K. Highest death rate in Europe and second highest in the world," another critic exclaimed. "Our PM has been missing through most of this pandemic, and after a brief appearance last week, is missing again! Pouting facePouting face #WhereisBoris?" People called Johnson a "part-time prime minister" as well for his absences. Moroever, people fear that Johnson might take a paternity leave after his fiancee, Carrie Symonds, gave birth to their child. However, there have been he reports that he has decided to take a vacation later in the year instead. While other critics were unstoppable in slamming the U.K. leader, some people still gave him some consideration and remembered how Johnson almost died in the intensive care unit due to his then-worsening COVID-19 symptoms. "The guy nearly died while in ICU "JUST INCASE" Nothing mentioned by the media except Boris is in fine spirits and doing well," one Twitter user replied to a tweet in defense of the prime minister. On May 6, Johnson failed to hold his daily press briefing again, as well as the "Prime Minister's Questions" -- a segment where he was supposed to address the status of the country amid the pandemic. U.K.'s Current Status With over 200,000 confirmed cases and more than 30,000 deaths, the U.K. became the first European country to reach those numbers. It drew global criticisms, with some people even labeling Johnson "incompetent." Beppe Severgnini, an opinion writer on Corriere della Sera, said that the British government "did not pay enough attention to what was happening here, while Germany responded very well. The two great British virtues - understatement and grace under fire - have turned out to not be a blessing." Meanwhile, a top tweet revealed the current coronavirus data of some countries and compared the U.K.'s status to Japan and South Korea. Per worldometer, U.K. is now the country with the fourth-most number of cases next to the USA, Spain and Italy. The nation is also second for the highest total deaths (USA remains first with 74,000 deaths). As many as 10 more people, including five staffers of two private hospitals, tested positive for coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases in the district to 202, officials said on Thursday. No patient was discharged on Thursday and the number of those cured stood at 109, leaving 93 active cases in the district, the officials said. "Total 124 reports have been received in the last 24 hours. Ten of them were positive and the rest were negative for COVID-19. The cumulative positive cases of coronavirus in Gautam Buddh Nagar are now 202," District Surveillance Officer Sunil Dohare said. Three housekeeping staff from Sharda Hospital in Greater Noida besides a nurse and an attendant from Felix Hospital in Noida have tested positive for the virus, the officials said. Among other patients are a 55-year-old man from Sector 15 and a 17-year-old teenager from Sector 8 -- both in Noida, the officials said. Also, a four-year-old girl, and a 15-year-old female teenager and 33-year-old woman in Greater Noida's Nat Madiya village tested positive for infection on Thursday, they added. "So far, 109 of the 202 patients have been cured and discharged, leaving 93 active cases in the district," the surveillance officer said. The recovery rate of patients is 53.96 per cent, according to official statistics. According to officials, so far 3,854 samples have been collected for COVID-19 test in Gautam Buddh Nagar, while 366 people are currently under institutional quarantine. Meanwhile, a controversy erupted over "low number of tests" being conducted in Gautam Buddh Nagar as some people took to social media to claim that "higher authorities" were meddling in the result reports. However, the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Greater Noida refuted the charges, saying that due to technical reasons, some lab reports tend to be inconclusive. The lab at GIMS has got the Centre's approval to conduct COVID-19 tests and is the only government body in Guatam Buddh Nagar with such an approval. Besides GIMS, two private labs also have approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in the district. "The molecular lab of GIMS is conducting Covid diagnostic testing by RT-PCR (a lab technique) under the strict protocols as per ICMR and is accredited by ICMR. The tests are being validated by Equas programme of referral lab of KGMU, Lucknow," GIMS Director Dr Brig (retd) Rakesh Gupta said. "Sometimes, due to technical reasons, lab reports tend to be inconclusive. In such cases, retesting us done and in this case all inconclusive samples have already been sent for retesting to NIB, which is a government of India institute," he said in a statement. In fact, all COVID-19 labs are mandated to send certain samples to other labs for re-verification, Gupta said. "There is no interference from any higher authorities." Many residents of Noida do get tested by private labs in Delhi, Ghaziabad etc and they are always free to do that as per ICMR protocol, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) More than 700 detainees have been released from UK immigration centres, it has been revealed today. Official figures showed there were some 1,225 people in detention centres on 1 January and 368 at the latest count - a reduction of almost three-quarters. In March, the immigration charity Detention Action demanded that detainees with health conditions be released from centres over fears they were at risk of contracting coronavirus. Their bid was thrown out by the High Court but the charity has now launched a campaign to release all detainees, 'to prevent serious harm and loss of life.' Yarl's Wood, Europe's largest detention centre in Bedford Brook House Immigration Removal Centre, next to Gatwick Airport in West Sussex Detention Action said there was, 'no justification for holding anyone in immigration detention while Covid-19 presents such a risk to life, and while travel restrictions prevent removals from the UK.' The charity added: 'Indefinite immigration detention is inhumane and an extreme human rights abuse. 'Detention centres create fertile conditions for the spread of Coronavirus. The situation could quickly reach a crisis point if the government does not immediately release people.' Detention Action said there were now 368 detainees being held in detention centres, with more than 700 released between 16 March and 21 April. Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre in Uxbridge, west London Detention Action claims a 'significant proportion' of the roughly 1,500 people held in immigration detention across the UK have serious underlying health conditions which leave them facing 'a significant risk of serious harm or death'. The group also argues that 'significant numbers of detainees will no longer be detainable because widespread travel restrictions prevent removals from taking place', rendering their detention unlawful. Their High Court case in March was thought to be the first Covid-19-related case heard in the courts of England and Wales. The Home Office has been contacted for comment. Carrying their belongings in bags of all shapes and sizes, migrant workers arrived at the railway station here from across the city in over 70 buses arranged by the Delhi government to board the first Shramik Special train from the national capital to Madhya Pradesh. As many as 72 buses arrived at the New Delhi Railway Station carrying not more than 20 people each, keeping in mind the social-distancing measures in place due to the coronavirus crisis. Three more buses are expected to arrive soon. After alighting from the buses, the passengers stood in circular rings some feet apart from each other outside the station in accordance with social-distancing norms. They were allowed in the station in batches and railway officials guided them to the train. On the platform also, authorities have marked white circular rings for the passengers to stand at a safe distance from each other. "I was at a shelter home in Roopnagar for the last eight days. I polish marble slabs for a living. I will come back when things get back to normal," said Balram Kumar, one of the outbound migrants. Thousands of migrant labourers across the country were stranded after the nationwide lockdown was announced due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Railways started the migrant special services from May 1 and has since then operated 171 such trains. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) - The American military official was working for President Trump including serving his meals - The valet exhibited signs of COVID-19 on Wednesday, May 6, and Trump is said to have been displeased by the development - Staffers who interact with US head of state and his vice president get tested weekly for the virus A military official working at the White House in United States has tested positive for coronavirus. The official, whose identity was not disclosed, is said to have been working for President Donald Trump, including serving his meals. READ ALSO: Kenya records 25 new COVID-19 cases as death toll rises to 29 The official was working closely for President Trump. Photo: Getty Images. Source: Twitter READ ALSO: Size 8's daughter impresses netizens with American accent in sweet message to Kenyans According to NBS, Trump and his vice-president Mike Pence both tested negative for the virus after the aide's positive status was confirmed. The valet, a member of the US Navy exhibited symptoms of the virus on Wednesday, May 6, and Trump is said to be displeased by the development. "We were recently notified by the White House Medical Unit that a member of the United States Military, who works on White House campus has tested positive for coronavirus. "The president and vice president have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health," a statement from White House read. READ ALSO: Waliokuwa marafiki sasa hawajibu simu zangu, Waititu asema Reports also indicate sztaffers who regularly interact with the two top leaders are tested weekly. This came a month after Potus was pressured to a COVID-19 test after interacting with people who came out positive. On Saturday, March 14, Trump's doctor Sean P Conley disclosed that his test came out negative despite him having met a Brazilian delegation, some of whom later tested positive for coronavirus. The cases of COVID-19 in the US stand at 1,280,892 with 76,290 as the death toll. 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 Washington: The US Justice Department says it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for the President and his supporters in attacking the FBI's Trump-Russia investigation. The move is a stunning reversal for one of the signature cases brought by former special counsel Robert Mueller. It comes even though prosecutors for the past three years have maintained that Flynn lied to the FBI in a January 2017 interview about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. Michael Flynn was forced to resign as national security adviser as a result of his post-election contacts with Kislyak. Credit:AP Flynn himself admitted as much, pleading guilty before asking to withdraw the plea, and became a key cooperator for Mueller as the special counsel investigated ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign. In court documents being filed on Thursday, the Justice Department said it was dropping the case "after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information." The documents were obtained by The Associated Press. LaunchPort Logo Past News Releases RSS ExoRenal joins The LaunchPort... The LaunchPort announced today that Brevitest Technologies (Houston, Texas, http://www.brevitest.com) will become the latest out-of-state company to partner with the device accelerator located in the Port Covington region of Baltimores Inner Harbor. Brevitest has developed a point-of-care analyzer capable of accurately performing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), the gold standard for measuring concentrations of molecules in solution. Unlike ELISAs done in laboratories, the technology is portable with a run time of less than 15 minutes. Developed as a platform technology, capable of performing a wide variety of tests with laboratory-quality sensitivity and specificity, the assays are targeted at numerous clinical, forensic, environmental and lifestyle applications. The newest version of the device is currently undergoing review to allow rapid point-of-care COVID-19 testing. The unique nature of the relationship which involves both LaunchPort and Engineering Medical Systems gives Brevitest immediate access to design control and manufacturing protocols that will allow their internal development team to convert the functional prototypes to a marketable product in a little over a month. Simultaneously, those reviews are preparing the product for the eventual broader launch into opioid testing and other infectious diseases. Robert Storey, Managing Partner of The LaunchPort, noted that Brevitest is a portfolio company of Fannin Innovation Studio (fannininnovation.com), a life sciences venture development firm that was the brainchild of Leo Linbeck, CEO of Houstons Aquinas Companies. Storey commented, Fannin has put together a portfolio of therapeutics and devices technologies that have come out of the Houston medical ecosystem and they bring a creative approach to venture development. We feel the LaunchPort concept is equally innovative and weve been looking for ways to collaborate for a number of years. Were excited at this first step, particularly in an area that is so crucial to our current fight against the pandemic. About Brevitest (Houston, TX) Founded in 2013, Brevitest Technologies is an early-stage life sciences company that has developed a biomedical assay platform technology to perform ELISAs in a microfluidic environment. The patented technology has been developed to function as a point-of-care device in a clinicians office or as a rapid, low-labor assay in a certified lab. Using their specialized microfluidic cartridges, Brevitest can run a fully automated, quantitative assay in under 15 minutes. About The LaunchPort (Port Covington, Baltimore, MD) The LaunchPort (http://www.thelaunchport.com) is a manufacturing accelerator that allows Medtech start-ups and emerging technology developers the ability to co-locate at an experienced, regulated manufacturing center. Located at the City Garage in Baltimores Port Covington, it is in close proximity to two of the Countrys premier medical schools (Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland) and at the center of the Nations largest urban investment project. About Engineered Medical Systems (Indianapolis, IN; Baltimore, MD; Penang, Malaysia) Established in 1986, Engineered Medical Systems (http://www.engmedsys.com), does contract manufacturing and private label medical devices for a variety of private and multi-national medical devices manufacturers and distributors. Engineered Medical Systems - Malaysia in Penang, Malaysia was established in 2014 to support international products and markets. All EMS facilities are ISO-13485 certified facilities. A sister company of EMS, Pulmodyne, Inc., develops, markets and sells a proprietary line of products in the Critical Care, Airway Management and Emergency markets, with a worldwide sales network of over 70 global distributors and 15 domestic distributors. International tourist numbers could fall by as much as 80%, according to the United Nations. The picture could be even more bleak in Ireland, with tourism representative groups not anticipating any international travel of note until late this year or, even, next year. The latest data from the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) shows that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a 22% fall in international tourist arrivals in the first quarter of 2020. According to the UN agency, the lockdown measures and concerns over air and sea travel, as well as the economic impact of the virus, will all combine to cause an annual decline of between 60% and 80% when compared to 2019 figures. The study maps out three scenarios based on the gradual opening of international borders and the easing of travel restrictions. If this happens globally by early July, the market will decline by 58% this year. If it happens in September, the fall will be in the region of 70%; and if it does not happen until December, the market will fall by 78%. It threatens more than 100 million jobs, according to UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, with Europe and Asia the worst affected to date. Eoghan O'Mara Walsh, chief executive of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC), said the picture is particularly bleak for Irish tourism. Traders in Europe are among the most optimistic of recovery later this year according to the UNWTO report but, Mr O'Mara Walsh said, those on the continent benefit from land borders with their neighbours in most cases. For Ireland, which is entirely dependent on air and sea travel, it could take much longer to engineer a recovery for tourism businesses. We don't expect any international tourism of note in 2020 at all. As an island nation, we're dependent on air and sea travel and all intelligence available suggests this won't recover this year. It is 2021 we are looking at to kick-start the recovery. IAG, the airline group which owns Aer Lingus, confirmed that it has grounded 94% of its passenger fleet and it does not expect demand to recover to 2019 levels until 2023 "at the earliest". While a strong domestic market could serve as a boost for tourism operators later in the year, once Covid-19 travel restrictions are lifted, Mr O'Mara Walsh said the international market accounts for some 75% of business in the country. ITIC has mapped out a nine-point plan to support the domestic market under such strains, including calls for a 0% VAT rate, a 1 billion support fund for tourism and hospitality businesses and the creation of a dedicated Department of Tourism. Pat Dawson, CEO of the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA), said predictions of 60% to 80% "definitely" seem accurate. Mr Dawson said there is an appetite for travel, with many of the summer 2020 bookings being rearranged for later this year and 2021, but noted that people are wary of flying. "We don't forecast significant travel until September or October, at the earliest," he said. "The issue is we are dependent not just on things going in the right direction in Ireland but also in other countries." ITAA has urged the Government to implement credit notes for cancelled bookings in order to protect travel agents who are under severe financial pressure due to the market collapse. Only a small number of Victorian independent schools plan to return to classroom teaching to obtain early funding from the government. The federal education department confirmed 46 schools opted to take up its offer to bring forward 25 per cent of payments for those planning to resume face-to-face teaching by June 1. Education Minister Dan Tehan has urged independent schools to reopen. Credit:AAP A further two schools are still working through their applications with the department. The offer from Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan is at odds with the Victorian government's advice that schools should maintain remote learning for the duration of term two. Generic Aadhaar supplies diabetes and hypertension drugs but will soon start offering cancer drugs at rates much lower than the market price. It has a tie up with four WHO-GMP certified manufacturers in Palghar, Ahmedabad, Pondicherry and Nagpur. Ratan Tata has invested an undisclosed amount in 18 year olds pharmaceutical venture Generic Aadhaar today. Arjun Deshpande, Founder and CEO, Generic Aadhaar, began his venture at the age of 16 with the sole aim of bringing affordable medicines to the masses, The pharma startup boasts of an annual revenue of 6 crore and is looking at a revenue of Rs 150-Rs 200 crore in the next three years. A survey states that 60 percent of Indians cannot afford medication due to the high market prices and hence are unable to deliver basic healthcare needs to people. Generic Aadhaar aims to partner with 1000 pharmacies on a franchisee-based model in the coming months and expand their reach to markets in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, New Delhi, Goa, Rajasthan, Gujarat. It a proud moment to announce Great association with Honourable Mr Ratan Tata Sir to provide affordable medicines to Indian people pic.twitter.com/uIlf6dIzwv Arjun Deshpande (@arjundeshpande4) May 7, 2020 The startup follows a unique business model--a pharmacy-aggregator business model sources generic drugs directly from the manufacturer and provides it to the retailers, thereby cutting out the middlemen completely and delivering medicines to the masses at a much lesser cost. It is a B2B2C model that aims at providing Indians with affordable medication by supporting single medical stores across the country which otherwise face competition from big brands and online pharmacies. Under Generic Aadhaar, the company provides quality and affordable medication directly from WHO-GMP facility. It has tied up with 30 retailers from Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Odisha following a profit-sharing model. Arjun Deshpande, Founder and CEO, said, Our unique business model gives us an edge over any other player in the market currently as we aim to bring affordable healthcare. Our mission is to provide senior citizens and pension holders the care they deserve with the delivery of inexpensive medicines which are required on a daily basis. Generic Aadhaar currently supplies diabetes and hypertension drugs but will soon start offering cancer drugs at rates much lower than the market price, it claims. It has a tie up with four WHO-GMP certified manufacturers in Palghar, Ahmedabad, Pondicherry and Nagpur. When Ratan Tata came to know about the business plan, he was impressed and decided to be a part of this mission in a personal capacity and help Generic Aadhaar reach every Indian, Deshpande said. The company has about 55 employees, which include pharmacists, IT engineers and marketing professionals. A centenarian who worked at Bletchley Park has shared her memories of life as a wartime code breaker in a new interview Anne, Lady Jaffray, 100, told Tatler how she used to juggle her top secret work deciphering German Enigma codes with nights off dancing with 'dashing officers' at London hotspots like the 400 Club or Quaglino's. The code breaker, who met the Duchess of Cambridge during a royal visit to Bletchley Park in 2014, recalled how her life went from debutante dances to vital military work in a matter of months when war broke out in 1939. She stayed at Bletchley until 1944, when she stepped down to give birth to her daughter, Annette Worsley-Taylor, who went on to establish London Fashion Week. Anne, Lady Jaffray, 100, told Tatler how she used to juggle her top secret work deciphering German Enigma codes with nights off dancing with 'dashing officers' at London hotspots like the 400 Club or Quaglino's. Pictured, Lady Jaffray (right) at Cheltenham in March 1928 'In the spring of 1939, I was presented at court as a debutante,' Lady Jaffray recalled of life before the Second World War. 'It was one of the last occasions where full dress was worn, and my hair was adorned with Prince of Wales ostrich feathers. 'We dined at Buckingham Palace afterwards, off gold plates, before going on to a dance. A few months of fun before Europe disintegrated.' Lady Jaffray was determined to play her part in the war effort and used her connections to land a job in the newly formed Ministry of Information. Initially charged with eavesdropping on the conversations of former journalists in London, by April 1940 Lady Jaffray was among the recruits at Bletchley Park and found herself in Hut 3, the 'nerve centre of the entire top-secret organisation'. Lady Jaffray was determined to play her part in the war effort and used her connections to land a job in the newly formed Ministry of Information. Pictured, Lady Jaffray in 2011 While other women at Bletchley occupied themselves with social gatherings on site, Lady Jaffray had her sights set on the lights of London and would make trips to the capital on her days off. 'My preference was to save my days off and drive to London for parties at the 400 Club or Quaglino's, where I met dashing young officers,' she recalled. 'Such excursions were always tinged with sadness when so many failed to return.' At Bletchley Lady Jaffray played a 'small but exciting role' in the attack on the Bismarck in May 1941 after the Bletchley code breakers were able to identify the vessel's position. In 2014 Lady Jaffray (left) was among those who met the Duchess of Cambridge when the royal visited Bletchley Park, pictured. The Duchess, 38, has a close connection with the code breakers as her own grandmother worked there during the Second World War By the end of the war she had married her first husband, Sir John Worsley-Taylor, 3rd Baronet, with whom she had one daughter, Annette. The couple divorced and Anne (nee Paget) remarried to Sir William Jaffray in October 1950. Once the war was over Lady Jaffray kept her efforts secret from even her family until a book about Bletchley was published in 1975. In 2014 Lady Jaffray was among those who met the Duchess of Cambridge when the royal visited Bletchley Park. The Duchess, 38, has a close connection with the code breakers as her own grandmother worked there during the Second World War. Twelve more jawans of a BSF company, which had been deployed earlier in the Walled City area of the national capital on internal security duty, tested positive for coronavirus infection on Thursday. The tewelve BSF praharis' were found infected a day after their 30 other colleagues tested positive for the infection, taking the total number of Delhi-returned infected BSF personnel in Jodhpur to 42, said an official. Test reports of the samples of these jawans were released by the state's Medical and Health Department on Thursday afternoon. According to a BSF official, all these jawans were the part of a BSF company comprising 57 jawans, which had been sent to Delhi from Jaipur on internal security duty and had been put up at the Jama Masjid in the national capital. The entire company was air-lifted to Jodhpur on Monday and was quarantined at the BSF's Subsidiary Training Center (STC) here after some of the jawans of the company deployed in the walled city area in New Delhi tested corona positive. A BSF official said samples of all the 57 jawans had been taken after the battalion was shifted to STC quarantine center of BSF in Jodhpur. Thirty out of 44 were tested positive on Wednesday while the report of the remaining 13 jawans' samples was due. Twelve more have been tested positive out of the remaining 13 samples, a Medical and Health Department official said, adding 15 of them are negative. All of them have been admitted to the Jodhpur AIIMS here for treatment while those, who tested negative, will remain in quarantine center for 14 days. This BSF battalion had been deputed at the Jama Masjid during the Tablighi Jamat chaos in Delhi, where some of them had tested positive. After this, the entire battalion was shifted to Jodhpur, considering the better and adequate facilities at its STC quarantine centre. On the other hand, with regard to officials and jawans at local level, BSF Rajasthan frontier IG Amit Lodha, however, said no other jawan at the local level in Jodhpur has been found infected so far and every possible measure has been taken to ensure that local BSF praharis remain insulated and shielded from the infection. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Computers, mobile phones and all other electronic devices contain thousands of transistors, linked together by thin films of metal. Scientists at Linkoping University, Sweden, have developed a method that can use the electrons in a plasma to produce these films. The processors used in today's computers and phones consist of billions of tiny transistors connected by thin metallic films. Scientists at Linkoping University, LiU, have now shown that it is possible to create thin films of metals by allowing the free electrons in a plasma take an active role. A plasma forms when energy is supplied that tears away electrons from the atoms and molecules in a gas, to produce an ionised gas. In our everyday life, plasmas are used in fluorescent lamps and in plasma displays. The method developed by the LiU researchers using plasma electrons to produce metallic films is described in an article in the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology. "We can see several exciting areas of application, such as the manufacture of processors and similar components. With our method it is no longer necessary to move the substrate on which the transistors are created backwards and forwards between the vacuum chamber and a water bath, which happens around 15 times per processor", says Henrik Pedersen, professor of inorganic chemistry in the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology at Linkoping University. A common method of creating thin films is to introduce molecular vapours containing the atoms that are required for the film into a vacuum chamber. There they react with each other and the surface on which the thin film is to be formed. This well-established method is known as chemical vapour deposition (CVD). In order to produce films of pure metal by CVD, a volatile precursor molecule is required that contains the metal of interest. When the precursor molecules have become absorbed onto the surface, surface chemical reactions involving another molecule are required to create a metal film. These reactions require molecules that readily donate electrons to the metal ions in the precursor molecules, such that they are reduced to metal atoms, in what is known as a "reduction reaction". The LiU scientists instead turned their attention to plasmas. "We reasoned that what the surface chemistry reactions needed was free electrons, and these are available in a plasma. We started to experiment with allowing the precursor molecules and the metal ions to land on a surface and then attract electrons from a plasma to the surface", says Henrik Pedersen. Researchers in inorganic chemistry and in plasma physics at IFM have collaborated and demonstrated that it is possible to create thin metallic films on a surface using the free electrons in an argon plasma discharge for the reduction reactions. In order to attract the negatively charged electrons to the surface, they applied a positive potential across it. The study describes work with non-noble metals such as iron, cobalt and nickel, which are difficult to reduce to metal. Traditional CVD has been compelled to use powerful molecular reducing agents in these cases. Such reducing agents are difficult to manufacture, manage and control, since their tendency to donate electrons to other molecules makes them very reactive and unstable. At the same time, the molecules must be sufficiently stable to be vaporised and introduced in gaseous form into the vacuum chamber in which the metallic films are being deposited. "What may make the method using plasma electrons better is that it removes the need to develop and manage unstable reducing agents. The development of CVD of non-noble metals is hampered due to a lack of suitable molecular reducing agents that function sufficiently well", says Henrik Pedersen. The scientists are now continuing with measurements that will help them understand and be able to demonstrate how the chemical reactions take place on the surface where the metallic film forms. They are also investigating the optimal properties of the plasma. They would also like to test different precursor molecules to find ways of making the metallic films purer. The research has obtained financial support from the Swedish Research Council, and has been carried out in collaboration with Daniel Lundin, guest professor at IFM. ### The article: "Chemical vapor deposition of metallic film using plasma electrons as reducing agents", Hama Nadhom, Daniel Lundin, Polla Rouf and Henrik Pedersen, (2020), Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A, Vol. 38, published online 23 March 2020, doi: 10.1116/1.5142850 Link: https://doi.org/10.1116/1.5142850 The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has charged the government to wake up and stop the wishful thinking as they describe the latest numbers in relation to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) disease as worrying. Ghana recorded its first case of the deadly disease on March 12. A week later, the President of the Republic, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo placed a partial lockdown on Greater Kumasi, Greater Accra, as well as Tema and Kasoa environs. After 3 weeks of the lockdown, President Nana Addo removed the lockdown at a time when the number of confirmed cases had not clocked 1000. Days after that decision, the numbers surged past 1000 and has since been on the rise. As of Thursday, May 7, 2020, Ghanas number of confirmed cases stands at 3,091, with 303 recoveries and 18 deaths as well. At a press conference today, the Minority in Parliament has raised concern over the Covid-19 situation as they stress that the troubling situation should push the government to wake up. The latest update - a staggering 3,091 confirmed cases, the second-highest in West Africa after Nigeria which has reported 3,145 cases though we should be more worried when we compare our population to that of Nigeria. This troubling development should serve as a wakeup call that the time for wishful thinking is over. To quote former President Mahama, Hope is a comfort, but it is not a strategy, Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu who addressed the press conference said. The lawmaker added, The sharp rise in the number of cases reported by authorities in the last two weeks is deeply worrying. The attempt to downplay this fact is unacceptable. Ghanaians expect the professionals entrusted with responsibility for managing the crisis to be forthright and refrain from interpreting data that is not grounded in the science of the pandemic. Below is the full press statement from the NDC: PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE NDC MINORITY IN PARLIAMENT ON GHANA'S WORSENING COVID-19 SITUATION AND THE NATIONAL RESPONSE - ADDRESSED BY THE HON. MINORITY LEADER, HARUNA IDDRISU. The Minority in Ghana's Parliament is grateful to you for honouring our invitation to this press engagement. We are thankful to all Ghanaians including civil society organizations, faith based groups, volunteers and other governance partners for the continuous support, feedback, expert inputs and solidarity as we work together in the collective progress of our country. Let me begin by paying tribute and salute our frontline health care workers who are risking their lives every day, every hour and every minute to keep us all safe and reduce the adverse impact of the deadly COVID-19 which has so far infected 3,091 persons, over 2,000 more since President Akufo-Addo lifted the lockdown. It is our frontline health care workers who are the real heroes of this defining moment in the history of humankind. We salute journalists, security personnel, utility workers and all volunteers on the frontlines and assure them of our heartfelt appreciation and that of the constituents we represent. Ladies and Gentlemen, Our nation and the world is confronted with the greatest challenge of our lifetime. The novel coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on the health of our citizens and the health of the economy. Concerned with this development, we in the Minority presented a memorandum containing far reaching suggestions on managing the pandemic. We intended it for discussion on the floor of the House but it was not to be. Our Flag bearer, Former President John Mahama set up a technical advisory team to support the national effort even as he himself offered assistance by way of well-reasoned suggestions as well as donations of critically needed supplies to health care personnel all over the country and food supplies to vulnerable groups. We continue to play our part as responsible citizens. In Ghana, more than 3,000 of our compatriots have contracted the virus thus far with 18 precious lives lost. Our condolences to bereaved families and the family and medical fraternity on the loss of Prof. Jacob Plange-Rhule, Rector of the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Every life lost is one life too many. And so we consider as irresponsible, a statement by the Presidents Adviser on Health dismissing the number of lives lost as insignificant. The dead have families who deserve empathy. Let me add that Ghanas death toll may be low to some people but there may be things we are not seeing and recording. The impact of COVID-19 on our economy has been most devastating - from massive job losses, closure of businesses to a historic fall in GDP growth. This certainly cannot be the time for old-fashioned excessive partisan politics and infantile name calling as Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia sought to do earlier this week. This is the time to focus every attention on this national crisis that threatens the very foundations of our society Ladies and Gentlemen, The latest update - a staggering 3,091 confirmed cases, the second highest in West Africa after Nigeria which has reported 3,145 cases though we should be more worried when we compare our population to that of Nigeria. This troubling development should serve as a wakeup call that the time for wishful thinking is over. To quote Former President Mahama, Hope is a comfort, but it is not a strategy. Governments response so far has been rather slow, based on loose interpretations of the science, and often detached from the facts on the ground. Couldnt we have locked down earlier? Couldnt we have closed our borders earlier? Couldnt we have started massive public education in local languages earlier? Couldnt we have developed our humanitarian response plan earlier? We should have had a comprehensive strategic plan in place earlier. A document we have requested without success, making us wonder if there's one. We lost the opportunity to do all of these and many more because President Akufo-Addo did not prioritize. He was touring in Europe even though the alarm bells of the coming pandemic were ringing. Then, shortly upon his return we had the first two cases of the virus infection. One of them had actually been with the President during his happy travel to Europe. Ladies and gentlemen, The sharp rise in the number of cases reported by authorities in the last two weeks is deeply worrying. The attempt to downplay this fact is unacceptable. Ghanaians expect the professionals entrusted with responsibility for managing the crisis to be forthright and refrain from interpreting data that is not grounded in the science of the pandemic. And here, I refer to a recent statement by a member of the National Response Team that we have peaked in terms of the number of infected persons. Misuse of such terms without empirical basis appear to be designed to fit into a certain narrative ahead of the Presidents next broadcast. It appears to be part of a strategy to create an atmosphere of normalcy in the lead to the next presidential broadcast and as for the reason, your guess is as good as mine. Evidently, President Akufo-Addo seems more interested in his re-election than in the safety and life of Ghanaians. That fact keeps unfolding. Ladies and gentlemen, Many professionals have observed that the data being published by the Ghana Health Service does not lend itself to meaningful analysis in the form it is presented. The absence of several key data points that would allow independent researchers to understand the rate of spread and the demographics of the pandemic have not been made public. And there continue to be legitimate concerns about some of the data that actually is available. On two separate occasions in April, the number of confirmed cases under routine surveillance was revised downwards without any explanation whatsoever. And the test positivity rate for travelers under mandatory quarantine literally doubled after the last update. No explanation was offered for that either. This lack of transparency only serves to undermine public trust in governments commitment to this fight, and that directly affects our likelihood of successfully avoiding a worsening situation. Ladies and gentlemen, these are not normal times and reality must guide our next steps. We are well past the time for parochial thinking. Egotism, willful ignorance and empty rhetoric will not save us. The cheap stunts designed to bolster a faltering narrative will not save us. Blatant falsehoods told to garnish the image of this administration in the face of the foreign press will not save us. What these will do, instead, is consolidate a false sense of security in the Ghanaian public that will obscure our view of the danger we face. Indeed, false claims about low prices of local foodstuff on the market, plantain included is part of the grand scheme to create a false sense of security. Without an appreciation for the plain reality of our situation, the preventive measures will not be taken seriously. And if they are not taken seriously, we will lose this fight and we will pay a heavy price for it. If government persists in this course, posterity will judge this administration as the most self-indulgent administration that ever had the privilege of the peoples mandate. And should any section of our society aid and abet this abdication of the most fundamental responsibility of government - the protection of the people and preservation of the Republic for the generations behind us - then we will rightly share in that infamy. Ladies and Gentlemen, Right from the word go, governments response to the crisis revealed a lack of foresight and a fundamental denial of the nature of the foe we face in COVID-19. As already alluded to, this manifested itself in the failure of government to prioritize planning and preparations for COVID-19 during the many weeks after the declaration of a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation on January 30, 2020. They sat idly by - failing to provide the initial GHS35 million needed for our preparedness plan despite seeing the havoc it was wreaking all over the world - and made almost no provisions for the eventuality of an outbreak in Ghana, relying instead on false hopes around climate and genetics. The WHO country assessment which followed at the time vindicates our position. Ladies and Gentlemen, Government put in place inadequate structures which did not aid us to enhance our surveillance and detect cases here more rapidly by expanding our testing capacity. They failed to recognize the seriousness of the threat and left our borders open even at the time they refused to evacuate our students in Wuhan; and they left the borders open far beyond what was possibly reasonable under the circumstances, and even when nations all over the world were closing theirs. Government failed to anticipate the devastating effects that a COVID-19 outbreak would have on our social life and our economy, and were grossly unprepared to soften the blow for the most vulnerable people and households in our nation when a lockdown became necessary. The inept, partisan and disastrous manner Government distributed food relief only exacerbated the risk. And to conceal that failure, to shirk responsibility for its consequences, they prematurely lifted the restrictions on movement against the advice of some of the most respected authorities on public health in Ghana. Government's financial response has exposed what was hitherto touted as a robust economy as Government virtually had no reserves to confront the pandemic. But for the World Bank, the IMF and the Stabilisation Fund left behind by former President John Mahama God knows where this economy buoyed by propaganda steroids would have left us. At every point in its response, Government has been playing catch up. The reactionary policymaking that this has occasioned has left our containment efforts lagging behind the threat. Even now, when it is clear that we have ongoing local transmission in almost every region of this country, this government continues to downplay its extent and consequences. The fact is we have almost no idea about the true scale of the problem because nearly three months into the pandemic we are still trying to formulate a testing strategy that allows us to estimate the general prevalence of COVID-19 on a timely basis. We are well beyond the point in this crisis where our testing should have been broadened in recognition of the outward spread of the virus from the hotspots. News about new facilities is welcome, but long overdue. And those delays have certainly come at a cost. Ladies and Gentlemen, The scientists at Noguchi and all our testing facilities deserve this nations thanks for the commitment they have shown in this national effort so far. But government must honour that hard work by being sincere about the data and what it really means. Government is selling false hope of a situation under control and using its management of information as a cover for this farce. That insults the intelligence of the Ghanaian people and makes a mockery of the seriousness of the situation. Candour and consistency must be the order of the day. Testing, tracing, monitoring and isolation where necessary must be the daily routine. Ladies and Gentlemen, What President Akufo-Addo and his government must understand is that their apparent choice to face this pandemic as more a PR exercise rather than a real crisis management effort will ultimately be exposed. You cannot outsmart the science, and you cannot outrun reality. But we in the Minority have absolutely no desire to witness such a failure because the cost will be counted in Ghanaian lives and livelihoods. If the containment strategy government has wed itself to unravels any further the brunt of this burden will fall on the frontline health care workers. Their courage and competence are going to be the last defense for many of our countrymen who will face the worst of this disease. And yet, despite the Presidents lofty rhetoric and grand assurances, the healthcare system remains so unbelievably unprepared for the battle that has already begun. Our health care workers cannot face the weeks ahead unequipped and unprotected. They cannot provide the needed care to the critically ill if they continue to lack adequate PPEs and even basic supplies such as hand sanitizers. And they should not have to pay for these things out of their own pockets, let alone go begging for them from the public. This is unpardonable. And government mocks their commitment in insisting that the very real dangers they face - the dangers to their families too - are well under control and nothing to be concerned about. In this respect, the recent pronouncements of the Health Minister to the effect that some health care workers are engaged in selling PPEs for personal profit without providing any scintilla of evidence is an utter insult to our heroes who are sacrificing so much. We roundly condemn the Minister's irresponsible utterances. We dare him to provide specific evidence and stop denigrating all health workers. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Minority is deeply worried about how science has been relegated to the background by the President. Instead, the President now appears to be relying on Signs and Wonders forgetting the old adage that Heaven helps those who help themselves. The President took a terrible gamble with our lives when he lifted the lockdown at a time our case count was increasing. That decision has led to the situation where since the removal of the lockdown, confirmed cases have more than doubled and deaths have more than tripled. His quagmire: the economy/politics versus health. We have also in the process seen hotspots emerge virtually in all parts of Ghana since the lifting of the lockdown. President Akufo-Addo must take responsibility for this unfortunate turn of events, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Minority has duly taken note that following the President's reversal of the partial lockdown and our worsening case count, the reputable Ghana Medical Association has publicly called for a different approach in containing and limiting the spread of COVID-19. We are in full support of this call. President Akufo-Addo should be led by sound epidemiological data and not political calculations. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Minority's demand for a new policy approach based on Science is borne out of the need to preserve human lives and protect our health system. Ghana's case count is now amongst the most infected countries in Africa. This has frightening prospects which demands an urgent change in strategy. As the science dictates, this cannot be the time for further easing of restrictions. We expect a more proactive policy response. We should be fighting the virus ahead of it and not from behind. Ladies and Gentlemen, It is absolutely troubling and shocking that in the face of such a pandemic, our Government chooses to supply PPEs to officials of the Electoral Commission when doctors, nurses and other frontline health care workers are crying for PPEs. It is equally shocking that Government officials are publicly justifying the irresponsible conduct of the Electoral Commission in defying the restrictions imposed by the President even in the face of a court injunction secured by our colleague, Hon. Sam George. All these come at a time the EC's plan to begin its infamous and life-threatening registration in June this year has been exposed after a presentation the EC made to ECOWAS leaked. It is worth noting that the EC's timetable as presented to ECOWAS remains unknown to Parliament and opposition political parties. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Minority is concerned about the plight of Ghanaians who appear stranded in other jurisdictions following the closure of our borders. It is our considered view that just as our Government is able to open our airports despite the closures for foreign nationals to be evacuated out of Ghana, Government should do same by providing a narrow opportunity under strict evacuation protocols of screening, testing and quarantine in order to rescue our fellow compatriots. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Minority urges Government to ensure a high level of accountability with the funds and donations they have thus far received in the fight against COVID-19. Claims by NADMO of spending GHS2 million a day on feeding an opaque number of Ghanaians during the lockdown would not be allowed to pass. May we serve notice that we shall insist on full transparency and a thorough audit of all funds received. Ladies and Gentlemen, On the basis of the evidence available, evidence based on the science and driven by sound epidemiological data, the Minority wishes to advise President Akufo-Addo to tread cautiously and not take decisions to ease restrictions just to satisfy narrow political ends. This is a time for health care professionals, civil society, religious leaders and traditional rulers to be adults in the room offering guidance and fearless advice for the sake of the country. Nothing can be more important than the value which we must place on human lives. Let us all return to the table of science and be guided by same. I commend all Ghanaians for the difficult sacrifices we have all been willing to bear for our collective protection. Please it is important that we all continue to adhere strictly to the hygiene and social distancing protocols. In that regard, Government should make provision for the vulnerable in our society by providing them with free face masks. We disagree with the Health Minister when we assumes every Ghanaian can afford and that every Ghanaian knows where to find the appropriate face mask to purchase. Some MPs have been able to support the vulnerable with free face masks and we believe Government has no excuse to abdicate. Let us soldier on. With sincerity towards scientific data and genuine solidarity for all our compatriots, COVID-19 shall be defeated. Thank you very much. We shall now take your questions. Sharice Davids silent on federal bailout for McClatchy pension plan Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas, representing the state's 3 rd Congressional District, says she wants transparency on companies receiving aid through the Paycheck Protection Program. But so far, she won't say whether she supports House Democrats' proposal to bailout newspaper pension programs, including KC Star owner McClatchy Co. Local Conservatives call out a government given in the works for a failing corporation that mostly serves as a press release outlet and paid acolytes for their Democratic Party pals. Take a look: The government will announce prior to the end of Ramadan all the measures that will be followed afterward to practice different activities whether in the opened or closed places Egypt extended on Thursday a nationwide night-time curfew by two more weeks until the end of the holy month of Ramadan, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said, in a bid to limit the spread of the coronavirus which has infected over 7000 people and claimed 469 lives in the country. In a televised briefing, the prime minister said that the hours of the curfew would remain unchanged from 9pm to 6am. The curfew was first introduced in March as part of a series of measures to curtail the spread of the virus and has been extended two times since. Initially, it began at 7pm, but it was later moved back to 8pm then to 9pm at the beginning of the Islamic month. The same measures introduced over the past period will remain in place during the next two weeks, Madbouly said. He said that Egypt hasn't witnessed any shortage in commodities or a hike in prices over the course of the past three months, as opposed to many other countries, due to the country's keenness to balance out the coronavirus precautionary measures and production. The "complete lockdown" experiment adopted by other countries has taken a heavy toll on their economy, he added. Locally, from the first moment, the government insisted on a balance between the health of the citizen and the rotation of the economy's wheel, Madbouly noted. "Moreover, the state introduced financial packages to facilitate and delay the repayment of loans, taxes and even social insurance to maintain the economy and the employment," he said, adding that the state has also launched an economic aid programme that includes the three-month allowances for those with irregular employment. "As a result, the country has incurred great economic burdens through this period and the government has done its best for the citizens to remain unaffected by the pandemic," Madbouly said. He said it would have been natural to put forward an austerity or a contracted budget for the next year but the government proposed a promising one. It included rises of EGP 100 billion in wages and pensions. He noted that the country's investment budget for the coming fiscal year will surge to EGP 230 billion, up from EGP 140 billion last year. "This move was necessary to invest, expand, and provide job opportunities," Madbouly said, "because of the negative impact of the pandemic on the private sector." The budget aims to support the private sector and generate the largest possible number of jobs, Madbouly said. The state needs to provide between 800,000 and 900,000 job opportunities yearly to accommodate the new graduates. The more the production wheel is halted, the heavier the economic consequences become, Madbouly stressed, adding that "Egyptians are to be aware of that." "The government did its best to delay the highly contagious virus outbreak... although the [coronavirus infection] numbers have started to increase, it is still within the capabilities of the state," he noted. "It is not about the curfew hours but more about our behaviour," he said, responding to calls of tightening the curfew measures. The prime minister revealed that the interior ministry has drawn up reports against 4,000 citizens who had violated the coronavirus restrictions only yesterday. He called upon citizens to stick to the precautionary measures to protect their lives. The government will announce prior to the end of Ramadan all the measures that will be followed afterwards to practise different activities whether in open or closed spaces, penalising the violators, be they individuals or facilities. Search Keywords: Short link: 07.05.2020 LISTEN Liberia is battling tooth and nail to pull the triggers against the virulent Covid-19 that has, to date, taken the life of 20 persons and 178 others infected with limited capacity. Sitting idly and watching those exposed to the virus to die is not an option the Jewel Starfish Foundation (JSF) would gamble with. Hence, the foundation has again come to rescue the country's primary treatment facility, the 14th Military Hospital with the donation of five oxygen tanks as part of its continuously unrestrained commitment to remain engaged with the fight against Covid-19 in Liberia. Since the outbreak, Jewel Starfish Foundation has gone beyond the ordinary to provide sanitary materials, handwashing faucet buckets, automated handwashing station to health facilities and commercial areas that witness inflow of a large number of people; bags of rice to locals in several communities; provided food and financial support to underprivileged girls under the tutelage of the foundation through scholarship and economic empowerment and more than 50 others who stand at risk of bearing the brunt of the hardship associated with the disease onslaught. The donation to the 14th Military Hospital was presented by the foundation's Program Director, Stephen Audrey Kpoto on May 5, 2020, in Margibi County. Ms. Kpoto lauded healthcare workers on the frontline against Covid-19 to save lives despite the limited or virtually non-existent resources to work with. She expressed the hope that the donated oxygen tanks would come handy in the treatment of those who have come in contact with the deadly disease. With more than 20years of empowering women and girls through scholarship, economic empowerment, and leadership training across Liberia and presently more than 1500 active beneficiaries across Liberia, the JSF has held dearly that helping one person at a time could make a difference. As Liberia teeters on edge against Covid-19 and its correlating economic hardship, the JSF through its founder, Chief Dr. Jewel Howard Taylor has been weathering the storm to ensure that every avenue is explored to raise the resources that would enable it to reach out to the underprivileged during these trying times. Chief Dr. Taylor has intimated that during times like these, it is not just enough to tell people to wash their hands and keep a social distance without showing what those things mean in practical terms by giving them anti-Covid-19 materials and food to eat while they stay home. According to the National Public Health Institute (NPHIL) daily portal, there were 8 new confirmed cases and 17 new recoveries reported as of 10:00 PM, May 5, 2020. No Kid Hungry is providing emergency grants to schools, food banks and community groups all across the country, and diverting staff and resources to the hardest hit communities FCA's partnership with No Kid Hungry expands on the partnership Chrysler brand announced mid-March to provide meals to kids in need with the sale of each Chrysler Pacifica FCA has partnered with more than 40 local nonprofits to feed school children in its plant communities in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, as well as Canada and Mexico In response to the coronavirus crisis, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) announced a commitment to provide more than 1 million meals to ensure children who depend on school meals continue to have access to nutritious food. FCA is moving closer to achieving this goal, partnering with No Kid Hungry to support its grantees - schools, food banks and community groups across the country - in serving 640,000 meals during school closures due to the pandemic. FCA's corporate partnership is incremental to the expanded partnership with No Kid Hungry that the Chrysler brand announced in mid-March. "There has never been a more important moment to help children and their families," said Mark Stewart, Chief Operating Officer of FCA - North America. "FCA and the Chrysler brand are pleased to support No Kid Hungry in its mission to end childhood hunger." Millions of vulnerable children are losing the healthy meals they depend on as the coronavirus has closed schools nationwide. No Kid Hungry has a plan to help feed them. As part of its coronavirus relief and recovery efforts, No Kid Hungry is providing emergency grants to schools, food banks and community groups all across the country, and diverting staff and resources to the hardest hit communities. "We are incredibly grateful to FCA and to the Chrysler brand for stepping up even more so for America's kids," said Tom Nelson, President and CEO at Share Our Strength, the organization behind the No Kid Hungry campaign. "This incremental support will help us feed more vulnerable kids who are currently missing the school meals they rely on." In addition to its national partnership with No Kid Hungry, FCA is working with more than 40 local nonprofit organizations (Table 1) that are providing meals to children in the communities around its principal manufacturing plants in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Similar programs are underway in Canada and Mexico. Chrysler Brand Expands Partnership with No Kid Hungry The Chrysler brand first partnered with No Kid Hungry in 2018 to help end childhood hunger in America. This March, the Chrysler brand announced it was expanding that partnership. With the sale of every Chrysler Pacifica from March 18 through the end of June, Chrysler is making a contribution that will help No Kid Hungry provide meals to kids in need across the country. FCA Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is a global automaker that designs, engineers, manufactures and sells vehicles in a portfolio of exciting brands, including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Lancia, Ram and Maserati. It also sells parts and services under the Mopar name and operates in the components and production systems sectors under the Comau and Teksid brands. FCA employs nearly 200,000 people around the globe. For more details regarding FCA (NYSE: FCAU/ MTA: FCA), please visit www.fcagroup.com. No Kid Hungry No child should go hungry in America. But millions don't know where their next meal is coming from. No Kid Hungry is ending childhood hunger by helping launch and improve programs that give all kids the healthy food they need to thrive. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign by Share Our Strength, an organization working to end hunger and poverty. Table 1 - FCA Local Nonprofit Partnerships Southeast Michigan Arab American & Chaldean Council (ACC) - Coordinates pre-packed boxes of food from Forgotten Harvest that will allow ACC to expand their food pantry in Detroit and Sterling Heights Capuchin Soup Kitchen - Provides meals to children, families, homeless and others in need Cass Community Social Services - Serves meals and provides groceries to families, homeless and others in need, as well as serving as a City of Detroit COVID-19 medical center for the homeless Detroit Public School Foundation - Provides food, transportation, household supplies and medical needs to Detroit students Disaster Relief at Work - Food boxes for more than 4,000 families in Pontiac and northern Oakland County Downtown Boxing Gym Youth Program - Food and supplies distribution center Dundee Public Schools - Backpack Brigade Program Focus: HOPE - Organizational COVID-19 Response Plan feeding seniors and families Food Bank Council of Michigan - Statewide support for food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, hospices, domestic violence shelters, head start, after school and other programs Food Gatherers - Works with local school districts to address the needs of students Forgotten Harvest - COVID-19 Fund for the purchase of additional supplies and food Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeast Michigan - COVID-19 Fund to feed children/families Latin Americans for Social and Economic Development - Provides packaged food/groceries via drive-up or home delivery for children and seniors in Detroit Mid-City Nutrition Program - Provides daily lunch and dinner to more than 150 children, seniors, homeless and others in need SOS Marysville Food Pantry - Drive-up food pantry serving nearly 1,000 families and seniors The Salvation Army of Southeast Michigan - COVID-19 fund to support pantry program feeding children, families and seniors in need on the east side of Detroit (Conner Creek) and in Warren Trenton Educational Foundation - Provides breakfast and lunch to Trenton School District students United Way of Southeast Michigan - COVID-19 Community Response Fund Variety Children's Charity of Detroit - Youth food insecurity program in the Pontiac School District Indiana Family Services of Howard County - Supports two food pantries through a domestic violence shelter and at Jackson Street Commons serving veterans Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana - Food bank for central Indiana including Indianapolis Kokomo Rescue Mission - Serving food to children from domestic violence / homeless families United Way for Howard and Tipton Counties - Provides mobile food pantry services to children in Howard County, Tipton and Tri-Central school systems Illinois B-1 Food Pantry - Food pantry support The Salvation Army Belvidere Corps Community Center - Supports food pantries for children, families and seniors United Way of Boone County - Youth food insecurity programming with support for the Belvidere 100 School District YMCA of Rock River Valley - Delivers meals to children and seniors throughout Belvidere Ohio Connecting Kids to Meals - Leading food distribution agency in the Toledo area Family House - Toledo homeless shelter and social service focused solely on families Food for Thought - Mobile food pantry serving fresh food in Toledo Greater Toledo Community Foundation - Connecting Kids to Meals, Dundee school's Backpack Brigade; youth food insecurity, focused on Toledo Public, Washington Local, and Perrysburg schools St. Paul's Community Center - Toledo homeless shelter and social services serving children and families. Services include food, clothing and other medical services The Salvation Army Northwest Ohio - Drive-through food distribution United Way of Greater Toledo - United Way Emergency Response Fund 2020 to support youth food insecurity in Toledo Public, Washington Local, and Perrysburg schools Canada FCA Canada is partnering with United Way/Centraide Windsor-Essex County to ensure vulnerable children and their families have access to basic needs like food hampers, grocery gift cards and food delivery services; and with Second Harvest, Canada's largest food rescue charity, to support vulnerable children in Brampton and Etobicoke. Mexico The FCA Foundation is donating 32,000 packages of non-perishable food items to low-income families in the communities where FCA Mexico has facilities: Mexico City, Coahuila and the State of Mexico. SOURCE FCA Related Links http://www.fcanorthamerica.com MBABANE Despite interest being shown by other African countries, the Kingdom of Eswatini will not consider Madagascars coronavirus remedy. This was said by the Minister of Health, Lizzie Nkosi yesterday. Nkosi was responding to a question whether the country would consider the use of Madagascars so-called herbal coronavirus cure which is believed to be a perfect remedy for COVID-19 symptoms. According to reports from Madagascar, the plant-based tonic is to be given free of charge to the most vulnerable. Launched as Covid-Organics, it is produced from the artemisia plant - the source of an ingredient used in malaria treatment - and other Malagasy plants. It was marketed in a bottle and as a herbal tea after being tested on fewer than 20 people over a period of three weeks. During the media briefing, the minister revealed that she had been flooded with calls from emaSwati enquiring about when the country would import the herbal product. A local company, according to the minister, had already submitted a proposal with a plan to import the cure in the form of herbal tea in order to sell it in the kingdom. On that note, she said the company could only be allowed to do so on its own. As if that was not enough, the minister also revealed that government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation had already received a written proposal from the Government of Madagascar to supply the country with the herb. However, she said while government was cognisant of the fact that most emaSwati used herbal products for health reasons, it was important to first conduct proper research on the efficiency of the product and if it would be ideal for the citizens. Products It is important as a country to first ascertain where such herbal products have been tested. Also, we do not want to appear as if we want to test such products on people. We have to do a proper research well and have confidence that the product works, she said. It should be noted that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that there was currently no proof of a cure for COVID-19. Instead, the organisation emphasised that international trials were underway to find an effective treatment. Ever since Madagascar announced the product, emaSwati have grown interest in it as they likened it to a wild plant known as umhlonyane used to treat flu. A researcher for traditional medicine at the University of Eswatini, Dr Gugu Sibandze concurred with the belief in the plant saying it could treat symptoms of flu. Dr Sibandze mentioned that the plant could only treat the symptoms just like normal flu as there was no cure or vaccine yet for coronavirus. She further warned the nation against self-treatment, saying people should only use it under supervision from those who knew it. MUSKEGON, MI The Pound Buddies animal shelter has launched a $2.5 million fundraising campaign to purchase and renovate a new shelter after county officials last year deemed the shelters facility to be fiscally unreasonable to update. Pound Buddies, a nonprofit animal shelter contracted by Muskegon County until 2029, intends to purchase and renovate the current Hughes Builders facility, at 3279 East Laketon Ave., for the shelters new location. Its currently located in an industrial area at 1300 E. Keating Ave. in the city of Muskegon. The shelter launched a virtual fundraising campaign Thursday, May 7, that will last two years and plans to raise $2.5 million for the new shelter. Hughes Builders is moving to a new facility on the southeast corner of Laketon Avenue and Dangl Road, according to a news release issued Thursday by Pound Buddies. With help from Honor Credit Union of Michigan, Pound Buddies will purchase the current Hughes facility for $750,000, which will include initial major renovations already completed by Hughes, said Pound Buddies Campaign Director Jan Jacobs. Pound Buddies hopes to move into the new shelter before the end of the two-year fundraising campaign, Jacobs said. There will be a phased opening while the shelter conducts major renovations to the facility, including a new fire suppressant system and an 8,000-square-foot addition to the building to house kennels. The renovations are expected to cost around $1.3 million, the largest expense being the addition of 140, 5-by-8-foot kennels, which is expected to cost $500,000 itself, Jacobs said. The new animal center will be solely owned by Pound Buddies and will meet Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development standards, which require an increase in the size and number of available kennels, the release said. Muskegon County has contracted with Pound Buddies since 2010 to operate the emergency shelter. Last summer, the county board lengthened its contract with Pound Buddies by 10 years, and also required the nonprofit organization to relocate its shelter, which was deemed substandard. Outside of Pound Buddies located at 1300 East Keating Avenue, Muskegon, Michigan on Thursday, May 7, 2020. In partnership with Hughes Builders, Pound Buddies intends to purchase and renovate the current Hughes Builders facility as their new location. Alison Zywicki | azywicki The county previously estimated it would cost more than $1.6 million to repair the current facility at Keating Avenue. The animal shelter reviewed several options to re-locate last year, including moving the shelter to the former Phillips Elementary School site in Norton Shores and building a new facility. The animal shelter has been contracted by the county since 1998 and has assisted in rescuing neglected animals in the county, assisting in hoarding situations, housing lost or stray animals and other duties, according to the release. More on MLive: Pound Buddies locates possible new shelter as donation drive begins Pound Buddies to begin fundraising for a new animal shelter Committee recommends Pound Buddies for new animal shelter contract Peter Mutharika files nomination papers for the July 2 rerun alongside his new running mate, Atupele Muluzi. Malawian President Peter Mutharika on Thursday joined forces with a former presidents son for a rerun of an election that he narrowly won in disputed circumstances. The African countrys Constitutional Court had in February annulled the May 21, 2019 vote and called for fresh polls, citing widespread irregularities and fraud. Mutharika, 79, filed his nomination papers on Thursday for the July 2 rerun alongside his new running mate Atupele Muluzi, the 41-year old son of former President Bakili Muluzi, who ruled Malawi from 1994 to 1999. Atupele Muluzi served as health minister during Mutharikas first term and contested last years presidential election, coming in a distant fourth. Together we will be the bridge to the future, together we will win this election, the president told supporters in the city of Blantyre. Crowds of people in the two parties blue and yellow colours thronged the streets, ignoring a ban on public gatherings of more than 50 people due to the coronavirus pandemic. We won that [May, 2019] election, Mutharika said. This election is not the will of the people. Therefore, I call upon all Malawians to come out and vote in this election to express the will of the people. Only three of 10 expected candidates have presented credentials to run in the upcoming poll. Opposition figures Lazarus Chakwera and Saulos Chilima filed their nomination papers on Wednesday. Mutharika was declared winner of the disputed elections with 38.5 percent of the vote. Chakweras Malawi Congress Party came a close second, garnering 35 percent, while Chilimas United Transformation Movement came third with 20 percent. The two parties have joined forces under Chakweras banner to maximise their chances of unseating the president. Serious miscarriage of justice In a landmark ruling in February, the Constitutional Court overturned the outcome of the May 2019 election, which handed Mutharika a second term in office. It was the first time a presidential election was challenged on legal grounds in Malawi since independence from the United Kingdom in 1964, and only the second vote result to be cancelled in Africa after the 2017 Kenya presidential vote. The court said the poll results were fraught with widespread irregularities in particular, the massive use of correction fluid on tally sheets. Mutharika previously denounced the ruling as a serious miscarriage of justice and an attack on the foundations of the countrys democracy. He has also refused assent to the proposed electoral law amendments, notably one that requires a more than 50 percent majority to secure a win. Both the president and the electoral commission have appealed against the election annulment. The Supreme Court of Appeal is scheduled to deliver a ruling on Mutharikas case on Friday. iBerkshires Awarded Facebook COVID-19 Grant NORTH ADAMS, Mass. iBerkshires.com has been awarded a grant from the Facebook Journalism Project to aid us in our coverage of COVID-19's impact on our community. We are one of only three newsrooms in Massachusetts to receive funding, including The Boston Globe. The COVID-19 Local News Relief Fund Grant Program awarded $10.3 million to 144 newsrooms across the country. "We are very thankful to receive this grant from the Facebook Journalism Project," said Boxcar Media Publisher Osmin Alvarez. "Since March we have seen our advertising revenue drop quite a bit while our page views have grown significantly. "This is great recognition for our editorial team who have always and continue to do a fabulous job of covering our community. Facebook recognized how important iBerkshires is to providing our community with vital news during this trying time." The grant of $65,404 will help iBerkshires keep its staff together and provide us with funding for equipment and other techology to help us navigate this "new normal." iBerkshires.com is one of the oldest online-only news sources in the nation and has provided local coverage of the Berkshires region for 20 years. The novel coronavirus pandemic has put large and small news sites and papers under unexpected economic stress. An estimated 36,000 journalists and support staff have been furloughed or laid off since the crisis began. A number of publications have folded or suspended operations, including the Berkshire Record in Great Barrington. These layoffs and closures come at a time when our community needs us most to help them understand what is happening now, the efforts underway to help us recover and the long-term effects this health disaster will have on our communities, economy and health-care system. iBerkshires has not been immune to this ongoing crisis: It's hit our bottom line hard. We're working with our advertisers to help them navigate this new world of remote commerce and let our readers know local business is still there for them. Our small team has done its best to adjust to this changing environment. We should be taking prom pictures and preparing graduation schedules; instead, we're trying to figure out how to celebrate a class of 2020 that will be getting their diplomas at home. We're not covering Western Mass playoffs but rather how so many leagues are postponing seasons. "We know how much our community relies on us," said iBerkshires Editor Tammy Daniels. "We can see it in the number of visits to our websites on a daily basis but, more importantly, it's apparent in the interactions with our readers both online and in person. "We thank you for your tips, your messages of support and, yes, your criticism, because it helps us do our job better." Daniels said the grant will go toward maintaining staff and adding more reporters where possible for more in-depth coverage of the COVID-19 impact. It will also fund technology such as cameras, phones, laptops and audio equipment to improve our ability to work remotely and from 6 feet away. "We are so used to being within the community at meetings, activities and social events that getting the pulse of our towns is so much harder from a distance," she said. "We're considering how we might use this opportunity to improve our newsgathering and we welcome any suggestions from our readers." Send your thoughts to info@iBerkshires.com or post in the comments below. iBerkshires keeps its website open and free to our readers. Please consider how important local news is to you and consider helping us to continue our work through a donation. A total of 1,342 businesses were found compliant with market opening guidelines in Dubai, revealed inspections conducted by the Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection (CCCP) sector in Dubai Economy, a media report said. Meanwhile, 19 businesses were warned for not displaying social distancing stickers, reported state-run news agency Wam. During the inspection of high-street shops, 908 were found to have fully complied with the precautionary guidelines, and only three warnings were issued. The shops inspected were in Al Nahda, Satwa, Muteena, Hor Al Anz, Frij Murar, Abu Hail, Al Rafaa, Ayal Nassir, Souq Al Kabeer, Karama, Naif, Oud Metha, Al Wasl, Ras Al Khor, Al Twar, and Jumeirah. Nine shopping malls were also inspected, and 16 outlets were warned for not displaying social distancing stickers. Also, 434 outlets were found to be fully compliant. Dubai Economy directed traders to comply with the Covid-19 precautionary measures, such as wearing face masks and gloves, ensuring social distancing, and not conducting commercial activities between 10 pm to 6 am during the National Disinfection Programme unless previous circulars exempted the activity from closing and allowed 24/7 operations. Working from home, they collect data and explain to patients how to isolate themselves and best protect their family members. They also conduct interviews to determine who these residents recently had close interactions with a first step in a process known as contact tracing that experts say will be vital to containing the virus and allowing governments to lift stay-at-home orders. The health department then notifies the people with possible exposure so they can quarantine. These live sessions will be presented from May 14 to September 10 (the full schedule is available here) and will address the specific needs and challenges of insurers and distributors, as well as wealth manufacturers, broker-dealers and wholesalers. Presented in an interactive fireside chat format, each session will pair industry experts in discussion with clients and partners to provide strategies and research, as well as actual experiences from companies engaged in transformation. Twenty-five leading industry experts, executives and analysts, including Tom Scales (Celent), Deborah Culliton (Novarica), William Trout (Celent), Scott Schuetz (GCU), Tanya Ho Wai (Oracle), Dan Ciavarella (Refinitiv), Jim Kerley (Clearview Partners; past LIMRA President), Eric Lester (Nexus Insurance Services; formerly Legal & General America), as well as Mike Allee and Chris Moroz (Universal Conversion Technologies), will share their practical experience of how organizations can create world-class digital experiences for their customers and advisors to solve issues created by physical distancing and a distributed workforce. They will delve into the critical details that help ensure fast, low-risk implementations, simpler customizations and the lowest possible cost of ownership. "Growing customer expectations for an instant digital resolution of their needs are forcing leaders to rethink the way they do business, and many realize they don't have the right technology in place," said Equisoft's CEO Luis Romero. "The need to implement straight-through processes involves connecting advanced front-end tools to modern back-end systems, not to mention the conversion of large volumes of critical and sensitive data. These are complex projects usually spanning over a few years, but with COVID-19, many companies need to go in fast-forward mode to turn around their business as quickly as possible, without putting their operations at risk." Equisoft's Accelerate Series is presented in collaboration with many industry stakeholders such as Oracle, Celent, Novarica, LIMRA, LOMA, The National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA), The Canadian Institute of Financial Planning (CIFP), The Federation of Mutual Fund Dealers (FMFD), The Insurance Association of the Caribbean (IAC), The Organisation of Eastern & Southern Africa Insurers (OESAI), Radius Financial Education, and Refinitiv. "The recent disruption impacted over 50 industry events globally, which are key platforms to connect and share knowledge. As we all try to make sense of the threats, changes and opportunities presented by the current situation, we wanted to provide access to best practices and advice that executives need to accelerate their transformation journey," explained Jean Sabbagh, Marketing Vice President at Equisoft. "We couldn't have built such a comprehensive content offering in such a short period of time without the strong relationships that we have built over the years with key industry analysts and partners. We really appreciate their willingness to help us make a positive contribution to the industry in these challenging times." Webinar registration To register or learn more about Equisoft's complimentary webinars, visit: accelerate.equisoft.com Media access to leading digital experts Business and trade media representatives are welcome to attend these webinars by registering on the site. Equisoft's spokespersons and guest-speakers will be available for individual interviews upon request. Media inquiries can be sent to [email protected], +1 438-491-1846. About Equisoft Founded in 1994, Equisoft is a global provider of advanced digital solutions in life insurance and wealth management. Recognized as a valued partner by over 50 of the world's leading financial institutions in 15 countries, Equisoft offers innovative front-end applications, extensive back-office services and a unique data migration expertise. The firm's industry-leading products include a comprehensive SaaS policy administration solution, CRM, financial needs analysis, asset allocation, quotes and illustrations, electronic application, agency management systems, as well as customer, agent and broker portals. Equisoft is also Oracle's main global partner for the Oracle Insurance Policy Administration platform. With its business-driven approach, deep industry knowledge, state-of-the-art technology, and over 450 specialized resources based in the USA, Canada, Latin America, South Africa, India and Australia, Equisoft helps its clients tackle any challenge in this era of digital disruption. Website: equisoft.com SOURCE Equisoft Related Links http://www.equisoft.com/ The Navy's top officer is warning sailors to remain vigilant about their health -- even as states start or prepare to open back up -- in light of the threat the novel coronavirus poses to the force. Sailors must continue minimizing group gatherings, wear face coverings and keep their distance as the Navy grapples with the military's highest rate of COVID-19 cases in the ranks. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday told the force in a new service-wide message that following the health and safety guidelines is their "new normal." "Take responsibility," Gilday said. "Show courage in speaking up if you see shipmates falling short. We have obligations for operational readiness and stringent requirements for health protection measures." Gilday urging his personnel to speak up comes as lawmakers expressed concern that the firing of Navy Capt. Brett Crozier had a chilling effect on the rest of the force. Crozier served as the former commanding officer of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, which saw a big outbreak of COVID-19. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, said he was concerned about the fallout from that decision during the Senate Armed Services Committee's Thursday nomination hearing for Navy secretary nominee Ambassador Kenneth Braithwaite. Related: SecNav Nominee Cites Navy 'Failings of Leadership' in Confirmation Hearing "I welcome your commitment to changing the culture and eliminating any possible perception on the part of our sailors that there is a culture of retaliation against reporting instances of questionable judgment or, for example, infection on any of our ships with COVID-19," Blumenthal told Braithwaite. The Navy as of Thursday had 2,125 COVID-19 cases among uniformed personnel. That's more than double the Army's cases despite the Navy having about 140,000 fewer personnel. About half of the Navy's cases are among the Roosevelt's crew. Even as state and local officials begin reopening their communities during the coronavirus pandemic, Gilday said sailors must continue focusing on their safety, as well as that of their families. "It is vitally important for every individual to take personal responsibility to minimize risk to themselves, to their loved ones, as well as to the members of our team who may be more susceptible," the CNO said. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday that the Defense Department is working on guidance for base commanders running installations in states that are lifting stay-at-home orders. -- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins. Read more: Coronavirus Survivors May Be Barred from Joining the US Military Thousands in Pakistan Protest Slaying Of Pashtun Rights Leader By RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal May 06, 2020 Tens of thousands of people in Pakistan have protested the assassination of a prominent ethnic Pashtun rights activist and political leader who some say was killed by state-backed militants in the South Waziristan tribal district. Sardar Arif Wazir, one of the leaders of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), was traveling by car in the town of Wanna when unidentified gunmen opened fire on May 1. He died from injuries on May 2. Wazir's death prompted an outpouring of grief and frustration as peaceful protesters defied restrictions on gatherings because of the coronavirus to hold demonstrations in several cities across the country on May 5, with the main protest held in Wanna, the center of South Waziristan. "Our main message is to tell the world about how this happened and who did it, and how our state supports these terrorists, gives them weapons, and protects them," Mohsin Dawar, a leader of PTM, told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal. "Our movement is a peaceful movement based on nonviolence. Our only weapon is protest," he said. 'Enforced Disappearances' The PTM has campaigned since 2018 for the civil rights of some 35 million ethnic Pashtuns, many of whom live near the border of Afghanistan where the military has conducted campaigns that it says have defeated the Pakistani Taliban. But the PTM accuses Pakistan's security services of cooperating with the "good Taliban" fighting in Afghanistan and allowing militants to return to the mountainous area. The movement has attracted tens of thousands of people to public rallies in recent years to denounce the powerful Pakistani Army's heavy-handed tactics 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 cooperate with militants, pointing out that the military has lost thousands of soldiers fighting the Pakistani Taliban. It also denies intelligence agents are responsible for forced disappearances. Since the PTM was formed in January 2018, international rights groups say authorities have banned peaceful rallies organized by the group 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 attack on Wazir came after Pakistani police arrested him on April 17 for delivering an "anti-Pakistan" speech during a recent visit to Afghanistan. He was released on bail days before his death. 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." Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-taliban- pashtun-afghanistan/30595209.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The tiny orangutan, no bigger than a house cat, was about 10 months old when he was rescued. Most of his nose had been sliced off, probably in the machete attack that killed his mother. He was taken to a rehabilitation centre near the city of Medan, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and raised with other orphans. Given the name Bina Wana, he was put through the centres forest school, in which he learned how to climb trees, find food and survive in the wild. Now about 6, Bina Wana had been scheduled to be freed soon as part of an ambitious programme that has released more than 300 rescued Sumatran orangutans into the rainforest. But as with so many of his human cousins, Bina Wanas freedom has been put on hold by the coronavirus. Scientists fear that the virus, which is thought to have originated in bats and jumped to humans, could just as easily jump to great apes gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans which share 97 per cent to 99 per cent of their DNA with people. All are highly endangered. World's most endangered animals Show all 17 1 /17 World's most endangered animals World's most endangered animals Amur Leopard Endemic to the far east of Russia, the Amur Leopard has a population of around 84 and is critically endangered. Here follows every species that the WWF lists as critically endangered. Getty World's most endangered animals Sumatran Elephant The Sumatran elephant population now stands at only 2400-2800 Getty World's most endangered animals Yangtze Finless Porpoise Endemic to China's Yangtze River, the Yangtze finless porpoise has an estimated population of 1000-1800 Kenichi Nobusue World's most endangered animals South China Tiger When discovered in the 1950s, the South China tiger population was estimated to be 4000, by 1996 it was estimated to be only 30-80. Scientists consider the tiger to be "functionally extinct" as one has not been sighted for over 25 years World's most endangered animals Sumatran Orangutan The Sumatran orangutan was once found across the island of Sumatra and even further south on Java. Today it is found only in the island's north and its population stands at 14,613 Getty World's most endangered animals Western Lowland Gorilla Though it is the most populous of all gorilla subspecies, the western lowland gorilla is still critically endangered and its population has declined by 60% in the last quarter century Getty World's most endangered animals Sumatran Rhinoceros The Sumatran rhinoceros is the smallest of the surviving rhinoceros species. Only 80 are known to be living today. The last male Sumatran rhino in Malaysia died on 28 May 2019 Willem V Strien World's most endangered animals Sumatran Tiger There are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers left today. They are severely threatened by deforestation and poaching Getty World's most endangered animals Eastern Lowland Gorilla Half of the rainforest of the Democratic Republic of Congo in which these gorillas live has been destroyed the past 50 years. There were 17,000 Eastern Lowland gorillas in the 1990s but scientists estimate their population has declined by over 50% since then Getty World's most endangered animals Vaquita The world's rarest marine animal has a population of only 30. They were discovered in 1958 and are endemic to Mexico's Gulf of California Paula Olson / NOAA World's most endangered animals Javan Rhino The most threatened of all rhino species, there are only an estimated 58-68 Javan rhinos left Reuters World's most endangered animals Saola The saola was first sighted in 1992, being the first large mammal to be discovered in over 50 years. Scientists have only sighted saola in the wild four times and it is considered critically endangered World's most endangered animals Malayan Tiger The Malayan Tiger population now stands at only 250-300 Getty World's most endangered animals Hawksbill Turtle The population of the Hawksbill Turtle has declined by more than 80% in the last century. They are threatened by black market poachers who kill them for their shell Getty World's most endangered animals Black Rhino The population of the black rhino dropped by 98% in the years 1960-1995 due to poaching, it stands today at around 5000 Getty World's most endangered animals Cross River Gorilla The population of the Cross River gorilla has been damaged by deforestation and poaching, it now stands at 200-300 Julie Langford World's most endangered animals Bornean Orangutan The population of the Bornean orangutan has been reduced by over 50% in the past 60 years, now standing at around 104,700. Their habitat has been reduced by at least 50% in the 21st century Getty If the virus were to infect even one wild ape, experts fear it could spread unchecked and wipe out an entire population. There would be no way to stop it in the wild. We are worried about this and taking it very seriously, said Ian Singleton, director of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme, which has been raising Bina Wana since his 2014 rescue. If it happens, it will be a catastrophe. Dogs, cats, minks and captive lions and tigers have all been infected with the virus and in many cases are believed to have caught it from people. An April study concluded that apes and African and Asian monkeys were likely to be highly susceptible to it. Experts also worry that the virus could sicken wild tigers, especially in India, where most of them live. Orangutans, which can live more than 50 years, are Asias only great ape aside from humans and are found only on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. Nearly 85 per cent of them inhabit Indonesias dwindling rainforests. The rest live in the northern part of Borneo that belongs to Malaysia. It may affect them less than humans, but it also may be even more deadly, and this is simply a risk we cannot take, said the head of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, Jamartin Sihite, in announcing that its two rehabilitation centres in Indonesia would be closed to the public. Indonesia has 33 facilities that keep orangutans, including animal parks, rehabilitation centres and zoos. The Environment and Forestry Ministry alerted them in early February that the virus posed a threat to the animals. In mid-March, officials cancelled all planned releases into the wild, closed the facilities to outsiders and ordered staff working with orangutans to wear protective gear. That was nearly two weeks before president Joko Widodo imposed social distancing measures across the country. We are being really careful so that there wont be any transmission from humans to wild animals, said the director of biodiversity conservation for Indonesias Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Indra Exploitasia. Disease is one of the threats that can cause the extinction of a species. One rehabilitation centre on Indonesian Borneo, the Centre for Orangutan Protection, decided that the best way to protect its 16 orangutans was to return them to cages. We chose to lock down the orangutans to prevent the transmission of the virus, said Ramadhani, the centres rehabilitation manager, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. Fewer than 72,000 orangutans live in the wild, according to government estimates. And they face other threats besides the coronavirus. The Sumatran orangutan, of which there are about 13,700, once roamed widely over the vast island, but deforestation, particularly for palm oil plantations, has restricted its range to parts of northern Sumatra. Of the three orangutan species, the most endangered is the recently identified Tapanuli orangutan, which numbers about 760 and lives in North Sumatra province. Its habitat is threatened by logging, a large gold mine and construction of the new Batang Toru hydropower dam. The Borneo orangutan, which is also threatened by the conversion of forests to farmland, especially when land is cleared by fire, numbers about 45,600 in Indonesia after two decades of dramatic decline. About 11,700 live on the Malaysian side of the border. The orangutans shrinking habitats have made them more vulnerable to encounters with local villagers, who sometimes kill the mothers to take their babies and sell them as pets. Last year, a Sumatran orangutan was shot 74 times with a pellet gun and blinded by a teenage boy who tried to steal her baby. The mother was taken to the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme, where Bina Wana is, where she underwent surgery and survived. Her baby died en route. The centre receives dozens of orangutans each year. Many were rescued at a young age, like Bina Wana. Others suffered for years in captivity before being turned in by their owners or seized by authorities and brought to the centre. Some are too badly hurt to survive on their own. But most have a chance to return to the wild. The programmes goal is to create two new self-sustaining populations in habitats where the species has not lived for perhaps a century. The orangutans at the centre have not seen much change since the pandemic began, Mr Singleton said, except that fewer people are working and they wear more protective clothing. Under the new protocol, a new team of caretakers rotates in every three weeks. The centre is building a new isolation unit with cages for up to five orangutans in case any newcomers are found to have the virus, Mr Singleton said. We are trying to prepare for every scenario, he said. The New York Times DuJaun Kirk of East Orange, N.J. (ABC News)By DEVIN DWYER and JACQUELINE YOO, ABC News (NEW YORK) -- While many class of 2020 graduates are crestfallen that the novel coronavirus has disrupted their commencement, the lost rite of passage this year is an especially big letdown for an estimated 400,000 college students who are the first in their families to achieve a diploma. In interviews with ABC News, first-generation college students from low-income families across the country described an abrupt financial shock from COVID-19 that's threatened to upend their dreams. A job market in freefall has compounded disappointment over delayed or canceled celebrations and instilled fear of financial failure. It's also complicating plans for thousands of first-generation college-bound students who are just beginning their journey to a degree. "I personally don't see this as a big downfall, but it's just a huge, huge challenge," said DuJaun Kirk, a senior at Stevens Institute in Technology from East Orange, New Jersey, who this month will become the first in his family of seven to earn a bachelor's degree. Just 21% of low-income, first-generation students make it to graduation within six years, according to an analysis of 2012-2017 data by the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education. "For those students who are being robbed right now of graduation, it's a huge moment," said Nicole Hurd, founder and CEO of College Advising Corps, the nation's largest nonprofit college access program. "We are hearing students say mom and dad have lost their jobs, and now I have to think about employment because I might be the only steady income in my family," Hurd said. For Sophie Kim, a Korean immigrant and first in her family to complete an undergraduate degree, the closure of her parents' nail salon makes chasing her dream of law school seem almost irresponsible. "I thought, why am I going to put myself through more financial obligations with law school when my parents are really struggling on the deep end," Kim said. "(The salon) was our main source of income as a family. I tutor on the side, but it's not a full-time job by any means." The new financial pressures are especially heavy for first-gen teens hoping to start college this fall. "It's really just me trying to keep everyone afloat, and it's been tough," said 18-year-old Omar Quevedo-Catana, a senior at KIPP high school in Austin, Texas, who's set to enroll at the University of Richmond. After his mother lost her house cleaning job of 20 years during the coronavirus lockdown, Quevedo-Catana had to take a full-time job at Walmart, becoming the sole breadwinner for his family of four, making just $12 an hour. "I just got done paying for the apartment bill, which rang up to $1,018.48," he said. Quevedo-Catana said his daily commute to work -- past piles of trash and graffiti in his Texas neighborhood -- offers constant reminders of why he's determined to start college in the fall. "I definitely don't want my future family or my older brother's or little brother's family growing up around this kind of environment," he said. For decades, college has been a critical -- if often out-of-reach -- pathway to the middle class for low-income American families. "A lot of people say, 'well, you don't really need college. Why can't these students just go and take on a blue-collar job?' -- and many will. But if you want to do something about income inequality, then you have to look at a college degree," said Richard Whitmire, author of The B.A. Breakthrough, which chronicles progress for first-generation students in recent years. Before the pandemic, the achievement gap was closing: more low-income, first-generation students were enrolling in colleges and universities nationwide. Now advocates worry some of that progress could be lost. "I'm also concerned that with colleges and universities losing so much revenue, they will start to really target wealthier students or find other mechanisms to encourage full-paying students and limit their financial aid resources," said Dr. Marcia Chatelain, associate professor of history and African-American studies at Georgetown University. For many first-generation students already in college, the path to completing their degree is now strewn with new financial and emotional challenges created by the pandemic and recession. "Some of them will just drop out. It's called 'summer melt.' They commit to a college and then they just don't go. Summer melt -- it's always been a problem, but now it looks like it's going to be a very big problem," Whitmire said. Brown University sophomore Breanna Cadena is fighting to stay on course. She says taking Ivy League classes remotely is starting to take a toll. "I don't know if I can do online classes again," she said in an interview from her family home in San Antonio, Texas. "It's just been -- I don't know how many times I've had to regather myself and refocus on why I'm doing this." "I have an exam today. Last time I had an exam, I did it in the living room where basically my whole family was also, and I failed," she said. In Maryland, 19-year-old Ja'Nayah Hines is wondering whether the cost of tuition is still worth it when classes at her Morgan State University have moved online. "I work eight hours a day, 40 hours a week" on top of classes, she said in an interview after coming off her shift at a Silver Spring, Maryland, Target. "Now I have to figure out how to, you know, put it all together -- like classwork then plus work." The juggling act has prompted Ja'Nayah, who dreams of becoming a surgeon, to think about delaying her college career. But she says she's staying the course, for now. "Taking a semester off -- like -- if I take it off, and then like I don't feel like going back, I don't want to run into that," she said. Chatelain said pushing pause -- or dropping out -- after a first year in college is a common experience for many first-generation students. "Many of our first-generation college students are balancing multiple lives, and we don't necessarily have all of the structures in place on college campuses, to make sure that they're getting all of their needs met," she said. Still, many students are determined to finish, no matter the cost. "I have to make sure everything that I'm doing, I keep going so I can make it," said Shaffiou Assoumanou, the oldest of four and the son of West African immigrants. "When I make it, I can help the family, but also my siblings can look up to me, as a role model of someone who did it." From a small Bronx apartment, Shaffiou is finishing his degree in advanced economics at Baruch College and working part-time as a researcher. When his dad recently lost work, he started helping to pay some family bills and care for his sister, Habbiba. "My mom always tells me I'm her only hope," he said, "to basically make something for myself and for my family, and also for my community." Even as they pursue their degrees under immense pressure to succeed, many first-generation college students show remarkable passion to give back to the community as the nation bounces back from the pandemic. "It's like paying it forward and like paying it back to my parents," said Sophie Kim, who decided to take the leap to law school despite the need for more loans. She believes the risk outweighs the reward of eventually being able to earn a higher income. Omar Quevedo-Catana says he's confident COVID-19 won't delay his dream of becoming a college freshman this fall. "Once I'm able to like expand my social ladder, I'll be able to bring along my parents, my mom and my father too," he said. It's a drive to escape a minimum-wage existence to a better life, said Ja'Nayah Hines. "I know in the end it will be worth it even though it's gonna be a long time from now," she said. "I know it will be worth it because I'll be doing something that I actually love to do." And as the first-generation college graduates in the class of 2020 stare down a job hunt in a pandemic, DuJaun Kirk says it's all just another test to overcome. "I don't have a full-time job right now and I'm pretty nervous about looking for one," he said, "but everything happens for a reason. If something happens, you can't sit around and just be upset. You got to figure out an alternative plan -- so I try to stick to that and keep the optimism alive." Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Minister Flanagan today welcomed the appointment by the Garda Commissioner of Chief Superintendent Mick Gubbins as Chief Bureau Officer in the Criminal Assets Bureau. Chief Superintendent Gubbins will succeed Pat Clavin, who was recently appointed by the Policing Authority to the rank of Acting Assistant Commissioner. Minister Flanagan said: I would like to congratulate Chief Superintendent Gubbins on his appointment as Chief Bureau Officer in the Criminal Assets Bureau. The CAB model is deservedly recognised as best practice in combatting organised crime and CAB has had tremendous since its inception in disrupting the activities of criminal gangs, by depriving them of their assets. The leadership of this multi-agency body is critical. I know that Chief Superintendent Gubbins will bring extensive skill and experience to the position, including his time heading the National Cyber Crime Bureau, in order to ensure there is no let-up in CABs activities targeting assets which have been derived from criminal conduct. Minister Flanagan added: I must also sincerely thank Acting Assistant Commissioner Pat Clavin for his dedicated service in CAB over the past 4 years. His time in the position has included very significant successes in the fight against organised crime. He has in this way made a major contribution to the safety and wellbeing of the Irish public. I congratulate him on his promotion and wish him well in his new role as Acting Assistant Commissioner with responsibility for An Garda Siochana Governance and Accountability. Minister Flanagan concluded by saying: These appointments, as well as the recent appointment of Paula Hilman and Ann Marie Cagney to the rank of Assistance Commissioner, are adding further to the depth and breadth of expertise at the most senior levels in An Garda Siochana, at this time of significant change and reform in the organisation. I am confident that An Garda Siochana, under the leadership of the Commissioner and his senior management team, is well placed to continue to meet the challenge of addressing criminality and ensuring the protection and wellbeing of the public. Notes for Editors The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is a multi-agency statutory body established under the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996. The Bureaus remit is to target a person's assets, wherever situated, which derive, or are suspected to derive, directly or indirectly, from criminal conduct. Since its inception, the Bureau has been at the forefront of fighting organised crime in this jurisdiction and disrupting the activities of criminal gangs by depriving them of ill-gotten assets. The Bureau is widely regarded as a best practice model in the context of combating organised crime. It works closely with law enforcement bodies at national and international levels to pursue the illicit proceeds of organised crime activity. CAB's budget for 2020 has been increased to a total of 9.1 million. The appointment of Paula Hilman marked the first time that a member of the PSNI has been appointed to the rank of Assistant Commissioner in An Garda Siochana. Google has pushed the release of the Android 11 beta by a month, but has released the fourth developer preview in the mean tiime Google has kicked off the Android 11 Developer Preview back in February, with the Developer Beta 3 being released just a few days ago. While Android 11 DP1 came out sooner than expected, the Coronavirus outbreak has caused some delays and setbacks. Google, in fact, announced that there would no Google I/O this year, however that does not mean users wouldnt be able to enjoy the Public Beta of Android 11. Google has announced that the first beta is delayed, but we do have a final date of release. Google has confirmed that the first beta of Android 11 would be revealed at an online event thatll stream on June 3 202, which is still a little less than a month away. In the meantime, Google will release the fourth Developer Preview for the Pixel devices. During this event, Google will open up submissions for apps designed or updated to be compatible with the new OS. The original roadmap for the Android 11 release outlined 3 Developer Preview builds, followed by 3 betas before the release of the final version at some point in Q3 of 2020. The tech giant has updated the roadmap now, to reflect the delays. We now have 4 Developer builds followed by 3 betas, the first of which is delayed by a month, which we expect would cause a cascading effect on the release of subsequent releases. However, the final Android 11 build is still expected to be released in Q3 2020. Android 11 is expected to bring a number of new features that users have been asking for a long time. Amongst the many are features like native screen recording, auto revoke of app permissions, increased touch sensitivity and more. What is interesting is that with the Android 11 Developer Preview 3, Google had brought the ability to undo dismissed notifications, however, with DP4, that feature is now reportedly gone. This makes us believe that Google is still fine-tuning the feature set and that not all features weve seen so far might make it to the final build of Android 11, at least at release. File picture of an unspecified date of Riyaz Naikoo addressing mourners at the funeral of a slain militant in south Kashmir. Srinagar: Riyaz Naikoo, the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militant whose killing in a gunfight in Pulwama is being claimed as a spectacular feat by the security forces, was among the 10 most wanted men in Kashmir. A 35-year-old math teacher who joined the militant ranks in 2012, Naikoo quickly rose to be the Hizbul Mujahideen's operational commander' after incumbent Zakir Musa quit the outfit to form a separate outfit a couple of years ago. Musa had replaced Burhan Muzaffar Wani in that role. The Jammu & Kashmir police said the encounter that killed Riyaz Naikoo took place in his native village Baigpora. The Army's 55 Rashtriya Rifles, the Jammu & Kashmir Police's counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) took part in the operation that started Tuesday night. Naikoo was in June last year named as one of the ten 'most wanted terrorists' by the Union Home Ministry. It assigned the counterinsurgency grid in J&K the chief task to eliminate him as soon as possible, fixing a reward of Rs. 12 lakh on his head. Home Ministry sources had said the list of ten most wanted was prepared on the basis of inputs from J&K police, the Army, CRPF and other central armed forces and various intelligence agencies. Six on the list belonged to the Hizb Mujahideen, two to Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) and one each to Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) and Al-Badr Mujahideen, sources had said. Riyaz Ahmed Naikoo alias Muhammad bin Qasim was one of the Hizb six in the Most Wanted list. According to the news agency PTI, Naikoo's first 'daily diary' entry in the police records at Awantipora in Pulwama district dates back to June 6, 2012, two weeks after he had disappeared from his home in Baigpora village. Operating under the alias Zubair, he initially replaced Zakri Musa as the Hizb's district commander for Pulwama district. He was soon placed in the category A++ militants list by the security forces. As per the J&K police, he became a close associate of Burhan Wani, until the militant leader's slaying in july 2016, which sparked widespread trouble in Kashmir. When Burhan Wani's successor Zakir Musa defected from the Hizb to form a separate outfit called Ansar Gazwat-Ul-Hind (Al-Qaedas offshoot in India), Naikoo took the command of the Hizb in J&K. Zakir Musa himself was killed in a firefight with the security forces in the Tral area of Pulwama in March last year. The J&K police said Naikoo was responsible for the revival of the Hizb after it suffered heavy losses in the hands of security forces. Naikoo would often try to reach out to people and fellow militants through audio and video messages on social media. In one such message he shrugged off the Centres abrogating Article 370 and bifurcating J&K into two Union Territories in August last year as irrelevant to us and vowed to continue with armed struggle for freedom and national salvation. Mobile internet services were snapped and the uniformed forces began enforcing curfew-like restrictions in major towns of the Valley including summer capital Srinagar on Wednesday amid reports that Naikoo had been trapped in one of the three encounters that were raging between separatist militants and the security forces in Pulwama district since Tuesday night. After the confirmation of Naikoos death all mobile phone services barring those provided by the BSNL were also suspended. The authorities here said that these steps were taken as a precautionary measure. Reports pouring in here said that clashes between irate crowds of mainly youth occurred at various places across the Valley as the word about Naikoos killing spread. The police authorities termed these clashes as minor and said action warranted under law was taken at each place to restore peace. PTI adds The bespectacled Riyaz Naikoo was a loner who seldom trusted anyone within his own outfit, said a senior police officer. He was a tech savvy militant who never left an electronic trail, and kept away from the limelight and allowed other militants to take take centre stage. The son of a farmer, Naikoo completed his graduation from Government Degree College in Pulwama and started teaching mathematics in a private school. His transition to militancy came during his detention by the security forces during the unrest of 2010. It was two years before he was released in 2012. He was a changed man after his release, and in the third week of May 2012, he left his home, never to return until his killing there Tuesday. He shot into prominence in 2016 when he made a dramatic appearance at the funeral of a terrorist in Shopian carrying a Kalashnikov rifles. There he fired several shots in the air, thus starting a trend of giving a gun salute to militants who were killed in encounters with security forces. Naikoo gave anxious moments to the police in September 2018 when he picked up 11 relatives of police officers after his father was detained by police. He was subsequently released and so were the hostages, leaving the police officials red-faced. The Supreme Court of Canada will hear the appeal of a landmark Ontario decision that sent shockwaves through the courts in January, placing dozens of convictions for murder, sexual assault and other serious crimes in jeopardy. The Crown appeal stemmed from changes to the jury selection procedure by the federal government which came into effect in September 2019. They included banning the use of peremptory challenges, which let both Crown and defence lawyers reject a specific number of potential jurors without having to give a reason. However, it was unclear if the changes should be applied to cases that began before the change in law. At Pardeep Singh Chouhans trial for first-degree murder, a Toronto judge ruled that the changes did apply and that the lawyers could not use peremptory challenges. This ruling was adopted in several other jury cases, including the high-profile sexual assault trial involving the owner and manager of the College Street Bar in downtown Toronto. In January the Ontario Court of Appeal found that Chouhan should have been permitted to use the challenges since he opted for a trial by jury before the new law came into effect and, as a result, his jury had been improperly selected. A new trial was ordered. The Crown sought leave to appeal the decision at the Supreme Court of Canada in February. The Supreme Court hears appeals from less than three per cent of judgments from the Ontario Court of Appeal, according to the latter courts website. The decision resulted in mistrials being declared in ongoing trials and appeals being filed where cases had concluded. The owner of the College Street Bar, Gavin MacMillan, successfully obtained bail pending appeal of his convictions of gang sexual assault and drugging as the judge observed, given on the Ontario Court of Appeal decision, there would almost certainly be a new trial. A date has not yet been set for the Supreme Court of Canada hearing. The top court recently announced they would start hearing cases adjourned for March, April and May, by video-conference starting in June. Just when it appeared the U.S. Supreme Court had handed Jonathan Robertson hope in his quest to reduce his 75-year prison sentence, the convicted Baton Rouge robber now may end up serving even more time behind bars. That's because after the high court ruled last month that juries must be unanimous to convict criminal defendants, the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney's Office moved to have Robertson classified as a habitual offender, which would expose him to a greater penalty. +5 Supreme Court's ruling on non-unanimous juries could force retrials in Baton Rouge Jace Crehan, Jimeelah Crockett and David Bueso shared something in common heading into last week: Each had been convicted of second-degree mur Robertson, 29, who is accused in the June 2015 killing of two Texas women, had complained that the 75-year prison term he received in December for a July 2015 armed robbery and attempted armed robbery was excessive. Robertson's motion to reconsider his sentence was denied by a state judge in January, but then came the Supreme Court's April 20 non-unanimous jury ruling in a New Orleans case. Robertson's September armed robbery conviction, which is on appeal and which resulted in 50 years of his 75-year sentence, was not unanimous. His attempted armed robbery conviction was by a 12-0 vote and led to the remaining 25 years of his sentence. Convicted Baton Rouge robber, also accused of killing two, says his 75-year sentence is excessive A Baton Rouge man is arguing his 75-year prison sentence for an armed robbery and attempted armed robbery is excessive, even as he awaits anot Now, East Baton Rouge Parish prosecutors want District Judge Beau Higginbotham who presided over Robertson's trial and sentenced him to deem him a three-time felony offender and re-sentence him accordingly. That means Robertson could face a prison term of 24 years to 99 years under Louisiana's habitual offender sentencing guidelines. "It's in limbo," Assistant Public Defender Margaret Lagattuta, who represents Robertson, said Thursday. Higginbotham has scheduled a hearing Sept. 14 on the habitual offender issue. In a court filing after the Supreme Court's decision, prosecutor Stuart Theriot noted that Robertson was convicted of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in East Baton Rouge Parish in 2008 and simple robbery in West Baton Rouge Parish in 2010. Both crimes are felonies. Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Robertson's attempted armed robbery conviction last year makes him a third felony offender, Theriot contends. Baton Rouge man accused in double murder convicted in unrelated armed robbery, attempted robbery A Baton Rouge man awaiting trial in the 2015 slaying of two Texas women was found guilty Thursday of robbing a convenience store clerk at gunp East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III said Thursday his office does not prosecute defendants as habitual offenders often but does so "when it is legally appropriate and when the safety of our community requires it." "Based on this defendant's past violent history he has proven to be a danger to the community and by statute a habitual offender," Moore said. He added that Robertson's non-unanimous armed robbery verdict will need to be retried or resolved. Earlier this year, prosecutors offered Robertson a chance to plead guilty to manslaughter in the 2015 double-homicide. Robertson, who is charged with two counts of second-degree murder, is still considering that offer. A second-degree murder conviction would subject Robertson to a mandatory sentence of life in prison. He's accused of fatally shooting Brandi Gilbert, of Plano, Texas, and Corrine Rayford, of Grapevine Texas, on June 19, 2015. The 23-year-old women were shot in the head and found in a parked car on Boone Avenue in Baton Rouge. In 2015 double murder, prosecutors make plea offer to accused killer already serving 75 years A convicted armed robber accused in the 2015 slaying of two Texas women in Baton Rouge has been offered a chance to plead guilty to manslaught The armed robbery and attempted armed robbery that Robertson was found guilty of committing, while wearing an Atlanta Falcons cap with a sticker on the bill, occurred two hours apart on July 1, 2015. The pistol used in the attempted robbery of a Comfort Inn security guard in the hotel parking lot on Valley Creek Drive off College Drive was traced back to the double-homicide. The guard disarmed Robertson. Jurors found that, two hours before the attempted robbery, Robertson robbed a store clerk at gunpoint at the Cracker Barrel on Jefferson Highway near Barringer Foreman Road, making off with about $70. The state Department of Labor Wednesday night issued clarifications for workers in New Jersey who are still waiting to receive unemployment benefits in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. It said the goal of the advisory was to help more workers get paid without delay. The agency said the U.S. Labor Department requires unemployment recipients to certify for benefits each week. In New Jersey, that means answering seven questions and attesting to the truthfulness of the answers. But many people have been answering those questions wrong, the Labor Department said, and thats adding to the delays. The Labor Department created a how-to guide to walk claimants through the questions. The how-to guide pops up whenever claimants certify for weekly benefits online, and requires them to check a box verifying that they have read the guide. The department urges everyone to read the guide before certifying for benefits. We are doing everything we can to put the best, most useful information out there and urge everyone to read it before they certify, said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo in a press release. This is the process we are required to follow to protect claimants, protect our trust funds solvency and protect New Jersey businesses." Its heartbreaking to hear stories of a single mom or a furloughed dad whose family sustaining payments were held up, he said. "Its even worse when tens of thousands have it held up because of an avoidable, unintentional certification mistake. The issues were addressed Thursday by the commissioner at the governors daily briefing. Labor said answering a question incorrectly will result in a claim not payable at this time error message. Unfortunately, there are no do-overs because the answers to these questions may affect benefit eligibility, it said. Agents review the errors, pay the claims that can be paid and contact those from whom additional information is required. But because the number of weekly certifiers is in the hundreds of thousands, correcting the error could take two weeks. Heres what you need to know. Workers receive an email when their payment is issued, Labor said, and it offered these specific answers, which have been part of the advisement available on the website, for certification questions. This following is the guidance directly from the Labor website, word-for-word. Question 1: Were you able and available for work? The answer to this question should be YES if: You were physically able to do your work before you lost your job (and you lost your job/hours due to your own coronavirus illness, your need to care for a family/household member with coronavirus, or your employment situation changed because of coronavirus public health emergency); OR You are out of work temporarily due to an employer-closure related to the coronavirus and expect to return to your job; OR You are able and available for work. Question 2: Were you actively seeking work? If you are waiting to be recalled to your present job, or delaying your job search until this natural emergency ends or subsides, you should answer YES. Question 3: Did you refuse any work? If you refused an offer of work due to concerns related to the travel/stay-at-home restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic, or because you were ill with coronavirus, or because you wouldnt be able to care for a coronavirus-affected family member, or care for a dependent whose place of care or school is closed because of coronavirus, you should answer NO. Question 4: Were you attending school or job training? If you are a student and just filed this unemployment claim as a result of the coronavirus emergency, and the Division of Unemployment Insurance has not reviewed your school status, please answer NO to this question (even if you are attending school online) at this time. If you are a student who filed an Unemployment Insurance claim prior to this emergency, and have already provided the department with your school information, and your school is currently closed due to the coronavirus, please answer this question in the same manner (Yes or No) you would have prior to the school closing. Question 5: Did you receive holiday or vacation pay for the week beginning mm-dd-2020 and ending mm-dd-2020? If your separation is temporary and was caused by the coronavirus emergency, please answer NO to this question. However, if you receive any type of wage while you are not working, answer YES TO QUESTION #7 (see below) AND REPORT THE AMOUNT THERE. Question 6 Are you receiving or have you applied for a pension or other retirement pay from any of the employers listed below? You should answer YES only if you are currently receiving pension or other retirement benefit payments from one of the employers listed below. If you are currently paying into a pension or other retirement plan but you are not receiving payments, you should answer NO." If you are receiving pension payments from an employer who is not listed you should also answer NO." Question 7 Did you work between mm-dd-2020 and mm-dd-2020? If you did any work between the designated dates, answer YES and report what you earned. If you know you will not have work the following week, immediately (no later than Saturday of the week in which you are claiming) follow steps to REOPEN/REASSERT THE CLAIM. If you received holiday/vacation/sick pay from your employer during this week, report that information here. As of April 24, more than 622,000 people were collecting unemployment in New Jersey, which means they are receiving both their regular unemployment payment plus the additional $600 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) payment as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. More than $1.5 billion in payments and rising has been distributed to workers who have been laid off, furloughed or had their hours reduced. Though the Labor Department recognizes the frustration of anyone who is not yet receiving benefits, the Department has maintained a 6-day median from the time a claim is filed online until it hits the payment database. From there, approximately 93 percent are starting to receive benefits within 2 weeks. LOOKING AHEAD The state announced Thursday that more than one million workers have filed for unemployment benefits since the pandemic began. New Jersey has processed claims for 700,000 unemployed, underemployed and furloughed residents totaling $1.9 billion, the state said. That doesnt take into account what will be paid out if the state decides to furlough state workers. A vote on that is expected next week. 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 Statehouse reporter Brent Johnson contributed to this report. Karin Price Mueller may be reached at bamboozled@njadvancemedia.com. Imperial Valley News Center First Lady Melania Trumps calls with Teachers in Honor of National Teacher Day Washington, DC - In recognition of National Teacher Day and Teacher Appreciation Week, First Lady Melania Trump held a series of telephone calls with teachers and educators from across America. Mrs. Trump spoke with elementary, middle and high school educators, both public and private. During the calls, the First Lady expressed her heartfelt appreciation and gratitude for all that educators are doing for students during these unprecedented times. As schools across the country are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the First Lady and the educators touched on a variety of topics including distance learning methods, resources schools have made available for low-income families, parent-teacher relationships, and the biggest challenges they have faced with distance learning. Additionally, the First Lady was happy to hear the many ways school faculty, families, and local governments have been coming together to provide innovative solutions to the new challenges the education community has been facing. For example, at a school in Florida, bus drivers and the IT department have come up with a laptop delivery and technical support program, and a teacher in Michigan shared a lesson plan pick-up and drop-off plan for her students who do not have access to a computer or printer. The determination that educators everywhere are showing in order to support their students during these challenging times is truly remarkable and continues to inspire me, said First Lady Melania Trump. The coronavirus pandemic has shown the importance for all of us to come together to try new and innovative ways to provide the worlds best education for each and every one of our great students. Thank you to our amazing teachers and Happy National Teacher Day. By ANI CHENNAI: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief MK Stalin on Thursday held a protest outside his residence here against the Tamil Nadu government's decision to allow the opening of state-run liquor outlets. Stalin, along with some DMK workers, was seen wearing black clothes, and holding black flag and posters as a symbol of protest against the state government's decision. CLICK HERE FOR COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES On Monday, the Tamil Nadu government had announced the opening of TASMAC outlets (state-run liquor shops) in all areas except in containment zones. DMK and its allies had yesterday released a joint statement, announcing that they will wear black as a symbol of protest and raise slogans against the state and central governments "on their failure in handling COVID-19 situation". "Condemning the opening of the liquor shops, we are going to wear black tomorrow in our respective homes at 10 am and raise slogans against AIADMK government saying 'AIADMK government has failed in curtailing coronavirus'," the statement had said. DMK chief MK Stalin protest at his residence in Chennai against opening #LiquorShops in Tamil Nadu. Express video | @haisat2005.@xpresstn pic.twitter.com/y7Vyal1WCA The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) May 7, 2020 It had stated that the steps taken by the state government to contain the spread of COVID-19 is not up to standard and said that the government's steps to fulfil poor and middle-class needs, shows they do not have the knowledge to face the situation. With his face pressed up against the sitting room window of the Howkins family home in leafy Basingstoke, Haatchi, a giant three-legged Anatolian Shepherd Dog, keeps an anxious lookout for the return of his best friend. Every day for the last six weeks, he has sat and waited, barely moving until night falls when he climbs down, sleeps, then returns to his spot in the window the next morning. It is a vigil he will never break because, without Owen Howkins, his life makes no sense. Seven years ago, the Howkins family rescued this huge gentle giant from a life of terrible cruelty and he instantly struck a loving bond with Owen, their sweet, shy, disabled son who was then six. The two became inseparable and filled each other with so much joy that when I told their story in my best-selling book and a YouTube film of them went viral, it affected millions the world over. But now the pair have been forced to separate in order to keep Owen safe from coronavirus. Owen and Haatchi had an instant bond when they met seven years ago, now they're inseperable Owen, known to his friends and family as Little B, has moved 40 miles from his home with his father and stepmother, to stay full time with his mother Kim at her house near Oxford. Its tough on this determined young man. It was really hard saying goodbye to Haatchi, says Owen. Hes my best friend in the world. I tell him everything and snuggle up with him each night because hes so big and cuddly. When Im with him nothing else matters. Now I can only see him on my iPad and its not the same. I cant wait to cuddle him again and kiss his freckly nose. The decision was taken because Owens stepmother, Colleen, is doing frontline work for the emergency services. Owen was born with a rare muscular disorder that affects his breathing, and he needs to be kept completely isolated until the danger of catching coronavirus has passed. Because of Colleens job, the whole family took the brave decision to move Owen to keep him as safe as possible. Three-legged Haatchi was named after a Japanese Akita called Hachiko who was so devoted to his dead master that he waited for him at the station every night for ten years As soon as the pandemic began, we were all concerned for Owen as he is especially vulnerable and often has to sleep with a breathing machine that provides him with oxygen, Will, his dad, explained. Will now works as a civilian for the RAF, after giving up his career in the services to care for his son full time and is deeply aware of the threat this ruthless virus poses for his beloved boy. After consultations with his medical team, school and family, it was agreed that the best thing for him was to move out until it was safe for him to come home. He left here two days before the official lockdown on March 23. It was devastating to send him away but we knew in our hearts that this was unquestionably the right decision and, fortunately, he is now old enough to understand. It was Owens stepmother who first rescued Haatchi in 2013 and she more than most realises what this separation means. Id have gladly moved out rather than separate the two of them but that wasnt feasible, since none of us know how long this is going to go on for. And Haatchi cant go to Kims because she has another dog. Little B was born with a rare genetic condition called SchwarztJampel Syndrome that affects fewer than 50 people in the world. It means his muscles are permanently tensed, leaving him in constant pain, crushing his chest and making it impossible for him to walk unaided. By the time he was six years old, he was beginning to realise he was different from other children and that started to affect him psychologically. In 2013, the pair won the Crufts Friends For Life trophy after receiving a record number of public votes Owen has to use a walker at home and a wheelchair at school but as he grew older and more self-conscious, he was becoming increasingly anxious and withdrawn, explains Colleen. He didnt want to go out and was convinced everyone was staring at him. We were all very worried and didnt know what to do. Thinking that a new pet might cheer up Owen, Colleen was scrolling through the pages of a dog rescue page when she saw a face gazing intently back at her and gasped. Looking up, Will said: Oh no what have you found? I didnt say a word I couldnt speak I just turned the computer around to face him. Will took one look at those puppy-dog eyes and said, Darn! We both instantly realised this was the dog for us, but all we knew about him at that point was that his name was Haatchi. Once the couple made further enquiries, they were shocked by the story of unspeakable cruelty to a defenceless animal. At five months old and already the size of a labrador, Haatchi had been bludgeoned over the head with a blunt instrument and thrown onto a busy railway line in East London. At least one train had run over him, causing serious injuries including the loss of his tail and a rear leg. Earlier reports claimed that he may have been tied to the tracks and speculated that the wheels of the train severed his bonds, allowing him to escape further injury. A train driver reported seeing him lying injured in the middle of the tracks and when the RSPCA rushed to the site near Hackney Marsh on a bitter winters night in January 2012, they found Stray E10 in acute pain and suffering from severe blood loss. He was taken to an animal hospital in North London for life-saving surgery and named Haatchi after a Japanese Akita called Hachiko who was so devoted to his dead master that he waited for him at the station every night for ten years. Even though the three-legged puppy now had a name, Haatchi was far from saved as his health problems meant he was likely to incur his new owners a lot of expensive vet bills that would make him hard to place. Fostering didnt work either, as he crashed around on three legs at first and was too big for most homes so he was returned to the hospital, where his future looked bleak. Having survived being hit by a train, he now faced the possibility of a very different kind of death. That was until he was saved by a charity at the 11th hour and it was then that Colleen spotted him online. The night she brought the injured pup back to the home she shares with Owen and Will, she had no idea of the impact he would have on her stepsons life. But the boy she refers to as her Little Buddy giving him his nickname instantly identified with Haatchis disability, changing both their lives forever. We already had another dog, a collie called Mr Pixel, and we only had Haatchi on trial to begin with because we had to make sure his size and temperament was right to have around Owen. But there was something magical about him from the start, as if he understood Little B completely from the moment they met. Like Owen, he isnt what most people think of as perfect and they seemed to recognise that in each other straight away, Colleen adds. To begin with, Haatchi who was at least three times Owens size limped around the house sliding all over the place and sniffing everything. But, the moment he stepped into Owens bedroom, decorated with murals hand-painted by Will, his demeanour changed completely. As soon as he saw the oxygen mask and flow machine he sniffed the air repeatedly and almost tiptoed across to where Little B lay asleep. It was if he knew Owen was vulnerable and that the machinery and tubes were a no-go area for him. Then he silently backed away. When the couple woke Owen the next morning and told him they had a big surprise for him, he sat up excitedly. His eyes were like saucers when Colleen brought Haatchi in. Without any encouragement, the dog lolloped up to the bed, gently rested his head on Owens lap and looked up at him with his big amber eyes as his stump of a tail wagged madly. It was utterly electric, a combination of pure love and acceptance, said Colleen. It was as if they were reconnecting like old friends meeting each other again. Owen just melted, and I still get emotional thinking about it. They seemed to communicate immediately without words. For the rest of that weekend, they lay curled up together and it was hard to see where Haatchi ended and Little B began. From that day on, everything changed for Little B. He wasnt afraid of going out any more and was proud to show off his new best friend. It was a miracle. A moving YouTube video about their remarkable friendship called A Boy And His Dog attracted nearly five million views and won several awards. In 2013, the pair won the Crufts Friends For Life trophy after receiving a record number of public votes and they starred in an Emmy-award winning documentary in the U.S. My heart-warming book about their story Haatchi & Little B was published in 11 countries following its debut in 2014. Haatchi might be bigger than Owen, but they love cuddling up together and Little B says he can't wait to see his best friend again On Haatchis Facebook page, which has almost a quarter of a million followers, one of the most popular features is Kiss A Freckle Friday in which a close up photograph of his speckled nose is posted each week for importance of animal rescue. Since theyve been separated, Owen and Haatchi have had video chats streamed to the family television so that its big enough for Haatchi to see, but Owen, speaking from his mums home in Brize Norton, is his devoted followers to kiss. The family has raised thousands of pounds for animal and childrens charities through this and other posts and they attend events and venues all over the country to raise awareness about disability and the the first to admit it isnt the same. I miss everything about him, even his hair on my clothes. Home schooling might have been less productive with him around, as he always likes to get his nose in everything and see whats going on, but I wouldnt even have minded that. The day I go home is going to be a pretty special day for us both. Haatchi, meanwhile, is suffering in his own way. Although he can see Owen in their video chats, he can only really register his voice and still doesnt understand where he is. Each time the pair connect the big dog limps up to the TV, cocks his head to listen, and then paws pitifully at the screen. This isnt the first time the two buddies have been separated as Owen sometimes has to go into hospital for ongoing treatment on his dislocating hips, as well as painful physiotherapy and sleep assessments, but they have never been apart for this long before. Haatchi has long grown accustomed to seeing his little boy go off to school every weekday, sitting patiently by the window, waiting for his return. When Owen comes home, the pair roll around the floor together again in a happy furry blur, marked by Owens distinctive Woody Woodpecker laugh. As with Hachiko, his devoted Japanese namesake, Haatchi now still watches and waits for Owen each day even though he doesnt come home from school any more. With his face pressed against the glass making what the family call nose art, he wont be distracted until his supper eventually lures him away. Every night he sleeps on the floor outside Owens bedroom looking very sorry for himself. Will says: Its heart-breaking to see him pining. Theyve been virtually inseparable since Day One and when each has gone through health problems theyve helped each other through, even taking their pain medication together. Its an amazing friendship based entirely on unconditional love. So, as the nation waits to be able to hug their loved ones once again, one boy and his very large dog are hoping for the biggest hug of all.' The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Wednesday disassociated itself and the West African Health Organization (WAHO) from the claim that they ordered Madagascars Covid-Organics for the treatment of the novel coronavirus. They said this in a statement issued by Oghogho Obayuwana of the Communication Directorate of the Commission. Last Month, the Madagascan President, Andry Rajoelina, launched a herbal remedy that he said could prevent and cure patients infected with the virus. Countries like Tanzania, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, and the Republic of Congo have indicated interest in the herbal remedy. Despite these claims and that of other countries around the world, ECOWAS in the statement said that only products shown to be effective through scientific study would be endorsed by them. The statement read, Our attention has been drawn to a story making the headlines that claims ECOWAS has ordered a package of Covid Organics (CVO) medicine from a third country. We wish to dissociate ECOWAS and its health institution, West Africa Health Organization (WAHO), from this claim and to inform the general public that we have not ordered the said CVO medication. As part of its mandate to safeguard and improve the health of the regions population, WAHO remains committed to promoting rational traditional medicine practices and products in the ECOWAS region, and over the years has worked consistently with the member states to scientifically investigate plant medicines of proven efficacy. It added that the products are documented in the ECOWAS Pharmacopoeia of Traditional Medicines, and that the second edition of the said document will be published in the next few weeks. WAHO has also in the recent past identified, nurtured and supported centres of excellence in traditional medicine across the ECOWAS region. The Commission said it will continue to focus on delivering on the decisions made by ECOWAS Heads of State and Government at their recent Extraordinary Summit on the fight against Covid-19, on of which is to strengthen cooperation among Member States in research, training and experience sharing in health matters in general, and in the fight against Covid-19 in particular. NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance has been dumped from a senior government role as punishment for his spectacular change of heart over quitting state politics. Mr Constance will be removed from the critical position of Leader of the House and replaced by Attorney-General Mark Speakman. NSW Transport Andrew Constance declared he would stand for the Eden-Monaro byelection on Tuesday. On Wednesday he said he wouldn't. Credit:SMH A government source said the move indicated that "all ministers were on notice" and there would be a wider cabinet reshuffle after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic had passed. The source said the change allowed Mr Constance to focus on the transport portfolio. Ukraine, IMF discussing new assistance program to deal with COVID-19 impact 19:20, 07.05.20 1942 Fund spokesman Gerry Rice said the talks on the new EFF worth $5.5 billion are expected to resume once the economy has started recovering from the pandemic. Former President John Dramani Mahama has reported, Kwame Baffoe Abronye, alias Abronye DC to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service for alleging that the former president had plans to kill some leading members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). The former President lodged the complaint today [Wednesday, May 6, 2020] at the police headquarters through his lawyers, LithurBrew Company. Confirming the development on Accra-based Class FM Wednesday, the spokesperson for Mr Mahama, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, said Abronye DC had brought the name of the former president under disrepute with his wild allegations. She said he (Abronye DC) has consistently made false allegations against the former president on various media channels, including the Net2 Television. She said many other persons have also made wild allegations against Mr Mahama for many times, and that she had personally advised the former president to take actions against such persons to stop such irresponsible behaviours. She said the former President and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) would not allow anyone to make false allegations such as what Abronye DC had done and go scot-free. Joyce Bawah Mogtari noted that the former President is someone respected in the country and beyond, hence allowing some individuals to hide under the cover of politics to cast smear on his personality would soil his hard earned reputation in the eyes of people. She said Mr Mahama's office is waiting for a feedback from the police to enable them take further action against Abronye DC. Source: Daily Graphic 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 Outgoing Eurovision Executive Supervisor Jon Ola Sand says one his proudest moments during his past nine years was in cementing Australia as a participating country. Asked to nominate his proudest achievements he said, There are many things Im proud of. We managed to present the voting in a much more exciting way which I think have strengthened the ending of Eurovision Song Contest. Im also really happy that we managed to bring Australia on board. I know that it has been debated, and some of you might not be happy for that, but I think they have proved that they really belong in the Eurovision Song Contest family. He also nominated its financial strength, good values through the slogan and noted Eurovision will come back stronger than ever. Ola Sand will return to his native Norway to begin a new role at the head office of public broadcaster NRK. Martin Osterdahl who was Executive Producer for the Eurovision in 2013 in Malmo and Stockholm 2016 will succeed him. WILTON The coronavirus count in Wilton is up to 164. Statewide, there are 30,995, or 347 new laboratory-confirmed cases, with 12,455 in Fairfield County. There are 305 cases not yet assigned to a municipality. The number of deaths in the state has risen to 2,718. Loss of life in Wilton remains at 31. The number of cases currently hospitalized in the state has decreased by 55 patients. Hospitalization statewide is 1,445, with 489 in Fairfield County. First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice reported that on a call with Gov. Ned Lamont and his staff, David Lehman, commissioner with the Department of Economic and Community Development shared that guidance for Phase 1 businesses, allowed to open on May 20, will be available this Friday. DECDs hope is that two weeks will be sufficient time for these businesses to obtain necessary personal protective equipment and disinfectants and to install the necessary physical barriers, she said. Lehman emphasized they were being very cautious with this opening. Phase 2 has not yet been established, Vanderslice said. The DECD is asking small business owners to respond to a small business reopening survey. Lamont and the co-chairs of Reopen Higher Education discussed their recommendations for a phased-in reopening of Connecticut-based colleges, universities and boarding schools. As is expected with all businesses, part of the plan includes making physical adjustments to ensure six feet of separation in all spaces. A fillable application for Wiltons Elderly and Disabled Homeowner Tax Relief Program is available online. The May 16 application deadline has been extended to July 15, but Vanderslice advises residents not to wait until the last minute. More information about the plan is available online. For those who may have had the virus and recovered, Norwalk and Danbury Hospitals have each set up a blood plasma donation program to allow for this lifesaving treatment. As a friend wrote to me after having been in the hospital, this virus is a monster and expressed their desire, when able, to give blood as many times as allowed, Vanderslice said. Information on blood plasma donation is available on the Western Connecticut Health Network website. pgay@wiltonbulletin.com Catholic Church and state agree on date for return to Mass for the public. Italy is to lift the ban on public Masses from 18 May as part of an agreement to allow the faithful to attend liturgical celebrations following restrictions due to the coronavirus emergency. The deal was signed on 7 May by the president of the Italian Conference of Bishops (CEI) Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, Italy's premier Giuseppe Conte, and interior minister Luciana Lamorgese. "The safety measures provided for in the text" - underlined Conte - "indicate the most suitable ways to ensure that the resumption of liturgical celebrations takes place in the safest way for public health and for the protection of the faithful." Unlike the current arrangement for funerals, which can be attended by a maximum of 15 people, the new agreement does not refer to a maximum number of faithful who will be granted access to the liturgy. Under the new deal, the parish priest will identify "the maximum capacity of the building" that can guarantee "compliance with the legislation on social distancing." Members of the congregation must observe a one-metre distance between themselves, with volunteers at the entrance - protected by masks and gloves - to admit only the number of people that complies with the anti-contagion measures. Read also: Entry to the church is provided only to those who wear protective face masks, while access will be prohibited to anyone with flu-like symptoms or high temperature or who has been in recent contact with coronavirus patients. The traditional "sign of peace" handshake during Mass will continue to be omitted, while for Communion the priest must sanitise his hands, wear a mask and take care not to come into contact with the hands of the faithful. The health measures for Masses will also apply to weddings, funerals and baptisms from 18 May. Read also: On 26 April, following Conte's announcement of Phase Two, the CEI issued a sharply-worded statement criticising the second phase of Italy's coronavirus plan which it said "arbitrarily excludes the possibility of celebrating Mass with the people." Public Masses have been suspended across Italy since the government issued a decree on 8 March suspending all public religious ceremonies, including funerals which resumed on 4 May. Churches have remained open for private prayer however. Italys ecclesiastical lockdown is the longest-running in the world, according to Crux, the online newspaper covering news related to the Catholic Church. The government is now expected to allow other faiths to have limited gatherings of people for their own religious services, including Muslims, Jews and Protestants, reports Italian news agency ANSA. Photo Tgcom24 - Mediaset Play The US Supreme Court this morning unanimously threw out the convictions of former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's two former allies involved in the 'Bridgegate' scandal, saying that 'not every corrupt act by state or local officials is a federal crime.' The court said in a 9-0 decision Thursday that the government had overreached in prosecuting Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni for their roles in a political payback scheme that created massive traffic jams to punish a Democratic mayor who refused to endorse the Republican's reelection. Kelly was Christie's onetime deputy chief of staff. Baroni was a top Christie appointee to the Port Authority, the operator of the New York area's bridges, tunnels, airports and ports. In a statement posted on Twitter addressing the ruling, Christie slammed the 'Obama Justice Department' that prosecuted the case, calling it a 'political crusade' against dozens of members of his administration. Scroll down for video The US Supreme Court this morning unanimously threw out the convictions of former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's two former aides, Bridget Kelly, left, and Bill Baroni, right, in connection to the 2013 'Bridgegate' scandal Traffic approaches the George Washington Bridge on September 7, 2016, in Fort Lee, New Jersey, during the 'Bridgegate' gridlock Kelly and Baroni were convicted of fraud and conspiracy for scheming in 2013 to change the traffic flow onto the George Washington Bridge between New York City and New Jersey to artificially create gridlock in New Jersey's Fort Lee. The traffic change came after Fort Lee's Democratic mayor declined to endorse Christie. 'For no reason other than political payback, Baroni and Kelly used deception to reduce Fort Lee's access lanes to the George Washington Bridge - and thereby jeopardized the safety of the town's residents. 'But not every corrupt act by state or local officials is a federal crime. Because the scheme here did not aim to obtain money or property, Baroni and Kelly could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws,' Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the court in the 13-page opinion. The result of the lane realignment was four days of traffic jams. A fictitious traffic study was used as cover for the change, but prosecutors said the real motive was political payback. At one point, Kelly wrote in an email: 'Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.' Thousands were affected in Fort Lee, with children prevented from going to school and emergency response times seriously delayed. The high court's nine justices ruled that the case did involve abuse of power, corruption and other wrongdoing. 'But the federal fraud statutes at issue do not criminalize all such conduct,' the judges said in their ruling. 'Because the scheme here did not aim to obtain money or property," the judges said, the two former Christie aides 'could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws.' The ruling overturns their convictions. Christie has denied knowing about the plan for gridlock ahead of time or as it was unfolding. Trial testimony contradicted his account, but the scandal helped derail his 2016 presidential bid. Kelly and Baroni were convicted of fraud and conspiracy for scheming in 2013 to gridlock Fort Lee, New Jersey, whose mayor declined to endorse Christie (pictured in September 2013 with Kelly) After a six-week trial at the federal level in 2017, Kelly and Baroni were found guilty of unlawfully orchestrating the traffic jam for political reasons. Kelly was weeks from beginning a 13-month sentence last year when the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. At the time of her sentencing, Kelly held a press conference, blasting Christie as a 'coward' and a 'bully,' and accusing him of signing off on the political retribution scheme, and then lying about it. After her re-sentencing in April 2019, Kelly lambasted Christie as a 'bully' and a 'coward' Christie maintained his innocence, saying in a statement in April 2019: 'As I have said before, I had no knowledge of this scheme prior to or during these lane realignments, and had no role in authorizing them. No credible evidence was ever presented to contradict that fact. Anything said to the contrary is simply untrue.' On Thursday, Kelly released a statement, saying the Supreme Court 'gave me back my name and began to reverse the six-and-a-half-year nightmare that has become my life,' reported NJ.com. 'Having been maligned, I now stand with my family and friends knowing that due process worked. While this may finally have made this case right for me, it does not absolve those who should have truly been held accountable.' The 47-year-old mother of four added that said she wanted 'nothing more than to hug my children knowing they will have their mom with them always.' Baroni had begun serving his 18-month sentence, slashed from 24 months in February 2019, but was released from prison after the high court agreed to weigh in. Baroni on Thursday thanked the Supreme Court justices for clearing his name and proclaiming his innocence to the world. 'I have always said I was an innocent and today, the Supreme Court unanimously agreed,' he stated. Christie, who left office in 2018, on Thursday released a statement, saying in part that 'it is good for all involved that justice has finally been done.' On Thursday, Christie (pictured in 2015) lashed out at the 'Obama Justice Department' for allowing a US Attorney to 'weaponize the office for political and partisan reasons' He continued: 'what cannot be undone is the damage that was visited upon all of the people dragged through the mud who had nothing to do with this incident by the prosecutorial misconduct and personal vindictiveness of [then-US Attorney] Paul Fishman. 'Despite being repeatedly told by numerous respected members of the bar during the investigation that he was inventing a federal crime, Paul Fishman proceeded, motivated by political partisanship and blind ambition that cost the taxpayers millions in legal fees and changed the course of history.' The former governor also reserved some words of criticism for 'the leadership of the Obama Justice Department,' accusing its members of authorizing Fishman to 'weaponize the office for political and partisan reasons.' The court's decision to side with Kelly and Baroni continues a pattern from recent years of restricting the government's ability to prosecute corruption cases. In 2016 the court overturned the bribery conviction of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. In 2010 the court sharply curbed prosecutors use of an anti-fraud law in the case of ex-Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling. One of the largest tobacco companies in the country, Boka Tobacco Floors (BTF), has opened a sales floor in Karoi in Mashonaland West Province which comes handy in reducing the number of farmers travelling to Harare to sell their commodity at a time Zimbabwe is battling to contain the spread of deadly Covid-19. The 2020 tobacco selling season started last week after the authorities instituted strict measures to control the spread of Covid-19, which has infected 34 people and killing four in the country. Tobacco is Zimbabwes second largest foreign currency spinner after gold and export receipts, mainly from China, some European countries and South Africa amounted to nearly US$750 million last year. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr John Mangudya is on record that tobacco proceeds are almost enough to cater for the countrys fuel import bill. The tobacco floors are usually congested during the marketing period, which normally runs between March and September and such environment posed high risks of the spread of infections. Mashonaland West is a major tobacco producing province in Zimbabwe. The sales floor is a rented building, but the company is already constructing its own facility measuring about 12 000 square meters, which would be ready by 2021 selling season. BTF also owns an auction floor in Harare, the largest in the country and in Rusape. We are very excited to be bringing our services to all our Mashonaland West growers, said Mrs Chido Nyakudya in an interview with The Herald Finance & Business. We would like to assure that we have put in place all measures to curb the spread of Covid-19. We are assuring our growers the best service. Mrs Nyakudya said the floor was open to other tobacco contractors who can use the facility to buy the crop from their farmers. On Saturday, Zimbabwe extended a nationwide lockdown by two more weeks to contain the spread of the highly contagious disease, but allowed formal business to re-open under strict conditions. This followed the lapse of the first five-week lockdown that came in two phases; the first being three weeks, which began on April 1 and further extended by two more weeks. While measures under the current lockdown were relaxed, the informal sector which constitutes the majority of businesses in Zimbabwe, has remained closed. Public gatherings of more than 50 people and operations of kombis remain suspended. As part of measures put in place by the regulator, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board to contain the spread of the disease, informal trading outside the floors has been banned. Farmers will not be allowed to sleep outside the floors while waiting to sell the commodity. Tobacco output reached an all-time high of 259 million kg last year, but is expected to drop by 230 million kg as the planted area was affected by late rains last year. Boka selling floor will serve farmers in Hurungwe District including Tengwe, Kazangarare, communities around Karoi, Nyama resettlement, Nyamakate and Magunje. Egypts Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said the investment budget for the coming fiscal year will surge to EGP 230 billion, up from EGP 150 billion last year. A statement issued by the cabinet on Thursday noted that the move is meant to expand the development and service projects. Madbouly added that the budget of the new urban communities authority will also be increased in the coming fiscal year to expand its ventures. Madbouly's remarks were made during a meeting with Housing Minister Assem El-Gazzar and representatives from the real estate development and contracting sectors, a cabinet statement said on Thursday. Egypt is keen on supporting real-estate development and contracting sectors over the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic, said Madbouly, praising the construction sector in general which assists the state with achieving its development targets and provides intensive job vacancies. The prime minister said the proposals presented by the real estate development sector's representatives concerning the financial facilitations demanded from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) have been referred to Tarek Amer, the CBE governor, who showed an initial understanding and promised to look into the matter. El-Gazzar said Madbouly ordered the expansion of ventures, especially in infrastructure, and to speed up the delivery of contracting companies' financial dues. Egyptian workers have returned to construction sites in April after a two-week stoppage meant to help curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The prime minster has instructed the contracting companies to stick to the precautionary measures at work sites to combat the coronavirus. Search Keywords: Short link: The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant could be U.S. best option for disposing of surplus plutonium through a program the Department of Energy is developing that would see the waste diluted at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina before permanent emplacement at the WIPP facility in southeast New Mexico. Last week, the National Academies of Sciences (NAS) released the results of a two-year review of the DOEs plans, reporting the idea was feasible with some adjustments as to the space available at WIPP and the expected time the facility would remain open. Robert Dynes, who chaired the NAS committee commissioned by the DOE to study the plan, pointed to a need for more space at WIPP to hold the additional waste, and its non-compliance with the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement, a deal between the U.S. and Russia to dispose of plutonium using jointly-approve methods. Dynes wrote in the study that the technical plan itself was simple, but it must overcome several political and policy factors before approval. The dilute and dispose plan is not technically complex. The true challenges lay in the many mostly nontechnical threads that are connected to the technical plan, Dynes wrote in the studys preface. As noted previouslyyes, the plan is technically feasible. Craig Branson, spokesperson for the DOEs National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said the report showed the DOEs plan was doable. The NAS report validates the feasibility of the dilute and dispose approach. The Department appreciated the opportunity to work with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) on this comprehensive report, Branson said. We will thoroughly evaluate the recommendations made by the NAS and implement key actions as we further develop plans for the dilute and dispose process. Traditionally, transuranic (TRU) nuclear waste clothing products and equipment radiated from nuclear research and development activities was the only waste disposed of at WIPP. But Branson said that by diluting the plutonium, it would become similar to waste already emplaced at the facility. NAS states that the diluted plutonium waste is characteristically different from past TRU waste, he said. In fact, the process to down-blend the plutonium oxide used in the dilute and dispose approach results in a transuranic waste stream that is similar to waste streams received in the past from other DOE sites, particularly Rocky Flats and Savannah River Site. This waste stream meets the WIPP waste acceptance criteria and will be fully compliant with all regulatory limits and requirements. The program was part of the DOEs broader mission to curtail nuclear proliferation and clean up nuclear site across the country, Branson said. DOE/NNSAs disposition of surplus plutonium supports the Departments broader nonproliferation mission, he said. DOE/NNSA is pursuing the disposition of this material in a timely and cost-effective manner consistent with overarching U.S. national security and nonproliferation objectives. And while WIPPs expected closure date of 2024 would need to be extended for the 30-year program, Branson said such an extension potentially to 2050 was already being addressed to allow WIPP to continue accepting TRU waste as it is generated at nuclear laboratories throughout the country. As the nations only repository for transuranic waste, WIPP is essential to the cleanup of legacy nuclear weapons sites as well as supporting the disposal of TRU waste generated from the vital national security missions performed by NNSA, he said. Therefore, even without this mission, WIPPs end date would need to be extended past the current permit date in order to continue supporting these vital missions. John Heaton, chair of the Carlsbad Mayors Nuclear Task Force said the dilute and dispose method would also be much cheaper at about $18 billion compared with a previous plan to turn the waste into fuel through the mixed-oxide or MOX plan that was recently shuttered but had a possible expense of $55 billion. Theres a significant savings for it at WIPP, Heaton said. Once you dilute and dispose of it, you also dont need the constant monitoring safeguards that would have been required by the MOX method. Heaton said storing diluted plutonium has already occurred at WIPP, with about three tons emplaced from the DOEs Rocky Flats Plant, a facility that built nuclear weapons near Denver until 1992. This system is not new for WIPP, Heaton said. Thats what WIPP does. It takes diluted plutonium thats TRU waste. The diluted plutonium, mostly coming from the Pantex facility in Texas, would be turned into an oxide at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico before being sent to Savannah River to be diluted. At that point, the waste would become contact-handled, the form of TRU waste with the least radiation, Heaton said. He said more funding should be invested in the project, so it can be completed sooner. The dilution process is expected to be a long-term program, Heaton said. Getting done on a faster track makes a lot of sense to me. If we draw it out, we dont know what kinds of policy changes could occur. Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter. 2020 the Carlsbad Current-Argus (Carlsbad, N.M.) Visit the Carlsbad Current-Argus (Carlsbad, N.M.) at www.currentargus.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Vietnam added 17 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients to its tally on Thursday, all of them Vietnamese returnees from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and detected in a centralized isolation zone, according to the Ministry of Health. The national count now stands at 288, with 233 having recovered and no virus-caused fatality. The Vietnamese government arranged for flight VN0088, operated by national carrier Vietnam Airlines, to repatriate 297 citizens from the UAE, at a time when all commercial flights between Vietnam and other countries have been suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The flight landed at Can Tho International Airport in the namesake city, located in the Mekong Delta, on Sunday. The 297 returnees were immediately sent to a quarantine zone, pursuant to regulations applicable to all international arrivals, in Bac Lieu Province, over 100km south of Can Tho. They were all tested in the zone and 17 results returned positive for the virus on Thursday, the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City said, adding that the remaining 280 people tested negative. A family of three, whose tests came back positive, had stayed with a confirmed patient in Dubai, the health ministry said. All 17 patients, including a baby boy born in 2020, are being treated in stable health at a general hospital in Bac Lieu Province. The Vietnam Airlines flight crew have also been quarantined. Among Vietnams 288 patients are 148 imported cases isolated upon entry and 140 local infections. The Southeast Asian country has reported no community-transmitted case for 21 days. Vietnam will coordinate more evacuation flights to bring back citizens from foreign countries, the health ministry said. All returnees will have to be quarantined for 14 days upon entry to prevent community transmission. Vietnam has conducted tests on 261,004 samples while presently quarantining 20,942 people, according to the health ministry's latest figures. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A patient is checked by a physician's assistant before receiving a COVID-19 swab test at a clinic in Stamford, Conn. on May 5, 2020. (John Moore/Getty Images) Congress Must Act to Avoid Trial Lawyers Brewing Litigation Storm From Virus Pandemic, Group Says Millions of American businesses will soon be assaulted by meritless and abusive civil litigation unless Congress enacts new CCP virus liability protections like those unveiled May 7 by the Institute for Legal Reform (ILR), the group said. The brewing litigation storm is a recipe for economic havoc, the ILR said in a study entitled COVID-19: Federal Problems and Solutions. The study was prepared jointly by ILR, which is a project of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and attorneys with the Skadden Arps law firm. The Epoch Times refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because of the role of the Chinese Communist Party, which has absolute control of China, in allowing the disease to spread internationally. Exposure-based lawsuits are perhaps the greatest litigation threat to American enterprise because virtually any business whose employees or customers contract the coronavirus is potentially at risk, irrespective of whether such a business heeded government guidance related to COVID-19 or whether the business was actually the source of any relevant exposure, the study said. The study pointed to an April 21 article on the legal analysis website Law 360The Coming Wave of COVID-19 Class-Actionsin which a top attorney at one of the most active trial lawyer firms described the intensity of preparations. Weve never been busier, Adam Levitt, a partner at the Chicago-based DiCello Leavitt Gutzler LLP, told Law360. Its almost odd how quickly the days and weeks have been passing with my partners, my associates and I working literally 12 to 14 hours days on our cases. Trial lawyers use the threat of class-action lawsuits to force big corporations, doctors, and small businesses to settle malpractice and consumer tort liability cases out of court to avoid jury trials that often produce costly judgments for plaintiffs and enrich their opportunistic attorneys. A 2018 ILR study found that such litigation costs the U.S. economy $429 billion annually, an average of more than $3,300 per U.S. family. Such litigation has been a major factor in rising health care costs because it forces doctors and other providers to practice defensive medicine that boosts insurance premiums. The present ILR study points to four major areas in need of new liability protections: Exposure liability in which firms that have remained open and those beginning to reopen are taken to court for allegedly failing to protect an employee or customer from the disease. Product liability involving a manufacturer of test kits, treatment tools, and protective gear face litigation claiming a product failed to perform perfectly as promised. Medical malpractice claims against health care providers who are sued for treatment or care decisions they may or may not have made while providing virus-related services. Securities litigation against companies that are alleged not to have given investors sufficient prior warning needed to avoid economic losses due to coronavirus. Whether couched in terms of simple negligence or public nuisance, exposure-based lawsuits could undermine the economic and social recovery of our country if they are not limited to legitimate circumstances, the study stated. To do so, the study encouraged Congress to establish a coronavirus liability floor for individuals and businesses provided they were relying on and generally followed applicable government standards and guidance. Federal jurisdiction over most such cases should also be established, the study said. Current pandemic product liability laws and regulations should be revised by Congress to make coverage clear for personal protective equipment (PPE) makers and sellers, as well as for Good Samaritans donating such items, the study said. Regarding medical malpractice coverage recently enacted by Congress under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES), the study stated, There is a compelling reason for extending such protections to health care providers, as well as health care facilities whose jobs require that they render COVID-19 medical services, particularly given that those jobs oblige them to put their own lives at risk. To prevent abusive securities litigation, the study recommended that Congress ensure that all securities lawsuits involving alleged fraud related to COVID-19 would have to be brought in federal court. There should also be a temporary stay of proceedings until a certain period after the date on which the President rescinds his declaration of a national emergency to allow businesses to focus on pressing health and economic recovery issues than responding to potentially meritless securities class actions with early motions to dismiss, answers, or discovery, according to the ILR study. Contact Mark Tapscott at Mark.Tapscott@epochtimes.nyc. Several people say they were left traumatized after a man released a caged rabbit into a busy off-leash dog park Wednesday evening. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 7/5/2020 (621 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Several people say they were left traumatized after a man released a caged rabbit into a busy off-leash dog park Wednesday evening. Tamara Chymyshyn was walking her dogs at Kilcona Off-leash Dog Park, something she does often. On her way out, she witnessed a man pull out a cage and shake a rabbit out of it into the off-leash area of the park. "It happened so quick, I didnt even have a chance to process it all, I just saw my two dogs take off after the rabbit," she said. At this point, the man had already left, Chymyshyn said. By the time she reached her dogs, the rabbit was dead. "Thats not right, to do something like that. Its different if you release a rabbit in a field or somewhere else where it has a chance, not at a dog park. There are kids around, and for them to see that, its not right," Chymyshyn said, adding she believed the act was intentional. "That traumatized me I love animals, and to see something like that, for somebody to intentionally drop a rabbit off in an off-leash dog park he knew what he was doing." Another witness, who asked not to be named, said she was at the dog park with a friend and had seen the truck had a logo for local construction company Concord Projects, where Chymyshyn and the witness both said theyve filed complaints. "We just kind of felt outraged, thinking, if you drove two minutes past the park theres an open field, you can just pull over and let a rabbit out there," she said. A public screenshot of a post concerning the incident and naming Concord Projects has since been shared more than 500 times. Concord Projects CEO and president Nolan Ploegman said the company had received multiple emails about the incident. After being notified, he said the company sent out an internal email and quickly identified the individual, who Ploegman did not name. He said they admitted what they had done and felt "terrible." He said the employee acknowledged the error of their ways, and told him it was not an intentional act of animal cruelty. "We have to complete our investigation, so were going to be dealing with that internally," he said. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "Were going to talk to them about it, and obviously make sure they dont do something like that again." The employee was driving a personal truck with a Concord Projects logo but was not on company time or driving a company vehicle, Ploegman said. Every person who has contacted Concord Projects will hear back from the company, and a $1,000 donation to Winnipeg Humane Society has been made as "part of our apology and part of our response," Ploegman said. "It makes me feel ill to my stomach when I see things like that, and it becomes associated with me or my company," he said. malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: malakabas_ A decline in the number of reports the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) takes in a given month isnt necessarily a positive sign. Especially not now, as many families spend more time alone in their homes with schools and businesses closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. DCS took 18,026 reports in March, the most recent month for which data is available. That includes calls, faxes, emails and mail-ins. In March 2019, DCS had 19,671 reports, a year-over-year decline of about 9%. The fear is this simply means fewer cases of child abuse and neglect are being reported now, not that those instances are actually decreasing. It really increases the probability that children who may be abused and neglected are not being seen by those who could make a report, said Cindy Booth, CEO of Child Advocates. There may be something going on at home and no one knows. Losing a job something much more common now than normal doesnt automatically turn a parent or guardian into a child abuser, Booth said, but it can be one of many stressors that exacerbates other issues in the home. Along with job loss, alcohol plays a role in abuse as well. According to Jami Schnurpel, director of survivor services at the Julian Center, an Indianapolis domestic violence shelter, alcohol is a direct factor in many of the cases the center handles. Throughout the last eight weeks or so, we have seen an increase in alcohol related stories of abuse and likewise, we have survivors who report self-medicating to cope with anxiety they have never felt before, Schnurpel said. The decrease in self-control that someone experiences when drinking and the stress of a big loss, or in the case of COVID-19, the stress of lost income, inability to socialize, or having to isolate is a recipe for disaster. Like many other organizations that help children and families, Child Advocates has gone from visiting children in person to doing visits virtually. That approach has been beneficial at times, Booth said, but with every person and system designed to protect children having to resort to video calls and chats, some things are inevitably slipping through the cracks. The top three reporters of neglect, Booth said, are law enforcement, medical professionals and school staff. Aleesia Johnson, superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools, said teachers and other school staff keep in contact with students outside of an academic context. Teachers have office hours, and staff are supposed to track their communication with students so they know who theyve talked to. School counselors, social workers and other support staff still reach out to families to ask how everything is going at home, Johnson said. Schools also host town halls by grade level, and some high school teachers have virtual meetings with families. All of those systems and structures are still in place, even in this very different setting, Johnson said. The Julian Center is currently assisting 25 more people than it was this time last year in finding shelter, new housing or other services. Forty-five percent of those individuals are minors. Unless they are legally emancipated from their parents or guardian, a child must be accompanied by an adult to access services from the Julian Center. Schnurpel said it is rare, but not unheard of, for children to be the primary or sole victim of violence in a household. Often a child is torn between loving or caring for the person who is hurting them and trying to cope with the pain that person is causing, Schnurpel said. The Julian Center provides a training around the neurological development of a person who has experienced trauma. Fundamentally, our brains are impacted by all of the trauma we experience, and how we cope with trauma large and small is based on our ability to fully understand why something is happening. Trauma falls into the category of adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, which can degenerate life through disrupted neurodevelopment and the adoption of harmful behaviors. Protecting children from this kind of trauma or at least helping them cope with it creates a safer environment in the immediate term, but it can also go a long way in making sure children have the opportunity to live fulfilling lives. Contact staff writer Breanna Cooper at 317-762-7848. Follow her on Twitter @BreannaNCooper. Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick. Child abuse SOUTHFIELD, Mich., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On Wednesday, May 6, Michigan pastors and churches filed a legal action seeking to restore constitutional governance and the Rule of Law. Specifically, the lawsuit asks a court to declare that Governor Whitmer's emergency orders (EOs), which are arbitrary and capricious, violate, amongst other things, the constitutional rights of pastors and churches to exercise freedom to assemble and freedom of worship and religious belief. Governor Whitmer's EO's, acts, policies, and regulations fail to provide the least restrictive means of furthering any State interest and are not narrowly tailored. The following is attributed to Bishop Keith Butler, Pastor, Word of Faith International Christian Center: During this awful pandemic, Governor Whitmer ought to remember that the people of the State of Michigan are citizens of a Republic, not subjects of a Monarchy. In 1887 Lord Acton observed that "power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Unfortunately, Governor Whitmer's exercise of absolute power in response to our terrible ordeal, proves the rule rather than the exception. Executive edicts by the Governor exponentially restrict personal autonomy and interfere with constitutionally protected liberty. The only thing more contagious than the virus is abuse of power. Government actions must not violate constitutional provisions protecting individual rights and liberty. One of Governor Whitmer's most egregious constitutional violations is its restriction on the free exercise of religious conscience. Dismissively, the State claims current health and safety concerns justify its infringement of this cherished constitutional liberty. Rather than identifying what is safe and what is not during the pandemic, however, Governor Whitmer has deemed for us, in her view, what is essential. Thus, Governor Whitmer considers abortion clinics, marijuana distribution sites and liquor stores essential, while churches and synagogues are not. She says listen to science, yet, science tells us that the unborn child in a mother's womb is a human being, that marijuana adversely affects your brain cells, and that alcohol impairs your judgment. Yet, due to political considerations, that science is ignored. Churches and synagogues provide an essential service to many. Ironically, perhaps at a time when we need God the most, the State considers the Church's work non-essential. The State's decree expressly prohibits "all public and private gatherings of any number of people occurring among persons not part of a single household." Thus, the executive edict expressly makes it a crime for anyone to meet at a church to worship. Under the disingenuous pretense of protecting an individual's religious liberty, the edict offers a fictitious religious exemption that, by its express terms, does not apply to any religious person. The State's shutdown of churches is dangerous and unconstitutional. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is essential. Ben Franklin said "If you give up essential liberty for temporary safety you deserve neither." The First Amendment freedoms concerning religion, speech, and assembly are guaranties that are not to be arbitrarily and capriciously discarded by government overreach. SOURCE Word of Faith International Christian Center Related Links http://www.woficc.com WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will provide $225 million in emergency aid to Yemen to support food programs, U.S. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will provide $225 million in emergency aid to Yemen to support food programs, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday, as aid groups there are forced to scale down operations due to Houthi interference and amid a spreading coronavirus outbreak. "This assistance will provide the U.N. World Food Programs emergency food operation in southern Yemen, as well as a reduced operation in northern Yemen, which the WFP was forced to scale down earlier this month because of the ongoing interference of (the) Iran-backed Houthis" Pompeo told a news conference. Yemen is already grappling with the world's biggest humanitarian crisis caused by a war between the Saudi-led coalition seeking to restore the internationally recognized government, and the Houthi movement that drove the government from power in Sanaa in late 2014. Around 80% of Yemen's population, or 24 million people, rely on aid, and 10 million are facing famine. Yemen has the world's fourth highest internally displaced population and healthcare is scarce in rural areas. The country has reported a total of 26 coronavirus infections with 6 deaths but due to inadequate testing and a shattered health system aid groups fear a devastating outbreak. According to WHO only 200 tests with results have been delivered nationwide. Under such circumstances, a gap in aid funding is a major risk. The United Nations last week warned that 31 of 41 major U.N. humanitarian assistance programmes will scale down or stop in coming weeks without more money as donors and aid agencies have increasingly complained of interference and obstruction from Houthi authorities. Reuters reported last month the United States was readying a "substantial contribution" to help Yemen but that it had to find alternatives to the WHO after President Donald Trump criticized the agency being "China-centric" over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, and paused funding. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Chris Reese) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The presidential council of the Government of National Accord (GNA) Thursday decided to extend the curfew imposed here from Friday for further 10 days from 18h to 06h to check the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), officials told PANA here Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment American society is as polarized as any time since the Civil War. Never-Trumpers and Democrats view anyone who would consider voting for Trump as morally compromised, while hardcore Trump supporters see their opponents as hypocritical totalitarians in the making. The response to COVID-19 similarly polarizes the population between those who support quarantine and social distancing and those who think it is an overreaction at best or incipient totalitarianism at worst. Democrats are being pushed further to the left and Republicans to the right, and both sides view the other not simply as mistaken in their ideas, but as malicious and evil. While anyone familiar with American history knows that political nastiness is nothing new, Scripture does not give Christians permission to engage in battle that way. The Apostle Paul gives clear guidelines about how to handle disputes both inside and outside of the Church. While anyone familiar with American history knows that political nastiness is nothing new, Scripture does not give Christians permission to engage in battle that way. Identifying the Enemy The first thing we need to recognize is that our opponents, political or otherwise, are not our enemies. Paul tells us that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12). The enemy is thus ultimately spiritual, not physical. People who oppose or distort the Gospel are prisoners of war (2 Tim. 2:26) suffering from Stockholm syndrome. We should see them as needing rescue, just like any of us apart from Christ. Every human being is made in Gods image. This is the source of human value, making all equal before God. We frequently appeal to the image of God to make a case for protecting the unborn, but we must recognize that our political leaders on both the right and the left even President Trump and Nancy Pelosi are also made in the image of God. Simply put, Christians cannot demonize our opponents, because to do so is to insult the God in whose image we are made. The Nature of our Weapons In addition to the weapons and armor for spiritual warfare described in Eph. 6, we have other weapons to help us set prisoners free. Paul tells us that these weapons have divine power to destroy strongholds, which Paul tells us include arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and that these weapons allow us to take every thought captive to obey Christ. To put it differently, on a human level, our fight is against the entrenched sin in peoples thinking, in culture, and in political and social institutions. We are to fight a battle of ideas, and we must do our best to keep the fight on that level. Contrary to Saul Alinsky, we cannot personalize the conflict: though we may identify people who hold the views we are challenging, we must never do so in such a way that they are presented as the enemy rather than their worldviews, ideas, or programs. We do not war against people, only ideas. The Rules of Engagement Once we know our enemy and our weapons, we need to know the rules of engagement. The most important of these is the Golden Rule: whatever you wish others would do to you, do also to them. (Matt. 7:12) This is probably the most consistently violated rule of all of Scripture. For example, we readily attribute the worst possible motives to our opponents yet are insulted when they do the same to us. If you are a political partisan on either side, remember: if attributing evil motives to you is wrong when your opponents do it, it is equally wrong when you do it. According to the Golden Rule, if you want others to give you the benefit of the doubt, you need to do the same for them. This does not mean that we can never criticize the views of others, but we must do it rightly. We must try to understand the worldviews and ideas that motivate our opponents, recognize that these are rarely inspired by malice, and offer counterarguments by pointing out factual errors, logical fallacies, the implications of their ideas, etc. But this raises a problem. In a world shaped by postmodernism, truth is seen as a social construct that is, what we think to be true is shaped by society and society in turn is shaped by its vision of the truth. Truth thus becomes a means of social control, either to protect the existing order or to overturn it. Disagreement on important issues is thus an existential threat if the other side wins, my side gets suppressed. Perhaps that is one reason why these discussions become nasty and personalized so quickly. But as Christians we must insist that not all worldviews are equal, and we need to make that case clearly and winsomely, focusing on the ideas and not the people who hold them and insisting on protecting the rights of those who think differently. Further, we must not accuse people of acting duplicitously or out of malice without clear and unambiguous evidence that goes beyond our partisan biases. When people claim to be acting for a specific reason, we need to take them at their word. And we need to remember that disagreements about policy do not mean the other side has hidden motives or ill will. For example, people on both ends of the political spectrum want to help the poor and, with rare exceptions, want to protect minorities, but they disagree on the best way to do these things. Only when we recognize our common goals can we get beyond the increasingly polarized rhetoric in the culture. Our attitude toward our opponents revealed by how we treat them is also an important element in dealing with disagreements. We turn to that in our next article. This piece was originally published at BreakPoint A jury has been watching CCTV footage from the night when a car was stolen before allegedly being used in a credit union robbery that resulted in Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe being shot dead. Detective Garda Gareth Kenna today described to the jury footage taken from several locations around County Louth three nights before the robbery and fatal shooting. On the same night, the witness said, a Volkswagen Passat was stolen from Hillcrest in Clogherhead, Co Louth. A similar Volkswagen was later found burned out in Armagh following the robbery. Aaron Brady (28) from New Road, Crossmaglen, Co Armagh has pleaded not guilty to the capital murder of Det Gda Adrian Donohoe who was then a member of An Garda Siochana on active duty on January 25, 2013 at Lordship Credit Union, Bellurgan, Co Louth. Mr Brady has also pleaded not guilty to a charge of robbing approximately e7,000 in cash and assorted cheques on the same date and at the same location. Det Gda Kenna told Lorcan Staines SC for the prosecution that he identified a BMW 5-Series pulling into the Ballymascanlon Service Station at 1.54am on January 23, 2013. He said it pulled up to the pump before a man identified as a suspect for the robbery and that man's brother got out. A third person could be seen in the front passenger seat but was not identified. The witness said he had "no doubt" the car belonged to Suspect A and that the people seen in the CCTV footage were Suspect A and his brother. The men's real names are used in court but they cannot be identified publicly for legal reasons. The witness described the car as a distinctive BMW 5-series saloon with large multi-spoke alloy wheels, a twin exhaust, yellow number plate and a roof that appears to be a different tone to the rest of the car. The car's headlights and fog lights were illuminated, he said. He then described a series of CCTV clips from the same night showing locations further south in the county at Monasterboice, Clogherhead and Termonfeckin. In each clip he described a saloon-type car with the fog lights lit. In some clips he said the colour tone of the roof was visibly different to the rest of the car and in some he said multi-spoke alloy wheels were visible on the car. Around 3am he said a dark toned saloon car consistent with a 5-Series BMW could be seen driving away from the Hillcrest area towards Termonfeckin. Det Gda Kenna also agreed with Mr Staines that during the same period, Aaron Brady's only phone contacts were with his then girlfriend Jessica King, her mother, Suspect A and Suspect A's brother. Suspect A's only contacts were with his brother, his girlfriend, Mr Brady, a second named suspect and a number that has been deemed irrelevant to the investigation. The jury also heard from Douglas Hughes who told prosecution counsel Brendan Grehan SC that he was awoken before dawn on June 16 2012 by the sound of a van going by his house. Mr Hughes lives at the corner of Chaleybeate Road and Cortamlat Road in Co Armagh, close to the area where the Volkswagen Passat was found burned out following the shooting of Det Gda Donohoe. He could hear by the noise of the engine that the van was carrying "quite a load" and was "straining" to get up the hill. Mr Hughes said a lot of fuel laundering material had been dumped in the area around that time and added: "I knew it was somebody up to no good. There's no cause for anybody to be up that road at that time in the morning." He was "cross", he said, "because they were giving the area a bad name." He got out of bed and drove his BMW up the narrow country road where he came across a white Transit van with the two back doors open. He could see two young men who had already dumped one large tub of diesel waste while another tub was still in the van. Mr Hughes switched on his car lights and the two men "jumped into the van and drove off." The witness followed them for a time and reported what was happening to the gardai and PSNI. He noted the number plate of the van and later the number plate of a car that was met by the van after driving a couple of miles towards Castleblayney, south of the border. He said the car got in front of him and tried to prevent him from catching up with the van but the pursuit had slowed to about 20 to 30 miles per hour because the van had a flat tire. He "got cold feet" after a time, abandoned the pursuit and went home. The trial continues tomorrow in front of Mr Justice Michael White and a jury of six men and seven women. A restaurant employee in a Star Wars costume was detained in Canada on Sunday after 911 callers reported seeing someone in a Stormtrooper costume with a gun, police said. The employee, who was carrying a plastic blaster, had been trying to drum up business for the struggling restaurant, which opened two months before Canadian authorities shuttered eat-in dining because of the coronavirus, the womans boss, Brad Whalen, told NBC News. Image: Stormtrooper arrest (Brad Whalen) The promotion occurred on May the 4th Be With You Day, the unofficial holiday dedicated to the film franchise. The restaurant, Coco Vanilla Galactic Cantina, is Star Wars themed and serves pizza and donair in the city of Lethbridge, Alberta. A video showed multiple officers, some with their guns drawn, shouting at the employee to get on the ground. The worker, who Whalen did not want to identify, could be seen face down in Coco Vanillas parking lot. She could be heard sobbing while officers handcuffed her. In a statement, Lethbridge Police Services said the woman did not initially comply with the officers instructions to get on the ground. The weapon was ultimately confirmed to be a fake firearm, the statement said. The woman was not arrested, the statement added, but suffered a minor injury that didnt require medical attention. Related: Tariq Trotter's Star Wars Day Quarantine Rap Police Chief Scott Woods ordered an investigation after reviewing the video and other details, the statement said. The department declined to comment further. Whalen was watching the incident as it occurred and can be heard in the video telling officers that the weapon is plastic. When she was told to drop the blaster, she did, he said. Whalen said it was also difficult to move in the $1,200 costume, which he decided to use for the promotion when showing Star Wars films to customers wasnt an option for May 4. Thats what she was trying to yell, he said. You cant kneel. You cant sit when you wear it. Story continues Whalen, a carpenter, spent $200,000 opening the shop in January. After coronavirus restrictions went into effect, he was clearing $50 a day, he said. "Just to operate its $350 a day and thats when I dont have full staff," he said. Hed begun promoting auctions and other events online to generate business. When he settled on using the Stormtrooper armor, the employee, whos been working with him since January, happily agreed to wear it. The ironic thing is, shes not even a Star Wars fan, he said. Now I dont think well ever convince her to be one. Fans of the franchise may try to change that. Dozens of comments on the restaurant's Facebook page offered messages of support, including from some wearing Stormtrooper costumes. And more support came from the leading man of another franchise, William Shatner. "Captains Log Stardate 49," the Star Trek actor tweeted. "Sending my contempt this morning to the @lethpolice of Alberta, Canada & @LPSChief1. Rifles drawn for a plastic toy Cosplayer? Didnt comply right away? Are you blind Chief? Watch the video to see how quickly she complied. This cannot be covered up." FBI Releases 2019 Statistics on Law Enforcement Officers Killed in the Line of Duty According to statistics reported to the FBI, 89 law enforcement officers were killed in line-of-duty incidents in 2019. Of these, 48 officers died as a result of felonious acts, and 41 officers died in accidents. Comprehensive data tables about these incidents and brief narratives describing the fatal attacks are included in Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2019, released today. Felonious Deaths The 48 felonious deaths occurred in 19 states and in Puerto Rico. The number of officers killed as a result of criminal acts in 2019 was 8 less than the 56 officers who were feloniously killed in 2018. The 5- and 10-year comparisons show an increase of 7 felonious deaths compared with the 2015 figure (41 officers) and a decrease of 7 deaths compared with 2010 data (55 officers). Officer Profiles. The average age of the officers who were feloniously killed was 40 years old. The victim officers had served in law enforcement for an average of 13 years at the times of the fatal incidents. Of the 48 officers: 45 were male 3 were female 40 were white 7 were black/African American 1 was Asian. Circumstances. Of the 48 officers feloniously killed: 15 died as a result of investigative or law enforcement activities 6 were conducting traffic violation stops 4 were performing investigative activities 2 were drug-related matters 2 were interacting with wanted persons 1 was investigating suspicious person or circumstance 9 were involved in tactical situations 3 were barricaded/hostage situations 3 were serving, or attempting to serve, search warrants 2 were serving, or attempting to serve, arrest warrants 1 was reported in the category titled other tactical situation 5 were involved in unprovoked attacks 4 were responding to crimes in progress 2 were robberies 1 was larceny-theft 1 was reported in the category titled other crime against property 3 were involved in arrest situations and were attempting to restrain/control/handcuff the offender(s) during the arrest situations 3 were assisting other law enforcement officers 2 with vehicular pursuits 1 with foot pursuit 3 were responding to disorders or disturbances 2 were responding to disturbances (disorderly subjects, fights, etc.) 1 was responding to a domestic violence call 3 were involved in vehicular pursuits 2 were ambushed (entrapment/premeditation) 1 was serving, or attempting to serve, a court order (eviction notice, subpoena, etc.). Weapons. Offenders used firearms to kill 44 of the 48 victim officers. Four officers were killed with vehicles used as weapons. Of the 44 officers killed by firearms: 34 were slain with handguns 7 with rifles 1 with a shotgun 2 with firearms in which the types of firearms were unknown or not reported Regions. Felonious deaths were reported in four U.S. regions and Puerto Rico. 27 officers were feloniously killed in the South 9 in the Midwest 9 in the West 1 in the Northeast 2 in Puerto Rico Suspects. Law enforcement agencies identified 49 alleged assailants in connection with the felonious line-of-duty deaths. 36 of the assailants had prior criminal arrests. 12 of the offenders were under judicial supervision at the times of the felonious incidents. Accidental Deaths Forty-one law enforcement officers were killed accidentally while performing their duties in 2019, a decrease of 9 when compared with the 50 officers accidentally killed in 2018. The majority (19 officers) were killed in motor vehicle crashes. Officer Profile. The average age of officers who were accidentally killed was 40 years old; the average number of years the victim officers had served in law enforcement was 11. Of the 41 officers accidentally killed: 38 were male 3 were female 39 were white 2 were black/African American. Circumstances. The 41 officers accidentally killed died in a variety of scenarios: 19 died as a result of motor vehicle crashes 18 while operating cars, SUVs, trucks, or vans 1 while operating an ATV or a motorcycle 16 were pedestrian officers struck by vehicles 3 were killed in firearm-related incidents 2 officers drowned 1 officer was reported to have died in the category of an other type of duty-related accident when they were struck by a tire/wheel while assisting a motorist. Use of seatbelts. Of the 18 officers killed in motor vehicle crashes while operating cars, SUVs, trucks, or vans, 9 were wearing seatbelts, and 6 were not. Data about seatbelt usage was not reported for 3 of the officers. Regions. Accidental deaths were reported in four U.S. regions. 22 of the accidental deaths occurred in the South 8 in the Midwest 8 in the West 3 in the Northeast Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2019 Release schedule. In an effort to provide a more timely release of data to the public, todays release provides three sections of Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2019. These sections include data and statistics concerning officers feloniously and accidentally killed and statistics about federal officers killed and/or assaulted. The remaining portions of the publication, which present data reported to the FBI concerning law enforcement officers assaulted in the line of duty in 2019, will be available later this year: Assault data will be released in the fall and will include national statistics about officers assaulted in the line of duty. Detailed assault data will be released in the fall and will include statistics and narratives concerning a subset of assault incidents in which officers received injuries with firearms or knives/cutting instruments. Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2019, is available exclusively on the FBIs UCR website. This story has been published on: 2020-05-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Labour MP Nadia Whittome, who was the youngest elected in the December 2019 election, has been dismissed as a carer for the elderly in a Nottingham residential care home after she raised concerns over lack of personal protection equipment (PPE). Whittome, 24, was born in Nottingham to Indian-origin parents and worked as a carer before contesting the election. She was one of the first MPs to return to their previous professions in the healthcare sector when the coronavirus pandemic broke out in the UK. She said: Just over a month ago, when the coronavirus pandemic took hold, I returned part-time to my previous job as a care worker because I knew that this crisis would be falling on already underpaid, overworked care workers, who would be even more stretched. Ive used the time to talk about the way in which the governments response to this has neglected social care, including a national shortage of PPE and testing, and how thats risking the lives of staff, of residents and of the gneral public. Because I have spoken out about this, Ive been sacked from my employment. But this isnt just about me, its not just about one individual case or even one employer. Care workers across the country are being easily exploited by their employers, she added. The trust that owns the care home where she worked denied PPE shortage. Whittome, MP from Nottingham East, asked care workers to contact her in confidence, adding that her office is collecting evidence of how they are underpaid, undervalued and fear speaking out due to uncertain employment status. Martin Allen of trade union GMB said: The GMB is the union for all care workers and has been clear in demanding proper PPE provision in care since day one of this crisis, no ifs no buts. Nadia has been doing fantastic work holding the government to account on PPE and highlighting the issue of PPE in care homes as a matter of national concern. Official daily casualty figures initially did not include those in care homes and hospices. As evidence grew of growing number of deaths in these situations, the Boris Johnson government included them, highlighting the virus spread. Casualty figures in care homes included the iconic Indian editor, Gulshan Ewing, who passed away in a London care home in April aged 92. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON On May 5 the German Federal Supreme Court heard the arguments in the case between Sisvel and Haier regarding Sisvel's request for injunctive relief for infringement of cellular standard essential patents (SEPs) owned by Sisvel. The decision rendered on May 5, marks the final decision on the infringement of Sisvel's European patent EP 0 852 885 ("EP 885"), and the related FRAND defense after a 6 year long legal dispute. Prior to this verdict, on March 10, 2020 the BGH had already given final confirmation that Sisvel's EP 885 should be considered valid. The nullity actions had been filed by Haier and ZTE. On April 28, 2020 there was a subsequent decision by the BGH confirming the validity of Sisvel's European patent EP 1 264 504, where Haier and ZTE were likewise the plaintiffs. Last but not least, yesterday the BGH ruled that in the infringement proceedings of EP 885 the decision of the Appeal Court in Dusseldorf from March 2017 is reversed in relation to the finding on costs and insofar as the decision has found to the detriment of the plaintiff, i.e. Sisvel. "Sisvel welcomes the results we have obtained in the recent weeks before the highest court for patent matters in Germany. Whilst we still see a too much hold-out and "efficient infringement" strategies being used, we have every confidence that Haier and implementers alike will take notice of this landmark decision." said Florian Cordes, who managed the litigation for Sisvel, "We also trust that the decision of the BGH will provide certain instructions to the market and courts how implementers of SEPs should behave, which may prevent future disputes." The patents asserted against Haier are part of Sisvel's bilateral "Wireless" program and are available under license with its "Mobile Communication Program" (MCP) as well. The Sisvel MCP is a licensing platform that licenses cellular (2G, 3G, 4G) standard essential patents, which are owned by a variety of companies, including Airbus DS, KPN, Mitsubishi Electric, Orange, Sisvel and 3G Licensing. For additional information about the program, please visit the dedicated section of our website: https://www.sisvel.com/licensing-programs/wireless-communications/mcp/introduction About Sisvel Sisvel is a world leader in fostering innovation and managing intellectual property. The Group identifies, evaluates and maximizes the value of IP assets for its partners around the world, providing firms with a revenue stream which can be reinvested in innovation for the generation of future revenues. Founded in 1982, the Group is headquartered in Luxembourg and has subsidiaries in China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the United States and the United Kingdom. The Group has a long history of managing successful patent portfolios including those related to the audio compression standards known as MP3 and MPEG Audio, as well as broadcasting and receiving of digital terrestrial television standards maintained by the DVB Project. Sisvel currently operates patent pools and joint licensing programs in the fields of mobile communication; wireless local area networking 802.11; digital video broadcasting; recommendation engine and broadband access to data networks. For additional information, please visit: www.sisvel.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005402/en/ Contacts: Media Contact Sisvel Group Giulia Dini Communications Manager Tel: +34 93 131 5570 giulia.dini@sisvel.com The recorded accounts of the second lynching of an Afro-American male in the city of Chattanooga in 1885 vary. One version states that on September 7, 1885, Williams shot a white street car driver, Polk Mitchell, because he tried to enforce Chattanoogas segregated seating ordinance that required all black males to sit in the back of the vehicle. This account claims that when Williams refused to comply and move to the segregated section, an argument ensued and Williams shot Mitchell and fled the scene. He was later caught and put in the Hamilton County Jail. He was forcibly removed from his cell by a lynch mob and was hung from the rafters of the third floor of the jail, one day after his arrest. Another account goes into greater detail as to the parties and events that led to the lynching. Charlie Williams was a roofer who was highly regarded by the local builders who used his services. Before becoming a street car driver, Polk Mitchell had been a member of the Chattanooga Police Department and became the assistant police chief to Chief James A. Allen after he moved from Nashville. Chief Allen had gotten crossways with the citys mayor who had called for his resignation. The crux of the dispute was a campaign to raise money by issuing tickets by the police department that were supposed to be filed in the city court so that the City of Chattanooga could collect the fines and keep the money. However, Chief Allen preferred that the cases be lodged in the county courts thus depriving the city of significant revenue. Another aspect of the scandal with the police department was the loose policing of the approximately 100 prostitutes in an unofficial red-light district that just happened to be near the police headquarters. Chief Allen would periodically raid the brothels to placate the general public but as soon as the prostitutes paid their fines they were allowed to go back in business. Mitchell was eventually fired as a police officer because he was seen kissing his wifes cousin who happened to be a prostitute on a public street in downtown Chattanooga. During his tenure as a police officer it was alleged that Mitchell had beaten Charlie Williams and this unforgotten incident was what sparked the confrontation between the two on September 6, 1885, when Mitchell had gone back to his old job driving a mule drawn street car. When Mitchell stopped to pick up a passenger it was Charlie Williams who confronted the former police officer about the beating he had given him. An oral confrontation took place but ended with Williams being put off the trolley but not before the black roofer swore that he would get even with you you son of a b _ _ _ _ and went home and got a pistol. At a stop called the Lookout Switch, Williams again confronted Mitchell and this time it went beyond talk. A fight took place and the trolley driver was shot three times with one bullet piercing his heart. Williams fled the scene but was apprehended in a corn patch on the side of Chattanooga Creek. A crowd of over 500 angry citizens gathered and followed the police to the Hamilton County Jail. With the crowd getting more boisterous, Sheriff S.C. Pyott tried unsuccessfully to contact the governor in Nashville for armed troops. As a result, the sheriff called out two local militias to assist them, but they primarily consisted of young boys and were not allowed to load their rifles with bullets. Sheriff Pyott initially was able to calm the crowd but eventually they returned to the jail. In the meantime, a hurriedly impaneled coroners inquest was held and ruled that Mitchell met his death from pistol shots fired by Charlie Williams. The militia came to the jail and the sheriff ordered them to form a single line in front of the jail gate with fixed bayonets but no ammunition in their rifles. Knowing they would not be shot the mob rushed the jail and eventually found Williams in the last cell on the second floor. After some difficulty they finally broke through the steel bars and grabbed Williams. He was taken to the third floor where his hands and feet were tied and a rope thrown across an iron beam. The noose was made from mosquito netting and initially broke in the mob's attempt to hang Williams. Eventually a rope was found and Williams was pulled up about eight inches off the floor and strangled to death. After he died the body remained suspended for about 30y minutes in order that everyone could pass by and view the dead body before Williams brother came by and the body was released to him and Charlies mother and father at about 1 a.m. Another coroners jury was set up and their finding was that Williams met his death at the hands of an unknown mob. At 1:30 a.m., an hour and a half after the mob broke in and hung Charlie Williams a telegram arrived from the governors office authorizing an armed militia to defend the jail. * * * Jerry Summers (If you have additional information about one of Mr. Summers' articles or have suggestions or ideas about a future Chattanooga area historical piece, please contact Mr. Summers at jsummers@summersfirm.com Turkeys leading defense and technology company has landed a contact in Bahrain to supply the navy of the tiny Gulf kingdom, Daily Sabah reports. Aside from the latest sale of the remote-controlled weapon system to the Gulf, Aselsan having been present in the market for more than a decade has provided countries with technological solutions through direct sales, transfer of technology programs, local production and joint venture companies, the company said in a statement. The system to be delivered is currently in 20 countries via both land-based and naval platforms, Daily Sabah reports. The company early last month said it received for the first quarter of the year orders estimated at $320 million. ASELSAN which belongs to Turkish Armed Forces Foundation, has a wide range of product portfolio including communication and information technologies, radar and electronic warfare, electro-optics, avionics, unmanned systems, land, naval and weapon systems, air defense and missile systems, command and control systems, transportation, security, traffic, automation and medical systems. It features among world top 100 defense companies. There are 35,902 active cases and 1,783 deaths have already occurred due to the pandemic. About 15,266 patients have recovered and been discharged to date. The total number of COVID-19 cases in India has reached 52,952 according to the Union Health Ministrys recent data. There are currently 35,902 active cases and 1,783 deaths have already occurred due to the pandemic. About 15,266 patients have recovered and been discharged to date. The last 24 hours also witnessed a peak in the number of new cases, with 3,602 new patients confirmed to be COVID-19 positive. PM Modi addresses nation, says frontline workers deserve appreciation and honour Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on the occasion of Buddha Purnima and linked the teachings of Lord Buddha to Indias success. He also reiterated the contribution of frontline and essential workers who are working 24 hours to help others, to maintain law and order, to cure infected persons and to maintain cleanliness, by sacrificing their own comforts. India has highest estimated global birth rates since beginning of pandemic: UN According to a recent report by the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), a sharp rise in global birth rate has been projected for the nine months following the WHOs announcement of classifying COVID-19 a pandemic in March 2020. With 20.1 million estimated births, India has topped the list of nations with the highest birth rate, followed by China, Nigeria, Pakistan and Indonesia. These estimated new mothers and babies are expected to suffer from inadequate healthcare provisions like safe birthing options and neonatal and postnatal care due to resources being strained during the pandemic. AYUSH medicines in clinical trial for health workers Union Health Minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan announced that clinical trials of AYUSH (Ayurvedic, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) medications like Ashwagandha, Yashtimadhu, Guduchi Pippali, Ayush-64, etc. will be conducted on health workers and those working in COVID-19 high-risk areas. The trials will be done by the Ministry of AYUSH, the Health Ministry and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). An app called Sanjeevani will also collate information about the immunity boosting capacity of AYUSH medications. Gilead approaches Indian pharma to produce Remdesivir US pharmaceutical company, Gilead has announced that its in talks with pharmaceutical companies across the world, including leading companies in India, to produce the antiviral drug, Remdesivir. Remdesivir recently received the US Food and Drug Administrations emergency approval for the treatment of severe COVID-19 patients. Gilead is screening drug companies in India for their ability to manufacture Remdesivir under long-term voluntary licenses. Such license will give pharma companies access to Gileads Remdesivir, while the American company will receive a royalty for the patented drugs manufacturing in return. COVID-19 claims the lives of two BSF personnel, cases rise to almost 200 Two Border Security Force (BSF) personnel have passed away after contracting COVID-19, the Force announced in a statement today. One of the patients lost his life today, while the other passed away last Monday at Delhis Safdarjung Hospital. This news comes in the wake of 41 fresh cases of COVID-19 being confirmed among BSF personnel, taking the Forces total COVID-19 tally up to 193. Alcohol is not a vaccine, Shiv Sena mouthpiece reminds public With COVID-19 cases still growing in Maharashtra, an editorial piece in Shiv Senas publication, Saamana, reminded people that liquor is not a vaccine for COVID-19. The Marathi publications rebuke came after liquor shops were opened in the state on Monday and Tuesday with large crowds giving up social distancing and hygiene norms to buy alcohol. The same period also witnessed a rise of 635 fresh cases in the state, after which all non-essential services were closed once again. For more information, read our article on All you wanted to know about Remdesivir. 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. Primeste notificari pe email Contractare si Achizitie Bunuri Anunturi de Angajare (Premium) Granturi - Finantari (Premium) Burse de studiu Stagii Profesionale Oportunitati de voluntariat Toate Articolele At the Inglis House in Philadelphia on Tuesday May 5, members of the local Chinese American United Association deliver supplies of protective equipment to help people avoid the coronavirus. From left to right, they are: Holly Meng, Inglis executive Christopher Bathe, Jason Lam, Duanjin Lu, and Jinguang Wu. Read more Asian American groups across the country intended to spend Heritage Month celebrating landmark achievements in culture, arts, and labor, including the 151st anniversary of the completion of the first transcontinental railroad, largely built by Chinese migrant toil. Instead, they find themselves navigating a threatening new world where Asians have become targets of violence and harassment, the resentment stoked by the Trump administrations claim, presented without evidence, that the coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab. How are people responding? Heres one way: with love. On Food of Love Day on Sunday, Chinese American communities and restaurants in all 50 states will provide free food for their fellow citizens, delivering hot meals to homeless shelters and offering supplies to food banks. Lets honor the memory of our forefathers and combat hate with love! the Washington-based organizer, United Chinese Americans, said in an announcement. Restaurants and groups in the Philadelphia region are pitching in despite the economic devastation wreaked on businesses in Chinatown, where dining establishments have closed and workers have been laid off. We told people, everyone is struggling, but if you can, please donate to someone who is worse off than you, said Steven Zhu, president of the Chinese Restaurant Association in Philadelphia. This is an Asian Pacific American Heritage Month unlike any other. Usually, Franklin Square would be illuminated with festival lights, and the Phillies would be preparing to honor Asian contributions during a special night at Citizens Bank Park. Instead, on Monday the Anti-Defamation League cited surging reports of xenophobic and racist incidents targeting members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, ranging from racial slurs to physical assaults, from spitting to taunts of Go back to China! To the system, we are all various shades of Chinese, said Nancy Nguyen, director of the South Philadelphia-based advocacy group VietLead. Trump and his administration are trying to divert attention and move the target from their backs to ours. Nearly 1,500 incidents of anti-Asian harassment, discrimination. and assault have been reported nationally since March, according to Stop AAPI Hate, an information-gathering project. READ MORE: With DACA down to the wire, immigrant health-care workers fight the pandemic as possible deportation looms Polls show three in 10 Americans blame China or Chinese people for the coronavirus. According to an April poll by the Center for Public Integrity and Ipso, a global market research firm, 44% fault a specific group or organization for the virus rather than viewing the pandemic as a natural disaster and of those, 66% blame China, Chinese people, the Chinese government, or a lab in China. How to change those views? How to teach someone not to hate? This is a question people are really grappling with, said Alix Webb, executive director of Asian Americans United in Philadelphia. Part of the solution must be education. Another part is youth-to-youth discussions. And, she said, its important that elected leaders speak out on whats right and fair. In Philadelphia, where Asians make up nearly 8% of the population, City Council members have condemned xenophobic rhetoric. Councilmember Helen Gym plans to introduce a formal resolution, and Mayor Jim Kenney has warned that hateful acts will not be tolerated. Since the pandemic began, the local Chinese American United Association, chaired by Jason Lam, has raised $117,000 from communities across Pennsylvania using it to buy and donate protective masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer to hospitals, churches, senior centers, and police. We hope our action, our love, [will encourage] more people coming out to support each other and help the people who need help, Lam said. That follows donations of more than 27,000 protective masks by the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp. in March. United Chinese Americans specifically set Food of Love Day for May 10, which marks the 151st anniversary of the completion of the railroad. On that day in 1869, the presidents of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads met in Utah to drive a ceremonial last spike. READ MORE: An 8-year-old girl in U.S. legally to fight cancer might see her mom deported Written out of history until recently were the Chinese migrants, as many as 10,000 to 12,000 on any given day, who for years performed grueling, dangerous work in snow and desert to build the railway. Hundreds died. Today, Asian American organizations say theyll continue to aid pandemic relief. The Chinese community, we are here, we love the city, we need to help everyone who needed help," Zhu said. "We encourage people to donate, to bring the love from your heart. Lucknow, May 7 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered the recruitment of 69,000 primary teachers within a week. The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday, had asked the state government to recruit 69000 teachers in primary schools in the state. The court favoured the government's decision to increase the cut-off marks 60-65 per cent. It has also ordered the recruitment process to be completed within six months. The written exam for 69,000 teachers' recruitment was conducted on January 6, 2019. The examination authorities are all set to release the results the next week. On July 25, 2017, the Supreme Court had asked the state government to cancel the recruitment of 1,37,517 teachers on the post of TET Assistant Teacher but give them the benefit of experience in two recruitments. Six months later, on January 17, 2018, the government issued the order for the written examination for the assistant teachers' posts for the first time to hire 68,500 teachers. About 7200 Shiksha Mitras qualified in the written examination held on May 27. They all got an opportunity to be recruited for the 68,500 assistant teachers' posts. The exam was conducted on January 6, 2019, for 69,000 teachers' recruitment but there was a dispute regarding the cut-off marks and the examination regulatory authority office could not release the final answer key in 11 months. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text The Philippines has suffered six covid19 (coronavirus) deaths per million population so far and has 91 known cases of the virus per million people. In early April the government ordered a nationwide lockdown to halt the spread and make it easier to treat those who have it. So far so good. Neighbors Malaysia have 199 cases and three deaths per million, Singapore has 3,452 confirmed cases per million and three deaths per million while Indonesia has 45 cases per million and three deaths per million. The Philippines has the advantage of having no land borders with any other nation. Moreover, the Philippines consists of 7,600 islands, which further limits the spread of the virus. Covid19 does not appear to have spread to the thousands of Chinese living on existing and artificial islands in the South China Sea that China has claimed and is holding by force against international law and international court decisions affirming the Chinese occupation is illegal. China has offered to assist the Philippines in dealing with covid19 as long as they dont call it the Wuhan virus. China is currently trying to suppress news of the disease inside China, where many locals report their government is not reporting the continued presence of the virus and the growing number of infections and deaths. China is trying to shift blame for the virus to the United States. People in Wuhan find this hard to believe because it was a local doctor who first noticed covid19 in December 2019, raised the alarm and was promptly silenced by the government for spreading rumors. The doctor later died of the virus and has become a folk hero to local Chinese. Diseases similar to covid19 are common in China and scientists analyzed covid19 and found 80 percent of it was identical to the earlier (2003) SARS, a less-lethal covid type virus that also originated in China. Filipinos dont trust China, especially given the way the Chinese have handled the outbreak of the Wuhan virus and its subsequent spread. The economic impact of covid19 has been less in the Philippines than in most other nations. For the first three months of 2020 Filipino GDP declined 0.2 percent versus late 2019 estimates of growing about three percent. May 5, 2020: The government is buying six AH-1Z helicopter gunships from the United States. This includes training, accessories, weapons, spare parts and long term tech support. With all that each AH-1Z will cost $75 million. AH-1Z is the most recent model of the AH-1T/W attack helicopters. The production model AH-1Zs are newly built rather than rebuilt from older AH-1W gunships. The AH-1Z has an airframe good for over 10,000 flight hours and uses a new four-bladed composite rotor system, transmission, strengthened structural components, and modern digital cockpit avionics. The 8.3 ton AH-1Z has two engines and is armed with a three-barrel 20mm Gatling gun (and 750 rounds) and up to eight Hellfire missiles or 28 similar but smaller APKWS missiles. It can also carry two Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. Electronics include radar warning, missile warning and day/night vidcams that work with helmet-mounted displays. The AH-1Z can operate around the clock, in all kinds of weather. Sorties last about two hours each and cruising speed is 248 kilometers an hour. Currently, the Philippines only has 25 older MD500 lighter armed scout helicopters as well as eight more recent AW109 armed scout gunships. Jordan has also donated two old AH-1F gunships that will arrive this year. May 4, 2020: China is demanding that Vietnamese and Filipino fishermen comply with a Chinese ban on fishing in the South China Sea from now until August 16th. Since the 1990s China has only enforced the ban on Chinese fishing ships but this year is threatening to arrest Vietnamese and Filipino fishermen who do not comply. The purpose of the ban is to allow the fish to breed and maintain their numbers. Overfishing was caused by China which subsidized a large ocean going trawler fleet which often fished illegally in foreign waters. Chinese trawlers still do that, as far away as South America and Africa. But the first target of this illegal fishing was EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) waters that extend 380 kilometers from the coasts of nations bordering the South China Sea. When these nations sought to drive the Chinese poachers away China began sending warships in with the poachers to deter local authorities from interfering. The EEZ concept was established by an international treaty that China signed. In the case of the South China Sea China claims that the EEZ treaty does not apply because the South China Sea is traditional Chinese territory and China is reasserting ownership. There is no historical evidence for this claim but China insists it is true and is increasingly threatening to use force to keep the legal owners of EEZ waters out. Vietnam and the Philippines are calling on all EEZ nations to help prevent China from violating the EEZ agreement. May 3, 2020: In the south (Maguindanao province) some troops out enforcing the covid19 quarantine were ambushed by BIFF (Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters) gunmen. Two soldiers were killed and one wounded. The BIFF force took their wounded with them and fled. BIFF considers itself part of ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) and has been under constant heavy attack since late 2018. Fewer than a hundred members remain active and constant army patrols maintains the pressure that reduces that number relentlessly. BIFF was originally formed to oppose BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao), the autonomous Moslem region, because they considered it insufficient. Since it was finally created in early 2019 BARMM has proved very popular among Moslems and that meant much less support for groups like BIFF. May 2, 2020: In the south (Agusan del Sur) soldiers clashed with NPA gunmen twice, leaving two leftist rebels dead and one soldier wounded. Troops seized weapons and ammo. May 1, 2020: The NPA ended its unilateral 36 day ceasefire, created to allow covid19 related medical activities to proceed unhindered. The government had its own covid19 ceasefire from March 19 t0 April 15. NPA leaders claim the army violated than one as well. April 30, 2020: The government protested China declaring two portions of the Filipino EEZ. China declared an artificial island built on Kagitingan Reef (part of the Kalayaan Island Group) is now the Nansha district while Woody Island (in the Paracels) is now the Xisha District. An international tribunal ruled against China and affirmed that Chinese claims in the South China Sea violated existing treaties that China had signed as well historical precedent that sided with the Philippines. April 28, 2020: In the south (Sulu province) an army patrol encountered some Abu Sayyaf gunmen and after a brief battle one Islamic terrorist was dead and one soldier wounded. April 24, 2020: In the south (Sulu province) Abu Sayyaf gunmen clashed with MNLF (a local pro-government militia) militiamen, leaving three Islamic terrorists dead and seven militiamen wounded. MNLF men often help the military find Abu Sayyaf captives and camps. In this case, Abu Sayyaf set up a camp 400 meters from an MNLF base. April 23, 2020: In the south (Sulu province) Abu Sayyaf gunmen fought with a group of soldiers sweeping the area looking for the Islamic terrorists. The Abu Sayyaf group was soon forced to disperse, leaving three dead behind and apparently fleeing with many wounded. Three of those wounded were believed to have later died. Eight soldiers were wounded. April 21, 2020: The Philippines Navy revealed that in late February a Chinese corvette aimed its cannon at a Filipino corvette (a former South Korean Pohang class ship) when the Filipinos ordered the Chinese to leave the area near Commodore Reef, which is part of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Commodore Reef is recognized by international treaty as Filipino but the Chinese corvette kept telling the Filipino corvette that the area they were in was Chinese territory. The Chinese corvette kept moving and left the area, continuing to insist the area was China but obviously not willing to open fire and try to enforce the claim. April 19, 2020: In the central Philippines (Masbate province) and in the south (Negros Occidental province) troops clashed with NPA rebels. Four soldiers died and five were wounded. In both situations the leftist gunmen fled, taking their wounded with them but leaving some weapons and equipment behind. In one case the soldiers disrupted NPA plans for an attack on a nearby town. April 18, 2020: In the south (Sulu province) troops fired at a motorcycle carrying two Abu Sayyaf gunmen. One of the Islamic terrorists was killed and the other one, apparently wounded, fled into the bush. April 17, 2020: In the south (Sulu province) Abu Sayyaf gunmen ambushed an army force, killing eleven soldiers and wounding 14 others. The Islamic terrorists got away apparently unscathed. April 12, 2020: In the south (Maguindanao province) seven armed members of BIFF surrendered to the army. April 8, 2020: China sent a coast guard ship to Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. At this point China had warships guarding all the disputed areas in the South China Sea. Since 2012 China has periodically posted warships (coastguard or navy) to enforce their claims. In 2017 China built an environmental monitoring station on Scarborough Shoal, which is 220 kilometers from one of the main Filipino islands (Palawan) and 650 kilometers from Chinese territory (Hainan Island) and according to international law (and a recent international court decision) is Filipino. The Chinese say they have prior claim to most of the South China Sea and basically dares the rest of the world to try and stop them. This makes sense to most Chinese because the Chinese have long called China Zhongguo, which is usually translated into English as middle kingdom. But a more literal and accurate translation is everything under the heavens. Until the 21st century, this mainly meant adjacent land areas. But now China points out that everything means the South China Sea as well. A High Court judge has refused an application by Eir to halt a legal action by one of its customers over alleged breach of its obligations under the Data Protection Acts. Mr Justice Max Barrett however struck out a further claim by Michael Burke alleging he was defamed by Eir in an email sent to communications regulator ComReg on March 6, 2015. This part of his claim was "hopelessly" outside the applicable time limits for defamation proceedings, he said. It was a matter for Mr Burke to decide how he would proceed in relation to a further alleged defamation in July 2017 and that matter was not before the court for decision at this stage, the judge said. He was giving judgment today on a pre-trial application by Eircom Ltd, trading as Eir, to strike out Mr Burke's defamation claim as out of time, disclosing no reasonable cause of action and/or was frivolous and vexatious. Eir also sought the strike-out of a breach of data obligations claim on grounds it had already been dealt with by the Data Protection Commissioner. The struck-out defamation claim concerned an allegation by Mr Burke he was defamed in an email sent by Eir to ComReg on March 6, 2015, by intimating Mr Burke had called in to make a payment when no such payment was due. He claimed Eir continued to maintain notations on his file stating that disconnection of services was due to non-payment. Eir denied defamation but had admitted it disconnected Mr Burke's services for a short period on or about March 5, 2015, and that this should not have occurred. It apologised, re-connected Mr Burke and applied a goodwill credit to his account. Later that month, Eir, in response to a complaint he had made to ComReg over how he was treated by Eir, the company again apologised for what had occurred. The judge said Mr Burke was apparently prepared to let matters rest but in January 2016 he had a further "run-in" with Eir regarding a price increase and charges on his account. As a result, he began to suspect there were adverse annotations on his customer file regarding the March 2015 disconnection. He asked Eir to amend the annotations. It informed him the notes had been amended to show the disconnection was due to an error by Eir and not to a delay in payment by him. He submitted a data access request to Eir but got no reply to three such requests between May and September 2016, He then made a complaint to the Data Protection Commissioner. In December 2018, the judge said the Commissioner "unsurprisingly" held Eir had breached the 40-day statutory turnaround time for responding to his data access request. However, he realised the documentation which Eir was now forced to provide did not tally with that which he already had. He got a solicitor involved and said he then received "copious additional documents" in May 2019. This documentation appeared to explain another adverse experience with Eir he had already had in July 2017, the judge said. He had been told by two different shops he was not entitled to a phone upgrade because he was barred or because of a "legacy account." The upgrade issue was later rectified by Eir. Mr Burke sued over the alleged 2015 defamation and the judge granted Eir an order striking that out for being out of time. But, the judge said, by the time he belatedly got the further documentation from Eir in 2019, he had already brought proceedings over the 2015 issues and may not have appreciated at that stage he may have been defamed in 2017. It was a matter for him to decide what to do in relation to the 2017 matter, the judge said. With regard to Eir's application for the strike-out of the breach of data obligations, the judge said he was not out of time on that issue. He was entitled to litigate whether Eir has a liability over events post-dating the Commissioner's decision in his favour, the judge said. Rise in demand for RTE meal and fast foods, increase in use of health products, surge in income levels, and rapid technological advancements drive the growth of the global food flavors market PORTLAND, Oregon, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research recently published a report, "Food Flavors Market by Type (Natural and Artificial) and End User (Beverages, Dairy & Frozen Products, Bakery & Confectionery, Savory & Snacks, and Animal &Pet Food): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2027". According to the report, the global food flavors industry was pegged at $14.62 billion in 2019, and is anticipated to reach $17.42 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 4.6% from 2020 to 2027. Prime determinants of the market Rise in demand for RTE meal and fast foods, increase in use of health products, and surge in income levels drive the growth of the global food flavors market. Moreover, rapid technological advancements supplemented the market growth. However, increase in side effects of artificial flavors, stringent government regulations, and surge in health awareness among consumers hamper the market growth. On the contrary, untapped potential in unpenetrated and under-penetrated developing countries is expected to create lucrative opportunities for the market players in the coming years. Request Sample Report at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/672 The artificial food flavors segment dominated the market By type, the artificial food flavors segment held the largest share in 2019, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the global food flavors market, owing to less processing time compared to natural flavors. However, the natural food flavors segment is expected to register the highest CAGR of 5.6% during the forecast period, due to their increased demand in the food & beverage industry and rise in demand for clean label products globally. The savory & snacks segment to portray the highest CAGR through 2027 By end user, the savory & snacks segment is expected to reach the fastest CAGR of 6.3% during the study period, owing to their growing demand across developing countries. However, the beverages segment held the largest share in 2019, contributing to more than one-fourth of the global food flavors market, due to rise in awareness among the population regarding the side effects of carbonated drinks. Asia-Pacific, followed by North America, held the largest share The market across Asia-Pacific, held the largest share in 2019, accounting for nearly one-third of the market. Moreover, the region is expected to manifest the highest CAGR of 6.0% during the forecast period, owing to change in taste for fast food & beverages in the region and rise consumption of dairy, bakery, and beverage products. The global food flavors market across North America held the second-highest share in 2019, contributing to more than one-fourth of the market. For Purchase Enquiry at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/672 Major market players FirmenichSA Givauda International SA Frutarom Industries Ltd. Kerry Group, Plc. Huabao International Holdings Limited S H Kelkar and Company Limited. Robertet SA Symrise AG Sensient Technologies Corporation Takasago International Corporation Avenue Basic Plan | Library Access | 1 Year Subscription | Sign up for Avenue subscription to access more than 12,000+ company profiles and 2,000+ niche industry market research reports at $699 per month, per seat. For a year, the client needs to purchase minimum 2 seat plan. Avenue Library Subscription | Request for 14 days free trial of before buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/avenue/trial/starter Get more information: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access Similar Reports: Fast Food Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2027 Dairy Alternatives Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019-2026 Animal Feed Additives Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2018-2025 Bakery Ingredients Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2018-2025 Frozen Potato Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2018 - 2025 About Us Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States USA/Canada (Toll Free): 1-800-792-5285, 1-503-894-6022, 1-503-446-1141 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1(855)550-5975 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Follow Us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/allied-market-research Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg Egypt reported a daily record of 393 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, bringing the total infection tally up to 7,981, the health ministry announced. The ministry also reported 13 new deaths, giving 482 fatalities in total. The statement said that 72 new coronavirus patients have been discharged from hospital, bringing the total number of recoveries to 1,887. Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement that the number of patients who have retested negative for the virus, including the 1,887 recoveries, has now reached 2,378. Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced that a nationwide nighttime curfew had been extended by two more weeks, until the end of the holy month of Ramadan, in order to the curb of the spread of the coronavirus. According to Megahed, 1,890 active cases are currently at isolation hospitals, of which 211 are unstable and 41 are in critical condition. Health Minister Hala Zayed said previously that positive coronavirus cases who show mild or no symptoms are placed in quarantine facilities, including repurposed hotels, youth hostels and university dorms, while isolation hospital beds are reserved for iller patients. Search Keywords: Short link: ATHENS - The Acropolis in Athens and the most important archaeological sites in Greece will reopen on May 18 while museums will instead reopen on June 15, Culture Minister Lina Mendoni announced Thursday in a press conference. The Acropolis and other sites had been closed since mid-March as part of containment measures for COVID-19. Social distancing measures will remain in place and few people will be allowed to enter at a time. Greece began partially reopening on Monday, beginning with hairdressers and small shops. On May 18 high schools will reopen, followed by cafes, bars, small restaurants and summer open-air cinemas so long as there is no surge in COVID-19 cases in the country in the meantime. Greece, with a population of 10.7 million inhabitants, has seen 147 with COVID-19 die and 2,663 infections. These numbers are lower than the EU average. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 7) The country on Thursday set new record high in single-day COVID-19 cases posted over the past month as well as in the number of recoveries. An additional 339 coronavirus cases were reported by the Department of Health, bringing the countrys total to 10,343. This surpassed the previous high of 320 new infections posted just a day before. The DOH logged 205 of the new cases in Central Visayas, 110 in the National Capital Region, and 24 more in other regions nationwide. The department added that 112 more recovered from the viral disease, which brought the number to 1,618. The DOH also reported 27 new deaths for a total of 685. Daily recoveries in the past five days have not gone lower than 90, while the daily deaths in the past week averaged at around 17. Most of the COVID-19 cases nationwide have been reported in the National Capital Region, followed by CALABARZON and Central Visayas, respectively. Despite the rise in the country's tally of confirmed cases, there has been an improvement in the doubling time or the number of days it takes for cases to double. From only one to two days, the doubling time is now at four to five days, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said Wednesday. However, the DOH clarified that while the case doubling time has shown a generally good trend, it is too early to tell if the slowdown can be sustained. For this reason, health officials continued to remind the public not to be complacent in exercising caution and adhering to health protocols. Cases among Filipinos overseas Meanwhile, 21 more Filipinos abroad were infected with the viral disease, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Thursday. This brings the total number of COVID-19 cases among Filipinos overseas to 1,922. The DFA also recorded 34 new recoveries, with the total now at 557. Seven more died, bringing the death toll to 222. Filipino COVID-19 cases have been reported in 46 countries or regions worldwide. Europe has the highest number with 612 cases. Next are the 503 cases in the Americas, 434 in the Middle East/Africa, and 373 in Asia Pacific. To date, the daily rate of recoveries at 6.5% remains higher than the daily rate of new confirmed cases and new deaths among Filipino nationals, according to DFA. In Southeast Asia, the Philippines has the third most number of COVID-19 cases, next to Singapore and Indonesia. Meanwhile, over 3.7 million people globally have so far contracted the virus, with nearly 264,000 deaths and some 1.25 million recoveries, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. A third of the world's tally of infections has been recorded in the United States, which has recorded over 1.2 million COVID-19 cases so far. A man (30s) has been arrested in connection with the assault of a man before barricading himself in a house in Limerick yesterday. He is due to appear before Limerick District Court this morning at 10.30am after being brought to Henry Street Garda Station and charged. Gardai received a report of a public order incident in the Templegreen estate of Newcastle West yesterday at 8pm, where a man was assaulted with an object. The injured man was rushed to University Hospital Limerick but has since been discharged. During a search of the area by the Armed Supported Unit, the man was spotted a short distance away in the Cois Timpeall housing estate. He entered a house and barricaded himself into the sitting room, where he refused to leave following negotiations. The Armed Support Unit then entered the house and the man was arrested and taken to Henry St garda station. "Following a lengthy period of negotiation, the man refused to exit the house. The Armed Support Unit then entered the house and the man was arrested," a garda spokesperson stated. IT WOULD be mandatory for people arriving in Ireland to give details of where they are self-isolating due to coronavirus under proposals being considered by the government. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar confirmed that the measure is being examined after the issue was raised in the Dail by Independent TDS Marian Harkin and Michael Collins. It comes after Independent.ie revealed that a third of people arriving in Ireland over the last six weeks refused to hand over details of where they were staying for two weeks to allow authorities confirm they were self-isolating. Read More Under new rules introduced by the Government to stop the spread of Covid-19 from overseas, anyone arriving in Ireland is asked to sign a passenger location form. However, some 671 passengers have refused to hand over contact details to authorities. In total, 1,950 people mainly Irish have flown in to Dublin Airport during that period and 1,279 have signed forms detailing where they will be staying and how they can be contacted. Mr Varadkar said today that the government is considering regulations making the signing of passenger arrival forms mandatory. He said: "We dont need primary legislation. Its possible for the Minister for Health to make regulations under existing legislation. That is under consideration. " Separately, Mr Varadkar told the Dail that it's not possible to reduce the VAT rate for tourism to 0pc under EU rules. A series of TDs from Fianna Fail and Fine Gael yesterday said they agreed with such a move due to the severe challenges being faced by the hospitality sector due to the coronavirus crisis. Fianna Fail deputy leader Dara Calleary and tourism spokesman Marc MacSharry as well as Fine Gael junior tourism minister Brendan Griffin were among those who supported reducing the VAT rate to 0pc in Dail contributions. Cork South-West Independent TD Mr Collins raised the issue again today. Mr Varadkar said reducing VAT on tourism and hospitality would be contrary to the EU VAT directive "so that is not possible as long as were a member of the European Union". He said it would be possible for the next government to reduce the VAT rate "should they choose to do so" but added: "that would be a matter for the next government". The VAT rate for the sector was previously reduced to 9pc to help it bounce back after the last recession but it was returned to 13.5pc in Budget 2019. The Dail was told on Wednesday that it's estimated that more than 200,000 people have lost jobs in tourism due to the coronavirus shutdown of businesses and the impact on international travel. Today, House Speaker Michael Madigan, who also heads the states Democratic Party, issued a statement suggesting it wont happen soon: While the governors actions have reduced the curve and saved lives, its clear that Illinois is not out of the woods. Just yesterday, Illinois saw an all-time high in deaths, and it was recently announced that another 136 people died today (A)nd any plan for a return to Springfield must have the health and safety of all those involved as a top priority. And officials announced this afternoon that the number of total cases to date stands at 68,232 diagnosed with the virus with the statewide death toll from COVID-19 at 2,974. More details here. Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh on Thursday said the police were fighting an invisible enemy and he was confident that they will win the war against COVID-19. The top cop visited J J Marg police station in south Mumbai, which is the most affected police precinct in Maharashtra, with 26 policemen, including 12 officers, testing positive for COVID-19. As many as 233 policemen in Mumbai have contracted the deadly infection so far, of which three have died. While interacting with his officers, Singh said, "The morale of the police force is high. The police have won the battles against underworld, mafia and terrorists during the 26/11 attacks. Similarly, we will win our battle against this invisible enemy." Additional police commissioner Nishith Mishra, deputy commissioner of police Sangramsingh Nishandar and other officers were present during the visit. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Queen Elizabeth was the first female member of the Royal Family to serve in the military, training as a truck mechanic during World War Two. The monarch secretly snuck out of the palace with her sister Princess Margaret and danced in the streets as the war drew to a close on VE Day in 1945, which celebrates its 75th anniversary on 8th May. The Queen joined the military towards the end of the war - despite her father King Georges initial reluctance - and served in the womens Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS). Aged 18 at the time, photos and videos shared by the Royal Family and Royal Collection Trust show her hard at work as she trained. (BBC Studios for ITV ) / BBC Studios for ITV The Queen and her family refused to leave the country during the war, instead choosing to stay in England in solidarity with those living through the Blitz. In a letter penned by the Queen Mother, she explained, "The children will not leave unless I do. I shall not leave unless their father does, and the king will not leave the country in any circumstances, whatever." The decision sparked major public support for the Royal Family and after Buckingham Palace was bombed, the Queen Mother said, "I am glad we have been bombed. Now we can look the East End in the eye." (BBC Studios for ITV ) / BBC Studios for ITV Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret were sent to Windsor Castle for their own safety, while their parents stayed in London. Even from a young age, they were involved in the war effort as they gave a joint wartime broadcast in 1940 to the children of the Commonwealth; some of whom had been sent away to the countryside from endangered areas for their safety. At 18, Princess Elizabeth underwent a six-week training course at an Aldershot facility in Surrey, where she joined as an honorary second subaltern under the name Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor and was assigned the service number 230873. Getty Images Trying to convince her father to let her join was an uphill climb, as according to LIFE Magazine in 1944 he decided that she should not join any of the womens auxiliaries, nor work in a factory. The magazine continued, But Betts had other ideas. It was not surprising that not long afterward the Palace made a straight-face announcement that the King had been pleased to grant an honorary commission as second subaltern in the ATS to Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth. (BBC Studios for ITV ) / BBC Studios for ITV Newspapers at the time dubbed her Princess Auto Mechanic and reported that the King had ordered that she is to be treated exactly the same as any other student officer, with no special privileges because of personal rank. Pictures and videos show her dressed in a boiler suit working on a car engine, pulling out spark plugs and in her smart ATS uniform as she drove a truck. Princess Elizabeth learned to tear apart, repair and build engines and additionally learned to drive a number of different military vehicles, including trucks and ambulances. According to Colliers Magazine in 1947, One of [Queen Elizabeths] major joys was to get dirt under her nails and grease stains in her hands, and display these signs of labour to her friends. The King and Queen Mother even came to visit her during her training, a visit that was highly publicised, where they watched as she fixed engines and posed with her fellow recruits. She appeared to become quite friendly with her fellow servicewomen, who later presented her with a clock. Universal Images Group via Getty While she spent the majority of her days at the training facility, nights ended with her returning home to Windsor Castle to sleep. By the time the war came to a close, she had been promoted to the rank of Junior Commander. Princess Elizabeth had barely begun her military career as an ATS member when VE Day happened on 8th May 1945. She and her sister, Princess Margaret, were famously allowed to secretly join the nationwide celebrations which saw them conga dance through the Ritz Hotel and cheer with crowds. Princess Elizabeth at the wheel of an army vehicle while serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service during the Second World War / PA One of her first ladies in waiting, Jean Woodruffe, recounted to the BBC in 2006, The extraordinary thing was that nobody seemed to take much notice. Then we stood outside Buckingham Palace with the crowd and we all shouted 'We want the King' with everybody else until the King and Queen came out onto the balcony. The Queen is now head of the armed forces and is occasionally seen in full military dress, while her children and grandchildren have gone on to join the army in various capacities - Prince Harry served in Afghanistan. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip in military uniform in 1972 / Getty Images She is set to celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE Day with a special message from Windsor Castle on May 8, which will be included in the BBC programme, VE Day 75: The Peoples Celebration. The show will air at 8pm, with the Queen set to speak at 9pm, which is the exact time her father spoke to the nation three-quarters of a century ago to celebrate the inaugural day. The celebrations will also feature Brits singing the Vera Lynn wartime classic 'Well Meet Again' which has seen a renewed surge in popularity during the coronavirus lockdown. The entrance sign is seen at Newmarch House on May 01, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. ( Cameron Spencer/Getty Images) Commissions Probe NSW Health and Newmarch House Nursing Home The chief commissioner of an inquiry into the Ruby Princess has probed New South Wales (NSW) Health for failing to follow established protocols when it allowed passengers off the ship before a number of COVID-19 test results were known. Currently, the Ruby Princess outbreak has been linked to 660 cases and 21 deaths from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus. On May 5, the inquiry heard from NSW Health epidemiologist and coordinator of NSW Healths cruise ship health program Kelly-Anne Ressler. Ressler admitted it was unacceptable that more people on the ship did not get tested for COVID-19. All I can say is that Im very sorry it turned out the way it did. It was not our intention, said Ressler. Myself and my colleagues at the public health unit were working very hard on this. We did what we could. And if we could do it again, it would be very different, Ressler said while crying. According to the inquiry, NSW Health had assessed the Ruby Princess as low risk for COVID-19 infections. Speaking to 2GB Radio on May 6, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the chief commissioners tone when questioning Ressler was aggressive and a bit out of line. [Health workers] have been working day and night for months and months and months, Morrison said. Theyre all trying to do their best. Speaking about the Ruby Princess incident on the Nines Today program that same day, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said, Theres no doubt that horrible mistakes were made and that a number of authorities should have done better. Theres no doubt that horrible mistakes were made and that a number of authorities should have done better. NSW Premier @GladysB on Newmarch Houses 16th coronavirus death. #9Today pic.twitter.com/V25knvUIuS The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) May 5, 2020 NSW Police homicide squad is also conducting an investigation into the decision. Newmarch Nursing Home Outbreak Sixteen people have also died in Sydney from an outbreak at Anglicares Newmarch House nursing home. The federal Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has been working with Newmarch House since the beginning of the outbreak to monitor and support it to meet its obligations as a provider. On May 6, the commission said in a media release: The Commission has escalated our enforcement as a consequence of continued evidence of lack of effective infection control, and of immediate and severe risk to the safety, health and well-being of residents at Newmarch House. The Australian reported on May 6 that there were concerns around health care standards at the nursing home. According to the paper, a contractor from Aspen Medicalthe group hired by the federal government to staff the nursing homehad been stood down for breaching infection control measures. The Australian also reported that a neighbour of Newmarch House revealed that disused and potentially infected personal protective equipment from the centre was found in his yard. It took two days for Anglicare to remove it. According to the Minister for Aged Care Richard Colbeck, the outbreak at the nursing home began three weeks ago when a staff member worked six days in a row with a high viral load but mild symptoms. Currently, Anglicare has stated that there are 37 residents and 26 staff members who have contracted the illness. The inquiry into the Ruby Princess is ongoing. The Los Angeles City Council voted on Wednesday to publicly identify hotels in the city that have refused to take in homeless people temporarily amid the coronavirus pandemic, and also raised the possibility of commandeering them. Some hotels, including the palatial Ritz Carlton downtown, have objected to Project Roomkey, a joint effort by the state of California, Los Angeles County, and the city to temporarily house the countys homeless during the coronavirus pandemic. The project aimed to house 15,000 homeless, but as of Wednesday only 1,582 had been given a place to stay, according to local reports. Hotels who participate will be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for three fourths of the costs incurred. If hotels are making a distinction among people classifying housed and unhoused differently in terms of accommodations that theyre going to be repaid for, that the city and county will pay for with reimbursements, then I think theres a potential civil rights violation, said Councilman Mike Bonin from the Pacific-touching 11th district. If the problems are on the hotel end, the public should know why, and then we should consider commandeering as theyve talked about in other cities, the Democratic councilman added. Bonin authored a motion requesting that hotels bucking the plan to disclose any public subsidy, tax breaks, or economic development incentives they have received in the past. The Ritz-Carlton and adjoining J.W. Marriott have received hundreds of millions of dollars in public funding over the last 25 years. The biggest issue is safety safety of our residences at the Ritz- Carlton, said realtor Art Avaness, who manages six of the hotels units. Its very, very alarming and concerning because, health-wise, it jeopardizes everything for everybody. More from National Review Could a holiday from fine payment in exchange for better coverage be the new trend for operators in Brazil or even elsewhere? Certainly Anatel Brazils National Telecommunications Agency must feel that it has found a new incentive for operators to cover more of the nation. The Brazilian regulator apparently announced recently that it has approved a plan to convert financial penalties imposed on domestic operators into 4G coverage expansion obligations. Press reports indicated that this gambit is seen by the regulator as a potentially effective way to get service providers to make investments in regions that, for economic reasons, may be considered to have limited appeal, despite having an undoubted social need for coverage. Just to make sure, Anatel has insisted that providers ensure adequate maintenance and operation of any newly rolled out base stations in various locations (said by some reports to number about 13) for a minimum period of three years. The emphasis on 4G is a useful reminder that, like many countries, Brazil still lacks comprehensive 4G coverage, in spite of planned 5G spectrum auctions planned for this year. The worlds largest bandwidth auction for 5G to date has, however, have been postponed due to the current health crisis. In fact, in late March, the government scaled back non-essential services to curb the coronavirus outbreak. Could this, however, also affect the proposed 4G coverage upgrades Anatel is seeking? Our Institute is committed to the health and safety of everyone in our community, said Sharon Tan, executive director of The 21st Century Institute. We hope everyone will stay healthy during this pandemic, and our efforts will help mitigate the shortage of face masks and other PPE. Bursting at the seams with plot and patter, Coky Giedroycs coming-of-age comedy, How to Build a Girl, gives you a whole lot for your money. Sometimes almost too much: This brisk, breathless story of a socially inept high schooler in the 1990s who finds notoriety as a rock critic (adapted by Caitlin Moran from her semi-autobiographical novel) has so many peaks and valleys that on paper it would look like Joe Exotics polygraph. Its just as well, then, that it stars the supremely game Beanie Feldstein (playing a more mettlesome version of her Booksmart character) as Johanna, 16, an aspiring writer who craves being cool. Voluble and nerdy, Johanna lives in council-housing ignominy in the British Midlands with a feckless father (an overlooked Paddy Considine), a postnatally depressed mother (Sarah Solemani) and a mess of brothers. Constantly stirring a caldron of wants, Johanna has little going for her except cheek, ambition and crucially a vocabulary. SHANGHAI, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- OneSmart International Education Group Limited (NYSE: ONE) ("OneSmart" or the "Company"), a leading premium and online education platform in China, today outlined how its financial and operational performance was strongly supported by OneSmart Online throughout the period from February to April 2020 when the COVID-19 outbreak was impacting China the hardest. During the period, the Company was able to maintain the vast majority of its revenue and gross margin when compared to the same period last year. Class delivery through OneSmart Online during the period reached comparable levels to that of its offline operations prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Company is driving momentum by successfully migrating the majority of its existing students and attracting large numbers of new students to its online platform while maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction. During regular customer surveys conducted during the period, OneSmart's customer satisfaction rate remained well above 90% while the refund rate fell to as low as 5% when compared with approximately 10% prior to the coronavirus outbreak. This reflects the Company's strong ability to strategically manage and operate OneSmart Online and its determination to build it into the largest premium online education platform in China over the next few years. OneSmart Online serves the core needs of students and parents to improve test scores by leveraging its customized approach to teaching based on student aptitude. This is a key differentiator from online big class format or other courses. The online K-12 after-school education industry is massive and online education is rapidly growing in popularity since the COVID-19 outbreak began. The pursuit of teaching efficiency required by parents will drive the continuous penetration of premium personalized online educational products going forward. With this in mind, the Company's strategy to drive growth through OneSmart Online over the next five years will focus on: Penetrating markets in various provincial capitals and regional central cities to take 10% of local market share through the OMO model and subsequently expand deeper into surrounding tier 2-3 cities leveraging OneSmart's strong brand name and localized teaching and research methods. Building out OneSmart Online to its full growth potential to ensure high-quality, profitable, and sustainable growth going forward as opposed to burning cash and eroding its bottom line. OneSmart's OMO model has the benefit of carefully balancing lower customer acquisition through offline channels while rapidly scaling it up through online channels. Setting a target of serving more than 1 million customers and generating over RMB10 billion in sales. Mr. Steve Zhang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of OneSmart, commented, "What we have achieved in the most challenging business environment in modern history demonstrates the adaptability and resilience of OneSmart's business model and employees. The Company is ideally positioned to further gain market share by quickly adapting to the needs of students online. OneSmart's innovative online platform incorporates AI-powered smart assessment systems and a robust online teaching bank that it built over the past decade to ensure students can quickly and smoothly acclimate to an online learning experience. Market sentiment is quickly improving with most of the provinces in China having announced back-to-school dates and the postponement of ZhongKao the Senior High School Entrance Examination, and GaoKao the National College Entrance Examination, which will allow students more time to prepare for the exams in afterschool learning centers. We see enormous growth potential ahead and will take advantage of any opportunities that arise as the industry consolidates after the pandemic." About OneSmart Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Shanghai, OneSmart International Education Group Limited is a leading premium online education platform in China. Our vision is to be the most trusted and heartful high-tech education company and our mission is POWER LEARNING changes the future with technology advancement. Our company culture is centered on the core values of customer focus, excellence, integrity, and technology and innovation. The Company has built a comprehensive premium K-12 education platform that encompasses OneSmart VIP business (Premium K-12 1-on-1 training services), HappyMath (Premium math education programs), and FasTrack English (Premium English education programs). We also offer our comprehensive online classes through OneSmart Online, our premium online education services platform. As of November 30, 2019, OneSmart operates a nationwide network of 430 learning centers across 35 cities in China. For more information on OneSmart, please visit http://www.onesmart.investorroom.com. For more information, please contact: OneSmart Ms. Rebecca Shen Phone: +86-21-2250-5826 [email protected] Christensen In China Mr. Christian Arnell Phone: +86-10-5826-4939 E-mail: [email protected] In the US Ms. Linda Bergkamp Phone: +1-480-614-3004 Email: [email protected] SOURCE OneSmart International Education Group Limited Related Links www.1smart.org By Emma Farge and John Revill GENEVA/ZURICH (Reuters) - The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday warned of the risks of returning to lockdown if countries emerging from pandemic restrictions do not manage transitions 'extremely carefully and in a phased approach'. By Emma Farge and John Revill GENEVA/ZURICH (Reuters) - The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday warned of the risks of returning to lockdown if countries emerging from pandemic restrictions do not manage transitions "extremely carefully and in a phased approach". Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus listed a series of steps needed before countries lift measures designed to control the spread of the COVID-19 respiratory disease, such as surveillance controls and health system preparedness. "The risk of returning to lockdown remains very real if countries do not manage the transition extremely carefully and in a phased approach," he said at a virtual briefing in Geneva. Tedros, who has come under fire for his handling of the outbreak, said that he would conduct an "after-action" assessment of the agency's response, but wait until the pandemic recedes to do so. "While the fire is raging I think our focus should not be divided," he said. He defended the WHO's record on warning about the potential for human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus, saying it informed the world of that in early January. The Geneva-based body has been accused of being "China centric" by top donor the United States, which has cut off funding to the body. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said he has "evidence" that the new coronavirus emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, whereas scientists have advised the WHO that it is of animal origin. WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said that the agency was discussing a further "academic" mission to China to look at the virus origins. "Without knowing where the animal origin is it is difficult for us to prevent this from happening again," she said. "There is discussion with counterparts in China for a further mission which would be more academic in focus and really focus on looking at what happened at the beginning in terms of the exposures with different animals so that we can look to have an approach to find the zoonotic source," she added. Tedros stressed the need for investment in health systems now to save lives later. "The COVID-19 pandemic will eventually recede but there can be no going back to business as usual," he said. He also urged countries to address inequalities that he said were "fuelling" the pandemic. (Reporting by John Revill and Emma Farge; Editing by Michael Shields) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. 07.05.2020 LISTEN The University of Professional Studies (UPSA) has launched investigations into allegations of plagiarism levelled against the Head of the Universitys Banking and Finance department. In a press statement, the Head of Banking and Finance Department, Professor Charles Barnor responded to several news reports, especially on online platforms, accusing him of allegedly causing an article to be published under his name in the Daily Graphic newspaper, even though he didnt author the piece. He added that the attention of the universitys management has been drawn to these publications which in the spirit of fairness and natural justice, management need to conduct a thorough investigation. He mentioned that UPSA was recently named as one of the best three (3) universities in Ghana in the 2020 Global Times Higher Education (THE) University Impact Rankings. The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings assesses universities against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), balancing their scores across broad areas such as research, outreach and stewardship. Professor Charles Barnor assured that This is a very transparent investigation and the fact that many people have shown interest in it is yet another indication of the status of UPSA and the high regard most Ghanaians have for the university. We would like to make it clear that we take these allegations as seriously as our stakeholders do and when we are done with the investigations, we will make our findings and final decisions known to all. Read Full Statement Below FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: May 6, 2020 Contact: Prof. Charles Barnor Pro-Vice-Chancellor E-mail: [email protected] UPSA investigates plagiarism allegation against Head of Banking and Finance Department LEGON, ACCRA The University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) has launched investigations into allegations of plagiarism leveled against the Head of the Universitys Department of Banking and Finance. This is in response to several news reports, especially on online platforms, accusing the Senior Lecturer of allegedly causing an article to be published under his name in the Daily Graphic newspaper, even though he didnt author the piece. The attention of the universitys management has been drawn to these publications, says the Pro-Vice Chancellor of UPSA, Prof. Charles Barnor. In the spirit of fairness and natural justice, management needs to conduct a thorough investigation. Thats exactly what we are doing now. UPSA holds both faculty and students to a very high ethical code and does not compromise on academic integrity. Prof. Barnor says the outcome of the investigations will be made known to the public as soon as they are concluded. This is a very transparent investigation and the fact that many people have shown interest in it is yet another indication of the status of UPSA and the high regard most Ghanaians have for the university. We would like to make it clear that we take these allegations as seriously as our stakeholders do and when we are done with the investigations, we will make our findings and final decisions known to all. UPSA was recently named as one of the best three (3) universities in Ghana in the 2020 Global Times Higher Education (THE) University Impact Rankings. The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings assesses universities against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), balancing their scores across broad areas such as research, outreach and stewardship. The University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) is a progressive public institution with about 14,500 students and provides academic and professional higher education in Ghana. With more than fifty (50) years of experience, UPSA has achieved the reputation as the oldest Ghanaian human resource development institution in professional Accountancy and Management, with many of its products in key leadership positions in Ghana and abroad. UPSA remains the only public institution in Ghana with the mandate to offer both academic degrees and provide tuition for business professional qualifications. CLEVELAND, Ohio A 26-year-old man was cited Thursday with violating Ohios stay-at-home order after police say he threw a large party at an Airbnb rental in the citys Ohio City neighborhood. Its the second time since Ohio Gov. Mike DeWines March 22 stay-at-home order that Cleveland police issued a citation at an Airbnb party. Police broke up at least one other Airbnb parties in Cleveland without issuing citations for violating the order that bans gatherings of 10 or more people to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Airbnb said in a statement on Tuesday that the company is taking steps to reduce the number of parties in states where large gatherings are banned, including banning owners who use their website from authorizing their properties to be used for parties and banning renters who throw parties after renting through Airbnb. Cleveland police broke up the most recent party about 10:30 p.m. Monday at an apartment on Franklin Boulevard and West 48th Street on the western part of Ohio City. Officers noted hearing loud music coming from the apartment and found more than 30 people inside, according to police reports. The officers ordered everyone to leave and cited the party host with the second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum of 90 days in jail and a $750 fine. Its the sixth citation Cleveland police issued for violating the governors orders. Police on April 2 cited a man who hosted a party at an Airbnb rental on West 33rd Street in Ohio City. Some 100 people showed up to the party, police said. On April 23, broke up another party at an Airbnb on West 44th Street and Randall Avenue. Officers estimated 50 people attended the party. One man was arrested on suspicion of illegal gun possession, but no one was cited with violating the governors orders. Cleveland police have so far cited two other hosts of large parties, one in the citys Bellaire-Puritas neighborhood and another at an apartment in Tower City in downtown Cleveland. Two business owners have also been cited. Read more from cleveland.com: Man who threw party at Cleveland home cited with violating Ohios stay-at-home order, police say Police find AK-47, other guns, while shuttering party at Cleveland Airbnb that violated Ohios stay-at-home order Cleveland secondhand store owner defies Ohios stay-at-home order, despite criminal charge: I have no choice but to stay open Man cited with violating Ohios stay-at-home order after throwing party at AirBnb in Ohio City that drew 100 people Cleveland police issue first citation for violation of Ohios stay-at-home order to beauty supply store With 50,000 migrant workers returning to Odisha from Gujarat, West Bengal, Kerala, Karanataka and Tamil Nadu over the last few days, the Orissa High Court on Thursday directed the State Government to ensure they are tested for coronavirus before they board the train for Odisha. Hearing a PIL filed by one Narayan Chandra Jena, an HC bench of justices Sanju Panda and KR Mohapatra said the government should allow the returnees to board trains to Odisha only if they are found negative during real-time Reverse TranscriptionPolymerase Chain Reaction (real time RT-PCR) test, one of the most accurate laboratory methods for detecting, tracking, and studying the coronavirus. The petitioner had also appealed to the HC to direct the state government to provide food and accommodation to the stranded people in their respective states of work instead of bringing them back to Odisha. Soon after the HC order, Surat district collector Dhaval Patel said Odisha government has cancelled the three Shramik special trains scheduled for departure from Surat on Friday. So far 13 Shramik special trains from Surat carrying Odia migrant workers have reached Odisha, while another six left Surat today. The HC order came on the day Odisha registered the largest single-day surge with 34 new Covid cases, most of them among migrant workers from Surat. Of the 1,000 samples of Surat returnees, four per cent have tested positive. Odisha health minister Naba Das, who had a meeting through video-conferencing with union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, said Odisha on Thursday requested for testing of migrants in the States from where they are returning. We have requested additional testing kits and relaxation in ICMR guidelines. Instead of pre-screening, pre-tests should be conducted as it will help Odisha government in effective tackling of the Covid-19 situation, Das said. As per the SOP issued by the Centre, migrants are being pre-screened before they are boarding special trains to their home states. Meanwhile, public health expert and the president of Public Health Foundation of India Dr Srinath Reddy today suggested the Odisha government should focus on community protection instead of the development of herd immunity. Delivering a talk on Learning from Covid-19 What we have learnt and how we can win through video conference at the Gurugram Collectorate in Haryana, Dr Reddy said social distancing seemed to be the only solution in the absence of a vaccine or a treatment. Public cooperation and a communitys active participation is the only shield that can protect us from the deadly infection, said Dr Reddy, advising the Odisha government to look after the elderly persons as they are more vulnerable to the disease. The HT Guide to Coronavirus COVID-19 Not only the virus affects the respiratory system, but it also affects the other parts of the human body. In some cases, it causes thrombosis within a blood vessel preventing blood from flowing normally through the circulatory system that leads to death. The virus infects people of all ages irrespective of clinical signs and symptoms, he said, during the video conference attended by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and 13 of his ministers. Strange death recently hit Kano, and just yesterday it was reported that over 100 people have died in Jigawa in just few days in what has remained a mystery over 100 people have died. Now, Yobe is also said to be experiencing the same since last week. The Nation gathered that Potiskum and Gashua towns in Postiskum and Bade Local Government of the state are the most affected by the development. Records obtained from different graveyards in Potiskum by The Nation indicate with a space of one week, not less than 100 people were buried. A breakdown of the figures show: Mamman Ali 49 graveyard; Hospital graveyard-12; SOCOL graveyard-18; Gishiwa Dabua graveyard-11; Nasarawa graveyard-6; Lamba Mai Adikko graveyard-2. The same scenario is reported in Gashua where more than 50 were reported to have died within three days. Investigation revealed that the deceased were mostly elderly. It is unclear if the deaths had anything to do with COVID-19. The Commissioner for Health Mohammed Lawan Gana, who is also the Vice Chairman of the Committee on COVID-19, said investigations were on to know the causes of the deaths. The ministry of Health is investigating the cause of the deaths but until we find out the cause, we cannot associate it to COVID 19, Gana said. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 7, 2020) - Global UAV Technologies Ltd. (CSE: UAV) (OTC: YRLLF) (FSE: YAB2) (the "Company" or "Global UAV"), a drone technology company, is pleased to announce the addition of Jeff Stevens to the Board of Directors effective immediately. As a capital markets professional, Jeff Stevens has a strong background in the structuring, financing, governance and operations of publicly traded companies. With over 20 years of experience in the capital markets he has held Officer and Director roles in several publicly listed companies. Mr. Stevens has built functional and effective teams as well as structured multiple mergers and acquisitions while building successful business operations. As noted in the Corporate Update dated April 7, 2020 and as a result of the ongoing worldwide events relating to COVID-19 and the ensuing slowdown of activity in the resource sector, combined with recent corporate events, the Company will be evaluating business opportunities and considering a restructuring and recapitalization as may be required in order to maintain its business activities. The Board is looking forward to working with Mr. Stevens as a Board member. About Global UAV Technologies Ltd. Global UAV Technologies Ltd. is a diversified, vertically integrated drone technology company within the commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ("UAV") sector. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries - Pioneer Aerial Surveys Ltd., High Eye Aerial Imaging Inc., UAV Regulatory Services Inc., and NOVAerial Robotics Inc.- Global UAV Technologies Ltd. provides a full spectrum of UAV-based services and products including drone research and development and manufacturing, flight services and regulatory compliance. Global UAV Technologies Ltd. will continue its growth through technology development, expanding the business of its current divisions and the continued evaluation of potential acquisitions. Global UAV is well positioned for growth as a vertically integrated drone technology company. On behalf of the Board of Directors, "James Rogers & Andrew Male" Director & Director For additional information please contact: Global UAV Technologies Ltd. Investor Information Telephone: 1 888 905 7011 Email: ir@globaluavtech.com www.globaluavtech.com Neither Canadian Securities Exchange (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. Forward-Looking Statement Statements in this press release, other than purely historical information, including statements relating to the Company's future plans and objectives or expected results, may include forward-looking statements. Forward- looking statements are based on numerous assumptions and are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties inherent in public markets, service industries, manufacturing and the UAV Sector. As a result, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55564 Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong faces two major legal hurdles over his underhand takeover of management control from his incapacitated father, who fell into a coma after a heart attack in 2014. The first legal hurdle is an ongoing investigation into Samsung BioLogics, which is accused of intentionally inflating its value ahead of its public offering in 2016. Prosecutors have been sniffing out a trail of evidence of irregularities that has led directly to Lee's office. Key Samsung executives, both former and incumbent, have been grilled by prosecutors. But the crux of the investigation is whether the documents were falsified intentionally to smooth out the hereditary transfer to Lee. Prosecutors believe the conglomerate intentionally understated the value of Samsung C&T when it merged with subsidiary Cheil Industries in May 2015, leading to the inflated value of the latter. Lee held no stakes in Samsung C&T but was the biggest shareholder of Cheil Industries. Samsung BioLogics is a subsidiary of Cheil Industries. Prosecutors believe the conglomerate cooked Samsung BioLogics' books to cover up its massive debts, while inflating the value of Cheil Industries in the process to facilitate Lee's succession. Samsung claims there was no wrongdoing. Lee is also on trial for bribing ex-President Park Geun-hye and her toxic confidante Choi Soon-sil. He was initially sentenced to five years behind bars, later suspended on appeal. But in August of last year, the Supreme Court found that the bribe Lee paid to Park and Choi was in fact W8.6 billion, rather than the W3.6 billion a lower court had determined, and sent back the case (US$1=W1,225). That led to forecasts that Lee could face a tougher sentence. Things changed, however, when Samsung set up its own legal watchdog at the recommendation of a court in October last year, which it said it would take into consideration when sentencing him. Lee's apology for the fiddle on Wednesday at the watchdog's recommendation could have a positive impact on his pending legal disputes. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / DIGATRADE FINANCIAL CORP (OTCPINK:DIGAF), www.DigatradeFinancial.com, a financial technology services company, today announced that its subsidiary, Securter Systems Inc. ("Securter") continues development of secure on-line patent-pending fintech security assets with strategic progress. In the wake of a global pandemic and the obvious health concerns resulting, coupled with an increase in global e-commerce and on-line purchases, the need for Securter's secure internet payment processing technology could not be timelier. As a child, your parents probably told you to wash your hands after touching money. Paper money and coins can carry more germs and bacteria than a household toilet and transfer viruses long after it has exchanged hands. With the COVID-19 outbreak, cash transactions have seen a major decline, following an increase in both face-to-face Eurocard, Mastercard & Visa "EMV" and e-commerce transactions with many Payment Service Providers "PSP's" reporting massive increases in online purchases utilizing mobile ordering systems. However, during a global pandemic, people are becoming increasingly averse to physically touching payment terminals, as they have become a petri dish of unknown particles. Even the World Health Organization "WHO" has encouraged the use of contactless or touchless payments, but that still isn't enough. Many cards don't have contactless features enabled, and contactless payments are more exposed than regular "EMV" transactions. "Consumers can already pay with their mobile devices by using its Near Field Communication "NFC" features, however the next mutation in the payments technology could be enabling your mobile into a safe, secure payment device," states Rishon Talkar, Securter Systems Director of Partnerships and Sales. Toronto based Securter is working on exactly that, its proprietary technology allows you to pay by tapping your card to your own mobile device and works in both e-commerce and face-to-face environments. Mr. Talkar further stated that "this unique solution eliminates contact between a public terminal and a consumer, thus Securter protects the cardholder not only from credit card fraud, but also from pathogens." Steve Epstein, CEO of Securter concludes: "During these unusual times people's health and safety, not only physically, but also financially, are at the forefront of our minds. Our dedicated team are diligently working to meet these challenges while developing strategic relationships throughout the payment processing sector with the intent to deliver our solution." ABOUT DIGATRADE DIGATRADE is a Financial Technology "fintech" services company. Digatrade is developing various payment industry process improvements that are proprietary. They represent a next generation platform for security and convenience in a variety of modalities, including online credit card payment system, globally, through its new subsidiary; Securter Systems, Inc. Digatrade is targeting numerous fintech service licensing vehicles, also including blockchain derived applications. Digatrade Financial Corp. is located in Vancouver, British Columbia, and publicly listed on the OTC.PK under the trading symbol DIGAF. DIGAF is a reporting issuer in the Province of British Columbia, Canada with the British Columbia Securities Commission "BCSC" and in the United States with the Securities Exchange Commission "SEC". ABOUT SECURTER Securter Systems, Inc. is a subsidiary of Digatrade Financial Corp. that is developing proprietary, patent-pending credit card payment platform innovations to increase the security of online credit card payment processing, globally. Securter technology reduces immense losses by financial institutions and merchants that arise from fraudulent credit card use. Securter technology also protects cardholder privacy by eliminating the need to distribute credit card details to multiple commercial 3rd parties, where such information is ordinarily stored, becoming vulnerable to theft or manipulation. Securter technology can and will be integrated into complementary payment methods and fintech protocols, including cryptocurrency and other blockchain derivatives to come for independent platforms. Securter has internal R&D capability and management as well as external fintech business relationships to support Digatrade's overall business mission. CORPORATE CONTACT INFORMATION: Digatrade Financial Corp 1500 West Georgia Street, 1300 Vancouver, BC V6G 2Z6 Canada Tel: +1(604) 200-0071 Fax: +1(604) 200-0072 www.DigatradeFinancialInvestor.com www.DigatradeFinancial.com Investors@Digatrade.com Forward-Looking Information This press release contains certain "forward-looking information". All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or development that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future constitute forward-looking information. This forward-looking information reflects the current expectations or beliefs of the company based on information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking information is subject to a number of significant risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, the possibility of unanticipated costs and expenses. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein. SOURCE: Digatrade Financial Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/588860/Securter-Technology-Delivers-Solution-as-Demand-for-Online-Payments-Explodes-During-Global-Pandemic The HRD Ministry is deliberating upon whether or not to conduct pending class 12 board exams for students in CBSE schools abroad and is talking to ambassadors or foreign ministers to arrive at a reasonable solution in view of the COVID-19 situation in their respective countries. The Ministry is also chalking out a plan for modalities of assessment in places where the practical situation doesn't permit conducting exams. The Central Board of Secondary (CBSE) had last month announced that it will not be conducting the pending exams in foreign countries. However, several representations and questions have been received from students who are concerned about their future prospects including admissions in foreign universities. According to officials, HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' has sought feedback from representatives in different countries about the current situation there and feasibility of conducting pending exams. "Considering the different situation at different places, having a common solution is not practically feasible. However, if the situation has improved in some countries, it would be better to conduct exams at least there. For example, we have a school in Japan, if the situation is better in that particular area, the exam can be conducted," a senior HRD Ministry official told PTI. "Modalities are being worked out for both the situations. That if exams can be conducted in some places, how will they be conducted and if not what will be the assessment pattern. We will soon have a final decision on all these aspects," the official added. Information in this regard was also shared by the HRD Minister in an online interaction with students on Tuesday. "We are discussing with CBSE and trying to come up with a solution. We will also speak to Indian ambassadors in different countries and foreign ministers. It is a difficult situation as the lockdown restrictions as well as COVID-19 situation is different in different countries and all of that needs to be given a thought. We will come up with a solution in best interest of students," Nishank had said. The HRD ministry is likely to make an announcement about schedule of pending board exams this week and a final decision for students in foreign schools will also be announced. There are over 210 CBSE affiliated schools in 25 countries across the globe. This year, a total of 23,844 students from foreign students were appearing for class 10 exams while 16,103 students had registered for class 12 exams. "There are several CBSE schools located in 25 countries. Each of these countries are also under lockdown and have decided to close down the schools for various and differential lengths of time. Under such circumstances, it is felt that the board will not be in a position to hold differential set of exams for each of these countries. Also, in the present situation, it will be difficult to bring the answer books to India for evaluation purposes," the board had said in a statement last month. "Therefore, the Board has decided to not hold any more exams for the students of class 10 and 12 schools located outside India. The system of marking or assessment for the purpose of declaring results will be worked out by the board shortly and informed to these schools," it had added. More than 3.6 million cases of the novel coronavirus, including at least 257,000 deaths have been recorded worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) David Jeremiah reveals 'unprecedented' online revival happening amid COVID-19 Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Prominent pastor David Jeremiah has revealed that amid the COVID-19 pandemic, his ministry has reached an unprecedented number of people with the message of the Gospel, indicating an online revival may be taking place. Due to government-issued social distancing orders enacted to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, many churches have been livestreaming their services online as large physical gatherings are temporarily halted. Jeremiah, senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, California, and host of the radio program "Turning Point, told The Christian Post that ever since the shutdown began, viewership of his online services has dramatically skyrocketed. The church is alive and well and maybe more responsive now that I can ever remember except for the possible exception of 9/11, he said. What we've learned from all of this is God doesn't need a building for there to be a church. The founder of Turning Point Radio and Television Ministries revealed that on Easter Sunday, a staggering 90,000 people tuned into his online worship service. I'm preaching right now to more people than I have ever preached to my life, he said, adding that after the service, he gave viewers the opportunity to receive Christ. I said, If you pray this prayer and invite Christ into your life, He will come to live within you, and I actually led them in a prayer, the pastor recalled. Then I said, If you prayed with me, theres a little place on the screen you can click on where we will send you more information to help you get started on your walk with Christ. According to Jeremiah, over 600 people clicked on that button. Ive been doing this for over 50 years; Im all over media, and I've never had anything like that happen, ever, he emphasized. Would I rather have the 12 or 15,000 people that we have on Easter sitting in the church with our choir and orchestra and the Easter lilies and everybody cheering and praising? Yeah, I'd rather have that. But this is a new and different thing that God is doing. It's unprecedented. Similarly, the pastor revealed that a recent sermon he delivered in which he addressed whether COVID-19 is mentioned in biblical prophecy received over 1 million views on YouTube. We've never had anything on YouTube get that kind of traction, he said. When everything in which we have trusted is taken away and we are left with ourselves, we have to ask the hard questions. If this is it, what happens to me now? Theres a renewed interest in the Gospel and a desire to know what the Bible has to say. Is this the beginning of a revival? This may not be a revival in the truest sense of the Great Awakening, but I believe we are seeing an online revival. While the pandemic is frightening and frustrating for many people, Jeremiah stressed that God is clearly in the midst of it all, adding: He is with us wherever we are. You don't have to be in a crowd to have God. You just need a quiet moment. The pastor released his latest book, Shelter in God: Your Refuge in Times of Trouble. In it, he shares how the book of Psalms can aid those struggling to find meaning during the coronavirus pandemic. Everybody is currently sheltering in place and thats one thing that might help you physically, but if you want to get help spiritually, you must shelter in God. He's the only answer for the many things that are ripping people apart during the coronavirus epidemic, Jeremiah told CP. In the 10-chapter book, Jeremiah focuses largely on the sheltering Psalms, which he revealed were particularly meaningful to him as he battled cancer two decades ago. These Psalms speak of God being our refuge and the one in whom we shelter when we're going through storms or when the storms are passing by, he said. We grabbed hold of those Psalms and put them together in about two weeks to help bring comfort to people during this time. In addition to the Psalms, the Bible is full of comfort for times of trouble, Jeremiah said, referencing Philippians 4:7: "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. If you don't know Christ, you cant understand this peace; it's beyond explanation, he said. But if you're a Christian and you've ever been through anything that rips at your soul, you know what that's all about. I don't know how to explain it, but I do know that God draws near to us in our times of suffering and disaster. I know that during the coronavirus, God has drawn near to many people. We've had unbelievable numbers of people die during this time, and yet at the same time, we've seen so many people healed from it. Even as we speak right now, one of my dear friends is trying to get this out of his system and it's just really awful to watch it. And yet, it's also wonderful to see how God is wrapping His arms around him during this time. According to Jeremiah, God may be using COVID-19 to remind people of their reliance on Him. We are a great country, there's no question about it. We have the greatest economy in the history of the world. We are a nation of self-made people, according to them. If were not careful, we can begin to think we are the master of our own souls, in charge of our own fate," he said. God sometimes just reaches down to remind us, You think you've got this thing under control, but I can take a germ you cant even see and bring [you] to your knees, he added. He also addressed some of the relational struggles families may be facing during the shutdown, acknowledging that many marriages can be pushed to the limit when you're stuck in the same room with somebody." "During this time, we need to learn to serve one another well, which I believe is a biblical mandate for marriage, he said. When you're serving one another, it takes the focus off of yourself. We can all expect there to be some bumps; we just need to have the strength spiritually to get over them and know that God hasn't forgotten us. He's with us. The pastor encouraged couples to find structure during this time of quarantine, warning that idleness is the enemys great entry point. You can't get up and just live in your pajamas all day. You have to ask God to help you get on a schedule, he said. What are some things you need to do? What are some things you can do while you're at home? And structure those things and get a schedule for them, because if you don't, that's where the enemy can get into your heart. Every human was born with a virus way worse than the coronavirus the virus of sin, he pointed out. The pandemic has burned into his heart the need for spiritual revival across the world. The only cure for that is through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ in His death on the cross, he said. If you dont have Christ, how do you get through situations like this? We can get so caught up in doing church and our small groups that we forget that the reason God put the church here was so that it might be the means whereby men and women can come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. I really feel a strong rebirth in my spirit of the purpose and importance of evangelism and not being so satisfied with what we have that we fail to share our hope with others. My prayer is that the virus will push the world to know of its incredible need for the Lord Jesus Christ. Five districts in Rajasthan became free from Covid19 patients on Thursday after 78 of the 80 patients reported in these districts14 in Churu, 42 in Jhunjhunu, 9 in Sawai Madhopur, 4 in Karauli and 11 in Hanumangarh were declared negative for the disease. Two patients had died earlier. 61 of the remaining 78 patients have already been discharged and the rest are in quarantine, to be discharged soon. The state has fared well overall in terms of recoveries with half of the total coronavirus positive patients now cured. The state has also reduced the backlog of pending tests from 5,000 three days ago to under 2,000, data released on Wednesday showed. Officials of the state health department said Rajasthans recovery rate was better than top 10 Covid-19 infected states in the country. According to data shared by states up to May 5, While Indias overall recovery rate was 27.66 per cent, the recovery rate in Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh was more. State health minister Raghu Sharma said around 52 % of Covid 19 positive patients in the state have turned negative because of extensive surveillance, quarantining, maximum sampling and testing. Till Thursday afternoon, 3,400 people were fund corona positive, of which 1,740 are cured after treatment and 1,284 have been discharged, he said. On the other hand, a sudden spike in new cases has alarmed the government, leading to the sealing of borders with the neighbouring states on Thursday. Rajasthan in last 24-hours has registered over 200 Covid-19 positive cases, taking the tally of active cases in the state to 1,565, till Thursday afternoon. TORRINGTON Municipal and school leaders are struggling to find ways to save money as they continue the 2020-21 budget process, which will be done by the Board of Finance without a public hearing because of the pandemic. During the City Council meeting this week, Mayor Elinor Carbone told members that she was reviewing the proposed municipal budget, which totals $57.81 million for 2020-21. Shes been asked to cut about $1.69 million from that proposal. The municipal budget package reflects an increase of 5.7 percent over the 2019-20 approved budget of $54.7 million. Torringtons tax rate is 46.17 mills. Any increases this year, council members said, would be a hardship for people who are out of work because of the coronavirus pandemic, including independent restaurant and businesses owners. The Board of Finance alluded to the fact that they have no appetite for a mill rate increase at this time, Carbone told the board Monday. The impact of unemployment and loss of business on our taxpayers can be extraordinary. Theyre asking the Board of Education and the City Council to get to a point where there will be no impact on our mill rate. The Board of Educations proposed budget of $78,300,892 reflects an increase of nearly 5 percent over current spending. Superintendent of Schools Susan Lubomski said recently that 94 percent of the budget is contractual obligations: salary, benefits, tuition and transportation. The Board of Finance asked the school board to bring the budget in with a 2.5 percent (increase), Carbone said. Board of Education members met in late April to discuss making cuts to their proposed budget, after being told by the Board of Finance that it wanted low or no increases for the coming year. The school board is considering cuts based on recently updated insurance rates and claims, and the ability to move new staff positions into the Alliance District budget for next year, Lubomski said. Part of Carbones concern about cuts is based on revenue. We never talk about revenue this early in the (budget process) because we dont know what were receiving, she said. The state budgets not adopted ... this year, there has been no legislative session, and we dont know if theres going to be one. The citys only revenues, the mayor said, include funding for the school district as an Alliance District, and that amount is still unknown. The 30 lowest-performing school districts in the state are classified as Alliance Districts by the state and receive additional funding. Torrington was named such a district as part of the state budget in 2017. Each district is required to submit a plan to improve district achievement, developed with the aid of a state representative, and the plan is monitored on a yearly basis. But Alliance District funding, the mayor said, is just a grant. It cant be used for general fund expenses or calculated into the mill rate impact,she said. So the grand list is the only revenue we have, to increase school and city budgets. To find ways to cut the city budget by $1.69 million, Carbone is reviewing departmental spending. Im looking at each of the departments, asking what they have for capital spending, and asking what line items might be less critical to the continuity of the operations of the city, she said. When we meet with the Board of Finance and they ask for additional deductions, well bring those requests back to the City Council for approval. Councilman Paul Cavagnero asked if the drop in the stock market, caused by the coronavirus pandemic, would affect local funding. Very honestly, its radio silence on the state budget right now, Carbone said. Theres no indication that there will be any changes to what was presented by the governor in February. We probably wont get any definitive answers on any of this until the economy is opened back up ,and the legislature can go back into session in June. Council member Anne Ruwet said she didnt support any tax rate increase. I do appreciate the direction youre trying to take, in terms ow reducing the budget, she said. Based on the travesty facing our local businesses, I dont support any increase in the mill rate. Members of the public are encouraged to submit comments on the proposed education and municipal budgets electronically or by mail to the City Clerk's office. All comments will be shared with the mayor and Board of Finance for their consideration prior to budget adoption and setting the tax rate. The public is asked to submit comments electronically to: city_clerk@torringtonct.org or by mail to the City Clerk's Office, 140 Main St., Torrington, 06790. Comments will be taken in advance of the May 19 Board of Finance meeting. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Rizki Fachriansyah and Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 8, 2020 10:32 621 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd69899d 1 World sailor,Chinese-fishing-vessel,death,slavery,China,Indonesia,South-Korea Free The deaths of four Indonesian crew members with links to the same Chinese fishing vessel have raised concerns about working conditions on the vessel and others like it. The case first entered the public eye after a video allegedly showing Chinese sailors throwing the body of a dead Indonesian crew member overboard went viral. The footage was first featured on a news segment on South Koreas Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) on Tuesday. The video shows what appears to be an orange body bag being thrown off a fishing vessel by a group of men. One man can be seen praying in front of the body bag moments before it is thrown overboard. Two unidentified Indonesian sailors who worked on the vessel spoke to MBC about their experience, claiming that those aboard the ship had endured poor living conditions. We had to [work] for around 30 hours. We were given a meal break every six hours. We would just sit around during the breaks, one of the sailors said. The other sailor said they were made to drink filtered sea water during work, which eventually took a toll on their health. We became nauseated. We could no longer drink [sea water]. There was one time when our throats became clogged with phlegm, he said, adding that some even experienced breathing difficulties. In a press briefing on Thursday, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi confirmed that, in the past few months, four Indonesian sailors who had been registered to Chinese fishing vessel Long Xin 629 had died. One of the sailors, identified only as EP, died at the Busan Medical Center in South Korea on April 27. Another sailor, identified as AR, died on Chinese fishing vessel Tian Yu 8 on March 30. Two other sailors died on Long Xin 629 in December 2019. On April 26, the Indonesian Embassy [in Seoul] was informed that a citizen with the initials EP was sick. When they contacted him, he said that he had long suffered from difficulty breathing and had coughed up blood, Retno said. The Busan Medical Center said that he died from pneumonia. Retno said that, according to a statement from Tian Yu 8, AR had fallen ill on March 26 and was moved from Long Xin 629 to Tian Yu 8 to be taken to port for treatment. However, AR died before the ship reached port and was buried at sea on the morning of March 31. According to the embassy, the ship had informed ARs family and received approval for a burial at sea on March 30, she said. The two sailors who died in December were said to be buried at sea after dying of an infectious disease. The Migrant Care advocacy group criticized the treatment of Indonesian crewmen on the Chinese vessels, saying that the harsh work environment infringed on their basic human rights. What these Indonesian crewmen experienced was a violation of their human rights. They were robbed of their freedom by working in an inappropriate environment. They were deprived of their right to information and, ultimately, they were robbed of their right to live, Migrant Care executive director Wahyu Susilo said in a statement, adding that the case was a form of slavery in modern times. Retno said the Foreign Ministry had summoned Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Xiao Qian on Thursday to express concerns about the alleged mistreatment of Indonesian workers aboard Chinese fishing vessels. In regard to the burial at sea for the three Indonesians, the Indonesian government has again demanded clarification on whether the burials followed the ILO [International Labor Organization] standards. The Indonesian government also expressed concerns over the poor living conditions on the ships that allegedly caused the death of the four Indonesian crew members, she said. She also demanded that Chinese authorities conduct an investigation on the working conditions of the fishing ships. If the investigation has found that theres a violation, then we want the Chinese authorities to uphold enforcement that is fair, she said. Indonesia also asked the Chinese government to help ensure that Chinese companies fulfill the workers rights, including their salaries, and provide safe working conditions. In his response, the Chinese ambassador assured Indonesian officials that his government would make sure the companies would be accountable to regulations and contracts. F ears are mounting over the future of the local economy around Gatwick as the UKs second largest airport battles the fallout from the virus crisis. Gatwick was this week dealt a blow when Virgin Atlantic said it would close its operations at the airport, while British Airways said it may not reopen there after the crisis. Global travel bans have thrown the aviation industry into turmoil. Andrew Carter, chief executive of think tank Centre for Cities, said: With hotels, taxi services and other sectors reliant on the airport, it is likely that any job losses there will be felt outside the terminal in Crawley itself. Ana Christie, boss of the Sussex Chamber of Commerce, said: Gatwick Airport provides more than 24,000 airport jobs and supports 85,000 jobs more widely, accounting for over 55% of the areas workforce in nearby towns such as Crawley. The Government should consider a targeted package of support for the airport and on site businesses. Peter Lamb, the Labour leader of Crawley borough council, said: The reality is that as the biggest industry in the subregion, every company relies at least in part on the money aviation brings into the economy even if on paper they have nothing to do with the airport. Kate Nicholls, the boss of UKHospitality, a trade body that represents owners of bars and restaurants, said: The situation at Gatwick has wider implications for tourism and hospitality in the region. For Crawley, these will be acutely and more immediately felt via higher unemployment and the knock on effects on spending power. A Gatwick Airport spokesman said: The impact of Covid-19 and lockdown has had a significant impact not only on Gatwick Airport, but the aviation industry as a whole and obviously severe economic knock-on effects are being felt in our local community. The spokesman said the airport is working closely with the government on what measures to put in place for once travelling starts again. He added: We hope we will be in a position to start operations up at the end of May or early June and then build on this during July and August. We remain very optimistic about the long-term prospects of Gatwick Airport and our resilience as a business. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Thursday vetoed a sweeping plan to overhaul public schools that proponents said would fix generations of inequity, saying the coronavirus pandemic made the costly education proposal "irresponsible" to enact. "The economic fallout from this pandemic simply makes it impossible to fund any new programs, impose any new tax hikes, nor adopt any legislation having any significant fiscal impact, regardless of the merits of the legislation," Hogan, a Republican, wrote in a veto message as he struck down 22 bills that carried a price tag. Among them was a $580 million disbursement to the state's historically black colleges and universities, key to settling a long-running lawsuit over inequitable funding. Hogan warned weeks ago that high unemployment and widespread economic pain made it unlikely he would approve any legislation that forced the state to spend more money. Maryland has already spent as much as $2 billion on the pandemic and seen losses so large that the state could lose 15 percent of its annual revenue by the end of June. The $4 billion annual price tag for the education plan, known as Kirwan, made it a prime target of his veto pen. The Democratic-controlled legislature approved the plan in mid-March by a margin large enough to override his veto, before the spread of the virus forced it to abbreviate the annual lawmaking session. The legislature also passed several new taxes to help pay for the plan, including a tax on digital downloads such as Netflix and video games, a corporate tax change intended to bring in tens of millions each year, a new tax on vaping products and a doubled tax on cigarettes. It also passed a first-in-the-nation proposal to tax the targeted digital advertising on giant online platforms such as Facebook and Google. The governor vetoed each of them. "With our state in the midst of a global pandemic and economic crash, and just beginning on our road to recovery, it would be unconscionable to raise taxes and fees now," Hogan wrote. Democrats who lead the General Assembly - and who worked for years to craft the education overhaul - condemned the governor's decision as shortsighted. "While we are in the midst of a public health and economic crisis of an extraordinary magnitude, stopping progress on education and school construction puts us even further behind," House Speaker Adrienne Jones, D-Baltimore County, said in a statement minutes after the veto was issued. "We know that there are students across this State that are losing millions of hours of learning. The result of this shortsighted action is Maryland will continue to graduate students that are not ready for the real world." Senate President Bill Ferguson, D-Baltimore City, added, "He chose to foreclose hope, leaving Maryland families and historically black colleges and universities with an open question for the future." Even before the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the state's economy, Hogan was an outspoken critic of the plan and its eventual $4 billion annual price tag. Democratic lawmakers said the state's public education system needed an overhaul because of generations of disparities and conditions that left the state's once vaunted school system slipping into mediocrity. The bill set in place a 10-year plan to expand prekindergarten; increase funding to schools with a high percentage of poor, special-education or limited-English students; raise teacher pay and increase standards; and add programs to ensure that students are prepared for college and careers. Its goals were ambitious - ensuring that every child is prepared for college or work by the end of the 10th grade (no later than the end of the 12th grade); raising student performance to among the best in the world; and eliminating achievement gaps based on race, ethnicity and income. It was the first major overhaul on education policy by a state since Massachusetts - regarded as the nation's gold standard on public education - approved legislation nearly three decades ago. The American Civil Liberties Union, which is involved with a decades-long court case over the disparities in Maryland, urged the legislature to override the governor, saying the veto "means that tens of thousands of children will continue to attend substandard schools that do not meet the state's constitutional guarantee of a 'thorough and efficient' education." The General Assembly can reverse Hogan's veto with a three-fifths majority and has opened each of its recent legislative sessions by overriding some of his decisions. If lawmakers do not reverse Hogan's decision on Kirwan, Thursday's veto also ends a separate program that would have spent an unprecedented $2.2 billion on school construction over the next five years. Hogan had heralded that initiative as a way to complete every school construction project in the state. But in an effort to dissuade Hogan from vetoing the education overhaul, lawmakers made the school construction bill contingent on Kirwan taking effect. Thursday's veto also creates uncertainty for a 13-year lawsuit over whether Maryland systematically gave fewer resources to historically black colleges. A coalition of college graduates filed the case in 2006, alleging that the state caused damage to the HBCUs' enrollment by letting other state colleges duplicate programs that once attracted a diverse student body to the historically black institutions. Hogan and his predecessors have been at odds with the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland over the legal battle for years. The funding under the bill is almost three times as much as Hogan's "final offer" made last year to settle the suit, a sum plaintiffs and black lawmakers considered insufficient to fix the disparity. "We are frustrated and disappointed that our work was responded to with the Governor's veto," Del. Darryl Barnes, D-Prince George's, the head of the Legislative Black Caucus, said in a statement. "Allowing the bill to become law would have leveled the playing field for our HBCUs." Hogan also vetoed bills aimed at reducing violent crime in Baltimore, saying the legislature should have enacted his proposals instead. The measures he vetoed included one that required background checks for some private sales of rifles and shotguns. It was initially proposed after a gunman killed five employees of the Annapolis Capital Gazette newspaper with a legally purchased, pump-action shotgun. Del. Vanessa Atterbeary, D-Howard, tweeted that she was "beyond disappointed" that the bill was one of seven crime-related bills Hogan vetoed. Several measures with significant price tags survived the governor's veto pen, including a $424 million project to eventually rebuild the Pimlico racetrack in Baltimore, home of the Preakness Stakes. Another bill creates a $1.4 million annual program to let people go on payment plans to pay fines on suspended driver's licenses. The governor also allowed hundreds of bills to become law without his signature, including a measure that broadens the state's hate-crime law, a bill that makes it illegal for landlords to discriminate against renters based on income, and legislation that bans discrimination against black hairstyles. Large numbers of civilians have been forced to flee their homes in rural Rakhine state after a Myanmar military column deployed in three villages fired artillery into a forested area where it believed rebel Arakan Army camps were located, residents said Thursday. Local residents from three villages in northern Rakhines Minbya township said that Myanmar Army soldiers were deployed in schools, a monastery, and a community hall in the area. A government military column placed big guns in front of the elementary school in Min village and started firing in the direction of the eastern mountains until about 9 p.m., said a local resident who declined to be named for safety reasons. Also this morning, they fired about 20 times, the villager said. They are staying in the school, a monastery, and in houses around the school. Another resident, who also requested anonymity for the same reason, said after government soldiers deployed in three villages, they warned villagers not to support or communicate with the AA. The rebel force was declared a terrorist group by the Myanmar government and banned in March. At first, the government military was stationed on the hill, firing all day long, the person said. A huge mortar shell fell on the village, [and] the villagers had to flee. After that, no one dared to remain in the village. Today theres no one left. RFA was unable to verify how many villagers had fled from the Myanmar Army. Local activist Arn Tha Gyi told RFA that the villagers are more afraid of columns of Myanmar soldiers than they are of clashes between the two sides. Whenever they enter a village, everyone in the village [knows] they are in for trouble, he told RFA. They threaten villagers, loot [their homes], and create problems, so that we Rakhine people are more afraid of army columns than of battles. Myanmar military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun disputed the villagers accounts, saying soldiers did not set up heavy weapons in the villages. First of all, it is not true, he said. Artillery is not the kind of weapon that needs to be carried around and fired. It can be fired from anywhere. Zaw Min Tun added that it was impossible for government troops to take positions in ethnic Rakhine villages because they contain many AA sympathizers who could easily ambush the soldiers. He denied reports that the military was digging trenches around homes and schools in the villages and suggested that AA soldiers were employing this as a battle tactic so they could attack Myanmar forces from civilian positions. Zaw Min Tun also said that there had been no fighting in Minbya township in recent days. AA spokesman Khine Thukha was not available for comment. Shelters need in Chin state The Myanmar military and AA have engaged in intense hostilities in northern Rakhine sate and in Paletwa township of adjacent Chin state for the past 16 months, as the Arakan force seeks greater autonomy for ethnic Rakhine people in the region. The fighting has killed dozens of civilians and displaced more than 160,000 others, according to a tally by the Rakhine Ethnics Congress, a local relief group. Nearly 10,000 displaced villagers in Chins remote Paletwa township say they are in urgent need of shelter before the start of the annual monsoon season later this month. The internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been living temporarily in community halls and in the homes of relatives, though local officials have pledged to build modest bamboo structures for them. We have been living in a high school for a month, said Hsin Koe, an IDP from Paletwas Nanchaungwa village. There are more than 100 people in this school, so its not convenient to live here. Its a four-hour walk from Paletwa to our village, but right now is not a good time to return home. The nonprofit organization the Relief and Rehabilitation Committee for Chin IDPs (RRCCI) has been collecting donations to build shelters for IDPs before the monsoon season, which runs from late May through October. A 10-by-12-foot room will cost about 200,000 kyats (U.S. $140) to build, said Mine Nang Wai from RRCCI. They will be in trouble during the rainy season, he said about the IDPS. They can now stay in the schools because of COVID-19, but if it wasnt for that, then they couldnt stay there. The Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement has agreed to help them as a policy, he said. The committee is going to talk with the Chin state government and work on it. If we only rely on the government, then it would be a burden for the government. Thats why we are doing as much as we can [to help]. On May 4, the RRCCI met with members of the Union government, Social Welfare Minister Win Myat Aye, and Chin state government spokesman Soe Htet, who also serves as the states minister of municipal affairs, to discuss the IDP situation in Paletwa. We are going to receive 12 million kyats [U.S. $8,400] from the National Disaster Management Committee for these IDPs, Soe Htet said, adding that the funds will be used to build 48 tents in the towns of Paletwa and Samee and in Meza village. Each tent will measure 100-by-30 feet and will house 960 families, he added. About 4,000 IDPs are in Paletwa, 3,000 are in Samee, more than 2,000 are in Meza village, according to officials. Another 200 displaced persons have already moved to Yangon. Additional funds for shelters will be needed because there are 1,600 households in Paletwa township, Soe Htet said. Lawmakers in Rakhines Rathedaung township have collected donations to build shelters for IDPs there before torrential rains begin, but the state government has barred local humanitarian relief groups from erecting the structures, saying they did not obtain permission to build from state officials. The more than 800 displaced civilians currently in Rathedaung town have sought shelter in Buddhist monastery compounds and in the homes of friends and relatives. The IDPS must rely on humanitarian assistance from civil society organizations amid a dearth of relief supplies from the state government. Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Maung Maung Nyo and Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. US budget airline carrier Frontier Airlines is dropping plans to charge passengers extra to sit next to an empty middle seat after congressional Democrats accused the airline of trying to profit from concerns over the coronavirus. We recognise the concerns raised that we are profiting from safety and this was never our intent, Frontier CEO Barry Biffle said on Wednesday in a letter to three lawmakers. We simply wanted to provide our customers with an option for more space. Mr Biffle said the airline would withdraw its More Room plan that was announced on Monday, which would have asked Frontier passengers to pay $39 (31.50) to ensure they were sat next to an empty - or socially distanced - middle seat. The More Room plan was to start with Frontier Airlines flights on Friday and continue until August 31. Meanwhile, other airlines have made plans to block middle seats from being sold when air travel resumes amid the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, without an additional fee for passengers. The move caused outrage among Democrats on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, with Peter DeFazio, chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, describing it as capitalising on fear. Sen. DeFazio added that the Denver-based airline was using the need for social distancing as an opportunity to make a buck, and that its plans were "outrageous". Sen. Amy Klobuchar commented on Frontier Airlines plans in a congressional hearing on COVID-19s impact on the airline industry on Wednesday. I dont think its appropriate for some passengers who cant afford to pay an additional charge for a seat to be less safe than other travellers, said Ms Klobuchar. US air travel has dropped more than 90 per cent on the previous year, with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti last month warning that it could take more than a decade for airlines to bounce back from Covid-19. Whilst many flights are nearly empty, some images that have circulated on social media have shown fuller flights - causing airlines to reconsider how best to block seats to distance passengers. Frontier Airlines boss, Mr Biffle, denied that he was charging for social distancing. He told The Associated Press this week that We are offering the option, and it is guaranteed. We dont believe you need it if everybody is wearing a facial covering to be safe. During Wednesdays Senate Commerce Committee hearing, the president of Airlines for America, a trade group for the biggest US carriers, said none of his airlines have a similar charge. Frontier is not a member. The trade group official, Nicholas Calio, said other airlines block some middle seats and board passengers from back to front to keep spacing on planes. Mr Calio told Sen. Klobuchar that airlines did not need federal government guidelines to be issued on the matter. Hopefully the market will take care of that, said Mr Calio. Well, it didnt with Frontier, Ms Klobuchar responded. Hilary Godwin, dean of the school of public health at the University of Washington, said the Frontier policy is exactly the reason that some national-level guidance is needed for social distancing on airlines and in airports. Mr Biffle announced Frontier would drop the More Room charge idea in a letter to Democratic Congress members. Additional reporting by The Associated Press The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday said that it had reserved as many as 3,343 rooms in 88 hotels to quarantine the 1,900 Indian nationals who will arrive in the city from various countries through special flights. About 14,800 Indian nationals will be brought back to the country from 12 different countries over the next several days. All 1,900 passengers arriving in Mumbai, will be screened by a team of doctors of the BMC and those who show coronavirus symptoms will be admitted to a Covid-19 hospital. Those with no symptoms will be sent to quarantine facilities at various hotels. As per the state data, 680 cases of Covid-19 and 24 deaths were reported on Thursday. The total number of cases in the city has reached 11, 394 and 437 deaths so far. As per the BMC,148 patients recovered and were discharged on Thursday. So far, 2,435 people have recovered in the city. Meanwhile, the BMC has mandated all pregnant women to get registered at nearby maternity homes or hospitals. Beds have been kept reserved at BYL Nair Hospital for pregnant women with complications. Additional facilities are also being developed for Covid-19 positive pregnant women nearing delivery. In Dharavi, 50 new cases were reported on Thursday after which the total number of Covid-19 cases in the area rose to 783. Dharavi has reported 21 Covid-19 deaths so far. An official from G-North ward, which covers Dharavi, Dadar and Mahim, confirmed that two cases from Dadar and five cases from Mahim have been reported on Thursday. The total cases in Dadar have reached 66, and 96 in Mahim. BMC is also continuing its slum survey to identify senior citizens with comorbidities. As part of this initiative, the BMC claims to have surveyed over 17 lakh people and met above 58,000 senior citizens to check for comorbidities. Of these, 700 were found with low oxygen levels and 594 were proactively treated even though none of them had Covid-19 symptoms. The BMC has claimed to have surveyed 32 lakh houses across the city so far to screen residents for symptoms of Covid-19 and covered 1.27 crore people in those surveys. More than two lakh people have been traced through contact tracing. Meanwhile, the BMCs F-North ward, consisting of Wadala, Matunga and certain parts of Dadar, will be under complete lockdown for 10 days starting Friday. The BMC officials said no vegetables will be sold in the area and only medical shops will remain open till May 17. By Debbie White There is a cry going out across the nation to end the lockdown. We see armed protests in some states to end the quarantine and open the country. In New Jersey, we watch angry people attacking the governor as he speaks at his daily press conference about the COVID-19 pandemic and his conviction that we need to continue to shelter in place. My question is, what would a nurse or other frontline healthcare worker say to the rush to reopen the state? I am sure, like me, they are horrified. The initial reason for the shelter in place order was to slow transmission so as not to overwhelm our healthcare system. But our system was still overwhelmed. New Jersey has been one of the hardest-hit states in the nation. Nurses and other healthcare providers have been living on the front lines of this war for almost two months, many without proper protections. Some cant sleep, some have nightmares. All are anxious about getting sick themselves or bringing this awful disease home to their families. Watching so much suffering and death will have a lasting impact emotionally. Physically, the impact is just as dire. Workloads are enormous and hours are long. Our frontline caregivers have had inadequate protections and are getting sick or they are watching their co-workers get sick. Some have died. Caregivers who become sick are well-aware that theyve been exposed at work but may not know when or by whom. And at this late date, to still be dealing with scarce respiratory protections, lack of gowns, head coverings, shoe coverings, face shields, and gloves is downright criminal. New Jersey is reporting a staggering 131,000-plus COVID-19 case and at least 8,549 deaths as a result of the disease outbreak. Those are sobering numbers. The tragedy is compounded by the fact that our healthcare workers, the people at the frontline of this pandemic, are also its most preventable casualties of this outbreak. Thousands of healthcare workers have been affected. If New Jersey healthcare worker case levels are in any way similar to states that disclose their data like California, with 11%, and Ohio with 16% then at least 14,000 to 21,000 New Jersey healthcare workers have already been sickened with COVID-19. Sadly, no one seems to be reporting healthcare exposure in New Jersey. We seem not to have learned our lessons from the first wave in this global pandemic. Here are some important guideposts for the future: We are unable to do proper contact tracing in our healthcare systems so what makes us think we can do this on a grander state-wide scale? We dont have enough personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare systems so how can we have enough PPE to protect the public? We dont have enough testing systems for the vast majority of the residents of New Jersey so how can we really know who is infected and who is not? With the lack of testing that still prevails in much of our state, it is not inconceivable that a sizeable portion of our state is infected with the virus. Ending the lockdown without proper systems in place to test, contact-trace and protect New Jersey residents is not responsible. Pandemic planning has been considered within professional healthcare Emergency Risk Management for decades, from the HIV crisis, through the H1N1 and other flu epidemics, and, most recently, in response to the Ebola crisis in 2014. Yet the COVID-19 pandemic struck us by surprise, with much of the pandemic emergency response infrastructure found to be severely lacking. At Health Professional and Allied Employees, we believe that one of the first ways to begin to understand transmission and to institute contact tracing is to get accurate data on healthcare worker exposure and COVID illness. HPAE is seeking legislation to mandate that healthcare facilities report data on COVID-19 exposure, test-results, hospitalizations, and deaths of healthcare workers to the New Jersey Department of Health. This data should be regularly publicly reported and ultimately analyzed for a report to the legislature. Eventually, we will need a full accounting of what went wrong, decisive action to require safe practices and plans and protocols to prevent future tragedies. However, in order to reduce the spread of the disease in the surge that predictive models tell us may be just around the corner, we will need to continue to practice the things weve been doing. If not, we will find our system, once again, completely overwhelmed. Debbie White, RN, is president of Health Professionals & Allied Employees, AFT/AFL-CIO. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. The Star-Ledger/NJ.com encourages submissions of opinion. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. As the US Supreme Court turned to teleconference calls amid the Covid-19 pandemic this week, listeners were able to hear the sound of a flushing toilet as legal arguments were being made. Attorney Roman Martinez was addressing the court on Wednesday when the sound of the toilet was heard. It was not clear where the sound came from but Ajit Patel, the head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), did confirm the legality of the flush afterwards. To be clear, the FCC does not construe the flushing of a toilet immediately after counsel said what the FCC has said to reflect a substantive judgment of the Supreme Court, or of any Justice thereof, regarding an agency determination, wrote Mr Pai on Twitter. The surprise came in the middle of oral arguments in Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants, a case concerning the Telephone Consumer Protection Act which prohibits unwanted automated calls to phones. Until this week, neither the sound of a toilet flush or the oral arguments of lawyers had been streamed live from the Supreme Court. It was unclear whether there were other lawyers or Supreme Court staff on the call when the toilet sound was heard. According to the audio, there was no acknowledgement of the interruption during Mr Martinezs argument. He later told a Law360 journalist that the noise was not his. Supreme Court lawyers were told beforehand that phones should be muted once an oral argument is complete, as the court manages live audio streams for the first time. A former Kano State Commissioner of Works and Infrastructure, Muazu Magaji, has tested positive for coronavirus. KanyiDaily had reported that Magaji was sacked on April 18 by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje over a posts on his Facebook page, which indicated he was celebrating the death of Abba Kyari, the late Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari. In the Facebook posts, Magaji allegedly criticised Kyari, who had just been declared positive gor COVID-19, wishing he never returned to office. Abba Kyari later died on April 17 in a hospital in Lagos State after battling with the coronavirus disease. The sacked commissioner, on Thursday, May 7, 2020, once again took to his Facebook page to announce his coronavirus status, revealing that he has been moved to one of the isolation centres in the state after he tested positive. This morning my NCDC test is out. I have been confirmed Covid-19 Positive. And have been moved to one of the state facilitiespray for us! Going through a historical moment of our time. A time we will either live to remember or we will be remembered having lived in! Which ever applies Alhamdulillah! According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Kano State currently has 427 cases of coronavirus disease that has infected 3,145 persons across the country. 1.5-ton split ACs are the ideal choice for people with medium-sized rooms. While looking for the best 1.5 ton split ac, make sure you pay special attention to models that come with inverters. This can help you save more energy (and money on your electricity bills) as inverter technology alters the power consumption based on the heat load. These ACs also have a lower noise level while operating when compared to other ACs. Also, do remember to pay attention to 1.5 ton split AC prices, just so not to burn a hole in your wallet. Here are a few excellent 1.5-ton split inverter ACs with 5 stars in India. Although the prices of the products mentioned in the list given below have been updated as of 19th Jan 2022, the list itself may have changed since it was last published due to the launch of new products in the market since then. 1.5 Capacity (Ton) 5 Star Rating Split Type NA Power Consumption(watts) Full specs Other Panasonic AC The Panasonic Split 1.5-ton AC is compatible with the MirAe app, which delivers convenient controls, connectivity and comfort. You can seamlessly adjust the temperature of the AC, monitor the status and change modes right from the MirAie App. Using your existing Google assistant or Alexa devices, you can control your Panasonic air conditioner with just your voice. Moreover, the Powerful Mode in the Panasonic Air Conditioner is claimed to cool your room the moment you switch on your air conditioner, which lets you enjoy cooling comfort instantly, even on the hottest day in summer. Additionally, the air-conditioner acts as a dehumidifier when functioning on Dry Mode by removing moisture from indoor air. This function can be used during rainy days when the moisture level is high. SPECIFICATION Capacity (Ton) : 1.5 Star Rating : 5 Type : Split Power Consumption(watts) : NA Available 37,999 Buy Now 1.5 Capacity (Ton) 5 Star Rating Inverter Split AC Type NA Power Consumption(watts) Full specs Other Hitachi AC Hitachi's 1.5-ton Expandable AC gives you the option to expand its capacity in adverse temperature conditions and cuts down humidity eve inside the room to achieve the set temperature faster. You can enjoy uninterrupted cooling as this AC is specially designed with advanced microcontrollers that check indoor and outdoor conditions and vary the compressor speed accordingly. You can sit back and watch your favourite movie while the AC does all the work to cool your room and give you a comfortable experience quickly. Hitachi's inner grooved copper is claimed to deliver faster cooling with its turbulent refrigerant flow and quick heat transfer rate. Also, Hitachi's intelligent Penta sensor technology with its advanced microcontroller optimises cooling during a load variation and protects critical components of the AC. SPECIFICATION Capacity (Ton) : 1.5 Star Rating : 5 Type : Inverter Split AC Power Consumption(watts) : NA Available 45,990 Buy Now 1.5 Capacity (Ton) 5 Star Rating Dual Inverter Wide Split AC Type NA Power Consumption(watts) Full specs Other Sanyo AC The Sanyo Inverter 1.5-ton AC auto-adjusts temperature for a comfortable nights sleep. It claims to save more on your power bills, meaning you can now stay cool without burning a hole in your pocket. No more waking up in the middle of the night to switch off the AC as it can turn on/off automatically at the desired time at the touch of a button. It comes with an ergonomically designed new remote that features glow-in-the-dark temperature control buttons for ease of operation, allowing you to switch temperatures without having to turn on the lights. The AC ensures superior protection against rust and salt damage with corrosion-resistant hydrophilic fins that promise a longer condenser life. SPECIFICATION Capacity (Ton) : 1.5 Star Rating : 5 Type : Dual Inverter Wide Split AC Power Consumption(watts) : NA Available 41,999 Buy Now Advertisements 1.5 Capacity (Ton) 5 Star Rating Inverter Split Copper Convertible 4-in-1 AC Type NA Power Consumption(watts) Full specs Other LG AC The LG 1.5-ton Split AC comes with enhanced stabiliser-free plus operation preventing voltage fluctuations without compromising on safety, savings and comfort. It offers protection against dust, smoke and chemicals present in the environment and also offers protection against fin corrosion. The horizontal and vertical swing action ensures better airflow while delivering uniform cooling throughout your room. Along with this, the code CH 38 is clearly displayed on the air conditioner for timely maintenance and refilling if LG Air Conditioner detects low gas levels. So, you do not have to worry about knowing when to repair or refill the air conditioner as it self-diagnoses its defects and abnormalities. Moreover, LGs DUAL Inverter Compressor has a Varied Speed Dual Rotary Motor with a wider rotational frequency. This saves more energy along with delivering high-speed cooling. SPECIFICATION Capacity (Ton) : 1.5 Star Rating : 5 Type : Inverter Split Copper Convertible 4-in-1 AC Power Consumption(watts) : NA Out of Stock 40,999 Buy Now rk 1.5 Capacity (Ton) 5 Star Rating Inverter Split AC Type NA Power Consumption(watts) Full specs Other Blue Star AC The Blue 1.5-ton Star Split AC comes with Precision Cooling Technology that uses an ultra-wide frequency microprocessor-based controller. The Air Conditioner intelligently varies the operating frequency and ensures precise control (+/-0.5 degree Celsius) to prevent indoor room temperature fluctuations, ensuring a comfortable cooling experience. The air conditioner is designed with seven filters to minimise airborne pollutants and ensure maximum comfort. This will allow users to enjoy the air from the AC without being exposed to any sort of dirt or pollutants. With the powerful mode, one wouldnt have to wait longer to enjoy the cool ambience of their surroundings. Moreover, the iFeel feature and the in-built sensor in the remote should help you have a more comfortable experience. SPECIFICATION Capacity (Ton) : 1.5 Star Rating : 5 Type : Inverter Split AC Power Consumption(watts) : NA Available 44,700 Buy Now 1.5 Capacity (Ton) 5 Star Rating Inverter Split AC Type NA Power Consumption(watts) Full specs Other Daikin AC The Daikin 1.5-ton Split AC comes with Coanda Airflow produces radiant cooling, which in turn enhances the overall cooling by evenly distributing air in every corner of the room. With the help of one click on your remote control, you can experience enhanced comfort. The Econo mode in the AC enables efficient operation by limiting the maximum power consumption. It is useful when using the air-conditioner and other electrical devices simultaneously on a shared electrical circuit. This mode also helps you in reducing your electricity bills. The smell-proof operation ensures theres no foul smell in the air whenever you start the AC. This feature also helps remove moisture in air conditioners and prevents mould growth in the Indoor units. SPECIFICATION Capacity (Ton) : 1.5 Star Rating : 5 Type : Inverter Split AC Power Consumption(watts) : NA Available 44,444 Buy Now Advertisements Andrew Lu Email Andrew Lu Follow Us About Me: A geek and nerd at heart, I love comic books, horror movies and professional fighting. Yes, I know how insane that sounds. Read More about Andrew Lu List Of Best 1.5 Ton Split AC In India (Jan 2022) Product Name Seller Price Panasonic 1.5 Ton 5 Star Inverter Split AC Amazon 37,999 Hitachi 1.5 Ton 5 Star Inverter Split AC Amazon 45,990 Sanyo 1.5 Ton 5 Star Dual Inverter Wide Split Amazon 41,999 LG 1.5 Ton 5 Star Inverter Split AC Amazon 40,999 Blue Star 1.5 Ton 5 Star Inverter Split AC Amazon 44,700 Daikin 1.5 Ton 5 Star Inverter Split AC Amazon 44,444 Barely a week after helping to repatriate $311m (N118bn) stolen by the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, the United States says there is a separate $319m (N121bn) Abacha loot in the United Kingdom and France. The US Embassy in Nigeria said in a statement on Wednesday that there is $167m in stolen assets in France while there is a separate $152m in the UK which is being challenged in court. The statement read in part, The funds returned last week are distinct and separate from an additional $167m in stolen assets also forfeited in the United Kingdom and France, as well as $152m still in active litigation in the United Kingdom. Bloomberg had reported that the repatriation of the $152m (now $155m due to interest) to Nigeria is being challenged by the UK and the US because of alleged plans by the Nigerian government to give $110m out of the money to Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu, a known associate of the late Abacha. Nigeria is seeking the approval of a UK court to take ownership of the assets before returning 70 percent of the proceeds to Bagudu under the terms of a 2018 deal, according to Bloomberg. Nigerias Attorney-General, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has, however, denied ever entering a deal with Bagudu but court papers say otherwise. The UK governments National Crime Agency is also opposing the Federal Republic of Nigerias application, according to a motion filed by Bagudus brother, Ibrahim, to the District Court for the District of Columbia in the US capital on March 30. The US Department of Justice said in February that its Nigerian counterpart is hindering its efforts to recover the allegedly laundered money from the UK. Bagudu was part of a network controlled by Abacha that embezzled, misappropriated and extorted billions from the government of Nigeria, according to the US Department of Justice. While successive Nigerian governments have repatriated billions of dollars looted by Abacha, who died in office in 1998, the current regime of Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), said it is prevented from assisting Americas ongoing forfeiture efforts by an agreement between Bagudu and a previous government in 2003. Abacha is estimated to have stolen as much as $5bn during his five-year The UK governments National Crime Agency is also opposing the Federal Republic of Nigerias application, according to a motion filed by Bagudus brother, Ibrahim, to the District Court for the District of Columbia in the US capital on March 30. The US Department of Justice said in February that its Nigerian counterpart is hindering its efforts to recover the allegedly laundered money from the UK. Bagudu was part of a network controlled by Abacha that embezzled, misappropriated and extorted billions from the government of Nigeria, according to the US Department of Justice. While successive Nigerian governments have repatriated billions of dollars looted by Abacha, who died in office in 1998, the current regime of Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), said it is prevented from assisting Americas ongoing forfeiture efforts by an agreement between Bagudu and a previous government in 2003. Abacha is estimated to have stolen as much as $5bn during his five-year rule. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates People accused of sexual assault on school campuses could have more rights under new rules finalised by the Trump administration and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. It was announced on Wednesday the final changes to Title IX, which would alter how sexual assault misconduct is defined by schools. Ms DeVos initially vowed to do a complete upheaval of Title IX, the 1972 federal civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in programmes that receive federal funding, two years ago but faced an uphill battle from critics. In the updated regulations, the definition of sexual harassment was narrowed and the law required schools to challenge the evidence through the cross-examination of students in a live hearing. Other changes were also detailed in the over 2,000-page law, including limiting the number of complaints schools are obligated to investigate to only those filed through the formal process. Too many students have lost access to their education because their school inadequately responded when a student filed a complaint of sexual harassment or sexual assault, Ms DeVos said in a statement on Wednesday. This new regulation requires schools to act in meaningful ways to support survivors of sexual misconduct, without sacrificing important safeguards to ensure a fair and transparent process. President Donald Trump also issued a statement, calling the updated law even-handed justice that would treat the accused as innocent until proven guilty. With todays action and every action to come, the Trump administration will fight for Americas students, he added. These new rules would take effect in August, but they have already sparked backlash among advocacy groups concerned the updated law would help perpetrators escape consequences. We will fight this rule in court, and we intend to win, said Emily Martin, a vice president at the National Womens Law Centre. Know Your IX, another advocacy group, warned about the damage this updated law could do if it were to go into effect across school and college campuses. If this rule goes into effect, it will make schools more dangerous and could push survivors out of school entirely, the group wrote. Opponents have also said they would take the updated law to the courts following the decision on Wednesday. Betsy DeVos and the Trump administration are dead set on making schools more dangerous for everyone even during a global pandemic, Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Womens Law Centre told the New York Times. And if this rule goes into effect, survivors will be denied their civil rights and will get the message loud and clear that there is no point in reporting assault. Her organisation was one that said they would challenge the regulations in court. In comparison, supporters of the new regulations have expressed gratitude over the updates. This final rule respects and supports victims and preserves due process rights for both the victim and the accused, Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander, a Republican and chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said in a statement. Under the previous administration, a single official in the US Department of Education was issuing edicts, without the proper public input, to 6,000 colleges and universities about how to handle the complex and sensitive problem of sexual assault on college campuses, Mr Alexander added. Ms DeVos first wanted to pass the new regulations in November 2018, but her office was inundated with more than 120,000 critical comments. She used the time to then respond to some of the peoples concerns about the new regulations and make changes as needed before submitting the final version. New Delhi: Union Minister VK Singh on Saturday arrived in India after addressing the problems faced by the Indian workers in Saudi Arabia. He assured that food, medical and other assistance is now being provided in camps and there is no crisis for jobless Indian workers. He said that the food supplies did not reach one or two camps for some reason but it has now being provided by the embassy. In one or two camps, for some reason food supplies had not come and the embassy started providing, VK Singh told ANI. When we reached and spoke to authorities, King of Saudi Arabia ordered quick action. Minister of Labour met me, he added. As of now, Govt of Saudi Arabia is providing food, medical and other assistance to camps of Saudi Oger company. All other camps are being looked after by the embassy, there is no crisis, he said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: The trade turnover between Turkey and France dropped by $243.4 million in March 2020 compared to the same month of 2019, amounting to $995 million, Trend reports with reference to the Turkish Trade Ministry. In March 2020, Turkeys export to France amounted to $463.6 million, while import from France - $531.3 million. From January through March 2020, trade turnover between Turkey and France increased by $24.8 million compared to the same period of 2020, exceeding $3.2 billion. During the reporting period, export from Turkey to France amounted to $1.6 billion, while import from France - $1.5 billion. Turkeys foreign trade turnover exceeded $32.2 billion in March 2020. In March 2020, Turkeys export decreased by 17.8 percent compared to the same month of 2019, amounting to $13.4 billion. Meanwhile, in the reporting month, Turkey's import increased by 3.1 percent compared to the same month of 2019 and amounted to $18.8 billion. From January through March 2020, Turkeys trade turnover exceeded $98.4 billion. During 1Q2020, export of Turkey dropped by 4 percent compared to the same period of 2019, amounting to $42.7 billion. In the reporting period, Turkeys import exceeded $55.6 billion, showing an increase of 10.3 percent over the year. The foreign trade turnover of Turkey amounted to $374.2 billion in 2019. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu People who have caught COVID-19 and recovered from the disease could be encouraged to rejoin the general public to provide 'shield immunity'. The reintroduction of recovered coronavirus patients would, in theory, help reduce the rate of transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19. Researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology say the immunity of the recovered patients would help to slow the spread of the contagion. Ushering out more recovered patients would ensure most interactions include an immune person, which makes it impossible for the virus to propagate. This so-called 'shield immunity' strategy could help quash the R0 the amount of people an infected person passed the virus on to and could be used together with existing precautions, such as social distancing, contact tracing and self-isolation. Immune individuals could play a key role in getting society back to a normal level of functionality while also helping fight the pandemic, scientists claim. Shield immunity is a different concept to herd immunity and is designed to reduce interactions that would pass on the virus. Scroll down for video People who caught COVID-19 and recovered from the disease could be encouraged to take up roles on the coronavirus frontline to provide 'shield immunity' (file photo) The reintroduction of the recovered coronavirus patients would, in theory, help reduce the rate of transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19. Researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology say the immunity of the recovered patients could be utilised to slow the spread of the contagion The study's findings are based on a trove of assumptions, which scientists are currently unable to guarantee. For example, the study is only valid if recovered people are absolutely virus negative, produce antibodies to defend them against SARS-CoV-2, and are able to interact safely with both susceptible and infectious people. It also relies on immunity lasting for more than a year and 100 per cent accurate antibody testing kits being available to all. Currently, scientists are unable to guarantee any of these things. Scientists modified an existing piece of modelling software to see what would happen if uninfected people were replaced in society with immune individuals. 'Shield immunity' was tested on a model population of ten million people under two scenarios: one with a high rate of transmission (R0=2.33) and one with a low rate of transmission (R0=1.57). Two forms of shielding were tested, intermediate and advanced, according to the study. In the high-transmission scenario, 71,000 deaths were predicted if the R0 was not altered. However, this dropped to 58,000 and 20,000 deaths under intermediate and advanced shielding, respectively. Herd immunity compared to shield immunity HERD IMMUNITY Is the goal of vaccination programmes Requires majority of the population to be infected at some point A person who has not developed immunity could still catch the disease The likelihood is very slim as the virus spread is halted The virus cannot spread among the immune individuals so R0 is extremely low and the virus is starved of viable hosts This means at-risk groups who cannot receive vaccines are still afforded protection SHIELD IMMUNITY Is used to help quash the R0 of a disease Works with only a small percentage of people infected Recovered people are immune, unable to contract the disease again or pass it on The objective of a shield immunity strategy is to use immune individuals on the frontline They will be able to keep essential services such as hospitals and pharmacies functioning while reducing the probability of transmission The difference between herd immunity (left) and shield immunity (right). Shield immunity refers to using those with immunity to act as a buffer and ensure the vulnerable and infected are protected. Herd immunity occurs at a later date and requires far more people to catch the virus for it to take effect Advertisement In the low-transmission scenario, the predicted death toll was 50,000 and this dropped to 34,000 and 8,400 when shielding was implemented. Values for the R0 vary wildly, but it is believed the UK's current R0 is around 0.7. Shield immunity is different to herd immunity, the concept which hit headlines last month. Shield immunity refers to using those with immunity to act as a buffer and ensure the vulnerable and infected are protected. 'The objective of a shield immunity strategy is to help to sustain the interactions necessary for the functioning of essential goods and services while reducing the probability of transmission', the researchers write in their study. Herd immunity occurs at a later date and requires far more people to catch the virus for it to take effect. It is an effective 'safety in numbers' approach which occurs when so many people already have immunity to the disease that it effectively stops spreading. Professor Joshua Weit, who led the study, explained on Twitter: 'Unlike herd immunity (which would lead to disastrous consequences given the severity of COVID-19), the intent of shield immunity is to dilute transmissable interactions intentionally through elevating interactions with recovered, rather than depletion of susceptibles.' Antibody tests could tell recovered, and therefore immune, COVID-19 patients and this would give them the all-clear to resume roles in society. these test would need to be 100 per cent accurate, which is currently not a possibility Scientists modified an existing piece of modelling software to see what would happen if uninfected people were replaced in society with immune individuals. They found utilising the shield immunity strategy could save tens of thousands of lives 100% accurate antibody tests 'will be available in TWO WEEKS' Earlier this week it was reported that '100 per cent accurate' antibody tests are set to be rolled out across the UK within a fortnight. Testing giant Roche Diagnostics claims it has created a kit accurate enough to be used at scale. These serology tests do not accurately tell if someone is currently infected but would be useful in detecting people who have had the disease and recovered. Despite promising home antibody tests, the UK has not yet approved any because the Government insists it can't find a DIY finger-prick kit that is accurate enough - despite only evaluating a handful of tests. Switzerland-based Roche claims its lab-based 'Elecsys' test, which isn't designed to give people a result in their own home, can spot 100 per cent of people who have not had the coronavirus and 99.8 per cent of people who have been infected. The blood sample kit, which can be processed by machines already used in NHS labs across the country, has been granted the vital 'CE mark' that shows it is safe. Medics can get results in just 18 minutes. Insiders say it is unlikely the tests will be available to purchase privately, at least initially, because officials wouldn't be able to access the data they desperately need to plot the spread of the virus. It is not clear how much the tests could cost, if and when they can be purchased. Instead, the test is likely to play a role in the Government's 'surveillance' programme, which will see nurses take blood samples from a thousand households and send them to Oxford University laboratories so officials can work out how far the virus has spread in Britain. Advertisement In a 15-tweet-long thread explaining his findings, which instigated a fiery conversation on the social media platform, Professor Weit also says: 'Serology [antibody tests] can tell us who has been sick & recovered... [and] can also identify recovered individuals who can (safely) return to work, often in critical services.' He goes on to explain that deploying recovered and immune individuals to the frontline of the pandemic such as hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies and grocery stores could 'lead to an amplifying, negative feedback on transmission can then be used to help curtail the outbreak, while reducing effects of social distancing'. The scientists published this latest research in the journal Nature Medicine and acknowledge their research relies on many factors. For example, there have been several reports of people catching the virus on two separate occasions. The study assumes people who have had the disease have immunity and would not test positive. This week, the WHO said that patients who recover but later test positive for the disease are not getting reinfected but simply expelling dead lung cells. As the science is emerging so rapidly in the wake of the global pandemic, which has claimed the lives of more than a quarter of a million people worldwide, it will be several months before a consensus on these issues emerges. Dr Ole Frithjof Norheim, a professor of medical ethics at the University of Bergen in Norway who was not involved in the research, writes in an opinion article accompanying the study: 'Although the disease can be fatal, the majority of those afflicted recover and could be rendered immune. 'Widespread serological testing can identify people who are virus negative and antibody positive and are thought to have some immunity. 'One pathway out of the lockdown for many of the hardest-hit countries is to protect the general population and reduce the spread of COVID-19 with such immune people.' However, the expert in scientific ethics says the method is fraught with difficulties. The first concern is ensuring the people who are ushered back into society are guaranteed to be immune. Professor Joshua Weit, who led the study, said deploying recovered and immune individuals to the frontline of the pandemic such as hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies and grocery stores could 'lead to an amplifying, negative feedback on transmission can then be used to help curtail the outbreak, while reducing effects of social distancing' Dr Ole Frithjof Norheim, a professor of medical ethics at the University of Bergen in Norway, says: ''One pathway out of the lockdown for many of the hardest-hit countries is to protect the general population and reduce the spread of COVID-19 with such immune people.' However, the expert in scientific ethics says the method is fraught with difficulties Coronavirus patients who recover but later test positive for the disease are NOT getting reinfected The WHO has revealed that patients who recover but later test positive for the disease are not getting reinfected but simply expelling dead lung cells. South Korean health authorities raised new concerns about coronavirus after reporting more than 300 cases of recovered patients later tested positive again. If those who survive COVID-19 could become reinfected with the virus, it could complicate efforts to lift quarantine restrictions and produce a vaccine. But such test results appear to be 'false positives' caused by lingering, but likely not infectious, lung cells and left over material. Advertisement For this to happen, the antibody tests must be 100 per cent accurate, a specificity of 96 or 98 per cent is not good enough. Professor Norheim explains in his News and Views article: 'A specificity below 100 per cent will give some false-positive results; i.e., people are informed that they are immune, while this is actually not correct, which results in some falsely thinking they are able to interact with vulnerable people without risk.' Earlier this week it was reported that '100 per cent accurate' antibody tests are set to be rolled out across the UK within a fortnight. Testing giant Roche Diagnostics claims it has created a kit accurate enough to be used at scale. These serology tests do not accurately tell if someone is currently infected but would be useful in detecting people who have had the disease and recovered. Remnants of the virus and the body's autoimmune response will be detected by the tests. Another issue preventing the implementation of shield immunity is the fact scientists do not yet know how long or how strong the COVID-19 immunity is. For the sake of this study, the researchers assumed all recovered patients were impervious to reinfection for 12 months. Today's announcement from the WHO reveals people who test positive for coronavirus after already having been infected are not getting reinfected. Instead, the test results are caused simply by dead lung cells lingering from the initial infection being expelled. The first phase of an operation by the navy to bring back Indians stranded overseas will begin on Friday after two warships dispatched to the Maldives reach the island nation late in the night. The navy said on Thursday that INS Jalashwa had reached the shores of Maldives and phase one of the operation called Samudra Setu will commence on Friday. The navys solitary landing platform dock , the INS Jalashwa, (formerly known as USS Trenton) was bought from the United States 13 years ago. The second ship, INS Magar, is expected to arrive in the Maldives later on Thursday night. Indians being brought from Male to Kochi on INS Jalashwa will have to pay $40 for the transportation as evacuation services charge, the High Commission of India in Maldives said on Thursday. Former navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash told Hindustan Times that such a charge was being imposed for the first time. This has never happened before, he said. The high commission said on Twitter that the amount would be collected at the service fee collection counter after completion of the immigration process at Velana International Airport in the Maldives. If this is humanitarian assistance, why are people being charged, said two senior retired navy officers asking not to be named. The evacuated personnel will be disembarked in Kochi and handed over the respective agencies of various states. The navy said the Samudra Setu is being carried out with the cooperation of various central ministries and state governments. All people will be given basic amenities and medical care during the voyage. The navy has kept two ships on standby for evacuation from the Gulf --- INS Shardul and INS Airavat. The navy on Tuesday dispatched two amphibious warships to Male to evacuate Indians stranded in the Maldives amid the swift spread of coronavirus disease globally. The navy is bringing back Indian nationals stuck overseas under operation Samudra Setu and is expected to help around 1,000 people. Indian warships have carried out large-scale evacuations in the past. Operation Sukoon was launched by navy to evacuate Indian, Sri Lankan and Nepalese nationals, as well as Lebanese nationals with Indian spouses, from the conflict zone during the 2006 Lebanon War. The task force consisted of INS Mumbai, INS Brahmaputra, INS Betwa and fleet tanker INS Shakti. A total of 2,280 people including 1,764 Indians were evacuated. In 2015, the navy carried out a major evacuation from Yemen under Operation Raahat. Indian ships Sumitra, Mumbai, Tarkash were among the vessels that took part in the operation. It resulted in the evacuation of 3,074 people from Yemen, including 1,291 foreign nationals SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Watertown, NY (13601) Today Snow showers in the morning will give way to a mixture of rain and snow in the afternoon. Some sleet may mix in. High 37F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of precip 70%.. Tonight Cloudy skies. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 3F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph. A gypsy moth: (istockphoto grannyogrim) Washington governor Jay Inslee has issued an emergency warning about a possible infestation of gypsy moths, just days after scientists revealed dangerous Asian hornets had been spotted in the state. Both Asian gypsy moths and Asian-European hybrid gypsy moths pose a threat to Washington, according to the governor. The moths can severely damage trees and shrubs, according to the the US Department of Agriculture. Large infestations can completely defoliate trees, the department said. This defoliation can severely weaken trees and shrubs, making them more susceptible to disease. Repeated defoliation can lead to the death of large sections of forests, orchards and landscaping. Mr Inslee said that the moths are also able to cause major damage to the states agricultural industry. This imminent danger of infestation seriously endangers the agricultural and horticultural industries of the state of Washington and seriously threatens the economic well-being and quality of life of state residents, he said. Officials plan to begin aerial spraying of a bacteria-based insecticide in order to avert a full-blown infestation. The moths are such a threat because females can fly up to 25 miles and their larvae can feed on hundreds of different kinds of plants - meaning their potential habitat is huge. It adds to the woes of Washington scientists, after it was revealed this week that they had also spotted Asian giant hornets in the state. The Washington state agriculture department revealed that the bugs, which have been nicknamed murder hornets for their ferocious nature, had been in the country since December. They are able to destroy beehives and even kill humans. You may not see Asian giant hornets themselves, but you may see the aftermath of an Asian giant hornet attack, the department said. These hornets will leave piles of dead bees, most of them headless, outside their beehive. Read more Scientists hunt down murder hornets amid fears for bee population Exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), an industrial chemical used to make certain plastics and resins, inner coatings for food cans and bottle tops, thermal paper used in store receipts, dental sealants and so on, is a concern because of possible adverse health effects, including a reduction in fertility. A study performed at Harvard Medical School (HMS) in the United States by Maria Fernanda Hornos Carneiro and her research group shows that the harmful effects of BPA can be reversed by administering a supplement known as CoQ10 (coenzyme Q10), a substance naturally produced by the human body and found in beef and fish. Hornos Carneiro is a former Sao Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP scholarship awardee. The article published in the journal Genetics is the first to present this strategy for reversing the effects of BPA in the organism. In this study, the researchers tested the antioxidant action of CoQ10 in nematodes of the species Caenorhabditis elegans exposed to BPA. As an excellent antioxidant, CoQ10 is an electron donor. By donating its electrons, it stabilizes free radicals, reducing the oxidative stress and cell damage caused by BPA. "BPA has oxidation potential as it's chemically unstable and produces reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. When the antioxidant reserves in cells [electron donors] run out, the amount of reactive oxygen and nitrogen increases. Because of their chemical instability, they 'poach' electrons from mitochondria and other cellular organelles, cell membranes, proteins, and even DNA, damaging cells significantly and potentially causing cell death. If this problem becomes extensive, it poses a major threat to the organism," Hornos Carneiro told. The study measured the number of fertilized eggs laid and hatched and the number of progeny that reached adulthood. The problems detected can be compared to difficulty in becoming pregnant, miscarriages and chromosome anomalies in humans. BPA is a chemical contaminant that acts as an endocrine disruptor, causing cellular oxidative stress [an imbalance between oxidant and antioxidant molecules], which results in damage to gametes and embryos. In the study, the worms exposed to BPA and given CoQ10 displayed lower egg cell death rates, less DNA breakage and fewer abnormalities in chromosomes during cell division, as well as less cellular oxidative stress." Maria Fernanda Hornos Carneiro, Research Fellow, Harvard Medical School In the experiment, worms were exposed to different combinations of BPA, CoQ10 and a solvent (DMSO): solvent only, solvent and CoQ10, BPA only, and BPA plus CoQ10. The amount of exposure to BPA mimicked the estimated amount in humans. "We know it's practically impossible to avoid exposure to BPA and similar contaminants in this day and age, so we looked for a strategy to minimize the harm done. Many studies have shown that age reduces fertility in women, and because exposure to BPA [and other endocrine disruptors] occurs throughout life, it's not yet possible to estimate separately the extent to which observed infertility is due to exposure to toxic chemicals in the external environment and how much is due to aging," Hornos Carneiro said. The nematodes used in the study were transgenic, with a fluorescent protein sequence inserted into their DNA to enable in vivo observation of protein expression. Fluorescent antibodies were also used, as well as advanced microscopy and molecular biology techniques. The researchers were thereby able to observe in real time the effects produced at the cellular and molecular levels during the process of cell division (meiosis) and embryo formation in the worms. Estrogen mimic According to Hornos Carneiro, BPA's chemical structure is similar to that of estrogen, a female sex hormone that plays a key role in ovulation. As a result, BPA can bind to estrogen receptors in humans, leading to a number of significant effects. "Depending on the tissue, the effects may be pro-estrogenic or anti-estrogenic, with an impact not just on the reproductive system but also on other systems and processes that are important to a person's health," she said. Hornos Carneiro is currently a professor in the School of Chemistry and Pharmacy at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. She conducted the study at the University of Sao Paulo's Ribeirao Preto School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (FCFRP-USP) in Brazil with the support of a FAPESP scholarship for postdoctoral research internship abroad. DNA breakage and mitochondrial dysfunction According to Hornos Carneiro, exposure of the worms to BPA alone resulted in more DNA breaks. "This was potentially due to the action of reactive oxygen species formed as a result of the presence of the contaminant in the organism," she said. "We found that the breaks were not correctly repaired in this group of worms." The damage was observed by monitoring a protein involved in DNA breakage and repair when genetic material is exchanged between homologous chromosomes during meiosis. This exchange of genetic material, known as crossing over, is important for increasing genetic diversity and driving evolution. "One hypothesis is that the increase in DNA breakage [and inefficient repair] was due to a rise in gonad oxidative stress caused by BPA," she said. Another finding was that mitochondrial dysfunction increased. Mitochondria are energy-producing organelles in cells. "Because of oxidative stress, mitochondrial membrane potential was significantly altered in the worms exposed only to BPA, while in the group that received the CoQ10 supplement, this marker was much improved," Hornos Carneiro said. Effect on embryos The effect of BPA on embryos was also studied in this experiment. As a hermaphrodite, C. elegans self-fertilizes, and it is therefore possible to observe in its gonads all stages of germinative cell development in meiosis up to the polar corpuscle and embryo formation. "In the study, we observed embryo formation in vivo using a technique called live imaging," Hornos Carneiro explained. "The benchmark for analysis of the occurrence of defects was the first cell division [the precise moment at which the unicellular embryo divides in two]. In the group exposed only to BPA, a larger number of defects were observed, such as formation of chromatin bridges and cell division cessation." Vingroup will give 2,400 invasive ventilators to Russia and Ukraine to help treat COVID-19 patients. Photo courtesy of Vingroup HA NOI Vingroup will give 2,400 invasive ventilators to Russia and Ukraine to help treat COVID-19 cases in the two countries between May 15 to August 30. The embassy of the Russian Federation in Viet Nam and the embassy of Ukraine in Viet Nam signed an agreement to receive the ventilators on May 6 in Ha Noi. The invasive ventilators include Vsmart VFS-410 and VFS-510, the two made in Vietnam invasive ventilators which have been completed and manufactured entirely within the Vingroup ecosystem, with a localisation rate of up to 70 per cent. Nguyen Viet Quang, Vice Chairman and CEO of Vingroup said that: By giving 2,400 invasive ventilators, Vingroup hopes to actively contribute to the effective treatment of medical forces in Russia and Ukraine for patients and control of the COVID-19 pandemic. This shows the gratitude of the Groups management to the two countries for their close connection with the start-up process of Vingroup. In detail, Vingroup will give Russia 1,000 VFS-410 ventilators and 500 VFS-510 ventilators; while giving Ukraine 600 VFS-410 ventilators and 300 VFS-510 ventilators. The VFS-410 and VFS-510 ventilators are currently being assessed by quality management agencies and the Medical Council of Vietnam, ensuring compliance with quality standards for product circulation in Viet Nam. At the same time, Vingroup is promoting the supply of ventilator models for Russia and Ukraine to carry out quality inspection procedures in accordance with their current regulations. The group will officially hand over 2,400 ventilators after being granted product circulation licences by Russia and Ukraine. Up to now, Vingroup is one of the pioneering enterprises in Asia in sponsoring and supporting the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic with a total sponsorship fund of nearly VN600 billion (US$25.7 million) excluding funding for investment in manufacturing ventilators. According to the worldometers.info statistics, by 7am May 6, 2020, there are more than 3.7 million Covid-19 cases and nearly 258,000 deaths around the world. Russia is gradually becoming the current hotspot of COVID-19, with a total of 155,370 SARS-CoV-2 confirmed cases and 1,451 deaths. While Ukraines Ministry of Health reported a total of 12,697 COVID-19 confirmed cases and 316 deaths as of May 6. VNS Machakos Governor Dr. Alfred Mutua has officially opened the doors of the swanky county governments offices. Constructed at a reported cost of Ksh350 million, the premises were opened to the public on Wednesday when Dr. Mutua hosted the Council of Governors. According to sources, the Machakos State House was modeled on the American White House and took just nine months to complete. It has a West Wing and an East Wing. The West Wing will house the Governor, his Chief of Staff and executive meeting lounges where Dr. Mutua will meet top guests and dignitaries, the source told Citizen TV. The East Wing will house the office of the First Lady, the governors advisors and other support staff. The East Room has an in-house conference facility that can hold up to 200 people and here he will have a chance to hold county meetings, meet MCAs and other guests. The office also has banquet rooms where he can entertain his high profile guests, said the source who requested anonymity. The source noted that the Machakos State House is fit for President Uhuru Kenyatta. I will tell you this, if President Uhuru Kenyatta ever decides he wants to work from Machakos County, there is an office that befits his stature. This is for posterity and not for the Governor who has less than three years to go. The source added that: State House was built during colonial era and so are many other government structures both locally and abroad so that is what the Governor was thinking when he decided to build the county offices. When you look at the cost, you realise that for a structure of this magnitude to cost Ksh.350 million is a bargain because this same building would have cost close to Ksh.3 billion if it was a national government project. Below are some photos of the monstrosity. The Me Too movement was meant to be more than a howl or rage with a trending hashtag. It was a surge that threatened to pulverise all before it, arming accusers with weapons of merit and disarming predators who had, for decades, acted in beastly fashion from positions of power. It did net some mighty scalps and also, at stages, ruined careers without trial and tested evidence. But paradoxically, it failed to make an impression on the Trump phenomenon, where genital grabbing and locker room humour exhibited in the Access Hollywood tape made little impression upon his candidacy for the White House. Where it did make an impression at least for a stretch of time was with a good number of establishment GOP types who withdrew their support for his candidacy, only to then fall in line after the Trump victory. I dont want my boys growing up in a world where the President of the United States is allowed to speak or treat women the way Donald Trump has, reflected a melancholy Tom Rooney, Representative from Florida. At the time, Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus was besieged by urgings to knock Trump off the candidacy. As Tim Alberta of Politico Magazine noted, within hours of the Access Hollywood tape rippling the political waters, Priebus fielded scores of phone calls from the most prominent people in Republican politics: congressmen and senators, governors, donors, activists and his own RNC members. The common theme: Trump had signed his death warrant, politically speaking, and needed to be replaced by the safer Mike Pence. Now, with dedication mixed with some confusion, the Democratic establishment is attempting to build the dykes around Joe Biden, hoping that he wont drown in the allegations of sexual impropriety that have, it has to be said, lingered around him like a pong. There is a presidency to be won, and the tight lipped puritans are closing ranks to minimise the damage. The threat to Biden has come from Tara Reade, a former staffer who claims to have been subjected to the sort of Trump-induced nightmare that produced marches and defiance after his election. On April 9, she filed a criminal complaint with the Washington, D.C. police, accusing Biden of sexual assault that is said to have taken place in 1993. The reaction to Reade suggests a degree of pause and revision being undertaken in Democratic ranks and, it has to be said, the punditry. Sadly for Reade, she has become a Rorschach test for the partisan politics of belief in the murky field of sexual transgression. For Lucy Flores, herself having written about an unwanted kiss from Biden, Were never going to get to the foundation of this problem if were constantly talking about it in a political context. But political context it is, thickly and all the way. The efforts vary in terms of neutralising Reade, from the libellous to the glacial. Edward-Isaac Dovere of The Atlantic acidly questioned her account, because a person who could sympathise with Russia and its leader, President Vladimir Putin, must be unhinged and mendacious on matters sexual. Lawyer and former chief White House ethics lawyer Richard W. Painter chortled in discovering Reades effusive praise. Is this the same person who just made an accusation against @JoeBiden? If so this games up. Suddenly, qualifications of circumspection are being introduced, necessary suspicions sown. Maureen Dowd of the New York Times reflected that the Democrats had a fundamental problem in always setting those standards that come back and bite them. The liberal notion that all women must be believed made her wince. For Dowd, an example of this came in the form of opposition to Trumps Supreme Court appointee, Brett Kavanaugh, the convenient gargoyle of alleged sexual impropriety. The eagerness to pin Kavanaugh produced a giddy new environment in which incredible tales, like that of Julie Swetnick, who claimed to have witnessed Kavanaugh at parties with rape lines, were treated as credible. Margaret Talbot at the New Yorker trots out a similar line. Disoriented, the Democrats are facing the unasked-for moral dilemma of whether it is hypocritical to question the veracity of Joe Bidens accuser, Tara Reade, when so many of them had fully embraced the #MeToo movements (always too simplistic) exhortation to believe women. In terms of media coverage, the most common sort dealing with Reades accusations is that of cold indifference. For the most part, she has been ignored by that hideous current often called the mainstream, leaving such guerrilla outlets as the Intercept to spread the news with bomblets of revelation. As Branko Marcetic pondered in Jacobin, the standards of reporting on Trumps sexual conduct from more progressive and centrist outlets differ markedly from those on Biden, the man many see as his best-placed rival. His point of contrast: the broader and more expansive coverage given to the accusations against Trump levelled by E. Jean Carroll a year ago. The conclusion reached is simple: Reade has been treated unlike any high-profile accuser of the past three years. Some movement to rectify this disparity is taking place, with the decision by MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes giving the story a degree of oxygen. There have been moments I think for many of us, all of us, where we have heard about accusations against someone that we find ourselves desperately wanting not to believe. Bidens own response is that it never, never happened while calling on the US National Archives to identify any record of the complaint [Reade] alleges she filed. This risks becoming a matter of archival, and for that reason distant, appraisal. For her part, Reade favours a broader inquiry while she becomes grist to the mill of talking heads, and hopes to get a peek around the Biden papers held at the University of Delaware. (Bidens response to that has been one of steadfast refusal.) Trump, when he does not have them anywhere else, will be rubbing his hands with glee as Bidens woman problem gets fanning. A central ploy in his weaponry has never been to elevate his opponents in order to improve his own merit. His method, rather, is one of lowering, diminishing, reducing. The Democrats, in turn, are delivering. This election is suitably living down to expectations. Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. Email: [email protected] The protocol of self-isolation for returning travellers as part of measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 led to increased cases in the country, the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, has said. Mr Ehanire while speaking at the daily Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing on Thursday said there was an increase in cases from such persons. He said quarantine has now been adopted for new returnees on arrival. We dont have a provision for isolation at home. At the very beginning, we had that provision that if you came in and did not have a symptom, you isolate at home. Since then, all the cases we are dealing with now came in and multiplied. In order to reduce the incidence of cases coming in and then forming clusters of new infections, the provision has now changed to what we call isolation-one or quarantine, he said. He said anybody arriving the country henceforth will go into quarantine for 14 days. The policy we have now is that anybody arriving Nigeria from anywhere whether by air, land or by sea will go into quarantine for 14 days. Quarantine is for those who have not been confirmed or who are under isolation. If during the period, signs and symptoms show up, they will be tested. READ ALSO: If they are positive they will go to treatment centres. If after 14 days they show no symptoms or signs and they are tested and are negative, they are free to go. That is the protocol we have now. Some of the early cases recorded in Nigeria were in people who had returned from countries with reported cases of the virus. Nigerias index case is that of an Italian citizen who entered Nigeria on February 24 from Milan, Italy on a business visit. The Italian who was confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 on February 27 has fully recovered and discharged. Since then, cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria have been on the increase, first from people who had been in contact with infected returnees and later community transmission of the virus. As of Wednesday night, Nigeria has recorded 3,145 cases of COVID-19. Of these, 534 people have been treated and discharged and 103 deaths recorded. A Navajo woman herds her sheep near Two Grey Hills, N.M. The Navajo Nation has been hit hard by coronavirus infections. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Road closures, mask mandates and weekend curfews have not stopped a troubling upward trajectory of coronavirus-related deaths on the Navajo Nation, a high desert landscape with underfunded hospitals and overburdened doctors stretching across three states. As more states begin to ease stay-at-home orders, a desperate attempt to halt coronavirus cases is underway on the countrys largest reservation, which spans Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. But such efforts have proved difficult, because of the remoteness of the reservation and the lack of electricity and running water in some homes. Were getting the message out through radio from word of mouth, door-to-door. There shouldnt be anyone who says they dont know whats going on with COVID-19, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said during a virtual town hall this week. "Its up to us to translate to our grandma and grandpa; its our obligation to keep our citizens safe." The crisis is compounded by the population's prevalence of preexisting ailments, which makes members more susceptible to the virus. Cassandra Begay, a local activist, said abandoned uranium mines had led to higher rates of cancer on the reservation health conditions that can prove deadly if a person contracts COVID-19. Were vulnerable, said Begay, who grew up on a rural stretch of the reservation with no running water or electricity. On Wednesday, the Navajo Nation reported nearly 2,500 confirmed cases and at least 75 deaths more than in all of Utah, where about 60 people have died. A day earlier, Navajo Nation officials, who represent 175,000 residents, traveled to Phoenix for a roundtable meeting with President Trump that, among other things, included discussion about the virus's toll on Native American populations. In March, Congress passed a $2-trillion stimulus package that included $8 billion for Native American tribes. Roughly $1 billion is allocated for the Indian Health Service, a notoriously underfunded federal agency that oversees healthcare on reservations. Story continues From the outset, Nez expressed concern that the federal government is forcing individual tribes to apply for their share of the $8 billion. A coalition of tribes, including the Navajo Nation, filed a federal lawsuit in recent weeks against the Department of Treasury, seeking to keep the money out of the hands of Alaska Native corporations. Established through a 1971 law governing how Alaska Natives manage their land, these corporations have boards of directors and shareholders. There are 574 federally recognized tribes and 237 Alaska Native corporations. A judge recently ruled that, for now, the money should go only to the recognized tribes. Hours after the meeting with Trump on Tuesday, the Navajo Nation announced it would receive roughly $600 million in federal funds from the stimulus package to address its coronavirus crisis. The tribe has also been helped by money from abroad. Officials from the Navajo and Hopi COVID-19 relief fund say they've received almost $500,000 in donations from Ireland. The funds are a nod of appreciation to indigenous Americans, who in 1847 raised $170 about $5,000 in today's currency in aid for Ireland during its Great Famine. While the tribe awaits the federal money, some of which will go toward testing, officials are working with state and local governments to slow the spread of the virus. Strict weekend curfews have been in place on the Navajo Nation for the last month, with residents only allowed to leave their homes to shop at grocery stores. At the reservation's four inpatient hospitals, volunteers from around the country have arrived to help support overcrowded emergency rooms. In Gallup, N.M., which is along the eastern edge of the reservation, roads have been barricaded for several days since New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham invoked the states Riot Control Act to prevent the flow of traffic from the reservation into the city. McKinley County, which includes Gallup and part of the Navajo Nation, accounts for roughly 3 in 10 cases statewide and has one of the highest rates of infection in the country. The order is set to expire Thursday. A problem in one part of our state, with a virus this contagious, is a problem for our entire state, Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, told reporters when invoking the act. These days, trading posts and restaurants sit vacant. El Rancho Hotel, where Hollywood stars like John Wayne would regularly stay while traveling Route 66, is open but running far below its peak capacity. Most days, the roar of freight trains that run parallel to Interstate 40 are the only sounds through downtown. On Wednesday, the local Walmart shuttered its doors for the day as the state mandated that anyone entering a business must wear a mask. For many who live on the Navajo Nation, the pandemic has been an unsettling reminder of past outbreaks. During the 2009 outbreak of H1N1 flu, also known as swine flu, the death rate for Native Americans who contracted the disease was four times that of all other racial and ethnic groups combined, according to a study by the National Institutes of Health. Underlying health conditions contributed in part to the disparity. Thirty percent of our Navajo residents still dont have access to running water, said Begay, noting that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention practices like consistent hand-washing can prove difficult. Angelo Baca, who also grew up on the Navajo Nation and now lives on the north side of the reservation in rural Utah, said the virus has offered some an opportunity to return to Native practices. Younger generations, Baca said, are increasingly taking the lead on the essential work of farming this spring, planting corn and raising sheep, as elders remain indoors for their safety. We have to depend on ourselves and our traditions, Baca said. The pandemic has helped put that into focus for some people," he said. "Im sure that focus on depending on ourselves will continue moving forward. Vizag gas leak: Criminal action will be taken against LG Chem, says AP Industry Minister India oi-Briti Roy Barman Visakhapatnam, May 07: Industry Minister of Andhra Pradesh M G Reddy said on Thursday that the South Koran company LG Chem, the owner of the plant, has to be responsible for gas leak incident in Vizag. The minister added that criminal action will be taken against the company. "Company managing this has to be responsible for VizagGasLeak mishap. They'll have to come & explain us exactly what all protocols were followed, and what all were not followed. Accordingly, criminal action will be taken against them", said M G Reddy. How Vizag gas leak incident reminds of Bhopal gas tragedy The DGP of Andhra Pradesh told ANI the forensic teams present at the site of the incident and investigation underway. The DGP said that drinking a lot of water is one of the antidotes to not get affected by the toxic gas. DGP also told that the gas has been neutralised and the leak is an accident. "One of the antidotes is drinking a lot of water. Around 800 were shifted to hospital, many have been discharged," he said. Vizag gas neutralised: 800 moved to hospital 11 persons have on Thursday reportedly died after a toxic gas leaked from a chemical plant of a multinational firm in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. At least 5,000 have fallen sick due to the leak. The leak spread over a radius of about three km, affecting at least five villages. When school buildings reopen, many teachers might not be there. About 18 percent of all teachers are aged 55 or older . That age group accounts for about 92 percent of deaths in the United States due to COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although adults who are 65 and older are most at risk. Teachers with underlying medical conditions, such as asthma or diabetes, are also at high risk for severe illness caused by the coronavirus. Teachers are in close quarters with dozens of students throughout the school day, and new studies have suggested that children can transmit the coronavirus . As the national conversation on safely reopening schools accelerates, experts have said that the best way to protect vulnerable teachers might be to not have them in school buildings at all. Most teachers care about the kids and their learningthis is a huge priority for us, but were also individuals and have our own health concerns, said Dawn, a math teacher with asthma who requested that her last name and name of her school not be used. We didnt sign up to be nurses on the front lines. See Also Educators Weve Lost to the Coronavirus President Donald Trump has weighed in on the issue twice in recent days, saying at a virtual town hall that while he thinks students will be fine when schools reopen, the bigger problem will be teachers who are older or have underlying medical issues. I do worry about teachers at a certain age, Trump said. Students are going to be fine. But if you have a teacher thats 65 or 70 years old and has diabetes, that one, I think, theyre going to have to sit it out for a little while unless we come up with the vaccine sooner. In addition to age, the CDC lists asthma, chronic lung disease, diabetes, serious heart conditions, chronic kidney disease, severe obesity, immunocompromised conditions, and liver disease as among the risk factors for COVID-19 . Think tanks and teachers unions alike have floated proposed solutions to keep vulnerable teachers safe, such as offering them early retirement, reassigning them to virtual jobs, or letting them teach remotely while their students are in the school building supervised by another staff member. But as states and school districts begin to conceptualize what reopening schools in the fall will look like, high-risk teachers are left anxious about their health and what it means for their jobs. With all the uncertainty about what school might look like in the fall, the idea that I and 800,000 other older teachers might not be there had not registered for me, said Larry Ferlazzo, a 60-year-old teacher in Sacramento and an opinion blogger for edweek.org . Its not a good feeling to think that I might not be in the classroom in the fall. Its certainly not what I signed up for. But at the same time, he said, he wants to stay healthy. Ferlazzo said hes waiting to hear what his district leaders are planning in terms of safety measures for students and staffand he hopes teachers will be consulted. Lots of Sleepless Nights Cossondra George, a middle school math teacher in Newberry, Mich., has asthma and will turn 59 in August. The thought of returning to school in the fall has led to lots of sleepless nights. Im really concerned about my health, Im concerned about my students health, she said. I just feel like opening schools back up has to be a really well-thought-out process. But so far, when it comes to maintaining social distance in the classroom, there are so many more questions than there are answers in my mind, George said. Shes worried about how to keep six feet of distance between everyone in a crowded classroom, and how to make sure her 7th graders comply with the safety measures. At the same time, continuing to teach remotely isnt an appealing option, either: She has been frustrated with distance learning, and said she doesnt feel like its the same quality of instruction that she can provide face-to-face. Even so, Im not ready to retire, Im just not, George said. I love what I do. ... I dont want somebody else to make that decision, and I dont want my health to make that decision. Offering early retirement to at-risk teachers or staff has been proposed by the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank in Washington. According to an AEI report , this could also be a cost-saving measure for districts, which are expected to face steep budget cuts that could lead to teacher layoffs. You want it to be one option among multiple options, said Frederick Hess, the director of education policy studies at AEI and one of the authors of the report. I dont really want to see us pushing educators out of the profession. Thats not preferred. Ideally, he said, districts could reassign at-risk teachers to jobs that could be done from home, such as one-on-one remote tutoring or mentoring. This might mean changing teachers job descriptions, which could require negotiations between the teachers union and the school district, said Hess, who also writes an opinion blog on edweek.org. Still, early retirement would be better than layoffs, Hess said. And the priority, he said, should be on reopening schools quickly. Its hard to argue that kids and families should have their schools remain closed when 75 to 80 percent of adults are not at risk, he said. Im Trying to Weigh My Options Already, Nampa Christian School, a small private school in Idaho, has reopened its building to finish out the school year in person . Teachers who are at higher risk for illness are continuing to teach from home, while students in their classrooms learn via Chromebooks under the supervision of a substitute teacher. When more schools reopen, it will likely be in a hybrid model, with some remote learning still happening, said Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers. Schools might adopt a staggered scheduling approach, in which groups of students take turns coming to school to make it easier to maintain social distance, and vulnerable teachers could deliver remote instruction to the students at home. At-risk teachers also could remotely teach the students who are staying home because they have high-risk medical conditions, or who have been exposed to the coronavirus and are in quarantine. Weingarten said early retirements could also be an option, as long as teachers pensions are protected. In a situation where people carry the virus asymptomatically, ... were going to have to have all these different options for kids, as well as teachers, Weingarten said. Lets not put people who may be immunocompromised in a scary or threatening position. School districts have to make reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and underlying health issues could qualify right now, she said. However, the ADA does not require employers to provide accommodations for employees who live with someone in a high-risk group, and teachers who fall in this category would not be legally protected from refusing to work. Those teachers might be able to take paid or unpaid leave, AFT has said, depending on their collective bargaining agreement, state executive orders, and their employer. This has left many teachers worried about not just themselves, but their loved ones. Julie, an elementary school computer science teacher who requested that her last name and the name of her school not be used, said her husband is 57 and has an upper respiratory disease. If he contracted COVID-19, he might not survive, she said. The thought of returning to her job in an elementary computer lab keeps her awake at night. She sees more than 400 children a week, and they touch everything. Im trying to weigh my options, she said. Is the risk worth my husbands health and well-being? I dont know how I could do this job remotely. Its really a personal decision Im going to have to make. Visakhapatnam: A woman frothing at her mouth lays unconscious after the gas leakage at the LG Polymers unit located at RR Venkatapuram near Gopalapatnam in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh that left one minor among 7 people dead, more than 70 left uncon Image Source: IANS News Visakhapatnam: Victims of the gas leakage at the LG Polymers unit located at RR Venkatapuram near Gopalapatnam in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh that left one minor among 7 people dead, more than 70 left unconscious, with at least five sleeping hamlet Image Source: IANS News Chennai, May 7 : The gas leak at LG Polymers India Private Ltd in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh has brought back the focus on the Public Liability Insurance, said insurance experts. Simply put, public liability insurance policy covers a policyholder from claims from third parties for death or injury or property damage caused by hazardous substances handled in a factory. Industry sources told IANS that the insurance policies of the Mumbai-headquartered LG Polymers are with a consortium of insurers - government and private -- though the value of insurance coverage under the Public Liability Insurance is not known. "The policy value limits stipulated in the Public Liability Insurance Act are very low and need upward revision," an industry official told IANS preferring anonymity. According to the official, many industries prefer to limit their exposure to Rs 5 crore per accident as stipulated in the Public Liability Insurance Act. Industry officials said the compensation paid under the mandatory insurance policy in the case of death and permanent total disability is Rs 25,000 per person. The amount paid towards medical expenses is Rs 12,500 per person and a maximum of Rs 6,000 for property damage. As per the Public Liability Insurance Act, factories handling/transporting hazardous items have to compulsorily opt for this policy before starting their operations. An amount equal to the basic premium is to be paid as a contribution to the Environment Relief Fund (ERF), managed by the Ministry of Environment & Forests. The ERF is used by the Government for providing relief to people affected by accidents resulting from "hazardous substances". General insurance industry officials said apart from the statutory policy, business establishments can go in for a separate policy for enhanced sum insured to meet the compensation awarded by courts. LG Polymers is part of the South Korean group LG Chemical. It is one of the leading manufacturers of polystyrene and expandable polystyrene in India. MOSCOW As the coronavirus pandemic gained pace in Russia this spring, a billionaire steel magnate, Aleksei A. Mordashov, called four regional governors and urged them to lock down the cities where he operates. For Andrei A. Guryev, the scion of a fertilizer empire, limiting travel into two Arctic cities of 80,000 people where he runs a phosphate mine was even easier. His company owns the airport and the local ski resort that attracts outsiders. We shut them down, Mr. Guryev said. The decision was ours alone. The influence of the Russian business tycoons known as oligarchs waned early this century as President Vladimir V. Putin consolidated power, transforming them from warring clans to fantastically rich families dependent on the Kremlins benevolence. Now, the coronavirus crisis presents them with another turning point: the greatest economic threat in decades, coupled with an enormous stress test for the state that makes their wealth possible. India needs to strengthen its manufacturing base as well as undertake more reforms to attract investments from companies globally, according to NRI businessman and chief of FI Investment Group Frank Islam. "If US companies decide to leave China, the most important factor that will determine the location where they will relocate to will be the business climate. Businesses make decisions based on profit and loss. While India is sure to get some investment, there will be a number of other countries that will also be vying for the US business," Islam told PTI on Thursday. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, there are reports that some global companies might shift their manufacturing activities from China. Chinese city of Wuhan was the epicentre of coronavirus infections before it spread to other parts of the world. Noting that no single country would be able to produce enough to replace the Chinese output, Islam said, "if there is a complete pullout of US companies from China, India will get a significant share of the manufacturing business". China accounts for a significant share of global manufacturing activities. "The most important thing India has to do is to strengthen its manufacturing base. There are a number of things the country can do to attract US and global companies. It should start with reforming the economy, which will attract the much-needed foreign investments to improve its infrastructure including roads, railroads and ports, Islam said. The Chairman and CEO of FI Investment Group also said there is definitely an anti-China bias at present in the US due to the coronavirus pandemic and China's failure to assume responsibility for it. "But I can't imagine American companies leaving China because of the economic costs of doing so. They have substantial investments in their Chinese operations," Islam, who is from Azamgarh district in Uttar Pradesh, said. Lockdowns due to the COVID-19 have resulted in supply chain disruption and the US would want to guard against any similar disruptions in future, the NRI entrepreneur said. About the ongoing tensions between US and China, he said, "here we are talking about the world's two largest economies accounting for nearly 41 per cent of the global economy. Any major spat between the two will have serious implications for the global economy. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree banning members of the armed forces from carrying smartphones, tablets, and other gadgets capable of recording and storing information while on duty. According to the decree, signed on May 6, military personnel may not possess gadgets that can track locations and transmit audio and photo materials. "The violation of the regulation will be considered a gross disciplinary offense," the document says. A similar law adopted last year banned military personnel from carrying gadgets with cameras or that can connect to the Internet. In recent years, photos and video footage inadvertently posted online via the smartphones of members of the Russian military revealed information about the location and movements of its troops and equipment. Some of the photos and videos have been used to prove the presence of Russian military personnel in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian armed forces have been fighting Moscow-backed separatists since April 2014. Russia has denied a troop presence in the Ukrainian eastern region known as the Donbas, where some 13,200 people have been killed in the ongoing conflict. Human rights activists have sometimes also been able to obtain from videos and photos on the Internet proof that can be used in cases involving the brutal hazing of young recruits in the Russian military. Washington, May 7 : At least 132 civilians were killed in US military operations in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, according to a Pentagon report. The report released on Wednesday, added that 91 civilians were injured in the operations, most of them aerial, reports Efe news. Most of the deaths - 108 - occurred in Afghanistan in the context of attacks against the Al Qaeda, the Islamic State (IS) and the Taliban militant groups. The US' efforts in 2019 "focused initially on aggressively targeting the Taliban to drive the group to participate in negotiations to end the Afghan war", the report said. "The level of violence increased as the year proceeded, as the Taliban conducted attacks in an attempt to increase its negotiating leverage during peace talks," it added. After Afghanistan, Syria was the country with the most civilians killed (21) and wounded (11) by US forces, in the framework of the war against the IS. In the same framework, but in Iraq, one civilian died and two were wounded. All of these operations occurred between January and March 2019, when the US and its allies gained control of the territory that had been in the hands of IS during its proclaimed caliphate. In Somalia, two civilians were killed and three wounded during US operations against the jihadi group Al-Shabab and the IS. The Pentagon detailed that throughout 2019 it carried out 63 airstrikes in Somalia in support of local forces to prevent these groups from taking control of areas not under state control. Finally, the Pentagon said that in its operations in Libya against the IS and in Yemen against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the IS, there were no civilian casualties. "All DoD operations in 2019 were conducted in accordance with law of war requirements, including law of war protections for civilians, such as the fundamental principles of distinction and proportionality, and the requirement to take feasible precautions in planning and conducting attacks to reduce the risk of harm to civilians and other persons and objects protected from being made the object of an attack," the report said. US government figures of civilian casualties are often criticized by watchdogs as being significantly underreported. UK-based watchdog, Airwars, estimates that US-led military operations in Iraq and Syria in the first half of 2019 alone killed between 416 and 1,030 civilians. NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / ?????In an effort to increase brand awareness and target the right audiences, a veteran-owned financial services firm has begun working with the Newswire team as a part of the Earned Media Advantage Guided Tour program. The two primary objectives for the firm are to enhance overall brand awareness and promote their mission to give back to the veteran community. As an SDVO FINRA-registered broker-dealer competing for recognition in the hypercompetitive financial industry, the main challenge for the firm has been reaching the right audience. The firm looks to the Newswire team to help gain the visibility and reach necessary to drive traffic to the brand. Newsiwre's Guided Tour makes objectives such as these possible for small to midsize brands. When the team of Earned Media Advantage Strategists leverages both their expertise and the power of Newswire's technology, clients are able to effectively deliver the right message, to the right audience, through the right medium, at the right time. This allows smaller brands to gain a competitive advantage and become disruptors in their respective industries. "Regardless of industry, company size, or business model, there is always a possibility for a brand to grow and achieve the recognition they deserve," said Charlie Terenzio, VP of Earned Media Strategy. "We are excited to be working with a client whose mission is to give back to the veteran community. Our team of strategists will aim to launch effective campaigns that will generate interest in the brand and its mission moving forward." Through Newswire's Earned Media Advantage Guided Tour, customers can transform their press releases from owned media to the Earned Media Advantage: greater brand awareness, increase website traffic, greater return on media and marketing communications spend, and increased sales. C-suite level executives from across all industries have enjoyed the results from Guided Tour by improving the overall impact of their media and marketing campaigns to help aid in sales in order to achieve their business goals. The program includes a dedicated Earned Media Advantage Strategist who personally connects with each customer to better understand their business needs to create a 'customerized' plan which is implemented during each campaign to ensure Customer Success. Find out how Newswire is Transforming the Value of a Press Release today and learn how your business experience the Earned Media Advantage: greater brand awareness, increase website traffic and increased sales. About Newswire? Newswire delivers press release and multimedia distribution software and services (SaaS) that empower the Earned Media Advantage: greater brand awareness, increased traffic, greater return on media and marketing communications spend and the competitive edge. With over a decade of experience, Newswire continues to provide its customers with the ability to deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time through the right medium.? To learn more about how Newswire can help you, visit http://www.newswire.com. Contact Information Charlie Terenzio VP of Earned Media ?Newswire ?Office: 813-480-3766 Email: charlie@newswire.com Related Images SOURCE: Newswire View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/588706/Veteran-Owned-Financial-Services-Firm-to-Enhance-Audience-Targeting-With-Newswires-Earned-Media-Advantage-Guided-Tour Literally everyone has turned into cine and series buffs, thanks to the current lockdown due to the pandemic. Be it television or digital streaming platforms, companies have been successful in grabbing more eyeballs, hence earning more profit. Well, Allu Arjun's Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo has turned a lucky charm for Netflix India. It is said that the American video streaming platform has changed its concept on Telugu films after the success of the action-thriller. Earlier they had expected that the film would have a good number of viewers due to its tremendous performance at the theatres, but didn't expect that it would be on top trending position for more than a week since its release on February 27 on Netflix. Well, on this positive note, Netflix is planning to acquire more Telugu content in the future. It is not known if the company will buy more Telugu films or produce Telugu content, but as per recent rumours a leading producer is said to have made an agreement with them to bankroll original web series for the leading platform. On the other hand, for the Telugu audience, Netflix will release a Telugu remake of lust stories Coming back to Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, directed by Trivikram Srinivas, the movie gained tremendous response at the theatres, thanks to Allu Arjun's acting chops and songs. Bankrolled by Haarika and Hassine Creations and Geetha Arts, the movie released on January 12, 2020, and procured Rs 160 crore globally through its theatrical run. Interestingly Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo created a non-Baahubali record in the Telugu industry surpassing Prabhas' Saaho and Ram Charan's Rangasthalam. Revolving around the story of baby swapping, the action drama also features Pooja Hegde, Tabu, Jayaram, Rohini, Rajendra Prasad, and Rahul Ramakrishna in pivotal roles. The music of the film has been composed by S Thaman and the lens cranked by PS Vinod. Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo's Butta Bomma Was A Last Minute Fill In, Reveals Thaman No Stylish Dance Moves For Allu Arjun In Pushpa? Here Is The Reason!" title="Also Read: No Stylish Dance Moves For Allu Arjun In Pushpa? Here Is The Reason!" />Also Read: No Stylish Dance Moves For Allu Arjun In Pushpa? Here Is The Reason! Confirmed! Trivikram's Next Is With Jr NTR And Not Venkatesh Daggubati Restaurants Canada is calling on the province to help foodservice businesses remain viable as they ramp up operations. TORONTO, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new survey from Restaurants Canada has revealed that most foodservice businesses in Ontario might not have enough cash flow to successfully reopen their doors to diners. As the province moves forward with lifting emergency measures, restaurants will need more support remaining viable until they are on a path to full recovery. Survey reveals most restaurants will struggle to resume dine-in operations About seven out of 10 survey respondents said they are either very or extremely worried that their business wont have enough liquidity to pay vendors, rent and other expenses over the next three months. While the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program might provide some restaurants with relief, rent obligations continue to be a challenge for many: At least one out of five independent restaurant operators are dealing with a landlord who is not willing to provide rent relief, either through the CECRA program or some other arrangement. 14 per cent of independent restaurants havent been able to pay rent for April and nearly 20 per cent arent able to pay rent for May, despite not having an agreement from their landlord to postpone those payments. Restaurants Canada is calling for solutions to support reopening The resiliency of our industry wont be enough to ensure Ontarios 38,000 restaurants remain viable in the face of insufficient cash flow and insurmountable debt, said James Rilett, Restaurants Canada Vice President, Central Canada. The province needs to come to the table with a package of solutions to help these mostly small and medium-sized businesses stay afloat as they ramp up their operations. Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ontarios $37 billion foodservice industry represented 4 per cent of the provinces GDP and was the provinces fourth-largest private sector employer. If conditions do not improve, the provinces foodservice sales could be down by as much as $7 billion for the second quarter of 2020 and the industry might not be able to recover the more than 300,000 jobs its lost due to COVID-19. Story continues Restaurants Canada is urging further action in the following areas where foodservice businesses continue to need support to have a fighting chance at survival: Commercial tenant protections and rent relief. While the Ontario-Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (OCECRA) program responds to one of the greatest challenges for restaurants, many will be unable to secure any protection or relief through this mechanism, through no fault of their own. A broader rent relief program is needed to capture businesses that have experienced a significant decline in sales but do not meet the current qualifying threshold. Commercial tenant protections also continue to be needed for those not benefiting from this program to relieve pressure while all stakeholders come to the table to develop immediate and long-term solutions. Some provinces, like New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, have already taken action on this front. Ontario should follow their lead and place a temporary moratorium on evictions and distress actions to protect commercial tenants until solutions are reached. Help with cash flow and rising debt levels. Most restaurants are small and medium-sized businesses that were already operating with razor thin profit margins before COVID-19. With little-to-no sales revenue coming in for most foodservice businesses, many have already depleted their reserve funds, or soon will. Existing measures may need to be expanded and new solutions continue to be welcomed to ensure restaurants will have enough working capital to reopen their doors. Due to the perishable nature of their inventories, many suffered unrecoverable losses when physical distancing measures began and will also need support to restock as they reopen. Assistance with labour costs. While the federal government's 75 per cent wage subsidy is helping some restaurants keep staff on payroll, those that are now preparing to reopen are concerned about being able to access this support in the months ahead. Further assistance in this area from the Ontario government would be welcome, along with an extension of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) program by a few months. About the Restaurants Canada survey Conclusions cited above are based on responses to a Restaurants Canada survey conducted between May 1 and May 5, 2020. Restaurants Canada received a total of 890 completed surveys from foodservice operators across Canada, representing 11,965 locations (as many respondents belong to multi-unit businesses). Canadas commercial foodservice industry is made up of 97,500 establishments, including full-service restaurants, quick-service restaurants, caterers and drinking places. About Restaurants Canada Restaurants Canada is a national, not-for-profit association advancing the potential of Canadas diverse and dynamic foodservice industry through member programs, research, advocacy, resources and events. Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ontarios foodservice sector was a $37 billion industry, directly employing more than 480,000 people, providing the provinces number one source of first jobs and serving 9.1 million customers every day. Ontarios foodservice industry has since lost more than 300,000 jobs and is on track to lose as much as $7 billion in sales over the second quarter of 2020 due to the impacts of COVID-19. James Rilett Restaurants Canada 416-738-9546 jrilett@restaurantscanada.org Chloe Mills NATIONAL Public Relations 416-459-3060 CMills@national.ca Marlee Wasser Restaurants Canada 416-649-4254 media@restaurantscanada.org While production is still shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak, development is still happening, with a hot project being shopped with Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. Johnson, 48, and Blunt, 37, are attached to star in Ball and Chain, an adaptation of a comic published in 1999, according to Deadline. Emily Gordon (The Big Sick) is attached to write the screenplay with Kevin Misher producing through Johnson's Seven Bucks Productions company. Hot project: While production is still shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak, development is still happening, with a hot project being shopped with Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt The four-part comic was written by Scott Lobdell with artwork by Ale Garza and Richard Bennett. The comic book follows married couple Edgar and Mallory Bulson, who have reached the end of their relationship and have decided to split up. Before they do, though, a mysterious meteor strikes, emitting extraterrestrial energies that give the warring couple amazing super powers. Comic: The four-part comic was written by Scott Lobdell with artwork by Ale Garza and Richard Bennett The comic run follows the couple as the battle ninjas, attack helicopters and more while a mysterious alien entity tries counseling them on their marriage. No director is attached yet, and no studio/streaming home has been found yet, though there are said to be a number of studios/streamers bidding on the project. Netflix has said to have emerged as a potential home for the project, though no deal is set in stone at this time. Jungle: The project will reunite Johnson and Blunt, who star in the upcoming Disney adventure Jungle Cruise, which was originally set for release on July 24 The project will reunite Johnson and Blunt, who star in the upcoming Disney adventure Jungle Cruise, which was originally set for release on July 24. Disney ultimately pushed the project for nearly an entire year, to July 30, 2021, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The movie is based on Disneyland's theme park ride of the same name, following The Rock as a riverboat captain taking a scientist (Blunt) on a journey to find the mystical Tree of Life. Scientist: The movie is based on Disneyland's theme park ride of the same name, following The Rock as a riverboat captain taking a scientist (Blunt) on a journey to find the mystical Tree of Life Johnson was in the midst of filming the new Netflix action film Red Notice, with Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot, when filming was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He is also attached to play the title character in the DC Comics adaptation Black Adam, and an adaptation of the Doc Savage serials. The action star is also attached to a reboot of Big Trouble in Little China and The King, where he'd play King Kamehameha, the first King of Hawaii. Over 9,300 posts in the Military Engineer Services (MES) are set to be abolished as defence minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday approved a proposal made by the armys Engineer-in-Chief in this regard, the defence ministry said in a statement. The MES is a construction and maintenance agency of the armed forces and has an annual budget of around Rs 13,000 crore. The abolition of the posts is one of the outcomes of the recommendations made by the Lt Gen DB Shekatkar committee report on enhancing the armys combat potential and trimming its expenditure. One of the recommendations made by the committee was to restructure the civilian workforce in a manner that the work of MES could be partly done by departmentally employed staff and other works could be outsourced, said the statement on the abolition of 9,304 posts out of total 13,157 vacancies of the basic and industrial staff of the MES. The ministry said the recommendation to cut the posts was aimed at making the MES an effective organisation, with a leaner workforce well equipped to handle complex issues in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Welcoming the move to abolish the posts, Shekatkar said this was an important step towards the progressive reduction of the workforce in the coming years. The MES is a World War II concept. Its a drain on our resources. Its very important to spend our resources judiciously. There will be no increase in the defence budget for the next two to three years because of the situation created by Covid-19. We have to use our money wisely as our adversaries will not wait for us to build capabilities, Shekatkar said. The MES is responsible for the design, construction and maintenance of all army, navy and air force infrastructure but experts believe outsourcing these works is a better and cheaper option. The Shekatkar panel made 188 suggestions of which 99 have been accepted by the ministry and others are under consideration. The recommendations relate to several organisations including the MES, Defence Research and Development Organisation, Directorate General of Quality Assurance, Directorate General of Defence Estates, the Ordnance Factory Board and defence accounts. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a 22 per cent fall in international tourist arrivals during the first quarter of 2020, the latest data from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) shows. According to the United Nations specialised agency, the crisis could lead to an annual decline of between 60 per cent and 80 per cent when compared with 2019 figures. This places millions of livelihoods at risk and threatens to roll back progress made in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: The world is facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis. Tourism has been hit hard, with millions of jobs at risk in one of the most labour-intensive sectors of the economy. Available data reported by destinations point to a 22 per cent decline in arrivals in the first three months of the year, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Arrivals in March dropped sharply by 57 per cent following the start of a lockdown in many countries, as well as the widespread introduction of travel restrictions and the closure of airports and national borders. This translates into a loss of 67 million international arrivals and about $80 billion in receipts (exports from tourism). Although Asia and the Pacific shows the highest impact in relative and absolute terms (decline of 33 million arrivals), the impact in Europe, though lower in percentage, is quite high in volume (decline of 22 million). International tourism 2020 scenarios Prospects for the year have been downgraded several times since the outbreak and uncertainty continues to dominate. Current scenarios point to possible declines in arrivals of 58 per cent to 78 per cent for the year. These depend on the speed of containment and the duration of travel restrictions and shutdown of borders. The following scenarios for 2020 are based on three possible dates for the gradual opening up of international borders. Scenario 1 (decline of 58 per cent) based on the gradual opening of international borders and easing of travel restrictions in early July Scenario 2 (decline of 70 per cent) based on the gradual opening of international borders and easing of travel restrictions in early September Scenario 3 (decline of 78 per cent) based on the gradual opening of international borders and easing of travel restrictions only in early December. Under these scenarios, the impact of the loss of demand in international travel could translate into: Loss of 850 million to 1.1 billion international tourists Loss of $910 billion to $1.2 trillion in export revenues from tourism 100 to 120 million direct tourism jobs at risk This is by far the worst crisis that international tourism has faced since records began (1950). The impact will be felt to varying degrees in the different global regions and at overlapping times, with Asia and the Pacific expected to rebound first. Experts see recovery in 2021 Domestic demand is expected to recover faster than international demand according to the UNWTO Panel of Experts survey. The majority expects to see signs of recovery by the final quarter of 2020 but mostly in 2021. Based on previous crises, leisure travel is expected to recover quicker, particularly travel for visiting friends and relatives, than business travel. The estimates regarding the recovery of international travel is more positive in Africa and the Middle East with most experts foreseeing recovery still in 2020. Experts in the Americas are the least optimistic and least likely to believe in recovery in 2020, while in Europe and Asia the outlook is mixed, with half of the experts expecting to see recovery within this year. - TradeArabia News Service Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo from J&K has been making headlines, after Indian security forces eliminated him. The commander was on the run for almost eight years, before getting killed in an encounter in his home village in Kashmir's Pulwama district. He had a bounty of over Rs.12 lakh on his head. TOI/ Twitter Before Riyaz Naikoo joined Hizbul Mujahideen in 2012, he was a Maths teacher at a private school. After joining the Hizbul Mujahideen which is deemed a terrorist organization by India, the US, and the EU, he climbed up ranks to become a top-level commander. TOI/ Twitter Hizbul Mujahideen remains legal in Pakistan and is linked to ISI and Afghan politician and former warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Many group members have also been trained in Pakistan. Riyaz Naikoo is known to have regularly courted Pakistani-based jihadi commanders for resources and patronage. TOI/ Twitter For Naikoo, the killing of a local Kashmiri teenager Tufail Ahmed Mattoo by a police teargas shell apparently became a trigger that led him to the path of Hizbul. The 17-year old's skull was ripped by the teargas shell. This sparked unrest and violent protests in the Valley. Naikoo was among the protesting Kashmiri youth arrested by the police. When released from prison back in 2012, he was radicalised. In May 2012, Riyaz is said to have asked for money from his father, who owns a tailoring shop to enroll for a course. He disappeared right after and the Naikoos were informed that he had joined the ranks of Hizbul Mujahideen. TOI/ Twitter Intelligence and police dossiers have classified him as an A++ category terrorist. Naikoo was known for his Houdini acts during encounters with the security forces. With several encounters cutting too close, he would always manage an escape from the cordon each time with the help of locals. Like Burhan Wani before him, Riyaz's transition to one of Kashmir's most-wanted terrorists was rapid and ruthless, say, intelligence officials. He took over the reins of the outfit at a time when there was chaos from within, with factors like Burhan Wani's 2016 encounter in Anantnag, and also attempts by his immediate successor, Zakir Musa, to give the armed rebellion in the Valley an al-Qaida spin. Right after Musa was expelled by Syed Salahuddin, Riyaz stepped up to streamline the outfit and establish a terror trail that would challenge the Indian security forces for years to come. "Riyaz's primary strategy was to target police personnel and their families in south Kashmir while relentlessly recruiting youth to expand the outfit's reach," an official said. "He was also known for his audacity. In January 2016, during the funeral of Shariq Ahmad Bhat, who had been killed in an encounter, Riyaz fired shots in the air with his Kalashnikov rifle to revive a forgotten tradition of paying tribute to slain terrorists," they added. TOI/ Twitter In one instance, when the J&K Police had detained Naikoo's father and families of other terrorists for questioning back in August 2018, Riyaz, in retaliation got his outfit to kidnap 11 family members of cops from Shopian, Kulgam, Anantnag, and Awantipora. The 11 hostages were freed only after the police allowed the detained family members to leave. TOI/ Twitter Naikoo, over the years, had established an influential reputation in the area and had managed to recruit a network of overground workers, and motivated Kashmiri youth for the outfit. In fact, with the help of social media, he established his presence with audio and video statements under the code name Mohammad Bin Qasim and was also popular for extortions, inspector-general (Kashmir range) Vijay Kumar said. Now, Hizbul has no face or leader left in Jammu and Kashmir and is unlikely to get a commander due to fraction after a new terror outfit, called The Resistance Front (TRF), has been launched by Pakistan. Source: TOI The COVID-19 pandemic is doing increasing damage to the cruise industry. Princess Cruises announced Wednesday that it is extending its pause in global ship operations, resulting in the cancellation of select cruises through the end of the 2020 summer season. Sister line Holland America is doing the same, pausing its Alaska, Europe and Canada/New England cruises for 2020, as is other sister line Seabourn. Seabourn is suspending through Oct. 13 sailings to Alaska; that extends throughout what is typically the cruise season there. Also Wednesday, Royal Caribbean Cruises announced an extension of its "Cruise with Confidence" cancellation policy through April 2022, with expanded rebooking options. On Tuesday, Carnival Cruise Line said it was canceling Alaska cruises through the summer but that eight ships would resume North American service on Aug. 1, a month later than the timeline announced in mid-April. Mike Tibbles, with Cruise Lines International Association Alaska, said by email that the state currently faces a loss of 479 voyages or 80% of expected sailings with a passenger capacity of more than 955,000 because of ship cancellations. The industry has been shut down since mid-March, with hundreds of cruise ship passengers and crew members contracting coronavirus as the pandemic swept the globe. Some passengers, stranded far from home, faced logistical difficulties returning as travel options dwindled. Crew members from some vessels, such as the Costa Atlantica, are just now making their way home. Cruise news: Carnival to resume some cruises in August. Will travelers cruise amid coronavirus uncertainties? People look out from their balconies on the Coral Princess cruise ship as it is docked at PortMiami on April 4, 2020. In a press release, Princess said its decision is related to reduced flight availability, the closure of cruise ports around the world and other international travel issues. "As the world is still preparing to resume travel, it is with much disappointment that we announce an extension of our pause of global ship operations and the cancellation of cruise vacations for our loyal guests," Princess Cruises President Jan Swartz said in a statement. She expressed sadness over the decision's affect on employees, business partners and destination communities. Story continues Princess Cruises Princess cruises canceled for the summer include: All remaining Alaska cruises on Emerald Princess and Ruby Princess. All remaining Europe and transatlantic cruises on Enchanted Princess, Regal Princess, Sky Princess, Crown Princess and Island Princess. Summer Caribbean cruises and all Canada & New England cruises on Caribbean Princess and Sky Princess. Summer to fall cruises departing from Japan on Diamond Princess. Australia-based cruises on Sapphire Princess and Sea Princess through August. July cruises sailing from Taiwan on Majestic Princess. Fall cruises sailing to Hawaii and French Polynesia on Pacific Princess through November. Guests who have paid in full for any of those trips can receive a Future Cruise Credit equivalent to 100% of the cruise fare plus a 25% bonus or they can request a full refund via an online form. Refund requests must be received by June 15 or guests will get the FCC option. Cancellations: Royal Caribbean, Celebrity halt cruises through June 11; Carnival, Princess cancel through June For prospective travelers who haven't paid in full, Princess will double the deposit with a refundable FCC plus a matching bonus that can be used on any voyage through May 1, 2022. No action is required for that FCC offer. Princess also said it will protect travel adviser commissions on bookings for canceled cruises that were paid in full. In mid-April, Princess announced cancellation of all cruises through June 30. Holland America On top of the Alaska, Europe and Canada/New England cruise cancellations, the line's Amsterdam ship set for a 79-day Grand Africa Voyage sailing from Boston on Oct. 3 is also canceled. Holland America's Land+Sea Journeys for 2020 have already been canceled; this refers to Alaska cruises with overland tours to Denali and the Yukon. Each guest on a canceled cruise will receive future cruise credit. Those who have paid in full will get a 125% cruise credit, and those who haven't will receive double their deposit; the minimum credit is $100 and maximum is up to base cruise fare paid. This credit can be used to book trips through Dec. 31, 2022, and applies for 12 months from the issue date. Guests can also receive a 100% refund, though they need to tell the line if that's the case by June 15 via a cancellation preferences form. Charter sailings are not a part of this policy, and if the cruise wasn't booked through Holland America, these booking and cancellation conditions and policies may be moot. Seabourn Seabourn's five ships will remain on pause through October or November. Seabourn Odyssey paused through Nov. 20, through Europe season. Seabourn Sojourn paused through Oct. 13, through Alaska/British Columbia season. Seabourn Quest paused through Nov. 6, through Canada/New England season. Seabourn Encore paused through Oct. 19, through Europe season. Seabourn Ovation paused through Nov. 6, through Europe season. The line had previously paused operations from March 14 to June 30. Guests who paid in full will earn a 125% future cruise credit, while those under deposit will get that same credit and an additional $300 onboard credit by suite. The credit is applicable for 12 months from the issue date, and can be used for bookings through Dec. 31, 2022, sailings. Guests can also seek refunds. Royal Caribbean Cruises Royal Caribbean Cruises is extending its "Cruise with Confidence" cancellation policy on three cruise lines Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara through April 2022. For new and existed bookings created by Aug. 1, travelers can cancel the cruise up to 48 hours before sailing and receive full credit for a future cruise through April 2022, the company announced Wednesday. Royal Caribbean also is expanding rebooking options related to cruises through April 2022: "Best Price Guarantee" allows guests to change the price and promotional offer for a reservation up to 48 hours before a cruise. "Lift and Shift" lets guests move their reservation itinerary to a future date, with the original price and promotional offer being protected. We want our guests to feel they can safely keep their existing cruise bookings or schedule new sailings, Royal Caribbean chairman and CEO Richard Fain said in an accompanying statement. The announcement did not include an update on when cruises might resume. In mid-April, the company said it expected to return to service June 12. Contributing: Associated Press Slow refunds: Cruise lines slow to issue refunds: Coronavirus 'dwarfs any disruption we've experienced' This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Princess Cruises, Holland America extend cancellation amid coronavirus Evans Promotes Unity as Answer to Communitys Divisiveness Moving towards unity will destroy the multitude of divisions impacting our homes, community and nation, according to a new book by the Rev. Dr. Tony Evans, the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas. In Stronger Together, Weaker Apart, Evans outlines how the church and believers can play critical roles in healing the fractured parts of society that lead to separation from God. Explaining his motivation for writing the book, Evans said, I wanted to just emphasize the principle of unity, which is such a major principle in the Bible, and that God will not work in disunity. When you are in disunity you have uninvited God from all things to heal the brokenness in our land, in our families and in our society and that starts with the church. ADVERTISEMENT Through prayers and devotions, Evans provides a blueprint for obtaining a spiritual unity that transcends to a cultural unity. The goal of prayer is to get God to be involved in our day-to-day realities. But, God will only be involved on His terms, so you cant invite God into your terms. You can invite God when youre executing His terms, Evans said. A lot of times prayers are unrelated to His agenda. Therefore, He has no obligation to be involved. So what were trying to do is show that prayer, based on unity, works when processes are consistent with the nature and revelation of God, he stressed. Stronger Together, Weaker Apart also addresses questions such as how to practice unity during forced separation, how to pray for your neighbors who have different views than you, how to lead a life of unity and how to overcome division. In addition, he covers topics like racial reconciliation, political views and theological differences. Its time for us to rise up as the collective body of Christ and call down heavens authority into the chaos on earth, in order that we might usher in the light, blessings, and favor that defeat the darkness of the enemy, insisted Evans. Evans has been committed to empowering believers throughout his ministry. The author of more than 120 books, booklets and Bible studies, he launched an online learning platform in 2017 to increase Bible literacy in lay people and Christian leaders who cannot afford nor find the time for formal ongoing education. ADVERTISEMENT He is also the founder and president of The Urban Alternative, chaplain of the NBAs Dallas Mavericks, the first African American to earn a doctorate of theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, and was named one of the 12 Most Effective Preachers in the English-Speaking World by Baylor University. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, is aired daily on more than 1,300 U.S. stations and in more than 130 countries. To obtain a copy of Stronger Together, Weaker Apart, visit tonyevans.org or Amazon.com. A Delhi court Thursday issued production warrant against Jammu and Kashmir Police officer Davinder Singh, who was arrested while ferrying two Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorists in a vehicle on the Srinagar-Jammu Highway earlier this year. Special judge M K Nagpal directed the authorities of Hira Nagar Jail in Jammu and Kashmir, where Singh is currently lodged, to produce him before the court here on May 18, his advocate Prashant Prakash said. The judge also issued production warrants against three other accused persons Javed Iqbal, Syed Naveed Mushtaq and Imran Shafi Mir arrested in the case. The order was passed after Tihar jail authorities informed the judge that the accused persons could not be brought before the court since they are currently in a J-K jail. Singh, a DSP, was suspended in January this year. The Special Cell had brought him to Delhi from Hira Nagar Jail in Jammu and Kashmir. The court had earlier sent Syed Naveed Mushtaq and others to police custody till April 3 after the police said that he and other co accused were planning to execute terror attacks in Delhi and various parts of the country and targeted killings of protected person. The police had said that Mushtaq, the commander of Shopian district of Hizbul Mujahiddeen, used to chat with other co-accused and militants through various internet platforms, including darknet chat. Mushtaq, along with other militants of Hizbul Mujahideen, were planning to execute terror attack in Delhi and other parts of the country and targeted killings of protected persons, police had told the court. The Delhi Police had filed an FIR under Section 120B of IPC. The FIR said that the youths of Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab are being trained for carrying out terrorist activities. The FIR also mentioned of D Company and Chhota Shakeel. According to the FIR, the Delhi Police Special Cell had received an input that the D Company is funding to pro-Khalistan terrorist organisations in Punjab. Under this very FIR Davinder Singh was taken in custody. He is currently in judicial custody in the case. The Special Cell had also interrogated Davinder Singh regarding the Khalistan angle, police said. Although Davinder Singh is not named in the FIR, but the Special Cell has some inputs on the basis of which the enquiry will be done carried out and Davinder Singh will be questioned. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here The government needs to give a direct push to MSMEs to ramp up the export of consumer goods to reap the benefits of its comparative advantage over products made in China in the post-pandemic world, a report said New Delhi: The government needs to give a direct push to MSMEs to ramp up the export of consumer goods to reap the benefits of its comparative advantage over products made in China in the post-pandemic world, a report said. India can look in the range of incremental exports growing by $20 billion (in the least favourable outcome) to a significant $193 billion jump in the five-year horizon, only if it builds its capabilities and captures share from China, according to SBI's Ecowrap report released on Thursday. Although, the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) for India is lower than China as far as capital goods exports are concerned, India can still capitalise on this opportunity to push its capital goods exports. However, the bigger opportunity right now is in the consumer goods sector, in which India has an RCA greater than China, said the report. Looking at the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) profile of the country in terms of the consumer goods sector, the biggest concentration is in the textile and clothing sector (17.30 percent), food products (12.30 percent) and crop and animal production (10.0 percent). Click here to follow LIVE news and updates on stock markets Although we do have a comparative advantage in textiles and animal goods, in food products we are not competitive. The government can give a direct push to this sector, so that MSME firms involved in food products manufacturing get benefitted, the report said. It further said that although 2020 is a lost year, in terms of trade, India can think long-term and build relations so that it can occupy the space vacated by China. "When we look at the value of merchandise exports, for 2019, China exported $2.5 trillion worth of goods, while India exported $0.3 billion worth of merchandise. This means that China exports 7 times the amount of goods India exports in a year," it said. Taking a look at Vietnam, which has rapidly captured merchandise exports, it is also touted that a fair number of the factories being rapidly put up in Vietnam are owned and financed by the same Chinese companies being dislodged in their home country, the report said. However, it added that there is no denying the fact that Vietnam has gained in this trade war, with its cheap labour and cheap currency. "How India maneuvers the geopolitical space will clearly determine how successful it is in becoming an export behemoth. With just 1.7 percent in the world's merchandise exports, India has a long road ahead to catch up with China. But it must be now...," it asserted. As per the report, India is one country that can fulfill global demands with its sizeable population. However, India will have to take a hard look at its labour reforms and currency outlook to gain market share. Although COVID-19 can dampen demand for the coming years, it does provide an opportunity for global trade rebalancing, and India needs to play its cards right to gain something out of this catastrophe, said the SBI Ecowrap report. The EIB Group 2019 Activity Report tracks the green thread running through the banks projects in infrastructure, innovation and SMEs to illustrate how vital our investments are to meeting Europes climate targetsand to confronting diseases like COVID-19. Dive into the numbers behind the Activity Reports case studies with the EIB Group Financial Report 2019 and the EIB Group Statistical Report 2019. The Financial Report includes our financial statements and audit report. The Statistical Report presents all the projects of the European Investment Bank and its specialist SME subsidiary the European Investment Fund. Everything the bank does is accomplished with the highest corporate responsibility standards. These are laid out and illustrated in the EIB Group Sustainability Report 2019 and its accompanying EIB Group Carbon Footprint Report. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday described the gas leak at a chemical plant in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam as "disturbing" and said the central government is closely monitoring the situation. He said he is praying for the well-being of the people of Visakhapatnam. "The incident in Vizag is disturbing. Have spoken to the NDMA officials and concerned authorities. We are continuously and closely monitoring the situation," Shah tweeted. Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy spoke to Andhra Pradesh's chief secretary and director general of police and took stock of the situation. Reddy instructed teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to provide necessary assistance to the victims. "I am continuously monitoring the situation. Hundreds of people have also been affected in the unprecedented and unfortunate event in Visakhapatnam, AP," he said here. At least six people, including a child, have been killed and over 100 hospitalised due to the gas leak which took place at LG Polymers chemical plant in Visakhapatnam's Gopalapatnam area. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Well water contaminated by arsenic in Bangladesh is considered one of the most devastating public health crises in the world. Almost a quarter of the country's population, an estimated 39 million people, drink water naturally contaminated by this deadly element, which can silently attack a person's organs over years or decades, leading to cancers, cardiovascular disease, developmental and cognitive problems in children, and death. An estimated 43,000 people die each year from arsenic-related illness in Bangladesh. To avoid arsenic contamination, many Bangladeshi households access water via private wells drilled to 300 feet or less, beneath impermeable clay layers. Such clay layers have been thought to protect groundwater in the underlying aquifers from the downward flow of contaminants. However, a study published in Nature Communications this week suggests that such clay layers do not always protect against arsenic, and could even be a source of contamination in some wells. Clay layers had previously been suspected of contaminating groundwater with arsenic in parts of Bangladesh, the Mekong delta of Vietnam and the Central Valley of California, but the new paper provides the most direct evidence so far. "Our findings challenge a widely held view, namely that impermeable clay layers necessarily protect an aquifer from perturbation," said Alexander van Geen, a research professor at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory who has been studying arsenic contamination of drinking water for two decades. "In this context, we show from several different angles -- failed attempts to lower local exposure, high-resolution drilling, monitoring, and groundwater dating -- that this is actually not the case for groundwater arsenic, because distant municipal pumping can trigger remotely the release of arsenic below such a clay layer." The researchers were inspired to conduct the study after two manually pumped community wells drilled to intermediate depths in the vicinity of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, suddenly failed, producing water with elevated concentrations of arsenic after having generated clean water for many months. Most sand contains arsenic, but it is not a problem until the arsenic is released into drinking water in some way, typically through response to reactive carbon. The sources of this reactive carbon remain poorly understood, despite decades of study. One possibility is that it travels into the sediment with the downward flowing of surface waters, but the researchers showed with groundwater dating that such flow was not responsible in the case of their study area. Another is that reactive carbon is released as plant matter breaks down underground. The third theory, demonstrated for the first time in the new paper, is that excessive municipal pumping can compress the clay layers, squeezing out reactive carbon, which then releases arsenic from local sediments. Indeed, the researchers found that the recent changes in arsenic near Dhaka were the result of pumping from deeper aquifers to satisfy the municipal supply of the city. Because of this deep municipal pumping, water levels under Dhaka itself are a hundred meters below what they would naturally be -- the aquifer just doesn't refill fast enough. This depressed area is called the Dhaka "cone of depression," and it extends approximately 20 kilometers around the city. "In Dhaka, the pumping probably accelerated the release of arsenic and allowed us to document the changes within a decade," said van Geen. "We wouldn't have figured this out without having been there monitoring wells for at least 10 years. Monitoring is not very exciting, but because of the monitoring we discovered something fascinating." The research team's findings are especially worrisome for local households on the outskirts of Dhaka that have been privately re-installing wells to access relatively shallow aquifers beneath the impermeable clay layer. Even in the absence of deep pumping for municipal needs, long-term diffusion of dissolved organic carbon from clay layers could explain why private wells screened just below a clay layer in other sedimentary aquifers are more likely to be contaminated with arsenic than deeper wells, according to the paper. While the geochemical conditions surrounding every aquifer are different, the problem of arsenic and other contaminants leaking into deep aquifer groundwater is not unique to Dhaka. "It's a warning and it means that in some areas you need to probably test wells more frequently than others," said van Geen. The problem is not unique to Bangladesh, either. With groundwater pumping from aquifers expected to continue throughout the world, more global monitoring for contamination by arsenic from compacting clay layers may be necessary, according to the paper's authors. The dilemma of how to provide Bangladesh's population with clean water remains. Deep wells are currently supplying some of the safest water in Bangladesh, said Charles Harvey, a professor of civil engineering at MIT who has long studied arsenic in drinking water but did not contribute to this research. "Most of them seem to be fine, but this raises the alarm that maybe they won't stay fine." The research question van Geen would like to address next occupies the realm of behavioral economics: "How can you encourage people who have wells that are high in arsenic to do something about it?" ### Other authors on the study include: Ivan Mihajlov, M. Rajib H. Mozumder, Benjamin C. Bostick, Martin Stute and Peter Schlosser of Columbia University; Brian J. Mailloux of Barnard College; Peter S. K. Knappett of Texas A&M University; Imtiaz Choudhury and Kazi Matin Ahmed of the University of Dhaka. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory is Columbia University's home for earth science research. Its scientists develop fundamental knowledge about the origin, evolution and future of the natural world, from the planet's deepest interior to the outer reaches of its atmosphere, on every continent and in every ocean, providing a rational basis for the difficult choices facing humanity. http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu | @LamontEarth The Earth Institute, Columbia University mobilizes the sciences, education and public policy to achieve a sustainable earth. http://www.earth.columbia.edu. While the COVID-19 pandemic has gone rampant around the world, certain American politicians played the trick of political blackmail. After the World Health Organization (WHO) informed the world of the COVID-19 pandemic, they gloated over the calamity and made complacent assertions that the pandemic is not a problem and everything was under control. Any country that looks at the experience of other countries with large epidemics and thinks that wont happen to us is making a deadly mistake, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned at the end of February. However, some U.S. politicians claimed that the COVID-19 symptoms are very mild, people will self-cure, and the disease is going to disappear miraculously one day. People cannot help but ask: Why does the U.S., having the strongest healthcare system in the world and enough time to respond, fail to contain the disease and even suffer a heavy loss as the number of coronavirus cases surpasses one million and the death toll reaches 70,000? Perhaps the reason lies in the following aspects: the U.S. coronavirus testing failure, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)s failure to give information to the American public, the uncoordinated policy response, and the lack of funding, execution, and treatment for patients. The inability of the U.S. government to cope with the disease has ignited anger among the public. To shift the blame, the U.S. politicians fabricated such claims as the Chinese government intentionally concealed the severity of the coronavirus from the international community, and the coronavirus originated at a lab in Wuhan, setting a stage for holding China responsible and seeking compensation from the country. However, such accusations are supported by no evidence. In addition to passing the buck to China, the U.S. politicians also increased pressure on the WHO by labeling the organization as China centric, halting funding to the organization and threatening to investigate it. They think their political trick could cover the truth. However, in the eyes of reasonable people, this is nothing but buck passing. Those thinking they could deceive the public are actually an insult to the intelligence of the international community. The bald-faced blackmail of the U.S. politicians is intolerable for too many people in the world, who have stood up to expose the farce. In a March 17 paper published by the journal Nature Medicine, scientists from the U.S., the UK and Australia said that the coronavirus has a natural origin and scientific evidence shows it is not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated virus. The WHO reiterated on May 1 that the coronavirus is believed to be natural in origin. The start of the COVID-19 pandemic is highly unlikely a lab accident, according to Jonna Mazet, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Davis, who has worked with and trained researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the past. This is because the labs samples dont match the new coronavirus; the lab implements rigorous safety protocols; the coronavirus is the latest in a long line of zoonotic disease outbreaks; everyday people are more likely to get infected than researchers who wear protection, she explained. Such facts- and science-based conclusions could not be denied by certain U.S. politicians who go around touting about their absurd opinions. The responsibility argument is even more absurd, and it is purely a political blackmail. China is the first to report the epidemic to the world. It has fought the virus nationwide, achieved remarkable results in epidemic prevention and control, and helped the global fight against the pandemic. China is never the one to be blamed. China is working closely with the WHO. Its prevention and control practices and diagnosis and treatment programs are used by other countries in the world. The country has sent 15 batches of medical experts to 16 countries, and it is working overtime to produce anti-pandemic materials for the world. China is never the one to be blamed. On the contrary, it is the arrogance of some American politicians that has hindered global anti-pandemic response through cooperation and solidarity. Under the logic of some American politicians, the U.S. is the one to be held accountable and it should compensate the international society, for the Spanish Flu, AIDS and other epidemics, the 2008 international financial crisis which led to the collapse of countless enterprises and individuals, and the wars launched against other countries the over the years which have caused millions of innocent civilian casualties and numerous property losses. Peoples hearts are the biggest political power. The U.S. politicians are advised to do useful things. Whats needed most now is to go all out to prevent and control the pandemic, race against time to save lives, and stop blaming each other with lies and blackmail. It is impossible to shift the blame and shirk ones own responsibilities, and this naked political blackmail will become a scandal in the human response to pandemics. (Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by Peoples Daily to express its views on foreign policy.) (Photo : www.pxhere.com) The 5G coronavirus conspiracies have done it once again! They destroyed over 77 mobile towers in the United Kingdom, and more reports are coming through. Read More: NHS Contract Tracing App Only Half-Works for iPhone, Security and Battery-Life Issues Raised 5G Conspiracy Theorists Still Continue To Wreak Havoc Since the 5G conspiracy has been established in the U.K., almost 80 mobile towers had been burned down or destroyed as there are people believe in the theory that 5G is killing people about the coronavirus pandemic. The arson attacks began in earnest in April, with over 77 towers severely damaged. Business Insider was the first to report this citing industry group Mobile U.K. A spokesperson of Mobile U.K. mentioned that there had been daily attacks amongst the towers that have been very minimal but have not stopped completely. As of Apr. 21, there have been 40 employees of a U.K. carrier who have been physically or verbally attacked, according to BY CEO Philip Jansen. He said, "We've even had one Openreach engineer stabbed and put in the hospital." Read More: Here's How You Can Play Animal Crossing: New Horizons on P.C. and Get Those Stylish Makeovers What Is All The Fuss About? If you're not aware yet as to what the conspiracy theory regarding COVID-19 and 5G, here's a little background information for you. They believe that the radio waves from the 5G towers can cause the virus to spread, thus infect people in the area and eventually kill them off slowly. Already, several social media sites and apps have committed themselves in dealing with coronavirus misinformation. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and several others started taking down posts, videos, comments, and whatnot, especially if it's the wrong information regarding the coronavirus to avoid widespread panic and misinformation. The problem regarding the 5G conspiracy theory may not be limited to the United Kingdom. It seems that it has reached the cold north of Canada. There have been reports from the local police that there have been seven cell towers that were set on fire in the Montreal region. From those seven damaged cell towers, however, none of them housed 5G technology, reported CTV News. What's Dangerous About Destroying Mobile Towers Mobile towers are used more often now and sometimes for emergencies since landlines are not as used as they were before. With the reduction of those mobile towers, it would be especially difficult for family members or people who are in need to reach the proper authorities. Some of those mobile towers destroyed are connected to hospitals, and relief efforts will be severely compromised if left unprotected. The reason why dealing with the misinformation that 5G is linked to the coronavirus pandemic is crucial. Out of fear, people choose to believe that the conspiracy is true despite several scientists and experts to have repeatedly stated that there is no need to worry about the radio waves emitted by the towers. Thankfully, more people don't believe in the conspiracy and choose to stay indoors until the danger has passed. So for now, stay home and keep safe. Read More: Demystifying Digital Sales during a Time of Crisis: One Landing Page at a Time 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Roku reported earnings for its first quarter of 2020 after the bell on Thursday that met estimates for its loss per share and beat on revenue. The report provided a glimpse into the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its business as advertisers have pulled back spending amidst economic uncertainty. The stock was down as much as 10% after hours on the report after the company said it saw a greater number of ad cancellations than usual. Here's what Roku reported: Loss per share: 45 cents 45 cents Revenue: $321 million Wall Street anticipated a loss per share of 45 cents on revenue of $307 million, based on Refinitiv consensus estimates. However, it's difficult to compare reported earnings to analyst estimates for Roku's first quarter, as the pandemic continues to hit global economies and makes earnings impact difficult to assess. As more people have been staying inside during the pandemic, Roku said it gained 2.9 million incremental active accounts in the quarter, reaching 39.8 million total, a 37% increase year-over-year. It also saw streaming hours surge by 1.6 billion, bringing it to a record 13.2 billion hours, a 49% increase year-over-year. The company booked $232.56 million in platform revenue, which includes advertising and licensing fees for its software, and $88.21 million in its player segment, which includes device sales. Roku said its advertising business has seen higher than normal cancellations, but it was offset by other advertising that moved to its platforms from traditional TV. Despite the pullback in advertising across media due to the coronavirus pandemic, Roku said it still expects its ad business to grow, though at a slower pace. "In summary, while our advertising business faces near-term challenges, our content distribution business, as well as overall consumer engagement, have benefited from a surge in OTT usage," the company said in its letter to shareholders. "There can be no assurance that these patterns will continue through the remainder of the second quarter or throughout 2020; however, we believe that they may represent an acceleration of the longer-term trends reshaping the industry that were already well established prior to COVID-19." On the company's earnings call, CEO Anthony Wood compared the shift of ad dollars from linear to OTT to the shift from print to digital media during the last recession. "Spending will come back, but it's likely in our view not to come back in the way that it had been," Wood said. "Even in the case of sports, we think that this disruption will force a reassessment broadly by marketers." Roku CFO Steve Louden declined to provide full year 2020 guidance after the company previously pulled its earlier outlook. He said the company is likely to run an adjusted EBITDA loss for the year. Some companies, like Google and Facebook reported signs of recovery in their advertising businesses going into April, while others, like Twitter, offered less reassurance. While advertising spend has been hurt, consumers have been spending more time on streaming services in general. Services including Netflix and Disney+ have reported huge spikes in subscribers during the crisis as stay-at-home orders have forced more people to stay inside. Netflix added about 15.8 million global subscribers in its first quarter, a 64% jump compared to the same quarter last year. Subscribers to Disney's new streaming service accelerated as well, leaping to 54.5 million paid subscribers as of May 4, up from from 33.5 million at the end of its first quarter on March 28. But Netflix executives warned the growth wouldn't last forever as people come out of lockdown. And social distancing rules has forced TV and film executives to delay production, which will likely cause a dearth of new content later in the year. Roku said demand for its hardware including TVs has remained strong despite supply chain issues like factory closures in China. As factories have reopened and Roku tries to restock to meet the demand, the company said it's had to spend more on air freight and anticipates continued higher air freight costs in the near-term. Roku said it's working with its retail partners and TV brands as it anticipates changes in shopping behavior later in the year, including a shift to e-commerce platforms. Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. WATCH: Video game streaming is surging as millions are cooped up inside their homes This is a feel-good story with a very bad ending. Despite authorities dramatic efforts to dampen the coronavirus spread with shelter-at-home orders, people are becoming infected anyway. And the most dangerous part is, some dont know it. Thats because 25% or more of those infected are asymptomatic. Theres a widespread, mistaken assumption that asymptomatic status is some kind of an all-clear signal, as if no symptoms mean theres nothing to worry about. What it really means is that those people are infectious even though their bodies arent showing signs of it. These are the perfect hosts for the coronavirus because they distribute the disease to new victims, over and over again, even though the hosts feel just fine. They are the walking reasons why universal testing is essential as a basic first step to easing stay-at-home restrictions. The White House, however, regards universal testing as nonsensical. The National Rugby League has granted exemptions for anti-vaxxer players to take the field without getting their flu shots. The NRL previously ordered all 480 players from the 16 clubs to vaccinate ahead of the league's return to action on May 28 after coronavirus shut down the contest in March. The league has since conceded players wanting an exemption will still be allowed to play if they sign a waiver confirming they acknowledge the health risks they are opening themselves up to. The decision comes despite calls from Prime Minister Scott Morrison to implement a 'no jab, no play policy' to stop putting players at serious risk. Gold Coast Titans Star Bryce Cartwright (pictured with his eldest child and wife Shanelle at his 2018 wedding) will be allowed on the field despite his refusal to get an flu shot ahead of the 2020 NRL season WHY VACCINES ARE IMPORTANT Immunisation is a simple, safe and effective way of protecting people against harmful diseases before they come into contact with them. Immunisation not only protects individuals, but also others in the community, by reducing the spread of preventable diseases. Research and testing is an essential part of developing safe and effective vaccines. In Australia, vaccines must pass strict safety testing before the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) will register them for use. Approval of vaccines can take up to 10 years. Before vaccines become available to the public, large clinical trials test them on thousands of people. High-quality studies over many years have compared the health of large numbers of vaccinated and unvaccinated children. Medical information from nearly 1.5 million children around the world have confirmed that vaccination does not cause autism. People first became concerned about autism and immunisation after the medical journal The Lancet published a paper in 1998. This paper claimed there was a link between the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism. Since then, scientists have completely discredited this paper. The Lancet withdrew it in 2010 and printed an apology. The UK's General Medical Council struck the author off the medical register for misconduct and dishonesty. Source: Australian Department of Health Advertisement Changes to policy were confirmed by the NRL in a statement to Daily Mail Australia on Thursday afternoon. 'The National Rugby League has developed stringent biosecurity protocols that adhere to higher standards than public health orders,' the statement read. 'The protocols allow for exemptions to vaccinations under compelling circumstances, including requiring players to sign a release. 'Until an NRL-approved release is acknowledged and signed by players, they will not be permitted to train.' The Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'Landys told the Australian they will be allowing anti-vaxxers to play under one condition. 'The is only one clause in there we are going to change because of their religious grounds, which we have no problem with,' V'landys said. 'We will change that clause but anyone who doesn't sign the waiver, will not be allowed to play.' Players who don't sign the amended waiver will be banned for the NRL season. Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged the league to enforce a 'no jab no play policy' after several high profile players like Gold Coast Titans star Bryce Cartwright vocalised their opposition to getting vaccinated. Canberra Raiders players Joseph Tapine (pictured with wife Kirsten) was another player who vocalised a refual to get the flu shot ahead of the NRL 2020 season Canberra Raiders Father-of-two Josh Papalii (pictured with his wife) also refused the influenza vaccine based on religious grounds Despite this, a slew of other players followed Cartright's lead - refusing to undergo the flu vaccination because of religious or other objections. Canberra Raiders players Josh Papalii, Sia Soliola and Joseph Tapine were among a group refusing on religious grounds. The change in policy is believed to be a result of pressure from the Rugby League Players' Association after a meeting with NRL management on Thursday morning. Prime Minister Scott Morrison was one of the first government officials to weigh in on the sporting code's policies during an interview with 2GB host Ray Hadley on Wednesday morning. 'When I was social services minister I started the 'no jab no play' rule into the childcare facilities and I think the same rule applies there (NRL) - no jab no play,' Mr Morrison said. Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured on Tuesday) has backed calls for the NRL to adopt a 'no jab no play' stance More than a dozen players have reportedly signed waivers to continue training after they refused to get the flu vaccination, 7News.com.au reported. The flu vaccination is part of the NRL's strict new health and biosecurity protocols designed to reduce the risk of infection for players, staff, officials and the wider community. Mr V'landys initially warned there would be sanctions for players who don't follow the guidelines when Project Apollo protocols were launched last week. 'There will be sanctions. We've got no option, there must be a deterrent because one reckless act will bring down an entire competition and the livelihoods that come with that,' he said in a statement. 'We will continue to work with the RLPA about what those sanctions will be for individual players.' Project Apollo Chair Wayne Pearce added: 'These protocols will be tough, but they need to be to ensure player, staff and community health and safety.' The vehicle scrappage policy is likely to be finalised soon to boost the automobile sector, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday. The road transport and highways minister also said that his ministry has fixed a target to build highways worth Rs 15 lakh crore in the next two years. "The scrapping policy will be finalised soon. It is going to boost the industry. It is going to reduce the production cost. Yesterday also, I had a discussion with the Secretary and we will make it as early as possible," Gadkari said in a video conference with the members of SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) Institute over impact of COVID-19 on the automobile sector. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in February had said that a policy for scrapping of old vehicles "is in the works" and will be announced after concerned ministries "fine tune" it. The much-awaited vehicle scrappage policy is awaiting final clearance from the Union Cabinet, which will focus on eliminating the fleet of old polluting commercial vehicles plying on the country's roads. The proposed policy, once approved, will be applicable on all vehicles including two and three-wheelers. Earlier, the policy was sent for a fresh round of consultation with stakeholders on the direction of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). Gadakri had earlier said that once the policy is approved, India could emerge as a hub for automobile manufacturing as key raw material available from scrapping like steel, aluminium and plastic are bound to be recycled, bringing down automobile prices by "20-30 per cent". The government on July 26, 2019 had proposed amendments to motor vehicle norms to allow scrapping of vehicles older than 15 years in a bid to spur adoption of electrical vehicles. In a draft notification, the government proposed renewal of fitness certificates for vehicles older than 15 years every six months instead of the current time-frame of one year. The notification also provided that the newly purchased motor vehicles will be exempted for payment of fees for registration certificate and assignment of new registration mark, if the purchaser produces scrapping certificate of the previously-owned vehicle of the same category issued by the authorised scrapping centre/agency. In May 2016, the government had floated a draft voluntary vehicle fleet modernisation programme (V-VMP) that proposed to take 28 million decade-old vehicles off the road. Addressing SIAM members, Gadkari said for highways, he has set a target of building Rs 15 lakh crore worth of roads in the next two years and added that the road construction pace has reached 30 km a day now. He also suggested exploring cheaper credits, including foreign capital for enhancing liquidity in the automobile manufacturing sector. "We should look at foreign funds, pension funds, foreign banks, foreign agencies, World Bank ADB.... NHAI track record is very good. Now we have 480 bankable projects worth more than Rs 4 lakh crore. These are projects which are economically viable and the internal rate of return is good. "By adding land acquisition cost to the projects the banks can finance these for 30 years," the minister said, adding that he had a meeting with the RBI governor in this regard for permitting finance to infrastructure projects for 30 years. The minister suggested to focus on enhancing liquidity in business saying ups and downs are common and urged the industry to convert COVID-19 into an opportunity of expanding global market share. He stressed that one needs to plan for bad times while working for growth, and added that the industry should focus more on innovation, technology and research skill to become competitive in global market. The minister said his ministry is working overtime to clear all arbitration cases with concessionaires. On the question of BS-IV vehicles, he said the government is bound by the Supreme Court verdict on the same. However, on industry suggestion, he will get the matter examined afresh. Regarding relaxations sought on other regulations, Gadkari stated that he will endeavour to provide relief wherever possible where industry is seeking extension of time. Gadkari responded to the questions from representatives and assured all possible help from the government. He informed that he would take up the issues at the appropriate level in the government and other departments. The video conference was also attended by the Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways VK Singh and Secretary, Road Transport and Highways Giridhar Aramane, among other senior officials. During this interaction, members expressed concerns regarding various challenges being faced by industry amid COVID-19 pandemic along with few suggestions and requested support from the government to keep the sector afloat. Gadkari urged them to work with commitment during these challenging times to win the Corona war and make India super economic power. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Less than 10% of Protestant churches held in-person worship in April: survey Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment During the month of April, over 90% of Protestant churches in the United States did not hold in-person worship services due to coronavirus concerns and shutdowns, according to a recent survey by LifeWay Research. In a report published last Friday, LifeWay found that only 7% of pastors reported holding in-person services on April 5 and April 12, the latter date being Easter Sunday. The number dropped to 4% on April 19 and slightly increased to 6% on April 26. Although few of the surveyed churches held in-person worship, 97% had some type of digital alternative, a five percent increase from March. By the end of March, the gravity of the pandemic had changed churches behavior across the nation, said LifeWay Research Executive Director Scott McConnell in a statement. The need for precautions did not change throughout April and churches maintained their temporary avoidance of gathering physically. LifeWay also found that most surveyed churches were in the process of planning out their in-person services, which were expected to return soon due to the lifting of restrictions. The report found that nearly a third (30%) of surveyed churches were planning to hold small in-person services first, while 16% planned to resume normal activities immediately. For their recent report, LifeWay drew their data from an online survey of 470 Protestant pastors conducted April 27-29, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5%. In response to efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the vast majority of churches in the United States halted their in-person worship services, largely switching to online alternatives. A small number of congregations continued to hold in-person services, often adding protective measures like having people sit farther apart from each other and avoiding handshakes. As many states are looking to gradually ease restrictions on mass gatherings, many congregations are weighing how they will return to a normal worship schedule. Last month, the conservative law firm the Liberty Counsel called upon churches to reopen on May 3, days before the annual National Day of Prayer observance. The organization argued that churches were more essential than ever, but said that reopening must include appropriate measures of sanitization and social distancing between families. We chose May 3 because it is part of that phase one of the Opening America Again [proposal] that the president (Donald Trump) issued as guidelines, said Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver in an earlier interview with 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. Some churches did reopen on Sunday, including Fellowship Church in Texas and Champion Church in Arizona. In a study published today in Current Biology, researchers from University of Sydney have identified the single gene that determines how Cape honey bees reproduce without ever having sex. One gene, GB45239 on chromosome 11, is responsible for virgin births. "It is extremely exciting," said Professor Benjamin Oldroyd in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences. "Scientists have been looking for this gene for the last 30 years. Now that we know it's on chromosome 11, we have solved a mystery." Behavioural geneticist Professor Oldroyd said: "Sex is a weird way to reproduce and yet it is the most common form of reproduction for animals and plants on the planet. It's a major biological mystery why there is so much sex going on and it doesn't make evolutionary sense. Asexuality is a much more efficient way to reproduce, and every now and then we see a species revert to it." In the Cape honey bee, found in South Africa, the gene has allowed worker bees to lay eggs that only produce females instead of the normal males that other honey bees do. "Males are mostly useless," Professor Oldroyd said. "But Cape workers can become genetically reincarnated as a female queen and that prospect changes everything." But it also causes problems. "Instead of being a cooperative society, Cape honey bee colonies are riven with conflict because any worker can be genetically reincarnated as the next queen. When a colony loses its queen the workers fight and compete to be the mother of the next queen," Professor Oldroyd said. The ability to produce daughters asexually, known as "thelytokous parthenogenesis", is restricted to a single subspecies inhabiting the Cape region of South Africa, the Cape honey bee or Apis mellifera capensis. Several other traits distinguish the Cape honey bee from other honey bee subspecies. In particular, the ovaries of worker bees are larger and more readily activated and they are able to produce queen pheromones, allowing them to assert reproductive dominance in a colony. These traits also lead to a propensity for social parasitism, a behaviour where Cape bee workers invade foreign colonies, reproduce and persuade the host colony workers to feed their larvae. Every year in South Africa, 10,000 colonies of commercial beehives die because of the social parasite behaviour in Cape honey bees. "This is a bee we must keep out of Australia," Professor Oldroyd said. The existence of Cape bees with these characters has been known for over a hundred years, but it is only recently, using modern genomic tools, that we have been able to understand the actual gene that gives rise to virgin birth. "Further study of Cape bees could give us insight into two major evolutionary transitions: the origin of sex and the origin of animal societies," Professor Oldroyd said. Perhaps the most exciting prospect arising from this study is the possibility to understand how the gene actually works functionally. "If we could control a switch that allows animals to reproduce asexually, that would have important applications in agriculture, biotechnology and many other fields," Professor Oldroyd said. For instance, many pest ant species like fire ants are thelytokous, though unfortunately it seems to be a different gene to the one found in Capensis." ### Gearing up for the new normal and keeping customer safety at the core, Maruti Suzuki India Limited has put in place a comprehensive standard operating procedure (SoP) for its dealerships across the country. The process ensures highest level of hygiene and sanitization across all its showrooms for the safety of its customers and employees. After the implementation of these SoPs and based on approvals from State Governments, Maruti Suzuki dealerships have started to open and deliver the cars to waiting customers. Explaining the new way of life at Maruti Suzuki showrooms, Mr. Kenichi Ayukawa, Managing Director and CEO, Maruti Suzuki India said, Customers satisfaction and safety is our top priority. All our dealerships have put in place steps to ensure complete safety, hygiene and sanitization of all touchpoints. I would like to assure our customers that your car buying experience with Maruti Suzuki is completely safe. At the same time, not just our dealerships, but also our manufacturing facilities and service workshops are completely sanitized. They are following all safety protocols, as prescribed by the Government. The Maruti Suzuki family looks forward to deliver your favorite car in a completely safe and hygienic environment, Ayukawa added. The new Covid-19 SoP designed by the team of experts at Maruti Suzuki encapsulates all the facets of customer interactions. From the time a customer walks into the showroom, till the final delivery of the vehicle -- all processes have been scientifically studied. Adequate measures have been taken to offer a safe, hygienic and a virus free environment to customers. Customers can choose their car and accessories digitally: Leveraging the power of digital technology Maruti Suzuki ARENA and NEXA websites promise to serve and delight customers in several ways. Customers can experience the convenience of booking their cars or even personalizing through the websites www.marutisuzuki.com and www.nexaexperience.com Customers can explore the entire product portfolio and electronically personalize cars by a mix and match of accessories. All the documents for vehicle purchase can also be submitted digitally. Hygiene of test drive cars: The dealerships will carry out complete sterilization of the test-drive vehicles before aligning it for the customers ensuring maximum safety. One individual will be allowed to take the test drive with the relationship manager sitting in the back row. Door step car delivery: Maruti Suzuki now offers the convenience of door step delivery of cars. All staff visiting customers home will follow safety protocols including wearing masks and carrying sanitizers. All cars will be fully disinfected before delivery. In case of delivery from showrooms, limited persons would be encouraged. The showrooms will have hand-sanitizers at every touchpoint. Healthy and Safety of dealership employees: Health of all employees is being monitored through a wellness app every day. Employees who report good health for at least 14 consecutive days would be allowed to resume work. This app works in conjunction with the Government of Indias Aarogya Setu app to track health status for all staff. Thermal scanning, availability of sanitizers, staggered lunch timings and compulsory wearing of face masks throughout the working hours and commutation will also be implemented. Training to maintain a hygienic environment at dealerships: Maruti Suzuki has conducted a detailed training of its dealerships staff across country towards maintaining a hygienic environment for customers. A detailed manual explaining the dos and donts for every employee has been circulated and a strict monitoring mechanism has also been put in place. Maruti Suzuki network comprises 3,086 showrooms across 1,964 towns and cities. All of them will abide to the new safety protocols. The opening of showrooms will depend on permission from local authorities. NYPD efforts to enforce social distancing have sparked a series of violent street confrontations - sabotaging years of hard-earned trust between cops and the communities they serve, police sources tell DailyMail.com. Everyone from union leaders to street cops say the crackdown puts officers in a precarious situation where their efforts to control crowds provoke outbursts. Over the past week, videos of several exchanges have gone viral on social media, showing officers in The Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn struggling to disperse gatherings, at times punching and tackling individuals who resist. They expect it will only get worse as more people gather outside during the summer months. 'All the hard work we've been doing with community policing is being thrown away now with this social distancing initiative,' one officer told DailyMail.com. 'We're being forced to get in other people's business, confronting people who haven't seen their friends in a month, and telling them what they can and cannot do. That's never going to work. The result is what we have now, people fighting with police.' There has been a rise in violent fights between police and the public as officers try to enforce social distancing in New York City NYPD officers tells DailyMail.com that the crackdowns to enforce social distancing put officers in a dangerous situation Videos have gone viral recently showing brawls between NYPD and the public. One officer used pepper spray to disperse several young people who were refusing to step back, taunting the cops with cameras 'It's going to get more and more violent, and summer's not even here yet,' another officer said. 'Burglaries and homicides are up. Cops can't even focus on that because we're focusing on something that's not even really a crime. It's f****d up. It's really bad. We're not the social distance police,' the second officer said. One video from Sunday night shows three police officers struggling to arrest a young man in East New York, Brooklyn. One of the officers punches him in the side of the face, then jumps to his feet and yells at a male bystander to 'Back the f**k up!' 'What are you looking at? You want to go with your friend?' the officer shouts, waving a baton. 'For what?' the man asks, and the cop replies, 'For not wearing a mask.' 'This is MY SON...my heart just broke,' wrote a woman who posted a video of the encounter on Facebook, identifying herself as the mother of the young man on the ground. One video of the violence had been shared 8,000 times and reposted on Twitter by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries As of late Tuesday, the video had been shared 8,000 times and reposted on Twitter by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) who wrote, 'Police officers aggressively 'enforcing' social distancing in our community. This occurred in East New York last evening. Why are sunbathers who violate social distancing guidelines treated one way and young men in certain communities another? This MUST end,' Jeffries demanded. Another video, posted Monday, shows NYPD housing cops in The Bronx breaking up a crowd near a playground, and taking down one man who came charging at them in the middle of the street. One officer used pepper spray to disperse several young people who were refusing to step back, taunting the cops with cameras. 'Oh, look I got all that, you bugging,' one shouted. Police Commissioner Dermot Shea acknowledged Thursday that 'there is a controversy right now' involving cops enforcing social distancing, noting he's been flooded with calls and letters from individuals expressing concerns. He said he's concerned it could damage police efforts in recent years to 'build bridges' with the public. But he said the videos only represent a small fraction of police encounters with the public. 'We're starting to see people come out across this city and we have been enforcing social distancing all over the city, and we have been doing it with an extremely light touch,' Shea said during a news conference. 'If cops in a particular incident were wrong, they're going to hear from me on that,' he added. Mayor Bill de Blasio was asked Thursday to address concerns raised by several activists that the enforcement efforts will provoke another Eric Garner-like tragedy. Garner died from a chokehold after cops confronted him for selling loose cigarettes on a street corner in Staten Island in the summer of 2014. 'We're not going to sacrifice saving lives because people are fearful of something that loomed in the past,' the mayor replied. 'We have a new threat that we have to put front and center,' he said, and added, 'We're not going to sideline the NYPD.' One video from Sunday night shows three police officers struggling to arrest a young man in East New York, Brooklyn One of the officers punches him in the side of the face, then jumps to his feet and yells at a male bystander to 'Back the f**k up!' 'All the hard work we've been doing with community policing is being thrown away now with this social distancing initiative,' one officer told DailyMail.com Another video from Saturday shows cops trying to break up a group violating social distancing orders on Fountain and Blake avenues in East New York. As they struggle to arrest a 32-year-old male, another young man charges at cops from behind. An officer smacks the man in the head, then flips him over on to the pavement, face-down. 'Stand back!' the officer shouts to others who were coming in his direction with cameras. 'He's unconscious!' a bystander screams as the officer places his knee on the man's neck to handcuff him. The most publicized encounter occurred earlier Saturday, when several plainclothes NYPD cops broke up a group of people ignoring social distancing orders and dragged a man to the ground in the East Village on Avenue D and E. 9th Street around 5pm. Bystanders began to shout and decry the force used by police in making the arrest, prompting Officer Francisco Garcia to threaten the crowd with a stun gun and shout 'Get the f**k back.' A man in the crowd later identified as Donni Wright -- yells back, 'He didn't even do nothing.' On Saturday around 5pm NYPD plainclothes officers broke up a group of people violating social distancing orders in Manhattan's East Village. The outrage and protest of bystanders led to the arrest of 33-year-old Donni Wright Donni Wright, 33, was a part of that crowd and shouted 'He didn't even do nothing' in shock over the cops' earlier arrest, leading Garcia to punch him and knock him to the ground In that social distancing arrest officers were seen bringing a man to the ground and arresting him Garcia, wearing a Yankees cap and a belt showing his officer's badge, curses at Wright before tackling him and punching his head. The beatdown led the crowd to scream and shout even more, but Garcia yelled back 'That's right!' Wright was arrested on charges of assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. But the charges have been deferred pending further investigation, a Manhattan District Attorney's Office spokesperson said. Video footage of the confrontation was shared on social media, prompting Mayor Bill de Blasio to tweet on Sunday, 'The behavior I saw in that video is simply not acceptable.' 'Saw the video from the Lower East Side and was really disturbed by it,' the mayor continued. 'The officer involved has been placed on modified duty and an investigation has begun.' Last week, the mayor, reacting angrily when thousands of people gathered in Williamsburg for the funeral of a local rabbi, called for the NYPD to start issuing summonses and even arrest people who don't follow orders to disperse. 'This is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period,' he tweeted. As videos of the violent confrontations went public, drawing scrutiny from city officials and the news media, Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch said, 'The NYPD needs to get cops out of the social distancing enforcement business altogether.' 'The cowards who run this city have given us nothing but vague guidelines and mixed messages, leaving the cops on the street corners to fend for ourselves,' Lynch said Monday. 'Nobody has a right to interfere with a police action. But now that the inevitable backlash has arrived, they are once again throwing us under the bus,' he said. Video footage of the confrontation was shared on social media, prompting Mayor Bill de Blasio to tweet on Sunday, 'The behavior I saw in that video is simply not acceptable' Under the instructions of Mayor Bill de Blasio, NYPD officers set out on foot, bicycles and in cars to break up crowds and remind those enjoying the weather of public health restrictions requiring they keep 6 feet away from others On Tuesday, Ed Mullins, president of the Sergeant's Benevolent Association, wrote a letter to his members predicting that the number of these encounters would skyrocket over the summer. He blasted the mayor for placing officers in an 'untenable predicament: you have pitted the public against us while asking that we enforce your mayoral edict.' The NYPD is investigating several of the videotaped encounters, but police officials stress that the footage leaves out crucial context. Several of the individuals were violently resisting arrest and involved in other criminal activity. In the East Village incident, police recovered a taser, a small amount of marijuana and nearly $3,000 in cash. One NYPD cop told DailyMail.com these confrontations will continue as long as cops are tasked with enforcing the city's social distancing rules. 'I'm not excusing the cops' bad behavior, but I understand where it's coming from,' the source said. He noted that more than three dozen members of the NYPD have died from the coronavirus and thousands more have been infected. 'Tensions are high, and cops are aggravated they have to deal with this sh*t,' the officer said. 'It's bad for everybody. It's forcing us into the violent confrontations.' Photo credit: ESO/L. Calcada From Popular Mechanics Astronomers with the European Southern Observatory (ESO) announced the discovery of the closest known black hole to Earth. The black hole is 1,000 light-years away and can be found at the center of a star system in the Telescopium constellation. There could be millions of other black holes spread across the galaxy that astronomers haven't yet observed. Astronomers have discovered the closest known black hole to Eartha cool 1,000 light-years away from our planet, hiding in the constellation Telescopium. The cosmic marvel in question belongs to a two-star system called HR 6819. Astronomers believe there may be a lot more of these elusive celestial objects hiding in plain sight. "There must be hundreds of millions of black holes out there, but we know about only very few," lead study author Thomas Rivinius, of the European Southern Observatory (ESO), told NPR. "Knowing what to look for should put us in a better position to find them." Rivinius and his colleagues published their study in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. In 2004, researchers trained the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile on HR 6819. The star system is home to two stars orbiting each other: an outer (Be) star, and an inner star. But four months of observations revealed the star system might not be an ordinary binary star system. Instead, astronomers found nearly every 40 days, the inner star seemed to be orbiting something at a very high velocity. By their calculations, that object had to be massiveabout four times the mass of the sun and roughly the same size as the inner star. So they started narrowing down their options. A star with the same mass as the object at the center of the inner star's orbit would be easily visible with telescopes. The likely culprit? A stellar-mass black hole. But if the black hole is so closeastronomically speakingthen why has it eluded discovery for so long? Story continues Black holes, often the remnants of dead stars that have gone supernova, are super dense and gobble up nearby stars and gobs of gas and dust. Their gravitational pull is so strong, not even light can escape their grasp. That means they're notoriously difficult to spot. But sometimes there are telltale signs that black holes may be lurking. When some black holes messily devour nearby material, there's clear evidence of the feast in the form of radiation that can be picked up by telescopes. In some cases, black holes can influence the orbits of nearby objects, alerting astronomers to their presence. This newly discovered cosmic wonder has unseated the previous record holder for "closest known black hole," a seemingly invisible object 3,000 light-years from Earth, tucked away in a star system in the Monoceros constellation. For perspective, other black holes that you might be familiar with are much more distant, like Sagittarius A*, the one at the center of our galaxy that sits 25,000 light-years away. Meanwhile, the black hole at the center of the galaxy M87, of which we have a stunning image, is about 55 million light-years from Earth. We know there are more black holes like the one at the center of HR 6819 out there. Some researchers believe there could be as many as 100 million black holes spread across the Milky Way alone. Now it's just up to astronomers to find them. You Might Also Like At least eight people were killed and hundreds taken ill, many collapsing to the ground as they tried to escape, when gas leaked from a chemical plant here in the early hours of Thursday and quickly spread to villages in a five kilometre radius. Hours after the styrene gas leak around 2.30 am from the multinational L G Polymers Plant at R R Venkatapuram village near here, scores of people could be seen lying unconscious on sidewalks and near ditches, raising fears of a major industrial disaster. Among the dead was a child and two people who fell into a borewell while escaping from the vapours from the plant, getting ready to reopen after the lockdown. As rescue officers and police personnel rushed to take people to hospital and revive them, many people could be seen gasping for breath as they staggered their way to safety, dazed and stunned. Some tried to walk but fell to the ground in a faint. People in ground zero, R R Venkatapuram village in Gopalapatnam, were evacuated. Cries for help broke the silence of the night and many people fell unconscious during their sleep, a villager said. Taking stock of the situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had spoken to officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). "I pray for everyone's safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam," Modi said in a tweet. President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu also condoled the loss of lives. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has ordered a probe into the matter, state Director General of Police D Gautam Sawang said. The DGP said there was no more leakage of gas and the situation was now "stable and under control". At least 246 persons with health complications are undergoing treatment at the King George Hospital, Visakhapatnam, and 20 are on ventilator support, he told reporters. Over 800 persons were evacuated from R R Venkatapuram and most of them only needed first aid. "How the gas leaked and why the neutraliser at the plant did not prove effective in containing the leak will all be investigated. Styrene, though, is not a poisonous gas and can be fatal only if inhaled in excess quantity," Sawang said. Styrene is a chemical used to make synthetic rubber and resins. Though the source of the leak was contained in the morning itself, the effects were seen for many hours after. Daybreak revealed the full magnitude of the tragedy. Hundreds of villagers, most of them children, suffered from irritation in their eyes, breathlessness, nausea and rashes. Everyone helped as they could, some offering first aid, others water, dabbing and wiping people's faces. Those affected were rushed to hospitals in autos and two-wheelers while government workers and others tried to assist in whatever way possible. In disturbing visuals that flashed across television screens, two children hugged each other as a rescue worker tried to revive a woman, possibly their mother. Those who could speak narrated what had happened. People could also be seen sitting on the kerb, trying to explain the events of the morning. State Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy said the LG Polymers unit was supposed to reopen post-lockdown on Thursday. "We are trying to reach out to the top management of the (South Korean) company...our immediate priority is to arrest the leak and ensure proper medicare to the affected people," he said. In a series of tweets, Reddy said villages around the plant are being evacuated and a help desk was set up. Styrene gas affects the central nervous system, throat, skin, eyes and some other parts of the body, said NDRF Director General S N Pradhan. The gas leak incident took place as the plastic factory that was closed during the lockdown was being prepared for resumption of operations, he said. Several police personnel, who were part of the rescue operation, also complained of of symptoms like breathlessness, irritation in eyes and fell unconscious. The 20-odd workers in the plant were well-versed with safety protocol and took appropriate steps and therefore did not suffer, sources said. The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation put out an advisory on Twitter, asking people to wear a wet cloth or mask, eat banana and jaggery and drink milk to neutralise the effects of the gas. TheAndhra Pradesh government on Thursday appealed to citizens of Visakhapatnam not to panic and cooperate with authorities working to bring under control the situation. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed shock over the gas leak incident in Visakhapatnam and prayed for the speedy recovery of those hospitalised. He also urged Congress workers in the area to provide all necessary support to those affected. My condolences to the families of those who have perished. I pray that those hospitalised make a speedy recovery," he said on Twitter. The grim scenes recalled the Bhopal gas leak, the world's worst industrial disaster in which more than 3,000 people were killed and lakhs affected when methyl isocyanate gas leaked out from a Union Carbide plant on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UW Students Well Pad Reclamation Research Draws International Attention Drawings of optional drone routes and well pads are a background behind UW graduate student Michael Curran as he studies data on a computer. (UW Photo) Having a traveling salesman traipse around gas well pads in Wyoming paid off for a University of Wyoming Ph.D. student seeking the most accurate and efficient way to monitor reclamation efforts. Michael Curran coupled the classic traveling salesman problem -- which seeks the most efficient route from start to finish -- with a specific data collection process to feed drone imagery through special software. He found using the drone was four times faster, more accurate and data richer in detail than feet-on-the-ground camera use. The process could mean those engaged in reclamation can monitor many more pads in a shorter time and save money. Plus, the images locked in time and geo-tagged are more resistant to data collection bias and can be used to verify other information, such as success of seed planting mixes, over many years. The most recent findings are built upon prior research Curran, of Manasquan, N.J., conducted into hand-held camera techniques. The hand-held technique was published in Restoration Ecology in 2019. That caught the attention of those at the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE), which makes and publishes videos of scientific experiments around the world. Curran says a film crew from JoVE is scheduled to visit Laramie this month to document the process. The traveling salesman approach finds the most efficient route to visit a set of cities, given the distance between every pair of cities, and return to the start. Curran combined the algorithm with balanced acceptance sampling to find the most efficient routes to monitor individual well pads. Balanced acceptance sampling is a spatially balanced sampling design that gives optimal spatial coverage over an area of interest. We are the first group to couple the traveling salesperson with balanced acceptance sampling, and we are the first to apply both to monitor reclaimed well pads, Curran says. The drone flies an optimal route over individual well pads. Typically, a well pad observed by two technicians requires one to two hours to run a single transect, which does not provide statistically sufficient data, Curran says. Were putting 30-40 sampling locations on an individual well pad and having the person walking or the drone taking the optimal route to get to each point. Curran says the dots were connected as fast as possible. And, that was just our trial, he says. But, Sam Cox from the Wyoming BLM office and I have been working with Paddington Hodza and Shawn Lanning with the Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center, and we're going to just get faster and faster as we get better with our drone. Prior research Curran was involved in, and published this March in the journal Biodiversity, had shown feet-on-the-ground data collection took a little less than 30 minutes per pad. A two-person team takes about 99 minutes to run a single 100-meter transect. Aerial image acquisition took just 7.7 minutes per pad. Curran wrote that using drone image collection had saved two hours across five sampled wells. Overall costs of monitoring oil and gas fields could be significantly reduced. Collaborators included research partners Tim Robinson, statistics professor at UW and director of the WWAMI Medical Education Program; Blair Robertson, in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand; Karen Rogers, with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department; Calvin Strom, former assistant director of the Wyoming Reclamation and Restoration Center; and Pete Stahl, current director. The process of drone imagery collection can diminish factors that affect accuracy, such as hard-to-read handwriting or crews only collecting data in certain areas. The quicker collection time means plants most easily identified when blooming -- which can be of short duration in Wyoming -- could be determined. Its not uncommon for contractors to take almost the entire summer to do all their monitoring in larger oil and gas fields, Curran says. In a good year, you might have a two- to four-week window when you can actually identify flowering species. Missing the window can give false negatives. A plant might be in a location but not identified by monitoring two months after the plant bloomed -- or its top was chewed by grazing animals. Data collected in the images are diverse. For example, Curran can compare a well pads plant species with the seed mix used by a company to reclaim the area. I can figure out whats on the ground and, hopefully, help them make better seed mix decisions, he says. Curran recently received notice he is one of two nationwide recipients of a $2,000 Ph.D. student scholarship from the American Society of Mining and Reclamation. Curran had previously won the associations masters student scholarship. He is scheduled to receive his doctorate this month. Stahl is Currans graduate adviser. Updated May 8, 2020 at 5:19 p.m.: Brasfield & Gorrie of Birmingham was awarded the contract to build the twin bridges on U.S. 231 near Huntsville. The company submitted a low bid of $14.6 million. ALDOT has projected a cost of about $18 million in March at a time when the preliminary timetable to complete the bridges was one year. Original story: The closed section of U.S. 231 south of Huntsville, which carries about 15,000 cars per day in Morgan County, could be open by fall. Thats the word from the Alabama Department of Transportation on Thursday as it prepares to award the contract on Friday. If the contractor maxes out on incentives to finish early, the highway will be completed by early October, highway department spokesman Seth Burkett said. Burkett met with reporters at the repair site, which will have a dramatically different appearance to commuters when the four-lane highway is reopened. Twin bridges will be built on the 1,000-foot section of highway severely damaged and closed in February by a landslide beneath the road on the side of Brindlee Mountain. Burkett said that as part of the emergency repair project, the contractor will be offered up to about $2.5 million to complete the bridges two months ahead of the targeted completion of Dec. 2. The contractor will be motivated to get the project done as quickly as possible due to an incentive/disincentive that we have attached to the project, Burkett said. For early completion, the contractor stands to make nearly $2 million by completing the project up to 60 days ahead of that Dec. 2 date. The contractor will also be penalized financially by ALDOT for failure to complete the project by Dec. 2, Burkett said. The scale of the penalties will match the scale of early-completion incentives. At a public meeting about the project in March, ALDOT set a preliminary timetable for the project at one year. Further work on the project scaled that estimate down to completion by the end of the year, according to an ALDOT announcement last week. The drop-off from the roadway at the site of the U.S. 231 repairs reveal the amount of earth that has been moved in the ongoing excavation work. Twin bridges will be built through the repair site with a completion date of Dec. 2, 2020. Burkett also said that ALDOT had already secured about $4 million in materials for the bridges, a step that typically does not take place until after the contract has been awarded and will help accelerate the timeline. ALDOT also set a preliminary cost estimate of $18 million for the twin bridges. The contractor for the twin bridge project will begin June 1, Burkett said, or possibly a few days before that depending on the completion of an ongoing excavation project at the site. About 220,000 cubic yards of earth and loose rock is being removed from the site which will yield a much different look to commuters. The trees have been removed from the separated northbound and southbound lanes, revealing a wider view from near the top of the mountain to the Huntsville skyline about 16 miles to the north. Beyond the different appearance, the excavation has resulted in about a 25-foot drop in elevation from where the highway now stops and the south end of the bridges will be connected. K Sujatha Rao By Understanding the importance of testing for gaining control over what could be a runaway epidemic, Andhra Pradesh rightly focused on expanding access to free testing. It swiftly did three things: procured one lakh rapid kits from South Korea; put to use the PCR based TRUENAT technology; and issued a well thought out comprehensive testing strategy with the target of 15 lakh tests. The AP Testing strategy delineates persons to be tested in accordance with the level of risk primary contacts living in red zones, elderly with co-morbidities, symptomatics, SARI and ILI cases, healthcare workers, fever cases, asymptomatics living in buffer zones, one person from every tenth household in the green zone and so on. A variety of mediums are being used True NAT, RT PCR, Rapid diagnostic kits each as per a laid down protocol. Along with the analysis of deaths, the emerging data will provide AP information for formulating future strategies. Assessed over three parameters, AP is one of the better performing states: 1) fourth highest in number of tests done in March and April as on 2 nd May, 1,08,403 tests were done compared to 1,44,159 tests by Maharashtra; 2) Doubling rate of infections has been encouraging, giving hope that the curve may finally be bending; 3) infection rate is better at 1.4% compared to 8% for Maharashtra, suggesting effective management. Of concern is the death rate at 2.1 compared to less than 1 in Kerala, indicating poorer quality of care. Besides, the majority of people dying or in critical care are 50+ age group with co-morbidities. Data has enabled AP to categorize districts in terms of infectivity five account for 80% of all infections in AP. Four rounds of fever surveys have been conducted among the 1.46 households providing information on the demographic and health profile of fever cases, enabling prioritization for testing and initiating containment measures. Epidemiological data is vital to target interventions for disrupting transmission. Absence of such vital data means fighting the battle blindfolded. Testing is the only means of getting a grip on the situation and the only means of providing confidence and credibility to assessments of future scenarios. Decentralized approaches for Effective Implementation Such rapid scaling up of the testing strategy and the effective implementation of welfare measures at the community level is as much a reflection of the political and administrative leadership as it is of the delivery structures provided at the village and ward levels by the current government. Envisioned by the Chief Minister, established for every 2000 households, the system consists of 8 qualified persons covering major sectoral activities and a volunteer for every 50 households. For Health, a qualified ANM has been appointed as the Village Health Secretary. All these 13 persons ensure programme delivery to households. In the case of Covid, the volunteers, the ASHAs and the ANM together have been utilized for carrying out surveys, communicating preventive messages of staying home, washing hands, maintaining distance and using masks; organizing the quarantine arrangements; delivering rations and pensions etc. Way Forward AP has done well in keeping caseloads within its coping ability. Detailed action plans regarding availability of ICU beds, ventilators and PPE kits, masks etc. in public and private facilities to address any surge in caseloads have been readied. With the graded lifting of the lockdown from May 4, AP is now faced with a new round of challenges ensuring the fresh wave of migrant returnees and restoration of economic and social activity does not undo the gains made. There are four areas in which AP needs to pay attention: 1) Resume hospitals for treatment of non-Covid cases Closure of hospitals to all care except emergencies has created unimaginable hardship to the sick and should have been avoided. With the diversion of personnel to Covid work, routine services immunization, maternal care, provisioning of drugs to patients with chronic diseases like TB, HIV, diabetes, hypertension etc. could stand affected resulting in the emergence of drug resistance that is more difficult and expensive to treat. These services need to be immediately resumed and in order to avoid cross infections, the 104 services should be started and services for routine ailments, chronic patients, the elderly and those 50+ more vulnerable to Covid be provided at the village level. Besides, to avoid spiking of diarrhea and vector borne diseases, preventive action needs to be taken spraying, distribution of bed nets, supply of drugs and kits to fieldworkers etc. A stocktaking of the availability of essential drugs is necessary in the background of news that lockdowns have disrupted supply chains and manufacture of drugs by pharma companies. Reports of an exponential rise in domestic violence and mental stress need to be investigated and addressed on priority. The social and economic disruption of the last six weeks is bound to leave deep scars resulting in depressions and suicidal tendencies. Experienced counsellors appointed in the HIV AIDS Control program need to be mobilized. There is an urgent need to enforce standardized treatment protocols and triaging patients for home treatment. Evidence suggests that 85% of patients do not require institutional treatment. Operationalizing this strategy would require assessing ability of the infected persons ability to self-isolate, train family members on precautions, deliver medicines at home and monitor electronically. 2) Zoning Government of India has directed states to lift the lockdown in a graded manner. Basically, it amounts to locking down the red zone i.e areas having positive cases and in the rest, restore normal life. Such a balanced approach is necessary. But then, it also demands a more effective enforcement of lockdown in the red zones. AP needs to take two important steps. In slums and high density areas, there is nopoint in talking about physical distancing as five people cannot be cooped in a small hut in this heat. Social interaction being inevitable, not only must all supplies be provided at the household/basti level but masks, soaps and extra supply of water must also be provided. Inaddition, a mobile testing van be deployed for frequent testing of persons to identify any potential cases before they become super spreaders. Finally, it is essential to launch massive multimedia information campaigns TV, newspaper, mikes on mobile vehicles etc. towards using masks and avoiding unnecessary movement. Behaviour change is difficult, but is the only way of protecting ourselves from the virus. 3) Promote civil society and NGOs Covid is here to stay, atleast for two years. Cyclical lockdowns is an option but entails substantial trade offs and exhausts staff. It is therefore important to normalize the infection and learn to live with it. AP does not have many civil society organizations. It would be useful to strengthen those available and fully utilize the self-help groups and other community organizations in helping remove fear and stigma, encourage people to come forward for testing, managing quarantine centers; and building social solidarity and support systems. Conclusion: The tasks ahead are immense. The challenge of coping with ensuring healthcare in the wider context of continued access to health determinants, namely food and incomes required for ensuring a healthy body, is overwhelming. Creating employment, mobilizing civil society, keeping transportation routes open, and restoring the social and economic life balance without allowing the infection to get the better of us would need granular planning done in constant motion factoring at every level of human interaction, physical distancing and use of masks. This requires imagination and innovation. The districts need to be asked to prepare micro plans, spelling out the pathways for ensuring appropriate sequencing of interventions and comprehensive approaches. Difficult but doable. (K Sujatha Rao Former Union Health Secretary) Dear Editor: As a retired science teacher, I realize I dont know all the facts, but I try nevertheless to be informed and respond to data. This is why I feel compelled to write this letter. If I had to design a super spreader event for COVID-19, Id propose sending (preferably via airplane) about 20 people from every state in the U.S. to New York at the height of the pandemic, have them mingle for a few days and then go back to their communities. Rats! Someone beat me to it. West Point is following my exact game plan, scheduling graduation for June 13, 2020, and requiring 1,000 cadets to attend. How did they ever come up with that same fail-proof idea? I wonder if the planned graduation speaker, President Trump, caused the scales of wisdom to be tipped toward insanity. I suppose it is one way of speeding up the reopening of society, like forcing the opening of meat plants without safety measures for the employees, or telling rebels at different state capitols (who seemed like very, very responsible people) to keep up the pressure. In any event, I pray there will be enough face masks to protect all the poor cadets. And I hope there will be a follow-up of the impact of this social experiment. It would be gratifying to know that it did not further spread the virus and that no grandparent of any of the 1,000 cadets had to pay the ultimate price for this folly. W. Carl Mayer Saugerties, N.Y. A Massachusetts State Police bomb squad and a hazmat team responded to a home in West Springfield after local police discovered a large amount of ammunition, commercial fireworks, homemade M-class explosive devices" and materials to make fireworks, according to state fire officials. The West Springfield Police Department on Monday went to the home of a deceased, retired police officer to secure guns when they discovered the bullets and explosives in containers, officials said. Some of the containers were marked and some were not. During the clean-out, the bomb squad discovered a large quantity of energetic material in a deteriorated state, believed to have been in the basement for years, officials said. Because of the condition of the containers, and the unknown state of the fireworks, officials called the bomb squad to dispose of them. The team detonated the material for several hours on Tuesday. The process of identifying and removing the materials took two days, police said. Residents may have been aware of detonations on Tuesday night. At one point, SD2 floated the idea of doing a ceremony with 10 graduates at a time and no attendees. Community pushback was stiff, so Upham reached out to Jim Duncan, president of the Billings Clinic Foundation and a longtime supporter of the school district, asking if experts at the Clinic would be willing to take a crack at the problem. Infectious disease specialists at the hospital, along with the county health department, figured out a way to hold the ceremony while keeping public health risks to a minimum. John Felton, CEO of RiverStone Health and Yellowstone County's public health officer, talked about the importance of weighing the gathering and celebration of important events as a community while keeping that same community safe. "It's important that we have the social events," he said. "We need to balance that with mitigating risks." He noted that much can change between now and the end of May, but that under the current plan, graduation ceremonies will be held at 9 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 24, at the arena. Skyview High will be first, followed by Senior and then West. Two men jointly fined about $700 for barbeque in central St. Petersburg flickr.com/ skhakirov 16:19 07/05/2020 ST. PETERSBURG, May 7 (RAPSI, Mikhail Telekhov) Two men Alexey Ushakov and Dalgat Radzhi have been fined 25,000 rubles (about $340) each for barbeque in the Sennaya Square (Sennaya Ploshchad) in central St. Petersburg, the United press service of St. Petersburg courts has told RAPSI. The men pleaded guilty and apologized to police officers, the statement reads. However, the Oktyabrsky District Court of St. Petersburg reclassified the charges from minor hooliganism to violating the high alert regime introduced over the spread of coronavirus and gave the violators almost a maximum fine. Minor hooliganism is punishable by fines ranging from 500 to 1,000 rubles; breaching of the high alert mode is punished with fines from 1,000 to 30,000 rubles. According to case papers, the offenders grilled shashlik and made video to publish on the Internet. Later, they explained in their blog that they did not grill the meat in the square but came there with the cooked shashlik. However, the video showed smoke from the wood-fired grill (mangal). YEREVAN, MAY 7, ARMENPRESS. Ucom will pay the coupons of Ucom corporate bonds on time, specifically on May 16, 2020. These bonds are the first ones by Ucom, issued within the framework of the public offer registered in 2019. In May, 2019 Ucom with the support of "Armenbrok" investment company placed AMD bonds with an annual coupon yield of 11% and USD bonds with an annual coupon yield of 7.5%. The first corporate bonds of Ucom were allowed to trade on AMX Armenia stock exchange, Ucom told Armenpress. Ucom makes continuous efforts to return to normal operations mode and fulfill all obligations towards our partners, investors, employees and customers, said Ara Sergei Khachatryan, Director General at Ucom. Let us remind, that the maturity period of nominal coupon bonds is 36 months, the frequency of coupon repayment is quarterly. It should be added that the announcement of the bonds public offer was registered with the Central Bank of the RA and is available at https://www.ucom.am/hy/personal/best-deals/bond, the company said in a statement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for a meeting of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) at 11.00 am on May 7 over a gas leak in Vizag, Andhra Pradesh that has left at least seven dead. Earlier, PM Modi tweeted that he had spoken to officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and NDMA regarding the situation in Visakhapatnam and said that it was being monitored closely. I pray for everyones safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam, PM Modi added. At least seven people died after a chemical gas leakage at an LG Polymers facility located near Vizag, aka Visakhapatnam. At least three surrounding villages are being evacuated. Over 120 people from villages in the district have been taken to hospitals following the suspected leak of styrene gas at the facility, Reuters reported quoting a local government official. Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) DG Sawang said the incident occurred at around 3.30 am. CORE & VULNERABLE AREAS MAP OF PVC GAS LEAKAGE. REQUESTING CITIZENS TO USE WET MASKS OR WET CLOTH TO COVER YOUR NOSE AND MOUTH. pic.twitter.com/7u9U5zDBLN Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) (@GVMC_OFFICIAL) May 7, 2020 The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) confirmed the gas leak incident in a tweet and requested citizens in the vicinity of the plant to stay indoors. Reports suggest that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is to visit the hospital where the affected individuals have been admitted and the facility to take stock of the situation. Meanwhile, the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) said that PM Modi had spoken to the chief minister and has assured all help and support. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Twitter that the incident in Vizag is disturbing. Have spoken to the NDMA officials and concerned authorities. We are continuously and closely monitoring the situation. I pray for the well-being of the people of Visakhapatnam, he added. Catch all updates on the Vizag gas leak here A Georgia prosecutor on Tuesday said a grand jury should review the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, who was killed in February after being chased by two armed men who told police he looked like a burglary suspect. The lack of charges thus far has enraged advocates across the country, who have expressed deep frustration with both the shooting of the unarmed man and how the case has been handled. News around Arbery's killing reverberated Tuesday after a graphic video that appeared to depict the shooting went viral on social media. Lee Merritt, the family's attorney, shared the video Tuesday afternoon and said Arbery's family was forced to watch for the first time online. "Mr. Arbery had not committed any crime and there was no reason for these men to believe they had the right to stop him with weapons or to use deadly force in furtherance of their unlawful attempted stop," Merritt wrote in a statement. "This is murder." By all accounts, Arbery spent much of his spare time running for exercise in the city of Brunswick, in Glynn County on Georgia's southeast coast. That was the case Feb. 23, when Arbery was spotted jogging through his neighborhood by Gregory McMichael, who believed Arbery looked like a suspect in a spate of recent break-ins, according to a police report published by the New York Times. Only one burglary was reported to the Glynn County Police Department in the Satilla Shores neighborhood between Jan. 1 and Feb. 23, and it involved a pistol taken from a pickup truck outside of Travis McMichael's home, The Brunswick News reported. McMichael, 64, called his son, Travis McMichael, 34, and they armed themselves with a handgun and shotgun, respectively, Gregory McMichael told police. They chased Arbery in a truck, according to the report, and Gregory McMichael told police that he shouted to Arbery, "Stop, stop, we want to talk to you," before, according to their statements, they pulled up beside him in their truck. The report suggests a third person may also have been involved in the pursuit. Travis McMichael stepped out of the truck with his shotgun, and that's when Gregory McMichael alleges that Arbery attacked Travis McMichael and they began fighting over the shotgun, according to the police report. Travis McMichael shot twice, police said. Arbery fell face down on the pavement and died from his injuries. Gregory McMichael didn't immediately respond to requests for comment, and Travis McMichael's listed number was disconnected. The county police department did not immediately return a request for comment late Tuesday. On Tuesday, district attorney Tom Durden said in a statement that the case should be presented to a grand jury for consideration of criminal charges, the Associated Press reported. Greg McMichael previously served as a former police detective and district attorney investigator in Brunswick, documents show. The AP reported that District Attorney for Glynn County, Jackie Johnson, recused herself from this case because McMichael worked as an investigator in her office and retired last year. In his statement, Merritt noted that grand juries in Georgia were temporarily suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic and urged that the two men be taken into custody immediately, pending their indictment. A statewide judicial emergency in Georgia was on Monday extended until June 12. "The series of events captured in this video confirm what all the evidence indicated prior to its release," Merritt wrote. "Mr. Arbery was pursued by three white men that targeted him solely because of his race and murdered him without justification." Developments in the case Tuesday prompted a forceful reaction from black leaders, some of whom called for arrests, as well as a transparent probe into the killing. "We are grateful to see D.A. Tom Durden announce his intention to convene a grand jury in this case. However, we will not rest until the murderers of Ahmaud Arbery are behind bars," the Georgia NAACP wrote in a statement Tuesday. "The fact that the McMichaels have yet to be arrested in this matter is evidence enough for what we all know to be true - justice for all is just not specific enough." Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, tweeted Tuesday night that Victor Reynolds, the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, an independent agency that assists with criminal investigations, forensic laboratory services and criminal justice data, had offered to help the prosecutor's office. "Georgians deserve answers," he wrote. "State law enforcement stands ready to ensure justice is served." The bureau tweeted a statement earlier in the day, saying it was looking into the video leak and allegations of threats against police and others involved with the investigation. The bureau isn't investigating the shooting, it said. Stacey Abrams, who ran as the Democratic candidate for Georgia governor in 2018, wrote, "As more attention focuses on the troubling killing of #AhmaudArbery, our systems of law enforcement and justice must be held to the highest standards: full investigation, appropriate charges and an unbiased prosecution." Democratic state lawmakers questioned why the video was surfacing three months after the shooting. The video sparked unrest Tuesday, leading about 100 people to join a protest in the streets of the neighborhood where Arbery was shot. As the crowd marched toward the McMichaels's home, they carried signs and chanted. "I run with Maud," one poster read. "No justice, no peace," they shouted. The Southern Poverty Law Center on Thursday called for a federal investigation "given local law enforcement's failure to act," according to a news release. "That these people have not been charged or held to account in any way speaks volumes about the level of respect that law enforcement in Glynn County have for Black lives," the organization's president and CEO, Margaret Huang, wrote. "The killing of Black and brown people must stop, and it begins with each of us demanding accountability and justice." Arbery's death came three days before the anniversary of the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, said Andrea Young, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia. "Both incidents are a reminder that white supremacy has been a foundation for our country and leads repeatedly to the targeting and harming people of color, particularly African Americans," she wrote. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 7, 2020 18:41 621 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6976da 1 World diplomacy,COVID-19,South-Korea,medical-supplies,cooperation,CEPA,economy Free Indonesia looks to learn more from South Korea in raising its capacity to curb viral infections, officials have said, as the special strategic partners work together in the multilateral response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Having recorded some of the highest transmission rates in all of Southeast Asia, Indonesia has struggled to flatten the curve of infection due to its limited testing capacity and slapdash policy decisions. Indonesian Ambassador to South Korea Umar Hadi said the Korean Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) and other related institutions could help Indonesian authorities respond better to the viral outbreak. Between the two countries, the COVID-19 outbreak began much earlier in South Korea, near the end of January, whereas Indonesia only reported its first confirmed case in early March. At the time, there were so many unknown factors to the disease, but now Indonesia stands to benefit from the wealth of data available to determine the direction of its COVID-19 response. [It] would practically make the unknown that little bit more familiar, and researchers could shed more light on what works and what doesnt or what policies could be pursued, Umar said during a virtual discussion hosted by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), on Wednesday. South Korea endured one of the worst early outbreaks of the disease outside China, and while it never imposed a compulsory lockdown, strict social distancing had been widely observed since March. Now the South appears to have brought its outbreak under control thanks to an extensive "trace, test and treat" program that has drawn widespread praise, AFP reports. In a population of 51 million, its death toll is little more than 250, and new cases have slowed to just a handful 13 in the past three days, all of them arriving international passengers. At its peak, the country reported 909 cases in late February, Yonhap news agency reported. In contrast, since President Joko Jokowi Widodo announced the first confirmed cases, Indonesia has recorded 12,776 infections and 930 deaths, according to Thursdays official tally. I think Indonesia can learn from this valuable data, Umar said. We need a kind of more structured, institutionalized communication or sharing between the KCDC and maybe the BNPB [National Disaster Mitigation Agency] or the Health Ministry in Indonesia so we can also benefit from the data collected in [South] Korea. CSIS executive director Philips J. Vermonte pointed out that the pandemic had exposed vulnerabilities in various aspects of governance in Indonesia, especially its decision making and institutional capacity. Unlike South Korea, which had taken swift action against the outbreak, Philips said Indonesia had been very slow to respond in the beginning, and then proceeded with a half-hearted policy. The government took almost two weeks after its first COVID-19 case to set up a rapid response team, and the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) were only introduced by the end of March, at a time when more than 1,500 people were already infected by the coronavirus. Since the onset of the pandemic, Indonesia and South Korea have joined hands to cooperate on mitigating the health crisis. In late March, South Korea put Indonesia on its priority list for quarantine supplies exports, which includes test kits. The government in Seoul recently pledged to provide a US$500,000 grant to Indonesia in the form of test kits and rechargeable power sprayers for sanitation. Previously, the head of the national COVID-19 task force, Doni Monardo, said Indonesia exported ready-to-use personal protective equipment (PPE) to South Korea as compensation for procuring raw materials from the South to meet domestic needs. The Foreign Ministrys director general for Asia, Pacific and African affairs, Desra Percaya, noted that the two countries just concluded negotiations on the Indonesia-South Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IK-CEPA), but said that, in order for this to work, we should first address, adapt and adjust to the new normal by working hand in hand to revive international trade as an engine for growth. The two countries concluded the negotiations in November last year and look to sign the CEPA by the first half of 2020. South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Kim Chang-beom hailed the cooperation, saying the two countries have worked well when compared to partnerships with other countries. President Moon [Jae-in] and President Jokowi spoke the same language when they attended the G20 special virtual summit in April, he said during the discussion on Wednesday. And then our foreign ministers Ibu Retno [Marsudi] and Minister Kang [Kyung-hwa] have led efforts to tackle COVID-19 through global collaboration and coordinated responses at various forums. P.E.I. has joined Ontario in extending extra protection during the COVID-19 pandemic to people facing bankruptcy. The P.E.I. Supreme Court has declared a period of emergency from mid-March to the end of June. Companies have more time to file paperwork and individuals can defer court-ordered debt payments in bankruptcy and insolvency matters. "Without this court order, to give them a little more wiggle room if you like, they were in danger," said Walter MacKinnon, a licensed insolvency trustee with MNP Ltd. in Charlottetown. "For debtors or creditors, it gives everyone a little more time." Justice James Gormley of the P.E.I. Supreme Court issued the order April 30. It follows a similar order by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and was initiated by Canada's federal bankruptcy regulator. The P.E.I. court order dealt specifically with the case of a Charlottetown woman in bankruptcy protection. The woman had been making monthly payments of $1,040 in what the courts call a "consumer proposal" to settle her personal debts. Under the proposal, the woman would over five years pay back about $68,000 of the $160,000 debt she carried when she initiated the court process in 2018. The woman lost her income in late March when the business where she worked shut its doors. The woman asked the court to defer her payments for April, May and June. The court agreed, and extended the deferral for as many as five payments, until the end of December. The order applies not just to this woman, but to all active consumer proposals in P.E.I. CBC News is not identifying the woman to protect her privacy. The court case also involved BDO Canada, the woman's insolvency trustees. Economic impact of COVID-19 In a written affidavit, the woman's trustees warned the court of a coming spike in defaults. "With the unprecedented economic impact of COVID-19 ... defaults in payments in existing consumer proposals will rise significantly," wrote Andre Bolduc, an Ottawa-based licensed insolvency trustee for BDO Canada. Story continues In Charlottetown, MacKinnon has noticed an increase in the number of Islanders looking for information on bankruptcy protection. "A lot of the debtors who have a debt load that will be troublesome are treading water right now," said MacKinnon. He expects other provinces will adopt similar protections. More from CBC P.E.I. A cheetah managed to take down an impala only for it to be stolen by hungry vultures, who were then robbed of their prize by a young lion. Extraordinary footage starts with the cheetah scanning the area before settling down to gnaw at the impala in Kruger National Park, South Africa. A group of vultures surround it and the cheetah runs towards them in an attempt to scare them off but they keep coming back. The cheetah settles down to enjoy its kill when a group of vultures start to surround it in footage filmed in Kruger National Park, South Africa Every time the cheetah turns back to his meal, the vultures edge a couple of inches closer. Ranger and guide from Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge Brett Heasman caught the meal steal on video last week after being alerted by the alarm calls of vervet monkeys. He said: 'It was an absolutely incredible weekend here at Sabi Sabi with alarm calls coming from an open area right in front of Bush Lodge. The cheetah attempts to scare off the vultures a few times by running towards them. They initially scatter but come back and edge closer to the kill The vultures edge inches closer every time the cheetah turns around. After a few attempts to scare them off, the vultures overpower the cheetah and they swoop in The birds dive in and gnaw at the kill, piling on top of each other. A few moments later chaos begins and some of the birds fly away in a panic 'We followed the calls and scanned the area and noticed a cheetah in an open space, so we dashed off to see what he was up to. 'We saw that it had managed to take down an impala and figured that this was probably why the alarm calls were so urgent.' The cheetah attempts to scare the vultures off a few times but they eventually overpower it. The cheetah runs away and disappears into the thicket. The vultures dive on top of the impala, piling on top of each other and gnawing at it. Within a few seconds, the vultures begin to scurry and some fly away in a panic. A young male lion approaches the vultures as they start to scurry away from the kill As the lion gets closer, the vultures scatter and leave the kill on the ground for the lion to take The lion steals the kill from the vultures and clamps it in his jaw as he drags it off to enjoy it for himself The lion takes the kill to a thick area of bushes where he spends the rest of the time finishing it A young male lion approaches the kill and chases the vultures off before clamping it in his jaws for himself. Mr Heasman said the lion dragged the kill off to a thick area where he spent the rest of the time finishing it. They caught up with the cheetah who moved a little distance away and was resting after the commotion. Impalas are medium-sized antelopes which can leap up to 10 metres. They can jump obstacles such as bushes of heights up to three metres. By John J. Metzler Syria's devastating conflict continues despite the spread of the coronavirus and calls by the international community for a ceasefire to stop the fighting which has continued for over nine years and killed more than 500,000 people. Now, an uneasy calm seems to be setting in as the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic has reached the battlefield and the sprawling refugee camps. Significantly, a new health crisis could be in the offing. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated his plea for a global ceasefire, saying, "The ceasefire call has resonated widely, with endorsements from 114 governments, regional organizations Among them are 16 armed groups." Specifically he added, "In Syria, the Idlib ceasefire is holding but we are still hopeful for a country-wide end to hostilities." The U.N. Security Council has been meeting, virtually and through video conferencing links, to address a host of ongoing crises which have not paused for the pandemic. Syria's bloody crisis is one of them. Mark Lowcock, the U.N.'s humanitarian chief, warned that while coronavirus cases are still relatively small in Syria (43 people), "If this virus is behaving similarly in Syria to how it has elsewhere, and that is our assumption for now, then tragedy beckons." He added, "We cannot expect a health care system decimated by almost a decade of war to cope with a crisis that is challenging even the wealthiest nations." While facing the uphill challenge of preparing for a wider COVID-19 outbreak, the U.N. is still tasked with providing humanitarian resources for millions of displaced people inside the country. Under Secretary-General Lowcock added, "In 2019, humanitarian agencies and partners reached an average 6 million people across the country every month; so far this year, food assistance has been delivered to 4.6 million people across the country on average." The ongoing conflict has caused 5.6 million Syrians to flee their homeland as refugees while a further 6 million people are internally displaced inside their country by the fighting. U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pederson stressed, "The Syrian government has continued to take increasingly significant steps to combat COVID-19. So have the Syrian Opposition Coalition and other de facto authorities in areas outside the government control." Geir Pederson added, "The different ceasefire arrangements between Russia, Turkey and the U.S. in the northeast also continue to broadly hold but this is an uneasy and fragile calm in both northwest and northeast Syria. And there is the constant risk of escalation in Syria." U.K. Amb. Jonathan Allen told the council, "Coronavirus knows no borders. It knows no front lines. It is a threat to all in Syria and beyond. Preventing it is a matter of humanity, not of politics. We must ensure that no part of Syria is neglected in the effort to prevent and prepare for the potential spread of the virus." Why is this important to us now in the midst of a health pandemic and economic downturn which has crippled Western Europe, the U.S. and Japan? Contagion. What would happen if COVID-19 virus were to spread like wildfire throughout Syria and then later into densely crowded refugee camps in neighboring Turkey and Lebanon? Turkey hosts over three million Syrian refugees. Many could be infected. And let's not forget that Turkey's authoritarian leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has often threatened to send or release more refugees into Western Europe repeating the humanitarian tsunami of 2015 when a million Syrians fled into Germany and Sweden. Right now the pressure is on Greece where the Athens government has been overwhelmed by the humanitarian burden which could turn into a deluge should the Turks decide to make it so. Back in March on the cusp of this virus, Erdogan was bullying the European Union to give him additional monetary aid or he will turn the spigot which would first flood into Greece and then Europe's soft underbelly, the Balkans, and then into Central Europe. The European Union is expanding its support for Syrian refugees and vulnerable persons in Iraq and Lebanon through a new aid package of almost $275 million. The U.S. has pledged an additional $108 million for Syria, bringing the total U.S. humanitarian response to more than $10.6 billion since the start of the Syria crisis. Stopping COVID-19 contagion among the Syrian refugees has many advantages besides standing on the moral health high ground. The spread of such a disease, as we've seen and learned the hard way, cannot be wished away. We must eradicate the virus; the alternatives could be catastrophic. John J. Metzler (jjmcolumn@earthlink.net) is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of "Divided Dynamism The Diplomacy of Separated Nations; Germany, Korea, China." Security forces seized 4 tons of cocaine and arrested 28 people, during a raid to disband a 'narco-carrier' network in Vigo, northwestern Spain, in April - SALVADOR SAS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The coronavirus pandemic is having a dramatic if unintended impact on the global drugs trade, with closed borders making smuggling more difficult and pushing up the price of street narcotics. A United Nations report has found that normal smuggling routes have been disrupted by nationwide lockdowns in countries hit by COVID-19, forcing drug traffickers to switch to less reliable methods. At the same time production on the ground has been disrupted, with lockdowns robbing drug producers of the labour they need to harvest and process crops such as poppies and cocaine leaves and increasing the deadly competition between rival drug cartels. The report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) also warns that shortages could lead to the use of "harmful domestically-produced substances" instead, especially among heroin addicts. Following the introduction of flight bans and tighter border controls in the wake of the pandemic drug traffickers have been less able to exploit legal trade routes to camouflage their activities. The measures implemented by governments to counter the Covid-19 pandemic have thus inevitably affected all aspects of the illegal drug markets, from the production and trafficking of drugs to their consumption, the report states. According to the UN, traffickers anticipated the difficulties and have tried to make increasing use of sea traffic to keep their supply chains going (see photograph below). Bob Van den Berghe, of UNODCs Container Control Programme, said: Based on seizures of bigger-than-usual shipments of cocaine, it would be fair to say that Europe was flooded with cocaine ahead of lockdowns. Crew members of the vessel "MV Karar" are arrested by Spanish police officers in the port of Vigo, on April 28, 2020 after the vessel was seized carrying 4000 kgs of cocaine, amid a national lockdown to fight the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. - MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP The report says that "a recent uptick in heroin seizures in the Indian Ocean could be interpreted as indication of an increase in the use of maritime routes for trafficking" towards Europe. It adds: "There are indications that the reduction in air traffic to Europe resulting from the COVID-19 measures may already have led to an increase in direct cocaine shipments by sea cargo from South America to Europe". Story continues UNODC confiscated 17.5 tonnes of cocaine bound for Europe from South America during the first three months of this year. In Rotterdam alone drug seizures increased from 4.1 tonnes in the first quarter of last year to 6.6 tonnes in the same period this year. In Antwerp a 5-tonnes of cocaine was found last month hidden in a refrigerator also containing squid from South America. Weeks earlier police in the Peruvian port of El Callao intercepted a shipment of cocaine hidden in surgical masks bound for China. However the slow down in international trade has now also had an impact on the shipment of drugs by sea routes. Mr Van den Berghe said lockdowns in Latin American countries have led to a drop off in global maritime trade and a very substantive drop in the seizures. He said: It has become more difficult for criminal organisations to get cocaine into the maritime ports because borders are closed, roads are closed, you have police officers everywhere. UNODC found that reports emerging from different countries point to a shortage of drugs among end-consumers caused by reduction in imports of drugs and/or by strict lockdown measures, with reports of heroin shortages in Europe, South-West Asia and North America in particular". There are also indications of a slow down in the flow of cocaine from countries such as Bolivia, Colombia and Peru, where the drugs raw material, coca, is grown. Brazilian gangs ship cocaine to Europe via west Africa, using Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Senegal as entry points, experts say, but UNODC said transit hubs such as Niger had reported a cease in trafficking. But the report warns that the coronavirus crisis has also presented drug gangs with new opportunities, allowing them to pose as community benefactors in return for greater influence. "There are indications that drug trafficking groups are adapting their strategies... and that some have started to exploit the situation so as to enhance their image among the population by providing services, in particular to the vulnerable," it states. One effect of the disruption to smuggling networks has been to drive up the street price of drugs, with the wholesale price for a kilo of cocaine coming through Rotterdam going from 25,000 a kilo late last year to 32,000 a kilo now. Jeremy McDermott, co-director of the Medellin-based think tank InSight Crime, said: People are prepared to pay more money because its much harder to get your drugs than before when you could go out and meet your dealer. Now you have to use the drug delivery networks or the dark web. For the retail drug dealer its a dream scenario. For the drug producer its frustrating. The rise in street prices could also lead to users switching substances. The report states: "Many countries across all regions have reported an overall shortage of numerous types of drugs at the retail level, as well as increases in prices, reductions in purity and that drug users have consequently been switching substance (for example, from heroin to synthetic opioids) and/or increasingly accessing drug treatment. An increase in the use of pharmaceutical products such as benzodiazepines has also been reported, already doubling their price in certain areas. UNODC warns drug shortages could also lead to an increase in injecting drug use and the sharing of injecting equipment, carrying an increased risk of spreading diseases like HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, and COVID-19 itself. Ohio National Guard troops move in on protesting students at Kent State University on May 4, 1970. (Associated Press) To the editor: I related to Sandy Banks' column on the Kent State massacre 50 years ago. Like her, I was from Cleveland, and at the time I was a graduate student at Ohio State. When the riots started at Ohio State in Columbus, I was on my way to the campus dental clinic. I took one look at the approaching rioters, turned around and ran back to my dorm. Later that day, the campus was closed, and we all had to go home. Like Banks, I always wondered why people like me were not involved in the protests. For years I felt guilty and perplexed by my inaction, but gradually I realized most of the protesters came from the white middle class. People like me, from the white working class and the first in the family to go to college, had too much to lose. Winning the fellowship to Ohio State was like winning the lottery for me. If I lost it, there would be no second chances. Like Banks, I was deeply saddened by the tragedy at Kent State and will never forget it. Linda Mele Johnson, Long Beach .. To the editor: There isn't much of a lesson in Banks' essay on the Kent State shootings, unless it's that black folks rarely want to face down white folks carrying guns. Be it law enforcement, military or armed citizens insistent on their right to sunbathe, history has taught us it is a losing game. The hallowed ground of Kent State will always mark a sign post in American civil disobedience. And black folks are no strangers to the history of protest and martyrdom in this country. The Black United Students at Kent State, whose members Banks reports were being urged to remain in their dorms the day of the massacre, might come off as cowardly, when clearly they understood who gets shot first. Haleemon Anderson, Los Angeles .. To the editor: I was fascinated by Banks' insightful essay on the reaction of black students to the Ohio National Guard's presence at Kent State 50 years ago. I'm wondering if there will be a similar article memorializing the killing of black students 11 days later on the campus of Jackson State University in Mississippi's capital by local and state police as those students were protesting U.S. racism and our war in Southeast Asia. The killings at Kent State on May 4, 1970, mark a tragic day for the students, their families and this country. May 15, 1970, marks only one day of the ongoing tragedy of racist killings of African Americans by police officers and those shielded by a biased justice system. Alan Myerson, Culver City Television actor Chahatt Khanna lashed out at trolls who criticised her for being a single mother to her daughters Zohar and Amaira. She gave it back to them in her Instagram stories, before deleting her social media account altogether. Witches and b***hes who can never get love, bf or family in life, forget about kids, they will never understand that kids are a blessing and not a liability, or target to put a woman down. Khuda unko hi bachchon se nawajta hai jinki haisiyat aur kismat hoti hai. Main toh phir bhi theek ho jaungi, tumhari beemari ka kya hoga (God only blesses them with children, who have the status and good luck for it. I will still be okay, how will you be cured of your illness)? she wrote, adding that karma will eventually get everyone. In another of her Instagram stories, Chahatt said that it was necessary to give it back to those who were targetting her. No, I am not running away, just that Ill be busy with work, for a few days. Yes, my team will keep posting pics, not me. Par story par kuch logon ko muh tod jawaab dena bohot zaroori tha (But it was necessary to give it back to some people), she wrote. Also read | Sonakshi Sinha on Ramayana gaffe: Disheartening that people still troll me over one honest mistake Chahatt said that though she was in depression, it did not mean that she was down and out. Hum zara depression mein kya chale gaya, unko laga ki hum mar gaye? Naah (Just because I went into depression, these people thought I was dead? No)! she wrote. She went on to say that her mother always taught her to fight and give it back, but added that she wished love and light to her naysayers, as they were once her friends. Chahatt Khannas Instagram stories. Chahatt has been unhappily married twice in the past. In 2006, she married Bharat Narsinghani but ended it just seven months later, alleging that he would hit her. She married Farhan Mirza in 2013 and has two daughters, Zohar and Amaira, with him. However, this marriage did not last either, and she filed for divorce in 2018, alleging sexual and mental abuse. Follow @htshowbiz for more SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Sudhir Krishnaswamy, who has joined the Oversight Board along with a former Danish prime minister and a Nobel laureate, on Thursday said the organisation will work towards enhancing and preserving free speech and ensure that human rights are upheld as it moderates content for the world's largest social networking platform, Facebook. Oversight Board is an independent body set up by Facebook, comprising 20 members currently from around the world. It includes former judges, journalists and human rights activists, who will review appeals from users on material that has been taken down from Facebook and Instagram, and make binding content decisions for the social networking platforms. Krishnaswamy, vice-chancellor of the National Law School of India University in Bengaluru, is the only Indian who is part of the board. Speaking with PTI, Krishnaswamy said the diversity in constitution of the Board will play an important role in the functioning of the organisation. "If you see the structure, there are panels throughout, no individual decision makers. So, my role would be to participate in panels, take the cases that come before us and probe them carefully...(members may) have different approaches to free speech, to regulation...When you have multi-member panels, there is a range of perspectives that will go into the decision making process. So, it will not be just one jurisdiction and one view," he said. The members of Oversight Board come from diverse backgrounds with expertise in areas like digital rights, religious freedom, conflicts between rights, content moderation, digital copyright, internet censorship, platform transparency and civil rights. Krishnaswamy said nationality will not be a factor when it comes to his role at the Board. He said that while he is the only Indian on the Board so far, that will not affect the cases that are given to him. "It's not like I decide only India cases, or that on every India case, I sit on the panel," he said adding that all members are independent of Facebook and are not connected with the social media company. "We want to enhance and preserve free speech, we also want to ensure that the dignity of all human beings is maintained," he said when asked about the focus of the Board. The Board will begin considering cases later in the year, including hearing appeals from Facebook and Instagram users and cases referred to the board by Facebook for review. In the coming months, it will add the opportunity to review appeals from users who want Facebook to remove content. The Board can also review content referred to it by Facebook, including many significant types of decisions, including content on Facebook or Instagram, on advertising, or groups. The Board will also be able to make policy recommendations to Facebook based on case decisions. The membership of the Board will be expanded to about 40 people. Previously, Krishnaswamy was the director of the School of Policy and Governance and Professor of Law and Politics at Azim Premji University, as well as the Dr B R Ambedkar Visiting Professor of Indian Constitutional Law at Columbia Law School. He graduated from the National Law School of India University and, as a Rhodes Scholar, read for a Bachelors of Civil Law and a Doctor of Philosophy (Law) from the University of Oxford. Krishnaswamy was part of the founding team of the Alternative Law Forum which has evolved radical forms of alternative lawyering rooted in marginalised groups. He is a co-founder of the Centre for Law and Policy Research, which aims to redefine the concept and practice of public interest lawyering in India and ensure that the Constitution works for everyone. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) U.S. Donald Trump meets with Texas Governor Greg Abbott about coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, May 7, 2020. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump met with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday at the White House, the president's first scheduled event since news broke hours before that one of his personal valets had tested positive for the coronavirus. Trump's unidentified valet, who is a member of the military, tested positive for the virus that causes Covid-19 on Wednesday. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have both tested negative for the coronavirus since they learned of the valet's diagnosis, said a White House spokesman. The aide, who is now in quarantine, performed personal tasks in proximity to Trump that included serving the president his meals. Abbott, who is a Republican like Trump and Pence, was tested for the coronavirus shortly before the meeting, according to his spokesman, John Wittman. Neither Abbott nor Trump wore masks at the meeting, as the CDC has recommended for anyone within 6 feet of other people. During the meeting, Trump also denied having had close contact with the sick valet. "I've had very little personal contact with this gentleman," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "I know who he is, good person, but I've had very little contact." Nonetheless, Trump said, starting Thursday he and Pence will be tested for coronavirus daily instead of weekly, as had previously been the standard practice in the West Wing. Abbott went forward with the visit despite the fact that he appears to be in at least two higher-risk categories when it comes to the coronavirus: He is over 60 years old and uses a wheelchair. An accident in 1984 left him partially paralyzed. People with spinal cord injuries have weaker immunosuppression capabilities than the general population, according to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. Wearing masks to mitigate coronavirus' spread has become a polarizing issue in traditionally Republican-leaning Texas. So far Abbott has sided firmly with those less concerned about contracting the virus and more concerned with reopening businesses. Abbott is one of several governors, nearly all Republican, who have decided to proceed with reopening in their states despite not having reached the diminished rates of infection recommended by the CDC before reopening. On Wednesday, Dallas County reported its highest number of new coronavirus cases to date, eclipsing the previous record, set on Tuesday. Trump has also refused to wear a mask, against the guidance of federal health officials. The White House has so far declined to release additional information about the valet or about any increased measures the president and those around him are taking to prevent infection. Senior White House advisor Kellyanne Conway was asked about the valet during an interview Thursday on Fox News. Conway answered with sarcasm. "I think if anybody should start wearing masks and showing more respect, it should be the media," she said. Trump has noted to reporters this week that everyone around him is regularly tested. As a result of the extended home office working, which has become more widespread in the recent period, a new kind of demand has appeared at Lake Balaton and in other rural locations, according to Magyar Nemzet. According to Balaton realtors, more and more people are renting out accommodation near the lake for a few months. And if the opportunity to work from home remains for a longer period of time, for many, it may bring a permanent shift to opt for a quieter small settlement instead of the big city. It seems that home office is functional, many people have equipped it, and they could even imagine this kind of work in the long run, explained Erika Rajczi, the office manager of the Openhouse intermediary network in Balatonfured (125 km southwest of Budapest). MTI Photo On any average day, if you lose Rs 20,000 on the streets, chances of you finding the notes lying where you left them are almost negligible. But not during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a report by India Today, an auto driver in Bihar, Gajendra Shah, was on his way to purchase a tin shed when he discovered that he had lost Rs. 20,000 in his pocket, much to his dismay. He also realised that he must have dropped the cash somewhere along the road and that it must have fallen when he took out tobacco from his pocket. He did try to look for it along the way, but couldn't find it. Disappointed, he returned home to find that his neighbours knew where the money was. Apparently, some people had found the cash lying on the side of the road. Usually, the finders might have just taken it but this time around, fake news around Covid-19 acted as a blessing. The people informed the nearby police station and told the cops that the money was infected with Covid-19 virus and that it had been kept there to spread the disease. Bizarre, right? But an infodemic of fake news has been spreading faster than the virus itself in India, even as the whole world grapples to deal with the coronavirus crisis. Social media and WhatsApp forwards, unfortunately, are some of the biggest sources of fake news in the country. On realising that his money was safe, Shah headed to the police station. Following an elaborate verification process, the money was handed over to its rightful owner. A Cabinet minister blamed a massive slump in coronavirus testing in the last few days on 'a bit of an issue at the labs' today amid mounting criticism of falling numbers. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said 'a technical issue' was behind a 43 per cent fall in completed daily tests between last Thursday and yesterday. His comments came after it was revealed last night that 69,463 took place in the 24 hours to 9am that day, raising concerns over the progress of the testing regime. The figure is just 57 per cent of the 122,327 tests that Matt Hancock boasted had been carried out on Thursday to meet his pledge of 100,000 tests conducted per day by the end of April. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer warned this morning that the lockdown should not be lifted until 'many, many more tests' could be done. Mr Lewis told Sky News today: 'There has been a bit of an issue at the labs, there's been a technical issue. 'That's not surprising with a completely new test and a new diagnostics system we've put in place. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said 'a technical issue' was behind a 43 per cent fall in completed daily tests between last Thursday and yesterday His comments came after it was revealed last night that 69,463 took place in the 24 hours to 9am on Wednesday, raising concerns over the progress of the testing regime The figure is just 57 per cent of the 122,327 tests that Matt Hancock boasted had been carried out on Thursday to meet his pledge of 100,000 tests conducted per day by the end of April (pictured is Lighthouse Lab Covid-19 testing facility at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow) 'But that technical issue is now dealt with so we'll see that capacity and demand levels coming up. 'But the capacity has remained over demand and above 100,000.' Ministers have hailed increased testing as vital for allowing the lockdown to be eased from next week and kick-start the economy. While the capacity for testing remains above 100,000 per day there is mounting pressure on the disparity between the capacity and the number actually completed. The Prime Minister today yesterday the ambition clearly is to get up to 200,000 a day by the end of this month and then to go even higher'. Healthy Secretary Matt Hancock claimed the Government met its 100,000 a day testing target by the end of April, including 40,000 tests that had been sent out to homes but had not yet processed. Sir Keir told BBC Good Morning Scotland he thinks lockdown should continue until test numbers have risen significantly It has failed to maintain that level in early May, with just 84,000 tests completed on Monday and figures falling even further since. Sir Keir told BBC Good Morning Scotland he thinks lockdown should continue until the numbers have risen significantly. He told the programme: 'Of course we want the number of infected cases to go down, we want the death toll to go down but we've got to also plan for the future and I'm convinced that testing, tracing and isolating is going to have to be part of any strategy for the future. 'But if that's going to happen the planning needs to go in now because we need many many more tests than we've got already.' Asked whether we should continue with lockdown measures he said: 'I think we should. 'I'm sure that that is going to be the UK Government's decision and we will support it. Lockdown needs to stay in place until we are sure the infection rate has gone down. 'I will be very surprised if the Government doesn't reimpose the lockdown when it comes up for review later on and we will support them in that. This is not about lifting the lockdown now, it's about planning for the future.' B ritish Airways owner IAG on Thursday said it has secured 300 million from the Governments coronavirus aid scheme, on top of Spanish state-backed loans. The airlines giant, whose BA division plans to make thousands of workers redundant, has drawn the funding from the Coronavirus Corporate Finance Facility. IAG recently secured around 900 million of loans backed by Spain to help its Iberia and Vueling airlines. The firm now has 10 billion (8.7 billion) in liquidity. The company has faced severe disruption from travel restrictions. Most of its aircraft are grounded and it is planning for a meaningful return to service in July, subject to lockdowns easing. IAG chief executive Willie Walsh said: "We will adapt our operating procedures to ensure our customers and our people are properly protected in this new environment. " He added: "We are working with the various regulatory bodies and are confident that changes in regulations will enable a safe and organised return to service. The industry will adapt to new requirements in the same way that it has adapted to developments in security requirements in the past." Walsh, who had been planning to step down in March, will now stay on until September. Iberias Luis Gallego will succeed him. [May 07, 2020] Khoros Sees 47% Increase in Online Community Visits During COVID-19 Khoros, a global leader in customer engagement software, today announced that its Khoros Communities solution is experiencing a 47% increase in overall online community visits across the world to help brands quickly inform and educate their customers during COVID-19. Also, new registrations within these brands' communities are up 31%, indicating a clear demand for connection between customers. "The increased use of online communities during this global pandemic has been astounding," said Nick Hill, general manager of Khoros Communities. "Online communities are a valuable tool and resource, and there's no doubt that they're helping brands immensely during these unprecedented times - providing self-service answers to questions, connecting people with experts, and matching needs with capacity. When digital communities work well, they also enhance the customer experience and build customer affinity." According to a recent industry report, brands are increasingly recognizing the value of online communities, with 88% of companies saying that they are critical to their mission. Additionally, research by Hobson & Company, a leading research firm focused on ROI studies, found that online communities deflect 10% of support calls and increase revenue and retention by at least 1% each. For a company with $100 million in annual revenue, Khoros Communities' ROI Calculator shows that this results in a three-year return on investment of over $4 million. Given these market insights, Khoros Communities' increased traffic means real financial impact for brands in a time of constrained spending and uncertainty. Industries experiencing the highest increase in online community visits include: Government - 291% increase Financial services and Insurance - 255% increase Healthcare - 248% increase B2B categories, such as Manufacturing and Software - 80% increase Education and Utilities - an initial increase of 61% in March, followed by a steady 25% increase thereafter. Online communities within the healthcare industry, specifically, continue to see growth as healthcare providers replace non-treatment physical interactions at scale and at pace. An organization leveraging its online community in an innovative way during COVID-19 is Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). As Oregon's only academic health center with nationally distinguished healthcare facilities, OHSU cares for patients, extensively researches discoveries to prevent and cure disease, and educates health professionals for the evolving healthcare environment. One of OHSU's educational programs for health professionals is the Anesthesia Toolbox, powered by Khoros, which provides high-quality, peer-reviewed online educational resources to support learners and instructors. When shelter-in-place orders and social distancing were enforced, many anesthesiologists and trainees were severely impacted-professionally and educationally-as hospitals halted elective surgeries and gatherings unrelated to treatment for COVID-19 patients. OHSU worked quickly with Khoros to make its Anesthesia Toolbox available to all U.S. anesthesiology residency training programs for free, which allowed anesthesiology trainees to continue their education and practices remotely. Since expanding its platform, OHSU's community has expanded to serve the majority of anesthesiology residency training programs in the country with a 32% increase in total users (anesthesiology residents, fellows, academic faculty). In addition, enrolled users at existing institutions have increased daily usage of the community by 30%. "We were able to deliver much needed education and training to the nation's anesthesiologists - a critical service for when these doctors are needed again," said Glenn Woodworth, director of the Anesthesia Toolbox program at OHSU. To learn more about Khoros Communities and find the ROI in building your own online community, visit khoros.com/platform/communities. You can find additional information about the value of Khoros Communities and connect with over 70,000 peers by joining the conversation in Atlas, Khoros' online community for digital engagement leaders. About Khoros Khoros, built from Spredfast + Lithium, is the leading customer engagement platform built to turn siloed knowledge into enterprise value, and customers into contributors. By connecting consumer insights across all departments, Khoros gives companies the ability to run their business with their customers, anticipating their needs and accelerating sales, loyalty, and innovation. With 2,000+ brands, including 52 of the Interbrand 100 companies, and ten offices globally, Khoros powers approximately 500 million digital interactions every day. From social media to online communities and messaging to digital customer care, Khoros helps companies authentically connect with customers throughout their journey. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005296/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] By Tracy Rucinski (Reuters) - U.S. budget carrier Frontier Airlines withdrew on Wednesday a "More Room" policy that would have given passengers the option of paying extra to keep the middle seat empty on flights after a backlash from politicians, according to a letter to lawmakers seen by Reuters. Amid passenger concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus on airplanes, Frontier had announced on Monday a plan that, starting at $39 per passenger per flight, would ensure that the middle seat in their row would remain empty. The move stoked the criticism of Peter DeFazio, chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, who called it "capitalizing on fear." The move also faced criticism during a U.S. Senate hearing on Wednesday about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation industry, which has seen air travel demand virtually vanish and forced a scramble by airlines to stem a daily cash burn. In a March 6 letter to lawmakers, Frontier President and CEO Barry Biffle said: "We recognize the concerns raised that we are profiting from safety and this was never our intent. We simply wanted to provide our customers with an option for more space." In the letter, Biffle said Frontier will rescind the seat price increase associated with the "More Room" product while making "best efforts to ensure as much social distancing as possible throughout the aircraft." When flights were flying nearly empty, it was easy for passengers to spread out on airplanes. But as airlines have pulled down capacity to match lower demand, natural social distancing on planes has become more difficult. Biffle said Frontier's load factors exceeded 50% this week and were trending higher on many flights over the coming weeks, prompting the "More Room" product to offer customers "more peace of mind." Other U.S. airlines are blocking the sale of middle seats or putting a limit on overall seating capacity on the planes in an effort to address concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. "I don't think it's appropriate for some passengers who can't afford to pay an additional charge for a seat to be less safe than other travelers," Senator Amy Klobuchar said at Wednesday's hearing. (Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Stephen Coates) YEREVAN. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Edmon Marukyan, chairman of the opposition Bright Armenia party and head of the Bright Armenia faction in parliament, have discussed internal political speculations on the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) issue. Marukyan said this in a conversation with journalists after the meeting in the National Assembly on Thursday. He said that on Wednesday, he had invited Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan for a discussion. "The topic was the concerns, speculations related to the Artsakh issue," Marukyan said. "And Today I had invited the Prime Minister on the same topic again. We talked and drank coffee. All the statements that are made publicly are what there are; there is nothing beyond that. The issue of Artsakh is the issue that we are all united in this respect." The Bright Armenia party leader said that after today's discussion, many questions were answered for him regarding the current speculations on the Artsakh issue. "We talked in detail about the negotiations," he said. "There is nothing beyond what has been announced publicly. (). At the moment, I am not worried in connection with the Artsakh issue." Marukyan said that they did not talk about a negotiation document. "No document is being negotiated; thats what I know, he added. "I know there isn't, and I didn't ask." "I have figured out that if there will be a decision, they will come to the parliament, to Artsakh, and, also, public discussions will start," the Bright Armenia party leader noted, in particular. Armenia premier does not say what he was discussing with opposition party leader Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 18:55:23|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Amid the further containment of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), China is powering ahead in returning to work and resuming business and production. The following are the latest facts and figures: -- China's exports of goods rebounded in April, with exports rising 8.2 percent year on year to 1.41 trillion yuan (about 198.8 billion U.S. dollars), the General Administration of Customs said Thursday. Imports fell 10.2 percent to 1.09 trillion yuan last month, resulting in a trade surplus of 318.15 billion yuan. Foreign trade of goods inched down 0.7 percent year on year in April to 2.5 trillion yuan, narrowing from a drop of 6.4-percent in Q1. -- Over 90 percent of the respondents in a recent survey said they have resumed their work as the novel coronavirus epidemic subsides in China, according to a survey by China Youth Daily. Over 58 percent of the people having resumed work said their employers have fully restored ordinary work, according to the survey. Over 34 percent said their employers practice rotating working hours, and around 45 percent said they have been asked to either work from home or adopt flexible working time. -- Central China's Hubei Province launched 464 new projects with an average investment of more than 100 million yuan in April, according to local authorities. The province, once hardest hit by COVID-19, has launched a total of 979 projects from late January to end of April, covering transportation infrastructure, environmental protection and other fields. More than 93 percent of workers in the projects that were launched before the festival have resumed work across Hubei, and the percentage in Wuhan, the capital of the province, was 74.4 percent, the Hubei Provincial Development and Reform Commission said. -- Chinese online payment clearinghouse NetsUnion Clearing Corporation reported surging daily transactions during the just-concluded Labor Day holiday. During the five-day holiday, daily transactions processed by the platform rose 54.59 percent year on year to exceed 1.35 billion, according to the company. Enditem A sweeper cleans a road in front of sugarcane displayed for sale at a wholesale market in Kolkata By Rajendra Jadhav MUMBAI (Reuters) - Sugar exports from India have gained momentum due to strong demand from Indonesia and Iran as the rupee slid to a record low, increasing exporters' margins from overseas sales, five industry officials told Reuters. Higher exports from India, the world's biggest producer of sugar, could put pressure on global prices and limit shipments from rivals such as Brazil and Thailand. "In the last few days, Iran and Indonesia were buying for May and June shipments," Rahil Shaikh, managing director of trading company MEIR Commodities India, told Reuters. Indian sugar mills have already dispatched 3.7 million tonnes out of around 4.1 million tonnes of contracts signed for exports in the 2019/20 marketing year ending on Sept. 30, Shaikh and two other dealers with global trading companies, said. Traders have shipped 719,922 tonnes to Iran so far in the season, while Indonesia bought a record 324,112 tonnes, according to data released by All India Sugar Trade Association (AISTA) on Thursday. PALM DIPLOMACY Indonesia has increased imports of Indian sugar after New Delhi boosted purchases of Indonesian palm oil amid a spat with rival supplier Malaysia, dealers said. Indonesia and Malaysia account for 85% of the world's palm oil output while India is the biggest buyer of the edible oil. India effectively halted imports of refined palm oil from Malaysia in early January which sources have said was in retaliation for Malaysia's criticisms over a citizenship law. Large scale Indian exports to Indonesia were made possible after Jakarta changed purity regulations for sugar imports, said Shaikh. Malaysia has also stepped up purchases since February and has so far bought a record 327,292 tonnes of sugar, according to data compiled by AISTA. Indonesian buying has now slowed but Iran is still making purchases, said a Mumbai-based dealer with global trading firm, who is not authorised to speak to the media. India's total sugar exports in the current marketing year could rise above 5 million tonnes, up from earlier trade estimates of 4.5 million tonnes, the dealer said. Story continues Some industry officials, including Praful Vithalani, president of AISTA, expect mills will able to achieve 6 million tonnes target set by New Delhi for the current marketing year. The depreciation in rupee to a record low has been offsetting drop in global prices and making exports lucrative, Vithalani said. India had set an export target of 5 million tonnes for 2018/19, but mills managed to export only 3.8 million tonnes despite incentives provided by New Delhi. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Jan Harvey and Jne Merriman) First, Venezuelan officials said they had thwarted a predawn invasion aimed at killing Maduro. Then Goudreau appeared in a video with a former Venezuelan military officer in battle fatigues. The men proclaimed the start of an operation to liberate Venezuela, and Goudreau said participants had entered the country. But by then the mission apparently infiltrated by Maduros agents had already sustained a devastating blow, with eight men killed and two captured. On Monday, 11 others were detained, two of them Goudreaus fellow former Green Berets. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 04:20:08|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, May 6 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations is working with national and local authorities in Brazil and Ecuador to curb the spread of COVID-19 among indigenous peoples, especially in the Amazon and other native regions, a UN spokesman said on Wednesday. In Brazil, according to official figures, there are 139 confirmed cases and eight deaths among indigenous peoples, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The latest figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday showed 107,780 cases of COVID-19 in Brazil with 7,321 deaths, and 31,881 cases in Ecuador with 1,569 deaths. The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), the WHO's regional office for the Americas, is supporting Brazil's plan to curb the spread of the virus, including boosting surveillance of severe respiratory and flu syndromes, training health teams and conducting outreach in several languages, Dujarric said. Working with Brazil's health ministry, the PAHO is monitoring cases of the virus among indigenous peoples and supporting the flu vaccination campaign. Also in Brazil, the UN Women is monitoring the impact of the pandemic on indigenous women. It is working for their inclusion in the decision-making process related to the pandemic, as well as ensuring adequate health care, the spokesman said. The UN Women is focusing on pregnant women and the prevention of gender-based violence, according to the spokesman. In Ecuador, the UN team has purchased chlorine for water treatment and disinfection of health facilities, and the world body is supporting a radio campaign in both Spanish and Kichwa to reach indigenous communities, said Dujarric. Enditem Ukrainian Ex-Prosecutor Ryaboshapka Under Investigation By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service May 06, 2020 KYIV -- Former Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Ruslan Ryaboshapka, who was forced out in a parliamentary vote of no confidence two months ago, is now under investigation. Ukraine's Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office told RFE/RL on May 6 that it had opened "criminal proceedings" against Ryaboshapka for what the Criminal Code describes as "declaring false information" and "accepting an offer, promise, or obtaining an illicit benefit by an official." "We have complied with a court's decision and filed a case at the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations on Prior Legal Qualification under Articles 366-1 and Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine," the office's representatives said. Ryaboshapka was not available for immediate comment. Ryaboshapka was well-regarded by anti-corruption activists for his efforts to streamline and professionalize the scandal-ridden Prosecutor-General's Office. The 43-year-old Ryaboshapka made headlines last year as one of the officials to decide whether to launch a probe into former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter over the younger Biden's role at energy firm Burisma Holdings. The case was entangled in the impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump. Ryaboshapka served as prosecutor-general from August 29, 2019, until March 5. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukrainian- ex-prosecutor-ryaboshapka-under- investigation/30597499.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israeli Supreme Court Approves Netanyahu-Gantz Coalition Deal, New Govt to Be Sworn In 13 May Sputnik News 20:27 GMT 06.05.2020(updated 22:17 GMT 06.05.2020) On Wednesday, the High Court of Justice has unanimously rejected the petitions against Benjamin Netanyahu forming the new government while being under indictment, as well as those against Netanyahu and Gantz making a coalition deal. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz have issued a statement on their agreement to swear in a new government on 13 May, which was approved by the Supreme Court. The High Court, consisting of 11 judges, on Wednesday unanimously ruled that there is "no reason to interfere with the Cabinet's imposition of Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud-Blue coalition agreement", according to state-run Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. A petition that sought to invalidate the coalition agreement was also rejected. "The judge did well to not intervene. The people are sovereign in Israel, and it has spoken", Culture Minister Miri Regev from Netanyahu's Likud party said, cited by the Times of Israel. The judges noted that although the coalition agreement "raises serious legal difficulties", there is no precedent to intervene in its clauses. The reconciliation of Netanyahu and Gantz followed three fruitless elections, after which they both announced an 'emergency' government last month, vowing to put aside their rivalry to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. In late April, the two former rivals signed a 14-page pact that envisages the division of power between them so that the creation of a government could be possible. Under their adopted deal, Netanyahu will remain the prime minister for 18 more months, while Gantz will hold the position of defence minister and will subsequently replace Netanyahu. Earlier in the year, the Israeli PM was indicted on charges of accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust, which he repeatedly denied, labeling them a politically motivated "witch hunt". A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Portland police are investigating reports of anti-LGBTQ vandalism at a Southwest Portland church that has hung a rainbow flag outside its doors for at least a decade. Police were called to the Hillsdale Community Church, United Church of Christ on Sunday morning after neighbors spotted homophobic slurs and signs painted on the front doors and sides of the building. Police again responded to the church early Wednesday morning after a brick was thrown through a window. The brick had a piece of paper attached to it with homophobic slurs, according to the churchs pastor, Rev. Gabrielle Chavez. The Portland Police Bureau said detectives are investigating the incidents as potential bias crimes. When Chavez arrived at the church Sunday, a group of eight neighbors and congregants were already helping to clean the writing off the front of the church, the pastor said. One neighbor brought lilacs to add beauty and love to what was an ugly situation, Chavez said. The group was able to clean up the damage on the front of the church, but the church still had to hire a restoration company to clean the sides of the building. We have compassion and concern for the person or persons that is damaged enough to inflict this damage, who is so broken that they attack other people they hate, Chavez said. Our main response has been appreciation for the neighborhood. Just like everyone is saying during the COVID-19 crisis, were all in this together. This is our way of being reminded as a neighborhood that were all in this together. The church thanked its congregants and neighbors for helping to clean up the vandalism in a Facebook post Tuesday. From dirt rise beautiful flowers," congregant Dennis Frengle was quoted as saying in the post. "From an ugly incident like this came beautiful actions from our loving neighbors that fill our hearts and truly humble us. These loving strangers, seeing a hurtful act, took the time out of their Sunday and spent many hours to clean up our church to correct a wrong. God bless you all. The United Church of Christ says in its list of beliefs that it does not view race, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, class or creed as an impediment to full participation in the church. The Hillsdale Community Church, United Church of Christ has displayed a rainbow flag for at least a decade, Chavez said. Chavez said vandals have targeted the church in the past with homophobic signage. Its painful, Chavez said. Weve hung out our rainbow flag there at least 10 years. We know its important to be a witness to the neighbors that were loving and accepting of all people. Were going to hold to our values." Chavez said the church was hoping to hold a virtual community meeting to discuss the incidents, since the COVID-19 crisis prevents congregants and neighbors from gathering together at the church. Police asked anyone with information about the crimes to contact Det. Jeff Sharp by calling 503-823-9773 or emailing jeff.sharp@portlandoregon.gov, or to conact Det. Shaye Samora by calling 503-823-0768 or emailing shaye.samora@portlandoregon.gov. -- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com | @jamiebgoldberg Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Students wearing face masks as a preventive measure to curb the spread of COVID-19 collect their lunch at an elementary school in Taipei. (AFP/Sam Yeh) The United States itself has yet to confirm its participation in the May 18-19 talks of the World Health Assembly, which comes after President Donald Trump vowed to slash funding for the UN body. "I want to call on all nations, including those in Europe, to support Taiwan's participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly and other relevant United Nations venues," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters. "I also call upon WHO Director-General Tedros (Adhanom Ghebreyesus) to invite Taiwan to observe this month's WHA, as he has the power to do, and as his predecessors have done on multiple occasions," he said. China, which wields a veto on the UN Security Council, considers Taiwan a province awaiting reunification and fights to block it from all international institutions. China's defeated nationalists fled to Taiwan in 1949 but the island has evolved into a vibrant, self-ruling democracy. Taiwan has become a model for its swift response to the coronavirus outbreak, with just six deaths despite its close proximity and economic ties with China, and has donated masks and other supplies around the world. The Trump administration has lashed out at the WHO and Beijing over the illness, which originated in the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan and has since killed more than 250,000 people worldwide. Critics say that Trump is seeking to deflect from his own handling of the crisis, with the United States suffering by far the world's highest death toll. The State Department did not reply to questions on whether the United States will take part in the World Health Assembly, which sets global health policy and is generally attended by health ministers or other senior officials. Until Trump's announcement, the United States was the top contributor to the WHO, giving more than US$400 million a year to help global efforts on fighting myriad illnesses including malaria and polio. FWICE Demands Producers Pay Workers In A Timely Manner, To Resume Shoots By June End With Precautions, Read Details The roar of the Blue Angels reverberated throughout the Medical Center on Wednesday as the Naval flight squadron paid tribute to those working to treat COVID-19 patients. Blue skies were waiting for the dozens of people who filled the Cambridge Street bridge in the minutes leading up to the 12:30 p.m. flyby for frontline medical workers. Among them were families staying at the nearby Ronald McDonald House who walked over with their young children to see the F/A-18 Hornets arrive from Dallas. First-time Blue Angels observers Diana and David Campos, of Amarillo, have been in Houston since January for their 8-month-old son, Elian, to receive a liver transplant even while the novel coronavirus pandemic started sweeping through Harris County. Its a little hard but we have to be here, Diana Campos said. Its for our baby. The couple made sure little Elian didnt catch too much sun after recently undergoing the transplant. Elian is on the mend and the family is slated soon to return to the Panhandle. Now Playing: The famed Blue Angels Naval flight squadron paid tribute to those working to treat COVID-19 patients with a Houston Medical Center flyby on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Video by Houston Chronicle Multimedia Producer Laura Duclos Photos and video by Houston Chronicle photojournalists Elizabeth Conley, Brett Coomer, Marie D. De Jesus, Steve Gonzales, Jay Jordan, Yi-Chin Lee, Mark Mulligan, Melissa Phillip, Godofredo A. Vasquez and Karen Warren. Video: Chron Five-year-old Mariana, who started chemotherapy this week, joined the Campos family while waiting for her mother, Mariana Escamilla, to catch up. The girl, wearing a mask, moved her whole body to watch the famed aerobatic team speed over her head. Her mother soon arrived and said the two of them came from Nuevo Laredo in May 2019 to start her leukemia treatment. Campos translated for Escamilla. The two became friends through their time at the charity housing. Shes so strong, Escamilla said in Spanish of her daughter. Houstonians gathered wherever they could on top of parking garages, apartment complexes and even stopping on the side of the Texas 288 on-ramp to catch a look at the Blue Angels. The fighter jets made one last pass north of downtown Houston, giving joggers at Eleanor Tinsley Park in Montrose a view of their contrails. The planes then passed over Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base with plans to continue on to New Orleans as salute to first responders, health-care and other essential workers. nicole.hensley@chron.com Sometimes prayer is not enough to fix relationship problems, Pastor John Gray says Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment He leads one of the largest churches in Greenville, South Carolina, but Pastor John Gray said he doesnt believe prayer is enough to handle all the problems that can emerge in marriages. Gray, who leads Relentless Church and has previously admitted to being on the verge of divorce, made the declaration on a recent episode of Jada Pinkett Smiths Facebook Show Red Table Talk, co-hosted by Pinkett Smiths daughter, Willow Smith, and her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris. The episode, in which Gray appeared with his wife, Aventer, was billed How Your Relationship Can Survive Quarantine. The reason why this conversation is so impacting to me is because as a man of faith, what sometimes happens with the theological construct is that we think that our higher power will somehow fix it all. And sometimes prayer is not enough. You can sometimes talk to somebody that has walked through things that you dont know. I needed this because there are some areas of unattended manhood that need to be addressed, Gray said after receiving advice from relationship counselor Michaela Boehm, which he and his wife both found illuminating. Pinkett-Smith started the conversation by highlighting how she realized during the pandemic how little she and her husband, movie star Will Smith, knew about each other. Will and I are in the process of him taking the time to learn to love himself, me taking the time to learn to love myself right, and us building a friendship along the way. And let me tell you thats been somethin, she said. To be married to someone for 20-some-odd years and then realize, I dont know you and you dont know me. But also realizing too theres an aspect of yourself that you dont know either. Gray explained that he was also learning to appreciate who is wife is during the pandemic. And that for me is the biggest revelation. I think Aventer, shes had a consistent role in this marriage, while I tried to figure out what my role was. Thats not just in a marriage. Im talking about as the man. I have been forced into intimacy over the last four weeks. And when Willow said, you cant spell divorce without C-O-V-I-D, well what I think is that I dont think people are willing to divorce because of these four weeks. I think truth is being presented and were finally revealing and being revealed for who we actually are, he said. Theres a distance between who we thought we were and who we actually know. And so for me, I can be honest to say that I didnt understand all of the value and the gifts that my wife carried. Even if I could sympathize with her, I have not empathized. Theres a difference between sympathy and empathy. One is I feel sorry for you, youve done a great job. The other is, Im putting myself in your shoes. And I have never stopped to say what does it mean to be a wife, a mother, an executive whos doing all these different things and for me; I dont know how to stay. I will travel a quarter of a million miles a year so for me, I know how to leave, not stay. The pastors wife quickly interjected that while he was trying to understand her in all her roles, he failed to see her as a woman. You neglected to say, just a woman first, Aventer Gray said. You said all those things, you see me as the wife, you see me as the mom, you see me as whatever it is that you need me to fulfill at that moment and I think the hardship that comes in marriage is, the tension comes in because you cannot reconcile that we singularly have so much value without all the other titles that we wear, she said. Pinkett Smith noted that wives can sometimes fail just as easily as husbands to see the value in their spouses. I often think sometimes we kinda fall into that as well. Its like we can only see them as husbands. I know Ive had this issue, youre a husband, youre a provider, youre this and youre supposed to take care of me like this and like that and so I could only see in that little box and not really see the value of Will outside of all the little compartments I needed him to excel in for me, she said. Boehm was then brought into the discussion to show how couples can see each other outside of their perceived roles. One of the first things that we have to always remember is that when we meet somebody we dont actually know them. The first thing that kicks in is our projection of them. Then there comes a moment when the honeymoon is over and you suddenly realize that oops, you are married to an actual person, not to the figment of your imagination or fantasy, the counselor said. They have bad habits and you have bad habits and at that point people also throw children in the mix. So then it becomes even more complicated. Ten, 15 years can pass and they come to an impasse because they are no longer the people they were when they first met. Boehm urged couples to work on occasionally making sure that their relationship is current as people change over time. I always say in a relationship, there is one partner, the other partner and theres a third partner and thats the relationship itself which has a dynamic. And at some point the dynamic of the relationship takes over from the individuals. And at that point, its a tough thing because at that point, you have what I call the always already listening, she said. You already know what that [person] is going to do. You are no longer connected to them, the intimacy is gone, she said, prompting the panelists to react in agreement, including Gray and his wife. Boehm further noted that couples should treat the ongoing quarantine time as a type of honeymoon where they work on focusing on deeper connections so that when life gets busy again, they will appreciate each other from a fresh perspective. What makes a honeymoon moment a honeymoon moment is you sit around, you talk a lot, you exchange ideas, you have great plans for the future, youre deeply connected, things we no longer do when were really busy, she said. So that will, of course, also mean that some old resentments are going to come up. Youre going to have trust issues, youre going to have things that have never been said. I would say for the time being, leave that aside. But for right now what you want to do is you want to anchor the positive feelings. You want to have as much of that epiphany and honeymoon and the lighthearted moments in your body so that when you go separate ways, you have positive memories that override a lot of the negative moments, she said. Rouhani Warns of 'Crushing Response' if Arms Embargo Against Iran Extended Sputnik News 06:31 GMT 06.05.2020(updated 08:21 GMT 06.05.2020) Earlier this week, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said that Tehran would oppose any efforts by the UN Security Council to extend an arms embargo on the country. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Tehran will deal a 'crushing response' if the arms embargo against the country is extended, and added that US President Donald Trump had made a stupid mistake by exiting the 2015 Nuclear Deal. "If America wants to return to the deal, it should lift all the sanctions on Tehran and compensate for the reimposition of sanctions ... Iran will give a crushing response if the arms embargo on Tehran is extended," Rouhani said on Wednesday. The Trump administration has been trying to extend the United Nations ban on the sale of conventional weapons to Iran beyond the October deadline, proposing sanctions and even considering making the argument that the US is still effectively a party to the Iran nuclear deal, despite its decision to withdraw from the agreement in May 2018. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has earlier pledged that Washington will do everything in its power to extend the punitive measures placed on Tehran. The US has enforced a policy of so-called maximum pressure on Iran since 2018 when the US withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the nuclear deal reached between Iran, Russia, China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union in 2015. In 2015, Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and the European Union. It required Iran to scale back its nuclear program and severely downgrade its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief, including lifting the arms embargo five years after the deal's adoption. In 2018, the United States abandoned its conciliatory policy on Iran, withdrawing from the JCPOA and hitting Iranian petroleum industries with sanctions. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel on Thursday expressed its "deepest sympathies" to the families of the victims of the gas leak tragedy in Visakhapatnam and prayed for the early recovery of those affected. "I send my deepest sympathies to the families of the victims of the #VizaGasLeak and wish a speedy recovery to those injured," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a tweet. "The thoughts and prayers of the people of Israel are with the people of #Visakhapatnam as well as @DrSJaishankar and @AdhraPradeshCM at this time," Katz added. The styrene gas leaked from a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam in the early hours of Thursday, killing at least 11 people and impacting about 1,000. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 22:40:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close VALLETTA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Nine migrants -- four children and accompanying adults as well as a pregnant woman -- will be taken to Malta after the government made a special concession for them to be taken to land, a government spokesman confirmed on Thursday. They are part of a larger group of around 120 migrants rescued by the Armed Forces of Malta on Wednesday and earlier on Thursday. Sources said the migrants were rescued from Malta's search and rescue area when they claimed to be in distress. Malta has closed its ports to migrant arrivals and has now chartered a second tourist cruise ship to house the migrants until a solution is found at European Union level. The ship will join another one, which the government chartered last week and which currently has 57 migrants on board. It is moored 13 nautical miles off Malta, in international waters. Enditem Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-Cha directed officials on Thursday to assist tens of thousands of Thais still stranded in Malaysia to come home after borders were sealed due to the coronavirus pandemic. On the same day, Thai authorities lifted requirements for returnees to present health certificates before entering the country, which many had said were costly and difficult to obtain. Prayuth gave the order during a meeting of the national anti-coronavirus task force, Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai told reporters. The prime minister told the foreign ministry to facilitate, take good care of [the workers] in which the ministry did so adequately in all [Malaysian] states, in cooperation with volunteers, Don said. In mid-April, Thai authorities re-opened five of nine checkpoints along Thailands southern border to allow the return of a controlled number of Thai workers, who were stuck in Malaysia because of that countrys COVID-19 lockdown. The Thai premier issued his instructions a day after five members of parliament from the countrys southern provinces urged him to revoke the requirement that returnees provide health certificates before they could be allowed to cross the border. One of the MPs, Anwar Salaeh, told reporters that the requirement was financially prohibitive for the returnees, leading many to seek other ways of returning to Thailand, including forging documents or crossing the border illegally. A spokesman for the national anti-COVID task force said Thursday that authorities had deployed field medical teams at the border to check up on the health of workers who could not obtain fit-to-travel certificates. There are some workers who already followed the procedure. But for those who cant, we are arranging medical teams from southern provinces to give them medical checkup instead, Dr. Taweesilp Wissanuyothin, spokesman for the task force, told BenarNews. Thailand and Malaysia had agreed to allow up to 350 Thai citizens to cross into Thai territory each day via the five checkpoints, starting on April 18. The re-entry program aimed to facilitate the return of some 40,000 Thai workers, most of whom worked in restaurants in Malaysia. But Thailand shut down one of the border checkpoints on April 22 after two officers tested positive for the coronavirus and nearly 70 other officers who worked there were placed under quarantine. That checkpoint has been re-opened after it was closed until April 29 while being fumigated and disinfected, officials said Thailand, which has a population of about 70 million, has temporarily sealed its borders to non-resident foreign nationals, as a safeguard to contain the spread of the highly contagious virus on its soil. Thai health authorities on Thursday reported three new coronavirus infections, taking the cumulative national tally of cases to 2,992, with no new deaths. It has recorded a death toll of 55 since January, but authorities said they were considering easing restrictions, including re-opening more businesses next week after lifting restrictions on some businesses and activities this week. As a result of the new cases dwindling into single digits, the nation could expand its coronavirus testing, potentially reaching up to 400,000 tests, almost double its current level, according to Taweesilp, the task forces spokesman. In the southern border region, facilities have been set up on the Thai side of the frontier to quarantine returnees upon their arrival. More than 7,200 Thais who were stranded in Malaysia have returned through the border as of May 6, according to Thai foreign ministry. That number includes more than 2,100 who entered illegally by foot or through small boats, it said. Those who took illicit routes had been fined and placed into quarantine on the Thai side, officials said. Thai academics and diplomats in Kuala Lumpur interviewed by BenarNews had estimated that about 100,000 Thais work in Malaysia. The Yala-based Thai Islam Medical Association (TIMA), which works with Thai diplomats to coordinate the safe return of the Thai workers, told BenarNews that 40,000 had expressed intentions to return home, but only 11,000 had signed up with the Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Thai workers complain of confusion over requirements On the Malaysian side of the border, workers interviewed by BenarNews complained about issues with online registration, and alleged that the Thai government had made it difficult for them to return home. I cant go home because the Thai government said only 300 people can register daily. The problem is with the registration, said Azmi Mohamad, a 42-year-old cook from Narathiwat. Every day, I tried to register but failed. Its hard to get through the online registration, he said. The Malaysian government has made things easy, but the Thai government is making it hard for us to return home. Nujarin Pong, 35, a masseuse from Yala, said she also had a tough time understanding the online forms. I would like to go home but I do not know how to fill up a travel form online. Many of my friends here are illiterate, Nujarin said. Many of my friends are stranded here because of that. Ramuna Ali, 19, echoed the workers issues with the online registration requirement. I tried to register online for several times, but I failed, said Ramuna, a restaurant worker in the Malaysian west coast state of Selangor. We came from Yala and we want to go home, but we cant even go out to get certificate and we dont have much cash, she told BenarNews. I hope Prayuth could hear our plight. SAN FRANCISCO, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR), a leading global provider of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions, announced today financial results for the first quarter of 2020. All per-share results are presented on a fully-diluted share and unit basis. Highlights Reported net income available to common stockholders of $0.90 per share in 1Q20, compared to $0.46 in 1Q19 per share in 1Q20, compared to in 1Q19 Reported FFO per share of $0.91 in 1Q20, compared to $1.92 in 1Q19 in 1Q20, compared to in 1Q19 Reported core FFO per share of $1.53 in 1Q20, compared to $1.73 in 1Q19 in 1Q20, compared to in 1Q19 Signed total bookings during 1Q20 expected to generate $75 million of annualized GAAP rental revenue, including a $9 million contribution from interconnection (not including an additional $10 million signed by Interxion) of annualized GAAP rental revenue, including a contribution from interconnection (not including an additional signed by Interxion) Issued $652 million of equity under the company's ATM program, including approximately $615 million subsequent to quarter-end of equity under the company's ATM program, including approximately subsequent to quarter-end Introduced 2020 core FFO per share outlook of $5.90 - $6.10 Financial Results Digital Realty reported revenues for the first quarter of 2020 of $823 million, a 5% increase from the previous quarter and a 1% increase from the same quarter last year. The company delivered first quarter of 2020 net income of $229 million, and net income available to common stockholders of $203 million, or $0.90 per diluted share, compared to $1.50 per diluted share in the previous quarter and $0.46 per diluted share in the same quarter last year. Digital Realty generated first quarter of 2020 adjusted EBITDA of $482 million, a 1% increase from the previous quarter and a 1% decrease over the same quarter last year. The company reported first quarter of 2020 funds from operations of $212 million, or $0.91 per share, compared to $1.62 per share in the previous quarter and $1.92 per share in the same quarter last year. Excluding certain items that do not represent core expenses or revenue streams, Digital Realty delivered first quarter of 2020 core FFO per share of $1.53, a 6% decrease from $1.62 per share in the previous quarter, and a 12% decrease from $1.73 per share in the same quarter last year. Leasing Activity In the first quarter, Digital Realty signed total bookings expected to generate $75 million of annualized GAAP rental revenue, including a $9 million contribution from interconnection. These figures do not include any contribution from the combination with Interxion, which was completed on March 12, 2020. Interxion signed total bookings in the first quarter expected to generate an additional $10 million of annualized GAAP rental revenue. "Our hearts go out to all those impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic, and our top priority is the health and safety of our employees, customers and partners," said Digital Realty Chief Executive Officer A. William Stein. "Despite the challenging environment, we continued to execute on our strategic plan, closing our highly strategic combination with Interxion as well as the acquisition of the Westin Building in Seattle while delivering another quarter of solid bookings. Our business is highly resilient, and we remain confident that our global platform will continue to deliver sustainable growth for all stakeholders." The weighted-average lag between leases signed during the first quarter of 2020 and the contractual commencement date was five months. In addition to new leases signed, Digital Realty also signed renewal leases representing $92 million of annualized GAAP rental revenue during the quarter. Rental rates on renewal leases signed during the first quarter of 2020 rolled down 1.5% on a cash basis and up 0.7% on a GAAP basis. New leases signed during the first quarter of 2020 are summarized by region and product type as follows: Annualized GAAP Base Rent GAAP Base Rent GAAP Base Rent The Americas (in thousands) Square Feet per Square Foot Megawatts per Kilowatt Turn-Key Flex $36,750 365,219 $101 34.1 $90 Powered Base Building 301 9,600 31 Colocation 6,146 22,661 271 1.8 286 Non-Technical 204 7,271 28 Total $43,401 404,751 $107 35.9 $100 Europe (1) Turn-Key Flex $5,045 36,703 $137 2.7 $154 Colocation 1,334 4,706 283 0.4 305 Non-Technical 13 129 103 Total $6,393 41,538 $154 3.1 $172 Asia Pacific (1) Turn-Key Flex $16,028 93,520 $171 10.6 $126 Powered Base Building 212 2,000 106 Colocation 40 158 251 367 Non-Technical 131 2,218 59 Total $16,411 97,896 $168 10.6 $126 Interconnection $8,638 N/A N/A N/A N/A Grand Total $74,842 544,185 $122 49.6 $110 Note: Totals may not foot due to rounding differences. (1) Based on quarterly average exchange rates during the three months ended March 31, 2020. Investment Activity Digital Realty completed the previously announced combination with Interxion promptly following expiration of the related exchange offer on March 12, 2020, in which 70,862,736 shares of InterXion, representing approximately 92.3% of total shares outstanding, were tendered. Under the terms of the agreement announced in October 2019, Interxion shareholders received a fixed exchange ratio of 0.7067 Digital Realty shares per Interxion share, valuing Interxion at approximately $8.4 billion of total enterprise value, including assumed net debt. This powerful combination builds upon Digital Realty's established foundation of serving market demand for colocation, scale and hyper-scale requirements in the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific and leverages InterXion's European colocation and interconnection expertise, enhancing the combined company's capabilities to enable customers to solve for the full spectrum of data center requirements across a global platform. The combination of the two organizations establishes a global platform expected to significantly enhance the ability to create long-term value for the customers, stockholders and employees of both companies. On February 25, 2020, Digital Realty closed on the previously announced acquisition of a 49% interest in the Westin Building Exchange in Seattle, WA for approximately $368 million, including the assumption of existing debt. The Westin Building is expected to generate 2020 cash net operating income of approximately $43 million, including management fee synergies, representing a 5.8% cap rate. The Westin Building Exchange serves as the primary interconnection hub for the Pacific Northwest, linking Canada, Alaska and Asia along the Pacific Rim. The building is the sixth most densely interconnected facility in North America, and is home to leading global cloud, content and interconnection providers, housing over 150 carriers and more than 10,000 cross-connects. Balance Sheet Digital Realty completed the following financing transactions during the first quarter of 2020. In mid-January, Digital Realty closed an offering of 1.7 billion of Euro-denominated notes with a weighted-average maturity of approximately seven years and a weighted-average coupon of approximately 1.0%. In mid-March, Digital Realty completed its combination with Interxion and exchanged approximately 54 million shares of DLR common stock for all of the outstanding common shares of Interxion, representing total consideration of approximately $7 billion . . Likewise in mid-March, a portion of the net proceeds from the January Euro bond offering was used to redeem all 1.2 billion of Interxion's outstanding senior notes. During the first quarter of 2020, Digital Realty issued 264,765 shares of common stock under the company's at-the-market equity offering program at a weighted average price of $139.49 per share, generating gross proceeds of approximately $37 million . per share, generating gross proceeds of approximately . Subsequent to quarter-end, Digital Realty issued an additional 4.3 million shares of common stock under the company's at-the-market equity offering program at a weighted average price of $142.56 per share, generating gross proceeds of approximately $615 million . Digital Realty had approximately $12.3 billion of total debt outstanding as of March 31, 2020, comprised of $12.1 billion of unsecured debt and approximately $0.2 billion of secured debt. At the end of the first quarter of 2020, net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA was 6.6x, debt plus-preferred-to-total enterprise value was 26.6% and fixed charge coverage was 3.8x. Pro forma for settlement of the $1.1 billion forward equity offering and the $615 million of equity issued under the ATM subsequent to quarter-end as well a full-quarter contribution from Interxion and the acquisition of a 49% interest in the Westin Building, net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA was 5.1x and fixed charge coverage was 4.8x. COVID-19 Throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic, Digital Realty's data centers around the world have remained fully operational in accordance with business continuity and pandemic response plans, prioritizing the health and safety of employees, customers and partners while ensuring service levels are maintained. Digital Realty data centers have been deemed essential operations, allowing for critical personnel to remain in place and continue to provide services and support for customers. Construction activity has been somewhat delayed in a few markets due to government restrictions in certain locations and/or limited availability of labor. In some instances, these delays are impacting scheduled delivery dates. We are monitoring the situation closely and remain in frequent communication with customers, contractors and suppliers. We have proactively managed our supply chain, and we believe we have acquired the vast majority of the equipment needed to complete our 2020 development activities. We believe we have ample liquidity to fund our business needs, given the $246 million of cash on the balance sheet as of March 31, 2020; the $615 million of equity issued under the company's at-the-market equity offering program subsequent to quarter-end; $1.1 billion available upon physical settlement of the forward equity offering; and $2.0 billion of availability under our global revolving credit facilities. While we have not experienced any significant business disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic to date, we cannot predict what impact the COVID-19 pandemic may have on our future financial condition, results of operations or cash flows due to numerous uncertainties. 2020 Outlook Digital Realty introduced its 2020 core FFO per share outlook of $5.90-$6.10. The assumptions underlying this guidance are summarized in the following table. As of Top-Line and Cost Structure May 7, 2020 Total revenue $3.725 - $3.825 billion Net non-cash rent adjustments (1) ($20 - $30 million) Adjusted EBITDA $2.075 - $2.125 billion G&A $320 - $330 million Internal Growth Rental rates on renewal leases Cash basis Down low single-digits GAAP basis Unchanged Year-end portfolio occupancy (2) 85.0% - 86.0% "Same-capital" cash NOI growth (3) (2.5%) - (3.5%) Foreign Exchange Rates U.S. Dollar / Pound Sterling $1.20 - $1.25 U.S. Dollar / Euro $1.05 - $1.10 External Growth Dispositions Dollar volume $0.6 - $1.0 billion Cap rate 0.0% - 12.0% Development CapEx (4) $1.9 - $2.2 billion Average stabilized yields 9.0% - 15.0% Enhancements and other non-recurring CapEx (5) $5 - $10 million Recurring CapEx + capitalized leasing costs (6) $220 - $230 million Balance Sheet Long-term debt issuance Dollar amount $1.9 billion Pricing 1.00% Timing Early 2020 Net income per diluted share $1.60 - $1.75 Real estate depreciation and (gain) / loss on sale $3.50 - $3.50 Funds From Operations / share (NAREIT-Defined) $5.10 - $5.25 Non-core expenses and revenue streams $0.80 - $0.85 Core Funds From Operations / share $5.90 - $6.10 Foreign currency translation adjustments $0.05 - $0.15 Constant-Currency Core FFO / share $5.95 - $6.25 (1) Net non-cash rent adjustments represent the sum of straight-line rental revenue and straight-line rent expense, as well as the amortization of above- and below-market leases (i.e., ASC 805 adjustments). (2) Reflects inclusion of the Interxion portfolio, which was approximately 75% occupied as of March 31, 2020. (3) The "same-capital" pool includes properties owned as of December 31, 2018 with less than 5% of total rentable square feet under development. It also excludes properties that were undergoing, or were expected to undergo, development activities in 20192020, properties classified as held for sale, and properties sold or contributed to joint ventures for all periods presented. (4) Includes land acquisitions. (5) Other non-recurring CapEx represents costs incurred to enhance the capacity or marketability of operating properties, such as network fiber initiatives and software development costs. (6) Recurring CapEx represents non-incremental improvements required to maintain current revenues, including second-generation tenant improvements and leasing commissions. Non-GAAP Financial Measures This press release contains non-GAAP financial measures, including FFO, core FFO, and Adjusted EBITDA. A reconciliation from U.S. GAAP net income available to common stockholders to FFO, a reconciliation from FFO to core FFO, and definitions of FFO and core FFO are included as an attachment to this document. A reconciliation from U.S. GAAP net income available to common stockholders to Adjusted EBITDA, a definition of Adjusted EBITDA and definitions of net debt-to-Adjusted EBITDA, debt-plus-preferred-to-total enterprise value, cash NOI, and fixed charge coverage ratio are included as an attachment to this document. Investor Conference Call Prior to Digital Realty's investor conference call at 5:30 p.m. EDT / 2:30 p.m. PDT on May 7, 2020, a presentation will be posted to the Investors section of the company's website at https://investor.digitalrealty.com/. The presentation is designed to accompany the discussion of the company's first quarter 2020 financial results and operating performance. The conference call will feature Chief Executive Officer A. William Stein and Chief Financial Officer Andrew P. Power. To participate in the live call, investors are invited to dial (888) 317-6003 (for domestic callers) or (412) 317-6061 (for international callers) and reference the conference ID# 6715656 at least five minutes prior to start time. A live webcast of the call will be available via the Investors section of Digital Realty's website at https://investor.digitalrealty.com/. Telephone and webcast replays will be available after the call until June 8, 2020. The telephone replay can be accessed by dialing (877) 344-7529 (for domestic callers) or (412) 317-0088 (for international callers) and providing the conference ID# 10142172. The webcast replay can be accessed on Digital Realty's website. About Digital Realty Digital Realty supports the data center, colocation and interconnection strategies of customers across the Americas, EMEA and APAC, ranging from cloud and information technology services, communications and social networking to financial services, manufacturing, energy, healthcare and consumer products. To learn more about Digital Realty, please visit digitalrealty.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. Contact Information Andrew P. Power Chief Financial Officer Digital Realty (415) 7386500 John J. Stewart Investor Relations Digital Realty (415) 7386500 Consolidated Quarterly Statements of Operations Financial Supplement Unaudited and in Thousands, Except Per Share Data First Quarter 2020 Three Months Ended 31-Mar-20 31-Dec-19 30-Sep-19 30-Jun-19 31-Mar-19 Rental revenues $579,774 $549,733 $564,975 $565,925 $585,425 Tenant reimbursements - Utilities 113,520 107,518 114,719 106,409 102,569 Tenant reimbursements - Other 56,943 59,641 57,466 62,820 55,868 Interconnection & other 69,835 65,576 65,312 64,232 68,168 Fee income 2,452 4,814 3,994 925 1,921 Other 813 181 486 564 Total Operating Revenues $823,337 $787,463 $806,466 $800,797 $814,515 Utilities $129,526 $125,127 $132,565 $123,398 $124,334 Rental property operating 136,182 129,034 126,866 128,634 130,620 Property taxes 42,123 42,541 38,255 41,482 37,315 Insurance 3,547 3,055 3,103 3,441 2,991 Depreciation & amortization 291,457 275,008 286,718 290,562 311,486 General & administration 62,266 53,540 49,862 52,318 51,976 Severance, equity acceleration, and legal expenses 1,272 1,130 123 665 1,483 Transaction and integration expenses 56,801 17,106 4,115 4,210 2,494 Impairment of investments in real estate 5,351 Other expenses 114 1,989 92 7,115 4,922 Total Operating Expenses $723,288 $648,530 $641,699 $651,825 $672,972 Operating Income $100,049 $138,933 $164,767 $148,972 $141,543 Equity in (loss) earnings of unconsolidated joint ventures ($78,996) $11,157 ($19,269) $6,962 $9,217 Gain on sale / deconsolidation 304,801 267,651 67,497 Interest and other income (expense), net (3,542) 10,734 16,842 16,980 21,444 Interest (expense) (85,800) (80,880) (84,574) (86,051) (101,552) Income tax benefit (expense) (7,182) 1,731 (4,826) (4,634) (4,266) Loss from early extinguishment of debt (632) (5,366) (20,905) (12,886) Net Income $228,698 $349,326 $67,574 $61,324 $120,997 Net (income) attributable to noncontrolling interests (4,684) (13,042) (1,077) (1,156) (4,185) Net Income Attributable to Digital Realty Trust, Inc. $224,014 $336,284 $66,497 $60,168 $116,812 Preferred stock dividends, including undeclared dividends (21,155) (20,707) (16,670) (16,670) (20,943) Issuance costs associated with redeemed preferred stock (11,760) Net Income Available to Common Stockholders $202,859 $315,577 $49,827 $31,738 $95,869 Weighted-average shares outstanding - basic 222,163,324 208,776,355 208,421,470 208,284,407 207,809,383 Weighted-average shares outstanding - diluted 224,474,295 210,286,278 209,801,771 209,435,572 208,526,249 Weighted-average fully diluted shares and units 232,753,630 218,901,078 218,755,597 218,497,318 217,756,161 Net income per share - basic $0.91 $1.51 $0.24 $0.15 $0.46 Net income per share - diluted $0.90 $1.50 $0.24 $0.15 $0.46 Funds From Operations and Core Funds From Operations Financial Supplement Unaudited and in Thousands, Except Per Share Data First Quarter 2020 Three Months Ended Reconciliation of Net Income to Funds From Operations (FFO) 31-Mar-20 31-Dec-19 30-Sep-19 30-Jun-19 31-Mar-19 Net Income Available to Common Stockholders $202,859 $315,577 $49,827 $31,738 $95,869 Adjustments: Non-controlling interests in operating partnership 7,800 13,100 2,300 1,400 4,300 Real estate related depreciation & amortization (1) 286,517 271,371 283,090 286,915 307,864 Unconsolidated JV real estate related depreciation & amortization 19,923 21,631 13,612 13,623 3,851 (Gain) on real estate transactions (304,801) (267,651) Impairment of investments in real estate 5,351 Funds From Operations $212,298 $354,028 $348,829 $333,676 $417,235 Funds From Operations - diluted $212,298 $354,028 $348,829 $333,676 $417,235 Weighted-average shares and units outstanding - basic 230,443 217,391 217,375 217,346 217,039 Weighted-average shares and units outstanding - diluted (2) 232,754 218,901 218,756 218,497 217,756 Funds From Operations per share - basic $0.92 $1.63 $1.60 $1.54 $1.92 Funds From Operations per share - diluted (2) $0.91 $1.62 $1.59 $1.53 $1.92 Three Months Ended Reconciliation of FFO to Core FFO 31-Mar-20 31-Dec-19 30-Sep-19 30-Jun-19 31-Mar-19 Funds From Operations - diluted $212,298 $354,028 $348,829 $333,676 $417,235 Adjustments: Termination fees and other non-core revenues (3) (2,425) (5,634) (16,792) (16,826) (14,445) Transaction and integration expenses 56,801 17,106 4,115 4,210 2,494 Loss from early extinguishment of debt 632 5,366 20,905 12,886 Issuance costs associated with redeemed preferred stock 11,760 Severance, equity acceleration, and legal expenses (4) 1,272 1,130 123 665 1,483 (Gain) / Loss on FX revaluation 81,288 (10,422) 23,136 (4,251) 9,604 (Gain) on contribution to unconsolidated joint venture, net of related tax (58,497) Other non-core expense adjustments 5,509 (1,511) 92 7,115 4,922 Core Funds From Operations - diluted $355,375 $354,697 $364,869 $357,254 $375,682 Weighted-average shares and units outstanding - diluted (2) 232,754 218,901 218,756 218,497 217,756 Core Funds From Operations per share - diluted (2) $1.53 $1.62 $1.67 $1.64 $1.73 (1) Real Estate Related Depreciation & Amortization: Three Months Ended 31-Mar-20 31-Dec-19 30-Sep-19 30-Jun-19 31-Mar-19 Depreciation & amortization per income statement $291,457 $275,008 $286,718 $290,562 $311,486 Non-real estate depreciation (4,940) (3,637) (3,628) (3,647) (3,622) Real Estate Related Depreciation & Amortization $286,517 $271,371 $283,090 $286,915 $307,864 (2) For all periods presented, we have excluded the effect of dilutive series C, series G, series H, series I, series J, series K and series L preferred stock, as applicable, that may be converted into common stock upon the occurrence of specified change in control transactions as described in the articles supplementary governing the series C, series G, series H, series I, series J, series K and series L preferred stock, as applicable, which we consider highly improbable. See above for calculations of diluted FFO and the share count detail section of the reconciliation of core FFO to AFFO for calculations of weighted average common stock and units outstanding. For definitions and discussion of FFO and core FFO, see the definition section. (3) Includes lease termination fees and certain other adjustments that are not core to our business. (4) Relates to severance and other charges related to the departure of company executives and integration-related severance. Adjusted Funds From Operations (AFFO) Financial Supplement Unaudited and in Thousands, Except Per Share Data First Quarter 2020 Three Months Ended Reconciliation of Core FFO to AFFO 31-Mar-20 31-Dec-19 30-Sep-19 30-Jun-19 31-Mar-19 Core FFO available to common stockholders and unitholders $355,375 $354,697 $364,869 $357,254 $375,682 Adjustments: Non-real estate depreciation 4,940 3,637 3,628 3,647 3,622 Amortization of deferred financing costs 4,260 3,064 2,900 2,905 4,493 Amortization of debt discount/premium 943 612 466 515 760 Non-cash stock-based compensation expense 12,153 8,937 8,906 9,468 7,592 Straight-line rental revenue (15,404) (13,994) (12,764) (13,033) (15,979) Straight-line rental expense 1,460 (342) (209) 318 1,235 Above- and below-market rent amortization 3,294 4,109 2,824 3,954 6,210 Deferred tax expense (792) (998) (1,418) (979) (15,397) Leasing compensation & internal lease commissions (1) 2,793 3,646 3,254 4,025 3,581 Recurring capital expenditures (2) (34,677) (54,731) (48,408) (39,515) (38,059) AFFO available to common stockholders and unitholders (3) $334,345 $308,637 $324,048 $328,559 $333,740 Weighted-average shares and units outstanding - basic 230,443 217,391 217,375 217,346 217,039 Weighted-average shares and units outstanding - diluted (4) 232,754 218,901 218,756 218,497 217,756 AFFO per share - diluted (4) $1.44 $1.41 $1.48 $1.50 $1.53 Dividends per share and common unit $1.12 $1.08 $1.08 $1.08 $1.08 Diluted AFFO Payout Ratio 78.0% 76.6% 72.9% 71.8% 70.5% Three Months Ended Share Count Detail 31-Mar-20 31-Dec-19 30-Sep-19 30-Jun-19 31-Mar-19 Weighted Average Common Stock and Units Outstanding 230,443 217,391 217,375 217,346 217,039 Add: Effect of dilutive securities 2,311 1,510 1,381 1,151 717 Weighted Avg. Common Stock and Units Outstanding - diluted 232,754 218,901 218,756 218,497 217,756 (1) The company adopted ASC 842 in the first quarter of 2019. (2) Recurring capital expenditures represent non-incremental building improvements required to maintain current revenues, including second-generation tenant improvements and external leasing commissions. Recurring capital expenditures do not include acquisition costs contemplated when underwriting the purchase of a building, costs which are incurred to bring a building up to Digital Realty's operating standards, or internal leasing commissions. (3) For a definition and discussion of AFFO, see the definitions section. For a reconciliation of net income available to common stockholders to FFO and core FFO, see above. (4) For all periods presented, we have excluded the effect of dilutive series C, series G, series H, series I, series J, series K and series L preferred stock, as applicable, that may be converted into common stock upon the occurrence of specified change in control transactions as described in the articles supplementary governing the series C, series G, series H, series I, series J, series K and series L preferred stock, as applicable, which we consider highly improbable. See above for calculations of diluted FFO available to common stockholders and unitholders and for calculations of weighted average common stock and units outstanding. Consolidated Balance Sheets Financial Supplement Unaudited and in Thousands, Except Share and Per Share Data First Quarter 2020 31-March-20 31-Dec-19 30-Sep-19 30-Jun-19 31-Mar-19 Assets Investments in real estate: Real estate $20,477,290 $16,886,592 $16,407,080 $17,324,416 $16,988,322 Construction in progress 2,204,869 1,732,555 1,647,130 1,685,056 1,584,327 Land held for future development 137,447 147,597 150,265 152,368 163,081 Investments in real estate $22,819,606 $18,766,744 $18,204,475 $19,161,840 $18,735,730 Accumulated depreciation and amortization (4,694,713) (4,536,169) (4,298,629) (4,312,357) (4,124,002) Net Investments in Properties $18,124,893 $14,230,575 $13,905,846 $14,849,483 $14,611,728 Investment in unconsolidated joint ventures 1,064,009 1,287,109 1,035,861 979,350 930,326 Net Investments in Real Estate $19,188,902 $15,517,684 $14,941,707 $15,828,833 $15,542,054 Cash and cash equivalents $246,480 $89,817 $7,190 $33,536 $123,879 Accounts and other receivables (1) 527,699 305,501 304,712 320,938 328,009 Deferred rent 484,179 478,744 471,516 491,486 479,640 Customer relationship value, deferred leasing costs and other intangibles, net 3,500,588 2,195,324 2,245,017 2,499,564 2,580,624 Acquired above-market leases, net 66,033 74,815 84,315 94,474 106,044 Goodwill 7,466,046 3,363,070 3,338,168 3,353,538 3,358,463 Assets associated with real estate held for sale 229,934 967,527 Operating lease right-of-use assets (2) 1,364,621 628,681 634,085 648,952 660,586 Other assets 268,752 184,561 178,528 158,770 162,768 Total Assets $33,113,300 $23,068,131 $23,172,765 $23,430,091 $23,342,067 Liabilities and Equity Global unsecured revolving credit facilities $603,101 $234,105 $1,833,512 $1,417,675 $842,975 Unsecured term loans 771,425 810,219 796,232 807,922 807,726 Unsecured senior notes, net of discount 10,637,006 8,973,190 8,189,138 8,511,656 8,523,462 Secured debt, net of premiums 239,800 104,934 105,153 105,325 105,493 Operating lease liabilities (2) 1,431,292 693,539 699,381 714,256 725,470 Accounts payable and other accrued liabilities 1,732,318 1,007,761 938,740 984,812 922,571 Accrued dividends and distributions 234,620 Acquired below-market leases 145,208 148,774 153,422 183,832 192,667 Security deposits and prepaid rent 336,583 208,724 203,708 213,549 221,526 Liabilities associated with assets held for sale 2,700 23,534 Total Liabilities $15,896,733 $12,418,566 $12,942,820 $12,939,027 $12,341,890 Redeemable non-controlling interests - operating partnership 40,027 41,465 19,090 17,344 17,678 Equity Preferred Stock: $0.01 par value per share, 110,000,000 shares authorized: Series C Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock (3) $219,250 $219,250 $219,250 $219,250 $219,250 Series G Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (4) 241,468 241,468 241,468 241,468 241,468 Series H Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (5) 353,290 Series I Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (6) 242,012 242,012 242,012 242,012 242,012 Series J Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (7) 193,540 193,540 193,540 193,540 193,540 Series K Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (8) 203,264 203,264 203,264 203,264 203,423 Series L Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (9) 334,886 334,886 Common Stock: $0.01 par value per share, 392,000,000 shares authorized (10) 2,622 2,073 2,069 2,067 2,066 Additional paid-in capital 18,606,766 11,577,320 11,540,980 11,511,519 11,492,766 Dividends in excess of earnings (3,139,350) (3,046,579) (3,136,668) (2,961,307) (2,767,708) Accumulated other comprehensive (loss), net (444,222) (87,922) (68,625) (89,588) (91,699) Total Stockholders' Equity $16,460,236 $9,879,312 $9,437,290 $9,562,225 $10,088,408 Noncontrolling Interests Noncontrolling interest in operating partnership $656,266 $708,163 $732,314 $756,050 $772,931 Noncontrolling interest in consolidated joint ventures 60,038 20,625 41,251 155,445 121,160 Total Noncontrolling Interests $716,304 $728,788 $773,565 $911,495 $894,091 Total Equity $17,176,540 $10,608,100 $10,210,855 $10,473,720 $10,982,499 Total Liabilities and Equity $33,113,300 $23,068,131 $23,172,765 $23,430,091 $23,342,067 (1) Net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $16,301 and $13,753 as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. (2) Adoption of the new lease accounting standard required that we adjust the consolidated balance sheet to include the recognition of additional right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for operating leases. See our quarterly report on Form 10Q filed on May 10, 2019 for additional information. (3) Series C Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock, 6.625%, $201,250 and $201,250 liquidation preference, respectively ($25.00 per share), 8,050,000 and 8,050,000 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. (4) Series G Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, 5.875%, $250,000 and $250,000 liquidation preference, respectively ($25.00 per share), 10,000,000 and 10,000,000 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. (5) Series H Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, 7.375%, $0 and $0 liquidation preference, respectively ($25.00 per share), 0 and 0 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. Redeemed on April 1, 2019. (6) Series I Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, 6.350%, $250,000 and $250,000 liquidation preference, respectively ($25.00 per share), 10,000,000 and 10,000,000 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. (7) Series J Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, 5.250%, $200,000 and $200,000 liquidation preference, respectively ($25.00 per share), 8,000,000 and 8,000,000 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. (8) Series K Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, 5.850%, $210,000 and $210,000 liquidation preference, respectively ($25.00 per share), 8,400,000 and 8,400,000 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. (9) Series L Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, 5.200%, $345,000 and $345,000 liquidation preference, respectively ($25.00 per share), 13,800,000 and 13,800,000 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. (10) Common Stock: 263,595,562 and 208,900,758 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. Reconciliation of Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation & Amortization Financial Supplement Unaudited and in Thousands First Quarter 2020 Three Months Ended Reconciliation of Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation & Amortization (EBITDA) (1) 31-Mar-20 31-Dec-19 30-Sep-19 30-Jun-19 31-Mar-19 Net Income Available to Common Stockholders $202,859 $315,577 $49,827 $31,738 $95,869 Interest 85,800 80,880 84,574 86,051 101,552 Loss from early extinguishment of debt 632 5,366 20,905 12,886 Income tax (benefit) expense 7,182 (1,731) 4,826 4,634 4,266 Depreciation & amortization 291,457 275,008 286,718 290,562 311,486 EBITDA $587,930 $669,734 $431,311 $433,890 $526,059 Unconsolidated JV real estate related depreciation & amortization 19,923 21,631 13,612 13,623 3,851 Unconsolidated JV interest expense and tax expense 9,944 13,553 10,816 10,277 2,191 Severance, equity acceleration, and legal expenses 1,272 1,130 123 665 1,483 Transaction and integration expenses 56,801 17,106 4,115 4,210 2,494 (Gain) on sale / deconsolidation (304,801) (267,651) (67,497) Impairment of investments in real estate 5,351 Other non-core adjustments, net 85,185 (13,886) 6,436 (13,476) (13,806) Non-controlling interests 4,684 13,042 1,077 1,156 4,185 Preferred stock dividends, including undeclared dividends 21,155 20,707 16,670 16,670 20,943 Issuance costs associated with redeemed preferred stock 11,760 Adjusted EBITDA $482,093 $475,366 $484,160 $478,775 $485,254 (1) For definitions and discussion of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, see the definitions section. Management Statements on Non-GAAP Measures Financial Supplement Unaudited First Quarter 2020 Definitions Funds From Operations (FFO) : We calculate funds from operations, or FFO, in accordance with the standards established by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, or Nareit, in the Nareit Funds From Operations White Paper - 2018 Restatement. FFO represents net income (loss) (computed in accordance with GAAP), excluding gains (or losses) from real estate transactions, impairment of investment in real estate, real estate related depreciation and amortization (excluding amortization of deferred financing costs), unconsolidated JV real estate related depreciation & amortization, non-controlling interests in operating partnership and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures. Management uses FFO as a supplemental performance measure because, in excluding real estate related depreciation and amortization and gains and losses from property dispositions and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures, it provides a performance measure that, when compared year over year, captures trends in occupancy rates, rental rates and operating costs. We also believe that, as a widely recognized measure of the performance of REITs, FFO will be used by investors as a basis to compare our operating performance with that of other REITs. However, because FFO excludes depreciation and amortization and captures neither the changes in the value of our data centers that result from use or market conditions, nor the level of capital expenditures and capitalized leasing commissions necessary to maintain the operating performance of our data centers, all of which have real economic effect and could materially impact our financial condition and results from operations, the utility of FFO as a measure of our performance is limited. Other REITs may not calculate FFO in accordance with the NAREIT definition and, accordingly, our FFO may not be comparable to other REITs' FFO. FFO should be considered only as a supplement to net income computed in accordance with GAAP as a measure of our performance. Core Funds from Operations (Core FFO) : We present core funds from operations, or core FFO, as a supplemental operating measure because, in excluding certain items that do not reflect core revenue or expense streams, it provides a performance measure that, when compared year over year, captures trends in our core business operating performance. We calculate core FFO by adding to or subtracting from FFO (i) termination fees and other non-core revenues, (ii) transaction and integration expenses, (iii) loss from early extinguishment of debt, (iv) issuance costs associated with redeemed preferred stock, (v) severance, equity acceleration, and legal expenses, (vi) gain/loss on FX revaluation, (vii) gain on contribution to unconsolidated joint venture, net of related tax, and (viii) other non-core expense adjustments. Because certain of these adjustments have a real economic impact on our financial condition and results from operations, the utility of core FFO as a measure of our performance is limited. Other REITs may calculate core FFO differently than we do and accordingly, our core FFO may not be comparable to other REITs' core FFO. Core FFO should be considered only as a supplement to net income computed in accordance with GAAP as a measure of our performance. Adjusted Funds from Operations (AFFO) : We present adjusted funds from operations, or AFFO, as a supplemental operating measure because, when compared year over year, it assesses our ability to fund dividend and distribution requirements from our operating activities. We also believe that, as a widely recognized measure of the operations of REITs, AFFO will be used by investors as a basis to assess our ability to fund dividend payments in comparison to other REITs, including on a per share and unit basis. We calculate AFFO by adding to or subtracting from core FFO (i) non-real estate depreciation, (ii) amortization of deferred financing costs, (iii) amortization of debt discount/premium, (iv) non-cash stock-based compensation expense, (v) straight-line rental revenue, (vi) straight-line rental expense, (vii) above- and below-market rent amortization, (viii) deferred tax expense, (ix) leasing compensation and internal lease commissions, and (x) recurring capital expenditures. Other REITs may calculate AFFO differently than we do and accordingly, our AFFO may not be comparable to other REITs' AFFO. AFFO should be considered only as a supplement to net income computed in accordance with GAAP as a measure of our performance. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA : We believe that earnings before interest, loss from early extinguishment of debt, income taxes, and depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA (as defined below), are useful supplemental performance measures because they allow investors to view our performance without the impact of non-cash depreciation and amortization or the cost of debt and, with respect to Adjusted EBITDA, unconsolidated joint venture real estate related depreciation & amortization, unconsolidated joint venture interest expense and tax, severance, equity acceleration, and legal expenses, transaction and integration expenses, gain on sale / deconsolidation, impairment of investments in real estate, other non-core adjustments, net, non-controlling interests, preferred stock dividends, including undeclared dividends, and issuance costs associated with redeemed preferred stock. Adjusted EBITDA is EBITDA excluding unconsolidated joint venture real estate related depreciation & amortization, unconsolidated joint venture interest expense and tax, severance, equity acceleration, and legal expenses, transaction and integration expenses, gain on sale / deconsolidation, impairment of investments in real estate, other non-core adjustments, net, non-controlling interests, preferred stock dividends, including undeclared dividends, and issuance costs associated with redeemed preferred stock. In addition, we believe EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of REITs. Because EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are calculated before recurring cash charges including interest expense and income taxes, exclude capitalized costs, such as leasing commissions, and are not adjusted for capital expenditures or other recurring cash requirements of our business, their utility as a measure of our performance is limited. Other REITs may calculate EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA differently than we do and, accordingly, our EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to other REITs' EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA. Accordingly, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should be considered only as supplements to net income computed in accordance with GAAP as a measure of our financial performance. Net Operating Income (NOI) and Cash NOI : Net operating income, or NOI, represents rental revenue, tenant reimbursement revenue and interconnection revenue less utilities expense, rental property operating expenses, property taxes and insurance expenses (as reflected in the statement of operations). NOI is commonly used by stockholders, company management and industry analysts as a measurement of operating performance of the company's rental portfolio. Cash NOI is NOI less straight-line rents and above- and below-market rent amortization. Cash NOI is commonly used by stockholders, company management and industry analysts as a measure of property operating performance on a cash basis. However, because NOI and cash NOI exclude depreciation and amortization and capture neither the changes in the value of our data centers that result from use or market conditions, nor the level of capital expenditures and capitalized leasing commissions necessary to maintain the operating performance of our data centers, all of which have real economic effect and could materially impact our results from operations, the utility of NOI and cash NOI as measures of our performance is limited. Other REITs may calculate NOI and cash NOI differently than we do and, accordingly, our NOI and cash NOI may not be comparable to other REITs' NOI and cash NOI. NOI and cash NOI should be considered only as supplements to net income computed in accordance with GAAP as measures of our performance. Additional Definitions Net debt-to-Adjusted EBITDA ratio is calculated using total debt at balance sheet carrying value, plus capital lease obligations, plus our share of JV debt, less unrestricted cash and cash equivalents divided by the product of Adjusted EBITDA (inclusive of our share of JV EBITDA) multiplied by four. Debt-plus-preferred-to-total enterprise value is mortgage debt and other loans plus preferred stock divided by mortgage debt and other loans plus the liquidation value of preferred stock and the market value of outstanding Digital Realty Trust, Inc. common stock and Digital Realty Trust, L.P. units, assuming the redemption of Digital Realty Trust, L.P. units for shares of Digital Realty Trust, Inc. common stock. Fixed charge coverage ratio is Adjusted EBITDA divided by the sum of GAAP interest expense, capitalized interest, scheduled debt principal payments and preferred dividends. For the quarter ended March 31, 2020, GAAP interest expense was $86 million, capitalized interest was $10 million and scheduled debt principal payments and preferred dividends was $21 million. Three Months Ended Reconciliation of Net Operating Income (NOI) (in thousands) 31-Mar-20 31-Dec-19 31-Mar-19 Operating income $100,049 $138,933 $141,543 Fee income (2,452) (4,814) (1,921) Other income (813) (181) (564) Depreciation and amortization 291,457 275,008 311,486 General and administrative 62,266 53,540 51,976 Severance, equity acceleration, and legal expenses 1,272 1,130 1,483 Transaction expenses 56,801 17,106 2,494 Impairment in investments in real estate 5,351 Other expenses 114 1,989 4,922 Net Operating Income $508,694 $482,711 $516,770 Cash Net Operating Income (Cash NOI) Net Operating Income $508,694 $482,711 $516,770 Straight-line rental revenue (13,392) (6,385) (14,557) Straight-line rental expense 1,496 (307) 1,177 Above- and below-market rent amortization 3,294 4,109 6,210 Cash Net Operating Income $500,092 $480,128 $509,600 Forward-Looking Statements Financial Supplement First Quarter 2020 This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, which are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. Such forward-looking statements include statements relating to: expected physical settlement of the forward sale agreements and use of proceeds from any such settlement, our expected investment and expansion activity, our joint ventures, supply and demand for data center and colocation space, our acquisition and disposition activity, pricing and net effective leasing economics, market dynamics and data center fundamentals, our strategic priorities, rent from leases that have been signed but have not yet commenced and other contracted rent to be received in future periods, rental rates on future leases, lag between signing and commencement, cap rates and yields, investment activity, the company's FFO, core FFO and net income, 2020 outlook and underlying assumptions, information related to trends, our strategy and plans, leasing expectations, weighted average lease terms, the exercise of lease extensions, lease expirations, debt maturities, annualized rent at expiration of leases, the effect new leases and increases in rental rates will have on our rental revenue, our credit ratings, construction and development activity and plans, projected construction costs, estimated yields on investment, expected occupancy, expected square footage and IT load capacity upon completion of development projects, 2020 backlog NOI, NAV components, and other forward-looking financial data. Such statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions made based on information currently available to management. Such statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are not guarantees of future performance and may be affected by known and unknown risks, trends, uncertainties and factors that are beyond our control. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, estimated or projected. Some of the risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: reduced demand for data centers or decreases in information technology spending; increased competition or available supply of data center space; decreased rental rates, increased operating costs or increased vacancy rates; the suitability of our data centers and data center infrastructure, delays or disruptions in connectivity or availability of power, or failures or breaches of our physical and information security infrastructure or services; our dependence upon significant customers, bankruptcy or insolvency of a major customer or a significant number of smaller customers, or defaults on or non-renewal of leases by customers; our ability to attract and retain customers; breaches of our obligations or restrictions under our contracts with our customers; our inability to successfully develop and lease new properties and development space, and delays or unexpected costs in development of properties; the impact of current global and local economic, credit and market conditions; our inability to retain data center space that we lease or sublease from third parties; information security and data privacy breaches; difficulty managing an international business and acquiring or operating properties in foreign jurisdictions and unfamiliar metropolitan areas; our failure to realize the intended benefits from, or disruptions to our plans and operations or unknown or contingent liabilities related to, our recent acquisitions; our failure to successfully integrate and operate acquired or developed properties or businesses; difficulties in identifying properties to acquire and completing acquisitions; risks related to joint venture investments, including as a result of our lack of control of such investments; risks associated with using debt to fund our business activities, including re-financing and interest rate risks, our failure to repay debt when due, adverse changes in our credit ratings or our breach of covenants or other terms contained in our loan facilities and agreements; our failure to obtain necessary debt and equity financing, and our dependence on external sources of capital; financial market fluctuations and changes in foreign currency exchange rates; adverse economic or real estate developments in our industry or the industry sectors that we sell to, including risks relating to decreasing real estate valuations and impairment charges and goodwill and other intangible asset impairment charges; our inability to manage our growth effectively; losses in excess of our insurance coverage; our inability to attract and retain talent; impact on our operations and on the operations of our customers, suppliers and business partners during a pandemic, such as COVID-19; environmental liabilities, risks related to natural disasters and our inability to achieve our sustainability goals; our inability to comply with rules and regulations applicable to our company; Digital Realty Trust, Inc.'s failure to maintain its status as a REIT for federal income tax purposes; Digital Realty Trust, L.P.'s failure to qualify as a partnership for federal income tax purposes; restrictions on our ability to engage in certain business activities; changes in local, state, federal and international laws and regulations, including related to taxation, real estate and zoning laws, and increases in real property tax rates; and the impact of any financial, accounting, legal or regulatory issues or litigation that may affect us. The risks included here are not exhaustive, and additional factors could adversely affect our business and financial performance. Several additional material risks are discussed in our annual report on Form 10K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Those risks continue to be relevant to our performance and financial condition. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors, nor can it assess the impact of all such risk factors on the business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. We expressly disclaim any responsibility to update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Digital Realty, Digital Realty Trust, the Digital Realty logo, Turn-Key Flex and Powered Base Building are registered trademarks and service marks of Digital Realty Trust, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. SOURCE Digital Realty GREENWICH Police were called to the Pemberwick section of town early Thursday on a report of young people attempting to steal cars. A number of thieves appeared to be looking for cars to steal in the area of Pemberwick Road, but the arrival of police officers disrupted their intentions, Police Lt. Mark Zuccerella said. BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 Trend: The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) disseminated information about eliminating highly dangerous diseases detected in various animal species in several countries of the world, the Food Safety Agency of Azerbaijan told Trend. In accordance with the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code, after disappearance of the diseases, the waiting period ended and the corresponding health status for a number of countries has been restored, the agency said. As a result, there was a need to review the restrictions imposed on the import of livestock and animal products to Azerbaijan from different countries. According to the agency, to this end, based on the official information of OIE, it was decided to abolish a number of temporary restrictions imposed for protecting the country from infectious animal diseases. Thus, temporary restrictions on the import of livestock and genetic materials from Russia (Tatarstan, Chechnya and Chuvashia), Bulgaria, Iran, Germany, Israel, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Germany, introduced due to highly pathogenic avian influenza, Newcastle disease, nodular dermatitis, foot and mouth disease, flower disease of small cattle and bluetongue disease have been eliminated," the agency said. At the same time, the import of live poultry and poultry products from Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Germany, Romania, Ukraine, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, Bulgaria, India and the US, where cases of pathogenic avian influenza of various levels were recorded, was allowed to follow the zoning principle in accordance with the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code. Azerbaijan's Food Safety Agency was founded in 2017. It fulfills such functions as legal regulation of food safety standards (preparation and adoption of sanitation norms and hygiene standards), risk assessment, official registration of food products and their packaging materials, issue of food safety certificates to exported food products, state control over food safety and protection of rights of food product consumers at all stages of food supply chain, and others. Notting Hill Carnival has been cancelled for the first time in 54 years. Since it began in 1966, the event has always taken place however following pressure due to the coronavirus pandemic, organisers have agreed that the safety of revellers could not be assured. According to Notting Hill Carnival LTD, the decision has not been easy to make and was made after lengthy consultations with our strategic partners and our advisory council. Its statement read: The reality of the pandemic and the way in which it has unfolded means that this is the only safe option. Everyones health has to come first. We also have no wish to place extra strain on our colleagues at St John Ambulance and the NHS. We want to take this opportunity to express our utmost respect, admiration and gratitude for their work. Organisers promised that they were working on an alternate event for 2020 that we hope will bring the carnival spirit to people from the safety of their homes, and make them feel connected and engaged. The statement continued: Notting Hill Carnival was founded to bring people together during trying times, and we intend to continue that legacy. Notting Hill Carnival Europes biggest street festival is annually attended by more than two million people over the Bank Holiday weekend in August. Organisers faced mounting pressure to call off the event, with Kensington & Chelsea council warning that the local community would be put at risk if they didnt. Bitcoin Price Trades Like the S&P 500, and is Testing Resistance If you pay attention to the trends taking place on the Weekly Bitcoin chart, youll notice that it has reacted to the global market Covid-19 trends almost exclusively since the beginning of 2020. After the end of 2019, the US stock market rallied on Q4: 2019 data and so did Bitcoin. The US Stock market peaked near February 20 and began a deeper selloff on February 25 Bitcoin followed this pattern as well. When the US Fed initiated the stimulus on March 23, Bitcoin prices had already started to bottom in anticipation of the Fed stimulus and really began to rally after the Fed began intervening. Before you continue, be sure to opt-in to our free market trend signals before closing this page, so you dont miss our next special report! Bitcoin VS S&P 500 Daily Chart Comparison This is a bit unusual for Bitcoin, which in the past didnt correlate to the US stock market trends all that well. What changed? We believe the sudden correlation of Bitcoin to the US Stock Market trends are related to investor psychology and the perceived efforts of the Central Banks in supporting the global economy. We find it interesting that a decentralized cryptocurrency, which is supposed to be independent of global central banks and governments, suddenly aligns almost perfectly with the US stock market in correlation with the US Federal Reserve. It is almost as if Bitcoin prices are much more aligned with the global economy and global central banks as this crisis event unfolds. This suggests the true value of Bitcoin is not as an alternate, decentralized currency. The true value of Bitcoin is a hyper-speculative alternate store of value unrelated to any real asset or oversight process. Whats Next for Bitcoin Weekly Chart If our research is correct, the current downside price channel (Resistance) originating from the June 2019 highs will prompt a massive breakdown in price over the next 5+ weeks possibly longer. There are two key factors that lead us to this conclusion. First, the correlation to the US stock market, which we believe will continue to move lower until an ultimate bottom is reached near July or August 2020. Second, the massive Fibonacci Price Amplitude Arc inflection point (the GREEN ARC) which will be reached in less than seven days. If Bitcoin continues to mirror the US stock market price action and this inflection point does what we believe, then a massive breakdown in price may start to trend sometime between May 8 and May 14. Daily Bitcoin Chart This Daily Bitcoin Chart shows you what we believe to be the most likely outcome going forward. A bit of upward price rotation to potentially retest the resistance level, then a moderate selloff, followed by a brief sideways trend before an even deeper selloff begins. This may be a map of what the US stock market may do over the exact same span of time. CONCLUDING THOUGHTS: Our researchers believe the ultimate bottom will set up near the end of Q3: 2020. We believe general weakness will push the US stock market price towards an ultimate low/bottom near July or August 2020. After that bottom completes, Q4: 2020 may see a moderate upside price trend as the Santa Rally mode kicks in. If Bitcoin mirrors this move, then it may attempt to move below the $3850 level and ultimately attempt to find a bottom below $3000. Our researchers believe Bitcoin has recently aligned with the US stock market and the global central banks. If this is the case, then the alternate decentralized currency aspect of cryptos becomes a useless component of the market. If Bitcoin mirrors the SPY going forward, then it is just an expensive, highly volatile alternate measure of the US stock market and global central bank activities. Watch for the price breakdown near May 10th or so. As a technical analyst and trader since 1997, I have been through a few bull/bear market cycles in stocks and commodities. I believe I have a good pulse on the market and timing key turning points for investing and short-term swing traders. 2020 is an incredible year for traders and investors. Dont miss all the incredible trends and trade setups. Subscribers of my Active ETF Swing Trading Newsletter had our trading accounts close at a new high watermark. We not only exited the equities market as it started to roll over in February, but we profited from the sell-off in a very controlled way with TLT bonds for a 20% gain. This week we closed out SPY ETF trade taking advantage of this bounce and entered a new trade with our account is at another all-time high value. Ride my coattails as I navigate these financial markets and build wealth while others watch most of their retirement funds drop 35-65% during the next financial crisis. Just think of this for a minute. While most of us have active trading accounts, what is even more important are our long-term investment and retirement accounts. Why? Because they are, in most cases, our largest store of wealth other than our homes, and if they are not protected during the next bear market, you could lose 25-50% or more of your net worth. The good news is we can preserve and even grow our long term capital when things get ugly like they are now and ill show you how and one of the best trades is one your financial advisor will never let you do because they do not make money from the trade/position. If you have any type of retirement account and are looking for signals when to own equities, bonds, or cash, be sure to become a member of my Passive Long-Term ETF Investing Signals which we issued a new signal for subscribers. Chris Vermeulen www.TheTechnicalTraders.com Chris Vermeulen has been involved in the markets since 1997 and is the founder of Technical Traders Ltd. He is an internationally recognized technical analyst, trader, and is the author of the book: 7 Steps to Win With Logic Through years of research, trading and helping individual traders around the world. He learned that many traders have great trading ideas, but they lack one thing, they struggle to execute trades in a systematic way for consistent results. Chris helps educate traders with a three-hour video course that can change your trading results for the better. His mission is to help his clients boost their trading performance while reducing market exposure and portfolio volatility. He is a regular speaker on HoweStreet.com, and the FinancialSurvivorNetwork radio shows. Chris was also featured on the cover of AmalgaTrader Magazine, and contributes articles to several leading financial hubs like MarketOracle.co.uk Disclaimer: Nothing in this report should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any securities mentioned. Technical Traders Ltd., its owners and the author of this report are not registered broker-dealers or financial advisors. Before investing in any securities, you should consult with your financial advisor and a registered broker-dealer. Never make an investment based solely on what you read in an online or printed report, including this report, especially if the investment involves a small, thinly-traded company that isnt well known. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report has been paid by Cardiff Energy Corp. In addition, the author owns shares of Cardiff Energy Corp. and would also benefit from volume and price appreciation of its stock. The information provided here within should not be construed as a financial analysis but rather as an advertisement. The authors views and opinions regarding the companies featured in reports are his own views and are based on information that he has researched independently and has received, which the author assumes to be reliable. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any content of this report, nor its fitness for any particular purpose. Lastly, the author does not guarantee that any of the companies mentioned in the reports will perform as expected, and any comparisons made to other companies may not be valid or come into effect. Chris Vermeulen Archive 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State on Wednesday said the states palm oil producing industry, ADAPALM, could employ about 35,000 people if fully revived. The governor said this while on inspection visit to the palm oil industry to have on-the-spot assessment of the state of affairs in the industry. He said the industry, if revived, would help the state government in facilitating industrial growth, harmony, expansion and increased productivity. Mr Uzodinma said he was happy that production had resumed once again at ADAPALM and that 120 tonnes of Grade A palm oil was being produced daily. He said that placing ADAPALM in its rightful place would boost the Internally Generated Revenue of the state. He said the company was a value chain that could produce not only palm oil, but also other oil-related products like margarine, sheer butter and palm kennel oil, among others. The governor said: We are committed to bringing ADAPALM back to stream. Its one of our greatest hopes of surviving the post COVID-19 era. The economy is almost becoming epileptic. We have to look inward to see how best we can restructure our economy, boost Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and then ensure that our citizenry are also busy. Mr Uzodimma appealed to the people to have patience with his administration as it made effort to fix the access road to the oil palm plantation and other oil installations in the area which were in deplorable condition. (NAN) It is not Ethiopias right to fill the reservoir of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) without an agreement with Egypt and Sudan. In a rare show of disagreement with Addis Ababa, Khartoum officially made the remarks that Ethiopia should not unilaterally start to fill the 74-billion cubic metre man-made lake. Concomitantly, a state minister within Sudans Foreign Ministry said his country was not a chorus dancing to Egyptian or Ethiopian tunes! Prior to the ouster of Islamist President Omar Al-Bashir, such remarks were nothing but fancy. Al-Bashir led an intensive brainwashing campaign that GERD would be beneficial to Sudan, even much more than to the owner of the dam, Ethiopia. His media mouthpieces, mostly shut down now within official moves by the new Sudanese leaders to remove pro-Bashir era powers and media agencies and confiscate their properties back to the state, used to propagandise that the Ethiopian dam would help Sudan fully utilise its share of the Nile. Unfortunately, the campaign was successful, albeit a paradigm shift is happening now. Just before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdouk was readying for a mediation role between Egypt and Ethiopia to get both, especially the Ethiopians, back to the negotiating table after at the last minute the signing of a binding and final agreement on the dam failed in Washington. In effect, Sudan is not a mediator and should not play that role either. It is a party that has rights and obligations within which it needs to act. Seemingly, Sudans new officials hold the view that their country needs to discuss, thoroughly, any would-be negative impact of the dam and not take Addis Ababas verbal assurances for granted in that regard. This may explain why the Sudanese prime minister explicitly said his government was committed to the Washington-brokered talks as the viable mechanism to end the standoff and reach a win-win compromise for the betterment of the three Eastern Nile Basin peoples. The three nations have taken long strides towards solving their differences over the controversial Ethiopian project and almost settled all pending issues except some technical details on how long it will take Ethiopia to fill the reservoir, and drought mitigation effects, assigning responsibilities in that respect. With Al-Bashir in office, Addis Ababa used to speak on behalf of the Sudanese, while Cairo was playing solo to safeguard its peoples and Sudanese rights to the Nile waters. Now, the situation seems to be changing, though at a slow pace. Some Sudanese analysts went public to say that Ethiopia deceived Sudan on the issue by concealing critical information that would have changed Sudans position completely in terms of the safety of the colossal dam project. Some studies have warned that Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan, may be washed away in case of the collapse of the dam, a dreadful scenario Ethiopia has usually downplayed. Other experts have gone far as to say Ethiopia wants a reallocation of water shares among the three nations. In fact, one of the reasons behind Ethiopias refusal to sign the US-drafted agreement on GERD is the claim that the deal effectively maintains the status quo regarding the allocation of 55.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) of water per annum to Egypt. Based on Ethiopias filling scenario, it wants to hold 4.9 bcm for initial filling to test the first two of the 13 turbines of GERD. In the second year, Ethiopia wants to hold 13.5 bcm in order to test the remaining turbines. After that, it aims to release 31 bcm of water annually. This plan considers neither Egypts nor Sudans water demands. In other words, the Ethiopian objection was not the agreement in itself, but rather the share Egypt and Sudan receive from the Nile. If Egypts share of the Nile drops drastically, a similar scenario would occur in Sudan, and in this case the total share would not be sufficient for the two countries basic water needs, something Addis Ababa does not seem to heed. Now the idea of Sudans huge benefits from the dam look like so many castles in the air. This may be the reason behind Sudans most recent positions on the dam. Another possible reason may be Addis Ababas military pressure on Khartoum to continue to follow Al-Bashirs policies regarding the dam. Some weeks ago, the Ethiopian military stormed into roughly 23,000 hectares in Eastern Sudan at Al-Fashaka, in a show of negligence for Sudans sovereignty over the territories. Earlier, militias affiliated to Addis Ababa, though officially dubbed as outlawed, had clashes with units from the Sudanese army, leaving soldiers killed and injured. As a response, the Chairman of the Sovereign Council of Sudan Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, ordered deployment of the Sudanese army into the area, for the first time in 25 years. For three decades under Al-Bashir, Ethiopian settlers stretched over more than 250,000 hectares of the finest Sudanese lands, regarding them as their own, being protected by militias drawn from the Ethiopian Amhara region. These factors may have caused the slight change in Sudans position regarding GERD. Above all, Sudan has never been asked to side with any party in the talks, but rather to support whatever it takes to cause no harm to the Sudanese people who, under Al-Bashir and his Islamist gang, sustained every and each kind of harm politically, economically and socially. Now, as their revolution managed to change the face of life in Sudan, at least politically, given the ailing economic conditions mostly inherited from the ousted regime, there is a need to march ahead with new thoughts and ideas to protect Sudans interests. Like Sudan, Egypt acknowledges Ethiopias right to utilisation of the Nile waters, provided no harm be inflicted on downstream peoples. The issue of GERD should be kept away from polarisation by any party, so that technical experts from the three nations can find the best means to solve their remaining differences effectively. Transparent disclosure of all particulars of the dam, positive and negative, remains the only viable means to get the three sisterly nations closer to reaching a lasting compromise that would not fall apart once GERD goes online. The writer is a former press and information officer in Ethiopia and an expert on African affairs. *A version of this article appears in print in the 7 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Cemento Melon to sell concrete products business 07 May 2020 Cemento Melon has announced it will divest its concrete products business and has signed an agreement with Grau SA to sell 49 per cent of its concrete prefabrication shares. The divestment will enable the Chilean cement producer to wholly focus and strengthen its key businesses of cement, concrete and sand. Pedro Grau of Grau SA said the company understood the strategic decision of Melon to relinquish its stake, a step that is lamentable as we value the permanent contribution of its directors. We are grateful for the invaluable and loyal professional and institutional collaboration and we are sure that Prefabricados Grau will continue to be able to rely on the support of Melon in the continued development of the concrete products industry in Chile as a strategic cement supplier. Published under Up in the green foothills of Bodmin Moor, near the parlour where farmer Philip Stansfield milks a herd of 240 dairy cows, is a refrigerated warehouse in which he keeps the other great love of his professional life. The building, known in the trade as a cave, contains row after row of long wooden shelves, each piled high with rounds of Cornish Blue, the creamy blue cheese he and his wife, Carol, have been making for almost 20 years. As it slowly matures over eight weeks, it gives off a smell of damp socks and mushrooms. By the time it reaches top hotels, restaurants and delicatessens, the cheese has turned rich and buttery, with a sweet tang that has helped it win countless plaudits. Catherine Mead normally sells a couple of hundred tonnes of cheese a year, but since the lockdown, sales have dropped by 60 per cent, forcing her to furlough ten staff In Gloucestershire, David Jowett, maker of Rollright, a Brie-like cows cheese wrapped in spruce bark, was left with two tonnes of unsold cheese. A few years back, Cornish Blue won top prize in the World Cheese Awards, with Philip and Carol beating an astonishing 2,600 rivals, including Europes best cheesemakers. mead Where to sniff out the finest Paxton and Whitfield St Jamess, London One of Londons oldest cheesemongers, it boasts the Royal Household as a customer. Its new Weekend Box costs 30 (paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk). Hanson Fine Foods Truro, Cornwall Supplier of artisan cheese to some of Cornwalls top chefs, Hanson offers lucky dip boxes from 15 (hansonfinefoods.co.uk). THE ETHICAL DAIRY Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway This sustainable cheese-maker produces traditional offerings, including the awardwinning Fleet Valley Blue and Laganory (from 7.50, theethicaldairy.co.uk). The Cheese Shed Newton Abbot, Devon Try local specialities Beenleigh Blue or Ogleshield with a range of chutneys (from 18.99, thecheeseshed.com). House of Cheese Tetbury, Gloucestershire With praise from chef Rick Stein, you cant go wrong with this family business. For 34, you could try its Vintage Cheese Selection, an assortment of mature cheeses, oatcakes and chutneys (houseofcheese.co.uk). The Cheese Geek Bendon Valley, London Known as the Netflix of fromage, a monthly subscription includes four or five cheeses (from 30, thecheesegeek.com). Pong Cheese Bath This company boasts selections from Alex James, rock star turned farmer, along with The Ultimate Pong Box a selection of its smelliest cheeses (34, pongcheese.co.uk). Advertisement It changed our business overnight, says Philip. Today, those hotels, restaurants and delicatessens which offer the Stansfields famous cheese are shut, and export sales have halted. When the lockdown started, it was like a light switch being turned off, says Philip. We normally sell between 2,000 and 3,000 cheeses a week. Overnight, it reduced to about 300. Therein lies a big problem. For Philips cows are still producing milk. And while hes temporarily stopped producing new cheese, and furloughed six members of staff, very little money is coming in. More worryingly, he still has roughly 30 tonnes of mature Cornish Blue sitting unsold. The last lot was made on March 24, he says. Its edible between eight and 14 weeks after that date, so if we havent sold it by June 24 then it will have to be thrown away. There is 300,000 worth of stock tied up there. Ive done some calculations and if we are somehow able to sell all this cheese, then we can survive as a business. If not, I am afraid it will be touch and go. And its a similar story for almost all of Britains so-called specialist cheesemakers, who normally churn out renowned varieties such as Baron Bigod and Shepherds Purse in artisan facilities. Indeed, we produce more varieties of cheese even than the French. Sadly, these high-quality cheeses are extremely difficult to shift with the hospitality sector closed, and even major supermarkets are mothballing their deli counters. Many firms have lost almost 90 per cent of their business, according to the Specialist Cheesemakers Association, which has 277 members. If people dont buy our cheese now, there wont be much of an industry left, a spokesman told the Mail. We are coming into the Spring Flush, when milk yields go up and makers of hard cheese often ramp up production for Christmas, so this is a busy time. But what happens when you have money going out and none coming in? While no producers have yet gone bankrupt, many have been forced to give away their cheese. Down the road from the Stansfields farm, Catherine Mead at Lynher Dairies turns milk from her cows into Yarg, a hard cheese wrapped in nettle leaves. She normally sells a couple of hundred tonnes a year, but since the lockdown, sales have dropped by 60 per cent, forcing her to furlough ten staff. We have so much cash tied up in stock, and no idea when its going to sell, she says. I recently had to give away three tonnes, which has a value of about 60,000. A load went to The Hive, a charity in Truro for underprivileged children, and another batch went to a homeless charity. It was tough, but better than seeing it simply be chucked away. For producers of soft cheese, problems are compounded by the fact that it has a relatively short shelf life, leaving a small window to find a buyer. In Gloucestershire, David Jowett, maker of Rollright, a Brie-like cows cheese wrapped in spruce bark, was left with two tonnes of unsold cheese. We did manage to sell it in the end, largely to local customers, but we had to seriously slash prices. It cost tens of thousands, which is a lot to us. Weve now shut down production. Unless it improves soon, things are going to get very hand to mouth. Some makers have turned to online sales, either via their own websites or those of specialist retailers, such as Neals Yard or The Cheese Geek. Today sees the launch of the first British Cheese Weekender, a three-day virtual festival taking in a series of tastings (you can order the cheeses from its website, specialist cheesemakers.co.uk). Award winning Cornish Kern, from Lynher Dairies, where Catherine Mead has had to throw away three tonnes of cheese It aims to save British cheese by helping troubled producers shift stock. Other cheesemakers are selling from the farm gate. In Kent, Robin Betts, whose cloth-wrapped cheddar Winterdale Shaw is usually sold by upmarket grocery store Fortnum & Mason, has started a seven-day-a-week farm shop. Its allowing us to pay for the electricity, insurance and other bills, but Id be lying if I said this isnt a total nightmare, says Robin. Ive got 15 tonnes of stock already, and we have to keep making more because it takes ten months to mature, so if we dont put new stuff into the cave, we wont have anything to sell in ten months. He is just one more desperate member of Britains artisan cheesemaking brother and sister hood which, collectively, is a genuine national treasure. Fortunately, there is an easy (and delicious) solution to the unfolding crisis which now threatens the industrys future. In France, sales of fromage are down by around 60 per cent, and some appellations are in danger of dying out, so citizens have been urged by the authorities to eat more as an act of patriotism. So Britain, too, we must now do our patriotic duty and eat more real British cheese. 10K Masks Giveaway sponsored by Roof4Roof We all need to make a living but we also want to make a difference. - Chuck Anania. - Past News Releases RSS On Saturday, May 9th from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm, ROOF4ROOF, a residential and commercial remodeling contractor based in Carlstadt NJ, will be giving away 10,000 masks in an effort to help the community Stop the Spread of Covid-19 at its Main Office (520 Route 17 South, Carlstadt, NJ) and at Lowe's East Rutherford (150 Route 17 North, East Rutherford, NJ). We will begin distributing some of these masks to local businesses and municipalities May 6-8. "Since NJ and NY are the areas impacted most by the virus, we decided that giving away reusable, washable masks was the best way we could help our families and community keep the spread minimized. We realize that we still have months of uncertainty and sacrifices ahead, but we will remain safe, vigilant and Jersey Strong." Over the last 10 years, Roof4Roof and its founder, Chuck Anania, has provided free roofing, emergency home repairs and other assistance to over 1,000 families, in New Jersey and overseas. For further information or questions, please contact Chuck Anania directly. Press Assets Resource Here Visit the Stop the Spread Official Site HERE. Law Offices of Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP For more information about the class action lawsuit against Air Canada Corporation or if you would like to know if you qualify to make a claim, please contact attorney Nicholas J. De Blouw today by calling (800) 568-8020. The Los Angeles labor law attorneys at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP filed a class action lawsuit against Air Canada Corporation, alleging the company failed to pay accurate wages, failed to provide required meal and rest breaks, and was in violation of the Private Attorneys General Act. The Air Canada Corporation lawsuit, Case No. 20STCV13942, is currently pending in the Los Angeles County Superior Court for the State of California. A copy of the complaint can be accessed by clicking here. According to the class action complaint's allegations, Air Canada Corporation failed and continues to fail to accurately calculate and pay PLAINTIFF and the other members of the CALIFORNIA CLASS for their overtime worked. DEFENDANT allegedly failed to record and pay employees for the actual amount of time worked, meaning the time during which an employee was subject to the control of an employer. Additionally, as a result of their rigorous work schedules, PLAINTIFF and other CALIFORNIA CLASS Members were from time to time unable to take off-duty meal breaks and were not fully relieved of duty for meal or rest periods. The lawsuit further alleges DEFENDANT failed to reimburse for required business expenses incurred by PLAINTIFF. Under California Labor Code Section 2802, employers are required to indemnify employees for all expenses incurred in the course and scope of their employment. PAGA is a mechanism by which the State of California itself can enforce state labor laws through the employee suing under the PAGA who do so as the proxy or agent of the state's labor law enforcement agencies. An action to recover civil penalties under PAGA is fundamentally a law enforcement action designed to protect the public and not to benefit private parties. The purpose of PAGA is not to recover damages or restitution, but to create a means of "deputizing" citizens as private attorneys general to enforce the Labor Code. For more information about the class action lawsuit against Air Canada Corporation or if you would like to know if you qualify to make a claim, please contact attorney Nicholas J. De Blouw today by calling (800) 568-8020. Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP is a labor law firm with law offices located in San Diego County, Riverside County, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Sacramento County, and San Francisco County. The firm has a statewide practice of representing employees on a contingency basis for violations involving unpaid wages, overtime pay, discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination and other types of illegal workplace conduct. ***THIS IS AN ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT*** Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf announced Wednesday his latest tactic to fight the spread of COVID-19, and hes calling it the Commonwealth Civilian Coronavirus Corps. It seems to mirror, at least in some ways, the Civilian Conservation Corps that was developed by the federal government during The Great Depression to provide work relief while completing environmental projects. In Wolfs iteration, the jobs would be related to increased testing and contact tracing efforts. Both are a key part of fully reopening the state by reaching the green phase of Wolfs plan to do so. Only 24 of the states 67 counties will move into the yellow phase Friday, and its unclear when others will advance there. During a news conference, Wolf said he didnt know how many people would be hired or when the corps would be formed, but that he wants it to be a big deal. As for how it would be financed, Wolf hopes that special funding from the federal government would help foot the bill, either partially or entirely. Its unclear whether or not legislative approval would be needed to form the corps. By maximizing our testing and contact tracing capacity, we can contain COVID-19 without widely freezing the movements of Pennsylvanians, Wolf said. Effective containment will allow us to resume life as much as possible. A news release from Wolfs office offered further information on how the corps could work and what things would be needed. The bullet-point list included: Partnering with local public health agencies, community organizations, and the nonprofit community to expand Pennsylvanias existing testing and contract tracing initiatives; Leveraging additional resources to fund testing and contact tracing initiatives; Exploring creative ways to recruit experienced Pennsylvanians with health care and public health experience to support this initiative; and Coordinating existing resources deployed by the commonwealth, including community health nurses and county health departments who are currently conducting testing and contact tracing throughout the state. More coronavirus coverage: MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio Fraud: Marsol Road A woman reported April 28 that she had been catfished online. She sent $573 to a person believed to be the assistant to actor Johnny Depp. She said she had contacted the official Johnny Depp Instagram account and had been in contact with who she believed was Depp himself and his assistant. She said she fell in love with him and sent explicit photos of herself. She provided her personal information and was sent a picture of a completed passport so that she could fly to France to meet with Depp. She was asked for the money because she was told Depps funds were frozen and the money would be used to send a private jet for her. A greater amount of money had been requested, but she sent all she had available. Officers advised the woman, 64, not to provide personal information or send money to anyone online that she does not personally know. Animal bites: East Miner Road A man and woman visited a residence April 26 to meet with another woman who was to sell them a dog. The dog bit the first womans hand and she was taken to the hospital. A man later checked on the womans condition and said he was the owner of the dog, which was not supposed to be shown without him present. The victim decided she only wanted her medical bills paid by the man. Officers advised that it would be a civil matter that she would have to handle with the dogs owners. Stolen property: Mayfield Road A man reported April 23 that his cell phone had gone missing after he accidentally left it at the customer service counter at Giant Eagle. Surveillance video is being reviewed to try to determine if someone in line behind him took the phone. Breaking and entering: Marsol Road A woman reported April 23 that her camping supplies had been stolen from a storage locker at the Drake apartments. She found the lock cut off and on the ground. She estimated that $2,500 worth of equipment -- including a grill, propane tanks, multiple tents and an air mattress -- had been stolen. The incident is under investigation. Fraud: SOM Center Road A woman said April 23 that she had met a person online who threatened to send explicit photos of her to her relatives if she did not send money. She did not send any money and only wanted the incident documented. She believed the person lives in Dubai. Theft from auto: SOM Center Road A man reported April 24 that a catalytic converter had been stolen from his vehicle while it was parked at the Coppertree apartments two days earlier. Another resident of the complex reported the same crime the following day. Disturbance: Mayfield Road Officers responded to Giuseppes Pizza April 24 for a report of an altercation between a customer and an employee. The employee said the customer became upset after being asked to wear a face mask or leave the store. The woman and the employee exchanged words before the woman left without further incident. Disturbance: Mayfield Road A woman reported April 27 that her childs father had assaulted her in the Walmart parking lot and had left the area in a vehicle. Surveillance video was reviewed, and the incident did not support the womans claim. She decided not to pursue the matter. Read more news from the Sun Messenger. After years of combat stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Middle East, rumors began to spread in spring 1945 that the German army was close to surrender. So hotly anticipated, this long-hoped-for event had been given a name before it became a reality: V-E Day, for Victory in Europe. The term first appeared in The New York Times on Sept. 10, 1944, just over three months after the Allies took the beaches at Normandy and began their march inland. Nine days later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered government agencies to begin making plans for the demobilization of the roughly three million civilians supporting the war effort. The transition from war to peace should be carried forward rapidly, Roosevelt said. This is the time to do the planning, although the war even in Europe is not over. Over the next six months, the Allied forces squeezed the German army along two fronts back to its prewar borders, and by spring, the end of the war felt close at hand. On May 7, 1945, the news of Germanys surrender spread quickly around the world. Parliament Square in London. The photos that follow show 13 countries commemorating that fateful day: from jubilation in the streets across the United States and Britain and Kenya and Burma; to the front lines, where newspapers detailed the official signing to service members; and to houses of worship filled with people offering prayers of gratitude. There was a strong conviction that better days were ahead, even though the bitterly fought war in the Pacific was forecast to continue at least into 1946 if not 1947. In America, V-E Day was a commemoration of a major milestone a victory against the Nazis that was not at all a certainty when the United States entered the war. And for those living in countries that had been occupied or under attack from German forces, their war was finally over and the time to rebuild was at hand. John Ismay PARIS LONDON The official date for the end of the war in Europe was May 8. But many cities started celebrating earlier. In London, beer deliveries were already en route, and parties kicked off the night before. In Paris, which the Allies liberated on Aug. 25, 1944, Parisians and soldiers let themselves go with abandon in celebration of the advance news, which carried on even with shortages of alcohol because of rationing, Harold Callender reported in The Times. In the Americas, people danced in public squares in Costa Rica as a 21-gun salute roared, confetti fell and fireworks popped in Brazils capital of Rio de Janeiro, and in Colombia, the government declared a two-day holiday. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Times Square. In Manhattan, the impending surrender led to widespread celebrations. People working in high-rises threw homemade confetti from windows, disappointing the citys sanitation commissioner, who rued the loss of more than 1,000 tons of the vital war-commodity that his crews had to clean off the streets, according to The Times. Crowds filled Moscows Red Square. Enschede, the Netherlands British servicemen and members of the Danish Red Cross in Copenhagen. Children celebrated in Baltimore. In the streets of Toronto. On May 8, Times Square filled with hundreds of thousands of revelers though the party was curtailed a bit by rain that began falling at noon. (Bars and grills did a rushing business all day.) The brownout of nighttime lights that lasted throughout the war ended across America, with the lights of Broadway shining once again and the Statue of Liberty bathed in light after sunset. British Guiana (now Guyana) ENGLAND For most people, the announcement of the surrender likely came by radio, and spread by word of mouth. But the news was first reported by The Associated Press, in what became a major scandal in journalism. On May 6, 17 reporters were invited by the U.S. Army to Reims, France, to witness Germanys official surrender, which was signed at 2:41 a.m. the next day. They were told by Army officials that the news of the surrender was on hold for 36 hours. (Officials at Supreme Headquarters said the hold was enforced to allow the Soviets to host a second surrender ceremony in Berlin.) American troops in Burma (now Myanmar). Like his colleagues, Edward Kennedy, an A.P. reporter, reluctantly agreed to honor the embargo, but after returning to Paris later that day he learned that Germany was broadcasting news of the surrender, under the order of the Allies. He picked up the phone and transmitted a dispatch in the early afternoon from his hotel in Paris to the A.P.s London bureau, which relayed it to A.P. headquarters in New York. Germans in Hamburg read leaflets that were dropped on V-E Day by the British Royal Air Force. Word of Germanys unconditional surrender quickly spread across the country and the world. The next day, it was Kennedys story that made the front page of The Times. While Kennedy gave the A.P. a scoop of a lifetime, the decision to circumvent the censorship agreement also ruined his career. Some of his colleagues viewed his actions as unforgivable, and dozens signed a petition condemning his actions. The A.P. first suspended him, and, eventually, fired him. It wasnt until 2012, decades after Kennedy had died after being hit by a car, that the A.P. apologized for how it handled the situation. THE BORDER BETWEEN GERMANY AND CZECHOSLOVAKIA BURMA (NOW MYANMAR) NAIROBI, KENYA The news of the German surrender quickly reached military commanders across the European and Pacific theaters. Allied naval ships hoisted flags to signal word of the victory. Around the globe, soldiers who had already returned home marched through the streets in parades to commemorate the victory. Soldiers of the Third Army in Europe pieced the news together from German radio broadcasts announcing the surrender and the orders they received to observe a cease-fire. A Times reporter there reported that some soldiers celebrated the news by building bonfires, firing multicolored flares and antiaircraft guns with their red tracers into the sky. Members of the Third Army in Dorfen, Germany. A parade in Kalimpong, India. To notify Japan of the victory, U.S. forces fired a simultaneous salvo of artillery and naval guns at targets in southern Okinawa in the early hours of May 8, before the official declaration of V-E Day. ST. PATRICKS CATHEDRAL, NEW YORK NOWRA, AUSTRALIA In the United States, the good news was tempered by the loss of the countrys wartime commander in chief. Amid the celebrations, there were many who recognized how much had been lost during six years of relentless fighting. Londons St. Pauls Cathedral, which suffered some damage but survived Germanys brutal bombing campaigns, held 10 services in a single day. Each one was attended by thousands of people to offer prayers of gratitude for peace and to honor those killed. A wreath sent by President Harry S. Truman was placed on the grave of Franklin D. Roosevelt in Hyde Park, N.Y. V-E Day came as flags around America were still at half-staff in honor of President Roosevelt, who had died from a brain hemorrhage on April 12. All were mindful of the war yet to be won against Japan, and the toll it would likely entail. A reminder to buy war bonds at a bank on Fifth Avenue and 40th Street in New York. Flags with the logo, lettering of the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei blowing in the wind. Horst Galuschka | picture alliance via Getty Images The U.S. Department of Commerce is close to signing off on a new rule that would allow U.S. companies to work with China's Huawei Technologies on setting standards for next generation 5G networks, people familiar with the matter said. Engineers in some U.S. technology companies stopped engaging with Huawei to develop standards after the Commerce Department blacklisted the company last year. The listing left companies uncertain about what technology and information their employees could share with Huawei, the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker. That has put the United States at a disadvantage, said industry and government officials. In standards setting meetings, where protocols and technical specifications are developed that allow equipment from different companies to function together smoothly, Huawei gained a stronger voice as U.S. engineers sat back in silence. The Commerce Department placed Huawei on its "entity list" last May, citing national security concerns. The listing restricted sales of U.S. goods and technology to the company and raised questions about how U.S. firms could participate in organizations that establish industry standards. After nearly a year of uncertainty, the department has drafted a new rule to address the issue, two sources told Reuters. The rule, which could still change, essentially allows U.S. companies to participate in standards bodies where Huawei is also a member, the sources said. The draft is under final review at the Commerce Department and, if cleared, would go to other agencies for approval, the people said. It is unclear how long the full process will take or if another agency will object. "As we approach the year mark, it is very much past time that this be addressed and clarified," said Naomi Wilson, senior director of policy for Asia at the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), which represents companies including Amazon, Qualcomm and Intel. The U.S. government wants U.S. companies to remain competitive with Huawei, Wilson said. "But their policies have inadvertently caused U.S. companies to lose their seat at the table to Huawei and others on the entity list." The rule is only expected to address Huawei, the people familiar with the matter said, not other listed entities like Chinese video surveillance firm Hikvision. In adding Huawei to the list last May, the Commerce Department cited U.S. charges pending against the company for alleged violations of U.S. sanctions against Iran. It also noted that the indictment alleges Huawei engaged in "deceptive and obstructive acts" to evade U.S. law. Huawei has pleaded not guilty in the case. A Department of Commerce spokesman declined to comment. A Huawei spokeswoman also declined to comment. "I know that Commerce is working on that rule," a senior State Department official told Reuters on Wednesday. "We are supportive in trying to find a solution to that conundrum." This article by James Clark originally appeared on Task & Purpose, a digital news and culture publication dedicated to military and veterans issues. Just weeks after Extraction blew audiences and a ton of armed bad guys away, Netflix's hybrid action-escape shoot-em-up is already locked in for a sequel. Extraction debuted on the streaming service April 24 and stars Chris Hemsworth as Tyler Rake, a mercenary who specializes in suicidal rescue missions. For those who haven't seen the movie yet, here's a quick synopsis: Rake is charged with rescuing Ovi Mahajan (Rudhraksh Jaiswal), the kidnapped son of an imprisoned Indian drug lord who was taken hostage by a rival crime boss. Unsurprisingly, their plan goes to shit, and Rake, with Ovi in tow, is forced to take on an army of guns-for-hire in a desperate attempt to escape a locked-down city. In terms of style and plot, Extraction plays like a mash-up of the popular first person shooter, Call of Duty Modern Warfare: Warzone and the 2003 military action flick The Tears of the Sun. And on May 4, Deadline confirmed that Extraction screenwriter Joe Russo had secured a deal for a sequel. The deal is closed for me to write Extraction 2, and we are in the formative stages of what the story can be, Russo said in an exclusive interview with Deadline. Were not committing yet to whether that story goes forward, or backward in time. We left a big loose ending that leaves question marks for the audience. It's unclear at this time if Extraction director Sam Hargrave will return and if he'll be joined by Hemsworth, though the latter indicated he was open to it: "You've made it the number one film on the planet right now," Hemsworth said in a May 3 Instagram post. "We are blown away by the response and the support. There's been a lot of talk about sequels and prequels and all sorts of things. All I can say is, 'Who knows?' But with this kind of support it's something I'd be stoked to jump back into." When Extraction 2 does come out no projected release date has been announced yet fans of the first installment can take heart that Hargrave's involvement will bring back all the hyper-stylized violence, frenetic action, world-building, and some surprising character development, that made the first movie a hit. More articles from Task & Purpose: Who did it better: the real Space Force recruiting spot or the trailer for Netflix's 'Space Force'? Elon Musk named his son after a very special reconnaissance aircraft The Space Force's top officer has some suggestions for Netflix's 'Space Force' The parent company of Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta has announced that it plans to reopen up to 800 locations in North America by the end of May after temporarily closing due to the coronavirus pandemic. Gap Inc., which also owns Janie and Jack and Intermix stores, announced in a release Wednesday that it will reopen about one-third of its nearly 2,800 locations in North America after working with local governments and observing health guidelines. Gap reopening stores (John Keeble / Getty Images) The reopening plan is starting immediately, as the mall staple will open a small selection of stores in Texas this weekend. "Our goal is to be responsibly aggressive," Gap Inc. CEO Sonia Syngal told The New York Times. "Every retailer will have its own opening strategy, but suffice it to say we are looking to open where were legally allowed to open as soon as we can." Download the TODAY app for the latest coverage on the coronavirus outbreak. Syngal also said in the news release that the company is taking what it has learned from its locations in Asia, which already opened, when factoring in how it will reopen its North American stores. She declined to say how many of the nearly 80,000 furloughed store employees in North America will return upon the reopenings. Gap Inc.'s decision to reopen stores follows similar announcements by large retailers like Nordstrom and Best Buy, as well as the largest mall owner in the country. The company also outlined the changes it will be making to stores in order to ensure the safety of employees and customers in addition to continuing curbside service and online sales. "It really does come down to what governors decide our whole stance is that we will be ready to reopen as it is safe to do so as dictated by local authorities," Syngal told The New York Times. Its stores will have hand sanitizer stations at the front doors and checkout counters and will temporarily close fitting rooms. All employees will wear face masks and customers will be encouraged to wear them, though it won't be mandatory. Story continues There will be plexiglass partitions in front of registers, reduced store hours and employees monitoring the amount of customers in the store to observe social distancing guidelines. Restrooms at the stores will be temporarily closed, and any returns will be quarantined for 24 hours before being returned to the sales floor. Gap Inc. has also pitched in to help efforts to fight the coronavirus, announcing in March that it was pivoting resources in some of its factories to help make masks, gowns and scrubs for medical workers. New Jersey is still processing 300,000 unemployment claims or one-third from the more than 1 million residents who have filed for the benefits due to lost work during the coronavirus pandemic, an unprecedented surge that has overwhelmed the system, state officials said Thursday. State Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo said the state is averaging 155,000 new claims a week and unemployment office workers are trying to help residents submit qualified claims as quickly as possible. New Jersey a state of 9 million residents has processed claims for 700,000 unemployed, underemployed and furloughed residents, totaling $1.9 billion in federal and state assistance to date, officials said. But countless residents have complained theyve been waiting for weeks sometimes longer than six weeks to get paid. Many say theyve struggled to get through to the states busy phone and online unemployment systems. And the website has suffered outages in recent days. Gov. Phil Murphy acknowledged hes been inundated with concerns about the delays. We understand completely the frustration," Murphy said during his daily coronavirus press briefing in Trenton. "The pain runs deep. To help handle the surge, Asaro-Angelo announced Thursday the state is launching a new chatbot, possibly as earlier as Friday. And he said the state is working on a new call center for claims. We hope to have this up and running in the next couple of weeks, Asaro-Angelo said during the press briefing. MORE: N.J. workers who exhausted unemployment benefits will have to wait longer for extended payments Murphy has also promised residents wont lose one penny of what theyre owed. State officials emphasized that the influx of unemployment claims is historic. Asaro-Angelo also said the state is working through a surge in new claims and reviewing old claims related to recent changes that makes self-employed, freelancers and gig workers eligible for benefits. Were doing everything in our power, he said. New figures Thursday showed 88,326 workers in the state filed for unemployment insurance last week. That brings the states total to 1,018,785 claims from mid-March through last week. Asaro-Angelo said six days is the median time it takes for a claim to get processed, and 97% get paid within three weeks. The commissioner said unemployed residents waiting longer to receive benefits are anomalies and are often because of problems with the claim, such as having wages from multiple states or claims being contested by their employers. He also said workers getting certification process questions wrong "really jams you up and jams us up. Theres a flood, Asaro-Angelo said. Theres no doubt theyre desperate. In the end, those claims would be having the same issues if they happened five months ago. Theres all kinds of emergent situations. All you want to do is cure them right away." It does not mean we dont empathize, he added. When the numbers are so big, the outliers and anomalies become large. Murphy said theres no blanket answer to the issues, and it does depend on the specific situation. You can see the desperation jumping out from people, the governor said. We get it. And were doing everything we can to chop through it. Earlier Thursday, state Assemblyman Kevin Rooney, R-Passaic, called on Asaro-Angelo to resign if he cant fix the backlog. Fixing the current systemic problems with unemployment clearly requires new leadership, Rooney said. But Murphy said that wont happen. Robs not going anywhere, the governor said. This is a 500-year flood. .... But all I would say to anyone who thinks that, go to another state. ... New Jerseys performance is in a different place than most American states right now. So I respect Kevin, but Robs doing a great job." A group of Republican members of the state Senate also called on Murphy to listen to constituents who are hurting. After seven weeks without a paycheck or unemployment check, struggling families dont understand why its taking Governor Murphy so long to make fixing our broken unemployment system a priority, state Sen. Declan OScanlon, R-Monmouth, said. State Sen. Kristin Corrado, R-Passaic, said theres clearly a major disconnect between what the governor is saying and what people who are trying to file for benefits are actually experiencing. The unemployment issues persist while New Jersey is nearly eight weeks into Murphys orders for residents to stay home and nonessential businesses to close to fight the spread of COVID-19. The governor has formed a commission to craft a reopening plan, but he has yet to give a definitive timeline, despite some lawmakers, businesses, and residents pushing him to further lift his restrictions, especially with Memorial Day less than three weeks away. New Jersey has now reported at least 8,801 deaths attributed to COVID-19, with at least 133,635 total cases, in nine weeks. Thats after officials announced 254 new deaths and 1,827 new positive tests Wednesday. Only New York has more deaths and cases among American states. Officials say the number of daily new cases and hospitalizations continue to drop, even as deaths continue to mount. But Murphy has said the state cant rush reopening because the numbers could surge again if its not done responsibly. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. In response to the call of the Vietnamese Prime Minister and the Vietnam Fatherland Central Committee on Covid-19 prevention, Essential Flavours has donated hundreds of rice sacks to support vulnerable people in Vietnam. Give a share to show you care - By giving a little, you will help out a lot Supporting the Vietnamese Government in the prevention and fight against COVID-19, individuals, organizations and companies have implemented proactive and significant donation events. Essential Flavours has also donated hundreds of rice sacks to vulnerable and families who have been affected by Covid 19 pandemic. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Essential Flavours has suffered from a decrease in business activity like many other companies. However, the company has endeavoured to support the community by following regulations of the Ho Chi Minh City authorities and assisting the Government and people with provisions. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the countrys economy and peoples life. However, it is the vulnerable members of community that need our support the most. Through the donation day, Essential Flavours wishes to accompany the Vietnamese Government in its efforts to control and prevent COVID-19 while helping relieve the worries of vulnerable families through the provision of rice, said a representative of Essential Flavours. Essential Flavours The Australian flavour with local expertise Essential Flavours was established in 1989 in Melbourne, Australia. Essential Flavours has been manufacturing and distributing flavours since then. In 2013 Essential Flavours set up a team and factory in Vietnam where it provides tailored flavour solutions to food, beverage and pharmaceutical companies across the country and South East Asia. Essential Flavours technical and sales teams work collaboratively, allowing them to quickly and effectively respond to customers unique requirements. Essential Flavours uses its extensive knowledge and global resources to research and inspire product development. Essential Flavours has its own Vietnamese flavour experts in-house and they understand what customers need for their products to taste great. Essentials flavours can be provided in liquid or powder and in synthetic or natural forms. They cover a wide variety of profiles from tea and coffee flavours, to vanilla and chocolates, spices and all types of fruits. Essential Flavours holds SQF accreditation and assures customers of both quality and consistency in its products. Essentials order processing team is ready to schedule your next order to be manufactured by our state-of -the-art production equipment. Essential looks forward to helping you with your next food or beverage product launch offering you quality flavours with local expertise. PV Demanding a level-playing field for e-commerce companies, internet and mobile companies body IAMAI on Thursday said the opening of standalone shops in the red zones raises the transmission risk of coronavirus as these are creating crowding for certain commodities. The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) requested the government to allow the sale of non-essential items as well by e-commerce players in the red zones to address pent-up demand for several items. The government in its guidelines for the third phase of lockdown from May 4 allowed the opening of standalone shops in the red zones but has restricted operations of e-commerce companies to the sale of essential items only. "IAMAI has appealed to the government to provide a level-playing field to e-commerce companies in the red zones," the industry body said in a statement. It said that the opening of standalone shops has created additional operational issues which are not good from a public health perspective. "Firstly, it is already being observed that such openings are creating massive crowding for certain kinds of commodities, that raises the risk of contagion. This is bound to happen given that after over 40 days of confinement, households have a pent-up demand for several items that go beyond the essential list allowed till date by the government," the IAMAI said. The industry body has demanded the government to allow priority products like kitchenware essentials, small electrical appliances, summer products like coolers, spares of all machines, clothing of certain types, work from home essentials like laptops, routers, chargers, mobiles etc for delivery by e-commerce services in the red and containment zones as well. "Going forward, the risk of contagion is expected to rise as further establishments are allowed to operate 'physically' without e-Commerce catering to part of the pent-up demand," IAMAI said. While the government has mandated social distancing during the purchase at shops, several pictures have appeared on social media showing people flouting the norms. The industry body has also requested to allow priority products in the periphery of containment zones or housing clusters within large containment zones by e-commerce companies. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The United Nations wants the money to help people in 63 countries, mainly in Africa and Latin America. The United Nations on Thursday more than tripled its appeal to help vulnerable countries combat the spread and destabilising effects of the coronavirus pandemic, asking for $6.7bn to help 63 nations, mainly in Africa and Latin America. While the United States and Europe are in the grip of the outbreak, UN aid chief Mark Lowcock warned that the virus was not expected to peak in the worlds poorest countries until some point over the next three to six months. In the poorest countries, we can already see economies contracting as export earnings, remittances and tourism disappear. Unless we take action now, we should be prepared for a significant rise in conflict, hunger and poverty, he said. The spectre of multiple famines looms, Lowcock warned. The new coronavirus, which causes the respiratory illness COVID-19, has infected some 3.7 million people globally, and more than 263,000 have died, according to a Reuters tally. The virus first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. The UN initially appealed for $2bn for the global humanitarian response plan at the end of March. As of May 5, the world body said it had received some $923m. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last month raised concerns about inadequate support for poor countries as he lamented a lack of leadership by world powers and a divided international community in the fight against the coronavirus. The 15-member UN Security Council has spent more than six weeks trying to negotiate a resolution that would emphasise the urgent need for enhanced cooperation among all countries in the fight against the coronavirus and call for a humanitarian truce in conflicts around the world. Diplomats say negotiations are stuck on a standoff between the US and China over how the resolution should reference the World Health Organization. Washington has criticised the UN agencys handling of the pandemic and accused it of being China-centric, an assertion it denies. Amid the council talks and broader growing tensions between the US and China over the pandemic, US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft and Chinese UN Ambassador Zhang Jun clashed on Twitter on Wednesday over the origins of the virus. #Covid19 is killing thousands of people worldwide, yet the Chinese Communist Party has not come clean about what it knows about this crisis that began in #Wuhan, Craft posted. Jun responded: All the facts are on the table. People are still dying in this country. Save lives. Blaming China cannot shrug off your own responsibilities. During a meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation, the Ukrainian delegation drew the attention of partner countries to the fact that the Ukrainian military had shot down a new Russian-made UAV Zastava in Donbas being another proof of Russia's military aggression. "During the online meeting of the Forum for Security Co-operation on Wednesday, May 6, we informed the delegations of the OSCE participating states about yet another proof of Russia's direct involvement in the war in eastern Ukraine a Russian-made Zastava unmanned aerial vehicle shot down by the Ukrainian Armed Forces," Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna Ihor Lossovsky said in a commentary to Ukrinform. According to the diplomat, this new drone of the Russian armed forces with the flight number "405" was shot down on April 5 near Svitlodarsk. It was not possible to immediately tell foreign partners about this fact, which once again confirms the direct participation of the Russian armed forces in the war in Donbas, because the meetings of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, over time, the Ukrainian delegation prepared a detailed presentation on this case and the UAV itself. In the presentation, we provided photos of the downed drone, its tactical and technical characteristics and method of application, informing that this type of UAV is manufactured by the Ural Works of Civil Aviation and has been in service with the Russian Armed Forces since 2013. We stressed that Russia must finally stop denying its participation in the war in eastern Ukraine and start constructive negotiations on a peaceful settlement, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna stressed. ol A whole lot of meat-eaters out there are getting a little worried lately. Supermarkets are limiting how much meat you can purchase at once. Wendy's is now removing beef from its menus in some places. Tyson has a big ol' blog post about how they're worried about a meat shortage, and it prompted the White House to mandate that meatpacking plants stay open, despite the awful conditions and chance of getting sick inside. Here's the reality, though: we're not running out of meat anytime soon, and it's worth addressing some of these bigger storylines with some additional context. It is totally fine if Wendy's wants to yank the Baconator off the menu, but they should at least be upfront about what the score is here. Their slogan for so long, the one that forced the hand of everyone else in the fast-food burger biz, was "Fresh, Never Frozen," and they're sticking to their guns. If they'd rather serve nothing before serving frozen burgers, that's their prerogative. Frankly, it's kind of admirable in its own way -- which is all the more reason to get out in front of these stories that are doing nothing but inducing panic in a country that relies so heavily on burger consumption just to feel something. That all said, this would be a perfect time for Wendy's to lean even harder into its generally-superior chicken products. The social media clamoring for spicy nuggets was a colossal publicity wave, and Wendy's could easily tap back into that. If there were ever a modern national symbol of Americans rising from the ashes with strength, it's the way we fought for the return of spicy nuggs. Wendy's uses frozen chicken, unlike the refrigerated beef, and you have to imagine they're sitting on a vault of the stuff somewhere. Oil majors may be slashing spending and deferring development plans across the globe, but they remain committed to developing the newest offshore oil finds in the heart of Latin America. The oil price collapse has forced the world's oil companies to slash spending and curb production at many projects that are uneconomical at the current prices. From Russia and Nigeria to the Permian basin in the United States, companies are scaling back output, either because of the new OPEC+ pact or because of economics. While production in the U.S. shale plays has started to decline in response to the low oil prices, development plans for the major offshore oil discoveries in Guyana and Suriname remain unchanged, with operators reiterating their pre-crash plans in the Q1 earnings releases. The price crash has upended production plans across the U.S. shale patch, but Guyana and Suriname were spared the ax, as independent energy analyst and consultant David Blackmon writes for Forbes. Long-Term Potential in Offshore Oil Projects These operators continue to view the oil discoveries offshore Guyana and Suriname as high-quality resources that deserve the full attention and financing even as oil prices are sitting below $30 a barrel. Abundant quality offshore resources could pump oil for decades, compared to a year or two of the wells in the U.S. shale patch, which are much cheaper and faster to design, drill, and develop, but which deplete much quicker than large offshore reservoirs. For this reason, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Exxon said at the earnings call last week that it would be cutting production in the Permian, yet going full-steam ahead with the developments in Guyana. Exxon Doubles Down on Guyana's Huge Oil Discoveries "Guyana remains an integral part of our long-term growth plans and as such is a high priority," Exxon's chairman and chief executive officer Darren Woods said on the call. Operations at Liza Phase 1 have been largely unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Exxon said. Thanks to the Liza Phase 1 development, Guyana officially joined the ranks of oil-producing nations at the end of December. Exxon and its partner, Hess Corporation, now believe that the recoverable resource base from 16 oil discoveries offshore Guyana is more than 8 billion oil-equivalent barrels. Related: Saudi Arabia Raises Oil Prices As Demand Recovers Liza Phase 1 continues to ramp up production, which is expected to reach full capacity of 120,000 bpd in June 2020, Exxon said last week. In addition, Liza Phase 2 development is carrying on as planned and remains on schedule for start-up in 2022. Exxon is also working with the Guyana government on the approval of the field development plan (FDP) for another discovery, Paraya, the U.S. supermajor said. "Unfortunately, the ongoing election process and uncertainty around the next administration has slowed government approvals of the Payara development plan," Exxon's Woods said on the earnings call last week. "The review of the Payara FDP is fairly advanced," but talks continue, Mark Bynoe, Director of Guyana's Department of Energy, said this week. The government of Guyana has also just deposited the first royalty payment for Guyana's crude, worth the equivalent of US$4.9 million, into the country's Natural Resources Fund (NRF), with the next deposit expected to be made at end-July. Guyana's crude is also attracting the largest commodity trading houses and oil majors willing to market the oil to which the government is entitled. As many as 34 firms--including Shell, which lifted Guyana's first oil cargoes; Exxon; and even Aramco Trading--expressed interest in April to market Guyana's share of the oil from the Exxon-operated Liza development, Stabroek News reported last month. Apache Bets on its Major Oil Discoveries Offshore Suriname Guyana's neighbor to the east, Suriname, has also shown great potential for holding considerable offshore oil resources. The companies that are exploring Suriname's waters, Apache Corporation and Total, are also reaffirming their pre-crisis plans for well drilling and appraisal. Arnaud Breuillac, President, Exploration & Production at Total, described the Guyana-Suriname Basin as "a highly favorable petroleum province," when Total entered in December the Block 58 offshore Suriname to partner with Apache. Four months later, Apache and Total had already announced two major oil discoveries that could turn Suriname into an oil producer the same way that significant oil discoveries made its neighbor Guyana the world's newest oil producer. Apache, which vowed discipline and prioritizing investment for long-term returns over production growth, said in its Q1 results release this week that it would advance the exploration program and follow-on appraisal activity in Block 58 offshore Suriname. Apache began drilling its third exploration well in the second half of April, and it will be followed by a fourth exploration well. The corporation will also finalize and submit this quarter the appraisal plan for its first Suriname discovery, Maka, announced in January, while appraisal planning for the second discovery announced in early April is underway, the company said. The reaffirmed commitment to the Guyana-Suriname basin highlights the companies' views that it is a top-quality high-resource area worth developing for long-term returns. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Artillery shelling by Libya's eastern-based forces killed five civilians and wounded dozens in the capital, Tripoli, an official with the country's U.N.-supported government said Thursday. It was the latest attack on Tripoli by the eastern forces' commander Khalifa Hifter, who launched a push last year to capture the city. The fighting, which has killed hundreds of civilians and displaced tens of thousands, has mostly stalemated in recent months. Libya has been in turmoil since 2011, when a civil war toppled long-time dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. The country has since 2015 been split between rival administrations in the east and the west, each backed by armed groups supported by an array of foreign powers. Hifter's offensive is supported by France and Russia, as well as Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and other key Arab countries. The government in Tripoli is backed by Turkey, which deployed troops and mercenaries to help defend the capital in January, as well as by Italy and Qatar. Mercenaries, mainly from the Syria battlefield, are now fighting on both sides and complicating the already complex proxy war. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) - While in 2016 were imported 5 vehicles, in 2017more than 100, and more than 600 in 2018, in 2019 Azerbaijan imported 1,467 Mexican vehicles. In recent years, the presence in the Azerbaijani market of cars produced in Mexico has increased exponentially. This situation is positively reflected in the considerable increase in imports by Azerbaijan of such vehicles since the opening of the Embassy of Mexico in Baku. In this sense, in 2019 the vehicles produced in Mexico, belonging to three categories, were ranked as the second most exported Mexican product to Azerbaijan and with the greatest opportunity for growth. As it is shown in the following graphs, cars with 1000-1500 cm3 engines represent the main category imported by Azerbaijan. In 2019, this type of car had an increase of 529.17%, in relation to 2018. Cars with a 1500-3000 cm3 engine also registered a significant increase. Mexican exports of this type of vehicle, used mainly in the Azerbaijani tourism sector, increased 55.33% in relation to the previous year. Those of smaller cars with a motor less than 1000 cm3 grew 440% compared to that period. As the tourism sector in Azerbaijan grows, the demand for 1500-3000 cm3 motor vehicles from Mexico is expected to continue to increase. In 2019, Mexico exported worldwide 3.3 million cars of companies such as Nissan, General Motors, Volkswagen, Toyota, Kia, Honda, Mazda, Ford and others. I wanted to show my students how much they are loved and how much they are being missed, said Elmasry. Additionally, I wanted to draw Ella, the girl in purple with the long hair, in particular, not only because she is an amazing language learner, but also because her dad was a member of the National Guard. [May 07, 2020] Committed to the Cause, Impetus Joins Hands With Indore District Administration to Fight COVID-19 NEW DELHI, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Impetus Technologies (India) Pvt. Ltd. collaborated with Indore district administration to provide up to 500 pulse oximeters to ensure smooth monitoring of coronavirus patients. The organization has already delivered over 100 pulse oximeters to the district administration at Indore. Pulse oximeter is the most effective medical devices during this crisis, which indirectly monitors the oxygen saturation and blood volume of patients. This devce helps doctors to monitor patients, especially asymptomatic cases, during home quarantine. This will ensure that patients are brought to the hospital only if necessary and save the availability of hospital beds for critical cases. On this initiative, Sanjeev Agrawal, VP Operations & Human Empowerment, said, "We are committed to ensuring that we keep the people and the state safe. We will contribute to the society and community in further ways to help tackle this pandemic effectively." About Impetus Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. Impetus Technologies is a software products and services company focused on creating powerful and intelligent enterprises through deep data awareness, data integration and advanced data analytics. Our products and services are designed to empower the real-time data driven enterprise, to help our clients win in the modern world of digital transformation. Impetus is proud to partner with such Fortune 100 clients. The company is headquartered in Los Gatos, California with international offices in India, Australia and Canada. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1136002/Impetus_Technologies_Logo.jpg [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] As part of our #LockdownLessons series, Bizcommunity is reaching out to South Africa's top industry players to share their experience of the current Covid-19 crisis, how their organisations are navigating these unusual times, where the challenges and opportunities lie, and their industry outlook for the near future. Grant Smee, MD of Only Realty and founder of EPiC South Africa What was your initial response to the crisis/lockdown and has your experience of it been different to what you expected? Comment on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on your organisation or economy as a whole. How is your organisation responding to the crisis? Comment on the challenges and opportunities. Has the lockdown affected your staff? / What temporary HR policies have you put in place regarding remote working, health & safety, etc.? How are you navigating physical distancing while keeping your team close-knit and aligned? How have you had to change the way you operate? Any trends youve seen emerge as a result of the crisis? What do you predict the next six months will be like? Your key message to those in the sector? We chatted to Grant Smee, MD of Only Realty and founder of EPiC South Africa, to get his take.I am generally a 'wait-and-see' type person, rather than reacting to the unknown. The lockdown has been in line with my expectations in almost every aspect in terms of the devastating effect it has had on our industry and individuals operating within the industry.Our entire team (and industry), across the country, is at a standstill and has been classified at level two in the risk-adjusted strategy. Many of the businesses in our industry were going to struggle through the initial 21-day lockdown, so to be in a position that they would only be able to operate in several months time is going to mean that many wont see the light of day at the end of lockdown.Overall, the first six weeks of lockdown has meant that our business, outside of being able to generate new deals, has lost close on 40% of its overall monthly turnover. The worst of it is that there are other industry players that have been hit by far worse losses.Although we have taken a severe knock in our turnover across the board, our lean business model means that we will largely come out the other side of lockdown with our doors open and the ability to operate. We have embraced, like most, remote meeting software to work from home and keep in regular contact with offices, as well as regular leadership meetings. The most important response I do feel has been our acceptance of the current situation and focusing our time, energy and conversations on day one post-lockdown.Obvious challenges we share are the same among most businesses in the country, those being cashflow challenges, negative sentiments, frustration and lack of control of our return to operation. We do, however, see that there is an opportunity to realise that our industry, like many others, will go through significant change in the coming months, not so much from a technology point of view, but rather from a value position. Going forward, we will be in a value economy, where our clients will expect value for money, and we will need to be able to show and create value for our clients. Expertise, innovation and a client-centric business model will be key to taking advantage of a market that has only one direction to go at the end of lockdown. Our only job right now is to survive until day one.Absolutely, in a positive and negative way. All of our staff are working remotely, which was not difficult as we already had most of the systems available to do so. Although remote working certainly has its efficiencies, working remotely loses the human interaction that comes with offices and working with your team. Overall, the greatest effect on our staff has been in terms of mindset. From an HR perspective, we have started gearing our offices up for the return to a normal office routine, with the implementation of required health & safety and HR policies to protect our staff's health and wellbeing.Our entire team is still working remotely, we will have to navigate physical distancing once we can return to the offices. Keeping our teams aligned has come through regular, transparent and effective communication from our franchisees to their teams and from the national office to the franchisees.Certain parts of our business are entirely restricted due to the nature of a lockdown and will be hampered for the duration of any lockdown. We have, however, made more use of technology for communication and interaction with colleagues and clients, as well as exploring new ideas to make our traditional business more streamlined with fewer hurdles for our clients to hop over.There has been an overall trend in the industry to reposition their offering as an online offering. The reality of it is it is very difficult, if not near impossible, to replace our services with technology only. Technology will certainly play a major role going forward, but will not replace agents.Until we know when the lockdown will be over, it will be nothing but a rocky road where uncertainty, frustration and fear will be the catalyst to send emotions into overdrive. A lot of our peers are going to lose their businesses in the next six months, its going to be devastating.Hold on tight, its not going to be fun for the next six months. Save where you can, cut costs where you must, and do your all to survive until we can operate again. There is no other option. Two Ukrainian servicemen received shrapnel wounds as a result of shelling attacks by illegal armed groups in the area of the towns of Novotoshkivske and Starohnativka in Donbas, the press center of the headquarters of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) has reported. "Today, on May 7, Russian-occupation forces once again neglecting the ceasefire regime fired on the positions of the JFO units. So, against the defenders of the town of Starohnativka, the Russian invaders used an unmanned aerial vehicle from which a VOG-17 grenade shot was dropped. One soldier received a fragmentary wound," the JFO staff said in its update on Facebook. It is also noted that the enemy fired from 122 mm artillery systems prohibited by the Minsk agreements near the town of Novotoshkivske. Temi, the newest addition to the medical staff at Brisbanes Greenslopes hospital, never gets tired, never gets sick and is always there for patients. Because Temi is a robot. More specifically, Temi is a telepresence robot, a semi-autonomous platform doctors can use during situations such as pandemics to remain socially distant from patients while still giving one-on-one treatment. Dr Mark Baldwin uses a Temi telepresence robot outside Greenslopes hospital's emergency room. Credit:Stuart Layt The hospitals Emergency Centre director, Dr Mark Baldwin, said patients had been reacting well to the newest doctor on the wards since two Temi units had been put into action over the past few weeks. U.S. President Donald Trump recently accused the Chinese government of covering up the COVID-19 outbreak. He released an 'intel' that suggested Beijing allowed the virus to spread. His accusations worsened the relationship between the two economic powerhouses. Chinese officials condemned the Trump administration's claims, saying it is 'willful ignorance' and dangerous mismanagement. Experts believe the frosty relationship between both countries is a 'dangerous dynamic.' The Cold War, they say, could lead to a prolonged pandemic and throw the world into a deeper economic crisis. It could cause problems to trade talks and open new geopolitical rifts. The Worst in Five Decades The U.S.-China relations are at the worst they've been in five decades. The worsening ties could affect a much-touted trade deal that calls on Beijing to buy more American products. The 94-page agreement detailed purchases the Chinese government planned to make. It included $77 billion worth of American manufactured goods-including cars, airplanes, and medical equipment. They will also buy agricultural products worth $32 billion and liquefied natural gas and crude oil for $52.4 billion. It is unclear whether or not China will follow through with the signed agreement. Experts believe the pledge was going to be hard to fulfill following shrinking economies brought about by the pandemic. Chinese President Xi Jinping may choose to renegotiate the deal instead. Steve Mnuchin, Trump's treasury secretary, expects Xi to uphold the agreement. Failing to do so could have significant consequences as to how other nations would do business with them, he claims. Reparations Despite Mnuchin's hopes to preserve the deal, President Trump revealed he is considering the idea of imposing new tariffs on Chinese products. He also floated the idea of extracting reparations for the effect the coronavirus pandemic has on the economy and the American citizens. According to the U.S. president, they have yet to determine the final amount of possible reparations, but declared it is 'very substantial.' The Chinese government responded to the 'threat'. They claim some political figures are using the COVID-19 pandemic to stigmatize China. They said the reparations were preposterous and were part of a political farce. Possible Outcome China, on the other hand, has reportedly finalized plans to establish an air defense identification zone in the South China Sea. The move will likely create further complications and create a conflict with the United States who move navy ships through the area. Shi Yinjong, an international relations professor, said both countries are in a new Cold War. The relationship, he claims, is very different from that of a few months ago. Should a Cold War ensue, the Pentagon's budget will take a big hit. The U.S. government spent large amounts of money on keeping the nation's economy alive in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision likely added several trillion dollars to the year's deficit. The spiraling deficiencies could heavily affect the U.S. Defense Department. Experts are concerned whether the U.S. military can stop a Chinese assault on Taiwan and defend the nation in the Western Pacific while still maintaining all commitments with the rest of the world. The Pentagon may start reducing commitments to keep China in check. It could also choose high-risk strategies like nuclear escalation, or only bluff and hope the adversary won't test the country's limited capabilities. Want to read more news? Check these out: Jacksonville Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Steven D. Tucker, 29, homeless, was arrested at 7:57 p.m. Tuesday on charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving while license suspended after a traffic stop in the 600 block of South Diamond Street. Rana M. Garrett, 43, of 205 Rimbey St., Apt. 11, Murrayville, was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct at 12:41 a.m. Wednesday after police said she caused a disturbance inside Jiffi Stop convenience store at 841 W. Morton Ave. and harassed an employee. She was charged 16 minutes later with resisting/obstructing a peace officer after police said she disobeyed officers commands and tried to resist being handcuffed. Garrett also was cited on a city ordinance violation against intoxication, according to a police report. VANDALISM Police were called at 2:42 a.m. Wednesday after someone in the 300 block of West State Street noticed a number 3 had been spray-painted on the door and hood of a car. Cass County Beardstown Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Chance E. Schreieck, 26, of 111 Clay St., Beardstown, was booked into the Morgan County jail at 7:47 p.m. Tuesday on charges of unlawful use of a weapon, criminal damage to property and resisting a peace officer. Greene County Sheriff ARRESTS, CITATIONS Elizabeth A. Yeager, 40, of Biloxi, Mississippi was booked into Greene County Jail at 6:23 p.m. Saturday on a charge of driving while license is revoked or suspended. Joshua S. Adcock, 30, of Carrollton was booked into Greene County Jail at 10:47 p.m. April 30 on charges of driving while license is suspended and possession of a controlled substance. Katie Jo Baumgartner, 38, of Virden was booked into Greene County Jail at 4:49 p.m. April 25 on charges of improper lane use and driving under the influence. Christy Ann Plogger, 49, of Rockbridge was booked into Greene County Jail at 2:14 p.m. April 25 on a charge of domestic battery. Michael A. Plogger, 57, of Rockbridge was booked into Greene County Jail at 1:35 p.m. April 25 on a charge of domestic battery. Carrollton Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Daniel C. Voyles, 49, of Carrollton was booked into Greene County Jail at 4:53 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of disorderly conduct. Joshua S. Adcock, 30, of Carrollton was booked into Greene County Jail at 2:08 a.m. April 27 on a charge of having a controlled substance in a penal institution and on a Greene County warrant accusing him of domestic battery, criminal damage to property and interfering with the reporting of domestic violence. Sierria N. Benkowski, 29, of Carrollton was booked into Greene County Jail at 1:11 a.m. April 27 on a charge of possession of a controlled substance. White Hall Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Dakota L. Kallal, 23, of White Hall was booked into Greene County Jail at 4:02 p.m. April 24 on a Calhoun County warrant accusing him of violating bail bond. Scott County Sheriff ARRESTS, CITATIONS Ricardo S. Castaneda, 29, of Bakersfield, California, was booked into Greene County Jail at 5:02 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of cannabis trafficking. Daniel A. Brooks, 30, of White Hall was booked into Greene County Jail at 6:45 a.m. Monday on a charge of residential burglary. Coty M. Newingham, 31, of White Hall was booked into Greene County Jail at 1:37 p.m. April 24 on a charge of domestic battery. Compiled by David C.L. Bauer The Federal Government has extended the ban placed on flights in the country as part of efforts to curtail the spread of coronavirus for another four weeks. The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Mr Boss Mustapha, disclosed this at the daily briefing of the task force on Wednesday. Mustapha, who is also the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, said the decision to extend the ban was taken after due consultation with experts. He said, Tomorrow marks the last day for the enforcement of the closure of Nigerias airspace to flights. We have assessed the situation in the aviation industry and have come to the conclusion that given the facts available to us and based on the advice of experts, the ban on all flights will be extended for an additional four weeks. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 23:07:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAIRO, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Thursday welcomed the formation of the Iraqi government under the new prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and voiced readiness for enhancing mutual cooperation. "Egypt is ready to exert all sincere efforts for supporting the Iraqi government in achieving its targets," Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said in a statement. He highlighted the importance of Iraq at the regional and international levels, extending wishes for the new government to work on meeting the aspirations of the Iraqi people in achieving stability and security. Al-Kadhimi on Wednesday was sworn in as the country's new prime minister after weeks of political negotiations. Enditem [May 07, 2020] WebMD Health Services Adds New Series to Help Employees Navigate COVID-19 Mental Health Challenges PORTLAND, Ore., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- WebMD Health Services has integrated a weekly podcast on mental health issues including those emerging during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide employers with timely, evidence-based insights to support their employees' mental and emotional well-being. Through a partnership with Beyond Well Solutions, WebMD Health Services will release new private custom podcasts weekly on mental health and COVID-19-related mental health topics including techniques for coping, creating balance, dealing with anxiety, insomnia, domestic violence, change in the workplace, caring for the caregiver, company downsizing and more. The series will be available exclusively to all WebMD Health Services clients as part of WebMD ONE, the WebMD Health Services well-being platform. Demonstrating Employer Commitment Recent reports have shown that nearly half (45%) of U.S. adults report that COVID-19 has had a negative impact on their mental health due to worry and stress over the virus. As the pandemic wears on, it is likely the mental health burden will increase as measures taken to slow the spread of the virus, such as social distancing, business and school closures and shelter-in-place orders, lead to greater isolation and potential financial distress. Re-openings and returns to work may continue to fuel stress and other mental health concerns as employees worry about safety. The most commo mental disorders at work are anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. "This series demonstrates that employers are committed to helping their workforce meet these challenges," said Andrea Herron, WebMD Health Services Head of People. "For many people, fear of stigma can affect how they relate to others, and employees often try to hide what they are going through. By integrating custom podcasts with WebMD ONE, employees can access support privately. This engagement can mitigate fears of being 'found out' and can potentially increase employee participation in Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)." The podcast team is moderated by a leading journalist and author on issues of mental health, Sheila Hamilton and features Jenna Lejeune, PhD., a licensed clinical psychologist and co-founder and president of the Portland Psychotherapy Clinic, Research, and Training Center and other clinical psychologists and mental health thought leaders. About WebMD Health Services WebMD Health Services has over 20 years of experience driving positive behavior changes. Consumers trust WebMD for reliable, accurate, and clear answers to their most pressing health-related questions. At WebMD Health Services, we tap into these valuable consumer insights to design and implement successful, engaging solutions to help individuals meet their well-being needs. We understand that there are numerous paths to reach well-being goals. Our expertise, combined with a variety of third-party partner integrations, enables us to deliver unique and personalized experiences across a wide range of industries. See how we support these diverse populations at webmdhealthservices.com. WebMD Health Services is a subsidiary of WebMD Health Corp. About WebMD Health Corp. WebMD Health Corp., an Internet Brands company, is the leading provider of health information services, serving consumers, physicians, healthcare professionals, employers, and health plans through our public and private online portals, mobile platforms, and health-focused publications. The WebMD Health Network includes WebMD Health, Medscape, MedicineNet, eMedicineHealth, RxList, Medscape Education, OnHealth, and other owned WebMD sites. About Beyond Well Solutions: Beyond Well Solutions, LLC provides customizable company podcasts for employers to directly communicate to employees, increase utilization of EAP services and is designed to improve employee work performance. The company is based in Portland, Ore and is a subsidiary of the podcast Beyond Well with Sheila Hamilton. www.beyondwellsolutions.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/webmd-health-services-adds-new-series-to-help-employees-navigate-covid-19-mental-health-challenges-301054870.html SOURCE WebMD Health Corp. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] MATTITUCK, NY Horns honking and flags flying high under bright, sunny skies, a steady stream of cars headed down Elijahs Lane in Mattituck Thursday as scores of joyful North Fork residents turned out to welcome home one of their own back after a long battle with coronavirus. According to all accounts, David Steele, 63, a farmer known for his huge heart and dedication, defied all the odds: His daughter Kristin Payano said he spent three weeks on a ventilator in ICU at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, two weeks on a regular COVID floor, and two weeks at the Westhampton Care Center. "Dad is a fighter and kicked COVID's a--," she said. "We are so happy to have him home!" Of the long line of well-wishers who drove past his home Thursday to salute a hometown hero and welcome home their "Man of Steele", Kristin said: "Words can't express how thankful our family is for everyone's love and support! Wow! That was some parade! Thank you for helping us welcome our father, papa, and husband home. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to be there. Thanks to all that helped with the parade. We are thankful that our dad was able to come home and our heart goes out to all those families whose loved ones didn't make it home or are fighting this terrible virus." Courtesy Denise Thilberg. She added that the parade was a warm sight for hearts weary after a long two months: "We had big trucks, work trucks, garbage trucks, pool trucks, fire trucks, oil trucks, old cars, burn-outs, ATVs cute kids, families, farmers, neighbors, our family. It doesn't get better than that," Kristin said. Steele, a Mattituck High School graduate, had no other health issues when he was diagnosed with coronavirus, Kristin said. For about a week before he was first hospitalized at Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital, her father was tired, with uncharacteristic headaches, a cough, and then, a fever, she said. Story continues He was admitted to SBELIH on Friday, March 20 and by Saturday night, his blood oxygen levels were going down, so he was intubated and then transported to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, where he was a patient through April 24. The long weeks, Kristin said, were filled with fear. "It was scary," she said. "He was able to speak with us from his cell phone while he was in the hospital Friday, but once he was intubated, we didn't talk to him for three weeks. Until he got off the ventilator, we could not talk to him." Courtesy Denise Thilberg. Her family, including her mother Sherry, her brother Kyle, who lives in Mattituck, and her older brother David, who lives in Virginia with his family, banded together to help one another: Kristin, who lives on Shelter Island with her young children, would bring the kids to her mom's house in Mattituck, backing the van up to the driveway so they could wave signs that Sherry could see through the door. "We still practiced social distancing but we tried to comfort each other, even though we weren't hugging, or holding each other," she said. Other days, Kristin would bring her children to the farm her father, she said, now grows hay and straw; he was once a potato farmer so that they could play tag, "be silly," and try to lift their grandmother's spirits, from a safe distance away. "It was hard," she said. "All they want is to hug and love my mom and they can't." Courtesy Denise Thilberg. The days passed with her father on the ventilator, and the uncertainty mounted. Her family was told that patients were only kept on a ventilator normally for 10 days, but some COVID patients were on for about two weeks. "And it was getting close to that," she said. Until Easter weekend. On Friday night, Kristin said, they were going to take out the tube but her father's heart rate went up and the hospital staff had to wait. The task was performed successfully on Saturday morning, the day before Easter. "His doctor told me, 'Your father is my Easter miracle,'" Kristin said. "He said, 'I wish I could hug you.' I told him, 'When this is over, I am coming to hug you.'" The next day, Kristin said, staff at the hospital put the phone up to her dad's ear. "He was so weak. He obviously wasnt able to talk, but my mom was able to talk to him, saying, 'We love you. Everything is fine. Keep getting stronger, so you can get home.'" The entire staff at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, Kristin said, "was amazing." Even though they couldn't speak to her father, the staff updated them frequently and kept a sense of normalcy even in the most challenging of times. "We told them every day, 'Please tell him his family loves him.'" Courtesy Darla Doorhy. Her parents, Kristin said, will mark their 40th wedding anniversary next year. Sherry, Dave's wife, said after many dark weeks, "I'll be happy today when I see my husband." For so long, she said, her only glimpses of her beloved Dave were through windows, as she stood outside his hospital room and later, on the lawn outside the Westhampton Care Center. "I could barely see him," she said. Courtesy Denise Thilberg. The past weeks, she said, have been "a nightmare, an absolute nightmare. I wasn't able to talk to him for three-and-a-half weeks. We had to wait for the doctor to call every day; we didn't know on a daily basis if he was going to make it or not. It was extremely scary and there were so many ups and downs, because it was so new." Her husband, she said, was one day away from being taken off the ventilator and undergoing a tracheotomy, she said. When she heard he'd been taken off the vent, she said, "I cried and cried." Of the many who turned out for his homecoming, Sherry said it's no surprise. "He's very easygoing. He does a lot for people. He's just that kind of person; he'll do anything for anyone. So many people love him. He's going to be shocked by how many turn out today." Sherry thanked her children for "stepping up to the plate"; her son Kyle, she said, took over the farm as well as running his own landscaping business; her son in Virginia made calls regarding insurance and banking; and her daughter has been a constant source of help with the doctors and medical staff. The North Fork community, Sherry added, "is amazing." In the hours leading up to the moment when she could go pick up her husband, Sherry said, "I can't even describe how excited I am, just to wrap my arms around him. I start crying when I think about it. I just want to tell him, 'I love you.' I'm going to be so happy to see him. I know I'm going to cry. I just want to hold him." Her husband, she said, was equally excited to be headed back to the North Fork. "He asked me this morning, 'Hon, do you have enough gas?' He was joking; he didn't want there to be anything to stop him from getting home." If anyone could beat COVID-19, Kristin said, it was her father, who had the inner stamina to fight the virus. Courtesy Beth Shipman. "He's tough; all these farmers are stubborn," she said. "He's a fighter. He's retired military, too - he was in the Air Force." After he was off the ventilator, she said, her father had no memory of being dropped off at the hospital or of what happened during the long days after. "He's putting the pieces together," she said. Reflecting on the experience, Kristin said her father's homecoming was especially sweet based on the unfamiliar territory her family traversed. "We're so excited," she said. "Honestly, we didn't think was going to happen. We thought we were going to have to say good-bye to our dad. This really is a miracle. We thought we weren't going to see him again." When her father was being transported to the Westhampton Care Center, Kristin and her mom sat outside the hospital with signs, thanking the staff at Stony Brook Southampton for saving her father's life. One staffer, she said. even told him, "You were that guy we didn't think you were going to make it.'" (Courtesy Carly Doorhy) Her children her son is four and her daughter is two, Kristin said are thrilled to see "Papa." "They're excited," she said. "My son would cry, 'I don't want Papa in the hospital anymore. I want him home.'" Kristin and her mom have made signs for him throughout his whole COVID-19 journey. At Stony Brook Southampton, as soon as her dad could sit up, Kristin said they'd stand outside "and he'd wave to us out the window." (Courtesy Denise Thilberg) Later, when he was at the Westhampton Care Center, again, Kristin, her mom and the kids would stand outside the window, the children playing in the grass. Courtesy Beth Shipman. Her family's lives have changed in many ways since their father was diagnosed with coronavirus, Kristin said. "Life is precious. You never know what's going to happen." Of her father, Kristin said: "We just want him to know that we love him. He's a fighter and we're so proud of him." This article originally appeared on the North Fork Patch Enters into a partnership to jointly develop a rapid testing kit for the screening of COVID-19 infections Kokata based Adamas University has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ecura Labs Private Limited (Registered Trademark Biogenick Life). Adamas University and Ecura Labs will be jointly working to develop a cheap and rapid detection kit for the screening of COVID-19 infection. This detection kit will be convenient, rapid, highly sensitive, and extremely suitable for large-scale screening of COVID-19 as compared with the current existing kits in the market. The results can be obtained within 15 minutes using this kit. This kit will also help to reduce the exposure risk of health care workers and facilitate early diagnosis and exclusion of suspicious cases. The MoU was signed by Arup Kumar Sil, Registrar, and Dr. Amalesh Mukhopadhaya, Chairman of Centre for Research and Innovation, from Adamas University and Abhijnan Basu, Director, and Dr. Animikh Ray, Chief Scientific Officer from Ecura Labs Private Ltd. The School of Life Science & Biotechnology at Adamas University will work actively with a team of researchers from Ecura Labs to develop the COVID-19 kit. Dr. Rudra Prasad Saha, Associate Dean, School of Life Science & Biotechnology, and Dr. Anwesha Chatterjee, Assistant Professor, Department of Biotechnology from Adamas University will participate in the joint development of the rapid detection kit. On this development Prof. Samit Ray, Chancellor, Adamas University said, It is a moment of pride for us. Our professors and whole team is doing a wonderful job. Adamas University is among those top-notch universities which has taken every possible measure to support the current situation. Apart from contributing in the relief funds, Adamas has offered its land for isolation centers where 1000 patients are quarantined. They are also provided necessary essentials like food and water free of cost. All these initiatives are a part of our property #AdamasCares which is completely focused on taking best possible measures to support the nation during this pandemic. We pray that we all quickly overcome the situation and get back to our normal life. Ecura Labs is a private limited company based out of Kolkata, West Bengal (India) which works primarily in the space of AI-based digital health application for disease prognosis assessment & management. In a two-minute video published on his Facebook page on Thursday before Easter, Prime Minister Viktor Orban made important announcements. He spoke with his usual confidence but, perhaps as a sign of hurried times, he read some parts of his speech from handwritten paper notes. This was the moment when he announced the extension of the partial curfew due to the COVID-19 crisis and gave mayors extra rights to introduce locally adapted measures for the upcoming Easter period. The part about the extra rights was met with surprise at several local municipalities. Just a few days earlier, the government had introduced a proposal that would have significantly curbed the rights of mayors. Now Orban made a step in the opposite direction. The confusion grew even bigger when it turned out that not even senior government officials had been briefed about the details of the move. After Orbans video announcement, one of the opposition-led municipalities contacted several high-ranking government officials, but none of them were fully aware of what exactly was going on. Details were only revealed hours later, at around 11 pm, when the text of the government decree was published in the Official Journal. Municipalities that had already been under big pressure had to hurry up to introduce their own local rules starting from the following day, Good Friday. This episode shows how the epidemic forced the usually very disciplined Orban government into seemingly chaotic and rushed decisions. While in the past ten years the government seemed to operate with almost military-style discipline, the last few weeks brought several U-turns from the Orban administration. In some cases, decisions were changed within days or even hours. One example of such a turn was when Orban reversed his decision about the necessity of school closure within one day. According to government sources, Orban does not like to act based on outside pressure, however, encountering the public reaction in this case made him quickly change his view. He recognized the political risks involved in keeping the schools open when more and more parents were afraid to take their children there. The government also made an about-face in connection with a law that gave special authorization to Orban. Government officials first seemed willing to seek a compromise with the opposition, but then suddenly took up a confrontative position. According to government sources, this change was partly the idea of Arpad Habony, Orbans combative unofficial advisor. Another sign of hesitancy was when the government introduced the law that would have curbed the rights of mayors, only to withdraw it within one day. This showed a lack of internal coordination the proposal was opposed by Gergely Gulyas, the powerful minister heading the Prime Ministers Office, and several influential mayors from the governing party Fidesz also expressed objections in the background, including Andras Cser-Palkovics, the mayor of Szekesfehervar. Government insiders explain these swift turns with the challenge of managing several issues simultaneously, facing a huge influx of information. According to them, this does not mean that the government is losing control. They say that Orban in fact is enjoying situations like these, when he can present himself as a crisis manager and a problem solver. In order to reconstruct the political twists and turns of the past weeks, we conducted in-depth interviews with more than a dozen people government sources as well as opposition politicians who were present at government-initiated meetings. The government and Orbans Fidesz party have not responded to our questions. The day when life overruled Orban The government was in the middle of building up a new political campaign when the COVID-19 epidemic broke out. In his January press conference, Orban mooted the topic of compensation for school segregated Roma and for convicted prisoners. He said that, due to these two issues, peoples sense of justice was wounded. While these might have seemed only random comments at that time, soon the whole government machinery pivoted toward the compensation issue. This was going to be the subject of a new campaign similarly to the anti-migration campaigns from previous years which would have been further elevated by a so-called national consultation in spring. However, the COVID-19 crisis made an abrupt end to this careful planning and forced the government to take extraordinary measures. On March 11, the government announced the state of emergency and also ordered the closure of universities, since the first confirmed COVID-19 cases were university students. The government seemed less confident when it came to the question of schools and kindergartens. First, the government did not consider the closure of schools justified. More than one million school-children staying at home and not stepping out to the streets that is out of question, Minister Gulyas Gergely stated at the press conference when the state of emergency was announced. The government also said that school headmasters did not have the right to order an extraordinary school break, this can only be done by the government. Although several EU member states were already ordering a full or partial closure of schools, in a radio interview on March 13 Orban still said that this move was not necessary. He argued that the virus cannot infect children, school closure would mean the end of the school year, and teachers would have to take unpaid leave. On the same day, independent media outlets published several articles that showed how schools have already been impacted by the virus. It turned out that a child of a confirmed COVID-19 patient was a student of a renowned high school in Budapest and that, based on parents requests, headmasters of several schools allowed children to miss classes. In addition, two teachers unions contradicted the PMs announcement. One of them stated that the closure of schools would not mean the end of the school year since teaching could be continued remotely. They also said that if the government did not react to their proposals, they would encourage parents to provide justifications for the absence of their children. Soon it became clear that even some government politicians disagreed with Orbans position. On March 13, a meeting of the seven parliamentary political parties and government representatives started at 6 pm in the building of the Prime Ministers Office. The opposition had already argued for school closure earlier but, according to several opposition members, it was surprising that even the governing parties, the junior Christian Democratic party in particular, supported this position. One Christian Democrat told Direkt36 that, contrary to Fidesz, they had thought in the past days that another education method should be introduced. In their view, if parents preferred school closure, then their opinion should have been taken into consideration. This was not a health question but a social issue, the politician said. By then, Fidesz also realized that public opinion went against the governments position. As Fidesz faction leader Mate Kocsis told those present at the meeting, his child was among the very few ones still going to the kindergarten group, and other parents stopped taking their kids even though they knew he would be aware of any potential threat. He concluded that parents had already made up their minds, and this must be taken into consideration. Gulyas, who also attended the meeting, hinted that closure was being considered. According to an opposition politician, the minister said that the government had not yet taken a decision but there were many arguments that would have justified such a move. Orban also felt the change of mood. According to a government politician, he received information from various sources during the day, as he attended the briefing of the COVID-19 Operational Group, the team in charge of the national response, and met with virologists and mathematicians. He also heard that peoples attitudes changed and that parents stopped taking their children to schools, the politician said. This was the peak of hysteria, both the press and the public kept saying schools should be closed, another government source said. The source added that even though Orban does not like to give in to press panic, he felt he had to take a move to regain control of the situation. He is able to let go his previous decisions. If life overrules him, then he adopts, the source said. The government was looking for a solution that would allow Orban to save face. On Friday evening after 9 pm, the Prime Minister announced in a live Facebook video that schools would be switching to digital education. This was communicated as an intermediary solution which was not entirely contradicting his earlier position from the morning. A friendly atmosphere In the meantime, an important legal question arose. Decrees adopted during the state of emergency expire in 15 days, meaning that for example the decision about the closure of universities would have become invalid by the end of March. The government was looking for a solution for a prolonged epidemic. They came up with the so-called authorization law, which eventually triggered an ugly confrontation between the government and the opposition, even though the negotiations started unusually peacefully. On March 18, the government invited representatives of the seven parliamentary parties to discuss its concept proposal at 6:30 pm in the building of the Prime Ministers Office. Opposition parties received the draft law about the defense against the coronavirus a few hours before the meeting. The main point of the only three-page-long proposal was that the government was asking for authorization from Parliament to rule by decrees indefinitely, until the epidemic lasted, in issues related to the epidemic. The meeting was held in a surprisingly constructive mode according to several people present. This time, the government did not push opposition criticism aside but seemed open to changes or tried mitigating concerns. Provisions changing the Criminal Code to strictly punish scaremongers were also part of the proposal. Timea Szabo, faction leader of the opposition Dialogue party, said at the meeting that this sent a bad message and many would interpret it as aimed at journalists. In response, Fidesz faction leader Mate Kocsis and state secretary Balazs Orban (no relation to the Prime Minister) said that this did not target journalists but rather those individuals who caused panic by spreading false rumors about the lockdown of Budapest on Facebook and Youtube. They stated that these kinds of false news posed a bigger risk during an epidemic and sanctions should be increased to discourage them. Kocsis added that the text of the proposal was vague enough that no judge would sentence anyone on its basis. The opposition also objected that the authorization did not have an end date. As Tamas Harangozo, an MP from the Socialist Party recalled, reading the text, the word coup detat came to my mind, but he also added that he thought the point of this meeting was to find a compromise acceptable to all of them. The opposition also criticized that, according to the government proposal, only the Parliament could withdraw the authorization before the end of the epidemic, which they found unacceptable because the government had a two-thirds parliamentary majority, thus almost full control of the legislation. Opposition politicians suggested to include various time limits, such as 30 or 90 days, for the authorization. But Fidesz opposed this, raising the possibility that the Parliament cannot be convened due to the epidemic. The oppositions reaction was to include some sort of an automatism into the system, meaning that if the Parliament cannot hold sessions, then the deadline of the authorization would be automatically prolonged. Also present at the meeting, Minister of Justice Judit Varga indicated that she was not authorized to negotiate about the proposals but said that she would forward them to the government. Both sides recalled that the atmosphere of the meeting was good. Timea Szabo not only praised Kocsis, but also said that Judit Varga, known for her confrontational style, listened to everyone, she was kind. In an interview two days later, Kocsis praised the constructive tone, saying, we made concessions anyway, because its not a power struggle, not a debate on the usual political agenda. Opposition MPs expected the negotiations to continue. According to Gergely Arato from the Democratic Coalition (DK), one of the government representatives said that another consultation will probably be necessary. Arato then thought this could happen sometime over the weekend. Trusting his, participants tried to keep what was said confidential, and they did not hold a press conference after the consultation. Soon, however, the first critical voices about the authorization law appeared from the opposition side. Based on leaked information, left-leaning newspaper Nepszava reported on the new bill. Laszlo Gyorgy Lukacs, an MP from the rightwing Jobbik party, shared the story on his Facebook page rather critically, referring to corona dictatorship. Independent opposition MP Akos Hadhazy wrote that day, also on Facebook, that he would not vote for the proposal without a deadline. He said he would not give full power to Orban. These comments were noticed by the government. Some found Lukacss Facebook post especially infuriating since he was part of the meetings where parties agreed to cooperate on the law. There is no point in negotiating when someone behind closed doors is constructive, but then insults us just to collect likes, said a pro-government politician, adding that it seemed that the opposition was using the epidemic to build their own narrative about Orbans dictatorship. Lukacs, however, told Direkt36 that he had posted the critical comment because his personal intuition at the time was that the government would not cooperate with the opposition. Habonys strike Fidesz changed its position on Friday, though they had not immediately gone public with it. One opposition politician felt the change when he contacted a member of the Fidesz faction dealing with technical affairs to ask if there was already a date for the next seven-party consultation. The opposition MP was surprised when the Fidesz politicians suggested that he should ask Kocsis, the leader of the faction who usually did not address dates and similarly practical issues. This suggested to the opposition MP that Fideszs strategy had changed and that no further substantive negotiations were expected. Late Friday night, the justice minister presented the bill to the parliament. The draft, which was made public at this point, adopted only one of the oppositions many requests. This was only a wording suggestion, which said that the government may exercise the special authority in the context of the epidemic, to the extent necessary and proportionate. Apart from this, there were no more concessions to the opposition. Orban decided that it was not worth compromising with the opposition. According to government sources, he believed that the opposition was not united, so even if he made an agreement with them, not all opposition parties and politicians would adhere to it. On the government side, many thought that the deal would thus probably only be short-lived, and this would also cause political damage to the government. In order not to compromise, they thought that it was necessary not to include a deadline in the Authorization Act. It was obvious for them that, in this case, the opposition would not vote for it. According to government sources, Arpad Habony, the Prime Ministers powerful informal adviser, also played a role in the decision. Habony, like Orban, likes confrontational solutions. One of Habonys colleagues said once that the adviser, who practices Kendo, a Japanese martial art, likes fast and tough moves not only in Kendo but also in politics. In addition, the government conducted opinion polls, which showed that there was enough support for the governments approach, and this reassured them that they should stick to the more confrontative concept. We saw that we are on track, said a source familiar with the polls, which covered not only the authorization law itself but also the attitude expected from the opposition and the need for cooperation between the political sides. Meanwhile, the opposition came under increasing pressure as critics of the government, NGOs and left-wing intellectuals, came out against the bill. Opposition parties initiated another seven-party meeting for Monday, hoping they could still amend the text. In the background, however, it became clear that there would be no more substantive cooperation. One opposition MP had a brief telephone conversation with a minister who said, its good for us if you do not to vote for the proposal. The governments changed attitude became clear to the general public on Monday, March 23, when the parliament was set to vote on a procedural measure that paved the way for the final approval of the bill. Orban announced then that he would not seek cooperation with the opposition. Turning to his fellow MPs from the governing parties, he said: It does not matter what the opposition is afraid of, this should be their problem. I need 133 brave people, the 133 bravest people in the country, and those are here on the government side. As expected, the opposition parties voted against the measure. After the vote, a senior member of the Fidesz faction told an opposition politician that we would have been fools to negotiate, then the opposition press would have focused on the unemployment instead of talking about dictatorship. Fidesz rationale was that if they get into this conflict with the opposition, then they can project themselves acting as quickly as possible for the people, while the opposition is dealing with an abstract nonsense. The government did everything it could to strengthen that picture, not only after the procedural vote, but also the following week, when the final bill was adopted without the support of the opposition. Flawed machine The government felt that the Authorization Act episode ended favorably for them. Soon, however, another issue emerged that showed that the governments decision-making process was still not as disciplined as it had been before the crisis. In the last days of March, the government introduced a bill that aimed to restrict the powers of mayors, only to withdraw it almost immediately. A few days earlier, there was no sign that the government was in any way prepared to limit the power of the mayors. On March 27, two ministries issued a guideline to the mayors. The eight-page document detailed how municipal leaders can use the extra powers they automatically received when the government announced the state of emergency. The government issued this guidance because some mayors apparently misused these powers and made decisions, like adopting budgets, that had nothing to do with the epidemic. The guidelines did not indicate though that the government wanted to curb the powers of the mayors. However, a few days later, on the night of March 31, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen submitted to the parliament a package of proposals that included a bill that would have significantly restricted the mayors decision-making power. It said that during a state of emergency, mayors decisions must be approved by capital and county defense committees headed by government commissioners. According to a government source, not even the Fidesz parliamentary faction had been informed about the concept developed in the Ministry of Justice. Kocsis, the leader of the faction, opposed this proposal and so did Gergely Gulyas, head of the Prime Ministers Office. According to one government source, Gulyas called the proposal stupid. While some in the government thought that some level of control over mayors would be warranted, others believed that the bills timing was not appropriate. By that time, the government had received serious criticisms not only from Hungary but also from abroad for the authorization law. Critics of Orban said that the government wanted to take revenge on the opposition mayors of major cities, including the capital Budapest, over the results of last falls municipal elections (which were largely disappointing for Fidesz). Opposition mayors harshly criticized the bill, but mayors from Fidesz also joined the protest. One of the critics was Andras Cser-Palkovics from Szekesfehervar, who previously served as Fidesz deputy spokesman in the partys presidential staff. Cser-Palkovics through the citys press department confirmed to Direkt36 that he did not support the proposal because, in his view, the management of a city is the responsibility and task of the head of the municipality. He also shared this opinion with government officials and members of parliament. I am pleased that the proposal has finally been withdrawn, which also shows that the government is ready to accept the opinions and suggestions of others, he said. The government finally withdrew the proposal on the afternoon of April 1, so the bill did not even survive a day. The decision was announced by Gulyas. He did not talk about disagreements within the government at the time, only said that since the opposition did not agree with the change and the government was open to cooperation, it would be withdrawn. The governments actions have appeared less hectic since then. Orban is keen on projecting the image that he has things under control. Hes there to receive protective gear shipments from China, he visits hospitals, and he is the one who makes the key announcements as well. He is a prime minister of war, said a source close to Orban. According to the source, the prime minister feels that he is in his element when he can act as a crisis manager, a problem-solver. Thats why another source with close ties to the government was surprised when he heard Orban saying at a press conference early this year that he was planning for a quiet time until the next elections that are scheduled for 2022. It was strange to hear that, said the source, because Orban likes to have a fight. MTI Photo: Zoltan Fischer Article republished with the permission of the source: direkt36.hu Direkt36 is a non-profit investigative journalism center in Hungary with the mission to expose wrongdoings and abuse of power through fair but tough reporting, a kind of journalism that is vital for any democracy. This opinion does not necessarily represent the views of XpatLoop.com or the publisher. Your opinions are welcome too - for editorial review before possible publication online. Click here to Share Your Story The Texas Supreme Court has ordered the release of a salon owner who was jailed after she defied coronavirus shutdown orders. Shelley Luther of Dallas violated state laws by reopening her business, which was deemed non-essential, because she wanted to to put food on her familys table. Dallas County Judge Eric Moye sentenced the woman a week-long stint behind bars for breaking the law on Tuesday, which sparked outrage throughout the country. On Thursday, the Supreme Court for the state ordered for Ms Luther to be released from jail, and shes expected to leave later this afternoon. The Courts decision came after Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order that no resident should be jailed as punishment for breaking shutdown orders during the pandemic. Attorney General Ken Paxton also spoke out against the decision to jail the woman, calling it a shameful abuse of discretion. Mr Abbott echoed the attorney generals sentiments. I join the Attorney General in disagreeing with the excessive action by the Dallas Judge, putting Shelley Luther in jail for seven days, the governor said in a statement. As I have made clear through prior pronouncements, jailing Texans for non-compliance with executive orders should always be the last available option. Judge Moyes found Ms Luther in criminal and civil contempt because she refused to stop operating her hair salon when she appeared in front of the court. The defiance of the courts order was open, flagrant and intentional, he wrote Tuesday. The defendants, although having been given an opportunity to do so, have expressed no contrition, remorse or regret for their contemptuous action. It was announced Texas would begin opening back up its state, which included allowing for businesses like hair salons to open Friday with social distancing rules in effect. The state has more than 35,000 confirmed infections and 1,011 deaths. Dublin, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Coronavirus (COVID-19) APAC Competitor Impact" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. With governments across the APAC region placing physical restrictions on consumers, significant changes in channel usage are expected, primarily from branches to telephone and digital banking. Although the majority of customers that bank with the large APAC regionals prefer to use digital channels for common banking tasks, there is a significant difference between the top and bottom. Some banks have large percentages of customers preferring a single channel for a task, suggesting a lack of other non-digital alternatives. Banks with a higher proportion of digitally active customers are also more likely to keep their customers on digital channels for more complex queries such as asking questions, complaining, and arranging to borrow money. This report provides information and insight into how the major APAC banks will cope with large changes in channel usage, as various lockdown restrictions remain in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. It identifies the banks least likely to adapt successfully by examining preferred channel usage across a range of tasks, digital satisfaction, and frequent channel visitation. The report also showcases the opportunities for banking players looking to attract new customers and improve their digital channels. Scope of the report: Maybank, CIMB, and HSBC have the least digitally active customers. Customer interaction services will be most disrupted by COVID-19. COVID-19 will bring to bear the weaknesses of some digital banking propositions. Banks used to higher telephone banking usage will be better positioned to deal with the additional number of customer queries. Key report benefits: Assess each bank's channel strengths and weaknesses and how these are likely to affect customer reaction and retention both during and after this disruptive period. Gain insight into current preferred channel usage as well as the propensity of each bank's customers to switch to telephone or digital channels. Key Topics Covered: Main Section Maybank, CIMB, and HSBC have the least digitally active customers Digital preference for common services means lower levels of disruption Customer interaction services will be most disrupted by COVID-19 Standard Chartered's customer base is vulnerable COVID-19 will bring to bear the weaknesses of some digital banking propositions Banks used to higher telephone banking usage will be better positioned to deal with the additional number of customer queries Appendix Methodology Companies Mentioned HSBC Standard Chartered OCBC UOB CIMB DBS Citibank Maybank For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/g52wij About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Pakistan's COVID-19 cases have crossed 24,000 after 1,523 new infections were detected, while the death toll has jumped to 564 with 38 more people succumbing to the coronavirus, health officials said on Thursday. Even as the country is seeing an increase in the number of coronavirus cases and fatalities, Prime Minister Imran Khan will discuss the easing of lockdown restrictions with his top aides on Thursday. The Ministry of National Health Services said that out of the 24,073 total cases, Punjab reported 9,077, Sindh 8,640, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 3,712, Balochistan 1,495, Islamabad 521, Gilgit-Baltistan 388 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 76 cases. After 38 more deaths on Wednesday, the total coronavirus patient death toll jumped to 564. Another 6,464 have recovered. A total of 1,523 new patients were added in a single day, the ministry. So far, 244,778 tests have been conducted, including 12,196 in the last 24 hours, it said. Prime Minister Khan will chair the National Coordination Committee (NCC) meeting on easing the lockdown restrictions in the country. The meeting will be attended by all chief ministers. The issue was debated in the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday and in the Cabinet on Tuesday. Planning Minister Asad Umar said that different proposals to allow certain businesses to open were prepared and will be presented before the Prime Minister for a final decision. Earlier, Khan, undeterred by the mounting number of deaths and the new cases, announced that he was against a lockdown as it hits the poor people badly. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dhaka, May 7 : Bangladesh will allow Muslim worshippers to attend prayer congregations in mosques from Thursday onwards as the government continues to ease the lockdown restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, mosque authorities and the worshippers must comply with a set of safety protocols to hold congregations, bdnews24 quoted the Religious Affairs Ministry as saying on Wednesday. In keeping with the hygiene rules to reduce the risk of contagion, mosques are not allowed to use common carpets for prayers while devotees are required to carry individual prayer mats from home. Mosques must be cleaned with disinfectants before every prayer session - five times a day and also install hand-washing facilities equipped with soaps or provide hand sanitisers at the entrances, said the Ministry. It added that worshippers must wear masks to the mosques while maintaining a space of at least three feet between each other when they line up for the prayers. Children, the elderly, any sick person or those engaged in treating the sick will not be allowed to participate in congregations Meanwhile, mosque leaders are not allowed to organise Iftar gatherings or Sehri on the mosque premises in line with the social distancing rules. Failure to comply with these guidelines will be met with legal action, bdnews24 quoted the Ministry as saying. Bangladesh announced a nationwide lockdown to enforce social and physical distancing norms on March 26 amid a surge in coronavirus cases and deaths. The government subsequently restricted congregations at mosques to a maximum of five worshippers for the daily prayers. COVID-19 cases have surged to 11,719 in Bangladesh, with 186 deaths. A protester carries his rifle at the state Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on April 30. (Paul Sancya / Associated Press ) In last weeks disturbing pictures of protesters brandishing assault weapons in and around Michigans Capitol, we saw the naked face of the gun-rights argument, and it was repulsive. This is not a movement about liberty but anarchy. Only in the U.S., and no other civilized democracy, does a supposed right to take up arms against a duly elected government garner a measure of respect from politicians, the courts and the court of public opinion. No tenable reading of the Constitution supports it. A few hundred demonstrators gathered last Thursday in Lansing to protest Michigans COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. In fairness, the obnoxious ragtag group carrying weapons and in some cases swastikas, nooses and a Confederate flag was a minority of a minority. On Friday, President Trump made no distinctions, replaying his notorious response to the Charlottesville, Va., white nationalist rally in August 2019. LIBERATE Michigan, he cheered by tweet, lecturing Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, whose state has been hard hit by the pandemic, to make a deal with these very good people. It isnt illegal to carry guns into the statehouse in Michigan (protest signs, however, arent allowed they might chip the paint). News and phone photographs show armed men identified as the Michigan Liberty Militia looking down from the Senates public gallery, on the Capitol steps and at the doors of the governors office. Weapons have also made an appearance at similar demonstrations in Arizona and Wisconsin. The fundamental political and legal rhetoric used to justify confronting the Michigan Legislature with long guns starts with the 2nd Amendment, of course: The right of the people to keep and bear arms. In 2008, the Supreme Court pushed the amendment in a direction that had been debated but never legally established. In Heller vs. United States, the justices decided the founders had conferred an individual right to possess firearms and use them for traditionally lawful purposes. Story continues One such purpose, the right to self-defense, was cited in the early days of the coronavirus shutdown to demand that gun shops be considered essential businesses, just like grocery stores and pharmacies. Southern California was one of those battlegrounds. Law-abiding Americans must never be deprived of the right to defend themselves and their loved ones at any time, said the head of a political action committee, the San Diego County Gun Owners. But really? There have been no roving bands of looters, no breakdown of traditional law enforcement that might make self-defense especially crucial right now. In fact, crime is down pretty much everywhere and no one has been taking guns away from their legal owners. As to the deprivation of rights, the stay-home orders, which derive from states' policing powers long upheld by the courts, impose limited, temporary restrictions on all manner of constitutional rights, starting with the right to assembly. There is no special Bill of Rights hierarchy that requires states to view gun shops as essential businesses. Nonetheless, many jurisdictions bowed to the gun lobby. The Lansing mob, however, didnt show up at the Capitol because gun stores were closed (Michigan didn't deem them essential but it didn't close them either), much less to engage in traditional free assembly and free speech. They were there to intimidate, a function gun-rights types see as not only consistent with the 2nd Amendment but its real rationale. Their ultimate article of faith is an ominous (and arguable) reading of Thomas Jeffersons famous quote: The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. In other words, Americans right to bear arms is really the right to violently overthrow a government we dont like. Thus the sign prominently displayed in Lansing: Tyrants get the rope." You may think such a credo is espoused by only the most marginal of "patriots," but a quick tour of the internet shows otherwise. Tree of liberty nonsense is common currency of 2nd Amendment activists, from T-shirt sellers to high-minded political commentators and even some federal court briefs. As the Washington Examiner recently argued in taking Joe Biden to task for his gun-control advocacy, An armed populace dramatically increases the cost of imposing and maintaining tyranny. This is the animating force behind guns in a state Capitol: If you pick up a long gun you're suddenly a hero in the lineage of Jefferson, a modern-day American revolutionary. In reality, the armed Michigan protesters are the heirs of the benighted Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, and the Oklahoma City bomber. Tree of liberty extremists dwell on the point that this nation took up arms and fought a revolution to rid itself of tyranny. So it did, but in the process, Americans formed a society dedicated to the rule of law, representative government and the peaceful resolution of disputes. The implicit threat of armed protesters to start shooting if they dont get their way is anathema to such a society, and to what the Revolutionary War was all about. No sound account of the 2nd Amendment justifies the protesters assault on bedrock principles of democratic rule. They are neither patriots nor very good people but base thugs. The proper response of a civilized democracy is to insist they lay down arms or go to jail. Harry Litman is a former U.S. attorney and host of the podcast "Talking Feds." @harrylitman Jaipur, May 7 : Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister and Pradesh Congress Committee president Sachin Pilot can be seen leading from the front to bring the party workers together in the state to combat the COVID-19 crisis as MNREGA workers witnessed the 10 fold jump during lockdown-climbing from 60,000 to 11 lakh. Pilot has led such projects which are helping to boost the state's rural economy. He has also been making onfield presence in his home constituency, Tonk, where he was seen meeting with officials and religious leaders to make people aware of COVID-19. He was also seen in rural areas giving tips on social distancing to MNREGA workers. IANS spoke to him on diverse issues ranging from the economy to the rising number of COVID-19 positive cases in the state which shot up from 32 to 3,400 during lockdown as the virus spread to 31 districts out of 33 districts which was limited to 6 districts on March 24 when the lockdown was announced. Q: You have shown the way of reviving rural economy by giving a 10-fold jump in MNREGA job statistics - 60,000 to 11 lakh. What can be the other ideas to give a boost to rural economy in Rajasthan amid the corona crisis? A: As we work hard to contain the spread of corona virus and mitigate the harm it is causing, we have to breathe life back into the economy simultaneously. Only by putting more money into the hands of people, can we reignite our consumption based economy. Today the number of people getting employment through MNREGA in Rajasthan stands at 17 lakh. To further boost our rural economy, we should open up all agricultural-related activities while taking all precautions of social distancing etc. Also, we should extend easy financing to self help groups (SHGs) and cooperative societies in rural areas. Food processing and related industries should get all possible help. Q: Please share the behind-the-scene story which was a driving force for implementing such a strong initiative? You were on field giving tips to villagers about social distancing etc-were they receptive to such tips, what was the on-spot scenario there? A: When the country was in lockdown with industries remaining shut and people getting laid off, there was no better way to provide livelihood to people in rural areas than to get them work under the MNREGA. I realised that it'll be some time before factories and shopfloors would be functional again, so we decided that encouraging people to take up individual works like constructing your own home, tilling your own land under the MNREGA would be an ideal way to help lakhs of poor households. 80 per cent of the works being done in this scheme are individual works that help the beneficiaries. I did some field visits to boost the morale of the department employees, officials and also to see if proper precautions of social distancing, hygiene and sanitisation were being undertaken. Q: Is the state government working in coordination with PCC to battle COVID crisis? Are there mutual discussions and meetings being held to find a way-out to the present crisis in state? A: In these challenging times, everyone is singularly focused of battling the COVID crisis. The government, party, NGOs, individuals each and each one of us is contributing to fight this challenge. As PCC president, I have formed a control room at every district headquarter to coordinate the relief efforts of providing ration kits, medical equipment, masks, hand sanitisers etc so that no needy person goes without help. Q: What is your idea to boost the economy during present and post-COVID-19 days? A: We need to add liquidity into our system. More money should be infused into the economy. The US has pumped in USD 2 trillion since the Covid crisis. As confidence and consumption levels are low, banks and financial institutions should be asked to be more liberal. This crisis may also provide a good opportunity for us to undertake long awaited reforms. Since sometimes starting from scratch gives us a chance to recreate something bigger, better and more beneficial. So - reform, recreate and revive! Government should extend the benefits of historically low oil prices to the common man. Many people have predicted that China will face a backlash and a lot of investment will shift out of that country. India should be well placed and well prepared to be a strong alternative destination for investment flows. Manufacturing and services can get a big boost if we are able to position ourselves appropriately. Q: Recently, a committee has been forced to ensure smooth solution of migration crisis in the state. Do you think the crisis was not handled properly? What could have been the way out? A: When the lockdown was announced, I think not enough thought was given on how to manage the millions of migrant workers. The most poor and the most destitute among us were left to fend for themselves. They were out of jobs, out of money and unable to travel. Government should have had a clear policy of identifying, screening and transporting all those who wished to go back to their homes. When the government failed to do this and then started charging rail fare for those traveling back on trains Sonia Gandhi did the right thing by coming to the aid of the migrant workers by offering to pay for their travel. We have formed a special committee of senior party leaders to identify and help all the migrant labourers to get back to their homes. We are extensively using technology and mobile apps for this exercise. Q: On March 24, when lockdown was imposed in Rajasthan, seven districts were affected by COVID-19 with cumulative number of 32 positive cases. However, as of today, 30 districts have been hit hard by the virus taking the total tally to 3,240. Do you think lockdown was effectively implemented in the state? A: We have tried to take all possible measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Rajasthan. While it's true that number of positive cases has gone up especially in Jaipur and Jodhpur, we also have one of the highest recovery rates in the country. This is due to the fact that a lot of the positive cases are in the age bracket of 18-40 years and their immune systems are able to overcome the infection. We are also focusing on increasing our capacity for testing. Q: What should be the way out for stricter implementation of lockdown. Are you working on any new strategy? Please share it. A: We just cannot afford to let down our guard in those areas that have a high concentration of positive cases. These Red zones need to remain completely isolated. The curfew and lockdown lose their sanctity if there is any breach whatsoever. We need to have zero tolerance for violations. All essentials services should be provided at the doorstep in these zones. And absolutely no movement should be allowed. Enforcement has to be done in totality, else we are looking at an ever larger risk of community spread. I think besides the police, law enforcement agencies and administration, we should also engage with local representatives, religious leaders and influential individuals to motivate people to follow the guidelines and lockdown norms. Q: The opposition in the state is accusing the state government of following policy of appeasement. What do you think is the actual ground report? A: I think this is not the time for accusations and name calling. Political differences, divergent ideology and partisan views can all wait, Right now we need to come together as one nation, one people so that we can tide over this pandemic.Our fight against the coronavirus is far more important than scoring political points . By Andrey Ostroukh and Alexander Marrow MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia plans to ease its restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus in three stages, officials said on Wednesday. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the outbreak had stabilised in the past two weeks, with the growth in cases in the capital explained by increased testing. But he said the public should keep observing self-isolation measures even when some restrictions are eased from May 12. Russia's total number of coronavirus cases rose on Wednesday by more than 10,000 for the fourth consecutive day to 165,929, while the death toll climbed to 1,537. Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova became the latest high-ranking official and third cabinet minister to be diagnosed with the coronavirus. In a televised video conference with government officials and regional heads, President Vladimir Putin lent his support to the three-stage plan for reducing restrictions. He said Russia should not rush, however, as any haste in removing preventative measures could undo their impact so far. At first, people will be allowed to go for walks and exercise on the streets, said Anna Popova, head of the consumer health regulator Rospotrebnadzor, but she gave no specific time frame. The second stage would see educational establishments and some service-sector businesses return to operation, with recreational facilities including parks and squares then reopening in the third stage, she said. PUTIN APPROVAL SLIPS Despite Russia's ostensible success in protecting its most vulnerable citizens from the coronavirus, the government has been criticised for failing to provide families and businesses with enough support amid the economic shutdown. Putin's approval rating has slipped to its lowest level in more than two decades during the coronavirus crisis, even as support for his plan to extend his rule for years ahead has risen, a Levada-Centre poll showed. The authorities are looking for ways to cushion an economic contraction exacerbated by a global slump in the price of oil, Russia's key export, as well as the coronavirus outbreak. Story continues In 2020, the economy may shrink up to 6%, the central bank predicted last month, when it slashed interest its rates and pledged more cuts to the cost of lending later this year. Loan arrears and bad loans in Russia are expected to grow this year. People and companies deemed the most vulnerable to the current crisis owe banks around 19 trillion roubles ($250 billion) - a third of the banks' overall credit portfolio. ($1 = 74.6500 roubles) (Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh and Vladimir Soldatkin; Additional reporting by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Hugh Lawson) This didnt stop Rain Prisk from imagining what a Rolls-Royce supercar might look like. The answer is, of course, darn right exquisite. Now, Rolls-Royces most recent crop of cars might have supercar-worthy names - think of Ghost, Phantom, and Wraith - but the BMW-owned nameplate never played in the super sports car arena and were pretty sure it doesnt intend to. It even has the Spirit of Ecstasy on top of its nose Alright, lets set some things straight. Rolls-Royce cars dont fall into the slouch category. But their ability to gather up miles per hour on the speedometer with elegance and smoothness aplenty is the exact opposite of having your hips immobilized during a 0-60 sprint inside, lets say, a McLaren 720S. What's more, Rolls-Royce's ability to deliver a plush cabin is at least on par to that of Bugatti's, no doubt about it. Its just that the carmaker decided not to play the supercar-hypercar game. As simple as that. And thats what makes this rendering rather intriguing. Mind you, the artist admits he cant see a reason for such a car to exist, but he did it anyway by narrowing the gargantuan RR grille, thinning the headlights, and stretching a coupe shape so that it can accommodate for an engine thats mounted between the driver and the rear axle. As a result, the hood doesnt have the length of a landing strip anymore and at the same time, the elongated rear deck adds a longtail vibe to the render, dont you think? As for the potential power source for this imaginary supercar, Rolls-Royce was adamant back in 2019 that it will be holding onto its legendary 6.75-liter V-12 for as long as possible. So a Rolls-Royce supercar, although highly unlikely, will have to pack the said powerplant, albeit with the necessary tweaks. In the meantime, as per Which Car, the company is preparing to embrace electrification with pure electric cars, meaning that it will skip hybrids altogether. WASHINGTON - The Senate fell well short Thursday of overriding President Donald Trump's veto of a measure that would have limited his authority to launch military strikes against Iran absent congressional approval. The chamber voted 49-44 to override the president - well short of the required two-thirds threshold - a day after Trump vetoed a resolution that he called "very insulting." The measure won bipartisan support on Capitol Hill earlier this year after Trump ordered a drone strike that killed top Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani and an Iraqi militia leader in Baghdad without advance approval from Congress. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., urged his colleagues Thursday to uphold Trump's "rightful" veto of what he characterized as a "misguided" resolution. "Iran has not let popular unrest, a mismanaged economy, or covid-19 slow their aggressive meddling from Yemen to the Mediterranean," he said during remarks on the Senate floor. "We must maintain the measure of deterrence we restored with the decisive strike on Qasem Soleimani." Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., the resolution's chief sponsor, conceded to reporters ahead of Thursday's vote that the override would not succeed. But he said he was hopeful the measure had sent a message to Trump and would affect his decision-making in the future. "Congress needed to stand up in a bipartisan way to make plain that this president should not get into a war with Iran or any new war without a vote of Congress," Kaine said. "This is not about the president, President Trump or any president. It's about Congress, and we should not be at war without a vote of Congress." The resolution first passed the Republican-controlled Senate on Feb. 13 on a vote of 55 to 45, and the Democratic-led House passed it, 227 to 186, on March 11. In a formal statement released by the White House on Wednesday, Trump said Democrats were trying to create a wedge issue to divide Republicans ahead of the November elections. "The few Republicans who voted for it played right into their hands," Trump said in the statement. He asserted that the war powers resolution would also "greatly" damage his responsibility to protect the United States's national security interests and said the strike that killed Soleimani was legal under existing authorizations for use of military force. "We live in a hostile world of evolving threats, and the Constitution recognizes that the president must be able to anticipate our adversaries' next moves and take swift and decisive action in response," Trump said. "That's what I did!" Speaking to reporters, Kaine took issue with another rationale included in Trump's veto message - that the United States "is not engaged in the use of force against Iran." "That is lying to the American public," Kaine said, arguing that the strike on Soleimani amounted to a use of force. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, defended Trump during remarks on the Senate floor, saying "this has been twisted around in a way to make the president look bad." "An airstrike is not war, and the president has made clear he doesn't desire war," Inhofe said. Even during the height of the Iran debate earlier this year, few lawmakers expected the president would sign a measure into law that would considerably restrain his national security powers. But backers had hoped the bipartisan support for the Iran measure would send a message to the administration about Congress's role in acts of war and begin to reassert lawmakers' authority in such national security matters. The Trump administration had given shifting explanations of the basis for the Jan. 3 strike that killed Soleimani, including that he had posed an imminent threat to U.S. personnel in the Middle East and that it was retaliation for an attack on an Iraqi base that killed a U.S. contractor. A president usually has 10 days to veto a bill from Congress, excluding Sundays. But the actual transmission of the congressional resolution to the White House was delayed for nearly two months as Congress left Washington due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to aides. Tom Flanagan spent early March anticipating a dispatch call that he knew would change everything. When public health officials began identifying community spread in the Houston area, the director of Memorial Hermann Life Flight knew his team would be assigned to transport patients diagnosed with COVID-19. And he wanted to be prepared for anything. This moment was what tabletop exercises were created for; no other hospital helicopter programs had protocol designed for an outbreak like the novel coronavirus, he said. As the state's first hospital air transport program, Flanagan knew that others would look to Life Flight for guidance in the burgeoning pandemic. He pulled together Life Flight medical director Dr. Lesley Osborne, UTHealth epidemiologist Dr. Luis Ostrosky and Brandy Ferguson with the hospitals emergency management team, as well as the chief flight nurse and chief pilot, to devise a plan. Intubation box: How a Houston hospitals carpenter used sneeze-guard leftovers to create a life-saving device Now Playing: When Memorial Hermann Life Flight received the first call for a COVID-19 patient, the flight crew realized it was in unprecedented territory. How do they transport sick patients from one hospital to another quickly and safely for the pilot, nurse and medic on board? A team of doctors, infectious disease experts and Tom Flanagan, a longtime Life Flight crew member who is now executive director of the program, came together to develop protocol for a single helicopter in the six-aircraft fleet to be dedicated to COVID-19 patients. A UV-light robot is used in sanitization of the aircraft, as well as the flight crews equipment and clothing. Video: Steve Gonzales / Houston Chronicle The plan would keep the flight crew a nurse, emergency medical technician and pilot safe while transporting the patient and create a sanitation plan for both the aircraft and everyone inside of it. In 48 hours, they had a working procedure to dedicate one helicopter in the six-chopper fleet to coronavirus patients, Flanagan said. This particular helicopter will remain a 24/7 COVID-19 only aircraft for the foreseeable future, he added. Life Flight has always been a pioneer program that sets standards for other programs, Ostrosky said. Were publishing our procedure pretty soon and will be able to share with other programs. The helicopters equipment was pared down to the absolute essential, Ostrosky said. Anything extraneous that could be a harbinger for the virus was removed. The flight crew has transitioned from wearing flight suits to scrubs, plastic gloves and N-95 face masks for extra safety. Afterward, they shed their scrubs and wash up in a decontamination room. We told the crew that anyone who was not comfortable with moving on these missions to just let us know, Flanagan said. The majority of the team was fine with it. We did some training and have minimized it to one helicopter and one crew a shift. Its a control group very specific and intentional. Ostrosky, an expert in infectious disease, researched Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocols that were created to handle the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003. The rules were updated to fit modern technology and tools, as well as the specifics on what makes COVID-19 so infectious. Renew Houston: Get the latest wellness news delivered to your inbox Cleanliness is a top priority. After each flight, the helicopter is cleaned with a water and bleach solution, and the cloth barrier curtain between the cockpit and the patient area is removed, Flanagan explained. The crew then initiates its ultraviolet-light sanitation robot. In the hospital, the tubular robot rests on a set of wheels, and stands about as tall as a third-grader. But inside the confined space of an aircraft, two crew members hoist the 40-pound clear cylinder from its base. Its pretty heavy actually, said Christopher Oliver, a flight nurse. Crew members place the robot where a patient would be, in the center behind the cockpits dividing curtain, before shutting the doors and windows. Then comes the light show. Oliver and his colleagues use a Wi-Fi remote to activate the robot, which emits an ocean-blue light as it examines the crevices of the aircraft for evidence of coronavirus. The light blinks on for minutes as it cleans using radioactive UV rays, then blinks off to detect more rogue bacteria. The light doesnt penetrate glass or plastic, but the crew is quick to seal all the helicopters openings as the robot works methodically for 20 to 30 minutes - sending an all-clear to the hand-held device when its done. The crew reopens the helicopter, performs another 40-pound weight-lift, and places the robot back on its wheels for the walk back to the hospitals decontamination area. Ultraviolet technology is relatively new in health care settings, Ostrosky said. Coincidentally, the hospital had ordered two sanitation robots months before they were faced with COVID-19. Flanagan said the hospital had used similar cleaning robots in its operating rooms to disinfect before and after surgeries, and he wondered how they could be used in Life Flight. I knew how it worked, but I didnt know if it would work in an aircraft, Flanagan said. I reached out to the manufacturer and vendor (Sky Tron) and found that it did work. So, we purchased two. The old way of doing things is gone, he said, and that includes how patients are transported between hospitals, coronavirus or not. On non-COVID-19 calls, every person picked up by a Life Flight aircraft has her temperature taken and is masked for protection. Coping with COVID: This quarantined mother hasnt met her baby yet. But she knows her heartbeat. This will change the world we know; everyone is trying to figure out what will be the new norm, how to open back up and start moving forward, Flanagan said. We want to continue to be a beacon for (emergency medical services) and other hospitals when they need air-medical transport. So far, the COVID-19 aircraft has transported about 15 patients from Memorial Hermann facilities to the main Memorial Hermann campus in the Texas Medical Center. Soon, it will begin moving patients to Houston Methodist, said Joshua Cools, business development liaison for the service. Life Flight serves a 150-mile radius around Houston and makes daily trips to the Beaumont-Port Arthur area to pick up critical patients. I think this is a very valuable resource because we can assure that patients in remote and rural areas are going to be able to access highest level of health care, Ostrosky said. Weve seen in this epidemic the inequalities in rural and urban areas a disparity according to race and ethnicity. We hope that programs that like this will bring state-of-the-art care to remote communities. julie.garcia@chron.com Twitter.com/reporterjulie Trump announced back on March 6 that anybody that wants a test can get a test; this is still not true. Nor have we compensated for testing kit shortages by embracing widespread testing of sewage to look for the virus in wastewater, as the Netherlands has done. Even in impoverished Pakistan, sewage testing has been widely used to monitor polio virus outbreaks, so the United States should be able to use sewage testing for surveillance of the coronavirus and early identification of hot spots. While the United States has poured $3 trillion into relief from the effects of Covid-19 money that will run out soon and that hasnt prevented young children in one in six households from not having enough to eat the nation hasnt invested nearly enough in science and in the scientific tools, like testing, vaccines, therapies and research, to combat it. Were significantly hampered by lack of funding, said Anne Rimoin, an epidemiologist at U.C.L.A. who studies transmission of the coronavirus by people who are asymptomatic. Bravo to those local leaders who acted early and saved many lives Im thinking of Govs. Jay Inslee of Washington, Gavin Newsom of California and Mike DeWine of Ohio but governors are now in an impossible situation. It makes sense to experiment with reopening in areas with fewer infections (perhaps using randomized controlled trials to gain a better understanding of what is safe), and epidemiologists note that theres a particularly good case to be made for reopening parks and beaches if social distancing is practiced. But we still dont have the testing and contact-tracing to be confident that we can get the easing right or to clamp down quickly when we get it wrong. A man was remanded in custody on Thursday charged with the murder of father of three Jamie Simmons who died after being stabbed in his heart with a kitchen knife. Kieron Nicholson, 29, is accused of killing Mr Simmons, also 29, following a confrontation outside a block of flats in Maidstone, Kent, on Monday evening, May 4. Mr Simmons, whose youngest child was reportedly born just 11 weeks ago, died at the scene in Cambridge Crescent despite attempts by police, paramedics and members of the public to save him. Jamie Simmons, 29, pictured here with his family, was stabbed in his heart with a kitchen knife Nicholson, of Vicarage Lane, East Farleigh, Maidstone, was arrested within half an hour and later charged with murder. During his first appearance at Maidstone Crown Court on Thursday, prosecutor Rachel Beckett said Mr Simmons was allegedly stabbed to death by Nicholson after a row and physical fight with another man just minutes earlier. The prosecutor said the argument was 'taken inside one of the properties' where it is alleged he was then fatally knifed by Nicholson. A short video clip of the incident, which occurred around 9.15pm, also captured shouting and references to Mr Simmons being stabbed, added Miss Beckett. But Danny Moore, defending, told the court Nicholson, who appeared at the hearing via prison video link, maintains the police have 'the wrong man'. Nicholson, who lives with his long-term partner and three children, was arrested by an off-duty officer shortly before 9.40pm. Mr Simmons was reportedly found collapsed outside his ground floor flat in Truro House on the Shepway Estate During an application for bail made by his legal team, it was said he has 'substantial ties' in the local community and employment. Nicholson himself could be heard over the link saying he would 'stay indoors' if granted release. But bail was refused by Judge David Griffith-Jones QC and Nicholson, who has two other children from a previous relationship, was therefore remanded back into custody at Elmley Prison on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent. He is expected to next appear in court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on June 3. The judge said it was not possible to fix a trial date yet due to jury proceedings being 'thrown into disarray' by their suspension as a result of the coronavirus crisis. Tributes to Mr Simmons after his death described him as 'a brilliant dad' and 'one of the nicest guys' who 'idolised' his children and partner, Charlotte Muddiman. A blue forensics tent was established at the scene in Cambridge Crescent following the attack She is said to have given birth to his youngest, a daughter, just 11 weeks ago. The keen fisherman who worked for a driveway resurfacing firm was reportedly found collapsed outside his ground floor flat in Truro House on the Shepway Estate. His mum, Diane Simmons, returned home from work to find paramedics trying to save her son's life. Two others were arrested following Mr Simmons's death. A 29-year-old man from Maidstone was also detained on suspicion of murder but has since been released on police bail until June 2. A woman in her 20s from the Tonbridge area has been released under investigation. Working-class protests and demonstrations have swept through Bangladesh industrial belts hitting the export-oriented garment manufacturers and amid rising concerns over coronavirus infections. Citing data from the governments Industrial Police, the Financial Express reported over 440 incidents of labour unrest in 374 factories during April and 279 incidents in 179 factories in March. The more than 5,000-strong Industrial Police, which was established by the Bangladesh government in 2010 to suppress workers struggles, covers over 7,600 factories. About 4,500 of these are officially-registered garment plants, employing over four million workers. The coronavirus pandemic began impacting on Bangladeshs industrial sector in February resulting in immediate falls in orders and exports earnings. Garment industry owners responded to reduced, or cancelled, orders by giant US and European retailers, such as Wal-Mart, H&M, C&A, Marks and Spencer, Esprit, GAP, Li & Fung and Premark, by cutting jobs and wages or outright closures. Bangladesh officially recorded its first COVID-19 cases on March 8, but Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas government attempted to downplay concerns. She was forced, however, to impose a national lockdown, excluding emergency service providers, from March 26 to April 4. Publicly criticised by medical experts, Hasina decided to extend the lockdown until May 5 for all government and private sector institutions, but allowed export-oriented industries to reopen on April 26. Over 930 factories are reported to have laid off their employees and not paid months of outstanding wages. Workers safety was being violated in many plants that had reopened. Workers responded to the refusal of companies to provide a safe working environment with strikes and protests to demand hand sanitisers, face masks and gloves. Tens of thousands of garment workers, whose monthly wages are about 8,000 takas ($US95), are from villages and went back to their rural homes during the lockdown. When they returned to the industrial zones after April 26 and discovered the plants were still shut, some indefinitely, a wave of angry demonstrations erupted that are still continuing. The garment industrial belt at Gazipur and Ashulia turned into a battlefield yesterday, as several thousand apparel workers clashed with police, the April 28 edition of New Nation reported. On May 5, a Business Standard article revealed that hundreds of workers from around 10 garment factories at industrial zones in Dhaka, Ashulia, Savar, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Chittagong had demonstrated demanding their jobs back and payment of all outstanding wages. In Ashulias Narsinghpur area at least 300 Adiyat Apparels workers demonstrated over layoffs. Management shut down the plant on March 28 and later announced that all employees were laid off until June 1. Workers were not paid their March wages. Over 100 Dragon Sweater factory workers in Dhakas Malibagh area on Tuesday demanded five months outstanding wages. About 400 Jeasha Fashion workers protested over their unpaid March wages and another 400 Satter Tex workers demonstrated for three months wages. About 900 Papella workers and 1,300 UFM (BD) employees at garment factories in the Chattogram Export Processing Zone marched for their March and April salaries. About 3,000 Antim Knitting, Dyeing and Finishing garments workers protested for payment of the outstanding 50 percent of their wages. On Sunday, thousands workers from factories at Ashulia, Dhamrai and Gazipur industrial zones demonstrated over similar demands. The Hasina government has provided export industry companies with a 50 billion taka ($US595 million) stimulus package to pay for workers wages but this has not reached many workers. The government and company owners, with support from some trade unions, agreed to cut 40 percent from workers gross monthly wages during the closure period. Fearing widespread protests, some of the unions affiliated with the IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC) and Stalinist Communist Party of Bangladesh-controlled Garment Workers Trade Union Centre (GWTUC) rejected this. They later agreed, however, to a 35 percent wage cut. In 2018, the IBC and GWTUC betrayed mass strike action by garment workers demanding higher pay, opening the way for factory owners to sack thousands. The reopening of export-industry garment plants has left thousands of workers vulnerable to COVID-19, particularly those living in overcrowded accommodation near the plants in Dhaka, Narayanganj and Gazipur. These areas are now considered coronavirus hotspots. On May 3, the New Age reported at least 12 workers at 10 factories had tested positive with the virus. Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute, warned of the danger of premature and unsafe plant reopenings. The number of coronavirus patients may increase in the worst-affected areas in Dhaka, Narayanganj and Gazipur after eight to 10 days, as there is a risk of virus transmission among garment workers, he told New Age . Such warnings have been ignored by the government and factory owners who are facing pressure to fulfil orders for the US and European retailers. Bangladeshi factory owners fear that they would lose to their global competitors, such as Vietnam, China and Cambodia, which have already resumed production. As of yesterday, over 2,590 Bangladeshi garment producers remain open . The clothing industry accounts for some 84 percent of the countrys $40 billion annual export earnings. Currently about $6 billion worth of orders could be lost this financial year. The reopening of the Bangladesh factories, and threatened loss of workers lives, coincides with similar moves in the US and Europe. Last Friday, 890or 40 percent of 2,200 workers at the Tyson Foods pork plant in Logansport, Indiana in the United Stateswere confirmed COVID-19 positive, as a result of President Trumps executive order forcing reopening of meat-processing plants. A new wave of workers struggles has emerged in the USa global epicenter of the pandemicagainst factory reopenings and unsafe working conditions. There have been at least 140 wildcat strikes in the US between March and April, while workers in other countries have taken strike action or demonstrated over the same issues. The Hasini government is insisting that the garment factories keep operating. However, because the pandemic is escalating out of control, it has decided to extended the national lockdown until May 16 but only at public and private office workplaces. In the past two weeks the official number of COVID-19 deaths has more than doubledfrom 84 on April 18 to 186 on May 5. Yesterday morning the Directorate General of Health reported two more deaths and 665 new casesthe highest in single day. The total number of officially-confirmed cases is 9,455 but there is no mass testing. The number of daily tests is less than 6,000 as against at least 10,000 recommended by medical experts. People are dying of coronavirus-like symptoms but these fatalities are not officially counted. The national healthcare system also faces collapse as increasing numbers of medical workers are being infectedcurrently 574 doctors and 600 nursesamid an acute shortage of personal protective equipment. Two doctors have died from the virus and, according to the Bangladesh Nursing and Midwifery Council, the country has only 24 percent of total 300,000 nurses required nationally. Michael Flynn. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters The Justice Department on Thursday filed a motion to drop its case against the former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to one count of lying to the FBI during an interview on January 24, 2017. But he moved to withdraw his guilty plea after his lawyers accused the government of prosecutorial misconduct and entrapment during the interview. The department said in its filing on Thursday that it "is not persuaded that the January 24, 2017 interview was conducted with a legitimate investigative basis and therefore does not believe Mr. Flynn's statements were material even if untrue." Shortly before the department filed its motion, Brandon Van Grack, a prosecutor from Robert Mueller's team who was assigned to the Flynn case, withdrew as counsel for the government. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The Justice Department on Thursday told a federal judge that it wanted to drop its high-profile criminal case against Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser to President Donald Trump who pleaded guilty in 2017 as part of the special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. The abrupt reversal drew immediate praise from Trump and Flynn allies and adds grist to Democratic complaints that the president continues to interfere with DOJ prosecutions. Flynn pleaded guilty in late 2017 to one count of lying to the FBI about his interactions with the Russian ambassador to the US during an interview tied to the bureau's investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election. Federal prosecutors initially praised the former national security adviser as his case worked its way toward sentencing, noting that the retired lieutenant general had provided "substantial assistance" to investigators not only in the Russia inquiry but in separate investigations. But Flynn changed course last summer by firing his legal team and adding a combative defense lawyer, Sidney Powell, who accused the government of prosecutorial misconduct and entrapment. Story continues Powell claimed that the FBI had manipulated official records of Flynn's January 2017 interview in which he had admitted to misleading investigators. The Justice Department pushed back on Powell's accusations in a separate filing last year. But the DOJ shifted course on Thursday with its filing notifying US District Judge Emmet Sullivan that it now favors dropping the case. Timothy Shea, the interim Trump-appointed US attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a 20-page motion to Sullivan that the government "is not persuaded that the January 24, 2017 interview was conducted with a legitimate investigative basis and therefore does not believe Mr. Flynn's statements were material even if untrue." The filling said the department did "not believe that the Government can prove either the relevant false statements or their materiality beyond a reasonable doubt." Shortly before the department filed its motion, Brandon Van Grack, a former prosecutor from Mueller's team who remained on the Flynn case, told Sullivan he was withdrawing as the government counsel. Late last month, the Justice Department turned over four pages of records to Flynn's legal team showing how the FBI debated handling his interview in early 2017. "If we're seen as playing games, WH will be furious," one page of the notes said. "Protect our institution by not playing games." There was also some deliberation within the bureau about how to phrase questions to Flynn during the interview. "What is our goal? Truth/admission, or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?" the notes said. Intelligence veterans said the notes depicted the extraordinarily sensitive nature of an investigation into a newly inaugurated president's highest-profile national security aide. But Trump and Flynn's other defenders pointed to the documents as a smoking gun showing that the FBI tried to trap the former national security adviser into pleading guilty. "I felt it was going to happen," the president said on Thursday, referring to the Justice Department's motion to drop the Flynn case. "He's an innocent man, a great gentleman." The department's move to abandon the Flynn case, which still requires Sullivan's approval, came after Attorney General William Barr earlier this year tapped a prosecutor in the US attorney's office in St. Louis to conduct an independent review of the Flynn case. The Associated Press reported that the Trump-appointed prosecutor, Jeff Jensen, recently recommended dropping the case to Barr. "Through the course of my review of General Flynn's case, I concluded the proper and just course was to dismiss the case," Jensen said in a statement. "I briefed Attorney General Barr on my findings, advised him on these conclusions, and he agreed." Democrats who have long been critical of Barr's management of the Mueller probe found fault in the Flynn decision. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler in a prepared statement called the decision "outrageous" and pledged to hold a hearing with the attorney general to cover the issue "as soon as possible." The New York Democrat also said he'd call for a DOJ inspector general investigation. "The integrity of our criminal justice system is at stake, and the American people deserve answers," Nadler said. Flynn's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Twitter, one of the former Trump aide's brothers, Joseph Flynn, welcomed the news. "HOLY S---!!!!!!!!!" he wrote. Flynn had faced a maximum possible sentence of five years in prison for the felony false-statement charge, though federal prosecutors had urged Sullivan to impose a penalty ranging between no jail time and up to six months behind bars. The judge, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, has twice delayed Flynn's sentencing, first so the former Trump aide could continue cooperating with the government and later after he changed his position to question the original prosecution. Read the original article on Business Insider Abducted seminarian killed for sharing the Gospel with captors in Nigeria: report Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A member of a Nigerian highway gang that's responsible for murdering a kidnapped Catholic seminarian said they killed the aspiring priest because he wouldn't stop proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to his captors. Mustapha Mohammed, who is alleged to be the leader and mastermind behind the abduction of Good Shepherd Seminary student Michael Nnadi in Kaduna state, agreed to be interviewed The Daily Sun. According to the Nigerian newspaper, Mohammed is a 26-year-old Fulani man who admitted to being part of a 45-man kidnapping gang that has attacked and abducted commuters traveling along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway, the Kaduna-Jos road, and other roadways in the area. Mustapha, who's now in police custody in Abuja, was quoted as saying that he's responsible for killing the 18-year-old. Nnadis body was discovered on Fab. 1 along with the remains of a local doctor's wife. Nnadi was kidnapped on Jan. 8 alongside three other seminarians who were not killed. Mustapha said that from the first day they were kidnapped, Nnadi continued preaching about Jesus and would not allow his captors to have peace even though they did not share the same faith. Mustapha told the newspaper that he didn't appreciate Nnadi's confidence and bravery and decided to send him to an early grave. He said the deceased kept preaching and told him to his face to change his evil ways or perish from the day he was abducted alongside his colleagues, the report reads. According to the suspect, his gang targeted the seminary because they thought they could make money by kidnapping people there. He said the gang got information on the seminary from one of its members who resides near Good Shepherd Seminary. The report states that the gang member conducted five days of surveillance on the seminary before the gang followed through with the kidnapping operation. Mustapha explained that after kidnapping the seminarian, they used his cell phone to contact the seminary to demand a ransom equivalent of $256,000. He said the ransom was later reduced to the equivalent of about $25,000. According to the National Catholic Register, the kidnappers were dressed in military camouflage when they broke past a fence surrounding the seminarys living quarters and began to open fire. The attackers reportedly stole laptops and phones before kidnapping the four seminarians. The other three seminarians who were abducted but later released are Pius Kanwai, Peter Umenukor and Stephen Amos. About 10 days after the abduction, one of the four seminarians was found wounded on a roadside, the National Catholic Register reported. On Jan. 31, two more seminarians were released. The next day, Nnadis slain body was discovered. Nnadis death was first announced by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria. A member of the seminary staff told Aid to the Church in Need that Nnadi was a young gifted seminarian who was an orphan brought up by his grandmother. Nnadis death comes attacks carried about terror groups, Fulani radicals and highway bandit gangs have become all too common in Nigeria. The country has been ranked as the 12th-worst country in the world for Christians to live, according to Open Doors USAs 2020 World Watch List. Available statistics have shown that between 11,500 and 12,000 Christian deaths were recorded in the past 57 months or since June 2015 when the present central government of Nigeria came on board, the Anambra-based nongovernmental organization International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law estimated in a March report. Out of this figure, Jihadist Fulani herdsmen accounted for 7,400 Christian deaths, Boko Haram 4,000 and the Highway Bandits 150-200. The U.S. State Department listed Nigeria on its special watch list of countries that have engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom last December. The 30th annual Airline Quality Rating results show an industry that had a performance decline for 2019. Results released today (Monday, May 4) reflect poorer industry performance in all four of the criteria tracked for calendar year 2019. The AQR is a joint research project by co-researchers Dr. Dean Headley and Dr. Brent Bowen. This research originated at the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. Below is the 2019 ranking of the nations largest ten airlines, according to the Airline Quality Rating, with the 2018 ranking in parentheses: 1. Allegiant (new for 2019) 2. Hawaiian (5) 3. Southwest (3) 4. Delta (1) 5. Alaska (4) 6. JetBlue (2) 7. Frontier (9) 8. Spirit (7) 9. United (6) 10. American (9) Overall, industry performance did not change much, said Dean Headley, emeritus professor of marketing at the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University. The new baggage handling measurement certainly had an impact on the scores, but it will be a better measurement for customers moving forward. We will all have a better sense of mishandled baggage risk with the new measurement. AQR study co-researcher Brent Bowen, says As a whole, the industry held close to steady for the year. The addition of Allegiant to the AQR and their debuting in the No. 1 position is significant and in some ways reflects the impact of the metric changes for mishandled baggage by the DOT. As the nations longest running study of airline performance quality, the Airline Quality Rating (http://airlinequalityrating.com) sets the industry standard, providing consumers and industry watchers a means to compare performance quality among airlines using objective performance-based data. Interviews may be arranged through Joe Kleinsasser, Wichita State University, 316-204-8266 (cell) or joe.kleinsasser@wichita.edu. Nursing home deaths continue to represent more than half of Connecticut deaths linked to COVID-19, data released by the state Thursday shows. Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday during his afternoon briefing on the pandemic that as state leaders look to gradually reopen Connecticut in the coming weeks, health officials will continue to monitor staff and residents at nursing homes. I cannot over-emphasize how important it is to focus on our vulnerable and high risk populations, Lamont said. Its the right thing before and its the smart thing to do. There have been 1,627 lab-confirmed and probable deaths linked to the virus among nursing home patients as of Wednesday, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the states 2,718 deaths as of that day, the new data showed. Last weeks data indicated nursing home deaths represented about 57.6 percent of statewide fatalities. The 1,627 deaths in nursing homes were an increase from the 1,249 deaths linked to the new coronavirus reported in nursing homes statewide as of April 29. The number of confirmed cases in nursing homes represent about 19 percent of the total cases statewide. Several Connecticut nursing home facilities reported more than 30 confirmed and probable virus-associated fatalities as of Wednesday, including Saint John Paul II Center in Danbury, which reported 27 confirmed and three probable deaths. Last weeks data showed the Danbury facility had 20 confirmed and two probable virus-related deaths. In Torrington, Litchfield Wood reported 28 confirmed and two probable deaths linked to the new coronavirus, a slight increase from 25 confirmed and two probable last week. Abbott Terrace Health Center in Waterbury reported 31 confirmed and seven probable virus-related deaths, only seeing one additional lab-confirmed virus death since last week. Kimberly Hall North in Windsor reported 15 confirmed and 25 probable deaths linked to the virus, a slight bump from 13 confirmed and 26 probable last week. Josh Geballe, Lamonts chief operating officer, said teams began traveling to nursing homes last weekend to test everyone whether theyre symptomatic or asymptomatic. Health officials started onsite inspections last week at all of the states 215 nursing homes. Those efforts were aided by the National Guard and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Geballe said the tests at nursing homes would be repeated in the future. Well try to strategically focus the testing on areas where the public health team identifies the most risk or if we see flare-ups in a certain area, he said. Geballe said the teams identified some issues in nursing homes involving donning and doffing of protective gear and training on infection-control procedures. Its not widespread. Mostly the inspections have been positive. The nursing homes overall are doing an incredible job under exceptionally difficult circumstances, he said. The states plan to reopen, and the prospect of a resurgence in COVID-19 cases in the fall, raised some concern among public health care workers on Wednesday. This is a game of attrition right now, and we may not be winning this game, said Bill Garrity, president of University Health Professionals Local 3837 and a registered nurse at UConn Health Center, speaking during a teleconference. Other public-sector health care workers said they were concerned about the mental health and resources available to them as experts warn a second wave of the virus could strike in the fall, similar to what the country experienced during the 1918 flu pandemic. Dr. Michael Parry, chairman of infectious diseases at Stamford Health, said the increase in nursing home cases is likely due to more testing being done. I dont think most of this reopening and resuming services affects the nursing home population very much theyre not out and about, Parry said. He pointed out that the states reopening committee has recommended opening nail salons and restaurants for outdoor dining, neither of which residents of nursing homes will be using. Lamont also announced last month that assisted living and nursing homes that fail to comply with reporting cases to state health agencies could face fines of up to $5,000 for each occurrence. That came after President Donald Trumps administration laid out new federal guidelines ordering nursing homes to notify family members of residents after the first case of COVID-19 appears at a facility. Dr. Albert Ko, chairman of the epidemiology department at the Yale School of Medicine and advisor on the governors reopening task force, said hospitalizations are still the best metric to determine when it will be safe to reopen. The problem with evaluating cases is as you ramp up testing, youre testing more people and youre identifying more people, even though the transmission within the community may be lower, Ko said Thursday. Parry said hospitals may begin scheduling elective surgeries if their net number of patients being treated for COVID-19 continues to fall. Those will likely begin with urgent procedures, such as surgeries to treat cancer, he said. Some procedures havent stopped. If you come in with a perforated appendix, you go into the OR today, COVID or not, he pointed out. Advocates for nursing homes have said the facilities have lost revenue while short-stay patients, who typically stay at nursing homes after elective surgeries like joint replacements, have stayed away. Parry said that will be done while carefully monitoring the states hospitalization rate for the disease. From a hospital perspective, were saying this is a resumption of normal services, Parry said. AUSTIN, Texas The state Supreme Court ordered Dallas County officials Thursday to free salon owner Shelley Luther from jail while its nine judges, all Republicans, weigh an appeal challenging her incarceration as improper. Luther was released from the Dallas County Jail around 1:50 p.m., according to a sheriffs department spokesman. The emergency order directed county officials to release Luther, who reopened her salon despite state restrictions, on a personal bond with no money required, pending final disposition of her case. County officials also were ordered to file a response to the challenge by 4 p.m. Monday, the same day Luthers weeklong sentence for contempt of court would have ended. The ruling came shortly after Gov. Greg Abbott, seeking to end a political firestorm over Luthers jailing, announced Thursday that officials will be prohibited from jailing Texans for violating any of his coronavirus-related executive orders. Throwing Texans in jail who have had their businesses shut down through no fault of their own is nonsensical, and I will not allow it to happen, Abbott said in a statement. That is why I am modifying my executive orders to ensure confinement is not a punishment for violating an order. . Shelley Luther was cited for reopening her Salon a la Mode in Dallas on April 24. Authorities asked her to close, but she refused. Previously: Dallas salon owner who reopened in defiance of Texas' coronavirus restrictions sentenced to 7 days in jail State official offers to 'step up and pay' fine Luther caught the attention of three of the states top Republicans Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton. Luther, who opened Salon a la Mode nearly two weeks ago, was found in contempt for ignoring a court order to close from state District Judge Eric Moye, who sentenced her to seven days in Dallas County jail Tuesday and hit her with a $7,000 fine. The petition challenging Luthers incarceration, filed Wednesday by lawyers including state Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, argued that she was exercising her right to run a business in ways that protected customer health by, among other steps, requiring stylists to wear face coverings, seating patrons 6 feet apart and sanitizing regularly touched surfaces. Story continues There is no evidence that her business posed any greater risk to the public than businesses being allowed to operate, such as movie theaters, day cares, and home improvement stores, the Supreme Court petition said. Under Abbotts stay-at-home order, issued in March, salons and other nonessential businesses were required to close. Open? Closed? Here's how the 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico are easing social distancing restrictions amid coronavirus outbreak State law sets the punishment for violating disaster-related executive orders at a fine of up to $1,000 and up to 180 days of jail time. Abbotts latest executive order suspended all relevant laws that allow jail time for violating any order issued in response to the COVD-19 disaster. The order allowed salons and barber shops to open immediately. Some local officials have been reckless, imprisoning women for wanting to work to put food on the table for their children, state Rep. Matt Shaheen, R-Plano, said on Twitter. Other Republicans offered backhanded praise. Gov. Abbott, throwing Texans in jail whose businesses shut down through no fault of their own is wrong. Thank you for admitting that, said state Rep. Mike Lang, R-Granbury. Abbott was to head to the White House to meet with President Donald Trump to discuss the states response to the coronavirus. Abbott plans to reopen much of the Texas economy by May 18. Retail stores, restaurants, malls, museums, libraries and movie theaters were allowed to reopen May 1 at 25% capacity. Barber shops and salons can reopen Friday, also at 25% capacity. May 18, nonessential manufacturing and office-based businesses can reopen. Oklahoma City McDonald's shooting: Workers injured in shooting after customer saw dining area was closed, police say Frosty forecast this Mother's Day weekend: Record cold, bomb cyclone, thundersnow may be on tap This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Salon owner Shelley Luther out of jail on Texas Supreme Court order NEW YORK, May 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eyenovia, Inc. (EYEN), a clinical stage ophthalmic biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of microdose therapeutics utilizing its patented piezo-print delivery technology, today announced that the Company will release financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 on Wednesday, May 13, 2020, after the market closes. Following the release, Dr. Sean Ianchulev, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer, John Gandolfo, Chief Financial Officer, and Michael Rowe, Vice President, Commercial will host a conference call to review the financial results. The conference call is scheduled to begin at 4:45pm ET on Wednesday, May 13, 2020. Participants should dial 1-866-916-2921 (United States) or 1-210-874-7771 (International) with the conference code 4397339. A live webcast of the conference call will also be available on the investor relations page of the Company's corporate website at www.eyenovia.com. After the live webcast, the event will be archived on Eyenovias website for one year. In addition, a telephonic replay of the call will be available until May 20, 2020. The replay can be accessed by dialing 1-855-859-2056 (United States) or 1-404-537-3406 (International) with confirmation code 4397339. About Eyenovia Eyenovia, Inc. (EYEN) is a clinical stage ophthalmic biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of microdose therapeutics utilizing its patented piezo-print delivery technology. Eyenovias pipeline is currently focused on the late-stage development of microdosed medications for presbyopia, myopia progression and mydriasis. For more Information please visit www.eyenovia.com . Company Contact: Eyenovia, Inc. John Gandolfo Chief Financial Officer jgandolfo@eyenoviabio.com Investor Contact: The Ruth Group Tram Bui / Alexander Lobo Phone: 646-536-7035/7037 tbui@theruthgroup.com / alobo@theruthgroup.com The coronavirus outbreak in New Jersey has now claimed at least 8,801 lives, with 133,635 total cases in the state, according to the latest update by state officials Thursday. Thats after officials announced another 254 deaths and 1,827 confirmed cases. We are still in the midst of a public health emergency, Gov. Phil Murphy said during his daily coronavirus press briefing in Trenton. These are never just numbers. Murphy has said that his unprecedented stay-at-home orders, nonessential business closures and shutdown of schools has resulted in a slowing of the spread of the coronavirus in New Jersey over the last few weeks. We continue to see the daily counts leveling, the governor said. Thats a very positive sign. He also stressed that despite pushback from some lawmakers, businesses, and residents, its still too soon to reopen the state further. We cannot let up with our social distancing," Murphy said. "The fewer new cases, the fewer people in the hospital. It doesnt get any simpler than that. Officials said the number of patients in New Jerseys hospitals being treated for confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases dropped to the lowest level since they began publicly tracking hospitalizations in early April. The states 71 hospitals had 4,996 coronavirus patients as of 10 p.m. on Wednesday, marking weeks of steady declines and 40% drop since the peak in hospitalizations on April 14 at 8,270. Having fewer than 5,000 people in the hospital for COVID-19 is a milestone, Murphy said. The reason it peaked at 8,270 is because of you." The governor has made the hospital numbers a key real-time indicator of New Jerseys progress on slowing the coronavirus outbreak and whether he can start lifting more of the near-lockdown restrictions. We still have far too many of our fellow New Jerseyans in the hospital, Murphy said. Our hospital counts are still far above what they would be in normal times. More than 261,000 residents have been tested for the coronavirus in New Jersey, and 39.5% have confirmed positive. The county-by-county coronavirus cases and deaths include: Bergen County: 16,609 with 1,319 deaths Hudson County: 16,354 with 923 deaths Essex County: 15,095 with 1,381 deaths Passaic County: 14,133 with 703 deaths Union County: 13,781 with 829 deaths Middlesex County: 13,411 with 737 deaths Ocean County: 7,209 with 500 deaths Monmouth County: 6,649 with 428 deaths Morris County: 5,702 with 503 deaths Mercer County: 4,986 with 313 deaths Camden County: 4,479 with 193 deaths Somerset County: 3,914 with 320 deaths Burlington County: 3,367 with 185 deaths Gloucester County: 1,548 with 66 deaths Atlantic County: 1,302 with 62 deaths Cumberland County: 1,090 with 25 deaths Sussex County: 1,006 with 123 deaths Warren County: 1,004 with 99 deaths Hunterdon County: 685 with 43 deaths Cape May County: 401 with 31 deaths Salem County: 358 with 18 deaths Another 594 cases remain under investigation to determine where the person resides. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage The states total number of cases is cumulative and does not reflect the likely thousands of people who have recovered, officials said. Its difficult to get a complete picture of exactly how many people in New Jersey currently have COVID-19 because officials say testing has been backlogged up to seven days. The state also is not reporting significant increases in daily testing, so it is unclear exactly how quickly the virus continues to spread. Meanwhile, Murphy announced Thursday that New Jersey is sending 120 National Guard soldiers to the states longterm care facilities, which have besieged by the virus. Of the 670 facilities in New Jersey which include nursing homes and veterans homes 508 have reported at least one COVID-19 case, officials said. Officials have reported 4,556 deaths of longterm care facility residents, based on lab-confirmed and presumed COVID-19 data. Thats about half of the states total deaths. A total of 24,874 coronavirus cases have been reported at those facilities. As of early Thursday morning, more than 3.7 million people have tested positive for COVID-19 across the globe, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. Of those, more than 264,000 have died and nearly 1.3 million have recovered. NJ Advance Media staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this report. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Eventually the lockdowns will ease and public life will become somewhat safer, even though a vaccine will still be a ways off. At that point a species that has been in hibernation will begin to emerge: namely, the tourist. I have visited about 100 countries over the past few decades, and when this outbreak subsides I am looking forward to getting back on a plane. The thrill of seeing a new place, soaking in its customs and pondering its cultural puzzles, is one of my greatest joys in life. It also helps knit the world together, and I believe it encourages global trade and peace. Yet in the near future, at least, tourism is likely to be more modest. First of all, many more trips will be done by car to nearby places, as flying still will seem like a risky endeavor. Living in northern Virginia, Im starting to think I actually will sample the charm of western Connecticut, or revisit Memphis, two trips I otherwise would not make. They are also relatively cheap outings, and that will matter as many incomes are contracting. Still, even in a recession I think the demand to travel will be high, if only because people feel restless and cooped up. There is also pent-up demand to see family, friends and business associates. Tourists will look for places that seem safe to visit. My daughter recently asked me how long it would take to drive to Newfoundland (its about as close as Texas, which for me is about a five-day drive). Ive always wanted to see Newfoundlands beautiful scenery, and with a large territory and a population of only about half a million (with Labrador), it seems ideally suited for social distancing. The problem, of course, is that Newfoundland may not be so keen about seeing me. It is already difficult for Americans to enter Canada, and Newfoundland currently requires 14 days of self-isolation for arrivals within Canada. Hawaii, another area with a relatively good Covid-19 public health record and a prime vacation spot, also insists on 14 days quarantine for non-essential visitors. Story continues Not all of those restrictions will be in place a year from now, but it is easy to see the problem here: The safest areas will also be the most restrictive. Even if airlines test their passengers for Covid-19, vacation spots may remain nervous about letting in too many outsiders. Some of the safer locales may decide to open up, perhaps with visitor quotas. Many tourists will rush there, either occasioning a counterreaction that is, reducing the destinations appeal or filling the quota very rapidly. Then everyone will resume their search for the next open spot, whether its Nova Scotia or Iceland. Tourists will compete for status by asking, Did you get in before the door shut? Some countries might allow visitors to only their more distant (and less desirable?) locales, enforcing movements with electronic monitoring. Central Australia, anyone? Ive always wanted to see the northwest coast of New Zealands South Island. Some of the worlds poorer countries might pursue a herd immunity strategy, not intentionally, but because their public health institutions are too weak to mount an effective response to Covid-19. A year and a half from now, some of those countries likely will be open to tourism. They wont be able to prove they are safe, but they might be fine nonetheless. They will attract the kind of risk-seeking tourist who, pre-Covid 19, might have gone to Mali or the more exotic parts of India. For Americans, such areas might be found in the Caribbean, which has numerous relatively poor countries dependent on tourism. Those countries will need the money and many will open up to visitors early, figuring they have little to lose. Even if the airline industry remains crippled, charter flights will connect these islands to North America. Again, there might be a pattern of particular islands being rapidly swamped, before either they or the tourists decide they have had enough. Other countries may charge entry fees, much as Bhutan has been doing for a long time. Maybe you can make that Taj Mahal trip but it will cost an extra $2,000 upfront. And you might be tested and monitored, and sent back home if you violate the terms of your stay. Places reachable by direct flights will be increasingly attractive. A smaller aviation sector will make connecting flights more logistically difficult, and passengers will appreciate the certainty that comes from knowing they are approved to enter the country of their final destination and dont have to worry about transfers, delays or cancellations. That will favor London, Paris, Toronto, Rome and other well-connected cities with lots to see and do. More people will want to visit a single locale and not worry about catching the train to the next city. Or they might prefer a driving tour. How about flying to Paris and then a car trip to the famous cathedrals and towns of Normandy? Maybe. But I might start by giving Parkersburg, West Virginia, a try. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Tyler Cowen is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a professor of economics at George Mason University and writes for the blog Marginal Revolution. His books include "Big Business: A Love Letter to an American Anti-Hero." For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. The investigation into the murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe led to "thousands" of call data record requests as well as CCTV from 380 different locations being recovered, a court has heard. The jury in the capital murder trial, which heard evidence yesterday for the first time in two months, was also shown charts of phone and text communications between the accused and two other suspects in the days leading up to the fatal shooting. Aaron Brady (29), of New Road, Crossmaglen, Co Armagh, denies the capital murder of Adrian Donohoe (41), who was then a member of An Garda Siochana acting in the course of his duty, at Lordship Credit Union, Bellurgan, Co Louth, on January 25, 2013. Intelligence Mr Brady has also pleaded not guilty to the robbery of around 7,000 in cash and assorted cheques from Pat Bellew at the same location on the same date. Evidence was yesterday given at the Central Criminal Court of telephone communications between the accused and a number of other people in the days before the murder of Det Gda Donohoe. Expand Close Adrian Donohoe / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Adrian Donohoe Edward McGoey, a senior intelligence analyst with An Garda Siochana, told the jury he prepared charts of phone contacts from mobile numbers of interest to the investigation team. He said his involvement in this investigation was "much larger" than previous inquiries he had been part of, with the number of applications for call data records "in the thousands". Detective Garda Gareth Kenna told the court that CCTV footage was obtained from around 380 locations during the course of the investigation. Both witnesses were giving evidence simultaneously. The jury was then shown footage of a dark saloon vehicle at a number of different locations between Ballymascanlon and Bellurgan on the night of January 22, 2013. This vehicle was seen on footage at a service station, as well as being driven to and from the home of one of the robbery suspects' parents. Footage was also played of a separate suspect buying mobile phone credit in a store. Both men are alleged by the prosecution to have been involved in the robbery at Lordship Credit Union, but cannot be named for legal reasons. Mobile phone traffic between Mr Brady, these two suspects and others was also shown to the court. The trial continues before a jury of six men and seven women. Earlier, Justice Michael White said measures had been introduced by the court in line with government guidelines on the pandemic and that the trial could continue. Restricted The number of people allowed into the courtroom has been restricted, with some members of the jury sitting in the body of the court. "If any of you have any on- going concerns about your health which impact on your ability to continue as a juror, please bring it to my attention," Mr Justice White told them. The court heard one juror had requested not to continue because of concerns for his health as a result of the current pandemic. He had been discharged, and the trial continues with a 13-person panel. Mr Justice White also informed the jury that the court service had arranged to refund any parking costs that they may incur. CALGARY - Operating costs and production levels are set to fall at Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. but, unlike many of its peers, the company left its long-standing dividend intact and took no asset impairment charges in its first-quarter report on Thursday. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 7/5/2020 (621 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., at the company's annual meeting in Calgary on May 3, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh CALGARY - Operating costs and production levels are set to fall at Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. but, unlike many of its peers, the company left its long-standing dividend intact and took no asset impairment charges in its first-quarter report on Thursday. The move to leave its quarterly dividend at 42.5 cents per share surprised analysts, who questioned its sustainability given low oil prices and refinery cutbacks as the COVID-19 pandemic reduces fuel demand throughout North America. In its 20th consecutive annual increase, the company raised the investor payouts by 13 per cent just two months ago. On Wednesday, fellow oilsands giant Suncor Energy Inc. cut its quarterly dividend by 55 per cent to 21 cents per share after 18 years of consecutive annual increases. "The board of directors has shown confidence in the company's assets and ability to deliver strong and sustainable cash flow by maintaining the current quarterly dividend," said Canadian Natural chief financial officer Mark Stainthorpe on a conference call. "With low break-even pricing, the dividend remains sustainable." Suncor CEO Mark Little said Wednesday the dividend cut was part of a strategy, along with cost cutting, to bring the company's targeted break-even point to US$35 per barrel from US$45 on a cash flow basis. Canadian Natural president Tim McKay said Thursday his company's break-even point is already between US$30 and US$31 per barrel. Maintaining the dividend will cost the company about $2 billion this year and it likely should have been reduced, noted National Bank analyst Travis Wood in a report. Analyst Phil Skolnick of Eight Capital, however, pointed out that Suncor outspent first-quarter cash flow after paying its dividend and Canadian Natural didn't, making the latter's dividend more affordable. Canadian Natural shares rose by about four per cent to $22.60 in early trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange but drifted lower, up 0.6 per cent at $21.86, at noon EDT. Production in the first quarter reached a record 1.18 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, the maximum allowed under ongoing Alberta government oil curtailments, Canadian Natural said, adding it maximized its output of upgraded crude from its oilsands mining operations. Oil production will fall this month by about 120,000 barrels per day through a combination of shutting down thermal oilsands and conventional oil wells to avoid low oil prices, and maintenance shutdowns at certain facilities, it added. The company officially withdrew its 2020 production guidance but said it still could meet its previous target range of 1.137 to 1.207 million boe/d under current commodity futures pricing. On the call, McKay estimated total volume reductions by the oil industry in Western Canada due to low prices likely add up to about one million barrels per day. After avoiding natural gas investments for several years, Canadian Natural said it will drill wells to add about 60 million cubic feet per day this year in response to strengthening prices as production falls in the United States. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The company said it will cut its operating costs this year by $745 million compared with last year and will eliminate another $280 million from capital costs on top of its cut of more than $1 billion announced in March. It now expects capital spending to total $2.68 billion this year, down from its original budget of $4.05 billion. The company announced a first-quarter loss of $1.28 billion on lower commodity prices, compared with a profit of $961 million in the same period of 2019. On an adjusted basis, it lost $295 million, compared with an adjusted profit of $838 million a year ago. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2020. Companies in this story: (TSX:CNQ) The latest novel coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Thursday (this file is no longer updating. Click here to read the latest). Web links to longer stories if available. 7.15 p.m. There are 64,922 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada, including 4,408 deaths, and 29,260 cases resolved, according to The Canadian Press. This breaks down as follows (NOTE: Breakdown does not include numbers for Ontario, for which the Star does its own count. See entry for 5 p.m.): Quebec: 35,238 confirmed (including 2,631 deaths, 8,673 resolved) Alberta: 6,017 confirmed (including 114 deaths, 3,809 resolved) British Columbia: 2,288 confirmed (including 126 deaths, 1,512 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,007 confirmed (including 44 deaths, 708 resolved) Saskatchewan: 531 confirmed (including six deaths, 329 resolved) Manitoba: 272 confirmed (including seven deaths, 243 resolved), 11 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including three deaths, 244 resolved) New Brunswick: 120 confirmed (including 118 resolved) Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 26 resolved) Repatriated Canadians account for 13 confirmed cases, all of which have been resolved Yukon: 11 confirmed, all of which have been resolved Northwest Territories: five confirmed, all of which have been resolved Nunavut reports no confirmed cases. 5 p.m. Ontarios regional health units are reporting another 47 deaths from COVID-19 and a rise in new cases amid an increase in testing, according to the Stars latest count. As of 5 p.m. Thursday, Ontarios regional health units are reporting a total of 20,531 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19, including 1,590 deaths. The 499 new cases reported province-wide since the same time Wednesday evening was the most the Star has counted in a day since May 1, but is consistent with past counts in which jumps in new cases have tended to follow spikes in testing. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government will send the provinces and territories $4 billion to increase the wages of essential workers in the COVID-19 pandemic. He says the details are still to be finalized with some provinces, which will be expected to add their own money to the program as well. But Trudeau says all the country's first ministers agree that front-line workers who are risking their health and make minimum wage deserve a raise. It will be up to each province to decide which workers count as "essential" and will get a top-up. Earlier Thursday, the province reported an increase in completed COVID-19 tests, once again passing 15,000 in a day. The total was up after two days of fewer completed tests, although still not at the 16,000-test target demanded by Premier Doug Ford. Still, the overall trend continues to see slower growth in cases; the jump of 499 cases since Wednesday morning represented a low 2.5-per-cent increase, a daily rate down sharply from the fastest growth in March. In the second half of that month, the province saw an average daily growth of 20 per cent, a rate that doubled Ontarios case count about every four days. In the first half of April, that rate slowed to an average of 9.5-per-cent daily growth, and the second half of the month averaged about 4 per cent, or a doubling time of around two-and-a-half weeks. Meantime, Ontarios public health units continue to report large numbers of new deaths; as the rate of new cases has fallen in recent weeks, the trend in the daily count of new deaths continues to rise. Because many health units publish tallies to their websites before reporting to Public Health Ontario, the Stars count is more current than the data the province puts out each morning. Earlier Thursday, the province said 1,033 patients are now hospitalized with COVID-19, including 220 in intensive care, of whom 155 are on a ventilator numbers that have fluctuated, but remained largely flat in recent weeks. The province also says more than 13,500 patients who have tested positive for the coronavirus have now recovered from the disease. This is about two-thirds of the total infected. The province says its data is accurate to 4 p.m. the previous day. The province also cautions its latest count of total deaths, 1,477, may be incomplete or out of date due to delays in the reporting system, saying that in the event of a discrepancy, data reported by (the health units) should be considered the most up to date. The Stars count, includes some patients reported as probable COVID-19 cases, meaning they have symptoms and contacts or travel history that indicate they very likely have the disease, but have not yet received a positive lab test. 4.38 p.m. As Toronto begins to loosen the COVID-19 restrictions that have kept residents close to home for much of the past two months, the TTC is bracing for the increase in ridership thats expected to accompany the citys recovery from the crisis, the Stars Ben Spur reports. Experts and other jurisdictions have pursued ideas such as directing all passengers to wear masks, modifying stations to allow for social distancing, and asking employers to stagger shifts to push travel demand outside of traditional rush hours. 4.21 p.m. Reported cases of COVID-19 globally have moved toward the four-million mark, with deaths approaching 270,000, The Canadian Press reports. The U.S. accounts for more than a quarter of both totals. 3.52 p.m. There are 64,835 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada, including 4,404 deaths, and 28,985 cases resolved, according to The Canadian Press. This breaks down as follows: Quebec: 35,238 confirmed (including 2,631 deaths, 8,673 resolved) Ontario: 19,121 confirmed (including 1,477 deaths, 13,569 resolved) Alberta: 5,963 confirmed (including 112 deaths, 3,552 resolved) British Columbia: 2,255 confirmed (including 124 deaths, 1,494 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,007 confirmed (including 44 deaths, 708 resolved) Saskatchewan: 531 confirmed (including six deaths, 329 resolved) Manitoba: 272 confirmed (including seven deaths, 243 resolved), 11 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including three deaths, 244 resolved) New Brunswick: 120 confirmed (including 118 resolved) Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 26 resolved) Repatriated Canadians account for 13 confirmed and all have been resolved Yukon: 11 confirmed and all have been resolved Northwest Territories: five confirmed and all have been resolved Nunavut reports no confirmed cases. 3.45 p.m. Dr. Eileen de Villa, medical officer of health for the City of Toronto, said there are 249 new cases of COVID-19 in Toronto and 4,364 people have recovered. She did not provide new numbers on hospitalizations and deaths. De Villa said the public health board is analyzing whether certain groups are affected by the virus more than others. Findings show cases are higher in poorer parts of the city and parts populated by immigrants, she said. De Villa agreed said the board agreed on the need to balance #COVID19 precautions with other health needs, and will weigh this balance while gradually easing restrictions provided physical distancing is maintained. Asked by Francine Kopun of the Toronto Star, if stores in malls with store frontage will be allowed to open for curbside service this Monday, City officials were unsure, and said the Provincial government is responsible for this. It falls to store-owners and the public to react responsibility, they added. Mayor Tory said businesses can adopt measures to avoid crowding and line-ups such as scheduling pick-ups for purchases. De Villa said the City needs to continue monitoring data to decide if it should ease public health measures or slow things down. Addressing the cancellation of Googles Sidewalk Labs Quayside waterfront project, Mayor John Tory expressed regret and understanding: Sometimes business deals just dont end up happening. Tory said the fundamentals that attracted Google to locate the project here will remain when the city reopens. The company has said it remains committed to Toronto, he said. Tory called on emergency funding for Toronto and other cities from provincial and federal governments. The impact of COVID on Torontos finances is brutal, at $65 million per week in lost revenue and extra expenses. The mayor notes that theres already been a tax increase this year higher than in past years to pay for transit and housing costs, so it is a bad idea to hit property taxpayers again. Toronto needs federal help, he said. The mayor said there are active discussions, involving the Province and feds, but there is no firm word from them yet. All 300 staff at seven emergency child-care centres are being tested for #COVID19. This includes Jesse Ketchum Centre, which suffered an outbreak and was closed. At Jesse Ketchum, 13 staff have tested positive, 34 negative, and 19 are awaiting results. Seven children tested positive, 20 negative, and about 30 are awaiting results. 3.22 p.m. Theatre impresario David Mirvish has announced that Hamilton will return to Toronto to resume the engagement that was cut short on March 13. The goal is to return within 18 months from now. The exact dates are being determined, but it is the producers intention to restart Hamilton in Toronto at their earliest opportunity, Mirvish said. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government will send the provinces and territories $4 billion to increase the wages of essential workers in the COVID-19 pandemic. He says the details are still to be finalized with some provinces, which will be expected to add their own money to the program as well. But Trudeau says all the country's first ministers agree that front-line workers who are risking their health and make minimum wage deserve a raise. It will be up to each province to decide which workers count as "essential" and will get a top-up. 3 p.m.: New data reveals the overwhelming toll on elderly Canadians in long-term care during the COVID-19 outbreak, showing they make up 82 per cent of all deaths. The National Institute on Aging says that as of Wednesday, there were 3,436 resident deaths and six staff deaths for a total of 3,442 deaths across long-term care and residential nursing home settings across Canada. That represents 82 per cent of the 4,167 Canadian deaths reported Wednesday. Read the story from the Stars Tonda MacCharles. 2:30 p.m.: Footwear retailer Aldo Group Inc. began a court restructuring process Thursday after the pandemic shuttered stores and worsened the companys already-struggling business. The Montreal-based company operates about 3,000 stores worldwide. 2:15 p.m.: That overnight trip to High Park to climb a cherry blossom tree came with a $1,150 price tag. Toronto police issued three tickets to the man caught on the citys BloomCam climbing the tree in the early morning hours Monday. 2:10 p.m.: Manitoba health officials are reporting no new COVID-19 cases and say one earlier probable case has turned out to not be COVID-19. The total to date is 283 cases. And with more people recovering, the number of active cases has dropped to 33. 1:45 p.m.: The waiting list for surgeries in British Columbia has grown to 93,000 with one-third of those added during the COVID-19 shutdown. The B.C. government says it will take 17 to 24 months to clear a backlog of 30,000 patients, and thats only if theres not a resurgence of the pandemic. It says an additional 24,000 surgical cases werent even added to the waiting list since the shutdown and it will be impossible to catch up without significant changes in the health-care system. The changes being implemented include new screening processes for COVID-19, hiring 400 more operating room nurses, pushing operating rooms to full capacity and turning to private clinics. 1:10 p.m.: The Manitoba government is boosting infrastructure spending and cutting some environmental funding to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Premier Brian Pallister says the government will spend an extra $500 million over the next two years on roads, bridges, and water and sewer projects. Pallister says the cash will stimulate an economy that has been hurt by the pandemic and comes on top of $3 billion previously planned. Meanwhile, The Green Action Centre, a Winnipeg-based non-profit, says it is out $200,000 and will have a hard time maintaining its waste reduction program after cuts were announced to some environmental groups. 1 p.m.: Patients awaiting word on when they will get scheduled surgeries and procedures postponed over fears COVID-19 would overwhelm Ontario hospitals are a step closer to getting answers. But there are no dates provided in a provincial framework released Thursday clearing hospitals to start planning a gradual resumption of non-emergency services such as hip replacements, cataract and some cancer surgeries that have been delayed. Read the story from the Stars Rob Ferguson. 12:55 p.m.: The countrys deputy chief public health officer says theres no right number of COVID-19 tests to do each day. Dr. Howard Njoo says testing numbers are moving targets, depending on local circumstances. Njoo told a press briefing in Ottawa that as governments begin lifting anti-pandemic restrictions, the need for testing will generally rise, but its impossible to set an exact target. He said needs will be different if someone tests positive in a dense urban centre and has encountered many other people, versus someone who lives alone in an isolated place. 12:55 p.m.: Newfoundland and Labrador has confirmed two more cases of COVID-19, one which is linked to an outbreak at an Alberta worksite. The province has confirmed 261 cases of the illness and 244 people have recovered. Chief Medical Officer of Health Janice Fitzgerald says ebbs and flows in the number of cases is to be expected, adding that the increase speaks to the importance of following preventive measures like physical distancing and hand hygiene. Fitzgerald addressed an outbreak in the Alberta oilsands, saying workers at the Horizon and Kearl Lake sites who returned to the province since April 12 should isolate for 14 days and contact public health to be tested. 12:50 p.m.: New Brunswick is reporting no new cases of COVID-19 today. The number of confirmed cases in the province remains at 120. There are two active cases and 118 people have recovered. None of the active cases are in hospital. As of Thursday, 16,625 tests have been conducted. 12:50 p.m.: Ontario Premier Doug Ford is expected to address reporters at his daily briefing. A live newstream of his news conference will be available at thestar.com 12:40 p.m.: Dr. Theresa Tam says its a bad idea to go to a cottage or a second home if you risk straining local health resources. Rules and advice on how to apply that will vary from province to province and situation to situation, though. Tam says part of the concern is about spreading the virus that causes COVID-19, and part is about simply having too many people heading to places that dont have the local hospital capacity to treat them if they got sick. 12:35 p.m.: Nova Scotia is reporting three more deaths related to COVID-19, bringing the provinces total to 44. Health officials say the deaths occurred at the Northwood long-term care home in Halifax, where the majority of the deaths in the outbreak have occurred. Nine new cases of the virus have been identified for a total of 1,007 confirmed cases. 12:25 p.m.: Governor General Julie Payette says the lessons being learned from the COVID-19 pandemic will be useful for potential upcoming crises. Payette points out that natural disasters, like volcanic eruptions or asteroids, could cause major disruptions to life in Canada. She suggests science could help foresee those catastrophes and the country would have time to plan and react. Payette, a former astronaut, says one of the things she learned from her past job is to spend a lot of time planning when things are quiet so everyone is ready to work together when all hell breaks loose. 12:20 p.m.: Dr. Theresa Tam says Canada has conducted its millionth test for COVID-19, and about six per cent of the people tested have been confirmed as positive cases. Nearly half of those who tested positive are considered recovered at this point, but more than 4,000 people have died of the illness. The countrys chief public health officer says mental health is a growing concern amid the pandemic, but one thing that helps many people is feeling as though theyre helping and making a difference. For children, she says being creative and cheering people up with art can achieve that. 11:40 a.m. (updated): Ontarios regional health units are reporting another 64 deaths from COVID-19 and an uptick in new cases amid an increase in testing, according to the Stars latest count. As of 11 a.m. Thursday, Ontarios regional health units are reporting a total of 20,087 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19, including 1,552 deaths. The 472 new cases reported provincewide since the same time Wednesday morning was up more than 150 from the previous days tally, although still in line with long-term trends. Earlier Thursday, the province reported an increase in completed COVID-19 tests, once again passing 15,000 in a day. The total was up after two days of fewer completed tests, although still not at the 16,000-test target demanded by Premier Doug Ford. Increases in new cases per day have tended to follow spikes in testing. Still: The overall trend continues to see slower growth in cases. The jump of 472 cases since Wednesday morning represented a low 2.4 per cent increase, a daily rate that is down sharply from the fastest growth in March. In the second half of that month, the province saw an average daily growth of 20 per cent, a rate that doubled Ontarios case count about every four days. In the first half of April, that rate slowed to an average of 9.5 per cent daily growth, and the second half of the month averaged about 4 per cent, or a doubling time of around two-and-a-half weeks. Meantime, Ontarios public health units continue to report large numbers of new deaths; as the rate of new cases has fallen in recent weeks, the trend in the daily count of new deaths continues to rise. Because many health units publish tallies to their websites before reporting to Public Health Ontario, the Stars count is more current than the data the province puts out each morning. Earlier Thursday, the province said 1,033 patients are now hospitalized with COVID-19, including 220 in intensive care, of whom 155 are on a ventilator numbers that have fluctuated but remained largely flat in recent weeks. The province also says more than 13,500 patients who have tested positive for the coronavirus have now recovered from the disease about two-thirds of the total infected. The province says its data is accurate to 4 p.m. the previous day. The province also cautions its latest count of total deaths 1,477 may be incomplete or out of date due to delays in the reporting system, saying that in the event of a discrepancy, data reported by (the health units) should be considered the most up to date. The Stars count, includes some patients reported as probable COVID-19 cases, meaning they have symptoms and contacts or travel history that indicate they very likely have the disease, but have not yet received a positive lab test. 11:30 a.m.: The province is reporting five more deaths at Meighen Manor, pushing the overall total to 42 at the long-term-care home in midtown Toronto. There are 106 active cases at the 168-bed home run by Salvation Army, near Yonge Street and Davisville Avenue, according to the latest numbers published by the Ministry of Long-Term Care. The latest figures show the facility has 61 residents and 45 staff who have tested positive for COVID-19. The Star reported last month on the efforts by two nurses there to warn executives about the outbreak. 11:30 a.m.: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says cushioning the economic impact of the pandemic is the governments top priority and hes not worrying too much for now about how to deal with the costs. He says there will be plenty of time to talk about the longer-term economic recovery later. Trudeau says the pandemic has revealed problems that hadnt received enough attention, such as the plight of vulnerable workers, that will also need to be dealt with. He says the government will think about green measures, the digital economy, poverty and other ways that Canada can build back better. 11:14 a.m.: Trudeau says the federal government will send the provinces and territories $4 billion to increase the wages of essential workers in the COVID-19 pandemic. He says the details are still to be finalized with some provinces, which will be expected to add their own money to the program as well. But Trudeau says all the countrys first ministers agree that front-line workers who are risking their health and make minimum wage deserve a raise. It will be up to each province to decide which workers count as essential and will get a top-up. 11 a.m.: Trudeau is expected to brief reporters at his daily briefing. A livestream of his news conference is available at thestar.com 10:45 a.m.: The Defence Minister wont say how many Canadian Armed Forces members are ill with COVID-19. Harjit Sajjan says for operational reasons, the military wont release the number. Upwards of 1,000 personnel are deployed in long-term care facilities, and hundreds elsewhere in Canada. 10:35 a.m.: Ontario is reporting that the number of people in hospital on ventilators dropped from 174 to 155. The province also reported that 15,179 patients were tested Wednesday. Its still shy of the daily target of 16,000 thats expected to get a better picture of the viruss spread. 10:20 a.m.: Sidewalk Labs is packing up and leaving Toronto after a long, fraught and ultimately failed attempt to build a sensor-laden high-tech neighbourhood on the east downtown waterfront. The stunning news, coming as Toronto starts to reopen after much of the citys economy was shut down by the global COVID-19 pandemic, will be mourned by many and cheered by privacy advocates and others who tried the kill the deal. Read the breaking news story from the Stars David Rider. 10:10 a.m.: Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says as of today, the Canadian Armed Forces will have 1,020 personnel committed to 20 long-term care homes in Quebec. He says that includes 670 medical and support staff inside the facilities, as well as 350 members providing outside support such as delivering personal protective equipment. Sajjan says by mid-May, more than 1,350 Forces members will be helping in 25 of the provinces long-term care homes. There are also 265 Forces personnel assisting at five facilities in Ontario. Canadian Forces members are also helping in rural and remote regions doing in contact tracing, medical equipment delivery and other tasks. 10 a.m.: Doug Fords retail reopening is gambling on Torontonians. So how will pent-up residents react? Read the column from the Stars Bruce Arthur. 8:21 a.m.: Quebec provincial police say theyve arrested two people in connection with a spate of cell phone tower fires in recent days. Police say the pair, in their 20s, will be questioned following the arrests early today in Ste-Adele, northwest of Montreal. False narratives around 5G the fifth-generation technology standard for cellphone companies and COVID-19 have been shared hundreds of thousands of times on social media, leading to attacks on towers across Europe. 8:12 a.m.: Ontario will reveal plan today to resume scheduled and elective surgeries postponed as hospitals braced for a surge of COVID-19 patients, the Stars Rob Ferguson reports. 8 a.m.: Premier Doug Ford has decreed that cottagers should enjoy their seasonal residences on the Victoria Day weekend that starts May 15 in restrained fashion. In a statement Thursday after a conference call with rural mayors, the premier implored Ontarians to play it safe and responsible by not socializing or making too many pit stops en route. We are still battling a terrible virus, so we are asking seasonal residents travelling to their cottages to practise the same public health measures as usual, including no public gatherings, avoiding non-essential travel as much as possible, and continue to practise social distancing. Ford emphasized that that the mayors appealed to him to discourage day trippers from visiting Muskoka, Haliburton, and other bucolic regions. Some rural mayors have been urging city dwellers to stay away because there have been relatively few coronavirus cases outside the Greater Toronto Area and other urban centres and they fear small-town hospitals could be swamped. 7:38 a.m. Greyhound Canada has announced a temporary shutdown of its bussing and service operations effective May 12 due to the pandemic. Ridership has declined 95 per cent amid COVID-19. The closure will affect 400 jobs. The company says it cannot continue operations without federal and provincial government support. We are facing unprecedented times that have caused a significant decline in demand, Greyhound said in statement. 7:15 a.m. France will lay out its plan to roll back lockdown measures, joining countries including Germany, Italy and the Netherlands in easing restrictions as the economic pain from the fallout of the coronavirus intensifies. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe is to unveil final details of his plan to end curbs on public life later on Thursday. The country is preparing to go back to work and reopen schools starting on Monday in a gradual process designed to avoid a second wave of infections. Despite more than 140,000 deaths on the continent, European leaders are feeling the heat to accelerate a return to normality and are trying to walk a fine line between reactivating the economy and avoiding a renewed outbreak. The economic damage is becoming increasingly evident, with a 9.2 per cent decline in March industrial production in Germany and a 16.2 per cent drop in France. The crippling impact from just half a month of factory closures sets up even grimmer figures for April, when millions of people were all but confined to their homes across the continent. 7:13 a.m.: Just over a week after news broke that the CFL has asked the federal government for up to $150 million in assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian Football League commissioner Randy Ambrosie is to testify at the House of Commons standing committee on finance. Ambrosie will appear via videoconference during a panel on arts, culture, sports and charitable organizations. The CFLs request sparked debate about whether professional sports leagues should be entitled to federal funds during the COVID-19 crisis. A day after the CFLs request became public last Tuesday, the Canadian Premier League confirmed it was asking for $25 million from the federal government. The professional soccer league began play last season. 6:21 a.m.: The British government says a shipment of personal protective equipment from Turkey intended to help ease supply problems is sitting in a warehouse because it does not meet U.K. standards. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said the 400,000 medical gowns are not of the quality that we feel is good enough for our front-line staff treating coronavirus patients. The shipment has become an embarrassment for the British government since a minister announced on April 18 that it would arrive the next day. It was four days before a Royal Air Force plane was able to fly the cargo to the U.K. 6:16 a.m.: China is firing back at U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeos claim that there is enormous evidence that the coronavirus originated in a Chinese laboratory, accusing him of making up lies and covering up a lie by fabricating more lies. The strong language from Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying at a Thursday briefing came as President Donald Trump and his allies continue to express confidence in an unsubstantiated theory linking the origin of the outbreak to a possible accident at a Chinese lab. U.S. officials say they are still exploring the subject and describe the evidence as purely circumstantial. But Trump, aides say, has embraced the notion to further highlight Chinas lack of transparency. Under the situation that no scientists and experts can even draw any conclusions, why did Secretary Pompeo want to rush to the conclusion to hold the Wuhan laboratory accountable? Where is his evidence?, Hua told reporters, while defending the integrity of the Wuhan lab. Show us. If he cant, is he still in the middle of concocting this so-called evidence? 5:31 a.m.: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Africa has surpassed 50,000 and deaths have surpassed 2,000. Thats according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Africa now has 51,698 cases, but the widespread shortage of testing materials means the actual number is unknown. South Africa has the most virus cases with more than 7,800 but has been testing assertively with more than 10,000 tests carried out per day. All but one of Africas 54 countries, tiny Lesotho, have confirmed cases. 5:31 a.m.: Russian health officials reported more than 11,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday a record daily spike which brought the countrys total over 177,000 confirmed cases. Russias official caseload has thus surpassed that of Germany and France, becoming the 5th largest in the world. The actual number of cases is likely to be much higher as not everybody is getting tested and many people infected with the virus dont show any symptoms. Last week, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin suggested in his blog that as many as 2% of Moscows 12.7 million population more than 200,000 people may be infected with the coronavirus. Moscow has currently registered about 93,000 confirmed cases. 5:05 a.m.: The Bank of England has warned that the British economy could be nearly a third smaller by the end of the first half of this year than it was at the start of 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. In forecasts published today, the bank said the British economy would shrink by about 25 per cent in the second quarter of the year, but would then start to recover as lockdown restrictions start to be lifted. 4 a.m.: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to announce today cost-sharing agreements with a number of provinces to top up the wages of essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those agreements are expected to involve a transfer of federal funds to the provinces, each of which will be able to decide for itself which essential workers most need a pay boost. The flexible agreements are intended to allow provinces to tailor the program to suit their different needs. Wednesday 10:40 p.m.: Four children have contracted COVID-19 at a city-run daycare in Yorkville, said Toronto medical officer of health Eileen de Villa. Eleven staff at the Jesse Ketchum Child Care Centre have also tested positive, she said at the citys daily briefing on the pandemic. My understanding is that they are all doing well and recovering without incident at home, she told reporters. Wednesday 10 p.m.: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said those setting fire to cellphone towers can face serious criminal charges. Vandalizing cellphone towers does nothing but threaten emergency services and impact the daily lives of Canadians across the country, he wrote on Twitter. These recent acts are serious criminal offences and carry severe penalties. The warning came after at least four cellphone towers were set on fire in Quebec over the span of a few days. A spokeswoman for the town of Prevost, Que., where a Rogers-operated tower was hit Monday, said in recent weeks that residents have brought up unfounded conspiracy theories linking 5G technology to COVID-19. Wednesday 6:15 p.m.: B.C. Premier John Horgan has announced the first stages of a gradual reopening plan for the provinces economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic including opening parks for day use, opening schools on a voluntary basis, and allowing small social gatherings. B.C.s COVID-19 economic reopening plan came Wednesday on the tail of plans released in Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan, and while Quebec is already planning a return to school for kids this month. Weve put in place a plan that has slowed the growth of the virus and put us in pace for a safe restart of the economy, Horgan said. The good news is were already at Phase 1. That is because B.C. did not fully shut down. Click here to read more of Wednesdays coverage. Read more about: Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Tuesday that he would move to reopen the Palestinian delegation in Washington, which President Donald Trump closed in 2018. The former vice president, who has vowed to keep the US Embassy in Jerusalem, also promised to reopen the US Consulate for the Palestinians in East Jerusalem and restore Palestinian aid. A priority now for the cause of Israeli-Palestinian peace should be resuming our dialogue with the Palestinians and pressing Israel not to take actions that make a two-state solution impossible, Biden told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. I will reopen the US Consulate in East Jerusalem, find a way to reopen the [Palestine Liberation Organizations] diplomatic mission in Washington, and resume the decadeslong economic and security assistance efforts to the Palestinians that the Trump administration stopped. Why it matters: The Trump administration shuttered the Palestinians Washington office in 2018 after they stopped participating in negotiations that ultimately led to the presidents peace proposal, which greenlights Israel to annex all its West Bank settlements as well as the entire Jordan Valley. Around the same time, the Trump administration eliminated all economic and humanitarian aid for the Palestinians. (The United States went on to shutter its East Jerusalem consulate for the Palestinians last year.) Notably, Trumps closure of the Palestinians Washington delegation was mandated by US law, presenting a potential obstacle for Biden to fulfill his campaign pledge should he win the election. Under current law, the Palestinians may not maintain an office in Washington because they are pursuing complaints against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. The law only allows an exemption if the Palestinians have entered into direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel. Whats next: Biden has also warned Israel against moving ahead with West Bank annexation, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hopes to pursue as soon as July. Know more: Rina Bassist walks through US Ambassador to Israel David Friedmans latest remarks on annexation and his warm reception among the Israeli right. DANBURY The New American Dream Foundation is again expanding its hot meals program thanks to two more donations. Meals will now be given on Saturdays in May at South Street Elementary School due a $1,000 donation from the NEA Danbury teachers union and a $1,000 gift from Jericho Partnership. Two special flights from the UAE carrying a total of 354 Indian nationals left for Kerala on Thursday, as India began its biggest ever repatriation exercise to bring back its citizens stranded abroad amidst the international travel lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic. The Air India Express flight IX452 carrying 177 passengers from Abu Dhabi to Kochi took off at 5.07 pm (local time). Few minutes later, the Dubai-Kozhikode flight took off at 5.46 pm (local time) as part of the repatriation exercise named 'Vande Bharat Mission.' "#VandeBharatMission begins! The first flight with 177 passengers takes off from Abu Dhabi to Kochi. #TeamIndia will continue with its tireless efforts to bring Indians home," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava tweeted. assengers started arriving at Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports as early as 9.30am on Thursday. Some of the passengers were carrying the Indian flags. Indian Ambassador Pavan Kapoor was seen enquiring about the procedure from some of the passengers undergoing medical screening at the Abu Dhabi airport. "Great to see the #VandeBharatMission Abu Dhabi Kochi special flight IX452 taking off from the @AUH. Thanks all for cooperation and support for making it possible," the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi tweeted. "Kudos to all the passengers for waiting patiently for their turn for medical screening and many thanks to all the frontline health workers and airport staff for extending full support," it said earlier. Captain Rizvin Nasser, 26, an alumnus of the Sharjah Indian School, is co-pilot of flight IX452. Minutes after the departure of the first flight, India's second repatriation flight from the UAE also took off. "Air India Express Flight left for Kozhikode with 177 passengers on boardwith last passenger Ajith was added to attend final rites of her mother after one passenger dropped out due to immigration issue. A big satisfaction to serve all," the Consulate General of India in Dubai tweeted. Ajith Pullanikotti, an IT professional, made it to the flight at the last minute to be able to attend the last rites of his mother who died two days ago. He was the only son. "I have been trying to go for weeks so that I could be by my mother's side. Unfortunately, she had to breathe her last without me being next to her. I really hope I can make it today, Ajith told Khaleej Times. There are no suspected COVID-19 cases among the first batch of passengers being repatriated on Thursday. "All of them have cleared the tests, Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul was quoted as saying by the Gulf He said the criteria of passengers' selection included medical cases, loss of jobs, pregnant women and senior citizens. Those with complications and financial issues were also picked. The last two rows of seats in both the flights are not occupied. In case of any health issues, passengers can use them. On Monday, the Indian government announced plans to begin a phased repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad from May 7. The government also said that Air India will operate 64 flights from May 7 to May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals stranded abroad amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown. Short-listing the first passengers from among a database of more than 200,000 applicants, who include around 6,500 pregnant women, has been a mammoth task which posed several challenges for the missions, Neeraj Agrawal, Consul, Press, Information and Culture at the Indian Consulate in Dubai told the Gulf India is conducting its biggest ever repatriation exercise named Vande Bharat Missionsans social distancing and COVID-19 tests to bring back stranded Indians from abroad. The Indian missions in the UAE finalised the list of passengers, who were chosen based on the compelling reasons they submitted while registering their names. "Only passengers with confirmed tickets must proceed to the airport. They are required to reach the airport five hours prior to departure," Agrawal said. The Indian Consulate had appealed to passengers not to overcrowd the airport, maintain social distancing and follow all necessary precautions stipulated by the authorities. The passengers included 18 pregnant women, five infants and 12 senior citizens and three people including identical twin brothers Jackson and Benson Andrews who have been stranded in Dubai Airport for 50 days. The tired and homesick 30-year-old brothers, Jackson and Benson Andrews, have been stranded inside the Dubai International Airport's terminal 3 since March 19 while they were returning from Lisbon, Portugal. They were among the 19 Indians who were stuck inside the airport for over a month. From the UAE, at least 200,000 Indians have registered on the web portal collecting data of persons wishing to return home. Air India crew members on board the repatriation flights were fully protected with protective gear, including Personal Protective Equipment, to reduce the risk of contracting coronavirus. The Indian expatriate community of approximately 3.42 million is reportedly the largest ethnic community in the UAE constituting roughly about 30 per cent of the country's population, according to information available on the Indian Embassy website. India imposed a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the country, grounding all international flights since mid-March. Under the repatriation plan, the government will be facilitating the return of Indian nationals stranded abroad on compelling grounds in a phased manner. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Beijing: Describing the passage of the GST Bill in Parliament as a major boost to Indias appeal to attract investments from multi-national and Chinese firms, Chinas official media today said it will add momentum to Indian economy - one of the worlds fastest growing economies. The long-awaited tax reform plan could certainly boost Indias appeal to multinationals, including Chinese firms, as a myriad of existing federal, state and interstate levies in the country had previously increased their tax burdens and barred them from further exploring potentials in the worlds fastest-growing major economy, the state-run Global Times said in an article. China is more likely to see this reform, which aims to make India a better destination for investment, as an opportunity rather than a threat, it said, adding that China will be happy to see the reforms go through and will be willing to work with India to make it a reality. Chinese companies are certainly welcoming the move. Along with other restrictions, the countrys complicated and cumbersome taxation system as well as bureaucracy related to tax-collection remains a hurdle for Chinese firms doing business in India, it said. While the reform is seen as a landmark move to transform Indias USD two trillion economy into a true common market and bring it closer in line with the international market, whether these benefits will materialise will be a test of the Modi governments ability and political wisdom to push the reform through. An effective implementation of the unified tax is also vital to help India truly transform into a manufacturing powerhouse, it said. Although details on how the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be levied are yet to be worked out, the new system could help reduce taxes on goods transferred across the country and boost economic growth if it is given a green light from the national parliament and Indian states, it said. The move is both politically and economically significant. Politically, it showed that the Modi government can compromise to get reforms made in the national interest. It could boost Prime Minister Narendra Modis political legacy and gives him a better chance at a second term, it said. Most importantly, it could add momentum to the worlds already fastest growing economy. According to HSBC estimates, the reform will add 0.8 percentage points to the countrys growth within three to five years, it said. With 1.3 billion consumers, Indias market has great potential. However, under the complicated tax system and perception of a challenging investment environment for foreign companies, Indias potential is far from fully tapped. A well-designed GST could transform India into a more liberalised market and the second largest consumer market in Asia, it said. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Social Innovation Summit 2020 Now more than ever, we will leverage the Summits convening power to engage our network and provide an opportunity for impact leaders to benefit from timely content, conversation, and community. Social Innovation Summit (http://www.socinnovation.com) today announced its launch of an all-digital online format for its annual convening of corporate social responsibility, foundation, startup, nonprofit, government, and philanthropy executive leaders to be held on June 2-4, 2020, waiving the general registration fee ($1,895 value) to provide complimentary tickets to 3,000+ changemakers, entrepreneurs, and influencers. High-profile speakers who have participated in the past include: Alicia Keys, Aly Raisman, Andrew Yang, Arianna Huffington, Ban Ki Moon, Barbara Bush, Baron Davis, Carly Fiorina, Craig Venter, Dean Kamen, Dikembe Mutombo, Mayor Eric Garcetti, Glenn Close, Hamdi Ulukaya, Howard Buffett, Jessica Alba, Mark Cuban, Nick Cannon, Reid Hoffman, Rob Lowe, Rooney Mara, Rudy Ruettiger, Steve Gleason, Ted Danson, Van Jones, Wilmer Valderrama, will.i.am, and more. Social Innovation Summit is more than just a conference, this year in particular as we applaud the essential heroes around us but also witness underlying disparities in our cities, reflected Zeev Klein, Social Innovation Summit founder and curator. Now more than ever, we will leverage the Summits convening power to engage our network and provide an opportunity for impact leaders to benefit from timely content, conversation, and community. This years virtual program will dive into relevant themes like Future of Work; Education & STEM; Emergency Relief & Recovery; Tech for Good; Economic Inclusion; Impact Investing; Youth Development; Leading with Purpose; and Gender Equity. Through a variety of keynotes, featured speakers, and digital discussions divided into morning and afternoon sessions, Social Innovation Summit is an opportunity to stay connected (while apart) and build a community of people motivated to strengthen lasting partnerships for systemic change. The Summit is joined by an incredible group of sponsors dedicated to accelerating positive impact through their work, including AARP, Best Buy, Blackbaud, BlackRock, Comcast NBCUniversal, Discovery Education, eBay, Fidelity Charitable, Horizon Therapeutics, Kauffman Foundation, Lyft, Microsoft, NAF, NIKE, Postmates, Prudential Financial, PwC, Starbucks, UBS, and WE Communications. You may register for Social Innovation Summit 2020 at http://www.socinnovation.com. About Social Innovation Summit Operating at the nexus of technology, philanthropy, and business, Social Innovation Summit brings together the brightest minds across industries, sectors, and generations to catalyze inspired partnerships that are disrupting social impact. We have worked diligently to curate and convene a social good community that is an influential and action-oriented agent for impact, and a unique platform in which the norm is challenged, the new is embraced, and the unexpected is celebrated. After 17 successful summits in Chicago, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and the UN in New York, online registration is now open for the Summits three-day virtual experience on June 2-4, 2020 that will include main stage programming, interactive breakout sessions, and VIP opportunities. For more information, please visit http://www.socinnovation.com. WASHINGTON Gov. Greg Abbott met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, despite the presidents possible exposure to COVID-19 after a member of the military serving as one of Trumps valets tested positive for the coronavirus. While Trump has since tested negative for the coronavirus and the White House says he feels fine, a prominent doctor said Thursday that the president should be in quarantine, not meeting with state leaders, as it can take up to two weeks for symptoms of the virus to show. The Centers for Disease Control recommends those who have been exposed to the virus quarantine for 14 days. Abbott and Trump sat just a few feet apart from one another in the Oval Office and did not wear masks during the meeting. Asked about the valet, Trump said hes had very little contact with this person. The president said the White House will begin testing daily, upping the once-a-week schedule it has been on. TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox Frankly the president should follow this guidance no different than anyone else, Leana Wen, an emergency physician, said on CNN. Meeting with Abbott, Wen said is not the appropriate thing to do. That would go against the best public health guidance, she said. But Vice President Mike Pence, who was also in the Oval Office meeting, said essential workers have been exempt from the CDC guidelines as theyve been urged to keep working while taking precautions, including getting tested if they dont feel well. Keeping the essential work here at the White House moving forward and our national response is the priority, Pence said. The person tested positive on Wednesday, the White House said. Several valets cater to the president and his guests at the White House, both in the West Wing and in the White House residence. Its a little bit strange, but its one of those things, Trump said during the meeting with Abbott. You can be with somebody and everything's fine and then something happens to that person and they test positive, Trump said. Were all warriors together. I am, you are. We all are. Wen said that while we dont know the level of exposure the president had to the virus, if I had a patient who had this exposure I would tell them to quarantine. LOCAL CONTROL? Content to let Texas counties issue pandemic restrictions, Abbott asserts his power to lift them The White House instituted safety protocols nearly two months ago, including frequent temperature checks. Last month it began administering rapid COVID-19 tests to all those in close proximity to the president, with staffers being tested about once a week. Trump, meanwhile, has drawn criticism for not wearing a mask during public appearances, including a Tuesday tour of a Honeywell plant in Arizona thats manufacturing N95 masks. Abbotts White House trip comes as he has begun re-opening parts of the Texas economy in phases. Abbott has allowed restaurants, retail stores, theaters and malls to re-open at 25 percent of maximum capacity, and overridden local government orders that had closed most of those businesses since March. This post contains material from the Associated Press. ben.wermund@chron.com New Delhi, May 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting to take stock of the steps being taken in response to the Visakhapatnam gas leak incident in which 11 people have been killed. He discussed at length the measures being taken for the safety of the affected people as well as for securing the site affected by the disaster. The meeting was attended by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Ministers of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai and G. Kishan Reddy, besides other senior officers. On receiving the first information about the incident in the morning, the PM and the Home Minister talked with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy and assured all required aid and assistance to tackle the situation. They are monitoring the situation closely and continuously. Immediately after this meeting, the Cabinet Secretary took a detailed review meeting along with the Secretaries of the Ministries of Home Affairs, Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Information and Broadcasting, members of the National Disaster Management Authority and Director General, National Disaster Response Force, Director General of Health Services and Director AIIMS, and other medical experts, to chart out specific steps to support the management of the situation on the ground. The Principal Secretary to Prime Minister was also present in the meeting. It was decided that a team from Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear unit of NDRF from Pune, along with an expert team of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur would be rushed to Visakhapatnam immediately to support the state government in the management of the crisis on the ground, and also to take measures for resolving the short-term as also long-term medical impact of the leak. The incident of styrene gas leakage occurred in a chemical plant in the early hours in RR Venkatapuram village, Gopalapatnam Mandal in Visakhpatnam District. It affected the surrounding villages namely Narava, B.C Colony, Bapuji Nagar, Kampalapalem and Krishna Nagar. Styrene gas, which is toxic in nature, may cause irritation to the skin, eyes and causes respiratory problems and other medical conditions. The National Disaster Response Force team with CBRN personnel at Visakhapatnam was deployed immediately to support the State Government and local administration. The NDRF team carried out immediate evacuation of communities living in the immediate vicinity of the site. The specialized CBRN unit of NDRF from Pune and NEERI expert team from Nagpur, have left for Visakhapatnam. Besides, DGHS will provide specialized medical advice to the medical practitioners on the ground. Shantanu David By Express News Service NEW DELHI: As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage across the world, people from all walks of life, including the differently abled, are profoundly impacted by the new normal. The Morning Standard spoke to RN Mohanty, CEO of Sightsavers India, on the kind of impact the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown have on the sight-impaired in India. How did Sightsavers begin? What was the mission then, and has it changed since? After being blinded in an accident at age 12, Sir John Wilson spent his life advocating for people with visual impairments. He began plans to establish a non-government organisation to address the prevention of blindness and provide rehabilitation of those whose sight couldnt be saved. And so, on January 5, 1950, the British Empire Society for the Blind, as Sightsavers was originally known, was born. Since 1966, in India, Sightsavers has been working to eliminate avoidable blindness and that the irreversibly blind people are supported adequately to lead lives of independence and dignity. Sightsavers focusses on collaborating with various state government departments to scale up operations for the three core areas of work: eye health, inclusive education and social inclusion. How are the facilities for the sight-impaired in India, especially compared to other countries? India is home to a third of the worlds blind population. The country has about 12 million individuals with visual impairment as against the global total of 39 million, according to a report published by the National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB). Despite this, when it comes to accessibility of education, healthcare and employment, the visually impaired are cut off. Only 29.16 percent of the blind in India are part of the education system as per a survey conducted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). The prevalence of blindness is higher among population having lower socio-economic status. Females are found to have a higher preponderance of blindness as compared to males, and the prevalence is significantly higher in rural areas. What are some of the professions that you help the sight-impaired get into? We work to change the attitudes of communities, schools and governments by ensuring they adopt socially inclusive policies towards people with disabilities so that they are treated with dignity and are not denied their rights to appropriate healthcare, education and income. We work to equip people with disabilities with the skills (daily living, vocational training), tools and assistance they need to earn a living and lead an independent life. Animal rearing, agriculture, small businesses, poultry farming, shops for daily needs and groceries, tailoring, teaching, and computer operators are a few of the jobs and roles that our beneficiaries undertake. Has the ongoing pandemic brought up new hurdles for the sight-impaired? On a global level, Sightsavers is focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on people with disabilities, who are being disproportionally affected, both in terms of potentially being more at risk and less able to access health services, and also in terms of impact on the support services they require. Activities include coordinating with partners, and if needed governments, to ensure responses to the global pandemic are inclusive of people with disabilities; taking extra precautions to safeguard staff and partners in a higher risk category of developing serious symptoms from COVID-19. We will be reviewing and updating these activities as the pandemic continues as appropriate. How can the authorities help alleviate conditions for the sight-impaired in the pandemic? People with disabilities may be at greater risk of contracting COVID-19 because of barriers to implementing basic hygiene measures, such as handwashing. They may have difficulty in enacting social distancing because of additional support needs, barriers to accessing public health information. People with disabilities may also be disproportionately impacted by the outbreak because of serious disruptions to the services they rely on. Hence, they need additional considerations during these times. Three people including a child died and several fell ill due to chemical gas leakage inside a pharmaceutical company at RR Venkatapuram village in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam on Thursday (May 7). People were admitted to hospital after they complained of burning sensation in eyes and breathing difficulties. Sources said that police, fire tenders and ambulances reached the spot to control the situation. A team of police and National Disaster Relief Force is evacuating people from the nearby villages. "There is gas leakage identified at LG Polymers in Gopalpatnam. Requesting Citizens around these locations not to come out of houses for the sake of safety precautions," the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation tweeted. There is gas leakage identified at LG Polymers in Gopalpatnam. Requesting Citizens around these locations not to come out of houses for the sake of safety precautions. Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) (@GVMC_OFFICIAL) May 7, 2020 Photos posted on social media showed at least a hundred people trying to help the injured and putting them into waiting ambulances. Some people can be seen wearing masks and helping those who are showing signs of difficulty in breathing. Journalists in the country will soon be benefiting from government scholarships to build their capacity. The Deputy Information Minister, Pius Enam Hadzide made this known following the celebration of World Press Freedom Day last Sunday, May 3, 2020. Mr. Hadzide who was speaking on Accra based Okay Fm few days ago noted that as part of government's commitment to media development in the country, journalists who desire to upgrade themselves in terms of higher education will be supported to do. He said this is not something that will happen far away in the future but, very soon, because plans are far advanced in that respect. Ghana is considered a beacon of press freedom in the world and one of the best in Africa. Out of 180 countries accessed by Reporters Without Borders for 2019. Ghana was ranked number 30 in the World Press Freedom Index report released in April 2020. The country also ranked second in Africa as the continent's freest country for journalists. The media landscape in Ghana is very vibrant and credited for being a major contributor to consolidating the country's democracy, unity, economic stability and fight against corruption. That notwithstanding, journalists and majority of workers in the media landscape are the least paid, suffering some of the worst working conditions in the country. To this end the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), the Media Foundation for West Africa and other umbrella media bodies keep calling on media owners, majority of which are private businesses to improve the working conditions of their staff. The government has also been constantly urged to set a fund aside to support media houses. These calls, especially the one to government have been heightened since the COVID-19 pandemic reached the country. The already struggling media houses have been hard-hit. However, reacting to the development, the Deputy Information Minister, Mr. Hadzide noted that government cherishes the contribution of the press towards the country's development. Some of which have guided the fight against illegal mining (Galamsey) and currently the COVID-19 Pandemic. To this end, government is working with the GJA, Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), National Media Commission (NMC) and other media stakeholders to undertake what he called the Media Capacity Enhancement Programme meant to support media personnel to further their studies and specialize in various fields. He added that since the majority of the media houses in the country were privately owned, the government will be engaging media owners on the need to pay their Journalists well due to the sensitive nature of their job. Apart from that, he said the NMC is undertaking an initiative dubbed, Coordinated Mechanism for Safety of Journalists to ensure the safety of Journalists in Ghana. ---Daily Guide Even before the state fully reopens, Gov. Kate Brown is allowing gatherings of fewer than 25 people, if those people follow proper social distancing measures. Such gatherings have been technically allowed throughout the shutdown, though they are still discouraged. That means some churches already plan to reopen, notably the Archdiocese of Portland, which will offer some masses for small groups of parishioners starting this weekend. MORE ON OREGON REOPENING: Oregon reopening starts May 15 under governors coronavirus plan Guidance on: retail | restaurants and bars | salons and personal services | outdoor recreation | sporting events | large gatherings, including concerts and festivals Gov. Brown believes all Oregonians should be able to practice their faith safely during this public health crisis, Browns press secretary, Liz Merah said Thursday. While gatherings are limited to 25 people or fewer, six feet of distance between individuals must still be maintained. That said, Merah added, We ask all Oregonians to follow the spirit of the Governors stay home order, which is to minimize gatherings outside the home as much as possible to limit the spread of COVID-19. Merah pointed to guidelines for the faith community developed by the Oregon Health Authority. Those guidelines say the agency recommends that gatherings of any size be canceled, but does not require it. We recognize that physical distancing requirements present challenges for Oregons faith-based organizations, which play an important role in so many peoples lives, especially in times of crisis, Merah said. But faith leaders can tend to the spiritual needs of their congregations without putting the health and safety of their entire communities at risk. -- Lizzy Acker 503-221-8052, lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. CNBC's Jim Cramer said Thursday he's gained confidence in Moderna's potential coronavirus vaccine after Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed optimism about the technology behind the biotech's approach. "I have felt not to get bullish on a vaccine until Fauci said, 'Get bullish,'" said Cramer, suggesting the White House health advisor's positive comments may be that bullish call. "Fauci's sticking his neck out here. I think it's impressive that he's sticking his neck out," added Cramer, given that Moderna's experimental vaccine platform is still unproven. "I don't want people to get their hopes up, but this would be something." Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recently told National Geographic that Moderna's mRNA technology is "really quite impressive." While no vaccines using Moderna's platform have previously been approved, Fauci said it showed "great promise." Moderna's vaccine candidate uses synthetic messenger RNA to inoculate against the virus. Treatments of this sort help the body immunize against a virus and can potentially be developed and manufactured more quickly than traditional vaccines. The company, like others, leans on artificial intelligence and cloud computing in its vaccine development. "I was thinking that the way we'd be going was J&J or Pfizer, but if Moderna can do it, you know that we're going higher" in the stock market, Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street." The race to develop a vaccine for Covid-19 is competitive, but health experts caution that it's an arduous process. In addition to Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer also are working on experimental vaccines. Pfizer, in partnership with German drugmaker BioNTech, has started human testing of its vaccine candidate in the U.S. Moderna announced on Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration has given it approval to begin phase two trials on the potential vaccine. Moderna said it will commence phase two with 600 participants shortly and is trying to finish plans for a phase three trial as early as this summer. Phase one at Moderna began in the Seattle area in mid-March, the first such trial in the U.S. The Massachusetts-based firm has partnered with the National Institutes of Health. Fauci and other experts, however, caution that an approved vaccine for wide public use may still be 12 to 18 months away despite the fast-tracking of the trial process. Nevertheless, Cramer said he found Fauci's comments on Moderna's technology to be a good sign because the infectious disease expert is usually careful with his words. The "Mad Money" host noted that Fauci also spoke optimistically about Gilead Sciences' antiviral drug remdesivir, which has shown early signs of being an effective treatment for Covid-19. Genuitec announces the general availability of CodeTogether, an innovative pair programming solution. As a fully remote company, Genuitec brings extensive expertise in remote collaboration to the pair programming tool space. The GA release is available for Eclipse and VS Code, with an Early Access release now available for the JetBrains suite of IDEs. With software developers everywhere being forced to stay home during this pandemic, a reliable tool that enables them to still work together, seamlessly, is key for productive teams, said Tim Webb, V.P. of Operations at Genuitec. To further aid the development community, premium and enterprise level CodeTogether features will not require a paid license for the coming months. We feel substantially delaying when we monetize advanced features is justified in the context of this global pandemic. CodeTogether does have a robust free plan and will continue to do so into the future, he continued. CodeTogether is a code focused solution where participants can join a collaborative session using any modern browser. With no registrations or downloads required, participants can start coding in just a few seconds, even if theyre using the tool for the first time. Everyone in the session has access to powerful IDE-like capabilities like IntelliSense, validation, advanced navigation, code analysis, and content search. CodeTogether also supports multiple frameworks and languages, making the capabilities of the host environment available to all participants. At Genuitec, our entire team is remote, and since were big fans of dogfooding, we use CodeTogether while developing CodeTogether, a lot! This has allowed us to quickly identify and address inefficiencies and annoyances in the collaborative coding process. In response to feedback from early users, weve added more capabilities to the tool and fixed teething issues, said Wojciech Galanciak, CodeTogether Product Manager. Whether your teams code together as part of their regular development flow, or just for the occasional troubleshooting session, CodeTogether presents a far better alternative to screen sharing solutions that most teams currently use. While an obvious fit for pair programming and mob programming sessions, CodeTogether can also be used for mentoring teams, early code review, hiring interviews or even online courses with dozens of participants in attendance. The CodeTogether development team has paid special attention to the flow of control between all participants in the session, keeping the coding experience seamless while avoiding the pitfalls of a multi-cursor, simultaneous editing approach. CodeTogether early adopter Astrid Sawatzky observed, Thank you for this brilliant tool. This is the first one that makes nearly instant sharing possible . . . overall a wonderful experience. To learn more about CodeTogether, visit https://www.codetogether.com/. Chat with the development and support teams live on the CodeTogether Gitter community, or use the issue tracker to submit bugs or feedback. About Genuitec: Founded in 1997, and counting over 17,000 companies in 191 countries as customers, Genuitec creates tools that enable developers to build brilliant software. Genuitec offers a rich product portfolio to meet a variety of needs. Integrated development environments are perfect for a comprehensive solution: Angular IDE with superior Angular and TypeScript support for the modern web developer, and MyEclipse for the latest in front-end and back-end technologies for the Jakarta EE enterprise. Genuitecs Eclipse plugins deliver the missing pieces: DevStyle for outstanding developer ergonomics, including the top-rated Darkest Dark theme, and CodeMix, which unlocks a wide array of technologies from VS Code and add-on extensions built for Code OSS. Rounding out the product lineup are CodeTogether for collaborative coding, and Secure Delivery Center for simple, secure delivery of perfectly configured IDEs. All Genuitec software includes free trials and world-class support via staff and community support forums. Contact Genuitec today to learn more: https://www.genuitec.com/company/contact Captain Tom Moore has told of fighting in the 'forgotten' Allied campaign in Burma during the Second World War and his bittersweet memories of VE Day. The former British Army Officer, who raised over 32million for the NHS during the pandemic, survived dengue fever, the Japanese and giant spiders in Asia. In the ITV programme Captain Tom's War, which is being aired tonight to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day, the beloved 100-year-old has revealed that he was enthusiastic about being conscripted and enjoyed being in the Army. While serving in the brutal Burma campaign, known as the 'Forgotten War', Captain Tom's role was to fight on the frontline while riding a motorbike. Captain Tom's involvement in the world war began in 1940, when the then 20-year-old Yorkshireman was conscripted into the Duke of Wellington's Regiment Captain Tom (pictured front centre, sitting on a tank), has also shared memories of watching Vera Lynn perform for the troops, and his bittersweet recollections of VE Day He has also shared memories of watching Vera Lynn perform for the troops, and his bittersweet recollections of VE Day which took place after he got home. Captain Tom's involvement in the world war began in 1940, when the then 20-year-old Yorkshireman was conscripted into the Duke of Wellington's Regiment. He was posted to India, then under British control, the following year. 'Being conscripted didn't do me any harm at all,' he says. 'The reason for conscription was that the country had got desperately short of soldiers. I didn't mind at all. I mean at 20 you don't think too hard about it. 'I thought, "Oh great, it's going to be great".' He describes India as 'an entirely different world to anything I've ever been in before', and says the air conditioning they had was 'quite necessary'. The former British Army Officer, who raised over 32million for the NHS during the pandemic, survived fever, the Japanese and giant spiders during the 1942-45 Burma campaign Captain Tom's role was to ride to the frontline on a motorbike because he was an expert motorcyclist, having bought his first vehicle aged 12 (pictured, sitting with trophies) 'It did get a bit hot,' Captain Tom chuckles. Captain Tom is hoping to draw attention to the Burma campaign, which was part of the South-East Asian theatre of the Second World War. One million Allied troops from 40 countries attempted to repel Imperial Japan from the then British colony over almost three years, between 1942 and 1945. Speaking of the Japanese fighters, he recalls: 'They were quite a formidable force because there were people who didn't mind if they died'. He continues: 'They were awful, they were what we say, were completely without morals. They starved people to death and didn't care. That was bad.' 'I was only 21 or 22,' he admits. 'You don't get very frightened at 22'. Captain Tom's role was to ride to the frontline on a motorbike because he was an expert motorcyclist, having bought his first vehicle aged 12. 'During the night, I was at the forefront with the Indian Army, fighting the night Japanese. And then, in the morning, when we thought the Japanese had gone home, my motorcycle came back into the picture,' he explains. Decorated war hero Captain Tom is hoping to draw attention to the Burma campaign, which was part of the South-East Asian theatre of the Second World War Captain Tom walks behind an NHS hero sign just a week after his 100th birthday celebrations 'The only way of getting to the front from the tanks was on a motorcycle through several miles of jungle, which fell to me again. I went back to the Regiment and that was a signal that the roads were clear and people came out again.' Alongside Japanese soldiers, he says he had to battle fever and spiders 'the palm of your hand', adding: 'That takes a little bit of getting used to'. The 'Forgotten War': Burma's involvement in the Second World War The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the then British colony of Burma, now Mynamar. It was part of the South-East Asian theatre of the world war, and primarily involved the Allied powers: the British Empire, the US, and China. They faced Imperial Japan, supported by the Thai Phayap Army and two collaborationist independent movements and armies, the first being the Burma Independence Army. Puppet states were established in the conquered areas and territories were annexed, while the Allied forces in British India launched several failed offensives before August 1945. There were four phases: the Japanese conquest of Burma in 1942; failed attempts by the Allies to mount offensives into Burma from 1942 to early 1944; the 1944 Japanese invasion of India, which ultimately failed following the Battles of Imphal and Kohima; and the successful Allied re-occupation of Burma by mid-1945. The Burma campaign was the only land campaign by the Western Allies in the Pacific Theatre. It was prolonged by seasonal monsoon rains, which allowed effective campaigning for only just half of each year; by famine and disorder in British India; and by the priority given to defeating Germany. Advertisement Captain Tom says his commanders kept up troop morale with live music. 'This charming young lady appeared. It turned out to be Vera Lynn. And to a lot of men who hadn't seen girls for a long time, it was quite something,' he reveals. 'She did a little song for us, so it really boosted the moral of everybody. 'All I know is she appeared amongst us with Lord Mountbatten. I thought at the time, these top people get the best jobs!' Dame Vera told the programme: 'Burma was a special time for me and one that I will never forget. I was well protected by all the boys and never felt frightened. It was so good to help them feel that they were not so far away from home.' Captain Tom also shares his memories of VE Day, which happened after he returned to the UK and became a tank instructor. They bring back some bittersweet memories, he says. 'We stopped instructing for the day and there were certain activities in the bars. A lot of girls and a lot of boys and put those together and you get a good time. 'I wasn't all that happy because all my friends were still out in the Far East, still fighting. They didn't have a day off for VE Day, they were still fighting. I was a little bit unhappy about that bit.' It would be three more months before the Japanese surrendered in August 1945, and the world war against the Axis powers was finally over. A cold war between the USSR - one of the Big Three - and the US and its allies would come to divide the world and dominate the rest of the 20th century. Reflecting on his experiences, Captain Tom says: 'I can't say I didn't enjoy myself because I did... being in the Army, I really enjoyed being in the Army'. The programme is narrated by actor Sir Kenneth Branagh and features contributions from the 100-year-old's daughters, Lucy Teixeira (left) and Hannah Ingram (right) Captain Tom was awarded a Colonel's rank by the Queen after fundraising for the NHS this year. He is offering words of comfort for Britons stuck at home. The secret to persevering through a tough challenge is simply, he explains: 'You start off with the first one, it's a bit hard. Then you do another one, and another and think, well I can do another one, and that's how you have to keep going. 'The Yorkshireman, his word is his bond. I said I'll do it and I'll do it.' The programme is narrated by actor Sir Kenneth Branagh and features contributions from the 100-year-old's daughters, Lucy and Hannah. Captain Tom's War is on ITV tonight at 8pm. Like all of Ira Glasss favorite stories, this one starts with an obsession. Last spring, Nadia Reiman, a supervising producer of This American Life, the influential radio program and podcast of which Glass is host and co-creator, went down the rabbit hole of a new Trump immigration policy called the Migrant Protection Protocols, or Remain in Mexico. The policy (challenged in federal court) hardened the administrations stance on asylum seekers, including a provision forcing those arriving at the Southern border to wait in Mexico, rather than the United States, while their applications are reviewed. More than 60,000 such migrants are now living in makeshift tent camps along the border, where they have become the targets of sexual violence, kidnapping and torture at the hands of powerful Mexican cartels. Reiman had been struck by a sources comparison between Remain in Mexico and the administrations former policy, abandoned in 2018, of separating migrant parents from their children. It begged a question: Why hadnt the new policy inspired similar outrage? The episode of This American Life born in response, The Out Crowd, made history on Monday when it won a Pulitzer Prize the first-ever recipient in a new category for audio reporting. The award is a milestone not only for Glasss program, now in its 25th year, but also for the entire medium, which has been energized over the last decade by the emergence of podcasting as a force in journalism and culture. The effort to test more people for the novel coronavirus in the Capital Region got a boost on Thursday, with the announcement of a new test site in Rotterdam and news of federal grants flowing to two local health centers. The developments came as the region recorded one of its highest one-day death tolls since the pandemic began, with nine new deaths in the region attributed to the virus on Thursday. To date, the region has lost nearly 200 residents to the virus. As local officials try to contain the virus in hopes of reopening the economy, they are pursuing new testing opportunities wherever they can. On Thursday, Schenectady County announced it will partner with Walmart and Quest Diagnostics to open a COVID-19 test site in Rotterdam. The drive-through site will open Friday in the parking lot of the towns Walmart, located at 1320 Altamont Ave. Testing will be done by appointment only; no walk-ups will be allowed. To make an appointment, people should visit www.MyQuestCOVIDTest.com where a screen will direct them to sign in and see if they qualify for testing. Those who do can get an appointment as early as tomorrow, according to the site. In order to qualify, people must be 18 or older and meet CDC and state guidelines on who should be tested, which includes: first responders, health care providers, those with symptoms, and those without symptoms who are prioritized by health departments of clinicians for any reason. Schenectady County would like to thank Walmart, Quest Diagnostics and the town of Rotterdam for making this new testing opportunity available to our residents, said Anthony Jasenski, chair of the county Legislature. Our ability to move forward depends not only on increasing our testing availability, but also on the decisions we make every day as individuals, including staying at home unless theres an urgent need to go out, and wearing a face covering when in a public setting where physical distancing is not always possible. The test site will be open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays weekly from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., weather permitting. Once on site, those being tested must wear a mask and stay in their cars while Walmart pharmacists and other staff verify their eligibility and check their ID. Individuals will then be given a nasal swab to administer themselves while inside their vehicles and being observed by a trained medical volunteer. They will then seal the sample and drop it in a container on their way out of the site. Quest will process the samples and call individuals and their local health departments with results. Any questions about testing at the site should be directed to Quests hotline (1-866-448-7719), which is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The region also learned Thursday that two local health centers would receive grants designed to support their COVID-19 testing efforts. The Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center, which has brought mobile testing into underserved neighborhoods of Albany and recently Rensselaer County, received a $407,089 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Schenectady Family Health Services which does business as Hometown Health Centers and recently brought testing into underserved Schenectady neighborhoods received a $384,439 grant to boost testing capacity. Reopening the region Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said Thursday that the county will need federal aid to help weather the pandemic, citing projections that show a $30 million revenue shortfall in 2020. "Families across the country are suffering and counties and localities of all sizes and political ideologies are being hurt financially," he said. "Thats why the next federal relief package needs to include aid to smaller local governments to ensure we can continue to respond to the pandemic." McCoy said he was still in discussion with local leaders on how to present a plan for the county to move toward reopening. The discussion has covered ideas such as recruiting volunteer fire departments to assist with testing and exploring how business might implement social distancing measures. But McCoy noted the county doesn't have a way to enforce some measures and said that as the weather improves it will be largely up to residents to follow public health guidelines that help flatten the curve. Food distribution event Friday Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. The Altamont Program announced Thursday that it will be hosting a food distribution event in the city of Albany on Friday. The organization, which offers job placement and housing services to at-risk persons, will work with community partners to distribute food at 45 S. Ferry St. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or until food runs out. More for you Where to get tested for COVID-19 in the Capital Region The food is for anyone who is in need of prepared meals and other goods. The organization has prepared 400 meals (complete with entree, vegetable and potato) and flash froze them. There will also be large quantities of canned goods, pasta and bread. Each individual or family that arrives will be given a bag and will proceed down a line where the canned goods, pasta and bread will be, and they will be allowed to fill the bag. At the end of the line they will receive a prepared meal for themselves, and if it is a family, they will receive enough meals for each member of the family. Capital Region cases, deaths rise Of the nine new deaths recorded in the region on Thursday, three were residents of Albany County, three were residents of Fulton County, two were residents of Greene County and one was a resident of Columbia County. At least one of those deaths was connected to a nursing home: In Columbia County, the victim was a resident of the Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing at Barnwell in Valatie, which is currently battling a large outbreak. To date, at least 37 residents of the Grand and 28 staff have tested positive for the virus, according to the county public health director Jack Mabb. At least three residents with the virus have died. Across the 11-county region, the number of confirmed cases rose by nearly 250 on Thursday to 3,666. The biggest jump with 25 new cases was in Albany County. Below is a list of every known case, recovery, death and current hospitalization from the virus, broken down by county of residence: Albany 1,277 (+25) cases, 28 hospitalized, 7 in ICU, 753 recovered, 56 (+3) deaths Columbia 317 (+12) cases, 8 hospitalized, 4 in ICU, 117 recovered, 17 (+1) deaths Fulton 101 (+4) cases, 7 (+3) deaths Greene 215 (+15) cases, 92 active, 123 resolved, 3 hospitalized, 13 (+2) deaths Montgomery 57 (+1) cases, 48 recovered, 1 under medical care, 1 death Rensselaer 385 (+10) cases, 222 recovered, 12 hospitalized, 2 in ICU, 23 deaths Saratoga 370 (+2) cases, 8 hospitalized, 393* recoveries, 14 deaths Schenectady 543 (+6) cases, 19** hospitalized, 406 recoveries, 28 deaths Schoharie 42 cases, 8 hospitalized, 39 recovered, 1 death Warren 185 (+0) cases, 3 hospitalized, 116 recovered***, 23 deaths Washington 174 (+8) cases, 72 active, 92 recovered, 10 deaths *as of April 29, includes recoveries from presumed and confirmed cases **includes all hospitalizations in county, regardless of patients county of residence ***includes recoveries of presumed and confirmed cases Chinese Undermining Democratic Institutions in Central Europe, Eurasia: Report By Joshua Lipes 2020-05-06 -- China's foreign policy has increasingly weakened democratic institutions in at least 20 countries throughout Central Europe and Central Asia, weakening oversight and bolstering the power of authoritarian leaders, a new U.S. think tank report said Wednesday. "While China's international engagement is often less directly confrontational it nevertheless has an insidious effect on the development and functioning of democratic institutions in the region," Washington-based Freedom House said in its Nations in Transit 2020, an annual report on democratic governance in 29 countries spanning Central Europe, the Balkans, and Eurasia. According to Freedom House, the ruling Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) influence campaign is focused on the twin goals of expanding China's influence abroad and promoting a positive image of the country globally. In doing so, China's diplomatic corps "tailors its approach to each individual country," the report said, exploiting institutional weaknesses and "surreptitiously embedding itself into corrupt political and economic structures." "The aggregate impact of these measures is the further degradation of good governance, transparency, and the rule of law, and the creation of additional avenues for predatory, local political elites to remain in power and further bend the system to their advantage," it said. In particular, Freedom House highlighted China's focus on technology and surveillance, noting that Chinese tech giant Huawei has signed a "Safe City Agreement" with governments in 10 of Nations in Transit's 29 countrieseach of which suffers from poor governance and serious corruption. Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have rolled out around 1,000 cameras in public spaces to monitor events, while in Serbiawhich uses Huawei's facial and license-plate recognition systemspolice officers have taken part in joint exercises with Chinese counterparts to learn how to "disable terrorists." "These partnerships raise concerns that China's increasing reach could strengthen authoritarian-minded leaders, contributing to repression and diminishing democratic governance and active civil society," the report said. "Even in democracies, experts point to vulnerabilities that can be exploited by the Chinese authorities, as Chinese technologies are integrated into the surveillance sector." Media and 'debt diplomacy' Freedom House also noted that China is also expanding its influence in the region through the media, with Chinese authorities intervening to promote the CCP's preferred narratives, suppress critical viewpoints, and manage content delivery systems. "In Central and Eastern European countries, Chinese diplomats have been given free rein to publish misleading op-eds that push a pro-China narrative," the report said. Lastly, China has worked to gain influence in the region through a strategy of what Freedom House called "debt diplomacy," or providing funds to impoverished and infrastructurally weak countries through methods that create political dependency. "China's advantage in the region is its ability to grant loans with few strings attachedas compared to the EU, which has more stringent guidelines for loaning and paying back financial support," the report said. "As a result, foreign-held debt in the region is increasingly found in the hands of the Chinese government." Freedom House noted that Tajikistan, Montenegro, and North Macedonia owe 41, 39, and 20 percent of their debt, respectively, to China. In April 2020, Kyrgyzstanwhich owes as much as two-fifths of its foreign debt to China's Eximbankwas forced to ask for debt relief amidst fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. "All of these strategies weaken avenues for democratic oversight, and provide authoritarians and authoritarians-to-be with tools and incentives to overstay their time in power," the report said of China's tactics in the region. "[China's] corrosive influence can and should be countered, but financial investment and political deals only go so far. Ultimately, its sharp power will only have less potential to penetrate if democratic stakeholders focus on backstopping the region's democratic institutions." Copyright 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content May not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The U.S. military's mysterious X-37B space plane is scheduled to lift off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on May 16, kicking off the sixth mission for the robotic vehicle, Space Force and Air Force officials announced. The upcoming mission, known as OTV-6 (short for "Orbital Test Vehicle-6") and Space Force-7, will also deploy FalconSat-8, a small satellite developed by the U.S. Air Force Academy that itself carries five separate experiments. To accommodate these and other payloads, the space plane has been outfitted with a service module for OTV-6 a first for the X-37B program, Air Force officials said in a statement today. Each X-37B is 8.8 meters long by 2.9 m tall, with a wingspan of about 4.6 m and a payload bay the size of a pickup truck bed. For comparison, each space shuttle was 37 m long with a wingspan of 24 m, Space.com reported. The X-37B allows the U.S. military to test a variety of new tech in the space environment and return the gear to the ground for analysis. Many of the payloads that go up are classified, and military officials tend not to disclose many details of the vehicles' activities in orbit. It's unclear how long OTV-6 will last, but precedent suggests that the mission will be a sustained one. Each OTV flight has broken duration records for the program, and OTV-5, which landed in October 2019, circled Earth for 780 days. The five previous X-37B missions racked up a combined 2,865 days in orbit, Barrett said. That's about 7 years and 10 months of off-Earth technology testing. The domestic pork prices could be stabilised by this year end, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said at a Government meeting on Tuesday in Hanoi. The pork price increase has been due to the high pork demand in the domestic market. Photo vinanet.vn The higher pork prices at present have affected the national consumer price index (CPI) and economic balance. This has also created more difficulties for people amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The pork price increase has been due to the high pork demand in the domestic market while the local pork supply has fallen due to African swine fever, he said. Even if this disease ends, farmers could not promote production of pigs because of the fear that the disease returns. Pig herds at large production enterprises have accounted for 35 per cent of the national pig herds and the rest is concentrated in small farming-households, he said. There are two solutions to ensure balance between supply and demand as well as reduce pork prices, including re-production of pig herds and pork imports, Hai said. By year end, the local pork supply could reach the level it was before African swine fever. For pork imports, the Government has requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) to coordinate with ministries and sectors, such as ministries of Industry and Trade, and Planning and Investment, to import pork for domestic consumption. The Government has created favourable conditions in import procedures for meat importing enterprises, according to Hai. Those solutions are expected to reduce pork prices at this year end, he said. Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong said the Ministry of Planning and Investment has worked with enterprises to import pork for domestic consumption but people do not have high demand for those products. Therefore, the enterprises have not dared increase pork imports. According to MARD, the growth rate of pig re-production in the first quarter reached 6.3 per cent. Of which, 15 large pig production enterprises in the country had growth rate reaching up to 17 per cent. The ministry reported that from the beginning of this year to April 13, Vietnam imported more than 46,402 tonnes of pork, an increase of 300 per cent year on year. Of which, the pork imports from Canada accounted for 25 per cent; Germany, over 19 per cent; Poland, 14 per cent; Brazil, 9.5 per cent; the US, 8.4 per cent; Spain, 6.7 per cent; and Russia, 4 per cent. VNS Pork price must be stabilised: Trade Ministry The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has said pork must be eligible for price stabilisation due to the high demand for this essential good on the domestic market. Some beaches and boardwalks along the Jersey Shore will begin to reopen this weekend amid the coronavirus pandemic. Is it safe, or even legal, for Pa. residents to visit them? Theres no enforcement against travel in Pennsylvania, or between states, so theres no law or regulation that prevents travel within Pennsylvania or between Pennsylvania in New Jersey, Pa. Health Department Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said Thursday. My recommendation, however, is not to do that. More beach news: Local officials in multiple east coast beach towns have said that the openings will allow local residents to get outdoors and exercise, but that large group gatherings will not be allowed. That said, its still believed that many people will head to places like Wildwood, N.J., this weekend. I know its tempting given the warm weather that hopefully will be coming soon, but going into New Jersey can have risks because New Jersey has had a very high incidence of COVID-19, Levine said, "and if you go to the shore, I bet you other people will go to the shore, and then itll be very almost impossible to practice social distancing. And so, my recommendation is for people to stay home. More coronavirus coverage: MIAMIThree Democrats on the Senate foreign relations committee are demanding answers from the Trump administration about how much it knew about an attempted raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, an operation they said potentially violated U.S. law and ran counter to American support for negotiations to end the South American countrys political standoff. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Attorney General William Barr; and Richard Grenell, the acting director of national intelligence, the lawmakers, led by Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, expressed alarm about the raid led by a former Green Beret and which has resulted in the detention in Venezuela of two American citizens. Either the U.S. government was unaware of these planned operations, or was aware and allowed them to proceed, according to the letter sent Thursday. Both possibilities are problematic. The letter cited the findings of an Associated Press investigation into Jordan Goudreau, who claimed responsibility for the foiled incursion. The AP investigation detailed how Goudreau, through his Florida private security firm, had teamed up with a retired Venezuelan army official to train at secret camps in Colombia dozens of deserters from Venezuelas security forces for a mission targeting Maduro, for whose capture the U.S. has offered a $15 million (U.S.) bounty. Trump has denied any U.S. involvement in the raid and Goudreau has said he was unable to ever persuade the Trump administration to support his bold plan for a private coup. Maduro has insisted the operation was directed by the White House. Meanwhile, aides to Juan Guaido, the opposition leader recognized by the U.S. and 60 other nations as Venezuelas rightful leader, have acknowledged exploring the idea last year, but said they quickly backed out after deciding Goudreau couldnt deliver or be trusted. The letter, which was also signed by Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico, cites provisions in the VERDAD act, signed into law by Trump in late 2019, that state it is U.S. policy to support diplomatic engagement to bring a negotiated and peaceful end to Venezuelas political, economic and humanitarian crisis. Such incursions harm the prospects for a peaceful democratic transition in Venezuela by insinuating that an armed intervention is a viable option to resolve the crisis, potentially undermining the willingness of hard-line opposition actors to negotiate, while simultaneously allowing Maduro to rally support to his side, strengthening his hand, the lawmakers wrote. The letter contains six lines of questions about U.S. officials awareness of Goudreaus plans and whether the administration had taken any steps to prevent his actions and make sure U.S. assistance wasnt directly or indirectly provided to those involved. It also seeks the intelligence communitys assessment about the legitimacy of a contract that Goudreau has presented and that he says was signed by Guaido and two Miami-based aides allegedly authorizing his actions. Maduro is a dictator, and the Venezuelan people deserve to live in a democracy again, the Democrats wrote. But that will only be achieved through vigorous and effective diplomacy, not martial adventurism. Officials in Venezuela said Thursday that they have now captured 23 people involved in the botched attack. They also aired a video showing Airan Berry, one of the two captured Americans, answering questions about the operation. Dressed in a grey T-shirt with the word MOSCOW written on it, Berry says he signed on with Silvercorp to train between 50 and 60 men in the Colombian city of Riohacha and then accompany the rebels into Caracas. What were the objectives of the mission? an off-camera interrogator asks in halting English. I believe it was to attain specific targets. And to, I think, get Maduro, Berry responds. Most Southeast Texas city-operated playgrounds and pools will stay closed despite Gov. Greg Abbotts plan to reopen more outdoor areas Friday. Officials in Port Neches, Nederland and Beaumont said they have no immediate plans to change course. Nederland City Manager Chris Duque said the city did not have plans to reopen playgrounds, citing staffing issues and logistics. We went ahead and installed an orange fence around them to prohibit people from using them based on the guidelines sent out to communities, he said. The guidelines that were sent out to reopen gyms address the touching of the equipment that has plastic or metal on it. The guideline states that they want patrons to wear gloves at gyms. We have similar materials and products on our playgrounds. Duque said he does not imagine that parents will require their children to wear gloves. We do not have the staffing level to constantly be enforcing that, he said. We do not have the cleaning supplies to be constantly cleaning that equipment. We do not have any new guidance that is telling us that this is something that should be allowed. The Nederland city pool typically opens to the public on Memorial Day with the first open swim day falling on that Saturday. At this time, we are still looking into how feasible that is, Duque said. There are metal surfaces at the pool. Were going to run into the same issues there. He said the city might consider closing features with metal or plastic surfaces like the rock wall and slide, but could open the pools beach-like entrance that allows swimmers to walk into the pool. We want to have a pool season, he said. We are working under the assumption that we will at some point, but right now, I dont have a date. May 30 is first day that we would have a pool season. As far as staffing goes, we are working towards that. In addition, the city has not been able to hire new lifeguards due to the inability to host certification classes. We have a very strong pool of former employees that have already committed to coming back to work for us, he said. We could be okay. We just want to make sure we can do this safely. That is the bottom line for us. Beaumont Parks and Recreations Director Jimmy Neale said, as of Thursday afternoon, the city did not have a timetable for reopening playgrounds or pools. We are 100 percent not opening the pools any time soon, he said. Normally, we would open the pools up once school gets out. That is a little different now since schools have been out for six weeks. The problem we run into is you have to staff them. You have to hire lifeguards and pools managers. You have to hire a lot of people. We have people who maintain the pools year round. Just going in and opening a pool, especially in a time like this is much more of a logistical process Right now, we are not expecting to do that any time soon. Neale said the city has to consider the health and safety of their employees as well as the rest of the community. Port Neches City Manager Andre Wimer also said they had no plans to open Tugboat Island or the splash pad. chris.moore@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/chris_moore09 Highlights The Xiaomi Mi 10 is going to be launched in India on May 8 The Mi 10 will be Xiaomis first flagship phone from Mi series in India in years In India, the Mi 10 will compete with the likes of Samsung Galaxy S20 Samsung launched its first flagships for 2020, the Galaxy S20 series earlier in February this year. The series brought with it three new phones, including the top of the line Galaxy S20 Ultra, its slightly smaller sibling, the Galaxy S20+, and the vanilla Galaxy S20. On May 8, these phones will be up against the Xiaomi Mi 10, which is going to be launched in India on that day. While the Galaxy S20 Ultra initially hogged all the limelight, it soon became clear that it is the modest Galaxy S20 that provided better value for money to buyers. Since its launch, this flagship from Samsung has had to face stiff competition from a number of contenders, and now, it is gearing up to face competition from a new rival, the Xiaomi Mi 10 which is set to be launched in India on May 8. With the India launch of this 108-megapixel camera totting device right around the corner, it will be interesting to see how it matches up to the Samsung Galaxy S20 -- a phone that itself has been talked about a lot for its photography prowess. Let's compare the two to find out how they match up in terms of specifications and features. Xiaomi Mi 10 vs Galaxy S20: Design Both phones offer a premium design language, with metal and glass serving as the basic ingredients of choice in crafting them. However, there still are some major design differences between the two. The biggest being the fact that there's a difference of about 5-inches of screen real estate between them, resulting in obvious difference in size and overall look and feel of the smartphones. While the Galaxy S20 comes with a smaller frame that boasts of a 6.2-inch panel, the Mi 10 gets a bigger 6.67-inch display. The difference in size of the displays also sees the Galaxy S20 come across as much more compact device, one that's ideal for single-handed usage. The bigger screen, though, will result in better multimedia experience on the Mi 10. In terms of size and dimensions, the Mi 10 is not only bigger but also heftier. The differences also spill over to the rear of the phones, with the two sporting starkly different looking camera set-ups. Another point of differentiation between the two is the fact that the Galaxy S20 also brings the promise of IP68 water and dust proofing, while the Mi 10 gets no such certification, though Xiaomi says that it has some coating that will help it resist water splashes and dust. Xiaomi Mi 10 vs Galaxy S20: Display Apart from the obvious difference in panel size, there's a lot to differentiate the Galaxy S20 and Mi 10 in terms of display specs. While both use AMOLED screens that support HDR10+, the Galaxy S20's panel seems ahead because of its higher resolution -- maxing out at 1440 x 3200 -- compared to 1080 x 2340 for the Xiaomi Mi 10. The Samsung made panel on the Galaxy S20 also flaunts a much higher pixels density of 563ppi, compared to 386ppi on Mi 10, which is bound to be noticeable. The display rate is also higher -- 120Hz at FullHD+ -- in the Galaxy S20 compared to 90Hz refresh rate on the Mi 10, although this is something that may not be that apparent in real-world use. Xiaomi Mi 10 vs Galaxy S20: Performance As flagships from their brands, both phones pack high-end hardware that can run not only graphics-intensive games but also multitask without breaking a sweat. For the Xiaomi Mi 10, this is achieved by pairing the current industry leader, the Snapdragon 865 with up to 12GB of RAM. Samsung, on the other hand, uses its in-house Exynos 990 chipset to power the phone. However, it only comes with 8GB of RAM. Then there is the software. The Galaxy S20 uses Android 10 customised with One UI 2. The Mi 10 is going to use MIUI 11. Both have their pros and cons, and depending on person to person one may prefer one over the other. But do keep in mind that in India the Samsung One UI is part of flagship Samsung phones for quite some time and it's reception so far has been fairly good. Xiaomi Mi 10 vs Galaxy S20: Cameras Although we haven't used the Mi 10 yet, a quick look at the spec sheet reveals that it is the Xiaomi phone that takes slight lead in the camera department. This is because the hardware here is closer to the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra and as a result better than what is found on the Galaxy S20. At the heart of the Mi 10's camera set-up is a 108-megapixel main sensor with optical image stabilisation (OIS) that sits next to a 13-megapixel f/2.4 ultra-wide lens and a 2-megapixel f/2.4 macro as well a 2-megapixel f/2.4 depth sensor. In comparison, the Galaxy S20's cameras look a bit modest as it houses a 12-megapixel f/1.8 main sensor with OIS, a 64-megapixel f/2.0 telephoto lens with 3x hybrid optical zoom, and a 12-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide lens While it seems that Mi 10 has an edge as far as primary camera is concerned, do not discount the telephoto lens in the Galaxy S20, which makes the camera system in the Samsung phone more versatile. Xiaomi Mi 10 vs Galaxy S20: Battery In terms of battery, the Mi 10 should offer better results because of its bigger 4780mAh battery that's tasked to run a more efficient Snapdragon 865 chipset totting phone. The Galaxy S20 brings a smaller battery which offers good screen time on its smaller display, but its Exynos 990 chipset probably may not offer the same kind of industry-leading power efficiency found in the Snapdragon 865. Xiaomi's Mi 10 also offers faster 30W charging both on wired and wireless standards. In comparison, the Galaxy S20 supports a maximum charge speed of 25W over wired and 15W while using wireless chargers. Xiaomi Mi 10 vs Galaxy S20: Price is the key While in terms of specs both the Galaxy S20 and the Mi 10 seem to be well-equipped, the S20 does have a slight edge. The kind of components that it uses belong to ultra-premium phones. The key, however, is going to be the price. There are reports that Xiaomi may price the Mi 10 aggressively in India, say around Rs 50,000 or even less than that. If the price difference between the S20 and the Mi 10 is too big, it will be an advantage Mi 10. LATEST, May 6, 5:30 p.m. Bay Area counties announced increased COVID-19 case numbers Wednesday: Alameda County announced new cases for a total of 1,863. The county death toll remains at 66. Contra Costa announced 16 new cases, for a total of 985. The death toll remains at 29. Marin County announced four more cases for a total of 247. The death toll remains at 14. Napa County announced three new cases for a total of 78. The death toll remains at two. Santa Clara announced new cases for a total of 2,268. The county also announced five additional deaths, bringing the death toll to 126. Solano County announced 12 new cases for a total of 337. The county also announced one additional death, bringing the toll to seven. Sonoma County announced 11 new cases for a total of 272. The death toll remains at three. May 6, 5:15 p.m. San Francisco officials addressed widespread concerns about cleanliness and increased crowding on Tenderloin neighborhood sidewalks amid the coronavirus pandemic Wednesday, releasing a plan intended to clean streets and ease walkway congestion. We know the condition remains particularly challenging, Breed said in a Wednesday press conference. Weve seen a significant increase in the number of homeless people on the streets, which is concerning from both a health [standpoint] of those who are unsheltered and for the health of the residents who live in those communities. See a breakdown of the plan here from SFGATE editor Alyssa Pereira. May 6, 4:15 p.m. Human Services Agency Executive Director Trent Rhorer stated Wednesday that his agency is in negotiations with nine more hotels for a total of 1,381 rooms for those who are unsheltered and for health care workers in the city who may need them. Rhorer noted San Francisco hopes to secure an estimated 7,000 in total. Rhorer also responded to a question about why the city isnt filling all of its available hotel rooms at this time. We have 530 rooms under contract for isolation and quarantine, he said. Only 248 are occupied; that means we have almost 300 empty rooms should we need to isolate or quarantine additional individuals. This is an intentional design. We want to have flexibility to be able to respond when theres an outbreak at a shelter we have, like at MSC South. We have built this system to allow us to respond to those pressing public health needs that are frankly very difficult to predict. May 6, 4 p.m. Director of Public Health Grant Colfax gave updates about the citys acquisition of hotel rooms for unsheltered individuals Wednesday. Colfax was responding to a controversial policy involving the city facilitating access to alcohol, marijuana and methadone to unsheltered addicted individuals in city-offered hotel rooms. (Earlier Wednesday, the DPH clarified that such inebriants are not paid for with taxpayer money.) Colfax noted that the department is following medical literature on the topic, and is attempting to offer counseling every day. In a way, thats good for them and for our community, so whether that includes ensuring they have access to counseling, our behavioral health experts are offering services every day, medication-assisted treatment, nicotine and opiate replacements, behavioral health counseling, and in cases where people decide they are going to continue to use, our focus is using the best evidence to help manage those addictions, he said. In some cases, this will include helping them manage their alcohol use and nicotine use, so that they can stay safe and in place as much as possible to help their communities and themselves. May 6, 3:15 p.m. SF Police Chief Bill Scott reported a continuing decrease in most crime categories across the city, including in property crime (-12%), auto burglaries (-22%) and violent crime (-6%). He also reported an uptick in burglaries (+11%) and in year-to-date homicides. The city recorded 16 homicides so far this year, three more than at this point in 2019. Scott also spoke to a report of ongoing drug deals taking place in the Tenderloin in encampments during the coronavirus pandemic, saying "crime is a policing issue." "When you talk about drug dealing, we know that people have come into Tenderloin particularly during this pandemic and have taken advantage of vulnerable people," he continued. "Weve made arrests in encampments. Weve seen people with bags of drugs distributing them to others to sell in these encampments. We've arrested those people, confiscated their money, confiscated their drugs and we will continue to do that with a lot of energy and a lot of enthusiasm to keep people safe." May 6, 3 p.m. In a press conference Wednesday, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Director of Public Health Dr. Grant Colfax announced five metrics which city officials will use to guide San Franciscos reopening strategy as it applies to businesses. "We are working very hard to come up with the kinds of guidelines that will continue to protect public health," Breed said. "The fact is without a vaccine, we are going to be living with concerns around COVID-19 for months to come. It's time we started getting creative and providing solutions and making sure we're working around that while still allowing people to open their businesses and make sure our economy is not more damaged than we know it will be as a result of this." Read the full story from SFGATE Editor Alyssa Pereira here. May 6, 1 p.m. In a Wednesday press briefing, California Gov. Gavin Newsom was asked about the future of the state economy as retail prepares to reopen with curbside pickup in counties ready to move into the second phase of the state's four-stage reopening plan. Newsom said all you have to do is look at the numbers to see the path that lies ahead. "Its going to take a lot longer than people think," he said. "We've never experienced anything like this in our lifetime. These are Depression-era numbers in terms of the unemployment you'll see across the country, not just in California." "You're going to see a budget come out that's tens of millions of dollars below where it needs to be," he added. This week, the number of claims for unemployment insurance in the past seven weeks passed 4 million, leaving the fund that pays for jobless benefits close to empty. The state has so far paid out close to $8 billion in benefits to former full-time and part-time workers and contractors. Despite the "jaw-dropping numbers," Newsom is confident the economy will recover and the state will be stronger for it. But he said the recovery "is not a quick 'V' and were going to come back in a few months in the next couple years, well have to work through these challenges." Newsom confirmed the state is on track to reopen retail and associated manufacturing as early as Friday. He will provide more details on new social-distancing guidelines for these sectors at his regular press briefing Thursday. Facial coverings will play a crucial role in reopening retail safely and protecting workers, and Newsom said the state has 19.9 million surgical masks in its possession. Watch the full Wednesday press briefing. May 6, 12:45 p.m. The number of Bay Area residents hospitalized due to the coronavirus has hit a plateau over the past few days, with no single-day percent increase or decrease larger than 5.1 percent. Here are the previous ten days' worth of data reflecting the total number of confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients in intensive care units across the nine counties that comprise the San Francisco Bay Area: - Sunday, April 26: 584 (3.6 percent decrease from previous day) - Monday, April 27: 587 (0.5 percent increase from previous day) - Tuesday, April 28: 578 (1.5 percent decrease from previous day) - Wednesday, April 29: 585 (1.2 percent increase from previous day) - Thursday, April 30: 532 (9.1 percent decrease from previous day) - Friday, May 1: 540 (1.5 percent increase from previous day) - Saturday, May 2: 555 (2.8 percent increase from previous day) -Sunday, May 3: 540 (2.7 percent decrease from previous day) - Monday, May 4: 523 (3.1 percent decrease from previous day) -Tuesday, May 5: 551 (5.1 percent increase from previous day) For reference, April 7 marked the day of the most reported total hospitalizations with 831, and data was first made available on April 1. The 9.1 percent decrease on April 30 marked the largest single-day percent decrease since April 16, a day that also saw hospitalizations plunge by 9.1 percent. May 6, 12:30 p.m. California Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a new tool on the state's COVID-19 site that allows you to type in your ZIP code and find the testing site nearest you. It shows state-managed sites where you can book an appointment and doesn't include testing provided by hospitals. Newsom acknowledged that some areas of the state lack testing sites, and he's focusing on bringing testing to these regions. The governor said he signed an executive order extending workers' compensation to essential workers who test positive for COVID-19. The new offering is meant to discourage workers who may be sick but who still go to their jobs because they fearing the financial repercussions. "The worst thing we can do is have a worker who has tested positive but doesnt want to tell anybody because he or she cant afford to work," he said. May 6, 11 a.m. A number of Bay Area counties announced additional COVID-19 cases Wednesday. As more cases are reported, the list below will be updated. San Francisco reported 26 new coronavirus cases to increase its total to 1,754. The death toll remains 31. San Mateo announced 26 new cases to increase its total to 1,341. The death toll remains 56. Solano County reported six new cases, bringing its total to 325. The death toll remains six. May 6, 9:10 a.m. Using data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The New York Times analyzed all deaths in each state to identify significant deviations in deaths compared to previous years. "Measuring excess deaths is crude because it does not capture all the details of how people died," according to the Times. "But many epidemiologists believe it is the best way to measure the impact of the virus in real time. It shows how the virus is altering normal patterns of mortality where it strikes and undermines arguments that it is merely killing vulnerable people who would have died anyway." In California, they found 1,100 more deaths in California between March 15 and April 11 that could be due to the coronavirus. Read the full story at NYTimes.com. May 6, 8:45 a.m. Santa Clara County announced this week the opening of two new testing sites: one is at James Lick High School in East San Jose and the other at Christopher High School in Gilroy. The sites are part of 80 locations across the state that are managed by the State of California. Find more information on testing availability in Santa Clara County at sccgov.org. May 6, 7:45 a.m. San Francisco Mayor London Breed said on ABC 7 on Tuesday that she's looking at data and working with public health officers to determine when the city will be ready to add new modifications to its stay-at-home order. California Gov. Gavin Newsom gave retail across the state the green light to reopen with curbside pickup as early as Friday, as the state begins a move into the second phase of the governor's four-stage plan for modifying the shelter-in-place order. He specifically noted that stores selling books, toys, clothing, sporting goods and flowers will be allowed to open if they meet social-distancing guidelines and officials in their counties offer approval. Breed said as she considers a move into this second phase, she's focused on "getting our economy going in a responsible way." "The last thing we want to do is roll back some of the gains that we've made by continuing to flatten the curve, even though we've not lowered the curve, it remains relatively flat," Breed said. "I think that provides an opportunity to look at opening small businesses where they can do pickup and delivery, like candle shops and flower shops and some of our smaller retail locations within neighborhoods. It's important that we look at those opportunities, but we not believe it's OK that we just all of a sudden open our doors and get back to normal because the virus is still a threat and we can see it surge at any time." Watch the full interview on ABC 7. Cumulative cases in the greater Bay Area (due to limited testing these numbers reflect only a small portion of likely cases): ALAMEDA COUNTY: 1,809 confirmed cases, 66 deaths For more information on Alameda County cases, visit the public health department website. CONTRA COSTA COUNTY: 969 confirmed cases, 29 deaths For more information on Contra Costa County cases, visit the public health department website. LAKE COUNTY: 8 confirmed cases For information on Lake County and coronavirus, visit the public health department website. MARIN COUNTY: 243 confirmed cases, 14 deaths Fore more information on Marin County cases, visit the public health department website. MONTEREY COUNTY: 241 confirmed cases, 6 deaths For more information on Monterey County cases, visit the public health department website. NAPA COUNTY: 75 cases, 2 deaths For more information on Napa County cases, visit the public health department website. SAN BENITO COUNTY: 53 confirmed cases, 2 deaths For more information on San Benito County cases, visit the public health department website. SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY: 1,754 confirmed cases, 31 deaths For more information on San Francisco County cases, visit the public health department website. SAN MATEO COUNTY: 1,341 confirmed cases, 56 deaths For more information on San Mateo County cases, visit the public health department website. SANTA CLARA COUNTY: 2,255 confirmed cases, 121 deaths Fore more information on Santa Clara County cases, visit the public health department website. SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: 138 confirmed cases, 2 deaths For more information on Santa Cruz County cases, visit the public health department website. SOLANO COUNTY: 325 confirmed cases, 6 deaths For more information on Solano County cases, visit the public health department website. SONOMA COUNTY: 261 confirmed cases, 3 deaths For more information on Sonoma County cases, visit the public health department website. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE: Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here. A virtual meeting held by a South African parliamentary committee was on Thursday morning hacked and the Speaker abused. The meeting of the programming committee had just started when pornographic images appeared on the screen and a male voice hurled insults at Speaker Thandi Modise who was chairing. The Speaker exclaimed and expressed her opposition to virtual meetings. "This is exactly what I said about Zoom!" Ms Modise is quoted as saying by Times Live website. MPs described the incident as sick and disturbing, news website Eyewitness News reports. Parliament's technicians created a new link where Members of Parliament joined in. 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 Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday claimed that India could use the current tension to launch a false flag operation against his country on the pretext of infiltration. Khan took to Twitter after India said Pakistan was behind the unrest in Kashmir, leading to a spike in the verbal duel between the two sides. I have been warning the world about Indias continuing efforts to find a pretext for a false flag operation targeting Pakistan. Latest baseless allegations by India of infiltration across LoC are a continuation of this dangerous agenda, Khan tweeted. Also Watch | Pakistans terror tactic amid Covid-19 crisis explained Khan also claimed that the violence in Kashmir was local. He once again accused Indias ruling party of following policies that could imperil the peace of South Asia. The international community must act before Indias reckless moves jeopardise peace & security in South Asia, he said. Pakistan Muslims League-Nawaz president and Leader of the Opposition in parliament Shehbaz Sharif also fired a salvo against India. Allegation of terror launching pads by India is meant to whip up propaganda against Pakistan! he said. Mumbai, May 7 : Well-known explorer Ed Stafford says he took his wife and 20-month-old baby for a survival challenge because he "thought it would be fascinating as an experiment". In a documentary titled "Ed Stafford: Man Woman Child Wild", Stafford will be seen going to an uninhabited island in Indonesia for one month. For this, he took his wife Laura Bingham and 20-month-old son Ran. They will be seen trying to survive as a family, on the beautiful yet demanding island. Talking about the show, Stafford said: "I thought it would be fascinating as an experiment, for a family to go out and see whether they can survive and leave behind all the trappings of everyday life." "Discovery Channel bought into the idea and they thought it would make a very interesting TV programme. I think we learned a lot of lessons along the way," he added. On what helps him the most at stressful moments, Stafford said: "The thing that I use on expeditions that helps me above everything else, especially, in survival situations is meditating. It's so important for me to be centred, to be aware, to be able to notice the things that are going on around you, but also to step back from your thoughts and your emotions and get to a place of calm." The show is completely self-filmed. It will premiere in India on May 11 on Discovery channel. BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend: President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev have discussed trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, Trend reports with reference to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. The heads of the states considered cooperation in such key areas as energy, transport and transit, as well as industry and agriculture. The two sides also touched upon the current status of relations between the two countries. The heads of the states exchanged views on the current epidemiological situation in the region and in the world caused by the spread of COVID-19. The parties agreed to expand cooperation in the fight against the pandemic. During the telephone conversation, the need to hold regular consultations between the relevant ministries and departments of the countries was noted. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva The owner of a Point Pleasant Borough fitness center has been cited a second time for staying open amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in violation of New Jerseys near-lockdown restrictions, but they say just members of their family were inside this time. Anytime Fitness owner Janice Lauria was issued a summons Tuesday for violating Gov. Phil Murphys executive order that says nonessential businesses including gyms cant operate, Point Pleasant police said in a statement. Ryan Laura, one of Janice Laurias sons, told NJ Advance Media that his brother and mother were inside the Route 88 business when police arrived. But the brother doesnt reside with the family, so police issued the summons. Last week (the police) said all her sons can be in there, but now this week (they say) he cant because he rents his own place, Ryan Lauria told NJ Advance Media. No warning or anything just scanned his plates and realized hes not 'quarantined with us. Point Pleasant Borough police said Wednesday that they received a complaint the gym was still operating and officers found a Brick resident working out in the presence of the owner. Janice Lauria was first cited on April 27 when police said she ignored repeated warnings about violating Murphys executive order. Point Pleasant Borough police saw people going in and out of a side door to the fitness center, according to a statement from the department about that incident. Cops said they began watching the gym after getting complaints that it was still open. On April 27, officers alleged they saw an opaque covering on the gyms front windows, preventing people from looking inside. When police spoke with people who walked out of the fitness center, they said the owner allowed them to enter through a side door to work out inside, authorities said. Ryan Lauria said police never entered the gym or saw anyone using gym equipment. He said no customers have worked out since the gym was ordered closed and that police explained the business was permitted to continue to sell energy drinks and protein. For the town to slander our name like this is absurd and unfair, Ryan wrote in an email after the business was cited the first time. "(Police) have never stepped foot in the business so they have zero proof anyone was working out. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 05:59:50|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DUBLIN, May 6 (Xinhua) -- The Irish tourism sector has been decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the country should do all it can to save the industry, said a senior official here on Wednesday. Brendan Griffin, Irish Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, made this remark while addressing a meeting of the lower house of the Irish parliament on the devastating impact of the COVID-19 on the country's tourism sector, according to a report by the Irish national radio and television broadcaster RTE. He told the delegates that "In the space of a few short weeks the Irish tourism sector has been decimated and many tourist businesses have written off 2020." The meeting was informed that the Irish tourism trade could drop more than 50 percent in 2020 due to the impact of the pandemic, said the RTE report. Griffin called for the establishment of a tourism taskforce as quickly as possible to save the badly hit industry. He also suggested a zero VAT (value-added tax) rate for the Irish hospitality sector and an introduction of a new bank holiday towards the end of the year, so as to simulate the tourist consumption in the country. The tourism industry is an important sector of the Irish economy, which not only annually generates billions of euros for the country but also supports hundreds of thousands of jobs in Ireland. Last year Ireland attracted nearly 11 million overseas visitors, most of whom were from Europe and North America. Due to a limited potential in further increasing the visitor numbers from its traditional markets, Ireland has recently turned its eyes to the emerging markets in Asia, especially the Chinese market. Tourism Ireland, a state agency responsible for marketing the island of Ireland as a world-leading tourist destination overseas, plans to double the Chinese visitors to the island of Ireland to 200,000 in 2025 from an estimated 100,000 in 2019. However, due to the disruptions because of the pandemic, Tourism Ireland has temporarily pigeonholed several promotion campaigns scheduled for this year in China. Enditem Nuclear energy is often touted as an answer to climate change for its potential as an efficient means of energy production in a decarbonized energy industry of the future. We already have nuclear energy infrastructure around the world, it releases no greenhouse gases, and its a potent means of energy generation, but nuclear is still a hard sell in much of the world. This is in part due to high profile nuclear disasters, such as Three Mile Island, Fukushima, and Chernobyl, which loom large in the public consciousness. Its also due to the fact that spent nuclear fuel, while it doesnt contribute any greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, is nevertheless a huge hazard to public health and safety, as it stays radioactive for many, many more generations than will benefit from the energy it produces. While most types of nuclear waste have a half-life of mere tens of thousands of years, Chlorine-36 stays radioactive for 300,000 years and neptunium-237 boasts a half-life of a whopping 2 million years. The typical nuclear power plant creates about 2,300 tons of waste annually, reports Big Think. 99 reactors are currently employed in the United States. That's a lot of waste per year. The US is currently stockpiling 75,000 tons of nuclear waste. It is carefully stored and maintained. However, just like anything else it is vulnerable to natural disasters, human error, even terrorism. As Oilprice reported earlier this year, this isnt just a public safety issue, its also a public spending issue. All this radioactivity amounts to a huge amount of maintenance to ensure that our radioactive waste is being properly managed throughout its extraordinarily long shelf life and isnt endangering anyone. And, it almost goes without saying, all this maintenance comes at a cost. In the United States, the crushing cost of nuclear waste maintenance is weighing heavily on taxpayers. In 2019 the cost clocked in at a staggering $7.5 billion, a number that only continues to grow. Related: Why Oil Is Critical To U.S. Survival The United States is not the only country struggling with a nuclear waste problem--not by a long shot. According to Engineering & Technology, nuclear waste is a pressing issue in Europe and especially in the UK. Under European law, all countries that create radioactive waste are obliged to find their own disposal solutions shipping nuclear waste is not generally permitted except in some legacy agreements. However, when the first countries charged into nuclear energy generation (or nuclear weapons research), disposal of the radioactive waste was not a major consideration. For several of those countries, like the UK, that is now around 70 years ago, and the waste has been stored rather than disposed of. It remains a problem. Plenty of research and design spending has gone toward figuring out what to do with nuclear waste. The UK has opted to bury their problems down deep and maintain a stiff upper lip through the development of geological disposal facilities (GDF), a waste disposal method that involves burying nuclear waste deep, deep underground in a cocoon of backfill, most commonly comprised of bentonite-based cement. Meanwhile, taking a slightly more sci-fi approach, Nobel prize winner Gerard Mourou has suggested blasting nuclear waste with lasers to render it benign. And, believe it or not, there exists an even more fantastical potential solution to dealing with nuclear waste. Researchers from the UKs University of Bristol have invented a method to encapsulate nuclear waste within diamonds, which as a battery, can provide a clean energy supply lasting in some cases, thousands of years, says Big Think. Diamonds are about to be a lot more than just a girls best friend. The radiation is locked safely away inside the gemstone. All the while, it generates a small, steady stream of electricity. Nickel63, an unstable isotope, was used in this first experiment. It created a battery with a half-life of a century. This method would not only safely dispose of nuclear waste, but it would also create a new form of clean energy production with no emissions, no moving parts, no maintenance, and zero concerns about safety in a win-win of nearly unthinkable proportions. By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: It was earlier reported that TV actor Shivin Narang had to be rushed to a hospital in Andheri, Mumbai after he fell on a glass table at his residence. The actor had lost a lot of blood and had to undergo surgery for the same. Now, Shivin has returned home and posted pictures on social media of his heavily bandaged hand. One of the pics shared was from inside the room where he was admitted and kept before and after surgery. In another pic, Shivin is seen outside the hospital as he prepares to head back home. Recounting the time he got injured, Shivin wrote on social media, "All is well. For all my frnds, family n loved ones Im back home Thankuu fr all your prayers & blessings unfortunately met with an accident at home injuring myself badly due to which I had undergone a surgery. Thankuu to the doctors and healthcare staff of @kokilabenhospital for taking such good care of me in this difficult scenario. I remember one of the hospital staff saying Sir hum nhi karenge toh kaun karega' (sic)." Follow @News18Movies for more The last three months have been tough on Independence Holding Company (NYSE:IHC) shareholders, who have seen the share price decline a rather worrying 30%. But that doesn't change the fact that shareholders have received really good returns over the last five years. Indeed, the share price is up an impressive 140% in that time. We think it's more important to dwell on the long term returns than the short term returns. Only time will tell if there is still too much optimism currently reflected in the share price. See our latest analysis for Independence Holding In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time. Over half a decade, Independence Holding managed to grow its earnings per share at 0.2% a year. This EPS growth is lower than the 19% average annual increase in the share price. So it's fair to assume the market has a higher opinion of the business than it did five years ago. That's not necessarily surprising considering the five-year track record of earnings growth. The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail). NYSE:IHC Past and Future Earnings May 7th 2020 Dive deeper into Independence Holding's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Independence Holding's earnings, revenue and cash flow. What About Dividends? When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. As it happens, Independence Holding's TSR for the last 5 years was 149%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return. Story continues A Different Perspective While the broader market lost about 0.4% in the twelve months, Independence Holding shareholders did even worse, losing 21% (even including dividends) . 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. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 20%, 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. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Take risks, for example - Independence Holding has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of. We will like Independence Holding 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 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. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle marked a big family milestone: Archie's first birthday. The family celebrated baby Archie's special day privately at their Malibu mansion in Los Angeles, where they are said to be living a lowkey lifestyle after they officially exited from the royal family at the end of March. Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born at the Portland Hospital in London on 6 May 2019. Two days after he was born, the young Sussex made his debut to the world in the Great Hall at Windsor Castle. Currently, he is seventh in line to the throne, while his father remains at sixth despite stepping down on his senior role in the firm. Birthday Greetings From Her Majesty the Queen Although the family was thousands of miles away from the U.K., members of the royal family have sent their greetings for the young Sussex. The longest-reigning monarch greeted his great-grandchild a happy birthday through their official Instagram account @TheRoyalFamily. "Happy Birthday to Archie Mountbatten-Windsor who is celebrating his 1st birthday today! Archie is The Queen's eighth great-grandchild," the caption reads as they shared a photo of the little tot from the first time Queen Elizabeth II met a then-newborn Archie. The Queen Breaks Royal Protocol However, public birthday messages from the Queen are only appropriate for senior members of the royal family. Since the Sussexes have decided to move to Los Angeles, it was expected that Prince Harry and Meghan's son would not be receiving special greetings from Her Majesty. Special Greetings From The Cambridges Aside from the 94-year-old monarch, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have also sent their birthday greetings for Archie. Prince William and Kate Middleton's official IG account @Kensington Royal posted a photo of Archie's christening along with the Cambridges, baby Archie's parents, Prince Charles, Duchess Camilla, and Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland. "Wishing Archie a very happy first birthday today!" the caption reads. Pouring Birthday Greetings For Archie's Big Day Royal watchers and the Sussexes' supporters have also posted their special greetings for the young royal. One user wrote: "What a beautiful day to celebrate love, happiness and the birth of this little angel #HappyBirthdayArchie #ArchieDay." Another user also made reference to Meghan and Prince Harry's recent video of baby Archie participating in Save the Children's #SaveWithStories campaign. "It's lovely to see Harry and Meghan sharing a storytelling video for a children charity to celebrate their son's birthday #ArchieDay #HappyBirthdayArchie." Another fan praised the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for using the little tot's first birthday for a good cause. "Kudos to Meghan & Harry for using Archie's 1st birthday to raise funds to help children in need during this global pandemic. The Sussex family are true forces for good. #HappyBirthDayArchie #ArchieDay." To honor their son's big milestone, the Sussexes shared a video of Meghan reading "Duck! Rabbit!" to their son while the 35-year-old prince was filming the video. Qatar Petroleum (QP) has entered into three farm-in agreements to acquire about 30% of Totals participating interest in blocks 15, 33 and 34 located in the Campeche basin, offshore Mexico. Each of the farm-in agreements is subject to customary regulatory and other approvals by Totals existing partners and the government of Mexico. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum said: We are pleased to sign these agreements, which further expand Qatar Petroleums footprint in Mexico, and demonstrate our commitment to achieving our international growth strategy, with Latin America as a core area in our international portfolio. We look forward to collaborating further with Total, our other partners in these blocks, and the government of Mexico. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Mexican authorities and our partners for their continued support, he added. The three offshore blocks are situated in the Campeche basin and within 30 to 90 km of the giant Cantarell and KMZ oil fields. The total area covered by the blocks is approximately 2,300 sq km, with water depths ranging from about 10 meters to 1,100 meters. TradeArabia News Service As new statistics show nursing home outbreaks accounting for more than half of the novel coronavirus deaths in some states, the industry is asking the Trump administration for $10 billion to help their facilities stay afloat financially, and to support desperately needed staffing and protective equipment. "What we need now is to rally around nursing homes and assisted living communities the same way the public health sector has around hospitals," wrote Mark Parkinson, the president of the American Health Care Association, in a letter sent to Secretary of Health and Human Service Alex Azar. PHOTO: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar speaks about protecting seniors, in the East Room of the White House, April 30, 2020, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP, FILE) "It is not too late to make an enormous difference in the outcome of the COVID-19 battle in Americas long term care facilities, Parkinson wrote. The best public health policy is to focus where the battle is taking place, which is now most prevalent in nursing homes and assisted living communities across the country." The elderly residents of nursing facilities have been dying in staggering numbers. The nationwide figure of 10,000 nursing home deaths, calculated by ABC News just last week from the reporting of 28 states, appears to already be well out of date. MORE: With millions out of work, nursing homes under siege from coronavirus plead for more staff The exact figure remains difficult to track because the federal government does not report it, despite the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, led by Administrator Seema Verma, announcing last month that they would begin keeping a national tally. Just this week, New York officials reported the death toll in long-term care facilities nearing 5,000 in that state alone. The outbreak has hit nursing facilities hard, especially in New England where coronavirus has been most aggressive and nursing homes have shown to bare the biggest brunt of fatalities. Some 60% of the coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts occurred in nursing facilities, and 70% of those who died in neighboring Rhode Island and New Hampshire perished in long term care homes, according to figures released by those states Wednesday. Story continues On a call with Verma on Wednesday, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Senate Aging Committee Ranking Member Bob Casey, D-Penn., called on her to make this nursing home-specific coronavirus data public. We have been calling for more than a month for infection and death data to be made available, and Administrator Vermas unwillingness to commit to a timeline to publicly release this data means the Trump administration is failing seniors, their families, and the public health response to COVID-19," Wyden and Casey said in a statement. "There have been no signs that the Trump administration has an effective plan to address the tragedy that is taking place in Americas nursing homes. In a response to ABC News' inquiry, the agency said that the new reporting requirements for nursing homes will require the first week of data to be sent to them beginning May 8 and not later than May 17, with intent to release the data by the end of the month. In a previous interview with ABC News, Verma said she was proud of the efforts her agency has made to protect nursing home residents. MORE: Advocates demand stronger federal action as nursing homes engulfed by pandemic "I think the federal government has had a very strong response," Verma said in April. "And I'm proud of the hard work of my team that's been working day and night to make sure that regulations were updated, that we gave flexibility to the nursing homes to support their efforts during this very difficult time." More generally the administration has said it is focused on Americans living in nursing homes. President Trump last week named May "Older Americans Month" and announced that the administration would form an advisory panel to focus on nursing homes while the Federal Emergency Management Agency would push out shipments of personal protective equipment, known as PPE, directly to nursing home facilities. Two waves of shipments are expected to be distributed, each containing seven days worth of PPE. FEMA contracted with a provider to begin the first wave of shipments in early May, with the second wave expected to begin in June. Each wave will arrive first to areas with the highest need first before being distributed nationwide. Congress provided some aid to nursing homes as part of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package passed in March, including $200 million allocated to CMS to assist the agency with infection prevention in the homes. The stimulus also allocated $100 billion to provide assistance to health care facilities, for which nursing homes must compete with hospitals and other facilities. HHS is responsible for overseeing the disbursement of those funds. But still, the nursing care industry has called for a dramatic increase in federal support. Speaking to reporters earlier this week, Mark Gloth, the medical director for HCR Manorcare, one of the largest national nursing care chains with 25,000 residents, said the needs are substantial for both testing and equipment. There still arent enough test kits available. I would love to test every single patient in every facility that we have, Gloth said. Unfortunately even in states where it is mandated. there still arent enough testing kits in order to perform tests in a timely manner. MORE: Elder care advocates to Trump administration: 'Do more' to protect nursing homes from coronavirus Parkinsons request to the administration is for enough funding to implement testing for all residents and nursing home staff, regardless of whether they're showing symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently changed its testing guidelines to place a higher priority on those living in nursing home facilities, but has not yet made universal testing a requirement. Health officials in a number of states have argued that universal testing is a crucial step because without these tests, it is impossible to know which residents to isolate. Gloth said up to 70% of nursing care workers in Manorcare facilities who tested positive were completely asymptomatic. And in some facilities where universal testing has occurred, he said as many as 50% were not yet showing such telltale symptoms as cough or fever. This week, 82 Democratic members of Congress sent a separate letter to Azar and Verma urging them to allocate additional funds from a separate tranche of money allocated primarily to assist small businesses in the most recent coronavirus relief legislation directly to tests for long term care facilities. "We cannot successfully slow, contain, and mitigate the spread of the coronavirus in long-term care settings unless we implement a testing strategy that reaches older Americans, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and all those living in nursing homes and congregate living settings, alongside the dedicated workers who care for them," the lawmakers wrote. The letter also echoed the need for additional funding to support staffing and PPE shortages facing many nursing facilities. The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately reply to request for comment on Parkinson's letter or the letter from House Democrats. Combating these devastating numbers requires aid, according to Parkinson, if the homes are to have a hope of turning the corner. "Without adequate funding, testing and supplies, long term care facilities will not be able to overcome this unprecedented health crisis and protect our residents and caregivers," Parkinson wrote. This story has been updated to include a response from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Nursing homes seek $10B from feds as coronavirus cases continue to overwhelm elderly originally appeared on abcnews.go.com A study conducted in Luxembourg analysed the first impressions cross-border workers have of Luxembourgers. "Distant", "haughty" but "sympathetic" for majority The "Living together in Luxembourg" survey was carried out in January by the ASTI support for migrant workers association in collaboration with the TNS-Ilres research panel. 500 cross-border workers from France, Belgium, and Germany were, among other things, asked to describe their impressions of Luxembourg and its inhabitants. A third of the the respondents described Luxembourgers with rather unflattering adjectives such as " distant" (14%), "unsympathetic" (6%), "haughty" (5%), "proud" (5%), and "peculiar" (4%). Some also called Luxembourg's residents "nationalist" (7%) and "conservative" (3%). More than half of all the respondents had a more positive perception of Luxembourgers, deeming them "sympathetic" (21%), welcoming (11%), "open" (8%), "competent" (4%), "good" (4%), and "easy-going" (3%). First impressions often misleading The study found that many cross-border workers often revise their first impressions after getting to know the residents a bit better. Luxembourgers "may seem cold at first" but are "very decent people when you get to know them," one respondent said. Another cross-border worker said Luxembourg's residents are "sympathetic" but have a slight xenophobic tendency. A German cross-border worker said Luxembourgers are "open and reserved at the same time," echoing other respondents who said the Grand Duchy's residents tend to stick to themselves. Some assessments were also purely positive, calling Luxembourgers "likable, respectful, and polite." (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. SpaceX's Starship fired up its engine the first time, and its CEO Elon Musk confirmed it had passed the fire test. This happened in just less than a week after receiving the $135 million funding from NASA to develop the next lander that will be used for human's return to the moon in 2024. SpaceX is redeveloping Starship as Lunar Lander, which would carry cargo and crew to the moon and back. ALSO READ: NASA And Virgin Galactic Will Develop a Supersonic Aircraft Making New York City to Shanghai in 40 Minutes Possible Along with SpaceX are Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Dynetics, a subsidiary of Leidosare, the other two companies that had been chosen by NASA to develop the landing component of the Artemis program. According to Tech Times, Blue Origin got $579 million while Dynetics had $253 million. Among the three, Starship is the only one actively testing full-scale prototypes. Starship SN4 has successfully fired up its engine on Tuesday evening, which is a key moment for the spacecraft's development. The spacecraft was named as such because it is the fourth full-size prototype created to pass a test of its Raptor engine firing while installed on the test stand. Previously, SN4 passed a crucial low-temperature pressure test designed to emulate conditions in space. It seems ready to take on the next phase to have a short flight display. ALSO READ: Comet Swan is Coming! Here's How to See Space Rock With Your Naked Eye The Test Fire The test-fire occurred late Tuesday night in Texas, where SpaceX is developing Starship at its facilities in Boca Chica. On this SN4 Starship prototype, one Raptor is mounted, which is fewer than the six engines that the spacecraft will eventually need on its full operational status. SpaceX will be adding more as it continues to test and develop the vehicle. However, for the rehearsal, it will require at least another one planned to demonstrate about 500-feet controlled flight, which is similar to the one achieved by the sub-scale Starhopper test last August. Starhopper aims to test the Raptor engine's basic plumbing. The test also intends to see if it could control its flight for a safe ascent and descent. During the test, the vehicle made a hard landing, but it survived the test, so SpaceX moved on to build a full-scale prototype of Starship. Since November 2019, SpaceX already lost three full-scale Starship prototypes while going through cryogenic and pressure tests. The most recent one was on April 3. Starship SN4 is the first to survive pressure testing as well as the critical phase of firing up at liftoff pressures. This is a rigid test because of super-chilled fuels at high pressure, which is then safely shut down. Meanwhile, SpaceX has been completing the required permits and clearances to execute it for a few weeks now. Upon successful completion of the test flight, SpaceX is also already developing the next concept of its Starship prototype, which will be outfitted with three Raptor engines and perform a higher altitude flight, which will pave the way for its first orbital demo, which the company still aims to achieve later this year. Considering the investment SpaceX has put on the vehicle and how it hopes to eventually use it to replace both its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launchers for all mission activities, the stakes are high. Read also: NASA Is Currently Planning to Shoot a Film With Tom Cruise Which Will Be Filmed in Space 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The final supermoon of 2020 made an appearance in the night sky on Thursday night and stunned stargazers with its sheer size and brightness. The full moon will appear about six per cent larger than a typical full moon. It is known as the 'Flower Moon' due to early-May being revered as a period of increased fertility in Native American culture. Other names for this supermoon include Mother's Moon, Milk Moon and Corn Planting Moon. A view of full moon near a light house, at Mamallapuram in Chengalpattu district. Photograph: R Senthil Kumar/PTI Photo The full moon, also known as the Supermoon or Flower Moon, rises over the building of the ministry of defence in New Delhi. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters The moon is seen behind the sculpture of "Worker and Kolkhoz Woman" in Moscow, Russia. Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters The full moon, also known as the Supermoon or Flower Moon, is seen next to Tokyo Skytree which is displaying a message reading "Together we can all win" and illuminated in blue to honour first responders and essential workers as the outbreak of the coronavirus disease continues, in Tokyo, Japan. Photograph: Issei Kato/Reuters The full moon rises behind the silhouetted crescent monument of a mosque during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, as the outbreak of COVID-19 continues in Karachi, Pakistan. Photograph: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters Restrictions on bars, restaurants, barbershops and tattoo parlors will be further loosened in the coming days, Gov. Mark Gordon announced Thursday. I am further excited with the news today of the further awakening of our economy, he said at a livestreamed news conference. The restrictions on barbershops, tattoo parlors and similar businesses which limit how many people can be in the buildings, stipulate how staff prepare and clean, and require social distance measures will be further relaxed, Gordon said, though its unclear to what extent. He said bars and restaurants will likely be allowed to reopen to table service soon as well. Dr. Alexia Harrist, the states health officer and the ultimate authority over the orders, said the barbershop order would likely be eased to allow more people into the buildings at once. She said the restaurant and bar-related order will likely resemble what various counties have instituted: Outdoor and potentially indoor dining, albeit with restrictions on spacing and handling of food and utensils. She indicated that loosened orders would affect movie theaters and churches as well. Orders restricting the various businesses have been in place since mid-March and have been extended repeatedly. But last week, Harrist announced that barbershops and similar businesses could open in a limited capacity. Orders keeping restaurants closed to in-person services were extended until May 15. At his press conference Thursday, Gordon indicated the measures would be allowed to expire and that new ones, with looser restrictions, would likely then be implemented. He made no mention of the order that closes schools, colleges and universities; many districts have already moved to keep learning virtual through the rest of this academic term. Gordons announcement, made Thursday afternoon, comes as counties across Wyoming take their own measures with state approval to loosen restrictions on bars, restaurants, gyms and religious gatherings. A dozen counties have sought to ease the strictures placed on those businesses, while Teton County has kept more stringent measures in effect. Harrist said the newest batch of orders, which will likely be released next week, would resemble what counties have instituted on an individual basis. Gordon also said he would allow to expire his order that requires people traveling into Wyoming to quarantine for 14 days. He and Harrist repeatedly warned that the state was not returning to the same world that it existed in before the pandemics spread. But they indicated that a return to some sense of normalcy appeared to be within sight. Gordon repeatedly highlighted the return of Wyoming tourism; he said the state would be one of the first to reinvigorate the industry, highlighting the potential reopening of Yellowstone National Park. But he urged Wyomingites to continue following social distancing guidelines and to wear face masks in public because if we screw this up, then tourism will continue to be battered and the virus will return. Testing has confirmed more than 480 cases of the coronavirus in Wyoming. Health officials have also reported more than 150 probable cases patients who have not been tested but are both showing symptoms of COVID-19 and were in close contact with a confirmed case. Seven people have died after contracting the virus, including four Fremont County residents whose deaths were announced on April 21. Three were from the same immediate family. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. I would like to thank the staff at Catalent for their continued work, responsiveness and partnership, which has helped ensure we were able to commence the trial as quickly as we have to evaluate the potential benefits to patients hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia and at high risk of progression. Catalent, a global leader in clinical supply services, today welcomed the news by Humanigen, Inc., that it has dosed the first COVID-19 patient in its previously announced Phase 3 study for lenzilumab, the companys proprietary Humaneered anti-human granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) monoclonal antibody. From its Philadelphia facility, Catalent has provided clinical supply support to Humanigen and its partners to accelerate the instigation of this clinical trial. We are honored to have supported Humanigen on this important project and have ensured that all possible resources were allocated to allow these trials to begin as soon as possible, said Ricci Whitlow, President Clinical Supply Services at Catalent. Our team in Philadelphia, and across the company as a whole, feel great pride in doing whatever we can in these times of global uncertainty to help in the treatment of those suffering greatly. I would like to thank the staff at Catalent for their continued work, responsiveness and partnership, which has helped ensure we were able to commence the trial as quickly as we have to evaluate the potential benefits to patients hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia and at high risk of progression, commented Dr. Cameron Durrant, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Humanigen. Catalents 200,000 square-foot Philadelphia facility provides comprehensive clinical supply services including clinical supply management, comparator sourcing, package engineering primary packaging, secondary packaging and labeling, demand led supply services, cold chain distribution, clinical storage and returns and destruction. About Catalent Clinical Supply Services Catalent is a global leader in clinical supply services, with comprehensive and flexible solutions for small molecules, biologics, and cell and gene therapies and integrated solutions to accelerate speed to clinic. Catalent offers a full range of services including clinical supply management, comprehensive packaging solutions, comparator sourcing, cold chain storage and global distribution and specialized supply chain services including its FlexDirect direct-to-patient services and FastChain demand-led supply solution. With nine GMP clinical packaging facilities and over 50 strategically located depots on six continents combined with more than 25 years experience across thousands of studies in more than 80 countries, Catalent has the comprehensive services, global scale and expertise necessary to reliably supply clinical trials of all sizes and complexity anywhere in the world. About Catalent Catalent is the leading global provider of advanced delivery technologies, development, and manufacturing solutions for drugs, biologics, cell and gene therapies, and consumer health products. With over 85 years serving the industry, Catalent has proven expertise in bringing more customer products to market faster, enhancing product performance and ensuring reliable global clinical and commercial product supply. Catalent employs over 13,500 people, including approximately 2,400 scientists and technicians, at more than 40 facilities, and in fiscal year 2019 generated over $2.5 billion in annual revenue. Catalent is headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey. For more information, visit http://www.catalent.com More products. Better treatments. Reliably supplied. About Humanigen, Inc. Humanigen, Inc. is developing its portfolio of clinical and pre-clinical therapies for the treatment of cancers and infectious diseases via its novel, cutting-edge GM-CSF neutralization and gene-knockout platforms. Humanigen believes that its GM-CSF neutralization and gene-editing platform technologies have the potential to reduce the inflammatory cascade associated with coronavirus infection as well as the serious and potentially life-threatening CAR-T therapy-related side effects while preserving and potentially improving the efficacy of the CAR-T therapy itself, thereby breaking the efficacy/toxicity linkage. The companys immediate focus is to prevent or minimize the cytokine storm that precedes severe lung dysfunction and ARDS in serious cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection and also in combining FDA-approved and development stage CAR-T therapies with lenzilumab, the companys proprietary Humaneered anti-human-GM-CSF immunotherapy, which is its lead product candidate. A clinical collaboration with Kite, a Gilead Company, to evaluate the sequential use of lenzilumab with Yescarta, axicabtagene ciloleucel, in a multicenter clinical trial in adults with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma is currently enrolling. The company is also focused on creating next-generation combinatory gene-edited CAR-T therapies using strategies to improve efficacy while employing GM-CSF gene knockout technologies to control toxicity. In addition, the company is developing its own portfolio of proprietary first-in-class EphA3-CAR-T for various solid cancers and EMR1-CAR-T for various eosinophilic disorders. The company is also exploring the effectiveness of its GM-CSF neutralization technologies (either through the use of lenzilumab as a neutralizing antibody or through GM-CSF gene knockout) in combination with other CAR-T, bispecific or natural killer (NK) T cell engaging immunotherapy treatments to break the efficacy/toxicity linkage, including to prevent and/or treat graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). For more information, visit http://www.humanigen.com During the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers have had to work extra hard to adapt to educate their students virtually, all while missing those smiling, young faces in person. Teacher Appreciation Week is May 4-8, and Sarah Smith, a German teacher at Taylor High School, started a Facebook group to make sure teachers in the area and beyond feel acknowledged and recognized for their daily efforts. Morning Report: Get the top stories on HoustonChronicle.com sent directly to your inbox Smith modeled her group, Teacher Appreciation 2020: A Covid Project, after the group, Adopt a Teacher: Texas. Smith knew of the Texas group and said she wanted to do something to make teachers feel special during what has been a very difficult school year. I was like, oh, Ill start something like that for Houston, Smith said. That would be kind of fun. And the idea behind that one is teachers post about themselves and then either other teachers, parents or community members can like adopt them and buy them maybe one thing. After her initial thought, Smith consulted with a community members about whether it was a good idea because she didnt want come off as grabby because that is not the person she says she is. She also wondered whether the group would come across as altruistic and helpful. She said she wanted to make it where people just maybe are encouraged to appreciate teachers, whether theyre teachers themselves or, you know, instead of having one specific person that youre showering with appreciation or whatever. SUMMER SCHOOL ONLINE: Katy ISD to hold summer school virtually this year How to recognize a teacher from a distance because of the virus was another factor. Plus, some people may have lost their jobs, which makes it difficult to give specific directions for how to appreciate a teacher, Smith said. The groups around 240 members have come up with some creative ways to show teachers support. They come in all shapes and sizes, from sidewalk chalking some encouraging words to handmade art to gift cards to care packages and candy. Sharon Dworaczyk met Smith at Taylor High School, where Smith taught her oldest son, who is now a freshman in college. She helped Smith brainstorm with other mothers about getting the group started. I saw her post, and she has just the kindest heart and, I mean, is out there doing this for other teachers, not just for herself, Dworaczyk said. And I just think, you know, thats awesome. Most teachers wouldnt do that. And so I just figured Id help her as much as I could. NEW SCHOOLS ALMOST READY: Two new Katy ISD schools on schedule to open for 2020-2021 Dworaczyk, her youngest son and another family went out chalking some teachers driveways at night so that they wake up in the morning to an encouraging note. As of May 4, they had done five driveways and were planning to do four more on May 5. She said the teachers were all very thankful their students and parents had thought of them. They were humbled, Dworaczyk said. Jennifer Simpson knows Smith because they both teach at Taylor HS. Being an educator, she was more than willing to help her childrens teachers feel valued and appreciated. I get it. And I know how hard its been and how hard were working, and honestly my childrens teachers are wonderful and very well-deserving ladies, Simpson said. She said it has been a particularly hard year. Therefore, showing teachers gratitude this year is important, she said. I just felt like its nice to have reminders as to why we do this and for somebody to make us feel appreciated and grateful, Simpson said. Top hits: Get Houston Chronicle stories sent directly to your inbox So Simpson and her children Tres and Lola gave their teachers Chick-fil-A and Whataburger gift cards and homemade cards. Later, they chalked some driveways. All lessons in gratitude at a young age. Simpson said teaching online during a crisis was not what teachers were expecting and that it is hard. So I just felt like its nice to have reminders as to why we do this and for somebody to make us feel appreciated and grateful, she said. Smith said participating in the group doesnt have to mean some big gesture but could be as simple as sending an email or a letter in the mail. And it doesnt have to be a teacher teaching your own children, just anyone that you know who is a teacher because I think most people have at least been positively influenced by one teacher, Smith said. While the group is based in the Houston area, it encourages anyone to show their appreciation to teachers in their lives. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/yavw69zm. GARY A day after a teen boy was shot to death in his own home, police said Thursday they've seen an increase in crime involving juveniles. Gary police interviewed several witnesses and found no signs of a break-in after Jalen Pickens, 17, was found dead about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday inside his home in the 3200 block of East 12th Avenue, Cmdr. Jack Hamady said. Pickens' death marked the 18th so far this year in Gary. He was the second child to die in a homicide in the city in 2020, Hamady said. Gary's first homicide involving a child claimed the life of Debra R. Duszynski, 11 months, who died Jan. 2 from blunt force trauma to her abdomen. Her parents were charged with neglect on allegations they failed to send her siblings to school, but no charges have been filed in her homicide. Of the 18 homicides so far this year, three are believed to be gang-related, three were drug-related, five stemmed from domestic disputes and two were officer-involved cases, Hamady said. Human remains found March 28 in the 800 block of Rhode Island Street have not yet been identified, and one case was determined to be self-defense. Motive in the remaining cases remained under investigation, he said. The nationwide tally of COVID-19 cases neared 54,000 on Thursday with more people testing positive for the deadly virus infection in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan among other states, but the number of those having recovered also crossed 15,000. At least 4,500 new cases have been detected across the country since Wednesday morning, figures announced by different states and union territories showed. The nationwide death toll has now risen to 1,783, while fatalities were also reported from paramilitary forces. A 55-year-old CISF head constable posted at the Mumbai international airport has succumbed to the novel coronavirus, while two BSF personnel have also died, officials said. The BSF also reported 41 new cases of infection, taking its tally of confirmed cases to 193. A significant number of health workers and security personnel, who are among the 'frontline warriors' in the COVID-19 fight, have tested positive for the deadly virus in the recent days. In Maharashtra alone, at least 531 police personnel, including 51 officers and 480 constables, have tested positive and are being treated at various hospitals in the state, an official said. Of this, 39 have recovered so far, while five policemen have died. While Maharashtra and Gujarat continue to top the nationwide tally, Tamil Nadu has now crossed the 5,000 mark with 580 new cases reported during the day. The death toll of the southern state has reached 37, with two more women succumbing to COVID-19 during the day. A large number of new cases in the state are linked to Chennai's Koyambedu market, which is considered one of the largest vegetable markets in Asia. The state now has 3,822 active cases, while its overall tally has reached 5,409. Jammu and Kashmir also reported 18 fresh coronavirus cases, nine of them from three tertiary care hospitals in Srinagar, taking the total positive cases in the union territory to 793. While Jammu has reported 68 cases so far, 725 are in the Kashmir valley. In West Bengal, the death toll rose to 79 after seven more fatalities, while 92 positive cases were detected in the last 24 hours, the state's health bulletin said. The state has reported 1,548 cases so far, out of which 1,101 are active cases. New cases were reported from Odisha also. Kerala, however, did not report a single new case for the second consecutive day. The state had not seen any case earlier on May 1, 3 and 4 also. Andhra Pradesh reported 56 new cases, taking its tally to 1,833. In Uttar Pradesh, 61 fresh cases got detected, taking its total to 3,059. Chhattisgarh also did not report any new case and announced discharge of two more COVID-19 patients, taking the total number of recoveries to 38. This has also brought down the total number of active cases to 21 now, officials said. In its morning update, the Union Health Ministry said the COVID-19 death toll in the country has risen to 1,783 while the number of cases has climbed to 52,952, registering an increase of 89 deaths and 3,561 cases since Wednesday morning, The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 35,902 while 15,266 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said. However, a PTI tally of numbers reported by states and UTs till 6.45 PM put the total number of confirmed cases at 53,950. Speaking at a virtual global Buddha Purnima event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India is making every effort to save the life of every citizen from coronavirus, but it is also taking its global obligations during the pandemic very seriously. He also said that India's growth will always be aiding global growth. With the pandemic and the ongoing lockdown hitting the economy badly, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh urged the prime minister to spell out the way forward for the country's economic revival and an exit strategy from the third phase of the lockdown. A nationwide lockdown has been in place since March 25, which was first imposed for 21 days but got extended first for another 14 days till May 3 and then for further 14 days in the third phase, with considerable relaxations, till May 17. In Rajasthan, the state's health minister Raghu Sharma said about 52 per cent COVID-19 patients have recovered, giving the state the best recovery rate in the country. He said that 3,400 people have so far tested positive for the disease in the state, of whom 1740 have recovered. As many as 1,284 people have been discharged from hospitals and sent to their homes, he said. Sharma expressed hope that the plasma therapy for treatment of coronavirus infection would further reduce mortality rate in the state. Rajasthan recorded two more coronavirus deaths on Thursday, while 38 more people tested positive for the virus, an official said. The death toll in the state has now climbed to 95, while Jaipur alone has reported 52 deaths. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) According to a new study led by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, a new strain of coronavirus has become dominant worldwide and it seems to be more contagious than the early version of the COVID-19. A dangerous new strain The new strain was discovered in February in Europe, and it migrated fast to the East Coast of the United States and it has been the dominant strain across the world since mid-March. Aside from spreading a lot faster, the new strain may make people vulnerable to a second infection. The report was posted on BioRxiv, a website that researchers use to share their work before it is peer-reviewed. It is a way to speed up collaborations with scientists who are working on COVID-19 vaccines or treatments. The research has been based on the genetic sequence of earlier coronavirus strains, which means the vaccine that they are working on now might not be effective against the new one. Scientists who are working with major organizations working on a vaccine for the coronavirus have stated that they are hoping that the virus is stable and not likely to mutate the way the influenza virus does, as it will require a new vaccine. Also Read: Tourists May Need to Use 'Travel Bubble' to Visit Different Countries The virus mutation written in the report affects the spikes on the exterior of the coronavirus, which allow it to enter human respiratory cells. The authors of the report said that they felt an urgent need for an early warning so that vaccines and drugs under development around the world will be effective against the strain that is said to have mutated. In the places where the new strain was discovered, it infected far more people than the earlier strains that came out of Wuhan, and it infected people fast. Within weeks, the new strain was prevalent in some nations. The new strain's dominance over its predecessors shows that it is more infectious though the reason why it is highly contagious is still unknown. New coronavirus The coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has infected more than 3.5 million people around the world and it has caused more than 250,000 deaths since it started to spread late last year. The report about the new strain was based on a computational analysis of more than 6,000 coronavirus sequences from around the world. The data was collected by the Global Initiative for Sharing All Influenza Data, a public-private organization in Germany. The analysis found the new version was transitioning to become dominant. The Los Alamos team is assisted by the University of Sheffield in England and Duke University and has identified 14 mutations. The mutations happened among the 30,000 base pairs of RNA that make up the genome of the coronavirus. The report authors focused on a mutation called D614G, which is responsible for the change in the spikes of the virus. Bette Korber, a computational biologist at Los Alamos, wrote on her Facebook page and said that the story is worrying as they are seeing a mutated form of the virus and it is rapidly emerging. She added that when mutated viruses enter a population, they rapidly begin to take over the pandemic and they are more transmissible. Related Article: Hot Weather Dries Up COVID-19 Droplets, But Virus May Travel Farther in Windy Days @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. UAE-based Al Shafar General Contracting Company (ASGC) has reached an agreement with British construction and engineering company Costain for acquisition of around 41.6 million shares (15.2 per cent) in the company at an investment of 25 million ($31 million). This strategic investment from the Emirati group comes as a shot in the arm to Costain which is raising 100 million ($124 million) from the capital markets in a share issue underwritten by Liberum Capital and Investec Bank (who are acting as Joint Global Coordinator, Joint Bookrunner and Joint Corporate Broker) and HSBC as Joint Global Coordinator and Joint Bookrunner. House investigators have uncovered what they say are significant gaps in early U.S. attempts to prevent the arrival of coronavirus cases from abroad, particularly among efforts to screen air travelers returning from hot spots like Italy and South Korea at the onset of the global outbreak. The State Department unveiled a requirement on March 3 that all returning passengers from those countries be screened for fever and symptoms. But U.S. officials opted to rely on their foreign counterparts to conduct those screenings and depended primarily on airport visits and verbal commitments to ensure they were done, investigators found. It was a break from the Trump administrations posture when it restricted travel from parts of China, dispatching Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials to U.S. airports to screen passengers from direct flights as they arrived. And the subcommittee described limited checks on whether the policy was being enforced before it was superseded by President Donald Trumps more sweeping travel restrictions on Europe on March 14. The Houses Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy found that just 13 passengers on direct flights from Italy and 56 from South Korea were stopped before boarding planes to the U.S. during this 11-day period, according to State Department data provided to the panel. The subcommittee also indicated that agencies with a hand in the policy including State, the Department of Homeland Security and the CDC provided no documentary evidence that screenings were being performed as promised. And the panel also received no clear explanation why the U.S. policy applied only to direct flights from Italy and South Korea, excluding passengers who had layovers en route to the United States. In written responses, the State Department indicated that the decision was made by Customs and Border Protection. A CBP official disputed this suggestion, however, and said the agency would have had no role in limiting the policy to direct flights. Story continues After imposing a travel ban and enacting health screenings for travel from China at the start of February, the president told us they had everything under control, said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), chairman of the Oversight subcommittee. Yet, the administration did little else to stop the inflow of the virus through our airports until mid-March, and it disregarded valuable opportunities to slow the spread through enhanced entry screenings. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., questions Ambassador Kurt Volker, former special envoy to Ukraine, and Tim Morrison, a former official at the National Security Council, as they testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019, during a public impeachment hearing of President Donald Trump's efforts to tie U.S. aid for Ukraine to investigations of his political opponents. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) The White House did not comment. DHS and the CDC did not respond to requests for comment. The gaps during a crucial stretch at the outset of the U.S. outbreak of coronavirus raise new questions about the countrys readiness to combat the pandemic, and the decision-making at the highest levels of government at a time when Trump was downplaying the threat of the virus. Trump has, since then, repeatedly pointed to his travel restrictions as an example of his proactive efforts to combat the spread of coronavirus. But the subcommittees inquiry suggests some of those early steps may have been inconsistently applied and that the decision to limit the process to direct flights might have had consequences. The subcommittee launched its investigation in mid-March after receiving letters from U.S. citizens who traveled from Italy and South Korea during the March 3-14 period and asserted they were never screened or that they received minimal information about coronavirus. One, who took a flight from Rome with a layover in Portugal, described harsh coughing among some passengers on her flight to Lisbon. Vice President Mike Pence, who heads the White Houses coronavirus task force, announced the screenings on March 2, telling reporters, Within the next 12 hours, there will be 100 percent screening, all direct flights at all airports across Italy and across South Korea. The recommendation for relying on Italy and South Korea to carry out temperature screenings at their airports came from the CDC and was presented to the task force, which thought that it made sense, according to a Trump administration official familiar with the matter. Top public health officials raised questions about the effectiveness of conducting the physical checks at U.S. airports. The official said a question was raised about how the U.S. government could verify that the screenings were actually taking place in Italy and South Korea. They were reassured that State Department and Federal Aviation Administration officials in those countries would check to make sure that Italy and South Korea were living up to their promises and such visits did end up happening. The reason travel from South Korea was not blocked altogether during that time period is that the country offered a comprehensive multi-layer screening to avoid getting slapped with the same order that barred travel from China. After internal discussions, including among doctors, the administration agreed to South Koreas request. The official indicated that temperature screening was not instituted at U.S. airports that had flights arriving from Italy and South Korea because the governments medical and health professionals did not put too much stock into such screening, saying it only captured about 40 percent of cases. Rather, the temperature screening served as a deterrent: If someone wasnt feeling well, they might rethink going to the airport if they knew they would be stopped from boarding. Another reason that domestic screenings were rejected was the inability of some U.S. airports to install overhead thermal detectors, which require a lot of space some older terminals are not able to accommodate. So it would have been very manpower intensive with lots of people with handheld thermometers taking peoples temperature, the official said. State Department officials told the subcommittee that South Korean airlines began implementing temperature screenings on Feb. 28, earlier than required, amid growing concerns about the outbreak there. U.S. airlines began implementing screenings themselves after Pences announcement. After the U.S. policy announcement, South Korea began implementing a four-step screening process that began at the gate with a temperature check by airlines. By March 5, that process also included a temperature screening in the departure hall, an overhead thermal temperature screening at security checkpoints and a noncontact thermometer screening at the boarding gate. South Korean officials added a questionnaire to the process on March 11. The State Department provided fewer details about the screening process in Italy, and instead described the sudden surge in cases and deaths that overwhelmed Italys health care system. In the urgency to set up a screening process, State described repeated correspondence and contact between the U.S. Embassy in Rome and senior Italian transportation and health officials. On March 3, U.S. diplomats in Rome and Milan visited the airports operating flights to the United States to observe the implementation of the screening. They performed multiple follow-up visits, according to the State Department. An Italian official said authorities started exit procedures for all flights leaving Italy to the U.S. on March 8. Those procedures included temperature checks of passengers at boarding gates. If the passenger had a temperature above 99.5 degrees, Italian officials would interview the passenger and prevent them from boarding if deemed to be a suspected coronavirus case. State also indicated that the initial burden for screening passengers was placed on airlines but shifted to government entities after some companies raised liability issues about preventing paying customers from traveling, as well as lack of expertise/equipment. Unlike the State Department, CDC officials told the subcommittee that it had no officials on the ground in South Korea and Italy to monitor its effectiveness. It did have a liaison in South Korea who reported by email to the CDC that preboarding temperature screenings were occurring. During that time, U.S. officials repeatedly warned that most cases were coming from Europe. Our real threat right now is Europe, thats where the cases are coming in from, CDC Director Robert Redfield told the House Oversight Committee on March 11. So in a way, if you want to just be blunt, Europe is the new China. David Short, deputy assistant secretary of Transportation for aviation and international affairs, said at a Chamber of Commerce event on March 5 that it was determined that stopping non-U.S. citizens who had recently been in Italy or South Korea from coming to the United States, as had been done with China, would not be the most effective response. He added that instead ... there is a very enhanced level of pre-departure screening of passengers in those countries. The Department of Transportation declined to comment on the subcommittee investigation. The House subcommittees findings were part of an ongoing two-month investigation that included an April briefing from officials at the State Department, the CDC and DHS. Interacting with opposition leaders, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday expressed confidence that the coronavirus pandemic in the state will be curbed by the end of this month. The Union government was cooperating with the state and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was easily available for discussion and guidance, he said in the meeting which he addressed through video conference. "I have been talking to you over telephone and seeking your views. I am also reading what you say in the media. If they are good suggestions, I ask the administration to look into them," he said. "The Centre is also cooperating. The prime minister is easily available for guidance on critical issues," Thackeray said. "Due to lockdown, the number of patients did not rise (drastically) in April. We need to take care in May. The number of patients is growing in Mumbai and the government has created adequate isolation centers," he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office. Follow the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak in India here. "The pandemic shall be curbed by the end of this month," he said. The opposition leaders who attended the meeting assured that they were with the government during this crisis, the CMO statement said. The chief minister appealed to people living in containment zones in Malegaon and Aurangabad cities, which are emerging as infection hotspots, to follow rules, and added that local elected representatives should cooperate with the administration. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said opposition leaders should help the farmers who haven't got benefit of the farm loan waiver to get crop loans. The CMO statement said that Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Devendra Fadnavis stressed the need to focus on the situation in Mumbai and to improve the hospital management. There should be a planning to ensure the safety of medical workers, he said. The former chief minister also said the state government should demand more trains for ferrying migrant workers to their home states. Fadnavis also said that steps should be taken to boost the morale of the police force, and recommended formation of zone-wise expert groups for revival of industries. PWP leader Jayant Patil demanded protection for agriculture-based industries, while Bahujan Vikas Aghadi leader Hitendra thakur said local train services in Mumbai area should be resumed for few hours a day. VBA leader Prakash Ambedkar said cotton procurement in the state should not stop, while AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel said that hospitals should not neglect non-coronavirus patients. MNS leader Raj Thackeray said the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) should be deployed in containment zones to assist the police who have been working non-stop for two months. Migrant workers should be registered when they return to the state, he said, and demanded that the government declare its lockdown exit plan in advance. The Justice Department moved Thursday to drop its prosecution of Michael Flynn, President Trumps first national security advisor and the only White House official charged in the Russia investigation, a dramatic undoing of one of the most high-profile cases brought by former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Continued prosecution of this case would not serve the interests of justice, Timothy Shea, the U.S. attorney in Washington, wrote in a 20-page court filing that eviscerated the investigation into Flynn, a retired three-star Army general. Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to FBI agents about his phone calls with the Russian ambassador to Washington, shortly before Trump took office, about U.S. sanctions enacted as punishment for Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign. But Shea wrote that the agents interview, conducted at the White House days after Trumps inauguration, did not have a legitimate investigative basis and was untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBIs counterintelligence investigation. Advertisement Politics Flynn fights for exoneration two years after pleading guilty Trumps first national security advisor, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI in the Russia investigation. But now he insists his case should be thrown out and the alleged injustice has become a rallying cry for Trump supporters. The abrupt reversal marked a stunning legal victory for Flynn, who has claimed he was a victim of prosecutorial misconduct, and a political vindication for Trump, who fired his top national security aide after only 24 days in office but later insisted he had been framed. The decision immediately escalated the debate over whether Trump was improperly influencing criminal prosecutions. Critics accused Atty. Gen. William Barr of bowing to pressure in a politically charged case, saying it undermined the Justice Departments credibility. Mueller charged 34 people in all, and the Flynn case is the first to collapse. He served no time in jail and has been awaiting sentencing. Trumps anger over the Russia investigation hasnt abated even though it ended a year ago without establishing that his campaign criminally conspired with Moscow to help him win the White House. He told reporters Thursday in the Oval Office that the law enforcement officials who targeted Flynn were human scum and had committed treason. He praised Flynn as an innocent man and a great gentleman. President Trump lashed out at former law enforcement officials in the Oval Office on May 7, 2020. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) Trump apparently celebrated the news on a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying they talked about the Russia hoax, this absolute dishonest hoax. And we discussed that, he said. He added, It was a total disgrace and I wouldnt be surprised if you see a lot of things happen over the next number of weeks. This is just one piece of a very dishonest puzzle. The decision to drop Flynns case came as several aftershocks of the Russia investigation hit Washington. The House Intelligence Committee released thousands of pages of transcripts from its closed-door interviews with 53 individuals. The Justice Department separately asked the Supreme Court to block a request by House Democrats to review secret grand jury material from Muellers inquiry. The case against Flynn first appeared in jeopardy when Brandon Van Grack, who helped lead the Flynn prosecution in Muellers office and still works at the Justice Department, abruptly notified the court that he was withdrawing. Shea filed for its dismissal soon after. Van Grack did not give a reason in his one-sentence filing, but prosecutors have previously withdrawn from cases to protest decisions by their superiors. In February, several federal prosecutors pulled out of the case against Roger Stone, a longtime political advisor to Trump who was convicted of witness tampering and lying to Congress, after the Justice Department disregarded their request for a stiff sentence. Trump had publicly complained that their sentencing recommendation was too harsh. Stone was eventually sentenced to 40 months in prison, but he has not been incarcerated and is appealing his conviction. U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, who is overseeing the Flynn case, did not publicly respond to the Justice Departments motion or set a hearing date. Nancy Gertner, a Harvard law professor and retired federal judge, expects Sullivan will probe whether there there was any untoward political influence from the president. She said the Justice Department argument that Flynns prosecution was substandard could affect other cases where people are charged with lying to investigators. The implications of the position theyre taking with Flynn would undermine false statement prosecutions from one end of the country to the other, she said. Gertner also suggested that the Justice Department was helping a defendant with friends in high places. Are they going to take this same position in the case of the ordinary, non-politically wired individual? she said. The answer is no. Barr told CBS News in an interview that the Flynn prosecution needed to be dropped to make sure that we restore confidence in the system. Atty. Gen. William Barr, pictured here testifying on Capitol Hill, has been a critic of the Russia investigation. (Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images) But several former officials in the Russia investigation blasted Barrs move as tainted by politics. Todays move by the Justice Department has nothing to do with the facts or the law it is pure politics designed to please the president, said former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who had arranged the agents interview with Flynn and was later fired in a leak inquiry. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, called for the Justice Departments inspector general to examine the decision to drop the case. A politicized and thoroughly corrupt Department of Justice is going to let the presidents crony simply walk away, he said in a statement. Americans are right to be furious and worried about the continued erosion of our rule of law. Former federal prosecutors said they were stunned to read the Justice Department filing, which unraveled its own case against Flynn. I have never seen the government advocate so aggressively on behalf of a defendant, much less than one who had already pleaded guilty, said Peter Zeidenberg, who previously handled corruption cases. But that was not a universal view. James Trusty, a former chief of the Justice Departments organized crime section, said Barr made the right call. He asked, What the hell are we doing here? Its a rinky-dink case, Trusty said. Thursdays decision came months after Barr took the unusual step of asking the U.S. attorney in St. Louis, Jeff Jensen, to review the Flynn prosecution. It produced new documents that were given to Flynns defense team and released Thursday. The records show that the FBI began investigating Flynn during the 2016 race to determine if he may wittingly or unwittingly be involved in activity on behalf of the Russian Federation which may constitute a federal crime or threat to the national security. Once a well-regarded battlefield intelligence officer in Iraq and Afghanistan, Flynn became a senior member of Trumps campaign. Trump later named Flynn as his national security advisor, a coveted and powerful post in the White House. The FBI prepared to close its investigation before Trumps inauguration but decided to keep it open when officials learned of Flynns phone calls with Sergey Kislyak, then the Russian ambassador. There were suspicions Flynn might have violated the Logan Act, a little-known law that bars private citizens from unauthorized negotiating with foreign governments. But Justice Department and FBI officials disagreed about how to proceed. Sally Yates, then the acting attorney general and a holdover from President Obamas administration, was flabbergasted and dumbfounded when James B. Comey, then the FBI director, sent agents to interview Flynn at the White House on Jan. 24, 2017, the documents show. Although Flynn knew the FBI probably was eavesdropping on Kislyaks calls You listen to everything they say, he told McCabe when he agreed to sit down with agents, according to McCabes notes prosecutors said he lied about the conversations. Most notably, Flynn concealed that he talked with Kislyak about U.S. sanctions that Obama had enacted as punishment for Moscows meddling in the 2016 campaign. The episode quickly led to Flynns undoing when Yates told Don McGahn, then the White House counsel, about the interview, and it became clear that Flynn had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other officials. After less than a month on the job, Flynn was fired. He pleaded guilty on Dec. 1, 2017, to lying to the FBI. He also admitted illegally lobbying for Turkey while he was a senior Trump campaign advisor in 2016. But he wasnt charged for that as part of his plea deal with Mueller. Flynn subsequently claimed he was poorly served by his original legal team and framed by investigators. His lawyer also alleges that Van Grack improperly threatened to prosecute Flynns son, who worked for his fathers private consulting firm while it was lobbying for Turkey. After the Justice Department said it was dropping the case against him, he tweeted a video of his grandson holding an American flag and saying and justice for all. Burma China Pushes BRI Projects As Myanmar Rolls Out COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan A crude oil tanker docks at Maday Island, Kyaukphyu Township in western Myanmars Rakhine State in 2019. / Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy YANGONChinas ambassador to Myanmar pushed on Wednesday to gear up for the implementation of Beijings key infrastructure projects in Myanmar despite the fact that both countries economies are facing a significant slowdown due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai and Myanmars Deputy Minister for Planning, Finance and Industry U Set Aung met for in-depth discussions Wednesday on the implementation of outcomes from Chinese President Xi Jinpings visit to Myanmar in January, according to the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar. The Chinese Embassy said that the two discussed how to move forward on the development of Chinas ambitious projects in Myanmar based on the Myanmar governments COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan (CERP). The projects discussed included New Yangon City, Kyaukphyu Deep-Sea Port and Industrial Zone and the China-Myanmar Border Economic Cooperation Zone. Launched last week, the CERP seeks to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic by implementing new measures and response plans. The measures include steps to expedite the solicitation of strategic infrastructure projects and to approve and disclose large investments by reputable international firms that may be currently experiencing delays, through fast-track procedures. The head of the China desk at the Institute for Strategy and Policy (ISP), Daw Khin Khin Kyaw Kyee, told The Irrawaddy that these three projects constituted the main agenda when Xi came to Myanmar, as they are strategically important for China, and that its important to Chinas image to actually implement the agreements from his visit. The CERP is considered a roadmap for the country for both during outbreak and the post-COVID-19 period. If the projects are added to the CERP, they could be considered priority projects [to implement]. Thats the reason China wants to link their projects with the CERP, Daw Khin Khin Kyaw Kyee said. During Xis trip to Myanmar, these projects were branded as three pillars of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), itself a part of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Xi also called for both sides to deepen result-oriented Belt and Road cooperation and move from the conceptual stage to concrete planning and implementation of building the CMEC. On Xis trip in January, the Chinese president and Myanmar leaders inked a concession agreement and shareholders agreement for Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ), a letter of intent on the New Urban Development of Yangon City, and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to accelerate negotiations around the Ruili-Muse Cross-Border Economic Cooperation Zone. The Chinese Embassy said that as the pandemic has pushed the global and regional economy into a slump, China and Myanmar must strengthen cooperation to advance the CMEC to promote economic development and improve peoples livelihoods. The World Bank has warned that Myanmars GDP growth will likely slow to between 2 and 3 percent in the current fiscal year due to the pandemic, and that poor and vulnerable households across the country will be hit the hardest. The BRI is Xis signature foreign policy project. Unveiled in 2013, it is also known as the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. The project aims to build a network of roads, railroads and shipping lanes linking at least 70 countries from China to Europe, passing through Central Asia, the Middle East and Russia and fostering trade and investment. Myanmar signed an MoU to establish the CMEC in 2018. The 1,700-kilometer corridor will connect Kunming, the capital of Chinas Yunnan province, to Myanmars major economic hubsfirst to Mandalay in central Myanmar, and then east to Yangon and west to the Kyaukphyu SEZ in western Rakhine State. A framework agreement on the ambitious Kyaukphyu SEZ was inked in November 2018, with Myanmar holding 30 percent of the shares in the project. The project is expected to boost development in landlocked Yunnan and provide China with direct access to the Indian Ocean, allowing its oil imports to bypass the Strait of Malacca. New Yangon City is a controversial project launched by the Yangon regional government via the government-owned New Yangon Development Company (NYDC) in 2018 and aims to build a new city across the Yangon River from the existing city. The new development would be twice the size of Singapore. The NYDC signed a framework agreement with China Communications Construction Co. Ltd (CCCC) for Stage 1 Infrastructure Projects including two bridges, roads, power plants, water and wastewater treatment plants and a 10-square-kilometer industrial estate. Since NYDC announced plans to implement the project, the slated new city has been a source of controversy. Town planners raised the alarm over the flood-prone location of the project, and the Yangon Regional government was accused of abusing its power by investing 10 billion kyats (US$7.2 million) in the project without prior approval from the regional parliament. Moreover, Chinese firm CCCC has been embroiled in a number of controversies over its involvement in alleged fraud, corruption and bribery in many other countries where it implemented development projects. Furthermore, agreements to establish cross-border economic cooperation zones along the borders in Shan and Kachin states were among the very first agreements between the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government and China in 2017. The three approved zones are in Shan States Muse Township, Chinshwehaw in Shan States Laukkai Township, which is part of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone, and Kanpiketi Town in Kachin States Special Region 1, currently under the control of the New Democratic Army-Kachin militia, a Border Guard Force allied with the Myanmar military. Meanwhile, the Myanmar government is planning to sign a framework agreement for the zone in Muse, which will pave the way to implementation on the ground. You may also like these stories: Myanmars COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan Attracts Mixed Reactions from Industrial Insiders Six Labor Strike Leaders Jailed for Breaking Myanmars COVID-19 Rules Two More Myanmar Military Officers Catch COVID-19 in Moscow Jammu senior superintendent of police Shridhar Patil came to the rescue of a woman patient that required life-saving medicines from Mcleodganj in Himachal Pradesh. The Jammu polices swift action to my request for arranging life-saving medicines from Mcleodganj within 24 hours is laudable, said GL Sandhu, who required the medicines for his wife suffering from a chronic disease. Sandhu had sent a message to the SSP on his cell phone requesting life-saving drugs from Dr Dolmas clinic in Mcleodganj. He had also messaged the picture of the prescription with complete details and address. SSP Jammu without wasting time responded to the message and directed his officers to act swiftly. The police officer in Mcleodganj was contacted and the medicine was procured. It was first sent to Pathankot Police, which further delivered it to the in-charge of the Nagri police post and on Thursday we finally delivered it to the Sandhu family at Gangyal area in Jammu, said a police officer. They followed the women for another two years and included subsequent births up to October 2016. Just over 43 per cent (15,325 women) tried for another IVF-conceived child. Their median age was 36, and 73 per cent had frozen embryos from the egg retrieval that created their first baby. For these women, the chances of having a second IVF baby ranged from 61 per cent (a conservative estimate) to 88 per cent (the optimal estimate) after six cycles. For fresh embryos, the range was 51-70 per cent. Frozen embryos collected when the women were younger were more likely to be successful compared to fresh embryos. Couples whose infertility was due to a factor affecting the male partner also had a greater chance of success. The older the mother, the lower the chances. Loading For women aged 30-34, the chances of having a second IVF baby after one cycle was 48 per cent with frozen embryos and 43 per cent with a fresh cycle. After three cycles, 69-90 per cent would take home their second baby from a frozen embryo, and 62-74 per cent from fresh ones. Women aged 40-44 had a 29 per cent chance of having a second baby with frozen embryos from their first cycle and 12 per cent with fresh embryos, Professor Chalmers said. The conservative figure assumes that women who didn't return for more IVF treatment would have no chance of achieving a second baby if they had continued treatment, and the optimal estimate assumed these women would have the same chance of a live birth in a particular cycle as women who had continued treatment. The range between the two offers women a realistic idea of the true success rates, the authors said. "For older women, the findings are still reassuring that even in the 40-44 age group the chances of having a second baby through IVF using your own eggs are good, not very good, but still good," Professor Chalmers said. "But it's best not to wait too long," she said. Kristy Pownall gave birth to her daughter Grace seven weeks ago. Just like her two-year-old brother, Noah, Grace conceived via a frozen embryo. The siblings are also "rainbow babies" - children born after the loss of an unborn child. Noah was conceived after Kristy and her husband Andrew lost her first baby, Amelie, at 20 weeks, and Grace was conceived after Ms Pownall miscarried. "At my age [42 years old] I feel very lucky to have two babies. Babies I have wanted for many years," Ms Pownall said. When she went back to try for a second IVF baby, she didn't cycle through the feelings of hopelessness and anxiety she had felt in the years of IVF treatment before having Noah. Kristy and Andrew Pownall with their children, Noah, 2 and Grace, who were both conceived through IVF. Credit:Janie Barrett "Back then I had all this worry when I would think 'if I cant have a baby, if I cant be a mother, what would my life look like?," Ms Pownall said. "Now we just really enjoy every moment we have with Noah and Grace." Sydney fertility specialist and study co-author Dr Devora Lieberman often talks with her patients about the possibilities of having multiple children before they have conceived. "We have moved away from talking about one baby to talking about what your ideal family size looks like," Dr Lieberman said. She said the findings did not take into account all individual factors that can affect a woman's chances, such as the duration of infertility, body mass index and smoking status. "Ultimately the decision to try for another baby is for the patient, her doctor, and considers all the medical and non-medical factors," Dr Lieberman said. Dr Karin Hammarberg, an IVF academic and senior research fellow at Monash University's School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, said the study gave women and couples the hard data they wanted. "The way IVF is promoted you would think everyone has a baby the first go it's much more useful for patients to know that it is quite possible they might have to have three cycles, what their chances may be and give them the courage to come back," Dr Hammarberg said. MBABANE No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. This adage has proved true for Eswatini rapper Illa Penboy, whose Donate Bread campaign has been growing over the last few weeks since it started. The number of loaves donated are increasing as to date they have donated over 5 000 countrywide. In the latest news of the campaign, the rapper revealed on his Facebook account that some several days ago he saw a dilapidated home trending on social media and decided to search for the family that lived in the home. He added that with the assistance of a teacher he was able to locate the family and pay them a visit. During the visit, the rapper distributed food parcels as well as bags of cement and a door, which will be used to build the family a home. Assistance He said the family consists of four children living with their mother who has a hearing impairment. The campaign through the people that have jumped on board, has managed to travel across the country to deliver the loaves of bread in all the four regions at different tinkhundla and care points through the assistance of chiefs and the local municipalities. The Donate Bread Campaign has attracted help from Seef Properties, El Shadai Swaziland, Premier Bakeries as well as RSM Eswatini. Since inception, the campaign has been growing from just donating loaves of bread to donating other items such as groceries. Through the people who have been inspired by the campaign, Illa mentioned that a certain farmer in Malkerns had donated over 100 heads of lettuce and tomatoes. Illa said the inspiration behind this campaign was that orphanages were an important part of society as they gave children the kind of upbringing they needed regardless of their background. Campaign Too often children find themselves in situations where they do not have parents to take care of them, they have nowhere to go and have no way of getting the proper care they need, he said. When reached for comment, the rapper said he preferred not to say anything regarding the campaign because people were now putting their focus into what he was saying instead of focusing on the good the project was doing for the less privileged. I will now put my focus into carrying on with the donations as I see fit because helping others is in my DNA, it is what I love doing, he concluded before dropping the phone call. Having started at the early stages of the partial lockdown, the campaign will go on even after the lockdown has ended, according to the rapper. A medical practitioner performs a test on a member of the public on May 5, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images) Medical Experts Urge Caution With Lifting Restrictions As Australian leaders begin winding back COVID-19 restrictions, medical experts have warned not to ease them too quickly so as to avoid a potential second wave of the CCP virus. State and federal leaders will decide what rules are to be eased on Friday, April 8 at a national cabinet meeting. Australian Medical Association president Tony Bartone warned the national cabinet not to feel pressured into lifting restrictions and said they should apply medical evidence to any decision, according to a press release on May 6. People should not get their hopes up too high at this stage, because rushing to get things back to normal, without caution and safeguards, risks a huge setback for everyone, Bartone said. He said in the event of a second wave of infections, implementing isolation measures would be worse for peoples health and the economy. So far Australia has managed to flatten the curve of infections and discussions have now turned to kickstarting the economy post-virus. As part of this effort, the federal government introduced on May 1, new rules to make workplaces virus-safe. Prime Minister Scott Morrison supported the measure saying to reporters on May 5, To get Australians back to work, what is essential is they could go back into a COVID-19 safe workplace. On the same day, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern joined Australias national cabinet to discuss creating a special travel zone between the two countries. She emphasised the relationship between the nations saying, I do think that we should both be proud of the efforts that have been made and the ANZAC bond. States Have Been Easing Restrictions In New South Wales, the state lifted restrictions on May 1, allowing families (consisting of two adults and their children) to visit other households for the first time in weeks. While in Queensland, travel restrictions have been eased allowing residents to travel up to 50 kilometres from their homes for recreational purposes. Theyre also currently considering lifting more restrictions in time for Mothers Day. Deputy chief medical officer Paul Kelly said restrictions needed to be gradually eased rather than any immediate return to life before the pandemic. The roadway gantry signs on the Westgate Freeway display messages about COVID-19 testing on May 5, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images) Some things will open, others will not, he told reporters in Canberra. It will be scaled so that risk of increasing the number of cases is minimised while giving the maximum benefit to the economy and to normalisation of society. The ACT will stagger sending public school students back to classrooms over the next four weeks. Select year levels will begin returning from May 18, eventually, all students will return by June. Non-government schools are expected to follow a similar timeline. There have been 6,875 cases of coronavirus in Australia, with 5,984 people recovered. The death toll is 97, with 16 lives claimed at western Sydney nursing home Newmarch House, which faced regulatory action on Wednesday. Forty-nine cases were discovered at the Cedar Meats abattoir in Melbourne, while the national infection rate had its highest increase for more than two weeks on Wednesday when 26 cases were reported. More than 5.1 million people have downloaded and registered for the governments virus tracing app. Currently, over 5 million people have applied for the Jobkeeper program. Steel and iron manufacturing giant, B5 Plus Ghana Limited, has debunked media reports that it has increased the prices of its products amid the coronavirus. A report indicated that B5 Plus and some six other steel companies have increased their prices despite enjoying a 50% reduction in electricity bills. The report implied some level of insensitivity on the part of B5 Plus with the price increment at a time the country is facing challenges due to coronavirus. But Chairman of B5 Plus Limited, Mukesh Thakwani, in a brief interaction with the media on Wednesday, May 6, 2020, dismissed the report, saying never has B5 Plus Limited and any other steel company increased their prices in such trying times. Mr. Thakwani says the company was more focused on supporting the country to overcome the coronavirus pandemic and not money-conscious. Contrary to claims that the company was enjoying a 50% reduction in electricity, he says B5 Plus has not even received its electricity bill for the month to know how much it is going to pay or how much the reduction is. According to him, B5 Plus has rather been facing water and electricity challenges for the past six months. In spite of the challenges, he says B5 Plus has been highly responsive to the plight of everyone during the pandemic and shall remain committed to helping the less privileged and the State until the pandemic was over. In that regard, he welcomed all Government and private hospitals to visit B5 Plus Limited at Kpone with their oxygen cylinders for free oxygen. He says B5 Plus has been distributing free oxygen since the beginning of the crisis and shall continue to do so, with the view of helping to save lives. Mr. Thakwani bemoaned how challenging it has been for the company to maintain its operations during the pandemic. He says the companys costs of production have gone up significantly, but still maintaining its operations to ensure that people get jobs to do to be able to cater for their families in these trying times. According to him, the company has been providing free meals and Personal Protective Equipment to its employees since the outbreak of the virus. He says the company has also been providing meals for families of its employees. Other Contributions In addition, he stated that B5 Plus in spite of the challenges it is facing has donated about 1,000 free meals to residents within the communities in which it operates. Also, he disclosed that the company has been donating PPEs to residents and has contributed a whooping Ghc 300,000 to the National Covid-19 Trust Fund established by President Nana Akufo-Addo. He seized the opportunity to praise the Ghanaian Government for the excellent manner in which it has managed the coronavirus situation in Ghana. Mr. Thakwani called for cooperation and collaboration from across the board in the management of coronavirus in the country, saying emphatically that the only way everyone will truly win the COVID-19 is when Ghana as a country wins the pandemic. During these trying times, he says it was not in the interest of the company to focus on making a profit when indeed many people are suffering. He stated that the companys primary concern is humanitys survival and not a money-making agenda. That, he said, was evidenced by the fact that despite the electricity and water crisis facing the company coupled with unexpected expenditures occasioned by a coronavirus, the company has continued to maintain its prices, give back to society across the board and still keep its employees and paying them their salaries. Appeal To Media He has therefore appealed to the media to always cross-check facts and speak to both sides to an issue before publishing their stories. He stated that some degree of checks and balancing would have prevented ModernGhana from going ahead with such a misleading reportage. He was of the view that in such trying times, the media should be of support to companies that are helping the State and the less privileged and not rather to worsen the plight of companies by creating disaffection for them (firms) through wrong or false reportage. Source: 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. Featured Video Southwest LAPD Host Virtual Community-Police Advisory Board Meeting Report SLO participation and Current Criminal Statistics. Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, criminal reports are still coming in. According to the Community-Police Advisory Board Meeting on Monday, May 4. There has been a significant decrease in amount of crime reported. Captain Billy Brockway of the Southwest Police Department led a public meeting, outlining the criminal statistics within the southwest area. There were reports from several different officers, describing recent shootings, grand theft auto, and other crimes that are transpiring through the south of Los Angeles. The meeting ended with a PSA that revealed the #WeWill hash-tag, providing guidance in social distancing that is aligned with the citys mayor office. The Southwest Community Police Station covers 13.11 square miles, bordering the I-10 and the I-110 freeways. Between the south of Vernon Avenue to the west of La Cienega, there is a diverse community with a total population of 165,000 people. The Southwest police station falls under the jurisdiction of the south Bureau. The region includes: Baldwin Village, Baldwin Vista, Crenshaw Community, Jefferson Park, Leimert Park, Crenshaw District, West Adams Community, and University Park. 352 sworn-in personnel and 32 civilians are led by Captain Billy Brockway and Captain Divyesh Shah. Monday, May 4. Captain Brockway hosted a virtual meeting open to the public, to build transparency of the police staff and the community they serve. Brockway stated, These are incredibly trying times, and more than anything, more of the unknown is happening every single day. He left an open invitation to reach out to the southwest police station to receive the most accurate and updated information. Brockway mentioned that they are also in alignment with the Los Angeles City Mayor, he referenced Eric Garcettis social media platforms as another resource for daily updates about the L.A. community. The South West Division goals include reducing all types of crime by 5% and increasing the detective participation within the community. Captain Billy Brockway went into detail about outreach programs that are developing at this time. The senior lead officers ( SLOs) participate in Zoom calls with some of the kids in the community, Brockway said the purpose is to Just to let them know we are here. It works similar to a show-and-tell. Recently on a zoom meeting with the youth, the captain gave a tour of the station with his youngest daughter and her classmates. Other outreach programs include food giveaways in Expo Park, Prayer Call-in every Wednesday at 1pm, and the SLOs have partnered up with USC to identify families in need. Last week police staff made food deliveries to 15 families. ADVERTISEMENT Crime is still happening during this COVID-19 Pandemic, but it had dramatic decrease over the course of the Stay at Home Order. Within the Southwest Division, the most reported type of crime is robbery and Grand theft Auto. Between March 18. to present, there has been approximately 91 reported cases of robbery and about 159 Motor Vehicle Theft cases. There are cases of pick pocketing and a rise in vandalism and Graffiti. There has been one reported case of Homicide, four cases of rape, and approximately 147 cases of aggravated assault. There was one fatal shooting reported on April 28. still under scrutiny. The current investigation revealed that on April 27. Police officers responded to a radio call of shots fired on the 14600 block of Blythe Street. The victim was identified as Jose Gamiz De Leon, detectives believe that this was a gang related shooting. There have been search warrants that led to the confiscation of narcotics and heavy artillery. In result to auto theft, officers have donated the club to prevent repeated robbery of the cars. All of the SLOs that spoke stressed the preventive measures that need to be taken to avoid criminal acts, such as hiding your belongings, locking your cars, being aware of the environment and staying mindful of what to do in case of an emergency. There was a public service announcement (PSA) that debuted after the meeting. It was filmed in front of the L.A. Memorial Coliseum last week. The public service announcement portrayed the guidance of the Safer at Home initiative, as Los Angeles emerges back outside, #WeWill movement promotes wearing a mask and gloves and all the safety measures to stay aligned with social distancing. #WeWill stands for We Will get through this. Within the PSA, Officers pledged, We Will be there to protect and serve, We Will be there when you call, We Will learn from this, We Will keep you safe, and We Will all get through this together. Egypt's Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said that the COVID-19 crisis resulted in a decrease in the targeted economic growth in the current fiscal year (FY) 2019/2020 to 4.2 percent, down from six percent, and led to an increase in the public debt by EGP 44 billion (three percent of GDP) due to the increase in necessary expenses. Maait's comments were made on the sidelines of the cabinet meeting held on Thursday. He said the coronavirus crisis also resulted in a decline in public revenues by EGP 75 billion, including a loss of EGP 65 billion from tax revenues, adding that the expected budget deficit will rise to 7.9 percent, up from 7.2 percent, due to the crisis. The government spent extra sums in the past two and a half months with EGP 40 billion from the EGP 100 billion that were appropriated to counter the COVID-19 implications in implementation of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisis orders, according to Maait. Maait clarified that additional allocations of EGP 5.1 billion were provided to support the health sector to be able to take all preventive and precautionary measures to counter the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to disbursing bonuses for medical staffs and those who work in quarantine points. He added that EGP 5 billion were provided for the supply ministry to provide the additional needs of wheat and supply commodities for the sake of providing food and essential commodities for the public. Maait noted that governmental investments were increased by EGP 10 billion to keep the workforce and repay contractors and suppliers' dues. He said that some economic sectors were supported with EGP 10 billion, in line with President El-Sisis directives to support the affected productive and economic sectors. Maait stressed that the government has succeeded in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis through striking a balance between preserving citizens health, keeping the production cycle running, and providing the essential commodities in the market. * 1 USD = 15,69 EGP according to CBE exchange rate on Thursday Search Keywords: Short link: President Volodymyr Zelensky and representatives of the largest communications providers discussed the acceleration of high-quality Internet and communication coverage of all parts of Ukraine. In particular, they discussed the issue of providing communications to small towns, passenger trains of Ukrzaliznytsia and roads that are being built in the framework of the Great Construction program. "Currently, there are 5,800 small towns in Ukraine with no communication. I see it myself when I go to these towns. It's not a secret that on some roads, people have no connection at all for half an hour. We need to change this, and change faster," Zelensky said. The president reminded that in July 2019 he signed Decree No. 497 "On some measures to improve access to mobile Internet." To implement it, mobile phone providers signed a memorandum with the government in Mariupol in the autumn, the purpose of which is to ensure maximum coverage of the territory of Ukraine by mobile networks of the fourth and fifth generations, and to provide broadband access to mobile Internet. The president stressed that he would like to see the full implementation of this decree sooner. "The statistics for April are very gratifying - for the first time mobile broadband Internet access appeared in 870 inhabited localities with a population of 390,000 people, and an additional provider appeared in 550 more inhabited localities. It's possible! Let's move forward at a fast pace," the Head of State said. The parties discussed the necessary legislative initiatives to speed up mobile communication coverage, the need for cooperation with local authorities, as well as the possibility of developing public-private projects in this direction. "Life has changed, it has gone online more: we order a lot online - both pharmaceuticals and food. Therefore, I would like us to accelerate the pace of high-quality coverage of our country. I understand that technologically it is probably difficult to do, but you see that such infections [cjrjnavirus] and such challenges are not going to wait for our plans. The country needs to be connected not only by road infrastructure, but also by virtual infrastructure," the President concluded. Protesters from a grassroots organization called REOPEN NC demonstrate against the North Carolina coronavirus lockdown at a parking lot adjacent to the North Carolina State Legislature in Raleigh, North Carolina, on April 14, 2020. Logan Cyrus | AFP | Getty Images At the end of another long shift treating coronavirus patients, Dr. Hadi Halazun opened his Facebook page to find a man insisting to him that "no one's dying" and that the coronavirus is "fake news" drummed up by the news media. Hadi tried to engage and explain his first-hand experience with the virus. In reply, another user insinuated he wasn't a real doctor, saying that pictures from his profile showing him at concerts and music festivals proved it. "I told them: 'I am a real doctor. There are 200 people in my hospital's ICU,'" said Halazun, a cardiologist in New York. "And they said, 'Give me your credentials.' I engaged with them, and they kicked me off their wall." More from NBC News: U.S. saw its deadliest 24 hours last week Oklahoma city ends face mask rule for shoppers after store employees are threatened Grimes explained her and Elon Musk's unusual baby name and people are still confused "I left work and I felt so deflated. I let it get to me." Halazun, like many health care professionals, is dealing with a bombardment of misinformation and harassment from conspiracy theorists, some of whom have moved beyond posting online to pressing doctors for proof of the severity of the pandemic. And it's taking a toll. Hazalun said that dealing with conspiracy theorists is the "second-most painful thing I've had to deal with, other than separation of families from their loved one." Several other doctors shared similar experiences, saying that they regularly had to treat patients who had sought care too late because of conspiracy theories spread on social media, and that social media companies have to do more to counteract the forces that spread lies for profit. Dr. Duncan Maru, a physician and epidemiologist in Queens, New York, said he had heard from colleagues that a young patient had come into the emergency room last week with damage to his intestinal tract after ingesting bleach. The incident occurred just days after President Donald Trump suggested that "injection" of disinfectants should be researched as a potential coronavirus treatment. "Folks delaying seeking care or, taking the most extreme case, somebody drinking bleach as a result of structural factors just underlines the fact that we have not protected the public from disinformation," Maru said. The structural factors, in this case, include Facebook, Google-owned YouTube and Twitter, which have struggled to contain the spread of misinformation, some of it coming from positions of authority. Social networks have taken a variety of steps in recent weeks to thwart misinformation, such as providing dedicated portals for vetted information from public health officials and banning content related to conspiracy theories around 5G wireless technology. Despite those efforts, the distribution networks built up in recent years by fringe media personalities and activists on tech platforms and through websites have proven resilient. Whitney Phillips, a professor who studies the spread of disinformation at Syracuse University, said the coronavirus outbreak offers a look at how conspiracy thinking is now, in some ways, more organized. "With conspiracy theories, the reason they're impervious to fact-checking is that they have become a way of being in the world for believers," Phillips said. "It isn't just one narrative that you can debunk. It is a holistic way of being in the world that has been reinforced by all the other bulls--- that these platforms have allowed people to consume for years." 'It scares me more than anything' Organized harassment campaigns, lies and urban legends targeting doctors are a real-life symptom of what the World Health Organization dubbed the "infodemic," as the coronavirus started to spread throughout the world earlier this year. Halazun has since stopped engaging with the trolls on Facebook, some of whom claimed that "the hospitals are empty" and that the virus was part of a plot to vaccinate or microchip U.S. citizens just two of the many conspiracy theories that have swirled around the coronavirus. But he was still left with big questions: How can people believe this stuff? And do they understand the algorithms and opportunistic extremists that led them to believe it? "It scares me more than anything that there are people who are basically controlled and in the same way they feel they're fighting against that control," he said. "They go to YouTube where they're really being controlled, and they don't realize it. That's what's scary." Maru also said he felt that tech platforms need to do more to deal with disinformation, but acknowledged there is no easy fix. "I do think it's a monumental task to hold these companies to account, but in the COVID case, they truly have blood on their hands," Maru said. Beyond emergency rooms and internet platforms, there are hints of how far some coronavirus misinformation has spread. Dr. Rajeev Fernando said that when he takes questions about the coronavirus on radio shows, one out of every two callers refers to 5G towers or conspiracy theories about labs in Wuhan. On the phone, he said, sometimes they'll listen to reality. "Some people have an agenda, and you can't help that," Fernando said. "But for other people, I say, 'Let me try to answer your questions and see why you think this way, and why I think this is an appropriate answer.'" Still, Fernando believes social media networks need watchdogs, including physicians, to identify disinformation before it once again becomes a public health crisis. "We have to understand these [conspiracy theorists] are criminal organizations which really stop at nothing to get disinformation out," Fernando said. Bill Gates and 5G Well-organized, professional disinformation peddlers in the QAnon and anti-vaccination movements have gained new audiences during the coronavirus pandemic by coalescing around two primary boogeymen: Bill Gates and 5G towers. Halazun heard it all first-hand. He didn't know where it all began, or how to stop it. "These anti-vaccination people were telling me I'm a sheep," Halazun said. "Dr. Fauci this, Bill Gates that. And I don't really care what you think about Bill Gates. It doesn't affect me. But it does affect me when they tell me what we're doing is not real, and that the hospitals are really empty. It hurts." In January, a well-known promoter of QAnon, the baseless conspiracy theory that President Donald Trump is secretly dismantling a pedophile-cannibal cabal that runs the United States government, pushed a conspiracy theory that Gates "patented" the coronavirus based on a mischaracterized public patent search. The patent was created by a Gates-aligned research institute to research a vaccine, a common practice among researchers, and covered a previous coronavirus, not the one that causes COVID-19. Still, the tweet helped spark a focus on Gates that has now permeated the various conspiracy theory networks that have developed on the internet in recent years. That same QAnon promoter later promoted a diluted form of bleach called "Miracle Mineral Solution" as a possible way to kill the coronavirus. Similarly, the anti-vaccination movement has pushed a false conspiracy theory that 5G towers are weakening immune systems throughout the world, and that COVID-19 is a cover story for the colossal death tolls around the world. After a prominent anti-vaccination figure posted a video on Instagram of a man alongside a destroyed 5G tower, several arsons were committed on towers across Europe and Canada. Brian Keeley, a professor at Pitzer College in California who studies why people believe in conspiracy theories, said that some people in times of crisis look to far-fetched ideas with simple answers for complex problems. Providing a straightforward, extinguishable enemy whether it's a well-known celebrity like Gates, or a mysterious concept like the illuminati gives conspiracy theorists hope, agency and power in a time of chaos. In reality, those recognizable, often mortal figures are simply a scapegoat for an act of God. "People are looking for these kinds of explanations to control something in their lives," Keeley said. Keeley, who's been researching conspiracy theories for over 20 years, said he's abandoned using Facebook because of the "depression that comes from looking at that." "It's sort of an informational quarantine," he said. "You don't want to be exposing yourself to a different kind of virus." Quitting Facebook New Delhi, May 7 : Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and AYUSH Minister Shripad Yesso Naik on Thursday jointly launched three Central AYUSH ministry-based studies related to COVID-19. The AYUSH-based studies include Study on Ayurveda interventions as prophylaxis and as an add on to standard care to COVID-19, Population-based interventional studies on the impact of AYUSH-based prophylactic interventions, and AYUSH Sanjivani App-based study for impact assessment of acceptance and usage of AYUSH advisories in prevention of COVID-19. The Interdisciplinary Ayush R&D Task Force has formulated and designed clinical research protocols for prophylactic studies and add-on interventions in COVID-19 positive cases through thorough review and consultative process of experts of high repute from different organisations across the country for studying four different interventions viz. Ashwagandha, Yashtimadhu, Guduchi and Pippali and a poly herbal formulation (AYUSH-64). The study will draw a comparison between the impact of Hydroxychloroquine and Ashwagandha for the prophylaxes against SARS-COV-2 in the health care providers with increased risk during the COVID-19 Pandemic. It will also include effectiveness of Ayurveda Formulation as an adjunct to 'Standard of Care' for the treatment of Mild to Moderate COVID-19. A Randomized, Open Label, Parallel Efficacy, Active Control, Multi-Centre Exploratory Drug Trial will take place. The population based interventional studies on impact of AYUSH based prophylactic interventions will Abe carried out through four Research Councils under Ministry of AYUSH and National Institutes in 25 states across the country and several State Governments covering approximately 5 lakhs population. The core objectives consist of, assessment of preventive potential of AYUSH interventions for COVID-19 and also to assess the improvement in Quality of Life in high risk population. The Health Minister at the video conference hailed the efforts of Naik for containing the disease well in Goa. "You made Goa corona free," said the minister. He also added "we should not hesitate using our traditional medicines. Studies show that even China has used its traditional medicines and treatment methods on COVID-19 patients there". Harsh Vardhan assured the officials that the outcome of the study would certainly pave a new horizon in understanding the preventive potential of AYUSH interventions during pandemics like COVID-19 through scientific evidence. Actor Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya took to Instagram to post several short video clips with husband Vivek Dahiya as he prepared pasta during lockdown. Clearly, this celebrity couple is making the most of the lockdown period. Posting them as Instagram videos, Divyanka took her fans the entire process, from the gas stove to the dinner table. In one of the clips, she says that her husband has something to say. Talking in Italian, Vivek reveals that her dish is ready, only to repeat it in English later. In another video, Divyanka is clearly impressed with her husbands culinary skills and kisses his hand, while relishing the pasta and says how he should keep surprising her. Through the lockdown, Divyanka has been keeping her fans invested with interesting posts. Some time back, she had shared two pictures after successfully baking cakes. She had captioned: After very long hubby and I have same content to post! Successfully baked my favourite #CarrotCake in first attempt! Apne haantho ko choom loon...Aisa bana hai! (Would kiss my hands... its made so good). Prior to that, Divyanka had been seen giving a haircut to Vivek. She had shared the video on Instagram, where Vivek could be seen sitting on a chair and Divyanka standing with a pair of scissors in her hand. Vivek too has been posting on Instagram. In April, he had taken to Instagram to express his anger at having lost his memory card. He said how his camera had been stolen during one of his vacations with his wife Divyanka. More than losing camera, he felt bad for losing its memory card, as a lot of pictures from their vacation were stored in it. Could there be a thing as ethical theft or perhaps a thief who has morals? The one who doesnt swindle anything with emotional value or maybe returned the memory card the same way he took my camera? Also read: When Shah Rukh Khan asked Priyanka Chopra if shell marry an actor like him at Miss India pageant, this was her response Theres a reason why its called a memory card... With no exaggeration I clicked stunning pictures of Div and us during our trip to Wales & Scotland. Wish I had downloaded those images before they were stolen. It was the most valuable possession from our trip: memories stored in a memory card. In future - never wait, and store those memories immediately (lesson learnt)! In the loving memory of my DSLR that was stolen from my car, Vivek had posted. Divyanka and Vivek met for the first time on the sets of Yeh Hai Mohabbatein and, after several months of dating, got married in 2016. (With IANS inputs) Follow @htshowbiz for more [May 07, 2020] PAR Technology Corporation Announces Financial Results for the First Quarter Of 2020 PAR Technology Corporation (NYSE: PAR) ("PAR" or the "Company") today announced its financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2020. Summary of First Quarter 2020 Revenues were reported at $54.7 million for the first quarter of 2020, an increase of 22.4%, compared to $44.7 million for the same period in 2019. GAAP net loss for the first quarter of 2020 was $10.9 million, or $0.61 loss per share, an increase from the GAAP net loss of $2.7 million, or $0.17 loss per share reported for the same period in 2019. Non-GAAP net loss for the first quarter of 2020 was $5.1 million, or $0.28 loss per share, compared to non-GAAP net loss of $1.5 million, or $0.09 loss per share, for the same period in 2019. Included in the tables at the end of this press release is a reconciliation and description of non-GAAP financial measures to corresponding GAAP financial measures. "Q1 of 2020 will go down as one of the most transformational in restaurant history. Due to the immediate impact of COVID-19 restrictions, restaurants went from business as usual, to the largest negative demand shock in the industry's history. Today our customers, the global restaurant community, are on the front lines trying to feed a world frightened, uncertain and looking for comfort. Our brand promise is to deliver the solutions that connect people to the restaurants, meals and moments they love. We're doing our part to hold true to this promise in 2020," commented PAR CEO and President Savneet Singh. "Coming into March, Q1 was shaping up to be one of our best in history. By the middle of the month our bookings and installs came to a pause and that pause continued through April. While it is still unknown how this will ultimately play out for the restaurant industry as a whole, we have seen steady progress in restaurant sales from a potential bottom over the last couple weeks. In late April our customers' businesses began to stabilize after steeply declining earlier in the month. In addition, PAR's Government business delivered a strong first quarter and is expected to provide stable revenues and cash flows during this volatile business environment." Mr. Singh continued, "As to our Company, we believe we are navigating this situation from a position of strength. We strengthened our balance sheet in February and feel confident we can increase market share in a challenged market. This crisis has shed light on the strength of Brink and Restaurant Magic's focus on the enterprise restaurant segment, and has proven the value of the digital first restaurant that could potentially lead to a more attractive M&A market. We will no doubt feel our share of pain, but our team deeply believes that just surviving is not winning. All that being said, the health and well-being of every PAR team member and their families, our customers and the communities in which we live and operate are our top priorities during these difficult days. We are and will continue to take all the necessary steps to protect our employees and our business." Highlights of Brink - First Quarter 2020: -- Brink ARR at end of Q1 '20 totaled $22.2 million - an increase of $6.6 million, 42%, from end of Q1 '19 -- New store activations in Q1 totaled 970 sites -- Brink bookings in Q1 '20 totaled 725 sites -- Brink Open Orders (backlog) totaled 1,180 stores at end of Q1 '20 -- Active Brink sites as of March 31st now total 10,338 restaurants (net of churn) Highlights Restaurant Magic - First Quarter 2020: -- Restaurant Magic ARR at end of Q1 '20 totaled $8.6 million - an increase of $1.9 million, 28%, from end of Q1 '19 -- New store activations in Q1 totaled 507 sites -- Restaurant Magic bookings in Q1 '20 totaled 596 sites -- Active Restaurant Magic sites as of March 31st now total 5,408 restaurants (net of churn) Conference Call. There will be a conference call at 4:30 p.m. (Eastern) on May 7, 2020, during which the Company's management will discuss the financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020. To participate in the call, please call 844-419-5412, approximately 10 minutes in advance. No passcode is required to participate in the live call or to listen to the replay version. Investors will have the opportunity to listen to the conference call/event over the internet by visiting the Company's website at www.partech.com/investors. Alternatively, listeners may access an archived version of the presentation after 7:30 p.m. on May 7, 2020 through May 14, 2020 by dialing 855-859-2056 and using conference ID 7986656. About PAR Technology Corporation. PAR Technology Corporation is a customer success-driven, global restaurant and retail technology company with over 100,000 restaurants in more than 110 countries using its point of sale hardware and software. PAR's Brink POS integration ecosystem enables quick service, fast casual, table service, and cloud restaurants to improve their operational efficiency by combining its cloud-based POS software with the world's leading restaurant technology platforms. Through its Government segment, PAR provides intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance ("ISR") solutions and mission systems support to the Department of Defense and other federal agencies. PAR Technology Corporation's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PAR. For more information, visit www.partech.com or connect with PAR on Facebook at www.facebook.com/parpointofsale or Twitter at www.twitter.com/Par_tech. Forward-Looking Statements. This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not historical in nature, but rather are predictive of our future operations, financial condition, business strategies and prospects. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "belief," "continue," "could," "expect," "estimate," "intend," "may," "opportunity," "plan," "should," "will," "would," "will likely result," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: the adverse effect of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic on our business, operations and financial results. While we have taken precautionary measures intended to minimize the impact of COVID-19 to our employees and to our business, including: requiring all employees whose jobs permit to work remotely; the suspension of all non-essential travel; instituting a hiring freeze on non-essential positions; a reduction in the size of our workforce; a temporary furlough of employees and a temporary reduction in the salaries of others; increasing safety stock inventory and the use of alternative sources when possible; and a reduction in discretionary costs, there can be no assurances that these actions will be sufficient and that additional actions will not be required. Factors that have and will likely continue to adversely affect, and that could subsequently adversely impact, our business, operations and financial results, due to the COVID-19 pandemic include: temporary and permanent restaurant and store closures by customers, negatively impacting our sales and revenue; significant reductions or volatility in demand for our products and services, resulting in lost sales, delayed or canceled store implementations, decreased product adoptions and bookings, reduced hardware sales and installations, and delayed or a reprioritization of investments in technology or point-of-sale infrastructure; delayed or payment defaults by customers; business continuity risks due to our work-from-home arrangement and travel restrictions, including increased exposure to potential cybersecurity breaches and attacks, disruptions or delays in product assembly and fulfillment, limitations on our selling and marketing efforts, and strain on the management of our business; our ability to execute our business and growth strategies; the impact on our corporate culture and ability to attract, hire and retain necessary qualified employees to develop and expand our business; and the impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets in the event of a significant decline in our financial performance. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will impact our business, operations, and financial results is uncertain and cannot be predicted, and there can be no assurance that the COVID-19 pandemic will not continue to have a material and adverse effect on our business, operations and financial results during any quarter or year in which we are affected. Other risk factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by forward-looking statements contained in this press release are described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities law. PAR TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited, in thousands, except share and per share amounts) Assets March 31, 2020 December 31, 2019 Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 60,089 $ 28,036 Accounts receivable - net 42,819 41,774 Inventories - net 23,339 19,326 Other current assets 7,191 4,427 Total current assets 133,438 93,563 Property, plant and equipment - net 14,052 14,351 Goodwill 41,386 41,386 Intangible assets - net 33,103 32,948 Lease right-of-use assets 2,729 3,017 Other assets 4,274 4,347 Total Assets $ 228,982 $ 189,612 Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity Current liabilities: Current portion of long-term debt $ 639 $ 630 Accounts payable 16,603 16,385 Accrued salaries and benefits 6,495 7,769 Accrued expenses 2,893 3,176 Lease liabilities - current portion 2,000 2,060 Customer deposits and deferred service revenue 9,732 12,084 Total current liabilities 38,362 42,104 Lease liabilities - net of current portion 805 1,021 Deferred service revenue - non current 4,535 3,916 Long-term debt 101,916 62,414 Other long-term liabilities 7,068 7,310 Total liabilities 152,686 116,765 Commitments and contingencies Shareholders' Equity: Preferred stock, $.02 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized - - Common stock, $.02 par value, 29,000,000 shares authorized; 19,291,289 and 18,360,205 shares issued, 18,244,350 and 16,629,177 outstanding at March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively 386 367 Additional paid in capital 106,600 94,372 Accumulated deficit (21,054 ) (10,144 ) Accumulated other comprehensive loss (5,167 ) (5,368 ) Treasury stock, at cost, 1,046,939 shares and 1,731,028 shares at March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively (4,469 ) (6,380 ) Total shareholders' equity 76,296 72,847 Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity $ 228,982 $ 189,612 See notes to unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements included in the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 (the "Quarterly Report"). Note 1 - The balance sheet at December 31, 2019 has been derived from the Company's audited consolidated financial statements at that date and does not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. For further information, please refer to the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. PAR TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited, in thousands, except share and per share amounts) Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 Net revenues: Product $ 18,634 $ 15,517 Service 18,775 14,043 Contract 17,323 15,122 54,732 44,682 Costs of sales: Product 14,905 11,241 Service 12,646 10,268 Contract 16,134 13,650 43,685 35,159 Gross margin 11,047 9,523 Operating expenses: Selling, general and administrative 11,427 8,564 Research and development 4,865 3,060 Amortization of identifiable intangible assets 210 - 16,502 11,624 Operating loss (5,455 ) (2,101 ) Other expense, net (625 ) (430 ) Interest expense, net (1,972 ) (146 ) Loss on debt extinguishment (8,123 ) - Loss before benefit from (provision for) income taxes (16,175 ) (2,677 ) Benefit from (provision for) income taxes 5,265 (52 ) Net loss $ (10,910 ) $ (2,729 ) Basic Earnings per Share: Net loss $ (0.61 ) $ (0.17 ) Diluted Earnings per Share: Net loss $ (0.61 ) $ (0.17 ) Weighted average shares outstanding: Basic 17,941 16,044 Diluted 17,941 16,044 See notes to unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements included in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. PAR TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL RESULTS (Unaudited, in thousands, except per share and per share data) For the three months ended March 31, 2020 For the three months ended March 31, 2019 Reported basis (GAAP) Adjustments Comparable basis (Non- GAAP) Reported basis (GAAP) Adjustments Comparable basis (Non- GAAP) Net revenues $ 54,732 $ - $ 54,732 $ 44,682 $ - $ 44,682 Costs of sales 43,685 840 42,845 35,159 384 34,775 Gross margin 11,047 840 11,887 9,523 - 9,907 Operating Expenses: Selling, general and administrative 11,427 1,094 10,333 8,564 755 7,809 Research and development 4,865 - 4,865 3,060 108 2,952 Acquisition amortization 210 210 - - - - Total operating expenses 16,502 1,304 15,198 11,624 863 10,761 Operating (loss) income (5,455 ) 2,144 (3,311 ) (2,101 ) 1,247 (854 ) Other (expense) income, net (625 ) - (625 ) (430 ) - (430 ) Interest (expense) income, net (1,972 ) 958 (1,014 ) (146 ) - (146 ) Loss on extinguishment (8,123 ) 8,123 - - - - (Loss) income before benefit from (provision for) income taxes (16,175 ) 11,225 (4,950 ) (2,677 ) 1,247 (1,430 ) Benefit from (provision for) income taxes 5,265 (5,386 ) (121 ) (52 ) (52 ) Net loss $ (10,910 ) $ (5,071 ) $ (2,729 ) $ (1,482 ) Loss per diluted share $ (0.61 ) $ (0.28 ) $ (0.17 ) $ (0.09 ) About Non-GAAP Financial Measures The Company reports its financial results in accordance with GAAP. However, non-GAAP adjusted financial measures, as set forth in the reconciliation table above, are provided because management uses these non-GAAP financial measures in evaluating the results of the Company's continuing operations and believes this information provides investors supplemental insight into underlying business trends and operating results. These non-GAAP financial measures are not based on any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles and should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. In addition, these non-GAAP financial measures should be read in conjunction with the Company's financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. The Company's results of operations are impacted by certain non-recurring charges, including equity based compensation, acquisition and divestiture related expenditures, expense related to the Company's continued cooperation with the Chinese and Singapore authorities in connection with conduct at our China and Singapore offices that was the subject of the Company's Audit Committee internal investigation in 2016 (the "China/Singapore matter"), and other non-recurring charges that may not be indicative of the Company's financial performance. Management believes that adjusting its operating expenses, operating loss, net loss and diluted loss per share to remove non-recurring charges, provides a useful perspective with respect to the Company's operating results and provides supplemental information to both management and investors by removing items that are difficult to predict and are often unanticipated. While the Company believes the adjustments provide a useful comparison, the reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to corresponding GAAP measures should be carefully evaluated. During the first quarter of 2020, the Company recognized amortization expense of acquired developed technology within cost of service of $840,000, consisting of $599,000 related to the acquisition of Restaurant Magic (the "Restaurant Magic Acquisition") and $241,000 related to the Company's 2014 acquisition of Brink Software, Inc. (the "Brink Acquisition"). Within selling, general and administrative costs, the Company recorded approximately $1,089,000 of stock-based compensation charges during the first quarter of 2020 and $5,000 of expenses related to the China/Singapore matter. The Company recognized amortization expense of acquired intangible assets of approximately $210,000, consisting of $171,000 related to the acquisition of assets of 3M Company's Drive-Thru Communications Systems business (the "Drive-Thru Acquisition") and $39,000 related to non-developed technology from the Restaurant Magic Acquisition. The Company recognized approximately $958,000 non-cash accretion of interest expense and amortization of issuance costs related to the Company's 4.5% Convertible Senior Notes due 2024 (the "2024 Notes") and the 2.875% Convertible Senior Notes due 2026 (the "2026 Notes"). Further, approximately $8,123,000 was recognized on the Loss on Extinguishment related to the repurchase of approximately $66.3 million of the 2024 Notes. The benefit from income tax is reduced by $5,386,000, to reflect the deferred tax benefit impact of the 2026 Notes issuance. The income tax effect of the above adjustments for are not tax effected due to the valuation allowance on all of our net deferred tax assets. During the first quarter of 2019, the Company recorded $568,000 of severance expenses, of which $143,000 are included in costs of sales, $317,000 are included in selling, general and administrative costs and $108,000 are included in research and development expenses. The Company recorded $190,000 of expenses related to the China/Singapore matter and, in the first quarter of 2019, the related SEC document subpoena. Additionally, $248,000 of stock-based compensation charges were recorded during the first quarter of 2019. The Company recognized amortization of acquired intangible assets of $241,000 related to the Brink Acquisition within cost of service. The income tax effect of the above adjustments for are not tax effected due to the valuation allowance on all of our net deferred tax assets. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507006106/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] (TNS) Researchers all over the world are working furiously to find treatments for the coronavirus that has already killed more than 250,000 worldwide.They are racing against the clock, facing the monumental task of sifting through millions of potential treatments. They can combine them in the lab with the virus to see what happens, work that requires countless test tubes, chemicals and hours of work."Its finding a needle in a haystack, said Jerome Baudry, professor of biological sciences at University of Alabama at Huntsville. It takes months and costs a fortune.Thats why Baudry and his team are bringing in the big guns. A supercomputer on loan from Hewlett Packard Enterprises will help Baudry search for potential coronavirus treatments in a fraction of the time.Instead of doing the tests in the test tube, we replicate that process in the computer, Baudry said. We can screen millions of compounds a day in a big computer and really focus on the most promising ones and reprocess them.His team will focus on a library of natural products found in living organisms. Other researchers are already focusing on existing drugs, but Baudrys research will mine other chemicals that are readily available. They are partnering with the National Center for Natural Products Research at the University of Mississippi to identify and refine potential treatments.If the group gets lucky, the computer will quickly identify a compound that can block the coronavirus from invading cells or replicating itself. At the very least, Baudry expects it to identify substances that show some ability to slow the virus and can be tweaked to become more effective.They will initially run the computer at high speeds to identify the most promising compounds, then more slowly and methodically analyze those to determine which could prove most effective.We will use artificial intelligence to have a quick look at very large libraries to scale that down to maybe 20,000, Baudry said. The we take that top 20,000 and use other kinds of machine learning approaches to take a closer look at all of them.Hewlett Packards Cray Sentinel supercomputer is a powerful tool in the fight against coronavirus. Similar supercomputers have been used in drug discovery in the past by modeling chemical and physical reactions to predict how a given compound might act on viruses, Baudry said.The problem is a difficult one. Baudry compared the coronavirus to a house with 14 doors. Researchers must find the right key out of millions to unlock one of those doors and get inside. Much of the worlds scientific establishment has pivoted to coronavirus research this year and is collaborating at a level Baudry said he has never seen.To have a chance to get something against the COVID virus, everyone has to try, he said.Baudry hopes his work will yield results quickly. The fight against coronavirus has some similarities to the Space Race, he said, and Huntsville already has partnerships in place to speech technological discovery.There is a philosophy here of lets go to the moon quickly, not because its easy but because its difficult, Baudry said. I think we are the right place to make it happen. YEREVAN. Armenia will attract new funds to upgrade the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant. The Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Suren Papikyan, stated this at Thursdays session of the parliament. According to him, now the authorities intend to change the format of respective funding. "Armenia considers it right to attract new financial resources," Papikyan explained. "We are negotiating with our partners not to extend the agreement which had expired." He reminded that the renovation works at the nuclear plant are being carried out with a loan of up to $270 million and a $30mn grant provided by Russia. "Earlier, it was planned to start the payments as of 2020, then that period was postponed for a year," the minister said. "But now there is a risk that the work will be delayed due to the spread of coronavirus. Thats why when the time comes to repay the loans, it is possible that the work will not be completed in full." Suren Papikyan noted that Armenia has loans that it has received but has not used yet. According to the minister, these loans can be used to upgrade the nuclear plant. The UAE has announced its support for the ministerial statement issued by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), on trade policies, under the framework of the fight against the coronavirus, Covi-19, pandemic, said a WAM report. The ministerial statement supports the vital role of the WTO as it monitors trade-related measures implemented by WTO Members in response to the Covid-19 situation, and encourages Members to continue notifying the WTO of any such measures as far in advance as practicable. A predictable, transparent, non-discriminatory and open global trading system will be essential for broad-based, sustainable economic recovery. We, therefore, strongly reaffirm our support for the rules-based multilateral trading system and the central role of the WTO. We will continue to act in a manner consistent with our WTO rights and obligations. We will refrain from raising new unjustified barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services, the statement added. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, said that the UAE has declared its support for the statement, which is in line with the countrys efforts to address the current crisis, adding that the country has called on many regional and international events to promote international cooperation in ensuring the safety and continuity of trade. He added that cooperating to facilitate cross-border trade is a fundamental matter, and the related messages declared by the country are clear about its commitment to support international trade and guarantee the movement of goods and services. The UAE is a key international trading centre and will support the continuity of logistical networks and maintaining air, land and sea shipping routes, to ensure the movement of medical and food supplies and empower communities around the world to continuously access products and services, Al Mansouri said in conclusion. WTO's ministerial statement on Covid-19 and the multilateral trading system reads: 1.1. The spread of Covid-19 has led to a devastating human tragedy and responding to this global health crisis remains a priority of our respective governments. Our focus continues to be on efforts to protect human life. Now more than ever is the time for the international community to step up cooperation and coordination. 1.2. As Ministers responsible for the WTO, we are actively working to ensure the continued flow of vital medical supplies and other essential goods and services across borders during this health crisis. The WTO has an essential role to play in this regard. We stress that trade restrictive emergency measures aimed at protecting health, if deemed necessary, shall be targeted, proportionate, transparent and temporary, not create unnecessary barriers to trade or disruption to global supply chains, and be consistent with WTO rules. We pledge to lift any such measures as soon as possible. 1.3. We underscore the importance of maintaining well-functioning supply chains in order to deploy international resources more effectively and call for intensified cooperation between the WTO and other international organizations in support of a coherent response to this and future health crises. 1.4. We encourage work at the WTO on concrete actions aimed at facilitating cross-border flows of vital medical supplies and other essential goods and services, including through the application of best practices and simplified procedures and through further trade opening. 1.5. We also stress the necessity of maintaining agriculture supply chains and preserving Members' food security. We, therefore, pledge to not impose export restrictions and to refrain from implementing unjustified trade barriers on agricultural and food products in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 1.6. We support the vital role of the WTO as it monitors trade-related measures implemented by WTO Members in response to the COVID-19 situation, and we encourage Members to continue notifying the WTO of any such measures as far in advance as practicable. 1.7. We are also facing a global economic shock that will continue to require a coordinated international response. We recognize the enormous challenges that will be faced by developing Members and, in particular, least developed Members. We also note that the negative impact will be especially severe for micro, small and medium sized enterprises, and we will intensify our efforts to support their ability to make a contribution to economic recovery. 1.8. We support the full resumption of all WTO activities as soon as feasible. We will intensify our efforts to develop new WTO disciplines, to improve existing WTO disciplines and to find a lasting solution to the situation relating to the WTO Appellate Body in order to support long-term, sustainable economic growth. We will also support continued efforts to reform the WTO so that it is as effective as possible. 1.9. A predictable, transparent, non-discriminatory and open global trading system will be essential for broad-based, sustainable economic recovery. We, therefore, strongly reaffirm our support for the rules-based multilateral trading system and the central role of the WTO. We will continue to act in a manner consistent with our WTO rights and obligations. We will refrain from raising new unjustified barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services.Trade Arabia News Service UAE supports WTO's statement on Covid-19, trading system ABU DHABI The UAE has announced its support for the ministerial statement issued by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), on trade policies, under the framework of the fight against the coronavirus, Covi-19, pandemic, said a WAM report. The ministerial statement supports the vital role of the WTO as it monitors trade-related measures implemented by WTO Members in response to the Covid-19 situation, and encourages Members to continue notifying the WTO of any such measures as far in advance as practicable. A predictable, transparent, non-discriminatory and open global trading system will be essential for broad-based, sustainable economic recovery. We, therefore, strongly reaffirm our support for the rules-based multilateral trading system and the central role of the WTO. We will continue to act in a manner consistent with our WTO rights and obligations. We will refrain from raising new unjustified barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services, the statement added. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, said that the UAE has declared its support for the statement, which is in line with the countrys efforts to address the current crisis, adding that the country has called on many regional and international events to promote international cooperation in ensuring the safety and continuity of trade. He added that cooperating to facilitate cross-border trade is a fundamental matter, and the related messages declared by the country are clear about its commitment to support international trade and guarantee the movement of goods and services. The UAE is a key international trading centre and will support the continuity of logistical networks and maintaining air, land and sea shipping routes, to ensure the movement of medical and food supplies and empower communities around the world to continuously access products and services, Al Mansouri said in conclusion. WTO's ministerial statement on Covid-19 and the multilateral trading system reads: 1.1. The spread of Covid-19 has led to a devastating human tragedy and responding to this global health crisis remains a priority of our respective governments. Our focus continues to be on efforts to protect human life. Now more than ever is the time for the international community to step up cooperation and coordination. 1.2. As Ministers responsible for the WTO, we are actively working to ensure the continued flow of vital medical supplies and other essential goods and services across borders during this health crisis. The WTO has an essential role to play in this regard. We stress that trade restrictive emergency measures aimed at protecting health, if deemed necessary, shall be targeted, proportionate, transparent and temporary, not create unnecessary barriers to trade or disruption to global supply chains, and be consistent with WTO rules. We pledge to lift any such measures as soon as possible. 1.3. We underscore the importance of maintaining well-functioning supply chains in order to deploy international resources more effectively and call for intensified cooperation between the WTO and other international organizations in support of a coherent response to this and future health crises. 1.4. We encourage work at the WTO on concrete actions aimed at facilitating cross-border flows of vital medical supplies and other essential goods and services, including through the application of best practices and simplified procedures and through further trade opening. 1.5. We also stress the necessity of maintaining agriculture supply chains and preserving Members' food security. We, therefore, pledge to not impose export restrictions and to refrain from implementing unjustified trade barriers on agricultural and food products in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 1.6. We support the vital role of the WTO as it monitors trade-related measures implemented by WTO Members in response to the COVID-19 situation, and we encourage Members to continue notifying the WTO of any such measures as far in advance as practicable. 1.7. We are also facing a global economic shock that will continue to require a coordinated international response. We recognize the enormous challenges that will be faced by developing Members and, in particular, least developed Members. We also note that the negative impact will be especially severe for micro, small and medium sized enterprises, and we will intensify our efforts to support their ability to make a contribution to economic recovery. 1.8. We support the full resumption of all WTO activities as soon as feasible. We will intensify our efforts to develop new WTO disciplines, to improve existing WTO disciplines and to find a lasting solution to the situation relating to the WTO Appellate Body in order to support long-term, sustainable economic growth. We will also support continued efforts to reform the WTO so that it is as effective as possible. 1.9. A predictable, transparent, non-discriminatory and open global trading system will be essential for broad-based, sustainable economic recovery. We, therefore, strongly reaffirm our support for the rules-based multilateral trading system and the central role of the WTO. We will continue to act in a manner consistent with our WTO rights and obligations. We will refrain from raising new unjustified barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services.Trade Arabia News Service Coronavirus update: The total number of coronavirus cases in India has reached 52,987 with toll at 1783. Total 3,561 new cases registered in the last 24 hours. Coronavirus update: The total number of coronavirus cases in India reach 52,987 with toll at 1783. A total of 3,561 new cases are reported with 89 deaths in the last 24 hours as per the latest data shared by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. A total of 35,902 active cases are reported in India with 15,266 people recovered from the virus. Maharashtra has reported a total 500 new COVID-19 cases bringing its total count to 16,758 with the death toll at 650. Further, Tamil Nadu has also recorded 771 new cases of coronavirus, which is the highest reported in a state, taking the total tally to 4,829. Gujarat has reported a total of 6625 cases with 396 deaths followed by the capital with 5532 cases and 65 deaths. The Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan expressed his concern over the increasing number of cases in Mumbai on Wednesday and said that the increasing number has become a matter of concern as 34 out of 36 districts are under coronavirus threat. The global tally of COVID-19 cases has reached 3,822,860 while the toll at 265,075 worldwide. The United States continues to be the most affected country as it has reported 33 percent of total cases reported. US has recorded 1,262,933 cases. Moreover, the United Kingdoms death toll has now surpassed Italys tally with 30,076. Also Read: PM Narendra Modi extends Buddha Purnima wishes, says India stands firmly in support of everyone without discrimination Total number of #COVID19 positive cases in India rises to 52,952 including 35,902 active cases, 1783 deaths, 15,266 cured/discharged and 1 migrated: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare pic.twitter.com/VW1C8Ya3oa ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 Recently, PM Modi also extended his wishes on the occasion of Buddha Purnima. He added that India is standing firmly in support of everyone in the country without discrimination. He also applauded the coronawarriors who are working day and night to help the other citizens of the country. I extend my wishes to all on the occasion of Buddha Purnima. Today, situation is such that I can't participate in Buddha Purnima programs physically. It would have been my pleasure to be with you all in the celebrations,but circumstances prevailing today do not permit us: PM Modi pic.twitter.com/5pfrMH7eOU ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 For all the latest National News, download NewsX App [May 07, 2020] Experity Augments Leadership Team with New Senior Vice President of Marketing Experity, the leading electronic medical records (EMR) and practice management (PM) platform in the urgent care space, announced it has named Callan Young its newest senior vice president of marketing. Young's role involves driving Experity's strategic marketing and growth plan. She will lead in defining the company brand, continuing the evolution of the value it brings to its customers, and accelerating Experity's growth plans and overall success. "Callan's passion for technology as a transformative force in healthcare and her experience working with rapidly growing companies will make her a valuable addition to Experity," said Matt Blosl, Experity CRO. "Her expertise will help Experity thrive in the rapidly changing world of on-demand care and continue to set the pace in the patient-centered health care revolution." Most recently, Young served as senior director of growth marketing at Anaplan, a leader in cloud-based planning solutions. Over three years at Anaplan, her team delivered over one billion dollars in pipeline growth, identified market opportunities, and drove strategic innovative global demand campaigns during critical points of Anaplan's sustained hypergrowth. Young led the company's global growth marketing and business development organization, consisting of more than 70 marketers and business development representatives. Prior to Anaplan, she was the director of marketing and business development at Great Bay Software, a leading provider of endpoint visibility solutions. "We're living in a ransformative era for healthcare and Experity is positioned to make a significant impact as the leader in on-demand care solutions," said Young. "Consumerism, data availability and innovation have all changed the landscape, and through industry-leading product innovation, Experity has the opportunity to continue to lead the space while bringing sophistication and agility to the marketplace. Urgent care has set itself apart becoming its own breed of healthcare with a unique operating model and set of challenges. We're committed to partnering with urgent care operators to support all aspects of their operations on one connected platform." To learn more about Experity, visit www.experityhealth.com. About Experity Experity is a dynamic HIT company that provides integrated technology solutions to more than 4,000 on-demand healthcare practices, primary care clinics, diagnostic testing centers, and health systems nationwide. With a mission to power patient-centered care, the company's focus is all urgent care, all the time. Its complete suite of software and services includes EMR and PM, patient engagement, teleradiology, business intelligence, consulting, and billing solutions. The company was formed through the merger of the leaders in urgent care technology, DocuTAP and Practice Velocity. A Warburg Pincus portfolio company, Experity is a fast-paced, high-growth company committed to improving on-demand healthcare for everyone. Visit experityhealth.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005386/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] JACKSON, Mississippi -- Even as restaurants across Mississippi reopened Thursday, state officials announced a plan to draft legislation allowing the state to allocate $100 million to distribute to Mississippi small businesses struggling during the COVID-19 shutdown and restrictions. The allocation of the funds was announced during a joint press conference with Gov. Tate Reeves, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and House Speaker Philip Gunn. A bill was passed last Friday giving the legislature control over spending $1.25 billion that Mississippi is receiving from the federal government in a massive coronavirus relief package. Reeves had called that bill a power grab by the Republican-majority legislature, saying hes best positioned to spend the federal money as needs arise. The state constitution gives the legislature the authority to spend public money, but Reeves has said a 40-year-old state law gives the governor some spending power during emergencies. During a news conference Tuesday, Reeves mentioned the possibility that he would veto the bill, setting up further confrontation with lawmakers. But Thursday, after a two-hour meeting between the states three top officials at Reeves home on Wednesday, they appeared to be in agreement. Gunn said the three came to an agreement that the legislature will be responsible for the allocation of COVID-19 relief funds, with administration through Reeves office, adding that he hoped to have a plan in place to allocate funds early next week. Hosemann said the Senate was working on a bill Thursday that would allocate the initial $100 million for Mississippi businesses. In his opening remarks, Reeves noted there had been debate over whether the legislature or his office had controlling authority over the funds. As Ive said before, I dont really care who controls the money, he said. What I care about is speed. Reeves also noted that the COVID-19 death toll in Mississippi continues to climb. The Mississippi Department of Healths Thursday update reported 262 new cases statewide, bringing the total to 8,686, and 22 additional deaths -- nine of those occurring between March 16-April 17, including four in Hancock County. Jackson County had one new case and one new death reported Thursday, bringing those totals to 272 and 11, respectively. Harrison County had one new case (188 total) and no new deaths (six total). Hancock County had four new cases along with the four previously-unreported deaths, leaving that countys totals at 72 and nine, respectively. The Mississippi coast totals now stand at 532 cases, 6.1 percent of the state total, and 26 deaths, 6.6 percent of the state total. We need to remain vigilant. We are not through this, Reeves said, imploring residents to continue social distancing practices and remaining at home as much as possible. Also on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded $6.7 million to 20 health centers in Mississippi to expand testing for COVID-19. The money allocated to Mississippi is part of $583 million distributed to 1,385 testing centers nationwide. Among the Mississippi testing centers receiving funds is one on the coast -- Coastal Family Health Center in Biloxi, which was awarded $632,929. The Associated Press contributed to this report. From sustainable energy to quantum computers: high-temperature superconductors have the potential to revolutionize today's technologies. Despite intensive research, however, we still lack the necessary basic understanding to develop these complex materials for widespread application. "Higgs spectroscopy" could bring about a watershed as it reveals the dynamics of paired electrons in superconductors. An international research consortium centered around the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research (MPI-FKF) is now presenting the new measuring method in the journal Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15613-1). Remarkably, the dynamics also reveal typical precursors of superconductivity even above the critical temperature at which the materials investigated attain superconductivity. Superconductors transport electric current without a loss of energy. Utilizing them could dramatically reduce our energy requirements - if it weren't for the fact that superconductivity requires temperatures of -140 degrees Celsius and below. Materials only 'turn on' their superconductivity below this point. All known superconductors require elaborate cooling methods, which makes them impractical for everyday purposes. There is promise of progress in high temperature superconductors such as cuprates - innovative materials based on copper oxide. The problem is that despite many years of research efforts, their exact mode of operation remains unclear. Higgs spectroscopy might change that. Higgs spectroscopy allows new insights into high-temperature superconductivity "Higgs spectroscopy offers us a whole new 'magnifying glass' to examine the physical processes," Dr. Jan-Christoph Deinert reports. The researcher at the HZDR Institute of Radiation Physics is working on the new method alongside colleagues from the MPI-FKF, the Universities of Stuttgart and Tokyo, and other international research institutions. What the scientists are most keen to find out is how electrons form pairs in high-temperature superconductors. In superconductivity, electrons combine to create "Cooper pairs", which enables them to move through the material in pairs without any interaction with their environment. But what makes two electrons pair up when their charge actually makes them repel each other? For conventional superconductors, there is a physical explanation: "The electrons pair up because of crystal lattice vibrations," explains Prof. Stefan Kaiser, one of the main authors of the study, who is researching the dynamics in superconductors at MPI-FKF and the University of Stuttgart. One electron distorts the crystal lattice, which then attracts the second electron. For cuprates, however, it has so far been unclear which mechanism acts in the place of lattice vibrations. "One hypothesis is that the pairing is due to fluctuating spins, i.e. magnetic interaction," Kaiser explains. "But the key question is: Can their influence on superconductivity and in particular on the properties of the Cooper pairs be measured directly?" At this point "Higgs oscillations" enter the stage: In high-energy physics, they explain why elementary particles have mass. But they also occur in superconductors, where they can be excited by strong laser pulses. They represent the oscillations of the order parameter - the measure of a material's superconductive state, in other words, the density of the Cooper pairs. So much for the theory. A first experimental proof succeeded a few years ago when researchers at the University of Tokyo used an ultrashort light pulse to excite Higgs oscillations in conventional superconductors - like setting a pendulum in motion. For high-temperature superconductors, however, such a one-off pulse is not enough, as the system is damped too much by interactions between the superconducting and non-superconducting electrons and the complicated symmetry of the ordering parameter. Terahertz light source keeps the system oscillating Thanks to Higgs spectroscopy, the research consortium around MPI-FKF and HZDR has now achieved the experimental breakthrough for high-temperature superconductors. Their trick was to use a multi-cyclic, extremely strong terahertz pulse that is optimally tuned to Higgs oscillation and can maintain it despite the damping factors - continuously prodding the metaphorical pendulum. With the high-performance terahertz light source TELBE at HZDR, the researchers are able to send 100,000 such pulses through the samples per second. "Our source is unique in the world due to its high intensity in the terahertz range combined with a very high repetition rate," Deinert explains. "We can now selectively drive Higgs oscillations and measure them very precisely." This success is owed to close cooperation between theoretical and experimental scientists. The idea was hatched at MPI-FKF; the experiment was conducted by the TELBE team, led by Dr. Jan-Christoph Deinert and Dr. Sergey Kovalev at HZDR under then group leader Prof. Michael Gensch, who is now researching at the German Aerospace Center and TU Berlin: "The experiments are of particular importance for the scientific application of large-scale research facilities in general. They demonstrate that a high-power terahertz source such as TELBE can handle a complex investigation using nonlinear terahertz spectroscopy on a complicated series of samples, such as cuprates." That is why the research team expects to see high demand in the future: "Higgs spectroscopy as a methodological approach opens up entirely new potentials," explains Dr. Hao Chu, primary author of the study and postdoc at the Max Planck-UBC-UTokyo Center for Quantum Materials. "It is the starting point for a series of experiments that will provide new insights into these complex materials. We can now take a very systematic approach." Just above the critical temperature: Where does superconductivity start? Conducting several series of measurements, the researchers first proved that their method works for typical cuprates. Below the critical temperature, the research team was not only able to excite Higgs oscillations, but also proved that a new, previously unobserved excitation interacts with the Cooper pairs' Higgs oscillations. Further experiments will have to reveal whether these interactions are magnetic interactions, as is fiercely debated in expert circles. Furthermore, the researchers saw indications that Cooper pairs can also form above the critical temperature, albeit without oscillating together. Other measuring methods have previously suggested the possibility of such early pair formation. Higgs spectroscopy could support this hypothesis and clarify when and how the pairs form and what causes them to oscillate together in the superconductor. ### Publication: H. Chu, M.-J. Kim, K. Katsumi, S. Kovalev, R. D. Dawson, L. Schwarz, N. Yoshikawa, G. Kim, D. Putzky, Z. Z. Li, H. Raffy, S. Germanskiy, J.-C. Deinert, N. Awari, I. Ilyakov, B. Green, M. Chen, M. Bawatna, G. Cristiani, G. Logvenov, Y. Gallais, A. V. Boris, B. Keimer, A. P. Schnyder, D. Manske, M. Gensch, Z. Wang, R. Shimano, S. Kaiser: Phase-resolved Higgs response in superconducting cuprates, in Nature Communications, 2020 (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15613-1) Additional information: Dr. Jan-Christoph Deinert Institute of Radiation Physics at HZDR Phone: +49 351 260-3626 | Email: j.deinert@hzdr.de Prof. Stefan Kaiser Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research Phone: +49 711 689-1775 | Email: s.kaiser@fkf.mpg.de Media contact: Simon Schmitt | Science editor Phone: +49 351 260-3400 | Email: s.schmitt@hzdr.de Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf | Bautzner Landstr. 400 | 01328 Dresden / Germany | http://www.hzdr.de The Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) performs - as an independent German research center - research in the fields of energy, health, and matter. We focus on answering the following questions: * How can energy and resources be utilized in an efficient, safe, and sustainable way? * How can malignant tumors be more precisely visualized, characterized, and more effectively treated? * How do matter and materials behave under the influence of strong fields and in smallest dimensions? To help answer these research questions, HZDR operates large-scale facilities, which are also used by visiting researchers: the Ion Beam Center, the High-Magnetic Field Laboratory Dresden, and the ELBE Center for High-Power Radiation Sources. HZDR is a member of the Helmholtz Association and has five sites (Dresden, Freiberg, Grenoble, Leipzig, Schenefeld near Hamburg) with almost 1,200 members of staff, of whom about 500 are scientists, including 170 Ph.D. candidates. (Photo from (l) to (r)): duncan c on Flickr via CC/ Sylvia L. on Yelp Berkeley's Ashby Flowers is slated to defy the shelter-in-place order in effect in six Bay Area counties by reopening for curbside pickup on Friday. On Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the state would move into Stage 2 of reopening Friday, which allows for the return of some retail and manufacturing so long as proper physical-distancing measures are implemented. The governor specifically cited florists as a retail sector that could reopen with Mother's Day rapidly approaching, and the owners of Ashby Flowers thought this meant they could reopen. "Everything we read indicated we could reopen," said a curent Ashby Flowers employee, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation. The person was granted anonymity in accordance with Hearst Bay Areas anonymous source policy.. "The state said we could reopen if we support social distancing and do the same thing as grocery store lines." However, under the order in effect in Alameda County and five other Bay Area counties, retail is not yet permitted to reopen. Newsom stated the Bay Area could enforce its stricter order, and Bay Area officials have thus far decided not to soften the order. The Ashby Flowers employee was particularly miffed by the fact that florists are reopening everywhere else across the state even in regions such as Los Angeles County that have seen a far worse outbreak than the San Francisco Bay Area by all relevant metrics. They indicated some other Bay Area florists planned to do the same. For florists, Mother's Day weekend is one of the important periods of the year, and Ashby Flowers plans to distribute flowers Friday unless someone arrives and physically shuts them down. They will be following the state guidelines of no-contact curbside picking and no-contact hand-offs. Santa Clara County health officer Dr. Sara Cody the architect of the region's original shelter-in-place order said Tuesday her county and the region both have yet to hit certain criteria to further loosen restrictions. "Im hoping that theyll soften the order," the employee said of Bay Area health officials. "We're supporting social distancing and being safe." Click here to read more on what is holding the Bay Area back from reopening. MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE: Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here. Eric Ting is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: eric.ting@sfgate.com | Twitter:@_ericting The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday reversed the convictions of two onetime allies of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, ruling in a unanimous decision that they did not violate federal fraud laws in the political scandal known as Bridgegate. Bridget Anne Kelly, Christies former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, Christies top executive appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, were convicted in 2016. Each faced prison time, and Baroni ended up serving about three months at the Loretto Federal Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania. Their convictions stemmed from a 2013 political payback scheme in which prosecutors alleged Kelly, Baroni, and others caused massive traffic jams near the George Washington Bridge in order to exact retribution against a New Jersey mayor for his refusal to endorse Christies reelection campaign. The scandal hobbled Christie, a Republican, in the 2016 presidential campaign, a race in which he had been seen as an early front-runner before the rise of Donald Trump. The evidence the jury heard no doubt shows wrongdoing deception, corruption, abuse of power, Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the court. But the federal fraud statutes at issue do not criminalize all such conduct. The courts 9-0 decision marked its latest blow to public corruption prosecutions. Most notably, the high court in 2016 narrowed the scope of federal bribery statutes when it overturned the conviction of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. With the ruling, Bridgegate became the U.S. Justice Departments second major public corruption case to fall flat in less than three years, following the 2017 mistrial and subsequent dismissal of a bribery prosecution against U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D., N.J.). Christie on Thursday called the decision a complete exoneration for my team from the prosecutorial misconduct of then-U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman and the Obama Justice Department. Christie, a former U.S. attorney in New Jersey appointed by President George W. Bush, accused Fishman, an appointee of President Barack Obama, of being motivated by political partisanship and blind ambition, costing taxpayers millions in legal fees and changing the course of history. In his successful 2009 campaign for governor, Christie ran on a record of convicting dozens of politicians on corruption charges. Fishman who also successfully prosecuted Port Authority chairman David Samson, a Christie appointee and friend, on extortion charges said it was stunning, but perhaps not surprising, that Chris Christies response is to concoct accusations of political ambition, partisanship, and personal vindictiveness. He added that the courts ruling did not negate the work of the career prosecutors and law enforcement agents who uncovered and exposed those responsible for the bridge scheme, their motivation to assist Chris Christies reelection, and the many lies they told to cover their tracks. Mark E. Coyne, an appellate lawyer in the U.S. Attorneys Office in Newark, said the Supreme Courts decision speaks for itself and that the office had no additional comment. Trump weighed in on Twitter, congratulating Christie and calling the prosecution a grave misconduct by the Obama Justice Department! As a Christie opponent in 2015, Trump said Christie totally knew about the scheme. Christie has maintained that he had no knowledge of the revenge plot. Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat and Christies successor, called the scandal a stain on the state. Theres no escaping that this was a deep violation of public trust, he said during a news briefing Thursday. Prosecutors alleged at trial that Kelly and Baroni conspired to reduce the number of bridge access lanes available to commuters in Fort Lee from three to one, resulting in four days of gridlock in the town and endangering public safety. Kelly and Baroni worked with another Christie ally former Port Authority official David Wildstein to cover up the scheme by saying the lane realignment was part of a traffic study, prosecutors said. Wildstein pleaded guilty to conspiring with Kelly and Baroni and then testified against them at trial. He received probation. The crux of the prosecutions case was that Kelly and Baroni committed property fraud by misusing public resources at the federally-funded Port Authority. By lying about a fake traffic study, they were able to trick career employees into executing the lane reductions, prosecutors alleged. READ MORE: Bridgegate got its day at the Supreme Court and the justices seemed skeptical that crimes were committed It was that lie that triggered the federal fraud statute, attorneys for the government told the justices during oral arguments in January, because it showed the defendants would not have otherwise been able to execute the plot. The lane reduction also cost the Port Authority money by diverting resources and staff, the government said. But the high court found that the realignment was an exercise of regulatory power something this court has already held fails to meet the statutes property requirement. Because the scheme here did not aim to obtain money or property, Baroni and Kelly could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws," Kagan wrote. Contrary to the governments assertion, Kelly and Baroni did not commandeer the bridges access lanes, Kagan wrote. "They (of course) did not walk away with the lanes; nor did they take the lanes from the government by converting them to a non-public use. Rather, Baroni and Kelly regulated use of the lanes, as officials responsible for roadways so often do allocating lanes as between different groups of drivers. The Port Authority employees labor "was just the incidental cost of that regulation, rather than itself an object of the officials scheme, Kagan added. Michael Critchley, an attorney for Kelly, said he was thrilled that Bridget can finally put this nightmare behind her and hopefully enjoy some sense of peace. From the very beginning, we argued that this case was an indictment in search of a crime and vowed to continue fighting until the unjust verdict was overturned, Critchley said in a statement. The Supreme Courts decision today confirms that we were right all along and that Bridget Kelly never committed any crime. The scandal erupted in January 2014, just months after Christie won a landslide reelection, when emails surfaced linking the bridge plot to the governors office. Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee, Kelly wrote in an August 2013 email to Wildstein. Got it, he replied. At the time, Christie declared himself embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team." Evidence at trial showed Baroni, Kelly and Wildstein began the lane reductions on the first day of school to maximize punishment of Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich. They didnt alert local officials ahead of time, and refused to answer the mayors calls while the town was in gridlock. Kelly and Baroni testified they believed the traffic study was legitimate. Wildstein testified that Christie laughed when Baroni told the governor during a 9/11 commemorative event in Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2013, about the havoc underway at the bridge. Kelly and Baroni were indicted in 2015 on charges including conspiracy, fraud, and violating Fort Lee residents civil rights. They were convicted on all counts in November 2016. Two years later, a federal appeals panel in Philadelphia affirmed most of the convictions. A federal judge sentenced Kelly to 13 months in prison. Baroni was sentenced to 18 months in prison and had already served about three months of his term when the Supreme Court said last year it would hear the defendants appeal. He was released shortly thereafter pending the appeal. Today is a long-awaited victory, Baroni said in a statement. But, as we are all living in the time of coronavirus, my joy in being vindicated is tempered by my concern for the people with whom I served time in prison. This is a scary time for all of us; it is especially scary for people in prison who cant self-isolate; cant socially distance; cant stay six feet apart. I am going to do all that I can to make sure they are not forgotten. Staff writer Pranshu Verma contributed to this article. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 6, 2020) - Tower Resources Ltd. (TSXV: TWR) ("Tower" or the "Company") is pleased to report partial results from its recent Reverse Circulation (RC) and Diamond Drilling (DD) program on the April Trend on the Company's Nechako, BC property (Fig. 1), including a 7.1 m core intercept grading 2.75 g/t Au, 40.2 g/t (1.2 oz/ton) Ag, 0.30% Zn and 0.28% Pb in Hole APR20-10, the last hole of the short, 4-hole, 393.1 m DD program. The April Trend is located at the head of a large (1.5 km wide x >3 km long), strong, Au-Ag-Zn-Pb-As glacial dispersal train in till (Fig. 2). Only seven other gold dispersal trains of this stature are known in Western Canada, of which six are associated with active gold mines and the seventh with the 8-million-ounce Blackwater gold deposit 30 km southwest of the Nechako property (Fig. 3). The Nechako dispersal train contains the same suite of elements - Au, Ag, Zn, Pb and As - as the Eskay Creek Deposit in northern BC, the highest-grade Au-Ag deposit of its size ever mined in Canada (2.2 million tones @ 45 g/t gold and 2,224 g/t silver). Moreover, the ratio of Au and Ag to Zn, Pb and As in both the heavy mineral concentrates of the till samples and the discovery zone in Hole 10 (Table 1) is very high, suggesting that mineralized zones along the April Trend with only a few percent As, Zn and Pb sulphides may contain economic grades of gold and silver. Tower's new discovery was obtained after just 1000 m of diamond drilling along the new April Trend. The mineralized zone occurs within a siliceous, Eskay Creek-type siltstone-mudstone horizon atop an intense, 800 m wide x 500 m thick alteration pipe in the underlying basalt (Fig. 1). The immense size of this pipe reflects the unusually large scale of the hydrothermal alteration system that introduced the mineralization and attests to the high potential for economic gold-silver deposits along the April Trend. Story continues Joe Dhami, President and CEO, commented: "Our Nechako property is located in one of lowest cost areas of BC and is accessible year round. We have strategically managed our work plans to utilize the experience and technical expertise of our team and now they will focus on expanding the Discovery zone and fully testing the exceptional gold-silver potential along the April Trend." Stu Averill, P.Geo., a Director of the Company, added: "Now that we have identified the fundamental controls on hydrothermal alteration and mineralization, we can make effective use of IP and ground magnetic surveys, in addition to RC drilling, to identify areas of sulphide enrichment even more efficiently and thereby accelerate the discovery and delineation of Au-Ag-Zn-Pb deposits along the April Trend." The Path to Discovery Tower identified the tail of the Nechako Au-Ag-Zn-Pb-As dispersal train on the eastern part of the property in 2017 by RC drilling beneath a gold grain anomaly that the Company had outlined in a surface till heavy mineral survey the previous year (Fig. 2). The Au In the till heavy mineral concentrates was found to be sympathetic and proportional to As while Ag was sympathetic and proportional to Zn+Pb, and the ratio of Au and Ag to these associated metals, in g/t to percent, was very high at approximately 4:1 and 70:1, respectively, suggesting a high potential for a source of economic Au and Ag grades. While the gold grains at surface are clearly derived from the underlying dispersal train, the train itself is not exposed; it occurs at depths greater than 15-20 m within an older till horizon that was deposited by an earlier glaciation. Moreover, a large, 1 km gap is present in the middle of the train where the glacial deposits are thinner and the host till was completely eroded during the last glaciation. Tower undertook two additional RC drilling campaigns further west across the gap in late 2018 and early 2019. These programs succeeded in both locating the stronger head of the train (Fig. 2) and intersecting highly altered bedrock beneath it (Fig. 1). An initial 6-hole, 630 m follow-up diamond drilling program was then undertaken in August, 2019. Favourable mudstone and sulphide bearing conglomerate similar to those at Eskay Creek were intersected in the sixth hole, No. APR19-06 but the only significant mineralization was a 0.2 m wide sulphide vein grading 2.93 g/t Au, 34.3 g/t Ag, 5.45% Zn, 0.60% Pb and 0.23% As (see September 20, 2019, press release). The total cost of the 2018-2019 RC and DD programs along the April Trend and the recent RC/DD discovery program was just $600,000 and only 1000 m of diamond drilling was required, illustrating both the low cost of exploring in the Nechako area and the efficiency of Tower's exploration team. The Discovery Zone The new gold-silver zone in DD hole No. APR20-10 is hosted by the same sediment horizon as and lies approximately 250 m southeast along strike from the mineralized vein that was previously intersected in APR19-06 (Fig. 1). Hole 10 was drilled to undercut one of the new RC drill holes, No. NRC20-74, which encountered 3 m of similar sediments with visible arsenopyrite immediately below the till. The sediment horizon appears to be subvertical and its core thickness (all DD holes were drilled at -45 whereas the RC holes were vertical) increases from <10 m at Hole 06 to ~30 m at Hole 10. The sediments consist of hard (siliceous), thinly laminated, black, grey and brick-red mudstone and siltstone with minor centimetric bands of paler, fine-grained sandstone. They are highly fractured, apparently by the same forces that made the underlying massive basalt permeable to the hydrothermal fluids that produced the alteration pipe. Consequently they are very blocky and difficult to core, commonly resulting in poor core recovery. The fractures tend to be lined with a mix of sulphide minerals that variably include pyrite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite and galena but neither pyrrhotite nor chalcopyrite. In Hole 10, the sediments are split by a post-mineralization dyke of biotite-feldspar porphyry related to the Kluskus Road and Blue Road stocks to the east. The 7.1 m mineralized zone occurs in the sediments immediately below the porphyry, starting at a down-hole depth of 51.8 m (Table 1). It encompasses five samples ranging in length from 0.8 to 1.8 m. The middle sample, measuring 1.3 m, contained only anomalous levels of Au (0.123 g/t) and Ag (5.9 g/t). In the other four samples, Au varies from 0.48 to 9.43 g/t while Ag is a more uniform 34.0 to 67.3 g/t. The average ratio of Au to As, in g/t to percent, is 2.3:1 while that of Ag to Zn+Pb) is 69:1. The sediment section above the porphyry dyke, from 34.9 to 45.5 m, is so fractured that insufficient core was recovered for meaningful analysis. However, two small (0.15 and 0.4 kg), sphalerite and galena-rich but arsenopyrite-poor specimens from 42.6-42.7 and 44.2-44.4 m were analyzed to determine metal ratios. As expected from the known sympathetic relationships between Ag-Zn-Pb and Au-As, they yielded very high Ag values of 545 g/t (15.9 oz/ton) and 74.7 g/t (2.2 oz/ton), respectively, but lesser Au values of 1.13 and 0.72 g/t. Hole 09 was drilled ~40 m northwest along strike from Hole 10 but in the opposite direction (Fig. 1). The mineralized zone in this hole is interrupted by a fault-bounded, 4-m-wide slice of basalt within the host sediments. Narrow sulphide veins are present in both the basalt and sediments, the most significant being in a 0.2 m wide zone that assayed 1.6 g/t Au, 27.7 g/t Ag, 0.87% Zn, 0.18% Pb and 1.06% As. Character and Importance of the Alteration Pipe The alteration pipe that stratigraphically underlies the mineralized sediments is very large and the alteration is intense and visually conspicuous. However, the pipe was not recognized until the recent, 15-hole RC drilling program because it is completely covered by till and the earlier RC holes were more widely spaced. The alteration is of the potassic type and has selectively affected the primary mafic (i.e. Fe and Mg-bearing) silicate minerals in the rock rather than the feldspar. Consequently it is best-developed in the basalt, the rock with the highest mafic mineral content (~50% augite). In the most-altered basalt intercepts, this augite has been completely replaced by a very fine-grained mixture of two other Fe-bearing minerals, biotite and pyrite (or locally pyrrhotite), plus silica (quartz), changing the colour of the basalt from dark green to brown (Fig. 4). Since biotite contains significant potassium and augite does not, the alteration reaction involved addition of this element from the hydrothermal fluid, raising the usual 1-2% K 2 O content of the basalt to 4-5%. As basalt is normally a massive, impervious rock, pervasive preparatory fracturing was required to admit the fluid that that caused the alteration. This fracturing is visible throughout the green, unaltered basalt at centimetre to metre scale. The fracture surfaces tend to be coated with sheets of chlorite (Fig. 4a) that are commonly striated, indicating slippage and incipient brecciation. The fractures are oriented preferentially to the southeast parallel to the drill core, a situation that causes significant core breakage and loss. In the brown basalt within the alteration pipe, the alteration minerals have sealed these fractures (Fig. 4b), improving both drilling productivity and core recovery. The alteration pipe appears to have originated at a stratiform breccia horizon, interpreted as the fluid reservoir, about 500 m below the mineralized sediments and to have propagated upward into a broad funnel (Fig. 1). Importantly, the most southwesterly RC drill holes show that the alteration extends across the mineralized sediments into another, overlying basalt horizon, suggesting that a second mineralized horizon is present along a parallel creek lineament ~150 m further to the southwest. The stratiform breccia horizon below the alteration pipe was tentatively logged as dacitic breccia but is unlike any of the common volcaniclastic breccias and may itself be of hydrothermal origin. It thickens to the northwest into a "dome" in which the breccia has undergone brown biotitic alteration similar to that in the alteration pipe in the basalt and is variably mineralized with the same metals. A small Au-Ag-Zn-Pb-As dispersal train was intersected in RC holes drilled down-ice from this dome and north of the main dispersal train (Fig. 2). The first two diamond drill holes of the present program, Nos. APR20-07 and 08, were drilled on this dome (Fig. 1). The breccia in Hole 07 is broadly anomalous in Au and Ag, and a 0.4 m, sulphide-rich interval from 71.8 to 72.2 m returned 3.92 g/t Au, 152 g/t (4.4 oz/ton) Ag, 3.1% As and 4.9% Zn plus, unusually, 0.53% Cu but negligible (0.07%) Pb. Next Steps The April Trend is completely covered by thick glacial deposits and the buried till horizon that hosts the Nechako dispersal train was intersected in 8 of the 15 recent RC drill holes, mainly those closest to the mineralized sediments and thus of most exploration interest. The till samples from these holes have not yet been processed due to temporary closure of the ODM heavy mineral laboratory during the current COVID-19 epidemic, but will be tested before exploration resumes on the Nechako property. No ground geophysical surveys have ever been performed along the April Trend. Tower now has sufficient knowledge, primarily from the RC drill holes, of the overburden thickness and the mineralogy of the underlying basalt, alteration pipe and prospective sediments to judiciously interpret chargeability, resistivity and magnetic anomalies. Therefore Induced Polarization (IP) and magnetic surveys are planned prior to drilling. The geophysical anomalies can then be rapidly spot tested for mineralization by RC drilling, thereby further focusing any diamond drilling on significantly mineralized targets. Methods and National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure The RC drill holes were logged by Stuart Averill, P.Geo., and the DD holes by Dane Bridge, P.Geo., both of whom are seasoned mineral exploration geologists. Split samples of the DD core, generally 1-2 m in length, were prepared at Tower's core logging facility at Tatelkuz Ranch near the Nechako property. Each sample was then prepared for analysis and analyzed at Activation Laboratories (ActLabs) in Kamloops, BC, a laboratory certified as ISO/IEC 17025 Accredited (Lab 790) by the Standards Council of Canada. The samples were analyzed for gold by fire assay and ICP-OES and for 37 further elements, including Ag, As, Zn, Pb and Cu, by ICP-OES using a four-acid, near-total digestion. Over-limit (>5 g/t Au, >100 g/t Ag, >1% As, Zn or Cu, >0.5% Pb) analyses were repeated using the same procedures but at a higher detection range. QA/QC samples including blanks and standards were inserted regularly into the sample sequence at a ratio of approximately 1:15. The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Stuart Averill, Chairman of ODM, a Director of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About Tower Resources Tower is a Canadian based mineral exploration company focused on the discovery and advancement of economic mineral projects in the Americas. The Company's key exploration assets are the Rabbit North copper-gold porphyry project located between the New Afton and Highland Valley Copper mines, the Nechako gold project near New Gold's Blackwater project and the More Creek gold project in the Golden Triangle area of Northern British Columbia. On behalf of the Board of Directors Tower Resources Ltd. Joe Dhami, President and CEO (604) 558-2565 www.towerresources.ca Reader Advisory This news release may contain statements which constitute "forward-looking information", including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, fluctuations in market prices, successes of the operations of the Company, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such information will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information except as required under the 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. Metres g/t % From To Interval Au Ag As Zn Pb 51.8 53.3 1.5 9.43 37.1 0.35 0.26 0.12 53.3 55.1 1.8 0.48 34.0 0.99 0.59 0.23 55.1 56.4 1.3 0.12 5.9 0.03 0.06 0.02 56.4 58.1 1.7 1.34 67.3 1.21 0.17 0.44 58.1 58.9 0.8 2.57 57.8 5.00 0.36 0.76 Average Ratio Total Average grade per metre g/t Au/%As g/t Ag/% (Zn+Pb) 7.1 2.75 40.2 1.18 0.30 0.28 2.3 69.3 Table 1 - Summary of analyses from the 7.1 m mineralized zone in diamond drill hole APR20-10. To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5023/55432_figure1.jpg To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5023/55432_figure2.jpg To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5023/55432_figure3.jpg To view an enhanced version of Figure 4, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5023/55432_figure4.jpg To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55432 Andhra Pradesh Special Chief Secretary (Industries and Commerce) R Karikal Valaven speaking to BusinessToday.In says, instructions have been issued to all 85 units in the state handling hazardous materials to seek fitness certificates before restarting operations. He says, these fitness certificates will need to be taken from the state pollution control board; the director, factories; and from the director, boilers. The last being crucial as problems such as gas leaks, also crop up if there is a fault in the boilers. On the LG Polymers' unit gas leak on the outskirts of Vishakaptnam on May 7 morning, he says, the state government has constituted a special committee to look into all aspects, including maintenance issues at the plant. The committee is to look at all details and submit a report to the state government. Karikal Valaven tells BusinessToday.In, "We will wait for the committee to come up with the report and then take appropriate action." The unit, he says, was also given around 45 to 50 passes for maintenance during the lockdown period. He says, "On the basis of the committee's report we will look at further regulating all hazardous industries in the state." ALSO READ: Vizag gas tragedy: Govt asks factories set to reopen to strictly follow safety norms Karikal Valaven says, the main focus as far as the unit is concerned is to ensure there is no gas emission whatsoever and achieve zero emission. He says, polymerisation inhibitors, needed for zero emission, are on their way to Vizag. The Andhra government is procuring these from a unit in Vapi, Gujarat with active support from the central and the Gujarat governments. The inhibitors are expected to land in Vizag by 6.15 pm on Thursday, May 7. "The focus of the state government at the moment is on containing, evacuating the people and treating the affected. This is our primary focus now," he says. The LG Polymers plant on the outskirts of Vizag had been under shutdown for the last 40 odd days. Company officials, led locally by P Chandra Mohan Rao, director, operations, at LG Polymers were busy responding to official teams visiting the region, which now has state chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy taking stock of the situation in Vizag. Earlier, speaking to BusinessToday.in, a senior official in the government, said, one of the explanations being given by the company was that since the unit was shut for a long period, styrene liquid underwent chemical reaction of auto-polymerisation which led to increased pressure on the valve, which in turn burst. ALSO READ: Vizag gas leak a serious lesson on plant maintenance during coronavirus lockdown In 2020, coronavirus made healthcare institutions work at their limits and has paralyzed the global economy. As millions of people are at the risk of catching a lethal disease, the ongoing global environment has shown that health is the only vital asset. Image Credit: Aetsoft Yet, all hospitals are overcrowded with the ill, they are unable to receive prominent treatment or at least receive timely testing. Whilst COVID-19 is in the spotlight as a hazard to mankind, there are thousands of other diseases that should be diagnosed and cured. One of the most widespread diseases in the world is tonsillitis. The symptoms of tonsillitis include; fast inflammation of the tonsils diagnosed after fever, sore throat, trouble swallowing, enlargement of the tonsils, and large lymph nodes around the neck caused by a viral, bacterial infection, which is passed between people through the air. These signs are among the key symptoms of coronavirus, making it particularly crucial to identify possible contagion in an accurate and timely way. As a result of the global lockdown, attending a doctor for diagnosis is not always possible. Many IT companies now work on developments that can help fight diseases. An example of how this is carried out by Aetsoft is outlined below. Aetsoft developed the Tonsillitis Detection Application, or TDA, to recognize potential cases of tonsillitis. They follow altruistic values dedicating their research and development to healthcare solutions. TDA is a mobile application that was developed on the basis of an artificial intelligence neural network. A user can install the app onto a smartphone and take a photo of their mouth. Next, the application processes the taken image, comparing it to a medical database of images to identify inflammation, since the disease is medically confirmed by a throat swab or rapid strep test. Upon its launch, the application will possess a dataset of 100,000 images of throats inflamed with tonsillitis of different types. Neural networks of TDA and AI algorithms are self-educative, meaning that they will learn from what and how they process information based on user and app supervisor feedback. Diagnosis accuracy will increase along with reliable dataset growth. Tonsillitis Detection App provides recommendations on effective treatment at the same time, with basic steps for further care and medications. The application adds new research data to its data pool for further self-education once processing has finished. In the situation of medical unavailability, TDA is one of the most helpful digital instruments that can assist with disease detection and treatment. About Aetsoft Aetsoft delivers software solutions to transform businesses and help maximize growth potential. We combine strong business skills with extensive tech expertise to develop software that accelerates, facilitates, and secures processes through cutting-edge technologies autonomy, distribution, transparency, immutability, and high security. Since foundation in 2014 in Minsk, Belarus, we have become the residents of Hi Tech Park (HTP) with a track record of 20+ successfully released projects. We focus on custom software development and consulting services in Business automation, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, Big Data, Image recognition, Blockchain development, and cloud services. Our target domains include Supply chain and Logistics, Healthcare, Finance, Real estate, Legal, Insurance, Advertising, and were looking forward to extending horizons. We set up Offshore Delivery Centers to businesses that want to have a dedicated development dream team of their own. Our technical specialists conduct training courses and workshops to share knowledge with those willing to grow professionally. We believe that our people are our greatest power. We value and treat each other with respect, and we welcome you to join us in inventing the future of the industry. Sponsored Content Policy: News-Medical.net publishes articles and related content that may be derived from sources where we have existing commercial relationships, provided such content adds value to the core editorial ethos of News-Medical.Net which is to educate and inform site visitors interested in medical research, science, medical devices and treatments. Porto Protocol launches series of Climate Talks Porto Protocol is launching a series of Climate Talks this month with a promise to raise debate, ask tough questions and present best practices, all with the aim of encouraging behavioural change. The first of these Climate Talks, on the sustainability of the wine bottle, will be held today at 5pm GMT through the Porto Protocol YouTube channel, featuring three leading wine industry specialists. The Elephant in the Room: Sustainable Packaging in Wine is the theme of todays talk, which aims to measure the weight of this elephant in the room the packaging. The event will be chaired by Marta Mendonca, from Porto Protocol, alongside guest speakers: Nicolas Quille from the Crimson Wine Group (USA), Santiago Navarro from Garcon Wines (UK) and Tiago Moreira da Silva from BA Glass Iberia (Portugal). Further Digital Conversations Climate Talks are scheduled for May 14, 21 and 28 and these are expected to continue on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. The Porto Protocol Foundation is a non-profit organisation founded by Taylors Port. It has hundreds of members who are united by a binding commitment to make a greater contribution to mitigating climate change. Related articles: COVID-19 has changed how and where we work. The old paradigms of conference room collaboration, watercooler discussions and packed auditorium training and announcements are giving way to virus safety concerns. Messaging Architects, an eMazzanti Technologies Company and email migration expert, presents three increasingly important reasons to migrate to Microsoft 365 in a new article on the Messaging Architects website. After discussing four standard reasons, the informative article offers Business-Grade Video Conferencing as the first new reason. The author continues by citing Teams Live Events and Dependable Security and Privacy as additional compelling reasons to migrate to Microsoft 365. COVID-19 has changed how and where we work, stated Greg Smith, Vice President of Services Delivery at Messaging Architects. The old paradigms of conference room collaboration, watercooler discussions and packed auditorium training and announcements are giving way to virus safety concerns. Below are a few excerpts from the article, New Reasons to Migrate to Microsoft 365. Business-Grade Video Conferencing Online meetings help to bridge the gap created by WFH policies, bringing team members into a virtual conference room. Because much of communication depends on nonverbal cues, video conferencing boosts engagement and improves morale. Teams Live Events Microsoft Teams Live Events makes the perfect medium for communicating important pandemic policy information to a dispersed working force. An extension of Teams Meetings, Live Events provides a powerful tool for executives and HR trainers to broadcast video and meeting content to an event-sized online audience. Dependable Security and Privacy With concerns surfacing over the security of Zoom video conferencing, the security and privacy controls in Microsoft 365 yield peace of mind rather than unwanted intrusions. For example, Microsoft provides for conditional access policies that require multi-factor authentication for risky situations. Migrate Now to Microsoft 365 The current business environment combined with its powerful available features provide plenty of reasons to migrate to Microsoft 365. When business leaders need to quickly master Microsoft 365 virtual meetings, Live Events or email options, they tap into the expertise of the consultants at Messaging Architects. They help migrate and configure Microsoft 365 systems properly to ensure maximum privacy, security and productivity. Have you read? 5 File Sharing Best Practices to Protect Business Data at Home 5 ways to Protect Your Business from COVID-19 Phishing SCAMS About Messaging Architects Messaging Architects specializes in effectively managing and securing an organizations most precious asset, its information. With over 20 years of information management and technology consulting experience, the Messaging Architects team has provided corporations, educational intuitions, health care facilities and nonprofits with methodologies, procedures and technology to keep their data organized, compliant and secure. About eMazzanti Technologies eMazzantis team of trained, certified IT experts rapidly deliver increased revenue growth, data security and productivity for clients ranging from law firms to high-end global retailers, expertly providing advanced retail and payment technology, digital marketing services, cloud and mobile solutions, multi-site implementations, 247 outsourced network management, remote monitoring and support. eMazzanti has made the Inc. 5000 list eight consecutive years, is a 4X Microsoft Partner of the Year, the #1 ranked NYC area MSP, NJ Business of the Year and 5X WatchGuard Partner of the Year! Contact: 1-866-362-9926, info@emazzanti.net or http://www.emazzanti.net Twitter: @emazzanti Facebook: Facebook.com/emazzantitechnologies. A total of 1,680 Meghalaya residents stranded in various parts of the Northeast due to the lockdown have returned to the state, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said on Thursday. He said all the returnees, arriving in the state since Wednesday, were screened and none of them has exhibited any coronavirus-like symptom. However, all the returnees will be quarantined for 21 days, the deputy chief minister said. The returnees are among the 3,000 Meghalaya residents stranded in other northeastern states -- who have registered themselves with the state government's portal or helpline numbers, he said. Tynsong said all the remaining 1,400 stranded Meghalaya residents are expected to arrive in the state by Sunday. Of the 12 COVID-19 cases reported in the state, 10 patients have recovered while one has died. Meanwhile, the state government has sought the Centre's help for bringing back the Meghalaya residents stranded outside the Northeast. "The state government has taken up the issue with the Centre. Chief Minister Conrad Sangma is in touch with Union home, road transport, railways and civil aviation ministers in this regard," Tynsong said. The issue was discussed at length during the Cabinet meeting held here on Thursday, he said. Over 8,000 people from Meghalaya are stranded outside Northeast, Tynsong said. "We are urging the Centre to provide us special trains or flights to bring back the stranded Meghalaya residents," the deputy chief minister said. Therefore, the decision to bring back the stranded persons only after May has been revoked, he said. "The message to our people stranded in different parts of the country is that please do not lose hope, have patience and cooperate with the government as we will not leave you behind," the deputy chief minister said. He said the state government will allow people arranging their own transportation to enter the state but only after they inform the nodal officer and undergo screening. "We are ready to receive them from May 11," he said, adding all the returnees will be quarantined. Tynsong lauded the people of the state for contributing Rs 8 crore to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund (CMRF) so far. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Increase to Postal Rates The Royal Gibraltar Post Office wishes to inform the public that new postage rates will come into effect as from 01.06.2020 Postal rates in Gibraltar were last increased in 2014. Whilst there are increases in the base letter postal rates, there are no increases in the additional grams rates so the impact will be minimum. The increases represent excellent value for money and the Royal Gibraltar Post Office will continue to offer amongst the best value rates in Europe for Local, European and International destinations. For example, sending a 20g letter or postcard from the United Kingdom to Gibraltar currently cost 1.35 but sending a letter from Gibraltar to the United Kingdom with the new rate will cost 0.90. The price updates will enable the RGPO to offset increased operational costs, many of which are outside its control. It is always regrettable to increase prices but as operational costs and onward conveyance fees charged for the delivery of mail by international postal operators increase, it becomes inevitable. The RGPO is very proud of the services it provides to 16,000 local addresses and the many hundreds of local businesses each day. These increases are vital so that the Royal Gibraltar Post Office can continue offering its Universal Service Obligation worldwide, invest in new technologies and resources and maintain the next day delivery service to our community. The disinvestment process for national carrier Air India looks "very uncertain" in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that has impacted the aviation sector the most globally, according to rating agency Crisil. In another attempt to sell loss-making Air India, the government, in January this year, sought Expression of Interest (EoI) and the deadline for submission of EoI has now been extended till June 30. Initially, the deadline was March 17 and was first extended till April 30. "With the current kind of environment, for people to bid for a known airline like Air India and the kind of commitment that they would have to make, it looks very uncertain that their process can go through in the current scheme of things," Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, Director and Practice Leader (Transport and Logistics) at Crisil Infrastructure Advisory said on Thursday. However, Crisil expects mergers and acquisitions of airlines in the face of the losses that the domestic carriers are estimated to suffer in the current situation. "The EoI might have been issued but in the current situation, airlines are unlikely to take up any new assets on its books." he said. "The Air India part of privatisation will have to wait for its turn. What is the timeline, I don't know as of now. But the current environment may not be the best time to go through (the sale process)," Padmanabhan said. In 2018, the government's efforts to divest Air India failed to take off. At that time, 76 per cent stake in the airline was to be sold. Under the current disinvestment plan, the government has proposed to sell 100 per cent stake in the airline along with entire shareholding in AI Express and 50 per cent in ground handling joint venture -- Air India-SATS. Of the airline's total debt of Rs 60,074 crore as of March 31, 2019, the buyer would be required to absorb Rs 23,286.5 crore, while the rest would be transferred to Air India Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL), a special purpose vehicle. Padmanabhan said all airlines irrespective of their size or business model or nature of operations have been impacted due to the coronavirus outbreak and all are looking at how to survive in the current situation. According to him, the domestic aviation industry is expected to incur combined loss to the tune of up to Rs 25,000 crore, with the airline sector accounting for an estimated loss of Rs 17,000 crore. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Northern Ireland's most senior doctor has said he believes infected staff were more likely to have caused Covid-19 outbreaks in care homes than the admission of new residents during the pandemic. (John Stillwell/PA) Many people are asking if the statistics on the impact of coronavirus on the residents of our care homes are so bad that the Department of Health has been hiding this information from the public. In her excellent article in Thursday's Belfast Telegraph Lisa Smyth raised the real concerns that many have about the lack of information being released by the Department of Health on what has been happening in this crucial part of our healthcare provision. Despite the fact that the Department receives up to date daily statistics on the situation in all care homes in Northern Ireland at 10.30am every morning, this information had not been made public for nine days. During this period the situation in our care homes has changed radically. I am aware of eight homes in Northern Ireland where 10 or more residents have died as a result of Coronavirus. These include Ringdufferin near Downpatrick, Glenabbey in Glengormley and Owen Mor in Londonderry. What shocked me about Lisa's article was that she had made numerous attempts to obtain up to date statistics from the Department of Health and the RQIA and was rebuffed on every occasion. The question that many people will be asking is - why are the authorities not being totally open and transparent about what is going on in our care homes? There is no doubt that the battle lines against coronavirus have now moved from our hospitals to care homes. It is therefore vital that everyone has up to date, accurate information on what is happening in this crucial sector. There can be nothing to be gained by hiding the grim reality from the public. I am convinced that when the full extent of the problem is revealed this will confirm that a huge investment of both financial support and staff must be directed to the care homes throughout Northern Ireland. If this does not happen there is a real danger that the sector will be overwhelmed. I speak with direct experience of the care home sector and have nothing but total admiration for the dedication - and indeed bravery - of all the staff working to protect vulnerable residents. I have, however, to state clearly that without additional support the health of many residents will be endangered and this help can only be targeted where it is most needed when all the statistics on the number of people with the virus, those who have been transferred to hospital and the number who passed away are known. DUP MLA Jim Wells is a former Stormont health minister AccuWeather forecasters are warning chances of snow and other wintry weather to break out across portions of the eastern United States, just after a winter storm spent the weekend making a mess of places from the Tennessee Valley through the Southeast and up the Eastern Seaboard into New England. Pritzker on Tuesday announced a five-phase plan to get Illinois reopened as the COVID-19 pandemic slows its toll on health care providers. The plan, from Rapid Spread to Illinois Restored, splits the state up into four regions and allows each region to advance depending on the rate of infection and number of hospitalizations in that region. The plan also emphasizes that a region can move backward if the health metrics indicate enough risk. PORTLAND Portland schools stafffers will be reaching out to their students to tell them they are not forgotten in these uncertain times. Joined by school administrators and town officials, as many as 100 teachers and other members of the schools community will stage a caravan of caring Friday. In turn, parents and children are making signs to thank the teachers. The Portland Community Appreciation Car Parade is scheduled to leave Portland High School at 10 a.m. Friday and will try to touch nearly every portion of town. The effort comes as Gov. Ned Lamont has declared schools will not reopen for the rest of the school year amid the coronavirus pandemic. Schools have been closed in Portland since March 16, although the last day children were in school was March 12. As of May 5, there had been 52 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in town and 12 fatalities related to the virus, according to the latest report from First Selectwoman Susan S. Bransfield. Jen Witschy, a parent who is a teacher in Newington, had taken part in a simple caravan there. She mentioned it to Gildersleeve School Principal Ryan Walstrom. Walstrom has two young children of his own (one in kindergarten, the other in the third grade), so he can appreciate the anxiety and upset the shutdown has cost. He readily agreed with Witschy that Portland should stage a caravan. Their next step was to reach out to Debbie Johnson, the school systems bus manager. It took no time to enlist Johnson in the effort. In turn, she reached out to police Capt. Ron Milardo so they could begin to craft the details. Susan Bransfield could not have been more supportive when she was approached, Walstrom said. Fire Chief Robert Shea was similarly enthusiastic when he was approached. Walstrom said he has invited school employees from across the spectrum to participate: teachers, paraprofessionals, office staff and custodians. More than just an opportunity to reach out to the children, Superintendent of Schools Philip B. OReilly said the timing of the event couldnt be more meaningful. We are so grateful to our teachers and staff and this celebration of our work and our love for our students is so fitting for Teacher Appreciation Week, OReilly said in an email Wednesday. The PTO is very involved in this as well, Walstrom said. They are creating posters to show their appreciation for our teachers, so this will be mutually beneficial. Working with Milardo, Johnson and Walstrom have come up with a plan. A police cruiser will lead off the parade following by a bus being driven by Johnson and carrying nine teachers to keep within the safety regulations. Fifty cars will follow. After a 10-minute wait, a second team will roll out, with Johnsons assistant Nancy Bordonaro driving a bus followed by an additional 50 cars. In addition to police cruisers, at least one fire truck, an emergency vehicle and a town truck also are expected to take part in the parade. The route that will be taken is on the Board of Education website: www.portlandctschools.org. Bransfield said the event has quickly morphed into a townwide celebration of students, teachers, parents, the school system and the town itself. As a town, we appreciate the hard work of both our teachers and their students, and this caravan goes to show Portland the remarkable teachers we are so fortunate to have. Bransfield said as the teachers and school staff are waving to the students, Parents, students and residents alike will be clapping for our teachers, and saying, Hello, we miss you, and its not the same without you. Organizers were expected to meet later Wednesday to discuss inclement weather plans, with the expectation that if the event were to be postponed because of rain Friday it would take place on Tuesday. jmill@middletownpress.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 10:13:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close The Iraqi parliament holds a vote on Mustafa al-Kadhimi's government in Baghdad, Iraq, early May 7, 2020. Iraq's prime minister-designate Mustafa al-Kadhimi was sworn in as the country's new prime minister after weeks of political negotiations. (Xinhua) BAGHDAD, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Iraq's prime minister-designate Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Wednesday was sworn in as the country's new prime minister after weeks of political negotiations. In a session attended by 266 lawmakers late Wednesday, the lawmakers approved 15 ministers proposed by al-Kadhimi, including Othman al-Ghanmi as interior minister and Gomaa Enad as defence minister. The ministers of finance, housing, health, and education were also approved, among others. The lawmakers rejected five ministers -- ministers of trade, justice, culture, agriculture and migration, and the ministries of oil and foreign affairs also remain vacant. "It is a difficult stage. The challenges that Iraq faces are great ... but they are not greater than our ability to address them," al-Kadhimi said in his address to the parliament before the voting. "This government came in response to a social, economic and political crisis to be a solution government, not a crisis government," al-Kadhimi added. After al-Kadhimi's swearing-in, he vowed to "work with the ministerial team to win the trust and support of the people. I hope that all political parties will unite to face the difficult challenges." Al-Kadhimi, 53, has headed the Iraqi Intelligence Service since June 2016. On April 9, Iraqi President Barham Salih named al-Kadhimi as prime minister-designate to replace Adnan al-Zurfi, and asked him to form a new government within 30 days. A former US special forces soldier has admitted he was part of a botched bid to oust Venezuela's president. In a video shown on state TV, Luke Denman claimed he signed a contract with a Florida-based security company to train rebel troops and carry out an assault to remove Nicolas Maduro from power in exchange for up to $100,000. He said the mission had been to secure an airport and then "bring in planes" including "one to put Maduro on and take him back to the United States". Mr Denman and Airan Berry, both former special forces soldiers who served in Iraq, were arrested on Monday following what authorities described as a botched beach landing in the fishing village of Chuao. Both men are associated with Silvercorp USA, a private firm founded by Jordan Goudreau, an ex-Green Beret, who said Operation Gideon was aimed at "liberating Venezuela ". :: Listen to Divided States on Apple podcasts , Google Podcasts , Spotify , and Spreaker In a virtual press conference, Mr Maduro said the failed plot was coordinated by Washington, adding: "Donald Trump is the direct chief of this invasion." Mr Trump has said the US had nothing to do with the attack and that Mr Goudreau is under federal investigation for arms trafficking. Meanwhile, secretary of state Mike Pompeo said: "If we'd have been involved, it would have gone differently." The operation, on Sunday, was allegedly financed by US-backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, according to Mr Goudreau. Mr Guaido has denied the claim. Eight people were killed at a beach near the port city of La Guaira - near the capital Caracas - during the foiled operation. Eight others - including Mr Denman and Mr Berry - were arrested. Footage said to show people detained after the raid was posted on Twitter and broadcast on state television. The US has imposed tough economic sanctions against Venezuela in an effort to oust Mr Maduro, who is accused of rigging elections in 2018. An extraordinary friendship between two war heroes from opposite sides of the world was pieced together 75 years after they were killed together in the same Lancaster Bomber thanks to the discovery of an old Bible. The religious book belonged to Flight Sergeant Morgan Swap - a wireless operator with the New Zealand Air Force during the Second World War. It was discovered by Alison Round, 54, from Staplehurst, Kent, whose uncle, Sergeant Edward Finch, known as Teddy, was a friend of Swap's in the RAF's 153 Squadron during the war. A bible belonging to New Zealand flight sergeant Morgan Swap was discovered by Alison Round, 54, from Staplehurst, Kent, whose uncle, Sergeant Edward Finch, known as Teddy, was a friend of Swap's in the RAF's 153 Squadron during the war The Bible belonging to Morgan Swap helped Mrs Round discover more about how her uncle died The two men died together on a bombing raid over Nuremberg just weeks before the end of the war in 1945. Mrs Round found the Bible while she was going through her aunt Jean Finch's possessions after her death two years ago. Alison said: 'I found this little blue Bible which I had never seen before. I saw on the inside it had been given to somebody called Morgan Swap when he was training in Calgary in Canada. 'I had never heard of him before but since finding that Bible I found out more about the flight crew and what happened to my uncle than I ever thought I'd know.' Ten Lancaster Bombers from 153 Squadron flew out to bomb Nuremberg on March 16, 1945, on a night raid but just nine made it back and all seven men on board the plane which was hit were killed. Morgan Swap and Sgt Finch, an upper gunner on the Lancaster, were aged just 22 and 20-years-old respectively. Edward Finch (left) and Morgan Swap (right) are buried at at Durnbach War Cemetery in Germany along with the rest of their crew Edward Finch and Morgan Swap with other members of the 153 Squadron which died during a night raid on Nuremberg, Germany Mrs Round said: 'It was so tragic as it was their first operation together and they were all so young, just young boys under instructions. 'They gave their all and they were so brave. My son is 22 now and I think there's no way he could have done anything like this, it really puts it into perspective.' After doing some research Sgt Finch's niece found out that Morgan was the youngest of four brothers from a town called Matamata in New Zealand. She and her husband Paul, 55, decided to visit the Swap family while on a trip to New Zealand for their wedding anniversary because they felt compelled to return the Bible to them. 'The Swap family member I heard back from was called Morgan, named after his great uncle,' she said. 'I was quite surprised to get a reply and was so pleased when they said yes.' The couple met up with the family for lunch and exchanged photos of their visits to the Durnbach War Cemetery in Germany where the crew were buried. Mrs Round said: 'That's when we realised we'd all been there at different times throughout the years. The Finch and the Swap family met up in New Zealand, including Morgan's nephews Lewis and David Swap with Alison Round (holding bible) and great nephews Morgan and Stephen 'It was a really special moment especially when we all realised it was 75 years to that month that the plane had been shot down. It was pretty incredible but also really emotional. 'It seemed to be fate, it all came together at the right time. Meeting the Swap family was one of the highlights of my whole trip. 'It was very emotional giving the Bible back. It was only a small Bible but they didn't have much of his at all. 'We met as strangers but said goodbye as friends, just like Teddy and Morgan.' The Swap family said if they were ever to visit England they would stay with the couple at their home in Kent. But one mystery of the remarkable tale which remains is why Alison's aunt had the Bible in the first place. 'None of us could work that one out,' she said. Teddy and Morgan's colleagues in 153 Squadron continued serving to the end of the war and, when the hostilities had finished, was called upon to drop food parcels to the Dutch. But, on their way to Holland, they were given special dispensation to fly over St Paul's Cathedral in London on VE Day so that they could witness the joyous celebrations in the streets below. Blunt Trauma: Cop Beats Black Teen Over Cigar, Sparking Outrage and Familiar Swisher Sweet Debate A shocking video of a police officer beating a 14-year-old African American boy over a Swisher tobacco cigarette is being shared across social media platforms around the world. In the clip that has been re-posted tens of thousands of times, a Rancho Cordova deputy is captured pummeling the youth in his chest as he presses him to the ground in an incident that happened April 27. Now, the family of the teen is calling for the firing of the officer, although stating that they understand the case involves a minor in possession of a cigarillo. ADVERTISEMENT There is no valid reason for Brian Fowell, an officer of the law, to punch a child in the face and chest. There is no valid reason for an officer to push a childs face into the ground against a curb by their neck, said Tanya Faison, founder of Black Lives Matter Sacramento in a written statement to California Black Media. This 14-year-old boy posed no threat to this officer and the actions officer Brian Fowell took are dangerous for our community. The incident happened near a 7-Eleven store where the Rancho Cordova Police Department (RCPD) reports that the youth received the tobacco cigarette from an adult. The video of the Rancho Cordova deputy repeatedly hitting and slapping a much smaller unarmed 14-year-old boy is disturbing to us as parents and frustrating to us as lawmakers, reads a statement the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) released to California Black Media. Over the last few years, the legislature has made clear their expectations about the appropriate use of force and the need to find alternatives, especially when it comes to unarmed minors, the statement continued. Race, Police Use of Force, Black Teens and Nicotine Addiction ADVERTISEMENT For decades now, activists have targeted tobacco products in the state of California, partially to deter young people from smoking or chewing the cured and dried leaves, which contain nicotine and can lead to addiction. Carol McGruder, co-chair of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, has been a major force in the anti-tobacco crusade in California. One of the main arguments she makes to lawmakers is her view that tobacco manufacturers target Black people with their products. McGruder has been working hard to put the brakes on menthol cigarettes, cigarillos like Swishers, and e-cigarettes, which are used for vaping, a favorite way to consume tobacco among teens. Vaping has led to severe respiratory illnesses among first-time smokers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Anger, disgust, rage, these are the feelings we felt as we watched the video, said McGruder. Rage that another Black boy was traumatized by police brutality. As horrific as this video is, what is more horrific is that the biggest invisible killer and profiler of Black boys, the tobacco industry, will be able to latch onto it and use the legitimate concerns of our community to block public health policies that would stop the industry from profiling and addicting our children. Some Black leaders, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, president of National Action Network agree that tobacco is harmful to Black teens. But they also believe that over-taxing or outlawing the substance particularly menthol cigarettes which Blacks smoke the most creates an illicit underground market that puts young Black people under the scrutiny of law enforcement officers. He cites the case of Eric Garner in New York City. Garner was illegally selling loosies, unlicensed retail cigarette sticks, before police officers subdued, suffocated and killed him. Police surveillance, they say, increases the odds of dangerous, often times deadly, run-ins with the law like the one involving the cops and Garner or the teen in Rancho Cordova. Often, tobacco and marijuana are used as smoke screens for racism and abuse in policing in Black and Brown communities, says the Rev. Tecoy Porter, President, Sacramento branch of the National Action Network. We must condemn those practices. Anti-Tobacco Laws in California and Around the U.S. The California legislature has passed several laws aimed at curbing the use of tobacco. But neither lawmakers, nor the states health nor its law enforcement authorities have enacted explicit policy safeguards to prevent what happened in the Rancho Cordova incident, critics say. San Francisco County was the first county in California to ban menthol cigarettes in the summer of 2017. In California, no state-wide ban has been put in place against the sale of flavored tobacco products. However, certain cities and counties in the state have instituted local ordinances prohibiting purchases. The county of Sacramento banned the sale of menthol cigarettes as of January 1 of this year. In September 2009, cigarettes with specific characterizing flavors were prohibited in the U.S., as part of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (TCA) that gave the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority over tobacco products. Despite the FDAs ban on flavored cigarettes, the overall market for flavored tobacco products continues to prosper. Tobacco companies significantly stepped up the introduction and marketing of flavored and other tobacco products (OTPs), particularly e-cigarettes and cigars, as well as smokeless tobacco and hookah tobacco. Black Boys Arent Born With a Newport or a Swisher Sweets in Their Mouths The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids says that tobacco companies claim to be responding to adult tobacco users demands for variety, but flavored tobacco products still have a key role in luring new users, they say, particularly kids, to a lifetime of addiction. Black boys arent born with a Newport or a Swisher Sweet in their mouths, says McGruder. Our community must understand that there is a highly organized and efficient system that does that. McGruder and other anti-Tobacco lobbyists say the police-use-of-excessive-force case in Rancho Cordova may have blown the lid off a problem that has been simmering for years. It has also put a focus on the Rancho Cordova Police Department and past allegations of police brutality. Black Lawmakers, Rancho Cordova PD Release Sparring Statements Sacramento County Sheriffs Department spokesperson Sgt. Tess Deterding said in a written statement that the deputy was in the area responding to citizens complaints about sales of alcohol, tobacco and drugs to minors. Its important to put the video footage into context, especially in relation to a use-of-force incident. In this case, the deputy saw what he believed to be a hand-to-hand exchange between an adult and juvenile, Deterding stated. The RCPD account stated that the officer had reasonable suspicion that criminal activity was occurring and the deputy attempted to detain the juvenile so he could continue the investigation. The juvenile became physically resistive, the RCDP continued in their written statement, causing the deputy to lose control of his handcuffs. The deputy attempted to maintain control of the juvenile without his handcuffs while alone waiting for his partners to arrive and assist him, the report said. Ultimately, the deputy recovered tobacco products from the 14-year-old, which the RCDP presumes is the reason for his resistance. These are the facts as we understand them at this time. This investigation is in its infancy and the facts as we understand them now are subject to change as we conduct a more thorough and complete examination of the circumstances surrounding this incident, Derterding stated. But Black lawmakers responded to the RCPD official statement, countering that this use of force is in no way proportional to the suspected crime or justified by the actions of the child. We will monitor this situation closely and expect that the officer will be held accountable for the abusive actions taken in the name of public safety. African Americans in Rancho Cordova Rancho Cordova is approximately 14 miles east of downtown Sacramento. It was incorporated as a city in 2003, and has its own municipalities, including a mayor, city council, fire department and the Rancho Cordova Police department that is contracted through the Sacramento County Sheriffs Department. The city whose history stretches back to the Gold Rush days of the mid-19th century and the era of the Pony Express has a population of over 74,000, the World Population Review reported, a number based on a 2017 U.S. Census Bureau estimate. The city, once home to Mather Air Force Base, is 60% White, 13% Asian, 21.6% Latino and 8.9% African American. Out of 6,347 Black people who live in Rancho Cordova, 23% have household incomes below the poverty line, the highest number of all ethnic groups in the city, according to the World Population Review. Most African Americans live in some of the most underserved and hard-to-count census tracts in the state, according to California Black Medias Counting Black California: Roadmap to The Hardest-to-Count Census Tracts report. Past Allegations of Police Misconduct Last weeks incident was not a first. The RCPD has been accused of aggression before and it has been hit by police misconduct lawsuits involving the Black community in the past. In March 2019, African American twins, Carlos and Thomas Williams, say the officers of RCPD allegedly choked and beat them before taking them into custody. The brothers filed a civil rights violation lawsuit, which claims they were arrested on a trumped up charge at Carlos Williams home. Adante Pointer, an attorney at the John L. Burris law firm in Oakland, who was speaking on behalf of the family of the 14-year-old Rancho Cordova teen, said this is too often the case. Were talking about a kid buying tobacco and an officer with an opportunity to actually build community relationships in dealing with a young man, said Pointer. Instead, Im certain, hes left a mark on this young mans spirit, soul and brain that will live with him for the rest of his life. UPDATE: State police name man shot by officer, file charges in knife incident A male brandishing an edged weapon was shot by a Stroud Area Regional police officer Wednesday afternoon in Stroudsburg, according to a news release from Pennsylvania State Police. He was treated at the scene then taken for further care at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono in East Stroudsburg, state police said. The incident remained under investigation by the state police Troop N Major Case Team, according to the release. It occurred about 4:30 p.m. when officers with the Stroud Area Regional Police Department were dispatched to 331 Main St. for the report of a suspicious male, according to the release. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Hyderabad, May 7 : Three migrant workers, who had returned from Mumbai, were among 15 people who tested positive for Covid-19 in Telangana on Thursday, taking the state's tally to 1,122. This is the first time that migrants have been tested positive in the state. This came to light during screening of migrant workers who had returned to Telangana from Mumbai, officials said. They clarified that no one among the migrant workers returning to their home states was found infected. The remaining 12 cases were all reported from Greater Hyderabad, the worst affected among all the districts. According to the Director of Public Health and Family Welfare, 45 people were discharged from hospital on Thursday. With this, the number of those discharged rose to 693. The state now has 400 active cases. No deaths were reported Thursday and the toll remains 29. ALEPPO, Syria The Syrian Response Coordination Group (RCG), a humanitarian nongovernmental organization assisting the displaced in northwestern Syria, issued May 4 a statement reporting the return of about 234,600 internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their towns and villages in the countrysides of Aleppo and Idlib, which are far from the contact lines with regime forces. This number was recorded between the start of the implementation of the cease-fire on March 6 and May 4. Mohammed al-Hallaj, director of the RCG, told Al-Monitor that his group documented 273 violations from the Syrian regime forces since the cease-fire was implemented more than a month ago. [Regime forces] have used artillery and missile shells as well as drones. Hallaj called on the international parties concerned with Syria to enforce the cease-fire in the countrys northwest and end the ongoing violations to facilitate the return of thousands of displaced. Dozens of displaced Syrians demonstrated April 23 in front of the Ghazawiya crossing near the city of Darat Izza, in northern Aleppo. The crossing connects the Turkey-backed armed opposition areas in the northern Aleppo countryside to areas in Idlib, in northwest Syria, controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which was designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the United Nations Security Council in 2018. International sanctions were imposed on the organization. Protesters want to proceed to their towns in Idlib countryside and are calling for the abolition of tolls demanded by those in charge of the crossing. The protesters condemned the practices of HTS and decried the risks they run as a result of the poor organization at the crossings. On April 16, the Crossings Department of the HTS-affiliated Syrian Salvation Government in Idlib, announced in a statement the reopening of the Deir Ballut crossing between the northern countryside of Aleppo and Idlib province in order to allow IDPs to return to their towns in Idlib countryside. They were displaced during the past months due to the military operations launched by the Syrian regime forces. In the same statement, HTS said the Ghazawiya crossing would open for commercial trucks carrying goods, but not for IDPs. In line with the measures aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus, the Crossings Department had announced March 30 the closure of all crossings between Idlib and Aleppo countryside and banned civilians from using such crossings between April 1 and April 15. Mahmood Talha, a journalist who is based in Aleppo countryside and who works with Thiqa News Agency, a local opposition network, told Al-Monitor, HTS imposes taxes on displaced people wishing to return to their towns in Idlib countryside and delays their journey by imposing lengthy inspection operations. The displaced are risking their lives due to the absence of any measures aimed at preventing the coronavirus pandemic. Hundreds of people are gathering in front of the crossing on a daily basis as they wait for their turn to complete their journey. The obstacles that HTS has imposed and the frequent closures of the crossings since the beginning of April have deepened the suffering of the displaced, put them at risk and delayed their return to their areas in Idlib countryside. Tens of thousands of IDPs have started returning to their towns after the fighting in Idlib stopped and relative calm prevailed following the cease-fire agreement in Idlib province that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian Vladimir Putin concluded March 5. The cease-fire came into effect March 6. In a statement issued April 16, the RCG called on the displaced returning to their homes to be cautious during their journey and watch out for any remnants of war and destroyed buildings that could collapse. The organization called on humanitarian organizations to work on resuming their activities in the areas that have begun to see the return of IDPs and to provide basic services. On April 20, the RCG released statistics documenting the return of 36,267 displaced families to their villages and towns in the countrysides of Aleppo and Idlib. RCG manager Mohammad Hallaj told Al-Monitor, The cease-fire in Idlib encouraged thousands of displaced families to return to their towns in Idlib countryside from their areas of displacement in the northern countryside of Aleppo. However, the difficulties they face at the crossings are marred by the daily breach of the cease-fire on the part of the regime forces. Such breaches seem to be intentional and aimed at preventing the return of the displaced to their homes, forcing them to stay away from their areas. We call on the international community to assume all its responsibilities toward civilians in northern Syria, and we blame the regime forces and their supporters for any new military escalation. Al-Monitor met with a number of families who had been waiting to cross from the Deir Ballut crossing in the northern countryside of Aleppo toward Idlib. Abu Mustafa, from the countryside of Jisr al-Shughour, in southwest Idlib, has a family of 10, all of whom were sleeping on the floor near the crossing as they waited for it to open. My family and I have been waiting for the crossing to open ever since sunrise. It is such a great hardship given the lines. We tried to arrive early to enter quickly, but there were many cars in front of the gate and people are slowly allowed in amid unnecessary security measures. Let's go back to our homes. Enough suffering, he told Al-Monitor. Mahmoud Ibrahim, an IDP from the city of Arihah in southern Idlib, was waiting with his family of five. Life far from home is tantamount to a catastrophe, to humiliation, oppression and suffering. I want to return to my city, to my neighborhood, friends and family. Enough of the displacement, he told Al-Monitor. I rented a house with my family for $80 in the city of al-Bab in northeast Aleppo and throughout our displacement I was unemployed. The living expenses alone are a catastrophe and the rent I am required to pay on a monthly basis made things worse. Returning home is better and spares me, to say the least, an amount of $80 per month, he noted. Ibrahim added, We will return to our house and start repairing it. Most of the houses that were not destroyed during the bombing have no doors or windows. My house is partially destroyed but it will be easy to repair it. Whats important is for the cease-fire to hold for a long time, he added. Salwa Mahmoud, a mother of three from the eastern Idlib countryside who lost her husband, told Al-Monitor, I will return to my house. I have a lot of expenses and living in a tent is no piece of cake. Do you know that we have to pay more than 100,000 Syrian pounds [$195] to move from the countryside of Aleppo to our town in southern Idlib? And the truck driver will ask us for more if the wait is long at the crossing. Those in charge of the Deir Ballut crossing do not fear God, she said. By Express News Service KOCHI: Keralites stranded abroad due to the Covid-19 outbreak will start reaching the state on Thursday as India begins its biggest evacuation exercise since the Gulf War in 1990-91. Air India Express flights carrying 179 passengers from Abu Dhabi and 189 from Dubai will touch down at the Kochi and Karipur airports respectively on the first day of the evacuations first phase running from May 7 to 13. The Abu Dhabi-Kochi flight is expected to arrive at 9.45 pm and the aircraft from Dubai at 10.30 pm. A third flight which was scheduled to arrive in Kochi from Doha on Thursday has been rescheduled for Saturday. The Air India Express crew members are ready for the mission a crucial one for the Indian government and they got the all-clear on Wednesday after testing negative for the coronavirus. The returnees will have to go in for 14-day quarantine -- one-week mandatory at the government facilities and the remaining days at their homes. Pregnant women will be allowed to go home straight from the airport and quarantine themselves there for 14 days. People above the age of 75 and children under 10 will also be permitted to go home. Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said all passengers would undergo Covid test at the boarding points, but Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said he had not received any response to the letter he wrote to the PM in this regard. All arrangements are in place. Those who are travelling must take all safety precautions and be very cautious right from leaving their residence to the airport, said Pinarayi. The CM added police officers in the rank of DIG have been assigned to take care of the safety of the states four international airports and the Kochi Port where the expatriates will be arriving. A total of 3,150 persons from the GCC countries and Malaysia will be flown in on 15 flights during the first leg. Nearly 5 lakh Keralites have expressed interest through the Norka- Roots website to return and the evacuation if the pandemic situation does not improve might last for months. A total of 1.7 lakh people were brought back from Kuwait during the Gulf war in the biggest evacuation ever. Centres priority will be emergency cases Former diplomat P S Sasikumar, who served in Abu Dhabi, Qatar and UAE, told TNIE that the diplomatic missions would be given full freedom to choose the passengers to be sent home. The highly-skilled personnel, professionals and well-paid persons will not come back. The diplomatic missions will be careful to ensure that illegal immigrants in these countries do not use the opportunity to sneak back into India. Yes, they are our citizens, but the Centres priority will be emergency cases, he said. Nurses at an area for treating Covid-19 patients at the Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City, April 10, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran. With the Covid-19 epidemic controlled to a great extent, Vietnam has lifted a ban on the export of medicines used to treat it. The Drug Administration of Vietnam has written to drug producers and distributors saying they can resume exports of 37 medicines after a month-long ban. On April 10 the government had directed the Ministry of Health to halt exports of drugs like immunoglobulin 5 percent, vancomycin 500 mg, meropenem 500 mg, ceftriaxone, levotloxacin 250mg/50 ml, and ceftazidime to ensure enough supplies for domestic use. The administration said in an announcement that since the situation in Vietnam is stable, exports could return to normal. There have been no deaths so far from Covid-19, and the country has gone 21 days now without community transmission. Of the total 271 confirmed cases so far, 232 have been discharged from hospitals and the remaining 39 are being treated. The nation has eased its social distancing orders, sent students back in school and resumes local transportation. On Wednesday, the Steering Committee on the Prevention and Control of Covid-19 spearheaded by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam suggested the government allow all non-essential businesses and services except bars and karaoke parlors to resume operation. The committee stressed the need to continue tightening control on all arrivals from abroad, as the condition inside Vietnam becomes stable. Thursday, May 7, 2020 Originally posted on CNBC.com by Fred Imbert 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. 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 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. "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. What will Buffett do with his massive cash pile? 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." Greg Abel takes stage with Buffett Questions over who Buffett's successor will be are also mounting ahead of the meeting, especially since Munger, 96, will not take shareholder questions alongside Buffett and instead he will be joined by Vice Chairman of Non-Insurance Operations Greg Abel. "I'm assuming we're starting to see some changes take place with Mr. Abel stepping up in [Munger's] place," said Womack of Womack Investment Advisers. "It makes sense. At some point, you have to start handing the baton off." Womack noted Abel appears to have been groomed to take over in recent years. Abel, 57, was promoted to his post in 2018 and even answered some questions at last year's shareholder's meeting. Prior to that, he served as Berkshire Hathaway Energy's chairman and CEO. His promotion along with him answering questions at last year's meeting were seen as hints by Buffett that Abel was in the running to succeed Buffett, who is now 89 years old. "I would say you look to Greg as the person who is going to be taking over Berkshire's chairmanship at some point," Womack said. CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report. To learn more about Greg Womack, CFP and his firm, Womack Investment Advisers, visit our website at www.womackadvisers.com. To receive a copy of our Womack Weekly Commentary on the markets and other related information (provided every Monday), email us at email@womackadvisers.com or call us at 877-340-1717. Best regards, Womack Investment Advisers, Inc. El ministro de Vivienda, @RodolfoYanezW, se encuentra en #Puno para coordinar con las autoridades regionales acciones que permitan contener la propagacion del #COVID?19. pic.twitter.com/dXpwGuC2ut 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 3.75 million Global deaths: At least 263,000 Most cases reported: United States (1,228,603), Spain (220,325), Italy (214,457), United Kingdom (202,356), France (174,224). The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University as of 12:32 p.m. Beijing time. All times below are in Beijing time. 6:00 pm: Norway's central bank cuts rates to zero Norges Bank, Norway's central bank, has cut its key interest rate to zero percent from 0.25% as it tries to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the economy. The move is a surprise to many as most economists polled by Reuters thought the bank would hold rates steady. It is the bank's third rate cut in less than two months. "Activity in the Norwegian economy has fallen abruptly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic," the bank said in a statement Thursday. "The downturn is amplified by the severe impact of the pandemic on surrounding countries and by a sharp fall in oil prices. Lower oil prices have contributed to weakening the krone exchange rate." Low interest rates cannot prevent the coronavirus outbreak from having a substantial impact on the Norwegian economy, but can help dampen the downturn, the bank added. Holly Ellyatt 5:30 pm: Spain's daily virus death toll falls again Spain's health ministry has reported that the country's daily coronavirus death toll fell on Thursday to 213, down from the 244 fatalities the day before. The total number of deaths has risen to 26,070, up from 25,857 the day before. The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus has risen to 221,447 from 220,325 the previous day (that's an increase of 754 cases). Holly Ellyatt 4:50 pm: Moscow's mayor estimates capital's coronavirus tally is more than triple the official number Sergei Sobyanin, Moscow's mayor, has estimated that the real number of coronavirus cases in the Russian capital was around 300,000, or three times higher than the official total, Russia's TASS news agency said Thursday. The official number of cases in Russia stands at just over 177,000 with 92,676 cases of the coronavirus in Moscow. Holly Ellyatt 4:05 pm: Russia reports 11,231 more infections a record high in daily new cases Russia reported 11,231 additional cases of the coronavirus disease over the last 24 hours a record high in daily new cases in the country, reported Reuters. Russia's tally of cases now stands at 177,160 since the outbreak, said the report, which cited the country's coronavirus task force. The death toll increased by 88 to 1,625, according to the report. Yen Nee Lee 3:25 pm: Singapore preliminarily reports 741 new cases Singapore's coronavirus cases increased by 741 to a total of 20,939, according to the health ministry's preliminary update. Most of the new cases detected were migrant workers living in dormitories, said the ministry. Those workers, mostly men from other Asian countries, have accounted for close to 90% of Singapore's total Covid-19 cases so far, according to official data. Yen Nee Lee 3:10 pm: Bank of England says UK economy could shrink by 14% The Bank of England said the U.K. economy could contract by 14% in 2020, with a sharp downturn expected in the first half of the year. The central bank has cut interest rates twice since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, but held rates steady at 0.1% in its latest monetary policy meeting. The BOE also voted to continue its 200 billion British pound ($247.55 billion) asset-purchase program. The U.K. has reported more than 202,000 coronavirus cases one of the highest globally, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The country's death toll of over 30,000 is the highest in Europe and second-largest globally, the data showed. Elliot Smith, Yen Nee Lee 2:05 pm: China's exports unexpectedly rose in April and economist suggests shipments of medical goods could have helped China's exports rose 3.5% for the month of April from a year ago, defying the 15.7% decline expected by economists polled by Reuters. Meanwhile, imports fell 14.2% from a year ago in April, worse than the 11.2% decline that was predicted. Liu Li-gang, chief economist for China at Citigroup, said before the data release that the country's medical exports likely rose in April as it shipped goods to the rest of the world that was battling the coronavirus outbreak. China's trade surplus for the month of April was $45.34 billion far better than $6.35 billion economists polled by Reuters had predicted. Huileng Tan 1:55 pm: China gets highest score in survey asking citizens to rate government response to outbreak China received the top score in a survey that asked people to rate their country's response to the coronavirus pandemic. The study by Blackbox Research and Toluna surveyed around 12,500 people from 23 countries last month. The respondents were asked to rate their nations in four areas: political leadership in the country, corporate leadership, community and media. China topped the ranking with a score of 85 out of 100, followed by Vietnam at 77 and the United Arab Emirates at 59, the results showed. The research also found that citizens from only seven countries rated their governments' containment effort as broadly positive. Karen Gilchrist, Yen Nee Lee 1:35 pm: Easing of social distancing measures is good news for bars and restaurants, says Hong Kong tycoon The easing of social distancing measures is good news for bars and restaurants in Hong Kong, and likely a "game changer" for the upcoming Mother's Day weekend, according to Allan Zeman, chairman of property developer Lan Kwai Fong Group. Bookings have dramatically increased following Chief Executive Carrie Lam's announcement this week that some social distancing measures put in place to tackle Covid-19 would be lifted, Zeman told CNBC on Wednesday. Following numerous days without any new local coronavirus cases, Hong Kong announced plans to relax social distancing measures including the reopening of venues such as cinemas, bars, beauty parlors, and schools. The easing will come into effect on May 8. Zeman expressed confidence that the Hong Kong economy will "bounce back quicker than anywhere else," and hopes that tourists will return once the border reopens. Audrey Cher 12:45 pm: India's total cases jump above 50,000 The total number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 52,952 an increase of 3,561 from the previous day, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. India's death toll increased by 89 to 1,783, the latest data showed. The government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed one of the world's strictest nationwide lockdown in late March to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Over the weekend, the government extended the lockdown for a second time until May 17 while easing some measures. Yen Nee Lee Customers stand on circles marked on the ground to maintain social distancing as they wait to enter the Reliance Mart mall during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the Covid-19 coronavirus in Ahmedabad on March 26, 2020. Sam Panthaky | AFP | Getty Images 12:25 pm: Philippines' economy unexpectedly shrinks in the first quarter The Philippine economy shrank by 0.2% year-over-year in the first quarter the first contraction since the fourth quarter of 1998, according to the latest data release by the country's statistics authority. A Reuters poll of analysts had expected the Philippine economy to grow by 3.1% year-over-year in the first quarter. The unexpected decline in gross domestic product came as the government locked down the main Philippine island of Luzon in an attempt to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Luzon is home to capital city Manila and around half of the country's 107 million population. Some lockdown measures have been relaxed since the start of this month, but strict stay-home orders still apply in Manila. The Southeast Asian country has reported 10,004 coronavirus cases as of Wednesday, with a death toll of 658, according to its department of health. Yen Nee Lee 11:55 am: New Zealand could ease restrictions further next week New Zealand said that shops could reopen and domestic travel could resume, if restrictions are further eased by next week, according to a Reuters report. Its highest level of restrictions were eased on April 28 as cases fell in the country, and now it's considering whether to lower its nationwide alert level from 3 to 2. If it does, people will be able to meet friends and family, or go shopping but still have to adhere to physical distancing while outside. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that if the alert level was lowered to 2, children can return to schools and employees can go back to work at offices, but the country's borders will stay closed except to returning citizens, according to the report. A decision on whether to lower restrictions will be made on Monday. Weizhen Tan 10:55 am: Germany reports more than 1,200 new cases Germany reported 1,284 new cases a jump from the 947 new infections a day earlier. That took its tally of confirmed cases to 166,091, according to the latest data by the Robert Koch Institute, a federal government agency responsible for disease monitoring and prevention. The country's death toll rose by 123 to 7,119. On Wednesday, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel announced steps to ease the lockdown, but also launched an "emergency brake" mechanism where restrictions could be imposed again if cases pick back up, according to Reuters. Weizhen Tan 10:30 am: South Korea reports 4 new cases as it reopens this week South Korea reported four new cases and one death, taking its total to 10,810 cases and 256 fatalities, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The country further relaxed social distancing rules on Wednesday, with businesses re-opening gradually. It also allowed gatherings and events to take place as long as people follow disinfection guidelines. Parks, libraries and schools are set to reopen gradually, according to Reuters. Weizhen Tan 9:20 am: Los Angeles to open some non-essential businesses on Friday Officials in Los Angeles county said that businesses including book shops, toy stores, clothing retailers and car dealerships will be allowed to start opening on Friday, though beaches will remain closed. However, shoppers can only pick up their purchases curbside, with in-store purchases not allowed for the time being, according to officials. County trails will also reopen, but those using them will have to wear face coverings and observe social distancing. GOld courses can also reopen. Ari Levy, NBC News 8:20 am: American Airlines will require all employees to wear face masks American Airlines will require all team members to wear face coverings while they are at work starting Friday, especially those interacting with customers. The airline previously required crew members and passengers to wear face masks. A number of major U.S. airlines have said they will require travelers to wear face masks or coverings on board their planes as carriers take steps to try to protect the health of passengers and crew. Delta, United and others have made them mandatory for flight attendants. Phil LeBeau 8:15 am: China reports 2 new cases, no deaths China reported both its two new cases were imported, or attributed to travelers coming from overseas. There were no new deaths, with total fatalities remaining at 4,633, according to its National Health Commission. Separately, there were six new asymptomatic cases, where people tested positive for the virus but did not show any symptoms. That brings its number of asymptomatic cases currently under medical observation to 880, the NHC said. Weizhen Tan 8:00 am: Brazil reports record high for daily new cases, deaths Brazil reported 10,503 new confirmed cases in the last 24 hours, a record high well above its previous high of 7,288 cases on April 30, according to Reuters, citing health ministry data. Fatalities rose by 615, also a new high compared with the 600 reported Tuesday. That prompted Brazil's health minister to warn that strict lockdowns could be imposed in badly-affected areas, the report said. While nonessential businesses are closed in most states in the country, a lockdown has so far been implemented in only one city Sao Luis. Brazil has reported a total of 125,218 cases and 8,536 deaths, according to Reuters. Weizhen Tan View of the popular shopping streets of downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 25, 2020, completely empty amid the pandemic of Coronavirus Covid-19. Luiz Souza | NurPhoto via Getty Images 7:55 am: Wall Street is too optimistic as global economies start reopening, Stephen Roach warns Yale University senior fellow Stephen Roach is worried Wall Street is miscalculating China's efforts to reopen its economy. He warned that demand is poor, and that's a bad sign for the U.S. economy as it begins reopening. "Chinese consumers remain fearful of going out in public, shopping, going to movies and enjoying activities that put them in close proximity with their neighbors," the former Morgan Stanley Asia chairman told CNBC's "Trading Nation" on Wednesday. "Consumer behavior is not all that dissimilar in populations subjected to an unprecedented shock in their health security." "This is not really going to be as easy an economic recovery as an optimistic market wants to presume at this point," he said. Stephanie Landsman 7:40 am: Former New Zealand prime minister says the blame game can wait until the pandemic is dealt with In connection with the Victory Holiday, the 28th anniversary of the Artsakh Republic Defense Army and the Liberation of Shushi, President Bako Sahakyan signed a number of decrees. A group of Defense Army servicemen and veterans of the Artsakh Liberation Struggle were awarded with high state awards for bravery and courage shown during the battles for the defense of the Homeland and substantial contribution to the defense of the Motherland, Central Information Department of the Office of the Republic of Artsakh President informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. For active and fruitful work, significant contribution to ensuring the development and security of the Artsakh Republic, a group of devotees of the state system and various spheres were awarded with high state awards and titles. This expansion establishes Dialog Direct as a true coast-to-coast warehouse and logistics partner, offering diversified support to some of our most valuable clients, said Dave Drayton, Chief Sales and Solutions Officer of Qualfon. Dialog Direct, a Qualfon company and provider of full-service marketing solutions, fulfillment and logistic services, has opened a new, state-of-the-art fulfillment center in North Las Vegas, NV. The company continues to grow its footprint by opening this fulfillment center on the West Coast, with an additional 25 sites around the globe providing on-demand print, fulfillment and contact center services. Dialog Direct has continued to see customer demands increase, including the need for a West Coast fulfillment facility. This growth is a testament to the needs of the Marketing Services industry, as businesses tackle the challenges of reducing costs and increasing operational efficiencies. This expansion establishes Dialog Direct as a true coast-to-coast warehouse and logistics partner, offering diversified support to some of our most valuable clients, said Dave Drayton, Chief Sales and Solutions Officer of Qualfon. We are excited to expand our services to our West Coast clients and look forward to the growth in the North Las Vegas community. The 75,800-square-foot building, located in North Las Vegas, offers unique value for Marketing Services because of the large labor pool and competitive labor costs compared to other U.S. markets. The space is leased from Dermody Properties, a privately-owned real estate development firm that specializes in the acquisition and development of logistics real estate for e-commerce fulfillment and distribution customers. Operations are already underway, with Dialog Direct employees providing fulfillment services for Great Minds PBC, a leader in high-quality pre-k through 12th grade curriculum. Great Minds has also seen its own rapid growth and expanding footprint as the creator of Eureka Math, the most widely used math curriculum in the country. The partnership allows Great Minds to streamline its distribution process by ensuring each school, student and teacher get the right curriculum at the right time. Great Minds will now be one of the only education publishers with a warehouse operation in close proximity to serve the West Coast. Dialog Direct will be responsible for kitting, packaging and distributing up to five million books on an annual basis. Like Dialog Direct, Great Minds is a rapidly growing, mission-focused organization. As an innovative and nimble provider in this traditionally staid space of PK-12 education, Great Minds was able to react to the rapidly evolving situation of the COVID-19 crisis. They quickly offered a new, online resource Knowledge on the Go free of charge to all teachers, students and their families to support the shift to online/distance learning that the country requires. With our new warehouse operated by Dialog Direct, Great Minds will be able to reach most of our West Coast customers in 2-3 days for typical shipments, said David Blair, Chief Business Operations Officer. With two warehouses, we can meet our growing demand and be more responsive to customer orders. Weve also made a substantial reduction in greenhouse gases by reducing the road miles for shipments that would have otherwise originated from our existing warehouse in Virginia. This growth marks a huge milestone for Qualfon, as we continue to grow our business, create more jobs and make each persons life better, said Mike Marrow, Chief Executive Officer of Qualfon. We would like to thank our clients, employees and business partners for making this opportunity possible. About: Qualfon is a full-service marketing solutions and contact center service provider offering full customer lifecycle management: lead generation, end-to-end integrated marketing, multichannel customer engagement and fulfillment. With experienced BPO leadership and a strong track record of business growth dating back to our founding in 1995, Qualfon helps companies reduce costs and deliver superior customer experiences. At peak, we have approximately 16,000 employees serving international brands across many industries, and our intelligent outsourcing locations span the United States, the Philippines, Guyana, Mexico and Costa Rica. Qualfons mission to be the best and make each persons life better means we invest in our people and, in return, they take better care of you and your customers. Qualfons employee retention regularly exceeds the industry average, which creates a person-driven value chain: our employees stay longer, providing a higher quality service at a lower price. "Our man Pritzker isn't going to get away with it in this group," Long said, as he carried the microphone to the next person in the parking lot. "He may be able to get away with it in his group and convert some people who aren't strong enough to say what's on their mind." Speaking through the ZOOM meeting, Rock Island County board District 16 candidate Jim Uribe took aim at Democrats. "I've never seen this extreme hate for our president by Democrats at the national level," Uribe said. "I am just shocked and I don't understand the glee over the fact that people are dying and losing their jobs and (Democrats) say stuff to me like, 'Your boy Trump is causing all this.' "Folks, I'm not kidding you; (Democrats) are happy that people are dying," Uribe said. "They're happy that people are losing their jobs. That's why I can no longer be nice to these Democrats that want to destroy our nation." Long said the breakfast club would continue to meet at 9 a.m. every Wednesday at City Limits. "We'll be here," he said. "We'll use the face masks, we'll use the (social) distancing from each other. Everybody's welcome. We hope we fill up the whole parking lot next time. Some of the decisions made in Illinois are politically motivated. We're going to win this; we're going to get it done, and the Ronald Reagan Breakfast Club is going to be the leading group again." Nurses protest outside the White House Thursday, May 7, 2020. Eighty-eight pairs of shoes laid on the red brick of Lafayette Park in front of the White House Thursday honoring the 88 nurses who died of COVID-19, part of a protest demanding better protective equipment for frontline workers. Nurses of National Nurses United also read out the names of their colleagues who died and gave remarks in their honor, while also criticizing the Trump administration's support for nurses' personal protective equipment needs. Medical professionals who are in direct contact with infected patients require a large supply of PPE as they must change their masks and gear frequently. The protest falls on National Nurses Week and is one of the events held by the group that include an online vigil May 12 where nearly 1,000 nurses are expected to sign on and show their solidarity. Nurses Week 2020 is unlike any other, said NNU executive director and nurse Bonnie Castillo. We find ourselves in more danger than ever before, as nurses are sent to the front lines to fight COVID-19 without safe personal protective equipment. The organized protest also comes a day after President Donald Trump contradicted a nurse who mentioned that the availability of PPE has been sporadic during an Oval Office event Wednesday to recognize National Nurses Day. Sophia Thomas, president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, told the president that she had been reusing the same N95 medical mask for weeks and only brought a new one for her visit to the White House. Still, Trump dismissed reports of shortages as fake news." New tests in the White House: White House employee tests positive for coronavirus, Trump and Pence test negative Nurses protest outside the White House Thursday, May 7, 2020. Additionally, the pandemic has left states racing to cut deals for medical supplies, and has created a bidding war for PPE. The national stockpile is too depleted to fill widespread shortages of face masks, gloves, ventilators and other medical supplies, so some states have taken extraordinary steps to procure the critical equipment. Trump said governors should take the lead in obtaining supplies for their own states while the federal government plays a "backup" role. Contributing: Savannah Behrmann, USA TODAY; Associated Press. Follow Adrianna Rodriguez on Twitter: @AdriannaUSAT. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nurses week: 88 nurses killed by coronavirus honored at White House ENS Economic Bureau By NEW DELHI: Crisis-hit Yes Bank has posted a net loss of Rs 16,418.02 crore in FY20, on account of shrinking loan book and high none performing assets as 63 per cent of its corporate investments have been declared non-performing investments. The bank had reported a profit of Rs 1,720.27 crore at the end of financial year 2018-19. For the March quarter of FY20, the bank gained from income from write-down of additional tier 1 (AT1) bonds worth Rs 6,296.94 crore, after deducting taxes. This write down helped the bank post net profit of Rs 2,628.61 during the quarter ending March 31, against a net loss of Rs 1,506.64 crore in the same period last fiscal. Yes Bank's Net Interest Income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, declined to Rs 6,805 crore during FY20, as compared to Rs 9,809 crore reported during the previous financial year. Interest earned by the bank during FY20 stood at Rs 26,066.61 crore, as compared to 29,624.75 crore in FY19. YES Bank's operating profit declined to Rs 3,518 crore in FY20, from Rs 8,135 crore posted at the end of FY19. This was the first result after the RBI ordered restructuring of the bank. The bank attributed loss to worsening asset quality during FY20 as 63 per cent of its corporate investments have been declared non-performing investments. Gross NPAs rose to Rs 32,877.59 crore, or 16.8 per cent of gross advances, during the fiscal under review, as compared to Rs 7,882.56 crore, in the previous financial year. ALSO READ| ED files charge sheet against Rana Kapoor in Yes Bank case Net NPAs grew Rs 8,623.78 crore, 5.03 per cent of net advances, crore during the fiscal 2019-20, from Rs 4,484.85 crore, 1.86 per cent of net advances reported during fiscal 2018-19. YES Bank's provisions and contingencies skyrocketed to Rs 32,758.43 crore during FY20, in comparison to Rs 5,777.56 crore seen during the previous fiscal. Meanwhile Enforcement Directorate had filed it's charge sheet against it's former promoter Rana Kapoor in the Mumbai Court. The charges levelled against Rana Kapoor included kickbacks of more than Rs 5,500 crore, anomalies in distributing bank loans to corporate entities by misusing his official position, creating shell companies for laundering money, defaults, and creating tainted assets. The over 10,000 pages chargesheet, named his wife, Bindu; three daughters Rakhee, Roshini, and Radha and three firms, Morgan Credits, RAB Enterprises (India), and Doit Urban Ventures, allegedly controlled by the family. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott slammed local officials in Houston and Dallas on national television on Wednesday night for being too quick to threaten people with jail time during the coronavirus pandemic for not wearing masks and trying to operate their businesses even though his own executive orders allowed incarceration for Texans who violate them. Then on Thursday morning, Abbott announced he is taking that threat of incarceration out of his own executive orders, and making it retroactive to ensure a Dallas salon owner would be released from jail. Abbotts new order comes as Dallas hair salon owner Shelley Luthers arrest for operating her businesses in defiance of stay-at-home orders has made national headlines. Luther, owner of Salon A La Mode, was sentenced to jail time on Tuesday after judge Eric Moye said she violated statewide stay-at-home orders when she reopened her business nearly two weeks ago. Abbott has allowed salons to begin re-opening on Friday. In most of his executive orders issued during the outbreak, Abbott has included a line stating: failure to comply with any executive order issued during the COVD-19 disaster is an offense punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000, confinement in jail for a term not to exceed 180 days, or both fine and confinement. RESTRICTIONS CHALLENGED: As COVID-19 restrictions drag on in Texas, legal challenges gain a foothold In an appearance on Hannity on Fox News, Abbott said Houston officials had threatened jail time for anyone who did not wear a mask which is not true. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgos order requiring masks included a fine up to $1,000 but did not have jail time as a possibility. In Houston, they were issuing fines and potential jail time for anybody who refused to wear a mask, Abbott said. Wearing a mask is the best practice, however, no one should forfeit their liberty and be sent to jail for not wearing a mask. Hidalgo has said she never intended to fine people. She said putting the fine in the order was meant to send a message that it was not optional to wear a face covering. She has said she did not know of anyone who had been issued a fine. But it wasnt just Houston taking fire from Abbott. During the same interview, Abbott went after the policies of Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot. In Dallas County, the Dallas County District Attorney announced a policy that hes not going to prosecute any thief who steals things valued at less than $750, Abbott told Hannity. At the same time authorities in Dallas are talking about releasing inmates from prison or jail because of the possibility of contracting COVID-19. TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox Abbott was referencing a policy put in place more than a year ago by Creuzot. Creuzot said he was not going to prosecute thefts of personal items under $750 that are stolen out of necessity such as food or baby formula. However, Creuzot said he would still prosecute other thefts of items under $750 in value. Criminalizing poverty is counter-productive for our communitys health and safety. For that reason, this office will not prosecute theft of personal items less than $750 unless the evidence shows that the alleged theft was for economic gain, the criminal justice reform plan issued by Creuzots office stated. OPINION: Abbotts order sent Shelley Luther to jail A spokeswoman for Creuzot said the program was meant to reduce overcrowding in the jail and avoid incarcerating people for months over minor thefts. Abbott has been venting about Creuzots program for more than a year. On Twitter last year he slammed Creuzot. If someone is hungry they can just steal some food. If cold, steal a coat. Where does it end? Abbott said in a Tweet. Abbott himself is a former judge and was the Texas Attorney General before winning the governors office in 2014. In an effort to gain more firms for India, the Centre is seeking to lure more than 1,000 US businesses, including medical devices giant Abbott Laboratories, to relocate from China even as President Donald Trumps administration has been accusing Beijing for its role in the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report by Bloomberg. The report states that the government in April reached out to more than 1,000 companies in US through overseas missions to offer incentives for manufacturers seeking to move out of China, according to officials. India is prioritizing medical equipment suppliers, food processing units, textiles, leather and auto part makers among more than 550 products covered in the discussions, they said. Bloomberg had earlier reported that India has identified a total area of 4,61,589 hectares to lure businesses moving out of China, an area almost double than that of Luxembourg. According to the report, that includes 1,15,131 hectares of existing industrial land in states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, they said. Land has been one of the biggest impediments for companies looking to invest in India, with the plans of Saudi Aramco to Posco frustrated by delays in acquisition. Prime Minister Narendra Modis administration is working with state governments to change that as investors seek to reduce reliance on China as a manufacturing base in the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak and the resultant supply disruption. The Prime Ministers Office, Niti Aayog and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade are firming up a plan to offer incentives to attract companies looking to shift manufacturing activities out of China. KUTTAWA, Ky. - A Kentucky woman celebrated her 109th birthday Wednesday by watching fire trucks, community leaders and loved ones drive by her home as part of a parade. Ruth Evelyn Harrington, a Kuttawa resident, has lived through two world wars, 17 American presidents, Prohibition and the 1918 Spanish Flu but was still looking forward to her birthday all week, employees at the Rivers Bend Retirement Community said. On Wednesday afternoon, dozens of vehicles drove by Rivers Bend carrying signs wishing Harrington a happy birthday and telling her to stay positive. Electronic traffic signs with her name also drove by while Harrington sat outside with a protective face mask, news outlets reported. Rivers Bend administrator Stacey Bullock said the idea for the parade started with Harringtons family. But it grew as more people in the community learned of the event. It was great, Harrington told employees after the parade. I didnt really deserve it. Harrington was born on a Tennessee farm on May 6, 1911. In 1927, she married Paul Harrington, who has since died, and later moved to Kentucky. They opened up Calvert Drive-In in 1953, a drive-in movie theatre in Marshall County that still operates today. Harringtons grandson John Harrington, who now runs the drive-in, said his grandmother ran operations for 60 years, selling tickets well into her 80s. John Harrington said he was impressed with the turnout and thanked the community, The Paducah Sun reported. As for plans for a 110th birthday party, shes probably in there making them right now, John Harrington said. On Wednesday, health officials reported the first COVID-19related death of a U.S. immigration detainee. The 57-year-old man had been at the Otay Mesa Detention Facility in Southern California, and was hospitalized in April. Eric McDonald, a medical director at San Diego County's public health department, said the man died Wednesday morning from complications of COVID-19. The facility, operated by a contractor, has reported 132 coronavirus cases among detainees, NBC News reports. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says 10 employees there have also been infected with the virus. Last month, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the Otay Mesa center, in an attempt to compel ICE to release detainees amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement, Paola Luisi, co-director of the immigration advocacy group Families Belong Together, said President Trump's "immigration system took another life. You cannot cage a virus, and it is impossible to safely physically distance behind bars. We fear this tragic death will be the first." More stories from theweek.com Trump reportedly got 'lava level mad' over potential exposure to coronavirus Sen. Joe Manchin forgot to mute a call with Senate Democrats while he went through an Arby's drive-through Did we just witness one of the nuttiest foreign policy blunders in American history? Georgia prosecutor wants to bring shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery to grand jury: This is murder A Georgia prosecutor said Tuesday that he wants a grand jury to decide if criminal charges are warranted in the death of a man shot after a pursuit by armed men who later told police they suspected him of being a burglar. Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was killed Feb. 23 in a neighborhood outside the coastal port city of Brunswick. No one has been arrested or charged in the case, prompting an outcry from the local NAACP and others. Arbery was black and the men who chased him are white. All I want to do is get justice for my son, said Marcus Arbery, the slain mans father, who believes his son was out jogging when he was killed. This is terrible. It could happen to anybodys kid. ADVERTISEMENT The announcement that a grand jury will review the case came as an attorney for Arberys mother posted a cellphone video on Twitter that he said shows the shooting. This is murder, lawyer Lee Merritt said. Mr. Arbery had not committed any crime and there was no reason for these men to believe they had the right to stop him with weapons or to use deadly force in furtherance of their unlawful attempted stop, said a statement by Merritt, who represents Arberys mother, Wanda Cooper. Tom Durden, an outside prosecutor assigned to examine the case, said he plans to have a grand jury hear the evidence in the shooting. That wont happen for more than a month, as Georgia courts remain largely closed because of the coronavirus until at least June 13. I am of the opinion that the case should be presented to the grand jury of Glynn County for consideration of criminal charges against those involved in the death of Mr. Arbery, Durden said in a statement Tuesday. Reached by phone, Durden said no arrests have been made in connection with the shooting. He declined to say what charges he would have a grand jury consider. ADVERTISEMENT The cellphone video, initially posted by a Brunswick radio station, shows a black man running at a jogging pace on the left side of a two-lane road. A truck is parked in the road ahead of him, with one man in the pickup bed and another standing beside the open drivers side door. The runner crosses the road to pass the pickup on the passenger side, then crosses back in front of the truck. A gunshot sounds, and the video shows the runner grappling with a man in the street over what appears to be a shotgun or rifle. A second shot can be heard and the runner can be seen punching the man. A third shot is fired at point-blank range. The runner staggers a few feet and falls face down. I think the video is very clear that they were on the truck with guns hunting him down, said Benjamin Crump, an attorney for Arberys father. I dont know what more you need to make an arrest. Durden declined to comment Tuesday when the prosecutor was asked if he could verify that the video showed the shooting of Arbery. According to an incident report filed by Glynn County police, Arbery was shot Feb. 23 after two men spotted him running in their neighborhood and armed themselves with guns before getting in a truck to pursue him. Gregory McMichael told police that he and his adult son thought the young man matched someone caught on a security camera committing a recent break-in in the neighborhood. According to his father, Arbery didnt live far from the Satilla Shores neighborhood where the McMichaels gave chase after spotting him on a Sunday afternoon. The police report says Gregory McMichael told officers he and his son first tried to stop Arbery by shouting, Stop, stop, we want to talk to you! McMichael said his son got out of the truck and the Arbery began to violently attack him and the two men then started fighting over the shotgun, the police report said. The police report says Gregory McMichael turned Arbery onto his back to see if he was armed but the report doesnt say whether he had a weapon or not. The Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama-based civil rights group, has demanded the U.S. Justice Department investigate. A phone number listed for Gregory McMichael has been disconnected. The Associated Press could not immediately find a phone listing for Travis McMichael. Jackie Johnson, the district attorney for Glynn County, recused herself from the case because Gregory McMichael worked as an investigator in her office. He retired a year ago. Sorry! This content is not available in your region In the midst of all that, Arnault is on the hook to pay $US16 billion for Tiffany & Co. in what was billed as the luxury industry's biggest-ever acquisition. LVMH has pushed back at any suggestion that it would walk away from the deal or renegotiate the price after the US jeweller's business similarly stalled. "What's happened with COVID-19 is a perfect storm for luxury," Ortelli said. "You've got a contraction in GDP along with an increase in uncertainty." Loading Still, investors would be writing Arnault off at their own peril. LVMH shares have fared better than those of Gucci-owner Kering and watchmaker Richemont, which have fallen 25 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively. Arnault's brands, their juicy margins, and his cash pile of about 9 billion euros ($US9.72 billion) give him the flexibility not just to ride out the crisis but to keep expanding, experts say. Historically, Arnault has made a career out of investing through downturns when his competitors were too weakened or too skittish to forge ahead. The recession in the early 2000s saw him squeeze Prada Group out of its shareholding at his newly-acquired Fendi brand. It was also when he launched the first luxury e-commerce emporium and built in Tokyo what was then Louis Vuitton's biggest-ever store. "You could divide the world's top billionaires into highly successful risk managers and highly successful risk takers; Arnault is a highly successful risk taker," said Pauline Brown, the former chairman of LVMH Americas. "When he feels momentum and long-term potential, he uses the resources he has to go after it aggressively." LVMH's strategy has often been to spend big to win big. In recent years, a sort-of communications race against the likes of Chanel and Gucci has seen the company flying hundreds of guests each spring to runway shows around the world, housing them in plush addresses like the French Riviera's Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc or Marrakech's La Mamounia resort. Such extravagance has served to reinforce the cachet of Arnault's biggest brands. Luxury brands around the world have been hit hard by the pandemic. Credit:AP Such events were scuttled this year, along with much of the budget for developing the accompanying collections. Advertising spending was also slashed, along with the next season of menswear and haute couture fashion shows that would normally have taken place in June and July. Some of the events are likely to be replaced by less expensive presentations online. What's perhaps extraordinary, however, are the investments that Arnault still plans to maintain. With the outlook for international tourism still cloudy, LVMH is sticking to its plan to reopen the Samaritaine department store in Paris as a duty-free shopping hub and luxury hotel. Construction has resumed with the $US1 billion dollar project now targeting a possible February opening. LVMH also plans to build a Cheval Blanc luxury hotel on Los Angeles's Rodeo Drive. Givenchy is moving forward with plans to recruit a new designer and retool the brand's aesthetic in time for a September fashion show - even if virus-related restrictions might preclude gathering a crowd for the designer's debut. In contrast, Italian shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo said it suspended or cancelled non-fundamental investments in March. With LVMH set to report its steepest-ever declines - analysts currently expect first-half operating profit to fall by roughly half - Arnault could still make deep cuts. Already in the US, LVMH's Sephora chain laid off more than 3000 people, or about 30 per cent of its store staff, in early April. While other recent crises were purely economic, "this one is psychological, and could last for a generation," Brown said. "I think it's going to call for a very different approach across the portfolio." LVMH's core assets are "very tightly managed, but there is this long tail of smaller brands that don't get the same scrutiny," she said. Still, with its cash pile and with sales showing green shoots of a rebound in China, LVMH could just as well double down on investing through the crisis. Highly specialised suppliers, prime real estate and top talents could all come up for grabs. And while Arnault isn't known for being a bargain hunter, he'd be loath to pass up on opportunities to add unique assets to his stable. The industry's fate, and Arnault's with it, will largely depend on China, a market that's made up more than one-third of luxury sales and two-thirds of the sector's growth in recent years. "In April, in the large brands, we've seen very high growth rates in mainland China," LVMH Chief Financial Officer Jean-Jacques Guiony said during an April 16 investor call. "It really shows the appetite of Chinese people after two months of lockdown to come back to their previous pattern of consumption." Loading Consumer data, however, shows many Chinese plan to spend more cautiously. And even if the pent-up demand that's been called "revenge spending" there is real, the boost won't be enough to ease the luxury industry's woes. Closer to home, Monday will provide LVMH's first big test for relaunching its business in the rest of the world, as France's lockdown measures start to ease. After the company reconfigured French factories to crank out protective masks and sanitising hand gel - as much as 60 tonnes per week - since March, production of its famed accessories has resumed. The Kindred Spirits sculpture consists of nine stainless steel feathers and towers 20 feet in the air in Midleton, County Cork. The feathers, which form the shape of an empty bowl, commemorate a donation made by the Choctaw Nation to the starving Irish during the Great Famine. (Photo courtesy of Midleton Town Council) Indian film personalities such as R Madhavan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rakul Preet Singh, SS Rajamouli and others on Thursday expressed dismay after at least 11 people died and 1,000 others were exposed to the gas leak tragedy at a chemical plant in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam. The tragedy, which took place in the early hours of Thursday, comes at a time when the country is reeling with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The gas leak impacted villages within a 5-km radius of the plant, according to officials. Taking to Twitter, Madhavan said he is praying for the safety of those exposed to the leak. "I hope the sick ones recover soon," he added. Ayushmann said he is "extremely saddened" to hear about the gas leak. "Praying for everyone's safety there. Condolences to the families of the victims," the actor tweeted. Rakul said she hopes measures are taken to get things under control soon. "Stay safe my Vizag people," the actor, who has done many films in Telugu and Tamil cinema, wrote. Rajamouli said he is deeply disturbed by the visuals from the Vizag gas leak. "Praying for the recovery of those admitted to the hospital. Heartfelt condolences to those who lost their near and dear ones," the "Baahubali" director said. Bollywood veteran and BJP MP Sunny Deol said he is praying for the well being of all and offered condolences to the families of the deceased in the tragedy. South star Mahesh Babu said it was "heart wrenching" to hear the of the gas leak, "more so during these challenging times". "Heartfelt condolences and strength to the bereaved families in this hour of need. Wishing a speedy recovery to those affected. My prayers for you... Stay safe VIZAG," he wrote on the microblogging site. Actor Kajal Aggarwal said she was sending "all my love and support" to those affected by the tragedy. "I hope all necessary measures are taken to make sure the affected people recover at the earliest. My thoughts and prayers with the people of Vizag," said her "Magadheera" co-star Ram Charan. Actors Arjun Kapoor, Tamannah Bhatia, Ali Fazal, Sidharth Malhotra, Kartik Aaryan and Swara Bhasker also offered their condolences to the victims and their families, and prayed for the speedy recovery of the survivors. The grim scenes of the tragedy recalled the Bhopal gas leak, the world's worst industrial disaster in which more than 3,000 people were killed and lakhs affected when methyl isocyanate gas leaked out from a Union Carbide plant on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ex-employees of Alfa Bank to stand trial on information disclosure charges RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 12:45 07/05/2020 MOSCOW, May 7 (RAPSI) A court in Russias Arkhangelsk will hear a case against two ex-employees of Alfa Bank charged with disclosure of information on accounts of the banks clients, according to a statement of the Prosecutor Generals Office. Indictment has been already approved against the defendants, the statement reads. According to investigators, from December 2018 to March 2019, the accused persons disclosed information on the amount of money deposited by certain clients on the bank accounts. Each of them received a 62,500-ruble (about $845) reward for these actions. The information was allegedly used further to make depositors passports and opening of banking cards aiding criminals to steal over 8.5 million rubles ($115,000) from the accounts of 3 customers. A large-scale theft case was opened against people, who had stolen the funds, the prosecutors stated. WESTPORT Years of fighting wildfires has helped the Westport Fire Department to provide quick responses in a town once considered the epicenter of COVID-19 in the state, its officials said. Deputy Fire Chief Mike Kronick said hes been fighting wildfires since 2001 and has been on 13 national and international wildfire assignments throughout the western United States and into Quebec. I remember watching the fires of Yellowstone on the nightly news in 88, said Kronick, who admitted hes always been interested in fighting wildfires but wasnt able to do so until he joined Westport Fire. I was in high school at the time and it was something I was very interested in doing. The link between wildfires and the pandemic has to do with incident management, he said. Kronick said a highly detailed system used to combat wildfires since the 70s presented a pattern for how to build a system to manage the impossible at a moments notice. How to put the wildfire out is not the tool thats making it easier for the chief and I to do our job, he said. Its the machine of getting hundred if not thousands of people mobilized around the country, putting them in a remote location, supporting them with logistics and getting them highly organized in order to fight a fire. Westport Fire Chief Robert Yost said Kronick got him involved in combating wildfires years before the pandemic arose. While taking an operations class for hazards in 2014, he said he noticed a wildfire committees grasp of incident management. His suggestion was if you really want to learn it, you have to be experienced and really go out there, Yost recalled. Yost joined Kronick for his first wildfire assignment in 2016. When news of several attendees of a private party in town testing positive for the coronavirus broke, Yost said he immediately put his organization experience to work. Mike and I both suggested to the first selectman that we need to start up an incident management team and deal with this just like we would do for a wildfire, which is a long-sustained, multi-operational, sometimes no-end-in-sight operation, he said. The team was established with town officials and first responders collaborating to manage a pandemic whose long-lasting impact remains unclear. This isnt a house fire that were going to put out in a few hours, Yost said. This is going to be a long, drawn-out battle and we have to prepare for what is essentially going to be a logistic war for getting the supplies and personnel to deal with this. Kronick said in the past 20 years, his department has prepared four or five times for what was expected to be similar crises. Because of the preparation, the fire department did not face shortages of supplies when the pandemic hit, he said. Over the last 20 years, weve always maintained a significant amount of equipment on hand just in case, Kronick said. Similar to when any disaster unwinds, he said local government agencies could face new challenges including a lack of funding that could make it difficult to respond. Theres been a lot of career-type events which are going to change the way we do business and they do and it ends up being another thing we have to do on a regular basis, Kronick said, but we dont get the support financially or manpower wise to deal with it in years to come. For now, Kronick said, a collaborative effort across town has helped to slow the pandemics impact. By getting everybody to work on the same page, weve been able to make a difference, he said. dj.simmons@hearstmediact.com North Wales health leaders urge the public to continue to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives This article is old - Published: Thursday, May 7th, 2020 The Chair and Chief Executive of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board have thanked people across North Wales for the crucial role they are playing in helping the NHS cope with the COVID-19 crisis. Chair, Mark Polin and Interim Chief Executive, Simon Dean have praised the public response to the Welsh Governments stay at home guidance, which is helping to successfully contain the spread of the virus, save lives, and ensure that the regions hospitals arent overwhelmed. But as Wales prepares to enter its eighth week of lockdown, and with a Bank Holiday weekend approaching, they have warned that its too early for people to let their guard down. Mark Polin said: On behalf of all of our staff who are working so hard to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak I want to thank people in communities across the region who are following the stay at home guidance. Your actions and sacrifices, together with the measures we have already taken to increase bed capacity in our existing hospitals, have ensured that although busy, our hospitals have so far been able to cope with the additional demands placed on us by COVID-19. Your support also means that our three Rainbow Hospitals, which have been rapidly established to help us meet a huge surge in demand, may not be needed for some weeks. We know that many people will be finding the lockdown difficult, but its vitally important that we all continue to follow the government guidance. Every death from COVID-19 is a tragedy which will have a profound effect on families and communities across North Wales. Sadly, we know that many families across the region are currently grieving for loved ones who have lost their lives to the disease. We are all in this together, and by continuing to stay at home, we can ensure that as few people as possible experience this heartache. Interim Chief Executive Simon Dean has also paid tribute to the work of NHS staff and colleagues from partner organisations, who have been supporting patients and families throughout this difficult time. Since the pandemic was declared in the second week of March, 329 patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 have been discharged home from hospitals in North Wales. Simon Dean said: Im incredibly proud of the efforts of our staff and staff in partner organisations, who have shown huge resilience and resourcefulness over recent weeks. There have been so many inspiring examples of teams going above and beyond the call of duty for their patients. Whilst we have become used to the adjustments to the way we work in order to meet the challenge of COVID-19, we are also now looking at how we will manage the virus in the future. We are actively reviewing all the data and intelligence available to us so that we can plan for the next phase of our response. Our message to the public is to please continue to stay at home, protect the NHS, and save lives. A Mexican senator apologized for his pregnant daughter's careless decision of hosting a massive gender reveal party on Cinco de Mayo at a beachfront hotel in the middle of the coronavirus epidemic. Gerardo Novelo Osuna shamed his Ivanna Novelo Muller and her husband for inviting friends and family members to the Estero Beach and Hotel Resort in Ensenada, Baja California, Tuesday, to find out the sex of what everyone learn would be her third daughter. Individually, I can only offer an apology to the citizens, because although my daughter and her partner are old enough to make their own decisions, this time they made the wrong decision,' Novelo Osuna said Wednesday. 'It seems to me that a celebration of that magnitude should not have taken place at this time.' Ivanna Novelo Muller was criticized by her father, Baja California, Mexico, senator Gerardo Novelo Osuna, after she and her husband (both pictured center) hosted a gender reveal party at a beachfront resort on Tuesday. The couple learned they will be having a daughter, their third A helicopter was hired by a Mexican senator's pregnant daughter to reveal the gender of her daughter before friends and family at beach resort gathering Tuesday in Ensenada, Baja California Ivanna Novelo Muller took to her Facebook account in early April to share the news that she was pregnant. On Tuesday she learned she will be soon welcoming her third daughter. Novello Muller's decision to host a gender reveal party in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic upset her father, Baja California state senator Gerardo Novelo Osuna An attendee uploaded a video to his Instagram stories that showed Novelo Muller and her husband standing in front of four huge white letters that towered over them and spelled baby. The expecting parents, who learned of their upcoming baby in October 2019 and shared it with friends on Facebook in April, hired a helicopter that flew several feet above the Pacific Coast beach shore. The aircraft unleashed a pink powdery substance to confirm the baby's sex before they shared a warm hug. Baja California state senator Gerardo Novelo Osuna apologized for his daughter after a video of her gender reveal party was posted online. The politician said his daughter should not have exposed herself and the rest of the invitees by planning a mass gathering at the beachfront property in the city of Ensenada Ivanna Novelo Muller learned Tuesday she is expecting to give birth to a third daughter A helicopter releases a pink powdery substance to confirm the sex of an expecting mother, the pregnant daughter of a Mexican senator from the state of Baja California Novelo Osuna, who said he was not present, shamed his daughter for completely ignoring the social distancing measures promoted by health and government officials, himself included. 'Although I share the joy and pride of the people who attended this celebration, it seems to me an unfortunate moment and the wrong circumstances. Well, in the face of health crises, you should always act prudently, and in this case it was not,' he added. As of Thursday, Mexico had reported the deaths of 2,704 people and registered 27,634 infected patients due to the coronavirus. Baja California state health officials announced Tuesday that they are expecting COVID-19 confirmed cases and deaths to spike in the next two weeks. Mexico's health ministry reported 326 deaths and 2,097 confirmed cases in Baja California. Ivanna Novelo Muller hugs her husband as they learn she is pregnant with a girl Ivanna Novelo Muller WATERLOO REGION Ontario will soon begin collecting race and socioeconomic information from people who test positive for COVID-19. We have been working on the questions that should be asked, Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontarios associate chief medical officer of health, said at Wednesdays briefing. Were just in the process of getting the questions added to the basic questions that are asked by a health unit. They will be questions that will be answered on a voluntary basis. No specific timeline was offered. We will be starting that very soon, Yaffe said. Chief medical officer of health Dr. David Williams said the data will be used to inform policy and program decisions, in particular related to unique settings and groups. Not just for the sake of having it collected, but then how are you going to use that to change your policy and target your programs to the unique settings, Williams said. Racial ones as well. We want to know which ones in Canada are important to us, such that they would inform program or policy decisions, but not one of actually encouraging any type of racial profiling in that regard. But more warning people who may be more at risk. Williams said a tailored approach be important as the province begins to relax public health measures while still working to contain the virus and avoid further outbreaks. Waterloo Regions top officials said Tuesday during a regional council meeting that the local public health department was looking into collecting race and socioeconomic data, after being asked about it by Kitcheners Mayor. The hesitation was largely a timing and resource issue, said chief administrative officer Mike Murray, adding that perhaps the province may undertake the work. Acting medical officer of health Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang said it was important to be considerate about how race and socioeconomic status was asked about on the health questionnaire to avoid any negative effects. Im not saying this is information thats not important, Wang said on Tuesday. I believe that it needs to be implemented in a thoughtful way. Wang said previously that the public health department would not collect race-based data until the province issued a directive. Advocates and academics, including locally, have been calling for collection of this information, saying its essential to better understand who is most vulnerable to the disease and how its spreading. A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States suggested that black Americans may be disproportionately affected. Earlier this week, Torontos medical officer of health said a preliminary analysis of COVID-19 data suggests the disease is disproportionally affecting certain communities in the city. The African, Caribbean and Black Network of Waterloo Region started circulating a petition last month asking public health units across Canada to collect more data from positive COVID-19 cases, including information on income and occupation, to get a better picture of racial disparities. There can be no debate on this issue. Human rights and public health experts agree that collecting demographic data, including race, socio-economic status and disability, along with sex and age, is the foundation of evidence-informed decision-making, the chief commissioner said in a statement. Strong data allows health care leaders to identify populations at heightened risk of infection or transmission, to efficiently deploy scarce health resources, and to ensure equal access to public health protections for all Ontarians. If one segment of Ontarios population is overlooked as we fight to flatten the curve, we risk prolonging the pandemic or triggering its resurgence. BOSTON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), the storage and information management services company, announces financial and operating results for the first quarter of 2020. The conference call / webcast details, earnings call presentation and supplemental financial information, which includes definitions of certain capitalized terms used in this release, are available on Iron Mountain's Investor Relations website. Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to the appropriate GAAP measures are included herein. "We are operating in unprecedented times due to the COVID-19 pandemic," said William L. Meaney, president and CEO of Iron Mountain. "Right now, our top priority is to ensure the safety and well-being of our Mountaineers, their families and ones they come in contact with - all whilst continuing to safely serve our customers around the world. As a global business, we have been assessing the situation and implementing extensive precautionary measures since first learning about the virus. Whilst the pandemic is continuing to evolve at a rapid pace, we are closely monitoring the situation and working to minimize the spread of the virus and limit its impact on our people, customers, business and operations. Given the extreme level of economic uncertainty and lack of visibility, we believe the most prudent course of action is to withdraw our 2020 guidance until the economic environment stabilizes. I am confident that the underlying strength of our business model remains intact, and that we will get through this and come out of it an even stronger company." Meaney commented on the results, "We delivered very strong performance in the first quarter, with year-over-year growth in organic revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EPS and AFFO. Importantly, the swift and decisive actions we executed in Q4 as part of Project Summit delivered Adjusted EBITDA benefits above our expectations. Our core Global Records and Information Management business continues to demonstrate durability, with organic storage rental revenue growth of 2.1%, and a 230 basis point expansion in Adjusted EBITDA margin. As we have mentioned before, our team is focused on driving AFFO and we are pleased to report a new all-time high, demonstrating the strength of our business model. Our Global Data Center Business had a strong Q1, with organic revenue growth of nearly 10%. We signed 6.4 megawatts of new and expansion leases, and our pipeline remains robust. Additionally, in light of the current environment and the strong start to Project Summit, we have identified additional opportunities to expand the program, and expect to be able to achieve higher levels of Adjusted EBITDA benefit than we initially expected." Financial Performance Highlights for the First Quarter of 2020 Total reported Revenues for the first quarter were $1.07 billion , compared with $1.05 billion in the first quarter of 2019. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, total reported Revenues grew 3.2% compared to the prior year, reflecting solid growth trends in the Global Data Center and Global Records and Information Management segments, as well as benefits from revenue management. Income from Continuing Operations for the first quarter was $64.9 million , compared with $30.5 million in the first quarter of 2019. Income from Continuing Operations in the first quarter of 2020 included Restructuring Charges of $41.0 million associated with the implementation of Project Summit and an Intangible Impairment charge of $23.0 million related to the writedown of goodwill associated with the Fine Arts business. Income from Continuing Operations included $2.7 million of Significant Acquisition Costs in the first quarter of 2019. Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was $363.1 million , compared with $324.5 million in the first quarter of 2019. On a constant currency basis, Adjusted EBITDA increased by 13.7%, driven in part by lower overhead costs, benefits from Project Summit, and the flow through from revenue management. Reported EPS - Fully Diluted from Continuing Operations for the first quarter was $0.22 , compared with $0.10 in the first quarter of 2019. Adjusted EPS for the first quarter was $0.27 , compared with $0.17 in the first quarter of 2019. Net Income for the first quarter was $64.9 million compared with $30.5 million in the first quarter of 2019. Net Income in the first quarter of 2020 included the aforementioned Restructuring Charges related to Project Summit and the Intangible Impairment charge, as well as Foreign Currency Transaction Gains of $37.4 million . FFO (Normalized) per share was $0.59 for the first quarter, compared with $0.48 in the first quarter of 2019, or an increase of 22.9%. AFFO was $231.2 million for the first quarter, representing the highest quarterly level, compared with $193.4 million in the first quarter of 2019, an increase of 19.6%. COVID-19 Response Update Meaney continued, "Whilst we are fortunate that Iron Mountain is considered an essential service in many locations and sectors where we operate, we have seen a slowdown in our service business driven by the numerous country and local shutdowns, and the substantial increase in remote working policies across organizations. As such, we have taken a number of steps to help Iron Mountain withstand the crisis, reduce operating expenses and create financial flexibility." Business Operations Update Since the beginning of the crisis, Iron Mountain has taken decisive actions to protect the health and safety of its employees, provide essential and innovative solutions to customers and ensure overall business continuity, including: Implemented heightened safety and cleaning procedures to help keep employees safe and healthy as they continue to service the more than 96% of Global Records and Information Management facilities that have remained open at varying levels of operations; Providing customers with storage and distribution of PPE and other critical healthcare supplies; and Offering new and innovative solutions around document scanning and application of artificial intelligence through Iron Mountain's InSight platform to help enable customers' home-based workforces. Cost Containment and Financial Management Update Iron Mountain has also taken actions to maintain financial and strategic flexibility, including: Terminating nearly all temporary and contract workers; Introducing furloughs, mandatory vacation or sick time off, and other temporary compensation reduction measures for approximately one-third of its global workforce to align with near-term activity levels; Deferring certain previously planned non-essential capital investments and implementing a temporary freeze in M&A spend. Meaney concluded, "Decisions that impact our employees are never taken lightly and we have set up numerous resources to support impacted employees during this unprecedented time. As we look ahead, we are focused on managing the health of the business to ensure we can continue providing a premier experience to our customers. I am especially proud of all of our teams that have come together to address the unique challenges presented by the pandemic." Liquidity Update Iron Mountain is operating from a strong liquidity and cash position. As of the end of the first quarter, the Company had cash on hand of $153 million and $1.1 billion available under its revolving credit facility, resulting in more than $1.2 billion in liquidity. Project Summit Update Iron Mountain has identified additional opportunities to accelerate strategies to streamline its business and operations, and has broadened the scope and size of Project Summit. The program is now expected to generate $375 million of Adjusted EBITDA benefits exiting 2021. This represents a meaningful increase from the prior expectation of $200 million. The total program is expected to cost approximately $450 million to implement, up from the prior expectation of $240 million. Dividend On May 5, 2020, Iron Mountain's board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.6185 per share for the second quarter. The second-quarter 2020 dividend is payable on July 2, 2020, for shareholders of record on June 15, 2020. Guidance In light of the uncertain operating environment, Iron Mountain has withdrawn its previously provided 2020 guidance, including for Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EPS, and AFFO. About Iron Mountain Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), founded in 1951, is the global leader for storage and information management services. Trusted by more than 225,000 organizations around the world, and with a real estate network of more than 90 million square feet across more than 1,480 facilities in approximately 50 countries, Iron Mountain stores and protects billions of valued assets, including critical business information, highly sensitive data, and cultural and historical artifacts. Providing solutions that include secure records storage, information management, digital transformation, secure destruction, as well as data centers, cloud services and art storage and logistics, Iron Mountain helps customers lower cost and risk, comply with regulations, recover from disaster, and enable a more digital way of working. Visit www.ironmountain.com for more information. Investor Relations Contacts: Greer Aviv Nathan McCurren Senior Vice President, Investor Relations Director, Investor Relations [email protected] [email protected] (617) 535-2887 (617) 535-2997 Forward Looking Statements Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other securities laws and is subject to the safe-harbor created by such Act. Forward-looking statements include, but are not, limited to statements concerning our operations, economic performance, financial condition, goals, beliefs, future growth strategies, plans and current expectations, such as outlook for 2020, statements about: the expected impact of COVID-19 on our operations and financial conditions; the expected benefits, costs and actions related to Project Summit; planned 2020 capital expenditures, M&A and other investments; leverage; our dividend policy, and longer term capital allocation goals, and other goals. When we use words such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates" or similar expressions, we are making forward-looking statements. Although we believe that our forward looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, our expected results may not be achieved, and actual results may differ materially from our expectations. These forward-looking statements are subject to various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from expectations include the impact of COVID-19 on our operations, including: a decrease in revenue, particularly from our service operations as we and our customers have restricted movement and personal interaction to limit the spread of the virus and comply with regulations; risks to our business operations as a result of many employees working from home; a decrease is cash collections; our ability to meet our cash needs, raise capital and execute on our growth strategy; as well as our ability to meet our leverage and other covenants in our debt documents. Other risk factors include (i) our ability to remain qualified for taxation as a real estate investment trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes; (ii) the adoption of alternative technologies and shifts by our customers to storage of data through non-paper based technologies; (iii) changes in customer preferences and demand for our storage and information management services; (iv) the cost and our ability to comply with laws, regulations and customer demands relating to data security and privacy issues, as well as fire and safety standards; (v) our ability or inability to execute our strategic growth plan, expand internationally, complete acquisitions on satisfactory terms, and to integrate acquired companies efficiently; (vi) changes in the amount of our growth and recurring capital expenditures and our ability to raise capital and invest according to plan; (vii) the impact of litigation or disputes that may arise in connection with incidents in which we fail to protect our customers' information or our internal records or IT systems and the impact of such incidents on our reputation and ability to compete; (viii) our ability to execute on Project Summit and the potential impacts of Project Summit on our ability to retain and recruit employees and execute on our strategy (ix) changes in the price for our storage and information management services relative to the cost of providing such storage and information management services; (x) changes in the political and economic environments in the countries in which our international subsidiaries operate and changes in the global political climate; (xi) the impact of executing on our growth strategy through joint ventures; (xii) our ability to comply with our existing debt obligations and restrictions in our debt instruments or to obtain additional financing to meet our working capital needs; (xiii) the impact of service interruptions or equipment damage and the cost of power on our data center operations; (xiv) changes in the cost of our debt; (xv) the impact of alternative, more attractive investments on dividends; (xvi) the cost or potential liabilities associated with real estate necessary for our business; (xvii) the performance of business partners upon whom we depend for technical assistance or management expertise; (xiii) other trends in competitive or economic conditions affecting our financial condition or results of operations not presently contemplated; and (xix) other risks described more fully in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including under the caption "Risk Factors" in our periodic reports or incorporated therein. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements except as statements of our present intentions and of our present expectations, which may or may not occur. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to release publicly the result of any revision to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures: Throughout this release, Iron Mountain discusses (1) Adjusted EBITDA, (2) Adjusted Earnings per Share ("Adjusted EPS"), (3) Funds from Operations ("FFO Nareit"), (4) FFO (Normalized) and (5) Adjusted Funds from Operations ("AFFO"). These measures do not conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP"). These non-GAAP measures are supplemental metrics designed to enhance our disclosure and to provide additional information that we believe to be important for investors to consider in addition to, but not as a substitute for, other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP, such as operating income, income (loss) from continuing operations, net income (loss) attributable to Iron Mountain Incorporated or cash flows from operating activities from continuing operations (as determined in accordance with GAAP). The reconciliation of these measures to the appropriate GAAP measure, as required by Regulation G under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and their definitions are included later in this release. Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited; dollars in thousands) 3/31/2020 12/31/2019 ASSETS Current Assets: Cash and Cash Equivalents $152,684 $193,555 Accounts Receivable, Net 831,507 850,701 Other Current Assets 214,865 192,083 Total Current Assets $1,199,056 $1,236,339 Property, Plant and Equipment: Property, Plant and Equipment $7,950,140 $8,048,906 Less: Accumulated Depreciation (3,429,048) (3,425,869) Property, Plant and Equipment, Net $4,521,092 $4,623,037 Other Assets, Net: Goodwill $4,372,503 $4,485,209 Customer Relationships, Customer Inducements and Data Center Lease-Based Intangibles 1,363,943 1,393,183 Operating Lease Right-of-use Assets 1,906,678 1,869,101 Other 203,064 209,947 Total Other Assets, Net $7,846,188 $7,957,440 Total Assets $13,566,336 $13,816,816 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY Current Liabilities: Current Portion of Long-term Debt $127,557 $389,013 Accounts Payable 321,160 324,708 Accrued Expenses and Other Current Liabilities 872,147 961,752 Deferred Revenue 260,399 274,036 Total Current Liabilities $1,581,263 $1,949,509 Long-term Debt, Net of Current Portion 8,708,017 8,275,566 Long-term Operating Lease Liabilities 1,760,478 1,728,686 Other Long-term Liabilities (1) 392,737 398,828 Total Long-term Liabilities $10,861,232 $10,403,080 Total Liabilities $12,442,495 $12,352,589 Equity Total Stockholders' Equity $1,123,675 $1,463,962 Noncontrolling Interests 166 265 Total Equity $1,123,841 $1,464,227 Total Liabilities and Equity $13,566,336 $13,816,816 (1) Includes redeemable noncontrolling interests of $62.2M and $67.7M as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited; dollars in thousands, except per-share data) Q1 2020 Q1 2019 % Change Revenues: Storage Rental $683,547 $662,974 3.1 % Service 385,184 390,889 (1.5) % Total Revenues $1,068,731 $1,053,863 1.4 % Operating Expenses: Cost of Sales (excluding Depreciation and Amortization) $466,921 $460,646 1.4 % Selling, General and Administrative 238,733 268,711 (11.2) % Depreciation and Amortization 162,584 162,483 0.1 % Significant Acquisition Costs 2,746 n/a Restructuring Charges 41,046 n/a Intangible Impairments 23,000 n/a (Gain) Loss on Disposal/Write-Down of PP&E, Net (1,055) 602 n/a Total Operating Expenses $931,229 $895,188 4.0 % Operating Income (Loss) $137,502 $158,675 (13.3) % Interest Expense, Net 105,649 102,436 3.1 % Foreign Currency Transaction (Gain) / Loss (37,399) 17,697 n/a Other (Income) Expense, Net (5,327) (2,487) n/a Income (Loss) before Provision (Benefit) for Income Taxes $74,579 $41,029 81.8 % Provision (Benefit) for Income Taxes 9,687 10,553 (8.2) % Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations $64,892 $30,476 112.9 % (Loss) Income from Discontinued Operations, Net of Tax (24) n/a Net Income (Loss) $64,892 $30,452 113.1 % Less: Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests 917 891 2.9 % Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Iron Mountain Incorporated $63,975 $29,561 116.4 % Earnings (Losses) per Share - Basic: Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations $0.22 $0.10 120.0 % Total (Loss) Income from Discontinued Operations n/a Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Iron Mountain Incorporated $0.22 $0.10 120.0 % Earnings (Losses) per Share - Diluted: Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations $0.22 $0.10 120.0 % Total (Loss) Income from Discontinued Operations n/a Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Iron Mountain Incorporated $0.22 $0.10 120.0 % Weighted Average Common Shares Outstanding - Basic 287,840 286,528 0.5 % Weighted Average Common Shares Outstanding - Diluted 288,359 287,492 0.3 % Reconciliation of Income from Continuing Operations to Adjusted EBITDA (Dollars in thousands) Q1 2020 Q1 2019 % Change Income from Continuing Operations $64,892 $30,476 112.9 % Add / (Deduct): Intangible Impairments 23,000 n/a Provision (Benefit) for Income Taxes 9,687 10,553 (8.2) % Foreign Currency Transaction (Gain) / Loss (37,399) 17,697 n/a Other (Income) Expense, Net (5,327) (2,487) n/a Interest Expense, Net 105,649 102,436 3.1 % (Gain) Loss on Disposal/Write-Down of PP&E, Net (1,055) 602 n/a Depreciation and Amortization 162,584 162,483 0.1 % Significant Acquisition Costs 2,746 n/a Restructuring Charges 41,046 n/a Adjusted EBITDA $363,077 $324,506 11.9 % Adjusted EBITDA Adjusted EBITDA is defined as income (loss) from continuing operations before interest expense, net, provision (benefit) for income taxes, depreciation and amortization, and also excludes certain items that we believe are not indicative of our core operating results, specifically: (i) (gain) loss on disposal/write-down of property, plant and equipment (including real estate), net; (ii) intangible impairments; (iii) other (income) expense, net (which includes foreign currency transaction (gains) losses, net); (iv) Significant Acquisition Costs; and (v) Restructuring Charges. Adjusted EBITDA Margin is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA by total revenues. We use multiples of current or projected Adjusted EBITDA in conjunction with our discounted cash flow models to determine our estimated overall enterprise valuation and to evaluate acquisition targets. We believe Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin provide our current and potential investors with relevant and useful information regarding our ability to generate cash flow to support business investment. These measures are an integral part of the internal reporting system we use to assess and evaluate the operating performance of our business. Adjusted EBITDA excludes both interest expense, net and the provision (benefit) for income taxes. These expenses are associated with our capitalization and tax structures, which we do not consider when evaluating the operating profitability of our core operations. Finally, Adjusted EBITDA does not include depreciation and amortization expenses, in order to eliminate the impact of capital investments, which we evaluate by comparing capital expenditures to incremental revenue generated and as a percentage of total revenues. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP, such as operating income, income (loss) from continuing operations, net income (loss) or cash flows from operating activities from continuing operations (as determined in accordance with GAAP). Reconciliation of Reported Earnings per Share to Adjusted Earnings per Share Q1 2020 Q1 2019 % Change Reported EPS - Fully Diluted from Continuing Operations $0.22 $0.10 120.0 % Add / (Deduct): Intangible Impairments 0.08 Other (Income) Expense, Net (0.15) 0.05 Significant Acquisition Costs 0.01 Restructuring Charges 0.14 Tax Impact of Reconciling Items and Discrete Tax Items (1) (0.02) Adjusted EPS - Fully Diluted from Continuing Operations $0.27 $0.17 58.8 % (1) The difference between our effective tax rates and our structural tax rate (or adjusted effective tax rates) for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, is primarily due to (i) the reconciling items above, which impact our reported income (loss) from continuing operations before provision (benefit) for income taxes but have an insignificant impact on our reported provision (benefit) for income taxes and (ii) other discrete tax items. Our structural tax rate for purposes of the calculation of Adjusted EPS for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 was 17.1% and 18.9%, respectively. The Tax Impact of Reconciling Items and Discrete Tax Items is calculated using the current quarter's estimate of the annual structural tax rate for the full year. This may result in the current period adjustment plus prior reported quarterly adjustments to not sum to the full year adjustment. Adjusted Earnings Per Share, or Adjusted EPS Adjusted EPS is defined as reported earnings per share fully diluted from continuing operations excluding: (i) (gain) loss on disposal/write-down of property, plant and equipment (including real estate), net; (ii) intangible impairments; (iii) other (income) expense, net (which includes foreign currency transaction (gains) losses, net); (iv) Significant Acquisition Costs; (v) Restructuring Charges; and (vi) the tax impact of reconciling items and discrete tax items. Adjusted EPS includes income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests. We do not believe these excluded items to be indicative of our ongoing operating results, and they are not considered when we are forecasting our future results. We believe Adjusted EPS is of value to our current and potential investors when comparing our results from past, present and future periods. Reconciliation of Net Income Attributable to IRM to FFO and AFFO (Dollars in thousands, except per-share data) Q1 2020 Q1 2019 % Change Net Income $64,892 $30,452 113.1 % Add / (Deduct): Real Estate Depreciation (1) 76,587 73,079 Loss (Gain) on Sale of Real Estate, Net of Tax (492) Data Center Lease-Based Intangible Asset Amortization (2) 11,353 12,609 FFO (Nareit) $152,340 $116,140 31.2 % Add / (Deduct): (Gain) Loss on Disposal/Write-Down of PP&E, Net (244) 602 Foreign Currency Transaction (Gain) / Loss (37,399) 17,697 Other (Income) Expense, Net (5,327) (2,487) Intangible Impairments 23,000 Tax Impact of Reconciling Items and Discrete Tax Items (3) (6,812) (709) Loss (Income) from Discontinued Operations, Net of Tax 24 Real Estate Financing Lease Depreciation 3,163 3,504 Significant Acquisition Costs 2,746 Restructuring Charges 41,046 FFO (Normalized) $169,767 $137,517 23.5 % Per Share Amounts (Fully Diluted Shares) FFO (Nareit) $0.53 $0.40 32.5 % FFO (Normalized) $0.59 $0.48 22.9 % Weighted Average Common Shares Outstanding - Basic 287,840 286,528 0.5 % Weighted Average Common Shares Outstanding - Diluted 288,359 287,492 0.3 % (1) Includes depreciation expense related to owned real estate assets (land improvements, buildings, building improvements, leasehold improvements and racking), excluding depreciation related to financing leases. (2) Includes amortization expense for Data Center In-Place Lease Intangible Assets and Data Center Tenant Relationship Intangible Assets. (3) Represents the tax impact of (i) the reconciling items above, which impact our reported income (loss) from continuing operations before provision (benefit) for income taxes but have an insignificant impact on our reported provision (benefit) from income taxes and (ii) other discrete tax items. Funds From Operations, or FFO (Nareit), and FFO (Normalized) Funds from operations ("FFO") is defined by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts ("Nareit") and us as net income (loss) excluding depreciation on real estate assets, gains on sale of real estate, net of tax and amortization of data center leased-based intangibles ("FFO (Nareit)"). FFO (Nareit) does not give effect to real estate depreciation because these amounts are computed, under GAAP, to allocate the cost of a property over its useful life. Because values for well-maintained real estate assets have historically increased or decreased based upon prevailing market conditions, we believe that FFO (Nareit) provides investors with a clearer view of our operating performance. Our most directly comparable GAAP measure to FFO (Nareit) is net income (loss). Although Nareit has published a definition of FFO, modifications to FFO (Nareit) are common among REITs as companies seek to provide financial measures that most meaningfully reflect their particular business. Our definition of FFO (Normalized) excludes certain items included in FFO (Nareit) that we believe are not indicative of our core operating results, specifically: (i) (gain) loss on disposal/write-down of property, plant and equipment (excluding real estate), net; (ii) intangible impairments; (iii) other expense (income), net (which includes foreign currency transaction (gains) losses, net); (iv) real estate financing lease depreciation; (v) Significant Acquisition Costs; (vi) Restructuring Charges; (vii) the tax impact of reconciling items and discrete tax items; (viii) loss (income) from discontinued operations, net of tax; and (ix) loss (gain) on sale of discontinued operations, net of tax. FFO (Normalized) per share FFO (Normalized) divided by weighted average fully-diluted shares outstanding. Reconciliation of Net Income Attributable to IRM to FFO and AFFO (continued) (Dollars in thousands) Q1 2020 Q1 2019 % Change FFO (Normalized) $169,767 $137,517 23.5 % Add / (Deduct): Non-Real Estate Depreciation 33,949 38,028 Amortization Expense (1) 31,907 31,317 Amortization of Deferred Financing Costs 4,513 4,108 Revenue Reduction Associated with Amortization of Permanent Withdrawal Fees and Above - and Below-Market Leases 2,683 3,645 Non-Cash Rent Expense (Income) 2,545 (617) Stock-based Compensation Expense 5,086 8,519 Reconciliation to Normalized Cash Taxes 2,176 (3,879) Less: Non-Real Estate Growth Investment 8,378 9,406 Real Estate, Data Center and Non-Real Estate Recurring CapEx 13,004 15,833 AFFO $231,244 $193,399 19.6 % (1) Includes Customer Relationship Value, intake costs, acquisition of customer relationships, and other intangibles. Excludes amortization of capitalized commissions of $5.6M and $3.9M in Q1 2020 and Q1 2019, respectively. Adjusted Funds From Operations, or AFFO AFFO is defined as FFO (Normalized) excluding non-cash rent expense or income plus depreciation on non-real estate assets, amortization expense associated with customer relationship value (CRV), intake costs, acquisitions of customer relationships and other intangibles, and excluding amortization expense associated with capitalized internal commissions, amortization of deferred financing costs, revenue reduction associated with amortization of permanent withdrawal fees and above-and below-market data center leases, stock-based compensation expense and the impact of reconciling to normalized cash taxes, less recurring capital expenditures and non-real estate growth investments (on a cash basis), excluding Significant Acquisition Capital Expenditures. We believe AFFO is a useful measure in determining our ability to generate excess cash that may be used for reinvestment in the business, discretionary deployment in investments such as real estate or acquisition opportunities, returning capital to our stockholders and voluntary prepayments of indebtedness. Additionally AFFO is reconciled to cash flow from operations to adjust for real estate and REIT tax adjustments, Significant Acquisition Costs, Restructuring Charges, and other non-cash expenses. AFFO does not include adjustments for customer inducements, acquisition of customer relationships and investment in innovation as we consider these expenditures to be growth related. SOURCE Iron Mountain Incorporated Related Links http://www.ironmountain.com Family Centers Family Centers is welcoming New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman on Thursday, May 14 at 11 a.m. for a virtual conversation to support local families most affected by COVID-19. Held live via Zoom, Cashman will provide his outlook on the prospects of MLBs 2020 season, offer first-hand perspective on the Yankees offseason moves and share classic stories of memorable games and his interactions with Yankee greats. Cashman will also answer audience questions. In a press briefing on May 6, WHOs director-general said that around 80,000 cases were reported to WHO every day since the beginning of April. More than 3.8 million people worldwide have now been reported to be infected by SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of coronavirus infection COVID-19. Out of these, 265,000 people have passed away and about 1.3 million have recovered. In a press briefing on May 6, WHOs director-general said that around 80,000 cases were reported to WHO every day since the beginning of April. The number of cases is slowly reducing in Western Europe while more cases are now showing up in Eastern Europe, South-East Asia, Africa, Eastern-Mediterranean and America. Russia surpasses Germany and France in total cases, Germany cases rise again For the fifth consecutive day, Russia saw more than 10,000 new cases of COVID-19. On May 7, 11,231 new cases were reported in the country bringing the total number of cases to 177,160. The country has now passed Germany and France in the total coronavirus cases in Europe. About 88 people died in Russia on today, raising the death toll to 1,625. Germany again saw a rise in cases on Wednesday. With 1,155 new cases and 282 new deaths, the country has a total of 168,162 cases now and 7,275 deaths. France, Netherlands and UK to ease curbs; Spain extends emergency After Germany, both France and the UK are now set to ease the lockdown. On May 6, Prime Minister Borris Johnson reportedly told the British Parliament that he is planning to ease some of the restrictions in the country next week. Though he will give a full statement on Sunday, as per media reports, there will probably be a three-stage exit from the lockdown. With 649 deaths on Wednesday, the UK became the worst-hit country in Europe, surpassing Spain. Over 30,000 people have succumbed to the disease in the country now. A total of 6,111 new cases were reported in the UK. French PM will likely announce the lockdown relaxation later today and starting Monday, gradually open schools and workplaces. The Netherlands will also allow parlours and beauty salons to open from Monday while movie theatres, restaurants and bars will open by June 1. Meanwhile, Spain has extended the emergency until May 23 to help control the infection further. The lockdown will be eased gradually but there will still be some restrictions. USA corona task force will not be dissolved, spokesperson of Brazils President tests positive President Trump has now announced that the White House Corona Task Force will not be dissolved; its primary focus, however, will now be to restart the economy and social life. The USA saw more than 25,000 new cases on Wednesday and 2,528 new deaths bringing the total number of cases in the country to 1.26 million and the death toll to over 74,700. Otavio do Rego Barros, the spokesperson of Brazils President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive for coronavirus infection. He is currently in quarantine, though now questions are being raised about the possible exposure of the President to the virus. For more information, read our article on Severe vs mild COVID19 symptoms. 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. Successful application would allow for cannabis production and export to EU market Emblem Germany cannabis distribution center to be completed later this month Experienced senior management team has led the buildout and operation of multiple EU-GMP certified facilities Cannabis production operations underway at Paris Facility expansion, three business days following granting of new licence TORONTO, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aleafia Health Inc.s (TSX: ALEF, OTC: ALEAF) (Aleafia Health or the Company) indirect subsidiary, Emblem Germany GmbH (Emblem Germany), has formally submitted its application to German regulators for EU Good Manufacturing Practices (EU-GMP) certification. The Companys newly licensed Paris Facility has been purpose built to meet EU-GMP certification requirements, pharmaceutical-grade productions highest standard, and as a result, provides wide access to global markets. The application, if successful, would allow the Companys Paris Facility to produce and export EU-GMP certified cannabis products to the European Union. Cannabis production operations commenced on May 6, 2020 at the Paris Facility Phase II expansion, only three business days following receipt of the amended Health Canada licence. Aleafia Health indirectly owns 60 percent of Emblem Germany, by way of a joint-venture between Emblem and German pharmaceutical wholesaler and logistics company, Acnos Pharma GmbH (Acnos). It is difficult to ascertain the timeline for securing certification, but the Company intends to continue preparing for an eventual facility inspection. Aleafia Health and Acnos senior management are directing the effort and have previously led the build-out, certification and operation of multiple EU-GMP certified pharmaceutical production facilities in The Netherlands, Germany and North America. Later this month, Acnos is expected to complete a new state-of-the-art pharmaceutical production and supply chain facility in Aachen Brand, Germany. It contains a dedicated cannabis distribution hub that Acnos owns and Emblem Germany will operate, allowing the Company to commence sales upon receipt of necessary German export and import permits. Story continues The state-of-art expansion of the Paris Facility, purpose built to meet EU-GMP standards, creates a unique competitive advantage with significant barriers to entry, said Aleafia Health CEO Geoffrey Benic. We look forward to leveraging the skillsets of our strong partner Acnos Pharma along with our management teams in-house EU-GMP expertise. The near completion of our international cannabis distribution center along with Emblems Paris Facility Phase II expansion licence are breakthrough milestones toward our goal to achieve a EU-GMP Licence and receiving Emblem-produced cannabis oil products in Germany," said Maximillian Claudel, Acnos Co-Owner and Managing Director, Emblem Germany. For Investor & Media Relations: Nicholas Bergamini, VP Investor Relations 1-833-TSX-ALEF (879-2533) IR@AleafiaHealth.com LEARN MORE: www.AleafiaHealth.com About Aleafia Health: Aleafia Health is a vertically integrated and federally licensed Canadian cannabis company offering cannabis health and wellness services and products in Canada and in international markets. The Company operates medical clinics, education centres and production facilities for the production and sale of cannabis. Aleafia Health owns three significant licensed cannabis production facilities, including the first large-scale, legal outdoor cultivation facility in Canadian history. The Company produces a diverse portfolio of commercially proven, high-margin derivative products including oils, capsules and sprays. Aleafia Health operates the largest national network of medical cannabis clinics and education centres staffed by MDs, nurse practitioners and educators and operates internationally in three continents. Innovation, the heart of Aleafia Healths competitive advantage, has led to the Company maintaining a medical cannabis dataset with over 10 million data points to inform proprietary illness-specific product development and its highly differentiated education platform FoliEdge Academy. The Company is committed to creating sustainable shareholder value; the TSX Venture Exchange named Aleafia the 2019 top performing company prior to its graduation to the TSX. Forward Looking Information JACKSON COUNTY, Mississippi -- A suicidal Pensacola, Fla., man led police on a chase from Mobile, Ala., into Jackson County Thursday morning and burned to death after crashing the car, which burst into flames. According to Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell, Mobile police initiated the chase of 61-year-old Christopher Palmer in downtown Mobile about 6 a.m. Thursday. Mobile police said officers attempted to stop Palmers vehicle about 5:11 a.m. after observing him operating his vehicle recklessly in on Government Street near South Royal Street. Palmer refused to pull over and continued west on Government Street. At one point, Palmer stopped, officers approached and Palmer pulled a gun and pointed it at himself, causing officers to pull back. Palmer continued on, driving west on Government toward Airport Boulevard at a high rate of speed. Spike strips were deployed on Airport to flatten three tires on Palmers vehicle, but he continued into Jackson County on Mississippi Highway 614. Palmer ultimately ran off the roadway and into a wooded area. As officers approached, Palmer hit the accelerator of the disabled vehicle, which caused the underbrush to catch fire. Officers repeatedly ordered Palmer to exit the vehicle, but he refused. Within moments, the vehicle was engulfed in flames. Palmer remained in the vehicle and died. As of Thursday afternoon, his body was still inside the vehicle as Jackson County firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze. The incident caused the closure of Highway 614 west of Stateline Road and east of Frank Snell Road until about 8:30 a.m., when one lane of the highway was reopened. As of mid-afternoon Thursday, it was unknown if the entire roadway had reopened. Ezell said the case will be handled by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the Mobile Police Department. Final designs for a disputed two-tower development at the western gateway to Perth's CBD have been revealed after multiple revisions, but still face a court challenge from neighbour Woodside. The new design, which City of Perth officers have recommended the Perth Local Development Assessment Panel approve at its May 14 meeting, is a $140 million two-tower development with ground-floor public spaces including an art gallery fronting Mounts Bay Road. Artist's render of the proposed two towers beside the already completed tower occupied by Woodside. Credit:AAIG The City of Perths design advisory committee last year criticised the designs, saying the buildings were not similar enough to really homogenise the design, nor different enough to create a meaningful composition. It also expressed concern with the lack of activation and landscaping that might invite pedestrians from Spring Street through to the elevated podium plaza to engage with the public spaces. WASHINGTON - A unanimous Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the convictions of two of former New Jersey governor Chris Christie's political allies in the "Bridgegate" case, saying the federal government went too far in prosecuting them for retaliating against a political rival. The former allies, Bridget Kelly and William Baroni Jr., were accused of taking part in a 2013 plot to back up traffic on the George Washington Bridge, the nation's busiest. The idea was to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey, for not endorsing Republican Christie's reelection bid. Traffic stalled in Fort Lee for four days - but revelation of the plan proved dire to Christie's subsequent presidential campaign, although he said he had no knowledge of it, and created lasting animosities. President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday that the court's decision was a "complete and total exoneration" of Christie and his former associates on "the Obama DOJ Scam referred to as "Bridgegate." In fact, Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the court, was unsparing in her criticism of the scheme. But she said the goal of Kelly, Christie's former deputy chief of staff, and Baroni, formerly deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, was not to secure money or property, which is a requirement of the federal statute under which they were convicted. "Baroni and Kelly used deception to reduce Fort Lee's access lanes to the George Washington Bridge - and thereby jeopardized the safety of the town's residents," Kagan wrote. "But not every corrupt act by state or local officials is a federal crime. Because the scheme here did not aim to obtain money or property, Baroni and Kelly could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws." The decision was the latest in which the Supreme Court has reined in federal prosecutors who pursued criminal convictions of political conduct. Kagan said the outcome was dictated by the court's previous decisions and did not require a new interpretation of the law. Christie responded to the decision with a broadside against former U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, whom the former governor said "was determined to damage the reputations of as many members of our administration as he could." "Despite being repeatedly told by numerous respected members of the bar during the investigation that he was inventing a federal crime, Paul Fishman proceeded, motivated by political partisanship and blind ambition that cost the taxpayers millions in legal fees and changed the course of history," Christie said. "Worst of all, Fishman allowed Bill Baroni to go to jail for federal crimes he invented." Christie has long viewed the 16-month investigation and the convictions of his allies as a key reason that his bid for the presidency fizzled. Fishman said he was disappointed by the court's ruling but noted the court's recitation of the facts of the case. Prosecutors and law enforcement officers "uncovered and exposed those responsible for their conduct, their motivation to assist Chris Christie's reelection and the many lies they told to cover their tracks," Fishman said in a statement. Kelly asked the Supreme Court to take the case last year, when she was facing a 13-month prison sentence. Baroni had begun serving his 18-month sentence before being released on bail. In a statement, Kelly said: "Today, the court gave me back my name and began to reverse the six-and-a-half-year nightmare that has become my life . . . While this may finally have made this case right for me, it does not absolve those who should have truly been held accountable." Baroni's attorney Michael Levy, said in a statement that Baroni has always maintained he did not commit a crime. "Although the process of getting to this day has been an ordeal, Bill is heartened that the system ultimately worked, even as he recognizes how often it fails others who are less fortunate," Levy said. The scheme involved shutting down bridge lanes relied upon by Fort Lee commuters. The idea behind it was punishment for Mayor Mark Sokolich, who had decided not to endorse Christie, then running for reelection "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," Kelly wrote in an email to officials at the port authority, which operates the bridge. Kagan called it "an admirably concise email," and said Kelly and others "merrily" kept the lane realignment in place for four days. Kagan wrote the consequences were more than a prank. "School buses stood in place for hours" on the first day, she wrote. "An ambulance struggled to reach the victim of a heart attack; police had trouble responding to a report of a missing child." Still, Kagan continued, that does not add up to what federal prosecutors had charged. "The evidence the jury heard no doubt shows wrongdoing - deception, corruption, abuse of power. But the federal fraud statutes at issue do not criminalize all such conduct," she wrote. "Under settled precedent, the officials could violate those laws only if an object of their dishonesty was to obtain the Port Authority's money or property," Instead, "the realignment of the toll lanes was an exercise of regulatory power - something this court has already held fails to meet the statutes' property requirement." The ruling is part of a pattern in which the court has expressed skepticism about prosecuting political scandals that do not have direct evidence of bribes or kickbacks. "The message delivered in this ruling is that hardball politics, even instances in which corruption and abuse of power may be clear, cannot be turned into a federal crime unless the public official's dishonesty was aimed at obtaining money or property," said Robert A. Mintz, a Newark lawyer and former federal prosecutor. "A purely political motive is simply not enough to criminalize even deceitful political behavior." The case is Kelly v. U.S. - - - The Washington Post's Josh Dawsey and Devlin Barrett contributed to this report. U S President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have both tested negative for coronavirus, said a White House spokesman. It comes after a military official, identified as a personal valet to Mr Trump by CNN, was reportedly found to have been infected by Covid-19. The White House confirmed that the US President and Vice President remain in "great health". Spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement: "We were recently notified by the White House Medical Unit that a member of the United States Military, who works on the White House campus, has tested negative for coronavirus. "The President and Vice President have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health." Mr Trump has now been tested twice for the virus after he came into contact with three people who were confirmed to have Covid-19 in early March. On April 3, the White House said that anyone expected to near Mr Trump or Mr Pence would be given a rapid Covid-19 test out of an abundance of caution, Reuters reports. Loading.... According to John Hopkins data, the pandemic has now claimed the lives of 73,573 people in the US and more than 1.2 million have been infected, making it the worst-hit country in the world for the disease. The news comes as members of the US coronavirus task force have been told they cannot testify to committees unless it is agreed with the White House. The move comes after Donald Trumps administration moved to block Dr Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, from testifying before a House panel. Democrats have said the block would hamper their ability to gather detailed information about the nations response to the pandemic. New York's Coronavirus outbreak - In pictures 1 /34 New York's Coronavirus outbreak - In pictures The Supermoon rises behind the Empire State Building while it glows red in solidarity with those infected with coronavirus as the outbreak of the disease (COVID-19) continues in the Manhattan borough of New York City Reuters A nearly empty Times Square AFP via Getty Images Riders, some wearing masks and gloves as a protective measure over coronavirus concerns, enter a New York City subway train AP People try to keep a social distance while they enjoy a sunny day at Central Park Reuters Nadia, a 4-year-old female Malayan tiger at the Bronx Zoo, that the zoo said on April 5, 2020 has tested positive for coronavirus disease WCS/Handout via Reuters People wear face masks AFP via Getty Images A man crosses a nearly empty 5th Avenue in midtown Manhattan Reuters US President Donald Trump looks on during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House on March 31, 2020, in Washington, DC AFP via Getty Images Felix Hassebroek waves to his classmates, who he has not seen in 2 weeks through a livestream video meet up during the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Brooklyn, New York Reuters Friends and neighbors, Sarah and Elizabeth, talk about their weekends from opposite sides of the road as they maintain social distance in a neighborhood in Syracuse, New York Reuters Light morning traffic seen on the FDR drive on March 24, 2020 in New York City AFP via Getty Images A subway customer uses a tissue to protect her hand while holding onto a pole AP Workers construct what is believed to be a makeshift morgue behind a hospital during the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the Manhattan borough of New York City Reuters Beds separated by black fabric are set up as a temporary field hospital for Covid-19 patients in Queens, New York AFP via Getty Images New York's Hart Island where the department of corrections is dealing with more burials Reuters Medical workers wait for patients at a special coronavirus intake area in New York Getty Images Patients wear personal protective equipment while maintaining social distancing as they wait in line for a COVID-19 test at Elmhurst Hospital Center AP The One World Trade Center tower in Manhattan is seen illuminated in blue light Reuters Pictures drawn by children as part of the Quarantine Rainbow Project in Brooklyn, New York Reuters U.S. Army National Guard personnel load boxes of free food provided by multiple New York City agencies into a taxi for distribution to local residents in the Harlem neighbourhood of Manhattan during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID19) in New York Reuters Traders work during the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 17, 2020 at Wall Street in New York City AFP via Getty Images A man in a wheelchair crosses a nearly empty 7th Avenue in Times Square in Manhattan Reuters Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images REUTERS A memo sent to congressional committees also seeks to limit the number of coronavirus-related appearances on Capitol Hill for those at key departments responding to the pandemic. It stated that the demands on agencies staff and resources are extraordinary in this current crisis. A senior administration official said task force members had been working non-stop since the early days of the coronavirus outbreak and need to focus on the task at hand rather than preparing for four-hour hearings several times a week. Democratic leaders of the House and Senate criticised the move. The leader of the Democrats in the Senate Chuck Schumer said: President Trump should learn that by muzzling science and the truth, it will only prolong this health and economic crisis. A trio of loose spools that fell off a trailer is snarling traffic along the Katy Freeway near downtown Thursday morning. Most eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 at Houston Avenue are closed as police work with wrecker drivers to clear the three large pieces of equipment, which appeared to have been pulled by a pickup truck. They fell off the trailer around 9:40 a.m. and have been positioned awkwardly on the freeway since. ALBANY Ken Halvorsen, a senior research scientist at the University at Albaany's RNA Institute, has won an undisclosed amount of federal funding from the National Science Foundation to develop a rapid coronavirus test. Halvorsen will be working at the Wong Lab at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University and at the state's Wadsworth Center on the project, which will develop an RNA-based test for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The project is expected to take two to three months instead of what would normally take one or two years. Mayor Bill De Blasio speaks during a video press conference on the city's response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak held at City Hall in New York City on March 19, 2020. (William Farrington/Getty Images) New York City Mayor Mulls Restricting Entry to Parks New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday the city is considering restricting entry at certain parks to prevent overcrowding in a bid to stem the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus. The mayor said the efforts would boost efforts to maintain social distancing measures as the weather gets warmer and more people go outdoors. There are certain parks where thejust the configuration of the park lends itself to overcrowding and were working on strategies right now to address that, he said during his daily COVID-19 briefing. The mayor said the decision to consider imposing entry limits on parks comes after extensive conversations with other agencies and that he would be announcing more details about the initiative on Friday. Theres no question that in a toolbox of approaches that we could use to help make sure social distancing works, if weve got some parks that are just the way theyre set up is its just too easy to have crowding, we cant let that happen and we have to limit the number of people going in, de Blasio said. The mayor indicated the entry caps would not cover all the parks in New York City. Its not that many places, honestly, but wherever that is the case, were going to work with a protocol to do that. Itll take some experimentation, itll take some effort to make sure it works, but I think its a good direction, he said. In New York, the countrys hardest-hit state, bars and retail businesses deemed non-essential remain closed and restaurants are limited to takeout and delivery business. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has in recent days started to outline the criteria for loosening restrictions in his state, after a three-week decline in hospitalizations and a downtrend in the daily death count. President Donald Trump has largely allowed governors to determine their own response to the outbreak, but has encouraged them to start reopening, concerned by the economic devastation caused by the national shutdown. With decisions left to the states and localities, the countrys reopening has been a patchwork, ranging from cautious to aggressive. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that starting on Friday, florists, toy stores, music stores, bookstores, clothing, and sporting goods stores may offer curbside pickup. Seattles King County, an early virus hotspot, plans to reopen hiking trails and more than 28,000 acres of park space on Friday, though restrooms, picnic shelters, and playgrounds will remain closed. In general, states have kept their public transportation systems running but closed their public school buildings and switched to remote teaching for the rest of the academic year. Reuters contributed to this report. WILTON With the coronavirus pandemic keeping people at home, Michael Fensterstock of Wilton has started a new business that does double duty. His company, alldaysnacks.com, sells a wholesome cheesy snack which he delivers door-to-door, and provides job opportunities for people who are unemployed or underemployed. The snack on Fensterstocks menu is arepas, a cross between a pancake and a tortilla. Made with corn flour, they are gluten-free and nut-free. Arepas (pronounced uh-rey-puhs) come in three flavors, classic cheese, cheese with rosemary and garlic, and a sweet chocolate arepa. They come frozen and are popped into the freezer until ready to eat. They are then heated on a frying pan, griddle or panini press, and ready to serve. Arepas are very popular throughout South America. Fensterstocks family was introduced to them by their au pair who comes from Colombia. They are made with corn flour, which does not contain gluten, which was important for Fensterstock who does not eat gluten. They quickly became a favorite treat not only for him but for his family and two young boys, Parker, 3, and Blaire, 2. Each arepa contains about 200 calories per serving so they have fewer calories than a buttered bagel, muffin or commercial Hot Pockets. The cheese arepas are crunchy on the outside and gooey in the middle, like a grilled cheese. Theyre delicious and I love them. I tried pre-packaged arepas from grocery stores, and they were very disappointing, so I decided to create my own line of arepas, Fensterstock said. Because alldaysnacks.com is a small operation, Fensterstock has decided to distribute the arepas locally, directly to peoples homes, instead of selling them in stores. I want people to have access to this product which I love so much, so we are bringing them to customers in Fairfield County, he said. The arepas, in each of the three different flavors, sell for $6.99 for a four-pack and $32 for a pack of 20, and can be ordered on alldaysnacks.com. Fensterstocks direct method of distribution also creates job opportunities, which he views as an important component of his business. My goal is to create jobs selling these arepas. Im trying to create a sustainable way for people who are unemployed or underemployed to earn money. All they need is a deep freezer, the product and a playbook, and they can become distributors in a local area, he said. To learn more about the arepas and job opportunities, visit alldaysnacks. com. pgay@wiltonbulletin.com The Derry News has taken a look at the key projects allocated funding as part of Derrys 210m City Deal and Inclusive Future Fund financial package. Ulster University is one of the main beneficiaries with 85 earmarked for innovative research centres in personalised medicine and data analytics which are becoming ever more important in an increasingly technological world. These industries will shape future economies and healthcare. Healthcare research and treatments have been at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, personalised medicine is based on identifying subgroups of patients with distinct mechanisms of disease or particular responses to treatments. Data analytics is another key component in the response of governments to the current crisis. It involves analysing emerging data from countries around the world to identify the most important factors that can help slow the spread of the virus and help find long-term solutions to the pandemic. In the longer-term, data analytics will be well-placed to support Northern Ireland industry in the recovery process, post COVID-19, by helping recovering NI businesses to improve their products and processes, develop new skills, unlock global opportunities and encourage collaboration across sectors. Its understood that well-paid jobs created in these sectors would not be restricted to graduates but would benefit everyone in the city across the skills spectrum. Other headline investments are 40m for Derrys riverfront and Queens Quay and Strabane town centre regeneration to the tune of 40m. The figures below were outlined by Derry City & Strabane District Council at meetings last year. It is a rough guide but its understood that money allocated to different projects has altered which will be explained. Ulster University (UU) - 85m UU has been allocated 85m, a considerable portion of the financial package. The university will contribute 10% towards the Magee projects. Of the overall amount, 40m will come from the UK Governments City Deal funding and 45 from the Inclusive Future fund to finance four different projects. Derry City & Strabane District councillors have repeatedly called on the university to show its commitment to the city by approving the graduate entry medical school and relocating its health science courses to Magee with a view to delivering on the promised 10,000 full-time students (below is an artist's impression of an expanded Magee campus along the riverfront). The core focus of the 40m City Deal funding remains the delivery of the centres of innovation and excellence in data analytics (CARL) and robotics and automation (CIDRA). Yesterday, UU confirmed that upon confirmation and approval of the business cases there will be further information with regard to student numbers, research posts and staff numbers. The Cognitive Analytics Research Lab or CARL is said to be a transformational new cutting-edge applied research centre based at Ulster Universitys Magee campus. It will support Northern Ireland businesses to understand how data analytics and AI can benefit their business. CARL will work with sectors as diverse as health, financial technology, media, energy and public policy. The centre will be a physical building where companies can work in close collaboration with UU researchers. CARL researchers will also work with entrepreneurs to develop new start-up companies. UUs strong commercial focus has already led to the creation of numerous successful spin-out companies including ActionSENSE and AirBRIO and the award-winning wearable neurotechnology company NeuroCONCISE. It has been said that the CARL innovation centre would provide the city with global opportunities to become world class in areas such as software engineering, advanced networks and sensors, data analytics and cyber security and would offer huge potential to the city and wider regions economic development. Another UU project, the Centre for Industrial Digitalisation, Robotics and Automation (CIDRA) is an innovation centre which will support industry and commerce in Northern Ireland. It will help companies across all sectors with their digital technology agenda helping to improve innovation, productivity and competitiveness and adapt to Industry 4.0. This state-of-the-art facility will be a dedicated space for demonstration, experimentation, and an industry hub. It will assist in skills development for local and international industry. Focussing on innovation and developing competitiveness when it is more pertinent than ever, the Centre will partner with local businesses to build capacity in their workforce. CIDRA will also play a key role in helping to attract new industry partners to locate in the city and region. During the COVID-19 crisis, members of Ulster Universitys School of Computing, Engineering & Intelligent Systems who will be involved in CIDRA have been making face shields using 3D printing and laser cutting - 1,000 face shields have been safely delivered to primary care COVID-19 centres at Altnagelvin and local health centres. Currently, Ulster Universitys School of Computing, Engineering and Intelligent Systems is collaborating with a local company Derry company to develop an automated face shield manufacturing line. CIDRA and CARL will be located in close proximity enabling potential for collaboration. The Future Fund of 45m with joint funding from the NI government will be focused on advancing projects such as the Graduate Medical School as a key catalyst for the much-needed expansion of the Ulster University Magee Campus and a Personalised Medicine Centre of Excellence (T-HRIVE). It is hoped government approval for that project will be announced in the coming days. The delivery of a Personalised Medicine Centre of Excellence (T-HRIVE) at Ulster University and Altnagelvin is also a priority for this fund as is the provision of an integrated, council-wide, multi-skills employment intervention support programme. It would expand upon the work of Altnagelvin based C-TRIC - a not-for-profit personalised medicine institute based on the Altnagelvin Area Hospital site which connects patients directly to research opportunities in the North West area and beyond. THRIVE proposes to have research centres for pediatric cancer and neuromuscular cancer amongst others. It will train the next generation of doctors and skilled staff in personalised medicine, health data analytics, healthcare policy and economics. C-TRIC and THRIVE are viewed as the research arm of the proposed Medical School. Queens Quay/Derry riverfront projects - 40m Future Fund match funding of 40m had previously been allocated to this project. The council now says that this project will receive approximately 35m but it is unclear where the outstanding 5m will be redirected. Key tourism, economic, and social projects and initiatives - 25m Last year the council said that signature tourism projects will be allocated 25m. It now says these projects will be allocated 20m but did not state to which project(s) the other 5m will be awarded. Digital/SMART cities - 10m A report to council previously stated that 10m would be set aside for digital/SMART city projects. All over the world, rapid urbanisation is putting enormous stress on resources and infrastructure which cannot be solved in a traditional way. The Smart Cities agenda recognises that cities and regions grapple with many of the same issues - traffic congestion, air quality, inadequate energy, poor management of the environment, climate change, and data privacy, etc. and that there are significant opportunities to share learning. The transition to smart places requires government, citizens, the business community and wider civil society working in synergy so that the effective interplay between policy and innovation meets the needs of citizens. A council spokesperson previously said: If we reflect on the past decade, the way we live, conduct business, and interact and engage with each other has changed dramatically. Yet, we are only at the beginning of a digital change that will transform our societies. Local government has a key role to play in harnessing the smart city opportunity, making cities more liveable and creative, improving services, competitiveness and standards, embracing technology and innovation, maximising the potential of the mountains of data generated, and facilitating a convergence of digital infrastructure with physical development. Skills- 10m Derry City & Strabane District Council has earmarked 10m for skills but did not provide any further detail. Strabane town centre regeneration - 40m Match funding of 40m from the NI Government will be used to fund this project. Pre-Stabilisation notice May 6, 2020 Not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or any jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful. Federal Republic of Germany benchmark due 2035 Pre-Stabilisation Notice Commerzbank AG (contact: Daniela Olt-Farrelly; telephone: +49 69 13623492) hereby announces, as Stabilisation Coordinator, that the Stabilising Managers named below may stabilise the offer of the following securities in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU Regulation 596/2014). The security to be stabilised: Issuer: Federal Republic of Germany Guarantor (if any): n/a Aggregate nominal amount: 7.5 billion ( 500m retained by the issuer) Description: 0% senior, unsecured Notes due 15 May 2035 Offer price: 104.659 % Other offer terms: payment date 15th May 2020, denoms 0 0.01; listing on all domestic exchanges Stabilisation: Stabilisation coordinator: Stabilising Managers: Commerzbank AG BNP BofA Merrill Lynch CACIB HSBC Stabilisation period expected to start on: May 6, 2020 Stabilisation period expected to end on: no later than 30 days after the proposed issue date of the securities Existence, maximum size and conditions of use of over-allotment facility. The Stabilising Managers may over-allot the securities to the extent permitted in accordance with applicable law. Stabilisation trading venue: all domestic exchanges In connection with the offer of the above securities, the Stabilising Manager(s) may over-allot the securities or effect transactions with a view to supporting the market price of the securities during the stabilisation period at a level higher than that which might otherwise prevail. However, stabilisation may not necessarily occur and any stabilisation action, if begun, may cease at any time Any stabilisation action or over-allotment shall be conducted in accordance with all applicable laws and rules. This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an invitation or offer to underwrite, subscribe for or otherwise acquire or dispose of any securities of the Issuer in any jurisdiction. This announcement is not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or any other jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful. END The number of coronavirus cases have touched the 50,000-mark in India. On Wednesday evening, the Ministry of Health updated Indias total Covid-19 numbers to 49,391. The figure includes 33,514 active Covid-19 cases, 14,182 patients who have been cured or discharged and 1,694 fatalities. According to data, India has reported nearly 10,000 fresh coronavirus cases in the last three days. It took around five days for the number of coronavirus cases to reach 40,000 to 30,000 previously. Earlier, the cases rose to 30,000 from 20,000 in about a weeks time. India recorded its first 10,000 Covid-19 cases in nearly 43 days, with a wave of infections beginning in March after three isolated cases were first reported in Kerala in January. Covid-19 cases seem to have nearly doubled over the last 11 days. Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit state in the country with over 15,000 total Covid-19 cases. Nearly 2,819 have recovered from the disease in the state or have been discharged from hospitals while 617 patients have succumbed to death. Also read: US firm Gilead in talks with Indian drug companies to produce remdesivir Mumbai, Pune and Thane are the worst affected regions in Maharashtra. While Mumbai has reported over 10,000 coronavirus cases so far, Pune has over 2,000 Covid-19 cases and more than 1,600 are infected in Thane. In Delhi, the number of Covid-19 cases has breached the 5,000-mark while Gujarat has over 6,000 cases. Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan are among the top affected states. The virus has infected more than 3 million people across the globe. Over one million patients have recovered globally. One of the white men filmed chasing unarmed black jogger Ahmaud Arbery then shooting him dead in a viral video is a retired police detective and district attorney's investigator whose law enforcement links have caused two prosecutors to recuse themselves from the controversial case. Gregory McMichael, 64, and his 34-year-old son Travis were filmed on February 23 chasing Arbery in their white pick-up truck through Brunswick, Georgia, because they thought he was a burglar. Arbery, 25, was out for a jog when the pair stopped their truck in front of him in a tree-lined street. Travis got out of the car, wielding a rifle, and shot him after a brief struggle while his former cop father watched, with his own gun primed, from the cargo bed of their truck. The killing was filmed by a vehicle driving behind the McMichaels and has now spread on social media. Police were called to the scene but neither man was arrested and since then, it has been passed between three prosecutors, two of whom had to recuse themselves because of their professional ties to McMichael. Father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael (left) were filmed shooting Ahmaud Arbery dead on February 23 after chasing him in their truck because they thought he was a burglar. Ahmaud was unarmed and was out running. Neither McMichael has been arrested or charged In the footage, shot can be heard and the two can then be seen scuffling as Arbery looks to try to get the gun away from Travis. Two more shots can be heard and are fired at point-blank range before Arbery can be seen stumbling to the ground as the clip comes to a close. 'This is murder,' Arbery's family lawyer, Lee Merritt said TIMELINE OF BOTCHED HANDLING OF THE CASE February 23: Ahmaud Arbery is shot dead in the street in Brunswick, Georgia. Gregory and Travis McMichael had gone out in their car with guns to chase him because they mistook him for a burglar. When they caught up to him, Travis got out of the car. Jackie Johnson recused herself because McMichael used to work in her office Greg says they told Arbery that they wanted to talk to him and that he attacked Travis. A struggle ensued and Travis fired his gun twice, killing Ahmaud, 25. Late February - First prosecutor recuses herself Jackie Johnson, the Brunswick District Attorney, stepped down from the case because Gregory used to work in her office as an investigator. Mid-April - Second prosecutor says he won't press charges, then recuses himself George Barnhill said Ahmaud initiated the fight George Barnhill was given the case. He at first said he did not think it merited charges because the McMichaels were acting lawfully by trying to carry out a citizen's arrest, which is legal in Georgia. He also said that the video 'shows' Arbery reaching for Travis' gun. Barnhill recused himself because his son, also called George Barnhill, works in the office where McMichael used to The first shot is fired however when the pair are out of frame. When the camera panned back to them, they were struggling again to the side of the vehicle. Barnhill said Travis was standing his ground by firing three shots which hit Arbery. He later had to recuse himself after it emerged that his son works in the Brunswick District Attorney's Office, where Gregory served. May 5 - Third prosecutor passes it on to grand jury Tom Durden is the third prosecutor to have the case come across his desk. He said that his office would approach it without prior prejudice. This week, he announced that he would not make a decision on whether or not to charge, and that he wants to convene a grand jury to take it on. May 7 - Georgia Bureau of Investigation files charges The GBI announced that it was bringing charges of murder and aggravated assault against the Gregory and Travis on May 7. Advertisement The first, Jackie Johnson, recused herself because Gregory worked in her office as an investigator until retiring a year ago. He previously served as a detective in the police department. The second prosecutor, George Barnhill, said that he believed the McMichaels were within their rights to chase Arbery and arrest him, with guns, because citizens arrests are legal in Georgia. He also claimed that Ahmaud 'initiated' the fight - even though the start of it is out of the video frame - and that he 'clearly' tried to grab Travis's weapon frm him. As such, he said Travis was lawful in shooting him because it constitutes a stand your ground killing. Barnhill later recused himself amid complaints that his son works in the first prosecutor's office, where Gregory used to serve. The third prosecutor, Tom Durden, has passed the case off to a grand jury, meaning it could be months before anyone is charged or arrested since court proceedings have been stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Barnhill's own son works in the Brunswick District Attorney's Office, where Greg McMichael used to work as an investigator. Despite the conflict, he ruled that charges should not be brought against either Greg or Travis. He also slammed the current prosecutor in charge of the case, Tom Durden, who has passed it on to a grand jury to weigh whether or not to bring charges. 'Prosecutors will need a grand jury in order to formally indite them but that has nothing to do with going out and arresting the men seen on camera. 'The prosecutors actually have the option to directly indite and skip the grand jury process,' he added. Now, Ahmaud's mother is demanding that the men at least be arrested, let alone charged. She appeared on Good Morning America on Thursday morning to say that she believess the white father and son are being protected by law enforcement. 'I think no arrest has been made because of the title that he carried as a retired police officer. 'They don't feel like he was wrong because he was one of them,' she said. She revealed that she has not been able to bring herself to watch the video of her son's killing that has spread through social media and sparked outrage. 'I don't think I'll ever be in a mental state where I can actually watch the video,' she said. She added that her son, who would have turned 26 on Friday, had a 'humbling spirit'. Ahmaud's mother Wanda Jones said on Thursday that the two white men were being protected because the father is a former police detective Ahmaud Arberys mother says her son was kind, well-mannered and loved by his family and peers. Friday would have been his 26th birthday. https://t.co/QFFqO8FjBY pic.twitter.com/5wt7hS2YYc Good Morning America (@GMA) May 7, 2020 PROSECUTOR: UNARMED AHMAUD 'INITIATED' FIGHT AND REACHED FOR THE GUN The second prosecutor to be given the case was George Barnhill. In an April 2 letter to the Glynn County Police Department - where Greg McMichael worked - he said neither he nor his son deserved to be charged because they were firstly lawful in pursuing Arbery with their guns and then in shooting him. He argued that they were trying to make a citizen's arrest by chasing Arbery -which is legal in Georgia - and that they had 'solid probable cause for it', claiming Arbery was a burglary suspect. He said the pair intended to subdue Arbery until police arrived but that Arbery 'initiated' a fight by grabbing for Travis McMichael's gun. He went on to say that Travis was lawful in shooting him because he thinks it constitutes a stand your ground killing. The start of their fight happens out of the camera's view but Barnhill said Arbery's wounds - namely the first of three which was in his right palm - showed he had reached for the gun. He went on to say that Travis McMichael feared for his life so did not break the law by using deadly force. Lastly, Barnhill claimed Arbery had a 'history of mental health and prior convictions'. Advertisement 'Ahmaud was kind, Ahmaud was well mannered, Ahmaud was loved by his family and peers. Ahmaud would have turned 26 on Friday 'He didn't deserve to go the way that he went,' she said. Lee Merritt, the family's lawyer who previously described Ahmaud's death as a 'lynching', said the second prosecutor involved ought to be hauled before the board of ethics for not disclosing the conflict of interest. Speaking on Wednesday, Merritt stated during a press conference: 'These men were not performing any police function or any duty as citizens of Georgia... these men were vigilantes, they were performing a lynching in the middle of the day.' 'I saw my son come into the world,' Jones said. 'And seeing him leave the world, it's not something that I'll want to see ever.' She added: 'He was my baby boy that I had on Mother's Day of 1994. He was his sister and brother's keeper... his spirit was good. He was a yes ma'am and no ma'am type of fellow.' PETITION FOR SHOOTERS TO BE CHARGED AS SUPPORTERS VOW TO 'RUN WITH AHMAUD' TO HONOR HIS 26TH BIRTHDAY A Change.org petition calling for 'Justice for Ahmaud Arbery' has gained nearly 15,000 signatures. It demands that the McMichaels face charges over the killing. The petition's author said Arbery was the victim of racial profiling by the pair. It also alleges that the DA is 'personal friends' with Gregory McMichael but it's unclear which DA the petition refers to. Other supporters are vowing to '#RunWithAhmaud' on Friday to honor his 26th birthday. They will run 2.23 miles, which is a reference to the date of his death. Advertisement Arbery's father, Marcus, labeled his son's death a 'hate crime'. 'My young son wasn't doing nothing - minding his own business, running and working out. And that's a crime? To work out and run and he ain't breaking no law? No. Time out.' The footage sparked widespread outrage from viewers across America, with a crowd of protesters assembling in Brunswick brandishing signs and chanting for justice. On Wednesday, a crowd of protesters also gathered in Atlanta to raise awareness of Arbery's death and to demand that arrests be made in the case. FOX 5 reports that a larger demonstration is being planned for Friday - which would have marked Arbery's 26th birthday. Arbery's death has now captured the attention of the presumptive Democratic nominee for President, Joe Biden, who sent out a tweet describing Arbery's death as 'murder'. 'The video is clear: Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood,' Biden tweeted late Tuesday along with a link to a Georgia district attorney recommendation that a grand jury hear the case. 'My heart goes out to his family, who deserve justice and deserve it now,' the presumed Democratic nominee continued in his Twitter post. 'It is time for a swift, full, and transparent investigation into his murder.' Former Democratic Presidential hopefuls Bernie Sanders and Beto O'Rourke also tweeted for justice - stating that the attack was racially motivated. Celebrities including LeBron James, Justin Bieber and Kendall Jenner also posted about the case. Protesters gathered for a march through Brunswick on Tuesday - the same day shocking footage of Arbery's death went viral on the internet The shocking footage has sparked widespread outcry. Protesters are pictured in Brunswick on Tuesday. A larger demonstration is reportedly being planned for this coming Friday LA Laker star James tweeted out an impassioned message to his 45 million Twitter followers claiming black people are profiled on the color of their skin. 'We're literally hunted EVERYDAY/EVERYTIME we step foot outside the comfort of our homes!' he wrote. 'Can't even go for a damn jog man! Like WTF man are you kidding me?!?!?!?!?!? No man fr ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!! I'm sorry Ahmaud (Rest In Paradise) and my prayers and blessings sent to the heavens above to your family'. Meanwhile, Rosanna Arquette suggested the McMichaels be charged with murder for their 'despicable racist heinous crime.' Serana Williams also shared a series of post on her Instagram Stories, making it clear she believed the death was racially motivated. 'My crime? BEING BLACK,' she wrote, assuming the voice of Arbery. Elsewhere, Kendall Jenner, Viola Davis, Maria Shriver and Justin Bieber also shared their outrage online. Tom Durden, a Georgia prosecutor assigned to examine the case, announced Tuesday that he plans to have a grand jury hear the evidence in the shooting. The grand jury won't happen for more than a month, as Georgia courts remain largely closed because of the coronavirus until at least June 13. 'I am of the opinion that the case should be presented to the grand jury of Glynn County for consideration of criminal charges against those involved in the death of Mr. Arbery,' Durden said in a statement Tuesday. Reached by phone, Durden said no arrests have been made in connection with the shooting. He declined to say what charges he would have a grand jury consider or to comment further. 'He was my baby boy that I had on Mother's Day of 1994. He was his sister and brother's keeper... his spirit was good. He was a yes ma'am and no ma'am type of fellow': Arbery is pictured at right with his mom Wanda Jones Kim Kardashian, LeBron James, Viola Davis, Rosanna Arquette, Kerry Washington and Amy Schumer lead stars campaigning for action to be taken in fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery LeBron James led a host of celebrities speaking out about the shooting of an unarmed black jogger Ahmaud Arbery by two white men less than three months ago - and the lack of consequences against the men involved in the shooting. The LA Laker star James tweeted out an impassioned message to his 45 million Twitter followers claiming black people are profiled on the color of their skin. 'We're literally hunted EVERYDAY/EVERYTIME we step foot outside the comfort of our homes!' he wrote. The Akron, Ohio native continued: 'Im sorry Ahmaud (Rest In Paradise) and my prayers and blessings sent to the..... heavens above to your family!!' The iconic basketball player added the hashtags #StayWoke and #ProfiledCauseWeAreSimplyBlack after a jarring video of the incident made its way online this week, leading many on social media to call for immediate action in the case. Meanwhile, Rosanna Arquette suggested the McMichaels be charged with murder for their 'despicable racist heinous crime.' Outrage: Rosanna Arquette also expressed their disgust over the situation, calling it a 'racist' and 'heinous' crime Passionate: Tennis icon Serena Williams had a bold response to the story involving Arbery Serana Williams also shared a series of post on her Instagram Stories, making it clear she believed the death was racially motivated. 'My crime? BEING BLACK,' she wrote, assuming the voice of Arbery. Elsewhere, Kendall Jenner, Viola Davis, Maria Shriver and Justin Bieber also shared their outrage online. Davis posted an 'action alert' poster on her Instagram, and captioned it with the quote: 'I am sick and tired of being sick and tired' by Fannie Lou Hamer. She followed that up by saying: 'Stand with us and demand that Ahmaud's murders are chargd with his death. They are not immune from prosecution and should be charged with murder.' Powerful: Oscar-winner Viola Davis called for action from officials in the situation Focused: Pop star Justin Bieber said he was 'praying for justice' in the case Upset: Kendall Jenner indicated she was heartbroken by the turn of events Bieber said he was 'prayed for the family' and also 'praying for justice'. Jenner posted an image of a smiling Arbery, with an emoji of a broken heart. Gabrielle Union also made her thoughts on the situation crystal clear amid her calls for justice 'It's been months and his killers walk free,' the actress said in an Instagram post. 'I don't want to beg, plead, reason, cry, or scream for you to see us as worthy of our breath. If you need to be cajoled into empathy, you are not who you think you are.' The L.A.'s Finest star ended her post in saying, 'We keep fighting. We will not stop. There will be justice.' Focused: Gabrielle Union made her thoughts on the situation crystal clear amid her calls for justice Time to answer: Academy Award winner Halle Berry, comedy star Amy Schumer and A-lister Kerry Washington called for justice in the situation Zoe Kravitz said the incident was reflective of an unjust system. She wrote: #ahmaudarbery was murdered by two white men, ON CAMERA, and dudes have not been arrested. come on, people...come. the F*** on.' Rosanna Arquette suggested the McMichaels be charged with murder for their 'despicable racist heinous crime.' Maria Shriver called the story 'absolutely outrageous,' adding, 'Watching this video should outrage and disgust us all.' Director Ava DuVernay, who made the Netflix documentary 'When they see us', about the Central Park Five, said she was posting to 'amplifly' a protest being held outside the courthouse on Friday. 'If you are in Georgia and are comfortable going outside with social distancing protocols, please safely support this family whose loved one was murdered in cold blood while jogging by gun-toting Trump supporting White supremacists.' Calls for action: Khloe's ex, NBA star Tristan Thompson, said that justice 'NEEDS' to be served in the ongoing case Crestfallen: Khloe Kardashian posted an emoji depicting her heartbreak over the tragic death Khloe Kardashian posted an image of Arbery, with the caption: 'I was murdered by an armed father and son who hunted me down and shot me as I jogged in a Georgie neighborhood. Neither of my killers have been charged. My name is Ahmaud Arbery.' Actress Vanessa Hudgens also posted a similar caption, while demanding justice. Taraji P. Henson, Tristan Thompson, Olivia Wilde, Tina Lawson, Lily Collins, and Sailor Brinkley Cook and Naomi Campbell also paid memorial to the late Arbery, with some demanding a day in court for the men involved in the shooting. Cook posted a caption saying: 'Ahmaud Arbery was brutally murdered by two white supremacists while he was innocently going for a job. These men stopped him in his tracks, beat him up and shot him. And these same EVIL men are still walking free. That makes me so f*****g nauseous. Say his name. Spread the word.' Growing group: Sailor Brinkley Cook and Naomi Campbell also shared their thoughts on the deadly incident Upset: Vanessa Hudgens linked to a Change.org petition demanding justice in the case President Trump on two different occasions in January reportedly rejected the advice of advisers who urged him to ask Chinas president for more transparency about the nature of the coronavirus. Trump brushed off his advisers when they urged greater transparency because he thought it might imperil future U.S.-China relations, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Trumps advisers reportedly argued that a confrontation with China over its handling of the virus would be received well on both sides of the aisle. They proposed a special commission to investigate how the virus originated and examine Chinas efforts to control the spread. The coronavirus outbreak, which began in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has cast a pall over the Trump administrations efforts to improve relations with the communist country. As the outbreak turned into a global pandemic, U.S. officials have heightened their criticism of Chinas early handling of the virus and accused Beijing of mounting a coverup of the extent of the spread within Chinas borders. During the early days of the outbreak in January and February, Trump praised China several times for transparency around the coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency, the president wrote in a January 24 tweet, two days after he touted the administrations trade deal with China. Throughout February, Trump praised Chinas President Xi for working very hard to combat the outbreak. Since then, however, he has adopted a more critical tone of Chinas handling of the virus, slamming the World Health Organization for apparently taking China at its word about the nature and spread of the pandemic. The W.H.O. really blew it, Trump wrote on Twitter in early April. 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? Story continues The U.S. intelligence community concluded last month that China deliberately provided incomplete public numbers for coronavirus cases and deaths resulting from the infection. Intelligence agencies have not determined whether the virus escaped from a Wuhan lab, but have said the virus was not manmade or genetically modified. The WHO recommended in January that countries keep borders and trade open even as it dubbed the coronavirus outbreak a global emergency. In December, when China is believed to have become aware of the virus, local and national officials issued a gag order to labs in Wuhan after scientists there identified a new viral pneumonia, ordering them to halt tests, destroy samples, and conceal the news. More from National Review A letter from the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which arrived at the International Department of the CPC Central Committee on Jan. 27, not only showed the PPRD's support for China in its fight against the novel coronavirus, but also raised the curtain for an influx of support from foreign parties and party leaders for the same cause. Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 130 countries, over 300 parties and political organizations, and more than 600 individuals have expressed their support and endorsement for China's all-out war against the virus to the CPC Central Committee and Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, calling for international solidarity and cooperation. These phone calls and letters show the deep friendship with China and the CPC. The primetime CCTV news program has reported on this support 26 times, boosting the Chinese people's morale and confidence in defeating the virus, and demonstrating the international influence of the country and the CPC. It is worth noting that nearly 70 percent of support from the various parties has come directly from party chiefs, with backing also coming from leaders of influential multilateral party mechanisms, such as the International Conference of Asian Political Parties, the Council of African Political Parties, the Permanent Conference of Political Parties of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Party of the European Left. The assistance provided has not only been moral support, however, as parties in developing countries have also made huge efforts to provide China with material aid. For example, Pakistan donated all of its hospital supplies of face masks to China. Sherry Rehman, vice-president of the Pakistan People's Party, stated that Pakistan and China are all-weather friends, and that they will overcome these difficult times together with China. Comoros, a country that has only recently bid farewell to the club of low-income countries, donated a symbolic100 (US$108.88) to China for its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, showing its willingness to help. The party chief of the Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros said they will always support China and the Chinese people. Suriname, a country with a population of less than 600,000, donated more than 10,000 face masks to China. The head of the country's Progressive Reform Party said if they are needed, they are always there. This material support helped ease China's shortage of essential medical materials in the early stages of the pandemic's outbreak. Ivica Dacic, chairman of the Socialist Party of Serbia, visited the International Department of the CPC Central Committee on Feb. 27, becoming the first Western party leader to do so. When his Chinese hosts said that his visit proved again that the Socialist Party of Serbia is a good and real friend of the CPC, Dacic replied that China had not abandoned them when NATO bombed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999; and that in the same way that China was not afraid of bombs, they were not afraid of the novel coronavirus. Dacic added that China is not only protecting its own people, but also safeguarding people in the rest of the world. As such, Serbia is proud to have China as a friend. China has provided assistance to many countries through its inter-party connections. For instance, after Iran sought help from the world, the CPC immediately offered material support; and when Laos encountered serious difficulties controlling the pandemic situation, the CPC sent both aid and medical experts. So far, the CPC has provided humanitarian support and assistance to more than 50 countries and over 100 parties and political organizations through inter-party exchange channels, showing the spirit of jointly building a community of shared future for mankind. Although the pandemic has reduced face-to-face contact, online and telephone exchanges have not ceased between the CPC and other parties. For example, the CPC contacted the Communist Party of Cuba on April 3, with the leader of the latter explaining that China and Cuba have set an example for cooperation between large and small countries in response to global challenges. At the same time, online seminars involving participants from parties in Asia and the Communist Party of South Africa have been carried out. The CPC has also taken advantage of public diplomacy channels to strengthen international solidarity in the fight against the common enemy. All of these efforts have demonstrated the parties' resolve to win the war, and also shown their hope for a better future. The first time Peter acknowledged his attraction to other boys was during prayer. He grew up in a conservative Chinese church in Manhattan's Chinatown and used prayer as a space to name his secret feelings as well as a tool to combat them. He knew the leaders of his church disapproved of same-sex marriage. One day, the pastor's wife asked his youth group to pray for someone who had been banned from the church because he was struggling with being gay, a clear indication that he had "invited the devil into his heart." Believing he was destined for the fires of hell unless he changed, Peter devoted himself to countless hours in prayer and even fasted for 36 hours, but to no avail. One day, when he was in the seventh grade, Peter, who asked that his real name not be used, decided to accelerate his path to hell. His parents, who immigrated from Fujian, China, often weren't home, because they worked long hours in Chinese restaurants and spent their free time at church. He locked his bedroom door and doused himself with lighter fluid. After a few attempts at lighting matches, he set them aside. If I'm going to hell anyway, maybe I can just do whatever I want, he thought. The turning point for Peter came when he moved to California for college and befriended openly gay peers for the first time. It gave him the courage to come out despite his fear that doing so would alienate him from his family. Now 28, Peter is openly queer and has long abandoned his faith. "I realized that I was a lot happier without it," he said. Related: David Hos 1990s research helped shed light on how HIV replicates. Now, his research aims to stem replication of the coronavirus. The path he chose is typical for many queer kids who grow up in Chinese churches, which are predominantly conservative and evangelical: Embrace yourself, drop the faith. But a new church in Manhattan's Chinatown is trying to change that. Grace Alive Fellowship, which meets on the fourth floor of First Chinese Baptist Church, fully affirms and includes LGBTQIA people. Story continues Anyone who walks in on a Sunday morning is handed a bulletin that includes the pronouns of each person involved in the service a clear sign of the church's posture. During its Friday night Bible studies, the fellowship discusses topics such as a video series unpacking the history of the biblical translation of words like "homosexuality." This year, the fellowship participated in Chinatown's Lunar New Year parade, marching in a contingent with other LGBTQ+ Asian groups. IMAGE: Lunar New Year march in New York (Courtesy May Lee) The fellowship, which is headed by an all-women board, has about 10 regular congregants. Its leaders, Pastor May Lee, a seminarian, and Manni Lee, see their progressive posture toward LGBTQ folks not as the defining element of their church but rather as part of what it means to be connected to one's community. "Being progressive to me means we care about the most vulnerable, we watch out for those at risk," Manni said. Download the NBC News app for breaking news and alerts May and Manni met at Church of the Living Lord, their former congregation in Manhattan's Chinatown, which shared a building with a community center, Chinese Christian Herald Crusades. There, they built a thriving immigrant youth and children's ministry, JubiKidz, which engaged and developed the teens most churches rejected. After the church shut down five years ago, May wanted to replicate the intimate, non-hierarchical ethos she had cultivated in JubiKidz. Eventually, Grace Alive Fellowship was born, with the vision of building what she called "relational community," where members can journey through life's challenges together. The fellowship hosts Sunday services only once a month the rest of the time is for community building or social justice activities. When the city proposed building a detention complex in Chinatown, the fellowship hosted a discussion on the history of jails in Chinatown. When a fire burned through the archives of the Museum of Chinese in America, they prayed for and donated to its recovery. (During the COVID-19 pandemic, gatherings are now held over Zoom.) May and Manni don't see it as their role to be strident advocates for LGBTQ equality in Chinatown's churches. Instead, they want to start conversations and break taboos around gender and sexuality. That is, after all, how their own minds were changed. In 2011, May participated in a march against same-sex marriage with Church of the Living Lord. But after engaging with progressive authors and Asian American pastors, she started to change her stance. So far, the fellowship hasn't encountered much vocal opposition. When May and Manni tell their friends in conservative Chinatown churches that Grace Alive is LGBTQ-affirming, people usually respond with support. "That's so good. You're brave," May recalled many of them saying. May and Manni try not to engage in theological debates but instead let other church leaders know they can refer queer congregants to them. For some who grew up in Chinatown's churches, a church like Grace Alive has come too late. "I'm glad they are trying to be more inclusive," said Jennifer Tsui, who left Church of the Living Lord's youth ministry partly because of its stance on the LGBTQ community. "But the damage has already been done." Related: I just look at a patient, knowing that this could be me tomorrow if Im not careful, or if my resistance goes down or Im just unlucky. This could be me tonight. And thats the scary part of it." For others, the fellowship presents a new opportunity. For Kevin Chu, who uses "he" or "they" pronouns, Grace Alive was the first spiritual community they found that didn't require choosing between faith and queerness. In college, Chu came out as queer to their student group, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. "A lot of people I used to be close with just stopped talking to me," they said. After graduating, they were drawn to Grace Alive because of its priority on community and its connection to Toi San, a city in Guangdong, China, where many fellowship members as well the majority of the first wave of Chinatown immigrants, including Chu's parents are from. For Cal Hsiao, Grace Alive was a breath of fresh air after her experience with white, progressive churches and multiethnic churches in St. Louis, where she moved for college. "My experience in the Midwest was that 'multiethnic' meant 'white and black,'" she said. "I was tired of explaining cultural things to my peers. Culture plays a big part in spirituality, so I like the way the two are connected in GAF." In March, Hsiao delivered a sermon that was part of a series on Patrick Cheng's 2012 book, "From Sin to Amazing Grace: Discovering the Queer Christ." Drawing upon Cheng's arguments, Hsiao discussed how God "came out of the closet" by incarnating in the form of Jesus Christ. As a progressive church in Chinatown, Grace Alive occupies what can feel like a no-man's land. Like Peter, most of the youth raised in Chinese churches have either left the church entirely as is the case in many Asian immigrant churches or have retained a conservative model of faith. This middle space, however, presents new possibilities, especially for kids who grew up like Peter. "I strongly encourage everyone to question their faith and leave the church for a little bit to understand if their lives would be better," he said. "But I think it would've been amazing for myself to have a resource like that growing up." Follow NBC Asian America on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. By Li Jie By Li Jie The US Navy, which has blundered big time in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic, reported on April 23 infections on 40 military vessels, which made up 1/7 of US's existing vessels. Against such a background, the US Navy and Air Force's reconnaissance planes have flown over the Taiwan Strait at a much higher frequency recently. On May 4, two B-1B supersonic strategic bombers flew to the East China Sea and appeared over waters off Taiwan for the first time. What are they up to? It's known to all that ever since the US labeled China as an important strategic competitor in Trump's first National Security Strategy released in December 2017, the Pentagon has intensified its efforts to provoke, deter and curb China. It has not only based over 60% of its naval and air forces in the Indo-Pacific region, but has also had a more active engagement in West Pacific affairs. However, the unexpected COVID-19 outbreak, especially the US becoming the global epicenter, has upset the Pentagon's deployments. In particular, all four American nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in the Asia Pacific were forced to stop operation due to confirmed COVID-19 cases, and the absence of those core strengths of America's global deployments and strike led to a huge vacuum in frontier waters of West Pacific, resulting in a complete disappearance of US original aggressive offensive and defensive stance. In such a context, the US has more frequently sent military aircraft to the airspace over the West Pacific Ocean and the Taiwan Strait for the following considerations. First of all, the US wants to demonstrate its military presence in the key region of Asia Pacific in the fastest and most convenient way. At the forefront of the West Pacific particularly, it hopes to find, as soon as possible, one or two combat platforms or large weapons that can substitute aircraft carriers or amphibious assault ships to some extent. That's the primary goal for Pentagon decision-makers since the outbreak. As a result, the US Navy and Air Force have joined hands in the attempt to replace large and medium-sized surface warships with multiple types of aircraft since March. Incomplete statistics show that the US military assigned reconnaissance planes, assisted by anti-submarine patrol planes, to conduct 11 overflights and air patrols around Taiwan and above the South China Sea in March. More air force reconnaissance planes were used in April, which, along with its naval aircraft, flew over the region 13 times. Second, the US wants to back up some people in Taiwan amid the pandemic while accomplishing its own tactical tasks. The US military is perfectly aware of the tasks, reconnaissance approaches, and anti-submarine capabilities of its electronic surveillance aircraft and anti-submarine patrol aircraft. They are used to conducting close-in reconnaissance and spying on others. One of their main tasks is to detect the operations of submarines in the region, a task that can only be performed by US aircraft as most of its surface vessels in the Pacific Fleet have been suspended. Besides, Washington also intends to give some confidence to certain forces in Taiwan by telling them that the US hasn't given up its regional military presence because of the pandemic and is still able to send aircraft there even if their vessels are suspended. Third, the US wants to show China its determination to maintain strategic deterrence in key regions. The Pentagon knows that reconnaissance plane and the anti-submarine plane cannot fully demonstrate strategic deterrence, so it sent four B-1B strategic bombers and about 200 air force members from Texas to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam to replace the previous B-52H, and the new bombers flew close to the Taiwan Strait on May 4. The reason why the US made such adjustments is simpleB-1B has a larger payload, higher speed, and better stealth performance than B-52H. The decision-makers at Pentagon are obviously trying to use strategic bombers as a new tool to exert strategic deterrence against China. It's foreseeable that the US will probably send B-1B bombers more frequently to the airspace over the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea in May. Some are worried that the US may create another "aircraft collision over the South China Sea", or intentionally create frictions in sensitive regions around China, to deflect the domestic anger at the White House's poor response to the outbreak. Well, they have their reasons, and we have our preparations. (The author is a researcher at the Naval Military Studies Research Institute) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 7) Senators said the Executive department has requested to hold off their inquiry initially set for Monday where economic managers and COVID-19 task force members were invited to discuss the health crisis response. "The Executive department requested for a postponement because they will be very busy in the next few days to convene and present to the President the updates and reports for the President's decision before the 15th," said Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III. Senate Majority Leader Miguel Zubiri said Malacanang asked that the Senate inquiry be postponed by a week, adding that the President is expected to speak on May 13, two days before the scheduled lifting of the enhanced community quarantine in some areas. Senators wanted to know the progress in containing the virus, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto told CNN Philippines' The Source. Lawmakers will also look into proposals to gradually reopen the economy. The private sector's role in testing capacity may also be tackled. "Thats precisely why we want to have a hearing. To find out where are we and can we open up the economy in certain areas. What are the protocols in place? Pababa na ba infection (is the infection rate going down)? Have we tested enough already to make a cause for terminations?" Recto said. The enhanced community quarantine in the Metro Manila and other COVID high-risk areas and provinces has been extended until mid-May, with the number of virus cases still climbing by the day. Regions classified as lower risk areas, meanwhile, saw a gradual easing of lockdown measures under the "general community quarantine" policy. Some scientists and experts have suggested that localized lockdowns be implemented after May 15, arguing the move would be a win-win strategy to isolate the virus and restart the economy alike. Malacanang, however, stressed that the task force is continuing to monitor the developments on the COVID-19 situation in the country before crafting its next strategy. To date, the Philippines has logged over 10,000 cases of the infectious disease. Photo: VicPD A Victoria family driving with their three-week-old infant and toddler are shaken after their vehicle was shot with an arrow. Brianne and Kyle Winter, newborn Theo, and three-and-a-half-year-old Quinn were stopped at an intersection Monday when they heard a bang. They figured it must have been a rock hitting the SUV, Brianne said. When they got home, Kyle opened the drivers side door and saw that a 10-inch metal arrow had pierced the plastic skirting below the door. Kyle opened the door and there was this thing sticking out of the door, Winter said. Then it all became clear that that was the noise we heard and it was an arrow that shot into the car. Its so reckless, Winter said. The Winters called Victoria police, who arrived quickly and began investigating. A man was arrested at a hotel on Gorge Road, Tuesday, after officers received a tip from the public. He is facing charges of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. OKLAHOMA CITY, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PANHANDLE OIL AND GAS INC., "Panhandle" or the "Company," (NYSE: PHX), today reported financial and operating results for the second quarter ended March 31, 2020. Chad L. Stephens, President and CEO, commented, "Panhandle joins the chorus in thanking our remarkable health care workers, hospital staff and front-line responders in essential jobs that are helping the world through this unprecedented time. Risking their health to save ours is immensely appreciated. I am happy to report that our royalty interest production volumes have increased by 41% as compared to the prior quarter. This is due to the effect of a full quarter of our STACK mineral acquisition that closed last December and additional well activity on our Bakken and SCOOP minerals. The increase more than offset our decrease in working interest production volumes during the same period to generate an overall company production volume growth for the quarter of 10% as compared to the prior quarter. These results allowed us to reduce our debt by another $3.0 million (roughly 8%) since our last quarter. The royalty interest volume growth was not enough to mitigate a continued drop in commodity prices which caused our quarter over quarter adjusted EBITDA and operating cash flow to decline. The economic downturn associated with COVID-19 caused commodity prices to decline further and reduced new drilling activity across the energy patch, including on our minerals. Despite these challenging times, we will maintain our long-term focus on NAV-accretive growth through the acquisition of producing minerals and royalty interests. We recognize that the near-term uncertainty and market volatility make it difficult to transact. As such, in the short term we will focus on the important issues we can control, such as the safety and health of our employees, lowering our G&A costs, reducing our debt, and continually improving our internal systems and processes, in order to be more efficient and effective in pursuing our long term goals when the economy opens up again. As part of our debt reduction effort, the Board voted at the recent May meeting to reduce our quarterly dividend to $0.01. This will allow the Company to apply an additional $2.0 million toward debt reduction and help in maintaining adequate liquidity to operate our business. I remain confident that, by applying these prudent steps of judicious capital allocation and cash management, Panhandle will successfully navigate through the current market uncertainties and emerge as a leaner more efficient company." SUMMARY OF RESULTS FOR THE PERIODS ENDED MARCH 31, 2020, AND SUBSEQUENT EVENTS Royalty interest volumes sold increased in the second quarter of 2020 to 1.11 Bcfe from 0.79 Bcfe in the first quarter of 2020 primarily due to having a full quarter of production related to the STACK acquisition completed in December 2019 and additional mineral interest wells coming online. and additional mineral interest wells coming online. As a result of lower commodity prices, we recorded a non-cash impairment of $29.5 million in the second quarter of 2020. in the second quarter of 2020. Net loss in the first half of fiscal 2020 was $18.1 million or $1.09 per share (net income of $11.5 million or $0.69 per share excluding the non-cash impairment associated primarily with our assets in the Fayetteville and Eagle Ford shales), as compared to net income of $10.8 million or $0.64 per share in the fiscal 2019 period. or per share (net income of or per share excluding the non-cash impairment associated primarily with our assets in the Fayetteville and Eagle Ford shales), as compared to net income of or per share in the fiscal 2019 period. Net loss in the second quarter of 2020 was $20.0 million or $1.21 per share (net income of $9.6 million or $0.58 per share excluding the non-cash impairment), as compared to net loss of $1.9 million or $0.11 per share in the same period of 2019. or per share (net income of or per share excluding the non-cash impairment), as compared to net loss of or per share in the same period of 2019. Adjusted EBITDA (1) in the first half of fiscal 2020 was $10.3 million , as compared to $18.5 million in the fiscal 2019 period, including $3.3 million and $9.1 million gains on asset sales in the adjusted EBITDA for the 2020 and 2019 periods, respectively. in the first half of fiscal 2020 was , as compared to in the fiscal 2019 period, including and gains on asset sales in the adjusted EBITDA for the 2020 and 2019 periods, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA (1) for the second quarter of 2020 was $3.1 million , as compared to $4.0 million in the same period in 2019. for the second quarter of 2020 was , as compared to in the same period in 2019. Reduced debt from $35.4 million , as of Sept. 30, 2019 , to $32.0 million , as of March 31, 2020 . Net debt has been further reduced to approximately $29.3 million as of May 1, 2020 . , as of , to , as of . Net debt has been further reduced to approximately as of . Debt to adjusted EBITDA (TTM) ratio was 1.12x at March 31, 2020 . . Subsequent to March 31, 2020 , the Company implemented a G&A reduction plan which we expect, when fully implemented, to reduce G&A by between $1 to $2 million annually. , the Company implemented a G&A reduction plan which we expect, when fully implemented, to reduce G&A by between to annually. At its meeting on May 5, 2020 , the Company's Board of Directors approved a payment of a one cent per share quarterly dividend. The dividend will be payable on June 5, 2020 , to stockholders of record on May 21, 2020 . (1) This is a non-GAAP measure. Refer to the Non-GAAP Reconciliation section. OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS Second Quarter Ended Second Quarter Ended Six Months Ended Six Months Ended March 31, 2020 March 31, 2019 March 31, 2020 March 31, 2019 Mcfe Sold 2,511,654 2,421,525 4,790,141 5,186,055 Average Sales Price per Mcfe $ 3.18 $ 3.81 $ 3.25 $ 4.13 Oil Barrels Sold 103,215 74,372 169,095 157,200 Average Sales Price per Barrel $ 46.19 $ 52.84 $ 48.69 $ 53.49 Gas Mcf Sold 1,607,442 1,688,043 3,255,269 3,582,033 Average Sales Price per Mcf $ 1.67 $ 2.65 $ 1.91 $ 3.00 NGL Barrels Sold 47,487 47,875 86,717 110,137 Average Sales Price per Barrel $ 11.05 $ 17.05 $ 13.14 $ 20.62 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Second Quarter Ended Second Quarter Ended Six Months Ended Six Months Ended March 31, 2020 March 31, 2019 March 31, 2020 March 31, 2019 Working Interest Sales $ 3,415,049 $ 6,070,901 $ 8,099,785 $ 13,505,476 Royalty Interest Sales $ 4,567,856 $ 3,150,418 $ 7,476,958 $ 7,926,562 Oil, NGL and Natural Gas Sales $ 7,982,905 $ 9,221,319 $ 15,576,743 $ 21,432,038 Lease Bonuses and Rental Income $ 22,092 $ 208,746 $ 549,791 $ 723,303 Total Revenue $ 12,076,574 $ 7,636,213 $ 22,653,105 $ 33,965,207 LOE per Mcfe $ 0.61 $ 0.62 $ 0.57 $ 0.58 Transportation, Gathering and Marketing per Mcfe $ 0.55 $ 0.61 $ 0.58 $ 0.59 Production Tax per Mcfe $ 0.16 $ 0.19 $ 0.15 $ 0.21 G&A Expense per Mcfe $ 0.87 $ 0.88 $ 0.92 $ 0.79 Interest Expense per Mcfe $ 0.14 $ 0.20 $ 0.15 $ 0.20 DD&A per Mcfe $ 1.34 $ 1.50 $ 1.32 $ 1.43 Total Expense per Mcfe $ 3.67 $ 4.00 $ 3.69 $ 3.80 Impairment $ 29,545,702 $ - $ 29,545,702 $ - Net Income (Loss) $ (19,973,170) $ (1,931,334) $ (18,081,056) $ 10,804,606 Adj. Pre-Tax Net Income (Loss) (1) $ (633,906) $ (86,375) $ 3,231,875 $ 10,014,384 Adjusted EBITDA (1) $ 3,086,185 $ 4,023,385 $ 10,278,332 $ 18,477,200 Cash Flow from Operations $ 4,009,901 $ 5,051,311 $ 6,108,342 $ 9,061,054 CapEx - Drilling & Completing $ 34,490 $ 2,713,744 $ 139,755 $ 4,159,683 CapEx - Mineral Acquisitions $ 81,422 $ 1,386,775 $ 10,254,016 $ 1,809,775 Borrowing Base $ 45,000,000 $ 80,000,000 Debt $ 32,000,000 $ 44,100,000 Debt/Adjusted EBITDA (TTM) (1) 1.12 1.50 (1) This is a non-GAAP measure. Refer to the Non-GAAP Reconciliation section. SECOND QUARTER 2020 RESULTS Oil, NGL and natural gas revenue decreased 13% in the 2020 quarter as production increased 4% and product prices decreased 17% relative to the 2019 quarter. The 2020 quarter revenue included a $4.1 million gain on derivative contracts as compared to a $1.8 million loss for the 2019 quarter. Total production increased 4% in the 2020 quarter, as compared to the 2019 quarter. Total production increased due to including a full quarter of results associated with the STACK acquisition, which closed in December 2019, and additional royalty oil wells coming online primarily in the Bakken. This increase was partially offset by the natural decline of the production base. The oil production increase of 39% is attributable to producing property royalty acquisitions in the Bakken in North Dakota and Anadarko STACK in Oklahoma, as well as new well drilling on legacy Panhandle mineral acreage in the SCOOP and STACK in Oklahoma. The natural gas production decrease of 5% is the result of naturally declining production in the STACK, Arkoma Stack and Fayetteville Shale, partially offset by royalty acquisition volumes in the STACK and Bakken and volumes identified in new royalty wells in the SCOOP and Bakken. The NGL production remained relatively flat as naturally declining production in liquid-rich gas areas of the Anadarko Basin and Arkoma Stack are offset by additional production related to royalty acquisition volumes in the STACK and Bakken, new royalty wells in the SCOOP and Bakken, and operators removing more NGL from the natural gas stream. The 8% decrease in total cost per Mcfe in the 2020 quarter relative to the 2019 quarter was primarily driven by higher royalty volumes and an increased proportion of oil compared to NGL and natural gas. The DD&A rate decrease was mainly due to the impairment taken on the Eagle Ford at the end of fiscal 2019, which lowered the basis of the assets. This rate decrease was partially offset by lower oil, NGL and natural gas prices utilized in the reserve calculations during the 2020 quarter, as compared to the 2019 quarter, shortening the economic life of wells. This resulted in lower projected remaining reserves on a significant number of wells causing increased units of production DD&A. The interest expense decrease was mainly attributable to lower average outstanding debt balance during the 2020 quarter as compared to the 2019 quarter. The decrease in production tax rate was primarily due to lower product prices during the 2020 quarter. The Company's net income decreased from net loss of $1.9 million in the 2019 quarter to net loss of $20.0 million in the 2020 quarter. The majority of the decrease was due to a non-cash impairment associated primarily with the Fayetteville and the Eagle Ford shales. SIX MONTHS 2020 RESULTS Oil, NGL and natural gas revenue decreased 27% in the 2020 period as production decreased 8% and product prices decreased 21% relative to the 2019 period. The 2020 period revenue included a $3.3 million gain on derivative contracts as compared to a $2.7 million gain for the 2019 period. Total production decreased 8% in the 2020 period, as compared to the 2019 period. This decrease for the 2020 six-month period, was the result of Panhandle electing not to participate with a working interest on 16 wells proposed on its mineral and leasehold acreage, partially offset by the factors discussed above. The 3% decrease in total cost per MCFE in the 2020 period relative to the 2019 period was primarily driven by lower production as noted above. Interest expense and production taxes were also influenced by lower debt balances outstanding and lower production tax associated with lower commodity prices, respectively. The Company's net income decreased from net income of $10.8 million in the 2019 period to net loss of $18.1 million in the 2020 period. The majority of the decrease was due to a non-cash impairment associated primarily with the Fayetteville and the Eagle Ford shales. OPERATIONS UPDATE During the quarter ended March 31, 2020, we converted 25 gross/0.06 net wells in progress to producing wells. Our inventory of wells in progress decreased to 118 gross wells but increased on a net well basis to 0.50 wells, as new drilling occurred on acreage where we have a higher ownership stake. Permits outstanding increased as new permits were filed, but this increase was offset by fewer permits being converted to wells in progress. Bakken/ SCOOP/ Three Arkoma STACK Forks Stack Permian Fayetteville Other Total Gross Wells in Progress on PHX Acreage: As of 12/31/19 79 2 11 5 - 28 125 Net Change 12 - -7 - - -12 -7 As of 3/31/20 91 2 4 5 - 16 118 Net Wells in Progress on PHX Acreage: As of 12/31/19 0.19 - 0.02 0.15 - 0.13 0.49 Net Change 0.08 - -0.01 - - -0.06 0.01 As of 3/31/20 0.27 - 0.01 0.15 - 0.07 0.50 Gross Active Permits on PHX Acreage: As of 12/31/19 35 13 6 - - 11 65 Net Change 4 - 4 - - 9 17 As of 3/31/20 39 13 10 - - 20 82 As of 3/31/20: Rigs Present on PHX Acreage 8 - - 1 - 1 10 Rigs Within 2.5 Miles of PHX Acreage 27 6 - 2 - 6 41 Leasing Activity During the second quarter of fiscal 2020, Panhandle leased 36 net mineral acres for an average bonus payment of $603 per net mineral acre and an average royalty of 22%. Bakken/ SCOOP/ Three Arkoma STACK Forks Stack Permian Fayetteville Other Total During Three Months Ended 3/31/20: Net Mineral Acres Leased 10 - - 23 - 3 36 Average Bonus per Net Mineral Acre $ 1,000 - $ 50 $ 500 - $ 158 $ 603 Average Royalty per Net Mineral Acre 25% - 20% 25% - 19% 22% ACQUISITION AND DIVESTITURE UPDATE During the second quarter of fiscal 2020, Panhandle did not purchase any net mineral acres or sell any net mineral acres. RESERVES UPDATE As of March 31, 2020, mid-year proved reserves were 74.6 Bcfe, as calculated by DeGolyer and MacNaughton, the Company's independent consulting petroleum engineering firm. This was a 30% decrease, compared to the 106.4 Bcfe of proved reserves at Sept. 30, 2019, and is primarily attributable to revisions associated with lower natural gas prices. SEC prices used for the March 31, 2020, report averaged $1.90 per Mcf for natural gas, $53.10 per barrel for oil and $15.31 per barrel for NGL, compared to $2.48 per Mcf for natural gas, $54.40 per barrel for oil and $19.30 per barrel for NGL at the Sept. 30, 2019, report. These prices reflect net prices received at the wellhead. Total proved developed reserves decreased 19% to 72.8 Bcfe, as compared to Sept. 30, 2019, reserve volumes. Total proved undeveloped reserves decreased 15.3 Bcfe principally due to reclassifying locations from proven undeveloped to probable undeveloped related to significant reduction in drilling activity in the STACK, SCOOP, Arkoma Stack and Bakken. As per reserve reporting rules, wells that are no longer scheduled to be drilled within five years must be reclassified from proven undeveloped to probable undeveloped. SECOND QUARTER EARNINGS CALL Panhandle will host a conference call to discuss second quarter results at 5:00 p.m. EDT on May 7, 2020. Management's discussion will be followed by a question and answer session with investors. To participate on the conference call, please dial 844-602-0380 (domestic) or 862-298-0970 (international). A replay of the call will be available for 14 days after the call. The number to access the replay of the conference call is 877-481-4010 and the PIN for the replay is 34278. FINANCIALS Statements of Operations Three Months Ended March 31, Six Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 2020 2019 Revenues: (unaudited) (unaudited) Oil, NGL and natural gas sales $ 7,982,905 $ 9,221,319 $ 15,576,743 $ 21,432,038 Lease bonuses and rental income 22,092 208,746 549,791 723,303 Gains (losses) on derivative contracts 4,071,577 (1,793,852) 3,253,683 2,712,928 Gain on asset sales - - 3,272,888 9,096,938 12,076,574 7,636,213 22,653,105 33,965,207 Costs and expenses: Lease operating expenses 1,542,199 1,505,507 2,723,870 3,020,061 Transportation, gathering and marketing 1,386,297 1,482,671 2,769,298 3,072,687 Production taxes 404,728 467,308 732,009 1,076,259 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 3,373,518 3,623,976 6,329,219 7,437,662 Provision for impairment 29,545,702 - 29,545,702 - Interest expense 346,573 485,784 717,238 1,025,154 General and administrative 2,174,661 2,133,153 4,397,689 4,071,993 Loss on asset sales and other expense (income) 40,066 (852) 29,136 15,785 38,813,744 9,697,547 47,244,161 19,719,601 Income (loss) before provision (benefit) for income taxes (26,737,170) (2,061,334) (24,591,056) 14,245,606 Provision (benefit) for income taxes (6,764,000) (130,000) (6,510,000) 3,441,000 Net income (loss) $ (19,973,170) $ (1,931,334) $ (18,081,056) $ 10,804,606 Basic and diluted earnings (loss) per common share $ (1.21) $ (0.11) $ (1.09) $ 0.64 Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding: Common shares 16,384,687 16,679,187 16,362,057 16,712,493 Unissued, directors' deferred compensation shares 139,390 183,206 186,443 217,704 16,524,077 16,862,393 16,548,500 16,930,197 Dividends declared per share of common stock and paid in period $ 0.04 $ 0.04 $ 0.08 $ 0.08 Balance Sheets March 31, 2020 Sept. 30, 2019 Assets (unaudited) Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 498,777 $ 6,160,691 Oil, NGL and natural gas sales receivables (net of allowance for uncollectable accounts) 3,913,347 4,377,646 Refundable income taxes 3,401,870 1,505,442 Derivative contracts, net 4,216,915 2,256,639 Other 601,412 177,037 Total current assets 12,632,321 14,477,455 Properties and equipment, at cost, based on successful efforts accounting: Producing oil and natural gas properties 326,766,558 354,718,398 Non-producing oil and natural gas properties 19,030,785 14,599,023 Other 1,782,063 1,722,080 347,579,406 371,039,501 Less accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization (261,599,529) (259,314,590) Net properties and equipment 85,979,877 111,724,911 Investments 151,752 205,076 Derivative contracts, net - 237,505 Total assets $ 98,763,950 $ 126,644,947 Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity Current liabilities: Accounts payable $ 810,095 $ 665,160 Accrued liabilities and other 1,246,544 2,433,466 Total current liabilities 2,056,639 3,098,626 Long-term debt 32,000,000 35,425,000 Deferred income taxes 1,312,007 5,976,007 Asset retirement obligations 2,862,523 2,835,781 Stockholders' equity: Class A voting common stock, $0.01666 par value; 24,000,500 shares authorized; 16,897,306 issued at March 31, 2020, and Class A voting common stock, $0.01666 par value; 24,000,000 shares authorized; 16,897,306 issued at Sept. 30, 2019 281,509 281,509 Capital in excess of par value 3,264,383 2,967,984 Deferred directors' compensation 2,092,426 2,555,781 Retained earnings 62,447,346 81,848,301 68,085,664 87,653,575 Less treasury stock, at cost; 505,252 shares at March 31, 2020, and 558,051 shares at Sept. 30, 2019 (7,552,883) (8,344,042) Total stockholders' equity 60,532,781 79,309,533 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 98,763,950 $ 126,644,947 Condensed Statements of Cash Flows Six months ended March 31, 2020 2019 Operating Activities (unaudited) Net income (loss) $ (18,081,056) $ 10,804,606 Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation, depletion and amortization 6,329,219 7,437,662 Impairment of producing properties 29,545,702 - Provision for deferred income taxes (4,664,000) 3,942,000 Gain from leasing of fee mineral acreage (544,979) (722,912) Proceeds from leasing of fee mineral acreage 559,462 737,812 Net (gain) loss on sale of assets (3,265,449) (9,096,938) Directors' deferred compensation expense 140,130 132,280 Fair value of derivative contracts (1,722,771) (4,231,222) Restricted stock awards 491,616 446,321 Other 7,225 9,326 Cash provided (used) by changes in assets and liabilities: Oil, NGL and natural gas sales receivables 464,299 715,935 Other current assets (232,349) (172,645) Accounts payable 117,561 (77,977) Income taxes receivable (1,896,428) (538,150) Other non-current assets 50,010 17,317 Accrued liabilities (1,189,850) (342,361) Total adjustments 24,189,398 (1,743,552) Net cash provided by operating activities 6,108,342 9,061,054 Investing Activities Capital expenditures (139,755) (4,159,683) Acquisition of minerals and overrides (10,254,016) (1,809,775) Investments in partnerships - (199) Proceeds from sales of assets 3,376,049 9,096,938 Net cash provided (used) by investing activities (7,017,722) 3,127,281 Financing Activities Borrowings under Credit Facility 5,561,725 8,686,270 Payments of loan principal (8,986,725) (15,586,270) Purchase of treasury stock (7,635) (3,967,685) Payments of dividends (1,319,899) (1,348,170) Net cash provided (used) by financing activities (4,752,534) (12,215,855) Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (5,661,914) (27,520) Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 6,160,691 532,502 Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 498,777 $ 504,982 Supplemental Schedule of Noncash Investing and Financing Activities Additions and revisions, net, to asset retirement obligations $ 4 $ 27,562 Gross additions to properties and equipment $ 10,229,121 $ 5,654,060 Net (increase) decrease in accounts payable for properties and equipment additions 164,650 315,398 Capital expenditures and acquisitions $ 10,393,771 $ 5,969,458 Proved Reserves Proved Reserves SEC Pricing March 31, 2020 Sept. 30, 2019 Proved Developed Reserves: Barrels of NGL 1,508,483 1,747,242 Barrels of Oil 1,610,078 1,863,096 Mcf of Gas 54,120,398 67,713,193 Mcfe (1) 72,831,764 89,375,221 Proved Undeveloped Reserves: Barrels of NGL 32,125 226,038 Barrels of Oil 104,249 516,994 Mcf of Gas 918,319 12,560,713 Mcfe (1) 1,736,563 17,018,905 Total Proved Reserves: Barrels of NGL 1,540,608 1,973,280 Barrels of Oil 1,714,327 2,380,090 Mcf of Gas 55,038,717 80,273,906 Mcfe (1) 74,568,327 106,394,126 10% Discounted Estimated Future Net Cash Flows (before income taxes): Proved Developed $ 58,631,849 $ 86,814,212 Proved Undeveloped 4,080,453 23,581,427 Total $ 62,712,302 $ 110,395,639 SEC Pricing Oil/Barrel $ 53.10 $ 54.40 Gas/Mcf $ 1.90 $ 2.48 NGL/Barrel $ 15.31 $ 19.30 Proved Reserves - Projected Future Pricing (2) 10% Discounted Estimated Future Proved Reserves Net Cash Flows (before income taxes): March 31, 2020 Sept. 30, 2019 Proved Developed $ 55,461,699 $ 99,204,697 Proved Undeveloped 3,371,650 27,518,415 Total $ 58,833,349 $ 126,723,112 (1) Crude oil and NGL converted to natural gas on a one barrel of crude oil or NGL equals six Mcf of natural gas basis (2) Projected futures pricing as of March 31, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2019, basis adjusted to Company wellhead price Hedge Position as of May 1, 2020 Period Product Volume Mcf/Bbl Swap Price Collar Average Floor Price Collar Average Ceiling Price 2020 Natural Gas 240,000 $ 2.28 $ 2.89 2020 Natural Gas 720,000 $ 2.72 2021 Natural Gas 1,080,000 $ 2.30 $ 2.99 2021 Natural Gas 600,000 $ 2.73 2022 Natural Gas 100,000 $ 2.73 2020 Crude Oil 30,000 $ 58.00 $ 65.83 2020 Crude Oil 84,000 $ 58.01 2021 Crude Oil 96,000 $ 37.00 Non-GAAP Reconciliation This news release includes certain "non-GAAP financial measures" under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Regulation G. These non-GAAP measures are calculated using GAAP amounts in our financial statements. Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) plus interest expense, provision for impairment, depreciation, depletion and amortization of properties and equipment, including amortization of other assets, provision (benefit) for income taxes and unrealized (gains) losses on derivative contracts. We have included a presentation of adjusted EBITDA because we recognize that certain investors consider adjusted EBITDA a useful means of measuring our ability to meet our debt service obligations and evaluating our financial performance. Adjusted EBITDA has limitations and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net income, operating income, cash flow from operations or other consolidated income or cash flow data prepared in accordance with GAAP. Because not all companies use identical calculations, this presentation of adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to a similarly titled measure of other companies. The following table provides a reconciliation of net income (loss) to adjusted EBITDA for the periods indicated. Second Quarter Ended Second Quarter Ended Six Months Ended Six Months Ended March 31, 2020 March 31, 2019 March 31, 2020 March 31, 2019 Net Income (Loss) $ (19,973,170) $ (1,931,334) $ (18,081,056) $ 10,804,606 Plus: Unrealized (gains) losses on derivatives (3,442,438) 1,974,959 (1,722,771) (4,231,222) Income Tax Expense (Benefit) (6,764,000) (130,000) (6,510,000) 3,441,000 Interest Expense 346,573 485,784 717,238 1,025,154 DD&A 3,373,518 3,623,976 6,329,219 7,437,662 Impairment 29,545,702 - 29,545,702 - Adjusted EBITDA $ 3,086,185 $ 4,023,385 $ 10,278,332 $ 18,477,200 Adjusted Pre-Tax Net Income (Loss) Reconciliation Adjusted pre-tax net income (loss) is defined as net income (loss) plus provision for impairment, provision (benefit) for income taxes and unrealized (gains) losses on derivative contracts. We have included a presentation of adjusted pre-tax net income (loss) because we recognize that certain investors consider adjusted pre-tax net income (loss) a useful means of evaluating our financial performance. Adjusted pre-tax net income (loss) has limitations and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net income, operating income, cash flow from operations or other consolidated income or cash flow data prepared in accordance with GAAP. Because not all companies use identical calculations, this presentation of adjusted pre-tax net income (loss) may not be comparable to a similarly titled measure of other companies. The following table provides a reconciliation of net income (loss) to adjusted pre-tax net income (loss) for the periods indicated. Second Quarter Ended Second Quarter Ended Six Months Ended Six Months Ended March 31, 2020 March 31, 2019 March 31, 2020 March 31, 2019 Net Income (Loss) $ (19,973,170) $ (1,931,334) $ (18,081,056) $ 10,804,606 Plus: Impairment 29,545,702 - 29,545,702 - Unrealized (gains) losses on derivatives (3,442,438) 1,974,959 (1,722,771) (4,231,222) Income Tax Expense (Benefit) (6,764,000) (130,000) (6,510,000) 3,441,000 Adjusted Pre-Tax Net Income (Loss) $ (633,906) $ (86,375) $ 3,231,875 $ 10,014,384 Panhandle Oil and Gas Inc. (NYSE: PHX) Oklahoma City-based, Panhandle Oil and Gas Inc. is an oil and natural gas mineral company with a strategy to proactively pursue the acquisition of additional minerals in our core areas of focus. Panhandle owns approximately 258,000 net mineral acres principally located in Oklahoma, North Dakota, Texas, New Mexico and Arkansas. Approximately 71% of this mineral count is unleased and undeveloped. Additional information on the Company can be found at www.panhandleoilandgas.com. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes "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. Words such as "anticipates," "plans," "estimates," "believes," "expects," "intends," "will," "should," "may" and similar expressions may be used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact and reflect Panhandle's current views about future events. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements relating to: our future financial and operating results; our ability to execute our business strategies; estimations and the respective values of oil, NGL and natural gas reserves; the level of production on our properties and the future expenses associated therewith; projections and volatility of future realized oil and natural gas prices; planned capital expenditures associated with our mineral, leasehold and non-operated working interests; statements concerning anticipated cash flow and liquidity; and our strategy and other plans and objectives for future operations. Although Panhandle believes the expectations reflected in these and other forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance they will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause the results to differ materially from those expected by the Company's management. Information concerning these risks and other factors can be found in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, available on the Company's website or the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date hereof, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update the forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. SOURCE PANHANDLE OIL AND GAS INC. Related Links http://www.panhandleoilandgas.com imageBROKER / Alamy Stock Photo En espanol | For some older adults with hearing loss, wearing a face mask to the grocery store can be a pain if they are using over-the-ear hearing aids. The elastic bands commonly placed over the ears to secure the mask can get in the way of the tubing that connects the hearing aid to the speaker that sits in your ear. Beyond the discomfort, there is also a chance of losing a hearing aid when removing the mask. Thankfully, there are ways to address both problems. Be careful when you remove your mask to avoid losing a hearing aid or cochlear implant (CI) processor, which sits on the ear. Just like removing glasses or a hat, always check to make sure that the hearing aids or CI are stlll there, says Sheri Gostomelsky, an audiologist based in Deerfield, Illinois. The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has assured that it will not compromise the safety of Ghanaians should the need arise to fast track a vaccine for covid-19. Vaccines are normally expected to take between 10 and 15 years to develop because any new medical treatment needs to be thoroughly tested for safety before distribution. But there have been cases where vaccines were developed in significantly less time like the mumps vaccine which took four years and is widely considered the fastest vaccine approval in the history of infectious disease. The novel coronavirus is being met with a level of urgency that the Chief Executive Officer of the FDA, Delese Mimi Darko, admits could lead to some steps in the approval process for vaccines being truncated. But an emphasis on speed will not be at the expense of patient safety and sound science, she added when speaking on Citi TVs The Point of View. For the FDA and most regulatory authorities, patient safety is paramount so even if any processes are truncated safety of the patient would have to be monitored through that process. We would have to get to a place where we are sure that the vaccine is okay to go into humans and once that vaccine is going into humans, the safety is monitored all the time. So we will strictly monitor the safety and we will only do that if safety can be assured, Ms. Darko stated. There are currently over 110 coronavirus vaccines being tested with a few reportedly already in clinical trials. Ghana is yet to partake in any testing process for vaccines. The continent of Africa is also yet to produce any vaccine. Professor William Ampofo, the head of Virology at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research has in the past lamented that Africa represents 14 percent of the worlds population but has less than 0.1 percent of the worlds vaccine production. ---citinewsroom Bhopal, May 8 : A special train carrying 1,168 migrant labourers of Madhya Pradesh, stranded because of coronavirus-induced lockdown, reached Habibganj station here on Thursday from Maharahtra's Panvel. A team of officials led by Bhopal Collector, Tarun Pithode along with more than 35 health workers, including doctors, received them at the station and after intense medical screening they were provided with water and food. Dhanesh, a labourer in a confectionary unit, said: "I was stuck in Mumbai since last one and a half months and rendered jobless because of lockdown. I will now be able to reach my home, in Sidhi." Dhanesh said he did not have to pay for his ticket. But he was famished as there was no food available throughout the 12-hour journey. All he had was two bottles of water. Some passengers said they could not get milk for the infants. Those arrived here included the elderly, women, and children. They were later sent to their respective districts in buses. The migrants are working in different areas and among them, 452 are from Barwani district, one each from Burhanpur, Panna, Rewa and Balaghat, 192 from Dhar, 26 from Jhabua, 10 each from Khandwa and Niwadi, three each from Datia and Vidisha, 24 from Guna, 67 from Shivpuri, six each from Betul and Morena, nine each from from Anuppur and Sheopur, two from Raisen, 16 from Harda, five from Hoshangabad, 45 from Agar Malwa, 17 from Dewas, five each from Neemuch and Damoh, four from Ratlam, 80 from Chhattarpur, 78 from Shahdol, 54 from Umaria, and 36 from Sidhi, the officials said. On May 2, a special train carrying 347 labourers arrived here from Maharashtra's Nashik while another train from Hyderabad with 1,030 migrant workers reached here on Wednesday, the official added. Another train is expected to arrive from New Delhi on Friday. Netizens have been baffled since the screen grabs of boys teen chat group called, 'Bois Locker Room' was leaked online. B-town celebrities too have weighed in on the controversy and expressed their concern over the rape culture in India. The newest celebrity to comment on the case is a mother of two and Shahid Kapoor's wife, Mira Rajput. Mira, while reacting to the controversy, shared exerts from an old essay written by journalist Rega Jha. The essay talks about teaching kids about consent, gender equality and more. The essay was an open letter to Indian parents, who should teach their boys, "that they aren't entitled to any woman's body, attention, or time." Rega Jha had shared excerpts of her essay, that she had penned down three years ago on Instagram. She captioned the post as, "excerpts from an essay I wrote for BuzzFeed three years ago when I was 25 and, it seems, a more articulate feminist. been trying to find the right words all week and it turns out I used to have (some of) them." Take a look: Bois Locker Room is a private Instagram chat group comprising of some teenage school students from South Delhi. Many of these boys in the group were allegedly seen sharing obscene photos of underage girls, objectifying them, and planning "gang rapes". The case has begun a conversation about rape culture in India. Richa Chadha has expressed her shock by tweeting, "This a multi-faceted problem. Because everyone is still squeamish about sex education in our populous/moralistic country, teenagers are confusing porn for sex education! And now data is free. How dangerous! This will explode in our faces in the next five years sadly,I reckon." The Cyber Cell of Delhi Police has detained a 15-year-old student, who allegedly has a connection with the Instagram chat group. According to reports, twenty-two other boys have also have been identified as a part of the Bois Locker Room. Boys Locker Room: Sonam Kapoor, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Swara Bhasker React To the Chat Room Case Ananya Panday To Collaborate With The Vamps Guitarist James McVey For Her 'So Positive' Initiative Facebook faces a storm over the make-up of its new 'politically neutral' supreme court after it was swamped with left-wing luminaries from across the globe, including an anti-Trump campaigner who poked fun at his teenage son. Critics have accused Mark Zuckerberg of 'blowing' his chance of setting up a 'meaningful' and 'politically balanced' oversight committee for the social media giant because so few of its 20 members have conservative credentials. The board will rule on whether some individual pieces of content should be displayed on the site. It can also recommend changes to Facebook's content policy, based on a case decision or at the company's request. But critics were quick to point out that many of the panel are left-wingers. Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission Brendan Carr said: 'Meet your new speech police! Facebook now has an Oversight Board empowered to take down posts. Gotta be non-partisan people, right? Nope!' Republican Senator Josh Hawley wrote: 'This is how powerful @Facebook is, how much speech it controls, how much of our time & attention it claims: it now has a special censorship committee to decide what speech can stay & what should go. 'Facebook basically making the case it should be broken up.' Right wing radio host Mark R. Levin tweeted: 'Facebook censorship set in place with anti-Trump progressives, 6-months before the general election.' Scroll down for the full list of members The board was first proposed by Facebook co-founder and chief Mark Zuckerberg in 2018, and the California-based internet giant has set up a foundation to fund it Former Danish prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt is one of the chairs of Facebook's independent oversight panel sometimes referred to as a 'supreme court'. Former editor of the left-wing Guardian Newspaper Alan Rusbridger has also been appointed to the so-called court Americans dominate Facebook's supreme court, with five U.S.-based members, including Trump impeachment witness Pamela Karlan, left, who made the president's son Barron, 14, the butt of a joke about a president's powers during her testimony. Professor Nicolas Suzor, right - also on the board - once liked a post comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler Facebook will pay $130 million over the next six years to establish their court and cover supreme court salaries and their staff, as well as office space and a new HR team. Americans dominate Facebook's supreme court, with five U.S.-based members, including Trump impeachment witness Pamela Karlan, who made the president's son Barron, 14, the butt of a joke about a president's powers during her testimony. Queensland University of Technology Law School professor Nicolas Suzor - also on the board - once liked a post comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler. Sharing a post written on Medium titled 'Teen Vogue vs Trump; American Vogue vs Hitler', Suzor wrote in 2017: 'I love this!' Another member is Alan Rusbridger, the former editor of the left-leaning Guardian newspaper, which was chosen by Edward Snowden to publicise his NSA leaks and campaigned against the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States. He has recently argued that US TV should stop live broadcasting President Trump's White House press conferences and said last night he had taken the job because of 'a crisis of free expression' in the world and that he can help the 'independent, external oversight' of Facebook. Michael McConnell, a university law professor and former US federal judge, Jamal Greene, a Columbia Law professor who focuses on constitutional rights adjudication and Evelyn Aswad, a University of Oklahoma College of Law professor who formerly served as a senior State Department lawyer, are also among the 20 panel members. McConnell, Greene, Denmark's first female prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and Colombian attorney Catalina Botero-Marino make up the panel's four co-chairs. The co-chairs were tasked with selecting the other members of the panel. And Rusbridger's appointment has been blasted by a British MP as 'failing miserably to provide confidence in the board's political balance'. Queensland University of Technology Law School professor Nicolas Suzor - also on the board - once liked a post comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler. Sharing a post written on Medium titled 'Teen Vogue vs Trump; American Vogue vs Hitler', Suzor wrote in 2017: 'I love this!' Twitter users were quick to point out that many of the panel are left-wingers The 20 members of Facebook's 'Supreme Court' Afia Asantewaa Asare-Kyei - A human rights advocate who works on women's rights, media freedom and access to information issues across Africa at the Open Society Initiative for West Africa. Evelyn Aswad - A University of Oklahoma College of Law professor who formerly served as a senior State Department lawyer and specializes in the application of international human rights standards to content moderation issues Endy Bayuni - A journalist who twice served as the editor-in-chief of The Jakarta Post, and helps direct a journalists' association that promotes excellence in the coverage of religion and spirituality. Catalina Botero Marino, co-chair - A former U.N. special rapporteur for freedom of expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States who now serves as dean of the Universidad de los Andes Faculty of Law. Katherine Chen - A communications scholar at the National Chengchi University who studies social media, mobile news and privacy, and a former national communications regulator in Taiwan. Nighat Dad - A digital rights advocate who offers digital security training to women in Pakistan and across South Asia to help them protect themselves against online harassment, campaigns against government restrictions on dissent, and received the Human Rights Tulip Award. Jamal Greene, co-chair - A Columbia Law professor who focuses on constitutional rights adjudication and the structure of legal and constitutional argument. Pamela Karlan - A Stanford Law professor and Supreme Court advocate who has represented clients in voting rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and First Amendment cases, and serves as a member of the board of the American Constitution Society. Karlan had been asked to describe the differences between a U.S. president and a king during Trump's impeachment hearing when she brought up the first son's name. 'The Constitution says there can be no titles of nobility, so while the president can name his son Barron, he can't make him a baron,' Karlan told lawmakers. She later apologized. Tawakkol Karman - A Nobel Peace Prize laureate who used her voice to promote nonviolent change in Yemen during the Arab Spring, and was named as one of 'History's Most Rebellious Women' by Time magazine. Maina Kiai - A director of Human Rights Watch's Global Alliances and Partnerships Program and a former U.N. special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association who has decades of experience advocating for human rights in Kenya. Sudhir Krishnaswamy - A vice chancellor of the National Law School of India University who co-founded an advocacy organization that works to advance constitutional values for everyone, including LGBTQ+ and transgender persons, in India. Ronaldo Lemos - A technology, intellectual property and media lawyer who co-created a national internet rights law in Brazil, co-founded a nonprofit focused on technology and policy issues, and teaches law at the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Michael McConnell, co-chair - A former U.S. federal circuit judge who is now a constitutional law professor at Stanford, an expert on religious freedom, and a Supreme Court advocate who has represented clients in a wide range of First Amendment cases involving freedom of speech, religion and association. Julie Owono - A digital rights and anti-censorship advocate who leads Internet Sans Frontieres and campaigns against internet censorship in Africa and around the world. Emi Palmor - A former director general of the Israeli Ministry of Justice who led initiatives to address racial discrimination, advance access to justice via digital services and platforms and promote diversity in the public sector. Alan Rusbridger - A former editor-in-chief of The Guardian who transformed the newspaper into a global institution and oversaw its Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Edward Snowden disclosures. He was editor of the left-leaning Guardian newspaper for 20 years, which was chosen by Edward Snowden to publicize his NSA leaks and campaigned against the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States. Andras Sajo - A former judge and vice president of the European Court of Human Rights who is an expert in free speech and comparative constitutionalism. John Samples - A public intellectual who writes extensively on social media and speech regulation, advocates against restrictions on online expression, and helps lead a libertarian think tank. Nicolas Suzor - A Queensland University of Technology Law School professor who focuses on the governance of social networks and the regulation of automated systems, and has published a book on internet governance. Helle Thorning-Schmidt, co-chair - A former prime minister of Denmark who repeatedly took stands for free expression while in office and then served as CEO of Save the Children. The social democrat was elected in 2011 on a pro-immigration, high tax manifesto before losing power in 2015. Advertisement Facebook public policy director Brent Harris yesterday described creation of the board as the 'beginning of a fundamental change in the way some of the most difficult content decisions on Facebook will be made.' However, Facebook's board director Thomas Hughes said during a phone briefing said: 'This is a group that has a diverse set of insights, backgrounds, and beliefs but share a deep commitment to advancing human rights and freedom of expression.' Tawakkol Abdel-Salam Karman, a Yemeni activist who became Nobel Peace Prize laureate described by Time Magaizine as one of 'History's Most Rebellious Women', is among the other big names on the 20-strong list. Despite Hughes' comments, however, there is no prominent expert in the study of disinformation, something Facebook has been heavily criticized for giving a platform to in the past. Some free expression and internet governance experts told Reuters they thought the board's first members were a diverse, impressive group, though some were concerned it was too heavy on U.S. members. Of the 20 members announced so far, at least five are America. No other country has more than one member representing them on the panel, although Facebook pointed out that collectively, the members have lived in 27 countries and speak at least 29 languages. Facebook said one reason for the panel's U.S. focus was that some of its hardest decisions or appeals in recent years had begun in America. 'I don't feel like they made any daring choices,' said Jillian C. York, the Electronic Frontier Foundation's director of international freedom of expression. David Kaye, U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, said the board's efficacy would be shown when it started hearing cases. 'The big question,' he said, 'will be, are they taking questions that might result in decisions, or judgments as this is a court, that go against Facebook's business interests?' The board is to be expanded to 40 members. It remained unclear when the board would start hearing cases due to restrictions on gathering or traveling caused by the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Board members have met virtually and training has started, according to Hughes. It remained unclear when the board would start hearing cases due to restrictions on gathering or travelling caused by the deadly coronavirus pandemic - or how much, exactly, they will be paid. The board was first proposed by Facebook co-founder and chief Mark Zuckerberg in 2018, and the California-based internet giant has set up a foundation to fund it operating as an independent entity, Harris said. 'As the world lives through a global health crisis, social media has become a lifeline for helping people and communities to stay connected,,' the board said in a blog post. 'At the same time, we know that social media can spread speech that is hateful, harmful and deceitful. In recent years, the question of what content should stay up or come down, and who should decide this, has become increasingly urgent for society.' Hughes said he was open to the board serving as an arbiter of disputes for other social media firms such as Twitter but that, for now, the focus is on filling its roster and getting into action on cases about Facebook or Instagram posts. Facebook will implement the board's decisions, unless they violate law, and 'respond' to guidance on policies, according to Harris. The board said it will decide whether disputed posts comply with Facebook and Instagram policies and 'values' as well as freedom of expression within the framework of international norms of human rights regardless of the social network's corporate interests. The board will make decisions public and report on how well Facebook obeys rulings. Zuckerberg has personally assured the board the social network will abide by its decisions, according to co-chair Helle Thorning-Schmidt, a former prime minister of Denmark. 'We have tried to consider all communities and also people who have been critical of Facebook in the past,' the ex-PM said, who also confirmed that the number of members would rise to 40 over time. 'This board is not designed to be an echo chamber,' said co-chair Catalina Botero-Marino of the Universidad de los Andes Faculty of Law in Colombia. 'Facebook would have a very high reputational cost if it doesn't carry out decisions by a body it created to resolve its thorniest problems.' Facebook cannot remove members or staff of the board, which is supported by a $130 million irrevocable trust fund. 'For the first time, an independent body will make final and binding decisions on what stays up and what is removed,' Thorning-Schmidt said. 'This is a big deal; we are basically building a new model for platform governance.' Board co-chair Michael McConnell, a university law professor and former US federal judge, said the expected volume of cases would make it impossible to consider them all. Instead, like the US Supreme Court, the board will prioritize content removal cases that can set precedents for how Facebook should handle similar material, according to McConnell. 'We are going to have to select maybe a few flowers, or maybe they are weeds, from a field of possibilities,' McConnell said. 'We are not the internet police.' 'Don't think of us as a fast action team that is going to swoop in. Our job is to consider appeals, provide an after-the-fact, deliberative second look.' The board plans to first focus on cases affecting large numbers of users; second on cases look to have major effect on public discourse, and then those that effect policy at the platform, he explained. The creation of the board has reportedly been in the works since 2018, and is designed to take key policy decisions, which have become points of political contention in recent years, away from Zuckerberg and other Facebook executives. In a statement, the company said: 'All Members are committed to free expression, and reflect a wide range of perspectives on how to understand the principle and its limits. 'Some have expressed concerns with the dangers of imposing restrictions on speech, and allow for only very narrow exceptions. Others make comparatively greater accommodations to a range of competing values, including safety and privacy,' Facebook said. Nick Clegg, former British MP and ex-leader of the country's Liberal Democrat party before becoming Facebook's head of global affairs, told Reuters in a Skype interview the board's composition was important but that its credibility would be earned over time. 'I don't expect people to say, 'Oh hallelujah, these are great people, this is going to be a great success' - there's no reason anyone should believe that this is going to be a great success until it really starts hearing difficult cases in the months and indeed years to come,' he said. The board will start work immediately and Clegg said it would begin hearing cases this summer. The board, which will grow to about 40 members and which Facebook has pledged $130 million to fund for at least six years, will make public, binding decisions on controversial cases where users have exhausted Facebook's usual appeals process. Former U.S. federal circuit judge Michael McConnell (left) and constitutional law expert Jamal Greene (right) are the American co-chairs of the board Colombian attorney Catalina Botero-Marino is the fourth co-chair. The co-chairs selected the other members of Facebook's 'supreme court' Facebook hires HSBC lawyer as Libra digital currency chief HSBC's most senior lawyer has been brought in to a Facebook-backed business trying to launch a digital currency. The Libra Association named as its new top executive Stuart Levey, a former US Treasury official who headed team fighting financial crime. Levey, who has most recently been chief legal officer at HSBC Holdings based in London, will lead the group founded by Facebook to manage a global digital payments system. Levey, who turns 57 in June, will work in Washington for the Geneva-based association beginning this summer. Advertisement The company can also refer significant decisions to the board, including on ads or on Facebook groups. The board, in turn, can make policy recommendations to Facebook based on case decisions, to which the company will publicly respond. 'We are not the internet police, don't think of us as sort of a fast-action group that's going to swoop in and deal with rapidly moving problems,' co-chair McConnell told reporters on a conference call. The board's case decisions must be made and implemented within 90 days, though Facebook can ask for a 30-day review for exceptional cases. Initially, the board will focus on cases where content was removed and Facebook expects it to take on only 'dozens' of cases to start, a small percentage of the thousands it expects will be brought to the board. Some members of the board have advocated against the tight regulation of online expression. John Samples, vice president of the libertarian Cato Institute, has praised Facebook's decision not to remove a doctored video of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, while Sajo has warned against allowing the 'offended' to have too much influence in the debate around online expression. Former Lib Dem MP Nick Clegg is now head of public affairs at Facebook What to know about Facebook's content oversight board WHAT WILL THE OVERSIGHT BOARD REVIEW? The board, which some have dubbed Facebook's 'Supreme Court,' will rule on whether some individual pieces of content should be displayed on the site. It can also recommend changes to Facebook's content policy, based on a case decision or at the company's request. At first, the board will review posts, videos, photos and comments that the company has decided to remove from Facebook or its photo-sharing site Instagram, but eventually it will handle cases where content was left up. This could be content involving issues such as nudity, violence or hate speech. Facebook has said the board's remit will in future include ads, groups, pages, profiles and events, but has not given a time frame. It will not deal with Instagram direct messages, Facebook's messaging platforms WhatsApp, Messenger, its dating service or its Oculus virtual reality products. Facebook expects the board will initially take on only 'dozens' of cases, a small percentage of the thousands it expects will eventually be brought to the board. In 2019, users appealed more than 10 million pieces of content that Facebook removed or took action on. But Facebook's head of global affairs, Nick Clegg, told Reuters he thought the cases chosen would have a wider relevance to patterns of content disputes. HOW WILL THE BOARD WORK? The board will decide which cases it reviews, which can be referred either by a user who has exhausted Facebook's normal appeals process or by Facebook itself for cases that might be 'significant and difficult.' Users who disagree with Facebook's final decision on their content will have 15 days to submit a case to the board through the board's website. Each case will be reviewed by a panel of five members, with at least one from the same geographic region as the case originated. The panel can ask for subject matter experts to help make its decision, which then must be finalized by the whole board. The board's case decision - which is binding unless it could violate the law - must be made and implemented within 90 days, though Facebook can ask for a 30-day expedited review for exceptional cases, including those with 'urgent real-world consequences.' Users will be notified of the board's ruling on their case and the board will publicly publish the decision. When the board gives policy recommendations, Facebook will give public updates and publish a response on the guidance and follow-on action within 30 days. For more details on the board's operations, see Facebook's proposed bylaws. WHO IS ON THE OVERSIGHT BOARD? The board will eventually have about 40 members. Facebook chose the four co-chairs - former U.S. federal circuit judge Michael McConnell and constitutional law expert Jamal Greene from the United States, Colombian attorney Catalina Botero-Marino and former Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt - who then jointly selected the other 16 members named so far. Some were sourced from the global consultations conducted by Facebook to obtain feedback on the oversight board. The members, who will be part-time, so far include constitutional law experts, civil rights advocates, academics, journalists, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and a former judge of the European Court of Human Rights. The members will be paid by a trust that Facebook has created and will serve three-year terms for a maximum of nine years. The trustees can remove a member before the end of their term for violating the board's code of conduct, but not for content decisions. Thomas Hughes, former executive director for freedom of expression rights group Article 19, has also been appointed to oversee the board's full-time administrative staff. Advertisement Reaction in the U.K. British former Liberal Democrat MP leader Sir Nick Clegg, now head of public affairs at Facebook, is said to have been instrumental in the decision to appoint Alan Rusbridger, the ex-editor of the British-based Guardian newspaper. A British member of parliament, Andrew Bridgen, told MailOnline: It seems strange that any company which aims to offer services to a population would consistently recruit to positions of considerable responsibility individuals with what are clearly minority political views. It is not only bad practice its also bad business and risks alienating the majority of their customer base. Reacting to claims that Sir Nick Clegg was instrumental in the appointment of Alan Rusbridger he added: Im always concerned at left wingers having influence I went into politics to ensure they are not in government. Tory MP Damian Green, a member of the UK's Culture, Media, and Sport commitee told the Telegraph: 'Globally, Facebook is much more important than any newspaper or broadcaster, so it has a consequent responsibility to demonstrate it is open to a range of views.' Fellow Conservative Andrew Bridgen called the new board 'bad practice' and 'bad business' that 'risks alienating the majority of their customer base' while Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski said: 'It is important that any organisation, be it a global corporate or local government, benefits from a plurality of views which are reflective of the societies in which they operate.' Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 19:19:00|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- China and Mongolia should strengthen joint prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday in a phone conversation with Mongolian Foreign Minister Damdin Tsogtbaatar. Noting that China and Mongolia are good neighbors and good friends, Wang said that in the battle against the epidemic, the two sides have written another chapter on cooperation between neighboring countries which help each other and share weal and woe. Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga, as the first head of state of a foreign country who visited China after the outbreak of the epidemic, demonstrated his support for China with practical actions, Wang said, adding that Battulga's offer of 30,000 sheep on behalf of the Mongolian people has generated a warm response among the Chinese people, and enhanced the traditional friendship between the two sides. Wang said that with arduous efforts, China has successfully brought the epidemic under control, and is steadily restoring economic and social order while conducting regular prevention and control measures. The Chinese side is glad that Mongolia took effective prevention and control measures at an early date and has halted the spread of the disease in Mongolia, said the Chinese foreign minister. Wang urged the two countries to continue to strengthen joint prevention and control measures, explore the resumption of bilateral economic and trade cooperation in an orderly and scientific way, and push for resuming work and production of key projects. He expects the two sides to explore the establishment of a green channel to facilitate personnel exchanges and cargo delivery. Wang stressed that the epidemic is a common challenge facing the humankind, and that the international community should join hands to tide over the crisis. Noting that solidarity, cooperation and determination are in need at this time, Wang said any words and deeds that run counter to them are inappropriate, and attempts to politicize the epidemic and label the virus are unacceptable. China is ready to work with Mongolia to actively advance international anti-epidemic cooperation and strive for an early and complete victory over the virus. For his part, Tsogtbaatar said that after the COVID-19 outbreak, China has taken timely and effective prevention and control measures to contain the epidemic in a short period of time, which demonstrates its strong mobilization capabilities and medical science and technology. China's success will inspire other countries in their fight against the virus, while China's experience is also of great significance to the rest of the world, he added. Recalling the Mongolian president's visit to China in February and an important consensus reached with President Xi Jinping on anti-epidemic cooperation, Tsogtbaatar said with joint efforts, Mongolia and China have registered no infections from the other side. Mongolia is ready to strengthen coordination with China, and realize its promise of sending 30,000 sheep to the Chinese people, said the Mongolian minister. On the premise of safeguarding the health and safety of the two peoples, Mongolia is ready to take advantage of the two countries' joint prevention and control mechanism and other platforms, explore with China the establishment of the green channel and an express line, improve logistics efficiency at border ports, and gradually resume bilateral economic and trade exchanges, he said. Mongolia is willing to deepen coordination and cooperation with China, so as to overcome the impact and challenges brought by the epidemic at an early date, he said. Enditem Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief GA Mir demanded an immediate ban on the use of pellet guns on protesters by security forces in the Valley. "The pellets have already inflicted serious damages to hundreds of people. Their use must be banned immediately," he said, urging the authorities dealing with law-and-order to exercise restraint and avoid use of lethal weapons on the protesters. Describing the prevailing law-and-order situation in the Valley as "dangerous", Mir urged the Centre and the state government to move ahead with a "great sense of responsibility" to put an end to the ongoing unrest. "The deteriorating (law-and-order) situation is dangerous and a great loss to the state. The Centre and the state government should move ahead with a great sense of responsibility and make serious efforts to reach out to the people. "Both the state and Central governments need to ensure the safety of the common innocent people," he said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. CALGARY, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Athabasca Oil Corporation (TSX: ATH) (Athabasca or the Company) announces that all matters presented for approval at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held May 7, 2020 have been fully authorized and approved. The items on the agenda included fixing the number of directors to be elected at seven, electing seven proposed director nominees and the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as auditors. A recording of the meeting and corporate presentation will be made available at https://www.atha.com/investors/presentation-events.html . The Board would like to welcome Mr. John Festival as a new director. Mr. Festival has over three decades of experience in the oil and gas industry with a strong background in Thermal Oil projects and a track record for creating shareholder value. Mr. Festival is currently President, CEO and a director of Broadview Energy Ltd., a private corporation with heavy oil assets in Alberta and Saskatchewan. From 2009 through 2018, Mr. Festival served as the President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of BlackPearl Resources Inc. Prior to that, he served as the President of BlackRock Ventures Inc. from 2001 to 2006, which sold to Shell Canada for C$2.4 billion in 2006. Mr. Festival is currently a director of Gibson Energy Inc. In addition, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to Mr. Marshall McRae who is retiring from the Board effective today. Mr. McRae has been a director for 10 years during which time he has made significant contributions to the Board and its committees, including chairing the Audit committee. The results of the voting, inclusive of all votes cast and proxies received for each director nominee, which was conducted by ballot, are as follows: Nominee Votes For Votes Withheld No. % No. % Ronald Eckhardt 222,435,874 95.24 11,110,428 4.76 Bryan Begley 220,796,788 94.54 12,749,514 5.46 Robert Broen 222,811,535 95.40 10,734,767 4.60 Anne Downey 222,926,651 95.45 10,619,651 4.55 Thomas Ebbern 220,777,045 94.53 12,769,257 5.47 Carlos Fierro 220,713,968 94.51 12,832,334 5.49 John Festival 222,949,442 95.46 10,596,860 4.54 About Athabasca Oil Corporation Athabasca Oil Corporation is a Canadian energy company with a focused strategy on the development of thermal and light oil assets. Situated in Albertas Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, the Company has amassed a significant land base of extensive, high quality resources. Athabascas common shares trade on the TSX under the symbol ATH. For more information, visit www.atha.com . Once weve beaten back the first wave of Covid-19 infections, the next phase of the fight against the pandemic begins. And that requires testing, lots of testing, much more testing than were doing right now in the United States, so we can isolate the sick from the well and keep the curve from kicking upward again. Researchers at Harvard say we need to triple our current capacity to test. How do we get there? One possible solution is happening right now in Nebraska. Instead of using more tests, the state is testing more people with the tests it has. The technique is simple: You combine several peoples samples and test them all at once. If the test comes back negative, you can clear all those people with one test. If it comes back positive, you retest the peoples samples individually. That idea isnt new. It goes back to World War II, when the U.S. Army was battling a wave of syphilis among the troops. Testing the blood of thousands of men as they enlisted was cumbersome and expensive, so the economists Robert Dorfman and David Rosenblatt suggested testing soldiers in groups of eight. Group testing allows for much more testing with many fewer tests as long as the disease youre testing for is rare enough in the population. Lets say you have 4,000 soldiers to test and 2 percent have syphilis. Then youve got 500 groups of eight, and the chance of any given group samples being negative is 98 percent raised to the power of 8, or 85 percent. That means you are likely to have to revisit only about 75 of the groups. Each one of those groups requires you to do eight retests, which comes to 600 tests. So in total youve done 1,100 tests instead of 4,000. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Amid soaring coronavirus deaths, several states in the United States have begun easing lockdown restrictions, allowing shopping centres, hotels, hair saloons, beaches and state parks to reopen. In states like Texas, malls are allowed to operate at one fourth of their capacity. Security guards are providing face masks to shoppers and retailers. They are required to follow a number of safety rules, including sanitising surfaces and maintain social distancing. At least 30 U.S. states have decided to reopen various businesses by the end of this week, in line with the President's call. However, most of the states that have begun to reopen their economies or plan to do so soon reportedly fail to meet criteria recommended by the White House to resume business and social activities. The Supreme Court refused to intervene to overturn Pennsylvania's order that most businesses close down to fight the spread of the coronavirus. The latest monthly survey carried out by the Financial Times shows that more than 70 per cent of likely American voters trust their state's governor over President Donald Trump on lockdown strategy. In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his government will act with 'maximum caution' in easing the lockdown. The French government said it will start easing its two-month-old lockdown across the country next week. 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. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Egypts supreme state security prosecution released journalists Moataz Wadnan and Mostafa El-Aasar on bail on Thursday, both of whom were detained on charges in a case known as the media hub of the Muslim Brotherhood. The two men, detained since 2019, are accused of publishing false news that could affect national security and of joining a group established contrary to the law and constitution. Wadnan, a HuffPost Arabia journalist, was arrested after interviewing Hisham Geneina, the former top auditor, in February 2018. Geneina claimed in the interview that former military chief of staff Sami Anan "possesses secret documents that could incriminate state officials." Search Keywords: Short link: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, May 8, 2020 - (ACN Newswire) - Interactio, a remote interpretation platform, has partnered with the European Commission to connect political leaders and philanthropists at the international pledging conference "Coronavirus Global Response." In the midst of the global crisis, Interactio assisted the European initiative in the joint effort to raise 7.5 billion EUR in donations to Gali, the vaccine alliance fighting the COVID-19.As strict quarantine regulations divided the states geographically, the common cause to find timely and affordable treatment brought the five continents together in a multilingual hybrid meeting. To ensure the precision and quality of simultaneous interpretation, Interactio connected onsite interpreters from European Commission premises with the world leaders joining the event remotely.Through the integration of the audio and video stream in partnership with Televic Conference equipment, the message was successfully shared in English, German, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese languages in real time.The Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, and leaders of more than 40 other nations from Europe, Australia, Asia, North, and South America united against Coronavirus digitally on the Interactio remote participation panel.During the remote conference, Melinda Gates shared an important message for humanity, followed by a generous donation of 100 million American dollars from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation."COVID-19 has reminded us that viruses don't obey borders or custom laws. They don't care what nationality you are," said Gates."Interactio became the platform of choice for this event. The Heads of State and Government as well as other major donors and research institutions connected to the smooth, user-friendly and performant platform and pledged substantial amounts for the common fight against the pandemic. This successful high-level event was a milestone for everybody involved, and we would like to sincerely thank Interactio for their tireless preparation work, dedication, availability and unrelenting support throughout the event. We are very much looking forward to further cooperation." states Frederic Pirotte, Head of the Technical Compliance Team, DG Interpretation, European Commission.Overall, a total of 7.4 billion EUR was fundraised during the pledging conference, leaving high hopes for the speedy development of the treatment. As the world unites in a humanitarian effort to protect the disadvantaged in an unexpected outbreak of the Coronavirus disease, Interactio remains loyal to its ongoing mission of transmitting powerful ideas despite the geographical barriers.About InteractioInteractio (https://interactio.io) is a Lithuanian-based remote interpretation platform which provides remote participation for multilingual online and onsite meetings. Connected on an interactive panel via desktop or mobile device, attendees can exchange ideas in a live-chat, cast votes, and show essential information through a screen sharing function.For further media queries, please contact:Simona Andrijauskaite+441644717778s@interactio.iohttps://interactio.io/Source: InteractioCopyright 2020 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. China Jishan Holdings Limited (SGX:J18) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 26% in the last quarter. But in stark contrast, the returns over the last half decade have impressed. It's fair to say most would be happy with 135% the gain in that time. To some, the recent pullback wouldn't be surprising after such a fast rise. Only time will tell if there is still too much optimism currently reflected in the share price. Unfortunately not all shareholders will have held it for five years, so spare a thought for those caught in the 41% decline over the last three years: that's a long time to wait for profits. View our latest analysis for China Jishan Holdings China Jishan Holdings wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size. Over the last half decade China Jishan Holdings's revenue has actually been trending down at about 54% per year. On the other hand, the share price done the opposite, gaining 19%, compound, each year. It's a good reminder that expectations about the future, not the past history, always impact share prices. Still, we are a bit cautious in this kind of situation. The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers). SGX:J18 Income Statement May 7th 2020 Balance sheet strength is crucial. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time. What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)? Investors should note that there's a difference between China Jishan Holdings's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price change, which we've covered above. 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. China Jishan Holdings's TSR of 157% for the 5 years exceeded its share price return, because it has paid dividends. Story continues A Different Perspective It's nice to see that China Jishan Holdings shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 17% over the last year. However, the TSR over five years, coming in at 21% per year, is even more impressive. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand China Jishan Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for China Jishan Holdings (3 are a bit unpleasant) that you should be aware of. 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 SG 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. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency informed the Department of Homeland Security that the Venezuela coup plot ringleader was smuggling guns to training camps, it has emerged. A DEA source has admitted that an informant tipped the agency off earlier this year that former Green Beret Jordan Goudreau, 43, was smuggling weapons into Columbia. The anti-narcotics agency said a formal probe wasn't opened and it did not know who Goudreau was at the time. The DEA official speaking to the Associated Press said the information was also passed on to the Department of Homeland Security. The DEA believed that the weapons were destined for leftist rebels or criminal gangs in Colombia, former officials said on the condition of anonymity. US officials also discussed whether to organize the guerrilla fighters in the camps - but ultimately decided against it, according to the Washington Post. The Colombians were against it and we were against it, a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Wednesday denied 'direct' U.S. government involvement. 'There was no U.S. government direct involvement in this operation,' he said. Asked who may have bankrolled the operation, Pompeo said: 'We're not prepared to share any more information about what we know took place.' Former Green Beret Jordan Goudreau (pictured center) has claimed responsibility for a failed operation to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro. It has emerged that the DEA and Department of Homeland Security received a tip about Goudreau earlier this year U.S. will use 'every tool' to secure release Americans of in Venezuela, Pompeo says U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that 'every tool' would be used to secure the release of two former American soldiers currently detained in Venezuela. 'We will start the process of trying to figure a way if, in fact, these are Americans that are there, that we can figure out a path forward,' he said. 'If the Maduro regime decides to hold them, we will use every tool that we have available to try and get them back. 'If we had been involved, it would have gone differently,' he added. Advertisement The DEA said it had no involvement in the failed attack after Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro claimed one of the men arrested Sunday was a DEA agent. The tip to the DEA was made before a March 23 weapons seizure in Columbia that is potentially linked to Goudreau and his Florida-based company Silvercorp. Columbian police seized a stockpile of weapons being transported in a truck, which rebellious former Venezuelan Army General, Cliver Alcala, claimed ownership off just before he surrendered to face U.S. narcotics charges. Alcala and Goudreau are said to have been at the center of the plot to over President Maduro that involved secretly training dozens of Venezuelan military deserters in secret camps in Colombia. The stockpile, worth around $150,000, included spotting scopes, night vision goggles, two-way radios and 26 American-made assault rifles with the serial numbers rubbed off. Fifteen brown-colored helmets seized by police were manufactured by High-End Defense Solutions, a Miami-based military equipment vendor owned by a Venezuelan immigrant family, according to Colombian police. High-End Defense Solutions is the same company that Goudreau visited in November and December, allegedly to source weapons, according to two former Venezuelan soldiers who claim to have helped the American select the gear but later had a bitter falling out with Goudreau amid accusations that they were moles for Maduro. The AP reported that they could not independent verify their account. Goudreau is currently under federal investigation in the United States for arms trafficking. Members of Congress have asked the State Department about its knowledge of Goudreau's plans and raised concerns that he possibly violated arms trafficking rules. The equipment captured from the group during the failed attack on Monday. Detained American Luke Denman said in a video broadcast on Venezuelan state TV on Wednesday that the equipment and uniform that they used was provided by Goudreau's company Silvercorp The equipment used by the group of 'mercenaries' aiming to capture the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The DEA received a tip about Goudreau's alleged actions in the lead up to the failed coup earlier this year, new reports say, but no formal investigation was carried out The former Green Beret placed himself at the center of the failed plot Sunday releasing a video in which he spoke about training men for the mission. According to the AP, law enforcement official said Goudreau's comments suggests his work on behalf of the volunteer army may have violated laws that require any U.S. company supplying weapons or military equipment, as well as military training and advice, to foreign persons to seek State Department approval. Authorities in Colombia are also looking into Goudreau as part of their investigation into the seized weapons shipment, a Colombian official told the AP on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing case. Former U.S. soldiers Luke Denman, 34, and Airan Berry, 41, were arrested Monday after Venezuelan officials foiled the attempted attack. Denman was shown in a video on Venezuelan state TV Wednesday in which he claimed that he was hired by Goudreau who was commanded by Trump. In the heavily edited ten-minute clip, Denman said that he was first approached by Goudreau about the job in early December and he flew into Columbia on January 16 with Berry. The two Americans, also former Green Berets, were hired by Goudreau to train around 60 Venezuelans, he claimed, and to accompany them to Venezuela to ensure an airport was captured. He said that all their equipment and uniform was provided by Silvercorp. Luke Denman (left) and Airan Berry (right): Two arrested US 'mercenaries playing Rambo' are paraded after failed attempt to overthrow Venezuela's Maduro in a failed raid on Monday The U.S. government has denied all involvement in Goudreau's operation despite claims from Venezuelan officials. President Maduro claimed Goudreau had worked in security for President Donald Trump, a claim which the former soldier also makes on his company website. Goudreau had also been in contact with Trump's former bodyguard Keith Schiller, who attended a meeting with Goudreau and associates of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido in Miami about protection. Guaido has also claimed to have no involvement in the plot but Goudreau and Maduro have both showcased a contract for the mission allegedly signed by the opposition leader. Maduro has also claimed a DEA link to the plot to overthrow him. Venezuelan Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez that one of the men arrested as part of the failed coup on Sunday, Jose Alberto Socorro Hernandeas, was linked to the DEA Venezuelan Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez presented a video Tuesday from Jose Alberto Socorro Hernandeas who allegedly states his part in the coup. 'There is a very important testimony, that he is a DEA agent, he is a drug trafficker recruited by the DEA, something very common in the actions carried out by the Anti-drug Office of the United States of America,' he says of Hernandez' video. Rodriguez claims that Hernandez would going to oversee the logistical parts of the attack once the group reached Venezuela. 'In other words, it is an operation that uses two main elements, on the one hand, the drug trafficking embodied in Jose Alberto Socorro Hernandez, which in turn is the link with the government of the United States of America through the DEA,' Rodriquez said. The "Pirates of the Caribbean" is sailing away without Johnny Depp. Apparently, Disney is developing something without Captain Jack Sparrow. Depp's fans have been appealing to bring the actor back to the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise since he reportedly lost his award-winning role due to Amber Heard's allegations. Heard published an op-ed article in The Washington Post about female victims of domestic violence. However, the original scriptwriter Stuart Beattie made it clear through DailyMailTV in 2018 that Disney ditched the actor since they were planning to do a major reboot and rework the whole franchise. Nearly two years after he unrolled the said plans, Disney reportedly found the potential star to lead the new "Pirates of the Caribbean" film. Who Is The Next Pirate? From 2003 to 2017, the franchise's fans were used to seeing Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in its five films. But this time, Disney is reportedly developing a female-led film -- and Karen Gillan is their best pick to lead the reboot. According to a report published by The Disinsider, the 32-year-old "Jumanji" actress is the studio's main choice for the next role. Some also theorized that she could be playing the role of Redd -- the popular meet-and-greet character from the Disney Parks attraction. Though there is still no official news about the film, only one thing is confirmed now: Depp will not be reprising the role of Captain Jack Sparrow. To recall, Depp starred as Captain Jack Sparrow in the five installments of the Disney film for over 15 years. His 2017 movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" was the last one he featured in, and it was the lowest-performing chapter ever. For what it's worth though, Disney and the producers (despite not including him on the cast anymore) believe that his role will always be his legacy. "It's the only character he's played five times, it's the character he dresses up in to visit children in hospitals, it's what he'll be remembered for," Beattie said in 2018. Talks about the next Pirates film began in 2010. Writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were chosen to write the script in 2018, but the two announced their withdrawal in February 2019. No director has been attached to the rumored "Pirates" reboot, but "Chernobyl" creator Craig Mazin and Ted Elliot are still working together on the script. Meanwhile, Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman remain on board as producers. Who Is Karen Gillan? The Scottish actress is well-known for playing the role of Nebula in multiple Marvel Cinematic Universe films -- from the "Guardians of the Galaxy" in 2014 and "Avengers: Endgame" in 2018. Gillan also established her career through Jumanji franchise's films, "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" and "Jumanji: The Next Level" as Ruby Roundhouse. Recently, she has been chosen to play a double role in the sci-fi clone film "Dual." The movie, written and directed by Riley Stearns, is about a terminally ill woman who decides to clone herself for the benefit of her friends and family. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. Nine Purdue University students and alumni have received grant offers from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for 2020-21. These Fulbright student grants fully fund a postbaccalaureate year for graduate students and alumni to forge international bonds through research, graduate study or teaching English abroad. Due to the COVID-19 pandemics effects on international travel, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program has delayed the start of these grants to Jan. 1. Will Austin, Maya Black, Rachel Delmontagne, Madeline Henderson and Lucinda Ray received offers for an English teaching assistantship. Glynn Gallaway, Eryn Sale, Andrew Santos and Geoffrey Williams received offers of research grants. Purdue students apply for the highly prestigious grants through the National and International Scholarships Office, which is housed in the Honors College. Purdue students and alumni display balance in that they are outstanding scholars, have deep intercultural experience, and are engaged in their communities, hallmarks of the Fulbright program, said Jay Akridge, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity. This is a substantial investment in extraordinary students, who will effectively use the Fulbright experiences to progress toward their own giant leaps. Austin, from Austin, Texas, graduated from Purdue in May 2019 from the College of Science and the College of Agriculture with a bachelors degree in health and disease, and entomology, and is now a graduate student. He has set his sights on Thailand, where he will be teaching English, with a goal to gain an intercultural perspective on tropical diseases. This will enhance his ability to combat neglected tropical disease in the future. Black, from Imperial, Pennsylvania, is a graduating senior in the College of Science and the Honors College with majors in genetics and cell, molecular, and developmental biology. She applied to teach English in Spain. She is a leader in scholarly approaches to diversity, as well as an excellent researcher. As a student diversity officer in the Honors College, she led a variety of workshops, film screenings, and panel discussions related to diversity, equality, and social justice. Upon return to the United States, she intends to enter the medical field. Delmontagne, from Ashburn, Virginia, is a Purdue alumna with a bachelors degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the College of Engineering and the Honors College. She applied to teach English in Spain. Delmontagne is no stranger to intercultural experiences since her graduation in 2018, she has been working in Ghana, first with the Peace Corps, then as a math teacher. During her time as a student, she was a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship and the Navy Supply Corps Foundation Scholarship. Gallaway, from Fairview, Texas, is a graduating senior in the College of Engineering, with a major in mechanical engineering. Her Fulbright offer is to research tissue engineering in Germany. This would not be her first experience in Germany. In the summer of 2019, she completed a visiting student research project in Leibniz University Hannover, developing tissue-engineered membranes in order to mimic native tissues of the human body. Henderson, from Trenton, Illinois, is a graduating senior in the College of Engineering and the Honors College, with a major in biomedical engineering. She was selected for a Fulbright to teach English in India. Henderson is focused on sustainability, a field she intends to enter as an engineer in the biomedical industry. Her experience in this regard includes serving in the Purdue Student Sustainability Council, which in turn included partnerships with the City of West Lafayette and the Go Greener Commission. Ray, from Fishers, Indiana, is a graduating senior in the College of Liberal Arts and the Honors College with majors in linguistics and French. Her Fulbright offer is to teach English in Moldova. She has also worked as an English teaching volunteer for children in Poland and as an assistant English teacher for adults in Russia. Her ambitions abroad reach further than the Fulbright offer itself she hopes to attain expertise in intercultural experiences with a long-term goal to work in foreign relations. Sale, from Lafayette, Indiana, is a graduating senior in the College of Science with a major in neurobiology and physiology, and a second major in genetics. Her Fulbright offer is to study cell types in the brain through the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience in Norway. On a Fulbright, she will also engage with the public dissemination of the institutes work, via video platforms and blogs, aiming to communicate neuroscience to the general public. This is especially fitting for Sale, as her interests lie at the intersection between biophysics and public policy. Santos, from Valparaiso, Indiana, is a graduating senior in the College of Science and the Honors College with a major in physics and astronomy. His Fulbright offer is to research neutrinos with the Leprince-Ringuet Laboratory (LLR) at Ecole Polytechnique in France. This is a natural extension of experimental work for Santos, who worked on neutrino oscillations in a summer REU program in astrophysics, and has served as president for both Purdue Impact Theory, a student science communications organization, and for the Purdue Science Student Council. Williams, from Ann Arbor, Michigan, is a graduate student in the College of Agriculture, pursing a Ph.D. in forestry and natural resources. His Fulbright offer is to investigate the potential role of bark- and wood-feeding beetles to forest mortality events. On a Fulbright, he will collaborate with Centro Investigacion y Extension Forestal Andino Patagonico in Esquel, Argentina. His work as a graduate student thus far has earned him honors such as the Fred M. Van Eck Memorial Scholarship and the Investments in Excellence Seed Grant. From its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has fostered bilateral relationships in which citizens and governments of other countries work with the U.S. to foster international collaboration in the arts and sciences by awarding grants for students to conduct research in a host country or teach English abroad. This signature U.S. program was established following the end of World War II, and is funded by the U.S. State Department. These Purdue alumni will join the distinguished ranks of innovators, artists and intellectuals who have participated in the Fulbrights mission of cultural exchange. Fulbright alumni from around the world have occupied key roles in government, academia, and industry. This includes 86 who have received the Pulitzer Prize, 75 MacArthur Fellows, 60 Nobel Prize recipients, 37 who have served as head of state or government, 10 elected to U.S. Congress, and one Secretary General of the United Nations. About Purdue University Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 6 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at purdue.edu. Media contact: Joseph Paul, paul102@purdue.edu (working remotely but will provide immediate response) Writer: Logan Judy, ljudy@purdue.edu Source: Rosanne Altstatt, altstatt@purdue.edu Of all the words of sport is a "competitive game" the most German. In what other country you would have the idea to connect the epitome of what you are doing out of joy and free will, the epitome of what needs to be done? Christian Eichler sports correspondent in Munich. F. A. Z. The word that comes out of it, referred to a game in which more is at stake than the Play, namely, points, premiums, trophies. Unlike the so-called friendship game, this will not, however, disputed only in friendship. Bundesliga live Ticker for this The Bundesliga match between Bayern Munich and SC Freiburg was, literally, a friendship game, since the two trainers had assured each other before their mutual sympathy. Christian Streich is not betrayed even, he was ashamed to be in his youth, Bayern fans have been. But above all, it was a competitive game, even for Bayern, although their annual obligation had been fulfilled with the early winning the eighth championship in the series four days earlier, in Bremen, Germany. As an extra offer, however, as almost every year, yet some of the records. The 3:1 against Freiburg is not enough while it may be true, the goal record of the forefathers to Beckenbauer & co. from the season 1971/72 reach. The 101 hit track of at the time, no matter, would have to achieve the Bayern on Saturday in Wolfsburg before receiving the championship trophy with five goals. Robert Lewandowski will fall short of Gerd muller's forty hits from that season, despite his two goals against Freiburg in effect. He would have to meet in Wolfsburg to seven times. And although the poles are managed against this opponent already five goals in nine minutes, which would extrapolate to fifty in a single game would, not should it be enough for it probably. After all, he has scored more goals this season, as the managed to a non-German in the German top League, the 33 piece, so much made previously of only two men with the name Muller. Still, it was a record day for the Bayern because it is the duty of games. Of which the Bavarians have now won, in League, Cup and Champions League, 15 in succession, which no Bundesliga club he managed previously. Still a victory, and coach Hansi Flick, who is not from the records, declared to be much, it would have set another best mark at the very least, he should be proud of: 49 of 51 possible points in the back round. Something like this was previously only the Heynckes-Bayern 2013 on the way to Triple success. Updated Date: 22 June 2020, 02:19 Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Cultural party: The Deutschland Fest 2018: German Experiences in DMM Tournament gold H N kicked off yesterday in the capital city. VNS Viet Nam News H N The Deutschland Fest 2018: German Experiences in H N kicked off yesterday night around the L Th T Statue next to Ho Ki Lake, with the attendance of German Ambassador to Vi Nam Christian Berger and H N City People Committee Chairman Nguy Chung. The two day festival will entertain locals and expats with a wide range of activities including Learning about Bundesliga, the Brothers Grimm Beer Festival and a fashion show by the Van Laack Company. A photo exhibition displaying ten photos on the theme of Buddy Bears (a symbol of Berlin) by Leica and another exhibition featuring photos about the diplomatic relations between Vi Nam and Germany will be also held. That being said, all those working on the Africa2Moon project hope it will enable future generations of Africans to bridge the humanitarian and economic divide and end Africa financial dependenceonthe rest of the world. It is also hoped that the mission will provide a platform for one or more scientific experiments, contribute to humankind knowledge of the moon, and form part of Africa contribution to global space exploration activities. [Demo] Dynamically Set and Select the DropDown Option JSFiddleStack Overflow is a community of 7. Join them; it only takes a minute: I have the following drop down list: Any help is most appreciated. Kim 3 19 Use the following line: AmGates 1, 11 Thanks, the first option seems to have done the trick: Th0rndike 2, 3 11 Bogdan Emil Mariesan 3, 1 19 Try it this way: Rafael Marques 1 5 THis will select val 3 document. The risks are significant for those that get it wrong public condemnation, perhaps even further damage to gaming's reputation, and banning of the offending game by censors and/or retailers. But given the average age of game players today, and our insatiable appetite for sex, the first publishers to get it right are likely to be rewarded with millions of eager adult players. No qualified individual has ever been denied a drivers license or car ownership because of the process needed to own and drive. Give the second amendment a rest an overwhelming majority of the NRA membership favors stricter control over gun ownership. None of those folks see the oppressor taking away their rights as you apparently do.December 21, 2012 at 6:11 pm Report abuse Not one shoot was fire in New York City , Ok City , question how many went up in smoke when that bomb went off , or those planes crashed in to those buildings ! It no the guns that is the problem it the owners , any taking of a life with a military weapon or the participation in take a life with those weapons should be a punishment of death , and if a person is found insane , they should be committed until found mentally Compton and then once that happens the should serve the rest of the life inn a prison and throw away the key !!!!!!!!!!December 26, 2012 at 1:07 pm Report abuse If you live more than a femtosecond, on a cosmic scale, you have experienced oppression. Old School RuneScape's DMM tournament is now live! From May 1st to May 30th, players with membership can log in and play on OSRS DMM worlds to gain the final prizes. To help you gain the prizes, RSorder offer cheap DMM Tournament Gold and extra discount (code "OSRSDM") for U to get 6% off instantly! So seize the chance to buy cheap DMM Tournament Gold by visiting the page: https://www.rsorder.com/seasonal-dmm-gold. Besides, 5% off code "RSYK5" is also offered for Runescape 3 Gold / Osrs gold and all other products. Buy from https://www.rsorder.com/ at anytime. The five southern states source 10-15 per cent of their revenue from excise duty on liquor but account for nearly half of the total consumption, a report said on Thursday. The financial position of these states is precarious as the coronavirus lockdown completely dried up this crucial liquidity tap for them in April. The five southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala together consume as much as 45 per cent of all liquor sold in the country, the report by Crisil said. "The denizens of this quintet quaff as much as 45 percent of all liquor sold in the country annually. But not a drop was sold in April, and given the dire state of their revenues, these states have been anxious to make good the losses by opening up the vends," it said. While Tamil Nadu and Kerala top the list in revenue percentage terms at 15 per cent each, for Kerala the tax on liquor is its single largest revenue source. The revenue share is 11 per cent each for Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and 10 per cent for Telangana, shows the report. Delhi is at number three when it comes to liquor revenue share with 12 per cent of tax revenue, but its citizens swig only 4 per cent of the national intake. Tamil Nadu has another distinction -- it is the single largest consumer of liquor in the country, guzzling as much 13 per cent of national sales, closely followed by Karnataka with 12 per cent. Andhra quaffs 7 per cent of the national intake, followed by Telangana (6 per cent) and Kerala (5 per cent). While all other states have high population, when it comes to Kerala, despite being home to only 3.3 crore people, it draws the highest revenue because among the five states it charges the highest tax rate on liquor. However nationally, Maharashtra charges the highest rate, but draws only 8 per cent of its tax revenue from liquor -- primarily because it is the most industrialised state and has many other sources of income -- and also consumes only 8 per cent of the national intake despite being the second most populous state. Twelve states -- the five southern ones, Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan -- account for 75 per cent of liquor consumption in the country. But uncorking the bottled spirit will also be a problem for these 12 states as they contribute to more than 85 per cent of all COVID-19 infections/deaths as well. Maharashtra alone contributes 31.2 percent of all cases, followed by Delhi (10 per cent), Tamil Nadu (7.6 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (7 per cent) and Uttar Pradesh (5.9 per cent). Among these 12 states, Kerala has the lowest national average in this at under-1 per cent, the report said. Maharashtra shuttered liquor vends in Mumbai and the rest of MMR region after opening them for a day earlier this week. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Like most restaurant owners across the nation in the past month, Luke and Cassie Brugh have had to think fast to keep their business afloat. They turned their Christiansburg coffee shop into a curbside-only business, with the bulk of their orders coming through an app, to comply with government orders to limit customer contact because of COVID-19. But in navigating the challenges of this shuffle, the Brughs have discovered a silver lining. Brugh Coffee is selling double the cans of its cold brew java by drone. Thats compared with cold brew sales through its new curbside business. These air deliveries are made possible by Wing, a drone delivery enterprise and offshoot of Google's parent company Alphabet that has seen a dramatic increase in its business since the pandemic began. Wing recently added Brugh Coffee and other Christiansburg restaurants Mockingbird Cafe and Gran Rodeo to its food delivery options. From March to early April, Wing saw a 350 percent jump in the number of people signing up for its services across its four sites in three continents. They are in Christiansburg, Virginia; Helsinki Finland; and two cities in Australia, Canberra and Logan City, said spokesman Jacob Demmitt. Similarly, in a two-week period in early April, the company had 1,000 deliveries globally, a dramatic increase from the typical two-week business model, he said. gettyimagesbank Major countries seek to bring manufacturing back home amid COVID-19 pandemic By Kim Bo-eun Global supply chains that have interlinked economies worldwide have shifted course and are headed toward dismantlement, as key economies seek to bring production back to their countries or nearby, to better manage risks. The movement began years earlier and was accelerated by the U.S.-China trade war, but the COVID-19 pandemic has brought forward renewed impetus, as countries have seen major disruptions in supply chains, triggered by the coronavirus outbreak. Governments are making concerted efforts with businesses by offering subsidies, to help manage risks associated with supply chain disruptions at a national level and also to create more jobs at home, as economies are battered by the pandemic. Japan has begun taking measures after it saw exports from China nearly halve in February after the outbreak in Wuhan in December last year. China is Japan's largest trading partner and its dependency on supplies from the world's second largest economy exceeds 20 percent of its imports. Following major disruptions, the government said it would provide up to $2 billion in subsidies for firms with factories in China seeking to reshore to Japan. According to a survey of the Bank of America's analysts, which cover 3,000 companies, firms in more than 80 percent of 12 global sectors have begun the reshoring process. The survey showed half the sectors in North America plan to reshore. U.S. President Donald Trump's trade advisor Peter Navarro said the U.S. could also provide subsidies for companies seeking a U-turn in operations, after the country suffered dire shortages in essential supplies from China. U.S. firms had already been relocating production back to their country years earlier, based on the trade conflict that unfolded with China that hiked tariffs on goods imported from China. Global consulting firm Kearney's Reshoring Index published last month shows U.S. imports from China fell 17 percent in 2019 from a year earlier due to tariff costs. Many businesses based in North America have relocated production to Mexico, and Vietnam is another country that has seen a surge in relocations from China. Based on labor costs, companies increasingly choose these countries and others in Southeast Asia, when relocating production sites. In a meeting on the economy last week, First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Kim Yong-beom referred to the global phenomenon and a possible resumption of the trade war between the world's two largest economies, which would accelerate reshoring efforts. "Based on disruptions in global supply chains, manufacturers are reshoring," he said. "In addition, the conflict between the U.S. and China on responsibility over the spread of the virus shows possible signs of a trade war being reignited." Korea made efforts for reshoring years earlier, but firms were slow to move, based on a lack of incentives. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has pointed to the need to relocate production lines with auto manufacturers suffering a blow as overseas factories in countries including China halted operations to contain the virus. In February, the government rolled out a package of incentives, which includes exempting corporate tax as well as subsidizing costs for building smart factories. For Korea, the need for companies to bring their production sites outside of China is greater as China is its largest trading partner and Korea's dependency on the country's supplies is 30.5 percent, which is even higher than Japan's dependency. Reshoring is expected to help the economy as it will create new jobs here, amid job losses as businesses take the brunt of a coronavirus-triggered plunge in consumption. Kim stressed that protecting and creating new jobs will be "key to overcoming the crisis." "More countries including the U.S. are taking action to become self-sufficient after they experienced a shortage in essential supplies coming from China," Park Chong-hoon, chief economist at Standard Chartered Bank Korea said. "We can expect to see more advanced economies moving to reshore production. This will have an additional effect of increasing jobs." This is the position of both the president and the Servant of the People Party. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that regional parties and citizens who are not members of any party should not face any barriers during the upcoming local elections. "The fact is that the virus, which has been with some political parties for the last 28 years, has been activated. This virus is called 'trickery.' Realizing their meager chances in local elections, some parties are trying to change the law and set contrived barriers to regional parties. Thus, 'old' politicians want to 'sneak' into the local authorities, despite the political will of local residents," he said in a video address posted on the president's website. Read alsoZelensky's Office chief hopes local elections to be held this fall despite quarantine In fact, according to Zelensky, the politicians who have been in power for long are trying to deprive small parties and locals of the opportunity to change their region for the better. "I will not allow this. The right to be elected is a constitutional right of every citizen of Ukraine, and the president is the guarantor of this right. Therefore, there will be no 'two thirds,' 'five percent' or other 'schemes.' This is the position of both me and the Servant of the People Party. I only have one thing to tell the 'old' politicians: If you do not have support in some region of our country, then you need to change your actions, not the election law," the president said. As UNIAN reported earlier, local polls to elect members of village, town, city, district and regional councils are scheduled for October 25 along with the election of village, town and city mayors. KYODO NEWS - May 8, 2020 - 12:01 | Japan, All, Coronavirus Yukio Okamoto, a diplomatic analyst who was also an adviser to Japanese prime ministers, died on April 24 of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus, a company he had headed said Friday. He was 74. Okamoto spent more than 20 years as a Foreign Ministry official, being posted at Paris, Cairo and Washington, before establishing Okamoto Associates Inc., a political and economic consultancy. He also taught at Ritsumeikan University and was a senior research fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for International Studies. In Washington, experts on Japan who formerly served in the U.S. government mourned the loss of Okamoto, who was described as having "steered the U.S.-Japan alliance over many decades" through both good and bad times in a commentary released by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Yukio was a giant in Japan-U.S. relations...a diplomat who always did his best for his nation," former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage was quoted as saying in the commentary by the Washington-based think tank where he serves as a board member. Okamoto served as adviser to Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto between 1996 and 1998 and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi between 2003 and 2004. Under the Hashimoto administration, Okamoto was in charge of issues related to Okinawa, mediating talks between the central government and the Okinawa prefectural government over such issues as the relocation plan for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and promotion of the local economy. Under Koizumi's leadership, Okamoto led preparatory work for Japan's project to provide reconstruction assistance to Iraq. In 2015, he served as a member of a private advisory panel to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to craft the conservative premier's statement on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Abe's statement upheld previous Japanese government apologies over its past wartime actions, but did not offer a fresh apology. A native of Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo, Okamoto joined the Foreign Ministry in 1968 and served in key posts such as director of the First North America Division before leaving the ministry in 1991. Okamoto "worked to forge a stronger alliance in the 1980s with only a handful of officials and politicians in support" and was a "maverick" in a "bureaucracy conditioned to avoid entrapment in U.S. Cold War strategies," said the commentary. It was jointly written by Michael Green, a CSIS senior vice president who formerly worked on the National Security Council, and Kurt Campbell, former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. His legacy is obvious when seeing that the current Japanese Foreign Ministry is "full of diplomats who think the way he did," the commentary said. Okamoto also appeared on TV programs as a commentator on foreign affairs and authored many books on the topic. The UK government on Thursday announced five further flights to bring home British travellers stranded in India due to the coronavirus lockdown, with four flights scheduled between Amritsar and London and one from Ahmedabad to London next week. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said that once these flights are completed, over 16,500 travellers will have been brought back from India on 64 special flights chartered as part of the government's 75-million pound repatriation programme during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown. Our special charter flight programme has been a concerted effort, with daily flight departures to the UK from across India since 8 April alongside ongoing support to those who remain, said Lord Tariq Ahmad, Minister of State in the FCO for South Asia and the Commonwealth. These further flights bring the number of planes chartered by the government to bring British travellers home from India to 64, he said. As with the last round of flights, seats on the planes will be allocated to those who have already registered on the British government's online booking portal, Corporate Travel Management (CTM). The British High Commission in India said its staff will continue to provide assistance to those waiting to return to the UK. Jan Thompson, Acting High Commissioner to India, said: We have helped over 14,000 travellers return to the UK so far on charter flights, and I am pleased to announce a further round to bring back those still waiting to get home. I strongly encourage anyone who wants to leave to accept seats offered to them. We continue to support all British nationals who require assistance. The FCO said its flights are aimed at British nationals and depart from regions of India with the highest demand. The focus is also on helping vulnerable non-British UK residents with Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) or permanent residency where possible. Other visa categories may also be accommodated where possible, the FCO said. Seats on the charter flights are allocated to those already registered, with confirmations of the flight sent directly alongside information on how to get to airports once the seat is confirmed. The latest tranche of UK flights comes as the Indian government also began the repatriation process for its nationals stranded abroad, with specially commissioned Air India flights set to fly between London Heathrow Airport and Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru from this weekend. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Brazil's Ex-Justice Minister Reportedly Said President Personally Pushed for New Police Chief in Rio By VOA News May 06, 2020 Former Brazilian Justice Minister Serigo Moro has reportedly told investigators that President Jair Bolsonaro wanted to personally pick the head of the federal police office in Rio de Janeiro to get access to ongoing investigations that involve his sons. Brazilian news outlets said Moro made the allegation during a lengthy deposition last Saturday, according to documents they obtained and published Tuesday. Moro reportedly said the president told him "you have 27 police superintendents. I only want one, in Rio de Janeiro." Rio is Bolsonaro's hometown and where his two sons are prominent politicians: Flavio, a senator, and Carlos, a Rio city councilman. Both sons are under investigation for various allegations by local prosecutors and police. Moro, a popular anti-corruption crusader, abruptly resigned from Bolsonaro's cabinet last month after the president fired the federal police chief. Moro accused the president of trying to interfere in ongoing investigations, although he did not specify which investigations. Bolsonaro has denied inappropriate motives for the changes and that he is trying to deflect criminal probes targeting his sons. Bolsonaro's proposed pick for the Rio de Janeiro police chief was rejected by Brazilian lawmakers. Brazil's Supreme Court, which ordered an investigation into Moro's claims, gave prosecutors permission Tuesday to interview three members of Bolsonaro's cabinet in connection with the probe. The court rejected Bolsonaro's first choice to replace the federal police chief due to reports of a longstanding close relationship. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address [May 07, 2020] Voto Latino, APIAVote and Mission Asset Fund Launch Immigrant Neighbor Fund to Assist Families Left Out of COVID-19 Relief with Support from East West Bank Voto Latino Foundation, Mission Asset Fund (MAF), and APIAVote have launched the $4 million Immigrant Neighbor Fund - with a $1 million investment by East West Bank - to assist families that were excluded from receiving COVID-19 relief funds from the CARES Act. These are the same people who are disproportionately on the frontlines, holding our economy together; they are service industry workers, healthcare professionals, food service and agricultural workers. They are the ones keeping us fed, keeping us healthy, and keeping our society running as smoothly as possible. Unfortunately, many are also at the highest risk of contracting COVID-19 and so it is our responsibility to protect them as they work day in and out to support us. "In times of crisis, it is especially crucial that our communities come together and support the most vulnerable among us," said Voto Latino founding president and CEO, Maria Teresa Kumar. "We are very grateful for the support of Dominic Ng and East West Bank for their leadership and contribution - it exemplifies the role that each of us across industries needs to play, to aid all our residents. It's what a good neighbor does." East West Bank is a premier U.S.-based bank operating in seven states and is one of the largest minority depository institutions in the country. "More than 40 years ago, East West Bank was founded to serve the immigrant community," said Dominic Ng, its Chairman, President and CEO. "In serving those who cannot access other assistance programs, this Fund aligns with our enduring values and culture." "Asian Americans and Pacific Islander communities are often overlooked," said Christine Chen, Executive Director of APIAVote. "The populations we serve are in desperate need of relief, and we cannot stand by as they suffer. Not only has OVID-19 severely affected local communities, but it has also brought a new wave of hate crimes and discrimination against the Asian community-crimes that the Latinx community suffers each day in the current political climate. The Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council and its partners have received more than 1,500 reports of anti-Asian hate incidents since mid-March 2020. We need everyone," Chen continued. "Including our government, to be held accountable for making sure these families do not go unnoticed. This partnership with Voto Latino Foundation and Mission Asset Fund will provide some relief for families scared for their immediate futures." "Mission Asset Fund works with immigrant families, helping them improve their financial lives, but right now, as they risk their lives and health at the frontlines of this pandemic, they should not have to rely on charity to get through this crisis," said Jose Quinonez, Founder and CEO of Mission Asset Fund. "By joining with VL and APIAVote, we are doing what we can to ease the financial burdens being placed on the most vulnerable, showing them that they are not alone." Voto Latino Foundation and APIAVote will publicize the program and collect donations, which will then be administered and distributed by Mission Asset Fund. The funds will provide people the ability to meet basic needs such as rent, groceries, and transportation, with most of the support initially going to California and Texas. Those interested in supporting the Fund and donating can do so at ImmigrantNeighborFund.com. Voto Latino Foundation (VLF) is a non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)3 organization that empowers the Latinx community to claim a better future through civic participation. APIAVote is a national nonpartisan organization that works with partners to mobilize Asian American Pacific Islanders in electoral and civic participation. APIAVote envisions a world that is inclusive, fair, and collaborative, and where Asian American and Pacific Islander communities are self-determined, empowered, and engaged. See our website for more information at http://www.apiavote.org/ MAF works with low-income and immigrant families to improve their financial lives by helping them become visible, active, and successful participants in the U.S. financial mainstream. East West Bank is one of the largest minority depository institutions in the country and one of the largest independent banks headquartered in California. East West has over 125 locations, including in California, Georgia, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Texas and Washington. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507006154/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] MasterChef season one winner Julie Goodwin was forced to shut down her cooking school, Julie's Place, because of COVID-19. And the cook, 49, has revealed she extended the mortgage on her house by $15,000 to make sure that her employees could receive JobKeeper benefits. 'I didn't want to do the wrong thing by anyone,' she told SmartCompany on Thursday. 'I didn't want to do the wrong thing by anyone': MasterChef season one winner Julie Goodwin, 49, has revealed she extended her mortgage by $15,000 to help her employees receive JobKeeper benefits JobKeeper is a payment scheme was established by the Australian government last month to help businesses impacted by the coronavirus. The scheme allows business-owners to keep paying their employees $1,500 a fortnight during the health crisis. Julie told the publication that she felt 'fortunate' enough to help six out of eight of her staff-members qualify for the government assistance scheme. Fortunate: Julie said she feels 'fortunate' enough to help her six of her eight staff-members become eligible for government assistance scheme Before JobKeeper was introduced, Julie believed she would have to stand down her staff. 'I had already phoned all the team and said, 'I'm terribly sorry, we have to close our doors and there's not going to be any shifts,'' she confessed. Her sacrifice of taking out a $15,000 extension on her mortgage meant she has been able to pay for workers for the month of April, and she is now relying on cash flow from the JobKeeper payments. A helping hand: While Julie noted she would be unable to pay her mortgage back for six months, she said it was 'worth it'. The former reality TV star said: 'I do consider it to be worth it; I'm so grateful people can be earning an income' While Julie noted she would be unable to pay her mortgage back for six months, she said it was 'worth it'. 'I do consider it to be worth it; I'm so grateful people can be earning an income,' she said. Julie opened her small cooking school, Julie's Place, in Gosford back in 2014 and told The Daily Telegraph at the time that it was 'dream come true'. She rose to fame as the winner of the first ever season of MasterChef Australia back in 2009, with Poh Ling Yeow as the first-runner up. Need to know more about coronavirus in New York? Sign up for THE CITYs daily morning newsletter. A tribute to a Jackson Heights bike shop, a diary entry from a teenager and a rainbow painted by 4-year-old Lizzy are among the items, stories and oral histories being collected by some of New Yorks cultural institutions to capture life in the city during the pandemic. With every day in flux and guidance evolving on how to conduct life, researchers, oral historians and archivists say its essential to document snippets of the wide range of experiences New Yorkers are having. This is a monument in real time to what were going through, said Meral Agish, a community coordinator with the Queens Public Librarys archiving project Queens Memory, which has been compiling messages and interviews, and publishing them on an interactive map hosted by Urban Archive. We are all in this pandemic but the reality is everybody is living a very different experience, she added. There is no one life in quarantine. Historical narrative is always complicated. Others said that hearing stories from across the city helps build empathy. Storm Garner, an independent oral historian and co-author of the Queens Night Markets forthcoming cookbook, The World Eats Here, first began interviewing the markets vendors last year to document the the power of this spontaneous super-diverse community. Shes pivoted to also record how theyre doing during the pandemic and will submit the results to the Queens Memory project. I think its incredibly comforting to know someone is going through something similar to you, and enlightening to people who are comfortable right now to understand what people that are less comfortable are going through, Garner added. A Privilege to Hear Efforts to catalog the disparate and rapidly developing effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on communities reach into every borough. Columbia University is aiming to conduct 200 oral history interviews with New Yorkers from different neighborhoods and industries. The goal is to better comprehend the pandemic and learn how to respond to it, said Amy Starecheski, director of Columbias Oral History program and a co-director of the COVID-19 project. Our understandings of whats happening are constantly being revised and it makes it difficult in any given moment to remember what we thought was happening a month ago or six weeks ago, Starecheski said. Looking back, we can remember how our expectations changed over time. The conversations help people process what theyre going through, Starecheski noted. What theyre dreaming, hoping for, thats been a real privilege to hear, she added. This archive will eventually be stored at the universitys libraries and be accessible to the public. Reflect, Engage and Mourn In Brooklyn, both the Brooklyn Public Library and Brooklyn Historical Society are asking borough residents to share their pandemic stories. The library is focusing on recording stories with members of communities that arent traditionally represented in its oral history archive including frontline workers in industries like health care and hospitality, said Virginia Marshall, a podcasting associate at the library. So far, theyve heard from about 50 individuals, including nurses and delivery workers. We wanted to capture the moment right now, because Brooklyn is so deeply impacted by COVID-19, Marshall said, adding that submissions will eventually be stored in the librarys archive and be featured in a forthcoming interactive map. From photos and videos, to fliers, face masks and other trappings of the pandemic, the Brooklyn Historical Society is fielding all items both digital and physical for possible inclusion into its permanent collection. Since the projects launch last week, the BHS has received more than 150 submissions including photos of Ramadan iftar meals, home haircuts and rent strike materials, said Maggie Schreiner, the societys manager of Archives and Special Collections. What were trying to do is obviously create a body of material that will allow people in the future to look back at this very difficult and hugely transformative time in Brooklyn and really understand what it was like to live here and how people adapted and coped and took care of each other, she said. The material, slated to be published online soon, is intended to promote future scholarship and creativity, as well as act as a space in the present moment for people to reflect, engage and mourn, Schreiner added. Local institutions collecting physical ephemera and objects also include the Museum of the City of New York and the New-York Historical Society. Echoes of 9/11 Archivists said that the widespread efforts in New York City to memorialize the pandemics impact on daily life underscore that its a critical point in history, echoing documentation projects established in the aftermath of 9/11. After the terror attacks, Columbia University recorded more than 900 hours of interviews with city dwellers, and the New-York Historical Society gathered many of the items that are now exhibited at the 9/11 Memorial Museum. Jan Ramirez, the 9/11 museums chief curator, said the collective instincts of curators across the city and state were deeply influential in enabling the breadth of the collection, which counts more than 70,000 artifcats. Any one curator, any one institution, would have naturally come in with a certain bias or knowledge. It was really the fact that we did it as a consortium, said Ramirez, who was the museum director of the New-York Historical Society in 2001. It became stronger because of many eyes on this material, not just one pair. Margi Hofer, the current museum director at the New-York Historical Society, said the two events both dealt a huge jolt to the city and to the country. Where 9/11 was a turning point in many ways, I expect the pandemic will be, too, Hofer added. It will change the way that people interact physically on so many levels, so I think documenting it will help us understand this, the momentous change, down the road. Want to republish this story? See our republication guidelines. SUPPORT THE CITY You just finished reading another story from THE CITY. We need your help to make THE CITY all it can be. Please consider joining us as a member today. DONATE TODAY! Workers deemed essential by the government could receive pay from the government to assist with student loans. According to a report from Yahoo, a new bill that was introduced this week to the House of Representatives would provide frontline workers, including those in the health care field, postal service, grocery stores, pharmacies and more. The bill, named Opportunities for Heroes Act, would offer to $25,000 for student loan relief and tuition help to those workers. The bill was proposed by Rep. Ann Kuster, a Democrat from New Hampshire, and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican from Pennsylvanias first district. It was introduced on Tuesday. Our essential workers put their lives at risk every day to make sure the rest of us are safe and healthy, Fitzpatrick said in a statement, according to Yahoo. They deserve all of the help we can provide them. By providing the option to help pay their student loans or continue their education, we can give them one less thing to worry about. Anyone who has worked at least 480 hours in a 120-day period during the pandemic will be eligible for the payments, according to the report. The bill will also include anyone who was unable to work that many hours during the pandemic, but works a job considered essential will also be eligible. The workers will be permitted to transfer the money to other family members, the report stated. Yahoo said that Kuster is hoping the bill will be included in the next stimulus package. Text PennLive to 717-745-7532 to sign up to have breaking news and essential updates about the coronavirus delivered right to your mobile device. Data and messaging rates may apply. -- Follow Ed Sutelan on Twitter, @EdwardSutelan 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. After 78 days, the investigation into the fatal shooting Ahmaud Arbery dragged on. His mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, said she was skeptical the men responsible for his death would be held accountable. Protests were virtually impossible, due to restrictions caused by the coronavirus. Twenty-four hours later, seemingly everyone was talking about it. Former Vice President Joe Biden tweeted Wednesday it was clear Arbery, 25, was killed in cold blood" and called for a "swift, full and transparent investigation into his murder." On social media the hosts of "The View" were chastised for not talking about the case. The surge of attention, and the decision to open a state investigation, was prompted by the video a video shot by a friend of Greg and Travis McMichael who had helped the father and son chase down and trap Arbery. William Roddie Bryan, 50, is identified in police documents as the person behind the video. He is also referenced by Greg McMichael in the police report of the Feb. 23 shooting. Bryan figures to be a part of the GBIs investigation, which was opened Tuesday night following a request by Atlantic Circuit District Attorney Tom Durden. Earlier that day Durden announced he would ask a grand jury to consider criminal charges against those involved. It's not known if Bryan will be subject to charges "We've now assigned the case to three of our experienced supervisory agents," GBI Director Vic Reynolds said in a video tweet. "The governor in this state wants justice in this case and so does the GBI." The GBI's investigation will be the fourth probe into the shooting. Potential conflicts of interest involving Greg McMichael, formerly a Glynn County police officer recently retired from the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney' Office, turned the case into a judicial hot potato. After Brunswick DA Jackie Johnson recused herself, the case was handed off to Waycross Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill. In a letter sent to a Glynn County police captain, Barnhill wrote that the three men were in hot pursuit of a burglary suspect with solid, firsthand probable cause. It appears their intent was to stop and hold this criminal suspect until law enforcement arrived, Barnhill wrote. Under Georgia law this is perfectly legal. He references watching Bryan's video. While most have found it damning, Barnhill, who could not be reached for comment, wrote that the footage essentially exonerated the McMichaels. He said it shows Arbery, who was unarmed, attacking Travis McMichael, armed with a shotgun. "Given the fact Arbery initiated the fight, at the point Arbery grabbed the shotgun, under Georgia law McMichael was allowed to use deadly force to protect himself," Barnhill wrote. Barnhill stepped down after Arberys family complained of a possible conflict of interest. His son worked in the Brunswick DAs office and was acquainted with Greg McMichael. Longtime Brunswick attorney James Yancey said he was dumbfounded by Barnhill's conclusions. "You can't argue self-defense if you instigated the event," Yancey said. "This is the South. no black man being chased by two white men in a pick-up truck with guns is going to stay and talk to them. He had no legal obligation to do what they said. (Arbery) had every right to defend himself." The initial handling of the investigation has led many activists to call for federal intervention. "What we do know is that the U.S. Department of Justice can open a concurrent investigation into the murder of Ahmaud Arbery as they did in the Travon Martin murder," said Atlanta civil rights attorney Chris Stewart. Martin, 17, was killed in 2012 by a neighborhood watchman who claimed he shot the unarmed teen in self-defense. "Mr. Arberys civil rights were violated which can initiate an investigation by Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband who oversees the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. The authority is vested in our Federal Hate Crime Laws." Bret Williams, a former prosecutor in the Civil Rights Division, said he expects the DOJ will eventually become involved. "One of the things a federal investigation can do is shed some sunshine into the way this case was handled," said Williams, now a criminal defenses attorney. He said there is reason to suspect a cover-up by local authorities. "This has become a case of national interest," he said. At a video press conference Wednesday, Lee Merritt, the attorney for Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, demanded the DOJ "take over the case and bring all parties involved, including the officials that ratified these men's behavior, up on federal hate crime charges." These men were vigilantes, they were a posse they were performing a lynching in the middle of the day," Merritt said. A group of Glynn County pastors and community leaders gathered Wednesday afternoon in downtown Brunswick to demand action. The way this case was handled was absolutely wrong, said Brunswick NAACP President John Davis Perry II. As citizens of the Glynn County community, we expect that justice be done swiftly and immediately. He called for the dismissal of Glynn County Police Chief John Powell, whos currently on administrative leave with pay in Glynn County after being indicted on charges of three counts of violating oath of office, two counts of influencing a witness and one count of criminal attempt to commit a felony. Those charges stem from an unrelated case. He should not be on our payroll, Perry said. He also called for Kemps involvement to ensure the case goes to a grand jury immediately. Courthouses are closed due to coronavirus concerns at the moment. If the governor could allow businesses to go back into operation so that we can get the economic system back flowing, then justice should be just that important as well, he said. 2020 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.) Visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.) at www.ajc.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: A Harley Davidson logo with a skull is seen on a motorcycle By Rachit Vats and Sanjana Shivdas (Reuters) - Harley-Davidson Inc on Thursday appointed board member and turnaround specialist Jochen Zeitz to the role of chief executive officer, as the struggling motorcycle maker looks to tap into his expertise to woo customers and revive sales. Shares of Harley, which were down 47% this year as of last close, rose 5% to $20.6 in morning trade. Zeitz, a former CEO hailed for turning around German footwear brand Puma's near-bankrupt business, is known to have led a push for sustainability at Harley and was a force behind Harley's LiveWire, the company's first electric bike. The company said Zeitz, who joined the Harley board in 2007, will continue to serve as the board chairman. Harley has failed for years to increase sales in the United States, its top market, which accounts for more than half of its motorcycles sold. As its tattooed, baby-boomer consumer base ages, the Milwaukee-based company is finding it challenging to attract new customers. To make matters worse, the pandemic has further dented demand as Americans stay at home to curb the spread of COVID-19. In April, Harley slashed https://www.reuters.com/article/us-harley-davidson-results/harley-boosts-cash-reserves-as-coronavirus-hits-demand-idUSKCN22A1L0 its dividend and halted share buybacks to boost its cash reserves to weather the impact from the health crisis. Zeitz was asked to take over after CEO Matthew Levatich stepped down in February following Harley's worst sales performance in at least 16 years. In his first call with investors as acting CEO, Zeitz lined up plans to cut costs and "de-emphasize" some of its unprofitable international regions. The shift in strategy for the company that symbolized the counterculture movement of the 1960s comes as it struggles to woo the next generation of younger riders with its electric and more nimbler bikes in the United States. (Reporting by Rachit Vats and Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Shinjini Ganguli) What would happen if the town of Aylmer were to suddenly lose its weekly newspaper? I think the politicians would be happy to see us go, says Aylmer Express publisher John Hueston with a chuckle. The paper is not going anywhere any time soon, but it serves as a good example of everything that a community paper does, and everything that can be lost when that paper is no longer there a dire situation that is developing in an increasing number of communities across this country, driven in part by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. The independently-owned Aylmer Express, serving the southwestern Ontario town of about 7,500 and neighbouring communities, has been a fixture in the area for 140 years. Its the only media outlet regularly covering the council meetings of five different municipalities. It regularly holds power to account, taking strong stances in its front-page editorials on local issues including politics, policing and health. It also believes strongly in its role of bringing community together, recently publishing a poster supporting health-care workers during the pandemic that it distributed in the weekly edition and which residents then put up in their windows. As one reader put it when renewing their subscription: Love this paper. You are the only source of local info. Thank you. Huestons family has owned the paper for decades. I think newspapers are exceedingly important, he said in an interview with the Star. With the secrecy Im seeing with police and watching governments abdicate responsibilities, I think they need some oversight from journalists. Or maybe everything goes away and it becomes a very different society. Its all box tickers, but it wont be the society you know. I would think it would be a much less free society. Hueston remains hopeful for the future of his paper, while a rapidly-increasing number of media outlets across Canada are shuttered or have had their operations reduced since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March. Its a well-known fact that for years, the newspaper industry has struggled to remain financially viable and to adapt to a quickly changing digital world. Papers have imposed mass layoffs, cut back on the number of editions they produce, or shut down entirely. Advertising revenue has plummeted. The COVID-19 pandemic has sped up that decline, as numerous sectors have been forced to shut down and therefore scale back their advertising. The long-term existence of an industry still reliant on those ad dollars while also trying to find and transition to new business models has been thrown into doubt. Advocates say help is more urgent than ever, at a time when the demand for reliable news is incredibly high, but where subscription revenue has not come close to replacing all of the money brought in by advertising. COVID has accelerated everything, says Winnipeg Free Press publisher Bob Cox, who serves as chair of the Canadian News Media Association. All the trends that we knew were happening are now going at warp speed. So if you thought print revenues were going down, today theyre down 50 per cent. Its been a shock for all of us, but it has made people realize more than ever the need for permanent change. In the last six weeks alone, more than 100 media outlets across the country, including print and broadcast media, have seen an impact due to the economic crisis sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 2,000 employees (journalists and other workers) being laid off, according to data collected by the COVID-19 Media Impact Map for Canada, a joint project by online publication J-Source, the Canadian Association of Journalists and the Local News Research Project at Ryerson Universitys journalism school. Community newspapers are facing particularly harsh realities: 50 have closed either permanently or temporarily in just the last six weeks, according to the data, and according to industry association News Media Canada, a total of 28 papers have permanently ceased publication so far this year. Contrast that with the fact that about 215 papers have closed in the past 12 years. In my mind, thats an acceleration of a trend, and not a good trend, said April Lindgren, Ryerson journalism professor and principal investigator with the Local News Research Project. The way forward is an increasingly urgent discussion. Torstar, the owner of the Toronto Star, previously announced it was laying off 85 people. The company reported in its quarterly results this week that print advertising revenue dropped by 58 per cent in the latter half of March, while at the same time digital traffic to the companys various news sites has significantly increased. Postmedia, which owns a number of major daily newspapers including The National Post, announced last week it was laying off 80 employees and shuttering 15 community newspapers in Ontario and Manitoba. In Atlantic Canada, SaltWire Network announced in March it was temporarily laying off 40 per cent of its staff and temporarily closing a number of publications. The situation is just as bad in the United States, where The New York Times reports about 36,000 workers at American media companies have been laid off, furloughed or seen their pay cut. The problem is not unique to print media either, as the Times reports pay cuts being imposed at major online news sources including Slate, Buzzfeed and Vice. And yet even before the pandemic, there appeared to be a disconnect between the publics perception of a media outlets financial situation and the reality. A Pew Research Center survey found last year that 71 per cent of Americans surveyed believed that their local media was doing well financially, while only 14 per cent said they had personally paid for local news in the last year. The survey also found that 71 per cent of those surveyed found their local news outlets were reporting the news accurately and 66 per cent felt their outlet did a good job keeping tabs on political leaders. I think people are appreciating media more and I think that at the local level where media has disappeared, theyre really noticing that now, in communities where they cant get information about the health situation in their communities, said Karyn Pugliese, president of the Canadian Association of Journalists. People are noticing that gap now, but do they realize that even some of that regional-level or provincial-level media could go? Im not sure thats really struck them yet. In a way, the decline of the news industry is not really about the journalists themselves, Pugliese said, as theyll eventually land on their feet and find other jobs, likely outside of journalism. Its democracy thats not going to be OK, she said. When theres nobody there to watch the city council and they all start increasing their salaries, or the taxes go up and youre not getting increases in services and youre wondering why. And theres not a single reporter in your town to go and find out that information, and you cant do it because you actually have a kid, a job and a busy life and you need somebody to do that work for you. Thats the reason to pay for journalism. Hueston knows all too well the consequences that can come with trying to gather information on behalf of the public. He and his son, Brett, who serves as editor of the Aylmer Express, were arrested in 2017 trying to report on a vehicle that went off a cliff near Lake Erie. Ontarios police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, had been called in to determine if the OPP played a role in the incident. (Police were later cleared of any involvement.) The Huestons drove past a road-closure sign to get a closer look, but maintained they remained at a distance so as not to interfere. Nevertheless, they were arrested on charges including obstructing a peace officer. They were acquitted by a judge a year later. They were handcuffed, placed in a sweltering police car for half an hour, and spent more than a year with the charges hanging over their heads, John Hueston told the Star, saying he and his son paid a heavy legal, physical and mental price as a result. But the work must go on, Hueston said. I think somebody has to watch this stuff, he said. We find that in government and in the police, they dont want to be observed and thats alarming to me. And so whats the solution to ensure that more media outlets can continue doing just that keeping a close eye on powerful institutions on behalf of the public? If there was an easy solution, someone would have thought about it by now, said Lindgren at Ryerson. The federal government has announced some assistance over the last few years, though some of that help has not yet gotten off the ground. It launched the Local Journalism Initiative, which provides funding to media companies for journalists covering important local issues. A total of 105 journalists working in 95 newsrooms were approved last December following the initial call-out for applications. But a $595-million aid package first unveiled by the Liberals in 2018 that has received polarizing views within the media industry itself has not yet provided any money to outlets. Part of that package includes a refundable journalism labour tax credit for media outlets, calculated at a rate of 25 per cent of a newsroom employees salary (for a maximum credit of $13,750 per employee per tax year.) The outlet must first be designated a qualifying journalism organization by an independent panel, but according to Cox at the Canadian News Media Association, designations have yet to be made despite outlets applying for it. Its taken an interminably long time to get the program moving, Cox said. (The government has said that the first eligible news organizations will find out about their designations this spring with payments following in the summer. Cox believes cheques will only begin arriving in at least September.) Meanwhile, cash flow problems at media outlets, particularly newspapers, continue to worsen as a result of the pandemic. The government has yet to make any media-specific announcements as a result of COVID-19, aside from a $30-million national ad campaign about the pandemic that has been slow to roll out to newspapers. Cox said some of the criticism that media companies, particularly newspapers, were slow to adapt to the digital age was fair in the past, but not so much today, arguing every company now wants to change as fast as possible. Most media takes pride in being independent and never looks to government for support, said Cox, who has worked in the industry for more than 30 years. But the pace of change has been so rapid and we require the governments help. Last week, the publishers of Canadas major newspapers, including the Toronto Star, published an open letter urging the federal government to mandate digital giants Google and Facebook who now control the bulk of advertising dollars to provide compensation to media outlets for using their content, pointing to similar measures being discussed in Australia and France. The producers of news carry most of the costs and gain only a small portion of the revenue, whereas the distributors of this content gain the lions share of the revenue and have almost none of the costs, Edward Greenspon, former editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail and president and CEO of the Public Policy Forum, said in an interview with the Star. So we need to rebalance that if we believe that the production of original news is a social good. And if you didnt believe it was a social good before COVID-19, I would hope that you believe it now. Facebook declined the Stars request for comment, while Google did not respond. Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault acknowledged in a statement to the Star that certainly, the Canadian newspaper industry has long suffered in the competition for advertising against web giants like Google and Facebook, but did not respond directly to the calls from Canadian newspaper publishers. He highlighted that media outlets are eligible for COVID-related government initiatives such as the 75 per cent emergency wage subsidy for workers. Greenspon studied the financial situation facing media in his 2017 report The Shattered Mirror: News, Democracy and Trust in the Digital Age. He pointed out that Canadian daily newspapers were making about $2.5 billion in ad sales until the 2008 recession, which dropped to about $950 million a decade later. Among the reports recommendations were calls for a system transferring funds from sites with digital advertising that dont invest in journalism to the producers of original news, which Greenspon pointed out does not mean just newspapers. His report argues the fund would be similar in principle to the Canada Media Fund, which distributes money to Canadian TV and digital industries and receives funding through a five-per cent levy imposed on cable and satellite distributors. University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist, a critic of the idea of having the digital giants pay media companies, said such a proposal raises a number of questions including: Who would be eligible to be compensated? What would qualify for compensation? Simply posting a link to a news story, or also a description? If we believe theres a public interest in local journalism then I think the public ought to pay for it or help support it through tax dollars, said Geist, who specializes in media and internet issues. But thats not the same as saying we want a couple of foreign companies to pay. A poll conducted in 2016 for the Shattered Mirror report found that seven out of 10 people completely or mostly trust their newspapers, radio and television, while 15 per cent said they trust news acquired via social media. Greenspon highlighted that the need for reliable news is greater than ever due to the onslaught of information some real, some fake sparked by COVID-19. As just one example, he pointed to the conspiracy that has flourished online that the virus is caused by the 5G cell network. There have been incidents of people being arrested for setting fire to cell towers in recent weeks, leading to condemnation from leaders including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Pugliese believes there are stories that would simply not have been told these last six weeks without journalists. I think theyve done a damn fine job in giving a voice to people who would otherwise be missed and that includes Indigenous people, people in homeless shelters, senior citizens in homes. These are stories where real accountability was needed in order to save lives, as well as to get information out to help people keep their families safe, she said. There are probably stories that we missed, not being as robust as we once were. But you wouldnt want to go through a pandemic like this again without journalism. You just wouldnt. At the Aylmer Express, Hueston said his biggest obstacle remains the post office and its pre-pandemic delays in getting his paper out to readers. He says things are otherwise holding up, but its hard to know what the future holds given the unpredictability of the virus and as other papers continue to close all around him. He said one thing that they have going for them is a reputation for accuracy and credibility, and without that, youre in the wrong business. I think as a sort of forum that reflects the community on a weekly basis, this newspaper is all you need to know about this territory this week. It helps organize your life, Hueston said I dont think anyone would question our heart toward the community, and I think as long as you have that base, youve got a chance. Read more about: Community Responds Overwhemingly to BHERC Operation Love Union Rescue Mission Drive The Black Hollywood Education and Resource Center (BHERC) continues to provide vital support to organizations that care for the homeless. Many that have been adversely impacted and expanded by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this growing need, BHERC held its second Operation Love drive for essential hygiene goods for the homeless residents of the Union Rescue Mission Sunday, May 3, 2020. BHERC made a clarion call to members of the Los Angeles community. The answer was resounding and overwhelming. People from all walks of life and ages, some walking up, but most driving came at a steady pace to make their contribution from across the Southland. Fifty members of the Los Angeles Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. arrived in mass with their contributions to the drive. While Production Coordinator, Larry Chatman, Record One continued his support of the BHERC Operation Love campaign with funding and 500 toiletry items for the drive. Overall efforts of the day resulted in more than 30 large boxes filled with essential new, wrapped personal hygiene toiletries that included items such as: soap, shampoo, toilet paper, toothbrushes, deodorant, detergent, toothpaste and lotion. Donations also included socks and undergarments. Volunteers from BHERC were on hand from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM to collect items from donors car side and to prepare the donations for pick up by the Union Rescue Mission. The COVID 19 pandemic has decimated our food pantries and organizations that provide services to the homeless and underserved Angelenos. BHERC Operation Love is committed to continue to support and broaden its campaign to enlist the support of others, stated Sandra Evers-Manly, president BHERC. BHERC Operation Love has two events scheduled for the coming weekend. On Saturday, May 9, at 5:00PM PST BHERC will host a special online Pre-Mothers Day Celebration event to celebrate nurses and healthcare workers on the frontlines of the battle to combat the COVID-19 pandemic who are mothers as well as all mothers. An Evening of Love features music and spoken word and tributes from voices on the ground in the community. Expressions from those who wish to express gratitude and sentiments of care and appreciation for the diverse roles mothers play today. Whether traditional or nontraditional, this event celebrates mothers with roles that impact all levels of society. Critical roles important and vital part to helping the nation meet the ever-changing physical, economical, and spiritualchallenges this unprecedented health crisis has created. On Sunday May 10, in the Los Angeles area targeted towards seniors and those with underlying health conditions who have been extremely impacted and need assistance. BHERC Operation Love will provide a Mothers Day meal and gift basket of essential items for 500 seniors. Many of those selected to receive the Operation Love meals and gift baskets are Mothers that are retired nurses, caregivers, community civic and organizational leaders that have labored in the community for many years. Many who have in some way or another added to the betterment of Los Angeles over the decades. Supporters of BHERC Operation Love include The Los Angeles Sentinel, Lawrence Tolliver, Tollivers Barbershop, Barbershop Health Outreach Program Dr. Bill Releford, Founder, Mothers in Action, Tracy Mitchell, President and Larry Chatman, Production Coordinator, Record One Studio. ADVERTISEMENT For May 9,, Mothers Day Celebration Zoom Event register online by 3:00 PM PST at www.bherc.org. For more information about BHERC email [email protected] or call 310.284.3170 or 213.400.3489. #BHERCOperationLove #Strongertogether (Photo : DANIEL BECERRIL/REUTERS) Recovered patients are encouraged to rejoin the public as one study claims it could help mitigate the spread of coronavirus. Recently, a group of researchers from the Los Alamos National Laboratory claimed that a new and now-dominant strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus or the novel coronavirus had been discovered, and it's more contagious than the original. However, is this really the case? Is the Novel Coronavirus Really Mutating? According to a report by Newsweek, experts said that there is no evidence that the virus has significantly changed ever since the coronavirus pandemic began and that mutations are common and inconsequential for these organisms. Mutations happen when the virus, such as the novel coronavirus that brings COVID-19, makes copies of their genetic data to replicate, which then causes small changes to its genetic information. The problem is, "mutations" have been mischaracterized in pop culture, according to a study published in Nature Microbiology, giving unnecessary fear to the public. A bioinformatician from the Centre for Virus Research at the University of Glasgow, Oscar MacLean, told the news outlet: "Virus mutations are a guaranteed and unavoidable feature of viral replication, and while it's important to monitor them, they should not be of concern." He did confirm that the COVID-19 virus is mutating, and they have actually documented a total of 7,237 mutations. However, a mutation has to be extremely significant for a new strain of the coronavirus to be officially declared, and as of now, there is no evidence that it has happened to the virus. Read Also: Coronavirus: French Doctors Found Evidence of Early COVID-19 Case a Month Earlier Than First Reported Case Mutations and Strains MacLean also cautioned both the public and researchers with how they describe these new "types" of the novel coronavirus as these terms can be overly suggestive. "By the definition of possessing unique mutations, we would have thousands of 'strains' of SARS-CoV-2. However, these viruses are all expected to be functionally very similar, and so it's somewhat meaningless to use this definition." In addition, the consensus among these experts is that there is only one strain of the COVID-19 virus and that it's changing rather slowly. MacLean also addressed the research by the Los Alamos National Laboratory and said that it doesn't mean there are already two strains and that one of them is more contagious and that their claims, which were based on computational models, will have to be verified in lab studies using virus samples. Should Recovered Patients Rejoin the General Public? Speaking of studies, another study has been released, stating that people who have recovered from COVID-19 should be encouraged to rejoin the general public and provide "shield immunity." According to the Daily Mail, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology said that the immunity of the recovered patients would help slow down the contagion. In theory, it would help reduce the transmission and spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. With more recovered patients along with the general public, infected people will have more interactions with them and would make it impossible for the virus to propagate, which would then help quash the R0 or the number of people that an infected person could pass the virus to. However, the study's findings are based on several assumptions that scientists can't guarantee for now. Nevertheless, they said that shield immunity is different from herd immunity, a strategy that is frowned upon by both experts and the general public. Read Also: [VIDEO] CORONAVIRUS: Social Distancing Not Enough With 6 Feet As New Footage Shows COVID-19 Can Spread Up To 12 Feet Through Coughing 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The proposal offers an opportunity for national action at a time when President Trump has largely left states on their own. Localities are diverse and idiosyncratic enough that it can be easier for those on the ground to see whats needed than for someone far away in Washington. But its abundantly clear that at the moment whats needed, for everyone, is more. Standing up a ready-to-go cadre of Americans who can be deployed anywhere across the country would be instrumental in serving areas where staffing is relatively scarce and sickness is spreading not only now but also in the many months ahead. Last Sunday marked 50 days of lockdown in Spain. Back on day five of our State of Alarm I wrote that I thought it would last for weeks, if not months and that we were in this for the long haul. I am happy that I accepted it so early on because I cannot imagine anything worse than waiting every day to hear when the current situation will end; that must be soul-destroying. With a book to finish writing and a few to finish reading, living in a secure farmhouse in a beautiful region, isolating with a positive and resourceful partner, the last person I worried about physically or mentally, was myself. Unfortunately, after just two weeks I began to feel unwell, and I suffer bouts of chronic fatigue since. In strict lockdown the one thing a person has in abundance is time. And Im used to full health and energy (apart from the periodic effects of chronic insomnia, but thats a whole other story), to now be prevented from spending these wonderfully long days doing what I want, whether that be physical or creative work, is torture. However, I always get comfort from knowing how lucky I am, relative to the worlds population. I have been able to adjust my activities, and crucially, my expectations to match the amount of energy I awake with each day. I havent been waiting for lockdown to end, preferring patience and a pleasant surprise to come, over the dashing of hopes. I only wished for a diagnosis, and with that, a possible end date to my health issue and a return to normal lockdown, which was full of learning new skills, growing food, being creative, reading and connecting virtually with family and friends abroad. The pandemic is out of my control, what happens within and around me, is largely in my control, and that is empowering. A STRANGE NEW WORLD Because our village doctors office is closed for the duration of lockdown, last week Alan had to drive me to a medical centre to get a doctors prescription. Armed with a document stating the reason for this otherwise banned trip, we left the farm together for the first time in six weeks. It felt rebellious, liberating, and timely; no doubt I am suppressing some feelings of entrapment. Although I stay up-to-date with regional and world events, I have been living in something of a bubble, distanced from the practicalities of living through the pandemic. On the way to town, I stared out at the near-empty roads for the first time, feeling like I was looking at press images online. When I entered the medical centre I was given hand sanitiser and a face mask - my first time to wear one since living in Japan in the nineties. While I waited to be seen I watched a nurse kit out a doctor. The process of putting PPE on top of his existing layer of PPE took so long that I thought it was a learning exercise for one or both. After twenty minutes the doctor shuffled into a consultation room and greeted his patient. I was shocked at this tiny glimpse into the realities of working with virus risks. Once my prescription was sorted I asked the doctor if it was possible for somebody to get a coronavirus test. He laughed so hard it was disconcerting, and then he said that even he has no chance of getting tested. Another piece of harsh reality for me to digest. I had no real expectation of a test for myself, I just thought it prudent to check. But I do find it difficult to understand how some countries, like Ireland, have drive-through centres by appointment, yet many Spanish doctors at the epicentre of Covid-19 cannot find out if they are carrying the virus. DE-ESCALATION May 2 was the first day that we were allowed to leave home together. We are now allowed to go for a walk of up to one kilometre for an hour. Its a laughably small amount for people used to 90-minute cycles or workouts but, because were still not allowed even to cycle this kilometre together, we jumped at the opportunity. Not because we cannot walk around the farm, but because it was a change of scenery, and more importantly, the only move in seven weeks towards the lifting of lockdown. We appreciated every step we took away from house, wallowed in the views of distant villages and hills, and salivated at the fruit trees weighed down with ripening cherries and Saturn peaches, wondering if the farmers would trade some for free-range eggs. The only people we met was a group of men pruning these trees in the afternoon heat. Last week we were still lighting the fire at night, now temperatures are in the early thirties. MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES The fact that we bypassed spring and went straight from winter to summer didnt help our lockdown situation for the first six weeks, but the sun is most welcome now and it arrived not one day too early. As a friend said, Say goodbye to SAD (season affective disorder) and hello to vitamin D. I have been concentrating on my survival physically and economically, and on the worlds ability to do likewise, now and in the coming years. But mental health issues are looming for all. In the US, prior to this pandemic, approximately a third of households owned a gun and there has been a spike in sales recently. According to a recent Guardian newspaper headline Experts warn increased access to firearms could leave deadly legacy, with suicides already two-thirds of gun-related deaths. Eric Fleegler, a physician and researcher at Boston childrens hospital told the paper: Theres little doubt that were gonna see increased rates of domestic violence. Theres little doubt that were gonna see increased rates of child abuse occurring. Theres little doubt that were going to see people get into socio-economically dire situations. The presence of guns takes any toxic environment like that and puts a higher risk on things. Grim reading, indeed. My boyfriend, Alan, is now wondering how much of his lethargy is due to a virus that he may also have, and how much life under lockdown might be affecting his state of mind. In his own words: Ive lived in a remote farmhouse for years and I quite enjoy being away from cities and people, dipping into society when I need to. So, the idea that I may be locked away for months didnt worry me; it would just be a continuation of my life, but with some shopping restrictions, right? If only. When the State of Alarm was declared it didnt occur to me what effect this might have on my mental health. We live six kilometres from the nearest town and we dont see another human for days at a time. Its bliss - until you are forced to live with it, and this difference is small but significant. Choosing to live a particular way, knowing you can have a break from it when you want to is very different from life under lockdown. That inability to do what I want is what affected me, and it wasnt until the restrictions were eased recently that I realised this. Over the weeks I have become less energised, less enthusiastic about doing things that I had enjoyed; now they were suddenly being avoided. Wanting to sit and pass the time scrolling through websites at a speed that made everything blurry was how I wanted to get through each day. I was edgy, my muscles were tense and I wasnt sleeping well, probably because I wasnt doing anything. When we were finally allowed to go for a walk together, it took a lot for me to put on my walking shoes and go outside. At first it felt like a visit to the dentist - something that I had to do. But then my mood began to lift and I noticed how relaxed I was becoming. Strict lockdown affects us mentally. Its harsh, but necessary. It has prevented an immeasurable amount of deaths. But being told you cant do what you want feels like you are being punished for something you havent done. An injustice, a wrongful conviction. When we returned home I realised how lockdown was affecting my mental health. We spend our entire lives with choices in front of us, and we are too intelligent to suddenly be treated like battery hens for months at a time. For many, life pre and post-lockdown was more uncertain than our current restricted and controlled situation. We dont know what post-lockdown mid-pandemic issues face us in the coming months. But some people have flourished in adversity, with many upskilling or simply gaining confidence through the realisation that they have an abundance of coping skills after all. Earlier this week, British Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam said at a news conference that studying diseases across ethnic groups was complicated by a number of factors including age, underlying medical conditions, deprivation and geography but that the government was taking the issue seriously. "You'll have worked out that I'm from an ethnic minority group," he said at a Downing Street news conference, "and we will get to the bottom of this." The organising committee of The Kildare Derby Festival have regrettably decided to cancel the 2020 Kildare Derby Festival due to the coronavirus pandemic and the uncertainty as to when the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby will take place. The festival which was scheduled to take place between 19th to 28th June celebrates the running of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh each year. The committee have been closely monitoring the ongoing situation but said it had become clear that cancelling the festival is unavoidable and that their attention now would turn to making the 2021 Festival even bigger and better. Chairperson Orla Murtagh said: We are very disappointed that we have had to come to this decision but first and foremost we must consider everyones health and safety and our responsibility to do our part to slow and stop the spread of the virus. "We are very grateful for the support of our sponsors including Kildare County Council, The Curragh Racecourse and Paddy Power as well as our many local small businesses and look forward to working with them and our local community partners again next year. The festival has always been a fantastic week for the local community and the exciting enhancements made to the schedule of events last year helped attract visitors into the town from all over the country. The committee said the objective is to build on this success to ensure the community and local businesses in the town greatly benefit, and even with the potential of having to scale back events this year, the objective will be to stage a bigger and better festival in 2021. UPDATE: DAUGHTER DETAILS MOMENT SHE HEARD OF NURSES ALLEGED THEFT FROM COVID-STRICKEN DAD STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A nurse allegedly stole a credit card from a patient dying of coronavirus at Staten Island University Hospital, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the investigation. The 70-year-old male patient who lived on Staten Island died on April 12 from COVID-19, a law enforcement source said. Danielle Conti, 43, of Grace Drive in Old Bridge, N.J., was arrested and charged by police with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and petit larceny, according to a spokesman for the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information. Conti was employed as a nurse for SIUH when she removed a patients credit card while he was being treated and used that card to make purchases without permission, police allege. An unauthorized charge made after the patient died was discovered by a relative who was sorting through the mans finances after his death, according to a multiple sources. The incident was reported to cops on April 28, the police spokesman said. A list of items allegedly purchased was not immediately available, the police spokesman said. Conti has no prior arrests on record, according to a source. Danielle Conti has been temporarily suspended and faces termination in response to the felony charges," according to a statement from SIUH. "We are working closely with the law enforcement authorities and the hospital is conducting its own investigation. Ms. Conti has been an employee since 2007. Peel Region police have charged two more men with first-degree murder in the New Years Eve shooting death of a teenager in Brampton. Police say they received reports of a shooting just before midnight on Dec. 31, 2019 at Alderbury Crescent, near Bramalea Road and Balmoral Drive. Jordan Henry, 17, was found suffering from life-threatening injuries and died at the scene. Mohammed Shokri, 18, and Abdikadir Abdi, 20, both of Hamilton were arrested Wednesday and charged with first degree murder. Two people had already been arrested in January. Zakaria Hassan, 22, from Hamilton, was charged on Jan. 2 with first degree murder. Rukhshar Wahab, 20, from Kitchener, was charged with being an accessory after the fact. Investigators say there are no other suspects. Osobe Waberi is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @OsobeWaberi Read more about: A Cork man with over 100 previous convictions was caught with a length of timber trying to break into an apartment at Lower Glanmire Road in Cork at 11.20pm at night. Thomas OSullivan, aged 36, pleaded guilty yesterday at Cork District Court to a charge of causing criminal damage to the premises. Sergeant Gearoid Davis said gardai responded to a report of a man trying to kick in the front door of an apartment. Gardai arrived at the scene to find OSullivan of no fixed address with a length of timber in his hand and trying to force open a window. Sgt Davis said that the window was only slightly damaged. The sergeant said that eight of the defendants 127 previous convictions were also for causing criminal damage. This latest offence was committed on February 16. OSullivan was in custody since that time as he was arrested at the scene. Frank Buttimer, solicitor, said the accused was refused bail when he first appeared in court so had spent almost three months in custody. He said the accused was a chronic heroin addict but had reduced his Methadone intake as part of the treatment programme in prison and was also talking to a drug counsellor in prison. Judge Olann Kelleher said there had been a lot of tragedy in the defendants life with the untimely deaths of a number of family members. He is 36 and knows he cannot go on like this forever, Mr Buttimer said. Judge Kelleher said, He attempted to break into an apartment at 11.20 at night. It must be a frightening experience for people living in those apartments in that area. The judge imposed a six-month jail term backdated to when he went into custody. AMAG Austria Metall (VIE:AMAG) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 5.6% over the last month. However, in this article, we decided to focus on its weak fundamentals, as long-term financial performance of a business is what ultimatley dictates market outcomes. In this article, we decided to focus on AMAG Austria Metall's ROE. Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits. See our latest analysis for AMAG Austria Metall How Is ROE Calculated? The formula for ROE is: Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) Shareholders' Equity So, based on the above formula, the ROE for AMAG Austria Metall is: 6.9% = 43m 620m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2020). The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every 1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated 0.07 in profit. Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth? So far, we've learnt that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a companys earnings growth potential. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that dont share these attributes. AMAG Austria Metall's Earnings Growth And 6.9% ROE On the face of it, AMAG Austria Metall's ROE is not much to talk about. A quick further study shows that the company's ROE doesn't compare favorably to the industry average of 11% either. For this reason, AMAG Austria Metall's five year net income decline of 4.4% is not surprising given its lower ROE. We believe that there also might be other aspects that are negatively influencing the company's earnings prospects. Such as - low earnings retention or poor allocation of capital. Story continues That being said, we compared AMAG Austria Metall's performance with the industry and were concerned when we found that while the company has shrunk its earnings, the industry has grown its earnings at a rate of 21% in the same period. WBAG:AMAG Past Earnings Growth May 7th 2020 Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Has the market priced in the future outlook for AMAG? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report. Is AMAG Austria Metall Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits? With a high three-year median payout ratio of 73% (implying that 27% of the profits are retained), most of AMAG Austria Metall's profits are being paid to shareholders, which explains the company's shrinking earnings. The business is only left with a small pool of capital to reinvest - A vicious cycle that doesn't benefit the company in the long-run. Our risks dashboard should have the 2 risks we have identified for AMAG Austria Metall. Additionally, AMAG Austria Metall has paid dividends over a period of eight years, which means that the company's management is rather focused on keeping up its dividend payments, regardless of the shrinking earnings. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company's future payout ratio is expected to rise to 100% over the next three years. Regardless, the future ROE for AMAG Austria Metall is speculated to rise to 8.4% despite the anticipated increase in the payout ratio. There could probably be other factors that could be driving the future growth in the ROE. Summary Overall, we would be extremely cautious before making any decision on AMAG Austria Metall. The company has seen a lack of earnings growth as a result of retaining very little profits and whatever little it does retain, is being reinvested at a very low rate of return. Having said that, looking at current analyst estimates, we found that the company's earnings growth rate is expected to see a huge improvement. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page for the company. 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. Most hotels and resorts in Vietnam would resume operations in May with attractive promotions as the country was entering its post-pandemic recovery, Mauro Gasparotti, director of Savills Hotels Asia Pacific said. Tourists on Ca Na Beach, Ninh Thuan Province last weekend. Most hotels and resorts in Vietnam would resume operation in May with attractive promotions to encourage travelling after pandemic. - VNA/VNS Photo Cong Thu The tourism market would become busy again in the next few months and hotels and resorts should adjust their price policies and promotion programmes to support the recovery, he said. Competition would be harsh, requiring hotel and resort operators to race for exclusive experiences, innovations and promotions to attract tourists. Mauro said that the recovery would start when the social distancing measures began to be loosened. It is the local market that represents the first stage of recovery, Mauro said. According to Savills, following the Vietnamese Governments regulations on social distancing, the majority of hotels and resorts in Vietnam were closed but most were planning to reopen in May with attractive local promotions. However, people were likely to remain sceptical about flying and the safety of crowded airports so it might take a little longer to feel comfortable boarding planes, which bumped appeal for driving-distance destinations and making the likely short-term winners places like Vung Tau, Ho Tram, Mui Ne, Ha Long, Da Lat and Sa Pa. The second stage of recovery would be from overseas, once flight bans were lifted and connecting countries were considered safe. He said that China and the Republic of Korea would be the first to re-open because these were Vietnams main international guest source markets (accounting for more than 56 per cent of total international arrivals in 2019) and seeing steep reductions of COVID-19 infections. He added that Vietnams already global reputation for being safe was also encouraging the return of foreign arrivals and helping increase national appeal. The final stage was when the pandemic was successfully over, and global tourism returns to pre-COVID-19 travel policies. Once travel restrictions are fully lifted, we still see two major potential impacts: changes in traveller behaviour and the lingering effects of global economic slowdown, and both will require ongoing attention. However, with the global economic impact and evolution of the virus still uncertain, we cannot realistically anticipate full recovery until well into 2021, he said. Our outlook on Vietnams hospitality is unchanged, in fact seeing how the country comes together under crisis, its actually more positive, Mauro said. The perception of Vietnam as a safe, value for money and naturally beautiful destination are all major advantages post COVID-19 and confirms our belief the earliest possible recovery will happen right here. VNS Tourist destinations nationwide reopen their doors Tourists can now visit many tourist destinations which have re-opened since last weekend after the social distancing regulations have been eased. michelle goldberg Im Michelle Goldberg. frank bruni Im Frank Bruni. And this is The Argument. This week, will a third party candidate propel President Trump to another four years in the White House? Ross is still on leave, so Michelle and I asked Liz Mair to come on the show. Liz is a Republican strategist who has some thoughts on Justin Amash and whether hes a bigger threat to Biden or to Trump. liz mair I just think that the majority of voters like that, in my experience, theyre probably not going to be swinging any actual elections. frank bruni Then, Zoom. The video conferencing platform is where were working and socializing these days. Its a godsend, but maybe also a soul killer. michelle goldberg I feel like every new technological innovation, my reaction is always, why would anyone ever do that? justin amash We want to give the American people more choices. This is about democracy. Its about representative government. frank bruni Last week Michigan congressman Justin Amash announced that hes considering a presidential bid as the Libertarian candidate. Since then, Democrats and Never Trump Republicans have been in a panic. Theyre worried that Amash, who changed his affiliation from Republican to Libertarian last year, could reelect Trump by siphoning just enough support from Joe Biden. But the impact of third party candidacies isnt easily measured or predicted, whether were talking about Amash this year, or Gary Johnson and Jill Stein in 2016, or Ralph Nader in 2000. Could Amash actually do as much damage to Trump as some fear he could do to Biden? Is the real, larger issue whether voters who dislike Trump will fall in line behind Biden or stay home no matter how many options are on the ballot? Michelle and I have asked Liz Mair to help us figure it out. She wrote a terrific piece in The Times about the threat of Amash and what she called the head exploding its causing on the right and the left. Liz is a political strategist. She supported Gary Johnson in 2016, and she has worked for Republicans as disparate as Rick Perry, Carly Fiorina, and Rand Paul. Liz, thanks so much for joining us. liz mair Thank you so much for having me. And I apologize in advance if you can hear some additional noise in the background. There seems to be somebody whos decided to break lockdown and go and mow their lawn in a very noisy fashion. frank bruni Well, thanks for warning us. So what do you think about Justin Amashs candidacy? liz mair I think overall, Justin Amashs candidacy is more likely to hurt Trump than it is to hurt Biden, although we are still talking about this in the month of May, and there are clearly many months to go until November, and its hard to predict what the election overall is going to look like at this stage. There are two things here. First of all, having worked for Gary Johnson well, not for his campaign, but I should say in support of him theres a certain amount of, I would say, more inside, hands on information that I have regarding what happened in 2016 and who he pulled votes from. And I think that thats indicative here because first of all, we have Amash possibly running on the Libertarian line, same as Gary Johnson. But also, Amash is probably, on social issues, a little bit further to the right of Gary Johnson. So there are a number of things that I think people need to be looking at here. So when you look at Amash, you know, Amash is somebody who is more socially conservative than Gary Johnson. That suggests that hes probably not going to be quite as appealing to people who would otherwise vote for Joe Biden, who maybe are more socially liberal. Probably is going to more be more appealing to people who, perhaps, really dislike Trump but dont like the Democratic partys leftward shift with regard to abortion in particular. And I think that youre going to see that he will pull more from Trump than he will from Biden. frank bruni Michelle, is your take the same, or do you have more concerns? michelle goldberg I mean, frankly, I think Liz knows more about this than I do. Im much more concerned about spoiler candidates on the left. Im very worried that theres going to be another big Green Party vote this time. I think you can see a lot of people on the left talking themselves into the idea that the differences between Biden and Trump are negligible, or that its somehow kind of morally suspect to try to decide between what you view as the lesser of two evils. I mean, I cannot believe its happening. Whether whats happening online translates into the real world is always anyones guess. If what was happening online was the real world, then Bernie Sanders would be the Democratic party nominee right now, although you do see some in the same way that, I think, the kind of left wing antipathy towards Hillary Clinton made people a little bit more hesitant to express strong support. Its why you had all those secret Hillary Clinton groups. I think you might see kind of a similar phenomenon, which is a real problem, when Joe Biden already has enthusiasm problems. So thats what Im really, really worried about. But I guess my question for Liz would be, I can understand Gary Johnson pulling more from Trump than from Hillary Clinton in 2016. But I guess my question is whether were in an analogous situation. Trump has really proved himself to a lot of people on the right who were suspicious of him in 2016. And also, my impression, although I could be wrong, is that Joe Biden is more acceptable to anti-Trump conservatives than Hillary Clinton was. And so Im wondering, are the dynamics of 2016 transferable to 2020? liz mair I mean, no election is 100% transferable to another, so I think your point is well taken. But a couple of points I would make about this. Yes, I think that there are people who didnt support Trump in 2016 who will be voting for him this time around. Some of them include, at least as stated, Erik Erickson, a very prominent conservative, evangelical conservative, somebody who has a radio show and a lot of influence. You have people like that whove stated that they will vote for Trump this time around. They will not be voting for a Democrat. They will not be voting third party. So they definitely exist. The counterpoint to that is, as we saw on the 2018 election, there were pretty clearly a lot of, I would say, white suburban women who, in 2016, were prepared to cast a vote for Trump because they just were so not sold on Hillary Clinton. She was such an unlikable candidate they just couldnt get there. They thought theyd take a chance. And in 2018 they migrated to voting for Democrats in a lot of house races, and some Senate races, too. So I think when you look at that, its very clear that Biden probably has a whole bunch of voters who, perhaps, in 2016, had been on the other side. He also has collected votes from a bunch of Never Trumpers who have not been able to persuade themselves to get on board with the president. So I think hes got hes got more to play with there. frank bruni So weve been talking about Justin Amash in terms of Gary Johnson. But if there was a third party candidate in 2016 who made a difference in terms of hurting Hillary Clinton, the argument is that candidate was Jill Stein. In all three of the states Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin that handed the electoral college to Trump, Jill Stein got more votes than was the difference in votes between Clinton and Trump. Michelle, you mentioned that youre more concerned about that kind of challenge from the left to Joe Biden in 2020. Do you see that happening and a candidate emerging, and do you think that could make a difference? michelle goldberg Well, I mean, the candidate, I guess is it Howie Hawkins who the Green Party is going to nominate? I actually dont think that the particular candidate matters so much as much as a determination to vote green. Were all stuck at home, which makes it harder to report these things out. That said, I do see a lot of people, people I wouldnt expect, making the kind of I wont vote for the lesser of two evil arguments that you saw a ton of in 2000, that Id always thought 2000 would have cured the left of that forever. You saw a little bit of it in 2016. And again, Im astonished that youre seeing it again. I think that its going to be up both to the Biden campaign with their VP pick and with some policy concessions, and also with the leaders of the left, to kind nip this electoral nihilism in the bud. But you do see it out there. frank bruni Liz, do you think it is possible this is still debated? I was just refreshing my memory by going and reading stuff from both 2016 and more recently. Do you think there is any argument to be made that Jill Stein had a consequentially negative effect on Hillary Clinton four years ago? And Michelle just mentioned 2000. Are you of the belief or not that Ralph Nader may have handed that election to George W. Bush? liz mair Well, I certainly think in 2016 Jill Stein being on the ballot, and people voting for her to the extent that they did, didnt help Hillary Clinton. But I would also suggest that people go and take a look at a piece that I wrote at The Bulwark that talks about third party candidates because I think that the evidence isnt quite as clear-cut, perhaps, as what were making it out to be. Ill also say, though, that in general in politics, I think there is a tendency for a lot of political commentators and people who write and cover politics to think about this in terms of peoples philosophy, and in terms of people voting for particular policies, as opposed to for personalities. And actually, the data that I have seen, and my personal experience, has suggested thats exactly the opposite. People have much more a tendency to pick a sort of avatar, and then conform their position and their electoral behavior to fit that avatar, than they do to voting on policy in a way that perhaps the three of us do, and is a very rational and logical way of doing it. But thats just not really how most voters behave. Ive heard some rumblings that some people on the Trump team think that it would be helpful if they could get Jesse Ventura to run as possibly the Green Party nominee instead. I actually think thats a guy who pulls quite a few Trump voters who might be disaffected coming out of this COVID-19 crisis. frank bruni Hey, Liz, when we talk about third party candidacies in general and swinging elections, arent we chasing answers that we can never really get our arms around? And what I mean by that is were often looking back and saying, OK, if those voters hadnt voted for Jill Stein, who did they say they would have voted for as a second choice? But we dont know that they would have voted, right? They might have stayed home. We dont know if they would be true in their behavior to what theyre saying. So we never, ever really definitively know what the impact of a third party candidacy is, do we? liz mair I think thats true. And I think thats true with a lot of polling in general. I mean, what youre saying is youre putting a lot of faith in data when at the end of the day, people dont actually always answer questions honestly. I mean, one of my favorite examples of this is theres a particular individual I know who considers himself a Republican. And when we were in, I guess it was 2009-2010, for some reason he ended up being on the call sheets of a bunch of pollsters who were asking questions about Obama and birtherism. This guy absolutely, absolutely does not believe that Barack Obama was born in Kenya and is not a natural born citizen. But just for cranks, every time he got one of those questions, he would absolutely say, Obama is a Muslim. He was born in Kenya. And I dont want to say that polls are always off because you have cranksters like that. But I do think that there is always an issue with people providing accurate data and accurate answers to pollsters. But yes, I think youre right. I think its hard to extrapolate from peoples, well, who would have been your second choice? You know, that sort of an answer, I think its hard to extrapolate what really would have happened if you hadnt had somebody on the ballot. frank bruni Michelle, I want to go back to a phrase that youve used, I think, a couple of times, which is the lesser of two evils phrase. And one of the concerns I have when someone like Justin Amash steps forward, and when the media gives him as much attention as were giving him and I think maybe its even a little too much is that it sends the message and this is, in part, Justin Amashs very message that those other two main party candidates are so very flawed, and that that really quickly and easily morphs into those other two main candidates from the big parties are equally flawed. And like you, my head explodes at the idea that there are Americans saying that Biden and Trump are equally flawed. But I worry that that enters the conversation in an even deeper way because of a candidacy like Justin Amashs. He is someone who voted hes I think the only non-Democrat in the House who voted for Trumps impeachment. He left the Republican Party over Trump. He obviously thinks Trump is a menace and a danger. Is his candidacy not an extravagance that we cannot afford? michelle goldberg I obviously think so. I think that what hes doing seems wildly irresponsible in a situation when youre coming into an election that is going to determine whether America continues to be, in any sense, a liberal democracy, or really whether it implodes into some sort of Mad Max hellscape, as it seems to be on the verge of doing right now. Its just the existential stakes of this election could not be higher. I cannot imagine anybody thinking that there to me, the way I sometimes think about it is, milk. I dont like to drink a glass of milk. I would rather drink almost anything else. But if somebody offers me a choice between a glass of milk and drinking from a sewer stuffed with the corpses of rats that have died, Im not going to say, well, I dont like either of those things. frank bruni Could you have made the choice any subtler than that, Michelle? I think you really made that a hard one. michelle goldberg But to me, that really is what the choice looks like, a way of thinking that it is morally superior to cast your vote for someone that you see as kind of morally impeccable without thinking at all, or kind of with disclaiming any sort of consequences of that vote. liz mair I would make the point that if we voted in a national popular vote, I think that Michelles concerns would be far more salient. But the fact that we do still use the electoral college yes, I think that there is a serious consideration that people who live in honest to god swing states are going to have to give to the question of whether they would rather have a pure candidate, or somebody who is pure like Amash, as opposed to Biden, who is, to use Michelles suggestion, sort of the milk candidate here versus Trump. I mean, I think if you live in I dont know, lets say Arizona. I think if you live in Arizona, you do have to think very carefully about how youre casting your vote this time because your vote could decide the whole election. For me, sitting in Connecticut, Connecticut is not voting for Donald Trump. I dont have any qualms about voting for Justin Amash and voting my conscience because I dont think that Trumps going to get anywhere close to Joe Biden in this state and put it in play. In 2016 in Virginia, I did a lot of analysis before I went to the polls and voted, and before I decided to sort of throw my lot in with Gary Johnson publicly, and I just could not see any way that Hillary Clinton was going to win Virginia by less than five points. And if you go back and you look at the results, thats basically what happened. And so I really honestly couldnt have voted for Hillary Clinton. I could vote for Joe Biden. If I were in a state that was very, very close, I probably would. michelle goldberg But youre not going to in Connecticut? liz mair Whats the point? I mean, hes going to win the state anyway, so in my view, I should vote for the person that best reflects my values, even if theres somebody else on the ticket who I think is OK, and then somebody else who I think is pretty abysmal. frank bruni Youre going to avail yourself of the luxury of Connecticut, in other words. liz mair Yes, well, thats what those of us living in Fairfield County generally like to do. We like to avail ourselves of luxuries. And while I am sitting here talking to you from a two-bedroom rented apartment, there is a luxury that Fairfield County affords me, and it is this one. So yes, I suppose I will be. frank bruni Lets leave the discussion there. Liz, thank you so much for joining us and for sharing with us your expertise and your candor. michelle goldberg Yeah, thank you. liz mair Absolutely. frank bruni After the break, to Zoom or not to Zoom? Michelle and I have mixed feelings about this unavoidable new presence in our lives. Hello, can you hear me now? michelle goldberg [SIGHS] Its like not doing anything when I click it. Let me see if I can cut and paste it. frank bruni Zoom video conferencing was once the domain of enterprise and techie types. But seemingly everyones doing it these days, from middle school teachers and e-moms to doulas and drinking buddies. We record most of the podcast on another platform, but since the medium is the message, were Zooming today. Its something that tens of millions of Americans have learned to do since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. michelle goldberg I should plug my headphones into my phone, right? frank bruni No, its connecting. It kicked me off and now its connecting. And see? See? This is what bugs me. michelle goldberg Its weird. It says Frank Bruni, but its black. frank bruni I can see Frank. I can see myself in the little corner up there. Its nice to see you, Michelle, but I also kind of hate it. Not Zooming with you, but Zooming at all. Its good for work, but Im starting to think its bad for the soul. michelle goldberg So first of all, Frank, I literally cant see you. OK, now I can see you. I feel like every new technological innovation, from Facebook onward, my reaction is always, why would anyone ever do that? Im like the chronic late adopter. And obviously, I hate these tools. But I actually find myself feeling occasionally comforted by them. On the one hand, theyre such poor substitutes for normal human contact. But as time goes on and on and on, there is something about seeing the faces of people that you really miss that I find really both comforting and incredibly bittersweet at the same time. I do say that when this is all over, I never want to do this again. I mean, not the pandemic. I never want to see this app again ever in my life. frank bruni But even though you say that, it sounds like it has, for the moment, worn you down. You see, I travel the opposite arc. Michelle, did you ever read one of my favorite funny essays was by Nora Ephron, and it was called The Six Stages of Email. Did you happen to ever read that, or do you remember it? michelle goldberg No, no. But I will. frank bruni Well, I mean, its very much like the way I feel about Zoom. She talked about how the first stage of email she was going back to when email was as new to us as Zoom is now and she was saying the first stage is infatuation, like, wow, look this amazing new tool. Who knew you could do things this way? And the last stage was basically, thats it, Im going back to the telephone. And thats where I am. Im literally telling people who want to do Zoom cocktails, OK, Ive had enough of that. Im going back to the telephone. And I think one of the points in the journey with it, where I just got lost, is I think I was Zoom cocktailing for the third time that week, or maybe the third time that night. Dont judge. Dont judge. michelle goldberg No, I think you have a more active social life than I do, clearly. I mean, I feel like I tried it a couple of times at the beginning at a time when people were, I dont know, maybe clinging more, and I was clinging more, to kind of a vestige of what my life was like before. But at this point, thats all just sort of faded away. frank bruni But I just I dont know that I have a more active social life. Maybe I just have a more active drinking life, which has nothing to be proud of. But just there would be that moment in the Zoom cocktail and I gotta say I cant even believe the phrase Zoom cocktail is now a neologism in our culture where everyone would raise their glasses and I would realize theres no clink. Theres no glass to clink to. Its a toast without a sound. And I kind of feel like thats a metaphor for all that Zoom doesnt do for us. michelle goldberg Well, the question, then, is is the kind of tiny simulacrum of normal social life a comfort, or is it just a reminder of all that weve lost? frank bruni Well, thats sort of like is the cup half empty or half full? And I guess when it comes to Zoom, for me the Zoom is half empty. michelle goldberg The one thing that we have done a couple of times, and I guess that were still doing, is Zoom play dates with our kids friends. And its really strange. Sometimes they sort of will get it, and fall into a rhythm, and be holding their toys up to the camera and inventing some sort of scenario. But oftentimes, you hear five-year-olds saying, what should we talk about? Or else kind of having no idea of how to end it. They sort of dont have any of the social skills to say, OK, Ive got to go. Bye. Theyll just sort of burn out and close the computer. frank bruni Youre actually edging up to the one thing I do like about Zoom. michelle goldberg What is that? Oh, that you can just end it. frank bruni If you dont have a premium account, and youre having a conversation with more than just two of you and I dont have a premium account or whatever its called Zip! Zoom cut you off. Zoom decided thats the amount of socializing youre entitled to, and now its time to move on. I like that part of Zoom. michelle goldberg You know, I think about all the times before this when I was invited to whatever a book party, a drinks thing and I was always like, I dont know. Im so tired. I have to get up. I kind of regret every social event that I flaked out on for the past however many years. frank bruni Since you mentioned Zoom cocktails, are there cocktails that you think pair especially well with Zoom or Skype or Facebook Live? We shouldnt we shouldnt leave the other platforms and options out of this. And should just be clear, were using Zoom as a particular and a metaphor. michelle goldberg So I guess, again, in keeping with the lassitude of everything, Ive just been drinking wine as opposed to kind of anything that takes two or more steps. How about you? frank bruni I have to admit Im right with you there. Kind of an ambient laziness has entered and enveloped my life, and that extends to yeah, if you can just pour it straight from a bottle. But I have to say many of the people I have Zoom cocktailed or Zoom un-happy-houred with, or whatever you want to say, Ive noticed that I really appreciate it when they have a colorful drink in hand for the same reason you like color in a TV program or a movie. So although Im not holding up my end of the deal with my rather dull, vapid glass of white wine, when someone holds something up to the camera that looks like an Aperol Spritz or god bless them, a Tequila Sunrise, I have to say, its a mood lifter. michelle goldberg OK. So Frank, I have a question for you. Do you think there will be Zoom cocktails on bar menus when we can finally be in bars again? frank bruni I think the bars that have almost gone out of business as people Zoomed are going to want that syllable as far from their consciousness as they can push it. So Michelle, we always end with a recommendation. Im going to put the big question on you. What is the recommendation that someone should derive from our lament? michelle goldberg I guess the recommendation would be, when this is all over, dont take for granted your chances to do all the things that were currently faking on Zoom. frank bruni So the recommendation is remember the things you missed and relish them, and never take them for granted again. Is that right? michelle goldberg Or just go to more bars is a different way to say that. frank bruni All right. Go to more bars. Thats our show this week. Thanks for listening, and thanks again to Liz Mair for joining us. Make sure to read her latest Op-Ed in The Times Is Justin Amash a Threat to Biden or to Trump? Also, if you want to read that essay by Nora Ephron, again its called The Six Stages of Email. If youre liking what youre hearing, leave us a rating or review in Apple Podcasts. Doing that helps other people find the show. The Argument is produced by James T. Green for Transmitter Media and edited by Sara Nics. Our Executive Producer is Gretta Cohn. We had help from Tyson Evans, Phoebe Lett, Paula Szuchman, and Michele Teodori. Our theme was composed by Alison Leyton-Brown. Enjoy your Zoom happy hours, and well see you back here next week. [MUSIC PLAYING] liz mair I hope people also understand that theres an element of sarcasm. So, yeah. frank bruni An expert with a US think tank said on Tuesday (May 5) that North Korea is heading towards the completion of a ballistic missile facility with the capacity to test-fire intercontinental ballistic missiles. Joseph Bermudez wrote in a report for the Center for Strategic and International Studies that the Sil-li Ballistic Missile Support Facility, which was "previously undisclosed," is very close to Pyongyang International Airport. Bermudez has based his conclusions are based on satellite imagery. "A new facility is nearing completion near Pyongyang International Airport that is almost certainly related to North Korea's expanding ballistic missile program," he wrote. "A high-bay building within the facility is large enough to accommodate an elevated Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile and, therefore, the entirety of North Korea's known ballistic missile variants." Bermudez claimed that North Korea started the construction of this facility in mid-2016 and the neew facility is located adjacent to an underground facility which is capable of fitting all known North Korean ballistic missiles, their associated launchers and support vehicles. "Significantly, the building has a 37-meter-by-30-meter elevated center section (i.e., a high-bay) that is high enough to allow for a Hwasong-14 or Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) on a TEL to be easily elevated into the firing position to allow for testing of both, as well as the training of maintenance and ground crews," the report said, referring to transporter-erector-launchers. According to Bermudez, these characteristics send a clear message that the facility has been designed to support ballistic missile operations of North Korea. "As such, it is another component of the North Korean ballistic missile infrastructure that has been undergoing both modernization and expansion during the past 10 years," he said. "While the precise function of the facility is unclear," he added, "its configuration and the size of its buildings and (underground facility) indicate that it can be used for the assembly of ballistic missiles from components delivered by rail from nearby ballistic missile component factories (e.g., Tae-sung Machine Factory, Mangyongdae Light Electric Factory), accommodate all known and anticipated North Korean ballistic missiles and their transporter-erector-launchers (TEL), mobile-erector-launchers (MEL) or transporter-erectors (TE) for depot-level maintenance, storage of ballistic missiles and their transporters, or any combination of these functions." Florian Schneider, one of the founders of Kraftwerk, the German band that revolutionised pop music through its embrace of synthesisers and electronic beats, leading to a broad influence over rock, dance music and hip-hop, has died. He was 73. In a statement, the group said Schneider had died from cancer "just a few days" after his birthday, which was April 7. Founded in Dusseldorf in 1970 by Schneider and Ralf Hutter, Kraftwerk emerged as part of the so-called krautrock genre a German branch of experimental rock that, among other things, explored extended, repetitive rhythms. German band Kraftwerk, with co-founder Florian Schneider at right. Credit:Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP, File But by the time of Kraftwerk's album Autobahn, released in 1974, it had become clear that the group had developed something even more elemental and extreme. The 22-minute title track, which took up the entire first side of the LP, began with a robotic voice intoning "autobahn," the German word for highway. It continued with buoyant, hypnotic synthesisers that conveyed a sense of gliding through a futuristic landscape, and lyrics that repeated, "Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn" ("We're driving, driving, driving on the highway"). Debt-ridden Pakistan is going ahead with its strategic USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, despite the country's further economic downturn due to the coronavirus crisis. "There is no political hindrance in its way. The project is Pakistan's future as well as a tangible reality and no compromise will be made on it," CPEC Authority Chairman Lt-Gen (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa told a group of journalists on Wednesday. The work for the completion of the project is in progress on a fast pace, he said. Pakistan takes decisions in its interest and there should be no doubt that the CPEC project "is in the best interest of the country" and "no external pressure will be accepted", the Express Tribune quoted Bajwa as saying. India has objected to the CPEC -- a planned network of roads, railways and energy projects linking China's Xinjiang province with Pakistan's Gwadar Port -- as it is being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The US has also been critical of the ambitious infrastructure project for being non-transparent. It has said that firms blacklisted by the World Bank have got contracts, which will increase Pakistan's debt burden. Cash-strapped Pakistan, which is grappling with the economic fallout triggered by the coronavirus crisis, has approached several multilateral donors for additional funds to fight the pandemic and its economic implications. The COVID-19 cases in the country have crossed 24,000, while the death toll has jumped to 564. Last month, Pakistan received an emergency loan of USD 1.39 billion from the International Monetary Fund to boost its foreign exchange reserves. This fund was in addition to the USD 6 billion bailout package that Islamabad had signed with the global money lender in July last year to stave off a balance of payment crisis. The World Bank has earlier approved USD 1 billion and the Asian Development Bank USD 1.5 billion for Pakistan to keep its economy afloat. During his interaction with the journalists, Bajwa said the working plan of both the routes from Khunjrab to Gwadar has been completed and the remaining link routes will be added into the plan in the next few months. "The second phase of this multibillion-dollar project is crucial for the development of the country and construction work will soon be started," said Bajwa, who is also the Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information. Gwadar's development projects have been included in the second phase. Describing the projects in the second phase of the CPEC, Bajwa said, "Special emphasis is on agriculture, industries, trade, and science and technology sectors." He said the highest priority was to make functional the economic zones in four provinces -- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. Bajwa served as the head of the army's media wing when General Raheel Sharif was the army chief. He was appointed as head of the CPEC Authority last year and given additional portfolio of Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information last month to help improve government ties with media. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A writ petition was filed before the Calcutta High Court on Thursday challenging a notification issued by the West Bengal government to appoint city mayor Firhad Hakim as the chairperson of the board of administrators of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). The petition by one Sharad Kumar Singh, a resident of the city, claimed that the country's Constitution does not allow any elected member to continue in office for more than the stipulated period of five years and, as such, Hakim's appointment was illegal. Singh, in his plea, said the state government had on May 6 illegally appointed the members of outgoing mayor-in- council and the mayor of the KMC as members and chairperson of the civic body's board of administrators respectively. Seeking quashing of the notification, the petitioner claimed that there was no provision for appointment of administrator in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act. The high court, which is currently hearing only very urgent matters over video conferences amid the coronavirus- triggered lockdown, is scheduled to sit next on May 12. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Westerly, RI (02891) Today Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy in the afternoon. High 46F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies and rain later during the night. Snow may mix in late. Low 32F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Ludhiana residents have criticised Punjab governments move to increase petrol and diesel prices by 2 per litre each, stating it was extra burden on them amid the Covid-19 crisis. Petrol is now available at 69.99 per litre, while diesel will be sold at 62.56 per litre. Amandeep Singh, a city-based advocate, though welcomed the decision by Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Rajasthan to increase the excise duty on liquor, condemned the Punjab government for increasing the fuel prices. Liquor is not a necessity, but people need fuel to commute to work or even buy groceries. The tax on liquor is justified, but hike in fuel prices will hurt the common man, said Amandeep. Davinder Singh, a counsellor at Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) Centre of Ludhiana civil hospital, said the hike in fuel prices will burden providers of essential services the most. If the government has increased the fuel prices, it should also provide proper facilities to health workers and other government staff, who are risking their lives daily. Many health workers are still working without safety gear, while the contractual staff are not even covered under the government insurance, Davinder said. Gurjit Singh, a Model Town-based grocer, criticised the government for burdening the middle class. The lockdown has not stopped electricity bills, monthly rent, school fees, EMIs or phone bills for us. People are still somehow managing it when all the economic operations are shut. Though the government had announced some relaxations for the economically weaker section (EWS), the middle class are on their own. Such hike will only make our lives miserable, Singh said. DISASTROUS MOVE, SAYS INDUSTRIALISTS Gurmeet Singh Kular, president of the Federation of Industrial and Commercial Organisation (FICO), said the hike in fuel prices will only make it difficult for the industry to get back on track. Although the industries here are gradually restarting their operations, some decisions made by the government will definitely make their revival difficult. The fuel hike will have damaging consequences for the industries, which are already struggling due to shortage of labourers who are being sent back home. We condemn both the decisions of the government, he said. Rajasthan has now turned its focus on super spreaders to contain Covid-19 infections in Jaipur, a top government official said Thursday. According to the government data, out of the 33 districts in Rajasthan, Jaipur has the maximum of 1,099 Covid-19 cases. Till date around 30,761 samples have been taken in Jaipur and 52 of Covid-19 patients in the district have died. After finding over 10 positive cases of super spreaders (fruit and vegetable vendors) in the city recently, the district administration has aggressively started taking random samples. Our major focus is now on super spreaders such as vegetable vendors, dairy booths, grocery and medical shops these are the direct points of interaction. Many incidents in past few days have come up where the vegetable vendor had spread the infection, said Ajitabh Sharma, Principal Secretary, department of energy and nodal officer for Jaipur. Click here for full Covid-19 coverage. Contact tracing is difficult in such cases because vendors are mobile, he added. Aggressive random sampling has been started to check super spreaders with vegetable vendors being the first to be checked since they are mobile. Subsequently, we will cover dairy booths, grocery and medical shops which are stationary, Sharma said. He said there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of fruit and vegetable sellers after many people who were in other trades also started selling fruits and vegetables. The officer said that there is a higher risk of infection since a large number of people come in contact with the vendors who have no fixed routes and which makes contact tracing difficult if a positive case is found among them. Over 150 first contacts of super spreaders have been quarantined. The administration has now devised a way to monitor the vendors. In view of this, the number of vendors has been limited for every ward and they have to wear caps issued by Municipal Corporation, wear masks and carry sanitizer, he said. The number of vendors has also been limited across the city to 10 in each ward. To distinguish them, caps of different colours have been given to vendors permitted in inner and outer walled city. Out of around 3,000 vendors 1,050 are now permitted to sell. Those selling inside the walled city will wear multi-coloured cap and those outside will wear white, he said. A separate team of doctors are testing them and monitoring them. Chief Medical and Health Officer, Narrottam Sharma said till date around 1,200 samples of super spreaders such as vegetable vendor and grocery store people have been taken and a dozen of them have tested positive. Amid the increasing number of cases, the positive news is that out of the total 1099 Covid-19 cases in Jaipur, 604 have recovered and 461 have been discharged. The number of active cases is now 443. Hyderabad, May 7 : Three migrant workers were among 15 people who tested positive for Covid-19 in Telangana on Thursday, taking the state's tally to 1,122. This is the first time that migrants have tested positive in the state. This came to light during screening of migrant workers before their travel by train to their home states. The authorities had found suspected symptoms among the migrants and sent the samples for testing. They were admitted to a hospital. The remaining 12 cases were all reported from Greater Hyderabad, the worst affected among all the districts. According to the Director of Public Health and Family Welfare, 45 people were discharged from hospital on Thursday. With this, the number of those discharged rose to 693. The state now has 400 active cases. No deaths were reported Thursday and the toll remains 29. The warning that I would be expelled from Egypt began with a few simple words. They just want to see your visa, a British embassy official told me on March 18, passing on a message from Egyptian security officials at the countrys visa and immigration office. I knew what that meant: Other journalists had been called to the same authority to have their visas revoked. Later that day, the British official called me again as I sheltered in a hotel room, after a lawyer advised me to flee my apartment in case it was raided by police. The security services had spoken to the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which had passed a second message to the British embassy. Theyre asking you to leave, he said. The wording was deceptively polite; this was a command, not a request. The three branches of the Egyptian security services are the backbone of a sprawling, fearsome state. Defying them by remaining in the country any longer than I had to meant risking arrest. I dodged the meeting at the visa authority by sending a lawyer in my place, after officials at the German embassy in CairoIm a dual nationalwarned me I could be arrested or deported there. We think its best you get on a plane, they said. JUST A FEW DAYS PRIOR, Id reported for the Guardian that Egypt likely had more coronavirus infections than the countrys official total. As part of my reporting, I cited a group of scientists from the University of Toronto who modeled the likely size of the outbreak in Egypt, estimating that the country had between 6,270 and 45,050 cases, with a median of 19,310, as of early Marcha time when the countrys official total was just three cases. I also cited doctors and pharmacists experiences, as Egypt has an overwhelmingly young population, which is less likely to show serious symptoms. At the time of writing, at least 97 tourists had left Egypt and tested positive for COVID-19 upon returning home, a problem the Egyptian government still has few answers to. The Egyptian health ministry repeatedly labelled a Taiwanese tourist as the source of the outbreak in Luxor, then provided no further explanation after Taiwans Centre for Disease Control refuted this entirely. The number of infected people has become a metric for evaluating the Egyptian governments control of the disease; the possibility that more people could be infected has become almost blasphemous in the eyes of the authorities. Even now, as confirmed COVID-19 cases in Egypt top 7,000, the size of the outbreak remains an inflammatory subject, with fear and nationalist pride working alongside a state that is practiced at concealing information. Egypt is frequently cited as one of the worlds greatest violators of press freedom, ranked 166th out of 180 countries on the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index. Journalists, both foreign and local, work in a claustrophobic environment where a web of opaque government bureaucracy impedes even simple reporting activities, like interviews in the street. Currently, more than 500 websitesmany of them connected to news outletsare blocked inside the country. Citizens are routinely detained on charges of spreading rumors and fake news, including about COVID-19; the countrys public prosecutor recently warned that those accused of spreading false news about the virus face steep fines and up to five years in prison. According to Amnesty International, at least twelve people have already been detained in a crackdown on information around COVID-19. They include Atef Hasballah, the editor of news site AlkararPress, who was bundled into the back of a police van and arrested on suspicion of joining a terrorist organisation after questioning the health ministrys official infection count on his Facebook page. NEW AT CJR: After violence in Delhi, journalists face new dangers Sign up for CJR 's daily email There is no direct evidence of a cover-up in Egypt, but there is also little transparency about the outbreak and the governments response. The key to an understanding of the true infection rate anywhere in the world is testing, yet there is little clarity about this in Egypt. At a March 18 press conference, Jean Yaacoub Jabbour, who heads the World Health Organization in Cairo, said Egypt had tested 3,015 people. A week later, Hala Zayed, Egypts health minister, claimed the government had tested 25,000 people. Jabbour recently chastised Egypt, saying the country needs to test more people in order to effectively combat the spread of the virus. As of late April, the health ministry said Egypt has PCR tested 90,000 people in totalless than half of its technical capacity, per the WHO. Almost every country in the world likely has a higher rate of COVID-19 infections than the number of confirmed cases, often due more to disorganization rather than a deliberate cover-up. Even the Pentagon has admitted the number infected personnel is likely an undercount. One study from Columbia University said that for every confirmed case, another five to ten undetected infections exist. My story, and the University of Toronto study, sparked outrage. This was more than angry phone calls from government officials, or the smattering of threatening tweets Id received in the past. It appeared to be a coordinated campaign, one where publicly condemning my journalism had a political purpose. Egyptian media, dominated by pro-government talk-show hosts and columnists decried the reporting. An army of online trolls attacked the Guardian under the hashtag lies of the Guardian. Alaa Mubarak, the son of former president Hosni Mubarak, described what he termed the Guardian virus as no less dangerous than the coronavirus. The hashtag "Lies of the Guardian" (in arabic)is trending in #Egypt. The tag appears artificially inflated by the regular cast of govt twitter trolls. Instead of actually responding to an intl health crisis, Egypt's govt decides to slander professional journalists online. Joey Shea (@joey_shea) March 16, 2020 The same nationalist rage stalked the University of Toronto study and its authors. Days after Id interviewed the scientists who published the epidemiological modelling, Dr Isaac Bogoch from the group tweeted the groups findings on Egypt as he flew home from work in the United Arab Emirates to his family in Canada. The tweets set off a firestorm really quickly, within a matter of hours, Bogoch told me later. Some tweets verged on physical threats, and mentioned his location. By the time he arrived home in Canada, a group of 73 Egyptian scientists had written to the University of Toronto to demand the institution investigate Bogoch. The letter calls Bogochs work with his colleagues an irresponsible piece of informationthat recently caused a significant panic across Egypt and may have severe economic consequences. The university began an investigation, which later absolved the group of any wrongdoing. Just a day after his return, Bogoch was forced to call the police to his family home to address death threats he received. Ive never had a response like this whatsoever, Bogoch, whose work was ultimately published in the Lancet, told me later. Bogoch and the group published similar modelling for the United States, Italy, Iran, and the United Kingdom, and provided some of the first research on the spread of COVID-19 from China. His team had carefully followed ethical practices after completing their research, informing the World Health Organization before making their data available to the publica common practice, particularly during a public-health crisis such as this one. A group of scientists from Egypts health ministry, including Hala Zayed, published a response in the Lancet in late April, using a different model to assess the rate of COVID-19 infections at the end of March, when Egypt had 710 confirmed cases. We acknowledge that, in the absence of open screening, this could be an underestimation of the total number of patients and an overestimation of the fatality rate, they said. They estimated that the number of positive COVID-19 infections at the time could be in the range of 7105241 patients. Bogoch emphasized that his groups research findings are apolitical statements. There was no implication from similar studies the group did on Iran, the US, or elsewhere that their work was intended as anything more than what it wasa model about the potential burden of cases. Still, he told me, Wed be blind to ignore the overlap between public health, economics, and socio-political issues. We try to stay on the public health side as much as possible. But of course people standing more in the sociopolitical realm select data according to their beliefs. THE DAY AFTER my story was published, I was summoned, along with Declan Walsh of the New York Times, to the headquarters of Egypts State Information Service, the main government organ that handles the media. During the course of a nearly four-hour meeting, Diaa Rashwan, the head of SIS, demanded repeatedly that the Guardian retract the story, and that I publish a personal apology. Spokespeople from many Egyptian ministries have years of practice at ignoring contact from reporters. Few are more practiced than Khaled Megahed, who represents the health ministry and who later branded my reporting a disgrace to health. While I mentioned that Megahed wasnt available for comment in my original report, Rashwan demanded to know why I hadnt cited the WHO, which routinely refers requests for comment back to Megahed. Rashwan dodged any question of why Megahed never responds to calls, and why Jabbour also never answered the phone. In an effort to portray my reporting as irresponsible, Rashwan repeatedly claimed the WHO denied the findings. In fact, the WHO stated it was unable to verify the methodology used in the University of Toronto studyunsurprising, given the nature of the WHOs work. Days later, in an online press conference, Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, the WHO director for the Eastern Meditarranean region, mentioned media coverage of countries not reporting true case numbers, stressing that the nature of COVID-19 means that only severe cases seek medical care. As a result, he said, it is almost entirely the severe cases that are captured in disease surveillance systems. But it is probable that in all the countries in the world, there are many mild cases that are not identified. Rashwan had printed out a grainy picture of Dr. Bogoch, and waved it around in a gesture of anger as he dismissed Bogochs credentials, as well as the credibility of the entire University of Toronto. Who is this scientist? He only has a masters degree! he crowed, overlooking the fact that MD stands for a higher degree in medicine. He demanded to know why we had cited these scientists, and not others whose work might have proved more favorable to the Egyptian governments version of events. Walsh was, in the parlance of a later SIS press release, warned about his decision to tweet the University of Toronto study. Rashwan accused us of spreading panic about COVID-19. The next day, SIS revoked my press card. The spread of COVID-19 has become a political issue around the world. But in undemocratic countries, amidst a desire to control information as much as the disease, scientists, doctors, and journalists are frequent targets. Authorities in Venezuela, Iran, and Belarus have detained journalists or prevented them from publishing due to their COVID-19 reporting. China expelled dozens of American reporters in an ongoing dispute with the Trump White House about journalism credentials, taking the opportunity to do so while the world is distracted with the virus. Accusations of spreading panic, or use of laws criminalising fake news, are also common, as in Egypt and Turkey, where citizens have been detained on these charges. A Chinese doctor was detained and reprimanded for spreading false rumours about the coronavirus; he was forced to sign a confession that he had seriously disrupted social order, shortly before he died of COVID-19. Turkmenistan went as far as to simply ban the word coronavirus, as though this alone could remove the spread of disease. In Iraq, the government banned the Reuters news agency from operating in the country on April 3, after the outlet published reporting citing five sources including health ministry officials claiming that the country has a higher infection rate of COVID-19 than the official figure. The government also issued a $21,000 fine while accusing the news agency of endangering public safety and hindering government efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19. It demanded a public apology to the government and the people of Iraq. Reuters stood by the story, adding in a statement that the agency is seeking to resolve the matter andworking to ensure we continue to deliver trusted news about Iraq. A day after the heated meeting at SIS, I was summoned to appear at 9pm at the Cairo press center where journalists normally receive accreditation. Mohammed Emam, the head of the press center, presented me with an embossed folder containing two letters signed by Diaa Rashwan. The first one, addressed to me, detailed the removal of my accreditation. The second, addressed to Katharine Viner, the editor-in-chief of the Guardian, listed my alleged misconducts, including deliberate exaggeration and search for topics that offends the situations [sic] in Egypt. In return I supplied a letter from the Guardian, offering Diaa Rashwan the chance to publish a response to my article. Emam was unusually contrite, offering me chocolate and a rare sense of camaraderie. Under normal circumstances, he represents journalists point of interaction with the Egyptian security services, who are more interested in denying accreditation and muzzling the press. Yet his demeanor suggested he understood the gravity of the situation and how it would play internationally. You saw what China did, expelling those journalists? he asked somberly. He confirmed the validity of my visa over the phone to an official at the visa authority, and seemed content that he had done his part. Inshallah kheir, he repeated. God willing, things will be better. The next day, the governments demands to see my visa began. THE NIGHT I FLED my apartment for a hotel, I found a van filled with police and security officials parked at the entrance to my building. Other than their stares there was no particular sign that they were there to intimidate me; still, in the two years I lived in that building, Id never seen such a mass of security in that spot, facing my door. The next day, British officials attempted to negotiate with the Egyptian authorities. I understood that I had to leave, they explained, but with no more commercial flights I needed to wait until the airports reopened, allegedly in a few weeks time. Could they at least ensure I wasnt arrested in the interim? The Egyptians offered no such reassurance, and continued to demand I show up at the visa office. They told my lawyer they were offended I hadnt come in person. British officials offered for me to stay at the embassy in order to avoid detention. The prospect of isolating myself in my apartmentone I had carefully stocked with provisions, anticipating a lockdownnow looked like a kind of house arrest. It could be months until the airport reopened for commercial flights, the prospect of a long period of gnawing fear stretching out before me. I had no choice but to leave, knowing full well I could not come back. I arrived at Cairo International Airport on March 20 to board a flight arranged by the German embassy, alert to my potential arrest en route or inside the terminal. When the expressionless Egyptian security official at emigration scanned my passport, her eyes opened wide as she viewed the information on her computer screen. She hurriedly stamped my passport, as though desperate for me to leave. ICYMI: A FOIA obsessives UFO-filled empire Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Ruth Michaelson is a reporter who has covered the Middle East since 2012. Based in Egypt for five and a half years, she has covered North Africa and the Gulf for the Guardian and other publications. She is a 2014 graduate of the Toni Stabile Centre for Investigative Journalism at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. ST. LOUIS, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Express Scripts today announced a new program to ensure Americans can continue to afford their prescription medications during the COVID-19 pandemic. Any American who loses health care coverage as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic can use Express Scripts Parachute RxSM to secure many of their medications at affordable and predictable prices. Express Scripts Parachute RxSM offers deep discounts on prescription medications, capping costs at $25 for a 30-day supply of generics, and $75 for a 30-day supply of select brand-name medications for eligible consumers. Express Scripts created the program through its close partnerships with pharmaceutical manufacturers and retail pharmacies across the country. "We have seen this pandemic bring out the best of humanity, and the quick collaboration among our industry partners to make Parachute Rx a reality is what our country needs right now," said Tim Wentworth, President, Health Services. "The Parachute Rx program is an extraordinary partnership for these extraordinary times. Together, we can offer a softer landing for people whose lives have been upended by this pandemic so they can come out of this crisis healthy and strong." More than 40 brand-name medications from companies including Astra Zeneca, Bayer, Eli Lilly, Merck, Pfizer, Sanofi and UCB are available through Parachute Rx along with thousands of generic medicines. The available medications are among the most commonly used treatments in the U.S. for conditions such as asthma, diabetes, glaucoma, heart disease, migraine, non-opioid pain management, reproductive health, seizures, and thyroid conditions. Additional medications may be added to the program over time. Eligible consumers can choose to get their medication delivered to their home from Express Scripts Pharmacy or at one of more than 50,000 participating retail pharmacies, including national chains such as Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid, and thousands of grocers and local community pharmacies. "People with chronic conditions who are out of work or uninsured face new challenges to maintaining their health during this pandemic," said David A. Ricks, chairman and CEO of Eli Lilly and Company. "Making our medicines available through Parachute Rx, as well as through the patient assistance programs we have at Lilly, will help more people stay healthy." There are two easy ways eligible consumers can take advantage of Express Scripts Parachute Rx: Go to express-scripts.com/parachuterx to check medication prices, choose home delivery and find participating pharmacies near you. Ask your local pharmacist if Parachute Rx discounts are available for your prescription. "With more than 9,200 stores across the nation, Walgreens is committed to providing our communities the care and medicines they need at a time when getting and staying healthy is a top priority," said Walgreens President Richard Ashworth. "This collaboration provides yet another solution to help our patients maintain access to their medications when many are facing financial strain." Parachute Rx is administered by Inside Rx, a subsidiary of Express Scripts specializing in prescription drug discount programs for self-paying consumers. Parachute Rx is available to anyone who has recently lost insurance coverage as a result of the pandemic and meets the other requirements for participation. The program, which is available for a limited time, is not health insurance and does not require an enrollment fee or commitment to participate. The brand-name medications included in the program are not available to people enrolled in government-sponsored health programs, such as Medicare, Medicaid or TRICARE. A list of brand medications, eligibility requirements and restrictions can be found at www.express-scripts.com/parachuterx. Customer service is available seven days a week at 877.644.0212. About Express Scripts Express Scripts is a health care opportunity company. Empowered by our legacy as an industry innovator, we dare to imagine and deliver a better health care system with greater choice, predictability, affordability and improved outcomes. From pharmacy and medical benefits management, to specialty pharmacy care and everything in between, we uncover opportunities to make health care better. We stand alongside our clients and partners, collaborating to develop personalized solutions that make a meaningful difference in the lives of those we serve, whenever and wherever it's needed. As we face the COVID-19 pandemic, this commitment to our customers has never been more important. Express Scripts, a Cigna company, unlocks new value in pharmacy, medical and beyond to further total health for all. For more information, visit www.express-scripts.com/corporate or follow @ExpressScripts on Twitter. About Inside Rx Headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, Inside Rx provides affordable access to medication, especially for the uninsured and those navigating the changing healthcare landscape. Powered by Express Scripts, a health care opportunity company and part of Cigna Corporation, and working collaboratively across the pharmacy supply chain, Inside Rx delivers access to a broad list of brand and generic medications that treat acute and many common, chronic health conditions. Visit https://insiderx.com/ for card usage terms and pharmacy locations, or follow us @Inside_Rx on Twitter, to learn more. Media Contact: Jennifer Luddy (908) 794-9226 [email protected] SOURCE Express Scripts Related Links http://www.express-scripts.com As many as 228 private doctors in Ahmedabad city have been served notices by the civic authorities, asking them to comply with an earlier order and open their clinics and hospitals by May 8, an official said on Thursday. On Wednesday, IAS officer Rajiv Kumar Gupta had asked all private clinics and hospitals in the city to resume their operations in the next 48 hours as several of them were shut since late March long due to the coronavirus scare. Gupta has been appointed as the Officer on Special Duty at Ahmedabad to oversee COVID-19-related operations of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). On Wednesday, he had asked all clinics and private hospital to reopen in 48 hours or lose licence. "Notices were served to 228 doctors on Thursday to remind them of the deadline ending on Friday," said a release issued by by Gupta. "In case of default, identified doctors shall be attached to private designated COVID-19 hospitals or COVID-19 care centres. "However, private clinics run by doctors above 65 years of age are exempted from compulsory opening," said the release. In another decision, Gupta said the AMC has decided to take over 60 hotels, to be used as designated COVID-19 care centres. "These hotels are being requisitioned under the Epidemic Act for providing air conditioned facilities," the release said. Gupta also added that the AMC has designated eight new private hospitals to treat coronavirus patients. "This takes the total number of private hospitals designated as COVID-19 hospitals to 15 and the number of beds to around 1,600," said the release She had thrown herself back out there following her divorce from her 48-year-old former executive producer Kevin Hunter. But Wendy Williams has put her love life on hold amid the coronavirus pandemic, she has revealed. 'I don't know any of these men enough to have them in here,' she told Good Day NYs Rosanna Scotto. 'No. I'm not hugging or pushing up! I'm not doing anything. I can wait.' Safety first: Wendy Williams is put dating on hold: 'I don't know any of these men enough to have them here' Wendy, 55, said she was happy holed up at home in her New York apartment, riding out the pandemic. 'I like my surroundings, there are a few things I'm going stir crazy about but not being in the house. I'm a home body, I like being at home. 'I mean I've been out a couple of times, I will not lie. There's a grocery store I trust and I go there with a mask and gloves. Sensible: Wendy said she was happy holed up at home in her New York apartment, riding out the pandemic; she is now back on air on The Wendy Williams Show Morning chat: Wendt was talking to Good Day NYs Rosanna Scotto on Fox Home body: The 55-year-old chatshow host has only left home to shop for groceries TV host: Wendy is now back on air with her own chatshow 'Every once in a while I do go there and I like to support the grocers, they are the front line people, then I come back home. But basically I'm in the house.' Wendy is now back on air with her own chatshow. Back in late January, Wendy finalized her messy divorce. The split came months after DailyMail.com revealed Kevin fathered a child with his long-time mistress, Sharina Hudson. Williams and Hunter's son Kevin Jr. appeared in court last year after a public altercation between him and his father turned physical. In a turn for the better, the 18-year-old's charges were dismissed, in the midst of his sophomore year of college. Im sure that you have seen the images and videos from last week, when protestors packed into the Capitol to demand an end to social and business restrictions ordered by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Some of you were disturbed by the display of assault weapons, Confederate flags and even swastikas, or by the jostling and shouting outside lawmakers chambers. Regardless, those citizens were exercising their First Amendment rights. So were we. MLive.com had three journalists in the thick of protest reporter Matt Durr, photographer Nicole Hester, and videographer Neil Blake. Their work provided vital in-the-moment news coverage for you, and also captured the event as a form of documentary of an unprecedented era. I began to write about why this matters. About the occupational perils that journalists accept as part of their calling. About the decisions these professionals make, on the fly and under duress, to ensure context and balance in their work. But once I interviewed our journalists, I felt their words and commitment were more powerful. So this is their story. It centers on one intense news event, but it really represents what all MLive journalists bring to stories every day, all across Michigan. Q: What was it like among the crowd? What was the mood? Matt Durr: The majority of the anger was directed at the governor and the people inside the Capitol. I did encounter two women who made it a point to tell me off. One woman told me I asked stupid questions because everyone already knows why people are protesting. Another asked if I worked for MLive. When I replied Yes, she told me I should be ashamed of myself because, People like you are killing more people than this virus. Nicole Hester: (It was) chaotic and intense. A few people apologized and told me they didnt mean to be bumping into me but there was no room, others mocked me for wearing a mask. It was a mix of people and beliefs, as these things often are. Neil Blake: In front of the steps where the speakers were, people were standing close together. While many people were angry with the way Gov. Whitmer has handled the crisis, the mood in the crowd was upbeat and enthusiastic. Worship music was being played and I heard some Dont Stop Believing, by Journey, at some point. Q: Were there any specific threats directed at you? Did anyone try to stop you from doing your job? Hester: There always is (a threat). Ive had people threaten to kill me, or arrest me, and as a woman Ive been grabbed and made the object of someones inappropriate joke. Ive fought people off of me. So some guy with an iPhone calling me fake news doesnt faze me anymore. Im not there to debate them, Im there to document what is going on. Durr: With dozens of people walking around with guns hanging across their body, all it takes is one person to turn the whole thing into a nightmare. And thats aside from the angry people who dont like or trust the media and are willing to tell us off. Hester: Events like this, people need to understand you are in a public space and we are protected by the Constitution to do our jobs, and thats what we are there to do. If you dont want to be photographed, dont go. Durr: For the most part, the people I spoke with were thoughtful in their concerns, acknowledged that theres blame to go around, and had legitimate arguments. Even though the national headlines, photos and videos ended up focusing on the situation that unfolded inside the Capitol, its not fair to paint everyone who was there as a radical, gun-toting extremist who was acting irrationally. People have a right to peacefully protest, and whether or not you agree with their points, I felt like it was my job to report on how I experienced the protest. Q: How do you find a way to cut through the spectacle of it to get the substance of the story, provide balance and context? Hester: You have to keep asking, What is the story? and remember to think beyond event coverage. Asking what is happening in front of you that maybe isnt as loud or not as obvious. Blake: This is something I think about constantly on assignment. I know that the photos or video I take can greatly impact how people see the protest. Standalone images (are) not the complete story, as the majority of protesters were abiding by social distancing. I tried to give our readers an accurate account of what happened. Thats one reason I think using Facebook Live in our reporting is important. It lets our readers see in the moment whats going on. Q: How aware were you of personal safety, from the perspective of the coronavirus? Hester: There was no way to practice social distancing and document what was going on inside the Capitol up close. But what happens if we dont show this happening? If there are no photos no reporters there is risk in that. Every one of my colleagues is taking this pandemic seriously, but we also realize the value in what we do. Blake: I was concerned about exposing myself to the coronavirus. I was constantly aware of my surroundings and how close people were getting to me. A few protesters wore masks, but the majority did not. I consciously chose to take on some risk to get the video footage of the protesters yelling at the troopers, because I felt it was important to the story and for people to see. Durr: The stress of a situation like this doesnt end when the protest ends. Because I didnt paint the entire crowd with a broad brush, Ive received several angry emails from people who disagreed with the protest. I was accused of being a white supremacist and a racist. Hester: How I feel is: This is what I feel I signed up for. I knew photojournalism was a lifestyle and there is risk in that. I am proud of, but not surprised by, the commitment this trio showed on this assignment. Across the state, throughout the year, MLive journalists wade into all kinds of situations to get the news, at the source, and relate it to you with professional-grade accuracy and balance. Nicole Hester said it best: Its what we signed up for. John Hiner is the vice president of content for MLive Media Group. If you have questions youd like him to answer, or topics to explore, share your thoughts at editor@mlive.com. Theres a curious joy deficit in Michelle Obamas video memoir Becoming, the Netflix documentary produced by her and her husband. As she glides from one beautiful space to another, surrounded by beautiful and famous people, with beautiful daughters and a beautiful bank account and much else to be grateful for, the viewer keeps waiting for her Flounder moment: Oh, boy, is this great! Instead, the tone is mostly dour, pained, even somber. I suspect (and hope!) that, off-camera, the Obamas are a bit more full of joie de vivre than Michelle Obama is in this film, which is largely a litany of complaint. She says she felt so much pressure to be perfect for eight years in the White House that when it was over she let the dam burst by crying for half an hour (half an hour?) when she and her husband departed on Air Force One. She talks about the various times she feels she was targeted by racism, exaggerating what actually happened. She walks us through her press coverage, which she finds indescribably unfair and hurtful. She is, however, so bereft of examples of nasty media attention to cite that two of the examples she shows us are ironic, i.e. the joke is on her detractors. One of them is a cover story in the (left-wing) magazine Radar that asked, wryly, Whats So Scary about Michelle Obama? (The underlying story, by Ana Marie Cox, made it clear that there was nothing scary about Michelle Obama.) Another is the famous New Yorker cartoon cover that depicted Barack Obama in traditional Muslim dress and put Michelle Obama in an Afro, with an assault rifle and a bandoleer on her chest, as an American flag burned in the fireplace. The Obamas complained about this at the time and many pointed out that a) The New Yorker has always been a vociferous supporter of the Obamas and b) the cartoon was portraying an obviously fanciful image of the Obamas that existed solely in the fever dreams of right-wingers. The New Yorker itself hastened to explain the joke at the time, which must have been painful for that institution. Story continues Both Obamas are graduates of Harvard Law School, so it seems unlikely that theyre too dumb to have gotten the joke, which means theyre simply pretending not to get the joke in order to create a phony grievance. Most of the rest of the can you believe how the media ripped her apart? montage in the movie consists of stray remarks made on Fox News Channel, but if youre turning on Fox News in search of insults, youre really going out of your way to be aggrieved. Much of this coverage was, by the way, inspired by Michelles remark, For the first time in my adult lifetime, Im really proud of my country and not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change. Mrs. Obama doesnt defend this remark at all in the doc except to grumble that it was taken out of context, and admits that this was the last time she was allowed to speak off the cuff in public. So Fox News talking heads apparently were on the same side as the Obama campaign in thinking that this was a dumb thing for her to say. Another magazine cover shown in the film is one by National Review. On April 25, 2008, we ran a cover story captioned Mrs. Grievance, with a cartoon of Mrs. Obama. (The story, by Mark Steyn, began like this: Michelle, ma belle: These are words that go together well. She looks fabulous, like a presidential spouse out of some dream movie glossy hair, triple strand of pearls, vaguely retro suits that subtly remind you shed be the most glamorous first lady since Jackie Kennedy.) The story wasnt exactly a rain of hellfire, and since Michelle Obama indisputably had (and has) a habit of discussing her various grievances, the cover headline was, far from an unfair attack, an objective description of reality. This section of the movie (which, I remind you, was produced by the Obamas themselves) lies by omission, leaving out the ocean of favorable press coverage received by Michelle Obama and focusing exclusively at the puddle of negative attention. Michelle Obama may have received the most glowing press coverage of all time among figures who achieved her level of fame. Even Beyonce must sometimes think, What do I have to do to get that level of adulation? And Beyonce, unlike Mrs. Obama, actually possesses a massive amount of talent. What Steyn put his finger on back in 2008 remains a pertinent question: Why is Michelle Obama so aggrieved? I have troubles is not usually the message of a First Lady. Usually its more like, I have a lot of hats or, I have a literacy program. True, the gilded-cage aspect of life as a First Lady of the United States must be more trying than it appears from the outside. On the other hand, unlike a president, a First Lady gets a life of super-luxury without actually having to do anything. No one expected Michelle Obama to solve health care. No one was peppering her with thorny queries for eight years. (If were being honest, not that many reporters were throwing gotcha questions at her husband, either.) Moreover, even among world-famous, super-rich celebrities, a First Lady is in a special category: She was and is in the position of being able to use federal officers to maintain a zone of privacy. All she had to do was . . . smile and wave. Occasionally cut a ribbon or host a dinner. Like royalty. If theres an easier job in the world, I dont know what it is. Hair stylist on her feet all day? Teacher dealing with bumptious children? Stay-at-home-mom making multiple frenzied runs to Target and Judo practice and viola lessons while worrying about meals and managing the household budget? Nope, all of these jobs are far more demanding. Yet Obama tells us in the movie that the point of her book tour is to be able to have the time to actually reflect, to figure out what just happened to me. Its kind of the panic moment of, yeah, this is totally me. So what Michelle Obama feels short of is . . . time to think about herself? She feels panic? Michelle Obama is an unemployed, extremely wealthy woman whose children are grown. If anyone has time to actually reflect, it is she. At the climactic point of the film, she returns to the subject of racism, which she touched on several times earlier. We have to be willing to say who we are. I am the former First Lady of the United States and also a descendant of slaves. Its important to keep that truth right there, she says. She has said this before, but the meaning for her is not what it might be for you or me. She isnt saying, Gosh, the country certainly has changed for the better! The point is something close to the opposite: No matter how splendid your life may be, if youre black there is unexploded ordnance in the backyard. She notes, Barack and I lived with an awareness that we ourselves were a provocation. Michael Brown. Tamir Rice. Freddie Gray. Eric Garner. Trayvon Martin. Sandra Bland. . . .You see people gunned down because somebody was so afraid of a kid in a hoodie that that ended his life. So how were these people dealing with the fact that a black family was in what they perceived as their White House? Putting Michael Brown, who the Obama Justice Department confirmed was attacking a cop when he got shot, and Tamir Rice, a little kid playing with a toy, in the same category is unserious, and neither of them has much to do with the Obamas. The point of bringing up these names seems to be a chilling one: Theyd shoot us if they could. I wonder if Michelle Obama really looks back on her blessed American life and considers this to be the takeaway. If so, despite her glamour, despite her millions, despite her access to the finest people and places on Earth, I feel sorry for her. More from National Review By Kyle Odegard, Albany Democrat-Herald A Lebanon infant who allegedly died of malnutrition had been having issues consuming her mothers milk for eight days, but her parents didnt get baby formula for the child, according to court paperwork. The parents, Kristian Lee, 23, and Shantell Swiercz, 23, were each charged with first-degree manslaughter last week in Linn County Circuit Court. Their daughter, Sandra Lee, died at the age of seven weeks on March 28. Lebanon Police Department officers responded to the couples apartment in the 800 block of Park Street at about 10:50 p.m. on March 28. We immediately noticed how skinny Sandras body was and how she appeared to be malnourished, a detective wrote in a probable cause affidavit. The couple had moved into the apartment 10 days earlier, but the home had little inside it and there was barely any edible food. On the kitchen counter was a large bag of tobacco for rolling cigarettes and an empty bottle of Crown Royal whiskey. There were no signs of baby formula (or) baby bottles and we only found one spare diaper, the detective wrote. The babys body weighed 5 pounds, 4 ounces at an autopsy, an affidavit states. In follow-up interviews, Swiercz said she had problems producing breast milk. For the last two days of her daughters life it was crystal clear, but she didnt talk to any doctors or nurses about the issues, she told investigators. We asked Shantell if she noticed Sandra looking different while giving her a bath or changing her diaper. Shantell told us that she has only bathed Sandra two times since birth and zero times since they moved into their new residence. Shantell said she didnt notice anything different regarding how Sandra looked, the detective wrote. A family member told police that he was concerned about the couples children during a visit two days before the baby died. He was visiting Kristian and Shantell, who were outside their apartment smoking and drinking. He told me the baby was crying, and he had to tell Shantell about three times to go care for her children. He told me that on the third time he had to get stern, the detective wrote in an affidavit. Another family member said that a week before the childs death, Swiercz told her about the breast milk issue. The family member instructed her to go to the store, buy baby formula and a bottle and feed the child, an affidavit states. On the night of the babys death, Swiercz knew something was wrong and that they needed to take the child to the hospital, but Lee refused to do so, she told police. According to the probable cause affidavit, they argued and Lee ended up going to bed. Swiercz took the babys temperature, which registered at about 80 degrees. She sat on the couch with her baby and waited for two hours after the infants death to call 911, according to the affidavit. Shantell was very upset at Kristian for not allowing her to take Sandra to the doctor, but she didnt feel like she had done anything wrong, even though she never tried to get Sandra help on her own, the detective wrote. Swiercz was waiting until April 1 to buy baby formula, because thats when she would be paid. She never reached out for assistance from a government agency, family, friends or other resources with help in getting baby formula, according to an affidavit. As Connecticut looks to gradually reopen some businesses this month, public health care workers raised concerns Wednesday that the state could see a resurgence of coronavirus infections in the fall, leading some to suggest the opening could be too soon. This is a game of attrition right now, and we may not be winning this game, said Bill Garrity, president of University Health Professionals Local 3837 and a registered nurse at UConn Health Center. One patient with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, can sometimes take four nurses to treat at a hospitals intensive care unit, Garrity said. So maybe in my opinion, May 20 may be too soon, he said. Coming back too soon is going to overwhelm the system. One of my favorite memes right now is Im sorry, yeah the parachute slowed us down so we can take it off well, were not on the ground yet. The comments came during a teleconference hosted by SEIU 1199 New England, a health care workers union that has members in Connecticut and Rhode Island. At the end of April, Gov. Ned Lamont announced the state would begin slowly reopening some businesses starting May 20. Restaurants will be limited to outdoor service only, and hair and other personal care shops will also be allowed to reopen in a limited way. Also on Wednesday, the governors office received a report recommending college and university campuses could reopen over the summer, starting with research programs and administrative offices on May 20. The report came as the state reported on Wednesday 85 new fatalities attributed to the illness, bringing the death toll to 2,718, even as the number of people hospitalized continued to fall. Rob Baril, president of SEIU 1199, who opened the meeting with a moment of silence for state workers and their family members who have died, said public health care workers are the glue that has held our society together over the past several weeks. Asked about reopening the state, Baril said the union needs engagement with the state thats looking beyond the 24-to-48-hour crisis period to develop a plan to reopen the state effectively. Dr. Chris Steele, a physician at UConn Health Center, posed reopening as a balancing act between getting people back to work while preventing the virus from spreading. At some point we do have to reopen, but by reopening there might be the risk that people will get sick, Steele said. If the state does reopen as planned, he said people should continue to be responsible in public including avoiding congregating in large groups and wearing face masks. I dont think that theres a good answer, because Ive heard people say if I dont get back to work, Im not going to be able to provide for my family. I get that, Steele said. Several health care professionals on Wednesdays call said they believe there will be a second peak of COVID-19 cases in the fall, and how well they are able to handle it will depend on the states preparations now. Shirley Watson, a licensed clinical social worker with the state Department of Correction, said health care workers providing care through this wave of the virus have to live with trauma. If the state reopens in the near future, we have to be prepared to take care of the mental health of the health care professionals who went through the first wave, because were going to have to go through the second one. She said workers need more protective gear and resources to help the people under their care. This will trend in the fall, lets just be real about that, Watson said. Steele said how the public health sector handles the second wave will depend on how the community and state prepare them. That includes access to mental health service, adequate supplies of protective equipment and public health campaigns. I think if we expand on our public health sector, well 100 percent be in a better position for the fall. But if we ignore those, it could be harder coming the fall. Because usually the second wave historically is usually stronger than the first. Image: nls.ac.in Social media giant Facebook has announced the names of 20 members for its independent content oversight board and the only Indian named in the list is Sudhir Krishnaswamy -- Vice-Chancellor of the National Law School of India University in Bengaluru. Krishnaswamy is part of the team, which includes former judges, journalists and human rights activists among others, will review appeals from users on material that has been taken down from Facebook and Instagram, and make binding content decisions for the social networking platforms. Who is Sudhir Krishnaswamy? Sudhir Krishnaswamy is the Vice-Chancellor of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU). He is also a co-founder of the Center for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) which works to advance constitutional values for everyone, including LGBTQ+ and transgender persons in India, through research, advocacy and impact litigation. Background and education Krishnaswamy was born in 1975 in Karanataka capital city, Bengaluru. He graduated with a BA LLB from the National Law School of India University and, as a Rhodes Scholar, read Bachelors of Civil Law and obtained Doctor of Philosophy (Law) from the University of Oxford. Areas of interest and work Areas of interest of Krishnaswamy include constitutional law, legal education, legal theory, intellectual property law and administrative law, according to the website of CLPR. He has been a Teaching Fellow in Law at the Pembroke College at Oxford University, an Assistant Professor at NLSIU and a Professor at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata. He is currently a faculty member at the Azim Premji University. He was also the Dr BR Ambedkar Visiting Professor of Indian Constitutional Law at Columbia Law School. In the past, Sudhir has also worked in the Prime Ministers Committee on Infrastructure and the Kasturirangan Committee on Governance of Bangalore. Besides co-founding CLPR, Krishnaswamy is a partner at Ashira Law. What Sudhir Krishnaswamy has to say on being on Facebook Oversight Board? Creating this new mechanism for platform governance to oversee a private company is a radical reform, reported news agency IANS quoting Krishnaswamy. "If this mechanism works, it provides us with a new institutional model for handling content moderation in the future, he was quoted as saying. The step is as important to the future of democracy as it is to the market, added Krishnaswamy. Sudhir Krishnaswamy (Image: NLSIU/Facebook) According to Facebook Director of Governance and Strategic Initiatives Brent Harris, it will continue to work with the Board until up to 40 members have been selected after which the board will take on sole responsibility for selection of members in the future. The Board will begin considering cases later in the year, including hearing appeals from Facebook and Instagram users and cases referred to the board by Facebook for review. Before coronavirus struck New York, one of the world's premier seafood restaurants Le Bernardin was offering tasting menus including striped bass truffle tartare and grilled lobster mi-cuit. Today it serves up hundreds of plastic trays of roast chicken, rice and cabbage to feed the city's medical workers. Eric Ripert, a three-star chef originally from France, reopened one of his Manhattan kitchens on Wednesday for the first time since March 13 -- where from Monday to Friday four of his 180 currently unemployed staff will prepare some 400 daily meals. Balanced menus including pasta bolognese with broccoli, meatloaf, couscous or tajine are set for delivery to health workers sheltering in the central neighborhood's hotels, who descended on the embattled city en masse to reinforce hospitals overwhelmed with patients. "For now it's important to help out the overall community, specifically doctors and nurses," Ripert, donning a mask and gloves, told AFP. The goal, said the renowned chef, is to assist "people who take enormous risks, see horrible things during the day -- when they return to their hotel, they can relax and eat something tasty." - Still luxe - Even if the pandemic has slowed its once relentless pace in New York, the city remains the nation's coronavirus epicenter, with more than 19,000 confirmed or probable deaths linked to COVID-19. The 55-year-old Ripert's project to deliver meals is in collaboration with the Jose Andres-founded World Central Kitchen aid organization. Authorities have not yet projected a date to begin relaxing confinement measures. Ripert hopes he might be able to re-open Le Bernardin in September. Though that dream date seems far off and isn't fixed, he can't help but consider the famous restaurant post-pandemic. He doesn't plan to offer elegant dishes to go, as some Michelin-starred chefs have done the world round -- but "it definitely won't be the same Bernardin it was before the closure," he said in a slight accent hailing from France's south, still audible despite 31 years in the United States. Still, "Le Bernardin is a fancy restaurant with three Michelin stars -- we will try to continue to be able to create this experience for our diners," he said. - Reduced capacity - There will have to be more space between the tables and less capacity, said Ripert: currently, without counting two reception lounges, the restaurant can host 120 people. Staff will need to work wearing masks and gloves while using plenty of disinfectant, Ripert emphasized. But the economic equation remains in question for the restaurant co-owner, who is used to seeing his establishment full for both lunch and dinner. Ripert, who since the pandemic began has posted simple, affordable recipes for his nearly 600,000 Instagram followers, declined to offer insight into his accounting. But he expects he will need to reduce his staff from 180 pre-crisis down to 40 or 50 employees. And international clientele, some 30 to 40 percent of his business, will likely drop off until foreign travel is once again in full swing. - Staff before stars - But will he keep his stars? "We will do everything we can to work for our diners to have a quality time at Le Bernardin, and keep our employees able to work," the chef said. "Then the stars will come -- or not come. "Today it's not really what's important, when we think of the global crisis we are living," he added. Ripert doesn't doubt his adopted home's ability to bounce back. "We're not going to overnight -- to be as full of energy as we were takes time," he said. "But New York will always be New York, and New York will return to the level it was," said Ripert, complete with the "creativity and energy" the city embodies. Balanced menus including pasta bolognese with broccoli, meatloaf, couscous or tajine are set for delivery to health workers sheltering in the central neighborhood's hotels The 55-year-old Ripert re-opened his kitchen in collaboration with the Jose Andres-founded World Central Kitchen aid organization Before coronavirus struck New York, one of the world's premier seafood restaurants Le Bernardin was offering tasting menus including striped bass truffle tartare and grilled lobster mi-cuit Le Bernardin chef and co-owner Eric Ripert explains safety measures before preparing meals for health care workers in New York Lee should turn words into action to prove his sincerity Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the de facto head of Samsung Group, made a public apology Wednesday for various mistakes made by him and the nation's largest conglomerate. Lee's apology came by accepting the demands of the group's independent compliance committee, which also called for him to do away with Samsung's "union-free management" and improve its communication with civil society. Lee is reaping the harvest of his own sowing. It is not only his misfortune but also a disgrace for Samsung Group, a global tech giant. We hope this will be the last time we see Lee bow his head to the nation for shameful reasons. Other family-run business groups with similar problems, including the transfer of management control by irregular means, ought to use the incident as an occasion for self-awakening. Lee admitted his group could not live up to the people's expectations and disappointed them because it failed to abide by laws and displayed no ethics. He also made it clear that he would not hand over management control to his children and apologized for causing controversy over the group's hostile policy toward labor. Lee tried to strengthen his control over the group by increasing his equity stakes through irregular and unlawful means while avoiding inheritance and gift taxes. All these words and promises have no meaning until they are turned into actions. The challenges facing Samsung at home and abroad are never easy. Moreover, the group is suffering from additional uncertainties because of the CEO's "judicial risk." Lee is now on trial, several trials in fact, including one concerning allegations that his company offered bribes to impeached President Park Geun-hye and her confidant Choi Soon-sil. Critics of the conglomerate suspect Lee's apology is aimed at gaining favorable rulings at these trials. Samsung's managerial environment has been sharply aggravated due to the disruption of global supply chains amid the COVID-19 pandemic. To get over difficulties and make a massive investment in the future, the group requires strong leadership. Samsung Group, a global corporation based on collective intelligence, has many professional managers with excellent abilities and business acumen. Instead of lamenting over the owner's judicial risk, the group needs to prepare for the possible absence of Lee, depending on the results of the investigations and trials. The first special train from Delhi carrying around 1,200 migrant workers who were stranded in the national capital due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown will leave for Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, officials said. "About 1,200 migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh staying in shelter homes in Delhi will leave for their native state," an official said. The Delhi government is also in talks with Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to run special trains for migrant workers from the two states who wish to return, the official added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) [May 07, 2020] UK AD Fraud Analysis Demonstrates Success of Coordinated Industry Anti-Fraud Programmes LONDON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), a self-regulatory advertising industry initiative to fight criminal activity in the digital advertising supply chain, today released a snapshot of ad fraud in the United Kingdom, showing dramatically lower Invalid Traffic (IVT) rates in TAG Certified Channels in the UK when compared with UK industry averages. Conducted by The 614 Group, the analysis found a 76 percent overall reduction in IVT when advertisers chose to buy through TAG Certified Channels, in which a campaign runs through multiple companies that have achieved the TAG Certified Against Fraud Seal. "Criminals thrive in times of confusion and uncertainty, and the current COVID-19 crisis has created an ideal climate for ad fraud, which is why it is critical for the UK ad industry to strengthen its rigorous anti-fraud standards across all parts of the supply chain," said Mike Zaneis, CEO of TAG. "Strong and consistent cross-industry standards are the secret to tackling ad fraud, and it is heartening to watch companies in the UK align their efforts behind TAG's programmes. We have made tremendous strides as an industry in tackling ad fraud in the UK, and we hope and expect to see continued progress in the years ahead." The 614 Group study compared IVT rates in TAG Certified Channels against industry norms by measuring more than 17.8 billion ad impressions in the UK from January to December 2019 from three of the largest advertising agency holding companies. The rate of IVT within TAG Certified Channels in the UK was just 0.63 percent, which was 0.10 percent higher than the 0.53 percent rate found in the 2019 TAG European Fraud Benchmark Study across five European countries (France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the UK) but a 76% improvement over a blended UK industry benchmark of 2.63 percent. Study 2020 TAG UK Fraud Snapshot Inventory Type Desktop, mobile web, mobile in-app display, video Types of Fraud Examined General Invalid Traffic (GIVT), Sophisticated Invalid Traffic (SIVT) SIVT + GIVT Rate (TAG Channels Only) 0.63 percent Overall Fraud Rate (Blended Benchmark) 2.63 percent Reduction in Fraud 93 percent Agency Holding Companies Involved in Study Omnicom Media Group Publicis Media GroupM TAG's second annual analysis of fraud in Europe was released last month, while TAG's most recent US study was released in December 2019. Both studies showed a dramatic reduction in fraud in TAG Certified Channels compared to industry averages. "Agency executives in the UK understand the value and importance of having an accepted IVT benchmark for effective anti-fraud programs against which they can measure and improve their performance," said Rob Rasko, CEO of The 614 Group. "The last two European studies conducted by The 614 Group have provided a solid metric for success across major European ad markets, while this new snapshot will help UK advertisers dive deeper into their own results." In January 2018, TAG announced an agreement with the UK Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards (JICWEBS) - involving trade bodies IAB UK, ISBA, the IPA and the AOP - to align programme standards across markets. In October 2018, JICWEBS adopted TAG's Certified Against Fraud programme in the UK markets (effective from 1 January 2019). TAG and JICWEBS are also working to align their transparency and brand safety programmes, as well as achieve organisational alignment. The difference in reported IVT levels between the UK Snapshot and the 2019 TAG European Fraud Benchmark Study may be in part due to the harmonising industry anti-fraud standards between those programs over the last two years. The full 2020 Fraud Snapshot: United Kingdom can be found here. Additional information about TAG's Certified Against Fraud Programme and how companies from across the advertising ecosystem can received the TAG Certified Against Fraud Seal can be found at https://www.tagtoday.net/certified-against-fraud-program/. Methodology The 614 Group analysed data from TAG's ongoing global research to measure the impact of TAG Certification in reducing fraud in actual campaigns and to assess the industry's perception of both TAG and the fight against fraud in the UK. This snapshot focused on discovering rates of both General Invalid Traffic (GIVT) and Sophisticated Invalid Traffic (SIVT). The 614 Group partnered with agency holding companies and their MRC-accredited technology partners to collect data from campaigns that ran in the UK. Working with the holding companies' MRC-accredited measurement vendors, The 614 Group collected and aggregated all impressions for campaigns that were executed during the calendar year of 2019. These campaigns included display media and video ads in desktop, mobile web and in-app environments. The study did not use sampling of any kind: 100% of all TAG Certified Against Fraud impressions given to The 614 Group were included in the measurement. Upon receipt, all data was aggregated within a secure database in order to create the proper reporting. About the Trustworthy Accountability Group The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) is the leading global certification programme fighting criminal activity and increasing trust in the digital advertising industry. Created by leading US industry trade organisations, TAG's mission is to eliminate fraudulent traffic, combat malware, prevent Internet piracy, and promote greater transparency in digital advertising. TAG advances those initiatives by bringing companies across the digital advertising supply chain together to set the highest standards. TAG is the first and only registered Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (ISAO) for the digital advertising industry. For more information on TAG, please visit tagtoday.net . Media Contact Andrew Weinstein 202-667-4967 [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/uk-ad-fraud-analysis-demonstrates-success-of-coordinated-industry-anti-fraud-programmes-301054920.html SOURCE Trustworthy Accountability Group [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] BERLIN, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Fraud and corruption affecting healthcare services around the world significantly reduced delivery of COVID-19-related healthcare during the month of April and contributed to COVID-19 mortality in every third country surveyed, according to a new study from NEMEXIS. NEMEXIS, an international anti-fraud consulting firm based in Berlin, reported that fraud and corruption affecting healthcare also led to strikes by medical workers and whistleblower activity in half of the 58 countries in the survey. COVID-19 patient in ICU. iStock-1214067077 "This is currently the largest survey on fraud, waste and corruption affecting healthcare systems across the globe while the world battles COVID-19," said Dr. Paul Milata, one of the authors of the survey. "It is the first study based almost exclusively on input from anti-fraud specialists. The survey shows areas of common concern where further investigation is needed." Eighty percent of respondents thought that fraud and corruption's impact on their country's healthcare system had been "very important" (59%) or "important" (21%). Pamela Davis, Director at Veriten Legal and a former federal prosecutor in the United States with extensive experience successfully prosecuting healthcare crime said: "Combatting COVID-19 will require more than simply medical knowhow: It will require a steadfast and targeted anti-fraud program in public healthcare. Should we fail at this, we will fail at our stated goal of containing the pandemic." John Kostyack, Executive Director of the National Whistleblower Center based in Washington, D.C., said: "With retaliation against COVID-19 healthcare whistleblowers appearing in almost half of the countries in this survey, the time is now for national governments to enact new whistleblower protections. Silencing whistleblowers means that problems with delivering COVID-19 healthcare services are being left unaddressed. We cannot allow a single individual to die of COVID-19 because of suppression of healthcare industry whistleblowers." The most widespread problem outlined in the report is fraud involving personal-protective equipment or PPE, which appeared in 81% of the countries surveyed. Black markets were reported from 62% of countries, followed by embezzlement, faulty equipment, and cyberattacks. Suppression of whistleblowers who gave early warnings of the virus was mentioned in almost a quarter of the countries surveyed. The survey assessed the impact of fraud and corruption in healthcare delivery during the COVID-19 crisis from April 4 to April 22, 2020, concluding that the rates of such fraud were high and significant. Lockdown measures with enormous consequences were introduced in order to maintain high healthcare capacities. The survey looked at seven core issues: fraud involving PPE and ventilators, the existence of relevant black markets and faulty equipment, cyberattacks on healthcare, the embezzlement of healthcare funds and bribes taken by medical personnel. The survey assumed that these problems would result in the emergence of whistleblowers, strikes and death. The 58 countries surveyed represent 76% of the global population. Ninety-two percent of the 512 respondents are anti-fraud professionals working for business or governmental entities. Press contact: Dr. Paul Milata, Managing Partner, nemexis.de, [email protected] Related Images image1.jpg SOURCE NEMEXIS by Milata KG Cotton grown in Uzbekistan is to be sold at a rate pegged to prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange following a May 6 presidential decree in support of the textile industry. The move toward a market-based price mechanism is expected to reduce the cost of raw cotton for textile companies by around one-tenth. Eurasianet reports in its article Uzbekistan moves to lower cost of cotton for manufacturers that this effort is in line with a broader Uzbek government strategy of moving toward the production of more valuable exports, like fabrics and clothes, instead of simple raw cotton. According to official figures, there are more than 2,000 companies in Uzbekistan working in textiles, providing jobs for at least 365,000 people. The value of textile exports in 2019 reached $1.9 billion, but that is nothing as compared to the ambition of gradually getting that figure to $15 billion. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said at a government meeting in April that he wants to see output of ready textile products increased four or fivefold in the coming five years. It was stated at that same meeting that $300 million in credits were being allocated through the government Reconstruction and Development Fund for textile enterprises in the Namangan, Samarkand and Tashkent regions for that purpose. Amid other measures intended to ease cashflow for textile manufacturers, this weeks decree has lengthened payment deadlines for raw cotton from 90 days to 150 days. The government has also committed to simplifying the process whereby producers get value-added tax rebates once they ship their goods out of the country. As more raw material is parlayed toward domestic yarn production, the expectation is that raw cotton exports will accordingly be dropping to a minimal level over the coming year. The ambition is to dispense with raw exports altogether in the short term. According to an April digest of Uzbekistans cotton industry produced by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Russia remains the most active buyer of Uzbek product, having imported 73 million square meters of cotton fabric in the first six months of marketing year 2019-20. Kazakhstan bought 10.3 million square meters in the same window of time. For the 28 EU members (now 27, following Britains withdrawal), the collective volume of imports was 17.74 million square meters. The last few months have seen some dramatic readjustments to a cotton industry that had long been in desperate need of reform. In March, Mirziyoyev signed a decree ordering the abolition of the state-order system for cotton crops, in effect ending a decades-old arrangement that encouraged forced labor. As of this year, the quota for the production and sale of cotton has been scrapped, leaving farmers who rent land from the state free to cultivate alternative and more lucrative crops. This was hailed by international advisors as a historic development." Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 04:27:13|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ZAGREB, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that it would be much easier for Croatia in the current situation if it were a member of the euro area. Speaking at the session of the national council for introducing the euro as Croatia's official currency, Plenkovic noted that the main benefit for Croatia from the euro adoption at the moment would be the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) loans and the monetary stimulus of the European Central Bank that would be available both to the government and the private sector. Plenkovic stressed other benefits such as the removal of currency risk and better credit rating. Croatia's strategic goal is to adopt the euro by 2023 or 2024. The government announced on Thursday that Croatia has fulfilled the requirements under the action plan for accession to the European Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II) and the banking union for the period from July 2019 to May 2020. The government hopes to enter ERM II, which is seen as a waiting room for euro adoption, in July this year. Croatia has its own currency kuna, but 71 percent of citizens' savings are in euro. More than half of the loans are with a currency clause in euros. The prime minister noted on Thursday that 61 percent of tourist overnight stays are from countries in the eurozone, while 57 percent of Croatia's export goes to the eurozone. In order to adopt the euro, Croatia has to satisfy the Maastricht criteria which involve sustainable public finances: a budget deficit lower than three percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and public debt below 60 percent of GDP. In the last few years, the government did strong fiscal consolidation and managed to achieve a balanced budget. Public debt was in decline in the last five years and it was reduced to around 70 percent of GDP. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, analysts expect that public debt will jump over 80 percent of GDP. According to the survey from 2019, published by the National Bank, 51 percent of people supported joining the eurozone, 40 percent were against, while others were undecided. Enditem President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Navy and Marine Corps resolved to restore what he says is a "tarnished culture" in the wake of deadly ship collisions, high-profile legal battles and a controversial firing. Kenneth Braithwaite, who's currently serving as the U.S. ambassador to Norway, said during his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Thursday that the Navy Department is in troubled waters due "primarily the failings of leadership." The retired Navy rear admiral cited several controversies dating back to the Fat Leonard corruption scandal, in which several uniformed personnel took cash and gifts in exchange for classified information on U.S. ship movements. Related: President Trump's New Navy Secretary Pick Is a Combat Vet Who Tracked Soviet Subs "Whether Glenn Marine Defense, ship collisions, judicial missteps or the crisis on USS Roosevelt, they are all indicative of a breakdown in the trust of those leading the service," Braithwaite told senators. He appeared to take issue with former acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly's handling of the firing of Capt. Brett Crozier, the commanding officer on the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt. The ambassador said he, as secretary, wouldn't insert himself into personnel matters. "I believe that the men and women in uniform at all ranks should have the opportunity and should have established the ability to ensure that they are making the decisions to lead their men and women appropriately," he said. Braithwaite was formally nominated last month to take over the Navy and Marine Corps' top civilian leadership spot. The position has been vacant for more than six months when Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer resigned after trying to make a deal with the White House on how to handle the case of embattled former Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher without the defense secretary's knowledge. Spencer's No. 2, Modly, served in the spot until April when he, too, resigned over his handling of Crozier's relief. Crozier was accused of sending a letter to people outside his chain of command warning leaders of a coronavirus outbreak on his ship. The letter was later published by the San Francisco Chronicle, and Modly fired the captain before the investigation into the matter was complete. More than 1,100 crew members on that carrier have since tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. One of those sailors died. Braithwaite endorsed Joint Chiefs Chairman Army Gen. Mark Milley's recommendation that the Navy conduct a deeper investigation into Crozier's relief before reinstating him as the carrier's skipper. "Whenever you're confronted with a challenge like this, it's best to pause, consider all the facts and then make the right decision," Braithwaite said. "I learned in flight school as a young naval aviator that, whenever any bell or whistle went off in your cockpit, the most important thing to do was sit on your hands for two seconds ... because then you can assess the problem correctly before shutting down the wrong system." If confirmed, Braithwaite said his No. 1 priority as secretary will be to "restore the appropriate culture in the United States Navy." "I won't say it's broken," he said. "I think it's been tarnished. I think the events over the last several years have helped see that to occur. And if I'm confirmed, I will make sure that I get at that again." Braithwaite said he'd set the tone from his position as Navy secretary, promote good order and discipline, and empower people at all levels in the chain of command. He pointed to leadership lessons he learned as a young officer in his own Navy career that shaped his approach. "Sadly, I have witnessed crisis in the Navy before," Braithwaite said. "In 1989, I was aboard the aircraft carrier USS America sailing with the battleship Iowa when an explosion killed 47 sailors. That was followed by the Tailhook scandal. These were some dark days for the department." The Naval Academy graduate's nomination was reported to have been held up by possible ties to Cambridge Analytica, a now-shuttered British consulting firm that gathered personal data of millions of Facebook users without their consent. Braithwaite has denied the claims and didn't face any questions from senators about the relationship during his hearing. He pledged to increase the size of the Navy's fleet, saying 355 ships is the minimum. "Hopefully, we build beyond that," he said. Braithwaite also said that, under his leadership, the Navy Department would continue working to end deferred maintenance on ships and aircraft. The Marine Corps had to dig out of an aircraft maintenance hole in recent years after overuse in Iraq and Afghanistan. Navy deployments have also been extended over ships being held up in maintenance. -- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins. Read more: The Marines Wanted a University to Study Co-ed Boot Camp. No One Applied Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Sausan Atika (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 8 2020 Devotion: Two Buddhists pray at an altar on Waisak a day commemorating the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha at the Vihara Girinaga temple in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Thursday. The days observations, which normally include large processions, were accessible only by livestream to comply with large-scale social restrictions (PSBB). (Antara/Arnas Padda) The COVID-19 outbreak has reshaped the communal practice of Buddhism in Indonesia, as with other faiths, as worship moves online to comply with calls by authorities to remain home. Under normal circumstances, Buddhists would have gathered in temples across the country on Thursday to celebrate Waisak, which marks the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login File image: Congress leader P Chidambaram Congress leader P Chidambaram asked the government why stranded migrant workers continued to walk on highways from one state to another and also about its promise of transporting them to their homes in buses or trains. He also alleged that the pandemic has made every minister and official unaccountable. "I see images on TV of people walking on the highways from one state to another state. Why is government totally oblivious to and uncaring of their plight? "What happened to the promise that the migrant workers will be transported by bus and train? Why are these people still walking to their home states," he asked in a series of tweets. The former Union minister also said that no one in the government answered any questions asked by the opposition or by the people. "The pandemic has made every minister and official unaccountable," he said. His tweets referred to groups of migrants including pregnant women and children walking for many kilometres on highways to reach their homes. Chinas State Council says economic and social activities are gradually closing in on a normal level as output steadies and manufacturing resumes, according to state-owned broadcaster China Central Television. Beijing vowed to stabilize its economic fundamentals, and propel a recovery in consumption by expanding domestic demand, CCTV reported, citing a State Council executive meeting on Wednesday. China will push ahead with major construction projects, improve the utilization of investment projects within the central governments budget and the so-called special bonds issued by Chinese local governments, according to the report. Chinese local authorities are being allowed to sell special bonds to pay for infrastructure investment. This year, China has issued 1.29 trillion yuan ($182 billion) in special bonds, with another 1 trillion yuan to be sold by the end of May, easily surpassing the 2.15 trillion yuan total last year. China will also support companies that have stable employment, especially smaller firms, by extending debt repayment deadlines, and through policies that encourages banks to grant more loans, according to the report. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Additional reporting: Jess Casey, Eamon Quinn, Cianan Brennan and Juno McEnroe The hospitality sector needs a 0% VAT rate to give them a "fighting chance" of survival, the Junior Minister for Tourism has admitted. Brendan Griffin has also suggested the Government give consideration to an extra bank holiday as part of a rescue package and admitted that "a speedy recovery for the tourist industry is unlikely". It comes as uncertainty continues to cloud the decision on whether this years Leaving Cert exams will go ahead as alternative assessments are officially brought to the table. Following talks between students, teachers, parents, educational bodies and the Department of Education yesterday, teaching union leaders met last night to discuss some of the issues raised. It is understood that holding the exams, while taking into account social distancing and public health advice for more than 60,000 students, poses a logistical nightmare. Further discussions are understood to take place in the coming days. A spokesman for Education Minister Joe McHugh did not respond to a request for comment last night. Meanwhile 265 additional confirmed Covid-19 cases were announced yesterday bringing the overall total number of cases to 22,248, with 78% of those thus far diagnosed with the disease having recovered. It also emerged that just 2% of the people trained to perform contact tracing for the HSE are currently employed to do so. Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan confirmed that just 40 people, out of around 2,000 who had been so trained, were being used for contact tracing on Tuesday, but said that the figure is adequate to deal with the low number of confirmed cases that were seen on that date. Dr Siobhan Ni Bhriain, consultant psychiatrist with the HSE, said that the number is flexed on a daily basis according to clinical need. The news comes in light of the fact that a number of the countrys 48 testing facilities were closed over the bank holiday weekend. Roughly 60,000 tests were conducted last week according to the Department of Health. Chief executive of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) Professor Alan Barrett has also warned that women working from home during the Covid-19 crisis and looking after children will likely emerge as the hidden disadvantaged in terms of equality. He said that typically the low-skilled and the young fare worse when the tsunami of job losses hits in the early stages of recessions but that the Covid-19 recession has additional features, which will reinforce wage inequality. Prof Barrett also said the Government also faces a tough call in the coming weeks on the costs of paying the 350 a week pandemic unemployment payment. The Government also confirmed that special childcare arrangements will cover up to 5,000 families with essential health workers with parents paying 90 a week for services. Minister for Children Katherine Zappone told the Dail that childcare workers would be asked to volunteer for the scheme, which will begin in late May. Those workers will then get 15 an hour and the total cost of the scheme will be 4.7m a week. However, little detail was revealed about the general reopening of the childcare sector, which will begin in late July. At a glance 37 more deaths 1,375 deaths in total 265 confirmed new cases 22,248 confirmed cases in total 2,878 cases have been hospitalised 373 cases admitted to ICU 10.734 cases in Dublin 1,192 cases in Cork A carnivore is an organism that eats meat or the flesh of other organisms. There are many reptiles, amphibians, and insects that are carnivores. Even plants can be carnivores. But when we think of carnivores, we mostly think of large animals, like lions, tigers, and bears. The largest carnivorous creature, the blue whale, lives in the ocean, but most large carnivorous species are land-based. Meet the ten largest land carnivores on Earth. The last mention on the list might come as a surprise. 1. Polar Bear A polar bear with her cubs. Image credit: Alexey Seafarer/Shutterstock The polar bear is the largest land carnivore in the world. The average specimen weighs 360 kg. Polar bears require a lot of fat in order to survive the frigid climate in which they live which is why they primarily prey on seals that have high-fat content, though they will eat other animals if they are available. Polar bears live in the frigid arctic lands of the US (Alaska), Canada, Russia, Greenland, and Norway (Svalbard). They thrive particularly in areas with a lot of sea ice, which they need to use in order to navigate when hunting prey. Due to climate change, however, the amount of sea ice in areas where polar bears live is significantly decreasing, threatening the very existence of the species. 2. Brown Bear A fishing grizzly bear. Image credit: AndreAnita/Shutterstock Another bear species known as the brown bear is the second-largest land carnivore, weighing in at an average of 318 kg. There are over 80 types of brown bears and some are significantly larger than others. Their natural habitat consists of areas of Europe, Asia, and northwestern North America. In North America, brown bears are usually referred to as grizzlies or grizzly bears. Although brown bears do eat berries, plant roots and shoots, their primary diet consists of small mammals, fish, the calves of hoofed animals, and carrion. These bears have great dexterity in their limbs. They can stand on two feet and can even pick things up with their fingers (paws). Brown bears can also dig, which they often do when trying to hunt down rodents. 3. Bengal Tiger A Bengal tiger cub eating its prey. Image credit: PhotocechCZ/Shutterstock The Bengal tiger is the largest member of the cat family and the third-largest land carnivore in the world, weighing in at a whopping 227 kg on average. As its name implies, the Bengal tiger lives in Bangladesh, though in small numbers. The largest population of this species is found in India. There are also smaller groups of them in Nepal and Bhutan. Their habitat normally consists of rainforests, marshes, and tall grasslands. The Bengal tigers diet consists primarily of ungulate mammals, such as deer, water buffalo, and wild boar. To hunt, the tigers use their coats to camouflage themselves and wait until their prey is close, at which time they stealthily lunge at the side or behind the prey to claw it or bite its neck. The IUCN lists the Bengal tiger as an endangered species with a decreasing population. 4. African Lion A stalking African lioness. Image credit: Johan Swanepoel/Shutterstock The lion is often called the king of beasts. Its no wonder, then, that they are massive creatures, weighing an average of 200 kg. The African lion in particular can grow to be 3 meters long from head to tail. At one time, these lions lived in every part of Africa. Today, however, their habitat has shrunk to central and southern Africa, consisting mainly of shrubs, grasslands, and open woodlands. African lions normally hunt large animals, such as zebras, hogs, wild rhinos, hippos, and wildebeests. The hunters of a lion pride (family) are mostly female and work in hunting parties, while the males are responsible for protecting the pride. They surround their prey before taking it down and hunting is usually done at night. Oftentimes, these lions will stick around bodies of water because it is where much of their prey gather. 5. American Black Bear American black bear eating salmon. Image credit: Dan Kosmayer/Shutterstock The American black bear is the most common bear found in the forests of North America. They weigh an average of 159 kg and can be between 1.5 and 1.75 meters tall (5-6 feet). Contrary to its name, the American black bear is not always black, but can be a variety of colors. In fact, this species is sometimes confused with the brown bear because it can be a similar color, though actual brown bears are much larger. The American black bears diet changes with the seasons. In the summer and fall, these bears mainly subsist on fruit, nuts, roots, ants, and honey. During the spring, however, they are known to kill and consume moose calves and deer fawns. They may also feed on dead carcasses. As humans have encroached onto their habitat, these bears may also try to steal food from garbage left by people. 6. Asiatic Black Bear Asiatic black bear. Image credit: Atibordee Kongprepan/Shutterstock The Asiatic black bear is found in a large part of East Asia, mainly in forested areas. They live in the mountainous areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan, northern India, Nepal, Burma, and China. They are also found in northeastern China, the Korean Peninsula, southeastern Russia, Taiwan, and the Japanese islands of Honshu and Shikoku. These bears weigh an average of 136 kg. Adult bears are 1.25 to 2 meters long (50 to 75 inches). The creatures that the Asiatic black bear feeds on include insects, invertebrates, small vertebrates, and carrion. They have also been known to kill and eat livestock. 7. Spectacled Bear A spectacled bear. Image credit: Milton Rodriguez/Shutterstock The spectacled bear is the only bear species native to South America. They live in the cloud forests of the Andes, and in the high Andean moorland, in an area stretching from Venezuela to northern Argentina. Like the Asiatic black bear, the spectacled bear weighs an average of 136 kg. Their front legs are longer than their rear legs, making this bear species an excellent climber. The spectacled bears diet includes insects, small rodents, and birds, though they mainly feed on fruit and plants, including those high up in the trees. 8. Sloth Bear A sloth bear searching for termites. Image credit: PhotocechCZ/Shutterstock The sloth bear lives in the forested areas and grasslands of India and Sri Lanka, with smaller numbers appearing in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan. They prefer to live in drier forests and areas with rocky outcrops, at lower elevations. Like the Asiatic black bear and spectacled bear, the sloth bear weighs an average of 136 kg. The mainstay of this bears diet is termites. In fact, sloth bears are especially capable of consuming termites because their mouths are designed in such a way that allows them to suck the termites into them. Sloth bears also eat other insects, eggs, honeycombs, carrion, and other vegetation. 9. Jaguar A jaguar in the Amazon Rainforest. Image credit: Adalbert Dragon/Shutterstock The jaguar is the largest member of the cat family in the Americas, weighing an average of 113 kg. It primarily lives in the swamps and woodlands of central and South America. The largest number of jaguars can be found in the Amazon Rainforest. Like other large members of the cat family, the jaguar hunts by stalking and ambushing its prey. In fact, the word jaguar comes from an Indigenous word, Yaguar, literally meaning he who kills with one leap. The jaguar is swift, agile, and a very good climber, though they hunt mainly on the ground. Their prey includes capybara, peccary, deer, birds, crocodilians, and fish. 10. Giant Panda A giant panda eating bamboo. Image credit: PHOTO BY LOLA/Shutterstock The mention of the giant panda might come as a surprise as it is generally known to feed on bamboo and hence regarded as a carnivore. However, science has revealed that the bamboo diet of the species is very similar to the diet of a carnivoran. The giant panda also has a digestive system resembling that of the carnivores. Hence, it is sometimes referred to as a closet carnivore. It is considered a national treasure in China. At one time, they roamed a large area of the countrys south and east. Now, however, they live only in small patches of bamboo forests, in Chinas southwest. This bear weighs an average of 113 kg. They subsist primarily on bamboo, of which they must eat between 12 and 38 kg per day. They also, however, will hunt for pikas and other small rodents. The giant panda is one of the most vulnerable bears in the world, though recent conservation efforts have led to increases in their numbers. "Despite the recent volatility afflicting leveraged finance in the wake of COVID-19, MUFG is committed to expanding its platform for our clients in this area. Leveraged finance remains vital for a range of non-investment grade companies to receive financing, and it's a business that we believe holds long-term growth prospects for us," says John Karabelas, Head of Institutional Investor Sales in the Americas. "Marc and Diane bring impeccable credentials and valuable experience that will serve our expansion through this challenging time, as the market recovers, and well into the future." Most recently, Mr. Lavine served as Director of Capital Markets with Simon Baron Development. Previously, he was a Managing Director in the Leveraged Finance Sales Group at Deutsche Bank. Ms. Wright will join MUFG from RBC Capital Markets and was previously at Credit Suisse, having held the position of Director in High Yield, Distressed and Leveraged Loan Sales at both institutions. "With plans to double our headcount in leveraged finance sales before the year is out, we are staying the course in maintaining our full lifecycle business modelfrom origination to distribution and secondary tradingtoward becoming a top corporate-banking debt house in the Americas across the credit spectrum," says Bill Mansfield, Head of Global Markets for the Americas. MUFG is the largest publicly-traded bank in the world and the fifth largest by assets, with approximately $2.9 trillion.1 The bank provides a full suite of financing and fixed-income advisory services to corporate clients, financial institutions and private-equity sponsors, thus serving borrowers in addition to financing investment opportunities. MUFG had originally established a strong foundation in the investment-grade sector and later extended its coverage to include leveraged finance. It was the eighth largest underwriter of U.S. investment-grade bonds in 2019 and in the first quarter of 2020, according to Refinitiv. The bank has advanced significantly in the high-yield bond league tables and was the 11th largest underwriter of U.S. high-yield bonds in the first quarter of 2020, according to Bloomberg. About MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation The U.S. operations of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG), one of the world's leading financial groups, has total assets of $341.4 billion at December 31, 2019. As part of that total, MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation (MUAH), a financial holding company, bank holding company and intermediate holding company, has total assets of $170.8 billion at December 31, 2019. MUAH's main subsidiaries are MUFG Union Bank, N.A. and MUFG Securities Americas Inc. MUFG Union Bank, N.A. provides a wide range of financial services to consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies, and major corporations. As of December 31, 2019, MUFG Union Bank, N.A. operated 349 branches, consisting primarily of retail banking branches in the West Coast states, along with commercial branches in Texas, Illinois, New York and Georgia. MUFG Securities Americas Inc. is a registered securities broker-dealer which engages in capital markets origination transactions, domestic and foreign debt and equities securities transactions, private placements, collateralized financings, and securities borrowing and lending transactions. MUAH is owned by MUFG Bank, Ltd. and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. MUFG Bank, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc., has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, and Canada. Visit https://www.unionbank.com or www.mufgamericas.com for more information. About MUFG Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) is one of the world's leading financial groups. Headquartered in Tokyo and with more than 360 years of history, MUFG has a global network with over 2,700 locations in more than 50 countries. The Group has over 180,000 employees and offers services including commercial banking, trust banking, securities, credit cards, consumer finance, asset management, and leasing. The Group aims to "be the world's most trusted financial group" through close collaboration among our operating companies and flexibly respond to all of the financial needs of our customers, serving society, and fostering shared and sustainable growth for a better world. MUFG's shares trade on the Tokyo, Nagoya, and New York stock exchanges. For more information, visit https://www.mufg.jp/english. 1 As of December 31, 2019, and according to the USD/JPY exchange rate at that date, when assets totaled 314.4 Press contact: Assaf Kedem Direct: 212-782-4926 [email protected] SOURCE MUFG In Alaska, the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Borough School Board voted to pull classic literary works The Great Gatsby, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, The Invisible Man, The Things They Carried, and Catch-22 from the approved reading list of elective high school classes. You can read about the board's bullshit "reasoning" here. After many people spoke out about the stupidity, the board agreed to vote later this month on whether to rescind the decision. Meanwhile, the band Portugal. The Man who are from the area have offered to send copies of the books for free to any student or parent in the district who wants to read them. "We believe this decision is narrow-minded and un-Patriotic, and we are not OK with it," the band posted to Facebook. "That is why we are putting out a standing offer that if any student/parent in the Mat-Su Borough School District wants a copy of one or more of these books, we will mail them to you. Just hit us up at sticksandstones@portugaltheman.com (CNN) AMSTERDAM -- A Dutch restaurant has come up with an idea on how to offer classy outdoor dining in the age of coronavirus: small glass cabins built for two or three people, creating intimate cocoons on a public patio. Waiters wear gloves and transparent face shields, and use a long board to bring dishes into the glass cabins to ensure minimal physical contact with customers. While the concept is currently being trialed only for family and friends of staff from the ETEN restaurant, which is part of the Mediamatic arts center, it certainly looks glamorous, as diners enjoy candle-lit meals with a waterside view. Its super-cosy, its really cosy, its nice and the food is delicious, said Janita Vermeulen, who was invited to a trial dinner with her roommate. An attendant wearing a clear face shield serve wine to customers through the door of a 'quarantine greenhouse' being tested in which guests can dine at a restaurant in Amsterdam. Photo: Reuters Organizers call the project Serres Separees (Separate Greenhouses) because they say it sounds better in French. We are now learning how to do the cleaning, how to do the service, how to get the empty plates out again in an elegant way, so you still feel taken care of nicely, said Willem Velthoven of Mediamatic. People have meals inside a 'quarantine greenhouse' being tested at a restaurant in Amsterdam. Photo: Reuters Dutch restaurants are closed to the public until at least May 19, though kitchens may operate for takeaway. The Netherlands restaurant association KNH has said that even if restaurants are allowed to reopen at limited capacity and with safety measures in place, many face financial ruin if social distancing rules are maintained. The Dutch government was expected to lay out a roadmap later on Wednesday for how and when it may begin loosening restrictions. An attendant wearing a clear face shield communicates with customers at a restaurant where 'quarantine greenhouses' are being tested in Amsterdam. Photo: Reuters People have meals served on a wooden plank inside a 'quarantine greenhouse' being tested at a restaurant in Amsterdam. Photo: Reuters 'Quarantine greenhouses' are being tested in which guests can dine at a restaurant in Amsterdam. Photo: Reuters An attendant prepares a table in a 'quarantine greenhouse' being tested at a restaurant in Amsterdam. Photo: Reuters Attendants serve meals on wooden planks at a restaurant where 'quarantine greenhouses' are being tested in Amsterdam. Photo: Reuters Ministers have warned the British press not to confuse the public by speculating over changes to lockdown measures ahead of next week. (PA) The British press has been urged not to confuse the public over the lifting of coronavirus lockdown measures ahead of Boris Johnsons plan to announce a roadmap of a UK exit strategy on Sunday. The Welsh government accused the media of sending "mixed messages" about easing the current lockdown. It comes after various reports not confirmed publicly by ministers emerged in the papers about how the government plans to ease the strict lockdown rules on Monday. Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner tweeted: Highest #coronavirus death rates in Europe, PPE failures, Testing failures, Care Home support failures, Lockdown late, No clear plan for next phase, these are NOT a success! Dominic Raab confirmed on Thursday that lockdown measures remain in place over the bank holiday weekend. (PA) Now we have the right wing press leading policy, heralding an end to lockdown, confusing the message! 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 Her comments come after various newspapers published reports speculating what measures, if any, would be first to be relaxed. The Sun reported how sunbathing, picnics and driving to rural areas would be allowed as part of the government's first stage of easing measures. The Daily Mail reported last week that the government was considering allowing social bubbles - where individuals would be permitted to socialise with a close group of 10 family members and friends. And the Financial Times reported how unlimited exercise could be allowed as restrictions were eased. All reports have neither been confirmed or dismissed by government. 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. However, in response, the Welsh government said speculation on how lockdown measures may be lifted in England risks sending mixed messages to people in other parts of the UK including Wales. A spokesperson said: It is crucially important that the people of Wales are informed clearly and accurately about what, if any, changes are made to the current stay-at-home restrictions. Story continues Some of the reporting in todays newspapers is confusing and risks sending mixed messages to people across the UK. At Thursdays Downing Street press conference, Dominic Raab stressed he would not jump the gun by hinting at any relaxation of stay-at home measures - despite various reports speculating what measures could be changed. When questioned by the BBCs Laura Kuennsberg, the first secretary confirmed current restrictions have been extended and will remain in place over the bank holiday weekend, saying: There is no change today in the guidance or in the rules. Boris Johnson also said he will act with maximum caution in easing the coronavirus lockdown amid signs of tensions with the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales. Boris Johnson is exercising "maximum caution" during his review of social distancing measures. (PA) The PMs official spokesman said the prime minister told his cabinet on Thursday that nothing would be done which risked a second peak in the outbreak, while also warning he would not hesitate to tighten the rules again if required. The spokesman said: The PM said that in considering whether there could be any easement in the existing guidelines that we are not going to do anything that risks a second peak. We will advance with maximum caution in order to protect the NHS and save lives. We will be guided at every step by the science and the data and we will closely track the impact of any easing of the social distancing measures and will not hesitate to tighten the rules if required. Coronavirus: what happened today Watch the latest videos from Yahoo News UK GODFREY The Madison County Health Department may resume in-person visits to its clinics as early as next week. In a Thursday teleconference coordinated by the RiverBend Growth Association, Madison County Health Director Toni Corona said her 38-member staff recorded its first coronavirus case on March 17. The county has since recorded nearly 400 cases and 28 deaths while preparing for what she called this whole new normal. We know the most vulnerable populations experiencing severe and significant consequences, up to death, have certainly been our older population and those folks with chronic health conditions, she said. The majority of COVID-19 related deaths in the county, she said, have been associatd with people in a more critical health condition. This is a virus, she said. The little critter is a living thing. And once it gets inside a host and is able to do what it doesis it finds ways to survive. We study and we learn more every single day, Corona said. We dont have the vaccine yet. Were starting to get hopeful with some sort of treatment that might be available for hospitals, for individuals who are hospitalized. The department updates its website and Facebook page daily as part of its COVID-19 response. And after the virus forced the department to close its walk-in clinics, Corona said Thursday it is working to gradually introduce appointment-only immunizations. Thats really been on our minds, she said. Were trying our best to get that incorporated back in so that we dont create bigger problems by exposing additional risk into our normal clients, too. Corona said her staff is working on how to get Madison County reopened safely using Gov. J.B. Pritzkers recently unveiled five-phase process. She said local officials daily discuss best practices with the Illinois Department of Public Health. With any reopening plan, not doing it right we suffer the primary consequence of increasing the transmission (of COVID-19), she said. Theres just risk after risk after risk, and trying to weigh all that out has been important. State Sen. Rachelle Crowe, D-Glen Carbon, said she and other downstate senators had encouraged Pritzker to take a regional approach to reopening the state. But the plan Pritzker proposed, she said, falls short. Were all in the same phase, she said. It doesnt accommodate the small businesses and look at them, what we can be doing downstate especially. It also falls short, in my opinion, on how it is looking at the groups. As she spoke, John Roberts of Alton texted to the teleconference that he believed Illinois needs to reopen sooner than Pritzkers plan provides. I will be mindful of my safety, he said. But when St. Louis opens, I will be there spending my money if our county chooses to remain closed. I will not be the only one doing it either. Lost revenue in this area will be huge. Crowe also questioned the potential timelines of Pritzkers plan which currently has Illinois in Phase 2. Moving to Phase 3 is expected to take at least 28 days. If we were to remain as we are in this plan, were looking at a lengthy time period before we reach the Phase 4 for our schools, Crowe said. Im told to expect a call from the governor at some point in the near future. I have a big list of things I want to talk through with him. As you all know, frustration is growing, she said. And I share in that frustration with you. I am very concerned right now for our local businesses, our economy, and just how we are going to get through all of this. Crowe said Illinois is going through two crises: health and economic. Madison County is doing well from a health perspective, she said. But the frustrations are real when it comes to the economy. She and state Rep. Monica Bristow, D-Alton, both said they are ready to return to Springfield, but both houses needed to be in session to accomplish anything. Bristow noted Alton is not the only border community in Illinois and lawmakers will be trying to address those concerns. Were fortunate that we have this beautiful river between us, she said. But do it (cross the river) at your own risk, I guess. SPRINGFIELD Members of the House Republican Leadership Team on Wednesday responded to Gov. J.B. Pritzkers Restore Illinois plan and renewed their request that lawmakers be called back into session immediately so co-equal branches of government can collaborate on steps to restart the Illinois economy. House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), Deputy Minority Leaders Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) and Dan Brady (R-Bloomington) and Caucus Chair Ryan Spain (R-Peoria) joined assistant Minority Leader Avery Bourne (R-Morrisonville) on the Zoom press conference. Together they expressed overall disappointment in the Governors plan. First of all, this plan was created with zero input from the General Assembly, Bourne said. Like all other state government decisions since mid-March, this policy was created unilaterally by a Governor who is leading the state via executive order. We have co-equal branches of government for a reason, she said. We provide necessary checks and balances that are completely absent right now. The legislature should have been involved with the creation of a plan of this magnitude. It affects every single Illinoisan in every one of our districts. The Pritzker plan provides for Illinois economic recovery through five steps over four regions with no timeline on when regions would reach Phase 5, or full reopening of all elements of the economy. On Tuesday, Pritzker said all areas of Illinois began Phase 2 on May 1 when the modified stay home order took effect. With 28-day benchmarks required for certain COID-19 data points, the earliest any of the four regions could move to Phase 3 would be May 28. I believe strongly that the Governor has overstepped his authority since the plan he presented extends well beyond the 30-day executive powers he holds through his disaster declaration, said Bourne. We need a medium and long term plan that looks at regional data and it must be made in consultation with members of the General Assembly. Right now the legislative branch is being silenced even though none of us abdicated our duties to the executive branch. Bourne said House Speaker Mike Madigan, Senate President Don Harmon and Pritzker have the authority to call lawmakers back in session. I await the call and am eager to return to the Capitol. We must get back to work so that the rest of Illinois can get back to work, said Bourne. LONDON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The head of Minnesota based Greenwhich.HR has been honoured in the Business Worldwide Magazine 2020 CEO Awards for his new approach to labour market data collection. Cary Sparrow was the outright winner in the category 'Most Innovative CEO | HR tech Industry' in the awards, which seek to identify and honor the Most Respected C-level executives across the globe from a variety of different sectors. Unlike other awards where the focus is on a company's success, here the spotlight is on the success of individuals who make the corporations tick namely senior executives such as CEOs, Managing Directors, Directors and senior-level management. The intention is to give a worthy individual the recognition he/she deserves whilst inspiring others to achieve similar success. Accurate labour market intelligence helps organisations make important decisions and boosts the economy, but traditional data sources are confusing, late, and incomplete. Huge gaps in data mean most hiring and pay activities are invisible and billions of dollars are lost to market frictions. Greenwich.HR is dedicated to bringing real-time, high definition transparency to the labor market by revolutionizing the way labour market intelligence is collected and distributed. The Greenwich.HR platform is the largest and fastest-growing source of real-time labor market intelligence, tracking the daily hiring and pay behaviours of millions of companies. The next-generation platform is now used by leading brands across a wide range of industries, and because the data is collected from companies rather than individuals it offers a level of accuracy that has never been possible before. The company's clients span a range of sectors, and investment managers, media companies, recruitment professionals, business intelligence teams, sales leaders, universities, economists, management consultants, and compensation professionals. Cary Sparrow explained why the platform is so innovative: "We collect intelligence from nearly 5 million new US jobs each month, which amounts to approximately 70% of all new jobs listed around the States. Our dataset includes no aggregation clients see data on each job we track, and we use AI-driven normalization to enable world class analysis. This provides game-changing precision to support a broad range of applications. Data comes primarily from online job listings, because online job listings are pervasive, company-reported, richly documented, and reflective of immediate market conditions". Having conquered the US market, Greenwich.HR is now deploying its capabilities globally. Data on 20 additional countries is being collected during the first half of 2020, ultimately extending the company's reach to include over 50 countries. For more information, visit https://greenwich.hr/ An article on the company can be found on the Business Worldwide website https://www.bwmonline.com/2020/04/20/greenwich-hr-bringing-big-data-to-labour-market-intelligence/ Further details about the Business Worldwide Magazine Awards can be found at https://www.bwmonline.com/awards . About Business Worldwide Magazine Business Worldwide Magazine is the leading source of business and dealmaker intelligence throughout the world. Our quarterly magazine and online news portal enable an established audience of corporate dealmakers to track the latest news, stories and developments affecting the international markets, corporate finance, business strategy and changes in legislation. This readership includes of CEO/CFO - Banks, Corporate Lawyers and Venture Capital/Private Equity Companies to name a few. Contact David Jones Awards Department E: [email protected] W: http://www.bwmonline.com SOURCE Business Worldwide Magazine The restrictions and economic impacts arising from the COVID-19 outbreak have dampened the activity from the sellers in April, resulting in a downtrend in all capital cities, except Canberra, according to the latest market update by SQM Research. Across the country, listings went down by 4.9% over the month and 11.9% over the year. The available supply of housing in the market was at 292,775. Of all capital cities, Canberra was the only one to report an increase in available housing stock, albeit only marginal at 0.4%. On a yearly basis, however, listings in Canberra were down by 6.8%. Also read: Why Canberra Is A Safe Bet For Investors Perth recorded the biggest month-on-month slump in listings at 8.4%. Sydney, on the other hand, registered the largest decline on a yearly basis at 19.4%. The table below shows the number of available housing stock in each capital city: Louis Christopher, head of research at SQM Research, said the decline indicates that sellers struggled to sell their properties over the month and new sellers decided to defer listing their homes. "With the lifting some restrictions over the course of May, we could see a lift in buyer activity for housing. However, many issues persist, such as the spike in unemployment and the ongoing closure of the international border," he said. In terms of asking prices, capital cities reported average gains of 0.7% for houses and 0.1% for units over the past 30 days to 5 May. Of all capital cities, only Melbourne, Adelaide, and Darwin were able to record increases in both house and unit prices. [May 07, 2020] Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation Donations to Feeding America and United Way Continue Supporting COVID-19 Relief in Missouri As part of its continued commitment to improving lives and communities, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Missouri and its Foundation today announced additional funding to support Feeding America and United Way, two organizations that are crucial frontline responders to the coronavirus pandemic in Missouri. Funds will be cascaded to food banks, shelters and other resource centers across the state that help struggling individuals and families access necessities amid the pandemic. These latest contributions are part of a $1.1 million commitment recently made by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Missouri and its Foundation to support COVID-19 relief efforts across Missouri and help families and communities with vital essential needs such as: funding to support after school programs, helping to stock food panties throughout Missouri, and support for services that are addressing isolation and domestic abuse. "We understand how this pandemic is affecting Missouri families and the uncertainty it brings," said Amadou Yattassaye, president, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Missouri. "Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and our local foundation are proud members of the Missouri philanthropic community and feel it is our responsibility to support the communities where we serve, live and work." Highlights of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation's COVID-19 response in Missouri include: From children who rely on school lunches, to seniors and people with disabilities who have challenges leaving their homes, food access is one of the biggest needs as it relates to COVID-19. Through a $20,000 donation to Feeding America, the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundatio is helping support emergency food programs at food banks across Missouri. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation's $20,000 donation to United Way chapters with COVID-19 relief programs will help vulnerable individuals, families, and organizations across Missouri through financial assistance, access to critical programs and services, and working with partner agencies to help provide a stable recovery for Missouri communities in the coming years. chapters with COVID-19 relief programs will help vulnerable individuals, families, and organizations across Missouri through financial assistance, access to critical programs and services, and working with partner agencies to help provide a stable recovery for Missouri communities in the coming years. Through a $110,750 grant, the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation is helping Boys & Girls Clubs across Missouri provide nutritious food and e-learning opportunities for schoolchildren and families impacted by school and club closures due to COVID-19. The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis is utilizing a $50,000 grant from the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation to help address health, wellness and mental health challenges due to COVID-19. "As we continue our coordinated response to COVID-19, we know the needs of individuals and the community will continue to evolve rapidly," said Yattassaye. "We will continue to adapt and respond with care and compassion, and provide the necessary support to help guide us through this crisis and aid the recovery." Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation is committed to the whole health of individuals and families. In the current public health crisis, that means working with partner organizations to provide emergency response, access to food, protective and medical equipment, volunteers, human services and addressing education and technology needs. The foundation will evolve its community support efforts to meet communities' changing needs in the coming weeks and months. About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation Through charitable grant making, the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation LLC, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, promotes Anthem's commitment to improving lives and communities. Through strategic partnerships and programs, the Foundation addresses the social drivers that will help create a healthier generation of Americans in communities that the company serves. The Foundation focuses its funding on critical initiatives that make up its Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that target: maternal health, diabetes prevention, cancer prevention, heart health and healthy, active lifestyles, behavioral health efforts and programs that benefit people with disabilities. The Foundation also coordinates the company's year-round Dollars for Dollars program that provides a 100 percent match of associates' donations, as well as its Volunteer Time Off and Dollars for Doers community service programs. ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. To learn more about the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, please visit http://www.anthem.foundation and its blog at https://medium.com/anthemfoundation. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005690/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Gardai in Midleton are investigating an incident of theft during which five containers of liquid nitrogen were stolen from a farmyard in East Cork. The incident occurred between the hours of 1.00am and 7.30am on Tuesday, 5th May 2020 in Killeagh, Co. Cork. The containers were removed using an Ifor Williams trailer, also taken from the premises, along with other specialised farm machinery. Gardai are appealing to anyone with information in relation to this incident to come forward. Liquid nitrogen is colourless, odourless and tasteless. When spilled or in contact with skin, it can cause severe burns. There is also a risk of suffocation if the substance is released in a confined space. Anyone who was in the Killeagh area between the hours of 1.00am and 7.30am on Tuesday, 5th May 2020 and any road users travelling in the area who may have camera (dash-cam) footage should contact Youghal Garda Station on 024 92200, or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111. Gardai are also warning members of the public who come across this product, not to interfere with the containers and contact your local Garda station immediately. No arrests have been made at this time. Investigations are ongoing. Advertisement Aston Martin was one of the first UK vehicle makers to resume car production on Tuesday following six weeks of factory closures due to Covid-19. Images taken inside the famed motor firm's state-of-the-art St Athan factory in Wales show some of the new measures in place as part of social-distancing and to adhere to guidance to prevent the spread of coronavirus. From temperature scans on arrival to face masks and two-metre distancing, this is the first glimpse of how manufacturing in Britain will look in the wake of the pandemic. Coronavirus car making: An Aston Martin employee scrutinises one of the first DBX crossover models coming off the production line since the St Athan factory reopened on Tuesday The British car maker says it has been working closely with the trade unions to develop 'detailed return-to-work protocols' for all workers to follow on return to the manufacturing facility in Wales. It is the second UK car maker to reopen its doors to employees this week, following Rolls-Royce's decision to partially resume operations at its home in Goodwood near Chichester on Monday. St Athan, the brand's latest 200million production base, is the home of the new DBX crossover - Aston Martin's first-ever SUV and a car it has pinned its hopes on after being hit by a string of profit warnings that caused its share price to tumble. Production workers at the company's global headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire - where cars like the DB11, Vanquish, Rapide, and Vantage are produced - will follow at a later date, as will office and support staff at Aston Martin Lagonda's various other UK sites. Aston Martin says it is carefully calculating limits on employee numbers on site working at any given time Each member of staff is temperature scanned on arrival to the St Athan factory to ensure none are showing symptoms of the virus Aston Martin is eager to restart outputs of the DBX crossover - its first SUV model ever. Following a string of financial issues, the British luxury car brand is pinning its hopes on the family-friendly model to boost sales Photographs snapped from the St Athan factory have been released to show the 'meticulously planned' site operating procedures the luxury car maker has imposed to protect individual staff members, their colleagues, their families and the wider community. 'The social distancing, health and hygiene instructions cover every aspect of a staff member's interaction with work from preparing to leave home to arriving on site; navigating the site; breaks and mealtimes; falling ill whilst at work; dealing with visitors and contractors; and leaving the site. There is also detailed guidance on PPE management; travel between Aston Martin Lagonda sites; and pool car arrangements,' the British brand explained. It's the first insider view of the catalogue of actions and instructions that manufacturers in Britain will need to draw up to support social distancing. Aston Martin says it has carefully calculated limits on employee numbers on site working at any given time, providing appropriate PPE and putting in place temperature checks on arrival at work to ensure the staff are not showing signs of the virus. Work stations are separated by two metres in accordance with the Government's social-distancing guidelines The Welsh plant was planned to make around 7,000 cars per year, the same number as Gaydon. However, outputs are likely to drop in the wake of weeks of closure and partial production in the weeks following operations restarting Photos snapped from the St Athan factory have been released to show the 'meticulously planned' site operating procedures the luxury car maker has imposed to protect individual staff members Scott Ward, director of manufacturing at Aston Martin Lagonda's St Athan site, said: 'The safety and ongoing good health of our staff is absolutely paramount in our thinking as we slowly and carefully return to car building. 'The arrangements we have put in place here for our phased return to work as we continue to build the brand's first SUV the highly anticipated DBX are designed to support the health and safety of staff while, of course, doing everything we can to ensure we do not add to the burden already being borne by the incredibly dedicated frontline staff of the NHS.' Philip Reardon from Unite Wales added: 'Unite the Union is working closely with Aston Martin Lagonda to ensure, above all, a safe return to work for all staff as the business looks to move on from the lockdown phase. 'In doing so, our members are supporting the shared desire to deliver a sustainable business for all those working not only at St Athan but across the Aston Martin business in the UK.' Aston Martin is the second UK car maker to resume operations following the Covid-19 pandemic. It restarted operation on Tuesday - a day after Rolls-Royce workers returned to the Goodwood plant Pool car arrangements have been made to help workers get to and from the production facility while the lockdown is still in place Aaton Martin is providing PPE - namely face masks - to workers. The car maker has been producing PPE for the NHS in the weeks it hasn't been allowed to manufacture vehicles While some Rolls-Royce workers have been back building bespoke cars since Monday, Bentley has delayed a return to assembly lines for its staff in Crewe until a week later. It will introduce a set of around 250 'comprehensive and wide-ranging' new hygiene and social distancing measures under a phased return to production at the company's headquarters from May 11, with full production anticipated to resume on May 18. Jaguar Land Rover, the UK's biggest car producer, has also set out plans to 'gradually' restart production on May 18, making it the first mainstream vehicle maker to kickstart post-Covid-19 production. - The Executive Convenor of the Dynamic Youth Movement of Ghana (DYMOG), Edward Tuttor, has slammed a recent decision of the Supreme Court - He argued that the Supreme Court is wrong to have ruled there was no conflict of interest situation in the $2.25 billion Eurobond case - Tuttor revealed that DYMOG would soon organize a forum to discuss the implications of the decision of the Supreme Court Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Edward Tuttor, Executive Convenor of the Dynamic Youth Movement of Ghana (DYMOG), has raised concerns about the ruling of the Supreme Court (SC) with regard to a case about the issuance of a US$2.25 billion bond. On Tuesday, May 5, 2020, the highest court of the land absolved the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, of a charge of a conflict of interest situation with regard to the bond. According to Tuttor, we came in the supreme interest of the people of Ghana. Looking at constitutional cases like a conflict of interest and assets declaration that do not bother on a particular regime. The issue of assets declaration and conflict of interest keeps raising its head. READ ALSO: Ghana's economy would contract by 1% in 2020 - EIU predicts He added that the group would soon organize a forum to discuss the implications of the decision of the SC on the case. Per a report by Ghana Web, the case which was filed by the DYMOG in 2018 was thrown out of court on the ground that the suit had no merit. The SC added that it would file its reasons on Wednesday, May 6, 2020, with the court registry for ease with regard to public perusal. YEN.com.gh earlier reported that the SC ruled Ofori-Atta, was not involved in a case of conflict of interest as well as procedural error, with regard to the issuance of the $2.25 billion Eurobond in 2017. The unanimous decision was reached by the seven-member panel of the court. The Finance Minister was sued along with the Attorney General and the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice [CHRAJ]. READ ALSO: Finance minister hints government may present new budget in July 2020 Enjoyed reading our story? Download YEN's news app on Google Playstore now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news! "I've recovered from COVID-19 but my barber doesn't want to shave me" - Fred Drah | #Yencomgh Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish on YEN.com.gh? Please contact us on Facebook or Instagram now! Source: YEN.com.gh Forensic officers at the scene of a reported stabbing in the village of Pen Y Graig in South Wales. (PA) A 29-year-old woman will appear in court on Thursday after she was charged with the murder of an elderly church warden. Zara Anne Radcliffe is accused of stabbing to death 88-year-old John Rees, who was allegedly attacked in a Co-op store in Pen Y Graig, Rhondda Valley, on Tuesday afternoon. South Wales Police said Radcliffe, from Porth, is also accused of three counts of attempted murder relating to other people who were also hurt in the incident. A force spokesman said: South Wales Police has charged a 29-year-old woman from Porth with the murder of John Rees, 88, and the attempted murder of three others. "Zara Anne Radcliffe will appear before Cardiff Magistrates' Court on Thursday morning. Police at the scene of a reported stabbing in the village of Pen Y Graig in South Wales. Rees, who lived in the nearby village of Trealaw with his wife Eunice, was a church warden at All Saints Church. In a statement his family said: "John was the very definition of a good man, extremely respected and liked in the community. "He was proud of his family, proud to be a Welshman and devoted to All Saints Church. We will all miss him terribly. Read more from Yahoo News UK: Surprise reopening of KFC causes 'two-hour queues' and 'manic scenes' Businessman crushed to death by water buffalo on Welsh farm Hero teenager dives into canal to save drowning 15-month-old boy Other tributes have also been paid to Mr Rees. Local Plaid Cymru councillor Joshua Davies tweeted: "My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of John Rees from Trealaw. Rest in Peace John. Flowers have been left outside the convenience store and at All Saints Church. One said: "Our hearts go out for John and his beloved wife Eunice and family. We are all heartbroken. Such a lovely, lovely gentleman, kind and caring, so so sad. God bless. "Thanks for being the lovely man who has rang our church bells every Thursday night for the NHS. You will be very sadly missed by everyone. Another said: "Heartbreaking losing your life in such a horrific way. Can't stop thinking of your poor wife x Thoughts are with you and your family. Story continues Neighbour Tracey Goodridge, said Rees was a carer for his wife and that he was "a gentleman" who would "help anybody. "It's just so sad and unbelievable. The church bells at the end of the street, he'd be there doing them. And couldn't wait for the services to start back he loved his church," she told ITV Wales. Forensic officers at the scene of a reported stabbing in the village of Pen Y Graig in South Wales. The incident on Tuesday afternoon left one man in a stable condition in hospital and two other people suffered non-life-threatening injuries. One of those injured was believed to be an NHS worker. Leanne Wood, Plaid Cymru Member of the Senedd for Rhondda, has written to the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board asking that specialist support services are made available for those who witnessed the incident. The South Wales force has also referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, but did not say why. WASHINGTON, May 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) commented today on the effort by U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Senator Steve Daines (R-MT), who are leading a bipartisan group of five senators to call for inclusion of $700 million in funding over two years for non-profit credit counseling services in upcoming coronavirus relief legislation. To view the official press release, please click here: Merkley, Daines Lead Bipartisan Push to Boost Credit Counseling Services for American Consumers. NFCC President and CEO Rebecca Steele issued the following statement: "This bold, bipartisan proposal led by Senators Merkley and Daines recognizes the oncoming tsunami of consumer debt payments Americans face as the economy returns to 'normal.' With over 30 million Americans filing for unemployment, caps for small business loans quickly being reached, and untold numbers of gig economy workers suffering reduced income, Americans are facing unprecedented economic challenges in the months ahead. "Fortunately, non-profit credit counselors are ready to help these Americans avoid credit destruction and bankruptcy. With the proposed funding, the NFCC and its member agencies can help these Americans proactively manage credit card balances, medical debts, and protect their access to credit. Without increased support for credit counseling, these consumers will face aggressive collections activity, opportunistic scams, and many will be forced to declare bankruptcy, wreaking havoc on an already stressed financial system and communities throughout the country. "The NFCC praises Senators Daines and Merkley for their leadership, and we stand ready to serve Americans at this difficult time." About the NFCC Founded in 1951, the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) is the nation's first and largest nonprofit dedicated to improving people's financial well-being. With a national network of member offices serving 50 states and Puerto Rico, our NFCC Certified Credit Counselors are financial advocates, empowering millions of consumers to take charge of their finances through one-on-one financial reviews that address credit card debt, student loans, housing decisions and overall money management. Make one of the best financial decisions of your life. For expert guidance and advice, call (800) 388-2227 or visit http://www.nfcc.org today. SOURCE National Foundation for Credit Counseling Staying 6 feet apart in San Franciscos Bernal Heights got a lot easier after a pop-up bakery started delivering its fresh bread to customers using a basket and a rope. Its the most exciting thing to hit quiet Wright Street in some time. Here it comes, said Ryan Stagg, placing a loaf of sourdough into the wicker basket and lowering it to sidewalk level and into the waiting hands of customer Engin Bumbacher, who said $9 is not too much to pay for a great loaf of bread after all the mediocre ones he has baked on his own. These days everyone may be a baker, but not every baker has got the hang of it. A million things can go wrong when you do it at home, Bumbacher said. I know. Stagg and his fiancee, Daniella Banchero, two furloughed restaurant chefs, got the basket delivery idea from the odd layout of their house its front yard is 10 feet above the street, propped up by a thick retaining wall. Nine bucks, Stagg acknowledges, is not cheap, especially with all the locked-down folks who have little else to do right now but put water and flour together. The home baking craze has caused a run on the packaged yeast market, with some online gougers asking $20 and up for a three-pack. And yet the customers return and small lines form on Wright Street beside the retaining wall. Some neighbors come to see the rope basket in action. Most come for the bread. The delivery system is a novelty, but bread isnt. The bakers call their operation Bernal Bakery, and the bread, rolls and cookies are by reservation only, pick up in person. (You can order via Instagram: @Bernal_Bakery.) Right now, the bread is sold out five days in advance. A cookie, for $2.50, may or may not be available on a standby basis. Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle This is the coolest thing, said Daphne Adam, who brought her year-old son, Philo, to watch the bread come down on the rope. Philo was wide-eyed and speechless. Adam said she had tried doing the bread thing herself and its not working. Stagg said he and Banchero started the bakery out of boredom as a way to keep busy and were as surprised as anyone when the business caught on. They might even keep it going when the pandemic ends and nobody needs to have things lowered in baskets. The basket is a silly little thing, he said, lowering another loaf from on high. Not the bread. Biking up, restrooms down: Better weather is bringing 50% more cyclists to the new bike path on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge but, as the scouts say, be prepared. The restrooms are few and far between, and because of the pandemic getting farther. Ridership on the new 4-mile-long trail, which opened in November, has grown to 750 riders a day on weekends. But authorities have closed county park restrooms on the Richmond side. With the virtual absence of restrooms on the San Rafael side, planning is called for. Coffee bars with restrooms are open in historic Point Richmond, said Bruce Beyaert, chair of the Trails for Richmond Action Committee. But dont drink too much coffee, he said. Plan ahead. Or you could have problems. On the Marin County side, there is a public restroom at the main gate of San Quentin prison, which has its own shelter-in-place rules. The world in your living room: Old Faithful is still erupting every 90 minutes, and the water is still tumbling from the top of Yosemite Falls. Its easy to check and make sure. Thanks to live webcams, its possible during a pandemic to verify in real time that the world is still out there, waiting for the return of paying customers. Its also possible to see the grand sights without other people getting in the way. 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. Take Old Faithful. Yellowstone National Park may be closed to visitors, but the webcam is still broadcasting live pictures of the famous geyser. Waiting in person for Old Faithful to erupt usually involves jostling for position on crowded benches. Waiting at home for Old Faithful to erupt is pleasant, and you can fix yourself a sandwich. Now Playing: On March 16, many Bay Area residents were ordered to observe social distancing and shelter in place with hopes of flattening the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Artists have used this time to channel their creative impulses in interesting and unique ways to combat the isolation. Video: Manjula Varghese / The Chronicle While waiting, what you see on the webcam is a picture of the utterly empty parking lot next to the geyser. The empty Old Faithful parking lot is a natural wonder, too. Its a sight even more striking than an eruption of Old Faithful. Yosemite National Park is also closed, but the webcam pointing at Yosemite Falls is alive and well. You can follow a ripple of water as it descends it takes half a minute or so to make it all the way to the valley floor. Thats as long as most TV commercials and easier on the system. Then you can switch to the webcam pointed at Half Dome. The image is refreshed every 60 seconds, but Half Dome at 1:09 p.m. looks much like Half Dome at 1:10 p.m. You can visit the Colosseum in Rome and watch a cop car drive past on the eerily empty street, its blue light flashing. Then drop by the nearby Piazza Navona, where there is no line at the ice cream place under the awning, because it isnt open. Share with us the good news The news these days can be sobering, even grim. But amid the darkness, there are rays of light. We'd like to know about examples of good news you have witnessed during this time. You can tell us your thoughts online at SFChronicle.com by using our Assignment Editor tool, or send an email (which can include a photo) with the subject line "Good News" to metro@sfchronicle.com. See More Collapse The South Pole can be a dark place when you drop by, but the other day there was a ethereal green glow high in the sky above the observatory building that could only have been the Southern Lights. The temperature was minus-74 degrees. You can visit such empty places as the Farallon Islands, outer space or Times Square in New York City. Patience, whether waiting for a webcam stream to buffer or waiting out a pandemic, is always a good idea. Steve Rubenstein is a staff writer with The San Francisco Chronicle. E-mail: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com It appears the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Agona West, Justina Marigold Assan, is nurturing some political ambitions, hence, has some personal interest in promoting herself in the Municipality more than her appointing authority, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. In an about six-minutes video dubbed Progressive Achievements of NPP in Agona West under Hon. Justina Marigold Assan, the MCE is seen promoting her personal achievements in the Municipality without even acknowledging the President let alone the efforts of the party faithfuls and the Assembly for all the efforts in uplifting the standard of living of the people of Agona West throughout the entire video. The least said about the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area who is also the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Cynthia Mamle Morrison, for her supportive role in the Municipality the better. One begins to wonder whose interest shes there for? Party members as well as some sympathizers of the elephant family who are familiar with the self-acclaimed heroine nature of the MCE say the situation can have dire repercussion on the fortunes of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and demands immediate attention. A member of the NPP in Agona West constituency, who wants to remain anonymous said Aunty Justina is behaving like she is the President. You can be the Presidents representative in the Municipality but you cant be like him. When it comes to elections, it is the President and the MP whose pictures will be seen on the ballot yet Aunty Justy is not promoting either of them, why? Has she so soon forgotten that it was the President who appointed her? The MP and all the constituency executives of the party are promoting the President but their efforts are being eroded on daily basis by Justina's constant counter attacks and self- accolades as if its her pocket money shes running the municipality with. She has to change her ways else her attitude will cost the NPP partys seat and presidential votes in the 2020 elections. As if her consistent failure to acknowledge the President is not enough, party faithfuls suspect strongly that the MCE is also fighting the sitting MP over something, including who should be credited for government sponsored projects that are impacting positively in the lives of the people. Inside sources say Justina is strongly competing with the MP through a proxy over who should represent the NPP in the 2020 Parliamentary polls. The MCE, we gather, is constantly discrediting the sitting MP as far as the construction of projects in the municipality are concerned. Reports are rife that anytime the MP makes attempt to showcase projects H.E the President has made so far since becoming the lawmaker of the area, the MCE will quickly release documents, pictures and videos on social media to discredit her and goes ahead to portray to the public that she rather lobbied for those projects almost as if shes an independent candidate. She is further reported to have consciously taken a decision to frustrate payment of contracts that will enhance the popularity of the sitting MP, Hon. Morrison. This stance of the MCE, we are told, has resulted in the halting of some projects lobbied by the MP to the area for lack of payment for over two years now. Those familiar with the situation say the contractors affected by this action have resorted to initiating court action against the Assembly. An example is a contractor working on a new Police Station for the people of Agona Nyarkrom who is said to have complained bitterly to the MP and some party stalwarts in the municipality about the attitude and posture of the MCE anytime he goes to the Assembly to follow up on some certificates he has raised in connection to the project he is executing on behalf of the Assembly. The said project, we gather was abandoned for almost a year until Madam Mamle Morrison raised some money for the contractor to continue to its current stage. What is more worrying, according to some party followers, is the display of some arrogance and show of power by the MCE. A sympathizer of the NPP who gave his name as Kweku said he is a witness to the show of arrogance displayed by the MCE on May Day when the MP invited her to inspect some ongoing projects including the new Police Station for the people of Agona Nyarkrom. The MCE refused to come down from her car despite several advice by the constituency financial secretary, Kweku narrates how she openly snubbed her and drove off in anger glaringly. Sources say Justinas leadership style is very suspicious of a presidential hopeful or an MP; a situation that is seriously causing deep cracks in the Assemblys collective developmental drive. All efforts to get the MP Hon. Cynthia Mamle Morrison to comment on this development proved futile. She refused to comment on the topic. Some party activists who have been following happenings in the municipality with keen interest have called on the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to intervene. They claim the situation is not peculiar to Agona West alone as some MCEs elsewhere have arrogated to themselves some powers which they are abusing them much to the detriment of the party. 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 Due to staffing shortages, low Medicaid payment rates and a questionable policy from the state Department of Health, nursing home deaths have skyrocketed since COVID-19 touched down in New York. On Tuesday, the state reported an additional 1,700 more nursing home deaths. About 4,813 New Yorkers have died from the coronavirus at nursing homes throughout the state since March 1, according to the state, including those who were suspected to have the virus but were not tested. Thats nearly one-fifth of the total of 25,028 New Yorkers who have succumbed to the disease. As with deaths overall, New York has had more nursing home deaths caused by the coronavirus than any other state thus far. But its unclear exactly how many have actually occurred. Severalreportshave suggestedthat some nursing homes may be underrepresenting their COVID-19 deaths for fear of bad publicity. But how did New York allow its most vulnerable residents to be so widely exposed? Isnt the state supposed to only grant operating licenses to facilities that ensure their residents safety? The states lack of a minimum staffing requirement at long-term care facilities, insufficient Medicaid funding and the state Department of Healths decision to allow sick residents back into nursing homes all helped to create the perfect storm. Nursing homes have always been conducive to the spread of disease. Theyre known to have crowded quarters, overworked and underpaid employees performing tasks requiring them to come into close contact with residents, such as changing diapers and bathing and feeding residents. And the elderly and individuals with pre-existing conditions are especially susceptible to contracting diseases and are more likely to die from viruses. These factors combined with the states faulty response, already understaffed facilities, insufficient infection control and prevention, and a lack of funding helped turn the states nursing homes into death traps. The state Department of Health has been criticized for instating a policy on March 25 that forced nursing homes to accept COVID-19 infected residents back into their facility after being in the hospital. This affected nursing homes ability to safely isolate their sick residents from healthy residents. While the state has insisted that these facilities should only welcome sick patients back if they have the means to care for them, the department of healths protocol clearly states that nursing home residents cannot be denied re-entry if they have COVID-19. No resident shall be denied readmission or admission to the (nursing home) solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19, Newsday reported. One might wonder why the Cuomo administration thought these nursing homes would be able to prevent COVID-19 from spreading, when there was already evidence that they lacked proper infection protections such as personal protective equipment and access to coronavirus testing. More than half of the nursing homes that were most ravaged by the outbreak were repeatedly warned by federal inspectors, over the past three years, that they were not meeting the states infection-control regulations, designed to prevent viral outbreaks. In 2016, the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine published a report on infection control programs in nursing homes across the country and found that about 61% of the people they spoke to in charge of infection control and prevention at nursing homes had no training regarding infection control or prevention. Many personal care aides and certified nursing assistants that work in nursing homes in the U.S. are vastly under-trained and most dont even need to obtain associates degrees in order to work at long-term care facilities, let alone a bachelors in nursing. About 36% of the nursing home facilities they looked at had received citations for not meeting infection control standards. While the report did not disclose which standards were violated, possible infractions could include failing to properly sanitize equipment or failing to report an infectious disease outbreak.The study concluded that most American nursing home staff are not properly trained to control or prevent infection. Nursing homes in New York have regulations regarding infection control practices. However, understaffing can lead to an increased risk of infection, even if workers are well-trained, as employees are more likely to make careless errors rushing from resident to resident during their shifts. State Sen. Rachel May, Chair of the Committee on Aging, told City & State that one of the primary reasons why things escalated so quickly at nursing homes had a lot to do with chronic staffing shortages. The state doesnt have any minimum staffing requirements for long-term care facilities. And as nursing home workers contracted the virus, facilities became more strained. Nursing home employees are low-paid and attracting adequate staff is difficult. It's been hard to get anybody to do long-term care jobs for quite a while because at this point people can make more money working in fast food or something like that, May said. It's been really hard to recruit people into what is a very difficult job. The state department of healths Division of Nursing Homes and Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities Surveillance oversees New Yorks nursing home conditions. The division also acts as a proxy for the federal government, making sure that nursing homes abide by federal and state regulations. Health inspections conducted by Medicare and Medicaid and any facility that violates any state or federal procedures is subject to citations and fees. The state launched a probe into nursing home deaths across the state on April 23, after 3,500 nursing home residents died from the coronavirus and it was reported that nursing homes were without personal protective equipment and were not following safety protocols properly. Failure to comply with the state Department of Health regulations may result in a $10,000 fine for each violation or the revocation of a nursing homes operating license. We've said from the start that protecting our most vulnerable populations including people in nursing homes is our top priority and that's why the State acted quickly and aggressively to issue guidance specifically for these facilities on testing, infection control, environmental cleaning, staffing, visitation, admission, readmission, and outreach to residents and families, the states health department said in a statement sent to City & State. Our efforts are consistent with CDC and CMS guidance here and here and adopted in multiple other states including New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, Illinois and California. The Department will continue to work with administrators of private and county nursing homes to do everything possible to protect the health, well-being and privacy of the residents who call these facilities home. May has been working to create new initiatives to incentivize more people to work at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities by offering things like free childcare and student loan forgiveness which many registered nurses already receive and creating career ladders that ensure better pay in the future. Retaining employees at nursing homes is a nationwide problem. Most nursing assistant salaries are typically very low. In 2017, the average annual salary for a nursing assistant was $28,000. This often forces nursing assistants to work at multiple facilities. And the work can be grueling, often involving changing diapers and bathing people. May hopes that if the state provides these benefits it will give more people the impetus to work in nursing homes. But many nursing homes also cut back on staff in an effort to save money, since the state has no minimum staffing requirements. You cut the staff because you can, Robyn Grant, director of public policy and advocacy at the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, told City Limits in 2019. You cut it to the bone, and then what we end up seeing is terrible, terrible understaffing. The state senator also wants to create a tax credit for people that are caring for an elderly family member at home, in an effort to prevent them from putting them into nursing homes when they dont need to be there, which puts more pressure on understaffed nursing homes. We should be rewarding that work (taking care of a family member) and recognizing that work and making it easier for people to do that work, so that people don't have to go into nursing homes who don't want to, May said. May has also said that another big reason why the states nursing homes were hit so hard by the outbreak stemmed from a lack of Medicaid funding. (The states nursing homes) have gone 12 years without a cost-of-living rate increase for Medicaid recipients, May said. That means, in skilled nursing homes, they're spending a lot more money per day on care for their residents than they are receiving back from Medicaid. And that has led to a financial crisis and cuts to funding numerous times. The state has also cut some capital funding to nursing homes so they weren't able to expand or create safer spaces (for their residents during the onset of the outbreak). The American Association of Retired Persons isnt concerned with pointing fingers or placing blame on anyone for the states massive outbreak yet. Its first priority is ensuring that Cuomo makes a concerted effort to coordinate relief for the states nursing homes, like he did with the states hospitals, and getting a task force set up to contend with nursing home-related issues amid the coronavirus crisis. The nonprofit wrote a letter addressed to the state on April 29, asking for it to do just that. The governor did a great job organizing all of the hospitals in the state of New York, particularly down in New York City and Long Island to respond to the pandemic, Bill Ferris, legislative director of AARP in Albany, told City & State over the phone. But AARP is saying, now, today, that the government needs to have that same response to the long-term care system. The organization also wants the states nursing homes to better communicate with their residents loved ones, as many families statewide have complained that long-term care facilities failed to tell them when a resident contracted the coronavirus. Nursing homes in New York are legally required to notify a residents family of any COVID-19 cases at their facility within 24 hours, once they discover a resident is sick. Ferris suggests that Cuomo invoke an executive order to facilitate better communication between nursing homes and their residents families. The state currently has a long-term care Ombudsman Program which is in charge of investigating any complaints regarding long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes. However, according to May, the program is underfunded and has seen a progressive decline in the number of volunteers it uses to sift through the complaints and assess what nursing homes need to be investigated. May said she fought hard to get more money for the program included into this years state budget but was unsuccessful. In terms of there being people out there to find out what's going wrong in nursing homes, that also was not functioning at the level it should, she said. LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / Compare-autoinsurance.org (https://compare-autoinsurance.org/) is a top auto insurance brokerage website, providing car insurance quotes online from trustworthy agencies all over the United States. The current shelter-at-home orders have drastically affected our daily activities. The economy received a severe blow and the companies that didn't close had to adapt to a work from home model. The auto insurance industry makes no exception and the industry had to adapt. All services, including renewal, payments, and claims processing are done online. When buying coverage, drivers must also rely on the internet. 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Kim Reynolds on Wednesday proclaimed public and private camping areas could reopen Friday after they were shut down April 7 to promote social distancing. The campground at George Wyth State Park was slated to open at 8 a.m. Friday, and reservations for arrivals staring Monday will be accepted, said Lori Eberhard, park manager. Restroom and showers will remained closed at George Wyth, meaning all campers must be self contained, and campers are not allowed to have visitors at their campsite. The park offices, restrooms, lodges, shelters, and playgrounds are still closed. Bamboo Ridge campgrounds, a private facility on Hess Road near the Lost Island Waterpark, will also be fully open Friday. The Black Hawk County Conservation Board will open part of its campgrounds beginning at 8 a.m. Friday but only for campers with self-contained restrooms. Self-contained means a tent or pop-up camper with a portable toilet or an RV with a functioning, self-contained bathroom. Siggelkow Parks campgrounds will remain closed. Conservation officials said available sites will be limited to ensure safe social-distancing capacity. Walk-in campers may begin registering at 8 a.m. Due to predictions for freezing temperatures Friday night, the water will not be turned on at the Big Woods Lake Campground until Monday. Campers may fill tanks utilizing the all-season hydrant near the registration booth at the campground entrance. Campers will need to supply their own hoses. Conservation parks will be allowing walk-in only, first come, first served camping Friday through Sunday. Camping reservations go into effect Monday. Conservation apologized to those that had reservations scheduled from May 8-10. Those reservations will not be honored because refunds have already been issued and/or the transactions are already being processed. Playgrounds, lodges, cabins, shelters and Hartman Reserve Nature Center will remain closed. Parks staff will be monitoring the parks and campgrounds to ensure social distancing guidelines are being followed. Campers will not be allowed to have visitors; campfires will be limited to those registered at the campsite; and no more than six campers will be allowed at each site unless they are all members of an immediate family. All modern restrooms and shower buildings, including water fountains, will remain closed at county campgrounds. For the most current information regarding Black Hawk County Conservation parks and recreation areas, visit: www.blackhawkcountyparks.com. For questions pertaining to parks north of U.S. Highway 20, call (319) 493-9367. For questions pertaining to parks south of U.S. 20, call (319) 493-9744. A group of U.S. senators is questioning whether Amazon retaliated against whistleblowers when it fired workers who spoke out about health and safety concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began, Amazon (AMZN) has fired at least four Amazon workers who had publicly raised concerns about safety conditions in Amazon warehouses, the senators wrote. In a letter sent on May 6 to CEO Jeff Bezos, the senators argue Amazon has made vague public statements about internal policies to justify the actions taken against the employees. Now, the senators want details about those policies to understand how the termination of employees that raised concerns about health and safety conditions did not constitute retaliation for whistleblowing. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) all signed the letter. Amazon defended its actions in a statement to Yahoo Finance, saying the workers were not fired for talking publicly but for violating policies such as intimidation, physical distancing and more. FILE - In this March 30, 2020, file photo, workers at an Amazon fulfillment center in Staten Island, N.Y., protest conditions in the company's warehouse. A month later, even after Amazon scrambled to provide masks and gloves and check employees temperatures, Amazon workers have continued scattered walkouts across the country to protest what they say are still-risky conditions in warehouses where workers have had the virus. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File) We support every employees right to criticize or protest their employers working conditions, but that does not come with blanket immunity against any and all internal policies. We look forward to explaining in more detail in our response to the Senators letter, an Amazon spokesperson said. The senators highlighted stories of several employees who have reportedly been fired for raising concerns about conditions in Amazon warehouses, including Christian Smalls a former Staten Island warehouse worker who helped organize a March 30 walkout. Amazon argues it terminated Smalls for repeatedly violating the companys social distancing guidelines and a request to stay home for 14 days after possible exposure to the virus. Story continues There was no real policy, Smalls lawyer CK Hoffler told Yahoo Finance. He was protesting [for] the need to have a real social distancing policy, so the last thing he wanted to do was violate the social distancing that the CDC [recommended]. Amazon was making it up as time just went on. Chris was pushing for policies that could be implemented so that the workers would be protected, Hoffler said. Hoffler told Yahoo Finance her client had requested the company provide protective gear including masks and gloves, and to shut down the facility for cleaning. So far the shutdown for cleaning has not happened, she said, adding that her client thought his request would be met right away in the companys interest to maintain productivity. I guess if you're Amazon, you can just hire other workers, she said. Demonstrators hold signs as they listen to former Amazon employee, Christian Smalls, speak during a protest outside of an Amazon warehouse as the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in the Staten Island borough of New York U.S., May 1, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson According to Hoffler, Amazon chose to demonize Smalls and come up with a false, race-neutral business justification for terminating him after his protest. They say he violated time and time again the social distancing policy. What policy was there? Hoffler asked. And number two: where were the warnings? They say they repeatedly warned him. What warnings? The senators asked Bezos if Amazon warehouse workers and executives have the same termination and discipline policies, whether the company tracks workers efforts to unionize, strike or speak to the media and whether it tracks employees who take part in activities like walk-outs or strikes. They also want to know about how the company gives warnings to employees and on what grounds an employee may be fired. Bezos is coming under increasing scrutiny in Washington. The House Judiciary committee, which is conducting a big tech antitrust investigation, recently asked him to testify over concerns the company may have lied to Congress in previous testimony. Several other lawmakers have written letters to Amazon with concerns about its behavior during the coronavirus outbreak. The Trump administration also put some of Amazons foreign platforms on the notorious market list, a move Amazon blasted as a personal vendetta against the company. The senators say they want answers from Bezos by May 20. Jessica Smith is a reporter for Yahoo Finance based in Washington, D.C. Follow her on Twitter at @JessicaASmith8. Alexis Keenan is a reporter for Yahoo Finance and former litigation attorney. Follow Alexis Keenan on Twitter @alexiskweed. Read more: India Coronavirus news and lockdown latest updates: AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Gulleria said on Thursday that the novel coronavirus cases will peak between June and July. He added the spike in cases will come due to more testing across states. In an interview to India Today TV, Gulleria said that even after 40 days of lockdown, the country has not seen a declining trend in COVID-19 cases. He however, added that the lockdown and aggressive steps in red zones (hotspots or containment areas) should continue to be enforced. He further said that several other countries such as Italy and China took strict measures such as social distancing that started manifesting positive results after a month. Maharashtra and Gujarat recorded a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra's tally has jumped to 16,758 with over 1,200 cases in 24 hours. The death toll in the state stands at 651. Gujarat is the second worst-hit state in India with 6,625 cases and 396 deaths. Mumbai is the worst-hit state not only in Maharashtra but in India with over 10,000 COVID-19 cases. The city recorded 769 fresh cases and 25 deaths in 24 hours. 64% of cases in Maharashtra are from Mumbai alone.The total number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases in the country jumped to 52,952 on Thursday, according to latest update by the Union Health Ministry. The total count includes 35,902 active cases, 15,266 cured/discharged, 1 migrated, and 1,783 deaths. The country registered 3,561 new COVID-19 cases and 89 deaths in the last 24 hours. Follow BusinessToday.in for live updates on coronavirus in India and world: 8.45 PM: Maharashtra COVID-19 cases Maharashtra Jail Authorities have informed that 72 inmates and 7 staff members at Mumbai's Arthur Road prison have tested positive for COVID-19. All positive inmates will be shifted to GT Hospital and St George Hospital in guarded vehicles tomorrow morning while staff members will be shifted separately, authorities added. 8.13 PM: Noida Authority has granted 475 industry operate permissions, whereas 250 applications have been rejected on grounds of being ineligible or for being located in containment zones. The authority has also allowed 40 construction projects. 7.05 PM: Personal Protective Equipment designed and produced by Indian Navy has been tested by Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, a Delhi-based DRDO organisation tasked with testing and certification of PPEs. It is now certified to be mass-produced and used in clinical COVID-19 situations, Indian Navy stated. 6.48 PM: JEE Advanced Exam will be conducted on August 23, informed HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal. 6.15 PM: Odisha coronavirus cases Odisha High Court, till the next hearing, has directed state government to ensure migrants who are to return to the state be tested negative for COVID-19 before boarding the conveyance. The court is hearing a PIL which expressed concern over the rise in coronavirus cases after return of migrants to Odisha. 6.07 PM: Passengers wait to board the special flight IX452 from Abhu Dhabi to Kochi. Passengers at the boarding gate of Abu Dhabi Airport ready to board Abu Dhabi to Kochi special flight IX452: Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi, UAE pic.twitter.com/jP9lURE6Am ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 6.05 PM: Coronavirus cases in Himachal Pradesh Number of active COVID-19 cases in Himachal Pradesh has increased to 6, stated State Health Department. Two patients have succumbed to the virus, while 34 others recovered, it further said. 5.55 PM: Karanataka coronavirus cases Karnataka Health Department reported 12 new coronavirus cases in the state during the last 24 hours. Total number of cases in the Karnataka now stand at 705, including 366 recoveries and 30 deaths. 5.45 PM: Maharashtra COVID-19 latest updates Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray chaired an all-party meeting over the status of coronavirus in the state. Deputy CM and NCP leader Ajit Pawar, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, Congress leader Ashok Chavan, MNS chief Raj Thackeray, and other leaders attended the meeting via video conference. Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray held an all-party meeting via conference over #COVID19. Deputy CM & NCP leader Ajit Pawar, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, Congress' Ashok Chavan, MNS chief Raj Thackeray, and other leaders were also present. pic.twitter.com/jrgkvWAy9E ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 5.40 PM: Kerala coronavirus cases latest updates No new case of coronavirus infection has been reported in Kerala today, informed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The number of active COVID-19 cases in the stands at 25, he added. 5.35 IN PICTURES: Workers in Rohtak leave for Jhansi A group of migrant workers in Rohtak, Haryana were seen leaving for Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh earlier today amid coronavirus lockdown. A worker tolf ANI, "We do not have problem of food but we have no work and want to see our families. Also the place where we were living had been dismantled by the contractor." Haryana: A group of migrant workers in Rohtak were seen leaving for Jhansi(UP) earlier today amid #COVID19 lockdown. A worker says,"We do not have problem of food but we have no work&want to see our families. Also the place where we were living had been dismantled by contractor". pic.twitter.com/hhIfhkGVSv ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 5.17 PM: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu met today to discuss the possibility of holding parliamentary committee meetings via video conferencing. They directed secretary generals of both Houses in this regard. Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla & Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu met earlier today. They directed secretary generals of both houses to explore the possibility of holding meetings of parliamentary committees via video conferencing. pic.twitter.com/x95hRgIcHT ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 5:10 PM: The Odisha government has launched an online initiative for issuing e-passes to stranded people and migrant workers who wish to return to home states. Happy to share that #Odisha has launched #ePass for people who are stranded here & need to travel to other states. Log into https://t.co/sAHr5LiWpV & apply. After online approval, #ePass with passenger & vehicle details will be sent to applicant though SMS & Email.#OdishaCares pic.twitter.com/I3ebZt5OeT - Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) May 6, 2020 5:00 PM: Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh on Thursday said the police were fighting an invisible enemy and he was confident that they will win the war against COVID-19. "The morale of the police force is high. The police have won the battles against underworld, mafia and terrorists during the 26/11 attacks. Similarly, we will win our battle against this invisible enemy," he said. 4:50 PM: The Indian Railways on Thursday said it has operated 163 Shramik Special trains since May 1 and ferried home over 1.60 lakh migrants stranded in various parts of the country due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown. Railways said it ran 56 Shramik special trains on Wednesday and 14 so far on Thursday, taking the total tally to 163. "We are planning to run some more trains by the end of the day," a railway spokesperson said. 4.40 PM: Another person has died in Bihar due to coronavirus. Death toll has increased to 5 in the state. 4.30 PM: The Uttar Pradesh government intends to bring back all its migrant labourers from other states and has sought district-wise lists from them, say Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. 4.25 pm: 10 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Gautam Buddha Nagar today. Total number of cases in the district now stand at 202, including 93 active cases. 4.20 PM: Govt of Karnataka has written to Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, West Bengal and Rajasthan Governments seeking their consent to operate trains to their states from 8 to 15 May for transportation of people stranded in Karnataka. -ANI 4.10 pm: One more death in Bihar due to coronavirus. Death toll rises to five, says the State Health Department. 4.05 pm: India coronavirus latest news: 422 cases in paramilitary forces so far India's paramilitary forces have recorded 422 fresh COVID-19 cases so far. The cases have been reported from BSF, CISF, CRPF, ITBP and SSB. 3.59 pm: Noida coronavirus cases: 10 more people tested COVID-19 positive 10 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Gautam Buddha Nagar on Thursday. Total number of cases in the district is now at 202, including 93 active cases. 10 people tested positive for #COVID19 in Gautam Buddha Nagar today. Total number of cases in the district is now at 202, including 93 active cases. pic.twitter.com/UoSkf0rEUg - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 7, 2020 3.56 pm: Indore coronavirus updates 31 police personnel have been tested positive for COVID-19 in Indore, said Mohammad Yusuf Qureshi, SP (East) Indore. (ANI reports) 3.49 pm: Coronavirus live updates: 2 BSF personnel die due to COVID-19 2 COVID-19 infected Border Security Force (BSF) personnel passed away on Thursday. Officials said that the 41 fresh coronavirus cases have taken the total infections in BSF to 193. 3.39 pm: India coronavirus warning: Cases could peak on June-July, says AIIMS director AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Gulleria said on Thursday that the novel coronavirus cases will peak between June and July. He added the spike in cases will come due to more testing across states. In an interview to India Today TV, Gulleria said that even after 40 days of lockdown, the country has not seen a declining trend in COVID-19 cases. He however, added that the lockdown and aggressive steps in red zones (hotspots or containment areas) should continue to be enforced. He further said that several other countries such as Italy and China took strict measures such as social distancing that started manifesting positive results after a month. 3.29 pm: Odisha coronavirus updates: State records highest 1-day jump in COVID-19 cases Odisha recorded its highest single-day jump in novel coronavirus cases on Wednesday as it registered 20 fresh virus cases (on Wednesday), state health department informed. Out of these cases, 17 are from Ganjam and 3 from Mayurbhanj. The sudden spike in cases is linked to the migrant labourers returning to the state who are mostly the textile mill workers and plumbers from Surat in Gujarat. Gujarat is the second worst-hit state in India in terms of coronavirus related cases and deaths. 3.24 pm: Coronavirus lockdown news: Vande Barat Mission to evacuate stranded Indians abroad begins from UAE Process of repatriation of overseas Indians is beginning today from United Arab Emirates (UAE), a place where we have the largest diaspora of Indians in the world, informed Pavan Kapoor, Ambassador of India to UAE. Process of repatriation of overseas Indians is beginning today from United Arab Emirates (UAE), a place where we have the largest diaspora of Indians in the world: Pavan Kapoor, Ambassador of India to UAE #VandeBharatMission pic.twitter.com/DWZG8qPXNP - ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 3.19 pm: Rajasthan coronavirus latest updates: 45 fresh cases reported Rajasthan recorded 45 fresh COVID-19 cases on Thursday. The total count of cases stands at 3400 in the state; death toll at 95. Active cases in the state are 1565, said the state health department. 45 new #COVID19 positive cases reported in Rajasthan today. The total number of cases stands at 3400 in the state; death toll at 95. Active cases in the state are 1565: State Health Department pic.twitter.com/wgYg50SuBY - ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 3.12 pm: Coronavirus in Uttarakhand latest updates: No new cases reported Uttarakhand health department said on Thursday that no new COVID-19 positive case have been reported in the state till 2 pm. The total number of novel coronavirus cases stands at 61 with only 1 death. Active cases remain 21 in the state. (Inputs from ANI) 3.06 pm: India lockdown extension updates What's allowed in Red, Orange and Green zones E-commerce deliveries- Red Zones- only essential items' delivery allowed, Orange and Green Zones- All e-commerce services allowed in these zones Red Zones- only essential items' delivery allowed, Orange and Green Zones- All e-commerce services allowed in these zones Liquor shops- Red Zones- Standalone shops or the ones in the neighbourhoods are allowed but only in non-containment areas; Orange and Green Zones- allowed in these zones Red Zones- Standalone shops or the ones in the neighbourhoods are allowed but only in non-containment areas; Orange and Green Zones- allowed in these zones Salons and barber zones- Red Zones- Not allowed, Orange and Green Zones- allowed in these zones. Red Zones- Not allowed, Orange and Green Zones- allowed in these zones. Taxi and cabs- Red Zones- Commercial cabs will not be allowed to ply in these zones. However, private 4-wheeler riders can only ride solo, subject to permission for necessary. Orange and Green Zones- In Orange Zones, the cabs will be allowed to ferry 2 people besides the driver. In Green Zones, districts with no COVID-19 positive cases will also have the same rules as Orange Zones but these areas will have the permission to operate public transport buses at 50% capacity. Red Zones- Commercial cabs will not be allowed to ply in these zones. However, private 4-wheeler riders can only ride solo, subject to permission for necessary. Orange and Green Zones- In Orange Zones, the cabs will be allowed to ferry 2 people besides the driver. In Green Zones, districts with no COVID-19 positive cases will also have the same rules as Orange Zones but these areas will have the permission to operate public transport buses at 50% capacity. Domestic helps- The decision regarding the domestic helps will be taken by the respective state governments. 2.59 pm: India coronavirus containment zones: Red zones to be revised weekly, Centre tells states The central government 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 had said in a letter to Chief Secretaries of states. 2.49 pm: Maharashtra coronavirus news: Video shows dead bodies next to patients in Mumbai hospital, sparks row A video shot on a mobile phone has surfaced, showing corpses next to patients in Mumbai's Sion Hospital. The clip, has gone viral, and shows at least 7 dead bodies in the same ward as some patients there. Several leaders have shared the video comprising Congress leader Milind Deora and BJP's Nitish Rane. Outraged to see corpses laid beside the sick at Sion Hospital. Why isn't @mybmc following @WHO-prescribed protocols when disposing of #COVID19 corpses? Public hospital staff are doing their best with limited resources at hand. Mumbai's administration needs to step up NOW! pic.twitter.com/MURUNsIyfc - Milind Deora (@milinddeora) May 7, 2020 2.39 pm: Coronavirus in US live updates: First detained immigrant dies from COVID-19 A 57-year-old man in immigration custody died on Wednesday after testing positive for novel coronavirus infection. The detainee, according to news agency AP, was held at the Otay Mesa Detention Centre in San Diego and was in hospital since late April. The US immigration and Customers Enforcement neither confirmed, nor denied the death. It is the first death from the virus among 30,000 people in immigration custody in the United States. The country has recorded over 70,000 COVID-19 deaths so far, while the virus cases have crossed the 1.26 million-mark. 2.28 pm: Coronavirus in China live updates: 2 new cases reported China registered 2 fresh COVID-19 cases as on Wednesday (May 6), as per data from the national health authority. Both the cases were the travellers from abroad, the National Health Commission said in a statement. China's total count of novel coronavirus cases not stands at 82,885, and death toll at 4,633, the National health authority said. (Reuters) 2.18 pm: Coronavirus Outbreak in Maharashtra Latest Updates: Around 25 cops in Mumbai test COVID-19 positive Nearly 25 police personnel tested positive for novel coronavirus infection in Mumbai on Thursday, informed Mumbai Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh. "The number of symptomatic cases is low and none of them are in the intensive care unit," he said. About 250 police personnel have tested positive for #COVID19 in Mumbai. The number of symptomatic cases is very low and none of them are in ICU: Mumbai Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh pic.twitter.com/helaFZtWf4 - ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 2.11 pm: Mumbai Coronavirus Updates: Undertrial, 2 prison guards test COVID-19 positive at Arthur Road Jail An undertrial prisoners and 2 prison guards have been tested positive for novel coronavirus at Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail. The inmate has been admitted to JJ Hospital. The jail administration plunged into action and conducted test on 150 people, including prisoners and staff, the results of which are awaited. 2.05 pm: Gujarat Coronavirus Update A 45-year-old woman died in Gujarat's Bhavnagar on Thursday. She was earlier tested COVID-19 positive and had no co-morbid condition. 1.58 pm: First COVID-19 casualty in Delhi Police: Constable died 6 hours after manifesting first symptoms Delhi Police reported its first COVID-19 related-death when a 32-year-old constable passed away on Tuesday evening, barely 6 hours after complaining of couth, fever and breathlessness. His was admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital. 1.49 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). 1.45 pm: Lockdown 3.0 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. 1.39 pm: India 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. 1.33 pm: Coronavirus Red Zones in India; 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 1.29 pm: Punjab coronavirus updates 130 pilgrims who were at a Gurudwara in Manmad area of Nashik have been sent back to Punjab in buses arranged by Maharashtra Government. All the pilgrims have been medically screened and will be quarantined for 14 days on their arrival in Punjab. 130 pilgrims who were at a Gurudwara in Manmad area of Nashik have been sent back to Punjab in buses arranged by Maharashtra Government. All the pilgrims have been medically screened and will be quarantined for 14 days on their arrival in Punjab. pic.twitter.com/pffGGcaoic - ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 1.23 pm: Vande Bharat Mission to evacuate stranded Indians abroad The first repatriation flight of Air India Express IX419 to take off from Kochi (Kerala) for Abu Dhabi on Thursday. #VandeBharatMission: The first repatriation flight of Air India Express IX419 to take off from Kochi (Kerala) for Abu Dhabi today. #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/da5j1RTPbw - ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 1.19 pm: Andhra Pradesh coronavirus cases: 56 more infected, 2 deaths in one day Andhra Pradesh recorded 56 fresh COVID-19 cases and 2 deaths in the state in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of positive cases to 1833. Total 51 persons have been discharged in the past 24 hours, the total discharged are 780 till date. Death toll stands at 38, said the state's COVID-19 Nodal Officer. (Inputs from ANI) 1.12 pm: Liquor, wine shops re-open amid lockdown 3.0 Do's and don'ts Only 5 people will be allowed in a shop at one time and social distancing norms have to be followed. Take your own bags as this will ensure that you do not come in contact with contaminated surfaces. Online and digitals transactions are another way to reduce human contact and chances of contamination. Lastly, do not forget to wear masks or face cover while going outside 1.09 pm: Wine shops: Is your local liquor shop open? If your nearest liquor store falls in a containment area, it will remain closed till situation improves. If your local alcohol shop is located in a mall or a marketing complex, it will not be open. Only standalone liquor shops have been allowed to operate in red, orange and green zones. Delhi government has asked concerned departments to provide a list of all liquor shops that conform to the Home Ministry guidelines for reopening 1.06 pm: Liquor shops opening and closing timings Since liquor shops are also categorised as 'non-essential shops', so in most states they will remain open from 8 am to 7pm pm only. 1.04 pm: Lockdown extension in India: Highlights The Centre has allowed all goods traffic. No state/UT shall halt the movement of cargo for cross land-border trade under treaties with neighbouring nations. No separate pass needed for the movement of essential goods and services across the country during the lockdown period. States/UTs, basis their assessment of the prevalent situation, may permit only select activities out of permitted activities, as they may deem necessary. The Centre has permitted e-commerce websites to deliver non-essential items in orange and green zones. All other activities, that are not particularly banned, will be allowed activities. 12.57 pm: Lockdown 3.0 extension updates Here are the additional restrictions at workplaces: - Workplaces Wearing face cover is mandatory in workplaces Arogya Setu app to be made compulsory for all employees Intensive employee training ion good hygiene All persons in charge of workplaces and transport shall ensure social distancing Social distancing at workplaces to be ensured through adequate gaps between shifts, staggering the lunch breaks of staff, etc Frequent sanitisation of workplaces, common areas Large physical meetings to be avoided Arrangements for transport facilities to be ensured with social distancing wherever personal/public transport is not feasible Persons above 65 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women and children below 10 years to stay at home Provisions of thermal scanning, hand wash and sanitisers to be made available at all entry and exit points and common areas A list of nearby dedicated Covid-19 hospitals/clinics to be made available. Quarantine areas to be marked so that any employee showing symptoms of coronavirus can be quarantined before being rushed to nearest health facility 12.54: Chennai coronavirus updates Over 1,300 cases in Chennai are linked to Koyambedu market cluster. The wholesale market has emerged as epicentre of coronavirus cases in Tamil Nadu. 12.48 pm: Lockdown 3.0 extension updates What's allowed at Public places:- Wearing a face cover is mandatory in all public places Marriage related gathering shall ensure social distancing with maximum of 50 guests Funeral or last rites to be held with a maximum of 20 people while ensuring social distancing All persons in charge of public places and transport shall ensure social distancing Spitting in public places punishable by fine Shops selling liquor, paan, gutka, etc to ensure the minimum two-metre distance between persons present at shops at all times No gathering of 5 or more persons to be allowed Consumption of liquor, paan, gutka, tobacco not permitted in public places 12.44 pm: Karnataka coronavirus cases: 8 more infections reported 8 fresh COVID-19 positive cases were reported in Karnataka from 5 PM on Wednesday to 12 noon on Thursday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 701 including 30 deaths and 363 cured/discharged said the state health department. (ANI reports) 12.36 pm: What's closed in lockdown 3.0? Besides zone-wise restrictions, the Centre has prohibited a limited number of activities across the country, irrespective of zones. These include: - Travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road Schools, colleges, institutions Hospitality services, including hotels and restaurants Places of large gatherings, such as cinema halls, malls, gym, sports complex, cultural, social and political and all kind of assemblies Religious places/places of worship will also be closed for public 12.29 pm: Lockdown extension updates What's open in red zones; see here All industrial and construction activities in rural areas, including MNREGA works, food-processing units and brick-kilns are permitted; besides, in rural areas, without distinction to the nature of goods, all shops, except in shopping malls are allowed. All agriculture activities, e.g., sowing, harvesting, procurement and marketing operations in the agricultural supply chain are allowed. Manufacturing units of essential goods, including drugs, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, their raw material and intermediates; production units, which require continuous process, and their supply chain; Jute industry with staggered shifts and social distancing; and manufacturing of IT hardware and manufacturing units of packaging material will continue to be permitted. All health services (including AYUSH) are to remain functional, including transport of medical personnel and patients through air ambulances. Public utilities, e.g., utilities in power, water, sanitation, waste management, telecommunications and internet will remain open, and courier and postal services will be allowed to run. Most of the commercial and private establishments have been permitted to operate in the Red Zones. These comprise and electronic media, IT and IT enabled services, data and call centres, cold storage and warehousing services, private security and facility management services, and services provided by self-employed persons, except for barbers etc. All plantation activities are allowed, including their processing and marketing. Animal husbandry activities are fully allowed, including inland and marine fisheries. A large part of the financial sector remains open, which includes banks, non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), insurance and capital market activities, and credit co-operative societies. Operation of homes for children, senior citizens, destitute, women and widows etc.; and operation of Anganwadis is allowed. Also Read: Coronavirus India: Lockdown guidelines for Red, Green and Orange zones 12.24 pm: Mumbai coronavirus cases can go up to 80,000, says BMC Situation in Mumbai can get worse as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has estimated the city's COVID-19 cases to go up to 80,000. Since Mumbai does not have hospitals to accommodate them all, BMC is building hospitals and quarantine facilities in open spaces. 12.19 pm: Mumbai coronavirus updates: Open spaces converted into quarantine and hospital facilities Mahalaxmi racecourse parking space is being converted into quarantine cum hospital centre. Migrant workers are building these facilities. From Mahalaxmi Racecourse Parking Space, to Worli's dome stadium and very famous Nehru Science Centre are being converted into Covid-19 facilities. 12.15 pm: Delhi containment zones List of districts in red, orange and green zones. District Zone South East Delhi Red Zone Central Delhi Red Zone North Delhi Red Zone South Delhi Red Zone North East Delhi Red Zone West Delhi Red Zone Shahdara Red Zone East Delhi Red Zone New Delhi Red Zone North West Delhi Red Zone South West Delhi Red Zone 12.13 pm: Gujarat lockdown extension: List of red, orange and green zones District Zone Ahmedabad Red Zone Surat Red Zone Vadodara Red Zone Anand Red Zone Banas Kantha Red Zone Panchmahal Red Zone Bhavnagar Red Zone Gandhinagar Red Zone Aravalli Red Zone Rajkot Orange Zone Bharuch Orange Zone Botad Orange Zone Narmada Orange Zone Chhota Udaipu Orange Zone Mahisagar Orange Zone Mehsana Orange Zone Patan Orange Zone Kheda Orange Zone Valsad Orange Zone Dohad Orange Zone Kachchh (Kutch) Orange Zone Navsari Orange Zone Gir Somnath Orange Zone Dang Orange Zone Sabarkantha Orange Zone Tapi Orange Zone Jamnagar Orange Zone Surendranagar Orange Zone Morbi Green Zone Amreli Green Zone Porbandar Green Zone Junagadh Green Zone Devbhumi Dwarka (Devbhoomi Dwarka) Green Zone 12.11 pm: Maharashtra containment zones: List of red, orange, green zones Red zones: Mumbai Pune Thane Nashik Palghar Nagpur Solapur Yavatmal Aurangabad Satara Dhule Akola Jalgaon Mumbai Suburban Orange zones: Raigad Ahmednagar Amravati Buldhana Nandurbar Kolhapur Hingoli Ratnagiri Jalna Nanded Chandrapur Parbhani Sangli Latur Bhandara Beed Green zones: Osmanabad Washim Sindhudurg Gandia Gadchiroli Wardha 12.07 pm: PM Modi chairs urgent meeting on Vizag gas tragedy Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired an emergency meeting over the Vizag gas tragedy on Thursday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and NDMA officials were also present during the meet to take stock of the situation in the wake of gas leak in Visakhapatnam early morning 11.59 am: Coronavirus live updates: Govt makes Aarogya Setu mandatory for employees in India The government has made Aarogya Setu mandatory for both government and private sector employees in India. Here is how you can register on the app: 1. After downloading the app, the user will need to read and agree with the terms and conditions to register. 2. The user will need to submit his/her mobile number for verification, after which an OTP will be sent. 3. Post registration, the user can fill his/her personal details such as name, age, profession, countries travelled to in the last 30 days 4. The app asks the user whether or not he/she is ready to volunteer in the times of need. 5. The user can also do a self-assessment test after providing all the necessary details. The app can let users know about the chances of their infection risk. 11.55 am: Liquor shops open in Delhi The Kejriwal government has allowed 172 wine shops in Delhi with people queuing outside the stores in large numbers. Delhi government earned Rs 25 crore with the liquor sale on Wednesday. 11.51 am: Noida lockdown extension news: Spitting in public to attract Rs 500-1000 fine Spitting in general, gutka or tobacco in public spaces across Noida and Greater Noida has been banned with Rs 500 fine for first-time offenders and Rs 1,000 for repeat offenders, according the orders issued to stem the further spread of novel coronavirus. 11.50 am: Lockdown extension in Maharashtra: Section 144 imposed till May 17 Maharashtra government has imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in the state till May 17. Mumbai Police said that the movement of one or more people for all non-essential services, except for medical reasons, will be banned between 8 pm and 7 am. 11.49 am: Wine shops in Punjab: State govt to home deliver liquor from Thursday The Punjab will now deliver alcohol at people's doorsteps to avoid crowding at the liquor stores across the state. The delivery will begin from Thursday and the alcohol will be delivered between 1 pm to 6 pm. 11.45 am: Maharashtra coronavirus news: Cop dies due to COVID-19; 5th death in police force Another cop died after testing positive for novel coronavirus infection in Maharashtra's Solapur district. The assistant sub-inspector, posted at Solapur MIDC police station, was admitted to the civil hospital there on Tuesday. With this, 5 police personnel from the state have succumbed to COVID-19 so far, reported PTI. 11.39 am: Coronavirus lockdown extension in Ghaziabad till May 31; Section 144 imposed The lockdown curbs have been extended in Delhi's neighbouring Ghaziabad till May 31. The order was issued by Ghaziabad district magistrate on Tuesday amid rising cases of novel coronavirus and the upcoming Eid festival. People can move for permitted activities between 7 am to 7 pm. Senior citizens above 65 years of age, children below 10, pregnant women, and high-risk individuals, must leave their homes only if there is any emergency. 11.36 am: Liquor shops in Tamil Nadu open on Thursday, long queues seen Long queue of people seen outside a liquor shop at Jakkampatti village in Dharmapuri. State Government has allowed opening of state-run liquor shops from today, except in COVID-19 containment zones. Tamil Nadu: Long queue of people seen outside a liquor shop at Jakkampatti village in Dharmapuri. State Government has allowed opening of state-run liquor shops from today, except in #COVID19 containment zones. pic.twitter.com/hhWQJmhWp6 - ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 10.29 am: Telangana lockdown extension till May 29 Telangana government has extended the lockdown till May 29 and imposed a curfew in the state from 7 pm. "Public should complete purchase of essential items by 6 pm and reach their residences. If anyone is found outside, police will initiate action," said Telangana CM K. Chandrashekar Rao. 10.25 am: 40 more coronavirus cases in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday The total count of confirmed cases in Uttar Pradesh rose to 2,998 with 60 deaths on Thursday, as per the latest update by the Union Health Ministry. 10.19 am: Indore coronavirus cases near 1,700-mark Madhya Pradesh's total count of confirmed COVID-19 cases jumped to 3,138 along with 185 deaths on Thursday, as per the latest update by the Union Health Ministry. The state recorded 89 new cases in the last 24 hours. Indore topped the list with 1,681 cases and 81 deaths. The district which is among the worst-hit by novel coronavirus in India, registered 27 fresh cases in the last 24 hours, an official said on Wednesday. 11.12 am: Delhi lockdown news: First special train to MP from Thursday First special train from migrant labourers will leave from Delhi on Thursday. The special train will ferry around 1,200 migrant workers to Madhya Pradesh. 11.08 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- 45 cases, 1 death Chandigarh- 120 cases, 1 death Chhattisgarh- 59 cases, 0 deaths Goa- 7 cases, 0 deaths Himachal Pradesh- 45 cases, 2 death Jharkhand- 127 cases, 3 deaths Ladakh- 41 cases, 0 deaths Manipur- 2 cases, 0 deaths 11.05 am: Maharashtra, Gujarat on edge with increasing coronavirus cases Maharashtra and Gujarat recorded a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra's tally has jumped to 16,758 with over 1,200 cases in 24 hours. The death toll in the state stands at 651. Gujarat is the second worst-hit state in India with 6,625 cases and 396 deaths. 10.59 am: Coronavirus in West Bengal: Highest mortality rate in India The state's COVID-19 tally stands at 1,456 along with 144 deaths. West Bengal's mortality rate remains one of the highest at 10.56%. 10.57 am: Tamil coronavirus cases: 771 more infections in 24 hours Tamil Nadu recorded 771 fresh COVID-18 cases and 35 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total count of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state now stand at 4,829, according to Union Health Ministry. 10.53 am: Coronavirus vaccine latest news With the COVID-19 cases mounting worldwide, the United States, UK, Israel, China, Italy, and India are currently busy researching and developing the vaccines to treat coronavirus patients. Read more here: Coronavirus vaccine update: These countries are closest to finding a treatment 10.48 am: Coronavirus vaccine: Italian firm claimes it has developed COVID-19 drug An Italian firm claims its vaccine has coronavirus antibodies that work on humans. The Takis company has developed this drug which has antibodies generated in mice that work on human cells, according to tests carried out at Rome's infectious-disease Spallanzani Hospital, the company's CEO Luigi Au Aurisicchio told ANSA on Monday. Also Read: World's first coronavirus vaccine? Italian scientists claim they have developed it 10.42 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. 10.35 am: Gas lead in Visakhaptanam Visakhapatnam District Collector Vinay Chand visited King George Hospital where people affected by Vizag gas leak are being treated. Andhra Pradesh: Visakhapatnam District Collector Vinay Chand visited King George Hospital where people affected by #VizagGasLeak are being treated. pic.twitter.com/tEZLriS82b - ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 10.26 am: Vizag gas leak: PM Modi to call emergency meet at 11 am PM Modi will hold a n emergency meet at 11 am on Thursday in the wake of gas leak in Visakhapatnam early morning. Meanwhile, he also took to Twitter to say that he is speaking to NDMA and MHA officials on the situation. Spoke to officials of MHA and NDMA regarding the situation in Visakhapatnam, which is being monitored closely. I pray for everyone's safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam. - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 7, 2020 10.18 am: Coronavirus India cases: State-wise tally; check here Maharashtra is the worst-hit state in India with 16,758 COVID-19 cases and 651 deaths Gujarat follows suit with 6,625 cases and 396 deaths Delhi is the third worst-hit state with 5,532 cases and 65 deaths. Madhya Pradesh with 3,138 cases, 185 deaths Rajasthan 3,317 cases, 92 deaths Tamil Nadu-4,829 cases, 35 deaths Uttar Pradesh (UP)-2,998 cases, 60 deaths Andhra Pradesh-1,777 cases, 36 deaths Telangana 1,107 cases, 29 deaths West Bengal-1,456 cases, 144 deaths Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)- 775 cases, 8 deaths Karnataka- 693 cases, 29 deaths Kerala- 503 cases, 4 deaths Bihar-542 cases, 4 deaths Punjab-1,516 cases, 27 deaths Haryana-594 cases, 7 deaths 10.11 am: Rajasthan reporst 38 fresh coronavirus cases Rajasthan recorded 38 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday. The total number of confirmed cases in the state now stand at 3,317 along with 92 deaths, according to Union Health Ministry. 10.06 am: Vizag gas leak: 5 dead, 2,000 affected A major gas leak at the LG Polymers chemical plant in Visakhapatnam has claimed 5 lives, including a child and affecting around 2,000 people. 20 others are said to be critical. Many workers were also present inside the plant at the time of the leak. Hundreds of villagers were rushed to nearby hospitals with complaints of headache, vomiting and breathing problems. The gas leak took place around 2.30 am on Thursday. 9.59 am: Liquor shops in Tamil Nadu to open from Thursday The state government has allowed the wine shops to open in the state from Thursday from 10 am to 5 pm, meanwhile bars wil remain closed in the state. However, Chennai is not allowed to open the liquor shops in the wake of increasing novel coronavirus cases in the capital city. 9.55 am: Coronavirus live updates: PM Modi's big message to nation on Buddha Purnima; highlights The world is passing through a tough phase We are determined in our fight against coronavirus I appreciate you for your cooperation in these desperate times of COVID-19 When we have love and affection for each other, these feelings make us strong enough to tackle any hardship in life We are very lucky that we get to see several examples of people who are sacrificing their own comfort for the greater good of serving the masses. All such people deserve acknowledgement and our appreciation Also Read: Buddha Purnima 2020: Wishes, messages, quotes, Facebook, WhatsApp status, images 9.48 am: Ludhiana containment zone In Pics: Police deployed for 24 hours in Moti Nagar hotspot of Ludhiana, Punjab. People from outside and vehicles are not allowed to go inside. 9.39 am: Coronavirus live updates: States with highest mortality rates West Bengal- 10.56%, the highest in India Madhya Pradesh- 5.7% Gujarat- 5.4% Karnataka- 4.2% Maharashtra- 4% Rajasthan- 2.5% Uttar Pradesh (UP)- 1.8% Delhi- 1.3% 9.29 am: Coronavirus in India: High mortality rate raises serious concerns India's high COVID-19 mortality rate has raised challenges, notably after a comparison with the recovery rate. The country's bigger states are grappling with the increasing number of coronavirus cases, with a daily average of over 2,000 over the past 3 days. 9.19 am: Chennai worst-hit city in Tamil Nadu Chennai recorded 324 fresh COVID-19 cases in 24 hours out of 771 new infections registered in Tamil Nadu in a day. The total tally of confirmed cases in the state now stands at 4,829 along with 35 deaths. 9.12 am: Coronavirus cases in India in 24 hours The country registered 3,561 new COVID-19 cases and 89 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the totall count of confirmed cases to 52,952. 9.07 am: Coronavirus cases in Dharavi, Maharashtra Dharavi, Asia's biggest slum, and a COVID-19 hotspot reported 68 fresh coronavirus cases and 1 death in 24 hours. This has taken the total count of coronavirus infections to 733 in the slum. 9.00 am: Mumbai worst-hit state in India; cases breach 10,000-mark Mumbai is the worst-hit state not only in Maharashtra but in India with over 10,000 COVID-19 cases. The city recorded 769 fresh cases and 25 deaths in 24 hours. 64% of cases in Maharashtra are from Mumbai alone. 8.55 am: Coronavirus deaths in India India reported 89 new deaths in 24 hours taking the COVID-19 toll to 1,783 on Thursday, as per the latest update on Union Health Ministry's website. 8.49 am: Coronavirus live updates India recorded 3,561 new COVID-19 cases in India in 24 hours taking the tally to 52,950 total cases including 1,783 deaths 8.45 am: Coronavirus cases in India cross 50,000 mark The total number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases in the country jumped to 52,952 on Thursday, according to latest update by the Union Health Ministry. The total count includes 35,902 active cases, 15,266 cured/discharged, 1 migrated, and 1,783 deaths. 8.30 am: PM Modi adresses nation on the occassion of Buddh Purnima, pays tribute to corona warriors Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a virtual keynote address on Thursday on the occasion of Buddh Purnima. He will also pay his tribute to COVID-19 warriors fighting the pandemic from the frontlines. 8.15 am: India coronavirus cases near 50,000-mark The countrywide count of confirmed COVID-19 cases is nearing the 50,000-mark as many cities are reporting huge spike in coronavirus cases every day. The total count of confirmed coronavirus cases now stands at 49,391 including 33,514 active cases, 14,182 cured/discharged, 1 migrated and 1,694 deaths, according to Union Health Ministry. Some staff members of a private hospital in Noida protested outside a residential society, whose residents have accused them of risking people with coronavirus as its two health care workers tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. Over three dozen staffers of the Felix Hospital in Sector 137 protested in the evening outside the Ajnara Daffodil, where a 41-year-old female resident was detected with the novel coronavirus infection on May 5, according to an official report. A representative of the society, however, said it was not desirable for health care workers to assemble in that manner knowing well that the sector is a containment zone and the matter could have been resolved amicably. D K Gupta, a doctor and chairman of Felix Hospital, said two of his staff members tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday and one of them, a nurse, had come in contact with the female patient in the residential society on April 27. The nurse had gone to the society to attend to a third-stage cancer patient because of an emergency. That patient had earlier been travelling to Delhi for treatment. Now some residents of the society are blaming the nurse and our hospital of being carriers of the infection, when actually the nurse got infected from the patient, Gupta told PTI. After the Ajnara Daffodil resident was found positive for coronavirus, our nurse was also tracked through contact tracing and other people who had come in her contact, including our staff, were quarantined and then tested. Now two of them have been found positive for coronavirus, he said. The doctor said his hospital was now mulling filing a complaint with the police over some residents of the society falsely claiming that 80 per cent of his staff was infected with the novel virus. We have a staff of more than 300 people at Felix Hospital and claiming that 80 per cent of them are infected with COVID-19 is just not correct. They are putting it out on social media and everywhere. We will file a police complaint against them, Gupta said. D P Juyal, President of the Apartment Owners' Association of Ajnara Daffodil, said the protest gathering was dispersed by the police soon. Who infected whom is a matter on which more clarity is needed and is controversial. However, assembling in a crowd like this and raising slogans is not desirable at a time like this because this sector is in a containment zone already and it adds to the risk, he told PTI. Today two of the hospital staff have been found infected with the virus and you cannot stop anyone from raising concern over the safety of the people. The hospital officials could have called us and the matter could have been solved amicably over a dialogue, Juyal added. Meanwhile, the society remains sealed with in and out movement restricted in view of the coronavirus case there. Notably, the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday approved the UP Public Health and Epidemic Disease Control Ordinance, 2020, which protect 'corona warriors' (frontline workers against COVID-19) such as doctors, paramedical staff, sanitary workers, and police personnel by making actions against them as punishable acts. Those misbehaving with healthcare workers, paramedical staff, police personnel or sanitation workers in Noida and Greater Noida may land in jail for up to seven years along with having to cough out a fine up to Rs 5 lakh, according to the law. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Seven non-scheduled special flights will operate from Saturday to fly back Indian nationals stranded in the US amidst the international travel lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic, the Indian embassy here said. A computerised draw of lots would identify the names of the Indian nationals for the special seven flights back home, due to the limited number of seats available. On Monday, the Indian government announced plans to begin a phased repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad from May 7. Air India will operate 64 flights from May 7 to May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals stranded abroad amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown, India's Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday. India is conducting its biggest ever repatriation exercise named Vande Bharat Missionsans social distancing and COVID-19 tests to bring back stranded Indians from abroad. Beginning May 9, Air India has scheduled seven non-scheduled commercial flights from the US to India facilitating return of Indian nationals, who could not travel due to COVID-19 related international travel restrictions, the embassy here said in a latest advisory issued on Wednesday night. "Since the number of seats on the flights would be limited, passengers with the compelling cases such as those facing medical emergencies or requiring return due to bereavement in the family, students, pregnant women, elderly or those facing expiry of visas will be given priority, and identified through an electronic random selection method, the embassy said. The first of the series of seven flights will fly from San Francisco to Mumbai and Hyderabad on May 9 and the second flight from the city will fly to New Delhi and Bengaluru on May 13, the Indian embassy here said in a media release. Tickets for these flights range from USD 1362 (over Rs 1 lakh) for economy class to USD 3722 (over Rs 2 lakh) for business and USD 5612 (over Rs 4 lakh) for the First-Class passengers. The embassy cautioned that the one-way fares mentioned are provided by Air India; and subject to change. Additional fare may be charged for domestic sectors. Air India has scheduled two flights from Newark, in New Jersey on May 10 (to Mumbai and Ahmedabad) and May 14 (to Delhi and Hyderabad). Similarly, two flights have been scheduled from Chicago on May 11 (to Mumbai and Chennai) and May 15 (Delhi and Hyderabad). The solo flight from Washington DC on May 12 will fly to Delhi and Hyderabad. According to the media advisory, all passengers will be required to undergo medical screening before boarding the flight and only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to travel. All passengers on arrival in India will be medically screened and would have to download and register on Aarogya Setu app. Further, all passengers will need to undergo a 14-day mandatory quarantine on arrival in India in institutional quarantine facilities on payment basis as per the protocols framed by Government of India. COVID test would be done after 14 days and further action would be taken according to applicable health protocols, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) KEY HIGHLIGHTS UP Cabinet introduces 'Uttar Pradesh Temporary Exemption from Certain Labour Laws Ordinance, 2020' Ordinance curbs all labour laws pertaining to labour unions, working conditions, work disputes, and other issues Exceptions to the Ordinance include labour laws related to bonded labour, ex gratia to workers and timely wages Ordinance sent to Governor Anandiben Patel for her assent Uttar Pradesh government has promulgated an ordinance that suspends most of the labour laws for a period of three years. In its latest meeting, the state cabinet approved this ordinance in order to revive economic activities in the state that have been hit hard due to the coronavirus-mandated lockdown. In the meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, UP cabinet gave the green signal to the 'Uttar Pradesh Temporary Exemption from Certain Labour Laws Ordinance, 2020' which relaxes all labour laws in the state, except three, which are related to abolishment of bonded labour, ex gratia to workers in case of work-related diseases and disabilities, and timely wage payments. In a statement, the Uttar Pradesh government said that the nation-wide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic has slowed the pace of industrial and economic activities in the state, which has also impacted the welfare of labourers and that makes this ordinance necessary. ALSO READ: RSS-affiliated trade union cautions against 'mad run' to provide China-like cheap labour "For encouraging new investments, setting up new industrial infrastructure and benefit of existing industries and factories, it is imperative that they are provided temporary exempted from the existing labour laws in the state. Therefore, it is important that existing labour laws in Uttar Pradesh are relaxed for a period of three years. To this end 'Uttar Pradesh Temporary Exemption from Certain Labour Laws Ordinance, 2020' has been introduced," the state government said in its statement. The ordinance has been sent to Governor Anandiben Patel for her approval. ALSO READ: Coronavirus lockdown impact: Weekly unemployment rate spikes to 27.1%, says CMIE The relaxations will be extended to existing industries and manufacturing units, as well as new ventures that set shop in the state in coming days. All labour laws related to labour unions, settling work disputes, regulations for working conditions, contracts, etc will remain suspended for three years in Uttar Pradesh under this ordinance. However, three labour laws have been exempted. These include Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976; Employee Compensation Act, 1923 (statutory liability upon an employer to discharge his moral obligation towards employees when they suffer from any physical disabilities or diseases, during the course of employment in hazardous working conditions); Building and Other Construction Workers Act, 1996 (safety, health and welfare measures); and Section 5 of Payment of Wages Act, 1936 (ensure timely payment of daily wages). Provisions related to women and children will continue to exist, the Uttar Pradesh government noted. ALSO READ: Coronavirus lockdown 3.0: UP govt spells out relaxations to be given from May 4 Many thousands of migrants have been left stranded by the coronavirus pandemic, unable to move due to lockdowns and border closures around the globe, the United Nations said Thursday. The UN's International Organization for Migration said in southeast Asia, east Africa and Latin America, many were attempting to return to their countries of origin but were unable to do so. Migrant camps were "very prone" to spreading the disease, IOM Director General Antonio Vitorino told reporters in an online briefing. "There are thousands of stranded migrants all over the world," he said. "Lots of migrants that were on the move, some of them wanted to return to their country of origin, precisely because of the pandemic," he said, adding that others had become "stranded" on their migratory routes. "They are blocked in the border areas in very difficult conditions without access to minimal care, especially health screening," he said. "This is a source of enormous concern." Vitorino said the IOM was asking governments to allow aid workers in to access large groups congregating near borders. Asking the impossible The former Portuguese defence minister said overcrowded conditions among migrants stranded at borders are so bad that "social distancing is unthinkable and access to water and sanitation is quite a challenge. "We cannot ask people to do what is impossible," he said. "If the disease spreads in the camps it will have a major impact." The IOM manages around 1,100 camps worldwide and assisted roughly 2.4 million displaced people in 2019. Some 220 cases of COVID-19 illness have been reported in IOM-run migrant camps in mainland Greece and been treated in the Greek healthcare system. Vitorino said he was particularly concerned about what might happen if the virus took hold in Cox's Bazaar in Bangladesh, where more than a million Rohingya refugees have fled to from neighbouring Myanmar. Med crossings down He said the crisis had caused a decrease in attempted crossings of the Mediterranean Sea between Africa and Europe. But the lockdown restrictions have only created "a backlog of people waiting" -- stranded migrants who, once movement restrictions start to lift, will head for Europe again. Vitorino said the criminal networks of smugglers and traffickers were "ready to start working immediately" after the crisis subsides. The IOM was also worried about migrants being held in detention and those in "extremely prone" urban slums, particularly in South America. Vitorino called for migrants to be allowed to access national healthcare systems regardless of their immigration status, citing Singapore where a "successful fight" against the disease was undermined by migrants not being included in screening programmes. He also said migrants needed to be "fully included" in economic recovery plans, citing World Bank figures forecasting sharp falls in remittances to Africa this year. President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon made a phone call to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on May 7, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani presidential press-service. Hailing Azerbaijans aid to his country in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, President Rahmon described it as a clear example of brotherly relations at this difficult time. President Aliyev stressed the importance of the fact that friendly and brotherly people of the two countries stand side by side at all times, especially during a severe pandemic, characterizing it as a natural manifestation of the friendly relations. The presidents exchanged views on the measures taken in the two countries to combat the coronavirus pandemic and discussed issues related to the bilateral relations, including prospects for the economic cooperation, transport and transit issues. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Europe is a popular holiday destination for Britons and we like to think we know plenty about it. But when it comes to identifying European national flags, it turns out most people - especially millennials - are not so hot. River cruise provider Emerald Waterways put together a quiz and asked 1,200 Britons to pair European flags with countries. Only 10 per cent of people managed to get full marks. Generation Z (aged 18-25) performed the best, followed by Baby Boomers (55+). Generation X (40-54) came next while Millennials (25-39) performed worst. Shockingly, more than two out of three people couldnt identify the Belgian flag. Over half couldnt identify Greeces flag. The fastest time taken to complete the quiz was one minute 36 seconds, while the average is two minutes 12 seconds. Scroll down and see if YOU can get full marks. Weve presented the quiz in the original interactive format, and separately with the flags and questions laid out below that. The answers are at the bottom. Q1. To which European country does this flag belong? A. Portugal, B. Croatia, C. Hungary, D. Monaco Q2. Can you identify this flag? A. Slovakia, B. Italy, C. Bulgaria, D. Hungary Q.3 Try your luck with this European flag. Is it A. Germany, B. Slovenia, C. Belgium, D. Austria? Q4. From the following four flags, can you identify the flag of Austria? A. B. C. D. Q5. Let's see if you can guess the flag of Croatia... A. B. C. D. Q6. Heres a tricky one - which of these flags represents Greece? A. B. C. D. Q7. Of the two very similar flags below, which belongs to Bulgaria? A. B. Q8. How about this one which flag represents Estonia? A. B. Q9. Take a look at the below two flags which represents the Netherlands? A. B. 10. Which of these flags belongs to Romania? A. B. The answers: 1 A. Portugal, 2. D Hungary, 3 C. Belgium, 4. D, 5. D, 6. B, 7. A, 8. B, 9 B, 10 B. The quiz was originally posted online by Emerald Waterways here. A graphic video emerged this week showing the murder of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery in February by a former police officer and his son in Brunswick, Georgia. Arbery was jogging through a rural neighborhood by himself during the afternoon of Sunday, February 23 when he was targeted by Gregory McMichael, 65, and his 34-year-old son Travis McMichael. Around 1 p.m. the retired police officer and investigator for the local district attorneys office and son armed themselves with a pistol and shotgun and decided to chase down Arbery when they saw him running down the street. Screenshot of the video of the murder of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery in February by a former police officer and his son, in Brunswick, Georgia. In the dashcam video, Arbery can be seen running toward the McMichaels truck as they pulled in front of him. Shouting can be heard and the younger McMichael can be seen fighting with Arbery over a shotgun. The older McMichael, standing in the bed of the pickup truck, pulls out a pistol and shots can be heard coming from off screen as Arbery is shot by Travis with the shotgun. Two more shots come from the shotgun and Arbery can be seen with blood on his chest before the video cuts out. Arbery was pronounced dead at the scene less than 40 minutes after McMichaels went after him. The McMichaels, who are white, told authorities they suspected Arbery, who was African-American, of committing a series of home burglaries in the neighborhood and attempted to perform a citizens arrest. Arbery was unarmed and no arrests were made at the time of the incident. Following the release of the gruesome video more than two months later, Georgia prosecutor Tom Durden, issued a statement this week calling for a grand jury to be commissioned to consider bringing criminal charges against the killers. After careful review of the evidence I am of the opinion that the case should be presented to the grand jury of Glynn County for consideration of criminal charges, Durben told reporters. Due to lockdowns related to the coronavirus pandemic, a grand jury will not be able to consider the issue until at least mid-June. The lawyer for Arberys family, S. Lee Merritt declared that the video confirms that a murder took place, The series of events captured in this video confirm what all the evidence indicated prior to its release. The McMichaels for their part are claiming self-defense in the shooting, citing Georgias Stand Your Ground law. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp tweeted on Tuesday that the Georgia District Attorney has elicited the services of an independent investigations agency, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, to look into the killing as well. Due to previous ties to Gregory McMichael, who used to work for the District Attorney in addition to his previous career as a police officer, the first two prosecutors assigned to the case had to recuse themselves. Arberys mother, Wanda Cooper, was initially lied to by local police when informed of her sons death. They claimed he was involved in a house burglary and was killed by the homeowner. It was another several days before she learned he was killed while jogging along his usual route by white men who claimed they believed him to be a burglar. Benjamin Crump, a civil rights attorney representing Cooper, told reporters that the killing and the lack of arrests were racially motivated: They were profiling him, saying he's a burglar. The only thing they knew was that he was a young black man. According to those who knew Arbery and were closest to him, it is extremely unlikely he was committing any crimes in the area and was a regular jogger. Indeed, neighbors in the area told reporters they had seen him jogging around there for years before the incident. The video, which has now been viewed over 4 million times, sparked outrage on social media and among civil rights groups. Local activists staged a small protest last week calling for justice, claiming the crime was racially motivated and likening the killing to a modern-day lynching. The local chapter of the Georgia NAACP has called for an investigation into the killing and for the dismissal of the Brunswick police chief for his initial refusal to arrest the killers. The organization wrote in a statement this week, We are grateful to see D.A. Tom Durden announce his intention to convene a grand jury in this case. However, we will not rest until the murderers of Ahmaud Arbery are behind bars. Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, former vice president Joe Biden even took to Twitter to condemn the killing. Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood, Biden tweeted on Tuesday. It is time for a swift, full and transparent investigation into his murder. Reverend Al Sharpton, a longtime Democratic Party operative, has also spoken out against the killing along with former Georgia Democratic representative Stacey Abrams, a fellow proponent of racial identity politics and leading candidate to be Bidens vice-presidential candidate. Former Democratic presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris, another contender to be Bidens running mate, also reacted to the video on tweeting, Exercising while Black shouldnt be a death sentence. Bobby Rush, a Democratic congressman from Illinois compared the killing to the 1955 murder of Emmett Till and took to Twitter to push for the passage of his Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act, named for the 14-year old African-American boy killed by racist whites in Mississippi, which would make lynching a federally prosecutable crime. According to reports and a statement from one of the recused prosecutors, the McMichaels claim of self-defense will be strengthened by Georgias Stand Your Ground laws, similar to the laws in Florida that helped George Zimmerman escape conviction in the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin. As she was treated for COVID-19 in a hospital isolation ward in Kuwait City, Amnah Ibraheem wanted to credit those caring for her. The nurses were all South Asian, the radiologist was African, another of her doctors was Egyptian. The only fellow Kuwaiti she saw, briefly, was a lone volunteer. Ibraheem pointed this out on Twitter, in a rejoinder to some voices in Kuwait and other parts of the Gulf who have stoked fear and resentment of foreigners, blaming them for the spread of the coronavirus. We can't decide right now to be racist and to say that expats are free-riders, because they're not, the 32-year-old political scientist and mother of two told The Associated Press. They're the ones working on our health right now, completely holding our health system together. The global pandemic has drawn attention to just how vital foreigners are to the Gulf Arab countries where they work, particularly as countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman expel foreigners from certain sectors to create jobs for their own citizens. The crisis has also shed a brief light on the systemic inequality in their home countries that drives so many to the region in the first place. Across the Gulf countries, the workers on the front lines are uniquely almost entirely foreigners, whether it's in a hospital in Saudi Arabia, an isolation ward in Kuwait or a grocery store in the United Arab Emirates. They carry out the essential work, risking exposure to the novel coronavirus, often with the added strain of being far from family. Foreigners also make up the vast majority of the roughly 78,000 confirmed coronavirus cases overall in the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain Oman and Saudi Arabia. In the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, foreigners also make up the vast majority of the population. Most hail from India, Pakistan, Nepal, the Philippines and Egypt. They reside on temporary work visas with no path to citizenship, no matter how long they've lived or worked in the Gulf. Many work low-paying construction jobs and live in labor camps where up to 10 people share a room. These living conditions have made them vulnerable to the fast-spreading disease known as COVID-19. That has made them a target for some. Popular Kuwaiti actress Hayat al-Fahad told a Kuwaiti broadcaster the root of the country's coronavirus problem lies in South Asian and Egyptian migrant workers. She lamented that if their own countries won't take them back, why should Kuwait fill its hospitals to treat them at the expense of its own citizens. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Here is one thing that Christine Blasey Ford and Tara Reade have in common: Reporter Ryan Grim was pivotal in publicizing their stories. Before anyone had heard of Blasey, Grim reported that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., had a letter from a constituent represented by a lawyer specializing in sexual harassment and assault cases. It was about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. And it was Grim who helped put Reade, the former Senate aide who has accused Joe Biden of sexual assault and harassment, on the public radar. In March, Grim raised questions about why a legal fund devoted to helping #MeToo victims declined to take her case. He later broke the news that a woman Reade identified as her mother called into Larry King Live in 1993 to ask for advice for her daughter, who worked for a prominent senator and could not get through with her problems at all. Commentators on the left and right have compared Reade to Blasey, usually to accuse mainstream Democrats of hypocrisy. Democrats, the argument goes, supported a movement whose slogan is Believe women, and yet many are unconvinced by this particular woman. Checkmate! But Democrats are not being asked to hold themselves to the same standard they apply to others. They would never have the audacity to demand their political opponents act on a story with as many ambiguities as Reades. To be clear, the fact that Reade timed her charges for maximum political impact doesnt mean theyre not true. If Biden assaulted her, its understandable that shed want to destroy him politically. Her story about that assault has changed, but that is not unusual in survivors. Reades story about filing a sexual harassment complaint also has changed, in ways that seem less explicable by trauma. On March 18, she tweeted, When I filed a complaint against Joe Biden for sexual harassment and more I was fired in 93. But the Associated Press reported that last year she said, They have this counseling office or something, and I think I walked in there once, but then I chickened out. According to the AP, she now says she meant she chickened out about reporting her full experience but did fill out an intake form with some broad details. Again: None of this means an assault didnt happen. Reades former neighbor says she recently remembered that Reade told her the story in 1995 or 1996. Other people have told reporters Reade shared her account with them years ago, but without going on the record by name. (Her brother has said the same thing, but his recounting of the story has changed.) Still, where things stand now, its hard to compare Blaseys case with Reades. Blasey had four sworn affidavits from people whom shed told that shed been assaulted, as well as therapists notes and the results from a polygraph. She testified, and was cross-examined, under oath. The Democratic plea, at the time, was for a thorough FBI investigation. Initially, Democrats were credulous when the now-disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti introduced another accuser, Julie Swetnick, but many eventually realized her story didnt hold up. In the end that allegation probably helped Kavanaugh by discrediting Blaseys case against him. The episode showed that everyone is best served when believe women is a starting point rather than a conclusion. Now feminists are caught in a trap. They dont want to repeat the errors many of them made when they dismissed Bill Clintons accusers, nor do they want to erode the #MeToo taboo against picking apart the motives and histories of women who recount sexual assault. But just as Reades story cant be wished away because its politically inconvenient, neither can its contradictions. In the Washington Post, Lyz Lenz writes that Democrats should insist that Biden step aside, arguing that no investigation could be enough to redeem him. But overruling voting results is a serious thing. To attempt it on the basis of a case with this many holes would be a slap in the face to the people who actually chose Biden. Friday, the website Law & Crime reported that a niece of Christine ODonnell, a former Republican Senate candidate in Delaware, said Biden commented on her breasts at a 2008 Gridiron Club dinner, when she was 14. Several people said they were told about this at the time, but it emerged Biden wasnt at the dinner. ODonnell then said it might have happened in 2007, but Biden wasnt at that Gridiron dinner either. It was a demonstration of how easily #MeToo can be misused. I suspect that whatever happens in this campaign, the credibility of the movement will suffer. The original #MeToo stories were carefully and meticulously documented. Now it threatens to become a way to handicap one political faction in the middle of a partisan free-for-all. In a season full of appalling and sickening losses, this is just the latest one. Twitter: @michelleinbklyn Some social restrictions will be lifted on Monday, Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed, even though the number of confirmed coronavirus cases has steadily increased throughout this week. Mr Andrews has urged Victorians to maintain their patience in the meantime, while social-distancing measures to stem the spread of coronavirus remain in place ahead of a review of Victoria's state of emergency, which expires on Monday. Premier Daniel Andrews says restrictions will change on Monday, but not before. Credit:James Ross "Letting our frustration get the better of us wont get us to a COVID-normal economy any quicker," he said on Thursday. "Itll simply mean that well have what they call a sawtooth approach, where you go up and down, open, closed, one set of rules, change the rules, then another set of rules. The Fair Work Commission has knocked back a deal that would allow fast food chains to waive overtime penalties and set shifts for part-time workers. The Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees Association and the Australian Industry Group (AiGroup), which represents McDonald's, made the proposal for the changes as they claim the industry faces a 'dramatic decline' in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. The proposed changes to the industry award, which included replacing set rosters for part-time workers with minimum weekly hours, would operate for three months. AiGroup claimed there had been a drop in foot traffic at food courts and airports as a result of the social distancing rules, the Financial Review reported. The Fair Work Commission has knocked back a deal that would allow fast food chains to waive overtime penalties and set shifts for part-time workers The fastfood chain has been forced to make major changes to its business due to social distancing measures (pictured: McDonald's in London) It said the changes would save jobs as it filled a 'regulatory gap' for large corporations who had suffered during the lockdown. Large corporations like McDonald's are not eligible for JobKeeper as it does not meet the 50 per cent drop in revenue required for the wage subsidy. Retail and Fast Food Workers Union national secretary Josh Cullinan told the commission on Tuesday the proposed changes were an 'outrageous attack' on workers rights. He said there was no evidence the 'billion-dollar multinationals' were suffering during the pandemic. Justice Iain Ross said AiGroup needed to provide evidence showing how the crisis had impacted its businesses and how the proposed changes would help maintain employment during this time. 'There's no evidence before us that tells us that they have suffered any loss of revenue at all,' Justice Ross said. 'You say they have but that assertion is challenged so it's not one we'll be relying on.' The FDA issues emergency use authorizations for deployment of unapproved medical products on a temporary basis during public health emergencies. In the current pandemic, the agency has granted hundreds of authorizations, including for diagnostic tests to detect the virus; antibody tests to check whether a person has been exposed to the virus and developed antibodies; medical devices such as swabs and ventilators; and for an antiviral drug called remdesivir from Gilead Sciences. Saudi Arabias oil giant Aramco raised the price for all its crude oil grades to all regions for June in a move that analysts see as the start of demand recoveryand this move sent oil prices jumping early on Thursday after the price announcement. Saudi Arabias flagship Arab Light crude grade will be sold in Asia in June at a $5.90 a barrel discount to the Oman/Dubai average. This is a rise in prices by $1.40 a barrel from May, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a document with the Saudi official selling prices (OSPs) for June it has seen. For May, the Saudis had set last month the Arab Light price to Asia at a deep $7.30 a barrel discount to the Oman/Dubai benchmark average. According to a Reuters survey, Asian refiners had not expected the increase in Saudi prices todaythey were predicting that the Kingdom would cut the price of its oil again. Last month, Aramco had announced deeper discounts for customers in Asia for May, for the second month in a row, despite the historic OPEC+ production cut deal. Saudi Arabia began to deeply discount its oil two months ago, after OPECs top producer and its partner in the OPEC+ pact, Russia, broke up the production cut deal and the Saudis waged a price war for market share. Todays increase in the price for Saudi crude for June which generally sets the trend for the pricing for Asia of other Gulf producers such as Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran was interpreted as a sign that oil demand may have started to pick up. The higher prices by Aramco suggest a recovery of demand and a hint that OPEC+ actually started to cut production in their aim to balance the market, Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN Amro, told Bloomberg. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Manitoba Health is working with First Nations organizations to collect and share information on their community members who test positive for COVID-19, while urban Indigenous and Metis leaders say they're waiting to get such information. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 6/5/2020 (622 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Manitoba Health is working with First Nations organizations to collect and share information on their community members who test positive for COVID-19, while urban Indigenous and Metis leaders say they're waiting to get such information. "We don't have it. I can't think of any reason not to share it," said Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg president Damon Johnston, who is part of an urban Indigenous coalition that pushed for a COVID-19 testing site to be opened at Circle of Life Thunderbird House. He's not sure if the province has enough information collected on non-status urban Indigenous people to share. "I don't think they have the data yet," he said. Manitoba public health nurses on April 3 began asking all who tested positive for the virus if they identify as First Nations, Metis or Inuit. On April 28, the province signed an agreement to share that information with the Manitoba First Nations' pandemic response co-ordination team, which includes the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, the Southern Chiefs Organization, Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc. and the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba. It didn't include organizations such as the Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg or the Manitoba Metis Federation, representing an estimated 150,000-plus Indigenous Manitobans. "If they're gathering their data on our people, they're not telling me who they're collecting it from," Manitoba Metis Federation president David Chartrand said Wednesday. "When we don't know what's out there, we're fishing in the dark." Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg president Damon Johnston says his organization hasn't yet seen any of the data collected in Manitoba, and isn't even sure any data exists yet. (Trevor Hagan / Winnipeg Free Press files) He wondered what public health officials will do if there is an outbreak in a rural or urban Metis community such as the one happening next door in northern Saskatchewan. "Look at La Loche," he said. An outbreak in the Dene-Metis community has left at least two people dead. "The Metis are getting a pounding," Chartrand said. The deal signed with Manitoba First Nations organizations last week will see them receive daily reports on those who test positive that include age, gender, pre-existing conditions, if they're on or off reserve, the location of diagnosis and death rate. "Having access to this information will help First Nations better plan for and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic," MKO Grand Chief Garrison Settee said in a news release Wednesday. "This information sharing agreement is the first of its kind in Canada, and respects the principles of data ownership, control, access and possession and First Nations data sovereignty," Manitoba's chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin said in a press release issued Tuesday by the First Nations pandemic response co-ordination team. When asked Wednesday if the Metis will be getting such information, Roussin wasn't clear. David Chartrand, president of the Manitoba Metis Federation, says no one has contacted his organization about what kind of information the province is collecting. (Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press files) "There's a large collaboration that's been in place. An agreement was signed with many Indigenous partners... I don't have specifics of the MMF, where they lie in it," he said. Information collected about Indigenous Manitobans, Roussin has made clear, will not be shared with the public, unless the province's Indigenous partner the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs agrees to it. "This is unbelievable they would hide this information," said Chartrand. He said Metis live in close-knit groups in Manitoba cities and rural areas and need to make informed decisions about COVID-19. "They'd love to know - to solve the problem, to help out, or to at least help by staying away." Both Metis and urban Indigenous leaders said they want to know the impact of the coronavirus on their communities, and pointed to U.S. data shared with the public showing African and Indigenous Americans are hardest hit. "Indigenous people in Manitoba as a whole have the worst social determinants of health of all Canadians," said Johnston. Collecting and sharing data is going to be key to coming up with a strategy to improve that, he said. "We need to work with Indigenous leadership across Manitoba to bring more positive change for all of us," Johnston said. In Winnipeg where the urban Indigenous population is expected to grow to 114,000 by 2021, non-profit and charitable organizations providing health and social services to them are going to have to be especially strategic. "We're going to face now some very tough economic times, and resources are going to be much scarcer," he said. Grand Chief Garrison Settee of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak says reports about positive tests that include age, gender, pre-existing conditions, if they're on or off reserve, will help First Nations groups better plan for and respond to the pandemic. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press files) There are positive and negative implications for going public with COVID-19 testing data, said a Manitoba regional chief who co-chairs the Assembly of First Nations COVID-19 task force. "On the positive side, we do need that true data for First Nations leaders to make informed decisions about the protection of their citizens," Kevin Hart said Wednesday. On the other hand, when cases are announced in a district, that may result in "scapegoating and singling out people and some of the racism that's occurred," Hart said. 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. "Some of our most vulnerable and impoverished people are northerners who are already subject to discrimination." One medical expert who agreed to comment anonymously questioned whether that provincial data would ever be made public. "If rural and urban Indigenous communities become infected in a second wave, then we will see a very bad situation unfolding in front of our eyes like Island Lake in 2008-2009 - and then we will not need collected data, we will see a disaster." In Island Lake, a deadly H1N1 outbreak overwhelmed the remote community. "I hope this does not happen. This virus is rather unpredictable," the expert said. carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca The decision comes as Barr has increasingly challenged the Russia investigation, saying in a television interview last month that it was started without any basis. In February, he overruled a decision by prosecutors in the case of Roger Stone, another former Trump adviser, in favor of a more lenient sentence for the longtime Trump friend. Earlier this year, Barr appointed U.S. Attorney Jensen of St. Louis to investigate the handling of Flynns case. As part of that process, the Justice Department gave Flynns attorneys a series of emails and notes, including one handwritten note from a senior FBI official that mapped out internal deliberations about the purpose of the Flynn interview: Whats our goal? Truth/admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired? the official wrote. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / Belmont Resources Inc. (TSXV:BEA)(Frankfurt:L3L2), (the "Company"). Further to the Company's news releases dated March 31, 2020 and April 28, 2020, and May 5, 2020 the Company announces that it has agreed to an amendment to the broker's warrants. All other terms and details of the financing remain the same as the May 5, 2020 news release. A finder's fee of $1,680 cash and 56,000 warrants is being paid to Haywood Securities Inc. and an additional 80,000 warrants has agreed to be paid/issued to Canaccord Genuity Corp. ("Canaccord") on the final tranche. Each warrant will permit the holder to acquire one common share of the Company at a p rice of $0.05 for two years from closing. All securities issued under this private placement, the shares that may be issuable on the exercise of the warrants, and the finder's warrants are subject to a statutory hold period expiring four months and one day from issuance. The closing of the private placement financing, including the issuance of the securities and the finder's fees are subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. About Belmont Resources Inc. Belmont Resources Inc. is a Canadian based resource company traded on the TSX-V under the symbol "BEA". The Company is systematically exploring and acquiring gold properties in Southern British Columbia and Northern Washington State. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS "George Sookochoff" George Sookochoff, CEO/President Ph: 604-683-6648 Email: george@belmontresources.com Website: www.BelmontResources.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. This Press Release may contain forward-looking statements that may involve a number of risks and uncertainties, based on assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events or results that may prove to be inaccurate as a result of exploration and other risk factors beyond its control. Forward looking statements in this news release include statements about the possible raising of capital and exploration of our properties. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Companies forward-looking statements and expectations. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, that we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval; that we may not be able to raise funds required, that conditions to closing may not be fulfilled and we may not be able to organize and carry out an exploration program in 2020, and other risks associated with being a mineral exploration and development company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except as required by applicable laws, the Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results differed from those projected in the forward-looking statements. SOURCE: Belmont Resources Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/588926/Belmont-Resources-Amends-Finders-Warrant-on-Financing Coronavirus coverage might overshadow the recent developments in Libya, yet rarely has the situation on ground been more complex and difficult to predict. Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar first announced that he is about to take control of entire Libya, allegedly spearheading a popular mandate to consolidate the North African country, only to later declare a month-long ceasefire for the entire holy month of Ramadan. The internationally-recognized government of National Accord (GNA) riposted by declaring that it does not trust Haftar and that its fighters would continue fighting, disregarding the unilateral ceasefire announced by the Field Marshal. More fighting, less long-term certainty and no thought for Libyas ailing oil sector a combination of things that Libya needs the least on its road to recovery. Field Marshal Haftars army has been fighting to wrest control over Tripoli for 13 months already, yet the last 2-3 weeks witnessed a series of military victories of militias associated with the GNA. Sorman and Sabrata, two cities on the Mediterranean coast, have come under effective GNA control, complicating Haftars quest of besieging Tripoli. The alteration in the ongoing civil wars course might be very well linked to Turkish armed forces increasing their involvement by means of drone reconnaissance flights and airstrikes against Haftar airbases, as well as military equipment and means of transport. It is against this background that the ceasefire should be assessed, just as the May 01 shelling of the Zanata neighborhood in Tripoli, fighting has reached an impasse and both sides see more benefit in taking the heat out of the fighting so that they can prepare for further military action. With his strategic position weakened, Field Marshal Haftar is creating some smoke and mirrors for the international community, another round of lengthy deliberation on how the unified post-civil war Libya should come about. Even countries generally assumed to favor Haftar as the new Libyan national leader have lobbied against the sudden announcement the UAE which has just recently supplied a sophisticated air missile defense system to Haftar has called upon all Libyan parties to stick to political process, French authorities claimed that unilateral action will not solve the conflict. Related: This Could Be The Beginning Of A Tremendous Oil Rally Russia also protested against the unilateral character of Haftars announcement, saying that whatever future Libya is to have, it must take place with a social support across all sectors. Story continues Yet all relevant parties are cognizant of the fact that absent any proper UN brokerage the political process is at best frozen, if not dead entirely. UN talks, the (seemingly) only international platform for constructive dialogue has seen its capacities debilitated this spring, with the position of the UN special envoy on Libya having been vacant for more than 2 months already. The spread of coronavirus might also render constructive talks difficult heretofore Libya has only had 60-odd cases with 3 reported casualties, however the deadly virus might become a much bigger threat than it is now, especially in Tripoli where most previous cases were diagnosed. With no real prospect of a mediated outcome, where does this leave Libyas embattled oil sector? Graph 1. Libyas Oil Production in 2020 (million barrels per day). Source: Thomson Reuters. Since January 18 when Field Marshal Haftar started the ongoing blockade of all Libyan ports and export terminals, Libyan oil output has been in a freefall. Back in the day the chairman of the Libyan NOC Mustafa Sanalla predicted that if no measures are taken to counteract Haftar, Libyas oil production would plummet to 72kbpd, all the way from 1.2mbpd in mid-January. It might have seemed a very implausible proposition back in the day, but it turned out to be a prophetic one as of April 30, Libyas production stood at 95kbpd. The CEO of the Italian oil firm ENI Claudio Descalzi stated during one of his most recent executive calls that he expects Libyan production to come back to normal around end June. It remains to be seen what could potentially kickstart such an output rebound. Related: Oil Prices Fall As 20 Million Americans Lose Their Jobs Currently only two oil-producing objects are safe from any military blockade Libyas offshore assets, Bouri and Al Jurf, both located along the Tunisian maritime border. The ENI-operated Bouri field was Libyas first offshore venture, having decommissioned the previous floating storage and offloading vessel, Bouri is now utilizing a brand new FSO with 1.5 MMbbls of storage capacity. The Total-operated Al Jurf has a production capacity of 45kbpd and is using the Farwah FPSO, wielding an aggregate storage capacity of 0.9 MMbbls. Given that the Libyan national oil company holds 70% of Bouri and 50% of Al-Jurf, its share of Libyas total output stands around 60kbpd, which has left an indelible mark on NOCs financial stature. According to data provided by the Libyan NOC, the cumulative financial losses arising from the production blockade amount to $4.35 billion as of end-April. In terms of output lost, some 110 million barrels have been missing, with Libyas output effectively consisting exclusively of offshore fields. The Libyan NOCs income revenues have parched up compared to last years relative financial bounty, February incomes were at a mere $555 million, roughly a quarter of last years average. With oil production decreasing to the lowest minimum possible, nationwide availability of transport fuels has been deplorable. Especially dire is the fuel situation in the capital Tripoli there are no gasoline or diesel stocks there, whilst Benghazi has some 14 days worth of gasoline inventories and 2 days worth of Diesel. By Viktor Katona for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Read this article on OilPrice.com OIL Search managing director Dr Keiran Wulff says there is a possibility that the company may temporarily shut down or limit oil production in Papua New Guinea.Dr Wulff highlighted this at the opening of 2020 Macquarie Australia Conference, a three-day investor event which began on Tuesday. A company spokesperson yesterday told The National that at the end of Dr Wulffs presentation, he answered questions relating to oil production in PNG.He noted that it was prudent for Oil Search to consider all options to ensure safe delivery of LNG production, including the possibility of temporarily shutting in, or curtailing, oil production, subject to regulatory approvals, the spokesperson said.Dr Wulff stated that right now we are currently looking at whether we will continue all production at this stage it is our intention to do so.He also said that Oil Search had been working closely with the PNG Government as well as discussing potential options with joint venture partners.The spokesperson said no decision had been made to stop production in PNG, and that the current intent was to continue producing oil.Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd managing director Wapu Sonk said Oil Search, as the operator of Kutubu, PDL (petroleum development license) 2, and ExxonMobil, as the operator of the PNG LNG project, were talking to Department of Petroleum and Energy seeking approval to re-inject condensate or oil into the depleted Kutubu reservoirs as storage.Sonk told The National yesterday that this was due to the shortage in global oil storage facility or tankers.This will allow the continued production of gas for LNG production while we store oil until such time the demand for oil picks up and the storage capacity issues are at manageable levels where Oil Search can produce back the stored oil which hopefully will be also at a time when oil price will have recovered, he said.Sonk said KPHL had agreed to go down this path.Source: The NationalNext : 'The challenge will be making sure its efficacy is high.' 'If a vaccine is only 50 to 60 per cent efficient, it's a double-edged sword.' Adar Poonawalla, chief executive officer, Serum Institute of India -- the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume -- has said his biotechnology firm, in partnership with an Oxford University-led consortium, will roll out a coronavirus disease vaccine before the end of this year. Poonawalla tells Pavan Lall that he will set up a factory so that work can begin as soon as approvals and clinical trials are wrapped up. You are planning to make the vaccine available at Rs 1,000. Isn't that high for millions of low-income households? We are going to supply the vaccine to the government. The Centre will distribute it for free in key and priority areas under the scheme that falls under Ayushman Bharat. If you look at the price of a COVID-19 test, it is around Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000. The test has to be undertaken two-three times. This vaccine is economical, considering it is likely to immunise a person for years to come. What are the challenges you foresee with any vaccine? The challenge will be making sure its efficacy is high. If a vaccine is only 50 to 60 per cent efficient, it's a double-edged sword. Some vaccines we make are more than 95 per cent effective. The data from the trials and the vaccinated groups will show the levels of efficacy from the Oxford project. We are hopeful the results will be good. Bill Gates said getting the vaccine made is one challenge. The other is ramping up volumes. Are you building a new factory if scaling up is needed? Where will the new vaccine be made, in the short term? We have plans to invest around Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion) in a new factory in Pune. That will be ready in the next few years, with a potential capacity of around 500 million to a billion doses. In the near term, the existing facilities we have include a research and development facility, and a plant that makes pneumonia vaccines. That capacity will be between 50 million and 100 million doses. Vaccines take years to develop. You have said you won't be able to roll out a vaccine before 2021. What has changed since then? We had started with a partnership with Codagenix, an American manufacturer. The biotechnology company was engaged in animal testing (on chimpanzees), which can't be done here. That takes time before moving to human testing. The partnership with the Oxford team is further ahead with human trials and will in the future (Phase 2/3) move to testing on thousands of people. This is why we expect to be ready to manufacture by September. Is there a vaccine you will be hitting the pause button on as you switch gears to focus on the COVID--19 vaccine? The demand for vaccines for measles, pneumonia and other diseases has slowed because the entire focus of the healthcare system is now on coronavirus. I am willing to put it in writing that there will be a huge outbreak of measles and other infectious diseases which particularly affect the very young. That will result in many more deaths than this pandemic. We are actually quarantining people who are not sick. We had to do it initially, but we also have to open up the economy gradually. Advertisement Cockpit footage shows the inspiring moment the US Navy's elite Blue Angels squadron flies over New Orleans and Houston to honor frontline workers battling the coronavirus pandemic. The footage taken of the flyovers Wednesday show a pilot's view of the fighter jets moving together as one over the two cities. The 20-minute flyovers, and a third one over the Dallas-Fort Worth area, were each made as part of a multi-city tour. Healthcare workers were seen crowding on to hospital rooftops to view the display, which came as part of the White House's Operation America Strong. The initiative is a tribute to health care workers, first responders and other essential personnel across the country battling the deadly coronavirus. New video footage offers a cockpit view (pictured) of when the US Navy's elite Blue Angels squadron flies over New Orleans and Houston to honor frontline workers battling the coronavirus pandemic The 20-minute flyovers, and a third one over the Dallas-Fort Worth area, were each made as part of a multi-city tour A side view from the cockpit of a Blue Angels fighter jet is pictured from footage shot of the squadron's tribute The Blue Angels fly over Houston, Texas, as part of a multi-city tour. The Navy's Blue Angels had previously conducted flyovers of other US cities along with the Thunderbirds from the US Air Force. However, the Blue Angels' flyovers on Wednesday were done without the Thunderbirds, who have since returned to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, and there are no further planned joint-flyovers. The Blue Angels will fly over Jacksonville and Miami on Friday 8th May. Previous flyovers were made over New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, Baltimore and Atlanta. 'We're excited to fly over cities across America as our way of saying thanks to the healthcare workers, first responders, and all the people who selflessly run into the breach working to keep America strong,' said Gen. Dave Goldfein, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and Adm. Michael Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations, in a joint statement issued on April 24th when the flyovers were announced. 'This is also our way of showing that we are all in this together and that America's spirit will prevail.' Hospital staffers at University Medical Center in New Orleans stood on a rooftop to catch the Blue Angles flyover Wednesday Frontline workers in Houston Texas wearing hospital scrubs and holding their cell phones snatched photos of the flyover Frontline workers in Houston watch as the Blue Angels fly over head on Wednesday Frontline workers on a helipad at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston make heart shapes as the Blue Angels fly overhead Hospital staffers raise signs as they cheer on the Blue Angels as they flew over the Dallas-Fort Worth area Six Blue Angels fly in formation in tribute to frontline workers over the Dallas-Fort Worth area The state of Louisiana, where New Orleans is located, has had 30,399 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 2,167 deaths. Texas, where Houston is located, has had 34,928 confirmed cases and 954 deaths. Across the country, there there have been 1,262,426 confirmed cases 74,708 deaths. Crowds of people ignored social distancing rules to watch the squadrons soar over New York City's skies when they made their flight on April 28. Crowds of people ignored social distancing rules to watch the squadrons fly soar over New York City's skies when they made their flight on April 28 Pilots from the US Navy teamed up with the Air Force for the dazzling display over the Big Apple at around noon local time to pay tribute to the healthcare workers fighting COVID-19 on the frontlines. The Blue Angels had earlier issued a warning, telling people to 'refrain from traveling to see the flyover', tweeting: 'Residents should observe the flyover from the safety of their home-quarantine. Social distancing should be practiced at all times. Stay home and stay safe!' But pictures show residents in New Jersey and New York ignored the warnings, with huge crowds gathered to watch the flyover in both states. File photo There was anxiety among health workers at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, ISTH, Edo State, yesterday, as a truck load of persons numbering 84 believed to have arrived from Kano State came to the hospital, Vanguard reports. Similarly, another vehicle transporting 26 persons said to be coming from Rivers State was intercepted and all detainees from the two arrests are undergoing screening and testing to ascertain their covid-19 status. The incident in Irrua was said to have caught the hospital management and staff unawares and led to some of the staff going home. A source in the hospital told Vanguard, When I arrived the hospital this morning (yesterday), I saw a lot of people being guarded by the police and on enquiry, I was told they were intercepted overnight and were said to be going to Lagos. The Police kept them overnight and then informed the state governor, who immediately ordered that they should all be subjected to Covid-19 test before any action would be taken about them. They have been isolated and urgent testing has began to know the status of each of them. Public Relations Officer of the hospital, Odijie Ohue said, he was not authorized to speak on the matter. Police Public Relations Officer, Chidi Nwabuzor, who confirmed the incident said, Operatives intercepted the vehicle and took them to Irrua police station. When counted, they were 84 human beings including the driver and when they were interrogated, they said they were coming from the North. They were taken to Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital for proper medical check and that has been done. The state government order is that security agents should escort them away to where they said they were going to, and that is the West, either Ogun or Lagos state. State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Patrick Okundia, said the 26 travellers in a truck were stopped at AGIP Junction on Sapele Road and moved to the Stella Obasanjo Hospital for screening and testing to ascertain their COVID-19 status before they were let off to continue their journey. On the travelers from Kano, Okundia said, ISTH is screening and testing them. We are communicating and exchanging reports. The essence is to screen these persons and get them tested after which they will be allowed back into their truck to continue their journey and Police officers will escort them out of the state. The driver of the truck with registration number LSF 679 XZ spotted at Edo Central, John Monday, said he had just finished delivering his goods and decided to pick the passengers, who he claimed he charged between N500 and N700 on his way from Kano State en-route Ogun State. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg participates in a discussion hosted by the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington on Sept. 12, 2019. (Sarah Silbiger/Reuters) Supreme Courts Ruth Bader Ginsburg Discharged From Hospital WASHINGTONJustice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, at 87 the U.S. Supreme Courts oldest member, was discharged on Wednesday from hospital where she was treated for a benign gall bladder condition and took part remotely in arguments in two cases. In a statement released on Wednesday evening, court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said Ginsburg is doing well and glad to be home after being discharged from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Earlier in the day, her participation in two arguments, conducted by teleconference amid the coronavirus pandemic, marked the latest instance in which the liberal justice withstood a health scare and returned swiftly to her duties on the court, where she has served since 1993. Ginsburg asked a number of questions and her voice sounded hesitant at times but largely remained firm. Ginsburg will return to the Baltimore hospital for outpatient visits in the following weeks, and a gallstone that caused the infection will be removed without the need for a surgical procedure, Arberg added. Ginsburg was treated for pancreatic cancer last year. The first case involved an Obamacare requirement regarding health insurance coverage for womens birth control. The second involved a federal law cracking down on so-called robocalls. In the first case, Ginsburg posed lengthy questions expressing doubt over a bid by President Donald Trumps administration to implement rules allowing employers to obtain religious exemptions from the contraception mandate. She told the administrations lawyer, Solicitor General Noel Francisco, that it has tossed entirely to the wind what Congress considered to be essential, that women be provided this service, with no hassle and no cost to them. On Tuesday, Ginsburg was treated for an inflammatory condition of the gallbladder known as acute cholecystitis. Her hospitalization could have posed a risk as it comes amid a pandemic that continues to surge throughout the United States and around the world. The coronavirus has proven to be particularly dangerous in elderly people, especially those with underlying medical issues. Ginsburg has had several health scares in recent years. In November 2018, she broke three ribs in a fall. Subsequent medical tests led to a treatment for lung cancer that caused her to miss arguments in January 2019. She returned to the bench, but in August 2019 received radiation therapy to treat pancreatic cancer. She was hospitalized last November for two nights suffering from a fever and chills but returned to work at the court the day after being released. Her health is closely watched because a Supreme Court vacancy would give Republican President Donald Trump the opportunity to appoint a third justice to the nine-member court and move it further to the right. The court currently has a 5-4 conservative majority including two justices appointed by Trump. By Andrew Chung and Lawrence Hurley Mumbai, May 7 : Actress Ananya Panday says everyone is going through a "testing time", and movies can be a much-needed "lighthearted and entertaining distraction". "This is truly a testing time for all of us and we can do with some lighthearted and entertaining distraction in the form of movies. Movies act as a medium of escape and take us to parallel worlds," Ananya said. Ananya is glad that Lionsgate India will be livestreaming some of its hit movies as part of a new initiative to raise relief funds to aid the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The studio has partnered with Facebook for the initiative called "Lionsgate Live! A Night At The Movies" with which they will screen a Hollywood blockbusters on four Fridays starting May 8. The movies to be streamed are: The Jennifer Lawrence-starrer "The Hunger Games", "Twilight" starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson's, the heist movie "Now You See Me 2" and "Wonder" starring Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson. "I would like to urge everyone that in this unusual time we need to come forward, act together and donate generously as even a little help from all of us can be of great help to the people in dire need," Anaya said. Apart from Ananya, the studio has Anil Kapoor and Sanya Malhotra on board to participate in the initiative. Sanya feels "we all need to come together to fight this together". She added: "I request everyone to join me because in these tough times, every small contribution counts." "This will be a unique opportunity for viewers to extend their support and donate for this charitable cause," said Rohit Jain, Managing Director Lionsgate, South Asia. Internationally, Hollywood stars like Margot Robbie, Gerard Butler and Jamie Lee Curtis, have extended support to the initiative. "The Social Network" star Jesse Eisenberg and "Twilight" actor Peter Facinelli have sent special video messages to support the initiative in India. The proceeds from the fundraiser will go to GiveIndia platform. 294 Shares Share The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it a slew of challenges that were previously unimaginable for many of us. Social isolation, separation from beloved family members, the daily struggle to juggle work, parenting, and teaching in times of economic and generalized uncertainty these are just some of the difficulties arising from the current situation. Feelings of fear and anxiety stemming from uncertainty are, however, a pre-pandemic reality for some of our most vulnerable populations, including children living in poverty, victims of domestic abuse, and seniors who suffer from loss of autonomy, chronic illness and/or loneliness. I am a pediatrician whose community practice has been significantly impacted by the current pandemic, with a large decline in patient volume. The city I live in, like many others across North America, is grappling with the dire situation in seniors long-term-care facilities. Many of these facilities face a critical shortage of personnel while the virus spreads like wildfire. Workers are absent for a multitude of reasons: they themselves are infected with the virus or fear contracting it; workers who are also parents may not have other childcare options; some workers are burning out from the physical and emotional toll. It is in these harrowing circumstances that as a pediatrician, I found myself in a seniors long-term care facility, offering my services to help bathe, mobilize, and feed the vulnerable elderly. One morning, while sitting with one of the residents (an 84-year-old woman), I had an aha moment. The morning routine of toileting, bathing, and feeding the residents was over, so I decided to go and just sit with some of the residents. I walked into the womans room with no specific task assigned by a nurse or orderly. She was cognitively intact and shared fascinating stories from her life; she had lived through the war in Eastern Europe, came to Canada to work in a military hospital for a year, and then married and had two children. While she was speaking, my mind wandered for the briefest moment, just long enough to be fully cognizant of the fact that I was absorbing all these details of her life, much more fully than I would have is she was a patient under my care. Why? I was there with one sole purpose: to listen. I wasnt worried about asking specific questions for my review of systems or charting information to comply with legal responsibilities and billing constraints. My mind wasnt wandering thinking about the ten other patients to round on, the five prescriptions to update, and the research collaborator whose e-mail correspondence was still unanswered. I was able to be fully in the moment and listen to this womans life story in her own words, with no agenda of my own. It was only after the encounter that I realized how valuable the information gleaned from that experience would be if she were, in fact, my patient and I were her treating physician. You see, I forgot to mention that I am not only a pediatrician, but also a pediatric palliative care specialist. My palliative care physician colleagues know how critical rapport building and empathic listening are to the therapeutic relationship. The rushed DNR discussion in the ER with a patient and/or family youve never met is suboptimal at best and can cause irreparable damage at worst. Palliative care physicians (and all compassionate physicians for that matter) realize that in order to best engage in true shared-decision making and goals of care discussions, you must take the time to get to know your patient. You can only guide discussions and make treatment decisions that respect and honor a patients values, wishes, and (ultimately) life if you know have intimate knowledge of what those guiding values are. That is not to say that patient-physician boundaries should not be respected, but there is a way to maintain a professional distance while still holding space for a patients narrative, which can include joy, sadness, and fear. I have managed to find a silver lining in this pandemic, as Im sure many of my colleagues have. I imagine those working in the ER, ICUs, or COVID wards are hanging on to the moments of joy and triumph that are scattered throughout the daily hardships; a patient on a ventilator is extubated, another is discharged home, the medical team comes together in ways it never has before. I am grateful for the reminder and lesson that in order to be a better doctor, I need to stop being a doctor for a while. Every once in awhile, its important to interact with our patients with the weight of the doctor stuff stripped away. When we take a few minutes to ask a patient how they feel about whats going on, when we ask about their children, when we bear witness to their fear and sadness (and take the time to listen and sit with the emotion), we are recognizing the humanity we all share and come out the other side better for it. Silvana Barone is a board-certified pediatrician with subspecialty training in pediatric hospice and palliative medicine and bioethics. She can be reached at her self-titled site, Dr Silvana Barone, and on Twitter @kidshealthdoc. Image credit: Shutterstock.com The minister of health blames peoples ignoring of social distancing for this weeks rapid increase in the number of coronavirus cases It began less than a month ago when for a few minutes I came in contact with a work colleague who had coronavirus but at the time was displaying no symptoms, a 40-year-old married coronavirus patient told Al-Ahram Weekly in a telephone interview. The man, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he usually wore a mask at work, but on that particular day he had left the mask in his car. Legislation approved by MPs last week now allows health authorities to oblige the public to wear facemasks and take other preventative measures while outside their homes. Non-compliance can result in a fine of up to LE5,000. A few days later I developed cold symptoms and visited a doctor who prescribed medicine for flu. Unfortunately I did not recover, said the father of two. He then decided to self-isolate at home, cutting all interaction with other people, even family members. When matters did not improve he visited another doctor. Once the doctor saw my chest CT scan he asked me to head immediately to the nearest fever hospital for a PCR coronavirus test, said the man. On 20 April he entered Helwan Fever Hospital, one of 47 fever hospitals nationwide dedicated alongside 35 pulmonology hospitals to conducting tests, triage and referral of coronavirus patients. On Monday, Health Minister Hala Zayed said that 34 fever and pulmonology hospitals would now also serve as isolation facilities, providing treatment and quarantine. The 34 chosen hospitals, which are being upgraded in three stages, will host coronavirus cases who do not display complex symptoms. On 25 April, Zayed said Egypt had carried out 200,000 rapid diagnostic tests for coronavirus and 90,000 PCR analyses through 27 central laboratories nationwide. The patient was then transferred to Sheikh Zayed Al-Nahyan hospital, one of 17 operating quarantine hospitals at the time, where he stayed for two weeks and was treated with Hydroxychloroquine and paracetamol. I noticed that not all cases received the same drugs. Some were prescribed Remdesivir, he said. On Monday Zayed said treatment protocols in Egypt were up-to-date and linked to international research, and on 30 April the Ministry of Health announced that it was introducing plasma therapy trials. Fully recovered patients will be asked to donate plasma. After working on it, we inject critical cases with this plasma after adding the antibody to it, Zayed said. She added that the plasma therapy trial results are promising so far. Two weeks ago the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said convalescent plasma has the potential to lessen the severity, or shorten the length, of illness caused by Covid-19. After almost two weeks in the isolation hospital, on 1 May, my health was improving, but my result remained positive, continued the patient. They once again transferred me, this time to a hostel in New Cairo, to continue my treatment. To free beds at the 17 isolation hospitals for the increasing number of Covid-19 patients, on 23 April the Health Ministry decided to transfer mild coronavirus cases from quarantine hospitals to university hostels. Despite lockdown measures imposed in March to stem the spread of the virus Egypt had reported more than 6,000 coronavirus cases by Saturday, 2 May. The first case of Covid-19 in Egypt was confirmed on 14 February, and though it took seven weeks to reach the milestone of 1,000 infections on 4 April it has taken just 28 days to move from 1,000 to 6,000 cases. Ahmed Al-Subki, Assistant Minister of Health, told parliaments Health Affairs Committee on Monday that more than 900,000 citizens had been traced after being directly or indirectly in contact with confirmed coronavirus patients. The highest single day spike in cases 358 was reported on Friday, 1 May. Zayed told MBC Masr satellite channel that recent rises were within expected levels, and that the cases detected on Friday were the result of more than 6,000 PCR tests. She attributed recent increases in the number of cases to peoples behaviour outside curfew hours, especially during the two weeks that preceded Ramadan. According to Zayed, visits to markets decreased by 40 per cent immediately after the crisis erupted, but the fall had been reduced to just 11 per cent during the two weeks preceding Ramadan. Measures applied by the government since mid-March to contain the pandemic include closing schools and universities, mosques and churches and suspending international flights. The cabinet also imposed a curfew, subsequently eased at the beginning of Ramadan to begin at 9pm instead of 7pm. Zayed said people will have to adapt to the presence of coronavirus until a vaccine is found, and maintain social distancing. It doesnt matter when the curfew starts, what matters are our habits throughout the day, she said. During recent days some restrictions have been relaxed. Car licensing sections at traffic departments, real estate registry offices services and some court services have now reopened. Cabinet Spokesperson Nader Saad said people will be able to book hotels starting with the Eid Al-Fitr holiday which begins on 23 May, after the cabinet decided they could reopen as long as social distancing measures were observed. What this means in practice, said Antiquities and Tourism Minister Khaled Al-Enany, is that hotels will be able to accept guests and day-use customers provided they operate at 25 per cent capacity. Hotels will not be allowed to host parties or weddings, or any kind of overnight activity. *A version of this article appears in print in the 7 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under headline: Keep your distance Search Keywords: Short link: Businesses Begin to Open, and So Do Worker Safety Lawsuits As the country prepared to reopen in the coming weeks and months, workers do not want to put themselves at risk, and employers want to ensure they will not be sued if workers get sick. When is it safe for people to go back to work? What about the health of workers? What if employees get sick? Do employers have liability? Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said liability protection for employers must be included in the next round of pandemic relief legislation, according to an NPR article. If there's any red line, it's on litigation, McConnell said Tuesday. The litigation epidemic has already begun. As of the end of last week, one report had it that 771 lawsuits had already been filed. This is going to impact our ability to begin to get back to work. However, workers rights advocates say shielding employers from liability is not necessary and could actually backfire. Many are worry that if laws protect employers completely, there will be no effort to ensure workplaces are actually safe. If the laws simply give immunity to corporations, there will be absolutely no incentives to ensure that they create a safe work environment, said Remington A. Gregg, a lawyer with the watchdog group Public Citizen. Granting legal immunity, he says, will sabotage the effort to get workers and consumers back. If people don't trust that stores, offices and workplaces are safe, they will refuse to return. McConnell has not detailed what kind of legal protection employers are looking for. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce suggests that it could be narrowly tailored. No one wants to protect bad actors here, said Neil Bradley, the chambers chief policy officer. But businesses that are trying to do the right thing shouldn't be second-guessed a year later in a court of law. Bradley suggested employers would only be shielded from lawsuits if they followed the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the federal workplace safety agency. The cases of child abuse by Catholic clergy that have come to light over the past few decades have been damaging to the church, not just because of the horror of the individual crimes but because of what they said about the churchs higher echelons. Senior clergy were prepared to turn a blind eye to the crimes and even protect the perpetrators in the interests of avoiding scandal and sometimes even saving cash by avoiding paying compensation to victims. That is why the revelations about Cardinal George Pell in the final unredacted report of the royal commission into child abuse could in some ways be almost as significant as the criminal charges he was acquitted of last month. Until now, the Catholic Church has defended Cardinal Pell who rose to one of the top positions in the Vatican despite the sex abuse scandals in Victoria where he was a senior churchman. The church has claimed that Cardinal Pell was unaware of the crimes being committed against children and when he became aware of the problems in the 1990s he led the Melbourne Response to compensate victims. Plans to build a resort on a remote island off South Carolina's coast took a step forward this week, now with word from Beaufort County staff that the plans can qualify as "ecotourism." Developers are hoping to build an about $100 million high-end getaway on Bay Point Island, which is just northeast of Hilton Head. It's accessible only by boat or aircraft and is currently undeveloped. The project's backers say it's the ideal location for an "ecologically based travel destination." But some local groups say the concerns they raised about the development have not been addressed, and they're worried the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will make it more difficult for opposing voices to be heard. The Charleston-based Coastal Conservation League has argued the site is inappropriate for any kind of resort, even one that emphasizes sustainability. That's primarily because of its status as a small barrier island, vulnerable to sea level rise and hurricanes. The local Gullah-Geechee community has also protested the plans. Its leaders say the waters around Bay Point have served as an important fishing ground for generations and will be threatened by the development. This is the second time a resort has been proposed for Bay Point. Its principal owner, European investor Philippe Cahen, proposed a plan several years ago. This time, the Thailand-based luxury hotel operator Six Senses is involved. The majority of Six Senses' resorts are in Asia or on islands in the Pacific, with some locations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Bay Point would be the companys first U.S. property. Since the island is zoned as a natural preserve, county codes only allow for accommodations to be built on it if they meet the definition of "ecotourism." According to Beaufort County staff, the resort plans as they stand now can qualify, but several months ago, they didn't pass muster. Beaufort County community development director Eric Greenway wrote in a December letter that "after careful review," he concluded the resort wasn't ecotourism. But since then, developers submitted revised plans that came with a new stamp of approval: a letter from Jon Bruno, the executive director of the International Ecotourism Society, the source of the ecotourism definition used in the county's code. "Having now had time to thoroughly study the plans, in consultation with several experts, and having visited Bay Point Island in the company of several sustainable development experts, further, having met extensively with and questioned the directors of this project, we can state definitively that the Bay Point Island development plan meets the definition of ecotourism as defined by TIES," Bruno wrote in the letter. Greenway sent the developers a letter in mid-March, saying that the resubmitted plan meets the county's standards for an ecotourism use. In the letter, Greenway specified that the determination "in no way should be construed as an approval of the use to be established on the island." The developers still need the approval of a county zoning board, which will review the plans now that staffers have given the project conceptual approval. It's unclear when that meeting will happen, Greenway said, because of the ongoing coronavirus health crisis. In the meantime, he said, the developers are holding a series of virtual meetings with various interested parties on Thursday, including cultural and tourism groups, business organizations and environmental interests. Marquetta Goodwine, who goes by Queen Quet as the chieftess of the Gullah-Geechee Nation, said she was invited to participate in the virtual session as a "cultural group," but said she was "deeply concerned" to see these meetings were moving forward at this time. Prior to the pandemic, she said, the county had reached out about conducting an in-person meeting with the developers. When it was clear that session couldn't safely happen, Queen Quet said she thought the process would be put on pause. Sign up for our real estate newsletter! Get the best of the Post and Courier's Real Estate news, handpicked and delivered to your inbox each Saturday. Email Sign Up! "Many of our native Gullah-Geechees do not have online access at their homes," she said. "Therefore, having online meetings concerning a project that we have adamantly spoken out against is not fair, equitable nor just." The Gullah-Geechee community is "not being prioritized," she said, adding that an online petition started by the Gullah-Geechee Sea Island Coalition late last year has continued to garner signatures. As of Wednesday afternoon, almost 6,000 people had signed. The Coastal Conservation League shared similar concerns about the timing. Juliana Smith, its south coast project manager, said the group has been requesting in-person meetings since last summer. "Pushing forward under the cover of a worldwide pandemic shows a clear lack of transparency and ignores the concerns of many community members that will be impacted by this project, particularly those who do not have access to the technology necessary to participate in these meetings," Smith said. Art Tiller, vice president at Luckett & Farley, a Louisville, Ky.-based firm working on the Bay Point project, said in a statement that they "welcome collaboration from all environmentalists," noting that Greenway and the Coastal Conservation League were invited to tour the island property this week. "Since late 2019, we have reached out to dozens of community groups and organizations in coastal South Carolina to share our sustainable vision, community benefits and ask for feedback," Krebs said. "I am grateful for the opportunity to provide clarity to everyone." Tim Pitcher, a co-owner of Bay Point Island, also said in a statement that the developers have had "informative and positive conversations" with county staff and local organizations in recent weeks. "We look forward to working together with other environmentalists, friends and neighbors in the future as we seek regenerative efforts on both the island and the community," Pitcher said. In regard to the overall timing of the review, the Bay Point team said they were "responding to scheduling from the county." Greenway said that, since the Bay Point Island representatives are not local, he's been working around their travel schedules. "No one on our end is trying to do anything not to get the information out to the interested parties," Greenway said. If the county feels that more meetings need to take place that "provide a wider array of information to a wider audience" they will "delay any action until that takes place," Greenway said. Smith of the Coastal Conservation League said she hopes the community will have a chance to safely address the development group in person before the plans come before the zoning board. But ultimately, she said, the organization hopes they won't see a resort built on Bay Point at all. "Given the unique ecosystem and important habitat on Bay Point Island, true ecotourism would be significantly less impactful than the current proposal," the organization wrote in a letter to developers on April 22. Bay Point Island has been designated as an "Important Bird Area" by the National Audubon Society, and it's a nesting habitat for sea turtles. The most recent plan includes a "conservation strategy" for shorebirds. During a review meeting Wednesday, county staff said they needed the Bay Point team to provide more information that's sourced from Audubon South Carolina. Resort plans call for about 50 villas for guests as well as dining and spa venues. The resort would utilize solar fields for power and likely a package plant for sewage. Structures will be constructed off-site "to minimize site impacts," according to the plans. No paved roads are included, and only bikes and small electric vehicles will be allowed. Though it's unclear what the price point would be for lodgings on Bay Point, many of the five-star-rated rooms managed by Six Senses are priced at more than $1,000 a night. There are four animals that have become relevant in the context of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). This column is about them. It was only in 2013, after a decade of looking for the source of the Sars-CoV (or Sars-CoV-1) virus that causes the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, that scientists found the natural host of the virus, horseshoe bats specifically, horseshoe bats in a cave outside a large city in Chinas Yunnan province. Somehow, the virus had made the jump from the bats, to civets in Guangdong, and from them to humans (the Chinese eat civet meat and the first people to be infected were wildlife traders from Guangdong). A fascinating article in Scientific American in March narrated this quest as part of its profile of Shi Zhengli, a virologist in Wuhan. Scientists say the bats may well be the natural host of the virus that causes the coronavirus disease too. Horseshoe bats, then, are the first animals of relevance in the context of Covid-19. That shouldnt surprise anyone. Research has established that bats are hosts to more zoonoses (pathogens that can cross over to humans, causing an infection) than any other species. Sometimes, the transmission happens directly. Sometimes, it happens through another animal. In the case of Sars, it was the masked palm civet that was the intermediary. In the case of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or Mers, it was a species of camel. In the case of Covid-19, scientists believe the intermediary was the pangolin specifically, the Malayan Pangolin. India has a species of pangolin too, the Indian Pangolin. Pangolins are widely used in Chinese medicine, so its easy to see how Sars-CoV-2 could have jumped from bats to pangolins to humans. The pangolin, then is the second animal of relevance in the context of Covid-19, which, as of Thursday, has infected 3.8 million people, and killed 265,000 (of the 3.8 million, 1.3 million have recovered). The global scale of the pandemic, which has no cure right now, has meant everyone knows the significance of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19. This is the vaccine being developed at the University of Oxford. The vaccine hopes to tackle Covid-19 by injecting a weakened adenovirus into which genetic material from Sars-CoV-2 has been inserted something that should generate an immune response. The adenovirus the scientists at Oxford are using is one that causes cold in chimpanzees, which explains the name of the vaccine (Ch for chimpanzee and Ad for adenovirus). We humans share 99% of our DNA with chimpanzees and bonobos (another ape, and one that belongs to the same genus as chimpanzees). Chimpanzees are the third animal of relevance in the context of Covid-19, especially given that ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 remains our best bet yet. There are expectations that it will be available this year itself, and Indias Serum Institute has already started making it taking a bet that an ongoing clinical trial will work. But chimpanzees arent the only potential saviours of the human race. Over the past two days, there has been a lot of focus on llamas, the ungulates with pretty eyelashes. It turns out that they have antibodies that can tackle Covid-19 (the findings of a study on this were published earlier this week on the respected journal, Cell). It also turns out that the antibodies produced by llamas can be merged with antibodies produced by other species, including humans. Indeed, research has shown that all other members of the family llamas belong to, camelidae, produce antibodies with the same property they are stable at higher temperatures, and lend themselves to genetic engineering because of their small size. The llama, then, is the fourth animal of relevance in the context of the pandemic. And if llamas hold the answer to the virus, they will become as famous as the horses that helped humankind in the fight against diphtheria -- but thats another story. Africas entrepreneurship rate is the highest in the world. According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), 22 % of Africas working-age population segment are starting their own businesses. Spurred on by access to global markets through increased digitisation; younger generations who understand the link between entrepreneurship and the future of work; and the growth of innovation across the continent, the entrepreneurial space in Africa is expected to expand exponentially over the upcoming years. Within this burgeoning entrepreneurial environment, there are a few observed trends that are set to become even more prevalent this year. The current COVID-19 global crisis is creating even more urgency around the need for an entrepreneurial approach by African markets, and are likely to fast-track related trends. These are 4 key African entrepreneurship trends expected to intensify and have increased impact on the continents business landscape in 2020: Heightened Focus On Social Responsibility: By its sheer nature, entrepreneurship is considered as being socially responsible - largely due the crucial role it plays in job creation. However, there is still a need for ongoing efforts that offer benefits to local communities and broader societal structures. While there is pressure on businesses in general to positively contribute to society, there is an even higher expectation placed on entrepreneurs. This is because, for the most part, entrepreneurs are viewed as leaders in the region/industry/area of expertise they operate within. The more an entrepreneurial venture gives back to the community, the most exposure and support it gets. Funders, as well, will be putting a higher priority on social impact than ever before when deciding which entrepreneurial initiatives to invest in. Therefore, it will be imperative for entrepreneurs to strategically analyse their business operations to incorporate social upliftment mechanisms, if these are not already part of their functional business model. Younger Entrepreneurs: The top half Generation Z population segment (those born between 1995 and 2015) will be aged between 15 and 25 this year. This group of young citizens are more tuned in that ever when it comes to their future. This includes the future of work, in which entrepreneurship plays a core role. 2020 Gen Z individuals are more likely to view entrepreneurship as a viable career choice and life path than any other group of the population before them. A study conducted on students in South Africa revealed that Generation Z is characterised by: A tremendous entrepreneurial spirit, founded on hope and a sense of self-created liberation, and states that many in this group have already started businesses at a young age. Increased digitisation and globalization factors also provide them with more tools to succeed than any preceding generation. Despite barriers such as limited access to funding and often a lack of network support being challenges for very young African entrepreneurs to overcome, this passionate and innovative group of young gamechangers are pegged to enter the entrepreneurial space in their numbers this year. And with the right infrastructural and environmental support, these very young entrepreneurs could tangibly transform Africas socio-economic landscape by contributing to job creation, innovation and social upliftment. Boost In Female Entrepreneurial Ventures: The trend of female entrepreneurship in Africa is not new. In fact, Africa is the only region in the world where there are more female than male entrepreneurs ( The World Bank ). However, while there are a rising number of female-owned start-ups and small businesses, the issue is their opportunities for success. Concerning statistics by the World Bank based on data collected in 10 African countries reflect that, on average, male-owned enterprises have six times more capital than female-owned ones. This reduced access to capital finance negatively impacts the ability to secure additional funds in the form of business loans, which severely impedes growth prospects. This year, though, a positive shift is anticipated when it comes to support for female entrepreneurs in Africa. This is due to female-focused initiatives such as the African Development Banks Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) programme $61.8 million funding allocation , as well as a number of other funds and investment projects that exclusively benefit female business owners in Africa. These types of funding models will be instrumental in helping to reduce the gender gap when it comes to access to capital and operating assets for women entrepreneurs on the continent. More Specialised Business Education: There will be a growing demand created by a changing business environment (perpetuated by progressive disruptive technologies, the future of work, and so forth) for specialised business education across the continent and various industry sectors. This relates to both school and tertiary curriculums that focus on equipping students with transferrable skills linked to leadership, management and entrepreneurship. Once equipped with such skills and knowledge, more students will consider an entrepreneurial path, as well as apply an entrepreneurial approach to previously traditional job roles. This will not only have an impact on the entrepreneurship space, but on business and economic operations in general. Those who are already active entrepreneurs in their own right will also need to upskill in order to keep up with developments if they want to succeed in an evolving African business environment. These are just 4 trends expected to shape the African entrepreneurial ecosystem in 2020 and beyond based on business as usual market progression. Again, in light of the unprecedented disruption caused by the 2020 health crisis in the form of the COVID-19 global outbreak, we are likely to see the pace of transformation speed up intensely as the business world is forced to rapidly adapt to survive. The value of entrepreneur and their inherently innovative and solution-driven mindsets is likely to take the fore as companies look for alternatives to traditional approaches to business operations. With reference to the above trends: younger, digitally and technologically attuned entrepreneurs will be pivotal to transcending African business operations to the level needed to complete globally. Social responsibility will be even more intrinsically linked to brand reputation as each companys response to the health crisis will be critically assessed in terms of positively contributing to public needs, health and safety. The manner in which beneficiaries of business funding (both male and female) allocate resources during and post the coronavirus crisis will significantly influence African economic results, as well as social impact. The imperative of upskilling has also skyrocketed as companies recognise the risk of having employees with predominately traditional business expertise only, as a lack of agile and transferable skills makes it difficult to adjust to the changing operational environment as quickly as needed. The extent of impact that these entrepreneurial trends will have on African economic performance is yet to be seen, particularly as the COVID-19 crisis acts as a catalyst for the growth of entrepreneurial and disruptive business activities that provide solutions to the challenges facing the continent. One thing that is for certain is that 2020 will prove to be a transformative year when it comes to the role that entrepreneurship plays within the African business landscape. The Italian statistics bureau ISTAT reported on Monday that the real coronavirus death toll in the country is far higher than the official count of more than 29,000 people. ISTATs report was produced together with the countrys National Health Institute, and based on an analysis of the total death rate across the Italian population, spanning the period from February 21, when the first coronavirus death was reported, through to the end of March. There were 90,946 deaths reported from all causes over this period, compared to 65,592 in 2019. Of the difference, some 25,354 additional deaths, just over 54 percent were confirmed COVID-19 cases, and added to the authorities tally. But due to the governments refusal to conduct large-scale testing for the disease, an unknown number of thousands more died without ever even being tested for the virus. A patient in a biocontainment unit is carried on a stretcher from an ambulance arrived at the Columbus Covid 2 Hospital in Rome.(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) By breaking down the excess death toll by geographical region, the study indicates that the rise was overwhelmingly attributable to COVID-19. More than ninety percent of the excess deaths at the national level (comparing March 2019 to March 2020) were concentrated in the regions hardest hit by the pandemic: 37 northern provinces, plus Pesaro and Urbino. Deaths in these areas more than doubled to 49,351 compared to 2019. Taking the years 2015-2019 as a base average, the study found that the death rate increased by the following amounts in the regions where the largest coronavirus cluster occurred: in Bergamo, 568 percent; in Cremona, 391 percent; in Lodi, 371 percent; in Brescia, 291 percent; in Piacenza, 264 percent; in Parma, 208 percent; in Lecco, 174 percent; in Pavia, 133 percent; in Mantua, 122 percent; in Pesaro and Urbino, 120 percent. The report concludes that in addition to the 13,700 deaths reported up to March 30 from COVID-19, an additional 11,600 people died either directly from the virus or from the breakdown of the health system in the areas hardest hit. To this must be added the many thousands or tens of thousands more who have died in the period since March 31. This is not the only report making clear that the official death toll is a vast underestimate. A mathematical study was published on April 20 by three scientists from the University of California-Berkeley, based on a statistical analysis of excess death rates (comparing 2020 to the period of 2015-2019) in Italy, broken down by population age group. The authors concluded that for the population aged under 70, the official death count was a reasonable estimate of the total number of deaths, but that it significantly undercounts the 70-plus age group. They estimate that by April 20, the real number of deaths was 52,000 (with an uncertainty range of 2,000), more than double the official number of 24,114 that had been reported at that point. The Conte governments own figures are a deliberate cover-up. It has not implemented large-scale testing and does not want the full scale of the disaster to be known because it is implicated in the death toll. The country entered the coronavirus pandemic with just 8.6 intensive care beds per 1,000 people in the population. Savage austerity led by the Democratic Party over more than a decade under the demands of the European Union slashed the budget of the health care system. An April 26 report by AP documents the systematic refusal of authorities to take necessary actions to prevent the spread of the virus, including rejecting the recommendations of national health authorities. Their decisions were conditioned at every point by the overriding concern to prevent any impact on corporate profits. By March 2, the National Health Institute had recommended the full lock-down of Alzano and Nembro. The lock-down was never implemented, and the disease was allowed to spread another week uninhibited until a full confinement was imposed on March 7 across Lombardy. Even then, however, non-essential production was kept open, which was only stopped due to the eruption of nationwide wildcat strikes by workers demanding the idling of non-essential plants, in defiance of the governments and the pro-corporate trade unions. The army was there, prepared to do a total closure, and if it had been done immediately maybe they could have stopped the contagion in the rest of Lombardy, Dr. Guido Marinoni, head of the association of doctors in Bergamo province, told AP. This wasnt done, and they took softer measures in all of Lombardy, and this allowed for the spread. The Lombardy region is a major economic center, responsible for more than a fifth of Italian GDP. From the start, the response of the Italian ruling class, like its counterparts throughout Europe and America, has not been oriented to saving lives, but to guarding profits. It is responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands, and if allowed to continue with these policies, will oversee the deaths of an untold number more. Even as the real scale of the coronavirus pandemics impact is being covered up, Italian authorities are moving to a full re-opening of the economy. While trillions of dollars have been used across America and Europe to prop up share markets and stock prices for the financial elite, the working class is being forced to return to work to continue producing profits. This week, all non-essential production began to re-open across the country, with millions of workers pushed back to work. Restaurants and cafes are already operating take-out services. Beginning on May 18, the government has announced that all restaurants could fully open. On Monday, a report was released by Imperial College of London, using data from Italy, which predicts that the end to the countrys 60-day nationwide lockdown will lead to tens of thousands of additional deaths of people who would otherwise have been saved. The report provides a region-by-region analysis of movement of the population using Google location data, both before and after the beginning of lockdown measures. They model the transmission rate of the virus (the average number of people that every infected person infects) as a function of this overall population mobility. The analysis concludes that even a 20 percent increase in total mobility in the population compared to lockdown would lead to an additional 3,000 to 5,000 more deaths than would otherwise have occurred if confinement had been maintained. If mobility increases by 40 percent, the study estimates that the total number of deaths will increase by anywhere from 10,000 to 23,000. These are, again, not the total number of deaths, but only the additional deaths that would otherwise have been avoided if confinement had been maintained. The capitalist classs response to the pandemic is a policy of mass murder. As the World Socialist Web Site explained in its Perspective yesterday: It is becoming increasingly clear that the fight against the pandemic is inseparable from a fight against the capitalist system. The conflict between the needs of society and the profit system is not just a theoretical question. It is demonstrated in practice every single day. On Thursday, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Timothy Shea, filed a motion to drop the charges against former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, who, in the course of special counsel Robert Muellers probe, pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI but later withdrew that plea. The move came hours after the lead prosecutor, Brandon Van Grack, withdrew from the case, placing it in the hands of one of Attorney General William Barrs former top advisers. President Donald Trump has pushed for years through his tweets, public statements, and personal interactions with top DOJ officials for Flynns case to be dropped. Advertisement In the extraordinary motion, Shea argued that the FBIs investigation of Flynn was based on frail and shifting justifications and that the case against him was too thin to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The effort on behalf of the president by Barr and Shea to cover up already confessed crimes is a further step toward the complete corruption of the Department of Justice. The department was left reeling earlier this year when, after Trumps urging, the same U.S. Attorneys Office changed its sentencing recommendation for another Trump associate and felon, Roger Stone, prompting the public withdrawal of all of the attorneys previously working on the case. All thats left, really, is for the department to start prosecuting Trumps political enemies. Advertisement The fact that DOJ has reversed itself 180 degrees to let a presidential ally off the hookafter he pled guiltyis yet another among the slinking cavalcade of humiliations Trump and Barr have inflicted on the [DOJ], former federal prosecutor and University of Missouri School of Law professor Frank Bowman told me. Flynn was at the center of special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into obstruction of justice by Trump. He had also previously confessed to lying to prosecutors about his contacts with former Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and lying on Foreign Agents Registration Act forms about his involvement with Turkey. Its unclear whether Van Grack, Flynn, or Shea will be made to publicly account for this blatant cover-up. House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler and House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff released statements suggesting they would not try to make them testify, though Nadler said he was seeking to question Barr. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last week, Trump said he was considering pardoning Flynn, but hinted that Barr would do his dirty work for him. It looks to me like Michael Flynn would be exonerated based on everything I see, he told the press. In January 2017, the FBI probed conversations Flynn had as part of Trumps transition team surrounding President Barack Obamas sanctions of Russia for interfering in the 2016 election. In December 2016, Flynn asked Kislyak to have Russia hold off in responding to those sanctions, a request to which the Russians agreed and one that may have violated the Logan Act. Trump at the time praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as being very smart for declining to retaliate. In January 2017, Flynn lied to the FBI about this interaction. In February 2017, Trump then requested that former FBI Director James Comey let go of the bureaus investigation into Flynn and fired Comey in May 2017 after he declined to do so, which formed the basis for Muellers obstruction of justice investigation of the president. Mueller concluded last year that Trump may have obstructed justice and that the question was potentially one for Congress, or for prosecutors under a future Department of Justice, because of constitutional questions surrounding indicting a sitting president. According to Mueller, former White House counsel Don McGahn directly told the president that his biggest exposure for potential obstruction of justice charges was tied to his ask re: Flynn. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In this latest move to wipe away Flynns criminal case, Barrs DOJ also acts to further cover up Trumps own obstruction of justice. Sheas justification for dropping the case was that Flynns lies to the FBI were immaterial. Never mind that he was caught lying to the public, the vice president, and the press secretary about his interactions with Kislyak and possibly committed a Logan Act offense, which would have given Russia direct leverage over Flynn. Whatever gaps in his memory Mr. Flynn might or might not reveal upon an interview regurgitating the content of those calls would not have implicated legitimate counterintelligence interests or somehow exposed Mr. Flynn as beholden to Russia, Shea wrote. Advertisement Whether or not Mr. Flynn had been entirely candid with the future Vice President or Press Secretary did not create a predicate for believing he had committed a crime or was beholden to a foreign power, he continued. Bowman waved away this claim as nonsense that had been previously rejected by the judge in the case, Emmet G. Sullivan. The [governments] excuse for moving to dismiss is remarkably disingenuous and utterly inconsistent with what DOJ argued earlier in the same case, he told me in an email. Its also potentially damaging to federal law enforcement going forward. Advertisement Bowman continued: DOJ seems to be arguing a defendant can escape liability for lying to the FBI or other federal agency if the lie he tells doesnt fall precisely within the ambit of some formally authorized investigation, even where the subject of inquiry is plainly within the general jurisdiction of the executive branch of the Government of the United States. 18 USC 1001. Although this example isnt precisely on point, suppose the FBI opens a case on a bank robbery, and an FBI agent comes to ask me about bank robbery but, on a hunch, asks me about an unrelated case of espionage. If I lie, the Barr DOJs position would seem to be that I cant be prosecuted under 1001 because the agent wasnt pursuing the opened case. In short, the scope of 1001 would be limited by the fortuity of the paperwork flow of the investigative agency. Now I suppose defense lawyers and their clients might think this would be a good rule, but no sane Justice Department would ever advance so restrictive a notion. What we have here is a DOJ so in thrall to the presidents desire to protect his friends (without putting him to the embarrassing necessity of issuing a pardon) that its willing to cripple itself for future cases. Sullivan will now have to decide whether to accept the DOJs withdrawal of the case or to try to sentence Flynn despite that withdrawal. Trump could, of course, still seek to pardon Flynn. But Barr has now sent a clear message: The Department of Justice will go to any lengths to protect the boss and his associates. For more of Slates political coverage, listen to this weeks Political Gabfest. The song of we have restored never comes from the NPP and her apparatchiks without the mentioning of both Teacher and Nursing Trainees Allowance. It is a well-documented fact that the NDC Government replaced the Teacher Trainee Allowance with Students Loan whiles Nursing Trainees were being processed for the same. The then Opposition NPP party capitalized on the sensitive nature of the situation and made a huge political capital on it. Fast forward after the Nana Addo administration ascending to the throne.....the Allowances were restored with massive challenges ranging from delay in payments, reduction of the amount paid during NDC era to payment tied to schooling period. In November 2019 for instance, Teacher Trainees in Ghana were refused their allowance with the wicked reason being that Tutors of Education were on strike and since they were not being taught, they wouldn't be paid and it happened so. Students of Colleges of Education were to report to campus for their second-semester academic section on the 16th March 2020 when the President of the Republic announced austerity measures in curbing the Convid 19 Pandemic which includes closing down all educational institutions which included Colleges of Education. After closing down all educational institutions the alternative employed by the government to continue engaging learners is E-Learning which is to be implemented mostly with second cycle and tertiary institutions but comes with huge demands. One needs foremost a stable network and high data to be able to undertake such educational accomplishment. With the advent of Convid 19 and the accompanying hardship is making this wonderful idea of making the Ghanaian student continue with his/her academic work in the midst of the pandemic a mirage. Earlier April, the S.R.C. of the University of Cape Coast came out ordering all students from partaking in the E-Learning program because the University said it could not provide students with internet data. Other Campuses followed with similar agitations across the country. With Colleges of Education, they have not received their monthly stipends since March and this is the time these students needed this allowance very much for the following activities geared towards partaking in the E-Learning; 1.Acquisition of smartphones 2. Servicing of faulty phones and laptop computers for easy operability. 3. Travelling to centres where access to internet service is available. 4. Lastly, the purchasing of data for Internet service. Now that the E-Learning has become mandatory on all tertiary students since universities will not repeat their lessons when school reopens according to Deputy Minister for Education Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum.This caveat is causing a lot of pain in the majority of Teacher Trainees as they are forced to go by this order hence their cry. It is obvious that this insensitive government will not pay heed to the cry of these helpless students because according to Deputy Minister of Education Gifty Twum Ampofo, Government has no plan to support tertiary students with data for E-Learning programme. On this note, we members of the Tertiary Education Institutions Network of NDC- TEIN in Bono East Region are calling on the government to as a matter of urgency pay these students their allowance in order to make the E-Learning programme a success. Thank you. Signed: Suleman Mohammed-Mustapha Regional TEIN Coordinator-Bono East. Hollyoaks bosses have confirmed when they'll stop airing new shows amid the coronavirus pandemic. Channel 4 has already reduced the number of weekly episodes of the soap during the COVID-19 crisis, but it has now been revealed the series will run out of content by the end of July. As the last British soap to broadcast up-to-date episodes, a source told MailOnline that the series will fully switch to vintage episodes - known as Hollyoaks Favourites - in the summer, set to air five nights per week. The future of TV: Hollyoaks bosses have confirmed when they'll stop airing new shows amid the coronavirus pandemic (stock photo of the set pictured) The insider told us: 'Hollyoaks is the last soap to have current episodes and will run until the end of July. 'If needed it will then air Hollyoaks Favourites, a series with introductions from current cast looking back on classic episodes, focusing mainly on characters that are in the show now. Crucially it means that five nights a week, viewers can still keep in touch as usual.' It's a big year for the soap, as the show prepares to celebrate its 25-year anniversary in October. Actor Jamie Lomas - who recently reprised his role as Warren Fox, who he has played on and off since 2006 - insisted Hollyoaks' cast and crew have 'stepped up their game' as they mark their milestone. Upcoming: The series - the last British soap to broadcast up-to-date episodes - will run out of content by the end of July (Jennifer Metcalfe pictured as Mercedes) The TV star, 45, told told BANG Showbiz: 'Hollyoaks is always brave and tries different things. This year, especially with it being the 25th anniversary, they've just really stepped up their game. 'Some of the stuff we're producing is really fantastic. I've always been proud to be part of 'Hollyoaks', and that will always remain. 'It always sets the benchmark in trying stuff, in terms of things that other shows wouldn't necessarily try.' Production on the long-running E4 soap has been halted since March, amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Bosses of the popular series put out an announcement, which also revealed that the number of episodes aired weekly would be reduced from five to three. The press release read: 'Dear Hollyoaks viewers... It is with a heavy heart that we have made the decision to pause filming of Hollyoaks. 'From Monday 30th March, we will be reducing the number of our weekly new episodes from five down to three, which will air Monday to Wednesday.' In for a treat: A source told MailOnline that the series will switch to vintage episodes - known as Hollyoaks Favourites - set to air five nights per week (Stephanie Davis as Sinead) Bosses of the show went on to reveal that fans will still be able to get their Hollyoaks fix, with the introduction of a new series in which they can watch all-time highlights. The press release continued: 'To make sure we stay on air every week night, fans can look forward to extra special episodes every Thursday and Friday on E4, as we begin a brand new series of "Hollyoaks Favourites". 'Introduced by Kieron Richardson and Jorgie Porter, this series will give viewers a chance to revisit some of our biggest episodes, from weddings, bust-ups, heartbreaks and some of our biggest and best stunts. Exciting: Actor Jamie Lomas - who recently reprised his role as Warren Fox - insisted Hollyoaks has 'stepped up their game' as it prepares to mark its 25th anniversary in October 'We will start the series with Mercedes' fourth wedding, to Dr Browning. 'Soaps are an important part of people's lives and we have 25 years of Hollyoaks Favourites to revisit over coming weeks, celebrating the history of the show that you love. 'We will remain as present as ever on our social platforms so please keep in touch with us here, stay safe and take care of yourselves. Thank you for your ongoing support. Love from everyone at Hollyoaks.' Survey shows most international students are determined to study abroad despite travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, though face-to-face study is preferable to online courses International students determined to study in Canada despite coronavirus Survey shows most international students are determined to study abroad despite travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, though face-to-face study is preferable to online courses International students determined to study in Canada despite coronavirus Survey shows most international students are determined to study abroad despite travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, though face-to-face study is preferable to online courses International students determined to study in Canada despite coronavirus Survey shows most international students are determined to study abroad despite travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, though face-to-face study is preferable to online courses Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Most aspiring international students in a recent survey say the coronavirus pandemic is not stopping them from pursuing their post-secondary education abroad. That being said, many would still prefer the face-to-face study experience over online learning, according to the survey conducted by international education specialists at IDP Connect, the B2B division of IDP Education. Some 69 per cent of the 6,900 international student applicants surveyed intend to commence their studies as planned. Only five per cent said they would no longer continue studying. Most of the participants were from India, China, and Bangladesh, among other Asian countries. The destination countries of these students were Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States, and New Zealand. See if you are eligible to study in Canada The majority of people said they would prefer to defer their study plans until face-to-face classes were available, mainly because the online option lacks the international exposure most were hoping to gain. The CEO of IDP Connect, Simon Emmett, noted that just over half of participants, 54 per cent, would be willing to defer their studies up to 12 months or less before pursuing other options. Thirty-one per cent of respondents stated they would be willing to start their course online and move to face-to-face learning at a later date, but by far the greatest preference was to defer to January 2021 if this meant face-to-face learning would be possible, Emmett said in a media release. Based on the results, IDP recommended that post-secondary institutions provide clarity on how and when face-to-face teaching will resume, and to prepare for large cohorts of students commencing face-to-face studies from January to May, 2021. Survey participants got to rank destination countries on a scale of 1-10 based on their pre-conceived perceptions. Though Australia and Canada were the preferred destination countries of the overwhelming majority of participants, Canada was highly regarded for its welfare of international students, and the economic stability of the nation. Canada was also seen as having the least prohibitive travel restrictions. University activity as provinces loosen coronavirus restrictions As Canadian provinces start pulling back coronavirus measures, some universities are also opening their facilities. McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, will commence the first stage of its phase-in to operation on May 11, allowing some on-campus researchers to go back to work. Researchers will be required to follow the universitys directives, which includes adhering to safety protocols, being prepared to shut down in case of changes at the institution or government level, among others. The Universite du Quebec a Montreal is also welcoming back researchers. They did not specify which ones exactly, just that their work needs to require them to be physically present on campus, and working from home is still preferred. The University of Prince Edward Island will allow researchers, faculty, and graduate students to conduct research on campus as of May 25. They are also allowing some key staff and the management team to meet on campus, while encouraging social distancing and working from home when possible. The second phase is set to begin June 15, upon evaluation of the first phase, where they may expand the number of people allowed on campus. The third phase, another expansion, is scheduled to begin August 1, where they will prepare for the fall academic semester. How Canadians are helping international students Canada is helping international students a number of ways such as increasing the number of working hours allowed from 20 to 40 for certain occupations, and opening up the Canada Emergency Response Benefit to them, which provides recipients $2,000 per month. Quebec will automatically extend the Quebec Acceptance Certificates of international students if they are set to expire before December 31, 2020. For those international students who still fall through the cracks, advocates are pressuring the federal government to do more. David Dingwall, president of Cape Breton University in Sydney, Nova Scotia, recently called on the federal government to open up the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) to international students as well as Canadian students. Introduced in late April, the CESB will provide up to $1,750 in monthly income assistance to eligible students, but international students are excluded from the program. Eligibility for the Canada Emergency Student Benefit is aligned with the Canada Student Loans Program in that it is aimed at Canadian citizens and permanent residents, a spokesperson with Employment and Social Development Canada wrote CIC News in an email. Though Dingwalls media release said the student benefit acknowledges the contributions that [Canadian] post-secondary students make to our country, he also said it fails to recognize the contributions that international students make to Canada. Nova Scotia was home to 11,817 international students in October, 2019, according to the Association of Atlantic Universities. The impact [that international students have] on our small province is enormous, Dingwall said in the release. I am confident that Universities Canada and its members will continue to advocate for our international students. See if you are eligible to study in Canada 2020 CIC News All Rights Reserved MOORESVILLE, NC 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 the end of the academic school year due to the coronavirus in North Carolina public schools, seniors are missing out on the last moments of what should be a celebratory time. We know many high school seniors are missing milestone high school events, and 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: Elizabeth Bonicelli (Photo courtesy of Barbara Bonicelli) Elizabeth Bonicelli, Mooresville Senior High School Elizabeth will be attending Lenoir-Rhyne University. Says her family: "Elizabeth is a funny, loving and passionate young lady. For as long as we can remember Elizabeth has wanted to help children. With that inind, she chose to go into the health Care field with interest in Pediatric care. Elizabeth is going to school to major in nursing , but has not ruled out furthering her education and stepping into Occupational Therapy with an emphasis on Pediatrics. While learning and making memories at MHS, Elizabeth was on the Color Guard and Winter Guard teams and served as Captain during her Senior year. Along with guard working hard to be successful Elizabeth also was in HOSA and enjoyed the Medical Explorers program at Lake Norman Regional Medical Center. Elizabeth also kept her grades up making honor roll and worked at McDonald's for the last 2 years. Elizabeth has overcome any obstacles with the help of some dedicated teachers that we will forever be thankful. We are so very proud of her hard work and dedication that she puts into all she does, can't wait to see what her bright future holds." Emma Bonicelli (Photo courtesy of Barbara Bonicelli) Emma Bonicelli, Mooresville Senior High School Emma will be attending Catawba Valley Community College. Story continues Says her family, "We are so very proud of Emma! Emma is a sensitive, loyal and outgoing young lady who has kept herself busy during her 4 years at MHS. Emma has been on the Color Guard team and the Winter Guard teams and has enjoyed dancing, twirling flags, riffles and sabers and making life long memories. Emma would like to pursue a career in the dental field where she plans on attending Lake Norman Dental Assisting School then transferring to CVCC and majoring in Dental Hygiene. Emma has been in HOSA and Yearbook, kept up her grades and worked her part time job. We can't wait to see what the future holds for Emma. Congratulations, we love you." Leila Nicodeme, William A. Hough High School Leila will be attending University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Says her family: "We are so proud off all your hard work and know you are destined for great things. Take advantage of all the opportunities given to you at college and enjoy every minute of it! We Love you always, Mom, Dad, Madison and Jolie. Go Heels!!!" Kyleia Mccolley, Mooresville High School Kyleia will be attending University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Brennan Faulkner, Mooresville High School Following graduation, Brennan will be pursuing a career in welding. Says Brennan's family: "Congratulations Brennan, aka 'CHOP.' We Love you and so proud of you. Don't let this little hill stumble or discourage you, you will have more. Just remember, the sky is the limit and I wish you nothing but success in all your future endeavors. Love you." Dylan Halstead, Mooresville High School Dylan will be attending University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Says Dylan's family: "So very proud of you!" Skylar Oliver (Photo courtesy of Brandy Oliver) Skylar Oliver, Mooresville High School Skylar will be attending Lenoir-Rhyne University and majoring in nursing. Says Skylar's family, "CONGRATULATIONS!!! Skylar, we are so proud of you. May the rest of your journey continue to bring you happiness and success. You are destined for great things and we are so blessed to be a part of it. Always stay true to your heart, believe in yourself, be open to new experiences, make good choices, be proud of all your accomplishments, embrace love, accept all that you are, forgive others and yourself. We are looking forward to walking through the next stage of your life with you.With all of our love and support, Mom and Dad" Chloe Sipes, Mooresville High School Chloe plans to pursue a career in nursing. Says her family, "Just remember during these difficult times.... We are so proud of you!!! Class of 2020" Destiny Husted, South Iredell High School Destiny plans to pursue veterinary studies. Says her family, "Congratulations Destiny! We are so proud of you. You have exceeded all of our expectations. We are so excited to see what the future holds for you. YOU DID IT!! Papa and Nana Duzan" Says her mother, "I am so lucky to have such a amazing young lady and I'm such a proud mother. I know you are going to do such great things in your life. I love you congrats honey you deserve it! Woot Woot !!!" Tatiana Joseph, Mooresville High School Tatiana plans to attend Mitchell Community College. Says her family, "Tatiana you have shown so much grace throughout this year. I know your journey has not been easy but you never give up or look back- the best is yet to come princess. We are very proud of you and love you so so much." Loren Veith, South Iredell High School Loren plans to study equestrian management. Says Loren's family, "We are so proud of everything you've accomplished and know you will succeed in your chosen career." Hunter Puckhaber, Mooresville High School Hunter plans to study aviation management and pursue a career as a pilot. Says Hunter's family, "Every day you continue to amaze me. I am so proud of you and what you have accomplished. Keep on following your dreams my son." Anjallie Hatharasinghe, South Iredell High School Anjallie plans to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Says Anjallie's family, "We are so proud of you and all your hard work, congratulation Anja!" Carolyn A Turner, Mooresville High School Carolyn plans to attend North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro. Says her family, "You have worked really hard your brothers and I are proud of you. Love mom" Chase Liggett, Lake Norman High School Chase plans to attend the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and major in computer science. Says Chase's family, "We could not be more proud of you son. These past 18 years have passed by in a blink! Your kind heart, funny personality, thoughtful and sweet nature are so very special! Your dad and I are your biggest fans! Your hard work, drive and determination will take you far! Congratulations Chase! We love you!" E'ndia Simmons (Photo courtesy of Ashley Hudson) E'ndia Simmons, Mooresville High School Endia plans to attend Empire Beauty School. Says E'ndia's mother, "I am so proud of you E'ndia you have came along way and now your journey has been fulfilled. Love Always Mom." Yanush Hurtado (Photo courtesy of Nathaly Hurtado) Yanush plans a career in the United States Navy. Says his family, "To our son, Wherever your journey in life may take you, we pray you'll always be safe. Enjoy the ride and never forget your way back home. We will always be here for you. Love, Mom & Dad." This article originally appeared on the Mooresville Patch STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- New York state waived its state tax for three months when volunteers came from out-of-state to assist New York in recovery efforts following Hurricane Sandy. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he would like to do the same for the thousands of workers who flocked to the state to help with the COVID-19 pandemic, but the state cant afford to. Were not in a position to provide any subsides right now because we have a $13 billion deficit, Cuomo said during a press conference. So theres a lot of good things Id like to do, and if we get federal funding we can do, but it would be irresponsible for me to sit here looking at a $13 billion deficit and say Im going to spend more money when I cant even pay the essential services. The governor said without more money from Washington, the state wont be able to fund schools and other vital programs and sectors. We are in dire financial need, he said. President Donald Trump told the New York Post in an interview that states like New York should not rely on federal bailouts during the coronavirus pandemic. The president said bailouts for "blue state governments were not fair to the Republicans, because all the states that need help -- theyre run by Democrats in every case. He also said he did not think Congress should be inclined to do bailouts. According to state law, if a person works in New York for more than 14 days they are required to pay state income tax. Many healthcare and other frontline workers have been working in New York for weeks, but are continuing to be paid by their original out-of-state employers. *** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK *** FOLLOW KRISTIN F. DALTON ON TWITTER. Individual Americans invading other countries used to be a real problem for the fledgling United States. In fact, there were so many threats to U.S. security from its own citizens raising armies that the feds passed various Neutrality Acts to make it illegal for an American to wage war against any country at peace with the United States. Still, it happened so often there were two words for it, "filibustering and freebooting" but one man's freebooter is another man's freedom fighter, right? Here are just a few of those American freebooters, some of whom were already judged by a jury of their peers. 1. A former Vice-President tries to conquer the entire Louisiana Purchase Aaron Burr was the third veep, serving under President Thomas Jefferson. After his tenure as VP, however, his career took a steep dive. Not one to let massive unpopularity affect his career as a political leader, Burr conspired to create his own independent nation in the middle of what was 40,000 acres of territory belonging to Spain and the United States. His previous notoriety came from killing the Secretary of the Treasury. He created a group of farmers, planters, and Army officers, including the Army's top general James Wilkinson, and equipped them for a fight. But before he could wage his little war, Burr was arrested and shipped back to Virginia to stand trial. Wilkinson provided the most damning evidence against Burr, who was acquitted anyway. 2. John Adams' son-in-law sought to liberate Venezuela A prominent Revolutionary War officer, William S. Smith rose in ranks due to both his station in life and his martial ability. He began his career as an aide-de-camp but was soon on the General Staff for both Lafayette and Washington. So he knew what he was doing when he secured funds, arms, and mercenaries to free Venezuela from Spanish rule. The ships and 60 of the men he sent were immediately captured by Spanish authorities. "Because Jefferson Said So." Smith was put on trial for violating the Neutrality Act of 1794, like many of the people on this list. Also like many of the people on this list, he was acquitted. He claimed Thomas Jefferson told him to do it, and it led to the landmark Supreme Court ruling that the President "cannot authorize a person to do what the law forbids." Smith would later be elected to Congress. 3. Vermont tries to liberate Canada The brother of famed Patriot leader Ethan Allen was less than successful in his own efforts to unshackle the New World from the British yoke. After the Revolution, Ira Allen traveled to France to gain support for leading an insurrection in Canada, seeking to create an independent "Republic of United Columbia." Instead, he purchased 20,000 arms and 24 cannon but was captured at sea by the Royal Navy. Britain thought he was going to arm the Irish and put him on trial for that. The escapade bankrupted Allen, who died in Philadelphia hiding from his creditors. 4. Patriots from Georgia attempt to annex Florida In the early days of the American experiment, everyone wanted Florida. Unfortunately, it was full of the people who owned it the Spanish. Americans were constantly gauging the Floridians to see if annexation were possible. One such endeavor was led by George Mathews, a former Continental Army officer. East Florida Patriots Flag When the Spanish governor of East Florida reneged on a deal to cede it to the U.S., Matthews established an intelligence network and then a full-on insurgency in East Florida. His "Patriots of Amelia Island" were successful enough, but the U.S. had to deny the mission there because of the War of 1812. The insurgency soon collapsed and Mathews died in Georgia. 5. Trying to liberate Texas with Frenchmen When he couldn't fight the Spanish in Florida anymore becsause President John Quincy Adams purchased it from the Spanish, James Long set his sights on Texas. His original plan called for the use of Jean Lafitte's pirate fleet. But Lafitte refused to help. Instead, Long recruited dozens of former French soldiers and captured Nacogdoches, and proclaimed the first Republic of Texas, which lasted a month. Not to be outdone, he returned with 300 troops before being captured and shot by the Mexicans. 6. Doctor turned Lawyer turned journalist turned mercenary turned dictator That's one hell of a resume and yet William Walker did it all before turning 40. In 1853, Mexico refused to give Walker permission to establish a fortified colony in Sonora, along the Mexico-U.S. border. He returned to San Francisco and built a 45-man army of slavery supporters from Kentucky and Tennessee to conquer Sonora and Baja California, forming the Republic of Lower California with his capital at Cabo San Lucas. After the Mexican government forced him out, he tried again to do the same thing, this time declaring the Republic of Sonora. When the Mexican Army intervened again and expelled Walker, he was tried for his illegal war in California but was acquitted in 8 minutes. Two years later, Walker turned up in Nicaragua, leading 60 "colonists" to support the government. His gang and a group of locals attacked a Conservative Party group who were in open civil war against Nicaragua's Liberal government. He inflicted heavy casualties and later captured the Liberal capital. He ruled Nicaragua as head of the army, even being recognized by the United States' Pierce Administration as the legitimate government. Fearing further conquests, nations of Central America formed an alliance to take down Walker, who surrendered to the U.S. Navy. He eventually ended up in the hands of the government of Honduras, who promptly executed him. 7. A Confederate diplomat in Mexico starts a rebellion John T. Pickett John T. Pickett was sent to Mexico as an emissary of the Confederate government. He found the Mexican government to be less than receptive to the Southern cause and more welcoming to the North. Pickett was arrested after assaulting a member of the U.S. diplomatic party by Mexican authorities. Pickett attempted to raise a rebel army against the Mexican government but failed. He tried numerous times to negotiate a treaty to annex large parts of northern Mexico. He was again arrested by the government, thrown in jail for 30 days, and expelled from the country. 8. Naval officers want to conquer South America, found Confederate colonies instead Matthew Maury, the founder of the U.S. Naval Academy, sent two officers on a mission to map the Amazon for shipping purposes. The officers, loyal to the Confederate cause (as was Maury), instead mapped it to conquer it for the Confederacy. When the South lost the Civil War, Maury helped 20,000 rebels flee to Brazil, where they founded the Confederate colonies of New Texas and Americana. A tradition they still celebrate in Brazil. 9. Aiding independence movements everywhere One American thought supporting independence movements worldwide all the time should be the extent of American foreign policy and acted on it whenever possible. William A. Chanler started his career as a freedom fighter in 1902 when Dutch investors tried to overthrow Venezuela for defaulting on its loans. Chanler created an outlaw army, recruited through Butch Cassidy, that landed in Venezuela and marched inland. The President of Venezuela, finally complied with the terms of his loan and Chanler's army withdrew. He shortly after assisted the Libyans in fighting the Italians, Somalis fighting Italians and he helped the overthrow of the Qing dynasty in China. MORE POSTS FROM WE ARE THE MIGHTY: 6 urban legends about Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Why Okinawa is the most haunted place in the military 11 scary ghost stories, legends, and haunted military bases We Are The Mighty (WATM) celebrates service with stories that inspire. WATM is made in Hollywood by veterans. It's military life presented like never before. Check it out at We Are the Mighty. Public blockchain network Nervos has launched a virtual incubator for early-stage startups building decentralized applications (dapps). Dubbed CK Labs, the incubator will fund startups developing their dapps on Nervos platform and introduce the products to major crypto investors to help bring products to market. The firm thinks the incubator can help further develop its own two-layer blockchain platform, too. CK Labs comes a few months after the open source network pledged to award $30 million in grants to development teams that help Nervos improve its layer one infrastructure. Related: Southern Indian State to Launch Dedicated Blockchain Incubator There are still many more infrastructure improvements to come, but the launch of CK Labs marks the next phase of Nervos as we start expanding the networks utility with dapps and Layer 2 solutions, Kevin Wang, co-founder of Nervos, told CoinDesk. The firm will initially allocate $5 million to help the startups bring their products to market while providing them with access to major crypto venture capital firms including Polychain Capital, Multicoin Capital, Dragonfly Capital and 1confirmation. According to Nervos, any startup with an existing minimum viable product could apply for, and potentially receive, up to $100,000 in equity-free capital plus join a four-month program designed to help the teams get a deeper understanding of the Nervos infrastructure and the resources needed to launch or scale products on the network. Founded in 2018, the San Francisco-based Nervos has raised over $100 million. It secured a $28 million Series A funding led by Polychain and Sequoia China in July 2018 and a $72 million token sale in November. Its two-layer open network aims to maintain as high a level of security as the Bitcoin network, while increasing scalability through a side chain. Meet the new boss Related: One Network, Many Chains The Case for Blockchain Interoperability CK Labs will be headed by Ben Morris. Morris comes from Status, an Ethereum-based messaging platform where he headed its incubator program. He led investments into Matrix, Pixura and LeapDAO, three startups focused on improving the scalability of Ethereum-based networks. Story continues Before that Morris worked as Head of Treasury Specialists at Thomson Reuters out of Dubai and was eCommerce business development manager at Bloomberg from Singapore. The CK Labs program was specifically designed to accelerate teams focused on ushering in the first wave of adoption, Morris said. Given the versatility of Nervos, we want to invite founders from all business verticals to apply. The firm said applications for the first batch of CK Labs are now being accepted. The program will run several times every year with two to four teams each to ensure they get personalized support. Related Stories Dmytro Kuleba assured Mike Pompeo of Ukraine's readiness to create favorable conditions for American companies that are now considering the possibility of relocating production from other regions U.S. Secretary of State Time Magazine During a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Ukraines Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba suggested transferring the work of American companies to Ukraine after the coronavirus pandemic comes to an end. This was reported by the press service of Ukraines Foreign Ministry. "We are determined to further develop the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the United States. Not for the sake of diplomatic formality, but to strengthen the true friendship of Ukrainian and American people," Kuleba said. He assured Pompeo of Ukraine's readiness to create favorable conditions for American companies that are now considering the possibility of relocating production from other regions in order to optimize supply chains. As we reported earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump nominated retired Lieutenant General Keith Dayton for the post of U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. "Keith Dayton from Washington will be the United States Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Ukraine," the statement said. According to industry sources, with the civic administration and police personnel looking to contain the escalating novel coronavirus outbreak, on ground implementation saw some impact on travel of employees. While day one of the complete lockdown saw some impact, industry bodies have also reached out to concerned authorities to ensure that employees commuting from within the city to manufacturing units do not ... Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Federal government has announced the extension of the closure of the Nigerian airspace by four weeks as a way to stop the spread of the novel Coronavirus. Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha made this known. Tomorrow marks the last day of the enforcement of the closure of Nigerias airspace to flights. We have assessed the situation in the aviation industry and have come to the conclusion that given the facts available to us and based on the evidence of experts, the ban on all flights will be extended for an additional four weeks he said The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, who also spoke at the press briefing, said the aviation ministry has lost over N17 billion monthly Covid-19: Major Risks as US Eyes Re-Open SUMMARY This article provides a quick review of the current state of the US lock-down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Major risks lie ahead in terms of re-starting the US economy without re-igniting the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Current number of active cases is 50x the number when US lock-down started Peak number of US active cases still not yet reached, and likely weeks away Peak number of deaths for US in a day, observed relatively recently Model projections are predicting at least 100,000 US deaths by May 31 Contact tracing in todays complex society is a major problem to overcome The US is now in a recession that could last at least 12 to 18 months US LOCKDOWN In mid-March 2020, the US enforced a country-wide lock-down to contain the spread of the coronavirus and reduce the burden on both the healthcare system and on the first responders. Nevertheless, as the country starts to plan for a re-open of the economy, there are currently 50x the number of active cases, when compared to the number when the lock-down started. This is still a huge hurdle to get over, with inherent risks. At the point when the US lock-down started there were approximately 18,000 known active cases, and now that number has risen to a staggering 900,000 active cases. This number is still increasing on a daily basis and has not yet reached a peak, which is still at least some weeks away (see chart below). Modeling projections put the eventual peak active cases at least 10% to 20% higher than the current number of around 900,000 known active cases, as of May 1, 2020, and perhaps even higher. As a definition, current number of active cases today is calculated as follows: AC[Today] is Active Cases Today AC[Yesterday] is Active Cases Yesterday NC[Today] is New Cases Today NR[Today] is New Recoveries Today ND[Today] is New Deaths Today AC[today] = AC[yesterday] + NC[Today] (NR[Today] + ND[Today]) MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF THE SPREAD OF COVID-19 The chart below shows the current situation for the US as of May 1, 2020 with projections out to mid-June. The chart is derived from a model developed in MS Excel, using data sources from WHO, CDC and John Hopkins University. Data has been captured daily since early March. Key dates shown on the chart are the date of the lock-down (Friday, March 20), the peak growth in active cases (Friday, April 3) and the most current date for actual recorded data (Friday, May 1). Peak growth on April 3 was approximately the day when the number of active cases was growing the fastest. The growth rate has since slowed, allowing for a peak to start to form. MASKS, TESTING AND CONTACT TRACING Three key factors will determine how well the US and other countries weather the pandemic, successfully re-opening their countries and re-starting their economies. These factors are physical protection, testing at scale and continued contact tracing. Social distancing with face protection is essential to getting the R0 figure down to a number less than one. For a particular disease, the number R0 is the number of new infected people that become infected from an initial infected person. If R0 can be reduced to less than one (R0 < 1.0), then the spread of the disease will dissipate and eventually disappear. The biggest risk here is peoples behavior and their continued focus on maintaining social distancing and adherence to wearing a face mask. Testing capability is increasing as more and more testing is brought inline. This covers both diagnostic testing (who has the virus) and anti-body testing (who has previously had the virus). The biggest risk here is whether immunity is developed with anti-bodies or not. This fact is not yet known but will play an integral part in how we deal with COVID-19. Contact tracing must be executed on a massive scale, however, it is increasingly complex in todays open society. For example, if a particular individual tends to travel mostly between home and work, with occasional meetings with family and friends, then contact tracing is relatively easy to accomplish. Each person who the individual comes in contact with, is traceable. A large team of contact tracers can establish the connections. However, if the same individual is in an elevator with random members of the public, or in a store shopping, or at a bus stop, or train station, or on a bus/train, or in a hospital waiting area. Then the issue of contact tracing becomes much more difficult. The spread to random members of the public is largely un-traceable. The major risk here is the case that the un-traceable contacts become large in relation to the traceable contacts. US EQUITY MARKETS The drop in the US equity markets was swift and severe in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 30% of the major US averages lost in a little over one month. This has left the US economy, and many other economies around the world, looking at the beginning of an economic recession. Massive unemployment across the globe as a result of the self-imposed lock-downs. The risk here is whether this is going to be just a recession or something much worse, like the US Great Depression of 1929 to 1933. US RECESSION & GLOBAL RECESSION Its probable that a US recession most likely started in Q1 of 2020, and if not Q1, then certainly Q2, 2020. We will need to wait many months before the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) provides its definitive adjudication of when the actual US recession started. Going back to the 1960s, US recessions have not been quick, with a typical length of between 7 months and 19 months, and with an average length of 13 months. We have just witnessed the longest recession-free period in US history (2009 to 2020), so this recession is likely to be at the upper end of the range, say 12 to 18 months. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis publishes a monthly report presenting the output from its smoothed US recession probabilities model. The most recent report was published last week on Friday, May 1, 2020. The data in the report is delayed by 2 months, hence the May report covers the time period up to March 2020. The St. Louis FED model was originally developed by Marcelle Chauvet and presented in the paper ""An Economic Characterization of Business Cycle Dynamics with Factor Structure and Regime Switching". Additional work, including an analysis of the performance of the FED model, was completed by Marcelle Chauvet & Jeremy Piger and presented in the paper "A Comparison of the Real-Time Performance of Business Cycle Dating Methods". Links to these papers (in PDF form) can be found on the St. Louis FED website. The chart below shows an example from this month's May 2020 report. The vertical grey bars indicate US recessions, as defined by NBER, and the blue line shows the smoothed US recession probabilities. The report is currently showing the probability that a US recession has started in Q1/Q2 is now 100%. The question now is how severe will it be? In Q3/Q4 of 2019 and early 2020, my mathematical models of the US stock market were already predicting weakness across the major indexes in the period March 1, 2020 to April 30, 2020, and the strong likelihood of a US stock market top during that period. The sudden arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic is the black swan event that took a vulnerable US equity market and sent it into a desperate downward spiral. CONCLUSIONS As the US plans to re-open the country and re-start the economy in phases, the date to begin the re-start appears (from the modeling) to be still some weeks away. The attempts by some US States to start to re-open this week (April 27 to May 3), may potentially backfire. Major risks still remain, and attention must be given to ensuring that Americans maintain their behavior of social distancing and wearing face protection. We can all hope that a viable vaccine is not too far away. The US Fed responded quickly to counteract the problems caused by the economic lock-down resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this effort, the US is likely now in the beginning of a severe recession, lasting between 12 and 18 months minimum. If the US States open up too quickly, the pandemic may re-emerge, and if the US States take too long to open up, the severity of the recession may escalate. A fine balancing act if ever there was one. By Dr. David J. Harris Disclosure: The author has no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. David Harris is an independent stock market investor and trader with an interest in modeling price movements in stock markets. In particular, David has spent the last fourteen years developing mathematical models to identify market tops and market bottoms and more recently a model that identifies bubbles in national stock market indices and individual stocks. Trained originally as an Electronic Engineer, David has a First Class Honors Degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering from Leeds University, UK and a PhD in Adaptive Control Algorithms (machine learning), also from Leeds University. David has worked as a Senior IT Manager in the City of London and more recently in New York City for a variety of Investment Banks, including NatWest Markets, Bankers Trust, Deutsche Bank, Bank of Bermuda, HSBC Bank and Societe Generale. 2020 Copyright Dr. David J Harris - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors. 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. State Rep. Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing) was escorted by three people across Capitol Avenue on Wednesday so that she could attend committee A black Michigan state representative was escorted by her own armed escort after demonstrators carrying Confederate flags, swastikas and nooses protested the lockdown last week. State Rep. Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing) was escorted by three people across Capitol Avenue on Wednesday so that she could attend committee meetings without fear of intimidation. Footage shows Anthony making her way into the building as the try form a barrier around her. They can be seen holding rifles as they make their way inside. The state representative was shocked by the protest last week, where angry Michigan residents could be seen holding Nazi and Confederate flags. 'We were all just appalled by the lack of support and lack of security that I had, that other legislators had, and the fact that a lot of the demonstrators last week were adorning many racist, anti-Semitic signage,' Anthony explained to the Lansing City Pulse. 'I think it just triggered a lot of folks, especially African Americans.' The state representative was shocked by a protest last week, where angry Michigan residents could be seen holding Nazi and Confederate flags 'We were all just appalled by the lack of support and lack of security that I had, that other legislators had, and the fact that a lot of the demonstrators last week were adorning many racist, anti-Semitic signage,' Anthony explained Anthony welcomed the extra security detail, who waited quietly on the front steps once the representative made it safely onto the elevator. The fireman felt that had his group been loud like the protestors the week before, police would have had a different response to them being there. 'We want to change the narrative, first of all. We want people to understand that people of color can come out here with guns just the same as anybody else can,' said Michael Lynn Jr., a black Lansing firefighter and community activist. Lynn helped organize the security detail for Anthony. During the boisterous demonstration last week, protestors stormed inside the building. One gun-toting protestor got so close to Anthony that she could smell the man's breath. Anthony welcomed the extra security detail, who waited quietly on the front steps once the representative made it safely onto the elevator. Anthony pictured with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer A protestor with a sign that has Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer depicted as Adolph Hitler is seen at an American Patriot Rally 'The majority of the protesters were white,' Anthony said. 'I'm still not exactly sure on the connection between confederate flags and Nazi symbolism. They just had no connection to the stay-at-home orders. The fact they were carrying guns openly while we voted was unnerving.' Anthony declared security measures taken by the Michigan State Police as being a 'complete failure.' She learned this week that police could have escorted her to her car after she left the Capitol. There were no additional measures mentioned. 'It was just unnerving to me as a woman and as a person,' Anthony said. 'These community volunteers today won't be needed all the time, but they wanted to have a presence today.' She did note that that Capitol Sergeants are normally do an adequate job at keeping the building and those inside safe. The Michigan Capitol Commission is exploring whether to ban guns from inside the Capitol, following the protest 'I could hear the fear in her voice during that protest,' Lynn stated. 'It was the visual of her being that scared to go to work. It meant we had to do something. We came out here today to make sure we could provide some protection, even if it's only just to make her feel better.' The Michigan Capitol Commission is exploring whether to ban guns from inside the Capitol, according to the Detroit Free Press. Both Anthony and Lynn are against allowing open carry inside the Capitol but Lynn was exercising his rights when he escorted her into the building and making sure the playing field was even, they declared. 'There are certain things that are just inappropriate,' Lynn explained. 'We don't take guns in the courthouse. We don't take guns into city hall. Why would we take guns of this caliber into the Capitol? I have 150 rounds on me right now. I could make terror. This could wreak havoc.' Anthony asserted that she had no qualms supporting a complete ban on firearms inside the Capitol outside of law enforcement. 'I will be advocating for a change, at the very least, to ban open carry inside the building,' she said. 'For one, it's more intimidating. Obviously, we have a right to bear arms, but concealed would be easier. I don't think we need to be intimidated with large firearms while we're doing our jobs.' Anthony asserted that she had no qualms supporting a complete ban on firearms inside the Capitol outside of law enforcement after witnessing the protests Some of the outrageousness of what happened at our capitol depicted some of the worst racism and awful parts of our history in this country, Gov. Whitmer said on Sunday Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer decried protests staged inside the states Capitol building last week - which featured demonstrators with assault weapons, swastikas and Confederate flags - saying the event acted as a reminder of some of the most awful parts of US history. Some of the outrageousness of what happened at our capitol depicted some of the worst racism and awful parts of our history in this country, Whitmer said on CNNs State of the Union on Sunday. The Confederate Flags, and nooses, the swastikas, the behavior that you have seen in all of the clips is not representative of who we are in Michigan, she continued. The 'American Patriot Rally', organized by Michigan United for Liberty, was staged Thursday in contempt for Whitmers statewide stay-at-home orders put in place to stop the spread of coronavirus. 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. Photos from inside the Michigan House Chamber showed elected officials wearing bulletproof vests while men holding guns stood above them. Others were heard chanting: 'Let us in! Let us in!' from outside. President Donald Trump later urged Gov. Whitmer to 'give a little' to the armed anti-lockdown protesters. 'The Governor of Michigan should give a little, and put out the fire,' Trump wrote. '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. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 02:22:12|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A man puts on a face mask on a street in Cairo, Egypt, on May 7, 2020. Egypt on Thursday reported 393 new COVID-19 cases, as the tally of COVID-19 infections in the country approached 8,000. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) CAIRO, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Thursday reported 393 new COVID-19 cases, as the tally of coronavirus infections in the country approached 8,000. The number of confirmed cases in Egypt climbed to 7,981, while the death toll rose to 482 after 13 more fatalities were recorded, Khaled Megahed, spokesman for Egyptian Health Ministry, said in a statement. All the new cases are Egyptians, Megahed said, adding that 72 more patients left hospitals in the past 24 hours, taking the number of recoveries to 1,887. Egypt on Thursday extended a nationwide night-time curfew for another 15 days until the end of the holy month of Ramadan to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said in a televised news briefing that "the curfew time will remain unchanged from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time (1900 to 0400 GMT)." The Egyptian government has recently started easing the anti-coronavirus restrictions by reopening some services and offices closed over the past six weeks. As part of a "coexistence plan" to live with the pandemic, Egypt intends to maintain some precautionary measures while resuming certain economic activities. Enditem Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe By Judy Lin | CalMatters Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now. California finance officials just revealed a $54.3 billion deficit in the first economic assessment of the coronavirus pandemic's devastating blow to the fifth-largest economy in the world. That figure is higher than the deficit during the Great Recession and obliterates the state's once-healthy reserves. Without sugar-coating how hard the prolonged shutdown of businesses and job losses will hit the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration released bleak projections on key statewide indicators: 18% unemployment rate for the year, 21% drop in new housing permits and nearly 9% decline in California personal income. All this signals a financial tsunami and cuts to schools, health care and safety-net programs, as state and local governments turn to the federal government for additional stimulus support. In one example, California's public school system, including K-12 and community colleges, will lose roughly $18 billion, setting back years of striving to reach adequate education funding. icon DON'T MISS ANY L.A. CORONAVIRUS NEWS Get our daily newsletters for the latest on COVID-19 and other top local headlines. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy During his daily press briefing Wednesday, the governor signaled that the budget figures would be "jaw-dropping" and sought to brace the public for a prolonged recovery. Newsom said Wednesday that the budget can't be balanced without significant help from Washington, D.C. Newsom also announced tax reprieves for homeowners and businesses if they suffered financial hardship from the pandemic. The governor's budget update projects California's economic losses will fall disproportionately hard on low- and middle-income Californians, which will only exacerbate income inequality. At the same time, low-income households and people of color are at greater risk of contracting and dying from the virus as the number of confirmed cases reaches 60,000. Since mid-March, Californians have filed more than 4.2 million unemployment claims. "This is particularly concerning because the average income did not return to pre-Great Recession levels until 2018," wrote the Department of Finance in its fiscal update today. It's an about-face for a state that began the year with ambitions of expanding child care for working parents and health care for undocumented seniors. Compared to the expansive budget Newsom released in January, this one has shrunk to reflect decreases in the general fund's main revenue sources: a 25% drop in personal income taxes, 27% drop in sales taxes and 23% drop in corporate taxes. The $54.3 billion deficit is driven by three factors: approximately $41 billion in revenue loss, $7 billion increase in health and human services programs (mainly the state's Medi-Cal health program for the poor) and about $6 billion in additional spending, mainly driven by the state's response to COVID-19. The Newsom administration's response has come under scrutiny as lawmakers demand oversight of multi-million dollar contracts and federal investigators look into supply deals gone awry. A full budget revision will be released May 14. This story originally appeared on CalMatters. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 13:03:03|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Li Huizi WELLINGTON, May 7 (Xinhua) -- There have been many reports of racially motivated assaults on local Chinese and Asian people recently in New Zealand and the Human Rights Commission is monitoring the situation closely to ensure the assaults will be stopped and prevented, New Zealand Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon said Thursday. Several assaults and name-calling towards people of Chinese and Asian origin have been reported across New Zealand since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in January. "It is absolutely unacceptable for people in Aotearoa to be subject to this type of conduct," Foon said in an email interview with Xinhua. The Human Rights Commission is committed to helping to "make New Zealand a safe and inclusive community for everyone who lives here," he said. Since January, there have been many reports of people of Chinese and Asian origin in New Zealand experiencing racism and xenophobia because of COVID-19. These reports continued through the level 4 lockdown, according to Foon. The Commission has received 311 enquiries and complaints related to the COVID-19 pandemic between January and May 5. The New Zealand Human Rights Commission is very concerned about the situation, Foon said. "Anyone would feel unsafe if they are subjected to name calling, verbal abuse or physical assault. When these behaviours are racially motivated then that is further cause for concern," he said. Sammy Zhu, a 60-year-old photographer working for New Zealand Messenger, a Christchurch-based Chinese-English newspaper, was attacked on April 28 in Christchurch city centre. Zhu's left eye was seriously injured and his face was covered with blood. Police arrested a 34-year-old man in relation to the attack on Wednesday. The man has been charged with assault and will appear in Christchurch District Court next Monday. "I even greeted him when I passed by before he attacked me. It was all very sudden," Zhu said. On April 29, a day after Zhu's incident, an elderly East Asian man was also assaulted in a park in Lynfield, Auckland. Police have caught the attacker but the victim left the scene. The aim of both attacks is unclear. However, the attacker in the Auckland incident said to the victim "it's all because of you." "I am monitoring this situation closely and I am in contact with the Police and have made my concerns about the racist undercurrent to COVID-19, known to the government. I want to know what government is doing to ensure COVID-19 related racism does not become the norm. Bullying, harassment and assaults must be stopped and prevented," Foon said. "The Human Rights Commission has an important role to play supporting communities. We encourage members of the public to contact us where they feel they have been discriminated against. This includes situations that might fall within the sections of the Human Rights Act that prohibit the incitement of racial disharmony," Foon said. Foon also highlighted the potential of increased racism and bullying at school because of COVID-19, and has been lobbying the government for compulsory bullying prevention programmes in every school. As well as receiving complaints about unlawful discrimination, one of the other roles we have is advocating more generally for harmonious relations between the different groups and people who live in New Zealand. This includes working with communities and other organisations to find out the causes of racism and intolerance and to identify ways that it can be prevented, the commissioner said. Whakamutua te kaikiri ki Aotearoa - theres no place for racism in Aotearoa, Foon added, using Maori. Enditem Two special flights from the UAE carrying a total of 354 Indian nationals, including nine infants, left for Kerala on Thursday, as India began its biggest ever repatriation exercise to bring back its citizens stranded abroad amidst the coronavirus-induced travel restrictions. The first Air India Express flight carrying 177 passengers from Abu Dhabi to Kochi took off at 5.07 pm (local time). Few minutes later, the Dubai-Kozhikode flight took off at 5.46 pm (local time) as part of the massive repatriation exercise named 'Vande Bharat Mission.' "#VandeBharatMission begins! The first flight with 177 passengers takes off from Abu Dhabi to Kochi. #TeamIndia will continue with its tireless efforts to bring Indians home," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava tweeted. Passengers slected by the Indian missions started arriving at the Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports as early as 9.30 am on Thursday. Indian Ambassador to the UAE Pavan Kapoor was seen enquiring about their wellbeing from some of the passengers undergoing medical screening at the Abu Dhabi airport. "Great to see the #VandeBharatMission Abu Dhabi Kochi special flight IX452 taking off from the @AUH. Thanks all for cooperation and support for making it possible," the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi tweeted. "Kudos to all the passengers for waiting patiently for their turn for medical screening and many thanks to all the frontline health workers and airport staff for extending full support," it said earlier. Captain Rizvin Nasser, 26, an alumnus of the Sharjah Indian School, is the co-pilot of flight IX452 to Kochi. Minutes after the departure of the first flight, India's second repatriation flight from the UAE to Kozhikode also took off. "Air India Express Flight left for Kozhikode with 177 passengers on boardwith last passenger Ajith was added to attend final rites of her mother after one passenger dropped out due to immigration issue. A big satisfaction to serve all," the Consulate General of India in Dubai tweeted. Ajith Pullanikotti, an IT professional, made it to the flight at the last minute to be able to attend the last rites of his mother who died two days ago. He was the only son. "I have been trying to go for weeks so that I could be by my mother's side. Unfortunately, she had to breathe her last without me being next to her. I really hope I can make it today, Ajith told Khaleej Times. There are no suspected COVID-19 cases among the first batch of passengers being repatriated on Thursday. "All of them have cleared the tests, Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul was quoted as saying by the Gulf He said the criteria of passengers' selection included medical cases, loss of jobs, pregnant women and senior citizens. Those with complications and financial issues were also picked for the first flight. The last two rows of seats in both the flights are not occupied. In case of any health issues, passengers can use them. On Monday, the Indian government announced plans to begin a phased repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad from May 7. The government also said that Air India will operate 64 flights from May 7 to May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals stranded abroad due to the lockdown. Short-listing the first passengers from among a database of more than 200,000 applicants, who include around 6,500 pregnant women, has been a mammoth task which posed several challenges for the missions, Neeraj Agrawal, Consul, Press, Information and Culture at the Indian Consulate in Dubai told the Gulf The Indian missions in the UAE finalised the list of passengers, who were chosen based on the compelling reasons they submitted while registering their names. The Indian Consulate had appealed to passengers not to overcrowd the airport, maintain social distancing and follow all necessary precautions stipulated by the authorities. The passengers included 18 pregnant women, five infants and 12 senior citizens and three people including identical twin brothers Jackson and Benson Andrews who have been stranded at the Dubai Airport for 50 days. The tired and homesick, the 30-year-old brothers, Jackson and Benson Andrews, have been stranded inside the Dubai International Airport's terminal 3 since March 19 while they were returning from Lisbon, Portugal. They were among the 19 Indians who were stuck inside the airport for over a month. Suresh Kandampully Bhaskaran came to see off his eight-month pregnant wife and two-year-old daughter. "My wife will be back after few months. This is just a temporary phase just like the UAE is seeing. My family will be back here with new bundle of joy. I am working here for 14 years now. I have a stable job...," Suresh said. From the UAE, at least 200,000 Indians have registered on the web portal collecting data of persons wishing to return home. The Air India crew members on board the repatriation flights were donning the full range of personal protective equipment. The Indian expatriate community of approximately 3.42 million is reportedly the largest ethnic community in the UAE constituting roughly about 30 per cent of the country's population, according to information available on the Indian Embassy website. India imposed a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the country, grounding all international flights since mid-March. Under the repatriation plan, the government will be facilitating the return of Indian nationals stranded abroad on compelling grounds in a phased manner. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Melbourne meat processing company at the centre of Victorias biggest COVID-19 cluster says it took several days for state health authorities to directly contact it about positive tests results among its workers. Cedar Meats has confirmed to The Age that the Department of Health and Human Services initially contacted only the labour hire firm that supplies workers to its Brooklyn abattoir on April 24, to advise of a positive test result in a worker. The firm, Labour Solutions Australia, which is headquartered in Brisbane, was left to relay the message to Cedar Meats. The Cedar Meats plant, where Victoria's biggest COVID-19 cluster emerged. Credit:Chris Hopkins A spokeswoman for Cedar Meats said there was no direct contact between Victorian health authorities and Cedar Meats until April 27, when another worker returned a positive COVID-19 result. The revelation raises further questions over the state governments handling of the outbreak at the Cedar Meats abattoir in the Melbourne suburb of Brooklyn, with the number of coronavirus cases linked to the site rising by 13 to 62 on Thursday. (Natural News) For the past several months, the Christian charity group Samaritans Purse has been a welcomed presence in New York City, helping to alleviate the burden of Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) patients on area hospitals. But the cult of LGBTQ wants the organization to leave because seeing Christians help patients in need is painful for them. Corey Johnson, the speaker of the New York City Council, recently issued a statement to Twitter condemning the presence of Samaritans Purse in the Big Apple and demanding that the field hospital it set up in Central Park to assist Mt. Sinai Hospital in treating Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) patients be immediately removed. It is time for Samaritans Purse to leave NYC, Johnson wrote. This group, led by the notoriously bigoted, hate-spewing Franklin Graham, came at a time when our city couldnt in good conscience turn away any offer of help. That time has passed. Their continued presence here is an affront to our values of inclusion, and is painful for all New Yorkers who deeply care about the LGBTQ community. In other words, as people suffer and die from complications associated with the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), the only thing that LGBTQs can think about is themselves and how they do not want to be reminded that not everyone in the world agrees with their sexual ethics. These same LGBTQs are also apparently oblivious to their own hypocrisy in constantly decrying hate while simultaneously spewing hate against those they disagree with, including Samaritans Purse. One LGBTQ was even spotted climbing over a fence into Central Park to angrily plant an LGBTQ flag in front of the Samaritans Purse tent so loving! So LGBTQs would rather see suffering people die than have to be offended by the presence of a Christian charity? Amazing, neither Johnson nor any other LGBTQ in New York City has expressed an ounce of thankfulness or appreciation for the willingness of Samaritans Purse to help sick New Yorkers during this time of need. In fact, by their hateful rhetoric, they could not care less about the lives being saved, and would rather these lives not be saved if it means that Samaritans Purse leaves the city entirely. Imagine how schizophrenic you have to be to make the case that the presence of people who do not agree with you on sexual ethics is an affront to our values of inclusion and that these undesirables must therefore be excluded, points out Johnathon Van Maren for LifeSiteNews, making an excellent point about LGBTQ hypocrisy. Never mind that these Christian volunteers are risking their own lives to help New Yorkers, many of whom are ungrateful LGBTQs filled with hatred towards everyone who does not fully approve of their lifestyles. All that matters to the LGBTQ community is that Christians be banished from New York City, including the ones who are putting the lives of others over themselves as the Bible instructs. It is the attitude of men like Corey Johnson and his fellow activists that are a cancer on the American Republic, Van Maren adds, warning against their brand of social justice fascism that hides under the guise of tolerance and love. There can be no unity as long as they seethe with hatred for all those who disagree with them or hold a different moral worldview. There can be no unity when Christians doing what Christians have always done for the past 2,000 years nursed the sick and dying when few others would are seen as a threat because they believe, as most humans for all of history have, that marriage is between a man and a woman. More of the latest news about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is available at Pandemic.news. Sources for this article include: LifeSiteNews.com NaturalNews.com Sinclair Broadcast Group, a conservative media giant, has agreed to pay a $48 million penalty to close three open FCC investigations. In its announcement, the agency says its the largest civil penalty involving a broadcaster it has ever imposed its also twice as big as the previous record ($24 million) set by Univision back in 2007. By agreeing to pay the penalty, Sinclair is settling the FCCs probe into its disclosure of information regarding its proposed (and failed) merger with Tribune. If youll recall, the company, which already owns hundreds of TV stations, wanted to take over Tribune Medias 42 stations in a $3.9 billion deal. The FCC raised concern about the fact that Sinclair would own way more stations than allowed even after Sinclair said it would sell some of them. In the end, Tribune was snapped up by another media giant in an even bigger deal, and it sued Sinclair for misconduct and breach of contract. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement: Sinclairs conduct during its attempt to merge with Tribune was completely unacceptable. Todays penalty, along with the failure of the Sinclair/Tribune transaction, should serve as a cautionary tale to other licensees seeking Commission approval of a transaction in the future. On the other hand, I disagree with those who, for transparently political reasons, demand that we revoke Sinclairs licenses. While they dont like what they perceive to be the broadcasters viewpoints, the First Amendment still applies around here. Pai didnt specify what those viewpoints and political reasons are. But back in 2018, Sinclair got embroiled in a scandal after having dozens of local news anchors recite a script warning people about fake news. Paying the penalty will also close investigations into Sinclairs failure to identify sponsors for materials aired on its own and other TV stations, as well as into the way it negotiated shared programming with other broadcasters. Based on the agencys release, $13 million of the total amount accounts for the fine it proposed for failing to disclose sponsorship of paid programming made to look like independently generated news coverage. The offending programs were aired during actual news programs or as 30-minute shows. Sinclair seems to be pleased with the outcome despite having to pay a record-breaking fine. Company chief Chris Ripley said: Yggdrasil Proves New Mettle By Delivering to Finland in Veikkaus Deal Published May 7, 2020 by Lee R A new Finland foray diversifies the resilience of an emerging power and the portfolio of a state-owned company reinvesting in society. The only gambling agency in Finland is national betting agency Veikkaus, which now needs more games than ever to keep their players happy. The Deal So Yggdrasil Gaming and Veikkaus have entered into a supply agreement where Yggdrasil will provide Veikkaus to provide them with high-quality casino content and games. Finland's Landscape Gambling is certainly popular in Finland, as evinced by the abundance of slot machines in every corner across the country and thousands of online gambling sites, indicating that many people will play at home in this time and moving forward. Yggdrasil's Specialties As one of the largest brands in the iGaming business, Yggdrasil Gaming provides online gaming solutions for iGaming operators, to establish their titles at the forefront of the gaming industry, particularly in the slot genre. More About Veikkaus With a turnover of 3.2 billion Euro in 2017 serving both land-based and online users, Veikkaus attracts over 700,000 players per week. Veikkaus is one of the top ten companies in Finland overall, in terms of profit. The state-owned company has over 2 million registered customers, Veikkaus hosts 45% of the total number of adults in Finland, with the entire profit from this gambling monopoly is used for the national social benefit. Incoming Titles Slot games which the agreement calls for specialist Yggdrasil to provide Veikkaus with include hot titles such as Hanzos Dojo, Penguin City, and Wolf Hunters, along with classics such as Winter Berries; Jokerizer, and the Vikings trilogy. The supply package will include access to Yggdrasil's renowned in-game promotion tools BOOST, to provide operators with the ability to offer promotions directly within the gaming client dashboard . Outlook: the New Frontier Yggdrasil is conquering a new regulation frontier by achieving compliance in Finland, and the Veikkaus deal should increase stock and credibility for Yggdrasil as the new gaming force expands and grows across the industry. This transmission electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 -- also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19 -- isolated from a patient in the US. Virus particles are shown emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab. The spikes on the outer edge of the virus particles give coronaviruses their name, crown-like. Credit: NIAID-RML The virus that causes COVID-19 can be found in semen, Chinese researchers report in a small study that doesn't address whether sexual transmission is possible. Doctors detected the virus in semen from six of 38 men hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. Four were still very sick with the disease while two were recovering. The report from Shangqiu Municipal Hospital in China was published Thursday in JAMA Network Open. There was no long-term follow-up so it is not known how long the virus may remain in semen or if men can spread it to their partners during sex. The results contrast with a study of 34 Chinese men with COVID-19 published last month in the journal Fertility and Sterility. U.S. and Chinese researchers found no evidence of virus in semen tested between eight days and almost three months after diagnosis. Dr. John Hotaling of the University of Utah, co-author of that report, said the new study involved much sicker men, most with active disease. Authorities believe the coronavirus mainly spreads from droplets produced when infected people cough, which are inhaled by people nearby. Some studies have reported finding the virus in blood, feces and tears or other fluid from COVID-19 patients with inflammation in their eyes. Evidence suggesting that other infectious viruses including Zika and Ebola may be sexually transmitted has prompted questions about the coronavirus. Hotaling said it's an important public health concern but that more research is needed to provide a definitive answer. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine said the new study shouldn't be cause for alarm. To be safe, though, "it may be wise to avoid sexual contact with men until they are 14 days without symptoms," Dr. Peter Schlegel, the group's immediate past president, said in a statement. More information: Diangeng Li et al. Clinical Characteristics and Results of Semen Tests Among Men With Coronavirus Disease 2019, JAMA Network Open (2020). Journal information: JAMA Network Open Diangeng Li et al. Clinical Characteristics and Results of Semen Tests Among Men With Coronavirus Disease 2019,(2020). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.8292 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Slate is now asking those who read the most to support our journalism more directly by subscribing to Slate Plus. Learn more. Dear Prudence, A really good friend of mine is a nurse who treats patients with COVID-19. She was irate about the lack of PPE, until a guy she was interested in dating invited her over to his house. He has shared custody of young children with an ex-wife but has apparently said nothing to her about his ex-wifes approval of such an encounter (obviously, because who would consent to such a thing?). I know shes lonely. I know she wants to have sex. But I was appalled that shed even consider this invite, defying the rules of lockdown were all following in no small part to make health care workers like her safer. Ive lost respect for her. And Im angry with her. She thinks Im overreacting. Whos right? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Angry at a Friend Before I get into the question of right action, Id like to start by acknowledging everything in this situation that is true, understandable, and human: Your friend is working under dangerous and stressful situations and is not receiving sufficient protection and support from her employer. She is lonely and overworked and hungry for human touch thats not mediated by fear and avoidance. You are concerned and angry about the possibility that shes running a real risk that could potentially harm a number of vulnerable people. I think the best course of action you can pursue is to speak to her once again, neither in anger nor in thoughtless cheerleading: I love you so much. I know youre being put in an impossible situation at work every day, and I know how lonely and frustrating isolation can be. I dont blame you for wanting to have sex with someone you like or for wanting to relax for a few hours. Youre a nurse, and I think you know all the risks inherent in this situation, probably better than I do, so I wont belabor the point. But it is a risk, and its one that I hope youll reconsider. I know it wont be an easy decision, and I wont pretend that it doesnt take a toll to have to commit to this kind of social isolation for an indefinite amount of time. If you want to talk through any of this with me, Im happy to listen. Feel free to leave off that last line if you dont think youd actually be able to participate in such a conversation should your friend decide to meet up with this man. You are entitled to your own anger and have a right to take a step back if you feel you must. But I hope youre able to speak in such a way that your friend can hear you. I hope she listens to you, and you to her, and that youre able to offer each other mutual support in a time where support is often in short supply. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dear Prudence, Im a cis woman in my late 20s from a conservative Catholic background. Ive known I was gay (or struggled with same-sex attraction, in the language of my church) since I was a child. In 2018, I married a good, decent man to try to live as a straight woman; this failed, and we divorced shortly thereafter. Due to family and church pressure, I agreed to walk a holy path of lifelong celibacy. COVID has turned my life upside down. Im sheltering-in-place across the country, and my social group is now mostly local artists. One of them confessed her crush on me, I reciprocated, and we have started remotely dating. Ive prayed and reflected and made peace with being a gay Catholic. I came out to my parents, and they cut me off. I was emotionally destroyed for a few days, but then years of anxiety and depression lifted. Advertisement Im making art and breathing freely againafter seven years of stunning blankness. Im also suddenly angry, or I cry out of nowhere, because I think about the past and I feel things again. I feel like Im losing my mind! Im seriously considering a career change. I have a stable teaching job lined up at a religious school, or I can take a temporary research-based job for the city digitizing archives and curating displays. Im leaning toward the latter. I love the Catholic Church, but shes really hurt me, and Im afraid of being hurt again. How can I be sure Im making the right decision? Advertisement Advertisement Am I Losing It? Advertisement Advertisement I felt such a rush of tenderness and recognition reading this letter. I know very well that sense of destabilization, the anguish, the excitement, the self-doubt that can often follow coming out, especially coming out in a conservative, religious context. You are not losing your mind; you are experiencing freedom, possibility, romance, and peace after years of crushing, relentless homophobia framed as holy celibacy. This is not to diminish the holy celibacy freely chosen by those with a religious vocation. But that holiness was forced upon you by a church and a family that saw your sexuality as inherently dangerous and sinful. This may sound a bit strange, but I want to congratulate you on your lesbianism: Its delightful, and its a gift, and part of what makes you fearfully and wonderfully you in this world, to paraphrase the Psalmist. Advertisement Advertisement I hope you pursue the job digitizing archives for your city. It sounds exciting and interesting, and your employers will have no interest in attempting to dictate your identity or your love life. You have a lifetime to work out your relationship with the Catholic Church, and I think it can only help if the church is not also your employer while you do so. Taking this secular job does not mean you are totally and permanently closed off to the possibility of working in a religious context in the future or that you may never develop a meaningful spiritual life. It may help to seek out a gay-affirming therapist who specializes in treating religious traumaits possible to acknowledge the ways in which your church has harmed you without saying its wholly bad or something that you must give up entirely in order to be a happy, self-accepting lesbian. You may find that during certain times feelings of anger and betrayal predominate. At other times you may feel tenderness, grief, poignancy, devotion, connection, or any number of other things. Please give yourself time and a great deal of grace; you deserve it. Your wounds are real, and deep, and many. You are not, I think, faced with a permanent, one-time decision between good and bad, but deciding what you want, without trying to please others by being celibate, self-loathing, or straight. I wish you all the happiness in the world, and I hope you enjoy these dates with your new girlfriend immensely. Be well. Advertisement How to Get Advice From Prudie Send questions for publication to prudence@slate.com. (Questions may be edited.) Join the live chat every Monday at noon. Submit your questions and comments here before or during the live discussion. Call the voicemail of the Dear Prudence podcast at 401-371-DEAR (3327) to hear your question answered on a future episode of the show. Advertisement Advertisement Dear Prudence, I have a delightfully low-stakes etiquette question! A while ago, my partner and I had another couple over for dinner. One of the guests apparently didnt like part of the mealI discovered the remains in the kitchen sink while cleaning up afterward. I wasnt offended (sometimes certain things just dont work with ones palate), but I did feel bad that they may have not had enough to eat. I didnt say anything, because I didnt want to make things awkward (they probably would have apologized for not liking it, which wasnt my intention at all) and put them on the spot. Was this the right thing to do? Should I have offered them something else or handled this differently? We had a big meal even without the offending dish, plus dessert. Plus, were friends with this couple, but maybe not speak openly and bluntly close. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hope Youre Not Still Hungry This is one of the trickiest components of hosting a dinner party! Its very difficult for guests to say I dont like this or Im still hungry without feeling like theyve seriously violated dining etiquette. Conversely, hosts want to make sure theyve anticipated everyones needs and made sure everyone got enough to eat but cant politely ask at the end of each course, Did you like it? I think you were right not to say anything in the moment, because they would inevitably have felt put on the spot, and given how many other dishes there were on the table, I agree its unlikely that anyone went home hungry. This is just something that happens every once in a while and doesnt mean you need to reevaluate your hosting strategy. You could, I suppose, ask if there are any particular dishes, flavors, or ingredients your guests enjoy or dislike while youre still at the menu-planning stage of any future dinner parties, but even then you cant perfectly guarantee everyones going to love everything you make. You can absolve both yourself and your guests in this situation. And I hope you get to host more dinner parties as soon as its safe to do so! Advertisement Advertisement Help! My Husband Calls Out His Dead Wifes Name While Were Having Sex. Danny M. Lavery is joined by Cecilia Corrigan on this weeks episode of the Dear Prudence podcast. Subscribe to the Dear Prudence Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Dear Prudence, I am writing to you even though I probably already know your answer. Ive been married for less than six months to a man with anger issues. If I question him about anything, he will blow up and blame me for starting a fight. He says I accuse him rather than ask him, and therefore I never get a response to my questions. Now, every time I want to ask him something, my stomach ties up in knots, because I know Im going to regret it, and that no matter how carefully I approach him, it will be wrong. Ive tried changing everything about how I communicate, but at least once a month, it leads to a huge fight that lasts for long, miserable days. Hell argue about whether were arguing. I am afraid of how quickly he gets angry and how he screams at me. Then hell deny screaming or says its my fault for making him scream. Sometimes we have huge fights, and I dont even know what Ive done wrong. He usually ends these fights by storming out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont understand how one single statement or question can cause someone to blow a gasket this way. I feel crazy and depressed, plus Im embarrassed that my marriage is this way. Lately, it has had an impact on my health. If I am afraid to ask my husband a question, is there even any point being married? Will counseling help, or will I somehow be blamed there, too? I feel like theres no one to turn to that I can trust. Advertisement Afraid to Ask Im so, so sorry that youre only six months into this marriage and you already feel knotted-up and miserable because of this furious, cruel man who berates and blames you at every turn. Your instinct that counseling will not be useful here is a good one. The National Domestic Violence Hotline does not encourage counseling in an abusive situation like yours, saying, [A]buse is not a relationship problem. Couples counseling may imply that both partners contribute to the abusive behavior, when the choice to be abusive lies solely with the abusive partner. Advertisement You are right, too, in wondering how a single question can result in this sort of outburst, because the truth is that your husband is not inevitably driven to explosion because you have an inherently accusatory tone. He blows up at you no matter how gently you speak to him because he wants to blow up at you. He wants you to feel guilty, anxious, and eager to placate him so that he can further abuse and control you. Your husband does not simply have anger issues, but employs screaming, blame, denial, and lies as part of a suite of abusive tactics. Advertisement Most importantly, I think, is to remember this: Your husband chooses to abuse you. It is not something you could fix if only you managed to frame your questions perfectly. These are not the ordinary communication problems that any couple might expect to have to work through or a sign that you didnt work hard enough on your marriage. Please dont let embarrassment keep you from getting the help you need to leave him. This is not your fault, and your husbands abuse is no cause for you to feel ashamed. If you dont have anyone in your immediate circle you can trust to help you, please consider calling the hotline at 1-800-799-7233. You can also visit their website and talk to someone confidentially through their chat function; they may be able to direct you to local womens shelters if you need a place to stay and help you come up with an escape plan. I do not believe you can persuade him to stop abusing you, but I do believe you can get help and support in leaving him and building a safe, peaceful life on your own. Advertisement Advertisement Dear Prudence Uncensored They can get a hot dog on the way home. Danny Lavery and Nicole Cliffe discuss a letter in this weeks Dear Prudence Uncensoredonly for Slate Plus members. Advertisement Advertisement Dear Prudence, I have five children, ranging in ages from 12 to 20 years old, whom I absolutely adore. My youngest child has recently come out to us, stating they want to start a (very slow) transition to being a woman. We all support them fully on this. My problem is all my children were given names with a fairly specific pattern (Im that kind of person), and the name my child has chosen, for now, does not match. I have been trying to encourage them to pick a name that matches their siblings names a little better. It would break my heart, and drive me crazy, to introduce my children as Jill, Phil, Bill, Lill, and Alexandria. The name they have picked isnt carved in stone, and I feel cruel and petty for not liking it. Am I in the wrong for trying to get them to change their name to one that fits their brothers and sisters a little better? They are already going through so much both mentally and physically. I want them to still feel a part of our family and not struggle any more than they have to. Advertisement Cant Name My Baby Advertisement I think you already know the answer to this question. Youre aware, on some level, that youre trying to wrest back a degree of control thats simply no longer your place to wield. I dont doubt for a moment that you adore your children or that your decision to give them all matching names was a decision you made out of joy and excitement and a particular vision of family unity. Nor do I think you should berate yourself for feeling grief and loss about this change in the family lineup. But please save language like It would break my heart and drive me crazy to introduce someone to my five children, whose names all rhyme but one for a therapist, and dont introduce that sort of intensity to your conversations with Alexandria. Youre entitled to whatever feelings come up for you during your daughters transition, but some of these feelings are best processed first in private, with a licensed professional, before sharing them with others. Advertisement Advertisement Your children are growing up. You will never have the same sort of control (benevolent as it may have been) over them that you did when they were babies and you got to choose their names, their outfits, their sleep schedules, their diets, and their day-to-day activities. I can imagine a number of reasons why one or more of your kids might not want to have rhyming names with the rest of their siblings, while still loving all of you fiercely and being happy to be a part of your family. Your daughter is choosing her own name and making decisions about her life that you dont get to make for herthats the point of growing up. Its a feature, not a bug, as they say. You can attempt to leverage her with maternal pressure into choosing a name that pleases you, but the most it can possibly get you is external compliance and internal frustration. The worst it can get you is a daughter who feels confined, misunderstood, infantilized, and controlled, and who subsequently wants to pull away just when youre longing to be close. Your vision of having five rhymingly named children is no longer possible. But your vision of five children who feel welcomed, loved, and free to pursue the things that make them different from one another without fear of judgment or reprisal is still very much open to you. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dear Prudence, My fiance and I have recently come to the conclusion that we have to postpone our summer wedding. I know that there are people experiencing much worse things during this time, but we feel pretty let down. I have been particularly disappointed by my friends reactions, which have mainly been something along the lines of That stinks! and no follow-up. I would have expected a bit more from our close friends. Am I wrong to feel hurt by this? Advertisement Another Postponed Bride The magic phrase in this kind of situation, at least when it comes to your close friends, is, I know things are hard all over and that well be able to celebrate our wedding eventually, but Im feeling really disheartened over having to postpone, and Id love to be able to talk about it a bit more with you. Are you available for that? You dont have to accuse your friends of thoughtlessness to acknowledge that this is a real disappointment. They may very well be distracted or despondent or worried about any number of other things, and you can talk about that too, but it doesnt mean youre forbidden from raising the issue or for caring about something non-life-threatening but still painful and frustrating. Advertisement Classic Prudie A few months ago I joined an online group of like-minded people where we often discuss personal relationship problems. I have found that griping about my husband to anonymous people online is a lot better than venting my frustrations at him. Lately my husband has also been really good at changing some of the behaviors that have always driven me up the wall, and now I know why. While using his laptop, I happened to notice him logged in as one of the members of my group! He created a fake persona and has seen every gripe I ever typed about him! I havent confronted him on this, and to be honest it has been a convenient way to indirectly communicate my frustrations to him. So should I tell him I know who he is, quit the group, or just let this be? Marathi actor Akshay Waghmare is all set to tie the knot with Arun Gawli's daughter Yogita Gawli. The couple has received special permission from the Pune and Mumbai police to wed in an intimate affair, with only a few close friends and family members in attendance, on Friday, May 8, 2020. Speaking to Times of India, Akshay said about the preparations for the wedding, "We had applied for prior permission. I received an approval mail from the police department on Tuesday night, and soon after, we decided on May 8 as the wedding date. The shopping was done earlier, keeping the March 29 ceremony in mind. So, there was no problem in pulling-off the remaining last-minute preparations either." He continued, "The wedding will happen at Dagdi Chawl in Mumbai, the residence of Daddy (Arun Gawli). The haldi ceremony will happen on Thursday and we will get married on Friday afternoon." Yogita's father Gawli is serving life imprisonment in a 2008 murder case, but is currently out on parole. Revealing that that is one of the reasons the couple decided to have the wedding now, Akshay said, "We wanted him to be there and bless us on our special day." The couple is taking all the necessary precautions to ensure that social distancing and hygiene is followed. He shared that guests will be required to wear masks and there will be sanitizers available at the venue. Akshay and Yogita plan to have a big reception post the lockdown, once the Coronavirus crisis abates, but he says that it all depends on the situation then. Arun Gawli inspired the 2017 film Daddy, starring Arjun Rampal in the lead. ALSO READ: Arjun Rampal Slams People Crowding At Liquor Stores; Says They Deserve Thrashing, Not Drinking ALSO READ: Arjun Rampal Says 'Daddy' Was Creatively Satisfying Fine Gael and Sinn Fein have become embroiled in a row over their ministers delivering food packages to vulnerable and old people. In the Dail, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar criticised Sinn Fein for delivering food parcels and posting pictures on Facebook during a debate on the Covid-19 unemployment payment. Mr Varadkar said he would be ashamed to boast about giving out food parcels. He said the Government provides funding for food banks. What we do not do is post on Facebook pictures of our Ministers visiting them and handing out food to the poor, he added. However, in response, Sinn Fein highlighted pictures on Twitter showing Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy delivering meals on wheels to his constituents yesterday afternoon. Mr Murphy retweeted the images to his own Twitter account. Sinn Fein TD David Cullinane said the tweet of Mr Murphy showed how vacuous the Taoiseachs attack was. There are many people from across the island involved in helping out the elderly and vulnerable at this time. Those people should be commended. Instead, the Taoiseach chose to attack Sinn Fein for the very action his own Minister is engaged in, Mr Cullinane added. The Taoiseachs spokesperson said if Sinn Fein really cared about the less well off and unemployed they would match the unemployment welfare rates in the North to those paid in the South. In the Dail, the Taoiseach and Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald clashed over the 350 per week Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment. Mr Varadkar responded to Ms McDonald by highlighting that payments for the unemployed are far lower in the North where Sinn Fein is in power. He suggested the rates were so low in the North that Sinn Fein ministers were forced to deliver food parcels. Sinn Fein Ministers on their Facebook site promote the fact that they hand out food parcels to the poor, reminiscent to me of Donald Trump handing out toilet roll after the hurricane hit the islands in the Caribbean, he said I would be ashamed to do something like that. Do not blame it on the Tories and do not blame it on London. If it was not for their money, it would be even worse, he added. Ms McDonald said she was very proud of the community work her members do across the country. It is not just in the North that people are running meals on wheels and bringing packages and parcels to help people who are struggling, she said. Ford Motor Company's (NYSE:F) two joint ventures with Chinese automakers both reported year-over-year sales growth for April, in the latest sign that China's new-car market is recovering from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Ford's joint venture with Chongqing Changan Automobile sold 20,465 vehicles in April, up 38.3% from April of 2019, Changan said in a filing with the Shenzhen stock exchange. The joint venture, called Changan Ford, builds and sells Ford- and Lincoln-brand cars and SUVs for the Chinese market. Ford's other joint venture, called Jiangling Motors (JMC), reported in its stock-exchange filing that it sold 28,028 vehicles in April, up 7.8% from a year ago. JMC builds and sells commercial trucks and SUVs under the Ford and JMC brands. Ford's sales in China fell 34.9% in the first quarter, as the COVID-19 outbreak shuttered dealerships and kept consumers home in many parts of the country. Ford's sales in China also include Ford- and Lincoln-brand vehicles that are imported from other countries, including the United States. Ford reports its total sales in China quarterly. Ford's operation in China has struggled since mid-2017, when its sales began to fall after several years of promising growth. Ford restructured its China operation last year, installing new leadership, mending relationships with dealers, and promising a slew of new products over the next few years. Ford lost $241 million in China in the first quarter. Atlanta: A Georgia district attorney said on Tuesday that a grand jury should decide whether to bring charges in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old unarmed black man who was chased by two white men and shot in southern Georgia in February. The video purports to show Ahmaud Arbery lying on the road after being shot as Travis McMichael, left, holding a shotgun, and his father, Gregory McMichael, holding a handgun, approach him in Brunswick, Georgia. Credit:AP "After careful review of the evidence," the prosecutor, Tom Durden, of Georgia's Atlantic Judicial Circuit, wrote in a statement, "I am of the opinion that the case should be presented to the grand jury of Glynn County for consideration of criminal charges." Arbery was killed after the men pursued him while he was running in the Satilla Shores neighbourhood just outside of Brunswick, in Glynn County. Neither man was arrested after the slaying, which occurred at about 1pm on February 23. Arbery's family and friends said he was an avid jogger and they do not believe he committed a crime before being chased. Agra, May 7 : With 667 Covid-19 cases, Agra on Thursday also launched special action at its central jail where an inmate tested positive creating panic about a possible spread of the pandemic at the prison facility. The recovery rate in the tourist hotspot is at 38 per cent, according to health officials. So far 269 people have been cured but the number of active cases continue to remain high at 398, in 42 hot spots. The Covid positive inmate, serving a life sentence for murder, was admitted to the SN Medical College for fever. His test report confirmed he was Covid-19 positive. The jail administration has decided to quarantine a large number of inmates immediately. With the death of a woman constable on Wednesday afternoon in Sikandra area and the demise of state roadways bus conductor D.P. Sharma who had been ailing for past 20 days, the toll in the Taj city reached 18. The policewoman, who was posted in Kanpur had delivered a baby girl on May 2. The child is said to be safe and healthy. District Magistrate P.N. Singh said the victims had other health issues also along with Covid-19 infection. Divisional Commissioner Anil Kumar visited the SN Medical College, following an alarming report of rats biting the toe of a female cancer patient, has firmly told doctors and para medics to be alert and responsible to the plight of patients who should be attended promptly. He warned of deterrent action, if there was any laxity in future. The Agra Municipal Corporation has been urged to fumigate as spread of malaria and dengue are feared as mosquitoes breeding season has begun. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Governments around the world, driven by the threat of overburdened health systems and mass mortality resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, are being forced to make decisions that have enormous, long-lasting consequences for lives and economies . They are doing so without sufficient assurance that the choices they make are the best ones. The fog of uncertainty can be partly lifted by better use of information that's emerging around the world. But it will never completely clear. The most difficult choices are those that have to be made before you know how they will work out. The challenge of making high-consequence decisions based on imperfect knowledge is not unprecedented. For example, tough policies to mitigate climate change must be adopted long before the world crosses catastrophic thresholds. To guide these decisions, countries rely on imperfect models of the climate system, along with divergent and values-based assumptions about how the future could unfold. Scientists and policymakers, working together over a period of three decades through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , have worked out how to guide decisions in the face of uncertainty in such a way that there is broad agreement, and which minimises regrets even if the future does not work out exactly as projected. Their approach has allowed scientists to remain providers of evidence, and politicians to focus on value-based choices. The Paris Agreement to mitigate climate change, signed by 197 countries, was the result of a well-functioning science-policy interaction. This experience can be applied to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, without having to reinvent the process. The best practice guidelines involve making decisions based on the best available information at the time, and progressively improving them in the light of experience and emerging new information. Secondly, they involve using a multi-model approach and an ensemble of results, rather than placing all bets on a single prediction. And finally, they use collectively agreed scenarios to explore the full range of options and outcomes. Three-pronged approach Decisions about containing COVID-19 are inevitably a balancing act between reducing the immediate loss of lives on the one hand, and protecting livelihoods that could be damaged as a result of the actions taken on the other. The models used to support the decisions must be similarly balanced. There is no point in having precise projections about the course of the pandemic, but only a vague idea of the impact on the economy. At present, these different streams of information are not well integrated. For the case of using mathematical models to help guide COVID-19 policies, we make the following suggestions based on our collective experience with scientific assessments. Use what information is available, then adapt: The novelty of the disease means you start from knowing very little and taking guidance from experiences with similar diseases in the past. You work towards improving modelled projections, using information from a range of sources from science to public health to the economy. Nimble and efficient channels of communication ensure that the pace of modelling matches the urgency of the problem. The multi-model approach: Using several different models rather than one relies on the same logic that tells you not to put all your savings into a single asset. The most robust approach is to build a portfolio, which is collectively stronger than just one, particularly if they are based on fundamentally different assumptions. Typically, different models have different purposes, and some are stronger in some respects than others. Some models are good at short-term projections while others are better in the long term. Including more detail is necessary for some purposes, but a less detailed model may be sufficient, and more reliable, for more general policies. This does not mean you should not winnow out models that are simply wrong. But to do so you need a well-structured, evidence-based test. The statistician George Box wisely commented that all models are wrong, but some are useful. For modelling COVID-19 we would similarly encourage a diversity of models. Scenarios: Some things cannot be predicted accurately, because they depend on chaotic physical processes, or behaviours that defy simple representation, such as human choices. For these issues you use scenarios . Scenarios allow the models to be stress-tested, by asking questions such as: What is the range of possible outcomes? How does my decision play out in the worst case, as well as in my preferred case? The scenarios must be shared between models, or you are unable to tease apart differences in the way models work from differences in model drivers. The scenarios need to be plausible, but must span a wide range of possibilities if they are not to lead to confirmation bias our tendency to choose the outcomes that support our prejudices. It is important to include measurable indicators, so that you later know which scenario is playing out. For COVID-19 we recommend exploring the model predictions over a range of agreed scenarios. For example, one scenario can impose strict lockdown and maintain it over several months. Another can progressively relax the restrictions. And both can be compared to a reference scenario where no policy action is taken. When many models, several scenarios and uncertain data are used together, the result will be a wide range of predictions. The differences need to be evaluated so it's clearer which findings have the most supporting evidence. Public trust is key The balancing act of managing COVID-19 requires public trust, which is fostered by an open, clear and credible process of decision-making. The framework we propose is focused on providing the information needed to make good decisions, but should not assume the right to make the decisions. For that purpose, people elect political leaders to represent their rights and values. This approach has been successfully applied elsewhere, for instance in the protection of the ozone layer , and mobilising action to halt biodiversity loss . In South Africa, it recently aided sensible decisions regarding fracking in the Karoo . Robert Scholes has received funding from the IPCC Trust Fund, the IPBES Trust Fund, and the Government of South Africa to conduct scientific assessments. He is a member of the COVID-19 Environmental Reference Group (CERG), which functions under the auspices of the Department of Science and Innovation. Albertus Smit receives funding from the NRF, Belmont Forum, SANOCEAN, and EU H2020 to conduct scientific research. He is part of CERG. Francois Engelbrecht has recieved funding from the IPCC Trust Fund and is currently acting as Lead Author of Assessment Report Six of the IPCC. He is a member of the Working Group on Numerical Experimentation of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and a Scientific Steering Group member of CLIVAR of the WCRP. He currently manages a research grant in the NRF Earth System Science Research Programme. He is a member of CERG. Guy Franklin Midgley works for University of Stellenbosch. He receives funding from NRF. He is a member of CERG Jennifer Fitchett receives funding from the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence for Palaeoscience. She is a member of CERG. Neville Sweijd receives funding from the National Research Foundation and the Department of Science and Innovation. He is the convener of CERG. Pedro M.S. Monteiro receives funding from National Research Foundation, Department of Science and Innovation, EU-H2020. IPCC Trust Fund to participate as CLA in the AR6-WG1 assessment Lead Author meetings. He is a member of CERG Pravesh Debba received research funding from DSI and NRF in the past. He is currently employed at CSIR and a member of CERG. By Robert (Bob) Scholes, Acting Director of the Global Change Institute (GCI), University of the Witwatersrand, University of the Witwatersrand And Albertus J. Smit, Associate Professor, Marine Biology, University of the Western Cape And Francois Alwyn Engelbrecht, Professor of Climatology, University of the Witwatersrand And Guy Franklin Midgley, Professor in Botany, Zoology and Ecology, Stellenbosch University And Jennifer Fitchett, Associate Professor of Physical Geography, University of the Witwatersrand And Neville Sweijd, Director Alliance for Climate and Earth Systems Science (ACCESS), Applied Centre for Climate and Earth Systems Science And Pedro M.S. Monteiro, Head of Ocean Systems and Climate, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research And Pravesh Debba, Impact Area Manager for Inclusive Smart Settlements and Regions, CSIR and Visiting Professor at the School of Statistics and Actuarial Sciences, Wits University, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research RICHMOND - Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring has found that the General Assembly has the authority to meet electronically during a time of emergency such as the novel coronavirus crisis. Herring (D) issued an opinion Thursday morning at the request of House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, finding that language in the state budget permits the House of Delegates and the state Senate to convene remotely because Gov. Ralph Northam has declared a state of emergency. Filler-Corn attempted to get the House to vote for remote meetings when the legislature convened last month, but Republican opposition prevented her from getting the two-thirds majority required for a rules change. The General Assembly had come to Richmond to review any vetoes or amendments issued by Northam (D) to legislation passed during this year's regular session, which adjourned March 12. Because of the covid-19 pandemic, the House convened outside under a canopy and the Senate met in a large room at a science museum, with members wearing masks and seated far apart. Filler-Corn had suggested it would be safer to adjourn and reconvene online, but House Republican leaders questioned whether technology was reliable enough to conduct a fair and open meeting. Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, the House minority leader, pointed out that even moving the session outdoors caused several technical glitches that led to delays while the electronic voting system was fixed. Gilbert also noted that some delegates live in rural areas where broadband service is not reliable, and that some are not comfortable with online technology. Democrats who lead the state Senate also said they were not interested in meeting remotely. But Filler-Corn said she had consulted with health experts and that an electronic session was the best way to ensure business could be conducted without fear of infection for the 140 lawmakers, their staffs and the public. Virginia's Freedom of Information Act generally prohibits public bodies from conducting business online. But the budget language that Herring cited Thursday was included in amendments sent over this year by Northam and passed during last month's reconvened session. "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any public body, including any state, local, regional, or regulatory body, or a governing board ... may meet by electronic communication means without a quorum of the public body or any member of the governing board physically assembled at one location when the Governor has declared a state of emergency," the budget language says. Filler-Corn asked Herring for an opinion on whether that created an exception to the FOIA law. Herring replied that the General Assembly qualifies as a "public body," and that it can meet electronically if it adheres to "important principles of open government and transparency." Filler-Corn praised Herring's ruling. "This is the safest way to conduct the people's business," she said in an interview. Northam has said he plans to call a special session of the General Assembly sometime this summer to address the budgetary impact of the covid-19 pandemic, which is expected to carry costs and revenue shortfalls of about $3 billion over the rest of the current fiscal year and the next two years. If the state of emergency is still in place, Filler-Corn said she will consider conducting the House session online. "It's quite clear that we can do so," she said. A reward is being offered for information that leads to the immediate capture of a wanted sex offender. The U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force is searching for fugitive Timothy Jabbar Wyatt. The 40-year-old Wyatt, according to Central Alabama Crime Stoppers. Wyatt has warrants for kidnapping, assault and attempted rape. Authorities said he is a violent sex offender with previous arrests for kidnapping, sodomy, rape, attempted rape, robbery, attempted murder and domestic violence, as well as drugs and weapons charges. Central Alabama Crime Stoppers Executive Director Tony Garret said Wyatt should be considered armed and dangerous. Law enforcement believes he could be hiding in a number of places including Birmingham, Calera, Clanton, Wetumpka, Prattville or Montgomery. He is 6-feet tall and weighs about 222 pounds. A $2,500 reward is offered. Anyone with information is asked to call the U.S. Marshals at 334-531-5681. Tipsters can also call Crime Stoppers at 334-215-STOP (7867) or via the P3-tips app. Advertisement The parades have been cancelled, but even in lockdown nothing can quell the nations spirit when it comes to celebrating todays 75th anniversary of VE Day. Across the land yesterday, flags and bunting were being put up as the country turned red, white and blue in preparation for socially distanced street parties. A giant Union flag has been created on the beach beneath Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland. It was drawn by castle maintenance manager Andrew Heeley and took him more than 18,000 steps to complete. On the White Cliffs of Dover, with the patrol vessel HMS Severn positioned off the coast, Pipe Major Andy Reid of 1st Battalion Scots Guards played When The Battles Oer as two Spitfires from the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flew overhead. VE Day 75 years on - A six-page special in the Daily Mail - 'Make the most of a magical day' Pictured: Prime Minister Boris Johnson lighting a candle at the grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey in solemn remembrance of 'the greatest generation of Britons who ever lived' VE Day minute-by-minute: How Britons will join together to commemorate the end of the Second World War 75 years ago today 8.40am Billboards at Piccadilly Circus, London, will screen VE Day advertisements. 10.10am The world-famous Red Arrows will fly over London, while RAF Typhoons will soar over Edinburgh, Cardiff and Bristol in magnificent displays. 11am BBC1 will air The Nation Remembers. Prince Charles will lead a two-minute silence to mark the anniversary and pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. There will be small commemorations in Parliament, with Speakers of both the Commons and the Lords expected to offer tributes. They will be followed by a wreath laying service in Westminster Hall, led by the Speaker's Chaplain to coincide with the two minutes' silence. Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle will read extracts from a speech given by Winston Churchill in the Commons on May 8, 1945, in which he announced the surrender of Germany, bringing the Second World War to an end in Europe. 2.45pm-3.45pm BBC1 will air The Announcement Of Victory. Alongside a pre-recorded film, the broadcaster will beam Churchill's historic victory speech. 2.55pm-3pm Members of the Air Training Corps, Army Cadets, Sea Cadets and the Combined Cadet Force will play the Last Post at the top of the four highest peaks in the UK - Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, Mount Snowdon and Slieve Donard. 3pm To mark the moment that Churchill announced that the war with Germany was over, thousands of bagpipers from the UK and Denmark to South Africa and the US will play Battle's O'er, a traditional melody performed at the end of a battle. At the same time, Dame Joan Collins will lead the nation's toast from the balcony of her London home. She will say: 'To those who gave so much, we thank you.' 3.10pm The British public are expected to post pictures of their street parties across the UK to the hashtag #StayAtHomeParty in keeping with lockdown rules. 6pm Katherine Jenkins will perform for 30 minutes to an empty Royal Albert Hall for the first time in the venue's history. She will sing wartime songs by Dame Vera Lynn including We'll Meet Again and The White Cliffs of Dover. 6.55pm Town criers will undertake a special international Cry For Peace Around The World. 7pm Church bells are expected to ring across the country in a rally for peace. BBC1 will air a special episode of The One Show hosted by Alex Jones, which pays special tribute to Britain's Second World War heroes. 7pm-8pm Channel 5 will broadcast The Lost Films, a collection of rarely seen clips from amateur filmmakers capturing the mood in Britain on May 8, 1945. 8pm-8.30pm ITV will air Captain Tom's War, during which the beloved 100-year-old NHS fundraiser will share his memories of serving in the Burma campaign. During the programme, he talks of the brutal fighting. 8pm-9.10pm BBC1 will broadcast The People's Celebration. Presented by Sophie Raworth, the Royal British Legion, and performers including Katherine Jenkins, Adrian Lester and Anton Du Beke will show thanks to Britain's veterans. 9pm The Queen will address the nation from Windsor Castle at the same time her father George VI gave a radio address in 1945 to mark the cessation of hostilities in Europe. Her Majesty's address will be followed by a rendition of We'll Meet Again. Advertisement Today, a Spitfire organised by the Daily Mail will make a Salute the Heroes flight across much of southern England, including the home of Colonel Tom Moore, East Grinsteads Queen Victoria Hospital and Worthings Care for Veterans home. In Minster on Sea, Kent, retired electrician Tim Bell, 75, has decorated his mobility scooter as a tank, while Roedean School near Brighton has lit the main building with a Union flag design emblazoned with the number 75 and the words to Well Meet Again. Dame Vera Lynn, 103, urged that as the nation parties it should remember the brave boys and what they sacrificed for us. The Forces Sweetheart added: I hope that VE Day will remind us all that hope remains even in the most difficult of times and that simple acts of bravery and sacrifice still define our nation as the NHS works so hard to care for us. Yesterday, Katherine Jenkins recorded a show, including a virtual duet of Well Meet Again with Dame Vera, at the Royal Albert Hall the first time in its 150-year history that a concert has taken place in an empty auditorium. The half-hour performance, in place of the original VE Day 75 spectacular organised by the Daily Mail, will be shown at 6pm on its website. Last night Boris Johnson lit a candle at the grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey. In a letter to veterans, the Prime Minister hailed the greatest generation of Britons who ever lived, adding: I write with deep humility because the truth is no other generation of Britons can rival your achievement. Those of us born after 1945 are acutely conscious of the debt we owe. Without your trial and sacrifice, many of us would not be here at all. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby urged the nation to honour the sacrifice of the 1945 generation by remembering reconciliation and holding on to hope. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will lead a two-minute silence at 11am, while the Queen will make a televised address at 9pm, followed by the national Well Meet Again singalong. Navy warships around the world will sound their sirens and pierce the darkness with searchlights. On the White Cliffs of Dover, Pipe Major Andy Reid of 1st Battalion Scots Guards played When The Battle's O'er' as two Spitfires from the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flew overhead A giant Union flag has been created on the beach beneath Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland. It was drawn by castle maintenance manager Andrew Heeley and took him more than 18,000 steps to complete Pictured: Roedean School near Brighton has lit the main building with a Union flag design emblazoned with the number 75 and the words to We'll Meet Again Pictured: Excited six year old Ellie Ingham holding a string of Union flag bunting in her street in Northampton Meanwhile in Minster on Sea, Kent, retired electrician Tim Bell, 75, has decorated his mobility scooter as a tank Going all out for VE Day: Angharad, aged 10, with her parents Vivienne and Alex at their Union flag-decorated home in Twickenham Pictured: Children and staff at Breadsall Primary School in Derby during a VE Day lunch party The ongoing response to COVID-19 has included long lockdown periods, with many people either not being able to work or changing the way they do so by working from home. This has led to many being more sedentary than normal which has potential implications for their backs. However there are some simple measures people can take to recover from, or reduce the chance of, back pain. Its time to change the way we think about back pain, says Tauranga Hospital Clinical Lead Physiotherapist Jennifer Stillwell. Our backs are strong, resilient structures and research has shown that 98 per cent of back pain cases are not serious, and most cases will clear up in due course. While back pain is uncomfortable, it is important to keep moving, stay in work where possible, resume normal activities and adopt a healthy lifestyle. What we do day-to-day is very important to help keep us healthy and prevent back pain. There are simple things that can be done to recover from pain and/or reduce the chance of pain returning. Follow these five tips to keep your back in good shape: 1. Keep active exercise has been shown to be the most helpful treatment for preventing recurrent back pain. Even with back pain, exercise is safe. It doesnt matter what type of exercise you do, as long as you remain active. So choose something that you like to do it, and keep at it! 2. Work smart customise your work station to and change position frequently. 3. Sleep well good sleep habits can help improve back pain and mood. Pillows can be helpful for getting into a comfortable position. 4. Stretch out - keeping flexible helps maintain normal joint function and good movement which promotes a healthy spine. 5. Lift right - the back is designed to bend, twist and lift. When lifting heavy objects stand as close to the object as you can, and use your legs and knees rather than your back or upper body. If the item is too heavy, get help. If your back pain is affecting your activity and is persisting, seek advice or support. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapists in the UK have produced this video on managing back pain. Simple exercises for back pain A simple daily exercise programme for your back has been proven to reduce the severity of back pain. These exercises are: Back stretch Lie on your back, hands above your head or by your side. Bend your knees and roll them slowly to one side, keeping your feet on the floor. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat three times on each side. Knees to chest Lie on your back, knees bent. Bring one knee up and pull it gently into your chest for 5 seconds. Repeat up to 5 times on each side. Kneeling Half kneeling Tighten your stomach muscles to keep your back straight while gently pushing your hip forwards Hold approx. 20 secs then relax Repeat three times each leg Pelvic tilt Lying on your back with knees bent and arms by your side Tighten your stomach muscles and press the small of your back against the floor letting your bottom rise Hold 5 secs. and then relax Repeat 10 times Prayer Start on your hands and knees in a crawling position. Let your arms slide along the floor as far as possible, sitting your bottom back onto your heels. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times. Agri scientists at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) have cautioned farmers against a possible desert locust attack in the border areas of Punjab and Rajasthan. The advisory has been issued after locust sightings in Fazilka, and considering the heat-driven continuous breeding activity of locusts in the Middle East and Pakistan. Entomology department head PK Chhuneja said in the last couple of weeks, small groups of hoppers (wingless nymphs) had been witnessed in some areas of Rajasthan and Punjab. These locusts are sneaking into India from Pakistan. They are likely to arrive in swarms and damage the vegetation in the border areas of Rajasthan and Punjab, he said. Chhuneja added that swarms of locusts invaded India during monsoon. But they appeared in January and February this year due to climatic changes. He added that if farmers observed any activity of hoppers or flying locusts, they must immediately inform PAU or the Punjab agriculture department to suppress their invasion. The hoppers, which move by jumping, can be crushed under wide-wheel vehicles. The flying locusts can be scared away by creating loud drumming sounds or by using torches, the PAU advisory read. Backing comes a day after the Supreme Court cleared PM Netanyahu to form a government. Israeli MPs have approved the formation of a unity government between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and rival Benny Gantz, paving the way to an end to more than a year of deadlock. Parliament voted by 71 votes to 37 to back the coalition deal that will see Netanyahu and Gantz, a centrist former military leader, share power. The two leaders have said they will swear in their new administration on May 13, with Netanyahu remaining leader for 18 months, before handing over to Gantz who will be prime minister for the next 18 months. The proposed government was challenged in the Supreme Court, with opponents arguing Netanyahu was ineligible to rule due to a series of corruption indictments. They also complained that certain provisions in the coalition deal broke the law. But the court ruled on Wednesday evening that there was no legal reason to prevent the formation of a government led by Netanyahu. It added that by approving the coalition it was not seeking to diminish the severity of the charges against Netanyahu, but concluded that those could be handled in his trial, which is due to begin on May 24. Israel has been without a stable government since December 2018, with the country seeing three successive elections in which Gantzs centrist Blue and White and Netanyahus Likud were near neck and neck. During that time Netanyahu has remained in power in a caretaker capacity. Netanyahu has been charged with accepting improper gifts and illegally trading favours in exchange for positive media coverage. He denies wrongdoing but if the trial goes ahead as planned, he will become the first serving Israeli leader to be tried. 200506203538634 After the third election in March this year, Gantz broke with large parts of his Blue and White alliance and agreed to form a unity government. He said it was necessary to provide political stability as the country seeks to repair the economic damage wrought by a coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 16,000 people. Gantzs critics, including many former allies, accuse him of betraying his voters after campaigning for cleaner politics and pledging not to serve under an indicted prime minister. While Israeli law bars ministers from serving while under indictment, there is no such law for prime ministers. The global death toll from the coronavirus has passed 260,000 with more than 3.7 million infections confirmed, causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the new respiratory illness. Here's a roundup of COVID-19 developments in RFE/RL's broadcast regions. Russia Russia's number of coronavirus cases has seen a record daily surge with Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin warning that the actual number of cases in the capital alone is likely three times higher than the official tally. Officials said on May 7 that there had been 11,231 new infections in the previous 24 hours, the highest daily total to date, bringing the national total to just over 177,000, more than former European hotspots such as Germany and France. In Moscow, the epicenter of Russia's outbreak with more than half of the country's total positive tests and deaths, Sobyanin said screening indicates that 2-2.5 percent of Muscovites have contracted the coronavirus, meaning there could be about 300,000 infections in the city, compared with the current reported figure of just under 93,000. "We should never lose optimism. How soon we come out from this situation will largely depend on ourselves, on our discipline. I do not want to predict the future, but my personal opinion is that we will not be able to return to full-fledged life without restrictions soon," Sobyanin said on state television channel Rossia 24, adding that wearing face masks and gloves will become mandatory on public transport in Moscow beginning on May 12. Sobyanin said that confirmed cases were rising in the capital because authorities had sharply increased testing and that the situation had actually somewhat stabilized. Russia says it has carried out more than 4.8 million coronavirus tests across the country. Russia's official death toll, which remains far lower than in many countries, rose to 1,625 after 88 people died overnight, according to a pandemic task force. By comparison, France, with a similar number of confirmed infections, has reported almost 26,000 deaths. Russia's relatively low official death rate has triggered criticism that the authorities may be covering up the real toll of the outbreak by failing to correctly identify coronavirus deaths as such, accusations that have been rejected by authorities. But Russian officials say the outbreak in their country started later than in parts of the world, allowing authorities to better prepare for the pandemic. Russia now has the fifth-largest number of cases in the world, according to a running tally by the John Hopkins University in the United States. The residents of Moscow, which is in its sixth week of a lockdown, must stay at home except when buying food and medicine. They must obtain a digital permit to travel anywhere by public or private transport. President Vladimir Putin has voiced support for a plan put forward by Sobyanin to gradually begin lifting some lockdown restrictions in the capital after May 12, allowing certain industrial activities to resume. Pakistan Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan says the country's five-week coronavirus lockdown will be lifted on May 9 despite a record rise in the number of cases in the country. Khan argued in a televised address on May 7 that the decision was made because Pakistan's large number of poor people and laborers can no longer afford to live under a lockdown. Nearly 40 percent of Pakistan's 212 million people live in poverty. "We're deciding that we are ending this lockdown now," Khan said. "We know that we're doing it at a time when our curve is going up...but it is not edging up as we were expecting." Pakistan, which has 24,500 official coronavirus cases with 564 fatalities, on May 7 saw its highest single-day increase of 1,523 cases. Khan said shops and restaurants will reopen from May 9. However, train services, flights, and attendance at schools will remain suspended till May 15. Shopping malls will also remain closed, he said. Separately, Planning Minister Asad Umer said key economic sectors including agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and retail would reopen. Pakistan's health authorities have been struggling to cope with the steady increase in infections, although the country is estimated to be still weeks away from the peak of the outbreak. Thousands of Pakistanis are also testing positive after returning home from overseas, raising concerns of a further spread of the virus. Afghanistan Afghanistans health minister has tested positive for the coronavirus, his spokesman says, as the number of confirmed cases in the country passed 3,500. Ferozuddin Feruz showed symptoms of COVID-19 in the past few days and was isolated at home, the spokesman, Wahidullah Mayar, said on May 7, adding that the ministers health condition is stable. A total of 3,563 infections with the coronavirus have been recorded in Afghanistan so far, including 106 deaths. The actual numbers are likely to be significantly higher as few tests are being carried out in the war-ravaged country. Serbia Serbia's parliament has lifted a state of emergency and curfew, which were introduced in mid-March to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister Ana Brnabic told lawmakers on May 6 that Serbia has met all the conditions set by the World Health Organization for relaxing the measures. "For more than a week, fewer than 5 percent of those tested in Serbia have been infected with the coronavirus, which is the most important condition to lift the state of emergency," Brnabic said. After Serbia declared its state of emergency the authorities imposed a daily curfew from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m., along with several weekend curfews lasting from Thursday evening until Monday morning. Since mid-April, people older than 65 had been forbidden from going out for a month, except for a one-hour daily walk. Serbia has confirmed almost 10,000 virus cases so far, including more than 200 deaths. The figures for new cases have been decreasing in recent days. The country relaxed some measures earlier this week, reopening restaurants and cafes as well as resuming public transport, following repeated noisy protests by Serbs who were stuck at home and resorted to banging tin pans and drums to vent their anger at the government's moves. President Aleksandar Vucic on May 4 said Serbia would hold parliamentary and local elections on June 21. The polls had been scheduled for April 26 but were postponed when the state of emergency was declared. Opposition parties have indicated they will boycott the elections over accusations that there will not be a level playing field for the campaign. Many Serbs have accused Vucic, in power since 2012, of oppressing political opponents, stifling media freedoms, corruption, and cronyism. Vucic has denied the accusations. Central Asia Kazakhstan has marked Defender of the Fatherland Day without a trademark military parade this year because of the coronavirus outbreak in the country. President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev on May 7 congratulated the Central Asian nation on a day that has been celebrated with military parades each year to commemorate the founding of the Kazakh armed forces in 1992. All other events linked to marking the day -- concerts, exhibitions, lectures, Q&A sessions -- are being held online or broadcast on television to prevent large groups of people from gathering. Health authorities said on May 7 that the number of coronavirus cases in the country had reached 4,530, including 30 deaths, the most in the region. In neighboring Kyrgyzstan, authorities in the capital, Bishkek, suspended the operation of the Main Children's Hospital after several patients and medical personnel tested positive for COVID-19. Deputy Health Minister Nurbolot Usonbaev said on May 7 that the hospital had stopped accepting new patients while those accepted earlier were being tested for the coronavirus. Usonbaev also said that, as of May 7, there were 895 coronavirus cases registered in the country, of which 12 cases had been fatal. In Uzbekistan, health authorities said on May 7 that the number of coronavirus cases in the country was 2,266, including 10 deaths. In Tajikistan, the latest figures are 379 cases, including 8 deaths. The fifth nation in the region, Turkmenistan, has not reported a single coronavirus case. The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is still working on a possible visit to Turkmenistan to assess the situation on the ground in one of the world's most tightly run countries. Experts are skeptical of the claim that there are no cases given the lack of transparency and an independent media in the country. Doctors in the country are not allowed to talk about the coronavirus, face masks are banned, and citizens are punished for publicly discussing the global pandemic. Further clouding the situation, authorities have set up three quarantine zones around the country in a bid to prevent the spread of what they call "infectious diseases." People with coronavirus symptoms are not being treated for the virus, and COVID-19 test results are unknown, even if they are performed. With reporting by RFE/RL's Balkan, Kazakh, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, and Tajik services; RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal and RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan; AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa, and TASS Jammu and Kashmir reported 18 fresh coronavirus cases on Thursday, nine of them from three tertiary care hospitals here, ringing alarm bells in the health community of the union territory. "18 fresh positive cases have been detected in the last 24 hours. Total positives in the union territory now at 793," officials said. They said while Jammu now has a total of 68 cases, 725 were positive in total in the Kashmir valley. Among the fresh cases detected in Kashmir on Thursday, nine are related to three tertiary care hospitals of the valley, in a major setback to the efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Jammu and Kashmir. "Out of 719 samples tested at Chest Diseases Hospital, nine are positive," Nodal Officer, COVID-19 at Government Medical College Srinagar, Dr Salim Khan told PTI. He said all these nine samples were related to three tertiary care hospitals in Srinagar. "Out of the nine, six samples were taken from patients admitted at Bone and Joint Hospital, while two are from SMHS including the man who died late last night," Khan said. He said the other positive case is of a doctor working at Super Speciality hospital here. The emergence of cases from these three hospitals, including that of the doctor, and along with the death of a patient who later tested positive on Wednesday night at SMHS hospital, has rang alarm bells in the health community. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Tri Indah Oktavianti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 7, 2020 19:37 621 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd699915 1 National COVID-19-in-Indonesia,Airlines,Garuda-Indonesia,Batik-Air,Wings-Air,Lion-Air,lion-air-group,passenger-flight,resume Free Several Indonesian airlines have resumed domestic passenger flights following a letter from the COVID-19 task force allowing certain people to travel despite government travel restrictions. Service will be reopened gradually this month. Garuda Indonesia officially resumed domestic passenger flights on Thursday after suspending them in compliance with the governments large scale social restrictions (PSBB). The national flag carrier has implemented augmented health protocols. Flight reservations can be accessed through all ticket channels of Garuda Indonesia, the airlines president-director Irfan Setiaputra said in a statement on Thursday. He added that the company would remain in regular contact with authorities to support the fight against COVID-19. Garuda Indonesia will require passengers to provide ground staff with medical letters from hospitals stating that they are COVID-19 negative. The airline will also require state officials to provide documents, including official letters of duty, employee IDs and letters explaining the purpose of travel. Read also: Garuda Indonesia to test passengers for COVID-19 Lion Air, Wings Air and Batik Air members of the Lion Air Group will resume domestic passenger flights on Sunday. Tickets for these airlines are available at their counters, call centers and official websites. [We will apply] the physical distancing policy in the cabin by omitting middle seats in the three-seat configurations in economy class. The passengers will either be seated by the window or by the aisle. Meanwhile, in the business class with two-seat configurations, we will apply a zig-zag seating arrangement, said Danang Mandala Prihantoro, Lion Air Group corporate communications strategic officer, in a statement on Thursday. The Lion Air Group will perform pre-flight health checks and worthy-for-flight tests on crew members prior to departure. Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said on Wednesday that it would possible for the government to allow all modes of public transportation to resume operation on Thursday to accommodate particular individuals while maintaining the ban on this years Idul Fitri mudik (exodus). Algerias pro-democracy movement, which rallied every week for more than a year despite threats, security clampdowns and existential questions, having been stripped of its leverage massive street protests due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is now under attack by security services. News of arrests, speedy trials and prison sentences for activists has become a daily occurrence, shortly after the reform movement, known as the hirak, suspended street action in response to the coronavirus. Algerian authorities banned street gatherings on 17 March and imposed a 7:00pm to7:00am curfew to contain the spread of the virus. Rights groups say the lockdown emboldened the authorities to intensify its repression of the hirak, knowing that the arrests are unlikely to trigger protests amid the pandemic. On 24 March and 6 April respectively, courts sentenced leading hirak figures such as Karim Tabbou, head of the opposition political party, the Union Democratique et Sociale (UDS), and Abdelouhab Farasoui, to one year each on vague charges such as harming national unity, according to Human Rights Watch. Tabbou faces a separate trial scheduled 1 June on charges of harming the national integrity of the territory, which could carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years, for a speech he made in the city of Kherrata on 9 May. Held in prolonged solitary confinement in Kolea Prison, Tabbou has experienced deteriorating health since suffering a spike in blood pressure and fainting in court. A presidential pardon 1 April, that freed 5,037 inmates to reduce prison overcrowding during the pandemic, excluded hirak detainees. Between 7 March and 13 April alone, at least 20 activists were either summoned for interrogation by the police, or arrested and held in pretrial detention, or sentenced on charges stemming from their exercise of their right to freedom of speech or peaceful assembly in six cities in Algeria, according to human rights lawyers. At the time when all national and international eyes are focused on the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Algerian authorities are investing time in accelerating prosecutions and trials against activists, journalists and supporters of the hirak movement, said Heba Morayef, Amnesty Internationals Middle East and North Africa director. The authorities must immediately and unconditionally release all peaceful activists detained solely for expressing their views online and offline, and/or calling for a democratic change. By arresting and imprisoning activists, the authorities are not only punishing them for their free speech, but also endangering their health given the risks of a COVID-19 outbreak in prison. In February 2020, the hirak protest movement marked its first anniversary, reiterating that protesters calls for political reform remained unanswered. According to human rights lawyers, at least 32 people arbitrarily detained during the hirak movement protests remain behind bars; eight of them were arrested since the start of the pandemic, between 25 February and 13 April. All are facing prosecution under the penal code for a range of offences, mainly harming the integrity of the national territory, incitement to unarmed gathering, or publications meant at harming the national interest. The National Committee for the Liberation of Detainees (CNLD) says that between 26 March and 12 April, authorities summoned at least 12 activists about views they had expressed online, mostly in support of the protest movement. On 9 April, Sidi Mhamed Court convicted hirak protester and political and human rights activist Ibrahim Daouadji, arrested 16 March, to six months in prison with a 50,000 Algerian dinars (around $450) fine for a video he posted online where he criticised his detention conditions after he was held in pre-trial detention for three months between November 2019 and January 2020. On 7 March, political activist Samir Benlarbi and national coordinator of the families of the disappeared Slimane Hamitouche were arrested in Algiers during a protest. The Sidi Mhamed Court also prosecuted them for harming the integrity of the national territory and incitement to an unarmed gathering. Both are now awaiting trial in El-Harrach Prison where they risk a 10-year prison sentence. Journalists have also faced harassment by the authorities for their interviews, articles or media coverage of the protests. On 15 April, Minister of Communication Ammar Belhimer admitted that the authorities, without prior notification, blocked two online independent media, Maghreb Emergent and RadioMPost, pending further legal proceedings against director Ihsane El-Kadi for defamation and insult against President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. On 27 March, police arrested Khaled Drareni, a prominent journalist, in Algiers. Drareni, correspondent for TV5Monde and Casbah Tribunes director, is currently held in pre-trial detention in Kolea Prison because of his reporting on the 7 March hirak protest. He faces charges of incitement to unarmed gathering and harming the integrity of the national territory which could lead to 10-year prison sentence. Drareni has covered the protests since their onset, recording demonstrations and posting footage on his Twitter account. Its an era in Algeria where vague allegations could throw anyone in jail for months, if not years, Algerian researcher Zine Labidine Ghebouli wrote on Twitter. Its revolting after a year of peaceful protests. *A version of this article appears in print in the 7 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Australian mining giant BHP has no immediate plans to ease social distancing protocols across its operations while Rio Tinto says the industry will have to coexist with the pandemic for some time yet, even as governments begin to gradually relax coronavirus restrictions. Following an increase in infections across its copper sites in Chile, BHP chief executive Mike Henry said the company would maintain limits on staffing numbers at its work sites and on Thursday outlined plans to trial a new smartphone app to help prevent the spread of the virus among its workers. BHP workers receiving mandatory temperature checks at Moranbah airport. "In some countries such as Australia we are seeing an easing of restrictions, while in others there tighter measures have been put in place," Mr Henry said. "Broadly, we expect to retain reduced numbers at our work locations, split-shifts when possible at our offices and flexible working from home for some time to maintain social distancing and protect those at greater risk from COVID-19." The Food and Drug Authority (FDA) says it will not allow the use of a purported covid-19 remedy developed in Madagascar until the efficacy of the drug is proven by world experts. According to the FDA, there is still little scientific evidence backing the potency of the medicine to cure COVID-19. Madagascar has been touting a herbal medicine product it says can cure COVID-19. That country's president, Andry Rajoelina has been actively promoting the plant-based tonic, COVID-Organics. So far, countries such as Congo, Tanzania, and Guinea-Bissau have received packs of the product. But the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana's Food and Drug Authority (FDA) Mimi Delese Darko in an interview on Citi TVs The Point of View programme said Ghana needs more evidence before accepting the product as COVID-19 cure. I know it contains the Artemisia plant which is the same thing that we have in some of the antimalarials Yes, we've read about it but what we also look out for is evidence so you cannot just put a drug or a herbal product on the market without evidence and say it treats a disease. So far as we've seen, it was tested in about 20 people over 3 weeks and come out with the claim of cure. There is no published study and what we would say is that we will need more evidence, she said. The product has attracted continental interest with the African Union also demanding to know the technical data regarding the safety and efficiency of the supposed herbal remedy. The AU Commissioner for Social Affairs H.E Amira El-Fadil convened a meeting with the Charge dAffaires of the Republic of Madagascar, Mr. Eric Randrianantoandro on 30th April to get further information about the product. The AU said after receiving the data it will review it through the African Center for Disease Council in accordance with global technical and ethical norms. Once furnished with the details, the Union, through the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), will review the scientific data gathered so far on the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 Organics. This review will be based on global technical and ethical norms to garner the necessary scientific evidence regarding the performance of the tonic, the AU said in a statement. ---citinewsroom Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal Like many other restaurant owners in Albuquerque and across the country who have seen their bottom line hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic, Golden Crown Panaderia owner Pratt Morales looked to the U.S. Small Business Administrations Paycheck Protection Program for some relief. Unlike many other applicants, however, Morales received the federally backed loan of $76,000 earlier this week, just a week after applying. Morales said he thinks the quick response is due in part to his decision to wait for the second round of funding to apply. I thought Id wait until things settled down a little bit, he said. And Im glad I did. While new data is still coming in, banks, businesses and lending experts have reported that the second lending cycle for the federal program has so far been far smoother than the first, which was plagued by technical challenges and miscommunication. I think we were able to get the bugs out of the system, said John Garciadistrict director for New Mexicos Small Business Administration office. The program, which provides forgivable loans for businesses that keep all of their employees on the payroll for eight weeks during the pandemic, was introduced in March. Funds were quickly depleted. The second round of funding opened April 27 with $310 billion available. As of Wednesday evening, around 2.44 million loans totaling $183.5 billion have been approved in the second round of the program. In New Mexico, 10,001 loans totaling $758.8 million were approved from April 27 to May 1, the first week of the programs second round, according to a report from the SBA. That funding total ranks 36th among U.S. states and territories. Garcia said opening a second portal helped, as did allowing small community lenders greater access to the program. Of the $310 billion, Garcia said $60 billion was earmarked for community lenders, which gave those institutions a chance to secure funding without competing with larger banks. In the second round of funding, 946,111 applications were processed by lenders with assets totaling $10 billion or less significantly more than the number processed by lenders between $10 and $50 billion in assets. Garcia said that has led to more small businesses opening new accounts with community banks. Anne Haines, president and CEO of Albuquerque-based community lender DreamSpring, said the first day of the new period was a bit slow, but things sped up after that. As of the start of May, DreamSpring had processed $17.2 million in forgivable loans for 470 New Mexico companies, including Golden Crown. Its gotten much better over the last couple days, Haines said. Large banks were still able to get in on the action. Bank of America processed 914 loans in New Mexico totaling more than $61 million, according to bank spokeswoman Colleen Haggerty. Garcia said around $116 billion is still available. However, he urged companies to take stock of when and how theyre going to be able to open before seeking more aid. If we continue in a lockdown mode, their employees arent coming back into to work yet, he said. Member of Parliament for Bolga Central Mr Isaac Adongo said a healthy human resource was paramount to the growth of the economy and called on the citizenry to adhere to the strict measures rolled out by the government, to stop the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic. Mr Adongo made the call in a press statement signed by him and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), in Bolgatanga. He said the Coronavirus posed a threat to productivity as many workers and businesses were forced to reduce production as many could no longer go to work out of fear of contracting the deadly disease. Mr Adongo said the measures being taken by the government to control the spread of the disease, was intended to limit and stop the importation of the virus, provide adequate care for the sick as well as limit the impact of the virus on the social and economic life of all Ghanaians, including the Zebilla Constituency, and the Upper East Region. The MP said the Zebilla constituency was located on the borders of Burkina Faso and Togo and cautioned the communities that share common boundaries with those countries to be careful since many of the people had cross-border relations and clan-members across the borders and might be tempted to interact with them. Such people he said would unknowingly import the deadly virus in and out of both territories. He called on commercial transport operators, including; motor-bike (Okada) riders, tri-cycle (motor-king) riders, and donkey cart drivers, within Zebilla and its environs, to abide by the government's directives regarding the closure of the borders. The MP urged the people to continue to observe the protocols including; avoiding crowded areas, avoiding hand-shaking, washing of hands with soap under running water, covering of mouths and nose, while coughing or sneezing, reporting to the nearest Health Facility as soon as symptoms such as fever, coughing and running nose are noticed and keeping the environment clean. He assured his constituency that he would continue to procure protective and hygiene materials for distribution to the various health care centres within the area. Finally, it is equally important for all of us in the Upper East Region, to remember that we are currently within the heat season, and one of the common diseases we usually experience is Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM). I wish therefore to advise all of us in our various communities, within the entire Upper East Region, to take the necessary precautionary measures to avoid contracting CSM, alongside our fight against COVID19, he added. ---GNA CARLSBAD, Calif., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- To accelerate national, multi-institutional efforts focused on mapping coronavirus transmission and epidemiological studies, Thermo Fisher Scientific today announces the SARS-CoV-2 GlobalAccess Sequencing Program for research consortia and industry groups battling the spread of the pandemic globally. Under the program, the company will provide 50 units of the Ion Torrent Genexus System at a subsidized price to support global collaborative COVID-19 research. As countries begin to reopen, the need for real-time SARS-CoV-2 sequencing data that can be quickly and easily generated and shared among partners in the scientific community is critical. Access to such data can accelerate researchers' understanding of how the virus is evolving, assist with contact tracing and transmission interruption efforts, and inform vaccine development programs. Thermo Fisher's latest sequencing innovation is primed for what research consortia are trying to accomplish: fast, real-time, sequencing-data acquisition and sharing through a network of decentralized institutions. The Genexus System is the world's first turnkey next-generation sequencing (NGS) solution that is designed to deliver results in a day with five minutes of hands-on time in a decentralized laboratory setting. The platform's ease of use and automation has been developed to provide researchers regardless of expertise level access to the power of NGS technology. When combined with the Ion AmpliSeq SARS-CoV-2 Research Panel, the platform provides laboratories with a powerful, specimen-to-report workflow to carry out infectious disease studies using minimal amounts of sample. "Infectious disease researchers working to solve the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic are in need of automated, next-generation sequencing technology that is able to deliver results in real-time in order to combat the virus," said Dr. Carl Morrison, senior vice president of Scientific Development and Integrative Medicine at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, who will be employing the Genexus System as part of a new precision-medicine research effort, the Western New York Immunogenomic COVID-19 Study. "As we continue to support our customers by providing millions of COVID-19 tests each week, Thermo Fisher is increasing its efforts even further to accelerate the next phase of SARS-CoV-2 research with our next generation sequencing technology," said Peter Silvester, senior vice president and president of Life Sciences Solutions at Thermo Fisher Scientific. "The Genexus System is the only platform with the speed, ease of use and automation designed to help new-to-NGS and experienced researchers across multiple sites collaborate and quickly deliver critical data for today's unprecedented research needs. The GlobalAccess Sequencing Program leverages our heritage of supporting infectious disease outbreaks and makes our newest platform more accessible to those who are working together around the world to help answer the important questions associated with the pandemic." To learn more about the SARS-CoV-2 GlobalAccess Sequencing Program, contact [email protected]. *For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures. About Thermo Fisher Scientific Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue exceeding $25 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, improving patient diagnostics and therapies or increasing productivity in their laboratories, we are here to support them. Our global team of more than 75,000 colleagues delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services and Patheon. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com. Media Contacts Mauricio Minotta Director, Public Relations +1 760 929 2456 [email protected] Jen Heady Greenough Brand Storytellers +1 617 275 6547 [email protected] SOURCE Thermo Fisher Scientific Related Links http://www.thermofisher.com Now get access to Budget 2021 documents on your smartphone, how to download? Registration for Covid-19 vaccine to be done through CO-WIN portal only, No app for beneficiaries yet: Govt Come celebrate talent with us: An opportunity for Lucknowites to be the face of Josh Studios Bulli Bai app case: Masterminds intention was to get publicity, make own identity, says police Get Aarogya Setu from Google, Apple App Store: Pak collecting data via fake links India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, May 07: The Commissionerate of Police, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack issued a cyber security alert and told people to download the Aarogya Setu application only from the Google Play Store and Apple App store. The alert was issued because some people were receiving SMS or WhatsApp messages containing a link to download the Aarogya Setu App. "Please do not click on the link to download Aarogya Setu App," the police cautioned on its twitter handle. Dial 1921 to access Aarogya Setu if you have a landline or no smart phone If you receive such links, delete it, the police advised. But if you've already downloaded the app from such a link, it would be better to do a factory reset of your phone to protect it. "These links are malicious and leading to download of an App called ChatMe on the screen, which is being used by Pakistan-based groups to take away data," the Commissionerate of Police said. Commissioner of Police Sudhansu Sarangi said the police issued the cyber security alert based on inputs from intelligence agencies. Gorgeous. The views of the entrepreneur on the terrace of the Royal Yacht Club sweeps the basin over the port. The towers of the banks, glitter in the sun. Not a single cloud in the sky, the waiter gives you. Hong Kong is just the most beautiful place in the world. Hendrik Ankenbrand business correspondent for China, based in Shanghai. F. A. Z. Only the Clattering of a helicopter of the people's liberation army to interfere. Every ten minutes the rotor blades in circles through the air. The machine land a few hundred meters to the West, where Carrie Lam's office, head of government of the special administrative zone in China's South. "The new masters from Beijing," says the entrepreneur, when he is again to be understood. the Gestures of The Makes are new. Hong Kong, found until recently, American think tanks, is the freest place in the world. Here are the judges according to the Constitution, regardless. The press may write what you want. The capital, important for the business people in the Club, may be pushed beyond the island's borders - and, as it is popular. In mainland China, not everything goes. And that the squad from the helicopter view later in the Club a Drink, is also rather unlikely. In Hong Kong's Clubs, the mood is tense at the end of may came from China's capital, not a sound is to Hong Kong, but an earthquake. All of a sudden, had been in Beijing that the actually Autonomous city need two thousand kilometers to the South, a national security law. Now shall soon draw for the first Time in the history of Hong Kong agents of the Chinese state security on the island, and citizens arrest. In Hong Kong Clubs is tense and the mood. Members that invite in the Yacht-Club, ask your guests not to much black to put on: the color of the protest movement, which has held the city until the outbreak of the Coronavirus eight months, with mass demonstrations and street battles in breath. Only the anarchists, protested China's leadership, are the goals of the new law. Those with ideas about independence to do so. As a visitor with the lettering "Free Hong Kong" on the T-Shirt showed up, there were in the Yacht Club, is a scandal. The dress code is now in Beijing, of cadres, do not know the people in the Hong Kong Clubs and not to know: The admission fee for the most exclusive circles of the city is unknown, the inclusion is only by invitation. Members may recall that this had been given to a mainland Chinese. Updated Date: 20 June 2020, 22:19 San Antonio police arrested 42-year-old Damion Terrell Blue Campbell on Wednesday night in connection to an incident that left one person dead and another wounded at a Northwest Side barbershop earlier in the day. Campbell was charged with murder. At around 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday, officers were called to the Diesel Barbershop in the Bandera Oaks shopping plaza for a cutting in progress. When police arrived, they found 20-year-old Evan Sorrell Ford Oregan, also known as Helle, an employee of the barbershop, laying near the back door of the business suffering from multiple stab wounds. Oregan died at the scene. READ ALSO: Police searching for man in connection with stabbing and shooting at Northwest Side shopping center A second employee, 30-year-old Gabrielle Harrell, ran to a nearby Pei Wei restaurant suffering from multiple stab wounds and was taken to the hospital. A third employee escaped unharmed. "This senseless act of violence has shaken us to the core and is affecting us all in ways we could have never imagined," a post on the barbershop's facebook account read. "Even as I type this, I still cannot believe it. It's a nightmare of the most epic proportions." In the post, the ownership described the victims as wonderful, kindhearted and loyal. The barbershop was set to open all of its locations Friday but has postponed the openings until next Friday. The employees were taking appointments preparing for Friday when the incident occurred. After speaking outside, witnesses said Oregan and Campbell walked into the shop together to schedule an apparent appointment, according to the arrest affidavit. Campbell told the employees he forgot his payment and left the shop to retrieve it, but returned armed with a knife and a gun and ordered the employees to the back of the business, the affidavit said. FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox Campbell then choked Oregan until she passed out, according to the affidavit. One of the employees was able to escape, but surveillance footage showed Campbell stabbing Harrell and Oregan multiple times before fleeing from the business, the affidavit continued. Police said robbery didn't appear to be the motive. The barbershop ownership said "attempts were made to give the man whatever he wanted...cash, equipment, or whatever it took to get him out of the shop. The man made it clear he wasn't there for money." Police said Campbell was eventually apprehended at around 4:30 p.m.Wednesday. They did not say where he was captured. Campbell's bail was set at $150,000. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 07:00:14|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People are seen at a park after the earthquake, in Tehran, Iran, on May 8, 2020. At least one person was killed in the 5.1-magnitude earthquake that hit Damavand town, 69 km to the east of Iran's capital Tehran, at 00:48 local time Friday (2018 GMT Thursday). (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua) TEHRAN, May 8 (Xinhua) -- At least one person was killed in the 5.1-magnitude earthquake that hit Damavand town, 69 km to the east of Iran's capital Tehran, at 00:48 local time Friday (2018 GMT Thursday). The spokesman of Iran's Emergency Organization was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying that a 60-year-old man was killed by the quake. At the same time, 11 others, including five from the Gilavand town and six in the eastern part of Tehran, were injured while they were trying to flee in panic, the report said. The epicenter of the earthquake, at the depth of 7 km, was 35.777 degrees north latitude and 52.045 degrees east longitude, according to Iran's Seismological Center. So far, eight aftershocks, ranging from 2.5 to 3.9 magnitude, have jolted the region, the center said. The tremor caused alarm among some residents in Tehran, who rushed out of their houses in panic. Some families were spending the night inside their cars outdoors. The swarm of cars on the streets resulted in heavy traffic in the populated areas of the capital. Also, long queues were seen in front of the gas stations in the western part of Tehran. In the early hours of the incident, the speed of internet in Tehran dropped due to an increase in the use of social networks. The quake was felt in the provinces of Alborz, Qom, Qazvin and Mazandaran in the neighbourhood of Tehran, Iran's Red Crescent Society was quoted by official IRNA news agency as saying. Five assessment teams of the country's emergency organization as well as the rescue operators have been dispatched to the quake-hit regions, Tasnim reported. Saeed Taheri, chief of Red Crescent Society of Damavand town, advised local residents to leave their houses and find a safe shelter, said the report. Thieves have stolen 80,000 of protective facemasks intended for frontline NHS and care home workers in a 166,00 warehouse raid. Greater Manchester Police said they are hunting for the perpetrators, in what they described as a 'particularly sickening crime' given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The three vile burglars - two men and potentially one woman - were dressed in dark clothing when they broke into the site in Salford, Greater Manchester, between 9.30pm and 11.30pm last night. They spent two hours loading the PPE which was due to be given to NHS workers and carers into three separate vehicles, a white Mercedes Sprinter van, a grey Volkswagen caddy van and a silver estate car. Pictured: A box of the type of masks stolen in the burglary intended for health professionals fighting the coronavirus pandemic The damage caused by thieves at the industrial site in Salford, Greater Manchester, last night, after they broke the fixed shutter DI Chris Mannion, from GMP Salford, said: 'It is striking how deliberate, calculated and targeted this incident was. 'The offenders were at the scene for around two hours, and no other items other than the PPE were stolen. 'This is a particularly sickening crime when you consider that the PPE was intended for the NHS and for care home workers, and at a time when we are trying to protect the NHS and one another against one common enemy Covid-19. 'To know there are individuals out there who are prepared to steal the equipment that keeps the frontline workers and the vulnerable safe is quite frankly shocking. Boxes and other medical supplies were left strewn over the floor after the thieves made away with vital medical equipment needed for NHS staff and care workers The thieves stole eight similar sized pallets of masks in the raid and packed them into three vehicles Members of staff at assess the fixed shutter after the break in on Wednesday. Police are hunting the thieves who stole the life-saving protective equipment 'I am determined that we catch these perpetrators as soon as possible. 'I appeal to anyone with information, no matter how small, to do the right thing and contact the police.' The PPE was due to be supplied to Yorkshire Council and Morgan Taylor, a Preston company which supplies to the NHS and care homes. There is no clear CCTV of the incident and no indication the crime is linked to the previous theft of PPE from a healthcare facility in Salford. (Natural News) Americans who have recovered from the coronavirus (COVID-19) now outnumber those who died from the disease. As of reporting time, Johns Hopkins Universitys (JHU) running tally reports that over 153,000 Americans have recovered from the deadly outbreak, while around 63,000 have died. This is seen as a promising sign for America, which reports five-figure numbers when it comes to new cases per day five times as much as China officially reported during its peak. Based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), a patient must have no fever without the help of medication for 72 hours to be considered recovered. This is in addition to showing improvement with their respiratory health and having two negative tests for the coronavirus taken at least 24 hours apart. More people are now recovering While deaths from the coronavirus in the U.S. continue to increase exponentially, the number of people recovering from it is now rising at a faster rate. Last week, the country had close to 109,000 recoveries and 55,000 deaths. This means that recoveries from the virus are 1.16 times higher than the previous week, while deaths are 1.11 times higher. The true figure for recoveries, however, may be much higher. Thousands of patients have tested positive for antibodies but were never tested from the virus itself. This means that more people have gotten infected, and then eventually recovered from the coronavirus than official counts say. People are recovering from this, absolutely, Dr. Casey Kelley, a clinical instructor at Feinberg School of Medicine, told U.S. News & World Report early April. They absolutely are, and most people will. We just dont have the data because we dont have the manpower to monitor that right now, Kelley said. Testing issues are keeping recovery numbers from being even higher According to Kelley, because the U.S. has struggled to buy and produce enough testing kits, the priority in testing has been on catching new cases, not following up on possible recovered ones. The focus has been on getting resources to help the people who are really sick and really need it not on repeating testing and making sure people are getting better, said Kelley. On top of this, she said that many people who showed symptoms of COVID-19 werent been able to access tests; these people were never counted and are now recovering at home. Kelley identified potential false positive and negative tests as another issue. Back in February, the CDC sent out a batch of testing kits that later proved to be faulty. Meanwhile, some institutions that have sourced their own test kits from China have also found issues with them. (Related: Israels Health Ministry bans the use of Chinese coronavirus test kits.) When Kelley made these statements last month, newer and faster tests were just beginning to roll out in the country. She said that the U.S. would get a better picture of its infections and recoveries once more tests rolled out. As we get more data, were going to have a better idea of whats happening, Kelley stated. The U.S. leads the world in recovered cases The new figures come following reports that the number of confirmed recoveries worldwide has reached 1 million. This means that roughly one-third of all diagnosed coronavirus patients have recovered from COVID-19. The figures also show that, while the U.S. still leads the world in the number of positive coronavirus cases, it now also leads it in total recoveries. Among other hard-hit countries, Spain and Germany are also showing large numbers of recoveries at around 112,000 and 123,000 respectively. The lower number of cases in these countries means that both have a higher percentage of recoveries than the United States. Coronavirus patients in Italy and France are also slowly recovering; both countries are reporting around 75,000 and 50,000 recoveries, respectively. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, is still struggling to deal with the disease, with the JHU tally reporting that less than 900 Britons have recovered. The U.K. currently has over 170,000 cases of the coronavirus. Sources include: DailyMail.co.uk Coronavirus.JHU.edu USNews.com Please register or log in to keep reading. No credit card required! Stay logged in to skip the surveys. Customers of Virgin Money rounded on the bank after it suspended their credit cards, despite many of them not struggling with their repayments and clearing their balances in full. Borrowers have shared emails recently received from Britain's sixth-largest bank telling them any 'further spending on their card' had been stopped after 'looking at their overall financial position' and their Experian credit report. Around 32,000 customers, around 1.6 per cent of its customers, have had their credit cards blocked, according to The Telegraph. Customers of Virgin Money received emails saying their credit cards had been suspended Yet two longstanding customers of the bank complained to This is Money that they had either paid their balance off in full every month or paid substantially more than the minimum payment each month. One even said her finances were in the best position they'd been in in the two years she had been a cardholder. In response the bank told us it reviewed accounts regularly, that it was a small number of affected cardholders, and anyone impacted could request their account be reopened. The City regulator the Financial Conduct Authority told This is Money it was discussing the situation with Virgin Money 'to understand how they are supporting the customers concerned.' One expert said Virgin's decision seemed 'to go against everything the FCA is trying to do to help consumers during these challenging times.' Some borrowers speculated the accounts were blocked due to the bank being worried about people being unable to repay their debts in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, with it announcing on Thursday it was setting aside an extra 164million to cover virus-related defaults. But despite receiving an email from the bank saying it had blocked spending on their credit card 'to make sure you're borrowing a sustainable amount', some of those affected had impeccable records. Dr Rachael Bond, an academic at the University of Sussex, had taken out a 20-month interest-free deal around three years ago with Virgin Money after getting into debt self-funding her PhD and covering care costs for 90-year-old mother, who has dementia. But despite getting the card when she was 'going through a tight patch', she told This is Money she never missed a payment or went over her credit limit and always paid at least twice the minimum payment amount each month. Dr Rachael Bond, a research fellow at the University of Sussex, had her Virgin Money credit card cancelled just a few days after she had finished paying it off Ironically, she received the email from Virgin Money just a few days after she had paid the last 450 off her card and is actually 6 in credit. She said: 'The really stupid thing is that my financial position, and presumably credit rating, is now far better than when I was given the card.' She added: 'All I can assume is that they're suspending accounts without notice where they can in order to limit their exposure to the inevitable post-coronavirus economic collapse.' An example of the emails sent out to Virgin Money customers. It told them the bank had looked at their overall financial position, despite one recipient being in a better financial state than at any point she had previously held the card Meanwhile Carl Hunter, a foster carer from Manchester, had his Virgin Atlantic Reward card suspended despite having never missed a payment and always clearing his balance in full in the nearly two years he has had the card. He said: 'I am a foster carer and we get children at the very last minute and I use my credit card to buy things like beds and cots; and spend everything on my credit card to protect me from online shopping and fraud. The really stupid thing is that my financial position, and presumably credit rating, is now far better than when I was given the card. Virgin Money customer Dr Rachael Bond 'I always clear the balance in full but some months I have paid way over the statement balance because my balance changes daily, as I use it for everything.' The email he received on Tuesday also said: 'Please keep making your minimum payment, at least, each month. If you don't, your account may end up in arrears. 'There's no need to change the way you currently pay, you can find out about the different ways to pay on the back of your statement.' Several other longstanding customers of the bank complained about what had happened to them on social media platform Twitter. One said: 'I've been a customer for almost five years and have just received an email saying my card is suspended after a review. I've never missed a payment and I pay way more than the minimum payment.' Another tweeted: 'If suspending a longstanding account with good credit history with all on time payments double the minimum at least since 2016 is your idea of customer service then I choose to not be a customer any longer.' Virgin Money, the UK's sixth-largest bank, said 40,000 of its credit card and personal loan borrowers were on three-month payment holidays The bank revealed today that around 2 per cent of its more than 2million credit card customers and 6 per cent of its loan borrowers were on three-month payment holidays, with around 40,000 unsecured borrowers freezing their payments in total. It also revealed around 12,000 of its credit card customers were three months behind on their payments before the pandemic hit. The regulator the Financial Conduct Authority has told banks they should not cancel the credit cards of customers in persistent debt, who have paid more in interest and fees than paid off their balance over 18 months, should not have their cards cancelled until at least October. Andrew Hagger, founder of personal finance site Moneycomms, said he thought the Financial Conduct Authority would look into the situation with Virgin Money It has also required banks to offer struggling borrowers a three-month payment holiday but does not appear to have set any guidelines on banks cancelling creditworthy borrowers' cards. An FCA spokesman said: 'Credit card providers routinely manage risks and affordability. However, we have been clear that we expect firms to provide strong support and service to customers, particularly during the current pandemic, whilst bearing in mind customers' individual circumstances. 'We will be discussing this with Virgin to understand how they are supporting the customers concerned.' Andrew Hagger, founder of personal finance site Moneycomms, said: 'The timing couldn't be worse - I'm sure the regulator will be taking a close look at this situation as it seems to go against everything the FCA is trying to do to help consumers during these challenging times. 'This card freezing exercise will hurt Virgin Money cardholders at a critical time when they need some financial breathing space and forbearance.' A Virgin Money spokesman said: 'As a responsible lender we do need to review accounts regularly, in line with other credit card providers. 'If there are any changes to a customer's account, we will write to them to let them know in advance, and customers can request for accounts to be reopened if needed which will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and fast tracked if required. 'We would encourage anyone with concerns to get in touch so we can help them as quickly as possible.' Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Associated Press/Mel Evans The Supreme Court has unanimously reversed the convictions of two New Jersey officials in the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal, known as "Bridgegate." The scandal centers around the efforts of two top officials linked to then New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to shut down a number of lanes on the George Washington Bridge reserved for morning commuters from Fort Lee, New Jersey, after the town's mayor refused to support Christie's reelection bid. Bridget Anne Kelly, then Christie's deputy chief of staff, and William Baroni, then the Port Authority Deputy Executive Director, were both convicted on several counts of conspiracy and fraud. The Supreme Court acknowledged that Kelly, Baroni, and another Port Authority official shut down the bridge lanes as political retaliation and devised a "cover story" to shield their actions. However, the high court ruled that "because the scheme here did not aim to obtain money or property, Baroni and Kelly could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws." Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The Supreme Court has unanimously overturned the convictions of two New Jersey officials involved in the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal, or "Bridgegate." The scandal centers around the efforts of two top aides to then New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to shut down a number of lanes on the George Washington Bridge reserved for morning commuters from Fort Lee, New Jersey. The aides Christie's deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, and the Port Authority officials William Baroni and David Wildstein shut down the lanes after Fort Lee's mayor refused to back Christie's reelection campaign that year. Wildstein pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy against civil rights after the US attorney's office for the District of New Jersey began investigating the matter in 2015. Prosecutors later returned an indictment charging Baroni and Kelly with multiple counts of conspiracy and wire fraud. Both aides were convicted on all counts after the trial concluded in November 2016. Story continues The Supreme Court acknowledged in its unanimous opinion that Kelly, Baroni, and Wildstein shut down the bridge lanes as political retaliation against Fort Lee's mayor and devised a "cover story" to shield their actions. However, the high court ruled that "because the scheme here did not aim to obtain money or property, Baroni and Kelly could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws." The court said that under federal law, New Jersey prosecutors had to prove the two aides were guilty of wire fraud by proving they "engaged in deception" and that "an object of their fraud was money or property." Prosecutors argued Baroni and Kelly's actions met those stipulations because they "sought to commandeer part of the Bridge itself by taking control of its physical lanes" and because the defendants "aimed to deprive the Port Authority of the costs of compensating the traffic engineers and back-up toll collectors." However, the Supreme Court ruled that neither of those arguments hold merit because Baroni and Kelly's actions were an "exercise of regulartory power a reallocation of the lanes between different groups of drivers." "The evidence the jury heard no doubt shows wrongdoingdeception, corruption, abuse of power," Associate Justice Elena Kagan wrote in delivering the unanimous opinion of the court. "But the federal fraud statutes at issue do not criminalize all such conduct." "The realignment of the toll lanes was an exercise of regulatory powersomething this Court has already held fails to meet the statutes' property requirement," Kagan wrote. "And the employees' labor was just the incidental cost of that regulation, rather than itself an object of the officials' scheme. We therefore reverse the convictions." The Supreme Court agreed to take up the Bridgegate case in the 2019 term, and while many of the justices questioned Baroni and Kelly's motivations during oral arguments, they also doubted their actions met the threshold for criminal convictions. In January, Chief Justice John Roberts argued that Baroni was authorized to regulate lane usage on the bridge. And Justice Stephen Breyer argued that Baroni's actions did not stop the public from using the bridge altogether. "It was just a problem getting there which was quite a problem, I grant you," Breyer said. Read the original article on Business Insider New Delhi, May 7 : Leading lawyer and Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Thursday rejected speculation that he is leaving the party, through a series of cryptic tweets. As his party colleague and Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, in tweet, said: "These sources of information are aimed at spreading canards intended to tarnish reputations. We reject them with the contempt they deserve," Singhvi retweeted it. On his part, Singhvi tweeted photos, reading: "Gossip is devils radio and don't be his DJ" and "For all of you who gossip about me Thanks for making me the center of your world." He also tweeted some Urdu couplets, including by Nida Fazli. In last two days, social media was full of speculation that a noted lawyer has been approached by the BJP and is switching over to it. According to the theories being floated, the BJP wanted him to for fire fighting as he is main legal mind of the opposition from the Congress to the Trinamool Congress, while the BJP has lost Arun Jaitley and has not found anybody of his calibre. Singhvi has the confidence of party's interim chief, Sonia Gandhi and has been fighting legal cases for the party from Uttarakhand to Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. When IANS contacted him for his reaction on the specualtions, Singhvi only said: "See my tweets." A new school curriculum in New Zealand that tells students how to tackle climate change deniers and advises them to eat less dairy and meat has upset its farming community, which makes up the backbone of the countrys economy. Farmers say they feel targeted by the new course, adding to frustrations over a centre-left coalition government push for them to reduce carbon emissions and clean up waterways, part of a plan for the country to be carbon neutral by 2050. Launched in January and aimed at secondary school students in a country that celebrates its 100% pure image, the course is based on material from leading science agencies and explains the impact of climate change and how students can contribute. It points to intensive agriculture as one cause of greenhouse gases and includes advice to eat less dairy and meat, have meatless days each week, eat more fruit and vegetables, drive less, recycle and buy second hand when possible. However, some farmers say the message is unfair. If they are going to continue to bite the hand that feeds them, and farming feeds New Zealand, then they are going to lose out in the long term, said dairy farmer Malcolm Lumsden from the countrys northern Waikato region. Agricultural goods make up more than 60% of New Zealands exports, with demand for its grass-fed dairy and meat products soaring in the past decade, especially from China. Tim van de Molen, a parliamentarian with the opposition National Party, said he has no problem with climate change being taught in schools, but the issue goes beyond farming. What we are seeing currently around proposals where people should be looking to have Meatless Mondays or that dairy farming is terrible for the climate, those sorts of things are very opinionated and dont have a clear scientific basis, he said. Its clear that farming has an impact on the climate so does everything, and so thats where we need to be very clear. However, Green party member Lourdes Vano said she believed climate change represented a gap in the education system, and including it in the curriculum could also help reduce climate anxiety. The course is not compulsory and the education ministry has asked schools to consult with parents and the community before including it. The resource has been well received by schools, said Pauline Cleaver, Associate Deputy Secretary Early Learning Student Achievement at the Education Ministry, although she did not give figures on how many had taken up the programme. The coalition government, which faces an election in September, has defended the new curriculum as important for children growing up worried about how climate change will affect their lives. They see the simple fact that every year they have been alive has been one of the hottest on record and they expect us to act, Climate Change Minister James Shaw said after its launch. International tourism to Ireland is not expected to resume at scale until September, The Independent has learnt. The chief executive of Tourism Ireland, Niall Gibbons, said that the Irish governments road map for lifting coronavirus restrictions gives us a pathway to the restoration of tourism. But he said that it would take until the autumn before we see the recovery story happening for tourism in Ireland this year. The government in Dublin plans a restart of domestic tourism in the republic on 20 July, with the reopening of campsites, hostels and hotels though not hotel bars. Travel to Irelands offshore islands will not be permitted for tourism until 10 August. But the road map gives no indication of when visitors from Britain and other countries will be allowed to arrive as tourists. At present arrivals from overseas, including Irish residents, are instructed to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival. They must provide the address of where they will self-isolate for the following two weeks, with spot checks by phone to verify compliance. Mr Gibbons told The Independent: Safety is paramount and in that context the 14-day quarantine will be continuously evaluated. The biggest disappointment would be if we had a recurrence, a reinfection during the recovery period. That would be a big blow to confidence. So I think its a very measured road map: it really gives people the confidence that were rebuilding slowly but surely and getting tourism back. Between July and August well see a restoration of local, regional and some national business, and perhaps the start of some international services. I think Great Britain will probably be the quickest to return for us. As soon as the road map was published, businesses started seeing an increase in bookings for the latter part of 2020 and into 2021, which is very encouraging. Last year the island of Ireland received 11.2 million overseas visitors, generating revenue of 5.8bn (5.1bn) representing 750 for everyone in the Republic and Northern Ireland. People of the Mud: A fresh look at Ireland's ancient traditions Show all 12 1 /12 People of the Mud: A fresh look at Ireland's ancient traditions People of the Mud: A fresh look at Ireland's ancient traditions All photos by Luis Alberto Rodriguez 2020/Loose Joints People of the Mud: A fresh look at Ireland's ancient traditions Luis Alberto Rodriguez 2020 courtesy Loose Joints People of the Mud: A fresh look at Ireland's ancient traditions Luis Alberto Rodriguez 2020 courtesy Loose Joints People of the Mud: A fresh look at Ireland's ancient traditions Luis Alberto Rodriguez 2020 courtesy Loose Joints People of the Mud: A fresh look at Ireland's ancient traditions Luis Alberto Rodriguez 2020 courtesy Loose Joints People of the Mud: A fresh look at Ireland's ancient traditions Luis Alberto Rodriguez 2020 courtesy Loose Joints People of the Mud: A fresh look at Ireland's ancient traditions Luis Alberto Rodriguez 2020 courtesy Loose Joints People of the Mud: A fresh look at Ireland's ancient traditions Luis Alberto Rodriguez 2020 courtesy Loose Joints People of the Mud: A fresh look at Ireland's ancient traditions Luis Alberto Rodriguez 2020 courtesy Loose Joints People of the Mud: A fresh look at Ireland's ancient traditions Luis Alberto Rodriguez 2020 courtesy Loose Joints People of the Mud: A fresh look at Ireland's ancient traditions Luis Alberto Rodriguez 2020 courtesy Loose Joints People of the Mud: A fresh look at Ireland's ancient traditions Luis Alberto Rodriguez 2020 courtesy Loose Joints The operator of Bewleys Cafe in Dublin, at the heart of the tourism trail in the Irish capital, has announced it will not reopen the historic location on Grafton Street due to heavy losses. Even though cafes should be allowed to open in Ireland from 29 June, the restrictions on numbers make its future financially unviable. At present citizens of the republic can return from Northern Ireland without going into two weeks of self-isolation. Flights are continuing between key Irish cities and the UK on Ryanair and Aer Lingus, but only for essential journeys. It is conceivable that, for a time in the summer, there could be a tourism border in the Irish Sea, with holidaymakers able to travel freely in the island of Ireland but tourists from Great Britain still excluded. A total of 354 Indian nationals, including 11 pregnant women and a pair of twins, will return home on Thursday in the first two flights from the UAE to Kerala as India begins its biggest ever repatriation exercise to bring back its citizens stranded abroad amidst the international travel lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday, the Indian government announced plans to begin a phased repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad from May 7. The government also said that Air India will operate 64 flights from May 7 to May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals stranded abroad amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown. Short-listing the first passengers from among a database of more than 200,000 applicants, who include around 6,500 pregnant women, has been a mammoth task which posed several challenges for the missions, Neeraj Agrawal, Consul, Press, Information and Culture at the Indian Consulate in Dubai told the Gulf As many as 354 of them from the UAE will fly back to India in the first two flights to Kerala on Thursday, the report said. An Air India Express flight, which is scheduled to take off from Abu Dhabi to Kochi at 4.15 pm is the first flight, which will be followed by a Dubai-Kozhikode flight of the same airline at 5.10pm, it said. India is conducting its biggest ever repatriation exercise named Vande Bharat Missionsans social distancing and COVID-19 tests to bring back stranded Indians from abroad. The Indian missions in the UAE finalised the list of passengers, who were chosen based on the compelling reasons they submitted while registering their names. "Only passengers with confirmed tickets must proceed to the airport. They are required to reach the airport five hours prior to departure," Agrawal said. The Indian Consulate has appealed to passengers not to overcrowd the airport, maintain social distancing and follow all necessary precautions stipulated by the authorities, he was quoted as saying by the report. "We are trying to accommodate as many deserving people as possible. We expect the understanding of the people. It has been very difficult to sort out everyone's urgency," he said. Though we want to give priority to pregnant women, it is practically not possible and not good for the health and safety of the applicants to allot a lot of them on the same flight. He said 11 pregnant women have been issued tickets on the Dubai-Kozhikode flight, the report added. He said the government is trying to add more flights to un-chartered destinations and a new flight from Dubai to Kannur has been added on May 12. An elderly couple is on the list who was in Dubai to visit their son when the lockdown in India led to cancellation of flights and they could not leave from the UAE. "We are really lucky to have made it to the list. It was our wish to be in Kerala for Ramzan and also celebrate Eid with family back home. We have no words to thank the UAE and India government," Khader, 65, told the Khaleej Times. "CGI Dubai wishes them a safe flight...@ indiandiplomacy@meaindia Elderly Indian couple from UAE on repatriation flight happy to spend Ramadan in Kerala," Consulate General of India, Dubai tweeted. Indian identical twins Jackson and Benson Andrews are also among the ones who received an e-mail from the Consulate General of India in Dubai on Tuesday to fly back home. "CGI Dubai is very pleased to assist twin brothers in their safe reparuation back home today. @MEAIndia @IndianDiplomacy @MOS_MEA @PMOIndia Indian twins, stuck at Dubai airport for 50 days, set to fly home," the consulate tweeted. "We received the letter from the consulate on Tuesday. A copy of our flight tickets have been sent to us as well," Jackson told Khaleej Times. Jaimson Pappachan, an expat for 27 years and his wife and child will be on the first flight from Abu Dhabi to Kochi, the Khaleej Times reported. "I received a call from the Indian Embassy on Tuesday and booked our tickets at the Air India Express office on Wednesday. Now, I am busy moving our stuff through cargo, Pappachan said. Thejjass Jyothilal has spent just eight months in Abu Dhabi when his company winded up their project. "I am placed on unpaid leave. There is no point continuing here like this as I don't know for how long this will continue. So, I am leaving but will return as my visa is valid, Jyothilal was quoted as saying by the report. Air India Express which will operate the first two flights to Kerala on Thursday will operate its Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with a seating capacity of 186 economy class seats. With nine seats reserved for isolation, only 177 passengers would be flown. Air India crew members on board the repatriation flights will be fully protected with protective gear, including Personal Protective Equipment, to reduce the risk of contracting coronavirus, Khaleej Times reported. The Indian expatriate community of approximately 3.42 million is reportedly the largest ethnic community in the UAE constituting roughly about 30 per cent of the country's population, according to information available on the Indian Embassy website. India imposed a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the country, grounding all international flights since mid-March. Under the repatriation plan, the government will be facilitating the return of Indian nationals stranded abroad on compelling grounds in a phased manner. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) NORTH BENTON, Ohio Village Varieties 4-H club held an online Zoom meeting April 28 at 7 p.m. The meeting, attended by over 20 members, was run by President Alexis Pierce. Due to COVID-19, a few recent meetings have been canceled. More online meetings are being planned. Dates and links can be found in club members emails and on the Village Varieties Facebook page. There will be a drive through at the North Benton Church for project books. May 19 and May 28, both at 6-8 p.m., are the planned virtual quality assurance makeups. 4-Hers must show their faces and sign in on the Zoom meeting. Horse Symposium was canceled, so all planning on taking a horse to the fair must complete the equistep safety training course. Village Varieties has the 9 a.m. time frame for drive through tagging May 16. 4-Hers will be given tags in a bag for swine, lambs and market goats that they must tag themselves. Market projects must have photos submitted by June 1. Forms can be found on mcjrfair.com. Those who meet in August for pictures will still do so. June 1 is also when market animals get tagged, and is the last day for horse project change. All fair paperwork and entry sheets can be found on Facebook and mcjrfair page. At the meeting, Remington Jones gave a devotion. Lance Myers gave a health report on staying hydrated. Austin Pierce and Emmy McCracken gave safety reports on cattle blocking your path and hiking safety. Steven McCracken, Gemma Kerns and Alexis Pierce gave demonstrations on how to make a heating pad, how to tack a horse in a cross tie and how to tie a slipknot on a cow halter. CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio Grannys Kids 4-H club has been having meetings over Zoom. Although the club cant meet in-person due to COVID-19, club members are still seeing each other virtually and showing off their animals to each other over the app. In the clubs most recent meeting, members discussed project books, ordering poultry, market goat tagging, king and queen applications and quality assurance. The next meeting, which will also be virtual, will be May 24. LOUDONVILLE, Ohio The Loudonville Boys and Girls 4-H club had a virtual meeting through zoom on April 26. President Cadin Spreng called the meeting to order. Advisers Kendra Carnegie and Kelly Hahn gave information about upcoming dates for various animal projects are due. Some 4-H activities are on hold at this time. Kathy Blackford, Ashland County Extension officer, was also part of the meeting. She informed the 4-Hers that there are 20 stay-at-home projects that can be downloaded. The members discussed their group project, My Hands for Larger Service. The next meeting is May 13. Delta College is moving ahead with summer plans to complete about $1 million in improvements on its main campus. The colleges board of trustees, during its recent monthly meeting held virtually via Zoom, awarded contracts to Wobig Construction and C&I Building Maintenance to serve as general contractors for two separate projects, one a welding lab renovation and the other roof restoration work. Saginaw-based Wobig Construction will receive $608,134 to upgrade the colleges welding lab and C&I Building Maintenance will receive $358,000 to complete rehabilitation work on the health professions (F-wing) roof. Both companies were low bidders. Wobig has done a great job for Delta College on several projects, said Nick Bovid, the schools facilities management director. While the low bid was the main factor (in the selection process), the positive working relationship is a bonus. Safety considerations and cost-savings to be realized with an upgraded welding lab helped spur Delta to take action. Our welding faculty first came to us with some suggestions to improve safety in the lab, Bovid said. While the lab was not a safety hazard, it makes sense to mitigate as many risks as we realistically can. A system changeover will eliminate the need to have large cylinders of oxygen and acetylene carted around the lab on carts to student work stations. The desire is to move these outside and pipe them to each station, Bovid said. Additionally, we are adding six acetylene welding stations and four grinding stations. A separate room will be enclosed for the grinding stations to cut down on the amount of grinding dust in the general area. He added: The exhaust air from the welding and grinding stations will be filtered and returned to the room, saving an estimated $10,000 a year on heating and cooling costs. Construction was slated to begin on July 6 and be completed in August. This timeline had been in question due to Gov. Gretchen Whitmers Stay Home Executive Order, but looks more promising now that she has begun reopening portions of Michigans economy. Real estate, construction and other low risk industries, suspended since March 23 due to the coronavirus outbreak, has been re-opened, effective Thursday, May 7. Last fall, the college had all roofing on it main campus inspected with an infrared drone. This revealed that about 20% of the roofs insulation was wet, resulting in leaks and increased heating and cooling costs. The college replaced the wet insulation and now plans to restore the roof, hopefully this summer. The restoration process was selected instead of total roof replacement because its anticipated Delta will save time and money going this route, he said. This is also a green option which will divert a large amount of materials from the landfill. The process is considered eco-friendly because it uses the existing base roofing system and adds a level of waterproofing above it, Bovid explained. We figure Delta saved $50,000 to $80,000 going this route, he said. Is AmerisourceBergen Corporation (NYSE:ABC) a good dividend stock? How can we tell? Dividend paying companies with growing earnings can be highly rewarding in the long term. Yet sometimes, investors buy a stock for its dividend and lose money because the share price falls by more than they earned in dividend payments. While AmerisourceBergen's 2.0% dividend yield is not the highest, we think its lengthy payment history is quite interesting. The company also returned around 2.9% of its market capitalisation to shareholders in the form of stock buybacks over the past year. Some simple analysis can reduce the risk of holding AmerisourceBergen for its dividend, and we'll focus on the most important aspects below. Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis NYSE:ABC Historical Dividend Yield May 7th 2020 Payout ratios Companies (usually) pay dividends out of their earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, the dividend might have to be cut. So we need to form a view on if a company's dividend is sustainable, relative to its net profit after tax. In the last year, AmerisourceBergen paid out 51% of its profit as dividends. This is a healthy payout ratio, and while it does limit the amount of earnings that can be reinvested in the business, there is also some room to lift the payout ratio over time. In addition to comparing dividends against profits, we should inspect whether the company generated enough cash to pay its dividend. AmerisourceBergen's cash payout ratio last year was 20%, which is quite low and suggests that the dividend was thoroughly covered by cash flow. It's positive to see that AmerisourceBergen's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut. We update our data on AmerisourceBergen every 24 hours, so you can always get our latest analysis of its financial health, here. Story continues 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. AmerisourceBergen has been paying dividends for a long time, but for the purpose of this analysis, we only examine the past 10 years of payments. During this period the dividend has been stable, which could imply the business could have relatively consistent earnings power. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was US$0.24 in 2010, compared to US$1.68 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 21% a year over that time. Dividends have been growing pretty quickly, and even more impressively, they haven't experienced any notable falls during this period. Dividend Growth Potential While dividend payments have been relatively reliable, it would also be nice if earnings per share (EPS) were growing, as this is essential to maintaining the dividend's purchasing power over the long term. It's good to see AmerisourceBergen has been growing its earnings per share at 20% a year over the past five years. With recent, rapid earnings per share growth and a payout ratio of 51%, this business looks like an interesting prospect if earnings are reinvested effectively. Conclusion To summarise, shareholders should always check that AmerisourceBergen'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 think AmerisourceBergen has an acceptable payout ratio and its dividend is well covered by cashflow. That said, we were glad to see it growing earnings and paying a fairly consistent dividend. Overall we think AmerisourceBergen scores well on our analysis. It's not quite perfect, but we'd definitely be keen to take a closer look. It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. As an example, we've identified 3 warning signs for AmerisourceBergen that you should be aware of before investing. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our curated list of dividend stocks with a yield 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. Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday wrote a letter to the Union minister Piyush Goyal on the Vizag gas leak in which 11 people have died. Wrote to Minister of Commerce and Industry Sri @PiyushGoyal Ji on various issues pertaining to the #VizagGasLeak including bringing in specialists from India & abroad to deliver expert medical care to residents of #Visakhapatnam, Naidu said on Twitter, pasting copies of the letter. Wrote to Minister of Commerce and Industry Sri @PiyushGoyal Ji on various issues pertaining to the #VizagGasLeak including bringing in specialists from India & abroad to deliver expert medical care to residents of #Visakhapatnam pic.twitter.com/M6FGPH08Vl N Chandrababu Naidu #StayHomeSaveLives (@ncbn) May 7, 2020 He also demanded necessary equipment to estimate the exact size of the area affected by the gas leak. He also demanded evacuation of all the animals in the area and deployment of veterinary doctors. He also demanded closure of LG Chemicals from where the harmful gas leaked and a thorough enquiry into the incident. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced an ex- gratia payment of Rs one crore each to the kin of those killed in the styrene gas leak incident. The chief minister announced a committee to probe into the mishap and also said the government would talk to the LG Polymers management seeking job for the kin of the deceased in any of its businesses. Of the two styrene tanks in the plant, the leak occurred from one that was holding about 1,800 kilo litres of the chemical, reports news agency PTI. LG Chem, meanwhile, said that the gas leak is now under control. The company also said that it is cooperating with Indian authorities to help residents and employees. South Korean ambassador Shin Bong-kil on Thursday expressed shock and sorrow at the gas leak incident, describing it as a highly unfortunate. I am shocked and saddened by the news of the accident that occurred at the LG Polymers plant in Venkatapuram, Andhra Pradesh, that caused loss of valuable lives with many falling ill, Shin said in a statement. Emergency services rushed more than 300 people to hospital and evacuated hundreds more from areas near the chemical plant, police officials said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 20:32:30|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Xinhua writer Jiang Li BEIJING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Niccolo Machiavelli might have never anticipated that his booklet on politics The Prince would become a handbook for politicians who resonate with the doctrine of deception and ruthlessness in political maneuvering over the centuries following his death. Today, machiavellianism has some new loyal inheritors in Washington who have been practicing the political theory to the extremes in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. One of Machiavelli's key lessons is, "He who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived." It turns out that some Washington politicians are truly good students of that teaching. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, policy-makers in the White House have been doing everything they can to manipulate public opinion in their own country and that of the world. At first, they didn't bother to take the repeated early warnings coming from its own intelligent officers and experts, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Beijing seriously, called the raging pandemic a "hoax," and misinformed the public that the virus was a "flu" that would disappear miraculously. When the pandemic started to grow rampant in the United States, they began to pretend as if they knew nothing about the pathogen, and blamed China, the WHO, the previous U.S. administration, the so-called deep state in America, and whoever else they could think of, except themselves. Machiavelli also taught that "the end justifies the means." Those selfish and egoistic Washington power hunters appear to be true believers of that creed. In a bid to ensure an election victory in November, the current U.S. administration cares more about ballots than body counts. They are sidelining the role of scientists and common sense in decision-making, ready to silence or sack people like Rick Bright, a leading U.S. vaccine scientist, who dissented against the powerful, and attempting to reopen the country against the advice of professional opinion. They match literally every part of Machiavelli's "successful ruler" description by being "brutal, calculating and, when necessary, utterly immoral." The third Machiavellian doctrine this White House seems to have drawn inspiration from is "The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present." It is widely known that the United States helped build the post-war world order underpinned by multilateral institutions such as the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund. Today, Washington has decided those global governance arrangements it once supported now go against its desire to put "America First," or in other words, put itself well above all others. It has thus begun to practice a withdrawal doctrine. For more than three years, this administration has cut itself loose from a host of international organizations or treaties. Most recently, it announced a suspension of funding for the WHO while accusing it of "severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus." The world today is no longer that divisive I-win-you-lose place when the Italian thinker wrote his booklet, but rather a densely connected community where the wellbeing of one country depends on the wellbeing of others. The fact that the United States is now the world's epicenter in the pandemic should serve as a wake-up call for some Washington politicians that zero-sum, calculative and self-serving Machiavellian teachings are part of the problem, not the solution, in coping with this unprecedented global public health crisis. As the world's sole superpower, it should stop acting as the disruptor-in-chief in this global pandemic fight. Abusing its power in such a Machiavellian manner will only allow the plague to wreak more havoc and claim more lives. That is too high a price for both the United States and the rest of the world to pay. Enditem RICHARD Boyd Barrett has criticised what he branded an "obnoxious video" featuring developer Johnny Ronan claiming it tells a "tale of two Covids" when it comes to housing. The People Before Profit TD made the comments in the Dail, where he was warned by the Ceann Comhairle that it's out of order to name people who aren't in the House. It comes after a video was circulated on social media showing Mr Ronan joking about the coronavirus crisis. Mr Ronan has reportedly apologised unreservedly for his remarks in the video which he said in no way represents his views on the virus and its devastating impact. The video was filmed in South Africa in late February. Mr Boyd Barrett said it was a "really obnoxious video about a sort of tale of two Covids in this country when it comes to housing." He said Mr Ronan is "a Celtic Tiger property developer" and claimed he has his "name plastered over development sites all over the city making an absolute fortune while people are suffering from homelessness." Ceann Comhairle Sean O Fearghail warned him: "Youre here long enough to know its out of order to name somebody thats not in the house." Mr Boyd Barrett continued claiming Mr Ronan was "mocking people with Covid and making light of the work of our nurses, enjoying himself in South Africa." He said that as a TD he is dealing with people like a 70-year-old called Brian who should be cocooning and is living in a shed because the "only accommodation hes offered is a hostel in town when he's living in Dun Laoghaire." He said another man, Anthony, is "living in a tent in Stillorgan because he doesn't meet the criteria to get his own door accommodation." Mr Boyd Barrett said there are "people in South Africa making money from the housing crisis mocking the pandemic. "And then there's the people at the sharp end of all of this." He said housing provision should not be about "Celtic Tiger developers and speculators" but about "permanent measures to eliminate the housing crisis". A woman carries an umbrella across the beach in Wildwood, N.J., on July 3. Read more If youre debating whether its safe to go to the New Jersey Shore, you have company. Scientists are also uncertain. The coronavirus emerged in China barely five months ago, too recently to know for sure how it responds to baking sun, ocean breezes, salty swells, and humidity. Nonetheless, there are some clues. The great outdoors Coronavirus infections appear to spread far more easily in closed indoor environments than outdoors. Chinese researchers traced 318 outbreaks of three or more cases and found all were linked to indoor transmission; the only outdoor transmission involved two cases. Japanese researchers found the odds of indoor transmission were about 19 times greater than in the open air. Most buildings are not well ventilated, said Dylan H. Morris, a Princeton University researcher who is studying factors that affect coronavirus transmission. If you happen to be in the same place as a sick person, its better to be outdoors. READ MORE: Can I go to the beach? What you need to know before you even think about heading down the Shore. Summertime, summertime The impact of seasonal heat and humidity is hotly debated and coldly calculated. Will coronavirus infections ebb in the summer like the flu, or will the new virus keep ripping through communities because of our lack of immunity to it? The White House recently touted lab studies done by the Homeland Security Department that found increases in temperature, humidity, and ultraviolet light responsible for summer tans can accelerate the natural decay of virus particles on various surfaces. At a news briefing, a top Homeland Security official said, The virus in droplets of saliva survives best in indoor and dry conditions.... The virus dies quickest in the presence of direct sunlight. Other experts say sultry summer weather may reduce coronavirus activity, but not by much. Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers analyzed the spread of the virus and local weather conditions through March in countries around the world. They speculated that nations with high humidity in the form of monsoons could see a slowdown in transmission, but it is extremely unlikely that the spread would slow down in the USA or Europe. Surfs up Gargling with saltwater may soothe a sore throat, but it wont prevent the coronavirus from entering your lungs, says a myth-busting post by Harvard Universitys School of Public Health. A logical corollary is that accidentally inhaling or slurping a bit of ocean water wont do anything to ward off coronavirus infection. On the other hand, at least one prominent scientist is worried that ocean water may promote coronavirus infection, a scenario for which there is no evidence. Kimberly Prather, an atmospheric chemist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, told the Los Angeles Times the virus could enter coastal waters, just like the germs that are washed from roads and sewers by heavy rain. Then waves could spray coronavirus-laden droplets that swimmers or surfers could inhale. I wouldnt go in the water if you paid me $1 million right now, Prather told the newspaper. Kay D. Bidle, a marine biologist and oceanographer at Rutgers University, told NJ.com that he has suspended his own surfing hobby to play it safe. But he also said scientists dont know how the coronavirus behaves in salt water or how abundant it is in the ocean. We have no idea, he added, whether its making its way into the ocean. READ MORE: Can I go camping in Pennsylvania during the coronavirus? Risks, but also benefits Even at the beach, basic precautions against COVID-19 a face mask and staying at least six feet apart may be required. For some people, that could turn a fun summer pastime into yet another pandemic punishment. One thing is clear: many studies have found that spending time communing with nature has physical and mental benefits. Thats why some experts, including Harvard Universitys Marc Lipsitch, have argued in favor of keeping parks and beaches open. There is still uncertainty, so caution is warranted, said Morris, of Princeton. But for peoples mental health, and to help them handle this tough crisis, its important that they continue to have sources of joy in their lives. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-06 23:50:15|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JUBA, May 6 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan Ministry of Health on Wednesday confirmed 16 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections to 74. Richard Lako, director-general for planning, budget and research in the ministry of health, told reporters in Juba that the public health laboratory tested 188 samples in the last 24 hours. "The public health laboratory on Wednesday released 188 test results, out of which 16 cases tested positive while 35 are to be rerun and 137 test returned negative," Lako said. He revealed that the confirmed cases are South Sudanese citizens who have been approved to travel to states from Juba, noting that some of them are contacts of the previous 58 confirmed cases. The official said a full-contact tracing operation is underway and called on all the contacts to cooperate with the country's rapid response teams. "The public is urged to strictly observe the rules of social distancing and other public health measures declared by the High-Level Taskforce. Report any suspected case to the nearest health facility or call the country's toll-free number 6666," he said. South Sudan has so far recorded two recoveries and no death from the deadly respiratory disease amid concern over the increasing number of cases this week. The east African nation has closed all learning institutions, imposed a night curfew and introduced movement and transport restrictions as part of measures to contain the spread of the respiratory disease. Enditem TANZANIA, Tanzania - The United Nations called on governments, companies and billionaires Thursday to contribute to a $6.7 billion fund for immediate needs in fighting the coronavirus pandemic in vulnerable countries, warning that a failure to help could lead to a hunger pandemic, famine, riots and more conflict. U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock said that COVID-19 has now affected every country and almost every person on the planet. He said the U.N.s initial $2 billion appeal unveiled March 25 was being increased because there is already evidence of incomes plummeting and jobs disappearing, food supplies falling and prices soaring, and children missing vaccinations and meals. He added that the peak of the pandemic isnt expected to hit the worlds poorest countries for three to six months. Lowcock said in a video briefing launching the new appeal that the poorest countries face a double whammy the health impact of COVID-19 and the impact of the global recession and the domestic measures taken to contain the virus. We must be prepared for a rise in conflict, hunger, poverty and disease as economies contract, export earnings, remittances and tourism disappear, and health systems are put under strain, he warned. Lockdowns and economic recession may mean a hunger pandemic ahead for millions. The executive director of the World Food Program, David Beasley, said there are two keys to averting the possibility of 265 million people being on the brink of famine by the end of the year: providing money and keeping supply chains running smoothly. The U.N. appeals to wealthy nations for funding all the time, he said, but the pandemic is a one-time phenomena, a catastrophe were hitting, so its not unreasonable to ask the wealthiest people and the wealthiest companies to give. I dont mean just a few million. Im talking about hundreds of millions of dollars, billions, Beasley said. He also urged action to address the breakdown of supply chains globally. Nations must ensure that we dont have export-import bans, restrictions at borders, shutdown of ports, shutdown of distribution points, he said, saying that some countries have already imposed export bans that are having ripple effects on food supplies. As an example, Beasley said that if young people in urban areas in Africa lose their jobs as a result of the economic impact of the pandemic, they dont have bank accounts to fall back on. And if they dont have food, youre going to have protests, riots, unrest and destabilization. Its going to cost the world a hundredfold more to react after the fact, he warned. He said that if the world doesnt respond with sufficient funding, it will be catastrophic. Were facing famine of biblical proportions, he said. We can avert famine if we act and we act now. The U.N.s initial $2 billion appeal has so far raised $1 billion, including a lot from Europe Germany, Britain, the European Commission with contributions also from Japan, Persian Gulf countries, Canada and others, Lowcock said. The updated appeal adds nine vulnerable countries to the 54 nations covered in the initial appeal Benin, Djibouti, Liberia, Mozambique, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Togo and Zimbabwe. Lowcock said more countries are being monitored for possible addition to the list. The $6.7 billion will fund the U.N.s humanitarian response plan to help the worlds most vulnerable people deal with the pandemic now and in the coming months. Lowcock said the amount will be updated before the end of June because the pandemic has created a very fast-moving situation, and will likely be revised upward again to meet needs in 2020. Lowcock also urged international financial institutions and governments to help fragile countries deal with the pandemic and reiterated that $90 billion could provide income support, food and a health response to COVID-19 for 700 million of the worlds most vulnerable people. Thats just 1% of the $8 trillion stimulus package that the worlds 20 richest countries put in place to save the global economy, he said. Lowcock has said probably two-thirds of the $90 billion could come from international financial institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and one-third from a one-time 20% increase in government development assistance. Wealthy countries will need to make significant one-off increases in their foreign aid commitments, he said Thursday. And international financial institutions will need to change lending agreements with vulnerable countries. U.N. refugee chief Filippo Grandi said in the briefing that there has not been a major outbreak of COVID-19 in refugee camps, but warned that they have an extraordinary vulnerability that needs prevention efforts. Dr. Mike Ryan, who heads the World Health Organizations emergencies operation, said that people in such camps cant maintain physical distance and they have underlying vulnerabilities with no access to personal hygiene, safe water, sanitation, food and welfare. That is the tinder in which this epidemic may explode, he said. Businessman Louis DeJoy, a top donor to President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee, has been picked to be the new head of the U.S. Postal Service. DeJoy, a native of Brooklyn, New York, is a North Carolina-based businessman who formerly ran New Breed Corp., a private logistics and distribution company in Greensboro. He replaces Postmaster General Megan Brennan, who was appointed in 2015 when Barack Obama was president and was the first woman to hold the position. DeJoy's appointment was made on Wednesday by the Postal Service's Board of Governors. DeJoy is a large contributor to the president and other Republicans. Since January, he has donated over $360,000 to the president's re-election campaign and about $70,000 to the Republican National Committee, according to campaign finance data from the Federal Elections Commission. Image: Louis DeJoy (Scott Kinser / Cal Sport Media via AP file) He is the husband of Aldona Wos, the former U.S. ambassador to Estonia, who is vice chairwoman of the president's White House Fellows program. Trump has long railed against the Postal Service, particularly claiming the agency has been swindled by e-commerce giants that use the post office to send out millions of packages, such as Amazon. Late last month, Trump blasted the Postal Service as "a joke" and vowed to block financial aid for the struggling agency unless it raised prices for packages "four times or five times." Trump has called for the post office to hit Amazon and other tech companies with much higher prices for packages to make up for its budget woes. The president has also signaled that he won't support giving the agency billions of dollars in loans as the administration tries to protect the economy with aid packages during the coronavirus pandemic. "They don't want to raise it, because they don't want to insult Amazon," Trump said at the time. "If they don't raise the price, I'm not signing anything." Story continues House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters last month that Trump is looking to privatize the agency, which she called a "very big danger" for the country, especially in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak. Trump, however, later tweeted: "I will never let our Post Office fail." The appointment has already drawn criticism from some lawmakers. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., chairman of the Oversight subcommittee on government operations, which oversees the agency, said in a phone interview Wednesday that the nomination raises eyebrows. "I have no idea is he is just going to take his marching orders from a hostile Donald Trump and an acolyte [Treasury Secretary] Steve Mnuchin, or is he going to embrace a broader responsibility as the new Postmaster General?" said Connolly, adding that he finds the move "anything but reassuring." "It is somewhat alarming," he said. However, in a 2004 interview, DeJoy told the Greensboro, North Carolina, News & Record that Trump was not his vision of executive leadership. "I'd be fired," he said, referring to Trump's hit NBC reality show at the time, "The Apprentice." "That attitude that you are the most important person is self-destructive." CORRECTION (May 7, 2020, 6:23 a.m. ET): An earlier version of this article misstated how the appointment of the new U.S. postmaster general was made. It was by the Postal Service's Board of Governors, not by President Donald Trump. CORRECTION (May 7, 2020, 9:54 a.m. ET): An earlier version of this article misstated how former Postmaster General Megan Brennan was appointed in 2015. She was named by the postal services board of governors, not by President Barack Obama. Brya Shatonia Bishop, 24, (pictured in mugshot) has been charged by Michigan authorities on Thursday A fourth person has been charged Thursday in the fatal shooting of a Family Dollar security guard who refused to let a customer inside a store without a face mask during the coronavirus outbreak. Brya Shatonia Bishop, 24, has been charged with tampering with evidence, lying to police and being an accessory to a felony after the fact. Brya's alleged crimes occurred after the death of Calvin Munerlyn, 43, who was shot dead last Friday in Flint, Michigan, prosecutor David Leyton said. 'Brya Bishops' attempts to shield family members will not be tolerated and we will likewise hold anyone else involved in offering shelter and assistance to Larry Teague or Ramonyea Bishop accountable under the law,' Leyton said. Three people have been charged with murder for the fatal shooting of Family Dollar security guard Calvin Munerlyn, 43, (above). He was killed on Friday in Flint, Michigan following an argument over a customer failing to wear a face mask in accordance with state lockdown orders She was in jail awaiting a Friday court appearance. The identity of her lawyer wasn't immediately known. If convicted, Brya could face a nearly 20-year prison sentence. Lying to a police officer is a four-year felony, accessory after the fact is a five-year felony and tampering evidence is a 10-year felony. Alleged gunman Ramonyea Bishop and Larry Teague are still at large. Brya and Ramonyea are siblings. Sharmel Teague, her husband Larry, 44, and her son Ramonyea Bishop, 23, have also been charged with first-degree premeditated murder and gun charges. Federal marshals have offered a $5,000 reward for the capture of Larry Teague and Ramonyea Bishop. The horrifying incident happened last Friday at a Flint-area Family Dollar store around 1.40pm. Munerlyn had told Sharmel she had to leave the store because her daughter lacked a mask, leading Teague to argue with the security guard. A short while later two men later entered the store. Larry Teague yelled at Munerlyn about disrespecting his wife and Bishop shot Munerlyn in the back of the head, according to Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton. While Sharmel has been arrested, Larry Teague, 44, (left) and Ramonyea Bishop, 23, (right) are still at large Sharmel Teague (above), her husband Larry Teague, 44, and her son Ramonyea Bishop, 23, have been charged with first-degree premeditated murder and gun charges in Munerlyn's death. Sharmel got into an argument with Munerlyn after he denied her daughter entry into the store because she did not have a face mask on Larry Teague faces additional charges of violating Gov. Gretchen Whitmers executive order mandating all customers and employees wear face coverings inside retail stores. The premeditated murder charge in Michigan carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole if they are convicted. No information has been released about the daughter who was not wearing a face mask. 'From all indications, Mr. Munerlyn was simply doing his job in upholding the Governor's Executive Order related to the COVID-19 pandemic for the safety of store employees and customers,' Leyton said in a statement Monday. 'It is important that the governors order be respected and adhered to, and for someone to lose their life over it is beyond comprehension,' he added. The shooting took place at the Family Dollar located in downtown Flint, Michigan on Friday Munerlyn was left laying in the doorway suffering a gunshot wound to the head. He was taken to Hurley Medical Center, where he later succumbed to his wounds. He was a doting father and beloved member of the community, known to his loved ones by his childhood nickname, 'Duper.' He is survived by his wife of 10 years and their six children. Munerlyn's eldest son also works at the same Family Dollar store but was not present when his father was killed. After opening fire on the security guard, the suspects fled toward high-rise apartment buildings located behind the store. On Sunday, about 150 relatives and friends gathered outside the Family Dollar on Fifth Avenue for an emotional candlelight vigil honoring Munerlyn. Munerlyn was a doting father-of-six and beloved member of the community, known to his loved ones by his childhood nickname, 'Duper' Munerlyn leaves behind his wife of 10 years, Latryna Sims-Munerlyn (left and right), and their six children Munerlyns mother, Bernadett, said she wants justice for her son. 'They didnt have to take my baby and it wasnt that serious,' she said. 'All you people just have to do is listen to the law, listen to the governor. Just stay home. If you dont have to come out, then you wouldnt need a mask unless youre out getting groceries or necessities. All my baby was doing was his job working and doing his job.' 'It is incredibly sad that in this crisis that this life was lost. We are mindful of how important it is that people keep a level head, that we do the right things protecting ourselves and protecting others,' Gov. Whitmer told reporters Monday. On Sunday, about 150 relatives and friends gathered outside the Family Dollar on Fifth Avenue for an emotional candlelight vigil honoring Munerlyn Pete Tedford, a cousin of Calvin Munerlyn, and Dorothy Nelson, the victim's sister, hold each other closely outside a Family Dollar store on Sunday Family and friends lift their candles to the sky and release balloons to honor Munerlyn, who was allegedly killed after barring a customer from entering the store without a mask Maalik Mitchell, center left, sheds tears as he says goodbye to his father, Calvin Munerlyn, during a candlelight vigil on Sunday Candles are left lit next to a wall of the Family Dollar store on Fifth Avenue, where Munerlyn had worked as a security guard for a little more than one year His wife, Latryna Sims-Munerlyn, told MLive.com that she first learned of the shooting when her son called her on Friday afternoon, telling her to get to the discount store. 'I just instantly thought my baby was gone,' she said during the vigil. Munerlyn was hired at the store a little over a year ago after working security in Michigan for decades. He was described by loved ones as a loving husband and father who enjoyed spending time with his family. Munerlyn was also known for helping those in need, including at-risk teenagers in the community. A family member has launched a GoFundMe campaign seeking donations to help with Munerlyn's funeral expenses. At least 13 people have died and nearly 1,000 have fallen sick after a cloud of toxic gas leaked out of an Indian industrial plant in the small hours of Thursday morning. Distressing images on social media showed people who had collapsed as they tried to flee the gas in the city of Vishakhapatnam, in southern Andhra Pradesh state. The leak took place at a plant just outside of the city operated by LG Polymers, owned by South Koreas largest petrochemicals firm LG Chem. A company spokesperson said the plant was gearing up to reopen for the first time since 24 March, when India went into a nationwide lockdown to stem the spread of coronavirus. Police said up to 400 people had been taken to hospital and around 1,500 evacuated, mostly from villages immediately adjacent to the plant. Those affected by the gas have described suffering burning eyes and breathing difficulties. The gas leaked after a fire broke out on the premises, which was discovered by a night shift maintenance worker and has since been extinguished. Other workers are believed to have been inside the plant when the leak began, but it is unclear what happened to them at this stage. LG said the source of the leak, which began at 3am local time, had been contained but the citys municipal corporation said anyone living within a 3km radius of the plant was vulnerable. An eyewitness who was not named told a local TV station there was a total panic as a mist-like gas enveloped the area. People felt breathless in their homes and tried to run away. Darkness added to the confusion. Of those who were killed, one died after falling into a well trying to flee the gas, while another jumped from a second-floor window in a bid to escape. The youngest dead was reported to be an eight-year-old girl. People are being told to cover their faces and evacuate the area. Srijana Gummala, the local municipal commissioner, said water is being sprayed in the area to minimise the impact of the gas. Through public address system, the people are being asked to use wet masks, he said. Local administrator Vinay Chand said the substance that leaked was believed to be the synthetic chemical styrene, a gas that is usually kept refrigerated. We are trying to understand the long-term impact of the chemical on those who have inhaled it during the leak, Rajendra Reddy, a senior official in the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board, told the BBCs local Telugu language service. Yashwanth Saikumar Ambati, 23, who lives about 300 metres from the plant, said he woke up around 4.30am because of a strong smell. I went back to sleep and I woke up around 6 because the smell got stronger. My eyes were itchy, and I was feeling drowsy, light-headed and slightly breathless, he told the Reuters news agency. Others in his neighbourhood also complained of eye irritation, while some said they had a stomach ache. He then called a friend living a few kilometres away and quickly moved there. One local revenue official said she was called at 4am by a police officer who sounded alarmed, and told her to come to a spot near the facility immediately. When B V Rani arrived at the scene she saw that people had collapsed unconscious in the village adjoining the 60-acre site of the plant. I personally helped more than 15 people get to an ambulance who had tried to run away from the village but dropped down within a few metres, she said. News of gas leaks brings back awful memories for many in India, where the worlds worst industrial accident the Bhopal gas tragedy took place in December 1984. That incident, a leak at a pesticide plant in the central city that also occurred in the middle of the night, killed at least 3,780 people and is still reported to have chemical impacts on children born to this day. President Donald Trump has said the coronavirus outbreak has hit the US harder than the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor during World War II or the 9/11 terror attacks, pointing the finger at China. Since emerging in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December, the coronavirus has infected 1.2 million Americans and killed more than 73,000. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday, President Trump said: "We went through the worst attack we've ever had on our country, this is worst attack we've ever had. "This is worse than Pearl Harbour, this is worse than the World Trade Center. There's never been an attack like this," he said during a meeting with the nurses, who are on the frontline of the battle against the COVID-19. "And it should have never happened. Could've been stopped at the source. Could've been stopped in China. It should've been stopped right at the source. And it wasn't." The Trump administration is currently weighing punitive actions against China over its early handling of the global health emergency. Washington is also pressing Beijing to allow American experts to probe the origin of the deadly virus, including if it escaped from a virology laboratory in Wuhan. China has stoutly denied the allegations and ays the US wants to distract from its own response to the pandemic ahead of the November presidential election in which Trump is seeking re-election. In Beijing, China on Thursday accused the US of trying to shift blame over the coronavirus, "We urge the US side to stop shifting the blame to China and turn to facts," said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a press briefing. Asked to comment on Trump's comparison between the Pearl Harbour attack and the 9/11 with the coronavirus pandemic, Hua said: "They might say the pandemic is comparable to Pearl Harbor or 9/11, but the enemy facing the US is the novel coronavirus". She said the US should "fight side-by-side" with China instead of as "enemies". Hua noted that a number of countries, experts and scientists have all made positive comments on China's prevention and control of the coronavirus. "But the US alone has made some very disharmonious, untruthful and insincere remarks," she added. A total of 2,977 people besides hijackers were killed in the September 11, 2001, attacks. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbour and America officially entered World War II, more than 2,400 casualties had occurred as a result of the attack. Due to the preventive social-mitigation measures and complete shutting down of states and businesses, more than three crore people in the US have applied for unemployment benefits. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have projected that the American economy will enter into recession and according to the White House, the country is likely to experience a minus 15-20 per cent growth in the second quarter of the current financial year. The number of daily deaths and fresh cases of infections have shown signs of decline and as a result, a large number of states have started opening up their economy. Trump said the White House Task Force on Coronavirus has done a great job in containing the deadly disease. "We will be leaving the task force indefinitely. We will see. You know at a certain point it will end. Things end, but we will be adding some people to the task force," he said. "I thought we could wind it down sooner. But I had no idea how popular the task force is until actually yesterday, when I started talking about winding it down....," the president added. Trump said he would like to see schools open, wherever possible. The president also lauded nurses for their "valiant sacrifices". Sophia Thomas, president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, who works in New Orleans, was somewhat off message when Trump got most of his guests to nod in agreement that hospitals now have plenty of masks, gowns etc. "Certainly there are pockets of areas where Personal Protection Equipment is not ideal, but this is an unprecedented time and the infection control measures that we learned back when we went to school -- one gown, one mask for one patient a day or for a time -- this is a different time. I have been reusing my N95 mask for a few weeks now. I just broke out a new one to come here, in case I needed to wear it," Thomas said. The president put a particular spotlight on Luke Adams, a nurse who has volunteered to work in New York City. "The men and women in this room today are true American heroes. Luke Adams is a nurse of 11 years. He lives in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania -- good place. When he heard the call of volunteers in New York, Luke drove to the epicentre of the outbreak and slept in his car for nine days, so he could help care for the sick," Trump said. "A lot of us have been forced away from our partners, turned away from our children. We have slept on concrete floors or in cars. And we did these things not for our own benefit or safety," Adams said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mike Pompeo. Leah Millis/Reuters Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US was prepared to "use every tool" to try and bring back what appears to be two Americans detained by the Venezuelan regime after an alleged failed coup. "There was no US government direct involvement in this operation," Pompeo said to reporters on Wednesday. "If we'd have been involved, it would have gone differently." Jordan Goudreau, a former Green Beret and the founder of the Florida-based security consulting firm, claimed he deployed two US ex-special forces soldiers to take part in the mission to Venezuela, according to The Associated Press. "By no means am I saying that 60 guys can come in and topple a regime," Goudreau reportedly said. "I'm saying 60 guys can go in and inspire the military and police to flip and join in the liberation of their country, which deep down is what they want." Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US was prepared to "use every tool" to try and bring back what appears to be two Americans detained by the Venezuelan regime after an alleged failed coup. "There was no US government direct involvement in this operation," Pompeo said to reporters on Wednesday. "If we'd have been involved, it would have gone differently." Pompeo's remarks come as Venezuelan reports claimed two US "mercenaries" were taken into custody on Monday. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro alleged that the two Americans, Luke Denman and Aaron Berry, both former US Army special forces soldiers, and dozens of rebels took part in a daring beach raid to capture him. Jordan Goudreau, a former Green Beret and the founder of the Florida-based security consulting firm Silvercorp USA, claimed he deployed Denman and Berry to take part in the mission to Venezuela, according to The Associated Press. Goudreau said he was hired by the US-backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has denied involvement in the raid. Story continues "You've got to introduce a catalyst," Goudreau said to the Associated Press on Monday. "By no means am I saying that 60 guys can come in and topple a regime. I'm saying 60 guys can go in and inspire the military and police to flip and join in the liberation of their country, which deep down is what they want." Pompeo declined to provide additional information on who provided funding for the operation, but added the US would attempt to "get every American back." Since the arrests, Maduro has showed off the belongings of the detainees, including what appeared to be US military identification cards and passports. Venezuelan media outlets released video footage of the purported Americans answering terse questions about their military background and mission. "We're going to work on this," Pompeo said. "It's a consular matter in the sense of any time there are Americans that are detained some place, we'll work to get them back. We will start the process of trying to figure a way, if in fact these are Americans that are there, that we can figure out a path forward." Pompeo also warned Maduro of stiff consequences if the leader continued to detain any Americans. "We want to get every American back," he said. "If the Maduro regime decides to hold them, we'll use every tool that we have available to try and get them back. It's our responsibility to do so." US officials, including President Donald Trump, widely denied involvement in the operation. Read the original article on Business Insider - The bird left Kenya on April 29 and landed in China on May 4 - The bird's movement was traced through the global location sensor (GLS) data - GLS data showed the bird is currently on its way to Russia via Mongolia An adventurous bird from Kenya has defied all lockdowns and movement cessation orders to fly all the way to China, which is considered by many as the origin of coronavirus. The bird, nicknamed Onon for its adventurous spirit amid pandemic, left Kenya on April 29, crossing the Arabian Sea, the India subcontinent, the Himalayas and finally landed in China on May 4. READ ALSO: Wakazi wa Eastleigh waandamana kufuatia kufungwa kwa mtaa huo Onon is an adventurous Kenyan bird taht flew over 8,000kms to China in five days. Photo: Birding Beijing Source: Twitter READ ALSO: 5-month-old daughter of Mombasa widow who boiled stones is dead In a Twitter post by Birding Beijing, a Chinese birding website, the bird was traced through the global location sensor (GLS) data, and it showed the bird was already on its way to Russia via Mongolia. "Onon has made it! He has completed his crossing of the Arabian Sea to India and, for good measure, flown another 600km inland to Madhya Pradesh! That's 5000km since the last signal from Kenya on 29 April," said Birding Beijing. Migratory birds are fitted with small tracking devices called geolocators. When the bird is recaptured, the data is downloaded and used to reconstruct the birds migratory path. Google map data from the GLS illustrating Onon's movement. Photo: Birding Beijing Source: UGC READ ALSO: Homa Bay police officer killed by mob when helping man recover wife, children from rival The GLS data showed it was a male bird whose tag was fixed on June 8, 2019, with tag number 161314. The bird's journey excited netizens with some visiting the place where it was found. Notably, it was not the first incident of migratory birds to be reported. In February 2020, another migratory bird called osprey flew about 7,000 kilometres from Finland to Kenya. The rare fish eating-bird was found in Siaya county on Monday, January 20, by a villager who spotted it and reported to the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) team in Siaya. The bird had bruises on the legs but was in good condition despite having lost weight perhaps due to hunger and the long distance it covered. However, it later succumbed to starvation before it could be released to fly back to Finland. 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 New Delhi, May 7 : Days after asking its officials to stop sending coronavirus test samples from the city to the National Institute of Biologicals (NIB) in Noida, the Delhi government has asked the organisation to destroy all the pending samples. Speaking to IANS, an official from the Delhi Health Department on Thursday said all the samples with the NIB, which comes under the Union Ministry of Health, have been destroyed. "The NIB was told to throw away the samples and there are no pending reports there now," the official told IAN. The official added that re-testing is being done for the pending samples. "While re-testing in several cases have been done, only a few are left," the official said. However, the office of the Delhi Health Minister did not comment on this despite repeated attempts. On April 29, owing to 'considerable pendency' for the testing reports in NIB, the Delhi government directed that test samples no longer be sent to it. From April 29, the Delhi government has also stopped sharing the data of pending samples. The daily Health Bulletin of the Delhi government till April 28 was sharing the status of the pending reports. The April 28 report said out of the total 43,370 samples collected, at least 3,295 reports were pending. The April 29 Health Bulletin said a total of 47,225 samples were collected out of which 3,439 samples were positive till date while 39,920 reports were negative. There was no mention of pending reports. The April 30 reports did not mention anything on sample collection from the city. Similar format was followed in May 1 and 2 reports. From May 3, the government started showing the 'cumulative tests done till date', which was 60,246 on May 3. Till May 6 evening, a total 71,934 tests were conducted in the city, the official data said. In the order issued on April 29 about the NIB, the Delhi government said there is a considerable pendency for the testing reports in the NIB, which is hindering the effective containment of the disease. "The samples shall be distributed among the other government and private labs so as to ensure that the results are received within a day of submission of the sample to the respective lab," the order said. In the past one week, Delhi has witnessed a huge jump in the number of cases. While on May 1, the total coronavirus cases in the city were 3,738, as of May 6, the tally jumped to 5,532 -- up by about 1,800. The government has also stopped sharing from where the new cases are coming -- which was prominently mentioned in the Health reports till mid-April when Markaz was the highest contributor in the numbers. I have some good news to share.Last October we started reaching out to the many ICE detention facilities across America, offering them free copies of An Anchor for the Soul in English or Spanish. I'm happy to report that we have received requests from all across the nation. Here's the current report on books sent: 74 boxes of Spanish Anchor = 6512 copies 54 boxes of English Anchor = 5400 copies We've also received requests for Anchors to use in outreach to Coronavirus first responders. We shipped boxes of Anchors to the following churches doing this ministry: Moody Church, Chicago, IL Church at the Gates, Missoula, MT Jackson Memorial Church of God in Christ, Flint, MI Recently we received a request from a church in Kuwait. They have a US contact so we are sending the books to him, and he will ship them on to Kuwait. The pastor in Kuwait added this note: It has been ten years that I am personally blessed your ministry and I am using your materials for our preaching. God bless you more and praying for your ministry to reach out to millions of people unto salvation. Through the internet, God has opened a door to the whole world. And as a result of this pandemic, hearts are open to hear the Good News of Jesus. If you'd like to help cover the costs of this outreach, you can visit our Donate page. Thank you for your love, your prayers, and your support! PS Click here to sign up for the free email sermons. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Sausan Atika (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 7, 2020 18:36 621 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd696b69 1 National waisak,COVID-19,procession,religion,society,Buddhism Free The COVID-19 outbreak has reshaped the communal practice of Buddhism in Indonesia, as with other faiths, as worship moves online to comply with calls by authorities to remain home. Under normal circumstances, Buddhists would have gathered in temples across the country on Thursday to celebrate Waisak, which marks the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha. In the Borobudur and Mendut temples in Central Java, where large services normally take place, thousands of Buddhist monks and laypeople would have lined up at the venue, attracting thousands more visitors. But this year, with COVID-19 measures preventing most gatherings, the temples have gone quiet. The Council of Buddhist Communities (Walubi) has called on Buddhists to worship at home and has prohibited any public Waisak processions at the temples. Instead, the rituals will be accessible via livestream. To accommodate this, the Religious Affairs Ministrys Buddhist Community Guidelines Directorate General has released schedules for Thursdays nationwide processions. For Bekasi, West Java, resident Hasta Arya Marga Yonanda, this year was the first time he had ever not gone to a temple on Waisak. After cleaning his Buddha statues at home and reciting the paritta (Buddhist verses and scriptures), Arya would have normally gone to the temple with his family to participate in the procession. But the 20-year-old university student joined the ritual only by livestream this year. I feel like something is missing because were celebrating Waisak with only a small number of people [at home], he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. Online religious services have been part of the "new normal" for Arya since March, when the government, backed by religious figures, called for the public to worship at home to contain COVID-19 transmission. At first, it was so sad knowing that I couldnt observe rituals and meet friends at the temple. The first puja bhakti [devotion] livestream also felt very different, he said. But as time goes by, I am getting used to it. Jakarta resident Dragono Halim, 33, expressed mixed feelings about the transition to online Waisak rituals due to the outbreak. Dragono missed what he called the Waisak atmosphere of observing the procession with other Buddhists at the temple. On the other hand, we can always connect with [others] through routine meetings where I can listen closely to our teachings with interest, he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. While the 33-year-old private sector employee would have usually headed to the temple for processions and would have visited the elderly or given out donations to the needy, this year he had to follow the procession from home and give donations through community organizations. Despite having gone virtual, Dragono said, the meaning of Waisak remained the same to reflect on oneself as a human being observing the Buddhist way of life. Waisak is basically a personal celebration, but with social aspects, he said. A lot of the events [in addition to the main processions] have been canceled due to social distancing measures, but actually, only the location and method have changed. Buddhism, while it is recognized as one of the countrys six official faiths and has a long history in the archipelago, is practiced by only a small minority of Indonesians. According to 2010 data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), Buddhists make up just 0.72 percent of the entire population, or roughly 1.7 million people. Walubi claims the figure is currently closer to 9.7 million people. While religious activities nationwide have been upended because of COVID-19, Walubi vice chairman Jandi Mukianto said the smaller scale of the celebrations had not reduced the meaning of Waisak. We can still worship at home. [There are] no restrictions, and it can be done with our closest ones, Jandi said. For now, the most important thing is to be able to raise the awareness of each individual so that people will live happily. Editor's note: Buddhist population estimate revised for clarity. Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan is glad his famous dialogue from the dance film ABCD 2 has travelled as far as Israel. The 2015 film inspired the state of Israel and its dialogue feature in a tweet by the countrys official handle. The official Twitter handle of the state of Israel wrote the dialogue on Twitter while responding to a tweet regarding an antidote for coronavirus. Sahi disha me utha har ek kadam apne aap mein ek manzil hai. Aakhir zindagi ka matlab hi agla kadam chunana hai. Every step taken in the right direction... is like achieving the goal in itself... After all life is all about the next step. According to the bio, the handle is maintained by Israels foreign ministry. glad to knw this dialogue has travelled all the way to israel sending love and positivity #Abcd2 https://t.co/5dFr2DgdrQ Varun Dhawan (@Varun_dvn) May 6, 2020 Varun shared the tweet and wrote, Glad to knw this dialogue has travelled all the way to israel sending love and positivity. Also read: Mira Rajput reacts to Boys Locker Room, posts essay on how Indian parents should raise boys: Our lives are in your hands The actor had expressed hopes that the news of an antidote in Israel was true. A journalist had tweeted, #BREAKING: Joint statement by the Israeli Ministery of Defense and the Israel Institute for Biological Research: A significant breakthrough has been achieved in finding an antidote to the Corona virus that attacks the virus and can neutralize it in the sick body. Varun had quoted it and said, Hope this is true. Hope this is true https://t.co/Dh1bkkP8wo Varun Dhawan (@Varun_dvn) May 5, 2020 Varun and Shradda Kapoor featured in ABCD 2 and also got together for the third movie in the franchise - ABCD 3, which released recently. Last seen in ABCD 3, Varun will soon feature in his dad David Dhawans reboot of Govindas 1995 hit film, Coolie No 1. Sara Ali Khan has been paired opposite Varun in the film. About the film, Varun said during a live chat session online, Coolie No 1 was supposed to release a week from now. We all are dealing with this, I do wish the film releases, he said, and stressed that he wants it to release in a theatre, hopefully soon. Follow @htshowbiz for more The Ashanti Region has recorded the youngest coronavirus disease (COVID-19) confirmed patient, as the figures in the region soared by 10 more to 163 in one week. The youngest is a 10-year-old patient whose case has been confirmed, while the oldest patient is 83 years. At the weekly media briefing, the Ashanti Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Emmanuel Tenkorang, said of the number of confirmed cases, 44 per cent were aged between 10 and 29 years, an indication that the belief that the virus thrived more in older people than in the youth was a myth. Ashantis epicentre Giving a breakdown of the cases in the region, Dr Tenkorang said 17 of the 43 districts in the region had so far recorded cases of the disease, with Obuasi assuming the reputation as the epicentre of the COVID-19 in the region, having recorded 47 cases. Of the 163 confirmed cases, 56 per cent are males, with the remaining 44 per cent being females. The youngest case we have had here is 10 years old and the oldest 83 years. Some 37 people have so far recovered and three are currently on admission. The number of contacts that we are actively following as of now is 54, he indicated. He said given the number of districts that had recorded confirmed cases, the GHS had to intensify tracing, testing and isolation to be able to contain the disease. High-risk group As a first measure, he said, there would be mass screening of people considered as the high-risk group people who come into contact with many people in a day, including traders and drivers to be able to do a lot more testing for possible isolation of those who would test positive. He said the service was also to scale-up its routine surveillance to be able to track and deal with all persons who might be carriers of the disease but might not know it. So far, 817 contact tracings had been done, with 763 discharged, he noted. Tests and treatment Dr Tenkorang said having test results in good time remained a challenge in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. To resolve that, he said, arrangements had been made to increase the testing centres to four to complement the efforts of the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR), while one more treatment centre was to be added to the existing two. So far, the KCCR has tested 41,986 samples. It is our plan to decentralise the labs. Apart from the KCCR, we are also working to set up at least two labs, in addition to the KCCR lab. One will be based in our public health reference lab in Kumasi South. We are also talking to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital whether we can use their labs. There are other facilities that we can put in shape, so that the testing goes faster. So far, that has been our major bottleneck as far as our COVID-19 fight is concerned, he said. Media Dr Tenkorang commended the media for displaying a high level of professionalism in the fight against the pandemic. He said as co-frontline workers, the media needed to be given special mention, just as the frontline medical staff, because "you equally risk your lives to get the news to the people". Source: Daily Graphic 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 Some numbers seem engineered for this kind of impact. If youve ever seen Hello, Dolly!, then Id take the bet that you clapped at the end of the title number until your palms turned red whether it was for Bette Midler on Broadway or a community-theater diva in Pocatello, Idaho. The late composer Jerry Herman wrote a song of such guaranteed leading-lady fan worship that it has worked for everyone who puts on the red sequined gown, from the ur-Dolly Levi Carol Channing to Pearl Bailey to Ginger Rogers to Bette Midler to Donna Murphy to Betty Buckley and on and on. (My first Dolly on Broadway, I love to remind my envious friends, was Ethel Merman.) Rajesh Kumar Thakur And Mukesh Ranjan By Express News Service PATNA/RANCHI: The Karnataka governments decision to cancel trains for migrants to return to their home state has evoked sharp reactions in Bihar. The families of the stranded migrants and the opposition lashed out at the B S Yediyurappa government for holding the workers hostage. Three trains were scheduled to leave Karnataka on Wednesday carrying around 3,500 workers to Bihar. The decision to cancel the trains came after the CMs meeting with builders during which they expressed concerns about labour shortage if the migrants went back. The authorities in Bihar appear to have heaved a sigh of relief as the state government has been reluctant to accept the migrants. Pratyay Amrit, principal secretary (disaster management), who is the nodal officer for migrants, said, The workers from Bihar have been convinced by the Karnataka government to stay back and have been reassured about their jobs as construction and other sectors would be started again. The Opposition, however, went hammer and tongs against the move. When Karnataka builders had more than 40 days to serve humanity by helping migrant workers with wages, rents and ration in testing times! They were abandoned & treated as lesser human & burden on exchequer! And now to set the business rolling, they are being stopped to go home! RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav tweeted. Karnataka CM cant dictate migrant workers, rubbishing their human rights and basic empathy! Any move to treat them as bonded labourers or slaves will not be tolerated at all. Tejashwi said in another tweet and asked CM Nitish Kumar to send a stern message to his Karnataka counterpart. The families of the stranded labourers are a worried lot. Madhuri Devi of Vaishali district said her husband was desperate to return. Lallmun Kumar, 56, whose son works in Bengaluru, said, They must not treat the people of Bihar as bonded labourers. Threatened, misguided, say migrants from Kerala A group of 65 migrants from Dumka in Jharkhand, who reached Ranchi from Ernakulum in Kerala in a special train on Wednesday, alleged they were not being allowed to come back by their employers. They said they were misguided that there was no train for Jharkhand. The workers were confined in a building and were not being allowed to go out suspecting they would run away. However, they managed to come out of the facility where they were lodged on Monday and walked for more than 5 km to reach Aluva, where they registered for the journey. The employers threatened us that if we left the premises, we will not be allowed to come back, said Nirmal Tudu. Another group of workers from Hazaribagh who worked for a construction company in Aluva alleged that the helpline numbers of the state government to facilitate migrants return was just an eye-wash as none of them worked. United Nations, May 7 : The UN has appealed for a further $4.7 billion in funding to "protect millions of lives and stem the spread of coronavirus in fragile countries", it was reported on Thursday. It follows the $2 billion requested when the UN launched its global humanitarian response plan in March, of which around half has been received, reports the BBC. UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock said the "most devastating" effects of the coronavirus pandemic would be felt in the world's poorest countries. "Unless we take action now, we should be prepared for a significant rise in conflict, hunger and poverty. The spectre of multiple famines looms," he said, stressing that "extraordinary measures" were needed. Nine more vulnerable countries were added to a list of more than 50, with funds used to buy medical equipment to test and treat the sick, provide hand-washing stations, launch information campaigns and establish humanitarian airlifts to Africa, Asia and Latin America. The UN said that donors, dealing with their own crises, have already pledged more than $900 nillion to help the poorest countries, but it is warning that much more was needed, the BBC reported. In many of the world's most fragile states, the peak of the disease is not expected for another three to six months. The money is expected to cover costs of the humanitarian response plan until December. As of Thursday morning, the global number of COVID-19 cases has increased to 3,753,112, with 263,841 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University. Over 50,000 people in India have now tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). There are two ways to look at this number. At one level, it is alarming for it shows that the disease has truly made its way in, and there is, undeniably, a level of community transmission where those infected are not necessarily people who have either travelled abroad or been in contact with those who have. It also shows that the lockdown may have been able to slow, but has not been able to stop, the spread of the disease. But at another level, the figure needs to be seen in a wider perspective. Given Indias size and population, the fact that there have been over three million cases globally, and the rate of fatalities is low (around 2,000 people have died), the situation could have been a lot worse. But is it getting worse? Despite the stringent lockdown, the past week has brought disturbing news. There has been a surge in cases to be sure, this can also be attributed to higher levels of testing, which is needed to trace the infected. From a doubling rate of 11.5 days on May 3, it has shortened to 10.3 days which means that cases are doubling in quicker time. Each set of 10,000 cases are now increasing at a more rapid pace than the preceding set. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, and Tamil Nadu are particularly affected, and are contributing a substantial share of the cases. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar remain particularly vulnerable because of both the density of population and the fact that migrant workers are now in the process of returning home. Two other states West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh need to be carefully watched too, given reports of undercounting and administrative weaknesses. The good news is that India now has a clear health protocol to deal with the disease even if there is no cure ensure social distancing, test, isolate, treat. The bad news is that India has probably not peaked yet. And with relaxations in the lockdown, and possibly greater opening after May 17, there will be more mobility and human interactions. This, in turn, will increase the number of cases. It is not clear if India has the adequate health infrastructure to deal with this possible surge, despite the time given to gear up by the lockdown. The government must not succumb to the temptation of underplaying the challenge sometimes visible in the regular Press briefings. The situation will get worse before it gets better. Advertisement The Dallas salon owner who refused to close her store during the pandemic walked free from prison Thursday afternoon two days into her sentence, after Texas Governor Greg Abbott amended his executive order and the Texas Supreme Court ordered her release. Shelley Luther, the owner of Salon A La Mode, was sentenced to seven days in jail on Tuesday for refusing to shut down her business in accordance with stay-at-home orders. The move sparked an outcry from senior state officials and anti-lockdown protesters who demanded the mother be freed from custody. Luther walked out of the Lew Sterrett Justice Center in Dallas Thursday afternoon, where she was serving her sentence in isolation and protective custody, to a hero's welcome from crowds of supporters who had gathered demanding her release. Shelley Luther, the owner of Salon A La Mode in Dallas who refused to close her store during the pandemic, walked free from prison Thursday afternoon The salon owner is pictured walking out of jail Thursday two days into her seven-day sentence, after Texas Governor Greg Abbott amended his executive order and the Texas Supreme Court ordered her release Crowds cheered 'Shelley's free!' and clapped as she stepped out of the jail, with many waving banners and holding balloons. The emotional salon owner choked back tears as she thanked the crowds and said she was 'overwhelmed' by their support. Her release came after the Supreme Court waded in to the controversial matter and ordered she be set free. Texas Governor Greg Abbott amended his executive order Thursday morning, removing the possibility for citizens to be imprisoned for violating stay-at-home orders. His amendment applied to sentencing backdated to April 2. The governor had slammed State District Judge Eric Moye's decision to imprison Luther and joined calls for her to be released. Luther addressed supporters and the media outside the Lew Sterrett Justice Center in Dallas Thursday afternoon The emotional salon owner hugged supporters gathered outside the jail where she has been serving her sentence in isolation and protective custody for the last two days She choked back tears as she was given a hero's welcome by crowds of supporters cheering and clapping for her freedom. Luther was sentenced to seven days in jail Tuesday after she reopened her salon on April 24 and repeatedly ignored court orders to close up shop 'Throwing Texans in jail who have had their businesses shut down through no fault of their own is nonsensical, and I will not allow it to happen,' he said in a statement Thursday morning. 'That is why I am modifying my executive orders to ensure confinement is not a punishment for violating an order.' Abbott named the salon owner in the announcement saying his order 'supersedes local orders and if correctly applied should free Shelley Luther.' He also called for the release of two other women - Ana Isabel Castro-Garcia and Brenda Stephanie Mata - who were arrested in Laredo accused of providing cosmetic treatments inside their homes. 'As some county judges advocate for releasing hardened criminals from jail to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it is absurd to have these business owners take their place,' he said. Abbott was one of a number of senior state officials who condemned the judge's decision to imprison Luther Tuesday. Protesters gathered outside the Lew Sterrett Justice Center in downtown Dallas Thursday where Luther was being held Supporters held up banners calling for her release and condemning the judge who put her behind bars The salon owner's imprisonment sparked an outcry from senior state officials and anti-lockdown protesters who demanded the mother be freed from custody Supporters gathered outside the Justice Center to welcome Luther on her release. Luther also gained support from several senior state officials who condemned the judge's decision to imprison her Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton penned a scathing letter to Judge Moye Wednesday, stating he had 'abused his authority' by putting Luther in jail and demanding her 'immediate release.' Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick also offered his support, saying he would cover the salon owner's fines. Luther gained support from the 'Open Texas' activists behind the anti-lockdown protests, with protesters pictured gathering outside the Dallas Municipal Court building Wednesday calling for her release. A GoFundMe page set up by one organizer has since raised more than $500,000. An emotional Luther hugged people in the crowds after her release Thursday. Texas Governor Abbott amended his executive order Thursday morning, removing the possibility for citizens to be imprisoned for violating the state's stay-at-home orders and calling for Luther's release An emotional Luther hugs a man in the crowd after her release Thursday. Luther was given a hero's welcome from crowds of supporters who had gathered demanding her release Paxton praised the Supreme Court's intervention mandating her release Thursday. 'The Texas Supreme Court correctly addressed Ms. Luther's excessive punishment and unnecessary jailing,' he said. 'No Texan should face imprisonment for peacefully resisting an order that temporarily closed a lawful business and drastically limited their ability to provide for their family through no fault of their own.' Moye sentenced Luther Tuesday to seven days behind bars and handed her a fine of $7,000 - $500 for each day she opened her business's doors - after she repeatedly defied stay-at-home restrictions and court orders to shutter her business amid the pandemic. Moye said he found her in criminal and civil contempt of court and told the stylist she owed local leaders an apology. Luther appearing in court Tuesday. The Texas Supreme Court ordered her release Thursday - just two days after she was jailed Luther pictured in court Tuesday. Dallas County Judge Eric Moye found Luther in criminal and civil contempt of court on Tuesday and sentenced her to a week in jail for refusing to close her store during the coronavirus pandemic Shelley Luther pictured in her mug Tuesday He gave her the opportunity to admit fault and offered to commute her sentence if she apologized for 'being seflish', but Luther refused to admit she did anything wrong. 'I have to disagree with you, sir, when you say that I am selfish because feeding my kids is not selfish. I have hair stylists that are going hungry because they'd rather feed their kids. So sir, if you think the law is more important than kids being fed, then please go ahead with your decision. But I'm not going to shut the salon,' she said before the judge. 'The defiance of the court's order was open, flagrant and intentional,' Moye wrote in his decision. 'The defendants, although having been given an opportunity to do so, have expressed no contrition, remorse or regret for their contemptuous action.' Abbott started phase one of Texas reopenings last week, which did not include the reopening of salons - but Luther reopened her business on April 24 anyway. She received multiple citations for opening her business against the state orders. On April 24 she received a cease and desist letter from Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. The following day at an Open Texas rally to reopen businesses in Frisco, Texas, she was seen ripping the letter into pieces before a cheering crowd. She then received a court-issued temporary restraining order on April 28 mandating she close her business. Luther pictured holding her citation and speaking to the media after she was cited by City of Dallas officials for reopening her Salon A la Mode in Dallas on April 24 Luther pictured being issued a citation by Dallas City officials on April 24 A man carrying a rifle and Texas flag stands with salon owner Shelley Luther, left, and others in front of her salon on April 24 Luther continued to defy the court orders and shared a Facebook Live video last week saying she intended to remain fully open and that it was her right to. 'I'm still here, I'm standing for your rights and Salon A La Mode is open for business,' she said. Luther argued that her business needs to be open because her hairstylists need to work to provide for their families. She also said her salon is a safe and clean environment that doesn't pose a threat in spreading COVID-19. Luther's case has become a symbol for the divide ravaging America as protesters defy stay-at-home orders to march on capitol buildings demanding an end to lockdowns, which they say quashes their liberty and irreparably damages businesses, jobs and the economy. Protesters gathered outside the Lew Sterrett Justice Center waiting for Luther's release Thursday afternoon Luther's case has become a symbol for the divide ravaging America as protesters defy stay-at-home orders to march on capitol buildings demanding an end to lockdowns, which they say quashes their liberty and irreparably damages businesses jobs, and the economy As of Thursday afternoon, Texas has 35,524 confirmed cases and 969 people have been killed by the virus Meanwhile, on the other side stands the counter-protesters and medical experts who insist stay-at-home orders are essential to saving lives and warn that reopening states too soon will spark a renewed spike in cases and deaths from coronavirus. Texas - along with other southern states - has been one of the first to lift restrictions, despite a growing number of cases of the deadly virus. State parks reopened on April 20 but visitors must wear face coverings and masks and adhere to social distancing. Hospitals could resumed surgeries on April 22 that had been postponed by coronavirus. The state's retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls could all reopen at a 25 percent reduced capacity from May 1. On Tuesday, Abbott announced hair salons, barbers and nail salons can all reopen this Friday, as long as businesses comply with social distancing guidelines. But fears are mounting that the state could be relaxing restrictions too soon, with a leaked recording revealing the state governor also has his doubts. Abbott announced in a media briefing last week that the state would 'strategically' allow businesses such as malls, movie theaters and restaurants to run at 25 per cent capacity and said 'it's only logical to see there would be an increase in the number of people that test positive'. But in a Friday call with lawmakers Abbott directly linked the reopening to the spread of COVID-19, while stating that his goal was not to eliminate the disease but only get the number of reported cases reduced. Luther pictured April 25 speaking at Open Texas rally in Frisco. This Tuesday, Abbott announced hair salons can reopen from Friday Luther ripped up the citation the state issued her for opening her salon at the protest Shelley Luther vs Texas's stay-at-home order April 24 - Shelley Luther defies Texas stay-at-home order and reopens Salon A La Mode. She is given a cease and desist letter from Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. April 25 - Luther attends an Open Texas protest in Frisco and is seen ripping the judge's letter into pieces before a cheering crowd. April 25 - Luther receives a court-issued temporary restraining order mandating she close her business. May 5 - Luther appears in court where she is sentenced to seven days behind bars for repeatedly defying stay-at-home restrictions and court orders to shutter her business. May 6 - Senior state officials including Gov. Abbott call for her release and protesters gather outside the Dallas Municipal Court building Wednesday. May 7 - Gov. Abbott amends his executive order removing confinement as a punishment for non-compliance. Texas Supreme Court then orders Luther's release. Luther walks free from prison to crowds of supporters. Advertisement 'How do we know reopening businesses won't result in faster spread of more cases of COVID-19?' Abbott is heard asking in the audio obtained by The Daily Beast. 'Listen, the fact of the matter is pretty much every scientific and medical report shows that whenever you have a reopeningwhether you want to call it a reopening of businesses or of just a reopening of societyin the aftermath of something like this, it actually will lead to an increase and spread. It's almost ipso facto.' The authenticity of the conversation, first reported by The Quorum Report, with members of the state legislature and Congress was confirmed by the governor's spokesperson. In the recording Abbott goes on to admit that he is not aiming to eradicate the virus in the state and knows that allowing people to gather again will cause the infection rate to spike. 'The more that you have people out there, the greater the possibility is for transmission,' Abbott continued. 'The goal never has been to get transmission down to zero and never can be to keep transmission down to zero. As of Thursday afternoon, Texas has 35,524 confirmed cases and 969 people have been killed by the virus. The Rajasthan government sealed interstate borders on Wednesday night to stop the entry of unauthorised people to check the spread or coronavirus disease Covid-19 in the state. After reviewing the situation in the state, chief minister Ashok Gehlot said, in the last few days, there has been an unexpected increase in the number of cases in several states. Over the last three days, 10,000 Covid-19 cases were registered across the country. The decision to seal the borders has been taken in view of the possibilities of a large number of people entering the state without permission. In this hour of crisis, protecting the lives of people of the state is our priority, he said during a meeting with health minister Raghu Sharma, ACS Home Rajeeva Swarup, DGP Bhupendra Singh, ACS health Rohit Kumar and other officials. Gehlot said that interstate movement will only be allowed as per guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. He has directed the chief secretary to write to chief secretaries of other states informing them that permission for movement in Rajasthan will be given to those who abide by the guidelines and take prior approval from the state. A person will be permitted to travel out of the state only on recommendation of respective district collector by the home department, and action will be taken against any other official giving permission, he added. The collector can issue an e-pass, which has to be given to the home department the same day, only in case of a medical emergency or death in the family. Other states can issue permits for Rajasthan, only after getting prior approval from the state government. Gehlot has directed that if foreign returnees are found violating the 14-day home isolation they will be kept under government institutional quarantine and an FIR will be registered against them. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The lockdown jolted Pavithra Veeramany into confronting just how much she had given up to take up her Masters course at Kingston University in the United Kingdom. She couldnt return to India when she most needed to. I have two kids, a five-year-old boy and a three-year-old daughter, she tells CNN-News18. They are back in India, they need my presence, my sick mom is looking after my kids, and she is taking care of her own mother, who is 95. I need to go. The announcement of the flights back was a prayer answered. My hearty thanks to the Indian government for doing this for Indian students stuck abroad, she now says. This is great news for us, weve been waiting a long time for this. But the great news has come with a catch. Its the price of a return ticket plus the cost now of quarantine. Quarantine, particularly for Indians returning from Britain, is inevitable. With well above 30,000 deaths in Britain so far, a toll that goes up by hundreds a day that still is believed by health managers to fall short of the actual daily numbers, Britain must appear to India a deadly source for import of yet more coronavirus. Much of the early spread in India came from COVID-19 positive Indians who had returned from Britain. The daily rise in the number of reported cases in Britain exceeds the daily rise in all of India; just London sees a rise in cases on most days that is more than all of India does. Some of this rise in known numbers is a result of stepped-up testing. But the rise in reported new infections is no less real because the actual number of cases earlier was relatively higher than the lesser number tests then showed. The increased testing now still falls far short of need and of the real number of coronavirus positive cases surfacing daily. Veeramany expects quarantine on return, as do all students and stranded tourists contemplating a flight back. Return with quarantine thrown in will take about as much time as taking an ocean liner back. That the stranded seem prepared for. Its the cost of quarantine that looms ahead as forbidding. Im ready to pay Rs 50,000 for the ticket, says Veeramany. And Im ready for 14 days in quarantine in my own private accommodation. Pavithra Veeramany, student at Kingston University But the prospect of paying a significant cost in given facilities is putting the brakes on many intending to return. Health authorities in India are not likely to be satisfied with offers of voluntary quarantine -- the Kanika Kapoor return performance is not one anyone in government would want to see more of. Lost amidst guesswork on bookings, timing and pricing, most Indian students stuck in Britain havent rushed to buy the ticket back. The first special flight out from London was first announced for May 7, then moved to the following day, and then moved ahead yet another day. The information is not clear, Anamitra Bhowmick, a student at Liverpool, tells CNN-News18. Theres no confirmation of flight bookings. You need to book your luggage, you have to do so many things. And first, find the money for all that. To pay for travel and then also for quarantine is not very fair, she says. Students here are already facing a lot many financial challenges. They have to pay their rent, they have to buy their food - they have been in queues in front of gurdwaras. If they dont have money to buy food, how is the Indian government expecting Indian students to pay for all these things? The government, she says, should consider the financial side of this for us all. Indian students in distress in Britain are currently supported extensively by the Indian National Students Association (INSA). The group has been providing food to student groups, and helping them deal with rental and other issues. Most students have limited resources, and it will be good if they can get prices within a reasonable bracket, INSA president Amit Tiwari tells CNN-News18. But finally it is down to individual means and individual choice, he says. It depends what value an individual puts on reaching back home to be with their loved ones in the current environment versus staying here in this situation. Return for many students could well be worth the relatively high cost, he says. Students are currently studying online, and many are saying that if they have to study online and pay for everything, they may as well go back to India and go online from there. Free-willed Viruses From order to disorder Did God create viruses? Of course He did! Genesis 1 says that all things were created by Him. Man (the discoverer) has created nothing that God had not already seeded and planted, such as the vast amounts of diamonds in Africa. Scientists and doctors alike have discovered and will tell you that even viruses are useful to our bodies to keep bacteria in check; which is also useful to us. Its called good virus, and good bacteria. However, when a virus mutates and becomes something outside of Gods purposes, it then becomes a problem remember the movie, The Gremlins? it becomes a sin; and sin is nothing more than falling short of what God intended for and expects from His creations. Because of sin, the whole earth is groaning. Thats what fallen mankind means when you see all of creation going topsy-turvy, out of order, gone rogue. Its like a parent who made a basic, reasonable condition for a child to finally have their own bedroom Here are the rules: Make up your bed every day; hang up your clothes; put your dirty laundry in the hamper; and keep the room clean. Inevitably, the child rebels, ignores the rules; and what was once an orderly haven is now a disastrous smelly junkyard. The child was given freewill and blew it. Now theres consequence. Get my point? ADVERTISEMENT God promotes and demotes people as He pleases. We read about it throughout the Old Testament. So, if we characterize a free-willed, mutated virus as rebellious and disobedient, we can associate it with some characters in the Bible. Before his fall, Lucifer (the adversary) in all his glory decided he wanted to mutate and be equal with God. He was out of order. God ultimately condemned him and cast him and a third of the rebellious angels out of heaven. The created gone rogue! Out of fear that the sojourning Hebrews (Israelites) were outnumbering the Egyptians, Egypts pharaoh as a manner of birth control ordered all Hebrew firstborn males to be killed. Furthermore, he enslaved the Hebrew people. Years later, when Moses (Hebrew by birth) came out of exile to free his people, pharaoh refused. The more plagues that God consigned to Egypt, the more pharaohs heart was hardened; until finally, God did the same to pharaoh what had been done to the Israelites years ago He allowed a plague to cause the death of all the Egyptian first-born males including pharaohs son. Pharaoh finally relented. In the Book of Romans, God said He created pharaoh for His purposes. Did pharaoh mutate beyond his realm? The same could be said about King Herod, who when he found out that Jesus was born (according to prophecy), had all the male children under the age of two killed in an attempt to safeguard his throne. He was out of order. Even Judas, who betrayed Jesus, was out of order. But, because of Gods love and mercy, He gives us all freewill and uses our failures and mistakes for His purposes. There is a cost for liberty and free-will; for acting on temptation. We bring things upon ourselves. ADVERTISEMENT The good news is what the Bible says in Romans 8:28, all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Are you enjoying the freewill life that youve been given to jump, shout, move it in and move it out! Think about The Creator that gave you the gift to make your own choices; but know this everything you place in the shopping cart will have to be paid for at the checkout counter. Larry Buford is a Los Angeles-based writer and the author of Things Are Gettin Outta Hand and Book To The Future (Amazon). Email him at [email protected] The Vietnam USA Society English Centers (VUS) is organising talkshows by doctors and psychologists to prepare students for their return to school. Photo courtesy of VUS HCM CITY The Vietnam USA Society English Centers is organising a programme called ong hanh toan dien, vung buoc cung con (A Companion For Your Childs Future) to prepare students for returning to school after more than three months. The programme has lectures by doctors and psychologists to help parents and children prepare mentally and learn about COVID-19 preventive measures before and at school. They are livestreamed on VUSs Facebook page. The programme will last until the end of this month. In their first two sessions on May 3 and 4, doctors and experts said parents need to maintain an active and optimistic attitude since it would influence their children. It also helps strengthen immunity to fight diseases better, they said. School managers and teachers should create a safe learning environment by dividing their students into small groups and staggering classes, ensuring children keep a distance of one or two metres with others and limiting activities that require gathering in large groups, they said. They should be prepared to handle students who have a fever, they aid. Childrens sleep should receive proper attention since patterns could be upset during the social distancing campaign. Parents can ask the panellists for clarifications. VNS DUBLIN, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ResearchAndMarkets.com published a new article on the telecommunications and computing industry, "Shift to Mobile Payments due to COVID-19" There has been a huge increase in the use of mobile and contactless payments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both customers and businesses want to avoid handling cash to limit their risk of infection and many businesses are no longer accepting cash or encouraging the use of contactless payments whenever possible. Many countries have increased the contactless limit to allow more customers to use contactless payments to buy food and essential items. Both VISA and Mastercard have reported that contactless use has soared among their customers. There has been a big increase in interest in mobile payments from businesses who want to remain open and accept pickup or delivery orders remotely. There has also been increased interest from customers who want to send money to friends and relatives in need, pay neighbours for shared grocery deliveries and avoid having to visit shops in person. In the US, Zelle enrollment has surged while Square and PayPal have been in talks with the Government about using their apps to deliver stimulus checks to Americans without bank accounts. To see the full article and a list of related reports on the market, visit "Shift to Mobile Payments due to COVID-19" About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. 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 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has lifted its ban on 'paan masala' which does not contain nicotine and tobacco, according to an official order issued here." The ban on manufacturing and sale of 'paan masala' imposed on March 25 has been lifted," Commissioner Food Security and Drug administration Anita Singh said in the order issued on Wednesday. The order, however, clarified that the ban on manufacture, storage and sale of 'gutka/paan masala' with nicotine and tobacco will continue. The sale of these products will be in accordance with the guidelines of the Home Department. The Yogi Adityanath government had banned manufacture and sale of 'paan masala', saying the move would help stop the spread of coronavirus in the state. "Manufacturing, sale and storage of 'paan masala' is being banned in the state till further orders," Food Security Commissioner Ministhy S had said in an order issued on March 25. "Spitting 'paan masala' can help in spreading COVID-19," the order had said. / -- Bhanu Srivastav, the author of 'Hacker 404 Happiness not found' from Canara Bank, has partnered with Childline India and Akshaya Patra Foundation to donate all the Royalty proceeds from his debut novel in equal ratio to both the organizations. The funds donated, will be utilized for countering malnutrition and supporting the right to education of socio-economically disadvantaged children. This book is a work of fiction, narrating the story of a hacker with several ups and downs in his life's journey & how he turned himself from the world's biggest loser to most successful business tycoon. Several students from IIT Chennai, IIT Patna, IIM Bangalore, MNNIT Allahabad, and NIT Hamirpur also joined the cause as the beta readers for this book. A powerful storyline with a noble cause to uplift the living standard of socio-economically disadvantaged children makes Hacker 404 Happiness not found a unique experience for the readers. Childline 1098 is a service of Ministry of Women and Child Development. Childline India Foundation is a non-government organisation (NGO) in India that operates a telephone helpline called Childline, for children in distress. It was India's first 24-hour, toll-free, phone outreach service for children. Whereas Akshaya Patra Foundation a non-profit organisation in India that runs school lunch programme across India. The organisation was established in 2000. It aims to counter classroom hunger and aid in the education of children. It feeds more than 18,00,907 children every day across India. Bhanu started working as a google guide since from his college and till now he has made more than five thousand edits in Google Maps. He holds the position of level 7 Google Guide & just three positions away to achieve the highest level. Bhanu completed his Engineering and joined Syndicate Bank (now Canara Bank)in 2014. After that, he completed all the courses by the Indian Institute of Banking & Finance one by one. He holds more than fifty certifications from various Companies & Institutions in the field of Information Technology & Finance. Not only this, but he also completed two PGDs & one Masters while working with his Bank. In 2018 he developed Bankerpedia for sharing notes, updates, and other among bankers which worked on a self-running algorithm. The portal was built on 'It's free & will always be' concept for the bankers. In this COVID-19 emergency situation, bankers like Bhanu are working as a financial warrior for the nation. Irrespective of reduced staff strength and an increased workload with equally increased chances of getting infected with this deadly virus, they are proving themselves to fight this war-like situation in the best possible manner. Whether as an individual level or an organization, the bank employees are always ready to face any critical issue in the interest of the nation, right from their placement, away from home or children. Bankers have always in the past stood like a rock and supported the Government projects and made the Government schemes successful in its drive. They deserve the right to be praised with doctors, nurses, sanitation workers, police, government staff, and every single person engaged in providing other essential services. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1165226/Bhanu_Srivastav_Hacker. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / Cheapquotesautoinsurance.com (http://cheapquotesautoinsurance.com/) has released a new blog post that presents 5 ways to get cheaper car insurance. For more info and free car insurance quotes, visit http://cheapquotesautoinsurance.com/5-ways-to-lower-car-insurance-costs Drivers all across the United States have to assume financial responsibility when driving a car. All states, except New Hampshire, require drivers to get car insurance. Depending on the state's laws, coverage preferences, driving history, and other relevant factors, the coverage will be more or less expensive. Find out how to get cheaper coverage and get free car insurance quotes from http://cheapquotesautoinsurance.com/ Use a safe location as a parking spot . 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Establishing a good professional relationship with an insurance agent will provide multiple long-term benefits. The agent may periodically inform the driver about the latest offers and discounts. The agent will help the client through multiple legal procedures. . Establishing a good professional relationship with an insurance agent will provide multiple long-term benefits. The agent may periodically inform the driver about the latest offers and discounts. The agent will help the client through multiple legal procedures. Compare online car insurance quotes . Online quotes will help drivers check prices from multiple insurance providers. They will also help drivers customize coverage options and create a coverage plan suitable for the driver's needs and financial resources. Cheapquotesautoinsurance.com is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. 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CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing Company Person for contact: Gurgu C Phone Number: (818) 359-3898 Email: cgurgu@internetmarketingcompany.biz Website: http://cheapquotesautoinsurance.com/ SOURCE: Internet Marketing Company View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/588883/Top-Ways-To-Save-Car-Insurance-Money An HSE nursing home has launched an investigation after a grieving family was given the personal effects of two other deceased residents among items belonging to their father, who passed away from Covid-19. In an email to the family who made the traumatic discovery, the acting director of nursing at Clonskeagh Community Nursing home in Dublin described the incident as a "serious error". The shocking blunder only came to light when the family of Jim Houlihan, who passed away from coronavirus last month, went through several bags that had been given to them by nursing home staff after he died. The family were told the bags contained items that had been removed from their father's room. Expand Close Jim Houlihan / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jim Houlihan When they returned home and opened the bags, they discovered intimate belongings, including briefs, jewellery, books, dentures, several handbags and other belongings of a deceased female resident. Other bags included private photos and clothing that belonged to a deceased male who resided at the care home. The facility is in the process of contacting the relatives of the two deceased residents to offer a written apology and return the personal belongings. In a statement to the Irish Independent, Clonskeagh Community Nursing home confirmed that 15 residents have died from Covid-19 since the beginning of March. Meanwhile, the family of Mr Houlihan (77), who passed away on April 15, have described their anguish over the days that lead to his death. "It's haunting for us to know that we were helpless, that all of this was going on up there. We couldn't advocate for him, we couldn't be his voice until it was too late," his daughter-in-law Monica told the Irish Independent. Mr Houlihan's son Andrew and his wife Monica, his only next-of-kin in Ireland, received a call on April 7, informing him his father had been placed in isolation due to a positive case of Covid-19 in the home. He was told that his father had shortness of breath and a temperature. Mr Houlihan had underlying health conditions, including heart disease and kidney problems. "They said we are treating him like he had Covid," said Monica. "I said would you not test him? And they said that the HSE directive at the time was that if one person tests positive in the setting, then anybody that shows any symptoms is also deemed to be Covid positive." On Friday, April 10, when the family called for an update, they were told Mr Houlihan had become very ill. It was during this call that Andrew and Monica were told that Mr Houlihan had agreed to a 'do not transfer order' on April 6. This meant that if his condition deteriorated, he was not to be transferred to hospital for treatment. "Not one person contacted us as his next of kin to let us know any of this was going on," said Andrew. "My father had no 'do not resuscitate' (DNR) order in place because he wanted to live. He wanted every chance to live. "Yet we were advised that he was not being transferred to hospital for further care because he had been deemed not suitable under the HSE directive and scaling system of suitability. "We were advised that ambulances and hospitals had strict criteria in place stating that all nursing home patients, deemed not for transfer, were not to be transported to the hospital," he said. On the same day, April 10, the family requested a call from the GP who was caring for Mr Houlihan. The GP told them he was only permitted to transfer patients to hospital where it was believed the patient would benefit. He added that Mr Houlihan's condition had worsened too much for any real benefit at that point. Mr Houlihan died five days later. His death certificate cited Covid-19 as the cause of death, with his underlying conditions contributing, despite not having been tested for the virus. "We wanted him to go to hospital," said Monica. "When you lose someone you have to feel that you have done everything for them. Even if he had have gone to a hospital setting and there was nothing that could have been done, at least we would have felt that we tried, and he would have known we tried." In the days that followed, the family organised a small funeral for Mr Houlihan. He was laid to rest alongside his late wife Patricia, who passed away 12 years ago. Mr Houlihan, from Ringsend, was a devout Catholic and had specifically chosen Clonskeagh as his final home because it offered Mass four times weekly. He was a member of the Dublin minor hurling team in his youth. Last Friday, Monica and Andrew made the 220km journey from their home in Laois to collect Mr Houlihan's belongings and speak to management about the lead-up to his death. "After Jim's death we found out that four other residents had died from Covid-19 before he did," said Monica. "We only found that out after the facts. Jim's key worker ended up in ICU with Covid-19. He was in ICU and sending us pictures with Jim would have been taken during the incubation period. He was showering, cleaning and changing Jim. " He was totally oblivious to all of this and he must have been petrified in the end. "When we went to collect his stuff we also wanted to try and get answers to the many questions we had been sending in by email. "We were stopped by security and a message was passed to the manager," said Monica. Mr Houlihan's belongings were placed directly into his son's car by staff at the nursing home. Andrew only discovered what was inside when he reached home. He said: "After days of trying to find the courage to open the bags and organise my father's belongings, I soon realised that some bags were not my father's belongings. "Instead they belonged to a female resident and another male resident, both of whom are now deceased." An internal investigation into the privacy breach has now been launched. "For us it has added further insult to injury," said Monica. "I have underwear belonging to a deceased woman in my hallway. "These are real people and the indignity of their belongings being passed out to whoever is just deplorable," she added. "Jim had a love of life. He regularly joked telling us that he planned to live until he was 100 years old so he could claim his cheque from the President. "He spent the last four months in his room, deciding against visiting the communal areas for fear of infection. "The last time we saw him alive was March 1." In a statement, the HSE said it does not comment on individual cases. It added that it had "nothing further to add in respect of the comments" made by the family in relation to Mr Houlihan's death, "other than to offer its sincere condolences to the family of Mr Houlihan". The statement added: "The HSE will continue to engage privately with the family to investigate and respond to all questions raised." Craig has exactly the experience and profile that are the hallmarks of our business. He has had a long career as an operator including as CIO. This depth of real-world experience is at the heart of the value we deliver to clients. Jeff Vail, Wavestone US CEO Wavestone US is pleased to announce the recent appointment of senior IT executive Craig MacGibbon as Managing Director, focused on transformational service improvements advisory services. Based in Columbus, Georgia, he brings more than 25 years of leading global technology teams in developing strategies and enabling integration, automation, and organizational excellence. MacGibbon has experience in a variety of sectors, including manufacturing, automotive, banking, hospitality, and public utilities. His last role prior to joining Wavestone US was chief of application development and support at Synovus. He previously worked at Las Vegas Sands Corp. as VP of global shared services and chief information security officer, where he established a global threat management team along with a global 24/7 security operations center. He was also VP and CIO of UIL Holdings, overseeing cybersecurity, application development, operations, sourcing, and architecture. I was attracted to Wavestones practitioners approach. The emphasis here is on applying real-world experience to deliver real-world business results, as opposed to the academic and prescriptive methodologies most big firms subscribe to, says MacGibbon. I could not be happier to be a part of the team. Craig has exactly the experience and profile that are the hallmarks of our business. He has had a long career as an operator including as CIO. This depth of real-world experience is at the heart of the value we deliver to clients. Todays trying times are exactly why our model of experience over theory is gaining momentum in the market, says Jeff Vail, CEO of Wavestone US. Wavestone US is the North American arm of global management and IT consulting firm Wavestone. It has supported the transformations of more than 200 Fortune 1000 companies across a wide range of industries, offering a practitioners perspective on IT strategy, cost optimization, operational improvements, cybersecurity, and business management. Wavestone's IT consultancy in the US was formerly known as WGroup, an IT consultancy firm comprised of consultants with over two decades' experience as former C-suite executives and leaders. Following the merger of WGroup and Wavestone in July 2019, the Wavestone US brand was officially launched in January 2020. Learn more about Wavestone at https://www.wavestone.us/ Keep in touch and join in the conversation on: Captain America and the Avengers face off with the Eternals ahead of Marvel's Judgment Day Eternals #10 teases first shot in war between Avengers and the Eternals File Image The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Karnataka has shown the Centre the way on the ticklish issue of migrant workers. If the BS Yediyurappa government implements its policy towards migrants effectively this could give the Centre a template to follow in other states as well. Since May 1, the Indian Railways pressed into service special trains to take migrant workers stranded in different metros and towns across the country to their home states. Tens of thousands of migrant workers left Karnataka and many more were waiting for their turn to leave. However, on May 5, the Yediyurappa government cancelled all special trains from Karnataka. The Chief Minister took this decision after meeting a delegation of businessmen from the construction segment. The delegates informed the CM that the exodus of migrant workers would adversely affect the construction activities, which had just opened up following the Centre easing the lockdown norms. On May 6, the state government announced a Rs 1610 crore relief package, largely aimed at migrant workers and other hardest-hit workers in the unorganised sector. The scheme promises to pay workers including drivers, washermen, barbers and flower growers up to Rs 5,000 a month within a week through DBT. The Congress reaction was fast and furious. State Congress leader DK Shivakumar objected to the cancellation of the special trains and alleged that the migrant workers were being treated as bonded labourers. Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called the move inhuman and a violation of fundamental rights. There might be an argument in Congress claim that Rs 5,000 is too little to survive in metros such as Bengaluru but, rather than out rightly rejecting the idea, the grand old party should aim at extracting a better deal for migrant workers. 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 At a press conference held on May 6, Yediyurappa said that thousands of migrant workers had agreed to stay back and return to work. The Karnataka model can be replicated by the Centre if glitches are removed and the deal is sweetened. The Opposition, primarily the Congress, should exercise patience in the interest of migrant workers and the larger interest of the nation. It should not oppose for the sake of it. It is shocking that the Centre has no data on stranded migrant workers details of which came to light after an RTI was filed with the Chief Labour Commissioner. The Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979, requires contractors to issue every inter-state migrant a passbook. If only this law was enforced, today the states and the Centre would have had a relatively comprehensive database, which could have helped plan relief measures. A recent CRISIL report pegs the total number of Indian workforce at 465 million of this, 415 million is in the informal sector. A large percentage of this workforce comprises of migrant workers. There are an estimated 100 million migrant workers in India. According to Economic Survey 2016-17, an analysis of railway passengers data estimates annual interstate movement of migration movement at 9 million since 2011. A conservative projection would show that it would take at least 9,000 train services to transport 9 million migrant workers. Adding to the constraints is that the special trains have to follow social distancing and cannot ply at full capacity. The enormous financial and logistical challenge this poses can be avoided and the Yediyurappa government has showed how. The Centre should take a cue from the Karnataka model, and refine it further by making the terms more attractive for migrant workers to prepare for post-lockdown economic activities. The mass movement of migrant workers needs to be avoided because even if they go to their home states now, in a few weeks or months they are expected to return to the host cities/towns for employment. If governments can persuade migrant workers to remain where they are its a win-win situation for all. Protesters gather during a protest at the intersection, Thursday, May 7, 2020, in Indianapolis where an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer fatally shot Dreasjon Reed. Indianapolis police faced protests Thursday after officers fatally shot two men and killed a pregnant pedestrian in three separate incidents just hours apart. AP Photo/Darron Cummings A man was shot dead after a police chase in Indianapolis, local outlets reported. A Facebook Live, which new reports say showed the shooting, was circulated online. Police have not released the identity of the suspect and have not confirmed whether it was the same man in the Facebook Live video. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. An Indianapolis man was shot dead by police after a chase on Wednesday. Part of the encounter was broadcast by the slain suspect on via his Facebook live, according to local news outlets. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department confirmed that a man was shot and killed by an officer on the northwest side of the city. Officers said they tried to avoid using lethal force, but shot the man dead after he fired on them. However, they did not confirm if it was the same man in the widely circulated Facebook Live video, the Indianapolis Star reported. A family member at the scene named the killed man as Sean Reed. Police said only that both the killed suspect and the officer who shot him were black, according to the Star. Police said they are aware of the videos and are "preserving" them, but did not comment on their authenticity, the Star reported. According to a police statement, Deputy Chief Kendale Adams spotted a car driving "erratically" on the interstate and started pursuing it. The chase allegedly reached over 90 miles per hour, before "officers in marked cars picked up the pursuit." A police statement released later that night said that Adams ceased pursuit, in line with protocol. "The vehicle had almost struck other vehicles while it exited the interstate," the statement read. According to the Star, IMPD Assistant Chief Chris Bailey said the incident started on the I-65 near 30th Street. Story continues WTHR13 reported that the chase lasted around 10 minutes and ended around W. 56th Street and Lafayette Road. The car in the chase was later spotted again, near 62nd and Michigan, where the man got out of the car and ran. Police chased him on foot. The man in the Facebook Live video said he was on 62nd Street and Michigan, which is where police said the shooting occurred. According to the Star, more than 4,000 people were watching the livestream as the young man left his car and started running before either dropping his phone, falling, or both. According to the police statement, an officer first fired Taser at the suspect. The statement said the suspect then fired a weapon at police, at which point officers switched to regular firearms and shot him dead. According to WTHR, the livestream went on for minutes after the shooting before police stopped it. It was then deleted from the man's page. WTHR reported that no officer was injured. Read the original article on Insider "When it comes to diversity and inclusion (D&I), each year we try to set new challenges and new goals with a plan for attaining them. This recognition gives us encouragement that we're on the right path because we know it's a journey, not a destination," said Sandra Phillips Rogers, chief diversity officer and chief legal officer, TMNA. Toyota attributes its growing reputation as a leader in diversity to its practice of inspiring, encouraging, and modeling D&I throughout the organization. This practice applies to the company's relationships both internally and externally. Phillips Rogers added, "Across North America, we are building and strengthening partnerships with allies who embrace a common goal to create a more inclusive society that celebrates and is enriched by our differences, which we view as an especially important attribute during these challenging times." During the COVID-19 pandemic, Toyota teamed up with non-profit and private sector allies to provide funding, expertise and in-kind donations for at-risk and disproportionately impacted communities. For example, community service announcements were created to bring awareness and credible information to the African American and Hispanic communities as part of Toyota's overall response efforts. Hallmarks of Toyota's diversity and inclusion mindset include: D&I is Essential to Toyota's Foundational Values and Vision of Mobility for All: Toyota's foundational pillars of Continuous Improvement and Respect for People advocate the act of influencing innovation through inclusion to acknowledge, respect, value and consider diverse ideas, perspectives and contributions. Mobility at its core is about giving people the freedom to move. Toyota's foundational pillars of Continuous Improvement and Respect for People advocate the act of influencing innovation through inclusion to acknowledge, respect, value and consider diverse ideas, perspectives and contributions. Mobility at its core is about giving people the freedom to move. D&I is Leader-Led: TMNA's Diversity Advisory Board (DAB) works in partnership with the company's Executive Diversity and Inclusion Council (EDIC) to offer insight and perspective. Their guidance helps cultivate a D&I mindset across the enterprise and ensures that D&I is a priority for leaders. Thirty-three percent of Toyota's senior executives serve on the boards of multicultural organizations, and leaders also serve as mentors and allies to the company's employee resource groups, known as business partnering groups (BPGs). TMNA's Diversity Advisory Board (DAB) works in partnership with the company's Executive Diversity and Inclusion Council (EDIC) to offer insight and perspective. Their guidance helps cultivate a D&I mindset across the enterprise and ensures that D&I is a priority for leaders. Thirty-three percent of Toyota's senior executives serve on the boards of multicultural organizations, and leaders also serve as mentors and allies to the company's employee resource groups, known as business partnering groups (BPGs). D&I is Team Member-Driven: There are over 95 BPG chapters representing 13 different affinities at Toyota, and more than 40 percent of employees at TMNA Headquarters are involved in one. Employees pride themselves on volunteerism and community service to assist disadvantaged youth, LGBTQ+, minorities, women, people with disabilities and veterans. More than 200 team members have become D&I Champions since 2018, completing a program that teaches participants how to infuse D&I within their own departments. There are over 95 BPG chapters representing 13 different affinities at Toyota, and more than 40 percent of employees at TMNA Headquarters are involved in one. Employees pride themselves on volunteerism and community service to assist disadvantaged youth, LGBTQ+, minorities, women, people with disabilities and veterans. More than 200 team members have become D&I Champions since 2018, completing a program that teaches participants how to infuse D&I within their own departments. D&I is Reflected in Business Partnerships: Toyota is committed to fostering D&I within its supply chain, spending more than $3 billion with certified minority and women owned businesses annually. The Toyota Mentorship Program (TMP) of which 80 percent of participants are women business enterprises (WBE) - offers participants insight into Toyota's culture and guidance towards improving their operations and their approach with potential corporate clients. Toyota Opportunity Exchange, a program designed to help diverse suppliers learn more about Toyota, is celebrating 30 years. For more information on Toyota's D&I efforts please visit https://toyotadiversityreport.com/. About Toyota Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold 2.7 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019. About DiversityInc The mission of DiversityInc is to bring education and clarity to the business benefits of diversity. The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list began in 2001, when many corporations were beginning to understand the business value of diversity-management initiatives. The 2020 Top 50 Companies for Diversity results are featured on DiversityInc.com. DiversityInc is a VA certified veteran-owned business and a USBLN certified business owned by a person with a disability. For more information, visit www.diversityinc.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn @DiversityInc. Media Contact: Victor Vanov 469.292.1318 [email protected] SOURCE Toyota Motor North America Related Links www.toyota.com Hyderabad: A chemical gas leaked from an industrial plant in southern India early on Thursday, leaving people struggling to breathe and collapsing in the streets as they tried to flee. At least eight people were killed and nearly 1000 suffered breathing difficulties and other reactions. Close to 1000 were affected and hundreds hospitalised after the gas leak. Credit:AP The synthetic chemical styrene leaked from the LG Polymers plant in Vishakhapatnam, a city on India's Bay of Bengal coast, while workers were preparing to restart the plant after the coronavirus lockdown was eased, Administrator Vinay Chand said. Chand said several people fainted on the road and were rushed to a hospital. Sixteen almajiris(Islamic school pupils) recently sent to Jigawa from Kano State, have tested positive for the coronavirus, the Jigawa State government has announced. The state commissioner of health, Abba Zakari, said on Thursday via a Facebook press conference that 45 samples were returned, of which 16 were positive. Mr Zakari, who is the chairman of the Jigawa Taskforce on COVID-19, said the state sent a total of 607 samples of the returned almajiris, and only 45 samples were ready on Thursday. The remaining 29 that returned negative would be united with their families soon, and each would receive N10,000 and clothing, Mr Zakari said. The results of the remaining samples are expected any moment from now, while the 16 who tested positive would be transferred to the states isolation facility for treatment. Almajiris ban Governors in northern Nigeria have said they are determined to end the Almajiris system of education in the region, a model that saw many children left on the streets as beggars. States in the region have exchanged almajiris recently as they work to trace their places of origin and parents. Jigawa has so far received 1,114 almajiris from Kano, Kaduna, Gombe and Nasarawa States. The commissioner of health said Jigawa was expecting another 99 repatriated almajiris from Plateau State on Thursday. The returnees would be quarantined for two weeks and their samples taken, he said. Jigawa is yet to commence the repatriation of almajiris who came from other states. The government has rather restricted their movement while providing them free meals, saying sending them home could lead to more infections. WASHINGTON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Thycotic , a provider of privileged access management (PAM) solutions for more than 10,000 organizations worldwide, including 25 of the Fortune 100, today announced the launch of 401 Access Denied, a biweekly podcast co-produced with Cybrary , the cyber security and IT workforce training platform enabling organizations to assess, develop, and measure their security skills. Cybrary is one of the largest online IT training organizations in today's market and over one million IT professionals rely on and subscribe to their rolodex of educational content. Through this partnership, Thycotic and Cybrary will provide listeners authorized access to real-life stories and advice from leading cyber security experts, best practices for navigated security challenges and so much more. 401 Access Denied will provide consumers and security professionals an opportunity to listen to well-known experts and trainers on everything from achieving security compliance to setting a path to become a CISO. In the coming weeks, co-hosts, Joseph Carson, Chief Security Scientist at Thycotic, and Michael Gruen, CISO at Cybrary, will invite industry peers to join them in discussing hot topics, current events and behind the scenes techniques. With more than 45 years of combined experience in cyber security, Carson is an ethical hacker turned multi-award-winning info security professional, while Gruen is an elite technologist who specializes in software development, data science, infrastructure, security, and technology. Carson adds, "This podcast is what the industry needs right now. A podcast that holds nothing back and will bring the fun and positivity back into cyber security. A podcast that welcomes questions from the listeners on hot topics. Thycotic has a vast amount of knowledge and experience and we are excited to share our thoughts and ideas with the cyber security community." Gruen notes, "I always enjoy talking with Joe and am thrilled to be a part of the Thycotic and Cybrary partnership aimed at helping the cyber security community address our toughest challenges." With World Password Day upon us, individuals of all backgrounds and varying levels of cyber security hygiene will be confronted with the same question are my current personal (or corporate) security measures enough? Today's episode will take listeners through a journey of best practices, horror stories, debunked myths, visions of a passwordless future, misconceptions, and just how challenging it really is to crack them. You can listen to the podcast on Apple , Spotify , Google , and YouTube . Upcoming episodes include: Thursday, May 21 Top Cyber Security Books to Read for Self-Development Top Cyber Security Books to Read for Self-Development Thursday, June 4 Least Privilege Cyber Security - what does it mean? About Thycotic Thycotic is the leading provider of cloud-ready privilege management solutions. Thycotic's security tools empower over 10,000 organizations, from small businesses to the Fortune 100, to limit privileged account risk, implement least privilege policies, control applications, and demonstrate compliance. Thycotic makes enterprise-level privilege management accessible for everyone by eliminating dependency on overly complex security tools and prioritizing productivity, flexibility, and control. Headquartered in Washington, DC, Thycotic operates worldwide with offices in the UK and Australia. For more information, please visit www.thycotic.com . About Cybrary Cybrary is a cybersecurity and IT workforce development platform. Its ecosystem of people, companies, content, and technologies converge to create an ever-growing catalog of online courses and experiential tools that provide IT and cybersecurity learning opportunities to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Cybrary has received industry recognition since its 2015 founding, often being named as an innovator and pioneer in cyber and IT development. Since January 2015, Cybrary has grown its user base to over 2.6 million and has 96% of Fortune 1000 companies learning on their platform. www.cybrary.it For further information, please contact: Steve Kahan Allison Arvanitis Thycotic Lumina Communications T: 202-802-9399 T: 910-690-9482 E: [email protected] E: [email protected]pr.com SOURCE Thycotic Related Links http://www.thycotic.com Jung Hoon found Ha Jin sitting on a bench, drenched in the rain. Ha Jin felt sad as she missed seeing Jung Hoon for the past days. She broke up with him as soon as her painful memories about Seo Yun came back. Jung Hoon brought Ha Jin to his house and let her change into a new set of dry clothes. He cooked hot porridge and prepared hot tea before he sent her home. Jung Hoon asked Ha Jin to stay and not to feel bad. The next day, Jung Hoon came early in the morning to Ha Jin's house to get the clothes she wore last night. Jung Hoon intentionally visited her and made alibi with his clothes just to see her. Ms. Park received a lot of new projects and offers from other networks for Ha Jin. These would keep her busy and forget the sad story about her past. Jung Hoon accepted a new project endorsement for a TV ad. He took it and was paired with Ha Jin. He wanted to see her and do more things together. Ha Jin was surprised to see Jung Hoon on the set of filming. He usually doesn't like to do things aside from newscasting, but he accepted the offer to see Ha Jin. Ha Kyung and Jo Kwon became closer and started spending time together, albeit shortly, but they try to enjoy it. Tae Eun found his father's thesis copy about Jung Hoon's life. He felt terrible to know that his father planned to publish the book and would make the public know more about his good friend. Tae Eun tore the paper and became furious as he told his father to stop the publication. He went to the company and advised them he would take legal action as the private doctor of Jung Hoon. His father used Tae Eun's record to pursue the book. Moon Seong Ho took Seo Yun's remains from the columbarium and brought the jar to the place where she died. He called Jung Hoon and demanded to meet him there. Moon Seong Ho prepared a knife, and he planned to kill Jung Hoon. Jung Hoon called the police to inform them about Moon Seong Ho and his plans. They all met at the said location and searched the place. Jung Hoon saw Moon at the rooftop and went up to capture him. As they met face to face, Moon stabbed Jung Hoon though it wasn't that deep. The police found them and surrounded the area. Moon released Jung Hoon and jumped off the rooftop. He fell to the ground, and with the impact, he was unconscious. The police brought Jung Hoon to the hospital, and the doctors operated his stab wounds and got well. Ha Jin rushed to see him and stayed for the night to accompany Jung Hoon. The doctors were able to save Moon Seong Ho's life, but he is bed-ridden due to his broken back. Jung Hoon and Ha Jin expressed their feelings once again. Ha Jin admitted she wanted to stay beside Jung Hoon. He felt happy, and they are together as a couple. Ha Jin took care of Jung Hoon in the hospital as he got better each day. Park Soo, the reporter who stalked Ha Jin, was released from prison. His lawyer submitted and asked for reconsideration from the court. Professor Yung released the book "The Man Who Doesn't Forget," which is all about Jung Hoon's life. The media came to get any feedback from Jung Hoon. Park Soo came to see Jung Hoon and informed him that he had big news to reveal to the public about Jung Hoon. A man has been awarded $35,000 in defamation damages for a single post on a Sydney community Facebook page which implied he was a stalker and likely to kill women. Bruce Goldberg testified he was shocked and speechless when he read the November 2018 post and felt his reputation had been 'smashed'. He said people yelled at him in the street, avoided him in the supermarket, and whispered and pointed at him in the months after the publication. Mr Goldberg sued Alice Voigt in the NSW District Court over her post on the Rose Bay Community - Original and Official Group Facebook Page. Judge Richard Weinstein on Thursday awarded Mr Goldberg $35,000 in damages. Bruce Goldberg said people yelled at him in the street, avoided him in the supermarket, and whispered and pointed at him in the months after the Facebook post He noted the limited dissemination of the defamation and found the case was 'towards the lower end of the scale in terms of the extent of harm' to reputation. Although the defamatory meanings were serious, the judge said, far fewer people read the post than would have read the content if it was published on a news website, for example. 'In my opinion, the number is likely to be between 150 to 250 individuals,' the judge said. The post, which was removed in March 2019, began 'Dear Women of Rose Bay'. It told them to be 'extremely careful when interacting with Mr Goldberg' on the local websites, saying he 'gets his kicks out of intimidating, bullying and threatening women'. It also said: ' Too many women have been killed by stalkers and unstable people to let this sort of stuff scare us into submission'. Judge Weinstein found the post conveyed a number of defamatory meanings including that Mr Goldberg was a danger to the women of Rose Bay. It also implied he enjoyed intimidating and bullying women, was a stalker and was so mentally unstable he was likely to kill women. 'I accept the plaintiff's reputation was damaged and his feelings hurt,' he said. The judge also accepted a defence submission that such a post was 'transitory' - especially in circumstances where it had long been deleted. Governor Bala Mohammed The Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, has said he does not regret telling his health officials to treat COVID-19 patients with Chloroquine. Mr Mohammed said this while responding to the backlash from people who felt such authorisations are exclusively reserved for professional medical personnel. Mr Mohammed, who was the index case of COVID-19 in Bauchi, told journalists last week that amongst the medications that he used in treating the deadly virus were Chloroquine, Zithromax, and Vitamin C. The governor said he would rather ask medics managing the states COVID-19 patients to treat them with chloroquine and Zithromax than watch them die of the disease. The National Agency for Food Administration and Control (NAFDAC) had last week reacted to the governors directive by warning Nigerians not to use any drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 other than what the NCDC approves. The agency is concerned about reports on social and other media of drugs or vaccines to cure COVID 19, NAFDACs Director-General, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye said in a statement issued to the media. The NAFDAC DG added that the agency has not granted any approval to any products for use as a cure or vaccine against COVID 19. Asked if he was worried by the backlash trailing his pronouncement on the treatment of COVID-19, Mr Mohammed said he owed no apology on what he said. Pertaining to what I said last week that I was misquoted, I was a COVID-19 patient. And I have been asked, how did I get cured? And I said how I got cured and I recommended what should be done. It was my own recommendation and not that of the state committee. I have no apology for saying that I used Chloroquine, Zithromax, and Vitamin-C to get treatment and Allah cured me. To me, its better you take something, rather than sit down and die. We have not recorded any death in Bauchi That one that died came after the test. And you can see we have plenty patients. And by the grace of God, Allah will heal our patients. Other countries are using other forms of medication. It is not an issue of Chloroquine alone. It is a common knowledge that COVID-19 has no vaccine or drugs; we are just groping in the dark. But still, if you have symptoms of fever you can take chloroquine. If you have the symptom of infection you can still take Zithromax and get well; if you have symptoms of pains you can still take panadol and get well; you dont even need a doctor for that. But the doctors are the ones prescribing this. I didnt take the Chloroquine on my own, and I am not recommending that people should go and use this without the recommendations of their case managers. All I was relieving was my experience. Watch him speak in the video below; During the coronavirus pandemic, pets and pet owners have had to adjust to a temporary new norm. Vet visits have become curbside, at-home grooming disasters have been endured and humans have been spending much more time at home with their animals. This has led to a renewed feeling of closeness between owners and their pets, experts said. In the beginning of the pandemic, James Bias, executive director of the Connecticut Humane Society, said the main concern was a possible shortage of PPE and a surge of orphaned pets to shelters. "We [feared] we would suddenly be inundated with pets of people who were in the hospital or couldn't care for there animals," he said.But that did not happen. Some shelters have had to scale back and rely on foster homes for animals, but the disaster that was feared did not happen. In fact, adoptions have continued. [Pets] tend to be a really good emotional safety net, said Bias. After 9-11 our adoptions increased by 30 percent. Even when COVID-19 hit, adoptions were happeningit feeds a strong nurturing need. You have a pet to stabilize you emotionally. For many people who have had to be socially distant, their pets kept them going. Experts also agree that being home with pets all day has led to a heightened understanding of pets needs and wants. As owners pay more attention to their companions, they are quickly able to address what their pets need whether its a snack, grooming or even just playtime. Dawn Lowery, a trainer who owns One Smart Dog in Shelton said she has received calls from people noticing behavioral tics in their dogs that they'd never known, because they'd rarely been home all day on a typical weekday. The flip side of that, however, is too much attention. We've seen the cartoons of the dogs flat on the floor, exhausted from all their walks, she said, adding that dogs typically sleep 14 hours a day. As changes and adjustments happen in real time, the question is: What will happen in the future? Bias said, "In the future we will protect and preserve what we've learned the past couple months." We spoke to pet experts around Connecticut to find out which aspects of pet ownership they think will be forever altered and what will go back to normal. >> Click through to see what they said. Additional reporting by Michael Fornabaio President Muhammadu Buhari must make a public declaration he would not exercise his discretionary powers as Minister of Petroleum Resources before, during, and after the proposed oil licenses bid round later this year, civil society groups have said. The coalition of civil society organisations said this on Wednesday is a communique issued at the end of a one-day online workshop to assess key issues in the petroleum industry requiring urgent reforms. The group said such public declaration by the president was critical to rebuilding the public confidence and trust of serious investors in participating in the bidding process. The workshop facilitated by the Facility for Oil Sector Reform (FOSTER) was organised by the Publish What You Pay (PWYP) in collaboration with the Media Initiative on Transparency in Extractive Industries (MITEI). If Nigerians are unable to extract such a public commitment from the President that he will not interfere at any stage in the bid process, prospective investors will still be afraid the outcome will be subject to official manipulations, without strict adherence to approved bid guidelines and rules, they said. Citing discretionary awards as the greatest bane to the growth of the petroleum industry in Nigeria, the group said past experiences showed it was the singular reason why investors with the right financial and technical capacity were not interested in previous bid exercises. Why previous bids failed Participants said the governments underlining objectives of conducting previous bids have always been to increase the governments oil revenues, raise Nigerias proven oil reserves to about 40 billion barrels, and boost Nigerias daily crude oil production to about three million barrels. However, at the end of each the previous oil licensing rounds, none of it succeeded in helping government realise these objectives. Apart from governments inability to collect more than $750 million in signature bonuses from the various bid rounds, of the 175 marginal oil field licences issued between 2000 and 2007, only one has been developed into commercial production. Besides, they said rather than growing, the countrys daily oil production capacity has consistently declined, from about 2.3 million barrels per day in 2014 to 1.6 million barrels per day in 2019. Also, the group said previous bid rounds in Nigeria showed a sharp decline in the interest from serious investors, local and foreign, with only 57 per cent of the oil blocks on offer in the 2005 exercise receiving at least one bid. By 2007, they said the figure dropped further to 40 per cent, with many of the serious investors expressing concerns about the law regulating operations in the oil industry. They said their main source of worry was in the legal framework, which ceded too much powers to the Minister of Petroleum Resources, on whom the law conferred powers to unilaterally award or revoke oil licences on his or her discretion. Many of the serious investors opted out of the process as they felt the licensing bid rounds were mere cosmetic processes for government officials to reward their allies and associates with oil assets, the group said. Need for transparency For the proposed oil bid round to succeed, the group urged government to ensure the processes involved are transparent and open to all interested parties. In identifying the challenges previous bid rounds faced, the group said government must ensure the asset value on offer are raised, while data room quality is improved upon and made readily available to the bidders. The group said government must avoid making the bid processes opaque, as this would encourage political interference, while high number and size of the fields would diminish the interest serious bidders. To realise the objective set out by the government, the group said government must come up with a comprehensive national economic development plan detailing how the expected signature bonuses would be utilized in implementing the industry. Also, terms governing the licensing round must be open, transparent, clear and easily understandable by all parties and Nigerians so that the governments management of the process can be tracked by interested members of the public, it added. During the bidding process, the group said stringent selection criteria must be adopted to ensure only firms with the requisite financial and technical capabilities made it, while the bid process in closely monitored to ensure successful firms pay their signature bonuses in full and into government coffers. After the bid, the group said oversight of the processes should be provided by the National Assembly, while the Nigeria Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) will conduct the audit and civil society and the media would continuously monitor before, during and after the bid process. Advertisements : Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday said his government is clear in its stand on extending every possible help to the farmers. The Chief Minister spoke to the farmer-leaders of the state, who wanted their concerns to be heard and addressed, with regard to the problems the agrarian community has been facing in the wake of the COVID-19 lockdown. "We will soon make our position clear on supporting the farmers. We will not allow any hindrance to come in the way of agriculture activities," Yediyurappa told the farmer- leaders. The Chief Minister told the delegation that the pre-monsoon activities are in full swing in the state. The government has also set up help centres and been providing agriculture equipment on rent, the Chief Minister said. In most of the places, at least 80 per cent of the standing crops have been harvested. Arrangements have been made to bring equipment from neighbouring states to harvest the standing crop, he said. Yediyurappa said fertilisers and seeds are available in abundance in the state. He informed the farmer-leaders about the arrangements made to transport flowers, vegetables and fruits to other states. Similarly, the market has been developed for the farmers to sell their products, said the Chief Minister. He said the government is working out a compensation for farmers who lost their crops due to hailstorm in Raichur, Koppal and Ballari. Agriculture Minister B C Patil, Horticulture Minister Narayana Gowda, Revenue Minister R Ashoka, Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar and Development Commissioner Vandita Sharma were also present in the meeting. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) LANSING, MI -- The battle between Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican leaders in the House and Senate has reached the courtroom. On Wednesday, the legislature sued Whitmer for extending the state of emergency without their approval. Whitmer has been reluctant to reopen the state economy and has elected to take a more measured, slower approach. As a result, some private citizens have lashed out and refused to cooperate with orders. Still, the governor extended more executive orders Wednesday as the pandemic continues. Below is a look at the most recent developments related to the coronavirus crisis. Daily numbers Michigan has surpassed the entire nation of Canada in the number of total deaths caused by COVID-19. State officials reported 657 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 71 new COVID-19 deaths in Michigan on Wednesday. In total, Michigan has 45,054 confirmed coronavirus cases and 4,250 deaths. According to John Hopkins University, Canada has confirmed around 4,111 deaths so far. In the past seven days, Michigan is averaging 665 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 per day and 83 new deaths per day. Thats a decline from the week prior, when Michigan averaged 919 cases and 122 deaths per day. On the testing front, there were 7,223 tests conducted Monday the most recent date for which data is available. About 8% of the tests came back positive. The rate of positive tests has been below 10% every day this month after topping out around 40% in early April. Sorry, but your browser does not support frames. Michigan House, Senate sue Whitmer over state of emergency extension Sen. Majority Leader Mike Shirkey R-Clark Lake and House Speaker Lee Chatfield R-Levering announced a lawsuit Wednesday against Whitmer after she extended the state of emergency without legislative approval. Republican leaders say they were left with no choice as they believe Whitmer overextended her powers. The law in Michigan is very clear: Only the legislature has the authority to extend a state of emergency, Chatfield said. We chose not to do that last week because we were given no real assurances of any substantial changes that would be made, and the administrations refusal to sit down and work together. That is just one of the reasons for the lawsuit. Whitmer contends she is acting within her powers as designated by the 1945 Emergency Powers of Governor Act, which allows governors to call for a state of emergency for as long as necessary. Video tracks COVID-19 spread in Michigan Its been eight weeks since COVID-19 arrived in Michigan. Since that time, its spread across the entire state, infecting tens of thousands of people and killing more than 4,200. This video shows how the virus has spread throughout Michigan. The video tracks the cumulative spread of confirmed COVID-19 cases by county, by day, over the second four-week period of the outbreak in the state, from the April 7 to May 5. Michigans approach to reopening the economy: slow, steady and safe Over the past several weeks, the governor has been clear that she will only consider reopening the Michigan economy when the data tells health experts and scientists its safe to do so. The deliberate pace is a calculated one as state leaders continue to determine how to open various sectors of the economy. This in-depth story looks at how that is expected to happen, what considerations will be made and how businesses will have to adapt to meet standard safety conditions for workers. Whitmer looks to cut unemployment red tape, issues new coronavirus crisis order Whitmer on Wednesday night issued an executive order that allows state Unemployment Insurance Agency workers to only consider an applicants most recent job separation in determining their entitled benefits. Officials in the governors office said the new rule signed is expected to expedite benefits for tens of thousands of people. State workers should be able to process claims more quickly, they said. Governor extends orders on emergency supply transportation, remote notarization, virtual council meetings Whitmer signed three extensions of executive orders temporarily allowing remote meetings of elected government bodies, allowing remote notarization and reducing credentialing requirements for motor carriers. The orders were extended until June 30. The order on public meetings applies to government bodies subject to the state Open Meetings Act. Those bodies can use teleconferencing or video conferencing to meet and conduct business as long as they take measures to allow for public input. The notary order allows for any required notary act to be performed by two-way, real-time, audiovisual technology. The motor carrier order temporarily suspends licensing, decals and trip permit requirements -- used by the Department of Treasury to collect taxes -- for motor carriers providing critical assistance Coronavirus turns contact tracing into top priority for county governments Being able to efficiently figure out where people infected with COVID-19 have been and who they may have interacted with is one of the major abilities needed for Michigan to begin safely reopening the state, officials say. Contact tracing at hyper-local levels will be especially important as counties work to scale up the ability to know where the virus is and where it was. This story looks at the importance of contact tracing, how local governments are trying to increase its effectiveness and how challenging the process can be. Owosso barber refuses to close despite citations from police Karl Mankes says he wont close his barber shop until Jesus walks in or until they arrest me. The Owosso barber opened his shop Monday after being closed for several weeks. The 77-year-old barber says he thinks he can run his business safely and doesnt need to be told how to do so. However, local authorities cited him for violating the state order that prohibits barbershops and salons from opening. Those who violate the order are subject to a 90-day misdemeanor and/or a $500 fine. Michigan receives $25M to help aging residents during pandemic Aging residents in Michigan will continue to receive support from various programs thanks to a $25.3 million grant from the CARES Act. The money will be used to support services that provide assistance with bathing and dressing, rides to doctors offices, education on managing chronic illnesses, support for family caregivers and more, according to a release from the state. The need for these services has increased as community measures to slow transmission of COVID-19 have closed locations where many people typically receive services making it difficult for families to assist loved ones who live alone, said Dr. Alexis Travis, senior deputy director of Aging & Adult Services Agency within the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services in the release. Postal worker with suspected coronavirus dies just weeks before retirement Bobby Wilkerson was weeks away from retiring from the U.S. Postal Service when he was sent home from work with a cough in late March. Despite calling for an ambulance during the quarantine, he was denied for not being sick enough, his family says. Wilkerson died on April 5 and his family has been unable to determine an official cause of death. He was set to retire on May 1 after 30 years with the postal service. It amazes me how he survived Desert Storm and his time in the Army, said Pam Frank, Wilkersons sister. Then to come out and work all of those years at the post office and to be ready to retire -- its rough to say the least. He had plans. Mail service continues to be disrupted in Michigan A workforce thats been severely impacted by the COVID-19 virus combined with surging demand has led to continued slowdowns with the U.S. Postal Service during the ongoing outbreak. USPS has had 113 employees test positive for the virus in the Detroit-Pontiac-Flint area, and a handful in West Michigan, according to John Haggarty, president of the Michigan chapter of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union. Even as those workers have started to return to their jobs, the service is having to process mail all over the state so that backlogged regions can catch up. Were still a little backed up in Detroit and trying to bring more people on to help, Haggarty said. People are starting to come back to work but not everybody. Were trying to get everything out as fast as we can but we can only do so much with the amount of people we have. 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. Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces. Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus. Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus. Things are quiet at the Kohl's Store in Brookfield, Monday, as Kohl's Corp. said Monday that it will extend store closures until further notice and, as a result, will furlough many store associates, distribution center workers and corporate staff whose duties are tied to store operations. Kohl's Corp. is planning to reopen department stores in 10 states, mainly in the South and West, as the retailer seeks to restart sales with social distancing and other safety measures in place. Kohl's on Monday will open all stores in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana and Texas, as well as select stores in Florida and Tennessee, the retailer said. Those will join stores that opened this week in Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah. With the additional states, about 25% of the 1,158 Kohl's stores will be open. The reopened stores will use limited hours, social distancing measures, enhanced cleaning procedures and a new returns process, the company said in a statement Thursday. Other measures will include wellness and temperature checks, safety training and the use of masks and gloves for employees. Bankruptcy filings: Neiman Marcus files for Chapter 11 Stimulus checks: Money to come later than projected for millions of Americans Where and how to reopen Kohl's is deciding where and how to reopen stores by "assessing several factors, including the guidance of government officials, health data, store readiness, and consumer sentiment," the statement said. The company will use that approach to open additional Kohls stores in the coming weeks. Hours for the newly reopened stores will be from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Dedicated shopping hours for seniors and others at-risk of contracting the virus will be 11 a.m. to noon on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Signs and floor decals have been placed throughout the stores to encourage 6 feet of social distancing, with a focus on customer service and checkout areas. Each store will operate with a single entrance area. An employee at the front of the store will sanitize carts and limit occupancy as appropriate. Aisle fixtures have been removed to increase space for customers to pass one another while following social distancing guidelines. Story continues Kohls has installed protective barriers at all registers and will offer touchless payment through Kohls Pay on the Kohls App. Checkout lanes will be cleaned after each customer transaction. Hand sanitizer will be available at each register and throughout the store. Fitting rooms have been closed, and the use of beauty testers has been suspended. A different process for returns Kohls has made adjustments to the returns process to minimize contact between the customer and employee. Kohls also will accept Amazon returns in a separate location within the store. Customers can continue to buy items online and park in designated spots at their local stores for employees to place their orders directly in their trunk or back seat. For employees, safety measures include a reduced number of workers in stores; rearranged break rooms, training rooms and offices to ensure proper social distancing; and access to hand sanitizer. We are pleased to begin welcoming our customers back to Kohls, said Michelle Gass, Kohls chief executive officer. As we all adjust to a new normal, we will continue to provide the easy and efficient store experience that Kohl's customers love, while implementing many new rigorous procedures that prioritize the safety of our associates and customers." This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kohl's to reopen in 10 more states as retail adjusts to coronavirus Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker warned Thursday that reopening the economy too quickly could have grave consequences. The central bank official posed two scenarios: The "more optimistic" one where the economy reopens in June, there is ample technology to control the coronavirus spread and there is no feared second wave in the fall. In that case, he sees a much-expected severe contraction in the second quarter followed by a "significant rebound" in the second half that is nonetheless not enough to undo the damage in the earlier part of the year. In the second scenario, the economy opens too quickly, a second wave comes through and the downturn is worse. "Not only would this be a health catastrophe, but it would reverse the recovery as well. In this less hopeful scenario, I project a similar growth path to the baseline for 2020, followed by a painful economic contraction of GDP in 2021 as shutdowns are reintroduced," Harker said in prepared remarks for a presentation to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He spoke as nearly half the nation's economy was being restarted after being shut down since mid-March. Harker noted that the current slowdown was exacerbated greatly by the social distancing policies needed to control the coronavirus spread. But he said consumers already had begun to retrench beforehand, indicating that a rebound could take more time. He and his colleagues have implemented a variety of measures during the crisis, from taking short-term rates to zero to a series of lending and liquidity programs aimed at supporting markets and the economy. Harker stressed that the uncapped bond buying in which the Fed is engaging should not be considered quantitative easing, at least in respect to the efforts the central bank undertook during the financial crisis to push investors into riskier assets like stocks and corporate bonds. "We're not in 2009 anymore and this is not quantitative easing 2.0," he said. "The principle behind quantitative easing was that people weren't engaging in investments because the cost of capital was too high. That is simply not the case now. The reason people aren't engaging economically is the health crisis." Instead, he said the Fed is in "rescue" mode and that further direct payments that are needed for individuals will have to come from Congress. (All dollar amounts are United States dollars unless otherwise stated) VANCOUVER, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Galiano Gold Inc. ("Galiano" or the "Company") (TSX, NYSE American: GAU) (formerly Asanko Gold Inc.) reports first quarter ("Q1") 2020 operating and financial results for the Asanko Gold Mine ("AGM"), located in Ghana, West Africa. The AGM is a 50:50 joint venture ("JV") with Gold Fields Ltd (JSE,NYSE: GFI), which is managed and operated by Galiano. Q1 2020 Asanko Gold Mine Highlights (100% basis) Record quarterly gold production of 66,333 ounces at all-in sustaining cost 1 ("AISC") of $805 /oz ("AISC") of /oz The AGM delivered its best financial performance since commercial production was announced in April 2016 . . Gold sales of 67,820 ounces at an average realized price of $1,542 /oz, generating record gold sales proceeds of $104.6 million /oz, generating record gold sales proceeds of Strong cash flow generation with operating cash flow of $37.0 million , and free cash flow 1 of $27.0 million , and free cash flow of As at March 31, 2020 , the JV had cash of $55.6 million , $9.6 million in gold receivables and $0.5 million in gold on hand , the JV had cash of , in gold receivables and in gold on hand Revolving credit facility of $30 million drawn down as a proactive measure in response to current economic uncertainty drawn down as a proactive measure in response to current economic uncertainty Filed 43-101 technical report with updated Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Estimate Precautionary measures in place in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic Q1 2020 Quarterly Highlights for Galiano Gold Inc. Net income after tax of $21.8 million and Adjusted EBITDA 1 of $21.9 million and Adjusted EBITDA of At March 31, 2020 , Galiano had cash and receivables of $53.7 million , Galiano had cash and receivables of Continued returning capital to shareholders through the normal course issuer bid ("NCIB") program with 2,431,409 common shares repurchased and cancelled for $2.0 million Appointed Paul N. Wright as Chairman of the Board of Directors as of May 5, 2020 as Chairman of the Board of Directors as of Appointed Judith Mosely to the Board of Directors as of January 1, 2020 to the Board of Directors as of Appointed Todd Romaine as Executive Vice President, Sustainability as of May 1, 2020 as Executive Vice President, Sustainability as of Appointed Paul Klipfel as Senior Vice President, Exploration as of April 20, 2020 "We delivered an exceptional quarter in the context of a very challenging global backdrop," said Greg McCunn, Chief Executive Officer. "With record production and gold sales proceeds we continued to execute on our strategy of generating free cash flow at the Asanko Gold Mine and returning capital with distributions to the joint venture partners totalling $45 million during the quarter." "During the quarter the team delivered on an important milestone with the completion of the life of mine plan and the updated Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimate for the Asanko Gold Mine providing a baseline on which we are working to optimize. Included in the optimization is our cost initiative to drive down our all-in sustaining costs by $100/oz. Another key focus area where we see potential to drive value is within exploration and I am pleased to announce that Paul Klipfel has joined us as our newly appointed Vice President, Exploration. The focus on exploration in the short-term is on replacing depletion and during 2020 we have a $10 million program underway with 4 drill rigs currently turning on-site. We expect to have approximately 36,000 metres drilled by early August at near-mine targets which will form our updated reserve and resource estimate for year-end. We expect to see a sustained exploration effort in the medium term. "During the quarter and subsequent to quarter-end we have also undertaken some changes to the board with the addition of Judith Mosely and our newly appointed Chairman Paul Wright. We have also recently appointed Todd Romaine as our EVP, Sustainability. With sustainability a key focus area, we are pleased to enhance our capability across the Environmental, Social and Governance spheres. We also received shareholder support at our Annual General and Special Meeting to change the Company's name and effective May 5, 2020 we began trading as Galiano Gold. This provides us a clear distinction between the corporate level entity and the Asanko Gold Mine whilst maintaining our vision to create a sustainable business capable of long-term value creation for all our stakeholders." Asanko Gold Mine - Summary of Q1 2020 Operational and Financial Results (100%) AGM (100% Basis before any impairment adjustments) Q1 2020 Q4 2019 Q1 2019 Ore mined ('000t) 1,911 1,405 1,505 Waste mined ('000t) 7,051 4,956 6,584 Total mined ('000t) 8,962 6,361 8,089 Strip ratio (W:O) 3.7 3.5 4.4 Average gold grade mined (g/t) 1.6 1.6 1.4 Mining cost2 ($/t mined) 3.89 4.86 4.48 Ore milled ('000t) 1,400 1,460 1,224 Average mill head grade (g/t) 1.6 1.5 1.6 Average recovery rate (%) 94 94 93 Processing cost ($/t treated) 11.13 10.83 11.93 Gold production (oz) 66,333 66,112 60,425 Gold sales (oz) 67,820 66,095 53,421 Average realized gold price ($/oz) 1,542 1,465 1,292 Operating cash costs1 ($/oz) 599 790 878 Total cash costs1 ($/oz) 676 863 943 All-in sustaining costs1 ($/oz) 805 969 1,123 All-in sustaining margin1 ($/oz) 737 496 169 All-in sustaining margin1 ($m) 50.0 32.8 9.0 Revenue ($m) 104.8 97.1 67.0 Income (loss) from mine operations ($m) 48.4 9.1 (11.9) Cash provided by operating activities 37.0 45.4 8.8 2 For the three months ended March 31, 2019, mining cost per tonne excluded a provision for a one-time contract termination fee. During the quarter, the Company aligned its health and safety reporting standards with those of the International Council on Mining & Metals ("ICMM"). During Q1, there was one lost time injury ("LTI") and four total recordable injuries ("TRI") reported resulting in an LTI frequency rate ("LTIFR") of 0.51 per million employee hours worked and a TRI frequency rate ("TRIFR") of 2.02 per million employee hours worked. Record gold production of 66,333 ounces during the three months ended March 31, 2020 During Q1 2020, the AGM sold 67,820 ounces of gold at an average realized gold price of $1,542 /oz. Revenues totalled $104.8 million , an increase of $37.8 million from Q1 2019. The increase in sales proceeds was a function of higher sales volumes and higher averaged realized gold prices in Q1 2020. /oz. Revenues totalled , an increase of from Q1 2019. The increase in sales proceeds was a function of higher sales volumes and higher averaged realized gold prices in Q1 2020. The AGM incurred operating cash costs per ounce 1 , total cash costs per ounce 1 and AISC of $599 , $676 and $805 /oz, respectively, in Q1 2020. The reduction in total cash costs per ounce and AISC from Q1 2019 was primarily due to the impact of higher gold sales volumes which had the effect of decreasing fixed costs on a per unit basis, a reduction in ore transportation costs associated with trucking ore from Esaase to the process plant and a $41 /oz decrease in deferred stripping costs. , total cash costs per ounce and AISC of , and /oz, respectively, in Q1 2020. The reduction in total cash costs per ounce and AISC from Q1 2019 was primarily due to the impact of higher gold sales volumes which had the effect of decreasing fixed costs on a per unit basis, a reduction in ore transportation costs associated with trucking ore from Esaase to the process plant and a /oz decrease in deferred stripping costs. Total cost of sales (including depreciation and depletion and royalties) amounted to $56.4 million in Q1 2020, a decrease of $22.5 million from Q1 2019. The decrease in cost of sales was primarily due to a reduction in depreciation and depletion expense following the impairment recorded in Q4 2019 which had the effect of lowering the mineral properties, plant and equipment ("MPP&E") depreciable asset cost base. In addition, operating cash costs decreased as a result of a reduction in NRV adjustments to stockpiles. Cost of sales for Q1 2019 also included an accrual for a one-time mining contractor services agreement termination fee. These factors were partly offset by an increase in gold ounces sold in Q1 2020 compared to Q1 2019. in Q1 2020, a decrease of from Q1 2019. The decrease in cost of sales was primarily due to a reduction in depreciation and depletion expense following the impairment recorded in Q4 2019 which had the effect of lowering the mineral properties, plant and equipment ("MPP&E") depreciable asset cost base. In addition, operating cash costs decreased as a result of a reduction in NRV adjustments to stockpiles. Cost of sales for Q1 2019 also included an accrual for a one-time mining contractor services agreement termination fee. These factors were partly offset by an increase in gold ounces sold in Q1 2020 compared to Q1 2019. Strong cash flow generation with operating cash flow of $37.0 million ( $56.5 million before working capital adjustments), and free cash flow of $27.0 million . This compares to $8.8 million of operating cash flow and negative $5.2 million of free cash flow during Q1 2019. The improvement in free cash flow was mainly from the increase in income from operations partly offset by an unfavorable change in non-cash working capital. ( before working capital adjustments), and free cash flow of . This compares to of operating cash flow and negative of free cash flow during Q1 2019. The improvement in free cash flow was mainly from the increase in income from operations partly offset by an unfavorable change in non-cash working capital. Working capital investments during the quarter included investments in strategic supply chain interventions with respect to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic bolstering supplies of key reagents, critical spares and diesel. As at March 31, 2020 , the JV had cash of $55.6 million (including the funds from the fully drawn $30.0 million revolving line of credit), $9.6 million in receivables from gold sales and $0.5 million in gold on hand. Galiano Gold Inc. Summary Q1 2020 Financial Results Consolidated Q1 2020 Q4 2019 Q1 2019 Net income (loss) ($m) 21.8 (21.2) (5.3) Net income (loss) per share $0.10 ($0.09) ($0.02) Adjusted net income (loss)1 ($m) 21.8 0.9 (5.3) Adjusted net income (loss) per share1 $0.10 $0.00 ($0.02) Adjusted EBITDA1 ($m) 21.9 12.6 1.2 The Company reported net income after tax of $21.8 million in Q1 2020 compared to a net loss of $5.3 million in Q1 2019. The improvement in earnings during Q1 2020 was predominantly the result of an increase in the Company's 45% interest in the net earnings of the JV which totaled $20.5 million for the quarter. in Q1 2020 compared to a net loss of in Q1 2019. The improvement in earnings during Q1 2020 was predominantly the result of an increase in the Company's 45% interest in the net earnings of the JV which totaled for the quarter. The Company continued to return capital to shareholders through its normal course issuer bid ("NCIB") program. During Q1 2020, the Company repurchased and cancelled a total of 2,431,409 common shares under the NCIB program for $2.0 million (average acquisition price of $0.83 per share). (average acquisition price of per share). During the quarter, the Company received the $22.5 million in distributions from the JV. These payments were recorded as redemptions of the previously recognized preference shares. in distributions from the JV. These payments were recorded as redemptions of the previously recognized preference shares. As at March 31, 2020 , the Company had cash on hand of $50.6 million and $3.1 million in receivables for a gross liquidity position of $53.7 million and no debt. , the Company had cash on hand of and in receivables for a gross liquidity position of and no debt. Adjusted EBITDA 1 for Q1 2020 amounted to $21.9 million , compared to $1.2 million in Q1 2019. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA 1 was primarily a result of the increase in the AGM's net earnings. for Q1 2020 amounted to , compared to in Q1 2019. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA was primarily a result of the increase in the AGM's net earnings. Cash used in operating activities in Q1 2020 was $0.8 million , compared to cash used in operating activities of $1.6 million in Q1 2019. The decrease in cash used in operations was partly due cash inflows associated with working capital changes during Q1 2020, along with a reduction in cash general and administrative expenses. 2020 Outlook The Asanko Gold Mine is on track to meet 2020 guidance of 225,000 245,000 ounces at AISC of $1,000 $1,100/oz. It is expected that AISC will increase in Q2 and Q3 2020 as construction of the next lift on the Tailings Storage Facility is completed. Guidance Q1 2020 (Actual) FY 2020 (Forecast) Gold Production (oz) 66,333 225,000 245,000 AISC ($/oz) 805 1,000 1,100 Appointment of Todd Romaine as Executive Vice President, Sustainability The Company is pleased to announce that Todd Romaine has been appointed Executive Vice President of Sustainability. Todd has over 20 years' experience in the environmental, social and community aspects of the extractive sector as well as public and aboriginal governments. Most recently he worked as the Chief Sustainability Officer for Danakali Limited, an Australian junior potash mining company that is developing a 200-year Sulphate of Potash deposit in Eritrea. Prior to this role, Todd was the Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility & Government Relations at Nevsun Resources Ltd, a Canadian mid-tier mining company and played a central role developing leading edge CSR initiatives to establish social license and responsible operations in challenging jurisdictions. Previously, he worked in senior management roles at Enbridge Pipelines Inc., Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and the Government of Nunavut. Todd holds designations with the Canadian Institute of Planners, International Right of Way Association and has a Master's of International Relations, a Master's of Leadership, a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Planning, and a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies. Appointment of Paul Klipfel as Senior Vice President, Exploration The Company is pleased to announce that Paul Klipfel has been appointed Vice President in Exploration. Paul has 40 years of exploration experience in a wide variety of geologic settings and deposit types. Most of his work for the past 13 years has been in Ghana and other countries of West Africa. He was an original mapper on the Esaase project for Keegan Resources and has been a consultant to many companies over the past 17 years in West Africa, North and South America, Australia, and Asia. He also served as President for Abzu Gold and as Chief Geologist / COO for Ashanti Gold. Dr. Klipfel holds a Ph.D. in Economic Geology from Colorado School of Mines and M.S. degrees in Mineral Economics from Colorado School of Mines and Geology from University of Idaho. COVID-19 Update The JV has taken precautionary measures in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic to protect the health and safety of its employees and the operating and financial well-being of the AGM. There are no known or presumptive cases of COVID-19 with employees of Galiano or at the AGM. The Company's offices in Vancouver, Johannesburg and Accra are observing local regulations. The AGM continues to operate with strict hygiene, monitoring and social distancing protocols in place in accordance with the Ghanaian Ministry of Health guidelines. The AGM has continued to build its supply chain and now holds eight to nine months of key reagents, consumables and critical spares and three months of diesel supply. The AGM's primary refiner based in South Africa continues to receive shipments and refine gold dore from the AGM. This news release should be read in conjunction with Galiano's Management's Discussion and Analysis and the Condensed Consolidated Interim Financial Statements for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, which are available at www.galianogold.com and filed on SEDAR. Notes: 1 Non-GAAP Performance Measures The Company has included certain non-GAAP performance measures in this press release. These non-GAAP performance measures do not have any standardized meaning. Accordingly, these performance 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 GAAP. Refer to the Non-GAAP Measures section of Galiano's Management Discussion and Analysis for an explanation of these measures and reconciliations to the Company's reported financial results in accordance with IFRS. Operating Cash Costs per ounce and Total Cash Costs per ounce Operating cash costs are reflective of the cost of production, adjusted for share-based payments and by-product revenue per ounce of gold sold. Total cash costs include production royalties of 5%. Operating cash costs are reflective of the cost of production, adjusted for share-based payments and by-product revenue per ounce of gold sold. Total cash costs include production royalties of 5%. All-in Sustaining Costs Per Gold Ounce The Company has adopted the reporting of "all-in sustaining costs per gold ounce" ("AISC") as per the World Gold Council's guidance. AISC include total cash costs, corporate overhead expenses, sustaining capital expenditure, capitalized stripping costs and reclamation cost accretion per ounce of gold sold. The Company has adopted the reporting of "all-in sustaining costs per gold ounce" ("AISC") as per the World Gold Council's guidance. AISC include total cash costs, corporate overhead expenses, sustaining capital expenditure, capitalized stripping costs and reclamation cost accretion per ounce of gold sold. Adjusted net income attributable to common shareholders The Company has included the non-GAAP performance measures of adjusted net income (loss) attributable to common shareholders and adjusted net income (loss) per common share. Neither adjusted net income nor adjusted net income per share have any standardized meaning and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to other measures presented by other issuers. Adjusted net income excludes certain non-cash items from net income or net loss to provide a measure which helps the Company and investors to evaluate the results of the underlying core operations of the Company and its ability to generate cash flows and is an important indicator of the strength of our operations and the performance of our core business. The Company has included the non-GAAP performance measures of adjusted net income (loss) attributable to common shareholders and adjusted net income (loss) per common share. Neither adjusted net income nor adjusted net income per share have any standardized meaning and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to other measures presented by other issuers. Adjusted net income excludes certain non-cash items from net income or net loss to provide a measure which helps the Company and investors to evaluate the results of the underlying core operations of the Company and its ability to generate cash flows and is an important indicator of the strength of our operations and the performance of our core business. Adjusted EBITDA EBITDA provides an indication of the Company's continuing capacity to generate income from operations before taking into account the Company's financing decisions and costs of amortizing capital assets. Accordingly, EBITDA comprises net income (loss) excluding interest expense, interest income, amortization and depletion, and income taxes. Adjusted EBITDA adjusts EBITDA to exclude non-recurring items and to include the Company's interest in the adjusted EBITDA of the JV. Other companies and JV partners may calculate EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA differently. EBITDA provides an indication of the Company's continuing capacity to generate income from operations before taking into account the Company's financing decisions and costs of amortizing capital assets. Accordingly, EBITDA comprises net income (loss) excluding interest expense, interest income, amortization and depletion, and income taxes. Adjusted EBITDA adjusts EBITDA to exclude non-recurring items and to include the Company's interest in the adjusted EBITDA of the JV. Other companies and JV partners may calculate EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA differently. Free cash flow The Company believes that in addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, the Company and certain investors and analysts use free cash flow to evaluate the JV's performance with respect to its operating cash flow capacity to meet non-discretionary outflows of cash. The presentation of free cash flow is not meant to be a substitute for the cash flow information presented in accordance with IFRS, but rather should be evaluated in conjunction with such IFRS measures. Free cash flow is calculated as cash flows from operating activities of the JV adjusted for cash flows associated with sustaining and non-sustaining capital expenditures and payments made to mining contractors for leases capitalized under IFRS 16. About Galiano Gold Inc. Galiano is focused on creating a sustainable business capable of long-term value creation for its stakeholders through organic production growth, exploration and disciplined deployment of its financial resources. The company currently operates and manages the Asanko Gold Mine, located in Ghana, West Africa which is jointly owned with Gold Fields Ltd. The Company is strongly committed to the highest standards for environmental management, social responsibility, and health and safety for its employees and neighbouring communities. For more information, please visit www.galianogold.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements and information contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable U.S. securities laws and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, which we refer to collectively as "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are statements and information regarding possible events, conditions or results of operations that are based upon assumptions about future conditions and courses of action. All statements and information other than statements of historical fact may be forward looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "seek", "expect", "anticipate", "budget", "plan", "estimate", "continue", "forecast", "intend", "believe", "predict", "potential", "target", "may", "could", "would", "might", "will" and similar words or phrases (including negative variations) suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to: estimates regarding the AGM's consumption of key reagents, consumables, critical spares and diesel fuel; the ability of the AGM to maintain current inventory levels; expected gold production; cost estimates; and the expected date of the announcement of preliminary production and cost data; and statements with respect to the Company's share buy-back program. Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions, including, but not limited to: the ability of the AGM to continue to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic; that gold production and other activities will not be curtailed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; that the AGM will be able to continue to ship dore from the AGM site to be refined; that the dore produced by the AGM will continue to be able to be refined at similar rates and costs to the AGM, or at all; that the other current or potential future effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's business, operations and financial position, including restrictions on the movement of persons (and in particular, the AGM's workforce), restrictions on business activities, including access to the AGM, restrictions on the transport of goods, trade restrictions, increases in the cost of necessary inputs, reductions in the availability of necessary inputs and productivity and operational constraints, will not impact its 2020 production and cost guidance; that the Company's and the AGM's responses to the COVID-19 pandemic will be effective in continuing its operations in the ordinary course; the accuracy of the estimates and assumptions underlying the Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimates, including future gold prices, cut-off grades and production and processing estimates; the successful completion of development and exploration projects, planned expansions or other projects within the timelines anticipated and at anticipated production levels; that mineral resources can be developed as planned; that the Company's relationship with joint venture partners will continue to be positive and beneficial to the Company; interest and exchange rates; that required financing and permits will be obtained; general economic conditions; that labour disputes or disruptions, flooding, ground instability, geotechnical failure, fire, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate are as anticipated and other risks of the mining industry will not be encountered; that contracted parties provide goods or services in a timely manner; that there is no material adverse change in the price of gold or other metals; competitive conditions in the mining industry; title to mineral properties; costs; taxes; the retention of the Company's key personnel; and changes in laws, rules and regulations applicable to Galiano. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. The Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements contained herein. Some of the risks and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release, include, but are not limited to: the Company's and/or the AGM's operations may be curtailed or halted entirely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, whether as a result of governmental or regulatory law or pronouncement, or otherwise; that the dore produced at the AGM may not be able to be refined at expected levels, on expected terms or at all; that the Company and/or the AGM will experience increased operating costs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; that the AGM may not be able to source necessary inputs on commercially reasonable terms, or at all; the Company's and the AGM's responses to the COVID-19 pandemic may not be successful in continuing its operations in the ordinary course; mineral reserve and resource estimates may change and may prove to be inaccurate; life of mine estimates are based on a number of factors and assumptions and may prove to be incorrect; AGM has a limited operating history and is subject to risks associated with establishing new mining operations; sustained increases in costs, or decreases in the availability, of commodities consumed or otherwise used by the Company may adversely affect the Company; actual production, costs, returns and other economic and financial performance may vary from the Company's estimates in response to a variety of factors, many of which are not within the Company's control; adverse geotechnical and geological conditions (including geotechnical failures) may result in operating delays and lower throughput or recovery, closures or damage to mine infrastructure; the ability of the Company to treat the number of tonnes planned, recover valuable materials, remove deleterious materials and process ore, concentrate and tailings as planned is dependent on a number of factors and assumptions which may not be present or occur as expected; the Company's operations may encounter delays in or losses of production due to equipment delays or the availability of equipment; the Company's operations are subject to continuously evolving legislation, compliance with which may be difficult, uneconomic or require significant expenditures; the Company may be unsuccessful in attracting and retaining key personnel; labour disruptions could adversely affect the Company's operations; the Company's business is subject to risks associated with operating in a foreign country; risks related to the Company's use of contractors; the hazards and risks normally encountered in the exploration, development and production of gold; the Company's operations are subject to environmental hazards and compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations; the Company's operations and workforce are exposed to health and safety risks; unexpected costs and delays related to, or the failure of the Company to obtain, necessary permits could impede the Company's operations; the Company's title to exploration, development and mining interests can be uncertain and may be contested; the Company's properties may be subject to claims by various community stakeholders; risks related to limited access to infrastructure and water; the Company's exploration programs may not successfully expand its current mineral reserves or replace them with new reserves; the Company's common shares may experience price and trading volume volatility; the Company's revenues are dependent on the market prices for gold, which have experienced significant recent fluctuations; the Company may not be able to secure additional financing when needed or on acceptable terms; Company shareholders may be subject to future dilution; risks related to changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates; changes to taxation laws applicable to the Company may affect the Company's profitability and ability to repatriate funds; the Company's primary asset is held through a joint venture, which exposes the Company to risks inherent to joint ventures, including disagreements with joint venture partners and similar risks; risks related to the Company's internal controls over financial reporting and compliance with applicable accounting regulations and securities laws; the carrying value of the Company's assets may change and these assets may be subject to impairment charges; the Company may be liable for uninsured or partially insured losses; the Company may be subject to litigation; the Company may be unsuccessful in identifying targets for acquisition or completing suitable corporate transactions, and any such transactions may not be beneficial to the Company or its shareholders; the Company must compete with other mining companies and individuals for mining interests; and risks related to information systems security threats. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, you are cautioned that this list is not exhaustive and there may be other factors that the Company has not identified. Furthermore, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements included in, or incorporated by reference in, this news release if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as otherwise required by applicable law. Neither Toronto Stock Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE Galiano Gold Inc. Related Links https://www.asanko.com/Home/default.aspx Credit: CC0 Public Domain Scientists in Leiden are looking for signals in blood samples to predict whether patients will develop serious COVID-19 symptoms or not. Based on that knowledge, they will be able to propose targeted therapies to prevent serious symptoms. They hope to come up with the first results within the week. Traces of diseases in the body Every process in the bodyincluding disease processesleaves traces in the form of small molecules. These molecules in our blood provide a lot of information. For example, it is often possible to trace which foods or medicines have been swallowed or administered, or they can be used to determine whether someone has been exposed to air pollution. Some of these molecules in the blood are themselves the trigger for crucial processes in the body. These can be 'healthy' processes, but also unwanted ones, such as blood vessel leakage and blood clotting. Predicting symptoms Scientists can measure all these substances in blood to gain information about a person's health. Leiden scientists in the group of Professor of Analytical life sciences Thomas Hankemeier have a lot of experience with this branch of science, which is called metabolomics. Hankemeier: "We would like to contribute to the fight against COVID-19. With our metabolomics technologies, we are looking for factors in the blood that predict which COVID-19 patients will develop serious symptoms and which will not." Hankemeier and colleagues have started systematically mapping all kinds of small molecules in the blood of COVID-19 patients: amino acids, fatty acids, bioactive lipids, small chemicals from the environment and many more. They will compare the resulting profiles to clinical data of the patients. In this way, they hope to find molecules that are predictors for certain COVID-19 complaints. Reducing COVID-19 symptoms After mapping these molecules, the researchers will then further investigate these particles . In what processes in the body do they play a role? Has the virus hijacked metabolic processes? Are there any inflammatory reactions or vascular problems that may play a role in the development of serious and critical symptoms? Are there any outside chemicals that make the disease worse? Hankemeier: "We would like to understand the underlying routes or environmental factors that (co-) direct the development of serious and critical symptoms. This allows us to look for ways to adjust these processes, for example with existing or new medicines. Those insights will help to find ways to improve the resilience of COVID-19 patients and to develop less severe symptoms." Collaborations Hankemeier's group is collaborating with researchers, clinicians and intensive care specialists from LUMC, Erasmus MC and UMCU, medical centres that also provide clinical samples from COVID-19 patients. The researchers are also open to other collaborations. To study the environmental substances in the blood, they are working together with Utrecht University Professor Roel Vermeulen in the Exposome-NL Gravitation project . Testing in mini-organs To test the effect of potential treatments, the scientists use artificial patient-derived organs (organs-on-a-chip). Because tens to a hundred mini-organs fit on a single chip, scientists can quickly perform many different tests with them. For this purpose Hankemeier's group has academic collaborations with, among others, professor Anton-Jan van Zonneveld of the LUMC and Leiden-based company Mimetas. Barend Mons and Arie Baak from Euretos contribute their expertise (including on the VODAN network and artificial intelligence) to integrate the new experimental data with available knowledge about COVID-19. Hankemeier: "Based on all public knowledge, we have developed ideas with other researchers on how you can probably treat patients in the different stages of the disease. We will evaluate the resulting hypotheses with a team of experts and test potentially successful interventions on the organs-on-a-chip." Fast results In this way, Hankemeier and his group hope to contribute to the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Their first results are expected within the week. Hankemeier is already in contact with pharmaceutical and clinical food companies in Leiden and the rest of the Netherlands, so that action can be taken quickly and any treatments can be delivered quickly. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak COVID-19 is changing the route of illicit drug flows, says UNODC report Photo: UNODC Vienna (Austria), 7 May 2020 Measures implemented by governments to curb the COVID-19 pandemic have led to drug trafficking routes by air being disrupted, along with drastic reduction or increased interdiction in trafficking routes over land. Some drug supply chains have been interrupted and traffickers are looking for alternative routes, including maritime routes, depending on the types of drugs smuggled. These are some of the findings from a report on drug market trends during COVID-19, launched today by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Synthetic drugs, such as methamphetamine tend to be trafficked across continents by air more than other types of drugs. Restrictions on air travel are, therefore, likely to have a particularly drastic effect on this illegal cargo. The bulk of cocaine is trafficked by sea and large cargos have continued to be detected in European ports during the pandemic. So far, heroin has mostly been trafficked by land. But due to the pandemic, maritime routes seem to be increasingly used now to traffic heroin as shown by seizures of opiates in the Indian Ocean. Trafficking in cannabis, however, may not be affected in the same way as that of heroin or cocaine, given that its production often takes place near consumer markets and traffickers are thus less reliant on long, transregional shipments of large quantities of the drug. Drug consumption trends Several countries have reported drug shortages at the retail level. This can lead to an overall decrease in consumption, but mainly of drugs mostly consumed in recreational settings. In the case of heroin, however, a shortage in supply can lead to the consumption of harmful, domestically produced substances heroin shortages have been reported by countries in Europe, South West Asia and North America and some countries in Europe have warned that heroin users may even switch to fentanyl and its derivatives. An increase in the use of pharmaceutical products such as benzodiazepines has also been reported, already doubling their price in certain areas. Another harmful pattern resulting from drug shortages is the increase in injecting drug use and the sharing of injecting equipment. All of which carry the risk of spreading diseases like HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, and COVID-19 itself. The risk of drug overdose may also increase among those injecting drugs and who are infected with COVID-19. Trends in drug production Restrictions resulting from lockdown could hinder the production of opiates with the key months of harvest in Afghanistan being March to June. Due to COVID-19 labour force might not be able or willing to travel to areas where opium poppy is grown in the country, which could affect this years harvest. Cocaine production also appears to be impeded in Colombia, as producers are suffering from a shortage of gasoline. While in Bolivia, COVID-19 is limiting the ability of state authorities to control coca bush cultivation, which could lead to an increase in coca production. In Peru, however, a drop in the price of cocaine suggests a reduction in trafficking opportunities. This may discourage coca bush cultivation in the short-term, although the looming economic crisis may lead more farmers to take up coca cultivation in all the major cocaine producing countries. A decline in international trade in the current pandemic could also lead to shortages in the supply of precursors, vital for the manufacture of heroin as well as for synthetic drugs. A limited supply in Mexico, for example seems to have disrupted the manufacture of methamphetamine and fentanyl, while in Lebanon and Syria it is affecting the production of captagon. Czechia on the other hand expects a shortage of metamphetamine for the same reasons. In the long-run, the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to lead to a lasting and profound transformation of the drug markets, which can be fully understood only after more research is done. The economic difficulties caused by COVID-19 may affect people who are already in position of socioeconomic disadvantage harder than others. *** UNODC has collected data from government authorities, UNODC field offices, open sources, and information from media that are now summarized in the COVID-19 and DrugMarkets report. Based on the data received, it gives some first-hand observations and assumptions without drawing generally valid conclusions. This will happen at a later stage after more profound research is done in the field. Further information Research Brief - COVID-19 and the drug supply chain: from production and trafficking to use Press release Saif Ali Khan is one of the most celebrated actors in Bollywood and is known for his stellar performances. The actor was last seen in Jawaani Jaaneman and will next be seen in Dil Bechara and Bunty Aur Babli 2. However, the actor has also been caught in some controversies due to some bold statements that he made. Read on: Saif Ali Khan's top controversial statements In an interview, Saif Ali Khan landed himself in a controversy about when he was questioned about politics getting altered in his recently released Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior. He replied saying ''I dont think there was a concept of India till perhaps the British gave it one. I dont think there is any constructive point in arguing about loudly, provided you know why youre doing it." Saif Ali Khan acknowledged that the politics in the movie is questionable and the idea of Swaraj that the film showcases does not qualify as history as India as a nation had nothing like self-governed nation until the British gave one. Many actors including Kangana Ranaut, Vivek Agnihotri slammed the actor for this statement. Bollywood history buff #SaifAliKhan claims there was no concept of India until the British came. Yeah right. French East India Company was about China & Vasco DGama went to Fiji. Last time he invoked he invoked history he named his son Timur pic.twitter.com/pyZXERUQy0 Tarek Fatah (@TarekFatah) January 19, 2020 ALSO READ | Saif Ali Khan Captured At His Candid Best By Kareena Kapoor Khan; See Pics Saif Ali Khan made headlines when he made some bold statements about The Azaaan. According to some reports, Saif Ali Khan who is known for being very vocal opened up about his view on the same matter. The actor said to one of the leading daily portals: ''Dont know who you are offending. At one level I agree, the lesser sound the better, there should be certain decibel levels allowed across religious practices. I also understand the amplification of the sound during azaan comes from insecurity. Not just here but also in Israel apparently where three different religions co-exist. Its been written about so I believe its the same. As a minority, you would like to make your presence felt and hopefully accepted. If someone says that it should be extinguished, it will make some people little uncomfortable. As a precursor to some sort of holocaust, its the first thing you think of. Theres a bit of fear there.'' ALSO READ | Pregnant Kareena Kapoor Khan Posing With Sara & Ibrahim Goes Viral; See Picture Inside Saif Ali Khan further caught himself in another controversy when he replied to Sonu Nigam's tweet on the same issue. He found his point of view on The Azaan to be a bit aggressive. Reportedly, this is what the actor said to the leading daily: ''Its fine to express your views on the decibel levels. I think that tweet was a bit aggressive though, initially. And I do think religion should be a private affair and we should be a secular country.'' ALSO READ | Here's All You Need To Know About Saif Ali Khan's Family Tree; Read Details Here Saif Ali Khan son's Ibrahim had shared some posts and videos of himself on his Instagram feed and Saif had some words of advice for his son on the same. According to a leading daily, his bold statement advising son to be less active on social media created controversy. "I hope he understands that interest on social media is a double-edged sword. People are interested in him today because of his family, who his parents are as well as him" ALSO READ | Saif Ali Khan's Photos From Old & Recent Times That Show His Transition In Bollywood In an interview, Saif Ali Khan opened up as to why he does not want to work with wife, Kareena Kapoor Khan. In the interview, Saif Ali Khan explained the reason and his statement sparked controversy amongst the audience. He explained: "I've been saying no to working with Bebo in recent years because I've always ensured that there's a clear demarcation between my personal and professional life. Now, however, the lines are blurring. With my father (Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi) not being around and me being the defacto head of the family, my outlook has changed." "When I am with Kareena on screen, I end up not performing. I become deferential and slightly boring in the frame. I don't compete and give enough energy. I kind of play myself, which is bad," Image Credits: PTI A 57-year-old man in immigration custody died Wednesday from complications related to the coronavirus, authorities said, marking the first reported death from the virus among about 30,000 people in immigration custody. Carlos Ernesto Escobar was diabetic and had undergone an operation where he lost his foot shortly before entering the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego this January. But the facility has been a hotbed for the spread of COVID-19, with nearly one of five detainees who have tested positive nationwide and his death came after advocacy groups demanded the release of detainees nationwide on bail. As of Wednesday, 132 of ICE's 705 positive cases were at the San Diego facility. Additionally, 10 of 39 ICE detention employees who have tested positive are at Otay Mesa. Carlos Escobar died at Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego, California on Wednesday Left, Carlos Escobar is pictured with two of his nephews about 20 years ago. He is pictured, right, with his sister Rosa Escobar (left) and their mother shortly after coming to the US Escobar was put in solitary confinement recently due to taking part in a hunger strike over the conditions at the facility. Detainees had complained there was a lack of gloves and cleaning supplies but those who asked for masks were blasted with pepper spray, an insider claimed to Buzzfeed News. Escobar had been hospitalized since April 24, the same day he tested positive for COVID-19, and he entered the ICU at Paradise Valley Hospital in National City three days later. On Tuesday received a blood transfusion but his body had already been too weakened by the virus and he died 2.15am Wednesday. A Justice Department attorney, Samuel Bettwy, said at a hearing on Monday that the San Diego detainee was on a ventilator at a hospital and his prognosis was not good. 'We can confirm that we had a report this morning of a 57-year-old male detainee who had formerly been at the Otay Mesa Detention Facility and had been hospitalized since late April did die early this morning from complications of COVID,' Eric McDonald, a medical director at San Diego County's public health department, said on Wednesday. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would neither confirm nor deny the death. CoreCivic Inc., the private company that operates the detention center, didn't respond to a request for comment. Escobar left El Salvador with his mother and sisters in 1980 and lived in the Los Angeles area with his sister Rosa who he had been helping to take care of since his mother passed away. His sisters Maribel and Rosa had green cards but Escobar was the only one who did not because he got in trouble for drinking when he was younger. He and a friend were taken into custody after they were stopped by police while his friend was driving his car in January. Escobar could not drive it because of his foot operation. Escobar had appeared for a hearing in front of a judge on April 15 but was not released due to issues on his record including a domestic violence case that he was later cleared of due to mistaken identity, a DUI conviction from three decades ago and a possession of a controlled substance conviction in 2012 that was later expunged. 'If that hadnt happened, my brother would be here with me,' his sister Rosa Escobar told The San Diego Union-Tribune. His sister Maribel wrote in a letter to the judge: 'I want you to know that it was on your hands to save his life.' But the letter was returned in the mail last week and she will try to send it again. Advocacy groups have been pressing ICE to release detainees on bond swiftly criticized the agency. The frequency of testing may have something to do with Otay Mesa's elevated infection rate. At Mondays hearing, authorities said 119 of 171, or 70%, of detainees tested at Otay Mesa were positive. ICE says only that it has tested 705 detainees nationwide, without breaking testing down by detention center. The first positive case at Otay Mesa was a guard, whose test result was announced March 31. The facility is designed to hold up to 1,970 ICE detainees and U.S. Marshals Service inmates but has lowered its count in recent weeks. As of April 26, it held 662 immigration detainees and 325 Marshals Service inmates. Dozens are being released this week under a court order. 'We filed a lawsuit demanding the immediate release of medically vulnerable people from Otay Mesa weeks ago, urging that release under these circumstances is a matter of life and death,' Monika Langarica, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of San Diego & Imperial Counties, said in a statement. 'Today one of those people has died because ICE refused to release him when he still had a chance to survive this deadly virus. 'This tragic news is even more evidence that failing to act will result in cruel and needless death.' 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. Two guards at an immigration detention center in Monroe, Louisiana, died late last month from the coronavirus - Carl Lenard, 62, and Stanton Johnson, 51. Until Wednesday, no detainees had been reported dead. ICE has released about 900 detainees due to coronavirus measures. Egypts Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) and the American Concord International Investment Group have inked on Wednesday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a joint firm to moderate a fund specialised in healthcare mainly in Egypt, the Middle East, and Africa. According to a statement, the funds first phase worth $300 million targets maximising the assets on the long run through making use of foreign direct investment (FDI) opportunities, in addition to attracting FDI flows and creating joint investment opportunities in other mega projects. The new fund aims to create a diversified healthcare platform benefiting from Egypts increasing population, and creating healthcare entities appropriated for exporting healthcare services to Europe, Middle East countries and Africa, besides maximising the promising firms value in the sector and untapped assets. Minister of Planning and Economic Development and Chairman of the fund Hala El-Said said that investing in healthcare is one of Egypts priorities in the time being amid the COVID-19 crisis. In addition, Egyptians health is key to Egypts Vision 2030 for Sustainable Development, she said. She clarified that the new healthcare fund also aims at increasing the private sector's participation in the Egyptian economy in accordance with Egypts Vision 2030 that put the private sector as an essential partner in Egypts development progress. The Executive Manager of Egypts Sovereign Wealth Fund Ayman Soliman said that Egypts fund plays an important role in attracting new investments to tap into the states assets, in addition to modernising and expanding healthcare services amid the current COVID-19 crisis and its increasingly harsh impacts on the global economy. Thus, we have to be ready and we must create solutions that help alleviate the pressure on healthcare systems in the region and the world because of the COVID-19 outbreak, Soliman added. Meanwhile, Chairman and Founder at Concord Group Mohamed Saleh Younes said that there is an increasing demand on the healthcare industry, which includes drug producers, recognising service providers, which is witnessing high annual growth. He added that the new fund will receive the promising investments either from the government or from the private sector to create diversified investments in the healthcare sector to maximise its value over the investment period. There are significant opportunities for expanding in this kind of business in the Middle East and Africa markets, using the developing resources in Egypt that provide a unique opportunity for the new fund," according to Younes. Search Keywords: Short link: A bar in Oswego County and a brewpub in Binghamton have had their liquor licenses suspended after authorities found people drinking inside in violation of the states coronavirus emergency shutdown order. The State Liquor Authority today suspended the licenses for Old Timers Inn at 2018 County Route 1, just east of the city of Oswego, and for Water Street Brewing, a brewery/restaurant in downtown Binghamton. The suspensions, which can be appealed, mean the bars, for now, cannot sell any alcohol, not even for takeout or delivery, which have been allowed since the order shutting down on-premises food and drink service. While our state has made tremendous progress in stopping the spread of the coronavirus, we need continued cooperation from our licensees, State Liquor Authority Chairman Vincent Bradley said in a news release. While the overwhelming majority of businesses are adhering to these essential protocols, there should be no doubt the SLA will not hesitate to shut down any bar found violating these lifesaving measures. These are the ninth and 10th emergency license suspensions issued by the SLA for bars found to be in violation of the shutdown order. Two were in Erie County and one in Westchester County. The rest were in New York City. In the Oswego County case, the SLA had reports from the Oswego County Sheriffs Office that Old Timers Inn sold alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption to undercover officers on April 16 and 24, and again on May 5, despite receiving multiple warnings from deputies. The first warning came on March 17, but there were additional complaints, the SLA said. On April 3, Oswego deputies visited the bar and observed someone consuming alcohol at the bar. The owner told deputies the person had been painting and was being compensated with beer, the SLA said. Deputies warned the owner that all on-premises service was prohibited, the SLA said. On April 9 and 10, the sheriffs office conducted surveillance of the bar observing more than thirty patrons parking behind the premises and entering and exiting through a back door, the SLA said. On April 16, the sheriffs department sent an undercover officer to the bar. .. (An) officer conducting an undercover operation parked in front of the bar, where he was instructed by an employee to park in the rear and enter through the backdoor, the SLA said in a news release. Once inside the officer ordered and was served a beer, with the bartender instructing the officer not to tell anyone as on-premises sales were illegal. When the officer asked whether the bar was being painted, the bartender admitted that this was simply a cover story should police discover the bar was continuing operations. The sheriffs department issued another warning to the bar after an officer observed individuals inside on April 19. On April 24 and May 5 an undercover officer was again served inside the bar. The SLA charged Old Timers Inn Monday with several violations, including for failure to comply with Gov. Andrew Cuomos coronavirus order and "for its failure to supervise the licensed premises." The Binghamton case occurred on April 22 at Water Street Brewing Co., 168 Water St. City police officers responding to reports of suspicious activity in the area after 10 p.m. observed people drinking inside the bar. In that case, both an employee and the brewpub owner attempted to stop police from entering the premises, which the SLA considers a clear violation of state alcohol law. As a condition of holding a liquor license, all licensees are legally required to allow inspections by police officials, as local law enforcement are tasked with ensuring compliance with the Alcoholic Beverage Control law, the SLA said in its news release. Both the owner, Kristin Andrascik, and the employee, Nicholas Hall, were ticketed by Binghamton police. Both face city charges of obstructing governmental administration, and Andrascik also faces a charge of violating the states emergency shutdown order. The SLA charges, which led to the license suspension, include failure to comply with the governors shutdown order, failure to supervise the licensed premises and failure to permit an inspection. By ignoring the Governors (executive order) and unlawfully refusing to allow police to inspect the premises, this licensee has demonstrated a total disregard for the law and more troubling, placed the health, safety and lives of others at risk, Bradley, the SLA chairman, said in a news release. Both the Oswego and Binghamton license suspensions were ordered today in a videotaped and remote meeting of the SLA board. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources As CNY coronavirus lockdown loosens, 98% of us could still get sick Where are Onondaga Co. health officials worried about coronavirus spread? The complete list Onondaga County sets daily records for tests, coronavirus infections; 41st death 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. By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 07, 2020 | 02:12 PM | PADUCAH On Thursday, City of Paducah officials announced that CFSB has donated $2,500 to the fund. The City is currently matching donations to the fund, which brings this donation up to $5,000. CFSB provided the following statement with the donation. "We truly are here for our community. These past few months have been difficult for everyone, including our small businesses. We are honored to invest in the Small Business Relief Fund to assist our local businesses. They are the backbone of our community and employ our friends, family, and neighbors who are vital to restarting our local economy." The first round of funding assisted 75 businesses in the Paducah area. The second round of funding will assist 50 businesses, entirely funded by community donations and the City's matched funds. Anyone that wishes to donate to the Small Businesses Relief Fund can do so by contacting the Community Foundation at the link below, or by calling 270-442-8622. Their website includes a tracker to show community support. The program is a partnership between the City, WKCTC, and the Community Foundation of West Kentucky. For additional information and a list of frequently asked questions, visit the link below. The City of Paducah has announced another donation to their Small Business Relief Fund. On the Net: Galveston County Judge Mark Henry is calling on the governor to freeze 2020 property appraisals at 2019 levels because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Henry wrote to Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday, requesting the property assessment freeze so local families dont get hit with an additional economic burden during the global pandemic. Galveston County Central Appraisal District officials said the vast majority of county properties saw an increase in value in 2020, which would lead to higher property taxes. The 2020 assessments are based on values prior to this pandemic and the economic consequences that came with it, Henry, a Republican, said in a statement. The right thing to do at this time would be to freeze values and reassess for next year when the economic impact can be taken into account. Tommy Watson, the countys chief appraiser, said the district was simply following state law by assessing 2020 properties based on fair market value gleaned from 2019 data. He acknowledged that 2020 values will likely take a negative hit because the once-robust Texas economy has suffered as businesses have shuttered because of the virus outbreak and oil prices have tanked. January the 1st is our appraisal date, and on January the 1st, the market was still good, Watson said. Any effect that this pandemic will have on values will take place in 2021. While Texas began a phased reopening of its economy this week, continued social distancing requirements are further complicating matters for county property owners unhappy with their assessments. Watson said that the appraisal district review board will not be doing in-person hearings for now, and that property owners are directed to file complaints online via email or over the phone. Watson added that there have been way more complaints filed this year than in the past. The lack of in-person hearings has rankled Henry, who believes that social distancing has infringed on a key course of action for property owners. Henry aired this grievance in a letter to Attorney General Ken Paxton, requesting that he freeze property appraisals at 2019 values because of the potential lack of due process in contesting appraisals. The Galveston County Daily News reported that Republican state Rep. Mayes Middleton, whose district includes portions of Galveston County, also requested a legal opinion about whether cancellation of in-person property value protests violates Texans constitutional rights. Protesting ones property assessment is one of these rights that must be protected, especially at a time when property appraisals in our state are skyrocketing and when so many families are facing economic hardship due to the pandemic, Henry wrote to Paxton, also a Republican. Watson said online complaints to the central appraisal district are not unusual, even in normal times. In 2019, the central appraisal district fielded more than 1,600 property assessment complaints online and settled nearly 40 percent of those claims. Henry also sent letters to state House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, as well as local state representatives and senators, urging the legislators to take up property tax appraisal reform in the coming legislative session. In his letter to Bonnen, Henry noted that Galveston County was one of the few local governments to voice support for revenue caps on local governments during the 2019 legislative session, despite the fact that, in his view, the revenue cap didnt go far enough in providing property tax relief to local taxpayers. Henry added that Galveston County has cut its property tax rate by 18 percent over the last eight years, but local taxpayers need the states other taxing entities to follow suit. I have done what I can within the powers of my elected office to hold the line for taxpayers, Henry wrote to Bonnen. It is now up to you, as one of our local legislators, to take action on this issue. nick.powell@chron.com twitter.com/nickpowellchron A group of GOP Senators is asking President Trump to ramp up his recent pause on immigration to include a prohibition on guest-worker visas, citing rising levels of American unemployment amid the coronavirus pandemic. Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.), joined by Senators Josh Hawley (R., Mo.), Ted Cruz (R., Texas), and Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) are requesting that the White House halt new guest-worker visas and all non-immigrant guest-worker visas, as well as a suspension of new non-immigrant guest-worker visas for 60 days or until American jobless numbers fall to normal levels. As we work toward recovery, we urge you to keep the American worker in mind and limit the number of unnecessary guest workers while American families and businesses get back on their feet, the senators write in the letter. While Trump announced a 60-day moratorium on immigration last month, the rule did not affect guest-worker programs, including EB-5 visas which give immigrants green cards after a set amount of investment H-2B visas for nonagricultural seasonal workers, H-1B visas for specialty occupation workers, and the countrys Optional Practical Training (OTP) program, which allows foreign students to work in the U.S. for 1-3 years after graduation. The senators explain that EB-5 program has long been plagued by scandal and amounts to a pay-for citizenship scheme in many cases. They also argue that suspensions to OTP, H-1B, and H-2B will help those citizens who recently graduated high school or college and have entered a tough job market. Given the extreme lack of available jobs for American job-seekers as portions of our economy begin to reopen, it defies common sense to admit additional foreign guest workers to compete for such limited employment, they explain. Last week, the Department of Labor reported 3.8 million new jobless claims, bringing the total number of American seeing unemployment benefits to 30 million, or 18 percent of the total work force. More from National Review Contributions to K-State earn 13 students Dean of Student Life Outstanding Graduating Senior Award Thursday, May 7, 2020 Thirteen Kansas State Universit students are being recognized for their contributions to the university with the Dean of Student Life Outstanding Graduating Senior Award. MANHATTAN Kansas State University Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Thomas Lane has selected 13 students for the Dean of Student Life Outstanding Graduating Senior Award. Inaugurated in 1999, the award recognizes seniors on the Manhattan campus and the Kansas State Polytechnic Campus in Salina for their significant contributions to student life during their time at K-State. Staff members in the Division of Student Life nominate students they find deserving of the award. Final award winners are recommended to Lane by a committee of student life staff members. "Though we have many students who have made a meaningful contribution to improving student life at the university, I am greatly pleased to recognize these 13 seniors identified by others as truly making their mark throughout their time at K-State," Lane said. "I thank them for their hard work in making a better K-State for all Wildcats." The following students are recipients of the Dean of Student Life Outstanding Graduating Senior Award: Hayley Spellman, communication studies and political science, Emporia; Sadie Polson, marketing, Frankfort; Francisco Cardoza, management information systems, and Chelsea Turner, American ethnic studies, both from Kansas City; Sahiba Grover, microbiology, Lenexa; Ayanna Phillips, music, Olathe; Natalie May, entrepreneurship, Peck; Caleb Strahm, aeronautical technology-professional pilot, Sabetha; Justin Moser, accounting and management information systems, Westmoreland; and Peter Moyer, economics and political science, Wichita. From out of state: Ayana Belk, landscape architecture, Kansas City, Missouri; Katheryn Gregerson, agricultural economics and global food systems leadership, Herman, Nebraska; and Darrell Reese, human resource management, Plano, Texas. Department store Debenhams has announced that another five of its UK branches will not re-open following the easing of lockdown. The retailer said that it had been unable to agree terms with shopping centre owner Hammerson to re-open the branches after falling into administration last month. It has been reported that the closures may result in around 1,400 job losses across the stores in Birmingham's Bullring, Croydon's Centrale shopping centre, Silverburn in Glashow, High Cross Leicester, and Reading's Oracle due to close. Lockdown critics are likely to point to the closures as proof that the Johnson government's strategy has inflicted huge economic damage. Department store chain Debenhams has announced that another five of its UK stores will not re-open following the easing of lockdown (pictured, on Oxford Street, London) A spokesman for Debenhams said: 'We can confirm that despite our best efforts, we have been unable to agree terms with Hammerson on our five stores in its shopping centres, and so they will not be reopening. 'We continue to engage in constructive talks with our landlords and have agreed terms on the vast majority of our stores, which we look forward to reopening when government restrictions allow. 'This is no reflection on the commitment of our colleagues in these stores and we are extremely grateful for their support.' On April 6, CEO Stefaan Vansteenkiste said Debenhams had filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators due to the 'unprecedented' pandemic. Three days, the company went into administration, appointing FRP Advisory to oversee the process in a move that cast a shadow over the future of its 20,000 staff. Last month, Debenhams closed seven outlets, resulting in 422 job losses. It said it had agreed terms with landlords to continue trading at 120 of its 142 UK stores. At the time, the majority of its employees in the UK were being paid under the Government's furlough scheme. Lockdown critics are likely to point to the closures as evidence of the huge damage being inflicted upon the British economy by the policy (pictured, Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey) News of the permanent closures follows speculation that the Johnson government's furlough scheme is too costly to sustain in the long-term. The Treasury is understood to be considering lowering the rate to 60 per cent of the wages of British workers, from the initial 80 per cent (2,500) cap. Its revisions come amid reports that around 53 per cent of the UK adult population are now receiving money from the state in some form. The Johnson government pursued lockdown after Imperial College scientists warned that 500,000 people could die with Covid-19 if no action was taken. However, there are growing concerns that lockdown has triggered an economic crisis more severe than the 1930s Great Depression. Economists have estimated lockdown is costing Britain around 2.4billion per day. Oslo, 6 May 2020 - DNO ASA, the Norwegian oil and gas operator, today announced completion of testing and appraisal of the Baeshiqa-2 exploration well in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the imminent spud of an exploration well on a separate prospect, Zartik, located 15 kilometers southeast on the same license. The testing has proven oil and gas in three separate Triassic aged reservoirs. Evaluation of the test results will determine next steps towards further appraisal and assessment of commerciality. As previously reported, in November 2019 DNO issued a notice of discovery to the government that hydrocarbons had been flowed to surface from the upper part of Triassic Kurra Chine B reservoir during first phase of testing. The reservoir produced between 900 and 3,500 barrels of oil per day (bopd) with specific gravity ranging between 40o and 52o API and sour gas between 8.5 to 15 million standard cubic feet per day (MMcfd). Following a workover and acid stimulation, testing resumed in March 2020 in three other separate Triassic aged reservoirs with each flowing variable rates of light oil and sour gas, too. During the second phase of testing, the lower Kurra Chine B reservoir produced between 600 to 3,500 bopd with specific gravity ranging between 47o and 55o API and sour gas between 4 to18 MMcfd. The test demonstrated that the upper and lower Kurra Chine B reservoirs are in communication, proving a hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir interval of around 150 meters. The Kurra Chine A reservoir flowed between 950 to 3,100 bopd of 30o to 34o API and sour gas ranging from 1.8 to 3.6 MMcfd from a hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir interval of 70 meters. The Kurra Chine C reservoir was the deepest encountered in the well covering only 34 meters of what is expected to be a thicker reservoir of around 200 meters. The drilled interval has been exposed to significant fracture damage due to the pumping of lost circulation material. The reservoir produced between 200 to 1,200 bopd of 52o API gravity and sour gas between 3.8 to 6 MMcfd. Story continues Shallower Jurassic aged reservoirs were encountered during drilling and tested. However, the tested zones were not acid stimulated, and the results are inconclusive. The well was spud in February 2019 and drilled to a total depth of 3,204 meters (2,549 meters TVDSS), encountering almost a kilometer of fractured carbonates with poor to good oil shows. Baeshiqa-2 well was drilled safely, below budget and with all exploration objectives achieved. The Zartik-1 well is anticipated to spud on 15 May 2020. Site construction was completed ten days ago on time and below budget. DNO acquired a 32 percent interest and operatorship of the Baeshiqa license in 2017. Partners include ExxonMobil with 32 percent, Turkish Energy Company with 16 percent and the Kurdistan Regional Government with 20 percent. -- For further information, please contact: Media: media@dno.no Investors: investor.relations@dno.no -- DNO ASA is a Norwegian oil and gas operator focused on the Middle East and the North Sea. Founded in 1971 and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, the Company holds stakes in onshore and offshore licenses at various stages of exploration, development and production in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Norway, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Ireland and Yemen. This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. CALGARY, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Canadian Pacific's (TSX: CP) (NYSE: CP) President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Keith Creel, will address the following conferences virtually: May 13, 2020 - RBC Capital Markets Canadian Automotive, Industrials and Transportation Conference at 1 p.m. ET - RBC Capital Markets Canadian Automotive, Industrials and Transportation Conference at May 20, 2020 - Wolfe Research 13th Annual Global Transportation and Industrials Conference at 11:15 a.m. ET CP will provide access to live audio webcasts for both engagements at investor.cpr.ca. Replays will also be available following the conclusion of each event. About Canadian Pacific Canadian Pacific is a transcontinental railway in Canada and the United States with direct links to major ports on the west and east coasts. CP provides North American customers a competitive rail service with access to key markets in every corner of the globe. CP is growing with its customers, offering a suite of freight transportation services, logistics solutions and supply chain expertise. Visit cpr.ca to see the rail advantages of CP. CP-IR SOURCE Canadian Pacific Related Links www.cpr.ca KFC has been donating surplus food from its U.S. restaurants in partnership with Food Donation Connection for more than 20 years through the Harvest Program, KFC's prepared food donation program. Through Harvest, participating KFC restaurants donate wholesome, unsold food to hunger relief agencies in communities across the U.S. So far in 2020 alone, KFC restaurants have donated 652,579 pounds of food to 757 local charities in 48 states through the Harvest program, and this critical work continues during this time of increased food insecurity. Since it began Harvest in 1999, KFC restaurants have donated more than 82 million pounds of food to organizations that feed individuals in need through organizations like Louisville, Ky.-based Kentucky Harvest, a valued partner since 2000, which has received more than 968,000 pounds of prepared food donated from KFC. "So many Americans are facing unexpected challenges, but hunger should never be one of them. As we continue to navigate this crisis, we remain committed to our core values among them is keeping America fed," said Kevin Hochman, president, KFC U.S. "With our restaurant buffets currently unavailable to dine-in customers, it has created a unique opportunity for us to reallocate our resources on a large scale to feed those in need and address critical shortages in food banks. Rather than letting this food remain in distribution centers, we wanted to mobilize it quickly to help." KFC franchisees have also been feeding frontline workers, families and children in need, and making sizeable donations to area food banks. The Pete and Arline Harman Trust Fund has committed to a $100,000 donation spread across food banks in Denver, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area. Pete Harman was KFC's first franchisee and his organization remains one of KFC's largest franchisees in the U.S. In the wake of COVID-19, KFC has also made the following commitments to support its people, communities and franchisees: Continuing to keep America fed: KFC is open and ready to feed your family. KFC is offering free delivery for a limited time (minimum $20 order) with contactless delivery available, in addition to remaining open for drive-thru and carry-out. KFC is open and ready to feed your family. KFC is offering free delivery for a limited time (minimum order) with contactless delivery available, in addition to remaining open for drive-thru and carry-out. Increased safety measures for customers and team members: KFC recently announced new measures to increase the health and safety of consumers and employees across the U.S. including: KFC recently announced new measures to increase the health and safety of consumers and employees across the U.S. including: Distribution of thermometers with infrared contactless temperature scanners to every restaurant, and implantation of temperature checks for every employee prior to their shift start. Distribution of non-surgical, single-use masks for restaurant team members across the U.S. Instillation of acrylic front counter shields in restaurants, providing a safety barrier between team members and guests. Using a drive-thru extender payment pad to further limit contact between customers and employees. Supporting our team members: KFC franchisees, many of whom are small, local business owners all over the country have been working to support and celebrate their individual teams through bonuses, hourly pay increases, meals for their employees and their families, pay continuation for employees impacted by COVID-19, and a variety of other financial incentives. In addition, they joined forces to create a Grocery Assistance Fund through the KFC Foundation to provide $500,000 worth of groceries to team members across its more than 4,000 U.S. restaurants to celebrate and support its workforce. KFC franchisees, many of whom are small, local business owners all over the country have been working to support and celebrate their individual teams through bonuses, hourly pay increases, meals for their employees and their families, pay continuation for employees impacted by COVID-19, and a variety of other financial incentives. In addition, they joined forces to create a Grocery Assistance Fund through the KFC Foundation to provide worth of groceries to team members across its more than 4,000 U.S. restaurants to celebrate and support its workforce. Feeding our communities: KFC recently donated one million pieces of chicken to provide relief to communities in need, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the donation, KFC franchisees across the country were able to provide meals to organizations of their choice in their local communities. In addition to the one million pieces of chicken donation, KFC franchisees have been stepping up their relief efforts across the country, donating thousands of meals to frontline healthcare workers, feeding families in need and providing meals to essential workers. KFC recently donated one million pieces of chicken to provide relief to communities in need, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the donation, KFC franchisees across the country were able to provide meals to organizations of their choice in their local communities. In addition to the one million pieces of chicken donation, KFC franchisees have been stepping up their relief efforts across the country, donating thousands of meals to frontline healthcare workers, feeding families in need and providing meals to essential workers. Supporting children in need: In March, KFC announced a $400,000 donation to Blessings in a Backpack to provide meals to children who may otherwise go hungry due to school closures. In March, KFC announced a donation to Blessings in a Backpack to provide meals to children who may otherwise go hungry due to school closures. Providing relief to franchisees: KFC will grant franchisees a 60-day grace period on current royalties. KFC parent company Yum! Brands (including KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell) has also deferred all 2020 capital obligations for remodels and new unit development through the end of this year. For more information about KFC's efforts to support franchisees, employees and customers during the coronavirus pandemic, please visit www.kfc.com/coronavirus. About KFC KFC Corporation, based in Louisville, Ky., is the world's most popular chicken restaurant chain. KFC specializes in Original Recipe, Extra Crispy, Kentucky Grilled Chicken and Extra Crispy Tenders, Hot Wings, KFC Famous Bowls, Pot Pies, freshly hand prepared chicken sandwiches, biscuits and homestyle side items. There are more than 24,000 KFC restaurants in over 145 countries and territories around the world. KFC Corporation is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., Louisville, Ky. (NYSE: YUM). For more information, visit www.kfc.com. Follow KFC on Facebook (www.facebook.com/kfc), Twitter (www.twitter.com/kfc) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/KFC). SOURCE KFC Related Links http://www.kfc.com A mother-of-two who was on the run for 10 years was finally taken into custody after being hit by a car. Natasha Lee Quirk tried to rob a Coles Express service station in Brisbane when she was 19-years-old on December 23, 2010. She was captured on CCTV threatening staff with a knife and demanding money, before leaving empty handed after the shop attendant denied her. Police found Quirk hiding under a blanket in a caravan and arrested her six days later. But she breached her bail conditions and travelled to Victoria and evaded the law for nearly ten years. The 28-year-old moved in with her father in Townsville in 2018 and was hit by a car on August 18 2019 and was taken to Townsville Hospital. A mother-of-two was arrested ten years after she attempted to rob a service station with a knife (stock image) Townsville District Court heard Quirk kicked a nurse who tried check her blood sugar before she was removed from the hospital after abusing staff. She was later arrested after falling asleep on a bench outside the hospital. Townsville Bulletin reported defence barrister Rowan Pack said Quirk didn't remember the hospital incident but knew 'she did the wrong thing.' Judge John Coker said Quirk should know better than to target staff in essential industries. 'They are persons who are working in our community and they are persons who deserve our protection and our respect,' he said. Mr Pack said Quirk had a violent upbringing and was under the influence of drugs and living on the street when the attempted robbery occurred in 2010. Quirk pleaded guilty to one charge of attempted robbery with actual violence while armed, one charge of conduct causing a public nuisance and two charges of breach of bail conditions. She was sentenced to 18 months jail with immediate parole after serving 262 days in pre-sentence custody. Representative image (REUTERS/Amit Dave) The Madhya Pradesh government has on May 7 given companies various concessions to meet labour requirements during the coronavirus pandemic. Among these, it has given flexibility for companies to hire and fire employees, given exemptions from labour department inspections, exemptions from maintenance of registers, and has allowed extended shift timings, said a report by The Economic Times. Besides this, the state has also issued an ordinance to the Madhya Pradesh Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1982 exempting annual returns, and allowing new factories to halt the Rs 80 per labourer per year payment to the Madhya Pradesh Labour Welfare Board. These will also be in place for the next 1,000 days. The concessions will be in place for the next 1,000 days to help industries get back on their feet, said the report. Amendments to the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 will increase investments and provide employment opportunities in the current competitive era, a state official added. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report. 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 Follow our LIVE Updates on the coronavirus pandemic here The official said, as per the report, that establishments can keep labourers in service as per convenience with no interference from the labour department or court. Third party inspections at will are also permitted. This has been notified via gazette under the Factories Act, 1948. Halliburton reduced the number of staff at its headquarters by 22 percent or about 1,000 people as persistently low oil prices continued to bite, killing business for oilfield services providers. "These actions are difficult but necessary as we adjust our business to customers' decreased activity," a spokeswoman for the company said as quoted by Reuters, amid the "unforeseeable, dramatic business downturn caused by the coronavirus and unprecedented commodity price decline." The new job cuts come on top of another 350, made in Oklahoma last month, with Halliburton citing the move as "a necessary action as we work to successfully adapt to challenging market conditions," Halliburton said in a statement at the time. "As we make workforce reductions, we are taking numerous other actions to reduce our costs, including reducing the salaries of the Halliburton Executive Committee." Halliburton also earlier furloughed 3,500 employees at its headquarters, the Houston Chronicle's Sergio Chapa notes, adding that according to data Halliburton filed with the SEC, its international workforce had shrunk from some 55,000 at the start of the year to about 50,000. Halliburton last month reported a net loss of $1 billion for the first quarter although it also booked an improvement in operating profits. "Our industry is facing the dual shock of a massive drop in global oil demand coupled with a resulting oversupply. Consequently, we expect activity in North America land to sharply decline during the second quarter and remain depressed through year-end, impacting all basins," CEO Jeff Miller said in comments on the results. The last downturn between 2014 and 2016 cost the U.S. oil industry some 200,000 jobs. Many of these were in oilfield services, as companies lowered their rates to stay afloat and minimized all spend. Now, unless we see a quick reversal in the industry's fortunes, things could end up even worse because of the combination of supply overhang and demand depression. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Statement from the President Regarding Veto of S.J. Res. 68 May 6, 2020 Today, I vetoed S.J. Res. 68, which purported to direct me to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces in hostilities against Iran. This was a very insulting resolution, introduced by Democrats as part of a strategy to win an election on November 3 by dividing the Republican Party. The few Republicans who voted for it played right into their hands. In addition, S.J. Res. 68 is based on misunderstandings of facts and law. Contrary to the resolution, the United States is not engaged in the use of force against Iran. Four months ago, I took decisive action to eliminate Qassem Soleimani while he was in Iraq. Iran responded by launching a series of missiles at our forces stationed in Iraq. No one was killed by these attacks. Further, the strike against Soleimani was fully authorized by law, including by the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 and Article II of the Constitution. Finally, S.J. Res. 68 would have greatly harmed the President's ability to protect the United States, its allies, and its partners. The resolution implies that the President's constitutional authority to use military force is limited to defense of the United States and its forces against imminent attack. That is incorrect. We live in a hostile world of evolving threats, and the Constitution recognizes that the President must be able to anticipate our adversaries' next moves and take swift and decisive action in response. That's what I did! Congress should not have passed this resolution. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Nigeria Police Force has received personal protective equipment financed by the German Government to support the NPF in its fight against coronavirus. German Deputy Ambassador Helmut Kaulitz handed over the equipment which includes hand sanitizer, disposable coveralls, sanitizing spray, KN95 face masks, handheld digital infra-red temperature readers and disposable latex hand gloves to Deputy Commissioner, Mr. Umar M. Sanda. Also Read: Germany Grants Nigeria N8.9Billion Debt Relief This was made known in a statement posted on Facebook by the German mission in Nigeria. Advertisement The donation is part of a joint three-year programme that aims at strengthening the NPF, with a focus on capacity building in the area of forensics, processes and procedures for criminal investigation, human rights, as well as strengthening cooperation mechanisms. BELLEVUE, Wash., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Technology Business Management (TBM) Council, a non-profit organization that promotes technology business management standards and practices to empower collaboration between IT leaders and business partners, introduced 10 leaders to its board of directors. The TBM Council is a thriving community with more than 11,000 members, including CIOs and other executives united in the mission of creating standards for the new IT hybrid cost model in order to help businesses achieve their transformation goals whether it's undergoing a cloud migration or implementing new and innovative technologies. The new board members bring with them a wealth of experience in driving digital and business strategies within their organizations by leveraging the TBM discipline to achieve success. Alongside the leaders already on the board, they will be instrumental in helping the wider TBM Council members continue to identify and execute impactful ways to leverage the practice of TBM in order to achieve business objectives. The new TBM Council Board of Directors include: In cooperation with the TBM Council leadership team, led by Jarod Greene, general manager of the TBM Council, the board of directors will help direct the organization's efforts and continue its focus on collaboration, standardization and education of TBM. Their expertise will be valuable in helping to direct the TBM Council's goals and vision for the future. "Shifts in technology mean that the IT operating model is changing for every business no matter what sector they're in," said Jarod Greene, general manager of the TBM Council. "As such, I'm thrilled to welcome our new board members, who bring with them experience from a wide range of industries. It's our most diverse board ever, both in terms of the people and the types of companies they represent, and their knowledge and expertise will be key in ensuring we continue to deliver on our commitments to our members." The TBM Council was originally founded in 2012 as an extension of Apptio's CIO Advisory Board, which brought together like-minded CIOs with the goal of standardizing a new IT operating model. Apptio continues to serve as its technical advisor to help automate best practices with robust TBM solutions. The TBM Council is an independent body governed by executives from across some of the world's leading businesses. "I have been actively involved with the TBM Council since the beginning when it was just a few CIOs," said Larry Godec, chairman of the TBM Council Board of Directors. "TBM is an essential framework for allowing CIOs to run their IT organization like a business with complete financial transparency and strategic business alignment. I am very pleased to see it grow to include more than 11,000 CIOs and IT leaders across the globe." In addition to undertaking their governance responsibilities in board meetings, the board of directors will help to foster awareness and understanding of the discipline by taking part in events to share their own experiences in applying TBM to their operations and sharing key insights. "Understanding the cost of technology has always been a challenge in the healthcare industry, and TBM has been pivotal in helping to bring critical transparency to this business driver," said Jeri Koester, CIO of Marshfield Clinic Health System. "Being part of the TBM Council and collaborating with other members helped us take visibility of our costs and talk about it in a way that the business understands, which means that we can be the strategic partner in transformation at our health system. I'm looking forward to engaging with the TBM community and helping others to do the same in my new role as a board member." The TBM Council Board of Directors will take part in a virtual board retreat in May to help set the direction for the organization in 2020 and beyond. During this virtual retreat, the board will convene to discuss the current state of TBM and the wider technology industry, as well as how CIOs and CFOs can work together as part of a TBM framework. Members of the TBM Council will have an opportunity to listen in on key discussions on topics including re-planning and optimizing spending in times of disruption. The full list of TBM Council Board of Directors includes: The TBM Council provides a forum for its members to exchange knowledge and learnings with peers to help manage and achieve success with the TBM framework. Membership is open to qualified IT, finance or business leaders and practitioners who meet applicable membership standards. For more information or to join, please visit www.TBMCouncil.org About Technology Business Management (TBM) Council Founded from members of Apptio's CIO advisory board in 2012, the Technology Business Management (TBM) Council is a non-profit organization governed by a board of business and technology leaders from some of the world's most innovative companies like Aflac, State Farm, Tyson, Intuit, First American and more. The Council is dedicated to advancing the discipline of TBM and driving standards for analyzing, planning, optimizing, controlling, and collaborating about the investments that will transform the IT operating model. Apptio, the industry's leading provider of TBM software solutions, serves as the TBM Council's technical advisor. Membership is open to qualified IT, finance or business leaders and practitioners who meet applicable membership standards. For more information or to join, please visit www.TBMCouncil.org MEDIA CONTACT [email protected] SOURCE TBM Council Related Links https://www.tbmcouncil.org/ Health Minister Greg Hunt wants doctors to continue treating patients online or by mobile phone after lobbying for telehealth to be part of the post-COVID-19 world. A spokesman for the Health Minister said he had been working on the telehealth reforms with the sector, including the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Australian Medical Association (AMA). Dr Charlotte Hespe, from Glebe Family Medical Practice, has been conducting most of her consults over video during the coronavirus pandemic. Credit:Janie Barrett "Minister Hunt is already engaged with the medical community and other key participants in planning a long-term future for telehealth," the spokesman said. It comes as an RACGP survey of almost 1200 GPs found 99 per cent were now offering consultations via phone or video. The need for rural broadband has never been more apparent than it is now as our nation manages the coronavirus national emergency. Access to telehealth services, remote learning for school children, and remote business operations all require access to broadband, Sonny Perdue, Secretary of Agriculture, said in a statement. I am so proud of our rural communities who have been working day in and day out, just like they always do, producing the food and fiber America depends on. We need them more than ever during these trying times, and expanding access to this critical infrastructure will help ensure rural America prospers for years to come. Spains regions on Wednesday passed their proposals for the next stage of the deescalation of coronavirus measures to the central Health Ministry, and the majority requested to move from the current Phase 0 to Phase 1 on Monday. This would involve allowing businesses and street cafes to partially reopen, and for members of the public to meet in groups of 10 people or fewer, either in the open air or in private residences. The Health Ministry will have the final say on the next steps. Four Spanish islands El Hierro, La Gomera y La Graciosa and Formentera entered Phase 1 directly on Monday, given the low incidence of the coronavirus on the Canary and Balearic islands. The stage still limits citizens to their own province, but allows them to meet with up to 10 people provided that social distancing is observed. Under the phase, street cafes can open at 50% of usual capacity, outdoor markets at 25% and religious celebrations at 30%. Stores that measure less than 400 square meters can open at 30% of usual capacity. The Canary Island of La Gomera entered Phase 1 on Monday, which allows sidewalk cafes to be open at 50% capacity. INMA FLORES (EL PAIS) Madrid, which still has a high rate of cases and has been the Spanish region worst hit by the coronavirus crisis, has requested to move to Phase 1. The decision-making process brought to light differences in the regional administration itself, which is governed by the conservative Popular Party (PP) and center-right Ciudadanos (Citizens). The request was eventually formulated after a long debate between the regional premier, Isabel Diaz Ayuso of the PP, who had doubts about moving to the next phase, and Ignacio Aguado, the deputy premier from Ciudadanos, who wanted to take the step. A compromise was eventually reached, with the inclusion of masks being obligatory in closed spaces. The hope is that the Health Ministry will approve the request, thus helping to reactivate the Madrid economy. The central government has established that the deescalation will be carried out by province, although Health Minister Salvador Illa has said he is willing to study other options. Catalonia and Castilla y Leon, for example, have suggested it be done by healthcare zones. In contrast to Madrid, Catalonia has opted for a more cautious approach, and has decided to keep its most-populated areas such as Barcelona, Girona and parts of Lleida in Phase 0 given the moderate risk of new outbreaks of the virus. It has suggested that three areas move to Phase 1 on Monday. These include the province of Tarragona and part of Lleida (Terres de lEbre, Camp de Tarragona and Alt Pirineu i Aran), which are at low risk of an outbreak. The regional government in Castilla y Leon has also stuck to healthcare zones in the request sent to Madrid this week. It believes that just 26 of its 247 healthcare areas meet the requirements to move to Phase 1. Segovia, for example, will remain in Phase 0 because none of its hospitals and primary care centers meet the requirements set out by the government. Of the 26 zones that could enter the next phase, one is in Avila, six in Burgos, three in Leon, one in Palencia, four in Salamanca, one in Soria, three in Valladolid and seven in Zamora. They are all rural areas with low population levels, and in many of them there have been no coronavirus cases. A mother takes her children for a walk in Madrid. Kiko Huesca (EFE) Andalusia has suggested that eight of its provinces move to Phase 1, with 30 of the 33 healthcare districts moving to the new phase. The three districts that do not meet the requirements two in Granada and one in Malaga will be subject to conditions, such as allowing for basic purchases to be made in stores but no crowds or meetings among groups of people. The regional premier will also request that bathing in the sea be allowed from the earlier date of May 25, something that is included in the last step, Phase 3 of the deescalation plan. Valencia has requested that the entire region move to Phase 1 on Monday, and has also requested that it be allowed to modify the timetables that govern when people can go out on the street during the day to take exercise, given that warmer weather is fast approaching. Galicia will request that its entire territory move to Phase 1, stating that the levels of the virus are very low in its four provinces and pointing out that 196 municipalities have had no new infections in the last two weeks. In the Basque Country, health authorities say that the entire region meets all the requisites to enter the next phase. These include the capacity of hospitals, the number of intensive care unit beds and a low contagion rate. The Canary Islands government has sent health, socioeconomic and mobility data about its five islands currently in Phase 0 to the Health Ministry, so that they can pass to Phase 1 on Monday. In Castilla-La Mancha, the regional government has proposed that all provinces move to Phase 1. Health chief Jesus Fernandez Sanz said that the data is encouraging. The region has also suggested a change in timetables for walks due to the warm weather, a limit of 30% capacity in museums and libraries, the reopening of hotels but with no common areas, and groups of 10 people for active and nature tourism. Murcia has requested the entire region move to Phase 1 on May 11, but has not released any details about its deescalation plan. It has just requested a change to the timetables for children to take walks, given the high temperatures. Surfers in Cadiz on Saturday. This sporting activity is allowed in the city under Phase 0, but bathers are not yet permitted in the sea. JUAN CARLOS TORO Aragon has requested that the entire region move to Phase 1 and that several comarcas, as some administrative divisions are known, go directly to Phase 2 so that rural areas can get back to normal. Seventy-six percent of municipalities occupy 73% of the region, and account for just 12% of the population. The Balearic Island government requested on Tuesday that Mallorca pass to Phase 1, having previously requested the same for Ibiza and Mallorca. The Balearics has seen a low incidence of the infection in recent days, with just one new case on Monday and two on Tuesday. Extremadura has requested that Caceres and Badajoz move to Phase 1 on May 11. The regional government has sent two reports with data backing the request. Asturias will request that the entire region move to Phase 1, apart from the Valle del Oso and the Valle de Oscos, which it wants to pass to Phase 2. Navarre will propose that the entire region move to Phase 1, and has ruled out requesting Phase 2 for some areas. The regional government will, however, study some healthcare areas to see which of them could move from one phase to the next. Cantabria has requested it move to Phase 1, and has also called for the deescalation of 10 additional activities, including the opening of ITV vehicle testing centers and car dealerships, skittles games and recreational fishing. The Cantabrian government wants to boost the reactivation of economic sectors in the region. La Rioja has requested a move to Phase 1 in the entire territory. The North African exclave cities of Ceuta and Melilla have asked to move to Phase 1, and also have called for connections with the Iberian peninsula to remain closed. With reporting by L. J. Varo, J. Canas, L. Bohorquez, S. Vizoso, E. Saiz, V. Vadillo, E. de Benito, C. Sanchez, P. Linde, Noor Mahtani and M. Ormazabal. English version by Simon Hunter. BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 6 By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend: Turkmenistan and the EU have discussed the Central Asia regional program on the rule of law, Trend reports with reference to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. This program was presented at the videoconference meeting with representatives of the EU and Turkmenistan, which was held on May 5, 2020. The purpose of this meeting was to familiarize Turkmenistan with the regional program EU-Central Asia Rule of Law Platform, as well as its main component on promoting transparency and action against economic crimes in Central Asia. The fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, corporate governance and compliance with business standards are important components of EU and Turkmenistans joint projects. The participants of the meeting exchanged views on the prospects of this project, its goals and objectives. From Turkmenistan's side, the meeting was attended by representatives of several ministries and departments, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan. Representatives of the EU in Turkmenistan and specialists from the Transparency and Action against economic crimes in Central Asia project represented the European side. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva With how many laptops it announces in any given year, it can be tricky to keep up with Lenovo's ThinkPad output. But the company's latest two models, the updated ThinkPad E14 and ThinkPad E15, may pique your interest based on the fact both include AMD Ryzen 7 4700U processors. The 15W chip features an 8-core, 8-thread design with a base clock speed of 2.0GHz, and is currently one of the faster laptop CPUs on the market. Besides a new chip, the updated E-series adds a refreshed design with an 85 percent screen-to-body ratio. Lenovo has also outfitted the computers with new security features, including a capacitive fingerprint sensor. For even more security, you'll be able to configure the laptops with optional infrared cameras that can lock the E14 and E15 when you step away from them. With video calling now a daily fact of life for most people, Lenovo has added dedicated hotkeys to launch Microsoft Teams or Skype for Business, as well as dual-array far-field microphones. Rounding out the list of improvements is optional support for WiFi 6 connectivity. You'll be able to purchase the ThinkPad E14 and E15 in June starting at $639. Additionally, Lenovo detailed availability for its upcoming T14s, T14, X13, L15 and L14 laptops. The company plans to release those in June as well. What's interesting about these devices is that they'll include AMD's new Ryzen Pro 4000 series processors, which the chipmaker announced today. Ryzen Pro In all, the lineup features three new CPUs: the Ryzen 7 Pro 4750U, Ryzen 5 Pro 4650U and Ryzen 3 Pro 4450U. They'll replace AMD's current Ryzen Pro 3700U, 3500U and 3300U processors when they make their way to market. All three are 7nm chips based on AMD's Zen 2 architecture. Performance, as you might imagine, is a big draw with these processors. For instance, the top-of-the-line 4750U is an 8-core, 16-thread processor with a boost clock speed of up to 4.1GHz. Even the entry-level 4450U looks like it will be a decently fast chip with its 4-core, 8-thread design and boost clock speed of up to 3.7GHz. Battery life is another strength of the new processors, with AMD claiming 4750U devices can deliver up to 20 hours of uptime on a single charge in some instances. That said, the Pro series' new security features are likely what's going to get companies excited about computers that feature these CPUs. All three chips include functionality that matches some of Intel's big-ticket vPro features. To start, they include a dedicated security processor, which, in conjunction with Microsoft's secure core technology, can prevent kernel-level attacks. They also make use of AMD's Memory Guard encryption feature, which can prevent someone from accessing your data. However, most notably, the chips include AMD's suite of Pro Manageability features that allow IT admins to manage, update and repair Ryzen Pro 4000-equipped devices remotely. The first systems to feature AMDs new Ryzen Pro 4000-series chips, including the Lenovo laptops mentioned above, will arrive later this year. Trenton governmental chaos just might become more chaotic soon. He says its not just that chaos, but we have to believe that the constant mayhem of being the intermediary between City Council and the Mayors office was at least a big part of a decision for City Clerk Dwayne Harris to quit his job. Being the city clerk is often a thankless job that is taken for granted because the work they do isnt glamorous, but its all vital to keeping city governments from imploding by enforcing structure and keeping track of everything. Harris often finds himself in the middle of the fray while City Council and the Mayors administration do battle, with the clerks office somehow stuck being the adult in the room. Sadly, hes also found himself the target of some volleys as some members of council have accused him and his office of wrongdoing even though he merely records, organizes, and processes things, he doesnt set policies or budgets. During his time as clerk, Harris has been praised by all sides for his professionalism and competency. This newspaper benefitted greatly from his department being run well, as record requests are usually filled efficiently with the understanding that our role of informing the public is impossible without being given the information we need. Sometimes his office makes the wrong decision, not releasing documents requested, but always replies in a professional and timely manner even when were forced to bring out the big guns from Pashman Stein Walder Hayden and sue them. He kept order in the face of chaotic forces at times, and made sense of the chaos when order wasnt possible to keep the wheels moving and the city government functioning. The reasons he has for leaving the job are probably as complicated as the job itself, and maybe one day hell publicly say more, but his exit is as steady and measured as his time on the job has been. Harriss resignation letter and his statements to The Trentonian were professional and refrained from blaming anyone or anything for driving him away from the job two months before his term was set to expire. Trenton needs to move quickly and find a replacement for Harris that will bring these same qualities to run the clerks office. This is only the latest casualty of this governmental strife, as several high-profile department heads have come and gone while the chaos swirled for the past two years. Some were forced out because council refused to confirm or renew temporary appointments. Others, like Water Works director Shing-Fu Hsueh, who left the position after setting up some promising plans to turn the troubled department around, allegedly left because the relationship between council and administration was too contentious and made his job much harder. We all thought this current government couldnt get any wilder or more counter-productive, but well soon see what happens when the calming influence of the voice of reason leaves the process. Jerusalem, May 7 : Israel's Supreme Court said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could form a government while facing a criminal trial. A panel of 11 supreme court's judges unanimously rejected a series of petitions on Wednesday asking for banning Netanyahu from leading the new government and cancelling a unity government deal the long-time leader has inked with his rival Benny Gantz, Xinhua news agency reported. The judges said the criminal charges against Netanyahu and the unity deal raise "considerable constitutional difficulties" but "at the moment, there is no judicial prevention" for the court to interfere. The ruling removes a major hurdle in Netanyahu's way to form a new government following the March 2 elections. Some eight petitions were submitted by dozens of anti-corruption groups and high-profile public figures from the academy, high-tech, and the security system, including two former Shin Bet security service chiefs. Netanyahu did not immediately comment on the ruling. The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, one of the groups that petitioned to the court, wrote on Twitter that while it "respects" the ruling, it is "impossible to accept a situation where a prime minister is a person with criminal charges." Under the unity deal, Netanyahu will continue to serve as the prime minister for 18 months before being replaced by Gantz. The deal was signed on April 20 after neither party succeeded in forming a governing coalition in the country's deeply divided 120-member parliament. Netanyahu warned on Tuesday that should the Supreme Court cancel the deal, Israel might face the fourth elections after three rounds of votes in fewer than a year produced inconclusive results. Netanyahu, a hardline leader of the right-wing Likud party, has served as the prime minister since 2009. He is indicted for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases. His trial is scheduled to begin on May 24 in the Jerusalem District Court. - Celebrities, maths teachers, businesses and the Skills Minister join charity in boosting numeracy confidence on Wednesday 13 May BRIGHTON AND HOVE, England, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- National Numeracy Ambassadors Rachel Riley, Martin Lewis and Bobby Seagull, Maths Factor creator Carol Vorderman, author Lauren Child, comedian Luisa Omielan and the Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane are among those set to help the nation with its numeracy on 13 May. The UK's first ever online festival to help the nation with numbers is being led by the charity National Numeracy, with videos, interviews, book readings for kids, practical sessions for adults, free resources and puzzles on www.numeracyday.com The National Numeracy Virtual Festival covers three areas people want support with during this challenging time: helping children; personal development; and getting to grips with household finance. It aims to help everyone feel a bit better about their number skills. The Festival will include Lauren Child reading from her Charlie and Lola and Ruby Redfort maths-focussed books, Carol Vorderman answering questions about unlocking maths confidence, Maths for Mums and Dads author Rob Eastaway sharing tips on how to teach maths at home, the Bank of England'sAndy Haldane helping with household finance and more. Even Amazon's Alexa will be joining in by answering questions about numeracy. With home schooling, for instance, the most effective way to help children is for parents to improve their own confidence and skills with numeracy. Parents' attitudes and beliefs are the main influence on the success of primary school aged children. But with just a fifth of the working-age population having the equivalent numeracy level of a GSCE pass (Grade 4)[1] , it is no wonder people feel anxious. Struggling with numbers can make people more vulnerable to debt, unemployment, poor health and fraud and impacts mental health and opportunities - all exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis. So, with number confidence and skills more important than ever, the Day will encourage people to join the 285,000 others who have already started improving their numeracy with the free National Numeracy Challenge. Rachel Riley will be talking people through how to use the tool and opening the Festival. And National Numeracy Day's Heroes, five people who have improved their careers and home lives through overcoming anxiety about numeracy - from a nurse to a warehouse worker - will be talking about their stories. Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Gillian Keegan said: "Throughout my career I've seen first-hand how important it is that everyone is confident with numbers, to enable them to succeed in life. I'm delighted to support National Numeracy Day. Whether you are a parent, a young person or you just need a little extra help, this online festival is a great opportunity to build your maths skills." Mike Ellicock, Chief Executive of National Numeracy, said: "National Numeracy Day is about showing that being confident with numbers isn't a special talent, it's something we can all improve throughout our lives. The 'Couch to 5K' programme gets people running, and numeracy is the same; anyone can get better with a bit of practice. In these uncertain times, improving everyday maths at home is positive for both adults and children." Bobby Seagull, maths teacher, TV presenter and National Numeracy Ambassador, said: "The anxiety people feel about maths can sadly stay with them throughout their lives. But with a little help, everyone can start to see the benefit of a better relationship with numbers." For the full festival line-up visit: www.numeracyday.com Cover Story Over the recent years, a horde of educational institutions have seriously taken the responsibility of making students industry-ready. These institutions have been greatly moulding their curriculum and courses in accordance with the industry requirements by collaborating with adept industry leaders. Especially the management institutions are going beyond classroom teaching towards organizing industry-friendly live workshops and training sessions for students to gain the right ken and experience.Standing tall amidst this crowd is Indore-based SAGE University, one of the most vibrant, fast-growing and quality conscious universities in Central India. Especially its Institute of Management Studies has been renowned as one of the most preferred B-Schools in Central India. Since its... Former President, Goodluck Jonathan took to social media on Tuesday May 5th to pay tribute to his friend and former boss, Umaru Musa YarAdua who died on May 5, 2010, exactly 10 years. Former president Jonathan who worked as YarAduas Vice from from 2007 to 2010 and became President after he passed away, described the former leader as one who exemplified selflessness, typical modesty and exceptional flair. Read his tribute below Today, Schibsted released its Q1 2020 results. Highlights of the quarter Group revenues increased by 5 percent in Q1 2020 Q1 revenues for Schibsted ex Adevinta decreased by 2 percent (4 percent currency adjusted) Q1 EBITDA for Schibsted ex Adevinta came in 32 percent lower than last year at NOK 285 million Nordic Marketplaces: Revenue growth slowdown particularly affected by COVID-19 from mid-March, leaving Norway revenues flat compared to last year, while revenues in Sweden increased driven by Motor. Underlying flat EBITDA margin in Norway, Sweden with lower margin driven by investments in sales and product and technology capabilities. News Media: Exceptional growth in traffic and digital subscription revenues in March, but substantial drop in advertising revenues due to COVID-19 from mid-March and gaming regulation in Sweden led to a significant EBITDA decline year-on-year in Q1. Cost program targeting NOK 500 million cost reductions by 2021. Financial Services: Continued growth in Lendo Sweden. Reduced investments in international expansion. Growth: Solid revenue growth driven by Distribution. EBITDA decline driven by higher cost level and a decline in revenues for advertising driven services due to COVID-19. Adevinta: Revenues increased by 8 percent, EBITDA margin of 23 percent (based on Adevintas stand-alone reporting in EUR). Given the uncertainties introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board proposed to cancel the dividend for 2019. Comments from the CEO Taking into consideration the huge impact the COVID-19 pandemic has on everyday life, global economic activity and our businesses, the first quarter of 2020 is satisfactory for the Group. We have initiated a range of measures to adapt to the uncertain situation, and at the same time continued to deliver fully functional services. In this context, I would highlight that our News Media operations have played a tremendously important role during the crisis, providing users with balanced and trustworthy information, CEO Kristin Skogen Lund says. Story continues Financially, we have seen a negative impact on revenues during the last weeks of March, and April has developed similarly. For the quarter, our revenues, excluding the contribution from Adevinta, declined by 2 percent. Adjusted for the sharp weakening of the Norwegian krone since mid-February towards other major currencies, revenues declined 4 percent, CEO Kristin Skogen Lund says. Nordic Marketplaces saw a slower revenue growth in Q1. In Norway, the revenue development was flat, driven by a revenue decline in the job and travel verticals due to lower volumes balanced out by revenue growth in advertising and other verticals. In Sweden, our renewed approach to the car market has continued to prove successful and revenues continued to grow in Q1, CEO Kristin Skogen Lund says. News Media has seen traffic records over the last weeks, but experiences a significant drop in advertising revenues, partly compensated by good growth in digital subscriptions. Advertising performance was rather stable in Norway compared to last year, up until mid-March, whereas Sweden was still affected by the regulatory tightening of the gaming industry imposed in early Q2 2019, CEO Kristin Skogen Lund says. Lendo in Sweden delivered another quarter with double-digit revenue growth, whereas Norway and Finland slowed down further. We continue to see good development for Lendo in the Danish market, even though this is at an earlier stage. We have taken the decision to close down the Lendo operation in Poland and to change the operating model and significantly scale down the operations in Austria, CEO Kristin Skogen Lund says. Our Growth portfolio had a mixed development in Q1, with Distribution continuing to perform well, further fuelled by the e-commerce growth during the COVID-19 outbreak, whereas revenues in advertising driven services declined, CEO Kristin Skogen Lund says. The described negative revenue trends led to a significant drop in operating margin in Q1. Going forward, we will continue to implement measures to ensure adequate operational and financial robustness during a period of significant turmoil and uncertainty. The most important initiative is a cost program for News Media to accelerate the transition to a future oriented, digital sustainable news organization. This is implemented to safeguard the News Media operations long-term financial health and high relevance in society. Building on the measures which we announced at the Q4 2019 presentation, the total program includes cost reductions of around NOK 500 million. Implementation has started with first effects occurring during the second half of 2020. Full effect will be in place in 2021, CEO Kristin Skogen Lund says. In April, Schibsted refinanced a NOK 1 billion bond loan maturing later this year, and we are presently in a solid financial position. This means that we are well prepared to navigate in the current rough waters, and at the same time preserve capacity to act on opportunities that might occur, CEO Kristin Skogen Lund says. First quarter (NOK million) 2020 2019 Change Schibsted excluding Adevinta Operating revenues 3,026 3,089 -2% - of which digital 1,826 1,813 1% EBITDA 285 418 -32% EBITDA margin 9% 14% Schibsted Group including Adevinta Operating revenues 4,818 4,576 5% EBITDA 700 856 -18% EBITDA margin 15% 19% Alternative performance measures used in this release are described and presented in the section Definitions and reconciliations in the quarterly report. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, our Q1 2020 presentation will be held as an English language webcast only on 06 May 2020 at 09:00 CET. Consequently, it will not be possible to attend the presentation in person. Participants can send in written questions through the webcast player. The presentation will be webcasted live at: Schibsted ASA Webcast Q1 2020 You may also follow the presentation on YouTube: Schibsted ASA YouTube Q1 2020 CEO Kristin Skogen Lund and EVP CFO Ragnar Karhus will present. A recording of the event will be available on the IR website shortly after the live webcast has ended. Conference call for investors and analysts Q&A session Time: 06 May 2020 at 14:00 CET Questions relating to the results will be answered in a conference call. The session will be held in English. NOTE: To avoid waiting time when connecting to the call, please use the link below 5-10 minutes prior to start time, where you will be asked to type in your phone number and registration details. The event conferencing system will automatically call you back on the phone number you provide and place you into the event. Please note that the link will become active 15 minutes prior to the event: Link to join call: Click to join For manual dial-in, use the following number (note that this connection might take more time): Norway: +47 2350 0187 Sweden: +46 (0)8 5033 6546 UK: +44 (0)330 336 9401 US: +1 323-794-2095 Passcode: 76 20 73 A recording of the conference call will be made available at schibsted.com/ir/. Contact persons: Ragnar Karhus, CFO, +47 917 91 752 Jann-Boje Meinecke, Head of IR, +47 941 00 835 Atle Lessum, Head of Schibsted Group Communications, +47 415 05 645 Oslo, 06 May 2020 SCHIBSTED ASA This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act Attachments A 21-year-old with no underlying health conditions has revealed how COVID-10 attacked her vital organs and left her fighting for her life on a ventilator. Lily Burns, 21, from Fort William, had no health conditions when she got coronavirus, with doctors initially thinking it was a kidney infection and sending her home. But Lily's health quickly deteriorated when COVID-19 started attacking her heart, lungs and kidney, and she was rushed to hospital, where she was put on a ventilator for a week. She has now recovered enough to be sent home to her family, telling BBC's Good Morning Scotland: 'I'm feeling very emotional about everything now. With me nearly not coming through, my friends have been coming over to the house with gifts, but obviously they can't come anywhere near me, so that's very hard.' Lily Burns, 21, had no underlying health conditions when she caught coronavirus and was left fighting for her life when COVID-19 attacked her vital organs Lily was on a 5k run tor raise funds for NHS workers on Thursday 16 April when she started feeling sick. Her temperature soared to 39.7 in a matter of hours, and she had shooting pains through her stomach. Her family phoned 111 and went into an outpatients surgery to be told that she had a UTI and a possible kidney infection. Lily was given an anti-sickness tablet before being sent home, revealing: 'A high temperature was the only coronavirus symptom I had. Lily was in a critical condition for weeks, with doctors placing her on a ventilator for a week before her miraculous recovery 'Because of Covid they didn't want me going into hospital so they sent me home and said if I got any worse to go to A&E.' But throughout the night her health deteriorated and, at 4am, she went into A&E before she was admitted into Belford hospital in the early hours of the morning. The 21-year-old spent five days in the hospital, when she was given CT scans and numerous blood tells and told she could have a UTI, kidney infection, problem with her appendix. She said: 'They did loads of tests, and by this point they thought it wasn't a kidney infection but they didn't know what it was.' The youngster was released from hospital and reunited with her family after her miraculous recovery from the disease (pictured with her father Philip Burns, mother Ainsley and sisters Lleah and Daisy) Lily said that her battle for life was 'traumatic' for her family after COVID attacked her internal organs including her heart, liver and kidneys (pictured, with Philip, Ainsley, Daisy and Lleah) She also took an initial test for COVID-19 which came back as negative, and said she felt optimistic, revealing: 'I thought I was going to get out for the weekend, that was the plan.' On Wednesday 22 April, she was 'feeling better and walking around her bedroom' when a her 'world flipped' and she was told she did have coronavirus. Lily was taken to a different hospital, Raigmore, in an ambulance, but she quickly became critical ill as the disease attacked her internal organs. Lily has now returned home to recover with her family, but admitted she is still 'very emotional' about 'nearly not' surviving the virus (pictured with Philip, Ainsley, Daisy, Leah and Leah's boyfriend Jonathan) 'I was told I was going as a precaution. But by the time I got to Raigmore, I had deteriorated,' she said. 'The Covid had attacked all my internal organs - my heart, my liver, my kidneys, everything.' The dangers of coronavirus for younger people On paper at least, those over the age of 50 and, in particular, people with other health problems, including heart disease and diabetes, have most to fear from the new coronavirus. Early studies from Wuhan, China, where the disease was first identified in December last year, suggested 80 per cent of all deaths were in those over the age of 65, with the worst outcomes for patients in their 80s. Younger people were much more likely to suffer a mild illness, or no symptoms at all. Dr Stephen Griffin, a virus expert at Leeds Institute of Medical Research, warns: Everyone, potentially, is at risk. Yes, the odds get worse as we get older. But each time a person is infected, a struggle begins between the virus and that persons immune system. And you cant say, with any certainty, which will win because genetics, and many other factors we dont yet understand come into play. So, while its true that eight in ten patients with severe disease will be over 65, two will be younger. And when you multiply that on the huge scale, that is a lot of young people who could be killed by this virus. Dr Nathalie MacDermott, a paediatric infectious diseases specialist at Kings College London, agrees, saying: We have seen people in their 20s and 30s die from this virus. Some had underlying medical conditions, others didnt.' Advertisement 'First of all, they tried to give me oxygen through my nose, but because I needed so much of it, my body couldn't take it through my nose. They had to put me under sedation and that was me for seven days.' In the early hours of Thursday 23 April, Lily was put on a ventilator in a critical state. She has no recollection of the next week of her life, explaining: 'The only thing I remember was getting out of the ambulance and being in a room with about 8-10 doctors and nurses I think. It was a bit overwhelming for me and I got a fright.' A week later, on 30 April Lily and her family said that 'a miracle happened' and doctors were able to remove the ventilator. By that afternoon, she was able to FaceTime her family, explaining: 'When I came back around after the seven days, I thought I'd only been sleeping for one.' She added: 'I think it was way more traumatic for them than it was for me. I had no idea what was going on. I think I was looking pretty scary.' Four days later, she was allowed to return home, with her sister Daisy sharing an emotional clip of the moment on Facebook. In the video, Lily's mother Ainsley and two sisters Lleah and Daisy can be seen rushing up to her as she walks out of hospital with the help of a nurse. The family can be seen embracing in a huge hug as they battle back tears over their reunion. Meanwhile Lily's father Philip can also be seen offering his daughter a cuddle. Sharing the post, Daisy wrote: 'BEST DAY EVER! [We were] stopping and starting as we didnt know if we were allowed to cuddle her or not. Lily's sister Daisy shared a clip of the emotional moment the family reunited on Facebook, commenting: 'Best day ever.' (left, the family racing to greet Lily and, right, Lily hugging her sisters and mother) Lily could be seen looking emotional as she reunited with her family, while her mother put her arm around her shoulders 'Four days off the ventilator and shes out, absolute miracle child.' Meanwhile Lily went on to explained: 'I'm feeling very emotional about everything now. 'With me nearly not coming through, my friends have been coming over to the house with gifts, but obviously they can't come anywhere near me, so that's very hard.' 'They're just happy to see my face after everything that's happened.' Press Release 7 May 2020 Management has developed Deutsche Hospitality's corona exit strategy by drawing up and piloting various scenarios. "We have spent the last few weeks undertaking targeted preparations for the moment when we would be permitted to reopen our hotels," explained Thomas Willms, CEO, Deutsche Hospitality. "This crisis is bringing rapid changes in its wake, and the consequences of these changes are often cumulative. We have created internal working groups which have been cooperating with other companies, governments and associations via a series of conference video calls with a view to coming up with workable solutions." The new guidelines introduced by Deutsche Hospitality stipulate the revision and adaptation of all hygiene and disinfection measures, specific training for every member of staff and regular checks and monitoring of the measures put in place. Two key points are more frequent cleaning and disinfection and social distancing rules in public areas. Further measures include the fitting of perspex screens at reception, proactive guest information and the disinfection of room keys and cards. Once the hotels reopen, the number one priority will be to implement and ensure compliance with the hygiene standards and social distancing regulations. Guests will be issued with face masks free of charge upon request, and protective mouth and nose coverings will be mandatory for both guests and staff in all public areas of the hotel and in restaurants. Breakfast will be served either a la carte or on a takeaway basis. There will be no morning buffet to begin with. The total number of tables in the restaurants will be reduced in order to maintain a distance of 1.5 metres between tables. Only guests who are sharing a hotel room will be permitted occupy the same table. Breakfast and restaurant opening times will be adjusted in accordance with the volume of guests and will then be expanded as required. More use will be made of facilities where no contact is involved, such as room service. All public areas will be disinfected hourly. Lift capacity will be limited to two persons at any one time (except for families), and sanitiser dispensers have already been installed at all main touch points. Reception staff will work on a non-contact basis behind dividing partitions. Payments will be cashless wherever possible. Articles such as magazines, writing utensils, tablets, decorative cushions and blankets have been removed from rooms until further notice. Surfaces in guest rooms which are occupied will be wiped down with disinfectant every single day. Some of Deutsche Hospitality's hotels, such as the Steigenberger Hotel am Kanzleramt in Berlin and the Steigenberger Airport Hotel Frankfurt, have remained open even during lockdown in order to accommodate key workers, crisis team members and guests undertaking urgent business travel. This has enabled the company to develop new hygiene standards over the past weeks, and these have now been added to a catalogue of measures which was already very comprehensive. The stipulations and recommendations provided by government bodies and experts have been flexibly adjusted on an ongoing basis. "The staff at Deutsche Hospitality are very much looking forward to welcoming guests again," Thomas Willms went on. "We are doing our utmost to ensure that you will enjoy the highest possible level of safety and comfort when you stay at our hotels." Deutsche Hospitality will begin by reopening several IntercityHotels on 11 May, for example in Darmstadt, Erfurt, Mainz, Nuremberg, Duisburg and Kiel. This will be followed on 25 May by the reopening of selected hotels of the brands Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts and MAXX by Steigenberger. These include the Steigenberger Parkhotel in Dusseldorf, the Steigenberger Grandhotel & Spa Petersberg, the Steigenberger Hotel de Saxe in Dresden, the Steigenberger Grandhotel Handelshof in Leipzig, the Steigenberger Hotel Munich, the Steigenberger Resorts on the Baltic Sea in Zingst and Heringsdorf as well as MAXX by Steigenberger Sanssouci Potsdam. At Whitsun, Jaz in the City Stuttgart will follow. The Zleep Hotels in Scandinavia have been available to guests throughout the past weeks. As the hotels reopen, plans are also being launched to celebrate a true milestone birthday. Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, Germany's best-known hotel brand, will mark its 90th anniversary in the autumn. "We are part of a tradition of German hospitality which stretches a long way back into the past," explained Thomas Willms. "Nowadays, the name Steigenberger represents the epitome of luxury and perfect hospitality for guests the world over." Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 22:12:44|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NANNING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has opened its first nucleic acid testing lab for four of its border ports, the local customs said Thursday. The lab, set up in the border city of Pingxiang and with a designed testing capacity of 200 samples daily, tested a total of 293 throat swab samples from May 1 to 5, all of which were negative, according to Pingxiang Customs. The lab can facilitate the timely testing of samples in the border area and follow-up measures when necessary, said Lan Yiwen, head of the lab. Previously, all samples were sent to Nanning, capital of Guangxi, for testing. Enditem The Trump administration has shelved a document created by the nation's top disease investigators with step-by-step advice to local authorities on how and when to reopen restaurants and other public places during the still-raging coronavirus outbreak. The 17-page report by a Centres for Disease Control and Prevention team, titled "Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework," was researched and written to help faith leaders, business owners, educators and state and local officials as they begin to reopen. It was supposed to be published last Friday, but agency scientists were told the guidance "would never see the light of day," according to a CDC official. The official was not authorised to talk to reporters and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The Associated Press obtained a copy from a second federal official who was not authorised to release it. The guidance was described in AP stories last week, prior to the White House decision to shelve it. The Prime Minister discussed at length the measures being taken for the safety of the affected people as well as for securing the site affected by the disaster, read a statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs issued on Thursday. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting to take stock of the steps being taken in response to the gas leak incident in Vishakhapatnam. The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Ministers of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai and G Kishan Reddy, besides other senior officers. On receiving the first information about the incident in the morning today, Prime Minister Modi and Shah talked to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and assured all required aid and assistance from the Centre to tackle the situation. They are monitoring the situation closely and continuously, the statement added. Immediately after the meeting, the Cabinet Secretary took a detailed review meeting along with the Secretaries of the Ministries of Home Affairs, Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Information and Broadcasting; Members of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Director General (DG), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF); Director-General of Health Services (DGHS) and Director AIIMS, and other medical experts, to chart out specific steps to support the management of the situation on the ground. Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister was also present in the meeting. It was decided that a team from CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) unit of NDRF from Pune, along with an expert team of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, would visit Vishakhapatnam to support the state government in the management of the crisis on the ground, and also to take measures for resolving the short term as also long term medical impact of the leak. The incident of styrene gas leakage occurred in a chemical plant in the early hours on Thursday at 3 am in RR Venkatapuram village, Gopalapatnam Mandal in Visakhapatnam district. It affected the surrounding villages, namely, Narava, BC Colony, Bapuji Nagar, Kampalapalem, and Krishna Nagar. Styrene gas, which is toxic in nature, may cause irritation to the skin, eyes and causes respiratory problems and other medical conditions. The NDRF team with CBRN personnel at Vishakhapatnam was deployed immediately to support the state government and local administration. The NDRF team carried out an immediate evacuation of communities living in the immediate vicinity of the site. The specialised CBRN unit of NDRF from Pune and NEERI expert team from Nagpur have left for Vishakhapatnam. Besides, DGHS will provide specialised medical advice to medical practitioners on the ground, the statement said. Details added (first version posted May 6 at 21:26) BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 6 Trend: Economy ministers and heads of customs services of Turkic Council member states held discussions via videoconference on May 6, Azerbaijans Economy Ministry told Trend. Representatives of observer states in the Turkic Council also joined the event. The videoconference focused on the joint efforts to resolve the issues raised by the heads of state during the extraordinary summit of the Turkic Council held on the initiative and under the chairmanship of Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev on April 10. Azerbaijans Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov, who currently chairs the organization, was the event moderator. The discussions focused on the current economic situation in member states, developing joint proposals and practical measures on eliminating the negative socio-economic consequences of COVID-19, as well as the ways of further enhancing the cooperation in the corresponding spheres during the post-pandemic period. Jabbarov pointed out that COVID-19 cases in Azerbaijan are low as a result of the numerous timely measures taken under the leadership and direct control of Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev. As a model of well-thought-out and focused policy, Azerbaijan compares favorably in this sense, according to the minister. Jabbarov gave detailed information on operational and systematic measures implemented primarily based on solidarity between the state and the citizens, in order to protect people's health, reduce the impact of the pandemic on the national economy, provide support to entrepreneurs and employees who have lost their jobs, and to maintain jobs, ensure social protection of the population, as well as prepare real soil to apply a new model of economic development in the post-pandemic period. In order to effectively use the advantages of the bilateral free trade agreements between the Turkic Council members, as well as to ensure the development of e-commerce, Azerbaijans economy minister proposed to take measures for mutual recognition of electronic signatures, create a Turkic trading house, a catalog of border and transit regimes available in the countries of the Council, inform each other about urgent or planned changes in transport and transit regimes, as well as in the near future to create an online information exchange system to track products and procedures. Recalling the issues of promoting the activities of the Turkic Chamber of Commerce and the creation of the Joint Investment Fund during the extraordinary Summit held by the heads of state of the Turkic Council in order to eliminate the negative effects on trade and investment, Jabbarov said that along with the expansion of mutual investment opportunities, such a Fund contributes to the development of entrepreneurship, in particular small and medium-sized businesses, the creation of new jobs, support for innovation and eventually, the economic and social development of countries. The minister said that Azerbaijan is ready to fully support the creation of a joint investment fund in Baku. Touching upon the digital economy, Jabbarov recalled that in early 2020 it was decided to create a branch of the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution of the World Economic Forum in Azerbaijan. He noted that all necessary measures will be taken to ensure the regional significance of the Center for the benefit of fraternal states. Jabbarov emphasized the importance of creating state food reserves. From this point of view, it would be advisable to create a single list for all countries of the Turkic Council. MONROE First Selectman Ken Kellogg has moved to ease the towns outdoor dining regulations as state officials work to ease restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. Kellogg on Wednesday issued an emergency directive that suspends certain regulations and allows for administrative approval for restaurants to provide outdoor seating and service, so long as they comply with state rules and requirements. The towns health director will be creating a process for restaurant owners to submit an "emergency outdoor seating plan," which will be reviewed by a small team to make sure the business is protecting public health and safety. Plans will be reviewed expeditiously, and no fees will be charged. Monroe must stand ready to help our businesses operate to the greatest extent possible, while protecting public health and safety, said Kellogg. The move comes days after Gov. Ned Lamont stated his intention to allow restaurants to resume limited, onsite operations after May 20, provided they can accommodate outdoor seating. The relaxing of some restrictions has been discussed as the state went 12 consecutive days of decreased hospitalizations for COVID-19-related complications. The plan was to begin to reopen the state if there were 14 consecutive days of decreased hospitalizations. That streak was broken Tuesday, when the state endured 50 additional hospitalizations, but plans to reopen continued to be made. To date, Monroe has 82 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 positive tests, with the towns death toll at six. We must recognize that many establishments may, with the permission of the property owner, desire to pursue this option and may wish to explore the use of non-traditional areas, such as a portion of their parking lot, said Kellogg. While I anticipate that the state will provide further rules and guidance in this regard, I want to ensure that restaurants may start planning now. Kellogg said the towns health department will soon be contacting our restaurant owners so they can be ready for May 20. brian.gioiele@hearstmediact.com Since the global coronavirus pandemic was declared by the World Health Organisation on March 11, the Unite union has worked to enforce the diktats of Transport for London, Mayor Sadiq Khan, and the Johnson Conservative government against London bus drivers. On April 9, Unite issued letters it co-signed with TfL and the bus companiesincluding Metroline and GoAheadinstructing drivers that [PPE] is not recommended and the best way to protect yourself against COVID-19 is by frequently cleaning your hands. The letter provoked outrage. Unite was effectively supporting the Johnson government, shielding its criminal incompetence and refusal to provide the most basic protection. The World Socialist Web Site condemned Unites letter, opposing the unions corporatist and pro-capitalist program. We called for rank-and-file committees to demand immediate safety measures, including full PPE and mandatory testing and contact tracing. Unites actions exposed them as company agents in the pocket of the government. Its promise of industrial harmony (a pledge cited by Unite in their April 9 letter with TfL) was in line with agreements the Trades Union Congress (TUC) signed with the Tories, pledging to deliver national unity during the pandemic. As always, the burden of national unity falls solely on the working class. Drivers anger against Unite is at breaking point, and many have expressed agreement on the need to organise independently, asking how this can be done. The first step is to recognise that any serious fight against the dangerous working conditions drivers face is a political struggle, not only against TfL and Unite, but against Labours London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the TUC and the Johnson government. The formation of rank-and-file committees above all means rejecting the politics of pseudo-left groups, including the Socialist Party, Socialist Workers Party and Peoples Assembly, who seek to bolster Unite, the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) and train drivers union, ASLEF. Their entire political energies are focused on upholding the domination of the Labour and trade union bureaucracy and blocking the development of socialist consciousness in the working class. Socialist Workers Party On April 7, the SWPs newspaper, Socialist Worker, carried an article, Stop the deaths of London bus drivers, noting that eight drivers had died of coronavirus that week. It reported that drivers were terrified of going to work because of bosses failures to safeguard their health, but made no criticisms of Unite. Instead, Socialist Worker retailed a grovelling promotion of the union, reporting, Unite regional officer John Murphy said a lack of sanitising wipes was a big problem. Lack of wipes barely covered the catastrophe facing drivers, but the SWP indulged Murphy, publishing his lazy excuses without criticism: I understand that because production is dramatically down and factories are closing there is a real shortage, but we are calling on Transport for London to seek a new source for them as soon as possible. The SWP concluded with a quote from Unite Regional Secretary Peter Kavanagh, who said that drivers were performing a heroic job in getting NHS and care workers to work. Unites depiction of workers as heroes amounted to preaching acceptance of unsafe working conditions as the necessary price for preserving the National Health Service. The same political blackmail has been used against NHS and social care workers, with 190 deaths recorded among health and social care workers at the time of writing. Socialist Worker published its next article on April 16, reporting widespread opposition among bus workers to Unite. Six days earlier, the WSWS had published a report, widely shared among drivers, exposing Unites joint statement with TfL and the transport companies. Our article cited information from drivers across London that none of the safety measures claimed by Unite and TfL had been implemented. The SWPs response was duplicitous. They acknowledged the growing anger of workers, while trying to steer it back under the control of the pro-company unions. Their article, Trade unionists in north London demand protection for bus drivers, focused on a protest outside the Holloway bus garage in Islington that followed the death of driver Emeka Nyack Ihenacho. The trade unionists cited by the SWP, including reps from the RMT whom the Socialist Worker interviewed, are union bureaucrats who sought to hijack workers growing demands for action by staging a wreath-laying ceremony and one minutes silence for the cameras. Socialist Worker cited the revealing remarks of a worker from the Holloway garage, that workers supported the action but felt they couldnt be part of it. People wanted to be involved but management and the union are against something happening at the garage. The same worker is quoted as saying, I dont understand why Unite are so close to Transport for London. They need to be standing up more to management and demandingnot negotiatingmore safety for the workers. [emphasis added] The worker openly states that Unite is suppressing action at the garage and asks the SWP to state its position on a vital issue: why is the union so close to Transport for London? But the SWP is silent. It cannot and will not answer this question because that would undermine its defence of the union bureaucracyof which it is a part (many of its members are trade union officials or reps). Socialist Worker reports that, The drivers want their union to stand with them more, eager to promote illusions that the unions can be pressured to defend workers interests. The SWP uncritically cites the same worker (quoted above) who suggests that the union needs to get down onto garage level. Pass through our garages and ask if our guys are alright. It does so to encourage a false understanding of the trade unions, concealing their universal transformation over the past four decades into a corporatist arm of the state. It is not simply that unions are out of touch. A regular walk-through by union officials at the garages would change nothing. Workers are subjected to these types of stunts on a routine basis, with politicians and members of the Royal Family visiting factories in hi-vis vests, hard-hats, lab coats and hair nets. The conclusion offered by Socialist Worker is that unions have been slow to make demandsthey need to say loud and clear to bosses that workers wont work without protective kit. But unions are not slow to make demands, they are in a direct partnership with the transport companies and the Tory government enforcing unsafe working conditions. Unite and other unions are currently sitting down with government ministers and employer groups to plan a return-to-work that will sacrifice more lives to the profit requirements of the London Stock Exchange. All the various stunts promoted by the SWP, including the minutes silence across London buses held on April 17 and todays Day of Action, are aimed at suppressing a genuine fightback by workers and promoting the union bureaucracy. The Peoples Assemblyan alliance of trade unions, Stalinists, environmentalists and pseudo-left groupshas been heavily involved in arranging these actions. It is currently led by former Labour MP Laura Pidcock, a protege of Jeremy Corbyn, who as Labour leader protected the Blairites before handing over power to Sir Keir Starmer. Socialist Party The Socialist Partys defence of the bureaucracy is even more naked. An article by its Industrial Organiser Rob Williams on April 22 spelled out his organisations craven defence of Unite. Despite the continuing death toll, Williams hailed the fantastic victory won by bus drivers who forced Khan and the bus companies to seal the front door. Socialist Party member and leading Unite union bus driver activist Moe Muhsin Manir played a crucial role in building this campaign. This was another snow job. Khan and TfL only closed the front doors on London buses and suspended fare payments after workers acted independently of Unite. The Socialist Partys rewriting of history served a definite agenda, portraying the union in a positive light. Williams calls for trade union control over workers health and safety, with only a return to a full service if agreed by the elected trade union committees. Who is the SP kidding? As reported yesterday on the World Socialist Web Site, the trade unions are nothing but industrial policemen for the government, enforcing unsafe working conditions throughout industry and exposing countless thousands to infection from COVID-19. The only purpose of such safety committees would be to suppress opposition from below. Williams spells this out, advising Unite that there must be a democratic London-wide union safety committee of union reps to operate a weekly review of the new safety changes that have been instituted, with input from drivers, to ensure that there are no kneejerk reactions to genuine concerns that drivers may have over how they are operating. [emphasis added] The Socialist Partys attitude to the working class is that of a trade union bureaucrat, bossing workers around and protecting their own domination by silencing dissent. Williams claims, Tube unions RMT and Aslef have already indicated that they are prepared to ballot for strike action against the ramping up of services. In fact, both the RMT and ASLEF have seized on the pandemic to call off all industrial action. On the London Underground where there was a 95% vote for strike action by drivers, ASLEF refused to act, forcing their members to work without adequate PPE. At South West Rail the RMT called off strike action greenlighting an offensive by the employers to try and enforce Driver Only Operation. So right-wing is the RMT that last month it suspended its General Secretary Steve Hedleya former member of the Socialist Partybecause he joked on Facebook that hed throw a party if Boris Johnson died from coronavirus. This has not stopped the SP from claiming, in their rank-and-file newsletter, that the RMT is a fighting union with socialist politics! The Socialist Partys demands are never directed toward the mobilisation of the working class. They are instead issued as friendly appeals to the trade unions, the Labour Party and the state. Williams declares that the transport unions must together make it clear to Sadiq Khan that workers safety comes first, before profits. He adds, Socialist Party transport workers in London have long called for Khan to lead a mass united struggle against TfL budget cuts with the unions and their members. Williams continues, The reality is that Sadiq Khan has no excuse not to defy the Tory government and take whatever measures are necessary to ensure a London transport system safe for transport workers and commuting workers alike. The SP are such incurable opportunists that it does not even occur to Williams how ludicrous their political line is. Sadiq Khan has no excuse apart from the fact that he is Sadiq Khan! The mayor has no excuse not to defy the Tory government in the same way that Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg have no excuse for not overthrowing capitalism. Reaching for the past to support his wistful invocation of an austerity-fighting Sadiq Khan, Williams writes, If Khan declared that he was prepared to take TfL into deficit if necessary, like the Militant-led Liverpool Labour city council did when it won millions of extra resources from Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, would Boris Johnson really risk a conflict over resources for Britain's key transport hub? Unfortunately for the SP, the example of the Militant-led Labour council evaporates on inspection. Its record in the 1980s was a devastating exposure of the claim that Labour can be made into a political vehicle for the socialist aspirations of the working class. Having won support in Liverpool for rejecting budget cuts demanded by Thatcher, Militants domination of the city ended in a rout in 1985. Facing bankruptcy, and having secured an additional 30 million in loans, it carried out what it called an orderly retreatproducing a legal balanced budget. This opened the way for a witch-hunt launched by Labour leader Neil Kinnock that saw Militants expulsion from the Labour Party. The fight for socialist consciousness In their coverage of London buses, the SWP and SP are hostile to any focus on the broader political tasks facing bus drivers. Calling themselves socialist, in practice they keep workers confined to narrow, sectional trade union politics. While bus drivers are threatened by a global pandemic, whose lethal spread is being determined by the murderous actions of capitalist parties and governments the world over, the SWPs and SPs coverage rarely leaves the garage door. To the extent that they raise any political demands, these are directed towards capitalist politicians and the state, not the working class. The SWP and SP conceal the web of political relationships that uphold the domination of capitalism. That is why, in contrast to the WSWS, they kept silent on the joint letter issued by Unite and TfL forcing drivers to work without personal protective equipment (PPE). Any fight against Unites corporatist lovefest would have meant a political confrontation with the TUC and Labour Party leadershipa struggle the SWP and SP are bitterly opposed to conducting. The role of the pseudo-left groups, which intervene at every point in the class struggle to block the fight for socialism, raises urgent theoretical, historical and practical issues for workers in how to develop their fight against the coronavirus pandemic. In his book, The Russian Revolution and the Unfinished Twentieth Century, WSWS international editorial board chairman David North includes a chapter on Lenins Theory of Socialist Consciousness: The Origins of Bolshevism and What Is To Be Done? North examines the fight led by Russian Marxist Vladimir Ilych Lenin against various petty-bourgeois trends, including the populists and economists, who rejected the revolutionary role of the working class, seeking to subordinate the nascent working class movement to bourgeois liberalism. As a mass socialist movement of the working class gained strength across Europe at the start of the twentieth century, Lenin aimed fire against the economists, who denigrated the fight for socialist theory and revolutionary leadership. Isolated from Social Democracy [i.e., the revolutionary Marxist party], explained Lenin, the working class movement becomes petty and inevitably becomes bourgeois. In waging only the economic struggle, the working class loses its political independence; it becomes the tail of other parties and betrays the great principle: The emancipation of the working classes must be conquered by the working classes themselves. Lenin continued: In every country there has been a period in which the working class movement existed apart from socialism, each going its own way; and in every country this isolation has weakened both socialism and the working class movement. Only the fusion of socialism with the working class movement has in all countries created a durable basis for both. North examines several interrelated issues that have enormous relevance today, including why socialist theory cannot develop spontaneously in the working class. He cites Lenins famous pamphlet What Is To Be Done?, published in 1902: The history of all countries shows that the working class, exclusively by its own effort, is able to develop only trade union consciousness, i.e., the conviction that it is necessary to combine in unions, fight the employers, and strive to compel the government to pass necessary labour legislation, etc. The theory of socialism, however, grew out of the philosophic, historical, and economic theories elaborated by educated representatives of the propertied classes, by intellectuals. By their social status, the founders of modern socialism, Marx and Engels, themselves belonged to the bourgeois intelligentsia. In the same way, in Russia, the theoretical doctrine of Social Democracy arose altogether independently of the spontaneous growth of the working class movement; it arose as a natural and inevitable outcome of the development of thought among the revolutionary socialist intelligentsia. Countless anti-Marxist and pseudo-left academics have attacked Lenins insistence on revolutionary theory and political leadership as elitist, undemocratic and even totalitarian. But as North explains, Underlying this accusation is a form of social bitterness, deeply embedded in class interests and social prejudices, evoked by the effort of the socialist movement to create a different, non-bourgeois form of public opinion, in which the real political and historical interests of the working class find expression. The pseudo-left is steeped in such anti-Marxist prejudice. In an article published by the Socialist Worker on April 19 to mark the 150th birthday of Lenin, the SWP cited Lenins insistence that class political consciousness can be brought to the workers only from outside, responding, This can sound like socialists should just tell the rest of the movement what to do or impose their ideas onto the working class. Under the sub-headline Militants, the SWPs author asserts, A revolutionary party isnt about being separate from the working class or mass movements. Its about building an organisation of working class militants, who draw struggles together into a bigger fight against the system as a whole. The SWP presents the revolutionary party as a combined organisation of trade union militants. But for Lenin, the vanguard party could only be forged on the basis of a relentless theoretical, political and organisational struggle against opportunism, i.e., against the petty-bourgeois advocates of bourgeois ideology and bourgeois interests in the workers movement. In a passage which speaks volumes about the SWP, its author writes that the need for a revolutionary party flows from how working class peoples ideas are uneven. Some want to tear the head off capitalism, while others are reactionaries who buy into the system. The majority sit somewhere in between with progressive and backward ideas. A reformist partysuch as the Labour Partyreflects all of those contradictions and panders to backward ideas. A revolutionary party organises together the most militant fighters. The SWP speaks only of working class peoples ideas, completely omitting the role of party leaders, political programmes, trade unions, academics, media outlets, think-tanksin short, all of the countless mechanisms employed by the ruling class in order to maintain its ideological and political dominance over the working class. This includes, above all, the role of pseudo-left apologists for the trade union and labour bureaucracy, who call themselves socialists but who defend capitalism in word and deed. Pokes Made the Difference for UW Students, Raising Over $500,000 University of Wyoming students will receive more than half a million dollars as the result of Pokes Make the Difference, a private support campaign established to help UW students facing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 crisis. The entire $555,448 raised will go into a student emergency fund, providing assistance for UW students with emergency medical expenses, food insecurity, and loss of housing, utilities, rent, essential services and more. These funds from the student emergency fund will be going toward keeping my household stable and fed for the time being, says Adrian Seiloff, a UW sophomore and recipient of funding. I cannot express the fear and anxiety we have lived in due to the COVID-19 crisis, and this funding from the University of Wyoming has lifted a weight off my shoulders, which I wasnt certain I could carry on my own. UW Acting President Neil Theobald announced the creation of the campaign April 1, urging members of the UW community to step up to support students. In just 15 days, the campaign raised $250,000, which secured an added $250,000 in matching funds provided by the leadership of the UW Foundation Board of Directors. To incentivize additional gifts, the UW Presidents Office provided matching funds that doubled all gifts over the initial $250,000. The Pokes Make the Difference campaign is the epitome of the culture we have established here at the University of Wyoming, Theobald says. It has been deeply gratifying to see so many of you respond to the call to help our students in need. The generosity of our supporters, our UW alums and the leadership of the UW Foundation has provided relief of economic hardship for many UW students. Donors included alumni, the UW extended community and even other students. Overall, 464 gifts were received when the campaign ended April 30. During this unprecedented time, it has been humbling to see the UW family come together so quickly to help our students, says UW Foundation President Ben Blalock. So many heartbreaking UW student stories. The depth of care and generosity from UW alumni and friends toward our student family is a defining statement regarding Wyomings university. The UW Dean of Students Office received 914 applications from students seeking financial support through the fund. To qualify for funding, students must be currently enrolled as degree-seeking, full-time or part-time undergraduate or graduate students at UW and must be experiencing unexpected financial hardship resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak. Students will receive an award up to $1,000, with funds disbursed based on awarding criteria. The sentiment that our students have is that the university cares, says Vice President for Student Affairs Kim Chestnut. This university really wants students to succeed, wants them to do well and wants them to stay Cowboys, all the way until graduation. And, so, whatever it takes to make that possible, is what were going to do. This campaign is intended to meet those immediate needs, right here, right now. Creation of the student emergency fund was a collaborative effort on behalf of several university units, including the Associated Students of UW (ASUW). At least 37 percent of UW students are facing food insecurity, ASUW President Jason Wilkins says. This may only worsen as we acclimatize to these challenging circumstances. Many students will experience economic hardship due to recent unemployment, making utility and housing payments challenging. This has put their success as students in limbo. In addition, ASUW Sustainability Coalition Co-Chairs Addison Marr and Caitlin McLennan worked with the UW administration to propose the fund, to research best practices at other institutions and to develop inspirational messaging alongside the UW Foundation to help promote the campaign. The UW students are an integral part of the community, Marr says. Its powerful when the Laramie community and UW come together and make a change. Through launching this fund, were really making sure that were taking care of our own, McLennan says. Were making sure were taking care of our people who arent able to support themselves who have been thrust into this situation that none of us expected. It is a common notion that the north pole and the south pole of the Earth are fixed. Also we think the Earth has only one north pole. However, this isn't true, as believe it or not, one of the north poles is shifting from its original place in Canada towards Siberia in Russia at a top speed of 50-60 km a year. Unsplash Note that this movement in the position has been found out for only one north pole. Earth has a total of three. One geographic pole corresponding to the planet's rotation axis, one geomagnetic pole that best fits a classic dipole and one North Magnetic Pole, the point where magnetic field lines are perpendicular to the surface. As can be seen, the north Geomagnetic pole is different from the north magnetic pole. This is because the Earth's magnetic fields are not exactly dipolar. A fourth, lesser known and mentioned pole is the instantaneous north pole, where Earth's rotational axis meets its surface and the celestial north pole. (Image: P. Livermore) European scientists have pointed out the drift of the North Magnetic Pole and explained the reason behind the same. A team from Leeds University explains that this drift has been caused by the competition of two magnetic "blobs" on the edge of the Earth's outer core. In simple words, the magnetic pole is drifting due to a change in the flow of molten material in the Earth's interior. The new flow pattern has altered the strength of the regions above the surface having negative magnetic flux. "This change in the pattern of flow has weakened the patch under Canada and ever so slightly increased the strength of the patch under Siberia," explained Dr Phil Livermore. "This is why the North Pole has left its historic position over the Canadian Arctic and crossed over the International Date Line. Northern Russia is winning the 'tug of war', if you like," he told BBC News. First identified by explorer James Clark Ross in the 1830s in Canada's Nunavut territory, very fast movement of the north magnetic pole has been recorded since the 1990s. In late 2017 the magnetic pole came to within just a few hundred kilometres of the geographic pole. Dr Livermore and colleagues were able to record this movement using data from satellites measuring the evolution of Earth's magnetic field over the past 20 years. (Representative Image: Reuters) The latest model by the team predicts the magnetic pole to further move towards Russia, eventually slowing down. "Whether or not it will move back again in the future is anyone's guess," the Leeds scientist said. The shifting of the pole has also been accommodated for in all navigation devices, including the smartphones and their GPS. The team has now published its research in the journal Nature Geoscience. Dozens of homes and multiple structures have been lost to the flames, he said, and the county has opened emergency shelters. Michael Dunlavy, his wife, Haley, and their five sons could see the smoke and flames from five fires several miles from their house in Milton, a city in Santa Rosa County, on Wednesday. Around noon, they received the order to evacuate. First we went outside and looked around, he said. It really did not seem like it could reach us, but it was moving pretty fast. Mr. Dunlavy, 32, and his wife packed up the boys clothes and belongings including a Mr. Potato Head toy and PlayStation games in the trailer he uses to haul tools for his landscaping business, and headed out. Smoke shrouded the sky. They settled in a Hampton Inn and Suites in Navarre, Fla. There are so many going on right now, he said of the fires, adding that he could see some near Pensacola. All you could see is smoke. Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Twitter that he was headed to the county on Thursday, and that he had requested federal assistance. Gilead Sciences Inc faces a new dilemma in deciding how much it should profit from the only treatment so far proven to help patients infected with the novel coronavirus. The drugmaker earned notoriety less than a decade ago, when it introduced a treatment that essentially cured hepatitis C at a price of $1,000 per pill. Public outrage over the cost of Sovaldi in 2013 - despite that it was a vast improvement over existing equally expensive therapies - ignited a national debate on fair pricing for prescription medicines that the pharmaceutical industry has fought to deflect ever since. That backlash has subsided considerably in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, during which drugmakers efforts to develop vaccines and treatments is considered essential to battling a disease that has infected some 3.7 million people and killed over 258,000 worldwide. Gilead is now in the spotlight again after data showed its antiviral drug remdesivir helped reduce hospital stays for Covid-19 patients, and the US authorised wide emergency use of the therapy. Wall Street analysts say remdesivir could generate $750 million or more in worldwide sales next year, and $1.1 billion in 2022, assuming the pandemic continues. But Gilead, and other drugmakers, will need to avoid the appearance of taking advantage of a global health crisis to rake in profit, according to pharmaceutical industry consultants and former regulators. "This is a tremendous opportunity for drug manufacturers," to improve the industry's image, said Ed Schoonveld, a drug pricing expert at consulting firm ZS Associates. There has been an overwhelmingly negative focus on drug prices." Gilead Chief Executive Daniel O'Day, in the post just over a year, is proceeding with caution. The company is donating enough remdesivir for at least 140,000 patients for distribution by the US government to hospitals nationally. At a meeting with President Donald Trump in the White House on Friday, O'Day pledged to make the therapy available to those in need. Gilead also aims to increase worldwide manufacturing to supply over a million coronavirus patients by year-end, rising to several million in 2021, if required. The company has not disclosed its pricing plans. "I think this will certainly help the industry's reputation," O'Day said on a recent conference call with investors. "I'm not suggesting that there won't continue to be focus and pressure on drug pricing ... but it's being done now in a way where we can have an appreciation for the innovation the industry brings." Gilead on Tuesday said it was talking with chemical and drug manufacturers to produce remdesivir for Europe, Asia and the developing world through at least 2022. The company said it was negotiating voluntary licenses with generic drugmakers in India and Pakistan, who would produce a lower-cost supply of remdesivir for developing countries. FEDERAL MARCH IN? Estimates of a fair price for remdesivir in the United States, where drugmakers generally charge the most for a new therapy, vary widely. The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), which assesses effectiveness of drugs to determine appropriate prices, suggested a maximum price of $4,500 per 10-day treatment course based on the preliminary evidence of how much patients benefited in a clinical trial. Consumer advocacy group Public Citizen on Monday said remdesivir should be priced at $1 per day of treatment, since "that is more than the cost of manufacturing at scale with a reasonable profit to Gilead." Some Wall Street investors expect Gilead to come in at $4,000 per patient or higher to make a profit above remdesivir's development cost, which Gilead estimates at about $1 billion. Gilead shares have risen about 20% since the beginning of the year, largely on hopes for remdesivir. That compares with a drop of 12% for the broad S&P500 Index. Some experts warn that a much higher US price for remdesivir would put Gilead back in the crosshairs on drug pricing. In a more extreme scenario, the company could risk federal or state government action to march in and invalidate the medicine's patent protection in the name of public health and issue mandatory manufacturing orders. The US government has never invoked those rights. But it has sued Gilead over patents on two of its widely-used HIV drugs that received federal funding grants while in development. "If there is ever a time when those issues might arise, this would be that time," said Eric Katz, CEO at consulting firm HealthTech GPS, which advises the industry on pricing. Katz, a former official at the US Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the government could make similar arguments over remdesivir, which was originally developed to treat Ebola with federal funding, and is now being studied in a trial backed by the National Institutes of Health. Democratic lawmaker Lloyd Doggett of Texas, chairman of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, sent Gilead a letter this week demanding the company detail its plans for remdesivir, including supply issues, disclosure of taxpayer investment in the drug's development, and purchase and pricing arrangements. "American taxpayers have made a big investment in remdesivir, but now in return, those who need treatment may get only a big bill while Gilead gets a big payoff, Doggett warned. Total number of COVID-19 infections have crossed 700-mark in Karnataka, where 12 new positive cases including a fatality were reported, taking the toll in the state to 30, as the government said on Thursday that future of the lockdown was in the hands of the people. "It is important that this lockdown-3 is successful. As many economic activities related to agriculture, industries have been allowed during the ongoing lockdown, it is upto the people to help control coronavirus as well as ensure the financial development," state Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai said. Speaking to reporters here, he said if the people could make sure that lockdown-3 was successful, there would no need for it to continue. "If lockdown-3 does not yield results according to our expectations, it will be inevitable for the state and central governments to take different measures," Bommai, who is also the member of state's COVID-19 task force said. He also appealed to the people to make the third lockdown successful by following government directives. According to health department bulletin, as of 5:00 PM on May 7, cumulatively 705 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, it includes 30 deaths and 366 discharges. It said, out of 308 active cases, 302 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 6 are in ICU. Twelve patients who have recovered were discharged on Thursday. A 55-year-old woman from Davanagere became the 30th COVID-19 related fatality in the state. The deceased woman was a known case of diabetes and hypertension, she was admitted with complaint of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) and was on ventilator, the department said. She died today at designated hospital in Davanagere, it said. Twelve new cases reported include three from Davangere, indulging the deceased patient; also three each from Kalaburagi and Badami (Bagalkote), and one each from Hirebagewadi in Belagavi district, Bengaluru urban and Dharwad. While seven cases are contacts of patients earlier tested positive, four are with history of Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and one is a SARI case. Eight among 12 new cases are women and four are men. Contact tracing has been initiated and is in progress for all the cases, the department said. From across the state most number of infections have been reported in Bengaluru urban with 156 cases, followed by Mysuru 88 and Belagavi 72. Out of total 366 patients discharged so far, maximum 81 are from Mysuru, 77 from Bengaluru urban, thirty four from Belagavi. A total of 93,535 samples were tested so far, out of which 4,758 were tested on Thursday alone. So far 87,756 samples have reported as negative, and out of them 4,700 were reported negative on Thursday. Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa directed commercial tax department officials to take strict measures to control tax leakages, with economic activities restarting in the state after easing of COVID-19 induced lockdown. He asked officials to initiate action against those using fake E-Way Bill, misuse of time given for movement of freight, CMO in a release said. The state government wrote to nine states, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, seeking their coordination in receiving the labourers who are stranded in the state, after receiving flak from various sections for cancelling trains for transporting migrant workers. State Revenue Department Principal Secretary N Manjunath Prasad has written to the nodal officers of nine states (Bihar, Jharkhand, UP, Manipur, Tripura, West Bengal, MP, Rajasthan, Odisha) seeking to receive the migrant labourers. With documents showing that consent has been received to run one special train to Bihar and MP everyday from May 8-15, sources said, first train is likely to depart to these states on Friday. Responding to a query in this connection, Minister Suresh Kumar, who is government spokesperson for COVID-19 related developments said, basically labourers at the construction sites would be ones who are eligible for this. "Their list based on Aadhar card details are available at the police station, so it is clear, and there is information of those who are eager to go, so based on that, once train schedules are prepared they will be transported from construction sites to railway stations," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Here is a breakdown of where each state is with current lockdown measures, total number of cases and deaths and their reproduction rate of COVID-19: Partially reopening Alabama Alabama's current infection spread rate is 0.88, which means it is among the states that appears to have managed to transmission of the virus. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced the state had lifted a stay-home order and replaced it with a 'safer-at-home order' effective from April 30. People are encouraged, but are no longer required, to stay home. The updated order expires May 15. Alabama's employers and retail stores are allowed to reopen from April 30 at a reduced 50 percent capacity. Beaches will reopen but residents have to adhere to social distancing, including not gathering in groups of 10 or more. High risk business including theaters, night clubs, fitness centers, barber shops, hair and nail salons will remain closed. Bars and restaurants can only have takeaway or curbside pickup. Alaska Alaska's current secondary rate of infection is at 0.83, which is below the 1.0 Rt rate where cases start to slow. It is among the states that appear to have stopped the spread but has a higher variable rate (red shaded area) - meaning that it is not completely certain it has stopped the spread. Starting April 24, officials in Alaska allowed dine-in service at restaurants and reopening of retailers, personal care services and other businesses, with limitations. Under the new rules, restaurants will reopen but are limited to 25 percent capacity and there must be 10 feet between tables and only family members can be seated at the same table. Salons in Alaska may only accept customers by appointment. The state in April decided there would be no in-person classes for K-12 students for the rest of the academic year. Arizona Arizona appears to have limited the spread of coronavirus with a 0.91 secondary infection rate. Infections have been increasing in the state throughout the pandemic. Small retailers reopened May 4 with curbside, delivery or appointment-based services. They will be allowed to welcome customers inside with social distancing starting May 8. Gov. Doug Ducey otherwise extended his stay-home order until May 15. He's working with restaurants on how to eventually reopen dining rooms safely, but there's no set timetable. Arkansas Arkansas has lowered the spread of coronavirus and currently has a 0.86 rate of secondary infection. The number of infections in the state appear to have decreased rapidly since peaking about two weeks ago. The state is one of the few that did not issue a state-wide stay-at-home order but did place some restrictions on businesses to slow the spread. As the state reopens, restaurants can open for limited dine-in services from May 1 but can only operate at a third of its normal capacity. Gyms and indoor recreational facilities can resume operations from April 30. Restrictions can lift on hair salons and barber shops on May 1. State parks can reopen from May 1. California California is one of the few states that appears to have stopped the spread of the virus, according to data. The state has a secondary infection rate of 0.84. California was among the first to go into lockdown with some of the strictest measures in the US. As the state reopens, there is still an indefinite stay-at-home order and gatherings in a single room or place are prohibited. Some businesses in the state will receive permission to reopen as early May 8. Clothing stores, sporting goods, florists and other retailers to resume operations with curbside pickup. Nonessential businesses are limited to minimum operations or remote work. Dining in at restaurants and office reopenings are still prohibited. Essential surgeries are now being allowed in California. Six counties in the Bay Area, including San Francisco, have extended its shelter-in-place order until mid-May but will allow construction to restart. Three Northern California counties have already reopened in defiance of state orders. Colorado Colorado has managed to slow the spread of the virus with a 0.88 secondary infection rate. Infections across the state have been gradually increasing throughout the pandemic. The state was among the first to lift restrictions with elective surgeries and retail curbside delivery beginning on April 27. Hair salons, dental offices and tattoo shops could also reopen that date with restrictions. Other retail was allowed to reopen from May 4 with social distancing restrictions. Large workplaces could reopen on May 4 at 50% capacity. Restaurants and bars are still limited to takeout only. The state's stay-at-home order expired April 26 but residents are still urged to stay home where possible. Florida Florida is among the states that appear to have slowed the spread of coronavirus with a secondary infection rate of 0.89. Infections have been steadily declining since peaking in early April. It comes as the state started reopen some businesses on May 4 except for in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. Restaurants can now offer outdoor seating six-feet between tables and indoor seating at 25% capacity. Retail can operate at 25% capacity. Bars, gyms, movie theaters and personal services - like hair salons - are to remain closed. Some beaches and parks reopened from April 17 if it could be done safely. Georgia Georgia, which became a lightning rod for criticism in the national debate over reopening, appears to have slowed the spread, according to Rt data. The state currently has a secondary infection rate of 0.82, which essentially means the virus has stopped spreading. Infections appear to be slowly declining in the state. Georgia is continuing on its aggressive course to reopening after the statewide shelter-at-home order expired. Gyms, hair salons, bowling alleys and tattoo parlors started reopening from April 24 as long as owners followed strict social-distancing and hygiene requirements. Elective medical procedures can also resume. Movie theaters may resume selling tickets and restaurants limited to takeout orders can return to limited dine-in service from April 27. At-risk people are urged to remain home until May 13. Bars, live performance venues and amusement parks will remain closed. Religious institutions are still urged to hold drive-thru or online services for now. Idaho Idaho appears to have slowed the spread of coronavirus with a 0.81 secondary infection rate. Infections also appear to have declined since cases peaked in early April. As the state starts reopening, some business are allowed to offer curbside pick up, drive in and drive thru services. Bars and restaurants limited to take-out only. Child-care centers were able to reopen May 1 under the first phase of the reopening plan. Churches can reopen, with distancing and sanitation rules. Bars, gyms, salons, movie theaters and sporting venues remain closed. Illinois Illinois appears to have slowed the spread with a secondary infection rate of 0.90. The number of infections have been increasing across the state since the pandemic began. The state's stay-at-home order is currently in place until at least May 30, which includes school and nonessential business closures. From May 1, nonessential businesses could fill phone and online orders. Some nonelective surgeries may resume, and many state parks are open for hiking and fishing. Face-coverings are mandatory for public places where social distance cant be maintained. Iowa Iowa is among the few states that are yet to stop the spread of the virus. The state currently has a secondary infection rate of 1.03, which means an average of one person is being infected by a COVID positive person. Infections appear to have increased steadily throughout the pandemic. After loosening business restrictions across most counties, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said that virus trends will dictate how soon she does the same in remaining counties, which include urban areas. Iowa is among the states that had no stay-at-home order but some restrictions were imposed to stop the spread. From May 1, restaurants can open at 50 percent capacity but no more than six people at one table. Malls, fitness centers, libraries and retail stores can open at 50 percent capacity. Horse and dog racing tracks can reopen with no spectators.All other businesses remain closed through May 15. Indiana Indiana appears to have limited the spread of COVID-19, according to the data. Infections have been on the rise in the state since March. The stay-home order was lifted May 4 for most of the state, while Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb allowed more manufacturers and retailers to reopen. In-person restaurant dining and hair salons remain closed for another week. Gyms, movie theaters, bars and casinos remain closed until at least late May. Holcomb says he hopes to restart nearly all activities by July 4. Kentucky Kentucky is yet to curb the spread of the virus, according to Rt data. The state currently has a 1.0 Rt secondary infection rate. Infections do appear to be declining in the state. Kentucky has no stay-at-home order but anyone going out in public will have to wear a mask from May 11. Dentists, chiropractors, optometrists were allowed to start taking non-urgent patients from April 27. Prior to that, those services were only allowed to take urgent appointments. Outpatient/ambulatory surgery and invasive procedures can begin May 7. Elective and non-urgent procedures can resume at 50 percent capacity from May 13. Manufacturing, construction, car dealerships and professional services can start May 11 at 50% capacity. Retail and houses of worship can begin May 20. Barber shops and salons can reopen from May 25. Restaurants and bars can likely reopen for dining in June. Louisiana Louisiana has stopped the spread of the virus, according to the Rt data with a secondary infection rate of 0.78 - one of the lowest in the country. Infections have also been decreasing after spiking in early April. At the beginning of the outbreak, Louisiana was expected to becoming an emerging hotspot given its sudden increase in infections and deaths. As the state slowly lifts its strict lockdown measures, bars and restaurants are limited to take-out only but from May 1 they will be allowed to let customers eat in outdoor areas as long as there's no table service. Malls can also start operating curbside retail from May 1. The state's stay-at-home order has been extended until May 15 and there's a 10 person limit on gatherings. Maine Maine appears to have limited the spread of coronavirus with a secondary infection rate of 0.95. Infections across the state have been slowly decreasing. With a safer-at-home order lasting through May, restrictions were lifted May 1 on golf courses, many state parks and visits to dentists, barbers and hairdressers. Restrictions are set to lift for restaurants, lodging and camping June 1. Michigan Michigan has managed to stop the spread of coronavirus, according to Rt.Live data. The state has a 0.74 secondary infection rate, which is currently the lowest in the country. Cases in the state have been decreasing after peaking in early April. The state's stay-at-home order is in place until May 28. Garden stores, nurseries, lawn-care, pest-control and landscaping operations were allowed to resume business from April 24. The construction industry can return to work on May 11. Nonessential businesses are still limited to minimum operations or remote work. Retailers that do not sell necessary supplies can reopen for curbside pickup and delivery. Bars and restaurants limited to take-out only. Minnesota Minnesota is one of the few states across the US that is yet to stop the spread of the virus, according to Rt.Live data. The state currently has a 1.03 secondary infection rate. Infections have been increasing over the course of the pandemic. In terms of reopening, only businesses that don't interact with the public can reopen from April 27. It includes those in industrial, manufacturing and office settings. Retail stores must remain closed. The state's stay-at-home order still runs through to at least May 3. Entertainment and performance venues remain closed and bars and restaurants are limited to take-out only. Mississippi Mississippi is among the states that appears to have slowed the spread of the virus. The state currently has a 0.90 secondary infection rate. In Mississippi, retail stores, including those in strip malls and shopping centers, are now allowed to reopen on April 27 if they reduce their customer capacity by 50 percent at any given time. Businesses that can't avoid person-to-person contact, including gyms, cinemas and salons, are to remain closed. Elective medical and dental procedures are now allowed. The state's stay at home order has been extended until at least May 11. Missouri Missouri appears to have slowed the spread of the virus with a 0.90 secondary infection rate. Infections appeared to decrease after peaking in early April but experience another surge late in the month. From May 4, all businesses will be allowed to reopen and social events can resume as long as residents and business owners continue social distancing and limit capacity. Local governments can impose stricter limitations if their officials believe it is necessary. Kansas City's stay-at-home order is scheduled to continue through May 15. Montana Montana is among the states that appears to have slowed the spread of the virus. While the state's secondary infection rate is among the lowest at 0.78, the state has a large range of interval of values that Rt might actually be. According to the data, that means the state might not have curbed the spread. Infections in Montana have been on the decline with peaking in early April. In terms of reopening, churches resumed services on April 27. Starting May 4, restaurants and bars can start providing some dine-in services. Schools have the option to return to in-classroom instruction May 7. Visitors from out of state still must self-quarantine for 14 day. Nebraska Nebraska, which doesn't have a stay-at-home order, is among the few states that are yet to curb the spread. The state has a secondary infection rate of 1.09, which means more than one person will become infected by a COVID positive person. Infections have increased drastically over the course of the pandemic. From May 4, people can dine-in at restaurants but they must remain six feet apart and everyone must wear masks. Bars are still limited to take-out only. Hair salons, tattoo parlors and strip clubs closed through May 31. There's a 10 person limit on gatherings. Nevada Nevada is among the states that have limited the spread of COVID-19, according to the data. Infections peaked in early April but have almost plateaued since then. Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak extended a stay-at-home order until May 15 and says he may allow the reopening, on that date or sooner, of many nonessential businesses. But he said bars, casinos and shopping malls would likely stay shuttered. Sisolak is still deciding whether he will allow restaurants, barber shops and salons to reopen in mid-May with other businesses. New Hampshire New Hampshire appears to have limited the spread of the virus, according to Rt.Live data. The state has a secondary infection rate of 0.94. Infections appear to be increasing in the state. New Hampshire's stay-at-home order is extended until May 31. Drive-in theaters, golf courses and hair salons will be allowed to start up again from May 11 with strict social distancing. Restaurants that have outdoor seating can reopen from May 18 if tables can be spaced six feet apart. Campgrounds, manufacturing services and state parks can open immediately if they follow the guidelines. North Dakota North Dakota, which has no stay-at-home order, appears to have limited the spread of the virus. Infections appear to be increasing and the secondary rate of infection is currently 0.93. Bars and restaurants, recreational facilities, health clubs and athletic facilities, salons, and tattoo studios can reopen from May 1 with social distancing measures. Movie theaters must limit admittance to 20% capacity. Ohio Ohio appears to have limited the spread of the virus, according to Rt.Live data. The state has a secondary infection rate of 0.81. Infection appear to be decreasing in the state following a steady rise early in the pandemic. Non-essential surgeries that don't require an overnight hospital stay will start May 1. Manufacturing, distribution and construction sectors will reopen May 4, following by consumer retail and services on May 12. Companies will need to require employees and customers to wear face masks and follow social distancing guidelines. Oklahoma Oklahoma appears to have limited the spread of the virus with a 0.99 secondary infection rate. Infections in the state peaked in early April before gradually declining since then. Some businesses that were closed in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus were allowed to reopen from April 24 and others can reopen within 10 days. Barbershops, hair and nail salons, pet groomers and spas were allowed to reopen from April 24. The move is contingent on businesses practicing social distancing, and employees and customers must wear masks if they are within six feet of each other. Restaurants, movie theaters, gyms and places of worship can reopen May 1. Nurseries tied to places of worship will remain closed. South Carolina South Carolina appears to have stopped the spread of the virus with a secondary infection rate of 0.82. Infections peaked in the state in early April but have not yet had a steady decline since. Department stores, sporting goods stores and flea markets are among the businesses allowed to reopen in parts of the state from April 20. Other stores selling furniture, books, music, flowers, clothing and accessories can also reopen. The businesses are allowed to open at 20 percent capacity, or five people per 1,000 square feet. Beaches are also allowed to reopen April 21. South Dakota South Dakota is among the few states that are yet to stop the spread of the virus, according to the data. It currently has a 1.01 rate of secondary infection. Infections appeared to peak in late April but appear to be declining since then. Republican Gov. Kristi Noem didn't order any severe restrictions, instead asking people to observe social distancing and avoid groups larger than 10. Still, Noem last week issued a 'Back to Normal' plan that advised businesses to open doors while taking precautions to keep people spread apart. Tennessee Tennessee is among the states that appear to have curbed the spread of the virus for an extended period. The state has a secondary infection rate of 0.95. Infections in the state have been increasing over the course of the pandemic. Businesses in most counties can reopen as early as April 27. Retail stores, which can reopen from April 29, and restaurants will operate with a 50 percent customer capacity. Many of Tennessee's 56 parks will open on Friday. Businesses can expect temperature checks, enforced mask wearing and social distancing. Large cities including Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville can decide on their own when to reopen. Texas Texas is among the few states that appear to have stopped the spread. Its secondary infection rate is 0.76. Cases increased in early April before appearing to decline. Cases have been increasing again in recent days. Retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls can reopen at a 25 percent reduced capacity from May 1. State parks reopened on April 20 but people must wear face coverings and masks and adhere to social distancing. People also cannot visit in groups of five or more. Hospitals could resumed surgeries on April 22 that had been postponed by coronavirus. Schools and universities will remain closed for the rest of the year. Utah Utah appears to have slowed the spread of the virus with a secondary infection rate of 0.95. Cases have been steadily increasing throughout the pandemic. There is no stay-at-home order but some restrictions were enforced. Restaurants can allow customers dine in again with precautions from May 1. Gyms and personal services including hair salons can reopen May 1. Vermont According to the Rt.Live data, Vermont appears to have been limiting the spread of the virus throughout the entire pandemic. Cases peaked in early April but have been declining since them. A stay-at-home order for the state runs through May 15. Construction, home appraisers, property management and municipal clerks can reopen from April 27 with a maximum of five workers. Farmers markets can operate from May 1. Outdoor retail space can allow in-person shopping with a max of 10 people. West Virginia West Virginia appears to have lowered the spread of the virus and has a low secondary rate of infection. But the state has a large range of interval of values that the Rt might actually be, which means it might not have curbed the spread. Infections appeared to peak in mid April but have been declining since then. Elective surgeries can resume from April 30. Small businesses with less than 10 employees can reopen next week, including hair and nail slaons, barber shops and pet grooming. There is an indefinite stay-at-home order. Bars and restaurants limited to take-out only. Wisconsin Wisconsin is among the few states that is yet to curb the spread, according to Rt.Live data. The state currently has a 1.0 rate of secondary infections. Cases have been gradually increasing in Wisconsin for the duration of the pandemic. The stay-at-home order has been extended to May 26. Nonessential businesses and public libraries can have curbside pickup and delivery. Groomers, engine repair shops are allowed to do curbside drops offs. Golf courses are open. Some state parks will reopen from May 1. Not reopening Connecticut Connecticut appears to have curbed the spread of the virus, according to the data after a shelter in place order was given early in the pandemic. Infections are on the decline after peaking in mid-April. There's a stay-at-home order in the state that runs through May 20. Five person limit on social gatherings, 50-person limit for religious services. Non-essential businesses must suspend all in-person operations and bars and restaurants are limited to take-out only. Out-of-state visitors strongly urged to self-quarantine. If the state meets certain criteria by May 20, including 14 days of downward infections, increased testing availability and sufficient contact tracing methods, it will forge ahead with partial reopening. If that criteria is met, restaurants with outdoor seating, offices, hair and nail salons and outdoor museums and zoos will be allowed to reopen. Delaware Delaware appears to have curbed the spread of the virus with a 0.96 rate of secondary infections. The number of infections have been sporadically increasing and decreasing throughout the pandemic. Stay-at-home order through May 15. 10 person limit on gatherings. Nonessential businesses limited to minimum operations or remote work. Visitors from out of state who aren't just passing through must self-quarantine for 14 days. Bars and restaurants limited to take-out only. Hawaii Hawaii appears to have limited the spread of the virus throughout the duration of the pandemic. It could be a result of the island state forcing visitors to self-quarantine for 14 days. Infections peaked early in the pandemic but have declined drastically since then. The state's stay-at-home order has been extended until May 31. 10 person limit on gatherings Nonessential businesses limited to minimum operations or remote work Visitors from out of state must self-quarantine for 14 days Bars and restaurants limited to take-out only Kansas Kansas is among the few states that is yet to limit the spread of coronavirus with a secondary infection rate of 1.03. Cases have been steadily increasing in the state since mid-April. The state's stay-at-home order ran until May 3. 10 person limit on gatherings - exempting funerals and religious services with social distancing Nonessential businesses limited to minimum operations or remote work Residents who traveled to California, Florida, New York or Washington state after March 14, or visited Illinois or New Jersey after March 22, must self-quarantine for 14 days Bars and restaurants limited to take-out only. Maryland Maryland appears to have curbed the spread of the virus with a secondary infection rate of 0.92. Infections have been increasing across the state since the pandemic began. Indefinite stay-at-home order 10 person limit on gatherings Nonessential businesses limited to minimum operations or remote work Visitors from out of state must self-quarantine for 14 days Bars and restaurants limited to take-out only Massachusetts Massachusetts appears to have almost stopped the spread of the virus, according to the data. Infections have been steadily increasing throughout the pandemic but appear to have declined in recent days. Non-essential businesses closed through May 4 10 person limit on gatherings Visitors from out of state advised to self-quarantine for 14 days Bars and restaurants limited to take-out only New Jersey Hard hit New Jersey appears to have almost stopped the spread of the virus. Infections peaked in early April but have been declining since then. The state has strict lockdown measures and an indefinite stay-at-home order There's a 10 person limit on gatherings, nonessential retail businesses must close bricks-and-mortar premises. Recreational and entertainment businesses are also closed. Bars and restaurants are limited to take-out only. New Mexico New Mexico appears to have limited the spread of the virus with a secondary infection rate of 0.92. Infections across the state have been rising throughout the pandemic. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham extended the stay-home order until May 15 but has begun modest moves to reduce business restrictions, recently allowing curbside and delivery operations for nonessential businesses, opening golf courses and some state parks, and allowing firearm sales by appointment. New York New York is among the few states to have stopped the spread of the coronavirus, according to the data. Infections have been on a downward trend in recent days. The state has among the strictest lockdown measures with the stay-at-home order running through May 15. After that, while New York City is the epicenter of the US outbreak, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed letting some less-affected upstate regions begin phased reopening once they've met criteria key virus markers. Some upstate hospitals have been allowed to resume elective surgeries but must maintain a certain threshold of open beds for emergencies. Schools are closed through the academic year. North Carolina North Carolina is among the states that appear to have slowed the spread of the virus. Infections have been on rise the rose in the Southern state since the pandemic broke out. The stay-home order, including business restrictions, remains until May 8, after which Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper hopes to begin a phased reopening. He said that decisions on the pace of reopening depend on key metrics including trends in positive cases and hospitalizations. Oregon Oregon is among the states that appears to have slowed the spread of the virus with a secondary infection rate of 0.91. Infections peaked in the state early in the pandemic before gradually decreasing since then. Gov. Kate Brown says some rural counties where there are almost no cases can begin reopening slowly starting May 15 if certain conditions have been met. Medical facilities in Oregon were allowed to resume providing nonurgent medical care starting May 1. Pennsylvania Pennsylvania appears to have slowed the spread of the virus with a 0.91 secondary rate of infection. Infections have been decreasing in the state after peaking in mid-April. Golf courses, marinas and private campgrounds can reopen. Construction work can resume. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf plans to lift his stay-at-home order on May 8, reopen many retailers and ease other restrictions in the least-affected parts of the state. Wolf says the shutdown can be loosened in a county or region once virus trends hit key benchmarks. Rhode Island Rhode Island appears to have slowed the spread of coronavirus with a 0.82 rate of secondary infections. Cases have been on the decline since peaking in late April. Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo has consistently said she hopes to lift the states stay-at-home order May 8 to begin a phased restart of the economy. The first phase includes opening some state parks or beaches, allowing hospitals to perform elective procedures and other easing of restrictions, all with social distancing. Virginia Virginia appears to have limited the spread of the virus with a secondary rate of infection of 0.87. Cases have been increasing since the pandemic broke out. Gov. Ralph Northam hopes to let more businesses reopen by the end of next week. Northam's announcement extended by a week an executive order that closed businesses. The order initially was set to expire Friday. It now expires May 15. Washington Washington state has limited the spread of coronavirus, according to the data. Infections in the state peaked in early April before rapidly decreasing. Cases appear to have plateaued since since. Gov. Jay Inslee has already eased some restrictions, including allowing day use of state parks. Outdoor recreation such as fishing and golfing will be allowed from this week. The Democratic governor also announced the states stay-at-home order will be extended through at least May 31. That will be followed with a four-stage process of lifting restrictions, starting with allowing retail curbside pickup, automobile sales and car washes by mid-May. Option to license an additional five programs for a total of seventeen Extended option and research term to allow for collaboration through 2025 Exclusive rights to certain technologies resulting from GTPs gene therapy research PHILADELPHIA, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Passage Bio, Inc. (PASG), a genetic medicines company focused on developing transformative therapies for rare, monogenic central nervous system (CNS) disorders and the Gene Therapy Program (GTP) at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) today announced the expansion of their collaboration agreement to include an additional five programs and extending Passage Bios period to exercise new programs for an additional three years (through 2025). Additionally, Passage Bio will fund discovery research at GTP and will receive exclusive rights, subject to certain limitations, to technologies resulting from the discovery program for Passage Bio products developed with GTP, such as novel capsids, toxicity reduction technologies and delivery and formulation improvements. Our collaboration with the GTP gives us access not only to the best discovery, technology, and research available but also to pioneering expertise in the field of gene therapy, including pre-clinical development and manufacturing experience that will help guide our programs as we move into clinical development, said Bruce Goldsmith, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Passage Bio. Expanding this collaboration provides us with the opportunity to not only deepen our pipeline but also strengthen our own expertise and capabilities as we strive to develop transformative gene therapies for patients. We are tremendously proud of the progress we have accomplished to date through this partnership and look forward to continuing this momentum in the years to come. This expansion builds upon the original collaboration, which successfully established a strong partnership between Passage and GTP. Under the expanded agreement, Passage will pay $5 million annually to Penn to fund research across numerous technology applications for gene therapy. In addition to five additional program options and an extension of the relationship through 2025, Passage will receive exclusive rights, subject to certain limitations, to IP arising from this research and related indications that are applicable to the products it develops with GTP. Story continues The partnership between GTP and Passage Bio continues to be extremely strong and productive as we collaborate to bring our gene therapy products to patients. We are extremely excited to expand the reach of our CNS products and discovery research through this continued collaboration, said James Wilson, M.D., Ph.D. director of the Gene Therapy Program at the University of Pennsylvania and chief scientific advisor of Passage Bio. As a co-founder of the company, I am also deeply committed to the growth and success of Passage. I believe that the expansion of this strong collaboration further establishes Passage Bios leadership in gene therapy and I look forward to continuing to work with our dedicated teams to reach these shared goals of helping patients with rare, monogenic CNS disorders. About Passage Bio Passage Bio is a genetic medicines company focused on developing transformative therapies for rare, monogenic central nervous system disorders with limited or no approved treatment options. The company is based in Philadelphia, PA and has a research, collaboration and license agreement with the University of Pennsylvania and its Gene Therapy Program (GTP). The GTP conducts discovery and IND-enabling preclinical work and Passage Bio conducts all clinical development, regulatory strategy and commercialization activities under the agreement. The company has a development portfolio of six product candidates, with the option to license eleven more, with lead programs in GM1 gangliosidosis, frontotemporal dementia and Krabbe disease. Forward Looking Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of, and made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of, the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to: our expectations about our collaborators and partners ability to execute key initiatives and the benefits and obligations associated with our arrangements with our collaborators and partners; and the ability of our lead product candidates to treat the underlying causes of their respective target monogenic CNS disorders. These forward-looking statements may be accompanied by such words as aim, anticipate, believe, could, estimate, expect, forecast, goal, intend, may, might, plan, potential, possible, will, would, and other words and terms of similar meaning. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in such statements, including: our ability to develop, obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize our product candidates; the timing and results of preclinical studies and clinical trials; the risk that positive results in a preclinical study or clinical trial may not be replicated in subsequent trials or success in early stage clinical trials may not be predictive of results in later stage clinical trials; risks associated with clinical trials, including our ability to adequately manage clinical activities, unexpected concerns that may arise from additional data or analysis obtained during clinical trials, regulatory authorities may require additional information or further studies, or may fail to approve or may delay approval of our drug candidates; the occurrence of adverse safety events; failure to protect and enforce our intellectual property, and other proprietary rights; failure to successfully execute or realize the anticipated benefits of our strategic and growth initiatives; risks relating to technology failures or breaches; our dependence on collaborators and other third parties for the development of product candidates and other aspects of our business, which are outside of our full control; risks associated with current and potential delays, work stoppages, or supply chain disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic; risks associated with current and potential future healthcare reforms; risks relating to attracting and retaining key personnel; failure to comply with legal and regulatory requirements; risks relating to access to capital and credit markets; and the other risks and uncertainties that are described in the Risk Factors section in documents the company files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and other reports as filed with the SEC. Passage Bio undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. For further information, please contact: Investors: Sarah McCabe Stern Investor Relations, Inc. 212-362-1200 sarah.mccabe@sternir.com Media: Emily Maxwell HDMZ 312-506-5220 emily.maxwell@hdmz.com Financial Disclosure: The University of Pennsylvania and Dr. James Wilson are both co-founders of Passage Bio and hold equity interests in the company. Dr. Wilson is also the chief scientific advisor of the Company. Penn and GTP are the recipients of significant sponsored research support from the Company under research programs directed by Dr. Wilson. Penn has licensed or optioned numerous technologies to Passage Bio under an existing license and these ongoing sponsored research activities, and both Penn and Dr. Wilson stand to receive additional financial gains in the future under these licensing arrangements. Following Centre's concerns over the rise in the number of coronavirus COVID-19 deaths reported from some districts in Maharashtra and Gujarat both the state governments have been asked by Union Health Minsiter Dr. Harsh Vardhan to take appropriate steps to reduce the number of fatalities. Dr. Harsh Vardhan held a COVID-19 meeting on Wednesday (may 6) to review coronavirus prepartions undertaken by Maharashtra and Gujarat and the action taken by the government and the management. The meeting was attended by Gujarat's Deputy Chief Minister and Maharashtra's Health Minsiter and other officials, via video conferencing. Harsh Vardhan said that these states need to work more effectively, especially on surveillance, contact tracing and timely treatment to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. It was also pointed out that some patients hide information about their infection or inform the hospital and administration very late due to the fear of social stigma associated with COVID-19 disease. Harsh Vardhan said that the states would also need to work towards changing the mindset of the people associated with Coronavirus so that people will be able to share information and they can receive timely treatment. The union minister suggested that the state governments should carry out awareness campaigns towards removing social stigma. Harsh Vardhan said that Aurangabad and Pune have done a good job in this matter. The minister assured the states of all possible help. He also said that the central government will send more teams to help the states based on their demand. A Saltville man who lied about his own death in order to hide assets from the federal bankruptcy court pleaded guilty on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Abingdon to a series of crimes. According to a release from U.S. Attorney Thomas T. Cullen's office, 50-year-old Russell Geyer also assumed the identity of a Florida attorney to further the scheme. In an effort to game the bankruptcy system, Mr. Geyer devised a made-for-TV plot that ultimately collapsed under its own weight, Cullen said. The audacity of his fraud scheme not only shocks the conscience, but it offends the integrity of our judicial system. According to court documents, Geyer devised a scheme to defraud the United States Bankruptcy Court through a series of deceptive statements designed to hide assets and maintain control of collateral, the release said. These actions included, but were not limited to, repeatedly lying about fake medical conditions, including prostate cancer, bone cancer, cardiac issues, a brain aneurysm, and pneumonia. On August 30, 2019, the attorney working for Geyer informed the court that he had received an email purportedly from Geyers wife, stating that Russell was dead. According to the release, Geyer had sent the email posing as his wife. At a September 5, 2019 hearing, Geyers wife testified that her husband was alive and that neither of them had been out of town and in the hospital for the serious medical conditions claimed by the defendant throughout the case, the release said. During the September 5, 2019 hearing, Geyers attorney read into the record an email he received from an attorney in Florida indicating that the Florida attorney had sold some of the assets involved in the bankruptcy proceedings without the Geyers knowledge. The email further stated that he had complete control of Russell and told him to kill himself. The attorney concluded the email with I am on a plane out of the country. The investigation determined that the Florida attorney whose name was used in the email actually exists but had nothing to do with this case. According to the release, Geyer had used the Florida attorneys name and a bogus email account to send these emails without the Florida attorneys knowledge. Further investigation revealed that Geyer had assumed the Florida attorneys identity to fraudulently obtain $70,000 from his own wife, the release said. Geyer told his wife that he was going to receive more than $1 million in a settlement from a case that the Florida attorney was handling for him, but he needed money to pay the attorneys fees before the money would be released, according to Cullens office. Geyer then used a bogus email address and an app that disguised his voice to pose as the Florida attorney and to confirm that a settlement was imminent. It was all untrue, the release stated. Geyer pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of contempt of court, one count of bankruptcy fraud, one count of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity fraud. Despite its complexity and shameless use of deceit, including against his own wife, Mr. Geyers scheme failed to account for the FBIs and the US Attorneys offices commitment to protect both fraud victims and our judicial system," David W. Archey said on Thursday. Archey is the special agent in charge of the FBIs Richmond Division. Yesterdays guilty plea is a just and fitting end to Mr. Geyers audacious plan. We are grateful for the USAOs efforts and assistance in this case. At his sentencing on August 6, Geyer faces up to life in federal prison. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Randy Ramseyer is prosecuting the case for the United States. LOS ANGELESLike their counterparts in neighboring Bolivia, where sex workers already living near the poverty line saw their incomes destroyed by the coronavirus pandemic, Chilean sex workers have also seen vital revenues evaporate due to the pandemic, and the lockdown measures put in place to control the spread of the disease. But in Chile, according to a new Reuters report, a younger generation of mostly middle-class sex workers have not only taken their business online, but are also teaching older women who have spent their lives in the sex industry how to make use of new technology to stave off poverty in the crisis. In Chile, where 281 people have died of coronavirus infection out of more than 23,000 cases in a country or only about 19 million the government last month announced a $2 billion economic relief package for informal workers, on top of the previously announced stimulus package worth $12 billion, or five percent of the countrys gross domestic product. A government spokesperson told Reuters that sex workers were eligible to collect relief payments like any other person. But according to the Reuters report, about one third of the countrys estimated 60,000 sex workers are undocumented immigrants, who are not allowed to receive funds from the relief package. Still others were too afraid of stigmatization or investigation by government agencies to request one of the recently-announced hardship payments offered to those left destitute by the pandemic, according to Reuters reporter Aislinn Laing. Sex work is legal in Chile, and sex workers must register with local governments. But the conditions under which they may work legally are heavily regulated, and organizing or managing sex workers remains illegal. But many younger sex workers have taken to offering services via video chat and are also instructing older women how to do the same to recoup at least some of their lost income. We call them the virtuals, and some can make a lot of money, a former exotic dancer Herminda Gonzalez Inostrozam who is now spokesperson for the Margin Foundation a charity that benefits sex workers told Reuters. Theyre teaching others over WhatsApp how to get into it, how to find clients, how to set up an account to charge credit cards, how to sort a webcam, Inostrozam said. For the women over 45, its not easy but you can always learn. Even prior to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, sex workers were suffering in Chile due to a government curfew intended to quell an outbreak of social unrest, as demonstrators took to the streets of major cities to protest extreme social and economic inequality in the country with the protests often turning violent. Photo By Horst Engelmann / Pixabay Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 23:53:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KUNMING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Police in southwest China's Yunnan Province have seized 35 kg of drugs in a drug mailing case, local authorities said Thursday. After receiving a tip-off regarding drug trafficking on April 22, border police in the city of Mangshi, Yunnan's Dai-Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture of Dehong bordering Myanmar, sent a task force to investigate the case at key road sections. At around 4:40 p.m. on the same day, local police captured a total of 35 kg of methamphetamine and heroin from the bottom interlayers of four wooden cases when they inspected a batch of goods transported to other provinces. Further investigation is underway. Yunnan is a major front in China's battle against drug crime, as it borders the Golden Triangle known for its rampant drug production and trafficking. Enditem University of Queensland students are preparing themselves for online study for the rest of the year, despite COVID-19 restrictions easing. Students received an email from the university at the weekend informing them there were no plans to return to campus in 2020 for their studies. A UQ spokeswoman said the university's focus is on everyones health and wellbeing. UQ plans for study to be online for the rest of the year. Credit:Glenn Hunt. "Planning to deliver semester 2 online provides staff and students with certainty, given the possibility that restrictions could be relaxed and then tightened again, as we have seen in other countries," she said. A foreign services officer in Pakistan, who was posted in Ukraine, has been sacked after he was found guilty of sexually harassing a local worker. Waqar Ahmad, a grade 18 officer of the Foreign Services of Pakistan, was posted as First Secretary in Kiev, according to the letter of dismissal issued by the Foreign Ministry on May 5. He was charged with gross misconduct, conduct unbecoming of an officer and gentleman and conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline." He has also been charged with sexually harassing a local cleaner/messenger, abuse of authority, creating a hostile environment and unlawful termination of a local employee in Kiev. The Foreign Office found him guilty of the charges and has removed him from the service with immediate effect. Under the rules, the officer can file appeal to the Service Tribunal of the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hundreds of Indian police have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent days, raising alarm among an over-stretched force as it attempts to enforce the world's largest lockdown to contain the pandemic. Some 3 million police are trying to ensure that the vast majority of India's 1.3 billion people stay home. TV footage early in the crisis showed police beating back migrant workers as they tried to board city buses to reach their villages, making a mockery of social distancing. India has been under lockdown since March 25 and confirmed nearly 50,000 coronavirus cases and some 1,694 deaths. A senior officer in Maharashtra said the number of cases had nearly doubled in the police force there in the last week. Maharashtra, the hardest-hit state, has reported a total of 15,525 infections as of Tuesday. "More than 450 people from the state police force have now tested positive and four have died due to the virus," the officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Control rooms were being set up exclusively to deal with health issues faced by police in Maharashtra, according to the state's home minister, Anil Deshmukh. Police fired tear gas at a crowd of protesting migrant workers in the neighbouring state of Gujarat this week and launched baton charges against hundreds queuing at liquor stores in New Delhi, even as the first steps were being taken by state authorities to relax the lockdown to revive the economy. Last month, doctors had to re-attach the severed hand of a policeman who was assaulted while trying to enforce the lockdown in the northern state of Punjab. CLAMOUR FOR SICK LEAVE Six senior police officers in at least six states said dozens of police in their jurisdictions were seeking sick leave, fearing that they will otherwise become infected. An official with India's Home Ministry said it was aware of the matter and monitoring the situation. "Patrolling and crowd control in COVID-19-affected areas is becoming more dangerous than fighting criminals," said Salunkhe, a Mumbai policeman who agreed to be quoted using his last name. "At least in those cases we can see the enemy." In Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state Gujarat, at least 155 police officers and some paramilitary personnel have been infected, according to a senior official. The police commissioner of the state's main city, Ahmedabad, told Reuters that 95 police and paramilitary members had been hospitalized with COVID-19. The city ordered all shops, except those providing milk and medicines, to close from midnight Wednesday until May 15, implementing a stricter lockdown than the national one in place since March 25, in an effort to curb the spike in infections. Ahmedabad accounts for more than two-thirds of coronavirus cases in Gujarat and about three quarters of its deaths, according to government data. Five more companies of paramilitary forces will be deployed to further tighten security in the containment zones in Ahmedabad, Gujarat's highest-ranking police official said. Three companies were already in place, he said. A senior federal home ministry official said he feared that thousands more police could test positive and spread the virus among their families in police housing. Also read: Coronavirus India Live Updates: Total cases past 50,000; PM Modi delivers key address, lauds COVID-19 warriors Also read: Coronavirus: Delhi Police chief holds review meet; directs officials to disinfect police stations Photo: Phillip Pessar/Flickr Missed the most recent top news in Miami? Read on for everything you need to know. Coronavirus was making Florida residents sick as early as December, report says The Miami Herald reported new data from Floridas health department that could change the understanding of how the disease spread. Health officials reportedly documented at least 170 COVID-19 patients with symptoms between Dec. 31 and Feb. 29. Read the full story on The Daily Beast. Court overturns Miami judge's ruling that inmates had to be given soap and tested for virus The US 11th Circuit Court of Appeals said the ruling went beyond the law and cited limited testing resources. So far, 163 inmates in the Metro West Detention Center have tested positive for coronavirus. Read the full story on Business Insider. From a Miami condo to the Venezuelan coast, how a plan to capture Maduro went rogue The Venezuelan opposition entertained Jordan Goudreau's plan for regime change. Then the relationship fell apart. Goudreau went ahead anyway. Read the full story on Washington Post. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Working together, across social, business and institutional fields, will be key to mitigating the otherwise devastating impacts of the global coronavirus pandemic, says Randa Aboul-Hosn The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is one of several international institutions that announced that it will stand with Egypt to tackle the harsh economic, social and health impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. In an exclusive interview, UNDP resident representative Randa Aboul-Hosn told Ahram Online how Egypts economic and social reforms would help it to deal with the current crisis and likely macroeconomic shocks. Aboul-Hosn clarified the UNDPs international strategy to deal with the impact of Covid-19, revealing that the institution has launched the Covid-19 Rapid Response Facility with an initial $20 million in funds. Aboul-Hosn said she is working to mobilise funds from this facility for Egypt, pairing with donors and the government to mobilise additional resources for support the areas of digitalisation, increased awareness, and support for micro and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Ahram Online: How do you see the procedures and measures Egypt has adopted to contain the Covid-19 outbreak crisis until now? Aboul-Hosn: What we are experiencing today is the most challenging crisis since World War II. It is a global health crisis, but it is also a development and humanitarian crisis, one that is spreading human suffering, destabilising the global economy, disrupting countries development trajectories, and upending the lives of billions of people around the globe. Egypt reacted quickly and swiftly with the first appearances of the virus, starting with strict contact tracing and building medical capacities for treating infected patients and suspected cases. Egypt then quickly moved to control the spread of the virus and physical distancing, by closing schools and universities, public spaces, and enforcing a partial curfew. The government worked closely with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to track the progression of the virus in Egypt and enhance preparedness and pandemic response. The government also swiftly took social and financial measures to support the poorest population and vulnerable workers and businesses, especially those working in the informal sectors most affected (construction, tourism and travel), with cash transfers, supporting the economy with an economic stimulus package. So far, the government has succeeded in enforcing medical measures, tracing the virus, and treating patients and facilitating mitigation with social and economic support. But it is up to the people, individuals and families, groups and businesses, rich and poor, young and old, men and women, to apply these regulations, if we want to avoid more spread, and if we want to avoid the additional negative effects a lingering virus would have on the economy and on the lives of everyone. How far might the Covid-19 outbreak negatively affect Egypts efforts to implement the UNs Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? Egypts government is keen on maintaining the SDGs as the compass for development, resilience and progress at all times and for all circumstances, including Covid-19 and other vulnerabilities and circumstances. I think it is wise and strategic to maintain the SDGs, including healthy citizens and a vibrant economy, as grounds for a resilient development path and sustainable progress. The SDGs agreed by all UN member states in 2015 are supposed to be entirely achieved in developing countries by 2030. Will Covid-19 have an impact on attaining these goals at the due time? Agenda 2030 and the SDGs negotiated and agreed by all UN member states in 2015 focus on eradicating poverty and leaving no one behind in terms of development and a decent life. They focus on people, prosperity, the preservation of our planet, and on achieving peace in full partnership. With Covid-19 infecting people all over the world, cities and economies closing, the risks of reversing progress achieved in the fight against poverty, inequality, and for the empowerment of women, increases. We see that Egypts government is very keen to not only weather the storm and limit development losses, but also stay the course for longer-term development gains. In this regard I participated in an important virtual meeting of the UN System and government of Egypt led by the ministers of international cooperation, planning and economic development, environment, social solidarity, and the president of the National Council of Women to review progress on the Covid-19 response and on the UN Egypt Partnership Development Framework (2018-2022). We agreed on the urgency of an integrated response to Covid-19 and proactive measures for a smooth recovery. The five ministers, all women, spoke in a unified voice on acting fast to mitigate Covid-19s effects, and continue to focus and scale up ongoing programmes in the areas of social justice and social protection, economic development and prosperity, climate change, natural resources and food security, womens social and economic empowerment, and protection from gender based violence. What is the role Egypts economic reform programme is playing, in your perspective, to prevent Egypt from being negatively affected by Covid-19? The monetary and macroeconomic improvements Egypt has achieved help put the country in a situation of strength to tackle macro-shocks. The Covid-19 outbreak comes just when Egypts GDP growth was projected to hit six percent, threatening to set back the economic progress the country has achieved in the past four years. Yet, projections have showed that while Egypt will not achieve the growth it had previously targeted, it will maintain positive growth in 2020, compared to many countries in the region and in the world, who are projected to have negative growth because of Covid-19. Yet, the crisis hits at a time when segments of society and the private sector were still fragile. To curtail the damage to society and the economy, the Egyptian government has launched a comprehensive stimulus package, including expansion of social safety spending, tax cuts and tax breaks, and energy subsidies for the industrial sector. This will help minimise negative impacts on the people and the country while physical distancing efforts continue to stall the spread of the virus. In light of the recent videoconference meeting with Egypts Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat, how can the UNDP support Egypt in the current phase? Our response is framed around three objectives: prepare, respond, recover. Helping Egypt to prepare for and protect people from the pandemic and its impacts, to respond during the outbreak, and to recover from the economic and social impacts in the months to come. We are offering an immediate response to the situation. The crisis is unique, and the response had to be creative, fast, and match the scale of the crisis. UNDP Egypt is working to help limit the spread of Covid-19 and alleviate its socio-economic impacts among the poor and most marginalised. This support will ensure that no one is left out, and the country can recover steadily and continue to make progress in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Also, as the United Nations' lead agency on socio-economic impacts and recovery, UNDP will provide a technical lead in the UNs socio-economic recovery efforts. The UNs global framework provides a strategy for the urgent socio-economic response, based on five critical pillars: protecting health services and systems; social protection and basic services; protecting jobs and small and medium sized enterprises, and the most vulnerable productive actors; macroeconomic response and multilateral collaboration; and social cohesion and community resilience. We do this in support of all concerned government institutions and in coordination with many development partners. What about the allocations that the UNDP provides for Egypt in this regard? Globally, the UNDP launched a first and immediate Covid-19 Rapid Response Facility with an initial $20 million in funding. We are working to mobilise funds from this facility for Egypt. We are also working with other donors and the government to mobilise additional resources. What are the measures should Egypt adopt to keep the gains achieved over the past few years? Control the spread of the virus to avoid further lockdowns. Support businesses resilience, and transition to new opportunities, and facilitate national reopening in a safe and sustainable way. According to a recent report, the UNDP said that income losses are expected to exceed $220 billion in developing countries. How Covid-19 impact employment rates in developing countries, and in Egypt in particular? Covid-19 has disrupted billions of lives and endangered the global economy. We have entered a global recession of record dimensions. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced a global recession as bad as or worse than 2009. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) expects working hours equivalent to 195 million full-time workers to be lost globally in the second quarter of 2020, with workers losing as much as $3.4 trillion in income by the end of 2020. A substantial, immediate and sustained global response is crucial. Individual country responses are not enough. This is a human crisis, not a banking crisis. We need to focus on people, low-wage workers, small and medium enterprises and the most vulnerable. Countries should consider actions such as direct provision of resources to support workers and households, provision of health and unemployment insurance, scaling-up of social protection, and customised support to businesses to prevent bankruptcies and job losses, and to take on new opportunities. Egypt has taken many steps in this direction and continues to work with a sense of urgency to control the spread of the virus, minimise economic losses, and initiate a recovery plan immediately. The current challenge is controlling the spread of the virus, announcing guidelines for the future reopening the economy and borders, and strictly enforcing them; and encouraging communities, businesses, schools and industries, and everyone concerned, to work together to protect one another, support each other, safeguard businesses, change work habits, and move quickly towards a smooth recovery. The same recent report highlighted that 55 percent of the global population has no access to social protection. What is the situation in Egypt? The government is already working to scale up key short-term social protection mitigating measures, including through higher allocations of food smart cards and expanding targeted conditional and unconditional cash transfer programmes, such as Takaful and Karama. Search Keywords: Short link: Recently, some politicians in certain countries have been hyping up claims that China should be held accountable for the pandemic, accusing China of covering up information about the COVID-19 outbreak. They have often criticized so-called lack of transparency from China. However, facts speak otherwise. On December 27 last year, Zhang Jixian, a respiratory doctor in Wuhan, which was hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak, was the first to alert authorities of a new contagious disease after treating patients with flu-like symptoms. Meanwhile, the city's health officials started an investigation into the viral outbreak. Within three days, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission sent out an urgent notification about an outbreak of pneumonia of unknown causes in the city, and started releasing briefings on the disease since December 31. National experts were also sent to investigate the epidemic on site. At that time, there were still dozens of days away from the first case reports in the United States and many European countries, which were later hit hard by the virus. It was an unknown virus to mankind that takes time to know more. But China moved fast to investigate the outbreak. It quickly identified the source and transmission route of the disease, and share the information it could get with the world as early as possible. Since January 3, China has been regularly informing the World Health Organization (WHO) and relevant countries, including the United States, on the latest development of the situation. On January 12, China shared with the WHO information on the genome sequence of the novel coronavirus, which has laid a solid foundation for global efforts of scientific research and vaccine development. On January 23, China put Wuhan into lockdown to contain the virus. By that time, the megacity with 11 million residents had reported fewer than 500 infections, while cases outside the country was merely seven. One day later in his first tweet on coronavirus, U.S. President Donald Trump praised China for "working very hard to contain the coronavirus," further stressing that "The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency." It is fair to say that China has taken the most comprehensive, strictest measures to battle the epidemic at the earliest possible manner. The government has always stressed that epidemic information must be reported in time and released in an open, transparent and truthful way. China's measures worked, and life is getting back on track in the country. While the pandemic is still wrecking havoc elsewhere, smearing and scapegoating China does no good whatsoever in the fight against the pandemic. As a Xinhua commentary pointed out, "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." Hummus Bodega is now open in San Franciscos Richmond District, specializing in ethereally creamery hummus with pita and Israeli toppings. With the dishes easy portability, its a concept tailor-made for shelter-in-place in fact, the owners came up with it within just the last month. In February, Frena Bakery & Cafe owner Isaac Yosef was gearing up to turn his Richmond District bakery location into a modern Israeli restaurant. But when the coronavirus suddenly threatened in-person dining, he decided the vision would need to change. Meanwhile, San Francisco resident Matan Schejter wanted to spend his extra free time at home during shelter-in-place with something productive, so he started selling hummus via delivery. A lot of hummus. The demand was shocking. Schejter was buying Frenas pita to sell with his hummus, so he called for a meeting to try to negotiate a better price, but then they ended up going into business together. Schejter had the hummus, and Yosef had the bread and the restaurant space. Yosef imagines Hummus Bodega as a Bay Area version of the many hummus shops in Israel. Theyre casual places where people come once or twice a week to feast on a bowl of warm, creamy hummus, served simply with a glug of olive oil or toppings like turmeric-stained mushrooms. People see hummus here as a dip that you eat with carrots, Yosef said. In Israel, hummus is the main course. Hummus Bodega Unlike the hummus at most American supermarkets, Hummus Bodegas hummus is made fresh every morning and only lasts four days because there are no preservatives. Schejter said he uses the best possible ingredients the main ones being garbanzo beans, tahini and olive oil and a process that takes three days. We make it in the most traditional way, he said, comparing the rich end result to ice cream. Hummus is holy. We praise the hummus. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. For now, Hummus Bodega sells hummus by the pound for $11.99, plus pita from Frena and extras like garlic confit, Israeli pickles and tahini. In the future, Yosef imagines adding more topping options as well as Israeli salads. Israeli food has been steadily on the rise across the country, with local bakeries such as Frena finding large audiences and mini chains such as Orens Hummus rapidly growing. People can order from Hummus Bodega online for takeout. The restaurant and Frena also share a delivery van to drive around the Bay Area, stopping at different cities at specific times and selling products out of their van. Check Hummus Bodegas Instagram for the days locations. Hummus Bodega. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. or until sold out Monday-Friday. 5549 Geary Blvd., San Francisco. www.instagram.com/hummusbodega Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @janellebitker WATERLOO REGIONCanadians are on high alert as experts in British Columbia hunt for any sign the Asian giant hornet, or murder hornet as its nicknamed, survived the winter. Vespa mandarinia is the largest hornet in the world with queens that can grow up to five cm long, wingspans up to seven cm and stingers that can penetrate beekeeping suits. In the fall they attack and decimate honeybee populations, which have no natural defence against them. They were first found in Nanaimo, B.C., in August 2019. That nest was destroyed. Other sightings have been reported on Vancouver Island and in Washington state. In March, the B.C. ministry of agriculture released an information bulletin warning residents to be on the lookout. Paul Kozak, Ontarios provincial apiarist, says Ontario is in surveillance mode working with other jurisdictions across North America to share information on monitoring, control methods and to help beekeepers know what to be looking for. He says its too early to say if the Asian giant hornet could survive in Ontario, but it is known to live in similar temperate areas elsewhere. The most likely way the hornet could arrive in Ontario is through movement of goods, rather than establishing hives across the country year by year. The Asian giant hornet will be another kick in the pants for the bees if theyre able to establish, which remains to be seen, Kozak said. We are keeping an eye on them. We dont know if theyll survive. Kozak said Vespa mandarinia is one of two species of hornets pre-emptively named in the Ontario Bees Act, which gives the ministry of agriculture authority to do what they need to do to eradicate it. Gard Otis is a retired professor from the University of Guelph and an expert in insect ecology and behaviour with a focus on honeybees. He believes there is little risk of interaction between humans and Asian giant hornets. That said, its sting is extremely painful, and so venomous it destroys the tissue surrounding the sting, leaving pocked scars. Otis recalled being stung on his big toe by a nearly identical species while conducting research in Vietnam. It was the worst sting Ive ever had in my life. I couldnt put a shoe on for three days. According to Otis, hundreds of foreign species of plants and insects arrive every year in Canada, and most are not able to survive and thrive here. Asian giant hornets are nicknamed murder hornets because of the way they decimate bee populations by tearing bees heads off and feeding the thorax to their young. The hornets will work together to invade a bee hive in the fall when their own hives are at their peak population. When a hornet finds a honeybee nest, they will mark it with pheromones. More hornets will join, and over a period of 30 minutes they will mass outside before they attack the bees at once. They are known to kill up to 40 bees a minute. Native Japanese honeybees have a defence mechanism that involves swarming the first hornet and cooking it with their warmth before it has a chance to let the rest of its hive know where the bees location is. European honeybees, which are the common species in North America, have no natural defence against the Asian giant hornet. The hornets are not known to attack people unprovoked. In Asia, problems between the hornets and humans occur when a person accidentally steps on a nest. Leah Gerbers reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows her to report on stories about the Grand River Watershed. Email lgerber@therecord.com Read more about: According to the charges, FORUM, also known as Fulfilling Our Responsibilities Unto Mankind, received three state grants totaling $575,000 from 2013 to 2016 from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Two of the grants were intended to develop commercial properties in cash-strapped Dolton, while the third was meant for FORUM to operate a weatherization jobs training program. A Cody shed antler hunter may have been spared further attack from an adult male grizzly bear on May 1 because the animal bit into the mans holstered bear spray. This appears to be a surprise encounter that occurred at close range, said Dan Smith, Cody Regional supervisor. The bear was likely behaving in a defensive manner resulting from an unexpected, close encounter. The detail was one of many in a Wyoming Game and Fish Department press release issued on Tuesday following completion of an investigation into the incident which occurred in Sunlight Basin, northwest of Cody. Injured in the attack was 42-year-old Spencer Smith. He was hiking alone in search of antlers in the steep, moderately timbered East Painter Creek drainage when the attack occurred. Smith was unaware of the bear until it made contact with him, biting down on his bear spray which was in a holster on his hip. The bite ruptured the canister and presumably caused the bear to break off the attack. During the investigation Game and Fish personnel discovered the tracks of a single, adult male grizzly bear. A daybed was found in heavy cover about 30 yards from the site of the attack. There was no sign of the bear in the vicinity during the investigation, but evidence at the scene indicated the bear was at or near the daybed at the time of the encounter. Game and Fish has not been able to identify the individual bear involved in the incident. Smith was able to walk about 1.5 miles to his ATV after the attack where he was assisted by area game warden Chris Queen. Smith was then flown by helicopter to a Billings hospital for treatment. Due to the circumstances involving a surprise encounter and the inability to identify the individual bear, Game and Fish does not plan to take management action at this time, and no area closures have been implemented. Game and Fish will continue to monitor bear activity in the area. This is a very traumatic experience for a person to go through, Dan Smith said. We wish Spencer the very best for a full and speedy recovery. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 YEREVAN. Claimant Oksen Gyulnazaryan has filed a lawsuit with the Court of Bankruptcy of Armenia with a request to declare, Ara Oskanianthe son of ex-Foreign Minister and former MP Vartan Oskanianbankrupt. We are informed about this from the judicial information system. The request was submitted on Wednesday. To note, Armlur.am reported that Ara Oskanian owed Oksen Gyulnazaryan about 5 million drams, but was unable to pay this amount back, and as a result, he is being forced to declare bankruptcy. An unrepentant Nigel Farage has today hand-delivered a letter of complaint to Kent Police after two 'sheepish' officers turned up on his doorstep to chide him over his trips to Dover to highlight the numbers of migrants arriving in Britain by boat. It came as he returned to the Kent coast where 11 migrants were picked up - with more than 1,000 having now having made it to Britain this year. Law enforcers 'advised' the ex-MEP about lockdown rules and essential travel on Tuesday after a complaint was reportedly made following a trips to the Port of Dover he'd made to report on the UK's 'illegal migrant scandal'. But today Mr Farage delivered a letter to Kent Police headquarters in Maidstone in which he said he was 'certain' the visit to his home was 'a very unwise use of officers' time and of public money'. An unrepentant Nigel Farage (pictured) has today hand-delivered a letter of complaint to Kent Police after two 'sheepish' officers turned up on his doorstep to chide him over his trips to Dover More migrants arrive by dinghy this morning after 49 refugees reached the UK on Sunday, with another 31 also caught on the other side of the Channel and taken back to France The crossings mean more than 1,000 asylum seekers have made it to Britain this year - rapidly creeping up on the 1,850 figure for the whole of 2019 (pictured: Dover this morning) He added, in the letter to Chief Constable Pughsley: 'To be called on so late at night unexpectedly is rather alarming. Can you please tell me why it was considered necessary to knock on my door well after the working day was over and when I was in fact about to go to bed as opposed to, say, the next morning? 'I am the leader of a national political party, the Brexit Party, and a broadcaster for a national radio station, LBC. I also write articles regularly for the Daily Telegraph. The reason I visited Dover as you may by now know was to report on the arrival of illegal immigrants there, some of whom have shown coronavirus symptoms.' Mr Farage dubbed it 'lockdown lunacy' after he was visited by two police officers following his trip to Dover On Monday Mr Farage appeared in Dover and said he 'witnessed first hand our Border Force acting as a taxi service for illegal migrants', adding that Britons have 'every right to be angry about it'. A total of 16 migrants including a baby were picked up off the Kent coast that day - as the figure of those coming to Britain rapidly creeps up on the 1,850 figure for the whole of 2019. The following day Mr Farage said he was the victim of 'lockdown lunacy' after two 'sheepish' police officers turned up on his doorstep to chide him over his trip to Dover The Brexit Party leader today told MailOnline police may turn up at his home again but said he won't be 'intimidated, so went back to the Kent coast for LBC The Brexit Party leader told MailOnline police may turn up at his home again but said he won't be 'intimidated, so went back to the Kent coast for LBC today. A group of 11 migrants - eight men and three women - were brought into the Port of Dover this morning after crossing the Channel in one boat. Mr Farage said: 'We have reporters out all over the country, covering Covid-19 and many other stories, and the imparting of information to the public by journalists is classified as a key worker's job'. He was visited by two 'sheepish' Kent Police officers at 9.40pm on Monday night who warned him about the lockdown allowing only 'essential travel'. Mr Farage said: 'I personally think that the police deeply mistaken by visiting me - by any definition what I did was perfectly within the rules. 'I would prefer they didn't [visit again] but I won't be intimidated by a knock on the door at the dead of night. 'That's partly why I went back today but also to tell this important story. There is also a coronavirus element because there are known cases in the Calais Jungle. 'Before I left this morning one boat had been picked up by the British border force - and we suspect the French navy picked two or three more. We all know that Dover is the tip of the iceberg'. Mr Farage said that 3,200 people had come to the UK on dinghies and small boats since 2018 but predicted 'at this rate it could be this much again by the end of the year'. It came after 49 refugees reached the UK on Sunday, with another 31 also caught on the other side of the Channel and taken back to France. The crossings mean more than 1,000 asylum seekers have made it to Britain this year - rapidly creeping up on the 1,850 figure for the whole of 2019. Last month, a record 523 asylum seekers arrived in the UK after making the life-risking boat trip across the Dover Strait shipping lane. And it was revealed at the weekend that just five per cent of migrants who have crossed since January 2019 have been sent back to Europe. Around one in 20 - 155 of 2,839 refugees - were returned, Home Office data showed. Last month, a record 523 asylum seekers arrived in the UK after making the life-risking boat trip across the Dover Strait shipping lane (pictured: Dover this morning) Chris Philp, Minister for Immigration Compliance and the Courts, had said: 'We are all working night and day to dismantle and arrest the criminal gangs who trade in people smuggling. 'Criminals are abusing vulnerable men, women and children by trafficking them across the Channel. 'This illegal and criminal activity is subject to heavy law enforcement activity by Border Force, the National Crime Agency, Immigration Enforcement and French law enforcement. 'Over 1,100 migrants were arrested in France in the first quarter of this year and in 2019 Immigration Enforcement made 418 arrests, leading to 203 convictions for a total of 437 years. 'Our actions are focussed on going after the criminals perpetrating these crimes and prosecuting them for their criminal activity.' Former MEP Mr Farage was seen at Dover on Monday, days after being slammed for travelling 100 miles during lockdown to make a video on migrant crossings in Hastings, East Sussex. He said: 'Over 1,000 people have come in through Dover already this year. 'Unless we act, it will be many thousands more. Time for the Home Secretary to step up. 'I witnessed first hand our Border Force acting as a taxi service, this must change.' The issue has continued despite the Government pumping millions of pounds into security measures to patrol the French coastline. Last week Home Secretary Priti Patel told MPs about a new crackdown on migrant crossings - just months after she had outlined a plan which she claimed would all but eradicate them. Border police in Sweden caught hold of a vehicle full of weapons while trying to enter the country. The vehicle belonged to a couple from Germany, who was moving to Sweden during the coronavirus pandemic, reported Swedish news portal SVT News. The couple had arrived at Malmo in Sweden through a ferry in March. The report added that the vehicle had Zombie Response Team written on the passenger door and even a threatening phrase at the back, which read: Infected People Will Be Shot. Swedish customs officials took the vehicle under its wings and had it searched. The vehicle was carrying rifles, pistols, teargas guns and canisters, a slingshot, several shock devices and a couple of crossbows. Upon interrogation, the couple has said that they did not have any plans of shooting zombies. They were moving to Sweden and packed up parts of their household goods, including these [weapons] items, said prosecutor Michelle Stein. The report further said that the German couple thought that they did not know that permission was required to bring it into the country. The duo is currently going through the procedure of prosecution for trying to import weapons that require permits, reported SVT News. The news spread like fire on social media platforms and people quickly linked it to the zombie apocalypse in movies and pop culture. One Reddit user wrote, Wrong apocalypse guys, while another replied, I dunno, this is the closest the its a hoax people have been to making sense. If watching pandemic horror films, has taught me anything it is that pandemics are always cover-ups for zombies. A former Deputy Minister of Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has insisted that Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumias comparison of the power crisis under the Mahama administration to the COVID-19 pandemic makes no sense. Mr. Kwakye Ofosu said it is wrong to compare the two issues especially when one is leading to the loss of lives, closure of borders, and social discomfort while the other resulted in the loss of products and a slight slow down in businesses. Dr. Bawumia at a media engagement on Monday said the government has ensured a resilient and buoyant economy despite the harsh conditions presented by the coronavirus pandemic. He also said the NDC government during the power crisis could not effectively manage the economy. But Felix Kwakye Ofosu who could not phantom the basis for Dr. Bawumias comparison described same as illogical. I have had occasion to say somewhere that, [what Bawumia did] is akin to inviting me to take part in a beauty contest with a woman. It is illogical and with the greatest of respect to him, it does not make sense. A power crisis is not the same as a global health pandemic for that reason, the responses to both are not the same. When you have a power crisis, there is either a shortfall in generational capacity or some difficulty. So the priority is to ensure that you bridge that gap and every resource you have will be pumped to bridging that gap like President Mahama did by ramping up the generational capacity a little up from 2,800 megawatts to over 4,000 megawatts and today the NPP bizarrely accuses him of creating more than we needed. It is true that businesses slowed down but production and economic activities did not halt, he said on Breakfast Daily on Citi TV. Mr. Kwakye Ofosu further accused the Vice President of fabricating theories and foisting it on the Ghanaians. The Vice President has gained notoriety for fabricating theories and foisting on the people of Ghana and abusing the confidence people will normally have in him. What did he seek to do that day by comparing a power crisis to a health pandemic? he asked. ---citinewsroom WASHINGTON The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously overturned the convictions of two defendants in the Bridgegate scandal that snarled traffic on the worlds busiest bridge, upended New Jersey politics and doomed the presidential aspirations of Chris Christie, the states governor at the time. The case resulted from a decision in 2013 by associates of Mr. Christie to close access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in a wild scheme that was meant to punish one of the governors political opponents and ended up creating four days of enormous traffic jams that posed risks to public safety. That was an abuse of power, the Supreme Court ruled, but not a federal crime. The associates, Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni, were convicted of wire fraud and other federal charges for their roles in concocting what they said was a traffic study that caused extreme delays for motorists seeking to cross the bridge from Fort Lee, N.J., to Manhattan. The mayor of Fort Lee, Mark Sokolich, a Democrat, had rebuffed a request to endorse Mr. Christies re-election bid in 2013, and this was his punishment. Mr. Christie has denied any knowledge of the scheme. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has announced the granting of a two-month licence-fee waiver for terrestrial broadcast stations in the country by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), as part of efforts to ease the negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the broadcast industry The Minister, who stated this at a meeting with the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) in Abuja on Wednesday, also announced the setting up of a committee of Creative Industry stakeholders to look into and advise the Federal Government on the best way to mitigate the effect of the pandemic on the industry. Before I announce the terms of reference of the committee, let me say that in the interim, I want to announce that I have approved the request by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to grant a two-month licence-fee waiver for terrestrial broadcast stations in Nigeria. I make bold to say that while BON members have been hit hard by the current pandemic, they are not alone. In fact, the entire Creative Industry, which also covers the Broadcast Industry, has been affected by the pandemic that has inflicted extensive damage on the economy of nations across the world, he said. Alhaji Mohammed stressed the need for a collective and government-supported approach in dealing with the immediate, short and long term palliatives and initiatives for the industry, in order to mitigate the effect of the pandemic on the Industry. We have therefore decided that instead of addressing this problem piecemeal, we should do so holistically for a more positive outcome, he said, noting that the Creative Industry is a very critical sector of the nations economy and a major plank of the economic diversification policy of this Administration, in addition to creating the highest number of jobs after Agriculture. The Minister said the terms of reference of the committee include to assess the expected impact of the pandemic on the industry in general and advise the Government on how to mitigate job and revenue losses in the sector as well as to create succour for the industry small businesses. The committee is also to suggest the type of taxation and financing that is best for the industry at this time to encourage growth and also advise the Government on any other measure or measures that can be undertaken to support the industry. The committee has Ali Baba, a renowned Comedian, as Chairman while Anita Eboigbe of the News Agency of Nigeria will serve as Secretary. Other members of the Committee include Bolanle Austen Peters, Charles Novia, Segun Arinze, Ali Jita, Baba Agba, Kene Okwuosa, Efe Omoregbe, Prince Daniel Aboki, Chioma Ude, Olumade Adesemowo, Dare Art Alade and Hajia Saa Ibrahim. Representatives of the Fashion, Publishing, Photography as well as Hospitality and Travel sectors are also to be included in the committee, which has four weeks to submit its report. In her remarks, the Chairperson of BON, Hajia Saa Ibrahim, who was represented by Sir Godfrey Ohuabunwa, called for urgent mitigating measures for broadcast stations in the country which, she said, have all suffered huge revenue losses due to the pandemic. She disclosed that privately-owned broadcast stations have contributed over N2 billion worth of airtime, free of charge, for public sensitization and awareness campaign for the containment of the disease in Nigeria as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility. Londons High Court rules Tsvetkov owes no $10 mln to Magdeyev RAPSI 15:24 07/05/2020 MOSCOW, May 7 (RAPSI) London's High Court has put an end to a dispute linked to the Graff jeweler saying that businessman Dmitry Tsvetkov has fulfilled his obligations to his former business partner Rustem Magdeev. Magdeev claimed that Tsvetkov owed him more than $10 million. However, London's High Court ruled that Tsvetkov had payed off the sum. Nearly all of the US$10 Million Loan was repaid to Mr Magdeev on the basis of the accepted payments; Once disputed payments are taken into account the full US$10 million was repaid, the court ruling at RAPSI disposal reads. Magdeev filed his claim with the London's High Court in December 2017. Tsvetkov denied allegations regarding debt obligations. He, in turn, asserted counterclaims, stressing that the claims against him were brought due to a bad financial standing of his former partner. According to the court records, Tsvetkov was engaged in the sale of jewelry produced by Graff Diamonds Ltd. since 2011, while Magdeev decided to invest in this business two years later - in June 2013. As the business prospered, Tsvetkov, as he claimed himself, incorporated in 2014 in Dubai EK Diamonds, a company that was officially owned by his wife Elsina Khayrova and that was supposed to carry on the Graff business. Soon afterwards, Magdeev introduced Tsvetkov to Emil Gaynulin, who decided to become a partner in the joint business. London's High Court paid attention in its ruling to the disagreements between Magdeev and Gaynulin, focusing on threats against Gainulin in terms of persecuting him personally. In the meantime, in October and November 2014 Graff offered Tsvetkov additional discounts on its products if he could arrange for a further US$30 million investment. Graff also offered him the opportunity to open a franchise in Cyprus. In order to operate the new Graff franchise, Tsvetkov founded a new company, EKLG, which was appointed the sole and exclusive distributor of Graff products in Cyprus. According to Tsvetkov, Magdeev invested in their joint business not his own money and at some point he had to repay it. Mrs Justice Cockerill noted in her ruling that Magdeev was having cash flow issues. Consequently, Magdeev put pressure on Tsvetkov with the aim of buying out his share of the Graff business, and this pressure obviously increased later in 2016, according to court records. This situation allegedly led to the business failure. Tsvetkov alleged that Magdeev threatened him with legal action in April 2017. Soon afterwards, there was a meeting between Magdeev and Tsvetkov that was also attended by Radik Yusupov, who was well-known for his associations with organised criminal groups, according to the records of London's High Court. Yusupov acted as a mediator, saying that he was there to settle the conflict between Mr Magdeev and Mr Tsvetkov. Notably, one of the issues discussed at the meeting was an opportunity for Magdeev to quit the Graff business. Yusupov was said to be the leader of Sevastopolskiye criminal group. Members of this group were prosecuted and brought to justice in 2008 through 2010. They were found guilty of 12 acts of manslaughter, and Yusupov was reported to have pleaded guilty. Alexander Gomzin, the general director of the Simonov Experimental Design Bureau, earlier notified Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) that Magdeev might be an acquaintance of Yusupov. Gomzin claimed that Magdeev allegedly tried to extort $5 million from him for protecting the bureau. The hearings in the case brought by Magdeev in London's High Court took place in January and February. According to Mrs Justice Cockerill, Tsvetkov was more impressive and credible witness than Magdeev, whose evidence was often inconsistent. The Times reported that the legal expenses of both parties to the lawsuit amounted to 6 million. It is the common practice that the losing party pays legal expenses of the other party as well, which means that it is time for Rustem Magdeev to pay the bills. Germanys government is preparing to purchase 93 Eurofighters and 45 US-made F-18 fighter jets for a total cost of almost 20 billion. The Eurofighter is produced by Airbus, while Boeing makes the F-18. Among the latter type are 30 Super Hornet jets, whose purpose is to guarantee Germanys involvement in atomic warfare and make possible the deployment of US nuclear weapons located on German territory in the event of a nuclear war. Tornado strike bombers have been used for the purpose, but they need to be removed from service by 2030 and replaced. Der Spiegel reported last month that German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (Christian Democrats, CDU) offered the deal to US Defence Secretary Mark Esper in an email. The extra-parliamentary move apparently took place with the approval of the CDUs coalition partners, the Social Democrats. In a statement, the Defence Ministry noted that the SPD had been involved in the process for weeks. Der Spiegel also reported that secret agreements were struck with Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (both SPD). F/A-18F Super Hornet during a supersonic test flight in 2010. (Image Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Liz Goettee) On Monday, government officials reiterated Germanys commitment to the nuclear participation as part of NATO. It is an important component of a credible deterrence strategy in the alliance, stressed government spokesman Stefan Seibert in Berlin. Foreign Minister Maas distanced himself from other SPD members, including SPD co-leader Norbert Walter-Borjans, who over previous days criticised Germanys purchase of US-made planes and the close nuclear alliance with Washington. One-sided steps that undermine the trust of our close partners and European neighbours weaken our alliances, Maas declared. On Sunday, SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mutzenich told German daily Tagesspiegel, the nuclear weapons on German territory do not heighten our security, on the contrary. It is high time for Germany to rule out future stationing. Other states have done this without calling NATO into question. He then added, As Germans, we should confidently demand to influence NATOs nuclear strategy, even when no nuclear weapons are stored on our territory. The criticism of the government from sections of the SPD, who are being supported by the Left Party, has nothing to do with pacifism. Its goal is to develop a foreign and nuclear policy that is more independent of the United States and dominated by Germany and the EU. In the past, the SPD demanded that the Tornados be replaced exclusively with repurposed Eurofighters to promote domestic production and prevent too great a reliance on the United States, as a report from the news channel N-TV noted. Regardless of which fighter jet model the German government ends up choosing, what is taking place is the largest rearmament of the German air force since the end of the Second World War, and, in the final analysis, the nuclear arming of Germany. According to the Defence Ministry, the governments desire to purchase F-18 fighter jets is merely seen as a temporary solution for nuclear participation and air-supported electronic combat. The development of [Future Combat Air System (FCAS)] should not be endangered. The FCAS is a European system composed of manned multi-purpose fighter jets, several unmanned aircraft (remote carriers), and new weapons and communications systems. The plan is for an integrated combat system incorporating drones, fighter jets, satellites, and command-and-control aircraft, potentially linked to an independent nuclear capability. In a keynote foreign policy address in February, French President Emmanuel Macron appealed for a strategic dialogue on Europes nuclear deterrence. In the face of a nuclear arms race, Macron declared that the Europeans cannot restrict themselves to the role of spectators. FCAS is part of the Franco-German led drive to transform the European Union into a military power capable of waging war independently of, and if necessary, in opposition to, the United States. Under conditions of mounting conflicts between the major powers, the development of the project is being pushed ahead aggressively. After Germany, France and Spain officially launched FCAS last June, there will now be a shift to the technological development and demonstration over the next 18 months with a German investment of 78 million, noted a report from the Defence Ministry on February 13. In a press statement from April 22, Kramp-Karrenbauer also noted that the fighter jets were a transition to the future goal-oriented technology of FCAS. The issue with the replacement of the Tornado fleet is to equip the air force of the armed forces in the future in such a way that all of the capabilities of the Tornado, the capability of air combat, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and also the capability for nuclear participation, can be covered in the future. In this process, it is important that we retain the industrial policy capabilities here in Germany and Europe. We need a solution that ensures that the major European air system of the future, namely FCAS, is not put at risk in the period after 2040. The sums of money set aside for the project are gigantic. With the cost for each F-18 standing at $93 million (85 million) and each Eurofighter costing $170 million (156 million), the total cost for 138 jets amounts to $20 billion or 18.5 billion, although the cost for new rearmament programmes generally turn out to cost many multiples of the original figure. The cost of the European air system is substantially higher. In total, costs will rise above 100 billion. Handelsblatt reported last year that by mid-century, the system will gobble up up to 500 billion. In the midst of the raging COVID-19 pandemic, the financing of this project is a social and political crime. As the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons and the International Doctors for the Prevention of Nuclear War noted, the cost for the F-18 jets alone (7.47 billion) would be sufficient to establish 100,000 intensive care beds, purchase 30,000 ventilators, and pay 60,000 nurses and 25,000 doctors for an entire year. The purchase price for these weapons of mass destruction would suffice to finance the work of the World Health Organisation for four-and-a-half years. The German governments plans make clear that 75 years after the end of the Second World War, German imperialism and militarism is once again reviving its criminal traditions. The German ruling elite is responding to a nuclear arms buildup by the United States and the mounting tensions between the major powers by preparing their own plans for annihilation. Influential think tanks, commentators, newspapers, and politicians have been demanding Germanys own weapons of mass destruction for some time. Recently, the president of the German Society for Foreign Policy (DGAP) and former head of Europes second large arms company EADS, Tom Enders, called, in a piece entitled, We must talk about nuclear weapons for collaboration with France or the creation of Germanys own nuclear deterrent. A responsible German security and foreign policy must consider the Federal Republic of Germanys nuclear options soberly and with regard to reapolitik. This discussion should not exclude any option from the outset as taboo, including the seemingly unthinkable: does Germany need its own nuclear weapons? The building of a combat-ready European defence union is hard to imagine without nuclear backing. The only way to avert this arms race and the extermination of humanity in a third world war fought with nuclear weapons is by mobilising the working class against rearmament, war and its sourcethe capitalist profit system. Workers and young people must fight for the expropriation without compensation of the arms companies, the banks, and the super-rich oligarchy so that these vast resources can be deployed to combat the pandemic and meet the social needs of the vast majority. These demands are inseparable from the establishing of workers power and the socialist transformation of society. Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that a woman in the central province of Hubei was jailed after she posted on social media criticizing the Chinese government Communist Party and its authorities. 45-year-old Liu Yanli was sentenced to four years in prison by the Dongbao District People's Court in Hubei's Jingmen city for "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble." This public order was regularly used to target those who go against the regime. Liu's sister told RFA that Liu previously worked as a bank clerk and was accused of using her social media to criticize the Chinese ruling authorities by "maliciously speculating on hot topics in current affairs," based on her social media posts from four years ago. While Liu intended on appeal, her sister said that authorities appeared to be deliberately delaying the request. Liu's sister stated, "I think they are deliberately obstructing our appeal. We don't know if they are playing a double game." She said Liu Yanli had pleaded not guilty at the trial and had refused to "confess" to the charges against her. "We were pleading not guilty, because we have said all along that while Liu Yanli's comments may have been ill-considered, wrong even, they didn't constitute a crime," her sister said. "They could have used disciplinary or professional guidelines to restrain her, but not the law and the machinery of the state to restrict her personal freedom," she added. RFA reported that Liu had repeatedly blogged about rights issues on multiple WeChat groups, and campaigned in support of People's Liberation Army (PLA) veterans living in hardship, and called on officials to reveal details of their private wealth. The charges against Liu stem from posts to WeChat, a Chinese version of Twitter. The posts, mostly copied from other online sites, allegedly defame current and former Chinese leaders, such as Chairman Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai, and President Xi Jinping Sources told RFA that Liu divorced her husband two years ago in an effort to shield her family from the consequences of her activism. She also attempted suicide while under police surveillance, at which point she was taken to Jingmen Detention Center. One of the Hubei residents responded that her imprisonment was unfair. "Everything she wrote is protected by the Constitution, but the Jingmen prosecution has no regard for the Constitution," the Hubei resident said. "Liu Yanli hasn't broken any laws; all her comments on Weibo and WeChat ... fall within the scope of freedom of speech." "As for the claim that she insulted the country's leaders, freedom of speech means that every citizen has the right to criticize," he added. "The charges against Ms. Liu are absurd," said Karin Karlekar, Director of Free Expression at Risk Programs at PEN America. "Under Chinese law, criminal defamation charges can be applied in relation to defamation of a living person, while several of the former leaders allegedly defamed have been dead for decades. We urge Chinese authorities to drop the charges against Liu, and to cease their suppression of critical voices who speak out against government corruption or ineptitude." An Australian man who died in Bali is feared to have been poisoned. Former Kalgoorlie miner Kevin James Nunn, 68, died in his sleep at his Denpasar home on Wednesday. Mr Nunn is the second Australian man to have died in Bali this week and the third in a month. Denpasars chief of police, Jansen Avitus Panjaitan, said Mr Nunn began complaining about chest pains after sipping from a can of soft drink. Bali police fear Kevin James Nunn (pictured), 68, may have been poisoned after drinking from a can then dying in his sleep at his Denpasar home on Wednesday 'At about around 8am the victim drank (a can of) Schweppes soft drink and started walking around the house. 'At 9am the victim told his wife Arianti that (he) felt sick on his chest, and around 10am the victim entered his room to lay down,' Mr Panjaitan said, the Courier Mail reports. Mrs Nunn, 29, consulted with a doctor at a nearby chemist and brought home malaria medication which she gave to her husband. She then gave him Bear Brand Milk, a form of sweet condensed local milk in a can, which made Mr Nunn vomit. It is understood that Mr Nunn drank whiskey and Coca-Cola the previous night. Aussie expats in Bali can been often seen wiping the tops of cans and bottles to avoid the rat urine-borne disease leptospirosis which can be fatal. Police said Mr Nunn then fell asleep around 11.30am but could not be revived. 'The wife then contacted ambulance and when the COVID Task Force arrived they found the man had died. There are indications that the victim was poisoned,' Mr Panjaitan said. Nunns body was taken to nearby Sanglah Hospital to be examined. A COVID-19 test was rapidly conducted but came back negative. 'We are still waiting the forensic examination results and we still try to get the approval from the family (in Australia) to do the autopsy,' Mr Panjaitan said. The former Kalgoorlie miner's wife (pictured together) said he began complaining of chest pains around 9am after consuming a Schweppes soft drink an hour earlier Mrs Nunn said the couple had returned to Bali, where Mr Nunn had lived for five years, on March 14 after a recent holiday in Australia. Tributes began pouring over social media on Thursday for Mr Nunn, who was known by friends as 'Nunny'. 'Devastating to hear you've left us dude. My thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to your family, especially that beautiful little girl of yours. Till we meet again, Rest Easy big homie,' one friend wrote. His wife said she was heartbroken she had lost her best partner and asked for others prayers. 'With very heavy heart today my best partner, my husband, my love, passed away in the home at 2pm, after cannot breathing properly (heart attack) Please spare some time for prayer over his soul,' his wife wrote. 'I love you so much my best partner.' 'So sad and sorry to hear Kevin passed away. Very good and king guy,' one friend responded. Brisbane man Christopher Steven Tolley (right), 47, was found dead in a Seminyak hotel room on Tuesday after he failed to check out at 12.30pm. He is pictured with his wife and sons Another wrote: 'He was a great bloke, I have known Nunny for years. Rest in peace Nunny.' It comes a day after the death of Brisbane man Christopher Steven Tolley, 47, was discovered unresponsive in bed by house keeping staff at the Fave Hotel in Seminyak after failing to check out of his room. Mr Tolley's cause and time of death is yet to be determined, with an autopsy expected in coming days. Last month, Perth travel app founder and surfer Rhodri Lloyd Thomas,31, was found dead in the pool of his Canggu villa he shared with his girlfriend. Local police believe Mr Thomas may have passed out underwater from exhaustion after running in blistering temperatures. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-06 23:30:33|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close By Wang Lili SINGAPORE, May 6 (Xinhua) -- As the COVID-19 outbreak have continued to pose grave challenges to many parts of the world, China and Singapore have been working closely together in the battle against the deadly virus. MUTUAL ASSISTANCE On Tuesday, the Chinese government and the Red Cross Society of China donated 620,000 face masks to assist in the Singapore government's efforts to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking at the handover ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Singapore Hong Xiaoyong said the Singaporean government, the Red Cross Society, business communities and people from all walks of life have provided valuable support to China in China's fight against the virus, which shows the sincere friendship between the peoples from both countries. "We are deeply moved and keep it in mind," the Chinese ambassador added. As early as Feb. 1, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong pointed out that China is doing all it can to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, and expressed confidence that China and other countries will work together to win this battle. The prime minister also stressed that the virus does not respect nationality or race, and the COVID-19 situation should be seen as a public health issue and not as a racial or international diplomatic problem. On Feb. 4, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the Singapore government will provide seed funding of 1 million Singapore dollars (704,000 U.S. dollars) to support the efforts by the Singapore Red Cross to raise funds to provide humanitarian assistance to the communities in China which had been severely affected by the virus outbreak. Currently, as the bulk of the COVID-19 patients in Singapore are foreign workers residing in dormitories, the Chinese government has also extended their assistance to those people. On Tuesday, the Chinese embassy provided the Singapore Migrant Workers' Center with supplies including food and soaps, to aid the foreign workers in Singapore who have been isolated as part of the government's efforts to contain the virus outbreak. On April 1, Vice Minister Luo Zhaohui of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Permanent Secretary Chee Wee Kiong of Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs co-chaired the virtual China-Singapore Joint Meeting on COVID-19. Both sides agreed to share diagnostic and treatment good practices, explore joint research and development of medicines and vaccines, and provide facilitation and support, as appropriate, to the nationals residing in each other's country on their medical treatment and stay, among others. BUSINESS COOPERATION Besides the Singaporean government, the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI), among many other organizations, have also supported the call of the Singapore Red Cross to render assistance to China. SBF Chairman Teo Siong Seng said in a statement on Feb. 4 "The business communities in China and Singapore enjoy long-standing and wide-ranging relationship that extends beyond trade. The fight against this virus is not China's alone, but the world's," adding that SBF will rally its members and the Singapore business community to contribute to this effort with the Singapore Red Cross. Separately, on Feb. 17, SCCCI presented a cheque of 1.1 million Singapore dollars (774,200 U.S. dollars) to the Singapore Red Cross to fund the latter's assistance to China. The China Enterprises Association (Singapore) (CEA), for its part, has also called on its 670 members to contribute to Singapore's efforts in putting the virus under control. Some members have donated money to the Singapore Migrant Workers' Center, and some have provided anti-pandemic materials such as facial masks, disinfectants and liquid soaps. SCCCI President Roland Ng said in an interview with CEA staff that the business federations of the two countries can take advantage of the enormous business opportunities in industrial transformation, explore more channels of cooperation and achieve a win-win outcome after the virus is wiped out. CEA President Cheng Jun noted that a survey conducted among their members showed that about 70 percent of the respondents are confident about Singapore's economic recovery after the end of COVID-19 outbreak. He also expressed belief that the China-Singapore ties will be consolidated in this battle, and the bilateral collaboration will be broadened later on. EXCHANGES AMID TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS Although the COVID-19 outbreak and travel restrictions prevented face-to-face interactions, 30 Chinese and Singaporean musicians managed to give a heart-warming online performance on Tuesday. The music lovers, teachers as well as conductors from both countries played erhu, a two-stringed bowed instrument, to perform Chinese musician Liu Tianhua's masterpiece -- "Guang Ming Xing" (heading for the light). Called "Chinese Music Without Borders," the session was hosted by the Singapore Chinese Music Federation and co-organized by the Singapore Press Holdings' Chinese Media Group, to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of China-Singapore diplomatic relations. Wang Yongde, a professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, said that the performance embodies the spirit of music without borders and the strength of unity between the two countries. Earlier in mid April, the Singapore Press Holdings' Chinese Media Group also co-organized an online forum grouping renowned Chinese medical experts Zhang Wenhong and Li Lanjuan and their two Singaporean counterparts, to exchange views on the virus protection and control practices of the two countries. Equally noteworthy, countless ordinary peoples in the two countries have done their parts in jointly fighting the virus. When Wang Quancheng, head of the Singapore Hua Yuan Association, coordinated the association's donation of personal protective supplies to the medical workers in China in early February, he did not anticipate he would receive some from the Chinese side later on. His association, grouping new immigrants from China to Singapore, was presented in April 10,000 medical facial masks from Xiamen city in southeast China's Fujian Province. Prior to this, Wang and his clan members had managed to send 40,000 facial masks and 40,000 medical gloves, as well as goggles and protective garments, to Xiamen and other Chinese cities. The Hua Yuan Association was a vivid example of mutual assistance between the peoples from both countries. According to local media reports, the Tung Ann District Guild of Singapore had also donated face masks to Xiamen, and later received face masks from Xiamen in return. Enditem Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris has said he will buy aviation stocks even though the sector has virtually come to a standstill with coronavirus restrictions putting a stop to travel. "With every crisis there is opportunity," Sawiris told CNBC. "You can go and buy an airline today for $1 if you are assuming the bulk of the debt." The chairman and CEO of Orascom Investment Holding also said he saw opportunities in tourism, hotels and the internet sector. His views are in striking contrast to those of Warren Buffett. The legendary American investor recently said his company Berkshire Hathaway had sold all of its shares in four largest US airlines, saying he was wrong to have invested in the aviation industry. Demand in the aviation and tourism sectors has plunged as several nations have locked down and suspended air travel to break the chain of infections. 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 Follow our LIVE blog for the latest updates of the novel coronavirus pandemic Sawiris also predicted that oil prices would hit $100 a barrel in 18 months. Crude has been in a free fall for two months as the coronavirus hit impacted the demand for fuel. He said the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia was a calculated move to combat the US shale industry. "I think they knew that this was going to happen and they still wanted to do it because, by killing a competitor, the price will rise beyond 50 or 60 dollars. So I actually believe that 18 months from now oil will hit $100," he said. The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and some other countries had failed to reach a deal in March. Sawiris said oil prices would have dropped anyway, but not to such an extent had a deal been reached. Sawiris said he agreed with US President Donald Trump's move to reopen the American economy. Follow our full coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic here Assam: At least 13 persons were killed and several others injured, many of them critically, when heavily armed militants opened fire in a crowded market place, about 12 kms from here, today. Police said a group of militants swooped down on Tiniali market this afternoon and opened fire in the marketplace killing two and injuring several others before fleeing. The police have so far recovered two bodies and it is feared that the toll may increase. The injured, many of them critical, are being shifted to nearby hospitals. The area has been cordoned off by police and army security personnel and operations have been launched as the militants are suspected to be hiding in nearby buildings. Assam Director General of Police Mukesh Sahay said, There has been an incident of firing. The security forces have reacted to it and one suspected militant as been reportedly neutralised. We have launched an intensive operation. There could be three-four more militants there, he Said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The company is also offering warranty on new Oppo phones up to Rs 2,599, as well cashback and EMI schemes till May 31. New Delhi: Smartphone maker Oppo on Thursday said it has received permission from the government to resume production, with 30 per cent capacity, at its Greater Noida facility. The company has also started sales of mobile phones through Amazon, Flipkart and retail stores in permitted areas. "In line with the directive issued by the authorities, Oppo would be operating with 30 per cent of its capacity, with around 3,000 employees working in rotation of its total over 10,000 workforce, starting May 8, 2020," it said in a statement Oppo now allows you to place orders through WhatsApp and SMS for its smartphones and accessories and offers contactless home delivery and after-sales services. Customers can place orders through WhatsApp Chat on +91 9871502777 from May 10, SMS on +91 9540495404 from May 8 and also on the Oppo India Facebook page and Twitter handles. The company is also offering warranty on new phones up to Rs 2,599, as well cashback and EMI schemes till May 31. Oppos operations had been suspended during the nationwide lockdown in March to contain the spread of coronavirus. All its products for sale in India are manufactured at its Greater Noida factory. The government had initially allowed manufacturing of IT hardware companies without permitting sale of their products in the country. However, the relaxation given to companies post May 3 allows them to sell their products in orange and green zones. Oppo said that it has begun sales of its devices in orange and green zones, and that 22 per cent of Oppo retail stores are open in permitted zones, with around 17 per cent staff present on-ground, the statement said. According to market research firm IDC, Oppo was ranked fourth in terms of smartphone sales volume with a market share of 10.7 per cent in India in 2019. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. LANSING, MI Michigan environmental regulators want Enbridge to submit more information about its proposed Line 5 oil pipeline tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac, including an analysis of alternatives to the controversial project. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) sent Enbridge a letter on May 4 calling its application for construction permits incomplete and asking for a complete assessment of the alternatives to the project. The department is required to assess whether there are any feasible or prudent alternatives to the tunnel project, wrote EGLE district supervisor Joseph Haas. Department regulators say the response is part of routine communications while Line 5 opponents hope the request for alternatives proves to be a hurdle that trips up the tunnel, which Enbridge wants to begin constructing in 2024. Enbridge says it will comply with EGLEs request. The company previously paid for a 2017 study of alternatives to continued operation of the existing Line 5 pipeline, commissioned by a task force created under former Republican Gov. Rick Snyders administration. That study helped form the basis for a new tunnel. Related: Enbridge seeks tunnel permits amid pandemic Enbridge submitted applications to EGLE in April for several key permits needed before it can dig a $500 million tunnel under the Mackinac straits. The Michigan Public Service Commission is separately taking public comment until May 13 on a request that it declare Enbridge already has authority to re-site its pipeline under bedrock because the commission originally approved the Line 5 site back in 1953. In its letter, EGLE regulators ask Enbridge to pare down some application materials to facilitate public review. The state plans to schedule public hearings on the application this summer. EGLE also wants for more information about potential impact to wetlands and protected plant species like Houghtons Goldenrod and Dwarf Lake Iris, as well as details on location of dig spoils and an explanation of litigation involving the project. While Enbridge is moving forward with tunnel permitting, its existing pipeline is tied up in court. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed a lawsuit calling Line 5 a public nuisance and environmental hazard, and demanding it be shut down. The Michigan Court of Claims last year rejected Nessels challenge to the 2018 agreement between Enbridge and former governor Snyder to construct the tunnel. In January, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Enbridge can proceed with tunnel construction. A legal challenge filed by tribes and northern Michigan property owners to Enbridges permits for anchor supports on Line 5 is also pending in the state administrative court system. Related stories: Enbridge offers assurances it would pay for Line 5 cleanup Michigan requests Enbridge Line 5 documents going back to 1953 Line 5 is bent and deformed where Enbridge wants to anchor it Merieux Equity Partners and Korys announce the launch of a new investment platform in Venture Capital to support innovative companies in the healthcare and nutrition sectors, in Europe and North America. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005086/en/ OMX Europe Venture Fund FPCI ("OMX Europe") was launched with a significant financial commitment representing more than two thirds of the target size of the fund (EUR 90 million) with the support of Korys and Merieux Developpement as sponsors and the contribution of new third party subscribers. The fund will benefit from the solid expertise and network of its sponsors and will be operated by a dedicated team covering direct investments in Venture Capital. OMX [o-miks] refers to a field of study in biology ending in -omics, such as genomics, proteomics, metabolomics or microbiomics. The promise of precision medicine and a biology-led industrial revolution hinge on the ability to reduce the complex interconnections of large, multi-omic data sets into useful products, services and information to enable a more personalized healthcare and nutrition. The crisis caused by COVID-19 has raised significant public and government awareness around the importance of biology, for a better understanding of infectious diseases but also for providing adequate solutions in the field of prevention, diagnostic and therapeutic intervention. The OMX Europe investment fund focuses on entrepreneurs and life science companies driving breakthroughs in this field at international level, ultimately contributing to a better and cost-effective healthcare while also addressing global challenges. A number of investments have already been completed by the fund: Mimetas is a leader in the rapidly growing "organ-on-a-chip" market. Using its OrganoPlate technology, Mimetas develops and commercializes 3D cell culture models, including tools that facilitate the discovery and development of new therapies; is a leader in the rapidly growing "organ-on-a-chip" market. Using its OrganoPlate technology, Mimetas develops and commercializes 3D cell culture models, including tools that facilitate the discovery and development of new therapies; MRM Technologies is a company specialized in research development and dedicated to the microbiome. Its affiliated company ProDigest is a CRO specialized in intestinal microbiome analysis, servicing international clients in the Food Pharma industry. Its affiliate MRM Health develops innovative therapeutics for the treatment of immune and metabolic diseases; is a company specialized in research development and dedicated to the microbiome. Its affiliated company ProDigest is a CRO specialized in intestinal microbiome analysis, servicing international clients in the Food Pharma industry. Its affiliate MRM Health develops innovative therapeutics for the treatment of immune and metabolic diseases; Inscripta commercializes a revolutionary genome editing platform, Onyx, offering new methods of genome engineering for cutting-edge applications in fundamental research and in various industries; commercializes a revolutionary genome editing platform, Onyx, offering new methods of genome engineering for cutting-edge applications in fundamental research and in various industries; TARA Biosystems offers in vitro cardiac models for the pharmaceutical industry using induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) that are more predictive in terms of efficacy and toxicity and help accelerate the development of new therapies. OMX Europe will be managed by Merieux Equity Partners in Europe, with the operational support of Korys' Life Science team as a key advisor to the fund. Merieux Equity Partners currently employs four FTEs dedicated to venture investment and plans to expand its team over the coming months. To add additional geographic and sector expertise a strategic partnership was recently established with a team of senior business executives who have co-invested on several venture deals in the United States with Merieux Equity Partners over the last ten years. The US-based OMX Ventures investment team, composed of Craig Asher, Nick Haft and Dan Fero, with the support of Paul Conley, operating as Senior Advisor to the fund, will bring an outstanding track record and deep experience in the life science sector. The American OMX Ventures team have established OMX Ventures Fund I ("OMX US") in the US to support innovative companies, with a similar investment strategy to that of the OMX Europe fund and a privileged right of co-investment with OMX Europe. Targeting at least USD 100 million, OMX US has recently completed an initial closing and secured over two thirds of the funding for OMX Ventures Fund I. "We are honored to welcome Korys as a sponsor and key advisor to the fund. Together with Merieux Developpement's sponsorship, privileged access to the experience and industrial network of Korys will bring real additional value to our portfolio of fast growing companies", said Valerie Calenda, Partner at Merieux Equity Partners. "Our collaboration with Merieux Equity Partners is based on an entrepreneurial history spanning several generations, common values and the shared ambition to dedicate significant, long-term resources within the healthcare and nutrition sectors. We look forward to a successful partnership", said Christoph Waer from Korys. "Thanks to significant support from Merieux Developpement, Korys and the contribution of our business partners in North America, we are increasing our investment capacity in the life science sector, at a time when understanding and mastering biology is more important than ever," added Francois Valencony, President of Merieux Equity Partners. About Merieux Equity Partners www.merieux-partners.com Merieux Equity Partners is a management company registered with the Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF) since June 2018 that is dedicated to growth equity and venture capital investments. Merieux Equity Partners currently operates with an international team of 20 employees and regional partners based in Europe and North America. With over EUR 650 million under management, Merieux Equity Partners actively supports entrepreneurs and industrial companies whose products and services bring differentiated and innovative solutions in the healthcare and nutrition sectors by providing privileged access to its expertise and the industrial, scientific and commercial network of Institut Merieux, in compliance with the current regulations. About Korys www.korys.be Korys is the investment company of the Colruyt family. Today, it has more than EUR 4.5 billion of assets under management. Besides holding a significant participation in the Colruyt Group, a leading retail company in Belgium and France, it actively manages participations in privately held companies and in private equity funds. Korys has also set up proprietary funds to manage its portfolio of listed investments. Across its activities, Korys' investment decisions are taken with a long-term perspective and on basis of strict economic (Profit), social (People) and ecological (Planet) criteria. Korys aims to create sustainable value in three major ecosystems: Life Sciences, Energy Transition and Conscious Consumer. To do this, Korys can count on a motivated team of 30 professionals based in Belgium and Luxembourg. This press release is not a marketing communication in the European Union member states or non-member states. This press release is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration. Any public offering of securities made in the United States will be made by means of a prospectus that may be obtained from the issuer and will contain detailed information about the company and management, as well as financial statements. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005086/en/ Contacts: Press Contact Merieux Equity Partners Gaelle BESOMI communication@merieux-partners.com tel: +33 4 78 87 70 43 Press Contacts Korys Sabine DERAEVE sabine.deraeve@korys.be tel: +32 9 220 83 77 Tina LORIS tina.loris@korys.be tel: +32 2 318 25 27 Legendary fund manager Li Lu (who Charlie Munger backed) once said, 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital. So it might be obvious that you need to consider debt, when you think about how risky any given stock is, because too much debt can sink a company. We can see that The Berkeley Group Holdings plc (LON:BKG) does use debt in its business. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating? When Is Debt Dangerous? Generally speaking, debt only becomes a real problem when a company can't easily pay it off, either by raising capital or with its own cash flow. If things get really bad, the lenders can take control of the business. 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. By replacing dilution, though, debt can be an extremely good tool for businesses that need capital to invest in growth at high rates of return. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together. See our latest analysis for Berkeley Group Holdings What Is Berkeley Group Holdings's Net Debt? The chart below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Berkeley Group Holdings had UK300.0m in debt in October 2019; about the same as the year before. But on the other hand it also has UK1.36b in cash, leading to a UK1.06b net cash position. LSE:BKG Historical Debt May 7th 2020 How Strong Is Berkeley Group Holdings's Balance Sheet? The latest balance sheet data shows that Berkeley Group Holdings had liabilities of UK1.64b due within a year, and liabilities of UK418.1m falling due after that. Offsetting this, it had UK1.36b in cash and UK98.6m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling UK598.4m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined. Since publicly traded Berkeley Group Holdings shares are worth a total of UK5.26b, it seems unlikely that this level of liabilities would be a major threat. Having said that, it's clear that we should continue to monitor its balance sheet, lest it change for the worse. While it does have liabilities worth noting, Berkeley Group Holdings also has more cash than debt, so we're pretty confident it can manage its debt safely. Story continues But the bad news is that Berkeley Group Holdings has seen its EBIT plunge 12% in the last twelve months. We think hat kind of performance, if repeated frequently, could well lead to difficulties for the stock. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Berkeley Group 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, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. Berkeley Group Holdings may have net cash on the balance sheet, but it is still interesting to look at how well the business converts its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, because that will influence both its need for, and its capacity to manage debt. During the last three years, Berkeley Group Holdings produced sturdy free cash flow equating to 72% of its EBIT, about what we'd expect. This cold hard cash means it can reduce its debt when it wants to. Summing up Although Berkeley Group Holdings's balance sheet isn't particularly strong, due to the total liabilities, it is clearly positive to see that it has net cash of UK1.06b. The cherry on top was that in converted 72% of that EBIT to free cash flow, bringing in UK257m. So we don't have any problem with Berkeley Group Holdings's use of debt. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. Be aware that Berkeley Group Holdings is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about... Of course, if you're the type of investor who prefers buying stocks without the burden of debt, then don't hesitate to discover our exclusive list of net cash growth stocks, today. 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. Visakhapatnam: At least 11 people, including a six-year-old, were killed and nearly 5,000 fell sick after a chemical gas leaked from a plastic manufacturing unit of LG Polymers in Andhra Pradesh's Gopalapatnam near Visakhapatnam in the early hours of Thursday. The central government said a specialised CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and medical specialists are being rushed to Vishakhapatnam. Preliminary reports said the incident occurred after styrene gas leaked from the unit around 2:30am. The plant was shut for the past 40 days due to the coronavirus lockdown and minimum staff had been deployed inside. "The gas leaked from two 5,000-tonne tanks, which had been unattended from March due to the lockdown. It led to a chemical reaction and production of heat inside the tanks, which caused the leakage," said the Visakhapatnam Assistant Commissioner of Police (West Zone). NDRF Director General SN Pradhan said the leakage is now minimal but his personnel will remain at the spot till it is totally plugged. As of now, 20-25 people are critical, he said. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member Kamal Kishore said about 1,000 people living in nearby areas of the factory have been exposed to the gas leak. Pradhan said 500 people belonging to 200-250 families living within a 3-km radius have been evacuated to safer places. Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) personnel tried to subside the effects of the leaked gas by blowing water and people were being asked to wear masks after wetting them. GVMC Commissioner Srujana told News18 that 180 people were shifted to King George Hospital (KGH) and Apollo hospitals, while three are on ventilator. "As many as 1,500 households have been evacuated in Venkatapuram village," she added. The most affected village is Venkatapuram, which is within a 1.5-km radius of the unit. More than 110 people have been shifted from there. Five villages have been totally evacuated, and the rest are in progress, said officials. Some people said that the colour of the trees had also changed due to the intensity of the gas. Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore for the families of those who died. Andhra Pradesh Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy said the government has set up a helpdesk in Vizag and that affected people can get in touch on 7997952301, 8919239341 and 9701197069. We have instructed concerned authorities to take required measures on a war footing. Villages evacuation is underway. Request citizens not to panic and cooperate with authorities. (2/2) Mekapati Goutham Reddy Official (@MekapatiGoutham) May 7, 2020 He told News18 that the government had written to the Korean embassy, seeking an explanation from the company's senior management. "A gas leak happened, that shouldn't have. So, the company is at fault, no matter what. The company's senior management has not yet given an explanation to us. Our officials are in touch," he said, adding that stringent action with be taken against the company after inquiry. Union Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy expressed his condolences. "I have spoke to the Chief Secretary and DGP of AP to take stock of the situation, and instructed NDRF teams to provide necessary relief measures. I am continuously monitoring the situation. Hundreds of people have also been effected in the unprecedented and unfortunate event in Visakhapatnam. Also, I spoke to the Home Secretary, GoI and requested him to provide all the required assistance to the state to tackle the difficulties." My condolences to the families of 5 people who passed away due to gas leak at a Pvt firm in Vizag, AP early hours today.Spoke to the CS& DGP of AP to take stock of the situation. Instructed NDRF teams to provide necessary relief measures. I'm continuously monitoring the situation G Kishan Reddy (@kishanreddybjp) May 7, 2020 PM Modi wished for resident's well-being and safety. "Spoke to officials of MHA and NDMA regarding the situation in Visakhapatnam, which is being monitored closely. I pray for everyones safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam," he tweeted. Swinging into action, the prime minister has called a meeting of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) at 11 AM. Telangana Industries Minister KT Rama Rao, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Home Minister Amit Shah were among several leaders who took to Twitter to expresses their grief on the situation. Shocked & deeply anguished by the visuals from #VizagGasLeak My wholehearted condolences to those who lost their near & dear. Lets pray for the well-being of the hospitalised What a horrible year this has been! KTR (@KTRTRS) May 7, 2020 Im shocked to hear about the #VizagGasLeak . I urge our Congress workers & leaders in the area to provide all necessary support & assistance to those affected. My condolences to the families of those who have perished. I pray that those hospitalised make a speedy recovery. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 7, 2020 Spoke to Union Petroleum Minister Sri Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister of State for Home Affairs, Sri G Kishan Reddy. They assured that needed assistance is being given to ensure safety of the people. Vice President of India (@VPSecretariat) May 7, 2020 The incident in Vizag is disturbing.Have spoken to the NDMA officials and concerned authorities. We are continuously and closely monitoring the situation.I pray for the well-being of the people of Visakhapatnam. Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 7, 2020 The news of gas leak from a Polymer plant in Visakhapatnam is worrying. @NDRFHQ is working together with the state government in performing the first responders duty. My prayers for the safety of all. Condolences to the family of those deceased. Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) May 7, 2020 At least 39 more people, including 20 who returned from pilgrimage to Takht Hazur Sahib in Maharashtras Nanded recently, tested positive for the coronavirus disease, or Covid-19 in Punjab on Thursday. With this, the states tally of those infected with the disease reached 1,673. Of these, 13 men, all Nanded returnees aged between 20 and 68, are from Tarn Taran district where the Covid-19 tally reached 157, of which 156 are pilgrims. One man had come from Rajasthan. Deputy commissioner Pardeep Kumar Sabharwal said the 13 positive patients were quarantined at the Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College at Sarhali village. In Jalandhar, 11 fresh positive cases of infection surfaced on Thursday, taking the districts tally to 148. In Amritsar, eight more people were found infected with the virus on Thursday. Civil surgeon Dr Jugal Kishore said, Of the eight, six are pilgrims who returned from Nanded. The other two are their close contacts. Of a total of 274 total cases in Amritsar, 255 are Nanded returnees and their contacts. In Faridkot, an 80-year-old woman, who returned from Nanded in Maharashtra, tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday, taking the districts count to 45. The elderly woman was admitted to the isolation ward of Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital (GGSMCH), Faridkot. Civil surgeon Dr Rajinder Kumar said, The woman was quarantined upon her return and her swab samples were sent for testing. A total of 130 pilgrims have returned to the district from Hazur Sahib, of whom 38 tested positive while reports of 21 are pending. At present, there is only one active case in the district. S Korean National Intelligence Service Says 'No Signs' Kim Jong-un Received Heart Surgery Sputnik News 03:50 GMT 06.05.2020(updated 05:22 GMT 06.05.2020) After weeks of Kim Jong Un's absence that caused speculations on his health, the North Korean leader reappeared in public on 1 May alive and well. The National Intelligence Service of South Korea rejected the suggestions that Kim Jong-un had undergone heart surgery, saying that "Kim Jong-un's health abnormality is absurd" and there are "no signs of heart surgery", according to South Korean state-run news agency Yonhap. "He was normally performing his duties when he was out of the public eye," committee member Kim Byung-kee was quoted as saying. The lawmaker, however, added that Kim only made 17 public appearances so far this year, compared with an average of 50 from previous years. "It cannot be ruled out that there is an outbreak in North Korea. Kim Jong-un had focused on consolidating internal affairs such as military forces and party-state meetings, and coronavirus concerns have further limited his public activity", the lawmaker was cited as saying. North Korea has not reported any confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus so far. On 1 May, Kim Jong-un appeared in public for the opening ceremony of a new fertilizer plant in Sunchon, finishing his almost month-long absence that caused speculations on his health. The rumours about Kim's "heart surgery" emerged in early April when the leader failed to attend the anniversary of his grandfather's birthday, fueled by the reports that he had undergone a heart surgery that put him in "grave danger". At the time, a senior official at the South Korean presidency was cited by Yonhap as saying that Seoul believed that there was no evidence to suggest that the North Korean leader had undergone heart surgery, regardless of what media reports said. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address E ver since lockdown began on 23 March, hair salons have been closed and people have been forced to come up with alternative methods to keep their hair in check. While some have resorted to cutting, dying and shaving their own hair, hairdressers around the country have been flooded with calls from people asking for home visits which led the National Hairdressers Federation of Britain (NHBF) to issue a stern warning to salons that this is illegal. However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed today that hairdressing salons will be allowed to reopen from July 4. Here's what we know so far regarding when hairdressers will reopen, in line with Boris Johnson's "careful steps" to ease lockdown restrictions. A hair salon reopens in Europe after the coronavirus lockdown / AFP via Getty Images When will hairdressers reopen? The beauty and hairdressing industry employs over 600,000 people in over 50,000 businesses across the UK - and they'll be back at work in less than two weeks. Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that, along with pubs, bars and restaurants, hairdressers will be allowed to reopen on July 4. "Almost as eagerly awaited as a pint will be a hair cut, not least by myself," quipped the Prime Minister. However, there will be some changes - staff and customers will need to wear PPE. Lockdown plan emerges: masks at work, visitor quarantine and more cycle lanes What changes will be brought in to ensure staff and customer safety? Mr Johnson also confirmed in his speech that staff in hairdressers will need to wear protective visors. It's likely that most salons will also erect Perspex screens at washing basins, will have reduced capacities, longer opening hours and only take card payments. Hair salons in Germany have re-opened, but there are no longer waiting areas, dry cuts, or magazines, as these could all aid transmission of the virus. Both customers and hairdressers wear face masks to prevent Covid-19 infection, and customers wear disposable cloaks and wash their hands before entering the salon. There had been reports that conversations between hairdressers and customers while hair is being cut may be forbidden to keep people safe, however the Prime Minister did not address this. Bracelet-bresil.fr scored 40 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 19 Sep 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. The total number of people who shared the bracelet-bresil homepage on Delicious. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the bracelet-bresil homepage on Twitter + the total number of bracelet-bresil followers (if bracelet-bresil has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the bracelet-bresil homepage on StumbleUpon. The total number of people who shared the bracelet-bresil homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. 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Domain and Server DOCTYPE HTML 5.0 CHARSET AND LANGUAGE French (France) UTF-8French (France) DETECTED LANGUAGE French French SERVER Apache (PHP/5.2.17) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux Type of server and offered services. Operative System running on the server. Character set and language of the site. The language of bracelet-bresil.fr as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for bracelet-bresil.fr by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines. Facebook link FACEBOOK PAGE LINK NOT FOUND The total number of people who like website Facebook page. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The type of Facebook page. The URL of the found Facebook page. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND Cardinal George Pell has rejected the findings of a child abuse royal commission report which found he 'ought to have' acted on complaints about paedophiles within the Catholic Church. In damning findings released on Thursday, the commission found Cardinal Pell must have known about complaints against priests in Ballarat and Melbourne in the 1970s and 1980s. The commission concluded he knew of the abuse by paedophile priest Father Peter Searson and was aware priest Gerard Ridsdale had been moved between parishes by the church because he had sexually abused children. The reports could only be made public after Pell's child sex abuse convictions were quashed by the High Court last month. Responding to the release of the unredacted reports, Pell accused the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse's of releasing findings 'not supported by evidence'. Cardinal George Pell (pictured arriving at the Seminary of The Good Shepherd on April 8 after his child sex abuse convictions were quashed) has rejected the findings of a royal commission which found he 'ought to have' acted on complaints about a paedophile within the Catholic Church 'Cardinal Pell said he was surprised by some of the views of the Royal Commission about his actions,' the statement from the exonerated cardinal reads. 'These views are not supported by evidence.' 'He is especially surprised by the statements in the report about the earlier transfers of Gerald Ridsdale.' The commission report published on Thursday morning said Father Searson was the subject of child sex abuse complaints and reports of 'strange, aggressive and violent conduct' over several years. Searson died in 2009 without ever facing child sexual abuse charges, but the commission heard evidence he had abused children in three separate Victorian districts over the course of a decade. Pell, as Archbishop of Melbourne, placed Searson on administrative leave in March 1997, the same year Searson pleaded guilty to physically assaulting a child. A supplied screen-grab from May 2015 of paedophile priest Gerald Francis Ridsdale giving evidence during the child sex abuse royal commission The royal commission heard Father Peter Searson (above) - infamous for his long, yellow fingernails - abused children across three districts. It found that Pell 'ought to' at least push for an investigation into allegations against Searson Blacked out: How the Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse reports looked before the Government released the details on Thursday But the commission said Pell 'ought reasonably to have concluded that action needed to be taken in relation to Father Searson' almost a decade earlier, in 1989, when he heard from seeing a delegation of teachers from a Catholic primary school in his role as a regional bishop. The delegation of Doveton teachers told Pell about Searson harassing children, staff and parents, showing children a body in a coffin and animal cruelty. At the royal commission, Pell had claimed the Catholic Education Office had failed to brief him properly on the complaints against Father Searson and that it was implied 'that the allegations could not be sustained'. CARDINAL PELL'S STATEMENT ON ROYAL COMMISSION FINDINGS 'Cardinal Pell said he was surprised by some of the views of the Royal Commission about his actions. These views are not supported by evidence. He is especially surprised by the statements in the report about the earlier transfers of Gerald Ridsdale discussed by the Ballarat Diocesan Consultors in 1977 and 82. The Consultors who gave evidence on the meetings in 1977 and 1982 either said they did not learn of Ridsdales offending against children until much later or they had no recollection of what was discussed. None said they were made aware of Ridsdales offending at these meetings. The then Fr Pell left the Diocese of Ballarat and therefore his position as a consultor at the end of 1984. As an Auxiliary Bishop in Melbourne 1987-96, Bishop Pell met with a delegation from Doveton Parish in 1989 which did not mention sexual assaults and did not ask for Searsons removal. Appointed Archbishop of Melbourne on 16 August 1996, Archbishop Pell placed Fr Searson on administrative leave in March 1997 and removed him from the parish on 15 May 1997.' Advertisement Cardinal Pell claimed he might have been told ''in a non-specific way' that 'part of the story behind (school principal Graeme) Sleeman's resignation was that he had raised complaints of sexual misconduct by Father Searson.' Mr Sleeman resigned after a Grade 4 student was brought to him in 'obvious distress' after confession with Father Searson. Mr Sleeman had suspected a 'sexual interference' had occurred. Pell with his one-time housemate, the paedophile priest Gerard Ridsdale But the commission ruled Pell's evidence he had been 'deceived' by the Catholic Education Office as they 'did not tell him what they knew about Father Searson's misbehaviour' was 'implausible'. The report said: 'We are satisfied that Cardinal Pell's evidence as to the reasons that the CEO deceived him was implausible. We do not accept that Bishop Pell was deceived, intentionally or otherwise. 'We are satisfied that, on the basis of the matters known to Bishop Pell on his own evidence (being the matters on the list of incidents and grievances and the 'non-specific' allegation of sexual misconduct), he ought reasonably to have concluded that action needed to be taken in relation to Father Searson. 'It was incumbent on Bishop Pell, as an Auxiliary Bishop with responsibilities for the welfare of the children in the Catholic community of his region, to take such action as he could to advocate that Father Searson be removed or suspended or, at least, that a thorough investigation be undertaken of the allegations,' the report said. The report said '(Pell) had) conceded that, in retrospect, he might have been 'a bit more pushy' with all of the parties involved. We do not accept any qualification that this conclusion is only appreciable in retrospect. 'On the basis of what was known to Bishop Pell in 1989, it ought to have been obvious to him at the time. 'He should have advised the Archbishop to remove Father Searson and he did not do so.' The commission also made findings about the church and Pell's one-time housemate, the priest Gerard Ridsdale - one of Australia's worst ever offenders. The commission found that then-Father Pell had 'turned his mind to the prudence of Ridsdale taking boys on overnight camps' by 1973. The report found by that year, 'Cardinal Pell was not only conscious of child sexual abuse by clergy but that he also had considered measures of avoiding situations which might provoke gossip about it.' Ridsdale was repeatedly moved between parishes by the 1971 to 1991 Ballarat Bishop Mulkearns, who knew about his offending, the commission found. The commission rejected Cardinal Pell's claim that Bishop Mulkearns lied to or deceived his advisers in 1982 when Ridsdale was removed from the parish of Mortlake, where the priest later admitted his behaviour was 'out of control'. Cardinal Pell gave evidence the bishop did not give the true reason for Ridsdale's removal and lied by not doing so. But the commissioners did not accept that Bishop Mulkearns lied to his consultors and were satisfied he did not deceive his consultors. THE SINS OF FATHER SEARSON The commission found Pell may have known of a 'non-specific' allegation against Searson in 1989. What Searson alleged to have done to others that few others would know is disturbing. Over two years, the commission heard evidence Searson repeatedly sexually abused children. He recorded confessions he found 'hot' and repeatedly assaulted sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl in a confessional booth. One victim claimed he was sexually abused most Saturdays for a six month period. He swung a cat over a fence by its tail, killing it; murdered a bird with a screwdriver and showed children a dead body in a coffin. Advertisement The commission found Bishop Mulkearns told the advisers it was necessary to move Ridsdale from the diocese and from parish work because of complaints he had sexually abused children. 'Cardinal Pell's evidence that 'paedophilia was not mentioned' and that the 'true' reason was not given is not accepted,' the commission's said. 'It is implausible ... that Bishop Mulkearns did not inform those at the meeting of at least complaints of sexual abuse of children having been made.' In a statement on Thursday evening, Cardinal Pell said he was 'surprised' by some of the views of the commission, claiming 'these views are not supported by evidence'. He said he was 'especially surprised' by statements relating to transfers of Gerald Ridsdale. 'The consultors who gave evidence on the meetings in 1977 and 1982 either said they did not learn of Ridsdale's offending against children until much later or they had no recollection of what was discussed. None said they were made aware of Ridsdale's offending at these meetings.' Pell said he met a delegation from Doveton Parish 'which did not mention sexual assaults and did not ask for Searson's removal'. Following his release from prison, the former Vatican Treasurer said he did not expect negative findings against him. 'I'd be very surprised if there's any bad findings against me at all,' he told commentator Andrew Bolt last month. And the commission did find in Pell's favour on some matters. The commission ruled as unlikely claims Pell offered to bribe Gerard Ridsdale's nephew, David, in 1993. 'It is more likely that Mr Ridsdale misinterpreted an offer by Bishop Pell to assist as something more sinister,' the report said. Another witness claimed to have overheard Pell saying of Ridsdale: 'Huh, huh, I think Gerry's been rooting boys again'. That was strongly denied by Pell and the commission found the witness likely 'overheard the conversation, however, that conversation was not between the priests he nominated.' Pell gave evidence to the royal commission twice, in 2014, in Sydney, and in 2016, via video link from Rome. In 2016, Pell told the royal commission he was deceived about paedophile priests, describing it as a 'world of crimes and cover-ups'. Cardinal Pell was a Ballarat priest from 1973 until 1984, overseeing the diocese's schools and at times acting as an adviser to the bishop. He also served as one of the Melbourne archbishop's advisers while an auxiliary bishop between 1987 and 1996. The Supreme Court may have thrown out the Bridgegate case, but the man who orchestrated the scheme to close the George Washington Bridge access lanes says he is still guilty. David Wildstein, a former Republican operative and Port Authority official, was portrayed in the Bridgegate trial as the architect of the plan to shut down the local toll lanes to the George Washington Bridge to retaliate against the Fort Lee mayor for failing to endorse Gov. Chris Christie for reelection. Wildstein said the Supreme Courts unanimous decision Wednesday to throw out the convictions of Bill Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly for helping carry out his plan does not change their actions. The conduct by me and others was still wrong. This is not a vindication. My apologies stand, my remorse continues, and I fully accept responsibility for my role, Wildstein said in a statement. Wildstein had known Christie since the pair were teenagers in Livingston. The then-Republican operative cooperated with the U.S. Attorneys office once they began investigating the Bridgegate scheme. He testified against Kelly and Baroni and was sentenced to three years probation and 500 hours of community service. He is now the editor of New Jersey Globe, a political news site. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. At least 11 people died, 25 were left critically ill, and close to 1,000 were affected after a chemical from a factory leaked and hung as smog over nearby villages in Visakhapatnam district in the early hours of Thursday, jolting awake hundreds of residents who choked due to the toxic gas before they could flee the area. State authorities and officials from LG Polymers said they were investigating what caused the leak but a preliminary situation report by district officials said the trigger was a malfunction in equipment, which caused the temperature to rise and the organic compound styrene normally a liquid to vaporise. The incident prompted the Union government to issue an advisory to chemical plants to take extra precautions while restarting their operations from what will be more than a months halt due to the nationwide shutdown in place to reduce the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). About 20km from Visakhapatnam, styrene gas, which is toxic and injurious to human health, was leaked. Nearly 1,000 people living around the area may have been impacted and have been evacuated, said National Disaster Management Authority member Kamal Kishore at a press briefing in New Delhi. Videos and photos from the area showed men, women and children unconscious in the streets, some lying next to fallen motorcycles. The scene evoked memories of the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy that left at least 4,000 people dead and another 500,000 injured when methyl isocyanate leaked from a Union Carbide pesticide plant in the Madhya Pradesh capital. Styrene can affect peoples breathing and brain function, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director Randeep Guleria said the briefing, adding: Some may have trouble breathing and may need a ventilator. We have to monitor their oxygen levels, respiratory rate and in case of a bronchospasm, they may need steroids. However, the illness is not universally fatal, he added. According to Andhra Pradesh director general of police Gautam Sawang, two of the fatalities were caused when people collapsed while running from the site. The others died because they were exposed to toxic levels of the gas. A chemical disaster response team was dispatched to the area and Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had spoken to officials of the ministry of home affairs and the NDMA to take stock of the situation. Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy has ordered a probe into the matter, Sawang added. According to a preliminary report prepared by district officials, Thursdays incident was triggered by a malfunction in the refrigeration unit that was meant to keep the styrene at below 20C. Styrene monomer is normally in a liquid state and is safe below a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius. But, because of the malfunctioning of the refrigeration unit, the chemical started gasifying, said district collector V Vinay Chand, quoting the report submitted by the Factories Department, PTI reported. The leak was so intense that it turned into a fog and only around 9.30am could we understand what exactly it was as the thick fog that formed in the area cleared, Chand added. LG Chem Ltd, which owns LG Polymers, is South Koreas largest chemical company and is part of the LG Corp conglomerate. The company said it is cooperating with Indian authorities to help residents and employees. LG polymers produces synthetic materials known as polystyrene and engineering plastic compounds. Styrene is a hydrocarbon that is used as a precursor -- an ingredient -- in the making of these products. The gas leakage is now under control, but the leaked gas can cause nausea and dizziness, so we are investing every effort to ensure proper treatment is provided swiftly, LG Chem said in a statement. Experts warned the incident, and two others that took place on Thursday an explosion in a boiler unit of a factory in Tamil Nadu and a toxic gas leak at a paper mill in Chhattisgarh underscore the need to reopen industries carefully. In the other two incidents, 14 people were left ill with no fatalities. Three industrial accidents have happened today coincidentally when factories are reopening after relaxations from Covid-19 lockdown. One of the commonalities among these incidents has been poor operational and maintenance practises during the lockdown and other is shortage of skilled staff for maintenance work. Maintaining power stations or any industries with less staff is a risk and such incidents in this scenario are not surprising, said Nivit K Yadav, industries researcher at Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). It is clear industries are in haste to restart operation post lockdown which could be detrimental to workers safety and safety of the neighbourhood. CSE recommends better operational guidelines be given to the plants which will be restarting post lockdown, he added. (With agency inputs) Australian television presenter Samantha Armytage stumbled over her words live on air after she was distracted by an attractive jogger who 'looked like an AFL player'. The Sunrise host was in the middle of a cross to the 8.30 news on Thursday morning when she spotted the man running by the studio window. The veteran journalist, who confirmed her romance with businessman Richard Lavender in November last year, was so taken with the man that she audibly fumbled on live television and had to repeat the line. Co-host David Koch noticed the slip-up and probed her about it, asking if she had a mental blank. Sunrise host Samantha Armytage sits next to co-host David Koch points to the window where she saw the attractive jogger run by 'I don't want to be picky,' he said. 'But I thought your throw to Nat from the news was a bit confused and a bit stumbly.' A red-faced Armytage laughed as she explained the attractive man momentarily blinded her, 'like a fruit fly that came into my eye'. 'Just as we threw to the 8.30 news there was a jogger and he had a singlet top, I think. He looked like an AFL player.' The stumble happened during a live cross to the 8.30 news with presenter Natalie Barr, who was shocked to hear what had happened A red-faced Armytage laughed as she explained the attractive man momentarily blinded her, 'like a fruit fly that came into my eye' 'He came jogging by and I...' 'You were distracted,' Koch interrupted. He then dramatically re-enacted the moment by violently convulsing mid-sentence, sending the pair into fits of laughter. Armytage, 43, shared snaps last week of a romantic dinner with her boyfriend at his $2.2million estate in Bowral, NSW. 'Friday night done right!' Samantha Armytage, 43, got wine and gourmet food delivered to a paddock, as she isolates with boyfriend Richard Lavender, 60 She previously told Who magazine that the businessman is a 'decent' and 'very honest' man. They were introduced by a mutual friend last year 'around Easter' and shared an instant connection. Samantha, who is notoriously private when it comes to her personal life, added that the most attractive thing about Richard is that he's 'comfortable in his own skin'. Richard told the magazine that he was drawn to Samantha because of 'the sparkle in her eye' and their shared passion for horses and the outdoors. Seeking an answer from China about the origins of the deadly coronavirus, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday said that the US needs to know the details of patient zero. Slamming China for a disinformation campaign, Pompeo in an interview to Jack Heath of The Jack Heath Radio Show also accused the World Health Organization of failing in its mission to provide the information to the world in a timely fashion about the risk that was emanating from China. "We know that this originated in Wuhan, China. That was challenged by the Chinese at the front end. This administration was very clear we weren't going to accept that disinformation, pushed back. I think the whole world knows that this began and originated there in Wuhan," he said. "Where exactly it came from, it matters. We want to know the answers to that. There's evidence that it came from somewhere in the vicinity of the lab, but that could be wrong. We need to get the answer to that. It matters because we need to know where patient zero came from," he said. The US needs it for all of the epidemiological work that needs to be done to protect Americans today and tomorrow, he asserted. In recent days, US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo have claimed that the deadly virus originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak was first detected last December. Since emerging in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December, the coronavirus is confirmed to have infected 1.2 million Americans, killing more than 73,000. Pompeo said that the US has no confidence in the data coming from China with respect to coronavirus. "There's no reason to believe that information that's coming out of China. As for how many there were, we're trying to figure our way through that, but we are watching what China has done," he said. "There's no reason to believe that either the reported cases that are coming out of China or the death totals that they have provided remotely reflect what actually took place and continues to take place there," he said. The United States, he said, is working with partners in many countries around the world, sharing information, sharing data, trying to get both therapeutics and a vaccine. "It is unfortunate that the Chinese Communist Party has chosen not to share their data, not to behave in a transparent way. They have a special obligation this is where it broke out to share that data with the world, and they have chosen not to do so," he noted. "I think that's indicative of what communist parties do. It's what communist institutions do. Freedom-loving nations want information shared, want transparency, and want good things for people all around the world," he said. Pompeo alleged that the WHO didn't get it right. "The WHO failed in its mission to provide the information to the world in a timely fashion about the risk that was emanating from China," he said. "They knew it; they saw it. There was pressure from the Chinese government not to declare this a pandemic, and it became a political institution rather than a medical, scientific institution that it was designed to be," Pompeo said, adding that the United States needs an institution that's going to deliver good outcomes for the American people. The US has suspended over USD 400 million funding for the WHO pending an inquiry. [May 07, 2020] TransPerfect And Chief Operating Officer Roy Trujillo Unveil Mr. Ben Trujillo Memorial Endowed Scholarship At New Mexico State University NEW YORK and LAS CRUCES, N.M., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- TransPerfect, the world's largest provider of language and technology solutions for global business, today announced the establishment of the Mr. Ben Trujillo Memorial Endowed Scholarship at New Mexico State University (NMSU). Trujillo, affectionately known as "Mr. Ben," was a Chimayo, New Mexico, native who was a prolific student of mathematics and the sciences, a US State Department employee, and, most importantly, a lifelong educator. He touched many lives over the years, teaching at Pojoaque High School, the University of New Mexico, New Mexico Highlands University, Northern New Mexico College, and even the New Mexico State Penitentiary. His commitment and enthusiasm inspired students in the areas of mathematics, sciences, and engineering. Many of his students went on to achieve success in business, research, engineering, technology, and the military. He passed away on May 27, 2008. The Mr. Ben Trujillo Memorial Endowed Scholarship endowment is initially funded through a $26,250 joint gift from TransPerfect and the company's Chief Operating Officer, Roy Trujillo, son of "Mr. Ben." Scholarshipaward recipients must have a declared major in the NMSU College of Engineering and meet several criteria for eligibility, including being a freshman or sophomore undergraduate student and holding legal residence in New Mexico. Other factors, including GPA performance and whether the applicant is a first-generation college student, are considered. Honorees will be selected each year by the Scholarship Committee of the College of Engineering. Roy Trujillo stated, "It's one of the greatest honors of my life to establish this scholarship in my dad's name. He believed so passionately in education, knowledge, and teaching. It brings me great pride to continue in the spirit of his work by making more opportunities available to deserving students at NMSU." TransPerfect President and CEO Phil Shawe commented, "Mr. Ben was a beloved man who inspired his students in so many ways. Among his greatest legacies is his son, Roy, who has made an immeasurable impact on TransPerfect over his 20 years with our company. It's our great privilege to show our appreciation to him and to the Trujillo family through this endowment." About TransPerfect TransPerfect is the world's largest provider of language and technology solutions for global business. From offices in over 100+ cities on six continents, TransPerfect offers a full range of services in 170+ languages to clients worldwide. More than 5,000 global organizations employ TransPerfect's GlobalLink Product Suite to simplify the management of multilingual content. With an unparalleled commitment to quality and client service, TransPerfect is fully ISO 9001 and ISO 17100 certified. TransPerfect has global headquarters in New York, with regional headquarters in London and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit our website at www.transperfect.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/transperfect-and-chief-operating-officer-roy-trujillo-unveil-mr-ben-trujillo-memorial-endowed-scholarship-at-new-mexico-state-university-301055233.html SOURCE TransPerfect [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times. UN expects a global baby boom led by India due to Covid-19 lockdowns The United Nations on Thursday projected a sharp rise in global birth rates led by India in the months since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic, which prompted lockdowns in several countries. Read more. Close plant, conduct thorough probe: Chandrababu Naidu writes to Centre on Vizag gas leak Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday wrote a letter to the Union minister Piyush Goyal on the Vizag gas leak in which 11 people have died. Read more. NDRFs chemical and biological team to assess Vizag gas leak The situation at the LG Polymer industry in RR Venkatapuram village of Visakhapatnam where a gas leak killed at least 11 people early Thursday has been contained, the chief of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said. Read more. Deliberately infecting healthy people with coronavirus may speed Covid vaccine studies, says WHO Such studies, which pose significant potential dangers to subjects, may be considered in dire situations and with certain disclosures and protections, a working group of the United Nations health agency said in a report posted Wednesday on its website. Read more. What will the new normal be like for athletes in training? Empty stadiums, antibody tests, not using locker rooms, showering only when they get home, no sharing of equipment, no running in the slipstream of othersthese are just some things that may become the new normal for athletes as they return to training in the Covid-19 environment. Read more. Puneet Issar on playing Duryodhan in Mahabharat: My body turned black and blue after climax fight scene with Bheem Puneet Issar, known for playing the lead antagonist Duryodhan in BR Chopras Mahabharat, is one of the very few actors who actually got to play his dream role in the hit mythological show. Read more. Rabindranath Tagore 159th Birth Anniversary: Date, significance, lesser-known facts about Tagore Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti or Rabindra Jayanti is a cultural celebration to mark the birth anniversary of the luminary, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rabindranath Tagore on his birth anniversary. Read more. This video of a cheetah, vultures and a lion fighting over the same catch shows the real king of the jungle Lions are known as the king of the jungle and this video shot in South Africa shows exactly why. The Kruger Sightings YouTube channel shared incredible footage of three different predators fighting for the same food. But the animal that ultimately steals the loot and how it does it shows who the real king is. Read more. View Covid-19 as a war; worse than Pearl Harbour & 9/11: Donald Trump US President Donald Trump has said that he views Covid-19 as an act of war against an invisible enemy. He added that they dont know how it got there and it should have been stopped. The US President went on to say that he views the situation as worse than Pearl Harbour or 9/11. Watch here. State-run broadcaster Doordarshan will start including weather forecasts for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the Northern Areas from Friday, a move designed to deliver a daily message to Islamabad that it was holding on to these territories illegally. A senior government official told Hindustan Times that Doordarshan National, DD News, All India Radio and Kashir channels had been told to include these territories in its daily weather bulletins along with other places in the country. Doordarshans Kashmir channel is telecast in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Doordarshans weather bulletin will have forecasts for Mirpur and Muzaffarabad in Occupied Kashmir and Gilgit in Northern Areas. The step will also be a constant reminder to the Imran Khan government and its few supporters that India will not allow Islamabad to take any steps to legitimise its illegal occupation, said a senior government official. The decision coincided with New Delhis strong protests this week over the order of Pakistans top court that provided for setting up a caretaker administration in Gilgit-Baltistan to hold fresh elections. India claims the whole of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, including the Gilgit-Baltistan region, which was given near-provincial status by the Pakistan government in 2009. Also Watch: They want riots...: PoK activist on Pakistan bid to hold Gilgit Baltistan polls In January 2019, Pakistans top court had ruled that its powers extended to Gilgit-Baltistan provoking sharp protest from New Delhi, which declared the so-called Gilgit-Baltistan, has been, is and shall remain an integral part of India. Last week, Pakistans Supreme Court went a step further and allowed the government to amend the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018 to set up a caretaker administration in the region to conduct fresh elections. The order was issued in response to a petition filed by the Imran Khan government. Also Read: First CPEC and now Chinas Covid-19: Gilgit-Baltistans growing woes | Opinion On May 4, the Ministry of External Affairs issued a demarche, a formal diplomatic note, on a senior Pakistan diplomat stationed in the national capital. New Delhi said neither Islamabad nor its judiciary had any locus standi on territories illegally and forcibly occupied by it. India completely rejects such actions and continued attempts to bring material changes in Pakistan occupied areas of the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Instead Pakistan should immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation, the written protest read. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Washington, May 7 : US President Donald Trump has described the coronavirus pandemic as the "worst attack" ever on the United States, pointing the finger at China. Trump said the pandemic had hit the US harder than the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in World War Two, or the 9/11 attacks two decades ago, the BBC reported. His administration is weighing punitive actions against China over its early handling of the virus outbreak. Beijing said the US wants to distract from its own handling of the pandemic. Since emerging in China at the end of last year, the coronavirus is confirmed to have infected 1.2 million Americans, killing nearly 73,000. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House, Trump said: "We went through the worst attack we've ever had on our country, this is worst attack we've ever had. "This is worse than Pearl Harbor, this is worse than the World Trade Center. There's never been an attack like this. "And it should have never happened. Could've been stopped at the source. Could've been stopped in China. It should've been stopped right at the source. And it wasn't." Asked later by a reporter if he viewed the pandemic as an actual act of war, Mr Trump suggested it was the pandemic that is America's enemy, rather than China. "I view the invisible enemy [coronavirus] as a war," he said. "I don't like how it got here, because it could have been stopped, but no, I view the invisible enemy like a war." The deepening rift between Washington and Beijing was underscored by comments during a White House briefing later on Wednesday. Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters: "Right now it's a relationship of disappointment and frustration because the president has said how frustrated he is that some of the decisions of China put American lives at risk." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo renewed his rhetoric against China on Wednesday, accusing it of covering up the outbreak. He stuck by his widely contested charge that there is "enormous evidence" the new coronavirus emerged in a Chinese laboratory, even while acknowledging there is still uncertainty about its origins. "Those statements are both true," he told the BBC. "We don't have certainty and there is significant evidence that it came from a lab." Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text A U.S. federal judge has dismissed a worker advocacy groups lawsuit accusing Smithfield Foods Inc., the worlds largest pork processor, of failing to adequately protect employees from the novel coronavirus at a plant in Missouri. Smithfield is already taking many of the steps called for by the Rural Community Workers Alliance, including screening production-line workers for symptoms and installing barriers between them, U.S. District Judge Greg Kays in Kansas City, Missouri said in his ruling on Tuesday. Kays also said that under President Donald Trumps executive order in April requiring meatpacking plants to remain open during the pandemic, the federal government, and not the courts, is responsible for overseeing working conditions. Virginia-based Smithfield, which is owned by Chinas WH Group Ltd., did not immediately respond to a request for comment. David Muraskin, a lawyer for the advocacy group, on Wednesday said the decision was disappointing but that the lawsuit had spurred Smithfield to make changes in response to workers concerns. We wish that Smithfield would do more, but the decision shows that workers can organize and move companies to make changes, and thats a really important development, Muraskin said. In the lawsuit filed last month, the RCWA accused Smithfield of creating a public nuisance by failing to protect workers at the Milan, Missouri plant and endangering the surrounding community. Smithfield responded that it had implemented protections recommended by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and other agencies. The company said the lawsuit should be dismissed because OSHA is already conducting an investigation of the Milan plant, and government agencies are continually changing their guidance for the industry. Kays agreed in his decision on Tuesday. Under these circumstances, where the guidelines are rapidly evolving, maintaining a uniform source for guidance and enforcement is crucial, the judge wrote. Smithfield has closed other pork-processing plants in Missouri, Wisconsin and South Dakota after outbreaks of coronavirus cases among workers. Companies like Tyson Foods Inc, Cargill Inc. and National Beef Packing Co. have also shut U.S. meat plants during the pandemic. Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that about 4,200 workers at meat and poultry plants had contracted the novel coronavirus, and 20 had died. (Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York Editing by Paul Simao) Photo: The Smithfield Foods Inc. plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Topics Lawsuits USA Missouri (Alliance News) - Cairn Energy PLC said Thursday that Non-Executive Chair Ian Tyler will step down from the board with effect from when a successor is appointed, which is expected to take place in 12 months time. Tyler has been in his role for six years since 2014. His most recent executive role was as chief executive officer of infrastructure firm Balfour Beatty PLC for eight years from 2005 to 2013. The oil and gas firm said it will start a comprehensive process to identify and appoint a successor and organise an orderly handover. Shares in Cairn Energy were up 0.7% at 112.0 pence on Thursday in London. By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. By Nichola Saminather TORONTO (Reuters) - Manulife Financial Corp reported a 34% drop in first-quarter core earnings on Wednesday, missing analyst expectations, on unfavorable market conditions and lower sales in Japan that weighed on earnings from Asia. While net income attributable to shareholders was helped by gains from widening credit spreads, that was offset by lower-than-expected investment returns, primarily because of the sharp declines in oil prices, the insurer said in a statement. Global insurers have faced a double whammy as market volatility and plunging yields have slammed investment returns, while the COVID-19 outbreak has boosted some payout expenses. "The COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt economies and capital markets worldwide, and our operating conditions during the first quarter were understandably affected," Chief Executive Roy Gori said in the statement. Global wealth and asset management was the only unit to see core earnings gains, with an increase of 7.3% from a year earlier, with net inflows of C$3.2 billion, compared with net outflows of C$1.3 billion a year earlier, largely driven by institutional allocations. The decline in sales in Japan offset increases in Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia to result in a 5.6% decline for the region, the insurer's growth driver over the past few years. Core earnings in Canada fell 16% from a year earlier, primarily due to unfavourable travel insurance claims related to COVID-19, while they declined 13% in the U.S. on higher life insurance claims, the insurer said. Manulife in March provided a temporary extension https://www.manulife.ca/page/covid-19-statement.html of emergency out-of-country coverage for Canadian group and individual customers who experienced travel delays. Underlying profit, which excludes the impact of market movements and investment activities, fell to C$1 billion ($706.9 million), or 51 Canadian cents a share, in the three months ended March 31, from C$1.5 billion or 76 cents a share a year earlier, Manulife said. Analysts had expected C$1.1 billion, or 59 cents a share. Reported net income was C$1.3 billion, or 64 Canadian cents a share, compared with analyst expectations of C$753 million, or 44 cents a share. (Reporting by Nichola Saminather; Editing by Peter Cooney and Grant McCool) Almost no funds for personal protective means have been allocated from the budget for doctors for many years. Ukrainian Deputy Health Minister Iryna Mykychak has explained why the incidence of COVID-19 among doctors is high. "There are several causes behind a large number of COVID-19 cases among doctors or their infection, since sometimes this is an asymptomatic process. One of the key ones is that doctors are a group of people who are tested more frequently, so more cases are detected. On the other hand, unfortunately, the principles of infection control have been neglected in our country for many years, and this is not the fault of healthcare workers, this is a complex problem," she said during an online briefing on Thursday, according to an UNIAN correspondent. Read alsoNumber of confirmed coronavirus cases in Ukraine nearing 13,700 on May 7 According to Mykychak, almost no funds for personal protective means have been allocated from the budget for doctors for many years; in particular, less than 1% of the funds were spent on such supplies. "In addition, healthcare workers do not sometimes adhere to regulatory documents that have been in use in Ukraine for many years at least they should have been. And the problem is that the administrations of healthcare institutions failed to adjust this process when determining and establishing patient routes. That is, today we see the result of those shortcomings that have occurred over the years," the deputy minister said. US Officials Write Letter to Pompeo On April 28, U.S. Senators Marco Rubio, Ben Cardin, Jim Risch, and Bob Menendez, and Representatives James McGovern, Chris Smith, Eliot Engel, and Michael McCaul, sent a letter urging Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to fully implement the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. The members expressed in the letter, that Hong Kongs situation had been deteriorating in recent months, and the Chinese Communist Party had been continuing to accelerate its efforts to undermine Hong Kongs economy and the rule of law. On April 18, the Hong Kong police arrested 15 democracy activists, including prominent lawyer Martin Lee; former member of Hong Kong Legislative Council, Margaret Ng; Founder of Apple Daily, a Hong Kong based newspaper, Jimmy Lai, etc. Luo Huining, the Director of the Liason Office made a statement before the arrest, which outsiders conceive as an act to re-advocate for Article 23 legislation. The members wrote in a letter: CCP officials are advocating for Article 23 legislation, which would further restrict freedom and autonomy in service of Beijings definition of national security. Hong Kongs future is of great importance to the United States and to the international community. Failing to address Beijings efforts to erode Hong Kongs autonomy will undermine the freedom and human rights of its people, its valuable role as a partner to the United States, and its unique role in the international economy. Last year, President Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. The passage of the bill requires the U.S. Secretary of State to issue an annual certification of Hong Kongs autonomy to justify special treatment afforded to Hong Kong by the U.S. NEW YORK, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With the market surging back to life, investors are poised to pounce on the next trend. And if you missed out on the biotech boom then you'll want to pay special attention to what's coming next. Mentioned in today's market commentary: Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NYSE: TEVA), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Allergan plc (AGN), Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK). This completely new market opportunity may be about to become front page news. Because the FDA just "fast tracked" it. Why? It could help solve a serious problem. Big Pharma's pills for mood disorders just don't work for many people. Currently, major anti-depressant medications only improve symptoms in 40 to 60 out of 100 people. According to the National Institute of Health, more than 16 million Americans suffered from depression in 2016, while 40 million suffer from anxiety, making it the single most common mental illness in the United States. For certain groups, it's much worse. About 30% of active-duty and military personnel deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from mental illness, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Traditional treatments just aren't cutting it for some. But a new set of game-changing "special compounds" may shake things up. And there's a little company called Champignon Brands (SHRM;SHRMF) developing a therapy that could be more effective than the traditional pharmaceutical approach to treating anxiety, depression and mental illness. Instead of dulling the mind, the Champignon approach looks to heals ita method that harnesses cutting-edge methods with a goal to deliver lasting results. It's no wonder that the company's stock has tripled in value since January, as the rest of the economy takes a beating. ##1 BREAKTHROUGH, NATURALLY PRODUCED "SPECIAL COMPOUNDS" Traditional anti-depressants don't help everyone. And that's caused a lot of problems for patients struggling with the symptoms of chronic depression. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most commonly prescribed antidepressants. They include the Zoloft brand from Pfizer (PFE). Zoloft is one of the world's most recognizable antidepressants. The drug works by preventing the movement of serotonin back into nerve endings, essentially making the chemical more available for the body to use. This is important because low levels of serotonin have been linked to depression, anxiety, and even obsessive-compulsive behavior. Pfizer's Zoloft set itself apart of the many other brands of SSRIs thanks to its tolerability. In many studies, Zoloft has proven itself a drug with minimal negative side-effects, making it one of the first medicines doctors try for many people suffering with depression. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) is another company that, thanks to its series of aggressive expansion and acquisitions has played a major role in helping patients get the treatment they need. In fact, its focus on generic, non-brand-name, medications has made treatment of depression more affordable than ever. Some of the medications it distributes include escitalopram, a generation version of the widely popular Lexapro, and venlafaxine, which some may recognize as Effexor. But now, medical science is moving towards new, "special compounds," that may alleviate symptoms much more effectively than traditional medications. Ketamine, a powerful anesthetic drug and tranquilizer, has in clinical trials shown immense benefits as a treatment for depression and anxiety in tiny micro-doses. And after years of resistance, the FDA is now approved on a limited basis the first ever legal Ketamine druga nasal spray called Spravato used in treatment-resistant depression. Spravato, developed by pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), has received widespread praise in the medical community. Not only is the medication the first of its kind, it has also had overwhelmingly positive benefits to the patients utilizing the drug. The drug showed improvement in depression symptoms for periods of time as long as four weeks. Though patients are not able to use the medicine without direct supervision from a healthcare provider due to the side-effects, the procedure so much has proven to be safe and sustainable in the long run. The success of Spravato has also piqued the interest of Big Pharma firms. Allergan (AGN), primarily known for its Botox branded injection, is working to create a ketamine-like injectable depression treatment called Rapastinel. The company acquired the brand when it bought out Naurex for $560 million. While the drug was undergoing testing, it has hit a few snags along the way. Namely, in its most recent round of testing, it failed to differentiate from a placebo on the primary and key secondary endpoints. Though Rapastinel has since been discontinued, Allergan is already working on a new treatment for depression and bi-polar disorder in its drug, VRAYLAR, and it's already been approved by the FDA for testing. While ketamine has currently captured the spotlight in the new wave of depression treatments, two other compounds, MDMA and Psilocybin, have similar effects. MDMA, for its part, has a long and strange history dating back to 1912. It was created and patented by Merck & Co. (MRK). Rumor has it that the company was asked to create the medicine as an appetite suppressant for German soldiers before the first World War but was shelved later due to its bizarre side effects. The rumor has since been disproven by an investigation done by Merck which discovered that the drug was developed as a potentially lifesaving blood clot agent. Since Merck's discovery of the chemical, however, it laid relatively dormant until the 1970s, eventually finding its way into the hands of Alexander Shulgin, a renowned chemist known for his experiments with psychedelic medication. Finally, a newcomer on the scene, psilocybin is intended to help treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) a condition most prevalent in military veterans. But according to the latest statistics, the spread of PTSD is far wider than is normally believed. Right now, common treatments include counseling, therapy, and medications. But the treatments developed by Champignon Brands (SHRM;SHRMF) could find a major niche in the anxiety and PTSD market. When repeatedly taken during the day in small quantitiesa process known as "micro-dosing"the compounds in ketamine, MDMA and psilocybin can alleviate depression symptoms. And Champignon has the inside track on Psilocybin. ##2 A MARKET SIZE OF 450 MILLION PEOPLE Mental health is a worldwide problem. But it's also a big opportunity for companies with innovative solutions, and investors looking to score big by buying into small-cap firms. According to the WHO, 25% of the world's population will be affected by mental health disorders at some point in their lives. Right now, 450 million people live with such conditions, and seek a variety of treatments, many of them expensive or ineffective. Champignon is working on a developing a branch of medicine that has the potential to take the world by storm. They've already got some numbers working in their favor. The market for mushrooms, the kind which Champignon Brands (SHRM;SHRMF) uses to develop Psilocybin, has been growing steadily and should reach $34.3 billion by 2024, according to one forecast. So that's a global market of 450 million, with 11 million users immediately in need inside the U.S. This number of people will likely push regulators to consider legalization of Psilocybin sooner rather than later. ##3 THE MOST EXCITING COMPANY IN A NEW, MULTI-BILLION MARKET Champignon has built a diversified portfolio of properties and patents, which could form the basis for the company's break-out. Their first acquisition was a mushroom cultivator in British Columbia, the site of the company's planned laboratory and initial infrastructure for developing new compounds. Finally, Champignon acquired a firm with key Psilocybin patents for treating traumatic brain injuries. After an IPO that raised $2.8 million and a string of acquisitions, Champignon is positioning itself to profit from several aspects of the drug industry. Right now, the market is limited. A small handful of jurisdictions in the US allow for these drugs. Research into these special compounds has picked up in recent years. Clinical trials are now in full swing in Johns Hopkins, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale, Kings College, and Oxford. And legalization could be gaining momentum. Ballot initiatives to decriminalize Psilocybin have been passed in Denver, CO and Oakland, CA. In Canada, where access to medical psychedelic medicine was legalized federally, activists are now preparing petitions for allowing access to psilocybin as a constitutional right. All of that is good news for Champignon Brands (SHRM;SHRMF). The company has the infrastructure, the patents, the capital and the know-how to capitalize on the current trends in the healthcare space. By. Ian Jenkins **IMPORTANT! BY READING OUR CONTENT YOU EXPLICITLY AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY** FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT. Statements in this communication which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include statements regarding beliefs, plans, intent, predictions or other statements of future tense. Forward looking statements in this article include: that governments will legalize and regulate psychedelic medicine; that the worldwide functional mushroom markets combined will be worth $34.3 billion in gross sales in 2024; that Champignon Brands Inc. ("Champignon") can build an on-site research laboratory within the next 12-24 months; and rollout five additional clinics in the US by the end of 2020; can access the expertise of Champignon's acquisition targets' management teams to create and market depression and anxiety treatments; and that Champignon's business will be profitable. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of Champignon at the date the information is made, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Psychedelic medicine may not be legalized on the timeline as expected or at all; psychedelic medicine may not turn out to have as large a market as thought or be as lucrative as thought as a result of competition or other factors; Champignon may not be able to close on its announced acquisitions because of regulatory approval requirements or other reasons; that the acquisitions do not provide the expected benefits, business or expertise expected; that Champignon may not be as able to diversify or scale up as thought because of potential lack of capital, lack of facilities, regulatory compliance requirements or lack of suitable employees, partners or suppliers; none of Champignon's treatments have passed clinical trials or received FDA or other health authorities' approval; Champignon may not be able to raise funds and develop better treatments than competitors in the psychedelic medicine industry; actual operating performance of the facilities Champignon do not meet expectations; that competition quickly develops; that Champignon may not be able to retain key employees, partners and suppliers; costs may be higher than expected and profits therefore lower; and other risks affecting the Company in particular and the psychedelic medicine industry generally, including without limitation risks related to most agricultural crops, including crop failure and medical developments, including without limitation failure of human trials or rejection by medical regulators. The forward-looking statements in this document are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update such forward-looking statements except as required by applicable securities laws. DISCLAIMERS PAID ADVERTISEMENT. This communication is a paid advertisement and is not a recommendation to buy or sell securities. Financialmorningpost.com, Joint Salty Holdings Corp., and their owners, managers, employees, and assigns (collectively, "we" or the "Company") has been paid by the profiled company to disseminate this communication. In this case the Company has been paid by Champignon seven thousand US dollars per month for market awareness including postins and articles. This compensation is a major conflict with our ability to be unbiased, more specifically: This communication is for entertainment purposes only. Never invest purely based on our communication. 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Contact Information: Media Contact e-mail: [email protected] U.S. Phone: +1(954)345-0611 SOURCE Financialmorningpost.com Republic Bank Ghana Limited has donated GHC200,000 as its contribution towards the construction of an infectious disease isolation and treatment centre at the Ga East Hospital in Accra. The 100-bed facility is being built under the auspices of the Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund as part of the national effort to stop the spread of Covid-19 in Ghana. It is expected to be completed by the end of May to help treat critically ill Covid-19 patients. Making the donation on behalf of Republic Bank in Accra, Chief Executive Officer Farid Antar applauded the Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund for the initiative. He said the donation forms part of the companys commitment to supporting the government in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak. He stressed the banks confidence that funds invested in the facility, which he described as long-lasting, will be money well-spent for a good cause. Life continues after Covid-19, and we will always be challenged with one event or the other. So, building a structure that has a long-term benefit is one we see as an ideal thing, Mr. Antar said. He congratulated the entire team working on the facility for an excellent job done and said he was looking forward to the completion of the project at the end of May. Accepting the donation on behalf of the Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund, Board Chair of Fidelity Bank, Edward Effah, who is also one of the Trustees of the Fund, expressed gratitude to Republic Bank Ghana Limited for their support. We are on track to deliver it, Mr. Effah said. As the private sector, we can move faster and we bring other benefits to the table. So, I believe your money coming here will go further. 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 videos here: New Delhi: An emerging technique that uses lab-grown tiny human organs to study viral diseases can accelerate research on the novel coronavirus, and pave the way for new COVID-19 therapies, leading scientists say. "Organoids, are lab-grown organs, which closely resemble human tissues that are relevant for disease, Josef Penninger, Director, Life Science Institute at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada, told PTI. In these human organ-like structures, Penninger said, scientists are beginning to perform more experiments to explore how the SARS-CoV-2 virus replicates in hosts, or even test vaccines and drugs against COVID-19. Cultured from undifferentiated cells in the human body called stem cells, he said, these tiny organs contain cells which are also present in a "real" human organ. For instance, organoids of blood vessels are perfect mini versions of the vascular tissue, made up of an empty cavity, cells that stabilise it, and a membrane wrapped around and keeping it all together, Penninger explained. Similarly, the scientist said, kidney organoids have multiple cell types found in a normal kidney, including those expressing the ACE2 receptor which acts as an entry gate for SARS-CoV-2. According to Penninger, research using organoids can open new doors for studying COVID-19 symptoms. The tiny organs have previously helped scientists understand how the Zika virus, an emerging mosquito-borne pathogen, causes smaller head size, and intellectual disability in developing newborns. Infection of brain organoid models with Zika virus revealed which cells were affected, and resulting neurological disorders, noted a study published last year in the journal Viruses. But even now, preliminary experiments on viral infection use only mouse models or lab-grown animal or human tissues, which do not possess the complexity seen in human organs, Penninger said. "For studying infectious diseases, the commonly used lab models are vero cell lines which are derived from monkey kidneys, and colon cancer cell lines, but these do not fully capture what happens in humans," Shuibing Chen, stem cell biologist from Cornell University in the US, told PTI. While scientists also study SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice, Chen said the rodents do not have the same human version of ACE2 -- the SARS-CoV-2 'gateway' receptor. Organoids can help overcome these limitations, she said, adding that they can change how scientists understand and test potential COVID-19 therapeutics. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Cloudy. Morning high of 31F with temps falling to near 20. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy. Low 8F. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph. Stormont sources have criticised the decision of Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon not to propose furloughing Translink staff and have claimed it could have saved Northern Ireland up to 30m. However, the department has strongly defended its actions and stressed that furloughing public sector workers would be a "hugely significant step" which would need to be seriously considered by the Executive in consultation with unions. It also rejected the suggested savings of 30m as "a dangerous fantasy". Ms Mallon was asked by Finance Minister Conor Murphy last month to consider if furloughing would be applicable to Translink, which runs Northern Ireland's public transport. The company has been beset by financial difficulties which have been compounded by the coronavirus lockdown. Chief executive Chris Conway has said it needs a 100m funding injection to continue providing a public transport network following a 90% drop in passenger numbers. Speaking after raising the issue in the Assembly, DUP MLA Keith Buchanan noted that Transport for London had decided to furlough staff and asked why Ms Mallon "does not appear to have been more proactive in assessing this option". Stormont sources claimed that furloughing Translink staff could have saved Northern Ireland 25-30m. A Department of Infrastructure spokeswoman said that, following a Finance Department request, Ms Mallon asked officials to explore the feasibility and "benefits and risks" of furloughing non-essential Translink staff. She said: "However, the minister has made clear her concerns that furloughing public sector workers is a hugely significant step which needs serious consideration by the Executive and in consultation with the trade unions. While consideration of the feasibility of furloughing is ongoing, the suggested savings of 30m has no basis in reality. "It would involve closing the entire organisation for three months and removing all public transport. This is a dangerous fantasy which does a disservice to the contribution which Translink staff as key workers have been making on all our behalf at this time." She added: "Our public sector workers at Translink are working to keep our public transport network operating through this difficult period to transport our Health and Social Care and other key workers to work and services. "Indeed, any reduction in the current level of services could significantly undermine the Executive's strategy for managing Covid-19, impacting on our ability to support key workers and maintain social distancing on our public transport network." Meanwhile, Conor Murphy has expressed concern that ending the Government's furlough scheme for workers in June will be too soon. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is reportedly exploring how to wind down the scheme. Speaking at the daily Executive coronavirus press briefing, Mr Murphy said that even after lockdown restrictions were lifted, many businesses would struggle to return to pre-pandemic levels of operation. He called for analysis to be done around which sectors can and have returned to work. The Finance Minister said it would be difficult for the Executive to take over the scheme as they don't have access to the HMRC database. He also acknowledged it would be "hugely costly" and pledged to make the case to the Treasury for businesses that are struggling to return to work. Online Publisher China Literature Moves to Quell Author Unrest By Yang Ge / May 07, 2020 01:13 PM / Society & Culture Less than two weeks after a major shakeup at the top of one of Chinas leading online literature providers, the new management team is moving quickly to quiet cries of discontent among its top authors. China Literatures new top brass met with some of the companys select writers on Wednesday to address their concerns on topics like copyright ownership and paid-versus-free business models. The new management team said discussions were still in progress for a free-read mechanism, but that the model for paid literature offerings would be consolidated and expanded in the future. Authors were also told they would be able to decide which of their offerings would be free or paid. New CEO Cheng Wu and new President Hou Xiaonan also assured the ranks that inappropriate clauses in their current contracts would be amended and new contracts introduced in the near future. In their defense, the new management pointed out that contracts at the heart of frayed relations have been in place since last September well before the new team replaced China Literatures founding team in a move announced on April 27. The new team came from the ranks of internet giant Tencent, which is China Literatures biggest stakeholder with 57% ownership at the end of last year. The management overhaul came as China Literature shifts from making money off subscriptions and advertising toward a business model that generates a growing portion of revenue from selling the rights to produce its platforms content to movie and TV studios. Contact reporter Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com) Related: China Literature Replaces Founding Managers With Team of Tencent Executives RICARDO B. BRAZZIELL, MBR / Associated Press Gov. Greg Abbott has expanded the list of businesses allowed to reopen in a May 5 executive order that's part of a two-part plan to restart the Texas economy. Restaurants, retail stores, movie theaters, malls, museums, libraries, churches and places of worship were allowed to start reopening at 25 percent occupancy levels on May 1. If state data shows there is no spike in COVID-19 cases, phase two would allow other businesses to resume operations on May 18 and for already-opened businesses to increase occupancy levels. The Gautam Budh Nagar police has arrested two persons who had molested a 20-year-old coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patient on Wednesday afternoon pretending to be doctors. The woman who is undergoing treatment for Covid-19 at the Sharda Hospital in Greater Noida was allegedly molested by a ward boy and a man handling the store area of the hospital. The suspects had claimed to be doctors. The woman, who had recently given birth, was admitted to the hospital along with her newborn. The woman had said on Wednesday afternoon, a man wearing a protection kit approached her and asked her for her urine and milk samples for testing. The man was accompanied by another one and both claimed to be doctors. The arrested persons have been identified as Luvkush, of Bulandshahr, and Pravin Sundar of Meerut. Both the suspects were employees of an outsourcing company contracted by the hospital. The Knowledge Park police station had filed an FIR on a complaint given by Sharda hospital late Wednesday. The accused were booked under Section 354 (assault or criminal force on woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code. After the incident, the Sharda hospital has made isolation wards separate for women and men. A permanent staff has been deployed in the CCTV control room to keep a watch on people entering the Covid-19 section of the hospital. Authorities at Sharda hospital have also served notice to the outsourcing company which has been providing workers to them. All male hospital staff have been told to ensure the safety of women patients. We have arrested the ward boy and the store person for molesting the patient. No such acts will be tolerated and strictest of the action will taken against such persons, Rajesh Kumar, deputy commissioner of police, zone 3, said. The district magistrate has also asked the senior health officials to come up with strict guidelines for hospitals to ensure the safety of female patients. I have asked the chief medical superintendent of the district hospital to prepare strict guidelines keeping in mind the safety of female patients to ensure that no incident like the Sharda one takes place again. There will be zero tolerance for such disgraceful acts. We will be issuing guidelines for hospitals soon , Suhas LY, district magistrate, GB Nagar, said. The 20-year-old woman had given birth to a girl at a Noida hospital on April 25 and doctors had taken her sample, as per protocol, for Covid-19 testing. On May 3, the woman tested positive for the infection and she was admitted to the Sharda hospital. Her husband and brother-in-law were shifted to the quarantine centre. INS Jalashwa on Thursday entered Male port for the first phase under Operation Samudra Setu to repatriate Indians from the Maldives, informed High Commission of India in the Maldives. The 16,900-tonne INS Jalashwa, the countrys second-largest warship after aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, apart from its crew can carry around 8,00 to 1,000 people. The embarkation of the citizens would commence from Friday. First phase under Operation Samudra Setu #WATCH INS Jalashwa entering Male port for the first phase under Operation Samudra Setu to repatriate Indians from Maldives: High Commission of India in Maldives. #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/qoNPB9pioZ ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 Indian Navy in an official statement on Tuesday said that three Naval warships have sailed out to bring back Indian citizens from Maldives and United Arab Emirates (UAE) who are stranded due to Coronavirus pandemic. These warships include INS Jalashwa, INS Magar and INS Shardul and these will return to Kochi. 'Total 14 warships have been readied' Defence Spokesperson Commander Sridhar Warrier informed that INS Jalashwa sailed from Visakhapatnam a few days ago from the east coast to the west coast. "Total 14 warships have been readied for evacuating Indian citizens from the Gulf and other countries," he added. The 16,900-tonne INS Jalashwa, the countrys second-largest warship after aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, apart from its crew can carry around 8,00 to 1,000 people. INS Jalashwa deployed off Mumbai coast, along with INS Magar, diverted for the Maldives on Monday night, the Spokesman said. While INS Shardul diverted to Dubai to evacuate the expatriates, he added. INS Magar and INS Shardul are Southern Naval Command ships, while INS Jalashwa is from Eastern Naval Command. READ | Aviation Ministry website crashes as Indians abroad scramble to return home amid Covid READ | Vizag Gas Leak LIVE Updates: PM Modi speaks to Andhra CM Jagan; calls urgent NDMA meeting In a major relief for Indians stranded abroad, the Centre on Monday announced that their travel will be arranged via aircraft and naval ships in a phased manner. It added that the Indian High Commissions and embassies are preparing a list of distressed Indian citizens. However, it clarified that this facility is available on payment-basis and will begin in a phased manner on May 7. READ | Air India to operate non-scheduled commercial flights from US from 9-15 May; flyers to pay READ | Indian Navy's second-largest ship & 2 others to return stranded persons from Maldives, UAE By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The European Union is backing calls for a timely review of the international response to the coronavirus pandemic, including the World Health Organization's performance, according to the draft of a resolution for ministers to debate at the WHO. European diplomats said the United States and China have taken part in negotiations on the EU resolution, but gave no details of their input By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The European Union is backing calls for a timely review of the international response to the coronavirus pandemic, including the World Health Organization's performance, according to the draft of a resolution for ministers to debate at the WHO. European diplomats said the United States and China have taken part in negotiations on the EU resolution, but gave no details of their input. A Chinese spokesman confirmed Beijing had been involved, but U.S. officials declined comment. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has defended the U.N. agency against fierce criticism by U.S. President Donald Trump but has promised a review of its performance after the pandemic eases, including by its independent oversight body. An initial draft of the EU resolution, to be debated by WHO health ministers meeting virtually on May 18-19 at the World Health Assembly, includes wording on "commending the WHO leadership" but calls for "an evaluation ... at the earliest appropriate moment on lessons learnt from the international health response to COVID-19." The draft, seen by Reuters, says the evaluation should address the long-term consequences on health and "gaps in pandemic preparedness" and reminds the 194 WHO member states they must report outbreaks of disease in a "timely manner". "Negotiations have begun. The Americans, Chinese and Europeans are taking part, almost everyone is. It's a very good sign that everyone is engaged," a European diplomat said. If confirmed, the U.S. involvement in discussions about the text would signal that Washington is engaging in diplomacy at the WHO despite suspending its funding for the agency last month, accusing it of being "China centric" and issuing bad advice. China has been consulted despite criticism by several countries, including the United States, that it mishandled the early stages of the pandemic and was slow to reveal the extent of the threat it posed. Asked about consultations on the resolution, an EU spokeswoman said "there is a high level of participation", and that the text is evolving. The bloc and its member states seek "to make it a truly inclusive process and produce a text that speaks for all", she said. The U.S. mission to the U.N. in Geneva did not reply to a request for comment. Liu Yuyin, spokesman for China's mission, confirmed the mission's own participation. "It is important to demonstrate global solidarity and avoid disparity and confrontation in our common fight against the epidemic through this document. China will continue to work with the EU and many other countries to achieve this goal," he said. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay, Editing by Timothy Heritage) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Volvo Cars is deepening ties with lidar sensor specialist Luminar, and has struck a deal with the Silicon Valley-based start-up to integrate its technology in its new car platform, SPA 2, the Sweden-based car maker said on Wednesday. Volvo, owned by China's Geely Holding, bought a stake in Luminar in 2018 and has been collaborating with the company on developing the technology, which it sees as key for autonomous drive and its initial plan to offer a highway pilot feature. "Volvo Cars' next generation SPA 2 modular vehicle architecture will be available as hardware-ready for autonomous drive from production start in 2022, with the Luminar lidar seamlessly integrated into the roof," Volvo said in a statement. Lidar sensors use laser light pulses to render precise images of the environment around the car, and are seen as essential by many automakers to enable higher levels of driver assistance right up to making them capable of self-driving. "We have reached the point where we feel that this technology is so interesting and adds so much to the functionality we want to build that we now enter a project phase for taking this into production on our next platform," Volvo CTO Henrik Green told Reuters. The lidar and the highway pilot feature will start as an optional add-on for Volvo buyers and be rolled out step-by-step depending on local regulations and validation. Initial volumes will be low but the future potential is large, Green said. The two companies are also exploring how lidar can help improve future advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), with the potential for equipping all future SPA2-based cars with a lidar sensor as standard. "We are already looking at how this could be scaled over time, to get it even lower in price, and make it become something that we can start using more broadly also for active safety," Green said. Luminar said it was currently working with 12 of the world's top 15 auto makers, in different development stages. Story continues "This deal is the first delivery of our technology into series production and a key step to achieving the economies of scale that are required to bring the lidar and perception to the wider automotive industry," it said. The firms also said they had signed a deal for Volvo to "possibly increase" its minority stake in Luminar, but Volvo declined to comment by how much or under what circumstances. (Reporting by Johannes Hellstrom; editing by Richard Pullin) Two Barnes & Noble employees who worked at the companys Monroe Township distribution center have died from complications related to the coronavirus, the company and others confirmed. The first man, Felix Ramirez, died on April 13, his co-workers said. The second man, Alberto Joyasaca, died on May 4. He was 71, his son said. Both men were longtime employees of the company. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage In a statement last week, Barnes & Noble spokesperson Alex Ortolani confirmed Ramirezs death, saying the company was deeply saddened by his passing." Joyasacas son, Michael Joyasaca, confirmed his fathers death on Wednesday. The deaths come as workers at the distribution center have protested working conditions there, saying they worry they could get sick from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Although the company has taken steps to ensure safety, workers have said they want the company to close the warehouse for two weeks for a deep cleaning and sanitizing. Joyasaca said his father was a hard worker and instilled in him the value of hard work. It showed me that when youre a hard worker, when you dedicate yourself to your job, your co-workers and supervisors will notice, Joyasaca said. That showed me what kind of person I want to be, and I feel like thats the person I became. He and his father would often take trips around the state, visiting wildlife preserves and going to a car show each April for his birthday. His father loved to cook, he said, making rice, beans, steak and dishes from his home country of Ecuador. His father taught him that quality time with family was more important than anything else, Joyasaca said. Maria Lojano worked alongside Joyasaca at Barnes & Noble for eight years. Both coming from the same town in Ecuador, the two became friends almost instantly. He was a very good person, said Lojano, adding that he was also exceptionally kind. Even if it wasnt his business, he gave it 100 percent. Ramirezs family could not be reached for comment In light of the deaths, Barnes & Noble said again it was taking appropriate steps to protect its employees. In a statement Tuesday, Ortolani said two employees were self-isolating and that the company was working with them to have them tested. He said the facility closed for five days, through April 22, and has had no positive cases since then. In early April, there were five positive cases at the facility and workers said last week that number had increased to 10. Ortolani said the facility has reduced its workforce and has implemented social distancing in the warehouse. The company has also distributed gloves and cloth face coverings to employees, as well as disinfectant wipes to clean their work stations and equipment. The company has also closed the warehouse four times so far for a deep cleaning, and has another cleaning planned for May 9. Barnes & Noble has also allowed workers to take time off if they are worried about getting sick and is checking employee temperatures before each shift. Workers, however, have said they are still afraid of getting sick and passing it to their families. In early April, about a dozen Barnes & Noble workers picketed outside the Monroe Township facility, calling on the company to close the warehouse for two weeks. Then, last week, about 20 workers and organizers presented a petition to Gov. Phil Murphys staff in Trenton reiterating their demands. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Rodrigo Torrejon contributed to this story. J. Dale Shoemaker can be reached at jshoemaker@njadvancemedia.com. Need to know more about coronavirus in New York? Sign up for THE CITYs daily morning newsletter. Nearly two weeks after the death of 26-year-old Amber Isaac, the Bronx woman who died during an emergency C-section at Montefiore Medical Center, her partner received a letter from the hospital. It wasnt a condolence note, Bruce McIntyre said at a news conference Tuesday in front of the north Bronx hospital, but a bill. They have the nerve to send us a $2,000 bill after not saving her life, McIntyre said. As if we were at fault for this. Every morning, I wake up feeling like this is my fault, or I could have done better, he added during the news conference. No, this is not my fault. I dont want my son Elias growing up feeling like his mother isnt here because of him. In an interview with THE CITY Wednesday, McIntyre declined to say more about the hospital bill, but shared the news that his and Isaacs son, Elias Isaac McIntyre, is healthy. Amber Isaac died just days after tweeting that she wanted to write a tell all about the incompetent doctors at Montefiore. Since she was under general anesthesia during the delivery, Isaac never got to see or hold her newborn child. Its common for hospitals to bill families after a loved one has died in their care, said Caitlin Donovan, a spokesperson at the nonprofit National Patient Advocate Foundation, which has compiled a resource guide to assist those diagnosed with COVID-19. It just makes that whole situation worse, to be handed that bill, she said. In this case, patient advocates at the foundation would likely advise Isaacs family to call the hospital billing office explaining the tragic circumstances, Donovan said. Ultimately, $2,000 to a hospital system is going to be something that they can very easily write off, she added. Death Rate Disparities Since Isaacs death, McIntyre has mounted a campaign to raise awareness around maternal death and is launching the Save A Rose Foundation in her memory. Though she learned she had a low platelet count in February, Isaac was unable to have in-person visits with doctors through March, McIntyre said. Coronavirus concerns meant that the soon-to-be mother was only able to meet with her doctors through video calls, he said, despite her repeated requests for in-person appointments. Isaac, a graduate student at Concordia College, had told McIntyre she dreamed she wouldnt survive delivery, he said. Black mothers in the U.S., she read, die at a rate three to four times higher than white ones. The disparities are even higher in New York. A representative at Montefiore, where Isaacs mother worked, did not respond to a request for comment on this story. In a statement released earlier this week, the hospital touted a maternal mortality rate of 0.01%. Ninety-four percent of our deliveries are by minority mothers, and Montefiores maternal mortality rate of 0.01% is lower than both New York City and national averages, the statement read. Any maternal death is a tragedy. Our hearts go out to Ms. Isaacs family, especially to her mother, our longtime colleague. The use of telehealth visits for prenatal care, like those McIntyre said he and Isaac had with doctors, has soared during the coronavirus pandemic. They allow a doctor and a patient to connect remotely, minimizing the risk of exposure to the virus. But video calls are not a substitute for office visits, doctors who spoke with THE CITY said. We dont have protocols in place for telemedicine, said Dr. Joia Crear-Perry, president of the National Birth Equity Collaborative, which seeks to reduce racial disparities in maternal and infant health. Were building it as we are doing it. So, if you normally, when youre pregnant, get a visit every month now were saying you dont need to come in, Crear-Perry added. We havent decided how often you should come in. Do you need to come in sometimes? Do you need to take your blood pressure at home? What about checking on the heartbeat of the baby? All of those things that wed normally do in person, we havent figured out a way to do it from home. This Boy is Amazing At Tuesdays news conference, McIntyre was joined by Chivona and Hawk Newsome, the sister and brother co-founders of Black Lives Matter New York. Hearing about Amber as a person is what really touches us, Chivona Newsome, one of several candidates seeking a Congressional seat in the South Bronx, told THE CITY. We dont want her to be another number. We want the world to see her face. We want the world to know her story. We want the world to know that she was making a positive impact on our community and all those around her. McIntyre, who says he is committed to becoming an advocate in Isaacs memory, has been juggling fatherhood along with grief and funeral plans. It sucks, cause the only available date that I have for Ambers funeral is on my birthday, he said. McIntyre will turn 29 on May 12, when the family expects to bury Isaac. He said he is comforted by time spent with his son. This boy is amazing, McIntyre said. Amber would have been real happy. Want to republish this story? See our republication guidelines. SUPPORT THE CITY You just finished reading another story from THE CITY. We need your help to make THE CITY all it can be. Please consider joining us as a member today. DONATE TODAY! Robert Guida, a retired firefighter, and a patron of the arts, who was editor-in-chief of RG magazine, died April 23 in Staten Island University Hospital, Princes Bay, after losing his battle with the coronavirus. He was 56. Guida, who had a passion for film production and live theater, and was once cast in a movie, also was a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). According to his sister, Donna Savino, Guida produced an off-Broadway play about his life, titled One Last Night," an account of the night he was in a dreadful automobile accident, that was sadly, she said, a dark time in his life. He also was editor-in-chief of RG Magazine, named for Guida and also because it was really great -- a publication that according to its website was a New York/Southern California based publication created by freelance writers and artists, giving them a platform to showcase their passion through print, online and social media. Prior to his retirement, Guida was a firefighter in Brooklyns Engine Company 323 and on Staten Island at Engine Company 167. Although he was forced to take early retirement from the city Fire Department due to injuries as a result of his car accident, Guida assisted during the rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero in the days that followed the attacks on the World Trade Center after Sept. 11, 2001. Savino said her brother wore many hats throughout his illustrious life. His true passions were acting, theatrical writing, producing his own magazine and an off-Broadway play, as well as dabbling in magic, music and repairing and trading antique watches, she said. And he also was an editor at CTV. Robert was a Renaissance man to his friends but a hero to his family," she said. Rob, you will always be connected to your family through loving memories in loving hearts. He will now be joining his mother, Patricia, in heaven and he will be dearly missed by his family. We all love and miss you Rob. In addition to his sister, Guida is survived by his father, Robert Guida, nephews, a niece, and several godsons. Avid fisherman David Lougee Silver City New Mexico discusses his top five must-have summer fishing tips. SILVER CITY, NM / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / The summer fishing season is approaching rapidly, and experts are offering their top fishing tips. Avid fisherman David Lougee Silver City New Mexico recently released his top five must-have tips for fishing in New Mexico this summer. David Lougee Silver City New Mexico first explains that fly fishing is an extremely popular form of fishing in New Mexico's rivers. He says that one of the most important tips to keep in mind is to stay within your skill level. Beginners shouldn't head to rapidly running rivers just because they're known as some of the best fishing spots in the state. He suggests starting on a small eddie, which is often wherefish seek refuge as well. "Remember to cast upstream and let your fly flow down to the eddies and calmer areas of water," David Lougee Silver City New Mexico adds. "Casting upstream with spinners can snag you some of the biggest rainbow and brown trout as well." David Lougee Silver City New Mexico explains that it's natural for food sources to swim downstream, so if your fly or lure looks more natural flowing the same direction. "We often only think about our techniques and locations as fly fishermen," David Lougee Silver City New Mexico says. "But we also need to think about our gear. It's essential to keep your wading gear clean." David Lougee Silver City New Mexico explains that wading gear must be kept clean to keep Aquatic Nuisance Species at bay. Moving from one fishing spot to another without cleaning wading gear means carrying these parasites, algae, and other unwanted creatures to areas where they shouldn't be. David Lougee Silver City New Mexico continuously expresses the importance of cleaning wading gear and letting it dry completely between fishing sessions. "Another tip I like to emphasize among fishermen is to catch and release whenever possible," David Lougee Silver City New Mexico says. "This is our best chance of preserving the fish we all enjoy catching." Story continues David Lougee Silver City New Mexico explains that there's much more to catch and release fishing than simply letting the fish go from your hands. He explains that many times, fishermen harm the fish and release it only for it to die hours later. David Lougee Silver City New Mexico advises not to squeeze the fish, pull the hook out carefully, and put it back in the water as quickly as possible. Fisherman David Lougee Silver City New Mexico finishes by offering a tip for fishing lakes and ponds. He emphasizes the importance of understanding your lake and its structure. "Lakes and ponds are some of the best places to hone your fishing skills, and they can be ideal for catching bass, trout, salmon and more," David Lougee Silver City New Mexico says. "Pay attention to where there are rocks, plant growth, shore banks, weed beds, and sandbars, as these are the places you'll find the most fish. Most importantly, get out there, have fun, and remember to catch and release." CONTACT: Caroline Hunter Web Presence, LLC +1 7865519491 SOURCE: Web Presence, LLC View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/588897/David-Lougee-Silver-City-New-Mexico-Discusses-5-Must-Have-Summer-Fishing-Tips Revelers enjoy the festivities at the 49th L.A. Pride parade in West Hollywood in 2019. (Ana Venegas / For The Times) The 50th-anniversary L.A. Pride celebration, one of the state's largest gay and lesbian rights festivals, has been postponed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The event, held annually in West Hollywood, is shifting this year to an online celebration, according to nonprofit organizer Christopher Street West. Information about the digital events will be announced later. "Our community has always adapted, changed and become more resilient in the face of uncertain times," Estevan Montemayor, president of the CSW's board of directors, said in a statement. "Although we cannot celebrate Pride with a festival or parade, CSW will make sure that the spirit of Pride is not forgotten. We are in this together, and we are here for you as we continue to navigate through this situation." In West Hollywood, thousands flock to the city historically an oasis for the LGBTQ community every June to watch the parade along Santa Monica Boulevard that features colorful floats and people dancing and singing. The parade also serves as a political movement and memorial, commemorating the Stonewall uprising in New York once every decade. Festival organizers urged attendees to see the silver lining of this year's decision, saying it was made in the best interest of the community. "Pride is more than just one weekend in a year. Or even a month," organizers said on their website. "Pride is something that we live and breathe every day. Whether we celebrate LA Pride in mid-June (as weve done for the last 49 years) or, for this one specific year, decide to move it to another weekend, our celebration, our voices, our struggles, our triumphs, and our never-ending message for equality never stops." West Hollywood's Pride parade is just the latest event to be canceled or postponed because of the pandemic. In April, San Diego Pride canceled its annual July event, which draws up to 350,000 people over a three-day celebration. San Francisco also announced it was scrapping its annual Pride festival. The California State Fair and Food Festival, held in Sacramento and dating back 166 years, and the counties of Ventura, Orange and San Diego also canceled their annual summertime fairs over coronavirus concerns. Dr. Zakaria Abdulai, the Medical Superintendent for the Sissala East Municipal Hospital, has urged the residents to cooperate with health officials in fighting the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in the Municipality. He said that was necessary because the five asymptomatic COVID-19 victims in the Municipality posed a serious risk to vulnerable groups in the communities. Dr. Abdulai said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Tumu concerning the seven Covid-19 cases recorded in the Municipality. The Sissala East Municipality in the Upper West Region had recorded seven cases of the COVID-19 with five of the cases being asymptomatic. "I have seen them, and none of them have shown signs and symptoms and this makes them asymptomatic, which suggests they are in the community living normal lives. This can be dangerous to vulnerable groups like people who have compromised lungs, the aged, asthmatic, TB patients and innocent persons can be infected without knowing," Dr. Abdulai explained. The Medical Superintendent added that the isolation facility at Tumu could not withstand an outbreak as it did not have a single ventilator that could support someone with respiratory distress. He appealed to benevolent individuals and organisations to support the health facility with Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and thermometer guns among others to help protect the health staff against the deadly virus. Mr Alex Bapula the Sissala East Municipal Director of Health Services called for psychological support for the COVID-19 infected persons. He praised the frontline health workers for their quick response and appealed to the authorities to make available all the resources needed for the front line staff to be courageous to carry out their work effectively. Mr Bapula also appealed to the community members to report all strangers as well as natives who were returning to the communities from other parts of the country to the health authorities for the necessary action to be taken. 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 Houston oil field services company Halliburton has laid off 1,000 employees at its headquarters as low crude prices take their toll on demand for the products and services the company sells to energy producers. Company officials earlier furloughed 3,500 employees at its Houston headquarters, but attributed this weeks layoffs to an unforeseeable, dramatic business downturn caused by the coronavirus and unprecedented commodity price decline. The reductions are in addition to layoffs across the companys global operations, the company said in a statement. These actions are difficult but necessary as we adjust our business to customers decreased activity. Oil Bust: Halliburton closes two locations in Texas, lays off 240 in Oklahoma Oil prices have plummeted from more than $60 a barrel at the beginning of the year to less than $25 as the coronavirus pandemic shuts down swaths of the global economy and undermines demand. Last month, U.S. crude prices plunged into negative territory for the first time in history, meaning producers had to pay customers to take their oil. Producers have shut down wells and stopped completing ones that they have been drilling. A large part of Halliburtons business in North America entails completion services, which include hydraulic fracturing. Halliburton started the year with 55,000 employees across the world, but the workforce has shrunk to about 50,000 people, an April 24 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shows. More than 2,700 of those job cuts happened over the last month at 12 locations in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Colorado, filings with state workforce officials show. A large number of those layoffs are the result of the company closing locations and moving remaining operations to other locations. Halliburton laid off 384 people when the company closed its Elmendorf facility off Loop 1604 in San Antonio and moved operations to various field camps throughout the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas. The company laid off another 233 people when it closed a service center in the East Texas town of Kilgore and moved those operations to a field office in Bossier City, La., to better serve customers in the Haynesville shale, an oil and gas field that straddles both states. Fuel Fix: Get energy news sent directly to your inbox Halliburton lost $1 billion during the first quarter after pulling multiple hydraulic fracturing crews from service and writing down $1.1 billion worth of assets. Over the last three months, the company has tightened its belt by cutting $800 million from this years capital budget, enacting executive pay cuts and reducing employee benefits. The company has also made financial moves to ensure that it survives the downturn. Hallburton issued $1 billion of senior notes in February that were used to pay off $500 million worth of higher-interest debt early. The company has nearly $1.4 billion of cash on hand and enters this downturn with $2.6 billion less debt on the books than what it had at the beginning of the 2016 downturn. Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - May 7, 2020) - ICEsoft Technologies Canada Corp. (CSE: ISFT) (the "Corporation" or the "Company" or "ICEsoft") is pleased to announce its consolidated financial results for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018. Detailed results and Management's discussion and analysis are now available on SEDAR. Annual highlights are as follows: ICEsoft's new Voyent Alert! service is now used by 86 Canadian municipalities as of December 31, 2019, 125 Canadian municipalities as of April 30, 2020. The Company continues to deploy capital to achieve Voyent Alert! sales traction The Company completed a restructuring and capital raise subsequent to year end that has reduced balance sheet liabilities by $1.2 million and increased cash by a further $1.2 million. ICEsoft continues to operate with a burn of approximately $50,000 CAD per month "We are excited about the traction we are seeing with our new Voyent Alert! Notification Service. Customer feedback continues to be exceptional and we are currently experiencing a 100% renewal rate on all our municipal clients. We look forward to its anticipated contribution to our top and bottom lines." stated Brian McKinney, President and CEO. About ICEsoft Technologies Canada Corp.: ICEsoft Technologies Canada Corp. is a software-as-a-service ("SaaS") company. ICEsoft's newest product Voyent Alert! is an affordable Community Alerting Service specifically designed to meet the needs of small to medium sized municipalities, regional governments and campuses. The flexible platform serves the dual purpose of alerting and advising residents during a critical incident as well as providing targeted day-to-day communication services. For more information, please contact: Brian McKinney Chief Executive Officer Tel: 403-663-3320 Forward-Looking Information Advisory Certain information in this press release is forward-looking within the meaning of certain securities laws, and is subject to important risks, uncertainties and assumptions. This forward-looking information includes, among other things, information with respect to the Corporate Changes, Private Placement and shares for debt transactions, assumptions about future economic conditions and courses of action, and the Company's beliefs, plans, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions. The words "may", "could", "should", "would", "suspect", "outlook", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "plan", "target" and similar words and expressions are used to identify forward-looking information. The forward-looking information in this material change report describes the Company's expectations as of the date of this news release and accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. While the Company may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55551 Over 50 pets being sheltered by the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society are looking for homes this May. Scroll through the slideshow to meet them all. For up-to-date adoption information from the Menands shelter, visit mohawkhumane.org/adopt/available. Note: Ad blockers may prevent this article from fully loading The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has started including cities under Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in its forecasts, its chief said on Thursday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has been issuing weather bulletin for entire Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh area. We are mentioning Gilgit-Baltistan, Muzaffarabad in the bulletin as they are the parts of India, news agency ANI quoted IMD Director General Mrutyunjoy Mohapatra as saying. For a long time, IMD has been issuing severe weather forecast for Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal etc. We were mentioning this information in our national bulletin. For past two days, we have started mentioning this information in our regional bulletin, ANI quoted Mohapatra as further saying. Mohapatra said they have been mentioning areas under PoK under its daily weather bulletin ever since the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir in the two union territories in August last year, news agency PTI reported. These cities of PoK have now found a place in the overall forecast of the northwest division. The IMDs northwest division consists of nine sub-divisions: Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi-Chandigarh-Haryana, Punjab, east Uttar Pradesh, west Uttar Pradesh, east Rajasthan and west Rajasthan. The development assumes significance as New Delhi has been of a position that the PoK belongs to India. The inclusion of Muzaffarabad and Gilgit-Baltistan in the forecast comes amid Pakistans Supreme Court allowing elections in Gilgit-Baltistan this week. India had strongly reacted to the development. A senior Pakistani diplomat was served a demarche, or formal diplomatic representation over telephone, to lodge Indias strong protest against the Pakistani Supreme Courts order. Mohapatra said that the IMD, being the World Meteorological Department nominated Regional Meteorological Centre, provides severe weather warnings to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan detailing forecasts for the next five days. Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussexs exit from the royal family was a move they felt was necessary given the constant negative media attention they had faced. The decision was drastic and the couples desire for a more normal life, some believe, caused Prince Harry to experience guilt over leaving his royal life and family behind. Could that worry after embarking on their new chapter damage their relationship? Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Harry shared the reason for their exit plan After Queen Elizabeth finalized the details of Prince Harry and Meghans exit plan, Harry spoke about the reason behind their decision to leave their royal duties. The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly. It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges. And I know I havent always gotten it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option, he shared, in part, during a speech he delivered during a dinner for supporters of Sentebale in London in January. Prince Harry is reportedly overwhelmed with guilt The timing of their exit coincided with the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis as Prince Harry and Meghan made their move from Canada to Los Angeles amid the pandemic and his father Prince Charles coronavirus diagnosis. Despite their ups and downs, hearing that his dad is sick with a potentially life-threatening illness is a huge wake-up call, a source told Us Weekly. And hes overwhelmed with feelings of guilt for not being closer to home while this is all going on. Prince Harry got the news of his fathers diagnosis over the phone and it was understandably difficult to deal with given his distance from the royal family. During the heart-wrenching call, he confessed to feeling beyond helpless, being over 5,000 miles away in L.A., the insider shared. Charles tried to calm Harry down by saying hes OK and that hes only suffering from mild symptoms, which slightly helped put his mind at ease but hes [Harry] still worried. Harrys admitted its hit home that Charles and the queen arent going to be around forever. Will Prince Harrys guilt impact his marriage? Prince Harry and Meghan are definitely entering a new chapter of their lives out of the spotlight and away from the only life Harry has ever known, so it will be an adjustment. Being so far from his family during a global pandemic certainly adds another level of stress that they never could have anticipated when they first announced their exit plan back in January. Time will tell if the current crisis and Harrys distance from home will put any strain on their relationship, but one royal expert believes that their marriage may face stresses and strains. In a column for The Sunday Times British columnist Camilla Long shared how she believes that the Sussexes exit decision might negatively impact their relationship. After an attack on Meghan for the way she snubbed the queen and country, Long explained, But the main thing I felt, as the palace fired back that the Queen was disappointed, as a sense of sad foreboding: we arent watching the end of the royal family, or the end of Britain but yet another series of awful stresses and strains that could now spell the beginning of the end of the marriage. Long added, Even if you arent a damaged and delicate person like Harry, few people would be able to cope with the sudden estrangement of their entire family and transfer to the alien landscape of what Meghan describes as Canada and I call Los Angeles. A 10-year-old boy has been left fighting for his life after being hit by a minibus on a major highway while riding his bicycle. The child suffered serious head injuries after being struck by the bus travelling at approximately 50km/h about 4.30pm on the Central Coast Highway in Gosford, north of Sydney on Thursday afternoon. He was treated at the scene of the collision near Riou Street by New South Wales Ambulance paramedics and airlifted to Sydney's Westmead Children's Hospital. A 10-year-old boy is fighting for his life after being hit by a bus on a busy highway on New South Wales' Central Coast Pictured: The scene of the collision. The child suffered serious head injuries after being struck about 4.30pm Police in high-vis jackets stand at the scene of the collision on Thursday afternoon The boy was treated by six ambulance crews and a team with the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Six NSW Ambulance road crews and a team with the Westpac Rescue Helicopter - which landed in a park bordering the highway - treated the young boy. The driver of the minibus has been taken to Gosford Hospital undergo mandatory blood and urine testing, a NSW Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. A crime scene has been established and a police investigation into the collision is underway. More to come Its an amazing day when you can bring some of Michigans Best food to deserving people, with the help of incredible sponsors in order to help feed the front lines. Thats exactly what happened today, with 11 sponsors working alongside close to 20 locally-owned restaurants to deliver hand-crafted food to some of our most deserving health care workers during this time. It was such a great feeling to take lunches to the hospital today, and be a part of such a wonderful event, Jacquie Larner from Mussell Beach Drive-In said. Her family-owned business - and a frequent participant in our Michigans Best searches - took lunch to the staff at McLaren Hospital in Bay City today. On Wednesday May 6, in honor of National Nurses Day, MLive partnered with Michigan businesses from across the state to provide meals to over 2,000 health care workers who have been working the front lines during this difficult time. Weve always understood that our success comes after the community succeeds and we need to contribute any way we can, said Scott Stenstrom, vice president of marketing and communications director at Fifth Third Bank. The bank was one of the 11 sponsors of the Feeding the Frontlines initiative. The idea behind the event took shape over about a week, and then was developed into reality by members of MLive Media Group. This was one of those win-win-win scenarios that we couldnt be more excited about, said Jamie Dionne, senior director of sales at MLive Media Group. Michigans Best and our 11 amazing partners have been looking for ways to pay it forward to the front line healthcare workers in our state, and Michigans Best cares deeply about our local community restaurants. This project married both of those things together in a way that serves our business partners, our community restaurants and our healthcare heroes. The 11 sponsoring partners together contributed enough money to purchase 2,250 meals directly from some of Michigans Best restaurants, from regions all over the state. Our restaurant partners were thrilled to be able to not just help feed essential workers with some of the best food in Michigan, but to also generate some much needed take-out business during these tough times. MiBest is constantly looking to support small and local businesses, especially now in these uncertain times and we are so thankful, said Catie Larner Beffrey from Mussell Beach Drive Inn. We are sending a huge thank you to these sponsors for the generosity theyve shown. To our beloved locally-owned restaurants across the state, hang in there. If you can, consider ordering take-out from your favorite spot, and support these places that are struggling to stay open. Some things seriously take a village, and this project was one of them. Its amazing what you can do when you work together. We are all in this together, even if we are apart. Check out what went down today, all across Michigan. 23 Feeding the Frontlines Kazoopy's owner Scott Strawhun, along with his staff, packed over 250 meals on May 6 2020 as part of MLive's Feeding the Frontlines initiative.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Together, our incredible sponsors have donated enough to purchase 2,250 meals to feed Michigans frontline workers. They include: Zhang Financial Frankenmuth Credit Union Fifth Third Bank Henry A. Fox Sales The University of Michigan Credit Union Gerrits Appliance Muskegon Surgical Associates Chemical Bank - a Division of TCF National Bank North Woods Village of Kalamazoo Stanley Steemer / Stanley Steemer of Detroit Chelsea State Bank Nurses at Spectrum Health's Blodgett campus enjoy lunch on May 6.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Cantoro Italian Market & Trattoria 15550 N Haggerty Rd, Plymouth, Michigan 48170 (734) 420-1100 Cantoro Market was one of our top picks for Michigans Best Italian Restaurant in 2017. This is the market of your dreams, with shelves upon shelves of imported Italian goodies, a fantastic gelato counter loaded with freshly made frozen delights, a cheese department to die for, and a prepared foods area stocked with homemade deliciousness. My notes from our visit say this market is crazy amazing. The very gracious general manager who hosted us, Alex Bazzy, called it a true Italian specialty market, where most everything is imported direct from Italy. The market is open for curbside grocery service at this time. In addition to all of this, they have a world-class, sit-down restaurant and lively bar in the back. And while these are closed to patrons right now, you can still order up authentic Italian dishes to go, Monday through Saturday from 4:30 to 8 p.m. You can see the take-out menu here. They have everything from salads, to pastas, wood fired pizzas, and some incredible entrees, including their standout Saltimbocca ala Romana. Cantoro Market in Plymouth participated in the Feeding the Frontlines on May 6 2020. Thank you to Stanley Steemer for being a generous sponsor. Cantoro Market, together with Stanley Steemer/Stanley Steemer Detroit helped feed the crew at St. Mary Mercy Hospital in Livonia. A message from Cantoro Market: "Thank you to the many healthcare workers, and members who are on the Frontlines everyday to make sure our community has supplies and medical care that we need to get through the impact of the COVID19 outbreak. Cantoro Market & Trattoria would like to join St. Mary Mercy Hospital in thanking those elite workers who are providing essential services during this time. Our sincere gratitude to everyone who is putting themselves out there to ensure that we all stay safe and healthy, and helping our community stay vibrant. " A message from our sponsor, Stanley Steemer/Stanley Steemer Detroit: Stanley Steemer has always believed in supporting the communities we serve. Now more than ever, community support is more important. If we can help lessen the impact of the COVID 19 crisis in the communities we serve, we will. Mac and Cheese was on the menu in Chelsea at St. Joseph Mercy, compliments of Smokehouse 52, and Chelsea State Bank.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Smokehouse 52 125 S Main St, Chelsea, Michigan 48118 (734) 562-2565 We fell in love with Smokehouse 52 on our search for Michigans Best BBQ, and ended up naming them one of our top ten. Smokehouse 52 owner Phil Tolliver knows his way around pork, as he grew up on a pig farm. The only thing I knew was hogwise,he told us during our visit in 2018 that Ive done my share of pig roasts. They take a fresh approach to barbecue here, making classic items and serving them with a twist. All the sauces are homemade, and the sweet sauce gets a fun kick from the root beer reduction in it.The stewed green beans and tomatoes are incredibly simple, and yet so very good. Hush puppies are buttery and tender and light. Potato chips are handmade, and the loaded mashed potatoes are loving referred to as "butter, with a side of potatoes." Tolliver is very particular about his ribs. They need to hang off the plate, be tender but not falling off the bone, and have a great smoke ring. Hes nailing it. Brisket can come both sliced or chopped. We especially loved the brisket in one of the craziest dishes we had, the Main Street Mac and Cheese, a conglomeration of epic proportions. Cavatapi pasta, a rich and complex cheese sauce, and smokey brisket get mixed together. Then a creamy onion dip gets put on top and broiled. It puffs up like a souffle and is pretty dang amazing to eat. We also visited them on our search for Michigans Best Chili, and also named their bowl of red as one of the best in the state. Its so popular that its on the menu year round, and features both brisket and ground beef. We highly recommend you get it loaded which comes topped with crumbled Jiffy cornbread, sharp cheddar cheese, bacon, sour cream and scallions. Its fantastic, like everything else here. Smokehouse also has a location in Saline, which is currently closed. You can still get their great BBQ for curbside pickup at the Chelsea location. The crew at St. Joseph Mercy in Chelsea enjoy lunch on May 6 2020.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Smokehouse 52 was partnered with our sponsor Chelsea State Bank to deliver goodies to the staff at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Chelsea. Smokehouse 52 BBQ is truly honored to partner with Mlive to feed our frontline workers, Tolliver said."Being voted one of the best, means still being one of the best even when times are the worst. So as we navigate this storm together, the best will always find a way to give back, lead the way, and make sure we all come out on the other side together." A quote from John K. Mann, CEO of Chelsea State Bank about participating in Feeding the Frontlines: Reinvesting in our communities has been a priority of Chelsea State Bank for over 120 years. On behalf of our team of essential workers, we are proud and honored to provide hospital staff at St. Joe Mercy Chelsea with food from Smokehouse 52, both valued customers of the bank and so important to our community. The staff at Holiday's Restaurant in Ann Arbor boxed up lunches to deliver on May 6 2020.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Holidays Restaurant 2080 W Stadium Blvd, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103-4558 (734) 668-1292 A long time Ann Arbor favorite, Holidays has been owned and operated by Rob and Jennifer Terbush since 1996. They keep it open 365 days year, sending out plate after plate of homemade goodness. We stopped by during our search for Michigans Best Diner in 2019, and loved not only the incredible variety here, but also the top notch quality of the food here. Their tagline is Where everyday is a holiday seems appropriate, since they are always ready to serve you. There are standard daily specials, soup of day, and a large menu to select from. Terbush told us Were a family restaurant, with lots of twisted and turns on our menu. You can enjoy Holidays for breakfast, lunch or dinner. For breakfast try the West Coast Benedict, a tasty version, with tomato and bacon topped with a light lemony hollandaise and fresh avocado. The corned beef hash is delicious and from scratch, the restaurant makes at least 3 briskets every day for it. Try a fresh salad for lunch, and for dinner, do not miss the freshly roasted turkey dinner, which is super juicy, and comes blanketed in a rich gravy. Whatever your main course, you must save room for Holidays coconut cream pie, which just may be the greatest in Michigan. Freshly made graham cracker crumb crust is a unique base to an extra thick and creamy filling, with just enough coconut to make it interesting. Its the perfect end to a great take-out experience. Holiday's Restaurant in Ann Arbor with the support of sponsor University of Michigan Credit Union made dozens of lunches to deliver on May 6 2020.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Holidays partnered with our friends at the University of Michigan Credit Union to deliver meals to the Med Inn, part of the University of Michigan Health System. Holidays owner Rob Terbush said its Such an honor to be part of Michigans Best and have the opportunity to support the front line. From UMCU: We place a large focus on supporting local businesses in an effort to cultivate a strongly united community. Locally-owned restaurants have been working hard to provide food during this time and this opportunity was a great way we could say thank you for that selfless dedication, said Julie Wigley, UMCU VP of Brand and Community Development. Blackstone's Smokehouse in Flint produced dozens of meals with help from their sponsor the University of Michigan Credit Union and delivered them on May 6 2020.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Blackstones Smokehouse 531 S Saginaw St, Flint, Michigan 48502 (810) 234-9011 Open since 2009, Blackstones changed ownership in August 2019 when Jerrid Heidel took over. Heidel added smoked meats and wood-fired pizzas to the menu, and quickly became a popular spot in downtown Flint. I concentrate on a slightly upscale approach to BBQ, pizza and food, he said. Blackstones hasnt been a part of a Michigans Best search, yet. Our good friend Tony Tucker, owner of one of Michigans Best Diners, Krystal Jos in Flint, highly recommended him. Krystal Jos is currently closed, and Tucker knew that Blackstones could use a boost. The two met through a mutual friend and often help each other out with our respective businesses Heidel said. This has not been an easy time for Blackstones, and yet they are still giving back to the Flint community in incredible ways. Unfortunately when things started shutting down our downtown district really became a ghost town, he said. Although I attempted to offer carry-out options we werent able to generate enough revenue to justify the effort and costs. We were forced to shut down fully. My staff of 27 has been on furlough for about a month and a half now. In order to stay positive and support our community Heidel, along with his head chef Jay, have volunteered time and talent to donate meals to the community. They set a goal of 1,000 meals a week, for four weeks, and completed this task at the end of April. Through some help from Go Fund Me campaign, and lots of their own sweat and money, its a pretty huge accomplishment. In fact, its downright incredible. They are currently taking a break, while Blackstones regroups and figures out the next step. Blackstone's Smokehouse in Flint gave away 4000 meals during the month of April.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Blackstones Smokehouse partnered with the University of Michigan Credit Union to deliver meals to the hard hit staff at Ascension Genesys Hospital in Flint. This order is the first revenue generated we have had in 6 weeks," Blackstones owner Jerrid Heidel said. "So believe me when I tell you it came at a much needed time. Thank you, I appreciate it and Im proud to be a part of it. UMCU shared some thoughts on the project: UMCU is sincerely grateful to all of the frontline workers for their service and bravery. This opportunity was a wonderful way we could give back to the incredible nurses who have been giving so much of themselves to keep our families and community healthy and safe, said Julie Wigley, UMCU VP of Brand and Community Development. In addition to UMCU, Henry A. Fox Sales also partnered with Blackstones to donate meals in Flint. Cory Davis packages meals at Daddy Pete's BBQ in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Daddy Pete's made 60 meals for workers at Mercy Health.Neil Blake | MLive.com Daddy Petes BBQ 2921 Eastern Ave SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49508 (616) 426-8439 Daddy Petes has a very popular food truck in Grand Rapids, as well as a take-out location on Eastern. We got to try their delicious food during our search for Michigans Best BBQ when they dropped off an incredible platter right to our office. Owners Cory and Tarra Davis take great pride in their BBQ, and serving it to West Michigan. Brisket here gets smoked for 16 hours, with a simple rub of fresh ground pepper and kosher salt. Ribs are blessed with a special all-purpose rub that imparts just a hint of sweetness. We love the creativity here, they offer a crazy concoction called the Hot Mess sandwich, which is uniquely served in a funnel cake and is a top seller. It includes smoked baked beans, a layer of six-cheese mac and cheese, pulled pork and coleslaw. Wow. Meals are packaged at Daddy Pete's BBQ in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Daddy Pete's made 60 meals for workers at Mercy Health for Feeding the Frontlines.Neil Blake | MLive.com Daddy Petes BBQ partnered with our sponsor Gerrits Appliance to deliver meals to Mercy Health St. Marys downtown campus. Check out all the photos from Daddy Petes BBQ delivery today. Curt Geers from Gerrits reflected on their involvement. Supporting Local is a big deal to us, for over 70 years, we have been supported by our local community, Geers said. We all need to band together to support those who support us, both in good times and when things are difficult we need to encourage each other. The Beltline Bar provided lunch for dozens and dozens of health care workers in Grand Rapids on May 6 2020. Beltline Bar 16 28th Street Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49548 (616) 245-0494 Beltline Bar was on our search for Michigans Best Mexican Restaurant, and we named them best wet burrito. Heres what Gonzo said about our visit: The Beltline Bar is the birthplace of the wet burrito, selling more than five million of them since the late 60s. Owner Jeff Lobdell said the recipe of that special sauce has been a constant over the years. He goes into the a special spice room every few weeks to blend it himself. He also takes time to make sure they are sourcing the beef locally, and the Colby cheese comes in 40-pound blocks where it is hand-grated every day. The Famous Wet Burrito is the best wet burrito we sampled on this trip. Its not authentic Mexican, but its authentic Beltline, and thats fine with us. In addition, the Beltline Bar offers a good mix of tequilas and flights, margaritas, fajitas, tasty salsas and the Old Mission Burrito, which is stuffed with marinated steak and topped with white queso and pico de gallo. Yes, its just as good as the Famous one. Beltline Bar was paired with Chemical Bank to deliver to Spectrum Healths Helen De Vos Childrens Hospital in Grand Rapids. The doctors, nurses, technicians, and social workers at Spectrum Health are the real heroes through this pandemic, said Chemical Bank Regional President Krista Flynn. My first-hand experience is that these people genuinely care about each patient and their family, and put themselves at risk every day so the rest of us can get through this safely. The least we can do in appreciation is to feed them so they have one less thing to worry about. And we are proud to support our local restaurants in that effort! Petes Grill & Tavern 2588 84th Street Southwest, Byron Center, Michigan 49315 (616) 878-9582 Petes Grill & Tavern is a sister restaurant to the Beltline Bar, having been brought into the Restaurant Partners family a few years ago. They are known for being your down to earth local bar and grill, and have a diverse menu with a little something for everyone. They are currently open for curbside carry out, with limited hours. Petes brought meals to the staff at Mercy Health St. Marys Emergency Department Southwest in Byron Center with the help of our sponsor Gerrits Appliance. Cedar Springs Brewing Company delivers meals to Metron Nursing Home in Cedar Springs on May 6 2020.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Cedar Springs Brewing Company 95 N Main, Cedar Springs, Michigan 49319 (616) 696-2337 Cedar Springs Brewing Company has been on our radar for a few different searches, including best french fries, and best fried chicken. We named them one of the best new breweries in Michigan in 2016, and are always happy to head back here for excellent food, and even better hospitality. On November 13, 2015, a day that will live in infamy, owner David Ringler opened the doors to Cedar Springs. Ringler learned to brew in Germany, and his love for the country, their traditions and their traditional beers is infectious. There are two sides to CSB, the German and the American, and this includes both the beer and the food. We are big fans of the beers, of course, but also the authentic German food here like schnitzel and sauerbraten. Do not miss the stand out chili cheese fries here, we think they are some of the best in the state. Known as Sloppy Fries, they feature Sloppy Shaun Sauce on them, which is a house made sloppy joe style meat sauce. Its got great flavor, complex, and interesting. Creamy cheese sauce, made from classic Velveeta flows all over, and the very welcome note of freshness comes from a few thinly sliced jalapenos. These are the perfect compliment to a couple of Cedar Springs excellent beers. CSBC is currently open for curbside take-out of both food and beer, theyve actually been canning some offerings for the first time. The staff at Cedar Springs Brewing Company prepares lunch on May 6.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Thank you for allowing us to participate, Ringler said. One of the things that makes Michigans Best so wonderful is the connection with communities that is created state-wide. This is an opportunity for us to experience special places around our state that make each place home...and a great travel guide when anyone is looking to check the pulse of the Mitten. Were blessed to be a part of Michigans Best and were honored to have been friends long before. Cedar Springs Brewing Company paired with sponsor Henry A. Fox Sales to deliver lunch to the staff at the hard hit Metron Nursing Home in Cedar Springs. We hope it brought a little light to them. "The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting Michiganders from all across our state and we are proud to step up and help during this public health crisis, said Brien Fox, president at Henry A. Fox Sales. "We have deep roots in our community and a longstanding commitment to giving back through investment, employment and charitable giving and were honored to do our part to help those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Chef Jenna Arcidiacono from Amore Trattoria Italiana in Grand Rapids prepares lunch on May 6 2020.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Amore Trattoria Italiana 5080 Alpine Ave. NW Comstock Park, Michigan 49321 (616) 785-5344 Amore was one of our top picks for Michigans Best Italian Restaurant in 2018, and they remain a top restaurant in West Michigan, not just because of the authentic Italian dishes they create, but also because of the singular force of nature that owner/chef Jenna Arcidiacono is. She owns the popular spot with her husband, Maurizio. We recently wrote about her efforts to make a difference in West Michigan, and her hard work hasnt gone unnoticed. She was recently awarded $10,000 from Mike Rowes online show Returning the Favor: Covid Edition. Amore is still open for take-out from 4-7 p.m. every day. They have switched up their offerings a bit, focusing on lasagna by the pan or slice, sauces by the quart, pizza kits and more. They also are offering daily specials that you might not normally find here, like nachos on Thursdays. You never know what youll find when you pull up for your pick-up. Amore is all about surprising you with a little something extra, whether its flowers, a cupcake, or Chef Jenna delivering your meal on roller skates and wearing a sweeping super hero cape. I understand that we are all going through this, its a scary time. But it costs nothing at all to be kind to each other," she said. Well said, chef, well said. Nurses at Spectrum Health's Blodgett Hospital enjoyed lunch from Amore Trattoria on May 6 2020.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. One of the lunch offerings from Amore Trattoria Italiana that was delivered on May 6 as part of MLive's Feeding the Frontlines initiative.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Amore Trattoria worked with our sponsor Fifth Third Bank to deliver lunch to the hard working staff at Spectrum Health Blodgett Hospital in Grand Rapids. "Feeding our frontlines was a great idea because it supports our focus on strengthening families and building a strong community, " Scott Stenstrom, VP / Marketing and Communications Director at Fifth Third Bank said. Right now healthcare workers are working tirelessly to make sure we stay healthy. This is a small gesture of gratitude and appreciation for them and its also a great way to give business to our local restaurants. Our history in West MI dates back to 1853 with Old Kent Bank, so weve been here a long time, Stenstrom said. Weve always understood that our success comes after the community succeeds and we need to contribute any way we can. Supporting the West Michigan community can come in a variety of ways but right now supporting nurses, especially on their day, is hopefully helping them get through this crisis. Thats what West Michigan does. Fifth Third also sponsored meals from The Beltline Bar that were delivered to Spectrum Health Butterworth campus in Grand Rapids. Subs are lined up and ready to go at Kazoopy's in Kalamazoo on May 6 2020.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Kazoopys Pizza and Grinders 8441 W. Main St., Kalamazoo (269) 375-0120 One of our top ten picks for Michigans Best Sub, Kazoopys is a popular spot in the Kalamazoo community. You can pick from 40 different grinders at Kazoopys, and they come in three sizes, 4, 8 or 16 inch. These are all baked sandwiches, and they stressed that hot is the only way to get them, as the bread is designed to run through the oven again. That bread is first rate, baked fresh every few hours. Current owner Scott Strawhun credits Kazoopys success with original owner Mark Rogers vision, legacy and recipes. The freshness at Kazoopys really shines through, and the quality of the ingredients is apparent. Theyve got some creative flavors available if you like, or you can go classic with the #20 Italian, or the #30 Turkey Club. A standout for us during our visit in 2017 was the Carribean Chicken, which had a sweet heat that we just couldnt get enough of. And be sure to get something with their signature Kazoopy sauce, a mayo blend that is addictive. Michigans Best has been awesome for Kazoopys, Strawhun said. We have so many new friends and customers because of the attention MI Best has brought to our little part of the world. The staff at Kazoopy's packed up a lot of lunches to share in the Kalamazoo community with the help of their sponsor, Zhang Financial.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Kazoopys worked with locally owned Zhang Financial to bring meals to the hard working staff at Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital. Thank you so very much for including us in Feeding the Frontline with Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital, Strawhun said. Our team had a great time pitching in and putting the order together. Kalamazoo is such an awesome community and we are so proud to be a part of it. Zhang Financial owners Charles and Lynn Zhang shared their thoughts on the project. We at Zhang Financial are incredibly thankful for the work of nurses, doctors, and other health care workers during this difficult time," they said. "We are living through a historical moment filled withamong many other thingsa pervasive sense of fear and uncertainty. It is important to support the individuals who are risking a great deal to save lives each and every day. The work of these heroes allows us to feel safe in our community. Mi Pueblo in Kalamazoo delivered lunches on May 6 as part of the Feeding the Frontlines initiative.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Mi Pueblo Mexican Restaurant 3420 Gull Road, Kalamazoo, MI 49048 269-349-2469 A hidden gem in a strip mall in Kalamazoo, Mi Pueblo was one of our top picks on our search for Michigans Best Mexican Restaurant. Original owner Carmen Vargas, still comes in often to greet customers and help out her sons and current owners Javier and Cesar Vargas. Javier calls her a movie star. The kids love her, he said. Shes always talking to customers. Its not uncommon for someone to stop in, not for food, he said, they just might need a hug. And while there arent a lot of hugs available right now, you can still get their amazing Mexican food to-go. They are known for their tacos, which are great, but we are even bigger fans of their Caldo de Res, a rich, deeply flavored Mexican beef soup perfect to take the chill off. Mi Pueblo was also sponsored by our friends at Zhang Financial, and delivered to Ascension Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo. One Well Brewing in Kalamazoo delivered dozens of meals to Bronson Hospital thanks to help from their sponsor Zhang Financial.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. One Well Brewing 4213 Portage St Kalamazoo, Michigan 49001 (269) 459-9240 One of our top ten picks for best new brewery in 2016, One Well Brewing is a true gathering spot in Kalamazoo, welcoming students, professionals, and families into their super fun spot to enjoy not just great beer, but delicious food (and plenty of vegetarian and vegan options to boot). Since we have always been the local spot for the community to gather to share ideas, art, culture, and a beer, things have been a little weird for us lately, said One Well owner Chris ONeill (aka The Wizard). Being able to continue to support our community has been a great boost for us to get back closer to normal. We cant wait to see everyone soon! You can still stop by to grab beers, or food to-go. One Well has revamped some of their offerings, making up some family style meals for you to enjoy. Weve got our eye on The Cure a house made mac & cheese made with One Wells spicy Xalapa beer cheese and smoked cheddar, mixed with roasted red peppers, onion, and roasted garlic and sprinkled with toasted bread crumbs. You can get an individual portion or order as a dinner for 4, which comes with beer, rolls and brownies. One Well Brewing was supported with the help of the very generous Zhang Financial. They delivered lunch to the crew at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo. That Guys BBQ in Bay City delivered some delicious BBQ to the folks at McLaren Hospital.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. That Guys BBQ 401 Center Ave suite 100, Bay City, Michigan (989) 482-1946 We recently caught up with our buddy Greg Buzzard, owner of That Guys BBQ, to see what he was up to right now. We werent surprised to hear that hes been organizing meals for the front lines from day one, and so far has raised $7000, and has served up 700 meals to the hard working medical workers in the Bay region. Im just a chubby guy who likes to cook," he told us in a recent Michigans Best Podcast. Im blessed. That Guys is a regular stop for Michigans Best when we are in Bay City, weve stopped for both Michigans Best BBQ, Wings and Michigans Best Chili. We also usually just stop in to say hi whenever we are close by. Located inside the Bay City Market, its a fun and lively stop in a super cool asset to the community. You name it, were dropping off food, he said in our Podcast. There are a lot of people struggling. And there are a lot of heroes out there who have to work, and theyre keeping us safe. We felt the need. If this thing was going to take us out of business, we were going to bless as may people on the way out as the people that blessed us coming in. Its our way of giving back, Buzzard said. That Guys BBQ, with the support of Frankenmuth Credit Union, delivered lunch today to McLaren in Bay City.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. That Guys BBQ was sponsored by Frankenmuth Credit Union, which has been contributing to the Bay area community in a variety of ways since the pandemic started. For purpose, not for profit, that is the motto Frankenmuth Credit Union believes in," they said via an email. "Recently, Frankenmuth Credit Union visited the 20 communities we serve and thanked some of the nearly 1,500 front line essential workers such as grocery staff, health care workers and first responders in a variety of businesses. Frankenmuth Credit Union purchased from local businesses, and gave back to local workers to provide something to brighten their day for those on the front lines during Covid-19. Frankenmuth Credit Union is also a part of Impact Saginaw, which is a group of twelve credit unions with offices in the Saginaw area, that committed $23,000 to purchase meals from local restaurants to be given to hungry children in need in the City of Saginaw. Frankenmuth Credit Union supports our communities and the people that live there, because its the right thing to do. Bay City Bill's grilled up some serious chicken on May 6 2020 to help feed health care workers at McLaren hospital in Bay City. Frankenmuth Credit Union helped sponsor the meals.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Bay City Bills 1215 Michigan Ave, Bay City, Michigan 48708 (989) 894-4140 We recently visited Bay City Bills on our search for Michigan's Best Chili, and they were nominated for best burger as well. We've been longtime fans of Bay City Bill's, having first visited them during our search for Michigan's Best Bloody Mary in 2016. We loved how this Bay City spot was so welcoming, while offering up classic bar food and one heck of a drink. Recently, the bar underwent an ownership change, along with some pretty significant upgrades. New owners (and recently engaged) Earl Bovia and Michelle Cooper have been working incredibly hard to get the bar up to their high standards. New paint, new windows, an adjusted kitchen, a new floor and some additions to the menu are all welcome changes here. Anything that we can do fresh, we do, said Bovia. That chili is Bovias creation, and features some of his smoked pulled pork. Its a thick stew, with lots of tomatoes, celery, green peppers and onions, and with lots of smoky flavor from the tender pork. While Bay City Bills is almost like Bay Citys living room during normal times, right now theyve transitioned to doing take-out. They are currently open from 11-10 PM daily. Delivery is available from 11-2pm and 5-8pm. Members of the clean plate club at McLaren Hospital on May 6 2020.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Bay City Bills was supported by the generous sponsorship of Frankenmuth Credit Union. Thank you! The Larner ladies of Mussell Beach Drive-In in Bay City. On the left, Liz Larner, matriarch Jacquie Larner in the middle, and Catie Larner Beffrey on the right. They served up a delicious lunch to the staff at McLaren Hospital thanks to the generosity of Frankenmuth Credit Union.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Mussel Beach Drive-In 3540 State Park Dr, Bay City, Michigan 48706 (989) 686-0575 One of our favorite Michigans Best stops of all time, Mussell Beach Drive-In is currently open for take-out during their regular hours. Michigans Best has visited Mussell Beach many times, and have named them some of the best for coney dogs, breakfast, and french fries. They take their simple, classic food seriously here. Everything is homemade and fresh. A true Michigan classic, Mussel Beach Drive In is located right outside Bay City State Park. During our Michigans Best Day in Bay City, we had to stop by for an ice cream, because they have the most amazing selection. Others agree, this past weekend when spring was finally shining in Michigan, they completely sold out. Everybody needs something sweet right now, and thankfully, Mussell Beach is ready to deliver. Its your money and its your mouth, so things better be good, owner Jacquie Larner has told us in the past. No worries here, everything is delicious. Mussell Beach delivered their lunches to McLaren Hospital in Bay City, thanks to Frankenmuth Credit Union.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Mussel Beach Drive-In was partnered with Frankenmuth Credit Union, and their generous sponsorship. We are so proud to be involved in the Feeding Our Front Line the Michigans Best way, said Mussel Beachs Catie Larner Beffrey. Providing a lunch for Nurses Day is the least we could do for our nurses who continue to work day in and day out, even more so during this pandemic. They continue to work selflessly, and have been sacrificing so much. We hope to have put a smile on their face! Thank you also to MiBest for ALWAYS including us and organizing such an awesome event. MiBest is constantly looking to support small and local businesses, especially now in these uncertain times and we are so thankful. The crew at Hamburger Mikey's is back in business, and ready to serve you what may be Michigan's Best Burger for take-out.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Hamburger Mikey 1129 3rd Street, Muskegon, Michigan 49441 (231) 720-4522 Our first visit to Hamburger Mikeys was on our search for Michigans Best french fries, and we ended up naming them one of our top ten picks. Heres what we had to say back then: "Its a freezer free kitchen at Hamburger Mikey in Muskegon, a sweet little place offering an incredibly simple menu of burger and fries. Managing partner Tim Taylor wanted to have a menu that was easy to handle, since he was going to be making everything in house. Huge, incredible burgers are hand-pattied from fresh local meat and fresh potatoes are cut on site every day, all day." This hasnt changed in the 3 years since our visit, or since Hamburger Mikeys opened in 2016. We recently visited them during our search for Michigans Best Burger, right before we got pulled off the road due to the pandemic. The focus here, and what makes these burgers good, is the concentration on high quality ingredients, making everything from scratch, and a high level of creativity. In addition to those hand cut fries, they patty fresh meat every day for the burgers. Sauces are made in house, and any special toppings like cole slaw or corned beef are also homemade. Come anytime to Hamburger Mikeys for the wonderful welcome, a super simple burger and some of the best fries in the state, or plan a special visit around one of their burgers of the month. Either way, they are worth a trip to Muskegon, and right now they are back open for take-out. Working that flat top at Hamburger Mikey in Muskegon on May 6 2020.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Hamburger Mikey had shut down completely after the pandemic started, but reopened on April 28 for take-out. They started serving health care workers the week before they opened back up. We were excited to feed the front lines, Matt Acker from Hamburger Mikey said. The nurses have one of the toughest jobs of all right now dealing with Covid-19 possible infections. Hamburger Mikey partnered with our generous sponsor Henry A. Fox Sales to bring an incredible lunch to the staff at an incredible lunch to the staff at Mercy Health Muskegon, Mercy Campus. Thank you to MLive and Michigans Best for connecting winning local restaurants across the state with local supporters to help feed health care colleagues during the COVID-19 pandemic," said Claudine Weber, Chief Philanthropy Officer. At Mercy Health Muskegon, this campaign provided our frontlines with a delicious gift of 175 meals from Muskegon restaurant Hamburger Mikey. We thank everyone at Muskegon Surgical Associates and Henry A. Fox Sales for underwriting the cost and for Feeding the Frontlines at Mercy Health Muskegon. They were also supported by Muskegon Surgical Associates, who were one of the first to sign on to Feeding the Frontlines. At Muskegon Surgical Associates, we are not only committed to our patients and staff, we are committed to our community, said Karly Kelley, the Marketing and Business Development Manager for Muskegon Surgical Associates said. "Muskegon Surgical Associates has been serving West Michigan for nearly 50 years and this is our home. We are proud to help support this day and all of the medical professionals on the front lines day in and day out. Now, more than ever, it is time for us to come together and support one another. Boardwalk Subs owner Chris Tallarico works to fill the order for Feeding the Frontlines at his sub shop in Kentwood on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Boardwalk Subs made 155 meals for workers at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital. Boardwalk Subs 4154 Lake Michigan Dr NW, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49534-4527 (616) 453-7275 Boardwalk Subs has four sub shop locations in and around Grand Rapids, plus a fifth inside the downtown YMCA. That one is currently closed, but you can get take-out for the other locations. Lucky you, because these are some of Michigans Best. Owner Chris Tallarico is a true people person, who knows that this business is all about the customers. He opened his first store in Lansing in 2003, and in 2013 won the coveted Celebrated Service Award for Grand Rapids. We loved his enthusiasm. Youll love how he says Do you trust me? to get customers to try something wonderful and new. These are classic Jersey-style subs, coming in at a massive 15 inches, and featuring locally baked bread, sliced-to-order meats, and house-made dressings. Boardwalk will make your sub cold unless you ask to go rogue. And you want to ask. Tallarico told us "once you go rogue you wont go back. He will flip your bread inside out, brush it with oil, add a yummy seasoning blend and stick the whole thing on the panini grill. The sub gets crusty, and caramelized, and utterly delicious. This is NOT on the menu, so you can thank me later for telling you. The subs are honestly great either way. Dont miss the prostitini, a pepper ham baked in-house. Tallarico has been kicking it since the pandemic started, creating his own initiative called the Thank You Project. You can choose a meal package, purchase it, and Boardwalk will get it to frontline workers. There are four packages to choose from, or you can just donate a random amount, and Boardwalk will build a sponsorship. How cool is that? Boardwalk Subs in Grand Rapids has a special program right now called "Thank You Project". Boardwalk Subs was generously supported by Henry A. Fox Sales. Together, they delivered over 150 lunches to Mary Free Bed Hospital in Grand Rapids. Awesome work! Paw Paw Brewing provided meals for frontline workers on May 6 2020. Paw Paw Brewing Company 780 S. Gremps St, Paw Paw, Michigan 49079 (269) 415-0145 Paw Paw Brewing hasnt been featured on a Michigans Best search yet, but they are a great spot nonetheless. We love stopping by for beers and great food. They are still open for carry-out daily from 11-7pm, you can check out the current situation here. Paw Paw Brewing partnered with North Woods Village to bring food to the frontlines on May 6 2020.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. We are so appreciative of our sponsor, North Woods Village in Kalamazoo. According to their website, North Woods Village is a memory care assisted living communities designed and developed solely to meet the very special needs of those with Alzheimers disease, dementia or other memory impairments, and to provide them with the dignity, lifestyle and support they deserve. North Woods Village is not just for those with memory challenges, but for their families as well, providing education, information and most importantly, peace of mind. We believe this is memory care as it should be. We invite you to visit and discover the difference we can make in your lives. Nurses put their lives on the line every day," Debra Murrey, the Executive Director at North Woods Village of Kalamazoo said. "Their unfailing commitment to the patients who count on them and the care that they provide is nothing short of inspirational. North Woods Village of Kalamazoo thanks you for your service and this was simply our way of showing our gratitude and appreciation for all that you do. May 6 2020 was National Nurses Day and we were happy to help celebrate with professionals across Michigan.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Stories that highlight how our communities are Powering Positivity are being done in partnership with The MediLodge Group, which has skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities throughout Michigan. READ MORE Want more stories about great things happening in Michigan right now? So do we. Michigan comes together to support hospitality workers during week long event. Fredi the Pizzaman continues to support autism through pandemic. That Guys BBQ brings meals, hope to Bay City. Pink-haired dynamo chef makes a difference in West Michigan. See a full list of great helper stories here. A coronavirus outbreak at the National Frozen Foods plant in Albany has resulted in 34 COVID-19 cases 30 workers and four family or household members Linn County Public Health disclosed in a news release on Wednesday afternoon. Production at the facility was expected to resume within the next 24 hours, the news release states. The data on the number of cases at National Frozen Foods in Albany and other information was shared voluntarily by the company, according to the news release. Production has been voluntarily shut down at the plant since April 23, after eight employees and two family members tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. More employees developed symptoms, and the caseload increased. On Friday, National Frozen Foods tested 191 employees even though they were asymptomatic. An additional 10 employees tested positive for COVID-19, according to the news release. National Frozen Foods has been working with Linn County Public Health and the Oregon Health Authority to respond to the outbreak. This included the temporary closure, COVID-19 testing for employees and developing a screening questionnaire to be completed by plant employees upon returning to work, the news release states. The questionnaire includes several questions regarding symptoms related to COVID-19. Additionally, National Frozen Foods ordered additional personal protective equipment for employee safety, completed a walk-through of the plant with Linn County Environmental Health inspectors and partnered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ensure safe food processing, according to the news release. The Albany plant employs more than 300 people. Linn County Public Health will conduct contact tracing on all cases in Linn County. Last week, a county official declined to release additional information on the outbreak or reveal whether the plant was open, citing state guidelines. On Monday, a spokesman with the OHA said that state law prevented Oregon from releasing information about the outbreak or other outbreaks due to privacy concerns, as individuals with COVID-19 could be identified. Kyle Odegard can be contacted at 541-812-6077 or kyle.odegard@lee.net. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Don't call it a rescue, call it a 'relaunch' Italy announced plans Thursday to inject at least three billion euros ($3.2 billion) into Alitalia to help save the former flag carrier from collapse in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Economic Development Minister Stefano Patuanelli told the Senate the money was aimed at turning the struggling company into the national airline it had been throughout much of its 74-year history. "This is not another rescue," Italian media quoted Patuanelli as saying. "This is the company's relaunch." Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's government announced plans in March to renationalise Alitalia as part of a broader economic rescue for package. It had then earmarked 500 million euros in support for the entire aviation sector. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and looked doomed in January when it failed to secure rescues from either the Italian state railway or Germany's Lufthansa. Alitalia's management had asked government administrators in March to allow it furlough 4,000 of its 11,000 employees until more passengers feel safe enough to fly. The carrier's main trade union announced an agreement Thursday to suspend about 6,600 employees for seven months. Patuanelli said government administrators intended to keep Alitalia's current fleet. "There is no downsizing at the company," the minister said. Explore further Italy takes over Alitalia in response to virus 2020 AFP Global Miticides Market was valued at US$1.10 Bn in 2017, global market size forecasted to reach US$2.1 Bn by the end of 2026, expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.42% for the forecast period. Global Miticides Market is segmented by foam, by source, by crop Foam, by application, by region. In terms of foam, Global Miticides Market is classified into Powder and Liquid. Biological and chemical are the source segment of the Global Miticides Market. Based on crop type, the market is categorized into Fruits & Vegetables, Cereals & Grains and Oilseeds & Pulses. The major application of Miticides include Foliar Spray and Soil Treatment. Geographically Global Miticides Market is segregated into North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Middle East & Africa. Insects are considered as one of the most diverse species living on earth. Though the majority of insects provides benefits to the environment, there are insects which pose threat to entire countries or regions. Some of the harmful bugs or insects are: Aphids, Spider Mits, Colorado potato beetle, Caterpillars etc. Miticides are one those chemical pesticides that are effective against these kinds of mites posing threat to the plants. Get Sample Copy Of The Report@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/10781 Report For Report Sample with Table of Contents@ By Crop Type, the liquid segment is anticipated to dominate the market during forecast period. Liquids are mostly chosen as they do not cause dust Crop type on spraying, give high effectiveness due to smaller particle size, low packaging volume and do not cause flammability or toxicity. On the basis of source, the chemical segment dominated the miticides market in 2017. The use of chemical miticides for plant and crop protection is constantly growing. On the basis of crop Foam, the fruits & vegetables segment accounted for the largest market share; this can be attributed to growing health-consciousness among consumers and rising incomes, which result in increased consumption of a wide variety of products, particularly fruits & vegetables. Foliar spray is the most widely used mode of application, owing to its ease and high effectiveness and expected to dominate the market for forecast period. The Asia Pacific region is projected to be the fastest-growing market for miticides between 2018 and 2023. The increasing awareness about miticides and continuous technological advancements are factors contributing to the growth of this market. In addition to this, the growing demand for crops and rising cultivation in the countries of Asia Pacific have forced agribusiness companies to expand their supplier and manufacturing base in the region. Request For Report Discount@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/discount/10781 Valent Biosciences, FMC Corporation, DowDuPont, Certis, Nufarm Limited, ADAMA, Syngenta, OHP Inc., Bayer AG, Nihon Nohyaku Co. Ltd., Nissan Chemicals Industry, BASF, Gowan Company LLC, Plat Crop Type Solutions are the key players of the miticides market. Scope of the Global Miticides Market: Global Miticides Market by Foam: Powder Liquid Global Miticides Market by Source: Biological Chemical Global Miticides Market by Crop Foam: Fruits & Vegetables Cereals & Grains Oilseeds & Pulses Global Miticides Market by Application: Foliar Spray Soil Treatment Global Miticides Market by Region: North America Europe Asia-Pacific Middle East & Africa Latin America Key Player Analysed in the Global Miticides Market: Valent Biosciences FMC Corporation DowDuPont Certis Nufarm Limited ADAMA Syngenta OHP Inc. Bayer AG Nihon Nohyaku Co. Ltd. Nissan Chemicals Industry BASF Gowan Company LLC PlatCrop Type Solutions Make an Inquiry before Buying@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/checkout/10781/Single The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike. We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve. [May 07, 2020] Web.com Group Introduces Cyber Security Solution for Small Businesses JACKSONVILLE, Fla., May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Web.com Group , a leading web technology company helping millions of customers around the globe thrive in a connected world, today announced the introduction of a new, end-to-end Cyber Security Solution . The new security solution provides small businesses with comprehensive mobile device protection and 24/7 access to security experts to safeguard their businesses against the threat of cyberattacks, which carry an average cost of more than $2.65 million for small businesses. The all-new Cyber Security Solution is now available to Network Solutions customers and is also coming soon for Web.com customers. Launched in partnership with SKOUT Cybersecurity and Lookout , the new security offering brings together the on-demand technical expertise of SKOUTs 24/7 Cyber Security Operations Center with Lookout, the leader in mobile security which continuously monitors the security and health of mobile devices. The result is a comprehensive solution that combines both offense and defense to provide small businesses with total mobile security including identity protection and theft prevention. Theft of digital information has now surpassed physical theft. Yet, when cybersecurity incidents occur, small businesses typically dont know who to call or where to get answers, said Sharon Rowlands, CEO and president of Web.com Group. By joining forces with SKOUT and Lookout, our Cyber Security Solution provides small businesses with a proactive approach to protecting their mobile platforms, while also offering 24/7 access to very best security expertsall in a single, end-to-end solution. Cloud services have increased small and medium business productivity by enabling employees to work anywhere on their mobile devices, said Marc Jaffan, vice president of business development at Lookout. As a result, we are excited to be part of the solution offered by Web.com Group to secure mobile devices accessing business and customer data outside their security perimeter. The new Cyber Security Solution effectively serves as the customers IT security team, for a fraction of the cost. This is crucial because hackers are targeting small and mid-sized businesses. Yet, unlike larger enteprises, most small businesses cannot afford to hire full-time cybersecurity experts. As a result, when small businesses experience a data breach or identity theft emergency, there is nowhere to turnthere is no cybersecurity 9-1-1 for them to call. Weve been focusing on protecting small businesses since day one. Every company should have access to technology and talent to protect itself from cybercrime, said Aidan Kehoe, Founder and CEO of SKOUT. Weve seen a huge uptick in incidents in the last few weeks and that can be devastating for SMBs, potentially lasting years and crippling the business. Were thrilled to partner with Web.com Group to provide the 24/7 security resources and infrastructure these businesses need to thrive. Web.com Groups Cyber Security Solution gives small businesses the power to react quickly to cyber risks, ultimately protecting their valuable data, securing the business, and potentially saving millions of dollars. Key features include: Cyber Security Operations Center : Get access to a 24/7 Cyber Security Operations Center staffed with trained security professionals capable of guiding small businesses through steps to remediate, prevent or investigate any security breaches or issues they may encounter. : Get access to a 24/7 Cyber Security Operations Center staffed with trained security professionals capable of guiding small businesses through steps to remediate, prevent or investigate any security breaches or issues they may encounter. Mobile App Security & Scanning : Secure smartphones and other mobile devices against mobile threats like malware, adware, and phishing, before they do harm. : Secure smartphones and other mobile devices against mobile threats like malware, adware, and phishing, before they do harm. Lost Device Location Services & Theft Protection : Get the easiest tools to find a lost or stolen phone, including email alerts with a photo and map if a thief tries to steal it. : Get the easiest tools to find a lost or stolen phone, including email alerts with a photo and map if a thief tries to steal it. Privacy Advisor: Instantly see which apps potentially have access to data or hardware on your devices. Instantly see which apps potentially have access to data or hardware on your devices. Breach Reports: Identify breaches of any services connected to the apps you have installed and get timely alerts on corporate breaches that may affect you, as well as advice on simple steps to protect your personal information. Identify breaches of any services connected to the apps you have installed and get timely alerts on corporate breaches that may affect you, as well as advice on simple steps to protect your personal information. Safe Mobile Wi-Fi : Scan your current Wi-Fi network to establish whether anything on it poses a threat. : Scan your current Wi-Fi network to establish whether anything on it poses a threat. Mobile Phishing Protection: Surf the web and click confidently on links from Facebook, email, text messages and more. The all-new Cyber Security Solution is priced at $49.90 per year with monthly pricing available. About SKOUT Cybersecurity SKOUT Cybersecurity is redefining the way Managed Service Providers (MSPs) deliver security to their customers. SKOUT makes cyber-as-a-service easy for MSPs by offering one dashboard, one number to call, and one turnkey partner. SKOUT is trusted by MSPs all over the world to lower the cost and complexity of delivering managed security services. SKOUT believes that all businesses should have access to protection from cybercrime, regardless of size. To learn more visit getskout.com or follow SKOUTs LinkedIn and Facebook Pages. About Lookout Lookout is a cybersecurity company for the post-perimeter, cloud-first, mobile-first world. Powered by the largest dataset of mobile code in existence, the Lookout Security Cloud provides visibility into the entire spectrum of mobile risk. Lookout is trusted by hundreds of millions of individual users, enterprises and government agencies and partners such as AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, Microsoft, Apple and others. Headquartered in San Francisco, Lookout has offices in Amsterdam, Boston, London, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto and Washington, D.C. To learn more, visit www.lookout.com and follow Lookout on its blog , LinkedIn , and Twitter . About Web.com Group Web.com Group is a leading web technology company serving millions of customers around the world. Through our portfolio of brands CrazyDomains, Network Solutions, Register.com, Sitebeat, Vodien and Web.com we help customers of all sizes build an online presence that delivers results. Web has the breadth of capabilities and depth of knowledge to be your go-to partner in todays always-on digital world. With our extensive product offerings and personalized support, we take pride in partnering with our customers to service their online presence needs. Learn more at www.web.com . MEDIA CONTACTS Web.com Group Finn Partners for Web.com Group 415-348-2734 [email protected] SKOUT James Hatzell 631-203-6600 [email protected] Lookout Allison Arvanitis [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Slate's Who Counts? series is made possible by the support of Slate Plus members and readers like you. The video, shot hurriedly on a cellphone, is grainy and short. In it, a little girl peeks her head from behind a door, clutching a Hello Kitty plush toy. She grins widely and makes a nervous sound as she enters the room. She then turns and sees the person shes been waiting for, lets out a giggle, and rushes into the mans arms. This is Rosita, 8, and her father, Salvador. The video was taken at a foster facility in Southern California. This was the first time Rosita had seen her father in the five months since the two were separated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement shortly after crossing the border. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For many Americans, the family separation saga seemed to have quietly passed after June 2018, when the administrations policy of zero tolerance prosecutions that led to widespread border separations was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge. But new separations have steadily continued due to loopholes in the court order that ended the practice, resulting in more than 1,150 immigrant children being separated from their parents after arriving at the border between the end of zero tolerance in June 2018 and this March, when the southern border was closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Advertisement Advertisement Rosita was one of the children separated after the policy nominally ended. She and her father, who requested that their last name be withheld since their claim is still pending, left their home in El Salvador in 2017 in order to seek asylum in the United States. They left Rositas sisterSalvadors stepdaughterwith his family because he feared that U.S. border officials would separate them without DNA proof that they were related. Rositas mother, Salvadors former partner, also had to stay behind. The journey took half a year. Having fled gang violence at home, Salvador spent three months working in a restaurant in Tapachula, Mexico, just on the northern side of the Guatemalan border, saving money to afford bus fare to the American border. The pair arrived in Tecate, California, in March 2019. When their group was approached by Customs and Border Protection agents, they requested asylum. Two days after arriving, Salvador and Rosita were released together and allowed to travel to Los Angeles to stay with a cousin of Salvadors while the case was adjudicated. Advertisement Advertisement But then, within days of getting to L.A., the father and daughter were torn apart. At his first check-in with immigration officials there, Salvador says, the officers confronted him with an accusation that he sexually abused his two daughters. I was stunned and I said, What, no, who? he told me through an interpreter. And the official said, Its appearing here in front of my screen. Salvador had no idea where the claim could have come from, he said. He had recently pulled his record of criminal antecedents in El Salvador, which he needed to apply for work there, and there was nothing on it. (Slate has viewed the record and confirmed this.) All the ICE officials could tell him, he says, was that there was an accusation of abuse. They didnt say from whom. They didnt say what evidence might exist. Even attorneys working directly on Rositas behalf have not been given details of the allegation beyond the claim that one was made. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To be sure, if the government had a credible report of sexual assault or child abuse, separation would be warranted. The ACLU, which sued to end family separation, has itself acknowledged in court that separation is justified in cases of serious crimes, particularly sexual violence against children. Still, the ACLU and other attorneys allege that hundreds of families have been unjustly separated on the basis of flimsy to nonexistent evidence of such criminal history. Salvador and Rositas would appear to be one of these cases. Advertisement Advertisement Attorneys for undocumented immigrant children told me that the lack of information Salvador and Rosita received from the government about the allegations that were used to justify their separation is typical in recent family separation cases. Slate has reviewed a copy of Salvadors latest records from the Salvadorian bureau of prisons and the National Civil Police registration and records unit, dated Oct. 18. According to the documents, he has no record based on a criminal conviction or on account of a criminal offense and he lacks any pending police or judicial process to which he is subject. The Office of Refugee Resettlement did not respond to questions from Slate about Salvador and Rositas case, and ICE did not respond to questions about the process it uses to determine when to separate families and the information it provides to families who want to challenge their separations. Advertisement When Salvador was told he was going to be detained without Rosita, his only request was that ICE not handcuff him in front of his daughter. Salvador and Rosita were split up: He was sent to a detention facility and she ended up in a temporary foster care facility. My daughter was crying when she left, Salvador recalled, beginning to cry himself. We had never been separated before. Advertisement No one would tell Salvador where his daughter was or how to find her again. In January, Judge Dana Sabrawthe district court judge who issued an injunction against family separation in the 2018 case Ms. L v. ICEdenied an ACLU motion to put stricter guidelines on the family separations that have continued under the loopholes in his initial ruling, which allow for continued separations in cases of alleged criminal history, communicable disease, and parental fitness. Advertisement Salvadors only request was that ICE not handcuff him in front of his daughter. As a result, the process and evidence used by government officials to decide whom to separate is a mystery. A Health & Human Services inspector general report released in March said that even HHS finds it difficult to learn information from the Department of Homeland Security about separated parents whose children are in HHS custody. HHS also continues to experience difficulties obtaining information from DHS about parents criminal backgrounds, impeding HHSs ability to provide appropriate care and identify sponsors to whom children can be safely released, the report stated. A DHS inspector general report released in November, meanwhile, revealed that before the practice was halted, DHS had intended to separate 26,000 families in a six-month span with no means of reunifying them. The border has been closed to all asylum-seekers as part of the Trump administrations response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the government was continuously separating families through March while putting little effort into reunifying anyone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Salvador and Rosita were among hundreds of new families to be separated since 2018. The government has already reunited at least 125 of the more than 1,150 separated families under this practice, suggesting a more than 10 percent error rate. The ACLU says the error rate is much higher, with hundreds more wrongfully separated for very old and minor crimes, like vehicle offenses, traffic infractions, drug possession convictions (including marijuana), shoplifting, destruction of small amounts of property, and resisting arrest, or separated for allegations for which there is no evidence or corroboration. Advertisement Advertisement Rosita was luckier than most. She was ultimately released to her fathers custody. As for the accusation against Salvador, multiple attorneys who have worked on family separation cases told me that it was extremely unlikely that an immigration judge would release a migrant on parole if there were any corroboration for a claim of child abuse, and similarly unlikely that the Office of Refugee Resettlementwhich conducts a thorough vetting before releasing children to parents and sponsorswould hand over a child to a parent were such a claim corroborated. According to ORRs guidance documents, if a parent has been investigated for the physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or abandonment of a minor, he or she must provide related court records and police records, as well as governmental social service records or proof of rehabilitation related to the incident in order to retake custody of the child. I am not aware of any case in which ORR released a child to a parent with recent, documented criminal convictions for child sexual abuse, says attorney Catherine Weiss. In the ACLUs family separation litigation, Weiss represents legal service providersorganizations providing legal services to undocumented immigrantswho have been denied information about the separated families they represent. Advertisement Advertisement I myself have never seen them release a child to a parent whom they believed to have criminal history unless that criminal history has been proven untrue, Weiss told me. Ive never seen them do it. So few parents are released for reunification with their children at all in the ongoing separation world, she added. The government initially did little to help newly separated parents find their children post-separation and only in the past eight months began to implement procedures that might help parents keep track of separated children. The public still doesnt know if those new tracking policies are working, though. The ultimate decision to reunify still rests with ORR, but advocacy groups also help assess children in government custody and make recommendations to ORR about a given childs best interests. Advertisement Advertisement Jennifer Nagda, the policy director for the Young Center for Immigrant Childrens Rights, which worked on Rositas case, would not comment on her case because of issues around representing a minor. But, she told me generally, when ORR releases a child to a parent theyve made a determination that its in a childs best interest to be with their parent. Nagda further explained the process by which an organization like hers might help ORR determine parental fitness. These efforts include visiting children in government facilities to build rapport and make determinations about potential abuse, talking to family members and members of the childs previous community, reaching out to consular offices to request information about potential criminal history, speaking with ORR staff, and attempting to get information from ICE about potential allegations. After the Young Center assessed Rositas case, she was released by ORR to Salvador. How families like Salvadors come to be separated in the first place, though, remains a black box. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In almost all of these cases, theres no way to know and then theres no way to track that information down, Nagda told me of the governments separation determinations. Its really hard to undo those decisions without understanding why or how they were made and what evidence was relied upon. The ACLU has fought to pry loose the governments current standards for separation, but information sharing has been minimal. The government only acknowledged in December that it had finally started giving parents tear sheetspieces of paper providing cursory information and an email address for parents who want to challenge separation or request reunification. How families like Salvadors come to be separated in the first place remains a black box. The situation is no better for the attorneys who represent the children. In January, Weiss filed a brief with Sabraws court describing the Kafkaesque experiences of the legal service providers attempting to find out any information about the separated children they represented. Weiss surveyed four child advocates and 63 legal service providers, who reported that in 68 percent of cases federal field specialists in ORR shelters did not provide them any information about a childs separated parent, including their name or Alien Registration Number. In 70 percent of cases, these federal workers did not share the locations of separated parents. In 89 percent of cases, federal workers did not share contact information for separated parents. In 71 percent of cases, federal workers did not share information about the basis for the separations. According to the HHS inspector general, though, the government officials who are responsible for these children often dont even have this information themselves. ORR staff reported that they continue to face challenges in obtaining information from DHS regarding parents of separated children, including complete information about parents criminal histories; further, they reported that in some cases, key identifying information such as the parents name or alien registration number is also omitted, the report noted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In discussing the governments lack of information sharing with me this past December, Weiss repeatedly broke into exasperated laughter. Theres a family that I and others have been working with for weeks whereI kid notin the reasons for separation indicated by the government for this family, the reasons for separation read like this: Father was separated from daughter, Weiss told me. And youre like, Yeah, we got that. Why? Nothing beyond that. Because there is so little being done by the government to reunify newly separated families, its fallen to private citizens to try to help put families back together. The group Immigrant Families Together, which helped reunite Rosita and Salvador, has helped reunify 118 families by posting more than $1 million in bonds raised through crowdfunding campaigns. The organization has also guided dozens of others through the elaborate reunification process. Advertisement I think its outrageous that it takes millions of dollars to reunite [families], Casey Revkin, who helps run Immigrant Families Together, told me. Weve helped reunite cases where the government has even conceded that the family shouldnt have been separated. Weve reunited a dad with his son where theyd performed a DNA test to prove that the dad was the father and they still required a $9,000 bond. Advertisement Advertisement Revkin recently launched a new organization called Every. Last. One., dedicated to helping all migrant families with children in government custody go through the process to have their children released to them. As the inspector general noted in November, family separation did not deter undocumented families from continuing to flee violence in their home countries to seek new lives in the United States. Salvador, for instance, says his family faced the threat of gang violence back home. If you dont pay extortion, they kill you, he said. In spite of the separation, he said his situation in the United States felt less dangerous than the situation his daughter was facing in El Salvador. Advertisement Advertisement Throughout the first three months of Salvadors detention, he had virtually no information about his daughter. He said he wasnt sleeping at the time and that he had to see a doctor because he was racked with stress. I was worried that she was going to go in the foster care system and go with other parents, he told me. He said he even contemplated suicide. Finally, on June 18, 2019, Salvador was granted an immigration hearing. All he could do was try to tell his story without a lawyer, without documents, with nothing. Salvador presented an affidavit that laid out the details of his departure from El Salvador and his familys separation. The judge granted his release and set bail for $10,000. He had no idea how he would get the money. Advertisement Two days after the hearing, he was granted a phone call with his daughter, hearing her voice for the first time in three months. After that phone call, Rosita drew a picture of her and her father smiling together with a heart around their initials. There were stickers of a dog, a cat, and a pig. In Spanish, she wrote in the corner, My first phone call with my papa made me very happy. Advertisement Advertisement But they were still kept apart. Just two weeks after their first phone conversation, a large earthquake struck Los Angeles. Salvador was terrified that Rosita might have been affected. As the weeks passed by, he learned from a legal representative of his daughter that there might be a way to get him out and to reunite them. Thats when Immigrant Families Together, which connected with Rosita and her father through the Young Center, provided the bail money. Advertisement Advertisement Oh, my God, Im going to be with my daughter again, he thought when he learned of the bond. But that was the beginning of the process. The shelter where she was staying was also initially demanding a lengthy reunification process that would include a home visitation. Salvador had to wear an ankle monitor after being bonded out, and he was concerned the radius on the monitor would not allow him to attend a required visit with his daughter. He was able to visit her on Aug. 28, eight days after his release. The first time that we saw each other, we hugged each other, he recalled. After that, things began to move quicker. He had a second visit a week later, and, to his surprise, they told him two days after that they would release her to him. Advertisement Salvador started crying again at this recollection. It was a lot, he said. The legal battles over family separation continue, even as the ACLU has lost its motion for clearer separation and reunification procedures. In his ruling rejecting that request, Sabraw did say that in cases like Salvadors, where an immigration judge has made a determination to release on bond a parent who has been separated from his child, the government should reunify that parent with his or her child in the same way they are reunifying families with resolved communicable diseases or long-term illnesses. However, the judge left it up to the governments good-faith efforts to make sure that happens. It did not happen in the case of Salvador, who was only reunified because Immigrant Families Together intervened. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rosita and Salvador are now living together awaiting adjudication of their asylum cases in the Los Angeles area. Rositas school is closed due to the pandemic, and she is home with him now. Before the crisis, she was learning English, reportedly doing very well in school, and spending time with her father doing things like watching movies and reading togethershe told me her favorite book was Huevos Verdes con Jamon, by Dr. Seuss. She was very happy to be able to reunite with her father, said Rositas previous attorney, Mickey Donovan-Kaloust. She is clearly a wonderful and resilient young woman. I think shes weathered this as well as anyone could. Still, the toll of these separations can manifest later in life, said Amy Cohen, an expert on child psychology and the mental health consultant to Flores Settlement Agreement counsel. (Cohen also serves as the executive director of Every. Last. One.) Advertisement For a lot of these children, their trauma symptoms are delayed, Cohen said. But as time goes on, virtually all that Ive ever spoken with start to demonstrate these symptoms. They start to become phobic, they start to become anxious, they start to become angry. As the Center for Public Integrity and Texas Tribune reported, DHS was alerted precisely of these dangers as far back as 2016. Separation can be acutely frightening for children and can leave children in ad hoc care situations that compromise their safety and well-being, representatives of the American Academy of Pediatrics and civil rights groups warned DHS in a September 2016 report. It can also be traumatizing and extremely stressful for the parent. Salvadors and Rositas ability to stay together in the United States is still far from certain. Their cases have been consolidated, and they now have a new lawyer working for them. They had a case in family court scheduled for April 22 to determine sole parental custody, but that court date has been postponed indefinitely. Their next date in immigration court is scheduled for July 17, but immigration courts have been closed in light of the pandemic. On Monday, Salvadors attorney, Cristel Martinez, was told that the immigration court closures would extend at least through May 29, but she is hopeful that her clients will be able to keep their next hearing date in July. The stakes are high. If Salvadors asylum claim fails, then he and his daughter might have to return to a country where he fears for her safety. Meanwhile, Rosita is saving her change in a piggy bank to send back to her sister in El Salvador. When asked if shes happy to be back with her father, she says simply and with a smile, Si. Mikhaela Cielo, Will Brown Hernandez, and Lili Loofbourow contributed interpretation to the reporting of this piece. FoodForward SA, through its partnership with the Solidarity Fund, successfully delivered 86,500 food parcels to vulnerable households experiencing severe food insecurity across South Africa in the last 10 days. Image supplied Growing beneficiary organisation network Image supplied FoodShare digital platform In the coming weeks, and as part of its normal operations, FoodForward SA will prepare between 150,000 to 250,000 food parcels each month, reaching over one million vulnerable people and initiating large-scale feeding programmes where the need is greatest. Each food parcel, consisting of a variety of non-perishable groceries and fresh produce, provides a family with food essentials for three to four weeks (depending on household size).To date, and after announcing the launch of its R50m appeal to respond to the growing food security crisis resulting from the protracted lockdown, FoodForward SA has received R28m in funds and R40m food support, enabling it to redistribute food to thousands more households in the coming months. The organisation has increased its beneficiary organisation network from 670 to 1,005 and will also shortly be in a position to extend its food support into Limpopo province to provide greater access to vulnerable households there, and collect surplus fresh produce from farmers in that region to increase the nutritional value of the food parcels delivered to at-risk households.Says FoodForward SA managing director Andy Du Plessis, As a member of the Global Foodbanking Network, FoodForward SA remains committed to increasing its impact while ensuring that everything we do is transparent, measurable, and within our governance requirements and standard operating procedures. While we have nearly doubled our beneficiary network, we ensure efficacy and minimise the risk of corruption by verifying that all food parcels reach their intended recipients. Our beneficiary organisations are required to provide proof of recipient food parcel delivery by recording the name, physical address, identity and cell phone numbers of each recipient, which we then verify.Last year, FoodForward SA distributed 5,115 tonnes of food, providing recipients with 20 million meals.Over the years, we have built a resilient and complex supply, storage and redistribution chain, explains Du Plessis. Our cold chain logistics network collects procured, purchased and collected food from our agricultural and retail partners, sorting and redistributing it via our registered and vetted beneficiary network.The organisations FoodShare digital platform also seamlessly connects beneficiary organisations to major retail partners local stores, including Woolworths, Food Lover's Market and Pick n Pay, to direct surplus food to those areas that need it most. This helps our suppliers reduce wastage, and they receive a Section 18a tax certificate for their donation. Plus, there is an environmental benefit. With over a third of all food produced in South Africa being dumped in landfill, every ton of food recovered by FoodForward SA removes four tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere, concludes Du Plessis. Editor, Dundalk Democrat, My name is Brian ONeill and my wife Margaret is in Dealgan House Nursing Home. I wrote a letter months ago to the home thanking them for relieving me of stress and hardship as I was unable to look after Margaret, and now, knowing she is in a good place with love, kindness and nursing. So when I read the front page of the Democrat, I felt I had to reply from my own experiences. Dealgan Nursing Home was always open and honest in their communications by email, phone call, letter, and if I wanted to ask a question that was no problem. On March 6, Dealgan Nursing Home allowed only one visitor per resident. On March 13, no visitors. On March 14, Cheltenham - thousands of Irish travelled - all before Government lockdown. The RCSI team is gradually withdrawing as staff are replenished. That does not mean they are withdrawing their support. They are leaving behind equipment normally used in hospitals. All residents are tested. All the highest of safety measures are performed in the home. From my perspective, I have no fears or concerns about rumours, thank God. My Margaret is in safe hands and being well looked after in these exceptional and trying times, like all in Dundalk nursing homes. Yours, Brian ONeill, Mount Avenue, Dundalk, Co. Louth Women must receive the benefit of the doubt, Bedingfield said. They must be able to come forward and share their stories without fear of retribution or harm and we all have a responsibility to ensure that. At the same time, we can never sacrifice the truth. And the truth is that these allegations are false and that the material that has been presented to back them up, under scrutiny, keeps proving their falsity. By Okafor Ofiebor The Rivers State Police Command says it has arrested five suspected kidnappers who killed three undergraduates of the University of Port Harcourt, UNIPORT and Rivers State University. They were paraded on Wednesday. The arrest of the five-man gang was achieved less 72 hours in which President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the police to fish out the killers to face justice. Briefing journalists at the Police headquarters in Port Harcourt, Commissioner of Police, Joseph Gobum Mukan, said the victims, Nelson Nwafor, Fortune Obemba and Joy Adoki were kidnapped at Choba on the 7th of April, and the matter reported to the Anti-kidnapping unit, who swung into action and arrested the leader of the gang, Bright Iheachi, who made confession that led to the arrest of other gang members. He explained that Nelson Nwafor and Fortune Obemba were actually students of the Rivers State University, RSU, while the late Joy Adoki was a student of Management Science in the University of Port Harcourt, UPTH. Mukan said items recovered from the hoodlums include one AK-47, three magazines and 72 rounds of live ammunition. On his part, the father of late Fortune, Mr. Bright Obemba said the boy was his only son, stating that no amount of money given to him would bring back his child. Leader of the gang, Iheachi said he had a business deal with Nwafor and was betrayed by him, which led him and his gang to kidnap and kill him with the two others, Obemba and Adoki who were in his company as at the time of the incident. Mukan had earlier said, we brought you a report that one of the suspects, Friday Akpan, took operatives of the Anti-kidnapping unit to a forest at Eteo in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, where he identified the decomposing bodies of the undergraduates and narrated how they sexually assaulted the female and killed them all. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday approved abolition of 9,304 posts in the Military Engineering Service as part of a mega reform process aimed at enhancing combat capability of the armed forces and re-balance military expenditure, officials said. There will be no job losses in view of the decision as the posts identified for abolition are lying vacant for last three years, they said. The Military Engineer Services (MES) is a premier construction agency which operates under the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army. It is one of the largest construction agencies in India with a total annual budget of around Rs 13,000 crore. The decision is in sync with recommendations made by a committee headed by Lt Gen DB Shekatkar (retd) to carry out mega reform in the three armed forces. "The proposal to abolish 9,304 posts in MES out of the total 13,157 vacancies of the basic and industrial staff has been approved by the defence minister," a defence ministry spokesperson said. He said the decision is in line with the recommendations made by the Shekatkar Committee as well as based on the proposal of the Engineer-in-Chief of the MES. "One of the recommendations made by the committee was to restructure the civilian workforce in a manner that the work of MES could be partly done by departmentally employed staff and other works could be outsourced," the official said. The recommendation by the high-level committee was aimed at making MES an effective organisation with a leaner workforce, well equipped to handle complex issues in the emerging scenario in an efficient and cost effective manner. In August 2017, the defence ministry approved 65 reform measures for the Indian Army, which included redeployment of nearly 57,000 officers and personnel of other ranks, based on the recommendations of the Shekatkar Committee. The reform measures included optimisation of signal establishments, closure of military farms and army postal wing in peace locations, as well as restructuring of repair echelons, including base workshops. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) ALBANY New York has tested more than 1 million people for COVID-19, sharing detailed data about where the cases originated and who has been infected. But when it comes to antibody testing, the state's latest endeavor to track the spread of the virus, officials have refused to release raw data on the samples collected. They have tested more than 15,000 people for antibodies and reported results in percentages, but the methodology is unclear and comes with so many caveats that some medical experts and local government officials are questioning the utility of the results. The state's lack of transparency and failure to coordinate with local officials on its antibody testing efforts has frustrated community leaders who believe the data, and how its being collected, could help inform their respective counties on the spread of the coronavirus, and also guide how some areas could move forward with a phased reopening of local economies. The state has only reported results to individual counties in a few instances, instead reporting results on a regional basis through Gov. Andrew M. Cuomos daily coronavirus briefings. We dont know how many residents were tested. We dont know all of those results. We know a few, but we dont know all of them, said Rich Crist, Rensselaer County's operations director. Wed certainly like to see the results. One of the things about testing it gets people who need treatment treated. It also helps map the road back to life. The state first announced its antibody testing plan about two weeks ago, when Cuomo said that New York would randomly test 3,000 New Yorkers for antibodies at grocery stores across the state. The effort sought to identify how many individuals had contracted the virus and recovered from it, producing antibodies that may make them immune to the illness. His top aide, Melissa DeRosa, said the testing would begin the next day. But the testing began the same day Cuomo announced it, and patrons at some grocery stores in upstate New York passed by neon-yellow signs announcing NYS DOH antibody screening: Find out if you have been exposed here! Shoppers were tested that Sunday at a supermarket in Schenectady County, where the local government had no idea testing would begin that day or at all and released a statement to the media that evening saying so. In the days since, the state has not communicated the results of the tests to the county, and it has not coordinated testing sites with local officials, said county spokeswoman Erin Roberts. She declined to comment on the consequences of not having access to the data, saying only: Schenectady County appreciates any and all testing opportunities made available to our residents. Erin Silk, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health, said the testing is being performed by the state with notice to local counties. She repeatedly declined to say why the state is declining to release by-county data, referring instead to the governors plan to reopen the economy in regions. She declined to say if there are counties where no one has been tested for antibodies. Fulton County Public Health Director Laurel Headwell said she cannot provide answers to residents looking for details on how to access the tests, which occurred to some extent in the county, though officials do not have the full scope of results. I dont know where they had the testing done or how they were able to get tested, so that information is very limited to us as a county, she said. It just puts you in that hard spot of, What do we do, and what do we tell our people in Fulton County? The latest results, reported on Saturday, indicate that about 12.3 percent of the state population has COVID-19 antibodies. Thats a slight drop from the first two surveys, which had estimated 13.9, and then 14.9, percent, with smaller sample sizes. New York City, the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States, reported the highest positive test results at 19.9 percent of the population. Western New York came in second, with 6 percent of participants testing positive. The Capital District reported a 2.2 percent positive rate. While the state did not provide data to Albany, Schenectady or Rensselaer counties, officials told local health leaders in Saratoga County that it had conducted 346 tests, 27 of which came back positive roughly 7.8 percent, Saratoga County Director of Public Health Catherine Duncan said. The state also reported weighted results for sex, age and race, though officials have refused to provide the number of individuals that have been tested, and their results, for each group. For weeks, Cuomo touted antibody testing as key to reopening the economy and said results could allow some individuals to return to work sooner. More recently, antibody testing has become a backburner item as officials question whether the results tell much more than how the virus has spread in the weeks when diagnostic testing was not yet up to scale. "There was an initial thought that if you had gotten the virus and you had the antibodies that you would be immune to another infection," Cuomo said during a press briefing Wednesday. "I think that's now being questioned." Whether antibodies provide immunity remains unclear to scientists and the World Health Organization has said there has been no conclusive evidence that would indicate a person cannot fall ill with the coronavirus again after contracting and recovering from it. State Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said Wednesday that there are ongoing tests to see whether antibodies do provide immunity, and if so, for how long. It's unclear what role antibody tests which the state continues to ramp up, especially among health care workers now play in Cuomo's reopening strategy. A spokesman for the governor's office said antibody data continues to inform the state's public health response; meanwhile, in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Thursday that the city will test 140,000 people for antibodies in the next month. Experts also caution that testing hasnt been sufficiently clinically validated and could show false positives by detecting antibodies present from exposure to other viruses. Antibody testing in general allows people to see if theyve been in contact with the COVID virus, said Rebecca Kaufman, the director of Broome Countys health department. The caveat to that is, at this point, we are not sure what it means toward their immunity, so even if you test positive we are not positive if that means you are immune. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Broome County was told ahead of time that the state would test about 100 people at two local grocery stores, Kaufman said, but officials have not been notified of the results. In Rensselaer County, Crist said they have similar questions and concerns on immunity as well as whether there are other strains of the virus. I think there is a lot we dont know about this disease, and antibody testing will probably give us a window into the precursors of COVID-19, he said. The effectiveness of the tests themselves is also an outstanding question, with accuracy rates varying depending on the type of test. Silk said the states antibody tests are 97 percent accurate. Natasha Chida, an associate professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University, said there is only one strain of COVID-19, but uncertainty with current antibody tests at this time makes results unreliable. "For that reason, I don't think its helpful to release (results) to the public," Chida said. "I think there is a lot of testing thats being developed, so I'm hopeful that we will have a good test soon." Antibody testing is largely a state-only endeavor, with most counties taking a backseat as the state Department of Health samples people. If a person calls their local health department in search of an antibody test, most health officials will refer them to their primary care provider, as some private practices also conduct tests. In the random antibody tests conducted by the state health department, participants have been notified of their results in about a week, most receiving the information through text messages. Chida said it's important for state and local health departments to work together when it comes to the testing, but data from testing at this point must be handled with care. "I think it could give people a false sense of security," she said. "They may think theyre immune and think they dont have to social distance and avoid large groups. Because its not reliable, people may interpret it incorrectly, and that could have some detriments to public health measures." Erie County has been an exception to the state-centered response, conducting its own tests through the county Public Health Lab. Test results on both a local and state level are reported through ECLRS, a state electronic reporting system for lab results, county health department spokeswoman Kara Kane said. For the week ending on May 2, a total of 8,223 residents had been tested for antibodies, with 679 coming back positive, for a return rate of 8.3 percent, she said. With the county taking testing into its own hands, increased capacity has allowed government officials to offer more tests to the general public unlike the state, which has generally limited tests to frontline workers and randomly sampled individuals. Late last week, Erie began a pilot program to test county employees for antibodies, which has helped officials fine-tune scheduling, testing and reporting processes, Kane said. As soon as we have sufficient materials and supplies for these blood draws/sample collections, we will announce our schedule of testing locations throughout Erie County and the process for Erie County residents to make an appointment, she said. A Portland man is recovering after he was shot in the arm while riding his bicycle Tuesday night. The man was shot around 11 p.m. near the intersection Southeast Ankeny Street and 13th Avenue, according to Portland police. Officers said the man was taken to the hospital with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries. Police would not discuss the circumstances of the shooting or disclose any information about the suspect or victim. However, in an Instagram post, Mike Hilbrandt identified himself as the person who was shot. He said someone in an SUV pulled up next to him as he was riding his bike and threatened to shoot him, then fired a gun. He said he was shot in the left forearm and would need surgery. The website Bike Portland first reported on his injuries. One of Hilbrandts relatives told the publication that Hilbrandt saw an SUV in the bike lane, and as he passed it, he tapped on the window to let the driver know he was there. The person in the SUV then reportedly chased and threatened him before firing the gun. On Wednesday evening, Hilbrandts father-in-law Jay Graves said Hilbrandt was out of surgery, and that doctors had successfully repaired the shattered bones in his arms. He said his son-in-law would be going home Wednesday evening or Thursday. We are all shaken, but grateful Mike is alive, he said. Police asked anyone with information about the shooting to call 503-823-3333. A GoFundMe page to help Hilbrandt with medical expenses had raised more than $14,000 as of Wednesday afternoon. Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Niamtougou Airport, Niamtougou, Togo [ LRL / DXNG ] If you are planning to travel to Niamtougou or any other city in Togo, this airport locator will be a very useful tool. This page gives complete information about the Niamtougou Airport along with the airport location map, Time Zone, lattitude and longitude, Current time and date, hotels near the airport etc... Niamtougou Airport Map showing the location of this airport in Togo. Niamtougou Airport IATA Code, ICAO Code, exchange rate etc... is also provided. Niamtougou Airport Info: Niamtougou Airport IATA Code: LRL Niamtougou Airport ICAO Code: DXNG Latitude : 9.76962 Longitude : 1.09278 City : Niamtougou Country : Togo World Area Code : 586 Airport Type : Medium Niamtougou Airport Address / Contact Details : Niamtougou Airport (LRL), Niamtougou, Togo Airport Type : Civil and Military Timezone : Africa/Lome Niamtougou Airport Timezone : GMT +00:00 hours Current time and date at Niamtougou Airport is 07:52:08 AM (GMT) on Wednesday, Jan 19, 2022 Looking for information on Niamtougou Airport, Niamtougou, Togo? Know about Niamtougou Airport in detail. Find out the location of Niamtougou Airport on Togo map and also find out airports near to Niamtougou. This airport locator is a very useful tool for travelers to know where is Niamtougou Airport located and also provide information like hotels near Niamtougou Airport, airlines operating to Niamtougou Airport etc... IATA Code and ICAO Code of all airports in Togo. Scroll down to know more about Niamtougou Airport or Niamtougou Airport, Togo. Niamtougou Airport Map - Location of Niamtougou Airport Load Map Togo - General Information Country Formal Name Togolese Republic Country Code TG Capital Lome Currency Franc (XOF) 1 XOF = 0.002 USD 1 USD = 578.964 XOF 1 XOF = 0.002 EUR 1 EUR = 655.957 XOF More XOF convertion rates Tel Code +228 Top Level Domain .tg This page provides all the information you need to know about Niamtougou Airport, Togo. This page is created with the aim of helping travelers and tourists visiting Togo or traveling to Niamtougou Airport. Details about Niamtougou Airport given here include Niamtougou Airport Code - IATA Code (3 letter airport codes) and ICAO Code (4 letter airport codes) Coordinates of Niamtougou Airport - Latitude and Longitude (Lat and Long) of Niamtougou Airport Location of Niamtougou Airport - City Name, Country, Country Codes etc... Niamtougou Airport Time Zone and Current time at Niamtougou Airport Address and contact details of Niamtougou Airport along with website address of the airport Clickable Location Map of Niamtougou Airport on Google Map. General information about Togo where Niamtougou Airport is located in the city of Niamtougou. General information include capital of Togo, currency and conversion rate of Togo currency, Telephone Country code, exchange rate against US Dollar and Euro in case of major world currencies etc... LRL - Niamtougou Airport IATA Code and DXNG - Niamtougou Airport ICAO code Laura Grant, assistant professor of economics, holds a class via Zoom at Claremont McKenna College in April. (Los Angeles Times) Among the many millions of people who have gotten a raw deal this spring are college students who were suddenly told by their schools to pack up, head home and spend the rest of the semester learning online. For some of them, especially foreign students with no place to stay and no way to get home, it was a nightmare. Its been less than ideal, to be sure. But most college students have families and homes where they were able to go. Theyre still receiving an education, the same course credits as always and, for seniors, a degree albeit one minus the big stage-walking event. Most of them have the devices and internet access needed to attend classes and the intellectual maturity to complete their work. Colleges refunded money for the room and board that wasnt getting used. Yet some students are demanding partial tuition refunds too. Lawsuits have been filed against more than two dozen colleges and universities, including Ivy League and state schools, claiming that online courses simply arent the same as those taught in classrooms, even when the same professors are teaching. Of course theyre not. Although online courses can be a valuable way to learn and some students prefer them, most college students would rather have face-to-face instruction and the chance to interact with classmates and instructors. Certainly, chemistry and other laboratory science courses lack the hands-on touch on the internet. The students also are missing out on parties, extracurricular activities, events, strolling and sitting around campus so many moments that make up our romantic dream of the college experience. Nobody wanted campuses to shut down, but then, nobody wanted most of whats happened over the last two months. Extraordinary numbers of people are taking a devastating hit in their lives, whether its getting furloughed or laid off, watching nest eggs dive in the stock market, struggling with loneliness and depression, working in places that put them in danger of infection, feeling sick for weeks with COVID-19 or losing a loved one. Story continues College tuition is crazy expensive, and parents who have paid it understandably think theyre not getting their moneys worth. But colleges also have faced extra costs as they've shifted suddenly from campus-based to computer-based. They still must pay professors, who still must teach the courses. They have to deep-clean their campuses and maintain buildings and grounds. Many of them paid to send low-income and foreign students home, and they are losing money from the closed dormitories. In a way, families are very much getting their moneys worth an adapted education in the face of an unprecedented shutdown. That doesnt absolve schools of all financial responsibility. Colleges should refund the student activity fees they collected for concerts and events that never took place an obvious step that some schools have refused to take. Schools also should provide refunds to any students who can prove that the shift online kept them from being able to complete their education on time, costing them extra money. In addition, theres a moral obligation to reach out to students who are homeless or who need other help. It will be imperative to increase financial aid next year to low- and moderate-income families, and a lot more families will qualify after the job losses of this spring. And thats where these lawsuits could go horribly wrong. Colleges will have to make ends meet somehow. If they have to pay out millions of dollars in tuition refunds because academic plans changed through no fault of their own, they might be compelled to increase tuition sharply in the fall and reduce financial aid in coming years. No one wins. Its the lesson of the pandemic. Nothing is perfect. Few remain unscathed. We give up something an idyllic college experience, perhaps for a greater good. What the National Democratic Congress (NDC) would do as part of an integrated package in its campaign is not in doubt. However, what we are unable to tell is how the security agents would deal with buffoons like Sam George who think infractions of the law with impunity are a normal occurrence. The exaggerated impression he has about himself is luring him to do unthinkable things, including hurling insults at persons whose pedigrees he does not come near to. We are concerned about how germane security agents treat such characters with kids' gloves when they run riot as they often do. One of the dangers of not applying the law when infractions are committed such as the one witnessed during the unfortunate Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election episode, with Sam George being the eye of the infractions, is that it enhances impunity. This is the kind of person who sought to wriggle himself from the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election mess he and others created. Such buffoons do not deserve to be the central points of editorials except to highlight the NDC political toxin in which he is basking and inflaming the country's political ambience. Emerging details about how things went when Sam George led a gang of hooligans, persons of his mould, in a futile attempt to disrupt an Electoral Commission (EC) meeting suggest that the cops on that duty were literally on their knees begging them to leave the scene. Politicians, especially the rude ones such as Sam George, are able to have their way when they breach the law and police officers beg them as they did during his unbecoming show as pointed out in an earlier paragraph. The defunct Montie Radio gang and others, part of those who marched to the EC meeting venue, have been readied for the dirty path Sam George is set to lead in the run-up to the 2020 polls. It is important that the police review their mode of operation ahead of the peaking of campaign towards the 2020 polls. The NDC would play it dirty, especially knowing well that they do not stand the chance of successfully convincing the good people of this country to give them another opportunity at the helm. After all, making this country ungovernable is one of their aces, but unfortunately for them they would not succeed because Ghanaians, by and large, abhor violence, the cornerstone of NDC politics. Ghana, we would state for the umpteenth time, is bigger than the NDC and other parties combined. Busybodies, such as the nonentity at the centre of this commentary, who think they can decide the fate of this country through inappropriate conduct and outright show of indecency, should understand that they are simply being imbecile and would fall the harder they come as Ghana stands tall. Ghana has moved on away from the crazy days of the so-called revolution when the country was ruled by a junta, a dark spot in our history from which the NDC germinated and gave birth to educated buffoons. Source: Daily Guide Turkey has transferred hundreds of people to the northeastern Syrian town of Tell Abyad from the Turkish-controlled Operation Euphrates Shield region, stunning many families displaced from the town that have been hoping to return to their villages in the area, which fell under Turkish control during a military operation in November 2019. A new round of population transfers is reportedly underway. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan makes no secret of his intention to uproot Kurdish self-rule in northern Syria and change the demographic character of the region, often reiterating Ankaras plan to move up to two million refugees to a safe zone that is planned to be set up in the Operation Peace Spring region in the northeast. Addressing the UN General Assembly last year, Erdogan said Turkey initially planned to transfer up to one million refugees to the area by constructing 140 villages and 10 towns in the region. The second phase of the plan involves extending the resettlements to the town of Deir ez-Zor, which lies on the critical M-4 highway linking the countrys east and west. Turkeys cross-border operations in Syria remain in full swing despite the novel coronavirus outbreak that sent the world into turmoil. Population transfers to the east of the Euphrates River from the western side are increasing along with the Turkish military activities. On April 20, a convoy of 151 vehicles, including 14 buses, departed from Jarablus, arrived in Turkey via the Karkamis crossing and then crossed into Tell Abyad from the Turkish town of Akcakale. Videos of the convoy were leaked over social media, forcing the governors office in Turkeys southern border province of Urfa to respond. A written statement on April 21 inexplicably claimed that the convoy was carrying families displaced from Tell Abyad under the Kurdish administration. Turkish media reports hailed the news, saying downtrodden families who had escaped the Kurdish rule in Tell Abyad and settled in Afrin were now returning to their homes. Some people who had escaped Tell Abyad during the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces offensive against the Islamic State in 2015 did take refuge in Turkey. Yet, there is no evidence showing Afrin was hosting displaced people from Tell Abyad. Most of the families resettled in Afrin were Syrians who escaped the battles in other parts of the war-torn country and took refuge in the Operation Euphrates Shield area. Another lingering question about the move is why the convoy crossed into Turkey from the Karkamis crossing instead of Oncupinar, only eight kilometers (five miles) from Afrin. Four parliamentary questionnaires submitted by Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party on the transfers also remain unanswered. According to local Syrian Kurdish and Arab sources contacted by Al-Monitor, the convoy carried the families of Syrian fighters who fought alongside the Turkish army during Operation Euphrates Shield. It was one of demands of the fighters who staged two separate protests against Turkey on March 17 and April 7 in Tell Abyad over their overdue salaries. Thus, Turkeys move might be a response to fighters demands to reunite with their families west of the Euphrates. Hamdan al Abd, an ethnic Arab and the former co-chair of Tell Abyads now defunct Kurdish-led local council, also thinks the people transferred to the region are mainly families of Syrian opposition fighters that fought under the banner of the Syrian National Army. The demographic characteristic of Tell Abyad is systematically being changed through population transfers from eastern Ghouta, Homs, Idlib, Daraa, Deir ez-Zor and the countryside of Damascus, Abd told Al-Monitor. The arrivals are resettled in Tell Abyad city, eastern Tell Abyad, Ain al-Arus, Ali Bayli, Hamam al-Turkman, Suluk, Khurmaza, Khirbet al-Ruz, Havice and Sherian. Local Kurdish sources deem the attempts a demographic intervention against the Kurds. Yet, according to Abd, the moves do not just target the Kurdish population and the Arab population suffers as well. Armed groups and the Turkish forces are displacing people everywhere regardless of their ethnic or religious identities. Their houses are being taken over by their men. People are getting arrested, stripped of their rights for allegedly cooperating with the self administration or with the Kurds, he said. Armed clashes between Turkish-backed groups in Tell Abyad and Ras al-Ain are another source of concern for the locals, Abd said. The clashes are reportedly caused by disputes over the sharing of money and property that the opposition fighters deem the spoils of war. It's tragic for the locals. [The fighters] are racketeering, looting private property. They steal agricultural products, furniture, water pumps and other technical wares. They loot the granaries and sell the grain to Turkey. Bakers are having trouble finding flour. They seize generators, he said. Even doctors cant go to their clinics out of fear of being kidnapped or extorted. According to Abd, some 140,000 people left Tell Abyad and surrounding villages for refugee camps near Raqqa, Ain Issa and Kobani, and the displacements are ongoing. Apparently, Russia, which conducts joint patrols in the region under a deal between the two countries to end Operation Peace Spring, is not willing to interfere. We asked Russia to provide safe passage for people who seek to return to their homes but we couldn't receive an assurance or an answer, he said. For example, houses in the village of Ser Kerek on the M-4 highway were bulldozed. We sent a protest note to Russia about this but couldn't receive any answer. We also sent a list of the people whose houses were demolished. Ras al-Ain has suffered similar atrocities, Abd added. An April 25 joint statement by dozens of Arab tribes echoes this outcry. Drawing attention to the Syrian opposition fighters crimes in the region, the statement accuses fighters of kidnapping people for ransom and disrupting education and health care services. It also accuses Turkey of demographic engineering in the region. Tell Abyad became a hot spot for Erdogan after the Kurdish-led SDF liberated the town from IS in 2015. Whose land is it? 95% of the people in that town are Arabs and Turkmens, with 5% Kurds. This is now posing a threat to Turkey, thus Turkey will take necessary measures, Erdogan raged, accusing the Kurdish groups of ethnic cleansing of Arabs and Turkmens in the region. Yet not just Kurds, but also Arabs dispute Erdogans figures. According to Abd, 20-22% of Tell Abyads population is Kurdish, 5% is Turkmen and some 2% is Armenian, with the rest being Arabs. Kurdish sources, in turn, say some 30-40% of the population is Kurdish. Erdogans accusations of ethnic cleansing also seem questionable. Most of the displaced people who left their homes during the fight against IS returned to the region by 2015, except for those who are wary of returning because of their former links with IS. Similarly, Ras al-Ain had been almost equally Kurdish and Arab, with the Arabs living mainly in the west and the Kurds in the east. The region hosted a Chechen population that had been exiled from Caucasia during the 19th century. It is far from the first time Kurds have faced demographic engineering attempts. Following the Syrian independence in 1945, northern Syria saw many attempts to set up an Arab corridor against the Kurdish population. In 1969, the Syrian government expropriated more than one million hectares of territory owned by Kurds under what it called land reform. Another Arabization attempt was a plan to set up an Arab corridor 280 kilometers (174 miles) long and 15 kilometers (nine miles) wide stretching from Ras al-Ain to the Iraqi border to swallow more than 330 Kurdish villages in the region. Following the construction of the Tabqa Dam, 56 villages were set up in the area, 41 of them on this corridor and 15 in the Raqqa countryside. Some 4,000 Arab families whose lands had been submerged by the dam were settled into these villages, each of which consisted of some 150 to 200 houses. An additional 7,000 Arab families from Aleppo, Manbic and al-Bab who lost their homes to various irrigation projects were also settled in another mainly Kurdish town of Jazeera. They received a wide range of government support from housing to weapons. It seems that history is repeating itself. Pilot Closure of Line Wall Road Government says it is confounded with the lack of acknowledgement and ignorance shown by the GSD following their statement on the recently announced Pilot Road closures. The Chief Minister explained during his Press Conference of the 4th May that as part of the Unlock the Rock strategy, Line Wall Road would be closed as from the 1st June 2020. The Pilot Schemes as stated, will form part of a plan to give open spaces back to people by reducing unnecessary traffic; which will in future offer new realms of enjoyment for pedestrians and their families and commuting and leisure cyclists alike. The Government says it notes that the GSD have failed to set out in their statement that they have been consulted by HM GoG and have agreed and supported the initiatives. 'As the Chief Minister expressed and yet again the GSD appear to have failed to have taken on board, HM GoG is set out to undertake a full and detailed consultation process in parallel with the Pilot closures, which shall involve relevant stakeholders and members of the general public.' Additionally, the Chief Minister has announced that he will be inviting Ms Marlene Hassan Nahon to share her partys ideas on this issue, as a similar idea was included in her election Manifesto of 2019. The Leader of the GSD will also be invited to share his partys ideas as part of this consultation. The Minster for Transport, Hon Vijay Daryanani said: Everyone is clear that we have to take the good out of the paralysis the COVID-19 pandemic has brought on Gibraltar and the world. One of the few advantages is the reduction in pollution. We have to be ready to make the most of that. So as we restart and recover, we must do so in a way that preserves the good. If we go back to our old ways, with huge traffic flows through Line Wall etc, we will be back to square one. So we will consult and we will improve. But we will also be bold and we will be the ones leading on this initiative that years from now our opponents will say was long overdue. We have agreed the closure of Line Wall Road and Chatham Counterguard in principle with Mr Azopardi. We already have plans I explained for a park and ride. So I think the GSDs statement is unfair but what is worse, I think it is unambitious and fails to see that we have to act now and not kick these issues back into the long grass where they have been for too long. It is right for us to act. We cannot make this omelette without breaking eggs and we have the courage to do so and be judged on our actions. This shows our real commitment to reduce pollution and reduce car use. The position of the GSD suggests that they are much less pro-active in their approach to the protection of the environment going forward as they have been in the past. For us in the GSLP Liberal Government, this is a great opportunity to take a huge step forward to deliver another limb in our Green Gibraltar initiative, bringing us closer to being a Child Friendly City. Two Calhan eateries reopened Wednesday despite Colorado Gov. Jared Polis' order for restaurants to remain closed to dine-in service until fu Rana Daggubati is a sensation down South. The actor has a massive fan following and his performances on the big screen have truly been impressive. Rana like all of us, is currently spending all his time at home during the lockdown. Living with his family, the Ghazi Attack actor recently revealed in a chat that he is trying his best to stay positive during these trying times. He spends his day watching movies with his dad, discussing books with his mum, planning his next projects, getting cooking lessons from his sister in Spain over Instagram, while also making time for the mandatory and mundane household chores. He told a leading daily, Obviously, its a terrible time, but if you can stay home without having to worry about putting food on your plate, you are fortunate. We are hurtling towards a future that wont be the same as before. We must now prepare for a post-pandemic future and get our priorities right. And how do we do that? By making better, more conscious choices that are sustainable and in harmony with the laws of Mother Nature. You can either be scared of a situation or be proactive and deal with it in the best way you can. And, the latter is the only option we have right now. Talking about how he is dealing with the lockdown, Rana added, In general, I am a guy with many interests. So, its not difficult to keep me engaged. For someone like me, who used to read a lot, but has not been getting enough time, this is the best chance to get back to it. It transports you into a world that is much better than the current, real one (laughs!). Ask him if he has had any kind of revelation to make about himself during the lockdown, he said, Nothing that I dont already know about myself. He continued saying, This lockdown is just an extension of what my life is like when I am not shooting. I like to take time off to introspect and self-reflect. Last year, I took time out for about three-four months. So, for me, this is a way of life, literally. Stepping away for a little bit and thinking over things is necessary. Otherwise, we are always stuck in a rut. Once in a while, we must isolate and introspect. Well said Rana! A bus driver checks body temperature of a passenger in Ho Chi Minh City, April 28, 2020 after the city allows buses to resume operation after a period of suspension due to Covid-19. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran. Vietnam has gone five days in a row without new Covid-19 patients and 21 days straight without any infections caused by community transmission. The nation's Covid-19 tally stood at 271 Thursday morning, unchanged since Sunday evening. Of these, 232 have recovered and been discharged and 39 are still under treatment. Of the active patients, 16 have tested negative once and six twice. The number of people under quarantine has dropped to nearly 21,000, 245 of them in hospitals specialized for Covid-19 treatment, more than 6,000 in isolation camps and the rest at home. Starting Thursday, Vietnam lifts all social distancing restrictions on transportation services including buses, taxis, aircraft and trains. But all passengers are still requested to wear face masks. On Wednesday, the Steering Committee on the Prevention and Control of Covid-19 spearheaded by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam suggested the government allow all non-essential businesses and services except bars and karaoke parlors to resume operation. The committee stressed the need to tighten control on all arrivals from abroad, as the condition inside Vietnam becomes "stable." The Covid-19 pandemic has spread to 212 countries and territories, and reported deaths have reached more than 264,100. The Minority in Parliament has lashed out at the Presidents Adviser on Health, Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare for describing Ghanas Coronavirus (Covid-19) death which stands at 18 as insignificant. At a press conference on the Covid-19 crisis, the Minority say every life lost is a big lose as they find Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare irresponsible for describing the number of lives lost as insignificant. In Ghana, more than 3,000 of our compatriots have contracted the virus thus far with 18 precious lives lost. Our condolences to bereaved families and the family and medical fraternity on the loss of Prof. Jacob Plange-Rhule, Rector of the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Every life lost is one life too many. And so we consider as irresponsible, a statement by the Presidents Adviser on Health dismissing the number of lives lost as insignificant. The dead have families who deserve empathy. Let me add that Ghanas death toll may be low to some people but there may be things we are not seeing and recording, the Hon. Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu said at the press conference. The Minority leader used the opportunity to express appreciation to Ghanaians including civil society organizations, faith-based groups, volunteers, and other governance partners for the continuous support, feedback, expert inputs, and solidarity in the fight against the disease which has become a global pandemic. Full press release from the Minority in Parliament below: PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE NDC MINORITY IN PARLIAMENT ON GHANA'S WORSENING COVID-19 SITUATION AND THE NATIONAL RESPONSE - ADDRESSED BY THE HON. MINORITY LEADER, HARUNA IDDRISU. The Minority in Ghana's Parliament is grateful to you for honouring our invitation to this press engagement. We are thankful to all Ghanaians including civil society organizations, faith based groups, volunteers and other governance partners for the continuous support, feedback, expert inputs and solidarity as we work together in the collective progress of our country. Let me begin by paying tribute and salute our frontline health care workers who are risking their lives every day, every hour and every minute to keep us all safe and reduce the adverse impact of the deadly COVID-19 which has so far infected 3,091 persons, over 2,000 more since President Akufo-Addo lifted the lockdown. It is our frontline health care workers who are the real heroes of this defining moment in the history of humankind. We salute journalists, security personnel, utility workers and all volunteers on the frontlines and assure them of our heartfelt appreciation and that of the constituents we represent. Ladies and Gentlemen, Our nation and the world is confronted with the greatest challenge of our lifetime. The novel coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on the health of our citizens and the health of the economy. Concerned with this development, we in the Minority presented a memorandum containing far reaching suggestions on managing the pandemic. We intended it for discussion on the floor of the House but it was not to be. Our Flag bearer, Former President John Mahama set up a technical advisory team to support the national effort even as he himself offered assistance by way of well-reasoned suggestions as well as donations of critically needed supplies to health care personnel all over the country and food supplies to vulnerable groups. We continue to play our part as responsible citizens. In Ghana, more than 3,000 of our compatriots have contracted the virus thus far with 18 precious lives lost. Our condolences to bereaved families and the family and medical fraternity on the loss of Prof. Jacob Plange-Rhule, Rector of the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Every life lost is one life too many. And so we consider as irresponsible, a statement by the Presidents Adviser on Health dismissing the number of lives lost as insignificant. The dead have families who deserve empathy. Let me add that Ghanas death toll may be low to some people but there may be things we are not seeing and recording. The impact of COVID-19 on our economy has been most devastating - from massive job losses, closure of businesses to a historic fall in GDP growth. This certainly cannot be the time for old-fashioned excessive partisan politics and infantile name calling as Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia sought to do earlier this week. This is the time to focus every attention on this national crisis that threatens the very foundations of our society Ladies and Gentlemen, The latest update - a staggering 3,091 confirmed cases, the second highest in West Africa after Nigeria which has reported 3,145 cases though we should be more worried when we compare our population to that of Nigeria. This troubling development should serve as a wakeup call that the time for wishful thinking is over. To quote Former President Mahama, Hope is a comfort, but it is not a strategy. Governments response so far has been rather slow, based on loose interpretations of the science, and often detached from the facts on the ground. Couldnt we have locked down earlier? Couldnt we have closed our borders earlier? Couldnt we have started massive public education in local languages earlier? Couldnt we have developed our humanitarian response plan earlier? We should have had a comprehensive strategic plan in place earlier. A document we have requested without success, making us wonder if there's one. We lost the opportunity to do all of these and many more because President Akufo-Addo did not prioritize. He was touring in Europe even though the alarm bells of the coming pandemic were ringing. Then, shortly upon his return we had the first two cases of the virus infection. One of them had actually been with the President during his happy travel to Europe. Ladies and gentlemen, The sharp rise in the number of cases reported by authorities in the last two weeks is deeply worrying. The attempt to downplay this fact is unacceptable. Ghanaians expect the professionals entrusted with responsibility for managing the crisis to be forthright and refrain from interpreting data that is not grounded in the science of the pandemic. And here, I refer to a recent statement by a member of the National Response Team that we have peaked in terms of the number of infected persons. Misuse of such terms without empirical basis appear to be designed to fit into a certain narrative ahead of the Presidents next broadcast. It appears to be part of a strategy to create an atmosphere of normalcy in the lead to the next presidential broadcast and as for the reason, your guess is as good as mine. Evidently, President Akufo-Addo seems more interested in his re-election than in the safety and life of Ghanaians. That fact keeps unfolding. Ladies and gentlemen, Many professionals have observed that the data being published by the Ghana Health Service does not lend itself to meaningful analysis in the form it is presented. The absence of several key data points that would allow independent researchers to understand the rate of spread and the demographics of the pandemic have not been made public. And there continue to be legitimate concerns about some of the data that actually is available. On two separate occasions in April, the number of confirmed cases under routine surveillance was revised downwards without any explanation whatsoever. And the test positivity rate for travelers under mandatory quarantine literally doubled after the last update. No explanation was offered for that either. This lack of transparency only serves to undermine public trust in governments commitment to this fight, and that directly affects our likelihood of successfully avoiding a worsening situation. Ladies and gentlemen, these are not normal times and reality must guide our next steps. We are well past the time for parochial thinking. Egotism, willful ignorance and empty rhetoric will not save us. The cheap stunts designed to bolster a faltering narrative will not save us. Blatant falsehoods told to garnish the image of this administration in the face of the foreign press will not save us. What these will do, instead, is consolidate a false sense of security in the Ghanaian public that will obscure our view of the danger we face. Indeed, false claims about low prices of local foodstuff on the market, plantain included is part of the grand scheme to create a false sense of security. Without an appreciation for the plain reality of our situation, the preventive measures will not be taken seriously. And if they are not taken seriously, we will lose this fight and we will pay a heavy price for it. If government persists in this course, posterity will judge this administration as the most self-indulgent administration that ever had the privilege of the peoples mandate. And should any section of our society aid and abet this abdication of the most fundamental responsibility of government - the protection of the people and preservation of the Republic for the generations behind us - then we will rightly share in that infamy. Ladies and Gentlemen, Right from the word go, governments response to the crisis revealed a lack of foresight and a fundamental denial of the nature of the foe we face in COVID-19. As already alluded to, this manifested itself in the failure of government to prioritize planning and preparations for COVID-19 during the many weeks after the declaration of a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation on January 30, 2020. They sat idly by - failing to provide the initial GHS35 million needed for our preparedness plan despite seeing the havoc it was wreaking all over the world - and made almost no provisions for the eventuality of an outbreak in Ghana, relying instead on false hopes around climate and genetics. The WHO country assessment which followed at the time vindicates our position. Ladies and Gentlemen, Government put in place inadequate structures which did not aid us to enhance our surveillance and detect cases here more rapidly by expanding our testing capacity. They failed to recognize the seriousness of the threat and left our borders open even at the time they refused to evacuate our students in Wuhan; and they left the borders open far beyond what was possibly reasonable under the circumstances, and even when nations all over the world were closing theirs. Government failed to anticipate the devastating effects that a COVID-19 outbreak would have on our social life and our economy, and were grossly unprepared to soften the blow for the most vulnerable people and households in our nation when a lockdown became necessary. The inept, partisan and disastrous manner Government distributed food relief only exacerbated the risk. And to conceal that failure, to shirk responsibility for its consequences, they prematurely lifted the restrictions on movement against the advice of some of the most respected authorities on public health in Ghana. Government's financial response has exposed what was hitherto touted as a robust economy as Government virtually had no reserves to confront the pandemic. But for the World Bank, the IMF and the Stabilisation Fund left behind by former President John Mahama God knows where this economy buoyed by propaganda steroids would have left us. At every point in its response, Government has been playing catch up. The reactionary policymaking that this has occasioned has left our containment efforts lagging behind the threat. Even now, when it is clear that we have ongoing local transmission in almost every region of this country, this government continues to downplay its extent and consequences. The fact is we have almost no idea about the true scale of the problem because nearly three months into the pandemic we are still trying to formulate a testing strategy that allows us to estimate the general prevalence of COVID-19 on a timely basis. We are well beyond the point in this crisis where our testing should have been broadened in recognition of the outward spread of the virus from the hotspots. News about new facilities is welcome, but long overdue. And those delays have certainly come at a cost. Ladies and Gentlemen, The scientists at Noguchi and all our testing facilities deserve this nations thanks for the commitment they have shown in this national effort so far. But government must honour that hard work by being sincere about the data and what it really means. Government is selling false hope of a situation under control and using its management of information as a cover for this farce. That insults the intelligence of the Ghanaian people and makes a mockery of the seriousness of the situation. Candour and consistency must be the order of the day. Testing, tracing, monitoring and isolation where necessary must be the daily routine. Ladies and Gentlemen, What President Akufo-Addo and his government must understand is that their apparent choice to face this pandemic as more a PR exercise rather than a real crisis management effort will ultimately be exposed. You cannot outsmart the science, and you cannot outrun reality. But we in the Minority have absolutely no desire to witness such a failure because the cost will be counted in Ghanaian lives and livelihoods. If the containment strategy government has wed itself to unravels any further the brunt of this burden will fall on the frontline health care workers. Their courage and competence are going to be the last defense for many of our countrymen who will face the worst of this disease. And yet, despite the Presidents lofty rhetoric and grand assurances, the healthcare system remains so unbelievably unprepared for the battle that has already begun. Our health care workers cannot face the weeks ahead unequipped and unprotected. They cannot provide the needed care to the critically ill if they continue to lack adequate PPEs and even basic supplies such as hand sanitizers. And they should not have to pay for these things out of their own pockets, let alone go begging for them from the public. This is unpardonable. And government mocks their commitment in insisting that the very real dangers they face - the dangers to their families too - are well under control and nothing to be concerned about. In this respect, the recent pronouncements of the Health Minister to the effect that some health care workers are engaged in selling PPEs for personal profit without providing any scintilla of evidence is an utter insult to our heroes who are sacrificing so much. We roundly condemn the Minister's irresponsible utterances. We dare him to provide specific evidence and stop denigrating all health workers. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Minority is deeply worried about how science has been relegated to the background by the President. Instead, the President now appears to be relying on Signs and Wonders forgetting the old adage that Heaven helps those who help themselves. The President took a terrible gamble with our lives when he lifted the lockdown at a time our case count was increasing. That decision has led to the situation where since the removal of the lockdown, confirmed cases have more than doubled and deaths have more than tripled. His quagmire: the economy/politics versus health. We have also in the process seen hotspots emerge virtually in all parts of Ghana since the lifting of the lockdown. President Akufo-Addo must take responsibility for this unfortunate turn of events, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Minority has duly taken note that following the President's reversal of the partial lockdown and our worsening case count, the reputable Ghana Medical Association has publicly called for a different approach in containing and limiting the spread of COVID-19. We are in full support of this call. President Akufo-Addo should be led by sound epidemiological data and not political calculations. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Minority's demand for a new policy approach based on Science is borne out of the need to preserve human lives and protect our health system. Ghana's case count is now amongst the most infected countries in Africa. This has frightening prospects which demands an urgent change in strategy. As the science dictates, this cannot be the time for further easing of restrictions. We expect a more proactive policy response. We should be fighting the virus ahead of it and not from behind. Ladies and Gentlemen, It is absolutely troubling and shocking that in the face of such a pandemic, our Government chooses to supply PPEs to officials of the Electoral Commission when doctors, nurses and other frontline health care workers are crying for PPEs. It is equally shocking that Government officials are publicly justifying the irresponsible conduct of the Electoral Commission in defying the restrictions imposed by the President even in the face of a court injunction secured by our colleague, Hon. Sam George. All these come at a time the EC's plan to begin its infamous and life-threatening registration in June this year has been exposed after a presentation the EC made to ECOWAS leaked. It is worth noting that the EC's timetable as presented to ECOWAS remains unknown to Parliament and opposition political parties. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Minority is concerned about the plight of Ghanaians who appear stranded in other jurisdictions following the closure of our borders. It is our considered view that just as our Government is able to open our airports despite the closures for foreign nationals to be evacuated out of Ghana, Government should do same by providing a narrow opportunity under strict evacuation protocols of screening, testing and quarantine in order to rescue our fellow compatriots. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Minority urges Government to ensure a high level of accountability with the funds and donations they have thus far received in the fight against COVID-19. Claims by NADMO of spending GHS2 million a day on feeding an opaque number of Ghanaians during the lockdown would not be allowed to pass. May we serve notice that we shall insist on full transparency and a thorough audit of all funds received. Ladies and Gentlemen, On the basis of the evidence available, evidence based on the science and driven by sound epidemiological data, the Minority wishes to advise President Akufo-Addo to tread cautiously and not take decisions to ease restrictions just to satisfy narrow political ends. This is a time for health care professionals, civil society, religious leaders and traditional rulers to be adults in the room offering guidance and fearless advice for the sake of the country. Nothing can be more important than the value which we must place on human lives. Let us all return to the table of science and be guided by same. I commend all Ghanaians for the difficult sacrifices we have all been willing to bear for our collective protection. Please it is important that we all continue to adhere strictly to the hygiene and social distancing protocols. In that regard, Government should make provision for the vulnerable in our society by providing them with free face masks. We disagree with the Health Minister when we assumes every Ghanaian can afford and that every Ghanaian knows where to find the appropriate face mask to purchase. Some MPs have been able to support the vulnerable with free face masks and we believe Government has no excuse to abdicate. Let us soldier on. With sincerity towards scientific data and genuine solidarity for all our compatriots, COVID-19 shall be defeated. Thank you very much. We shall now take your questions. The programs at Oakton and SIU will be based on guidance recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC says that public and private entities will have to work together to scale up and train a large contact tracer workforce," according to its website. Per CDC guidelines, tracers instruct anyone with potential exposure to isolate for 14 days and check back over that time to monitor their health. Speaking in a recent interview on The Howard Stern Show, Paul McCartney addressed his relationship with late bandmate John Lennon. When asked why Lennon didn't veto the song 'Let It Be' when he didn't like it, McCartney responded: "Yeah, he could have, yeah. But John didn't mind 'Let It Be.' I mean, the thing about John is that he would just take the piss out of anything he wanted to, you know, he would make fun of things, and you just knew that that was John," "I'll tell you what's really great - Peter Jackson, the director who did 'Lord of the Rings' and various other great films, has got hold I think of about 54 hours of footage, film footage that was done when we did the [1970] film 'Let It Be,'" "And he's edited it into a new form, and I'll tell you, Howard, it's great, I mean, I'm not boasting. And you see this kind of thing, you see this relationship between me and John, me and George [Harrison, guitar], and you get it." It's unclear when the documentary will be released due to the global pandemic, however, with McCartney continuing: "Nobody knows when anything's coming out right now, you know? But it will come out and Disney is gonna release it. But it's so lovely for me because I'd kind of bought into this whole idea that, 'Oh, me and John were rivals and didn't like each other,' and stuff," "But you see the film, and it's like, 'Thank God it's not true.' We're guys, we're obviously having fun together, you can see it, you know, we respect each other, and we're making music together and it's - it's a joy to see it unfold." So how has it been so long without this 50 something hours worth of footage sitting untouched? "We thought, well, we'd done the film, 'Let It Be,' but then this idea came up for Peter to look at this. We played New Zealand a couple of years ago and I met him," "He was starting on the project and I said, 'Um, well, you know, how's it looking?', you know, thinking it's gonna be a bit more sort of prelude to the band breaking up, it's going to be a bit dull, it's gonna be a bit sad for me, you know?" "'I can't believe you said it, that's what I thought.' So, but the more I look at it, he said, it's great. He said, you look like friends and he looked like you're having a ball." Later on in the interview, McCartney was asked his thoughts on the global COVID-19 pandemic, replying: "It's just, it's so crazy. I'm from the generation that just came out of World War II and the spirit that they showed, you know, 'We'll do whatever's necessary. We'll all pull together and we'll try and stay happy,'" "That spirit is kind of what they needed and it's what we need now and it is around, you know, that's, that's what we're seeing now, that a lot of people are pulling together and in a way, it's a great thing because if we don't, we're finished, you know? But it is good to see that. It's inspiring," "When it first started I thought, 'Oh God, here we go.' You know, people are just gonna go crazy, they'll go looting. But I think from what I can see it's happening the other way," "People are all realizing that there's so much good in humanity and I think, you know, thank God it seems to be showing itself. Everyone's, you know, doing their best to stay safe and look after each other and stuff, and there is a lot of, lot of good spirits." Imperial Valley News Center Proclamation on National Nurses Day, 2020 Washington, DC - Every day, nurses provide quality, compassionate, and critical care to patients during both routine medical visits and in times of great vulnerability, fear, and uncertainty. Over the past weeks and months, as our nurses have worked heroically on the frontlines of the coronavirus response, their contributions to the health and well-being of our citizenry have been exponentially magnified. On National Nurses Day, we honor and celebrate the extraordinary men and women who devote themselves to this vital and noble profession. Nursing is not merely a vocation; it is a special calling to serve others selflessly, particularly in times when help is needed most. Throughout our Nations history, in times of war, natural disaster, medical emergencies, and both epidemics and pandemics, nurses have rushed in undaunted by danger, personal sacrifice, and discomfort to provide hope, help, and healing to people in need. Few times has our reliance on nurses been more profoundly evident than during the coronavirus outbreak. In the midst of this crisis, nurses have displayed incredible examples of humanity, selflessness, and sacrifice as they have fought to care for their fellow citizens and save lives. Nationwide, in hospitals, clinics, and other treatment centers where Americans are suffering from the virus, these warriors have steadfastly provided remarkable care and vital assistance to patients. In spite of fatigue and the threat to their own health, nurses soldier on in combat against this invisible enemy. Often the first to treat patients in our hospitals, they provide critical support to doctors, alleviating burdens throughout our healthcare system. They are adaptable and capable of enduring and overcoming unbearable hardship, immeasurable stress, tremendously long hours, and extreme mental and emotional exhaustion so that others may live. Nurses are awe-inspiring and truly worthy of admiration and praise. Nurses reflect the character of America and epitomize the inexhaustible capacity of the human spirit. These remarkable caregivers exhibit professional expertise, selfless dedication, unrelenting advocacy, and unsurpassed mercy, strength, and compassion. On this National Nurses Day, Melania and I urge all citizens to join us in offering our wholehearted gratitude, uncompromising support, and utmost respect to these invaluable healthcare professionals. NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 6, 2020, as National Nurses Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-fourth. DONALD J. TRUMP Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh, who was sentenced to a 10-year term in prison in Iran, January 2018, recently shared his letter thanking fellow Christians praying and supporting him. The 58-year-old Christian who was converted from Islam was arrested July in 2017 by police conducting a secret raid on Tehran house church meeting and was convicted of the crime of taking part in an "illegal gathering" which "threatens the security of Iran." Nasser is one of the 11 Christians left in Even Prison which is known as Iran's "torture factory", according to Opendoors. Since his sentence began, Nasser has written several heartfelt letters from his prison cell, always quoting Paul's letter giving thanks. The modern-day Paul greeted his prayer supporters with 1 Thessalonians 2:20 and said that he is yearning his company from behind the high and barbed walls of Evil Prison with a heart full of love, care, and gratitude. "How lucky I am to have you beside me,' said Gol-Tapeh in his recent letter. "I thank God for the support that you have showered me with, for all my problems in prison which you have shared my burdens, giving me strength, and encouraging me continuously," He wrote. "Surely, I could not walk on my own; the Lord carries me on His feet with the warmth of your love through the hardships of this dungeon," He added. Nasser's Handwriting Letter from Prinson/Facebook According to Opendoors, Nasser's longstanding petition for a retrial was finally accepted in February 2020, but the prison authorities continue to refuse him temporary leave, as well as seven other Christians, including three others whose cases are being reviewed. As the coronavirus outbreak that had led to Iran releasing 80,000+ prisoners, including Christians, right groups have called for the release of all prisoners of conscience. Especially, Nasser has suffered several health issues, so his family is concerned about him as coronavirus infections and deaths have been reported in several prisons. Opendoors has requested prayer for Nasser their physical, emotional, and spiritual heal, and may they be in God's peace and strength. Their ultimate release is an earnest prayer topic. Below is Nasser's full letter which was shared through Opendoors: "In the name of the Lord, "Indeed you are our glory and our joy" (1 Thes. 2:20). To all dear brothers and sisters, who are bestowed upon by God's love and grace. With greetings, while yearning your company from behind the high and barbed walls of Evin Prison. Having and cherishing the memories of the past, with a heart full of love, care, and gratitude. I scribe what permeates from my heart to you. I recall your pious gatherings with one mind and heart and sing songs in glorifying the Lord in soul and heart. I am amongst you. Walls and space do not keep me away, even though I hold the sorrow within contained; you are always in my prayers in a united love. I thank God for the support that you have showered me with, for all my problems in prison which you have shared my burdens, giving me strength, and encouraging me continuously. How lucky I am to have you beside me. Surely, I could not walk on my own; the Lord carries me on His feet with the warmth of your love through the hardship of this dungeon. The prime message I heard was to love each other. May the Lord's love and care be with you and keep you safe. "Who then can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, hardship or persecution, famine or nakedness, danger or death?" - Romans 8:35 With all my love and care, Nasser Navard There were glitches getting started, sound problems and people talking over each other, but a convicted killer was sentenced Wednesday to 40 years in prison in a proceeding conducted completely online a first in San Antonio. The defendant, Montrail Tre Butler, 24, sat at a desk in a room at Bexar County jail. His defense attorneys were in their offices at Travis and St. Marys streets. The prosecutors were in their offices in the Paul Elizondo Tower, the court reporter was at home and Judge Stephanie Boyd was in her 187th state District Court. At one point, 14 people were connected via Zoom videoconferencing, and the entire hearing was shown live on the judges YouTube channel. That made it a public proceeding, as required by law. On ExpressNews.com: Instead of All rise the clicks on the phone herald start of court proceedings Boyd and other jurists have been sampling this new way of keeping the wheels of justice turning since mid-March, when the coronavirus pandemic halted juries and stay-at-home orders were issued. On Wednesday, she presided over four pleas and a motion to revoke probation before Butlers hearing started around 2 p.m. But Wednesday was the first time for a virtual murder sentencing. My client wanted to do this, he wanted to get this thing done, said attorney J. Charles Bunk, who represented Butler at his February jury trial and at the sentencing. Butler was 21 when he was charged with murder in the death of Stephanie Woodford, 34, after an argument March 18, 2017, in the backyard of a home in the 4900 block of Teasdale on the Northeast Side, where he had been staying. He had returned to the house to pick up his belongings when Woodford confronted him, court records show, and an argument ensued. Woodford was fatally shot in the head. Butler also was charged with one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for threatening Nikki James at the scene. He was arrested shortly after Woodford was killed and he has been at Bexar County Jail ever since, more than three years behind bars. After a trial set for September 2019 was postponed due to a mix-up involving a new witness, a new trial took place earlier this year. A jury convicted Butler of murder Feb. 5, but he opted for the judge to decide on his sentencing. On ExpressNews.com: Case reset for San Antonio man accused in 2017 backyard killing of woman He was scheduled to be sentenced in March, but about that time, court proceedings were halted as coronavirus restrictions kicked in. As the stay-at-home orders keep getting extended, officials worked at finding ways to conduct proceedings that honor the required 6-foot social distancing protocol and prohibition against large gatherings. Recently, more court proceedings have been done via video conference. Much like she would in regular courtroom proceedings, Boyd presided over the video hearing. She began by asking Butler at least twice if he had consulted with his attorneys about this precedent-setting hearing, and if he consented to doing it all via video. Yes, maam, he replied. Boyd has the ability to mute observers and she can provide a private virtual meeting room, where the defense attorneys and Butler could talk confidentially with each other, as many times as they wanted. During the hearing, the usual things happened: Bunk and his co-counsel, Kelly McGinnis, raised objections albeit via hand signals and prosecutors Nicole Phillips and Sade Mitchell argued those objections. Because of the number of people on the call, Bunk would raise his hand or both of them in a flagging manner, so he could attract the judges attention and have his objection heard. It was only clumsy during objections, but I thought the judge did a good job, Bunk said following the hearing. On ExpressNews.com: State District Judge Stephanie Boyd debuts videoconferencing Witnesses also appeared a fingerprint expert and a detention officer both seen from offices at the jail. Because Butler has a criminal history that includes two convictions for buglary of a habitation by force, he was deemed a repeat offender. He faced 15 to 99 years on the murder charge and five to 99 years on the aggravated assault. Bunk told the court his client has spent 38 months in jail since his arrest a week after the killing, and the pandemic has only prolonged his sentence since the conviction. He cited Butlers age 24 and the fact that he has an 8-year-old daughter and asked the judge to consider a 25-year sentence. Hes been a good guy while in jail, polite to the court, the state, his lawyers, Bunk told Boyd. On the other side, prosecutor Nicole Phillips asked the court for a life sentence, pointing out that Butler already had spent time in prison for two burglary convictions and had been out for 45 days before he killed Woodford. Punish the defendant for life for the life that he took, she said. In the end, Boyd opted for a middle ground, handing him the 40-year sentence. Butler will have to serve at least 20 years half of his sentence before he is eligible for parole. Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales, who watched some of the proceedings from the courtroom, said that for a first, things went well, despite some unique glitches, such as objections from the defense, who challenged whether his client was the one fingerprinted because Butler was wearing a mask, and only his eyes were exposed. Despite that, Gonzales said he hoped to keep using the new technology in cases that can be handled routinely. On ExpressNews.com: Administrative judge plans to extend COVID-19 delay of jury duty into June In another first, Woodfords mother did her victim impact statement over audio, using her cellphone. Mr. Butler, you murdered my daughter, and all I want to know is why, Lori Anderson said. But she couldnt see Butler and Butler couldnt see her because she wasnt using video. However, everyone attending the hearing from their respective locations could hear her loud and clear. She was very loved, she said of her daughter, who also was a mother. You destroyed her, but not the love she gave everybody. Boyd thanked her and Anderson hung up. After a few final housekeeping duties, the judge thanked everyone else and, as host of the Zoom session, ended the call. Not everyone is sure that virtual court proceedings are the way to go. There really is something to the idea of a face-to-face encounter in a courtroom, said Donna Coltharp, St. Marys University assistant law professor. It was something that (Supreme Court) Justice (Antonin) Scalia was extremely interested in. He was very reluctant to pass off on, for example, video tape depositions or videotaped proceedings because he believed that face-to-face encounters mattered in criminal trials. There is some evidence that seems to suggest that in sentencing in particular, a face-to-face encounter with the person who is going to sentence you makes a difference. Coltharp, who practiced for 20 years as a criminal defense attorney and was also a federal public defender before entering the world of academia, sees value in presenting a case in person. When I was federal public defender, we went through a period of time when we agreed to some limited videotaped sentencing and we were really, really reluctant to do that because we thought that being present actually put a little bit of weight on your side of the scale, the professor said. The judge had to look you straight in the eye as the evidence was being heard and that makes a difference. Still, Coltharp said, she understands the novel coronavirus pandemic is prompting changes because of serious concerns, such as the outbreak of the deadly disease at the Bexar County Jail. But she questions whether all the changes are truly necessary. Coronavirus has been a time that a lot of our kind of fundamental assumptions about who we are are being challenged, she said, adding, however, that the pandemic might no longer be a compelling reason since Gov. Greg Abbott already has started reopening businesses in Texas. There is going to be, I think, a real tension between whether what some of us are doing is justified by legitimate or compelling interests when the message from state and federal leaders appears to signal less of an emergency, she said. I mean, I am still in my slippers sheltering at home, but thats not necessarily the official message. I dont know whether the pandemic is a compelling interest at this point. Elizabeth Zavala covers county and state courts in San Antonio. To read more from Elizabeth, become a subscriber. ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863 Six additional COVID-19 deaths were reported Thursday in Northwest Indiana, including five in Lake County and one in LaPorte County. The deaths bring totals to 111 in Lake County, 10 in Porter County, 10 in LaPorte County, eight in Newton County and one in Jasper County, according to the Indiana State Department of Health and county health officials. A total of 1,295 Hoosiers have died after being diagnosed with the disease, up by 31 from totals reported Wednesday, state officials said. An additional 119 deaths in Indiana were listed as probable, which means there was no positive test on record but a physician listed COVID-19 as a contributing cause based on X-rays, scans and other clinical symptoms. The 10 deaths reported by the Porter County Health Department include one probable case, county officials said. The number of deaths involving inmates at the Westville Correctional Facility in LaPorte County rose by two to a total of five, according to the Indiana Department of Correction. A total of 169 inmates and 70 staff members have tested positive for the virus. The Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) has demanded that the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) is fully respected by the Ukrainian authorities when drafting/adopting new legislation. The respective letter signed by GRECO President Marin Mrcela addressed to Head of the Ukraine's Delegation in GRECO Mykhaylo Buromenskiy with the respective demand was posted on the organization's website on Thursday. "Our attention has been drawn to a draft law No. 3133 currently pending in the Verkhovna Rada which proposes amendments to the legislation on the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), notably concerning the grounds for dismissal of the Bureau's Head. Let me stress that GRECO, in its 4th Round Evaluation report on Ukraine, underlined the importance of NABU's operational independence. As more specifically indicated in the recent Compliance Report, GRECO underlines that NABU should be shielded from improper influence or pressure to guarantee its operational independence, fully addressing the requirements of GRECO recommendations," reads the letter. Mrcela asked Buromenskiy to bring this letter to the attention of the relevant authorities to make sure that the position of GRECO in its 4th Round Evaluation Report and in the subsequent Compliance Report in respect of the independence of NABU is fully respected by the Ukrainian authorities when drafting/adopting new legislation. A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court reversed the federal fraud convictions of former New Jersey officials Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni for their part in the 2013 "Bridgegate" scandal that caused a traffic nightmare on the world's busiest bridge. Justice Elena Kagan, writing the majority opinion, noted that the evidence in the case "no doubt shows wrongdoing -- deception, corruption, abuse of power," but concluded the realignment of traffic lanes in the scheme did not deprive the public of money or property in violation of federal fraud statutes as prosecutors alleged. Kelly, former deputy chief of staff to then Gov. Chris Christie, and Baroni, a former Port Authority official appointed by Christie, were found guilty in 2016 of conspiring to fraudulently use taxpayer-funded resources to close traffic lanes on the George Washington Bridge in an act of political retribution. PHOTO: The George Washington Bridge, which connects Fort Lee, NJ, and New York City, is seen, Jan. 9, 2014, in Fort Lee, New Jersey. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images) "Today, the Court gave me back my name and began to reverse the six-and-a-half-year nightmare that has become my life," Kelly said in a statement on the decision. "Having been maligned, I now stand with my family and friends knowing that due process worked." (MORE: Supreme Court livestreams are high stakes test for justices, public ) After the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey, declined to endorse the Republican governor's reelection campaign, Kelly and Baroni devised a scheme to inflict traffic gridlock on the town, imperiling the safety and security of local residents, according to law enforcement officials who testified during the trial. They claimed the closures were for a traffic study. Christie has denied any wrongdoing. Since leaving office in 2018, he has been an ABC News contributor. "As many contended from the beginning, and as the Court confirmed today, no federal crimes were ever committed in this matter by anyone in my Administration," Christie said in a statement. "It is good for all involved that today justice has finally been done." Story continues Although it tossed the convictions, the Court did not mince words about conduct in the scheme: an unambiguous "abuse of power," the opinion says. Kagan summarizes in compelling detail how the "cast of characters" around Christie inflicted real harm on human life: "An ambulance struggled to reach the victim of a heart attack; police had trouble responding to a report of a missing child," she wrote. (MORE: Hospitalized Justice Ginsburg joins Supreme Court debate on Trump contraception rule ) PHOTO: William 'Bill' Baroni, left, and Bridget Anne Kelly reacts after she was found guilty in the Bridgegate trial at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Courthouse, Nov. 4, 2016, in Newark, New Jersey. (Kena Betancur/Getty Images) Prosecutors said the scheme deprived the government of "property" as defined by anti-fraud laws, by "commandeering" the lanes and costing taxpayers the time and wages of state employees ordered to develop a phony traffic study. The Supreme Court disagreed. "The question presented is whether the defendants committed property fraud," Kagan wrote. "Under settled precedent, the officials could violate those laws only if an object of their dishonesty was to obtain the Port Authority's money or property. Kagan said the justices considered the realignment of the traffic lanes an "exercise of regulatory power" and that the lost employee wages were just the "incidental cost" of the regulation. Clearly concerned about a slippery slope of prosecutions, the justices said that dishonesty, deception and abuse of power by public officials -- as outrageous as they may be -- do not alone meet the standard of fraud established by law. "Federal fraud law leaves much public corruption to the states (or their electorates) to rectify," Kagan wrote, adding that "criminalizing all acts of dishonesty by state and local officials" is not what Congress intended. This report was featured in the Friday, May 8, 2020, episode of Start Here, ABC News daily news podcast. "Start Here" offers a straightforward look at the day's top stories in 20 minutes. Listen for free every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, the ABC News app or wherever you get your podcasts. Unanimous Supreme Court tosses 'Bridgegate' convictions of ex-Gov. Christie allies originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Health chiefs have awarded an IT development firm a 3.8million contract to see if it can use Apple and Google software in the new coronavirus contract tracing app. NHS digital innovation arm NHSX has asked the London office of Swiss firm Zuhlke Engineering to develop and support the app which is on trial on the Isle of Wight. The contract includes a requirement to 'investigate the complexity, performance and feasibility' of using Apple and Google software in the new 'NHS Covid-19' app. The move revealed in the Financial Times signals a potential U-turn towards the global standard proposed by Apple and Google just two days after the trial began. NHS worker Anni Adams looks at the new NHS app on her phone on the Isle of Wight yesterday The UK is one of the few major countries to have turned down the offer of assistance from the technology giants in developing the app. Apple and Google are working with health authorities in several European countries including Germany and Italy to build contact-tracing technology. Critics of the UK's approach say the app will be less effective if it does not incorporate Apple and Google's software. There are also concerns about whether the UK app will be compatible with those being developed by other countries which are using the Apple and Google model. If it is not, Britons travelling abroad in the future could face barriers. The app is viewed as key to lifting lockdown and the Government plans to roll it out nationwide in the coming weeks if the trial on the Isle of Wight is successful. A spokesman for NHSX said it did not currently intend to switch to the Apple/Google standard, saying: 'We've been working with Apple and Google throughout the app's development and it's quite right and normal to continue to refine the app.' How is the NHS tracing app different to one made by Apple and Google? The app technologies developed by Google/Apple and the NHS are based on the same principle - they keep a log of who someone has come into close contact with - but the way they store data is the main difference. The NHS's keeps information in a centralised database, while the Google/Apple app is de-centralised. NHS app: Lists on NHS servers The NHSX app will create an alert every time two app users come within Bluetooth range of one another and log this in the user's phone. Each person will essentially build up a list of everyone they have been in 'contact' with. This will be anonymised so the lists will actually just be numbers or codes, not lists of names or addresses. If someone is diagnosed with the coronavirus or reports that they have symptoms, all the app users they got close to during the time that they were considered infectious - this will vary from person to person - will receive an alert telling them they have been put at risk of COVID-19 - but it won't name the person who was diagnosed. NHSX insists it will delete people's data when they get rid of the app. Apple/Google: Contained on phones In Apple and Google's de-centralised approach, meanwhile, the server and list element of this process is removed and the entire log is contained in someone's phone. That app works by exchanging a digital 'token' with every phone someone comes within Bluetooth range of over a fixed period. If one person develops symptoms of the coronavirus or tests positive, they will be able to enter this information into the app. The phone will then send out a notification to all the devices they have exchanged tokens with during the infection window, to make people aware they may have been exposed to COVID-19. The server database will not be necessary because each phone will keep an individual log of the bluetooth profiles someone has come close to. These will then be linked anonymously to people's NHS apps and alerts can be pushed through that even after the person is out of bluetooth range. It is understood that if someone later deletes the Google/Apple app and closes their account their data would be erased. Will NHS benefit from central data? If the NHS collects the data it may be able to use it as part of wider contact tracing efforts as well as being able to detect local outbreaks using location data. In future, if someone is diagnosed with COVID-19, members of an army of 18,000 'contact tracers' will be tasked with working out who else that patient has come into contact with and put at risk. It is not clear how much access the human contact tracers will have to data collected through the app. Advertisement It comes after fears were raised yesterday that the app only 'half-works' on iPhones after experts claimed it can only effectively operate on the devices if the screen is unlocked. The further series of concerns were raised one day after experts warned that it was open to abuse because it lets users trigger alerts to all their contacts themselves simply by telling the program they feel unwell. This could lead to chaos if too many people 'cry wolf' and trigger a slew of false alerts. An expert has claimed that the app only half works on iPhones because its Bluetooth technology only 'listens' for other phones when the handset is locked and does not broadcast its status. It means that when two locked iPhones with the app are together, they will not record contact. The joint Google and Apple technology in the tech giants' own contact tracing app fixes this flaw, but the NHS app does not use this software. In another potential flaw, residents on the Isle of Wight taking part in the trial told MailOnline that the app appeared to drain their phone's battery life at a faster rate while others on the island said that privacy fears made them reluctant to download the app. And the Scottish government also dealt a potential hammer blow by saying it will only commit to the technology if it is shown to work and is secure. Dr Michael Veale, a lecturer in digital rights and regulation at University College London, told MailOnline that the app 'only half-works on iPhones'. He added: 'This is because the UK has decided, unlike countries such as Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Estonia and more, to not use the new decentralised building blocks Apple provides in its new iOS 13.5 operating system next week. 'In particular, iPhones are only able to 'listen' when they are locked, and not to reach out to other phones. To talk to another phone and register a contact, they need a phone that can reach out to prod them and 'wake' them up, or they won't spot them. 'When two iPhones users are together, as they are both only listening, no contact will be made or recorded. It is only if there is a nearby Android phone present that the phones can be nudged to 'wake up'.' The same issue was faced by Singapore, which was the first country to try a contact tracing app. TraceTogether gained only a 20 per cent uptake with many users finding their iPhone had to be unlocked for it to work properly. Another technology expert, Timandra Harkness, author of Big Data: Does Size Matter?, told the New Statesman that the app 'wouldn't work with the phone locked or while you are using it for anything else'. She added that a friend in Singapore found this to be an issue on the TraceTogether app, which meant that 'you have to leave it on and 'upside down' in your pocket to go into Low Power mode.' If a person with the app reports Covid-19 symptoms, a risk score for an interaction is calculated based on the distance between devices, how long they were in contact for and the infectiousness of the person at the time. It comes as the Scottish government dealt a potential hammer blow to Health Secretary Matt Hancock's plans for the app after saying it will only commit to the technology if it is shown to work and is secure. Nicola Sturgeon has said she is 'cautious' about the app and has stressed Scotland's approach to stopping the spread of the disease will be more 'old fashioned'. Meanwhile, Professor Jason Leitch, Scotland's national clinical director, said he will only download the app 'once I'm confident that it works' and the 'security is good'. Should Scotland refuse to recommend the app it will undoubtedly hit the UK government's efforts to hit the 60 per cent threshold. The NHS is rolling out its new app for testing. This is how it will work: The user will provide the first three digits of their postcode to activate the app. If the user starts experiencing they will enter them into the app. The data is sent to an NHS server, which will calculate which of the user's contacts are at risk and send them an alert telling them to self isolate It came amid growing concerns over the way in which the app works and the data it will collect with experts warning Mr Hancock it is 'almost inevitable' he will face a legal challenge. How will the NHS app work? The NHS is rolling out its new coronavirus track-and-trace app today for testing across the Isle of Wight. This is how it will work STEP ONE: DOWNLOAD THE APP Britons will be able to download the app for free from the Department of Health website. It is also available via the Apple and Android app stores or via a link sent by email to NHS and public sector workers. It is being tested on the Isle of Wight before a potential roll-out across the country, probably one region at a time. STEP TWO: PROVIDE A PARTIAL POSTCODE To register the person will be asked to provide the first half of their postcode, which shows the NHS the town or borough they live in - but not their name or their exact home address. The user will be asked to allow the app to use the phone's bluetooth to keep track of other phones it comes in to close to and for how long for. The NHS insists it will not be tracking location data - only phones But while the Government has said 'your postcode will not be used to track your location' - it is less clear if they also mean your location will not be tracked at all. STEP THREE: KEEP YOUR PHONE ON The user will be told to keep their phone and Bluetooth switched on at all times and the app will run in the background without them doing anything. The user will also be asked to allow 'push notifications' - which allows the NHS to send a person messages directly to their phones. When an individual goes out, the app will keep a log of every time it comes within Bluetooth range of another phone - but that person must also have the app. All IDs will be anonymous, with each app registered to a code rather than a person or address. STEP FOUR: REPORT YOUR SYMPTOMS IF YOU BECOME ILL If someone becomes ill they will be asked to log on to the app and input it. They will be asked if they have the common symptoms of coronavirus such as a high temperature and a continuous cough. If no, nothing will happen. If yes, they will be told to order a coronavirus test. STEP FIVE: APP SENDS YOUR DATA TO THE NHS SERVER FOR ANALYSIS BY EXPERTS If it is a suspected coronavirus case, these symptoms and the anonymous IDs of all the phones the user has come into contact with are automatically sent to an NHS server. The NHS will analyse the data sent by the original sufferer using an 'algorithm' based on distance of between one and two metres, and the amount of time, probably around ten to 15 minutes. STEP SIX: NHS SENDS AN ALERTS TO CONTACTS It will then alert app users who have been in 'significant contact' with the original person with symptoms. In early versions of the app, this warns the user that they have been in contact with someone who has reported symptoms and should self isolate. If the original sufferer tests positive, everyone they have been in contact with will receive a stronger 'red' alert telling them to go into quarantine. The original sufferer triggers the red alert by entering a PIN issued by the NHS after they test positive. The Department of Health has not revealed exactly what the alerts will say. The Department of Health says: 'The app will advise the public what action to take if a user has been close to someone who has become symptomatic. The advice on what people should do can be adapted as the context and approach evolves.' The app will calculate how at risk a contact is by measuring their exposure to the person with symptoms. It will measure exposure by time and proximity. The NHS analysts will set the risk parameters that trigger alerts. STEP SEVEN: ORIGINAL SUFFERER CONTACTED BY HUMAN NHS CONTACT TRACERS The app will issue the original person with symptoms instructions on how to get a test using the software. One of around 10,000 UK human contact tracers may also get in contact on the phone and ask the app user how many people are in their household, where they have been and who they have been close to, that they know of, to find people who may not have been picked up by the bluetooth. They will also try to contact these new contacts if required. STEP EIGHT: SUFFERER IS TESTED Once the Covid-19 test arrives at the person's home they will be expected to swab and then put it back in the post to an NHS testing centre. They may also be eligible for a home test by a health worker or visit one of the country's test centres. The result should be available within 48 hours. There are then two possible outcomes: The person tests negative. In this case, your contacts are told via a message that it was a false notification. The person tests positive. In this case, your contacts are asked to isolate for 14 days, and get them into the clinical testing path. STEP NINE: HUMAN CONTACT TRACERS CONTACT AT-RISK CONTACTS OF ORIGINAL SUFFERER AND PLOT HOTSPOTS The NHS' army of human contact tracers will contact app users who have been in 'significant contact' with the original person with symptoms will be alerted through the app. They will provided with 'health advice' which may include self isolation based on the NHS' assessment of their level of risk. Not everyone who has been in contact will be alerted based on the NHS algorithm. This advice will be constantly modified by doctors based on the current siutuation. Advertisement Civil liberties campaigners and barristers are demanding the government legislate to restrict the way in which the data collected by the app can be used. Some are concerned that the lack of regulation could result in the movement of people data eventually being used to identify anyone who is not sticking to social distancing rules so they can be punished. The UK government has insisted so-called 'shoe leather epidemiology' will be part of its 'test, track and trace' programme with 18,000 staff due to be recruited - but the app will be integral to its success. It began to be trialled on the Isle of Wight this week with a view to then rolling it out nationwide in the coming months. The proportion of Apple IOS to Android users in Britain is roughly 50:50, while 75 per cent of people responding to a poll in the Island Echo said they intended to download the app. The results of another online survey carried out by Isle of Wight Radio were similar - showing that 79 per cent of respondents said they would download it while 21 per cent said they would not. The Isle of Wight's population is about 140,000, meaning more than 100,000 people could download it during the trial. The app, developed by NHSX, works using bluetooth which logs whenever someone is within two metres of someone else for more than 15 minutes. People will be told to tell the NHS when they develop coronavirus symptoms and at that point the data collected by the app will be used to contact everyone the infected person has been close to in recent weeks. The Government has insisted that all data will be completely anonymised, with Mr Hancock rejecting claims the app could open the door to 'pervasive state surveillance'. He said that was 'completely wrong'. But the Health Secretary is facing an uphill battle to win over critics of the initiative after the UK adopted a different path to other European nations. Britain's app will see contact information held centrally by the NHS with ministers arguing this will speed up the tracing part of the programme so that people can be tested quickly. But other European nations are using decentralised apps, one of which is backed by Google and Apple, which see phones communicate directly with each other. Experts believe this approach is less likely to face a legal challenge because the data is not stored centrally. Barristers told the Telegraph that the UK's app proposes 'significantly greater interference with users' privacy' and as a result it will require 'greater justification'. They argued the government is yet to justify its approach and that it is 'almost inevitable' that legal proceedings will be brought against it with the potential for a protracted court battle. The fact the UK has chosen a different path to many other European countries has sparked fears that the different systems will be incompatible. That could result in Britons having to unnecessarily quarantine themselves for 14 days when travelling to another country. But Mr Hancock said misunderstandings about privacy issues with the UK's contact tracing app are making it harder to fight coronavirus. Amnesty International UK has been among the voices to share their fears that privacy and rights could become another casualty of the virus as a result of the app, while a group of UK academics working in cyber security, privacy and law recently signed a joint letter saying it could open the door to surveillance once the pandemic is over. The Government has refuted such suggestions, saying data is kept on a person's smartphone and can only be shared with the NHS when the individual decides, if they are displaying symptoms and request a test. Speaking to Sky News, the Health Secretary said concerns that the app could track people are 'wrong' and 'not based on what's happening in the app'. 'I haven't yet seen a critique based on privacy that is accurate or based on actual understanding of what the app does, so if anybody... has those concerns or is proposing to write about them, I would suggest that they go and look at what the app actually does before doing so,' he said. 'Because if you are spreading those sorts of stories and discouraging people from downloading the app, then what you're actually doing is making it harder for us as a community to fight this virus. 'I'm being quite robust in my response to these critiques because we have taken the concerns into account.' Mr Hancock reiterated that an ethics advisory board will oversee the app, and there are plans to publish a data protection impact assessment and the source code for public scrutiny. One of the key issues has been around the decision to take a centralised approach, meaning when a person chooses to share their data it is sent to a computer server anonymously, instead of staying between smartphone devices, known as decentralised. Professor Michael Parker, a member of the Government's Sage advisory group and an NHS adviser on the app, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme yesterday: 'The advantage of a centralised system is that we want our health system to be coherent, we want it to work in a way that is intelligent. 'And we want the NHS to be taking control of this. We don't want, I think, our health system to be managed by tech companies in a way that is potentially disconnected. 'I would argue that we really want an integrated system that is centralised but carefully managed and in an approach that treats patient information in a way that is appropriately depersonalised.' Former deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman has called for legislation to protect the personal data of those using the NHS coronavirus app. Meanwhile, there are also fears the UK app could be abused because it is reliant on people reporting symptoms. Experts believe mischievous pupils could falsely report having symptoms in order to shut down schools or disaffected workers could do the same to try to get firms closed. Jim Killock, the executive director of the Open Rights Group, said: 'Someone might feel that they are fed up with their boss and want to cause some trouble so they self-report and get half of the work force sent home to self-isolate.' Lawyers are also concerned that the app is not underpinned by its own legislation. Some civil liberties campaigners are concerned that the lack of regulation could see the data collected being abused in the future. For example, they fear the data could be used to show who has been breaking social distancing rules with punishments then being dished out. Legal experts have put forward a draft bill which would set 'basic safeguards' on how the app could be used in the future. Those safeguards would include a guarantee that no one would be penalised for not having a phone, for leaving their house without a phone and that no one will be 'compelled' to install the app. Concerns have been raised about the safety of the NHS holding such sensitive data given the fact the health service has previously been targeted by hackers. STEPHEN POLLARD: The tracing app has got lawyers howling about human rights, but what about the rights of people like me - left highly vulnerable by cancer - to stay alive! Six weeks ago the word 'shielding' meant nothing to me. Today it defines my life. As someone with cancer a chronic form of leukaemia I've spent six weeks 'shielding' in one room at home. I have watched the debate over lockdown with a kind of detached jealousy, because I know that even when the restrictions start to ease, I'll still be especially vulnerable. Indeed, there are only two ways my semi-imprisonment will end. A vaccine would be best, as it would for all of us. But with no guarantee that will happen for at least a year (if then), the only alternative is ensuring that the virus is repressed. For only then will it be relatively safe to venture outside for those of us whose underlying health conditions mean we may not be able to fight the disease if infected. But for that to happen, we need some means of identifying those who may be infected and tracing their contacts. In this way, we can keep a lid on viral spread and enable Britain's commitment to lockdown to pay off longer term. Relieved Which is why I and, I'm sure, my million and a half fellow shielders were relieved to read about the new NHS app being launched in a pilot trial today on the Isle of Wight. The app is our only means of escaping from a life in limbo. It's a source of hope and something close to joy, as we dare to contemplate being able to move beyond four walls again. Those of us shielding will have our own individual causes of misery. For me, nothing has been more upsetting than being unable to hug my children, aged ten and eight. I can wave them goodnight from my room but the routine we have had for their entire lives ending the day with a kiss and a cuddle is now just a memory for them and me. One day soon, when the lockdown eases, they and most of the country hope to be able to take some careful steps back to normality. I accept that I will have to follow them later to be safe. But without the NHS app, it will not be a few weeks later it will be at some indeterminate date in the distant future. Yet, astonishingly, there are those who seem intent on thwarting the app. Critics say the technology could be readily exploited by hackers and fraudsters, while others protest that the app, in effect a tracking device, represents an infringement of civil liberties and should be banned. Yet the objections of both groups are, I would argue, knee-jerk and their claims flawed. And they choose to ignore the reality that in today's digital world, every one of us is dealing with the devil on a daily basis when it comes to our data and privacy. Yes, the NHS Covid-19 app knows where you are and who you have been with but in an entirely anonymous way. No name, no address, no NHS or NI number. Once downloaded on to a smartphone, the app uses Bluetooth technology to 'recognise' other devices nearby with the same app. That information, in the form of a randomly generated number, is stored on a central database. If someone develops symptoms and notifies the NHS via the app, a message can be sent to anyone who the app deems has been in close contact with the symptomatic individual to ask them to self-isolate for 14 days. If a subsequent test for the virus proves negative, all contacts can be told to come out of isolation (if positive to continue isolation for a week). It's a simple idea but, of course, immensely complicated in practice. It relies on people downloading the app and following instructions to the letter, hence the trial before the scheme is rolled out nationwide later this month. It's not perfect, not least because it's not compatible with some apps used abroad, but it is the best option now. So when I read that the likes of Matrix Chambers, the leading human rights barristers, pronounce that the app is an 'interference with fundamental rights and would require significantly greater justification to be lawful' I am not just angry I am despairing. Depressing And what a depressing irony that their ideology, that everything must bend before socalled human rights, poses a direct challenge to my human right, and that of 1.5million others, to be able to live something resembling a life again. These lawyers and shrill civil liberties campaigners insist that the app opens the door to State surveillance, dismissing the fact that the data is anonymous and that in developing the app scientists at GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre and NHSX, the digital arm of the NHS, put privacy and security front and centre. As former Labour health secretary Patricia Hewitt wrote yesterday, the explanation from GCHQ is 'unprecedented' in what it has revealed about the app to reassure people on matters of privacy. In truth, some truly ludicrous arguments are being put forward, including that we risk allowing the Government to impose Chinese levels of control if we use the app the 'slippery slope' cliche. Unlike China, we live in a democracy, where governments are accountable and elected and can be removed if they overstep the mark so this claim is entirely removed from reality. On social media and via radio phone-ins, others express fears that the app is really being used as a Trojan Horse for mass surveillance of the population. Or that it is all a plot by Boris Johnson's puppet master, Dominic Cummings, to keep the Tories in power. Coronavirus is leading to some truly deranged behaviour. The reality is that we are in the middle of one of the worst ever crises to face this country. More than 30,000 people have died so far. The economy is devastated. In order to plot a way through this disaster, most people would agree that it's worth running the potential risk that the NHS might find out where you were at 10am last Tuesday. In the real world, away from human rights lawyers' chambers, most of us blithely allow a host of other apps to invade our privacy, such as letting 'location services', track our movements. If we use public transport we swipe our travel passes which can be tracked. And we happily sign away our privacy in using Amazon's Alexa, for example, or through online shopping, Google searches and social media posts, allowing private firms access to reams of information about us. Thrilled If we are willing to give up our privacy for such trivial convenience, allowing the NHS access to anonymous information to allow us to defeat a global pandemic, save lives and start rebuilding the economy is not so much a small price to pay as a bargain most of will surely be thrilled to have. And the opponents conveniently ignore the fact that installation of the app will be voluntary. If you're worried about the supposed loss of privacy, the solution is simple: don't download it. As with any new tech, there will doubtless be problems to be ironed out. The central idea is both sensible and vital. Instead of letting ideologically driven human rights campaigners destroy hope for the rest of us, let's embrace the technology, thank the people who have made it possible and look forward to a future where we defeat Covid-19. Stephen Pollard is Editor of The Jewish Chronicle. The management of a chemical plant near here where a gas leak left 11 people dead and hundreds hospitalised on Thursday was booked on charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder and causing death by negligence police said. In a related development, the Andhra Pradesh High Court took cognizance of the styrene gas leak and issued notices to the state and the Central governments, while observing how such a plant was allowed to operate in the midst of human habitations. Hours after the fatal early morning leak, the Gopalapatnam police registered the case against the management of the LG Polymers Ltd under Indian Penal Code sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life and personal safety of others) and 338 (causing grievous hurt). Taking up the matter on its own (suo motu), the court also appointed the AP High Court Bar Association president as amicus curiae in the case and posted it for further hearing next week. "The suo moto case should not be seen as something against the government. We have taken cognizance of it because it involved human lives," the court said. Earlier, during his visit to Visakhapatnam to review the aftermath of the tragedy, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy spoke to the senior officials of LG Polymers Ltd and obtained their version on the accident, sources said. The company executives gave their explanation to the chief minister at the airport lounge before he departed for Vijayawada, the sources added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (Natural News) Those who want to give their body another layer of protection against infection by pathogens, such as the coronavirus, may want to catch up on their sleep. According to researchers at the University of Queensland (UQ), this is because any decline in the quality and quantity of sleep can negatively affect the bodys immunity. When a persons immunity declines, it makes them more susceptible to illnesses, including those caused by deadly viruses. During sleep, the immune system releases proteins called cytokines. Certain cytokines are important for fighting infections and inflammation and help us respond to stress. But when we dont get enough sleep or our sleep is disrupted, our bodies produce fewer of these important cytokines, explained the researchers in an article they wrote for The Conversation. In their column, the researchers cited a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine that explored the link between sleeping habits and immunity. A research team led by Sheldon Cohen of Carnegie Mellon University exposed 78 men and 75 women to the rhinovirus the virus that causes the common cold and monitored them for the development of a clinical cold. As detailed in their paper, the researchers found that those who slept less than seven hours per night were almost three times more likely to develop a cold than those who slept eight hours or more per night. According to the UQ researchers, while there is still not enough solid research on the relationship between sleep and the coronavirus, a pattern similar to the one reported by Cohen and his team can be expected. The importance of sleep for stronger immunity In an interview with CNBC, Steven Tucker, an American oncologist, said that getting adequate sleep is the single best way for people to improve and balance their immune system. (Related: Sleep it off: Research explains why sleep is so important for your immune system) Sleep is not a pillar of health but the bedrock foundation upon which all health, including immunity, is built, Tucker said, adding that getting more good-quality sleep improves ones resilience, as well as lowers ones adrenal and stress hormone levels all of which are factors that could lead to improved immunity. Russell Foster, a neuroscientist and director of the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, also touched on the issue of stress hormones and their connection to sleep and immunity in his column for the Daily Mail. According to Foster, the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline are known to trigger the bodys fight or flight response, which means they keep the body engaged and ready for action. However, while this could be helpful in times of absolute danger, this mechanism requires the body to divert energy from other systems, such as the immune system. Immune function is suppressed, as a result. This can be devastating, Foster said, as it not only increases the likelihood of getting infected by new viruses, such as the coronavirus, but it can also lead to the reawakening of dormant viruses that could already be lurking inside the body, such as herpes. Foster also noted that sleep disruption can increase a persons risk of developing chronic inflammation a condition that has been linked to lasting damage to the heart, brain and other vital organs, as well as a weakened immune response. How to get enough sleep despite the ongoing pandemic With the threat of the current coronavirus pandemic still present, experts say it will be beneficial for people to do everything that they can to support their immune system. And one of the best ways to do so is to get enough sleep. In their Conversation column, the UQ researchers shared some tips on how to get sufficient sleep and bolster your immune system. One of the ways they suggested was to stick to a consistent schedule of waking up, no matter how long your sleep was the night before. This, the researchers said, will help improve the length and quality of your sleep on subsequent nights. Another way is to enhance your sleeping environment: Make your lights dim and relaxing, minimize noise and stabilize your rooms temperature. This will make your room more comfortable and conducive to sleeping. The researchers also recommended developing a bedtime routine, such as taking a warm shower or bath one hour before going to sleep or relaxing by reading a book or listening to music. Having a bedtime routine can help your mind and body wind down from the days activities and prepare you for a more restful sleep. For more stories on how to strengthen your immune system naturally, visit ImmuneSystem.news. Sources include: DailyMail.co.uk TheConversation.com JAMANetwork.com CNBC.com The management of a chemical plant near Visakhapatnam where a gas leak left 11 people dead and hundreds hospitalised on Thursday was booked on charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder and causing death by negligence police said. IMAGE: Police personnel carry equipment from the chemical plant where the leak took place. Photograph: PTI Photo In a related development, the Andhra Pradesh high court took cognisance of the styrene gas leak and issued notices to the state and the Central governments, while observing how such a plant was allowed to operate in the midst of human habitations. Hours after the fatal early morning leak, the Gopalapatnam police registered the case against the management of the LG Polymers Ltd under Indian Penal Code sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life and personal safety of others) and 338 (causing grievous hurt). Taking up the matter on its own (suo motu), the court also appointed the AP high court Bar Association president as amicus curiae in the case and posted it for further hearing next week. "The suo moto case should not be seen as something against the government. We have taken cognisance of it because it involved human lives," the court said. Earlier, during his visit to Visakhapatnam to review the aftermath of the tragedy, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy spoke to the senior officials of LG Polymers Ltd and obtained their version on the accident, sources said. The company executives gave their explanation to the chief minister at the airport lounge before he departed for Vijayawada, the sources added. Hong Kong: CE inspects CuMask production Chief Executive Carrie Lam inspected one of the CuMask production sites in Tsuen Wan today and expressed gratitude to those manufacturing the reusable masks for Hong Kong residents to fight against the COVID-19 epidemic. She chatted with the staff and noted that many of them are retired textile industry workers who have re-joined the production workforce to combat the virus. Mrs Lam praised them for their commitment to serving the community and thanked them for their hard work. The masks produced in the workshop will be delivered to a clean workspace for sterilising with ozone and packing before distribution. There is no need to wash the mask before it is used for the first time. In the face of the tight supply of masks amid the epidemic, the Government set aside funds to subsidise projects on technology applications of reusable masks under the first round of the Anti-epidemic Fund. The CuMask complies with the American Society for Testing & Materials F2100 Level 1 standard and can be washed up to 60 times. It can also be used for a longer period after replacing the filter. Mrs Lam said she is pleased to note that CuMask is well received by the public and the registration process has been very smooth. CuMask is a home-grown scientific research achievement with local application. The whole process has involved co-operation between the Government, industry, academia and the research sector and is an outstanding example of the use of technology to improve peoples lives. It will also help solve the problem of the supply of face masks during an epidemic in the long run. I highly commend all the people who have participated in the relevant work and I am fully confident in the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong. Mrs Lam appealed to the public to make use of the registration quota of up to six people to minimise delivery resources and enhance efficiency. She added that relevant departments will deliver the masks as soon as possible. This story has been published on: 2020-05-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Google Maps A 33-year-old woman shot and killed a man Wednesday after she said he broke into her home on the West Side, according to San Antonio police. The 24-year-old unidentified man may have known the woman and had been texting her all day, police said. When she arrived at her residence near the 10000 block of Lynx Crossing just before 9 p.m., the man was waiting for her, according to police. LUXEMBOURG, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Globant (NYSE: GLOB), a digitally native technology services company, today announced it will release results for the first quarter ended March 31st, 2020 on Thursday May 14th, 2020 after the close of regular market hours. Following the release, Martin Migoya, Globant's CEO & co-founder, and Juan Urthiague, Globant's CFO, will discuss the results in a conference call beginning at 4:30pm ET. Conference call access information is: US & Canada +1 (888) 346-2877 International +1 (412) 902-4257 Webcast http://investors.globant.com/ About Globant (NYSE:GLOB) We are a digitally native company where innovation, design and engineering meet scale. We use the latest technologies in the digital and cognitive field to empower organizations in every aspect. We have more than 11,800 employees and we are present in 17 countries working for companies like Google, Rockwell Automation, Electronic Arts and Santander, among others. We were named a Worldwide Leader of Digital Strategy Consulting Services by IDC MarketScape report. We were also featured as a business case study at Harvard, MIT, and Stanford. We are a member of the Cybersecurity Tech Accord. For more information, please visit www.globant.com Investor Relations Contact: Paula Conde & Amit Singh, Globant [email protected] +1 (877) 215-5230 Media Contact: Wanda Weigert, Globant [email protected] +1 (877) 215-5230 SOURCE Globant Related Links http://www.globant.com (From R-L) Aimee Roux, Jeremiah Pino and Lydia Perez enjoy a night out at the Silver Dollar Saloon in Marysville, Calif. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) Reopening. It's a word we have waited close to two months to hear. Some of the rural counties in California got a jump on the rest of the state earlier this week, defying statewide restrictions. In Sutter and Yuba counties, north of Sacramento, restaurants, tattoo parlors and florists have opened their doors. The health officer for the counties ordered the easing of restrictions. But there was fallout. California officials warned that some businesses risked losing their licenses to operate. Health officer Dr. Phuong Luu also expressed concern that people were not social distancing or wearing face coverings while visiting local shops. Unlike metropolitan areas of California, the counties have been little affected by the coronavirus crisis, with only one suspected case as of Tuesday. The rest of California begins the first steps in easing stay-at-home orders on Friday. Ted Crumby, left, of Meridian, and Dennis Hillard, of Citrus Heights, meet for lunch at Linda's Soda Bar and Grill in Yuba City. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) Customers wait in line for body piercings at Heart & Soul Tattoo in Yuba City. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times) Tattoo artist Andrew Wagner applies an octopus design to the arm of Jordan Curiel at Heart & Soul Tattoo in Yuba City. The shop closes at 3 p.m. for an hour to sanitize the space. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) Genesis Nieves, with Heart & Soul Tattoo owner Jake Hunter, has come to the Yuba City for a nose piercing. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times) Kim Hamilton, floral designer, prepares arrangements for Mother's Day at Elegante Petals in Yuba City. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) Wes Heryford, center, works on Ben Martin at Butte House Barber Shop in Yuba City. Heryford closed his business but said: "It was difficult to pay my bills and make ends meet for my family." (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times) Plumas Street in downtown in Yuba City. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times) Anthony Frank, center, and wife Melia Campbell enjoy their first night out in weeks at Silver Dollar Saloon in Marysville. Sutter and Yuba counties defied state orders in allowing sit-down dining early. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) Lanie Gil cleans a table where guests recently had lunch at Courthouse Cafe in Marysville. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times) Hey! I just spoke with Jeffrey. We are in and excited to talk. This was not how we thought this would go. Jeffrey is Jeffrey Katzenberg, the founder of the $2 billion micro-streaming platform Quibi and a Hollywood legend. An executive there was excited to inform us Katzenberg would be coming on our podcast, which we created in February to chronicle how ridiculous Quibi is. A month ago, they had threatened to sue us. When we first started our podcast, it was meant to be funny and chaotic, like everything wed read about Quibi. We decided to make episodes 10 minutes or less, to match Quibis content, and to report on everything Quibithe good, the bad, the unhinged. There was plenty of material. It had a show from Steven Spielberg that you could only watch at night. It had one about Liam Hemsworth wearing tight athleisure and being hunted by two-time Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz. It had a show about food being shot through a cannon into contestants mouths! We envisioned the podcast as a companion piece to this entire demented oeuvre. We called it Quibiverse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Early on, we had some suspicious hiccups. A lawyer for a new streaming service started following us on Twitter. Several Quibi employees followed us, but never interacted with us. Twitter temporarily suspended our account, citing impersonation, despite us writing very clearly we are NOT QUIBI in our bio. After appealing the decision, Twitter reinstated us. We continued to spit hot garbage takes about how excited we were for Quibis upcoming launch. Until March 17. That was the night we received an emailed cease-and-desist from Quibis lawyers. They said we werent allowed to use the word Quibi in our podcast name, couldnt use artwork that resembled Quibi, and basically could continue to talk about Quibi but without using its likeness in any way. As a reminder: We were a fan podcast, doing this for fun in our spare time. We made no money from the podcast, and on our best days, we got maaaaybe a couple hundred listens. Imagine what Quibi paid in billable hours for this. Advertisement Advertisement Anyway, we were shook. To our knowledge, we were the only fan podcast about Quibi. We were their only form of earned media. We were the only people on earth who were actually rooting for Quibi to succeed. Advertisement We went through our options. Should we just stop talking about Quibi? Should we podcast exclusively about Quibis competitors? Should we stop podcasting entirely (for the record, this is the correct answer)? We took some time off and thought about it. Finally, we decided we werent going to be silenced by a $2 billion mobile phone streaming company that greenlit a show about flipping houses where real-life murders took place. We werent going to shut upthis is America. (Danielle is Canadian.) Its our God-given right to podcast obnoxiously about our enemies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We renamed the podcast Streamiverse and pivoted to spite. From that day on, every episode has detailed Quibis combination of bad luck, bad press, and bad strategy. There is so much: the content, the user interface, the social media presence. We may have called it a fat pig that needs to be slaughtered. So you can imagine our surprise when Katzenberg wanted to come on our podcast and have a little chat. We scheduled it quickly, so that we wouldnt lose our nerve, and J Katz wouldnt realize he was about to waste 30 minutes on a Saturday talking to two idiots. When the day came, we were freaking. Rob drank two bourbons. Danielle cracked open a beer. When Katzenberg showed up to the Zoom call, he was still shrouded in Hollywood mystique, and by that we mean he forgot to turn his camera on so we couldnt actually see his face. For all we know, it was a Katzenberg impersonator. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After eight of our allotted 30 minutes flew by without us asking a single question other than How are you? (Katzenberg speaks in paragraphs, not sentences), we knew we had to take back control. We finally got around to our first question: Whats the most expensive mistake youve ever made? Katzenberg took this at face value, and launched into his regrets about launching the app during a pandemic. Which is fair, but also boring. We asked him about sending cease-and-desists to his fans. To his credit, he said it was a mistake, and took ownership of the mistake. We asked if he fired his lawyers after that, why people couldnt take screenshots of Quibi, and whether he had actually listened to our podcast before agreeing to talk to us. (He had, alarmingly.) Advertisement Advertisement Throughout the interview Katzenberg was polite, tolerant, and overall much nicer than he needed to be, considering the fact that we called him Shrek Daddy when introducing him. He was obviously also very savvy. He didnt take our bait and basically gave us answers about stuff he wanted to talk about, regardless of the questions asked. We ended the interview respecting the hell out of him, and the Quibi execs, Shawna Thomas and Brian Tannenbaum, who helped set the call up. We invite you to listen to the entire awkward conversation. It is something. Advertisement In light of all this, we have pivoted once more. We now know what weve known all along: Only we can save Quibi. We are launching a laser-focused plan on how to rescue Quibi from its current turmoil. Were doing this because after talking with the founder, its clear that no one else can. Our spite has taken us through a dark portal, and from there it can only go downhill. Instead, we will be advising Quibi on how to succeed, and for much less money than it pays its lawyers (zero). If, and ONLY IF, Quibi listens to our tough love advice, it will rise from its current sad position at No. 75 in the App Store. It will go from industry laughingstock to Hollywood golden child. It will go from fat pig to prized swine. Probably. Or maybe it will just make another show about building fancy houses for dogs. (Thats actually real. Its called Barkitecture.) Were thrilled to find out. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a news conference at the State Department in Washington, on April 29, 2020. (Andrew Harnik/File/AP Photo) Pompeo Delays Release of Hong Kong Report, Citing Concerns About Beijings Actions As the Chinese regime steps up its attacks on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong in the run-up to a key political meeting in Beijing, the U.S. State Department has decided to delay a report to Congress assessing the autonomy of the former British colony. The delay was intended to allow the report to account for any additional actions that Beijing may be contemplating in the run-up to the upcoming session of the Communist Partys rubber-stamp legislature, including decisions that would further undermine the people of Hong Kongs autonomy, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a press conference on Wednesday. The Partys annual meeting to discuss future policies will be held on May 21 and 22 this year, after an initial postponement due to the pandemic. The U.S. report, which assesses the territorys level of autonomy and human rights, is a requirement under the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump last year. Hong Kongs sovereignty transferred from Britain to China in 1997, with Beijing promising to retain the territorys autonomy and essential freedoms. But international concern over Hong Kongs autonomy mounted, as mass protests erupted last June over a proposed extradition bill that would allow individuals to be sent for trial in mainland Chinese courts. The U.S. law requires that the State Department certify at least annually whether Hong Kong retains enough autonomy to justify its special trading status with the United States, which has helped it maintain its position as an international financial center. It stipulates that sanctions including visa bans and asset freezes should be placed on Chinese and Hong Kong officials who have been found to have suppressed freedoms in the city. Protesters hold up U.S. flags in a march in Hong Kong on Jan. 1, 2020. (Sung Pi-lung/The Epoch Times) Escalating Crackdown The protests in Hong Kong have since evolved into calls for greater democracy, as well as opposition to police violence against protesters. On April 15, Luo Huining, Beijings top official in Hong Kong, called for Article 23, a controversial national security legislation shelved in 2003 after mass protests, to be urgently passed. Days later, in the biggest crackdown on the citys pro-democracy movement since last years protests, Hong Kong police arrested 15 pro-democracy activists on April 18 for allegedly organizing or participating in unauthorized assemblies. At a news briefing on April 22, Pompeo said the Chinese regime was exploiting the worlds focus on the pandemic with provocative behavior to erode autonomy in Hong Kong, exert military pressure on Taiwan, and coerce neighbors in the South China Sea. He addressed the situation in Hong Kong again on April 29, saying, Any effort to impose draconian national security legislation on Hong Kong would be inconsistent with Beijings promises and would impact American interests there. Former lawmaker and pro-democracy activist Martin Lee (C) talks to members of the media as he leaves the Central District police station in Hong Kong on April 18, 2020, after being arrested and accused of organizing and taking part in an unlawful assembly in August last year. (Isaac Lawrence/AFP via Getty Images) But Beijing has continued to pile pressure on the protesters. Shortly before Pompeos announcement of the delay of the report on May 6, Chinas Hong Kong affairs office warned that the city will never be calm unless all the protesters were removed. It said that Beijing has the greatest responsibility in maintaining order and safeguarding national security and will not sit idly. The strongly-worded statement further stoked concerns that the regime was using the pandemic as an opportunity to tighten its grip over Hong Kong. Frank Fang and Reuters contributed to this report. Press Release May 7, 2020 Tolentino defends Senate, recognizes colleagues' efforts in helping country recover from COVID-19 Administration Senator Francis "Tol" Tolentino defended the Senate from criticism that the Upper Chamber has done nothing amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. "Mr President, yung sinasabi po nila na walang ginagawa ang Senado, Ang sagot diyan ay, "No." The Senate has not remained silent, nor has it succumbed to inaction," Tolentino said in his privilege speech on Wednesday. Tolentino's response was fueled by criticism by some local officials and fake news on social media, accusing the Senate of inaction amid the pandemic. The lawmaker said the Senate, in fulfillment of its constitutional mandate, enacted a vital piece of legislation that helped the national government and local government units in addressing the needs of the people affected by COVID-19. "I rise today, to give a highlight of the accomplishments of our colleagues, starting with the landmark measure that laid down the framework for the recovery and rehabilitation of the country. We started last Feb. 4, 2020 when we held committee hearing to tackle coronavirus, Then on March 23, we tackled the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act or Rep Act No. 11469. Bakit nila sinasabi na wala tayong ginagawa?" he stressed. Despite the COVID-19 threat, Tolentino said the Senate bravely faced it by continuing to perform its constitutional mandate, opening its session as scheduled on May 4 and adopting hybrid proceedings through Senate Resolution No. 372. The administration ally also recognized the efforts and accomplishments of his colleagues, including economic and fiscal measures needed to boost the economy which aim to help the country recover from the effects of COVID-19 and usher in the "new normal." As the country looks to the future after the pandemic, Tolentino emphasized that the Filipino people can depend on the Senate as the bedrock of innovative solutions for looming recession, unemployment, possible fiscal problems, stretched health systems and government resources and closed small businesses. He also called on his fellow lawmakers to remain solid and strong amid moves to sow distrust within the Senate to satisfy private interests. "If that happens, who will then speak for the Filipinos? Who will stand for the marginalized? It is the Senate... Hence, we ought to remain solid and strong," he emphasized. Recognizing the need for even greater vigilance related to cleanliness, disinfection and sanitization as the country continues to navigate the impact of COVID-19, the company has undertaken a comprehensive approach to protect against the spread of viruses by partnering with a renowned combination of medical advisors, industrial cleaning providers and housekeeping specialists. "We want Motel 6 and Studio 6 guests to know that we prioritize their health," said Rob Palleschi, CEO of G6 Hospitality. "The majority of our properties have remained open during this crisis, enabling us to gather real-time intelligence to guide our decisions and best practices. Together with our trusted advisors and franchise partners, we adopted a thoughtful and proactive approach to serving guests in this new environment. I am proud our efforts have resulted in this new standard of care. Together, we have 'left a light on' for travelers." In addition to following CDC and other federal and state guidelines, G6 Hospitality has relied heavily upon its partnerships with medical, chemical, housekeeping and commercial cleaning industries to adapt to the continually evolving knowledge of the COVID-19 virus. In the first phase of the "[email protected]" program, G6 performed a comprehensive update to its Infectious Disease Protocols and partnered with Corporate Medical Advisors, a subsidiary of International SOS, who will review and provide ongoing guidance on its COVID-19 operating protocols. G6 Hospitality also has partnered closely with Diversey, a global leader in the cleaning and hygiene industry, to procure EPA registered disinfectants effective against many viruses including emerging pathogens. The company works with the nation's leading cleaning and restoration company, SERVPRO, to address specific cleaning and disinfecting needs across the portfolio. The "[email protected]" initiative focuses on three critical touchpoints. They include the following highlights: Enhanced Cleaning & Sanitization: More frequent cleaning and heavy disinfection of high-touch public surfaces, including lobby doors and handles, front desks, guest laundry, vending areas, credit card machines, corridor handrails and elevators Hand sanitizer stations in the lobby for guest use and in the team center for team member use Use of EPA-approved, antiviral disinfectants to sanitize the most commonly touched areas of guest rooms, including light switches, televisions and remotes, cooling/heating equipment, door handles, desks, chairs, commodes, showers and faucets As needed, engage the services of a third-party supplier to provide deep cleaning and sanitization services Physical and Social Distancing: Social distancing encouraged in all common areas and at the back of the house Plexi-glass hygiene guards installed at front desk terminals Where available, use of exterior front desk windows (in lieu of inside lobbies) Implemented single-use key cards for the remainder of the year Curtailed lobby coffee service and removed vending area microwaves to minimize use of shared equipment Monitoring/limiting lobby occupancy and interim closure of pools For guest safety and comfort, hotel staff will not enter any occupied room. Housekeeping services for stayover guests will include pre-scheduled trash removal, amenity replenishment, and fresh towels and linens Safe Behavioral Practices: Increased guest communications on COVID-19 best practices and property requirements Team members who do not feel well or who have high temperatures are asked to go home/remain at home All employees fully trained on "[email protected]" standards, sanitization protocols, and equipment; procedures reinforced in daily team meetings Employees trained to perform frequent hand washing by using soap and sanitizing stations Required use of masks and disposable gloves by team members at all times while on-property The "[email protected]" program is in effect at all company-managed locations and serves as a guideline for franchisees, many of whom have already adopted these best practices. G6 Hospitality is proud of the extraordinary degree of care that its franchise partners are demonstrating while serving their guests and local communities during these unprecedented times. Toral Bala, multi-unit owner and Owner Advisory Council member said, "Experiencing COVID-19 was a first for every one of us in all aspects; it gave us fear and confusion. At this time of complete uncertainty, G6 showed its franchisees their unwavering commitment. G6 made it known that franchisees were not alone in this battle; they stood by us, providing help ranging from government aid resources to cleanliness protocol updates. These are the times when franchisees remember which brand partners were truly there for them most." G6 Hospitality also serves on the inaugural Advisory Council for Safe Stay, the recently-launched initiative of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA). Safe Stay is designed to change hotel industry norms, behaviors, and standards to ensure that both hotel guests and employees are confident in the cleanliness and safety, once industry travel resumes more regularly. About G6 Hospitality LLC G6 Hospitality owns, operates, and franchises nearly 1,400 economy lodging locations under the Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands in the United States and Canada. Having opened its 1,000th franchise location in 2018, G6 Hospitality also has plans to franchise the Hotel 6 and Estudio 6 brands in Central America. Headquartered in Dallas (Carrollton), Texas, G6 Hospitality recently placed 73rd in Entrepreneur Magazine's 40th Annual Franchising 500. The company also ranked No. 1 in the 2020 Military Friendly Employer survey in its revenue category and named a 2019 "Best for Vets" employer by Military Times. For more information please visit www.g6hospitality.com. SOURCE G6 Hospitality LLC Related Links www.g6hospitality.com As the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) wreaks havoc across the world, India faces another massive challenge: How to ensure the safety and the well-being of its poor and marginalised living in urban agglomerations. Large employment centers such as Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad are struggling to contain the spread of the deadly virus. The problem gets further complicated for those who live in congested slums and ghettos where social distancing is at best a misnomer. Add to that, the poor and migrants are unemployed, and, in the immediate future, face an uncertain future. It must be addressed. Perhaps, the issue does not need a brand new solution but the one that the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi had suggested: Gram swaraj his talisman, the fruit of his life-long search for answers of Indias many ills. His pioneering idea of swaraj or self-rule emanated from the very foundation of the Indian society, its villages, and implied self-reliance. Gandhi envisioned his ideal village as a self-sufficient republic independent of its neighbours for its own wants, and, yet, interdependent for those dependent on it. I am convinced that if India is to attain true freedom and through India the world also, then sooner or later the fact must be recognised that the people will have to live in villages, not in towns, in huts, not in palaces, he said. In 1929, he wrote in Young India: We are inheritors of a rural civilisation. The vastness of our country, the vastness of the population, the situation and the climate of the country have, in my opinion, destined it for a rural civilization... To uproot it and substitute for it an urban civilization seems to me an impossibility. The post-lockdown images of migrant labourers walking back on feet or thronging bus and train stations caused a massive furore. Migrants are aware that, without work, they cant survive in cities. In contrast, in their villages, they have a well-established food supply and free shelter. Anyway, if they dont have work in their destination cities, they have no good reasons to stay away from the family. Most of them are employed in low-end, low-value, hazardous work, which is further compounded by a lack of identity and legal protection. For them, villages are still a better option, with a social security net. Nearly one-fifth of Indias labour force about 100 million are migrants. Of this, a vast majority are from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (UP). In the case of UP, half a million workers from around the country have returned home after the lockdown. To make them financially independent, the UP government has constituted a committee of high-ranking civil servants which is trying to prop up the village economy. The committee has also been asked to adopt a holistic approach and develop short- and long-term plans for migrants. One of the first such tasks the UP government has taken is to reopen the closed and defunct mills, especially those in the food business the flour, oil and pulse mills. Its reviving small units such as dairies, and ensuring them security and support to employ the local workforce, and eventually, cater to foreign markets. The government is also trying to revive the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector, which has over 70 lakh units in the state the largest share in the country. The MSME minister Sidharth Nath Singh recently connected with over 100 US-based companies that showed interest in expanding their existing businesses in the state. But they want us to introduce some relaxations in labour laws, Singh told the press. Rebuilding the village economy can enable people to stay in their communities. Small scale industries, local mills, cottage and home-grown products can make this happen if supported with an efficient distribution system and conducive laws. According to British Governor in India, Sir Charles Metcalfe, The village communities are little republics having nearly everything they want within themselves and almost independent of foreign relations. They seem to last where nothing else lasts. Such an idyllic village life was lost to the pursuit of a modern India seeking city-centric industrialisation and economic activity. But all is not lost. Adversities can be turned into opportunities. The coronavirus pandemic offers one that could help us implement the ideals of villages in practice. Its time we correct this anomaly. Shesh Narain Singh is a senior journalist, columnist and political analyst. He is political editor, Deshbandhu and Consultant, News18 India. Vineeta Dwivedi is a former broadcaster and journalist, and teaches Communication at Bhawans SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai The views expressed are personal The modular platform comprises modules for machine learning, deep learning and artificial intelligence. In turn, each module features algorithms trained to undertake different tasks. For example, an algorithm from the first type of module (left) not only classifies input data but also extracts features from that data, which then provide the input for further modules. As applications become more and more diverse and complex, the demands on design and quality assurance of printed circuit boards are increasing. Through modular AI platforms Fraunhofer FIT can reduce the effort by up to 20 percent. When designing a printed circuit board (PCB) for a new application, every care is taken to make best possible use of the available space and to position components as close together as possible without risking a failure. So far, this process relies largely on the experience of the engineers, whose designs must then be tested in trials. A further complication is that results are not stringently documented, meaning that error-prone designs undergo repeat testing, which leads to increased costs. The finished designs can then set high demands on manufacturing. For this reason, each completed PCB undergoes, at the very least, automated optical inspection (AOI). This uses image analysis techniques in order to determine that the PCB has been produced as per design and therefore does not have any technical defects. So far, however, this method generates a high false negative rate, i.e., a lot of fully functional PCBs are incorrectly classified as defective. These supposedly defective PCBs must then be inspected once again by hand, either visually or by means of measuring equipment. In other words, an unacceptably high false negative rate means that non-defective PCBs are being rejected and then require reinspection, which in turn results in higher costs. On the other hand, if this rate is too low, the follow-up costs are high as a result of defective components entering the supply chain. It is difficult to achieve an ideal true positive/false negative rate based on human inspection, since human errors also enter into the equation. Optimal selection based on self-learning techniques A development of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT shows what a future inspection process can look like. As in conventional AOI, a camera records images of the PCB. This improves the quality of the decisions made by the algorithms. Here, it is vital that the modules are provided with high-quality training data. Initially, the modules for machine learning and deep learning are fed with a good selection of data. The modular design means that we can harness several algorithms, which continually enhance their own performance. Data generated by ongoing automated inspection of components is fed back into the algorithm. This then provides the basis for a process of self-learning by the artificial intelligence module, explains Timo Brune, project manager at Fraunhofer FIT. This permanent feedback enhances the database and optimizes the true negative rate. Early estimates from industry indicate this could reduce the use of production resources by around 20 percent. Users can train the modules themselves, on the basis of their own process and manufacturing data. This means that companies retain control of their own data and are not required to send it to an external server, for example. The toolbox of algorithms can be applied to specific problems in any combination. Intelligent design of new components Once trained, the algorithms can also be used to design new PCBs. This ends the lengthy and costly procedure of trial and error whereby components are arranged on the board until the optimal configuration is found. Instead, the algorithm helps to predict which of the many possible variations will perform optimally. Fraunhofer FIT's approach of using modular, self-improving algorithm platforms for design and quality control of printed circuit boards can also be beneficial for many other electrical systems. Also there, processes can be optimized in order to achieve significant savings in time and production costs. Boston is the latest city to consider passing a municipal ban on the use of facial recognition technology, a software that has been criticized for its potential to violate civil liberties and misidentify members of the public, especially people of color. City Councilors Michelle Wu and Ricardo Arroyo on Wednesday introduced an ordinance restricting the communitys government from using the technology, according to a statement from the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. The ACLU claimed passing the ordinance is particularly time-sensitive. The organization, citing public records it obtained, said the city of Bostons surveillance camera network, run by BriefCam since at least 2017, may be in for a big update soon. The citys contract with BriefCam is set to expire on May 14. Bostons current version of the network does not include facial surveillance features. However, if the community renews its contract and upgrades to the companys latest software, officials will have instant access to a dangerous and unregulated surveillance tool, according to the ACLU. A mere software update at the Boston Police Department could super-charge Bostons existing network of surveillance cameras, establishing a face surveillance system capable of monitoring every persons public movements, habits, and associations, the ACLU of Massachusetts said. The Boston Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from MassLive about the ACLUs statements. The citys ordinance proposal comes as Massachusetts state legislators are considering placing a statewide moratorium on the governmental use of facial recognition technology and other forms of biometric surveillance systems, including gait and voice recognition. A poll from last year showed that nearly eight in 10 Massachusetts voters support a moratorium on the government use of face surveillance software, which remains largely unregulated both statewide and nationally. Several towns and cities in the commonwealth have already taken it into their own hands to outright ban the software or suspend its use until restrictions are put in place at the municipal level. Springfield was the latest community to pass such a measure. Somerville was the first in the state to restrict the use of the technology in June 2019, and similar ordinances have been passed in Brookline, Northampton and Cambridge. Getting the state as well as local governments to ban the use of the software is part of the ACLU of Massachusettss Press Pause on Face Surveillance campaign that launched last summer. The organization hopes to make the public aware of the civil liberties concerns posed by face surveillance and the need to pass a statewide moratorium. The organization claimed the ordinances passed by the five Massachusetts communities strengthen the civil liberties of more than 430,000 Massachusetts residents, and protect them from dystopian, unregulated, often racially biased technologies. Wu and Arroyo - who filed a separate ordinance to provide oversight to the broad use of surveillance technology in Boston and to protect student privacy - said facial recognition technology is plagued by transparency and racial bias issues The city councilors newly introduced ordinances include provisions requiring that any use of surveillance technologies to protect public health amid the coronavirus pandemic is proportionate, effective and responsible, according to the ACLU of Massachusetts. Other countries have used surveillance softwares to track people who have been ordered to quarantine themselves due to the viral respiratory infection. The city of Boston has not publicly undertaken such efforts. If the community does turn toward these digital methods, though, the ACLU said, it should be subject to rigorous oversight to protect the public interest. Studies continue to provide evidence that facial recognition technology disproportionately harms Black and Brown communities which further widens the racial inequities we already face, Arroyo said in a statement. "Especially now, during a time where communities of color are being hit hardest by COVID-19, we need to proactively ensure that we do not invest in technology that studies show are ineffective and further racial inequity. Kade Crockford, director of the Technology for Liberty initiative at the ACLU of Massachusetts, noted subjecting residents to 24/7 surveillance impacts the privacy rights of all members of the public. She urged the Boston City Council to act quickly to pass a facial recognition technology ban. Boston has a chance to lead here, and we look forward to working with allied organizations, the council, and the city to ensure we do, she said. Related Content: Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 7) As the government intensifies its efforts to test more people for COVID-19, each Cabinet member has been ordered to designate at least 100 government personnel to assist in the mega swabbing centers set to open this week. In a memorandum issued on Tuesday, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea directed the members of the Cabinet to tap government workers who shall man the four major testing centers in Metro Manila and Bulacan. The members of the Cabinet are hereby directed to each submit to the Office of the President, within 24 hours from the issuance of this Memorandum, a list of at least 100 personnel, who shall be assigned as encoders or barcoders in the abovementioned centers, subject to applicable laws, rules and regulations, the memorandum read. This order came after an agreement was reached within the Cabinet and among concerned government agencies during a Monday meeting on COVID-19 response, Medialdea said. The list may include personnel from the respective departments or offices, including attached agencies, government-owned or -controlled corporations, and government financial institutions under the Cabinet members supervision. According to the Executive Secretary, those who will be deployed will be given the necessary training, protective medical equipment, accommodation, food, and transportation to and from the swabbing centers. He emphasized that the assigned personnel will be afforded COVID-19 hazard pay and/or special risk allowance. The four mega swabbing centers are located in the Philippine Arena in Bulacan to cater to residents up north, the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, the Enderun Tent in Taguig for the east sector, and the Palacio de Maynila tent along Roxas Boulevard in Manila. The centers were established by the National Task Force Against COVID-19 The Department of Health earlier said it is hoping to expand daily testing capacity to 30,000 by the end of May. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 03:48:27|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A formation of the Blue Angels fly over Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, the United States, on May 6, 2020. Jets from the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels flew over the southern states of Texas and Louisiana as a way to honor the frontline workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The flyover started around noon in northern Texas Dallas-Fort Worth area and continued south over the largest Texas city of Houston and New Orleans in Louisiana. (Photo by Dan Tian/Xinhua) HOUSTON, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Jets from the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels flew over the southern states of Texas and Louisiana as a way to honor the frontline workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The flyover started around noon in northern Texas Dallas-Fort Worth area and continued south over the largest Texas city of Houston and New Orleans in Louisiana. Six F/A-18C/D Hornet aircraft roared over the cities, attracting thousands of people across the region to catch a glimpse. Each demonstration lasted about 30 minutes, local media reported. Dubbed "Operation American Strong," the flyover gave salute to health workers, first respondents and other essential employees who have helped combat the disease in the country. "It was a great tribute to the doctors and nurses working hard to keep us safe," a veteran told local TV station Click2Houston as he watched the flyover with his daughter near Memorial City. Before heading to the south, the team, together with U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, had a similar demonstration over the city of New York late last month. The Blue Angels squadron was established in 1946 in the wake of World War II. Enditem 114 more persons have tested positive for coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh 15 new Covid-19 positive cases have been reported in Telangana today Number of coronavirus cases in Madhya Pradesh rises to 3,252 110 new Covid-19 positive cases have been reported in Rajasthan today 77 inmates from a barrack and 26 personnel and guards of Arthur Road jail have been tested Covid-19 positive Air India's first flight for Singapore under Vande Bharat Mission will depart from Delhi tonight t With 1216 new cases registered, Maharashtra's count jumps to 17,974 First Air India Express flight carrying evacuated Indians from Abu Dhabi lands at Kochi Number of containment zones in Delhi is now at 83 Global economies are struggling to revive demand in the aftermath of Covid-19. Coronavirus lockdowns have halted production across most sectors and nations like Germany, Israel, even worst-hit Spain and Italy have decided to ease their lockdowns to allow resumption of economic activities. US President Donald Trump who said the pandemic is larger than 9/11 or the Pearl Harbor bombing said the White House Covid-19 task force will concentrate on rebooting the economy. Prime Minister Narendra Modis government in India is drafting new rules for the public as the nation looks forward to resume public transport and airlines to restart one of the largest economies in the world. Click here for the complete coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic Covid-19 infection cases continue to surge despite many worst-hit nations reporting a decline in new infections. Russia and Brazil are emerging as new hotspots as both nations continue to report more than 10,000 new cases. Globally, more than 38 lakh cases of Covid-19 have been recorded with more than 2.6 lakh deaths. India has reported 52,952 cases of Covid-19 so far. Follow LIVE updates on how Covid-19 is affecting everyone across the globe: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday directed basic education department officials to complete the process of declaring the results for recruitment of 69000 assistant teachers in the state. This comes a day after Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court upheld revised cut-off of 60 percent for reserved category and 65% for general category candidates. It had also directed the state government to complete the selection process within three months. Now that High Court upheld the state governments view on revised criteria, the department must initiate the process of recruiting teachers in a weeks time and issue appointment letters to all the successful candidates, the CM said in a press statement. A senior basic education department official said their first task was to release answer keys and thereafter the results of the successful candidates would be declared. The official said they would go for speedy declaration of results as directed by the chief minister. Of 4.30 lakh candidates who had registered for the exam, nearly 3.86 lakh appeared in the test. The government order for the said vacant posts was issued on December 1, 2018 while the post was advertised on December 6, 2018 and examination was held on January 6, 2019. Basic education minister Satish Chandra Dwivedi said a day after the examination on January 7, 2019 the passing criteria was revised making 65% (97 out of 150 marks) for general candidates and 60% (90 out of 150 marks) for reserved category candidates. He said challenging the revised eligibility criteria, Shiksha Mitras (para teachers) filed a petition in high court. Hearing the case, the court on March 29, 2019 gave its verdict in favour of the candidates and set criteria of 40 and 45 percent respectively for reserved and general category candidates. Earlier, the state government had raised the cut-off for selection of assistant teachers to 65 percent (from 45%) for general candidates and 60 percent (from 40%) for reserved category candidates. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A new plan to combat the Channel migrant crisis which would see more boats turned back to France has been put forward by the Home Secretary. Priti Patel has asked the French to take responsibility for vessels even if they reach British waters, it is understood. Currently migrants are escorted to British ports if they reach our maritime territory, but officials believe it would undermine people-trafficking gangs if the boats are returned to France. Mrs Patels plan would also see the British taxpayer funding more patrols on the French coast. Home Secretary Priti Patel, pictured, has vowed to send boats packed with migrants seeking to land in Britain back to France Figures have shown that only 155 people who arrived on small boats between January 2019 and April this year have been returned to France A Home Office spokesman said a conversation between Mrs Patel and French interior minister Christophe Castaner had been very positive. The French are happy to explore ideas and will work with UK officials to hammer out a formal plan, the spokesman added. The proposals come seven months after Mrs Patel and Mr Castaner signed a deal to step up patrols on the French coast that the Home Secretary predicted would virtually eradicate migrant crossings by this spring. However, numbers have surged to record highs. A Home Office source said: We would like to see more interception of migrant boats in French waters. That is the primary aim to stop them crossing in the first place. The secondary aim is to turn them around if they do reach this side of the Channel and take them back to France. It came as research showed Channel migrant crossings have topped 3,200 since the beginning of 2018 while Home Office efforts to remove them are paralysed. The think-tank Migration Watch UK, which campaigns for tougher border controls, said the number of migrants being returned to France was abysmally low. Figures showed only 155 people who arrived on small boats between the start of January 2019 and early April this year were returned, it said. The collapse in removals of those with no right to be here, including failed asylum seekers, is part of a worsening paralysis of enforcement which is spurring more trips, its report added. Mirroring the new proposals put forward by Mrs Patel, the think-tanks analysis went on: The biggest incentive for those attempting dangerous Channel crossings is the knowledge that being picked up by a British Border Force vessel or managing to set foot on British soil provides a very good chance of a permanent stay in the UK. One way of neutralising this would be an agreement between the UK and French governments that anyone intercepted wherever in the Channel or on reaching UK shores will be returned immediately to France where any application for asylum could be made. The UK could undertake to contribute while applicants await a decision. In the event of asylum being refused, the UK could also contribute to the cost of repatriation. At least 1,065 migrants have been intercepted in the Channel and brought to Britain since the start of the year, including 11 who arrived at Dover yesterday. Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage watched as the eight men and three women were brought into the port about 9.30am despite being warned by police about non-essential travel after observing refugees arrive on Monday. Border Force officers were alerted to the migrants rigid-hulled inflatable boat at 8am yesterday. The migrants, who said they were from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, will be questioned by immigration officials. They were also checked for coronavirus symptoms. Last week Mrs Patel revealed she wanted to see the law changed to deal with vexatious asylum claims. It was the first hint she is considering major reform of the legislation governing asylum claims, which are often appealed in the courts on human rights grounds. OTTAWA (dpa-AFX) - Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNQ, CNQ.TO) reported Thursday that its first-quarter net loss was C$1.28 billion, compared to last year's profit of C$961 million. Loss per share was C$1.08, compared to profit of C$0.80 a year ago. Adjusted net loss earnings from operations was C$295 million or C$0.25 per share, compared to profit of C$838 million or C$0.70 per share a year ago. In the quarter, equivalent production grew to 1.18 million BOE/d from last year's 1.03 million BOE/d. Further, the Board of Directors has maintained current dividend levels, demonstrating their confidence in the Company's assets and plan moving forward. The Company declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.425 per share, payable on July 1. Going ahead, the company said it is removing its 2020 corporate production guidance due to the current uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic. However, if the current strip pricing continues for the remainder of 2020, the Company forecasts that targeted production will meet the previous issued corporate guidance range. 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. West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday sought an explanation from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on her government's decision to appoint a 14-member board of administrators to run the Kolkata Municipal Corporation without informing him. The administrators were appointed on Wednesday evening to run the day-to-day affairs of the corporation with Mayor Firhad Hakim as its chairman in view of the postponement of the civic elections in the state amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown. "Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar has, while drawing the attention of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as regards the Notification dated 6 May 2020 about the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, has requested her under Article 167 of the Constitution that casts 'duties' on you 'with respect to the furnishing of information to the Governor' and furnish the information called for by him from the chief secretary (sic)," the Raj Bhavan said in a press statement. Noting that the governor has sought more information on the notification issued for KMC, the statement said, "Lack of response from the chief secretary has led to the invocation of Article 167 of the Constitution." Reacting to the governor's assertion that he should have been kept in the loop about the development, senior TMC leader and MP Sougata Roy said, "Law does not state that it is not necessary to inform the governor. The state has issued the order in accordance with the law." Earlier in the day, Dhankhar, in a series of tweets, raised the issue and said that the state government should have sent the notification to Raj Bhavan. "Chief Secretary called upon to urgently forward notification May 06 as also the entire decision making process, including the authority that has taken this decision. Priority be given its constitutional repercussions impacting bodies subject to Part IX A of Constitution. "Appreciating sentiments of people ignoring a lot-surely cant compromise on constitution Order in my name-am not aware. No consultation or information. Where are we heading! Defiance to central directives unfortunate. Time for change-act as per law for the sake of people (sic)," Dhankhar tweeted. With civic elections in West Bengal postponed due to COVID-19, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, for the first time in history, will be governed by administrators. The tenure of the current TMC-run board of the civic body expired on Thursday. BJP state president Dilip Ghosh claimed that the ruling dispensation resorted to an "undemocratic approach" to retain control of one of the older municipal corporations of the country. "If they wanted to appoint an administrator they could have brought in an ordinance. But they didn't do that. They opted for a back door entry and resorted to undemocratic measures to retain the control of the KMC," he said. Over the past two months, the state government and the Raj Bhawan has been engaged in a war of words over state's preparedness in handling the COVID-19 situation. The face-off escalated last week, with Banerjee accusing Dhankhar of repeatedly interfering in the functioning of her government, and the governor contending that the state cannot be governed as a personal fiefdom. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dads Not Home Yet: an enthralling book filled with eventful drama in the lives of three men and their families brought about by a sudden loss, separation, and a yearning for healing and forgiveness from a harrowing past. Dads Not Home Yet is the creation of published author S.R. Wood, a loving daughter, a dedicated writer, and a devoted follower of Christ. Wood shares, Three young boys, two being brothers and the next-door neighbor, vowed to become the brothers three. Each had a matching neck chain inscribed to be worn as their pledge to each other. David, the youngest, called his mother and asked her to tell his dad he was ready to come home. Dads not home yet. I will come get you. On her way to pick up David from school, she was T-boned in an intersection. Two days later, she died. Davids brother, Michael, was devastated and blamed God and his dad for his mothers death. Michael formed a deep disdain for his father. David and his father relocated to South America. His father died in Rio, and David moved to California to complete his higher education to become a writer and teach creative writing. David developed a relationship with a young lady. David also had health issues. When the doctor recommended surgery, David was reunited with his boyhood friend and also reconnected with his brother. A reunion was planned, and Davids young lady friend invited two of her closest friends to join them for dinner. Romance developed. Life was filled with surprises and peaks and valleys. The excitement in the lives of these three couples will not only amaze you; they will thrill your heart. Davids brother was an attorney. His defense of a young man facing vehicular homicide charges will keep you riveted to your seat. A multimillionaire agnostic had a life-changing experience when he met Dr. Michael Worthington. Dads Not Home Yet is a thriller and a testament of reality. You will relate to the events in the lives of the brothers three. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, S.R. Woods new book is a journey exuding with faith and openness amid the haunting suffering of days past and deep-seated hurt. Readers will surely learn resounding insights on the true essence of family, friendship, and redemption in times of trial. View the synopsis of Dads Not Home Yet on YouTube. Consumers can purchase Dads Not Home Yet at traditional brick-and-mortar bookstores or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about Dads Not Home Yet, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Dr Kuma-Aboagye said when that herbal product is made available Madagascar would collaborate with the Food and Drugs Authority to ascertain its potency and advise the public accordingly. He said this at a media briefing on Thursday in Accra on the latest Coronavirus management situation in the country. He was responding to a question posed by a journalist as to whether Ghana is considering the use of the Covid-Organics as part of its treatment measures. 'Covid-Organics', is the herbal remedy produced from artemisia, a plant with proven efficacy against malaria, and other indigenous herbs as stated by the Malagasy Institute of Applied Research in Madagascar. The plant was first imported into the island nation in the 1970s from China to treat malaria. It is now marketed in bottles as a herbal tea, while the President of Madagascar, Mr Andry Rajoelina has said clinical trials were under way in the country to produce a form that could be injected into the body. As COVID-19 spreads across Africa and leaders put their countries in lockdown, President Rajoelina last month launched the herbal remedy that he claimed could prevent and cure the disease. The announcement caught medical experts, who have scrambled to find a cure for the disease that has killed more than 252,000 and infected at least 3.6 million people globally, by surprise. Meanwhile, the African Union said, it is in discussion with Madagascar with a view to obtain technical data regarding the safety and efficiency of the herbal remedy. In an attempt to reassure people and brush aside safety concerns, Mr Rajoelina took a dose of Covid-Organics at the launch event and said it was safe to be given to children. The World Health Organization (WHO) have also advised people against using untested remedies for COVID-19. "Africans deserve to use medicines tested to the same standards as people in the rest of the world," WHO, the United Nations health agency, said in a statement on Monday. "Even if therapies are derived from traditional practice are natural, establishing their efficacy and safety through rigorous clinical trials is critical," the statement said. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also warned people against using unproven remedies. "There is no scientific evidence that any of these alternative remedies can prevent or cure the illness caused by COVID-19. In fact, some of them may not be safe to consume," the CDC said. ---GNA 7 May 2020 THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATIONS (EU) NO. 596/2014 ("MAR"). UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND SUCH PERSONS SHALL THEREFORE CEASE TO BE IN POSSESSION OF INSIDE INFORMATION. Conroy Gold and Natural Resources plc ("Conroy Gold" or the "Company") Further update on Placing & Subscription Conroy Gold and Natural Resources plc (AIM: CGNR), the gold exploration and development Company focused on Ireland and Finland, announced on 18 February 2020 a combined Placing and Subscription to raise 302,500 (before expenses). The Placing component of the fundraise, totalling 250,000, was arranged by Brandon Hill Capital Limited, the Company's broker ("BHC"). Admission of the New Ordinary Shares in connection with the Placing and Subscription occurred on 21 February 2020. As previously announced, 200,000 of the amounts due from certain of the investors were not received on time. A total of 50,000 was subsequently received, as detailed in the announcements released on 2 April 2020 and 24 April 2020. The Company has today received a further 50,000 from the Placee leaving a balance of 100,000 outstanding for settlement from the Placee. The Board of the Company is now increasingly confident that the full amount will be received, although the timing remains uncertain. BHC remain in regular contact with the Placee. All other aspects remain as stated in the announcement of 24 April 2020. The Company will provide a further update as soon as practicable. For further information please contact : Conroy Gold and Natural Resources plc Tel: +353-1-479-6180 Professor Richard Conroy, Chairman Allenby Capital Limited(Nomad) Tel: +44-20-3328-5656 Nick Athanas/Nick Harriss Brandon Hill Capital Limited (Broker) Tel: +44-20-3463-5000 Jonathan Evans Lothbury Financial Services Tel: +44-20-3290-0707 Michael Padley Hall Communications Tel: +353-1-660-9377 Don Hall Visit the website at:www.conroygold.com Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 7) In its fight against COVID-19, the Philippine government can learn from communities dealing with the HIV pandemic, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS or UNAIDS said Thursday. UNAIDS regional director Eamonn Murphy bared that a multi-sectoral approach should be sustained in the country's health care system, with the medical sector taking an active role in decision-making on how to curb the spread of the virus. "International institutions, governments, the scientific community need to be at the forefront of decision-making. This should not just be a political response," Murphy told CNN Philippines' New Day. "It needs to bring together the multi-sectoral nature everyone, the [science sector], the medical fraternity, the frontline providers working with the people who are affected by COVID-19 [to see] the dynamic of the impact," he added. Murphy noted that the country's health system will remain strong as long as everyone, especially the vulnerable, is granted equal access to it. "We have to make people feel that they could get services as early as possible and not wait because of restrictions like having to pay [for their medical needs]," Murphy said. "We can't put in place restrictions either, the fear factor or blaming the people who contract COVID-19. They don't know that they are gonna get it." While no vaccine has been made available to prevent HIV infection, communities worldwide have dealt with it by doing away with fear and stigma. A similar thing must be continuously applied towards a sustainable COVID-19 response, he added. The UNAIDS reported in 2019 that the Philippines has been ranked as the country with the fastest growing number of HIV cases in the world, with about 77,000 cases. By the end of 2018, 13,384 infections were recorded in the country 203 percent higher than infections recorded in 2010, with only about 4,419. Meanwhile, the Philippines' COVID-19 cases have already breached 10,000 on Wednesday, with the death toll at 658. There were already 1,506 recoveries from the infection. Dr. John Wong, a member of the sub technical working group tapped by Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases in creating projections on COVID-19 scenarios, said the country has started to flatten the curve with a slowdown of cases and little or no deaths. But for the Department of Health, the country should not solely look at the number of cases. Testing capacity and the ability to manage suspect, probable and confirmed cases must be further improved. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III previously said that the government anticipates a stockpile of 12 million to 15 million personal protective equipment which could last for three months. The country is also preparing to raise its 5,000 daily testing capacity to 30,000 tests a day by the end of May. PA Media: Video The Omicron wave may have peaked in some countries, global health leaders have said. But the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that no country is out of the woods yet and it is not time to give up and wave the white flag. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO, also said that the pandemic is nowhere near over and warned that new variants are likely to emerge. Exclusive interview of Kyivshliakhbud road construction company CEO Oleksandr Raschupkin for Interfax-Ukraine - The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has dramatically influenced on the economic situation in the country. However, the government decided to refuse from scrapping its infrastructure projects. Why? - We are grateful to the president for taking a correct view of the branches that can support the country's economy during the quarantine. The road construction industry financing has provided enterprises with orders and launched the goods and money chains. Hence, the number of jobs is growing and the state receives taxes from business operations of hundreds of enterprises and suppliers. In particular, the road industry was put on the list of priority branches for financing, the budgeting was not cut by even a kopeck and, moreover, a significant amount of money was added to it. The plans the president had at the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020 are being implemented in full. If they decided to scrap the Big Construction project, Ukraine's economy would fall into an abyss. - What anti-epidemic protection measures does your company take amid the spread of COVID-19 in Kyiv? Do your workers use special protective equipment during road repairs? Are there any COVID-19 cases among your employees? - Kyivshliakhbud operates within the limits of a megalopolis Kyiv. Of course, there is a lot of responsibility on our company. We have taken all necessary measures at all of our bases, facilities, dormitories where our employees live and the plant: sanitizers and face masks have been purchased. The premises are treated with disinfectant, we also have express tests and we use them even when the least cold symptoms are detected. What's more, we have toughened discipline among employees and strengthened our healthcare teams. We have twenty medical workers today. They carry out temperature screening among all employees every day in order to take necessary measures if anything goes wrong. Thank God, we don't have COVID-19 cases as of the end of April. - The number of unemployed people is growing due to the pandemic in Kyiv and all over Ukraine. In addition, dozens of thousands of citizens have returned from abroad. Will Kyivshliakhbud provide crisis-affected Ukrainians with new jobs within the governmental program? - Definitely. The RDS group, a part of which is Kyivshliakhbud, has announced its plans to increase its personnel by 900 employees, but they are mostly connected with the Ukravtodor's projects which we are working on. As to Kyiv, we are working on seven facilities in Kyiv. We hope that by the end of H1 we will overcome the peak of the pandemic and the financing of our project will be increased. We want people, who have returned from abroad and lost their jobs, as well as many people, who have been laid off in Ukraine, to get jobs. According to a moderately optimistic scenario, we will additionally employ around 300 people in Kyiv by the end of the year. - The prime minister said that the people, who have lost their jobs recently, will have an opportunity to earn UAH 6,000-8,000 in road construction. What level of wages do you have in your sector? How did the epidemic influence it? Has labor supply increased? - UAH 6,000-8,000 is a beginner's salary. Of course highway engineers earn much more. We will do the utmost to revive the prestige of our job, and the level of wages you've mentioned is just the beginning. - Foreign contractors, including Turkish, Azerbaijani, Belarusian companies, have been actively working on the Ukrainian market in recent years. How has the crisis affected or may affect their activities? Is there a possibility of them passing the contracts they had won in tenders? - The foreign companies continue working. The only problem they may face during the quarantine is the fact that their employees, who are often citizens of other countries, could be banned from entering the country. The implementation of some projects may slow down due to this fact. The companies cannot pass the contracts they had won in tenders. A contract may be only dissolved and a new tender will be held after that. As a national company we are aware of the importance of proceeding with works on all big and significant tenders. If necessary, we are ready to provide assistance to our foreign colleagues who work shoulder to shoulder with us, but I am sure that foreign companies won't face any problems in Ukraine. - What plans do RDS and Kyivshliakhbud have regarding the entry to European markets amid the quarantine and lockdown restrictions? - We constantly monitor tenders in Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, and Poland. These countries are close to us, although there are some nuances there. If we meet the qualification requirements of the tendering authorities, of course we will file bids for it, we have ambitions and skills. - Did the situation in the country affect Kyivshliakhbud's contractors? Is there a shortage of asphalt or other materials necessary for the production? - No, there are no shortages, all contractors are working. Why is the road construction industry important to Ukraine today? Because, for example, when we win a tender, a range of industries is getting involved. Soil, crushed stone and sand quarries start to work. Mineral filler, concrete and many other raw materials are necessary for the production. We need high quality granite paving slabs and everything related to diesel fuel. Kremenchuk [Oil Processing] Plant is operating. All these spheres start to work as soon as we win a tender. The processing and goods and money chains are created. - Intensive traffic on Kyiv roads has become one of the main problems of the city in recent years. A traffic standstill during rush hours has become a norm in some districts. How does Kyivshliakhbud participate in the elimination of the traffic problems in the capital? Are you planning to build new road junctions? - We are not an authority and we cannot directly influence the development strategy of Kyiv. However, as far as I know, Kyiv City State Administration and the mayor, Mr. [Vitali] Klitschko pay much attention to the settlement of this problem. As a contractor, we carry out the set tasks after winning a tender. We have to fulfill them. I know that many works are being carried out on road junctions in Kyiv downtown and expansion of bridges, which are being constructed and repaired today in order to facilitate traffic. I know that Kyiv had ordered and is studying now a traffic survey. Taking it into account the city plans the construction of new road junctions, expansion of streets, and modernization of the traffic lights system. I know that these works are in progress and we cannot ignore this so as not to lose our competitive ability. I wish we were involved as consultants on the issues of further infrastructure development in Kyiv and other cities. - Repairs and construction of bridges and highways is also one of the key infrastructure problems in Kyiv and all over the country. Do you plan to participate in projects in this sphere? - We regularly file bids for such tenders as we have our bridge department, which has to be provided with orders. We have completed work on five road junctions in the country as of today. And now we are working in Poltava and Odesa regions, we have completed an overhaul of road junction on Odeska Square in Kyiv. Currently we are working on highways as a subcontractor for the organizations that have won tenders. Today construction of bridges is a priority all over the country and especially in Kyiv. In general, it is one of the most important directions for our development as well. - It is known that the RDS group uses concrete technologies. In your opinion, is it reasonable to build concrete roads in Kyiv and other cities? - A few years ago we successfully entered the concrete construction market. The issue of reasonability of such construction is regularly discussed in the country. There are clear reasons for use of concrete: concrete is a raw material which is produced by Ukrainian manufacturers and it should cost less and be more durable taking into account the fact that construction solutions are rather serious and a guarantee for them is provided for a longer term than for asphalt. At the same time, we should take into account the technology of concrete road construction. In my opinion, concrete surface should be used mainly on roads of first category with a median strip. When we build a new road, it doesn't matter what we use concrete or asphalt because it has a separate land allocation and it does not hinder traffic. However, construction costs and constructability should be taken into account. We are building concrete roads N-31 in Poltava region and N-14 in Mykolaiv region. Speaking about Kyiv, I think, concrete roads could be built on large avenues or belt highways. The concrete technology can be used today. - In what concrete road construction projects of the RDS group outside Kyiv do you plan to participate? - We are working on the N-31 Poltava-Dnipropetrovsk project in Poltava region and N-14 in Mykolaiv region, which is known as one of the worst roads in the country. We won tenders for more than UAH 1 billion in one region and for UAH 1.5 billion in the second one and we perform works without delays. The government has allocated financing in full. We are planning to bid for tenders for the construction of the N-14 Mykolaiv-Kirovohrad road. We are also planning to participate in the construction of the M-05 Kyiv-Odesa road in Odesa region. It was reported that there are plans to build a concrete road between Kherson and Mykolaiv seaports. We will be taking interest in this project. We have invested a lot in the concrete pouring technology and we are very competitive in this segment. - Are there any new technologies in the sphere you are planning to use? - The road construction industry has been actively developing in recent years. We never miss important exhibitions abroad and actively participate in trade shows from Germany to the UAE. We won't be competitive without buying new equipment. Automated equipment ensures higher quality of laying asphalt as well as base layers. The compounds that are added to asphalt and geogrids that are used in the technology of laying the base layers. We constantly monitor all of this in order to stay an advanced company on the market. We have our own design organizations which controls these tasks. We do the utmost to show our customers the implementation of various technologies which improve quality and sustainability of roads. - Do you have a vision of Kyiv's road infrastructure in future? What should the municipal authorities focus on while planning road construction? - Naturally, as a company that has been working in the road construction business for 15 years, we have overhauled roads from the greenfield: from replacing all utility lines all engineering networks to coating with asphalt and road furniture. And we have been working in Kyiv for nine years. I think a comprehensive approach to road construction is important as it allows making them durable and helps to prevent replacement of pipes and breaking new asphalt in future. As utility lines in the city are very old, it is obviously impossible to change everything immediately. All cities have the same problem. On the sites where new construction is planned and the cities' general plans are approved, it would be clear where a new residential district and a new shopping mall would be built. Of course, then we could instruct monopoly owners of gas, electricity, water supply systems and other organizations to plan all of these projects for a 10-15 years perspective before road overhauls. And this road would serve there for a long time and one would not need to dig anything there. Speaking about replacement of old utility lines, the city as a customer always takes these technical conditions into account. I can see a strategy in approving the city's general construction plan with Kyivavtodor, and replacement of all supply systems could be envisaged by it. We also need a traffic survey as it is something you plan for a five to seven years perspective depending on the construction of residential and non-residential buildings. An increase in traffic, expansion of streets and other things should be planned. - On April 29, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine received from non-governmental organizations an appeal on the alleged violation of the antimonopoly legislation by the RDS group and Avtomagistral-Pivden. Can you comment on the issue? What a curious coincidence! On April 28, Head of the state-run Ukravtodor Oleksandr Kubrakov spoke about the industry's most acute problem of the domination of "tender trolls" (that's how we in our professional community call the companies that disrupt tenders), called the names of the organizers, the names of the companies, estimated the total number of broken-down tenders at UAH 8.7 billion, and in a day the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine receives this appeal I think the owners of the RDS group will comment on the situation on their own. As a top manager I can say for sure that we work in line with the legislation, cooperate with our western partners and it is unprofitable and unacceptable for us to break any rules. Such appeals to the anti-trust agency are obviously a result of a shadow fight for the introduction of harmful to the country principles in the new procurement methodology in the sphere of road construction. - The National Association of Road Builders of Ukraine and several other self-regulating associations stood up for this new methodology of procurements in the sphere of road construction, but the document also has opponents. What is your opinion about it? - I support the new methodology of holding tenders. Ukraine has been actively adopting European experience, norms and legislation for recent ten years, therefore we should not neglect the laws and rules that exist in the European practice of road construction companies. Today events in our country are developing in two directions: world financial institutions invest money in our country for road overhauls, the financing is provided by the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which work according to tough rules and criteria. Among them there is a requirement to demonstrate a fulfilled contract for the same amount for which a new tender is announced, availability of the volume of works fulfilled under the contract which is put up for tender, availability of equipment, qualified specialists and many other things. It is a worldwide trend that experienced companies should work on big national roads. It guarantees reliability and quality of roads in the future. Without this it will be hard to implement initiatives of the country's leadership aimed at the improvement of road quality, while the so-called "tender trolls" (small companies that disrupt tenders in order to blackmail big companies) will remain on the market with all consequences for the government and citizens. We have invested big money in the development of our capacities over 15 years, we raised loans, we leased assets and took credits in order to reach the level at which we meet European criteria and build national roads. We are strong enough to fulfill any kinds of projects in Ukraine and abroad. About the company: The company was founded in 2005 as an investment group "Rost" for the construction of housing and commercial real estate, but in the same year the firm began to invest in road construction and was named Rostdorstroy. As part of expanding its activities and entering the European market, the Rostdorstroy group of road construction companies changed its name to the RDS in 2019. Now it is one of the three largest road companies of Ukraine in terms of the volume of built roads. The main office is located in Odessa. The group focuses on design, construction, reconstruction, and overhaul of roads and infrastructure facilities; maintenance of highways; and construction of runways. The primary owners of RDS are Yuriy Schumacher and Evgeny Konovalov. The RDS includes the companies Rostdorstroy and Kiyvshlyakhbud. The group of companies operates in 9 regions of Ukraine: Kyiv, Poltava, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Odessa, Vinnytsia, Luhansk, as well as in the cities of Kyiv and Odessa. RDS production facilities are located in each of these areas. The assets of the company include asphalt and cement concrete plants, laboratories, a fleet of vehicles. The number of employees is over 2000 people. RDS co-founded the National Association of Road Workers of Ukraine (NARWU). In addition, it is a member of the European Business Association (EBA). Activities: - 20052010, the company was engaged in bank protection works, and construction of highways and streets in Odessa and the Odessa region. Projects included the construction of the 9th berth of the Pivdennyi Sea Trade Port, and reconstruction of taxiways at the Odessa airport. - 20112012, RDS Group of Companies was engaged in the repair and reconstruction of streets and objects in Kiyv, as well as in the capital region. - In 2013, the company repaired the N-01 Kiyv-Znamianka road in the Cherkasy region. In addition, a number of roads were also built in Artsyz, Tarutyne, Bolhrad districts of Odessa region. The construction of streets in the cities of Odessa and Kiyv was carried out. - Since 2014, RDS has been taking part in international tenders, including tenders for the overhaul of roads in the Republic of Moldova, held under the auspices of the EBRD. - In 20152016, the company performed work on the reconstruction of Marselskaya and Sakharova streets in Odessa. In addition, the construction of the Reni Bypass road continued. In 2016, cooperation with the Road Service in the Poltava region began. - In 2017, RDS signed a contract for the reconstruction and construction of the airfield complex at the Odessa International Airport. Also this year, large-scale construction projects were completed in Kirovohrad, Cherkasy and Mykolaiv regions. - In 2018, a contract was signed for the overhaul of an artificial runway at the Cherkasy International Airport. - In 2019, the company won a World Bank tender for work in Ukraine for the construction and repairing of the M-03 Kyiv-Kharkiv-Dovzhansky highway. - In 2020, RDS completed the construction of a runway at the Odessa airport, while continuing to build highways in the Cherkasy, Poltava and Mykolaiv regions. In April 2020, the company bought the Kredmash DS-16837 asphalt concrete plant. Vizag gas neutralised: 800 moved to hospital India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Visakhapatnam, May 07: At least 11 people have been killed, including a six year old after a chemical gas leaked from a plastic manufacturing unit of the LG Polymers in Andhra Pradesh's Gopalpatnam near Visakhapatnam. After gas leakage was reported in the factory, lockdown procedure was initiated immediately. The local administration was informed. Gas was neutralised to harmless liquid form. But, little gas escaped factory premises and affected people in nearby areas, Andhra Pradesh Minister M G Reddy told ANI. Vizag gas leak: Closely monitoring situation says Amit Shah The gas leaked at around 2.30 am and the exact reason is yet to be determined. The plant had been shut for 40 days due to the lockdown and only very few staff were deployed there. The gas leaked from two 5,000 tonne tanks which were unattended since March due to the coronavirus lockdown. This led to a chemical reaction and production of heat inside the tanks that caused the leakage, a New18 report said. The death toll may rise as 100s have inhaled the gas. They are either having breathing issues or have fallen unconscious. Nearly 800 persons have been admitted to hospital and ambulances, police officers and fire engines have reached the chemical plant. There is gas leakage identified at LG Polymers in Gopalpatnam. Requesting Citizens around these locations not to come out of houses for the sake of safety precautions, the authorities said. The Porsche driver at the centre of a truck crash that killed four police officers has complained about his living conditions in prison and wants to be freed. Richard Pusey has submitted his bail application which will be heard at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Monday. The 41-year-old has compiled a list of the poor treatment he has been subject to behind bars at Melbourne Assessment Prison. 'He is compiling a dossier on all staff who watch and look after him and the conditions he is in at MAP in a bid to get bail on Monday,' a source told Herald Sun. Pusey, who's been in custody since April 23, has allegedly been heard calling prison staff 'dogs' while claiming that the case against him is a conspiracy. The mortgage broker was pulled over by police after he was clocked travelling at 149km/h on the Eastern Freeway in Melbourne around 4.50pm on April 22. Richard Pusey (pictured) has submitted his bail application which will be heard at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Monday Senior Constable Kevin King (pictured, far left), Constable Glen Humphris (second from left), Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor (second from right) and and Constable Josh Prestney (far right) all died in the crash A refrigeration truck later ploughed into the group of police standing at the roadside, killing four officers, before Pusey allegedly took photos of the grisly scene and fled on foot. Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Constable Glen Humphris, Senior Constable Kevin King, and Constable Josh Prestney were all killed. Their tragic deaths is the greatest loss of police lives in a single incident in Victoria's history. Instead of helping Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor who was lying injured on top of his car, police said Pusey pulled out his camera and began to video. 'Amazing. Absolutely amazing. All I wanted to do was go home and eat my sushi and now you have f**ked my f**king car,' he was allegedly heard to say, refusing to help in what would be the mother-of-two's last moments. The 41-year-old has compiled a list of the poor treatment he has been subject to behind bars at Melbourne Assessment Prison (pictured) In the moments after the crash, Pusey is alleged to have taken disturbing pictures showing the officers' lifeless bodies, before uploading them to Facebook Pusey, who previously worked as a nurse, spurred on by personal tragedy in which his brother died of cancer. As reports came out that Pusey taunted Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor who was lying injured on top of his car, those close to him were unable to explain how he reached the point of allegedly refusing to help someone in need. Despite being regarded as a 'd**khead' playboy they allege Pusey was not always callous. In a magazine interview in 2012, Pusey outlined the reasons behind his decision to move from nurse to businessman. 'It was always very good watching people leave the hospital healthy, but sometimes it goes the other way and people die,' he said at the time. But police allege that when it came time to help this week, Pusey was nowhere to be seen. Pusey was allegedly high on drugs and speeding at more than 140km/h along the Eastern Freeway in his Porsche (pictured after the crash) about 4.50pm on April 22 His ex-girlfriend Bonnie Wang told Daily Mail Australia she was shocked to hear about the allegations against him. She said while Pusey had left his role as a nurse to make more money and fund the lavish lifestyle he so desperately craved, he had always 'cared' for his patients when nursing. His brother's death also contributed to the breakdown of their relationship, with Ms Wang revealing Pusey was scared to bring a child into the world after losing a loved one. She on the other hand was desperate for a family, leading them to go their separate ways. 'It affected his opinion on having kids. He didn't want to have to worry about losing the kid all his life,' Ms Wang said. Bonnie Wang (right) defended her ex-boyfriend Richard Pusey (left) by sending a text message to his phone in the hope Victoria Police officers would see it Emergency services work at the scene of a collision near the Chandler Highway in the suburb of Kew in Melbourne With no interest in starting a family, Pusey turned his focus to making money - and he did so in spades, quickly becoming a prominent figure in Melbourne mortgage brokering. Just last year he sold a large commercial building for $4.4 million in 2019, a profit of $1.6 million on the property. In another commercial deal a year earlier he had pocketed a cool $1.45 million. But while his former girlfriend described Pusey as a 'gentle person' not everyone who encountered sung his praises. 'He was an absolute d**khead. He was a playboy, living the fast life,' a colleague told The Herald Sun. He had a fascination for fast cars and on his YouTube channel shared videos showing him driving his Porsche 911 around race tracks. But while his former girlfriend described Pusey as a 'gentle person' not everyone who encountered sung his praises. 'He was an absolute d**khead. He was a playboy, living the fast life,' a colleague told The Herald Sun.e had a fascination for fast cars and on his YouTube channel shared videos showing him driving his Porsche 911 around race tracks. Truck driver, Mohinder Singh, 47, has been receiving psychiatric treatment at Melbourne Assessment Prison since the tragedy unfolded Emergency services work at the scene of a collision near the Chandler Highway in the suburb of Kew in Melbourne, Thursday, April 23, 2020 Pusey tested positive to cannabis and ice and was charged by police with failing to assist at the scene of the crash, reckless conduct endangering life, speeding and failing to remain after a drug test. Truck driver, Mohinder Singh, 47, has been receiving psychiatric treatment at Melbourne Assessment Prison since the tragedy unfolded. Singh reportedly suffering a medical episode that saw him black out after impact. He has been charged with culpable driving causing the deaths of the four officers. Singh is understood to have a pre-existing mental health issue, with a prison source telling the Herald Sun the father-of-two was suffering anxiety and panic attacks in custody. 'He is an unwell man,' the source said. 'He reported that he'd sighted a witch while he was driving and veered into the emergency lane.' Two ice pipes were allegedly found in his truck, but the results of his blood tests are yet to be revealed. Manila (CNN Philippines Life) When Luzon was placed under enhanced community quarantine on March 16, the education system was greatly disrupted. Everyone was ordered to stay indoors as much as possible and maintain social distancing. Public transportation was also suspended. With these changes, schools were forced to transition into an online and remote mode of learning, but the swift implementation of the ECQ gave schools little to no time to prepare for such. With the extension of the ECQ until May 15, students and teachers no longer have time to return to their classrooms and continue their semesters on-site. Schools are left with very little options. What should schools consider when deciding on what to do in light of the pandemic? The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) allows universities and colleges to pursue policies and decisions as a response to the COVID-19 crisis. Meanwhile, the Department of Education stands firm against the implementation of mass promotion in public schools while discouraging the same for private schools. Many schools continue to pursue their semesters online; some, such as the University of the Philippines, have implemented deferred grade policy that would give students more time beyond the academic calendar to fulfill their requirements. However, students have expressed their support for mass promotion. On May 2, the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) initiated an online campaign to call for #MassPromotionNow and #EndSemesterNow. The call also demands a refund of unused school fees to provide students and their families the much needed economic support. NUSP finds that mass promotion is both practical and humanitarian. It recognizes that the suspension of classes has affected the phasing of learning modules and has altered the curriculum. Online learning, meanwhile, does not guarantee quality education and excludes those without stable internet access and devices, NUSP wrote in a statement. According to CHED, it is difficult to craft a blanket recommendation for all schools to implement, but whatever a schools response to the pandemic may be, it must be rooted in empathy and a deep understanding of the real situation of their students. How does mass promotion work? Two universities that have implemented a pass all policy are Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) and Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM). The two will be giving all their students a passing mark, with special consideration to the graduating students. ADMU allows graduating students to request for their grades while PLM gives its graduating class an entire year to fulfill their requirements. As PLM and ADMU are only halfway through their semesters when the ECQ was implemented, students have not provided enough output to base an assessment on. The pass all policy will mean that the schools will be unable to compute for the students final semester grades but will be effectively promoting everyone. PLM President Emmanuel Leyco clarifies that neither merits nor demerits will be given to students. Dr. Benjamin Gerardo Tolosa, Associate Dean for the Core Curriculum at ADMU, emphasizes that it is difficult and unfair to make a judgment of failure considering that students have not been given the benefit of a full semester to improve their performance. More so, numerical grades in a time of crisis might say more about the students conditions and learning environment more than their actual learning outcomes and efforts. PLM and ADMU acknowledge that, even if they had wanted to continue their semesters, they are not well-equipped to conduct online classes. For one, not all of their faculty members have the right resources to facilitate such an arrangement. Apart from that, the courses and programs were mapped with a mostly face-to-face setup in mind. Attempts at replicating the same learning outcomes through a vastly different pedagogical approach that is, online learning may not be effective. Their decisions were based on the specific situations of their students. Through a student-initiated survey found, ADMU found that 12.3% of their students have no access to reliable internet connectivity. Meanwhile, Leyco informed CNN Philippines Life that more than half of PLMs students have no internet connectivity or even the proper gadgets to participate in online classes. We cannot allow the digital divide to stop us from giving quality education to our students, Leyco shares. Given the unequal access to resources among their student population, both schools believe that any decision that would require everyone to go online is an unfair one. PLM and AdMU also acknowledge the anxiety that the pandemic brings. Leyco finds that adding the pressure of a numerical grading system and academic deadlines will just prolong the students agonies in an already stressful situation. With everyone prioritizing safety and survival, students may not feel connected enough with their academic obligations. Its not just the teaching and learning we worry about, Tolosa says. We have to worry about our country; we have to worry about the world, even as we are worried about our individual families and situations. Repercussions of the policy The implementation of a pass all policy does not come without repercussions. A shortened semester may create learning gaps that may affect the proceeding semesters if not addressed accordingly. However, the shortened semester also gives the schools more time to prepare for the future. ADMU is focusing on creating bridging programs that would cover any learning gaps caused by the ECQ. The university's faculty and administrative members are also preparing for a more flexible learning arrangement if the situation aggravates and continues to extend until the next school year. PLM is busy revisiting their plans for the next school year and adapting it to the current situation. They are preparing to revamp their facilities so that it can accommodate social distancing guidelines and equipped with multimedia and connectivity tools. They are also looking at rearranging their class hours to allow for shifting class schedules in the next school year. Apart from that, they are reviewing their curriculum and redesigning it to be flexible, modular, and considerate of the learning gaps left by the shortened semester. COVID-19 is experienced on a global scale, yet there are differences in the way it impacts people's lives. Tolosa advises to respond to the differences as the COVID-19 highlights inequalities much more. AdMU will also issue a tuition refund to its students while ensuring that all Loyola Schools employees continue to receive salaries and benefits. They also encourage students to donate their refunds, or a portion of it, to a channel such as the LS Emergency Funds which aim to support students and other stakeholders in need. The pandemic has disrupted not just the education system, but peoples lives as a whole. It has left many in survival mode and riddled with anxiety. Schools should function as spaces of hope and comfort in a time of crisis. Educators must remember to return to their social obligation and teach not just competency, but also compassion. As Tolosa says, The challenge is much broader: it is a world that probably needs to be responded to. We have to face a world that we probably have to transform and remake so that it becomes much more just and compassionate. An Indian-origin Opposition Labour Party MP, who had returned part-time to her previous role of a care worker to join the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in the UK, says she was sacked for speaking out against the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) on the frontlines. Nadia Whittome, born in the UK to a Punjabi father and the youngest Member of Parliament in the House of Commons representing her birthplace of Nottingham in central England since her win in the December 2019 General Election, is now running a drive to encourage care workers to speak out if they have safety concerns. "Because I've spoken out about this [PPE shortages] I've been sacked from my employment. But this isn't just about me, it's not just about one individual case, or even one employer. Care workers across the country are being easily exploited by their employers, especially if they're on zero-hours contracts," said the 24-year-old Labour Party MP, who had pledged to donate the salary from her part-time role at the retirement home run by ExtraCare to a local COVID-19 support fund. "If you are one of the care workers who has been pressured or threatened with disciplinary action for speaking out about the lack of PPE, then I'd like you to contact my office, in confidence, to share your experience. It's really important that we get a picture of the scale of this happening across the country," she said, in her appeal to care workers. Her employer ExtraCare said in a statement that the reason for Whittome's contract being terminated was that they no longer required extra staff and also that there were no problems with PPE at the Lark Hill retirement village where she had been based. "Nadia joined us as a casual worker to help our care team and we welcomed her contribution, providing support on eight care shifts during March and April. Our in-house care team is now fulfilling our needs at this time and Nadia's help is no longer needed," the statement said. "At Lark Hill, we have over three months' supply of Personal Protective Equipment, including over 25,000 pairs of gloves, 7,700 aprons and nearly 6,000 masks we have access to further equipment should we need it. Reports that we have a PPE shortage are inaccurate and have caused concern amongst our residents we have had to invest a significant amount of staff time reassuring our residents as a result," it said. The retirement village, among the largest in the UK, added that as a result of "rigorous" infection control measures, no deaths have occurred within the Lark Hill care home as a result of COVID-19. But Whittome said she will be collecting evidence on how care workers are "undervalued, underpaid, and fear speaking out" due to their precarious employment status. She said: "Just over a month ago, when the coronavirus pandemic took hold, I returned to my part-time job as a care worker because I knew that this crisis would be falling on already underpaid, overworked care workers, who would be even more stretched. "I've used the time to talk about the way in which the government's response to this has neglected social care including a national shortage of PPE and testing, and how that's risking the lives of staff, of residents and of the general public." Opposition Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer spoke out in his MP's favour and tweeted that "no-one should be sacked for speaking out". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath announced on Tuesday that hybrid graduation ceremonies will be allowed if schools adhere to TEA restrictions during the briefing. The hybrid graduation ceremonies consist of students going and receiving their diplomas from their school, a short video, and a photo of them taken to be edited through a virtual ceremony, according to KVUE Austin. As the country battles COVID-19, traders'' body CAIT on Thursday said traders are facing tremendous financial crunch and payment of full salary for April to their staff was next to impossible New Delhi: As the country battles COVID-19, traders'' body CAIT on Thursday said traders are facing tremendous financial crunch and payment of full salary for April to their staff was next to impossible. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has written to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal seeking his intervention in the matter. "If such payments are made, the business of the traders will fall like anything and in absence of any inflow of money, such payments will be disastrous for the retail trade of the country and in turn will badly affect the economy," CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said in the letter to Goyal. He said it is becoming difficult for traders to pay full salary for the month of April to their employees since they are experiencing "tremendous financial crunch and any full payment of salary to the employees for the April month is next to impossible". Click here to follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak CAIT said, while realising the unprecedented current situation, the government should devise a method under which "this crucial and critical issue is resolved to the satisfaction of all". Click here to follow LIVE news and updates on stock markets In a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday, CAIT had urged the government to allow traders to pay salaries as per a mutual agreement between the employer and the employee or allow them to pay 30 percent of the salary to meet their livelihood needs. Alternatively, the government may contribute 50 percent of the salary and traders may contribute 25 percent, CAIT had suggested. "Under the current scenario, when there is no business and traders are overburdened with several financial obligations, a needy intervention from the government is required to meet the end of justice," the trader's body said in the letter to the finance minister. When Gale Dickinson was 22 years old, he was with the Occupation Army stationed in Japan. The war between the United States and Japan had officially ended on Sept. 2, 1945, when Japan signed the Instrument of Surrender on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Gale was surprised to find how friendly the Japanese people were to the Americans. It seemed sort of funny that only three months ago we would have killed each other if we had met," he said. "Sometimes I didnt know how to feel. Its a lot easier to dislike someone from a distance than it is when you are up close and they are being very friendly toward you." As a member of the Airborne 84th Squadron, Gale Dickinson is a World War II veteran. This is his story. In 1942, Gale Dickinson was attending Flint Junior College when an Army recruiting officer came to talk to the young men. He convinced me to sign up with the enlisted Reserve Corps and said I could finish college before being called up, Gale said. Four months later, Gale was called to active duty. My parents and my pastor came to see me off on a Greyhound bus for Fort Custer," he said. "Pastor gave me a copy of the New Testament and I carried it with me all the time I was in the Service. After spending two months at Fort Custer, Gale was sent to Punta Gorda Army Airfield in Charlotte County, Florida. (In one year, Florida had 40 military airfields nicknamed Tent City.) We had to sleep in pup tents. Eat Army chow. Many of the guys got sick, Gale said. After two weeks there, they were sent to the Fort Sheridan Hotel in Clearwater, Florida. The hotel had been taken over by the Army. Training intensified. Once that was over, the young men were sent to Oklahoma A & M College in Stillwater to be trained in airfield operations. There they learned how to use a teletype machine and how to use tower equipment. When that four months of schooling ended, Gale found himself assigned to the Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, with the Airborne 84th Squadron. The purpose of the Airborne squadrons were to follow the infantry and after the infantry had captured an enemy airstrip, the Airborne squadron took over After three weeks in Savannah, the squadron went to New Orleans in Louisiana and boarded a Liberty ship headed for the Pacific Theater of War. Liberty ships were a unique World War II ship that was mass produced on a huge scale, a symbol of U.S. wartime industrial output. The squadron safely escaped German U-boats in the Gulf of Mexico making it to the Panama Canal and docking in Panama City on Valentines Day 1944. From there, they sailed to Brisbane, Australia continuing to Port Moresby, New Guinea. The Japanese fleet was planning to invade Australia. We turned them around, Gale said matter-of-factly. In Finchhaven, New Guinea, Gales job was to park the airplanes on the airstrip and one of those planes had Bob Hope, Jerry Colonna and Frances Langford. His show was fantastic, Gale said. From Finchhaven, the squadron was shipped to Hollandia, New Guinea. It was now the middle of October 1944 and orders came for them to ship out again. This time, they boarded an Australian sheep ship that had been converted for servicemen. The hold hadnt been cleaned out from when the sheep had been in it. The odor was suffocating, Gale said. This time, the squadron landed near Dulag Airfield, in the Province of Leyte in the Philippines, taking over the airstrip that the infantry had taken from the Japanese. The Japanese army was still close to the airstrip. We saw a lot of action, Gale said. It was the warm season in Leyte, and Gale dug a foxhole outside his tent. The foxhole was half full of water so I was reluctant to get down in it unless the action got really close, Gale said. But one night, the Japanese were dropping paratroopers, bombing and strafing the area. Gale was straddling his foxhole when a Japanese Betty bomber came over head. Water or not, Gale went in the foxhole. American anti-aircraft guns were shooting at the Mitsubishi bomber and Gale said he could actually see the Japanese pilot smiling as he strafed the area at tree top level. The Japanese pilot then began climbing, flying his plane into the anti-aircraft fire and the plane exploded almost immediately. Gale said they called that particular Japanese plane a Zippo, a one shot fighter. Cheaply constructed, they had little protection when anti-aircraft fire hit them. The landing strip at Dulag Airfield was made of steel matting, making it very slippery when it got wet for the P-38 planes landing or taking off. Pilots in the P-38 planes had reconnaissance cameras to take pictures of the fighting going on. When they came in to land, they ended up wiping out two or three of the P-38 planes parked along the airstrip. With those pilots, a smooth landing was mostly luck," Gale said. "Two in a row was all luck. Three in a row was a miracle. There were times when Gale had to be in the tower at the airstrip and he hated it. He especially remembers a fighter ace named Major Bong who had over 40 kills. He liked to buzz the tower when he came back and then do roll-overs for the number of Japanese planes he had downed. After a few months at Dulag Airfield, Gales squadron was moved 30 miles away to Tacloban, with Gale again doing duty in the tower of the airstrip. He remembers sending out P-61 Black Widow fighter planes during the critical battle raging in Leyte Gulf. The planes did not all come back. History records that the Battle of Leyte Gulf was the turning point in the war with Japan. It was the greatest naval battle in history and the last one to use battleships. On Aug. 6, 1945, the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Japan surrendered. On Sept. 17, 1945, Gale was sent to Japan as part of the Occupation Force. In early December 1945, he was shipped back to the States during the Christmas season. On Jan. 7, 1946, he was honorably discharged from the Service. From a distance, Gale Dickinson remembers his life in World War II. Meeting Bob Hope. Seeing General Douglas MacArthur. Japanese fighter pilots. American P-38 pilots skidding on wet airstrips. P-61 Black Widow pilots never returning after battle. He remembers being 22 and fighting for his country, and if he had to do it all over, he would do it again. Editor's Note: Virginia Florey, a Midland resident, pens a monthly Midland Remembers column. This month will feature a collection of Midland Remembers highlighting veterans. KYODO NEWS - May 7, 2020 - 14:35 | All, Japan As more people turn to internet shopping with physical stores closed during the coronavirus pandemic, online booksellers such as Amazon are struggling to meet the huge demand they are seeing due to restocking priority going to essential products. Readers have been increasingly heading to social media to air complaints about their inability to order books online. "I can't go out so I was going to order some books on Amazon, but I found all the ones I wanted were sold out," said one frustrated bibliophile. Even new release titles that hit shelves earlier this year are sold out, and the increased demand has led to a surge in the price of secondhand books. As publishers in Japan do not sell directly to stores, rather using distributors to consign their books to booksellers, titles can be listed as sold out even if stocks remain in warehouses, a representative of a publisher said. Positively reviewed books have become scarce on Amazon, which began limiting book deliveries from publishers from March despite the demand, a source close to the matter said. According to a sales representative from a major publisher, Amazon said it is refraining from placing additional orders of books as shipping companies are struggling to cope with the huge demand for delivery of other goods. "(Online stores) need to prioritize daily essentials and sanitary goods," Amazon explained to one midsized publisher in an email. Some publishers have expressed frustration that their products have been given a lower priority, while others have accepted that it is inevitable in the current situation. But with Amazon, currently the largest bookseller in Japan in terms of sales, not placing additional orders and many physical bookstores closed under the state of emergency, the damage to publishers is significant. "We are working to return to normal operations as soon as possible," said a spokesperson for Amazon. "Even though Amazon began as a bookstore, books generate less profit than other products for the company. So Amazon probably regards books as necessary, but nonessential," said magazine journalist Hiroyuki Nariai on the e-commerce giant's standpoint. With e-books still relatively unpopular in Japan -- in 2019 just 20 percent of sales, including manga and magazines, were made via digital book downloads -- publishers have had to look to other options. Some have begun selling books directly to readers. Tokyo-based Akishobo Inc., reputed for publishing books in humanities and foreign nonfiction, opened its own online store in April and sells books currently unavailable on Amazon. "We want to explore new ways of connecting readers with books, as we add another avenue of delivering books to readers," said an Akishobo staff member. Also popular among readers is a service offered by e-hon, an online bookstore operated by major distributor Tohan Corp., which allows customers to support their favorite bookstores, even as they remain closed, by having books delivered. Updated at 4:24 p.m. ET on 2020-05-07 The Philippine economy has slowed down for the first time in 22 years as the COVID-19 pandemic forced a shutdown of all economic activities, the government said Thursday. The National Economic Development Authority said the countrys gross domestic product contracted 0.2 percent in the first quarter of the year, from 6.7 percent growth registered in the last quarter of 2019, and 5.6 percent in the first quarter last year. Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua attributed the drop to a slowdown in economic activity when the Taal volcano south of Manila erupted in January, as well as when the government placed the entire island of Luzon under lockdown, or enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Containing the spread of the virus and saving hundreds of thousands of lives through the imposition of the ECQ has come at great cost to the Philippine economy, he said in a statement. Our economic growth is showing weaker performance compared to the past two decades. Even so, our priorities are clear - to protect lives and health of our people. The health crisis posed serious challenges to economic prospects in the immediate future, he said. The recently ended quarter marked the first time real GDP growth fell into negative territory since 1998 when regional economies were battered by the El Nino weather phenomenon and the Asian financial crisis. Novel coronavirus has infected at least 10,343 Filipinos and killed 685 others, according to official tallies on Thursday. Based on the April 2020 World Economic Outlook of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the global economy is projected to contract by 3 percent this year and could beat the 1.7-percent drop in GDP recorded a year after the 2008 financial crisis, he said. Where we are now could potentially be the worst global recession since the great depression of the 1930s, Chua said. Our surveys show that while two-thirds of businesses did not operate during the ECQ, only about 20 percent of these laid off their workers. We also know that about 45 percent of non-government and self-employed workers lost their sources of income. The government stands ready to help them through our various social amelioration and wage subsidy programs, Chua explained. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque downplayed the first quarter figure as a minimal contraction but warned of further weakness going into the April-June quadrant. We expect the economy to shrink even more during the month of April because the whole month of April is basically under ECQ and the first two weeks of May as well, Roque told reporters. But the economy should experience a very strong rebound once the country fully embarks on its spending spree programmed for the year, Roque said. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge has found herself on many best-dressed lists but that doesnt mean shes immune to wardrobe malfunctions. Although she always dresses for her role as the future queen, her clothes dont always cooperate. In her nine years as an official member of the British royal family, Catherine has experienced many wardrobe malfunctions but she always handles them like a pro. The wind has caused many wardrobe malfunctions for Kate Middleton The wind; enemy to breezy skirts and dresses everywhere and something Catherine knows all too well. The wind has wreaked havoc on her outfits (and hair) many times over the years. Attending Princess Eugenie of Yorks wedding to Jack Brooksbank on Oct. 12, 2018, a gust of wind picked up and threatened to expose Catherines underwear to photographers. The Duchess of Cambridge cooly kept the hem of her dress down. Kate Middleton | Mark Large WPA Pool/Getty Images Attending a workshop organized by the National Portrait Gallery on January 28, 2020, Catherines skirt flew up. Kate Middleton | Samir Hussein/WireImage She laughed off the wardrobe malfunction and moved on with the engagement. On her and Prince Williams first royal tour following their wedding, they visited Canada. During one of their engagements, there must have been high winds because cameras got a shot of Catherines exposed legs. Kate Middleton | Chris Jackson/Getty Images Throughout the event, the newly minted Duchess of Cambridge did her best to kept her dress and hair from blowing in the wind. Prince William and Kate Middleton | Samir Hussein / Contributor Despite the wardrobe malfunction, she kept a smile on her face. Kate Middleton | Samir Hussein / Contributor During her and Williams royal tour of India and Bhutan in 2016, they honored soldiers with a wreath. During the somber moment, the wind picked up and Catherine had to hold her dress down to prevent a wardrobe malfunction. Prince William and Kate Middleton | Danny Martindale/WireImage To avoid wardrobe malfunctions like Catherines, Queen Elizabeth II has weights sewn into the hem of her dresses and skirts. Shes had problems with shoes According to Hola!, Catherine nearly lost one of her shoes during an engagement with William on Nov. 12, 2019, when they visited a celebration for crisis volunteers. Heading to the car, Catherine practically stepped out of her shoe causing her to stumble. Catherine handled it like a pro, laughing off the brief misstep with William. Kate Middleton and Prince William | Neil Mockford/GC Images That wasnt the first time the Duchess of Cambridge had a wardrobe malfunction concerning her footwear. In 2014, during a royal tour of Australia and New Zealand, Catherine and William strolled through a vineyard. It couldve been the ground or her wedge shoes but somehow Catherine stumbled for a moment before catching herself. Kate Middleton and Prince William | Arthur Edwards Pool/Getty Images Attending a St. Patricks Day parade in 2013, Catherines heel got stuck in a grate. But she didnt let it bother her. The Duchess of Cambridge held Williams hand while she wiggled her heel free. Kate Middleton and Prince William | Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty Images The same thing happened in February 2018 when Catherine opened a treatment center. Greeting people, her heel got stuck in a grate, and according to Harpers Bazaar, she simply carried on like nothing happened. A true pro! Kate Middleton | Karwai Tang/WireImage Clearly, Catherine is a pro with any wardrobe malfunction that comes her way. She handles the situation gracefully, wears a smile, and laughs it off. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Isiah Andrews, 82, walked out of prison Wednesday afternoon for the first time in 45 years after being granted a new trial in the 1974 slaying of his wife. Andrews, who has long maintained his innocence in the slaying, wore a suit and a checkered face mask printed with roosters as he stepped out of the Richland Correctional Institution two days after a judge in Cuyahoga County granted him bail while he awaits a new trial. The Cincinnati-based Ohio Innocence Project took on Andrews case in 2015 and discovered that police and the county prosecutors office never gave Andrews or his lawyers copies of police reports that originally pinned the killing of his wife on another man. Common Pleas Court Judge Robert McClelland last week overturned Andrews conviction and ordered a new trial based on the violation, which he found deprived Andrews of exculpatory evidence and cast doubt on the outcome of the original trial. Andrews, a salesman and Marine Corps veteran, married Regina Andrews in late August 1974 and the two rented an efficiency room at the Colonial House Motel on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland as they searched for a permanent place to live, according to court records. Isiah Andrews told police he left the hotel to run errands on the morning of Sept. 18, 1974, and that Regina Andrews was gone when he returned, records say. He called his mother-in-law to the hotel room when his wife didnt return by 10 p.m. and the two eventually called police to report her missing. A passerby found Regina Andrews body the next day in Forest Hills Park, stabbed several times in the torso and wrapped in bedding from several hotels, including the Colonial House and Howard Johnson Motor Inn in University Circle, according to records. Maids said the two hotels shared the same linen service and it was common for linens from one hotel to end up in the other, records say. Police said she appeared to have been sexually assaulted and noted there were several bloody copies of The Plain Dealer near her body that featured a front-page story about a city-wide prostitution crackdown, records say. No physical evidence ever tied Isiah Andrews to the crime. He was convicted based largely on the testimony of two women whose stories shifted over time. One, a Colonial House employee, originally told police that she saw Isiah Andrews leave the room with a large bag and return later wearing the same clothes. She took the stand and said, for the first time, that she peaked into his room while he was leaving and saw the bedding was missing from the sheets. She testified that she decided to make the disclosure because she became upset at an investigator working for Andrews defense team who asked her questions about being engaged in prostitution. Another woman, who lived in the room next door to the Andrews, originally told police she heard nothing out of the ordinary from the couples room, but later changed her story and said she heard Andrews threaten to kill his wife the night before her death. A jury convicted Andrews of aggravated murder and a judge sentenced him to life in prison. The Innocence Project began investigating his case in 2015 and later discovered the existence of a police report that detailed several pieces of evidence that police used to arrest another man for the killing. That man, William Watts,rented a room at the Howard Johnson Motor Inn the night before Regina Andrews death and staff told police they noticed his bedding was missing when he checked out the next morning, records say. Watts mother lives five blocks from where Regina Andrews body was discovered and she told police that Watts broke into her home and stole some items that same day, the report says. The county coroners office originally estimated that Regina Andrews died in the middle of the night, and police moved off of Watts when he was able to provide an alibi for those hours and focused on Isiah Andrews as the suspect, records said. However, the coroners office later changed the estimated time of death to between 9 a.m. and noon, and police never revisited Watts as a potential suspect, records say. Watts, who died in 2011, was convicted three times of charges stemming from attacks on women, two of which involved accusations that he used a knife on them. Read more stories Cleveland man convicted in 1975 of murder wins new trial over withheld report pointing to different suspect Appeals court orders judge to grant Cleveland mans request for DNA testing in 1975 murder conviction Ashland County judge postpones trial at center of debate over coronavirus measures and fair trial rights Ohio man becomes eighth Elkton federal prison inmate to die of coronavirus Maple Heights High School secretary accused of embezzling more than $40,000 The coronavirus pandemic has forced schools to shut their doors and forced students to take their classes and exams online. This year, some 3.4 million students are registered to take AP Exams, which are designed to test high school students' understanding of college-level material, online between May 11 and May 22. With schools across the country closed, students will be able to take their tests online. The College Board, the organization that oversees the exams, recommends using the Google Chrome browser on a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. In addition to being administered online, there will be several additional structural changes to this year's 32 exams. For instance, instead of lasting 3 hours, each exam will only last 45 minutes and will focus on material covered before schools closed in early March. While some may see the shortened length as a positive, it also means students must be even more efficient with their time. Additionally, this year's AP Exams will allow students to use their books and notes. Students will be able to search the internet during the exam but The College Board stresses that it will not be helpful for the kinds of questions on the new online exams. To prevent cheating, The College Board will be using plagiarism detection software, share results with teachers familiar with students' typical work and will use social media to detect students sharing answers. The organization has even said it may "post content designed to confuse and deter those who attempt to cheat." For security purposes, students around the world will take each subject test at the same time, regardless of their time zone. Here is the schedule for this year's exams. While students who were already registered to take the test in person do not need to take any additional steps to register to take the test online, The College Board is stressing that students take several steps before their exams next week. Here's what students, and parents, should know: Worried about your cute fur baby coming down with the coronavirus? Or about Fluffy or Spot possibly passing it on to you? Stop worrying so much. Thats the message from Connecticut veterinarians a couple of months into the COVID-19 pandemic. For one thing, theres only been one documented instance in the United States of a dog infected with the virus, a pug named Winston who tested positive in mid-April in North Carolina. Cats may be a little more susceptible, but aside from the celebrated case of several tigers and lions at the Bronx Zoo catching it, there so far there have been only two cases in the United States of house cats testing positive for the virus, both in different parts of New York State. But Dr. Leyenda Harley, medical director at the Central Hospital for Veterinary Medicine in North Haven and Guilford, said that so far, there have been no reports anywhere, worldwide, of humans being able to contract it from domestic animals or pets. Now, can a pet get it from their owner? It has been documented that pets can, Harley said. But that doesnt mean that they will and even if they were to catch it, pets tend not to get very sick. The recommendations are, if youre a person who has coronavirus, that you practice the same social distancing that you would do with humans with your pets, she said. That means staying at least six feet apart, wearing a mask and, assuming there is someone else in your household, letting them do the dog walking or putting out the cat, Harley said. Overall, dogs are much more resistant to getting it, she said, although there was that one case of it. If your cat does catch the virus, cats can transmit it to other cats. If people have any reason to believe that their pet(s) may have contracted the virus, they should call their vet, Harley said. If the pets, or their humans, get sick, We want pets to quarantine along with the humans. But, be aware: animals do get respiratory infections that are not corona infections, she said. The vast majority of respiratory infections that animals get are something else. Despite the humans of Connecticut being largely shut-in these days, these have been busy times for Connecticut veterinarians, said Dr. Andrea Dennis of the Bloomfield Animal Hospital, a board member of the Connecticut Veterinary Medicine Association. While veterinarians may be seeing fewer animals per day, the protocols we have in place take a lot more time, she said. In most cases, pet owners are being asked to leave their pets at the door while the doctor sees them, Dennis said. As it turned out, most of the veterinarians contacted in New Haven, West Haven, Bridgeport, Fairfield, Norwalk, Stamford, Greenwich and Danbury were too busy to come to the phone to talk for this story. Dr. Ralph Padilla of the West Haven Animal Clinic said in a message passed through his receptionist that coronavirus is not something thats really of great concern in his practice. He more concerned about Lyme disease at this point, the receptionist said. Coronavirus is more of a human thing and hes seeing so much of Lyme disease, the receptionist said. Speaking of which: Dennis, who said she was able to talk Wednesday because it was her day off from work, said that while people are worried about the coronavirus, We dont want to forget about the things that really are problematic for the pets in our state, including Lyme disease. The fact is, people do not need to worry, with everything going on, that theyre going to get coronavirus from their pets, Dennis said. The first case in the world of a dog catching the virus was reported in February in Hong Kong, but even in that case, the dog was not very sick, Dennis said. If pet owners were to be diagnosed with COVID-19, They should isolate themselves from their pets if they can, Dennis said. If theres someone else in the household, they should be the one who walks the dog. To ensure good health, if pet owners have the virus and are alone with a pet, wear a mask, she said. Wash your hands before you handle their food bowl. The good thing is that, from all indications so far, even when the dogs or the cats get it, its not very serious, Dennis said. People are worried that this is a conversation, but they do not need to worry, Dennis said. While nothing is 100 percent certain with the coronavirus, there are no reported cases yet of pets passing it to humans and, generally speaking, we feel safe, she said. We want people to keep their pets, Dennis said. Veterinarians really are on top of this. Theyre really paying close attention. Dr. Maria Lagana of Noahs Ark Animal Hospital in Danbury said she continues to get text messages every day from family and friends concerned about their animals, as well as concerns from families that come to the hospital. She said people really dont have great reason to worry about their pets either catching the virus or giving it to them. There is nothing documented thats saying that its actually causing disease in animals, Lagana said. The few cases that were reported ... were just very mild signs. What she suspects is that, in those cases, the animals are living in close proximity to people who have it and were picking up the virus either on their fur or in their nasal passges and carrying it for short periods of time. There has been no evidence, whatsoever, that the virus is getting into them and replicating, Lagana said. In essence, the animals are acting just as a doorknob might, as a short-term means to transfer the virus, she said. Unless the virus mutates, it probably wont affect a dog or a cat, Lagana said. She said she has been working with pets every day since this pandemic began and has seen nothing of great concern with regard to pets. Our biggest concern is that people should not be dropping their animals off at the pound out of fear, because its not really a big concern, she said. Dr. Nolan Zeide, of Bulls Head Pet Hospital in Stamford, said he would be naive to say he hasnt seen any infected animals since the start of the pandemic and admitted this is so new that he cant be sure but said that in general, diseases dont cross species. And while that appears to be how COVID-19, which is believed to have originated in bats, first arrived in humans, possibly via pangolins, its really, really, really uncommon. Look at herpes and flu, Zeide said. For the most part, they dont go back and forth between species. Overall, I think theres enough worry out there right now, and people dont need to worry so much about the virus and their pets, he said. But I just think we need to be common-sensical. So if someone in your household has tested positive for COVID-19, especially if your cat or dog might be likely to go near someone else who is comprised, you should social distance from your pets just as you would from other people, Zeide said. While animals may be able to carry the virus on their fur, or even in the nose ... the likelihood of it getting absorbed and staying viable is very, very low, he said. mark.zaretsky@hearstmediact.com People in Vietnam seem to be making light of the countrys drunk driving law that took effect at the beginning of this year, as nearly 2,000 DUI violations were reported nationwide over the recent four-day holiday break post social distancing. The new law on drunk driving, which entered into force on January 1, stipulates that drivers must be completely sober while operating bicycles, motorbikes, automobiles, and any other vehicles on Vietnams roads. Violators face fines of up to VN40 million (US$1,700), as well as tougher punishments including having their driving license revoked for up to two years. With the law in effect, it was reported earlier this year that local residents had become increasingly hesitant to drink and drive. Statistics showed that the number of accidents, deaths, and injuries from traffic accidents caused by DUI violations plummeted by 30 to 50 percent just one month after the law became effective. But that was before COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, became peoples top concern and social distancing had to be practiced nationwide last month to curb the spread of the pandemic. Social distancing measures have been eased from April 23 after having apparently helped slow the rate of new infections in Vietnam, with the country having reported no community spread for three weeks. As people are gradually resuming normal life, they seem to have forgotten about the drunk driving ban. People crowd beer parlors on Pham Van Dong Boulevard in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, May 6, 2020. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre According to statistics from Vietnam's National Committee for Traffic Safety, there were 1,830 cases violating the drunk driving law out of 29,172 infringements on traffic safety nationwide from April 30 to May 3, when the nation enjoyed a break in celebration of Reunification Day (April 30) and International Workers Day (May 1). Seventy-nine people were killed in traffic accidents caused by drunk driving and speeding during the holiday break. According to Nguyen Vu Hanh Phuc, chief of office of the Ho Chi Minh City Committee for Traffic Safety, many people have become complacent and begun to take the drunk driving ban lightly after the social distancing period. The behavior is dangerous, said Dong Thai Chien, deputy head of the Highway Traffic Patrol and Control Division under the Ministry of Public Security. Chien called on traffic police forces to beef up warning against drunk driving, increase the frequency of road patrols, and strictly handle DUI violators. Likewise, the Ho Chi Minh City Committee for Traffic Safety has requested its units to set up traffic checkpoints near beer parlors to handle people found driving after drinking. Currently, the National Committee for Traffic Safety has asked all police forces to continue strictly implementing the drunk driving law. The committee believes that hefty fines and tough punishments will raise peoples awareness of the harm of drunk driving. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! -- Online service offers high-quality testing for genetic health risks -- -- Includes screening recommended in early pregnancy, as well as cancer risk assessment, guided by telehealth clinicians and completed at home -- SAN FRANCISCO, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Invitae (NYSE: NVTA), a leader in medical genetics, today announced the expansion of online ordering for its high-quality medical genetic tests to Canada. Through the service, Canadians can access genetic testing recommended in early pregnancy as well as cancer risk assessments using telehealth guidance and kits that can be shipped to and from home. The service provides easier access to the same high-quality, medical genetic testing that experts use and trust worldwide during a time when healthcare visits are being delayed and wait times to see clinicians are growing. "Genetic information can help people make better, more informed decisions about their health, for example helping a woman understand her risk of giving birth to a child with a genetic disorder or of developing breast cancer. Too often people find that medical testing is expensive or difficult to obtain," said Robert Nussbaum, M.D., chief medical officer of Invitae. "We are making it easier for people to get affordable, comprehensive testing using telehealth guidance. We're proud to bring this service to Canada." Despite its benefits, medical genetic testing is underutilized, can be expensive and wait times for in-person appointments can be months long, a fact made worse by the current pandemic. Invitae's service helps fill that gap, allowing patients to initiate the testing process themselves and complete it from home. Once results are available, generally in 2-3 weeks, they can easily share the final report with their local clinician. Research shows one in six healthy people carry a health-related genetic risk that may affect their personal medical care to varying degrees. Understanding those genetic risk factors is increasingly recommended for guiding many health decisions. For example, screening for hereditary risks for cancer can identify individuals with an increased risk of many cancers, such as breast or ovarian cancer, allowing a woman and her physician the ability to tailor individual approaches to prevention such as preventive surgery or more in-depth imaging to catch any cancer before it develops. Furthermore, the majority of children born with a genetic disorder are born to parents with no family history of that condition. Genetic carrier screening identifies many of these at-risk couples and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends all pregnant women be offered carrier screening. The new service offers two primary types of testing: Carrier screen : Carrier screening identifies genetic changes that could be passed on to a biological child that may result in genetic disease and is recommended for women and their partners to assess their risk, preferably prior to conception when many more options are available to reduce that risk than are available after a pregnancy is initiated. : Carrier screening identifies genetic changes that could be passed on to a biological child that may result in genetic disease and is recommended for women and their partners to assess their risk, preferably prior to conception when many more options are available to reduce that risk than are available after a pregnancy is initiated. Genetic health screen: Invitae offers adults information on how their genes could potentially impact their own health. People can learn their genetic risk factors for developing hereditary cancers, cardiovascular conditions and other medically important disorders. To start an order online, consumers can visit www.invitae.com . The process is simple to complete online: Select the type of testing service they're interested in and provide health history information needed for clinician review. Invitae's clinical chatbot, Gia, is also available to provide information and guide test selection. Once an order is initiated, the consumer will be paired with a trained, independent clinician who reviews health history and orders the appropriate test. Saliva test kits are sent directly to homes and can be shipped back to Invitae once complete. Results reports are available in an online portal and include support on next steps, including genetic counseling as appropriate, and can be easily shared electronically with their local clinician. Cost of the service starts at $250 USD. To order or for more information, visit invitae.com. About Invitae Invitae Corporation (NYSE: NVTA) is a leading medical genetics company, whose mission is to bring comprehensive genetic information into mainstream medicine to improve healthcare for billions of people. Invitae's goal is to aggregate the world's genetic tests into a single service with higher quality, faster turnaround time, and lower prices. For more information, visit the company's website at invitae.com. Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to the benefits of genetic testing and information; and the features and benefits of the company's telehealth genetic testing service. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the company's history of losses; the company's ability to compete; the company's failure to manage growth effectively; the company's need to scale its infrastructure in advance of demand for its tests and to increase demand for its tests; the company's ability to use rapidly changing genetic data to interpret test results accurately and consistently; security breaches, loss of data and other disruptions; laws and regulations applicable to the company's business; and the other risks set forth in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risks set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and Invitae Corporation disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Contact: Laura D'Angelo [email protected] (628) 213-3283 SOURCE Invitae Corporation Related Links http://invitae.com Loan of 25 million to finance operations of Turkeys largest logistics firm, Netlog Logistics EBRD calls for redoubled efforts to keep logistics and supply chains running Bank fully focused on combating economic impact of coronavirus and supporting recover The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a financial boost to Turkeys logistics sector as the coronavirus pandemic makes the continued flow of essential goods more important than ever. The Bank is extending a 25 million loan to its longstanding partner Netlog Logistics, the largest provider of logistics services in Turkey, and one of the fastest growing logistics firms in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Together with its 22 subsidiaries, the company offers a wide range of logistics services for the food, pharmaceutical, fashion and industrial goods sectors, including warehousing, supply chain management, temperature controlled logistics, liquid food transportation, multimodal transport, international road, air and sea freight transportation. The new financing will make supply chains more resilient and support domestic and international trade. Arvid Tuerkner, EBRD Managing Director for Turkey, said: Redoubled effort is needed to keep logistics and supply chains running. The industry is essential during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and also vital for economic recovery globally. The EBRD is pleased to support Turkeys largest logistics player, our longstanding partner Netlog Logistics, in this critical moment. The Bank has responded to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic and is now entirely focused on helping the 38 emerging markets where it invests to combat the severe disruptions they face. The EBRD stands ready to provide support worth 21 billion over the period 2020-21. It includes short-term liquidity, working capital and the restructuring of exposure for existing clients, as well as trade finance and an emergency support programme for infrastructure providers. The EBRD is a major investor in Turkey. Since 2009 it has invested almost 12 billion in various sectors of the countrys economy, with almost all investment in the private sector. The EBRDs 6.7 billion Turkey portfolio is the largest among the 38 economies where the Bank invests. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a meeting with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) officials to discuss the gas leak in Visakhapatnam, which has claimed 11 lives. Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended the meeting called by the Prime Minister. Earlier on Thursday, soon after the gas leak at a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam, PM Modi spoke to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and assured all possible support to the state. PM @narendramodi has spoken to Andhra Pradesh CM Shri @ysjagan regarding the situation in Visakhapatnam. He assured all help and support, the Prime Ministers Office said in a tweet. The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister informed the Prime Minister regarding the accident. He also elaborated about the rescue operations being undertaken at the accident site and assured the Prime Minister that the situation is under control and medical treatment is being provided to all the victims of the gas leak. Director-General of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) S N Pradhan said that the situation at the LG Polymer industry in RR Venkatapuram village of Visakhapatnam has been brought under control. The leakage from the factory is now minimal, but the NDRF will be there till it is totally plugged.Overall the situation is under control. The NDRF personnel will be there to assist local administration till it is required, the NDRF Director General said. According to the Director General of Police (DGP) Andhra Pradesh, at least eleven people have been killed after styrene gas leaked from the chemical unit of a plant in RR Venkatapuram village and hundreds have been hospitalized after inhaling the toxic gas. The first of the two flights from the UAE carrying 177 Indian nationals left for Kerala on Thursday, as India began its biggest ever repatriation exercise to bring back its citizens stranded abroad amidst the international travel lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic. A total of 354 Indian nationals, including 11 pregnant women and a pair of twins, will return home on Thursday in the two flights from the UAE to Kerala as part of the repatriation exercise named 'Vande Bharat Mission.' The Air India Express flight IX452 took off from Abu Dhabi to Kochi, which will be followed by a Dubai-Kozhikode flight of the same airline. Passengers started arriving at Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports as early as 9.30am on Thursday. Some of the passengers were carrying the Indian flags. Indian Ambassador Pavan Kapoor was seen enquiring about the procedure from some of the passengers undergoing medical screening at the Abu Dhabi airport. "Kudos to all the passengers for waiting patiently for their turn for medical screening and many thanks to all the frontline health workers and airport staff for extending full support," the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi tweeted. There are no suspected COVID-19 cases among the first batch of passengers being repatriated on Thursday. "All of them have cleared the tests, Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul was quoted as saying by the Gulf He said the criteria of passengers' selection included medical cases, loss of jobs, pregnant women and senior citizens. Those with complications and financial issues were also picked. On Monday, the Indian government announced plans to begin a phased repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad from May 7. The government also said that Air India will operate 64 flights from May 7 to May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals stranded abroad amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown. Short-listing the first passengers from among a database of more than 200,000 applicants, who include around 6,500 pregnant women, has been a mammoth task which posed several challenges for the missions, Neeraj Agrawal, Consul, Press, Information and Culture at the Indian Consulate in Dubai told the Gulf India is conducting its biggest ever repatriation exercise named Vande Bharat Missionsans social distancing and COVID-19 tests to bring back stranded Indians from abroad. The Indian missions in the UAE finalised the list of passengers, who were chosen based on the compelling reasons they submitted while registering their names. "Only passengers with confirmed tickets must proceed to the airport. They are required to reach the airport five hours prior to departure," Agrawal said. The Indian Consulate had appealed to passengers not to overcrowd the airport, maintain social distancing and follow all necessary precautions stipulated by the authorities Air India crew members on board the repatriation flights will be fully protected with protective gear, including Personal Protective Equipment, to reduce the risk of contracting coronavirus, Khaleej Times reported. The Indian expatriate community of approximately 3.42 million is reportedly the largest ethnic community in the UAE constituting roughly about 30 per cent of the country's population, according to information available on the Indian Embassy website. India imposed a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the country, grounding all international flights since mid-March. Under the repatriation plan, the government will be facilitating the return of Indian nationals stranded abroad on compelling grounds in a phased manner. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 09:29:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, May 6 (Xinhua) -- An epidemiologist at Yale University on Wednesday launched one of the harshest attacks on the U.S. administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying it was "close to genocide by default." "How many people will die this summer, before Election Day?" tweeted Gregg Gonsalves, co-director of Yale's Global Health Justice Partnership, on Wednesday morning, one day after administration officials hinted a possible disbanding of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. "What proportion of the deaths will be among African-Americans, Latinos, other people of color?" Gonsalves wrote in a series of combative tweets. "This is getting awfully close to genocide by default. What else do you call mass death by public policy?" Shortly after the scholar vented his outrage, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the White House Coronavirus Task Force will continue "indefinitely" with possible personnel changes, one day after officials hinted that the team will wind down. The task force, Trump tweeted, "will continue on indefinitely with its focus on SAFETY & OPENING UP OUR COUNTRY AGAIN," adding that the administration "may add or subtract people to it." The president, who has been pushing for the reopening of the country despite cautions voiced by health experts, also said that the task force will focus on developing vaccines and therapeutics for the coronavirus. Vice President Mike Pence, who heads the task force, said Tuesday that "conversations are being had about winding down the work for the task force," and that the White House is looking at the Memorial Day -- which falls on May 25 -- as a possible "window." Pence made the remarks in a briefing in response to a question about a New York Times report on the potential disbanding of the team. "I think we're having conversations about that and about what the proper time is for the task force to complete its work and for the ongoing efforts to take place on an agency-by-agency level," Pence told reporters, adding that talks were ongoing about a transition plan with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Gonsalves was serious about his claims, saying later in a tweet that he was "being serious here: what is happening in the US is purposeful, considered negligence, omission, failure to act by our leaders. Can they be held responsible under international law?" Total confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States rose beyond 1.2 million, with the death toll surpassing 71,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University as of Wednesday. Citing an internal document acquired from FEMA, the New York Times reported earlier that daily coronavirus-related deaths in the country could nearly double to reach about 3,000 by June 1. It also predicted that new cases will probably average at 200,000 a day by the end of May, up from the current daily rate of about 25,000. White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement on Monday that the document had nothing to do with the White House, "nor has it been presented to the coronavirus task force or gone through interagency vetting." Enditem A free trade deal covering $18 billion in agriculture, education and health services between Australia and Indonesia will be activated within two months, as the Morrison government looks to push the economy out of the coronavirus pandemic. The deal comes into force on July 5, following years of delay and protracted negotiations over what would be left in, and out, of the agreement. Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said the deal meant 99 per cent of Australian goods will enter Indonesia duty-free or under significantly improved arrangements. Trade Minister Simon Birmingham. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen This is the most comprehensive bilateral trade agreement Indonesia has ever signed, and will give a competitive edge to Australian exporters, particularly at a time when many are doing it tough as a result of the COVID-19 crisis," he said. Plastic may be an indispensable part of our daily lives, but its robustness and abundance have led to its overuse, putting a huge burden on the environment. Large emissions of plastic waste result in its accumulation in water bodies: in fact, recent studies have estimated about 0.27 million tons of plastic floating in the world's oceans. Because plastic does not decompose in water, it is a serious hazard for the marine life. Thus, to prevent plastic pollution, it is crucial to understand exactly how plastic is emitted into the oceans. Previous studies have tried to analyze plastic emissions, but they had some limitations: they focused on mostly mismanaged plastic waste and not how these plastic emissions actually originate. To this end, a group of scientists at the Tokyo University of Science, led by Prof Yasuo Nihei, developed a new method to combat plastic emissions. In a study published in Water, they generated a "high-resolution map of 1 km grids of plastic emissions across Japan. Prof Nihei explains, "If plastic waste continues to flow into the sea, the amount of plastic waste will increase. To prevent this, it is necessary to clearly indicate where and how plastic debris is currently being generated." To begin with, the scientists focused on the different types of plastics: microplastic (MicP), which is less than 5 mm in size, and macroplastic (MacP), which is greater than 5 mm. They understood that controlling MicP was crucial because--owing to its small size--it is particularly hard to recover once it enters the ocean. Moreover, it can easily be ingested by marine organisms, which can negatively affect ecosystems worldwide. To avoid the emission of MicP in water bodies, it was important to find out exactly where these emissions were coming from. The scientists followed a three-step process to map plastic emissions (Figure 1). First, they measured MicP concentration across 70 rivers and 90 sites in Japan and examined the relation between MicP concentration and land characteristics. They collected the ratio of MacP/MicP concentrations to evaluate the MacP concentration from the MicP concentration. Next, to obtain outflow discharge at 1 km grids, they performed a "water balance analysis" in which they measured precipitation of water, distributed into three categories: evaporation, surface runoff, and underground infiltration. Finally, they calculate total plastic emission, which is the product of MicP and MacP concentrations and outflow discharge. Their findings revealed that MicP concentrations and basin characteristics were significantly correlated, meaning that the physical features of water bodies dictate the amount of plastic waste accumulated. Not just this, their analysis helped the scientists to estimate the annual plastic emission in Japan, which ranged from 210 to 4,776 tons/year of total plastic. The scientists then evaluated a high-resolution map of plastic emission over 1 km grids across Japan (Figure 2). They identified the critical areas where plastic emissions were the highest. Their analysis showed that these emissions were high in rivers near urbanized areas, with a high population density. Among these, cities like Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka were found to be hotspots for plastic emissions. Thus, this method was useful in understanding exactly where strict countermeasures should be enforced. Unlike previous studies, this study does not assume that the plastic waste is only proportional to mismanaged plastic waste but, in fact, takes into account the origin of plastic emissions. This makes it easier to implement measures and curb plastic emissions in specific areas. Prof Nihei concludes, "Our findings provide new insights that may be used to draft countermeasures against plastic emissions, thereby reducing outflow of marine pollutants from Japan. We also introduce a new method that can be used to evaluate plastic inputs in other regions of the world." ### About The Tokyo University of Science Tokyo University of Science (TUS) is a well-known and respected university, and the largest science-specialized private research university in Japan, with four campuses in central Tokyo and its suburbs and in Hokkaido. Established in 1881, the university has continually contributed to Japan's development in science through inculcating the love for science in researchers, technicians, and educators. With a mission of "Creating science and technology for the harmonious development of nature, human beings, and society", TUS has undertaken a wide range of research from basic to applied science. TUS has embraced a multidisciplinary approach to research and undertaken intensive study in some of today's most vital fields. TUS is a meritocracy where the best in science is recognized and nurtured. It is the only private university in Japan that has produced a Nobel Prize winner and the only private university in Asia to produce Nobel Prize winners within the natural sciences field. Website: https://www.tus.ac.jp/en/mediarelations/ About Professor Yasuo Nihei from Tokyo University of Science Dr Yasuo Nihei is a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, Tokyo University of Science. After completing his graduation at Tokyo Institute of Technology, he has now been working at Tokyo University of Science since 2000. A respected and senior researcher, his research interests include hydraulic engineering, with a focus on computational fluid mechanics and environmental hydraulics. He is the corresponding author of this paper and has over 170 research publications and 3 patents to his credit. Funding information This research was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science under the KAKENHI program (grant no. 17H04937), the River Fund of the River Foundation (grant no. 2019-5211-050), and the Tokyo University of Science Grant for President's Research Promotion. KYIV -- Ukraines president has named former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to head the executive committee of Ukraines National Reform Council. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy issued an order with the appointment on May 7. The council was created in 2014 to carry out strategic planning and coordinate reforms. Saakashvili, 52, served as Georgias president from 2004 until 2013. In January 2018, a Georgian court convicted him in absentia of covering up evidence in the case of the killing of a Georgian banker and sentenced him to three years in prison. In June 2018, another court convicted him of abuse of power and sentenced him to six years in prison. Saakashvili has denied all the accusations and says the charges are politically motivated. In 2015-2016, Saakashvili served as governor of Ukraines Odesa region. When he resigned, he accused Zelenskiys predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, of corruption. Poroshenko, in turn, stripped Saakashvili of his Ukrainian citizenship. As one of his first acts as president last year, Zelenskiy restored Saakashvilis Ukrainian citizenship, facilitating Saakshvilis return to Ukraine. Last month, Saakashvili said he had been offered the post of deputy prime minister in charge of reform. But it was unclear if parliament would confirm him. Georgia called the possible appointment unacceptable in view of Saakashvilis convictions there and threatened to withdraw its ambassador to Kyiv for consultations. With reporting by Reuters School-age children across America are struggling to learn under challenging conditions. Some, no doubt, have made real progress. But its time to admit that, for the vast majority of students, online learning and work sheets are no substitute for trained teachers in classrooms. For most children, the school year effectively ended in March. If the country doesnt recognize this fact and respond accordingly with large federally funded programs to reverse the losses we will do great harm to a generation of children who will learn less than those who went before them. They will read and write more poorly and be less likely to graduate from high school and college. The resulting shortage of highly trained workers will hamper the economic recovery and intensify earnings inequality. Educators, parents, students and schools are doing what they can in a harrowing situation. But for most students it isnt nearly enough, and the United States will need to marshal enormous resources to get education back on track. Farmers are being asked to turn their fields purple in support of a charity working to help seriously ill children in the UK. Agricultural supplier Carrs Billington has announced a fifth year of support for children's charity WellChild. So far, the company has donated more than 36,000 from the sale of its unique purple bale wrap and fundraising activities by staff. Another significant contribution will be made to the charity this year, and farming businesses are needed to help. For the 2020 campaign, farmers are being encouraged to use eye-catching purple bale wrap and stickers and display the large WellChild sticker prominently. Once displays are created on farms, in fields beside roads and paths, farmers are being urged to share pictures on social media using the hashtag #purplebales and tag @WellChild on social media. WellChild Chief Executive Colin Dyer thanked farmers to helping support the charity's aims. Families caring for seriously ill children need us more than ever and yet we are fighting for survival following income lost through cancelled fundraising events and activities. This campaign will not only help ensure we can carry on supporting the families that need us but will also inject some much-needed positivity and fun into what is a difficult period for all of us. The farm display which generates the greatest organic social media reach will win two places at the WellChild Awards in London, plus accommodation. The awards celebrate the inspirational qualities of seriously ill children across the UK, alongside those who go that extra mile to make a difference to their lives. It is reasonable to be worrisome about Asian giant hornets. They have mandibles that resemble shark fins with spikes that can decimate a beehive within hours. They decapitate the honeybees and fly away with the victim's thorax to give as food for their offspring. In addition, the hornet has a potent stinger and venom, longer than a bee's and capable of puncturing a beekeeper's suit. The sting has been described as akin to hot metal driven into the skin. These hornets are responsible for 50 deaths each year in Japan. And now, they have invaded the US. Since their discovery in the country, scientists have initiated a widespread hunt for these hornets. They are worried that these invaders will decimate entire bee populations and establish so strong a foothold that eradication may become impossible. Some, however, disagree with the assessment, such as the Smithsonian. After all, bees are not entirely defenseless against them. Washington Department of Agriculture entomologist Chris Looney said that if the hornets cannot be eradicated in the next two years, they probably cannot be rooted out and nothing can keep them from establishing populations here. Last December, Jeff Kornelis found a dead insect and suspected that it is an Asian giant hornet. These large hornets have a fierce face with teardrop-like eyes similar to Spider-Man's, with black and orange stripes extending down the body like that of a tiger's, and wispy broad wings similar to small dragonflies. Kornelis reported the finding to the state and soon, they also found a local beekeeper who also identified one. It was immediately clear to Looney that there is a serious problem. But having only two insect samples, and with winter coming, determining the extent of the hornet's invasion was almost impossible. Still, local beekeepers and agriculture biologists of the state prepared to deal with the hornets. The insects have also been seen in White Rock, British Columbia and Vancouver Island. Japan's Kyoto Sangyo University researcher Jun-ichi Takahashi said that the insects earned the nickname "murder hornet" due to their group attacks that are very aggressive, which could fatally sting victims with enough venom to equal a venomous snake bite. Samples of the insect's leg were shipped to Japan for identification, Genetic tests showed that the hornet population in Vancouver Island and Washington are different from each other, which means, according to state pest biologist Telissa Wilson, that in the region, there may have been a minimum of two separate introductions of the hornets. The region has large wooded habitats where the hornets can easily establish colonies. Finding them and exterminating them can be daunting, especially for hidden underground dens. Besides, a queen can cover many miles in one day at a speed that can reach 20 miles per hour. In addition, the wet and mild climate of this western region is ideal for them. Looney and others will place hundreds of traps more in the next few months. Officials mapped and put the map on a grid. Thermal imaging can also be helpful, as hornet's nest temperatures can reach 86 degrees. Other advanced tools can also be used later on. Radio frequency ID tags and small streamers can also monitor hornet movement and locate nests. The Washington Department of Agriculture urges people to report sightings. A hardship fund for sex workers has raised almost 24,000 to help people cope through the Covid-19 crisis. Donations on the fundraising page set up by the Sex Workers Rights Alliance (SWAI) range from 10 to 10,000, the largest donation being made by an escort website. Many donations are accompanied by messages of solidarity and support. Kate McGrew, SWAI co-ordinator, said that some are still working despite the clear risks of contracting the virus, with clients offering more than double what they usually would for the service. Fifty percent of the people Im talking to on the ground are still being contacted by clients," Ms McGrew said. "And 80% have not sought any state support, even though theyre mostly eligible. So unfortunately its quite a bad situation for people. Even though were trying to encourage and assist them, people are wary and afraid. Sometimes people are not applying for state support because theyre undocumented or they dont know how to prove their income, or they havent paid their taxes. And a global pandemic is not the time you want sex workers to be even more desperate for money. At the time of going to press, 317 sex workers were offering their services on a major escort website, with 141 in Dublin, 29 in Cork, and 21 in Limerick. Ms McGrew said the SWAI has helped more than 70 sex workers to apply for the hardship fund so far and are working through a list to help at least 140 more. SWAI members speak to those who apply for the fund in detail first over the phone to ascertain that they are sex workers and the money is for them. Escorts, transgender people, street workers and men have been helped by the fund so far - receiving 100 each. "Everyone is saying that this pandemic has really shown where the cracks are in society and who is falling through those cracks," Ms McGrew said. "It has highlighted the precarious situation that sex workers are already existing in. If people are faced with not paying their rent or not feeding their families, theyre going to work. And its a dangerous time for anyone, but particularly for sex workers to be working." Giving 100 for groceries is not a lot and its not enough." As in other industries, the pandemic has moved more sex work online. But Ms McGrew said that some workers are too concerned about losing their anonymity to put themselves online. NEW YORK, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. is forging a new partnership with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), the world's leading professional body for the promotion of alternative dispute resolution. Moving forward, they will together produce CIArb's journal, Arbitration, and make it available online on a quarterly basis along with CIArb's member magazine, The Resolver. CIArb members and Wolters Kluwer customers will soon be able to access Arbitrationor "The Journal," as it is referred to by CIArb membersand The Resolver on Kluwer Law Online, the leading online gateway for legal research. Both publications will also be available on Kluwer Arbitration, the world's most respected database of alternative dispute resolution law publications. In addition, CIArb members will have access to an archive of past CIArb publications through their activated online account with CIArb. "We eagerly anticipate working in partnership with CIArb to digitally produce and distribute The Journal and The Resolver," said David Bartolone, Vice President and General Manager of the International Group within Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. "There is a natural synergy in the work of CIArb and that of Wolters Kluwerand in the world-class arbitration products and services we provide. We look forward to many years of partnership with CIArb." "I am delighted that our journal and our member magazine will be more accessible to our members. CIArb and Wolters Kluwer have a shared commitment to providing cutting-edge insight, analysis, and academic research," agreed Catherine Dixon, Director General at CIArb. "Our collaboration on the production of The Journal and the distribution of The Journal and our member magazine is an exciting new opportunity and will enable our members to access vital resources ever more easily. We are looking forward to working with Wolter Kluwer in the future." "We are delighted by this new collaboration and the opportunities it provides to extend the global reach and visibility of our publications," added Lewis Johnston, ACIArb, Head of Policy and External Affairs at CIArb. "This is an exciting development for our members, Wolters Kluwer subscribers, and the ADR community as a whole." "There are certain moments in the lifetime of an academic journal that prove to be critical for its future," said Professor Stavros Brekoulakis, MCIArb, Editor-in-Chief of The Journal. "For this journal, which has been successfully published for more than 100 years now, moving to the publishing house of Wolters Kluwer is the natural course of its evolution, and a clear sign of The Journal's commitment to academic excellence, thought leadership, and international scholarship.'' Users of Kluwer Arbitration and Kluwer Law Online will be able to access The Journal and The Resolver content, thus allowing them to benefit from CIArb's treasure trove of knowledge in ADR. About Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. is a part of Wolters Kluwer N.V. (AEX: WKL), a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the healthcare, tax and accounting, governance, risk and compliance, and legal and regulatory sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with advanced technology and services. Wolters Kluwer reported 2019 annual revenues of 4.6 billion. The group serves customers in more than 180 countries, maintains operations in more than 40 countries, and employs approximately 19,000 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, The Netherlands. For more information about Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S., visit www.WoltersKluwerLR.com, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. About the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) is a Royal Charter body and charity established in 1915 with over 16,000 members across the world. It exists to promote and facilitate all forms of alternative dispute resolution as an alternative to litigation. As an international center of excellence for the practice and profession of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), CIArb is passionate about promoting a harmonious society and helping people and organizations avoid, manage and resolve conflict through a global network of 41 branches. For more than 100 years, CIArb has set the international standard for excellence in practice and professionalism across all areas of alternative dispute resolution. Across the 20th and 21st Centuries, CIArb has become an established centre for thought leadership, research, and the scholarly study of international dispute resolution. For more information about CIArb, visit www.ciarb.org , follow us on LinkedIn , Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . Media Linda Gharib Director, Communications Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. Tel: +1 (646) 887-7962 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. Related Links http://www.WoltersKluwerLR.com The Accra Regional Police Command has vowed to arrest and prosecute individuals in the region who refuse to comply with precautionary measures to fight the spread of COVID-19. According to the command, an earlier operation conducted by the police has resulted in the arrest of 500 commercial motorbike riders who failed to wear face masks. Speaking to the media, Director of Operations at the Accra Regional Police Command, ACP Kwesi Ofori said the exercise will continue in a bid to ensure that the security and safety of the country are not compromised amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Those who feel they are not prepared to sacrifice for the state to assist in ensuring good health and public security we are going to clamp down on them seriously. We will arrest them and put them before court. Okada riders have also tried to abuse this protocol and we have arrested about 500 motorbikes, most of whom have been taken to court and fined GH12,000 in default four years imprisonment. Following the lifting of the partial lockdown imposed on some parts of the country, the role of the police have changed to ensuring compliance with other COVID-19 prevention protocols such as wearing of face masks and urge to avoid needless movement. Earlier this week, persons without face masks were prevented from entering the Central Business District of Accra. The move was to ensure compliance directives by the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council and Ministry of Health on the wearing of masks in public as a way of stopping the spread of COVID-19. According to the Accra Regional Alpha SWAT Commander DSP Sulamana Sulley, security officials are primarily engaging and encouraging those coming into the Central Business District to wear the mask. He said those who are adamant and insist on proceeding without the mask are denied access and asked to either get one or returned home. Meanwhile, commercial vehicle drivers have been cautioned against allowing persons without masks to board their vehicles. ---citinewsroom BISMARCK, N.D., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE: MDU) today reported first quarter earnings of $25.1 million, or 13 cents per share, compared to first quarter 2019 earnings of $40.9 million, or 21 cents per share. "While our operations continue to perform well as our country responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, earnings in the first quarter were adversely impacted by much lower investment returns, milder weather at our utility operations, and an adjustment on a construction contract. We are confident of our ability to continue to provide our customers with the essential services they need, however significant uncertainty exists about the economic impact that may be seen from COVID-19 and lower energy prices and demand," said David L. Goodin, president and CEO of MDU Resources. "Our companies are essential service providers, and our work remains vital to Building a Strong America as the country recovers from the pandemic and beyond. Our balance sheet is strong with ample liquidity, and we expect solid operational performance the remainder of the year while maintaining modified work practices in light of health guidelines around COVID-19. Our construction services business has an all-time record backlog of work and our construction materials business's backlog is near last year's record level. We anticipate our utility business and natural gas pipeline business will continue with near-normal operations." Comparing first quarter 2020 to first quarter 2019, MDU Resources' businesses collectively experienced an earnings variance of approximately $10.1 million from lower returns on certain benefit plan investments. The company attributes this change in investment returns to the recent downturn in financial markets compared to strong market performance in the first quarter of 2019. Based on first quarter results, as well as potential impacts from COVID-19 and reduced prices and demand for oil and related products, MDU Resources is adjusting its earnings guidance for 2020 to $1.50 to $1.70 per share. Business Unit Highlights Regulated Energy Delivery The electric and natural gas utility earned $43.7 million in the first quarter, compared to $52.0 million in the first quarter of 2019. Electric sales were approximately 7.1% lower and natural gas sales were approximately 10.9% lower in the quarter compared to last year, primarily the result of milder winter weather and customer conservation programs. Weather ranged from 7% to 21% warmer than the prior period across the company's eight-state region. Rate relief in certain jurisdictions was offset by higher depreciation expenses and lower investment returns. Earnings at the pipeline business were $7.4 million for the first quarter, compared to $6.8 million in the first quarter last year. Earnings were favorably impacted by higher transportation rates and record transportation volumes, up approximately 13% over the same period last year. The company continues preparatory work on its North Bakken Expansion Project in western North Dakota, on which construction is expected to begin in early 2021. Construction Materials and Services The construction services business in the first quarter had record revenues, up approximately 22% over last year's record first quarter revenues. Earnings were $16.8 million for the quarter, compared to $20.0 million in first quarter 2019. Earnings were negatively impacted by an out-of-period adjustment of $6.7 million, after tax, to correct revenue recognition on a construction contract. This adjustment was related to, but not material to, the prior year's results. The company continues to see strong demand for its services. Its backlog of work at March 31 was a record $1.27 billion, compared to last year's record $1.02 billion at March 31. As previously announced, this business in February acquired PerLectric, Inc., a leading electrical construction company in Fairfax, Virginia. The construction materials business experienced a seasonal loss in the first quarter of $38.2 million compared to a loss of $34.4 million in first quarter 2019. Although favorable weather in the quarter allowed the company to begin construction work in certain areas earlier than last year, earnings in the quarter were negatively impacted by higher payroll-related costs and lower investment returns. As previously announced, this business in February acquired a precast and prestressed concrete operation in Spokane, Washington, which complements the company's existing prestressed operations in the Northwest. The construction materials backlog of work at March 31 was $905 million, compared to a record $943 million at March 31 last year. Liquidity Status MDU Resources has ample liquidity available, with approximately $116.5 million of cash and $431.8 million of committed credit facility capacity available at March 31, to operate its businesses and fund its 2020 capital program. No revolving credit facilities mature until 2024 and no significant long-term debt matures until 2022. MDU Resources' subsidiary Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. entered into a $75 million term-loan agreement in early April to provide additional capacity and financing flexibility. MDU Resources has reviewed and adjusted the timing of certain capital projects based on challenges related to COVID-19. The company's operating cash flows, cash on hand, and debt financing activity are sufficient to fund the company's 2020 capital program. MDU Resources currently does not anticipate issuing equity this year. Guidance MDU Resources expects earnings per share in the range of $1.50 to $1.70 in 2020, based on these assumptions: Under COVID-19-related modified working conditions, a gradual reopening of the national economy beginning in the second quarter. Normal weather conditions, including precipitation and temperatures, across all service areas. No significant acquisitions or divestitures. Investing $599 million for capital projects. for capital projects. Construction services revenues in the range of $1.85 billion to $2.05 billion and construction materials revenues in the range of $2.1 billion to $2.3 billion . Corporate Strategy The company is an essential services provider, and its strategy is to enhance shareholder value by increasing market share and profitability in its regulated energy delivery and construction materials and services businesses, and through organic growth opportunities and a disciplined approach to strategic acquisitions of well-managed companies and properties. On a consolidated basis, the company anticipates 5% to 8% long-term compound annual growth on earnings per share. Conference Call MDU Resources will discuss first quarter results on a webcast at 11 a.m. EDT May 8. The event can be accessed at www.mdu.com . Webcast and audio replays will be available through May 22 at 855-859-2056, or 404-537-3406 for international callers, conference ID 4981249. About MDU Resources MDU Resources Group, Inc., a member of the S&P MidCap 400 index and the S&P High-Yield Dividend Aristocrats index, is Building a Strong America by providing essential products and services through its regulated energy delivery and construction materials and services businesses. For more information about MDU Resources, see the company's website at www.mdu.com or contact the Investor Relations Department at [email protected] . Media Contact: Laura Lueder, manager of communications and public relations, 701-530-1095 Financial Contact: Jason Vollmer, vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer, 701-530-1755 Forward-Looking Statements The information contained in this press release highlights the key growth strategies, projections and certain assumptions for the company and its subsidiaries and other matters for each of the company's businesses. Many of these highlighted statements and other statements not historical in nature are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Although the company believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, there is no assurance that the company's projections, including estimates for growth and financial guidance, will in fact be achieved. Please refer to assumptions contained in this press release, as well as the various important factors listed in Part I, Item 1A - Risk Factors in the company's most recent Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the SEC, including the company's Form 10-Q for the period ending March 31, 2020. Changes in such assumptions and factors could cause actual future results to differ materially from growth and earnings projections. All forward-looking statements in this press release are expressly qualified by such cautionary statements and by reference to the underlying assumptions. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. The company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Throughout this press release, the company presents financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP, as well as EBITDA, EBITDA from continuing operations, and adjusted gross margin, which are considered non-GAAP financial measures. The use of these non-GAAP financial measures should not be construed as alternatives to earnings, operating income or operating cash flows. The company believes the use of these non-GAAP financial measures are beneficial in evaluating the company's financial performance due to its diverse operations. Please refer to the "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" section contained in this document for additional information. Performance Summary and Future Outlook Earnings Business Line First Quarter 2020 Earnings First Quarter 2019 Earnings (In millions, except per share amounts) Regulated energy delivery $ 51.1 $ 58.8 Construction materials and services (21.4) (14.4) Other and eliminations (4.2) (3.3) Income from continuing operations 25.5 41.1 Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax (.4) (.2) Net income $ 25.1 $ 40.9 Earnings per share: Income from continuing operations $ .13 $ .21 Discontinued operations, net of tax Earnings per share $ .13 $ .21 Consolidated Statements of Income Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 (In millions, except per share amounts) Operating revenues: (Unaudited) Electric, natural gas distribution and regulated pipeline $ 418.7 $ 439.6 Nonregulated pipeline, construction materials and contracting, construction services and other 778.7 651.6 Total operating revenues 1,197.4 1,091.2 Operating expenses: Operation and maintenance: Electric, natural gas distribution and regulated pipeline 87.6 87.8 Nonregulated pipeline, construction materials and contracting, construction services and other 733.4 615.1 Total operation and maintenance 821.0 702.9 Purchased natural gas sold 165.4 183.9 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 69.2 59.9 Taxes, other than income 64.1 54.0 Electric fuel and purchased power 20.6 26.3 Total operating expenses 1,140.3 1,027.0 Operating income 57.1 64.2 Other income (expense) (1.0) 7.6 Interest expense 24.6 23.4 Income before income taxes 31.5 48.4 Income taxes 6.0 7.3 Income from continuing operations 25.5 41.1 Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax (.4) (.2) Net income $ 25.1 $ 40.9 Earnings per share basic: Income from continuing operations $ .13 $ .21 Discontinued operations, net of tax Earnings per share basic $ .13 $ .21 Earnings per share diluted: Income from continuing operations $ .13 $ .21 Discontinued operations, net of tax Earnings per share diluted $ .13 $ .21 Weighted average common shares outstanding basic 200.4 196.4 Weighted average common shares outstanding diluted 200.5 196.4 Selected Cash Flows Information Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 (In millions) Operating activities: Net cash provided by continuing operations $ 79.7 $ 2.1 Net cash used in discontinued operations (.4) (.6) Net cash provided by operating activities 79.3 1.5 Investing activities: Net cash used in continuing operations (202.5) (160.1) Net cash provided by discontinued operations Net cash used in investing activities (202.5) (160.1) Financing activities: Net cash provided by continuing operations 173.2 154.3 Net cash provided by discontinued operations Net cash provided by financing activities 173.2 154.3 Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 50.0 (4.3) Cash and cash equivalents - beginning of year 66.5 54.0 Cash and cash equivalents - end of period $ 116.5 $ 49.7 At March 31, 2020, the company had approximately $116.5 million of cash and cash equivalents as a result of increased borrowings of commercial paper and borrowings under revolving credit agreements at Montana-Dakota Utilities and Centennial Energy Holdings to enhance liquidity and financing flexibility in response to challenges accessing commercial paper markets in the first quarter of 2020. The company has access to additional liquidity through its commercial paper programs and revolving credit agreements with available capacity of $431.8 million at March 31. On April 8, 2020, MDU Resources' subsidiary, Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., entered into a $75 million term loan, which was used to repay all of its outstanding revolving credit agreement borrowings and a portion of its outstanding commercial paper borrowings. Outstanding Revolving Credit Facilities Balance at March 31, 2020 Company Facility Facility Limit Amount Outstanding Letters of Credit Expiration Date (In millions) Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. Commercial paper/Revolving credit agreement (a) $ 175.0 $ 135.0 $ 12/19/24 Cascade Natural Gas Corporation Revolving credit agreement $ 100.0 (b) $ 53.6 $ 2.2 (c) 6/7/24 Intermountain Gas Company Revolving credit agreement $ 85.0 (d) $ $ 1.4 (c) 6/7/24 Centennial Energy Holdings, Inc. Commercial paper/Revolving credit agreement (e) $ 600.0 $ 336.0 $ 12/19/24 (a) The commercial paper program is supported by a revolving credit agreement with various banks (provisions allow for increased borrowings, at the option of Montana-Dakota on stated conditions, up to a maximum of $225.0 million). At March 31, 2020, Montana-Dakota had $80.0 million outstanding under the commercial paper program and $55.0 million outstanding under the revolving credit agreement. (b) Certain provisions allow for increased borrowings, up to a maximum of $125.0 million. (c) Outstanding letter(s) of credit reduce the amount available under the credit agreement. (d) Certain provisions allow for increased borrowings, up to a maximum of $110.0 million. (e) The commercial paper program is supported by a revolving credit agreement with various banks (provisions allow for increased borrowings, at the option of Centennial on stated conditions, up to a maximum of $700.0 million). At March 31, 2020, Centennial had $185.0 million outstanding under the commercial paper program and $151.0 million outstanding under the revolving credit agreement. Capital Expenditures Business Line 2020 Estimated 2021 Estimated 2022 Estimated 2020 - 2024 Total Estimated (In millions) Regulated energy delivery Electric $ 95 $ 137 $ 148 $ 563 Natural gas distribution 189 207 196 940 Pipeline 83 304 53 562 367 648 397 2,065 Construction materials and services Construction services 70 20 20 151 Construction materials and contracting 157 154 157 692 227 174 177 843 Other 5 3 3 17 Total capital expenditures $ 599 $ 825 $ 577 $ 2,925 Note: Total capital expenditures are presented on a gross basis. Capital expenditures for 2020 include line-of-sight opportunities at the company's business units. Capital expenditures have been updated to accommodate project timeline and scope changes made throughout the quarter. Acquisitions would be incremental to the outlined capital program. Estimated operating cash flows are $550 million to $600 million in 2020. Non-GAAP Financial Measures The company, in addition to presenting its earnings in conformity with GAAP, has provided non-GAAP financial measures of EBITDA by operating segment and EBITDA from continuing operations. The company defines EBITDA as net income (loss) attributable to the operating segment before interest; taxes; and depreciation, depletion and amortization; and EBITDA from continuing operations as income (loss) from continuing operations before interest; taxes; and depreciation, depletion and amortization. The company presents EBITDA by operating segment and EBITDA from continuing operations on a consolidated basis in this news release. The company believes EBITDA and EBITDA from continuing operations are useful financial measures in providing meaningful information about operational efficiency compared to the company's peers by excluding the impacts of differences in tax jurisdictions and structures, debt levels and capital investment. The presentation of EBITDA and EBITDA from continuing operations is also provided for investment professionals who use such metrics in their analyses. The investment community often uses these metrics to assess the operating performance of a company's business and to provide a consistent comparison of performance from period to period. The company's management uses the non-GAAP financial measures in conjunction with GAAP results when evaluating the company's operating results and calculating compensation packages. Non-GAAP financial measures are not standardized; therefore, it may not be possible to compare such financial measures with other companies' non-GAAP financial measures having the same or similar names. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered a substitution for financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. The company strongly encourages investors to review the consolidated financial statements in their entirety and to not rely on any single financial measure. The following table provides a reconciliation of consolidated GAAP net income to EBITDA from continuing operations. The reconciliation for each operating segment's EBITDA is included within each operating segments' condensed income statement. Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 (In millions) Net income $ 25.1 $ 40.9 Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax .4 .2 Income from continuing operations 25.5 41.1 Adjustments: Interest expense 24.6 23.4 Income taxes 6.0 7.3 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 69.2 59.9 EBITDA from continuing operations $ 125.3 $ 131.7 The discussion that follows also includes adjusted gross margin, which is considered a non-GAAP financial measure as it relates to the company's electric and natural gas distribution segments. This financial measure, adjusted gross margin, can be used in addition to operating revenues and operating expenses when evaluating the results of operations for the electric and natural gas distribution segments. Adjusted gross margin for the electric and natural gas distribution segments is calculated by adding back adjustments to operating income (loss). These add-back adjustments include: operation and maintenance expense; depreciation, depletion and amortization expense; and certain taxes, other than income. The presentation of adjusted gross margin is intended to be a helpful supplemental financial measure for investors' understanding of the segments' operating performance. This non-GAAP financial measure should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, GAAP financial measures such as operating income (loss) or net income (loss). The company's non-GAAP financial measure, adjusted gross margin, may not be comparable to other companies' gross margin measures. Adjusted gross margin includes operating revenues less the cost of electric fuel and purchased power, purchased natural gas sold and certain taxes, other than income. These taxes, other than income included as a reduction to adjusted gross margin relate to revenue taxes. These segments pass on to their customers the increases and decreases in the wholesale cost of power purchases, natural gas and other fuel supply costs in accordance with regulatory requirements. As such, the segments' revenues are directly impacted by the fluctuations in such commodities. Revenue taxes, which are passed back to customers, fluctuate with revenues as they are calculated as a percentage of revenues. For these reasons, period over period, the segments' operating income (loss) is generally not impacted. The company's management believes the adjusted gross margin is a useful supplemental financial measure as these items are included in both operating revenues and operating expenses. The company's management also believes that adjusted gross margin and the remaining operating expenses that calculate operating income (loss) are useful in assessing the company's utility performance as management has the ability to influence control over the remaining operating expenses. The following tables provide reconciliations of the company's electric and natural gas distribution segment's operating income to adjusted gross margin. Electric Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 (In millions) Operating income $ 14.9 $ 18.0 Adjustments: Operating expenses: Operation and maintenance 30.7 30.2 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 15.5 13.7 Taxes, other than income 4.3 4.2 Total adjustments 50.5 48.1 Adjusted gross margin $ 65.4 $ 66.1 Natural Gas Distribution Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 (In millions) Operating income $ 50.0 $ 50.3 Adjustments: Operating expenses: Operation and maintenance 46.0 46.3 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 20.8 19.4 Taxes, other than income 6.1 6.2 Total adjustments 72.9 71.9 Adjusted gross margin $ 122.9 $ 122.2 Regulated Energy Delivery Electric Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 (Dollars in millions, where applicable) Operating revenues $ 86.1 $ 92.6 Electric fuel and purchased power 20.6 26.3 Taxes, other than income .1 .2 Adjusted gross margin 65.4 66.1 Operating expenses: Operation and maintenance 30.7 30.2 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 15.5 13.7 Taxes, other than income 4.3 4.2 Total operating expenses 50.5 48.1 Operating income 14.9 18.0 Other income (expense) (.4) 2.1 Interest expense 6.8 6.4 Income before income taxes 7.7 13.7 Income taxes (3.7) (1.8) Net income $ 11.4 $ 15.5 Adjustments: Interest expense 6.8 6.4 Income taxes (3.7) (1.8) Depreciation, depletion and amortization 15.5 13.7 EBITDA $ 30.0 $ 33.8 Retail sales (million kWh): Residential 330.6 379.6 Commercial 375.8 406.2 Industrial 153.0 139.5 Other 20.4 21.9 879.8 947.2 Average cost of electric fuel and purchased power per kWh $ .021 $ .025 The electric business reported net income of $11.4 million in the first quarter of 2020, compared to $15.5 million for the same period in 2019. The decrease in net income was largely the result of a $2.2 million negative impact from lower investment returns on certain benefit plans and higher depreciation, depletion and amortization expense. Also contributing to the decrease was lower adjusted gross margins, the result of a 7.1% decrease in electric sales volumes due to mild winter weather across its service territory, which was offset in part by rate recovery in Montana. The electric business's EBITDA decreased $3.8 million in the first quarter of 2020, compared to 2019, primarily the result of lower investment returns and decreased sales volumes, partially offset by approved rate recovery, as previously discussed. Natural Gas Distribution Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 (Dollars in millions, where applicable) Operating revenues $ 326.6 $ 342.1 Purchased natural gas sold 190.5 207.8 Taxes, other than income 13.2 12.1 Adjusted gross margin 122.9 122.2 Operating expenses: Operation and maintenance 46.0 46.3 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 20.8 19.4 Taxes, other than income 6.1 6.2 Total operating expenses 72.9 71.9 Operating income 50.0 50.3 Other income .3 2.9 Interest expense 9.2 8.4 Income before income taxes 41.1 44.8 Income taxes 8.8 8.3 Net income $ 32.3 $ 36.5 Adjustments: Interest expense 9.2 8.4 Income taxes 8.8 8.3 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 20.8 19.4 EBITDA $ 71.1 $ 72.6 Volumes (MMdk) Retail sales: Residential 27.7 31.4 Commercial 18.8 20.9 Industrial 1.5 1.6 48.0 53.9 Transportation sales: Commercial .7 .8 Industrial 45.6 40.6 46.3 41.4 Total throughput 94.3 95.3 Average cost of natural gas per dk $ 3.97 $ 3.85 The natural gas distribution business reported net income of $32.3 million in the first quarter of 2020, compared to $36.5 million for the same period in 2019. The decrease in net income was largely the result of a $3.0 million negative impact from lower investment returns on certain benefit plans. Also contributing to the decrease was higher depreciation, depletion and amortization expense from increased property, plant and equipment balances. An increase in adjusted gross margin, primarily from approved rate recovery in certain jurisdictions, was offset in part by a decrease in retail sales volumes from warmer weather in jurisdictions without weather normalization mechanisms in place. The natural gas distribution business's EBITDA decreased $1.5 million in the first quarter of 2020, compared to 2019, primarily the result of lower investment returns and decreased sales volumes, partially offset by approved rate recovery, as previously discussed. Pipeline Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 (Dollars in millions) Operating revenues $ 35.8 $ 32.6 Operating expenses: Operation and maintenance 15.0 14.6 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 5.8 4.8 Taxes, other than income 3.6 3.3 Total operating expenses 24.4 22.7 Operating income 11.4 9.9 Other income .6 Interest expense 1.9 1.8 Income before income taxes 9.5 8.7 Income taxes 2.1 1.9 Net income $ 7.4 $ 6.8 Adjustments: Interest expense 1.9 1.8 Income taxes 2.1 1.9 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 5.8 4.8 EBITDA $ 17.2 $ 15.3 Transportation volumes (MMdk) 111.7 98.7 Natural gas gathering volumes (MMdk) 3.3 3.4 Customer natural gas storage balance (MMdk): Beginning of period 16.2 13.9 Net withdrawal (12.4) (11.6) End of period 3.8 2.3 The pipeline business reported net income of $7.4 million in the first quarter of 2020, compared to $6.8 million in 2019. The increase in net income was primarily due to higher transportation volumes largely the result of organic growth projects being placed into service, and higher transportation rates associated with a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rate case settled in late 2019. Higher depreciation, depletion and amortization expense, driven by higher depreciation rates from the rate case and increased property, plant and equipment balances from organic growth projects, as well as $600,000 lower investment returns on certain benefit plans partially offset the increase in net income. The pipeline business's EBITDA increased $1.9 million in the first quarter of 2020, compared to 2019, primarily from higher transportation volumes and rates, as previously discussed. Construction Materials and Services Construction Services Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 (In millions) Operating revenues $ 514.7 $ 420.9 Cost of sales: Operation and maintenance 436.2 351.6 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 3.9 3.7 Taxes, other than income 23.4 15.9 Total cost of sales 463.5 371.2 Gross margin 51.2 49.7 Selling, general and administrative expense: Operation and maintenance 23.9 20.3 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 1.9 .3 Taxes, other than income 1.6 1.6 Total selling, general and administrative expense 27.4 22.2 Operating income 23.8 27.5 Other income .1 .6 Interest expense 1.2 1.2 Income before income taxes 22.7 26.9 Income taxes 5.9 6.9 Net income $ 16.8 $ 20.0 Adjustments: Interest expense 1.2 1.2 Income taxes 5.9 6.9 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 5.8 4.0 EBITDA $ 29.7 $ 32.1 The construction services business reported net income of $16.8 million in the first quarter of 2020, compared to $20.0 million for the same period in 2019. Net income was negatively impacted by an out-of-period adjustment of $6.7 million, after tax, to correct revenue recognition on a construction contract related to and which was not material to the prior year's results. Higher selling, general and administrative costs, primarily office-related and payroll costs, also had a negative impact on the quarter. Partially offsetting the decrease were higher workloads at both inside and outside specialty contracting lines. Inside specialty contracting continued to see strong customer demand in the hospitality and high-tech industries, which drove an increase in workloads, while outside specialty contracting workloads increased from high demand in the utility industry. Outside specialty contracting workloads were partially offset by a decrease in equipment sales and rentals. The construction services business's EBITDA decreased $2.4 million in the first quarter of 2020, compared to 2019, primarily a result of the previously discussed out-of-period adjustment partially offset by the increase in workloads. Construction Materials and Contracting Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 (Dollars in millions) Operating revenues $ 262.2 $ 227.2 Cost of sales: Operation and maintenance 250.7 220.8 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 19.6 16.8 Taxes, other than income 9.5 8.4 Total cost of sales 279.8 246.0 Gross margin (17.6) (18.8) Selling, general and administrative expense: Operation and maintenance 22.4 20.0 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 1.0 .8 Taxes, other than income 2.3 2.0 Total selling, general and administrative expense 25.7 22.8 Operating loss (43.3) (41.6) Other income (expense) (1.1) 1.3 Interest expense 5.2 5.3 Loss before income taxes (49.6) (45.6) Income taxes (11.4) (11.2) Net loss $ (38.2) $ (34.4) Adjustments: Interest expense 5.2 5.3 Income taxes (11.4) (11.2) Depreciation, depletion and amortization 20.6 17.6 EBITDA $ (23.8) $ (22.7) Sales (000's): Aggregates (tons) 4,217 3,871 Asphalt (tons) 227 166 Ready-mixed concrete (cubic yards) 704 608 The construction materials and contracting business reported a seasonal loss of $38.2 million in the first quarter of 2020, compared to a loss of $34.4 million in the same period in 2019. The increased loss was driven by a $2.4 million negative impact from lower investment returns on certain benefit plans, as well as higher selling, general and administrative expense, largely related to increased payroll-related costs. Partially offsetting the increased loss were higher construction and materials revenues and gross margins due to an earlier start to the construction season in certain regions. The construction materials and contracting business's EBITDA decreased $1.1 million in the first quarter of 2020, compared to 2019. The decreased EBITDA was largely the result of lower investment returns, as previously discussed. Other Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 (In millions) Operating revenues $ 3.0 $ 7.8 Operating expenses: Operation and maintenance 2.0 7.2 Depreciation, depletion and amortization .7 .4 Taxes, other than income .1 Total operating expenses 2.7 7.7 Operating income .3 .1 Other income .1 .2 Interest expense .3 .4 Income (loss) before income taxes .1 (.1) Income taxes 4.3 3.2 Net loss $ (4.2) $ (3.3) The net loss for Other was negatively impacted as a result of income tax adjustments related to the consolidated company's annualized estimated tax rate. General and administrative costs and interest expense previously allocated to the exploration and production and refining businesses that do not meet the criteria for income (loss) from discontinued operations also are included in Other. Other Financial Data March 31, 2020 2019 (In millions, except per share amounts) (Unaudited) Book value per common share $ 14.15 $ 13.17 Market price per common share $ 21.50 $ 25.83 Dividend yield (indicated annual rate) 3.9% 3.1% Price/earnings from continuing operations ratio (12 months ended) 13.4x 18.9x Market value as a percent of book value 151.9% 196.1% Net operating cash flow (year to date) $ 79 $ 2 Total assets $ 7,851 $ 7,279 Total equity $ 2,837 $ 2,606 Total debt $ 2,455 $ 2,268 Capitalization ratios: Total equity 53.6% 53.5% Total debt 46.4 46.5 100.0% 100.0% SOURCE MDU Resources Group, Inc. Related Links http://www.mdu.com Two children aged one and three died after their throats were slit by their father, an inquest has heard. Nineteen-month-old Pavinya Nithiyakumar and three-year-old Nigish Nithiyakumar died after suffering knife wounds at their home in Ilford, east London on Sunday, April 26. Their father Nithin Kumar, 40, also suffered a knife injury and is in a critical condition in hospital, where he is under police guard. The inquest at Walthamstow Coroner's Court today heard both children were attacked by their father. Nishanthani Kumar and Nithin Kumar pictured (left) with their son Nigish and, right, Nigish and his sister Pabinya are pictured Police at the scene of the tragic stabbing in Ilford, east London on Sunday, April 26 Area coroner Graeme Irvine said: 'Pavinya died of injuries at the scene and was pronounced extinct at 5.53pm. 'Nigish died of injuries and was pronounced extinct at 7.42pm at Royal London Hospital. 'Both had been attacked by the father at the home and their throats had been cut.' Pathologist Nathaniel Cary carried out an autopsy at Great Ormond Street Hospital and confirmed both had received an incised wound to the neck. Mr Irvine said: 'I am satisfied after hearing about these very very sad deaths that an inquest is necessary. 'I'm not going to fix a time for the inquest as there is an ongoing criminal investigation into both of these deaths. 'Another hearing will take place on November 30, 2020. 'We will approach the senior investigation officer to provide an update to the ongoing criminal proceedings. These two inquests are now open.' Last week, the heartbroken mother of Pavinya and Nigish told of the horrifying moment she discovered their blood-soaked bodies. Nishanthani Kumar sobbed hysterically as she recalled how she stormed into a bedroom to discover her two young children lying on a bed drenched in blood as their suspected killer knelt over them with a large kitchen knife in his hand. Nithin Kumar, 40, is pictured with his wife Nisa and their one-year-old daughter and three-year-old son who were both killed in the horrific incident in Ilford, east London Speaking to MailOnline, Mrs Kumar wailed: 'I was in the bathroom and could hear one of my children vomiting. I rushed into the bedroom and when I saw them covered in blood, just started screaming. I was shouting 'what have you done to them, what has happened? She said the man was just 'kneeling over them with a crazed look in his eye and didn't say a word. I couldn't understand what was going on.' Mrs Kumar, who is known as Nisa, wept as she recalled the devastating events of Sunday afternoon, revealing that when she saw realised that her beloved children had been stabbed her 'mother's instincts kicked in.' She cried: 'I rushed to the fridge to get some ice because I could see that my son had a deep cut to his neck. Blood was gushing out of it. I ran back into the bedroom and started applying the ice to his neck. He was barely able to breathe and was wheezing heavily. Nithin Kumar (pictured) is in hospital after a one-year-old and three-year-old died on Sunday, April 26 'My daughter was not moving at all. There was blood all around her. All I could think about was how to save them.' The distraught mother then ran into the bathroom to dial 999 as the suspect leaped off the bed and chased after her. She said: 'I thought he was going to attack me too, so I lashed out and the knife fell out of his hand. I then ran out of the bathroom screaming to the 999 operator that they needed to send an ambulance quickly because my children had been stabbed.' As she returned to be with her dying children, she said the killer then emerged from the bathroom with blood spouting out of his neck. He then slumped on the bed beside. Recounting his haunting words, she told MailOnline: 'He kept on saying "I'm sorry, I'm scared that they are going to kill me and might do something to the children". He was speaking like a mad man and was going on about "how they are going to get him" and that he "had to save the children". I couldn't make sense of what he was saying. And then he just passed out.' Police, pictured at the scene on Sunday, April 26 are now conducting a murder investigation - but said all three people knew each other Pictured: Teddy bears in a window at the scene as police investigate the deaths of a three-year-old boy and one-year-old girl who were stabbed in an alleged attempted murder-suicide Mrs Kumar, 35, believes that the man had some kind of 'psychotic episode' even though he did not have any history of mental illness. She said: 'He was a kind, gentle man and very softly spoken. None of this makes any sense. Now everything has been lost.' The grieving mother shared her favourite picture of her children with MailOnline, taken last September on Pabinya's first birthday. She said: 'This is how I want to remember them. Smiling, happy and playing together. We'd had a beautiful day and all the family came over to celebrate. Pabinya got all these wonderful presents and Nigish was also very excited because he was helping her to open them. 'But I keep seeing them on that bed, covered in blood and Nigish fighting to breathe. I can't sleep at night because that image keeps coming to my mind. It's like being in the worst nightmare imaginable. There are no words to describe what I am going through. I don't understand why God has punished me like this.' The Kumars wed in 2012 in their native country of Sri Lanka in a traditional arranged marriage. Mr Kumar has been in Britain since 1999 with his wife joining him in 2015. Both their children were born in the UK. There has been a steady flow of mourners from the local Sri Lankan community visiting to pay their respects. Mrs Kumar sobbed that despite the anger she feels she has been regularly calling the hospital to get an update on her husband's condition. As she attempts to come to terms with her devastating loss, she cried: 'I don't know how I feel about him at the moment, but I do want to know if he is going to live or not. I've lost my children and now I could also become a widow. 'When I came to join my husband in Britain, I thought we were going to be happy. There is nothing that can express the shock and sorrow I feel. My children were my life. Sometimes I wish that I had killed been too because then I would not have to go through this kind of pain.' A man walks his dog past a homeless man sleeping under a message painted on a boarded up shop in San Francisco, Cali., on April, 1, 2020. (Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images) San Francisco Gives Free Drugs and Alcohol to Homeless People Under Quarantine San Francisco is supplying free alcohol and drugs to some homeless people under COVID-19 quarantine at some of the city-rented hotels, officials confirmed Wednesday. Jenna Lane, a spokeswoman for the citys Department of Health, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the city has provided a range of substancesincluding tobacco and medical cannabisto 43 homeless people with addictions in a bid to discourage them leaving the hotels that have been adapted as temporary quarantine facilities, and in so doing helping to prevent the spread of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus, the novel coronavirus that emerged from China and causes COVID-19. Theyre doing San Francisco a great service by staying inside, Lane told the publication. Were saying, Were doing what we can to support you staying inside and not have to go out and get these things. It follows an exchange on Twitter between a user who self-identifies as a recovering homeless addict, and the San Francisco Department of Public Health account. I just found out that homeless placed in hotels in SF are being delivered Alcohol, Weed and Methadone because they identified as an addict/alcoholic for FREE. Youre supposed to be offering treatment. This is enabling and is wrong on many levels, the Twitter user wrote, with the department seeking to justify the practice in its response. These harm reduction based practices, which are not unique to San Francisco, and are not paid for with taxpayer money, help guests successfully complete isolation and quarantine and have significant individual and public health benefits in the COVID-19 pandemic, the department wrote in the reply. According to the San Francisco Chronicle report, the city is using hotels to house a total of 270 homeless people who have either tested positive for the virus or are considered vulnerable to infection. With regard to supporting people who are at risk, or who need to be in quarantine or isolation because theyre COVID positive, our focus needs to be on supporting them, said Dr. Grant Colfax from San Franciscos Department of Public Health. Meeting them where they are so that they can be cared for in the most appropriate way. In the way thats good for them and for our community. Last month, the National Health Care for the Homeless Council issued a memo warning that if city programs cant find ways to accommodate the use of substances among the vulnerable, the consequences could be deadly. Failure to accommodate substance use disorders will likely mean increases in fatal overdoses/dangerous withdrawals, higher rates of vulnerable people leaving I&Q [isolation and quarantine] against medical advice, and compromised individual and public health, the council noted. A woman has been filmed unleashing a rant at a group of Asian students in Melbourne, before a disgusted onlooker told her 'most Australians don't think like you'. Footage shows the well-dressed woman pointing and shouting at a group of young women at a crossing in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy. The argument appears to have started after the older women heard the students speaking in their own language to one another, which she took issue with. At the start of the video, she shouts in one of the women's faces and tells her to 'not speak so loudly' before ordering the group to speak in English. Defending her friends, one of the students then says 'this is an international city' - in perfect English. The unknown woman (pictured) unleashed a tirade at the young Asian students as they waited at a crossing in Melbourne 'Oh shut up,' the woman replies. 'There's so many of you, and you won't speak English. Speak English. 'If I went to your country to work, I would learn your language.' In the background, one onlooker said 'shut up, you old f****** racist.' As the argument begins to escalate, an onlooker - who seemed to be from New Zealand - intervened to support the students. 'Don't listen,' she says. 'The majority of Australians and New Zealanders don't think like that.' It is one of many racially-motivated attacks filmed by passersby in recent months, with Asian Australians fearing the coronavirus outbreak will fuel racist sentiments. There have been several incidents of Chinese, Japanese and Korean people being approached by strangers and blamed for the COVID-19 pandemic. This New Zealander (pictured, left) then intervened to protect the students from the woman's rant (right) In March, a mother was caught screaming racist abuse at commuters wearing masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus on a train - also in Melbourne. A bystander filmed the vile moment the woman yelled at two men to 'go back to your own country' as her young daughter begged for her to stop. 'F*** your face mask, you disease carrying motherf***er,' she yelled. The disturbing footage came as more Australians choose to wear masks to protect themselves from COVID-19. The video, which was shared on Reddit, begins with the woman yelling at two young men. Passengers can be seen walking away, asking: 'How do you get security?' The woman then screams 'go back to your own country'. 'F*** off to your own country you disease-infected dogs....Australia is my country. I was born and bred. Where are you from? Where are you from?' One of the men replies, telling her he is from 'this country'. She then continues to tell him he is not Australian. 'Are you born and bred? Are you a f***ing Abo? You get the f*** out of my country.' Her daughter can be heard crying, pleading for her to stop. 'Are you as Aussie as me?' the woman asks. 'F** your face mask you disease carrying motherf***er.' A bystander filmed the moment the woman on the train in Melbourne (pictured) yelled at two men to 'go back to your own country' as her young daughter begged for her to stop In another incident, two sisters were screamed at and spat at in the street, before being called 'Asian dogs' Shocking footage from late March in Marrickville showed two women copping a torrent of racist abuse before one of them was spat at. Sophie Do, 23, and her sister Rosa, 19, were called 'Asian dogs' and a 'dumb wh***' as they crossed the street. In a reference to the coronavirus outbreak and its origin in a food market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the siblings were told they 'brought corona here'. A woman in grey was captured on footage screaming: 'I've got a knife in my bag... you little Asian dog.' 'Asian b**ch. You brought corona here. Eat a bat again you dumb wh***.' Police will allege that the two women were approached by a 17-year-old girl and verbally abused with racial slurs while crossing Petersham Road at Illawarra Road at around 3pm on Monday. Officers said the teenager allegedly attempted to kick one of the young women, before a bystander intervened and told her to leave. As she walked away, the teenager allegedly spat towards the younger woman hitting her in the eye before leaving the scene, police said. 'She had pretty good aim, it hit my eye,' Rosa told Nine News. 'Straight in my left eye. It got in my hair, my cheek, everything. I was flabbergasted.' Her sister added: 'It was horrifying. I really, really wanted to retaliate. 'I really wanted to hit back, it took everything in me not to.' Sophie (pictured, left, with sister Rosa) said no one should be able to get away with racial attacks, which have ramped up in recent months due to the COVID-19 pandemic Another woman in Sydney has been accused of unleashing a series of racist rants during the pandemic. Angela Weedon, who calls herself the 'Queen of Australia', was arrested on April 11 after she allegedly screamed at an Asian Telstra worker. She took issue after being asked a series of standard questions to ensure the safety of staff during the pandemic. Weedon allegedly lashed out at the employee, threatening to have he and his family deported to China. The 38-year-old was charged over the incident, as well as another where she allegedly taunted an elderly woman on a Sydney train. After being granted bail on April 27, she was filmed standing outside the Sydney Police Centre, surrounded by officers, shouting abuse at another man. Weedon (pictured) was charged after footage emerged online showing her allegedly taunting an elderly woman on a Sydney train 'That's alright, you maggot, you're going to be sued too,' she said. 'Good luck having no money you piece of s**t. Because you're an illegal aren't you, little Mr India... F**k, off dog.' Police will allege later that day she threatened and kicked a man after he denied her request for a cigarette. 'As the man tried to walk away, the woman followed him down the street and continued to yell abuse at him,' police alleged. She was charged with behaving in an offensive manner in/near public place/school, stalking and intimidation with intention to cause fear or physical harm and common assault. Her next court appearance is scheduled for June 25 in relation to charges of stalking, intimation and behaving offensively in a public place. Back in early April, Weedon allegedly followed a Chinese woman through multiple train carriages, shouting abuse at her along the way. 'Now immigration know who you are, and you're out,' she allegedly told the woman. 'You're not welcome here, understand?' A former Northern California business executive and his companies will pay $1.8 million to settle a lawsuit by the state accusing him of sexually harassing a female employee, according to a newspaper report. California officials announced the settlement last week with Lee William Bill McNutt and the firms Silicon Valley Growth Syndicate and International Direct Mail Consultants, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday. The state Department of Fair Employment and Housing alleged in its lawsuit that McNutt took the woman, the companies vice president for operations and communications, on a number of trips in 2017 where he touched her under her clothes without her consent. The womans lawyer sent McNutt a complaint alleging violations of California laws and suggesting she be put on paid leave. Instead she was dismissed in June 2018, according to court papers. David Oates, a spokesman for McNutt, told the Chronicle that McNutt and his companies consider the California lawsuit baseless. However, in light of the current gender discrimination environment, they ultimately opted to spare their family and friends from the ongoing stress that defending the suit brought and agreed to this settlement, Oates said. In addition to the $1.8 million, the settlement prohibits McNutt from hiring students from Southern Methodist University, where the alleged victim had been a student. McNutt also attended SMU, and the Dallas Morning News has reported that the university barred him from campus in 2009 after complaints from female students. McNutt lives in Dallas, and the Silicon Valley Growth Syndicate, formerly based in San Francisco, is now located in Little Rock, Arkansas, where it invests in startup businesses. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits California Moscow residents will be required to wear masks and gloves when using public transit and visiting public spaces starting Tuesday because of the coronavirus. The announcement by Mayor Sergei Sobyanin comes after the decision to reopen industrial plants and construction sites in the capital on that same day. Allowing more people to work, we understand that it will increase passenger traffic on the transport, increase the number of people who come in contact with each other, and it somehow needs to be compensated for, Sobyanin said Thursday in an interview on the state-run Rossia 24 TV channel. He added that as many as 2.5% of Moscow's 12.7 million population -- some 300,000 people -- may be infected with the coronavirus. Moscow has so far registered almost 93,000 confirmed cases of the virus -- more than half of the country's total of 177,000 reported infections. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Paedophile Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in jail while awaiting sex trafficking charges Paedophile multi-millionaire Jeffrey Epstein procured girls from Britain and flew them to America on his private jet to be abused, a victim has claimed. Maria Farmer accuses Prince Andrew's pervert friend of flying 'at least two' girls to the US with the assistance of a British woman she calls a 'key co-conspirator'. This is the first allegation to emerge that Epstein, who killed himself while awaiting sex trafficking charges in a Manhattan jail in August last year, used his network of enablers to target girls in the UK, the Daily Mirror reports. Ms Farmer claims Epstein's friend Ghislaine Maxwell, whose whereabouts are unknown, took women to the US. 'She procured girls from England - at least two - you can tell by the flight logs. She was a creeper,' Ms Farmer told the Daily Mirror. 'She's gotten off scot free with all the c**p she did for him.' The woman 'now lives in a mansion in England... under the radar and protected by money but that's what Ghislaine did to keep people quiet', she added. According to the Daily Mirror, the unnamed woman was unavailable for comment. Maxwell, daughter of disgraced newspaper proprietor Robert Maxwell, is at the centre of the controversy. She denies wrongdoing. Maria Farmer (left) accuses Epstein, pervert friend of Prince Andrew (right), of flying 'at least two' girls to the US with the assistance of a British woman she calls a 'key co-conspirator Ms Farmer's claims come as over 70 people alleged to have known of Epstein's abuse were named in court papers by former 'sex slave' Virginia Giuffre. She alleges Prince Andrew was among the group who 'had knowledge of... sexual trafficking and interaction with minors'. The prince has denied any knowledge of Epstein's crimes. People from the devastated country are not fleeing from the wars horrors, but from the misery of its aftermath. "We believe that our success is based on our ability to positively impact our community as we all seek to improve the world around us. In 2019, we continued to execute on our ESG goals, including by allocating resources and making investments in areas that help us conduct business in a sustainable, socially responsible and ethical way," said Johnny Chou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BEST. "In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, we responded quickly and remained committed to helping our employees, customers, and communities during this critical time. Looking forward, we will continue to identify and invest in more sustainable growth channels and develop a smarter, greener supply chain and logistics platform in China and beyond." A former President of France who has always hinted at having an affair with Princess Diana was tonight (TUES) at the centre of a sexual assault investigation. Valery Giscard d'Estaing, the 94-year-old who was head of state between 1974 and 1981, is accused of touching a female journalist intimately and without her consent. Le Monde on Tuesday reported that Mr Giscard d'Estaing carried out the alleged assault on Ann-Kathrin Stracke, a 37-year-old reporter with the German public broadcaster WDR. Ms Stracke has waived her right to anonymity in the reporting of the sex assault complaint, which was sent to Paris prosecutors in March. Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing (left) shares a joke with Princess Diana during dinner at the at the Chateau de Versailles in 1994 It was on December 18, 2018, that Ms. Stracke had an appointment with the retired politician at his office in central Paris. The interview was on the 100th anniversary of the birth of former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, who was a world leader at the same time as Mr Giscard d'Estaing. The late Princess Diana became an international celebrity at the end of Mr Giscard d'Estaing's term of office, and the pair are said to have become close after meeting at official and charity engagements. During the 2018 incident, Ms Stracke asked Mr Giscard d'Estaing to pose for a photo with her, and then 'the former president wrapped his arms around her, touched her waist, and placed his hand on her buttock,' the complaint reads. Ms Stracke said: 'Very surprised and disapproving of these attacks which made me extremely uncomfortable, I tried to push back the hand of Mr. Giscard d'Estaing, without however succeeding.' The first photo was of poor quality, so Ms Stracke posed for another one, and was again touched around the waist and buttocks. 'I felt like he insisted,' she said, claiming that there was a third assault when Mr Giscard d'Estaing touched her bottom again while showing her some photographs. Ms Stracke tried to free her attacker's hand, 'several times and with all my strength,' the complaint reads. Valery Giscard d'Estaing, the 94-year-old who was head of state between 1974 and 1981, is accused of touching a female journalist intimately and without her consent As the 'degrading' assault continued, her cameraman then allegedly tried to create a diversion by overturning the lampshade of a lamp located on a sideboard and placing a chair between the ex-president and Ms. Stracke. When she left the offices, Mr. Giscard d'Estaing insisted on kissing Ms Stracke while whispering in German 'Sweet dreams'. When Ms Stracke got back to Cologne, her bosses told Ms Stracke to file a 13-page complaint to Mr Giscard d'Estaing. It reads: 'Ms Stracke was extremely shocked by your actions*We cannot allow our employees to be confronted with such situations and therefore very much hope that such behaviour will not be repeated towards any of them in the future.' Then Ms Stracke decided to complain to prosecutors, saying: 'At first, I didn't think about filing a complaint, especially since I had no idea how French justice works.' But when the MeToo movement - one aimed at exposing high profile sex abusers across the world - became more influential, she decided to act. 'This movement has shown me how important it is to debate these issues in society,' said Ms Stracke. Her account about the alleged attack by Mr. Giscard d'Estaing is supported by her cameraman, but a sound recordist who was also in the room has refused to testify. Contacted by Le Monde, Olivier Revol, Mr. Giscard d'Estaing's office manager, said the former president had 'no memory of his meeting' with Mrs. Stracke. 'If what is alleged against him was true, he would of course be sorry, but he does not remember anything,' Mr. Revol added. It was in 2009 that Mr Giscard d'Estaing wrote a romance novel called 'The Princess and the President'. It was about an affair between a French president and a thinly veiled British royal - Patricia, Princess of Cardiff, or 'Lady Pat'. At the time, there was intense speculation in the French media that Mr Giscard d'Estaing was describing a tryst with Princess Diana in the 1980s. Mr Giscard d'Estaing was in office in 1981, when Diana married Prince Charles, and they regularly met at official and charity engagements. The novel's epigraph read 'Promise kept', and at the end Patricia says: 'You asked my permission to write your story. I grant it to you, but you must make me a promise*' Neither Mr Giscard d'Estaing nor Princess Diana, who died in Paris in 1997, ever commented on their alleged affair. Like most French presidents, Mr Giscard d'Estaing was well known for his passionate liasions with numerous beautiful women. He is married to his cousin, Anne-Aymone Sauvage de Brantes, and they had four children together. Mr Giscard d'Estaing's turbulent private life was regularly the subject of reports in France's national press. VALHALLA, NY New testing at hospitals in New York shows that health-care workers on the front lines are not more likely to have contracted COVID-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at his daily briefing. Speaking from New York Medical College in Westchester County, the governor said that antibody testing of healthcare workers in the hardest-hit areas of the state found they were less likely to be infected with the new coronavirus. "The infection rate is lower than the infection rate among the general population," he said. He singled out Westchester in particular, where health care workers have half the infection rate of the general population. While just under 14 percent of the county's residents have antibodies in their blood from having been infected, only 6.8 percent of health care workers tested positive for the antibodies. He called it "really good news." New York Governor's Office He also said it proves that it works to take protective measures like wearing a mask. The governor also announced a 60-day extension of his moratorium on evictions. The rule applies to both residential and commercial tenants. New York has shown how to deal with the pandemic, he said, exhibiting a slide taken from the New York Times that shows the progress of the outbreak in the state versus the rest of the country. New York Governor's Office It's essential to act on facts and not emotion and politics, he said. "Principles matter," he said, calling the argument that it's OK for some people to die in order to re-open the economy "absurd." He said the facts show that the new coronavirus spreads most rapidly in places where people are densely congregated citing the outbreaks at the meat-packing plants in the midwest and the large greenhouse in upstate New York. "It's the density. That's what happened in Westchester, in New Rochelle," Cuomo said. "It had nothing to do with New Rochelle." A New Rochelle resident who was New York's second COVID-19 case had been to several large gatherings at a synagogue. In the first 10 days of March, New York went from 2 to 173 cases, most of them in Westchester, and the state had imposed a virus containment zone in New Rochelle in a 1-mile radius around the synagogue to try to slow the transmission. SEE: Coronavirus: 1-Mile Containment Area In New Rochelle Story continues MORE READING: Vigil Held In Valhalla For National Nurses Day This article originally appeared on the Peekskill-Cortlandt Patch Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will allow the state's auto manufacturing plants, most of which have been shuttered since March due to the coronavirus pandemic, to reopen beginning Monday. The time frame makes it possible for auto suppliers to begin reopening plants ahead of Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler, all of which have major manufacturing operations in the state and plan to restart production in the state on May 18. "It's going to be a phased-in reengagement," Whitmer said during a news conference Thursday, citing the auto industry is crucial to reopening the state's economy. Whitmer said the Detroit automakers have come to an agreement with the United Auto Workers union to restart production at 25% capacity. Automakers are expected to conduct pre-production work at their assembly plants next week. Whitmer has drawn the ire of President Donald Trump several times during the coronavirus pandemic, including a tweet that called to "LIBERATE MICHIGAN!" following a protest at Michigan's state capital over Whitmer's stay-at-home orders. Trump tweet Under Whitmer's easing on manufacturing, facilities must adopt certain safety measures and protocols in an attempt to reduce the spread of the disease. They include temperature screenings, dedicated entry points and Covid-19 education programs, among other things. "With these safety protocols, we feel that we can reengage," Whitmer said. All are procedures that the Detroit automakers have already outlined to reopening their plants. Visakhapatnam/Amaravati, May 7 : Majority of the affected in the gas leak disaster in Vizag on Thursday that reminded everyone of the Bhopal tragedy, comprised children. Close to 150 children are undergoing treatment and most of them are responding positively, doctors said. Even as authorities have managed to neutralise the gas and contain the impact of the leak, the official death toll in Visakhapatnam went up to 8. The dead include an 8-year old girl and 2 senior citizens. Hospital authorities are searching for the parents of a young child who is in the hospital. Speaking to the media, Andhra Pradesh's DGP, Gautam Sawang said that of the 246 people currently receiving treatment, 20 are on ventilators. Reports from other hospitals are also indicating that the condition of the hospitalised persons is gradually improving. He said that water is one of the antidotes for styrene and so water has been sprayed in the air to neutralise the gas. "The entire Venkatapuram village has been cleared and around 700 people have been evacuated from there. Around 800 people were admitted to hospitals but most of them have been discharged. Around 240 people are still in hospitals." Sawang said that forensic teams are looking into the incident to ascertain the cause. Meanwhile the survivors undergoing treatment at various hospitals in Visakhpatnam recounted their near-death encounter after the gas leak started around 2.30 a.m., while most of them were in deep slimber. One of the women in KG Hospital said: "We could feel a strange smell. It was a very surreal feeling. Am I alive or dead. I could see people and animals lying on the ground. I dont know how I reached the hospital." Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy held an emergency meetings with his top officials at Amaravati before leaving for Visakhapatnam for personally overseeing the rescue operations. Tragedy struck Andhra Pradesh early on Thursday as gas leaked from a chemical unit in the city, leaving one minor among the dead, and close to 100 unconscious, with at least five sleeping hamlets affected unaware as most were still in bed. Initial casualties included a 8-year-old girl. One man is reported to have died when he jumped into a well while another person fell off the balcony of his house as the gas leak at the LG Polymers unit located at RR Venkatapuram near Gopalapatnam spread across the five sleeepy villaged around 2.30 a.m. In scenes reminiscent of the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984, the streets and hospitals of Visakhapatnam were filled with people in panic, scared to breathe and unable to fathom the silent tragedy that struck them. According to Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation officials, the tragedy took place when the chemical unit, closed due to the lockdown, was being restarted on Thursday morning. The gas stored in tanks began leaking and spread in a radius of 3 km. Officials have zeroed in on two gases, styrene and pentine, as the likely causes for the accident. Early morning sights included people lying unconscious on the streets and dead cattle by the roadside. People, with children strung over their shoulders, ran in panic towards hospitals. Ambulances rushed to the area and transported 70 unconscious people to the King George hospital. Eyewitnesses said that the incident took place around 2.30 a.m. when people were fast asleep in their homes. All of a sudden people in surrounding areas woke up with a sense of breathlessness, terrible itching, and burning sensation in their eyes. Panic-stricken they rushed out of their homes, only to collapse. Several cattle and livestock also succumbed to the poisonous gas pervading the air. The impact of the tragedy was reduced to some extent as the plant operatives immediately alerted the authorities following which the district administration swung into action, an official said. The surrounding areas within a radius of 3 kms have been cleared of people and arrangements made for feeding around 7,500 people who have been asked to vacate their homes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are keepinmg abreast of all details. Modi has started a meeting with NDMA officials to moniter the situation. Officials said that the leak has been sealed and the gas dissipates fast and so the death toll may not increase substantially. LG Polymers, is among India's leading manufacturer of polystyrene and expandable polystyrene. The plant located at Visakhapatnam, belongs to the Mumbai-based LG Polymers India, which is part of the South Korean group LG Chemical. Originally set up in 1961, as Hindustan Polymers for manufacturing polystyrene and its co-polymers, the company was merged with McDowell & Co Ltd of UB Group in 1978. It ultimately became part of the South Korean group LG Chemical, in 1997. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed BOMA Nevada Board Member Chuck Eller (left) presents The Salvation Armys Major Randy Kinnamon (right) BOMA Nevada, the Nevada Chapter of the commercial real estate non-profit organization, recently donated $7,500 to aid in COVID-19 relief efforts of The Salvation Army Southern Nevada. Providing shelters and meals for hundreds of homeless every day, while also equipping Nevadans in need with supplies and medical beds during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Salvation Army was a natural fit for BOMA Nevadas community outreach efforts. Times are hard for everyone right now, and we knew we wanted to give back to our local community and those in need here, said BOMA Nevada Board Member Chuck Eller. We saw all the good The Salvation Army was doing around COVID-19 in addition to the services they provide daily for Nevadans. We are grateful for the work this organization is doing and feel very fortunate to be able to aid in their efforts during this time. BOMA Nevada, the Nevada chapter of the leading commercial real estate non-profit organization, provides tools and resources to its members to excel in its respective industry. Through advocacy, education, research, standards and information, BOMA Nevada brings endless opportunities to professionals within the commercial real estate industry in Nevada. A core mission of BOMA Nevada is community outreach and advocacy. In addition to the donation, BOMA has asked its members and networks to consider donating to The Salvation Army Southern Nevada as well as Helping Hands of Vegas Valley. For more information on BOMA Nevada, visit its website at bomanevada.org, and follow them on Facebook and Instagram at @bomanevada. Law firm Mills Oakley is being sued over accusations it fell for an email scam and lost almost $1 million of a clients money. Prominent Singapore businessman and real estate mogul Harry Chua hired Mills Oakley to act for him to buy an apartment in the Aurora Melbourne Central development in La Trobe Street in the citys CBD. The Aurora Melbourne Central building under construction in 2017. Credit:Daniel Pockett Last December, someone purporting to be Mr Chuas personal assistant emailed the firm asking: "Can you please confirm the total amount of excess funds we have with you in your trust account? Regards Janice." A legal assistant wrote back, confirming there was $928,687.07 in a trust account, Mr Chuas new lawyers from Gordon Legal alleged in documents filed before the Victorian Supreme Court this week. Calaveras County Seal View Photo San Andreas, CA The Calaveras supervisors, Angels Camp City council members and public will have the chance to query public health officials about loosening COVID-19 restrictions. The special meeting, which begins at 3 p.m. was set so that local lawmakers could respond to anticipated plans by Governor Gavin Newsom to allow jurisdictions with proactive plans for opening businesses to do so as long as they have set up abilities to do their own coronavirus tracing and testing, have established surge capacity in the event that cases elevate, and rules in place to maintain public health safety, including the ability to shut back down should there be a rise in patients and deaths. Calaveras County Board Chair Merita Callaway talked with Clarke Broadcasting ahead of the meeting, stressing that the board has no legal authority to say that it will open businesses or to establish conditions and criteria that is more lenient than what the state allows. Then it comes to the public health officer, who issues orders for the county, so anything we are looking at doing, modifications for small businesses, comes from the state to Dr. Kelaita after we get some of the clarification. With regard to some of the states requirements for opening some non-essential businesses, she says dryly, We already know that the order said a florist, dress shop or sporting goods store have to have curb-side pickup and that doesnt really work. But it is a start, and then Dr. K. can issue the [local] order with conditions. In a closed meeting with the supervisors earlier this week during which local officials could not give direction or advice, the doctor provided a status update, acknowledging that residents are getting frustrated. Advocating For Clarifications She says she gets it. I want to open I need a haircutwe have chosen as almost every county has to follow the state orders and of the few who did not, most are already backing off. Not going rogue does not mean local lawmakers are not advocating for clarifications pertaining to small retail, low-risk operations such as getting an official date for bait stores to open if fishing is allowed. Much thoughtful planning will be going into bring back dine-in restaurants, salons, gyms, movie theaters and other business operations at higher risk for spreading infection. Concerts and conventions, which will be the last activities to reconvene, are still months away. Among her District 3 constituents concerns, she shares, I have been hearing a lot about churchesbut most churches here are small with too close quarters and people hugging and the things that we do when we gather at them. Callaway gives Dr. Kelaita high marks for being open, thoughtful and judicious as well as for planning ahead in the event of a COVID-19 case surge to be able to reinstate stay at home orders quickly. She says she also understands why he and the board are catching heat from community members who just want them to hurry up and restore the old normal. I try to get where they are coming from, the fear, frustration and anger, feeling isolated, not being in control, Callaway confides. But the Governor made an orderand that is what as a county we are going to do and if we can open in a healthy and safe manner then what is what we are going to do.start opening the door and then manage it. A lot of the management she acknowledges, will be based on an honor system. Some people are going to say screw it and while we are not going to pull your business permit, we are going to come talk to you and see you. We are going to try to be prudent and move towards trying to reestablish health and the economy in the community and it must be done in tandem. They go hand in hand. Finding, Maintaining A Healthy Balance Is Key Giving residents freedom to do what they want comes with responsibilities to follow public health rules or become a risk to first responders, health care providers and the rest of the community, she points out. We look for reasonable answers to an emotionally charged issue. While public health and the local economy are both important and businesses and communities have been supportive for the most part, she laments the thought of having to go backwards and shut down again because the county relaxed too many restrictions too early. On the other hand, she states, We know people from outside the county are coming in and we also know people from inside the county are going outthe gate kind of swings both ways. Coronavirus could come in from a UPS or ambulance driver or from a COSTCO visit. We are not immune to it. Second homeowners coming and going and people are complaining about people not wearing masks and coughing as we are hearing more and more from business owners that we have to open. While wineries are not open now for tasting, Callaway says as a board member of the Calaveras Winegrape Alliance, she is hearing from industry members who are working to establish protocols that will herald the county becoming open to visitors. If we are inviting them to taste, we need to open restaurants for a place for them to eat, and then lodging, and we are not there yet although some lodging folks have put protocols together and [Economic Development Director] Kathy Gallino is putting protocols together for various accommodations. Members of the public who want to observe the meeting can do so by clicking here, and then clicking on the video link pertaining to the meeting date just to the right of the agenda packet link. CARACAS, May 7 (Reuters) - Members of Venezuela's opposition in October negotiated a $213 million deal with a small Florida security company to invade the country and overthrow President Nicolas Maduro, according to a document published by the Washington Post on Thursday. Venezuelan authorities this week arrested more than a dozen people, including Americans who work for the company Silvercorp USA, as part of a bungled incursion that has served as a public relations victory for Maduro's struggling government. The document deals a blow to the credibility of opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has vehemently denied any links to Silvercorp or involvement in the attempt to remove Maduro by force. Guaido, the president of the opposition-held National Assembly, argues that Maduro is usurping power after rigging a 2018 election and is recognized by dozens of countries as Venezuela's rightful leader. The plan described in the 42-page document offers minute tactical details ranging from which land mines to deploy and what riot gear to use, but offers no explanation of how a small group of commandos could overpower hundreds of thousands of security forces who remain loyal to the ruling Socialist Party. "Service Provider Group will advise and assist Partner Group in Planning and executing and operation to capture/detain/remove Nicolas Maduro (heretoafter "Primary Objective"), remove the current Regime, and install the recognized Venezuelan President Juan Guaido," reads the agreement. Reuters was unable to immediately confirm the authenticity of the document https://context-cdn.washingtonpost.com/notes/prod/default/documents/6241a047-6222-4269-8c50-2c9e3c7c9cf5/note/d836cf76-031f-4978-a4da-18a081752b94. The Washington Post said the general services agreement, signed by Juan Guaido, had been provided by Silvercorp CEO Jordan Goudreau, who has publicly described leading the operation. It said the detailed attachment had been provided by Venezuelan opposition officials. Story continues Guaido's press team did not respond to a request for comment. Guaido advisor Juan Rendon, whose signature also appears on the document, told CNN that he signed an "exploratory agreement" with Silvercorp but that it was never completed. He said Silvercorp had led a "botched suicide" mission without Guaido's support. Reuters could not immediately reach Rendon for comment. The document was also signed by opposition legislator Sergio Vergara and Goudreau. Reuters was unable to obtain comment from Goudreau, whose voice mail box was not accepting messages on Thursday. Vergara did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Two main opposition parties, First Justice and Popular Will - which Guaido is affiliated with - on Thursday said in a statement that "the democratic forces do not promote or finance guerrillas, outbreaks of violence or paramilitary groups," reiterating calls for a transition government. The logos of six other parties, including Democratic Action and A New Era, which have significant representation in the National Assembly, appear on the document. Luke Denman, one of the two captured Americans, appeared on Wednesday in a video on Venezuelan state television saying he had been tasked by Silvercorp with controlling Caracas' airport to bring in a plane that would fly Maduro to the United States. He and Airan Berry will both be tried in Venezuela's civilian courts, Maduro said. (Reporting by Brian Ellsworth, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien) CBC Admits Mistakes in Reporting of Epoch Times Coverage of Beijings Virus Coverup CBC News has admitted that it made mistakes in its reporting on The Epoch Times, in a written response to the publication, though Epoch Times Canadas publisher says the response doesnt address the publications main concerns. The national public broadcaster recently ran multiple segments on its different platforms, including TV, radio, and website, on a special edition created and distributed by The Epoch Times. The front page of The Epoch Times special edition that was distributed on April 13, 2020. The special edition was devoted to the Chinese Communist Partys coverup of the coronavirus outbreak, which led to the current global pandemic. It included a timeline showing how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) concealed information about the outbreak and reprimanded whistleblowers, and it also covered topics such as the regimes disinformation campaign. Paul Hambleton, director of journalistic standards at CBC News, said CBC News admits that The Epoch Times didnt claim that China made the coronavirus as a bioweapon, despite having run this accusation in the headline of the first of two articles published by the CBC targeting the Epoch Times special edition. CBCs original headline on its first article stated, Racist and inflammatory: Canadians upset by Epoch Times claim China behind virus, made it as a bioweapon. CBC further admits that the claim by an unnamed individual that the special edition was engaged in spreading hatred is purely an opinion that in no way reflects on The Epoch Times. Hambleton also said the CBC erred in using the opinion of one single individual as the basis for a headline alleging that Canadians find The Epoch Times to be racist toward Chinese people. The Epoch Times was founded by Chinese immigrants who fled communist oppression in their home country. The original headline used a quote from one of the people interviewed about the Epoch Times edition who told CBC News that she felt it was racist and inflammatory, Hambleton wrote. After publishing, we recognized that her comment was not the best choice for a headline quote, since it was only one opinion, and was not further supported in the article by other people we had been in contact with. Hambleton added that the initial headline did not properly capture the thrust of the article and that unfortunately there were several other iterations before we got to the one we have now. Cindy Gu, publisher of the Canadian editions of The Epoch Times, said the CBC made many mistakes in how it characterized The Epoch Times, and while it has now changed the headline of its article, there are still serious issues with the networks reporting. The CBC is admitting that they used an impression from an unnamed mail carrier in their sensationalized and erroneous headline, and wrongly used a comment from another person as the voice of all Canadians to call our publication racist, Gu said. Putting it into context as an immigrant from mainland China, Gu said she knows what its like to live under such a system where criticizing the government will get someone labelled as being anti-China. But this is Canada, and if even in Canada, journalism that criticizes and questions the CCP is deemed racist against Chinese people, then where is it safe for a Chinese person, or anyone for that matter, to criticize the CCP? she said. Gu said CBCs response fails to address her concerns, as its reporting was a serious misrepresentation and mischaracterization of our coveragewhich is to wholly focus on the wrongdoings of the Chinese Communist Party. She added that The Epoch Times has in fact received a great deal of positive feedback about its special edition. Yet the CBCs article includes no voices supportive of the publication and is based mainly on the impression of two people rather than what the special edition actually covered. Gu said The Epoch Times demands that CBC retract its article and issue an apology. Hambleton said that apart from the changes that have been made to the article, CBC News stands by its reporting. I certainly dont share [The Epoch Times] view that the article was rife with internal inconsistencies and factual inaccuracies as [The Epoch Times suggests]. It wasnt, and we stand by the article, he said. However, Gu says its important that the public understands what The Epoch Times covered in its special edition, instead of seeing it through wrong and non-fact-based impressions. What the CBC reports essentially are doing is helping the CCP hide behind the racism label, evade responsibility, and blame others instead, she said. CBCs coverage of The Epoch Times drew a slew of criticism from readers and was the subject of a front-page article in the May 2 edition of the National Post in a commentary critical of its coverage. The top 400 most-liked comments of the approximately 3,000 comments posted in response to its first article were all critical of the CBC, with a handful being the exception. The special edition can be downloaded here. The Epoch Times was founded in 2000 in North America by Chinese immigrants and has been on the forefront of uncensored China news, breaking some of the most important China stories over the past two decades. It was among the first to report on the SARS outbreak in 2003 and won a national award in Canada for this coverage. Since its launch, the independent news outlet has been the target of multiple attacks and interference from the Chinese communist regime. Last year, its printing press at its Hong Kong office was set on fire by masked intruders during the height of protests in that city. The Epoch Times believes that the Chinese Communist Party was behind the attack in an effort to silence the outlet. The Epoch Times print newspaper is available via subscription across Canada and the United States. Its online version comes in English, French, Chinese, and more than 20 other languages. Map shows sources of Chinese carbon dioxide emissions tied to products consumed overseas in 2012. Orange and red locations are hotspots for Chinese emissions that are tied to exports. A new University of Michigan-led study tracked Chinese emissions to a small number of coastal manufacturing hubs and showed that about 1% of the countrys land area is responsible for 75% of the export-linked CO2 emissions. Credit: From Yang et al., Nature Communications 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted just how reliant the United States and other countries are on Chinese manufacturing, with widespread shortages of protective medical gear produced there. But U.S. dependence on China extends far beyond surgical masks and N95 respirators. China is the largest producer of many industrial and consumer products shipped worldwide, and about one-quarter of the country's gross domestic product comes from exports. It is also the world's largest emitter of climate-altering carbon dioxide gas, generated by the burning of fossil fuels. A new study details the links between China's exports and its emissions by mapping the in-country sources of carbon dioxide emissions tied to products consumed overseas. University of Michigan researchers and their Chinese collaborators tracked these emissions to a small number of coastal manufacturing hubs and showed that about 1% of the country's land area is responsible for 75% of the export-linked CO2 emissions. The study, scheduled for publication May 7 in Nature Communications, provides the most detailed mapping of China's export-driven CO2 emissions to date, according to corresponding author Shen Qu of the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability. The findings, which are based on 2012 emissions data, offer insights that can guide policymakers, he said. "Developing localized climate mitigation strategies requires an understanding of how global consumption drives local carbon dioxide emissions with a fine spatial resolution," said Qu, a Dow Sustainability Postdoctoral Fellow at SEAS who combines the tools of input-output analysis and network analysis to uncover the role of international trade in global environmental impacts. "The carbon footprint hotspots identified in this study are the key places to focus on collaborative mitigation efforts between China and the downstream parties that drive those emissions," he said. The study found that the manufacturing hubs responsible for most of the foreign-linked emissions are in the Yangtze River Delta (including Shanghai, China's top CO2-emitting city), the Pearl River Delta (including Dongguan) and the North China Plain (including Tianjin). These cities have, or are close to, ports for maritime shipping. The modeling study uses data from large-scale emissions inventories derived from 2012 surveys of individual firms in all Chinese industries that generate carbon dioxide emissions. Emissions levels have likely changed in response to recent U.S.-China trade disputes and the COVID-19 pandemic, which has significantly impacted Chinese manufacturing and exports. Chinese CO2 emissions driven by foreign consumption totaled 1.466 megatons in 2012, accounting for 14.6% of the country's industrial-related carbon dioxide emissions that year. If the Chinese manufacturing hubs identified in the U-M study constituted a separate country, their CO2 emissions in 2012 would have ranked fifth in the world behind China, the United States, India and Russia, according to the authors. The study also found that: Exports to the United States, Hong Kong and Japan were responsible for the biggest chunks of Chinese foreign-linked CO2 emissions, contributing about 23%, 10.8% and 9%, respectively. About 49% of the U.S.-linked CO2 emissions were driven by the production of consumer goods for the household. About 42% of the export-driven CO2 emissions in China are tied to electricity generation, with notable hotspots in the cities of Shanghai, Ningbo, Suzhou (Jiangsu Province) and Xuzhou. Much of that electricity is produced at coal-fired power plants. China is the world's largest steel producer and exporter. Cities that manufacture large amounts of iron and steeland that use large amounts of coal in the processwere hotspots for export-driven CO2 emissions. Cement plants and petroleum refineries were also big contributors. In the study, U-M researchers and their collaborators used carbon footprint accountingi.e., consumption-based accountingto track greenhouse gas emissions driven by global supply chains. They mapped those emissions at a spatial resolution of 10 kilometers by 10 kilometers, a level of detail that enabled them to identify specific source cities. "Previous studies have linked greenhouse gas emissions to final consumption of products, but primarily at national or regional levels," said study co-author Ming Xu of the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. "Given the increasing importance of non-state actorsprovinces, states, cities and companiesin climate mitigation, it becomes increasingly important to be able to explicitly link the final consumers of products to the subnational actors that have direct control over greenhouse gas emissions." Explore further Coronavirus outbreak slashes China carbon emissions: study More information: Mapping global carbon footprint in China, Nature Communications (2020). Journal information: Nature Communications Mapping global carbon footprint in China,(2020). doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15883-9 Vice President Mike Pence arrives for a briefing on the Trump administration's CCP virus response in the press briefing room of the White House in Washington on March 4, 2020. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) Pence: Beyond the pale for Virginia State to Sanction Church For Holding 16-Person Service Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday that it is beyond the pale for Virginia state to sanction a church for holding a 16-person church service on Palm Sunday. Pence was responding to news that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is siding with the Lighthouse Fellowship Church on Chincoteague Island, which is suing Gov. Ralph Northam after a pastor was threatened with a $2,500 fine or jail time for violating the states CCP virus lockdown restrictions. Even in the midst of a national emergency, every American enjoys our cherished liberties, including the freedom of religion, Pence said during an interview with The Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox News Radio. On April 5, Pastor Kevin Wilson was served a summons for violating the Virginia Constitution, after he held a service for 16 people in the church, which usually holds up to 293 people. Those who attended the service were reportedly spaced far apart from one another. According to the churchs federal lawsuit, a police officer entered the church, made unprovoked hostile and threatening statements to attendees, and told a member they could not have more than 10 people spaced 6 feet apart. The very idea that the Commonwealth of Virginia would would sanction a church for having 16 people come to a Palm Sunday service when I think the church actually seats about 250 was just beyond the pale, Pence said. The DOJ told Fox News in a statement this week that the Commonwealth of Virginia has not provided a valid reason for refusing to trust congregants who promise to use care in worship in the same way it trusts accountants, lawyers, and other workers to do the same. Pence, who heads the White House Coronavirus Task Force, said he is truly grateful for Attorney General Barr for standing by religious liberty. As we approach the National Day of Prayer this Thursday, were going to be celebrating the faith of the American people and the freedom to practice and live out our faith everyday, Pence continued. Thats why I wanted to speak out in favor of the DOJs action and just to assure every American that we are going to stand by men and women of faith of every religion in this country and protecteven in this challenging timeprotect their freedom of religion. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam gestures during a news conference at the Capitol in Richmond on April 8, 2020. (Steve Helber/AP Photo) Northam said Monday that the state could start reopening on May 15, as he extended his stay-at-home order until May 14. I anticipate moving into phase one on the 15th, the governor said at a press conference. Youll be able to get your haircut but youll need an appointment. You can go out to eat again but restaurants will use less of their seating so to spread people out more. You can go to the gym, but with fewer people and more requirements for cleaning. Officials still arent completely sure if reopening can start, prompting the extension of the harsh order. Since March, Virginians have been largely confined to their houses and ordered not to leave except for so-called essential trips. As most states in the nation reopen or move toward reopening, Northam has so far resisted calls to ease restrictions along with neighboring Maryland and the District of Columbia. Under phase one, in-person gatherings at churches and other houses of worship will be allowed with social distancing measures. Zachary Stieber contributed to this report. The dismissed Kano State commissioner for works, Muaz Magaji, has tested positive to coronavirus. Mr Magaji, on Thursday, in a series of Mr Magaji Facebook posts, apologised to many for his inability to respond to their messages. He said this was because of his deteriorating health condition. In another post, he solicited for prayers, while announcing that his sample earlier taken by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control tested positive to COVID-19. This morning my NCDC test is out I have been confirmed Covid-19 Positive And have been moved to one of the state facilitiespray for us! Mr Magaji posted. The NCDC on Thursday announced 195 new infections across the country with Kano having 30 cases. Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, in April, fired Mr Magaji, after he issued comments which appeared to be celebrating the passing of Mr Kyari. Mr Kyari died in April in Lagos of coronavirus and was buried in Abuja. The sacked commissioner, Mr Magaji, on his Facebook page had written, Its very very important we put things in perspective so that we can save our system from punitive unconstitutional usurpers in the future! Democracy & democratic equity does not by itself strive.. It must be guarded and protected One person, just one person can set a dangerous precedence! When you are all done with the pretence and crocodile tears, we will do a review in overriding interest of the Nation and its people! I am perfectly aware of the storm I am in The fact however is I know what comes from the heart or that what is purchased! You all will come around, Mr Magaji posted. In a statement, Kanos commissioner for information, Muhammad Garba, said Mr Magajis removal was as a result of unguarded utterances against the person of the late Chief of Staff to the President, Malam Abba Kyari. However, Mr Magaji later apologised and said, as a Muslim and a patriotic Nigeria, I was only misunderstood by people to think that I celebrated Kyaris death, the truth is, I didnt. Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament from East Delhi assembly constituency Gautam Gambhir on Thursday said that the state administration had failed Delhi Police constable Amit Kumar who died due to Covid-19 on Tuesday and also promised to look after the policemans child like his own. We cant bring Constable Amit back, but I assure that I will look after his child like my own. GGF will take care of his complete education. #DelhiFailedAmit #CoronaWarriorsIndia, Gambhir tweeted on Thursday. All those who have grievances against the Police should think about Constable Amit jis sacrifice. He died of Covid-19 in the line of duty because for him service was supreme. My condolences with the family, the BJP MP said in another tweet. Delhi Police constable Amit Kumar belonged to Sonepat in Haryana where his wife and three-year-old son live. Kumar lived with a friend on the fifth floor of a rented house in Gandhi Nagar, a neighbourhood close to Bharat Nagar where he worked. The 31-year-old constable posted at the Bharat Nagar police station in north-west Delhi died of the infectious Covid-19 disease barely two days ago. Kumar primarily worked with the crime records unit at the police station. He was tested for Covid-19 by a private lab on Tuesday, before his death. The test result that arrived on Wednesday revealed that he was Covid-19 positive, a senior police officer had said after the death of the constable. This is the first coronavirus death among the citys police personnel. So far, at least thirty six police staff in the national capital have tested positive for the Covid-19 disease. Bangladesh will not accept any more Rohingya refugees, the foreign minister said Wednesday, despite pleadings from international agencies who expressed concerns about the lives of hundreds of refugees stranded on at least two trawlers reportedly adrift in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. The refugees on the wooden boats were aiming to reach Malaysia, but the Southeast Asian nation and neighboring countries had tightened borders to curtail the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. We dont have any information that more boats are floating within Bangladesh territory. We dont even know that, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service, on Wednesday. But we wont take any more Rohingyas. Let other countries take them. Momen was reacting to a joint statement released hours earlier by three United Nations agencies. They warned that the refusal of countries in the region to let the boats land could bring about a repeat of a mass migration by sea that took place in the region five years ago. In May 2015, hundreds of people died during illicit sea voyages, and thousands of Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi migrants came ashore in Indonesia and Malaysia after Thailand closed its borders to boats smuggling in people. We are deeply concerned by reports that boats full of vulnerable women, men and children are again adrift in the same waters, unable to come ashore, and without access to urgently needed food, water, and medical assistance, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, the International Organization of Migration (IOM), and the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in their statement. Deterring movements of people by endangering life is not only ineffective; it violates basic human rights, the law of the sea and the principles of customary international law by which all States are equally bound, it said. On Wednesday, Momen, the foreign minister, confirmed that the 29 Rohingya, including five children and 19 women, who had been taken to an uninhabited island in the Bay of Bengal, came from the two trawlers that were attempting to smuggle them in. Yes, the group of 29 Rohingyas are from two trawlers that had been prevented from entering Bangladeshs water territory, he told BenarNews on Wednesday. Later, the trawlers moved to Myanmar side and from there they entered Bangladesh in small boats. They most likely came from Myanmar. We cant tell you exactly, he said. There are mixed people some may have gone from here, while some may have come from Myanmar, he said. But they are all Myanmar citizens. Rohingyas are not citizens of Bangladesh. The small group of refugees, who arrived in the southeastern district of Coxs Bazar near the Myanmar border, arrived aboard a dinghy. While some of them had escaped, the Bangladeshi coast guard escorted the rest on Saturday night to Bhashan Char, a flood-prone island, located hours from the mainland. It was the first time that Rohingya refugees had been taken there. Food, doctors and police officers had been sent to the island to take care of the refugees, reports said. Health authorities have not confirmed if any of those refugees were carrying the coronavirus, Momen said. They will be on quarantine at Bhashan Char, the foreign minister said, referring to the Rohingya on the island. If necessary, required testing will be done to check for the coronavirus. So far, theres no information that anyone has tested positive. Asked if the transfer of the refugees during the weekend could signal that larger groups of Rohingya from the countrys makeshift camps in Coxs Bazar would eventually be taken to the island, Momen replied, It doesnt seem that it is part of a larger movement of Rohingyas to Bhashan Char. But the government takes the opportunity to isolate this small group from vast [numbers of] Rohingyas in the camps, he said. The situation will indicate whether more Rohingyas will be shifted to Bhashan Char. Island vulnerable to cyclones, rights groups say Human rights groups oppose Dhakas plan to relocate refugees there, as the island is vulnerable to cyclones, and aid officials say it would be costly to provide services there. However, Bangladeshi officials had previously said that sending the refugees to Bhashan Char was necessary to reduce pressure on the worlds largest refugee settlement in Coxs Bazar, where close to 1 million Rohingya are sheltering after fleeing cycles of violence in Myanmars Rakhine state. In the biggest cross-border exodus to date along the Bangladesh-Myanmar frontier, about 740,000 Rohingya escaped from Rakhine, beginning in August 2017, after Naypyidaws military launched a brutal crackdown in response to deadly attacks by Rohingya insurgents on government security posts. So far, no Rohingya has tested positive in the refugee camps in Bangladesh, according to health authorities. On Tuesday, New York-based Human Rights Watch said Bangladesh should not quarantine refugees at Bhashan Char until they coordinate with the U.N. and other agencies to ensure that proper medical and food assistance are provided. Bangladesh faces the tremendous challenge of assisting Rohingya boat people while preventing the spread of COVID-19, but sending them to a dangerously flood-prone island without adequate health care is hardly the solution, Brad Adams, HRWs Asia director, said in a statement Any quarantines need to ensure aid agency access and safety from storms, and a prompt return to their families on the mainland. As of Wednesday, Bangladeshi health authorities have confirmed 11,719 coronavirus infections, with 186 deaths. Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. A foreigner undergoes immigration procedures at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, March 13, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Ba Do. Two special flights this week will take Malaysian, British and EU citizens stranded in Vietnam back home. A Malaysia Airlines aircraft would take Malaysians from HCMC to Kuala Lumpur on Thursday night, the countrys consulate in HCMC said. The passengers have to pay a fare though it is not known how much. Vietnams own Bamboo Airways will take British and EU citizens from Hanoi to London on Sunday. The fares are $1,000 for adults and $97 to $743.5 for children. "If you have been relying on local jobs to sustain yourself financially in Vietnam, you should be prepared for uncertainty for the foreseeable future," Britains ambassador to Vietnam, Gareth Ward, said in a video message informing U.K. and EU citizens about the flight. "If you're not settled here and do not have your own resources to fall back on, you should take this chance to return to the U.K." Vietnam suspended international flights on March 25 to contain the spread of Covid-19, leaving thousands of foreigners stranded. A number of flights have been organized to repatriate hundreds of them. Last month more than 100 British stranded in Vietnam and Cambodia returned home on a Vietnam Airlines flight. Malaysia has organized two flights to take its citizens home in March and April. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Wyoming rose by 27 on Wednesday, the largest single-day jump in Wyoming since the virus was first confirmed here nearly two months ago. Twenty-four of the new cases came from Fremont County, the site of the states largest outbreak of the virus. The new figures were published on the same day some mayors in that county called for businesses to reopen. Fremont County now has 155 confirmed and nine probable cases. The countys 24-case spike Wednesday tied the previous record for a single-day increase across the entire state. On March 31, two dozen cases were confirmed across the state. The new wave of cases comes as counties across the state begin to loosen state restrictions on businesses that had been closed to slow the spread of the virus. Several counties including Natrona have successfully asked the states top health official to ease the restrictions on restaurants and other publicly accessible businesses. Fremont County, which has either led or nearly led the state in confirmed cases throughout much of the pandemic, has not asked the state to allow it to tighten or loosen its restrictions. County officials told the Star-Tribune last week that there were no plans to do so, and that the county wouldnt accept variance requests until at least May 15. The county continues to have the worst outbreak in the state. Of the 164 confirmed and probable cases there, just 46 people have recovered, a rate of 28 percent. Thats far and away the lowest ratio in the state. In Teton County, which has 98 probable and confirmed cases, 91 percent of people have recovered. Laramie County has 163 known or suspected cases, 65 percent of which have recovered. In Natrona County, two-thirds of the people with the disease have recovered. Kim Deti, the spokeswoman for the state Department of Health, said the new patients were mostly close contacts of previously identified cases. In a Wednesday afternoon press release, Fremont County officials wrote that the new cases suggest continued community spread is occurring in parts of the county. Pressure to reopen Last week, Fremont County Public Health Officer Dr. Brian Gee said it had appeared that new cases could be plateauing, but that it would be at least a week or two before health officials could confidently say if new case numbers were leveling out, adding that officials had been flooded with requests from businesses to ask about getting a variance from the state orders. In an open letter on Wednesday, mayors from the Fremont County communities of Riverton, Shoshoni, Pavillion and Dubois said theyd like to see businesses reopen and residents make their own personal choices when considering public health guidelines or whether to venture out in the community. We are not wishing to tell anyone to venture out if they choose not to. For those who would like to get back to a normalcy, it would be (our) hope that we can allow this to be accomplished, the four mayors said in their letter. We dont want to encourage civil disobedience or conflict, but it is our wish to encourage all in authority to work together to reopen the many businesses that are shuttered. We need the economy to rebound as soon as possible for jobs to become available again ... While some leaders in the county would like to see the pace of business reopening quicken, leaders on the Wind River Reservation are continuing to stress the importance of a stay-at-home order on the reservation. Leaders have said the stay-at-home order is an important tool they have to mitigate spread of the virus, which is especially dangerous to many Indigenous people because of higher rates of preexisting conditions or crowded living situations due to a lack of housing. In a statement posted to the Northern Arapaho Tribes Facebook page last weekend, Dr. Paul Ebbert, chief medical officer of the tribes Wind River Family & Community Health Care, said many are disregarding the order despite the threat of jail time or a fine for violating the order. Almost 27 percent of confirmed cases as of Wednesday afternoon were among American Indians in the state, though the number of cases among Eastern Shoshone or Northern Arapaho tribal citizens on the reservation or in Fremont County is unclear. Less than 3 percent of the states population identifies as American Indian. While aggressive testing and contact tracing is partly responsible for the increased numbers among tribal members, he said violators of the order have also been responsible for the increases, adding those who ignore the order have been needlessly exposing other Tribal members to the virus. We have heard about house parties and other large gatherings of people. Many of our new cases have been the result of such large gatherings, Ebbert said. Please remember that you not only put yourself at risk, but you also put your family and especially the Elders at risk. Please continue to follow the Tribal Stay-At-Home Orders and only go out if you have to. The order, one of the most aggressive steps taken in the state to combat the pandemic, took effect on April 1 and remains in effect until further notice. The tribes have also taken other steps, like closing their casinos an important source of jobs and revenue for tribal programs until further notice. Hardest hit county Wednesday is not the first time Fremont County has experienced a spike in cases. On April 24, testing confirmed 13 new cases there, another one of the larger jumps recorded in Wyoming. In the early days of the virus presence, cases were tied in one way or another to the Showboat Retirement Center, an assisted-living facility in Lander. It was the largest cluster in the state, with only a spate of cases tied to Wyoming Behavioral Institute coming close. Previously, officials in Fremont County had said that aggressive testing and extensive contact tracing among the tribal populations were partially responsible for the high number of confirmed cases. Indeed, the county has tested more people than any other part of Wyoming. As of Wednesday morning, nearly 4,200 people had been tested, which accounts for roughly a third of the states total. Nearly 11 percent of Fremont Countys 39,000-odd residents have been tested, according to state data. The countys infection rate is nearly 400 people per 100,000, surpassing Teton Countys 291 and Laramie Countys 109 cases per 100,000. Messages sent to state and county health officials were not immediately returned Wednesday. Wyoming numbers Statewide, there are now 631 cases 479 confirmed and 152 probable and 416 recoveries 295 confirmed and 121 probable recorded in the state, as well as seven deaths. Officials caution that the reported numbers are low, even with the addition of probable cases. Natrona County health officer Dr. Mark Dowell has called the data falsely low. On April 2, the Wyoming Department of Health began restricting testing to six priority categories; potential patients who dont fall in one of those categories had to be tested by private laboratories. However, the department announced April 23 that it would be able to resume testing patients outside of those six categories, although priority patients samples remain at the front of the line. Patients have tested positive for coronavirus in 21 of Wyomings 23 counties. Only Platte and Weston counties are without confirmed cases. Wyoming has the lowest recorded number of coronavirus deaths of any state. Alaska has the second fewest deaths related to the virus, with 10, according to the New York Times and state health departments. More than 12 percent of Wyomings cases required a hospital stay. In 17.7 percent of the cases, health officials dont know if the patient was hospitalized. The virus has disproportionately affected people of color throughout the United States, a trend that is also reflected in Wyomings data. Just over 51 percent of confirmed cases in Wyoming are white, 26.9 percent are American Indian, 13.2 percent are Hispanic, 1 percent are Asian, and 1.7 percent are black. The racial identities of 8.1 percent of confirmed cases in Wyoming are not known, and 3.1 percent of confirmed cases identified as other races. According to 2019 census estimates, Wyomings population is 83.8 percent white (not Hispanic/Latino), 10.1 percent Hispanic/Latino, 2.7 percent American Indian/Alaska Native, 1.3 percent black, 1.1 percent Asian and 2.2 percent two or more races. In 46.3 percent of the cases, the patient came in contact with a known case. In another 13.1 percent of the cases, the patient had traveled either domestically or internationally. Community spread has been attributed to 15.7 percent of the cases. In 11.5 percent of Wyomings cases, health officials dont how the person was exposed to the virus, and 16.7 percent of cases are pending investigation. Wyoming has more cases per 100,000 people than seven states, a number that was once as high as 20, according to the Times, which includes probable counts where they exist. Cases in Wyoming by county (probable in parentheses) Albany: 8 Big Horn: 2 (1) Campbell: 16 (9) Carbon: 5 Converse: 14 (9) Crook: 5 Fremont: 155 (9) Goshen: 3 (1) Hot Springs: 1 (2) Johnson: 11 (4) Laramie: 109 (54) Lincoln: 7 (3) Natrona: 38 (10) Niobrara: 1 (1) Park: 1 Platte: 0 Sheridan: 12 (4) Sublette: 1 (2) Sweetwater: 12 (7) Teton: 67 (31) Uinta: 6 (2) Washakie: 5 (3) Weston: 0 Deaths in Wyoming by county Fremont: 4 Johnson: 1 Laramie: 1 Teton: 1 Rate of spread This graph shows the rate at which confirmed and probable cases in Wyoming have been announced, as well as the number of patients who have fully recovered. Keep in mind, however, that state and medical officials say the true number of COVID-19 cases is surely higher than the official numbers due to testing limitations. Testing statistics The Wyoming Department of Health has published the following data: As of Wednesday, there have been 12,569 tests performed for COVID-19 in Wyoming. Wyoming Public Health Laboratory: 5,659 Commercial labs: 6,910 CDC: 1 National cases There have been more than 1.2 million cases nationally, with about 72,000 deaths, according to the New York Times running count. Know the symptoms COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, is a respiratory illness. Its symptoms include cough, fever and shortness of breath. Symptoms appear within two weeks. If you have contact with a person who has COVID-19, you should self-isolate for 14 days. Follow the Wyoming Health Departments tips Stay home when sick and avoid contact with other people unless you need medical attention. Follow advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on what to do if you think you may be sick. Follow current public health orders. Follow commonsense steps such as washing your hands often and well, covering your coughs and sneezes, and cleaning and disinfecting. Nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other healthcare facilities should closely follow guidelines for infection control and prevention. Older people and those with health conditions that mean they have a higher chance of getting seriously ill should avoid close-contact situations. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Seth Klamann Education and Health Reporter Seth Klamann joined the Star-Tribune in 2016 and covers education and health. A 2015 graduate of the University of Missouri and proud Kansas City native, Seth worked for newspapers in Milwaukee and Omaha before coming to Casper. Follow Seth Klamann Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Image: Twitter/@satyaprad1 South Korea's LG Chem has said that a gas leak at its facility near Vizag, Andhra Pradesh has been brought under control. The statement came after the incident on May 7 that, as per a police estimate, has killed at least seven people and resulted in hundreds of casualties in nearby villages. Emergency services have evacuated villages and cordoned off a three-kilometre radius around the LG Polymers plant in the Visakhapatnam district. The company said that it was investigating how the leak occurred. "We are currently assessing the extent of the damage on residents in the town and are taking all necessary measures to protect residents and employees in collaboration with related organizations," LG Chem, the parent company of LG Polymers, said in a statement. LG Chem added that the gas emitted in the leak can cause nausea and dizziness when inhaled. It said it was seeking to ensure casualties received treatment quickly. The company also said that the affected factory had been suspended because of nationwide lockdown meant to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Also read: PM Modi calls for meeting with National Disaster Management Authority Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) DG Sawang said the incident occurred at around 3.30 am. The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) confirmed the gas leak incident in a tweet and requested citizens in the vicinity of the plant to stay indoors. (With inputs from Reuters) Catch all updates on the Vizag gas leak here In a recent discussion about Covid-19 with a medical professional, she asked me about any changes in the appearance of my toes. Initially, I thought I'd misheard her. Understandably confused, I asked why. Was this a symptom of coronavirus I hadn't yet heard about? Yes, its something we are hearing a lot about, came the answer. It is indeed another possible symptom of a Covid-19 infection, in seems though for the record, my toes are fine. Dermatologists are being inundated with calls from people asking why their toes, and sometimes fingers, are turning purple and pink. Alarmingly, most of those reporting the symptom did not know they had been exposed to the coronavirus. Many are young and healthy and had experienced no other symptoms, Fox 5 News reports. The condition has been dubbed Covid toes and is being studied by a task force at the American Academy of Dermatology that is looking into a number of skin issues reported by Covid-19 patients. Cases have been recorded across the world, in the US, France, Italy, Spain and China, and it is being explored as a possible sign that Covid-19 may be more prevalent in the population than was previously thought. Similar in appearance to chilblains, it is believed that a case of 'Covid toes' signals a mild or asymptomatic infection, and may develop weeks after exposure to the coronavirus. Other skin conditions have also been linked to the virus including hives, red blotches and various rashes but none with the prevalence of Covid toes. The good news is that the chilblain-like lesions usually mean youre going to be fine, Dr Fox told The New York Times. Usually its a good sign your body has seen Covid and is making a good immune reaction to it. It is not yet understood why the condition occurs. One theory is that they are caused by inflammation, which causes some of the other symptoms of Covid-19; another suggests that they are the results of micro-blood clots, another manifestation of the virus. The condition usually heals within a week, though some cases last longer. It does not leave any long-term damage to skin. The advice for those who develop this symptom is to contact a doctor and to get tested for both Covid-19 and its antibodies. You could potentially be infectious. A Southgate man has been arrested and charged with one count each of manufacturing child pornography, attempted manufacture of child pornography and willfully causing the manufacture of child pornography stemming from text communications with a 13-year-old girl. Mark Allen Hillis, 57, also known as Daddy and Denverpolice#666, is facing the charges in connection with text messages sent on Christmas Day 2019. It is alleged that Hillis met the minor through social media and then directed her to produce and send him graphic images of child pornography via text messages. Thereafter, Hillis allegedly traveled to Pennsylvania and sexually assaulted the minor in a hotel room after convincing her to meet up with him at a pizzeria in the middle of the night. In addition to the federal child pornography charges, Hillis faces state charges related to the alleged sexual assault in Montgomery County. If convicted, Hillis faces a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment, with a mandatory minimum term of 15 years imprisonment, a mandatory minimum term of 5 years supervised release, and a fine up to $250,000. Numerous agencies are investigating, and Assistant United States Attorney Kathryn Deal is prosecuting the case. This arrest demonstrates the great lengths that dangerous child predators will go through to victimize our most vulnerable, said Brian A. Michael, special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in Pennsylvania. Exchanging business cards face-to-face is a time-honored tradition in Japanese culture. Business leaders, government officials and others almost always give the cards to individuals they meet in person. This ritual, however, is under pressure as Japans government urges people to accept a new lifestyle to battle the new coronavirus. Experts this week amended guidelines for person-to-person interactions. The new rules include a call to wash your hands often throughout the day and follow rules for social distancing. The guidelines also suggest traveling to work at different times of day and using video conferencing for meetings. They also express support for the exchange of meishi, or business cards, to take place online. On Monday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe extended a nationwide state of emergency through May 31. However, he added that some areas with fewer infections could begin to ease public safety restrictions. Exchanging business cards in Japan is a well-planned ritual that foreign business leaders are often advised to learn. The idea is to avoid offending possible business partners or customers. The ritual involves taking out a new card from a card holder - not a coat pocket or wallet, then exchanging cards with the right hand. After that, each person looks at the received card while making small talk, often about the information on it. People depend on business cards to exchange contacts and start conversation, said Chikahiro Terada. He is chief of Sansan, an internet-based business card management service. His company will offer an online meishi exchange for business customers starting in June. Its ice-breaking, added Terada. Japan has not had the explosive rise in infections seen in many other countries. However, public broadcaster NHK reported Thursday that the country had about 15,500 confirmed cases. The coronavirus health crisis is increasing pressure to change many traditional activities that have long been criticized. Abe recently told cabinet ministers to amend rules and identify wasteful methods with the idea of cancelling or simplifying them. Among the common customs that critics note is the stamping of official paper documents with traditional hanko seals. The coronavirus is changing the work culture in Japan in many different ways, notes Jeff Kingston. He is director of Asian studies at Temple Universitys school in Japan. Kingston said the coronavirus has sped up changes, but this takes time. Its not like turning a light switch off and on..., he said. Im Mario Ritter, Jr. Linda Sieg reported this story for Reuters. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story card n. a small piece of thick paper ritual n. a kind of ceremony that is performed in the same way customer n. someone who buys goods or services from someone else ice-breaking adj. something that puts people at ease stamping n. the process of pressing a sign onto a paper or letter meaning with a device, meaning it is approved or ready to be sent to someone seal n. a piece of lead or other material with an individual design on it, placed on a document to show that it has come from the person who claims to have sent it THE Government will enforce compliance of good corporate governance by State enterprises and parastatals to ensure they contribute meaningfully to the economy, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga said yesterday. Government, he said, should consider shutting down State enterprises that were no longer strategic or of national importance. Some enterprises had failed to submit financial statements for the past 10 years despite strict rules in the Public Finance Management Act and the Companies Act if they are a private limited company with the State as sole shareholder or their original founding Act. Addressing a defence course at the Zimbabwe National Defence College in Harare yesterday on the role of parastatals and State enterprises in enhancing national security and achievement of Vision 2030 , VP Chiwenga said some State enterprises were still operating without a board charter or code of ethics. State enterprises should be subjected to effective oversight and compliance enforcement in order to maximise their contribution to the competitiveness and development of the Zimbabwean economy, as well as enhance its security architecture, said VP Chiwenga. While there was a marked improvement in the number of state enterprises complying with the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act, on submission of financial statements for audit, those that did not submit remain a cause for Government concern. In the worst case, we still have some State enterprises that have not been submitting the financial statements for the last 10 years. Certainly, Government will quickly move in and enforce compliance as required by the law. VP Chiwenga said some entities were operating for an extended period without full boards and it was observed that some chief executive officers of these institutions were more accountable to line ministers than to the board of directors. He said strong State enterprises were key to the countrys efficient allocation of resources and economic development. It is worrying that the economic performance of some State enterprises in Zimbabwe has deteriorated to unacceptable levels, said VP Chiwenga. It calls for decisive action to turn them around or close them, if they are no longer of strategic national significance. The new dispensation is determined to ensure that State enterprise reforms are successfully undertaken in the shortest possible time for the good of the economy. The supervision of State enterprises by the Government will therefore be strengthened to ensure that their performance enhances rather than undermines national security conceived from both a traditional state-centric and contemporary human security perspective. VP Chiwenga said Government had created a database for all individuals who were already board members and those seeking to sit on boards of state enterprises managed by the Corporate Governance Unit. board. He said the database was linked to the Office of the President, ministries, departments and agencies to make it easy and faster to identify potential members for anyboard. As many as 72 inmates and seven officials from Arthur Road jail in Mumbai have contracted coronavirus, prison authorities said on Thursday. The inmates who have tested positive would be shifted to G T Hospital and St George Hospital in the state capital, they added. Earlier, speaking to reporters in Palghar district, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had informed that 72 inmates of the jail had tested positive for infection. After the coronavirus epidemic broke out, the state government had isolated eight prisons in the state including the Arthur Road prison, and ordered that no new person will be allowed to enter and those inside, including jail staff, will not be allowed to leave prison during lockdown. But despite the precautions, 72 inmates of Arthur Road prison were found to have contracted coronavirus after coming in contact with a cook who had caught the infection, Deshmukh had told reporters. "These prisoners will be quarantined with the help of the Mumbai civic body," he said. The home minister was speaking to the media after visiting Gadchinchale village in the district where three persons including two monks were lynched by a mob on suspicion of being thieves on April 16. Deshmukh also said that to prevent the spread of virus in jails, the state government had decided to release on parole some 5,000 prisoners who have been sentenced to less than seven years' imprisonment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Inside a glittering Miami high-rise, representatives of the Venezuelan opposition sat in a room adorned with samurai swords and listened to a pitch. They had been appointed by opposition leader Juan Guaido to explore all options in their U.S.-backed quest to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. On that afternoon on the shores of Biscayne Bay last September, a former U.S. Army Green Beret presented them with an answer. Operation Resolution. Jordan Goudreau, a 43-year-old Special Forces veteran who ran a strategic security firm on the Florida Space Coast, laid out a plan that could double as a screenplay for an episode of "Jack Ryan." Goudreau claimed to have 800 men ready to penetrate Venezuela and "extract" Maduro and his henchmen, according to J.J. Rendon, the Venezuelan political strategist tapped by Guaido to lead the secretive committee. Guaido "was saying all options were on the table, and under the table," Rendon told The Washington Post. "We were fulfilling that purpose." By October, the plan had advanced to the point of a signed agreement, contingent on funding and other conditions. Rendon calls it a trial balloon, a test of what Goudreau could do that was never officially greenlit. But the language of the agreement left no ambiguity on the objective: "An operation to capture/detain/remove Nicolas Maduro . . . remove the current Regime and install the recognized Venezuelan President Juan Guaido." But soon after the signing, Rendon said, Goudreau began acting erratically. He failed to produce evidence of the financial backing he claimed to have lined up to fund the operation, Rendon said, and demanded immediate payment of a $1.5 million retainer. There was no evidence of 800 men. Rendon transferred him $50,000 for "expenses" to buy more time, but the relationship between the two men quickly went south. "Washington is fully aware of your direct participation in the project and I don't want them to lose faith," Goudreau warned in an Oct. 10 text message to Rendon. There was an explosive argument in Rendon's Miami condominium in early November, Rendon said. He and other opposition officials considered the operation dead. Until Sunday morning. First, Venezuelan officials said they had thwarted a predawn "invasion" aimed at killing Maduro. Then Goudreau appeared in a video with a former Venezuelan military officer in battle fatigues. The men proclaimed the start of an operation to "liberate Venezuela." Goudreau said his operatives had entered Venezuela, but by then, the mission - apparently infiltrated by Maduro's agents - had already sustained a devastating blow. Eight men have been killed and 13 others captured, two of them Goudreau's fellow former Green Berets. This report, based on interviews with more than 20 people familiar with the events, provides previously undisclosed details on the opposition's discussions on what participants secretly dubbed "Plan C": An armed incursion to locate and capture Maduro. President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials have denied knowledge of the ill-fated operation. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday "there was no United States government direct involvement." Goudreau says he unsuccessfully sought U.S. backing through an aide in the office of Vice President Mike Pence. He declined to name the aide. A spokeswoman for Pence said Wednesday there was "zero contact" between anyone in the vice president's office and Goudreau. "There was no coordination, nothing to do with this," spokeswoman Katie Miller said. Rendon said his committee kept details of its work to a small group, and never shared them with U.S. officials, because the plan was only being "studied." Goudreau insists some form of the operation is "ongoing" and that Venezuela's mainstream opposition betrayed him by reneging on their deal. He said he opted to move forward with what he says he was hired to do. He said it had nothing to do with money; he was doing "the right thing." "This isn't a wartime action, this is a policing action," Goudreau said. "The world recognizes one guy [Guaido] as president, so they hired me to arrest to the other person who has usurped power, Nicolas Maduro." Goudreau, a Canadian-born American citizen, first walked through the looking glass of the anti-Maduro world last February, when he worked security at a Venezuelan aid concert on the Colombian border organized by British billionaire Richard Branson. He served 15 years in the Army as an infantry mortar man and later as a Special Forces medical sergeant. He deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan twice each between 2006 and 2014, Army officials said. "He had an intensity to him that was a little bit different," said Joe Kent, a retired Green Beret who attended a leader's course with him in 2007. "He seemed like he was training for something." In 2012, the Department of Defense launched a criminal investigation into Goudreau for alleged theft and fraud in connection with $62,000 in housing allowances he collected for his wife, court records show. Goudreau said the matter was resolved without any charges. He founded SilverCorp USA in 2018. The firm advertises a variety of services, including assisting victims of kidnapping and extortion. According to a biography on the company's website, Godreau planned and led "international security teams for the President of the United States as well as the Secretary of Defense." By last summer, Venezuela's faltering opposition was looking for options. Guaido had tried to lead a military uprising against Maduro on April 30, but the carefully constructed plot utterly collapsed as conspirators close to the autocrat either backed out or had been double agents the whole time. That left Guaido, the National Assembly president who is recognized by the United States and more than 50 other nations as Venezuela's rightful leader, fighting to regain momentum for his opposition movement. One little known element of that fight was the creation last August of a new "Strategic Committee." Its full membership remains secret, but its most public face is Juan Jose Rendon. The 56-year old political strategist was perfectly suited to the task. Chased out of Venezuela by the ruling socialists in 2013 and threatened with torture should he return, he was no friend of Maduro. From his base in the intrigue-heavy world of Venezuelan exiles in Miami, he became an internationally sought political consultant. His committee's mission was to investigate scenarios for achieving regime change. Members researched pedestrian options, such as ratcheting up international pressure against the government. But they also studied the possibility of effectively kidnapping Maduro and his close associates. The effort involved speaking to more than a dozen attorneys about the legalities of such a mission, Rendon said. They looked at the "universal enemy" argument - once used to prosecute pirates - that formed the basis of some Nazi renditions after World War II. They compiled a dossier on the failed Bay of Pigs attempt to liberate Cuba from the government of Fidel Castro. Questions of legality dogged the prospects of such an operation in Venezuela. But committee members ultimately decided articles of the Venezuelan constitution, coupled with the U.N. Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, might offer the legal cover they needed to potentially move forward. By the time Goudreau arrived in Rendon's living room on Sept. 7, Rendon said, the committee had already met with a handful of potential partners. But they wanted as much as $500 million for the job. Goudreau, in contrast, pitched a self-financed plan with a retainer up front and a more modest payout - $212.9 million - after the mission was accomplished. The money was to come from future exports of Venezuelan oil under a Guaido government. But they had an ace in the hole that might not cost Venezuelan taxpayers a dime. The opposition had identified private warehouses in Venezuela filled with the allegedly ill-gotten gains of Maduro's inner circle. Photographs shared via text message between Rendon and Goudreau and provided to The Washington Post show massive bails of carefully wrapped U.S. dollars stacked on a wooden floor. Goudreau would have been entitled to 14 percent of the recovered funds. The plan involved far more than the primary targets of seizing and extracting Maduro and his men. A general services agreement indicated Silvercorp would advise ex-Venezuelan soldiers in exile for the operation. Goudreau had 45 days for force preparation, equipment procurement and mission readiness. Teams would enter Venezuela clandestinely and form cells that would move deeper into the nation to secure key oil facilities and strategic buildings. They would engage government security forces, and also the motorcycle-riding, pro-Maduro thugs known as colectivos and Colombian guerrilla groups operating on Venezuelan soil. An agreement was signed in Washington on Oct. 16. Goudreau secretly recorded a brief video call that day with Guaido, which he provided to The Post. "We are doing the right thing for our country," Guaido is heard to say, and later: He later says, "I'm about to sign." Guaido declined to be interviewed for this article. In a statement, he has denied any existing contract with Goudreau, and said his "interim government" has no connection to the apparently ongoing operation against Maduro. For a time, Rendon and others thought Goudreau might produce results. But they grew wary after he began demanding payment of the $1.5 million retainer. Rendon describes the payment as a mere gesture, not to be collected up front, to help Goudreau raise $50 million in private funds. Goudreau counters that the agreement - supplied in part to The Post by Goudreau, with a more complete version provided by Rendon - bound the opposition to his services and initial fee. A seven-page document provided by Goudreau carries Guaido's signature, along with those of Rendon and fellow opposition official Sergio Vergata. "Look, J.J. Rendon pushed for the $50 million for the operation, an operation to flip the country," Goudreau said. "Nobody here is a Boy Scout. They thought they were going to seize power." Rendon, however, insists the document Goudreau produced was never signed by Guaido, and provided previous and subsequent agreements to The Post that did not bear Guaido's name. Rendon said Guaido knew only the rough outlines of an "exploratory plan," but grew suspicious of Goudreau based on the reports of the committee. "We were all having red flags, and the president was not comfortable with this," he said. Some have feared Maduro will use Goudreau's operation to take an action he has so far resisted: Arrest Guaido. On Wednesday, he called for an investigation into Guaido's alleged involvement. Days before the incursion into Venezuela, Goudreau's attorneys delivered a letter to Rendon demanding payment of $1.45 million. Opposition officials began to fear Goudreau might take last year's discussions public. When Rendon woke up Sunday to news of the operation, he said, he was stunned. "I thought, are these guys are crazy?" he said. "They were blackmailing us [for the money]. I thought, wow, are you really going to take it this deep?" After providing security at the 2019 border concern, Goudreau came into contact with Cliver Alcala. The former Venezuelan major general had been close to the late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, but defected under his predecessor, Maduro. Alcala was living in Colombia, organizing former Venezuelan soldiers in a plan to oust Maduro. The meeting took place in a hotel in Bogota. There, several people familiar with events say, Goudreau learned the details of Alcala's plan. At one point, people familiar with the events say, the plan was to rush the seize the oil capital of Maracaibo, then push east toward Caracas. Some senior opposition officials had dismissed the plan as a "fantasy." When Goudreau got involved, the plan became an operation to extract Maduro, his wife, and other government officials including close Maduro ally Diosdado Cabello. But that plan appeared to be compromised. In March, U.S. authorities indicted Maduro and other former and current senior Venezuelan figures on narcoterrorism charges. Defendants included Alcala, who was brought to the United States. Then Maduro's government went public with charges it had been lobbing for months - that a plot against him was brewing on Colombian soil. Maduro has claimed his agents knew every detail of Sunday's incursion, and were lying in wait. "We knew everything," he said. "What they ate, what they didn't eat. What they drank. Who financed them." U.S. officials were aware, and concerned, about the hundreds of Venezuelan soldiers who had defected and were living precariously in Colombia. U.S. and Colombian officials shared concern that if they were destitute, they could be drawn into illicit activity. Discussions were held about how and whether to feed those men, or organize them to aid the Venezuelan refugee community. But they viewed the idea that they could be organized into a fighting force as "completely insane." The Colombians "were against it and we were against it," according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. "No one should be doing this kind of military organizing." Maduro said Wednesday that four additional "terrorists" had been arrested. He showed a video of questioning of a man identified as Luke Denman, one of two former Green Berets who had served with Jordan and was now captured. Denman, who appeared disheveled but calm and unharmed, spoke in response to questions from an unseen interrogator. He confirmed that the goal of the mission had been to capture Maduro, and he had expected between $50,000 to $100,000 for training in Colombia. He said training and organization of the operation had taken place near the Colombian town of Riohacha, near the Venezuelan border. Only two Americans were in the training camp, he said, including himself. Weapons and uniforms, he said, had been provided by "Jordan, through Silvercorp." They were picked up at airport and driven by a woman called "Ana." He described a "man in a wheelchair" who showed up at one of two safe houses in Riohacha, who "appeared to have some influence." He "arrives in a nice SUV, had on a nice shirt, he had gold jewelry on." "I was helping Venezuelans take back control of their country," he said. Two teenage McDonald's employees have been shot in an Oklahoma City restaurant after a woman opened fire when she was told she couldn't eat in the dining area due to coronavirus restrictions. A violent altercation ensued when two female suspects were informed by staff that dining in wasn't allowed. The pair refused to leave the restaurant, and a scuffle broke out before one of the women allegedly drew a gun on the 16-year-old employees. The attacker reportedly shot one in their left arm and the other in their right shoulder during the 'melee that ensued', Oklahoma City Police Lt. Michelle Henderson told CNN. The two shot employees, both 16-years-old, are reportedly recovering in hospital with injures that are not believed to be life threatening after the incident at the Oklahoma City McDonald's, pictured above The firearm is believed to have been a nine millimeter pistol from which three rounds were fired, officers told Fox 25. Police were scrambled to the SW 89th and Pennsylvania Avenue McDonald's at 6:22pm on Wednesday evening, a spokesman confirmed. The two shot employees, both 16-years-old, are reportedly recovering in hospital with injures that are not believed to be life threatening (file photo) A third employee is understood to have suffered a gash to the head when she fell and collided with store furniture. The two shot employees were taken to hospital with injures that are not believed to be life threatening. Two female suspects matching witness descriptions are being held in custody after police detained them a few blocks away from the McDonald's. Police have not named the women but Capt. Larry Withrow of the Oklahoma City Police Department told Business Insider the suspected shooter is 32 years old. Official Oklahoma guidelines from Governor Kevin Stitt state that restaurants can stay open but that all dine-in areas must remain closed in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus. VANCOUVER, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - BetterLife Pharma Inc. ("BetterLife" or the "Company") (CSE: BETR /OTCQB: PVOTF / FRA: NPAT) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire worldwide rights (other than in Greater China, Japan and ASEAN countries) to commercialize and sell AntiCovir, a potential COVID-19 treatment, from Altum Pharmaceuticals Inc. ("Altum"). AntiCovir is an Interferon a2b ("IFNa2b ") based potential treatment that is proposed to be administered using a Metered Dose Inhaler ("MDI") or a nebulizer. Altum is currently preparing protocol and application to conduct a 306 patient randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, powered for Phase 3 registration clinical trials in Australia. Subject to regulatory approvals, the clinical trials in Australia could begin as early as July 2020. Under the terms of the transaction, on closing BetterLife will issue 10,000,000 common shares to Altum and grant to Altum 5,000,000 warrants to acquire an equivalent number of common shares at a price of $0.19 per common share. The Warrants have a term of two years and are only exercisable upon successful completion of the Phase 3 trial. The Company is not making any express or implied claims that its product has the ability to eliminate, cure or contain the Covid-19 (or SARS-2 Coronavirus) at this time. In addition, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions precedent, upon registration of the proposed product in a major market, BetterLife will pay $5,000,000 in cash to Altum and Altum will be entitled to a tiered royalty equal to 7% of net sales on the first $50,000,000 in a calendar year and a reduced royalty equal to 5% of net sales in any calendar year that are in excess of $50,000,000. BetterLife has, subject to raising the necessary funds, agreed to fund the first US$15,000,0000 of costs required for the proposed Phase 3 trials. If BetterLife fails to provide the proposed funding its economic interest in the acquired rights will be proportionately reduced. Closing is contingent on, among other things, BetterLife undertaking an equity financing of at least US$5,000,000 and Altum obtaining an exclusive license with respect to certain intellectual property from the Research Organization (defined below). BetterLife intends to incorporate a subsidiary, Blife Therapeutics, which will complete the transaction with Altum and hold the rights acquired from Altum. Rationale for use and development of AntiCovir: IFNa2b (inhaled) has been used in China on COVID-19 patients 1 on COVID-19 patients Altum filed a U.S. provisional patent application related to AntiCovir which covers the composition and formulation of AntiCovir and the use of AntiCovir as a treatment for COVID-19. Altum developed the formulation and potential uses of AntiCovir as a treatment or a prophylaxis for COVID-19. However, the composition and the method of manufacturing IFNa2b that yields contaminant (isoform) free, highest purity IFNa2b, was developed in collaboration with a Canadian governmental research and technology organization the (" Research Organization "). Altum currently possesses a non-exclusive license to the composition and manufacturing method, which includes the right to sublicense. "). Altum currently possesses a non-exclusive license to the composition and manufacturing method, which includes the right to sublicense. Altum is negotiating with the Research Organization, in the interim, to convert its license to an exclusive license, and ultimately, to obtain an assignment of the Research Organization's rights. "IFNa2b has been used in China against COVID-19. Altum's entire management team, along with their product and clinical development group, will continue to advance the development of AntiCovir in the coming weeks and months. Given the sense of urgency to find a safe and effective treatment and/or vaccine for COVID-19, we are immediately expediting our efforts to obtain necessary approvals to dose patients in a 306 patient statistically powered Phase III study in Australia." said Ahmad Doroudian, CEO of Altum and Interim CEO of BetterLife. The safety and efficacy of AntiCovir are under investigation and market authorization has not yet been obtained. Leadership change BetterLife is also pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Tony Pullen to its board of directors as an independent director. Mr. Pullen has been a biotech analyst and institutional investment banker for several decades and brings a wealth of experience to the BetterLife Board. Mr. Pullen will be replacing Krisztian Toth. Warrant repricing The Company would also like to announce that it intends to reprice the following of the Company's outstanding warrants pursuant to the previous financings in 2019: 13.868 million warrants issued on May 30, 2019 and expiring on May 29, 2021, 46.132 million warrants issued on May 15, 2019 and expiring on May 14, 2021 and 6.95 million warrants issued on April 8, 2019 and expiring on March 16, 2022. The Company intends to amend these Warrants to have an exercise price of $0.25 per Warrant. The Company anticipates that, subject to market conditions, the proceeds from any exercise of Warrants will fund, in part, its financial commitments under the agreement with Altum. Any further funding requirements will require the Company to undertake an equity financing. About Altum Pharmaceuticals Inc. Formed in 2016, Altum is a privately-held company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Altum's philosophy is that there are many under-served areas in oncology, especially in pre-cancerous conditions and cancer related complications. Shortly after its formation, Altum acquired the BiPhasix platform from Helix Biopharma. The BiPhasix technology is a novel encapsulation and delivery platform technology. Its most advanced product is AP-001, BiPhasix-encapsulated interferon alpha-2b for use in treatment of HPV-cervical dysplasia. AP-001 has completed Phase 2. In April 2018, Altum acquired Lexi Pharma Inc., a therapeutics company focused on development of treatments for bone related disorders. Lexi's lead product, AP-002, is an oral gallium-based novel small molecule. AP-002 has US IND approved and ready to start Phase 1-2 trials in cancer-induced bone disorders. For further information please visit altumpharma.com. About BLife Therapeutics Inc. BLife Therapeutics will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of BetterLife Pharma Inc. focused on the prevention of severe COVID-19 disease. About BetterLife Pharma Inc. BetterLife Pharma Inc. is a science-based innovative medical wellness company aspiring to offer high-quality preventive and self-care products to its customers. For further information please visit abetterlifepharma.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Except for historical information, the matters set forth above may be forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs of management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, such as the failure to complete the transaction with Altum or to meet obligations under the agreement with Altum, the failure of Altum to complete Phase 3 trials or to have success in such trials, the failure of Altum to secure and/or enforce patent protection for AntiCovir, the failure of Altum to secure exclusive rights from the Research Organization, the failure of the Company to secure financing needed to carry out the plans set out herein, the failure to meet the conditions imposed by the CSE or other securities regulators, the level of business and consumer spending, the amount of sales of BetterLife's products, statements with respect to internal expectations, the competitive environment within the industry, the ability of BetterLife to commence and expand its operations, the level of costs incurred in connection with BetterLife's operational efforts, economic conditions in the industry, pandemics, and the financial strength of BetterLife's future customers and suppliers. BetterLife does not undertake any obligation to update such forward-looking statements, except as required by law. ____________________________ 1 COVID-19 https://see.news/china-is-using-cubas-interferon-alfa-2b-against-coronavirus/ SOURCE BetterLife Pharma Inc. According to Stratistics MRC, the Global Aerospace Cold Forgings Market is accounted for $3.20 million in 2017 and is expected to reach $6.29 million by 2026 growing at a CAGR of 7.8% during the forecast period. Growing technological advancements in aerospace industry, Increasing aircraft production and stringent regulations associated with the aerospace industry are some of the factors driving the market growth. However, lack of skilled labor and availability of composite materials possessing no-corrosive properties are restraining the market growth. Cold forging is a manufacturing process used to warp materials into high-strength parts. Aerospace parts require better manufacturing accuracy and this is precisely what cold forging process offers. These parts require minimal to no finishing and offer high dimensional accuracy. Based on platform, Fixed Wing segment has witnessed the significant market growth due to the development of military and commercial aviation industry along with growing demand for cost efficient aircraft. By, geography, North America holds the largest market share during the forecast period due to ushering aerospace industry leading to a grow in the production of aircrafts. Moreover, increasing expenses on defense are driving the market growth in this region. Request For Report Sample: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/11299 Some of the key players profiled in the Aerospace Cold Forgings Market include Arconic, Eramet Group , Scot Forge, Bharat Forge, Precision Castparts Corp, Vsmpo-Avisma and Shaanxi Hongyuan Aviation Forging Co Ltd . Platforms Covered: Rotary Wing Fixed Wing Product Types Covered: Captive Forging Catalog Forging Custom Forging Applications Covered: Nacelle Airframe Landing Gear Request For Report Discount: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/discount/11299 Regions Covered: North America o US o Canada o Mexico Europe o Germany o UK o Italy o France o Spain o Rest of Europe Asia Pacific o Japan o China o India o Australia o New Zealand o South Korea o Rest of Asia Pacific South America o Argentina o Brazil o Chile o Rest of South America Middle East & Africa o Saudi Arabia o UAE o Qatar o South Africa o Rest of Middle East & Africa What our report offers: Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments Strategic recommendations for the new entrants Market forecasts for a minimum of 9 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional markets Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations) Strategic analysis: Drivers and Constraints, Product/Technology Analysis, Porters five forces analysis, SWOT analysis etc. Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancements Free Customization Offerings: All the customers of this report will be entitled to receive one of the following free customization options: Company Profiling o Comprehensive profiling of additional market players (up to 3) o SWOT Analysis of key players (up to 3) Regional Segmentation o Market estimations, Forecasts and CAGR of any prominent country as per the clients interest (Note: Depends of feasibility check) Competitive Benchmarking Benchmarking of key players based on product portfolio, geographical presence, and strategic alliances Make an Inquiry before Buying@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/checkout/11299/Single Representative Image George Engelmann, a perennial swing voter in swing-state Wisconsin, says President Donald Trump has won his vote for November's election thanks to his response to the coronavirus pandemic. Engelmann, who voted twice for Democrat Barack Obama but switched his support to Republican Trump in 2016, believes the president is best suited to revive the virus-ravaged economy, not his Democratic rival, Joe Biden. He also trusts Trump to hold Beijing accountable for the novel coronavirus pandemic that began in the Chinese city of Wuhan. "I definitely want Trump fighting against China rather than Biden, by far," said Engelmann, 50, who works for a food distribution company in Racine County, Wisconsin. He was highlighting two major pillars of Trump's re-election messaging after the worst U.S. health and economic crises in generations forced his campaign to retool a message that had been built on economic prosperity under his presidency. Several Trump aides say their 2020 campaign will now be chiefly defined by two themes: Trump is the only candidate who can resurrect the economy and that Biden will not be as tough on China, a country Trump is blaming for the pandemic. 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 is a message resonating with Trump's base, according to interviews with more than 50 voters in three swing counties in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin - states Trump won in 2016 by less than a percentage point and that will decide whether he can win a second term. Trump officials say the new messaging, being sent to Republican state leaders across the country and pushed in new anti-Biden ads across swing states, reflects internal and external polling data that shows voters trust Trump more on the economy, and that Americans across party lines distrust China. "Voters know China was a bad actor on the virus. The president made clear to pinpoint China as the origin of the virus," said Tim Murtaugh, the Trump campaign's spokesman. "We're going to push this." TJ Ducklo, Biden's campaign spokesman, described Trump's response to the crisis as a disaster. He accused Trump of being duped by China earlier this year and pointed to the fact that Trump heaped praise on Chinese President Xi Jinping's handling of the outbreak during January and February. This election will be a referendum on Donald Trump's historic failures as president, Ducklo said. TOUGH CLIMATE FOR INCUMBENT The recalibrated strategy comes as Trump faces a more difficult re-election campaign amid an outbreak that has now infected more than 1.2 million in the United States and killed over 70,000 - the world's highest number of cases and deaths - and led to over 30 million filing for unemployment in the past six weeks. Such is the scale of the crisis that it makes re-election for an incumbent president tough, whatever his messaging, said Stu Rothenberg, a non-partisan political analyst. "Those themes could resonate with his base, but he needs to expand beyond that to win. He's got to change the opinion of swing voters," Rothenberg said. "In a few months, we are still going to be in a deep hole. And a lot of them don't like his style ... his divisiveness." Interviews with voters in Racine, Wisconsin; Northampton, Pennsylvania; and Macomb, Michigan, illustrate the challenge. Every Democratic voter, and even a few who reluctantly voted for Trump in 2016, said they had been further alienated by what they viewed as his botched handling of the pandemic, and his divisive rhetoric at a time of crisis. Some also see political risks from a Republican-led and Trump-endorsed push to reopen the economy despite warnings of a new spike in cases and deaths. Projections of U.S. coronavirus deaths jumped after several states such as Georgia and Florida opened up their economies. Lee Snover, head of the Republican Party in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, recently lost her father to COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and could not be at his deathbed. She said Republicans needed to be careful about going too far in criticizing the economic shutdown and dismissing the health risks. "Yes, we need to reopen the economy, but we also need to recognize that the virus is real and poses a threat. SILVER LINING Historically, difficult economic conditions have often torpedoed the re-election hopes of sitting U.S. presidents, including Jimmy Carter in 1980 and George H. W. Bush in 1992. But the Trump campaign sees a silver lining, as more states allow businesses to reopen and an increasing number of Americans want to get back to work. In the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Monday and Tuesday, 45% of Americans said Trump would be better at creating jobs, compared with 32% who thought Biden would be better at it. Trump's campaign aides also see rising anger with China over the coronavirus as an opening. Trump in recent weeks has ramped up his criticism of Beijing and threatened new tariffs on China, and officials said they were considering retaliatory measures against China over the outbreak. A Pew Research Center survey in late April showed two-thirds of Americans viewed China unfavorably now, up 20 points since the start of the Trump administration in January 2017. Starting next week, messaging on China will be sent to Republican state party officials, accusing China of costing American lives and that "Joe Biden is good for China but bad for America," one campaign aide said. Duane Miller, 82, a Northampton County resident who voted for Trump in 2016, said he was sickened by how both parties had politicized the coronavirus crisis. If I had to vote today and I've been voting for decades I probably would not even vote. The widow of a man who died of COVID-19 during an outbreak at a College Station assisted living center has filed a wrongful death suit against the facility in what is believed to be the first legal action of its kind in Texas. Fay Boothe alleges in the suit, filed Wednesday in district court in Brazos County, that the facility neglected to provide appropriate essential care to her husband, Joe, while he was in isolation, leading to his death. Boothe also claims that the facility failed to fully inform the family about the risk of infection from COVID-19 and about his care. This is one of the clearest cases of gross neglect I have ever seen, Boothe's attorney Gaines West said in a statement. Boothe died because he was neglected and left alone to suffer. The Waterford, which was inundated with COVID-19 issues, and resulting deaths, can no longer hide what they failed to do for the Boothe family, and for many more. Joe Boothe was one of 11 residents who have died so far in the outbreak at the Waterford. The facility housed one of the largest outbreaks in a care home in Texas with 32 residents out of 47 testing positive, as well as 13 staff members. IN-DEPTH: As 11 residents died of COVID-19, College Station care home left families guessing West said he was not aware of any other wrongful death suits filed in Texas against nursing homes or assisted living facilities, whose residents account for 45 percent of the coronavirus fatalities in Texas. The suit comes as health care facilities in Texas and across the country ask lawmakers for immunity from legal action related to COVID-19. The facilities have won immunity in 14 states including Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and New York through executive orders and state laws, though some states have carved out exceptions for negligence suits like the one filed by the Boothes. A representative of the parent company of the Waterford, Dallas-based Capital Senior Living, declined to comment. Industry seeks immunity In an April 3 letter, several Texas organizations, including the Texas Medical Association, Texas Health Care Association and Texas Hospital Association, asked Gov. Greg Abbott to issue an executive order extending statewide immunity for volunteers responding to the disaster to include health care professionals and facilities. The law covering volunteers was passed last session and spearheaded by Houston-area, Republican state lawmakers Sen. Joan Huffman and Rep. Tom Oliverson. On the federal level, there are some protections for suits related to the manufacture and distribution of some medical products, such as ventilators and N95 masks, but none for treatment of patients, said Jon Opelt, executive director of the Texas Alliance for Patient Access, which coordinated the letter. TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox Texas advocacy groups for care home residents and others, including the states long-term care ombudsman Patty Ducayet, have opposed the proposal, saying it would take away necessary protections for families. It would, Opelt said, and yet as we have all heard it said: were all in this together. And its important to recognize that the parties rendering that care are in need of protection as well. He continued: Theres a range of things that could happen where theyre dealing with some serious constraints in terms of their ability to render care, very out of the norm, such as a hospital that postpones a patients elective surgery and ends up delaying care, or a rural hospital that had to ration test kits. The immunity the organizations are requesting would not cover lawsuits alleging injury or death caused by reckless conduct, or intentional, willful, or wanton misconduct. They also asked in the letter for Abbott to prohibit any coronavirus-related lawsuits against health care providers until Sept. 1. Opelt said thats because health care workers need to be on the front lines, not sitting in depositions. We ask you to take action now to remove the threat of litigation that risks delaying or hindering patient care needed to respond to this disaster, the letter stated. Abbott did not respond to a request for comment on whether he plans to act on the request, and Opelt said the groups have not received a response from him. Kept in the dark The Brazos County suit claims that the Waterford failed to implement the necessary infection control to protect residents and, once the virus reached the facility, downplayed its severity in speaking with families. For example, the facility at first said a stomach bug was going around when it made the decision to restrict residents to their rooms. Defendants intentionally kept Mr. Boothes family in the dark and away from him, while causing Mr. Boothe to languish and suffer alone, and to wither away, all without appropriate care or intervention, the suit states. The suit also faults the facility for waiting to test employees and residents for the virus until after it became public that Boothe and others had died of it. The Waterford said in a statement provided to Hearst Newspapers last month that it was unable to test all residents and staff at the beginning of the outbreak because test kits were not available. Instead, residents initially were not tested until being admitted to the hospital. Later, they received more kits and were able to expand testing. The outbreak was first characterized as a stomach bug because facility officials did not associate gastrointestinal symptoms with COVID-19 at that time, it said. The facility said it followed state and local health authority guidance in combating the spread of the disease. At the Waterford at College Station, our top priority is always the safety and wellbeing of our residents and employees, the statement read. The Waterford has always had strict protocols in place to limit the spread of infectious disease in our community, and specifically in response to COVID-19. Boothe is seeking monetary relief of at least $1 million in damages for the emotional toll her husbands death, as well as funeral and burial expenses. The dismissed Kano State commissioner for works, Muaz Magaji, has tested positive to coronavirus. Mr Magaji, on Thursday, in a series of Mr Magaji Facebook posts, apologised to many for his inability to respond to their messages. He said this was because of his deteriorating health condition. Mr Magaji Facebook posts In another post, he solicited for prayers, while announcing that his sample earlier taken by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control tested positive to COVID-19. This morning my NCDC test is out I have been confirmed Covid-19 Positive And have been moved to one of the state facilitiespray for us! Mr Magaji posted. The NCDC on Thursday announced 195 new infections across the country with Kano having 30 cases. PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, in April, fired Mr Magaji, after he issued comments which appeared to be celebrating the passing of Mr Kyari. Mr Kyari died in April in Lagos of coronavirus and was buried in Abuja. The sacked commissioner, Mr Magaji, on his Facebook page had written, Its very very important we put things in perspective so that we can save our system from punitive unconstitutional usurpers in the future! Democracy & democratic equity does not by itself strive.. It must be guarded and protected One person, just one person can set a dangerous precedence! READ ALSO: When you are all done with the pretence and crocodile tears, we will do a review in overriding interest of the Nation and its people! I am perfectly aware of the storm I am in The fact however is I know what comes from the heart or that what is purchased! You all will come around, Mr Magaji posted. In a statement, Kanos commissioner for information, Muhammad Garba, said Mr Magajis removal was as a result of unguarded utterances against the person of the late Chief of Staff to the President, Malam Abba Kyari. However, Mr Magaji later apologised and said, as a Muslim and a patriotic Nigeria, I was only misunderstood by people to think that I celebrated Kyaris death, the truth is, I didnt. A massive landslide forced several residents in upstate New York to evacuate and leave their homes dangling dangerously close to the edge of a cliff on May 3. Numerous picture was taken of the area in Waterford, which is located about 11 miles northeast of Albany. The pictures showed trees uprooted, much of a driveway was totally destroyed and one home was just inches away from falling into the large crater. The authorities were told 150 feet of land slid into the crater and that there is concern that more land will continue to fall. Massive landslide Drone footage of the site captured images of the scene on May 3 and even though the property remained intact for most of the incident, it was left very close to the edge after the landslip was estimated to be around 150 feet to 200 feet. The cops were immediately called to assist the Waterford Fire Department in assessing the extent of the landslide without anyone having to enter the slide area physically for safety reasons. One man whose grandparents live in the area and were evacuated said that around 3:30 pm, they began to feel trembling and they heard the creaking of trees. He told News 10 that what he found scary about the whole ordeal was that there was no warning, the landslide happened fast. Another man who lived in the area had to be helped out of his home because the trees had fallen on the path of his driveway. The authorities flew the drone in the area after they arrived so that they could keep a safe distance from the landslide that saw seven homes off Middletown Rd. in Waterford, Saratoga, evacuated. Also Read: Ancient Rivers on Mars: Geologists Find Evidence That Water Once Flowed on the Red Planet The other properties in the area were just 12 feet away from the house that was pictured by the Sheriff's Office UAS Team. In total, there were 12 people who were displaced and sent to shelters for temporary residence. Fortunately, there were no injuries or loss of structures reported. Authorities placed stakes in the ground to help them monitor the area which was still moving as of Sunday. There are now only three homes that remained evacuated on May 4 after the residents were told that they could return. Authorities still haven't reported a reason for the landslide, but Waterford Fire Chief Donald Baldwin called the location of the landslide as a gravel pit. Baldwin told CNN that it had the potential for significant injuries, but there are none. Chief Baldwin explained that the authorities will be monitoring the site regularly. The town will be evaluating the landslide to see if it continues and assessment of the damage will be made and they will monitor any potential repeat of the incident. Landslides in the United States Landslides happen in all 50 states in America, but regions like the Rocky Mountains, the Appalachian Mountains, and the Pacific Coastal Rangers are recorded to have severe landslide problems according to the USGS. The agency also lists Oregon, Washington, California, Alaska, and Hawaii as landslide-prone states. Related Article: Azerbaijan Pit of Fire Never Stops Burning for 4,000 Years @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. 7 May 2020 Acron Board of Directors Issues Dividend Recommendations As part of preparations for the annual general meeting to be held on 29 May 2020 as absentee voting, Acron Board of Directors met on 7 May 2020 and considered the following agenda items: On reviewing Acron's 2019 annual financial statements (accounts) On recommendations for Acron's 2019 profit and loss distribution On paying (declaring) dividends for 2019, their amount and form of payment On considering the auditor's reports on Acron's 2019 statements On approving the terms and conditions for an agreement with Acron's Registrar (Joint Stock Company Independent Registrar Company R.O.S.T.) for arranging, convening and holding a general meeting of securities holders, in particular acting as a counting commission On determining the Board of Directors' position on agenda items for Acron's annual general meeting and grounds for passing relevant resolutions On considering the draft Regulation on Acron Board of Directors as amended. With regard to profit distribution and dividend payment, the Board of Directors recommended that the annual general meeting pay (declare) dividends on Acron outstanding ordinary shares for 2019 in cash at the rate of three hundred and seventy-six roubles (RUB 376) per share. In view of interim dividends for 9M 2019 that have been paid earlier at the rate of one hundred and one roubles (RUB 101) per share, the dividends shall be paid at the rate of two hundred and seventy-five roubles (RUB 275) per share. The Board of Directors also proposed to set a record date for persons entitled to dividends for 9 June 2020. All the information to be provided to persons entitled to attend the shareholder meeting will be available on the corporate website, a shareholder's personal account at https://lk.rrost.ru, and submitted to the central depositary not later than 8 May 2020. It will also be available at the Company's offices. MediaContacts Sergey Dorofeev Anastasiya Gromova Tatiana Smirnova Public Relations Phone: +7 (495) 777-08-65 (ext. 5196) Investor Contacts Ilya Popov Investor Relations Phone: +7 (495) 745-77-45 (ext. 5252) Background Information Acron Group is a leading vertically integrated mineral fertiliser producer in Russia and globally, with chemical production facilities in Veliky Novgorod (Acron) and the Smolensk region (Dorogobuzh). The Group owns and operates a phosphate mine in Murmansk region (North-Western Phosphorous Company, NWPC) and is implementing a potash development project in Perm Krai (Verkhnekamsk Potash Company, VPC). It owns transportation and logistics infrastructure, including three Baltic port terminals and distribution networks in Russia and China. Acron's subsidiary, North Atlantic Potash Inc. (NAP), holds mining licences for 11 parcels of the potassium salt deposit at Prairie Evaporite, Saskatchewan, Canada. Acron also holds a minority stake (19.8%) in Polish Grupa Azoty, one of the largest chemical producers in Europe. In 2019, the Group sold 7.6 million tonnes of various products to 78 countries, with Russia, Brazil, Europe and the United States as key markets. In 2019, the Group posted consolidated IFRS revenue of RUB 114,835 million (USD 1,774 million) and net profit of RUB 24,786 million (USD 383 million). Acron's shares are on the Level 1 quotation list of the Moscow Exchange and its global depositary receipts are traded at the London Stock Exchange (ticker AKRN). Acron employs over 11,000 people. For more information about Acron Group, please visit www.acron.ru/en. Millions of older Australians could be unable to download the government's coronavirus tracing app because it isn't compatible with their mobile phones. Out-of-date technology is stopping thousands of people from getting the COVIDSafe app, a new report has found. The app has been heralded as Australia's way out of the remaining coronavirus lockdown restrictions, as it would help officials find and track cases. Based on the uptake of the app in Tasmania, the report concluded that there were two main reasons why people hadn't downloaded the app, the first being privacy. Of the 652 respondents to a survey who said they hadn't downloaded the app, 38 per cent said they didn't trust what would happen to their data. The government said the app, which is based on a successful system in Singapore, needs to be downloaded by at least 40 per cent of Australians before restrictions can be lifted. Scroll down for video COVIDSafe (pictured) has so far been downloaded five million times, but many have been unable to do so as their mobile phone is too old This is despite the government explaining that it uses an encrypted user ID, which regenerates every two hours, and will not log any location data. It means neither a user's whereabouts nor activities will be tracked, with all data deleted after 21 days. Officials even introduced a five year prison sentence if a person is caught collecting, using or disclosing information collected by the app, except by public health officials. So far, more than five million people in Australia have downloaded the app. But in the report, a further 15 per cent said they couldn't download the app as they had older or incompatible phones, or not enough storage. Australia's coronavirus tracing app has so far been downloaded five million times (pictured, a woman uses her mobile phone while walking at Bondi Beach on April 3) WHAT PERSONAL DATA IS COLLECTED? - The name you choose to provide - Your age range - Your phone number - Your postcode - Information about your encrypted user ID - Information about testing positive for coronavirus - Contact IDs should you consent to that being uploaded. - Bluetooth data is also uploaded, so officials can decide who needs to be notified if you test positive Advertisement 'The age range of respondents saying they will not download the app is between 25 and 84 years,' Institute for Social Change director Professor Libby Lester told The Mercury. '[But] it is largely older people who say they cannot because of their phones. 'We do need to understand this better, particularly if it is those in the community most vulnerable to COVID-19 who are not able to access the app.' Tasmanian Federal MP Andrew Wilkie said it 'beggars belief' that the government concocted an that 'older Australians can't use'. Of the 652 who responded to the survey, 40 per cent said they had downloaded the app. But 25 per cent admitted they hadn't, and 28 per cent were 'unsure'. To run the COVIDSafe app, users have to agree to turn their battery optimization off - meaning they cannot try and use a power saving mode Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said that at least 40 per cent of Australians would need to downloaded the app in order for the bulk of restrictions to be lifted. He compared using the app to buying bonds during the war. 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 'In the war, people bought war bonds to get in behind the national effort,' he said. 'What were doing in fighting this fight is well be asking people to download an app which helps us trace the virus quickly and the more people who do that, the more we can get back to a more liveable set of arrangements.' Health Minister Greg Hunt has echoed calls for people to download the app, saying information was perfectly safe. 'In terms of privacy, no person can access what is on the phone, no other person can access what is on your phone,' Mr Hunt said. 'It cannot leave the country. It cannot be accessed by anybody other than a state public health official. 'It cannot be used for any purpose other than the provision of the data for the purposes of finding people with whom you have been in close contact with and it is punishable by jail if there is a breach of that.' Downloading the app could be key to getting bars and restaurants open again (pictured, an empty Melbourne pub on March 23) Concerns over older people's ability to get the app comes after an elderly man was told by Telstra staff it would cost $30 for their help installing the COVIDSafe app on his mobile phone. Gary Allen went to a Telstra store in regional Victoria after receiving a text about the Australian Government's tracing software that was developed to control the spread of coronavirus. The 79-year-old said he first tried to install the app himself but eventually became overwhelmed so he decided to get assistance from the Telstra shop where he originally purchased the phone. Telstra regional general manager Loretta Willaton admitted it had 'missed the mark'. 'We're sorry for the experience this customer had in-store,' she said, adding that it's not Telstra policy to charge for the installation of COVIDSafe. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Apriza Pinandita (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 7, 2020 10:35 622 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd677713 1 World COVID-19,South-China-Sea,Indonesia,Foreign-Minister-Retno-Marsudi Free Indonesia expressed on Wednesday its concern about recent activities in the South China Sea that could potentially lead to an escalation in tensions at a time when a collective global effort is needed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The concerns were raised following the latest maneuvers by China and the United States in the highly disputed region a sea in the Pacific Ocean that covers an area of around 3.5 million square kilometers. The South China Sea has been the source of a prolonged dispute between China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei, which each have competing territorial claims. In a virtual press briefing on Wednesday, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said that Indonesia underlined the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea including ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight and urged all parties to respect international law particularly the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS]. On Monday, US air force bombers reportedly conducted a sortie over the East China Sea in what was called a freedom of navigation operation, Taiwanese English newspaper Taiwan News reported. The newspaper said that two US B-1B supersonic bombers flew from Guam to the East China Sea and approached Taiwan's northeastern maritime border along the way. Read also: Malaysia calls for peaceful end to months-long South China Sea standoff The flight by the US bombers comes several days after the Chinese military said it opposed foreign powers bolstering their naval presence in the South China Sea. Taiwanese National Defense Ministry (MND) spokesman Shih Shun-wen pointed out that the Taiwanese air force maintained full control over the sea and air surrounding the Taiwan Strait, despite many previous military flights being conducted by Washington over the region. These missions serve to maintain the US presence in the region while it also seeks to keep an eye on Chinese military developments amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan News reported. Retno said Indonesia had called on all relevant parties to exercise self-restraint and to refrain from undertaking action that may [erode] mutual trust and potentially escalate tension in the region, adding that such a state of affairs needed to be maintained after negotiations of the code of conduct (COC) on the South China Sea were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Indonesia, she added, believed that a stable situation in the South China Sea would be conducive to the COC negotiations. Therefore, we remain committed to ensuring a COC that is effective, substantive and actionable, despite the current circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, she concluded. [RA::Australia joins US ships in South China Sea amid rising tensionhttps://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/04/22/australia-joins-us-ships-in-south-china-sea-amid-rising-tension.html] Since last month, Beijing has been increasingly assertive in the region as the COVID-19 crisis eases on the mainland, with a crackdown against democracy activists in Hong Kong and saber-rattling around Taiwan and the South China Sea, Reuters reported. The US State Department said China was taking advantage of the region's focus on the pandemic to "coerce its neighbors". The news agency reported that China had also been flying regular fighter patrols near Taiwan and had sent a survey ship flanked by coast guard and other vessels into the South China Sea, prompting the United States to accuse Beijing of "bullying behavior". With Delhi residents expected to return from across the globe over the next eight days, the Delhi government on Thursday arranged for paid quarantine facilities in more than 1,500 rooms in city hotels. More than 400 people are expected to arrive at Delhis Indira Gandhi International Airport from Singapore and Dhaka in Bangladesh on Friday, as part of the Vande Bharat mission to ferry back Indians stranded abroad, the city administration said on Thursday. Under the exercise , launched by the Union government on Thursday, national carrier Air India is bringing Indian citizens stuck abroad back to the country. At the same time, it will also send US, UK and Singapore stuck in the country. The Delhi government issued a revised order on Thursday on the rules for handling passengers arriving in Delhi from abroad, in which it specified that everyone will have to mandatorily be under institutional quarantine in a paid facility for 14 days from the date of arrival. The order clarified that Delhi will house returnees belonging to neighbouring states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. This clarification came after the Delhi government, in its previous order issued on Wednesday, had asked the respective states to ferry the passengers in buses. We are expecting to handle 410 passengers on Day one (Friday) of the operation in Delhi. One flight, carrying 243 passengers, will arrive at 11.30am from Singapore and a second flight, ferrying 167 people, will land in Delhi around 1pm from Dhaka, a senior government official said. Shilpa Shinde, special secretary (health and family welfare), has been appointed the nodal officer for the Delhi chapter of the operation. Everyone will have to mandatorily undergo screening at the airport. We have arranged for over a dozen buses to transport passengers from the airport to the paid quarantine facilities. No option of home quarantine or free government quarantine will be given as of now, said Shinde. She said that the government has also kept free quarantine facilities on standby. Explaining the reason for providing the option of only paid facilities to the passengers, another senior official said the government will not be in a situation to address any grievances related to the quality of standards at the free quarantine centres. The government has tied up with seven hotels for quarantine facilities, which will be offered for prices between Rs 2,000 plus taxes and Rs 4,800 plus taxes, depending on the overall rating of the hotel and the choice of room (single or double bed). The rate includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, two bottles of mineral water per day, tea and coffee, and other facilities, such as Wi-Fi and TV. Food from a set menu will be served to the quarantined guests only in disposal plates and their clothes will be laundered separately. About 200 rooms at Hotel Le Meridian, 200 at Sheraton, 250 at Vivanta by Taj in Dwarka, have been reserved for the purpose, besides rooms at Red Fox and IBIS in Aerocity, Welcome Hotel by ITC and Red Fox in Mayur Vihar Phase 1. A spokesperson for the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), said, The standard operating procedures for handling passengers of repatriation flights have been developed by the ministries and agencies concerned. This includes maintaining social distance, which would also be mandatory for the passengers to follow while getting off the aircraft. The government and Air India have been working out the logistics of the repatriation flights based on the number of citizens to be brought back to the country. The first such flight is expected to arrive in Delhi on Friday. We are expecting about 200 passengers per flight. The Delhi government will be determining the locations where the arriving passengers would be sent for quarantine. The airlines, their ground handlers, DIAL staff, immigrations, CISF and customs will be supporting the APHO and Delhi government during these operations. The airline staff will ensure that the passengers have filled their self-reporting forms properly and download the Arogya Setu app on their mobile phones, officials said. Queenslanders will soon find out when and how they can go back to their favourite cafes and restaurants, but have been told not to hug their mums on Mothers Day. The state government is trying to thread the needle of reopening shops, cafes and other businesses to restart the economy, while trying to ensure people also maintain social-distancing rules. Dr Jeannette Young says she's still not happy with the rate of testing in Queensland as plans are made to further ease restrictions. Credit:Jack Tran/Queensland Government That reared its head on Thursday, with the government announcing people would be allowed to visit their mothers on Mother's Day, but should not hug them when they arrived. Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young explained the new rule - a group of five people from one household could visit another household, but no more, and not from multiple houses - was a compromise to try to maintain restrictions while still allowing people to visit on the special day. When Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated (NYSE:RBA) announced its most recent earnings (31 December 2019), I did two things: looked at its past earnings track record, then look at what is happening in the industry. Understanding how Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers performed requires a benchmark rather than trying to assess a standalone number at one point in time. Below is a quick commentary on how I see RBA has performed. See our latest analysis for Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers How Well Did RBA Perform? RBA's trailing twelve-month earnings (from 31 December 2019) of US$149m has jumped 23% compared to the previous year. Furthermore, this one-year growth rate has exceeded its 5-year annual growth average of 3.2%, indicating the rate at which RBA is growing has accelerated. What's the driver of this growth? Let's take a look at whether it is solely attributable to industry tailwinds, or if Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers has experienced some company-specific growth. NYSE:RBA Income Statement May 7th 2020 In terms of returns from investment, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers has fallen short of achieving a 20% return on equity (ROE), recording 16% instead. However, its return on assets (ROA) of 8.5% exceeds the US Commercial Services industry of 5.7%, indicating Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers has used its assets more efficiently. Though, its return on capital (ROC), which also accounts for Ritchie Bros. Auctioneerss debt level, has declined over the past 3 years from 13% to 13%. This correlates with an increase in debt holding, with debt-to-equity ratio rising from 17% to 72% over the past 5 years. What does this mean? While past data is useful, it doesnt tell the whole story. Positive growth and profitability are what investors like to see in a companys track record, but how do we properly assess sustainability? You should continue to research Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers to get a better picture of the stock by looking at: Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for RBAs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for RBAs outlook. Financial Health: Are RBAs 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. 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. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the trailing twelve months from 31 December 2019. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. 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. Visakhapatnam, May 8 : Another gas leakage from LG Polymers in Visakhapatnam late Thursday triggered panic in areas near the plant and forced people to move to safe places. Fumes were seen billowing out of the chemical plant, where the gas leakage in the early hours of the day claimed 11 lives and affected over 300 others. People from Gopalpatnam, Simhachalam and Pinagadi areas, which are four km away from the plant, were seen moving to safe places. The gas smell sent panic in certain areas late Thursday night. Many people rushed out of their houses and were seen heading to safer places by their vehicles. Local police at few places advised people to move to safe places as a precautionary measure. Officials, however, said the gas emission was continuing since the major leakage around 3.45 a.m. on Thursday. Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner R K Meena said there was no need for panic. "Efforts are going on to neutralize the gas leak. There is no danger," he said. The police commissioner hoped that the work to plug the emissions will be completed in a couple of hours. About 12,000 people from RR Venkatapuram and four other villages were evacuated after the leakage early Thursday. Visakhapatnam District Fire Officer Sandeep Anand said 10 fire engines and two foam fighters were kept ready in the plant. He said some ambulances were also on standby as a precautionary measure. Meanwhile, a cargo flight carrying a team of experts and PTBC inhibitor, an antidote for styrene, landed in Visakhapatnam late Thursday. The experts in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) disaster are likely to begin the operation to plug the emissions after assessing the situation at the plant. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Kay and Jim Kelly enjoy the fine weather in the Rose Garden at St Annes Park, Dublin. Photo: Julien Behal/PA Wire Ireland is set for a mixed weekend, with an 8C temperature difference likely between Saturday and Sunday. Dublin will enjoy the best of the conditions, with Saturday set for sunny spells and temperatures of up to 21C. However, Met Eireann's Gavin Gallagher said Sunday will be a stark contrast, with most areas struggling to see temperatures reach double digits, with highs, even in sunny parts of the east coast, of only 12C to 13C. There will be much cooler weather in the early part of next week - far colder than normal for this time in May. Despite the lower temperatures, the weather will prove largely dry and settled as a large Atlantic high pressure zone sits off the west coast. "Today will see a mostly cloudy start, with showers developing through the day," Mr Gallagher said "Some will be heavy, mainly in the north midlands and Ulster in the afternoon, with sunny spells developing also and highs of 15C to 17C. Brighter "Friday will see scattered showers developing across the north and west, but there will be sunny spells too, with the best initially in the east, becoming brighter in all areas later." Temperatures will reach 19C in Dublin and parts of the east coast tomorrow - a flavour of the fine sunny spells likely on Saturday. At times, temperatures will reach 20C or even 21C on Saturday, although some areas will experience scattered showers. Saturday evening will witness a dramatic drop in temperatures. "Sunday will be noticeably cooler in all areas. It will be dry with a mix of cloud and sunny spells," Mr Gallagher added. "However, temperatures will struggle to get to double figures in many areas. "There will be highs of only 7C to 10C in the north and 10C to 13C in the south and east." The forecast next week is for cloudy conditions with patches of bright sunshine. Temperatures will be between 10C and 13C - much cooler than normal for early May. The federal government's superannuation early access scheme will be frozen until Monday after it was revealed on Thursday federal police are investigating claims more than $100,000 was stolen from up to 150 super accounts by sophisticated criminals. Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar said the scheme would be paused "out of an abundance of caution" while the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Austrac and the Financial Crimes Taskforce investigated what was described in Senate hearings on Thursday as "sophisticated" organised or offshore crime cells targeting the early access scheme by acting as "intermediaries" in order to steal personal information such as dates of birth and tax file numbers. Michael Sukkar said the federal government's superannuation early access scheme would be paused until Monday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen "There's been one isolated incident where I think it's fair to say identity theft has been involved," Mr Sukkar said in a Friday morning Sky News interview. "That's being investigated by the AFP but I emphasise these are not compromises of the ATO's system, these are flat out fraud." AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw said on Thursday his agency's cyber team was assisting in the investigation as there had been "an intrusion into a third party" as part of the fraud that stole approximately $120,000. Photo: Contributed Iraqs former spy chief was sworn in as the countrys next prime minister by lawmakers early Thursday after weeks of tense political negotiations as the country faces a severe economic crisis spurred by the coronavirus pandemic. The majority of 255 legislators attending the session approved the government plan and the majority of Cabinet ministers proposed by Mustafa al-Kadhimi, officially inaugurating him as Iraqs sixth premier since 2003 and ending five months of a leadership void. Legislators passed 15 ministers and rejected five, among them the ministries of trade, justice, culture, agriculture and migration. The ministries of oil and foreign affairs also remain vacant pending further political negotiations. According to Iraq's constitution, a government can pass if over half of a proposed Cabinet is approved. Al-Kadhimi, who gave up the intelligence post when he became the prime minister-designate, assumes the premiership as Iraq faces unprecedented crises amid falling oil revenues that will likely prompt unpopular austerity measures, a rising daily tally of coronavirus cases, and pending U.S.-Iraq ties. This government came as a response to the social, economic and political crises our country is facing, al-Kadhimi said during the session, addressing lawmakers. It is a government that will provide solutions, not add to the crises. His first weeks in office are likely to be monopolized by the severe economic crisis threatening the country in the wake of plummeting oil prices. Oil prices have hovered between $20-30 per barrel, about half of what was projected to finance the 2020 budget and barely enough for the crude-dependent country to pay public sector wages. Oil sales make up nearly 90% of state revenues. In April, the country made just $1.43 billion in oil sales, and is expected to be further constrained as OPEC production cuts take hold. The World Bank has predicted that without adequate reforms, Iraqs economy will contract nearly 10% this year. Gandhinagar, May 7 : The railway division police at Surat railway station on Thursday detained around 15 to 20 Surat Congress leaders and workers who had come to the railway station to flag off a train bound for UP's Sultanpur and for which the Congress party had paid the travel fare of around 1,100 migrant labourers. DSP (Railways) Surat station on Thursday, detained around 15 to 20 Congress members of Surat Congress, including Surat Congress President Babubhai Rayka, Tapan Choghadiya, the Leader of Opposition Party (LOP) Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) and others. The Congress members had come to the railway station to flag off a train carrying the migrant labourers, returning to their homes in UP. The official reason for the detainment is not yet known but according to sources the police had detained them for not having the necessary permission to do so. "The ruling BJP party is rattled by the Congress move on Thursday. We had come here to flag off this train bound for Sultanpur. We had booked this entire train by paying Rs 9 lakh and availed travel fare for around 1,100 migrant workers and labourers, which did not go well down with the ruling BJP. And misusing the power and misusing the government mechanism they had us detained," said Choghadiya. A couple of days back BJP parliamentarian from Surat, CR Patil had similarly flagged off a train, supported by BJP workers and supporters in large numbers gathered at the Surat railway station. There was no action taken against him or anybody for any issues like permission or social distancing. GRAND HAVEN, MI -- Dozens of homeowners in northern Ottawa County who went decades without flooding problems are now seeing water infiltrate their basements. About 30 to 50 homes in Grand Haven, Spring Lake, Ferrysburg and the surrounding areas have reported basement flooding caused by the roughly 4.8 inches of rain that fell Tuesday, April 28, through Thursday, April 30, according to Joe Bush, Ottawa County Water Resources Commissioner. The majority, Bush said, are reporting about an inch of water, or just enough to soak the carpet. But hes heard reports of some basements flooded with 6 to 8 inches of water. The water, in some areas, remains ponded in backyards, roadways and parking lots even now, a week later. The water table, already raised by historic high water levels on Lake Michigan, simply cant take it all. Last month, the Army Corps of Engineers reported water levels on Lakes Michigan and Huron are measuring about 3 foot higher than average. Thats the highest in recorded history. The Army Corps projects lake levels wont peak until July, meaning a continued threat of dune erosion and flooded basements. Most of the homes impacted by heavy rain were unprepared for the flooding because it never was an issue before with a lower water table. The ones that are calling me the most, I would say 80 percent of them, have never seen water in their home, Bush said. Theyve been living in these homes 20 to 30 years and have never seen water like this before, or they never had sump pumps because they never needed them, they never saw water come up through the floor. Until Lake Michigan levels peak, Bush said, this is kind of the new norm. Related: Great Lakes high water is going to affect everyone in Michigan Spring Lake Township resident Tom Peterson is watching that new normal play out in his neighborhood. Hes heard of homes in his neighborhood with significant damage caused by the flooding, even some with 1 foot of water in their basements. This has been going on for about a year, actually a little more than a year. And this past week we had torrential rains; for us: 4-inch rain. That's a lot of rain, Peterson said. Normally, for years, it's worked out fine. Then when the water table rises to the level it is now, the water doesn't have anywhere to go. Bushs department is helping affected homes by keeping the countys storm sewers and drains clear of debris, helping the water to not get backed up. Its also connecting residents with contractors and resources to bail out their homes. Some of the issue is that not all sump pumps drain into the storm sewers. Instead, they may be draining into backyards. Normally a non-issue at regular water table levels, Bush said, now those backyards and retention ponds are filling up and flooding nearby homes. Peterson said some residents are asking engineers if its possible to lower the water table artificially. If that doesnt work, he said, then we're kind of on our own. There isn't much solution other than to pump the water out. Theres a lot of people that are on edge about it, Peterson said. People are thinking about what do we do, how are home values affected, what are the solutions. Do you raise the house, do you move? What do you do? So theres all sorts of uncertainty. "But, you know, you take it one day at a time and see what happens. Related stories: As the Great Lakes surge to record heights, coastal areas face a time of reckoning Fixes for record high water levels expected to come with big price tag for Michigan Its time to act to save beachfront houses from Great Lakes high water More Great Lakes coverage LJUBLJANA (dpa-AFX) - Slovakia's trade balance swung to a deficit in March, amid falls in both exports and imports, data from the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic showed on Thursday. The trade balance registered a deficit of EUR 331.7 million in March versus a surplus of EUR 102.4 million in February. Exports declined 19.2 percent annually in March and imports fell 11.6 percent. For the January to March period, export and imports fell by 7.6 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively, compared to the same period previous year. The trade balance registered a deficit of EUR 222.8 million. 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. A 17-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of a teenage mother-of-two found stuffed into a wheelie bin. The 18-year-old woman was dragged to Newman Hospital in northwest Western Australia inside the bin with fatal injuries about 4am on Wednesday. The Martu Aboriginal teen was pronounced dead at the scene but it was not clear whether she was alive when she arrived at the hospital. Ms Waston, who is the mother of a young toddler, gave birth to her second child in the past month. A child has been arrested after an 18-year-old woman was found dead in a wheelie bin in Newman in Western Australia. Pictured: Police at one of three crime scenes established for the investigation It is understood police will allege she had suffered massive head injuries. The teenage boy was expected to appear in Newman's Children's Court on Thursday afternoon. It will also be alleged the 17-year-old had taken the young mother to the house of an elder before taking her to the hospital, The West Australian reported. Officers on Wednesday were scouring three different crime scenes in the Pilbara mining town as investigations continue into the woman's death. It is believed her death could be related to a family violence incident, according to The Northwest Telegraph. A juvenile relative of the woman who allegedly wheeled the bin to the hospital was arrested on Wednesday evening. A relative Mena Tennahleah paid tribute to her 'big sister' on Facebook hours after her death. 'RIP my big sister N Watson good young mother for two kids. Love and miss you my big sister. Watson Breeds For Ever. WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said homicide squad officers were on the scene WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said the woman was known in the community. 'While there are no charges at present I can talk about, we're in a full-scale investigation,' Mr Dawson told ABC radio on Thursday. 'It's a real tragedy in the sense that the community, the woman is known... and there are a couple of kids involved.' Broken glass and blood were seen on the ground outside a nearby home, with neighbours hearing shouting from the property late on Tuesday night, The West Australian reported. Homicide detectives from South Hedland Police, located 452km north of the town, have launched a joint investigation into the death with local police. Alcohol sales were banned in Newman for the remainder of Wednesday. Bottleshop owner Anita Grace said the closure was the right move after the incident. The woman's body was found outside the Newman Hospital, which is 1,178 kilometres from Perth at 4am on Wednesday 'I think at this stage with everyone being so raw and upset and trying to work out what is going on the best thing was to stay closed,' she said. 'Everyone was very supportive. It is not that there are any tensions at the moment but there could be tensions. It is just precautionary at the moment.' Newman, a mining town located 1,186km north of Perth, has a population of just 7,200. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers by calling 1800 333 000 or by making a report online at crimestopperswa.com.au. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal The city of Albuquerque is for now abandoning the idea of developing a single, 300-bed homeless shelter and has recently begun collaborating with other public agencies on a possible multi-site approach to the citys homelessness crisis. Mayor Tim Keller said Wednesday that a Gateway Center shelter with hundreds of beds is off the table but that Albuquerque leaders will pursue other strategies to serve the roughly 5,000 households that experience homelessness each year in New Mexicos largest city. A new working group with city, Bernalillo County and University of New Mexico officials has been meeting regularly for the past few months in an attempt to reach a collective decision on how best to tackle the problem. We are, I think, in a regrouping phase, but one I think is in many ways better with an eye toward a comprehensive solution and with an eye toward collaboration, Keller said during a media briefing at City Hall. While the city had hoped to break ground on the Gateway Center this winter, the mayor said there is no longer a clear timeline, given the shift in strategy and the tumult caused by COVID-19. But he said the pandemic will not stop the city from developing some Gateway Center plan, noting that the virus has served to highlight the need for an alternative to the citys existing shelter a former jail about 20 miles northwest of Downtown. The coronavirus has also shown us how important this is, he said. The amount of funding and logistics we have to deal with going back and forth to the West Side is extremely hard. Voters signaled approval for the Gateway Center in November by passing a $128.5 million general obligation bond package that included $14 million for the project. But many including Bernalillo County officials, homeless service providers and residents of neighborhoods surrounding potential locations had questioned the citys effort to develop one 24/7 centralized shelter that would serve all populations. As previously planned, the Gateway Center would have provided nightly accommodations for about 300 while also linking them to resources meant to help them stabilize and find permanent housing. Critics warned against mixing populations and argued that a large facility would unduly burden any one neighborhood. But city officials said last fall that they wanted to add something different to the citys existing network of dispersed shelters by providing a place anyone could go regardless of gender, religious affiliation, sobriety or other factors. They said finding multiple locations could delay a project that the city needed sooner rather than later. The City Council in December approved Kellers request to hire an architect to design a 300-bed shelter. By February after months of soliciting public feedback the city revealed its Gateway Center location search had narrowed to three finalists: University of New Mexico land east of Interstate 25 and north of Lomas; the former Lovelace hospital on Gibson; and the city-owned Coronado Park, at Third and Interstate 40. But UNMs March announcement that it would not provide the site which had been the citys top choice for a 300-bed shelter triggered what Keller called the regrouping phase. The city convened the current working group and is open to a multi-site model, Keller said. That could still involve using the old Lovelace or Coronado Park, though not at a 300-bed scale. Other locations may also be considered. No matter the ultimate strategy, the $14 million approved by city voters is enough to move forward, the mayor said. Costs go up the more sites you have, by definition; however, we might be able to utilize some existing sites and existing facilities, which means costs can go down, he said. I think were all confident we have enough money for a Phase One concept as per what the voters voted on, but what that looks like and how big it is depends on what the working group will be doing this summer. City Council President Pat Davis, who is part of the group, said the goal is to have a joint governance group so that subject-matter experts and multiple public agencies decide together on the best path forward for the entire community. This is exactly what we ought to be doing, he said. People want to see the city, the county and UNM and all the government (entities) working together. Some Bernalillo County leaders had previously complained that the city was asking them to help pay for the Gateway Center but not considering their input. County Commissioner Jim Collie said Wednesday that he and his peers are pleased with the current collaboration. Were delighted to be involved in this process and believe that what we come out with is a product that will be amplified by our working together, he said. Collie said it is unclear whether the county would contribute financially to Gateway Center construction but that it will assuredly be involved in some way given its mandate to provide behavioral health services. Now they plan to conduct a joint study on how to ensure food security, with periodic reviews of the status of each member and a focus on securing rice, corn, and sugar. "We note that the COVID-19 outbreak has drawn our attention on the immediate danger of food shortage and its adverse effect on nutrition, given a sudden spike in demand and disruption in supply chains," the agriculture ministers of the 10 ASEAN members said in a statement. They pledged to "refrain from imposing new export control, restrictions and prohibitions, tariffs and non-tariff barriers." Supply chain disruptions, driven by the pandemic, meant that melons were being discarded in Malaysia and rice was left idling at the ports in Vietnam last month. Fears of protectionism prompted governments in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to step in, calling a meeting where they vowed not to restrict food exports. The intervention is important for the rest of the world, too, which relies on ASEAN as a top supplier of certain rice, seafood, and produce. Few images conjure the 1930s Depression like people standing in soup lines while farmers dump food they can't sell. That is a tragedy Southeast Asia is fighting to avoid, though it is starting to happen in pockets around the world in the midst of COVID-19. Self-Fulfilling Prophecy The challenge presents ASEAN with a classic economic quandary, whereby fear becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy if states dont agree on collective action. Fears of food shortage can drive people to hoard, which in turn creates a food shortage. Panic buying is only one of multiple factors behind COVID-19's stress on the supply chain. First, consumers worldwide rushed to buy staples, as the virus forced many to stay home for weeks or months. Second, states became concerned this could decrease their domestic supply, so they issued export controls. That includes the suspension of egg exports from Thailand starting in March and rice exports from Vietnam and Myanmar. Third, these controls prompted concerns that states would retaliate with more controls. "The beggar-thy-neighbor approach to closing your exports means that others will close off their exports to you," said Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, Singapore's Ambassador to the United States, in a forum hosted by the Asia Society in April. However, after the ASEAN meeting, food fears have eased. Vietnam and Myanmar lifted rice restrictions in May, while Malaysia and Singapore struck a deal to fix the bottleneck at their border, which is what had caused the unsold melons to spoil. A fourth factor in the supply chain disruption is an accident: To curb COVID-19, governments banned people from traveling across borders, but that also made it harder for people to transport food. This was the case for Malaysia, which did not ban melon exports but restricted people's movements, which had a knock-on effect for food shipments. The restrictions also make it hard for farms to get the workers and feed supply they need. And finally, a fifth factor is simply that the pandemic exposed a disconnect between supply and demand. For instance U.S. farmers have dumped their supply of potatoes and milk because COVID-19 dried up demand from usual customers like restaurants. There is still demand from supermarkets, but that requires different packaging, so farms not set up to meet those requirements had to let their food spoil. Zero-Cost Grocer ASEAN leaders think they have avoided that last risk for now, but remain concerned that some will go hungry. Some states have gotten involved in food distribution, such as at quarantine centers in Vietnam and at workers' dorms in Singapore. Companies donating food include Dole, which gave out fruit, food packs, and juice in Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. "Recovery is possible only when everyone in the community is healthy," Aashim Malhotra, Asia Pacific vice president at Dole Packaged Foods, said. Vietnam has experimented with other ideas, such as a "rice ATM," a machine that dispenses free rice, and a "zero cost" grocery store, which lets the needy take five free items per person, such as noodles or bananas. Former Vietnamese diplomat Ton Nu Thi Ninh said she hopes these ideas will continue after the crisis. "The COVID-19 global pandemic is laying bare much of what is wrong with our societies," Ninh, now president of the Ho Chi Minh City Peace and Development Foundation, said. "At the same time it is activating inherent goodness in many of us, stimulating relief and philanthropic initiatives." Hours after the styrene gas leak from the chemical plant at R R Venkatapuram village near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, the multinational LG Polymers Plant late on Thursday evening expressed their deepest condolences to the deceased and their families. The death toll in the gas leak at the chemical plant reached 11 even as over 1,000 people have been affected, some of them critically, due to the leak at around 2.30 am on Thursday. The NDRF DG said, "Total 11 deaths and about 20-25 people critical but stable in Vizag gas leak incident." In an official statement, the company said that it has mobilized its technical teams to work with the investigating authorities to arrive at the exact cause of the incident. The company said that its top priority is to work closely with the local government and the authorities to ensure medical help is provided to all those who have been affected by the incident. "We would like to express our deepest condolences to the deceased and their families. At this moment our top priority is to work closely with the local government and the authorities to ensure medical help is provided to all those who have been affected by this incident. As a responsible global citizen it is our responsibility to ensure the health and safety of all local residents and our employees," an official statement said. "We have mobilized our technical teams to work with the investigating authorities to arrive at the exact cause of the incident," the statement added. "As a global company we hold international environment and safety standards with the highest regard and will do our best to cooperate with the authorities to ensure there is no further recurrence," it further added. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announced an ex-gratia of Rs one crore for the families of those killed due to the gas leak. Reddy also announced Rs 10 lakh to those in Intensive care unit (ICU) or are in a critical condition in the hospital and Rs one lakh to those who are hospitalized. The state has assured that it will bear all the expenses. He also announced an aid of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 for villagers living near the plant. Reddy also announced compensation to farmers who have lost livestock and Rs 25,000 per animal, who died, will be given. A timeline of how the unfortunate incident unfolded: 3.25 am: Arun Kumar (Citizen) called Dial 100 and informed about gas leakage to VSKP City Police Control Room. Immediately, Control Room staff alerted Gopalapatanam Station Staff. 3.26 am: SI Satyanarayana with four PCs (PC 4002, 4016, 4017, 4018) left for R.R. Venkatapuram Village by the Rakshak Vehicle. 3.35 am: SI Satyanarayana along with his staff reached to R.R. Venkatapuram and realized the criticality of the situation and relayed the information to Marripalem Fire Station and also to Ambulance. Meanwhile, CI of Kancharapalem (Night In-charge), RI Bhagavan, Ganesh SI (Gajuwaka P.S) rushed to the scene. 3.40 am: Police started the evacuation process shifting affected people to the safe zone. Proactively the entire 4,500 families living in the vicinity were evacuated. Police barged into houses and woke up sleeping families and shifted them. City Control alerted all Rakshaks and Highway Patrolling Vehicles. Meanwhile, 2 QRT teams were deployed. 3.45 am: Fire Dept. staff reached the scene and augmented efforts of Police with fire fighting vehicle and alerted the people of the village. 12 Rakshaks, 6 108 vehicles, 4 Highway Patrolling Vehicles reached the spot between 3.45 AM to 4.00 AM and evacuated the families from R.R Venkatapuram, R Venkatadri Nagar, SC/BC Colony (4500 Families) 4.30 am: CP Vizag and DCP Zone 2 personally participated in the evacuation operation and went from house to house to ensure that citizens are moved to safety. DCP Zone 2 due to inhalation of the gas suffered symptoms of poisoning. In this entire operation, RI T. Bhagwan, CI Ramanniah, SI Satyanarayana and PC Nagaraju have been hospitalized. 20 police personnel are suffering from mild symptoms. After 7 am, NDRF & SDRF teams reached the location and participated in rescue operations. : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday announced an ex- gratia payment of Rs one crore each to the kin of those killed in the styrene gas leak incident at LG Polymers Limited near here. The NDRF had put the death toll from the leak at 11. The chief minister announced a committee to probe into the mishap and also said the government would talk to the LG Polymers management seeking job for the kin of the deceased in any of its businesses. Speaking to reporters after conducting a review meeting, Reddy also announced Rs 10 lakh each to those undergoing treatment on ventilator support and Rs 25,000 to those who took treatment as out-patients after developing health complications due to inhalation of the styrene vapour. Earlier, he held a review meeting at the Andhra Medical College with District Collector Vinay Chand and others. The gas leak victims undergoing treatment in various hospitals would be paid Rs one lakh each. The 15,000-odd population in the five villages that were affected by the gas leak would be paid Rs 10,000 each, the chief minister added. Reddy further announced constitution of a high-level committee, headed by the Special Chief Secretary ( and Forests), to probe into the mishap and make recommendations to prevent such tragedies in the future. Earlier, he visited the King George Hospital and consoled the victims of the gas leak. Accompanied by his Deputy holding the health portfolio A K K Srinivas and Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney, Reddy flew down to the port city and went straight to the KGH. He met the gas leak victims undergoing treatment and enquired about their well-being. At the review meeting, the Collector informed the Chief Minister that the gas spread was limited to a 1.5 to 2 km area from the epicentre of the leak and that the locals were evacuated to safety. Of the two styrene tanks in the plant, the leak occurred from one that was holding about 1,800 kilo litres of the chemical. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Boston Man Joins Lever's Board of Trustees NORTH ADAMS, Mass. Travis McCready, a senior consultant and thought leader with 20-plus years economic development expertise in private, public and large scale not-for-profit institutions, has joined Lever's board of trustees, effective April 2020. "I am thrilled that Travis has joined Lever's board of trustees," said Jeffrey Thomas, Lever's founder and executive director. "He has a remarkable resume, a wealth of experience, and a longstanding interest in Lever's work and our mission of supporting Berkshire entrepreneurs, companies and the economic ecosystem as a whole. I'm confident that his contributions as a board member will be invaluable." "Travis has a depth of experience both at the policy level for economic development, and at regional application of policy across the commonwealth," said Donald Dubendorf, chairman of Lever's board of directors. "We couldnt be happier to tap into that experience and expertise. He is a wonderful addition to our board." From 2015 through 2019, McCready served as the president and CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, a $1 billion public-private partnership with the mission of advancing the life sciences ecosystem in Massachusetts. Previously, he served as the vice president for programs at The Boston Foundation, directing the foundation's grants and community investment strategy. He was the first executive director of the Kendall Square Association and has held the COO and CFO positions at the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority. He is a frequently invited speaker on leadership development, innovation clusters and economic growth, and the creative economy. McCready received a bachelor's degree from Yale University and J.D. from the University of Iowa. He and his wife Tanya reside in the Boston area and hold a deep affection for the Berkshires. "The Berkshires are a gem not just for the commonwealth, but for the entire New England region," McCready said. "I have a deep belief in the economic capabilities of the Berkshires, and the power of entrepreneurship there. I feel very fortunate to have joined the board of Lever, and have been spending a significant amount of time over the past few years to advance the overall health, vitality, and growth of the region." McCready said he chose to join Levers board because of its track record as an organization ready and willing to work toward advancing the regional economy. "I find the organization's leadership compelling it has not been waiting on the sidelines for other people to figure out how to jumpstart innovation and entrepreneurship in the region," he said. "It's taken on this cause itself, as a real, dynamic leader. I look forward to being part of that and to meeting more people in the Berkshires. There are such kind, creative people in the region, and Lever is a lightning rod for that creativity." Founded in 2014, Lever's mission is to develop a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Berkshire region. It supports entrepreneurs with expertise, work space, an investment fund, research, mentors, and access to talent. Lever has helped launch dozens of companies that have attracted more than $7M in equity investment. To date, Lever-supported companies have created more than 150 jobs. Lever's intern program has placed more than 115 college students in paid internships at Berkshire County companies, many of whom have gone on to enter the permanent workforce here. US Special Representative for Afghan peace process Zalmay Khalilzad on Thursday held extensive talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval over the fast-evolving political situation in Afghanistan after the Trump administration struck a deal with the Taliban in February. The Ministry of External Affairs said the US envoy laid importance to India's crucial and continuing role in sustainable peace, security and stability in Afghanistan while updating on the US peace and reconciliation efforts in the country. The Indian side emphasised that putting an end to terrorist safe havens and sanctuaries is necessary for enduring and sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan. Khalilzad arrived in Delhi as part of a three-nation tour of India, Qatar and Pakistan. In the talks, the US envoy was accompanied by Senior Director in the US National Security Council Lisa Curtis and US Ambassador to India Ken Juster. "The US side recognized India's constructive contribution in economic development, reconstruction and humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. They laid importance to India's crucial and continuing role in sustainable peace, security and stability in Afghanistan," the MEA said in a statement. The visit by Khalilzad assumes significance as it came in the midst of a nation-wide lockdown to fight COVID-19 in India. The MEA, in a statement, said both Jaishankar and Doval reiterated India's continued support for strengthening peace, security, unity, democratic polity as well as protection of rights of all sections of the Afghan society, including Afghan Hindus and Sikhs. "India is deeply concerned at the upsurge in violence and supports the call for an immediate ceasefire and need to assist the people of Afghanistan in dealing with coronavirus pandemic," it said. The MEA said India remains engaged in extending humanitarian and medical supplies to Afghanistan to deal with the situation triggered by coronavirus pandemic. "It was emphasised that putting an end to terrorist safe havens and sanctuaries is necessary for enduring and sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan," it said. The US struck a peace deal with the Taliban on February 29, which provided for the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan, effectively drawing curtains to Washington's 18-year war in the country. The US has lost over 2,400 soldiers in Afghanistan since late 2001. India has been a key stakeholder in the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan. India has been supporting a national peace and reconciliation process which is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan controlled. India has also been maintaining that care should be taken to ensure that any such process does not lead to any "ungoverned spaces" where terrorists and their proxies can relocate. Last month, India welcomed the decision by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to form a team for intra-Afghan negotiation. India has been calling upon all sections of the political spectrum in Afghanistan to work together to meet the aspirations of all people in that country including those from the minority community for a prosperous and safe future. There have been global concerns over Pakistan's support to Taliban and other terror groups operating in Afghanistan. Days before inking of the peace deal between the US and Taliban, India conveyed to the Trump administration that pressure on Pakistan to crack down on terror networks operating from its soil must be kept up. Loading The trial has begun in Bendigo and Echuca and is being rolled out across the state. Echuca Specialist School principal Paul Marshall said the arrangement had been well received. "We have a student who really is a lovely, friendly guy but he wants a lot of attention to be able to meet his needs is quite significant," Mr Marshall said. "That's why we've been able to negotiate ... for him to come to school a few days a week and his siblings to go to their mainstream school. That's able to give our student some one-on-one attention with the mother at home." But he said only 40 per cent of his workforce are able to teach from school for a few days a week. One Melbourne mother, who has an 11-year-old son with an intellectual disability, said remote online learning has stripped away her son's ability to process information. She said he had become distressed, tearing apart his clothes and smearing faeces in the bathroom. "It is so hard, it is so full-on in ordinary circumstances, that people don't have much more energy or fight to give in extraordinary circumstances," she said. "Our role as parents is to supervise but you step away to watch another child, for example, or you need to walk, study, have other children who are doing online learning ... it's layer upon layer, it's not like being home on a Saturday." Mr Merlino saidschools were expected to apply common sense to their decision-making about who should go to school. "We know how challenging this situation can be and that is why special schools can proactively offer onsite provision as required," he said. The reality, parents say, has not matched the minister's edict, with children being turned away from school because their parents are either working or studying from home. Rowville father and Knox City councillor Darren Pearce said he was worried for the thousands of children with disabilities who have been unable to adjust to home-based learning. Mr Pearce, whose 13-year-old son Simon is on the autism spectrum and attends a specialist school, fears his child's social skills have regressed significantly. "The school does live streaming via Zoom with their classmates, but he's not comfortable participating in that environment. "He's weakest in his social skills and they are going backwards because of this isolation," Mr Pearce said. "This is the challenge: he can do the work if he wants to but keeping his focus and attention going is a problem and that's why you need a full-time class environment." But not all children can do the work even if they wanted to. Another Melbourne mother, who declined to be named, said her 14-year-old son with a severe intellectual disability, who is non-verbal and has the cognitive age of a two-year-old, had "flatly refused" to engage with the resources. "He doesn't understand that it's school work, and he has no idea why I'm in his face ... to him, home is home and school is school," the mother says. Opposition Education spokeswoman Cindy McLeish says she is extremely concerned for children with special needs. Credit:Paul Jeffers "[Authorities] have forgotten, or just thrown special needs kids under a bus. I know they issue these edicts saying school's closed but your children can learn from home, which is all very well for your neurotypical kids but for kids like my son, it's not an option." Opposition education spokeswoman Cindy McLeish said it was imperative to not apply a blanket approach to learning, particularly for children with disabilities whose needs cannot be easily met at home. "The teachers who teach in this sector are really specialised and have great skills and know what to do," Ms McLeish said. "These children learning remotely is not necessarily appropriate. Cameron Peveret, president of the Principals' Association of Specialist Schools Victoria, said schools were providing a variety of activities for children to do at home based on their needs, including engaging them in household chores. "We're in a health crisis, not an education crisis ... I would hope that schools are communicating that the education is of less importance than keeping our kids healthy and safe," Mr Peverett said. "This interruption is not going to be enough to make a significant impact some kids are thriving in this environment." 3 1 of 3 Albany County sheriff's department Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Albany County sheriff's department Show More Show Less 3 of 3 COLONIE Two men were arrested Wednesday on drug charges after an investigation that took deputies to an unidentified hotel in Colonie, Albany County Sheriff Craig D. Apple Sr. said Thursday. After they arrested Leonard C. Pitcher, 60, of Albany and Brayton H. Whitney, 37, of Massachusetts a search warrant was used on the hotel room. Apple said Pitcher had over one and a half ounces of methamphetamine, a digital scale and packaging materials, while Whitney had suboxone strips, methamphetamine, a digital scale and packaging materials. Val Kilmer as Mark Twain in Cinema Twain. Photo: Val Kilmer Reading Taffy Brodesser-Akners recent New York Times profile of Val Kilmer, it becomes increasingly apparent that the Batman and Tombstone actors twin obsessions are Christian Science and Mark Twain. Christian Science, as Kilmer tells it, is what made it possible for his car to physically pass through incoming drivers without material disturbance to either of their bodies or vehicles during a car crash. Mark Twain, meanwhile, is one of the guiding forces in his life. Kilmer makes artwork of Twain. He runs a charity TwainMania devoted to teaching Twain to students. He has played Twain in a traveling one-man show turned film presentation called Cinema Twain. Most recently, he self-produced an animated film called Mark Twain Dreams of the Resurrection a kind of fantasy about Twain realizing that Christian Science founder Mary Baker Eddy was correct about Gods eminent perfection. In reality, Twain and Eddy never met and Twain denounced Christian Science, but as Kilmer told Vulture in 2017, that disbelief was just one of Twains own shortcomings. Kilmer was going to debut the animated film at South by Southwest this year before the festival was canceled. We couldnt track down any traces of this films existence online, but we have made a detailed history of Kilmers obsession with Mark Twain. In the 1993 movie Tombstone, Kilmer played Doc Holliday and said the line, Im your Huckleberry. The weirdest thing about the importance of this line is that it is apparently in no way a reference to Twains Huckleberry Finn. In 2020, Kilmer published his memoir, and called it Im Your Huckleberry, in which he does actually describe a memory of reading Huckleberry Finn for the first time as a kid. On December 31, 2007, a YouTube channel called Valshelpers posted a ten-minute-long trailer for a film called Mark Twain & Mary Baker Eddy, a film written, directed, and produced by Kilmer. In the clip, Kilmer is in character as Twain, talking about Mary Baker Eddy and Christian Science, accompanied by historical photographs of Eddy and a canned laugh track meant to sound like a stand-up audience. The jokes dont really translate. In 2010, Kilmer made a website to promote Mark Twain & Mary Baker Eddy, in which he concedes, Though Twain and Eddy never met in real life, they no doubt imagined many encounters. This screenplay takes flight through their imagination playing still further on Twains questions about mind and body, life and death, illusion and reality. He refers to his vision for the film as a classic love story in the spirit of Driving Miss Daisy. According to an October 2010 blog post in the Directors Notes section of the site, the role of Mrs. Eddy had not yet been cast. In 2011, Kilmer played Twain in a film adaptation of Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn, shot in Bulgaria. The film wasnt released until 2014, when it had a very limited theatrical run. Kilmer told Vanity Fair in 2012 that he came up with the idea of writing and performing a one-man show as Mark Twain while doing research for Mark Twain & Mary Baker Eddy. He performed the show, called Citizen Twain, at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in 2012, before touring the country with it. As he explained to Vanity Fair, Really, the only way to understand Twain is when hes on his feet and talking. Vulture also blogged about the Citizen Twain debut at the time, and how Kilmer was comparing Twain to Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, as if he were the first person to make that connection. After receiving a tracheotomy treatment for oral cancer, Kilmer resumed touring with his renamed project, Cinema Twain, now a 90-minute filmed version of his Mark Twain stage show. Vulture interviewed Kilmer in 2017, when he brought Cinema Twain to New York. In the interview, he called Twains work flat-out stand-up comedy. Here is what he told us about why he wrote a one-man show in the voice of Twain: Simply bearing down on the big questions: What and who is God to me? Whats at the core of Twains soul? What does it mean to be an American? What does it mean to be a real artist? Twain is an honorary founding father, so I was very much interested in his love of humanity and specifically Americans. He perhaps did as much as President Lincoln did to confront racism in our lives. We owe him a solemn debt. And he did it through love, and compassion, and art. So, you bet he would have something loud to say about cutting the NEA. In 2019, Kilmer hosted a benefit for his TwainMania Foundation, an initiative that uses educational curriculum to teach students about the meaning of being an American through the legacy and historical writings of Mark Twain. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kilmer said of Twain: I completely believe his impact is tantamount to the impact of rock and roll. Its that big, because it no longer matters on the radio if Little Richard was black or white, youre dancing to it. And rock and roll changed the face of America and changed the rest of the world. And I think Mark Twains impact about race and greed is equal, in that kind of comparison. Which brings us to Kilmer in 2020. According to the New York Times profile, he currently keeps a maybe two-foot-tall Batman figure with a Mark Twain head on his desk. The coronavirus may have put the SXSW debut of Mark Twain Dreams of the Resurrection on hold, but Kilmers spirits are high. On April 12, Kilmer posted a picture of himself wearing metallic alien antennae to Instagram, with the caption: The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up. The quote is attributed, of course, to Mark Twain. A D-Day hero's 100th birthday was celebrated by Prime Minister Boris Johnson as more than 50 well-wishers and standard bearers made an emotional lockdown tribute. Don Sheppard was left stunned after his relatives organised the secret celebration after his planned shindig was cancelled due to coronavirus. Boris even took time out from fighting the coronavirus menace to send a heartfelt letter hoping he had 'a jolly good knees-up as befits an old soldier still going strong'. Don Sheppard, who lives in Laindon, Essex, watches the celebrations from outside of his window with more than 50 well-wishers showing their support Standard bearers made an emotional lockdown tribute to Mr Sheppard as Police helped to guard his drive and ensured the party didn't put the centenarian at risk Police helped to guard his drive and ensured the party didn't put the centenarian who survived the Normandy landings, North Africa and Sicily at risk and no one broke lockdown legislation. Mr Sheppard joined the Royal Engineers in 1940 and trained at the Colchester Barracks before being deployed The war hero was also one of the first British soldiers to witness the horrors of the holocaust first hand and helped liberate the Bergen-Belsen Nazi concentration camp in 1945. Mr Sheppard who lives with his wife of more than 50 years, Sandra, in Laindon, Essex, says he was nearly overwhelmed with the stunning birthday tributes which took place on Monday. The great-grandfather said: 'I'm just about getting over it at the moment, it was one hell of a day. 'We had about 50 or 60 outside the house from all around and because I'm an old veteran they got five or six guys with standards to parade up and down. 'I was suited and booted with my badges and medals on, it was a very emotional day. 'I have got a big family and my daughters and granddaughters worked hard to arrange it without me knowing, it was amazing.. 'I don't really know the secret to a long life, maybe it is wine, young women and song. 'Now I am 100 I think about my mother who was a lovely woman she used to say to me 'everything a little in moderation' and I have tried to never overdo it.' Mr Sheppard joined the Royal Engineers in 1940 and trained at the Colchester Barracks before being deployed. Mr Sheppard was left stunned after his relatives organised the secret celebration after his planned shindig was cancelled due to coronavirus The war hero was also one of the first British soldiers to witness the horrors of the holocaust first hand and helped liberate the Bergen-Belsen Nazi concentration camp in 1945 He ended up first being posted to the 107 Field Company Royal Engineers in North Africa. Following this, his company joined the 51st Highland Division for landings in Sicily, Italy, to fight the Axis Forces based there. After Italy, his company was returned to the UK in 1944 to take part in the D-Day Landings, the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord. Don has since served as chairman of the Normandy Veterans' Association in nearby Southend-on-Sea for 20 years. In September 2019, he was honoured as Basildon's fourth freeman of the borough on Armed Forces Day. Having seen so much of war the dad-of-three says he has tried to enjoy his life. 'I have tried to just take life easy and you are only on earth one time,' he said. 'When I reflect over 100 years I have seen nothing but conflict, world war one, world war two, Korea, the list goes on. Mr Sheppard (left) who lives with his wife of more than 50 years, Sandra (right), in Laindon, Essex, says he was nearly overwhelmed with the stunning birthday tributes 'You just wonder why humans have decided we want to kill each other, and it is usually started by one or two people like Hitler or Stalin.' After hearing about the cancellation of a party for more than 100 family and friends in nearby Southend-on-Sea Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote a celebratory note to Don.. It read: 'Dear Don, I am writing to send you my heartfelt congratulations on the marvellous occasion of your 100th birthday. Mr Sheppard (left) celebrates with his wife Sandra (right) at their Essex home with more than 50-well wishers paying tribute 'I understand you have a distinguished wartime record not only serving in North Africa and Sicily, but as one of our brave D-Day veterans, who as part of Allied Forces helped to gain such an important victory during the Second World War. 'Thank you for your service to this country then and for all the voluntary work you have done in the Basildon area in later life. 'I hope you enjoy a jolly good knees-up as befits an old soldier still going strong. 'I send you my very best birthday wishes. 'Yours sincerely, Boris Johnson.' Proud daughter Jacqui Scott , 73, said: 'He had a very serious bout of pneumonia just before Christmas, it was very, very scary, but he came through that and has gone back to living at home. 'He has such determination and resolve to not just be an old person. He is home for the lockdown now, but he hadn't been going out as much because he had been very poorly. 'The older he has got, the more central to the family he has become. We just expect him to always be there. 'My dad is quite revered which is quite unusual. 'People tend to have a small group of people around them when they get older, but it's just got bigger and bigger. In September 2019, Mr Sheppard (right) was honoured as Basildon's fourth freeman of the borough on Armed Forces Day 'The blessing is he always has had a sharp mind. We are all so pleased he has got to this stage; his personality makes him so special. 'As a family we would like to say how extraordinarily proud we are of Don.' Dick Goodwin , vice-president of The Taxi Charity for Military Veterans, said: 'Don is a very popular member of the charity family and it is a real pleasure to spend time with this gregarious gentleman at the Taxi Charity's annual summer visit to Worthing which he regularly attends. 'The Taxi Charity committee, volunteer cabbies and veterans would like to wish Don a very happy birthday and we look forward to celebrating with him when the COVD-19 restrictions are lifted.' Last month, a group of Brookhouse school parents demanded that the school stop charging them full school fees during the duration of Covid-19 closures. What started as a social media protest by the likes of lawyer Ahmednassir Abdullahi, soon found its way to the courtrooms. The parents were arguing that Brookhouse has been charging them full fees, but parents are doing the bulk of the work. Pupils have been attending daily virtual lessons, which the group of parents argue has left parents with a lot of burden. They say that the cost of electricity, internet, computers, printing etc. has been left to them, yet Brookhouse is collecting its full amount. Fees at the premier international school range from ksh 150,000 for the lowest level to Sh1.5 million a term for seniors. The parents were successful in their suit, with the court ruling that they pay only half of term threes fee, until the case is fully heard and determined. Read: Heres That Brookhouse School Fee Structure That Has Shocked Kenyans But this reprieve appears to be short lived. Nadim Nsouli, the chairman of InspirED the education consortium that owns Brookhouse among other top international schools across the world, has fought back. The Lebanese/British national is a very wealthy individual, and in a very detailed way, told Ahmednassir and the dissenting parents to f*ck off. In minutes of a Zoom meeting appearing online, Nadim reminded the parents that he recently invested $25 million (Sh2.6 billion) in opening Brookhouse Runda. He said his purpose here is to make money, and a few individuals will not make him operate his business at a loss. Nadim added that from all his 64 schools, the Kenyan parents were the ones giving him a headache, and he will not let them. I have never encountered such behavior from any other schools, or ever in my life. He would rather have 40% of the school population paying 100% of the fee, than 100% of the population paying 40%. He added that theyve been losing money since day one of Covid-19, and they are not going to change their position. The assumption worldwide that were making savings by physical schools being closed is false. Read: VIDEO Watch Anne Waigurus Son Deliver His TED Talk at Brookhouse Nadim revealed that he has 6000 employees to support worldwide, from teachers to pool cleaners. He also castigated the parents for refusing to take advantage of a distress fund, accusing them of being too embarrassed and proud to accept help. Parents had demanded to see itemized breakdown of costs during this period, which Nadim told them is none of their business. In conclusion, Nadim tells the parents that he will not honour their demands, and if they wont pay him full fees, they should leave. To show how irked he was, Nadim demanded that any arrears of the current term and before must be cleared by end of day Monday, or the students involved would be cut off. He agreed to extend the deadline to end of week if the parents agreed to end the negotiations and drop the suit by end of day Monday. Heres are the full minutes. Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen approaches her second inauguration later this month amid malware attacks on two of the island's major petrochemical companies that are believed to have come from China. Security officials on the democratic island, which China has threatened to annex by force, say recent malware attacks on state-owned oil refiner CPC Corp and privately owned Formosa Petrochemical Corp could have been timed as Tsai approaches the end of her first term as president, the island's Central News Agency (CNA) reported. An initial investigation by Taiwan's National Security Bureau traced the attacks to IP addresses in China and Russia, the agency reported. CPC was forced to temporarily halt its electronic payments system on Monday, disrupting a payment card system that motorists use to pay for fuel. At Formosa Petrochemical, an employee's computer was infected with a virus, but no data was lost and company operations were not affected, the report said, adding that investigators from the ministry of justice are continuing to investigate the two attacks. The CNA cited a security service source as saying that the attack could be a warm-up ahead of Tsai's second inauguration on May 20, and said more attacks could be in the offing. Tsai was re-elected by a landslide last November amid growing threats from Beijing over possible military action to annex the island. Tsai defeated China's preferred candidate in the poll, garnering more than 57 percent of the total vote after she vowed to defend the island's way of life against threats, infiltration, and saber rattling by China to win a second term in office. She is now riding high in public opinion polls--with nearly 75 percent support--after her administration's deft handling of the coronavirus pandemic. A recent telephone survey by the New Taiwan National Policy Think Tank from from April 25-28, showed that some 94.3 percent of respondents supported the Taiwan government's closure of incoming flights from the central city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus first emerged. Widespread public support Chen Li-Fu, assistant professor in the Department of Humanities and Informatics at Taiwan's Aletheia University, said the government's testing and isolation of inbound passengers, its stepping up of mask manufacturing to meet public demand, and its investment in a coronavirus vaccine had won it widespread support at home. "It's not only the pandemic [that contributed], but it is a crucial factor," Chen said. "If they get the pandemic right, people will pay much less attention to any other flaws." A ministry of defense official told Wang Ting-yu, a lawmaker for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), in the Legislative Yuan on Wednesday that the army had all of the information regarding the recent cyberattacks. "The army doesn't analyze malware, and the usual method of attack is via mobile devices and social engineering," defense ministry undersecretary Tsao Jin-ping told Wang. "The army will be strengthening our defenses in those two areas." CPC confirmed the attack in a statement on its website. "Security personnel immediately interrupted the network and conducted a blanket check after discovering the [hacker attack]," the statement said. "[We are] checking our records to confirm the source of the attack." "CPC has recorded this incident as a benchmark for future security improvements, and ... will ntroduce a more stringent detection system to protect the rights and interests of our customers," it said. 'Stress-testing' Wang Chih-sheng, secretary general of the China Asia-Pacific Elite Exchange Association, said he believes that China is "stress-testing" Taiwan ahead of the inauguration ceremony. "Taiwan is and will continue to be the top target for the Chinese Communist Party's cyber-army, both in the medium and long term," Wang told RFA. "It's particularly easy for them to launch attacks on cybersecurity and via fake news." Military expert Chyi Le-yee said there are still concerns that some attacks may have already deployed without anyone noticing. "The worst thing is to be hacked without knowing it," Chyi told RFA. "The number of attacks on Taiwan has increased a lot recently, but most of them have been detected. Our focus is now on the undetected malware." He said Chinese military hackers tend to focus on technology, aerospace, satellite, telecoms, and scientific research as targets, and often spend a long time gaining a foothold in a system before using access. Reported by Chung Kuang-cheng for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Hwang Chun-mei for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. WASHINGTON The American military killed 132 civilians in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Somalia during ground and air operations in those countries in 2019, according to an annual Pentagon report. The grim tally, which watchdog groups contend undercounts the real total by hundreds, has changed little since last years report recording 120 civilians killed in 2018. Deaths of innocents in Afghanistan once more eclipsed those in Syria and Iraq, as the Islamic State there has receded to rural areas and U.S. forces in Afghanistan had ramped up attacks on the Taliban. Two civilians were killed in Somalia during strikes on the Qaeda-affiliated group Al Shabab, according to the 20-page report released on Wednesday. Not one was reported killed in Libya and Yemen two countries with a minimal U.S. troop presence that are often the focus of sporadic airstrikes aimed at killing high-ranking fighters aligned with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamic State. Watchdog groups that track conflicts in those countries, such as Amnesty International, Airwars and the United Nations, assert that the Pentagons numbers are far lower than reality on the ground. Brits abroad in Benidorm won't have to sunbathe inside plexiglass cubicles when the resort's beaches reopen, the restort's mayor has said. The Costa Blanca resort's mayor Toni Perez vowed holidaymakers won't need to use the office-style screens, which have been suggested as a possible solution to keep tourists safe while preventing them from spreading the coronavirus. An Italian firm was the first to suggest them and two Malaga-based engineering students then went public with their designs for plastic screen dividers to ensure sunbathers were able to keep a safe distance from each other. Benidorms beaches lay empty as the coronavirus swept across Europe and brought tourism to a halt in most countries Plexiglass screens, set out similarly to office cubicles, had been proposed as a potential solution to keep holidaymakers apart once tourists return, but the mayor of Benidorm says they would be 'unbearable' Mr Perez said: 'We've rejected them mainly because they wouldn't let the air circulate and in July and August that would create unbearable temperatures for people sunbathing on the sand. 'We also believe they could be the best ally of the virus in terms of what's left on them when other people turn up the following day to occupy that spot.' He added: 'There's a lot of ideas and we're in the process of prioritising and finalising them. 'The amount of people using our beaches will need to be controlled. 'I am sure Benidorm will be leading the way in putting into practice the first pilot projects and they will give visitors the maximum security possible so our beaches are safe from a health point of view.' Benidorm's Levante beach can attract up to 25,000 visitors on a good day in summer. It's other main beach, Poniente beach, tends to attract around 15,000 people in high season. Levante Beach in Benidorm, pictured in July 2015, can attract up to 25,000 visitors a day during the peak season Mr Perez hinted in an interview last week temperature controls could form part of the council's strategy to manage tourist numbers. Further north in Canet d'en Berenguer near the east coast city of Valencia, local authorities are working on a system of individual beach patches which locals and tourists can reserve with a mobile phone app. Mayor Pere Antoni Chorda said beach-goers would receive a QR code on their smartphones after reserving their space. Up to 20,000 people use the beach in the high season. Costa beaches are not due to fully re-open until June 8 at the earliest as part of a four-stage coronavirus recovery programme announced by Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez last week. The Costa del Sol is seeking permission to re-open its beaches on May 25. As of Thursday evening, Spain had recorded 256,855 coronavirus cases since the pandemic started, while at least 26,070 people have died. No date has been given for the possible return of the British and Irish tourists who have made Spain their favourite holiday destination. Mallorca's hotel industry is planning to welcome back foreign tourists from July, it has emerged. Pictured, Playa de Muro in Mallorca before the pandemic Questioned last week about the return of tourists from other European countries, Spain's Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said her intention was that they 'returned soon and with maximum safety guarantees, if the health and travel situation made it possible.' Spain is the top destination for British tourists, with around 18 million people from the UK visiting the country normally every year. Off the coast of Spain in Mallorca, the island's hotel industry is planning to welcome back foreign tourists from July - but Brits could miss out. Germans and Austrians will be among the first allowed back to the holiday hot spot before Britons, as hoteliers enter into discussions with German tourist companies. Association of Hotel Chains (ACH) and the Hotel Business Federation of Majorca (FEHM) have been holding talks with Germany's TUI, Alltours, FTI and Schauinsland. The talks are aiming to bring tourists back to the Spanish island as soon as this summer, according to Spanish media reports. Pictured, Palma de Mallorca sea promenade The talks are aiming to bring tourists back to the Spanish island as soon as this summer, according to Spanish media reports. ACH president Gabriel Llobera said: 'The aim is to be able to open the hotels gradually and always when demand justifies the business effort.' Llobera said that the country's hotel industry and tourism companies have a mutual interest in getting the industry back on its feet in the wake of the crippling coronavirus pandemic. According to the ACH president, health checks will likely be implemented before tourists travel to Mallorca, and hotel staff will have rapid Covid-19 test kits at their disposal. 'Health safety is essential, because the image of the Mallorca destination in Europe rests on this,' she said. It comes as Spain is set to enter into the second phase of its de-escalation plan on May 11, which will allow for the limited opening of hotels. Britons could miss out on summer holidays to the continent as European countries prepare to agree when travel will be possible and which nations to bypass. It comes as Spain is set to enter into the second phase of its de-escalation plan on May 11, which will allow for the limited opening of hotels. Pictured, people on the Paseo Maritimo in Palma de Mallorca President of Spain's Balearic Islands Francina Armengol specifically mentioned the Germans as 'essential' to tourism on the islands of Majorca and Ibiza on Tuesday (file photo of Cala Tarida, Ibiza) The UK's position has been hammered after its coronavirus death toll soared past Italy's on Tuesday to become the worst in Europe. The EU has closed cross-border travel to prevent the spread of the virus until mid-May, with some exceptions in place. However, formal and informal allegiances have already been struck up between those countries which feel they have the virus under control. Germany and Italy have begun to ease their lockdowns and today said their citizens should be able to enjoy summer holidays. Baltic states form 'travel bubble' Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will open their borders to each others' citizens from May 15, creating a Baltic 'travel bubble' within the EU, their prime ministers said on Wednesday. The Baltic travel area would be first of its kind in the bloc, where most countries restricted entry to non-nationals and imposed quarantine on incoming travellers as the novel coronavirus spread across the continent. 'We have agreed that all three Baltic states have properly contained the spread of the coronavirus, and we trust each others' health systems,' Lithuania's Prime Minister Saulius Skvernlis wrote on Facebook. 'So, starting from May 15, we are removing all restrictions for citizens of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia traveling between the Baltic states.' People entering the region from other countries will need to self-isolate for 14 days, he added. The European Commission has recommended that internal border controls between all member states should be lifted in a coordinated manner, once their virus situation converges sufficiently, the commission's office in Lithuania said. Reporting by Reuters Advertisement Meanwhile a global alliance between Australia, Austria, Israel, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece and New Zealand, has been forged among the nations who have best kept a lid on the disease. 'Our nations reacted early and forcefully and now we're in a better place,' Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told The Wall Street Journal. Despite Berlin warning against these unilateral actions by EU members and a 'race' to open up for the summer, the German tourism commissioner sounded highly optimistic of doing just that yesterday. Thomas Bareiss told Der Tagesspiegel sojourns in neighbouring countries 'that can be reached by car,' like Austria, France, Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands would be possible. Bareiss said if the virus was kept under control then things could move faster, adding: 'I would not yet write off other regions in Europe, such as the Balearic Islands or the Greek islands.' Bareiss added: 'I hope that, given the good numbers, we will be able to relax the (travel) restrictions in the next four to eight weeks.' Last month Spain's Balearic Island's tourism minister Iago Negueruela singled out Britain for its response to the virus and suggested it had handicapped its chances of summer holidays. Negueruela said: 'There are countries like the United Kingdom that have taken too long to adopt containment measures. That also puts us in a different situation with respect to them.' However, he did not elaborate on how the islands would enforce a system whereby only tourists from certain nations would be allowed to return for holidays. On Tuesday, Francina Armengol, President of the Balearic Islands, specifically mentioned the Germans as 'essential' to tourism on the islands of Majorca and Ibiza. Her latest statement is in marked contrast to a month ago when she urged the Spanish government to keep the ports and airports closed until whenever was necessary. Beach-goers cool off and sunbathe on the beach of the seaside resort of Benidorm in August 2018 This map shows Europe's East-West divide on coronavirus, with countries in Western Europe suffering far more cases per million people than those in the east which generally closed their borders at a much earlier stage of the outbreak Armengol has now asked Madrid and the EU to set up a 'homogeneous framework across the continent to guarantee the safe recovery of air activity.' The Cypriot tourist minister Savvas Perdios has also signalled an a la carte arrangement could be reached. Speaking to CyBC state radio last month he said: 'The important thing is that travel agents have Cyprus in mindthere are positive signs from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Nordic countries, Greece, Israel and perhaps the Netherlands.' Asked about the key tourism markets of the UK and Russia, Perdios replied: 'We hope to know in a few weeks when tourists will be able to come from these countries.' Time limits on dining, spaced-out tables and disposable menus could be among the list of rules imposed on Queensland restaurants and cafes when they reopen. Dozens of business owners from regional and metropolitan parts of the state met with Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Thursday to lay out "COVID-safe" plans to reopen. Queensland cafe and restaurant owners share their thoughts on lifting coronavirus restrictions with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Credit:Queensland government Ms Palaszczuk has indicated cafes, restaurants and bars could reopen in some capacity by June and a decision was expected to be made following national cabinet on Friday. "I hope to have something out to Queenslanders shortly there after," she said. The U.S. government has recovered another $49 million tied to the corruption-plagued Malaysian state fund 1MDB that allegedly was used to purchase luxury properties in California and New York City, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced. In a statement posted on its website on Thursday morning (Kuala Lumpur time), the DOJ said it had reached a settlement in a civil forfeiture case against United Arab Emirates citizen Khadem al Qubaisi, who once headed Abu Dhabis International Petroleum Investment Co. (IPIC). Instead of benefitting the people of Malaysia, as intended, these funds were used by the co-conspirators to finance lavish acquisitions of personal property, luxury real estate and business investments in the United States and elsewhere, Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski said in the news release. This settlement agreement ensures that nearly $50 million (216 million ringgit) in stolen funds will be recouped and sends a clear signal that the DOJ is committed to tracing, seizing and forfeiting criminal proceeds that are laundered through the U.S. financial system. Al Qubaisi was arrested in 2016 in the UAE on charges linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), according to the Wall Street Journal. The funds were believed to be laundered through financial institutions in several jurisdictions, including the United States, Switzerland, Singapore and Luxembourg. The assets subject to the settlement agreement include the sale proceeds of high-end real estate acquired in Beverly Hills as well as a luxury penthouse in New York City that al Qubaisi allegedly acquired with funds traceable to misappropriated 1MDB monies, the DOJ said in its news release. Under the terms of the settlement, the Atlantic Property Trust, which oversees the assets, agreed to the forfeit subject to pending complaints in which it has a potential interest, the DOJ said without releasing details of those complaints. Al Qubaisis wife, who serves as trustee, is required to cooperate and assist in the orderly transfer, management and disposition of the assets. Calvin Shivers, assistant director of the FBIs Criminal Investigative Division, said the case demonstrated that the FBIs reach was long. Let this stand as a message to anyone who may consider using United States markets for money laundering: You will not prosper and you will be investigated and brought to justice, he said. $1 billion recovered This settlement adds to the more than $1 billion (4.3 billion ringgit) in assets that the U.S. has recovered or assisted in the recovery, according to the DOJ. On April 14, officials announced that the DOJ had returned $300 million (1.3 billion ringgit) allegedly misappropriated by fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low. The subject of an international manhunt, Low faces criminal charges in Malaysia for his role in allegedly embezzling billions of dollars from 1MDB through his relationship with former Prime Minister Najib Razak. Najib set up 1MDB in 2009 to promote economic development in Malaysia through global partnerships and foreign direct investment. Its funds were intended to be used for improving the well-being of the Malaysian people. 1MDB instead amassed billions in debts. In 2016, the DOJ accused Malaysian Official 1 later identified as Najib and associates of embezzling and laundering more than U.S. $4.5 billion (19.5 billion ringgit) in 1MDB-linked money between 2009 and 2014. Najib, who faces a total of 42 criminal counts, is standing trial on charges linked to abuse of power and laundering money tied to 1MDB and in a second court on charges linked to a 1MDB subsidiary, SRC International. He could face additional trials. Najibs 1MDB trial, which adjourned on March 12 because of concerns his defense team might have been exposed to COVID-19, is to resume on May 13, Bloomberg news service reported. In March, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said task force officials had briefed him that 1.4 billion ringgit ($323 million) tied to 1MDB had been returned and another 6.9 billion ringgit ($1.6 billion) had been identified. The prime minister has instructed that efforts to track and reclaim 1MDB funds from various countries continue, his office said at the time. Malaysian officials could not be immediately reached for comment on Thursday, a national holiday in observance of Wesak Day, which celebrates the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha. Washington, May 8 : A member of the US Navy and personal valet to President Donald Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus, the White House confirmed. "We were recently notified by the White House Medical Unit that a member of the United States Military, who works on the White House campus, has tested positive for Coronavirus," White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported. Gidley said Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have since tested for the coronavirus and their results were both negative. The pair, the statement added, "remain in great health." CNN first reported the news, saying that Trump was upset when learning about it Wednesday, and that the personal valet, not identified, exhibited symptoms Wednesday morning. According to the report, Trump, Pence and other senior staffers are being tested weekly for the coronavirus. Members of the US Navy are assigned to the White House to assist the first family, thus interacting frequently with them. By Jed Maynes, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Tyson Fresh Meats in Wallula was set to reopen today, resuming operation of the states biggest beef processing plant after mass COVID-19 testing of most of its workforce over the past 12 days. The reopening was announced this morning in a joint release from Tyson and Walla Walla County Department of Community Health. Tyson had come under scrutiny, along with many other meat processing facilities across the country, for its handling of coronavirus outbreaks. More than 100 people had tested positive for the virus before the plant shut down for mass testing April 24. As of Monday afternoon, according to data from Walla Walla County Department of Community Health, only 38 results are pending of the 1,277 tests administered. Three more employees tested positive Monday, bringing the total number of positive cases during the mass screening to 147 nearly 12% of the recently tested workforce. Combined with the cases before the closure, Tyson is connected to at least 253 confirmed cases of the virus. That number represents about 18% of its total workforce. Just 10 of those are residents of Walla Walla County. The number of Walla Walla residents was originally thought to be 15 but was adjusted after health officials determined the employees reside elsewhere. With the plants location on the western edge of the county, the majority of employees live in Benton and Franklin counties. Those communities have had much higher rates of infection, including one death, connected to the plant. We would like to thank Tyson for continuing to take these measures seriously and putting the safety and welfare of their employees first, Community Health Director Meghan DeBolt said in the release. We would also like to thank our (Community Health) team and Providence St. Mary Medical Center for helping test such a large number of Tyson employees quickly and efficiently. This was a huge team effort by everyone and a testament to the readiness of Walla Walla County to respond to a COVID-19 outbreak. Tests were also conducted for 19 USDA inspectors assigned to the facility but not employed by Tyson. Whether any of them were among those infected was not distinguished in the numbers. According to the statement from Tyson, the company planned to resume limited operations today. How many employees would be there was not clear. Tyson workers will be required to go through a strict regimen of testing, education and prevention, the announcement said. The health and safety of our team members is our top priority, said Shane Miller, Tyson senior vice president and general manager of beef. While the plant was idle, we performed a deep clean and sanitization of the facility and took proactive steps to complement our existing prevention efforts. Information is the best tool to fight COVID-19 and were focused on further educating our team members about CDC guidance to prevent spreading the virus. We have a diverse workforce and will provide this education in all languages spoken among our team members. Critics of the companys handling of the outbreak said Tyson was not doing a good job making sure non-English speakers understood proper protocols. The ad hoc group Friends of Tyson Workers said the companys movements have been too little and too late, given the high rate of infection among employees before the mass testing began. Washington and Walla Walla County have to hold Tyson accountable or workers will continue getting sick and we will see more deaths, the group said via email this morning. ... Tysons corporate lobbyists convinced federal lawmakers including Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell to relieve them of any liability related to exposing workers and consumers to COVID-19. It will soon be the law of the land that Tysons profits are worth more than their workers lives. President Trump ordered the Defense Production Act to be applied to the meat processing industry last week following pressure from industry leaders. According to the Tyson release, workers were asked to self-isolate until test results returned. Employees who tested positive are clear to return to work after seven symptom-free days. Employees awaiting results will need to remain isolated until health officials complete their tests. New hires will also have to be tested. Coronavirus in the Northwest: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter According to the release, Tyson supervisors will conduct a tour of the facility with returning employees to show changes made to promote social distancing and additional protective measures, such as infrared thermometers, face masks, social distancing managers and workstation barriers. In addition, employees must undergo regular wellness checks. Tyson said a mobile medical clinic has been set up at the facility on Dodd Road with a partnership from Matrix Medical Network. Tyson said it will double the amount of its hazard pay, which the company calls thank you bonuses. Workers on-site and those who cant work because of illness or lack of childcare are eligible. Family members of Tyson workers previously told the U-B the bonuses were only for those who didnt call in sick. The company said it will increase short-term disability coverage to 90% of normal pay until June 30. More on coronavirus: Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 18:40:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NANJING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Yan Ke puts on a black suit jacket, rubs the material and turns around as tens of thousands of viewers watch her every move in a livestreaming session. "Babies, look at this suit jacket. It only costs 180 yuan (around 25 U.S. dollars) and is very suitable for office ladies. If you like it, remember to add it to your basket," said the 33-year-old broadcaster. "Baby," or "baobao" in Chinese, is a common term used by hosts of Taobao Live, the livestreaming unit of China's e-commerce giant Alibaba, to address their audience, which makes them appear friendly and helps build rapport. In less than 30 minutes, Yan attracted over 60,000 viewers and achieved a business turnover of about 400,000 yuan by selling different types of clothes. As one of the growing number of livestreamers, Yan stands for a new way of shopping in the country, sweeping retailers in a boom of "live commerce," the convergence of e-commerce and livestreaming. The number of users of a burgeoning business model that integrates e-commerce with livestreaming had hit 265 million by March, making up 29.3 percent of the country's total number of internet users, according to a report released by the China Internet Network Information Center. The new model has added fresh vitality to the livestreaming industry with an upgraded user experience that could lead to higher user stickiness. Yan and her 34-year-old husband Wu Can ventured into e-commerce in 2012. They moved to Changshu, a city known for garment manufacturing in east China's Jiangsu Province, and opened an online clothing shop on Taobao. The couple started experimenting with livestreaming in the latter half of 2016. "We sold more than 50 pieces of clothing and earned over 2,000 yuan in our first livestreaming session," Yan said. With unyielding efforts, Yan's livestreaming show today has 2.28 million followers. The e-commerce livestreaming has kicked into high gear as the novel coronavirus epidemic forces many people to shift their shopping online. Yan's daily sales on livestreaming sessions increased to more than 1.2 million yuan from over 800,000 yuan before the epidemic. Many people in rural China are also jumping on the livestreaming bandwagon to increase the sales channels for their agricultural products. Data showed that as of March, more than 60,000 farmers had registered on Taobao Live. Liang Guanhua, a migrant worker in southwest China's Sichuan Province, recently came back to his hometown Haiqi Village in Lianyungang City of Jiangsu and became a livestreaming host to sell seafood. "I earn more money now, and a growing number of young people are willing to return home," said Liang, adding that it was common for a popular livestreamer to earn over 10,000 yuan a month at home. Known for seafood, Haiqi Village is home to more than 1,100 households, and over one-fourth of them are occupied in the e-commerce sector. Thanks to the new business model, the annual seafood sales in the village can reach around 2 billion yuan, according to Li Jiashi, Party chief of the village. "Livestreaming e-commerce is more than a fad," said Diao Chen, an official with the Wuxi municipal bureau of commerce. Diao said livestreaming would not only help physical stores tide over the period of difficulty, but also better integrate with the real economy to provide diversified products and tailored services for consumers. Enditem The new Skoda ENYAQ. Full exterior details will be revealed later this year and the car is expected to be available in Ireland in February or March 2021. SKODA is making history today as it lifts the lid on its first electric SUV. Adding to the sense of occasion is the fact that the new car has strong Irish connections. Its called ENYAQ which will inevitably link it with Irish superstar Enya. And it was launched to the worlds media in Ireland this spring. Skoda here hope it will arrive in showrooms next February or March but that depends on how Covid-19 affects production and supply. Expand Close The new Skoda ENYAQ, the brand's first electric SUV / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The new Skoda ENYAQ, the brand's first electric SUV The ENYAQ is a 5-seater electric crossover. It slots between the current Karoq and the larger Kodiaq SUVs. To put it another way: it is a bit shorter, but taller, than the Octavia. Pricing has yet to be decided on as there is uncertainty about how the next government (whenever we get one) will handle the new VRT-determining WLTP emissions system and grants for electric vehicles. But I understand the distributors here would like to see ENYAQ prices similar to their Kodiaq family crossover. For example, a Kodiaq 5-seater 1.5-litre petrol manual starts from 33,195 (but few people buy at that level) while the automatic DSG version costs from 36,120. Automatic is more relevant and comparable as the Enyaq is technically an auto. Prices will depend a lot on trim levels which are still being worked out. There will also be different/additional packages. Expand Close The rear of the new Skoda ENYAQ, their first electric SUV / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The rear of the new Skoda ENYAQ, their first electric SUV KEY FACTS Before giving general driving impressions, here are some key EYNAQ facts. *There will be 55-kWh, 62-Kwh and 82-kWh lithium-ion battery packs depending on the number of cells. The 82-kWh version will also have powerful all-wheel-drive options. *Wheel sizes range from 18ins to 21ins. *Sustainable materials such as olive leather are used for the first time in a production car. *In smaller battery-pack versions, a rear motor drives the rear wheels. Some more powerful versions have a second electric motor at the front, effectively making them All-Wheel-Drives (AWDs). *The 55-kWh version with its rear-mounted electric motor has a range of up to 340km. *With the 62-kWh pack, range goes to 390km. *And the rear-wheel-drive 82-kWh version has a potential range of 500km. *That 82-kWh battery powers two other models with a second electric motor: the 80X and RS. They develop 195kW and 225kW respectively. The range-topper zips to 100kmh in 6.2 seconds. Both these AWDs have a range of up to 460km on a single charge. *Some more exotic versions will have materials derived from 60pc recycled PVC foam and 40pc sheeps wool, with others having eco-friendly leather. *You can charge to 80pc in 40 minutes with a fast charger. *As well as a 230-volt socket, you can also boost using a Wallbox (11kW) at home. That takes six to eight hours depending on battery size. The third option is a DC fast-charging station with an output of 125kW. *The car is based on the Volkswagen Groups much-vaunted MEB platform. *The boot extends to 585 litres. *Its 4,648mm long, 1,877mm wide and 1,618mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,765mm. Driving impressions I drove models around parts of Laois and Carlow using Castle Durrow as the epicentre for the global launch. We were sworn to observe a then-to-be-finalised embargo date. It was set, putatively, for the end of March. Little did anyone realise how dramatically everything would have changed by then. First impressions of the exterior were, well, a bit difficult because the cars were heavily disguised (and will be until possibly September, I understand). But there was no disguising the fact that it was really roomy inside. There was a lot of headroom and excellent rear-seat space. They are not wrong in suggesting the interior was designed in a completely new manner. The boot is large too. The dash is deep so you feel quite embedded but still with good visibility (I racked up the drivers seat for my preferred extra high-drive position). Were promised the latest infotainment system/connectivity. There will be a 13in free-standing display with state-of-the-art connectivity a head-up display and augmented reality are optional. But the overriding impression I took with me, and it still resides, was how particularly good the ENYAQ felt and drove on the rural roads snowy, waterlogged and some with poor surfaces as they were back then. The suspension set-up is well judged; a blend of taut and comfort settings. Put that alongside the immediacy of acceleration you get from an electric power-source and its clear the car will have a bit of life about it. Another thing I noticed important for city driving - was the ease of steering which made for a really tight turning circle. Despite the variety of underfoot conditions, there was little or no road noise. Special tyres helped, no doubt, but the level of sound damping is the main reason for the impressive hush. Its a well-sealed cabin for sure. The ENYAQ historically marks the debut of the first full-electric from Skoda. It is a mega step for the marque as it, like so many others, embrace the electric era. You can expect lots more electrified Skodas between now and the end of 2022. Hamilton stole cigarettes and cash from an Applegreen A robber who was identified by gardai after they found his DNA on a box of juice he drank shortly before the offence has been jailed for three years. Gareth Hamilton (26), of Drumconnick, Co Cavan, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to robbery at Applegreen service station, Inchicore, Dublin, on November 28, 2018. He had previous convictions for attempted robbery, burglary and possession of stolen property. Cutter Detective Garda Sean Byrne told Garrett McCormack, prosecuting, that on the evening in question, Hamilton entered the service station, walked up to the counter and asked for cigarettes. Det Gda Byrne said that after the cashier got the cigarettes, Hamilton asked him to open the till slowly and took a box cutter out of his trouser pocket. He leaned over the counter, took 350 from the till and left with the money and the cigarettes. Gardai obtained CCTV footage that showed Hamilton drinking a carton of Ribena inside the premises. They recovered the carton and found traces of DNA and his fingerprints. Det Gda Byrne agreed with Brian Storan, defending, that his client identified himself on CCTV footage. He agreed that Hamilton said he was "off his head" on drugs and spent the stolen money on crack cocaine. Mr Storan said his client grew up first in Belfast and was placed in a care home before being taken in by his grandparents. He asked the court to consider that his client was rehabilitated from drug use. Judge Melanie Greally said his previous convictions were committed over "a relatively finite time" period in 2018 and 2019 and noted he was on bail at the time of the robbery. She said Hamilton had employment on his father's farm and wished to live with his father once released from custody. She said if he could overcome his drug use, he had "the potential to get his life back on track". The judge sentenced him to four-and-a-half years' imprisonment, but suspended the final 18 months on strict conditions. She ordered the sentence to run consecutive to a sentence he is currently serving. The viral strain identified in India contains a mutation that could undermine current efforts to develop a vaccine. Photo: AP A coronavirus strain isolated in India carried a mutation that could upend vaccine development around the globe, according to researchers from Australia and Taiwan. The non-peer reviewed study said the change had occurred in part of the spike protein that allows the virus to bind with certain human cells. This structure targets cells containing ACE2, an enzyme found in the lungs which also allowed the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) virus to infect people. Scientists know more about this receptor than any other so had been working on antibodies that target it, but an unexpected structural change could render them useless. The researchers led by Wei-Lung Wang, from the National Changhua University of Education in Taiwan, and collaborators from Murdoch University in Australia said this was the first report of a significant mutation that could threaten development of a vaccine for the virus that causes Covid-19. "The observation of this study raised the alarm that Sars-CoV-2 mutation with varied epitope [something an antibody attaches itself to] profile could arise at any time," they wrote in a paper released on preprint review site biorxiv.org on Saturday. "[This] means current vaccine development against Sars-CoV-2 is at great risk of becoming futile." Although the strain in question was first sampled by the National Institute of Virology from a patient in Kerala as early as January, the full genome sequence was only released to the international community last month a delay that raised eyebrows among some researchers. The patient was said to be a medical student returning from Wuhan, but the strain does not appear to be closely related to any of those identified in the Chinese city and appears to be an outlier compared with variants recorded in other countries. The researchers found that the mutation occurred in the spike protein's receptor-binding domain (RBD). New Delhi: The Congress Party on Wednesday questioned the government on the way forward and the economic plan after the current phase 3 of the lockdown ends on May 17. After May 17th, What? and After May 17th, How? ...what criteria is GOI using to judge how long the lockdown is to continue...., Congress President Sonia Gandhi is understood to have asked at a meeting of chief ministers of Congress-ruled states. Agreeing with the Congress President, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked the chief ministers to deliberate among themselves and question the Prime Minister on the exit strategy from the lockdown. Most CMs and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram also pointed out the deep financial stress being faced by the states. Chattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said: States are facing dire economic crisis. They need to be provided immediate assistance. Chattisgarh is one state where 80 percent of Small Industries have restarted and nearly 85,000 workers have returned to work. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said: We have set up two committees, one to strategise on how to come out of lockdown and other on economic revival. Concern is people sitting in Delhi are deciding on classification of zones without knowing whats happening on the ground. Concerrring with this view, Puducherry CM V Narayanswami said the centre cannot decide zones and it should be left to the states. All the CMs assured the Congress President that they were making arrangements to bear the cost of the return of the migrant workers. Meawhile, the Congress party took strong exception to raising the taxes on petrol and diesel. The entire nation and its 130 crore people are fighting the Corona pandemic today. The poor migrant labourers and workers, the shopkeepers, the farmers, the small and medium businesses are virtually penny less, they are struggling for every single Rupee, yet, this draconian Government is fleecing 130 crore Indians by raising insurmountable taxes on petrol and diesel, Congress Chief Spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said. He claimed that between the years 2014-15 up till the year 2019-20 that is in a period of 6 years, the BJP Government at the Centre has increased taxes on Petrol and Diesel 12 times and has collected Rs 17 lakh crore. Where has this money gone? On whose benefit has this money been utilised? We ask the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi to come forward and answer these questions. Congratulations, wtso.net got a very good Social Media Impact Score! Show it by adding this HTML code on your site: Wtso.net scored 100 Social Media Impact. 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Referring domains for wtso.net by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines. Facebook link FACEBOOK PAGE LINK NOT FOUND The type of Facebook page. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The URL of the found Facebook page. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND Hours after Doug Ducey, the Republican governor of Arizona, accelerated plans to reopen businesses, saying the state was "headed in the right direction," his administration halted the work of a team of experts projecting it was on a different - and much grimmer - course. On Monday night, the eve of President Donald Trump's visit to the state, Ducey's health department shut down the work of academic experts predicting the peak of the state's coronavirus outbreak was still about two weeks away. "We've been asked by Department leadership to 'pause' all current work on projections and modeling," Steven Bailey, the bureau chief for public health statistics at the Arizona Department of Health Services, wrote to the modeling team, composed of professionals from Arizona State University and the University of Arizona, according to email correspondence reviewed by The Washington Post. The move to sideline academic experts in the middle of the pandemic reflects growing friction between plans to resume economic activity and the analysis of epidemiologists that underscores the dangers of rolling back restrictions. Officials in Arizona said they would rely on "real-time" information, as well as modeling conducted by federal agencies, which is not released publicly. During his visit to Arizona on Tuesday, Trump pressed states to pursue aggressive reopening strategies even as he acknowledged "some people will be affected badly." Governors from Georgia to Iowa have stepped ahead of the recommendations of doctors and epidemiologists in their states, beginning phased reopenings before they met the administration's nonbinding guidelines. Recent polling suggests they have done so against the wishes of most Americans, who support sweeping precautions to slow the spread of the virus. But experts said Arizona's dismissal of academics, whose analysis seems at odds with the state's approach, marked an alarming turn against data-informed decision-making. "The approach seems to be, 'Shoot the messenger - and quick,' " said Josiah Rich, an epidemiologist at Brown University. The Arizona health department was pulling back "the special data sets which have been shared under this public health emergency effort," according to the Monday email from Bailey, which was first reported by an ABC affiliate in Phoenix. The decision represented an abrupt turnaround from the state's request for expert input about six weeks ago, when Bailey vowed the modelers would have "full, unfettered access to confidential . . . data from the Department." "This is a situation that is unprecedented in living memory, and it is going to become rapidly more dire in the coming days," he wrote in previously unreported correspondence. "I cannot, therefore, overemphasize the importance of what we are requesting here." The move also troubled some federal lawmakers. "We can't just remove scientific data and bury facts when it contradicts an agenda or narrative," said Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz. Will Humble, a former Arizona health director, said he was concerned by the timing of the abrupt suspension of the modeling work - hours after Ducey had announced plans to ease restrictions on restaurants and barbershops, among other retailers. Several members of the modeling group, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of concerns about professional retribution, said the work was halted without advance notice. One said the timing of the president's visit to the state was suspicious. "The optics don't look good," the academic said. Reached by phone, Bailey, the email's author, declined to comment. He wrote in his Monday email that the partnership with the academics, who were volunteering their time, might resume with the onset of flu season later in the year. Patrick Ptak, a spokesman for the governor, said the department's determination "had nothing to do with" the president's travel to Arizona, or the governor's Monday announcement about new steps in the state's gradual reopening. He said the decision was made by the state's health director, Cara Christ, "after reviewing all of the data." Going forward, Arizona will use modeling developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that "ensures our hospitals have capacity for any situation," Ptak said. But Humble said the state is eluding accountability by relying on nonpublic modeling. The academic partnership yielded public reports, the most recent of which predicted that the state's peak of cases would not arrive before mid-May. Ptak said the state is working to see if Arizona-specific projections can be made public. "Good practice is always to use multiple models and multiple inputs," said Elizabeth Carlton, an assistant professor of environmental and occupational health at the Colorado School of Public Health. "A smart state program will consult a lot of different data sources." Efforts in other states to selectively interpret and display coronavirus cases to suit political ends are also raising concerns among epidemiologists. Iowa experts who presented the state with models saying it was too early to reopen said they were ignored. "My concern is that the [Iowa Department of Public Health] - they've been saying the curve has been declining for a month now and it never really has," said Eli Perencevich, an epidemiologist at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and a member of the team preparing modeling for state health officials. The way the state is counting cases, he said, "it's always going to look like it's going down." Georgia and Iowa are among more than a dozen states marking new coronavirus cases primarily by the date of symptom onset, rather than when a test came back positive - the effect of which is to lower current case counts. Nadia Abuelezam, of Boston College's Connell School of Nursing, said charting cases by date of symptom onset "shifts all of the positive tests back one or two weeks" because people rarely get tested right away. "If those numbers are trending down because we're displacing cases backward, I think that could have significant ramifications," she said. A spokeswoman for the Iowa Health Department did not return a request for comment. A spokeswoman for the Georgia Health Department acknowledged a lag in the data but noted all cases are still counted, just not the day they are reported. "How much is our data helping inform decisions?" asked Dr. Christine Petersen, director of the University of Iowa's Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases. "I think it's been answered." By Hallie Bradley Expats come, expats go, and some even come again. Seoul will no doubt leave a lasting impression on everyone who visits, and what better way to remember than with a book of short stories written by foreign residents, past and present? Under the title "A City of Han," editor Sollee Bae has brought together six short stories in just over 100 pages to showcase some of those impressions. From modern to traditional, memories of the past and thoughts to the future, the stories express various desires and perspectives. Bae is a writer herself and runs a creative writing critique group called which meets every other Saturday. In October 2018 she put out a call for submissions across various websites, and by the end of January 2019 she had over 100 submissions. She went through them carefully and was able to meet six inspiring and dedicated writers Eliot Olesen, Ron Bandun, Ted Snyder, David Smith, Matthew Grolemund, and Gord Sellar who have provided the stories for "A City of Han." "The anthology ended up being shorter than I had hoped, but it ultimately came down to a decision between quantity and quality," Bae said. She didn't have a clear vision when she set out to collect the submissions, but through reading them and bringing them together she saw patterns emerge. "We have two stories showing the social and psychological issues that the Korean youth face in today's society, two stories about the country's historical traumas, and the final two featuring the experience of foreigners living in Seoul with a hint of magical realism!" she said. "Put the three pieces together, and you get a portrayal of Korean society from the perspective of a certain spectrum of foreigners, as one of the reviewers aptly put." The anthology begins with Eliot Olesen's "Umchina" which follows the story of Min, who has been hunting a job unsuccessfully for two years. Set in Seoul's affluent southern district of Gangnam, it's a relatable tale for anyone who has lived and worked in this metropolis where the job market is highly competitive and difficult to enter in the best of times. While "Umchina" starts with a relatable story for many, the book leads the reader into some more uncharted territory, literally. "Mosquito Hunter of Korea" by Ted Snyder relays the intriguing and intense story of Bill Lazaer, a biologist working for the U.S. military who specializes in malaria mosquitoes, as he analyzes the mosquitoes that come into Camp Columbia near the DMZ. Snyder thinks that anyone whose life has been changed by COVID-19 should read his story. "My story is particularly relevant with our COVID-19 pandemic," he said. "Many diseases sit latent in our world, waiting for the proper conditions and chance to expand into an outbreak or even pandemic, as with not only SARS-CoV-2, but also in 2015-2016 with a multi-country outbreak of Zika virus, in 2015 with the dengue fever outbreak in Tokyo, repeated Ebola outbreaks, and even HIV." He added that readers will gain an "insight into our world's broken preventive medicine and public health systems, including the human side of the public health entomologists whose job is to prevent the next mosquito-, tick- or mite-borne disease pandemic." Any reader who has ever been confronted by a random local and asked where they are from will likely love Matthew Grolemund's "Playing the Blues in Seoul." The narrator is from Nowhere, Tennessee, and writes a love letter to the souls in Seoul's foreign community that have been brought together from around the world. The six stories provide a glimpse of the generally untapped expat writing talent here in Korea. Released last month in print and digitally on Amazon, the book can be ordered for 9,900 won from or be . ? Hallie Bradley is a writer based in Seoul and runs the popular site? . The first thing Dr. Katie Sharff noticed when she walked into Hector Calderons hospital room was how sick he was. The Hillsboro man was being treated for pneumonia and was in severe respiratory distress. Doctors couldnt figure out the source of his illness. At 46, he was fighting for his life. The situation just didnt quite add up, she said. Sharff, 40, an infectious disease specialist, had stopped by Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center that day in February on more of a personal mission than a professional one. Calderon, it turns out, was the custodian at her sons Lake Oswego elementary school, Forest Hills. She was there to deliver a get-well card that her sons first-grade classmates had made for him. But when Sharff saw Calderons grave condition that day, she got involved in his care. It may be hard to imagine now, but coronavirus didnt seem like much of an urgent threat at the time. No one in Oregon had the disease and the small number of cases that had emerged in the United States were linked to travel to and from affected countries. The outbreak at a Seattle area nursing facility had not yet come into focus. Coronavirus crossed Sharffs mind that day, but it wasnt until that evening when she learned of a California patient who contracted the virus through community spread that she wondered if thats what was ravaging Calderons lungs. The next morning, Kaiser doctors contacted county and state public health officials with their suspicion. At the time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention restricted testing to people who had traveled to affected countries or had symptoms of the virus and had been in contact with a confirmed case, but Scharff and her colleagues requested that their patient be tested. That was on Feb. 27. By that afternoon, the CDC revised its guidance to allow testing for patients whose symptoms could not be explained. Within 24 hours, the test came back positive. It was the first coronavirus test the state public health lab processed. Hector Calderon, the first person in Oregon to test positive for COVID-19, was discharged Monday from Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center after more than two months of treatment. Gov. Kate Brown and a phalanx of public health officials called a hasty news conference and announced that coronavirus had reached Oregon through apparent community spread. Calderon went on to spend 60 days on a ventilator. He was released from the hospital this week after a 71-day stay, most of that in the intensive care unit. Your lungs get so inflamed from the virus that it is difficult to provide enough oxygen, Sharff said. You need to be on a ventilator and significant amount of supplemental oxygen to support you. That was his situation for days and days, she said. The medical staff arranged for Calderon to take Remdesivir, an antiviral medication now in clinical trials as a possible treatment for COVID-19. Trials have shown promising results in limiting the duration of the virus. Calderon was among the first patients in the country to get the drug and was on it within a day or two of testing positive, Sharff said. Its too soon to know, but she suspects the medication played a role in his recovery. We wont know for certain until we get more data, she said. The drug company, Gilead, shipped the medication directly to the hospital, which is now taking part in clinical trials. Calderons wife and family members couldnt visit due to COVID-19 restrictions, so nurses served as their surrogates. Chad Cabe, a nursing supervisor in the intensive care unit, said Calderon seemed serene even as he struggled to breathe when he was admitted to the hospital. He had a special calmness about him, said Cabe, 46. He said hes seen over the years how patients with strong coping skills tend to fare better. I call it the chill factor, he said. Hector had a lot of chill in him. Even when he was in distress he remained calm. He said Calderon had deteriorated quickly, making the ventilator necessary. During a particularly challenging period in Calderons treatment, Cabe went into his room and gave him a pep talk and said a prayer. Calderon was sedated. I told him I knew he would get better, Cabe said. I saw the fight in him. Once Calderon was off the sedation, Cabe even promised him that a mariachi band would be there to send him off. Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter Slowly, Calderon got better. He was weaned off the ventilator. Sharff said Calderon is an exceptional case. Patients that sick typically dont recover as well, she said. His prognosis was not good, she said. The fact that he is now off all but a little bit of supplemental oxygen is just remarkable. She said his long stay in the intensive care unit and on a ventilator only added to the extraordinary nature of his recovery. Sharff declined to say whether Calderon had an underlying medical condition that made him particularly vulnerable, citing patient confidentiality. The majority of patients who are critically ill from the virus are elderly, but Sharff said a subset of younger patients are also hit hard. So far, 115 people in Oregon have died from the disease. According to the Oregon Health Authority, 2,916 patients have tested positive or are otherwise believed to have coronavirus. Kaiser Permanente said it has discharged 111 coronavirus patients from its hospitals. Eleven COVID-19 patients are still being treated at Kaiser Permanente Westside Hospital and two are at Kaiser Permanente Sunnyside Hospital. Sharff said helping Calderon get well enough to be released was a team effort. He was moved to a rehabilitation center where hes expected to continue recuperating. Shes optimistic about his prognosis. Hes strong, hes courageous, hes resilient, Sharff said. I feel like Hector is going to get through this. Hes just an inspiration to all of us. -- Noelle Crombie; ncrombie@oregonian.com; 503-276-7184; @noellecrombie Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Marketing claims for all baby formula milk should be banned, according to researchers. They raised concerns that some products are being sold as a solution to various infant problems with only weak evidence. A team led by Dr Robert Boyle, a specialist in child allergies at Imperial College London, highlighted Aptamil Comfort, which is claimed to help manage colic and constipation, and SMA HA Infant Milk, which claims to 'reduce the risk of developing an allergy to cows' milk proteins'. EU rules ban firms from making health and nutrition claims about formula milk but the BMJ says this does not apply to 'follow-on' products for older babies Scientific reviews of similar products in 2018 found no firm evidence to back claims of curing colic or preventing allergies. Dr Boyle's team, writing in the British Medical Journal, said they 'cannot recommend' such products. The academics added claims such as these are oftentimes unfounded and actually may increase the risk of certain infectious diseases. The BMJ states: 'If these claims imply effective treatment of problems such as colic, gastro-oesophageal reflux, cow's milk allergy, or poor weight gain, they may cause harm by delaying appropriate investigations or treatments for underlying medical problems.' EU rules ban firms from making health and nutrition claims about formula milk but the BMJ says this does not apply to 'follow-on' products for older babies. Dr Boyle and his colleagues added the current EU regulations are not practical in preventing 'misleading claims' which might 'carry health risks for a vulnerable population'. Dr Boyle's team also campaigned for the bar for the scientific evidence to be 'significantly higher than that currently used by manufacturers to justify their claims' Dr Boyle warned claims based on weak evidence 'could nudge women into introducing formula earlier to babies or feeding them more of it, when we know breast milk is much better for their health'. The academics wrote any changes to ingredients used in baby infant formula should first have pre-market approval, and, if shown to have a beneficial health effect, be included in international food standards according to World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines so all formula-fed infants may benefit. Dr Boyle's team also campaigned for the bar for the scientific evidence to be 'significantly higher than that currently used by manufacturers to justify their claims'. 'Infants and their carers are not being adequately protected from adverse consequences of claims about infant formula,' they wrote. A spokesman for Nestle said: All of our communications to both consumers and healthcare professionals are strictly regulated. We have industry-leading standards derived from the World Health Organisation code which shape the way we communicate about infant feeding. A spokesman for Aptamil said: Our infant formulas are based on scientific research, and we stand behind the nutritional value of our products. The information we provide helps parents choose the formula that is right for their babys needs and we dont agree that its misleading. SPRINGFIELD Massachusetts Nurses Association members and their supporters demonstrated outside Mercy Medical Center Thursday and called on parent company Trinity Health Of New England to better support its workers and serve the healthcare needs of vulnerable populations. The nurses union has claimed that Trinity Health has failed to properly protect staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also attacked Trinity Healths plan to close 74 child and adult psychiatric beds at Providence Behavioral Health Hospital in Holyoke. 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 cannot replace them. The state Department of Public Healths Division of Health Care Facility Licensure and Certification is reviewing the closure plans. Donald Trump's thoroughly corrupt Justice Department today dropped its criminal case against Michael T. Flynn, President Trump's first national security adviser, who pleaded guilty previously to lying to F.B.I. agents about his conversations with a Russian diplomat. The Justice Department said it had concluded that Flynn's interview by the FBI was "untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI's counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn." SCOOP > WASHINGTON (AP) Justice Department is dropping criminal case against ex-Trump adviser Flynn, according to court filing obtained by AP. Mike Balsamo (@MikeBalsamo1) May 7, 2020 Here was Flynn's reaction, a tweet after a long silence on the case. My grandson Travis"and JUSTICE for ALL" pic.twitter.com/IuOGugjOC3 General Flynn (@GenFlynn) May 7, 2020 Trump said he was 'very happy' after the Justice Department, led by Attorney General and noted scumbag Bill Barr, suddenly announced intent to drop criminal charges against Flynn on Thursday. President Trump said he was 'very happy' after the Justice Department abruptly sought to drop criminal charges against his former national security adviser Michael Flynn https://t.co/GbBjrSZiPK pic.twitter.com/m18Me4KqSj Reuters (@Reuters) May 7, 2020 Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said the move incriminates Bill Barr, "in the worst politicization of the Justice Department in its history." Flynn pled guilty to lying to the FBI about his illicit Russian contacts. His lies do not now become truths. This dismissal does not exonerate him. But it does incriminate Bill Barr. In the worst politicization of the Justice Department in its history. Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) May 7, 2020 And never forget, from 2017: I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2017 From the New York Times: The extraordinary move comes amid a sustained attack by Mr. Flynn's lawyers on prosecutors and the F.B.I., accusing them of egregious conduct. In recent days, Mr. Flynn's lawyers said the Justice Department had uncovered new documents that pointed to misconduct, particularly in investigators' interview of Mr. Flynn in January 2017 as part of its inquiry into whether Trump advisers conspired with Russia's election interference. Law enforcement officials cited that interview in moving to drop the charges, saying in a court filing that the some of newfound documents showed that the questioning "was untethered to, and unjustified by, the F.B.I.'s counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn." Prosecutors said that the case did not meet the legal standard that Mr. Flynn's lies be "materially" relevant to the matter under investigation. "The government is not persuaded that the Jan. 24, 2017, interview was conducted with a legitimate investigative basis and therefore does not believe Mr. Flynn's statements were material even if untrue," the United States attorney in Washington, Timothy L. Shea, said in a motion to dismiss the charges. Justice Dept. Drops Case Against Michael Flynn On the one hand, Flynn lied to Pence and the FBI about his contacts with foreign minister of Russia. On the other hand, he was a secret foreign agent for Turkey.https://t.co/zIstdBozs6 Eric Columbus (@EricColumbus) May 7, 2020 "The decision to drop the charges against General Flynn is outrageous," says @HouseJudiciary Chairman @RepJerryNadler. The evidence against General Flynn is overwhelming. He pleaded guilty to lying to investigators." Steve Herman (@W7VOA) May 7, 2020 A boiler blast at the government-owned Neyveli Lignite Corporation's Thermal power plant in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore district has reprotedly injured seven people, media reports said. A boiler blast at the government-owned Neyveli Lignite Corporation's Thermal power plant in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore district has reprotedly injured seven people, media reports have said. "The accident happened in the evening and the injured workers have been admitted to the hospital," a police official said. India Today reported that teams of Tamil Nadu Police and fire services are on the spot and monitoring the development. More details on this are awaited. According to The Times of India, the blast occurred in the Thermal Power Station II of the NLC plant in Cuddalore, which consists of 7 units of 210 MW each. The overall capacity of the thermal station is 1470 MW and the power generated from it is shared by the Southern States viz., Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Union Territory of Pondicherry. The blast comes on a day when two more industrial mishaps caused injury and deaths elsewhere in India. Gas leaked from a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam in the early hours of Thursday and quickly spread to villages in a five-kilometre radius, killed at least 11 people and impacted about 1,000 more. NLC was among the nine 'Navratna' public sector companies identified by the Government of India that had comparative advantages over other state-run enterprises and which enjoy greater support and autonomy. In Chhattisgarh's Raipur, seven workers fell ill after inhaling some poisonous gas at a paper mill. The incident occurred at Shakti Paper Mill in Tetla village, where the victims were cleaning an open tank on Wednesday evening. The cause of all three accidents is still under investigation. With inputs from PTI 1 of 2 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approves abolition of 9,304 Military Engineering Service posts Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved the abolition of 9,304 posts in military engineering services. The decision was in line with the recommendations of the committee of experts, headed by Lt General Shekatkar, which had suggested measures to enhance combat capability and rebalance defence expenditure of the Armed Forces. "Rajnath Singh has approved the proposal of Engineer-in-Chief of Military Engineering Services (MES) for optimisation of more than 9,300 posts in the basic and industrial workforce," ministry of defence said in a press release on Thursday. One of the recommendations made by the committee was to restructure the civilian workforce in a manner that the work of MES could be partly done by departmentally employed staff and other works could be outsourced, the ministry said. "In line with the recommendations of the committee, the proposal of abolition of 9,304 posts in MES out of the total 13,157 vacancies of the basic and industrial staff has been approved by the defence minister," the ministry said. Read More... WASHINGTON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wireless Innovation Forum (WInnForum) congratulations its member Amdocs for receiving FCC Spectrum Access Systems (SAS) final approval, joining CommScope, Federated Wireless, Google, and Sony who were previously approved SAS operators in the CBRS band. "Amdocs is accelerating CBRS-based wireless network deployments with our end-to-end solutions that combine SAS capabilities with comprehensive network integration and managed services," said Parag Shah, SVP & Customer Business Executive at Amdocs. "We are addressing the communications and connected-applications requirements of service providers as well enterprises across a number of verticals." To learn about all SAS Administrators operating in the CBRS band, visit https://cbrs.wirelessinnovation.org/sas-administrators. WInnForum's Spectrum Sharing Committee (SSC) was specifically formed to develop the solutions and standards that encourage rapid development of the CBRS ecosystem, protect incumbent operations, and benefit all potential stakeholders in the band. The SSC benefits from participation of a broad-based group that includes wireless carriers, network equipment manufacturers, SAS Administrators, federal government incumbents, satellite operators, existing 3650-3700 MHz band licensees, and other parties with an interest in the 3.5 GHz band. More about the WInnForum and its CBRS standards building can be found here: https://cbrs.wirelessinnovation.org . About the Wireless Innovation Forum Established in 1996, The Wireless Innovation Forum (SDR Forum Version 2.0) is a non-profit mutual benefit corporation dedicated to advocating for spectrum innovation and advancing radio technologies that support essential or critical communications worldwide. Members bring a broad base of experience in Software Defined Radio (SDR), Cognitive Radio (CR) and Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) technologies in diverse markets and at all levels of the wireless value chain to address emerging wireless communications requirements. To learn more about The Wireless Innovation Forum, its meetings and membership benefits, visit www.WirelessInnovation.org. Forum projects are supported by platinum sponsors Motorola Solutions, Leonardo and Thales. SOURCE Wireless Innovation Forum Related Links https://www.wirelessinnovation.org First Minister Arlene Foster said damage caused to a banner supporting the NHS outside Dunloy Orange Hall was a "sick" attack on the men, women and children who use it. Police have appealed for information after damage was caused to the banner on Wednesday, May 6. The banner read "Thank you to all NHS staff & essential workers together fighting Covid-19" alongside an image of the union flag, which was removed in the attack. Expand Close The damaged NHS banner in Dunloy / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The damaged NHS banner in Dunloy Expand Close NHS banner in Dunloy / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp NHS banner in Dunloy "This is a sick sectarian attack by people who consistently target the Orange Hall in Dunloy," said Mrs Foster. "Its not an attack on bricks and mortar or in this case an NHS banner, its an attack on the men, women and children who use the hall." Policing Board member and DUP MLA Mervyn Storey also condemned the attack. "Even in the midst of an unprecedented public health crisis, when the vast majority of the community is pulling together, Dunloy Orange Hall continues to be a target. "It was displaying support for our NHS. Narrow-minded & sinister people behind this attack," he said. TUV leader Jim Allster added: "This pandemic has seen people come together for the good of the entire community and there are countless examples across north Antrim of people going the extra mile to ensure that people are receiving the support they need in challenging times. "Yet even in the midst of a pandemic there are those who cannot hide their bitterness and narrow minded bigotry. This was graphically illustrated when a banner supporting the NHS and essential workers erected at Dunloy Orange hall was vandalised just hours after being erected this evening. The nation in National Health Service is the United Kingdom whose flag the vandals took such exception to. This is an attack not just on the long suffering unionist community of the village but on the entire NHS and the key workers others wanted to show support for. "Those responsible for the attack should be ashamed of themselves and I trust they will be brought to justice. Police are appealing for anyone with information to contact them on 101 and quote serial number 1862 - 06/05/2020. The World Vision Ghana (WVG) National Director, Dickens Thunde has appealed to all Ghanaians to join forces together with the government to help in the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which has hit the world in recent times. He indicated that we all should take the responsibility of working collectively as a country and make sure we win the war against the pandemic during a media engagement at their office located at North Industrial Area, North Kaneshie on May 6, 2020. Dickens Thunde posited that the situation we are facing now is not just a health crisis but one which has hit the total fabric of the society which is ailing the economy and our social interactions as well. Thus, we all need to do much more in our efforts coupled with prayers to help combat the pandemic. He added that we have to continue to pray that the crisis should come to a halt and we all should do the right things as the government has been telling us and this is not the time to relax. Ghanaians need to know that even though the President has lifted the Partial Lockdown, that doesnt mean that the threat is gone. The virus is still there and as we are all aware that the number of cases is rising, it means that we still need to be vigilant and make sure that we adhere to all the protocols to ensure COVID 19 becomes a thing of the past, he said. The West African Regional Leader, Carla Denizard who was also present noted that as it is not possible for the government to fight the pandemic alone, they are mobilizing resources globally through the network of partnership they have as well as using funds they have in all of their national offices to support the fight. And in this situation, they are pulling about 20 percent of their current national office budget in the Region and targeting it to help the most vulnerable. She made a call that we shouldnt forget the most vulnerable especially the children in the wake of the pandemic who are not able to feed and sustain themselves and that is really the focus of their response. In terms of sensitization of the general public on the reality of COVID 19, she stressed that what we need to do is to promote and sensitize in our local languages, use demonstrations and when people go for routine check - ups, there is the need to have a broad based education on the situation we find ourselves in now. As part of World Vision Ghanas effort in the fight against COVID 19, its leadership in line with the World Vision Global response plan equally declared a response in Ghana on February 28, 2020 by putting in place a team to manage the crisis as they have revised their original response budget from over two million US dollars to over four million US dollars. The WVG has since been supporting the Ghana Health Service with Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs) and IEC materials worth over GH200,000.00 and the Ministry of Health and Christian Health Association who are also supported with PPEs worth over GH60,000.00 and GH70,000.00 respectively. When it comes to the district and community levels too, WVG is working in 24 districts in 14 out of the 16 regions; where the staff in those Programming areas are continuing to educate and sensitize communities on COVID-19 through IEC materials, radio messages, use of mobile vans, and training of community volunteers, among the rest. The World Vision on May 5, 2020 warned that unless the international community responds immediately and prioritizes the worlds most vulnerable in the fight against COVID-19, huge progress that has been made to save lives and reduce poverty over the past 30 years will be reversed. Children will bear the brunt of this and child mortality rates, which have more than halved since 1990, could now start to increase again. In this case, the international child focused aid agency is launching a US$350m response that focuses on supporting the worlds most vulnerable combat the impacts of COVID-19. The ambitious response plan will be executed in over 70 countries where 37,000 staff, 400,000 faith leaders and 220,000 community health workers will be mobilised to support prevention and response initiatives. Haryana Chief Minister M L Khattar has turned down IAS officer Rani Nagar's resignation and recommended to the Centre to change her cadre to her home state Uttar Pradesh, Union Minister of State Krishan Pal Gurjar said on Thursday. In a series of tweets on Thursday evening, the minister of state for Social Justice and Empowerment also said the efforts made to give justice to daughter Rani Nagar have borne fruit. The 2014-batch, Haryana-cadre woman IAS officer had resigned on Monday, citing personal safety on government duty as the reason for the drastic step. Hours before Gurjar put out a series of tweets informing about Khattar's decision to turn down the IAS officer's resignation, Nagar in a tweet, said it will lead to her "more exploitation" if her resignation was not accepted. "It will not be possible for me to get a government job in future," Nagar said in a tweet, in which she also mentioned that she found stapler pins on numerous occasions in the food, served to her in the UT Guest House in Chandigarh, where she stayed earlier. The opposition Congress had termed Nagar's resignation ''shocking'', asking Chief Minister Khattar if it was not a "proof of his failure". Many opposition leaders including those from the Gurjar community, to which the IAS officer belongs, had slammed Haryana government following her resignation. After her resignation, Madan Bhaiya, a former UP MLA from Khekhra, had slammed anti-woman policy of the Haryana government. BSP president and former UP Chief Minister Mayawati had said the way a woman IAS officer had to resign on such grounds and return to her hometown in Ghaziabad was extremely unfortunate. Mayawati had also questioned the government's silence on the episode. MoS Krishan Pal Gurjar, who is also the BJP MP from Faridabad tweeted, I want to share a good with you all that Haryana-cadre IAS officer Rani Nagar's resignation has been turned down by Hon'ble Chief Minister @ MLKhattar Ji. I express my gratitude to Manohar Lal ji (CM) from the bottom of my heart for turning down her resignation, he said in another tweet. His tweets in Hindi were also retweeted by Chief Minister Khattar on his Twitter handle. Krishan Pal Gurjar said Khattar also deserves to be congratulated because showing magnanimity, he has recommended to the Centre to change Rani Nagar's cadre from Haryana to her home state. The efforts made to give justice to daughter Rani Nagar have borne fruit. Our effort is that no injustice of any kind should be done to her, the Union minister said in another tweet. He further wrote that we had been earlier assured as Haryana government is sensitive towards the interests of daughters, no harm can be allowed to the interests of daughter Rani Nagar. My blessings are always with daughter Rani Nagar, said Krishan Pal, who also belongs to the Gurjar community like Nagar. Rani Nagar, 35, held the charge of a director in Haryana Archives Department and that of an additional director in the Social Justice and Empowerment ministry in the state government. She had sent her resignation to state Chief Secretary Keshni Anand Arora on Monday, requesting her to forward it to the competent authority in the Union government, with the Ministry of Personnel being her controlling cadre. Nagar, however, did not elaborate on what she meant by the reason of her resignation. Nagar has also sent copies of the resignation to President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, besides the Haryana governor and the chief minister through e-mail. The reason for submitting this resignation is the personal safety on government duty," she had said in a letter to the chief secretary. The letter was also posted on her Facebook page. She had on Monday itself left Chandigarh for her hometown Ghaziabad with her sister. Nagar had come into limelight in June 2018, when she had accused an additional chief secretary-level bureaucrat of harassing her. The state government had conducted an inquiry into the allegations, but the charges did not hold against the officer, a senior official said on Monday. In an earlier post on her Facebook page, Nagar had claimed that despite numerous complaints against the senior bureaucrat, no action was taken against him. Nagar had mentioned that last year, she had lodged a complaint against the bureaucrat before a court and claimed there is a constant threat to our lives" (she and her sister), while requesting her Facebook friends to report the matter to the court, if they go untraceable. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Microsoft has just announced that it will pay any hacker $100,000 if he/she can breach into its Azure Sphere operating system. In case you didnt know, Azure Sphere is an IoT (Internet of Things) OS based on Linux that is designed to be run on smart devices like smart refrigerators, smart speakers etc. Reuters These IoT devices have been surrounded by security concerns, many of them are easy to be hacked into that allows a hacker to gain full control over the devices hardware. However, Microsoft claims that its approach is unbreachable and is challenging hackers to take a spin at it. Microsoft Azure Sphere basically consists of a custom Linux kernel and OS which is paired with a microcontroller as well as a cloud-based security service thats responsible for safeguarding IoT devices. Now Microsoft wants to let hackers probe the OS to look for critical vulnerabilities in order to make it more secure. Microsoft says in a statement, "By expanding the Azure Security Lab, we're providing more content and resources to better arm security researchers with the tools needed to research high-impact vulnerabilities in the cloud." This challenge is essentially an extension of the Azure Security Lab that was announced at Black Hat last year, offering rewards up to $40,000. Reuters The current challenge has a duration of three months and theyre looking for researchers who can execute code on Azure Pluton and Azure Secure World. The Azure Sphere platform includes two sections -- a Normal World which is similar to Linuxs user mode and a Secure World (supervisor mode) which is sitting under Microsofts own Linux kernel. This is also the place where Microsofts Security Monitor runs. Microsoft has also made it clear that only Microsoft-supplied code can run in Secure World. In case hackers are able to find vulnerabilities outside the challenge parameters, they could be eligible for an award under the Azure Bounty Program. To help hackers, it is going to provide Microsoft products and services. 3 1 of 3 MAX WHITTAKER Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Charles Sykes Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Tara Reade, the former U.S. Senate staff member who has accused Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her in a Capitol corridor in 1993, has been interviewed by former Fox News and NBC anchor Megyn Kelly. Kelly, who is a 1998 graduate of Bethlehem High School as well as a graduate of Albany Law School, tweeted Thursday that it was a riveting exchange with tough questions. New York, May 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Machine Condition Monitoring Market Forecast to 2027 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Monitoring Technique ; Offering ; Deployment ; Monitoring Process ; and Industry" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05891665/?utm_source=GNW The presence of a large number of market players globally is a crucial advantage for the market to propel over the years. However, the longer lifespan of these types of monitoring hardware solutions is a restricting factor for the growth of machine condition monitoring market. Based on geography and their subsequent countries, the machine condition monitoring market is categorized into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East & Africa (MEA), and South America (SAM). The historical trends, current trends, and future outlook of the market players and the end-users, facilitate the analysis of the machine condition monitoring market. North America dominated the machine condition monitoring market, followed by Europe and APAC.The dominance of North America is majorly attributed to the presence of large industrial sectors in the US, Canada, and Mexico. The US accounts for the largest share in the region, which is attributable to the existence of well-established and emerging condition monitoring solution providers.Additionally, the country dominates the region with the power of a significantly higher number of manufacturing facilities across its borders. Canadian manufacturers also showcase a similar trend, which has led to the adoption of a significantly higher volume of condition monitoring solutions.However, as the lifespan of the monitoring hardware is longer, the demand for the same is limited to new manufacturing plants. This is expected to slow down the year-on-year growth of the machine condition monitoring market in the region. Europe and APAC compete closely to gain market share; however, APAC is expected to grow at a prime rate during the forecast period as Europe and APAC are witnessing a rise in the number of new manufacturing plants.The rise in the manufacturing facilities positively impact the machine condition monitoring market as the manufacturers in these regions are aware of the benefits of condition monitoring solutions. The APAC region is estimated to be the fastest-growing region, owing to the tremendous growth of industrialization across China, India, Japan, and South Korea. With the expansion of manufacturing facilities, numerous large enterprises and SMEs are demanding condition monitoring solutions, which in turn is raising the revenue shares of the machine condition monitoring market in the region. The MEA and SAM regions are also contributing a significant amount of revenue and volume in the machine condition monitoring market.As the regions are experiencing urbanization and growth in foreign direct investments (FDI), the regional governments and several private manufacturers are spending substantial percentages of budget towards the adoption of advanced technologies for analyzing machine health. The increasing awareness related to the benefits of condition monitoring is showcasing the growth of machine condition monitoring market in these two regions. The machine condition monitoring market has been segmented into monitoring technique, offering, deployment type, monitoring process, end-user, and geography.Based on monitoring technique, the machine condition monitoring market has been segmented into vibration monitoring, thermography, oil analysis, corrosion monitoring, ultrasound emission, and motor current analysis. Based on offering, the machine condition monitoring market has been segmented into hardware and software.The hardware segmented is further classified into vibration sensor, proximity probes, tachometer, infrared sensors, spectrometer, ultrasound detectors, corrosion probe, and others. Based on deployment type, the machine condition monitoring market is segmented into on-premise and cloud.Whereas, based on monitoring process, the machine conditioning monitoring market is segmented into online condition monitoring and portable condition monitoring. Based on end users, the machine condition monitoring market is segmented into oil & gas, automotive, aerospace & defense, food & beverage, power generation, manufacturing, and others. The aerospace & defense sector is leading the machine condition monitoring market over the years and is expected to continue its dominance during the forecast period. Geographically, the machine condition monitoring market is segmented into five regions: North America, Europe, APAC, MEA, and South America. ASL Limited, Emerson Electric Co., General Electric Co., Honeywell International Inc., National Instruments, Parker-Hannifin Corp., Rockwell Automation, Schaeffler Technologies, SKF, and Wilcoxon Sensing Technologies are among the key players present in the machine condition monitoring market. Several other players are also operating in the global machine condition monitoring market, and are contributing substantial revenues towards the growth of market. Overall size of the global machine condition monitoring market has been derived using primary and secondary sources.The research process begins with extensive secondary research using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the global machine condition monitoring market. It also provides an overview and forecast for the machine condition monitoring market based on all segmentation provided for the global region.Additionally, primary interviews were conducted with industry participants and commentators to validate and analyze the data. The participants who take part in such a process include industry expert such as VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, and national sales managers, and external consultants such as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leaders specialized in the machine condition monitoring industry. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05891665/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Despite the danger posed by Covid-19, care homes have been asked to continue admitting new residents. Seventeen residents at a Co Down care home have died since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, it can be revealed. Ringdufferin Nursing Home, which provides care to the elderly, people living with dementia and people who are terminally ill, is one of an increasing number of care homes across Northern Ireland that have been hit by a Covid-19 outbreak. The daughter of a former resident, who died from Covid-19 last week, has paid tribute to care provided to her father during his time at the home, but has demanded answers over how he became infected with the deadly virus. "Visiting to the home was stopped on March 16, so I hadn't seen my daddy for about seven weeks when he died," she said. "When the manager stopped visiting to the home, her words were that it was for the residents' safety, that they were effectively cocooning the residents, and the only people who would be allowed into the home would be the staff. About a week later, I was leaving toiletries for my daddy to the home and when I was sitting in the car park I saw a car pull up and an elderly lady got out with a suitcase. "The manager and another nurse came out with masks and gloves on and helped the lady into the home. As far as I could see, it seems like they were admitting people to the home while all this was going on. "It's incredible, it's unbelievable that this has been happening, why would they do that?" A spokeswoman from Ringdufferin Nursing Home near Killyleagh did not respond to the claims made by the former resident's daughter. However, she said: "In these very difficult and challenging times our priority is our residents, safety of our staff and well-being. "All our staff are working extremely hard to look after our residents and we are keeping ongoing communication with the residents' families. "At this time, we are being fully supported by the health trusts and the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA). "On behalf of all the staff at Ringdufferin Nursing Home, we would like to offer our sincere condolences to all families who have lost loved ones at this sad time. We are unable to make any further comments at present." Despite the danger posed to care home residents by Covid-19, care homes across Northern Ireland have been asked to continue admitting new residents. It emerged last month that new residents were being admitted to care homes without being tested for Covid-19 first, with official guidance stating that care homes should assume that all new residents had the infection. Expand Close Pauline Shepherd, chief executive of Independent Health & Care Providers / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pauline Shepherd, chief executive of Independent Health & Care Providers Pauline Shepherd, chief executive of Independent Health & Care Providers, also said that some care homes were being threatened that business would be withdrawn if they did not accept new residents without testing. The daughter of the former resident of Ringdufferin Nursing Home, who was not able to be with her dad when he passed away, continued: "It's absolutely disgusting. "I really can't get my head around it at all. We're all absolutely devastated. It's been a nightmare and I can't even let myself think about what has happened. I'm definitely going to need some counselling." (Newser) President Trump on Wednesday referred to the coronavirus as an attack on the USand not just any attack. "We went through the worst attack we've ever had on our country, this is worst attack we've ever had," Trump told reporters from the Oval Office, per the BBC. "This is worse than Pearl Harbor, this is worse than the World Trade Center. There's never been an attack like this. And it should have never happened. Could've been stopped at the source. Could've been stopped in China. It should've been stopped right at the source. And it wasn't." However, he stopped short of referring to China as a wartime enemy when asked by a reporter if he saw the pandemic as an act of war, saying simply, "I view the invisible enemy [coronavirus] as a war. I don't like how it got here, because it could have been stopped, but no, I view the invisible enemy like a war." story continues below The comments come as the Trump administration ramps up accusations against China, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisting there's "enormous evidence" the virus originated in a Chinese lab despite health experts insisting there is not. Bloomberg notes, though, that Pompeo eased off that line of attack a bit Wednesday as he continued to attack China for its handling of the initial outbreak. UPI reports he blamed the country for "hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide." (For its part, Chinese officials have called Pompeo "evil" and a "liar.") The administration is also considering taking punitive action against China over its early response, which people on both sides of the aisle believe was too slow and not transparent enough. Politico reports Democrats are starting to insist the White House either release the supposed evidence that links the virus to a Wuhan lab, or drop the rhetoric. (Read more coronavirus stories.) He is feeding 45,000 people in Mumbai daily. He has also been providing meals to 25,000 people during the holy month of Ramadan. He also offered his six-storey hotel in Juhu to accommodate the medical staff treating COVID-19 patients. Sonu Sood is doing everything he can to help those in the need. BCCL Sood is heartbroken now to see migrant workers struggling to go home. Sharing a clip of a worker who was turned away from the border for three consecutive days in an attempt to take her children back home, he wrote, "My heart bleeds seeing them. All I can say is we failed as humans Broken heart just imagine ourselves in that situation.. with little children whom we wanna give all the comforts in the world. Just pray that every single migrant may reach their respective home." My heart bleeds seeing them. All I can say is we failed as humans just imagine ourselves in that situation.. with little children whom we wanna give all the comforts in the world. Just pray that every single migrant may reach their respective home. https://t.co/UGl1szMPxl sonu sood (@SonuSood) May 5, 2020 After the lockdown 3.0 was implied, government has started sending migrant workers to their respective hometowns. Reports were doing the rounds that they have to pay extra fare for their journeys back home. Reacting to the same, Sood had earlier tweeted that they shall be given money to survive and reach home. I feel the travel of all migrants to their respective homes should be totally free. Infact they should be given some money so that when they reach their homes atleast they have something to survive for a day or two. Free trains & busses should run from every state @MoHFW_INDIA pic.twitter.com/jw5pTviGxX sonu sood (@SonuSood) May 4, 2020 "I feel the travel of all migrants to their respective homes should be totally free. Infact they should be given some money so that when they reach their homes atleast they have something to survive for a day or two. Free trains & busses should run from every state," he wrote. Here's how other Bollywood celebs had reacted. Why have we been donating to relief funds if migrant labour is going to be charged for train tickets?? Shouldnt the govts look after this? Mini Mathur (@minimathur) May 4, 2020 We as a country should bear the cost of migrants going back to their homes. Train services should be free. They (Labourers) are already burdened with no pay & no place to stay compounded with the fear of #covid19 infection. pic.twitter.com/lKK5KfKz7u Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) May 4, 2020 Meanwhile, Sonu Sood has been urging people to come together and fight against coronavirus. HOUSTON - A man was charged Thursday in the fatal shooting of three men in Houston, as police reported a nearly 50% uptick in homicides in the city this year. While investigators are still trying to determine a cause for the spike in killings, one being considered is a reduced illegal drug supply due to the coronavirus pandemic, said Houston police spokeswoman Jodi Silva. The shootings happened within an hour Wednesday night but in three different locations in the city. Police said the first was believed to have been drug-related, while motives for the other two were under investigation. The suspect, 35-year-old Joshua Kelsey, was taken into custody about 4 a.m. Thursday following a short pursuit in a car he was accused of stealing from the scene of the first slaying, police said. Kelsey was questioned by detectives then charged with murder and capital murder. Court records did not list an attorney for Kelsey. The shootings began at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday. Investigators believe Kelsey was involved in a confrontation over drugs and shot two men at a home in south Houston, said Executive Assistant Police Chief Troy Finner. One of the men was killed and another was injured. After stealing a car belonging to one of the men, Kelsey drove to another home about 5 miles away, forced his way inside, and fatally shot a 60-year-old man around 8:36 p.m., Finner said. Kelsey then drove to another house, arriving around 9 p.m., and fatally shot a third man, police said. Investigators believe Kelsey knew the first two men but they are still trying to determine his connection to the two other victims, Silva said. There have been 121 homicides in Houston so far this year, a 49% increase on the 81 during the same period in 2019, Silva said. One theory being explored to explain the jump in homicide numbers is the drop in the illegal drug supply due to the pandemic, she said. The same buses, trains, planes that transport people, transport drugs. Theres less movement, so theres less movement of the supply of drugs, Finner said. You see drug dealers fighting over territory and the drugs, the supply. Law enforcement officials say the lockdowns related to stopping the spread of the virus have disrupted the drug trade worldwide. The reduced drug supply has apparently prompted some drug transactions to turn deadly as those involved try to rob one another, Finner said. These drug disputes are really pushing the homicides in our city, Finner said. Other crimes have also increased in Houston during the pandemic, including aggravated assault, domestic violence and burglaries, even as some crimes have dropped off in other parts of the world under lockdown. ___ Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70 Wholly owned subsidiary Love Hemp grows online presence and product portfolio, increases sales month over month during pandemic LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / World High Life PLC, (AQSE:LIFE)(OTCQB:WRHLF) the AQSE and OTCQB listed investment company, is pleased to provide an update on the progress of its wholly owned subsidiary, Love Hemp, during the global Covid-19 pandemic. Love Hemp is passionate about creating the UK's leading range of trusted CBD products, with new product development at the heart of the brand. Love Hemp was the first company to produce functional spring water in the UK infused with CBD. Oils, sprays, vapes, chocolate, jelly domes and beauty products including its innovative CBD infused face mask and body salves have all followed. In response to current challenges, Love Hemp has shifted its focus, building on the opportunity to achieve stronger online sales, achieving a 39% increase month-on-month since January 2020, whilst expanding its offerings to meet consumer demand. Corporate Highlights The Love Hemp brand (www.love-hemp.com) has increased online sales by 39% month over month since January 2020 The brand has secured a number of notable listings with leading retailers including Boots, to complement its existing listings with Ocado, Holland and Barrett and Sainsbury's According to Alliance Healthcare, the UK's leading distributor to Pharmacies and Independent Retailers, the Love Hemp brand is now its best-selling CBD brand The brand is in negotiations with some of the UKs' largest retailers for multiple new product listings from September 2020 To support growing demand and sales, Love Hemp's secondary online retailer, CBDOilsUK (www.cbdoilsuk.com), is expanding its product portfolio with three new brands and a renewed web presence in the near future LH Botanicals (www.lhbotanicals.com), Love Hemp's CBD wholesale production business, is adding production capacity and new product lines with the acquisition of new machines Having secured a number of notable listings with leading retailers including Boots, Ocado, Holland and Barrett and Sainsbury's, as well as being recognized on the list of Best CBD Oil Brands in the UK by the Evening Standard in August 2019, Love Hemp also won the best CBD Brand in The Beauty Shortlist Awards 2020. New product development is at the heart of the business, with Love Hemp Immune launching in April 2020, more than six-months ahead of schedule, highlighting the brand's ability to be flexible and agile, whilst responding to consumer needs amidst the current circumstances. There is also a range of new products in development ranging from confectionary to drinks, oils and sprays. Brand renewal work carried out by external marketing partners, Propaganda, will be live in retail stores and online from October 2020. Additionally, the company's online retailer, CBDOilsUK, is expanding its product portfolio with the launch of three brands within the next two months, whilst its wholesale production unit, LH Botanicals, is committed to fully supporting customers through this challenging time and has increased production capacity with the acquisition of new capsule and bath bomb production machines. Tony Calamita, CEO at Love Hemp commented: "There's no question that the challenges businesses across the world are facing currently are unique. Whilst bricks and mortar stores have either closed or experienced less foot traffic and reduced hours, it has highlighted the need for us to have a robust online presence in order to keep people engaged with our brands and products. We have expanded our online offerings and are committed to continuing to provide the best experience for our customers, so they are able to continue to purchase and engage with us in an efficient way, with minimal disruption. Fortunately, consumer demand for our products is growing and we have adapted, thanks to a great team effort, to be able to grow the business under new circumstances, expanding our e-commerce presence and education marketing, which will be the foundations of our model going forward." For further information please contact: David Stadnyk Founder & CEO World High Life PLC North America toll-free, 1 (888) 616-WRHLF (9745) +44 (0) 7926 397 675 info@worldhighlife.uk AQSE Corporate Adviser Mark Anwyl/Allie Feuerlein Peterhouse Capital Limited +44 (0) 20 7469 0930 ma@peterhousecap.com af@peterhousecap.com Financial PR Camilla Horsfall/Megan Ray Blytheweigh +44 (0) 20 7138 3224 Camilla.horsfall@blytheweigh.com Megan.Ray@blytheweigh.com For more information on World High Life please visit: www.worldhighlife.uk Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information We seek safe harbour. Some statements contained in this news release are "forward looking information" within the meaning of securities laws. Forward looking information include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the use of proceeds of the non-brokered private placement and payment of the debt settlements. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or variations of such words and phrases (including negative or grammatical variations) or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and involves risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by management. The forward-looking information contained in this press release constitutes management's current estimates, as of the date of this press release, with respect to the matters covered thereby. We expect that these estimates will change as new information is received. We do not undertake to update any estimate at any particular time or in response to any particular event, except as required by law. SOURCE: World High Life PLC View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/588845/Love-Hemp-Online-Sales-Increase-as-Overall-Growth-Strategy-is-Implemented Rocks have been seized by police during an investigation into the death of an 18-year-old mother after her body was found stuffed inside a wheelie bin. Bethany* sustained fatal head injuries during an altercation in her home town of Newman, in the north west of Western Australia. A 17-year-old boy was charged with her murder after he allegedly dragged the bin to Newman Hospital about 4am on Wednesday. It is also alleged the boy took the young mother to the house of an elder before taking her to the hospital. Bethany, who gave birth to a little boy named Justin only a month ago and was already a mother to toddler Nate, was pronounced dead at the scene. A child has been arrested after an 18-year-old woman was found dead in a wheelie bin in Newman in Western Australia. Pictured: Police at one of three crime scenes established for the investigation It is not clear whether she was alive when she arrived at the hospital. Police have seized several rocks from near the murder scene after charging the 17-year-old boy, The West Australian reported. Three separate locations within the small mining town just outside Pilbara are also being investigated. The teenage boy appeared in Newman Children's Court on Thursday afternoon. Bethany's relative Mena Tennahleah Watson paid tribute to her 'big sister' on Facebook hours after her death. 'RIP my big sister N Watson good young mother for two kids. Love and miss you my big sister. Watson Breeds For Ever. WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said Bethany was well known in the community. 'It's a real tragedy in the sense that the community, the woman is known... and there are a couple of kids involved,' Mr Dawson told ABC radio on Thursday. WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said homicide squad officers were on the scene Broken glass and blood were seen on the ground outside a nearby home, with neighbours hearing shouting from the property late on Tuesday night, The West Australian reported. Homicide detectives from South Hedland Police, located 452km north of the town, have launched a joint investigation into the death with local police. Alcohol sales were banned in Newman for the remainder of Wednesday. Bottleshop owner Anita Grace said the closure was the right move after the incident. 'I think at this stage with everyone being so raw and upset and trying to work out what is going on the best thing was to stay closed,' she said. 'Everyone was very supportive. It is not that there are any tensions at the moment but there could be tensions. It is just precautionary at the moment.' Newman, a mining town located 1,186km north of Perth, has a population of just 7,200. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers by calling 1800 333 000 or by making a report online at crimestopperswa.com.au. The woman's body was found outside the Newman Hospital, which is 1,178 kilometres from Perth at 4am on Wednesday The young mother's body was discovered stuffed into a wheelie bin outside Newman Hospital (pictured) *Name has been changed Image: ANI A chemical gas leakage at LG Polymers industry in Visakhapatnam has killed seven people. Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) DG Sawang said the incident occurred at around 3.30 am on May 7. People were taken to the hospital after complaints of burning sensation in eyes and breathing difficulties. The people affected have been taken to King George Hospital, Visakhapatnam. Police, fire tenders, and ambulances arrived at the LG Polymers industry in Visakhapatnam's RR Venkatapuram village. Follow our LIVE coverage of the Vizag plant gas Leak "The evacuation operation is still underway. The plant was shut due to the countrywide lockdown," Sawang told ANI. RK Meena, Commissioner of Police (CP) Visakhapatnam City, told ANI that the gas has been neutralised, adding that it was a styrene gas leak. He also said an FIR has been registered in the matter. "Maximum impact was in about 1-1.5 km but smell was in 2-2.5 km. 100-120 people have been shifted to hospital," Meena told ANI. Meena confirmed that an NDRF team arrived at the scene. He said the village has been evacuated, and the police is now conducting door-to-door searches. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) West Zone Visakhapatnam told News18 that the gas was leaked out from two 5,000 tonne tanks, which had been unattended since March due to the nationwide lockdown. "It leads to a chemical reaction, and the heat was produced inside the tanks, which causes leakage," the ACP said. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will leave for Visakhapatnam and visit the hospital where the affected individuals are admitted. "The Chief Minister is closely monitoring the situation and has directed the district officials to take every possible step to save lives and bring the situation under control," the Chief Minister's office said a tweet. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took notice of the situation, saying that he spoke to officials at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Spoke to officials of MHA and NDMA regarding the situation in Visakhapatnam, which is being monitored closely. I pray for everyones safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 7, 2020 PM Modi also called for a meeting of the NDMA at 11 am. PM Modi has also spoken to Jagan Mohan Reddy regarding the situation. Home Minister Amit Shah said he has spoken to NDMA officials and concerned authorities. He also called the incident "disturbing". The incident in Vizag is disturbing. Have spoken to the NDMA officials and concerned authorities. We are continuously and closely monitoring the situation. I pray for the well-being of the people of Visakhapatnam. Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 7, 2020 Catch all updates on the Vizag gas leak here Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, President Donald Trumps former national security adviser, leaves the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse in Washington on June 24, 2019. (Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images) DOJ Drops Michael Flynn Case The Department of Justice said on Thursday that it is dropping the criminal case against former national security advisor Michael Flynn. The stunning reversal came as the defense continued to bolster their case against Flynns former counsel and as the court received a stream of apparently exculpatory documents from an outside U.S. attorney assigned to review the case. The Associated Press was first to report the development. In the hours leading up to the withdrawal of the case, the government attorney assigned to the case, Brandon van Grack, formally withdrew from the case. The charges against Flynn were the opening salvo in the barrage of prosecutions by special counsel Robert Mueller, who investigated, but did not find sufficient evidence of, allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in late 2017 but withdrew his plea last year, alleging that his prosecution was a politically motivated hit job and that his former counsel had conflicts of interest. Documents received by the court prior to the withdrawal of the case say that the FBI sought to interview him in order to get him to lie and get him fired. In court documents being filed Thursday, the Justice Department said it is dropping the case after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information. The Justice Department said it had concluded that Flynns interview by the FBI was untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBIs counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn and that the interview on Jan. 24, 2017 was conducted without any legitimate investigative basis. The U.S. attorney reviewing the Flynn case, Jeff Jensen, recommended the move to Attorney General William Barr last week and formalized the recommendation in a document this week. Through the course of my review of General Flynns case, I concluded the proper and just course was to dismiss the case, Jensen said in a statement. I briefed Attorney General Barr on my findings, advised him on these conclusions, and he agreed. Barr appointed Jensen earlier this year to look into the handling of Flynns case. As part of the review, Jensen turned up handwritten notes from a senior FBI official which describe a discussion about the purpose of interviewing Flynn: Whats our goal? Truth/admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired? the official wrote. Other documents produced by Jensen show that an FBI agent was about to close the case against Flynn in January 2017 before Peter Strzok, the FBI official notorious for his anti-Trump text messages, intervened to keep the case open. The investigation remained open, and agents went to visit him in the White House on Jan. 24, 2017. Flynns years-long case has been full of twists and turns. At one point, he was on track to receive a sentence of probation instead of prison due to extensive cooperation with the government. The Associated Press contributed to this report. From backpackers to billionaires, when international travel finally returns, were all going to have to get our head around some changes. While you usually get a health check after your summer of sin, in light of recent circumstances, travellers may now have to seek a health passport before embarking on their Old World adventure. As News.com.au reports, More and more destinations are flagging the potential introduction of health passports that would ensure tourists are virus-free when border lockdowns lift and travelling resumes. The travel documents would be used in tandem with existing passports to prove tourists and other travellers arent bringing the virus with them. In Greece, where international flight restrictions have put both its influencer industrial complex and general tourism on ice, authorities are already considering ways to re-ignite its travel industry, one of the key pillars of the countrys economy. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Luxurious Lifestyle (@feelingofluxury) on May 7, 2020 at 4:13am PDT According to The Mayor.eu, Officials have already stated that this years summer season will only be three months long between July and September, and in a best-case scenario, tourists might keep on arriving throughout October and November. Yet the key question for officials not only in Greece but across all of Europe remains how exactly would tourists be allowed entry into other countries without being forced into mandatory quarantine. One of the solutions pitched by the Greek Tourism Ministry is the introduction of a so-called Health Passport that would be used as proof that the individual carrying it is not sick with COVID-19, The Mayor.eu continues. The coronavirus test will be performed in the country of origin before citizens are allowed to travel to their chosen destination. Greeces minister of state Giorgos Gerapetritis has announced [health passport] negotiations are underway and claimed visitors will come with some sort of certificate (The Sun). View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tania (@welovegreece_) on May 6, 2020 at 11:39am PDT Such an approach would require multilateral co-operation. So its crucial the rest of Europe gets on board. On that note: things are looking (cautiously) optimistic. In Sardinia, where the pandemic has wiped out the local tourism industry, authorities are keen to introduce health passports in time for summer. If Sardinias proposal were implemented, travellers would have to present their health credentials and have their temperatures checked before entering. This way we hope to relaunch our tourism sector in June, the islands governor, Christian Solinas, told Arab News. Whoever boards a plane or a ferry will have to show (the health passport) along with their boarding pass and their identity document. I am sure that it will work fine: we will preserve health and save our economy at the same time. Now everything has to be done to boost tourism. It is the biggest source of income for Sardinia. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sardegna Geo (@sardegna.geo_official) on May 4, 2020 at 3:47am PDT As Italy generates about 15 per cent of its GDP from tourism, changes of this kind are happening all throughout the country, with Sicily last week offering to subsidize tourists airfares and hotel fees. Other Italian island destinations, such as Capri, Ischia and Panarea, and the southern coastal region of Puglia, are considering a similar health passport system too. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Aurelie | travel fashion inspo (@aureliestory) on May 5, 2020 at 9:12am PDT Spains Balearic Islands, Turkey and Chile are all making similar noises (some, like Chile, floating the idea of even stricter entry requirements). Meanwhile, the European Union is discussing a scheme akin to Australia and New Zealands proposed travel bubble as we slowly, globally, come out of this crisis. As for Australia, those in the know (notably, the PM Scott Morrison and Qantas CEO Alan Joyce) are optimistic about a return to domestic travel this year, but doubtful international travel (for pleasure) will be back on the cards any time soon. RELATED: New Invention Could Change Economy Travel Forever Even when it does return, as we reported last week, these health passports may be just one of many factors which have changed dramatically. In terms of global institutions, The World Health Organisation has warned against countries against issuing immunity passports, because it is not yet clear whether contracting the virus makes people fully immune. There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection, WHO said, adding false confidence carried the risk of another outbreak. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cavo Tagoo Santorini (@cavotagoosantorini) on May 5, 2020 at 5:42am PDT Until then: a virtual tour of Europe will have to stand in for your summer of sand and sangria. Read Next A scientist presents an antibody test for coronavirus in a laboratory in Germany. Scientists don't yet know how much protection the antibodies provide. (Jens Meyer / Associated Press) A full-service hotel is a complex business even without a pandemic upending society. Guests eat, sleep and recreate in close contact with hundreds or more people, including workers who feed them, clean their rooms and run what amounts to a small city. So when stay-at-home-orders are lifted and the Hilton Universal City Hotel fully reopens, guests and newly called back workers will encounter safety measures to keep the coronavirus at bay, including masks, social distancing and, for workers, temperature checks at the door. The hotel, adjacent to now-closed Universal Studios Hollywood, is currently operating with a skeleton staff that already has instituted a heightened safety regime. But as occupancy grows there will be one thing neither workers nor guests should expect to provide: clinical proof that they are not a threat to those around them, shown with test results indicating they they've already been exposed to the virus and now have antibodies that could protect them from reinfection. We will not go to that step. We dont feel the appropriate authorities are going to put up testing stations on every block for commerce to open back up, said Mark Davis, chief executive of Sun Hill Properties, which manages the hotel. Thats unrealistic. Antibody tests have been touted as a way to provide people with so-called immunity passports that would allow them to hold jobs without worrying they are contagious. And while many businesses seek them, the reality is that while production is growing the tests are not yet commonplace, and even the best among them will not provide all the answers businesses want. Public health officials are using them to get a more accurate picture of the virus prevalence in communities, but relying on them to screen individual workers exposes the tests' shortcomings: Not only can the tests give false positives and negatives, but scientists don't yet know how much protection the antibodies even provide or for how long. Story continues Last month, the World Health Organization went so far as to warn governments against issuing immunity passports because there is currently no proof that antibodies can protect patients from being reinfected. While many scientists are optimistic since other coronaviruses such as SARS created powerful immune responses, not all diseases do and the science is not there yet. We are sort of building the car as we are driving it. We are talking about making society-level decisions on the basis of lab testing, and as a person who does lab testing for a living that really makes me nervous, said Susan Butler-Wu, associate professor of clinical pathology at USCs Keck School of Medicine. Questions linger about the reliability of tests now on the market, including from China, that detect virus-fighting proteins in the blood formed in response to an infection. U.S. public health labs and established private companies, such as LabCorp. and Quest Diagnostics, are developing and expanding their antibody testing capabilities. But the tests won't be available on a mass scale before states reopen their economies, already beginning in fits and starts across the nation. The tests are different from PCR tests, which show whether a person has an active infection. After a slow start, the U.S. is ramping up its PCR testing capacity, though even these tests are not easily accessible to everyone. CVS announced its stores will be offering the tests free of charge nationwide and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti announcing a plan last week to make them free to all Los Angeles County residents. PCR tests will be needed by businesses to keep sick workers at home, but they don't hold the promise of antibody tests, which can show a person fought off the virus but perhaps wasn't even aware of it due to having mild or no symptoms possibly 25% of the population by one government estimate. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced April 22 that the state had ordered 1.5 million antibody tests from Abbott Laboratories to be used to detect the prevalence of disease across the state, with one of the governor's top health advisors warning that they cannot yet confirm immunity. The shortcomings of current antibody testing were laid out in a review released April 22 by the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins, which concluded that using the tests to create immunity certificates either by government or business was not a justifiable step at this time. One complication is that there are multiple versions of the tests, including rapid diagnostic tests similar to home pregnancy kits that simply detect the presence of antibodies. More sophisticated tests can determine the level of antibodies or even whether a patients antibodies actually kill the virus. Those most advanced tests, which are not yet commercially available, can take nearly a week and are processed at labs that need to operate at high biosafety levels since they use cell cultures with live viruses. But even these tests can't show how long a patient may retain immunity, which would require the results of studies done over time. We are presuming that people who have had the disease and recovered, that they have some level of immunity for some period of time, said report coauthor Gigi Gronvall, an associate professor at the Bloomberg School, who is optimistic studies will confirm this. But its really hard to say Youre good to go. Confounding the matter are scores of tests that hit the U.S. market after the Food and Drug Administration allowed companies to sell their products following self-certification of their accuracy. On Monday, in response to a swarm of unreliable tests, the FDA announced that commercial test makers have 10 days to submit test data and apply for a so-called Emergency Use Authorization or face removal from the market. The data must show the tests can capture the presence of antibodies at least 90% of the time, while having a false positive rate of no higher than 5%. The FDA said it is already reviewing more than 200 antibody tests from manufacturers, but as of Monday only a dozen had been issued the authorizations. That has given businesses seeking to reopen little to work with. Dr. David Nazarian, a Beverly Hills physician, said several patients who own companies have tapped him to test more than 200 employees for antibodies, including a jewelry company whose workers started making personal protective equipment for front-line health workers. He's also hearing from many developers of new tests. I dont know how many emails a week I get trying to sell us antibody kits, said Nazarian, who has a concierge practice that offers enhanced care. A lot of it is garbage. Nazarian said he ran out of a rapid, finger-prick test by Cellex, a U.S. company that was the first to receive an emergency use authorization by the FDA. He is now offering Chinese-made rapid tests distributed by Premier Biotech, which were used by USC and Stanford researchers in conducting two population studies that found a higher prevalence of coronavirus than expected in Santa Clara and Los Angeles counties. This sparked questions about the accuracy of the Premier test, but a new study backed by the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub found the test performed relatively well. It produced false positives less than 3% of the time and, according to a Premier spokesman, has been submitted for an emergency use authorization. Nazarian also offers the Abbott test, which far exceeds the new FDA standards, but it requires a blood draw and lab analysis. The test received a use authorization April 26 and the Illinois company expects to ship as many as 4 million tests this month and 20 million in June. The White House issued a report last week noting that antibody testing will play a key role in returning the country to normalcy and said it is exploring a strategy of giving two tests to each person under certain circumstances, which can sharply improve the so-called predictive value of the tests. The FDA also issued guidance last week suggesting a second screening using a test from a different test maker in the case of a positive result. Nazarian said hes tried to conduct his own reliability studies by gathering stored blood samples. Another concern is that patients may test positive but actually only have antibodies for the common cold, which is caused by another coronavirus so-called cross reactivity. I have discarded test kits at a loss, Nazarian said. Still, there is a benefit to testing, he believes, because it's highly likely studies will show the antibodies provide immunity for some period of time given the strong immune responses to other severe coronaviruses and the successful therapeutic use of blood plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients. The test, he said, offers peace of mind as long as employees understand they need to continue such practices as social distancing. They could be at a lesser risk, Nazarian said. Michael Hackman, chief executive of Hackman Capital Partners, which owns three production studios in Culver City, Manhattan Beach and the Fairfax District, is a patient of Nazarian. He said he has been in discussions with the doctor and Hollywood colleagues about what role antibody tests given their current limitations can play in reopening facilities like his studios, which employ hundreds and attracted thousands of production company workers each day prior to the shutdown. Discussion has revolved around using the antibody tests in possible conjunction with PCR testing, strict disinfection procedures and following practices such as social distancing. All of that can create a safer environment, Hackman said, especially in an industry where actors and crews work in close quarters. "You have to look at it somewhat on the basis of playing out the odds. We are not going to be able to guarantee that any work environment would be 100% free of the risk of someone contracting the coronavirus, but each one of those steps creates a factor which reduces your chance of getting it," he said. Thorny issues remain, however, including the costs of mass testing and who will foot the bill. Some antibody tests have been priced at well over $100, but Nazarian said economies of scale could bring his prices down to $75 for broad workplace testing. And then there are the medical privacy rights afforded workers through a variety of federal laws, which typically would not allow employers to take the temperature of workers or require them to submit to testing. However, because there is a declared pandemic, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued guidelines allowing such intrusions. Experts warn, though, that doesn't mean that other provisions of employment laws are no longer in force. "We always have to remind employers in these conversations that all the laws are not out the window," said Wade Symons, leader of the regulatory resource group at Mercer, a human resources consulting firm. Given the unreliability of some of the tests on the market, there is a practical worry: Positive test results could give people a false sense of security when the test is wrong. "We are not factoring in human nature. How rigorous and careful are you going to be about social distancing, with disinfecting, with all of these things, if you in the back of your mind know that you have a quote unquote positive test?" noted USC's Butler-Wu. Still, there appears to be big interest in the testing if the experience of one L.A. company is any measure. Scanwell Health, a startup that has an approved at-home test for urinary tract infections, recently developed a home test to detect coronavirus antibodies. Employers have taken notice of the test, which has been submitted to the FDA for an emergency use authorization. We have talked to every type of company you could imagine. This is a problem that doesnt just affect Fortune 500 companies," said Dr. Jack Jeng, chief medical officer for the company, which is developing at-home, smartphone-enabled diagnostics and counts the Founders Fund, led in part by Peter Thiel, as one of its backers. The kit is based on a test made by Innovita, a Beijing biotech that has received clearance for its test by Chinese authorities. It can detect antibodies from a finger prick of blood dropped into a test cassette that provides a result. The diagnosis is done by a telemedicine doctor who examines a photo of the cassette taken through the company's smartphone app, which adjusts for color and clarity. Innovita has reported that its test studied in a clinical trial was able to detect antibodies with 87.3% accuracy with no false positives. Jeng said that in response to the new FDA guidance issued Monday, Scanwell will work with the manufacturer to provide data to the FDA showing the test is more sensitive when conducted two weeks after infection. Scanwell is already separately validating the performance of the tests. The company also is involved in a large clinical trial with the Wake Forest Baptist Health system and software developer Oracle. It is part of an effort by North Carolina to track the virus in the state and it will gauge the immunity provided by antibodies over 12 months. Scanwell is hoping that studies being conducted around the world will provide evidence long before then that antibodies provide some immunity. "We have to think about the alternative," Jeng said. "The alternative is not having any testing information and just reopening without any data." Kathmandu: In today's time, either disease or any disaster becomes a crisis on both human life. One of which is the coronavirus, this is such a disease, which has not been able to break any. More than 2 lakh 65 thousand deaths have occurred due to this virus, while millions of people have been infected with this virus. It is a bit difficult for scientists to say how long will be able to get rid of this disease. America scared due to Corona's attack, death process is not decreasing Six Indian patients infected with corona, who are undergoing treatment at a hospital in Biratnagar, Nepal, have recovered. He was discharged on Wednesday after 19 days of treatment. Hospital's Superintendent Doctor Sangeeta Mishra said that all the six people have been free from virus infection. Last month, these people were arrested from a mosque in Udaipur district of Nepal. These people living in Delhi were found corona infected in the investigation. The number of patients recovering from Corona in Nepal has increased to 22. So far 82 people have been found infected with corona in the country. US foreign minister claims, Corona has come out of Wuhan's lab Extended lockdown till May 18: Countrywide lockdown ending on Thursday in Nepal has been extended for the next ten days. In a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, it was decided to extend the lockdown till May 18. The lockdown continues in Nepal from 24 March. Corona researcher doctor murder in mysterious state in China The Deep State is the "administrative state," the federal bureaucracy; it's the permanent government, AKA "the swamp." And when it comes to those who make up the Deep State, the "wheels of justice turn slowly"...exceedingly slowly, if indeed they turn at all. For the last more than three years, Sean Hannity's program on Fox News has focused on the complex of Deep State scandals centering on the 2016 campaign and its aftermath. The scandals include FISAgate, Spygate, Ukrainegate, and "gates" we may not even know about. So one waits for a little justice to be dealt to the Deep State malefactors who have abused the public trust and who have prima facie broken the law. Regularly we've been told that this or that new bit of evidence is "huge" and we've been assured that some swamp creature is soon going to be frog-marched in to be fingerprinted. But nothing happens. Given the frustration of waiting for justice, I started tuning in to Kennedy on Fox Business opposite Hannity. But during the Wuhan virus shutdown, FBN hasn't been airing Kennedy, so I started watching Tipping Point with Liz Wheeler on OAN (One America News), a network that I hadn't watched. Liz's show is terrific, but that's not what this blog post is about. It's about another OAN journalist whom I just discovered: White House correspondent Chanel Rion. If you've been watching the daily White House press conferences during the shutdown, you may have noticed that President Trump occasionally points to the back row as he intones, "OAN." That's when you'll hear from Ms. Rion. (She shouldn't be in the back.) During the Q&A after the press briefing on April 27, Pres. Trump called on Rion, who asked this: Mr. President, thank you. I'd like to switch gears and talk about General Flynn. There are reports circulating now that he may well be fully exonerated this week. If that were if that were the case, is there any reason why you would not bring him back into the administration? The president did not answer the question, but rather heaped praise on General Flynn and commented on the "disgrace" of his treatment at the hands of the FBI. The other day, Fox News's Greg Gutfeld threw out the idea that Gen. Flynn should be made director of the FBI. (I wish I had thought up that delicious irony.) Anyway, now that Joe Biden looks to be the Democrat nominee for president, it's time to revisit his Ukraine connections, impeachment, and all the other squalor the Democrats have made America suffer through. And so I give you the following three videos that make up an investigative series by Chanel Rion. Yes, it's a lot to listen to, but Rion presents the material in a most compelling way. Jon N. Hall of ULTRACON OPINION is a programmer from Kansas City. ARIES (March 21-April 19): According to Aries author and mythologist Joseph Campbell, "The quest for fire occurred not because anyone knew what the practical uses for fire would be, but because it was fascinating." He was referring to our early human ancestors, and how they stumbled upon a valuable addition to their culture because they were curious about a powerful phenomenon, not because they knew it would ultimately be so valuable. I invite you to be guided by a similar principle in the coming weeks, Aries. Unforeseen benefits may emerge during your investigation into flows and bursts that captivate your imagination. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): "The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious," says businessperson and entrepreneur John Sculley. You Tauruses aren't renowned for such foresight. It's more likely to belong to Aries and Sagittarius people. Your tribe is more likely to specialize in doing the good work that turns others' bright visions into practical realities. But this Year of the Coronavirus could be an exception to the general rule. In the past three months as well as in the next six months, many of you Bulls have been and will continue to be catching glimpses of interesting possibilities before they become obvious. Give yourself credit for this knack. Be alert for what it reveals. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): For 148 uninterrupted years, American militias and the American army waged a series of wars against the native peoples who lived on the continent before Europeans came. There were more than 70 conflicts that lasted from 1776 until 1924. If there is any long-term struggle or strife that even mildly resembles that situation in your own personal life, our Global Healing Crisis is a favorable time to call a truce and cultivate peace. Start now! It's a ripe and propitious time to end hostilities that have gone on too long. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Novelist Marcel Proust was a sensitive, dreamy, emotional, self-protective, creative Cancerian. That may explain why he wasn't a good soldier. During his service in the French army, he was ranked 73rd in a squad of 74. On the other hand, his majestically intricate seven-volume novel In Search of Lost Time is a masterpieceone of the 20th century's most influential literary works. In evaluating his success as a human being, should we emphasize his poor military performance and downplay his literary output? Of course not! Likewise, Cancerian, in the coming weeks I'd like to see you devote vigorous energy to appreciating what you do best and no energy at all to worrying about your inadequacies. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): "Fortune resists half-hearted prayers," wrote the poet Ovid more than 2,000 years ago. I will add that Fortune also resists poorly formulated intentions, feeble vows, and sketchy plansespecially now, during an historical turning point when the world is undergoing massive transformations. Luckily, I don't see those lapses being problems for you in the coming weeks, Leo. According to my analysis, you're primed to be clear and precise. Your willpower should be working with lucid grace. You'll have an enhanced ability to assess your assets and make smart plans for how to use them. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Last year the Baltimore Museum of Art announced it would acquire works exclusively from women artists in 2020. A male art critic complained, "That's unfair to male artists." Here's my reply: Among major permanent art collections in the U.S. and Europe, the work of women makes up five percent of the total. So what the Baltimore Museum did is a righteous attempt to rectify the existing excess. It's a just and fair way to address an unhealthy imbalance. In accordance with current omens and necessities, Virgo, I encourage you to perform a comparable correction in your personal sphere. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In the course of my life, I've met many sharp thinkers with advanced degrees from fine universitieswho are nonetheless stunted in their emotional intelligence. They may quote Shakespeare and discourse on quantum physics and explain the difference between the philosophies of Kant and Hegel, and yet have less skill in understanding the inner workings of human beings or in creating vibrant intimate relationships. Yet most of these folks are not extreme outliers. I've found that virtually all of us are smarter in our heads than we are in our hearts. The good news, Libra, is that our current Global Healing Crisis is an excellent time for you to play catch up. Do what poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti suggests: "Make your mind learn its way around the heart." SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Aphorist Aaron Haspel writes, "The less you are contradicted, the stupider you become. The more powerful you become, the less you are contradicted." Let's discuss how this counsel might be useful to you in the coming weeks. First of all, I suspect you will be countered and challenged more than usual, which will offer you rich opportunities to become smarter. Secondly, I believe you will become more powerful as long as you don't try to stop or discourage the influences that contradict you. In other words, you'll grow your personal authority and influence to the degree that you welcome opinions and perspectives that are not identical to yours. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): "It's always too early to quit," wrote author Norman Vincent Peale. We should put his words into perspective, though. He preached "the power of positive thinking." He was relentless in his insistence that we can and should transcend discouragement and disappointment. So we should consider the possibility that he was overly enthusiastic in his implication that we should NEVER give up. What do you think, Sagittarius? I'm guessing this will be an important question for you to consider in the coming weeks. It may be time to re-evaluate your previous thoughts on the matter and come up with a fresh perspective. For example, maybe it's right to give up on one project if it enables you to persevere in another. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The 16-century mystic nun Saint Teresa of Avila was renowned for being overcome with rapture during her spiritual devotions. At times she experienced such profound bliss through her union with God that she levitated off the ground. "Any real ecstasy is a sign you are moving in the right direction," she wrote. I hope that you will be periodically moving in that direction yourself during the coming weeks, Capricorn. Although it may seem odd advice to receive during our Global Healing Crisis, I really believe you should make appointments with euphoria, delight, and enchantment. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Grammy-winning musician and composer Pharrell Williams has expertise in the creative process. "If someone asks me what inspires me," he testifies, "I always say, 'That which is missing.'" According to my understanding of the astrological omens, you would benefit from making that your motto in the coming weeks. Our Global Healing Crisis is a favorable time to discover what's absent or empty or blank about your life, and then learn all you can from exploring it. I think you'll be glad to be shown what you didn't consciously realize was lost, omitted, or lacking. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): "I am doing my best to not become a museum of myself," declares poet Natalie Diaz. I think she means that she wants to avoid defining herself entirely by her past. She is exploring tricks that will help her keep from relying so much on her old accomplishments that she neglects to keep growing. Her goal is to be free of her history, not to be weighed down and limited by it. These would be worthy goals for you to work on in the coming weeks, Pisces. What would your first step be? Experiment: To begin the next momentous healing, tell the simple, brave, and humble truth about yourself. Testify at FreeWillAstrology. com Robert Emmet Statue by Robert O'Driscoll Consul General of Ireland, San Francisco Statue Stats Location: Golden Gate Park, Music Concourse Artist: Jerome Connor (1874-1943) Benefactor: Senator James D. Phelan (1861-1930) Subject: Robert Emmet (1778-1803) Dedicated: July 20, 1919 Inscription: "Robert Emmet, Irish Patriot, Executed in Dublin, Sept. 20, 1803, Aged 25 Years." Robert Emmet, Irish patriot and revolutionary leader (1778 - 1803) Born in 1778 to a wealthy Anglo-Irish family, Robert Emmet led the 1803 rebellion in Ireland along with his fellow United Irishmen, Thomas Russell and James Hope. The rebellion ultimately ended in military failure. During his trial for treason that followed, Emmet, speaking from the dock on September 19, 1803 delivered perhaps the single most effective and affecting speech in the history of Irish nationalism. His speech is particularly well known for the final lines, which read: "I have but one request to ask at my departure from this world. Let no man write my epitaph; for as no man who knows my motives dare now vindicate them, let not prejudice or ignorance asperse them. Let them and me rest in obscurity and peace, and my name remain uninscribed, until other times and other men can do justice to my character. When my country takes her place among the nations of the earth, then, and not till then, let my epitaph be written. I have done." Emmet's life, though short, was rich with deed. Emmet is viewed as a romantic hero (he had by all accounts an epic romance with Sarah Curran), a person great of intelligence and eloquence, and a man of principle and passion. But above all else, Emmet was a man of Republican ideals. A man who took his ideological lead, not from the French Revolution which had inspired Wolfe Tone and the 1798 Rebellion in Ireland, but from the American Revolution, stories of which filled the Emmet household in his youth. It is recorded that Emmet's ultimate ambition in his teenage years was to be an Irish George Washington. The words spoken by Emmet on that day in September 1803 have reverberated throughout history, shaping perceptions and ideals, values and principles. In the U.S., they resonated particularly strongly with a young Abraham Lincoln - born five years after the death of Emmet - who, it is noted, learned Emmet's valedictory off by heart as a young man and would recount it to guests who visited the Lincoln homestead in Perry County, Kentucky. Speaking recently, the Irish historian and broadcaster, Myles Dungan, noted the enduring influence of Emmet on Lincoln. In February 1865, Lincoln was reviewing the death sentence of a young confederate spy when he received a petition from Willard Salisbury, no friend of Lincoln, to support the young man's plea. In his petition, Salisbury requested the President to review the young man's defence, to compare it to Emmet's and to act how the President of the United States should act. Lincoln duly commuted the death sentence. The Robert Emmet Statue in Golden Gate Park A statue commemorating Robert Emmet stands outside the Academy of the Sciences in Golden Gate Park. It was unveiled on July 20, 1919 on the occasion of the visit of the "President of the Irish Republic", Eamon de Valera to San Francisco. De Valera's visit to San Francisco was part of a nationwide tour of the U.S. seeking recognition of the newly declared Irish Republic and Ireland's first independent parliament - Dail Eireann - and seeking to raise funds to support the new independent state. The unveiling was a prestigious occasion with the great and the good of the Irish and Irish-American community in San Francisco. There were reportedly as many as five hundred in attendance. This picture captures well the bustling nature of what was a red-letter day for the Irish in San Francisco. The statue by Kerry-born sculptor Jerome Connors is one of four in existence, the first of which was unveiled in 1916 in Washington D.C. and which today stands in Robert Emmet Park on the same street as Ireland's Embassy to the United States. The statue in San Francisco was the second to be unveiled in 1919 and the remaining statues are today resident in St. Stephen's Green in Dublin, Ireland (donated by the U.S. Congress to the new Irish Free State in 1922) and in Emmetsburg, Iowa. Then California Senator and former Mayor of San Francisco James Phelan donated the statue to the City of San Francisco. It remains the only unambiguously 'Irish' statue in the City and County of San Francisco. Emmet, Ireland, and San Francisco When I reflect on the celebrations around the unveiling in 1919, it is clear that while the statue is undoubtedly a tribute to one of Ireland's most eloquent revolutionary leaders, the statue and its placement in the prime position outside the Academy of the Sciences has a broader meaning. Firstly, it is an appropriate representation of the deep Irish heritage in this city, which is perhaps not as evident today as it once was. San Francisco was a welcome home for the many Irish who made their way west following the gold rush. Coincidentally, this occurred at the same moment as our national tragedy in Ireland, the Great Famine (1845-49), the result of which was over 1.5 million people leaving our island, many of whom sought refuge in the U.S. Many of these ventured west. By 1881 fully one third of San Francisco's population was identifiably Irish or of Irish descent and the list of prominent Irish people in the history of the city is remarkable when viewed as a whole. People such as Frank McCoppin, who was elected Mayor of San Francisco in 1867, the first Irish-native to lead any major city in the U.S. Malachi Fallon, the city's first chief of police appointed in 1849, who hailed from Cork. One of the earliest Irish settlers was the surveyor, Jasper O'Farrell, the man responsible for Market Street and for the original 1847 grid system on which this great city was built. In business people like John Sullivan, founder of the Hibernia Savings and Loan Society, which was the first State-chartered bank in California, amongst others. Another Irish native, Kate Kennedy, was a distinguished educationalist, suffragist and labour activist who launched a successful campaign for equal pay for equal work in 1874 and was one of the first women to run for elected statewide office - Superintendent of Public Instruction - before women had the vote. Secondly, it reflects deep connection to and affinity for Ireland retained by many in attendance and the Irish / Irish-American community in San Francisco. Ireland is about 5,000 miles away from San Francisco but the strength of the connection between the City by the Bay and the Emerald Isle belies the distance. This is evident in the manner in which this city celebrates Irish traditions - the first St. Patrick's Day parade for example dates back to 1851. The parade is organised by the United Irish Societies of San Francisco which also organises the annual Robert Emmet Day celebrations that include a march to the statue, a re-enactment of Emmet's "Speech from the Dock," and a fun Irish musical medley at the Golden Gate Park Band Concourse. The depth of the connection is also reflected in the enormous generosity for Irish causes. When Douglas Hyde, the President of the Gaelic League, one of the leading organisations of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Gaelic cultural revival in Ireland, visited San Francisco in 1906 he left the city with around US$20,000 (half of which he later returned after hearing of the 1906 earthquake). In the fund-raising drive that followed de Valera's 1919 visit, over US$2,000,000 was raised in California under the leadership of Fr. Peter Yorke to support the fledgling state - an enormous sum of money. Finally, as illustrated by Emmet's connection to Presidents Washington and Lincoln, the statue reflects well the breadth and depth of Ireland's relationship with the United States of America, with the State of California and with the City of San Francisco. A relationship in which each side in turn has throughout history shared their values, their knowledge and their wealth to the betterment of the other - a mutually beneficial continuous circle of inspiration - a 'fainne inspioraide' - that continues to replenish and revitalise the Irish-American relationship. There are few figures in the shared history of Ireland and the U.S. who encapsulate this 'fainne inspioraide' better than Emmet, which is why it is so fitting that he stands so proudly in Golden Gate Park today. Contribute your own stories about western neighborhoods places! NEET 2020: Test centres to be doubled India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, May 07: The number of centres to administer the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is likely to be doubled. Around 15 lakh candidates are set to take the test amidst the pandemic. A report in the Indian Express says that the NTA has been asked by the HRD ministry to double the number of test centres to maintain social distancing. The NTA is now planning to seat two candidates, two metres apart. This would mean that there would have to be 6,000 test centres as opposed to the 3,000 to accommodate 15 lakh candidates, the report also stated. The NEET, which is a pen and paper exam is the sole criteria for admission to all undergraduate medical programmes in the country. The NEET will be conducted on July 26, the report further states. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, May 7, 2020, 8:43 [IST] FILE PHOTO: U.S. envoy for peace in Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad speaks during a debate at Tolo TV channel in Kabul By Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. special envoy on Afghanistan is on a mission to press Taliban negotiators in Doha and officials in India and Pakistan to support reduced violence, speeding up intra-Afghan peace talks and cooperating on the coronavirus pandemic, the State Department said on Wednesday. U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzads trip comes amid concerns that surging Taliban attacks and the coronavirus pandemic could deal potentially fatal blows to his stalled efforts to end decades of strife in Afghanistan. At each stop, Khalilzad will urge support for an immediate reduction in violence, accelerated timeline for the start of intra-Afghan negotiations, and cooperation among all sides in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan, the State Department said. The statement did not disclose the exact schedule of Khalilzad's trip that began on Tuesday. It is the second trip he has made since April 12 in the midst of the pandemic to salvage a Feb. 29 accord that he and the Talibans second in command, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, signed for a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Americas longest war. A successful initiative could help U.S. President Donald Trump as he seeks re-election in November. Khalilzad, the State Department said, would press Taliban officials for full implementation of the Feb. 29 agreement. In New Delhi, a key supporter of the Afghan government, Khalilzad will discuss Indias role in sustaining peace, and he will hold talks on the peace process in Islamabad, the State Department said. Pakistan has provided sanctuary and other support to the Taliban for decades as part of a strategy to blunt the influence in Kabul of India, Islamabads long-time foe, according to U.S. officials. Pakistan denies backing the militants. The U.S.-Taliban deal called for the Taliban to release up to 1,000 government prisoners and Kabul to free up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners before peace talks that were to begin on March 10. Story continues But a dispute over the pace and scale of the releases between the militants and the government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, which was not a party to the deal, helped delay the talks. The negotiations also have been stalled by a feud between Ghani and his rival, Abdullah Abdullah, who both claimed victory in a disputed September election, and by escalating Taliban attacks. The Taliban have mounted more than 4,500 attacks since signing the Feb. 29 deal, according to data seen by Reuters. The provinces hardest hit are ones with the most COVID-19 infections. The militants blame Kabul and the United States for the surge in violence. (Reporting by Jonathan Landay and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Editing by Sandra Maler and Matthew Lewis) Life has not gone as Colin Wayne planned. Wayne served in the U.S. Army as a military police officer from 2006 to 2013. His dream while he was in, even after deploying to Egypt and Iraq, was to become a U.S. marshal. "I wanted to work in law enforcement," he said. "I always saw myself as a police officer or a state trooper. Something in law enforcement." Instead, Wayne became an entrepreneur, pioneering a different kind of sales tactic: giving his products away. "I've got a different outlook," he said. "I don't just look at a short-term monetary gain. We're losing money on the front end, but we're gaining new customers and we've got an incredible new outlook as a company." Wayne is the founder and CEO of Huntsville, Alabama-based Redline Steel, a home decor company that has dozens of high-quality steel items and even custom designs some of its offerings. After his first attempt to grow an existing steel-built home decor company fell through, Wayne decided to start his own company, despite not knowing anything about tools or industrial design. What he did know was how to get the job done, no matter what the job was. When his first order came in, he didn't even know how to use his equipment. That order came through Grunt Style and, despite his lack of industrial know-how, he filled it as he figured out how to make the business work. "I made it with determination and grit," he recalled. "I figured it out, then I hired people who knew a lot more than me." Redline Steel CEO Colin Wayne in Basra, Iraq during his 2009-2010 deployment. (Courtesy of Colin Wayne) At first, he hired four employees to get the company going. Now, after three years and recently surpassing the one million order mark and shipping some five million products, he has 70 employees and a 110,000-square-foot warehouse. His secret to success in the face of COVID-19 shutdowns and scalebacks has been to show a little appreciation, both toward his workers and to the people fighting the pandemic. For the week of May 4-10, Teacher Appreciation Week, Redline Steel is giving away $1 million in products to teachers. School shutdowns opened his eyes to the challenges teachers face. With his own son doing online courses amid all the distractions of home, he has come to respect teachers more than ever. "Of all the school years, this has got to be the most challenging they've ever faced, " Wayne said, referring to teachers. "To keep a class of 8 to 9 year olds organized and paying attention has got to be the most challenging year of their lives." The response, he said, has been incredible. Redline Steel's Teacher Appreciation giveaway is averaging 40 orders every minute. Teachers just pay shipping costs, for just $5.97, to anywhere in America. "I just want to show our appreciation, like we've been doing with medical personnel and first responders," he said. Wayne and Redline Steel have designed free pieces for many essential job functions, including firefighters, farmers, truckers, American troops and -- of course -- medical personnel. For health care workers, the company has 17 different designs from which to choose. Pieces with a black matte finish are free, limit one per customer. Use discount code "GIVEBACK" during checkout. For more information, visit Redline Steel's Giveback Collection website. The idea to give back to health care workers didn't just come from the coronavirus response; Wayne had a personal reason. His stepmother, a nurse for 35 years, passed away recently. He wanted to do something to honor her and those in her profession. His initial intent was to give away 1,000 of Redline Steel's "Nurses Life" decoration. It sold out almost as fast as the promotion started, so he kept it going. "We started the 'Giveback Collection' that same weekend," he said. Three years in business, Colin Wayne's Redline Steel now has more than 70 employees. (Courtesy of Colin Wayne) Even though Wayne loses a little money when people order just the free gift, many are ordering other things as well -- and that has made the difference for his company and his employees. At a time when many businesses are struggling and laying off workers, Redline Steel is hiring to meet the new demand. "We've hired 26 people in the last 45 days, and we're even pivoting to a four-day work week," Wayne said. "Those who are accustomed to overtime will even get a pay bump." The experience of giving a little something extra to those who give a whole lot of themselves for the rest of us has left an indelible mark on the 30-year-old veteran. "I think I've found myself in this," Wayne said. "I want to create a nonprofit of my own, because it's an incredible feeling to have a platform to give back." -- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook. Want to Know More About Veteran Jobs? Be sure to get the latest news about post-military careers as well as critical info about veteran jobs and all the benefits of service. Subscribe to Military.com and receive customized updates delivered straight to your inbox. Maharashtra recorded 1,362 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, taking the states tally to 18,120, the states health minister Rajesh Tope said. To cut down risks of more infections because of crowding, the government also decided to waive medical certificates for migrant workers heading home. We have decided that migrant labourers who want to go to their native places need not procure medical certificates from now onward. Only thermal checking will be done. This decision was taken to avoid big queues outside doctors clinics, Tope said according to ANI. A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said 50 new Covid-19 cases were reported from Dharavi which has emerged as a hotspot. The new cases have taken Dharavis tally to 783. As the pandemic continued to spread in Mumbai with 72 inmates and 7 staff members in the high security Arthur Road prison testing positive for Covid-19 . All inmates who have tested positive will be shifted to GT Hospital and Saint George Hospital Friday morning while staff members will be shifted separately, Maharashtra jail authorities said. The state government has turned the CIDCO Exhibition Centre in Vashi in Navi Mumbai into Isolation wards for Covid-19. Earlier Thursday, Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh said that around 250 policemen from the city police have tested positive for the virus so far. The Maharashtra Police department has recorded 531 cases of Covid-19 including the 250 cases from Mumbai police. Thirty nine have recovered while five have died of the infection. Three of the casualties were of the Mumbai Police. The Mumbai police chief visited the Sir JJ Marg police station which has the maximum number of Covid-19 cases in the city with 27 policemen testing positive. Other police stations like Dharavi, Wadala and Vakola are among the worst hit police stations across 94 police stations in the city. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The unredacted pages of the child abuse royal commission's reports reveal Cardinal George Pell turned a blind eye to paedophile priests, including Australia's worst paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale, and was "conscious" of the abuse nearly 50 years ago. Despite his claims that he was unaware of sexual abuse allegations, the commission found Cardinal Pell should have known and would have known that children were being abused. However, the commission cast serious doubt about a key allegation against Pell; that he attempted to bribe David Ridsdale to "keep quiet" about his uncle's abuse. Here are the key findings on Cardinal Pell's conduct: On Wednesday, Keeping Up with the Kardashians star Kourtney Kardashian posted yet another vintage snap, this time a selfie where she wore little more than a Calvin Klein bra-top. The 41-year-old Poosh founder tagged her hairstylist Andrew Fitzsimons and make-up artist Mario Dedivanovic in the post captioned: 'Throwback to set life.' Over the past six days, Kardashian has only posted old pictures from her Christmas party at her mansion as well as lavish vacations to Costa Rica and Italy. Nostalgic: On Wednesday, KUWTK star Kourtney Kardashian posted yet another vintage snap, this time a selfie where she wore little more than a Calvin Klein bra-top (pictured April 28) The 41-year-old Poosh founder tagged her hairstylist Andrew Fitzsimons and make-up artist Mario Dedivanovic in the post captioned: 'Throwback to set life' Kourtney is quarantining with her three children - son Mason, 10; daughter Penelope, 7; and son Reign, 5 - while confined to her $8.5M six-bedroom mansion inside the gated community, Estates at the Oaks. The Calabasas socialite ended her nine-year on/off relationship with Talentless CEO Scott Disick in 2015, but she's likely concerned about him doing his fifth rehab stint. Kardashian's 36-year-old babydaddy checked himself into the All Points North Lodge in Colorado on Tuesday for 'drinking heavily and taking cocaine.' 'He said he's having trauma from his past. He mentioned trouble with his ex and said he's also having trouble with his children,' a source told DailyMailTV. 'On an evening in Roma': Over the past six days, Kardashian has only posted old pictures from her Christmas party at her mansion as well as lavish vacations to Costa Rica and Italy November 28 family portrait: Kourtney is quarantining with her three children - son Mason, 10; daughter Penelope, 7; and son Reign, 5 - while confined to her $8.5M six-bedroom mansion inside the gated community, Estates at the Oaks 'He looked pretty skinny and told the group he was coming to rehab to work on his issues and said he was having withdrawal symptoms and was tired and lethargic. He told staff he didn't want any special treatment during his stay, in terms of meals and therapy.' The Flip It Like Disick star - who was once hospitalized for alcohol poisoning - was previously treated at Cliffside Malibu as well as rehabs in Florida and Costa Rica. However, fans will have to wait until September for the conclusion of the 18th season of E! reality series, Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Extreme lockdown: The Calabasas socialite ended her nine-year on/off relationship with Scott Disick in 2015, but she's likely concerned about him doing his fifth rehab stint Advertisement Marine scientists have discovered the wreck of a World War Two landing craft solving a 77-year-old mystery. LCT 326, a Landing Craft Tank - the type extensively used to offload tanks on the beaches of Normandy during the D-Day landings - disappeared without trace while en route from Scotland to Devon in February 1943 with the loss of 14 crew. Admiralty chiefs assumed the craft had been sunk in a storm or had hit a land mine off the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea. Landing Class Tank 326 sank while part of a flotilla heading from Troon in Scotland to Appledore, Devon. The vessel was believed to have been lost off the coast of the Isle of Man, but its wreck was found 100 miles further south off North Wales The vessel, which was designed to carry tanks during amphibious attacks, split in half, with both ends resting some 133 metres apart in 90 metres of water During 1943 and 1944 the navy was building large numbers of LCTs, pictured here, so they would be ready for D-Day The vessel, which was part of a convoy, was under the command of Temporary Sub Lieutenant William N Griffiths, who was lost along with all his men. But now a collaboration of marine scientists and technicians based in the School of Ocean Sciences at Bangor University in North Wales, working with internationally renowned nautical archaeologist and historian Dr Innes McCartney from Bournemouth University has made the unexpected discovery and identification of the vessel. And the wreck has been found more than 100 miles further south off Bardsey Island on the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales. Multibeam sonar data collected from a known shipwreck site off Bardsey Island by the Bangor team using the research vessel Prince Madog in 2019 has been identified as a World War 2. LCT 326 was a Mk III 'Landing Craft Tank' designed to land armoured vehicles during amphibious operations, she was built in Middlesbrough and launched in April 1942. These highly specialised vessels were built in large numbers in the last years of WW2 and were extensively used during the D-day operations of June 1944. Dr Innes McCartney said: 'The wreck of LCT 326 is one of over 300 sites in Welsh waters which have been surveyed by the Prince Madog and the aim of this particular piece of research is to identify as many offshore wrecks in Welsh waters as possible and shed light on their respective maritime heritage. 'This aspect of the project has resulted in many new and exciting discoveries relating to both world wars, of which LCT 326 is just one example.' LCT 326 was part of a flotilla heading from Troon to Appledore in North Devon when it was lost at sea in February 1943 The LCT Mk3 was longer than the previous model and capable of carrying more troops, armour or equipment to the beach The vessel, which was part of a convoy, was under the command of Temporary Sub Lieutenant William N Griffiths, who was lost along with all his men The sonar data will also play a pivotal role in helping develop the offshore renewable energy sector in Wales via the Bangor University led SEACAMS2 research project, which is examining the effect that shipwrecks have on the marine environment. Dr Michael Roberts the lead researcher, said: 'Establishing the identity of these offshore wrecks and thereby determining how long they have been submerged is crucial in helping us understand how structures interact with marine processes on timescales that are of great interest to the marine renewable energy industry. 'Wrecks such as LCT 326 and their associated physical and ecological "footprints" can often provide us with preliminary insights on the nature and properties of the surrounding seabed without having to undertake more complex, challenging and expensive geoscientific surveys.' Initial analysis of the sonar data obtained from the site, including the wreck dimensions and general appearance suggested the wreck was an LCT, further archival research identified the remains as most likely being LCT 326. Documents in the National Archives show that the ship was part of the 7th LCT Flotilla and was on a transit cruise from Troon, Scotland to Appledore, Devon. The flotilla, under the watch of HMS COTILLION set sail on January 31 1943. According to records at the time the weather was 'heavy' and the flotilla made slow progress south. The flotilla passed the Isle of Man at daylight on February 1 and continued south, that evening at 6.30pm as the weather freshened again, HMS COTILLION made a check on the flotilla and observed that LCT 326 was still with the convoy. That was the last time LCT 326 was seen, crucially, the position at which this check was made was recorded as being just northwest of Bardsey Island. The wreck has now been identified as being located in a position 25 miles further south from where LCT 326 was last seen and in near-perfect line with the flotilla's course lying in over 90m of water. The dimensions and appearance of the wreck from the sonar data show that it is 58m long and 10m wide, which is similar to the dimensions of a MKIII LCT. The wreck is shown to be in two halves, lying on the seabed 130m apart. This vessel appears to have foundered in heavy seas sometime after it was last seen and probably broke in half just forward of the bridge, with both halves staying afloat long enough to have become separated by 130m. The sonar data clearly shows key features of the vessel such as its distinctive landing gangway and stern deck house and although the cause of the loss of this vessel remains unknown - and a mine explosion or collision cannot be absolutely ruled out - the evidence suggests this may have been nothing more than a tragic marine accident. The location of this naval grave will now be reported to the Admiralty, so that the records can be corrected and the resting place of the 14 crew accurately recorded. 'Echoes from the Deep: Modern Reflections on our Maritime Past' is funded by the Leverhulme Trust and will be published in 2021. Justice Dept. asked justices to temporarily halt lower-court order, saying executive branch would suffer irreparable harm if the evidence is disclosed. "The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to block Congress from seeing grand jury secrets gathered in the Russia investigation by Mueller, saying the executive branch would suffer irreparable harm if lawmakers see the evidence," writes Charlie Savage at the New York Times. Excerpt: In a 35-page filing, Noel J. Francisco, the solicitor general, asked the justices to halt an order by a federal appeals court that imposed a May 11 deadline on the Justice Department to turn over the evidence to the House Judiciary Committee. He said the Justice Department should first get a chance to fully litigate an appeal of the ruling before the Supreme Court. "The government will suffer irreparable harm absent a stay. Once the government discloses the secret grand-jury records, their secrecy will irrevocably be lost," Mr. Francisco wrote, adding, "That is particularly so when, as here, they are disclosed to a congressional committee and its staff." Nothing could stop House Democrats, he added, from publicly releasing the evidence Mr. Mueller gathered by a simple-majority vote in the Judiciary Committee. READ MORE: Supreme Court Is Asked to Block House From Seeing Mueller's Grand Jury Secrets [May 7, 2020, 1:59 p.m. ET] HARTFORD, CT Legislative leadership in the Senate and the House convened a brief legislative session Wednesday to adjourn the 2020 session. In the Senate, Senate President Martin Looney thanked Republican Leader Len Fasano for his 18 years of service, calling him a model statesman. Support authentic, locally owned and operated public service journalism! Fasano is not running for re-election and traditionally would have been remembered by his colleagues for hours on the last day of the session. His tribute Wednesday lasted only five minutes. I know we do have a large consent calendar today, Fasano joked. He said he never expected it to be in an empty building on the last day of session and he never expected to participate in a session where only one piece of legislation was passed. The bond package the legislature approved March 11 was the only piece of legislation that passed and was signed by Gov. Ned Lamont. There were two bills on the House calendar Wednesday, including an An Act Concerning Immunizations, which was the controversial bill that contemplated grandfathering in children with religious exemptions to vaccines and eliminating the exemptions for newborns and children who didnt have them. The bill passed the Public Health Committee in February. In the House, Speaker Joe Aresimowicz and House Minority Leader Themis Klarides are not seeking re-election. Klarides, who spoke first, said the past two months have been a jarring experience that made her appreciate the frantic and hectic pace the end of a legislative session typically brings. This is bittersweet in so many ways, she said. Aresimowicz agreed that it was a bittersweet day. House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, said Klarides had the respect of the chamber and was prepared every single day, which made it tough on his members sometimes. You set a tone with your skill set and with your drive and it trickles down in this chamber, Ritter said. Youre formidable. So were not going to miss you and that formidableness that you bring. Ritter also complimented Gov. Ned Lamonts administration for what its done over the last 60 days without the help of the legislature. He wondered whether the administration missed the legislature to take on some of the burden of governing and the criticism that comes with that. Our responsibility is not punted, its just delayed, Ritter said of the legislature. The legislature is expected to convene a special session, but they were unable to say what that would look like and what legislation they need to pass when they reconvene. Aresimowicz said they have been working and have been on the phone evaluating the executive orders, raising issues with the Department of Labor and nursing homes. He said some of the members are delivering meals and others are delivering masks. This has been a tough time for all of us, he added. Ritter apologized to Aresimowicz for having this be his last day. Im going to miss you, Im sorry this is your last day, Ritter said. The legislature was only in session 20 times this year because of public health concerns that limited gathering within the constitutionally-mandated timeframe. U-Haul, which recently extended 30 days of free self-storage to every college student in need across the U.S. and Canada, is adding packing services to its Collegeboxes program to help students in this challenging predicament. "There are safety, time, travel and cost concerns for students living out-of-state and out-of-country whose possessions remain on or near a college campus," said Dain Howell, Director of Collegeboxes. "And local students may prefer to err on the side of caution rather than go back to retrieve their things. "For these reasons and more, Collegeboxes.com is expanding services to include packing for students who are unable or unwilling to return to campus at this time." Collegeboxes, the No. 1 student storage and shipping provider in the country, already offered delivery of boxes and tape to a student's residence; collection of the boxes upon packing; and FedEx shipping anywhere in the world, or storage at a local U-Haul facility until the student returns to school. But now as students, parents and schools seek immediate solutions due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the Collegeboxes team is offering to come to a residence, pack up a student's belongings based on their personalized instructions, and ship or store those items at the student's request. Because U-Haul is local with its products and services available everywhere in the U.S., Collegeboxes is able to offer this help to students at almost every school in the country, from small colleges to the largest universities. Local service also affords available to students and universities on short notice. Call (866) 269-4887 or email [email protected] for more information. How Does It Work? Once students create an online account and place an order at Collegeboxes.com, the team works with the Student Affairs (or Student Housing) department at that school to arrange for residential access and packing of a student's belongings. Many schools require students sign a proxy to grant residential entry of a third party like Collegeboxes. This may be done through Student Affairs, a Resident Advisor, or other administrator. More than 200 universities already partner with Collegeboxes.com and work with the team on a regular basis, arranging dates and times when access is allowed once a student has purchased services and given instructions. Other schools have their own protocols, which may require students call or email school personnel to set up permissions. Students have access to services regardless of whether their school is a Collegeboxes partner, although schools enjoy many benefits from having that affiliation. "One of those benefits is our ability to deal with the abandonment of personal items left behind in student housing. We know schools need to get these rooms cleared out, cleaned and sanitized before the new school year," Howell stated. "We also remove the worry and liability for universities. Collegeboxes contracts directly with students and accepts responsibility for their belongings. It's done electronically, so students are in control even though they may not be there. They manage what is shipped, what is stored, and when and where their items get returned. We're backed by U-Haul, so you're dealing with a trusted company that has been moving America for 75 years." For students who live off campus, Collegeboxes only needs access and instructions to carry out services. This may require students sign a proxy with their apartment manager or home owner granting permissions. Promo Code "HELP10" As an added bonus to its new packing services, Collegeboxes is offering 10% off all storage fees on orders that include storage of boxes during the summer months. Just enter the promo code "HELP10" on the website, or mention it when calling. Collegeboxes has provided fast, easy and affordable options for students moving to and from school since 1999. For information about the U-Haul 30 days free self-storage offer to students, or to learn what U-Haul is doing to protect customers and Team Members during the COVID-19 outbreak, please visit uhaul.com. About U-Haul Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of 22,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 offers secure access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day through the customer dispatch option on their smartphones and our proprietary Live Verify technology. Our customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 167,000 trucks, 120,000 trailers and 43,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers nearly 697,000 rooms and 60.7 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry, and is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S. Contact: Jeff Lockridge Sebastien Reyes E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 602-263-6981 Website: uhaul.com SOURCE U-Haul Related Links www.uhaul.com LONG ISLAND, NY As Gov. Andrew Cuomo continued Wednesday to unveil a new plan to "reimagine" learning with a focus on virtual learning and technology, teachers fired back. Cuomo said during his press briefing Wednesday that there is a need to reimagine education. "We went to remote learning overnight. We had to do it, we implemented it. God bless the teachers and parents who had to figure out how to use technology and Zoom." The governor was echoing an announcement made Tuesday that he would be working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to "reimagine education" and explore new ways to incorporate technology for teaching and learning. The state, he said, will work with the Gates Foundation to "convene experts and develop a blueprint to reimagine education in the new normal." With the onset of coronavirus, "we did remote learning," Cuomo said. "Frankly, we weren't prepared, but we did what we had to do. Teachers and the educational system did a great job but there is more that we can do." To that end, Cuomo said there were questions to be considered, such as how technology could be used to provide additional opportunities to students, "no matter where they are." Other questions to be weighed, Cuomo said, include how the state could provide shared education among schools and colleges using technology; how technology could reduce "educational inequality," including English as a new language students; how technology can be used to meet educational needs of students with disabilities; how educators can be provided with more tools to use technology; how technology can break down barriers to K to 12, college and universities and provide greater access no matter where a student lives and how, given ongoing social distancing protocols, "we can deploy classroom technology, like immersive cloud virtual classroom learning, to recreate larger class or lecture hall environments in different locations. Story continues "We have a moment in history where we can incorporate and advance ideas," Cuomo said. "I think this is one of those moments. Let's think about revolutionizing education." Teachers are heroes & nothing could ever replace in-person learning--COVID has reinforced thatThe re-imagine education task force focuses on using technology most effectively while schools are closed & to provide more opportunities to students no matter where they are https://t.co/r4XBzPgUzq Melissa DeRosa (@melissadderosa) May 6, 2020 The state will bring together a group of leaders to answer the questions in collaboration with the Gates Foundation, who will support New York State by helping bring together national and international experts, as well as provide expert advice as needed, Cuomo said. "The old model of our education system where everyone sits in a classroom is not going to work in the new normal" "The last few months have been an incredibly stressful time full of change, but we have to learn and grow from this situation and make sure we build our systems back better than they were before," Cuomo said. "One of the areas we can really learn from is education because the old model of our education system where everyone sits in a classroom is not going to work in the new normal. When we do reopen our schools let's reimagine them for the future, and to do that we are collaborating with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and exploring smart, innovative education alternatives using all the new technology we have at our disposal." Educators fired back: New York State United Teachers President Andy Pallotta released a statement regarding the governors comments about reimagining education in New York: NYSUT believes in the education of the whole child," he said. "Remote learning, in any form, will never replace the important personal connection between teachers and their students that is built in the classroom and is a critical part of the teaching and learning process which is why weve seen educators work so hard during this pandemic to maintain those connections through video chats, phone calls and socially distant in-person meetings." He added: "If we want to reimagine education, lets start with addressing the need for social workers, mental health counselors, school nurses, enriching arts courses, advanced courses and smaller class sizes in school districts across the state. Lets secure the federal funding and new state revenues through taxes on the ultra-wealthy that can go toward addressing these needs. And lets recognize educators as the experts they are by including them in these discussions about improving our public education system for every student. Many teachers blasted Cuomo's idea and spoke strongly about the need for educators and in-classroom learning not just across the board, but especially for students with special needs or those who may be coming from abusive homes or families with food insecurity for those students, many said, school is much more than just learning; it is a haven. "Parents better wake up and fight Cuomo and Gates," one educator, who asked not to be identified, wrote. "Ironic they released the news on Teacher Appreciation Day. Kids need teachers, not tablets." On Thursday, Melissa DeRosa, secretary to the governor, tweeted about the issue: "Teachers are heroes and nothing could ever replace in-person learning COVID has reinforced that. The re-imagine education task force focuses on using technology most effectively while schools are closed and to provide more opportunities to students no matter where they are." This article originally appeared on the East Hampton Patch Elixr Coffee founder Evan Inatome prepares a pour-over coffee at an Elixr coffee shop in Philadelphia in 2018. Read more TL;DR: Some of Philadelphias small-business owners are gearing up to reopen their doors with new social-distancing measures, but frustration is growing over the lack of a timeline as to when that will be allowed. And as doctors see more coronavirus patients, they are finding that some exhibit psychiatric symptoms such as changes in behavior or personality. Allison Steele (@AESteele, health@inquirer.com) What you need to know The virus has moved the regions college graduation ceremonies online. See photos of Temple University graduates celebrating on campus here. The Mann Center and Philadelphia Orchestra have canceled all of the orchestras concerts at the venue this summer. Evictions and foreclosures in Pennsylvania are now prohibited through July 10, according to an order signed by Gov. Tom Wolf. Center City District Sips, the annual summer happy-hour promotion that usually starts in June, is canceled for the year. Local coronavirus cases The coronavirus has swept across the Philadelphia region and cases continue to mount. The Inquirer and Spotlight PA are compiling geographic data on tests conducted, cases confirmed, and deaths caused by the virus. Track the spread here. In Philadelphia, owners of restaurants and coffee shops have removed seats to allow for social distancing. An executive at a Montgomery County company that provides automation systems, meanwhile, is preparing for a potential surge in business. But all are without a clear timeline for when theyll be allowed to open their doors. Some plan to attend a Reopen Philly rally on Friday outside City Hall, a push that comes as numerous states that initially werent as hard hit by the virus begin to lift some restrictions. Public-opinion polls, however, show that majorities oppose reopening businesses right now, even at the cost of continued economic suffering. As scientists and researchers all over the world scramble to uncover more information about the coronavirus, local doctors are realizing that memory loss, difficulty paying attention, and confusion can appear in COVID-19 patients even before more commonly recognized physical symptoms of the infection. Helpful resources You got this: Plan a camping trip You might not be able to get on a plane for a vacation this summer, but privately owned Pennsylvania campgrounds are allowed to reopen. That said, campers are required to follow safety rules from the Wolf administration, including social distancing and mask wearing, and CDC guidelines recommend that you not stray far from home or camp with people from other households. If you want to plan a trip, call a campground first to check that its taking reservations. If youre thinking about going to the beach, here are some things to consider first, and what the science says. Philadelphia schools are launching a hotline, grief counseling, and other support services for children and families. You can still order books for delivery from several local independent bookstores. A Philly restaurateur believes that more outdoor dining could save the citys food scene. Have a social distancing tip or question to share? Let us know at health@inquirer.com and your input might be featured in a future edition of this newsletter. What were paying attention to Atlantic writer Caitlin Flanagan wrote about living with Stage IV cancer during the pandemic. Why refusing to wear a mask represents the worst about Americas rugged individualism, according to political columnist Dick Polman . Memes, text chains, and online conspiracies have fueled coronavirus protesters, the Boston Globe reports. Enjoy getting our journalism through email? You can also sign up for The Inquirer Morning Newsletter to get the latest news, features, investigations and more sent straight to your inbox each morning Sunday-Friday. Sign up here. Iffath Fathima By Express News Service BENGALURU: Overworked and underpaid, resident doctors across Karnataka are going about their duties, including looking after Covid-19 patients, while wearing black bands to demand a higher stipend. Compared to other states, resident doctors in Karnataka are paid a pittance, according to the Karnataka Association of Resident Doctors. While the stipend in Karnataka is Rs 35,000 per month, it is Rs 90,000 in Delhi, Rs 80,000 in Chandigarh, and Rs 60,000 in MP. We are frontline workers. Now, during this crisis, we are with patients for six hours. Even during other times, it is we who work in out-patient departments, emergency, and other departments and yet we are paid so low, said a doctor at the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute who requested anonymity. Dr Dayanand Sagar, a resident doctor at Victoria Hospital, said that the Medical Council of India stipulates that stipends be hiked every year but in Karnataka, the last hike was in 2015. We have been demanding a hike for the past five years. The stipends of senior doctors is Rs 45,000. We want the government to increase the stipends of first year, second year, third year postgraduate students to Rs 60,000, Rs 65,000, Rs 70,000 respectively, and to Rs 75,000 for senior resident doctors, he said. In 2019, the government raised fees for UG courses to Rs 50,000 from Rs 12,000 and to Rs 1,30,000 from Rs 36,000 for PG courses. We have been asking to reduce the fees, but it has been of no use, said Dr Sagar. They had approached the CM and other ministers for a hike in their stipends, but havent heard from anyone. We cant go on a protest and stop working. Our patients need us. We will continue to work but we need a hike and a reduction in fees. During my term as Australias Chief Scientist I have, through speeches, articles and conversations, cautioned that advances in technology must always be guided by our basic moral compass and our respect for human rights and privacy. As innovations such as artificial intelligence, satellite positioning and connected devices flourish, our privacy and personal data are increasingly used for the commercial advantage of others, with potential for more intrusive outcomes. The COVIDSafe app. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Im a scientist and an engineer, so my thinking is somewhat algebraic. I look at the intrusions of the giant media companies and their advertisers as an inequality in which they get nearly all of the benefit while I get very little. So, when I considered whether I would download the new COVIDSafe app, my deliberations were filtered through the lens of algebraic inequalities. On the left-hand side of the equation are the benefits to society and myself. On the right-hand side are the hypothetical risks. Chattanooga State Community College will hold its 54th Annual Commencement exercises on Saturday, Aug. 1, at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Auditorium. The College's spring commencement ceremony was originally scheduled for May 9 but due to COVID-19, the College made the difficult decision to postpone. The Aug. 1 commencement exercises will be combined with the Tennessee College of Applied Technology Division graduation. The College will be awarding degrees, certificates and diplomas to graduates during two ceremonies with times to be announced at a later date. Katrina Griffin, a member of the class of 2020, will present the Commencement address. Katrina, age 35, is a communications major and an Integrated Studies major at MTSU, a member of Phi Theta Kappa international and Spire honor societies, a Tennessee Reconnect student, Chattanooga States SOAR representative and East Tennessees SOAR Award winner at the statewide College System of Tennessee this spring. Like many adult students, Katrina had a strong desire to earn a college degree, but due to illness and her commitments as a wife and a mother, her plans were derailed...but only for the moment. Katrina didn't let these obstacles prevent her from achieving her goal of earning her degree. Now, Katrina is ready to graduate from Chattanooga State and plans to pursue her bachelor's degree at MTSU, with an ambition to earn her master's degree as well. I am just so thankful for ChattState. It's such an amazing school and my journey has all been worth it, shares Katrina. Chattanooga State Community College consistently offers a high-quality education with 97 percent job placement and 98 percent allied health licensure pass rate. For more information, visit chattanoogastate.edu. Shock to many as it is revealed Welsh First Minister is making Welsh lockdown decisions This article is old - Published: Thursday, May 7th, 2020 Many people appear confused as to who is setting laws in the place they live, with the Welsh Government keen to point out the difference in some media headlines and the reality of the situation in Wales. Across the UK many media outlets have been reporting on how Prime Minister Johnson will be making decisions over the future of the lockdown. Such reporting is being cited locally either as an indicator that things could be loosened soon, as well as Johnsons Government making decisions for the people of Wrexham. The lockdown is still fully in place, with two separate regulations on the statue books one for Wales and one for England. The documents are different, reflecting the difference in laws in both countries. The ongoing issue has come to a head during the pandemic, with Welsh Government using social media at the weekend to call out incorrect education stories: Welsh Gov calling out Reach PLC for duff reporting the article itself reports what the Telegraph Media Group said, who also get it wrong. https://t.co/VRyiS8mux0 Wrexham.com (@wrexham) May 2, 2020 The headlines in some newspapers overnight has prompted a sharper reaction today, with a specific statement released this lunchtime directly targeting the reports. A Welsh Government spokesperson has said today: The Welsh Cabinet met this morning to discuss the lockdown restrictions and will meet again this evening. It is crucially important that the people of Wales are informed clearly and accurately about what, if any, changes are made to the current stay-at-home restrictions. Some of the reporting in todays newspapers is confusing and risks sending mixed messages to people across the UK. The First Minister of Wales will announce the outcome of the Cabinets decision in due course. Our message for this bank holiday remains, stay home, protect the NHS, Save Lives. Even in Wales the cookie cutter style of news provision, where centralised news feeds are farmed out to local titles means the cross border differences are sometimes not noted despite being branded trusted news. Locally we have previously pointed to UK and worldwide Press Association feeds being farmed out to tens or hundreds of titles across the UK, without a note that topics such as education and health are devolved and the information could be irrelevant to the titles that they are published on. The issue has been picked up on social media with people now logging the problem: It looks like all Reach publications have just been sent the Mirror article and instructed to adapt it, regardless of how relevant it actually is pic.twitter.com/Yn9Y3urPaC Chris Roberts (@ObsrvntPheasant) May 7, 2020 Locally the Reach PLC product the Daily Post has continued the trend, tweeting this afternoon: Health was was devolved to Wales in 1999, with the people of Wrexham and Clwyd South going to the polls several times to decide who gets to represent them while forming such policies. This morning we tweeted about the problem again, and had a range of replies which you can view on twitter here. [May 07, 2020] Physiological Data Collected from Wearable AI-Powered Technology Reveals Negative Emotions Have Almost Doubled Since Lockdown For the first time in the mental health industry, Sentio Solutions has used objective data collected from physiological signals detected by their proprietary Feel Emotion Sensor, an emotion tracking wearable device, to understand and quantify the changes to the emotional states of a sample group of participants in Europe and the USA. Results from this recent study showed sudden and significant changes to those physiological signals, indicating that emotional changes or new emotions were being experienced. Over the course of eight weeks, between February 2020 and April 2020, Sentio collected data from a random sample group of participants in Europe and the USA, and analyzed 128 million electro-dermal activity (EDA) samples, 400 million heart rate variability (HRV) samples, 64 million skin temperature (ST) samples, and approximately 900 significant emotional moments. Analysis of the data showed: A dramatic drop in the various bio-signals after lockdown, indicating a significant change in people's emotional state The number of negative emotions experienced almost doubled after lockdown More than 60% of those negative emotions increased in intensity The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown have triggered the occurrence of novel emotions such as feeling vulnerable, empty, terrified, fearful and miserable. "The Feel Emotion Sensor was developed following manyyears of research, it uses proprietary algorithms and artificial intelligence to analyze physiological data to detect the emotional space, and is connected to a companion app and a data-driven CBT therapy program. The introduction of this tool is a breakthrough in the mental health care space, which has been fairly subjective until now. It gives users real-time self-awareness and tools to manage their emotions, and our therapists can use data to design personalized treatments. We are only scratching the surface of the potential of our technology and this will completely reinvent mental health care for the future," says CTO and Co-Founder Haris Tsirmpas. If you would like to read the full study, click here. Sentio Solutions is a San Francisco based company, which develops biomarkers and digital therapeutics to change the way we diagnose, manage and care for mental health. The company's premier offering Feel is a holistic mental health program that uses its proprietary Feel Emotion Sensor to quantify a person's emotional state for the very first time, and deliver 24/7 emotional health support to those in need. The company also launched the Feel Relief Program, a tailored and structured mental health program to meet the demand and need for emotional help during the COVID-19 pandemic. Full details of both programs can be found here. About Sentio Solutions Sentio Solutions is a San Francisco based company, which develops biomarkers and digital therapeutics to change the way we diagnose, manage and care for mental health. The company's premier offering Feel, combines its proprietary Feel Emotion Sensor with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in order to bring a data-driven approach to the field of mental health for the very first time, while providing real-time interventions and care to those in need of emotional and mental health support. Sentio Solutions is backed by top VC firms and has kicked-off deployments with large Health & Life (News - Alert) insurers in the USA and Germany. Feel is involved in many active research projects in collaboration with universities. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005691/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] NEW YORK, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Nielsen Holdings plc (NYSE: NLSN) today announced the filing of an initial Form 10 Registration Statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the Company's proposed separation of the Nielsen Global Connect business into an independent, publicly traded company. The filing represents a significant milestone in the process of completing the separation, which the Company anticipates effecting in the first quarter of 2021, subject to certain conditions. As previously announced, the proposed separation of the Nielsen Global Connect business would be structured as a distribution to Nielsen shareholders of 100% of the shares of a new entity holding the Nielsen Global Connect business. The distribution will generally be intended to qualify as tax-free to Nielsen shareholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Upon completion of the transaction, record holders of Nielsen common stock would continue to maintain their current ownership interest in both the Nielsen Global Media business through their existing Nielsen holdings and the Nielsen Global Connect business in the form of shares of the new standalone company. Nielsen Global Connect has the most comprehensive understanding of the world's consumers and a global presence in over 100 countries spanning more than 90% of the world's population. It delivers trusted data, advanced solutions and essential insights to manufacturers and retailers, enabling them to make critical marketing and merchandising decisions. Nielsen invented the concept of market share 95 years ago and builds upon that industry-defining innovation every day. David Kenny, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Our filing today is an important step in the process to create two independent, leading companies executing distinct growth strategies. The separation will position each of the businesses to better leverage their unique competitive advantages and serve distinct end markets, while ensuring that they are best positioned to realize their full value." David Rawlinson, Chief Executive Officer, Nielsen Global Connect, added, "As a standalone company, Nielsen Global Connect will create and define the next century of consumer and market measurement. Anticipating the dynamic and increasingly digital needs of the retail and consumer goods industry has never been more important, and only Nielsen Global Connect has the depth and breadth of knowledge to lead the way." The Form 10 Registration Statement is available at www.sec.gov under the name "Nielsen SpinCo B.V." The Form 10 Registration Statement will be updated in subsequent amendments as additional information relating to the spin-off becomes available, including pro-forma financial statements and additional information regarding capital structure, governance and other matters. The separation remains subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including obtaining final approval from the Nielsen Board of Directors, receipt of an opinion and ruling regarding the U.S. federal income tax treatment of the spin-off, the approval of Nielsen shareholders and works council consultations, completion of financing, and the effectiveness of the Form 10. Forward-looking Statements This news release includes information that could constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include those regarding our plan to spin-off Nielsen Global Connect as well as those that may be identified by words such as "will," "intend," "expect," "anticipate," "should," "could" and similar expressions. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results and events could differ materially from what presently is expected. Factors leading thereto may include, without limitation, the risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy and financial markets, the uncertainties relating to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nielsen's business, the expected benefits and costs of the spin-off transaction, the expected timing of completion of the spin-off transaction, the ability of Nielsen to complete the spin-off transaction considering the various conditions to the completion of the spin-off transaction (some of which are outside Nielsen's control, including those conditions related to regulatory approvals), business disruption during the pendency of or following the spin-off transaction, diversion of management time on the spin-off transaction-related issues, failure to receive the required shareholder approval of the spin-off transaction, retention of existing management team members, the reaction of customers and other parties to the spin-off transaction, the qualification of the spin-off transaction as a tax-free transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes (including whether or not an IRS ruling will be obtained), potential dissynergy costs between Nielsen Global Connect and Nielsen Global Media, the impact of the spin-off transaction on relationships with customers, suppliers, employees and other business counterparties, general economic conditions, conditions in the markets Nielsen is engaged in, behavior of customers, suppliers and competitors, technological developments, as well as legal and regulatory rules affecting Nielsen's business and other specific risk factors that are outlined in our disclosure filings and materials, which you can find on http://www.nielsen.com/investors, such as our 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K reports that have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the registration statement on Form 10 filed by Nielsen SpinCo B.V. with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the spin-off transaction. Please consult these documents for a more complete understanding of these risks and uncertainties. This list of factors is not intended to be exhaustive. Such forward-looking statements only speak as of the date of this press release, and we assume no obligation to update any written or oral forward-looking statement made by us or on our behalf as a result of new information, future events or other factors, except as required by law. About Nielsen Nielsen Holdings plc (NYSE: NLSN) is a global measurement and data analytics company that provides the most complete and trusted view available of consumers and markets worldwide. Nielsen is divided into two business units. Nielsen Global Media, the arbiter of truth for media markets, provides media and advertising industries with unbiased and reliable metrics that create a shared understanding of the industry required for markets to function. Nielsen Global Connect provides consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers with accurate, actionable information and insights and a complete picture of the complex and changing marketplace that companies need to innovate and grow. Our approach marries proprietary Nielsen data with other data sources to help clients around the world understand what's happening now, what's happening next, and how to best act on this knowledge. An S&P 500 company, Nielsen has operations in over 100 countries, covering more than 90% of the world's population. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com. From time to time, Nielsen may use its website and social media outlets as channels of distribution of material company information. Financial and other material information regarding the company is routinely posted and accessible on our website at http://www.nielsen.com/investors and our Twitter account at http://twitter.com/Nielsen. Important Additional Information In connection with the spin-off transaction, Nielsen expects to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission ('SEC") a proxy statement of Nielsen, as well as other relevant documents concerning the spin-off transaction. This communication is not a substitute for the proxy statement or for any other document that Nielsen may file with the SEC and send to its shareholders in connection with the spin-off transaction. The spin-off transaction will be submitted to Nielsen's shareholders for their consideration. Before making any voting decision, Nielsen's shareholders are urged to read the proxy statement regarding the spin-off transaction when it becomes available and any other relevant documents filed with the SEC, as well as any amendments or supplements to those documents, because they will contain important information about the spin-off transaction. Nielsen's shareholders will be able to obtain a free copy of the proxy statement, as well as other filings containing information about Nielsen, without charge, at the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov). Copies of the proxy statement and the filings with the SEC that will be incorporated by reference therein can also be obtained, without charge, by directing a request to Nielsen Holdings plc, 85 Broad Street, New York, NY 10004, Attention: Corporate Secretary; telephone (646) 654-5000, or from Nielsen's website www.nielsen.com. Participants in the Solicitation Nielsen and certain of its directors, executive officers and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in respect of the spin-off transaction. Information regarding Nielsen's directors and executive officers is available in Nielsen's definitive proxy statement for its 2020 annual meeting, which was filed with the SEC on April 1, 2020. Other information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in the proxy statement to be filed with the SEC in connection with the spin-off transaction. Free copies of this document may be obtained as described in the preceding paragraph. SOURCE Nielsen Holdings plc Related Links http://www.nielsen.com 2-Year-Old Oklahoma Boy Located Safely After Missing for More Than 24 Hours Officials in Oklahoma announced on Facebook that missing 2-year-old Jesse Dale Young has been safely located on May 7. Young was found in the woods with scratches about 2 miles from where he wandered away at around 1 p.m., Mayes County Sheriff said. This was more than 24 hours after he was last seen. The boy walked away around 11 a.m. on Wednesday from his home located about 4 miles north of Salina. The office thanked everyone involved in the massive search that brought over 100 volunteers and first-responders from the community together. Multiple Mayes County units responded immediately, as well as units from the Salina Police Department, Locust Grove Police Department, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, GRDA Police, Disney Police Department, Salina Fire Department, Mesta Ambulance service, Disney Fire Department, Pryor Fire Department, and the Mayes County Emergency Management Team, police said in a statement. Previously: Oklahoma officials are searching for a missing 2-year-old boy from Mayes County, who has not been seen for nearly 20 hours. The Mayes County Sheriffs Office answered a call on the morning of May 6 around 11 a.m. that Jesse Dale Young had gone missing from his home, which is about 4 miles north of Salina. Young is described as a white male, 3 feet 3 inches tall and weighing 35 pounds. He was last seen wearing a pull-up diaper and blue-colored Croc style shoes. Responding officers used drones with heat sensors, bloodhounds, mounted patrols from the Rogers County Sheriffs Office, ATVs, and foot patrols, but were unable to locate Young, according to a police statement. Along with about 70 first-responders, nearly 100 volunteers also tried to find the boy after news broke out on social media, local outlet NewsOn6 reported. I seen it on Facebook, hes lost and if it was my kid Id want somebody to come out here, volunteer Jason Dunn told KTUL. Steve Smith, the boys uncle, was searching the whole of Wednesday, he told NewsOn6. Its tough, because the longer it goes, the harder it is to find him, Smith said. He is just a really good kid, I just hope nothing bad has happened to him. Youngs mother, Carlie Rain Young, said on Facebook she wants her baby home safe. Hes my snuggle bug, my adventure buddy, my everything, she said. After it started to get dark, searchers continued to try and locate the boy in rugged woods and terrain that can be dangerous. I have four kids, how would I want it to end, how would you want it to end if you had a kid? Mayes County Sheriff Mike Reed told NewsOn6. Mayes County Sheriffs Office has asked the public to be vigilant and to call 918-825-3535 or 911 if they have any information. From NTD News During this awkward stage of the pandemic where some businesses are starting to reopen but no one knows how safe that really is, here's a restaurant in Amsterdam experimenting with a trial model. Mediamatic ETEN, a vegan restaurant, has added small greenhouses so that diners can eat while safely (supposedly) social distancing. The staff, who wear face guards, bring the food on long boards so that they don't have to enter the greenhouse while serving food and drinks. In this trial stage they are only inviting staff friends and family to dine, and all of their bookings are sold out. Via CNN The Sri Lankan government has urged its employees to contribute their May month's salary, in part or full, to lend a helping hand in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. In a letter dated May 5 and addressed to all state sector employees, P B Jayasundera, the Secretary to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, said avenues of state revenue have been blocked due to the standstill in the international trade, export and tourism following the coroanvirus pandemic. "Although this may be a temporary pressure on the economy, the government is duty bound to service its debts. Even if we manage local debt, we have to somehow pay foreign debt by using the limited state revenue available," the letter stated, urging the employees to contribute their May month's salary, in full or part, to help the government tide over the economic crisis made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic Jayasundera said he would donate his May's salary for the cause. The letter stated that nearly Rs 100 billion is needed to meet the state sector salary payments every month. "If we were to forego this, we will have a surplus income over expenditure during May. This will narrow the budget deficit and ease our pressure on debt servicing drastically," Jayasundera said. Meanwhile, a new presidential task force has been set up to develop an economic model in the post-COVID-19 recovery period for different areas and specified targets. The new model will aim at stopping the foreign exchange outflow from the education sector, the use of indigenous medicine as well as developing tourism and bringing in more foreign investment. In the wake of the coronavirus crisis, Sri Lanka has imposed import restrictions to curb the outflow of foreign exchange and urged its overseas citizens to invest in the country. Lanka has reported 797 coronavirus cases, including nine deaths. The country had been under a 24-hour curfew since March 20, though it had been intermittently relaxed in some parts. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vietnam AIrlines will completely restore the domestic airway network from June.- Vietnam AIrlines The move is under the direction of the Ministry of Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), in which the domestic airway network is expected to be completely restored from June. The national carrier Vietnam Airlines will increase to 23 flights per day from the current 17 flights on routes between Ha Noi and HCM City, eight flights per day on routes between Da Nang and Ha Noi and HCM City, seven flights between HCM City and Phu Quoc, five flights between HCM City to Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa and Vinh, and one to four flights on the other routes. Vietnam Airlines said it would restore its entire domestic flight network after re-operating two routes between Da Nang, Van Don and Can Tho. The firm is studying to open new routes to diversify products, meeting the needs of passengers and promoting growth again after the COVID-19 pandemic. From May 7, budget carrier Jetstar Pacific will operate one flight per day connecting HCM City with Da Nang, Vinh, and Thanh Hoa, four flights per week between HCM City and Pleiku, Chu Lai and Dong Hoi on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The airline will monitor the situation of market demand to increase flights in the coming days, especially on the route between Ha Noi and HCM City. Meanwhile, Vasco has increased the frequency of flights between HCM City and Con Dao to six-eight flights per day. It plans to operate regular flights of two-three flights per week on routes between Ha Noi and Dien Bien, HCM City and Rach Gia and Ca Mau, and Can Tho and Con Dao, each. A Vietnam Airlines representative said Vietnam Airlines offers passengers special discounts with fares from only VND199,000 (US$8.5) per way (equivalent to VND689,000 including taxes and fees) on many routes. The sale programme lasts for five days from May 7 to May 12, applying to tickets departing from May 7 to June 30. In order to ensure the prevention of COVID-19, the firm said it still complies with the strict standards of the ministries of Health and Transport, in which passengers are instructed to check body temperature and declare their health before the flight and wear a mask during the flight. Airlines continue to disinfect aircraft and do not serve meals on domestic flights as prescribed by the CAAV. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Vincent LaGanga, 82, a self-employed architect who went to the gym and walked at least three miles every day before he got sick, said his 36 days in the hospital with coronavirus (COVID-19) was like another lifetime. "I cant believe I got another chance. ...I have to say, thank God for the hospital staff [at Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH]], who stuck with me, spoke with me and spent time with me. I cant begin to tell you, he said choking back the tears. The U.S. Army veteran, who served with the 77th Infantry Division, was released from SIUH on Tuesday and was greeted with cheers from neighbors when he arrived at his daughters Arrochar home. HOW IT STARTED The long-time borough resident, who travels between his Florida residence and his daughters Island-based home, was running a fever at the end of March. He also had difficulty breathing, his pulse oxygen level was low and he was extremely fatigued, said his daughter, E.J. LaGanga. He was extremely fatigued; he wouldnt even get up to take his [high blood pressure] medication. I knew something was drastically wrong. That was a rapid decline, she recalled. Based on those symptoms, I said, Its got to be the virus. Her father was admitted to SIUH on March 31; he was on a ventilator for eight days, she said. He was in critical care for eight days. ... Every day I was thinking, Is he going to make it off that ventilator? ...The doctors were phenomenal. ...He was given hydroxychloroquine, she said. Dad came out of it on Holy Thursday. He was the Easter miracle, his daughter added. HOLDING ON FOR FAMILY LaGanga said he held on during his hardest days battling the virus because of his daughter. She would call me every day and speak to me about God, he said. She said Hang in there; you need another day, and I kept hanging in there. My daughter, son-in-law and grandson were there for me. Its so important to know someone is there for you. E.J. LaGanga said the hardest part of her fathers illness and recovery was not being able to see him in the hospital. The most difficult part of this journey has been advocating for my dad in the midst of not being able to have communication, and be there by his side, she said. It was hard dealing with the unknown. ...You had to depend on the health-care workers as the lifeline to your loved ones. The health-care workers, doctors and nurses were wonderful. We are so thankful and so fortunate. We feel blessed and so grateful, as there are so many people I know [with coronavirus] who have not made it. *** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK*** FOLLOW TRACEY PORPORA ON FACEBOOK and TWITTER They say distance makes the hearts grow fonder. Our filmmakers certainly believe in the adage and have a habit of including an element of separation in love stories. But this plot device isnt used just between lovers. Sometimes, it becomes a sore point between parents and children, as well as between married couples. Currently, thanks to the lockdown situation, many partners may have found themselves being separated from their loved ones. Presenting a list of films commiserating with that situation.Director: Sanjay Leela BhansaliCast: Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai BachchanIts based on the 1917 Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's Bengali novel of the same name. Shah Rukh Khan plays Devdas, a wealthy law graduate who returns from London and finds himself in love with his next-door neighbour Paro (Aishwarya). However, because of the class difference between them, his family doesnt consent to their marriage. Devdas becomes heartbroken and becomes an alcoholic because of the pain of separation from his childhood sweetheart. Paros mother marries her into a family which is richer than Devdas family. She marries a widower with children who has no interest in her. Devdas finds succour in the arms of a courtesan Chandramukhi (Madhuri Dixit). He just cant reconcile himself with the separation and his health deteriorates. In the end, he takes his last breath at the gate of Paros new home. She can only watch helplessly from afar as he dies.Director: Ravi ChopraCast: Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Salman Khan, Mahima ChaudharyIts a remake of Marathi film Oon Paoos (1954), a family drama revolving around the plight of neglected parents. Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini came together in a film after Nastik (1983) and created screen magic once more. The film tugged at the heart of the viewers and was a surprise hit. Pooja Malhotra (Hema Malini), is married to Raj (Amitabh Bachchan), and has four sons Ajay (Aman Verma), Sanjay (Samir Soni), Rohit (Saahil Chadda), and Karan (Nasirr Khan). They also have an adopted son Alok (Salman Khan), who is in love with Arpita (Mahima Chaudhry). Due to financial constraints, they are unable to live together and have to live separately in houses of different sons for a period of six months, rotating individually every six months from one sons house to another. This separation takes a toll on their emotional well-being. Raj writes a book on his experiences which brings him financial independence. Alok too takes them to his house and gives the love and respect which their real sons were unable to do. In the end, they reject their actual offsprings in favour of Alok.Director: Yash ChopraCast: Shah Rukh Khan, Preity ZInta, Rani MukerjiShah Rukh Khan plays an Indian Air Force officer named Veer who falls in love with a Pakistani girl named Zara (Preity Zinta). Veer rescues Zaara after her bus meets with an accident when she has come to India for a pilgrimage. The two lost their hearts to each other but Zara is already betrothed to Raza Sharazi (Manoj Bajpayee). Upon reaching Pakistan, Zaara realises that marrying Raza would now be a mistake. Veer too feels he cant live without her. He comes to Pakistan in the hope of winning her over. When Zaras fiance finds out about Veer, he wrongly frames him on charges of being an Indian spy and sends him to prison. Years later, Saamiya Siddiqui (Rani Mukerji), a Pakistani civil rights lawyer decides to take up Veers case and bring him out of prison. To collect evidence about Veers innocence, she travels to his village in India and finds Zara running the school for girls started by Veers parents. She had escaped long ago thinking that Veer had died in an accident. After a 20 year separation, Saamiya manages to reunite the lovers and gets them married.Director: Vipul Amrutlal ShahCast: Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra, Shefali Shah and Boman Irani.Akshay Kumar plays Aditya, the spoilt son of a rich businessman Ishwarchand Thakur (Amitabh Bachchan). Aditya takes everything lightly and has a carefree attitude towards life. He gets married to his girlfriend Pooja (Priyanka Chopra), without informing anyone. Thats when his father decides he should be taught a lesson and throws him out of the house along with his pregnant wife. Aditya goes all out and becomes a film star soon but there is deep resentment in his heart against his father. Its only when he comes to know that his father is dying of cancer and throws him out because he wanted his son to succeed that Aditya feels remorse and reconciles with his father. The father names his grandson after him and passes away content. The film demonstrated how parents have to exercise tough love for the benefit of their children and sometimes have to keep them separate to teach them a lesson.Director: Nagesh KukunoorCast: Ayesha Takia, Gul Panag, Shreyas Talpade, Girish Karnad, Uttara Baokar, Prateeksha LonkarAkshay Kumar plays Aditya, the spoilt son of a rich businessman Ishwarchand Thakur (Amitabh Bachchan). Aditya takes everything lightly and has a carefree attitude towards life. He gets married to his girlfriend Pooja (Priyanka Chopra), without informing anyone. Thats when his father decides he should be taught a lesson and throws him out of the house along with his pregnant wife. Aditya goes all out and becomes a film star soon but there is deep resentment in his heart against his father. Its only when he comes to know that his father is dying of cancer and throws him out because he wanted his son to succeed that Aditya feels remorse and reconciles with his father. The father names his grandson after him and passes away content. The film demonstrated how parents have to exercise tough love for the benefit of their children and sometimes have to keep them separate to teach them a lesson.Director: Vipul Amrutlal ShahCast: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Rishi Kapoor, Javed Sheikh and Upen Patel.Manmohan Malhotra (Rishi Kapoor), an Indian NRI living in London wishes to get his daughter, Jasmeet (Katrina Kaif) married to someone from India. Jasmeet already has a British boyfriend named Charlie Brown (Clive Standen). She reluctantly agrees to marry her dads son Arjun (Akshay Kumar) to placate her father but upon returning to England, she refuses to recognise her marriage with Arjun as there is no proof of the wedding. Arjun doesnt want to force her into a relationship. He respects her wishes and maintains his distance. Though they are separate, circumstances force Jasmeet to see a different side of Arjun. She likes the way he takes pride in Indian culture and values. She begins to admire him from afar and soon falls in love with him. Whether or not she decides to come back to him forms the crux of the film.Director: Omung KumarCast: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Randeep Hooda, Richa Chadha, Darshan KumarSarbjit Singh was born in Bhikhiwind, located along the Indo-Pakistani border in the Tarn Taran district of Punjab. He was caught by Pakistani rangers near Kasur and claimed he had crossed over the border in an inebriated state. The Pakistani police initially charged him for trespassing but later accused him of being an Indian terrorist. He spent 22 years in jail, from 1991 till his death in 2013. Various mercy petitions were filed on his behalf, but all got rejected. Even the intervention of the Government of India wasnt enough to get him freed. He was killed reportedly by prison inmates, some say as retaliation towards the hanging of Afzal Guru. The film is told from the viewpoint of Sarbjits sister Dalbir Kaur, played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Randeep Hooda, who essayed the titular role, lost 18 kgs to look like someone who has been in prison for 22 years. The film opened to good critical acclaim, and both Aishwarya and Randeep were praised for their performances.Director: Abhishek VermanCast: Arjun Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Amrita Singh, Revathy, Shiv Subramaniyam and Ronit RoyA Punjabi lad falling in love with a Madrasi lass and the ensuing complications the basic premise of 2 States is as old as the hills. Its a basic human tendency that one group of men will consider themselves to be superior to another and even the so-called modern, educated folk still fall into that trap. The film touches upon such facts but also points out that given time and effort, we can rise above the differences. Another home truth brought out by the film is that they might irritate us to hell but parents love us in complex, uncomprehending ways. Krish Malhotra (Arjun Kapoor) and Ananya Swaminathan (Alia Bhatt) meet at the IIM Ahmedabad and instantly connect. Hes a clean-cut Punjabi munda at odds with his father. Shes a chulbuli Tam Bram who likes chicken tikka and beer. The usual college friendship leads to the friends-with-benefits arc. In between, they discover love and decide to get married. Thats where things get complicated as they dont want to elope but want to get hitched with their parents blessings. They break-up because their parents dont get along at all. While they cant bear the separation, there seems to be no way out, till Krishs dad smooths things over.Director: Sandeep VangaCast: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Arjan Bajwa, Suresh Oberoi, Adil Hussain, Kamini KaushalKabir Singh is the official remake of the 2017 Telugu blockbuster Arjun Reddy. Shahid Kapoor reprises Vijay Deverakonda role of a brilliant but self-destructive surgeon who descends into alcoholism and drug abuse when his girlfriend Preeti (Kiara Advani) is forcibly married to someone else. Preeti leaves her husband and fends for herself, living alone despite being pregnant with Kabirs child. She doesnt want to contact him or burden him. One day, coincidentally, he sees her and comes to know what befell her. He decides to marry her post-haste and their separation ends on a happy note. Black-clad rioters must be eliminated for Hong Kong to enjoy peace: spokesperson Global Times Source:Global Times Published: 2020/5/6 13:52:08 Hong Kong will not enjoy a peaceful day unless black-clad rioters are eliminated, and the central government will not sit and watch this destructive force wantonly do whatever they crazily wish, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council said on Wednesday. Black-clad rioters and anti-government protests are a political virus in Hong Kong society, and both are the biggest enemies of "one country, two systems," a spokesperson of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council said in a statement released on the office's website on Wednesday. The statement came after the COVID-19 epidemic began to ease in Hong Kong, but black-clad rioters soon resumed their violent activities such as illegal gathering, disrupting normal business and throwing Molotov cocktails. The spokesperson has been making frequent statements since mid-April regarding various issues including condemning some members of the opposition for malicious filibustering which paralyzed the functions of the LegCo and voicing support for Hong Kong police for arresting criminal suspects and riots' mastermind including Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and Martin Lee Chu-ming. Hong Kong economic recession deepened in the first quarter of the year weighed down by violent anti-government protests that started last June and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Hong Kong's GDP contracted 8.9 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, the largest recorded decline since 1974. The unemployment rate has reached 4.2 percent, a record high in the last nine years. While COVID-19 has threatened the safety of people around the world and brought unprecedented difficulties and challenges to global economic growth, the greatest calamity Hong Kong is facing is within itself, which is the black-clad rioters and anti-government protests, according to the spokesperson. Since June 2019, they have smashed, burnt and robbed public and private property and threatened people's safety, leading to a significant deterioration in Hong Kong's business environment and international reputation. Their evil deeds have not only caused visitors to stop coming to Hong Kong, industries to wither and the economy to decline, but has also caused investors to lose confidence in Hong Kong and sabotaged people's positive image of the city. Black-clad rioters are destroying the foundations of Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, the office said. During the May Day holiday, these people ignored pandemic control measures and marched to the streets to hold illegal gatherings, disrupted normal businesses and threw Molotov cocktails. A pressure cooker bomb, which has huge destructive power, was discovered by police for the first time. Black-clad rioters and their leaders, organizers and instigators are aiming to block the increasingly deep communication and cooperation between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, resist the central government's overall jurisdiction over Hong Kong, and make Hong Kong into an independent or semi-independent political entity under the false name of high autonomy, according to the spokesperson's statement. While more and more Hong Kong people have seen through their evil intentions, many are still being deceived and have sympathy and understanding or even naive fantasies about them, the spokesperson said, noting that this will only boost their arrogance. "The more sympathizers there are for the black-clad riot force, the bigger the price Hong Kong will pay," the statement reads. The central government shoulders the greatest responsibility in safeguarding the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's constitutional order and national security, and it also has the deepest concern for protecting Hong Kong's fundamental interests and Hong Kong people's fundamental well-being, the spokesperson said. Considering Hong Kong's future and the interests of Hong Kong people, the only right way to treat black-clad rioters and anti-government protests is to resolutely say no to them, the spokesperson said, noting that organizations and people who have public roles in particular must fulfill their duties according to law and take actual actions to defeat evil with justice, and all of society needs to act together to stop violence, restore order, fight the epidemic, save the economy, focus on livelihoods and rebuild their home. On Tuesday, people of insight from all walks of life in Hong Kong formed the Hong Kong Coalition, hoping to unite people, clean up the mess and push Hong Kong back onto the right track. The Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council highly appreciates the declaration made by the Hong Kong Coalition. Sticking to and carrying out "one country, two systems" comprehensively and accurately is the only bright future Hong Kong can have, and the central government has enough sincerity and confidence to keep it unchanged and can ensure that it is carried out, the spokesperson said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taking a U-turn, the Karnataka government has decided to deploy special trains from Friday to send back stranded migrant workers to their natives and sought approval of receiving states for the process, days after it abruptly withdrew a request sent to the Railways. On Thursday, the government wrote to Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha conveying it's decision and seeking their consent for receving the workers, official sources said. In separate letters, state Principal Revenue Secretary N Manjunatha Prasad, who is also the Nodal Officer for migrant labourers movement, asked his counterparts to give in principle approval for movement of special trains everyday, starting from Friday. Prasad informed his Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal counterparts that Karnataka intends to run two trains to the states a day till May 15 for ferrying the thousands of migrant workers stranded in the city and other districts due to the COVID-19 lockdown. The state plans to run one train each a day to Manipur and Tripura. The fresh move came two days after the government withdrew its request to the railways to run special trains for the migrants within hours of making it on Tuesday. The decision to withdraw the plea for special trains was made hours after Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Tuesday appealed to the workers to stay put in the state assuring them that they would be provided jobs with the easing of lockdown curbs. Yediyurappa's appeal, second since last week, came amid fears expressed by industries and construction sector about shortage for labourers as they resume operations. However, the desperate workers, left without jobs for long, have been keen on returning home. Incidentally, a section of migrant labourers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal had created a ruckus in the city on May 4, demanding that they be sent home. They also allegedly roughed up some policemen. United States top infectious diseases expert and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci brushed off the notion that SARS-CoV-2, which causes coronavirus was concocted in a Chinese laboratory. According to Fauci, looking at the evolution of the virus in bats and comparing it to the coronavirus strain which caused the pandemic, evidence indicates that it was not deliberately manipulated. Moreover, Aljazeera stated that during an interview with the National Geographic Magazine, Fauci said that everything about the virus' stepwise evolution strongly suggests that SARS-CoV-2 or more commonly known as the novel coronavirus evolved naturally and then jumped from one species to another. Meanwhile, Fauci's statements strongly contradict the previous claims of US President Donald Trump who said that he has seen evidence which made him very confident that the virus began inside the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The said institute is in very near proximity to the Huanan Seafood Market where the first cases of COVID-19 were observed. Trump, however, is yet to provide and go into detail about his proclaimed evidence. Read also: Pres. Donald Trump is Confident Vaccine Will be Developed by End of the Year Pompeo: evidence shows virus is man-made Supporting Trump's statement, on Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that there was a significant amount of evidence which points out that the virus emerged from a laboratory in China. However, he stressed that there is no evidence which indicates that the virus is man-made, supporting the statement of US-intelligence agencies. On the other hand, the Wuhan Institute of Virology has repeatedly dismissed the allegations, and officials of the US have also downplayed the possibility that Trump and Pompeo's claims are true. China has even called the allegations "insane" and told the US that they should focus on fighting the virus instead of playing the blame game. Furthermore, experts in the scientific community believe that the virus was first transmitted from animals to humans in the Wuhan market which sold wildlife. On Tuesday, Trump told reporters outside the White House that the US would be releasing its report which details the origins of the virus. However, he did not give any other details or a timeline. Meanwhile, top US general, general Mark Milley said in a different statement that it is still unknown whether the virus indeed emerged from the market, the virology institute, or elsewhere. Fauci will testify in the Senate not the House Trump also said on Tuesday, that Fauci would be permitted to appear before the Senate panel which examines the country's coronavirus response but he will not be testifying in the House of Representatives. It is known that the Senate is Republican-controlled whilst the House is led by the Democrats. Trump defended his decision to stop Fauci from testifying in the house saying that the Democrats are setting him up and that their views on this might be politically motivated against him. The infectious diseases expert is set to appear in the Health, Education, Labor and Pernsions committee of the Senate along with other US health officials who are on top of their fields on May 12. Related article: COVID-19 Groundbreaking Discovery: Scientists Find Antibody to Prevent COVID-19 Infection @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. SAN FRANCISCO, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Uber Technologies, Inc. is laying off some 3,700 full-time employees amid COVID-19, the U.S. ride-hailing company said on Wednesday. The company plans to reduce its operating expenses in response to the economic challenges and uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the company's business, according to Uber's regulatory filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Due to lower trip volumes in its rides segment and the company's current hiring freeze, Uber is reducing its customer support and recruiting teams by approximately 3,700 full-time employee roles, the filing said. "With the reality of our rides trips volumes being down significantly, our need for communication operations as well as in-person support is down substantially. And with our hiring freeze, there simply isn't enough work for recruiters," the company's CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a letter to staff. Khosrowshahi also reached an agreement with Uber's Board of Directors, effective May 2, to waive his base salary for the remainder of the year ending December 31, 2020. In connection with these actions, the company estimates that it will incur approximately 20 million U.S. dollars related to severance and other termination benefits. The company is evaluating other cost and will provide an update in subsequent SEC disclosures regarding such amounts if material, said Uber's filing. Coronavirus Outbreak LIVE Updates: Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said that 1,362 new coronavirus cases were reported in the state on Thursday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 18,120. Auto refresh feeds "Massive door-to-door surveillance has been ongoing since past one month to identify severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) and influenza-like illness (ILI) cases across West Bengal," she said. Mamat said the results were the outcome of her government's extensive door-to-door surveillance over a month in April, covering over 5.5 crore households, and the exercise will continue "till the virus is defeated". The West Bengal government has identified over 92,000 cases of influenza-like illness and 870 people with severe acute respiratory illness across the state, findings that serve as "early warning signals" in the fight against COVID-19, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said. On Wednesday evening, the Madras High Court established guidelines for sale of liquor at state-owned TASMACs. According to some of these guidelines, no more than two bottles of 750ml will be sold to customers if the booking is done online, customers can buy only one bottle of 750ml if he/she is paying cash. A huge crowd gathered at Muzaffarpur railway station on Wednesday after a special train, carrying close to 1,300 children, from Rajasthan's Kota reached Bihar. After their arrival, social distancing norms were flouted at the railway station. Air India will operate flights on Thursday to evacuate stranded Indian citizens in the United Kingdom. The Air India flights from London will arrive at six Indian cities, including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai. The number of active COVID-19 cases are growing faster at 6.6 percent now, leading to a shorter doubling time of 11 days, as compared to 15 days on 2 May when the growth rate for such cases was 4.8 percent, according to the data analysis by economist Shamika Ravi, earlier part of the Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council. Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the COVID-19 warriors in his address on the occasion of Buddha Purnima. He said: "I thank all of those who are working during these tough times. India has helped all the people who are in need and who have sought help from us," he added. In an order issued on Thursday morning, the government banned the export of alcohol-based hand sanitizers with immediate effect. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement would neither confirm nor deny the death. CoreCivic Inc., the private company that operates the detention center, didn't respond to a request for comment. The detainee had been held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego and hospitalised since late April, said Craig Sturak, a spokesman for the San Diego County Health & Human Services Agency. A 57-year-old man in immigration custody died Wednesday from complications related to the coronavirus, authorities said, marking the first reported death from the virus among about 30,000 people in immigration custody. The recovery rate stood at 29 percent after 15,266 COVID-19 patients were discharged, according to the latest data released by Health Ministry. The total number of COVID-19 cases in India climbed to 52,952 while, 1,783 patients succumbed to the infectious disease. Of the total confirmed cases, there are 35,902 active cases. "During this difficult time of coronavirus, there are several people around us who are working 24 hours to help others, to maintain law and order, to cure infected persons and to maintain cleanliness, by sacrificing their own comforts. All such people deserve appreciation and honour," said Narendra Modi during his address on Buddha Purnima. "India is constantly working to help other countries across the globe and will continue to do the same. To stop after getting tired cannot be a solution to any problem. All of us have to fight together to defeat coronavirus," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Koyambedu market has been linked to more than 500 cases in several districts of Tamil Nadu state and adjacent Kerala state. Over 7,000 people with connections to the market are being traced and quarantined, says J Radhakrishnan, the leader of Chennai's response to the coronavirus. The 59-year-old former army general "is home following all recommended protocols" after his positive test result was confirmed on Tuesday, the president's office says. Otavio Rego Barros, spokesman for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Thursday. China's total number of coronavirus cases stood at 82,885, while the toll remained unchanged at 4,633. China's National Health Commission said two new cases of the novel coronavirus were reported on Wednesday. Both were imported cases involving travellers from overseas. The total number of cases of the novel coronavirus in Rajasthan climbed to 3,355 after 38 more people tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. The viral infection claimed two more lives, taking the toll in the state to 95, said the health department. After the 1,567-case surge on Monday, this is the second-highest spike reported in the State. A total of 1,233 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Maharashtra on Wednesday, as the State crossed another grim milestone to surge past 6,000 confirmed cases. The overall count soared to 16,758, while a further 34 fatalities saw the death toll rise to 651. Three deaths were reported from Pune. The cumulative fatalities in the district have risen to 122. According to the Maharashtra Health Department, of the 34 new fatalities reported in the state on Wednesday, 26 COVID-19 patients succumbed to the infection in Mumbai alone. This takes the toll in the city to 412. Jayanti Ravi, the principal secretary of health and family welfare department, Gujarat, said that ayurvedic medicines were administered to 3,585 people at a quarantine centre. "Only eleven of these people tested positive for COVID-19, and that too happened because they were unable to complete the prescribed dosage," said Ravi. The Gujarat government claimed that quarantined persons benefited after taking an Ayurvedic medicine. An Ayurvedic kadha is a "concoction of various Ayurvedic herbs and medicines to boost immunity". The chief minister is likely to discuss the mitigation and exit plan for COVID-19 pandemic situation. Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has called a COVID-19 review meeting with all party members and Opposition leaders on Thursday at 2 pm, The Times of India reported. With these new cases, the total number of people afflicted with the disease has climbed to 205, he said. Odisha on Thursday reported the "highest number of COVID-19 cases" in a day as 20 people, who recently returned from Surat, tested positive for COVID-19, an official said. "These new patients have recently returned from Surat and were in quarantine centres," the official said. Of the 20 new patients in Odisha, 17 are from Ganjam district and three from Mayrurbhanj, a new one in the list of districts where coronavirus cases have been reported, an Information and Public Relations department official said. A resident of Alamgari Bazar area of the city, the man died at SMHS hospital here on late Wednesday night, the officials said. A man in his mid-thirties from Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital has became the ninth person to die due to COVID-19 in the union territory, officials said on Thursday. The medicines to be tested like Ashwagandha, Yashtimadhu, Guduchi Pippali and Ayush-64. Ayush Ministry, Health Ministry and Council of Scientific & Industrial Research alongwith the technical support of the ICMR, will conduct the clinical trials of Ayush medicines on health workers and those working in high risk areas has begun from Thursday, said health minister Harsh Vardhan. With Indians stranded in the Middle East to be evacuated from Thursday, elaborate safety measures have been put in place at Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), where the first flight from Abu Dhabi is expected to land at 9.40 pm on Thursday. "Following laid down protocols/procedures, the other personnel have been quarantined as a precautionary measure," the spokesperson said in a statement. The close contacts of the two sailors have been quarantined, spokesperson Wing Commander MS Hooda said, adding that the test results of the two sailors, who showed flu-like symptoms, were awaited. Two sailors of INS Netaji Subhas, a land-based logistics hub of the Indian Navy in Kolkata, were tested for the virus after they showed flu-like symptoms, a defence spokesperson told PTI today. This is the first time that coronavirus cases have been detected in a prison in Maharashtra. The jail, better known as Arthur Road jail, has nearly 2,600 inmates against a capacity of only 800. As many as 150 others, including over 15 staffers and senior prison officials who came in close proximity with the three, have undergone tests, with results expected on Thursday, Inspector General (Prisons) Deepak Pandey was quoted as saying by Indian Express. An undertrial and two prison guards have tested positive for COVID-19 at Mumbai Central Prison, triggering fears of a possible infection hotspot. About 250 police officers test positive for the novel coronavirus in Mumbai, ANI quoted Mumbai Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh as saying. "The number of symptomatic cases is low and none of them are in the intensive care unit," he added. The Indian Navys INS Jalashwa reached the Male port in Maldives on Thursday to evacuate Indian citizens stranded there amid the lockdown. Naval ships Jalashwa and Magar are enroute to the port of Male to evacuate people from 8 May. During the meeting, the challenges of an economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic was also discussed. "Our Indo-Pacific partnership will be more important in the coming days," said Jaishankar. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke with his Japanese counterpart to discuss the return of stranded Indians there, reported ANI. "As many as 51 people have been discharged in the past 24 hours, the total discharged are 780 till date," ANI quoted the state health department as saying. With 56 more people testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Andhra Pradesh in the past 24 hours, the total confirmed cases in the state climbed to 1,833 on Thursday. While, 39 COVID-19 patients have succumbed to the viral infection in the state so far. An inmate at the Agra Central Jail tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Thursday, reported ANI. Fourteen others who came in contact with him have been quarantined. Mumbai remained the worst COVID-affected city along with Pune and Thane in Maharashtra, amid rising number of confirmed cases and deaths. Apart from these, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Surat in Gujarat also some of the worst-affected cities across the country. The Central government sent a review team led by the joint secretary, including eight doctors. To assess the COVID-19 situation in Mumbai, Lav Agarwal, an IAS officer in the Ministry of Health and Welfare, is expected to reach the financial capital on Thursday, News18 reported . It was the only green zone district in the State until now as declared by the Centre. Vizianagaram district in Andhra Pradesh reported its first three cases of the novel coronavirus after almost two months since the first positive case was reported in the State, The Hindu reported. Of the total confirmed cases, there are 1,565 active cases in the state. Rajasthan reported 3,400 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus after 45 more individuals tested positive on Thursday. While, 95 lost their lives to the deadly virus, according to the State Health Department. The group reportedly includes 11 pregnant women and a pair of twins, and will travel in the first two flights from the UAE to Kerala "as India begins its biggest ever repatriation exercise to bring back its citizens stranded abroad amidst the international travel lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic." News18 reported that 354 Indians stranded in the UAE will be brought back on Thursday, in accordance to the Centre's plan to repatriate them amid the coronavirus lockdown. The exercise, which began on Thursday with five flights operating to India from gulf countries, came days after three Indian expats were suspended for allegedly Islamophic posts. The Indian Embassy in Dubai shared a picture of Indians waiting to board the flight to bring them back home as part of the Centre's repatriation exercise amid the coronavirus pandemic. "But there are many variables and with time only we will know how much they are effective and the effect of extending the lockdown," he added. AIIMS director Randeep Guleria was quoted by ANI as saying that according to modeling data and the way cases are increasing, "it is likely that the COVID-19 peak can come in June and July". Reports said that Odisha reported its highest single-day spike in coronavirus cases after 21 people who had recently returned from Surat, tested positive for the virus. With these new cases, the total number of people afflicted with the disease has climbed to 206, officials were quoted as saying. We have put a ban on traveling between Rajkot to Ahmadabad and vice versa due to #COVID19. No vehicle will be allowed to travel between these two cities except ambulances and medical van: Rajkot Collector Remya Mohan #Gujarat Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the first COVID-19 patient from the state who is also a cancer patient was discharged from Silchar Medical College and Hospital on Tuesday. The Indian Railways said it has operated 163 Shramik Special trains since 1 May and ferried home over 1.60 lakh migrants stranded in various parts of the country due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown. Railways said it ran 56 Shramik special trains on Wednesday and 14 so far on Thursday, taking the total tally to 163. Till May 7, 50 trains were still on their journeys while 113 have reached their destinations. Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday condoled the deaths of three BSF personnel who succumbed to coronavirus. Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that on Thursday, the state government has issued a notification that any person returning from a red zone district in any state will be put in institutional quarantine even if he is asymptomatic. The Assam government has decided to declare summer vacation for schools and colleges from 1 May to 31 May, said state minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The Chandigarh health department said that 15 new coronavirus cases have been reported in the union territory in last 24 hours; taking the total number of positive cases to 135. Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday held an all-party meeting via video-conference over coronavirus. Deputy chief minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, Congress' Ashok Chavan, MNS chief Raj Thackeray, and other leaders were also present. Total number of cases rose to 793 68 from Jammu and 725 from Kashmir. The Jammu and Kashmir government said that the union territory "broke the 3,000 tests barrier", with 3,429 samples tested. Rohit Kansal added that 18 positive cases were detected on Thursday. Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said that 1,362 new coronavirus cases were reported in the state on Thursday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 18,120. The Telangana government on Thursday reported 15 new COVID-19 cases. The state's total tally of cases reached 1,122, including 400 active cases. The toll in the state currently stands at 29. Reports quoted the Maharashtra excise department as saying that liquor worth Rs 48.14 crore has been sold in the state since 4 May, a day after the government allowed standalone shops to open outside containment zones. However, the order was revoked in Mumbai after violations of social distancing norms in several areas. Reports said that three special trains to transport migrants from Surat to Odisha on Friday were cancelled on Thursday, "following Odisha HC order directing Odisha govt not to allow migrant Odia workers without negative test reports." Rajasthan on Thursday reported 110 new cases of coronavirus, taking its total tally to 3,427. The state also reported six coronavirus deaths on Thursday, taking the toll to 99. "Liquor shops reopened in some parts of Punjab after more than 40 days but not many people turned up, which some vendors blamed on loss of jobs due to the coronavirus lockdown and reverse migration of workers from other states. Contractors in several districts kept their liquor shops shut, seeking a review of the 2020-21 Excise Policy," News18 reported. The DRDO has installed its ultra violet disinfection chamber at the Cochin International Airport in Kerala. The chamber would be used to disinfect the baggage coming at the airport. The chamber has been developed by a laboratory in Cochin, DRDO officials said. 448 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in Delhi on Thursday; taking the total number of cases to 5,980. One death has been reported, toll rises to 66, the Delhi government said. The final figures for the Arthur Road jail coronavirus infection is that 77 inmates and 26 staff have tested positive for COVID-19. A 'sharmik special train' will leave from Delhi for Muzaffarpur in Bihar tomorrow, said Northern Railway. Four areas have been removed from the list of COVID-19 containment zones in Delhi. The number of containment zones in the national capital is now at 83. The DRDO has installed its ultra violet disinfection chamber at the Cochin International Airport in Kerala. The chamber would be used to disinfect the baggage coming at the airport. The chamber has been developed by a laboratory in Cochin, DRDO officials said. The Maharashtra health department said that 207 patients have been discharged on Thursday which takes the tally of discharged patients to 3,301 in the state. 43 deaths have been reported on Thursday; toll rises to 694. 448 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in Delhi on Thursday; taking the total number of cases to 5,980. One death has been reported, toll rises to 66, the Delhi government said. The final figures for the Arthur Road jail coronavirus infection is that 77 inmates and 26 staff have tested positive for COVID-19. Alert ~ 4 persons in Guwahati test #COVID19 + One of them have come from outside Assam, and is in hone quarantine,while 3 are from Guwahati. #COVID19 patients in Assam now stands at 53. Active cases 18 Discharged 34 Death 1 Update at 10.10 pm / May 7 #AssamCovidCount Mission Vande Bharat begins. First two flights bring home Indian citizens from the UAE. 177 passengers plus 4 infants reach Cochin from Abu Dhabi. 177 passengers plus 5 infants reach Kozhikode from Dubai. State govt will now arrange for their mandatory 14 day quarantine. pic.twitter.com/sVteZkd2Tj A 'sharmik special train' will leave from Delhi for Muzaffarpur in Bihar tomorrow, said Northern Railway. "All those officials and staff who came in contact with the infected inspector will be quarantined," India Today reported. Reports said that a Delhi Police inspector tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday. He was posted at the Sangam Vihar Circle area. Air Indias first flight to Singapore departed from Delhi at around 11:20 PM today, with one passenger, under the Vande Bharat Mission. Coronavirus Outbreak LATEST Updates: Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said that 1,362 new coronavirus cases were reported in the state on Thursday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 18,120. Maharashtra jail authorities said that 72 inmates and seven staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 in Mumbai's Arthur Road prison. All infected inmates will be shifted to GT Hospital and St George Hospital in guarded vehicles on Friday morning while staff members will be shifted separately, the statement said. The ITBP said that 37 personnel posted in Delhi have tested positive for coronavirus in the last 24 hours. The total number of infected personnel in ITBP is now at 90. The Tamil Nadu health department on Thursday said that 580 more COVID-19 positive cases and two deaths were reported in the state on Thursday. The total number of cases in the state is at 5,409, including 37 deaths. A large number of today's cases are linked to the Koyambedu market (Chennai). The Border Security Force, in a statement on Thursday said that two of its personnel had succumbed to the coronavirus infection. "Grief stricken with deaths of two BSF personnel during this pandemic. A critically ill patient died who had contracted infection of #COVID19 while visiting super speciality clinics for his treatment. "Other borderman died on Monday, 4 May in Safdarjung hospital, where he was admitted on 3 May. From normal ward he was shifted to ICU on 4 May. After his death, prior to postmortem, COVID19 test was done and result came positive by late night of 6 May, Wednesday. Reports on Thursday said that the Karnataka government has decided to restart the operation of special trains for stranded migrants to return to their native states, after the BS Yediyurappa government faced criticism over its refusal to allow migrants to leave the state. The state government wrote to nodal officers of various states, asking for consent to operate trains to their states, as per the MHA guideline. 354 Indians stranded in the UAE will be brought back on Thursday, News18 reported, in accordance to the Centre's plan to repatriate them amid the coronavirus lockdown. The group reportedly includes 11 pregnant women and a pair of twins, and will travel in the first two flights from the UAE to Kerala "as India begins its biggest ever repatriation exercise to bring back its citizens stranded abroad amidst the international travel lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic." Vizianagaram district in Andhra Pradesh reported its first three cases of the novel coronavirus after almost two months since the first positive case was reported in the State, The Hindu reported. It was the only green zone district in the State until now as declared by the Centre. To assess the COVID-19 situation in Mumbai, Lav Agarwal, an IAS officer in the Ministry of Health and Welfare, is expected to reach the financial capital on Thursday, News18 reported. The Central government sent a review team led by the joint secretary, including eight doctors. Mumbai remained the worst COVID-affected city along with Pune and Thane in Maharashtra, amid rising number of confirmed cases and deaths. Apart from these, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Surat in Gujarat also some of the worst-affected cities across the country. With 56 more people testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Andhra Pradesh in the past 24 hours, the total confirmed cases in the state climbed to 1,833 on Thursday. While, 39 COVID-19 patients have succumbed to the viral infection in the state so far. "As many as 51 people have been discharged in the past 24 hours, the total discharged are 780 till date," ANI quoted the state health department as saying. Therefore, the recovery rate was at 43 percent. An undertrial and two prison guards have tested positive for COVID-19 at Mumbai Central Prison, triggering fears of a possible infection hotspot. As many as 150 others, including over 15 staffers and senior prison officials who came in close proximity with the three, have undergone tests, with results expected on Thursday, Inspector General (Prisons) Deepak Pandey was quoted as saying by Indian Express. With Indians stranded in the Middle East to be evacuated from Thursday, elaborate safety measures have been put in place at Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), where the first flight from Abu Dhabi is expected to land at 9.40 pm on Thursday. Odisha on Thursday reported the "highest number of COVID-19 cases" in a day as 20 people, who recently returned from Surat, tested positive for COVID-19, an official said. With these new cases, the total number of people afflicted with the disease has climbed to 205, he said. Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has called a COVID-19 review meeting with all party members and Opposition leaders on Thursday at 2 pm, The Times of India reported. The chief minister is likely to discuss the mitigation and exit plan for COVID-19 pandemic situation. According to the Maharashtra Health Department, of the 34 new fatalities reported in the state on Wednesday, 26 COVID-19 patients succumbed to the infection in Mumbai alone. This takes the toll in the city to 412. Three deaths were reported from Pune. The cumulative fatalities in the district have risen to 122. The total number of cases of the novel coronavirus in Rajasthan climbed to 3,355 after 38 more people tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. The viral infection claimed two more lives, taking the toll in the state to 95, said the health department. Otavio Rego Barros, spokesman for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Thursday. The 59-year-old former army general "is home following all recommended protocols" after his positive test result was confirmed on Tuesday, the president's office says. The Koyambedu market has been linked to more than 500 cases in several districts of Tamil Nadu state and adjacent Kerala state. Over 7,000 people with connections to the market are being traced and quarantined, says J Radhakrishnan, the leader of Chennai's response to the coronavirus. The total number of COVID-19 cases in India climbed to 52,952 while, 1,783 patients succumbed to the infectious disease. Of the total confirmed cases, there are 35,902 active cases. The recovery rate stood at 29 percent after 15,266 COVID-19 patients were discharged, according to the latest data released by Health Ministry. The number of active COVID-19 cases are growing faster at 6.6 percent now, leading to a shorter doubling time of 11 days, as compared to 15 days on 2 May when the growth rate for such cases was 4.8 percent, according to the data analysis by economist Shamika Ravi, earlier part of the Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council. The West Bengal government has identified over 92,000 cases of influenza-like illness and 870 people with severe acute respiratory illness across the state, findings that serve as "early warning signals" in the fight against COVID-19, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said. Mamata said the results were the outcome of her government's extensive door-to-door surveillance over a month in April, covering over 5.5 crore households, and the exercise will continue "till the virus is defeated". India's tally of confirmed coronavirus cases neared the 50,000-mark on Wednesday with a large number of healthcare professionals and security personnel testing positive amid the worsening spread of the virus. Meanwhile, authorities flagged high fatality rates in states like West Bengal, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. While the Kerala government said that no new infection was reported on Wednesday, Maharashtra reported a record single-day increase of more than 1,200 in its number of cases. The evacuation exercise to bring back Indians stranded abroad is set to begin on Thursday, with five Air India flights scheduled to bring nationals back from Saudi Arabia. Fuel, liquor prices increase as govts deal with damage to economy The economic cost of the pandemic also began to hit the people with a sharp increase in fuel prices. Looking to shore up their dwindling resources, more states announced higher taxes on liquor sales, while Punjab pegged its overall revenue loss for the month of April at 88 percent due to all its tax revenues having dried up and only 1.5 percent the industry being operational. Industry sources in various parts of the country told PTI that they were wary of opening their plants and offices due to concerns over the movement of their staff, suppliers, transporters and vendors till the nationwide lockdown, which has been been extended till 17 May, gets completely lifted. While announcing the third phase of the lockdown, the government had provided relaxations in restrictions in a bid to get the industrial and agricultural activities restarted, but not much has changed on the ground because only a few companies, especially in the manufacturing sector, resuming their operations in a limited way. The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Wednesday said it would resume operations at its Manesar plant in Haryana from 12 May. Total cases near 50,000-mark There are widespread fears that the virus spread may get worse with easing of the lockdown measures, as the number of cases have been rising continuously across most of the major urban centres of the country. While the Health Ministry stopped giving an evening update of the COVID-19 tally from Wednesday, its morning update showed the deaths rising to 1,694 and the number of cases climbing to 49,391, registering an increase of 126 deaths and 2,958 cases since Tuesday morning. It also showed more than 15,000 people having recovered, giving a recovery rate of nearly 29 percent. However, a PTI tally of figures reported by different states and union territories till 9 pm put the total number of confirmed cases at 51,435 and the toll at 1,694. While Maharashtra has reported the maximum number of cases and fatalities, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka and Punjab are among other major states affected badly by the virus. Kerala also has reported more than 500 confirmed cases so far, but it did not report a single new case on Wednesday and the state government officials said the number of active patients is now only 30 as a big majority of COVID-19 patients have recovered. Health minister Harsh Vardhan also expressed concern over the high fatality rate among COVID-19 patients in some districts of Maharashtra and Gujarat and asked the states to focus on early surveillance, aggressive contact tracing and early diagnosis to reduce the number of deaths in the areas. Maharashtra reports highest single-day jump in COVID-19 cases Maharashtra reported 1,233 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking its tally to 16,758, while 34 more deaths raised the toll to 651, a health department official said. Mumbai alone has more than 10,500 cases now. Gujarat reported 380 new cases and 28 more deaths during the day, taking its total case count to 6,625 and the number of fatalities to 396. This included 291 new cases and 25 more deaths in Ahmedabad alone, where the civic authorities have ordered closure of all shops except those selling milk and medicines for a week. Separately, the MHA also wrote to the West Bengal government that the COVID-19 response in the state was "characterised by a very low rate of testing and a very high rate of mortality of 13.2 percent", which it said was by far the highest for any state. The ministry also flagged instances of overcrowding in markets, free movement of people in large numbers without masks, bathing of people in rivers, people playing cricket and football, serious laxity in enforcing lockdown measures in containment zones, plying of rickshaws without any restriction, saying these were grave violation of lockdown instructions and social distancing norms. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said her government has identified over 92,000 cases of influenza-like illness and 870 people with severe acute respiratory illness across the state, findings that serve as "early warning signals" in the fight against COVID-19. Banerjee said the results were the outcome of her government's extensive door-to-door surveillance over the last one month, covering over 5.5 crore households, and the exercise will continue "till the virus is defeated". Meanwhile, the Karnataka Congress slammed the state government for cancelling the special trains to transport stranded migrant workers back to their native states. 548 medical staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 so far, says Centre Official sources said around 548 doctors, nurses and paramedics across the country have been found to be positive for the infection so far. This includes 69 doctors in the National Capital. However, this figure does not include field workers, ward boys, sanitation workers, security guards, lab attendants, peons, laundry and kitchen staff among others and the figures may be much higher after taking these people into account. Also, at least 154 personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF) have tested positive for coronavirus, including 85 cases that were detected on Wednesday. These include more than 60 deployed for law and order duties in the Jamia and Chandni Mahal area of the National Capital, and six from the escort team of the inter-ministerial central team (IMCT) that toured West Bengal to check COVID-19 containment measures in the state. At least 37 infected personnel are from the Tripura frontier of the force. In the meantime, the Delhi government ordered the release of 4,000 Tablighi members who have completed their required quarantine period in centres, PTI reported. A huge congregation of 'Tablighi Jamaat' in Delhi's Nizamuddin area earlier in March was seen as a major hotspot for the virus spread, after which there were also several cases of Muslims getting targeted and blamed by some for the pandemic. Thousands of the Jamaat members were subsequently traced in various parts of the country and quarantined, including around 4,000 in Delhi itself. While nearly 900 of those being released from quarantine are from Delhi itself, the rest are from other states and would be sent back to their home states. A majority of them hail from Tamil Nadu and Telangana. Trump says US' COVID-19 team not dismantling One day after saying that the White House COVID-19 task force would be winding down, President Donald Trump said Wednesday it would continue indefinitely but focus more on rebooting the economy. Trumps reversal comes as deaths and infection rates outside of New York, the epicenter of the coronavirus, are rising even as states move to lift their lockdowns. Trump tweeted that the special task forces focus now would be on SAFETY & OPENING UP OUR COUNTRY AGAIN. A White House official acknowledged on Wednesday that signaling that the task force was preparing to shut down had sent the wrong message and created a media maelstrom. On Tuesday, Trump had praised the task force for doing a great job, but said were now looking at a little bit of a different form, and that form is safety and opening. And well... well have a different group probably set up for that. With inputs from agencies Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 7, 2020) - Aurelius Minerals Inc. (TSXV: AUL) (the "Company" or "Aurelius") is pleased to announce that it has completed, through its wholly owned subsidiary 2672403 Ontario Inc. ("267 Ontario"), the acquisition of the Aureus West Gold Property (formerly known as "Dufferin West"). Terms of the acquisition are as follows: (i) US$500,000 upon closing; (ii) a 2% net smelter return royalty with respect to production from Aureus West; and (iii) 2,000,000 Aurelius Shares. The planned acquisition of Aureus West was included in the press release dated February 27, 2020 in which Aurelius announced completion of its acquisition of 267 Ontario, the owner of a 100% interest in the Aureus gold properties including the Aureus Gold Project (other than the Aureus West Project), the Tangier Gold Project and the Forest Hill Gold Project located in Nova Scotia. On closing of the 267 Ontario transaction, there was working capital on hand to fund the acquisition of Aureus West. The Company's working capital position following the closing of the acquisition of Aureus West is approximately $1mm. Mark N.J. Ashcroft, President and CEO of Aurelius, commented, "The closing of Aureus West completes the Company's acquisition of the entire Aureus Gold Project in the emerging mining jurisdiction of Nova Scotia. This transaction provides the Company with exposure to a second highly prospective gold district in Canada, after our Mikwam Hinge Project in the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone of Ontario. The recent acquisition of Detour Gold by Kirkland Lake Gold in Ontario and the acquisition of Atlantic Gold by St. Barbara further reinforces our confidence in the geologic potential of our two host jurisdictions. Furthermore, through this transaction, we welcomed Sprott Inc. as a strategic investor and source of ongoing support." Ashcroft continued, "year round access to the Aureus Gold Project will allow the opportunity for continuous exploration programs for the Company at its two primary projects. The access window to explore the Mikwam Hinge Project is currently limited to short winter and summer seasons, and exploration programs are subject to weather and ground conditions. Aureus allows Aurelius an ability to carry out exploration when the window at Mikwam is closed. In addition, the presence of a permitted milling and tailings facility will enhance the ability of Aurelius to move rapidly to a production decision if the exploration results and engineering studies demonstrate the feasibility of the projects." 2020 Corporate Update Aurelius intends to conduct drilling programs at both the Aureus Gold and Mikwam projects in 2020, subject to financing. Aureus Gold - Nova Scotia The Company intends to conduct underground and surface diamond drilling programs at the Aureus Gold project, following ongoing compilation efforts, with the objectives of identifying high-grade saddles at depth, refining and understanding the geological model, and adding near surface mineralization with the goal of completing an upgraded mineral resource estimate. Mikwam Hinge Project - Ontario The Company's projects in the northern Abitibi Gold belt in Ontario were held by the Company prior to the acquisition of the Aureus East and Aureus West gold projects in Nova Scotia. Technical results on the Mikwam Project have been previously announced by the Company. Aurelius intends to conduct a summer Phase Four program at the Mikwam property in the summer of 2020 of up to 10,000 metres to follow up on previous phases of work. The Phase One program, which was completed in April 2018 and comprised of 10 holes (2,700m) was very successful and identified high grade gold intercepts (including 30.2 g/t gold over 1m and 7.2 g/t gold over 10m) within 22m of 3.4 g/t gold and extended the mineralization upwards 75m, to the bedrock/overburden contact. The program also identified similarities to the gold mineralization at Hecla Mining Company's Casa Berardi Mine including the same structural trend, same gold-hosting assemblage and similar stratigraphy1. Following the Phase One program, the geological team began to understand the geology and the geometry of the deposit in a different light. An extensive surface survey campaign, to identify as many historical drill collars as possible, managed to locate 57 holes which were re-surveyed with GPS. Variations of up to several hundred metres in hole locations were discovered and corrected. This further assisted in the understanding of the geometry and mineralization model at Mikwam and further focused the Phase Two program, which was completed in September 2018. The Phase Two program was comprised of 17 holes (3,923m) drilled on five fences along the strike of the deposit on 50m centres. All of these holes intersected gold mineralization, extending the strike length to approximately 250m. Similar to Phase 1, many of the holes intersected significantly higher grades than the existing Mikwam deposit. Highlights include (Press release dates Sep 17, 2018, Oct 13, 2018): Hole AUL-18-13 intercepted 4.2 g/t gold over 21.5m, including 10.5 g/t gold over 5.0m; Hole AUL-18-15 intercepted 7.1 g/t gold over 26.1m including intercepts of 11.8 g/t gold over 5.0m and 9.4 g/t gold over 7.2m; Hole AUL-18-16 intersected 8.2 g/t gold over 11.5m and 5.3 g/t gold over 6.0m. In March 2019, the Company commenced the Phase Three program, comprised of 10 holes (3,000m), and continued to intersect strong mineralization, including Hole AUL-19-30 which intersected 3.5 g/t gold over 31.5m, of near true width. This program also extended mineralization below 380m of depth. The Phase Three program included a detailed downhole structural geology study using an Optical Televiewer to enhance the geological model at the Mikwam deposit which identified a Z-shaped drag fold, with potential for multiple hinges along the Mikwam Hinge deposit. A Z-shaped drag fold is a significant control on the mineralization as a folded stratigraphy results in stacked multiple gold zones, higher grades are typically found in the fold hinges and there is potential for multiple hinges along strike at Mikwam. The Mikwam project is in the northern Abitibi Greenstone belt along the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone which is also host to Hecla Mining's Casa Berardi mine. Aurelius is the second largest land holder in Ontario within the northern Abitibi. Mr. Jeremy Niemi, P.Geo. and Vice President, Exploration of Aurelius and the Company's Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 for the Abitibi Greenstone Belt properties, has reviewed and approved the technical information in this release. About Aurelius Aurelius is a well-positioned gold exploration company focused on advancing gold projects in Ontario's Abitibi Greenstone Belt along with the just acquired and renamed Aureus Gold Properties, including Aureus West, the Tangier Gold Project and the Forest Hill Gold Project located in Nova Scotia and described in detail in the Corporation's press release of November 18, 2019. The high-grade Aureus Gold Project and mill in Nova Scotia completed initial gold production from test milling of a bulk sample in March 2017. The Aureus Gold Project covers 1,684 hectares in 104 mineral claims with a gold-bearing vein system defined by diamond drilling over a strike length of 1.4 km and to a depth of 400 meters (m), with 14 different east-west trending "saddle reef" quartz vein structures recognized each with free-milling gold. The stacked gold reefs are open at depth and extend along trend for over 3.2 kilometers (km) within the Aureus East and Aureus West projects, with additional strike length up to a total of 11 km of strike length. Underground development completed to date has extended to approximately 600m in length and to a depth of only 150m. The Aureus Gold Project is on care and maintenance and is accessible for future work, such as underground exploration drilling. The Company intends to conduct underground diamond drilling at the Aureus East Gold Project with the objectives of identifying high-grade saddles at depth and completing additional drilling to upgrade current Inferred Mineral Resources and intends to extend Aureus West along strike and at depth and complete an updated Mineral Resource estimate and engineering review for the Aureus Gold Project. Aurelius is also focused on advancing two district-scale gold projects in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt in Ontario, Canada, one of the world's most prolific mining districts; the 968-hectare Mikwam Property, in the Burntbush area on the Casa Berardi trend and the 12,425-hectare Lipton Property, on the Lower Detour Trend. In 2018, Ontario converted its manual system of ground and paper staking and maintaining unpatented mining claims to an online system. All active, unpatented claims were converted from their legally defined location to a cell-based provincial grid. The Mikwam Property is comprised of 9 legacy claims consisting of 69 Cell Claims including 29 Single Cell Mining Claims ("SCMC's") and 40 Boundary Cell Mining Claims ("BCMC's"). The Lipton Property is now comprised of 57 legacy claims consisting of 721 Cell Claims, 563 SCMC's, 143 BCMC's, and 30 "internal" and overlapping (i.e., two occupying the same space) BCMC's. The Company has a sound management team with experience in all facets of the mineral exploration and mining industry who will be considering additional acquisitions of advanced staged opportunities in the Abitibi and other proven mining districts. On Behalf of the Board AURELIUS MINERALS INC. For further information please contact: Aurelius Minerals Inc. Mark N.J. Ashcroft, President & CEO info@aureliusminerals.com Tel.: (416) 304-9095 www.aureliusminerals.com 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 release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" under the provisions of applicable Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Aurelius. All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking information" with respect to Aurelius within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements with respect to the Company's planned drilling and exploration activities, the anticipated benefits of the Acquisition and the development of the Aureus Gold Properties, the future price of gold, the estimation of Mineral Resources, the realization of Mineral Resource estimates, success of exploration activities, permitting time lines, currency exchange rate fluctuations, requirements for additional capital, government regulation of mining operations, environmental risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses, title disputes or claims and limitations on insurance coverage. Generally, this forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" , "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" , "believes", or variations or comparable language of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of factors and assumptions that, if untrue, could cause the actual results, performances or achievements of Aurelius to be materially different from future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which Aurelius will operate in the future, including the price of gold, anticipated costs and ability to achieve goals. Certain important factors that could cause actual results, performances or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking information include, among others, gold price volatility, mining operational and development risks, litigation risks, regulatory restrictions (including environmental regulatory restrictions and liability), changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls or regulations and/or change in the administration of laws, policies and practices, expropriation or nationalization of property and political or economic developments in Canada, delays, suspension and technical challenges associated with projects, higher prices for fuel, steel, power, labour and other consumables, currency fluctuations, the speculative nature of gold exploration, the global economic climate, dilution, share price volatility, competition, loss of key employees, additional funding requirements and defective title to mineral claims or property. Although Aurelius believes its expectations are based upon reasonable assumptions and has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company provides forward-looking information for the purpose of conveying information about current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. By its nature, this information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Aurelius to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: risks related to difficulties in executing exploration programs at the Mikwam, Lipton and Aureus Gold Properties on the Company's proposed schedules and within its cost and scheduling estimates, whether due to weather conditions, availability or interruption of power supply, mechanical equipment performance problems, natural disasters or pandemics in the areas where it operates, the integration of acquisition; risks related to current global financial conditions including market reaction to the coronavirus outbreak; competition within the industry; actual results of current exploration activities; environmental risks; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future price of gold; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; mine development and operating risks; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining approvals or financing; risks related to indebtedness and the service of such indebtedness, as well as those factors, risks and uncertainties identified and reported in Aurelius' public filings under Aurelius' SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Although Aurelius has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Aurelius disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless required by law. 1 2019 Casa Berardi Technical Report 43-101 April 2019 - Section 7.1 Regional Geology To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55511 Coronavirus: Gilead in talks with Indian drug companies to produce remdesivir India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, May 07: Gilead Sciences has said that it is in talks with some of the world's leading chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing companies including in India to produce the patented antiviral drug remdesivir. The discussion is taking place about the ability, under voluntary licences to produce the drug for Europe, Asia and the developing world. "The company is negotiating long-term voluntary licenses with several generic drugmakers in India and Pakistan to produce remdesivir for developing countries. Gilead will provide technology transfers to facilitate this production. Finally, the company is in active discussions with the Medicines Patent Pool, which Gilead has partnered with for many years, to license remdesivir for developing countries," a statement read. Health Ministry asks AIOCD to ensure availability of critical drugs for management of COVID-19 The ICMR in one of its briefings had said that such drugs can be generically manufactured after paying a royalty amount to the patent holder. There are certain provisions during a pandemic that can be made use of to manufacturing of the drug, the ICMR had also said. Meanwhile, the Hyderabad based Indian Institute of Chemical Technology has synthesised the key materials for remdesivir. This is the first step to develop the active pharmaceutical ingredient in a drug. IICT has also started technology demonstrations for drug manufacturers such as Cipla so that the manufacturing can begin in India. Remdesivir, which is manufactured by Gilead Sciences is the first drug to treat COVID-19 and has been approved in emergency use in the US based on clinical data. Chinese researcher on verge of making significant COVID-19 drug shot dead Union Health Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan in a statement said that synthesis of KSMs has been achieved by CSIR-IICT and that technology demonstrations to Indian industry are happening. With regard to Favipiravir, which is another promising drug, CSIR is working with the private sector for clinical trials and also a possible launch in India. Some Connecticut residents could begin receiving text messages and phone calls from public health volunteers as early as next week as part of new contact tracing protocol aimed at disrupting the spread of COVID-19 in Connecticut. Contact tracing, the art and science of finding potentially infected people and persuading them to quarantine, is considered crucial to reopening the state but it comes with challenges. First, it requires a lot of trained people working together, coordinated by state and local health departments using software the state just received on Wednesday. Second, it requires the public to buy in and cooperate with paid and volunteer tracers, which is inherently difficult in a culture of mistrust. Lamont and the Department of Public Health have made every effort to be clear: The movements of the public wont be physically tracked via an app or geo-location system. Participation is 100 percent voluntary and all of the information disclosed is private and solely collected for the purpose of public health. We know that over the coming months were likely to see sporadic cases of COVID in the community, said Kristen Soto, surveillance coordinator at the Connecticut Department of Public Health. But really the goal of this is to make sure those sporadic cases do not turn into widespread community clusters or outbreaks and that were really limiting community transmission so that we can safely reopen Connecticut and go back to our day-to-day activities moving forward. Soto said the department hopes at least 85 percent of people contacted will opt in to the program. She stressed any level of participation will help disrupt the spread of COVID-19 by allowing the department to contact people who may be asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic, and who may not be aware theyve come in contact with the disease. Contact tracing is a practice well known to public health officials, said Dr. Zane Saul, chair of infectious diseases at Bridgeport Hospital, but prior to COVID-19 had generally been used to stop the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), tuberculosis or, in parts of Africa, for Ebola. Buy-in from people who may have come into contact with a disease is crucial to the strategys success. Its not always easy to secure, Saul said. Health departments have disease intervention specialists that usually have done this with HIV, syphilis, chlamydia, or gonorrhea, Saul said. In the case of COVID, there is no sex involved, so people will hopefully be a bit more forthcoming and will talk to them about people they might have been around. ContaCT tracing The state Department of Public Health received the Microsoft software dubbed ContaCT Wednesday, and has begun training employees, Soto said. The software is free for the first six months and will cost the state $180,000 a year thereafter. Soto said the contact tracing program in coordination with local health departments should be in full operation by May 18 two days ahead of the first phase of Gov. Ned Lamonts plan to reopen the states economy. A soft rollout will begin early next week with 20 health departments that have volunteered to be part of the pilot. The process will begin with health department tracers contacting people by phone or email who have already tested positive for the virus. If they opt into the contact tracing protocol, the department will ask them who theyve been in close contact with in the days leading up to and immediately following the onset of symptoms. Volunteer contact tracers will then contact those who may have crossed paths with a confirmed COVID-19 case, ask them if theyd like to participate in contact tracing, and proceed from there. Soto said the department has 300 staff members and in addition 400 to 500 student volunteers who will work as contact tracers. The technology is a product of Microsofts At Risk Identification and Alerting System, or ARIAS. This is not using technological location data, Soto said. You might have heard of the Google-Apple initiative to use Bluetooth information. That is not what this system is, although that is something we are exploring to implement in Connecticut when that technology does become available. This is really just a way to track the workflow, to reach out to people and to communicate with them around contact tracing itself. How We Feel Separately, Lamont is also encouraging Connecticut residents to download How We Feel, a free app that allows people to anonymously provide scientists with health information needed to understand the spread of COVID-19. While the app does ask questions about symptoms and potential COVID contacts, it is not to be confused with actual contact tracing. It isnt exact science its crowdsourcing at the 30,000 foot view, said Lamont spokesman Max Reiss. ContaCT and the contact tracing platform is the actual effort to track individuals who are COVID-positive and who theyve been in contact with, Reiss said. That is meant to be for the longer term effort to try to identify the people who are positive which could then lead to a further mitigation of the virus. Whereas, the How We Feel app is a powerful tool for giving us high level data. Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media The How We Feel app is also collecting data on answers to questions like, Do you wear a mask in public? and if youre an essential worker, Do you feel safe going to work? That information is collected and periodically sent to Lamonts office, and has helped inform the governors messaging around things like why its important to wear masks in public. For example, of the 57,300 people whove downloaded and responded to questions as of Wednesday, 62 percent reported they are wearing masks and 59 percent of people said they are practicing social distancing. Roughly 42 percent of users who work in essential jobs reported feeling unsafe at work. Less than 3 percent of users reported feeling unwell and only 0.3 percent of users reported COVID-related symptoms. Inherent difficulties Epidemiologists and municipal public health officials have said contact tracing is an inherently difficult practice that requires significant manpower. The National Association of County and City Health Officials has recommended 30 contact tracers per 100,000 residents and while New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made that staffing level a requirement for reopening, Soto said Connecticuts 800 paid and volunteer tracers should be sufficient. If its not, she said the department has received an overwhelming response from people ready to volunteer that the department could tap into if necessary. Dr. Michael Parry, chair of infectious diseases at Stamford Health, said these specialists look for close contact, which occurs within six feet, without masks and over a prolonged period. Especially at a time when diagnoses are still coming in at a relatively quick rate, that criteria could return a long list of potentially exposed people. The goal, in order to begin contact tracing in a widespread, comprehensive way, is to allow the curve of cases to flatten to a manageable level. Rolled out too soon, the list of potential contacts could be prohibitively high. Its very labor intensive, Parry said. So at a time like this when youre diagnosing hundreds of cases a day, you cant possibly do contact tracing. You have to get the level of infection down to a relatively manageable number. Some health departments, like New Havens, have already begun contact tracing efforts, enlisting a team of hundreds of volunteers. Elsewhere, health departments are still attempting to scale up their workforce in response to the number of cases theyll need to trace. In Norwalk, some health department staff has been reallocated to focus entirely on contact tracing, according to Therese Argondezzi, a health educator at the citys Health Department. Some school nurses and members of the citys Emergency Response Team have also offered to volunteer. But still, Argondezzi said the department has been pushed beyond the limits of capacity, at this point. Whether or not the department will be in a better position to handle its case load in a week, or two weeks, she couldnt say. I couldnt predict that, Argondezzi said. But were hopeful that working with the state well be able to put a process together that helps manage the spread. kkrasselt@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2563; @kaitlynkrasselt Maharashtra, already the worst-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, on Wednesday recorded 1,233 Covid-19 positive cases, highest in a single day, taking the states tally to 16,758. It also recorded 34 deaths on Wednesday, taking the toll to 651. Mumbai, the worst hit city in the country, crossed 10,000-mark with a highest single-day jump of 769 Covid-19 infections. The total cases recorded in the city are 10,714. Mumbai took 57 days to reach 10,000 cases. The city accounts for 63.93 per cent of the states total infections and 19.20 per cent of nationwide tally. The state government is focussing in strengthening medical infrastructure in view of a likely spike in the number of cases. As per a projection by the central government (going by the doubling rate of 10 days), Mumbai could see around 29,000 cases by mid-May. Mumbais civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has made a projection of 75,000 cases by the end of May. As many as 33 people tested positive for coronavirus in Maharashtras Nashik district, 30 of them in Malegaon, on Wednesday, health officials said. The number of Covid-19 patients in the district reached 503, including 413 from Malegaon and 22 from Nashik city. Malegaon in the district has emerged as one of the hotspots of the coronavirus pandemic in the state. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray interacted with central government agencies, including the Indian Army, Navy, Railways and Mumbai Port Trust on availability of hospitals in Mumbai, Pune and other cities as part of preparedness. Union health minister Harsh Vardhan has also expressed concerns as 34 of the 36 districts in Maharashtra have Covid-19 cases. He also spoke to Thackeray and assured all help to keep the number of cases in check. Maharashtra has so far tested 1,90,879 samples, of which 1,73,838 have been tested negative. State health minister Rajesh Tope said that they are testing around 8,000 to 10,000 samples everyday. Covid-19 : quelle porte de sortie pour les detenteurs de faux pass sanitaires qui souhaitent finalement se faire vacciner ? Flexibility Enables Dynamic Response to Preserve Financial Strength Significant Cost Savings and Capital Efficiencies Enhance 2020 and 2021 Actions Taken in Response to Current Low Oil Price Environment: Second quarter planned capital investments reduced 60%. Company doubles its initial estimate of 2020 cash cost savings to $200 million , majority durable into future years. , majority durable into future years. Completed well costs expected to be 20% better than 2019, driven by sustainable efficiency gains. 2021 legacy midstream and facility costs to decline by ~$100 million . . Company fully hedged on second quarter benchmark oil price risk with more than 200,000 bbls/d hedged at an average price of $42.09 per barrel. per barrel. Dynamic "shut-in strategy" preserving value. First Quarter 2020 Highlights: Financial performance driven by strong production and lower costs. Net earnings of $421 million , with non-GAAP operating earnings of $27 million . , with non-GAAP operating earnings of . Cash from operating activities of $566 million and non-GAAP cash flow of $535 million . and non-GAAP cash flow of . Crude and condensate (1) production exceeded budget and averaged 215,200 bbls/d. production exceeded budget and averaged 215,200 bbls/d. Total production exceeded budget at 571,300 BOE/d (54% liquids). Total Costs were lower than expectations at $12.17 per BOE. per BOE. Completed well costs 9% lower than 2019 average, reflecting efficiency gains made before downturn. Substantial liquidity at quarter-end of approximately $3.4 billion . . Repurchased $100 million of long-term debt in the open markets at an 11% discount. of long-term debt in the open markets at an 11% discount. Investment grade credit rating reaffirmed by two agencies. DENVER, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE, TSX: OVV) today announced its first quarter 2020 financial and operating results and will hold a conference call and webcast at 9 a.m. MT (11 a.m. ET) on May 8, 2020. Please see dial-in details within this release, as well as additional details on the Company's website at www.ovintiv.com. "In the first quarter, we built on our track record of industry-leading efficiency and once again significantly drove down costs and delivered strong corporate-level results," said Doug Suttles, Ovintiv CEO. "These are challenging times, but we are using the flexibility we purposely built into our business to maintain financial strength and set our Company up to thrive in whatever new environment emerges in the coming months and years. Our focus on cost reductions is making a huge difference today and for the future. We are confident we can deliver both $200 million in cash cost reductions and a 20% improvement in capital efficiencies. Most of these savings will carry into 2021." Due to the significant drop in oil prices and unprecedented near-term demand loss, Ovintiv today suspended all previously issued 2020 guidance. However, including recent cash cost reductions and its outlook for better capital efficiencies, the Company projects that a total capital investment scenario in 2020 of $1.8 to $1.9 billion would result in a 2020 exit rate for crude and condensate of approximately 200,000 bbls/d. 1. Throughout this document, crude and condensate refers to tight oil including medium and light crude oil volumes and plant condensate. "In 2021, with a total capital investment scenario of approximately $1.5 billion, we are confident that we could deliver free cash flow at $35 per barrel WTI and $2.75 per MMBtu NYMEX natural gas while holding crude and condensate flat at 200,000 bbls/d," said Suttles. Ovintiv delivered strong first quarter results driven by higher than budgeted production and a continued focus on cost reductions. Total average production was 571,300 BOE/d, or three percent higher than expectations. Crude and condensate production averaged 215,200 BOE/d. Total Costs of $12.17 per BOE were below expectations. First quarter capital investments were $790 million, below budget and consistent with previous expectations for a front-end weighted investment profile. Net earnings in the first quarter were $421 million and were impacted by non-cash unrealized hedging gains of $904 million, before-tax, as well as a non-cash ceiling test impairment of $277 million, before-tax. The non-cash impairment primarily related to the decline in the 12-month average trailing prices for NGLs and natural gas which reduced the Company's SEC proved reserves values. Cash from operating activities was $566 million and non-GAAP cash flow was $535 million. Second Quarter 2020 Second quarter activity levels have been significantly reduced to ensure continued financial strength. Second quarter capital investments are expected to be $250 to $300 million, a $500 million reduction (60%) compared to original plans. By mid-May, the Company will have dropped two-thirds of its operated rig fleet and expects to run seven rigs (three Permian, two Anadarko, two Montney) and no frac spreads. The Company has deferred completions activity in the second quarter. Ovintiv has no long-term service commitments and is prepared to further adjust its investment and activity levels based on market conditions. Ovintiv today doubled its full-year cash cost savings estimate to $200 million, with most of these savings projected into 2021 and beyond. Well costs in its core assets are expected to be 20% less in the remainder of 2020 and 2021 when compared to 2019 average results. In response to low oil prices, a dynamic shut-in strategy has been developed and is based on variable costs/margins and price factors. Shutting in wells with higher variable costs allows volumes to be deferred into higher-priced periods in the future. Current net shut-in volumes are approximately 65 MBOE/d, including 35 Mbbls/d of crude and condensate. Near-term scenarios for 2020 and 2021 have been provided within this release and the accompanying slide deck. Strong Hedge Position Protects Cash Flow Ovintiv is fully-hedged on near-term, benchmark oil price risk. For the second quarter, 203,000 bbls/d are hedged at an average of $42.09 per barrel. Of these positions, 188,000 bbls/d are in a fixed price swap at $41.47 per barrel and 15,000 bbls/d are covered by costless collars between $50.00 and $68.71 per barrel. "Benchmark" refers to NYMEX WTI. Natural gas hedges are also in place on approximately 1.2 Bcf/d. Based on the forward strip as of April 30, second quarter realized risk management gains on benchmark oil and natural gas are expected to total approximately $500 million, and total $1.1 billion for the balance-of-year-2020. Settlements for various other oil differential and natural gas basis positions in 2020 serve to further reduce risk. See the Hedge Volume and Hedging Price Sensitivity tables below. Balance Sheet and Liquidity Ovintiv's $4 billion committed, unsecured credit facilities were recently renewed and extended through July 2024. The facilities have no reserve-based, cash flow, or EBITDA lending covenants or minimum credit rating requirements. The facilities' primary financial covenant is debt to adjusted capitalization, which is not to exceed 60%. This ratio is based on book value only, not market capitalization. At March 31, 2020, the debt to adjusted capitalization ratio was 28%. The capitalization calculation adjustment includes a fixed $7.7 billion add back to capitalization. Full terms can be found as an exhibit to the Company's 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Current liquidity is approximately $3.4 billion, which represents the $4 billion credit facilities, available capacity on uncommitted demand lines and cash-on-hand, less the current commercial paper outstanding and the amount drawn on the facilities. During the first quarter, Ovintiv repurchased $100 million of its senior notes in the open market for $89 million. These transactions included approximately $90 million in principal amount of its 5.75% senior notes due January 2022 and approximately $10 million in principal amount of its 3.9% senior notes due November 2021. The Company has significant flexibility to manage the late 2021 and 2022 maturities, including the use of its credit facilities. Approximately 80% of the Company's total long-term debt is due in 2024 or later with a weighted average bond maturity of approximately 10 years. Refer to Note 1 Non-GAAP measures and the tables in this release for reconciliation to comparable GAAP financial measures. Asset Highlights The Company has significantly reduced its estimates for future well costs based on recent efficiency gains and a lower service cost environment. A table comparing previous well costs by area to current estimate is included in today's accompanying presentation. Permian Permian production increased 20% year-over-year and averaged 109,600 BOE/d (81% liquids). The region saw strong operational performance, achieving an average drill, complete and tie-in cost of $0.7 million per 1,000 feet, or 7% below the 2019 average. Efficiencies were driven by drilling innovations and the deployment of "Simul-Frac" completions on two-thirds of its wells. During the quarter, 37 net wells were turned in line (TIL). Anadarko Anadarko production was 161,000 BOE/d (62% liquids), up 11% when compared to proforma results in the first quarter of 2019. There were 27 net TILs during the quarter. Well costs were significantly lowered again, with 13 recent wells drilled and completed for under $5 million per well. This is $3 million (~40%) below pre-2019 costs. The Company is now estimating go-forward drill and complete costs at $5 million per well. Montney First quarter liquids production grew 8% year-over-year to 52,500 bbls/d. Total production averaged 204,700 BOE/d (26% liquids). There were 28 net TILs in the first quarter. The Montney produces nearly 60% of the Company's natural gas volumes and has a significant inventory of dry gas opportunities. The asset has the pipeline capacity, processing infrastructure and transportation contracts required to react quickly if gas prices continue to strengthen relative to oil and condensate. Base Assets The remaining assets in the portfolio include the Eagle Ford, Bakken, Uinta and Duvernay. All drilling and completion activities in these areas have been suspended. For additional information, please refer to the 1Q 2020 Results Presentation at https://investor.ovintiv.com/presentations-events. Dividend Declared On May 7, 2020, Ovintiv's Board declared a dividend of $0.09375 per share of common stock payable on June 30, 2020 to common stockholders of record as of June 15, 2020. Conference Call Information A conference call and webcast to discuss the Company's first quarter results will be held at 9 a.m. MT (11 a.m. ET) on May 8, 2020. To participate in the call, please dial 888-231-8191 (toll-free in North America) or 647-427-7450 (international) approximately 15 minutes prior to the conference call. The live audio webcast of the conference call, including slides and financial statements, will be available on Ovintiv's website, www.ovintiv.com, under Investors/Presentations and Events. The webcast will be archived for approximately 90 days. Capital Investment and Production Reportable (1) Proforma (2) (for the period ended March 31) Q1 2020 Q1 2019 Q1 2019 Capital Expenditures (3) ($ millions) 790 736 913 Oil (Mbbls/d) (4) 162.5 125.8 164.7 NGLs Plant Condensate (Mbbls/d) 52.7 44.9 48.2 NGLs Other (Mbbls/d) 94.6 60.7 79.8 Total NGLs (Mbbls/d) 147.3 105.6 128.0 Total Liquids (Mbbls/d) 309.8 231.4 292.7 Natural gas (MMcf/d) (5) 1,569 1,421 1,644 Total production (MBOE/d) 571.3 468.2 566.6 (1) Reportable includes capital and production volumes from Newfield Exploration Company ("Newfield"), commencing February 14, 2019. (2) Proforma includes Ovintiv and Newfield capital and combined production volumes for Q1 2019. (3) Including capitalized overhead costs. (4) Primarily tight oil, including minimal medium and light crude oil volumes. (5) Primarily shale gas, including minimal conventional natural gas. Hedge Volumes as of April 30, 2020 for the balance of the year: Natural Gas Hedges 2020 Oil & Condensate Hedges 2020 Total Hedges 1,196 MMcf/d Total Hedges 185 Mbbls/d Hedges ($/Mcf) Hedges ($/bbl) NYMEX Swaps Swap Price 811 MMcf/d $2.65 WTI Swaps Swap Price 145 Mbbls/d $44.95 NYMEX 3-Way Options Short Call Long Put Short Put 330 MMcf/d $2.72 $2.60 $2.25 WTI 3-Way Options Short Call Long Put Short Put 25 Mbbls/d $61.46 $53.36 $43.36 NYMEX Costless Collars Short Call Long Put 55 MMcf/d $2.88 $2.50 WTI Costless Collars Short Call Long Put 15 Mbbls/d $68.71 $50.00 Basis Hedges ($/Mcf) Basis Hedges ($/bbl) AECO Basis Swaps Swap Price 272 MMcf/d ($0.88) WTI / Midland Swaps Swap Price 7 Mbbls/d ($1.20) WAHA Basis Swaps Swap Price 105 MMcf/d ($0.91) Price Sensitivities for WTI Oil Hedge Gains/Losses by Quarter for 2020 ($ MM): Period $10 $20 $30 $40 $50 2Q 2020 599 415 231 46 (138) 3Q 2020 565 404 243 82 (79) 4Q 2020 490 390 291 192 46 2Q-4Q Total 1,654 1,209 765 320 (171) Price Sensitivities for NYMEX Natural Gas Hedge Gains/Losses by Quarter for 2020 ($ MM) Period $1.00 $1.25 $1.50 $1.75 $2.00 $2.25 2Q 2020 143 123 103 83 63 44 3Q 2020 145 125 104 84 64 44 4Q 2020 141 121 102 82 63 43 2Q-4Q Total 429 369 309 249 190 131 Note: Sensitivities do not include gains or losses related to differential hedges. Note: Company has additional hedges on Butane and Propane not included. First Quarter Summary (for the period ended March 31) ($ millions, except as indicated) Q1 2020 Q1 2019 Cash from (used in) operating activities Deduct (add back): 566 529 Net change in other assets and liabilities (52) (11) Net change in non-cash working capital 83 118 Non-GAAP cash flow(1) 535 422 Non-GAAP cash flow margin(1) ($/BOE) 10.29 10.02 Net earnings (loss) Before-tax (addition) deduction: 421 (245) Unrealized gain (loss) on risk management 904 (427) Impairments (277) - Restructuring charges - (113) Non-operating foreign exchange gain (loss) (104) 37 Gain (loss) on divestitures - (1) Gain on debt retirement 11 - 534 (504) Income tax (140) 94 After-tax (addition) deduction 394 (410) Non-GAAP operating earnings (loss)(1) 27 165 (1) Non-GAAP cash flow, non-GAAP cash flow margin, and non-GAAP operating earnings are non-GAAP measures as defined in Note 1. Realized Pricing Summary Q1 2020 Q1 2019 Liquids ($/bbl) WTI 46.17 54.90 Realized liquids prices (1) Oil 48.99 57.34 NGLs Plant Condensate 46.80 51.71 NGLs Other 7.89 20.53 Total NGLs 21.80 33.80 Natural gas NYMEX ($/MMBtu) 1.95 3.15 Realized natural gas price (1) ($/Mcf) 1.97 2.66 (1) Prices include the impact of realized gain (loss) on risk management. Total Costs Summary (for the period ended March 31) ($ per BOE) Q1 2020 Q1 2019 Production, Mineral and Other Taxes 1.01 1.14 Upstream Transportation and Processing 6.40 6.90 Upstream Operating1 3.34 3.48 Administrative1 1.42 1.92 Total Costs(2) ($/BOE) 12.17 13.44 (1) Excluding long-term incentive costs, restructuring costs and current expected credit losses. (2) Total costs are a non-GAAP measure as defined in note 1. Net Debt to Adjusted Capitalization ($millions except as indicated) March 31, 2020 December 31, 2019 Long-Term Debt, including current portion 7,006 6,974 Total Shareholders' Equity 10,191 9,930 Equity Adjustment for Impairments at December 31, 2011 7,746 7,746 Adjusted Capitalization 24,943 24,650 Debt to Adjusted Capitalization 28% 28% Important information Ovintiv reports in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted. Production, sales and reserves estimates are reported on an after-royalties basis, unless otherwise noted. The term liquids is used to represent oil and NGLs. The term liquids-rich is used to represent natural gas streams with associated liquids volumes. Unless otherwise specified or the context otherwise requires, references to Ovintiv or to the Company includes reference to subsidiaries of and partnership interests held by Ovintiv Inc. and its subsidiaries. NOTE 1: Non-GAAP measures Certain measures in this news release do not have any standardized meaning as prescribed by U.S. GAAP and, therefore, are considered non-GAAP measures. These measures may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies and should not be viewed as a substitute for measures reported under U.S. GAAP. These measures are commonly used in the oil and gas industry and/or by Ovintiv to provide shareholders and potential investors with additional information regarding the Company's liquidity and its ability to generate funds to finance its operations. For additional information regarding non-GAAP measures, see the Company's website. This news release contains references to non-GAAP measures as follows: Non-GAAP Cash Flow is a non-GAAP measure defined as cash from (used in) operating activities excluding net change in other assets and liabilities, net change in non-cash working capital and current tax on sale of assets. Non-GAAP Cash Flow Margin is a non-GAAP measure defined as Non-GAAP Cash Flow per BOE of production. Non-GAAP Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP measure defined as Non-GAAP Cash Flow in excess of capital investment, excluding net acquisitions and divestitures. is a non-GAAP measure defined as cash from (used in) operating activities excluding net change in other assets and liabilities, net change in non-cash working capital and current tax on sale of assets. is a non-GAAP measure defined as Non-GAAP Cash Flow per BOE of production. is a non-GAAP measure defined as Non-GAAP Cash Flow in excess of capital investment, excluding net acquisitions and divestitures. Non-GAAP Operating Earnings (Loss) is a non-GAAP measure defined as net earnings (loss) excluding non-recurring or non-cash items that management believes reduces the comparability of the company's financial performance between periods. These items may include, but are not limited to, unrealized gains/losses on risk management, impairments, restructuring charges, non-operating foreign exchange gains/losses, gains/losses on divestitures and gains on debt retirement. Income taxes may include valuation allowances and the provision related to the pre-tax items listed, as well as income taxes related to divestitures and U.S. tax reform, and adjustments to normalize the effect of income taxes calculated using the estimated annual effective income tax rate. is a non-GAAP measure defined as net earnings (loss) excluding non-recurring or non-cash items that management believes reduces the comparability of the company's financial performance between periods. These items may include, but are not limited to, unrealized gains/losses on risk management, impairments, restructuring charges, non-operating foreign exchange gains/losses, gains/losses on divestitures and gains on debt retirement. Income taxes may include valuation allowances and the provision related to the pre-tax items listed, as well as income taxes related to divestitures and U.S. tax reform, and adjustments to normalize the effect of income taxes calculated using the estimated annual effective income tax rate. Total Costs per BOE is defined as the summation of production, mineral and other taxes, upstream transportation and processing expense, upstream operating expense and administrative expense, excluding the impact of long-term incentive costs, restructuring costs and current expected credit losses, per BOE of production. Management believes this measure is useful to the company and its investors as a measure of operational efficiency across periods. is defined as the summation of production, mineral and other taxes, upstream transportation and processing expense, upstream operating expense and administrative expense, excluding the impact of long-term incentive costs, restructuring costs and current expected credit losses, per BOE of production. Management believes this measure is useful to the company and its investors as a measure of operational efficiency across periods. Debt to Adjusted Capitalization is a non-GAAP measure which adjusts capitalization for historical ceiling test impairments that were recorded as at December 31, 2011 . Management monitors Debt to Adjusted Capitalization as a proxy for the Company's financial covenant under the Credit Facilities which require debt to adjusted capitalization to be less than 60 percent. Adjusted Capitalization includes debt, total shareholders' equity and an equity adjustment for cumulative historical ceiling test impairments recorded as at December 31, 2011 in conjunction with the Company's January 1, 2012 adoption of U.S. GAAP. ADVISORY REGARDING OIL AND GAS INFORMATION - The conversion of natural gas volumes to barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) is on the basis of six thousand cubic feet to one barrel. BOE is based on a generic energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent economic value equivalency at the wellhead. Readers are cautioned that BOE may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. ADVISORY REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains certain forward-looking statements or information (collectively, "FLS") within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. FLS include: planned capital reduction; anticipated cost savings, capital efficiency and sustainability thereof; estimated hedging revenue and sensitivity to commodity prices; shut-in strategy; production, total cash costs and capital investments versus expectations; capital investment scenarios and associated production; operational flexibility, legacy costs, future well costs, service cost savings and efficiency gains; expected rigs and locations thereof; drilling and completions activity; second quarter outlook and ability to make adjustments as conditions dictate; use of the Company's credit facilities and ability to manage near-term maturities; and pacesetting metrics being indicative of future well performance. FLS involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties that may cause such statements not to occur or results to differ materially. These assumptions include: future commodity prices and differentials; assumptions contained herein; data contained in key modeling statistics; availability of attractive hedges and enforceability of risk management program; and expectations and projections made in light of the Company's historical experience. Risks and uncertainties include: suspension of or changes to guidance, and associated impact to production; ability to generate sufficient cash flow to meet obligations; commodity price volatility and impact to the Company's stock price and cash flows; ability to secure adequate transportation and potential curtailments of refinery operations, including resulting storage constraints or widening price differentials; discretion to declare and pay dividends, if any; business interruption, property and casualty losses or unexpected technical difficulties; impact of COVID-19 to the Company's operations, including maintaining ordinary staffing levels, securing operational inputs, executing on portions of its business and cyber-security risks associated with remote work; counterparty and credit risk; impact of changes in credit rating and access to liquidity, including costs thereof; risks in marketing operations; risks associated with technology; risks associated with decommissioning activities, including timing and costs thereof; and other risks and uncertainties as described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and as described from time to time in its other periodic filings as filed on SEDAR and EDGAR. Although the Company believes such FLS are reasonable, there can be no assurance they will prove to be correct. The above assumptions, risks and uncertainties are not exhaustive. FLS are made as of the date hereof and, except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any FLS. Further information on Ovintiv Inc. is available on the Company's website, www.ovintiv.com, or by contacting: Investor contact: Media contact: (888) 525-0304 (281) 210-5253 SOURCE Ovintiv Inc. Eliminating Naikoo: How the math went wrong for this dreaded terrorist India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, May 07: Never caught before, managed to give the slip several times, dreaded Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist, Riyaz Naikoo was gunned down in an encounter by the security forces on Wednesday. His death resolves a massive headache for the forces. He has been giving the security forces the slip for the past 7 years. In 2018, he had even offered to surrender but ended up tricking the police and escaped. The importance of eliminating Kashmirs dreaded terrorist Riyaz Naikoo This time around the forces wanted to get it right and there was no scope for any error. Gunning him down was of top priority as he had gradually started to re-build the outfit and there were also a spurt in the number of terror activities in the Valley. Sources tell OneIndia that due to Naikoo's extensive contacts on the ground, he had managed to give the security forces the slip many times. He lasted in the Hizbul Mujahideen for 7 years, which itself is a rarity when the maximum lifespan a terrorist has is 2 to 3 years in the Valley. The massive hunt for Naikoo began on Tuesday. By Tuesday the anti-terror unit, Special Operations Group (SOG) had grade A information on the terrorist. Following this actionable input, the agencies began tracking him closely. It was learnt that he would be visiting his family and relatives. When he was finally tracked and the information about his presence was confirmed, the security forces began surrounding his village. There was no movement by the forces after that and it was decided that the first move would be made at dawn. Naikoo had no option, but to engage in the gun battle. The manner in which the village had been cordoned off, there was no way he could escape. The forces secured the area with a radius of more than one kilometre around the place where he was hiding. Top Hizbul terrorist, Riyaz Naikoo killed The first contact with Naikoo was established at around 9.30 am on Wednesday. The forces first blew up the house he was hiding in. However he managed to move to the nearby house. The forces before the operation cleared out all civilians. Once Naikoo moved the other house, the gun battle continued and ended at 1 pm. No casualties among civilians or security personnel were reported. Once the gun battle ended, the forces entered the house and identified the body. Another terrorist Adil Wani was also killed in the encounter. The number of terrorists killed in the Valley from January 2020 now stands at 68. Two women succumbed to COVID-19 as Tamil Nadu reported 580 fresh cases, a large number of which are linked to the Koyambedu hotspot here, pushing the tally to 5,409 in the state. Following the death of the two persons, the number of fatalities in the state climbed to 37. Of the 580 cases, 316 were from Chennai and the aggregate number of those infected in the state capital stood at 2,644 as on date, a health department bulletin said. After seeing an all-time single day high of 771 additions on May 6, the number of cases today slid to 580 even asthe number of samples being tested is steadily on the riseand totally 14,195 samples were tested today alone, the highest so far in a day. Follow the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak in India here. Cuddalore and Ariyalur as on date have 356 and 246 cases respectively, while Chengelpet near here has 158. Krishnagiri, which till recently had no cases has eight infected people as of now. "A large number of today's (Thursday) cases are linked to Koyambedu market," the bulletin said addingthat totally, 3,822 are active cases and the tally till date is 5,409. As many as 1,547 people have been discharged from various hospitals in the State following recovery today. A 56-year-old woman with co-morbid conditions from Tiruvallur and admitted to the Kilpauk Medical College Hospital succumbed to the illness on Wednesday and a 48-year- old woman treated at the Rajiv Gandhi Government hospital died of the contagion, it said. In a span of about three days (between May 4 and 7), Tamil Nadu has added 1,859 new cases and a vast majority of them are contacts linked to the Koyambedu market here, which has emerged as a big source for the spread of the contagion. On Monday, Tamil Nadu had 3,550 cumulative cases and today the aggregate number is 5,409. As seen in recent days, there were several children among the newly infected today also. The Igbo socio-political organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo on Thursday listed critical issues the Southeast expects the President Muhammadu ... The Igbo socio-political organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo on Thursday listed critical issues the Southeast expects the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to tackle before it leaves power in 2023. Deputy National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze, Chuks Ibegbu said the Southeast expects Buharis administration to construct rail lines connecting the region to other parts of the country and construction of federal Highways from the region to the North. In a statement, Ibegbu said the Southeast needed Buharis government to create one more state and local government areas before exiting power. While urging the federal government to engage Biafran agitators, Ibegbu called on the government to revisit the 2014 Confab report. The statement reads: Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide has listed some of the things the Buhari administration should do for Ndigbo in the next three years. These include the East-West Rail line, the Coastal rail line, major federal highways linking the East to the North viz Enugu Makurdi Highway, Enugu Lokoja Highway, creation of one more state for the zone, and more local governments despite the constitutional hurdles which the President can overcome if he wishes. Aba -Uyo -Calabar and Umuahia -Uyo -Calabar, Highways, citing at least two federal industries in the zone and engaging the pro-Biafran agitators. Looking into the 2014 CONFAB REPORT which Nigeria can never run away from, appointing people from the zone into relevant federal agencies and completing the second Niger Bridge and Enugu International airports respectively, The statement said. Ayya Lmahamad A court in Baku has arrested for four months head of Imishli district Executive Authorities Vilyam Hajiyev on charges of abuse of power and embezzlement, local media reported on May 6. Among his crimes are issuing illegal permits to leave homes amid the strict stay-at-home order and embezzling social aid intended for the poor and money for unemployed. Hajiyev was detained after a special operation carried out by the State Security Service in the building of the Imishli Executive Authorities on May 5. Investigation has revealed that Hajiyev ordered to seize some funds at the disposal of the executive power under the pretense of social assistance, as well as to issue fake certificates to some citizens for free movement in violation of the special quarantine regime. He also embezzled money that the state transferred to payroll cards for those who lost their jobs during the quarantine period and low-income citizens. It is also assumed that a certain part of the state funds allocated for repair and construction works, including the construction of the administrative building of Imishli district, was cashed in and embezzled by Hajiyev. Moreover, through his subordinates Hajiyev extorted money from officials of local executive authorities and other state structures, as well as citizens engaged in individual business in the district under various pretexts. Vilyam Hajiyev was dismissed from his position upon the presidential order on May 6. He is charged under articles 308 (exceeding the authority), 179 (attribution) and 331 (receiving a bribe). The arrest followed the May 5 operation against six local officials in three districts Sabirabad, Agjabadi and Tartar - who were detained on the similar charges. The head of the Bilasuvar district, Mahir Guliyev, was arrested on April 30 for four months on charges of embezzlement, abuse of power, and bribery. It should be noted that President Ilham Aliyev urged fight against corruption, especially those in the districts amid the spread of COVID-19 in the country while receiving the newly-appointed Prosecutorr-General on on May 1. Azerbaijan first introduced special quarantine regime on March 24 and since April 5, residents are required to obtain SMS permits to leave their homes. ___ Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Two Border Security Force personnel and a CISF official succumbed to the COVID-19 infection as active positive cases of the pandemic in various paramilitary forces neared 500, officials said on Thursday. These are the first coronavirus fatalities in these two paramilitary forces. The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) -- comprising the Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the Sashastra Seema Bal -- reported about 90 fresh cases on Thursday. A 55-year-old sub-inspector of the CRPF had succumbed to the disease last month, and the three latest fatalities take to four the total number of deaths in CAPFs due to COVID-19. Union Home Minister Amit Shah condoled the deaths. "Deeply pained to know about the loss of our two brave BSF soldiers, who were battling COVID-19," he said on Twitter. "I join millions of Indians in mourning their untimely demise." Offering his condolences to the bereaved families, Shah said "may God give them strength to withstand this tragic loss." The 2.5 lakh-personnel-strong BSF, tasked primarily to guard Indian borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh, also reported 41 new cases of the infection, a senior official on Thursday. The total number of infections or active cases in the BSF now stand at 193. Two jawans have recovered. This is the highest number of infections among all the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) where the total numbers are close to 490 now. Among the latest fatalities in the BSF is a 46-year-old Assistant Sub Inspector who was posted in the headquarters (communication wing) of the force in Delhi, and he had no other reported ailment. The other BSF jawan, who passed away, was undergoing dialysis at a Delhi hospital. In an alarming development, 80 percent of the BSF troops of a company deployed in Jamia and Chandni Mahal areas of the national capital have tested positive till now. Out of the 94 personnel in that company, 75 have contracted the infection now, a senior official said. The other major cases are from a single BSF unit based in Tripura. "Braving the challenge of securing frontiers, working with civil administration and while shouldering other essential responsibilities, 41 new COVID-19 positive cases have been reported since Wednesday," BSF spokesperson Shubhendu Bhardwaj. Most of these BSF personnel have been aiding civil police in internal security duties during this critical phase of coronavirus pandemic, he said. The BSF has stressed its personnel to remain motivated, take healthy food and boost their immunity to combat the disease. In the Central Industrial Security Force, a 55-year-old head constable posted at the Mumbai international airport succumbed to novel coronavirus, a senior official said. The 1.62-lakh-personnel strong force, tasked primarily to guard civil airports and vital infrastructure in the aerospace and nuclear domain, has reported 32 active COVID-19 cases so far, the official said. The head constable was admitted to a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday and he later succumbed to the infection, they said, adding he was posted at the Mumbai international airport. The ITBP, which guards the India-China Line of Actual Control (LAC), reported 37 fresh cases, and has now 82 active coronavirus cases. The maximum cases are from a unit that was deployed for law and order duties in Delhi and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police camp in south Delhi's Tigri area. For the second day in a row, the Central Reserve Police Force saw the least number of fresh positive COVID-19cases among the CAPFs. The country's largest paramilitary force, with about 3.25 lakh personnel, has 159 active cases now with just one new case over the last 24 hours. The Sashastra Seema Bal has 17 active cases. These CAPFs, with a combined strength of about 10 lakh personnel, are deployed for a variety of internal security duties and border-guarding tasks under the command of the Union home ministry. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two more patients have died from coronavirus in Lagos State, an official said on Thursday. Akin Abayomi, the Commissioner for Health in the state said two deaths were recorded on Wednesday. They bring the total number of deaths from COVID-19 in Lagos to 33. While giving update, the Commissioner said 82 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on Wednesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Lagos is to 1324. 37 additional fully recovered COVID-19 patients; 19 females & 18 males including an Indian have been discharged. The total number of COVID-19 patients discharged in Lagos is now 358. Lagos recorded 2 more COVID-19 related deaths bringing total deaths associated to COVID-19 in Lagos to 33, he said. Mr Abayomi enjoined all Lagos residents to adhere to directives aimed at curtailing the spread of COVID-19. All COVID-19 related complaints should be directed to the state Ministry of Health through the toll-free line; 08000CORONA. Nearly three lakh people from Jharkhand, mostly labourers, stranded in various states due to the lockdown have registered to return home, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said on Thursday, and asserted that they will be brought back without any "ifs and buts". Jharkhand is the only state which has made advance payments for receiving its people coming from other states through 'Shramik Special' trains, according to railway sources. Soren also slammed the Centre for charging 15 percent of the rail travel cost from the state, saying no relief was given to Jharkhand despite it being a source of high revenue for the railways. In an interview to PTI, the chief minister said about 20,000 migrant labourers and students stranded in other states due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown have already returned to the state since the Centre allowed the movement. An online registration process has also been started by the Jharkhand government for stranded migrants wanting to return home. "About three lakh people have registered for returning home since we started the online process about four-five days ago. And the registration is still on," Soren said. He, however, added that everyone who has registered may not eventually return with the opening of some economic activity. "All those who want to come, our government is fully committed to bring them back. We will greet them with open arms and take them home, there are no ifs and buts in that," the Jharkhand Chief Minister said. Soren said the challenge for the state government was to transport such a large number of people in a short span of time while taking all precautions. "We are able to allow only one train at one station and people have to go from there to other areas by buses. We have designated stations where trains are coming. We already have the database of where people have to go and are designating train stations accordingly," he said. Jharkhand is also feeling the pinch as it is mostly dependent on the Centre for resources and economic help, and there is no financial assistance after it got about Rs 250 crore from the initial package announced by Finance Minister Niramla Sitharaman, Soren said. He asserted that the Centre has delayed a second financial package to states by a bit too long which has already defeated its purpose and to drive home his point he used the analogy -- "Baraat jaane ke baad khichchdi pakane se kya fayda. (what is the point of a feast when the wedding is over)". On the railways charging 15 percent from states for ferrying migrant labourers, Soren said,"who will make them understand that they are bringing people from abroad in flights and inside the country charging for ferrying labourers who do not even have money for food." Soren said his government was committed to help the poor migrant laborers irrespective of whether the Centre helps or not and had already transferred money in the accounts of migrant labourers registered on its 'Sahayta App' which cost the state nearly Rs 20 crore. "I had requested Railway Minister Piyush Goyal that the Railways earns maximum revenue from Jharkhand so at least it can be given some relief. But no help has been forthcoming," he said. Asserting that he was not afraid of the influx and cases of coronavirus going up because of that, Soren said even if 1,000 or 2,000 people are COVID-19 positive, it will make the way forward clearer and the state will take care of it. Listing his demands from the Centre, Soren said Jharkhand should get a complete waiver in train transportation cost, the role of the PSUs be fixed in accommodating the migrant labourers that are coming in and medical infrastructure for screening and quarantining of those coming in be boosted. "We have asked for the Cobas-6800 machine, which can conduct about 1,000 coronavirus tests in one day, so that more and more people can be tested," he said. Soren said in order to boost the rural economy, he has launched three schemes to generate 25 crore man-days for MGNREGA to enable the workers earn wages as well as bring in a long-term plan to provide steady income to the poor households. MGNREGA was a rural lifeline and yet Jharkhand and underdeveloped states have wages fixed even below the standard wage rate i.e Rs 194/195 , not even Rs 200, so people have migrated in large numbers to other states because they know they would get Rs 300-400 upwards per day for work, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As more and more countries consider how to ease the so-called lockdown restrictions, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the exit measures should be done extremely carefully. "The risk of returning to lockdown remains very real if countries do not manage the transition extremely carefully and in a phased approach," he said at an online press conference from Geneva on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported. He reiterated six criteria which WHO recommends countries to consider, including strong surveillance, to isolate, test and treat every case and trace every contact, sufficient preventive measures in workplaces and schools and full cooperation of the public in the post-lockdown "new norm." According to the WHO chief, more than 3.5 million cases of COVID-19 and almost 250,000 deaths have now been reported to WHO, and since the beginning of April, an average of around 80,000 new cases have been reported every day. "These are not just numbers -- every single case is a mother, a father, a son, a daughter, a brother, sister or friend," Tedros said. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) on Thursday attacked former Joe Biden staffer Tara Reade, who alleges she was sexually assaulted by Biden in the spring of 1993. Feinstein said the allegations were totally different than those against Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh was under the harshest inspection that we give people over a substantial period of time, Feinstein told CNN on Thursday. And I dont know this person at all [Reade] who has made the allegations [against Biden]. She came out of nowhere. Where has she been all these years? He was vice president. Christine Blasey Ford, Kavanaughs accuser, claimed that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in 1982, an allegation that was known by Feinsteins office before it was publicly reported in September 2018. Feinstein later denied that she or anyone in her office had withheld Fords allegation for political purposes or had leaked the allegation to the press. Reade, meanwhile, called on Biden to drop out of the presidential race in an interview with Megyn Kelly released Thursday. I want to say: You were there, Joe Biden. Please, step forward and be held accountable. You should not be running on character for the president of the United States, Reade said. More from National Review Ukraine will retain representatives of the government and parliament as part of the Minsk Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) even if Russia does not make a similar decision, head of the President's Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak told reporters on Thursday. "This is our sovereign right. We have taken the first step. If there are no reciprocal steps, we will work as part of this delegation," he said. "We believe that we need this and our position will be proactive," Yermak added, while acknowledging that this step of Ukraine "is not a 100 percent panacea." He recalled that "the Russian delegation insists that certain decisions be determined by a protocol," noting that this cannot be implemented without the presence of government officials on the other part. "Ukraine will be a proactive side in these negotiations. At the next meeting in Minsk, the Ukrainian side will be represented as invited representatives of the territories - displaced people, those who are forced to live outside Donbas," the head of the Presidential Office said. According to Yermak, the possibility of holding local elections in the occupied territories in October 2020 will be determined proceeding from the fact that all conditions are created for this at the beginning of the election process. According to Ukrainian law, the election process in local elections begins 90 days before the date of their holding. Bill Frischling is chief executive of FactSquared, which catalogs and analyzes President Trump's speech patterns using an artificial intelligence bot named Margaret that he created. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times) Bill Frischlings moment of inspiration came three years ago, when Margaret, his artificial intelligence bot, tried to transcribe a 127-word section of a speech by President Trump. The passage, ostensibly commemorating a World War II battle, careened wildly. Trump shifted verb tenses and subjects without warning. Syntax was tortured and conjunctions collided. He added sub-clause to sub-clause, parenthetical to parenthetical, preposition to preposition. By the time Trump mentioned winning for the fourth time, Margaret crashed. It was still trying to punctuate it like it was English, versus trying to punctuate it like it was Trump, Frischling recalled. So Frischling rebooted. He hired a computer expert with a PhD in machine punctuation to unteach Margaret normal grammar and syntax and teach it to decipher Trump-speak instead. Today Margaret better understands Trumps speech patterns, and more importantly, better understands Trump his tics, his tells, his tendencies and habits than perhaps many Americans do. Margaret has so far digested more than 11 million words of Trump's speeches. (Associated Press) Margaret named for a character on the TV series "The West Wing" who can forge the president's signature doesn't cheer, jeer or change the channel. It simply analyzes every word Trump says, and how he says them, deploying algorithms to glean insight into the president's erratic nature from a database that stretches back more than four decades. Among Margaret's discoveries: Trumps ability to fast-talk through an obvious falsehood is a sign that he is unbothered. Most people, when theyre not telling the truth, are not more comfortable. Theyre less comfortable, said Frischling, 48, a self-taught coder who is working from home in Great Falls, Va., during the pandemic. He is more comfortable. Margaret can assess when Trump is stressed, measure his calm and even mimic what Trump might say in public before he does, Frischling said. Margaret also has a pretty good sense of when Trump is really angry versus when hes just putting on a show, he added. Story continues To form those conclusions, Margaret keeps track of Trumps pauses, hand gestures, rate of speech, the types of adjectives he uses, deviations from his usual vocabulary and the tone in his voice, among other factors. Every word he says makes Margaret smarter and allows her to make more subtle distinctions, Frischling said. Analyzing a president's language for meaning and consequence obviously is not new. Abraham Lincoln spoke only 272 words in his Gettysburg Address, but they spawned a library shelf full of books. Artificial intelligence, or AI, ups the means and the metric. Margaret has so far digested more than 11 million words of Trumps speeches, tweets , books, rallies, video, and radio and TV clips dating back to 1976, when Trump wrote his first published letter to the New York Times. The database is a go-to resource for journalists, scholars and political operatives. Amazon taps Margaret for answers about Trumps schedule and Twitter habits on millions of voice-activated Alexa devices. Frischling also analyzes other politicians rhetoric as well as corporate earnings calls for private clients. AI thus joins linguists, cognitive specialists, armchair psychologists, political scientists and others who scrutinize Trump's unorthodox speaking style, the core of his political brand. Weeks of nightly briefings in the coronavirus crisis offered an unadulterated dose, as he relentlessly claimed success and brushed off concerns about the government's flawed response. Computer scientists say AI can detect patterns in troves of data too complex for the human mind. Intelligence experts suspect foreign spy services are combining AI analyses with personality profiles and traditional human-based methods to profile Trump and other world leaders. At first, I think people were totally perplexed" by Trump, said John Sipher, a former CIA agent for decades who was deployed in Russia and other countries. "I think now they have a better sense of how to play him. But the technology is hardly foolproof, and the patterns found through machine learning are often not what we think they are, warned Aleksander Madry, a professor at MITs Center for Deployable Machine Learning. Some programmers have used bots to produce fake Trump speeches, raising red flags about the ability to create deep fakes that could disrupt American politics. Bradley Hayes, who runs the artificial intelligence and robotics lab at the University of Colorado, says almost anyone with a large data set can use AI bots to draw meaningful conclusions or to twist them. As a graduate student at MIT in 2016, Hayes built a parody Twitter bot called @DeepDrumpf that imitated Trumps social media persona through word jumbles: We have to make the United States. They cant do it. Because Im going to pay for the country. The Twitter account gained a measure of fame in its brief life, but Hayes had to block a tweet that included a threat to unleash violent terrorists against former President Obama. More time and better data would make a stronger bot for analyzing Trump. If you had access to everybody who was talking to him on a given day, youd probably be able to build a much more high-fidelity model of what hes going to be talking about and what his positions are going to be, said Hayes. At some level, Margaret finds Trump predictable. He almost always speaks faster, about 220 words per minute, when he is off script, far faster than the national average of about 110 to 150 words per minute. And unlike most people, who slow down and stammer or get uncomfortable when they are about to say something false, Trump speeds up, using filler phrases to get himself going First of all, Theyre talking as he races toward cruising velocity, which Frischling calls his salesman mode. Trump slows to 111 words a minute when he is forced to read from a teleprompter. (Associated Press) Think of it as steps in drive and overdrive, Frischling said. He does not like to label Trumps statements true or false, so he relies on independent fact-checkers to cross-check his data. Trump slows to 111 words a minute when he is forced to read from a teleprompter, an act Trump once said should be illegal for people who run for president. He usually delivers such prepared remarks in a wooden monotone, ad-libbing asides for emphasis, as if seeing the material for the first time. And when Trump is really angry? He tends to speak tersely and his oft-waving arms grow still. When he stops making gestures, thats the watch out, Frischling said. Whatevers about to happen, hang on to your tush. To illustrate, Frischling runs a report from Margaret with fever lines depicting Trumps stress levels during his coronavirus briefing at the White House on April 23, the day Trump suggested doctors should consider injecting patients with household disinfectant to kill the virus. The stress lines fluctuate, but the average remains steady until theres a sudden spike, just shy of 52 minutes into the briefing. Thats when Washington Post reporter Philip Rucker asked Trump if he was irresponsibly hyping unproven science about the impact of heat and sun on the coronavirus. Im the president, and youre fake news! Trump shot back. There is little ambiguity, according to Margaret. Trump was genuinely angry. But often when making similar attacks on the fake news, Trump is hardly shaken at all. Theres nothing in the voice, theres nothing in the speaking patterns, theres nothing in the rate of speech that indicates hes saying anything different from Hows the weather? Frischling said. To highlight that point, Frischling called up a video clip and report from Margaret from a news conference one day after the 2018 midterm election, which produced heavy losses for Republicans. Trump had a memorable confrontation with CNN reporter Jim Acosta, a favorite foil. Trump flashed anger early in the exchange. Thats enough, he told Acosta as the reporter pressed him over immigration. But when Trump dramatically walked off the podium and crossed his arms, his stress dropped to an even level, suggesting he was enjoying the clash. The sign of real anger would be rising stress levels. Frischling would like to teach Margaret to analyze changes in Trumps skin tone, but the quality of most of his video is not good enough. If Trumps rhetoric is often predictable, his decisions sometimes appear purely random. Frischling has studied members of Congress for some of his private clients and believes they tend to forecast when they are about to make a policy shift, focusing more of their public comments on a given topic and altering their language. Trump talks about so many topics, and changes his opinion so often, that there is hardly a relationship. He can say, I think this is the worst'" about a policy proposal, Frischling said, and then quite literally sign an executive order 10 hours later that approves it. Margaret is still working on understanding that. The family of a meat packing worker who died of coronavirus has filed suit against the company he worked for, claiming that he and other workers were told to report for work even after they called in sick. Hugo Dominguez, 36, died on April 25 after he contracted the disease while working at the Quality Sausage Company in Dallas, according to the lawsuit filed by his family this week. The plant 'refused to take the pandemic seriously, and kept its functions as normal, taking no precautions and implementing no protocols for the safety of its workers,' even after employees reported being sick by April 8, the lawsuit claimed, according to WFAA-TV. It comes as a new analysis of national data shows that more than 10,000 meat industry workers have tested positive for coronavirus, and at least 45 have died. Hugo Dominguez, 36, died on April 25 after he contracted the disease while working at the Quality Sausage Company in Dallas, according to the lawsuit filed by his family The plant (above) 'refused to take the pandemic seriously' and asked workers to come in even when they tried to call in sick, Dominguez was one of two workers at the Quality Sausage Plant to die of coronavirus. The other was Mathias Martinez. Both men were in their 30s, but it was not immediately clear whether they had other health issues. According to the lawsuit, Dominguez first started experiencing symptoms on April 15, but he and other employees were told to keep coming to work even after they called in sick. Employees were also not given personal protective equipment nor asked to maintain six feet of distance from each other to slow the spread of the virus, the lawsuit alleges. 'It's hard,' Dominguez's fiance Blanca Parra told the ABC affiliate. 'I'm working hard every day to don't break up myself because I have to be strong for my kids.' Dominguez was 'a man with a strong work ethic and deep commitment to his children and family, he continued to work till the day he just couldn't go on, and a few days later he was gone,' according to the lawsuit. Quality Sausage told DailyMail.com that it had not yet seen a copy of the lawsuit, and could not comment on pending litigation. 'The health and well-being of our employees is extremely important to us,' the company said in a statement. 'The spread of COVID-19 across the country and within our community is challenging all of us.' The company said it has temporarily paused operations as it assess its response to the virus, and that it has 'continually updated' procedures to follow CDC and OSHA guidelines. Dominguez (left and right) was one of two workers at the Quality Sausage Plant to die of coronavirus. Both men were in their 30s Dominguez is seen a family photo with his fiancee and loved ones. He died on April 25 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 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 Meanwhile, a new study highlights the pervasiveness of the problem in the meat packing industry, which has seen critical facilities hit hard by the virus across the country. At least 10,000 meat industry workers have tested positive since the crisis began, according to an analysis by USA Today and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. At least 170 plants in 29 states have had one or more workers test positive for the coronavirus. Some of those workers also have infected others, which is included in the count. The outbreaks have prompted at least 40 meat slaughtering and processing plant closures, which have ranged from as little as a day to indefinite. The closures prompted President Donald Trump to sign an executive order giving the federal government sole jurisdiction over decisions to close or reopen the plants. However, many of the plants remain closed under Department of Agriculture and CDC oversight. 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 The closures have spurred national shortages of beef and pork, with Kroger and Costco instituting limits on how many meat items a customer can buy. Wendy's locations in multiple states have temporarily removed beef hamburgers from their menus due to supply chain disruptions. Customers have also seen prices rise sharply at the grocery store - but there is now some debate as to whether supply chains are to blame for the higher prices. Trump said on Wednesday he had urged the Justice Department to look into allegations that the meatpacking industry broke antitrust law. The president pointed out that the price that slaughterhouses pay farmers for animals had dropped even as meat prices for consumers rose. 'I've asked the Justice Department to look into it. ... I've asked them to take a very serious look into it, because it shouldn't be happening that way and we want to protect our farmers,' the president told reporters at a White House event attended by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds. 'Are they dealing with each other? What's going on?' the president asked. [May 07, 2020] AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of TD Reinsurance (Barbados) Inc. AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a+" of TD Reinsurance (Barbados) Inc. (TD Re) (Barbados). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. The ratings reflect TD Re's balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. TD Re primarily is a life reinsurer that ultimately is owned by The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD Bank). TD Re principally reinsures credit insurance policies underwritten by third-party life insurance carriers on consumer loans originated by TD Bank's Canadian retail branches. In 2017, the company finalized its first general insurance transaction with another TD Bank subsidiary, with a 25% quota share on homeowners and private passenger auto insurance. Despite this change, the company has continued to have a high return on equity due to favorable underwriting results on a solid capital base through 2019. Furthermore, the company maintains multiple high quality investment portfolios that are managed to match the specific liability profiles of the business they support. These strengths are offset partially by a dependence on Canadian consumer loan originations for growth, which are anticipated to decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, while earnings have been favorable for the general insurance line of business, this line of business could potentially see eanings volatility, AM Best notes that the overall balance sheet strength remains very strong. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper Use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best Rating Action Press Releases. AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright 2020 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507006166/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] (Photo : Image Courtesy of LteRapha/Twitter) The N95 masks are becoming more and more limited, which would be risky for people in the frontline of it all. Read More: SARS-CoV-2 Gets Duplicated by Scientists! While Another Researcher Found Dead N95 Masks Supply Severely Low And Might Cause More Harm Several states in the United States require their citizens always to wear masks at all times, especially when in public, to stop the spread of the coronavirus. One mask would create more harm than good, which is terrible news for the rest of the medical field in the frontline. The San Francisco Department of Public Health went to Twitter on Monday to remind all residents that if they choose to wear a mask, they shouldn't be using the N95 mask, why? It is because they shouldn't have a front valve. @SFPD @sfgov @LondonBreed @MyrPressOffice https://t.co/xHxNy28EUz Still seeing a lot of these masks out there, it's confusing, because they are called N95- but the ones with the **valves** or openings on the front are NOT safe, and may actually propel your germs further!! @SFFDPIO SFDPH (@SF_DPH) May 4, 2020 The tweet said, "Still seeing a lot of these masks out there, it's confusing because they are called N95 - but the ones with the **valves** or openings on the front are NOT safe, and may actually propel your germs further!" So meaning, if the wearer of the N95 mask with a front open valve was sick, it could allow the germs or virus a chance to spread, which makes it as dangerous for people who use it and the people around. The real N95 mask should "reduce the wearer's exposure to airborne particles, from small particle aerosols to large droplets," based on the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention or called CDC, which does not have valves on them. Of course, a follow-up tweet from the local San Francisco fire department showed the vented masks can still be used if they were worn out. The method would be to use it over a surgical mask or another cloth covering them. But for now, if you are using the N95 mask with the valve, health officials suggested covering the opening with tape. As simple as that. Read More: [BREAKING] Cure Is Coming Sooner Than Expected, Pfizer Moves Potential Cure to Clinical Trials And Plans to Create Millions of Vaccines by 2021 What You Should Know About N95 Masks The N95 masks which have an external valve are not as effective as the ones who don't. There was a study back in 2008 proving that the N95 mask that is properly fitted can protect the users 50 times as much as home-made masks and about 25 times than surgical masks. As always, it's essential to reserve N95 masks for health workers since they are more prone to the coronavirus or other viruses or germs. Given that they are in the thick of things, governments around the world encourage people to use different masks and leave the N95 masks for health workers. Beware of Fakes There has been a lot of N95 masks that are flooding the market in light of the current pandemic, which has not met certain certification standards. So make sure that the masks you do purchase are of high quality or the authentic one to avoid any unwanted sickness. Read More: COVID-19: DARPA Created New Test To Identify COVID-19 Within 24 Hours After Exposure And Is 95 Percent Accurate 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The IMF on Wednesday approved a disbursement to Nepal of about USD 214 million to help the Himalayan nation cover the urgent balance of payments and fiscal needs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said COVID-19 is having a severe impact on Nepal's remittances, tourism, and domestic activity. As such, it will substantially weaken the country's GDP growth, balance of payments and fiscal position. During recent months, remittances have fallen considerably, tourist arrivals collapsed and domestic activity has taken a hit amid social-distancing measures, it said. The IMF said Nepal's immediate priority has been to deal with the human and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government is increasing health spending, including by providing additional incentive pay and an insurance coverage to all medical frontline personnel, importing additional medical supplies and setting up quarantine centres and temporary hospitals. They are also strengthening social assistance by providing those most vulnerable with daily food rations, subsidising utility bills for low-usage customers and taking steps to partially compensate those who suffer job loss. In addition, measures are being implemented to ensure adequate liquidity in the financial system and support a continued access to credit, it said. As such, the IMF financial support will make a substantial contribution to filling the immediate external and fiscal financing needs that have emerged due to COVID-19. It is also expected to catalyse additional support from development partners, it said in a statement. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-5) launches from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, September 7, 2017. US Air Force/Senior Airman Timothy Kirchner The US military is sending its X-37B space plane back into space later this month, Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett said Wednesday. The Air Force doesn't often say much about the X-37B, but Barrett said Wednesday that this time around it will host more experiments than on any of its previous five flights. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The US military's X-37B space plane is heading back into space in mid-May, and while the Air Force doesn't often say much about the mysterious aircraft, the service's top civilian outlined what it will be doing this time around. "The Air Force's Rapid Capability Office has combined forces with the Air Force Reserve Research Lab and now the US Space Force to execute a mission that maximizes the X-37B's unique capabilities," Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett said during a webcast hosted by the Space Foundation on Wednesday. "This important mission will host more experiments than any prior X-37B flight, including two NASA experiments," Barrett added. "One is a sample plate evaluating the reaction of select significant materials to the conditions in space. The second studies the effect of ambient space radiation on seeds. A third experiment, designed by the Naval Research Laboratory, transforms solar power into radio frequency microwave energy, then studies transmitting that energy to earth." US Air Force X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle 4 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida, May 7, 2017. US Air Force The sample plate and seeds experiments are for NASA, the Air Force said in a statement Wednesday, adding that the mission will deploy the FalconSat-8, a small satellite developed by the US Air Force Academy and sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory, in order to conduct several experiments while in orbit. The space craft, known as the Orbital Test Vehicle, will launch from Cape Canaveral on May 16, Barrett said, adding that the Space Force was dedicating this flight to "first responders and front-line professionals." Story continues While the Air Force owns the X-37B, the recently established Space Force, the military's sixth branch, is responsible for its launch, operations in orbit, and landing. The X-37B team exemplifies the "lean, agile and forward-leaning technology development" the US needs in space, Gen. Jay Raymond, the chief of Space Force operations, said in the statement, adding that each launch is a "significant milestone" in "how we build, test, and deploy space capabilities in a rapid and responsive manner." 'We know that that drives them nuts' US Air Force X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle 4 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida, May 7, 2017. US Air Force The X-37B program started in 1999 and first launched in 2010. It's completed five missions, spending 2,865 days in orbit, including a record 780 days on its most recent mission, which ended in October. The Air Force said Wednesday that this would be the first X-37B mission to use a service module for experiments. Attached to the rear of the vehicle, the service module allows extra experimental payload to be carried to orbit. "The ability to test new systems in space and return them to Earth is unique to the X-37B program and enables the US to more efficiently and effectively develop space capabilities necessary to maintain superiority in the space domain," the Air Force said in the statement Wednesday. Despite the X-37B's prolific work in space, the Air Force doesn't often elaborate on what the space craft is doing up there. After it returned from a mission in May 2017, the Air Force said the X-37B was testing technologies that included "advanced guidance, navigation and control, thermal protection systems, avionics, high temperature structures and seals, conformal reusable insulation, lightweight electromechanical flight systems, advanced propulsion systems, advanced materials and autonomous orbital flight, reentry and landing." X 37b Boeing The classified nature of its missions have given rise to suggestions the X-37B is involved in testing military space technology related to reconnaissance satellites. It's been spotted at relatively low altitudes less than 200 miles, according to some, lower than the International Space Station which experts have said may mean the US is looking at moving spy satellites to lower orbits, where they could take sharper photos but would need more fuel to maneuver. Barrett's predecessor, Heather Wilson, last year called the X-37B "fascinating" because "when it's close to the Earth, it's close enough to the atmosphere to turn where it is." That means "adversaries don't know ... where it's going to come up next. And we know that that drives them nuts. And I'm really glad about that," Wilson said, according to Military.com. Air Force officials have also suggested that the X-37B could in the future share information with the service's fifth-generation fighters, the F-22 and F-35, giving them "the ability to operate from all domains." Read the original article on Business Insider After Maos death, Mr. Ji took on a similar role with successor Deng. Having been dispatched by Zhou to set up an informal liaison office in the United States in 1973, Mr. Ji accompanied Deng to America after the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the longtime antagonists in 1979 and later worked at the Chinese Embassy in Washington. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and former Google CEO and Chairman Eric Schmidt. Andrew Kelly/Reuters and Alex Wong/Getty Images New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has tapped former Google CEO Eric Schmidt to lead a commission aimed at "reimagining" the state post-pandemic. Cuomo announced during his daily briefing Wednesday that Schmidt would chair a 15-member group to help New York "use technology in the economy of tomorrow." Schmidt, who dialed in by video conference, said the commission would focus on telehealth, remote learning, and internet access and infrastructure. Cuomo faced criticism previously for leaning on Schmidt for advise on classroom technology while he was still at Google, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that former Google CEO and Chairman Eric Schmidt will chair a commission tasked with "reimagining" the state's relationship with technology post-pandemic. The 15-member commission will draw on tough lessons from New York's coronavirus response to drive innovation within the state's operations, Cuomo said. "On a larger scale, how do we really use technology in the economy of tomorrow, and that's the lesson we're all learning," he said. The governor praised Schmidt's leadership and vision at Google, saying Schmidt's experience would help New York develop a more tech-savvy approach moving forward. "The first priorities of what we're trying to do are focused on telehealth, remote learning and broadband," said Schmidt, who dialed in by video conference. "We can take this terrible disaster and accelerate all of those in ways that will make things much, much better." Schmidt said the pandemic has provided the state with an opportunity to update old and neglected systems and develop new ways to do things, and stressed that the commission's "intent is to be very inclusive" in its approach. Story continues Cuomo previously tapped Schmidt in 2014 to advise the state on updating technology in schools, but faced criticism due to Schmidt's role at the time as Google's CEO, raising concerns that Schmidt would be able to make recommendations that could benefit his company. The state's education department ultimately approved the use of Google Chromebooks in classrooms (though it did not require schools to purchase them). Schmidt is the third billionaire Cuomo has tapped in recent weeks to advise New York on post-pandemic changes. On Tuesday, Cuomo announced that philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates will help rethink what the state's public schools could look like when they reopen this fall. Cuomo also enlisted former presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg to spend $10 million of his own fortune and work with Johns Hopkins University to develop a contact tracing program for the tri-state area. Read the original article on Business Insider May 6, 2020 News By Jim Garamone Defense.gov Leaders Chart the Course as U.S. Space Force Launches Air Force Secretary Barbara M. Barrett and Space Force Gen. John W. Raymond cast some light on the previously classified missions of America's reusable space plane, the X-37B. The two spoke today during a webinar hosted by the Space Foundation. They updated the audience on the progress the U.S. Space Force has made. The two showed a recruiting video about the Space Force, and in it Barrett revealed that one part of the presentation showed the X-37B's return to Earth. The X-37B is an unmanned space plane boosted into orbit by a rocket and gliding to Earth like the space shuttle. Built by Boeing, the craft has completed five missions with a total of 2,865 days on orbit, Barrett said. The Air Force's Rapid Capability Office has combined forces with the Air Force Research Lab, and now with the U.S. Space Force to execute a mission that maximizes the X 37-B's unique capabilities, she said. "This important mission will host more experiments than any prior X-37B flight, including two NASA experiments," she added. One of the experiments will test the reaction of "significant materials" to the conditions in space," Barrett said. A second experiment will study the effect of ambient space radiation on seeds. A third experiment, designed by the Naval Research Laboratory, transforms solar power into radiofrequency microwave energy, then studies transmitting that energy to Earth, Barrett said. That mission will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, May 16. "The Space Force dedicates this flight to the nation's first responders and frontline professionals who keep America strong," the secretary said. The Space Force is already running with roughly $15.4 billion in the fiscal 2021 budget request. That will fund next-generation overhead persistent infrared satellites, launches of two GPS satellites and three additional national security launches. Raymond said it is a critical and exciting time for space. "There are advances being made in all sectors of the space domain, whether it's national security space, commercial space; whether it's civil space with the moon-to-Mars program. I would also include international space," he said. The Space Force is needed now because potential adversaries see space as a warfighting domain, the general noted, and the strategic environment in space has changed. "We've seen Russia maneuver a satellite with characteristics of a weapon system in proximity to a U.S. satellite," he said. Russia has also tested a direct-ascent, anti-satellite weapon. "And just in the past few weeks, Iran attempted to launch an operational satellite in making a claim for becoming a space power," he said. Many of the American systems were designed and launched when space was a benign domain, Barrett said. They provide a range of capabilities that not only the U.S. military, but the civilian world takes for granted. These include the Global Positioning System, instantaneous communications, even the platform for the webinar. The systems are vulnerable to malign actors. "It is important for us to deter aggressive action against American assets," Barrett said. "But if deterrence fails, we need to be prepared to defend and, if necessary, shoot back." The Space Force is dedicated to building the space capabilities needed and to defending those capabilities, she said. The operational side is important, but so is developing the doctrine needed to police the actions that are taking place in space and setting the expectations for what is fair behavior and appropriate behavior in space, the secretary said. Manning the Space Force is a key to moving forward. Raymond and his senior enlisted leader, Chief Master Sgt. Roger Towberman, were the only members of the new service until last month, when 86 graduates of the U.S. Air Force Academy joined them. The service has not had a problem attracting recruits. Barrett said there has been "an avalanche" of applicants. Raymond said there will certainly be a reserve component part of the new service, noting that the Space Force already works closely with the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve and sees a similar organization in the future. He also noted that service members in other branches of the military may be accepted into the Space Force as well. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tara Reade, shown in a recent photo, worked as a staff assistant in Joe Biden's Senate office in 1993, when she alleges Biden assaulted her. (Max Whittaker / New York Times) The woman who has accused Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her decades ago repeated her allegation on Thursday, in her first on-camera interview since the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee unequivocally denied her claim last week. I want to say, You and I were there, Joe Biden,' Tara Reade said in her interview with journalist Megyn Kelly, who released a portion of it on social media. 'Please step forward and be held accountable. You should not be running on character for the president of the United States.' Reade's allegation remains a simmering political problem for Biden in the #MeToo era. Yet she offered no new corroboration in initial clips of her exchange with Kelly. Reade has struggled to reconcile inconsistencies in her story, and produced no records to substantiate her claim that she complained to Senate officials at the time. Reade was a staffer in Biden's Senate office in 1993 when, she says, he cornered her in a basement hallway and inserted his fingers inside her. In her interview with Kelly, Reade said that Biden also explicitly propositioned her. Reade denied that she was politically motivated in bringing forward her allegations. But she acknowledged she had reached out to the campaigns of two Biden rivals, Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kamala Harris of California. She said she got no response. Biden has adamantly denied Reades story, and no available records have emerged from the time substantiating Reades claims. Two people with whom Reade said she confided after the alleged incident have shifted their stories about what she told them. As the interview clips were posted, however, a 1996 California Superior Court document surfaced that Reade's attorney argued bolsters her case. The filing, first reported by the San Luis Obispo Tribune, was a declaration by Reades then-husband, Theodore Dronen, contesting a restraining order she sought against him during their divorce proceedings. Dronen said Reade had described to him a problem she was having at work regarding sexual harassment, in U.S. Senator Joe Bidens office. Story continues The document does not accuse Biden specifically, nor does it make any mention of sexual assault during Reades time in the Senate job. Reade, who last year was one of several women who complained publicly that Biden had been inappropriately touchy, did not publicly accuse him of the assault until earlier this year, as he began winning Democratic nominating contests. The accusers reemergence Thursday suggested that she plans to continue pursuing her allegation against the former vice president. Reade also retained as counsel the law firm of Wigdor LLP, which represented several of the women who accused film producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault. Her harrowing account is credible and supported by numerous 'outcry' witnesses from decades ago, said a statement from attorney Douglas Wigdor. We will help Ms. Reade be heard. Reade earlier canceled a television interview with Fox News planned to air last Sunday, citing concerns for her personal safety. During the Kelly interview, Reade talked about threats she said she had received after going public with her charge. Republican efforts to use the Reade allegations against Biden are complicated by the substantially more extensive sexual assault allegations against President Trump. Also, Trump recently seemed to sympathize with Biden, saying they each had experience now with "false" allegations. He has been accused by more than a dozen women in incidents spanning many years, all of which he has denied. Reade first publicly made her allegation against Biden in late March in an interview with a progressive-oriented podcaster. Major media organizations investigated her claims and did not find conclusive evidence to substantiate or refute them. Biden disputes Reades claim that she complained about his behavior to her supervisor and senior staffers in his office. None of them have corroborated her story. He also disputes that Reade filed any formal complaint to a Senate personnel office, which she said she did. Biden has asked Senate officials to search through archives and disclose any record of a complaint by Reade. The secretary of the Senate told the Biden campaign that confidentiality laws would prevent disclosure of any such document. The Biden campaign says it is trying to work with Senate officials and Reade to waive the confidentiality rules if any complaint is found. After Reade's interview with Kelly, Biden again denied her allegations in remarks to a Florida news outlet on Thursday. "Nothing ever happened with Tara Reade," he said. "The claims are flat-out false." Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. The US potato chips market size is expected to reach USD 11.31 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., exhibiting a CAGR of 4.4% during the forecast period. Rising number of flavors and surging demand for quick snacks are poised to contribute to the market during the forecast period. Moreover, rising disposable income and busy lifestyles of consumers are likely to fuel growth prospects of the market in the US Plain / Salted emerged as the largest product segment in the US potato chips market. The flavored segment is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 5.8% from 2017 to 2025. The flavored segment includes a wide spectrum of chips including barbecue, sour cream & onion, salt & vinegar, hot and spicy, and dill pickle. The supermarket segment is estimated to dominate the market due to fact that consumers usually purchase large quantity of products during their shopping trips. In addition, consumers prefer to purchase from shops with large variety to options. Further key findings from the report suggest : The flavored segment is projected to be the most promising segment expanding at a CAGR of 5.8% during the forecast period. Supermarkets are poised to register a CAGR of 4.3% from 2017 to 2025 owing to presence of a large number of supermarket chains and changing retail landscape The convenience stores segment is likely to witness a CAGR of 5.4% during the same period. The location is the major influencing factor that drives the growth of this distribution channel Other distribution channels in the US are service stations, drug stores, and online retail. This particular segment is likely to witness a sluggish growth of 2.4% over the forecast period In February 2016, ConAgra Foods sold its private label business to TreeHouse Foods, which helped the company to enhance its private label dry and refrigerated grocery offerings. Grand View Research has segmented the US potato chips market on the basis of flavor and distribution channel. US Potato Chips Flavor Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) Plain / Salted Flavored US Potato Chips Distribution Channel Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) Supermarket / Hypermarket Independent Retailers Convenience Stores Others Access full research report on US potato chips market: www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/us-potato-chips-market Conserving wetlands is vital for people throughout the Flyways. Credit: WWF Nepal, Hariyo Ban Progam World Migratory Bird Day on May 9th was created to raise awareness about this alarming trend and to highlight the need for urgent action to conserve the wetlands that are the essential stepping stones along the world's great migratory routesand provide vital ecosystem services for millions of people. So there is no better day to officially launch our new Asian Flyways initiative, which will see WWF partner with communities, other conservation organizations, businesses, investors, and governments to tackle the systemic threats to the region's wetlandsand so safeguard iconic migratory species. With our wide network of experts and offices in many flyway countries, WWF will work with countries to prioritize and protect their wetlands, which will help them to achieve their SDG targets. "Supporting wetland and migratory bird conservation is essential not only to save these amazing species but also to ensure our future water and food security," added Wikramanayake, who is also Director of Wildlife & Wetlands, WWF-Hong Kong. So along with launching the initiative strategy, we also chose to celebrate this year's first World Migratory Bird Day (since there will be another one in October when the birds fly south in search of warmer weather to complete their annual round trip) by asking colleagues from different flyway sites to share their thoughts on some of the most important bird species along the flyways and the urgent need to protect and restore the wetlands theyand wedepend on. Black-faced spoonbill. Credit: Angus Lau Black-faced spoonbill A large wading bird with a distinctively spoon-shaped beak, the Black-faced spoonbill is endemic to the East Asian Australasian Flyway (EAAF). This species was brought back from the brink of extinction through great conservation effort. It is, nevertheless, still classified as Endangered because of loss of habitat due to industrial development, wetland reclamation and pollution. It's not just unfortunate for this special bird, but also the people who make a living from the wetlands. Fion Cheung, Flyway Planning and Training Manager of WWF Hong Kong says "In the past few years, we've seen cases where Black-faced Spoonbills were injured by hidden traps in fish ponds, either intentionally or accidentally in Hong Kong. Despite the successes in conserving Black-faced spoonbill, there are still a lot of things for us to do to protect the species all across the flyway." Black-necked cranes. Credit: Lloyd Raleigh Black-necked crane Black-necked cranes migrate from the Tibetan Plateau to the valleys of the Himalayan Mountains, and are part of the culture of the people in the region. In Bhutan, the crane is considered a sacred, heavenly bird, and associated with the six symbols of longevity connected to the popular Buddhist folklore painting of Tshering Namdruk. Black-necked cranes are classified as Vulnerable by IUCN because they exist as a single small population that is in decline due to the loss and degradation of wetlands and changing agricultural practices in both its breeding and wintering grounds. Sonam Choden, Programme Director of WWF Bhutan, says, "Local communities have lived in harmony with cranes for centuries, which has helped its conservation in Bhutan. But increasing human disturbances from developmental activities are threatening their habitats. There is a need for improved protection and management through landscape level conservation, community stewardship and new partnerships for the long term sustainability of the flyway." Far Eastern curlew. Credit: Liu Jieyun / WWF Far Eastern curlew This large shorebird with an awkwardly long and curving bill was recently up-listed as Endangered in the IUCN's red List because its populations are still undergoing rapid declines. Over 80% of its population is estimated to have been lost in the past three generations, driven primarily by habitat loss and degradation in the Yellow Sea Ecoregion. The species breeds on open mossy or transitional bogs, wet meadows, and along swampy shores of small lakes. The non-breeding habitats are mostly coastal wetlands, including estuaries, mangrove swamps, saltmarshes and intertidal flats, where they feed on invertebrates. These habitats are not only important for Far Eastern curlew and many other important species, but also serve as a natural buffer for people, helping to protect communities from natural disasters. Yimo Zhang, director of water practice with WWF China says, "Far Eastern Curlew breed in Northeastern Asia, including Russia and Mongolia, and most of the population winters in Australia, connecting both ends of the EAAF. The Yellow-Sea Ecoregion is one of the most important stop-over sites during their migration, but much of the habitat there has been lost. This is why it was so important for the Yellow Sea wetlands to be recognized as World Heritage sites." Oriental stork. Credit: Igor Ishchenko / WWF-Russia Oriental stork The Oriental stork is the winged symbol of the Amur River. This beautiful bird is an indicator of a health of the freshwater ecosystem of the Amur. In Russia, the stork is a symbol of a happy addition to the family. Not many people know that these birds are monogamous, faithful to each other, and demonstrate remarkable parenting behaviour. 95% of Oriental stork breeding sites are located in Russia and the Northeast China, and its wintering grounds are in the Yangtze River valley in China. The Oriental stork is classified as Endangered by IUCN since they are facing continuous habitat loss due to human activities. WWF has been working in a variety of ways to conserve Oriental storks, including erecting artificial tripods for the stork nests, conducting fire preventive treatment for the trees with nests, tracking chicks with satellite transmitters and monitoring the bird flyways. Oxana Nikitina, coordinator for freshwater ecosystem conservation of WWF Russia says, "The Oriental stork is very sensitive to water and soil pollution, draining floodplains, and climate change. Currently, wetland declines in China, annual fires in Russia and insufficient food supply are all threatening the future of the Oriental Stork." Bar-headed goose. Credit: Dhritiman Mukherjee Bar headed goose The bar-headed goose is an iconic species of the Central Asian Flyway (CAF). This large bird is a real ambassador to connect different regions and also an ideal indicator of the health of the flyway's wetlands because its breeding range in Central Asia extends from Afghanistan to Mongolia, while its wintering covers large parts of South and Southeast Asia, from India to Vietnam with occasional vagrants recorded as far away as Guam and Micronesia in the South Pacific. Pankaj Chandan, Team Leader of Western Himalayas Landscape, Species & Landscape Programme with WWF India says, "Migratory birds are excellent ambassadors for peace and biodiversity conservation around the world. Bar-headed Goose are widely distributed along the CAF and they have been introduced in many nature education programmes raising the public's awareness about migratory birds and why we must conserve them." Which ties in with overall theme of this year's World Migratory Bird Day"Birds Connect Our World." This highlights the importance of conserving flyway wetlands and how critical it is for people that healthy wetlands and migratory birds survive. Explore further Whooping cranes form larger flocks as wetlands are lostand it may put them at risk A woman COVID-19 patient was allegedly sexually assaulted by the two staff members of Sharda Hospital. After knowing the matter, hospital authorities sacked the two and lodged an FIR against them. A woman COVID-19 patient was allegedly sexually assaulted by two employees of a private hospital in Greater Noida where she was under medical observation. According to police, the woman, who had recently given birth, was admitted to Sharda Hospital for novel coronavirus treatment. An official said hospital authorities were alerted about the matter and they lodged a complaint against the two at the Knowledge Park police station. Accused Luvkush and Praveen, a store worker and a sanitation worker, were booked under Indian Penal Code Section 354 (an attempt to outrage modesty) and further action will be initiated against them. After the matter came to light, the hospital authorities also sacked them. Currently, they are in police custody, a Sharda Hospital spokesperson said. The spokesperson said the accused were hired by another agency for maintaining the store and sanitation department, however, after knowing the matter, some staff members complained to senior authorities and the two were immediately removed from their jobs. The two have tendered an apology and the agency that appointed them has been notified about the matter, the hospital spokesperson said. Talking about the current scenario of coronavirus cases in India, the number has now jumped to 53,045 with a death toll of 1,787. 448 new #COVID19 positive cases have been reported in Delhi today; taking the total number of positive cases to 5980. One death has been reported today, death toll rises to 66: Delhi Govt pic.twitter.com/0I65RyINiW ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 Maharashtra continued to be the worst-hit state with 14, 541 cases while Gujarats will soon become the epicenter of COVID-19 as the numbers are staggeringly increasing, 5,804 cases have been accounted with 319 death toll. 1,362 #COVID19 cases reported in Maharashtra today, the total number of cases in the state is now at 18,120: State Health Minister Rajesh Tope (file pic) pic.twitter.com/xxzplC27Oe ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 An Inspector, posted at Delhi Police Special Cell's office in Lodhi Colony has tested positive for #COVID19, he is being admitted to a hospital. This is the second coronavirus case in the Special Cell: Delhi Police pic.twitter.com/bjJKH83ejf ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 For all the latest National News, download NewsX App Washington The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday about whether the Trump administration may allow employers with religious or moral objections to deny women free birth control coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The case returned the court to a key battle in the culture wars, one entering its second decade and one in which successive administrations have switched sides. According to government estimates, about 70,000 to 126,000 women would lose contraceptive coverage from their employers if the Trump administration prevails. In the Obama years, the court heard two cases on whether religious groups could refuse to comply with regulations requiring contraceptive coverage. The new case presented the opposite question: Can the Trump administration allow all sorts of employers with religious or moral objections to contraception to opt out of the coverage requirement? Even as the justices appeared deeply divided along the usual lines Wednesday, there was broad agreement that the case, Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania, No. 19-431, required the court to balance religious freedom against women's health. "There are very strong interests on both sides here, which is what makes the case difficult, obviously," Justice Brett Kavanaugh said near the end of the argument, which lasted almost 40 minutes longer than the usual hour. "There is religious liberty for the Little Sisters of the Poor and others," he said, referring to an order of nuns that objects to providing insurance coverage for contraception. "There is the interest in ensuring women's access to health care and preventive services, which is also a critical interest. So the question becomes: Who decides how to balance those interests?" The court heard the argument by conference call. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, dialing in from a hospital in Baltimore, where she was recovering from a gallbladder procedure, said Congress had settled the matter in favor of access to contraception coverage. "In this area of religious freedom," she said, "the major trend is not to give everything to one side and nothing to the other side. We have had a history of accommodation, of tolerance." Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Solicitor General Noel Francisco, representing the administration, said there was nothing in the health care law itself that required coverage for contraception. In March 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, which includes a section that requires coverage of preventive health services and screenings for women. The next year, the Obama administration required employers and insurers to provide women with coverage at no cost for all methods of contraception approved by the FDA. Houses of worship, including churches, temples and mosques, were exempt from the requirement. But nonprofit groups like schools and hospitals affiliated with religious organizations were not. Carbon emissions from the moon are making scientists question the theory that our dusty rock was formed in a collision between Earth and the 'wandering planet' Theia. Readings from a Japanese spacecraft found traces of carbon and volatile water in lunar gases, which show the moon is emitting carbon ions from its surface. This amount of carbon should have been utterly vaporised by the intense temperatures generated in the colossal impact event. But the findings suggest carbon has been there ever since the moons formation 4.5 billion years ago, meaning the impact theory may have to be reconsidered. The researchers' illustration shows that carbon emissions were distributed over almost all of the lunar surface. This suggests the carbon was embedded at its formation and was not transported there by solar winds or meteoroids These emissions were distributed over almost the total lunar surface, but amounts were differed with respect to lunar geographical areas, the researchers say in Science Advances. Our estimates demonstrate that indigenous carbon exists over the entire moon, supporting the hypothesis of a carbon-containing moon, where carbon was embedded at its formation and/or was transported billions of years ago. The results are from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agencys SELENE spacecraft, nicknamed Kaguya, which was in operation around the moon from 2007 to 2009. Observations from the lunar orbiter are still being interpreted by scientists to deliver research results. One of Kaguya's instruments was an ion mass spectrometer, which found fluxes in carbon ions that are too great to have been transported by solar wind or tiny meteoroids called micrometeoroids, the researchers said. The abundance of carbon embedded all over the lunar surface would have been utterly vaporised by intense temperatures generated by the intense impact event between Earth and 'wandering planet' Theia Carbon is a volatile element that has a considerable influence on the formation and evolution of planetary bodies. WHAT IS THEIA? About 4.5 billion years ago in the first 150 years of the Solar System the Earth was hit by a Mars-size planet. Leading theories suggest this led to the creation of the Moon and Theia may have merged with the Earth. Theia is named after the mythical Greek Titan who was the mother of Selene, the goddess of the Moon. The protoplanet may have come from the outer solar system before colliding with the very young Earth. Advertisement For decades, it has been believed that carbon and other volatile elements are depleted in the moon because of early analyses of samples from the USs famous Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s. A volatile-depleted moon, devoid of carbon compounds, is one of the greatest driving forces of the giant impact hypothesis, also known as the Big Splash. The event about 4.45 billion years ago and 150 million years after the solar system formed is the most pervasive idea for explaining both the formation of the Earth and our relatively large moon compared to other rocky planets. The impact from the smaller planet Theia, which was around 3,792 miles in diameter compared with Earths 7,917 miles, created a ring of debris around our home planet that eventually came together to form the moon. This artist's concept shows a celestial body about the size of our moon slamming into a body the size of Mercury in a scenario that could be similar to Theia colliding with Earth However, the theory is unconfirmed and hotly debated, and the idea of a 'carbon-depleted dry moon' has already been challenged by some recent analysis. In their new research paper, the Japanese team of scientists claim the high-temperature collision registering at more than 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit would have boiled off the volatile carbon. Although it doesnt strictly disprove the impact theory, more consideration may be needed regarding a generally accepted theory for our moons mysterious history. NASAs next trip to the moon, scheduled for 2024, could be an opportunity to follow up on the research that was kicked off by the Apollo moon samples. The results are from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agencys SELENE spacecraft, nicknamed Kaguya, which was in operation for a year and nine months just over a decade ago It would be useful to further evaluate initial amounts of volatiles in the Moon for example, future isotope analyses of the C+ emissions from the lunar surface to provide a quantitative estimation of the mass balance of indigenous carbon, the solar wind, and micrometeoroids,' the team said. Earlier this year, another team of researchers concluded that the Big Splash theory was indeed correct, based on traces of Theia in lunar rocks. Researchers from the University of New Mexico examined the oxygen isotopes in Moon rocks brought back to Earth by Apollo astronauts. They discovered differences in oxygen isotopes an indicator of the origin of the material between the moon rocks and Earth rocks, which may have come from the remains of Theia after the impact. New Delhi: Seven workers fell ill after inhaling poisonous gas at a paper mill in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district. The incident took place on Wednesday night at Shakti Papers mill in a rural area, about 250 km from Raipur. A case has been registered against the mill management. The Raigarh district incident occurred almost on the same day when at least 11 people died and 1,000 others exposed after a gas leak at a chemical plant in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam. About Raigarh incident, Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh told PTI that the incident occurred at Shakti Paper Mill in Tetla village, where the victims were cleaning an open tank on Wednesday evening. The factory owner, however, did not inform the administration about the incident, which reportedly came to light only after the hospital authorities alerted the police. One worker has been put on a ventilator at Raipur`s MMI Hospital and his condition was stated to be critical. Notably, the mill remained shut ever since the COVID-19 lockdown was enforced and the cleaning work was underway to resume operations. The workers were admitted to a local hospital, from where three were shifted to Raipur in view of their critical condition, the police said. According to reports, the incident sparked panic and anger in nearby areas, home to around 60 poor families. A team of forensic experts has reached the site to examine the exact cause of the incident. Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has asked directed local administration to provide all help to affected people. (With Agency Inputs) Mumbai: Mumbai, the city with the highest number of coronavirus cases in Maharashtra, is facing stigmatisation due to the fear factor over the dreaded virus. The neighbouring cities have issued prohibitory orders to their local residents, who work for essential services in Mumbai, denying them entry in their jurisdiction. The civic bodies of Kalyan-Dombivali, Ulhasnagar, Ambernath and Kulgaon-Badlapur the satellite cities of the metropolis have issued orders prohibiting the movement of local residents working in Mumbai from May 8. However, following the furore, the municipal corporations of Kalyan-Dombivali and Ulhasnagar have put their orders on hold. The municipal councils of Ambernath and Kulgaon-Badlapur are also expected to follow suit, said local MP Shrikant Shinde from the Shiv Sena. He said, The concept behind these prohibitory orders was to curb the spread of coronavirus. There are a large number of people who visit Mumbai for work. We are trying to arrange their accommodation near their establishments. Talks are on with the BMC chief on this issue. Though they will not be forced, even if 50 per cent of these people decide to stay in Mumbai during the lockdown period, it will be a great help in containing the pandemic. The Kalyan-Dombivali municipal commissioner Vijay Suryavanshi had appealed to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other establishments to arrange for the stay of their local residents, who travel to Mumbai. The Ambernath and Badlapur municipal councils too had said that the accommodation arrangement for people going to Mumbai for work will be made by the BMC. The civic bodies of all the four cities had asked all such employees to register their names online. According to the civic officials of these cities, the Covid-19 cases in these areas are on rise due to the infections coming from the BMC limits. The family members of these employees are also found to be infected with coronavirus. Hence, the decision to deny entry to these people was taken to ensure the safety of their family and neighbourhood. A BMC staffer said, Though we are risking our lives by daily going to Mumbai, its a part of our duty. We are scared of infection, but staying away from the family will also be difficult. Social activist Anil Galgali said that the decision to deny entry to those, who travel to Mumbai, has created confusion in the minds of government employees, who are fighting tirelessly against the virus. The government should act promptly on this, he added Spring is usually the busiest time of year for real estate. Its when house hunters and home sellers come out of hibernation mode and descend on the market in droves. But this yearin the era of COVID-19is different. The coronavirus outbreak has rocked the economy and upended many industries, including real estate. As Americans across the country are sheltering at home, many home buyers are left wondering: Should I buy a home now, or wait until quarantine measures loosen and the economy picks up again? The same goes for sellers wondering when they should list their home. The real estate market is still active; most states have deemed the real estate industry an essential business. But the market is slowing. In March, 5.3 million existing homes were sold (down 8.5% from February), and 627,000 new homes were sold (a 15.4% decrease). And in an April survey of real estate agents by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 90% of agents reported a decline in home buyer interest because of coronavirus fears. In addition, 80% said they saw fewer houses on the market. Weve seen some buyers put the brakes on their house search because theyve lost income or because their financial situation has changed, says Megan Aitken, a real estate agent in Middletown, Del. Weve also seen a number of sellers choosing to post-pone putting their house on the market because they dont want to risk increased exposure to the coronavirus. The soaring jobless rate is also giving sellers pause: A major concern of sellers right now is the risk of [buyers] losing their income prior to closing, says Alicia Stoughton, a real estate agent and designer in Cincinnati. But with mortgage rates still sitting at record lowsthe average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.3% in mid April, Freddie Mac reportedbuyers have incentive to stay in the market. (Low rates have also sparked a rush to refinance; see below.) Tips for Buyers Though fewer people are shopping for homes, buyers in many cities are still facing stiff competition due to housing shortages. Because many sellers who planned to list this spring are holding off, inventory is even lower than it would be, Stoughton says. Make sure to work with an agent who is willing to work harder to find off-market listings, she advises. Also, getting preapproved before you make an offer on a house is a must. You dont have to leave home to get preapproved; you can submit an application online or over the phone. And if youre in a hurry, applying with an online mortgage company can help you speed through the application process. For example, Quicken Loans Rocket Mortgage says it can approve borrowers in as little as eight minutes. Still, its worth shopping around to find a low rate. I havent seen such differences among rates from lender to lender in my 35-year history of working in the mortgage business, says Glenn Brunker, of Ally Home. Its also wise to talk to several real estate agents before you choose one. Aitken recommends that buyers have a video consultation with an agent to establish a human connection. You want an agent who knows your needs and will advocate for you, she says. Virtual home tours and live-streamed open houses are replacing in-person showings. Nearly three-fourths of real estate agents in the NAR survey said theyd seen home sellers stop holding open houses. Home buyers must adapt, says Cara Ameer, a real estate agent in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. A listing of mine in mid March went under contract purely by the video that I posted online with the listing, she says. If you tour a house in person, make sure to wear protective gear, such as a face mask and gloves. To close on time, consider opting for a 60-day closing period instead of the more typical 30-day or 45-day close, says Kevin Schatz, a loan officer at Santa Ana, Calif.based Caliber Home Loans. Because of the recent surge of refinance applications, your lender may need a little more time to approve your loan than it would during normal times. Also, having a longer closing gives you some flexibility when scheduling a settlement date with your title company. Some title companies are doing fewer closings because theyve laid off or furloughed employees. Protocols for home appraisals have also changed. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage giants, have directed mortgage lenders to reduce the need for appraisers to perform in-home inspections, allowing greater flexibility for drive-by appraisals for conventional loans. (FHA mortgages still require an in-home appraisal.) Home inspections are being per-formed without home buyers tagging along with the inspectoralthough some inspectors are using video chat-ting apps to let buyers join them for the inspection remotely in real time. If its allowed in your state, consider doing an e-closing, a settlement process in which you sign closing documents electronically. Tips for Sellers More than ever before, whats going to set listings apart is how homes are presented online, Aitken says. Professional photos and staging are a must; without them, your online listing can pale in comparison with your competition. Most stagers charge between $150 and $600 for a two-hour consultation, and then an additional $500 to $600 per month for each room, according to HomeAdvisor. But it pays off: Research shows staged homes sell quicker and for more money than un-staged homes. To make your home stand out, consider adding high-tech features to your listing, such as a video or 3-D tour of your home, or drone footage. Many home buyers still want to take an in-home tour before they make an offer. If youre okay with letting people into your home, turn all the lights on and leave all doors open so that you can minimize people having to touch things in your home, says Ameer. For her listings, Aitken puts a basket of shoe covers, latex gloves and sanitizing wipes by the front door for prospective home buyers to use. Finally, dont overprice your home. Many buyers are clamping down on their finances, and a lot of shoppers are less willing to offer above list price for homes. A lot of buyers are also wary of stretching their budgets, because the coronavirus may put a dent in home price gains this year. Refinancing: Prepare to Be Patient With average rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage drifting toward 3%, its a good time to consider refinancing. A refi often makes sense if your loan rate is more than one percentage point above current rates. You can use The Mortgage Professors refinance calculator to plug in the details of both your current mortgage and your new loan to see how long youd have to stay in your home to start saving money. But dont expect lenders to return your calls immediately. During the final week of March, refinance applications were up 168% compared with a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Lenders are taking longer to process refinances, given the boom in applications, and a lot of offices are closed, which can extend turnaround times, says Steve Kaminski, head of U.S. Residential Lending at TD Bank. State sponsored hackers appear to be behind the swell of cyberattacks on health and government organizations leading the COVID-19 response in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, both countries' cyber agencies announced Tuesday.These threat actors have sought to use the public health crisis to disrupt response efforts, gather intelligence and conduct espionage, officials with the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the U.K.'s equivalent National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said this week.Attacks have involved password spraying and known exploits, with hackers targeting a diverse array of groups, including health and safety organizations, government agencies, universities, and health-care companies. Recent reports show prominent national and international targets , including the World Health Organization and the National Institutes of Health, have also been hit.A large number of these attacks seem to be centered around gathering information on COVID-19 research, as the targeting of pharmaceutical and medical research organizations suggests."APT [advanced persistent threat ] groups frequently target such organizations in order to steal sensitive research data and intellectual property for commercial and state benefit. Organizations involved in COVID-19-related research are attractive targets for APT actors looking to obtain information for their domestic research efforts into COVID-19-related medicine," reads a joint alert from CISA and NCSC released Tuesday Hackers may also be interested in gaining intelligence on national and international health-care policy, the release states.Private security firms have also confirmed these findings. John Hultquist, senior director of Intelligence Analysis at FireEye, said in an email that his company had seen evidence of such activities."We have identified intrusion activity by cyberespionage actors against several organizations that are substantially involved in COVID-19 response efforts such as research and public administration," said Hultquist. "We believe intelligence services throughout the world are under enormous pressure to collect intelligence on COVID-19, and we anticipate a full court press on organizations involved in public health administration, research, manufacturing, and treatment related to the pandemic."FireEye couldn't comment on which specific APTs it has witnessed engaged in this activity. Similarly, a representative from CISA toldthat the agency would not be providing further information beyond what was published in the press release. People walk along the Alster lake in Hamburg, Germany amid the coronavirus pandemic. The park is divided into directional routes to comply with distance rules (Morris Mac Matzen/AFP via Getty Images) The German government will continue to ban all travel to other countries until at least 14 June, according to German media. Reuters and DPA reported that the current ban on foreign travel, which had been due to expire on 3 May, will stay in place until the middle of June, and potentially longer, as the country tries to contain the spread of the coronavirus. School holidays normally start in July in Germany, although it varies by state. The Foreign Office has reportedly left the possibility open as to whether travel during the school holidays will be possible. Germanys foreign travel ban has been in place since 17 March. It has said that it wants to properly coordinate the opening of internal EU borders with other member states when the time comes to open up again. Germanys borders with Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Poland, the Czech Republic and France have been closed since mid-March to all but essential cargo traffic and commuters with a valid reason to cross for work. According to Johns Hopkins University data, Germany currently has 159,912 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and 6,314 deaths from COVID-19. READ MORE: Coronavirus: Germany's transmission rate ticks back up to 1.0 as lockdown eases The country began easing its lockdown on commercial and social life last week, with smaller shops and car dealerships allowed to reopen. The decisions to open schools are taken on a state level, but many states are allowing students in certain school years to return to school from 4 May. Hairdressers, playgrounds and zoos are also re-opening, under new hygiene measures. All 16 states have now made it compulsory to wear a face mask in shops and on public transport. However, on Tuesday (28 April) Germanys Robert Koch Institute for disease control said the coronavirus transmission rate had risen again to 1.0 from 0.9, where it had been for several days. The institute has repeatedly said that the rate needs to be pushed down to under 1.0 to dampen the spread of the virus and ensure that the countrys intensive care units are not overwhelmed. Story continues The R0, or basic reproduction number, is an important measure in monitoring the spread of the disease as it shows how many people are infected by one infected person. Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned repeatedly that if people ignore social distancing rules or states loosen restrictions too soon, the country risks a second wave of coronavirus infections. READ MORE: Ifo: German economy will shrink by 6.6% this year due to COVID-19 The economic ramifications of that on Europes largest economy would be significant. This week Germanys leading economic think-tank, the Ifo, predicted that the economy would contract by 6.6% this year if there is no second wave of infections. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo Finance UK First Vice-President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has once again addressed the nation in connection with coronavirus infection. Trend presents the address: "Dear fellow compatriots! I want to share with you my thoughts on the current situation of the COVID-19 epidemic in our country. Assessing the path traveled, we can already say today that there was too little information at the very beginning of this massive viral attack to evaluate and understand its real extent, the degree of its danger and its possible consequences. One thing was obvious it was necessary to consolidate all resources and take decisive measures. It is possible to say with full confidence that our country has coped with this task with dignity. According to experts, both Azerbaijani and international, Azerbaijan is among the states that survived the first and very dangerous stage of the epidemic with the least losses. We have managed to achieve the main thing stop the uncontrolled spread of the virus, create a professional team that coordinates all aspects of the fight against the epidemic and consolidate the necessary technical and human resources. Tight quarantine measures have helped to reduce the spread of coronavirus. In the shortest possible time, the healthcare system has built up an effective strategy for countering the dangerous epidemic. Urgent tasks were addressed by people working in life support systems of cities and villages. In order to support small and medium-sized businesses and provide social assistance to the population, the state has developed and is implementing packages worth more than 3 billion manats. In a word, thanks to timely and thoughtful measures, the country managed to avoid a truly catastrophic scenario. I want to express my deep gratitude to all and everyone whose work was the guarantor of our success. In the days of difficult trials, our people again showed their best qualities and deserve the highest credit for that. We cared and are caring about the security of our homeland, we are united and cohesive in the face of danger. Together, dear fellow citizens, we were able to protect our home from the disastrously rapid spread of the disease. Thank you all so much! I once again express my sincere and endless gratitude to our fearless medical workers doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, laboratory assistants, technical staff of hospitals and clinics, to all those who continue to struggle for the life and health of our people around the clock. I am deeply grateful to the police and personnel of the internal troops. After all, it is them who provide order, security and compliance with quarantine measures in these difficult days. I want to thank all the employees of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the Regional Development Public Union, social workers and volunteers. I thank all caring people, all those who help others and show mercy. The Almighty will reward everyone for their good deeds! Dear friends! Thanks to the undoubted positive results, we can afford some relaxation of the isolation regime. The activity of a number of state bodies and private businesses is being restored. Some quarantine measures introduced earlier are being removed. Does this mean that the worst is over and we can return to our usual lives? Alas, this time has not arrived yet. Yes, we have won the first battle, but the war with the pandemic is still ongoing in our country and around the world. The virus, which has brought so much misery and suffering to all countries and peoples, is still not defeated. It continues to pose a serious threat to all. It is still among us. Today, no-one can say for sure when the vaccine for COVID-19 will be created and when there will be a quick and effective way to treat it. Until this happens, it is necessary to understand and accept that we have to live with this new reality. Under no circumstances should we lose our vigilance. Against the backdrop of encouraging figures, we cannot afford to be light-minded. It is unacceptable to nullify and lose all the results that we managed to achieve with such difficulty. Carelessness will create a real threat to each of us, our loved ones, our country. We all need to learn to live by the new rules. In fact, these rules are not so complicated to keep a distance, use protective equipment, wash hands more often. On the other side of the scale there is life and health. This is a new implacable reality and everyone has to reckon with it from the president to ordinary citizens. Dear fellow compatriots! Without a doubt, the day will come when the scary story called COVID-19 will be a thing of the past. I do hope that this day is not far off. But until that happens, dear brothers and sisters, I ask you to be patient and responsible, be vigilant and disciplined, take the new rules and requirements seriously. Take care of yourself and your loved ones! Take care of our beloved land, our Azerbaijan! With deep respect and love, Your MEHRIBAN" Democratic Senators Urge DOJ to Prevent Pandemic Related Anti-Asian Discrimination Democratic Senators called for the U.S. Department of Justices (DOJ) civil rights division to release a detailed plan to address coronavirus-related hate crimes and discrimination against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), along with Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and 12 other senators sent a letter to the Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband, expressing their deep concern and asking the administration to implement a clear plan to protect Asian Americans from discrimination and attacks due to the pandemic. It is critical that the Civil Rights Division ensure that the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans are protected during this pandemic, the 16 senators wrote. The senators said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) concluded that hate crime incidents against Asian Americans likely will surge across the United States, due to the spread of coronavirus disease endangering Asian American communities. The senators said that reports of discrimination against Asians have increased since the pandemic began. University of Southern Californias Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR) survey showed that 14 percent of Asians are more likely to experience at least one form of discrimination and unfair treatment due to other people thinking they might have the coronavirus, as compared to whites at 4 percent and Hispanics and 6 percent. President Trump has spoken out strongly against any discrimination toward Asians-Americans. It seems that there could be a little bit of nasty language toward the Asian-Americans in our country and I dont like that at all. they are making statements to great American citizens that happened to be of Asian heritage. And Im not going to let that happen, at the March 23 press briefing. The lawmakers said that 2 million (Asian American Pacific Islanders) AAPI individuals are working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, as health care workers, law enforcement agents, first responders, and other essential service providers. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) put out a warning that Asians and other groups may be more vulnerable to discrimination during the pandemic. According to the CDC, some groups who may experience stigma because of COVID-19 include persons of Asian descent, those who have traveled, emergency responders, and healthcare professionals. The senators asked DOJ to take concrete action to prevent discrimination against Asian-Americans. The lawmakers urged the department to designate an official who would be charged with reviewing discrimination cases related to COVID 19 against Asians, who would then report the detailed summary of those cases to congress on a monthly basis. The lawmakers also called for outreach and education to prevent discrimination during this pandemic. Conduct extensive outreach in partnership with community-based organizations and regularly meet with AAPI community leaders and distribute materials explaining civil rights protections in diverse languages used by AAPI communities, the senators wrote. We also request that the Civil Rights Division respond by May 15, 2020, to inform Congress what steps the Division has taken in response to the jump in anti-Asian discrimination and hate crimes since the COVID-19 outbreak began, the senators wrote. President Trump made it clear that no discrimination against Asians is tolerable. It is very important that we totally protect our Asian American community in the United States, and all around the world. They are amazing people and the spreading of the Virus is NOT their fault in any way, shape, or form. They are working closely with us to get rid of it. WE WILL PREVAIL TOGETHER! President Trump wrote in a March 23 Twitter entry. TULSA, Okla. A wave of employment-related litigation continues to ripple through the U.S. strip club industry as a steady stream of dancers initiate legal claims against venues that continue to misclassify them as independent contractors. One of the latest lawsuits alleging wage violations is the case against the operators of the Night Trips strip club in Tulsa, Okla. In the suit filed earlier this year, three dancers allege that Night Trips broke the law when it failed to pay them an hourly wage, requiring the performers instead to pay operators to work there. For Gregg Greenberg, a Silver Springs, Md.-based attorney representing the three dancers, the alleged conduct of Night Trips was all too familiar. You see this type of case all across the country the underlying claim is that the employees must get at least minimum wage, Greenberg told AVN. It seems to be an industry standard to misclassify the dancer employees as independent contractors, but case law on the issue is clear. Whether or not exotic dancers are independent contractors or hourly wage employees is very well settled. Greenberg claims that Night Trips operators knew or should have known that the industry has for the past decade faced challenges to the independent contractor classification for its workers. Attorneys for Night Trips did not respond for comment by post time. For the past 15 years, litigation against strip clubs has ratcheted up. A study by Bloomberg found 406 lawsuits filed since 2005 through the end of last year by dancers alleging clubs misclassified them as independent contractors. More than half of the cases involving dancers that have been closed ended in a settlement, Bloomberg found. One of the largest settlements involved the Spearmint Rhino chain, which paid $13 million to thousands of current and former dancers. Another settlement involved Deja Vu Showgirls, which agreed to pay out $1.5 million to dancers. Some cases ended up with big jury awards. A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury awarded several hundred dancers at Paradise Show Girls $6.5 million as compensation for lost wages. In another case, operators of Ricks Cabaret in Manhattan were ordered to pay $10.8 million in back wages to 1,900 dancers. Greenberg, who is representing dancer plaintiffs in two other cases against strip clubs in Detroit and Houston as well as one against the sister business of the Night Trips in Oklahoma City, said that its typical for courts to look at several factors to determine whether the worker is an employee or independent contractor. The court is going to look at an economic reality analysis, Greenberg said. Courts will determine an employees classification is whether or not the employer exercises economic control over its workers. In regards to the three Night Trips dancers, their suit said the company controlled all aspects of job duties, including setting customer prices on private dances. Night Trips, according to the suit, also had to pay the business a house fee for each shift they worked. The club also regularly withheld tips customers would leave for the dancers, the suit said. Greenberg said that once courts reopen after the pandemic subsides the case will move to arbitration. It is now common for adult clubs to make sure performers sign arbitration agreements, which can limit class-action designation and how a case proceeds, he said. Gary Moore, assistant professor in ASU's School of Molecular Sciences and the Biodesign Institute's Center for Applied Structural Discovery has just been named one of 14 young faculty nationwide to be honored with a 2020 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. The Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards Program supports the research and teaching careers of talented young faculty in the chemical sciences, and, when choosing its teacher-scholars, the foundation seeks those who demonstrate leadership in both research and education. As a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar, Moore will receive an unrestricted research grant of $100,000. Since its inception in 1970, the Teacher-Scholar program has awarded over $45 million to support emerging young leaders in the chemical sciences. "Gary Moore and his group are doing truly innovative molecular science to address societally important problems in energy conversion and for the production of industrially important materials. They build multifunctional nanoscale materials that work at hard/soft matter interfaces to catalyze a wide range of useful chemical processes," said Ian Gould, interim director of the School of Molecular Sciences, which is part of The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. "In recent years the junior faculty members in the School of Molecular Sciences have had an extraordinary record of achievement, and professor Moore is an exemplar in this regard." "I am honored to receive this support from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, and look forward to making continued contributions to advancing knowledge and education in the chemical sciences,' said Moore. Moore is also a Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute for Sustainability Scholar and guest faculty at Berkeley Lab. He received his doctorate from ASU under professor Ana L. Moore (SMS) in 2009 then spent two years as a Camille and Henry Dreyfus Energy Fellow at Yale University working with Gary W. Brudvig and Robert H. Crabtree before starting an independent research career at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Moore's group uses chemistry to build nanoscale materials that are fundamentally interesting and address societal challenges. Research themes include the transduction of solar energy, the synthesis of new materials to catalyze a range of chemical transformations of industrial importance, the design and preparation of novel hard-to-soft matter interfaces, and development of a general improvement in our understanding of molecular structure and function relationships. The materials and chemical assemblies developed in Moore's laboratory resemble components of natural biological systems that carry out similar chemical processes. Thus, nature often provides inspiration and design considerations for the structures they build and the chemistries they develop. Conversely, the artificial constructs offer opportunities to better understand the detailed mechanisms of their biological counterparts. Moore has a passion for chemistry that is evident from the very first classes students take with him. He lectures on technical concepts in a logical and effective manner, and also addresses scientific topics in a context which brings students a level of cultural relevance to the subject matter that is rarely found in chemistry classes. Since joining ASU, Moore has developed and taught a new course entitled Solar Energy Conversion. The course covers topics in photoelectrochemical processes and techniques. Integrating core chemistry concepts with societal applications provides motivation for active learning. The ideal adviser has to be someone with not just knowledge and expertise, but also a passion for mentoring and a personal interest in the welfare of the students being overseen. This individual must be ready to share wisdom, knowledge, and professional experiences, as well as technical expertise. It cannot be emphasized too much that, for graduate students, mentoring and advice are critical movers of the entire graduate program. They have a direct impact on how well students perform in their projects and how efficiently they can earn their degrees. ### The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation is a leading nonprofit organization devoted to the advancement of the chemical sciences. It was established in 1946 by chemist, inventor, and businessman Camille Dreyfus in honor of his brother Henry. The Foundation seeks to support the advancement of chemistry, chemical engineering, and related sciences as a means of improving human relations and circumstances around the world. A report from Radio Free Asia said hundreds of state security police and officials from Xiamen's religious affairs bureau raided a gathering of the unofficial Xingguang Church on Sunday, May 3. At 9:00 a.m., dozens of security guards and officers from the local Ethnic and Religious Bureau descended on Xingguang Church in Jimei district, as the members sang worship songs. Without any legal documentation, the authorities interrupted the service, calling the gathering "illegal." Several members were injured during the process as the police wrestled them to the ground and dragged them across the floor. One church member was reported to have sustained several significant injuries, including two fractured ribs. During the course of the raid, police officers confiscated mobile phones and broke a window and door lock as they forced entry into the church building. Congregants began chanting "illegal!" as the officials started to detain worshippers. "The state security police came banging at the door, then they kicked it down and dragged those in the way outside the doorway," the RFA quoted Pastor Yang Xibo. Pastor Yang Xibo told RFA that members met in a private residence at the time of the raid, and that the police had broken in without warrant or any ID or documentation. Six men were detained after the raid and were only released after 12 hours. Upon their release, other church members welcomed them with applause and hugs. An eyewitness said that church members had received no warnings. "They didn't say anything or show any documentation, but they just nailed a man and a woman to the ground, pinning them by the chest and legs using their knees. " One of the Xiamen church member who refused to be named said it should be illegal for authorities to enter private residential property and hold people. "We would like all of society to pay attention to this violent behavior, "said the church member." They are lawless and blinded. " Local Christians also reported that police raided several other unregistered churches in Xiamen on the same day, sometimes violently. Many pastors refuse to join the state-mandated denomination, knowing that they will be expected to tailor their services towards the worship of communism and the idolization of President Xi Jinping. Gina Goh, ICC's regional manager for Southeast Asia, said China has clearly resumed its crackdown on Christianity now that the threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic has reduced. "In recent weeks, we have seen an increased number of church demolitions and cross removals on state-sanctioned churches across China, as house church gatherings continue to face interruption and harassment. It is deplorable that the local authorities not only conducted this raid without proper procedure, but deployed excessive use of force against church members and bystanders," she said. "ICC calls on the international community and the US government to condemn China's constant human rights abuses." China is home to an estimated 68 million Protestants, of whom 23 million worship in state-affiliated churches, and some nine million Catholics, 5.7 million of whom are in state-aligned organizations. Two households will be allowed to congregate inside Queensland homes from Sunday as gathering restrictions are eased in time for Mother's Day. As many as five people, who live together, will be allowed to travel to another household. "So, I'm sure there's a lot of mums out there who'd love to see one household in the morning and another in the afternoon and another in the evening," Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said. "That could happen, but they can't all go at the same time." A former Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Isaac Osei, has vehemently denied reports that he resigned from his former position to contest Akufo-Addo for the presidency in the 2020 general elections. There have been media reports suggesting that the former TOR MD was lacing his boots to either challenge President Akufo-Addo in the New Patriotic Partys presidential primaries or form his own party ahead of the polls. But the former Subin MP discounted the claims saying he has not nursed such ambition. Mr. Isaac Osei speaking on Eyewitness News, urged Ghanaians to ignore such reports. How do I contest the leader of the political party that I belong to? I have full confidence in [President Nana] Akufo-Addo. I know he is going to win the 2020 elections and I will not be a contestant in the upcoming NPP presidential primaries. When I read that story I passed it as some tomfoolery or little minds but it could also be a political agenda. I cannot understand where this is coming from. Some things are too cheap for the politics of this country. I believe firmly in the principles of the NPP and I have been a member since 1992 and Im not about to stop and will never quit this party to go and form a party or join any other party in this country because, in my view, it is the best party for the governance of this country, he said. Why Isaac Osei resigned from TOR Commenting on the reasons why he resigned from TOR, he said he did so on a matter of principle and was not forced out. The media has suggested all manner of things but I wasnt pushed out. I resigned on a matter of principle. I spoke to the President, my board, and my minister and thats what it is, he said. ---citinewsroom Huntsville, Ala., May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dynetics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leidos (LDOS), is playing an integral role in the U.S. Armys weapon modernization initiatives, where the latest directed energy weapon is increasing its power from a 100 kW-class system to a 300kW-class system. Marking the official transition to the Indirect Fires Protection Capability High Energy Laser (IFPC-HEL) endeavor, in January, the U.S. Army modified the existing contract to support on-going efforts to increase laser capability. In late 2019, the U.S. Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) also announced a High Energy Laser Scaling Initiative (HELSI) contract award by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) that will support the IFPC-HEL effort. These design initiatives follow the progress made on the High Energy Laser Tactical Vehicle Demonstrator (HEL-TVD), and brings greater capability to our nations warfighters. As the prime contractor for IFPC-HEL, Dynetics is set to demonstrate a 300 kW-class prototype system in FY22. The company will lead final assembly, integration, and testing. The solution will provide continued support to defend against hostile unmanned aerial systems and rockets, artillery, and mortars. The IFPC-HEL prototype will inform the U.S. Armys effort to field prototype units with residual combat capability by 2024. This contract modification proves Dynetics agility and responsiveness to warfighter needs, said Scott Stanfield, Dynetics director of strategic programs. Scaling these proven technologies puts us on track to demonstrate and deliver the 300 kW-class prototype system and support the delivery of this revolutionary capability to our men and women of the operational Army by 2024. Dynetics was awarded the $130 million contract to build and test HEL-TVD in May 2019. The HEL-TVD critical design review was completed in early November 2019, signifying the completion of the demonstrator program. Story continues About Dynetics Dynetics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leidos, provides responsive, cost-effective engineering, scientific, IT solutions to the national security, cybersecurity, space, and critical infrastructure sectors. Our portfolio features highly specialized technical services and a range of software and hardware products, including components, subsystems, and complex end-to-end systems. The company of more than 2,500 employees is based in Huntsville, Ala., and has offices throughout the U.S. For more information, visit www.dynetics.com. Media Contact: Kristina Hendrix (256) 713-5453 kristina.hendrix@dynetics.com About Leidos Leidos is a Fortune 500 information technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the worlds toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. The companys 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. ### Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended January 3, 2020, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Media Contact: Thomas Doheny (571) 474-4735 dohenyt@Leidos.com Additional Resources: Dynetics Weapon Technology: https://www.dynetics.com/weapons-technology/ Press Release: https://www.dynetics.com/newsroom/news/2020/dynetics-to-build-and-increase-power-of-us-army-laser-weapons Attachments Kristina Hendrix, APR Dynetics, Inc. 256-713-5453 kristina.hendrix@dynetics.com CALGARY - American oil and gas producer Murphy Oil Corp. says it is shutting its Calgary office as part of a plan to cut costs as oil prices remain at low ebb. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 7/5/2020 (621 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The logo for the Murphy Oil Corporation appears above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019. THE CANADIAN RESS/AP/Richard Drew CALGARY - American oil and gas producer Murphy Oil Corp. says it is shutting its Calgary office as part of a plan to cut costs as oil prices remain at low ebb. The company says it will transfer functions of the Calgary office, which employs about 110 people, and its El Dorado, Ark., head office, with 80, to its existing office in Houston. The move comes about four years after Murphy agreed to sell its five per cent stake in the Syncrude oilsands mining and upgrading consortium in northern Alberta to Suncor Energy Inc. The company is a minority partner in the Hibernia and Terra Nova offshore oil projects on the East Coast and produces oil and gas from conventional wells in Alberta and B.C. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Murphy says the office closures are to be completed early in the third quarter of this year and won't impact field operations in the U.S. and Canada. The decision came after the company said it made other cuts, including halving capital expenditures, lowering the company's dividend and reducing executive salaries. "This decision is one we take with sadness, but with the understanding that our only path forward is to consolidate into one office in Houston," said CEO Roger Jenkins in a statement. "The company recognizes the hardship this decision causes to many in El Dorado and Calgary, and we are committed to treating all those impacted consistent with past practices and plan to offer appropriate severance arrangements." This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2020. Companies in this story: (TSX:SU) We hearten at his first little potato sprout, and cringe when he runs out of ketchup. The resourcefulness in space movies reflects not only whats happening inside our homes today but on a macro scale among our government scientists. The best moment in Apollo 13 (1995) is when the NASA engineers in Houston find dummy versions of all the tubes, sprockets and gizmos that are on board the endangered ship, dump them on a table and try to figure out what the astronauts should construct to survive. We got to find a way to make this (square thing) fit into a hole for this (round thing) using nothing but that, one says, and lo and behold, they make that square thing and that round thing fit together. The movies continual hubbub of experts is an idealized version of a bureaucracy responding to an unexpected blow, and trying to prevent a catastrophe. Keeping the danger away A Quiet Place (2018) begins with a familys terrifying trip to get medicine at a grocery store. But mainly they have to stay close to home and cannot make a sound, surrounded by super-hearing monsters. We see the newspaper headlines theyve collected: New York City on lock down. Shanghai death toll. What you need to know to survive. If anything can be gleaned from the repeatedly dashed hopes and predictions of experts, is that the aphorism 'all models are wrong but some models are useful' rings particularly true in the case of coronavirus. For the past two months, NITI Aayog members have been predicting that the number of positive COVID-19 cases are stabilising and that the government lockdown has successfully "flattened the curve." The most recent instance of this came on Sunday, when VK Paul, a member of the think-tank, said the continuous rise in the number of people testing positive for coronavirus is expected to stabilise "anytime soon". Paul also stated that India is nowhere close to the kind of escalation of coronavirus cases that it witnessed during the pre-lockdown phase. Follow all the latest coronavirus updates here In the pre-lockdown stage, we were doubling our number of cases in every five days. Before that even at every 3 days. Now, we are doubling in 11 to 12 days. So, overall the rate of spread has diminished but yes the number still has not stabilised. But we expect it to stabilise any time soon, Paul said. But data on the spread of COVID-19 shows the coronavirus has a long history of defying experts' predictions and models. Just today, economist Shamika Ravi, previously part of the prime minister's Economic Advisory Council, put up data on her Twitter account showing the number of active COVID-19 cases actually grew faster at 6.8 percent with a doubling time of 11 days compared to 4.8 percent with a doubling time of 15 days. Ravi said the trend is driven by rising concerns in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Gujarat, Delhi and Tamil Nadu, where the infection is "at worrying rates, mortality rates are increasing and there is no specific strategy for testing and contact tracing". And on Tuesday, the Union health ministry reported the highest single-day spurt in a 24-hour span with 3,900 cases and 195 fatalities. Joint Secretary, Health, Lav Agarwal, speaking about the new figures at a press briefing, said it is the highest increase noted in the number of cases and deaths in 24 hours. NITI Aayog experts miss mark In fact, this isn't even the first time Paul, or other members of the NITI Aayog, have completely missed the mark when it comes to talking about the coronavirus. Earlier in April, Paul expressed optimism while unveiling a study that suggested that the lockdown had slowed the rate of transmission and increased the doubling time, the period it took for cases to double, to about 10 days and predicted that there would be no new COVID-19 cases after 16 May. In fact, one of the members of Paul's committee, speaking to The Hindu on condition of anonymity, said his claim was "highly unlikely." The member told the newspaper there would have to be declines in Gujarat, Maharashtra and West Bengal, all fuelling the increase in numbers, for the national average to decline. So far there is no such evidence of a decline. So I dont know the basis of that forecast. We are planning, in terms of keeping ventilators, beds, ICU facilities ready on the assumption that this will last much longer, the member told The Hindu. And with good reason. While the study projected that India would hit its peak on 3 May, adding slightly above 1,500 cases a day, which would then reduce to 1,000 cases on 12 May and hit zero by 16 May, India actually saw six straight days of over 2,000 cases since 1 May, with a peak of 3,932 cases on 4 May. Also in April, NITI Aayog chief executive Amitabh Kant, speaking after India registered its 1,000th coronavirus death, said, "Our analysis finds that the rate of growth in positive cases and fatalities has been consistently lower: linear but non-exponential." Eminent scientist VK Saraswat, another member of NITI Aayog, claimed in mid-April that the country was in the process of "flattening the curve" and that the government's lockdown had paid dividends. "I can only say that the rate is not going to go beyond what has been going on now, maybe 700 to 800 cases per day," Saraswat was quoted as saying by PTI. Predictions fall flat Other expert predictions have also fallen flat. The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), using Artificial Intelligence-driven data analysis at the end of April, estimated that the COVID-19 crisis would end in India around 21 May. As per the university's website, calculating the data-driven estimates, the susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) model is regressed based on the data from different countries to estimate the key dates of transition during the pandemic life cycle curve across the globe. The university further predicted the end date for the United States around 11 May, while the crisis in Iran would end around 10 May. As of today, the United States and Iran have seen 74,809 and 6,418 deaths respectively. Disease experts in the United States, which is gearing up to reopen, have predicted as many as 200,000 cases per day with the daily toll touching 3,000 on 1 June and anywhere from 1,00,000 to 1,30,000 total deaths in the country by August. Italy, whose end date for COVID-19 was predicted as today, saw a rise both in the number of deaths (369) and a jump in new daily infections (1,444) even as the number of active cases dropped from 98,467 yesterday to 91,528 today. Italy is the second-worst affected country by coronavirus in Europe. The university also predicted 8 December as the day the COVID-19 crisis would abate worldwide. And in March, News18 reported that scientists examining the pandemic said India had "entered a crucial phase" in curbing the spread of disease as numbers climb steadily, and offered two distinct scenarios: success in containing the disease like in China or an outbreak that could stress the country's health system. If we assume the disease will progress like China and if we can implement a strong self-quarantine with social distancing successfully, just like the Chinese did which means we will be able to yield the Chinese success in India then we can assume about 415 cases by April 15, Sourish Das, associate professor at the Chennai Mathematical Institute, told News18. In the worst-case scenario, if we fail to control the progression of the disease, and go on the Italian way, we can expect more than 3,500 cases by 15 April, Das warned, adding that it is unlikely to touch so many cases considering Indias younger demographic. I strongly believe an Italian scenario is very unlikely. Because the average age in Italy is 45, one of the highest in the EU. On the other hand, the average age in India is 28, one of the lowest in the world. Unfortunately, the 'extremely unlikely' scenario, one three times worse than the worst-case scenario envisaged by Das, came to pass. By 15 April, India had registered 12,370 cases and 422 deaths. If anything can be gleaned from the repeatedly dashed hopes and predictions of experts, is that the aphorism "all models are wrong but some models are useful" rings particularly true in the case of coronavirus. Managing menstruation is a struggle for many women in Ghana, and especially for those in the vulnerable communities in the northern region. Working on the Sanitation Challenge for Ghana funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Live Right Ghana (a health promotion NGO) has been empowering women groups at Limanfon, Madina, Dikpali, Bakpaba, and Makayili (all in the nanumba north municipality) to be able to manage their menstrual periods effectively. For the year 2020, Live Right Ghana has pooled resources to acquire and donate 5 sewing machines to 5 women groups in the above communities to sew their own reusable and washable sanitary pads. The Board Chairperson of Live Right Ghana, Madam Khadija Osman, stated that the support was to help the women and girls of school going age have a sustainable alternative to deal with their menstrual problems. The pads can be used for one and half year before disposal. Menstrual cups that could also last for 10 years of usage before disposal was also introduced to the women groups. After the donation on 27th April 2020, Live Right Ghana led the groups in 5 different training (8 women per training session due to the coronavirus and social distancing directives) sessions to sew some of the pads (using Live Right Ghana "Sustainable Sanitation Solution" patterns). The leaders of the training sessions (Francis Gurundow & Richmond Asiamah) mentioned that Live Right Ghana added to the groups packs of reusable and washable pad sewing materials to enable the groups sew, use, and sell complete menstrual pads. They added that the initiative will help the women improve their menstrual health, girls will stay at school even during menstrual periods, and vulnerable women will have an alternative source of income by selling the pads. Valmet Receives Seventh Tissue Line Order from Hayat Kimya in Turkey The new Valmet Advantage DCT 200 TS tissue machine, TM8, will have a width of 5.6 metres and a design speed of 2,200 m/min, and a production capacity of 70,000 tonnes per year. May 7, 2020 - Valmet will supply the seventh tissue line delivery including an extensive automation package to Turkish tissue producer Hayat Kimya. According to Valmet, Hayat Kimya has decided to invest in a second machine at their mill in Mersin, Turkey, to meet the increasing demand for their high-quality tissue products. The new line will add 70,000 tonnes of tissue to their current production of facial, toilet and towel tissue. The value of the order will not be disclosed. Hayat Kimya has followed their straight expansion plan by the installation of a new tissue machine every second year. Previously Valmet delivered six Valmet Advantage DCT 200TS tissue production lines to Hayat Kimya's mills in Turkey, Russia and Egypt. Valmet also conducted an extensive rebuild of Hayat Kimya's TM1 machine in Turkey during 2015. "We have developed a great collaboration between Hayat and Valmet teams during the years, and we are happy to continue our long relationship also in this project. When everybody knows each other, the technology and the process, it is easy to achieve great results together," says Lutfi Aydin, Director, Paper Group, Hayat Kimya. "We at Valmet feel honored to receive yet another order from Hayat Kimya. The close cooperation between our companies has been the key for success," says Bjorn Magnus, Sales Director, Tissue Mills business unit, Paper business line, Valmet. The new Valmet Advantage DCT 200 TS tissue machine, TM8, will have a width of 5.6 metres and a design speed of 2,200 m/min. The raw material to be used in the tissue production will be virgin fiber. The new production line is optimized to save energy and to enhance the quality of the final product. The delivery will include an extensive Valmet automation package with Valmet DNA machine controls, process controls and Valmet IQ quality controls. Complete engineering, installation supervision, training, start-up and commissioning are also included in the delivery. Valmet is a leading global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. The company's technology offering includes pulp mills, tissue, board and paper production lines, as well as power plants for bioenergy production. For further information, visit: www.valmet.com SOURCE: Valmet (Natural News) Iranian authorities reported an upswing in new coronavirus cases, as the country reported 1,680 new cases on Wednesday, making it the latest country to have a total caseload above 100,000. We are witnessing a rising trend in the past three or four days, which is significant, said Ministry of Health spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour in a televised news conference. Iran has 103,135 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 6,486 deaths and 82,744 recoveries as of Thursday, according to data collated by Johns Hopkins University. Last week, the countrys official daily tally for coronavirus reached its lowest level since March 10. However, the number of new cases surged after lockdown protocols were relaxed on April 11. The move was part of Tehrans phased relaxation plan, which included lifting travel bans and restoring economic activity to levels before the coronavirus. The capital city of Tehran saw traffic levels go back to normal and many packed restaurants and shopping areas. After mounting pressure from the countrys politically powerful conservative clergy, authorities even allowed mosques to reopen, with Friday prayers resuming in cities that the government deemed to be low risk areas. The clergy argued that keeping the countrys mosques closed would deal an irreparable spiritual blow to the country. (Related: Irans coronavirus crisis is so bad theyre excavating mass graves so large they can be SEEN FROM SPACE.) Despite the resurgence of businesses, officials are still urging people to avoid non-essential work and travel. Half of the country is experiencing a second wave of infections The latest update also said that 15 out of the countrys 31 provinces reported a gradual rise of COVID-19 cases despite claims of flattening the curve in two months following containment efforts. Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi who himself was infected with the coronavirus also noted that regions designated as COVID-19 white spots, or areas with relatively lower cases, might be experiencing a return to normal life, but social distancing measures would have to be observed. While Tehran appears to have a downward trend in coronavirus cases, several popular tourist destinations like Gilan, Isfahan and the city of Qom the latter being the epicenter of the countrys outbreak have not been spared from the second wave of infections. A similar trend is seen in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan, which also reported a coronavirus resurgence. Prominent politicians in Iran have already expressed concerns about how much longer the countrys lockdown restrictions should be upheld. Some parliamentarians, such as speaker Ali Larijani, who survived COVID-19, urged lawmakers to maintain social distancing guidelines. Experts also noted that while Iran might have been able to flatten its curve, this trend is still very fragile and will most likely break if the country tries to reopen the country too quickly. Health officials have warned that its only a matter of time before the country feels the full brunt of the incoming second wave and that the country may even experience a third wave of coronavirus infections. A new wave of infections will take a toll on the countrys already overstretched economy and health systems. If Iran refuses to maintain the countrys lockdown restrictions, and if authorities bow down to political and religious pressures Iran may have to weather out another onslaught that would infect, and potentially kill, even more people. Sources include: News.Yahoo.com Coronavirus.JHU.edu Bloomberg.com Al-Monitor.com AlJazeera.com En.RadioFarda.com BBC.com Members of the Street Brigade, a group that advocates for sex workers, dance Tuesday in front of a memorial for co-founder Jaime Montejo. (Kate Linthicum / Los Angeles Times) On a cloudy afternoon this week, a few dozen sex workers gathered outside a subway station in downtown Mexico City to remember their longtime leader. Wearing surgical masks to protect against the coronavirus, the women prayed and sang and lighted candles around a photo of Jaime Montejo, who had devoted his life to giving these women a measure of dignity. He fought for us, said Carla Enriquez Perez, who cried as she handed a white rose to each new arrival. He fought for us until the very end. Just a few weeks ago, Montejo was here helping workers who had seen the sex trade dry up almost overnight because of the pandemic. In the past, a worker might have had 10 paying clients on a good day. But that had dropped to one or two or none at all. Unable to afford the $5-a-night hotels where they had previously resided, dozens of women were forced onto the streets. About 70 of them began living together in a makeshift camp near the subway station. Montejo and co-workers from his nonprofit brought the women meals and face masks and tarps so that they would be sheltered from the rain. The activists distributed pamphlets with drawings that showed how workers could protect themselves while having sex with clients. They called it the "Coronasutra." It was not the first time that he had sought to assist the neediest in the face of a mysterious and deadly contagion. A memorial to Jaime Montejo in Mexico City. (Kate Linthicum / Los Angeles Times) Montejo was a college student in 1989 when he embarked on a research project in Mexico City's red light district with a sociology professor who studied prostitution. It was the early days of the HIV/AIDS crisis, and sex workers were falling ill and dying while also navigating the dangerous world of johns, pimps and police. Montejo wanted to know how he could help. The professor told them he couldn't, explaining that the academics were supposed to only observe. That wasn't enough for Montejo or two of his fellow students, sisters Elvira and Rosa Icela Madrid. Story continues After graduating from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, they embedded in the neighborhood, a warren of market stalls known as La Merced, and began advocating for sex workers. They helped the women file police reports when they were attacked or extorted for bribes, and opened health clinics that offered free condoms and testing for sexually transmitted diseases. In 1993, Montejo and the Madrid sisters officially formed the nonprofit Street Brigade to Support Women Elisa Martinez, named in honor of a sex worker who died of complications of AIDS. The activists thought it was important to parse the differences between sex workers who had entered that line of work on their own accord and those who had been forced into it. Women with bruises on their bodies or who had to pay pimps "are probably not living peaceful lives," Montejo said in an interview with a Mexico City journalist. But there were others who had chosen it as a viable way to earn a living, and the group insisted that their labor should be viewed as a legitimate work. The group held annual street marches, widely covered in the media, where Montejo and the Madrid sisters led participants in chants. "Total respect for sex work!" they shouted. "Who does the corner belong to? The people who work there!" In 2014, the group celebrated a victory when a Mexico City judge ruled that prostitutes should be recognized as nonsalaried workers, allowing them to access certain government benefits. Last year, its members rejoiced again when Mexico City lawmakers removed of a clause in the city code that in effect decriminalized prostitution. Montejo fell ill in late April. A few days later, he was taken to a public hospital where he was treated for COVID-19. He died early Tuesday morning at age 56. At the memorial Tuesday, several sex workers recalled how Montejo had made their difficult lives much more bearable. The police used to take us to jail," said Dulce Maria Martinez Hernandez, who has been working on the street for decades. "I once stayed there 15 days." Members of the Street Brigade. (Kate Linthicum / Los Angeles Times) We were very discriminated against, said Laura Gonzalez, a 61-year-old transgender woman who said she was kicked out of her home at age 14 for wearing girl's clothing. "But he gave us respect." Gonzalez, homeless for the last month, had put on her best outfit, a tattered peach dress. As friends approached, she reached out to hug them. A young woman stood up on a bench and implored the mourners to "maintain a healthy distance." "We cant do a funeral and we cant give hugs as is our custom as Mexicans, she said. Instead, the woman encouraged mourners to write messages to Montejo and the Madrid sisters, especially Elvira, Montejo's longtime romantic partner who is also thought to have the coronavirus and was at home in quarantine. Somebody put on music -- first a Colombian cumbia and then a traditional Mexican norteno song about an angel who visits Earth and then departs. Several women began to dance. Others shouted slogans. "Who does the corner belong to?" they chanted. "The women who work there!" Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 7, 2020) - Matica Enterprises Inc. (CSE: MMJ) (FSE: 39N) (OTCQB: MMJFF) ("Matica" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce its subsidiary, RoyalMax Biotechnology Canada Inc. ("RoyalMax"), has entered into a Purchase Agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") with Franchise Cannabis Corp.'s ("Franchise") wholly owned subsidiary, Rangers Pharmaceuticals A/S ("Rangers"), to acquire cannabis genetics from the first legally registered seedbank in Europe. Under the Purchase Agreement, RoyalMax will acquire high THC varieties such as Wakeford, Pineapple Express, and Triumphant that are expected to be well received by the Canadian market. Franchise's collection of genetics consists of over 220 strains, bred by award world-renowned breeder Charles Scott. Mr. Scott has won numerous globally recognized awards including an induction into the High Times Hall of Fame and 19 Cannabis Cups for THC strains such as Love Potion #1, Willie Nelson, and Pink Kush. "RoyalMax will introduce new cannabis varieties unique to the Canadian market. Currently there is a lack of genetic diversity within the Canadian market. RoyalMax will have the ability to offer new and unique product varieties to our consumers. Through this relationship, RoyalMax will benefit from one of the most complete and sought-after genetics collections in the world," said Boris Ziger, the CEO of Matica. "Matica will have a distinct advantage within the Canadian market by utilizing some of our top strains, such as the highly unique and potent Triumphant, which have not yet been introduced to the Canadian market. Franchise is excited to fill this gap and work with innovators in the industry, such as Matica to effectively cultivate and distribute product based on our unique cultivars," commented Clifford Starke, the CEO of Franchise Cannabis Corp. About Matica Enterprises Inc. Matica is a multi-faceted, innovative company in the Quebec cannabis space. Its subsidiary, RoyalMax Biotechnology Canada Inc. is a Dorval, Quebec based Health Canada Licence Holder. RoyalMax has been granted a standard cultivation licence, standard processing and medical sales licences by Health Canada. In the township of Hemmingford, Matica is building 1,000,000 square feet of greenhouse growing space, in 200,000 square foot increments, on a sprawling 181 acre property. For more information on Matica Enterprises please visit the website at: www.maticaenterprises.com. About Franchise Cannabis Corp. Franchise Cannabis is a European focused distribution and product development cannabis company with the first import and distribution license in Germany achieved in March 2017. With a vast pharmacy network in Germany, a licensed cultivator in Denmark currently producing high quality medical cannabis, and supply relationships with prestigious cannabis groups globally. Franchise is the first legal registered genetics in Europe and has one of the most complete and sought-after genetics collections in the world with over 220 strains, many of which have won Cannabis Cups and also has licensed CBD cultivation and extraction operations in Colombia. For more information, please visit the website at: www.franchisecannabis.com For further information, please contact: Matica Enterprises Inc. Boris Ziger, CEO Telephone: 416-304-9935 E-mail: info@maticaenterprises.com Franchise Cannabis Corp. info@franchisecannabis.com Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information Certain information in this press release may constitute forward-looking information. This information is based on current expectations that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. The Corporation assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward looking-statements unless and until required by securities laws applicable to the Corporation. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in the Corporation's filings with the Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com. This news release contains statements about the Company's information that may be made available on the S&P Capital IQ Corporation Records Listing Program and the business of Matica that are forward-looking in nature and as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them as actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, except as required by law. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. We seek Safe Harbor. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55467 An emerging technique that uses lab-grown tiny human organs to study viral diseases can accelerate research on the novel coronavirus, and pave the way for new COVID-19 therapies, leading scientists say. "Organoids, are lab-grown organs, which closely resemble human tissues that are relevant for disease, Josef Penninger, Director, Life Science Institute at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada, told PTI. In these human organ-like structures, Penninger said, scientists are beginning to perform more experiments to explore how the SARS-CoV-2 virus replicates in hosts, or even test vaccines and drugs against COVID-19. Cultured from undifferentiated cells in the human body called stem cells, he said, these tiny organs contain cells which are also present in a "real" human organ. For instance, organoids of blood vessels are perfect mini versions of the vascular tissue, made up of an empty cavity, cells that stabilise it, and a membrane wrapped around and keeping it all together, Penninger explained. Similarly, the scientist said, kidney organoids have multiple cell types found in a normal kidney, including those expressing the ACE2 receptor which acts as an entry gate for SARS-CoV-2. According to Penninger, research using organoids can open new doors for studying COVID-19 symptoms. The tiny organs have previously helped scientists understand how the Zika virus, an emerging mosquito-borne pathogen, causes smaller head size, and intellectual disability in developing newborns. Infection of brain organoid models with Zika virus revealed which cells were affected, and resulting neurological disorders, noted a study published last year in the journal Viruses. But even now, preliminary experiments on viral infection use only mouse models or lab-grown animal or human tissues, which do not possess the complexity seen in human organs, Penninger said. "For studying infectious diseases, the commonly used lab models are vero cell lines which are derived from monkey kidneys, and colon cancer cell lines, but these do not fully capture what happens in humans," Shuibing Chen, stem cell biologist from Cornell University in the US, told PTI. While scientists also study SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice, Chen said the rodents do not have the same human version of ACE2 -- the SARS-CoV-2 'gateway' receptor. Organoids can help overcome these limitations, she said, adding that they can change how scientists understand and test potential COVID-19 therapeutics. For instance, Penninger and his colleagues recently found that a trial drug could block early stages of COVID-19 in a study involving blood vessel and kidney organoids. Another study, published in the pre-print server bioRxiv, screened 1,280 drugs already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration against novel coronavirus infection of the intestines. The researchers, who studied these drugs on large intestine organoids, said there is an urgent need to create standard models of these tiny organs to study COVID-19. "In colon, we have more than 10 different cell types like nutrient absorbing cells, and cells which produce hormones," Chen explained. Since using just one human cell line over-simplifies studies, she said there is a growing number of COVID-19 research using organoids to "capture the complexity of infection". Citing an example, Chen mentioned a study published in the journal Science, which showed how SARS-CoV-2 infects intestinal cells. Joep Beumer, co-author of this study from Hubrecht Institute in the Netherlands, told PTI that organoid experiments revealed which cells in the outer layer of the intestine are infected by the virus, likely contributing to gut-related COVID-19 symptoms like diarrhea. The scientists led by Hans Clevers had previously developed a new method to grow snake venom gland cells as organoids. The first pathogen-organoid cultures were done only a few years ago, and since then these studies have been increasing, with COVID-19 likely accelerating this further, Beumer said. Penninger too believes that several COVID-19 puzzles -- such as how the virus lives inside cells, and how it can be blocked from entering them -- can be pieced together via organoid studies. He said tricking the virus, and preventing it from finding the ACE2 entry gate, is "probably the most rationale therapy possible for COVID-19." "Many groups in the world have followed our example, and are using or developing organoids for COVID-19 studies, also in tissues like the heart, and especially the lung," Penninger added. Some scientists also caution that organoids may not capture the whole reality of diseases. "Organoids are certainly better than cell culture, but they are missing the immune system and the endocrine system," Saisubramanian N, Professor of microbiology at SASTRA School of Chemical & Biotechnology in Tamil Nadu, told PTI. In order to overcome this limitation, special versions of the tiny organs in which the virus, organoids, and immune cells are co-cultured can be used, Beumer noted. Commenting on the affordability of organoid studies in developing countries, Penninger said, "this is still relatively expansive work, but we work on making it much cheaper, and at numbers that allow testing of new drugs and combinations in thousands of experiments." Beumer said growing these mini organs requires equipment like culture hoods and 37 degree Celsius incubators, along with the supply of patient biopsies as a source for the organoid culture. "Once this infrastructure is developed, organoids can be grown for years," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) PITTSBURGH, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- F.N.B. Corporation (NYSE: FNB), parent company of First National Bank, today announced that it has processed more than 18,000 Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to date, representing approximately $2.6 billion in direct relief to small businesses across the Company's seven-state footprint. FNB has closed and funded 94% of the PPP loan requests, resulting in $2.4 billion in relief funds already advanced to its clients. Of the approved SBA PPP loans processed through FNB to date: 98% of eligible applications received Preferred Lending Program (PLP) numbers The average loan amount was $139,000 92% of the loans were under $350,000 76% of the loans were under $100,000 97% of the loans benefitted businesses with fewer than 100 employees and, of those businesses, approximately 70% have fewer than 10 employees More than 3,700 loans (approximately 20%) were approved for businesses operating in low-to-moderate income (LMI) neighborhoods Nearly 2,500 loans (approximately 13%) were approved for businesses in rural (non-MSA) areas "I am extremely proud of our employees who worked tirelessly around the clock seven days a week to ensure that tens of thousands of small businesses receive the critical funding they need to protect their livelihoods and retain hundreds of thousands of employees," said Vincent J. Delie, Jr., Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of F.N.B. Corporation and First National Bank. "Our actions are in direct alignment with our mission to improve the quality of life in the communities we serve." FNB also was one of the first banks in the country to announce a formal program providing additional support measures to alleviate the financial burden on businesses and consumers from the COVID-19 pandemic, including relief efforts and deferral programs. Deferred nearly $1.5 billion in loan payments for more than 10,000 clients as of April 28 in loan payments for more than 10,000 clients as of Waived service charges and fees for customers directly impacted by COVID-19 Remained active as a lender, originating over $900 million in additional loans and leases to small- and medium-size businesses during the first quarter, consistently deploying capital to advance the economic success of the Company's clients in additional loans and leases to small- and medium-size businesses during the first quarter, consistently deploying capital to advance the economic success of the Company's clients Participant in the PA CARE Package, developed to provide consumer relief for citizens across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania In addition to the Company's annual commitment, FNB supports its local communities impacted by the pandemic in various ways, including: Donating $1 million in support of COVID-19 relief efforts in support of COVID-19 relief efforts Engaging in proactive outreach to more than 100 nonprofit and community organizations, which are predominantly dedicated to serving LMI communities, across its multi-state footprint regarding PPP loans and other programs Allocating $1 million in special relief payments to its own frontline and operations employees in special relief payments to its own frontline and operations employees Supporting numerous food banks, local businesses and healthcare professionals through financial support and volunteer activities To learn more about FNB's financial relief programs and its response to COVID-19, including branch hours and additional measures the Company is taking, please visit FNB's website at www.fnb-online.com. About F.N.B. Corporation F.N.B. Corporation (NYSE: FNB), headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a diversified financial services company operating in seven states and the District of Columbia. FNB's market coverage spans several major metropolitan areas including: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland; Cleveland, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; and Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham and the Piedmont Triad (Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point) in North Carolina. The Company has total assets of more than $35 billion and approximately 350 banking offices throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. FNB provides a full range of commercial banking, consumer banking and wealth management solutions through its subsidiary network which is led by its largest affiliate, First National Bank of Pennsylvania, founded in 1864. Commercial banking solutions include corporate banking, small business banking, investment real estate financing, government banking, business credit, capital markets and lease financing. The consumer banking segment provides a full line of consumer banking products and services, including deposit products, mortgage lending, consumer lending and a complete suite of mobile and online banking services. FNB's wealth management services include asset management, private banking and insurance. The common stock of F.N.B. Corporation trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FNB" and is included in Standard & Poor's MidCap 400 Index with the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) Regional Banks Sub-Industry Index. Customers, shareholders and investors can learn more about this regional financial institution by visiting the F.N.B. Corporation website at www.fnbcorporation.com. SOURCE F.N.B. Corporation Related Links http://www.fnbcorporation.com Two men have been arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault for the February shooting of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son, Travis McMichael, 34, were arrested on Thursday evening and were booked into the Glynn County Jail. "Based on our involvement in this case...within 36 hours we secured warrants, that speaks volumes for itself to the probable cause in this case," said GBI's Director Vic Reynolds at a press conference on Friday morning. Cellphone video showing the moment Arbery was killed has prompted national outrage since surfacing online on Tuesday afternoon, but his mother said she can't bring herself to watch it. "I don't think I'll ever be in a mental state where I can actually watch the video. I had others that watched it that shared what they saw and that just was enough," Wanda Cooper-Jones told ABC News in an interview that aired Thursday morning on "Good Morning America." In the 28-second video, Arbery, who is black, can be seen jogging around a neighborhood just outside the port city of Brunswick on a sunny afternoon on February 23. The footage ends with three loud gunshots. MORE: Cellphone video shows a Georgia jogger allegedly ambushed by 2 gunmen Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael, who are both white, told police they grabbed their guns and hopped in their truck to pursue Arbery after seeing him running in their neighborhood, because they believed he was responsible for several recent burglaries. The father claimed his son got out of the truck holding a shotgun and was attacked by Arbery, according to a police report obtained by ABC News. PHOTO: Travis McMichael and his father, Gregory McMichael, right, in a photos released on May 7, 2020, after their arrest in Georgia. The father and son have been charged with murder in the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery. (Glynn County Sheriff's Office) The two men tussled over the firearm before Arbery was shot, as seen in the cellphone video, which was allegedly taken by a bystander. Two prosecutors recused themselves from investigating Arbery's murder citing conflicts of interest since Gregory McMichaels is a retired Glynn County police officer and investigator with Brunswick's district attorney's office. Story continues Tom Durden, the district attorney for the Atlantic Judicial Circuit, was assigned the case in the middle of April by the state's attorney general. Durden brought in the GBI to investigate on Tuesday evening, Reynolds said. The McMichaels were charged with felony murder and aggregated assault charges. Reynolds said on Friday there will be no hate crime charges. "There is no hate crime in Georgia," Reynolds said, adding, "Georgia is one of I think four or five states left in the union that doesn't have any hate crime." PHOTO: Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was allegedly killed by a father and son while jogging on Feb. 23, 2020. The FBI and DOJ are investigating the case and a grand jury is expected to decide if charges should be filed. (Courtesy The Arbery family) The GBI is also investigating who leaked the cellphone video onto social media and threats against the Glynn County Police Department. Arbery, who lived in Brunswick, one town over from where the McMichaels reside, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Glynn County coroner. No weapons were found on him, according to the police report. "I'm managing, it's really hard," Arbery's mother told ABC News Thursday. "It's really been hard." "Its outrageous that it has taken more than two months for Ahmaud Arberys executioners to be arrested, but better late than never," Ben Crump, an attorney representing the family, said in a statement. "This is the first step to justice. This murderous father and son duo took the law into their own hands." MORE :African American family mourns 4 loved ones as COVID-19 racial disparities exposed Prior to the pair's arrest, Cooper-Jones told ABC News she believed authorities hadn't taken them into custody because Gregory McMichael had a lengthy career as an investigator in the Brunswick district attorneys office before recently retiring. "I think that they don't feel like he was wrong because he was one of them," she said. After the video circulated on social media Tuesday, a large crowd of protesters marched through the neighborhood where Arbery was killed. The Georgia Bureau of Investigations announced Wednesday that it was opening its own probe into the Feb. 23 incident. PHOTO: Wanda Cooper-Jones appears on 'Good Morning America,' May 7, 2020. (ABC News) S. Lee Merritt, one of the attorneys representing Arbery's family, demanded answers Thursday morning and had asked for the immediate arrests of Gregory and Travis McMichael. "Prosecutors will need a grand jury in order to formally indict these men, but that has nothing to do with actually going out and arresting the men seen on camera murdering a 25-year-old unarmed black man," Merritt told ABC News in an interview that aired Thursday on "GMA." "The prosecutors actually have the option, if they so chose to, to directly indictment and skip the entire grand jury process," he added. "It's something that happens all the time in our legal system, and this would certainly be an appropriate moment." The McMichaels' attorney did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment Wednesday, and the McMichaels themselves did not return phone calls. Arbery would have turned 26 years old on Friday. Cooper-Jones described her late son as humble, kind, well-mannered and beloved by his family and peers. "Ahmaud didn't deserve to go the way that he went," she said. ABC News' Kelly McCarthy contributed to this report. Father and son charged with murder of unarmed black man Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Two decomposed bodies have been found by police in a car registered to one half of a newly engaged couple, who disappeared without their phones last month. The Wilmington, North Carolina, police department said in a post on Facebook that two bodies had been found, but said they were too decomposed to be identified. Twenty-seven-year old Stephanie Mayorga and Paige Escalera, 25, were reported missing on 19 April by a roommate. The police confirmed that the couple had blocked their friends on social media and had not used any bank cards since they were last seen on 15 April, in Wilmington, Authorities initially said that the car was the same brand as Ms Escaleras 2013 Dodge Dart, but later confirmed in a statement that it was her vehicle. Earlier this week, Allison Rice, Ms Escaleras mother, and Rigo Villafuerte, Ms Mayorgas father, issued an appeal for their daughters. Ms Rice said: Our families are heartbroken. Were each others rock right now were together in this right now. Were family. Mr Villafuerte added: This is our worst nightmare. Were just so desperate to see them to come home We have a lot of dreams for both of them. The police department are now investigating the possibility that the car was involved in a crash, after it was found in the woods. Recommended Young transgender activist shot dead in North Carolina The grey 2013 Dodge Dart was deep in the woods and covered in vegetation. While the investigation continues, police believe the car may have been involved in an extremely high velocity crash, their statement read. The department added that on the same day the couple went missing, a crash was reported in the same area, but no car was found. On April 15, police, fire, and EMS were dispatched to this area just before midnight. A caller advised that they saw a car in their rear view mirror heading west on Independence Boulevard, going at a high rate of speed, possibly hitting a wall and then going into the wooded area, the post read. Both of the bodies will undergo an autopsy, and the police said: We will release information as it becomes available. This case remains under investigation. San Antonio Express-News journalists are researching answers to readers questions about COVID-19. Go to ExpressNews.com/assignmentdesk to submit a question. Rules and guidelines are set by the hospitals. You would have to contact your chosen hospital to find out if someone can be with you. I am in the process of looking for new bedroom furniture and bedding. Can this be an in-home delivery and setup, or does it have to be delivered to my front door only. They could deliver and set up as long as they follow local health protocols. Social distancing will be required in any home installations for months to come. You should also follow prevention tips, including wearing a mask. The governor indicated that public swimming pools can open at reduced capacity. How safe will that be? Does the COVID-19 virus survive in the water? Does chlorine kill the COVID-19 virus? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no evidence that the virus can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, spas or water play areas. Proper operation and maintenance, including disinfection with chlorine and bromine, of these facilities should inactivate the virus in the water. How is the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the San Antonio housing market? We are looking to buy again in the area. Are the hotels open for guests? If I do buy, will I be able to get to closing in a timely, normal fashion? Are finance offices, banks, home inspectors, appraisals, all things related to buying a house all open? Hotels are open and homes are being sold in San Antonio. According to an experienced real estate agent and mortgage broker, house buying is almost back to normal but everything is taking a little longer. Loans for home purchases are now closing in three to four weeks. Financing, inspections and appraisals are functioning normally. He said the market for homes under $200,000 is quite active, but above that, slow. Prices have not yet been affected. I read an article where Attorney General Barr has directed his folks to investigate government officials (governors & mayors) for overstating their authority closing businesses and in particular churches and violating peoples constitutional rights to assembly. The clash between federal and state officials over who decides what is necessary public conduct during the pandemic is ongoing. On April 27, Attorney General William Barr took it up a notch when he appointed a U.S. attorney to investigate allegations that some state and local officials have violated citizens rights with strict stay-at-home orders. What gives the mayor and judge the authority to override peoples constitutional right to assembly. Dont tell me that a city ordinance overrides the Constitution. A good analogy might be the classic problem with shouting fire in a crowded, dark theater. It would obviously trigger frenzied flight, which is contrary to the public good. So thats where your freedom of speech ends. Requiring people to stay home and practice social distancing during a pandemic is being done to protect society from a virus that has already killed more than 70,000 people in this country. Its a temporary but necessary exception to your constitutional right to assembly. Many commodity firms pay investors. Lately, commodity prices have been going haywire -- including the low pricing for crude oil futures, with contracts for May delivery actually closing with a negative price thanks to a glut of supply, little demand and no place to store the physical oil. Moving the other way is gold, which has surged from less than $1,500 an ounce at its March lows to about $1,700. Investing directly in commodities can be difficult and rife with volatility. However, if you invest indirectly via commodity-related companies, you can easily access this sector -- and often earn a good dividend on top. If you're interested in buying into commodities via income-generating stocks, here are seven ideas for your portfolio. TC Energy Corp. (ticker: TRP) TC is an energy infrastructure company that operates pipelines in the U.S., Canada and Mexico that span almost 60,000 miles. Its business also includes export terminals for liquefied natural gas and related storage facilities. That makes TC Energy less reliant on actual commodity prices, since it simply transports and stores the product -- and charges other firms a fee based on the volume in its system. This more reliable "toll-taker" model can fuel more consistent dividends than a stock that depends on high commodity prices to turn a good profit. Current yield: 5% Cheniere Energy Partners (CQP) Cheniere owns and operates regasification facilities, meaning it is a key link between the pipelines and tankers that carry liquefied natural gas and the distributors and eventual end-users. After all, those of us who use natural gas to heat our homes or cook meals use the vaporized form and not the more condensed but easier-to-transport liquefied natural gas. As with TRP, this business model allows CQP to simply capitalize on the normal use of gas in the economy and not suffer through the ups and downs of prices. Current yield: 7.5% Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) Story continues Chile-based SQM is a unique commodity stock that mines and produces specialty minerals and related salts. These include a suite of agricultural products such as potassium and industrial chemicals for lithium products that power efficient batteries for smartphones and electric cars. Many investors may not know that the building blocks of these substances can actually be found in the ground -- and SQM is one of the first links in the chain of these essential commodities, meaning it can throw off consistent revenue as it brings these materials to market. Current yield: 4.7% Sunoco (SUN) Oil and gas company Sunoco is a brand name motorists will assuredly recognize. But while Sunoco's business is challenged on one hand, thanks to the slackening of demand the outbreak has caused across its retail fuel operations, a commensurate drop in oil prices has meant input costs have also fallen dramatically. Because a big part of SUN is its refinery operations, the firm can load up on crude oil and related commodities at dirt cheap prices at present -- meaning attractive margins to keep operations firm in the short term and continue to pay consistent dividends to shareholders. Current yield: 13.2% Rio Tinto Group (RIO) U.K.-based Rio Tinto Group is one of the largest miners in the world, valued at more than $75 billion even after a bit of softness recently thanks to the recent global downturn. A diversified commodity stock, RIO engages in mining of minerals ranging from aluminum to silver to copper to gold to uranium. While some of these materials aren't as in demand as they were a year ago, the bottom line is that the global economy hasn't stopped -- and these commodities are crucial to a wide array of businesses, meaning a secure bare amount of sales to support dividends from this diversified mining stock. Current yield: 10.4% Southern Copper Corp. (SCCO) Much less diversified than RIO, Southern Copper rather obviously engages in mining and refining of copper at facilities primarily located in South America. There often are other minerals in those mines, including silver and gold, and SCCO also deals with these commodities -- but largely as a pleasant byproduct of its copper operations. If investors want to go all-in on one vein of ore mining stock, then copper is a good choice as the metal is a key part of electronics, construction, medicine and a host of other applications. These multiple uses mean multiple demand points to help support SCCO operations and its dividend. Current yield: 2.5% Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) Sure, the previously steady operations of Exxon don't look so hot amid short-term pressures caused by oil less than $20 and long-term pressures caused by the move away from fossil fuels to combat climate change. However, Exxon still remains one of the largest companies in the U.S. by almost any measure with a $180 billion market capitalization and projected revenue of more than $190 billion even after recent troubles. Furthermore, income investors should note Exxon has paid a dividend in some form for more than 100 years and has increased its payout at least once annually for the past 35 consecutive years. Current yield: 7.8% Commodity stocks to buy for great dividends: -- TC Energy Corp. (TRP) -- Cheniere Energy Partners (CQP) -- Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) -- Sunoco (SUN) -- Rio Tinto Group (RIO) -- Southern Copper Corp. (SCCO) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) More From US News & World Report Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 18:57:05|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Medical workers carry an unconscious person to an ambulance after a gas leakage at the "LG Polymers" chemical plant in the Vishakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh, India, May 7, 2020. The death toll in Thursday's gas leak incident in India's southern state Andhra Pradesh has risen to 11, confirmed Director General of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) S.N. Pradhan while addressing media persons in Delhi. (Str/Xinhua) NEW DELHI, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in Thursday's gas leak incident in India's southern state Andhra Pradesh has risen to 11, confirmed Director General of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) S.N. Pradhan while addressing media persons in Delhi. According to him, initially around 25 gas-hit people were put on ventilators but they were stable and now shifted to normal wards at the hospitals where they are undergoing treatment. Around 150 gas infected people have been admitted in government-run King George Hospital and private Apollo Hospital. Director of Delhi-based All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Randeep Guleria told media persons that the gas compound "Styrene", that got leaked, affected humans' respiratory system, but the affect would gradually go away with the passage of time. The incident happened in the state's Vishakhapatnam district early on Thursday morning when the gas compound leaked from the "LG Polymers" chemical plant in the wee hours, leading to panic among the local people. People living in several villages around the chemical plant were mostly affected. The gas leakage reportedly occurred due to the malfunction of a valve. Its affect was noted in a three square kilometer area. Around 3,000 people were evacuated from a couple of villages located in the immediate vicinity of the chemical plant, and sent to relief camps. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy announced a monetary compensation of 10 million Indian Rupees (around 133,350 U.S. dollars) to the kin of the dead. Enditem Dinh Minh Hieu, a driver, is questioned by police as 600 kg of dog and cat carcasses were found in his bus in Nghe An Province May 6, 2020. Photo courtesy of Nghe An Newspaper. Nghe An police seized 630 kg of dog, cat carcasses and entrails of other animals from a passenger bus Wednesday. The seizure happened after traffic police in the central province stopped a passenger bus that had departed from HCMC and was on its way to Hanoi. The carcasses and entrails were packed in styrofoam boxes in the truck of the bus. The boxes were stinking, police said. The buss 42-year-old driver, Dinh Minh Hieu, did not have any documentation for the cargo. He only said the meat was being taken to Hanoi for consumption. Under current laws, the police will investigate concerned people for "transporting goods of unknown origin." There are no laws related to killing, selling and eating of cat and dog meat in Vietnam. In March 2019, hundreds of cat carcasses were found on a trans-Vietnam bus going from the northern province of Thai Binh to the southern province of Binh Duong. Local police confirmed the meat was meant for the local restaurant industry, but failed to determine the origin of the meat. Earlier this year, police in central province of Ha Tinh seized 600 kilos of frozen cat carcasses from a passenger bus traveling from the south to the north. Vietnam is rated as one of two worst-performing countries in Asia in terms of policies and laws to protect animals, according to a report released last month by World Animal Protection, an international animal welfare charity organization. SOMETHING has gone wrong in the Anglosphere, as the English-speaking countries are known in some other parts of the world. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 7/5/2020 (621 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion SOMETHING has gone wrong in the "Anglosphere," as the English-speaking countries are known in some other parts of the world. Smaller English-speaking countries are coping with the COVID-19 emergency quite well. New Zealands coronavirus death toll so far is 20, and Australias is hovering around 100. Even Canada, despite being next to the United States, has fewer than 4,500 fatalities. But the two big English-speaking countries are taking worse losses to the coronavirus than anywhere else. The United Kingdom has more than 30,000 dead, and the U.S. surpassed 70,000 on May 5. At the current daily death rate, the U.S. will reach 100,000 this month. Last month Sir Patrick Vallance, the British governments chief scientific adviser, said that keeping deaths below 20,000 would be a "good outcome," but the final British death toll in this wave of the pandemic will probably be between 30,000 and 40,000 people the highest loss in Europe. The U.S. is almost as bad. Early this month U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated himself for his belated conversion to lockdowns, boasting that "The minimum (predicted) number was 100,000 lives and I think well be substantially under that number." American infection rates are still going up, so that is highly unlikely. But even if the U.S. stops at the "minimum" level of 100,000 deaths, that would mean Americans are dying from COVID-19 at 80 times the death rate that Chinese citizens suffered before Beijing got the virus under control. Or, if you doubt Chinas statistics, at more than 1,500 times New Zealands death rate. Other English-speaking countries, including those that use English as a common second language, including Kenya, India and South Africa, are not showing anomalous death rates. Its just the U.S. and the U.K. so what might they have in common that none of the other English-speaking countries share? Oh, wait a minute. Werent these two countries the superpowers that dominated the world one after the other for most of the past two centuries? Might that have made them a bit arrogant? Unable to see the experience of other countries as relevant to their own situation? Reluctant to follow the advice of international bodies such as the World Health Organization? Am I getting warm here? Britain ticks all the boxes. It has a nationalistic government obsessed with the "greatness" of the countrys past and unable to grasp the reality of its modest current stature. Hence the Brexit project, for example, but exactly the same attitude is manifest in its coronavirus policies. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was saying, "Test. Test. Test," as early as January. In early March, however, Britain defied the conventional wisdom and all but abandoned both community testing and contact tracing (which is the other essential part of the "test" strategy). Instead the U.K. wandered off into the lethal fantasy of seeking "herd immunity" by letting infections rip, ignoring what first the East Asian countries and later all the other European countries were doing. It only panicked in late March when it realized that its National Health Service would collapse under the weight of so many deaths. It finally declared a lockdown after all its neighbours, and it is paying the price for the delay with its death rate. This was sheer arrogance at work, with only a slight tincture of ignorance. Even now, with pressure growing for an early release from the lockdown, the U.K. government is still playing catch-up. 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. The United Kingdom is only now starting to work on building an organization to test on a national scale (hundred of thousands of tests a day), trace the contacts of infected people, and isolate them all in order to break the chains of transmission. Yet you cannot safely ease the lockdown until the testing and contact tracing network is up and running. Wrong at every step, Prime Minister Boris Johnson must be very grateful to have Donald "Lysol Trump to make him look good by comparison. The presidents sins of omission on the coronavirus are why the U.S. has one-third of the COVID-19 infections in the world, with only one-20th of the worlds population. Trump downplayed the threat as long as he could, then became a last-minute advocate of lockdown. He has now moved on to being the liberator of the American people from lockdown (without any contact tracing, of course). The problem with him as a leader is that he is not only arrogant, but flighty and astoundingly ignorant. But his flightiness and ignorance are merely personal attributes, and Boris Johnson is not ignorant at all (just lazy). What the two men and their respective countries both have in abundance is an arrogant exceptionalism that is leading them into increasingly grave errors. As Joseph de Maistre remarked, "Every nation gets the government it deserves." Gwynne Dyers latest book is Growing Pains: The Future of Democracy (and Work). T he Queens address last night brought the nation together. She spoke simply and powerfully about the awful crisis facing all of us and she drew on the unique experience of her long life to show us that there are better times ahead. I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge, she said. No other head of state could refer, as she did, to a radio address they made eight decades ago, when our country faced a much greater peril. Hearing her talk of 1940 last night was extraordinary. But the fact that she had to make the broadcast at all, so soon after the Prince of Wales also spoke from Scotland, is a sign of how bad things are today. Britain went into full lockdown two weeks ago today. The number of coronavirus cases is still rising fast. So, sadly, are the number of deaths. There are small signs of hope in figures from Italy and Spain, but much grim news, too. Workers on the frontline are losing their lives nurses and doctors, as well as others helping keep the country moving including eight bus workers in London. We salute them. News that Boris Johnson, who has been ill for over a week, is now undergoing what are said to be tests in St Thomas Hospital is also reminder that no one is safe from this threat, and that all of us need the NHS now more than ever. We cannot know how serious the illness is for him, except that he would not have gone to hospital if it could have been avoided. We wish him the very best for a rapid return to good health as everyone with any compassion, whatever their political views, will be doing today. As Tony Blair said this morning, it is a hellish situation for the Prime Minister to find himself in. A sense of duty will call on him to keep working, but as anyone who has suffered bad symptoms from this grim disease can tell you, recovery must come first. Good luck to him, and to everyone, well and ill, as they cope with the strangest and most difficult weeks most of us have ever known. Amid the fear of economic ruin, and personal loss, the people of our country, from the Queen to frontline workers, are showing their determination to bring us through to better times. As Her Majesty put it last night: We will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again. Listen to The Leader: Coronavirus Daily podcast Starmer sorts his cabinet Labours new leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has made a good start. Hes shown massively better judgment than his predecessor, clearing out the shadow cabinet and appointing what, at first sight, promises to be a capable team. Anneliese Dodds, the shadow chancellor, and Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, are not famous names yet but their arrival is a sign Sir Keir wants to take the party back to some sort of sanity after years of being held hostage by Jeremy Corbyns toxic blend of bigoted Marxism. Others in the new shadow cabinet, such as Lisa Nandy, the new shadow foreign secretary, who was one of the few stars of the leadership contest, stand out, too. The absences are as significant as the appointments: no big job for Rebecca Long-Bailey, the person the hard-Left wanted to win, and no role either for deputy leader candidate Richard Burgon or Mr Corbyn. Sir Keir has made his first mark as a leader: but, miles behind in the polls and crushed at the last election, he knows his partys route back to relevance will be long and very difficult. Play games to keep safe Until now Candy Crush has been better at killing time than saving lives. But Britains world-leading computer games makers are putting messages backing the lockdown on screen. Stay in, plug in and save lives. Who knew gaming was good for you? Californias First Virtual Wedding Takes Place Via Zoom SANTA CLARA, Calif.The shelter-in-place order has canceled many plans for vacations and celebrations, but one California couple did not let that stop them from tying the knot. Love Singhal and his bride, Sarita Jayantee Biswal, were married by Cindy Chavez, president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. They held a virtual wedding ceremony through Zoom using their laptop. By California law, couples are required to be physically present with their valid photo identification at their local County Clerks Office to apply for a marriage license. However, considering the current situation, Governor Gavin Newsom temporarily allowed marriage via videoconference starting on May 4. Singhal and Biswals ceremony took place on May 5, making it Californias first virtual wedding. Sarita Jayantee Biswal and Love Singhal. (Courtesy of Love Singhal) Singhal works at Intel in Silicon Valley, and Biswal in Los Angeles. They met on an Indian matchmaking website in 2016 and often communicated through Skype. Right before their wedding, the couple told The Epoch Times that they did not have time to pick out a wedding dress, but would do their best. So its not like were getting something, because everything is closed now, said Biswal. Whatever we have, were just trying to make it perfect for us. She even did her own hair and makeup, and the groom had to cut his own hair. Hopefully whatever we do doesnt come out that bad on camera, Singhal joked. They were engaged earlier this year on Valentines Day, and they booked a Santa Clara County chapel for a wedding on March 19. However, the quarantine order closed the county on March 15, and their plans were canceled. After several weeks of waiting around, they decided to go on with a virtual ceremony. Well have the rings, and well do whatever Cindy says, said Singhal. Sarita Jayantee Biswal and Love Singhal. (Courtesy of Love Singhal) They invited many friends and relatives in California to join the Zoom ceremony, as well as immediate family in India. The ceremony took place at 7:30 p.m. local time and 8 a.m. in India. Our parents are actually in India, so in a way its very good that they could also join our wedding, said Singhal. They were planning to come here, but because of the flight restrictions, they could not come. Biswal wore a peach-pink colored dress with matching silver dangle earrings and necklace. She did her hair in a half updo with two curls down either side of her face. Singhal wore a black suit and tie. They set up a white backdrop decorated with white and red balloons, red flower petals, and photos of their memories together. Their friends and family showered them with wishes and blessings. Chavez conducted the ceremony and witnessed their I dos. The tech couple has been working from home during the quarantine. We were planning to go on a honeymoon on a cruise, but that got canceled, said Singhal. As for their plans after the wedding, he said its hard to plan anything now, but they will once California opens up. We want to have a celebration with our friends here, and as soon as we go to India, to celebrate with our family there, he said. GRAND RAPIDS, MI Metro Health is offering a voluntary, 12-week furlough program, and plans to make layoffs and other staffing adjustments as it contends with the financial challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, executive leadership at the hospital is taking an up to 40 percent pay cut, and employee retirement contributions have been temporarily suspended. Metro also plans to eliminate some positions and make other staffing changes, the Wyoming-based hospital said in a statement Thursday, May 7. Due to dramatically scaled back services in compliance with Governor Whitmers orders, we have had fewer patients, hospital spokesperson Jamie Allen said. This means we are bringing in less revenue and we need to make staffing adjustments in order to best navigate the financial challenges weve experienced from COVID-19. In an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), Whitmer on March 20 ordered medical and dental facilities to postpone any non-essential" procedures. The furloughs, position eliminations and staffing adjustments are expected to affect less than 10 percent of Metros 3,059 employees. Allen declined to provide a specific number. She also declined to discuss how much revenue the hospital has lost due to the suspension of elective procedures. Metro is the latest hospital in Michigan to announce cuts in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 45,000 people in the state and killed more than 4,200. On April 17, Spectrum Health announced it would temporarily slash executive pay, suspend retirement contributions and lay off employees in non-patient care roles. The Grand Rapids-based health system at the time would not provide an exact figure but said job losses could number in the hundreds. Mercy Health and Saint Joseph Mercy Health System on April 1 announced that it would temporarily furlough 2,500 employees most of whom are non-clinical workers at eight hospitals across the state, including Mercy Health Saint Marys. Also last month, Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital announced that it had recently furloughed about 20 percent of its employees in a cost-saving measure. Allen declined to say how many employees Metro expects to participate in the furlough program. Those who do can file for unemployment, and Metro has agreed to cover the full cost of elected and group health benefits of participating employees during the duration of the furlough. 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. Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces. Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus. Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus. Read more: TCF Center suspends coronavirus operations, no patients at the facility for time being A slow crawl back to normalcy ahead for Michigan bars and restaurants from coronavirus restrictions Ann Arbor Art Fair canceled due to coronavirus The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Kwara Command, has intercepted two commercial vehicles conveying goods and passengers across inter-state borders in violation of the Federal Governments directive. The Sector Commander, Jonathan Owoade, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Ilorin on Thursday that the drivers were intercepted by the enforcement patrol teams stationed at entry points into the state. The drivers violated two of the lockdown regulations in the state, which include ban on interstate travels and violating the social distancing regulation of carrying not more than two passengers at the back of their vehicles. And also they overloaded their vehicles with goods, he said. The commander said that the offenders had since been handed over to the State Security Service for further actions. He warned commercial vehicle drivers to refrain from violating the lockdown and restriction of movement orders put in place by government to prevent the transmission of the Coronavirus. According to him, the FRSC and other sister security agencies had been directed by the government to ensure enforcement. A personnel of the SSS, who did not want his name published because he had no authority to speak to the media, told NAN that the offenders would be taken to the state isolation centre where they will be quarantined for 14 days. According to him, after the violators health status have been ascertained, they will be prosecuted before the mobile court. NAN reports that both drivers were apprehended at Eiyenkorin, an entry point into the state, while coming in from Lagos and Osun. (NAN) The spread of coronavirus and lockdowns around the world have reversed some of the trends as Indian steelmakers started shipping steel to the world's largest steel making country - China. JSW Steel and Jindal Steel and Power have sent their shipments to China as most of the steel mills there are yet to start production after the virus pandemic. India is also a leading exporter of iron ore fines and lump to China and it increased by over 86 per cent in 2019 to 18.35 million tonnes (MT). China's import of Indian ores also more than doubled to 15.75 MT. After the lockdown started in the country, production for the domestic market is almost zero for the steel companies. However, they are getting bulk orders from China, Korea, Japan, Middle East and Europe. JSW Steel has operated their steel plants at 38 per cent capacity in April, as most of the products went for export, in addition to the previous orders, said sources in the know. ALSO READ: Coronavirus lockdown: Ficci seeks infrastructure status for steel sector Indian steel exports exceeded imports by 18 per cent in FY20, registering strong growth after a slow start. The country had imported excessively in FY15 and FY16, before turning net exporter in the next two years. In FY19, the imports rose again because of the shortage. The slow resumption of steel production in China and other countries may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the Indian steel industry in the first two quarters. "The export orders will help us to meet the fixed costs," said a senior executive of an Indian steel maker. The Indian companies have also increased their exports to Southeast Asia which relies on supplies from China. Jindal Steel and Power is exporting 80 per cent of its steel production, and a majority of this is going to China. The reason is that China has restarted their infrastructure projects, but the raw materials and basic metals are unavailable. ALSO READ: Govt working to identify key sectors for making India a manufacturing hub India's iron ore pellet exports in 2019 increased by around 53 per cent because of the robust demand from China. An accident at Vale's Feijao iron ore mine in Brazil in January 2019 and following closure of some mines had sharply reduced pellet availability globally, and bolstered demand for Indian pellet. Oman was the second largest importer of Indian pellet in 2019, followed by South Korea, Turkey and Malaysia. India's steel consumption has hit the 100 MT mark for the first time in 2019-20, according to provisional data. The import of steel to India was down 13.6 per cent with a huge decline in steel import from China at 22 per cent in FY20. India's crude steel production was down by 1.5 per cent and finished steel production was flat at 109.2 MT in FY20. ALSO READ: Coronavirus lockdown: Core industries' growth contracts 6.5% in March It's been a busy week in quarantine for Lance Bass, the former boy-band star celebrated his 41st birthday this week and his husband Michael Turchin treated him to a virtual surprise party. Lance joined DailyMailTV's senior correspondent Alicia Quarles to dish on the special birthday bash with his nearest and dearest, including his former NSYNC bandmates (sans Justin). Plus, Bass was joined during the interview by business partner James Kirtley and Vanderpump Rules star Jax Taylor to serve up details about their new brand of bespoke cocktail mixers, Just Add X. Birthday boy: Lance Bass joined DailyMailTV's senior correspondent Alicia Quarles to dish on his virtual birthday bash with NSYNC bandmates and was joined by Jax Taylor to talk about their new line of cocktail mixers Lance's birthday may have been low key due to being in coronavirus lockdown but his husband Michael cooked up an epic virtual Zoom party with three different rooms full of well-wishers. The best part was that Lance had no idea who would be joining his digital soiree and was in for a surprise when he saw former bandmates Joey Fatone, JC Chasez and Chris Kirkpatrick. 'There were three of them and my first room was NSYNC,' Lance said. 'So we did NSYNCO-de-Mayo.' Unfortunately, Justin Timberlake was a no-show. 'Then the second room was my family and we learned how to make Christina Applegate's guacamole,' he continued. 'Then a third was my favorite Broadway stars.' Surprise! Lance had no idea who would be joining his digital soiree thrown by his husband and he was in for a surprise when he saw former bandmates Joey Fatone, JC Chasez and Chris Kirkpatrick 'There were three of them and my first room was NSYNC,' Lance said. 'So we did NSYNCO-de-Mayo.' Unfortunately, Justin Timberlake was a no-show 'Then the second room was my family and we learned how to make Christina Applegate's guacamole,' he continued. 'Then a third was my favorite Broadway stars.' The Broadway stars, including Kristin Chenoweth, harmonized together for an award-worthy version of Happy Birthday. Meanwhile, pals and business partners James Kirtley and Vanderpump Rules star Jax Taylor jumped into the DailyMailTV interview to talk about the launch of their new brand of non-alcoholic cocktail mixers. Along with JT Swierczek, this week the group debuted their new brand, Just Add X (J.A.X), which they say can be paired with any spirit for a two-ingredient beverage to rival any cocktail bar. It is a play off of both Jax's name, with the X standing in as a place holder for the imbiber's alcohol of choice, as well as the celebrity bartender's admitted reluctance to waste time making complicated drinks. Exciting! The Broadway stars, including Kristin Chenoweth, harmonized together for an award-worthy version of Happy Birthday Bottoms up: Pals and business partners James Kirtley and Vanderpump Rules star Jax Taylor jumped into the DailyMailTV interview to talk about the launch of their new brand of non-alcoholic cocktail mixers The meaning: The name is a play off of Jax's name with the X standing in as a place holder for the imbiber's alcohol of choice, as well as the celebrity bartender's admitted reluctance to waste time making complicated drinks (James Kirtley pictured) 'Well, I mean, it was it's not my lifelong goal to be a bartender,' Jax said. 'It's a stopping point to make some money while you try to figure out what you want to do with your life.' 'I just didn't take any pride in my job,' he continued. 'I wasn't gonna go into it and try to be the best one I can because it's just it wasn't some place I wanted to be. It's one of the spaces where I wanted to be and then get out but I end up staying in it for 10 years.' A decade later, Jax is one of the most recognizable bartenders around as a fan favorite on Vanderpump Rules but he still doesn't always love mixing up drinks. 'Well, I mean, it was it's not my lifelong goal to be a bartender,' Jax said. 'I wasn't gonna go into it and try to be the best one I can because it's just it wasn't some place I wanted to be. It's one of the spaces where I wanted to be and then get out but I end up staying in it for 10 years.' Delish: Along with JT Swierczek, this week the group debuted their new brand, Just Add X (J.A.X) in four flavors, Berry Smashed, Stubborn Mule, S.O.B. and Blue Teaz 'Some of my favorite moments on that show, people go up to the bar and be like "Jax can I have a Moscow Mule?" you're like "How about a red wine?" Lance added: 'Some of my favorite moments on that show, people go up to the bar and be like "Jax can I have a Moscow Mule?" you're like "How about a red wine?" 'He's pretty much a self-proclaimed bad bartender,' James chimed in. 'We thought we would make it easy for any bartender that's great or bad to just do a two-step process where you just add ice and you add the alcohol and you have your cocktail.' Just Add X comes in four flavors, Berry Smashed, Stubborn Mule, S.O.B. and Blue Teaz. The premium cocktail mixers are currently available online at justaddx.com. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 7) President Rodrigo Duterte is unlikely to veto the ABS-CBN franchise renewal bill should Congress pass it, his spokesman said. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said there is no reason for Duterte to reject the bill that will grant the media network a fresh 25-year license so they can return on air, unless there are unconstitutional items in the bill submitted to him. Unless there is any constitutional infirmity, I dont think the President is inclined to veto it, he said in a press briefing on Thursday. As a rule, all franchise bills must first be passed by the House before it can be approved by the Senate. Once passed, it will be up for Duterte's decision whether to veto, sign into a law, or let it lapse into a law. Roque reiterated that lawmakers should start deliberations on the legislative franchise of ABS-CBN, adding they should not consider Duterte's previous tirades against the media giant. "Sinabi na nga ng Presidente, 'Neutral ako diyan. Gawin niyo na ang katungkulan ninyo. Bumoto ayon sa inyong konsensiya,'" he said. [Translation: The President has said he is neutral and they should do their jobs and vote based on their conscience.] Numerous bills have been filed before the House since 2016 to extend the Kapamilya franchise for another 25 years to continue airing on radio and free TV. These have been set aside by the 18th Congress. Rep. Edcel Lagman said House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano a close ally of Duterte is ultimately to blame for dragging the feet of the lower chamber on the franchise issue. Due to the inaction of the House, the legislative franchise of ABS-CBN expired on May 4. On May 6, the radio-TV broadcasting network went off air for the second time since martial law after the National Telecommunications Commission issued a cease and desist order. A number of lawmakers on Thursday filed a Senate resolution urging the National Telecommunications Commission to reconsider its order stopping ABS-CBN's TV and radio broadcasts. Gov. Pete Ricketts said Wednesday he remains confident that "the state is doing everything we need to do to slow the spread" of the coronavirus in Nebraska while successfully preserving the ability of the state's health care system to respond to any outbreaks. Although the number of confirmed cases is rising in Lincoln and Lancaster County and attracting some national attention, that's partly the result of increased testing, he said. Ricketts emphasized that hospitals have been able to handle the number of coronavirus patients and he pointed out that in Lincoln the number of patients on ventilators Wednesday was the same as a week ago and the number hospitalized was similar. Asked if he might extend the state's directed health measures that have put the clamp on some business activity in the city, including indoor restaurant service, beyond Sunday's current expiration date, the governor said: "I don't have any plans to do that right now." Last Wednesday, Lincoln hospitals had 39 coronavirus-positive patients, including seven on ventilators. Interim Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department Director Pat Lopez on Wednesday reported 43 patients in Lincoln hospitals. Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and Lopez plan to announce their plans for the local directed health measure later this week. Gaylor Baird agrees that hospital capacity remains a key factor in evaluating next steps, but case trends, the ability to do contact tracing locally, and other metrics together will guide their decision, she said. No one factor is going to be a sole determinant in our decision-making, the mayor said. Asked if she has the authority to maintain stricter rules on gatherings than the state, Gaylor Baird said there has been variance in the early directed health measures covering Lancaster County. To be clear, she wants the local directed health measure for the county to be as in-sync with the states directed health measure as possible, she said. We all have the same goal in mind, she said. Ricketts said he's tried to balance the restrictions he's imposed with a measured and regional loosening of mandates that preserves citizen willingness and responsibility to continue to adhere to the social distancing standards that are required to blunt the spread of the virus. It's an approach that sometimes is described as "the hammer and the dance," he said. "We start to loosen restrictions while people continue to follow the guidelines," Ricketts said, in an attempt to avoid any wholesale abandonment of social distancing provisions that ask people to maintain 6 feet of individual separation and limit gatherings of more than 10 people. "I am pleased with the progress the state has made," he said. While Ricketts spoke, some demonstrators gathered outside the Capitol to protest the governor's policy, which has avoided the shelter-at-home restrictions that virtually locked down activity in most states. "There is not a single thing I do that isn't second-guessed," Ricketts said. Nebraska's number of coronavirus cases has been spiked by outbreaks and testing in meat-processing plants, leading to temporary closure of a number of the facilities. Asked if he has been in touch with officials at processing plants in south Omaha, where there has been no word of possible coronavirus contamination of the workforce, Ricketts said there has not been a specific phone call. "We continue to monitor that situation," he said. Ricketts said 126,000 Nebraskans now have signed up for testing for the virus at TestNebraska.com, and 491 were tested in Omaha and Grand Island on Tuesday. The goal is to reach 3,000 tests a day. Last week, more than 10,000 Nebraskans were tested, he said. Meanwhile, the state is training an army of 1,000 contact tracers to interview people who have been in recent contact with those who have been infected by the virus. Nearly 400 members of the Nebraska Army National Guard are engaged in assisting with testing, distributing food and helping with quarantine and isolation activities, said Maj. Gen. Daryl Bohac, Nebraska's adjutant general. Mobile testing teams have been in 29 communities and collected more than 11,000 samples, he said, and National Guard personnel are assisting in staffing isolation sites and distributing food products to those in need. "Our folks want to do this," Bohac said, just as they wanted to assist with flood recovery and rescue a year ago. Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSdon [May 07, 2020] Virtana Taps Carahsoft As Federal Distributor Virtana Names Carahsoft Federal Distributor for Entire Product Portfolio Carahsoft Offers Monitoring and Analytics Platform to the Public Sector SAN JOSE, Ca. and RESTON, Va. Carahsoft Technology Corp., The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider, today announced that Virtana, the leader in hybrid infrastructure management for mission-critical workloads, has named Carahsoft its Federal distributor for its entire portfolio. Under the agreement, Carahsoft will market, sell and distribute Virtanas monitoring and analytics platform to the public sector and the companys reseller partners through Carahsofts GSA Schedule, NASA Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V and Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) contracts. Todays Federal IT environments are more complex than ever before, said John Gentry, Chief Technology Officer, Virtana. Mission-critical enterprise applications require real-time responsiveness, visibility and AI-guided discovery to deliver the insights needed to optimize performance and capacity on distributed, highly virtualized and hyper-converged infrastructures. Were excited to partner with Carahsoft to bring our differentiated, end-to-end platform solutions to our Federal customers and reseller partners. Virtanas monitoring and analytics platform helps government agencies better manage and optimize their hybrid infrastructure by deploying the following: VirtualWisdom an AIOps-powered enterprise monitoring platform for infrastructure applications that identifies misconfigurations, prescribes solutions and rebalances workloads for existing infrastructure. WorkloadWisdom a testing and deployment platform that records current workflows and builds a model of the flow that is scalable, allowing for performance assessment and infrastructure predictions. CloudWisdom a cloud-management platform that helps users access, analyze and maintain their cloud environments. Cloud Migration Readiness (CMR) Service a service that streamlines cloud migration and gives users full visibility into the migration process. Were excited to be named Virtanas Federal distributor and to make their platform available to agencies through our reseller partners, said Maryam Emdadi Smith, Vice President at Carahsoft. Virtanas products and services provide crucial insight into hybrid cloud infrastructures and help our government end-users transform and automate processes, enabling them to focus on higher-order projects and mission goals. Virtanas products are available through Carahsofts GSA Schedule 70 GS-35F-0119Y, SEWP V contracts NNG15SC03B and NNG15SC27B, and Texas DIR contracts DIR-TSO-4288 and DIR-TSO-4356. For more information, contact the Virtana team at Carahsoft at (703) 889-9860 or [email protected]; or visit the Virtana microsite at www.carahsoft.com/virtana. About Virtana Virtana is the leading AIOps platform for enterprise transformation of hybrid cloud infrastructures. Our technology and services give innovative organizations the clarity they need to take control of their infrastructure, transform their cloud operations, and deliver a superior brand performance. Virtanas software modernizes IT, supporting its agility while guaranteeing performance, minimizing risk, and reducing cost. We guide users through a journey to SEE their infrastructure from a single pane of glass, ACT on issues that arise, and TRANSFORM processes to automate for the future. Follow us for industry insight on Twitter | LinkedIn. Virtana: Take control - www.virtana.com About Carahsoft Carahsoft Technology Corp. is The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider. As a top-performing GSA Schedule and SEWP contract holder, Carahsoft serves as the Master Government Aggregator for many of its best-of-breed technology vendors, supporting an extensive ecosystem of manufacturers, value-added resellers, system integrators and consulting partners committed to helping government agencies select and implement the best solution at the best possible value. The company's dedicated Solutions Divisions proactively market, sell and deliver Virtana, VMware, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Palo Alto Networks, Symantec, Veritas, McAfee, Dell, Adobe, F5 Networks, Google Cloud, ServiceNow, Open Source, Micro Focus Government Solutions, SAP, Salesforce, and Innovative and Intelligence products and services, among others. Carahsoft is consistently recognized by its partners as a top revenue producer and is listed annually among the industry's fastest-growing and largest firms by CRN, Inc., Forbes, Washington Technology, The Washington Post, Washington Business Journal, and Bloomberg Government. Visit us at www.carahsoft.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Contacts Virtana: Tawanda Carlton Media Frenzy Global 910 358-7224 [email protected] Carahsoft: Mary Lange 703-431-8485 [email protected] As a community-building service, TMCnet allows user submitted content which is not always proofed by TMCnet editors. If you feel this entry is of inferior quality or wish to report it for some reason, please forward the URL to "webedit [AT] tmcnet [DOT] com" with your comments. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Nana Yaw Baffour Frimpong, an activist of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Offinso South Constituency, has called for concerted efforts in the fight against the coronavirus. He said in a situation where people outside the government were not showing much interest and had, therefore, isolated themselves from the fight would not help anybody. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency after presenting some protective items to the people in the Offinso South Constituency, Mr Frimpong described people who were refusing to support the government in the fight against the virus as selfish and hypocrites. He said there was no need for one to be in political power before he could contribute to support the fight against the virus in his or her constituency. Mr Frimpong, who contested the NDC 2020 parliamentary primaries in the Constituency, donated face masks, Veronica buckets, hand sanitizers, soaps, and detergents to some communities in the area. "COVID-19 is a no respecter of NDC, NPP nor CPP, etc. Let's stop isolating ourselves as if we are not part of this fight," he stated. He told the GNA that the donation of the items was not for any political reason since he was yet to decide any interest in contesting the parliamentary primaries for the seat in the 2024 elections. Nana Frimpong appealed to the people to adhere strictly to all the preventive protocols to stay safe. 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 External Article 7 May 2020 Just one day after Airbnb announced it is laying off a quarter of its staff and cutting back investments outside of its core business, one of the company's strategic advisors shared his advice for startups navigating the COVID-19 crisis. Chip Conley was head of global hospitality and strategy at Airbnb from 2013 until 2017 when he transitioned into an advisory role. He's also the founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, the second largest operator of boutique hotels in the United States, and in 2018 he founded Modern Elder Academy, which he describes as a "mid-life wisdom school." On Wednesday, Conley gave the keynote address for Plug and Play Tech Center's online Spring Summit for its Travel and Hospitality program. Conley drew from his more than 30 years of experience in hospitality to share advice for startup founders - including examples from his Airbnb experience - and thoughts about the future of the travel industry. Below are his remarks, edited slightly for length. A Baltimore Ravens spokesman released a statement that suggested the team did not know about an incident between Earl Thomas and his wife before the Pro Bowl safety alluded to it in a social media video he posted Wednesday night. Shortly after Thomas mentioned an impending explosive report in an Instagram video, TMZ published a story that claimed Thomas wife, Nina, held a loaded gun to his head during an April 13 altercation in Austin, Texas. Nina found Earl and his brother, Seth, naked in bed with other women at a rental home, TMZ reported, citing court documents. Police arrested Nina Thomas and charged her with burglary of a habitation with an intent to commit another felony, according to court records. Thomas was not charged in relation to the incident, records show. "We became aware of the situation when we read and saw it on the reports late last night and early this morning," the Ravens spokesman said in a statement Thursday released to PennLive and other media outlets. Thomas, 31, said in his Instagram video he was upset that news of an altercation with his wife was going to become public. Just pray for us as we go through this stuff, Thomas said. Were back talking. Im seeing my kids. Just keep us in your prayers. Earl and Nina have been married since 2016 and have three children together. A seven-time Pro Bowl safety, Earl Thomas joined the Ravens as a free agent last season. A representative of Earl Thomas said it was not his place to comment on the matter and a lawyer representing Nina has not responded to PennLives inquiry. 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. Aaron Kasinitz covers the Baltimore Ravens for PennLive and can be reached at akasinitz@pennlive.com or on Twitter @AaronKazreports. Follow PennLives Ravens coverage on Facebook and Youtube. BRIDGEPORT Just before noon Thursday, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz looked over the line of cars stretching through the Bass Pro Shops parking lot and the two lines of volunteers filling the opposite sides of trunks with needed food. It was overwhelming, she said. The cars didnt stop coming, said Bysiewicz, who spent an hour loading five-pound bags of apples into trunks. My grandparents used to talk about the soup lines during the Great Depression. What Ive been seeing is our equivalent of the 1930s. Local food pantries are seeing a run on their supplies like never before. Grocery chains and their distributors, which are often the biggest donors to local food banks, are dealing with their own supply shortages. Add to this the 440,000 Connecticut residents without weekly paychecks because of the coronavirus shutdowns and waiting for their unemployment benefits. Thats equivalent of nearly three years of filings, Bysiewicz said. So events like Thursdays, where Connecticut Food Bank volunteers and staff efficiently worked to deliver nearly 32 tons of fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products, bread, canned and packaged soups and more, have been especially needed by the thousand or so families who attended, officials said. The give-away ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. I had a chance to thank those for coming, Bysiewicz said. I could see the smiles of appreciation on their faces... People are grateful that someone is trying to help them. They are going through all kinds of stresses during this pandemic. I saw the lines. I was unbelievable, said John Vazzano, owner of the Vazzys restaurants. On Thursday, he was involved in his own distribution of 700 free meals to nurses and doctors at Bridgeport Hospital, St. Vincents Medical Center, Milford Hospital and Griffin Hospital in Derby. Its tough out there, Vazzano said. I have people coming to our restaurants asking if theres anything left over. People need food and they dont have the money. The spike in need caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is being felt across all six counties, said Paul Shipman, senior director of marketing, communications and government relations at the Connecticut Food Bank. We are buying food at a pace we never saw before. He said the normal course of donations to the food back comes from growers, grocers and distributors. But the shift from dining out to cooking at home and the impact the pandemic has had in terms of infections, shutdowns and consumer purchases has led to the Food Bank having to purchase items, he said. Many of our partner agencies are being overwhelmed and its important we make every effort to provide as much relief as we can, he said. On Friday, Stop and Shop announced it plans to donate 16 tons of food worth about $55,000 to the Connecticut Food Bank warehouse, 2 Research Parkway in Wallingford. The food includes rice, canned vegetables, tomato sauce, shelf stable milk, cereal, soups, pasta meals, peanut butter, beans, potatoes and macaroni and cheese. The food will be distributed to 117 local food pantries in Fairfield County serving families in need. Stop and Shop is proud of our long history of supporting the Connecticut Food Bank in their mission to serve those facing food insecurity, said Rudy DiPietro, Stop and Shops vice president of operations. We are honored to make this emergency relief contribution which will assist the Connecticut Food Bank in providing food to so many families that suddenly find themselves in need. Bysiewicz said Guidas Dairy has donated thousands of gallons of milk for distribution to needy families in the past few weeks. Our farmers and dairies are donating, not dumping, their surplus, the lieutenant governor said. She also reminded people who are newly unemployed that they can apply for SNAP benefits by contacting their local or the state Social Service office. No one should feel embarrassed about doing so, she said. Future Connecticut Food Bank Mobile Pantry food distributions are posted at http://www.ctfoodbank.org/mobilepantry. Bysiewicz said she saw volunteers maintaining social distancing and wearing masks and gloves. Dan Gomez, Connecticut Food Bank CEO, noted that Connecticut Food Bank is doing everything possible to ensure the safety of our volunteers. Anyone interested in making a financial donation may mail it to Connecticut Food Bank, 2 Research Parkway, Wallingford, Ct. 06492. ROME (AP) Pope Francis has long lamented that he can't walk around town unnoticed like he used to before becoming pope. But he seems to have nevertheless kept his sense of humor after he was caught on camera making an unannounced visit to a Rome record shop this week. JACKSON, MI Stemming from a gift of the Consumers Energy Foundation, a $200,000 grant program has been created to help small businesses in Jackson County struggling to survive during the coronavirus outbreak. As part of the Consumers Energy Foundations $1.8 million gift to organizations throughout Michigan, the charity announced Wednesday, May 6, it gifted $200,000 to the Jackson Community Foundation and the Enterprise Group of Jackson to create grants for small businesses affected by the pandemic. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and have been significantly impacted during this unprecedented time, Brandon Hofmeister, president of the Consumers Energy Foundation, said. Consumers Energy is committed to helping Michigans small business community succeed now, more than ever. We are making an investment in our communities, business owners, workers and their families, and a commitment to help power through together. The grant program seeks to focus of small businesses owned by women, minorities and businesses that have not received support from other funding sources, according to an Enterprise Group of Jackson statement. The effect COVID-19 has had on our small businesses has been devastating and we look forward to working with (Enterprise Group) again on this new initiative, Jackson Community Foundation President and CEO Monica Moser said. Having an organization like the Consumers Energy Foundation in Jackson County is truly a gift to our entire community. Small business owners in Jackson County can apply for assistance from the grant by visiting enterprisegroup.org Donations to support the small business fund can be made at jacksoncf.org, adding Consumers Small Business Relief in the description box. For more information about Consumers Energys small business relief program, visit ConsumersEnergy.com/smallbusinessrelief 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. Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces. Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus. Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus. The New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge, where closures of several lanes in 2013 led to a massive traffic jam. (Andrew Burton / Getty Images) The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously threw out fraud convictions against former aides to then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the so-called Bridgegate scandal, ruling that the political staffers had not schemed to take the government's money or property. The decision is the latest in which the high court has narrowed the scope of federal laws on public corruption. In this case, unlike some others, there was no evidence that aides to Christie personally profited from the scheme. Instead, they were convicted of plotting to embarrass a Democratic mayor of Fort Lee by closing off two of the three toll lanes leading local traffic on to the George Washington Bridge, causing an epic backup. Christie, a Republican, was seeking reelection in 2013, and his aides were trying to pressure as many Democrats as possible to endorse him, but the mayor of Fort Lee had refused. While Christie was not charged with a crime, Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni were fired and then were prosecuted. U.S. attorneys charged them with fraud under federal law, which requires proof that someone lied or schemed to obtain money or property. In this instance, prosecutors said, Kelly and Baroni essentially took over two of the three lanes of the bridge. The Supreme Court rejected that theory and ruled their conduct was not a scheme to obtain property. Justice Elena Kagan, speaking for the court, said the justices had made clear in the past that the anti-fraud laws did not include what was called "honest services fraud," which covered allegations that local or state officials had abused their power. "Save for bribes or kickbacks (not at issue here), a state or local officials fraudulent schemes violate that [fraud] law only when, again, they are 'for obtaining money or property,'" she said in Kelly vs. United States. She described the realignment of the lanes as as "quintessential exercise of regulatory power," not a scheme to take the government's property. Story continues "Contrary to the governments view, the two defendants did not 'commandeer' the bridges access lanes (supposing that word bears its normal meaning). They (of course) did not walk away with the lanes; nor did they take the lanes from the government by converting them to a non-public use. Rather, Baroni and Kelly regulated use of the lanes, as officials responsible for roadways so often do allocating lanes as between different groups of drivers." She said the prosecutions were driven by the concern that Christie's aides had schemed and then lied about what they had done. The aides said the realignment of the lane was part of a traffic study, not a scheme to punish the governor's political opponents. Kagan said such schemes may be "political payback" and "an abuse of power," but that did not convert them into crimes of fraud. "If U. S. attorneys could prosecute as property fraud every lie a state or local official tells in making such a decision, the result would be ... a sweeping expansion of federal criminal jurisdiction," she said. The increased use of cellphones and computers during the coronavirus pandemic raises serious questions about data privacy. Inside Hook Back in January, dozens of Sundance Film Festival attendees fell ill with what some dubbed the Sundance Plague, and as a new Hollywood Reporter piece points out, its possible that they were actually early, undiagnosed COVID-19 cases. We all had the same symptoms, all had the cough, all had trouble breathing at night, actress Ashley Jackson, who attended the festival in Park City, Utah, on Jan. 27, told the publication. We were all just miserable for three to four weeks. As PPE fails UK standards, Ankara official highlights that medical equipment was from private company, not government. The UK government says a shipment of personal protective equipment (PPE) from Turkey intended to help ease supply problems is sitting in a warehouse because it does not meet British standards. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said on Thursday that the 400,000 medical gowns are not of the quality that we feel is good enough for our front-line staff treating coronavirus patients. The shipment has become an embarrassment for the UK government since a minister announced on April 18 that it would arrive the next day. It was four days before a Royal Air Force plane was able to fly the cargo to the UK. The shipment originated from a private Turkish company, and not the Turkish government itself. A senior Turkish official told Al Jazeera: The Turkish government authorised this sale despite an export ban, out of solidarity with the UK authorities. However, no part of the Turkish government was involved in producing, packaging or delivering said equipment to the United Kingdom. The dispute was between the buyer the UK and a private company in Turkey, said the official, and was not an intergovernmental issue. The Turkish government has previously donated 250,000 pieces of PPE to the UK. There have been no similar problems with PPE that Turkey donated to the United Kingdom, for which the UK government kindly expressed their gratitude at the time, said the official. Like many other countries, the UK has struggled to maintain a constant supply of protective equipment amid unprecedented global demand. The Department of Health said: This is a global pandemic with many countries procuring PPE, leading to shortages around the world, not just the UK. The UK this week overtook Italy to become Europes worst-hit country in terms of coronavirus-related deaths, as official figures suggested more than 32,000 people had died with the COVID-19 disease. The UKs overall response to the coronavirus outbreak has seen Prime Minister Boris Johnson heavily criticised over indecisive action on lockdown at the start of the crisis and later, PPE shortages. With additional reporting by Al Jazeeras Umut Uras: @um_uras HANOI, VIETNAM, May 7, 2020 - (Media OutReach) - On May 6th 2020, the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Vietnam and the Embassy of Ukraine in Vietnam signed a memorandum of agreement to receive 2,400 invasive ventilators for COVID-19 treatment given by Vingroup.These ventilators are expected to be delivered from May 15th, 2020 to August 30th, 2020.The given models include Vsmart VFS-410 and VFS-510 - the two "made in Vietnam" invasive ventilators which have been completed and manufactured entirely from the Vingroup ecosystem with a localization rate of up to 70%. This shows Vingroup's gratitude to the two countries which are closely attached to many generations of Vietnamese people and the country of Vietnam as well as the places where the Group's development originated.Specifically, Vingroup will give Russia 1,000 VFS-410 ventilators and 500 VFS-510 ventilators; while giving Ukraine 600 VFS-410 ventilators and 300 VFS-510 ventilators. The estimated delivery time is from May 15th, 2020 to August 30th, 2020.The VFS-410 and VFS-510 ventilators are currently being assessed by quality management agencies and the Medical Council of Vietnam, ensuring compliance with quality standards for product circulation in Vietnam. At the same time, Vingroup is promoting the supply of ventilator models for Russia and Ukraine to carry out quality inspection procedures in accordance with their current regulations. The Group will officially hand over 2,400 ventilators after being granted product circulation licenses by Russia and Ukraine.Vsmart VFS-410 is a special upgrade of the first version of VFS-310 ventilator developed by Vingroup engineers from the community-shared design by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This is an invasive ventilator based on turbine technology with similar features to high-end portable invasive ventilators on the market. Furthermore, the ventilator is provided with sensors that monitor and give warning about maintaining oxygen levels, positive end-expiratory pressure, measure patient breathing, and self-adjust to synchronize with this breath. The ventilator is compact, lightweight, and portable which can be used for ambulances or emergency cases at the scene and hospitals after Covid-19 pandemic is controlled.VSmart VFS-510 subjects to technology transferred and improvement from a commonly used ventilator from U.S.-based Medtronic, the world's leading producer of breathing apparatus. VFS-510 is compact, lightweight, and portable with 6 flexible breathing modes that can be used for both adult and pediatric patients who need invasive or noninvasive breathing support as directed by their physicians.Their international standard performance enable VFS-410 and VFS-510 to not only timely meet the immediate needs for COVID-19 treatment but also continue to be used effectively in intensive care unit (ICU) of medical facilities with long-term value and effectiveness.Mr. Nguyen Viet Quang - Vice Chairman and CEO of Vingroup said that: "By giving 2,400 invasive ventilators, Vingroup hopes to actively contribute to the effective treatment of medical forces in Russia and Ukraine for patients and control of Covid-19 pandemic. This shows the gratitude of the Group's management to the two countries for their close connection with the startup process of Vingroup."Up to now, Vingroup is one of the pioneer enterprises in Asia in sponsoring and supporting the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic with a total sponsorship fund of nearly VND 600 billion excluding funding for investment in manufacturing ventilators.The successful production of "Made in Vietnam" ventilators in record time and proactive giving them to countries that are facing complex difficulties caused by COVID-19 continues to affirm the spirit of mutual affection - "the leaves protect tattered ones" and the tradition "when drinking water, think of its source" of the Vietnamese people.Reference information:As reported by the worldometers.info statistics, by 7am May 6th 2020, there are more than 3.7 million Covid-19 cases and nearly 258,000 deaths in the world. Russia is gradually becoming the currently hottest spot of COVID-19 pandemic, with a total of 155,370 SARS-CoV-2 confirmed cases and 1,451 deaths. While Ukraine's Ministry of Health reported a total of 12,697 COVID-19 confirmed cases and 316 deaths as of May 6th 2020.Media contact: info@vingroup.netSource: VingroupCopyright 2020 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. Maruti Suzuki share price rose over 2% in early trade today after the country's largest car maker said it would resume operations in Manesar plant from May 12. Share price of Maruti Suzuki gained 2.01% to Rs 4,937 against previous close of Rs 4,839 on BSE. The large cap stock has fallen after three consecutive days of gain. It has lost 27.77% in last one year and fallen 34.33% since the beginning of this year. Maruti Suzuki share is trading lower than 5 day, 20 day, 50 day, 100 day and 200 day moving averages. "All activities would be carried out strictly in accordance with the Government regulations and guidelines and observing the Company's own concern for the highest standards of safety," Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said. Maruti, which manufactures nearly 15.5 lakh cars of 16 different models every year, had suspended its operations at Udyog Vihar and Manesar facilities on March 22. HCL Technologies share price rises over 4% on strong Q4 earnings On April 22, the Gurugram district administration had granted permission to Maruti Suzuki to restart its Manesar-based manufacturing facility on a single shift basis, while fixing the total number of employees at the plant at 4,696. The district administration had also given permission to operate 50 vehicles. The company, however, had said that it would resume operations only when it could maintain continuous production and sell vehicles, "which was not possible at this point of time". Maruti's Manesar (Haryana) plant is outside the limits of Gurugram Municipal Corporation, while its Gurugram plant falls within the city limits. The two plants in Haryana have an installed capacity to roll out 15.5 lakh units per annum. Maruti said it reported zero sales in the domestic market, (including sales to OEM), in April in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The company cited zero sales due to compliance with the government orders to shut down all production facilities. In March, Maruti Suzuki's production fell 32 per cent in March amid the nationwide lockdown which began in the last week of the month. Maruti produced 92,540 units in March compared to 1,36,201 units in the year-ago period. Share Market LIVE: Sensex drops 200 points, Nifty at 9,220; Kotak Bank, ONGC, Britannia top losers The Episcopal Diocese of Texas provides counseling online during the COVID-19 pandemic. "I am continually impressed by how the Church has risen up and found innovative ways to be present in their communities and to serve their neighbors, said Katie Mears, Senior Director, US Disaster Program, Episcopal Relief & Development. Episcopal Relief & Development is supporting Episcopal Dioceses in the United States in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The organizations US Disaster Program is providing resources, technical support and funding to meet specific needs related to the pandemic in communities around the country. Since mid- March, the US Disaster team, in partnership with the Presiding Bishops office, has been holding weekly calls with bishops and key leaders in Episcopal dioceses to address the novel coronavirus pandemic. Initial steps included faith-based resources to help bishops and diocesan staff determine how to safely conduct services and to maintain community in a pandemic. As the pandemic progressed and states issued stay-at-home orders, the US Disaster team offered weekly webinars on a variety of topics such as mental health, isolation, institutional support and immigration, as well as other resources to help diocesan partners address the widespread impact of the coronavirus. The US Disaster Program continues to provide technical support as partners determine how to best respond to the unique needs in their communities, whether that be mental health care, medical care, financial assistance or other needs. Episcopal Relief & Development collaborates with partners to tailor very specific responses to specific needs in each community through our asset-based approach, said Katie Mears, Senior Director, US Disaster Program, Episcopal Relief & Development. By working with dioceses to leverage local gifts and resources, we meet needs that are not being met by other organizations. I am continually impressed by how the Church has risen up and found innovative ways to be present in their communities and to serve their neighbors. In Puerto Rico, Texas and North Carolina, the US Disaster Program is working with long-term partners to adapt programming in light of the coronavirus and physical distancing guidelines. Many marginalized communities were already dealing with issues such as lower income or inconsistent employment, mental health concerns, lack of medical insurance and substandard housing. All of these challenges have become even more of a concern in light of the pandemic. The Episcopal Farmworkers Ministry in North Carolina is working to meet the increased demand for their services particularly related to food, offering culturally-contextualized public health messaging and working with the state government to create standards for businesses that protect the needs of their workers. The Episcopal Diocese of Texas Hurricane Harvey Recovery Program is working to reduce the stigma around mental health services and to connect people with mental health resources. While following physical distancing protocols, the diocese is also continuing to provide food to vulnerable communities through the Abundant Harvest Ministry. The Episcopal Diocese of Puerto Ricos Programa REDES is delivering food, water and supplies to help individuals and families who are recovering from the earthquakes earlier this year and now have been impacted by the effects of COVID-19. In other areas of the US, Episcopal Relief & Development is partnering with dioceses on new initiatives to address the effects of the pandemic. Rural communities in the United States often lack access to mental health care. Additionally, the stigma surrounding this care often means individuals dont ask for help. For example, the rate of suicide in rural Missouri has skyrocketed in recent years and the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to exacerbate the situation. The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri is training 70 volunteers in Randoph and Boone counties in first aid for mental health to help identify individuals at risk in their communities and to connect these individuals with local behavioral health resources. In Pendelton, Oregon, the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Oregon is assisting individuals and families who have been affected by both the coronavirus and historic floods that devastated the community in early February, damaging or destroying more than 400 buildings and homes. The diocese had to adjust plans for the flooding response quickly as stay-at-home and social distancing guidelines were issued. The closure of non-essential businesses created other economic concerns. With the support of Episcopal Relief & Development, the diocese is providing assistance with rent, food and other needs to impacted individuals and families. The COVID-19 pandemic has curtailed many of the services available to migrants in shelters on the US-Mexico border, such as La Casa Shelter, which is supported by the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona. The diocese is working with shelter staff to implement physical distancing and provide virtual support to keep all of the residents safe and healthy as they navigate the US immigration process. The Diocese of Arizona has a long-standing relationship with Cruzando Fronteras and the shelter. With the support of Episcopal Relief & Development, it is leveraging these relationships to adapt the emotional, physical and pastoral assistance provided to migrants in the shelter under the current situation. Episcopal Relief & Development staff continue to be in contact with partners in 44 countries to offer aid and support in response to the coronavirus in their communities. The organization will continue to provide updates in the coming weeks on their response, both in the United States and around the world. Donations to Episcopal Relief & Developments COVID-19 Pandemic Response Fund will continue to support the coronavirus program response both in the United States and around the world. About Episcopal Relief & Development: For over 75 years, Episcopal Relief & Development has been working together with supporters and partners for lasting change around the world. Each year the organization facilitates healthier, more fulfilling lives for more than 3 million people struggling with hunger, poverty, disaster and disease. Inspired by Jesus words in Matthew 25, Episcopal Relief & Development leverages the expertise and resources of Anglican and other partners to deliver measurable and sustainable change in three signature program areas: Women, Children and Climate. By Laman Ismayilova Azerbaijan National History Museum collects many exhibits dedicated to the World War II. The museum`s exhibits, including photographs, paintings, documents and other historical materials are annually displayed at various exhibitions on the Victory Day (May 9). The exhibitions feature historical exhibits dedicated to the twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General Hazi Aslanov, Colonel General Tofig Aghahuseynov, Major General Tarlan Aliyarbekov and others. In addition, the museums "Weapons and Flags Fund" holds the banners of the infantry regiments of the 223rd Infantry Division, combat banner of the 416th Taganrog Infantry Division, etc. Since May 1, 2020, the museum has been presenting video projects timed to the 75th anniversary of the Victory Day over Fascism. All the videos are available on the museum`s Facebook. The Azerbaijan National Museum of History is one of the architectural pearls of the country, dating back to the 19th century. The largest museum in the country, was originally the private residence of Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev, who was the famous national oil baron remembered for his generous philanthropy. Over 300,000 items are stored in 10 collections in the museum, including a valuable library consisting mainly of unique books. The museum`s collections provide insight into history of Azerbaijan from past to present. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz The second migrant special train from Delhi will leave for Bihar's Muzaffarpur on Friday, officials said, hours after the first Shramik Special from the New Delhi Railway Station left for Madhya Pradesh with around 1,200 workers. The train to Muzaffarpur is expected to leave Friday evening, with 1,200 passengers who were stranded in the national capital due to the COVID-19 lockdown, officials said. The Delhi government is also in talks with Uttar Pradesh to run special trains for migrant workers from the state who wish to return, they added. The special train for Madhya Pradesh left at 8 pm on Thursday. The official said that migrant workers who left for Madhya Pradesh were screened by authorities. Around 10,000 migrant workers are staying in government-run shelters in the national capital. Recently, the government had appointed Principal Secretary (Social Welfare) P K Gupta as the nodal officer to facilitate the movement of migrant workers to their native states. "Migrant workers who wish to go to their native states will be sent. We are also in talks with governments of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh," an official said earlier in the day. After a nationwide lockdown was announced in March to combat the coronavirus outbreak, thousands of migrated workers started leaving for their native places on foot. However, they were stopped by authorities and shifted to makeshift shelters across the city. So far, the Railways has operated 189 Shramik Special trains. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Staff at Portlaoise hospital want the public to stick with the plan designed to contain coronavirus but the leaders in nursing and medicine want them to realise that it will strike anybody at any age even though it is not a death sentence. Dr John Connaughton, Clinical Director, and Ms Sandra McCarthy took some time from their busy schedule last week to speak with the Leinster Express about the experience of the Covid-19 pandemic in the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise. Both are leading teams of doctors and nurses who are putting their lives on the line to save people every day. Both are anxious to compliment and thank the public for their efforts to date in different ways. But they also want to highlight to people that this battle has not been won and only by sticking with the plan will more lives be saved. Dr Connaughton complimented the public on their response to the lockdown. What people are expected to do is difficult. No matter what age group. It's been particularly difficult for people in their 70s...but Covid can take your life and it can take the life of loved ones. You've got to accept the public health expertise and the simple things that are almost too simple sometimes to take on board - wash your hands, keep it a distance, don't touch your face, if you have any symptoms, make sure you isolate and get checked out. You're better off just six feet apart than six foot under. If the measures that are in place and have been in place for the last month to six weeks will hopefully pay dividends in the not too distant future and people will hopefully have to be patient for another few weeks until the figures are going in the right direction, said Dr Connaughton. He believes it is important to compliment the public on how they have responded. A complement always makes people feel better but if they dont hear that they begin to feel a bit despondent and wonder what it is all about, he said. The doctor is also anxious to point out that people have been saved. It's not a death sentence. People are surviving it. People are surviving it in the nursing home without requiring transfer to hospital and people are being discharged out of hospital having made a full recovery even people up to their late 80s have tested positive, gone through difficult days but have come out the other end, he says. Dr Connaughton said the fact that elderly people are surviving dispels a myth. One of the concerns in the early days was that there was going to be a cut off that meant if you were a certain age you would probably get different treatment. That certainly is not the case. Weve had a very wide age range who have been in ICU on ventilators, he said. The point is taken up by his nursing colleague to highlight the need for everyone to be aware of this deadly disease. From their mid-20s to late 80s. Everybody is looked after. Age isn't what we base our decisions on. It's everything that's arrived at their comorbidities, frailty etc. They were all taken. There are no age boundaries with Covid-19, she says. Ms McCarthy realises that the public may have switched off from the daily grind of statistics but she advises that people should not switch off from the dangers of the virus. In Spain and Italy the number of bodies going in the back of trucks was such a visual warning. I think that over time, it's human nature we do become immune (to the figures), but there is no immunity to this. And we don't have any immunity to it as yet. We have no answers to that we have no cure for it. We have treatments that can help with the symptoms but we have no immunity, she said. Staff have received numerous messages of support alongside critical donations of PPE from the hospital's catchment and in particular from Laois people. Its been phenomenal and staff have just been blown away by the volume of the donations and that people are thinking about them and really wanting to help. It's quite humbling because you know, we are just doing our job but to be so appreciated though it really is an honour. The community have been fantastic, she said. One of the letters was from a local child who has received life-saving treatment in Portlaoise. You're my heroes and I really want to be a superhero when I grow up, wrote the child. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham speaks during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on June 13, 2018. (Toya Sarno Jordan/Getty Images) Emergency Order Closing Gallup, New Mexico, Is Extended New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham extended an emergency order closing the small city of Gallup, located near the Navajo Nation, until Sunday, May 10. The declaration was requested by the mayor of Gallup as the city tries to curb the spread of COVID-19. I have no doubt that the actions we have taken together have helped turn the tide in our community and we will, in coming days and weeks, continue efforts in Gallup until we see positive results and until this virus is defeated, said Mayor Bonaguidi in a letter requesting the extension, as reported by KRQE. The original declaration was slated to expire on May 4, and a second extension would have expired on May 7 at noon. 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 last week 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. Gallup police, the McKinley County Sheriffs Office, and the New Mexico State Police are enforcing 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. Medical personnel transporting a COVID-19 patient to an intensive-care-unit tent in Cremona, near Milan. Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images Scientists track genetic errors, or mutations, in the coronavirus' genome to study its evolution over time. A preliminary study suggests a mutated coronavirus strain has become dominant worldwide and is therefore more contagious than the original. But not all scientists agree with that conclusion, since there isn't sufficient evidence that the virus' mutations affected how dangerous it is. It's possible that this dominant form of the virus just "got lucky," one expert said, and seeded major outbreaks in Europe before spreading to the US. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Preliminary research from scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory suggests that a version of the new coronavirus with a particular mutation is outcompeting all the rest. The strain is of "urgent concern,"the scientists wrote. "It began spreading in Europe in early February, and when introduced to new regions, it rapidly becomes the dominant form." Because of this, they suggested, the strain that is now thought to be dominant in Europe and North America may be more contagious than the original virus that first spread in China. It's true that the coronavirus has mutated, but many scientists say the mutations noted in the study which has yet to be peer-reviewed don't necessarily indicate that the virus has become more dangerous. "This really isn't easy to show," Emma Hodcroft, a geneticist at the University of Basel in Switzerland who studies the coronavirus' genome, told Business Insider. The paper highlights one mutation in the coronavirus' genome A German scientist working on sequencing the novel coronavirus as part of research into a vaccine. Reuters The Nextstrain project, where Hodcroft is a collaborator, collects samples of the coronavirus from all over the world and sequences their genetic makeup. Researchers then differentiate the samples based on tiny mutations that get introduced into the virus' genetic codes as it replicates and spreads. Story continues These mutations break a virus into separate, trackable strains a word that geneticists simply use to differentiate samples that aren't identical whose spread can be mapped over time. The Los Alamos scientists used computer software to analyze how prevalent certain strains were around the world. They found that versions of the virus with a mutation in a part of its genome that determines the shape of its spike-shaped proteins were more prevalent than others. When the novel coronavirus emerged in China in late 2019, it didn't have that mutation, which scientists have labeled D614G. Geneticists classify the original version as the "D lineage." Strains with the D614G mutation are categorized as the "G lineage" and didn't crop up until February. The G lineage has become more common in Europe, North America, and Australia, according to the virologist Trevor Bedford, who works with Nextstrain. It seems to have edged out its D-lineage counterparts, which first dominated in Asia. The authors of the pre-print study took that trend to mean that the G lineage was outcompeting the D lineage and therefore must be "a more transmissible form" of the coronavirus. But that's not the only possible explanation. 2 explanations why the G lineage appears to be more prevalent An illustration of the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease COVID-19. CDC According to the pre-print study, the G lineage might be dominating because the mutation makes it more contagious. But another possible explanation is that the G lineage simply got lucky, according to Bedford. Data shows that the D614G mutation arose just before the virus spread to Europe, so the G lineage could have simply ended up being the version that spread westward. European outbreaks eventually seeded some outbreaks in the US. But countries in Europe and North America did not enact lockdowns for weeks after their first cases appeared, and some nations were slow to test widely, which allowed the G lineage to proliferate. Bedford wrote that he "strongly cautions against" assuming that the G lineage's prevalence meant that version was better at jumping between people. The epidemiologist Angie Rasmussen tweeted on Tuesday: "The old adage that correlation does not equal causation applies here. If you are looking at sequence data alone, you can't show effect that this single mutation, spike D614G has on transmission." Scientists call for more research before worrying about this mutation Another non-peer-reviewed study published in April suggested that there were at least 30 strains of the coronavirus. But even that's not cause for concern, Hodcroft said, since subtle differences between strains don't tend to affect how contagious a particular version of the virus is. A scanning electron microscope image showing SARS-CoV-2 (round magenta objects) emerging from the surface of cells from a coronavirus patient. NIAID-RML More research is needed to test whether the Los Alamos scientists' explanation is the right one. "Spike D614G may well have functional importance. It may even increase transmissibility," Rasmussen tweeted. "But we won't know until this is tested experimentally." Hodcroft said experts would need to find a way to remove some of the confounding elements like the fact that China identified its outbreak and locked down sooner than, say, the US did to better test the Los Alamos hypothesis. "One thing that would help is if we found a few instances where the two variants of the virus had been introduced to the same place at about the same time, under the same circumstances," Hodcroft told Business Insider. But even that perfect setup "still wouldn't prove anything conclusively," she said, adding that experts would be better served by comparing how infectious the two lineages were in lab-grown cells. Read the original article on Business Insider Armenian News - NEWS.am presents a daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 07.05.2020: A total of 2,884 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Armenia with 1,185 recoveries and 42 deaths, the Armenian health ministry tweeted. A total of 28,017 tests have been completed and 102 new cases and 50 recoveries. Regarding the latest two death cases, the 78 and 66-year-old male patients had pre-existing chronic diseases. Two more deaths were registered yesterday when the patients had tested positive for coronavirus, but the cause of death was another disease. The total of such deaths is nine. The Armenian parliamentary committee leading a probe into the circumstances behind the four-day Artsakh war has invited Armenian ex-PM Karen Karapetyan to a session. Chair of the committee Andranik Kocharyan informed that the session will be held on Monday and that Karen Karapetyan will answer the committees questions. The ECHR has delivered a new judgment on the case of Anahit Mkrtchyan v. Armenia. The case concerned the death of the applicants 22-year old son during his military service back in 2001. The ECHR has found a violation of Article 2 (right to life) of the European Convention of Human Rights and awarded to the applicant just satisfaction of EUR 24,000 for non-pecuniary damage and EUR 2,000 for costs and expenses. The 22-year-old soldier died from a gunshot wound in the head in the office of his battalions commanding officer. From the outset, the official explanation for the incident was that another conscript had accidentally shot her son. Ms. Mkrtchyan, in turn, suspected his commanding officer who she alleged had been abusing her son and extorting money from him. The investigation is still ongoing today, with the criminal proceedings having been stayed for the second time in March 2019 on the grounds that it had not been possible to identify the person against whom charges should be brought. The media have been disseminating reports that after Argishti Kyaramyan's appointment as National Security Service (NSS) Deputy Director, several dozen NSS officials have written letters of resignation. The NSS, however, has dismissed the reports. US President Donald J. Trump has nominated Patrick Hovakimian to be General Counsel of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, White House press service reported. Hovakimian is currently the Associate Deputy Attorney General and Chief of Staff to Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen at the Department of Justice. A tragic incident occurred in Beirut, Lebanon. The Al-Nashra website reports that an unknown young man opened fire on a store employee in the area of Sat al-Pashriya, who died on the spot from gunshot wounds. Arevelk reported that this woman was Armenian. Armenia has improved its democracy score from 2.93 to 3.00 in the Nations in Transit 2020 report of the Freedom House. Based on the Democracy Score and its scale, Armenia remains a state with a Semi-Consolidated Authoritarian Regime. According to the report, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan will now face the difficult challenge of managing expectations, maintaining trust, and restructuring corrupt systems without contravening democratic norms. The authors also noted that local concern over runoff from the planned Amulsar gold mine became a headache for the PM. Amid the low oil prices, Brazils state-owned oil firm Petrobras has suspended preparations to sell a minority stake in a cluster of four offshore fields producing 230,000 bpd, Reuters reported on Thursday, quoting three sources familiar with the matter. Petrobras has been selling non-core assets and minority stakes in oilfields in Brazil and elsewhere, aiming to cut its massive debt. But the coronavirus pandemic and the oil price crash that followed have upended Petrobrass plans to proceed with a sale of a minority stake in the Marlim cluster of four oilfields, according to Reuters sources. With oil at its current levels, it doesnt make sense to discuss such an interesting asset, one source with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters. The idea of selling a stake in the Marlim fields is not dead, its just uncertain when it will be revived, the source said, adding that it would depend on when oil prices move substantially higher. Last summer, Petrobras launched the binding phase of the sale of offshore upstream oil and gas assets in the Espirito Santo Basin. Before that, in April 2019, Petrobras had approved the sale of several refineries as part of its divestment plan. In July, it struck a deal with the Brazilian antitrust regulator that will allow it to sell those downstream assets in a bid, the company said, to encourage greater competition in the industry. In early July, Petrobras announced the start of the non-binding phase for the sale of its total equity interest in 14 onshore exploration and production concessions in Bahia state, jointly designated as the Reconcavo Cluster. In a presentation in December 2019, Petrobras said it would look to sell additional oil assets, including stakes in Marlim, parts of the Papa-Terra field, its Bolivian assets, petrochem firm Braskem SA, and its remaining stake in BR Distribuidora. The parts of the Marlim field could fetch as much as $4 billion, while Braskem SA could net as much as $3 billion, Petrobras executives said at the end of last year. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: HAIKOU, May 6 (Xinhua) -- The Hainan island in the south of China hosted over 1.3 million tourists during the May Day holiday, according to local authorities. Tourism revenue generated during the five-day holiday totaled 994 million yuan (about 140 million U.S. dollars), said the provincial departments of tourism, culture, radio, television and sport. Tourist attractions in Hainan received about 770,000 visitors. However, to practice social distancing and to ensure the safety of tours, the tourist sites were required to receive no more than 30 percent of their designed daily visitor capacity. Visitors had to pre-book tickets online and had their temperature checks before entering. Duty-free shopping became a highlight in the holiday consumption. Four duty-free shops on the island received 71,121 customers and raked in over 298 million yuan in sales. Police in Pakistan have arrested a man for allegedly killing his wife after she didn't serve him hot food for Sehri, a meal which is eaten in the morning before the Ramzan fast begins. The incident happened in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa province's Shalkanabad area. Dasu police station SHO Muhammad Haq told the media that the father of the deceased filed a complaint with the police alleging that his 19-year-old daughter was killed by her husband for failing to serve him a hot meal for Sehri in the ongoing month of Ramzan. He has told us the accused is his nephew and fled after shooting his wife. The victim had gotten married two years ago. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (Bloomberg Opinion) -- With the worst of the pandemic yet to come, Latin Americans authorities are scrambling, and not just for hospital beds and coffins. Along with Covid-19, a fever of wonkery has broken out over how to reverse the collective economic contraction and to carry on once the health emergency has passed. After seven straight years of underwhelming growth, the health crisiss knock-on effects will set back regional gross domestic product by at least 5% this year, a collapse rivaling the Great Depression. Joblessness will jump by around 35% to 37.7 million, with another 16 million Latin Americans likely to fall into extreme poverty. In Central America alone, GDP will fall by 6% and clip some $3.9 billion from the 48% of households that rely on the shadow economy, according to Manuel Orozco, of the Inter-American Dialogue. And in societies where nearly six out of 10 workers in Latin America live from gig to gig, welfare is more often than not a prayer. Such dire prospects have mobilized governments to roll out assistance to the most vulnerable households and credit to businesses in lockdown. Many analysts want to go further, tear up the regions clubby social pact and so convert Latin America into the epicenter of a social protection revolution. Its high time, some argue, for the rich to ante up, through measures such as Argentinas proposed homeland tax on great fortunes. Others would bring back the command economy, pump up the welfare state and bury once and for all the neoliberal model. The social policy weapon of choice is bolder still: universal basic income. The idea is fetching and simple: Instead of clunky and often profligate trickle-down assistance from bloated welfare bureaucracies, the argument goes, governments should cut a check for everyone. The rich, middle class and poor families would be eligible for this guaranteed minimum wage, no conditions, no exclusions and no red tape. Versions of UBI have kicked around for decades and perhaps centuries. Lately, they have gained critical mass: A World Bank study counted 126 books on UBI, 91 of them published since 2010. Aficionados span the political spectrum. Milton Friedman, the doyen of free market economics, was an early convert. He called it a negative income tax. To many on the left, its 21st century welfare. Pope Francis is on board. At least 22 pilot experiments are running worldwide. Story continues The pandemic has thrust UBI to the top of the regional agenda. The cascading health and economic crises have landed the Americas at a civilizing crossroads, Alicia Barcena, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, said on April 21. To build a civilizing future, Barcena said, nations must provide a universal basic income that lifts everyone above the poverty line. The States fiscal scheme must be changed, lets put public resources into shoring up income, she said. Impassioned as these appeals sound, basic income is no silver bullet. Yes, giving money to everyone eliminates the costly, time-sucking task of identifying and vetting families for poverty relief. All the better for the last in line whose benefits would no longer would depend on the discretion of state gatekeepers a double win for transparency and social justice. Or so it would seem. Yet by sending cash to everyone, including those who dont need it, universal income gets the equity agenda backward. Sure, the well-heeled would have to give back their stocking stuffer at tax time. Whether that largesse actually makes its way through the regions leaky and lopsided tax systems back to government coffers is another matter. Latin American countries do not have progressive taxation, said Chatham House associate fellow Victor Bulmer-Thomas, a scholar of Latin American economic history. The danger is that the poor end up paying disproportionately for the universal basic income transfers. Champions of universal income recognize the challenge and argue that implementing UBI would require foundational reforms on taxation, pensions and traditional targeted poverty relief. Thats a daunting to-do list for any nation, never mind those emerging markets where encastled constituencies defend a regressive status quo. Such obstacles may at least partly explain why, despite years of debate, guaranteed basic income is still mostly an idea. Strictly speaking, there is very little evidence on the effects of UBI in developing countries, noted the otherwise hopeful authors of the recent World Bank study. None of these has been experimentally evaluated. Whats more, Latin America already has a proven system of getting cash to those who need it most. At least 110 million Latin American families draw monthly benefits as long as they meet basic conditions, such as keeping their kids in school and vaccinated. That means one in five of the 552 million people receiving cash transfers globally lives in Latin America. Conditional cash transfers leapfrog traditional welfare by whisking benefits directly to qualifying recipients, often through personalized magnetic cash cards. Eligible families are listed on a national household register, which is frequently updated. In Chile, Colombia and Brazil, these registries keep tabs on around 60% of families nationwide, said Armando Barrientos, a Chilean economist specializing in welfare and social assistance policy at the University of Manchester, England. Brazils pioneering Bolsa Familia cash transfer program even fights tuberculosis by speeding benefits to registered patients and keeping them committed to the rigorous multidrug therapies. These systems are rules based, not discretionary, which discourages corruption. Theres ongoing improvement in implementation, Barrientos said.Cash transfers are not flawless. Millions of workers are self employed or toil in the informal economy (58% in Brazil, 60% in Mexico, 66% in Ecuador) and so go officially unnoticed. In Ecuador and Brazil, these invisible poor face epic queues, red tape or worse to withdraw the emergency funds they are due in the pandemic-induced economic shutdowns. Yet the exclusions are an argument for improving welfare targeting, not scrapping it. Consider Brazil, where the deep 2015-2016 recession hit those at the bottom hardest. While average national income fell 2% from 2014 to 2018, the poorest 5% of households saw earnings plunge 39%, according to economist Marcelo Neri, who studies social policy at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Rio de Janeiro. The logical solution? Close the poverty gap by topping up payouts to the more than 13 million families enrolled in the traditional Bolsa Familia cash transfer program. Brazil, laudably, did that and then extended benefits to millions more who had fallen through the welfare cracks and are now at risk in the fallout from the health crisis. So what if government instead decided to drop the eligibility requirements altogether and spread the largesse to all 211 million Brazilians, struggling or not? Neri crunched the numbers: Handing out a universal basic income would cost Brazil 22 times more than if it targeted only on those below the poverty line. Its like throwing money from a helicopter, he said. The result, he said, would be wasted public revenue when Brazils public debt is ballooning and the tax burden is already an enterprise-choking 35% of GDP. Thats particularly worrying in a country where temporary expenses have a way of becoming permanent, Neri said. We need to pinpoint aid and get benefits directly to those who need them most. No one is suggesting that existing safety nets are enough. Latin America is still the worlds most unequal region. To reverse that blighted legacy, the region should indeed look beyond the pandemic and embolden its social pact. More than ventilating government cash, however, Latin America needs to fix its lopsided social edifice. A good start would be to shrink its unproductive informal sector. Half the regions workforce have no fixed job, 65% no bank account and credit is almost unheard of. The most precise measure of fairness in society is financial access, said Orozco. An inability to formalize your savings prevents you from creating wealth. You cant do this with cash in a mattress. The pandemic and the economic misery it has wrought havent reinvented the regions civilizing agenda. But instead of striving for utopia, Latin Americas leaders need to support and improve the social policy tools that work. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Mac Margolis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Latin and South America. He was a reporter for Newsweek and is the author of The Last New World: The Conquest of the Amazon Frontier. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. British Airways planes sit on the apron at Bournemouth airport in southern England on May 6, 2020. A number of European airlines have dropped their financial guidance for the year, as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic creates widespread uncertainty about when business will return to normal. IAG the parent company of British Airways, Vueling and Iberia and AirFrance-KLM said Thursday that there was a high level of uncertainty about the duration of the global health crisis and the consequent economic crisis. As a result, both companies withdrew their earnings forecasts for the year. AirFrance-KLM reported a net loss of 1.8 million euros ($1.95 million) for the first three months of the year on Thursday, down from a loss of 324 million euros over the same period last year. IAG, meanwhile, reported a net loss of 1.7 million euros for the quarter, down from a profit of 70 million euros in 2019. Both companies said their second-quarter performance would be even worse than the first quarter. "We are planning for a meaningful return to service in July 2020 at the earliest, depending on the easing of lockdowns and travel restrictions around the world," Willie Walsh, IAG chief executive officer, said in a statement Thursday. "However, we do not expect passenger demand to recover to the level of 2019 before 2023 at the earliest," he added. AirFrance-KLM also warned that it will take "several years" to return to pre-virus passenger demand. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said that demand for European carriers dropped by 54.3% in March from a year ago. However, passenger demand could be even lower for the month of April, given that strict lockdown measures were mostly introduced mid-March. A number of European governments have started tentatively lifting some restrictions this month. However, the European Union has a temporary ban on travel from outside the bloc lasting until at least May 15. A spokesperson for the European Commission told CNBC that the travel restriction "can be extended based on epidemiological considerations. We will communicate on this in advance of the 15 May deadline." He said the specifics of the argument were not immediately clear, including whether it centred on the restaurant's social-distancing measures. An argument broke out between Woody, 32, and an employee, and Woody was "forced out" of the restaurant, Withrow said. The woman, Gloricia Woody, walked into the McDonald's about 6pm on Wednesday and refused to leave after employees told her the dining area was closed, according to Captain Larry Withrow of the Oklahoma City Police Department. A woman opened fire in a McDonald's in Oklahoma City, injuring at least three employees, authorities said, after she was told the restaurant's dining area was closed in line with the company's coronavirus precautions. "We can't say she's mad about that and that's what started the fight," Withrow said. "I don't know what triggered her into the confrontation. That just happened to be the sequence of events." But Woody came back in with a handgun and fired three shots, he said. One round hit an employee in the arm and two other employees were struck by shrapnel, Withrow said. A fourth employee also had a head injury, but it was not immediately clear how she sustained it. The injuries were all not life-threatening, he said. Woody was arrested near the McDonald's after the shooting, Withrow said. She is in custody on charges of assault and battery, police said. Woody did not yet have a lawyer, her mother said in a telephone interview on Thursday. She said that her daughter disputed the police account, saying that she had not been told the dining room was closed. She also said that Woody had tried to place an order and that she was defending herself against employees who attacked her while she took a phone call in the restaurant. Nigerias ruling party, the All Progressives Congress has mocked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over its recent criticism after another tranche of monies stolen by a former Nigeria military leader, Sani Abacha, was returned. The PDP, the main opposition party, earlier on Wednesday, demanded that the $311 million repatriated Abacha loot be handed over to the National Assembly to avoid being re-looted by the current administration through existing projects. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has uncovered fresh plots by the cabal in the Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to use fake subheads and duplicated projects as ploy to re-loot the recently repatriated $311millon, the party had claimed. Between 2003 and 2020, Nigerian governments had recouped over $2 billion of the stolen monies stashed in foreign countries by the Abacha regime. Aside the about $825 million previously retrieved by Abdulsalami Abubakar regime, the former President Olusegun Obasanjo-led administration retrieved over a billion dollars while the total repatriated funds by the APC-led administration currently stands at $633 million. Mr Obasanjo ruled under the PDP banner. Those funds were released to the Nigerian governments under different agreements, mostly tied around human and infrastructural development projects across the nation, even though the end results remain scanty. APC mocks rival In a reaction, the party described the allegation levelled against it as another attempt borne of the opposition s desire to tarnish the image of the current administration. Of course, we understand PDPs frustrations. Its unsuccessful and serial attempts to tar the APC government with the corruption toga in order to blur its own image as a party that personifies corruption in words and deeds has turned the party into a laughing stock, the APCs spokesperson, Lanre Issa-Onilu, said in the statement. On the recovery of $311million, we refer the PDP to the 2020 Asset Return Agreement which requires the fund to be transferred to a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Asset Recovery designated account and which would then be paid to the National Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) designated as the project management and execution authority within the next fourteen days. The federal government has committed itself that the assets will be invested in expediting the construction of major infrastructure projects across Nigeria, and particularly, this administrations legacy projects, namely: Lagos Ibadan Expressway; Abuja Kaduna-Kano Expressway and the Second Niger Bridge as well as the Mambilla Power Project which, when completed, will provide electricity to some three million homes in Nigeria, he further stated. Mocking the PDP further, Mr Issa-Onilu said the release of the funds is an indictment on successive PDP administrations which many countries found too corrupt and with a renowned propensity to reloot the stolen monies, hence they held on to much of the funds. DALLAS, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Thirteenth Court of Appeals of Texas ruled in favor of Texas Central, holding that it was both a railroad company and interurban electric railway. The Memorandum Opinion, authored by Justice Nora Longoria, held "Having found that the appellants (Texas Central Railroad and Infrastructure, Inc. and Integrated Texas Logistics, Inc.) are both railroad companies and interurban electric railways , we conclude that the trial court erred by granting Miles' motion for summary judgment and denying appellants' motion for partial summary judgment." This decision comes after a four-year long court battle waged by landowners along the proposed route in Leon County, Texas. The landowners argued that the Texas Central project was not a railroad and therefore did not have the rights associated with a railroad, including eminent domain and access to property for surveyors. "This decision is rooted in state law that allows survey access and use of eminent domain by railroads, pipelines, electrical lines and other industries that provide for the public good and a strong economy," said Carlos Aguilar, CEO of Texas Central. "This decision confirms our status as an operating railroad and allows us to continue moving forward with our permitting process and all of our other design, engineering and land acquisition efforts." In 2019, Texas Central completed a portion of the land surveys required by the federal agencies conducting an environmental review of the project. This information allowed Texas Central to plan a route that is efficient, considerate of the environment through Central Texas and impacts the fewest property owners. The Final Environmental Impact Statement on the project is scheduled to be published by the Federal Railroad Administration later this month. "Texas Central confirms that it will always respect Texas landowners' rights and will follow due process. Texas Central wishes to express gratitude to the Thirteenth Court of Appeals for its time in considering Texas Central's appeal," continued Aguilar. "Today's ruling supports the enormous amount of work Texas Central has done to date. Texas has the capacity, drive and population growth needed to make the Texas High-Speed Train successful and it's that momentum that is pushing the nation's first high-speed train forward." About Texas Central. Texas Central is the company undertaking the development, design, construction, finance, and operation of the innovative new high-speed passenger train line that will connect the fourth and fifth largest economies in the country, North Texas and Greater Houston, in less than 90 minutes, with one stop in the Brazos Valley. Texas Central is a shovel-ready project that expects to create more than 17,000 jobs during construction and a multi-billion-dollar economic impact across the U.S. via contracts for U.S. steel mills and other manufacturers, minority, women and veteran owned businesses throughout the nation and rural businesses along the alignment. SOURCE Texas Central High Speed Rail Matt Hancock was unequivocal that opening schools would pose a risk - Heathcliff O'Malley Schools might not be able to reopen until September, the Health Secretary has said, suggesting coronavirus infection rates must go down further before education can resume. On Wednesday, Matt Hancock said it was too early to consider the move and would make "no promises" that children will return to school before autumn. His comments appear to contradict moves from a number of European governments which indicate that they do not consider children to pose a significant risk of spreading coronavirus. Children in both Switzerland and Denmark have been encouraged to hug their grandparents in recent days. UK officials are more cautious, however, with Public Health England (PHE) saying it is still working to understand the extent to which children drive community transmission. Answering questions from the public on Sky News, Mr Hancock was unequivocal that opening schools would pose a risk. "Although children don't suffer the consequences of coronavirus nearly as much as adults by and large, children are not affected by the disease they still spread it," he said. "Colleges and schools are a place where lots of people from different households can mix. That proved to be a real spreader." Mr Hancock acknowledged the difficulty faced by parents who are home-schooling their children, admitting that he is "terrible" at helping his own, aged six, 12 and 13. Asked whether schools would reopen before September, he said: "We don't know because we have to see the progress of the disease, and we don't know how people are going to behave in terms of the lockdown measures which are the thing that have the biggest impact on getting the disease down. "If there is something we can do before then, then we will but I can't make any promises." Gavin Williamson, the Education Secretary, has promised a phased reopening of schools but has set no dates. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has indicated that primary school children would be the first to go back, a stance supported by the head of Ofsted, Amanda Spiellman. Story continues However, last week Professor Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, said there was "no doubt" that reopening schools would increase the rate of infection. The 'R' rate must remain below one for society to begin to return to normal, and is currently thought to be around 0.7. Scientists think schools have a less significant effect on the 'R' rate than other lockdown measures, such as avoiding public transport, but cannot be sure, meaning they do not know how low the 'R' should be before risking reopening. On Tuesday, Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government's chief scientific adviser, suggested that reopening primary schools might be less of a risk than secondary schools because younger pupils are less likely to visit friends' houses after school. Later that day, First Secretary of State Dominic Raab warned that opening all the schools at once would risk a second virus peak. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal Election officials throughout New Mexico are actively urging voters to cast their ballots by mail for the June 2 primary to limit contact during the COVID-19 pandemic. That includes Bernalillo County Clerk Linda Stover, who has routinely made that recommendation and did so again in a recent letter to voters about changes to precinct boundaries. The correspondence, dated April 29, said Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, our office encourages voters to submit an absentee ballot application online at nmvotes.org or by contacting our office. The problem? An extra s. The correct website for requesting an absentee ballot is nmvote.org. The website cited in the April 29 letter lists many links that mention voting and ballots, but they do not lead to the New Mexico Secretary of States Office website, where online absentee ballot requests are accepted. Stovers letter did include the accurate address for berncovotes.org, an official site that guides users to the absentee ballot application. A spokesman for the Clerks Office said Wednesday that he did not know how many voters had received that particular letter, but that the office plans to address it this week with a public service announcement. We will produce a PSA (Thursday) with a correction, and post it on our website and social media, spokesman Floyd Vasquez said in an email to the Journal. And we will mail a correction by postcard to the voters who received the letter. He said the office has issued a significant amount of correspondence to voters recently with the accurate web addresses nmvote.org and berncovotes.org. But out of an abundance of caution, we will notify recipients of this letter by mail, he wrote. Axis Bank will reportedly continue with the Work-From-Home (WFH) culture even after the coronavirus crisis ends. Even after the pandemic, employees may be allowed to work for two-three days a week from home. Axis Bank has a workforce of nearly 12,000 employees across India and it plans to implement the WFH model for those in the non-customer facing roles. As a pilot, the model has been divided into two departments compliance and HR. Axis Bank will later add other departments like risk and corporate credit and eventually roll out the model for all its employees in the next six weeks. However, departments like treasury front-end, operations, and other employees working in branches that require physical presence will have to come to the office, the bank told Mint. Once the lockdown is lifted, Axis Bank will open its offices in three phases. Starting May 17, only 10 percent of its employees will be allowed to work from offices. From July 1 to July 15, 30 percent of the employees will have to come to the office, and will subsequently increase to 60 percent. While COVID-19 has posed a lot of challenges, it has also opened up new approaches to work. Adapting to work from home/work from outside office/work from anywhere is going to provide lots of opportunities to attract varied talent pools, break geographical boundaries, give more choices to employees and is going to lead to a more structured, measurable, efficient and smart workplace. This will also remodel lots of human resources (HR) belief and practices around employee engagement, talent management," Rajesh Dahiya, Executive Director - Axis Bank, told Mint. To maintain safety and security of transactions, employees prone to cybercrimes will not be considered to work from home, Dahiya clarified. We are taking care of the risks involved in each transaction and communication over the digital platform. We could have initiated the work-from-home policy in normal times as well. Earlier, the (WFH) policy was more individual-focussed. Now, we are putting a structure in place," he added. Before this, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said that 75 percent, or 4.48 lakh of its global workforce, will work from home permanently by 2025, according to a report Experts say the rumors circulating on Twitter this week of a failed coup in Qatar bore the hallmarks of an online disinformation campaign linked to the oil-rich peninsulas regional rivals. On Monday, an apparently doctored video made the rounds on Twitter suggesting guns were fired in the coastal city of Wakrah amid a coup attempt aimed at the royal family. Fahd bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah, the Qatari ambassador to Russia, told the Tass News Agency the videos were fabricated. Amplified by a prominent Saudi diplomat and Saudi television channel Al Arabiyah, the tweets many of which have since been deleted seemed to have spread with the help of a network of bots, wrote Marc Owen Jones, an assistant professor of Middle East Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Doha. He pointed out on Twitter that the names on the accounts pushing the rumors werent Arabic-sounding as one might expect, given that it was a primarily Arabic-language news story at the time. No major news outlets picked up the coup rumors at the time. The video was clearly lifted from a Qatari account who opened the window to mock the rumours. The person then dubbed sounds of gunshots on it, he wrote. If you look at the accounts, they are clearly sockpuppets accounts appropriated for malicious purposes. The coup reports appear to be the latest episode of misinformation targeting the tiny Gulf state. In early April, Twitter announced it had removed 5,350 accounts linked to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt that were amplifying content praising Saudi leadership, and critical of Qatar and Turkish activity in Yemen. In 2019, Facebook said it had deleted hundreds of accounts and posts tied to a Saudi-connected disinformation network and two marketing firms in Egypt and the UAE. The coordinated inauthentic behavior included posts about Qatars alleged support of terrorist groups. Andreas Krieg, an assistant professor at King's College London, speculated the most recent fake reports were meant to distract from domestic concerns in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, namely plunging oil prices, a growing coronavirus outbreak and a costly war in Yemen. While COVID-19 is bringing some regions together, Saudi & UAE disinformation campaigns [are] widening the gap in the Gulf, he tweeted. The latest apparent disinformation campaign comes as Qatar approaches the three-year anniversary of an economic and diplomatic blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt. The so-called Anti-Terror Quartet accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and announced an air, land and sea blockade in June 2017. Their rivalry with Qatar stems in part from its support for Islamists during the Arab Spring uprising; Dohas relations with Iran, Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood; and coverage on the Qatari-funded satellite news channel Al Jazeera. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are also currently competing to host the Asian Games in 2030. Gocycle doesn't have the history to match cycling giants like Trek, Raleigh and Bianchi. In the folding e-bike space, however, it's one of the oldest contenders. Karbon Kinetics, the company behind the brand, was founded in 2002 and launched its first electric bicycle, the G1, in 2009. While not the first electric folder, its distinctive looks and quick-release wheels earned plenty of praise. Over the last decade, the company has slowly improved the design and introduced new models with different but always pretty expensive price points. Gocycle's latest effort, the GXi, is arguably its best model yet. The 3,699 (roughly $4,647) bicycle sits above the entry-level GS, which costs 1,999 (roughly $2,510) and the GX, its fast-folding predecessor. The company makes a more expensive bike the 4,499 (roughly $5,649) carbon fibre G3C but like the GS, it has a slower folding process, aimed at people who want to save space in their home or office, rather than multimodal commuters. The GXi, therefore, is a more complete flagship, which stands out against rivals produced by Brompton, Hummingbird, Tern, Raleigh Rad Power Bikes and others. While not without its flaws, the bike is an easy recommendation for those who want power and flexibility at any cost. Design The GXi's distinctive design is a guaranteed head-turner. Engadget From afar, the GXi looks identical to Gocycle's previous wares. And thats perfectly fine because the companys trademark design language doesn't feel outdated in 2020. The frame doesn't have a top tube and is, therefore, both eye-catching and easy to step over. The removable battery is contained in the chunky downtube, and the front hub motor, while noticeable, matches the smaller five-spoke wheels nicely. The clever design elements extend to the handlebars, too. You wont find any exposed cables they've all been cleverly routed through the frame or plastic gear shifters because the company opted for a stealthier twist-grip option instead. They might seem small, but these details add up to ensure the bike's clean lines are rarely interrupted. Of course, they could also make the GXi difficult to repair. The bike comes with a three-part warranty, though one year for the battery, two years for basic components and three years for the frame and Gocycle is older than other e-bike upstarts, which increases the chance they'll still be around when you need advice and replacement parts. Unlike the GX, the bike has a strip-shaped Daytime Running Light (DRL) between its two brake levers. The beam has four possible settings high and low, with an optional flashing strobe effect that makes you more visible to other road users. The DRL isnt designed to help you see at night, though. If you want to illuminate your surroundings, Gocycle recommends buying an aftermarket solution (the review sample I rode already had front and back Supernova bike lights installed.) The DRL ensures you're always visible to other road users. Engadget On the opposite side is a Formula One-inspired cockpit that uses bright LEDs to visualize important information. When youre standing still, 10 lights on the left-hand side will display the bikes remaining charge. They fill from left to right and each LED represents 10 percent of battery life. Once you start pedaling, the lights will switch off temporarily and fill in the other direction to show how hard the motor is working. Four blue LEDs placed above and below this section explain the current DRL mode. Shift your eyes toward the center and you'll notice three vertically aligned LEDs these denote your current gear. Finally, 10 LEDs on the right-hand side explain how fast you're riding. Its a massive improvement over the GX, which only had five LEDs capable of showing the battery's remaining charge. Still, the new cockpit is not intuitive. Would anyone understand what it meant without referring to the bike's manual first? I don't think so. My brain adjusted after a few rides, though, and quickly appreciated the size and brightness of the LEDs. In a laid back or upright riding position, theyre easier to read than a traditional bike computer, which usually has a small, monochromatic display, and practically fade into the handlebars when the GXi is switched off. I used the app for my first ride but quickly switched to the LEDs. If you dont like the LED lights, you can use Gocycles companion app instead. The GX comes with two rubbery loops that can slide on to the handlebars and hold your phone in landscape mode. In this orientation, the app will switch to a car dashboard-inspired view with relevant riding information. That includes your current speed and gear, the battery's remaining charge, how hard the motor is working, the distance youve travelled and a button that cycles through riding modes. I used the app for my first ride but quickly switched to the LEDs to save my phones battery life and, more importantly, innards from the occasional shower. Performance My review sample was equipped with some extra mudguards and Supernova bike lights. Engadget When you first set up the bike, the companion app will ask whether you want North American or European firmware, which caps your top speed at 20MPH and 15.5MPH respectively. These restrictions are set by local regulators and are standard for the industry. Out of the box, you have four riding modes to choose from: City+, City, Eco and On Demand. On City+, the motor will kick in immediately and slowly scale up as you pedal harder. In City mode, the motor wont activate until you supply some light (100 watts) pedaling, but scales up to 100 percent with less effort. Eco mode, meanwhile, is a battery saving option that requires slightly more effort (200 watts) to trigger the pedal-assisted motor. In all of these modes, you can twist the left handlebar grip for a temporary boost that disengages when you stop or slow down your pedaling. Finally, theres On Demand. In this mode, the motor wont switch on until you wrist-down. Once held, the system will engage until you let go, stop pedaling or reach the firmware-controlled maximum speed. It makes the bike feel more like an electric scooter, though you still have to pedal and cant, therefore, treat it like a Vespa or Ducati. If none of the modes suit your riding style, you can build one from scratch. The apps Mode Editor lets you drag two nodes on a graph similar to an audio equalizer to set exactly when and how strong the motor should spring to life. I was happy with the City mode for most of my riding but occasionally switched to a custom profile that forced the motor to engage immediately and ramp up to 100 percent assist with minimal pedaling. Twist and hold the left shifter for an extra boost. Engadget The GXi has three gears that help you pedal at low and higher speeds. Unlike its fast-folding predecessor, the bike will automatically shift up and down when it senses a change in momentum. In theory, that means you should never be in the wrong gear after stopping at a traffic light or climbing a steep hill. I found the system to be a tad unreliable, though. Sometimes I would reach top speed and momentarily stop pedalling to examine a road sign or let a looming car overtake. The bike would then downshift even though I was still cruising at a speed that demanded a higher gear. Thankfully, you can change gears manually by twisting the right handlebar grip up and down. Theres a small learning curve the system wont execute the change until youve eased off the pedals slightly but it doesn't take long to understand and memorize the timing. Another small nitpick: The motor is a little noisy. It's not loud enough to be a dealbreaker or spoil an otherwise idyllic ride through the countryside. But for this kind of money, I would prefer the electrical innards to be a smidge quieter. The bike is generally responsive and aware of how youre riding. The bike is generally responsive and aware of how youre riding. While climbing a slope, I could see the motors assistance slowly building on the left-hand side of the cockpit. Conversely, the LEDs would disappear when I started cruising down a hill at higher speeds. Gocycle has nailed the basics, too. The GXi's Velo D2 saddle was comfortable, and the hydraulic disc brakes were sharp but not overly aggressive. I appreciated the one-inch Lockshock suspension, too, which helped absorb the odd pothole and speed bump. (The GXi isn't a mountain bike, though, so you shouldn't take it on dirt and gravel trails.) The 'Lockshock' rear suspension. Engadget The GXi promises up to 50 miles on a single charge. Of course, that number will fluctuate depending on your riding mode and the number of hills that you like to conquer each day. I managed 30 miles, for instance, riding predominantly in City mode around my hilly neighborhood. (In line with the UKs social distancing guidelines, I only rode the e-bike once each day.) Some of my excursions were in the evening, too, which meant the DRL was working a little harder. Any range anxiety was mitigated by the Fast Charger, which can replenish the battery in roughly four hours. While functional, the accessory is a massive and utterly hideous brick. Still, its better than the GXs charger, which needed seven hours to top up the bikes smaller battery. You can charge the GXi using a large port hidden by a rubbery seal on the frame. Alternatively, you can fold the bike down and charge the battery separately a convenient option if you work in a fancy office that doesnt appreciate muddy or rain-soaked tires. Folding It can be daunting at first, but the GXi is surprisingly quick and simple to break down. Heres the process: Ensure the kickstand is lowered. Turn the cranks so the pedal on the side with the chain guard is pointing down and away from the rear wheel. Pop the red switch on the head tube and lower the handlebars so they rest against the front wheel. Flip the red switch on the center of the frame and fold the front half so the two wheels sit next to each other. Unlatch the rubber band on the frame and stretch it over the designated hook on the handlebars. If you dont do this, the front half of the frame can freely swing back and forth. With a bit of practice, the Gocycle GXi takes roughly 10 seconds to fold. Engadget The band is functional and barely noticeable while riding the bike. It's plenty thick, too, and never showed signs of stretching or tearing. Still, I worry about its long-term durability if anything is going to break or perish, it's probably this. The band doesnt feel like a particularly graceful solution, either. And thats a shame because the rest of the bike feels oh-so cohesive and cleverly thought out. I just wish they had found a smarter way to keep the two halves glued together (magnets in the wheel hubs, perhaps?) because at the moment the design is one step short of greatness. With the bike folded down, you can hold the protruding saddle and wheel the whole thing forward like a suitcase. Annoyingly, though, you cant roll it backwards doing so will cause the pedals to turn and eventually hit the frame. Still, I suspect it's useful when you're boarding a train or moving the bike through some revolving office doors. At 39 pounds, the GXi is 300 lighter than the GX but still a tad heavier than both the electric Brompton (37 pounds) and Hummingbird (23 pounds). Moving the bike along the floor, therefore, is always preferable to picking it up. You could feasibly carry the GXi up some stairs, but your arms would probably ache for the rest of the day (unless you're built like 'the Mountain' from Games of Thrones.) The GXi in its fully-folded form. Engadget If you want to make the bike even smaller, you can take out the seat post and slip it through the centre loop of the rubber band. On the back of the saddle, next to the rear reflector, is a circular piece of plastic that usually hides a multitool. You can rotate it downward and drop it into the hole where the bottom of the seat post usually goes. At this point, everything on the bike is secure again. For a final flourish, you can remove the right pedal and stow it in a special holder next to the Lockshock. The bikes folded form is wonderfully compact. I live in a carpeted one-bed apartment (carpet is very popular in the UK, dont ask) that needs to be covered with a vinyl protector after riding in the rain. The folded GXi fits neatly on my front doormat, though. That means I can easily stow it in the corridor a gully too small for most bicycles or neatly propped up in the corner of my living room. I wish Gocycles were even smaller, of course, so I could hide them in a wardrobe or cupboard. But they're still practical if you live somewhere that doesnt have a garage, shed or a landlord that appreciates you sticking a large bike rack on the living room wall. Wrap-up The GXi is undeniably expensive. But it's in the same ballpark as other design-centric folding e-bikes, including the Brompton (2,595, or $3,231) and Hummingbird (4,495, or $5,598). Admittedly, you could buy a regular folding bike for a fraction of the price. But as I've written many times before, electric bicycles make more sense when you think of them as a car replacement. They're a healthier and greener way to complete shorter journeys without breaking a sweat. If you live somewhere like London, a folding bike might allow you to ditch the Tube or ride-hailing apps like Uber entirely. Depending on your use, something like the GXi could earn its sticker price in a matter of months. But you have to be willing to make that trade, otherwise an electric bike will always be a decadent purchase. (Well, until the price of high-quality e-bikes comes down, anyway.) An expensive e-bike, but one with few compromises. Engadget Gocycle's latest bicycle isn't perfect. I wish the predictive gear shifting was better and the pedal-assisted motor ran a little quieter, like the VanMoof S3 and X3. The Fast Charger is an eyesore and the app, while functional, could use some work. These are small complaints, though, that I think most people can live with. The bike is an obvious improvement on the GX which is heavier and doesn't have the DRL or expanded cockpit and broadly competitive with the Brompton and Hummingbird. I'm also glad the GXi doesn't have any overly complicated smart locks or location tracking. Instead, Gocycle has focused on the essentials and delivered yet another e-bike that feels like the future of urban transportation. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / (TSX-V:EVM) Evrim Resources Corp. ("Evrim" or the "Company") has been advised by its partner, Newmont FN Holdings ULC, a subsidiary of Newmont Corporation ("Newmont"), that it is relinquishing its option to earn up to an 80% interest in the Astro Project, NWT, Canada and terminating the Mackenzie Alliance. Evrim President & CEO Paddy Nicol stated, "We would like to thank Newmont for their exploration expertise and financial support over the past three years. Exploration work totalling US$3.2 million allowed for the evolution of the Astro project from a regional greenfield generative concept (the Mackenzie Alliance) to a ten kilometre long structural corridor with outcropping gold mineralization. This partnership has helped contribute to our understanding of the Astro project and the Misty Creek Embayment. Evrim is evaluating specific untested targets and the extensive regional potential before determining the next steps for exploration at Astro." About the Astro Project The Astro Project is a 288 square kilometre green-field exploration property located in the Northwest Territories along the Yukon border close to the Canol Road. The property contains outcropping gold mineralization in a ten kilometre long structural corridor. Mineralization is developed within and flanking the hornfelsed aureole of the Border pluton. Identified gold mineralization consists of gold-arsenic-antimony bearing quartz veins and gold- bismuth skarn and disseminated sulphides. Gold is hosted in multiple lithologies and displays a strong structural control along high-angle northwest-striking faults and fractures. Surface sampling of gossans at the Radio, Ultraviolet and Microwave prospect returned significant gold results including chip-channel sampling of 17.7 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold over 30.0 metres. Another prospect, Infrared, displays a 2 kilometre by 500 metre soil anomaly that has not yet been linked to a bedrock source. The Astro project is the result of a successful two-year, US$1.8 million generative "Mackenzie Alliance" with Newmont Mining Corporation who designated the project under the option phase of the Alliance. In 2019, Newmont funded a US$1.4 million exploration program that included an airborne geophysical survey and eleven reverse-circulation (RC) scout drill holes. The project is fully permitted through 2023. The Astro project is located within the territories of the Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim agreement and Evrim is committed to developing a positive mutually beneficial relationship based on respect and transparency. Qualified Person Statement Evrim's disclosure of technical and scientific information in this news release has been reviewed by Dave Groves, Vice President, Exploration for Evrim. Mr. Groves is a Certified Professional Geologist (#11456) with the American Institute of Professional Geologists and a Qualified Person under the definition of National Instrument 43-101. About Evrim Resources Evrim Resources is a mineral exploration company whose goal is to participate in significant exploration discoveries supported by a sustainable business model. The Company is well financed, has a diverse range of quality projects and a database covering substantial areas of Mexico and portions of southwestern United States. The Company's projects are advanced through option and joint venture agreements with industry partners to create shareholder value. Evrim's business plan also includes royalty creation utilizing the Company's exploration expertise and existing projects. On Behalf of the Board EVRIM RESOURCES CORP. Paddy Nicol President & CEO To find out more about Evrim Resources Corp., please contact Paddy Nicol, President, Dave Groves, VP of Exploration at daveg@evrimresources.com, or Liliana Wong, Manager, Investor Relations at 604-425-3400. Visit our website at www.evrimresources.com. Forward Looking Information This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward looking statements". All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that Evrim Resources Corp. (the "Company") expects to occur, are forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. SOURCE: Evrim Resources Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/588715/Newmont-Relinquishes-Option-on-Astro-Project-and-Terminates-the-Mackenzie-Alliance The Ghaziabad municipal administration came under sharp criticism for appealing to residents welfare associations (RWAs) and local councillors to advise doctors and health care workers working in Delhi to stay there. At the center of the controversy is a letter dated April 20 from Ghaziabad chief medical officer (CMO) Dr. N K Gupta to municipal commissioner Dinesh Chandra who subsequently addressed the letter to all zonal in-charges on May 5. They said the appeal was in order to control infections that may arise with contact from Covid-19 positive cases in the Capital. Doctors, however, say that the wording of the appeal was not appropriate and at a time when there were attacks on health care workers across the country, their efforts must not be stigmatised. In light of those attacks, the central government had passed an ordinance that had heavy penalties against those who attacked front line workers and on Wednesday, the UP government followed it by toughening its laws against such attacks. The appeal was made so that doctors and health care workers who work in Delhi do not get infection and also the other members of public and their families (in their highrises or nearby places) do not get infected. This was an appeal and in the form of a request, which is non binding upon doctors and health care workers who are staying in Ghaziabad but serving in nearby Delhi, said Dr NK Gupta, CMO. There are number of cases in which doctors and even patients have acquired infection. Even our government doctors and health care workers in Covid-19 and quarantine duties, about 100, are staying away from their families for over more than one month. We have made arrangements for them in hotels, hostels, etc. Late on Thursday night, he issued another letter in which he specified that his original letter was an appeal and not binding. District magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey did not take calls when contacted. Municipal commissioner Dinesh Chandra said, The communication is non-binding and in form of an appeal to the doctors and health care workers and issued in public interest. Earlier, the Ghaziabad administration had imposed more restrictions at the Ghaziabad-Delhi border areas citing reason that there were at least six cases in which people got infected after travelling to Delhi. The members of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Ghaziabad held discussion with their members over the issue on Thursday and said that the doctors and health care workers were the front line soliders and infection comes as a professional hazard. The doctors and health care persons are taking best possible precautions about the infection. We feel that the issue should have been taken up at the government to government level (UP government and Delhi government) to make arrangements for doctors and health care workers and should not have been publicised. It should have been for other people involved in providing essential services, said Dr. V B Jindal, president of IMA, Ghaziabad. We dont want such a stigma which may be seen as discrimination. We feel that RWAs or the councillors should not be given such powers for restricting doctors or HCWs, he added. Jindal added that that doctors and HCWs should take extra precautions like sanitisation of their vehicles they use and even while using services like the elevators in highrises. We will also be holding discussions with Ghaziabad administration about the communication. If they are in the form of an appeal, the language should be more appropriate, he added. Colonel (retired) TP Tyagi, president of flat owners federation, said that all the districts in Delhi are in Red Zone and doctors and health care workers are prone to risk of getting infection. We feel that the local administration in Ghaziabad or the Delhi government should make for decent arrangement for their stay if it is essentially required. In case any residential building has number of doctors or health care workers, they should take extra precautions and share some inconvenience in light of public interest. Once the situation improves, the original practice can be restored, he added. Anil Sharma, the secretary of the federation of association of apartment owners said that the respective state governments should make arrangements for doctors and health care workers. It seems that the local administration, rather than acting on their own, is trying to pass on the responsibility on to the RWAs to stop healthcare persons, he added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON If you have ever wondered what white privilege looks like when its abused, this is it. When vigilante white men shoot unarmed black men, it is nearly always twisted to become the black mans fault. Thats what happened with Trayvon, when there was no video to prove otherwise. And the same was about to happen to Arbery. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ardila Syakriah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 7, 2020 16:45 621 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd68f4c0 1 National COVID-19-in-Indonesia,PSBB,social-restriction,relaxation,transmission,rate-increase,travel-restriction Free As countries around the world gradually relax their pandemic curbs, Indonesia appears intent on easing its large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) amid claims of slowing COVID-19 transmission. However, experts warn that the fight is far from over. No sooner than a month since the introduction of the PSBB policy, which is in force in four provinces and 12 cities or regencies nationwide, the government announced this week that it would grant exemptions to its travel restrictions. The prevailing restrictions were stipulated in Transportation Ministerial Regulation No. 25/2020, which was originally issued to ban the Idul Fitri exodus as part of the national virus containment strategy. The national COVID-19 task force on Wednesday issued a circular letter exempting state officials, private sector workers and state-owned enterprise (SOE) employees from the ban, particularly those who provide health services, basic necessities, security and defense and vital economic functions. Repatriated Indonesian nationals, individuals in need of emergency medical care and family members of deceased individuals are also allowed to travel, with exemptions beginning Thursday. The ministerial regulation initially banned all inbound and outbound travel from COVID-19 red zones, areas under PSBB and agglomeration areas such as Greater Jakarta and Greater Bandung in West Java, from April 24 to May 31. It has come with several exceptions, such as the transportation of basic needs, medical supplies and equipment, and also allows for the operation of fire trucks, ambulance and hearses, as well as other operation vehicles for certain government missions. However, exemptions for businesspeople or others with "essential urgencies" like deaths are not stipulated in the regulation. Task force chief Doni Monardo said the government decided to grant exemptions to ensure the smooth transportation of medical kits and viral specimens, as well as the mobility of medical personnel and those from other sectors, among other reasons. For instance, a military officers wife isnt allowed to follow [her husband] to his assigned post. But surely her presence is important during military handover ceremonies, Doni said on Wednesday. However, the government had insisted that the exodus (mudik) ban remains in place and that exemptions shouldnt be seen as an attempt to ease restrictions. The new exemptions came shortly after senior security minister Mahfud MD revealed over the weekend that the government was mulling over the possibility of relaxing the PSBB policy. It would do so by allowing food stalls to operate and people to shop and go to work, among other things, while continuing to maintain existing health protocols, Kompas.id reported. The coordinating legal, political and security affairs minister said that relaxing curbs in some manner had become necessary to allow the economy to continue running smoothly. Regions implementing large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) (JP/Hengky Wijaya) President Joko Jokowi Widodo also instructed Wednesday that the country must slow the rate of viral transmission by all means necessary so that it falls to mild levels come July. Confidence is high among officials that the country will be able to enter its new normal by July or August, after Doni on Monday claimed that the rate of transmission had slowed to around 11 percent. However, just one day later, Indonesia reported its highest daily increase in confirmed infections of 484 new cases. As of Thursday, the government has officially recorded 12,776 infections, 2,381 recoveries and 930 deaths. Experts believe the delayed results of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and the nations low testing capacity have made it difficult to capture the true scale of the epidemic, although most agree that restrictions had helped curb infections. As of Thursday, Indonesia had tested 96,717 people, a considerably lower rate than its neighbors at 358 tests per 1 million people. An epidemiologist at the University of Indonesia, Pandu Riono, said that while the task force's travel exemption was necessary, it was prone to abuse given that those working in the private sector can still travel if they obtain an assignment letter from their board of directors or corporate heads, among other requirements. Pandu urged the government to issue a more detailed regulation that covers the blatant loopholes in the circular, including by imposing sanctions on those who violate the provisions. With the recent discovery of new transmission clusters, half-hearted PSSB implementation and the fact that some regions have yet to reach their supposed peak infection rate, Pandu warned it was still too early to ease restrictions. The province of East Java, for instance, recently discovered new clusters at a factory owned by tobacco giant HM Sampoerna in Surabaya, even though the Greater Surabaya area was placed under PSBB status from April 28. The provincial administration reported that referral hospitals were experiencing overcapacity, forcing patients into non-isolation wards or non-referral hospitals. As of Thursday, the region had recorded 1,267 cases, 206 recoveries and 133 deaths. Only with timely, accurate data on transmissions could officials then evaluate the PSBB policy and plan to loosen restrictions gradually rather than all at once, Pandu argued. "We have to wait until PDP [patients under surveillance] numbers decline, no new clusters are found and the number of new cases falls or even reaches zero. Easing restrictions must come in stages, and even then, the healthcare system and testing capacity must be adequate. If that is achieved, restrictions can be imposed on a more local scale in clusters so contact-tracing must be rock-solid for the virus not to spread. The problem is that it has spread widely, he said. Separately, Ilham Akhsanu Ridlo, a health policy lecturer at Airlangga University in Surabaya, East Java, said on the one hand that many regions were still struggling to impose the large-scale restrictions in full, and that any plans to relax the curbs must take into account further epidemiological studies. Considering the lack of capacity in healthcare services, helped along by its low ratio of patients to doctors, beds and ventilators, Ilham said that restricting mobility was the only viable way to curb transmission and deaths. "Overcapacity is inevitable. That's why the battle should focus not on healthcare facilities and curative efforts, but emphasize preventive and promotive efforts," he told the Post. New Zealands Labour Party-led government, like others throughout the world, is exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to test anti-democratic measures, including an extension of police and military powers. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared a state of emergency on March 25, as the country went into a lockdown aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus. Most businesses and all schools were closed. The lockdown was necessary, particularly given New Zealands lack of preparation for the pandemic, its rundown public health system, lack of quarantine facilities and inadequate testing and contact tracing. The government eased lockdown restrictions on April 28, allowing many businesses and schools to reopen, despite opposition from thousands of teachers and warnings from scientists that a longer lockdown was needed to eliminate the virus. The state of emergency, however, has been extended. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy in 2017. (Image Credit: Governor General Website/Wiki Media) The Ardern governments expansion of state powers goes well beyond what was needed to enforce the lockdown. Under the Civil Defence Emergency Act, the government can override virtually any legislation, with only a handful of exceptions including the Bill of Rights Act and the Electoral Act. The government is strengthening the police, military and intelligence agencies in preparation to suppress opposition as it imposes the burdens of the greatest crisis of capitalism since the Great Depression on the working class. While businesses are receiving billions of dollars in subsidies, tens of thousands of people have already lost their jobs or suffered wage cuts. Unemployment is expected to go above 10 percent and could reach 30 percent, a level comparable to the 1930s. Police now have the power to direct any person to stop any activity that may cause or substantially contribute to an emergency. Officers can enter houses without warrants to enforce social distancing and isolation. Police can also call on the military for assistance. So far, more than 600 people have been prosecuted by police for allegedly breaching the lockdown. Thousands more have received warnings. The maximum sentence for failing to comply with self-isolation orders is six months in prison and a $4,000 fine. Canterbury University law professor John Hopkins wrote on Stuff on March 31: There is no limit to this power unless the government provides guidance or rules as to how it should be exercised. Police have reportedly been issued with guidelines by the governments Crown Law office, but these have not been made public. Law professor Grant Morris wrote on the Radio NZ website on March 30 that the police commissioner had been given huge, largely unchecked, power. He compared the state of emergency to what New Zealand experienced in World War I and II and during the 1951 Waterfront Dispute. In those periods, extraordinary powers were used to enforce conscription, ban strikes and censor and imprison anti-war and left-wing activists. Similar laws were used in the 1930s Great Depression to suppress protests by thousands of unemployed workers. In addition to the new police powers, Radio NZ has reported that the Ministry of Health consulted the spy agency, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) and US company Palantir, which has worked with the CIA, about how to track contacts of people with COVID-19. The GCSB is part of the US-led Five Eyes intelligence network, which carries out mass surveillance on all the worlds electronic communications. The GCSB is providing advice to help to develop a contact-tracing, mobile phone app, similar to one announced in Australia, which is capable of significantly expanding state spying. In another ominous development, the military has been training for urban operations. A two-day Defence Force exercise was held in the working-class area of South Auckland on April 16-17, involving Army soldiers and the Air Force. Local residents were given no details about the exercise and the Defence Force refused to answer media questions about it. The Labour Partys middle class left supporters have sought to sow complacency about the expanded powers. Writing on the trade union-funded Daily Blog on April 21, pro-Labour Party commentator Chris Trotter praised the exercise, saying the military was preparing to suppress a serious outbreak of civil disorder if necessary by the use of deadly force. Trotter declared that the state had to be ready to deal with right-wing opposition to the lockdown, like the protests organised by heavily-armed Trump supporters in the US. The pseudo-left International Socialist Organisation (ISO) published an article on March 25 saying that any incidents of heavy-handedness by the police or military should be condemned. But in these extraordinary circumstances the police and military are being called on to play a social role. The ISO article by Martin Gregory declared: I cannot see that rightwing authoritarianism and militarism will be strengthened because state forces were roped in to help in the struggle against COVID-19. Such statements are intended to disarm the working class, under conditions where governments have been strengthening the police and military for years. The Ardern government has recruited an extra 1,800 police officers since coming to power in 2017. It has expanded police training programs in schools. Last year, the government used the Christchurch fascist terrorist attack as a pretext to further militarise the police and give more money to the spy agencies. The military is also being expanded and upgraded, to the tune of $20 billion. The Defence Forces regular biennial Southern Katipo exercises are explicitly preparing to confront and suppress insurgent populations. The real reason the government is strengthening the police, military and spy agencies has nothing to do with protecting public health, let alone combating fascism. (In New Zealand, as in the US, fascists support the military and have joined it.) In Spain, police have been mobilised to force workers back to work while the pandemic is still out of control. In Australia, police have used emergency powers to ban protests by refugees. The NZ ruling elite is anticipating a renewed upsurge of working class struggle. In 2018 and 2019, tens of thousands of nurses, teachers and doctors held nationwide strikes against the crisis in hospitals and schools, caused by decades of underfunding. The capitalists fear that these struggles could expand beyond the ability of the discredited, pro-capitalist trade unions to suppress and betray them. As in the 1930s and the 1951 waterfront dispute, governments will rely ever more heavily on the armed forces of the state to defend the profit system. By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 06, 2020 | 05:10 PM | FRANKFORT Beshear announced new details on the upcoming primary elections and urged voters to get ready to request absentee ballots, and announced help from the Kentucky National Guard. Previously, Beshear and Secretary of State, Michael Adams, agreed to move the primary elections to June 23, and to allow everyone to request absentee ballots that needed one. Officials are working on creating an online portal for Kentuckians to request a ballot. Members of the National Guard will be working as poll workers, and to ensure polling places continue operating safely. Beshear also announced that they have changed their travel restrictions to comply with the judicial findings, and to better mirror the travel restrictions of surrounding states. He issued a new executive order that does continue to ban anyone with a positive, or presumptive positive case of the virus from entering the Commonwealth, except for medical treatment. The new order does keep social distancing requirements on public transportation. Anyone traveling from out of state into Kentucky and staying are being asked to self-quarantine for 14 days. Beshear announced 159 new cases of the virus in the state, bringing the total number of cases to 5,934. There are currently 351 Kentuckians hospitalized with the virus, with 190 of those in the ICU. Eight new deaths were announced, while 2,125 Kentuckians have recovered. You can see Beshear's full update below . During his Wednesday update, Governor Andy Beshear provided an update on the travel ban and the upcoming election. Madeline Griffin is feeling the same sharp pain in her throat that she had in August 2016. Thats when authorities transferred her to a hospital from her cell at York Correctional Institution so a surgeon could remove cancer from her vocal cords. Shed been getting chemotherapy and radiation treatments when she was first admitted to the Niantic prison in July 2014; in the two years between her incarceration and surgery, the cancer spread from the space where her thyroid used to be into her head and neck. With COVID-19 looming, Griffin is worried she doesnt have that kind of time. Her last full-body scan regular examinations are crucial for people like Griffin, with metastatic cancer was in January 2017. Shes terrified the stabbing pain in her throat means the cancer has returned. I want to make sure Im not dying, Griffin said during a phone call from York. How do I know I dont have cancer again? Despite occasionally conflicting messages, officials have worked carefully to shrink the incarcerated population, mindful of overtaxing community resources already spread thin. The prison population is at historically low levels, and continues to decline. But many like Griffin those with pre-existing medical conditions who have family members willing to take them in still remain incarcerated. A growing number of these inmates, desperate not to die in prison, have turned to the courts, filing lawsuits or seeking furloughs to spare them from catching the novel coronavirus in a correctional facility. Their pleas underscore the lack of release options for those with underlying health issues, and the challenges an already-strained prison health care system faces in caring for those with medical needs during a pandemic. The lawsuits also highlight a systemic problem they apply only to the individuals named in each petition. Griffin, a 49-year-old grandmother who has a number of underlying medical conditions in addition to cancer, including diabetes and hypertension, is one of those who has filed a federal lawsuit. Coronavirus in Connecticut Federal judge denies state request to dismiss ACLU prison lawsuit Paul Garlinghouse, her attorney, wrote in her habeas petition that the eldest of her five children is willing to give her a place to live and drive her to medical and probation appointments. Hes not asking a judge to simply end her sentence; hes requesting she be transferred to supervised home confinement, even if its only temporary. Griffin is serving 12 years for burning down her mothers house so they could collect the insurance money. It is not supposed to be a death sentence, said Garlinghouse. As of Wednesday, 478 inmates had contracted COVID-19. Six have died, one of whom was just two years older than Griffin. No one at York has contracted the virus yet, officials say. Court confusion Garlinghouse filed Griffins suit in federal court. By law, state habeas cases must be filed in the Superior Court for the Judicial District of Tolland, as Garlinghouse wrote in Griffins petition. But no courthouse in that judicial district is currently open. Hes not the only attorney who thinks a federal lawsuit is his only option. Darcy McGraw, director of the Connecticut Innocence Project, a unit within the Division of Public Defender Services, plans on filing a state habeas petition for a client who was denied compassionate release, but she doesnt expect it to go anywhere. Im going to file something in state court under the understanding that nothing will happen, she said. So, then I can file in federal court and say, I filed in state court and nothing happened. The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit that would solve the issue posed by sick inmates having to file individual petitions to secure their release, said Dan Barrett, legal director of the ACLU of Connecticut. The class-action suit would cover large portions of the incarcerated population, including those age 50 or older and those who have medical conditions that put them at heightened risk of death due to COVID-19. The state tried to get that class action lawsuit dismissed by arguing state court services, though consolidated, remain open. Assistant Attorney General Terrence M. ONeill argued in a legal motion that the ACLUs similar and since-dismissed state suit shows that state courts are able to process certain cases. The very fact that the same attorneys were able to file such an action in state court completely refutes any claim that the state courts are closed, ONeill wrote, claiming that the incarcerated plaintiffs could seek release through bail reduction, sentence modification, or writs of habeas corpus. Judge Janet Bond Arterton disagreed. In a 26-page ruling denying the states motion to dismiss the class action, she said the extraordinary circumstances and life and death consequences of COVID-19 permit them to file in federal court, regardless of whether they have pursued all forms of relief in state courts. Plaintiffs have adequately demonstrated that the state court system is operating at such a diminished capacity that it may not be able to timely respond to a massive volume of emergency habeas petitionsa number potentially in the hundreds or thousands, given the size of the putative classin the urgent manner that those petitions require, Arterton said, allowing the case to continue. Inadequate systems On April 7, the Department of Correction began moving most inmates who test positive for COVID-19 to Northern Correctional Institution to protect the remainder of the prison population. But those at York, the states sole womens prison, cant be transferred to a mens prison if they contract the virus. They stay at York, where the population has fallen since the pandemic began. On the first day of March, there were 884 women incarcerated there. On May 6, there were 663. Yorks population peaked on Jan. 30, 2003, when it held 1,494 women. We have space there, which obviously is important if need be, if we had to separate someone that is sick, and quarantine those that individual has been in contact with, said DOC spokesperson Karen Martucci, noting that the department has been releasing inmates deemed eligible and suitable to transition to the community. If the ACLUs class-action approach is successful, many York inmates could end up benefitting, creating even more space in the womens prison for officials to utilize should they need more quarantine units. As of April 30, there were eight pregnant women incarcerated at York. The CDC says pregnant women have a higher risk of severe illness when infected with viruses similar to COVID-19. Of the eight, two were pretrial and being held on $60,000 and $50,000 bonds for violating a protective order and assaulting a police or fire officer, respectively. Two were locked up for picking up new criminal charges while on parole. The pregnant women with convictions were serving time for a slew of charges, including manslaughter, conspiracy and credit card theft. The incarcerated pregnant women would likely qualify for release should the federal judge ultimately rule in favor of the ACLUs class action suit, Barrett said. Griffin would likely benefit from the ACLU class action, too, thanks to her litany of comorbidities. Where is the line drawn if someone like her cant get released? asked Noel Rodriguez, Griffins son. When laws dont fit the times Aside from filing lawsuits, another way inmates with health issues are seeking release is through applying for compassionate or medical parole. To qualify for compassionate parole, inmates must have served half their sentence and be so physically or mentally debilitated because of their age or medical condition that they are physically incapable of presenting a danger to society. Medical parole is a similar form of release, except the disease must be terminal and there is no requirement on time served. McGraw recently represented a 67-year-old man who has served 34 of his 60-year sentence, and who applied for compassionate release. She described him as a model incarcerated citizen - a mentor to fellow inmates. McGraw argued that his Hepatitis C made him vulnerable for serious illness or death should he contract COVID-19. On April 30, McGraw received a response from Richard Sparaco, executive director of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, informing her that her client would not be granted compassionate release. Unfortunately, he does not meet the eligibility criteria outlined in the statute as he is not debilitated, incapacitated or infirmed as a result of his condition(s), Sparaco wrote. He is housed in general population and is caring for himself with limited involvement from medical staff. Sparaco previously told the CT Mirror his agency was prepared to review compassionate parole cases referred to them by the DOC. Records indicate between March 1 and May 1 the DOC referred a dozen people to the Board of Pardons and Paroles for compassionate parole, and six individuals for medical parole. Of those, the board has granted two people compassionate parole, and one person medical parole. The board granted the same number of people such paroles over the same timeframe the previous year. Connecticuts parole options are extremely limited, said McGraw. Theyre basically saying, Until you get COVID and youre dying from it, none of these mechanisms are available to you.' Members of the public have sent the board 44 requests for compassionate parole since March 1. Of those, five met the eligibility criteria for review. The board has referred those cases to the DOC for a full medical report, Sparaco said in an email. The mere threat of contracting the virus does not meet the narrow eligibility criteria required for an individual to be granted medical or compassionate parole, Sparaco said. The board is wrestling with whether having COVID-19 would make an inmate eligible for medical parole. The majority of people in- and outside of prison who contract the virus eventually recover, so they could be incapacitated for a relatively short period of time before they recover and possibly threaten public safety. On the medical end, it would only qualify if the virus advances to such a degree that all of a sudden his prognosis is theyre not gonna make it, Sparaco said. These two statutory criteria were not drafted to handle a virus such as this. There are other means by which Gov. Ned Lamont and Department of Correction Commissioner Rollin Cook could temporarily remove people with serious medical conditions from correctional facilities while keeping them under state supervision. But, by and large, it doesnt appear theyre utilizing them, said Barrett. For instance, Cook can temporarily release inmates on funeral, medical and reentry furloughs. The medical furlough is for inmates who need to obtain medical services that are otherwise unavailable behind bars. They are issued for 15 days at a time, and can be renewed. The state tracks the total combined number of furloughs issued each month and publishes it in its monthly indicator reports. Cook released 15 people on furloughs in March 2020, two fewer than in March 2019. Martucci said the use of medical furlough is very rare because the department often sends sick inmates in need of care to a hospital. Barrett said there are two reasons the release options available to inmates with medical conditions are insufficient for the challenges posed by COVID-19. First, there are political considerations. No one wants to be the person who lets someone out of prison who goes on to commit more crimes. Second, theyre not designed for large-scale relief. Nobody built these things with a pandemic in mind, said Barrett. Rodriguez has spoken with lawmakers and the DOC about his mothers potential release from York. He and his siblings and nephew have protested outside the governors mansion, demanding he take more of a role in protecting incarcerated people from COVID-19. Sometimes, when he speaks to legislators, he doesnt even mention his mother. When Im talking to these people Im really trying to push to have a mechanism in place that can be helpful to everyone, Rodriguez said. The goal is to show how inadequate the systems are that are in place. Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood was just hitting its stride, after years of turbulence. New restaurants were popping up, long-struggling theaters were selling out, work was plentiful and the quaint streets were crowded. All the risks the neighborhood had taken for years suddenly were paying off. Then everything slammed to a halt due to the novel coronavirus - potentially undoing years of work and investment. Hundreds are unemployed, businesses are completely closed or seeing a fraction of their usual traffic, and there's widespread fear that the worst is still ahead. "You watch the neighborhood build year by year, day by day, to get to where it is now, and you know it still has a long way to go . . . and you see how many people are intent on making that happen. And then it's like somebody just stopped the world," said D. Lynn Meyers of the Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, which has weathered numerous crises in its nearly 35 years, but never something like this. "It took over a decade to get to where we are, and it could take a month to lose it, and that scares me." The fear of the virus was high in Over-the-Rhine, which is densely populated and has a large homeless population. The community has had only three confirmed cases among its roughly 5,400 residents, an unexpected success, but the effort to curb the spread has itself exacted a heavy price. Over-the-Rhine is one of hundreds of urban neighborhoods across the country that have undergone a renaissance in recent years, as young professionals have searched for walkable communities with character and short commutes, empty nesters have looked to plant themselves in cultural districts, and city leaders have sought out the kinds of high-income residents who had previously fled to the suburbs. These transformations are usually deeply dependent on people having money to dine at expensive restaurants, shop at Instagram-worthy boutiques, and gather with others to experience the arts. Many of these neighborhoods have long been fragile, teetering between renewal and decline. Hundreds of Over-the-Rhine's longtime residents were pushed out by increasing rent prices as the area gentrified, but there are still remnants of the neighborhood that once was - soup kitchens, a food bank, subsidized housing, nonprofits that help those without homes, and a public elementary school where 99% of students are economically disadvantaged. Nowadays, nonprofit leaders who have weathered years in a city with one of the nation's highest poverty rates are often moved to tears as they talk about the growing and unprecedented need among both the long-distressed and those vaulted into chaos by the pandemic. "The cascade of poverty is going to get really bad here really fast," said Chris Schuermann, the executive director of St. Francis Seraph Ministries, which provides free meals and other services to the homeless or those on the verge of becoming homeless. "I hate to say that the worst is yet to come, but that's what I keep telling my children." - - - On the Sunday before St. Patrick's Day - as brunchers gathered and mimosas flowed, and as servers disinfected tables and doorknobs - Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, announced that business as usual would end for restaurants and bars at 9 that night. Although most owners were closely following coronavirus news, the announcement still felt sudden. Joe Lanni, of the Thunderdome Restaurant Group, which is based in Over-the-Rhine and has five restaurants in the neighborhood in addition to dozens in the region, said the announcement was a "gut punch" to him and his two partners. A few days before the governor's announcement, Lanni had been working on deals to open new restaurants - and just a few days after it, the three partners were gathered around a speakerphone telling their 1,300 employees how to file for unemployment. "It was an extremely tear-filled conference call," he said. "It was shocking and terrifying to the whole team. . . . There is all of this positive momentum, and then boom, all of a sudden they get a call that we're shutting all of the restaurants down. It was just a shock wave." In interviews with more than five dozen people who live, work or invest in Over-the-Rhine, no one disagreed with the governor's decisions, and they credited him for preventing a widespread outbreak in the neighborhood. Their only complaint is that many states didn't move as aggressively, or might reopen sooner, which could extend the economic crisis for the neighborhood. DeWine recently announced that retail businesses can reopen on May 12, as long as employees wear masks, but it's unknown how long it will be before it's safe to once again sit in a restaurant. Last week, Thunderdome reopened a few of its restaurants for carryout and delivery. Boomtown Biscuits and Whiskey, located one block east of Over-the-Rhine in the Pendleton neighborhood, tried to switch to carryout. The two-year-old restaurant has an all-day brunch menu and would get calls from people asking if they were open and promising to call back on Saturday. "I kept telling them: Guys, brunch is not a thing anymore," said Christian Gill, the executive chef. "As much as I want to brunch with you, I don't have mimosas. I have mimosas made with the tears of all of my staff in an orange juice, if you would like that." Three days into the experiment, Gill decided to fully shut down. He and his managers stuck around to help the staff of 24 file for unemployment and pick up some perishable food. Opening the restaurant was a dream for Gill, but this year was already a tough one. In January, his business partner died, devastating the Boomtown staff and forcing Gill to handle the business and food sides of the operation. "It has been one blow after another for us as a restaurant," Gill said. "What am I supposed to do? What are the right options, the right choices to be made?" While most laid-off or furloughed workers have filed for unemployment and are likely to receive a stimulus check, restaurant owners like Gill say they've received little relief from the federal government. Everyone is hesitant to take out loans that they may not be able to repay. Daniel Wright closed his three restaurants and one bar in Over-the-Rhine, plus another in the Cincinnati suburbs, laying off 150 employees. He said he can't imagine reopening all five locations without some sort of relief from the government or his insurance company. "At some point, it's easier to just walk away than it would be to take on more debt in order to survive this," he said. The neighborhood's major developers are waiving or dramatically reducing rent for their tenants, and a gift-card matching program will infuse $600,000 into area businesses. Jose Salazar, a James Beard-nominated chef with two restaurants in Over-the-Rhine and one downtown, closed two of his locations and furloughed 90 of his 96 workers. With some corporate and nonprofit help, he has been cooking and distributing meals for industry workers who have lost their jobs - allowing him to bring a dozen workers back. His downtown restaurant is open each evening for those needing a meal, groceries and other necessities. "We're usually the last ones to ask for help but the first ones to want to give it out," he said. "No matter how often we say: 'Hey, we're here for you, we've got you, we're going to help you out,' there are going to be those people who don't want to ask for help, don't want a handout and are embarrassed to some degree." - - - Over-the-Rhine got its start nearly 200 years ago, when German immigrants passed over the Miami and Erie Canal - now the paved-in Central Parkway - and were reminded of the Rhine, a major river in Europe. They filled Over-the-Rhine with rich experiences that reminded them of home. For generations, Over-the-Rhine was a working-class neighborhood - often a mix of immigrants, Appalachian whites and African Americans. As the years went on, the poverty increased, and so did the crime. In April 2001, a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teenager in the neighborhood, prompting four nights of protests that caused millions of dollars worth of property damage. Several people were injured and hundreds arrested. Some activists refer to it as "the uprising"; newcomers often refer to it as "civil unrest" or a "race riot." The troubles added urgency to local business and community leaders's desire to swiftly transform the neighborhood. Two years later, the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) was born. Since then, it has invested more than $1 billion in the area, with much of that money coming from corporations headquartered downtown. The rapid development has almost tripled the median income. Yet many of Over-the-Rhine's remaining low-income residents have long struggled. For those newly in need, it has been difficult to apply for unemployment and government assistance; centers that once helped with this process are shuttered. Those who could work often don't have anyone to watch their children, as schools, day-care centers and after-school programs have all closed. Rothenberg Preparatory Academy - the neighborhood public elementary school - closed so quickly that the school resource coordinator, Tasha Kimbro, was unable to grab the food, clothing, hygiene products and other items that she kept at the school to give to students. "Rothenberg was their safe space. . . . They get love, they get food, they get clothes. I have kids who don't have all of the tools to be clean, from preschool to all of our sixth-graders," Kimbro said. "I am just worried they're not being able to maintain their own self-confidence, because that's what I tried to help with a lot. It just sucks." Three days a week, the school district distributes meals outside the school, and Kimbro has been supplementing them with donated groceries and other necessities. Anyone who needs food can take it, she said, no questions asked. Half a mile away, at Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen and Social Center, which remains open for carryout, Executive Director Georgine Getty has struggled to provide the most basic necessities to her clients. The kitchen serves only weekdays. Churches and other groups used to serve meals on Saturday and Sunday; in their absence, Getty now passes out pull-top cans of food on Fridays to cover the weekend. When the library closed, those without homes no longer had access to the internet, phones, bathrooms or fresh drinking water. She installed a portable bathroom and outdoor hand-washing station - then realized people were drinking that water. The city paid to set up outdoor water spigots. "I never thought I would be so excited about fresh drinking water - I mean, this is developing nations stuff," she said. Each day, she sees new faces in the line, including a family of seven now living in a minivan and nonviolent offenders who were released from jail to relieve overcrowding. Everyone is dirtier than usual, and hungry in a way she didn't used to see. They can't see her smile at them from under her mask. Hanging over everything is the virus. If one person on staff gets sick, the kitchen will probably have to close. If one of the diners gets sick, the virus will probably spread through the already-vulnerable population. "Homeless service leaders who I love, respect and have worked with for years - the toughest folks I know - are starting to reach their breaking points," she said. "We share a five-minute cry or a supportive text and then get back to work." While Hamilton County has committed more than $1 million in federal funds to book hotel rooms for those who were living in the shelters when the crisis hit, advocates say many people are still sleeping in their cars, on the streets or in encampments. Samuel Landis, who runs the nonprofit Maslow's Army, used to offer free haircuts and pizza in a plaza just south of Over-the-Rhine every Sunday. Over the past six weeks, Maslow's Army has booked hotel rooms for more than 200 people without homes who were left out of the county's efforts. First, Landis booked rooms at the downtown Quality Inn, but when the rates rose, everyone moved to a Microtel in nearby Kentucky - until the local mayor pressured them to leave. The group is now at a hotel in Cincinnati, though grant money and donations are running out. Last week, he had to ask more than half of his guests to leave so that he could continue helping those most in need. "I was in tears most of the day," he said. "I know where they're going back to, and it's a very hopeless and desperate situation." All around, there is crisis. Millions in federal stimulus dollars are starting to arrive - but that infusion has prompted the city of Cincinnati to ask several nonprofits to give back 25 percent of the city funding they received. The city is already several million dollars short this fiscal year, and it has furloughed a quarter of its workforce. The next fiscal year, which starts July 1, is expected to be even worse. The Freestore Foodbank has seen its warehouses quickly depleted - and officials have been urging those who are newly unemployed to apply for food stamps so they can buy groceries instead. The county court system has stopped eviction hearings for now, but there are widespread reports of landlords threatening to kick people out as soon as the moratorium lifts. Before the world slammed to a halt, Preston Bell Charles III said, his music career was finally "blooming." He has been a fixture at the Findlay Market in Over-the-Rhine, jamming on his violin - mostly classical with some rock thrown in. All of Charles's gigs have been canceled, except for a wedding in September, and he moved in with his brother's family. He is still working part-time for his father, who owns a funeral home, and helping care for and educate his three children. When schools closed, there was a scramble to find a laptop for Charles's 12-year-old daughter, who attends Cincinnati Public Schools. Meanwhile, his 5-year-old son received a laptop from his suburban school district. "I thought I was just going to continue phonics, but now you want me to teach my son how to use a computer properly? I mean, he's 5, he does respect things - but it almost feels like too much," said Charles, 37. Charles doesn't think he qualifies for unemployment and, because he didn't file a tax return last year, he doesn't expect to receive a stimulus check. He began to cry as he described friends who have reached out to offer help - one hired him to play a front-yard concert, another sent him some money when he desperately needed it. "It's been tough, but I am still surviving," he said. "I don't think I have been in a struggle like this since I was 19 or 20, just trying to figure things out, and it has been different now with three kids. . . . I feel blessed that I have my health and that my kids are safe." While Americans focus on the coronavirus pandemic and the mounting economic crisis, top Republicans in Washington are taking advantage of this situation to attack one of the constitutional pillars of American democracy: our free press. Americas founders knew freedom of the press was so important that they enshrined it in the very first amendment to the United States Constitution as part of the Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791. Since then, our nations free press has defended and strengthened Americas constitution and our democratic way of life by keeping government officials accountable to the public for their actions in office. The free press serves as a watchdog of Americas free society. As a Republican former Member of Congress, I have firsthand experience with the important role that journalists play, as I would face pointed questions from local reporters about my positions on key issues and votes I cast while in office. Regardless of a reporters political affiliation, honest reporting of the facts helps inform the public about what actions elected representatives are taking to serve the public interest. Transgender people could face being forced to undergo exorcisms to 'save' them from hell under proposed laws in Indonesia. The move comes after reactionary Islamic lawmakers in the conservative Aceh province tabled a so-called 'Family Resilience' bill. Andin is haunted by memories of being forced into an exorcism to 'save' her from being transgender - a ritual that could become mandatory for Indonesia's LGBT community if the controversial new law is passed. For two decades Andin has endured harassment and abuse as her family desperately tried to 'cure' her. Treatments ranged from being bombarded with Koranic verses while trapped in a locked room for days, to being doused with freezing water by an imam promising to purge the 'gender disease'. But it is the exorcism that breaks her heart. Forced exorcism is a common story for many gay and transgender people in the world's biggest Muslim majority nation, where a conservative shift has seen the community increasingly targeted in recent years She was taken against her will to a strange religious guru near her hometown of Medan in Sumatra. He showed her a burial shroud commonly used to cover the dead and prayed over her. He then gave a stark choice: relinquish life as a woman, or go to hell. 'Nothing changed after the exorcism. I'm still LGBT, but my family didn't give up easily,' says Andin, 31, who asked that her real name not be used. 'It's traumatising - the horror of that memory stays in my head.' Forced exorcism is a common story for gay and transgender people in the world's biggest Muslim majority nation, where a conservative shift has seen the community increasingly targeted in recent years. Homosexuality is legal everywhere in Indonesia except conservative Aceh province which adheres to strict Islamic laws. But it is still widely believed that being gay or transgender is the result of a person being possessed by evil spirits - and that these can be expelled by religious ceremony and prayer. Now, conservative Islamic lawmakers have tabled a so-called 'Family Resilience' bill, which critics decry as sexist and anti-LGBT. Gay and transgender people would be forced to undergo 'rehabilitation' - an umbrella term likely to include exorcisms and other 'conversion treatments' - to purge what bill advocates say is a sexual deviancy. Although now a Muslim-majority nation, traditional tribal animist and shamanist beliefs have been incorporated into the cultural and religious identity across the Southeast Asian archipelago, which is home to more than 260 million. Exorcisms have long been used for everything from tackling mental illness to clearing villages of alleged apparitions. This means the practice will play a key role if the new law is passed, warns Usman Hamid, Amnesty International Indonesia's executive director. '[It's] the most likely option to be taken by officials in Indonesia when doing "rehabilitation'', he adds. For Aris Fatoni, who performs exorcisms to rid patients of myriad medical and personal problems, mandatory conversion therapy will bring a business boom. Homosexuality is legal everywhere in Indonesia except conservative Aceh province which adheres to strict Islamic laws, but many believe being gay or transgender is the result of a person being possessed by evil spirits He claims he has 'cured' around ten such clients in the past decade. During an exorcism, Fatoni reads from the Koran as he places his hands on clients and then watches for signs he believes suggest evil spirits are being expelled. 'It's usually a strong reaction but that means they'll be cured quicker,' he explains, adding that he's witnessed vomiting and screaming in the process. 'However, if someone likes being LGBT and they've only come here out of curiosity then there's no reaction. Those cases are harder to fix.' His colleague, Ahmad Sadzali, also boasts of successful conversions. 'One guy I treated only did the exorcism twice and he is cured now. He married a woman just one month later,' he recalls. Six clinics in Jakarta said they performed exorcisms that would 'cure' LGBT clients, although none openly advertised the treatment. 'How long have you been suffering the disease?' one shop owner asks over the telephone, before reminding the caller he cannot treat those with HIV. 'God willing, I can help as long as you surrender to Allah.' Surveys in recent years indicate intolerance and radicalism is on the rise, with one 2017 study suggesting more than 80 percent of Indonesians support the country adopting strict Islamic law. Dinda says her mother, who is deeply religious, tricked her into visiting for a family reunion - but when the 34-year-old lesbian arrived, she found a Muslim cleric there who performed an exorcism against her will. 'My mom believed I was possessed by ghosts and that if I didn't have an exorcism then the evil spirits would stay with me,' recalls Dinda, who asked that her real name not be used. Her sexuality remains the same but she no longer trusts her mother. 'I get shivers every time my mum calls me. And I see the exorcist in my dreams. It left me very scared,' she reveals. Surveys in recent years indicate intolerance and radicalism is on the rise, with one 2017 study suggesting more than 80 percent of Indonesians support the country adopting strict Islamic law In Aceh, same-sex relations can result in a public whipping under local Islamic law and in 2018 police there rounded up a group of transwomen and publicly humiliated them by cutting their hair and forcing them to dress in male clothes. The same year, authorities in Sumatra's Padang city ordered LGBT residents to have treatment to stop their 'sinful acts' following mass demonstrations. But there is still a vocal minority pushing back against draconian changes to legislation. Last year, lawmakers tried to push through a criminal law overhaul that would have made pre-marital sex a criminal offence, but the bid was shelved after a sharp backlash. Similarly, proposals in the new bill are being fought by rights campaigners. 'Conversion therapy, such as exorcisms, amount to violence against LGBT people,' said Budi Wahyuni, a former commissioner at the Indonesian women's commission. Andin remains unconvinced things will get better. Her family persists in trying to cure her - most recently sacrificing a goat to do so. She says: 'Twenty years later, they still want me to be different.' President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he vetoed the Iran war powers resolution: AP President Donald Trump has vetoed legislation that limited a presidents ability to wage war against Iran without the approval of Congress. On Wednesday, Mr Trump said that he vetoed the Iran war powers resolution because it was insulting to the presidency. In a statement, he argued that the nonbinding legislation purported to direct me to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces in hostilities against Iran. Congress passed the Iran war powers resolution in the aftermath of the US killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, amid widespread concerns about tensions between the US and Iran. At the time, the resolution which was introduced to Congress by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine showed bipartisan support for reigning-in president Trumps war-making powers. This was a very insulting resolution, introduced by Democrats as part of a strategy to win an election on November 3 by dividing the Republican Party, said Trump in the White House statement on Wednesday. The few Republicans who voted for it played right into their hands. In another White House memo, reported CNN, the president said This indefinite prohibition is unnecessary and dangerous. The resolution implies that the Presidents constitutional authority to use military force is limited to defense of the United States and its forces against imminent attack. That is incorrect, Trump said on Wednesday. Trump continued: We live in a hostile world of evolving threats, and the Constitution recognises that the President must be able to anticipate our adversaries next moves and take swift and decisive action in response. Thats what I did! Congress is not expected to override the presidents veto during a vote on Thursday, as Republicans hold a 53-to 47-seat majority in the US senate. Mr Kaine on Wednesday called on senators to vote with him to override the veto, saying on Twitter: I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to override his vetoCongress must vote before sending our troops into harms way. The resolution was passed by the House of Representatives in March and the Senate in April, with the support of a small number of Republicans. What Movie Should We Watch? View Answers The Last Airbender - Pod Night Shyamacast (M. Night Shyamalan) 10 ( 6.4 % ) The Matrix - The Podchowski Casters (The Wachowskis) 30 ( 19.2 % ) Jerry Maguire - We Pod a Cast (Cameron Crowe) 15 ( 9.6 % ) Minority Report - Pod Me If You Cast (Steven Spielberg - Dreamworks Era) 22 ( 14.1 % ) Inception - The Pod Knight Casts (Christopher Nolan) 36 ( 23.1 % ) As Good As It Gets - Podcast News (James L. Brooks) 16 ( 10.3 % ) Incredible 2 - The Podcastibles (Brad Bird) 16 ( 10.3 % ) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Podward Scissorcast (Tim Burton) 11 ( 7.1 % ) What Date/Time? View Answers Friday, May 8 at 9 PM EST 44 ( 47.3 % ) Saturday, May 9 at 9 PM EST 49 ( 52.7 % ) Are you constantly voting for Friday nights but not actually joining the parties on Friday nights? View Answers Yes 24 ( 28.2 % ) No 37 ( 43.5 % ) I don't understand the question, and I won't respond to it. 24 ( 28.2 % ) Would you like to do a doubles week for Friday & Saturday parties? View Answers Yes 57 ( 72.2 % ) No 22 ( 27.8 % ) If yes, arranged how? View Answers Same movie both nights, give the Saturday voters a chance! 26 ( 36.1 % ) Highest polled movie on highest polled night (likely Friday based on all previous polls) & 2nd highest polled movie on next night. 46 ( 63.9 % ) Over the last 7 weeks, several ONTDers & I watchedtogether using the Chrome extension Netflix Party , where we used the built-in chat feature to discuss together....from a safe social distance.Weekly movie viewings are planned with a selection poll on Tuesdays (sometimes Wednesdays).1) Using Chrome Browser, Click here & click on the "Install Netflix Party" button. Once you are redirected to the Chrome Web Store, click "Add to Chrome" to finish installing Netflix Party.2) On movie night, the host ONTDer will open a video in Netflix to watch and start playing the video. If selected, the host will have full playback controls (YMMV).3) To create a party, the host will click on the red "NP" icon located next to the address bar. Then click "Start Party" to get the party started, and share the party URL in an ONTD post to invite everyone to join!4) To join a party click on the party URL, which will redirect to Netflix's website.Then click on the "NP" button next to the address bar, and you should automatically join the party. Below is a poll to vote for our 8th week's movie night selection & date/time.- of which I am not a Patreon subscriber like I am for We Hate Movies, but I probably should be.Not an ad, just another enthusiastic, movie podcast loving endorsement, if you are looking for more podcast content these days. The third movie podcast I listen to is How Did This Get Made?, which I will have as a theme in an upcoming week. Israel's Supreme Court may have thrown Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a lifeline but he is not yet safely on dry ground. While a ruling late Wednesday allows Netanyahu to form the next government even though he is under indictment for corruption, he now must clear his name in court. The Supreme Court decision was an emphatic victory for Israel's longest serving prime minister, allowing him to embark on a fourth consecutive term in office fifth overall and confirming his reputation as a political Houdini. Now with the Supreme Court decision in their favor, right-wing Netanyahu and his political rival-turned partner, the centrist Benny Gantz said they expect their coalition to be sworn into office next week. Under the unity deal, Netanyahu, who is the current leader of the caretaker government, will serve as prime minister for 18 months before handing power over to Gantz. However, beyond the swearing-in ceremony looms the beginning of Netanyahu's corruption trial, which starts May 24. As the date draws near, it remains unclear what, if anything, Netanyahu can do to stop it from happening. Image: Benny Gantz (Israeli Blue and White party / via AFP - Getty Images) "We have heard that he intends to go to trial and to try to convince the judges that he did not do anything wrong," said Suzie Navot, a professor of constitutional and parliamentary law at the Haim Striks School of Law in Rishon Letzion, Israel. Netanyahu is charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three long-running corruption cases that include allegations that he received gifts, including cigars and champagne, worth hundreds of thousands of shekels from a Hollywood mogul, among others. Netanyahu, who faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of bribery, and a maximum 3-year term for fraud and breach of trust, according to legal experts, denies any wrongdoing and says he is the victim of a politically orchestrated "witch hunt." According to Yossi Mekelberg, a professor of international relations at Regents University London, Netanyahu will most likely try to delay the court case, while also trying to delegitimize the justice system. Story continues There is no reason for us to believe that he wont do anything in his power to stop his trial, Mekelberg said of the prime minister who has earned himself the title of magician or "King Bibi" in some political circles for his knack for political self-preservation. Now, after three inconclusive elections in the space of a year, it appears Netanyahu has found a way of remaining in office. Many expect to see similar flashes of political nous applied to the spin around his upcoming trial. "He will portray himself as a victim of the deep state," Mekelberg said. However, beyond rhetoric, the methods available to Netanyahu to protect himself from the courts remain unclear. One option could be for him to attempt to postpone the trial using procedure or, at the very least, slow down the pace of the trial significantly, Navot said. The trial, which was supposed to begin in March, was already postponed once, after Netanyahu's interim justice minister, Amir Ohana, placed restrictions on the court due to the coronavirus pandemic. Once in court, he could argue that his behavior was conducted in the fulfillment of his function as prime minister and therefore would fall under existing legislation, parliamentary and ministerial immunity, which states that lawmakers cannot be prosecuted for acts conducted in the fulfillment of their roles, Navot added. However, since Netanyahu was indicted by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, it remains unclear if that would hold water. Another option could be to call another election and hope that he wins a 61-seat majority. Then, Navot said, it is plausible he could attempt to pass a specific law that protects him from prosecution while in office. Regardless, these are unprecedented times for Israeli politics. Netanyahu is Israels first sitting prime minister to be charged with a crime. His predecessor, Ehud Olmert, resigned a decade ago ahead of a corruption indictment that later sent him to prison for 16 months. That the leader of a government will spend a lot of time in front of a judge, thats bizarre and unprecedented, Mekelberg said. "It will compromise governing the country, especially in times of pandemic crisis." Miniature devices that could be developed into safe, high-resolution imaging technology, with uses such as helping doctors identify potentially deadly cancers and treat them early, have been created in research involving the University of Strathclyde. The devices use terahertz radiation, which can penetrate through materials such as plastics, wood and skin. This form of radiation, which falls between infrared and microwaves in the electromagnetic spectrum, does not damage living tissues as other forms such as X-rays can. The devices are made from nanowires 100 times thinner than a human hair. They could be used in new, safe imaging technology with far higher resolution than current ultrasound devices used to detect small tumours. A team of researchers from Strathclyde's Institute of Photonics, in the University's Department of Physics, developed a highly accurate micro-assembly technique to allow the construction of a 3D lattice of nanowire devices. The team used a specialised 'transfer printing' micro-assembly system to print semiconductor nanowire structures, with nanoscale accuracy, in orthogonal patterns onto metal antenna structures. The study, published in the journal Science, is the result of a collaboration between Strathclyde, the University of Oxford, and the Australian National University (ANU), based in Canberra. Professor Martin Dawson, one of Strathclyde's lead researchers on the project, said: "It is very exciting to see this collaborative work with our close colleagues at Oxford and ANU published in a journal as prestigious as Science. We have developed novel capabilities for printing of semiconductor nanostructures and microstructures at Strathclyde over the past few years and, combined with ANU's leading ability to grow semiconductor nanowires and Oxford's advanced light detection concepts this has led to very exciting results. "It has been a pleasure to partner with our colleagues in this work and we look forward to further leading-edge results from the collaboration." Dr Antonio Hurtado, a Senior Lecturer in Strathclyde's Institute of Photonics, who is also part of Strathclyde's lead team, said: "Building the THz detection systems was a great challenge that required the development at Strathclyde of extremely precise nanofabrication processes. These permitted us to use the semiconductor nanowires from ANU as 'building blocks' for their sequential integration in the 3D THz detectors designed at Oxford, whilst keeping the nanometric accuracy needed to assemble the systems. This has been a great combination of capability and a fantastic collaboration between the different teams involved in this work." Other terahertz radiation systems, such as those used in airport security scanners, are based on simple intensity detection. However, improved imaging techniques can be implemented by making use of the fact that terahertz radiation, like all electromagnetic waves, contains polarisation information -- the direction of the electromagnetic fields as they propagate through space. The orientation of the nanowires in the device allows terahertz radiation with different polarisations to be measured independently and given the compact device area, paves the way for future on-chip imaging systems. Sketches of Bitter Creek Betty's face and her rose tattoo were released by the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office shortly after her body was discovered in 1992. An arrest was made Wednesday related to the unidentified woman's death. On March 1, 1992, a truck driver stopped off of Interstate-80 to change his fuel tanks discovered a woman's body 40 miles east of Rock Springs. Decades after her discovery, an arrest was made in the cold case involving a woman only known as "Bitter Creek Betty." The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation announced an arrest related to two Wyoming cold cases, the Bitter Creek Betty investigation and a similarly unidentified woman found in Sheridan County who was dubbed the "I-90 Jane Doe." Clark Perry Baldwin, 59, of Waterloo, Iowa, was arrested Wednesday at his home by agents from the F... An arthritis drug may better the conditions of severely ill coronavirus patients, a new small study suggests. Researchers found more that than 70 percent treated with anakinra, sold under the brand name Kineret, showed improvements in breathing and reduced signs of inflammation. The team, from San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, Italy, says its findings are the first to suggest that the drug works - but that randomized controlled trials are needed to fully understand the medication's effectiveness. Scientists are racing to test both existing medicines and experimental therapies in the hope that something will help alter the course of the global pandemic. In the case of anakinra, experts say that although the results of the study are interesting, it is far too early to say whether or not the drug works. Researchers tested 29 Italian coronavirus patients with anakinra (pictured), an arthritis drug, and compared them to 16 control patients In the study, 72% showed improved respiratory health and reduced signs of cytokine storms, which occur when the body attacks not just the virus but its own cells. Pictured: A man arrives by ambulance from a hospital in New York City, April 25 In the control groups, respiratory function improved for just half of the patients and 56% survived, compared to 90% of the anakinra group. Pictured: EMS paramedics bring Zully, a COVID-19 patient, home by ambulance from Stamford Hospital in Connecticut, April 25 'Until a vaccine is available, we urgently need to find a way to help people survive the most severe symptoms of COVID-19, and to do that without overwhelming the intensive care capacity of hospital,' said Dr Lorenzo Dagna, head of the immunology, rheumatology, allergy and rare diseases unit at San Raffaele Hospital. 'A treatment that has already met strict safety tests and that is available in sufficient quantities to meet the needs of the current pandemic is ideal.' Anakinra belongs to a class of drugs called interleukin-1 inhibitors that could help regulate a dangerous overreaction to the virus by the body's immune system called a cytokine storm. These so-called storms occur when the body doesn't just fight off the virus but also attacks its own cells and tissues. For the 21-day study, published in The Lancet Rheumatology, the team observed 45 critically ill COVID-19 patients at San Raffaele. Of those patients, 29 received standard care - which included a CPAP machine for breathing, hydroxychloroquine and lopinavi/ritonavir (an HIV drug) - as well as anakinra given via an IV. The remaining 16 patients received standard care only, which occurred before the study period. In nearly three-quarters of the 29 patients - 72 percent - showed improved respiratory health and reduced signs of cytokine storms. They also has lower levels of serum C-reactive protein, which is made by the liver and sent to the bloodstream in response to inflammation. Survival was 90 percent. By comparison, the group of 16 had either persistent or recurrent increases of serum C-reactive protein levels. Respiratory function improved for just half of the patients and 56 percent survived. 'Our study is the first to suggest that a high dose of the arthritis drug anakinra may be able to block the overreaction of the immune system caused by COVID-19,' Dr Guilo Cavalli, an internal medicine specialist at San Raffaele, said. 'The results are interesting and the drug deserves controlled testing in large randomized trials.' Outside experts say the findings from the study are interesting but that a much larger study is required. 'This is a rapid study undertaken in unusual circumstances and to gain a quick impression about whether this ant-arthritis treatment might be beneficial in seriously ill patients for whom there is currently no treatment,' said Dr John R Kirwan, Emeritus Professor of Rheumatic Diseases at the University of Bristol in the UK. 'It looks like the patients getting the treatment had a slightly better outcome but they were also (on average) eight years younger, and this could just as easily have been the explanation.' CHICAGO, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "IoT Node and Gateway Market by Hardware (Processor, Connectivity IC, Sensor, Memory Device, Logic Device), End-use Application (Industrial, Consumer), and Geography (North America, Latin America, Europe, APAC, RoW) - Global Forecast to 2026", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global IoT Node and Gateway market size is estimated to grow from USD 387.1 billion in 2020 to USD 563.7 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 6.5%. Major driving factors for the IoT node and gateway industry are the development of internet connectivity, growing use of wireless sensors and their networks, increased IP address space and better security solutions made available through IPv6, growth of application-specific MCUs and flexible SoC-type designs, and growing market of connectivity devices. Concerns regarding the security and privacy of user data act as restraint for the IoT node and gateway market. Request for PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=248007097 Connectivity ICs market to hold largest share of IoT node and gateway market, by hardware in 2026 Connectivity chips help IoT devices to connect with each other and the Internet. A majority of the IoT devices use personal area network (PAN), local area network (LAN), and wide area network (WAN). A number of connectivity technologies are being used currently and experimented upon. The market has seen an increase in the number of companies providing low-power wireless network connectivity that is specifically designed for IoT applications. The increasing demand for better edge devices connectivity and significant developments in low-power connectivity technologies, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), are the key factors supporting the growth of the connectivity IC segment. In addition, increasing demand for consumer electronics and the soaring popularity of smart homes, which use multiple connectivity technologies, such as Bluetooth, BLE, Wi-Fi, and near-field communication (NFC), is expected to further drive the demand for connectivity ICs. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are likely to record the maximum shipment during the forecast period because of their low power consumption and low cost. Consumer end-use application to hold largest share of IoT node and gateway market in 2026 The consumer end-use application of IoT node and gateway market includes wearable devices and consumer electronics segments. With the evolution of consumer appliances that can connect to the Internet and smartphones, the growth of IoT technology in the consumer electronics segment is expected to receive a boost. Given the large population base in some of the developing economies, such as China, India, and Thailand, there has been an increased number of new M2M connections per year in the APAC region. Therefore, the demand for smart consumer devices is higher in this region. Due to an increase in the penetration of Internet in developing Asian countries, paired with changing lifestyle of consumers, the uptake of smart home devices has increased in the region. Increasing requirement of comfort and convenience has considerably surged the demand of smart devices. BFSI is fastest-growing industrial vertical, in terms of volume, in IoT node and gateway market The IoT node and gateway market has a huge opportunity in the BFSI segment. Mass adoption of online banking, contactless payments, and mobile banking apps has increased significantly. Banks are trying to create intelligent and personalized customer cross-selling opportunities. The growth of the BFSI segment is driven by the increasing adoption of mPOS. Moreover, the demand for intelligent banking is also expected to create a demand for connectivity ICs, processors, and sensors, which are used in devices such as mPOS and smart kiosks. Browse in-depth TOC on "IoT Node and Gateway Market" 102 - Tables 73 - Figures 225 - Pages Request more details on: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=248007097 US to hold largest share of North American IoT node and gateway market in 2026 The US is estimated to be the largest market for IoT node and gateway in North America during the forecast period. It is home to some of the most prominent companies for IoT hardware manufacturers, such as NXP Semiconductors (US), Intel Corporation (US), and Texas Instruments Incorporated (US). Increased R&D in the field of IoT in terms of new and improved technologies, growing government investments for the implementation of IoT solutions, and rising demand for improved lifestyle are the major factors driving the growth of the market. Emerging R&D, at both the academic and industry levels, is broadening the application areas of IoT in different industries, such as consumer electronics, retail, automotive & transportation, and healthcare. Moreover, the US government has provided an ideal environment for research and innovation, which has facilitated massive advancements in various fields of science and technology. Key Market Players Key players in the market are Intel Corporation (US), Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (China), NXP Semiconductors N.V. (US), Texas Instruments Incorporated (US), Cisco Systems Inc. (US), Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (US), TE Connectivity Ltd (Switzerland), Advantech Co., Ltd (Taiwan), Dell Technologies (US), Microchip Technology Inc. (US), Notion (US), Helium Systems Inc. (US), Samsara Networks Inc.(US), Beep Inc. (US), Estimote Inc. (US), Aaeon Technology Inc. (Taiwan), Nexcom International Co., Ltd. (Taiwan), STMicroelectronics N.V. (Switzerland), Eurotech S.P.A (Italy), and Adlink Technology Inc. (Taiwan). Related Reports: Industrial IoT (IIoT) Market by Device & Technology (Sensor, RFID, Industrial Robotics, DCS, Condition Monitoring, Networking Technology), Connectivity (Wired, Wireless, Field Technology), Software (PLM, MES, SCADA), Vertical, Region - Global Forecast to 2025 IoT Chip Market by Hardware (Processor, Sensor, Connectivity IC, Memory Device, and Logic Device), End-Use Application (Wearable Devices, Building Automation, Industrial, Automotive & Transportation, and Others), and Geography - Global Forecast to 2022 About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/iot-gateway-market.asp Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/iot-gateway.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg The news of Flynn's case being dropped reverberated through Trumpworld and the legal community Thursday afternoon (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File). Associated Press Trumpworld flew into a frenzy Thursday after the Justice Department moved to drop its case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn. President Trump called Flynn a "great gentleman" and accused officials involved in investigating him "human scum." He also accused them of treason, which is punishable by death, and said he hoped they would pay "a big price." "It's a great day for the republic, it really is," Flynn's former deputy, K.T. McFarland, said on Fox News. National security and intelligence veterans decried the DOJ's decision as a sign of how Trump uses the department as a shield for himself and his allies and a sword against his perceived enemies. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Trumpworld flew into a frenzy Thursday after the Justice Department filed a motion to drop its case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn, negating one of the most significant victories the former special counsel Robert Mueller notched in the Russia investigation. The FBI accused Flynn of lying to investigators about his communications with Russian officials during a January 24, 2017 interview. Flynn acknowledged his own wrongdoing when he pleaded guilty in December 2017 to making false statements to investigators as part of Mueller's probe. But the former national security adviser later shifted course by shaking up his legal team and moving to withdraw his guilty plea. Flynn also hired Sidney Powell, a defense attorney who adopted a more combative stance and called on the DOJ to dismiss its case after alleging prosecutorial misconduct and entrapment. President Donald Trump and his allies rejoiced Thursday after the department moved to drop its case, painting the decision as proof that the FBI acted improperly and violated protocol while investigating Russia's 2016 election interference and whether members of the Trump campaign conspired with Moscow to tilt the race in his favor. Story continues "He was an innocent man. He is a great gentleman," Trump said of Flynn on Thursday. "He was targeted by the Obama administration and he was targeted in order to take down a president, and what they've done is a disgrace, and I hope a big price is going to be paid." Trump also called officials involved in the investigation "human scum" and accused them of treason, a crime that's punishable by death. Donald Trump Mike Flynn George Frey/Getty Images Flynn's brother, Joseph, fired off an elated tweet, writing, "HOLY SH*T!!!!!!!!!" shortly after the story broke. K.T. McFarland, Flynn's former deputy, told Fox News, "It's a great day for the republic, it really is." "I thought it was getting near to the point where something was going to break ... I honestly didn't think that it would be the Justice Department, in essence, revealing that they did something wrong," McFarland added. "Finally justice has been done in the case of General Flynn," tweeted Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal defense lawyer. Nikki Haley, Trump's former ambassador to the United Nations, struck a similar tone, saying, "The idea that this could happen to an American citizen is disturbing at best, and we need to make sure that people pay for this." Trump's outside counsel, Jay Sekulow, summed up the spectrum of reactions in a text message to Business Insider. "Justice has been served," Sekulow wrote. "The actions of the Special Counsel against General Flynn were outrageous. The Special Counsel should be ashamed of the conduct of his agents and lawyers that he allowed. The Attorney General and the Department of Justice are correcting a horrible wrong." National security and intelligence veterans, meanwhile, decried the DOJ's decision as another indication of how the president uses the DOJ as a shield for himself and his loyalists and a sword against his perceived enemies. "Will Bob Mueller have anything to publicly say anything about this? Will [FBI director] Chris Wray?" tweeted Susan Hennessey, the former general counsel for the National Security Agency. "The DOJ filing here is absurd and contradicts the Department's long standing positions," she added. "There is no reasonable explanation here other than that Bill Barr is seeking to undo the Mueller investigation on behalf of Trump while the world is distracted by a deadly global pandemic." Former FBI Director James Comey weighed on Twitter, saying the "DOJ has lost its way." New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, called for an inspector general investigation into the Flynn case being dropped. "This is outrageous! Flynn PLEADED GUILTY to lying to investigators," Nadler tweeted. "The evidence against him is overwhelming. Now, a politicized DOJ is dropping the case. The decision to overrule the special counsel is without precedent and warrants an immediate explanation." William Barr testifies at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to be attorney general of the United States on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 15, 2019. Yuri Gripas/Reuters Attorney General William Barr, who Trump tapped to lead the department after ousting Jeff Sessions in 2018, has repeatedly parroted Trump's allegations of bias and corruption within the FBI. He's appointed multiple independent prosecutors to review the origins of the Russia investigation and whether the FBI improperly "spied" on the Trump campaign. Michael Horowitz, the DOJ's inspector general, investigated the matter and concluded that although there were bureaucratic irregularities in the bureau's application for warrants to surveil the former Trump campaign aide Carter Page, there was no evidence that the FBI spied on the Trump campaign or had any political bias when launching its investigation. In February, Barr appointed Jeff Jensen, a Trump-appointed prosecutor from the US attorney's office in St. Louis, to conduct an independent review of the Flynn case. The Associated Press reported that Jensen had recommended dropping the case to Barr. "Through the course of my review of General Flynn's case, I concluded the proper and just course was to dismiss the case," Jensen said in a statement. "I briefed Attorney General Barr on my findings, advised him on these conclusions, and he agreed." Darren Samuelsohn contributed reporting. Read the original article on Business Insider Nearly half of Americans believe the United States would be faring better in the current coronavirus pandemic if Barack Obama were president instead of Donald Trump, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll. The survey, which was conducted May 4-5, found that a wide plurality of adults (47 percent) think the hard-hit U.S. where more than 1.2 million COVID-19 infections have been reported and more than 73,000 people have died would be in better shape under Obama than under Trump. Only 24 percent of Americans say the crisis would be the same; only 29 percent say it would be worse. And though partisans are predictably split 79 percent of Democrats say Obama would have made things better while 67 percent of Republicans say he would have made things worse a plurality of independents (45 percent) side with the Democrats. The unfavorable comparison between the current president and his Democratic predecessor is one of the clearest signs to date of an emerging dynamic that will define the remainder of Trumps term and the presidential election. Americans dont just disapprove of aspects of Trumps coronavirus response. Instead, they increasingly blame the size and severity of the U.S. outbreak on Trump himself. Last week, Trumps senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, praised the administrations handling of the pandemic as a great success story. The new Yahoo News/YouGov poll found that only one in four Americans (25 percent) share Kushners view; a full 55 percent of them disagree. Even Republicans evince some doubts, with nearly half saying the Trump response has not been a success story (25 percent) or that theyre not sure (23 percent). Why? Because just one in four Americans (24 percent) say the Trump administration was adequately prepared to deal with the coronavirus; a majority (62 percent) say the opposite. Americans who are not satisfied the administration is doing everything it can to stop the virus (46 percent) outnumber those who are satisfied (39 percent). Only a third (33 percent) trust Trump to be personally honest about the coronavirus threat. Only 21 percent think the U.S. is conducting enough COVID-19 testing to track future outbreaks. Nearly half (48 percent) say their own governor has done a better job handling the coronavirus crisis than Trump, while just a quarter (24 percent) rate Trump higher. Story continues Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: AP (2), Getty Images (2) As a result, disapproval of the way Trump has handled the pandemic rose to a new high of 53 percent in the poll. A majority of Americans now say Trump deserves most (35 percent) or some (19 percent) of the blame for the deadly pathogens spread in the U.S. and nearly two-thirds say Trump could have reduced the damage done by COVID-19 a lot (43 percent) or somewhat (21 percent) if he had acted sooner. The poll wasnt all bad news for Trump. With the exception of Obama, who has largely exited politics, no other public figure performed particularly well in comparison to the president. Not surprisingly, huge majorities of Republicans say the coronavirus crisis would be worse if Democrats such as Joe Biden (70 percent), Andrew Cuomo (57 percent) or Hillary Clinton (74 percent) were president, while huge majorities of Democrats (67 percent, 66 percent and 70 percent, respectively) say it would be better. Most independents say it would be the same. Meanwhile, Democrats (60 percent), independents (69 percent) and Republicans (73 percent) agree that things would be the same if Vice President Mike Pence were in charge. Although a majority of Democrats crossed party lines to say the situation would be better under President George W. Bush (52 percent), a majority of Republicans (56 percent) say it would be worse. The other bright spot for Trump is China. A large majority of Americans (60 percent) including a plurality of Democrats (44 percent) say the U.S. outbreak would have been much bigger without the administrations January restrictions on travel to and from China; only 26 percent say the restrictions did not meaningfully impact the scale of the U.S. outbreak. A significant minority (29 percent) think the Chinese engineered the coronavirus and intentionally spread it; another 27 percent are unsure. (The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a statement last week that the U.S. intelligence community concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified in a Chinese lab.) Overall, Americans are far more willing to blame China than any other entity for the coronavirus, with more than four out of five saying Beijing bears most of the blame (58 percent) or some blame (24 percent) for its spread. Wide majorities of Democrats (72 percent) and independents (82 percent) agree with that assessment. But the question for Trump is not only whether he can convince Americans to blame China. The question is whether he can convince Americans to stop blaming him. The poll suggests he has his work cut out for him. _____ The Yahoo News survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 1,573 U.S. adult residents interviewed online between May 4 and 5, 2020. This sample was weighted according to gender, age, race and education. Respondents were selected from YouGovs opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S residents. The margin of error is approximately 3.1 percent. _____ 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. Read more: Will Trumps contraceptives mandate exemption for Little Sisters survive a Supreme Court challenge? Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment An attorney with a law firm that specializes in religious liberty cases is confident that the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in favor of religious freedom protections for the Little Sisters of the Poor. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments over telephone regarding a lawsuit the Little Sisters of the Poor leveled against Pennsylvania. At issue was Pennsylvanias litigation against the Trump administration over a new federal rule that broadened religious and moral exemptions to groups opposed to the Department of Health and Human Services contraceptives mandate. Diana Verm, senior counsel at Becket Law, which helped represent the Little Sisters and who listened to the oral arguments, told The Christian Post that she thought the oral arguments went very well. You could hear the justices seeking a way to resolve this longstanding dispute. I do think that at the end of the day that they will rule in favor of the Little Sisters and I think the big question that we are asking now is how they will do that, Verm said. Verm felt that one of the strongest arguments in favor of the nuns was that there was no way to get rid of the exemptions the government has offered the Little Sisters without getting rid of the exemptions that the former administration offered to churches. All along, since the very beginning of the contraceptive mandate, theres been an exemption for churches and some religious orders, but not for the Little Sisters of the Poor, she said. No one had an argument, none of the justices and none of the counsels for Pennsylvania had a good argument for why that exemption shouldnt apply to the Little Sisters. In 2017, the Trump administration decided that the religious exemption to the HHS mandate on contraceptive services would be broadened to better accommodate groups like the Little Sisters. Pennsylvania and California sued the federal government over the new broader exemption, with Delaware, Maryland, New York, and Virginia joining California's litigation. In November 2017, the Little Sisters filed a motion to intervene on the litigation, arguing that the states were threatening the nuns' religious liberty. "The Little Sisters cannot stand idly by while Pennsylvania threatens their ministry by trying to snatch away the protections the Sisters have fought so long to keep," read the motion in the Pennsylvania lawsuit. [Pennsylvanias] lawsuit seeks to deprive the Little Sisters of the protections provided by the Constitution, federal civil rights laws, and the new regulations Last July, a three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit unanimously ruled to uphold a lower court decision enjoining the new rules nationwide. Circuit Judge Patty Shwartz, who authored the opinion of the panel, argued that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act did not apply to the case and that the accommodation process for those seeking an exemption to the mandate was sufficient. RFRA does not require the broad exemption embodied in the Final Rule nor to make voluntary a notice of the employers decision not to provide such coverage to avoid burdening those beliefs, Shwartz wrote. the status quo prior to the new Rule, with the Accommodation, did not infringe on the religious exercise of covered employers, nor is there a basis to conclude the Accommodation process infringes on the religious exercise of any employer. In January, the Supreme Court announced that they were taking up two cases regarding the broadened religious exemption, Trump v. Pennsylvania and Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania. It is disappointing to think that as we enter a new decade we must still defend our ministry in court, said Sister Loraine Marie Maguire, a mother provincial of the Little Sisters, in a statement in January. We are grateful the Supreme Court has decided to weigh in, and hopeful that the justices will reinforce their previous decision and allow us to focus on our lifelong work of serving the elderly poor once and for all. The nuns previously went before the Supreme Court to be exempted from the HHS mandate, with the high court deciding in 2016 to vacate two lower court rulings against them. donald trump Getty A conservative-led anti-Trump group, the Lincoln Project, had its biggest fundraising haul yet after President Donald Trump unloaded on the organization via Twitter. The Lincoln Project raised $1 million after the president's tweets, a member of its advisory committee told CNBC. Trump went after the group over an ad it released criticizing his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Among the group's advisers is George Conway, who is the husband of Kellyanne Conway, one of Trump's top advisers. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The Lincoln Project, a conservative-led anti-Trump group, had its biggest day of fundraising yet after President Donald Trump attacked the organization on Twitter. The group raised $1 million after Trump's tweets, Reed Galen, a member of the Lincoln Project's advisory committee, told CNBC. Among the Lincoln Project's advisers is George Conway, a conservative lawyer who's the husband of Kellyanne Conway, one of Trump's top advisers. Trump singled out Conway in his tweets, which were primarily a response to the group's new ad excoriating the president's coronavirus response: "Mourning in America." "A group of RINO Republicans who failed badly 12 years ago, then again 8 years ago, and then got BADLY beaten by me, a political first timer, 4 years ago, have copied (no imagination) the concept of an ad from Ronald Reagan, 'Morning in America', doing everything possible to get even for all of their many failures," Trump said. "Their so-called Lincoln Project is a disgrace to Honest Abe. I don't know what Kellyanne did to her deranged loser of a husband, Moonface, but it must have been really bad," the president added. "They're all LOSERS, but Abe Lincoln, Republican, is all smiles!" In attacking the Lincoln Project via his Twitter account, which has nearly 80 million followers, it appears the president may have elevated the group's profile. And the Lincoln Project now has more funds to produce anti-Trump ads. Story continues Below is the group's ad that set the president off. Read the original article on Business Insider Round one of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) kicked off on April 3 and disbursed nearly $350 billion in just two weeks. The program, part of the $2 trillion stimulus legislation, is meant to aid struggling small businesses that have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and the limits on in-person interaction that have come with it. The PPP is already in the midst of round two, but with round one in the books, let's take a look at who the money went to. Loan size and approval Recent data from the Treasury Department shows that lenders issued more than 1.6 million loans collectively worth more than $342 billion as of April 16 (some data must be missing because $349 billion was lent out in total). Now, the program received some flak in round one for not prioritizing small businesses, but according to the data, more than 74% of PPP loans issued were in the amount of $150,000 or less. When you look at loan volume, a higher dollar amount went out in the $350,000 to $1 million range, and the $2 million to $5 million range, although that does not necessarily mean those loans weren't going to small businesses. Loans over $5 million only made up 0.27% of the total loan count. Loan Size Approved Loans Approved Dollars Pct. of Count Pct. of Amount $150,000 and under 1,229,893 $58.3 billion 74.0% 17.0% >$150,000 to $350,000 224,061 $50.9 billion 13.5% 14.9% >$350,000 to $1 million 140,197 $80.6 billion 8.4% 23.6% >$1 million to $2 million 41,238 $57.2 billion 2.5% 16.7% >$2 million to $5 million 21,566 $64.3 billion 1.3% 18.8% $5 million 4,412 $30.9 billion 0.3% 9.0% Geography and industry Perhaps not a huge surprise, California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, and Pennsylvania received the most PPP money in terms of volume. After all, these six states have the six largest populations in the U.S., as well as bustling metropolitan areas with lots of business activity. State Approved Loans Approved Dollars California 112,967 $33.4 billion Texas 134,737 $28.5 billion New York 81,075 $20.3 billion Florida 88,997 $17.9 billion Illinois 69,893 $16.0 billion Pennsylvania 69,567 $15.7 billion Not including U.S. provinces and islands, Alaska and Wyoming are the only states that received less than $1 billion in total PPP funding. In terms of industry, construction has received the most assistance so far at close to $45 billion in total loan volume. That makes a certain amount of sense considering the industry has been hit hard by supply and demand disruptions, delayed projects, closed sites, and labor shortages. Some cities such as Boston even ordered a ban on city construction projects. Still, construction PPP loan volume only just edged out loans to businesses in professional, scientific, and technical services; manufacturing; and healthcare and social assistance. Subsector Approved Loans Approved Dollars Pct. of Amount Construction 177,905 $44.9 billion 13.1% Professional, scientific, and technical services 208,360 $43.3 billion 12.7% Manufacturing 108,863 $40.9 billion 12.0% Health care and social assistance 183,542 $39.9 billion 11.7% Accommodation and food services 161,786 $30.5 billion 8.9% Retail trade 186,429 $29.4 billion 8.6% Wholesale trade 65,078 $19.5 billion 5.7% Other services (except public administration) 155,319 $17.7 billion 5.2% Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services 72,439 $15.3 billion 4.5% Real estate and rental and leasing 79,784 $10.7 billion 3.1% What's next? After the program ran out of money in round one, banks and other lenders still had bulging pipelines of loan requests from businesses in need of funding. As a result, Congress allocated an additional $310 billion for round two of the program. Round one of PPP received a lot of criticism for issuing loans to large businesses that may not have necessarily needed the loans, and for allegedly not servicing loans on a first-come, first-serve basis. So, the SBA and U.S. Treasury Department have tried to fix some of the problems in round two, primarily trying to ensure that the money is going to small businesses that need it most. Some early data in round two suggests that things might be going better. Through the first $175 billion of round two, the average loan size is $79,000, down from $206,000 in round one. Many also suspect that due to the large pipelines lenders had going into round two, the full $310 billion is likely already gone. Recently, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said on CNN that a third round of PPP might be needed, although he did not give an actual commitment or timeline for the potential funding. The Archdiocese of San Antonio has placed the pastor of a Helotes church on leave after two allegations of sexual misconduct arose last month. Carlos Davalos, who served as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, was removed from his position and barred from serving in ministries throughout San Antonio while the archdiocese investigates the accusations, according to a letter from Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller to the parish. Davalos declined to comment on the allegations when reached by phone Thursday afternoon. The archbishops letter, dated April 30, said the discipline came after two separate allegations of misconduct were reported earlier that month. On April 15, the archdiocese received a complaint that Davalos sent sexually inappropriate text messages to an adult parishioner earlier this year. Five days later, the archdiocese learned of another allegation: that in 2013, Davalos posed sexually inappropriate questions and comments to a minor. These are the first allegations of sexual misconduct against Msgr. Davalos that I have received, Garcia-Siller wrote in the letter. And I would like to publicly acknowledge the courage of the persons involved for bravely coming forward and helping our church and your parish by sharing these personal and painful experiences. Garcia-Sillers letter did not provide additional details about the complaints. He said archdiocese officials are investigating the allegations and will decide whether other actions need to be taken. Because one of the allegations involved a minor, the archdiocese reported the complaint to the Bexar County district attorney. More Information In addition to reporting sexual abuse to police, victims can also report abuse to the archdiocese by calling 210-734-7786. To learn more about support groups for survivors, contact Patti Koo of San Antonio SNAP at snappkoo@gmail.com or 956-648-7385. See More Collapse When reached for comment Thursday, Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church referred questions to archdiocese officials. The archdiocese also declined to comment further and instead pointed to the archbishops letter, which was read by Fr. Juan Molina, the interim pastor, at the churchs two masses that were live streamed in English and Spanish on Sunday. Patti Koo, the leader of the San Antonio chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said the archbishop did the right thing by acting quickly to remove the pastor from the parish and investigate the allegations. This was handled well, said Koo. But make sure you continue to handle it well. Koo is concerned that the archdioceses disciplinary action doesnt bar Davalos from serving in parishes outside of San Antonio. She also called on the archdiocese and Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church to make it easier for parishioners to learn about the allegations. Right now, the letter doesnt appear to be posted on the churchs own website; instead, it can be found in a section of the archdiocese website that can be hard to find, she said. You couldnt find it unless you were looking for it and knew where things were posted, she said. Marina Starleaf Riker is an investigative reporter for the San Antonio Express-News with extensive experience covering affordable housing, inequality and disaster recovery. To read more from Marina, become a subscriber. marina.riker@express-news.net | Twitter: @MarinaStarleaf Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 14:04:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Yu Shuaishuai, Ren Ke and Liu Pinran ATHENS, May 7 (Xinhua) -- As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, the global political structure is changing: amid a widening gap in transatlantic relations and a familiar U.S. withdrawal from international affairs, many other countries and regions are shouldering global responsibilities and becoming new voices for cooperation in face of challenges. Many experts and media worldwide agree that all these changes happened during the 100 days after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on Jan. 30. WORSENING TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS Transatlantic relations have suffered a new blow in the global health crisis, with U.S. President Donald Trump's unilateral moves proving to be "aggressive isolationism," the European Council on Foreign Relations, a pan-European think tank, pointed out in a commentary published in early April. A day before the WHO announced that Europe became the epicenter of the pandemic on March 13, Trump already issued travel bans on most of mainland Europe, which incurred widespread doubt, disapproval and condemnation from the continent. The European Union (EU) issued a joint statement criticizing the U.S. measures for being taken "unilaterally and without consultation." When Europe is struggling, what the United States did has amplified the gap in the transatlantic relations. On March 18, some U.S. media applauded the fact that the U.S. Air Force flew half a million coronavirus testing swabs from Italy to the U.S. state of Tennessee, at a time when Italy recorded over 35,000 cases, the most outside China. In early April, Washington was accused by Berlin of "modern piracy" after redirecting 200,000 Germany-bound masks for its own use. The White House faced the same accusation from France. Analysts worldwide said the transatlantic alliance was already in a bad shape before the sudden outbreak of the pandemic. Since the current U.S. administration came to power, the U.S.-Europe bond has suffered a series of blows over the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's defense expenditures, trade conflicts, the Iran nuclear deal and the refugee crisis, among others. Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer, director of Research, Transatlantic Security at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, told French daily Le Figaro that Europeans have made the majority of their decisions during the crisis without consulting the United States due to Trump's indifference towards its European allies in the virus battle. "It's as if they've internalized the fact that we shouldn't expect anything from American leadership anymore," she said. Erik Brattberg, director of the Europe Program and a fellow at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said in an article on the organization's website that the latest bout of transatlantic discord is marked by "a lack of European trust in Washington's intentions, unpredictable U.S. foreign policy decision making, a dearth of U.S. diplomatic decorum, and a sense of ideological drift across the Atlantic." U.S. WITHDRAWAL FROM GLOBAL AFFAIRS It has been widely recognized that Washington is playing a blame game to shift its responsibility for the poor management of the pandemic within the United States and wrench itself out of a political impasse caused by a delay in tackling the virus. And its latest move to cut off WHO funding has triggered a new wave worldwide of questioning the U.S. leadership in global affairs. "How shortsighted when global coop needed more now than ever," Lawrence Gostin, director of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, tweeted after the White House's decision, adding that Washington has "entirely abandoned" U.S. global health leadership. Yet the word "withdraw" is no new to the Trump administration. Washington quit the Paris Climate Agreement in 2017, with Trump saying the decision was in accordance with his "America First" policy. A few months later, it quit the UNESCO. It then withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, in May 2018. Over the past century, the United States has displayed global leadership in almost all global crises, including the 2008 financial crisis and the 2014 Ebola crisis. It has granted assistance to other countries, and established today's multilateral international system. "But this is perhaps the first global crisis in more than a century where no one is even looking to the United States for leadership," said an article from The New York Times on April 23. Although the United States is acting as the current chair of the G7, it was French President Emmanuel Macron who called for a virtual G7 summit to discuss the coronavirus crisis in mid-April. During the summit, Trump was left isolated for his decision to suspend WHO funding. "The United States will no longer be seen as an international leader because of its government's narrow self-interest and bungling incompetence," commented Kori Schake, deputy director general of the London-headquartered International Institute for Strategic Studies, in an article published by Foreign Policy magazine in March. "Washington has failed the leadership test, and the world is worse off for it," Schake said. NEW VOICES FOR COOPERATION Facing the coronavirus -- a common enemy of mankind, many countries and regions, such as China and the EU, have been shouldering great global responsibilities and waging all-out efforts to deepen international cooperation. Since Jan. 3, China has been regularly informing the WHO and relevant countries on the latest development of the epidemic situation within the country. Chinese scientists were the first to uncover the genetic code of the virus and shared it with the WHO on Jan. 12, "enabling the roll-out of effective testing around the world," wrote Robin Niblett, director and chief executive of British think tank Chatham House, in an article published in April. Besides, China has offered assistance to over 120 countries around the world, sending urgently needed medical supplies and dispatching teams of experts to those in need. It has also donated 50 million U.S. dollars to the WHO in the past two months to support the global fight against COVID-19. "This could be the first major global crisis in decades without meaningful U.S. leadership and with significant Chinese leadership," said Rush Doshi, director of the China Strategy Initiative at Washington-based research group the Brookings Institution, in a story published by The New York Times in March. The outbreak is also a test of European integration. The EU quickly unified its internal policies in response to the epidemic, and has performed actively on international stages such as the G20 and the G7 to coordinate global cooperation. It has also showed its full support for international organizations such as the United Nations and the WHO. Conquering the pandemic requires solidarity and "strong and co-ordinated policy responses" by governments and societies at a global level, emphasized Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Thomas Greminger. Enditem Reach key decision makers with sales-ready leads that shorten your sales process. Move the needle by delivering funnel qualified leads to your sales team. Learn more In what could be a trial run for more of the same, Red Hat last week held a first-ever virtual technical summit to spread the word about its latest cloud tech offerings. CEO Paul Cormier welcomed online viewers to the conference, which attracted more than 80,000 virtual attendees. The company made several key announcements during the online gathering and highlighted customer innovations around Kubernetes, hybrid cloud and next-generation computing. As a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic, numerous tech events around the world have been canceled, postponed or turned into online-only events. This years Red Hat Summit was the biggest yet, according to Cormier. Cormiers keynote focused on the history of open source, virtualization, and hybrid and cloud technologies. While all of those concepts began as ideas, they now are integrated deeply into our daily lives, he said, especially hybrid cloud. One of his prevailing themes was the role innovation plays in the operations of tech companies. Cormier emphasized Red Hats pursuit of innovation in the use of hybrid technology, which he said is essential in order to scale. To that end, he detailed the growing partnerships with industry leaders including Ford Motor Company, Verizon, Intel, Microsoft and Credit Suisse. Hybrid requires a common development, operations, security and automation environment. This is essential in order to scale. Hybrid isnt a trend. Its a strategic imperative, he said. Innovation Is Key Red Hat made three major announcements during a virtual panel discussion: the companys latest OpenShift 4.4 release, Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes, and OpenShift virtualization. All three announcements focused primarily on hybrid cloud, which garners about 31 percent of Red Hats customer base. OpenShift 4.4 is the latest release of Red Hats enterprise Kubernetes platform. Based on Kubernetes 1.17, it features a developer-focused view of platform metrics and monitoring for application workloads. It also provides monitoring integration for Red Hat operators along with cost management for financial planning associated with specific applications in the hybrid cloud. OpenShift 4.4 brings new capabilities that include pipeline support, new infrastructure functionality on HAProxy and DNS, and improved developer experience use cases, according to Matt Hicks, executive vice president of product and technologies at Red Hat. The new features enable serverless use, and the general path and foundation Red Hat is building on with Linux and Kubernetes. Red Hat announced its Advanced Cluster Management platform for Kubernetes to make it easier to run cloud-native applications at a large scale. The platform enables organizations to manage their Kubernetes clusters with consistency across the hybrid cloud. It works with Red Hat OpenShift deployed on-premises, on bare metal, and on major public cloud providers to native clusters from Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, IBM Cloud and Microsoft Azure. A D V E R T I S E M E N T Red Hats third opening day announcement was the availability of OpenShift virtualization a new feature built from the KubeVirt community project. The virtualization feature enables IT organizations to bring standard VM-based workloads to Kubernetes, helping eliminate the workflow and development silos that typically exist between traditional and cloud-native application stacks, explained Joe Fernandes, Red Hats vice president for products, in the cloud platforms business unit. OpenShift virtualization makes it easier to migrate and modernize existing applications and services on the industrys most comprehensive enterprise Kubernetes platform, he added. Broader Demographic Reached Moving the event from physical to virtual was a success, said Leigh Day, vice president for marketing communications and brand at Red Hat. It allowed event organizers to reach a much broader demographic than ever before. By the end of the event, we had more than 82,000 people registered and 56,000 attendees, she told TechNewsWorld. Without the usual travel costs and time constraints, the conference opened up a lot of opportunities for creative interaction between attendees and Red Hatters from around the globe. The virtual event also drew more customers and partners to viewing sessions than ever before because there were no physical space limitations. Furthermore, with an increase in attendees, Red Hat was able to gather more feedback so it can build even stronger events in the future, Day noted. Door-Opening Feat To say that the virtual summit was a huge success could be an understatement. Turning a physical event with an expected 10,000 attendees to a virtual event in less than two months was not easy, said Day. The engagement within the environment has to be one of the most notable successes of the Red Hat Virtual Summit 2020, she said. The virtual event had more than 64,000 unique visitors to the Ask the Expert and Chat sessions. It drew 118,000 unique total views to the General Sessions and more than 322,000 unique visitors to all the session content. One really unique thing we did was running virtual labs, noted Day. This is something that has never been done before, and we were able to deploy more than 1,500 labs for customers successfully. A D V E R T I S E M E N T Good Overtook Bad With any big event, you are going to expect to see some hiccups. Red Hats first virtual conference was not the exception. The problems ranged from speakers going over their allotted time to Internet outages in attendees homes. Still, most of the glitches were minor, and the event staff was ready to handle them, Day said. The bottom line is that Red Hat is not rejecting the notion of holding more virtual events. This will open the door for more hands-on experiences to be offered more broadly, Day said. Announcement Summaries During the second day of the summit conferences, Red Hat provided details about its ongoing developments in the fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning, the course of the changing data center, the open hybrid cloud, and the importance of edge computing. The running theme reinforced Red Hats belief in the role open source technologies and the communities behind them play in driving new innovations. The role of data in our lives is evolving rapidly to fit the unique challenges tech companies face today, noted Chris Wright, Red Hats chief technology officer. The amount of amassed data has resulted in rapid changes to the concept of the data center. Managing the cost and complexity of this new architecture at scale is a challenge for any business. It is not just about the quantity of data, but the quality of information derived from it, he said. Red Hat believes an open hybrid cloud is the best way to handle all this data into the future. Similarly, edge computing is vital to delivering the compute and data-intensive parts of the rendering pipeline offloaded to the cloud. To that end, Red Hat is working with the open source community, customers and partners to help organizations looking to accelerate their edge computing strategies. The company also has been working closely with members of its Open Data Hub community in developing a blueprint for building an AI as a Service platform on OpenShift and Red Hat Ceph Storage. Beyond Upstream First Perhaps one of the most significant announcements from Red Hat involved its heightened efforts to go beyond upstream first performance. An open hybrid cloud can meet the needs to bring operational models of a cloud. However, no upstream equivalent currently exists for operations. Red Had introduced the Operate First program to assist open source communities and its own cloud products with building operational knowledge directly into software. It hopes to leverage tools such as Ansible and the Operator SDK to glean insights into operational needs as a part of the software development cycle. When we operate first, we share operational knowledge, which can be as important as the code itself, said Wright. Also, Red Hat last week announced that Vodafone Idea Limited won the Innovator of the Year award. Vodafone Idea builds a Universal Network Cloud that reduces deployment times. Red Hat also announced other 2020 Red Hat Innovation Awards winners: BMW Group, Edenor, Ford and the Argentine Ministry of Health and Social Development. Unproven Path It is not yet a given how the tech industry in general will respond with future conferences. The actual effectiveness of virtual gatherings is still an uncharted course, suggested Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. In order of effectiveness, tech conferences have three primary values: They develop personal networks that are helpful with projects and careers. They allow sales to initiate and close deals. They convey information on products, services, and capabilities for both the companies that hold them and the companies that showcase at them. Virtual conferences, so far, dont help with personal networks. Nor are they good at closing sales, but they can be used to generate leads, Enderle told TechNewsWorld. Conferences also convey information well if the presentations can attract and hold an audience. That result depends a lot on the presenters execution. The majority of folks dont know how to do virtual conferences well, Enderle noted. Unless conference organizers can find a better way to meet all three critical requirements, the tech industry will go back to physical conferences once it is safe to do so, he predicted. That gives the industry around a year and a half to fix virtual conferences. Now, given we have no choice at the moment, there is a reasonably good chance someone may figure out how to do this right by the time the mandatory aspect of these things expires, Enderle concluded. Whats Next for Red Hat? At this point, company officials do not want to make any predictions for next year. It is still too early to say. However, Red Hat is considering how to leverage what officials learned from this experience to make 2021 even better, Day said. The future could bring a hybrid sort of model that combines digital components with in-person events and meetings. We know that face-to-face interaction is still so important for customer and partner engagement, said Day. But we are also learning a lot about the appetite for content and the desire for connection from an expanded global audience. We will want to continue expanding on that in the future. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said a report on Hong Kong's autonomy that could trigger sanctions will be postponed until after the Chinese government's annual legislative session this month, to take into account what Beijing says about the semi-autonomous city during the meeting. "Right now we're delaying our report to Congress that will assess Hong Kong's autonomy to allow us to account for any additional actions that Beijing may be contemplating in the run-up to National People's Congress that would further undermine the people of Hong Kong's autonomy as promised by China," Pompeo told reporters in Washington. Under new reporting requirements stipulated by the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which was enacted on November 27 after garnering bipartisan support, Pompeo must certify an annual assessment of Hong Kong's autonomy. It requires that the report be distributed to the foreign affairs committees of the Senate and House, and to several other congressional committees, within 180 days of the act's passage. The annual general assembly session of the National People's Congress, China's parliament, is set to begin on May 22, after being delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. Among other provisions, the US law requires that the State Department evaluate Hong Kong's record on human rights and the rule of law, and mandates sanctions on anyone deemed responsible for the erosion of the city's ability to preserve its autonomy from China in these areas. "Given the high level of interest in Hong Kong among people in Washington, and with the extraordinarily high temperature overall in US-China relations, I have to think that the report is going to be reviewed at a very senior level," said Kurt Tong, who was US consul general to Hong Kong until July 2019. "And I don't think anyone at a senior level is going to think that the report can't include statements coming out of the two meetings just because the meetings fall after some arbitrary ... deadline," said Tong, who is now a partner at Washington-based business consultancy The Asia Group. Story continues Speaking about Covid-19, Pompeo reiterated accusations that Beijing destroyed viral isolates that would help health authorities better understand the disease and is withholding information about "patient zero". "The Chinese Communist Party could do what they're committed to do under their obligation to the World Health Organisation to be transparent, to be open, to do the simple things that nations all around the world do to make sure that pandemics like this don't get out of control," Pompeo said. "This is an ongoing challenge. We still don't have the samples that we need. "There have been many formal requests and we will continue to make formal requests for this information." Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says there is no evidence to support the theory that the coronavirus originated in a laboratory. Photo: AFP alt=Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says there is no evidence to support the theory that the coronavirus originated in a laboratory. Photo: AFP In an interview with National Geographic published on Monday, Dr Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert, said there was no scientific evidence to support the lab theory, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, said on Tuesday that "we don't know" whether it began in a Chinese laboratory or a wet market. Both officials said scientific evidence indicated that the pathogen was not man-made. China's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a query about Pompeo's remarks. Addressing comments Pompeo made over the weekend on ABC that "the best experts so far seem to think it was man-made", State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said on Wednesday that Pompeo had not meant to imply that the virus was man-made. "We do not have certainty that it came from a wet market or that it came from a lab," Ortagus said in an interview, though she added that there was "circumstantial evidence" for "various theories". "But that's why independent and credible, non-political scientists and doctors need to be able to be given access to the data so that the world can be comfortable that there is a definitive conclusion about the origins of this virus," she said. Pompeo targeted WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to let Taiwan participate. Photo: Xinhua alt=Pompeo targeted WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to let Taiwan participate. Photo: Xinhua Turning to another issue of contention between Beijing and Washington, Pompeo called on other countries to support Taiwan's inclusion as an observer in an upcoming World Health Organisation (WHO) meeting. The UN health agency's decision-making body, the World Health Assembly (WHA), will hold a meeting on the pandemic through teleconferencing later this month. Pompeo also targeted WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to let Taiwan participate. "I want to call upon all nations, including those in Europe, to support Taiwan's participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly and in other relevant United Nations venues," Pompeo said. "I also call upon WHO director general Tedros to invite Taiwan to observe this month's WHA, as he has the power to do, and as his predecessors have done on multiple occasions." Taiwan was invited to be an observer at the WHA under the name "Chinese Taipei" from 2008 to 2016, when the self-governing island was ruled by the Kuomintang (KMT), which had warmer relations with Beijing than current Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). China claims sovereignty over Taiwan under its one-China policy, which the US acknowledged in 1972. That policy gave Beijing a seat at the UN and excluded Taipei. Additional reporting by Owen Churchill 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. In the context of foreign policy, I would like to touch upon the major achievements that have been made in regard to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This is what deputy of the My Step faction of the National Assembly of Armenia Tatevik Hayrapetyan said during a parliamentary session today. We have already declared that Armenia is negotiating with its own agenda, and this has sparked several questions. The priority of the agenda is the creation of an atmosphere of mutual confidence. We can truly talk, discuss and debate. However, how can there be any decision that is inacceptable for the nations? she said, adding that it is necessary to maintain the ceasefire regime. The deputy also mentioned the importance of the reciprocal visits of journalists from Armenia, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and Azerbaijan in the context of humanitarian actions. A Virtual, Vigilant Watcher Microsoft Azure Sentinel is a cloud-native SIEM and SOAR tool designed to assist organizations with the detection of threats specific to their environments. Interested in learning more about Azure Sentinel and how it may be able to support your security efforts? This white paper breaks down the highlights from an Azure Sentinel workshop, which consisted of: The features and benefits of Azure Sentinel How to create a deployment roadmap based on your specific goals How to gain visibility into threats that target your organization And more By Jeff Murphy, May 6, 2020 WARRENSBURG, MO Nationwide, registered nurses (RN) are in high-demand, and one of the best ways for people in this field to advance their career is to earn a bachelors degree. The University of Central Missouri is helping nurses to build their professional credentials through its online RN to BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) degree a program that was recently recognized by the national rankings organization, Intelligent.com. Intelligent.com ranked UCMs online RN to BSN 33rd on a list of its Top 60 RN to BSN Online Degrees. UCMs program ranked higher than any other program in Missouri on the list, and was recognized as the degree having the fastest completion time among all other programs that were mentioned in its online rankings feature. In ranking schools, Intelligent.com looked at non-profit programs accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) or Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) to help determine which programs provide rigorous training that will enable nurses to obtain the education they need to advance in their careers. In addition, they considered program strength using an algorithm that collects and analyzes multiple rankings from other college evaluators related to quality coursework, and considered return on investment to determine how easy it would be to earn back the cost of a degree. On average, RNs earn $26,000 more with a BSN than with an associate degree, and the average cost of our RN to BSN online degrees was about $14,000. This means that youll be able to earn back the cost of your degree well within the first year after you graduate, Intelligent.com notes in its online feature. The less expensive the school, the higher its ROI score. Only five schools required more than a year to cover the cost of their diploma, earning lower scores as a result. UCMs nursing program is accredited by CCNE. It is 100 percent online, and out-of-state students pay the same tuition rate as in-state students. The program is offered in an eight-week course format and with credit from previous coursework, students can complete their BSN in as little as two semesters. With the option of a flexible part-time plan, they also can choose a coursework pace that fits their lifestyle. A minimum of 30 credit hours must be earned at UCM and the last 12 credit hours required for the degree must be earned at UCM. To learn more about UCMs RN to BSN program, visit the nursing website at ucmo.edu/nursing. Also call 660-543-4775 or email nursing@ucmo.edu. BMO Commercial Property Trust Limited (a closed-ended investment company incorporated in Guernsey with registration number 50402) (The "Company") LEI Number: 213800A2B1H4ULF3K397 7 May 2020 NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Notice is hereby given that the 2020 Annual General Meeting of the Company will be held at the offices of BMO Global Assets Managements, Exchange House, Primrose Street, London. EC2A 2NY on Tuesday 30 June 2020 at 14.00pm. The Notice of AGM together with the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2019 has been posted to shareholders. The Board is closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19 and it is currently the intention of the Company to hold the meeting as planned. However, the Board notes the guidance issued by the Government, restricting social gatherings in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fact that if such guidance remains in place on the date of the AGM, shareholders will be prohibited from attending the AGM. Given the current guidance and the general uncertainty on what additional and/or alternative measures may be put in place, the Board requests that shareholders do not attend the AGM in person but instead appoint a proxy and provide voting instructions in advance of the AGM, in accordance with the instructions explained in the Notice of AGM. In accordance with Listing Rule 9.6.3, the Notice of Annual General Meeting, proxy form and accounts have been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at: www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/NSM Enquiries: Northern Trust International Fund Administration Services (Guernsey) Limited The Company Secretary Trafalgar Court Les Banques St Peter Port Guernsey GY1 3QL Tel: 01481 745001 END HOUSTON, May 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Talos Energy Inc. ("Talos," or the "Company") (NYSE: TALO) today announced its financial and operational results for the first quarter of 2020, provided an operations update and updated its 2020 guidance. Results for the first quarter of 2020 include one month of results from the Company's recent acquisitions of affiliates of ILX Holdings, among other entities (the "Acquired Assets," the "Acquisition," or the "Transaction"), which closed on February 28, 2020. Key Highlights: Production of 58.1 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day ("MBoe/d"), of which 70% was oil and 78% was liquids. March production, which included a full month of production from the Acquired Assets, averaged 70.3 MBoe/d. Net Income of $157.7 million , or $2.69 earnings per share diluted, and Adjusted Net Income (1) of $15.6 million , or $0.27 adjusted earnings per share diluted. Net Income for the quarter includes approximately $55.3 million of non-cash income tax expenses. , or earnings per share diluted, and Adjusted Net Income of , or adjusted earnings per share diluted. Net Income for the quarter includes approximately of non-cash income tax expenses. Adjusted EBITDA (1) of $147.6 million . Adjusted EBITDA Margin (1) per Boe of $27.92 , or 81%. of . Adjusted EBITDA Margin per Boe of , or 81%. Capital expenditures, inclusive of plugging and abandonment costs, were $73.2 million . . Free Cash Flow (1) of $48.6 million . of . Average realized oil price (3) of $44.72 /Bbl before hedges and net of transport and quality deductions. The Company has approximately 10.3 million barrels of oil hedged for the remainder of 2020 with a weighted average price of $47.29 per barrel WTI. of /Bbl before hedges and net of transport and quality deductions. The Company has approximately 10.3 million barrels of oil hedged for the remainder of 2020 with a weighted average price of per barrel WTI. Talos closed the acquisition of affiliates of ILX Holdings, among other entities, on February 28, 2020 . The Acquired Assets generated average daily production of 19.7 MBoe/d for the full first quarter of 2020. . The Acquired Assets generated average daily production of 19.7 MBoe/d for the full first quarter of 2020. As of March 31, 2020 , liquidity position of $593.4 million . Net Debt to LTM Adjusted EBITDA(1) was 1.5x. Inclusive of eleven months of Acquired Assets contribution, Net Debt to Credit Facility LTM Adjusted EBITDA(1), as determined in accordance with the Company's credit agreement, would have been 1.2x. (1) Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Earnings per Share, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Free Cash Flow, Credit Facility LTM Adjusted EBITDA and Net Debt to LTM Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP financial measures. See "Supplemental Non-GAAP Information" below for additional detail and reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP measures. President and Chief Executive Officer Timothy S. Duncan commented: "Talos generated strong results in the first quarter of 2020, with solid production, healthy margins and material free cash flow. We've expanded our asset base and are beginning to realize the benefits of our recently-closed acquisition in March. However, the end of the quarter also brought unforeseen and unprecedented challenges to our industry, from the COVID-19 virus, the impact of a sudden and historic drop in global oil demand and concerns from Saudi Arabia and Russia oversupply in the early moments of the crisis. Despite these challenges, I'm proud of how we have responded and how we are maintaining the health of our Company." "First and foremost, we have kept our workforce safe with robust onboard screening and social distancing measures for our offshore workers while also having our corporate employees work from home. Second, we instituted cost cutting measures that provide material reductions from our initial 2020 guidance and our pro forma 2019 cost structure. We have reduced our 2020 capital program by approximately 40% and our operating and overhead cost structure by approximately 15% compared to pro forma 2019 levels, and we expect those levels to continue to improve throughout the year. We also increased the size of our hedge book, with approximately 80% of the mid-point of our updated 2020 oil production guidance hedged over the full year at a weighted average price for the remainder of the year of $47.29/bbl. The projects remaining in our capital program this year aim to utilize our infrastructure to continue to generate attractive economics even in the current commodity environment, continue to lower our unit operating cost structure and add collateral value as we move into the second half of the year." Duncan continued: "Although we expect the second quarter to be difficult for everyone in the oil and gas sector, we are positioning Talos to have a strong second half of 2020 and beyond. We will be prepared for whichever direction the commodity market turns, and we believe we will have positive free cash flow in 2020, inclusive of our hedges, in the current commodity price environment. I remain confident in our ability to create value during uncertain times." RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND OPERATIONS UPDATE Closing of Transformative Acquisition of U.S. Gulf of Mexico Properties On February 28, 2020, Talos closed the acquisition of affiliates of ILX Holdings, among other entities. The preferred shares issued upon closing as a portion of the consideration automatically converted into 11.0 million common shares and are included in the 65.3 million common shares currently outstanding. For purposes of calculating basic and diluted earnings per common share, the 11.0 million common shares were considered outstanding as of February 28, 2020. Results for the first quarter of 2020 include approximately one month of impact from the Acquired Assets. Health and Safety Response to COVID-19 At Talos, the number one priority is the health and safety of its employees, contractors, and the public. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Talos began implementing measures to ensure the health and safety of its employees and the safe continuation of operations. To date, the Company has had zero confirmed cases among its portfolio of 27 operated, manned platforms, validating the success of recently-implemented additional screening processes for offshore workforce prior to mobilizing to facilities, as well as daily temperature monitoring for all the over 400 offshore workers during their shifts offshore. Talos has also required office workers to work from home until restrictions are lifted. The Company is also working with contractors and suppliers to ensure critical supplies and resources are readily available with limited operational interruptions. Talos is fully committed to doing everything it can to keep the community and employees healthy and safe during this crisis. Revised 2020 Operational and Financial Guidance In response to recent events related to COVID-19 and the associated macro-economic impact, Talos has taken aggressive action to reduce operating and capital costs and to accelerate previously planned maintenance, where possible, to May and June, leading to various shut-ins in our operated assets. Additionally, the dramatic drop in oil price has led to a series of voluntary shut-ins in the second quarter in our non-operated assets. As a result, Talos has adjusted its previously-issued 2020 operational and financial guidance to reflect these revisions. During the second quarter of 2020, Talos expects production shut-ins as a result of accelerated planned maintenance and facilities projects as well as shut-ins of both operated and non-operated production as a result of the current commodity price environment. Talos expects shut-in impacts to second quarter production of approximately 12.5 13.5 MBoe/d for the quarter, including 6.0 7.0 MBoe/d of accelerated planned maintenance and facilities-related shut-ins. The Company has not yet encountered any required production shut-ins resulting from midstream or storage capacity constraints. The Company's estimates are based on currently available information and may materially change subsequently with future events. Talos will continue to evaluate voluntary production shut-ins as market conditions evolve and remains in close dialogue with partners, purchasers and other operators regarding production planning. Talos's updated guidance reflects over $30 million of further reductions between operating and capital costs from the Company's March 23rd guidance as a result of lower service costs and improved operating efficiencies. The Company continues to monitor the market environment and will respond accordingly as conditions evolve moving forward. Based on the Company's best estimates as of today, reflected in the updated guidance below, Talos expects to generate positive full-year 2020 free cash flow, inclusive of the Company's hedge book, at current strip prices. The following table reflects Talos's expected updated guidance ranges for production and expenses as compared to the Company's initial guidance released February 18, 2020: Original Guidance Cumulative Reduction Updated Guidance Low High Low High Production Oil (MMBbl) 17.0 18.0 (1.5) 15.5 16.5 Natural Gas (Bcf) 35.0 36.0 (2.5) 32.5 33.5 NGL (MMBbl) 1.6 1.7 (0.2) 1.4 1.5 Total (MMBoe) 24.4 25.7 (2.1) 22.3 23.6 Avg Daily Production (MBoe/d) 66.8 70.2 (5.8) 61.0 64.4 Cash Expenses (US$ million) Cash Operating Expenses(4)(5) $300 $325 ($25) $275 $300 G&A(5)(6) $70 $75 ($13) $57 $62 Capex (US$ million) Capital Expenditures(5)(7)(8) $520 $545 ($165) $355 $380 Total Expenses (US$ million) $890 $945 ($203) $687 $742 Drilling and Exploration Activities U.S. Gulf of Mexico Claiborne Drilling Success : Following the previously announced drilling success of the third development well (MC 794 #3) in the Claiborne field, operations are ongoing to allow for first production by mid-year 2020. Talos owns a 25.3% working interest in the project. The Claiborne field is operated by Beacon Offshore Energy, and partners include affiliates of LLOG Exploration, Ridgewood Claiborne , LLC, a managed entity of Ridgewood Energy Corporation, Red Willow Offshore and CL&F Offshore. : Following the previously announced drilling success of the third development well (MC 794 #3) in the Claiborne field, operations are ongoing to allow for first production by mid-year 2020. Talos owns a 25.3% working interest in the project. The Claiborne field is operated by Beacon Offshore Energy, and partners include affiliates of LLOG Exploration, , LLC, a managed entity of Ridgewood Energy Corporation, Red Willow Offshore and CL&F Offshore. Rig Activity: Talos initiated activity with the Helmerich & Payne 100 platform drilling rig and the Transocean Discover Inspiration ultra-deepwater drillship on April 17, 2020 and April 19, 2020 , respectively. The platform rig will execute near-field exploitation drilling of the Kaleidoscope #1 well from the Company's Green Canyon 18 platform. The deepwater drillship will execute the Bulleit completion and tie-back project and the Tornado waterflood project. Following completion of these previously-committed projects, Talos expects to release both rigs utilizing the flexibility provided by the short-term contracts. Talos initiated activity with the Helmerich & Payne 100 platform drilling rig and the Transocean Discover Inspiration ultra-deepwater drillship on and , respectively. The platform rig will execute near-field exploitation drilling of the Kaleidoscope #1 well from the Company's Green Canyon 18 platform. The deepwater drillship will execute the Bulleit completion and tie-back project and the Tornado waterflood project. Following completion of these previously-committed projects, Talos expects to release both rigs utilizing the flexibility provided by the short-term contracts. Federal Lease Sale: On March 18, 2020 , Talos was the apparent high bidder on 28,800 gross, 11,520 net acres in OCS Lease Sale 254 at an average cost of approximately $143 /net acre. The Company's successful bids included one block adjacent to its existing Amberjack facility in Mississippi Canyon that will aid in a future exploitation program as well as bids jointly submitted with BP on four blocks comprising 23,040 gross acres around the Antrim prospect, expanding a subsalt Miocene joint venture with BP that will be further evaluated when economic conditions improve. Drilling and Exploration Activities Mexico Block 7: The unitization of the Zama field continues to make progress under the regulations of the Mexican Ministry of Energy ("SENER"). Talos expects that the National Hydrocarbon Commission ("CNH") will make a determination in the coming weeks regarding the shared nature of the Zama reservoir between Block 7 and the adjacent block controlled by Petroleos Mexicanos ("Pemex"). This step should be followed by an instruction to unitize from SENER, triggering a defined period of negotiations with Pemex to finalize the Unit Agreement for the Zama field. Once the Unit Agreement is signed, the Zama Field Development Plan ("FDP"), which Talos is currently preparing, can be submitted to CNH for approval. FIRST QUARTER 2020 RESULTS Key Financial Highlights: Period results ($ million): Total Revenues(2) $ 187.8 Net Income $ 157.7 Net Income per diluted share $ 2.69 Adjusted Net Income(1) $ 15.6 Adjusted Earnings per diluted share(1) $ 0.27 Adjusted EBITDA(1) $ 147.6 Capital Expenditures (including Plug & Abandonment) $ 73.2 Adjusted EBITDA Margin(1): Adjusted EBITDA (% of Revenue - Operations) 81 % Adjusted EBITDA per Boe $ 27.92 Production, Realized Prices and Revenue Production for the first quarter of 2020 was 5.3 MMBoe, with oil production accounting for 70% of the total. Oil price realizations, net of certain gathering, transportation, quality differentials and other costs, were $44.72 per barrel, before hedges. Figures include one month of impact from the Acquired Assets. Three Months ended March 31, 2020 Production volumes Oil production volume (MBbls) 3,726 Natural Gas production volume (MMcf) 7,042 NGL production volume (MBbls) 387 Total production volume (MBoe) 5,287 Average net daily production volumes Oil (MBbl/d) 40.9 Natural Gas (MMcf/d) 77.4 NGL (MBbl/d) 4.3 Total average net daily (MBoe/d) 58.1 Average realized prices (excluding hedges)(3) Oil ($/Bbl) $ 44.72 Natural Gas ($/Mcf) 1.69 NGL ($/Bbl) 11.11 Average Realized Price ($/Boe) $ 34.58 Average NYMEX prices WTI ($/Bbl) $ 45.34 Henry Hub ($/MMBtu) $ 1.90 Revenues ($ million) Oil $ 166.6 Natural Gas 11.9 NGL 4.3 Revenue Operations $ 182.8 Other revenue 4.9 Total revenues $ 187.8 Three Months ended March 31, 2020 Production % Oil % Liquids % Operated Average net daily production volumes by Core Area (MBoe/d) Green Canyon Area 20.1 79 % 87 % 96 % Mississippi Canyon Area 22.3 79 % 86 % 75 % Shelf and Gulf Coast 15.7 47 % 54 % 78 % Total average net daily (MBoe/d) 58.1 70 % 78 % 83 % Expenses Total lease operating expenses ("LOE"), inclusive of workover and maintenance and insurance costs for the quarter were $58.2 million or $11.02/Boe. As reported, general and administrative expenses ("G&A") for the quarter were $27.5 million, including $1.6 million of stock-based compensation and $7.8 million of transaction-related expenses. Excluding these non-cash and one-time expenses, G&A for the quarter was $18.1 million, or $3.42/Boe. Three Months ended March 31, 2020 Per Boe Lease Operating Expenses $ 58.2 $ 11.02 General & Administrative Expenses (excludes non-cash and transaction expenses) $ 18.1 $ 3.42 Other Financial Metrics Capital Expenditures & Asset Management Activities Capital expenditures for the quarter were $73.2 million, inclusive of plugging & abandonment costs. Expenditures for the quarter included a $7.6 million seismic change in control payment related to the Company's transaction with Stone Energy Corporation. Three Months ended March 31, 2020 Capital Expenditures U.S. Drilling & Completions $ 36.3 Mexico Appraisal & Exploration 0.7 Asset Management 7.9 Seismic and G&G / Land / Capitalized G&A 22.0 Total Capital Expenditures $ 66.9 Plugging & Abandonment 6.3 Total Capital Expenditures and Plugging & Abandonment $ 73.2 Liquidity & Debt As of March 31, 2020, Talos had a liquidity position of $593.4 million, including $486.4 million available under the Bank Credit Facility and approximately $107.0 million of cash. The Company also had approximately $1,108.6 million in total debt, inclusive of $75.5 million related to the HP-I finance lease. LTM Adjusted EBITDA(1) for the twelve month period ended March 31, 2020 was $668.1 million. Net Debt to LTM Adjusted EBITDA(1) ratio was 1.5x. Inclusive of eleven months of Acquired Assets contribution, Net Debt to Credit Facility LTM Adjusted EBITDA(1), as determined in accordance with the Company's credit agreement, would have been 1.2x.. Footnotes: (1) Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Earnings per Share, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Credit Facility LTM Adjusted EBITDA and Net Debt to LTM Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP financial measures. See "Supplemental Non-GAAP Information" below for additional detail and reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP measures. (2) Includes $4.9 million of federal royalty refund. (3) Average realized prices are net of certain gathering, transportation, quality differentials and other costs. (4) Includes all lease operating and workover and maintenance expenses. (5) Includes insurance costs. (6) Excludes non-cash stock based compensation. (7) Includes Plugging & Abandonment. (8) Excludes acquisitions. HEDGES The following table reflects the current contracted volumes and weighted average prices the Company will receive under the terms of its derivative contracts, including contracts entered into following the end of the quarter: Instrument Type Avg. Daily Volume Weighted Avg. Swap Price Weighted Avg. Put Price Weighted Avg. Call Price Crude-WTI (Bbls) (Per Bbl) (Per Bbl) (Per Bbl) April - December 2020 Swaps 32,324 $ 46.87 NA NA April - December 2020 Collars 5,000 NA $ 50.00 $ 57.09 January - December 2021 Swaps 6,230 $ 42.76 NA NA January - December 2021 Collars 1,000 NA $ 30.00 $ 40.00 Crude-LLS January - December 2021 Swaps 1,000 $ 33.50 NA NA Natural Gas-HH NYMEX (MMBtu) (Per MMBtu) (Per MMBtu) (Per MMBtu) April - December 2020 Swaps 39,382 $ 2.27 NA NA January - December 2021 Swaps 30,000 $ 2.40 NA NA January - December 2021 Collars 5,000 NA $ 2.50 $ 3.10 CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST INFORMATION Talos will host an earnings conference call, which will be broadcast live over the internet, tomorrow, Thursday, May 7, 2020 at 11:30 AM Eastern Time. Listeners can access the earnings conference call live over the Internet through a webcast link on the Company's website at: https://www.talosenergy.com/investors. Alternatively, the conference call can be accessed by dialing 1-888-348-8927 (U.S. toll-free), 1-855-669-9657 (Canada toll-free) or 1-412-902-4263 (International). Please dial in approximately 10 minutes before the teleconference is scheduled to begin and ask to be joined into the Talos Energy call. A replay of the call will be available one hour after the conclusion of the conference through May 14, 2020 and can be accessed by dialing 1-877-344-7529 and using access code 10143385. ABOUT TALOS ENERGY Talos Energy (NYSE: TALO) is a technically driven independent exploration and production company focused on safely and efficiently maximizing cash flows and long-term value through its operations, currently in the United States Gulf of Mexico and offshore Mexico. As one of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico's largest public independent producers, we leverage decades of geology, geophysics and offshore operations expertise towards the acquisition, exploration, exploitation and development of assets in key geological trends that are present in many offshore basins around the world. Our activities in offshore Mexico provide high impact exploration opportunities in an oil rich emerging basin. For more information, visit www.talosenergy.com. INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT Sergio Maiworm +1.713.328.3008 [email protected] CAUTIONARY STATEMENT ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This communication may contain "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. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this communication, regarding our strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. When used in this communication, the words "could," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "project," "forecast, "may," "objective," "plan" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions about future events and are based on currently available information as to the outcome and timing of future events. We caution you that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. These risks include, but are not limited to, commodity price volatility, including the sharp decline in oil prices beginning in March 2020, the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 ("COVID-19") and governmental measures related thereto on global demand for oil and natural gas and on the operations of our business, the ability or willingness of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ("OPEC") and non-OPEC countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, to set and maintain oil production levels and the impact of any such actions, lack of transportation and storage capacity as a result of oversupply, government regulations and actions or other factors, inflation, lack of availability of drilling and production equipment and services, environmental risks, drilling and other operating risks, regulatory changes, the uncertainty inherent in estimating reserves and in projecting future rates of production, cash flow and access to capital, the timing of development expenditures, the possibility that the anticipated benefits of recent acquisitions are not realized when expected or at all, including as a result of the impact of, or problems arising from, the integration of such acquisitions, and other factors that may affect our future results and business, generally, including those discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2020, to be filed with the SEC subsequent to the issuance of this communication. Should one or more of these risks occur, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results and plans could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements, expressed or implied, are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. This cautionary statement should also be considered in connection with any subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements that we or persons acting on our behalf may issue. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, we disclaim any duty to update any forward-looking statements, to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this communication. Estimates for our future production volumes are based on assumptions of capital expenditure levels and the assumption that market demand and prices for oil and gas will continue at levels that allow for economic production of these products. The production, transportation, marketing and storage of oil and gas are subject to disruption due to transportation, processing and storage availability, mechanical failure, human error, hurricanes and numerous other factors. Our estimates are based on certain other assumptions, such as well performance, which may vary significantly from those assumed. Therefore, we can give no assurance that our future production volumes will be as estimated. Talos Energy Inc. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (In thousands, except per share amounts) March 31, 2020 December 31, 2019 (Unaudited) ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 106,952 $ 87,022 Accounts receivable Trade, net 81,027 107,842 Joint interest, net 32,894 16,552 Other 36,556 6,346 Assets from price risk management activities 192,553 8,393 Prepaid assets 50,273 65,877 Other current assets 2,046 1,952 Total current assets 502,301 293,984 Property and equipment: Proved properties 4,538,100 4,066,260 Unproved properties, not subject to amortization 277,050 194,532 Other property and equipment 31,966 29,843 Total property and equipment 4,847,116 4,290,635 Accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization (2,158,566) (2,065,023) Total property and equipment, net 2,688,550 2,225,612 Other long-term assets: Assets from price risk management activities 8,794 Other well equipment inventory 9,178 7,732 Operating lease assets 7,590 7,779 Other assets 21,774 54,375 Total assets $ 3,238,187 $ 2,589,482 LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY Current liabilities: Accounts payable $ 58,750 $ 71,357 Accrued liabilities 138,271 154,816 Accrued royalties 24,631 31,729 Current portion of asset retirement obligations 38,028 61,051 Liabilities from price risk management activities 4,286 19,476 Accrued interest payable 22,257 10,249 Current portion of operating lease liabilities 1,613 1,594 Other current liabilities 20,918 20,180 Total current liabilities 308,754 370,452 Long-term liabilities: Long-term debt, net of discount and deferred financing costs 1,033,162 732,981 Asset retirement obligations 387,868 308,427 Liabilities from price risk management activities 1,898 511 Operating lease liabilities 19,138 17,239 Other long-term liabilities 92,470 81,595 Total liabilities 1,843,290 1,511,205 Commitments and contingencies (Note 11) Stockholders' Equity: Preferred stock, $0.01 par value; 30,000,000 shares authorized and no shares issued or outstanding as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 Common stock $0.01 par value; 270,000,000 shares authorized; 65,342,273 and 54,197,004 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively 652 542 Additional paid-in capital 1,504,903 1,346,142 Accumulated deficit (110,658) (268,407) Total stockholders' equity 1,394,897 1,078,277 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 3,238,187 $ 2,589,482 Talos Energy Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (In thousands, except per common share amounts) Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 Revenues: Oil revenue $ 166,624 $ 155,679 Natural gas revenue 11,898 14,447 NGL revenue 4,301 5,066 Other 4,941 3,521 Total revenue 187,764 178,713 Operating expenses: Lease operating expense 58,241 67,959 Production taxes 249 582 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 93,543 64,587 Write-down of oil and natural gas properties 57 Accretion expense 12,417 9,607 General and administrative expense 27,469 17,609 Total operating expenses 191,976 160,344 Operating income (4,212) 18,369 Interest expense (25,850) (25,218) Price risk management activities income (expense) 243,217 (109,579) Other income (expense) (146) 433 Net income (loss) before income taxes 213,009 (115,995) Income tax benefit (expense) (55,260) 6,359 Net income (loss) $ 157,749 $ (109,636) Net income (loss) per common share: Basic $ 2.71 $ (2.02) Diluted $ 2.69 $ (2.02) Weighted average common shares outstanding: Basic 58,240 54,156 Diluted 58,572 54,156 Talos Energy Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (In thousands) Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 Cash flows from operating activities: Net income (loss) $ 157,749 $ (109,636) Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities Depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion expense 105,960 74,194 Write-down of oil and natural gas properties and other well inventory 190 Amortization of deferred financing costs and original issue discount 1,466 1,188 Equity based compensation, net of amounts capitalized 1,627 1,259 Price risk management activities expense (income) (243,217) 109,579 Net cash received (paid) on settled derivative instruments 36,460 (3,019) Settlement of asset retirement obligations (6,302) (3,945) Changes in operating assets and liabilities: Accounts receivable (11,578) 2,305 Other current assets 18,467 11,370 Accounts payable (18,547) (8,284) Other current liabilities 13,337 (25,933) Other non-current assets and liabilities, net 54,620 (7,956) Net cash provided by operating activities 110,232 41,122 Cash flows from investing activities: Exploration, development and other capital expenditures (83,588) (102,396) Cash (paid for) acquisitions, net of cash acquired (293,095) (32,916) Net cash (used in) investing activities (376,683) (135,312) Cash flows from financing activities: Redemption of Senior Notes and other long-term debt (109) Proceeds from Bank Credit Facility 300,000 35,000 Repayment of Bank Credit Facility (25,000) Deferred financing costs (1,285) Other deferred payments (7,575) (6,575) Payments of finance lease (4,049) (3,311) Employee stock transactions (710) Net cash provided by financing activities 286,381 5 Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash 19,930 (94,185) Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash: Balance, beginning of period 87,022 141,162 Balance, end of period $ 106,952 $ 46,977 Supplemental Non-Cash Transactions: Capital expenditures included in accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 66,712 $ 134,722 Supplemental Cash Flow Information: Interest paid, net of amounts capitalized $ 4,906 $ 4,614 SUPPLEMENTAL NON-GAAP INFORMATION Certain financial information included in our financial results are not measures of financial performance recognized by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures are "Adjusted Net Income," "Adjusted Earnings per Share," "EBITDA," "Adjusted EBITDA," "Adjusted EBITDA excluding hedges," "Adjusted EBITDA Margin," "Adjusted EBITDA Margin excluding hedges," "Free Cash Flow," "Cash-Based G&A," "Net Debt," "LTM Adjusted EBITDA" and "Net Debt to LTM Adjusted EBITDA." These disclosures may not be viewed as a substitute for results determined in accordance with GAAP and are not necessarily comparable to non-GAAP measures which may be reported by other companies. Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA "EBITDA" and "Adjusted EBITDA" are to provide management and investors with (i) additional information to evaluate, with certain adjustments, items required or permitted in calculating covenant compliance under our debt agreements, (ii) important supplemental indicators of the operational performance of our business, (iii) additional criteria for evaluating our performance relative to our peers and (iv) supplemental information to investors about certain material non-cash and/or other items that may not continue at the same level in the future. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP or as alternatives to net income (loss), operating income (loss) or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with GAAP. We define these as the following: EBITDA. Net income (loss) plus interest expense, income tax expense (benefit), depreciation, depletion and amortization, and accretion expense. Adjusted EBITDA. EBITDA plus non-cash write-down of oil and natural gas properties, loss on debt extinguishment, transaction related costs, derivative fair value (gain) loss, net cash receipts (payments) on settled derivatives, non-cash (gain) loss on sale of assets, non-cash write-down of other well equipment inventory and non-cash equity-based compensation expense. We also present Adjusted EBITDA excluding hedges and as a percentage of revenue to further analyze our business, which are outlined below: Adjusted EBITDA Margin. EBITDA divided by Revenue, as a percentage. It is also defined as Adjusted EBITDA divided by the total production volume, expressed in Boe, in the period, and described as dollar per Boe. We believe the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA Margin is important to provide management and investors with information about how much we retain in Adjusted EBITDA terms as compared to the revenue we generate and how much per barrel we generate after accounting for certain operational and corporate costs. The following table presents a reconciliation of the GAAP financial measure of net income (loss) to EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA excluding hedges, Adjusted EBITDA Margins and Adjusted EBITDA Margins excluding hedges for each of the periods indicated (in thousands, except for Boe, $/Boe and percentage data): ($ thousands, except per Boe) Three Months ended March 31, 2020 Three Months ended December 31, 2019 Three Months ended September 30, 2019 Three Months ended June 30, 2019 Reconciliation of net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA: Net income (loss) $ 157,749 $ 304 $ 73,297 $ 94,764 Interest expense 25,850 24,574 23,123 24,932 Income tax expense (benefit) 55,260 (36,569) 790 5,997 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 93,543 97,413 88,125 95,806 Accretion expense 12,417 7,521 7,316 9,945 EBITDA 344,819 93,243 192,651 231,444 Write-down of oil and natural gas properties 57 (1,557) 1,417 12,361 Loss on debt extinguishment - 132 - - Transaction related costs 7,758 4,111 146 710 Derivative fair value (gain) loss(1) (243,217) 59,508 (43,760) (29,990) Net cash receipts (payments) on settled derivative instruments(1) 36,460 (1,618) 5,360 (9,543) Non-cash gain on sale of assets - - - - Non-cash write-down of other well equipment inventory 133 165 - - Non-cash equity-based compensation expense 1,627 1,800 1,944 1,961 Adjusted EBITDA 147,637 155,784 157,758 206,943 Net cash receipts (payments) on settled derivative instruments(1) (36,460) 1,618 (5,360) 9,543 Adjusted EBITDA excluding hedges 111,177 157,402 152,398 216,486 Production and Revenue: Boe(2) 5,287 4,966 4,843 5,369 Revenue - Operations 182,823 233,240 227,828 278,299 Adjusted EBITDA margin and Adjusted EBITDA excl hedges margin: Adjusted EBITDA divided by Revenue - Operations (%) 81 % 67 % 69 % 74 % Adjusted EBITDA per Boe(2) $ 27.92 $ 31.37 $ 32.57 $ 38.54 (1) The adjustments for the derivative fair value (gain) loss and net cash receipts (payments) on settled derivative instruments have the effect of adjusting net income (loss) for changes in the fair value of derivative instruments, which are recognized at the end of each accounting period because we do not designate commodity derivative instruments as accounting hedges. This results in reflecting commodity derivative gains and losses within Adjusted EBITDA on a cash basis during the period the derivatives settled. (2) One Boe is equal to six Mcf of natural gas or one Bbl of oil or NGLs based on an approximate energy equivalency. This is an energy content correlation and does not reflect a value or price relationship between the commodities. Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to Free Cash Flow We believe the presentation of Free Cash Flow is important to provide investors with additional important information to evaluate our business. These measures are widely used by investors in the valuation, comparison, rating and investment recommendations of companies. Please see "Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA" above. ($ thousands, except per share amounts) Three Months ended March 31, 2020 Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to Free Cash Flow Adjusted EBITDA 147,637 Less: Capital Expenditures and Plugging & Abandonment (73,200) Less: Interest Expense (25,850) Free Cash Flow 48,587 Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings per Share "Adjusted Net Income" and "Adjusted Earnings per Share" are to provide management and investors with (i) important supplemental indicators of the operational performance of our business, (ii) additional criteria for evaluating our performance relative to our peers and (iii) supplemental information to investors about certain material non-cash and/or other items that may not continue at the same level in the future. Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings per Share have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP or as an alternative to net income (loss), operating income (loss), earnings per share or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with GAAP. Adjusted Net Income. Net income (loss) plus accretion expense, transaction related costs, derivative fair value (gain) loss, net cash receipts (payments) on settled derivative instruments and non-cash equity-based compensation expense. Adjusted Earnings per Share. Adjusted Net Income divided by the number of common shares. ($ thousands, except per share amounts) Three Months ended March 31, 2020 Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted Net Income: Net Income $ 157,749 Transaction related costs 7,758 Derivative fair value (gain) loss(1) (243,217) Net cash receipts (payments) on settled derivative instruments(1) 36,460 Non-cash income tax expense 55,260 Non-cash equity-based compensation expense 1,627 Adjusted Net Income $ 15,637 Weighted average common shares outstanding at March 31, 2020: Basic 58,240 Diluted 58,572 Net Income per common share (Loss Per Share): Basic $ 2.71 Diluted $ 2.69 Adjusted Net Income per common share (Adjusted Earnings Per Share): Basic $ 0.27 Diluted $ 0.27 (1) The adjustments for the derivative fair value (gain) loss and net cash receipts (payments) on settled derivative instruments have the effect of adjusting net income (loss) for changes in the fair value of derivative instruments, which are recognized at the end of each accounting period because we do not designate commodity derivative instruments as accounting hedges. This results in reflecting commodity derivative gains and losses within Adjusted Net Income on a cash basis during the period the derivatives settled. Reconciliation of Total Debt to Net Debt and Net Debt to LTM Adjusted EBITDA and Credit Facility LTM Adjusted EBITDA We believe the presentation of Net Debt, LTM Adjusted EBITDA, Credit Facility LTM Adjusted EBITDA, Net Debt to LTM Adjusted EBITDA and Net Debt to Credit Facility LTM Adjusted EBITDA is important to provide management and investors with additional important information to evaluate our business. These measures are widely used by investors and ratings agencies in the valuation, comparison, rating and investment recommendations of companies Net Debt Total Debt principal of the Company plus the Finance Lease balance minus Cash. Net Debt to LTM Adjusted EBITDA. Net Debt divided by the LTM Adjusted EBITDA. Net Debt to Credit Facility LTM Adjusted EBITDA. Net Debt divided by the Credit Facility LTM Adjusted EBITDA. Reconciliation of Net Debt ($ thousands) at March 31, 2020: Debt principal $ 1,033,162 Finance lease 75,486 Total Debt 1,108,648 Less: Cash and cash equivalent (106,952) Net Debt $ 1,001,696 Calculation of LTM EBITDA: Adjusted EBITDA for three months period ended June 30, 2019 $ 206,943 Adjusted EBITDA for three months period ended September 30, 2019 157,758 Adjusted EBITDA for three months period ended December 31, 2019 155,784 Adjusted EBITDA for three months period ended March 31, 2020 147,637 LTM Adjusted EBITDA 668,122 Acquired Assets Revenue Less Direct Operating Expenditures 184,362 Credit Facility LTM Adjusted EBITDA $ 852,484 Reconciliation of Net Debt to LTM Adjusted EBITDA and Credit Facility LTM Adjusted EBITDA: Net Debt / LTM Adjusted EBITDA 1.5 Net Debt / Credit Facility LTM Adjusted EBITDA 1.2 The Adjusted EBITDA information included in this communication provides additional relevant information to our investors and creditors. Talos needs to comply with a financial covenant included in its Bank Credit Facility that requires it to maintain a Net Debt to Credit Facility LTM Adjusted EBITDA ratio, as determined in accordance with the Company's credit agreement, equal to or lower than 3.0x. For purposes of covenant compliance, Credit Facility LTM Adjusted EBITDA, with certain adjustments, is calculated as the sum of quarterly Adjusted EBITDA for the 12-month period ended on that quarter, inclusive of revenue less direct operating expenditures of the Acquired Assets for periods prior to closing of the Transaction. SOURCE Talos Energy Related Links http://www.talosenergy.com The number of novel coronavirus infections in Delhi mounted to 5,532 on Wednesday after 428 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, the biggest single-day spike so far, the government said. The death toll due to the COVID-19 pandemic rose to 65 with a fatality after a gap of three days, according to the Delhi government. As many as 1,542 patients have recovered so far, while there are 3,925 active cases, the Health Department said, adding that 84 patients were in the ICU and 12 on ventilators. In the last 24 hours, 428 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Delhi, taking the tally to 5,532, it said. This is by far the largest single-day spike in coronavirus infections in Delhi. The previous highest jump was 427 on May 3. The number of containment zones in Delhi have reduced to 88, the department said. A total of 71,934 COVID-19 tests have been conducted till date. The number of COVID-19 patients under home isolation stands at 695, it said. Health Minister Satyendar Jain told reporters that the coronavirus cases were now doubling in 11 days, which was earlier 13 days. "It is so because lot of pending reports were there whose results have now come out," he said. Jain also visited the newly-constructed hospital at Burari with the health secretary and other officers of the department, with an aim to initially start this hospital as a 450-bed COVID-19 care centre, the bulletin said. Out of the total 5,532 cases recorded so far, at least 1,299 are admitted at various hospitals like the LNJP Hospital, RML Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH) and AIIMS Jhajjhar, it said. An order has been issued on the standard operating procedure for shifting asymptomatic or mild symptomatic COVID-19 patients from hospitals to care centres, and shifting of moderately or severely-affected patients from the care centres to hospitals, the bulletin said. According to the statement, an order has been issued on guidelines for effective tracking and monitoring of people, who are suspected to be infected with COVID-19 and getting themselves tested at various accredited labs across Delhi. An order has also been issued regarding mobilisation of district teams to ensure timely action and proper follow up of cases under home isolation, it added. Also read: Coronavirus India Live Updates: PM Modi addresses nation, pays tribute to corona warriors; total cases-49,391 Also read: Coronavirus: Delhi Police chief holds review meet; directs officials to disinfect police stations The World Health Organization on Thursday advised governments to clinically test a herbal drink touted by Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina as a remedy against coronavirus. The COVID-Organics infusion is derived from artemisiaa plant with proven anti-malarial propertiesand other indigenous herbs. Rajoelina hopes to distribute the infusion across West Africa and beyond, claiming it cures COVID-19 patients within 10 days. Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Niger have already received consignments of the potion. Others such as Tanzania have expressed interest. But the World Health Organization (WHO) has repeatedly warned that there are no published scientific studies of the herbal tea and that its effects have not been tested. "We would caution and advise countries against adopting a product that has not been taken through tests to see its efficacy," WHO Africa Director Matshidiso Moeti said in a press briefing on Thursday, calling on Madagascar to take the drink "through a clinical trial". Moeti said that in 2000, African governments had committed to taking "traditional therapies" through the same clinical trials as other medication. "I can understand the need, the drive to find something that can help," Moeti said. "But we would very much like to encourage this scientific process in which the governments themselves made a commitment." Rajoelina defended his tonic during a coronavirus screening campaign in Madagascar's eastern city of Toamasina on Thursday. "The WHO has indicated that artemisia could lead to a cure for coronavirus," the president said, promising to submit the drink to clinical trials. Scepticism remains Earlier this week, the WHO recognised artemisia as a "possible treatment" for COVID-19. But the organisation also repeated its calls for more rigorous testing. South Africa's Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on Wednesday said Madagascar had reached out for "help" with scientific research. "Our scientists would be able to assist with this research," Mkhize tweeted, adding that South Africa would only "get involved in a scientific analysis of the herb". The country has the highest number of coronavirus cases in sub-Saharan Africa, with 7,808 infections and 153 fatalities recorded to date. Neighbouring eSwatinia tiny landlocked nation wedged between South Africa and Mozambiquesaid it would not consider Rajoelina's tonic for the time being. "It is important as a country to first ascertain where such herbal products have been tested," she said Health Minister Lizzie Nkosi on Thursday. "We have to do adequate proper research and be sure that the product works." To date eSwatini has reported 123 cases of coronavirus, including two deaths. Meanwhile, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has debunked claims that it had ordered a package of COVID-Organics from a "third country". "We are aware that several claims of a COVID-19 cure have been made in different parts of the world," ECOWAS said in a statement on Wednesday. "But we can only support and endorse products that have been shown to be effective through scientific study." Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2020 AFP The man, a night shift associate hired in September, was last at the Waukegan facility on March 19, and didnt have symptoms, Amazon said. The company learned of his positive diagnosis on March 24 and of his death on April 18. It declined to give more details about the worker, citing privacy considerations, but said counseling services were offered to his family. A world-first study led by Monash University has demonstrated significant benefits to a premature baby's heart and brain function when held by the parent in skin-to-skin contact. A world-first study led by Monash University has demonstrated significant benefits to a premature baby's heart and brain function when held by the parent in skin-to-skin contact. Parent-infant skin-to-skin care (SSC) or kangaroo care, started in the late 1970s in Columbia when incubators to keep babies warm were not available. It is now widely recognised as a beneficial component of holistic care provided for pre-term infants. Incorporating 40 pre-term babies born at around 30 weeks (normal is 40 weeks) and with an average weight of 1.3kg (normal is 3kg) the study, led by Professor Arvind Sehgal, Neonatologist & Head of Neonatal Cardiovascular Research at Monash Children's Hospital and Professor of Paediatrics at Monash Health, found that one hour a day of kangaroo care significantly improved blood flow to the brain and cardiac function, in comparison to measurements done while in the incubator. This study, published in the Journal of Paediatrics, provides scientific evidence and rationale as to why the infant's heart rhythm and neurodevelopment is better with regular kangaroo care. Improving blood supply is important as it carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain and other organs, and guides neurodevelopment. "The findings of our study are significant as this is a low cost intervention, easily applicable to infants in neonatal units across the world, and helps the most vulnerable of the populations we care for," Professor Sehgal said. While SSC is a common practice worldwide, barriers still remain. These include concerns that infants might get cold or small premature babies are unstable and might not tolerate this handling, leading to compromised heart function or unstable blood pressure. However in this study, infants maintained their temperature (in fact, slightly higher than baseline), when measured one hour after SSC. Previously noted benefits of kangaroo care include reduced stress and crying, increased parent-infant bonding. It is beneficial to parents (mothers) as well as it reduces stress, and increases breast milk supply. "SSC is perhaps the normal physiological state, while the stress response of being separated from parents is the status of the pre-term infants the vast majority of the time," Professor Sehgal said. "We hope this study encourages neonatal units around the world to promote kangaroo care, as well as reassure places where this is already being practised, that the effort and commitment from staff and parents is worthwhile." ### MEDIA INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE WITH A MOTHER INVOLVED IN THE STUDY. MEDIA ENQUIRIES Media, Monash University T: +61 (0) 425 725 836 E: media@monash.edu For more Monash media stories, visit our news and events site The National Green Tribunal directed Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on Thursday to prevent illegal extraction of groundwater for commercial purposes and seal unauthorised borewells as also recover compensation from those who have operated them. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Sheo Kumar Singh, in a hearing through video conferencing, also asked the DJB to assess damage to the environment. "In view of illegal operation of borewells, severely affecting the groundwater level, in Delhi, the DJB must expeditiously take remedial action of closing the borewells and also assessing and recovery of compensation from the persons who have operated such borewells, in coordination with other concerned authorities, following due process of law." The tribunal passed the order after perusing a report from Deputy Commissioner, South and DJB on a plea filed by city resident Nand Kumar alleging illegal extraction of ground water at Mayapuri for commercial purposes. As per the DJB report, out of 141 illegal borewells identified, only four have been sealed and 137 are still continuing. The green panel sought a compliance report by July 31 and posted the matter for hearing on August 17. The NGT had earlier directed the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to coordinate with concerned officials to ensure action against those operating illegal bore wells so as to protect groundwater. The tribunal had said the action had to be by closing illegal borewells, prosecuting such operators and by recovering compensation on 'Polluter Pays' principle. It clarified that the order of the tribunal is binding as a decree of Court and its non-compliance is actionable by way of punitive action, including prosecution, under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Joe Biden is the apparent Democratic presidential nominee. After all, he had a seemingly insurmountable lead in delegates going into the rescheduled August convention in the postponed Democratic primary race. Biden was winning the nomination largely because he was not the socialist Bernie Sanders, who terrified the Democratic establishment. Biden was also not Michael Bloomberg. The multi-billionaire former New York City mayor jumped into the race when Biden faltered and Sanders seemed unstoppable. But Bloomberg spent $1 billion only to confirm that he was haughty, a poor debater and an even worse campaigner. He often appeared to be an apologist for China and seemed clueless about the interior of the United States. The least offensive candidate left standing was Biden. Many Democratic primary voters initially had written him off as an inept retread, a blowhard and an impediment to the leftward, identity-politics trajectory of the newly progressive Democratic party. On the campaign trail, Biden insulted several voters, using insults such as fat, damn liar and, weirdly, lying dog-faced pony soldier. Long ago he spun tall tales about how in his youth he had taken on a Delaware street gang with a 6-foot chain or slammed a bullys face into a store counter. More recently, he taunted President Trump with tough-guy boasts about taking him behind the proverbial gym and beating him up. Biden has been unable to keep his hands off women. Even his supporters cringed when he was seen sniffing the hair, rubbing the shoulders or whispering into the ears of unsuspecting females, some of them minors. Stranger still, Biden waxed on about his commitment to the #MeToo movement. The handsy Biden has insisted that women who made accusations of sexual harassment must be believed. The more House Democrats attacked Donald Trump for supposedly pressuring Ukraine to investigate Bidens wheeler-dealer son Hunter, the more Bidens own suspect dealings with Ukraine surfaced. Such scrutiny followed from Bidens boast, caught on video, that he had leveraged Ukraine by threatening to withhold $1 billion in loan guarantees unless a Ukrainian prosecutor was fired. That prosecutor had wanted to investigate the Ukrainian company for which Hunter Biden worked. During the year-long rise, fall and rise of his campaign, the 77-year-old Biden often appeared confused. He was occasionally unable to remember names, places or dates. Biden would try to speak ex tempore but seemingly forget what he was trying to say. The coronavirus epidemic and subsequent lockdown seemed to offer rest for Biden. But the more he recuperated from campaigning and sent out video communiques from his basement, the more he appeared to confirm that his problem was not simple exhaustion or age but real cognitive impairment. With the Democratic nomination a lock, Biden assumed liberal reporters would allow him to campaign as a virtual candidate. They would forget his lapses and ignore prior controversies, including the sexual assault allegations by Tara Reade, a former aide. At first the media complied as it always had with Bidens troublesome habit of violating the personal space of women, his bizarre put-downs on the campaign trail, his exaggerated he-man stories, his mental lapses and his dealings with Ukraine. Again, to the Democratic establishment, Biden was far preferable to Sanders. Had the socialist Sanders won the nomination, he likely would have wrecked the Democratic Party in 2020. But Biden misjudged the liberal media. Reporters were at first willing to overlook his liabilities. But the more Reade persisted in her accusations and the more the media ignored them, the more embarrassing the medias utter hypocrisy became. Journalists had torn apart Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh over allegations of sexual assault, after all. So suddenly the press decided that Biden was no longer worth shielding. Yet the change of heart was not entirely for fear of appearing hypocritical. Rather, the media seems terrified of Bidens increasingly obvious cognitive decline. In other words, the media was most certainly not going to be degraded on behalf of a nominee who may no longer seem viable. In the three months before the Democratic National Convention, Americans will witness some of the strangest political scrambling in presidential campaign history. Simply put, how does the Democratic Party cut from its neck an albatross one who has the most delegates but is likely not up to serving as president? And how to do the deed without inciting the moribund Sanders campaign and his army of Bernie bros? A host of Democratic donors and operatives would like Biden to disappear, clearing the way for a replacement such as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, failed 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton or former first lady Michelle Obama. But even if Democrats know why Biden must go, they havent a clue about when or how. Victor Davis Hanson is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and the author of The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won, from Basic Books. You can reach him by e-mailing authorvdh@gmail.com Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 China Lambastes Trump's Threat of Using Tariffs as 'Weapon' Amid Mutual Recriminations Over COVID-19 Sputnik News 09:54 GMT 06.05.2020(updated 11:03 GMT 06.05.2020) US President Donald Trump said on 30 April his trade deal with China was now of secondary importance to the coronavirus pandemic as he threatened Beijing with new tariffs amid allegations over the country's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. China's foreign ministry denounced threats of using tariffs as a weapon against it, after US President Donald Trump last week suggested looming new retaliatory measures over Beijing's alleged mishandling of the coronavirus crisis, reported Reuters citing a daily briefing before reporters. Underscoring that tariffs in general hurt all parties involved, spokeswoman Hua Chunying reiterated that the United States should stop its blame game, used as a ploy for shifting responsibilities over COVID-19. The spokeswoman once again emphasized that China emphatically dismisses all baseless accusations that it is responsible for deliberately spreading the virus. Escalating Recriminations Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric against Beijing recently, claiming he had seen evidence suggesting the coronavirus virus originated in a Chinese laboratory, as the fallout from the pandemic has dramatically impacted the economy. When asked of possible retaliatory measures against Beijing for perceived shortfalls in its candidness in connection with the pandemic, the US President told reporters on 30 April he could enforce tariffs against China. "I could do it differently, I could do the same thing but even for more money, just by putting on tariffs," said Trump. The President questioned why China had allowed people to leave the country and travel globally when they were aware of the respiratory disease outbreak. Trump also claimed he had observed things that give him confidence that the disease originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. "We have people looking at it very, very strongly Scientific people, intelligence people, others," said Trump, despite earlier assessments by the World Health Organization (WHO). On 21 February WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said: "All available evidence suggests the virus has an animal origin and is not manipulated or constructed in a lab or somewhere else." Trump also earlier announced that US intelligence officials were probing reports that COVID-19 had spread globally after an accident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. "We're looking at it A lot of people are looking at it - it seems to make sense," said Trump said during a Coronavirus Task Force briefing on 17 April. Beijing has been dismissing all "groundless accusations" against it in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic. Emphasizing that the US-China trade deal was now a secondary concern to Beijing's handling of COVID-19, Trump said: "We signed a trade deal where they're supposed to buy, and they've been buying a lot, actually. But that now becomes secondary to what took place with the virus. The virus situation is just not acceptable." Two anonymous US officials were cited by Reuters on 30 April as suggesting a range of options against China were under discussion, with specific recommendations not having reached Trump's top national security team or the president yet. "There is a discussion as to how hard to hit China and how to calibrate it properly," one source was quoted as acknowledging. Earlier, The Washington Post cited sources as claiming some officials had brought up the option of canceling some of the massive US debt held by China as a retaliatory measure over the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Trump's 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 was quoted as saying by Reuters. 'Deflecting Blame' Chinese analysts have been cited as insisting the US President's new tariffs threats are more of a distraction to deflect blame over his own criticism of handling the coronavirus epidemic and part of a reelection bid. "Actually, at the current level of existing tariffs, Trump's hands are tied. He could not impose new tariffs without hurting the US more than hurting China or inflicting equal damage," Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, was cited by Global Times as saying on Sunday. US-China Trade War While tariffs of up to 25 per cent remain on some $370 billion worth of Chinese imports, in a move to quell a damaging trade war, Donald Trump in January signed the first phase of a multibillion-dollar trade deal with China. After a protracted tit-for-tat tariff war between the world's two largest economies that has impacted global growth, the agreement cut some US tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for Beijing's pledges to purchase more American farm, energy and manufactured goods and address some US complaints regarding intellectual property practices. The US-Chinese trade war broke out in July 2018 when President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on some Chinese imports in order to deal with the $500 billion US-China trade deficit. Since then, the two sides have exchanged several rounds of import duties amid recurring efforts to resolve the conflict via dialogue. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Varanasi, May 7 : The 'Mahamana Declaration', being drafted by a nine-member working group in the Banaras Hindu university (BHU) will help in strengthening the battle against Coronavirus. The Mahamana Declaration is based on the inputs from a webinar, held recently, on indigenous alternative medicine systems in India like Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH). 'Mahamana' is the name given to Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya who set up the Banaras Hindu University. Chairman of the committee and dean of the faculty of Ayurveda, Prof Yamini Bhushan Tripathi, said that the implementation of the 'Mahamana Declarations' will be ensured within the next 12 months. The six-day webinar was held last week by faculty of Ayurveda, IMS BHU, in association with the Patient Safety and Access Initiative of India Foundation (PSAIIF), Quality Council of India (QCI) and Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). Prof Tripathi said that a special attention is needed on the accessibility of indigenous alternative medicine systems AYUSH to lessen morbidity and mortality across the world. The declarations also took note of policy and legal issues, such as the action plan for promotion and communication strategy for global partnership to provide credible options other than modern medicine. According to Prof Tripathi, the main points of the declarations include basic issues like at least 5 per cent of the GDP should be invested into healthcare and substantial amount in preventive care by linking all the primary healthcare centres with AYUSH. The ministry of health and family welfare and ministry of AYUSH (MoA) should jointly examine, revise and update specifications of plant materials, finished products and packaging materials regularly. Clinical trials and experimental studies of Ayurveda medicines, procedures and recommendations should also be speeded up. All AYUSH practitioners, nurses and other paramedics should sharpen their clinical skills, and treatment guidelines. "We should involve all AYUSH doctors, nurses and paramedics working under all situations of health care. We also need to develop Ayurvedic/AYUSH protocol for treatment," he said. He said that all existing helplines for farmers and citizens should be integrated with the National Medicinal Plant Board (NMPB) to help cultivation of medicinal plants. It is also recommended to establish a Centre of Excellence in the form of National Institute of Ayurvedic Education and Research (NIEAR) at faculty of Ayurveda at BHU. High-profile criminals deceived by Lawyer X Nicola Gobbo (pictured) after she became a police informant have called for their cases reviewed Almost 100 high-profile criminals who claim they were deceived by 'Lawyer X' Nicola Gobbo after she became a police informant are still in jail as they fight for a gag order to be removed. Ms Gobbo leaked information from her high-profile criminal clients to the police and sparked a royal commission into police informants. She helped send a number of underworld figures to jail, including crime lord Tony Mokbel and his brother Milad, convicted drug trafficker Rob Karam, and mafia boss Pat Barbaro. The revelations of Ms Gobbo's double-dealing sparked a royal commission with fears some of the nation's most notorious criminals could soon walk free. It is understood Mokbel, drug trafficker Rob Karam, and mafia bosses have launched appeals against their convictions, the Herald Sun reported. The royal commission has gone to the Supreme Court and requested gag orders related to Ms Gobbo be removed. The commission believes the suppression orders are hindering their attempts to find out the truth regarding her relationships with police. Victoria Police are fighting to keep the gag orders active - arguing they are needed to protect the safety of certain individuals who were given deals in return for evidence. She helped send a number of underworld figures to jail, including crime lord Tony Mokbel (pictured) and his brother Milad, convicted drug trafficker Rob Karam, and mafia boss Pat Barbaro Ms Gobbo was a registered informer three times on and off between 1996 and 2009. Mokbel launched an appeal against his conviction after he paid Ms Gobbo $1,800 for advice about his extradition from Greece after he fled Australia in 2007. Ms Gobbo then informed her police handlers about Mokbel's case. Findings on Victoria Police's conduct in recruiting supergrass Ms Gobbo as an underworld informer have been delayed until November. Royal commission findings were due to be handed down by Margaret McMurdo on July 1, but the state government has granted an extension to November 30 because of ongoing delays. The inquiry will also have another $11.5 million to complete its work, taking the bill for the royal commission to $39.5 million. That's on top of the $27 million Victoria Police Commissioner Graham Ashton estimated the inquiry was costing the force and Ms Gobbo's legal bills, which are being paid by the state. The report was originally due to be handed down in December 2019 but was pushed back to July when it was revealed Ms Gobbo had been registered three times by the force, starting in the mid-1990s when she was still a law student. Her most prolific informing came at the height of Melbourne's gangland wars from 2005 until 2009, when she was representing some of the state's most notorious crooks. They included killer Carl Williams and drug kingpin Tony Mokbel. Police were ordered to stop accepting her tips in 2010, but she continued to offer information until at least 2012. Ms McMurdo sought an extension on multiple grounds, including the time it has taken to identify those affected by Ms Gobbo's informing. So far more than 1200 affected people have been identified, dating between 1997 and 2010. Victoria Police has again been blamed for delays in handing over information that was first requested in early 2019. 'On 27 April 2020 Victoria Police produced 38 hours of tapes of relevant intercepted phone conversations, many with Ms Gobbo,' a statement from the commission released on Tuesday said. Ms McMurdo is also trying to have 'a very large number of suppression orders' changed to allow her to produce a comprehensive report. Proceedings were filed in Victoria's Supreme Court on Tuesday and a directions hearing on the matter is listed for Thursday. Last year the court agreed to vary some orders - many which date back to the early and mid-2000s - so the inquiry could hear otherwise restricted evidence. By Joshua Franklin and Lawrence Delevingne NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) - When American companies recently applied for U.S. government loans meant to help small businesses survive the coronavirus crisis, they had to certify they needed the cash to cover basic needs like salaries and rent. The money, up to $10 million, was meant to tide them over for eight weeks. Some recipients, though, had considerable cash on hand. Forty-one publicly traded companies that got the emergency aid already had enough to cover basic expenses for two months or more when they applied for the funds, a Reuters analysis found -- even if their revenue dropped to zero. Thirty had three months or more of cash. Six had enough to last at least until December, according to the review, which was based on average monthly operating expenses from 2019. All told, these relatively flush 41 companies were able to secure $104 million in government aid, at a time when legions of smaller companies with little in their coffers were being turned down. Seventeen of the 41 recipients had market capitalizations of at least $100 million. It's disheartening to see relief spending go to companies that don't appear to desperately need a lifeline, said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project On Government Oversight, a Washington-based non-profit that monitors government spending. This shows just how urgently we need more oversight of this program and the rest of the federal government's relief spending. Reuters examined the latest available financial information for 276 publicly traded companies that applied for the forgivable loans in the first round of the U.S. governments Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in April. The list includes companies tracked by data provider FactSquared through the end of April. A WIDELY CRITICIZED PROGRAM The PPP program, crafted by Congress to aid small businesses, has come under wide criticism. One critique is that publicly traded companies who received the cash could have raised funds elsewhere, given their easier access to capital markets. Until now, though, the accuracy of the borrowers claims about their financial needs to the government has not been closely scrutinized. The Reuters analysis is the most comprehensive to date. Story continues As part of the loan application, company executives had to certify in good faith that current economic uncertainty makes this loan necessary to support their ongoing operations. In regulatory filings and in press releases, some of the 41 recipients sounded a different note as they took the loans, signaling optimism about their finances. At least five of the 41 made statements attesting to solid financial health or projecting additional revenues because of the crisis. (Graphic: U.S. companies with cash got emergency loans IMAGE link: https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/xlbvgnwwlpq/Pasted%20image%201588857730530.png) Among them was biotech company Athersys Inc. It issued an upbeat outlook in an April 15 securities filing for a $50 million share offering, in which it also said it had secured a $1.3 million PPP loan. As of the date of this prospectus supplement, the COVID-19 pandemic has not had a significant adverse effect on our business, the company wrote. Other recipients issued bright outlooks. Medical device maker Repro Med Systems Inc and electronics supplier Micropac Industries Inc said the pandemic had not had a significant impact on their businesses. Diagnostics company Enzo Biochem Inc said it expected COVID-19 related products to partially offset revenue declines. Infectious disease testing business Accelerate Diagnostics Inc said its first-quarter sales were expected to rise - and entered into a collaboration for coronavirus testing. 'WE RISKED MISSING THE OPPORTUNITY' In a statement to Reuters on Tuesday, Athersys said that it fully met the program certification requirements when it applied, due to the uncertain outlook and upcoming costly clinical trials. It said it returned the money after the Treasury Department said in late April that many public companies were unlikely to satisfy the certification criterion. The company was planning to disclose the loans return on Thursday, when it releases first-quarter financial results. There was uncertainty regarding whether we might be able to complete a financing, given market chaos and uncertainty, as well as other factors, the company said in explaining why it sought the loan. If we had not applied for the funding at the time we did, we risked missing the opportunity altogether. Micropac did not respond to a request for comment on Monday. On Tuesday morning, it said in a securities filing that it planned to return the loan. Enzo, Accelerate and Repro Med did not respond to requests for comment. The U.S. Treasury, which oversees the program, referred Reuters to Secretary Steven Mnuchin's recent comments. Mnuchin told reporters last week that he was shocked that some large companies had taken the loans, and said the certifications had been put in the loan application forms to force borrowers to read the requirements. He said there were 26,000 loans over $2 million, and those would likely be audited. The small business loan program was initially funded with $349 billion. Congress had to top it off with another $310 billion because the money, which was supposed to be handed out on a first-come, first-served basis, ran out while many applicants were still awaiting the grants. Mnuchin said on Monday that 2.2 million loans worth an average $79,000 had been made in the second round. The $104 million the 41 public companies were granted would have been enough to keep some 1,300 small businesses afloat with an average grant. 'WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING?' Jeff Lewis-Mathieu, co-owner of security systems installer Prairie Signal Company Inc, said his small Chicago-based business has been waiting for weeks in its application for a $40,000 PPP loan. Lewis-Mathieu said he is continuing to pay his two employees, but is not paying himself, and doesnt know how long the business can survive after a roughly 50% drop in revenue. He said he has watched in frustration as larger public companies get millions of dollars in loans. When you see that, its like, What the hell are they doing? They are sucking all the funds out that guys like me actually need, Lewis-Mathieu said. Part of the problem, some critics say, is the loose wording of the programs rules. Virginia Canter, chief ethics counsel at nonprofit watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said the administration should have issued clearer guidance about whos eligible. The government should have seen this coming and is now trying to clean it up, Canter said. The Treasury has offered amnesty to public companies that return any money they borrowed by May 14, saying it would deem they made the application in good faith if they did so. Of the 41 companies identified by Reuters, 12 have said so far that they already had or planned to return the money by the deadline. In one case, the company said it declined the loan before receiving the money. Mnuchin said last month that companies could be subject to a Department of Justice investigation if they did not return the money. Several white collar defense attorneys said prosecutors would likely probe the most egregious cases of conflicting representations and seek internal communications showing executives knew they didnt really need the money. Federal regulators are going to be looking at discrepancies very closely. If theres a big disconnect, subpoenas may be on the way, said Michael Birnbaum, a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement attorney who is now at Morrison & Foerster LLP. KEY TERMS LOOSELY DEFINED Such cases may be hard to prove, however. Alan Wink, managing director at accounting firm EisnerAmper, said it was clear from the Reuters analysis that some healthy companies received PPP funds. But he noted that PPP terms were loosely defined by the government, and that key ones, like current economic uncertainty and necessary, were open to interpretation. The Reuters analysis of borrowers' needs has a limitation: The ratio of cash to average operating expenses used by the news agency does not provide a complete picture of a companys financial health. The analysis is based on financial information disclosed through Wednesday morning. Still, Wink and two finance professors consulted for this article said the Reuters metric was a conservative way to assess the ability of a business to meet operating expenses. Some of the companies that took loans said publicly they were financially secure, with some seeing increased demand for their products around the time they asked for the aid. Athersys, for example, said its stem cell therapy was being tested on COVID-19 patients. The companys shares have more than doubled since mid-March, giving it a market value of more than $500 million. In its April 15 announcement, Athersys noted that it had $37.5 million in cash and cash equivalents as of April 9. Thats enough to cover nearly nine months of operating expenses, based on the companys average expenses for 2019. In its statement to Reuters, Athersys said the nine-month ratio did not present a complete picture of its financial condition and operational plans, which include two clinical trials. Our historical spending is not an accurate indicator of our future needs given how our business is evolving, the company said. Repro Med said on Monday it was an essential business under New York guidelines and had seen net sales rise 27% in the first quarter. The company said its devices, which are used to help inject drugs, allow high-risk patients to receive treatment at-home, important advantages during these challenging times. We have not experienced any material disruption to our business thus far, Chief Executive Don Pettigrew said in the statement. The company, which has a market value of about $430 million, secured some $1.5 million under the PPP in late April. A HEALTHY RISE IN REVENUE Accelerate Diagnostics received a $4.78 million PPP loan on April 14. The company has a market value of around $570 million. The next day, the company noted in a press release that first-quarter sales rose 28% to $2.3 million from the same period in 2019, based on preliminary figures. It also announced a new agreement to distribute its coronavirus antibody tests in the United States and abroad. It said total cash and cash equivalents were $92 million as of March 31. Thats enough to cover average 2019 operating expenses for 13 months, the review found. Another company, Enzo Biochem, said on April 9 it expects COVID-19 related products and services to partially offset revenue declines caused by the crisis. The company, with a market value of about $130 million, said it had $48 million in cash as of March 31. That was enough to cover seven months of its average 2019 operating expenses. The company applied for and got a PPP loan of nearly $7 million, a regulatory filing shows. On April 23, it announced it had launched its first COVID-19 diagnostic test, sending its shares soaring. Micropac makes electronic components for the defense, medical and other industries. The company, with a market capitalization of about $34 million, had enough cash to cover eight months of average 2019 operating expenses as of February 29, the review shows. Micropac has not experienced significant financial impact directly related to the pandemic, it said in a regulatory filing on April 14. Three days later, it obtained nearly $2 million in PPP funds. (Reporting by Lawrence Delevingne and Joshua Franklin. Additional reporting by Noel Randewich. Editing by Paritosh Bansal, Greg Roumeliotis and Michael Williams.) On the floor: US President Donald Trump tours a Honeywell factory producing N95 masks in Phoenix, Arizona. Photo: Brendan Smialowski / AFP Democratic hopeful Joe Biden's advantage over US President Donald Trump in popular support has eroded in recent weeks. Mr Biden seems to be paying a heavy price for a lack of visibility with voters during the pandemic, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. The opinion poll conducted on Monday and Tuesday found that 43pc of registered voters said they would support Mr Biden in the November 3 presidential election, while 41pc said they would back Mr Trump. Mr Biden led by six percentage points in a similar poll last week and by eight points in a poll that ran from April 15-21. The former vice-president has been forced to run his presidential campaign from his Delaware home in keeping with restrictions aimed at combating the virus, which has killed more than 70,000 people in the US and put 30 million people out of work. By contrast, Mr Trump has put himself at the helm of the US pandemic response, with regular White House briefings until recently. Some of Mr Biden's most dominant recent headlines focused on a former US Senate aide's allegation that he sexually assaulted her in 1993. Mr Biden said last week the alleged assault "never happened" and asked the Senate to make public any documents related to the accusation by Tara Reade, who worked as a staff assistant in Mr Biden's Senate office from December 1992 to August 1993. The political impact of the situation was not yet clear in the Reuters/Ipsos poll, which showed 53pc of the American public said they were "somewhat" or "very" familiar with Ms Reade's allegation. According to the poll, 45pc of Americans said Mr Trump was better suited to create jobs, while 32pc said Mr Biden was the better candidate for that. That pushed Mr Trump's advantage over Mr Biden in terms of job creation to 13 points, compared with the Republican president's six-point edge in a similar poll that ran in mid-April. Thirty-seven percent said Mr Trump was better leading the country's coronavirus response, while 35pc preferred Mr Biden. A similar poll in mid-April showed Mr Biden had a slight edge over Mr Trump when it came to the nation's response to the disease. Overall, 42pc of Americans said they approved of Mr Trump's performance in office, and 53pc said they disapproved. The president's popularity has remained relatively flat for more than a year. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online, in English, throughout the US. It gathered responses from 1,215 American adults, including 1,015 who identified as registered voters. It had a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of plus or minus three percentage points. Meanwhile, Mr Biden is coming under pressure to select a black woman as his vice-president in the 2020 race. Mr Biden's campaign was revived when black voters in South Carolina and throughout the south of the country overwhelmingly sided with him. Now black voters and leaders are pressing for him to pick a black woman as his running mate. Mr Biden has already committed to picking a woman. But black voters and leaders say he needs to go further and pick a black woman. They argue that Mr Biden's success - and that of the Democratic Party as a whole - depends on black people turning out to vote in November. "Black people want an acknowledgement of the many years of support they have given the Democratic Party," said Niambi Carter, a Howard University political science professor. Mr Biden has referenced two black women, senator Kamala Harris of California and Stacey Abrams, the former Democratic nominee for governor in Georgia. Other black women, including Congresswoman Val Demings of Florida and Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, have also been mentioned. But Mr Biden is also thought to be considering several white women, including senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer. A hair salon owner in Dallas, Texas, was arrested and jailed for a week after opening her doors despite coronavirus restrictions. Shelley Luther, owner of Salon a la Mode, refused to obey a cease-and-desist letter asking her to shut operations. She attended a court hearing on Tuesday. The judge offered to let her walk free if she apologized for "being selfish." She would also be required to shut her business and pay a fine. Luther refused to apologize, saying she opened her business to feed her children. "That is not selfish," she added. She also revealed she recently received a loan from the federal government. When the judge asked her whether or not she was still operating, she answered: "Yes, partially." She would have only needed to close her salon's doors until the state allowed non-essential businesses to reopen. State officials will impose a phased reopening of the economy across Dallas on Friday. Luther was fined $7,000. She would receive additional fines of $500 for each day her business continues to remain open until Friday. Judge Eric Moye told Luther that people could not disobey the law. No one can determine for themselves what they would and would not do. In Court Two law enforcement employees said they witnessed multiple clients getting haircuts and manicures inside the parlor. On April 25, Luther joined demonstrators rallying to reopen the state. During the protest, she ripped up a cease-and-desist letter handed to her. The previous week, she told followers on a social media platform that she had a right to remain open. In court, she defended her decision to partially reopen her business, citing she had hairstylists and employees who were going hungry as they chose to feed their children instead. "So, sir, if you think the law is more important than kids being fed, then please go ahead with your decision," she said. Calls for Release Several prominent conservative figures in Texas rallied to Luther's defense. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Judge Moye's decision was excessive. He also said imprisoning Texans for disobeying executive orders should always be the last option. Abbott, a Republican, said he believes compliance is vital during the pandemic as it ensures public safety. However, he also stressed that there are less restrictive means of achieving the goal other than serving time in jail. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick offered to pay for Luther's fine as well as serve her sentence under house arrest. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called for the hair salon owner's immediate release. District Judge Eric Moye addressed the requests in a statement released late Wednesday. He and 11 other district judges condemned the attorney general's 'inappropriate' conduct for urging Luther's release. Moye claims their unwelcome behavior offends the separation of powers for members of the Executive Branch of the government to interfere with the judicial process. Democrats also accused their Republican counterparts of hypocrisy. They said the Republicans immediately flew into outrage over the salon owner's seven days in jail but refused to acknowledge the plight of thousands of inmates in corrections facilities in the state. Watch the court proceeding here: Want to read more? Check these out: With restaurants, bars, and tap rooms closed for the foreseeable future, it is likely beer products will age beyond the desired consumption date and will need to be destroyed. Because brewers need to understand products cannot simply be dumped down the drain, several Tennessee-based companies including Keg Hounds, Blefa Kegs, and A Head For Profits have put together a checklist and resource guide of how to go about this process in an environmentally responsible manner. Here are some guidelines: Regulations for beer disposal are site and county specific. Always check with local authorities before disposing of beer in the wastewater system. Federal guidelines prohibit dumping any liquid with a pH lower than 5. Local regulations may require a higher pH. For example, in Knoxville, TN the lowest allowable pH is 5.5. According to recent lab results of decanted kegs from Blefa Kegs, who services hundreds of thousands of damaged kegs per year, the average pH of the beers they dispose of (all styles), is 7.3, and the average BOD is 71,300 mg/L. Lab results from other craft breweries suggest beer from many craft brewers has a pH of 4.5. In some cases, brewers must provide documentation that disposed liquid was treated. Additionally, compliance contacts for large Tennessee markets are: Nashville/Davidson County- Andrew Welch, (615) 862-4590, joseph.welch@nashville.gov Knoxville/Knox County- Leslie Glover, (865) 594-8285, leslie.glover@kub.org Memphis/Shelby County- Tasha King-Davis, (901) 636-4340, tasha.king@memphistn.gov Chattanooga/Hamilton County- Rick Tate, (423) 643-7464, rtate@chattanooga,gov Brewers in more rural areas should reach out to the utility company listed on their local sewer bill Other Resources: Brewers wishing to have product destroyed for them, contact Justin Willenbrink at Blefa Kegs, (615) 267-1385, justin.willenbrink@blefa.com. Establishments needing taproom lines cleaned, contact Jeff Walton at A Head For Profits, (615) 828-6330, jeff@aheadforprofits.com. Brewers needing to track destroyed beer for tax and compliance purposes, or use this slow-down in sales to find out how many kegs they have, contact Mark Carpenter at Keg Hounds, (615) 485-1722, mark@keghounds.com. These services will be provided free of charge for a limited time. Vice-President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has cautioned H.E. John Mahama to always refer to the data available to make his case or risk embarrassing himself. He also said no government has delivered as much infrastructure in its first term than the Akufo-Addo led government. So President Akufo-Addo led government has performed better. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia had his PhD in economics from Simon Fraser University in1995 with dissertation titled: STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT, ECONOMIC WELFARE AND ELECTORAL BEHAVIOR IN THE 1992 GHANAIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. Dr. Bawumias thesis on Ghana SAP doesnt feature any economics theory to be acclaimed as an economics guru. He was appointed Deputy Governor of Bank of Ghana in 2005 with no practical experience as an economist. I am therefore not surprised to hear Mr. Ayariga questioning him if really is an economist at all or had only passed exams? Because all his analysis and presentations are half true. In one of his famous Town-Hall meeting where he was trying to detract his own theory of If the fundamentals are weak, the exchange rate will expose you to There could be other external factors causing the exchange rate depreciation In juxtaposing his own theory tickled Prof. Gyan Bafour, at Ministry of Planning to laugh. Dr. Bawumia on several occasion talks about data, the data as if he sees differently from what an average Ghanaian sees. Prior to 2012 general election, he accused NDC government of inheriting huge amount from J.A. Kufour administration when in fact he used the existing dollar exchange rate denomination. To his supporters, Dr. Bawumia was a hero which indeed was just tactical tricks. Ghana like any modern country needs physical addresses, such as street naming and numbering. Street naming and number is an important function that allows the local government to maintain a comprehensive and accurate address database covering all properties within the cities. Street naming and numbering are helpful in emergency services to find a property quickly and efficiently; post and delivery services to deliver goods and services efficiently; visitors to locate their destination; allowing district assemblies to locate resources efficiently, and helping Statistics Services, NIA and EC to make their jobs easy. But to our disappointment the so-called Ghana economist guru used US$12.5 million to buy Google digital address which was already offered for free. Similarly, Dr. Economist wasted over US$21 million on drones when he knew very his government was not ready to complete hospitals John Mahama started. Drones had to deliver medicines or blood to hospitals to be administered on patients. I believe Dr. Bawumia does not crosscheck the data and does anything anyhow. If Dr. Bawumia is abreast with data, he could have known that any country whose imports exceeds exports, there will always be demand for foreign currencies and therefore depreciation. Dr. Bawumia is economical with the truth and he has made Ghanaians believe the lies when there is there the truth. He kept on saying he and President Akufo-Addo led NPP government has performed better. These are blatant lies coming from the so-called economist. In effect, there are no scintilla of evidence. I wonder if he checks with Ghana Statistical Service data before talking or he thinks no one will check? From Ghana Statistical Service data with 2013 as a based year, agriculture recorded 6.1% growth in 2016/17 in NDC regime, while the highest growth in NPP was 4.8% in 2017/18. Growth in crop recorded 7.2% in that year while NPP had his ever highest 5.8% in year 2017/18. Comparing data, Dr. Bawumia should know that, NDC era recorded the highest purchase of cocoa since the 4th Republic. In 2010/11 annual crop season cocoa purchase was 1,012,839 metre ton, and in 2016/17 cocoa purchase was 969,510 metre ton (source: www.cocobod.gh) Under NDC in 2016/17 cocoa grew 9.2% which NPP highest was 5.4% growth in 2018/19. NDC recorded livestock growth of 5.7% in 2016/17, while NPP did it best of 5.4% in 2018/19. NDC recorded fishing growth of 8.5% in 2014/15 and NPP highest so far had been 1.7% growth in 2018/19 (source: www.statsghana.gov.gh). Now looking at industries, the overall best growth performance was 2016/17 when it recorded a growth of 15.7% and NPP regime recorded 10.6% in 2017/18. Manufacturing recorded 9.5% growth in 2016/17 and 6.3% in 2018/19, while electricity expansion grew 19.4% in 2016/17, in 2018/19 it grew 6.0%. Water supply in Ghana grew by 13.9% 2014/15, it has grown -4.4% in 2018/19. In the construction, 2014/15 recorded a growth of 9.5% while recorded a growth of -4.4% in 2018/19. In the financial and insurance sector 2013/14 recorded the highest in Ghanas history of 21.4% as compared to 1.6% in 2018/19. The data indicated that Ghanas GDP at basic price recorded 8.4% grown in 2016/17 as compared to 6.5% in 2018/19. Although Ghanas GDP current stands at US$66,984 million and non-oil GDP stands at US$64,138 million in 2019, in 2013 NDC recorded US$64,401 and US$60,858 million for non-oil. But up till now, Ghana had the highest per capita GDP of US$2,434 as compared to US$2,212 in 2019 (source: www.statsghana.gov.gh). Under H.E. John Mahama era, 17 hospitals were built, if not completely built, at least more than half completed. Besides more than 1,600 CHP were built. 1. University of Ghana Medical Hospital (600 beds capacity) 2. Upper East Regional Hospital, Bolga 3. Upper West Regional Hospital, Wa 4. Abetifi District Hospital 5. Kumawu District Hospital 6. Ofankor District Hospital 7. Ashanti Regional Hospital, Sewua 8. Fomena District Hospital 9. Kumasi Military Hospital, Afare 10. Tepa District Hospital 11. Shai Osudoku District Hospial 12. International Maritime Hospital, Tema 13. Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Ridge 14. Bekwai District Hospital 15. Bank of Ghana Hospital 16. Takoradi European Hospital 17. Tamale Teaching Hospital Expansion Still under infrastructure; Terminal 3 of Kotoka International Airport was built to modern airport standard; 3 local airports were upgraded. Kwame Nkrumah Interchange and Kasoa Main Interchange were completed. Besides, 123 E-Blocks school buildings were started of which more than half were completed at the time H.E. John Mahama was leaving office. To paraphrase late Prof. Adu-Boahen, there is absolutely no doubt that, qualitatively if not quantitively, H.E. John Mahama has produced the greatest work of infrastructure in a short period of time since Ghanas independence. Written by Lewis Kwame Addo Amsterdam [email protected] The NI Executive this week agreed to match the British government's funding for Derry's City Deal boosting the overall package to 210m. It is anticipated that with funding leveraged from partners and the private sector the final figure may sit closer to 300m. The local council has reiterated its plans to relocate to Foyle Street in order to make way for Ulster University expansion in the form of the Magee Medical School - one of the cornerstones of the City Deal. An Ulster University document shows an artist's impression of an expanded Magee campus (above) along the riverfront. Earlier this week, Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill said she was delighted that the Executive agreed to match fund Derry and Strabanes City Deal/Inclusive Future Fund. The 210 million is transformative for Derry and the NW, she said, and goes some way to redress decades of underinvestment after years of hard work by political, community and business leaders. As far back as November 2014, former SDLP MP for Foyle Mark Durkan raised the prospect of a City Deal for Derry. Speaking at Westminster at the time he said: In my own constituency, people would love to see city deal status even within our devolved settlement for the city of Derry. We need to look at this in a more fluid way and to get away from the politics and find the democracy. As it transpired, Belfast would be awarded Northern Irelands first City Deal as part of his Autumn budget in October 2018. It is a year since the Derry regions own deal was announced on May 13, 2019. The package - 50 million for the Derry and Strabane City Deal and 55m for the new Inclusive Future Fund - aims to boost the economic potential of the city and wider region. It has now been matched by the NI government bringing the overall total to 210m. Last week Economy Minister Diane Dodds said the North West deal is still being worked on and she hopes Heads of Terms will be signed off in May or June. She added that significant work has gone into it. Heads of Terms is a document which sets out the terms of a commercial transaction agreed in principle between parties in the course of negotiations. In November of last year the local council stated that this document would be signed-off within weeks. Once it is signed, work will progress on the preparation of a portfolio of outline business cases for the full range of projects, a process expected to take 12-18 months. Alongside this, confirmation is needed of required revenue funding to support capital investment, in particular in relation to the proposed Graduate Entry Medical School. Derry City & Strabane District Council has submitted all project proposals to government at this stage and the council continues to work with government to advance with the signing of the Heads of Terms. Council relocation Welcoming the match funding announcement a council spokesperson said it was hugely positive news for everyone involved in the project. She also confirmed that the council still plans on relocating from its headquarters on the Strand Road to Foyle Street car park adjacent to the Guildhall. However, the council previously made it clear that these proposals are dependent on a number of factors, including funding and are all at an early stage of development. Speaking yesterday a spokesperson said: Work will progress over the coming weeks and months to advance and develop the regeneration projects earmarked for the match-funded Inclusive Future Fund that include the development of the Riverfront at Queens Quay (35m circa) and signature tourism projects (20m circa), all of which are in the process of being scoped out and business cases prepared. The proposed relocation of the Council offices still remains a key priority of the future planned expansion of the Ulster University and the development of the riverfront moving forward. The Council will continue to work with Government and key partners to bring forward the City Deal to the next stage including the Heads of Terms and remains committed to developing the key catalyst regeneration projects that will bring about growth and prosperity for Derry and Strabane and the wider North West region. From sustainable energy to quantum computers: high-temperature superconductors have the potential to revolutionize today's technologies. Despite intensive research, however, we still lack the necessary basic understanding to develop these complex materials for widespread application. "Higgs spectroscopy" could bring about a watershed as it reveals the dynamics of paired electrons in superconductors. An international research consortium centered around the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research (MPI-FKF) is now presenting the new measuring method in the journal Nature Communications. Remarkably, the dynamics also reveal typical precursors of superconductivity even above the critical temperature at which the materials investigated attain superconductivity. Superconductors transport electric current without a loss of energy. Utilizing them could dramatically reduce our energy requirements -- if it weren't for the fact that superconductivity requires temperatures of -140 degrees Celsius and below. Materials only 'turn on' their superconductivity below this point. All known superconductors require elaborate cooling methods, which makes them impractical for everyday purposes. There is promise of progress in high temperature superconductors such as cuprates -- innovative materials based on copper oxide. The problem is that despite many years of research efforts, their exact mode of operation remains unclear. Higgs spectroscopy might change that. Higgs spectroscopy allows new insights into high-temperature superconductivity "Higgs spectroscopy offers us a whole new 'magnifying glass' to examine the physical processes," Dr. Jan-Christoph Deinert reports. The researcher at the HZDR Institute of Radiation Physics is working on the new method alongside colleagues from the MPI-FKF, the Universities of Stuttgart and Tokyo, and other international research institutions. What the scientists are most keen to find out is how electrons form pairs in high-temperature superconductors. In superconductivity, electrons combine to create "Cooper pairs," which enables them to move through the material in pairs without any interaction with their environment. But what makes two electrons pair up when their charge actually makes them repel each other? For conventional superconductors, there is a physical explanation: "The electrons pair up because of crystal lattice vibrations," explains Prof. Stefan Kaiser, one of the main authors of the study, who is researching the dynamics in superconductors at MPI-FKF and the University of Stuttgart. One electron distorts the crystal lattice, which then attracts the second electron. For cuprates, however, it has so far been unclear which mechanism acts in the place of lattice vibrations. "One hypothesis is that the pairing is due to fluctuating spins, i.e. magnetic interaction," Kaiser explains. "But the key question is: Can their influence on superconductivity and in particular on the properties of the Cooper pairs be measured directly?" At this point "Higgs oscillations" enter the stage: In high-energy physics, they explain why elementary particles have mass. But they also occur in superconductors, where they can be excited by strong laser pulses. They represent the oscillations of the order parameter -- the measure of a material's superconductive state, in other words, the density of the Cooper pairs. So much for the theory. A first experimental proof succeeded a few years ago when researchers at the University of Tokyo used an ultrashort light pulse to excite Higgs oscillations in conventional superconductors -- like setting a pendulum in motion. For high-temperature superconductors, however, such a one-off pulse is not enough, as the system is damped too much by interactions between the superconducting and non-superconducting electrons and the complicated symmetry of the ordering parameter. advertisement Terahertz light source keeps the system oscillating Thanks to Higgs spectroscopy, the research consortium around MPI-FKF and HZDR has now achieved the experimental breakthrough for high-temperature superconductors. Their trick was to use a multi-cyclic, extremely strong terahertz pulse that is optimally tuned to Higgs oscillation and can maintain it despite the damping factors -- continuously prodding the metaphorical pendulum. With the high-performance terahertz light source TELBE at HZDR, the researchers are able to send 100,000 such pulses through the samples per second. "Our source is unique in the world due to its high intensity in the terahertz range combined with a very high repetition rate," Deinert explains. "We can now selectively drive Higgs oscillations and measure them very precisely." This success is owed to close cooperation between theoretical and experimental scientists. The idea was hatched at MPI-FKF; the experiment was conducted by the TELBE team, led by Dr. Jan-Christoph Deinert and Dr. Sergey Kovalev at HZDR under then group leader Prof. Michael Gensch, who is now researching at the German Aerospace Center and TU Berlin: "The experiments are of particular importance for the scientific application of large-scale research facilities in general. They demonstrate that a high-power terahertz source such as TELBE can handle a complex investigation using nonlinear terahertz spectroscopy on a complicated series of samples, such as cuprates." That is why the research team expects to see high demand in the future: "Higgs spectroscopy as a methodological approach opens up entirely new potentials," explains Dr. Hao Chu, primary author of the study and postdoc at the Max Planck-UBC-UTokyo Center for Quantum Materials. "It is the starting point for a series of experiments that will provide new insights into these complex materials. We can now take a very systematic approach." Just above the critical temperature: Where does superconductivity start? Conducting several series of measurements, the researchers first proved that their method works for typical cuprates. Below the critical temperature, the research team was not only able to excite Higgs oscillations, but also proved that a new, previously unobserved excitation interacts with the Cooper pairs' Higgs oscillations. Further experiments will have to reveal whether these interactions are magnetic interactions, as is fiercely debated in expert circles. Furthermore, the researchers saw indications that Cooper pairs can also form above the critical temperature, albeit without oscillating together. Other measuring methods have previously suggested the possibility of such early pair formation. Higgs spectroscopy could support this hypothesis and clarify when and how the pairs form and what causes them to oscillate together in the superconductor. Simon Cowell's longtime partner Lauren Silverman accused the "America's Got Talent" judge of having an affair with co-judge Mel B. In a series of pissed off messages, Silverman confronted Cowell's fellow judge. Cowell and Silverman have been in a relationship since 2013 and share 6-year-old son Eric, splitting their time between London and Los Angeles. But their romance has reportedly hit the rocks in 2018 when she blamed him of allegedly cheating with the Spice Girl. Mel B, who quit "The X Factor" in 2019, was also reportedly maddened and shamed by Silverman's assertion and denied any semblance of romance between her and Cowell. According to an insider, "The X Factor" judge was left livid by the allegation but eventually resolved the situation with Silverman and Mel B who are now all on good speaking terms. The source added, "Clearly this story is utterly ridiculous and completely pointless -- because there was no affair. Simon and Lauren are very happy together as a couple." Cowell reportedly gets on well with Mel B and all his female co-judges, but there is utterly no hint of romance. It was said to be obviously awkward to an extreme for a while. Cowell and Silverman have been together under lockdown in Los Angeles for the last 6 weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a source who told "The Sun," Silverman is reportedly "naturally very suspicious of the female attention" Cowell receives and was winded up by how well Cowell and Mel B get along. Also Read: Demi Lovato and Simon Cowell: Simon Wants "Heart Attack" Singer to Kiss Him? (PHOTOS/VIDEO) "Because he's so charismatic, women flock to him -- and it riles Lauren." Silverman, who was earlier married to Cowell's former best mate Andrew Silverman when she became pregnant with son Eric, is reportedly insecure because she and Cowell are not married. The news of the denial of the affair came mere hours after Cowell's "Britain's Got Talent" co-judge Amanda Holden's daughter Hollie also ignited confusion about whether the pair had split during an Instagram Live session. The 8-year-old suggested that they split during her mother's Instagram Live session, "I thought they broke up?" Amanda Holden hastily replied, "Don't be stupid." Holden detailed behind her daughter's suggestion, "Hollie last saw Lauren when she was about to board a plane to America during the BGT auditions to visit her older son and I cannot so that presume that's what made him -- wrongly-- think. She clarified that she and Silverman even exchanged photographs of their families in lockdown, while Cowell learned to cook. This transpired when Holden was narrating the moment she played her new NHS charity single, "Over The Rainbow," to the former "American Idol" judge and talked about Silverman. Cowell and Mel B had previously worked together on "The X Factor" in 2014 and "America's Got Talent" in 2016. Silverman was introduced to Cowell by her former husband, Andrew Silverman in Barbados back in 2006. Bachelor Cowell, whose exes include Sinitta, Terri Seymour, and Jackie St. Clair, has been reluctant to get married. Related Article: 'Britain's Got Talent': Judge Simon Cowell Passes Out After Getting Hypnotized by Dog? @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ted Hesson and David Shepardson (Reuters) Washington Thu, May 7, 2020 17:07 621 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6902b0 2 News united-states,Airport,travel,coronavirus,COVID-19,TSA Free The lead US airport security agency is weighing the possibility of requiring masks or face coverings for passengers who pass through checkpoints, according to a US official and two people familiar with the deliberations. The move is part of a broader rethinking of how to limit the spread of the new coronavirus during air travel, an effort that could bring some of the most significant changes to the industry since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Travelers passing through US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints will see other changes, including additional barriers to protect security officers, more extensive cleaning regimes and upgraded screening equipment to speed travelers through lines faster, according to current and former US officials and industry experts familiar with the plans. TSA officers are allowed to wear masks at checkpoints but not required to do so. The agency is considering such a requirement, sources said. News of potential changes came as the Senate Commerce Committee was set to hold a hearing Wednesday on the state of the aviation industry. The number of US air travelers plunged by 95 percent in March as lockdowns went into effect across the country to limit the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory ailment caused by the new coronavirus. But with restrictions ending in some states, US officials, airports and airlines are grappling with how air travel must change to operate more safely. The discussions over possible face mask requirements came after nearly every major US airline said in the past week they will require passengers to wear them onboard flights. The San Diego International Airport and San Francisco International Airport already require face coverings. Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, the country's largest union for federal workers, said during an online discussion with Democratic lawmakers on Thursday that passengers should be encouraged to wear masks, calling it a priority. TSA has been reviewing the legality of requiring passengers to wear them, as well as reviewing whether it would need to have masks available for passengers, but has not reached a final decision, according to a U.S. official and a source familiar with the matter. An agency spokeswoman declined to comment on a mandate for passengers, calling it "speculative." Read also: Only 70 flights of 79,000 prior to pandemic now operating in Indonesia: Sri Mulyani Increased safety, faster processing Aside from masks, passengers will find other changes in place at airports. Plexiglass barriers have been installed at TSA checkpoints in more than a dozen airports around the country to protect officers from infection, according to the agency. Cleaning efforts will be stepped up, too. Some US airports and airlines are disinfecting surfaces with electrostatic sprayers, which create a quick-drying mist. Separately, TSA frontline employees have been instructed to routinely clean frequently touched surfaces and screening equipment, the agency said. The most ambitious developments could be on the technology front to speed up passenger processing and limit interactions with security officers. A technology rolled out in 2019 that allows TSA security officers to scan a traveler's drivers license or identity document to confirm its authenticity and check it against flight records could be positioned to allow passengers to insert their IDs themselves. The agency has installed more than 500 of the credential authentication machines across the country and recently awarded French company Idemia US$11 million for another 500 units, which will be deployed over the summer, according to the TSA. The agency has been pushing ahead with more advanced checkpoint scanning equipment that creates 3-D images of the contents of a travelers bag. Since November, TSA has put nearly 100 such machines into place and continues toward a goal of 300 in total, a spokeswoman said. Authorities say protests over the killing of Hizb commander were 'negligible' and 'sporadic' Army soldiers during an encounter with militants at Baigpora area in Pulwama district of South Kashmir on May 6, 2020. Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo was killed in an operation by security forces. (PTI) Srinagar: The Jammu & Kashmir police on Thursday secretly buried at an undisclosed location the body of Riyaz Naikoo, the commander of Hizb-ul Mujahideen who was slain in a gunfight with the security forces in his village of Baigpora in Pulwama district on Wednesday. Protests marked by stone-pelting flared up at several places in the slain militants home district on Thursday. At least one person was killed and 19 others were wounded when police opened fire and used pellet shotguns and teargas to put down a protest in Baigpora, the village where the former math teacher used to live before joining the militants in 2012. The man killed in the police action today was a civilian, identified as Jehangir Yusuf Wani, a resident of Uthmula village in Pulwama district. Hospital sources said 32-year-old Wani was brought dead with bullet wounds in his chest, abdomen and leg. The injuries in the others brought to hospital were mainly in the lower limbs, sources said. The authorities described said the clashes as minor, negligible and restricted to Pulwama and a few other pockets in the Valley. They shut down mobile internet services across Kashmir all the same. Phone services were down too, barring those provided by the state-owned BSNL. And in the eighth week, Ford said go north, but dont multiply. Amid a pandemic of biblical proportions, Premier Doug Ford has decreed that cottagers should enjoy their seasonal residences on the Victoria Day weekend that starts May 15 but in a restrained fashion. Dont bring a whole whack of people up. Its not the party weekend its been in the past, Ford told reporters Thursday. Go up there and check things out, try to bring your own home supplies up there, he said. In a statement earlier in the day, after a 90-minute conference call with rural mayors, the premier implored Ontarians to play it safe and responsible by not socializing or making too many pit stops en route. Yesterday afternoon I had a very productive discussion with the mayors of cottage country about the ongoing impacts COVID-19 is having on their respective municipalities, said Ford. While Ontario is vast and regions are facing the challenges of COVID-19 differently, it is more important than ever that we stick together and fight COVID-19 as one team, he said. With the Victoria Day long weekend and cottage season just around the corner, we need to stay vigilant. We are still battling a terrible virus, so we are asking seasonal residents travelling to their cottages to practice the same public health measures as usual, including no public gatherings, avoiding non-essential travel as much as possible, and continue to practice social distancing. Ford emphasized that the mayors appealed to him to discourage day-trippers or renters from visiting Muskoka, Haliburton, Lake Erie and other bucolic regions. Cottage-country residents are known for their hospitality and normally they would be welcoming tourists with open arms right now. This year, however, they are asking visitors to help them fight the spread of COVID-19 and hold off travelling to these regions until it is safe to do so, he said. I know Ontarians are eager to enjoy the great outdoors, but there will be plenty of long weekends to come. Some rural mayors have been urging city dwellers to stay away because there have been relatively few coronavirus cases outside the Greater Toronto Area and other urban centres, and they fear small-town hospitals could be swamped. Last month, the medical officer of health in Haldimand Norfolk issued a rare order under the provincial Health Protection and Promotion Act forbidding Lake Erie cottagers from visiting their seasonal homes, a move Ford criticized. In March, Collingwood council voted to ask the province to restrict Ontarians from travelling outside their home communities during the pandemic due to concerns about the resources being strained in the southern Georgian Bay area. It has not been illegal for people to visit their cottages under the state of emergency that has been in effect since March 17. But Ford has been urging everyone to stay home as much as possible to stop the spread of the virus. The premier emphasized again Thursday that he is acting on the advice Dr. David Williams, the chief medical officer for health. Also Thursday, Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca wrote to Ford urging the legislature to hold online sessions similar to those in the House of Commons when Queens Park is back in session on Tuesday, The federal government has held sittings online its time for the province of Ontario to follow suit, he wrote. We would suggest four question periods be held every week: two virtually and two in person. Read more about: On February 24, 1943, a Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft with serial number 42-32892 rolled out of a factory in Long Beach, California, and was handed over to the U.S. Air Force. On March 12, 1943, the plane was given to the Soviet Air Force in Fairbanks, Alaska, and given the registration USSR-N238. From there, it flew 5,650 kilometers to the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, one of some 14,000 aircraft sent by the United States to the Soviet Union during World War II under the massive Lend-Lease program. This particular C-47 was sent to the Far North and spent the war conducting reconnaissance and weather-monitoring missions over the Kara Sea. After the war, it was transferred to civilian aviation, carrying passengers over the frozen tundra above the Arctic Circle. On April 23, 1947, it was forced to make an emergency landing with 36 people on board near the village of Volochanka on the Taimyr Peninsula. On May 11, 1947, 27 people were rescued, having spent nearly three weeks in the icebound wreck. The captain, two crew members, and six passengers had left earlier in an ill-fated effort to get help. The body of the captain, Maksim Tyurikov, was found by local hunters about 120 kilometers from the wreck in 1953. The others were never found. The plane spent 69 years on the tundra before a Russian Geographical Society expedition rescued it in 2016 and returned the wreckage to Krasnoyarsk. "I knew that its place was in a museum," Vyacheslav Filippov, a colonel in the Russian Air Force reserve who has written extensively about the Lend-Lease program's Siberian connection, told RFE/RL at the time. "It was not just some piece of scrap metal. It is our living history. This Douglas is the only Lend-Lease aircraft that remains in Russia." An estimated 25 million Soviet citizens perished in the titanic conflict with Nazi Germany between June 1941 and May 1945. Overcoming massive defeats and colossal losses over the first 18 months of the war, the Red Army was able to reorganize and rebuild to form a juggernaut that marched all the way to Berlin. But the Soviet Union was never alone: Months before the United States formally entered the war, it had already begun providing massive military and economic assistance to its Soviet ally through the Lend-Lease program. From the depths of the Cold War to the present day, many Soviet and Russian politicians have ignored or downplayed the impact of American assistance to the Soviets, as well as the impact of the entire U.S.-British war against the Nazis. A Soviet report by Politburo member Nikolai Voznesensky in 1948 asserted that the United States, described as "the head of the antidemocratic camp and the warrior of imperialist expansion around the world," contributed materiel during the war that amounted to just 4.8 percent of the Soviet Union's own wartime production. The Short History Of The Great Patriotic War, also from 1948, acknowledged the Lend-Lease shipments, but concluded: "Overall this assistance was not significant enough to in any way exert a decisive influence over the course of the Great Patriotic War." Nikolai Ryzhkov, the last head of the government of the Soviet Union, wrote in 2015 that "it can be confidently stated that [Lend-Lease assistance] did not play a decisive role in the Great Victory." Such assessments, however, are contradicted by the opinions of Soviet war participants. Most famously, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin raised a toast to the Lend-Lease program at the November 1943 Tehran conference with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt. "I want to tell you what, from the Russian point of view, the president and the United States have done for victory in this war," Stalin said. "The most important things in this war are the machines.... The United States is a country of machines. Without the machines we received through Lend-Lease, we would have lost the war." Nikita Khrushchev offered the same opinion. "If the United States had not helped us, we would not have won the war," he wrote in his memoirs. "One-on-one against Hitler's Germany, we would not have withstood its onslaught and would have lost the war. No one talks about this officially, and Stalin never, I think, left any written traces of his opinion, but I can say that he expressed this view several times in conversations with me." The Lend-Lease act was enacted in March 1941 and authorized the United States to provide weapons, provisions, and raw materials to strategically important countries fighting Germany and Japan -- primarily, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and China. In all, the United States shipped $50 billion ($608 billion in 2020 money) worth of materiel under the program, including $11.3 billion to the Soviet Union. In addition, much of the $31 billion worth of aid sent to the United Kingdom was also passed on to the Soviet Union via convoys through the Barents Sea to Murmansk. Most visibly, the United States provided the Soviet Union with more than 400,000 jeeps and trucks, 14,000 aircraft, 8,000 tractors and construction vehicles, and 13,000 battle tanks. However, the real significance of Lend-Lease for the Soviet war effort was that it covered the "sensitive points" of Soviet production -- gasoline, explosives, aluminum, nonferrous metals, radio communications, and so on, says historian Boris Sokolov. "In a hypothetical battle one-on-one between the U.S.S.R and Germany, without the help of Lend-Lease and without the diversion of significant forces of the Luftwaffe and the German Navy and the diversion of more than one-quarter of its land forces in the fight against Britain and the United States, Stalin could hardly have beaten Hitler," Sokolov wrote in an essay for RFE/RL's Russian Service. Under Lend-Lease, the United States provided more than one-third of all the explosives used by the Soviet Union during the war. The United States and the British Commonwealth provided 55 percent of all the aluminum the Soviet Union used during the war and more than 80 percent of the copper. Lend-Lease also sent aviation fuel equivalent to 57 percent of what the Soviet Union itself produced. Much of the American fuel was added to lower-grade Soviet fuel to produce the high-octane fuel needed by modern military aircraft. The Lend-Lease program also provided more than 35,000 radio sets and 32,000 motorcycles. When the war ended, almost 33 percent of all the Red Army's vehicles had been provided through Lend-Lease. More than 20,000 Katyusha mobile multiple-rocket launchers were mounted on the chassis of American Studebaker trucks. In addition, the Lend-Lease program propped up the Soviet railway system, which played a fundamental role in moving and supplying troops. The program sent nearly 2,000 locomotives and innumerable boxcars to the Soviet Union. In addition, almost half of all the rails used by the Soviet Union during the war came through Lend-Lease. Bengaluru, May 7 : Amid Covid-19-disrupted academic year, cancelled classes and examinations, students across India are using every technological tool available to pursue studies. Some of the popular tech tools, enabling online learning through audio and video links, include Zoom, Skype, Whatsapp, Cisco Webex and Microsoft Teams. "We, humans, have never experienced anything like this. I am sure most of us were not prepared for such a situation. It's a first of its kind experience," Payal, an English teacher at an international school here, told IANS. From school pupils to civil services aspirants to doctoral students, all are engaging in this online learning, happening across the spectrum of education institutions. And the scale is mind-boggling. With over 14,000 educators powering students to prepare for more than 60 kinds of examinations, online learning platform Unacademy is offering over 1,500 live classes a day. On March 12, Unacademy, set up by former IAS officer Roman Saini, announced that it would offer 20,000 free live classes to students during the lockdown. "Live classes on Unacademy platform ensure that education is not obstructed amid the coronavirus pandemic. These classes are available across examinations, like UPSC, banking and railways," an Unacademy spokesperson told IANS. According to Unacademy, the effort is aimed at promoting the indefatigable spirit of learners and encouraging students' determination to crack their examinations. English teaching app ELSA has associated with 40-50 schools to engage students through their principals to be in touch with the language. UXReactor, an online training platform with offices in Hyderabad and California, is catering to the needs of UX designers, teaching visual communication, user research, wireframing and prototyping and information architecture. "After the coronavirus outbreak, we are seeing a decent rise -- about 150 per cent -- in traffic every week, as more people are looking for opportunities to upskill and reskill during the lockdown," Prasad Kantamneni, co-founder, UXReactor, told IANS. Byju's, Oliveboard, Vidyakul, School of Meaningful Experience, Schoolguru Eduserve, Canadian International School, including fashion designing institutions, like JD Institute of Fashion Technology South, are offering online learning solutions to bypass the lockdown. Despite the audio and video features the tech tools are offering, most people are of the view that no technology can ever replace the classroom setting and the human to human contact in real. "My personal experience with online learning has its ups and downs. One positive feature is the mute button, which helps dissolve all the background noise and allows one to listen more clearly. This can't be done in a normal classroom setting," said Aryan Jain, 11th standard student of Greenwood High International School. Despite the advances in technology, Jain said multiple disconnections would take place in an online class, forcing students to say 'Ma'am you are not audible'. "As online platforms try to provide interactive class sessions, the proximity with students is missed. Personally, I like the fun group study sessions with friends as they help us share ideas effectively and create an emotional ties between us children that will last a lifetime," said a student. Corroborating Jain, Payal said holding the attention of all online students was not easy due to lack of physical monitoring. Transitioning from Zoom to Microsoft Teams, Payal teaches 10-25 students per online session. "Sometimes when students are asked questions and they don't know answers, they log out of the session. Students tend to choose the classes they want to be a part of. We have little control over it," said Payal. She said in school such mischievous action would not be possible. With the Covid-19 lockdown uncertainties, it remains to be seen how long online learning will replace the real classroom teaching. (Sharon Thambala can be contacted at thambalasharon@gmail.com) For over 34,000 employees of the country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), an in-house developed Wellness Mitra App has been acting as the guardian angel to assist them over the past two weeks as coronavirus pandemic rages on. The app that complements the Aarogya Setu App has been made mandatory for all employees across the value chain, requiring them to update their health status, including close family members, on the app everyday, according to the company. It has been developed to ensure safety and monitor employees' health on a real time basis, while a 'COVID-19 Task Force' has also been set up to ensure that all health and safety advisories are followed by the employees, it added. Commenting on the steps taken by the company to ensure safety of its employees, Maruti Suzuki India Member Executive Board (HR, IT and Safety) Rajesh Uppal said, "We are passing through an unprecedented global health crisis. Employees' safety is our top priority and we have developed the Wellness Mitra application that complements the Aarogya Setu App". The Aarogya Setu app helps in contact tracing and sends alert about COVID-19 positive cases in the vicinity, he said, adding "with the use of technology, we are monitoring health of all our employees on a real time basis". "The Wellness Mitra App has been developed in-house and it helps maintain the health log sheet of employees across all our locations in the country. It not just helps us to monitor well-being of employees but they can also seek help in case of any emergency through the app," Uppal further said. As the company gears up to resume operations both at its Manesar plant and in offices where relaxations are applicable, monitoring through the app. MSI is allowing employees who report good health for at least 14 consecutive days to come to work. Among the precautions, every MSI employees are required to record body temperature on the app every day and at the same time they can also can seek emergency medical support if required with help promptly extended by the company's rapid action task force. Questions such as if an employee has symptoms of fever, cough, difficulty in breathing, loss of smell, loss of taste, diarrhoea are asked in the Wellness Mitra App and details are closely monitored by reporting managers, across all locations/states in India. It also checks if there are any COVID-19 positive cases in employees' vicinity, while also periodically broadcasting the government guidelines of dos and don'ts. In addition, the company said it has also set up a 24x7 help desk to address any concerns and questions of employees. Maruti Suzuki India said it has also developed a similar app for its dealer and vendor partners to cover entire value chain. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Today we'll take a closer look at AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik Aktiengesellschaft (VIE:ATS) 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. In this case, AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik likely looks attractive to investors, given its 3.9% dividend yield and a payment history of over ten years. 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 AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik! WBAG:ATS Historical Dividend Yield May 7th 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. AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik paid out 171% of its profit as dividends, over the trailing twelve month period. A payout ratio above 100% is definitely an item of concern, unless there are some other circumstances that would justify it. We also measure dividends paid against a company's levered free cash flow, to see if enough cash was generated to cover the dividend. With a cash payout ratio of 291%, AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik's dividend payments are poorly covered by cash flow. Paying out such a high percentage of cash flow suggests that the dividend was funded from either cash at bank or by borrowing, neither of which is desirable over the long term. Cash is slightly more important than profit from a dividend perspective, but given AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik's payments were not well covered by either earnings or cash flow, we are concerned about the sustainability of this dividend. Story continues Is AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik's Balance Sheet Risky? As AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik's dividend was not well covered by earnings, we need to check its balance sheet for signs of financial distress. A rough way to check this is with these two simple ratios: a) net debt divided by EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), and b) net interest cover. Net debt to EBITDA is a measure of a company's total debt. Net interest cover measures the ability to meet interest payments. Essentially we check that a) the company does not have too much debt, and b) that it can afford to pay the interest. AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik has net debt of 1.00 times its EBITDA, which is generally an okay level of debt for most companies. Net interest cover can be calculated by dividing earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by the company's net interest expense. Interest cover of 4.21 times its interest expense is starting to become a concern for AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik, and be aware that lenders may place additional restrictions on the company as well. We update our data on AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik every 24 hours, so you can always get our latest analysis of its financial health, here. Dividend Volatility Before buying a stock for its income, we want to see if the dividends have been stable in the past, and if the company has a track record of maintaining its dividend. For the purpose of this article, we only scrutinise the last decade of AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik's dividend 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 0.18 in 2010, compared to 0.60 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 13% a year over that time. AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik's dividend payments have fluctuated, so it hasn't grown 13% every year, but the CAGR is a useful rule of thumb for approximating the historical growth. It's not great to see that the payment has been cut in the past. We're generally more wary of companies that have cut their dividend before, as they tend to perform worse in an economic downturn. Dividend Growth Potential Given that the dividend has been cut in the past, we need to check if earnings are growing and if that might lead to stronger dividends in the future. Over the past five years, it looks as though AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik's EPS have declined at around 22% a year. A sharp decline in earnings per share is not great from from a dividend perspective, as even conservative payout ratios can come under pressure if earnings fall far enough. Conclusion When we look at a dividend stock, we need to form a judgement on whether the dividend will grow, if the company is able to maintain it in a wide range of economic circumstances, and if the dividend payout is sustainable. It's a concern to see that the company paid out such a high percentage of its earnings and cashflow as dividends. Earnings per share have been falling, and the company has cut its dividend at least once in the past. From a dividend perspective, this is a cause for concern. There are a few too many issues for us to get comfortable with AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik from a dividend perspective. Businesses can change, but we would struggle to identify why an investor should rely on this stock for their income. Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. For instance, we've picked out 4 warning signs for AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik that investors should take into consideration. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our curated list of dividend stocks with a yield 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. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 18:41:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SYDNEY, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Though it is dreadful that groups of the native Australian bird, rainbow lorikeets, are paralysed and dropping from the sky, they are not victims of another mysterious virus, bird expert Darryl Jones from Griffith University said. Several news outlets reported a virus spread similar to the COVID-19 through close contact has paralyzed and killed hundreds of rainbow lorikeets recently across southeast Queensland. Jones confirmed there is a big outbreak going on at the moment, saying "there are literally hundreds of dead lorikeets or paralysed lorikeets all over Brisbane." "But it's not a disease and it's not spread by viruses ... that was an attempt by the journalist to make it into an interesting story," he told Xinhua on Wednesday. According to Jones, the condition is known as lorikeet paralysis syndrome. Birds with this syndrome will turn up with paralysis of various kinds. "The most typical ones are their feet are clenched and they can't move their wings," he explained. "And the worst ones are just they're still alive but they can't move at all ... Their eyes are moving and their tongues are moving but they can't do anything." While the source of the syndrome is still unknown, Jones and his research team are racing up to solve the puzzle. "I'm involved in a big project now to try and understand that, and it appears that the researchers think that it might be a toxin, some sort of poisonous thing." "But it's possible that it's actually a naturally occurring toxin that is probably in some of the plants that they're eating." Very shortly the research team will ask people to lend a hand and report if they see new lorikeets that just have fallen out of trees or look paralysed, so they can conduct more field surveys. "At the moment it's a detective job, which is trying to trace down the clues, see where it's coming from and then do something about it once we find out," Jones said. He said people can also help by transferring the birds to the vets, for as long as the birds are still alive, they can be treated. "I mean for really severely paralysed ones, you can't do anything, but there's a big range, some of them are a little bit affected," Jones said. "There are treatments, so what you need to do is go to a vet and Brisbane has a number of specialist bird vets." And at the same time, people can still enjoy the happiness of feeding these beautiful creatures. "Just keep the feeding clean and the feeding place clean," he said. "But this (syndrome) has nothing to do with feeding which is a big relief." Enditem In a sharp rebuke to prosecutors, the U.S. Supreme Court today threw out the convictions of Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni the two former Christie administration officials charged in the bizarre scheme of political retribution that became known as Bridgegate. Because the scheme here did not aim to obtain money or property, Baroni and Kelly could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws, the court ruled. The unanimous 15-page ruling underscored the skepticism of a court that has repeatedly questioned the governments boundless interpretation of the federal bribery statute. And it will undoubtedly make it far more difficult to bring corruption cases against elected officials, with the justices making it clear that the path to proving abuse of the public trust is very narrow. Baroni and Kelly used deception to reduce Fort Lees access lanes to the George Washington Bridgeand thereby jeopardized the safety of the towns residents. But not every corrupt act by state or local officials is a federal crime, said the court in an opinion written by Justice Elena Kagan. Because the scheme here did not aim to obtain money or property, Baroni and Kelly could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws. Kelly, 47, who served as deputy chief of staff to Republican Gov. Chris Christie, and Baroni, 48, a former GOP state senator the governor named to become the deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, were found guilty in November 2016 of fraud and conspiracy in connection with a scheme to purposely tie up traffic around the George Washington Bridge. The purpose was nothing less than a hard-edged game of Jersey-style political hardball, claimed the government. According to prosecutors, the plan had been intended to send a very clear message to the mayor of Fort Lee by paralyzing his town with massive gridlock, after he walked away from an expected endorsement of Christie in advance of the governors 2013 re-election campaign. Kelly and Baroni were charged with defrauding a public agency for political purposes by essentially hijacking the resources of the Port Authority, the powerful bi-state agency which operates the iconic bridge linking New York with New Jersey. Both had long asserted their innocence. Attorneys for the two argued even before trial that whatever happened at the bridge was nothing more than bareknuckle New Jersey politics, not graft, and that the former administration officials had been caught up in an indictment in search of a crime. In filings with the high court, defense lawyers said if the government could convict a public official of fraud based on a so-called concealed political motive, the federal government would have free rein to charge and convict officials for all manner of political deals, favors, and rebukes, unless those officials were brutally candid about their true political motivations. In its opinion, the court said Baronis and Kellys realignment of the access lanes was an exercise of regulatory power a reallocation of the lanes between different groups of drivers. This court has already held that a scheme to alter such a regulatory choice is not one to take the governments property. And while a governments right to its employees time and labor is a property interest, the prosecution must also show that it is an object of the fraud. Prosecutors failed to do that, the court found. The U.S. Attorneys office in New Jersey, which prosecuted the case, had nothing to say about the decision. The Supreme Courts decision speaks for itself, and we are bound by that decision. Beyond that, we have no comment, said the office in a statement. Both Kelly and Baroni expressed joy, thanking their family, friends and their respective legal teams. Having been maligned, I now stand with my family and friends knowing that due process worked. While this may finally have made this case right for me, it does not absolve those who should have truly been held accountable, said Kelly in a statement. She was represented by Michael Critchley, Mike Critchley, Jr., Edmund DeNoia. Yaakov Roth of Jones Day argued the case before the Supreme Court. Baroni, who called the past six years a difficult time, said the court sent a clear statement of his innocence. After years of investigations, indictments, trials, appeals and even prison, today the court has vindicated me and has made clear that I committed no crime. I have always said I was an innocent and today, the Supreme Court unanimously agreed. Baroni was represented by Stephen M. Orlofsky of BlankRome and Michael A. Levy of Sidley Austin. A POINT OF LEVERAGE It all began in early September 2013, when Port Authority workers were ordered to shut down two of three local access lanes from Fort Lee to the toll plaza of the George Washington Bridge. The admitted architect of the scheme was David Wildstein a former Republican operative then a high-paid Port Authority political appointee working on Christies behalf. He would later testify that he knew the lane closures would cause major traffic backups, and saw it as a point of leverage that could be used against Mark Sokolich, the mayor of Fort Lee. David Wildstein, who pleaded guilty in the Bridgegate scandal and was sentenced to probation, in a file photo.AP When Sokolich, a Democrat, suddenly backed off an expected endorsement of Christie, prosecutors said that Kelly, Baroni and Wildstein set the scheme in motion. On a Monday morning on the first day of school, workers put out orange traffic cones without warning. For four and a half days, cars and trucks trying to enter the bridge toll plaza from Fort Lee were partially blocked by the unannounced lane realignments. Like water entering a funnel, drivers found themselves quickly backed up for blocks, turning streets into parking lots. Cars and emergency vehicles were unable to travel across town and children were trapped on school buses stuck for hours in the unrelenting gridlock. Despite public outcry, the local lanes remained partly closed until high-ups at the Port Authority finally intervened. After the political motives of the scheme became evident, the U.S. Attorneys office launched a 16-month criminal investigation and charged Kelly and Baroni. By then, Wildstein was already cooperating with authorities. TIME FOR SOME TRAFFIC PROBLEMS Kelly, the author of a now infamous time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee email sent shortly before the lane closures at the bridge, asserted her innocence during the trial. She claimed top administration officials had long been aware of Wildsteins intentions, including the governor himself, and that she had believed it was actually all part of a legitimate traffic study concocted by Wildstein. Baroni, one of the top New Jersey officials at the Port Authority who issued the order to shut down the lanes, testified that he was duped by Wildstein, and also testified that he believed the lane closures had been part of a real traffic study. The jury did not believe them. The two were convicted, largely on Wildsteins eight days on the witness stand. Kelly, a divorced mother of four, was sentenced to 13 months in prison. She remained free after her sentencing pending her appeal. Baroni received an 18-month term and opted to report to prison, but was released on bail after the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. For his part, Wildstein pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation. In a statement following the court ruling, he said The conduct by me and others was still wrong. This is not a vindication. My apologies stand, my remorse continues, and I fully accept responsibility for my role." Christie was never charged with any wrongdoing and denied any knowledge of the plan, which nevertheless helped sink his failed 2016 presidential campaign. In a statement on Thursday, the governor blasted former U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman and the Justice Department over the case. It is good for all involved that today justice has finally been done, Christie said. "What cannot be undone is the damage that was visited upon all of the people dragged through the mud who had nothing to do with this incident, by the prosecutorial misconduct and personal vindictiveness of Paul Fishman. Fishman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bridget Anne Kelly, center, addresses the media in front of the Supreme Court last January with her lawyer, Michael Critchley, to her left.Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media In their arguments in January before the Supreme Court, attorneys for both Kelly and Baroni contended that the government had turned to a novel use of the federal anti-theft and anti-bribery statues they said were never intended to be applied in a case such as Bridgegate. The statute, Section 666 of Title 18 of the United States Code, is commonly used in cases of fraud or embezzlement and is typically used to prosecute those taking envelopes of cash in return for political favors. It does, however, have a provision that allows it to be used against public officials who misappropriate property for a purpose other than it is intended. In this case, the property was the bridge, and the legal theory was applied to elevate the alleged offenses to a federal crime. The government told the court that the two had committed fraud when they lied in ordering Port Authority employees to create a bottleneck at the toll plaza of the worlds busiest bridge. They said the two diverted the agencys resources to serve their own personal ends of inflicting massive four-day gridlock on Fort Lee. U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton, who presided over the trial, rejected the defense arguments and the convictions were later largely upheld by the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which found that there was no legitimate justification for the conduct of Baroni and Kelly. Last June, however, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. While many were surprised the high court decided to hear the matter, the issue of government corruption and how the bribery statute has been applied has long been on its radar. In 2016, the justices threw out the conviction of former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell, who had been charged with accepting $175,000 in cash and gifts from a Richmond businessman while arranging meetings for him with state officials. In its ruling, the court found the former governors activities on behalf of his patron were not considered official acts, and that despite the nature of the charges, prosecutors needed to show a direct quid pro quo that the official did something in his official capacity in return for the gifts. In that case, Chief Justice John Roberts said there was no doubt the facts in the case were distasteful. But our concern is not with tawdry tales of Ferraris, Rolexes, and ball gowns. It is instead with the broader legal implications of the governments boundless interpretation of the federal bribery statute, he wrote. In the matter that went on the docket as Case 18-1059, Bridget Anne Kelly, versus the United States, it seemed to many that the court was heading down a similar path on Bridgegate. During oral arguments in January before the court, at least six of the nine justices appeared openly skeptical over whether the 2013 incident at the George Washington Bridge was a federal crime in their questioning of the government and defense attorneys. I dont see how this case works, Justice Stephen Breyer said flatly. The court, in its ruling on Thursday, said what Kelly and Baroni did, according to all the governments evidence, was for bad reasons; and they did so by resorting to lies. But what they did was alter a regulatory decision about the toll plazas use, not take public property. "If U. S. Attorneys could prosecute as property fraud every lie a state or local official tells...the result would be a sweeping expansion of federal criminal jurisdiction, said the court. The property fraud statutes do not countenance that outcome. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. WASHINGTON - A top donor to President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee will be named the new head of the Postal Service, putting a top ally of the president in charge of an agency where Trump has long pressed for major changes in how it handles its business. The Postal Service's board of governors confirmed late Wednesday that Louis DeJoy, a North Carolina businessman who is currently in charge of fundraising for the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, will serve as the new postmaster general. The action will install a stalwart Trump ally to lead the Postal Service, which he has railed against for years, and probably move him closer than ever before to forcing the service to renegotiate its terms with companies and its own union workforce. Trump's Treasury Department and the Postal Service are in the midst of a negotiation over a $10 billion line of credit approved as part of coronavirus legislation in March. The confirmation came after The Washington Post asked for comment on the decision. Trump has indicated he wants the Postal Service to dramatically raise fees for delivering packages for customers such as Amazon in exchange for tapping the line of credit. Trump has long argued that Amazon doesn't pay the Postal Service enough, a charge the agency has fiercely contested. (Amazon's chief executive, Jeff Bezos, owns The Washington Post.) "Louis DeJoy understands the critical public service role of the United States Postal Service, and the urgent need to strengthen it for future generations," Robert M. Duncan, chairman of the board of governors, said in a statement. "Postal workers are the heart and soul of this institution, and I will be honored to work alongside them and their unions," DeJoy, who will start June 15, said in a statement. The White House declined to comment. Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va., chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees the Postal Service, denounced the move as a reward by Trump to a "partisan donor." "The Postal Service is in crisis and needs real leadership and someone with knowledge of the issues," Connolly said. "This crony doesn't cut it." After criticizing the agency for years, Trump has been consolidating his influence lately. Three Republicans and one Democrat sit on the board of governors after the vice chairman, David Williams, a Democrat, resigned last week. The departure came after Williams told confidants he was upset that the Treasury Department was meddling in what has long been an apolitical agency and felt that his fellow board members had capitulated to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's conditions for the $10 billion line of credit, according to four people familiar with Williams' thinking. Williams did not respond to a request for comment. Democrats have urged the Postal Service to hold firm with Treasury over the terms of the loan, betting they could win more money for the agency in another round of legislation and threatening the Trump administration with taking the risk of disrupting mail service. But in recent days, the Postal Service's board has appeared open to some of the Trump administration's terms, according to the four people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose private conversations. The precise terms could not be learned. "[Williams'] main frustration is that he felt the Treasury Department was interfering in an apolitical board and an apolitical agency," said one person who spoke with him. A Treasury Department spokesman declined to comment. DeJoy will be the first postmaster general in two decades who did not rise through the agency's ranks. He would have to navigate a financially fraught agency while also working with its powerful labor unions, among the last public-sector unions left with significant clout in contract negotiations with the government. In part because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Postal Service is projecting a $13 billion revenue shortfall by the end of the fiscal year in September. Trump has for years seized on the rates the Postal Service charges companies like Amazon to deliver packages. The business of package delivery has proved increasingly vital to the service's finances as first class mail has deteriorated, and Trump has contended the agency charges Amazon and other companies too little. The Postal Service has rejected those accusations, arguing it is charging competitive rates in an environment where it squares off against UPS, FedEx and even Amazon's growing delivery service. Megan Brennan, the current postmaster general, who announced her retirement late last year, had clashed with the Trump administration over its efforts to take more control over postal finances and operations. Trump had urged her early in his tenure to increase fees for Amazon and other companies. The announcement of Brennan's successor comes at a tumultuous period for the Postal Service, whose already shaky financial footing has grown weaker during the coronavirus pandemic. Trump, responding to a report in The Washington Post in April, threatened to block the $10 billion Postal Service loan unless officials dramatically raised shipping prices on online retailers. "The Postal Service is a joke," Trump said publicly last month in the Oval Office. He called for the agency to quadruple its shipping prices. Many analysts warn that if the Postal Service did that, it would put itself at a massive disadvantage in the marketplace. DeJoy, a North Carolina native, has played a prominent role in Republican politics, particularly since Trump won the presidency in 2016. He has given more than $2 million to the Trump campaign or Republican causes since 2016, according to the Federal Election Commission, including a $210,600 contribution to the Trump Victory Fund on Feb. 19. He has given more than $650,000 to the Trump Victory Fund and more than $1 million to the RNC. DeJoy was tapped as the finance chairman for the RNC convention in August and has worked in recent months with Katie Walsh, a top Republican operative, to orchestrate the event. An RNC spokesman declined to comment. DeJoy's wife, Aldona Wos, is vice chairman of the president's Commission on White House Fellowships and is Trump's nominee for ambassador to Canada. She previously served as ambassador to Estonia in the George W. Bush administration. DeJoy has donated more than $157,000 to Republican candidates, committees and Super PACs since the start of the year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Duncan, the current chairman of the Postal Service's board of governors, served as RNC chairman from 2007 to 2009. He was confirmed in 2018 after being appointed by Trump. DeJoy is the owner of a real estate and consulting firm in North Carolina after having served as chairman and CEO of New Breed Logistics, according to his family's foundation page. New Breed was sold to XPO Logistics. He is a longtime donor to Republican causes, according to the FEC records. Under the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus relief passed in March, the Treasury Department was authorized to lend $10 billion to the Postal Service, which says it may not be able to make payroll and continue mail service uninterrupted past September. Mnuchin rejected a bipartisan Senate proposal to give the Postal Service a bailout amid the negotiations over that legislation. Brennan, with the consent of the board of governors, went to Congress to ask for a direct bailout of more than $89 billion to stave off pandemic losses and other long-running accumulated debts. Top Treasury officials were furious at the request, according to a person with knowledge of their frustration. The coronavirus pandemic has rapidly exacerbated years of revenue losses for the agency as it struggles to adapt to a digital age amid a decline in first-class mail. Postal officials have said mail volume is down by a third during the pandemic and continuing to spiral downward as businesses scale back solicitations and advertisements. Package volume is up, but not enough to cover the other losses, the officials say. - - - The Washington Post's Michelle Ye Hee Lee contributed to this report. By Jennifer Hiller HOUSTON (Reuters) - Occidental Petroleum Corp said on Wednesday it is looking at a series of options to shore up its impaired balance sheet, including raising cash or refinancing debt, a day after posting a $2 billion loss. Energy companies worldwide, including Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell PLC , have slashed capital expenditures and oil output to reckon with the collapse in fuel demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. By Jennifer Hiller HOUSTON (Reuters) - Occidental Petroleum Corp said on Wednesday it is looking at a series of options to shore up its impaired balance sheet, including raising cash or refinancing debt, a day after posting a $2 billion loss. Energy companies worldwide, including Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell PLC , have slashed capital expenditures and oil output to reckon with the collapse in fuel demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. Occidental faces additional challenges stemming from last year's purchase of Anadarko Petroleum for $38 billion, a bet on continued growth of U.S. shale oil production. It shoulders about $40 billion in debt amid the worst oil-and-gas industry downturn in 40 years. The U.S. oil producer's shares fell 10% on Wednesday, and are down 68% so far this year, making it the worst performing energy stock in the Standard & Poor's 500 index in 2020. Asset sales planned to reduce debt from the Anadarko acquisition in Africa have been sidetracked, and it soon may be forced to cut the value of those and other properties due to the crash. The company is "increasingly challenged to manage its significant debt burden" and production likely will drop more than 10% by year end, said Jennifer Rowland, an analyst with Edward Jones. Robert Peterson, Occidental's finance chief, said in a conference call on Wednesday the company is considering raising new cash, swapping debt for stock and refinancing existing debt because of collapsing oil demand. Occidental also withdrew its 2020 outlook. When an analyst asked if refinancing markets were available to the company, Peterson said, "Absolutely." The company expects to book $2 billion from asset sales in the near term, Chief Executive Vicki Hollub said, adding that it could sell some assets or do oil joint ventures in its Permian Basin or Rocky Mountains properties to raise money. Future stock-for-debt swaps or use of stock to pay preferred dividends to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc , which helped Occidental finance the purchase of Anadarko, could cause an ownership change under Internal Revenue Service rules, it said in a securities filing. The book value of $44 billion in oil-and-gas properties it acquired could be reduced this quarter due to the decline in oil prices, it also said. They include Anadarko properties acquired when U.S. oil was selling at $51 a barrel; it is now at about $24. Occidental hired investment bankers Moelis & Co to advise on its debt, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. While the bulk of that debt comes due beginning next year, it may face a $992 million call in October from noteholders, according to Wednesday's securities filing. A planned sale of its Algerian oil and gas properties to France's Total SA was canceled. Occidental will have to reclassify those as continuing operations, which could hurt second-quarter results, Rowland said. It is pursuing a sale of other assets in Ghana, a deal that had been held up, but that the transaction now is riskier in the current environment, Hollub said. (Reporting by Jennifer Hiller; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada on Wednesday will honor six members of its armed forces killed last week in a helicopter crash with a ceremony and motorcade that will look much different from past tributes due to the coronavirus outbreak. OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada on Wednesday will honor six members of its armed forces killed last week in a helicopter crash with a ceremony and motorcade that will look much different from past tributes due to the coronavirus outbreak. One body was recovered and five are missing and presumed dead after a military helicopter flying from the warship Fredericton crashed in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Greece a week ago during a training exercise. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and some family members and friends of the victims are going to attend a repatriation ceremony starting at 2:30 p.m. (1830 GMT) at a large military base in Trenton, Ontario. Social distancing measures are expected to be observed during most of the ceremony, with the exception of the pallbearers carrying the coffin of Abbigail Cowbrough. Afterward, Cowbrough's casket will be taken to Toronto along Canada's "Highway of Heroes," where in the past throngs of people have gathered on overpasses and along the road to salute soldiers killed in the line of duty with flags and signs. But due to bans on large gatherings because of the coronavirus, officials have asked people to stay home and observe the convoy on TV. The Fredericton is participating in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Operation Assurance, which is meant to bolster security in Central and Eastern Europe. About 2,100 Canadian Armed Forces members are deployed around the world, including some 915 people in Operation Assurance. (This story refiling to fix typographical error in headline to make it "Canada" instead of "Canada's") (Reporting by Steve Scherer; editing by Jonathan Oatis) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. A second round of coronavirus stimulus checks, including payments for dependent college students, may be in store for millions of Americans in the fourth COVID-19 pandemic relief package in the works on Capitol Hill. U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, in an editorial board meeting with The Republican and MassLive Thursday, said lawmakers had proposed direct payments similar to the ones that have already rolled out to millions of Americans this spring as part of the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The record-breaking relief bill, signed by President Donald Trump in late March, came in the wake of a pandemic thats shuttered schools, businesses and public institutions throughout the country and brought the economy to a halt. Nearly 75,000 Americans have died and more than 1.2 million have contracted COVID-19. Neal said the new package could again include checks of up to $1,200 for individual Americans earning up to $75,000, and $2,400 for married couples filing jointly and earning up to $150,000. Democratic lawmakers are pushing for a more robust dependent child benefit than the CARES Act, which included $500 payments for every child younger than 17, Neal said. We hope we can expand that to dependent children who are in college, he said. Expanding the earned income tax credit, boosting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, more funding for hospitals and state and local governments, are also on the table for the package, Neal said. I hope we can find some accommodation with Republicans, said Neal, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. He added that despite charged rhetoric and tough negotiations with Republicans, both in the House and Republican-controlled Senate and the Trump administration, Democrats have actually done pretty well in securing our priorities" in three COVID-19 relief packages thus far. Were looking for relief for those in the middle and lower income brackets," he said, helping Americans keep paychecks coming in and food still on the table amid the crisis. Neal on Wednesday said more details on the package will be public within a few days. For more details on who was eligible for CARES Act stimulus checks, which is likely the framework for the next package, read here. Related Content: Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 18:59:28|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MANILA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Thursday that it approved an additional 500-million-U.S. dollar loan to bolster the efforts of the Bangladeshi government to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country's economy and the public health. "This package will build on ADB's ongoing collaboration with Bangladesh on structural reforms by supporting government efforts to speed up the country's social and economic recovery," ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said in a statement. According to the Manila-based bank, the assistance is part of ADB's COVID-19 active response and expenditure support (CARES) program, which is funded through the COVID-19 pandemic response option (CPRO) under ADB's countercyclical support facility. CPRO was established as part of ADB's 20-billion-U.S. dollar expanded assistance for developing countries' response to the pandemic, which was announced in mid-April. The bank said the loan is expected to benefit over 15 million poor and vulnerable people in Bangladesh. ADB said around 1.5 million workers, mostly women, in export-oriented industries will receive extended salary support while doctors, nurses, and medical workers fighting COVID-19 in government-run hospitals will receive special honorarium. Affected industries and sectors, as well as micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises are also eligible for loans with subsidized interest, it added. Bangladesh has taken prompt actions to control the spread of coronavirus and manage its impact on health, welfare, and the economy under its COVID-19 response plan. On April 30, ADB approved a 100-million-U.S. dollar concessional loan to support the Bangladeshi government in its efforts to address the immediate public health requirements of combatting COVID-19. Enditem On March 5, Tennessee governor Bill Lee announced the states first confirmed case of Covid-19. Three weeks later on Easter Sunday, tornadoes touched down outside of Chattanooga, killing four people and flattening 2,000 structures. Since the start of the pandemic, highly-taxed emergency management agencies have scrambled to make plans for handling a major natural disaster in addition to the virus. A confluence of disasters in Tennessee give insight to how agencies can manage responses to both. Trevor Riggen, senior vice president of Disaster Cycle Services at the Red Cross, explains that the foundation had started training to respond to disasters during the pandemic well before the twisters in Chattanooga. Weve been working since late January to adjust our protocols on the day-to-day events like house fires, he says. After the tornadoes touched down, the Red Cross had more than 175 people volunteer to help out locally, but 70% were organized to work virtually. Health service workers who help people get new glasses, medicine and mental health services made contact over the phone rather than in person. Additionally, administrative and management tasks that would have taken place at a local headquarters instead utilized video conferencing. Tennessees March Tornadoes The storms took 25 lives and insurance claims are expected to top $1 billion. Normally, the Red Cross builds a shelter in a school gym or community center and asks the displaced to share common areas including bathrooms and sleeping areas. This time the Red Cross contracted with local hotels for shelter to get each family their own room. The Red Cross left it to local emergency service personnel like police and firemen as well as social media to tell impacted families how to find shelter. By reducing the number of points of contact, the Red Cross had enough protective gear for front-line staff that needed to have close interactions. The volunteers who drop off mobile phones in person to people left without electronics or deliver restaurant meals to families in hotels could count on face masks and other protective clothing. Although this year has been the deadliest tornado season since 2011, Riggen says the fallout has been manageable. As of April 16, the Red Cross had 1,479 clients in 528 hotel rooms across the country, but they could handle up to 8,000 displaced persons. But Riggen says that he and his colleagues know that if a disaster is big enough like a multi-state hurricane local hotels wont be the answer. They will be damaged or they will be occupied by people who can afford to pay, unlike most of the people Red Cross assists. So as the Gulf of Mexico experiences unusually warm water temperatures this spring one predictor of the severity of upcoming hurricane season the Red Cross is drilling its staff on what a virus-safe group shelter might look like. It would, of course, include testing and a CDC travel questionnaire as a prerequisite for entering. Anyone with symptoms would be isolated in a separate ward. Everyone else would stay together, but testing would continue regularly and sleeping cots would be spaced 6 feet apart. Shelter meals will be served individually instead of cafeteria style and disinfectant cleanings will be frequent. The Red Cross says it has 750 kits for shelters that include goggles, masks, gloves and gowns as well as hand sanitizers, thermometers and supplies for a hand washing station. This is definitely not business as usual, says Riggen, but we are operating. About the photo: A man looks over buildings destroyed by storms Tuesday, March 3, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn. Tornadoes ripped across Tennessee early Tuesday, shredding buildings and killing multiple people. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics Catastrophe Tennessee A group in Cross River State has claimed that there is evidence that coronavirus exists in the state despite the fact that Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has not announced any confirmed case of the viral infection in the South-South state. The group said the Cross River government has been rejecting COVID-19 testing in the state. There is enough anecdotal evidence to support the belief that cases of the COVID-19 disease exist in the (Cross River) State, Efik Leadership Foundation said recently in a letter they wrote to Muhammadu Buhari, requesting the Nigerian President to intervene in the matter. The letter dated April 30, 2020, was signed by the groups BoT chairman, Richard Duke and three other members of the group Babara James, Timothy Esu, and Eyo Ekpo. The governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade, three past governors of the state Clement Ebri, Donald Luke, and Lyle Imoke , the minister of health and the head of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control were copied in the letter. As a matter of policy, the State Government has rejected even the smallest degree of testing which means that contact tracing is out of question. The Cross River State is clearly not prepared to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic in any institutional manner or in accordance with known best practice. We are at the mercy of maverick behaviour by the Governor and his Commissioner for Health who between them are fully responsible for the extremely worrisome Covid-19 health situation in the state today. The group said the state government has not trained, equipped, and deployed health officials for the COVID-19 fights, but instead is more focused on making a public relations show of its food items distribution amongst a few communities in the state. It accused Governor Ayades administration of illegal withdrawal of N900 million from the local government joint account funds in the state for COVID-19 intervention. It also accused the government of withdrawing another N4 billion from the local government joint account for alleged investment in a state airline. The group said Mr Buharis intervention is necessary in order to stop Mr Ayades administration from exposing the people of Cross River State to avoidable death. It specifically appealed to the federal government to establish COVID-19 test stations in federal medical institutions in the state and get the people of Cross River to be tested of the virus. But the Cross River governor, Mr Ayade, in his reaction dismissed the group as being made up of disgruntled and disoriented elements. Mr Ayades spokesperson, Christian Ita, said in a statement on Wednesday, When disgruntled and disoriented elements congregate, they do nothing but babble and prattle, with inanities, propaganda and falsehood as their essential offerings. And as a bunch of puke, their pastime is to spew bitterness, hate and lies. READ ALSO: Mr Ita added, Efik nation is made up of refined, well-educated gentlemen and women who stand for truth and fairness. They are not this bunch of fossilized and expired politicians desperately clutching at straws for relevance. The governors spokesperson further said, From day one, it was obvious that the elements that signed the letter wished that Cross River under Ayade had COVID-19 case. They are not happy that courtesy of Governor Ayades proactive leadership, Cross River has remained COVID-19 free. It is clear that if they had their way, they would import the virus into the state just to score a political point. It is, therefore, not a surprise that rather than applaud Governor Ayades effort at curtailing the spread of COVID-19 into Cross River or join hands with him in keeping the state free from the pandemic they are seeking to politicise it. Baghdad, May 7 : The government of Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Mustafa al-Kadhimi won a vote of confidence Thursday in Parliament, putting an end to more than five months of political turmoil. Lawmakers approved Al-Kadhimi and 15 of his candidates for ministerial posts, including the key defence and interior portfolios, while rejecting four others and postponing a vote on nominees to head the oil and foreign ministries, reports Efe news. The new Prime Minister takes the reins as Iraq struggles to surmount a deep economic, political and institutional crisis after months of protests that left more than 500 people dead and a public health emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic. Al-Kadhimi and the 15 confirmed Cabinet ministers took their respective oaths of office after getting the votes of all 266 - out of a total of 329 - members present for the session. "Today, the esteemed parliament has given confidence to my government, and I will work with the honourable ministerial team in earnest to win the trust and support of our people," the new premier said. "My gratitude to all of our support, and my hope that all political forces will join hands to face difficult challenges. "Iraq's sovereignty, security, stability and prosperity are our path," he said. Prior to the vote, Al-Kadhimi outlined his plan to rescue Iraq from the current situation, which includes holding fresh elections within a year. "This government came in response to a social, economic and political crisis," he said. "To be a solution government, not a crisis government." "In order to pave the way for fair elections, the sovereignty of the state in all areas must be confirmed, above all in accordance with the constitution," Al-Kadhimi said, stressing the importance of the state's monopoly over the use of force and the subordination of the armed forces to their lawful commander-in-chief. Iraq, he said, must not be an arena to settle scores or a platform for attacks on third countries. The nation had been without a permanent prime minister since November 29, 2019 when Adel Abdul-Mahdi resigned in the wake of mass anti-government rallies, only to end up leading a caretaker government for more than five months as two other potential premiers failed to win sufficient support in Parliament. A statistician whose work has repeatedly been used by Boris Johnson and other government figures to deflect questions about the UKs high coronavirus death toll has accused the prime minister of misrepresenting his views. David Spiegelhalter, a professor of the public understanding of risk, wrote an article last month about the complexities of comparing different countries coronavirus mortality rates. My cold, statistical approach is to wait until the end of the year, and the years after that, when we can count the excess deaths. Until then, this grim contest wont produce any league tables we can rely on, he wrote in a piece published by The Guardian on 30 April. Since then, Prof Spiegelhalter has repeatedly been cited by the government in answer to questions about why the UKs coronavirus death toll is the second highest in the world. Englands chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, told a Downing Street briefing last month the article showed comparing death rates in different countries was a fruitless exercise. Mr Johnson again cited the piece on Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday, saying in response to Labour leader Keir Starmer: I would echo what weve heard from Professor David Spiegelhalter and others: at this stage, I do not think that international comparisons and the data is yet there to draw all the conclusions that we want. Prof Spiegelhalter, chair of Cambridge Universitys Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication, later tweeted: Polite request to PM and others: please stop using my Guardian article to claim we cannot make any international comparisons yet. I refer only to detailed league tables of course we should now use other countries to try and learn why our numbers are high. The UK became the European epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic with death toll of more than 30,000 higher than every nation in the world except the US. The soaring death toll has prompted calls for an inquiry into why more people have died in the UK than other European countries. Speaking on Tuesday as countrys fatalities overtook Italy, once the continents worst-hit nation, foreign minister Dominic Raab suggested the UKs toll was only so high because it was a world leader in collecting statistics. I dont think well get a real verdict on how well countries have done until the pandemic is over and particularly until weve got comprehensive international data on all cause of mortality, he added. FBI Offers $2,000 Reward for Inmate Who Escaped Using Face Mask Trick The FBI is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the capture of an inmate who escaped using a mask to impersonate another prisoner. Jahquez Scott, 21, was mistakenly released from Cook County Jail in Illinois over the weekend. Scott pretended to be another man who was slated to be released from prison. He obscured his real identity by wearing a mask and using the other mans name and personal information, deputies said. Jahquez Scott in a mugshot released by the FBI. (FBI) The ruse allegedly had the support of the other prisoner, who was promised $1,000 for his help. That man, Quintin Henderson, is being held on charges of aiding an abetting the escape of a felon. The FBI issued a wanted poster late Wednesday that described Scott as standing 510 and weighing 150 pounds. People who have tips can call the FBI at 312-421-6700 or submit them anonymously at fbi.gov/tips. They will receive a reward of up to $2,000 for information that leads directly to the arrest and conviction of Scott. File photo of President Donald Trump, left, and Xi Jinping, China's president, shaking hands during a news conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov. 9, 2017. Read more For critical weeks in February and early March, President Donald Trump claimed COVID-19 would magically disappear by itself or with warmer weather. That didnt work. So, with the death toll at more than 75,000 and rising, the president needs a new magic formula to deflect public attention from his slow and chaotic response. And to blur the blame for the tens of thousands of new deaths that will stem from reopening the country without a national testing strategy. The miraculous formula? Blame a sneak attack by China for causing all those deaths. This is really the worst attack weve ever had, Trump said last week. This is worse than Pearl Harbor. This is worse than the World Trade Center. It could have been stopped in China and it wasnt. And as the rhetoric soars, demand financial reparations from Beijing. READ MORE: Brutal propaganda war over coronavirus means facts matter more than ever. I Trudy Rubin Let me be clear: I believe China made serious errors in its initial handling of COVID-19 and should be pressed to come clean by the United States in concert with our allies. But the way Trump is playing his U.S.-China blame game will hurt Americans more than it will Beijing. First of all, Trumps wink at debunked conspiracy theories that COVID-19 is a bioweapon concocted in a Wuhan microbiology lab is dangerous. Anthony Fauci, along with a stream of leading epidemiologists, has stressed that the virus originated in nature, not in a laboratory. (China and Russia have spread rumors that it began as a U.S. bioweapon, but a democracy should not be playing this authoritarian game.) As for claims that the outbreak might have stemmed from an accident at the Wuhan lab (which studied bat viruses), the administration has presented no evidence. U.S. intelligence agencies, along with those of its closest allies, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand the so-called Five Eyes reportedly think this highly unlikely. Yet, if the goal is truly to force China to cough up more information about the viruss origin, the best way would be to present its leaders with a united front of concerned nations led by Washington demanding answers. Despite its attempts at face mask largesse and its impressive revival from COVID-19, the Chinese regime has angered many countries with its lack of transparency. They are looking in vain for U.S. leadership to confront Beijing. Instead, Trump has chosen to go it alone on COVID-19, encouraging his officials and GOP legislators to ramp up financial proposals for punishing China. Some of the initial ideas are amazingly stupid. For example, some GOP legislators are proposing laws lifting Chinas sovereign immunity so Americans can sue Beijing over COVID-19 deaths, or canceling principal or interest payments on Treasury bills purchased by China. Did no one stop to think that, if the U.S. unilaterally rules that China is not immune to lawsuits, Beijing could do the same to us with untold consequences? Or that, by repudiating U.S. debt held by Beijing, Washington would destroy the gold-standard reputation of U.S. Treasury bills? This is what happens when foreign policy is made on the fly with an eye toward elections, not results. Indeed, Beijings failings expedited the tragic spread of the coronavirus, most likely because, in an authoritarian regime, Wuhan officials were reluctant to report bad news upward to their bosses in Beijing. How much the overseas spread could have been checked with a faster response is unknown. That is why the United States should be leading an international, full-court press for more information. READ MORE: Question for Trump: Where is the testing data we need? | Trudy Rubin True, Beijing has angrily rejected the idea of an international inquiry into the COVID disaster suggesting a boycott of Australian goods when this idea was suggested by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. China has also reacted aggressively to criticism from European nations. But it is exactly this Chinese overreach alienating publics from France to Italy to Vietnam and Malaysia that opens the door to global pushback if Trump were willing to lead it. This is the moment to strengthen Western and Asian alliances in order to present a united front towards China on other key issues such as the South China Sea, Taiwan, and 5G. Instead, by unilaterally ginning up anti-China hysteria in the U.S., Trump encourages Beijings reciprocal xenophobia, without any strategy to contain it. Clearly his much-touted friendship with Xi Jinping didnt help him with COVID-19. Nor will Trumps blame game with China inoculate him from responsibility for failing to confront the virus in the crucial weeks of January through early March. There are too many tweets and speeches on the record revealing how he blew off the danger, too many reports of advisers and intel briefers struggling to get him to take the virus seriously. If this pandemic was Pearl Harbor, it was the U.S. president who failed to mobilize the nation to test, trace, and isolate when it would have saved thousands of lives and who still refuses to do so. Irrespective of the blame Chinese leaders bear, history wont absolve Trump of responsibility for those deaths. You can look back at the record of how he has handled them, going back to the 2016 campaign and all throughout his presidency. Instead of asking for facts to come forward, there has been an effort to keep information from coming out. Instead of recognizing and respecting women, he has belittled them or bullied them verbally or attempted to try to keep the facts from coming out. His policies have stripped away some of the protection for sexual harassment victims in the federal government, for example, that the Obama administration put in place. He rolled back protections on our college campuses against campus sexual assault. So theres a whole pattern of behavior here, lack of transparency, and a lack of advocacy to combat sexual violence that has gone on. My inbox is full of readers sending me tips to get to the bottom of what really happened or did not happen between Mr. Biden and Ms. Reade. Do you think people will get that kind of definitive answer? A lot of times these cases dont resolve like that, which is why the full facts have to come out. Were not in the circumstance where theres an employer whos going to make a decision here. The employer is essentially the American people, who are going to make the decision in this election. How would you guide voters to make a decision on this matter, if they are essentially the jury? You look at character and policy and leadership. When youre selecting someone whos running for any public office, but particularly for president of the United States, there is no one fact or one characteristic necessarily. You have to look at the whole picture. I would assess these candidates on their character, on the policies that they promote and put forward, and the leadership abilities that they have. American people can only make their judgment if they have all the facts. We need all of the facts on both sides. We talked a lot about patterns of behavior during our initial reporting about the allegation. I was wondering what you think about that. You worked with Mr. Biden; you were in the White House with him. Did you see a pattern of mistreating women? One mistake that I think gets made is to somehow treat all these cases as the same. Thats what were fighting for, so each survivor should be able to talk about their own experience, have it investigated, have it judged on its own merit without saying: It was like this case. It was like that case. It was like this case. Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso on Thursday said his country was requesting emergency aid from the International Monetary Fund of up to half a billion dollars, despite problems with an IMF loan granted less than a year ago. "We are asking for aid from the (International) Monetary Fund that could amount to 300, 400, 500 million dollars," Sassou Nguesso said in an interview with the French TV station France 24 and Radio France Internationale (RFI). "Our parliament has just approved a budget package which halves our budget," he said, referring to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The Republic of Congo, also called Congo-Brazzaville, is hugely dependent on oil revenues. The third biggest oil producer in Africa is expecting the mean oil price to fall from $50 to $25 a barrel, driven by a slump in world demand because of the COVID-19 crisis. Congo was badly hit by a fall in oil income in 2014 that worsened its debt problems. Last July, after voicing concern about Congo's debt transparency and management of public resources, the IMF granted a $448.6-million (415.92-million-euro) bailout. The money was earmarked over three years, beginning with a first tranche of $44.9 million. But in December, the IMF placed the second tranche on hold. It called on the government to restructure a $1.7-billion debt, in the form of oil-backed loans, that it had contracted with two Swiss energy traders, Glencore et Trafigura. "Our negotiations with the traders are going in the right direction," said Sassou Nguesso. "We think that the IMF is taking all these factors into account and will approve the request for emergency aid that we have filed." "We have confidence, we believe that we are going to wrap things up with Trafigura and Glencore." Sassou Nguesso, a 76-year-old former military officer, is one of the world's longest-serving leaders. He first took office since 1979, staying until 1992, before returning in 1997 at the end of a civil war. He was re-elected in contested circumstances in March 2016. In other comments in the radio interview, Sassou Nguesso said he refused to free two high-profile political prisoners under a programme to avert coronavirus spreading in Congo's jails. The pair, whose cause has been taken up by Amnesty International, are Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko and Andre Okombi Salissa, who ran against Sassou Nguesso in the 2016 elections. They were convicted in 2018 on the grounds of endangering domestic state security. Sasso Nguesso said 365 prisoners had been freed to ease pressure on prisons. The two "are not in prison because they are political figures, but because they commited crimes under common law," he said. "There is no reason to free them to reduce overcrowding." Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 22:47:23|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BERLIN, May 7 (Xinhua) -- German airports were losing half a billion euros in revenues every month during the coronavirus shutdown, the German Airports Association (ADV) announced on Thursday. Due to the collapse of passenger traffic, German airports were "left with almost no income." According to ADV, German airports had lost 95 percent of their revenues. At the same time, airports in Germany had to shoulder monthly maintenance costs of 170 million euros (183 million U.S. dollars) in order to maintain operational readiness, ADV noted. "The COVID-19 crisis and the collapse in air traffic will not leave airports unscathed," said ADV President Stefan Schulte. "Tens of thousands of jobs are acutely endangered." According to ADV, 80 percent of employees at German airports were currently working short-time. In order to secure as many jobs as possible in the future, ADV urged Germany's national and state governments to financially support the sector, for example, by reimbursing the costs of maintaining operational readiness of the airports. On Wednesday, the operator of Germany's largest airport Frankfurt, Fraport, had already announced losses of 35.7 million euros for the first quarter (Q1) 2020 as its business was "heavily impacted" by the outbreak of the COVID-19. Enditem On St Patrick's Day in his address to the nation, Leo Varadkar said: "At all times we will be guided by and take the expert advice from our Public Health Emergency Team led by the chief medical officer." The Taoiseach and his ministers have been repeating this mantra since. It's the new "Keep the Recovery Going". Last Friday, chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan presented the Taoiseach and his Health Minister Simon Harris with a document outlining advice on easing social distancing restrictions. The document contained a roadmap over five phases for exiting the lockdown. In the section on cocooning it mentioned easing restrictions for the over-70s in phase two on June 8. They can then go to the shops at certain times and have visitors in their homes as long as they keep a distance. There is no other mention of how or when restrictions will be lifted for those over 70. However, in phase five, on August 8, it stated: "Continue cocooning of over 70s and extremely medically vulnerable until later phases due to higher risk." When the framework document was sent to ministers this paragraph set off alarm bells. During a Cabinet meeting, and after contributions from several ministers, it was decided to remove the sentence which clearly suggested some form of cocooning would remain in place until August. Separately, the document said the Government should "roll out guidance for wearing of face coverings in community" in phase two. This was also removed and there is no reference in the final document to when this advice will be published. After these two sections were removed from the document, the Government published the 'Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business'. At around 7.30pm, Mr Holohan and Mr Harris held a press conference to explain some of decision-making behind the document. 'Irish Times' health editor Paul Cullen asked if there had been any "tweaks or variations" to the document. Mr Harris said he accepted the recommendations "in full as I always do". Turning to Mr Holohan, he said: "I think it fair to say it is consistent with your advice?" Mr Holohan responded: "Yes, fully." "There was no tweaks or changes made at Cabinet?" Mr Cullen probed. "At Cabinet, the document? No," Mr Harris said. Before moving on to another question Mr Harris remembered there was a "textual change" in "relation to clarifying a word around sport but there was no substantive change to the document". Yesterday, Mr Holohan was asked about this exchange and the removal of his advice from the plan. "Nothing you've heard and nothing I'm saying allows you to conclude that the advice that we gave and we gave in relation to this document was not accepted by Government in the plan set out," he said. He said the sections removed from the document were just "textual changes". The textual changes on cocooning were made by ministers who earlier that week raised concerns directly with Mr Holohan about the plight of the over-70s who have been asked to stay inside their homes for the last five weeks under advice from Nphet. The text was removed by ministers over concerns about how older people would take a suggestion there would be cocooning long into the summer. After defending the removal of his advice on cocooning from the roadmap, Mr Holohan had some bad news for the over-70s: "There will always be a more strict set of recommendations in place for people in those categories all the way through." No doubt, Government will be delighted to hear that. GARDNER, Mass., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Precision Optics Corporation, Inc. (OTCQB: PEYE) (the "Company") today announced that it has scheduled a conference call to discuss third quarter of fiscal 2020 financial results on Thursday, May 14, 2020 at 5:00pm ET. The Company intends to release its financial results and to file its 10-Q after the close of the market on May 14, 2020 followed by the conference call. Conference Call Details Date and Time: Thursday, May 14, 2020 at 5:00pm ET Call-in Information: Interested parties can access the conference call by dialing (844) 735-3662 or (412) 317-5705. Live Webcast Information: Interested parties can access the conference call via a live Internet webcast, which is available at https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/2109/34529. Replay: A teleconference replay of the call will be available until May 21, 2020 at (877) 344-7529 or (412) 317-0088, confirmation # 10143454. A webcast replay will be available at https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/2109/34529. About Precision Optics Corporation Precision Optics Corporation has been a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced optical instruments since 1982. Using proprietary optical technologies, the Company designs and produces next generation medical instruments, Microprecision micro-optics with characteristic dimensions less than 1 millimeter, and other advanced optical systems for a broad range of customers including some of the largest global medical device companies. The Company's innovative medical instrumentation line includes state-of-the-art endoscopes and endocouplers as well as custom illumination and imaging products for use in minimally invasive surgical procedures. The Company believes that current advances in its proprietary micro-optics and 3D imaging technologies present significant opportunities for expanding applications to numerous potential medical products and procedures. The Company's website is www.poci.com. Investors can find Real-Time Quotes and market information for the Company on www.otcmarkets.com/stock/PEYE/quote. About Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements that express the Company's intentions, beliefs, expectations, strategies, predictions or any other statements related to the Company's future activities or future events or conditions. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the Company's business based, in part, on assumptions made by the Company's management. These statements are not guarantees of future performances and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, including those risks discussed in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and in other documents that we file from time to time with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this report, except as required by law. Company Contact: PRECISION OPTICS CORPORATION 22 East Broadway Gardner, Massachusetts 01440-3338 Telephone: 978-630-1800 Investor Contact: LYTHAM PARTNERS, LLC Robert Blum Phoenix | New York Telephone: 602-889-9700 [email protected] SOURCE Precision Optics Corporation Representative image Lockdowns to slow the coronavirus pandemic are pummelling gas demand in the world's biggest buyers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), pushing Asia's spot prices to record lows and forcing some suppliers to start cutting output. Economies worldwide have ground to a halt as virus containment measures have taken their toll, slashing gas demand for power generation, heating, cooking, vehicles and chemical manufacture. The world's biggest LNG markets - Japan, China, South Korea and India - are all seeing a drop in demand. Asia's spot LNG prices dropped to $1.85 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) last week, the lowest ever, as cargoes have flooded the market. "At prices in the $2/mmBtu range ... some producers are getting close to not recovering cash costs of their operations. We are likely to see some producers start to 'shut in' (production)," said Alex Dewar, senior manager at the centre for energy impact at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Even in markets where lockdowns are starting to ease, such as in China and South Korea, containment policies elsewhere are hampering manufacturing exports and dragging on recoveries. 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 Oil prices that hit two-decade lows in April and are down more than 50% since end-2019 have exacerbated the problem. Asia - which takes 70% of global LNG exports - still buys most of its LNG in long-term contracts linked to oil prices. There is typically a lag of three to six months before the drop in oil prices are felt by buyers and sellers. Consultancy Rystad Energy still expects global LNG demand to grow nearly 2% this year to 359 million tonnes, compared with a 2019 growth rate of about 13%, although this could change depending on the weather and how fast lockdowns are lifted. HIGH-COST U.S. GAS LNG production in the United States is at the high end of the typical cost curve at about $4 per mmBtu, including shipping, according to analysts from consultancy Bernstein. "Already we have seen U.S. liquefaction capacity utilisation fall, and some cargoes rejected," BCG's Dewar said. Gas intake at U.S. LNG plants fell to 8.1 billion cubic feet a day (bcfd) in April, just below total nameplate capacity but down from a high of 8.7 bcfd in February, according to data from Refinitiv. U.S. plants typically take in more than their stated capacities because gas is also used to run the facilities. "Our customers have made some modifications to their production and cargo loading plans ... in response to current market conditions, but Cameron LNG is not at liberty to discuss those details," said Anya McInnis, spokeswoman at Cameron LNG. Processors Freeport LNG and Kinder Morgan declined to comment on the operations of their customers, who pay U.S. plant operators to process natural gas into LNG for export. Those customers - including units of GAIL (India) Ltd, France's Total, and Japan's Sumitomo Corp and Mitsubishi Corp - did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Mitsui & Co Ltd said it could not comment on its deals. Indications are that U.S. LNG exports are falling beyond what is expected from the end of winter, and that demand loss could continue through the summer. Buyers in Asia and Europe have cancelled around 20 cargoes for loading in June. This week, U.S. natural gas prices topped benchmarks in both Europe and Asia for the first time ever, giving LNG buyers another reason to cancel cargoes. The largest U.S. LNG processor, Cheniere Energy Inc, said in its first-quarter earnings it has "recently experienced an increase in the number of LNG cargoes for which our customers have notified us they will not take delivery." Cheniere also said it expects new project investment worldwide to slump this year and next due to a 30% drop in world energy demand. Dominion Energy Inc's CFO James Chapman said customers for his company's Cove Point LNG plant "continue to nominate volumes that are at the plant's design capacity." AUSTRALIA COAL-SEAM GAS Beyond high-cost U.S. producers, some Australian coal-bed methane projects are also likely to face acute pressure to cut supply, Dewar said. Australia's coal-seam gas (CSG) projects have some of the highest output costs in the world, although Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) and Santos Ltd say they have slashed their CSG costs in recent years. APLNG partner Origin Energy said it sells most of its output in long-term contracts, with a small percentage going via pipeline to Australia's east coast or to Asia as spot LNG. The joint venture - owned by ConocoPhillips, Sinopec and Origin - is considering whether to trim spot volumes. This would entail cutting output from the CSG wells, not shutting down a train at APLNG. "We're talking about what would be the economics of running less volumes and the cost of that ... if there are extremely low spot prices," Origin Energy Chief Executive Frank Calabria told Reuters in an interview on May 1. Woodside Petroleum Ltd, Australia's top independent LNG producer, said it is difficult to cut LNG volumes because long-term contracts, which make up 80% or more of a plant's output, are set for loading and delivery on an annual basis. Still, Santos, which operates the Gladstone LNG (GLNG) plant, and Origin Energy at APLNG said in their quarterly reports last month that customers had opted to take lower volumes this year, as allowed in their contracts through "downward quantity tolerances". Malaysia's Petronas has also curtailed some LNG production, two industry sources said, while Royal Dutch Shell's Prelude floating LNG facility shut its production in February after an electrical trip and appears in no hurry to start it back up. Petronas did not respond to a request for comment, and Shell declined to comment on Prelude. The Bay League rivals battled into overtime of Tuesday match, but Mira Costa emerged victorious to remain undefeated in the league race Bengaluru, May 8 : Karnataka has allowed inter-state road travel for the stranded people, including migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists and students, to other states across its borders and vice-versa, an official said on Thursday. "As per the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) order to allow inter-state road travel for people stranded due to the lockdown, a procedure has been drawn for entering Karnataka from other states to ensure their health, safety and welfare in transit," state disaster management head T.K. Anil Kumar said in a statement here. People who are stranded in other parts of the country and want to return to Karnataka should register with the state government's portal, Seva Sindu, and select the service 'Travel to Karnataka from other states' on its web site, fill the details of the destination district with family information. The deputy commissioner (DC) of the destination district and the state's nodal officer will then review the application for approval. The applicant will be given an acknowledgement with a reference number. "The applicant will get a message (SMS) on his/her mobile with the link to download an e-pass, which will be valid for a week," said Kumar in the statement. The state authorities will verify the authenticity of the e-pass by scanning the QR code from the service plus application that can be downloaded on to their mobile from Google Play store. "The applicant with the e-pass can travel by personal or hired vehicle or bus, which should be sanitised properly and have enough space for social distancing," Kumar asserted. As per the norms, only 3 persons in a car, 5 in a multi-utility vehicle, 10 in a van and 25 in a bus will be permitted to travel. The e-pass will indicate the entry check-post and entry into the state will not be allowed through any other check-post. "Persons have to undergo medical screening for symptoms of Covid-19 at the entry check-posts. Only those without symptoms will be allowed to enter and have to be undergo institutional quarantined," Kumar added. Those with virus symptoms will be sent to Covid Care Centres or hospitals. The citizens have to install the Aarogya Setu app on their phones. In case of any issue during the travel, they can contact the helpline number -- 080-22636800. The same procedure applies to those who want to travel from Karnataka to other states. The check-posts are being set up in 18 districts across the southern state at Ballari, Belagavi, Bengaluru, Bidar, Chamarajanagara, Chickabalapura, Chitradurga, Dakishina Kannada, Kalaburagi, Kodagu, Kolar, Mysuru, Raichur, Ramanagara, Tumakuru, Uttar Kannada, Vijayapura and Yadgir. WASHINGTON - Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Wednesday released a sweeping new directive governing how schools must handle allegations of sexual assault and harassment, granting new rights to the accused and handing colleges a clear but controversial road map to navigating these highly charged investigations. The new rule bars universities from using a single official to investigate and judge complaints, a popular model, and instead creates a judicial-like process in which the accused has the right to a live hearing and to cross-examine accusers. The rule also adds dating violence and stalking to the definition of sexual harassment. But it otherwise offers a narrow definition of harassment, requiring that it be severe and pervasive, as well as objectively offensive. "Today we release a final rule that recognizes we can continue to combat sexual misconduct without abandoning our core values of fairness, presumption of innocence and due process," DeVos told reporters. The new regulation, scheduled to take effect on Aug. 14, falls under the federal civil rights law known as Title IX, which bars discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded schools. The rule, first proposed in 2018, has come under fire from women's rights groups and Democrats, who said it would allow assailants and schools to escape responsibility, discourage victims from coming forward, subject survivors to additional trauma and make college campuses less safe for women. "The Title IX rule is a devastating blow," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said on Twitter, adding that "it's about silencing survivors." The move was also opposed by university officials, who argue the new rules will turn their campuses into courtrooms incompatible with an academic atmosphere. On Wednesday, a leading advocacy group for colleges said the decision to implement the rules in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic reflected "appallingly poor judgment." Even before the 2,033-page regulation was released, opponents were vowing a legal challenge, hoping to halt or at least stall the new rules. "We will fight this rule in court, and we intend to win," Emily Martin, a vice president at the National Women's Law Center, an advocacy group, said Wednesday. She said the core of the challenge would be that the Education Department was "arbitrary and capricious" and in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how agencies write regulations. She said the agency ignored evidence showing that the rules would harm survivors of sexual violence. The rules follow years of pressure on universities to better respond to allegations of sexual assault. That pressure has increased amid a #MeToo movement that has empowered women to tell their stories of harassment and abuse, and amid a broad cultural debate over how to balance those stories against the rights of the accused. Most recently, the debate has hit former Vice President Joe Biden, who has denied an allegation of sexual assault. Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, has promised to restore Obama-era rules for universities dealing with allegations, measures that are friendlier to alleged victims. His campaign did not reply to a request for comment on the DeVos regulation. Supporters of the DeVos rule said it would restore balance and fairness to proceedings that too often tilt in favor of accusers. They were particularly buoyed by the requirement for cross-examination, saying it is the most effective way of ferreting out the truth of what happened in a situation when students offer different recollections of the same event. "The cross-examination requirement means that if you're going to accuse someone of a terrible crime, you're finally going to be asked hard questions about that," said Justin Dillon, a lawyer with the D.C. firm KaiserDillon who has represented scores of students accused of sexual misconduct. "That's how it should be, given the stakes." There are limits. Accusers are not required to be face-to-face or answer questions directly from the accused. The regulation also provides "rape shield protections," such as a bar on questions about an accuser's sexual history. The new rules also allow schools to offer survivors supportive measures, such as dorm reassignments, in lieu of a disciplinary proceeding. DeVos hoped to publish the rule late last year, but she was delayed in part by the need to respond to a crush of public comments - 124,196 in all, including a torrent of criticism from universities, advocacy groups, survivors of sexual assault and campus leaders. This spring's coronavirus pandemic also contributed to delaying the announcement, but critics said the agency should have waited longer or given universities more time before the rules take effect, given the crisis. Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, which represents university presidents, said his group pleaded with the agency to hold off issuing the rules during the pandemic. He said that implementing something this complex would be challenging under normal conditions but will be extremely difficult with campuses closed. "This is irrational, unrealistic and completely at odds with the Trump administration's oft-repeated statement to tread lightly when imposing complex new regulations," he said. DeVos responded that universities knew what was coming and should be prepared to implement it. "The reality is that civil rights really can't wait and students' cases continue to be decided now," she said. A department attorney added that the rule gives schools flexibility to conduct investigations and hearings remotely and that it covers online harassment. The Education Department also wanted to finalize the rule in time to avoid having it rolled back by the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to overturn regulations passed in the previous months, GOP officials said. The administration feared that passing it too late might allow Democrats to attempt to undo it if they win control of Congress next year. The rewrite of Title IX regulations will probably be recorded as the most significant and lasting legacy of DeVos's tenure as education secretary. Her views promoting school choice for elementary and secondary students have stirred controversy, but she has made little headway in translating them into federal policy. She has worked to bolster for-profit colleges, but those moves affect just a slice of higher education. These regulations, by contrast, affect every school that accepts federal money, which is virtually all of them. In its broad outlines, the rules are unchanged from the proposed version released in 2018, though there were some alterations. In one change, the regulation explicitly adds dating violence, domestic violence and stalking as allegations that must be investigated. The rules give universities a choice about what standard of proof they use in judging complaints. Schools may choose between "preponderance of the evidence" or the higher bar of "clear and convincing evidence." But a school may not use the lower standard if it relies on the higher one for allegations against employees, including faculty members. Overall, the rules narrow the types of complaints that institutions are obligated to investigate. For instance, universities will be required to investigate complaints only if they are made to proper authorities. In a change from the proposed rule, though, any report to an employee of a K-12 school would put the school on notice and require a probe. (K-12 schools are also not required to hold live hearings.) The final rule also clarifies that universities are responsible for investigating incidents that take place in university-recognized fraternity or sorority houses located off campus, or in other locations, such as at an academic conference that relates to a university program. But incidents that occur off campus between two students on their own would not be subject to Title IX procedures. The rule replaces less formal guidance issued by the administration of President Barack Obama and revoked by DeVos in 2017. The new regulation could be undone or modified through legislation should Democrats gain control of Congress and the White House next year. But because it is a formal regulation, a new administration could not simply reverse it the way DeVos did with the informal guidance issued under Obama. (CNN Philippines, May 7) Many Filipino workers in Oman who have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus crisis are asking for cash assistance from the Philippine government, but funds are not enough, an ambassador said Thursday. Mejo kukulangin ng konti. Maraming may gusto ng tulong pero limited lang ang funds na maibibigay, Ambassador Narciso Castaneda from the Philippine Embassy in Oman said in a Laging Handa briefing. [Translation: Funds will be a bit insufficient. A lot of Filipino workers are asking for financial help, but we have limited funds.] Displaced OFWs in Oman, whether land-based or sea-based, have applied for the cash assistance offered by the Department of Labor and Employment. Earlier, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Muscat, Oman announced it could only give cash assistance to 3,000 beneficiaries. The office said it received 5,000 aid applications in April. Meanwhile, the ambassador urged those who want to go back to the Philippines to get in touch with them through their official Facebook account, so they can be assisted. Binibigay natin ang lahat ng makakaya para sa kanila, he added. [Translation: We are doing our best for them.] Castaneda said there are 52,000 OFWs in Oman, more than half of whom are household service workers. She will soon grace screens on this year's season of Bachelor In Paradise. And on Thursday, Kirralee 'Kiki' Morris worked on maintaining her enviable figure. The 32-year-old revealed her ample cleavage in a skimpy red crop top, as she broke a sweat during a workout at a park in Sydney's North Bondi. Breaking a sweat! Bachelor In Paradise star Kirralee 'Kiki' Morris, 32, showed off her sensational figure during a workout in Sydney's North Bondi on Thursday Kiki also showed off her toned tummy, lean legs and pert derriere, in black leggings with block panels by Pip Edwards' label, P.E Nation. She coordinated her ensemble with black Adidas sneakers, and tied her long blonde locks back for the duration of the workout. Primped to perfection, Kiki also drew attention with her defined brows, false lashes, bronzer on her cheeks and a soft pink colour on her plump pout. Curves ahead: The Sydney-based influencer showed off her ample cleavage in a skimpy red crop top as she took herself through an intense fitness routine in a local park On-trend: Kiki also revealed her toned tummy and lean legs in black tights with block panels, by Pip Edwards' label P.E Nation Swept back: Kiki secured her long blonde locks into a plait for the duration of the workout In profile: The brand ambassador was primped to perfection, showing off a glamorous makeup palette Despite the makeup, the Sydney-based influencer prepared to break a sweat, taking herself through a challenging fitness circuit outdoors. Kiki performed tricep push-ups and abdominal work, while also making use of a resistance band to help shape the upper body, chest and shoulders. The blonde bombshell will star on the third series of Bachelor In Paradise this year. Adding definition: Using a resistance band, Kiki worked on defining her upper body, while keeping her core engaged The eyes have it: Kiki drew attention to a false set of lashes while working out Breathing through it: Kiki looked to have been challenged as she performed a number of exercises Inked: Kiki's revealing attire also showed off her intricate tattoo near her rib cage Kiki filmed the show alongside former Bachelorette contestant Ciarran Stott, 25, who she is believed to have struck up a romance with during production. Ciarran and Kiki were first linked together at the start of November last year, before flying to Fiji to film Paradise, where they likely developed a relationship. They looked to have gone public with their romance in December, holding hands as they exited Jackson Garlick's fancy dress birthday party in Sydney's Paddington. Low-cut: Kiki almost spilled out of her top while performing tricep push-ups Leggy lady: The reality star was pictured performing a number of lunges, adding difficulty by placing one foot on a park bench Ab-tastic: Kiki also worked on her core, performing sit-ups while seated on a park bench Tresses: She later allowed her long blonde locks to flow freely Neither Ciarran or Kiki seemed worried about being seen together, whereas previous couples from Paradise have gone to great lengths to prevent spoilers. They were later pictured enjoying a solo date in Sydney's Bondi. Bachelor In Paradise premieres later this year on Channel Ten. Picking up the pace: Kiki added a cardio element to her workout Too cute: Kiki held her adorable pup in her arms as she cooled off after the workout Shoppers enter and exit the Neiman Marcus at the King of Prussia Mall in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 8, 2018. (Mark Makela/Reuters) Luxury Goods Retailer Neiman Marcus Files for Bankruptcy, Blames Pandemic Neiman Marcus on Thursday has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, casting a shadow over other retailers as they remain shuttered during the CCP virus pandemic. The firm announced in a statement (pdf) that it has entered into a restructuring support agreement with a significant majority of its creditors to reduce its debt and position the firm for growth. It did not include details about any potential permanent store closures. To carry out the agreement, Neiman Marcus said it commenced voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division and secured $675 million from creditors to enable business continuity. The move was done in supporting continued operations during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, according to the Dallas, Texas-based luxury retailer. The firm blamed the lack of revenue on the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic, saying it was on a profitable path before it unfolded. Prior to COVID-19, Neiman Marcus Group was making solid progress on our journey to long-term profitable and sustainable growth. We have grown our unrivaled luxury customer base, expanded our industry-leading customer relationships, achieved higher omni-channel penetration, and made meaningful strides in our transformation to become the preeminent luxury customer platform, Neiman Marcus CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck said in the statement. The Neiman Marcus store is seen during the outbreak of the CCP virus in New York City, on April 19, 2020. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters) However, like most businesses today, we are facing unprecedented disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has placed inexorable pressure on our business, he added. The binding agreement from our creditors gives us additional liquidity to operate the business during the pandemic and the financial flexibility to accelerate our transformation. We will emerge a far stronger company. Neiman Marcus isnt the first major department store group to file for bankruptcy during the pandemic. It follows a bankruptcy filing by J.Crew, which became the first major retailer to reorganize, but experts have said there will be more to come as businesses stay closed and millions of people remain out of work. Late last year, Barneys New York, another luxury retailer, shut down, while other chains such as Lord & Taylor and J.C. Penney face losses. The Chapter 11 filing does not mean that Neiman Marcus will go out of business completely. Firms often use the legal tool to relieve themselves of debt and other liabilities. William Susman, managing director at Threadstone Advisors, told the New York Times on Thursday that he believes Neiman Marcus will shed some of its leases and reduce its brick-and-mortar footprint. Neiman Marcus has a bad balance sheet, but its still a luxury brand, he told the paper. They still have a reason to exist. Ghana is to receive quantities of Madagascars highly publicized Covid-19 remedy and preventative herbal mixture, the Ghana Health Service has revealed. According to Director of Public Health at the Ghana Helth Service, Dr Badu Sarkodie, Madagascar has made an offer to Ghana concerning the herbal solution but the FDA will have to assess the product. As to whether the remedy will be circulated for use, Dr. Sarkodie said he could not confirm. Countries like South Africa have begun examining the drug for possible use. Dr Sarkodie said at a Ministry of Information press briefing on Covid-19 on Thursday, I believe that a quantity might be made available to the country and we will ensure collaboration with FDA. They have to do some assessment and then we take it from there. So, I will not be able to say whether it will be used or not. But I think they have made an offer and we can take a look at it, he noted. Meanwhile, the WHO has dismissed Madagascar Presidents claims that the herbal tonic produced in the country can cure patients of COVID-19. Other African countries such as Tanzania and Guinea-Bissau have made plans to import the tonic, which contains the artemisia plant, which is normally used to treat malaria. Source: Starr 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 A Frontier Airlines' deal allowing passengers to secure 'more room' on flights has been terminated after facing swift backlash. The Denver-based air carrier announced in a Wednesday letter to Congressional leaders that it was no longer offering the chance for passengers to purchase the middle seat on flights from Friday for $39 and up. Frontier CEO Barry Biffle said in the letter that the airline would halt the more room pricing policy, the Denver Post reports. Frontier announced the plan to halt the sale after it was blasted by Congressional leaders CEO Barry Biffle said in the Wednesday letter that the airline would halt the more room pricing policy The letter was in response to harsh from U.S. Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee) and Jesus G. 'Chuy' Garcia (D-Illinois), and U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts). Biffle has been on quite the recovery campaign, after Frontier was slammed by the congressional leaders and social media for appearing to seek profit from safety during the pandemic. 'We recognize the concerns raised that we are profiting from safety and this was never our intent. We simply wanted to provide our customers with an option for more space,' Biffle said. 'We will leave the seats blocked which were associated with this product and honor purchases made by all customers who bought the product up until now.' Frontier has been selling seats for 'more room' initiative since Monday, with the plan to sell to flyers up until August 31 Passengers are required to fill out a health survey before flying Rep. Garcia took to Twitter after Wednesday's letter Frontier has been selling seats for 'more room' initiative since Monday, with the plan to sell to flyers up until August 31. It was part of the airline's strategy to offer the 'highest levels of passenger well-being and comfort,' according to a release announcing the program. 'We continue to see a lot of feedback from customers that say 'OK, I get it, I see that I'm safe but I'd just like a little more peace of mind,' so we have offered this product, this guaranteed middle seat open,' Biffle said on Tuesday. The CEO stressed that the airline was already allowing people to spread out on flights for free when space was available and rejected the notion that the policy was a 'cash grab.' He added that Frontier was looking into implementing the policy before coronavirus hit the United States. Frontier plans to start checking temperatures of those boarding their planes, in two weeks The airline is currently fogging the interior of planes with disinfectant mist that 'kills the virus on contact' 'We offer the lowest total prices in the United States. Period. So we are not profiteering off customers at all,' Biffle said. 'We don't know how much real demand there is for this. And it's a little like a belt and suspenders, because, again, we believe you are safe on Frontier without this.' The airline is currently fogging the interior of planes with disinfectant mist that 'kills the virus on contact.' Passengers are also required to fill out a health survey before flying. Frontier plans to start checking temperatures of those boarding their planes, in two weeks. The carrier was recently approved for $200million in federal payroll support, some $170million in grants and $30million in loans. But the funding comes as the airline has attempted to stop serving 33 markets through June 10 as a result of lack of demand, Biffle said. The U.S. Department of Transportation granted Frontier in an April 25 order to stop serving Detroit, Boston, Charlotte, and Providence, Rhode Island. Frontier was also granted permission to stop flying in Bloomington, Illinois, by the local airport authority there. An Indonesian man living in constant pain because of an enormous tumour that has grown from his face down to his stomach is hoping for life-saving surgery. Andriadi Putra, 34, has trouble eating and talking because of the 'trunk'-like tumour weighing around 88lbs. It has sprouted into multiple layers and Putra - from Medan in North Sumatra, Indonesia - often covers the biggest part under a large T-shirt. Putra suffers from severe Neurofibromatosis - a genetic disorder that affects the growth and development of cell tissue. Andriadi Putra, 34, has trouble eating and talking because of the 'trunk' like tumour weighing around 88lbs Putra suffers from a severe condition of Neurofibromatosis - a genetic disorder that affects the normal growth and development of cell tissue Andriadi Putra has an enormous tumour that has grown from his face down to his stomach. He is hoping for a life-saving surgery He faces shortness of breath and cannot walk due to the staggering weight of the tumour. Putra said, 'I often groan in pain...the weight breaks my back. It is very heavy and I experience shortness of breath.' Putra was born with a small blemish on his face but it kept growing with age. His parents - father Ismed Triad, 60 and mother Eridah, 52, took him to a local doctors when they noticed the blemish but were told there was nothing to worry. It has sprouted into multiple layers and Putra - from Medan in North Sumatra, Indonesia - often covers the biggest part under a large t-shirt He faces shortness of breath and cannot walk due to the staggering weight of the large tumour He is hoping for a life-saving surgery that could remove the tumour and help him live a normal life His parents - father Ismed Triad, 60 and mother Eridah, 52, took him to a local doctors when they noticed the blemish but were told there was nothing to worry He said: 'I was born with a small blemish but my family assumed that it was a birthmark. But when I was 11 years old, my parents began to suspect it as it was growing bigger' Because they didn't have the money, Mr Triad, who is a porter at a traditional market, couldn't take his son for an advanced medical examination. 'I was born with a small blemish but my family assumed that it was a birthmark. But when I was 11 years old, my parents began to suspect it as it was growing bigger. 'They took me to see a doctor who said I have a disease called 'narrowing of hormone vessels' and it is unfortunate. A close up look at the tumour which grew from near his lip and now reaches down to his stomach Putra said, 'I often groan in pain...the weight breaks my back. It is very heavy and I experience shortness of breath' Putra said: 'I cannot work anymore. For the last two years, I am at home. It is getting worse. I want to a treatment that could help me live a normal life' Putra also has several other growths across his back in addition to the huge tumour that grew from his face 'By my parents couldn't do much. We couldn't continue the treatment because we don't have enough money.' To supplement his family's earrings Putra worked at a motorcycle showroom for a couple of years but was forced to quit two years ago when the weight was unbearable. He is hoping for a life-saving surgery that could remove the tumour and help him live a normal life. 'I'm in agony. My head and back hurts. 'I cannot work anymore. For the last two years, I am at home. It is getting worse. I want to a treatment that could help me live a normal life.' Two weeks ago, as I drove through Harrisburg en route to a morning appointment, I saw people getting out of vehicles, preparing to gather on the Capitol steps in protest of COVID-19 closures. That didnt surprise me. But I was shocked to see several of them carrying assault-style rifles with magazines. Watching the news later, and in the days since, Ive remained deeply disturbed by that image. Certainly, people have a right to protest long and loud. I support Gov. Wolfs efforts to gradually and safely reopen our state, yet I recognize that disagreements over the timing of reopening the Commonwealth are legitimate, especially as we weigh protecting lives against preserving livelihoods. But we must not resort to solving political disputes while looking down the barrel of a gun. Ive spent quite a few years overseas, in or near countries ruled by force. In Korea, I saw a de-militarized zone manned by North Korean soldiers whose job was as much to keep people from escaping south as it was to prevent anyone from invading north. In Panama, I witnessed armed thugs roaming the streets, terrorizing the populace at the behest of a dictator. In Egypt, I watched police with loaded assault rifles, bayonets bristling, standing near intersections in a blatant effort to intimidate the populace. In Iraq, I saw people cower as a terrifying civil war tore apart the nation. Our country is blessed to operate under the rule of law. It is often messy, slow and frustrating, but ours is the great experiment gifted to us by our founders almost two and half centuries ago. And it can and must occur without the threat of violence, whether that violence is implied or stated or shown. A few days ago, armed protestors entered the state capitol in Michigan. They stood in the state senate balcony, glaring down at lawmakers with rifles in hand, rounds chambered. Such scenes cannot and must not become accepted political action in our nation. This is not a second amendment issue. This is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. This is an American issue. We do not impose our will on our fellow citizens by brandishing weapons. Thats not who we are. And if we accept the premise that force or intimidation are legitimate means of influencing policy, then we will lose our great American experiment in democracy and become just like the places I was deployed to while serving overseas. If you want to fight, then join the war thats raging in our hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes as health care professionals work until exhaustion in a battle to preserve lives during this pandemic. Thats where the fight is. Thats where true courage is on display. As former Gov. Tom Ridge wrote recently in USA Today and PennLive, Your country has asked you to forgo your normal personal and professional routine for a couple of months in the war against COVID-19. No question, it is difficult and sometimes feels unbearable as economic and emotional stress mount each day. But the pandemic in less than three months has taken the lives of more Americans than the total number of U.S. soldiers killed in the Vietnam War. Now is the time to not only set aside our weapons, but to set aside our disagreements as much as we possibly can. Lets come together to defeat this pandemic, saving as many lives as we can, and restoring our economy as quickly as we can. We can do this. And together we will. George Scott is a Democratic candidate for State Senate in the 15th District. He has spent the past ten years in ministry, currently serving as pastor of St John (Barners) Lutheran Church in Perry County. Prior to that, he served 20 years on active duty as a military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. BRIDGEPORT Two Bridgeport residents were injured in a Wednesday afternoon crash that also damaged a utility pole, police officials said. Officer John Perry was dispatched to a collision with reported injuries around 1:10 p.m. at the intersection of Putnam Street and Park Street, according to Sgt. Darryl Wilson of the traffic division. Eddie Rodriquez, a K9 officer, got to the crash site and told the dispatchers that both drivers were on the ground complaining of injuries, Wilson said. Rodriquez said a black vehicle involved in the crash hit a fire hydrant and a United Illuminating pole with a transformer. The UI pole was split, Wilson said, and hanging from the middle of the pole. The officer called for fire units and medics, with Perry, firefighters and medics arriving shortly after. An 18-year-old Bridgeport resident was driving a black Acura south on Park Street when he came up to the intersection with Putnam Street and hit another vehicle being driven by a 47-year-old Bridgeport woman, Wilson said. At that intersection, there are stop signs on Park Street but not on Putnam Street. The teenager lost control and mounted the northbound sidewalk, striking a fire hydrant, two vehicles and the UI pole, Wilson said. The Bridgeport teen reported left knee pain and was taken to St. Vincents Medical Center by medics. The driver of the other car, a white Infiniti, reported injuries and was taken on a stretch to a waiting ambulance. She was taken to Bridgeport Hospital by medics. Police did not indicate whether any charges might be filed against either driver. Perry is the lead investigator on the case. Anyone who might have witnessed the accident or have information about it can call the Bridgeport police tip line at 203-576-TIPS. JEFFERSON CITY More than 50,000 Missouri workers filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, marking the seventh straight week of high numbers since the coronavirus began shuttering businesses across the nation. Meanwhile, nearly 74,500 workers in Illinois filed for unemployment benefits in the same period, a decline of about 6,700 from the previous week. They joined the nearly 3.2 million laid-off workers across the U.S. who applied for unemployment benefits in the week ending May 2. While the numbers remain high, the pace of new filings has slowed. Data released Thursday by the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations shows 52,203 workers made initial claims last week, down from 54,710 the week before. The number of weekly unemployment claims peaked in late March at 104,230. [May 07, 2020] COVID-19 Impact and Recovery Analysis-Global Video Surveillance as a Service Market 2020-2024 | Increasing Adoption of Internet Protocol (IP) Cameras to Boost Market Growth | Technavio The video surveillance as a service market is expected to grow by USD 6.16 billion during 2020-2024. The report also provides the market impact and new opportunities created due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact can be expected to be significant in the first quarter but gradually lessen in subsequent quarters - with a limited impact on the full-year economic growth, according to the latest market research report by Technavio. Request a free sample report This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200506006121/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Video Surveillance as a Service Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire) The increasing adoption of internet protocol (IP) cameras will drive the growth of the VSaaS market during the forecast period. The growing adoption of IP cameras can be attributed to factors such as scalability, image clarity, built-in security, integration, and easy installation. In addition, the commercial sector highly prefers this product as its price is much lower than the analog cameras, and its high-quality sensor module is easily adaptable to the changing needs of an organization. Moreover, the adoption of IP cameras is expected to increase significantly due to additional features such as its ability to avoid interlacing associated issues, availability of an in-built facility for image encryption and multi-level user access control, and avoidance of third-party image manipulation. 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=IRTNTR43281 As per Technavio, the growing adoption of video surveillance cameras in educational institutions will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other significant trends and market drivers that will influence market growth over 2020-2024. Video Surveillance As A Service Market: Growing Adoption of Video Surveillance Cameras in Educational Institutions Governments across the world are imposing stringent regulations on the use of security solutions in educational institutions. In June 2015, a law passed in Texas, US, mandated the installation of video surveillance in special education classrooms. The higher education industry in the US also plans to introduce video surveillance and body-worn cameras because of the rise in campus shootings across the country. The law applies to all public schools and to any self-contained classrooms in which at least half the students receive educational services for at least half the day. Such regulations, along with the ability to access real-time data from cameras deployed at institutions will drive the adoption of video-surevillance cameras. This, in turn, is expected to drive the growth of the market during the forecast period. "Factors such as the increased adoption of thermal cameras, emergence of wireless IP surveillance, and the emergence of IoT in video surveillance will have a significant impact on the growth of the video surveillance as a service market value during the forecast period," says a senior analyst at Technavio. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Video Surveillance As A Service Market: Segmentation Analysis This market research report segments the video surveillance as a service market by end-user (commercial, industrial, and residential), solution (hosted, managed, and hybrid) and geography (North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and MEA). The North American region led the video surveillance as a service market in 2019, followed by APAC, Europe, South America, and MEA respectively. During the forecast period, the North American region is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to factors such as the expansion of international retailers and the increasing focus on improving infrastructure to upgrade construction activities. Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report Some of the key topics covered in the report include: Market Drivers Market Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Competitive scenario About Technavio 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/20200506006121/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Con el objetivo de brindar informacion completa y continua a los familiares de pacientes COVID-19, se exhorto a los directores de hospitales a designar personal dedicado a esa funcion. Mas informacion: https://t.co/kbYfKsL4C2 pic.twitter.com/X1ekonlEtv PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-07 12:00:51 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 800 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / MGX Minerals Inc. ("MGX" or the "Company") (CSE:XMG)(FKT:1MG)(OTC PINK:MGXMF) is pleased to announce an agreement to purchase a 100% interest in the Heino-Money gold deposit and Tillicum Claims (MINFILE 082FNW234 including Grizzley, Annie Flats, and Silver Queen occurrences, located approximately 12 kilometres east of Burton (110 km east of Kelowna), in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. By issuing shares and cash totaling $5,000,000 CDN and completing a work program of $1,050,000 CDN over a three year term, MGX will acquire a 100% interest in the property with a Net Smelter Return to the Vendors of 5%, which may be bought back for $1,000,000 CDN.Figure 1 - 3D Drill Hole Model (Assessment Report 27144)Property Exploration HistoryIn 1981, a bulk sample of 58 tonnes shipped from the Money Pit averaged 78.8 grams per tonne gold. In 1986, a 3175- tonne bulk sample was shipped to the Dankoe mill at Keremeos and yielded 109.44 kilograms of gold (Assessment Report 19437). In 1993, as a result of mining at the Heino-Money zone, a total of 5503 tonnes of mineralization with an estimated head grade of 24.4 grams per tonne gold was shipped to the Goldstream mill (MINFILE 082M 141) for processing. Approximately 102,443 grams of gold and 149,546 grams of silver were recovered into concentrates that were shipped to Japan for smelting (George Cross News Letter No. 237 December 10, 1993).Summary of production from Heino-Money zone, 1981 to 1993:YearMined tonnesMilled tonnesAu grams recoveredAu troy ounces recoveredAu troy oz/t (recovered ounces/ton)Ag troy ounces recoveredAg troy oz/t (recovered ounces/ton)19935,5035,503102,4553,2940.5995,2750.95919919,207296198522716848,3511,5546.8501,6587.304198158584,2391462.5171051.810Exploration activity in 1982 included 1128 metres of diamond drilling in 16 holes on the Heino-Money zone, eight holes on the East Ridge zone and three holes on the Jenny zone. In 1983, a 60.9-metre crosscut adit was driven on the East Ridge zone and further geochemical surveys and trenching carried out. Diamond drilling was done in 18 holes on the Heino-Money zone. Drilling in 1983 totalled 2319 metres in 38 holes. In 1984, a 60-metre adit was driven into the upper part of the Heino-Money zone. Further diamond drilling was done in five holes on the East Ridge zone. La Teko provided financing of exploration to the end of 1985 ($2.28 million) to earn a 39.6 per cent interest in Esperanza. La Teko was unable to provide further financing and the 1982 option agreement expired at the end of 1985. In 1986, Esperanza Explorations completed a drill program of 25 surface diamond drill holes, totalling 835.5 metres and nine underground diamond drill holes, totalling 176.8 metres, including DDH Haus86-6 which intercepted 12.8 meters @ 90.57 g/t Au. Underground development, included 153 metres of drifting and 46.5 metres of raises. By this time, 5 levels had been developed at elevations of 2112, 2130, 2148, 2160 and 2171 metres on the Heino-Money zone. In 1989, a further 10 diamond drill holes, totalling 1437.6 metres, were completed on the East Ridge zone.The East Ridge zone is 300 metres east of the Heino-Money zone. Gold mineralization occurs in a blanket-like zone that straddles the contact between porphyritic diorite and meta-arkose, quartzite, siltstone and minor argillite. The gold-bearing, near-vertical calc-silicate skarn structures occur within a 9.1 to 24.3- metre zone that strikes northeast and dips 70 degrees northwest. The skarn structures have widths that vary from 1.5 to 4.6 metres, but average 2.1 metres. The East Ridge zone has been traced by drilling for 1100 metres along strike and 365 metres down-dip at an average width of 1.5 metres. The East Ridge zone is comprised of two parallel upper skarn structures 0.9 to 1.5 metres thick and a lower skarn structure. Gold occurs in randomly distributed high- grade pockets separated by areas of lower grade material. Within the zone, gold-bearing sulphide mineralization consists of pyrrhotite, pyrite-marcasite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena and native gold with tracesIn 1989, Esperanza Explorations Ltd wrote a summary of the mineralization on the Heino-Money Zone (Property File 825275, Roberts, 1989):The gold mineralization is contained in a near vertical skarn structure which averages about six feet in width and which, to date, has been delineated over a strike length of about 600 feet and a vertical extent of 300 feet. The mineralized zone remains open both on strike and to depth.In 1993, Bethlehem Resources Corporation and Goldnev Resources Inc. optioned the property andobtained a permit for an underground mining operation. Mining commenced in mid-August of that yearand was completed in late October. A total of 29,009m of surface and 3,865m of underground drilling for a total of 376 holes. In addition, underground development consisting of 1,374m in the Heino-Money zone and 410m in the East Ridge zone was completed.In 1994 Columbia Gold Mines Ltd. (formerly Esperanza Explorations Ltd.) commissioned Ross Glanville & Associates to carry out a valuation of the Tillicum Mountain project.Figure 2 - Topography with Zones of Mineralization (Assessment Report 35269)Property GeologyThe Tillicum Mountain area is underlain by metamorphosed siltstone, calcareous siltstone, arkose, and wacke, with lesser amounts of basalt, tuff, argillite, impure carbonate and marble layers, that have been subjected to Lower Juras Facebook awarded several Philadelphia news organizations grant money to help expand their audiences. Read more The Philadelphia Inquirer is one of five Pennsylvania newsrooms to receive grants from Facebook for efforts to boost subscriptions and memberships. The social media giant announced Thursday that The Inquirer will receive $150,000 as part of a $100 million global investment in news. As a participant in Facebooks Local News Accelerator, we will use the money to support and speed up our transition to a digital-first news organization," said Inquirer publisher and CEO Elizabeth H. Hughes, including helping to grow our digital subscriptions. Facebook announced similar grants to help other regional newsrooms bolster their audiences. The Philadelphia Tribune newspaper received $75,000; public radio and television broadcaster WHYY got $50,000, and radio station WURD AM-FM collected $40,000. The grants will be administered by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism which is the nonprofit owner of The Inquirer and the International Center for Journalists. Were grateful to the Facebook Journalism Project and the Lenfest institute for supporting Billy Penn and WHYY, said Sandra Clark, the broadcasters vice president for news. Their support of local media in Philadelphia shows how funders are rising to meet urgent needs of the public in this exceptionally trying time. Facebook also will issue COVID-19 Local News Relief Grants to several Pennsylvania news organizations. The money is intended to offset some revenue shortfalls to help struggling publishers survive during the crisis. The pandemic has eliminated nearly all advertising income. Local newsrooms awarded Facebook COVID-19 grants also include Al Dia, the Center City bilingual newspaper focused on the Latinx community, $99,000; Indonesian Lantern Media, the South Philadelphia-based voice of the Indonesian community in America, $25,000; and the Philadelphia Public School Notebook, a nonprofit focused on the schools, $25,000. Last year, Facebook and Google each announced $300 million programs to aid journalism. The amount of money is meaningful, but it doesnt change the trajectory of the industry. So it needs to be seen in that light, said Ken Doctor, a former newspaper industry executive who became an industry analyst. And both Facebook and Google deserve credit for that." Both organizations, which are now among the richest corporations in the United States, have outgunned traditional news-gathering organizations when it comes to share of advertising. They have captured the lions share of the worlds advertising revenue while building a highly engaged online community around third-party news content displayed on their platforms. There is increasing pressure in Congress to get Google and Facebook to pay the equivalent of license fees to publishers similar to what radio stations once paid for music for the use of their content, Doctor said. The platforms see newspapers as a necessary part of their supply chain, said Doctor, who spent 21 years with Knight Ridder newspapers, former owner of The Inquirer. The press is struggling everywhere. And even Google and Facebook are taking small hits. But for news organizations, especially during this pandemic, now its truly a matter of life or death. As Maharashtra battles a rising number of coronavirus cases, the government is considering filling up 17,000 vacant posts in the public health department across the state and is mulling how to start the appointment process during the lockdown. Health minister Rajesh Tope on Thursday said the government will find a way out in the next two days to fill up the vacant posts in the key department, whose functioning has become crucial in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. He also announced setting up a mega quarantine facility for residents of Dharavi, a slum-dominated COVID-19 hotspot in Mumbai. In a televised message, Tope said, In the next two days, I, along with chief minister and chief secretary, will find out how to fill up the 17,000 vacant posts in the public health department across the state." "The lockdown is on but we will try to find out a solution to recruit qualified people, he said. There are some pending promotions in state-run establishments that come under the public health ministry, said Tope. The minister said the New Delhi-based Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has asked the state government to put more number of people from Dharavi under institutional quarantine. The ICMR has asked the state to increase the number of people in institutional quarantine in Mumbais Dharavi area. Social distancing norms could not be strictly followed in (densely populated) areas like Dharavi. "Hence, we have decided to create space to put some 2,000 people under institutional quarantine, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As part of the plan, Ford's parts depots will restart on May 11 and then assembly plants on May 18. That will include the Chicago Assembly Plant and Chicago Stamping Plant, Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker said. The Lear seat-making factory in Hammond and other local parts suppliers also would have to reopen by then to make just-in-time automotive production possible again. Auto plants that had three shifts will only have two as the supply chain gets back up to speed and new health and safety protocols go into effect. Ford will require employees and visitors to certify they don't have symptoms before coming into work each day. They also will have their temperature taken when they arrive and be sent home if it's too high. Everyone in Ford plants will have to wear face masks, face shields or safety glasses with side shields for assembly line jobs where social distancing isn't possible. Every Ford employee will get a care kit that will include face masks and other items meant to keep them healthy. Employees who can work remotely still will during the global pandemic, which has infected more than 3.8 million and killed more than 269,000 people worldwide. Flash The Iranian Intelligence Ministry said on Wednesday that two "terrorist" groups were bust on Tuesday in the west and northwest of the country, state TV reported. The ministry "managed to monitor and destroy two terrorist outfits affiliated with separatist groups, who had crossed into the country from neighboring countries to carry out acts of terrorism," said a ministry statement. In the operations, 16 members of the terrorist groups were arrested, with two Kalashnikov assault rifles, a pistol, two grenades, seven magazines and 240 cartridges confiscated, according to the statement. In the clashes between Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) forces and an "anti-revolutionary terrorist" group in Divandarreh region in Kurdistan Province on Tuesday, three of the IRGC forces and a number of gunmen were killed. Western Iran's Kurdish region bordering Iraq has been the scene of deadly clashes between the Iranian security forces and the Kurdish rebels over the past decades. LONDON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As with so many industries, Covid-19 has become a huge disruptor that is forcing businesses to adapt - some with more success than others. But in the middle of enforced social distancing, how can insurers and reinsurers retain the connectivity that is so crucial to keeping the wheels turning? Establishing trust and meeting face-to-face is an important element of reaching a deal in any business, but no more so than in the insurance and reinsurance sector, where agreements are built based on reputations, handshakes and business lunches. Existing industry trends certainly are not making business any easier, warns Greg Boutin, CEO of Sofware-as-a-Service insurance solution Relay Platform, in an article in Business Reporter. With time-based competition finally entering the industry, access to insurance and reinsurance capacity tightening, and the evolution of risk transfer models leading to reinsurers, carriers and brokers moving into each other's businesses, we were already witnessing a perfect storm of challenges before C-19. The industry is trying to adapt. Yet this evolution is poorly supported by the core systems that powers them. Companies need to move away from rigid, over-engineered 'mainframe' systems that cannot react flexibly to market dynamics, and put in place nimbler, more flexible digital solutions. Those systems need to offer quicker access to capacity, to avoid practitioners missing out on deals. This calls for built-in digital support for increased social connectivity and the element of trust it fosters, which will remain a crucial aspect of risk transfer given its overall complexity. "At Relay, we build a platform that connects people, data and systems all in one place, whether it's for insurance or reinsurance, and we wanted to put that at the service of the community," says Boutin, in a specially recorded video from his home office. Emails, says Boutin, remain the number one way of completing placements for insurance professionals, so Relay fully supports it. Unlike other placement systems, no account is required to respond to quotes. "It is the most flexible way of interacting with the market and remaining connected. We believe that placements are all about connectivity. Relay is built around the end-user, around the people, because I believe you can take the risk transfer process out of the office, but you can't take people out of that process." Relay is offering an extended trial period for insurers interested in trying out the service and offering feedback. It also offers free basic accounts. "Use it, see how much better your life could be - our job is all about connectivity. We are a team of digital natives whose only mission is to make your life better," says Boutin. "Don't let this crisis go to waste - use it to digitise." To learn more about how Relay can help you connect and maintain trust for risk transfers, go to www.relayplatfrom.com Notes for editors This press release has been provided by Business Reporter (www.business-reporter.co.uk). About Business Reporter Business Reporter is distributed with The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph and City AM, with each publication reaching an average of 1.5 million people. Content is also published through the Business Reporter and teiss websites, which include video debates, online articles and digital magazines, delivering news and analysis on the issues affecting businesses to a global audience. Business Reporter also hosts conferences, breakfast meetings and exclusive summits, events which bring together some of the most influential decision makers and innovators in modern business. These exclusive events for business leaders give Business Reporter direct contact with readers and help to inform the content and direction of its editorial projects. Business Reporter is committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and was the first UK member of the UN SDG Media Compact. We have launched a website dedicated to showcasing the work of companies towards these goals at 17globalgoals.com. Business Reporter is committed to providing meaningful analysis to everyone in business. Whether you're running a small business, the head of a local company or an executive in a multinational corporation, there's something for you at Business Reporter. www.business-reporter.co.uk About Relay Platform Relay Platform is an online Software-as-a-Service solution helping ceding teams, insurance underwriters and brokers to structure and secure reinsurance and large insurance placements simpler and faster. Relay has launched and is evolving rapidly to offer risk transfer professionals a vastly better way to connect and transact online. Relay was selected by investor Plug and Play as a Top 10 Insurtech Company for 2020, as a semi-finalist in the 2019 ACORD North-American Challenge, and as a finalist in the upcoming Insurtech North 2020 Pitch Competition. It is also backed by Fortune-500 American Family Insurance, NFP Ventures, and VC firm Highline Beta. A total of 172 Sikkim residents stranded in various parts of the country due to the lockdown returned to the state on Thursday, taking the total number of returnees to 335, an official release said on Thursday. The 172 persons were brought in state-run buses from Siliguri in neighbouring West Bengal, it said. They were screened at Melli and Rangpo check-posts and placed under institutional quarantine for 14 days, the release said. A total of 6,084 stranded Sikkim residents have registered themselves with the state government's portal for returning to their homes, it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A security analyst said that further regulation is necessary to enforce self-isolation protocols at airports for returning and international travellers. Declan Power says news that the Department of Justice is reviewing its regulations for travellers entering Ireland is welcome. He says: "If you are going to have a regulation you have to have the legal instruments to enforce it. "There is no point in just asking people questions, and if they refuse to answer them just moving on to the next person, it defeats the purpose." The Department of Justice says follow-up calls are made a number of days after people arrive here. Between April 28 and May 1, 637 calls were made and two-thirds of people picked up. 99% of passengers who answered confirmed they were self-isolating. Fianna Fail: 'Gap in the resources' available to airport immigration officials There are calls for tougher laws to be introduced to force people to tell immigration officials at the country's airports where they will be self-isolating. Under new Covid-19 rules, anyone arriving in Ireland is asked to sign a passenger location form when they arrive. But a third of passengers who flew to Dublin Airport over the past six weeks failed to do so, according to the Irish Independent. Fianna Fail's transport spokesman, Marc MacSharry, says stricter enforcement is needed. He says: "Certainly, clearly there is a gap in the resources that are available to authorities at the airport if people are refusing or through wilful neglect not making the appropriate declarations they need to. "It is certainly a matter we will raise with the Minister for Transport and if there are additional powers needed for these people then we will certainly be pushing for that to happen." 33% of airport arrivals in Ireland did not say where they would be self-isolating A third of people arriving in Ireland over the past six weeks refused to give details of where they would be self-isolating. The Irish Independent says hundreds of people who flew into Dublin Airport did not fill in forms detailing where they would be staying. The forms asked for information about the address where the person would stay for two weeks after they arrived. Anyone arriving in Ireland is asked to sign a passenger location form when they arrive at the airport, to stop the spread of Covid-19. The news comes as just 2% of the individuals trained as contact tracers in the fight against Covid-19 are currently employed to that end. As of Tuesday of this week, just 40 of roughly 2,000 people trained to track the coronavirus via those it has infected were doing so. The low level of contact tracing being employed was criticised by Peadar Toibin, TD and leader of Aontu, as being emblematic of the mismatch between capacity and need in the Irish health service. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 01:19:58|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Tunisian Minister of Health Abdellatif Mekki speaks in an interview with Xinhua in Tunis, Tunisia, on May 7, 2020. Tunisian Minister of Health Abdellatif Mekki on Thursday expressed satisfaction with Tunisia's cooperation with China in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. (Xinhua) TUNIS, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian Minister of Health Abdellatif Mekki on Thursday expressed satisfaction with Tunisia's cooperation with China in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tunisia-China cooperation "was one of Tunisia's best experiences in terms of cooperation with foreign countries to cope with the spread of the virus," Mekki told Xinhua in an interview at the headquarters of Tunisian Health Ministry. "This pandemic threatens not only one country, but also all humanity," Mekki said, adding that Tunisia has cooperated with many countries through the World Health Organization to contain the spread of the virus. The Tunisia-China cooperation in the fight against the novel coronavirus has been done "in many forms including the scientific level, where we have recently organized several video-conferences between Tunisian and Chinese experts, and the commercial level with the acquisition of medical supplies," the minister said. "We are satisfied with this cooperation, and we hope that it will develop further in the future," he said. Mekki stressed that the Tunisia-China medical cooperation "is not occasional, but dates back to decades." China dispatched the first medical mission to Tunisia in 1973, and since then, 1,000 Chinese doctors have been sent to Tunisia to help the country in the fields including general surgery, gynecology, obstetrics, radiography, pediatrics, orthopedics, cardiology and acupuncture, the minister noted. The Chinese medical teams have provided health screening services for more than 5.7 million Tunisian patients, medical treatment for over 880,000 patients in Tunisian hospitals, and 320,000 surgical interventions, he added. On Tunisia's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the minister said that his country has controlled "the first wave of the spread of the coronavirus." "Tunisia is among the countries that have recorded a low number of confirmed cases of COVID-19," Mekki said. On Wednesday, Tunisia reported three new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of the infections in the country to 1,025. "In order to confront this pandemic, Tunisia took early preventive measures on the health and socio-economic levels," Mekki said. However, he warned of a possible second wave of the virus' spread in Tunisia. "Despite the positive results that we have recorded, we must remain wary of the possibility of a second wave, especially after the start of partial lifting of lockdown which allows hundreds of thousands of workers and employees to return to work in the public and private sectors," said Mekki. Amid the improvement of the situation, Tunisia started on May 4 partial lifting of the lockdown, which includes three stages, from May 4 to 24, from May 24 to June 4, and from June 4 to 14. On April 29, the Tunisian government listed the sectors involved in the first phase of the partial lifting of lockdown as transportation, health, food, self-employment, artisans and services. Lloyd Blankfein, the ex-Goldman Sachs CEO whose bank accepted bailout funds during the financial crisis, said that large companies should be "very reluctant" to take taxpayer money amid the coronavirus pandemic. "Big companies should be very reluctant to take government money," Blankfein said Thursday on CNBC's "Squawk Box" in response to a question about how the public will view companies that accept money from the federal small business relief program. "I think over time, the goal posts will shift" from a sense of urgency in disbursing funds to greater scrutiny of companies that shouldn't have kept them, Blankfein said. "It's kind of a natural phenomenon, I don't think it's bad behavior on the part of the government." Public companies including Shake Shack and AutoNation were criticized after taking part in the federal Paycheck Protection Program, despite being large firms with access to other forms of capital. The two companies are among more than 40 that have said they would return the funds so that small businesses would have a better shot at getting loans. The first round of PPP went quickly, and hundreds of thousands of small businesses were left in limbo while larger companies had greater success at tapping the program. Companies that shouldn't have applied for PPP loans have until May 14 to return the funds. "There will be some resentments that emerge because some people will have gotten help and others in a similar situation won't have," Blankfein said during the wide-ranging interview. "If you need it, take it, but you really shouldn't need it," he added. Blankfein may be speaking from experience: Goldman took $10 billion from the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program at the height of the financial crisis in October 2008. Although it paid the funds back in less than two years, the move fueled public anger that financial firms had to be rescued after the industry helped cause the subprime mortgage crisis. Jenkins Dedicated Service Highlights National Nurses Week Bethany Jenkins is the COVID-19 Unit charge nurse at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital As the world combats COVID-19, the important role of nurses is starkly apparent through their heroic efforts on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic. The dedication of Bethany Jenkins, who works as the COVID-19 Unit charge nurse at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in South L.A., reveals why people in her profession are so endeared. In fact, the accolades are especially appropriate as the U.S. celebrates National Nurses Week from May 6 to May 12. The observance, which began in 1954, recognizes the contributions that nurses and nursing make to the community. ADVERTISEMENT For Jenkins, nursing is easy because, as she expressed, It is doing something that I am passionate about, which is caring for other people and its been more than rewarding. I love it! I feel like this is what God has put me here to do. While interacting regularly with COVID-19 patients can be daunting for some, she said that she succeeds and stays safe by employing the guidelines recommended by health practitioners. You constantly tell yourself to be mindful of washing your hands and how you put on and take off personal protective equipment like gloves and gowns, explained Jenkins. Basically, you really have to be mindful that youre doing everything properly because you are putting yourself at risk being on the floor and going into peoples rooms. Her patients, who range from young adults to senior citizens, are designated as PUIs people under investigation that have been tested for COVID-19, but have received their results back. If theyre stable, they come to our unit. But, if theyre unstable, they go to ICU (intensive care unit), said Jenkins. Working with such a broad demographic has helped her realize that the disease knows no boundaries, added Jenkins, who noted, It affects people of all ages, not just the elderly. Also, you cant compare COVID-19 to the flu. They are two different viruses with two different effects as far as we can see. The coronavirus has killed many people and I have not heard of the flu killing this many people. It (COVID-19) needs to be taken seriously. In her opinion, that serious approach includes adhering to the government and health guidelines for hand washing, social distancing, covering your mouth when coughing or sneezing, and using hand sanitizer after touching things when you are out in the community. She also advised the public to use caution when wearing gloves because the practice can lead to cross-contamination unless the gloves are changed after each time something is touched. Jenkins extensive knowledge about nursing first started with her mother, who is also a nurse, along with Jenkins nearly 15 years of experience. While in school, she worked as a nursing assistant at Daniel Freeman Hospital in Inglewood. Upon completing her education, she served 12 years as a nurse at Marina del Rey Hospital (now Cedars-Sinai in Marina del Rey Hospital). ADVERTISEMENT She moved to MLK Hospital when it opened as well as enrolled in school to complete her Masters degree in nursing education. Her goal is to become a teacher and hopefully inspire others to work in the field. Theres always a need for nurses, especially now with so many baby boomers retiring. So, I want to teach the clinical, hands-on aspect and bring more nursing students to the hospitals, said Jenkins. In the meantime, she continues to enjoy her current job and admitted that the publics support of nurses and health workers has been uplifting during the pandemic. Theres such an outpouring of appreciation now. We see little signs posted around the hospital grounds saying thank you for what you do and you are heroes. I think its important because nurses dont get enough recognition and being a nurse can be stressful at times. It can be mentally and physically draining, said Jenkins. So, its nice to have Nurses Week to highlight what nurses do. Its also so nice that the community shows appreciation. Its really makes us feel good! When my wife and I moved from Chicago to Toronto in the summer of 2010, the decision was mostly driven by potential career opportunities. I was completing my residency training in neurosurgery at Northwestern University and had been recruited to the University of Toronto to start a clinical practice and research program focused on treatment of brain cancers. The move represented a chance for me to pursue two dreams to be a surgeon and a scientist as a new member of an academic centre internationally renowned for its prowess in both. As critically, however, my physician wife and I saw the move to Toronto as a chance to define ourselves as partners with a country more closely aligned with our social values. Paramount to these values for us was Canadas celebrated and shared vision of universal health care, a vision that, as physicians, we both shared and wished to be a part of. Another core value my wife and I share with Canadians: support for gun control. Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus government took a significant step to further entrench this shared value. In announcing that the purchase, transport, import, or use of military-style assault weapons in Canada would be banned immediately, the prime minister said, 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. As a physician in Chicago, I learned all too well that such weapons were not designed for hunting or even sport shooting. They were designed to kill quickly, and in large numbers. The governments actions drew immediate and intense criticism from gun lobby groups, right wing pundits and multiple leaders within the Conservative Party of Canada. As a physician, son, husband, father, friend, and now, Canadian (my wife, daughter and I became citizens last year), I applaud and thank the prime minister for articulating what the majority of Canadians believe: that assault weapons have no place in the society that we wish to live in and protect. Yet, as with medicine, we must be guided by the science, and the science is clear: jurisdictions that have more stringent restrictions on access to guns including bans on assault weapons have less gun injury and death. Canadas assault weapons ban is backed by 15 medical associations, two national womens organizations, survivors groups, mayors, police chiefs, and the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime. In the United States, evidence-based dialogue on gun control has been obstructed by the National Rifle Association and its political partners to great cost. We cannot allow the same to occur in Canada. We should recognize the important progress that has transpired, and guard the change. Let us not fall prey to hollow arguments about gun rights and self protection or opportunistic political posturing. This is Canada, after all. May 07, 2020 / 10:51 PM IST The novel coronavirus pandemic has spread across 187 countries and territories. Today is the forty-fourth day of Indias nationwide lockdown, which has been extended till May 17. Restrictions have been eased, especially in non-hotspot areas. Confirmed COVID-19 cases in India stand at 52,952. The death toll from the outbreak in India is at 1,783. Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi have reported the highest number of cases. A massive exercise to evacuate Indians stranded abroad begins today.Globally, there have been over 37.5 lakh confirmed cases of COVID-19. At least 2.63 lakh people have died so far. The United States, Spain, Italy, UK, France and Germany are the most-affected countries. Catch the latest updates here: Marketwake has been named to Inc. magazines annual list of the Best Workplaces for 2020. Hitting newsstands May 12 in the May/June 2020 issue, the list is the result of a wide-ranging and comprehensive measurement of private American companies that have created exceptional workplaces through vibrant cultures, deep employee engagement, and stellar benefits. Collecting data from more than 3,000 submissions, Inc. singled out 395 finalists for the 2020 list. Each nominated company took part in an employee survey, conducted by Quantum Workplace, on topics including trust, management effectiveness, perks, and confidence in the future. Inc. gathered, analyzed, and audited the data. Then we ranked all the employers using a composite score of survey results. This year, 73.5 percent of surveyed employees were engaged by their work. 100% of Marketwake employees said they were engaged by their work. The strongest engagement scores came from companies that prioritize the most human elements of work. These companies are leading the way in employee recognition, performance management, and diversity. It is a different playbook from a decade ago, when too many firms used the same template: free food, open work environments, and artifacts of fun. Our culture has always been one of the most important aspects of our vision for Marketwake, says Marketwake CEO Brooke Beach. Work is a large portion of our life on Earth, so we believe that work should be a place where people feel challenged enough to grow and positive enough to be their authentic self. It's not always easy, but we respect each other, laugh with each other, and have something remarkably unique. Building a great corporate culture comes only from strong leadership, says Inc. magazine editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. The companies on Inc.s Best Workplaces list are setting an example that the whole country can learn from, especially now, when company culture is more important to the workforce than ever. While researching the finalists, Inc. and Quantum saw distinct themes: 100 percent provide health insurance. 50 percent allow employees to bring pets to work. 62 percent take employees to offsite retreats to relax and recharge. 20 percent offer paid sabbaticals to reward length of service. About Marketwake Marketwake is an Atlanta-based digital marketing agency that bridges the gap between the creative and the analytical. Its offerings span custom websites, branding, SEO, and social media to Salesforce and Pardot implementations. Founded on the idea that even a small boat can produce a big wake, Marketwake serves small- and medium-sized businesses to help them do the same. Having recently passed the five-year mark, Marketwake continues to grow in both profit and people the latter being their most valuable asset. The company continues to invest in the future of talent via MarketwakeU, its in-house paid internship program that gives students industry experience through client work. For more information on Marketwake, visit http://www.marketwake.com. About Inc. Media The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com. About Quantum Workplace Quantum Workplace, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is an HR technology company that serves organizations through employee-engagement surveys, action-planning tools, exit surveys, peer-to-peer recognition, performance evaluations, goal tracking, and leadership assessment. For more information, visit QuantumWorkplace.com. Anomalous transverse coefficients, definitions, and profiles: Off-diagonal components of the three conductivity tensors [electric ( ), thermoelectric ( ), and thermal ( )] can be finite in the absence of magnetic field. As shown in the three left panels, they link to four vectors, which are charge density current (J), electric field (E), thermal gradient (T), and heat density current (JQ). (A) Hall resistivity (zx). (B) Hall conductivity (zx) extracted from zx, xx, and zz. (C) Nernst signal (Szx). (D) Transverse thermoelectric conductivity (zx) extracted from Szx, Sxx, xx, zz, and zx. (E) Thermal Hall resistivity (Wzx). (F) Thermal Hall conductivity or the Righi-Leduc coefficient (zx) extracted from off-diagonal and diagonal thermal resistivities. Credit: Science Advances, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz3522 According to the Wiedemann-Franz (WF) law, the electrical conductivity of a metal is linked to its thermal counterpart, provided that the heat carried by the phonons is negligible and the electrons do not suffer inelastic scattering. In a type II Weyl semimetal also known as a fourth fermion, the thermal dependence of the ratio between electrical and thermal conductivity highlights deviations from the Wiedemann-Franz law. Physicists have tested the WF law in numerous solids but intend to understand the extent of its relevance during anomalous transverse transport and investigate the topological nature of the wave function. In a new report, Liangcai Xu and an international research team in condensed matter physics in China, France, Israel and Germany, presented a study of the anomalous transverse response in a noncollinear antiferromagnetic Weyl semimetal, Mn 3 Ge. They varied the experimental conditions from room temperature down to sub-Kelvin temperature and observed finite-temperature violation of the WF correlation. They credited the outcome to a mismatch between the thermal and electrical summations of the Berry curvature (a geometric phase acquired within the course of a cycle) and not due to inelastic scattering. The team backed their interpretation with theoretical calculations to reveal a competition between the temperature and Berry curvature distribution. The work is now published on Science Advances. The Berry curvature of electrons can result in the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) if the host solid lacks time-reversal symmetry (conservation of entropy). While the thermoelectric and thermal counterparts of the anomalous Hall effect are explored less frequently, they too arise from the same fictitious magnetic fields. It remains to be determined how the magnitudes of such anomalous off-diagonal coefficients correlate with each other and if the established correlations between ordinary transport coefficients continue to hold. It is currently laborious to form a semiclassical formula of the anomalous Hall effect (AHE), thereby making any intuitive picture of producing a transverse electric field even more challenging. In this work, the research team presented a study of a magnetic solid, focused on the relation between anomalous electrical and thermal Hall conductivities. Xu et al. determined the variables across a wide temperature range, to include the anomalous Lorenz ratio (LA ij ) and the Sommerfeld value (L 0 ), which remained close to each other, however a deviation started above 100 K. The team claimed that the observation implied a hitherto unobserved mechanism for finite-temperature violation of the WF law. As a result, they supported experimental observations in the study with theoretical calculations to identify the Berry curvature of the Weyl semimetal family (Mn 3 Ge and Mn 3 Sn). Antiferromagnetic, dirty, and correlated. (A) A sketch of the magnetic texture of Mn3Ge, showing the orientation of spins of Mn atoms. Red and blue represent two adjacent planes. (B) Temperature dependence of the magnetization with Neel temperature visible at 370 K. emu, electromagnetic unit. (C) Temperature dependence of resistivity along two orientations. (D) The Seebeck coefficient, S, as a function of temperature. (E) Low-temperature specific heat, C/T, as a function of T2. Extrapolation to T = 0 yields = 24.3 mJ mol1 K2. (F) Plot of the absolute value of S/T versus for a number of correlated metals including Mn3X and MnSi. Credit: Science Advances, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz3522 Based on theoretical propositions, the team observed a large anomalous Hall effect in Mn 3 X (where X equalled Sn and Ge) family of noncollinear antiferromagnets below a Neel temperature i.e. reflecting the nonlinearity of superparamagnetic materials in low-fields. The results provided a distinct profile on Hall resistivity and a straightforward method to extract the anomalous conductivity with the newcomers (Mn 3 Ge and Mn 3 Sn) in the emerging field of antiferromagnetic spintronics. The scientists even followed the fate of the signals in Mn 3 Ge down to sub-Kelvin temperatures in the study to understand the phenomenon. Anomalous transverse WF law. Temperature dependence of the anomalous Hall conductivity Azx (A), the anomalous thermal Hall conductivity divided by temperature Azx/T (B), and (C) the anomalous Lorenz ratio Azx/AzxT. Different symbols are used for data obtained with two different setups: resistive thermometers (diamonds) and thermocouples (circles). Star symbols refer to a third set of data obtained on another sample measured down to sub-kelvin temperatures. The horizontal solid line marks L0 = 2.44 108 V2 K2. The deviation between L and L0 starts at T > 100 K and is concomitant with the decrease in Azx. (D) Temperature dependence of the anomalous Lorenz ratio in Mn3Ge and in Mn3Sn. Mn3Ge #3 shows an upturn at high temperature. The Hall data can be found in the Supplementary Materials. (E) Comparison of their in-plane resistivity. The large deviation from the WF law in Mn3Ge occurs despite the fact that the temperature dependence of its resistivity is even more modest than that in Mn3Sn. Credit: Science Advances, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz3522 They measured the Hall resistivity, Nernst signal (thermoelectric or thermomagnetic phenomenon observed in a sample conducting electricitysubject to a magnetic field) and thermal Hall resistivity to extract electric/thermoelectric and thermal Hall conductivities. They observed basic properties of the system, including the spin texture, magnetization and the electrical resistivity to show little variation with temperature. Xu et al. detailed the anomalous transverse WF law as the main finding of the study. For instance, below 100 K, the anomalous Lorenz ratio was flat with a magnitude slightly larger than the Sommerfeld value. Above 100 K, the anomalous Lorenz ratio in Mn 3 Ge and Mn 3 Sn behaved very differently but their resistivity only showed a slight change with temperature, in contrast to elemental ferromagnets. Anomalous Nernst and Ettingshausen effects and the Bridgman relation. (A) The transverse electric field created by a finite longitudinal temperature gradient as a function of magnetic field (the Nernst effect). (B) The transverse thermal gradient produced by a finite longitudinal charge current (the Ettingshausen effect) at the same temperature. Insets show experimental configurations. (C) The temperature dependence of the anomalous Nernst (SAzx) and anomalous Ettingshausen (Azx) coefficients. Azx and SAzxT/xx remain equal as expected by the Bridgman relation. (D and E) Temperature dependence of Azx and Azx extracted from the Hall signal and Nernst signal SAzx. (F) The evolution of the ratio of Azx/Azx with temperature. Credit: Science Advances, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz3522 Since several previous propositions on the violation of WF law were later refuted, the new data had to be validated by independent criteria. The scientists supported the validity of their work by verifying the Kelvin relation (for normal transport coefficients) and the Bridgman relation (for anomalous transverse coefficients). Based on the thermodynamics of irreversible processes, the relations had to remain valid regardless of microscopic details. Xu et al. therefore incorporated the same data (electric field and thermal gradient) for thermal and thermoelectric studies and the resulting validity of Kelvin and Bridgman relations in the work guaranteed the validity of the collected thermal data as further experimental confirmation. Contrasting the theoretical Berry spectrum in Mn3Ge and in Mn3Sn. The theoretical zero-temperature Berry curvature zx() (A and B) and the anomalous Lorenz ratio LAzx (C and D). The charge neutral point is set to zero. The green, red, and blue lines represent = 0, 140, and 180 meV, respectively. The dashed horizontal black lines represent L0 in (C) and (D). In the band structure (E and F), the color indicates the Berry curvature value. The blue arrows point out two Weyl points between the lowest and second-lowest conduction bands. Credit: Science Advances, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz3522 The WF law can also cease to be valid in the presence of inelastic scattering, since small-angle inelastic collision can decay the momentum flow. When the team examined the case of Mn 3 X metals relative to the WF law they concluded the dominant scattering mechanisms in both Mn 3 Sn and Mn 3 Ge to be based on scattering off antisite defects (crystallographic defects). There was little room for inelastic scattering in the study, highlighting the requirement for an alternative route toward the observed violation of the WF law. The resulting theory qualitatively showed the different Berry spectrum in Mn 3 Sn and Mn 3 Ge, which lead to different behaviors at finite temperature for the two compounds; thereby meeting the alternative route requirement and further validating the outcome of the study. In this way, Liangcai Xu and colleagues measured counterparts of the anomalous Hall effect associated with the flow of entropy. They found WF law linking the thermal and electrical Hall effects to be valid at zero temperature, although a finite deviation emerged above 100 K. The dominant scattering effect in the study was elastic and they proposed the deviation to result from a mismatch in thermal and electrical summations of the Berry curvature alongside theoretical calculations, which additionally supported the work. Explore further Topological semimetals can generate sizable transverse thermoelectric figure of merit 2020 Science X Network Patton Oswalt is returning to Netflix this month with a brand-new stand-up special, and we have the first trailer right here. Announced last month, I Love Everything was taped at the Knight Theater in Charlotte, North Carolina. It features plenty of material about Oswalt embracing his 50s, including attending his daughters second-grade art show that cost him the chance to board a full-scale Millennium Falcon or how buying a house is like hiring a suicide squad of superhuman subcontractors. In the trailer which is, we are happy to report, one joke Oswalt reflects on the very strange but talented man he hired to put wallpaper in his new home. Apparently the secret to becoming incredibly skilled at wallpaper installation is to invent an imaginary friend you can yell at all day while youre working. Oswalts I Love Everything premieres on Netflix on Tuesday, May 19. Its his third special for Netflix following 2017s Annihilation. In addition to the new special, the release will also include a bonus post-credits special presented by Oswalt titled Bob Rubin: Oddities and Rarities, so youre actually getting two specials for the price of one. Thank you, Patton, for the bargain. WASHINGTON, May 6 (Reuters) - A Republican Party donor was named on Wednesday to lead the U.S. Postal Service, which President Donald Trump has criticized for not charging companies like Amazon.com more for package delivery. The Postal Service's Board of Governors announced it had chosen North Carolina businessman Louis DeJoy to be the U.S. postmaster general, as the agency grapples with severe financial stress due in part to the coronavirus pandemic. "Louis DeJoy understands the critical public service role of the United States Postal Service, and the urgent need to strengthen it for future generations," Robert Duncan, chairman of the board of governors, said in a statement. DeJoy replaces Megan Brennan, who announced in October that she planned to retire. Last year, DeJoy was chosen to lead the fundraising efforts for the Republican National Convention, which will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, in late August. The Postal Service, which employs more than 600,000 people, has said that it may not be able to continue service past September without help. The U.S. Congress authorized the Treasury Department to lend it up to $10 billion as part of a $2.3 trillion coronavirus stimulus package but that funding is in question. Trump has threatened to block federal aid for the Postal Service unless it raised rates it charges online shippers like Amazon.com. The president has long accused the post office of charging too little for packages. Amazon founder and Chief Executive Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post newspaper, which Trump has accused of unfair coverage of his administration. The Package Coalition, whose members include Amazon, eBay Inc and others, has said that raising prices to deliver packages would mean Americans would pay higher prices. (Reporting by Eric Beech. Editing by Gerry Doyle) As COVID-19 restrictions are easing up throughout Wyoming, the Sweetwater County commissioners have started debating when they should open up the courthouse and other county buildings to public visitation. Commissioner Randy Wendling asked the other commissioners about the possibility of reopening the courthouse. He said hes looked at what other areas in Wyoming are doing and has seen everything from wide-reaching reopening orders to staggered openings. He also said hes concerned about the possibility of a visitor with the COVID-19 virus infecting an entire office, causing employees t... Cities for a Resilient Recovery (C2R) is a participatory and collaborative platform for resilient recovery planning from the COVID-19 pandemic NEW YORK, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Global urban communities are experiencing the dramatic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic; 95% of infected people live in cities. Urban citizens and in particular the poor are deeply affected by both the effects of containment measures and the further exacerbation of chronic stresses, like access to water and sanitation services, adequate jobs and safe and healthy food. "While cities are working to respond to this pandemic, we are seeing an overwhelming demand from cities to work together on a resilient recovery - and to fix the broken systems that exacerbated the impacts of the virus on our vulnerable communities. The members of the Global Resilient Cities Network trust one another's knowledge and experience and we are committed to making this available to address the complex challenges of COVID-19, the resilience challenge of our generation." said Lauren Sorkin, Acting Executive Director of GRCN. Responding to the imperative to mobilize collective action for a better "day after" COVID-19, on May 7th Chief Resilience Officers from the Global Resilient Cities Network are launching a global Coalition to support cities to strengthen the resilience of their city systems and leave no one behind as they stand on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic. "The principle of a resilient recovery is simple: as we rebuild from the current crisis, we must also prepare for future shocks. Both COVID-19 and climate change are massive challenges that require transformative solutions on a global scale. This network will provide an invaluable forum for cities around the world to grow stronger together through sustained partnership and collaboration," said Jainey Bavishi, Director of the NYC Mayor's Office of Resiliency. The "Cities for a Resilient Recovery" (C2R) initiative offers a participatory platform to all interested cities, including the 98 member cities of the GRCN and other urban centers that are willing to engage in short- and long-term planning for a sustained resilient recovery. "As city practitioners, we have been working together for over six years, sharing knowledge and experiences to build coalitions to protect vulnerable communities, enabling us to turn challenges and crises into opportunities. We look forward to building on this work and our collaborations across businesses, governments, civil society, and academia. We will be sharing both more deeply within the network as well as broadening efforts beyond our network." said Toby Kent, Chief Resilience Officer, Melbourne. Through GRCN, C2R will align partners like World Bank, the Rockefeller Foundation, and The University of Manchester, existing programs and resources to support cities to achieve the aims of their initiatives, and to prioritize actions and investments with the highest resilience value. By offering accessible and relevant data, and planning tools and expertise, it will enable urban resilience leaders and innovators to seize this opportunity to strengthen city systems and improve the lives of millions for years to come. "This pandemic has highlighted the importance of collaboration to address systemic vulnerabilities at a city level. This inclusive initiative will enable access to knowledge and information, to act today and build a better future for urban global communities." said Grainia Long, Commissioner for Resilience of the city of Belfast. As city leaders around the world are already talking about building a resilient future, we invite them to join the Coalition to work together in the resilience challenge of our time. To learn more and join the Coalition visit: www.resilientcitiesnetwork.org/recovery About the Global Resilient Cities Network The Global Resilient Cities Network (GRCN) is the city-led organization that is driving urban resilience action to protect vulnerable communities from climate change and other physical, social and economic urban adversities and challenges. With support from The Rockefeller Foundation and other funding strategic partners, the Network aims to continue supporting cities and their Chief Resilience Officers in future-proofing their communities and critical infrastructure with a unique reach, strength and legacy to understand and support the challenges of the ever-growing urban society. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1088095/GRCN_Logo.jpg After allowing FPOs to directly procure from farmers, Uttar Pradesh has announced another set of reforms to its Mandi Act. The state joins the long list of domains that have used the Covid-19 crisis to make changes in their APMC rules in order to facilitate direct procurement from farmers. The UP government yesterday decided to abolish certain provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Krishi Utpadan Mandi Act through an ordinance that will allow farmers to sell 46 fruits and vegetables directly without bringing them to the mandis. But if they do bring these items to the mandis, only a ... A teenage boy from Newman has been charged with the murder of a young mother who was found dumped in a wheelie bin in the remote Pilbara town on Wednesday. The woman, an 18-year-old mother-of-two, was found unresponsive by her family in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The young woman was found at Newman Hospital in a wheelie bin. Credit:Marta Pascual Juanola Nine News Perth's Jerrie Demasi reported the family put her body in a wheelie bin and pushed it to Newman Hospital, located just 50 metres away. Emergency staff immediately called police and the woman was pronounced dead shortly after. A grandmother slowly descended into madness until she was found decomposing on her floor months after paramedics failed to take her to hospital. Kim Leonie Maree Szemes, 60, was last seen alive on May 28, 2018, when police were called to her unit in Hobart, Tasmania, and found her 'incoherent'. Officers called an ambulance and left assuming she would be taken to hospital, but paramedics left her in bed for reasons a coroner found 'difficult to understand'. Ms Szemes was next discovered on October 8 when her son Paul Szemes broke in and found her badly decomposed body on the floor. 'It was clear to me she had died quite some time ago. Her eyes had gone and she looked very stiff,' he told coronial investigation. Mr Szemes told Daily Mail Australia said he was involved in legal proceedings related to his mother's death and therefore couldn't speak at length. 'I'm upset as to what's happened and the process... something needs to be done with the medical system and mental health issues,' he said. Kim Leonie Maree Szemes, 60, slowly descended into madness until she was found decomposing on her floor (room pictured six months later when the unit was being sold) months after paramedics failed to take her to hospital The father-of-four described to the coroner how his mother declined from a highly social member of his school community to being isolated and paranoid. 'Later in my teens my mother stopped having friendships really, I don't remember her being very social at this point,' he said in his statement. Mr Szemes said his mother started saying she was 'seeing things' like ghosts, but it was not until soon before he moved out aged 18 that he noticed a big change in her mental state. 'She started saying more often that she was seeing things and seemed too often to have conspiracy theories occupying her thoughts,' he said. Ms Szemes and her husband Steven broke up about 2000 or 2001 and her son Daniel, who is autistic, stayed in the family home with her as his carer. Her mental state continued to decline and Mr Szemes moved to Melbourne in 2007 with his wife Therese, with whom he has three sons and a daughter. 'I can remember visiting my mother on a number of occasions and it was clear there were some things wrong with her,' he said. He said she was more 'consumed' with conspiracy theories including against medicine and the government being involved in her life, When her car was stolen she claimed aliens were responsible. Mr Szemes said her distrust for modern medicine led her to research alternative treatments and self-medicate and she stopped seeing her doctor. During a visit in 2009, Mr Szemes decided his mother needed proper mental health attention, but she refused to go to hospital. Police and paramedics were called to force her into an ambulance and she was given medications by a hospital psychiatrist that seemed to make her 'calmer'. Ms Szemes lived at this unit in Hobart by herself for four years before she was found dead However, this was short lived as Mr Szemes believed she resented him for making her go to the hospital. 'She stopped taking any medications they gave her as soon as she was released because she didn't think there was anything wrong with her,' he said. Mr Szemes said he tried to get his mother to move to Melbourne and live with his family, but she refused. 'She would say that she couldn't leave her friends, hotel, and business behind - all of which she no longer had,' he said. Mr Szemes said when he visited in 2011 he found that his mother and brother were living without electricity in the unit. 'I think she stopped paying the bill and [the power company] had cut it off,' he said. 'I think she believed it was part of a conspiracy and was even happy that it had been cut off so that no one was watching her.' Mr Szemes said she refused to let him get the power back on and he could no longwr contact her as the phone didn't work. He visited again in 2014 and saw they were still living without power, using an ice box and solar and battery-powered lights. He convinced Daniel to move to Melbourne with him when he saw his brother developing similar behaviours to her. Ms Szemes' mental health declined to the point where she was afraid to let anyone, even the police or family inside her unit. This happened even when Mr Szemes came to show her his newborn son in 2015. 'I stood at the door knocking and yelling for her to let us in but she wouldn't,' he recalled. In April 2018, Mr Szemes brought his family to visit though she 'clearly wasn't right mentally and talked a lot of rubbish' she was good with his children. However, there were days when she would accuse her son of being an 'undercover cop or an imposter'. That October he returned for a friend's 40th birthday and on October 5 tried to visit his mother but she did not answer the door. 'I figured she might have gone to the shops as I knew she often did that,' he said. Ms Szemes' mental health declined to the point where she was afraid to let anyone, even the police or family inside her unit (pictured in 2019 when it was being sold) Mr Szemes came back the next morning and again but again had no answer, and left assuming she was ignoring him. On October 8 he came back and after yelling and knocking on all the doors and windows without success. A neighbour said he had not seen Ms Szemes in months and assumed she had died. Now worried, Mr Szemes borrowed a screwdriver and unscrewed a window to the study and the back of the house next to her bedroom, where made the grim discovery. 'I could see she was lying on the floor between the door and the bed with her feet facing the bed. She was lying on her back,' he said. 'It was clear to me she had died quite some time ago. Her eyes had gone and she looked very stiff.' While he waiting for an ambulance to arrive he looked around the house and found the toilet had not been flushed for a long time, and that his mother had become a hoarder. 'There were heaps of brand new handbags and cosmetics throughout the house which hadn't been used,' he said. 'She had hidden all her keys in the cupboard under a random pile of clothes and I am aware that police found her wallet hidden between her mattresses.' Mr Szemes said he felt his mother became too paranoid to accept help from anyone, and 'believed everyone was out to get her'. He said she was too combative for him to get her the help she needed and in later years she seemed to be living how she wanted. 'I figured it was best to leave her living how she wanted as I didn't want to make things worse for her or our relationship,' he said. Coroner Simon Cooper wrote in his finding that neighbours called police on May 28 having not seen the mother-of-two in several weeks. An ambulance was called and police left the house under the impression she would be taken to hospital - but she wasn't Officers found Mrs Szemes underneath several blankets in bed wearing a beanie, noting she was incoherent and struggling to speak. An ambulance was called and police left the house under the impression she would be taken to hospital. 'However, the attending paramedics did not take Mrs Szemes to hospital,' Mr Cooper wrote. 'Instead, because she asked them to leave, they left her in bed.' Ambulance Tasmania case records note Mrs Szemes was difficult to understand, had minimal fluid intake, refused to move and was showing bizarre and irrational behaviour. Ms Szemes was also unable to tell them how or when she washed, gave 'bizarre' and 'inappropriate responses', and her facial expression were 'flat and non-responsive'. Her unit had no power, hot water, or lighting and she was huddled under multiple blankets to keep warm in the freezing house. Mr Cooper wrote there was nothing in ambulance records to indicate attending paramedics considered whether Mrs Szemes had the capacity to make an informed decision to refuse treatment. He wrote it was 'difficult to understand' why paramedics left, considering what was described in the case notes. Mrs Szemes was not seen alive after paramedics left at 6.16pm. Mr Cooper wrote there was no evidence of violence, assault or that Mrs Szemes' death was due to suicide. She had been admitted several times to the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit at the Royal Hobart Hospital since 2009. The City of Midland Health Department is currently conducting their investigation on six new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Midland County, bringing the overall case count to 100. The 95th confirmed case is a male in his 70s who was tested by Midland Health. The male is a resident at Midland Medical Lodge and is currently an inpatient at Midland Memorial Hospital. The source of exposure is contact to known case. The 96th confirmed case is a female in her 50s who was tested by a private provider. The female is currently self-isolating at home. The source of exposure is community acquired. The 97th confirmed case is a female in her 40s who was tested by a private provider. The female is currently self-isolating at home. The source of exposure is contact to known case. The 98th confirmed case is a female in her 20s who was tested by the State. The female is an employee at Midland Medical Lodge and her last day at work was May 3, 2020. The female is currently self-isolating at home. The source of exposure is contact to known case. The 99th confirmed case is a male in his 60s who was tested by Midland Health. The male is currently an inpatient at Midland Health. The source of exposure is travel outside of the United States. The 100th confirmed case is a female adolescent (10-19) who was tested by Midland Health. The female is currently self-isolating at home. The source of exposure is contact to known case. The City of Midland Health Department will continue to monitor the individuals in accordance with the CDC. Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said he has requested Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to expedite processing of tax refunds to businesses "anyhow" within eight days to ease the liquidity crunch being faced by MSMEs during the lockdown. The minister said he was constantly in touch with the Prime Minister and Finance Minister and there was "serious consideration" underway in the government regarding unveiling of another financial package soon. "GST and Income Tax refunds are not released for several days. I have also recommended that anyhow, this should be processed within eight days so that it contributes to liquidity. We have...communicated this to the Finance Minister," said Gadkari. Addressing a webinar organised by the Indore Management Association, the minister for MSME and Road Transport and Highways said industries should keep a positive outlook and tap the opportunities that may arise after the COVID-19 pandemic is over. He called upon the industry to ensure that necessary measures are taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Organisations should ensure that their workers and executives are taken care of by providing food, shelter and maintaining social distancing norms, he added. Gadkari stated that all the stakeholders must adopt an integrated approach to come over the crisis while safeguarding the lives and livelihood of the people. The minister emphasized that special focus towards export enhancement is the need of the hour. He highlighted the need to focus on import substitution to replace imports with domestic production. Gadkari further said Japan has offered a special package to its industries for taking out Japanese investments from China and moving elsewhere. He opined that the current scenario is an opportunity for India which should be grabbed. Some of the major issues highlighted by industry participants included increasing provision of 10 per cent of working capital limit as additional funds to 30 per cent, benefit for labourers infected by COVID-19, relaxation in labour laws, deferring GST and advance tax, among others. Gadkari assured the representatives of all possible help from the government. The minister said he would take up the issues with related departments. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) SHELTON The citys Inland Wetlands Commission appears to be leaning toward denying the controversial Towne Center at Shelter Ridge proposal because, they say, the application is incomplete. The commission, during its meeting Thursday in the City Hall auditorium and streamed live on the citys YouTube page, made no decision, but members agreed they would meet with city corporation counsel Fran Teodosio to discuss creation of a draft resolution denying the application. That meeting will be live streamed on the citys website at 10 a.m. May 14. This project we are talking about impacts two waterways, said commission alternate Joseph Reilly III. I think the plans are insufficient. I want to deny it. Commission Chair Gary Zahornasky said he was uncomfortable approving the application, which calls for a development with 450 housing units in a nine-story apartment building, more than 300,000 square feet of retail space and more than 3,000 parking spaces along 121 acres at the intersection of Mill Street and Bridgeport Avenue. I think we are in agreement that there is insufficient information, said commissioner Ken Nappi. The applicant is saying one thing, the intervener is saying another, and our consultant is saying he doesnt know. We cant make a decision with what we feel is insufficient information. Zahornasky said the commission has three options approval with conditions; deny with specific details on the adverse impacts that led to the decision; and deny due to insufficient information, which would not, according to the chair, preclude the developer from resubmitting a new application. Our responsibility is to protect the waterways, but our responsibility is also to protect the residents that live in the area, said Nappi. Zahornasky said the plans now before the commission are the same ones submitted in 1997. None of the changes the developer agreed to or suggestions from the city or critics were included on the plans in hand at the time that the public hearing closed, he added. The public hearing, officially closed in March, had been open for more than a year, a point of contention by project opponent Save Our Shelton. Steve Trinkaus, a civil engineer advising the grassroots group, told the commission during its Feb. 6 public hearing that, under state statute, the hearing should have closed in May 2018 and a final ruling should have been made by July 2018. Teodosio disagreed, saying the commission, with permission of the applicant, can keep the public hearing open as long as necessary. Greg Tetro of Save Our Shelton stated the application has failed under many factors in studies done by Trinkaus, the city engineer and LandTech, a firm hired by the city to perform an independent peer review of submitted evidence and that while all engineers involved including those representing Towne Center at Shelter Ridge are qualified, three are opposed to the project and only one in favor. The Planned Development District for the site was approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission in 2017 by a 4-2 vote, with commissioners Jimmy Tickey and Anthony Pogoda Jr. opposed. The P&Z decision was appealed, and that appeal has since been denied. brian.gioiele@hearstmediact.com NYPD officers have been accused of discrimination, after apparently heavily enforcing social distancing rules in parks in the New York's poorer Bronx area, while crowds gathered unchallenged in the wealthier Manhattan borough. Officers were seen enforcing coronavirus restrictions during this weekend's warmer weather but appeared to take a less aggressive approach in Manhattan. Blogger Ed Garcia Conde couldn't help notice the difference after posting an image of cops in a van patrolling St. Mary's Park in the South Bronx on Saturday, making sure people were social distancing as required. He pointed out that the enforcement worked in keeping the normally crowded park more on the empty side, despite the warm weather. But Conde contrasted the scene with the crowds seen in Christopher St. pier in Manhattan's West Village the same day. Blogger Ed Garcia Conde wrote that he spotted a van patrolling St. Mary's Park in the South Bronx on Saturday, but that enforcement was less aggressive in other more affluent parts of the city. Pictured are cops on patrol as they drive through the park Conde noted in his blog that the pier on Christopher Street in Manhattan's more affluent West Village was allowed to get crowded with sunbathers and that there were no cops in sight Photos from the pier, taken by Conde, showed it was packed with sunbathers close to each other. Scenes taken the next day show a similar crowd and an officer calmly passing out face masks, reports Yahoo News. 'I guess in the police force's eyes, people of color need to be policed,' Conde said in an interview with Yahoo News. 'We need to be told what to do.' The blogger's observations reveal the stark contrast in enforcement between New Yorkers in relatively affluent, predominantly white communities in the city and neighborhoods in the Bronx that are predominantly Latino and black. 'To me it was very disturbing,' Conde said. 'It's glaring. Just the audacity, the privilege that these people were exhibiting on the pier when almost 20,000 people have died in New York City from this alone. We are the epicenter. But then it doesn't surprise me because, you know, between Manhattan and the Bronx, we know this is a tale of two cities.' Daily Mail photos show police still patrolling at the relatively empty St. Mary's Park in the South Bronx on Thursday. Police were still seen patrolling at the relatively empty St. Mary's Park in the South Bronx on Thursday, in these Daily Mail photos The Bronx park was deserted despite the hot weather, in contrast to parks in Manhattan The pictures seem to show the stark contrast in enforcement between relatively affluent communities in the city and neighborhoods in the Bronx Two officers are pictured along the Hudson River near the Christopher Street Pier on Sunday Two officers walk the pier this weekend as sunbathers are seen crowded together So far, New York has had 174,798 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 14,162 deaths and 5,3787 probable deaths. New York State has had 327,469 confirmed cases of the deadly virus, with a reported 20,828 deaths. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio promised 'aggressive' enforcement after hundreds of members of New York's Orthodox Jewish community were discovered breaking social distancing rules during a funeral in Brooklyn last week. The NYPD released a statement when asked about the policing in different areas, saying: 'We are absolutely committed to being as transparent as possible. [We] would anticipate releasing quite a bit of information detailed down to the precinct level, possibly even [down to] different parks.' People are seen gathered on the grass of the Sheep Meadow in Central Park this weekend after Mayor Bill de Blasio promised aggressive enforcement of coronavirus restrictions A campaign to distribute 7.5 million face masks to New Yorkers began Saturday and is expected to continue for weeks. But almost by the middle of this week, certain communities in the city still appeared to have been left out, including south Brooklyn, the East Bronx and Queens, Yahoo News reports. The communities include some of the hardest hit in the city by the coronavirus pandemic, drawing criticism from Brooklyn lawmakers. 'This glaring omission leaves out more than a million southern Brooklynites including many essential workers, senior citizens, non-English speakers, individuals with high-health risks and NYCHA [New York City Housing Authority] residents without access to a protective face covering,' wrote Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Democrat representing parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn, as well as Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and with 15 other elected officials. 'As long as the city will require everyone to wear a face covering as part of social distancing protocols, then the city must ensure that it makes every possible effort to provide access to face coverings for all New Yorkers, not just a select few.' A mounted officer speaks with a group of children, not all wearing masks, and gathered tightly together at Brooklyn's Domino Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. An image at Domino Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, this weekend shows New Yorkers sprawled out on the grass and no police in sight Another image of Brooklyn's Domino Park this weekend shows visitors gathered in small groups and were spaced apart Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said he wants to know where masks have been distributed by ZIP code and demographics after he failed to see them in his community. 'At this point I believe they're purposely not putting out information because it's going to show what all of us know: Primary enforcement has been in black and brown communities, even though we see pictures and videos of people in all communities not adhering to social distancing,' Williams said. 'We shouldn't have one policing style for one community and another for a different [one].' Officers from the 112th Precinct are pictured wearing masks in Queens' Astoria Park Yasmin Boland What the current Full Moon means for you If youre one of the lucky ones, this is the Full Moon when you see yourself for who you REALLY are and therefore see your good points as well as your flaws and you decide to do something about your flaws. This is all about the [] Cedarville U. puts president on leave after hiring prof. accused of sexual misconduct, launches probe Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Cedarville University has put its president on leave and plans to investigate his hiring and the actions of a former faculty member dismissed over sexual misconduct allegations. The Ohio-based independent Baptist schools board of trustees put President Thomas White on administrative leave last Friday in response to Whites hiring and firing of theology professor Anthony Moore. In a statement released last Friday, the trustees said that they were going to have an independent firm investigate the matter to ensure nothing inappropriate involving Dr. Moore took place on our campus or with any of our students elsewhere. This firm will report to the board, and the board will then report the findings to the Cedarville University community at-large, they stated. We are retaining an independent firm to conduct an audit of the entire process surrounding the hiring of Dr. Moore. This will include a thorough review of all relevant communication involving Dr. White and Dr. Moore, the trustees, The Village Church, employment references, etc. The trustees appointed retired Lt. Gen. Loren Reno, who was already working at the office of the president at Cedarville as a senior adviser to serve as acting president. Dr. White has pledged his full support of both internal reviews being conducted and will make himself available to respond to either inquiry as requested, continued the board. As our Cedarville University community processes this situation, we pray we would do so with humility, grace, mercy, integrity, civility, and respect. Above all, we pray God would be honored by our deliberations and actions. Last month, White fired Moore after revelations surfaced that Moore had engaged in a pattern of abuse, which included while served as a pastor at The Village Church in Fort Worth, Texas. Moore had previously been dismissed by Village Church in January 2017 when it was discovered that he had secretly videotaped a male youth pastor showering in Moores home. Cedarville hired Moore months later. Julie Roys, an investigative journalist, reported an interview with White in April wherein the Cedarville president said that he was unaware of the extent of Moores abusive behavior. My understanding of what happened was it was not a habitual issue, White told Roys. It was a struggle that arose from previous abuse and curiosity and then it was repented for. White added that once he spoke with the victim of Moore, he opted to fire the professor, saying that we took the action we needed to take. In a video released last month, White apologized for hiring Moore and expressed his support for an investigation into whether Moore engaged in similar behavior on campus. I did not know all the information at first. When we learned the new information, we took the action needed. Dr. Moore violated our agreement, stated White at the time. Even though no incidents were reported by students, Im recommending to the board of trustees that we hire an outside, independent agency to confirm that nothing inappropriate occurred on our campus, with that report to go directly back to the board of trustees. A Queensland father and son who allegedly waltzed off with $320,000 fleeced from line dancers as part of a holiday scam have finally been arrested. Police had been looking for Brett Jenkins, 38, and Bruce Jenkins, 67, since April last year in relation to a series of fraud complaints relating to line dancing events. They alleged the pair used their trust built up in the line-dancing community over 15 years to arrange overseas and domestic trips and cruises through the company Brett Jenkins Line Dancing. The trips were then allegedly cancelled and no money was refunded. Brett Jenkins (pictured) and his father were finally arrested following a public tip-off Police allege the pair used the stolen proceeds for online gambling. Police initially received 75 alleged complaints for a fraud value of $144,000 from members of the public across Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast. Several alleged victims appeared on A Current Affair last March to appeal for their money back. Bruce Jenkins (left) and his son Brett (right) are accused of an elaborate line-dancing scam An additional 127 complaints with a fraud value of $178,000 were received after a police appeal for information last April. The two men were finally arrested at a Kings Beach unit on the Sunshine Coast Wednesday following a tip-off from member of the public who called Crime Stoppers to report a suspected sighting. Police said many of the alleged victims lost their entire life savings in the scam. Police allege Brett Jenkins (pictured) and his father used their trust built up in the line-dancing community over 15 years to arrange trips and cruises, which were cancelled and not repaid Brett Jenkins (pictured) and his father are now behind bars Both men were each charged with 202 fraud offences and didn't appear when the case was heard in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Thursday. No application for bail was made and they were both remanded in custody to face Brisbane Magistrates Court on May 28. Italian researchers claim to have developed a vaccine that can neutralise the coronavirus in human cells. Tests carried out at Romes Lazzaro Spallanzani Hospital, which specialises in infectious diseases, generated antibodies in mice that work in human cells. "This is the most advanced stage of testing of a candidate vaccine created in Italy," said Luigi Aurisicchio, chief executive of Takis, the company working on the treatment. "According to Spallanzani Hospital, as far as we know we are the first in the world so far to have demonstrated a neutralisation of the coronavirus by a vaccine," he told the Italian news agency Ansa. "We expect this to happen in humans too. Human tests are expected after this summer," The Independent cited Aurisicchio as saying. After a single vaccination, the mice developed antibodies capable of blocking the virus from infecting human cells, Mr Aurisicchio claimed. He said researchers observed that five candidate vaccines generated a large number of antibodies and they then selected the two with the best results. The candidate vaccines were based on the genetic material of the spike DNA protein that the coronavirus uses to enter human cells. The next tests to be conducted will aim to determine how long the immune response lasts. By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Telangana IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao asked the Centre to expedite Income Tax and GST refunds for pharmaceutical companies as they were experiencing financial burden due to the lockdown. He also said that the pharma industry should reduce its dependence on China for active pharmaceutical ingredients (API or raw material). In a letter to Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Sadananda Gowda, Rama Rao recommended a slew of measures that the Central Government can implement to provide relief to the industry. GoI should also consider extending a moratorium on tax payments for the next six months, at least for the MSME sector (sic), he said. He asked the Centre to release incentives of various schemes as soon as possible. Rama Raos concern and recommendations come in the wake of the pharma sector facing major supply chain and labour issues as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Also, more than 80 per cent of the sector consists of small and medium companies. He recommended reducing the GST on APIs to 12 per cent from the current 18 per cent, and requested that bulk drug exporters be allowed to utilise their GST credits. Government of India (GoI) should allow the exporters to use this accumulated unutilised GST credit towards payment of their GST liability on imports, he wrote. Pointing out that the cost of borrowing capital in India was high as compared to many countries such as Vietnam and Bangladesh, the TRS working president said, "The Centre should consider lowering the capital borrowing costs for the pharma industry to offset the after-effects of lockdown on the sector." He also stressed the need for the industry to reduce its dependence on China for APIs. "Despite being the third largest in the world by volume, the pharmaceutical industry in India is still reliant on imports of key starting materials. We welcome the GoIs initiative to set up three bulk drug manufacturing parks," he said. "...the cost of production in China compared to India is 30-40 per cent lower, and this can be attributed to multiple factors, including raw material procurement and infrastructure. If we have to increase our competitiveness, we need to build our parks at scale in an integrated fashion and hence, instead of multiple small parks, GoI should consider a mega project," he said, while requesting the government for its support for Hyderabads Pharma City. Apart from that, he asked Gowda to control the relaxation for essential and non-essential medicines, expedite port-level clearances to ease logistics issues, ensure ease of doing business, maintain pharmaceutical critical reserve inventory for both APIs and formulations, review policy structure and promote pharma exports. Sidewalk Labs CEO Dan Doctoroff speaks during a press conference where Alphabet announced it will develop an area of Toronto's waterfront on October 17, 2017. Alphabet-owned Sidewalk Labs withdrew its plans for a "smart district" in Toronto on Thursday due to continued economic uncertainty, the company confirmed Thursday. The project has been the focus of the Sidewalk Labs for the last few years, and would've been a demonstration of its vision to build "smart cities" around the world. In a blog post, Sidewalk Labs CEO Dan Doctoroff said the coronavirus pandemic's impact on the real estate market made it impossible to continue its project in Toronto. Doctoroff said that the work the company had done so far on the project will still "represent a meaningful contribution to the work of tackling big urban projects." The decision to pull out comes shortly before the May 20 deadline for Waterfront Toronto's board to decide whether the project can continue, The Star reported. Sidewalk Labs, which aimed to create high-tech urbanization, had faced steep criticism from privacy advocates and citizen groups since it was selected as the developer of the area. It later released a 1,500-page draft plan noting how it would reign back some of its involvement. The company said it's still working on a handful of projects, including internal work on factory-made mass timber construction, a digital master-planning tool and its approach to all-electric neighborhoods. It's also continuing work on addressing urban mobility, infrastructure and health care, it said. Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. India will be at the centre of a baby boom triggered by the Covid-19 outbreak, which has prompted lockdowns across the world and confined residents indoors, according to a report by the United Nations. The pandemic could strain health care capacities for mothers and newborns, the report by Unicef, released on Thursday, warned. An estimated 116 million babies will be born under the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic, Unicef said. This represents a spike for the period assessed. New mothers and newborns will be greeted by harsh realities. India, with 20.1 million births, tops the nations with the anticipated highest numbers of births in the nine months since the World Health Organisation (WHO) on March 11 declared the outbreak pandemic, the UN body said. India declared a three-week nationwide lockdown with effect from March 25 that has since been extended twice, until May 17. Following India will be countries such as China (13.5 million births), Nigeria (6.4 million), Pakistan (5 million) and Indonesia (4 million). According to estimates of the United Nations Population Fund, 141 million births were recorded worldwide last year, of which 27.2 were in India. Covid-19 containment measures can disrupt life-saving health services such as childbirth care, putting millions of pregnant mothers and their babies at great risk, Unicefs executive director, Henrietta Fore, said in the global report. Developing countries are especially at risk, she said. The UN body made projections for a 40-week period between March 11 and December 16, 2020, in its estimate based upon the WHOs March 11 assessment that Covid-19 can be characterised as a pandemic. India has made considerable progress in social indicators, but still lags many countries in indices such as maternal health, access to contraception and immunisation. While India is expected to become the most populous country by 2015, the countrys population is increasing at slower pace than before. The total fertility rate -- that is the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime -- for the country currently stands at 2.2 children for every woman; it was marginally higher, at 2.3, from 2013 to 2016. The governments population policy objectives are in alignment with national development goals. There is considerable campaign towards family planning and two-child norm, an official of Niti Aayog, the governments policy think tank, said on condition of anonymity. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), the prevalence rate of anaemia among Indian women has witnessed just a speck of minor improvement from 55% in 2005-06 to 53% in 2015-16. Unicef said most of the countries which will witness a baby boom (including India) had high neonatal mortality rates even before the pandemic and may see these levels increase with Covid-19 conditions. Thats very true. Family welfare has got a big knockdown. Access to birth-control measures during the lockdown has been scarce. There is a high possibility of unprotected sex among spouses. Adequate resources must be reserved for a birth boom, said Dr Sushil Sharma, a public health expert and chairman of the Arthritis Foundation of India. According to Purushottam M Kulkarni of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, data from the NHFS shows that between 2005-06 and 2015-16 (NFHS-4), there has been little improvement in access to contraception, indicating an unmet need for contraception. Unmet need for contraception is measured as the share of women who are fertile and want to postpone their next birth or stop childbearing altogether but dont have access to contraception. Even wealthier countries are affected by this crisis, the UN body said. In the US, the sixth highest country in terms of expected number of births, over 3.3 million babies are projected to be born between March 11 and December 16. In New York, authorities are looking into alternative birthing centres as many pregnant women are worried about giving birth in hospitals. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, an estimated 2.8 million pregnant women and newborns died every year, or 1 every 11 seconds, mostly of preventable causes, data from WHO show. The UN body called for allocating dedicated resources to lifesaving services and supplies for maternal and child health. Indias maternal mortality rate (MMR) declined from 130 per 100,000 live births in 2014-2016 to 122 in 2015-2018, according to the latest data available with the National Sample Registration System. We still do badly, despite improvements in several indicators... Better institutional health care for newborns and mothers are even more important now, said Abishek Jaiswal, a demographer with Allahabad University. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Chile's President Sebastian Pinera waded into controversy Wednesday when he appointed a relative of former dictator Augusto Pinochet as minister for women and equality. Human rights organizations slammed the appointment of Macarena Santelices, a grand-niece of Pinochet and a member of the right-wing UDI party that forms part of Pinera's coalition government. Santelices also came under fire on social media for being a defender of the 1973-90 dictatorship that left some 3,000 opponents dead. A former local TV journalist, she defended her record in her first speech as minister, denying she had ever "endorsed or justified" human rights violations. "Having a political tendency does not mean endorsing such grave events as the violation of human rights that should be condemned, not just today, but always." Opponents had pointed out a statement Santelices gave in a 2016 newspaper interview that quoted her as saying: "We cannot ignore the good things about the military regime." She also served as mayor of the city of Olmue, north of Santiago, from 2012-19. Her boldly anti-immigrant record as mayor was criticized Wednesday by rights groups. Chile's feminist movement also blasted the appointment as a "provocation," saying Santelices had no experience or training in women's rights issues. A nationwide curfew and social distancing measures against the coronavirus has calmed months of widespread social unrest in Chile and forced the postponement of a referendum to change the dictatorship-era constitution, a key demand of protesters. However, experts say underlying frustration over social inequality that initially sparked the unrest last October could explode again when the measures are lifted. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector is on the verge of collapse and urged major industries to release the outstanding dues to such companies within a month. He said the position of MSMEs was "worst" as they were now engaged in a "battle for their survival". The minister also noted that the pendency of dues owed to MSME units by the central government, state governments, public sector undertakings and major industries was "very high". "My request to all of you, as members of major industries, if it is possible for you to at any cost release the payment within a month. Don't take more time than that otherwise the situation is very bad," the MSME minister said in an interaction via video-conference with the members of SIAM Institute. "But still if anywhere you have a problem, please be positive about this sector, because this is really on the verge of collapse. Now it is a very important thing if you can help them, within a month if you can give their payment it will be good," Gadkari said. The minister said he was trying to introduce a scheme envisaging setting up of a "rolling fund" where the interest cost on the payments due to MSMEs shall be borne either by the supplier or the purchasing industry. Gadkari said the "rolling fund will be helpful for MSMEs to get their working capital". Last month, the minister had said the government will set up a Rs1 lakh crore fund to repay outstanding payments to MSMEs owed by the central and state government undertakings as well as major industries. Gadkari hadsaid he has devised a scheme to set up the fund, and the proposal may be placed before the Cabinet for approval once the finance ministry gives its go-ahead. "We have decided to set up a fund of Rs 1 lakh crore. We will insure this fund with the government paying the premium. We will come up with a formula for sharing of the interest burden between the paying entity and payment-receiving entity and banks against this fund, for the payments due to MSMEs which are stuck with the PSUs, centre and state governments and major industries, Gadkari had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Israel's Defense Minsiter, Naftali Bennett, has promised to continue attack Iranian positions in Syria, to force them to leave writes Asharq Al-Awsat. Israel will keep up its operations in Syria until Iran leaves, Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said Tuesday after strikes on Iran-backed fighters left 14 dead. Bennett, speaking to the state-owned Kan 11 television news channel, did not claim Israeli responsibility for the latest overnight strikes on Syria. But he said: Iran has nothing to do in Syria (and) we wont stop before they leave Syria. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes came minutes after Syrian air defenses intercepted Israeli air raids over the north of the country. A spokesman for the US-led coalition battling ISIS said it was not responsible for the raids in the desert near the eastern Syrian town of Mayadin. Bennett said Iran was trying to establish itself on the border with Israel to threaten Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa. They have to leave Syria, Bennett said. This is our life we are talking about, the life of our children, and if we allowed them to settle in Syria in a year we will wake up with 10,000 missiles, 20,000 missiles, that would put us in danger. For them its an adventure, they are 1,000 kilometers away its their Vietnam in a way, Bennett said. The Israeli defense minister said Iran should be more concerned with its own citizens and mounting domestic problems. They have enough problems at home with the coronavirus (and) the collapsing economy, he was quoted as saying by Agence France Presse. Iran on Tuesday announced that confirmed coronavirus infections had reached almost 100,000 while the overall death toll from COVID-19 topped 6,000. Iran is facing economic hardship that worsened after US President Donald Trump withdrew from a landmark nuclear clear and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran in 2018, targeting key oil and banking sectors. Bennett said Iran had become a burden for the Assad regime. It used to be an asset for the Syrians, it helped Assad deal with ISIS, but now its a burden, he said. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. The Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) implemented in 2010 was to regulate the payment of public service workers especially those under article 190 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. Ghana's Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP) was introduced as an attempt to establish and administer compensation for public service workers with comparable qualifications and experiences taking into account the different tasks they perform. (Ghana Business & Finance, 2011). Despite its implementation a decade ago, there are still challenges confronting the pay policy making it unfair to some public sector workers. A typical example is the Market Premium (MP). What then was the purpose of the Market Premium? As defined by James Chen (April 26, 2020), the Director of Trading and Investment content at Investopedia, a market premium is a difference between the expected return on a market portfolio and the risk-free rate. The purpose of the market premium was to ensure the health and education sector workers bridge the risk associated with their duties. Since its implementation in 2011, the market premium of health sector support staff has been nothing to write home about. The market premium does not commensurate with the respective current base pay of health sector support staff. One may ask, who are the support staff. The support staff is those other than the clinical staff within the health sector. They play critical roles in ensuring quality healthcare is delivered to clients that come to the health facilities. Despite Fair Wages and Salaries Commission being there to ensure equitable placement and fair payment of government workers, their operations are not matching with their name. In November 2011, the National Labour Commission (NLC) ruled in a compulsory arbitration that the market premium of Ghana Medical Association (GMA) members should be a percentage of their basic salaries. After a year of implementation, the government unilaterally decided to make it a fixed figure contrary to the ruling of the NLC prompting the Ghana Medical Association to issue a warning to government in 2017 that they will embark on a series of actions if the NLC decision is not adhered to. Clinical staff within the health sector have their market premium being a percentage of their basic pay. This makes their market premium increase as and when there are upward adjustments in salaries or their grade changes. But can that be said of the support staff? A big No. Their market premium has been stagnant and fixed at a rate that can't even buy a chicken tail. This is so pathetic that something must be done about it immediately. It is no evidence that the Health Service Workers Union (HSWU) in September 2019 during a cleanup exercise to commemorate the 2019 HSWU week at Kwesimintsim Hospital in Takoradi expressed concerns about the meagre market premium of their members calling on the Ministry of Finance and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission as a matter of urgency respond to and act on the wrongful calculations of their members using the 2012 base pay. The Western Regional Industrial Relations Officer, Mr. Jerry Detse Mensah-Pah said that the action is a gross disregard for the dictates of the Single Spine Pay Policy. "This in effect means that members of the union continue to receive a premium that does not commensurate with their respective current base pay", he added. Aside from the unfair placement of support staff on the Single Spine Pay Policy, staff under this category are also paid poorly when it comes to the market premium. This is a serious issue that needs to be looked at. Despite clinical staff receiving at least 58% k maximum 120%) of their current basic pay, support staff receive 15% (maximum 20%) of their 2012 base pay which is laughable at the least. Support staff are equally as important as the clinical staff and should be treated with all the needed respect as offered the clinical staff. Their absence will break the chain of quality healthcare. I, therefore, call on His Excellency the President, the Sector Minister in charge of Finance and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission as matter of urgency to look into this matter and as soon as possible implement fairly what is due to the health sector support staff because their roles are very critical and vital in ensuring quality healthcare is delivered in Ghana. RECORDATI ANNOUNCES GROWTH IN THE FIRST QUARTER 2020. REVENUES +12.1%, EBITDA +20.1%. Consolidated revenues 429.2 million, +12.1%. EBITDA (1) 172.9 million, +20.1% 172.9 million, +20.1% Operating income 148.4 million, +17.8%. Net income 111.2 million, + 20.7% Adjusted net income (2) 125.2 million, +23.5%. 125.2 million, +23.5%. Net financial position (3) : net debt of 880.8 million; 902.7 million at 31 December 2019. : net debt of 880.8 million; 902.7 million at 31 December 2019. Shareholders' equity 1,242.9 million. Isturisa (osilodrostat) approved in Europe and in the U.S.A., filed for approval in Japan.. Milan, 7 May 2020 - The Board of Directors of Recordati S.p.A. approved the Group's consolidated results for the first quarter of 2020 prepared in accordance with the recognition and measurement criteria prescribed by the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). These financial statements will be available today at the company's offices and on the company's website www.recordati.com and can also be viewed on the authorized storage system 1Info (www.1Info.it). Financial highlights Consolidated revenues in the first quarter of 2020 are 429.2 million, up by 12.1% compared to the same period of the preceding year. International sales grow by 15.6%. They include accelerated stock building by wholesalers and pharmacies during the month of March to face the COVID-19 emergency in Italy as well as internationally, for an estimated 20 million, which is expected to lead to de-stocking in the second quarter. Also included is revenue of 14.7 million related to Signifor and Signifor LAR, which were consolidated starting 24 October 2019. in the first quarter of 2020 are 429.2 million, up by 12.1% compared to the same period of the preceding year. International sales grow by 15.6%. They include accelerated stock building by wholesalers and pharmacies during the month of March to face the COVID-19 emergency in Italy as well as internationally, for an estimated 20 million, which is expected to lead to de-stocking in the second quarter. Also included is revenue of 14.7 million related to Signifor and Signifor LAR, which were consolidated starting 24 October 2019. EBITDA (1) is 172.9 million, or 40.3% of sales (37.6% in the first quarter of 2019), an increase of 20.1%. EBITDA excludes non-recurring costs related to the COVID-19 epidemiological emergency of 2.0 million, which comprise mainly donations to hospitals. is 172.9 million, or 40.3% of sales (37.6% in the first quarter of 2019), an increase of 20.1%. EBITDA excludes non-recurring costs related to the COVID-19 epidemiological emergency of 2.0 million, which comprise mainly donations to hospitals. Operating income , at 34.6% of sales, is 148.4 million, an increase of 17.8% over the same period of the preceding year. , at 34.6% of sales, is 148.4 million, an increase of 17.8% over the same period of the preceding year. Net income, at 25.9% of sales, is 111.2 million, up 20.7% over the first quarter of 2019, thanks to increase in operating income, lower financial expenses and reduction of the effective tax rate. Adjusted net income (2) , at 29.2% of sales, is 125.2 million, an increase of 23.5% over the first quarter of 2019. Given the increased amount of intangible assets on the Group's balance sheet and their amortization, in order to provide information in line with best practice in the sector, an additional performance measure, adjusted net income, which is net income excluding amortization and write-down of intangible assets (except software) and goodwill, and non-recurring items, net of tax effects, has been introduced. at 25.9% of sales, is 111.2 million, up 20.7% over the first quarter of 2019, thanks to increase in operating income, lower financial expenses and reduction of the effective tax rate. at 29.2% of sales, is 125.2 million, an increase of 23.5% over the first quarter of 2019. Given the increased amount of intangible assets on the Group's balance sheet and their amortization, in order to provide information in line with best practice in the sector, an additional performance measure, adjusted net income, which is net income excluding amortization and write-down of intangible assets (except software) and goodwill, and non-recurring items, net of tax effects, has been introduced. Net financial position (3) at 31 March 2020 records a net debt of 880.8 million compared to net debt of 902.7 million at 31 December 2019. During the period a milestone of $ 20.0 million was paid to Novartis following the European approval of Isturisa and own shares were purchased for a total outlay, net of disposals for the exercise of stock options, of 44.0 million. Shareholders' equity is 1,242.9 million. (1) Net income before financial (income) expense, provision for taxes, depreciation, amortization and write down of property, plant and equipment, intangible assets and goodwill, and non-recurring items. (2) Net income excluding amortization and write-down of intangible assets (except software) and goodwill, and non-recurring items, net of tax effects. (3) Cash and short-term financial investments less bank overdrafts and loans which include the measurement at fair value of hedging derivatives. Corporate development news In January the European Commission granted marketing authorisation for the orphan medicinal product Isturisa (osilodrostat), indicated for the treatment of endogenous Cushing's syndrome (CS) in adults. In March, the FDA approved Isturisa for the treatment of patients with Cushing's disease, for whom pituitary surgery is not an option or has not been curative, in the U.S.A.. Both the European Commission and the FDA confirmed the orphan drug status of Isturisa. Also in March, the Japanese New Drug Application (JNDA) was submitted to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare seeking marketing approval for osilodrostat. The active substance of Isturisa is osilodrostat, a cortisol synthesis inhibitor. Osilodrostat works by inhibiting 11-beta-hydroxylase, an enzyme responsible for the final step of cortisol biosynthesis in the adrenal gland. The benefits of Isturisa are its ability to control or normalise cortisol levels in adult CS patients with a manageable safety profile, making this product a valuable treatment option for patients with Cushing's syndrome. As per the agreement with Novartis, in the month of February the marketing authorizations for Signifor and Signifor LAR in the U.S. were transferred to Recordati Rare Diseases Inc. and direct marketing of these products on this market started. Subsequent events and business outlook On 14 February the Company published its targets for 2020 which included, among others, net income of between 360 and 370 million compared to 368.9 million in 2019 which included a non-recurring benefit of 27 million resulting from the so-called Patent box fiscal benefit related to preceding years. The target for adjusted net income in 2020, that excludes amortization and write-down of intangible assets (except software) and goodwill, as well as non-recurring events, net of tax effects, would have been between 408 and 418 million, an increase over the 383,0 million in 2019 according to the same definition. Italy and all the main countries in which the Group operates continue to be impacted by restrictions to the circulation of people and provisions to support companies' economic activities have been introduced following the epidemiologic emergency due to the COVID-19 virus, declared a pandemic by the OMS in March. To face the emergency, in Italy, and subsequently also in other countries the Group has implemented all possible measures and initiatives to guarantee the supply of medicines to its patients and the safety of its employees. Given the complex and continuously evolving situation, possible future impacts are not for the moment entirely predictable but the Company expects EBITDA and adjusted net income to be in line with the lower limit of the target ranges announced in February. Management Comments "The first quarter of 2020 saw the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in all geographical areas in which the Group operates. As we all know, restrictions were imposed on the movement of people, transport, production, commerce, most of which are still in place", stated Andrea Recordati, CEO. "Pharmaceutical operations where allowed to continue in order to ensure the availability of drugs for patients. While complying with all the measures necessary to ensure the health and safety of its employees, Recordati did not interrupt its production and distribution activities and adopted all necessary measures to guarantee the continued availability on the market of its products", continued Andrea Recordati. "Despite the medical emergency and the restrictions implemented in all countries, the financial results obtained in the first quarter are very positive and confirm the continued growth of the Group. I wish to sincerely thank all the Group's employees for the great effort and excellent job done in this difficult situation. Their professionalism, dedication and sense of responsibility, in particular our manufacturing and distribution employees, allowed our activities to continue in the best way possible, ensuring the uninterrupted availability of our products, many of which are for the treatment of severe, chronic diseases. We are proud of the contribution we have been able to provide in this emergency, also through the donations we have made to support healthcare institutions who are tirelessly and courageously committed to fighting the COVID-19 epidemic in the most affected areas". Conference call Recordati will be hosting a conference calltoday 7 May at 4:00 pm Italian time (3:00 pm London time, 10:00 am New York time). The dial-in numbers are: Italy +39 02 8058811, toll free 800 213 858 UK +44 1 212818003, toll free 800 0156384 USA +1 718 7058794, toll free 855 2656959 France +33 170918703 Germany +49 69 255114451 Callers are invited to dial-in 10 minutes before conference time. If conference operator assistance is required during the connection, please digit * followed by 0 or call +39 02 8061371. A recording of the conference call will be placed on the website www.recordati.com. A set of slides which will be referred to during the call will be available on our website www.recordati.com under Investors/Company Presentations. Recordati, established in 1926, is an international pharmaceutical group, listed on the Italian Stock Exchange (Reuters RECI.MI, Bloomberg REC IM, ISIN IT 0003828271), with a total staff of more than 4,300, dedicated to the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals. Headquartered in Milan, Italy, Recordati has operations throughout the whole of Europe, including Russia, Turkey, North Africa, the United States of America, Canada, Mexico, some South American countries, Japan and Australia. An efficient field force of medical representatives promotes a wide range of innovative pharmaceuticals, both proprietary and under license, in a number of therapeutic areas including a specialized business dedicated to treatments for rare diseases. Recordati is a partner of choice for new product licenses for its territories. Recordati is committed to the research and development of new specialties with a focus on treatments for rare diseases. Consolidated revenue for 2019 was 1,481.8 million, operating income was 465.3 million and net income was 368.9 million. For further information: Recordati website: www.recordati.com Investor Relations Media Relations Marianne Tatschke Studio Noris Morano (39)0248787393 (39)0276004736, (39)0276004745 e-mail: investorelations@recordati.it e-mail: norismorano@studionorismorano.com Statements contained in this release, other than historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). These statements are based on currently available information, on current best estimates, and on assumptions believed to be reasonable. This information, these estimates and assumptions may prove to be incomplete or erroneous, and involve numerous risks and uncertainties, beyond the Company's control. Hence, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All mentions and descriptions of Recordati products are intended solely as information on the general nature of the company's activities and are not intended to indicate the advisability of administering any product in any particular instance. RECORDATI GROUP Summary of consolidated results prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) (thousands of ) INCOME STATEMENT First quarter 2020 First quarter 2019 Change % REVENUE 429,235 382,990 12.1 Cost of sales (125,511) (116,466) 7.8 GROSS PROFIT 303,724 266,524 14.0 Selling expenses (99,854) (94,563) 5.6 Research and development expenses (34,928) (29,152) 19.8 General & administrative expenses (18,369) (17,254) 6.5 Other income (expenses), net (2,147) 455 n.s. OPERATING INCOME 148,426 126,010 17.8 Financial income (expenses), net (2,896) (3,991) (27.4) PRE-TAX INCOME 145,530 122,019 19.3 Provision for income taxes (34,335) (29,907) 14.8 NET INCOME 111,195 92,112 20.7 Attributable to: Equity holders of the parent 111,183 92,100 20.7 Non-controlling interests 12 12 0.0 EARNINGS PER SHARE Basic (1) 0.540 0.451 19.7 Diluted (2) 0.532 0.440 20.9 ADJUSTED NET INCOME (3) 125,175 101,364 23.5 EBITDA (4) 172,872 143,939 20.1 (1) Earnings per share (EPS) are based on average shares outstanding during each year, 205,786,745 in 2020 and 204,019,974 in 2019, net of average treasury stock which amounted to 3,338,411 shares in 2020 and to 5,105,182 shares in 2019. (2) Diluted earnings per share is calculated taking into account stock options granted to employees. (3) Net income excluding amortization and write-down of intangible assets (except software) and goodwill, and non-recurring items, net of tax effects. (4) Net income before financial (income) expense, provision for taxes, depreciation, amortization and write down of property, plant and equipment, intangible assets and goodwill, and non-recurring items. COMPOSITION OF REVENUE First quarter 2020 First quarter 2019 Change % Total revenue 429,235 382,990 12.1 Italy 81,536 82,223 (0.8) International 347,699 300,767 15.6 RECORDATI GROUP Summary of consolidated results prepared in accordance with the International Accounting Standards and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) (thousands of ) ASSETS 31.03.2020 31.12.2019 Property, plant and equipment 130,415 133,342 Intangible assets 1,157,390 1,161,760 Goodwill 570,518 577,973 Equity investments 28,469 38,566 Non-current receivables 16,291 16,426 Deferred tax assets 69,160 71,513 TOTAL NON-CURRENT ASSETS 1,972,243 1,999,580 Inventories 224,549 226,885 Trade receivables 336,124 296,961 Other receivables 63,131 79,949 Other current assets 13,510 7,683 Fair value of hedging derivatives (cash flow hedge) 17,041 9,949 Short-term financial investments, cash and cash equivalents 196,089 187,923 TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS 850,444 809,350 TOTAL ASSETS 2,822,687 2,808,930 RECORDATI GROUP Summary of consolidated results prepared in accordance with the International Accounting Standards and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) (thousands of ) EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 31.03.2020 31.12.2018 Share capital 26,141 26,141 Capital in excess of par value 83,719 83,719 Treasury stock (132,460) (93,480) Hedging reserve (2,794) (5,357) Translation reserve (164,084) (146,866) Other reserves 54,847 64,651 Retained earnings 1,364,879 999,708 Net income for the period 111,183 368,825 Interim dividend (98,764) (98,764) Equity attributable to the holders of the Parent 1,242,667 1,198,577 Non-controlling interests 246 234 TOTAL EQUITY 1,242,913 1,198,811 Loans due after one year 937,442 937,344 Employees' termination pay 20,430 20,557 Deferred tax liabilities 41,809 43,172 Other non-current liabilities 21,511 22,292 TOTAL NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES 1,021,192 1,023,365 Trade payables 156,152 175,481 Other payables 166,796 185,706 Tax liabilities 37,085 21,094 Other current liabilities 11,715 12,543 Provisions 17,065 17,933 Fair value of hedging derivatives (cash flow hedge) 15,125 10,788 Loans due within one year 145,452 149,817 Bank overdrafts and short-term loans 9,192 13,392 TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES 558,582 586,754 TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 2,822,687 2,808,930 DECLARATION BY THE MANAGER RESPONSIBLE FOR PREPARING THE COMPANY'S FINANCIAL REPORTS The manager responsible for preparing the company's financial reports Luigi La Corte declares, pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 154-bis of the Consolidated Law on Finance, that the accounting information contained in this press release corresponds to the document results, books and accounting records. Attachment Shutting down the whole global economy is the only way of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Centigrade, Yvo de Boer, the former United Nations climate chief, warned in the runup to the 2015 Paris climate conference. Thanks to COVID-19 we now have an inkling what that looks like. The conference went further and chose to write into the Paris agreement an aspiration to pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5C. The 1.5C backstory reveals much about the quality of what passes for science and gets enshrined in U.N. climate treaties and is directly relevant to American corporations that now find themselves on the front line of the climate wars. Nine weeks before the Copenhagen climate conference, the one where Barack Obama was going to slow the rise of the oceans, President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives held the worlds first underwater cabinet meeting. We are trying to send our message to let the world know what is happening and what will happen to the Maldives if climate change isnt checked, Nasheed told reporters after resurfacing. It was part of a campaign by the Alliance of Small Island States claiming that climate change magnified the risk that their islands would drown. The sinking-islands trope has been endlessly recycled by the U.N. for decades. In 1989, a U.N. official stated that entire nations could disappear by 2000 if global warming was not reversed. Like so many others, that prediction of climate catastrophe came and went. The failed prediction didnt prevent the current U.N. secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, from declaring last year, We must stop Tuvalu from sinking. There was no science behind 1.5C and the sinking-island hypothesis. Studies show, here and here, that the Maldives and Tuvalu have increased in size. As the 25-year-old Charles Darwin might have told the U.N., coral atolls are formed by the slow subsidence of the ocean bed. Having incorporated 1.5C into the sacred texts of the U.N. climate process, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was charged with coming up with a scientific justification for it. In 2018, the IPCC published its report on the 1.5C limit. It debunked the sinking-islands scare, reporting that unconstrained atolls have kept pace with rising sea levels. The IPCC had a bigger problem than non-sinking islands. The IPCCs existing 1.5C carbon budget the maximum amount of greenhouse gases to keep the rise in global temperature to 1.5C was on the verge of being used up. Like some end-of-the-world cult after the clock had passed midnight, it would find itself in a predicament that promised to be more than a little embarrassing. Story continues Help was at hand. As skeptics had long been pointing out, IPCC lead author Myles Allen confirmed that climate model projections had been running too hot and that they had been forecasting too much warming since 2000. Together with some other handy adjustments, the IPCC managed to more than double the remaining 1.5C budget. Although it could muster only medium confidence in its revised carbon budget, the IPCC had high confidence that net emissions had to fall to zero by 2050 and be cut by 45 percent by 2030. In this fashion, net zero by 2050 was carved in stone. That timeline is now being used to bully American corporations into aligning their business strategies with the Paris agreement and force them to commit to eliminating greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050. In fact, the text of the Paris agreement speaks of achieving a balance between anthropogenic sources and removals in the second half of this century. The net-zero target has no standing in American law or regulation. Net zero is not about a few tweaks here and there. It necessitates a top-down coercive revolution the likes of which have never been seen in any democracy. This is spelt out in the IPCCs 1.5C report, which might as well serve as a blueprint for the extinction of capitalism. The IPCC makes no bones about viewing net zero, it says, as providing the opportunity for intentional societal transformation. Limiting the rise to rise in global temperature to no more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels an ill-defined baseline chosen by the U.N. because the Industrial Revolution is our civilizations original sin requires transformative systemic change and very ambitious, internationally cooperative policy environments that transform both supply and demand. Thanks to COVID-19, we have a foretaste of what the IPCC intends. It envisages, for example, the industrial sector cutting its emissions by between 67 and 91 percent by 2050, implying a contraction in industrial output so dramatic as to make the 1930s Great Depression look like a walk in the park, a possibility the IPCC choses to ignore. The IPCC places its bets on a massive transition to wind and solar, but no amount of wishful thinking can overcome the inherent physics of their low energy density and their intermittency, which explains why countries with the highest proportion of wind and solar on their grids also have the highest energy costs in the world. One option the IPCC does not favor a wholesale transition to nuclear power seems unachievable anyway on the timetable it has in mind. Nuclear power stations typically take well over five years to build, and not many are planned for now. Germany is switching out of nuclear power, the Japanese are, to quote the New York Times racing to build new coal-burning . . . plants and the Chinese are wary of overdoing their nuclear construction because of the risk of accident. Rather than address the possibility of a sustained slump in economic activity the IPCCs approach is to say the benefits of holding the line at 1.5C are surprise, surprise! greater than at 2 degrees Centigrade while studiously ignoring the extra costs of the more ambitious target. A few numbers show why. A carbon tax sufficiently high to drive emissions to net zero would range up to $6,050 per metric ton, over 60 times the hypothetical climate benefits estimated by the Obama administration, indicating that the climate benefits of net zero are less than 2 percent of its cost. In a rational world, discussion of net zero would end at this point. You dont have to be a Milton Friedman to fathom the incompatibility with free markets and capitalist growth of what the IPCC terms enhanced institutional capabilities and stringent policy interventions. So its easy to understand why the governments of the world have no intention of achieving net zero by 2050. As Todd Stern, one of the principal architects of the Paris agreement, remarked last November, there is a lack of political will in virtually every country, compared to what there needs to be. Led by Britain, several European countries have legislated net-zero targets without having a clue how they might meet them or their economic impact. Indeed, Britain can claim to be the worlds leading climate hypocrite. Having offshored its manufacturing base to China and the European Union, it is the G-7s largest per capita net importer of carbon dioxide emissions. Before adopting its net zero target, the Committee on Climate Change observed that Britain lacked a credible plan for decarbonizing the way people heat their homes and that government policy was insufficient to meet even existing targets. If governments the legal parties to the Paris Agreement have no collective intention to achieve net zero, why should Americas corporations? There is no environmental, economic, or ethical good when a corporation cuts its carbon dioxide emissions to meet the net-zero target when the rest of the world doesnt, unless, that is, youre one of the select few who believes that self-impoverishment is inherently virtuous. Yet corporations are increasingly being held to ransom by billionaire climate activists like Mike Bloomberg and BlackRocks Larry Fink with the demand that they commit to net zero, make their shareholders and stakeholders poorer, and give a leg up to their competitors in the rest of the world, especially in the Far East. The arrogation of the rule-making prerogatives of a democratic state by a handful of climate activists raises profound questions on the demarcation between the rightful domains of politics and of business. It also raises profound questions about the future of capitalism. Capitalism pays the people that strive to bring it down, Joseph Schumpeter, the greatest economist of capitalism, observed in the 1940s. They wont succeed, but for the efforts of soft anti-capitalists within the capitalist system. The moral case for capitalism rests on its prodigious ability to raise living standards and transform the material conditions of mankind for the better. To climate-shame corporations without the sanction of law or regulation will extinguish the economic dynamism that justifies capitalism. Remove its capacity to do so, and we will have entered a post-capitalist era. This is how capitalism ends. More from National Review The Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria said Turkey and its Sunni rebel allies halted service at the Alok pumping station in the Turkish-occupied town of Ras al-Ain today, putting efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in the war-ravaged region at risk. Hawar news quoted officials from the autonomous administrations water authority as saying, The Turkish occupation and its mercenaries have cut off the water to al-Hasakah city from Alok station for the sixth time consecutively since its occupation of Serekaniye, using the Kurdish name for the border town that was taken over by Turkish forces in October. Sources from two Western non-governmental organizations operating in the area confirmed that the water had been turned off this morning. They said the water authority had sent out an emergency alert asking households to manage water consumption in view of the cut. The supply reportedly resumed but well under full capacity with only two of the five pumps currently operational at the station turned on, the sources speaking not for attribution told Al-Monitor. The Alok facility supplies potable water to more than 460,000 people in al-Hasakah governorate. They include hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Syrians as well as Islamic State captives and their families more than half are infants and children who are being held in overcrowded and under-resourced prisons and camps. Riots have broken out in two facilities over the past month over poor conditions. The autonomous administration accuses Turkey of weaponizing water as a means of forcing it to supply electricity to the 1,100 square kilometers (680 square miles) of territory in northeast Syria currently under Turkish occupation at the expense of people who would receive less power daily as a result. More broadly, Turkey is seeking to stifle the Kurdish-dominated autonomous administration through a cocktail of political, economic and military pressure. Western nongovernmental organizations confirm that the water supply from Alok has been repeatedly interrupted since the Turkish offensive. The station was rendered inoperable by Turkish aerial and ground attacks. Service resumed after Turkey allowed technicians from the Syrian State Electricity Corporation and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to enter the facility in November. The stoppages have continued, however, despite two separate agreements struck with Russian mediation for Turkey to supply water in exchange for electricity from the Mabrouka power station, which remains under the control of the Syrian government and the autonomous administration. But Turkey keeps pressing for more and is apparently leveraging the spigot to that end. Access to safe water in the context of protection efforts from the coronavirus disease is even more essential and lifesaving than it already is. Hand-washing and good hygiene practices are our first line of protection from COVID-19. The repeated interruption of water supply for children and families who depend on the [Alok] water station for safe water puts them in unacceptable risk, said UNICEF Syria representative Fran Equiza in emailed comments to Al-Monitor. Eqiza continued, We and our partners are supporting families in the city of al-Hassakeh and camps for displaced families with water trucking where needed, but this barely covers minimum needs if the water supply continues to be interrupted. UNICEF has repeatedly called upon all those involved not to use water and water facilities for military or political gain. But our calls continue to fall on deaf ears and children are the ones who suffer first and most. Syrians for Truth and Justice, a nonpartisan nonprofit documenting human rights violations in Syria, likened Turkeys actions to war crimes in an exhaustive April 28 report on Alok. It observed that that since the Turkish invasion, residents in Ras al-Ain havent been provided with electricity even when the city was supplied from the Tishrin dam through the Mabrouka power station because Turkish forces and their Syrian opposition allies had not fixed power lines damaged during the October assault. Meanwhile, the rebel militias restored power to their own headquarters and the homes of their relatives and had stolen generators and other equipment from Alok, the report added. Alok is capable of functioning without electricity from Mabrouka and can run on power supplied from the Ad Darbasiyah station in Ras al-Ain, according to humanitarian relief workers who spoke to Syrians for Truth and Justice. Human Rights Watch cited humanitarian relief workers contending the same in a March 31 report on Alok. Whether the water is back on for another two hours and they cut it off again, it's very clear that we have a very serious problem with parties weaponizing water and humanitarian aid in northeast Syria and risking a COVID response, said Sara Kayyali, Syria researcher for Human Rights Watch. One of the pillars of the COVID response in northeast Syria, as limited as it is, is more hand-washing. Lower capacity, no capacity, it really doesnt make a difference if the 460,000 people being serviced by Alok are not getting enough water, she told Al-Monitor via WhatsApp. Kayyali continued, It's really disappointing to hear that the parties to the conflict are continuing to play games with peoples lives and doing it so blatantly. Its really unacceptable. Only one COVID-19 death has been recorded so far in the territory run by the autonomous administration, home to over two million people. But experts warn that the risk of mass infection remains perilously high. It is compounded by the United Nations reluctance to deal directly with local authorities for fear of jeopardizing its relations with Damascus. The UNs World Health Organization insists that all testing be done via the central government in Damascus, slowing the autonomous administration's efforts to contain the virus. Moreover, because of Russian and Chinese objections before the UN Security Council, the body has since January been unable to deliver aid directly to the northeast via Iraq. Christine Petrie, country director for the International Rescue Committee in northeast Syria, warned recently, Now that COVID-19 has reached northeast Syria, were going to see how truly virulent this disease can be. There are 160,000 extremely vulnerable people living in camps and communal shelters across the region and they have limited ability to protect themselves. Petrie added that the risk was especially high at the al-Hol camp, where nearly 70,000 people, mostly wives and children of Islamic State fighters, are being held. In al-Hol, the population density is 37,570 people per square kilometer and there are over 65,000 people living in extremely close proximity. There is absolutely no way for people to practice social distancing in this camp, and many are already living with chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and asthma, which means they will be particularly badly affected by this disease if it spreads." Iran won't accept violation of UNSC resolution on arms ban, Rouhani warns US Iran Press TV Wednesday, 06 May 2020 10:22 AM President Hassan Rouhani has warned the United States that Iran will not accept any violation of the UN Security Council resolution that mandates the lifting of an arms embargo against the Islamic Republic, saying the country is absolutely entitled to the ban's cancellation. "The United States and other countries should know that Iran will not accept violation of Resolution 2231 under any circumstances," he told a cabinet session in Tehran on Wednesday. "Under the resolution, it is Iran's absolute right to be soon relieved of the ban," he added. Washington has said it is resolved to have the embargo on the sales of conventional weapons to Iran prolonged. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo first announced the intention and Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook told reporters last week, "We are operating under the assumption that we will be able to renew the arms embargo." The ban is to expire by October under the resolution that endorsed a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. Washington is legally prohibited from seeking its extension as it left the deal in May 2018. 'Iran's arms for peace' The president said any weapons that the country might manufacture or purchase would definitely be used for defensive purposes. "The weapons are [earmarked for] defending nations. Our weapons do not add fuel to the fire. They [conversely] pour oil on troubled waters, and we would never allow the outbreak of any warfare or tensions," Rouhani said. Iran's response to embargo renewal If the embargo were to be renewed amid Washington's pressure, Iran's response would be "clear," the president noted, without giving details. He, however, said he had outlined the response in a letter to leaders of the nuclear agreement's remaining signatories the UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany. "They know what a historic defeat would await them if they were to make such a mistake," Rouhani said. On Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Iran would serve a "decisive response" to a potential extension of the arms embargo. "We are waiting to see the direction in which the circumstances are going to develop, and will then act based on them," he said. 'US between a rock and a hard place' The United States is "caught between a rock and a hard place" concerning the JCPOA, Rouhani said, referring to the nuclear accord by the acronym of its official name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. If the weapons ban were to be removed, the US and the radical parties that promoted its exit from the JCPOA namely Israel, Saudi Arabia, and America's Iran hawks would have to admit that they committed a great mistake by forcing Washington's withdrawal, Rouhani said. And if the US were to resort to the JCPOA as a means of enforcing a "snapback" or restoring all UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic, "they have already left the JCPOA and there would be no deal left for them to return to [this time around]," he added. Washington has realized the mistakes it has perpetrated by opting out of the deal, the chief executive said. He pointed to Iran's suspension of its commitments to the nuclear agreement that the country began after the US's withdrawal and the UK, France, and Germany's failure to keep up their business ties with Tehran under Washington's pressure. The European trio has "to a large extent" failed to uphold its commitments under the JCPOA, but once it resumes honoring the obligations, Iran would do so as well, Rouhani said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 21:19:28|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SHENYANG, May 7 (Xinhua) -- BMW Group plans to invest 4.4 billion yuan (about 620 million U.S. dollars) this year in the construction of its new factory in Shenyang, capital city of northeast China's Liaoning Province, local government said Thursday. The investment will be used to complete the main building of the new factory of BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA), a joint venture between BMW Group and Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd., according to the provincial development and reform commission. With a total investment of 28.3 billion yuan, the new factory is expected to be completed in 2022, making Shenyang BMW's global manufacturing center. BBA rolled its 3 millionth car, a plug-in hybrid, off the production line in Shenyang on Feb. 27, after it resumed production in the city's Tiexi and Dadong plants on Feb. 17. China has become the world's largest sales market for BMW, which sold more than 720,000 cars in 2019. Since the launch of BBA in 2003, BMW has invested over 52 billion yuan in Shenyang and completed the building of two vehicle factories, one powertrain plant and one research and development hub. Enditem Israels Parliament on Thursday approved amendments to two basic laws by a hefty majority, paving the way for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a fully functioning unity government for the first time since December 2018. The Knesset or Parliament voted by 71 votes to 37 to back the power-sharing deal between Netanyahus Likud and his main rival former military chief Benny Gantzs Blue and White parties. The bills were supported by the lawmakers in Netanyahus Center-Right bloc, except for the lawmakers of Yamina, who absented themselves, because it is still unknown whether it will enter the coalition. Blue and White and Labor lawmakers voted in favour, except for Labor lawmaker Merav Michaeli, who opposes the government, The Jerusalem Post reported. The bills were necessary for Blue and White to be able to recommend Prime Minister Netanyahu to form a government by Thursday nights deadline to prevent a fourth election, the paper said. The party is gathering the signatures of its lawmakers, which together with 52 lawmakers in the Center-Right bloc will give Netanyahu more than the 61 he needs to submit to President Reuven Rivlin. The development came a day after Israeli High Court ruled on Wednesday that Netanyahu may form a new government while under indictment for corruption charges. In their ruling, the 11 justices said there was no legal cause to intervene in the coalition agreement between the two parties. The petitions against Netanyahu were filed by advocacy groups that have asked the court to ban any indicted politician, including Netanyahu, from being allowed to form a new government. Netanyahu, 70, was indicted earlier this year on charges of accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust. He has denied any wrongdoing. His trial was postponed due to restrictions his hand-picked interim justice minister placed on the courts after the coronavirus crisis erupted and is scheduled to commence later this month. Netanyahu had signed the agreement with Gantz to form a national government last month after an unprecedented third round of polls which again did not give anybody a clear verdict to form the government. The deal allows Netanyahu to serve the first 18 months as Prime Minister after which Gantz would assume power for the next 18 months. Netanyahu, Israels longest serving prime minister, has held onto power as a caretaker leader for more than a year as political stalemate prevented the creation of a government and triggered successive elections. His ruling Likud party emerged as the single largest party with 36 seats in the 120-member Knesset after the third round of polls but the right-wing bloc led by him could garner only 58 seats, falling short of the simple majority of 61. Gantz won the backing of 61 Knesset members and was mandated by President Rivlin to form the next government but he chose to cut a deal with Netanyahu, even at the cost of splitting his Blue and White party given the difficulties of putting together a government in a highly divided Israeli polity. SAN DIEGO, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Creative Real Estate Copy (CREC), a niche PR content and marketing firm serving the real estate industry, announces the release of a new fast-paced podcast specifically for executives engaged in strategic marketing. The RE EXEC TL Podcast addresses topics covering professional background and direction, emerging trends, value proposition, core competency, digital marketing strategy, monitoring, successful campaign stories and transformative leadership. Real Estate Executive Thought Leadership Podcast The first episode features an energetic interview with Danielle Garofalo, Chief Business Development Officer of CORE Real Estate the leading luxury real estate firm in New York, NY. We learn about Garofalo's rise from a start in marketing at Disney, to consulting for IBM, and success in an executive marketing role at a boutique firm in the nation's most prestigious luxury market. "It's a lively show that pushes right through and keeps the insights flowing. We're only interviewing executives in the real estate industry at leading firms to bring you credible and actionable advice," relates Kirky Galt, host and executive producer. Garofalo shares why telling a firm's story is a crucial element in humanizing the brand and making it accessible to prospects and stakeholders. She also notes regarding the importance of monitoring and measuring campaign results: "if you're not tracking something, you shouldn't be doing it." The show is streaming now on the CREC website and in queue for release on Apple, Spotify, Google, Breaker, Castbox, Overcast, Pocket Casts and Radio Republic. Focusing on guest and listeners with quick questions and answers, the show excludes superfluous segments and advertisements to deliver maximum insight and value to time-strapped real estate industry executives. RE EXEC TL is produced by illscape Studios. https://creativerealestatecopy.com/real-estate-executive-podcast https://creativerealestatecopy.com/story-telling-is-the-best-part-of-marketing/ Media Contact Kirky Galt 888 337 0150 [email protected] SOURCE Creative Real Estate Copy Amanda Robles parked her silver car in the parking lot of Morristown Post Acute Rehabilitation and Nursing Center on a sunny afternoon in late April. She opened the sunroof and popped her head out, cellphone in hand. Inside, her 96-year-old father appeared at his rooms window with a phone pressed to his ear. He grinned as he chatted with her in Spanish, looking out at her over a row of books stacked on the windowsill. This is the new normal for a father and daughter, who were used to seeing each other in person almost every day. There are no hugs or even the reassurance of sitting close by. Now the closest they can get is the distance from the second-story window to the parking lot. Jose Lopez waves to his daughter Amanda Robles at Morristown Post Acute Rehabilitation and Nursing Center April 28, 2020. Robles speaks to him on the phone from her car in the parking lot since visitors are banned because of the coronavirus pandemic.Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media Every day I go out the sunroof and talk to my father, said Robles, 67, of Mount Arlington. Looking at him comforts me, because Im worried. I can see he changes his clothes every day. And he makes jokes. Hes happy when I come." Its a workaround she discovered not long after the nursing home stopped allowing visitors March 9 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus to its vulnerable population. Like families all over the state, she is now dealing with the fear that her father will get sick in the facility as over 22,000 others have in nursing homes around the state while also just missing him. Robles said she used to visit her father every afternoon after getting out of work, and on the weekends before church. Hes lived there for three years. She agrees with the nursing homes move to restrict visitors something it did before the state required it. But it doesnt mean it wasnt hard to see her fathers downcast face on March 9, when a receptionist told her she couldnt come in and Lopez, whose room was nearby. He kept trying to come to her. I said, Bye Papi, and sent him kisses, she said. At first, she said, she begged staff to do video calls on their iPads, but said she was told they were too short staffed. Eventually she was able to connect with Lopez on his roommates phone, and their routine of visiting via phone and window began. Facility Administrator Eli Freund said not allowing visitors has been hard but has saved lives. Morristown Post Acute Rehabilitation has had 67 positive cases and 10 deaths, according to the state. Jose is a resident that always has a smile on his face and is loved by everyone, Freund said in a recent email. I cant wait to see him back in his usual spot in the lobby greeting both residents and visitors as they come in. He said Lopezs unit was the earliest hit with the coronavirus and isolation protocols. Thankfully the residents have recovered really nicely on that unit and have been COVID-free for a few weeks already, Freund said. Robles was upset when she learned her father was walking the halls without a mask after she arrived for a visit and he didnt answer the phone but Freund said that was permissible given the unit was considered free of coronavirus. Amanda Robles speaks on the phone to her father Jose Lopez who is looking out his window from the second floor of the Morristown Post Acute Rehabilitation and Nursing Center April 28, 2020.Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media Robles said that her father worked in a factory after immigrating to the U.S. from Colombia 47 years ago. He is an intelligent man who loves poetry and instilled the importance of education in his daughters from a young age, she said. She said the nursing home staff love him, partly because hes so polite. They call him Papi because thats what I call him," she said. Robles said she is considering trying to bring him home, but is worried if he has been exposed to the virus that he could give it to her husband, who has heart problems. Freund said last week that the facility has barely been able to get tests for those who are symptomatic, which Lopez is not. Freund said Lopez was likely exposed to the virus when the unit was hit five weeks ago, so his 14-day isolation period is long expired. For now, Robles said, she will keep up her sunroof visits, breathing a sigh of relief when he appears at the window with his usual smile and wave, and assurances that he feels good. Im just visiting and praying," Robles said. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. A planned independent, in-depth assessment of the Marine Corps' historically gender-segregated boot camp training model hasn't started yet -- because no one has volunteered to conduct it. The service didn't receive any applications following its November request for public universities to study the way it trains recruits at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in South Carolina, Capt. Sam Stephenson, a spokesman for the command, told Military.com. The service has traditionally separated men and women there, though there have been some recent coed companies that trained together but lived in separate squad bays. The Marine Corps wanted a third-party study to provide "objective, data-driven recommendation for policy change" to improve entry-level training for incoming recruits. Related: The Marines Want an Academic Study on the Cost, Impacts of Coed Boot Camp "At this time, Training and Education Command is reviewing the language of the original announcement for possible re-release at a future date," Stephenson said of the call for a boot camp study. The academic study was due back to the Marine Corps by Feb. 1, 2021. Leaders wanted it to look at four areas: alternative boot camp training models, costs for those alternatives, costs for the current model of separating male and female recruits, and how perceptions about coed training influences a person's decision to join the service. The Marine Corps is facing a deadline to make both of its recruit depots -- Parris Island on the East Coast and San Diego on the West Coast -- ready to support gender-integrated training. Women currently train only at Parris Island, but the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act included a requirement to change that. The provision, which was added by Rep. Jackie Speier, a California Democrat, calls for boot camp to be coed at Parris Island within the next five years and in San Diego within eight. Maj. Gen. William Mullen, the head of Training and Education Command, which oversees the recruit depots, told Military.com last fall that he ordered the academic study on Marine boot camp to get a neutral assessment of the service's training model. "If an independent study, not affiliated with the Marine Corps, comes in and takes a hard, honest look at things in an unbiased way, how do you argue with that?" Mullen said. Many in the Marine Corps have long defended the decision to keep boot camp segregated by gender. Even the first-ever mixed-gender training battalions that have graduated at Parris Island over the last year spent much of their first month training at the platoon level, meaning the women trained separately from the men with their female drill instructors. During the next phase of training, the male and female platoons were combined for more of their training, hiking together or hitting the rifle range. Mullen said the academic study would determine whether the Marine Corps has the right approach. The service trains its male and female officer candidates together, and the other military branches do not separate men and women at boot camp. "We think we have it right ... but how much of that is our own biases?" Mullen said. "How much of that is a 'we invented it here' kind of thing?" Some have blamed the Marine Corps' model for creating division between men and women in the ranks. If the service puts out another call for a study of training at Parris Island, researchers could face new challenges as they assess training during the novel coronavirus pandemic. All the military branches have put new safety protocols in place to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 at boot camp. Parris Island has seen more than 20 cases there, which led officials to temporarily halt incoming shipments of recruits. "As the situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to evolve, all necessary safety precautions will be taken to ensure the conduct and execution of any academic study does not jeopardize the health of those involved and is conducted in accordance with [Defense Department] guidance," Stephenson said. -- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins. Read more: Marine Corps Training Chief Says He's Open to Ending Gender-Segregated Boot Camp By Express News Service Hollywood filmmaker Sylvester Stallone has said that he is in talks with Warner Bros Studio for a sequel to his Demolition Man (1993). In an Instagram Q&A session, when the 73-year-old actor was asked if there would be another Demo Man, he said, I think it is coming. The original sci-fi action film starred Sandra Bullock. However, the cast of the upcoming film has not been finalised yet. Stallone said, Were working on it right now with Warner Bros and its looking fantastic, so that should come out. Thats going to happen. Demolition Man revolves around the story of two men, an evil crime lord (Wesley Snipes) and a risk-taking police officer (Stallone). A pub licensee and four patrons have been slapped with fines after they were busted by police drinking at the licensed premises during the coronavirus lockdown. The offenders are among a string of South Australians fined for breaching lockdown laws this week. Limestone Coast Police attended a licensed premises in the state's south-east on Tuesday night following a tip-off from the public. 'Police discovered the front doors open with the licensee and four customers sitting within the bar area consuming alcohol,' the police statement read. South Australians face a $1,060 on the spot fine if they're caught breaching lockdown laws. Pictured in police keeping a watchful eye on a group of cyclists in Adelaide on Sunday Four adults were each issued with $1,060 on the spot fines while the licensee was fined $5,060. South Australia Police refused to reveal further details about the location when contacted by Daily Mail Australia. All licensed premises across Australia were shut down by the federal government on March 23 due to slow down the outbreak of the deadly pandemic. Earlier on Tuesday, Port Augusta Police shut down a large drunken gathering at a home after they received a complaint about excessive noise. Officers on arrival found 16 intoxicated adults, who all copped on the spot fines. Restrictions were eased in South Australia last week to allow gatherings of up to 10 people. South Australian Police issued a string of fines and charges on Tuesday. Pictured are police stopping vehicles near the SA border at Pinnaroo in March after the SA borders closed Meanwhile, an Adelaide woman, 26, has also been charged after she was allegedly caught flouting self-isolation laws repeatedly. Police allege the woman left Adelaide last month when she was required to self-quarantine. She was fined for breaching the previous direction and was further issued with a fresh direction to self-quarantine at an address nominated by her when she returned to Adelaide on Tuesday. She was issued with an on the spot fine for breaching the previous direction and was further issued with a fresh direction to self-quarantine at an address nominated by her A pub licensee and four patrons caught drinking in a pub were fined in South Australia's south-east on Tuesday night (stock image) Police will be further alleged the woman visited another address in the eastern suburbs prior to arriving at her nominated address. 'Later that same day, police attended the nominated address in the northern suburbs and discovered the woman was not present and subsequently located her a short time later at another northern suburbs address,' a police statement read. She was charged with three counts of failing to comply with a direction and was bailed to appear in Adelaide Magistrates Court in October. [May 07, 2020] News From Satellite 2020: GitHub Codespaces, GitHub Discussions, Securing Code in Private Repositories, and More MUMBAI, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- GitHub is home to thousands of software communities, from open source projects to enterprises, from small teams to the largest organizations. This year's Satellite, GitHub's first virtual conference, is all about giving communities tools to come together to solve the problems that matter to them and removing barriers that stand in their way. Earlier this year, GitHub made GitHub free for teams to ensure cost isn't a barrier for teamwork on GitHub. The company expanded GitHub Sponsors to more than 30 countries to help developers make a living from open source. GitHub launched GitHub for mobile, which has already helped hundreds of thousands of developers collaborate on the go. GitHub also brought npm to the GitHub family to support the largest developer ecosystem in the world. This week, GitHub launched four new products to help all software communities work together: GitHub Codespaces A complete dev environment within GitHub that lets developers contribute immediately GitHub Discussions A new way for software communities to collaborate outside the codebase Code scanning and secret scanning Helping communities on GitHub produce and consume more secure code GitHub Private Instances Collaboration even for stringently regulated customers "Thousands of communities live on GitHub and today's announcements reaffirm our commitment to foster them, help remove barriers, and connect new communities. By introducing GitHub Codespaces, GitHub Discussions and GitHub Advanced Security features, we are making the entire software development supply chain more collaborative and secure, and bringing the development environment to wherever developers want to work," said Maneesh Sharma, General Manager, GitHub India. "The pace of digital transformation in India demands for modern, reliable and secure cloud-based development toolchains. Enterprises rely on communities on GitHub to build and use software. With GitHub Private Instances, enterprises who are looking to modernize their software development environment with a secure cloud platform, can rely on the same platform that supports more than 50 million developers globally. I'm excited about continuing to support developers and organizations through their innovation journey," Sharma added. Start coding in seconds on GitHub with GitHub Codespaces Available in limited public beta Contributing code to a community can be hard. Every repository has its own way of configuring a dev environment, which often requires dozens of steps before developers can write any code. Even worse, sometimes the environment of two projects they are working on, conflict with one another. GitHub Codespaces gives developers a fully featued cloud-hosted dev environment that spins up in seconds, directly within GitHub, so they can start contributing to a project right away. Codespaces can be configured by developers to load their code and dependencies, developer tools, extensions, and dotfiles. Switching between environments is simple-they can navigate away at any time, and when they switch back, their codespace is automatically reopened. Codespaces in GitHub include a browser-based version of the full VS Code editor, with support for code completion and navigation, extensions, terminal access, and more. If they prefer to use their desktop IDE, developers will be able to start a codespace in GitHub and connect to it from their desktop. Pricing for Codespaces has not been finalized, but code-editing functionality in the codespaces IDE will always be free. GitHub plans to offer simple pay-as-you-go pricing similar to GitHub Actions for computationally intensive tasks such as builds. During the beta, Codespaces is free. Stay on top of the conversation with GitHub Discussions Available in beta for public repositories soon Software communities don't just write code together-they brainstorm feature ideas, help new users get their bearings, and collaborate on best ways to use the software. Until now, GitHub only offered issues and pull requests as places to have these conversations. But issues and pull requests both have a linear format-well suited for merging code, but not for creating a community knowledge base. Conversations need their own place-that's what GitHub Discussions is for. Discussions live in the project repository, so they're accessible where the community is already working together. Their threaded format makes it easy to start, respond to, and organize unstructured conversations. Questions can be marked as answered, so over time a community's knowledge base grows naturally. And because discussions aren't closed the way issues are, they can easily serve as a place for maintaining FAQs and other collaborative documentation. GitHub recognizes that community discussion is as much a part of development as coding, so discussion contributions appear in users' contribution graphs. GitHub is in beta with a few open source communities and will be making Discussions available to other projects soon. Keep code secure with code scanning and secret scanning New features available in beta Collaborating in software communities requires tools to help consume and produce code safely and keep each other secure from their own mistakes. Last year GitHub announced the acquisition of Semmle, introduced code security in developer workflows on GitHub, made GitHub a CVE Numbering Authority, and launched the GitHub Advanced Security offering. GitHub is now expanding its products with two new cloud betas: Code scanning is now available as a GitHub native experience. With code scanning enabled, every `git push` is scanned for new potential security vulnerabilities, and results are displayed directly in the pull request. Code scanning uses the world's most advanced semantic analysis engine, CodeQL, which has an unmatched record finding real vulnerabilities. GitHub is making code scanning free for open source to help keep the world's most important software secure. Any public project can sign up. Secret scanning is now available for private repositories. This feature (formerly named token scanning) has been available for public repositories since 2018. GitHub has worked with many partners to expand coverage, including AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, npm, Stripe, and Twilio. With over ten million potential secrets identified, customers have asked to have the same capability for their private code. Now secret scanning also watches private repositories for known secret formats and immediately notifies developers when they are found. Code scanning and secret scanning are available for free for all public repositories, and available as part of GitHub Advanced Security. Get the most secure and compliant offering with GitHub Private Instances Coming soon Enterprises rely on communities on GitHub to build and use software, and the company wants every enterprise to do so with confidence, no matter how strict their requirements are for security and compliance. GitHub today introduced their plans for GitHub Private Instances, a new, fully-managed option for enterprise customers. Private Instances provides enhanced security, compliance, and policy features including bring-your-own-key encryption, backup archiving, and compliance with regional data sovereignty requirements. Keep exploring Watch the GitHub Satellite keynote with all of these announcements and sessions from 50 speakers from around the world speaking about security, DevOps, collaboration, and more-or join the discussion. About GitHub GitHub is the developer company. We make it easier for developers to be developers: to work together, to solve challenging problems, to create the world's most important technologies. As the home of the world's largest community of developers and their code, we foster a collaborative community that can come together-as individuals and in teams-to create the future of software and make a difference in the world. Media Contacts Mansi Munjal Archetype Email: [email protected] Mobile: +91-9930882910 Komal Chawla Archetype Email: [email protected] Mobile: +91-9082064540 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] VETERAN comedian Sil Fox's lawyers have asked for his delayed trial for sexual assault to be brought forward because of an "element of urgency" over his age. Granting an earlier date for the the case to resume, Judge Grainne Malone stressed that it was only being given priority because it had already been heard in part. She set a date later this month for the trial judge to make a decision on a defence application to dismiss the charge. Sylvester Fox (87), has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault on a woman at a bar in the south city centre on December 17, 2018. The accused, who grew up in the Liberties in Dublin's south inner city but has an address at Wellington Lawn, Templeogue, was not required to be present when the case came back before Dublin District Court. The non-jury trial had been heard in part earlier this year by Judge Paula Murphy, with evidence given by the alleged victim, followed by a defence application for a dismissal. It had then been delayed for two months, until June, amid restrictions in the courts over the Covid-19 crisis. However, the case was re-entered in the court list and came before Judge Malone. A state solicitor said two separate dates were required - one for the trial judge to give a decision on the application for a dismissal and another for the resumption of evidence if the trial is to continue. Defence barrister Emer Ni Chuagain said both she and the prosecution had submissions to make. There was a concern that the process had gone on for such a length of time and the earliest possible date was being sought, she said. "There is an element of urgency in this case because of the age of the parties involved," Ms Ni Chuagain said. She told Judge Malone the accused was 87 and there were elderly witnesses. The complainant had "certain disabilities and is anxious to deal with the case," the court heard. "You understand that the accused is on bail and the only thing that gives this case any priority is the fact that it's part heard," the judge said. "It seems appropriate to get part-heard matters dealt with as soon as possible." She added that there was "limited time available to us." The judge set May 25 for the first date required and said at that point "everybody will have a better idea how the courts are generally fixed." The trial has heard Mr Fox had agreed to a request for a selfie picture with the middle-aged complainant who had been on a Christmas night out with friends. The woman alleged he "put his hand on to my lap, on to my groin and he tickled my vagina, and doing so he said, You will always remember where this picture was taken. She claimed when she confronted him he said You should be so lucky he told her this is ridiculous, this is stupid. The court heard Mr Fox told gardai the woman was a liar and trying to ruin my name; he denied the allegation completely and said that is a load of crap. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ghina Ghaliya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 7, 2020 13:00 622 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd680692 1 National Juliari-Batubara,social-affairs-ministry,social-aid,coronavirus,COVID-19,cash-transfer,staple-food,PDI-P,menteri-sosial,virus-korona-indonesia,bantuan-sosial Free Social Affairs Minister Juliari Batubara has responded to mounting criticism surrounding the delivery of aid, saying the data discrepancies in social assistance distribution during the pandemic are not the central administrations responsibility. In a virtual meeting with the House of Representatives Commission VIII overseeing social affairs on Wednesday, lawmakers asked the minister about issues surrounding aid distribution Previously, President Joko Jokowi Widodo had ordered his administration to maintain transparency in the distribution of social assistance in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, stressing that the public should know the details about those who are eligible to receive the aid and what type of aid is being distributed. Nevertheless, Juliari said, About whether prospective beneficiaries are eligible or ineligible, that is not our responsibility. Regional administrations understand this better." He added that in the current very abnormal conditions, the government couldn't afford the luxury of doing data verification and revalidation. Read also: In major policy shift, Jokowi orders transparency in pandemic fight "Therefore, like it or not, we are almost 100 percent relying on data sent by the regions, the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician said. Juliari went on to say that rather than verifying and revalidating data, the government was better off distributing the aid quickly. "I would rather be quick than correct [...] Just pick one, [either] be quick or be precise. I think it's impossible to achieve both. We are not a country with sophisticated data infrastructure," he said, adding that the government also lacked human resources working for the entire countrys data. Therefore, he hoped the House of Representatives could help the government by forming a working committee under Commission VIII, tasked with supporting the aid beneficiaries data. In addition to the aforementioned general obstacles, the central administration also faces problems regarding cash transfer distribution, as many social assistance programs provided by the government, the private sector and the community are being distributed within the same timeframe. Read also: COVID-19 aid stalled, used for political stunts The minister has set a target of distributing cash assistance to 5.2 million families within the next two weeks. It has wired money to 785,000 families in the first phase and is currently working on transferring money to 1.8 million families across the country. I call it a social assistance tsunami because we see there are currently many programs that are sourced ranging from the Social Affairs Ministry to the Health Ministry, the Coordinating Economic Ministry, the regional administrations, private sector and other institutions, which are being distributed almost simultaneously, he said. The tsunami, he said, had disrupted the focus of officials in the field, as well as the heads of neighborhood units and community units, and delayed the cash distribution. The Social Affairs Ministry alone, for example, has five types of social assistance programs, namely the Rp 8.3 trillion (US$527 million) Family Hope Program (PKH) for 10 million families, the Rp 15.5 trillion staple food packages program for 20 million families, the Rp 16.2 trillion cash transfer program for 9 million families, the Rp 3.4 trillion staple food packages program for 1.9 million families in Greater Jakarta and other social safety net programs worth Rp 6.6 trillion. However, Juliari asserted, the simultaneous distribution of aid by the government was President Jokowi's demand to maintain people's purchasing power amid the pandemic. "It's already in accordance with the President's demand," he said. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 7) Crossing party lines, 13 senators filed on Thursday a resolution urging the National Telecommunications Commision to reconsider its order stopping ABS-CBN's TV and radio broadcasts. The proposed Senate Resolution no. 395 expresses the sense of the upper chamber to urge the NTC "to reconsider its cease and desist order against ABS-CBN Corporation and to allow the continuous operation of ABS-CBN Corporation, its subsidiaries and affiliates ABS-CBN Convergence Inc., Sky Cable Corporation, and AMCARA Broadcasting Nework, Inc., pending the disposition of its franchise renewal." It was filed by Senators Risa Hontiveros, Migz Zubiri, Franklin Drilon, Ralph Recto, Sonny Angara, Nancy Binay, Pia Cayetano, Win Gatchalian, Leila de Lima, Lito Lapid, Manny Pacquiao, Kiko Pangilinan, and Joel Villanueva. The senators stressed that the NTC's cease and desist order, which forced ABS-CBN to go off air on Tuesday, cost the jobs of around 13,000 media workers who are at the front line in providing the public with information amid the coronavirus crisis. Earlier, the number of ABS-CBN media workers was estimated at around 11,000, and Malacanang said it is considering including them in the government's COVID-19 cash assistance program. The lawmakers pointed out that the NTC actually has a March 16 memorandum order which states that all necessary permits to operate "shall automatically be renewed and shall continue to be valid sixty (60) days after the end of the government-imposed quarantine period." "This suggests that there is enough basis in policy and in practice to allow ABS-CBN Corporation and its subsidiaries and/or affiliates to continue their operations pending the renewal of their respective franchises," the lawmakers said. Metro Manila and several provinces continue to be under enhanced community quarantine until May 15, marked by stay-at home orders and suspension of most work and mass transport to contain the spread of COVID-10. The rest of the country is under a less strict general community quarantine. The senators also reiterated that the Department of Justice had already said the NTC could grant ABS-CBN provisional authority, that's why the Senate earlier passed a resolution asking the regulator to do so. House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano also wrote to the NTC asking the same thing. But on the eve of expiration of ABS-CBN's franchise, Solicitor General Jose Calida warned that NTC officials may face graft charges if it pushes through with its earlier promise of allowing the network to air without a legislative franchise. Meanwhile, at the House of Representatives, Minority Leader Benny Abante filed a bill that seeks to abolish the NTC and transferring its tasks and assets to the Department of Information and Communications Technology. Calida earlier came to the defense of NTC, saying it was only following the law, and that the House of Representatives should be blamed for sitting on bills granting the Lopez-owned network a fresh 25-year franchise. Cayetano has not made a statement on the issue. CNN Philippines' Joyce Ilas contributed to this report. Information from strategically important Ukrainian enterprises was handed over to the office in the occupied Donetsk The SBU, Ukraine's state security service has ceased the activity of a security company that could be sharing the classified data from strategic objects with militants of the so-called DNR (Donetsk People's Republic, - 112 International). The authority's press department reported this on May 7. "The special service's operatives found out that the founders of this business were three ex-law enforcers from Donetsk. In 2014, they moved to the territory controlled by Ukrainian government, but their main office kept on working in Donetsk. The culprits got the permission of "authorities" of the non-recognized republic to provide security and firefighting services in favor of "state enterprises and establishments" of the DNR. The organizers regularly paid taxes to the so-called DNR budget; part of these taxes covered funding of illegal armed formations", the message says. Meanwhile, the company continued to provide security services in Ukraine-controlled territory, setting security systems for customers in a number of regions; some of the clients were involved in the work of enterprises that compose Ukraine's critical infrastructure. "Investigators and cyber experts of Ukraine's Security Service found out that the information, including the technical one, was handed over from strategic enterprises to the main office in Donetsk. The investigation checks possible cooperation of organizers and the so-called security services of the self-styled DNR", reads the message. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday met opposition leaders through video conference to discuss the coronavirus situation in the state. While some of the leaders gathered at Mantralaya (state secretariat) here, others, including Uddhav Thackeray himself, took part in the meeting through video conference, an official in the Chief Minister's Office said. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat and PWD Minister Ashok chavan were present at the meeting from the government's side. From the opposition's side, BJP's Devendra Fadnavis and Pravin Darekar,MNS chief Raj Thackeray, VBA leader Prakash Ambedkar, PRP leader Jogendra Kawade, JSS leader Vinay Kore, PWP's Jayant Patil, RSP's Mahadeo Jankar, AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel, Kapil Patil, Ashok Dhavle and Rajendra Gawai participated, among others. Raj Thackeray told reporters afterwards that he suggested deployment of the State Reserve Police Force to assist the police in the enforcement of lockdown. "More force is needed where people are taking the administration for granted. In containment zones, police force should beincreased. Muslims should be asked to celebrate Ramzan indoors," he said. "E-learning is not always possible, not just in rural areas but also in cities. The government needs to tell people how it will ensure that academic year is completed," he said. He also demanded that the government explain its lockdown exit plan well in advance. The MNS chief also said if migrant labourers do not return, jobs should be given to the local youth. Those who want to return to the state after lockdown is lifted should be allowed to come back only after testing for coronavirus, he said. Private clinics in the state must reopen, he said. When asked if lockdown should be extended further, the MNS chief said Ramzan Eid falls on May 25. "If the lockdown ended on May 17 and people came out on streets later, what happens if the pandemic continues to increase? The government should think of all the issues," he said. When asked why he was not wearing the mandatory face mask as he attended the meeting at Mantralaya, Raj Thackeray laughed, saying he didn't wear a mask as everyone else was wearing one. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) MONROE Even with the new coronavirus, Masuk High Schoolss Future Business Leaders of America was still able to have a successful year. They participated in two state conferences. They spearheaded a book drive. The more than 70 students even organized a winter clothing drive for the communitys benefit. The FBLA, which has been a club at Masuk High for 38 years, is led by advisor Lynn Costello and its eight officers: Mary Attah-Agyeman and Daniel Rodrigues, co-presidents; Hayley Baron, vice-president; Meghan Braiewa and Theodore Gross, Co-Secretaries; Arshriya Koul, Treasurer; Ava Mihalek, Historian; and Mary OConnor, reporter. "I am extremely proud of all the members, and this years results, Costello said. The FBLA is a national organization that preps its more than 230,000 members for careers in business. The organization encourages members to become global business leaders by focusing on leadership development, academic competitions, educational programs, membership benefits, community service and awards. The officers attended the FBLA Fall Leadership Conference at the University of Hartford on Oct. 25. Themed a World of Opportunity, FBLA officers from schools throughout Connecticut learned how to enhance their local chapters. All officers split off into their corresponding groups and took part in a series of workshops led by the state officer of their position. The following month, Attah-Agyeman and Rodrigues led a book drive in conjunction with the Connecticut Roller Derby. The November drive generated 3,715 gently used K-12 books. Costello, who coordinated the project with Denise DOnofrio, an English teacher at Bullard-Havens Technical High School in Bridgeport, delivered the books to Caroline Braglia, a nurse at Bridge Academy in Bridgeport. Another drive in February this time for winter clothing was led by Attah-Agyeman and Gross. The students collected more than 50 hoodies, sweatshirts, hats, scarves, gloves, and socks, which were donated to the Thomas Merton Center, a Catholic Charity Center in Bridgeport that provides housing, nutritional, and healthcare needs for economically disadvantaged individuals. Unfortunately, the 2020 FBLA Spring State Leadership Conference, originally set for March 17, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the conference was canceled, FBLA members across Connecticut either competed in their event virtually or on-site prior to school closing. Several Masuk High students were presented with awards and qualify to compete at the National Conference to be held virtually at the end of June: Baron, first place, organizational leadership; Gross, first place, political science; Julian Zeppetello, second place, accounting II; Rodrigues and Attah-Agyeman, third place, community service; Almaas Ghafoor, third place, personal finance; and Koul, fourth place, impromptu speaking. Braiewa, Mihalek, OConnor, Melanie Antony, Nicholas Caggiano, Ryan Colberg and Gabby Picon also competed but will not advance to the next round. Two New York City Police Department Traffic Enforcement agents walk past the Whole Foods Market on April 14, 2020 in Brooklyn. (Justin Heiman/Getty Images) New York Citys Largest Police Union Calls for End to Social Distancing Enforcement NEW YORKAs the NYPD reevaluates its policies on enforcing social distancing, the largest labor union representing officers calls for an outright end to such enforcement. The New York City Police Benevolent Association (NYC PBA) has argued that vague and often mixed messages from city officials are tarnishing the image of officers as they attempt to enforce their mandates. It comes after a video surfaced online depicting an officer violently arresting a man who allegedly violated social distancing measures. The officer in question is currently under investigation. John Nuthall, communications director at the NYC PBA, said theres growing backlash against the law enforcement community. The point were trying to make is that the police officer is not the one who is creating these enforcement strategies, he told The Epoch Times. Those complaints should be addressed to the leadership of the police department in the city. If there is a need for enforcing and promoting social distancing guidelines, Nuthall suggested it shouldnt be the job of police officers, whose primary focus should be on criminal activity. During this pandemic, youre seeing tremendous strain on every aspect of our social fabric, he said. Now, if all the resources are being diverted to social distancing enforcement, were not going to be able to adequately execute our core public safety mission. More than 1,500 inmates have been released from New York jails since March 16, according to the New York Mayors Office of Criminal Justice. The office said theyre prioritizing the release of those over 50 years of age, and those with the underlying health conditions that put people at highest risk from COVID-19, including auto-immune, heart and lung diseases, diabetes, and cancer. Nuthall said the NYC PBA clearly has a concern that the actions with regard to criminal justice, lack of support for police officers, core public safety initiatives are really going to have a damaging effect on the city. Were in the middle of a public health crisis, and nobody is disputing that, he said. There are probably other city employees who are better suited [for social distancing enforcement]. NYC PBA President Patrick J. Lynch said in a statement on May 4 that city officials have given law enforcement nothing but vague guidelines and mixed messages, leaving the cops on the street corners to fend for ourselves. But now that the inevitable backlash has arrived, they are once again throwing us under the bus, he said. Lynch accused politicians of watering down our laws, releasing real criminals, and discouraging proactive enforcement of fare evasion and quality of life issues. He noted that the subways are now in chaos, and nurses are getting mugged on their way to our hospitals. The Epoch Times reached out to the NYPD for comment; a spokesperson referred to comments made by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio at a May 5 presser. I want to caution that any time that officer asks someone to observe social distancing or put on a mask the response should be to follow the instruction of the officer, and people have to understand that, de Blasio said, adding that every incident is looked at carefully. I also want to remind people that what New Yorkers need to do is respect the NYPD as well, and respect the instructions, and certainly never, ever fight with an NYPD officer, he said. That is not acceptable. As businesses owners in the United States grapple with their livelihoods being ripped away with the shutdown of their businesses, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced on May 7 that he is adjusting the rules to ensure that business owners who violate lockdown measures arent jailed. Restaurants and businesses deemed by officials to be nonessential across the country have been openly defying the measures as they grapple with their savings going down the drain. A motion to release a salon owner in Dallas who was jailed for seven days for breaking orders was also granted by the Texas Supreme Court on May 7, according to The Texas Tribune. Throwing Texans in jail whose bizs shut down through no fault of their own is wrong, Abbott announced on Twitter. I am eliminating jail for violating an order, retroactive to April 2, superseding local orders. Criminals shouldnt be released to prevent COVID-19 just to put business owners in their place. Shelley Luther, the Dallas owner of Salon A la Mode, has received a massive outpouring of support, with a GoFundMe created for her raising more than $500,000 as of press time. Asked what she would say to him if he were watching the interview, she said: I want to say, You and I were there, Joe Biden, please step forward and be held accountable. You should not be running on character for the president of the United States. When Ms. Kelly asked her if Mr. Biden should withdraw from the race she said: I wish he would. But he wont, but I wish he would. The interview was conducted Wednesday, and Ms. Kelly posted excerpts on Twitter on Thursday. Ms. Reade has accused Mr. Biden of sexually assaulting her in 1993, when she worked in his Senate office. She says he pushed her up against the wall in a Senate hallway and penetrated her digitally. Mr. Biden has forcefully denied the allegation. It is not true, Mr. Biden said in an interview on MSNBC last week. Im saying unequivocally it never, never happened. A number of prominent Democratic women, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senators Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand have said that they stand by Mr. Biden. In a statement Thursday evening, Kate Bedingfield, a deputy campaign manager, repeated previous assertions that the allegation was false, and cited news articles that she said showed inconsistencies in Ms. Reades account. The truth is that these allegations are false and that the material that has been presented to back them up, under scrutiny, keeps proving their falsity, she said. Workers at the smaller shop went on strike on Monday, creating a bottleneck in Nissans supply chain that forced the Zona Franca assembly line to grind to a halt after its morning shift on Wednesday. By avoiding a broader walkout, the unions ensured that Nissan itself would stop production, rather than having most workers forfeit their wages by going on strike. Javier Hernandez, the lead representative of the U.G.T., or General Workers Union, at the Zona Franca factory, said he had never seen a strike organized in that way, targeting a link in the supply chain rather than the main plant. He argued that it was an innovative way of adapting to a lockdown that has barred workers from holding mass street demonstrations. I guess unique circumstances like this coronavirus require an unusual response, he said. Automakers around the world, like other industries, have been crushed by the lockdowns, which have shuttered factories as well as auto dealerships. The Spanish Automobile and Truck Manufacturers Association, known as ANFAC, called on the government to provide immediate relief to the car industry, which accounts for 10 percent of Spains economy. Without such help, the automotive sector in Spain is seriously endangered, Jose Vicente de los Mozos, the president of the association, said in a statement. ANFAC said it was expecting vehicle sales to plunge this year to levels last seen after the 2008 financial crisis, which forced Spain to negotiate a European banking bailout. US Pharma major, Gilead Sciences, on Wednesday announced it in talks with some of the worlds leading chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing companies, including in India, to produce its patented antiviral drug remdesivir, after the drug recently received US Food & Drug Administration authorisation for emergency use in coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients. The discussion is taking place about their ability, under voluntary licenses, to produce remdesivir for Europe, Asia and the developing world through at least 2022. A voluntary licence is where a generics drug manufacturer is given permission by the patent holder to make a drug -- for a consideration. India is one of the worlds top generics hubs. The company is negotiating long-term voluntary licenses with several generic drugmakers in India and Pakistan to produce remdesivir for developing countries. Gilead will provide technology transfers to facilitate this production. Finally, the company is in active discussions with the Medicines Patent Pool, which Gilead has partnered with for many years, to license remdesivir for developing countries, said Gilead Sciences in a statement released on Wednesday. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), during a pandemic, local manufacturers can start production of a patented drug under certain conditions. Such drugs can be generically manufactured after paying a royalty amount to the patent holder. There are certain provisions during a pandemic that can be made use of to manufacture the drug, if required, Dr Raman R Gangakhedkar, head, department of epidemiology and communicable disease, ICMR, had said in one of the media briefings. His reference was probably to a compulsory licence. India is part of the World Health Organisations Solidarity Trials for the cure of Covid-19 and has received 1000 doses of the drug for testing. The Hyderabad-based Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT) also has synthesised the key starting materials for remdesivir, which the first step to develop the active pharmaceutical ingredient in a drug. Gilead is also in advanced discussions with Unicef to utilize their extensive experience providing medicines to low- and middle income countries during emergency and humanitarian crises to deliver remdesivir using its well-established distribution networks, to further facilitate access in developing countries during this acute health crisis. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Former director of national intelligence James Clapper in 2018 said that he hadnt seen evidence that the Trump presidential campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 general election. Clapper was responding to a query from then-representative Tom Rooney, a Florida Republican, during an interview before the House Intelligence Committee. The transcript of the interview was released on Thursday. I never saw any direct empirical evidence that the Trump campaign or someone in it was plotting [or] conspiring with the Russians to meddle with the election, Clapper said. Thats not to say that there werent concerns about the evidence we were seeing, anecdotal evidence[redacted], Clapper added. But I do not recall any instance when I had direct evidence of the content of these meetings. Its just the frequency and prevalence of them was of concern. Rooney then asked Clapper, At what time is collusion collusion, and at what time is it just people that may have an affiliation with the campaign meeting or talking with the Russian ambassador or somebody thats of Russian origin, and when should that be taken as something that rises to the level of an Intelligence Community concern? I really cant answer it other than the sort of visceral reaction to why all these meetings with the Russians, Clapper responded. Clapper admitted that it would be legitimate for incoming Trump administration officials to meet with representatives of Russia, but I think there is a linebetween that and violating the principle that in this country we traditionally have one President and one administration at a time. The interview was part of a set of 53 transcripts of interviews held by the House Intelligence Committee as part of the Russia investigation. Current committee chairman Adam Schiff had called for the release of the transcripts in 2018. However, after 43 transcripts had been reviewed and redacted by intelligence agencies as of June 2019, Schiff refused to relase the completed transcripts to the public. Current acting DNI head Richard Grenell informed Schiff on Wednesday that all the transcripts were ready for publication. More from National Review A McDonald's fan claims the best way to poach an egg is in the microwave. The young woman uploaded a video to TikTok of herself attempting to cook eggs similar to the poached version found inside Macca's breakfast burgers. The amateur chef cracked two raw eggs into a plastic container with water, salt and pepper before putting it in the microwave. She set the timer for two minutes before taking the eggs out and eating them. The amateur chef cracked two raw eggs into a plastic container with water, salt and pepper before putting it in the microwave A timer of two minutes was put on the microwave before the eggs were ready to eat 'Nailed it,' one social media user said. Some McDonald's employees commented on the video and explained that the method is not how the eggs are cooked at the fast food chain. But one staffer said they wished they were as it appeared 'much faster and easier'. An office worker known only as Shayne told Daily Mail Australia: 'Poaching an egg in the microwave is the best way. I've tried other methods but this way you can get restaurant quality with zero fuss.' Not everyone agreed this was the best way to cook a poached egg. 'I tried but it didn't turn out well. Tasted off and didn't cook evenly,' one social media user said. Another said: 'I've done it by warming the water in the microwave then dropping the egg in the water. 'It's really hard to get an even cook, and not over or under cook it. Not worth it in my opinion.' Seventy-five years after the end of World War II in Europe, photographs capture the devastation wrought on the Hungarian capital, Budapest, during one of Europes most overlooked battles. Click or tap on the images to reveal the same scene in 2020. The Danube River flows under the Szechenyi Chain Bridge, which was intentionally destroyed by Nazi-led forces to slow the advance of the Red Army. Hungary was allied with Nazi Germany during World War II and tens of thousands of its soldiers fought alongside Nazi troops in Soviet territory, including during the battle for Stalingrad -- a major turning point in the war. For seven weeks at the end of 1944 and beginning of 1945, Soviet and Romanian troops encircled and then fought their way into Nazi-held Budapest, assisted by U.S. airpower. A view of devastated Budapest from the Fishermans Bastion. A reported 80 percent of buildings in the center of the Hungarian capital were damaged or destroyed during the siege. Soviet Red Army troops march near the center of Budapest. Stalin urged his generals to take the city before his meeting with other Allied leaders began in Yalta on February 4, 1945. A shop burns as the Red Army advances into central Budapest. Buda Castle (left) along with churches and other buildings that were badly damaged during the war. As Stalin was demanding impossible speed from his generals, Hitler commanded his men to hold Budapest at all costs. Hungary held oil supplies that were vital to the Nazi war machine. A dead German soldier lies on Kalvin Ter in central Budapest. Buda Castle's main entrance, which was not rebuilt. The castle was the last major stronghold of Nazi and Hungarian troops and was hammered with Soviet artillery fire from across the river. An entrance to Matthias Church The attacking Soviet and Romanian troops outnumbered the fascist forces by about 4 to 1. An angel monument -- erected in 1936 to commemorate the recapture of nearby Buda Castle from Ottoman Turks 250 years earlier -- is one of the only intact objects in this city square. Temporary pontoon bridges stretch across the Danube. All bridges across the river were destroyed by Nazi-led forces as the Red Army advanced from the east (the right side of this photo). A stone lion lies in the rubble of the Szechenyi Chain Bridge after its destruction by retreating Nazis. The bridge was reopened in 1949 after four years of reconstruction. Residential buildings near Buda Castle that were destroyed in the fighting. Its estimated that some 38,000 civilians died in the brutal battle for the city. Red Army soldiers mill around the destroyed Elisabeth Bridge, which was later rebuilt without architectural flourishes in the 1960s under communist rule. After the decades of misery inflicted on the country by Nazi, then communist, rule, Hungary finally regained its independence in 1989. Ukraine has joined an EU decision to extend sanctions against Egypt until 2021. On March 19, 2020, the Council adopted Decision (CFSP) 2020/418. The Council Decision extends the existing restrictive measures until March 22, 2021. The Candidate Countries Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia align themselves with this Council Decision. They will ensure that their national policies conform to this Council Decision. The European Union takes note of this commitment and welcomes it, reads a statement on the website of the Council of the EU. According to the Official Journal of the EU, the Council Decision 2011/172/CFSP concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons, entities and bodies in view of the situation in Egypt was adopted on March 21, 2011, and concerns two persons, former Egyptian President Hosni Elsayed Mubarak and the spouse of his son, charged with misuse of public funds, in accordance with the UN Convention against Corruption. ish Something has happened to me since I tripped into my mid-30s. I say tripped, because the last time I checked I was 29, drinking alcopops at a festival, as I watched a man sell narcotics out of a baguette. So I'm really not sure how the situation escalated to this, now 36, eating collagen alone in my bedroom. My only assumption is that I skidded on something that catapulted me forward seven years. Maybe it was one of my own unfertilised eggs? I'm maturing. There are the physical effects, of course, the new lines and folds in my face that look like an arts-and-crafts enthusiast broke into my home overnight and tinkered away at me for hours, trying to mould my head into an accordion. Maturing means I'm losing things I'd rather keep, like facial elasticity, child-bearing years and the mental pluck to wear a scrunchie. But I'm also gaining things like sanity and perspective. Physically, I'm curdling, but mentally, I'm ripening. Take, for example, my attitude towards male friendships. Excuse the exclusively hetero-woman angle, but it's all I know (though, let's face it, no orientation is safe from the economics of attraction; we're all in this warzone together). As a teenage girl, boys were only good for the following: attention, a swell in my own self-esteem and social kudos. My teenage years were spent needing to be fancied. At that stage I knew nothing about myself, only that I loved coleslaw, puffer jackets and was mortified by my body, so if a boy considered me important enough to fancy, then that meant something. To be fancied was to be seen; it made you feel important. I couldn't see anything in myself other than unwanted bulk, hidden under layers of Umbro, so male attention was like an emotional ring light - validation, the modern-day equivalent of a blue tick - that gave me something to work with. Nothing was more thrilling than being approached by a chain-smoking 16-year-old called Deco who told you that his mate Damo requested your puffed-up, overly lip-lined presence in the bike shed, where he was waiting to put his tongue in your mouth for as long as you both could bear it. Magic. Expand Close Joanne McNally / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Joanne McNally I'm sure there were other girls more sophisticated than me who got their teenage thrills from highbrow pursuits like writing novellas in their bedroom or gorging on the historical achievements of Emmeline Pankhurst, but my main concern was tongue: seeking it, winning it, binging it. My 20s brought with them a slightly more mature attitude to men. I had guy friends who I got on with but we kept each other on the outer circle, never on the inner. We'd go out in gangs but I would never in my wildest dreams have rung them in broad daylight and suggested we nip down the town for coffee and a quiche. They were too 'other'; I felt sure they couldn't give me the all-consuming affinity I felt from my female friendships. I adore women. Not all women, of course - I'm not going to pretend there aren't some I wouldn't like to put in a barrel and drop off the side of a boat, and I know there are women who would happily barrel me into the ocean also, that's an unfortunate fact of life, but even those women, I still think about them. They affect me. Those situations gnaw away at me, because our perceived betrayals of each other are more painful than if done by a man. Women begin from a position of unspoken, understood solidarity; a shared experience that is so strong that when crossed, it feels like more than just rude disregard - it feels like treason. Video of the Day I used to go to house parties and come home with the phone numbers of women. I've made life-long female friends in the toilets of nightclubs. Nothing thrills me more than a stranger asking an entire bathroom for a tampon and me proudly passing one over like a baton of female fortitude. That connection is so gratifying, knowing that this woman can carry on her evening in comfort, without a cinderblock of toilet paper stuffed into her knickers. We are one. I blame the movies The few male friendships I had that progressed from outer circle to inner were always riddled with holes: disguised desire, secret obsessions, drunken declarations, disastrous hook-ups and eventual implosion. By the time we eventually crossed the line, the blur was so bad I couldn't tell if we were sexually compatible or riddled with cataracts. All friendships need a chemistry to exist and survive, a mutual magnetic draw that pulls you together - so when that chemistry is between two people who traditionally like to sex that sex, the lines can wobble and blur. That has always been my experience, anyway. Some of my female friends grew up with great male mates and no lines were ever crossed and I just looked on with a tilted head, impressed but confused. Expand Close Joanne McNally / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Joanne McNally Movies have a lot to answer for. The idea that men and women can't be best mates without someone wanting to secretly wiggle their way into the other's knickers is a favourite story (note: the wiggler always wins). Take the movie Just Friends, for example, a personal favourite of mine because Anna Faris's character, pop star Samantha James, basically steals the show for being bonkers. Anyway, Ryan Reynolds has a lifelong obsession with his childhood bestie, Amy Smart, whom he eventually wins over by morphing from obese, badly-braced nerd to incredibly hot, successful music producer. Oh and I'm 70pc confident that almost every Sandra Bullock movie circles around this idea also, but in reverse - Sandra starts out ugly (which in movie terms means she wears glasses), Sandra gets hot (which in movie terms means she takes off her glasses and exposes a kneecap), and she ends up in bed with Hugh Grant or some other character who never wore glasses. We're fed this type of stuff all the time, and I gobbled it all up like a hungry, emotionally-stunted pig. One of my own secret-obsession-man-friend situations took up most of my 20s. It was exhausting, heartbreaking but also intoxicating. Let's face it, the human condition loves a bit of 'will they, won't they'. It gives us life; it's up there with blood transfusions and antibiotics and that scene in Real Housewives where someone accused Aviva of faking her asthma diagnosis, so she ripped off her prosthetic leg and threw it across the dinner table. Being secretly in love with your fake best friend is akin to getting waterboarded by an adorable puppy. At times, it's complete torture, but you need to be around the puppy so you can absorb its very being, which you've decided is celestial, so you carry on, in the hope that the puppy has an epiphany and realises it should not be drowning you in a trough of Pedigree Chum, but instead should be drowning you in a trough of Pedigree soulmate. I would hang around my man-friend-obsession at all times, negging him with OTT reminders that he was definitely not my type, trying to throw him off my scent, like I hadn't tried to swipe a lock of his baby hair from his mother's side cabinet. And then I'd bid him an overly casual good-night in a way that suggested he physically repulsed me, and spend the evening listening to My Heart Will Go On, smelling the bobble hat he'd once left in my house and trying to wear the face off his Facebook page. Sleep, eat, obsess, repeat. Befriending your unrequited love should be considered a mental-health issue; it's like an exercise in psychological self-harm. Sometimes it's just a physical thing - a chemical thing, unrequited lust; whatever hormone they're leaking, you're buying. Their very presence makes your entire body fizz up with adrenaline and excitement and longing. You crave them; it's like they're heroin and your genitals are the syringe. But then there are the other friend-obsessions where you think you're actually in love with them and the 'love' is unrequited. That's a one-way street and there's nothing coming your way but tumbleweed and torment, because that's when the voice starts, that debilitating hum in your head, the little bastard lounging in the back of your mind on a beanbag, smoking a cigar, and whispering: 'If they don't want you, it's because you're not good enough for them. You're not quite sure about yourself yet, are you Joanne? No, so you should see yourself how they see you. That's exactly what you should do - allow them to determine your worth. Yes, him, that man who lives in his mother's basement, is a suspected gambling addict and thinks walnuts can cure cancer. Yes him, he is perfection. How he sees you is how you must see yourself. The only way to fix this internal rejection-fuelled turmoil is to win him over. Win his attention. Win this gift to womankind. Change his mind. Only then can you achieve inner peace.' I didn't have the emotional skill-set to validate myself, so I would try to outsource that side of things to men. When it didn't work, all hell broke loose. It's all classic human behavior - I want them, so they increase in value, but they don't want me, so I decrease in value. Love is basically the FTSE 100 for humans. I don't wish to be challenged on this analogy. Obsession is never subtle Sometimes you pine for so long, you lose focus; you pursue an imagined relationship that you've invented. Who can ever live up to that? I've been the secret fancier and the secretly fancied. In my 20s, a particular man pursued me for years, years! I finally succumbed to his charming flirtations and three months in, he dumped me. Basically, he achieved his mission, so I lost value, and then he got to know me, so my FTSE plummeted through the floor, down through the Earth's crust and into the bowels of hell. What can I say? I'm an acquired taste. Obsession is obvious. It always is. You think you've got a hold on things, you think your 'friend' doesn't know, but they always know. Your body will betray you: small signs like a flushed cheek, a diluted pupil, an ill-timed erection. I'll never forget seeing a photo of Brad Pitt staring at Angelina Jolie at some press junket for that movie they basically agreed to make so they could rub up against each other for 12 months and eventually leg it off together. He was entranced; his eyes were twirling in his head and pulsing like a heartbeat. It was incredible to watch. Like I said, obsession is never subtle. Previous relationships have done nothing to change my mind. Like the boyfriend who has a particular female friend whom you've never met, but he assures you they're 'just good friends'. Your gut is squealing at you because you know it's more; you just know. But you want to believe him because love loves a lie; it means you can stay. The whole situation stirs up your waters of intuition so violently that you're practically vomiting silt on a daily basis, and when you eventually find her sexy selfies in his phone, and his love-eye replies, it echoes what you've always believed - agenda. There is always an agenda. It also confirms that you want your next boyfriend to be a eunuch with no Wi-Fi and a Nokia 500. My mid-30s have come with changes; I'm evolving. Yes, I still occasionally come in pissed and eat my housemate's hummus, but now I'll admit to it rather than blame the wind. Growth. And during this spurt of personal development, I've acquired these wonderfully sound man friends. Real ones, no agenda, no sexual motivation, no stolen glances, no dilated pupils, no smelling bobble hats. We are legitimately 'just friends', and it's brilliant. They bring new angles to old problems, and I'm always surprised by how similar we actually are. As the weirdly accurate Thai saying goes: 'same, same, but different'. Obviously, everyone's experiences are different and everyone gets different things from different friendships, but just out of interest, I asked one of my new man friends why he likes having female friends. "Because you actually listen. Men don't want to hear my problems; men are just waiting to talk again." I asked a female friend is there anything she gets from her male mates that she doesn't get from her female mates, and she took a long, superior, woke breath and said: "Joanne, I collect personalities. Not genders." And then I regretted asking her because I remembered that she matured way faster than me (but she also thought Indiana Jones was based on a true story, so no-one's perfect). Men have always felt different to me, because, well basically, I'm not one. I had the whole thing worked out: gay man equals friend; straight man equals agenda (mine or theirs). Outside of that incredibly reductive equation, I distrusted everyone's motivations, including my own, but now that's changed, and I think I know why. Part of my mental ripening is I now know my sole purpose in life is not to try and be considered 'attractive'. I've moved on. Now I don't care if lads fancy me or not - it's nice and all that, but growing up, I thought it was all I was good for: try to be pretty, if they don't think you're pretty, you've got nothing; none of your other accomplishments mean anything unless you're fanciable. I've finally shed all that. I now know I've more to offer the world. Listen, I'm not suggesting I live my life in a muumuu dress and a moustache, far from it. I lash money into my face and I've had so much laser I could be used as an Olympic beam, and I enjoy all that - actually, I love it - but now I've stopped waiting for men to tell me who I am, which is handy, because they really didn't. It's a lot to ask of someone, especially when they're just trying figure out their own shit. Shaking off all that male validation stuff has freed me up to have male mates. I don't need or want anything from them except normal friend stuff like chats and drinks, and potentially their sperm if the fear of dying alone means I decide to grow my own baby for company. Like I say, normal stuff! I'm late to the male-mate game, but I'm here now. Yes, maturing can turn a breast into a forward-falling flesh-slinky, and it will widen a gut, but it will also widen an outlook, and for that, I am glad. See joannemcnally.com Instagram: @joannemcnallycomedy; Twitter: @jomcnally Photography by Kip Carroll Three Revolutionary Guardsmen Reportedly Killed in Clashes in Western Iran Sputnik News 12:11 GMT 06.05.2020 Tehran has waged a low-intensity counterterrorism campaign against militants in the country's northwest for several decades, accusing the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia of providing support to local separatists, and accusing officials in Iraqi Kurdistan of helping to arm and train the guerillas. Three Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) troops were killed a clash outside the town of Divandarreh, western Iran on Tuesday, Tasnim News has reported. An unknown number of terrorist gunmen were also said to have been killed in the fighting outside the Iranian Kurdistan Province town. An IRGC spokesperson did not clarify which militant group was involved in the clash, characterizing the fighters only as "anti-revolutionary terrorist" elements. Iran's government has battled over half a dozen Kurdish separatist and political militias concentrated in the country's northwest for decades, with guerillas carrying out attacks against Guard units and state facilities. Some of these units, including the Kurdistan Free Life Party, have been accused of being sponsored by the CIA and other Western intelligence agencies, as well as Mossad. Occasionally, terror attacks spill into other areas. In 2017, Tehran was rocked by a series of terrorist attacks by five ethnic Kurdish terrorists said to be affiliated with Daesh (ISIS), killing 17 civilians.* In 2018, a military parade in Ahvaz, southwestern Iran, was disrupted in a shooting attack which killed 25 people. Iran blamed the US and Saudi Arabia for that attack, and retaliated by targeting militants in Syria with missiles and drone. Washington and Riyadh vocally denied any involvement in the Ahvaz attacks. In 2018 and 2019, Tehran has also repeatedly accused officials in neighbouring Iraqi Kurdistan of breaking a commitment not to train and support Iranian Kurdish militants. In September 2018, the IRGC launched seven Fateh-110 missiles at the headquarters of two Iranian Kurdish militia groups in Koya, Iraqi Kurdistan, killing 18. * A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address In the 1997 Supreme Court case against the Rev. Michael Brewer of the diocese of Kansas City, who was accused by Michael Gibson of fondling him during a sleepover, the Supreme Court dismissed the case, ruling that questions of hiring, ordaining, and retaining clergy necessarily involve interpretation of religious doctrine, policy, and administration. Such excessive entanglement between church and state has the effect of inhibiting religion, in violation of the First Amendment. But allegations of abuse, Chackes argued Wednesday, involve secular harm to a third party that could be resolved through the judicial system without violating separation of church and state. They can hire clergy, they can retain clergy, even if theyre sexual abusers, Chackes said. The focus has to be on children. How can they protect children . Chackes also argued that testimony from the Rev. Doyle and other church records on Woulfes background included language that, without using the phrase sexual abuse, would reasonably lead the jury to conclude Woulfe had a pattern of abuse both before abusing this particular plaintiff and afterward. Police are looking for a juvenile they believe assaulted another boy in a Carlisle park on Tuesday afternoon. The assault, shown in the photos above, took place around 4:30 p.m. at Letort Park, 260 E Pomfret Street, Carlisle police said. One suspected male juvenile assaulted the boy by punching and kicking him in the head, police said. The boy suffered injuries, but police did not specify the severity of the injuries or his condition. Police are asking the public for help in identifying the assailant. Tips can be submitted through the departments Crimewatch website, or by calling 717-243-5252 x3. Read more on PennLive: Sydney's mosquito numbers have dramatically increased, with fears the growing population will lead to the rapid spread of a tropical virus. Late summer weather of heavy rain and warm temperatures sparked an enormous jump in the city's mosquito population, leading to a spike in cases of Ross River fever. Ross River fever is spread through mosquito bites and includes symptoms such as rash, fever, aching joints and fatigue. Infection numbers for Ross River in April were the highest they have been in nearly 30 years, totaling 434 cases in NSW, which was five times more than the previous year. Sydney's mosquito numbers have exploded after wet weather and warm temperatures in the later part of summer. Pictured: mosquitoes in marshland in Sydney Dr Cameron Webb from NSW Health Pathology told 9News the increased mosquito numbers and risk of contracting Ross River fever has remained into the cooler months. 'We've seen an explosion in mosquito populations and those mosquitoes have persisted right through until autumn and so we're still seeing quite a few over recent weeks,' he said. Hot spots for mosquitoes include waterways such as the Hawkesbury, Parramatta and Georges rivers, and the northern beaches. The bug population in Sydney Olympic Park is controlled through the park authority's mosquito management program. Mosquito hot spots in Sydney include waterways such as the Hawkesbury, Parramatta and Georges rivers, and the northern beaches (stock image) NSW shadow health minister Ryan Park has called for the government to follow their lead and spray wetlands throughout the state. 'It's quite clear that the government needs to increase their spraying program,' he said. 'The last thing the people of NSW need is another virus.' Mosquitoes are most active at dusk and dawn, with experts recommending people wear insect repellent and wearing long sleeves to prevent getting bites. The San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists will present a webinar at noon Saturday, Covering a Global Pandemic From Home, on the challenges, successes and stresses facing journalists covering the COVID-19 pandemic. The panel discussion, moderated by Express-News columnist Elaine Ayala, features Express-News health reporter Lauren Caruba, Telemundo multimedia journalist Vladimir Flores, Univision San Antonio photojournalist Antonio Guillen, KSAT-TV news director Bernice Kearney, Texas Public Radio government reporter Joey Palacios and Investigative Reporters & Editors training director Francisco Vara-Orta. To participate in the webinar, which has a limited number of registration slots, visit the associations Facebook page to find the Zoom link. It also will be live-streamed via Facebook. Were really excited to be able to organize this event for our members and the community, because it will give people the chance to see what its really like for local reporters at various outlets covering the pandemic and how it affects our San Antonio community, said SAAHJ treasurer and Express-News business reporter Laura Garcia. This will also be a good way for our audiences to see the sort of behind-the-scenes work that we do. We, as journalists, dont always do a good job of explaining the process and how these experiences affect us. Scott Huddleston covers Bexar County government and the Alamo for the San Antonio Express-News. To read more from Scott, become a subscriber. shuddleston@express-news.net | Twitter: @shuddlestonSA Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 7) Cagayan De Oro City confirmed a local virus transmission after authorities failed to trace the source of infection of three COVID-19 patients who succumbed to the disease. The City Health Office said all patients had no travel history. They were identified as a 69-year-old man from Barangay Camaman-an, a 21-year-old man from Barangay Lumbia, and a 61-year-old woman from Barangay Carmen. Misamis Oriental Governor Yevgeny Emano sent a letter of request to President Rodrigo Duterte and the national Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) Thursday, to place the entire province under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). This includes Cagayan De Oro City, the provincial capital. With the number of positive cases now recorded in Cagayan de Oro City the undersigned expresses fears and worries the disease might spread across Misamis Oriental, given the fact thousands still travel to and from the city, Emano said in his letter. He added that Misamis Oriental has been categorized as a COVID-19 moderate-risk area. It is, thus, believed that these circumstances call for the imposition by the IATF of ECQ in the whole province, including Cagayan de Oro City, Emano said. The governor also met with the provincial task force against COVID-19 to prepare should the IATF approve his request. CNN Philippines stringer Alwen Saliring contributed to this report. No details of how the armed forces assisted were revealed The Department of Health (DoH) has confirmed that there have been multiple requests for military assistance for patients during the Covid-19 outbreak. No details of how the armed forces assisted were revealed, but the Ministry of Defence (MoD) stated that a Royal Air Force A400M Atlas aircraft had "supported the first medical evacuation from Northern Ireland to the UK mainland during the coronavirus outbreak". A spokesperson for the MoD told the News Letter that the patient was taken from Aldergrove to East Midlands Airport "following a request for assistance" and that medical specialists were "on board to attend to the patient throughout the transfer". It is understood that the patient was critically ill and needed transported for specialist care when the incident took place last week. A source told the paper that it had been a "humanitarian" and "purely medical" mission. Last month, Health Minister Robin Swann said that he would be formally asking for military assistance to the civil authorities but Sinn Fein objected as Mr Swann had failed to bring it to the Executive first. The most significant military assistance would involve turning the Eikon Centre at the site of the former Maze Prison into a Nightingale hospital, if that were to go ahead. A spokesperson for the DoH said: "The department is receiving military input on the design and specification of a Nightingale facility for a second wave of Covid-19 admissions. "Formal requests for military assistance are most likely to be required in relation to immediate assistance to transport patients, staff or equipment at short notice or where commercial or other alternatives are not suitable. "As requests for assistance to date have involved treatment for individual patients, it would not be appropriate to share further details of these." How to Find Trustworthy Will Writers in Birmingham It is not something that everyone would want to think about, but having a Will written can make life so much easier for your loved ones should anything happen to you. Young or old, it doesnt matter, a Will is something that everyone should have. As we go through life, we gather assets, whether they be possessions, a car, a house or money, everyone will have something. By creating a Will, you are leaving clear instructions as to how your assets should be shared in the event of your death. Without a Will, it is left for your loved ones to decide upon the distribution of your assets and not only may they be distributed in a way that you would rather not have but it can cause endless arguments between family members when decisions have to be made and sometimes it can cause a permanent rift. With a Will, you can also appoint an Executor, a person that you would trust, to have the responsibility to share your assets according to your wishes. You can find out more about will writers Birmingham through the provided site. In order that a Will be valid after your death, it has to be written in a way that is legally binding and some make the mistake of appointing an inexperienced writer or they attempt to do it themselves, only for their loved ones to discover that the Will is not valid. In Birmingham for example, there are many companies who would offer to write a Will for you, so how do you go about finding a company who is trustworthy? You could ask for recommendations, this can be a useful way of accessing a company who is reliable, especially if you trust those who are providing the recommendations. You could search for local Birmingham ads on social media pages and look there for recommendations and reviews. Sometimes there will also be ads in the local Birmingham newspapers if you prefer not to go online. Many will go online to the search engines and begin the process from there. It is important however if you do that to read the site information carefully and make sure that you know what you are getting. There are different offerings, there are templates which you can purchase and use and there are solicitor driven products, you have to make sure that you separate the genuine article from the non genuine and that will take a bit of homework. Search for reviews and dont simply just trust what is written on the website. Wills have to be witnessed in a particular way and have to include certain types of legal speak in order for them to be valid. Some companies will offer a telephone support service. Leaving a badly written will leaves no protection for your loved ones. You can visit a local Birmingham solicitor but this can, in some cases be more expensive than some of the online options so check and compare the cost but do remember that cheap is not always best, yes you want value for money but you dont want to have to cut corners in the process. If the price is too cheap or for that matter too expensive, it may be an idea to look elsewhere. It is important to get it right for the benefit of your loved ones. They may have to cope with the tragedy of your passing, they do not need to have to cope with legal wrangling over a poorly written Will. By Lyle MacLeod 2020 Copyright Lyle MacLeod - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors. 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. Los Angeles, May 7 : Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth says he likes to shoot non-stop action sequences so that he can keep up with the momentum. Recently, Hemsworth was seen doing some jaw-dropping action sequences in his digital film "Extraction". The film traces the journey of Tyler Rake (Hemsworth), a fearless black market mercenary, who is on a mission to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned international crime lord. The film was shot in various different locations with the film's climactic sequence culminating in an epic gun battle over a bridge. Talking about the action packed climax, Hemsworth said: "The action was non-stop but I like it that way. Sometimes on a film when you have long waiting times, you lose momentum, especially with something so physical. "But using an actual bridge meant we could immerse ourselves in the action and the emotion. I've worked a lot with blue and green screens and your imagination has to do a lot of work to create the world. The bridge did a lot of that work for us," he added. After scouting multiple bridges in India and Thailand for the final action sequence, the makers decided to shoot the climax at the Lat Bua Khao Bridge in Thailand's Ratchaburi. Once the bridge was secured, the art department began creating the blockade which is shown during the final escape sequence. The blockade consisted of a whole of 132 vehicles that were piled up on the bridge -- which included 14 pickups and SUVs, 40 sedans (including police cars), 19 light trucks and vans, 12 full-sized trucks (including an armoured military vehicle), 5 buses, 22 motorbikes, 18 tuk-tuks and 7 bicycle rickshaws. Directed by Sam Hargrave, the film's screenplay is done by Joe Russo. The action thriller, which released on Netflix on April 24, also stars Indian actors Randeep Hooda, Pankaj Tripathi, Priyanshu Painyulli, and Rudraksh Jaiswal. The film is produced by Russo Brothers (Joe and Anthony Russo), Mike Larocca, Hemsworth, Eric Gitter, and Peter Schwerin, and is on its way to becoming Netflix's most watched feature film ever. Meanwhile, "Avengers: Endgame" co-director Joe Russo has confirmed that he will be working on a sequel to "Extraction". Hemsworth and Hargrave are expected to return in the new action adventure. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text The National Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Sammi Awuku, has described as the lowest point in Ghanas politics, a comment by the Member of Parliament for Klottey Korle, Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, that party cards were demanded from vulnerable Ghanaians before food was given them during the lockdown period. Dr Agyeman-Rawlings, at the time, said: This must end now and immediately because coronavirus does not know NPP and NDC, neither does it know CPP, PNC, PPP or APC etc. This is a humanitarian crisis, women and children are hungry. They are locked down because its not their fault the virus is in Ghana, she fumed. She lamented: People are literally being asked to show evidence of their party membership before being given food. This is not acceptable [and] this is very sad [because] the virus does not show whether you are NDC or NPP before it infects you. However, Mr Awuku said the claim was unfair to Ghanaians and to the government. According to him, he personally went round with Edem Agbana, Marietta Brew Opong, Opare Addo and a few others but none of them ever saw anybody demanding party cards before giving packs of food to the vulnerable. At no point in time were party cards demanded. That was why she could not bring a single piece of evidence to support her claim. If that happened, that would have been insensitive on the part of the government but that didnt happen, he said on the Ghana Yensom show on Thursday, 7 May 2020. 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 Prince Charles was immensely worried about his son Prince William when he was entering university. As a result, he gave him some really solid and stern warnings to remind him that his actions would not only be judged by himself or his family, but by the entire nation. According to a veteran royal reporter, Robert Jobson, while other students only have to fret over what their friends are saying or what their parents if they were to find out the things they are doing in college, William was warned that the consequences of his actions are going to be far worse. Prince Charles warned him that he should be get into trouble or controversies in colleges; he also had to contend with what the nation might make of him. He was not particularly called to be a good boy. Instead, he was told to be discreet and warned that he should choose his friends wisely. According to the expert, Prince Charles would have provided William with several ground rules. "The ground rules, he said, were very simple: no drugs, no getting caught in compromising positions with girls, no kissing in public, no excessive drinking and no giving his bodyguards the slip," the expert surmised. "Charles warned his son in solemn tones about the dangers of falling in with the wrong girls and of the excruciating consequences of being caught on the wrong end of a kiss-and-tell sting," he added. The expert also revealed that "His time at Eton had taught William all about the birds and the bees. Now it was down to Charles to give an extra-curricular tutorial on the honey-trap." Prince Charles was worried that Prince William might attract a certain type of female that should be avoided as much as possible. Prince Charles should not have worried. Prince William proved that he would not be harmed while in college. More so, before his college stint, he has already revealed that he is quite wise in reading strangers. Moreover, despite the warnings provided by Prince Charles, William did not suffer from being taken advantage of by irrational, gold-digging women. Instead, it was in college when Prince William was able to attract the attention of his present wife, Kate Middleton. Since they shared similar halls of residence at St. Andrews, they quickly became friends. It would be some time before their romance blossomed, although William had been Kate's top crushes, as her school friends adorably shared. Jessica Hay, Kate's friend, said that whenever they talk about boys at school, Catherine would say that she did not like anyone because they are all a bit rough. However, she would quickly follow it up with "there's no one quite like William." It was apparent that she liked him, although she certainly did not envision herself becoming the Duchess of Cambridge one day. Even though they were already dating, they would take 10 years before making it to the aisle. Hay added that Kate had a picture of William on her wall. The picture was supposed to show William and Prince Charles fishing, but Kate cut Prince Charles off. Kate reportedly said that Prince William looks kind. READ MORE: Sad King: Prince Charles SUFFERED Because Of Huge Royal 'Burden' Top of the list of predictions for a post-Covid-19 world is remote working. Academic experts, international think tanks, bosses and politicians all see an explosion in long-term remote working as inevitable. Hairdressers and dentists are the only ones who don't seem too fazed about this revolution that is apparently coming. If the remote working transformation does happen, they will continue to do well, but they may have to locate to suburbs and housing estates. There is still a big 'if' about exactly how the remote working phenomenon will evolve after this pandemic. Hundreds of thousands of people are working from home right now who would not otherwise be doing so. But there is a long way to go before we see the kind of revolution that is being talked about and it may be further away than many imagine. Here are some of the ways it might play out and what the implications could be. 1. Boon for regions and rural Ireland: If employers do see the long-term cost-saving benefits of having more people working from home, then public investment in infrastructure would have to be re-examined. The economic and social need for big road, rail and energy projects is based on assessments of how many people will use them every day. The Project Ireland 2040 plan envisages the population growing by a million in the next 20 years. It predicted the east and midlands, including Dublin, would show a population increase of more than half of that growth, or 540,000 people. The north-west would see an increase of 180,000 while Cork, Limerick and Galway would grow by 50pc. But we shouldn't rush to envisage software engineers, accountants and solicitors moving to Killybegs or Kilkee. Even if professional firms find it cheaper to scale back on office space, the job is still in Dublin and the workers still live in Dublin and its commuter belt. It could happen that more people would sell up eventually, or simply move to cheaper locations, but that would take time. The benefits would be more visible on quieter commuter roads into Dublin city centre before they would be seen in house prices in the west. A transition to more remote working could in theory benefit rural towns and regional cities, but not very quickly. 2. Broadband: Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said this week that the move to remote working justifies the planned future spend on rural broadband even more. Of course he is right about that - in theory. The problem with the scheme will be take-up. Build it and they will come is one thing, but build it and they will buy the service is another. Having the infrastructure in place in rural areas would facilitate a wider rural transformation but, again, only over many years. 3. David and Goliaths: Many of the big employers in Ireland are foreign multinationals. Those involved in manufacturing need to stick to the workplace. Tech giants won't change the model that quickly. Tech giants are in Ireland for the tax breaks, the wider business infrastructure and the ability to attract or find young talented staff here. They want to see them. 4. Managing a remote workforce: I know of bosses who say their 10 staff are working brilliantly from home and others who say their 10 staff are doing "shag all". How do you manage output, productivity, focus and efficiency remotely? Big employers cannot do it and may introduce greater employee flexibility after the pandemic but they won't abandon their offices any time soon, even if leases allowed. Small employers are more likely to embrace remote working if the bosses can put in place systems and ways of managing which keep staff focused. 5. Tax breaks: The Government is talking about enhancing existing tax breaks for home working. The most effective breaks would be for workers to become self-employed. This could lead to an acceleration of the casualisation of employment which brings its own uncertainties and disadvantages. 6. Commercial property: When construction sites for offices open up in the coming weeks, will their finished work be worth less than when they started building it? Office values in Dublin have not so far shown signs of heavy falls but they probably will on the back of wider recession rather than working from home. Big employers will continue to want places of work. Smaller offices will be more vulnerable. Human contact still brings about better creativity and performance. Many people simply can't hack it working from home. Lots of employees don't miss the commute now but they miss their work colleagues. Executives know the benefits of a workplace and will balance that with any opportunity to save money. The Punjab police on Thursday said it has arrested two accomplices of a close associate of Riyaz Naikoo, the slain commander of banned terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen. The arrested persons have been identified as Bikram Singh and Maninder Singh, residents of Amritsar district, police said. Police also seized one kg heroin along with Rs 32 lakh cash from their possession, Director General of Police, Punjab, DinkarGupta said in a press statement. Further investigation in the case will be carried out by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on the instructions of the Centre, the statement said. While Rs 20 lakh in cash was recovered from them at the time of their arrest, the remaining amount and the narcotic substance were seized from their homes later following the grant of police remand by the court. Both of them are accomplices of Hilal Ahmed Wagay, a close associate of Naikoo, police said. Hizbul Mujahideen militant Wagay, a resident of Nowgam under Avantipura police station area of Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir, was arrested last month from Amritsar and Rs 29 lakh in cash was recovered from his possession. Naikoo, commander of the banned terrorist organization Hizbul Mujahideen, was gunned down by security forces in South Kashmir on Wednesday. DGP Gupta said Thursday's arrests were made after the duo was traced through investigations into the trail of Wagay, who had come from the Kashmir Valley to collect money from Amritsar on Naikoo's instructions. Bikram had come on a two-wheeler to deliver Rs 29 lakh cash to Wagay on the instructions of persons identified as Ranjit Singh, Iqbal Singh and Sarwan Singh, police said. The interrogation of the two accused further revealed that both Bikram and Maninder, along with Ranjit, Iqbal and Sarwan, allegedly deal in drugs and weapons smuggled from across-the-border. The DGP said the police teams were looking into the trail of Ranjit, Iqbal and Sarwan whose involvement had come up during investigation. Given the gravity of the offences and the cross-border ramifications of the case beyond Punjab, the Centre has directed the NIA to take over further investigations into the case to unravel the entire conspiracy, which has footprints leading across the border via J&K, said the release. PTI CHS VSD http://ptinews.com/images/pti.jpg We bring the World to you"Disclaimer : This e-mail message may contain proprietary, confidential or legally privileged information for the sole use of the person or entity to whom this message was originally addressed. Please delete this e-mail, if it is not meant for you. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Shiv Sena on Thursday took a dim view of large crowds outside liquor shops in Mumbai earlier this week, and said people should understand that liquor is "not a vaccine" for COVID-19. It is "not worth buying 65,000 COVID-19 infection cases" for earning a revenue of Rs 65 crore through liquor sale, a editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said, noting that people defied physical distancing norms while gathering at wine shops. After the Maharashtra government on Sunday announced to open standalone shops, including of liquor, in COVID-19 non-containment zones, long queues were seen outside shops on Monday and Tuesday. Mumbai civic commissioner issued an order on Tuesday night directing closure of all non-essential services, including liquor shops, in the city. "Their (people's) joy of liquor shops being opened was short-lived. The administration had to order closure of wine shops. In Mumbai alone, the revenue earned through liquor sale in two days was Rs 65 crore. But on Tuesday, the city saw single day spike of 635 new COVID-19 cases and nearly 30 deaths," the Sena said. The "side-effect" of opening liquor shops was seen in 24 hours, it said. "For a revenue of Rs 65 crore, we cannot afford to buy (have) 65,000 coronavirus infection cases...people have to understand that liquor is not a vaccinefor COVID-19," the Marathi publication said. The administration and police had to bear the additional strain due to opening of liquor shops where physical distancing rules were not followed, it noted. The Sena justified the government's decision to close the liquor shops and allow only groceries and medical shops to remain open. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) He is the sixth prime minister since the 2003 US-led invasion. The appointment of 15 ministers has been approved, five rejected, including justice and migration. Ministries for oil and foreign affairs also remain vacant pending new negotiations. Fighting the economic crisis and the new coronavirus pandemic are among the priorities. The fears of new ISIS violence. Baghdad (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Iraqi Parliament voted overnight to entrust former intelligence chief Moustafa al-Kadhimi with confidence, with the aim of ending almost six months of protests and deep political institutional turmoil. Deupties, spaced out and equipped with gloves and masks to counter the new coronavirus pandemic, approved the appointment, while behind the scenes clashes continued between parties around key ministries, including oil. The majority of the 255 parliamentarians present at the vote approved the government program and the majority of the ministers proposed by the 53-year-old al-Kadhimi, who thus becomes the sixth Iraqi prime minister since the 2003 US invasion. Legislators supported the appointment of 15 ministers and five were rejected, including trade, justice, culture, agriculture and migration. The oil and foreign departments also remain vacant pending further negotiations. After the green light, al-Kadhimi assured that "Iraq's security, stability and growth will be our guidelines." The new executive's priorities include the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, which has so far caused more than 2,000 infections and more than 100 victims, and bring the perpetrators of violence against demonstrators to justice in the context of popular protests. Iraq has experienced profound political and social turmoil in recent months, with street protests against corruption and an economic crisis that prompted Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi to resign in November. The authorities have repeatedly tried to quell the demonstrations, triggering clashes that have resulted in over 500 deaths. The Chaldean patriarch, Card Louis Raphael Sako, also intervened on the tensions, stressing the need for a "secular state" to overcome the divisions. Among the priorities that the new executive will face is the serious economic crisis, exacerbated by the pandemic, which caused a collapse in oil prices, the main source of income for the country. Added to this, is the growing violence of the Islamic State (SI, ex Isis), defeated on a military level but still active, and the regional tensions linked to the proxy war between the United States and Iran. A former U.S. soldier captured in Venezuela said that he had been contracted by a Florida security firm to seize control of Caracas airport and bring in a plane to fly President Nicolas Maduro to the United States. Venezuelan authorities on Monday arrested the man, Luke Denman, along with fellow U.S. citizen Airan Berry and 11 others, in what Maduro has called a failed plot coordinated with Washington to oust him. During questioning broadcast on state television, Denman said the firm, Silvercorp USA, had signed a contract with Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido to seek Maduros removal. A Guaido advisor told CNN hat he had signed an exploratory agreement, but it had never been finalized and the opposition did not support the attempted incursion. Denman said his mission was to secure the airport and establish outer security. He did not give details on how his group planned to get Maduro on a plane. I was helping Venezuelans take back control of their country, Denman, a former special operations forces member, said in the video. Denman said he and Berry were contracted by Jordan Goudreau, a U.S. military veteran who leads Silvercorp, to train 50 to 60 Venezuelans in Colombia in January for the operation. Goudreau supplied the group with equipment, Denman said. Goudreau confirmed his role as organizer of the operation in media interviews on Sunday and told Reuters on Monday that Denman and Berry were my guys. Venezuelan authorities said they arrested the group by the isolated coastal town of Chuao, about 60 kilometers west of Caracas airport, after locals raised suspicions. Authorities published photos of what they said was the groups boat, loaded with ammunition, weapons and communication equipment. Eight people involved in the same operation were killed on Sunday in La Guaira state, near Caracas, Maduros government said. A chemical leak that occurred in LG Polymers plant in RR Venkatapuram village, Visakhapatnam, in Andhra Pradesh earlier in the day has killed ten people, including two children, so far. About 300 people have been hospitalised as they went unconscious, felt shortness of breath and needed immediate oxygen support after inhaling the gas. Srijana Gummalla, Commissioner of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation has said that as per preliminary reports, either polyvinyl chloride gas (PVC) or styrene leaked from LG Polymers chemical plant at around 2.30am. Both chemicals are used in manufacture of plastic and its products. Styrene is also used to make latex, synthetic rubber and polystyrene resins that are used to make plastic packaging, disposable cups and containers, according to US Centre for Disease Control fact sheet. As per the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), both the leaked chemicals have hazardous effects on human health and the effects depend on the level of exposure. What are the hazards of exposure to styrene? Domestically, the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical Rules, 2000, regulates safe handling and storage of hazardous chemicals and includes a list of 684 hazardous chemicals. Styrene is listed as one of the 684 hazardous chemicals under the central regulation. As per the US governments agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, styrene is found in air, soil and water after releasing from manufacturing, usage, and disposal of styrene-based products. The primary exposure to Styrene is by breathing the air containing it. It is released by industries, through automobile exhaust, cigarette smoke and use of photocopiers. According to the US EPA, acute (short-term) exposure to styrene in humans results in irritation of mucous membrane and eyes and affects gastrointestinal system. While chronic (long-term) exposure has an effect on the central nervous system and leads to headache, fatigue, and weakness. Animal studies have shown effects on the central nervous system, liver, kidney, eye and nasal irritation due to styrene inhalation and exposure. As far as carcinogenic effects or links to cancer is concerned, studies have been inconclusive as of now. Uses and Effects of PVC Gas PVC is made with vinyl chloride and short term exposure to high levels can affect central nervous system and long term exposure can lead to liver damage, fatigue, drowsiness and headaches. The incineration of PVC products leads to release of dioxins and dioxin-like compounds. Development in Vizag Incident The unfortunate incident of gas leakage took place when the Vizag factory was trying to open post lockdown, DG NDRF told CNN-News18. Emergency services have evacuated villages and cordoned off a 3-kilometre (nearly 2-mile) radius around the LG Polymers plant in the Visakhapatnam district. A naval team with about 50 breathing sets and associated portable air compressor along with two Naval ambulances are assisting the SDRF team at villages affected by the Vizag gas leak. South Korea's LG Chem said a gas leak at its plant in the state had been brought under control, after an incident. LG Chem said in a statement that the gas emitted in the leak can cause nausea and dizziness when inhaled. It said it was seeking to ensure casualties received treatment quickly. It also said the affected factory was suspended because of lockdown measures caused by coronavirus outbreak at the time of the accident, and said it was investigating how the leak occurred. Shares of LG Chem were down nearly 1 per cent by 0533 GMT, while the broader market was up 0.03 per cent. Riddhima Kapoor has been sharing throwback family pictures of late father Rishi Kapoor after the veteran actor died last Thursday after a two-year battle with leukaemia. She has now shared a picture from their get-together just before the birth of her daughter Samara. Sharing the picture on her Instagram stories, Riddhima wrote, Beautiful memories New Years eve 2010 - Just before Samara was born. It shows a smiling Rishi along with wife Neetu, Riddhima and her husband Bharat Sahni. All of them are dressed in black for a New Years party. Riddhima with Rishi Kapoor, Neetu and Bharat Sahni. Riddhimas husband, Bharat Sahni, shared some more pictures from the same trip. He wrote on Instagram, Beautiful memories #2010 #newyearseve Just before Samara was born! Riddhima had earlier shared a picture of Rishi with his mother Krishna Raj and captioned it, Reunited with his most favourite person. She has also been posting her childhood pictures with him and from her parents wedding function and other family events. Rishi Kapoor with wife Neetu Kapoor and mother Krishna Raj. Riddhima arrived in Mumbai from New Delhi on May 2 by road to be with Neetu and brother Ranbir Kapoor. She failed to get permission to fly down for her fathers funeral due to the nationwide lockdown in the face of Covid-19 outbreak. Also read: Ramayan: Sunil Lahri reveals bird pooped on an actor while filming under a tree, key sequence left Ramanand Sagar angry Rishis last rites were performed at around 4 pm in the citys Chandanwadi crematorium. The funeral was attended by Ranbir, Neetu, his brother Randhir Kapoor, niece Kareena Kapoor and her husband Saif Ali Khan, and actor Abhishek Bachchan. Riddhima later joined the family at Banganga where Rishis ashes were immersed by Ranbir on Sunday. Riddhima had earlier shared a heartbreaking messages and pictures on Instagram while travelling from Mumbai to Delhi. She wrote with one of his pictures, Papa I love you I will always love you-RIP my strongest warrior I will miss you every day I will miss your FaceTime calls every day. Follow @htshowbiz for more IOWA CITY, Iowa - Investigators from multiple states were looking Thursday into whether a long-haul trucker from Iowa whos implicated in three womens slayings in the 1990s could be responsible for other unsolved homicides. Officers arrested Clark Perry Baldwin, 58, in Waterloo on Wednesday after new DNA evidence allegedly tied him to three women whose bodies were dumped in Wyoming and Tennessee. Court documents allege that he also raped and choked a woman in Texas in 1991. Detectives with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are looking at any connections that Baldwin may have to other cold cases, special agent Mike Krapfl said. He said other agencies were also scrutinizing Baldwin, who travelled the country. Obviously there are several cases that need to be followed up on, said Krapfl, who confirmed that agents interviewed Baldwin after his arrest. Jody Ewing, who operates the Iowa Cold Cases website, said she gave investigators a list of more than two dozen slayings since 1980 that could fit Baldwins pattern. They include women who were beaten, strangled and stabbed and left in ditches. One case involves the 1992 death of Tammy Jo Zywicki, 21, an Iowa college student who was last seen after her car broke down on an Illinois highway. A man driving a semitrailer was seen near her vehicle. Zywickis body was found in rural Missouri. Another involves Rhonda Knutson, 22, a truck stop convenience store clerk in northern Iowa who was bludgeoned to death during an overnight shift in 1992. Baldwin lived in nearby Nashua, Iowa. In Wyoming, Baldwin is charged in the deaths of two women whose bodies were found in 1992 roughly 400 miles (645 kilometres) apart. Investigators never identified the women, nicknaming them Bitter Creek Betty and I-90 Jane Doe. In Tennessee, Baldwin is charged with two counts of murder in the 1991 killing of a 32-year-old pregnant woman from Topping, Virginia, Pamela McCall, and her fetus. A Tennessee crime lab developed a DNA profile of the suspect in McCalls death last year after a cold case investigator submitted evidence for analysis. A check in a national database matched the profile to one that had been developed years earlier linking the two Wyoming deaths. Investigators zeroed in on Baldwin after finding DNA in commercial genealogy databases of someone related to the suspects profile, court documents say. Last month in Waterloo, the FBI secretly collected DNA from Baldwins trash and a shopping cart he used at Walmart and testing revealed that it was a match. Tennessee District Attorney General Brent Cooper praised investigators for bringing this serial killer to justice. Im also very happy to be able to give Rose McCalls mother a chance to see justice for her daughters and granddaughters murders, he said. A similar allegation of violence against Baldwin helped investigators make their case. Court documents say that Baldwin allegedly raped a female hitchhiker from Kansas in Wheeler County, Texas, at gunpoint in his truck in 1991. The 21-year-old woman told police that Baldwin struck her on the head, bound her hands and mouth and tried to choke her to death. He allegedly admitted to the assault but was released pending grand jury proceedings. Ultimately, he wasnt prosecuted. Baldwin, who has previously lived in Nashua, Iowa, and Springfield, Missouri, was a cross-country truck driver for Marten Transport. Baldwins name also surfaced during a 1992 homicide investigation in Iowa. His ex-wife told police then that Baldwin once bragged about killing a girl out west by strangulation and throwing her out of his truck, court documents say. In 1997, Secret Service agents raided Baldwins apartment in Springfield, Missouri, after learning he was making counterfeit U.S. currency on a personal computer. He and two female associates were indicted on counterfeiting charges. Baldwin was sentenced to 18 months in prison and released in 1999. Baldwin is being held without bond at the Black Hawk County jail. In a court hearing Thursday, he didnt challenge his extradition to Tennessee, where he is expected to be transferred in coming weeks and eventually face trial first. The charges stunned Jazz Baldwin, 32, of New Hampton, Iowa, who said she learned two years ago that Baldwin was her father after he purchased a DNA test kit. The two had been in contact over Facebook since then, she said. I heard rumours about his possible crimes but always thought they were bogus, she wrote in a Facebook message. Murder was NOT on the list of things we thought he had done and gotten away with. __ Associated Press journalists Rhonda Shafner in New York City and Mead Gruver in Cheyenne, Wyoming contributed to this report. TDT | Manama A number of new judges took the legal oath before Cassation Court president and Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) deputy chairman Chancellor Abdullah bin Hassan Al Buainain, and Attorney General Dr Ali bin Fadhul Al Buainain, marking the issuance of the royal decree appointing them to the Court of Cassation. Chancellor Al Buainain welcomed the participation in the judicial work of young Bahrainis who have high experience in this field, through their previous work in the Public Prosecution. The Cassation Court president said that the development of the judiciary is a permanent and continuous process. He pointed out that the digital transformation of the SJC allowed a lot of completed justice and opened the way for filing a case electronically anytime, quickly and easily. Chancellor Al Buainain noted SJCs ongoing training for judges on the online system, explaining that it aimed at upgrading the judiciary in Bahrain. (Natural News) The Association for Canadian Studies along with a group known as Leger recently conducted a poll about whether or not a future vaccine for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) should be mandatory. And the majority of respondents disturbingly said yes. A shocking 60 percent of the Canadians polled, many of whom likely claim my body, my choice! when it comes to abortion rights, apparently believe that it should not be your body and your choice when it comes to getting jabbed with a vaccine for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). The other 40 percent of respondents and the poll could have been skewed, it is important to note stated that any vaccine for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) should be voluntary rather than compulsory. Recognizing that far too many Canadians are on board with mandatory vaccination, the Canadian government has already contributed tens of millions of taxpayer dollars towards finding and developing a vaccine for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), which the government says has infected nearly 50,000 Canadians and killed almost 3,000. Interestingly, the 60 percent of respondents who said they support mandatory Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines for other people indicated that they would not necessarily want to get the vaccine themselves. Its almost as if its seen as just another flu vaccine, lamented Christian Bourque, executive vice president of Leger, who believes that all Canadians should be in support of mandatory vaccination for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). I myself would have expected a higher number given the severity, given the crisis were in, he added. But Canadians are kind of divided on this. Listen below to The Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks to Dr. Paul Cottrell about how forced vaccinations and other forms of medical tyranny are spreading across America as well: All that being said, this was an internet poll Since this poll was conducted on the internet, it admittedly is not a random sample and thus cannot be considered a reliable indicator of what the average Canadian thinks about this pandemic and the vaccine response to it. At the same time, it does suggest that there are, in fact, a sizeable number of people out there who see nothing wrong with compulsory medicine for the greater good. While common sense would dictate that forcing people to receive medical treatments that come with serious risks is never a good idea, this health freedom ethos apparently goes out the window for a lot of people once outbreak or pandemic fears come into play. In this case, mass hysteria over the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) is driving some to call for forced jabs as the cure. Even if forcing you and your children to get jabbed results in death, the mandatory vaxxers will still push for it as the solution to this pandemic. As it turns out, conservatives tend to lean towards health freedom while liberals are generally more supportive of requiring that others take vaccinations, at gunpoint if necessary, to supposedly protect other human life. And yet when it comes to protecting the lives of the unborn, these same liberals turn a blind eye or even celebrate abortion as a womans choice. I strongly doubt that 60% of Canadians approve of mandatory vaccination for coronavirus, wrote one skeptical Global News commenter. This feels like MSM (mainstream media) conditioning us little by little into accepting mandatory vaccinations, in addition to the contact tracing propaganda thats also going on. THEY are whipping up fear as means of obtaining our compliance for their total control agenda, this same commenter added. 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: GlobalNews.ca NaturalNews.com Now it is very easy to get car insurance quotes online, compare prices, and get the best deal. And it only takes several minutes, said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. Cheapquotesautoinsurance.com has launched a new blog post that presents useful tips on comparing car insurance quotes. For more info, please visit:https://cheapquotesautoinsurance.com/learn-how-to-get-and-compare-car-insurance-quotes/ The main purpose of quotes is to help the user get affordable coverage. By comparing quotes, the user will get a better perspective of the local insurance market and will be able to make an educated choice. There are several rules to follow when comparing quotes: Understand the main factors analyzed by insurance companies. Multiple details will be taken into consideration when analyzing a client and determining premiums. The most influential factors are cars make and model, driving history, demographic factors, recent claims, traffic violations, and coverage options. Each factor will be analyzed, quantified, and added to a premium-calculus formula. After understanding his own risk profile, it is time to get quotes. After understanding how each factor influences the cost, it is time to get quotes and compare prices. There are several ways to get insurance quotes: calling an agent, phone calls or online quotes. Online quotes have become more popular in recent years. Even so, a driver will have to choose whether he will ask quotes from an insurers website or from a brokerage website. Brokerage websites will help drivers get multiple quotes with a single search session. Furthermore, all results are obtained using the same data and for the same product. This gives no room for errors. Clients who use brokerage websites can quickly sort offers by prices. But do not be guided only by price. Check what other benefits and bonuses can be obtained by signing a contract There are several easy ways to lower the premiums. Making several changes will help drivers get better rates. Driving less than the average driver, graduating defensive driving courses, or installing safety gear will greatly improve the rates. Paying bills on time and keeping a good credit score will also help. For more car insurance info, money-saving tips and free online quotes, please visit http://cheapquotesautoinsurance.com Cheapquotesautoinsurance.com 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. Lily James stars as Juliet Ashton in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Scoeity Studiocanal and VisitGuernsey have announced a special VE Day charity screening of Mike Newells The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. The Islands of Guernsey are marking the 75th anniversary of their Liberation from WWII German occupying forces with a series of virtual, online and at-home events in the run up to and around the Liberation Day on 9 May, 2020. A pinnacle of the event is the partnership with Studiocanal on a charity screening initiative of the 2018 film, which stars Lily Lily James, Michiel Huisman, Glen Powell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Katherine Parkinson, Matthew Goode, Tom Courtenay and Penelope Wilton. Read more: Classic movies coming to iPlayer The film will be available for 24 hours from 6pm on Saturday 9 May here: https://www.visitguernsey.com/heritage75 A donation of 4.99 will be requested with all proceeds going to NHS Charities Together which supports frontline heroes the fund supported by the inspirational Colonel Tom Moore who has captured the nations heart in recent weeks. Set in 1946, the story follows a free-spirited journalist, Juliet Ashton, played by Lily James, who travels to Guernsey to find out more about the curiously named book club that was formed during the German Occupation. The book uncovers the fascinating history of Guernsey under German rule, its subsequent Liberation and the resilience of the islanders over that time whilst following the protagonists own love story. The virtual Heritage75 festival takes place 8 10 May 2020 and the full programme of events can be found here. For more information on The Islands of Guernsey please visit www.visitguernsey.com. A masked mob had attacked students and teachers in JNU on 5 January, but the Delhi Police has yet to take any action in the case "I left the JNU campus a month after the violence out of fear," says Surya Prakash, a visually-challenged student of Jawaharlal Nehru University enrolled in a PhD course. The reason? "Some people had entered my room and brutally beaten me up with iron rods." He refers to the violence that took place inside JNU campus on 5 January. Even though it has been over four months since the incident took place, it is still crystal clear in his memory. "I was sitting inside my room in the Sabarmati Hostel, studying, when I heard loud noises coming from the outside. I didn't know who those people were, but they broke open the door of my room and entered. They beat me ruthlessly, and for no reason. I am a neutral, common student who has no links with any political parties on the campus," he recalls, "After I told them that I was blind, one girl among them said, 'Andha hai toh kya hua? Maaro saale ko (So what if he is blind? Beat him up)!'." He is now in Uttar Pradesh's Deoria, his hometown. "Soon after the incident, I packed my bags and came home out of fear. After the incident, nobody slept alone in my hostel. Nobody went to the washroom alone. They would relieve themselves in buckets in their rooms instead of venturing out." But it's not just the incident that's on his mind these days. It's also the "inaction" of the police. "I complained about the incident, the police came to my room, the crime branch came, the media came all of them said I would get justice. But to date, nothing has been done. My offenders have gone unpunished," he laments. Surya believes that the police was involved in the violence that evening. "Unidentified people entered the campus in hundreds that day, with lathis, iron rods and hammers. How did they manage to do that when the police were present on campus? They themselves were involved in the violence by giving those people a freehand." Around 30 people, including teachers and students, were injured in the violence unleashed on them by "masked men and women" with lathis and iron rods. The violent episode lasted for nearly two hours, during which university property was also damaged. What happened on 5 January? Sucheta Talukdar, counsellor at the School of Social Sciences recalls, "As soon as we learned that some goons had entered the campus, all the campus lights went out. A mob of more than 50 people came and started hurling stones at us. There was chaos." According to her, she could recognise some of the members of the mob as JNU students who are part of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP). "We got really scared because we had never witnessed such a thing on campus before. One student held my hand and said, 'Sucheta bhaag, ye log maar daalenge tujhe (Sucheta run! Otherwise these people will kill you)'. And looking at the lathis and rods in their hands, I got scared and hid at a dhaba. I narrowly escaped getting hurt, but many others actually were badly injured," she says. At the time of the attack, Talukdar was at Sabarmati Tea Point, responding to a Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers' Association (JNUTA) call for a peace march held in response to the violence that took place the previous day. The day before the violence Apeksha Priyadarshi, a PhD student at the School and Arts and Aesthetics Department in JNU, recalls the day before the major violence took place, "We had been striking on campus for months due to the fee hike. On 1 January, the administration opened up registration without resolving the main issue of the fee hike a roughly 900 percent increase." After registration began, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union (JNUSU) called for non-compliance with the registration process, demanding that the new hostel manual be rolled back. "There was a group of almost 15 people moving around the campus, beating people. They attacked the areas surrounding the School of Languages, School of International Studies and the School of Biotechnology," she says. According to her, in an attempt to stop the attackers from beating up her friend, she was attacked. "They started beating me with their bare hands. On that day, most of the violence was with bare hands and not with objects such as lathis and rods as we saw the next day that day, they were all prepared." She says that the reason for the violence on 5 January was what happened a day earlier. "The student body had refused to give in to the administration's demands and register for the examinations. The group that beat up students was acting at the behest of the administration. That's why it stepped in to stop us from resisting the administration's move to increase the fee," she claims. "The collusion between the security personnel, the administration and the [group allegedly comprising] ABVP members was very clear that day. Even the police never converted our complaints into FIRs, because it knew that it would have to take action on an FIR," she adds. What led to the violence? Before the major violence took place, JNU had been the site for an anti-fee hike protest for around three months. Students were protesting what the JNUSU dubbed the "privatisation" and "commodification" of education. The protests involved multiple negotiations with the Ministry of Human Resource Development focussed on reducing fees. On 1 January, registration for the new semester had already begun, which led to the JNUSU calling for a boycott of the registration process with which many students complied. "If places like JNU don't raise their voice against the increase of fees in central universities, the impact will fall on thousands of other universities and poor students. At JNU, we have the privilege of being heard, so we made sure to protest the privatisation of education. Initially, they wanted to increase the fees by 900 percent, then it was reduced after negotiation. If the students are unable to pay the fees, what's the point in filling registration forms?" asks Aishe Ghosh, JNUSU president. However, Ritwik Raj, a member of ABVP and counsellor at the School of International Studies at JNU, believes that this was a wrong step. Raj claims that the Left is trying to defame the ABVP by creating propaganda against the RSS-affiliate. "People who have indulged in violence have done so over their own disagreements. Some have beaten up students who had demanded Kashmir's aazadi [freedom] a day earlier. But ABVP had nothing to do with it. We do not support violence, and there was nobody from ABVP involved in this," he says. According to him, the ABVP was attacked by the Left and that the former didn't resort to any violence. He explains, "We had a rational approach towards the protests. We supported the fight against the fee hike, but the students who didn't want to be part of the protest and wanted to study instead should not have been expected to do join in. They should have been allowed to sit in the library and fill the registration forms. Over 150 people in my department alone filled registration forms within a day. The Left felt threatened." In response, Ghosh says, "We didn't force students to boycott the registration process, we convinced them." In a reply to an RTI filed by Saurav Das, a member of the National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI), under the 'life and liberty' clause, the university said that the main server of JNU at the Centre for Information System (CIS) was shut down on 3 January and was down the next day 'due to power supply disruption'. Ghosh was also among those who were severely hurt during the violence on campus. "As a student representative, I chose to be at the forefront. I saw teachers and other students getting hurt as stones were hurled at us. Around 15 to 20 men gheraoed me and started beating me up. I tried to ask them what they wanted, but by then I was already bleeding. They had sledgehammers, lathis and rods," says Ghosh, who sustained injuries to her head and arms. "It was like they had a grudge against me and wanted to finish me off," she continues, adding, "I used to get rape and death threats for standing up to the administration." Police 'inaction' "The fact that no action has been taken against the perpetrators of the violence on campus proves that we aren't safe anymore and anybody can indulge in violence and get away with it," says Ghosh, opining, "Obviously, the police is very biased. Its press conference clearly shows that." A special investigation team headed by Joy Tirkey, DCP Crime was formed to investigate the violence. Five days after the incident, the Delhi Police's Crime Branch held a press conference saying that "nine suspects" had been identified. The police, accused of inaction when the masked mob managed to escape unhurt from the campus on the night of the violence after the attack, had not made a single arrest till then. In the press conference, the police had held responsible four Left organisations for the violence the Students' Federation of India (SFI), the All India Students' Association (AISA), All India Students' Federation (AISF) and Democratic Students' Federation (DSF), but the ABVP was not named, even though many students claimed to have video evidence against ABVP members indulging in violence. No mention of outsiders having entered the campus was made. Ghosh, however, calls the list of suspects "unsubstantiated", saying, "The police commissioner came up with my name as a suspect in the press conference held in January. But to date, why haven't charges been filed against me? It is because they don't have evidence." An NDTV investigation on the matter a day later hinted at the role of ABVP members in the violence, but no action has yet been taken against any members of the ABVP. Among the FIRs filed against students by the administration, no member of the ABVP has been named. Sucharita Sen, a JNU professor who suffered a severe head injury during the violence recently filed a plea seeking the filing of an FIR against the 'wanton acts of violence' she suffered. In her case, as in many others, no FIR has been filed. She recalls, "I was among the first people to get hurt. When this mob entered the Sabarmati Tea Point, the JNUTA holding a peace march. I came forward because I felt they would not hurt women professors, and we also didn't want the students to come forward. But we were wrong, they started pelting stones at us, and some of those hit me in the head. I started bleeding profusely." Seeking an early hearing on the matter, considering that the case had been dormant for over four months, Sen had had moved an early hearing application before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Patiala House Court. In response to Sen's plea, the Delhi court on Tuesday directed the Delhi Police's Crime Branch to file a status report in the JNU violence case. "Let a status report be called from the Crime Branch, New Delhi within seven days from today mentioning the details of the FIR and the action taken pursuant to it," the two-page order said, posting the matter for 18 May. The status report on the matter has already been postponed twice, once listing the matter for hearing on 25 April, and then to 18 June on the account of extension of the lockdown. Delhi Police PRO, MS Randhawa said, "The investigation is ongoing. We are hoping we'll have a breakthrough soon." The first of the nearly 20 special flights will operate on Friday from Singapore and will evacuate 240 Indians from the city-state who are stranded amidst the international travel lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic, the Indian High Commissioner here said on Thursday. The Indian government has announced plans to begin a phased repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad from May 7. Air India will operate 64 flights from May 7 to May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals stranded abroad amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown, it was announced on Tuesday. India is conducting its biggest ever repatriation exercise named Vande Bharat Mission-sans social distancing and COVID-19 tests to bring back stranded Indians from abroad, including from the US, the UK and the UAE. The first of the nearly 20 Air India flights will take home 240 Indians from here on Friday who are part of the over 3,500 expatriates caught in the lockdown, Jawed Ashraf, Indian High Commissioner to Singapore, told PTI. The flight will leave Singapore at 8.35 am for Delhi on Friday with one more scheduled for Delhi and one each for Bangalore and Mumbai, he said. Flights for other destinations like Chennai, Trichy, Amritsar, Ahmedabad and Kolkata have also been requested, Ashraf said. All passengers will be medically tested and those symptomatic of COVID-19 will not be allowed to board from Singapore. The passengers will also be screened on arrival in India and quarantined in the government arranged facilities, including in hotels, for 14 days. All flights and quarantined costs are being paid by the passengers themselves, he added. High Commissioner Ashraf said he expected the number of stranded Indians to increase as more come forward and seek assistance to return home. The stranded Indians include tourists, business travellers, people on family visits, professionals whose Employment Pass have expired and their family members, students who have finished their courses or have to pursue them online or are no longer in a position to sustain themselves here. Also stranded are 55 priests who were here for a function at a Hindu temple. Among the stranded are several hundred students, who were pursuing technical or vocational courses here and were financing their stay and studies through part time work. With the lock down and the circuit breaker measures to control spread of the disease in Singapore, the students are now in a difficult position. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Technavio has been monitoring the maritime patrol naval vessels market and it is poised to grow by USD 14.37 bn during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of almost 9% 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/20200507005626/en/ Technavio has announced the latest market research report titled Global Maritime Patrol Naval Vessels 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. Austal Ltd., BAE Systems Plc, Damen Shipyards Group NV, Fincantieri Spa, Fr. Fassmer GmbH Co. KG, Fr. Lurssen Werft GmbH Co. KG, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Naval Group SA, NAVANTIA SA, and Saab AB, are some of the major market participants. Although the increasing transnational maritime crimes will offer immense growth opportunities, high costs associated with patrol naval vessels 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. Increasing transnational maritime crimes has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. However, high costs associated with patrol naval vessels might hamper market growth. Maritime Patrol Naval Vessels Market 2020-2024: Segmentation Maritime Patrol Naval Vessels Market is segmented as below: Type Manned Maritime Patrol Vessels Unmanned Maritime Patrol Vessels 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=IRTNTR40050 Maritime Patrol Naval Vessels 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 maritime patrol naval vessels market report covers the following areas: Maritime Patrol Naval Vessels Market Size Maritime Patrol Naval Vessels Market Trends Maritime Patrol Naval Vessels Market Industry Analysis This study identifies the development of high-speed patrol naval vessels as one of the prime reasons driving the maritime patrol naval vessels market growth during the next few years. Maritime Patrol Naval Vessels Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the maritime patrol naval vessels market, including some of the vendors such as Austal Ltd., BAE Systems Plc, Damen Shipyards Group NV, Fincantieri Spa, Fr. Fassmer GmbH Co. KG, Fr. Lurssen Werft GmbH Co. KG, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Naval Group SA, NAVANTIA SA, and Saab AB. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the maritime patrol naval vessels 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. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Maritime Patrol Naval Vessels Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024 Detailed information on factors that will assist maritime patrol naval vessels market growth during the next five years Estimation of the maritime patrol naval vessels market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the maritime patrol naval vessels market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of maritime patrol naval vessels 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: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY TYPE Market segmentation by type Comparison by type Manned maritime patrol vessels Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Unmanned maritime patrol vessels Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Market opportunity by type PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE PART 08: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE Geographic segmentation Geographic comparison APAC Market size and forecast 2019-2024 North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Europe 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 09: DECISION FRAMEWORK PART 10: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES Market drivers Market challenges PART 11: MARKET TRENDS Development of high-speed patrol naval vessels Adoption of innovative approaches in procuring patrol naval vessels Growing adoption of 3D printing PART 12: VENDOR LANDSCAPE Overview Landscape disruption Competitive scenario PART 13: VENDOR ANALYSIS Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Austal Ltd. BAE Systems Plc Damen Shipyards Group NV Fincantieri Spa Fr. Fassmer GmbH Co. KG Fr. Lurssen Werft GmbH Co. KG Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. Naval Group SA NAVANTIA SA Saab AB 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/20200507005626/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ If you are Iran, it seems, 2020 is not your year. Aside from the devastation of the Wuhan virus, Iraq closed its 1,000-mile southern border with Iran for "security reasons" after months of Iraqi protests against Iranian interference in its domestic affairs. Oil prices flirted with zero in the wake of the Russia-Saudi oil war, and demand dropped owing to the virus, further gutting Iran's treasury. Iran harassed U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf, but according to Navy sources, the action was clearly for domestic consumption and posed no actual threat (although a mistake on either side could have had major repercussions, making President Trump's warning more than reasonable). Germany, Tehran's strongest defender in Europe, pulled the plug on Iran's proxy army Hezb'allah. More than 390 members of the U.S. House of Representatives including Ilhan Omar, not normally an opponent of the Iranian government called for extending the international arms embargo against Iran, set to expire in October. Iran's Quds Day celebration has been canceled. The rallies and marches, an annual celebration of anti-Semitic glee, with their slogans and speeches and the "death to Israel" chant, will not take place in 2020, although the Iranian public has been assured that the supreme leader will make a speech. And in Syria, things are blowing up. That is not unusual. The Syrian civil war primarily a proxy war for Russia, Turkey, and Iran decimated the country beginning in 2012. Large-scale fighting ended in 2018, but even now, the Syrian government drops chemical and other weapons on its civilian population in the remaining holdout territory. Turkey has attacked Kurdish enclaves in northern Syria and in March 2020 declared an offensive against the government of Bashar Assad. Sometimes the source of the bombs is not announced. The Scientific Studies and Research Center in Aleppo, where Western intelligence and opposition sources suspect that Iranian researchers work on chemical weapons, was hit this week. A Hezb'allah base in southern Syria was hit last week, as was an ammunition depot near Homs. Al-Arabiya reported that air strikes targeted sites belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), and, in a Jerusalem Post report, targeted sites included bases for Hezb'allah and the elite Syrian Republican Guard. While Israel generally neither confirms or denies responsibility for things popping off in Syria, it is true that Israel, undeterred by the domestic ramifications of the Wuhan virus, maintains self-declared "red lines" in Syria: Preventing Hezb'allah from acquiring precision weapons systems or chemical weapons Preventing Hezb'allah and pro-Iranian groups from deploying along the Syrian border on the Golan Heights, and Preventing the Iranian army from creating permanent bases in Syria. Overlay the red lines on the targets, and the inescapable conclusion is that Israel is continuing to ensure that Iran cannot entrench itself firmly in the wreckage. Add to this, according to Al-Arabiya, that the air strikes were approved by Russia. Israel has long deconflicted with Russia to a) ensure that Russian assets are not hit and b) keep the conversation over Syria's future open. Russia detests Sunni jihadists. It fought two nasty, even criminal wars in Chechnya to stamp out what it perceived as a religious uprising against the State. The understanding that Chechen radicals had joined ISIS in Syria and Iraq pushed Putin to enter the Syrian war. His goal was to crush the Sunni jihadists and to enhance Russia's air and naval presence in the Mediterranean, as well as its political position, but he was unwilling to commit ground troops to the fight. Iran obliged, at one point managing 80,000+ militiamen, partially comprising Syrians but with large Lebanese Hezb'allah units and Shiite mercenary groups of Pakistanis and Afghans. Iran was said to control more Syrian soldiers than the Syrian government. But Russia and Iran do not share a common view of the endgame. Putin may hate Sunni jihadists more than Shiite jihadists, but that is a far cry from making them allies. Israel, on the other hand, while abhorring Russia's material support and defense of Syria's use of chemical weapons, finds Russia sympathetic to its security requirements. And red lines. Iran appears the loser here. According to Foreign Policy, "Iran has spent over $30 billion and lost over 2,000 troops in Syria" in pursuit of the "Shiite Crescent," the land bridge from Iran through Iraq and Syria and Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea a "lid" over its enemies Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel. Now, without the financial resources to pay its proxy army, support its terrorist ally Hezb'allah, and provide the precision weapons and research on new weapons, Iran has no way to replace the assets Israel destroys. With the demise of the IRGC leader Qassem Soleimani, erased by President Trump, Iran has lost its political clout among many of the proxies. No money. No Soleimani. No influence. No wonder Israeli defense officials see, for the first time since the Syrian war began, Iran going home. On May 7, shortly after new Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi received confirmation from parliament, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the new premier and told him that Washington will move forward with a 120-day waiver to allow Iraq to import electricity from Iran. This seemed a gesture of support from the United States to the new prime minister, whose confirmation followed the failure of his two predecessors as prime minister-designate, Adnan al-Zurfi and Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi. Pompeo's move came after Washington had initially agreed April 26 to waiver of only 30 days. Yet despite the reprieve the four-month waiver provides as Iraq faces soaring temperatures and increased energy use in the summer there remains a lot to be resolved between Washington and Baghdad when it comes to Irans role in the Iraqi energy sector. Iraq is still Irans most loyal business partner despite hurdles imposed by sanctions, protests, the coronavirus crisis and most importantly of all the United States continuous pressure on Baghdad to try to get it to drop out of the deals to buy Iranian electricity and gas. To date, the pressure from Washington has been somewhat muted, giving Iraq time to seek other offers. Yet outgoing Electricity Minister Louay al-Khateeb told Al-Monitor that despite Washingtons pressure to end energy imports from Iran, Im sure the US government will be more sensible and understanding as we move forward in protecting our strategic partnership and [helping us] survive the current pandemic and economic crisis. While the new Iraqi government has gotten a respite from the United States on breaking its dependence on Iranian electricity, the pressure wont go away. Iraq will still have to choose whether to continue the partnership with the Iranian side, though Baghdad is unlikely and unable to take a hasty decision to withdraw. The new electricity minister, Majid Mahdi Hantoush, is a technocrat who has served in the ministry since graduation. Hes the son of a famous Iraqi hydrologist, Mahdi S. Hantush, who founded the hydrology program at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and was a recipient of the Meinzer Award, among the most prestigious honors in hydrogeology. Iran provides Iraq with around 1,200 megawatts of electricity per day, and 40 million cubic meters of gas. On Dec. 9, Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian said his country had signed a three-year cooperation agreement with Iraq for extending Iranian energy exports. On Nov. 9, Ardakanian had announced that the power grids of Iran and Syria were to be connected through Iraq, as Tehran and Damascus signed a preliminary agreement in this regard. From an Iranian perspective, exporting electricity to surrounding countries, including Turkey, is part of Tehran's efforts to widen its financial resources; however, from US President Donald Trumps point of view, this is an attempt to get around the sanctions imposed by Washington under the maximum pressure strategy that aims at drying up all sources of funds that might reach Iran. Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, founder of Bourse & Bazaar, a London-based think tank focused on Iran's economy, told Al-Monitor, "The Trump administration paints Iran's electricity exports to Iraq and the involvement of Iranian contractors in the maintenance of Iraq's power grid as part of Iran's 'nefarious' influence over its neighbor. Batmanghelidj said the drivers in the electricity agreements between Iraq and Iran are economic as well as political. It's not unusual for neighboring countries to have interconnected electricity grids and for one country to draw electricity from the other. Even the United States imports significant amounts of electricity from Canada, he said. Iraqi dependency on Iranian energy isnt new, and its also the best option, according to Iraqs former energy minister. Khateeb said, The only available option we have now is the Iranian gas fuel and Iranian electricity supplies to bridge the power deficit in Iraq; so far, their prices, volumes and logistics are competitive with other suppliers, regionally and internationally. Khateeb said that during the year and a few months he was in office, his ministry increased electricity production from 15,800 megawatts to 19,270 megawatts. He said additional energy is needed, as Iraqs power demand is expected to rise to 27,000 megawatts by the end of the year, up from 25,000 megawatts currently. As part of its efforts to diversify away from Iranian electricity, Iraq signed a deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council to add some 500 megawatts to its grid during 2020. But the 300-kilometer (186-mile) line that would run from Kuwait to Iraqs southern port of Faw could cover only quarter the energy imported from Iran; hence, it cant be seen as a potential replacement in case the United States stops issuing waivers. The summer of 2018 witnessed one of the worst electricity crises in Iraq in years, when Iran had to cut power to the neighboring country due to rising domestic demand, as was announced by the Iranian side, and a $1 billion debt, as was reported then by Al-Monitor. The energy sector in Iraq has been for years the subject of strong criticism because of corruption, inefficiency and political meddling. The power outages prompted bloody riots in the southern city of Basra and other affected cities. The riots helped bring about political demands, some of which had to do with countering Iran; at one point, the Iranian Consulate in Basra was set ablaze by protestors. Batmanghelidj said he believes the relatively high Iraqi dependence on Iranian energy supply is a sign of the poor state of Iraq's production and distribution infrastructure. He said, But the same economic logic that means it is in Iran's interest to supply electricity and gas now also means that it is in Iran's interest for Iraq to become a more stable and faster-growing economy so that other kinds of trade between the two countries can grow. Sanctions pressure from the Trump administration is making this a more contentious issue than it needs to be. While its not clear whether the United States will continue to extend waivers, the Iraqi government hopes that it will be able to cover its needs and, in the long term, upgrade its energy sector. Khateeb, however, said the only recipe to do that is three to four years with a stable government that enjoys full executive authority to implement its ambitious program to achieve energy independence without political interference. Britain's cyber spies said they have taken down at least 300 scam sites following more than 160,000 suspect emails reported to them by members of the public as part of a new Suspicious Email Reporting Service. Emails reported to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a part of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) intelligence service, included callous attempts by criminals to exploit the coronavirus through fake offers of face masks and testing kits. While cyber criminals continue to prey on people's fears, the number of scams we have removed in such a short timeframe shows what a vital role the public can play in fighting back, said Ciaran Martin, Chief Executive of the NCSC, describing the public response to the new reporting system launched two weeks ago as phenomenal. I would urge people to remain vigilant and to forward suspect emails to us. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is, he said. Among examples of what the NCSC has removed as a result of the reporting service include scam web pages purporting to sell coronavirus linked bogus products such as testing kits, face makes and even vaccines. It also flagged a rise in cybercrime exploiting the coronavirus pandemic last month. The automated email reporting service makes it easier for people to help protect others from falling victim to scams by forwarding suspect emails to report@phishing.gov.uk. If they are found to link to malicious content, it will be taken down or blocked, helping prevent future victims of crime, the NCSC said. Commander Karen Baxter, the National Lead Force for Fraud at the City of London Police, which co-developed the Suspicious Email Reporting Service, said: While the world is coming together to combat this global health crisis, criminals are intent on exploiting our unease, anxiety and vulnerabilities in these unprecedented times. The fact the public have taken the opportunity to fight back and show these criminals how unacceptable this is, is fantastic. As well as taking down malicious sites, the service supports UK policing by providing live time analysis of reports and identifying new patterns in online offending helping them stop even more offenders in their tracks. Fraud is an incredibly underreported crime. The more the police know about fraud, and fraud attempts, the better chance they have of tracking down those responsible and bringing them to justice, added Baxter. The service was launched alongside the UK's new cross-governmental Cyber Aware campaign, which promotes top tips to help keep secure online. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) ultrastructural morphology exhibited by corona viruses View Photo Sonora, CA Tuolumne and Calaveras Public Health Officials have released details on the new COVID-19 testing facilities for Mother Lode residents and how this will help to go into Stage 2 of lifting restrictions. Both countys public health officials relay they are gearing up in preparation for testing and working towards accelerating more fully into Stage 2 of the Governors roadmap to modifying restrictions. Currently, they are awaiting further instructions from the state related to meeting certain criteria to proceed, which will come on Thursday. The state of California teamed up with OptumServe to open 80 new testing sites across the state to expand and offer more testing. The Mother Lode sites are at the Lodi Library located at 201 West Locust Street and the Mariposa Elementary School at 5171 Silva Road in Mariposa. Regarding testing, Calaveras County Public Health Officer Dr. Dean Kelaita stresses, Its critical, testing is one of the most important ingredients in being able to move into Stage 2. Public health officials relay that the cost of the testing will be billed through health insurance, with the state picking up the tab for those without insurance. Copays or deductibles will not apply to the visits and no fees will be collected at the testing site. Priority will be given to individuals with high risk. Testing can be scheduled by going online to https://lhi.care/covidtesting or by calling OptumServe at (888) 634-1123. To find a testing site nearest you go to https://bit.ly/2ypCrMv. Dr. Kelaita adds that Calaveras County is building up the trained workforce to do contact tracing, He says those tracers will need to quickly locate and speak to people with suspected or confirmed infection as well as everyone whom they have had close contact while they may have been infectious. Dr. Kelaita shares that is why it is important that the public does its part by continuing social distancing, wearing masks in public, and washing their hands frequently, stating, Its vitalIn fact, the thing that people do in their everyday life is the most important thing that can be done to prevent a flare-up in cases again once we start to reopen things and getting us back to square one again. Thats what I dont want to see. Click here for the latest coronavirus testing numbers in Tuolumne County. Covid-19 at sea: Impacts on the Blue Economy, ocean health, and ocean security by Whitley Saumweber, Amy K Lehr, Ty Loft and Sabrina Kim May 07,2020 | Source: CSIS The Blue Economy including both those who work at sea and those whose livelihoods depend on it presents a unique challenge for efforts to address the Covid-19 pandemic. Ports depend on the movement of goods and people, something antithetical to pandemic control. Many of the worlds 4.5 million fishing vessels remain at sea for weeks or months at a time, leaving them intensely vulnerable to shipboard Covid-19 outbreaks that may arise from stops at harbors around the world. Yet ports must remain open, and fishing vessels must continue to fish90 percent of the worlds cargo moves by sea, and fish provide essential protein for 1 billion people, many of whom would be undernourished and vulnerable to the disease without it. This commentary examines how Covid-19 will affect life at sea, outlining the potential impact of the pandemic on ocean security, the marine environment, the blue economy, and health and human rights aboard fishing vessels. Even in the best of times, the ocean is a poorly-policed, untamed frontier. The Covid-19 pandemic will exacerbate the offshore law enforcement gap, as coast guards and navies look inward to manage domestic crises rather than police the seas. The U.S. Navy has already canceled this years Obangame Express joint naval exercises in the Gulf of Guinea, the worlds most piracy-prone region, with 112 attacks in 2017. Pirates, poachers, and smugglers, on the other hand, can continue operating. They may even have greater incentive to resort to crime, faced with few other opportunities in a global recession. Illicit fishing is likely to increase as well. As law enforcement on the ocean declines in the coming months, it will be worth watching data from vessel automatic identification systems (AIS) and satellites to determine whether signals of illicit fishing, such as activity within marine-protected areas and AIS spoofing and toggling, tick up. A less secure ocean will be less well-managed and less able to sustainably provide resources like fish over the long term. By contrast, legal industrial fishing operations are likely to decline, especially over the near term, from a combination of the risk of being at sea in a pandemic and supply chain complications caused by market closures. The last time a global crisis affected the fishing industry on a similar scale was World War II. During the war, the closure of the North Sea allowed regional cod and haddock stocks to rebound, resulting in robust catch throughout the 1950s. Fish is the worlds most widely traded food commodity, but market disruptions, as a result of the pandemic, have already begun to change that. Consumers have dramatically increased demand for frozen and processed seafood while turning away from fresh caught products. This is a result of both a run on foods that may be kept through periods of isolation and a reflection of the fact that in many developed markets, such as across the United States, most consumers eat fresh fish in restaurants and other public spaces that are no longer open. Market closures in Europe have caused a crisis for fishers in the United Kingdom, which exports 70 percent of its catch. In the United States, 90 percent of seafood is imported or processed overseas . Some U.S. companies outsource a portion of their processing needs by sending U.S.-caught seafood abroad to facilities in China before reimporting it for final packaging for the U.S. market. Covid-19 may drive these companies to re-shore processing operations to avoid trade disruptions caused by the pandemic and future crises. Covid-19 outbreaks aboard fishing vessels represent a significant threat to public health. Fifty million people are employed in marine fisherieslargely in developing countries with dismal records on safety, health, and human rights. Long-haul fishing vessels are cramped, crowded, and can be exceptionally unhygienic. Crew are often malnourished and forced to work for up to 20 hours each day. A lack of medical supplies means cuts can stay infected for weeks. Moreover, many vessels rely on undocumented migrant workers who are not subject to public health controls. Changes in the way the fishing industry operates caused by Covid-19 may in turn affect the human rights and working conditions of fishermen in a number of ways. Those who return to shore each day will have to continue working and interacting with others, putting them at increased risk of the virus simply because they are poorlike many others making subsistence livings. In sum, to protect both fishermen and the public, a proactive strategy is needed, coordinated across jurisdictions, to provide health services to fishermen and monitor their health and ensure they are not stranded at sea in vulnerable conditions. These services should be provided to those who are healthy and sick, regardless of their legal or immigration status. The situation also highlights the ongoing need to improve working conditions and communication channels at sea so that fishermen are less vulnerable, during the Covid-19 crisis and afterward. Center for Strategic and International Studies Theme(s): Others. The US Air Force and Space Force have kept a tight lid on their mysterious space plane, but a military official has shared the crafts agenda with the public for the first time ahead of its orbital flight this month. The X-37B is set to take off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, riding atop a liquid fueled Atlas V rocket on May 16 carrying a range of payloads for three different experiments. The tests include converting the suns power into radio frequency microwave energy that can be transmitted to Earth and power different facilities, including military posts. Along with harnessing power from the sun, the plane is also set to evaluate the reaction of materials in space and the effect of radiation on seeds for NASA. Scroll down for video The US Air Force and Space Force have kept a tight lid on their mysterious space plane, but a military official has shared the crafts agenda with the public for the first time ahead of its orbital flight this month (pictured is the craft returning home from its 2019 mission) This pilotless craft has been performing a range of classified missions for the military group since 2010, allowing the group to test new technologies in space. This months launch will mark the sixth mission of X-37B, which is set to spend more than two years in space. The mission, dubbed OTV-6, is set to take off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett said during a webcast hosted by the Space Foundation: The Air Force's Rapid Capability Office has combined forces with the Air Force Reserve Research Lab and now the US Space Force to execute a mission that maximizes the X-37B's unique capabilities. OTV, which stands for Operational Test Vehicle, entails the Air Force launching a 29-foot long X-37B robotic mini-shuttle into low-orbit in order to test new technologies This important mission will host more experiments than any prior X-37B flight, including two NASA experiments. One is a sample plate evaluating the reaction of select significant materials to the conditions in space. The second studies the effect of ambient space radiation on seeds. A third experiment, designed by the Naval Research Laboratory, transforms solar power into radio frequency microwave energy, then studies transmitting that energy to Earth. The sample plate evaluation and seed experiments will gather data specifically for NASA, while converting the sun into microwave energy will be used to power military posts, as reported on by Business Insider. Although the Air Force owns the X-37B, the newly formed Space Force is responsible for launching, operating and landing the craft. The Air Force has two X-37Bs that are swapped while one is undergoing refurbishment. Powered by solar cells with lithium-ion batteries, the plane was orbiting at around 200 miles high. The first mission in 2010 lasted 224 days, the second a year later went on for 468 days and the mission that ended in 2019 lasted a total of 780 days. The tests include converting the suns power into radio frequency microwave energy that can be transmitted to Earth and power different facilities, including military posts. Along with harnessing power from the sun, the plane is also set to evaluate the reaction of materials in space and the effect of radiation on seeds for NASA 'This program continues to push the envelope as the world's only reusable space vehicle,' Randy Walden, Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office director, said in Sunday's statement. 'With a successful landing today, the X-37B completed its longest flight to date and successfully completed all mission objectives. 'This mission successfully hosted Air Force Research Laboratory experiments, among others, as well as providing a ride for small satellites.' The Air Force is usually very secretive about what the spacecraft takes to orbit with, but made an exception in its last mission. The military group also shared some details of the craft's 2019 mission . The group noted that the X-37B was carrying the Advanced Structurally Embedded Thermal Spreader built by the Air Force Research Laboratory. According to the AFRL, the payload's three primary science objectives are to measure the initial on-orbit thermal performance, to measure long-duration thermal performance and to assess any lifetime degradation. Five previous X-37B missions have been launched by United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets. Each time the unmanned space plane has carried a mystery payload on long-duration flights in Earth orbit Five previous X-37B missions have been launched by United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets. Each time the unmanned space plane has carried a mystery payload on long-duration flights in Earth orbit. 'The many firsts on this mission make the upcoming OTV launch a milestone for the program,' Walden said at the launch last year. 'It is our goal to continue advancing the X-37B OTV so it can more fully support the growing space community.' The fate of 39 Saharawi Political Prisoners in Moroccan jail have become the focus of a new regional campaign from African activists who are asking King Mohammed VI of Morocco to release the men for fear of their exposure to the coronavirus disease. The Movement for the Liberation of Western Sahara, [NMLWS) issued a statement on Wednesday in Abuja through its Nigerian coordinator, Oladipo Fasina, a philosophy professor and noted advocate for academic freedom. According to the statement, the Saharawi prisoners, held for seeking independence for Africas last colony, are in grave danger of contracting the coronavirus as a result of their underlying health conditions resulting from extreme torture and hunger strike they have undergone as prisoners. Mr Fasina said, this arbitrary detention is aimed at silencing the call for the right to self-determination for the people of Western Sahara and, alluding to a New York Times report, remarked that Moroccan authorities have already disclosed that 68 prisoners in the Moroccan jail of Ouarzazate have tested positive for coronavirus. Morocco, with the support of France and Spain, has succeeded in holding on to the territory of Western Sahara illegally and is regularly criticised by the United Nations Human Rights Committee for committing blatant violation of human rights through arbitrary imprisonment of Saharawis, beatings, intimidation, media blockade and the plunder of Western Sahara natural resources. Linking the current global campaign to defeat the Coronavirus pandemic, the group also called on the international community to join in the fight to defeat the last colonial outpost in Africa. Just like the whole world is presently uniting to defeat the Corona Virus pandemic, the world must also unite to defeat the last colonial outpost in Africa (Western Sahara), Mr Fasina said. According to the John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resources Centre, as of May 6, there are 5,219 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 181 deaths in Morocco, while the BBC report dated April 29, reported about 313 coronavirus cases in Moroccan jails following mass testing for Covid-19. Moroccan authorities say Ouarzazate prison in central Morocco recorded 303 positive coronavirus cases, while 10 other cases are in Oudaya prison in Marrakesh and Ksar Kebir prison in the north-west. They claimed to have isolated all positive cases and all warders have been issued with protective gear. Mr Fasina said, There are nearly 80,000 inmates in Moroccan prisons. In early April, more than 5,654 inmates were pardoned by the king to reduce the risk of spreading the virus in notoriously overcrowded prisons. Western Sahara is a non-self-governing territory on the northwest coast of Africa bordered by Morocco, Mauritania, and Algeria. After Spain withdrew from its former colony of Spanish Sahara in 1976, Morocco annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara and claimed the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritanias withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Moroccos sovereignty ended in a 1991 cease-fire and the establishment of a UN peacekeeping operation. As part of this effort, the UN sought to offer a choice to the peoples of Western Sahara between independence (favored by the Polisario Front) or integration into Morocco. A proposed referendum on the question of independence never took place due to a lack of agreement on voter eligibility. The approximately 1,600 km- (almost 1,000 mi-) long defensive sand berm, built by the Moroccans from 1980 to 1987 and running the length of the territory, continues to separate the opposing forces, with Morocco controlling roughly three-quarters of the territory west of the berm. There are periodic ethnic tensions between the native Sahrawi population and Moroccan immigrants. Morocco maintains a heavy security presence in the territory. The UN revived direct talks about the territory between Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria, and Mauritania in December 2018. Former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey arrives at the Rayburn House Office Building to testify to the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 17, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) New Details From Rosenstein Memo Reveal Scope of Comeys Russia Probe Newly declassified portions of the scope memo issued to special counsel Robert Mueller in August 2017 reveal the extent of the FBIs investigation into the Trump campaign shortly after the firing of then-Director James Comey. The Justice Department on May 6 declassified portions of the Aug. 2, 2017, memo by then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in response to a request from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Portions of the memo had already been made public in 2018 as part of the special counsels prosecution of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. The details revealed in 2018 showed that Rosenstein tasked the special counsel with investigating the allegations that were within the scope of the FBIs Trump campaign probe at the time of Muellers appointment on May 17, 2017. The new details beneath the previously blacked-out portions of the memo show that the FBI was still investigating allegations against Trump campaign associate Carter Page in May 2017, which were part of the infamous Steele dossier. At the time, the bureau had already been aware for months that the dossier was likely tainted with Russian disinformation, and had also already learned that Page was a source for the CIA and had briefed the agency about his contacts with Russians. While some of the news coverage of the newly declassified details appears to fault Rosenstein for tasking Mueller with investigating the claims from the shoddy dossier, the memo makes it clear the listed allegations were part of the FBI probe that the special counsel was taking over. The integrity of the investigation would likely have been questioned if Rosenstein had acted to limit the scope. The newly declassified sections also show that, in addition to investigating allegations of Trump campaign associate George Papadopoulos colluding with Russia, the FBI was probing whether Papadopoulos committed crimes by allegedly acting as an unregistered agent of Israel. Papadopoulos had previously told lawmakers that the special counsel threatened to investigate him as an agent of Israel. Questions remain about his hastily arranged trip to Israel, during which he claims to have reluctantly accepted $10,000. Incredible that Comey wanted to frame the Israelis and me, Papadopoulos wrote in a Twitter message responding to the news. You cant make this up. In addition to the now-public allegations about former national security adviser Michael Flynnlying to the FBI and violating the Logan Actthe FBI was investigating an allegation that Flynn broke the law as an agent of Turkey and that he failed to properly report foreign income. The bureau was also investigating whether Manafort broke the law by seeking a loan from a bank whose CEO was seeking a position in the Trump administration. Papadopoulos and Manafort have both been convicted of crimes unrelated to Russian collusion, the central theme of Muellers probe. Page was never charged with a crime even after a yearlong intrusive surveillance campaign, at least six months of which has since been deemed invalid. The DOJ on May 7 moved to drop its prosecution of Flynn, in a sudden end to the protracted legal battle, after Flynn withdrew his guilty plea last year. The court must still formally approve the request. New documents produced as part of the Justice Departments review of the case show that the FBI had cleared Flynn of allegedly being an agent of Russia in January 2017, before the bureaus upper echelon intervened to keep the case open. A portion of the memo pertaining to an unidentified subject remains classified. The Justice Department and Rosenstein didnt respond to a request for comment. (Natural News) The longer Dr. Anthony Fauci serves as the face of the Trump administrations coronavirus response, the more we learn about just how controversial and inept he really is. The long-serving director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said in an interview with National Geographic published on Monday that its just not likely the coronavirus (COVID-19) originated in a lab in Wuhan city. If you look at the evolution of the virus in bats and whats out there now, [the scientific evidence] is very, very strongly leaning toward this could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated, Fauci said. Everything about the stepwise evolution over time strongly indicates that [this virus] evolved in nature and then jumped species. Is that so? Because those comments contradict other Trump administration officials including the president himself and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the latter of whom told ABC News This Week that there is enormous evidence the Wuhan coronavirus came from a lab, not a Chinese wet market. China has a history of infecting the world, and they have a history of running substandard laboratories, he explained to host Martha Raddatz. These are not the first times that weve had a world exposed to viruses as a result of failures in a Chinese lab. So why would Fauci make such a claim when the real evidence indicates hes wrong? Perhaps because he wants to cover up some prior activity that would give him at least some culpability in the creation of the virus? As Newsweek reported last month, Fauci supported the laboratory now in question with millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars for risky coronavirus research. The Obama administration banned all federal funding of all efforts to weaponize three viruses The magazine reported: But just last year, the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the organization led by Dr. Fauci, funded scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and other institutions for work on gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses. With the backing of NIAID, the National Institutes of Health pledged $3.7 million over six years to fund gain-of-function work a pledge that followed a previous $3.7 million 5-year investment in a project for collecting and studying bat coronaviruses which ended in 2019, the magazine reported. Several scientists have not been supportive of gain-of-function research because it involves the manipulation of viruses in order to explore how they could infect humans because of the risk of starting a pandemic if one were to be accidentally released. Starting to sound familiar? And about that 2015 funding. The Times of Israel reported April 25: Back in October 2014, the US government had placed a federal moratorium on gain-of-function (GOF) researchaltering natural pathogens to make them more deadly and infectiousas a result of rising fears about a possible pandemic caused by accidental or deliberate release of these genetically engineered monster germs. This was in part due to lab accidents at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in July 2014 that raised questions about biosafety at US high-containment labs. Due to those accidents, the CDC closed two labs and halted some biological shipments. The agency later noted in an internal report that scientists failed to follow proper procedures to make sure samples were inactivated before leaving the lab. There were multiple other problems as well. So, in October 2014, the Obama administration banned all federal funding of all efforts to weaponize three viruses influenza, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). But that didnt stop Fauci, the Times of Israel reported. He outsourced in 2015 the GOF research to Chinas Wuhan lab and licensed the lab to continue receiving federal funding, the site noted. And to be clear, yes this is the same lab that is now at the center of the COVID-19 controversy. No wonder Fauci wants us to believe theres no connection to coronavirus and the lab he has worked diligently to fund with our tax money. Sources include: TimesOfIsrael.com Breitbart.com Newsweek.com The Trillion-pound Gorilla Everyone Wants to Ignore Click on the US Debt Clock to see the exact trillions of dollars every U.S. Citizen owes right nowfrom oldest seniors right down to each newborn baby entering this world. The only way make this horrendous burden go away is with taxes. Taxes enable citizens to pool their money to buy necessities and luxuries they cannot afford on their ownguaranteed health care, safe bridges, beautiful roads, good schools and universities, hospitals, world-class airports, air and rail safety, clean water, police, fire protection, sanitation, cash money, first responders, national defense and competent international diplomacy. Taxes are good. Citizens of countries with high taxes are happy and love their life. Solution Blogger Denny Hatch has come up with 14 commonsense new taxes to rescue the economy and guarantee a bright future for coming generations. Yes, everything will be more expensive, but America will whole. Three of the 14 new taxes are: (1) Reinstate the 1948-1951 top tax bracket of 91%. (2) S.Q.U.A.T. (Society's Quantity Usurping of Air Tax) (3) V.A.T. (Value Added Tax) used by 140 countries worldwide. (4) Plus 11 more. Read More >> You are invited to Click Here for the Current Post of Denny Hatch's May 7, 2020 Blog. http://dennyhatch.blogspot.com/2020/05/93-fourteen-commonsense-new-taxes.html About Denny Hatch At age 84, he has had a 60-year career in marketing, direct marketing and P.R. He is the founder of the iconic newsletter, WHO'S MAILING WHAT! and the author of six business books and four novels. His Marketing blog is free to all. IN THE NEWS Tensions Emerge Between Republicans Over Coronavirus Spending and How to Rescue the Economy Seung Min Kim Washington Post Media Contact Denny Hatch 200 West Washington Square, #3007 Philadelphia, PA 19106 215-644-9526 [email protected] SOURCE Denny Hatch's Marketing Blog It was yet another weak session for Indian markets on May 7, as the Sensex plunged more than 200 points and the Nifty50 slipped below 9,200, wiping out most of the gains made the previous day. The final tally on D-Street: the S&P BSE Sensex slipped 242 points to 31,443 while the Nifty50 closed 71 points lower at 9,199. Sectorally, some rally was seen in the energy sector while profit taking was visible in power, utilities, consumer durables, telecom, and public sector stocks. In the broader market space, the S&P BSE Midcap index fell 0.53 percent and the S&P BSE Smallcap index was down 0.14 percent. The Nifty held on to 9,100 levels on another volatile day of trade. Bluechip financial stocks contributed most to the losses due to an anticipated increase in NPAs during this period. Global cues and coronavirus cases will give direction to the market. Any sign of extension of lockdown could be taken negatively by the Street. There is no respite in the number of domestic virus infections and markets are worried about a further extension in lockdown, which could severely impact already weak corporate earnings and the economy. With increasing crude oil inventories and countries struggling to implement supply cuts, crude oil price also dropped, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services told Moneycontrol. This indicates that the global economy is still not on the recovery path yet, in spite of many countries beginning to emerge from lockdowns. Indian markets are expected to remain volatile, tracking domestic news regarding the spread of infections. Top Nifty gainers included M&M, Adani Ports, JSW Steel, IndusInd Bank, and Bharti Infratel. Top Nifty losers included NTPC, BPCL, ONGC, Kotak Bank, and GAIL India. Stocks & Sectors Sectorally, the S&P BSE Energy index rose 1.8 percent while selling pressure was seen in the S&P BSE Power Index, which fell 2.4 percent. The S&P BSE Utilities was down 2.2 percent and the consumer durables index also fell 2.24 percent. A volume spike of more than 100 percent was seen in stocks like Shree Cements, HCL Tech, Berger Paints, YES Bank and HUL. Long Buildup was seen in stocks like Escorts, M&M, Jindal Steel, and IndusInd Bank. Short Buildup was seen in stocks like HUL, Asian Paints, Tata Chemicals, UBL, and Apollo Hospitals. Stocks that gave a bearish signal based on MACD include Alkem Laboratories, Balmer Lawrie, Bombay Dyeing, HPCL, DHFL and Sobha, according to data collated from StockEdge. More than 130 stocks hit a 52-week low on the BSE. These include AU Small Finance, Birla Corp, SIS, Sunteck Realty,and Mahindra Holidays. Stocks in news Yes Bank share price gained nearly 7 percent even though the bank reported a net loss of Rs 3,668 crore in the quarter ended March 2020. HCL Technologies ended 1.5 percent lower despite the company reporting a 3.8 percent QoQ jump in profit at Rs 3,154 crore. Persistent Systems rose 5 percent after the company expanded partnership with Dassault Systemes to strengthen digital transformation capabilities in Europe. Solara Active Pharma declined 12 percent after the company reported 32.3 percent fall in its Q4 consolidated net profit at Rs 17.8 crore against Rs 26.3 crore, YoY. Salasar Techno Engineering share price rose nearly 4 percent after the company got an order for 220 and 66 KV transmission lines in Yamuna Nagar and Ambala from the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited. Astec Life was up for the third straight day on Q4 earnings OMCs slipped for the second day after government left fuel price unchanged after the excise hike. Technical View The Nifty formed a bearish candle on the daily charts with an indecisive pattern. For a while, the index may continue to consolidate in the 9,3509,100 range, unless it registers a breakout in either direction. A break above 9,350 will open doors for 9,4509,533 levels, similarly a breach of 9,100 shall resume the downswing with an initial target of 8,900. On an intraday basis, if the Nifty manages to sustain above 9,270, then it should be considered an initial sign of strength, say experts. Traders are advised to wait for a minor breakout in either direction before initiating trading bets, they say. EU Envoy Says Removal of Phrase in Op-ed in China Newspaper Regrettable BEIJINGThe European Union ambassador to China said on May 7 it was regrettable that part of an opinion piece co-authored by 27 European ambassadors and published in the official China Daily had been removed before publication. A comparison between the original op-ed uploaded onto the EU embassy website and the one published on Tuesday by the China Daily showed that in a sentence beginning, But the outbreak of the coronavirus, the words that followedin China, and its subsequent spread to the rest of the world over the past three monthswere removed. It is regrettable that part of the sentence about the spread of the virus has been edited, EU Ambassador to China Nicolas Chapuis told reporters at a briefing. A man is placing flowers beside a photo of the late ophthalmologist Li Wenliang outside the Wuhan Central Hospital in Wuhan, China, on Feb. 7, 2020. (STR/AFP/Getty Images) The China Daily could not immediately be reached for comment. The EU ambassadors had submitted the opinion piece to mark the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the EU and China. The full version appears on the websites of EU embassies to China, including on that of the French embassy. Chapuis refused to comment on why the words may have been taken out. A senior EU diplomat told Reuters that the change arose from censorship by Chinese authorities but that individual EU ambassadors were not properly consulted about whether to go ahead with publication in The China Daily, despite censors. People standing on a street by a barrier to stop others from entering, in Wuhan in Chinas central Hubei Province, on Feb. 23, 2020. (STR/AFP/Getty Images) The European Commission, the EU executive, defended the decision by the EU delegation to Beijing on Thursday. The EU delegation decided nevertheless to proceed with publication of the op-ed with considerable reluctance as it was considered important to communicate on key EU policies, the Commission said in its daily news briefing in Brussels. The Commission said the opinion piece, although censored, still made clear the EUs concerns on human rights in China, as well as the EUs views on climate change policies and on the response to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic. China is locked in a war of words with the United States over the outbreak, including its origin. Beijing has also sought to pressure the EU not to publish what Brussels has said was Chinese disinformation online about the CCP virus, according to diplomatic correspondence seen by Reuters in April. By Yew Lun Tian Epoch Times staff contributed to this report. As a result of explanatory work by the officers of the Artashat Department of the Police of Armenia, Russian citizen Vera M. turned herself in to the Artashat Department on Wednesday. She is wanted by the Russian police on charges of theft. Her precautionary measure was a signature bond to not leave Russia. The initiator of the arrest warrant and the prosecutor's office of Ararat Province were informed about the detection. French English Paris, May 06, 2020, 2pm AB Science granted authorization by French Medicine Agency (ANSM) to initiate Phase 2 study evaluating masitinib in combination with isoquercetin for the treatment of COVID-19 Company to host live webcast on Monday May 11, 2020, 5.30pm CET AB Science SA (NYSE Euronext - FR0010557264 - AB) today announces initiation of a Phase 2 study evaluating masitinib in combination with isoquercetin for the treatment of COVID-19, following rapid review and acceptance received from the French Medicine Agency, ANSM. This study (AB20001) is a randomized (1:1), open-label Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of masitinib combined with isoquercetin in hospitalized patients with moderate and severe COVID-19. The study will enroll 200 patients (age 18 without an upper age limit) at medical centers in France and other countries. The primary objective is to improve the clinical status of patients after 15 days of treatment. A webcast call will be held on Monday May 11, 2020 at 5.30pm CET to present the detailed study design and further explain the scientific rationale for combining masitinib with isoquercetin. Dial-in & webcast information will be provided later. Many patients with moderate and severe COVID-19, develop a cytokine storm that leads to severe pulmonary inflammation and various thrombotic events associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and potentially death. The combination of masitinib and isoquercetin may prevent the development of these two complications. masitinib is a potent blocker of mast cells and macrophages that are contributors to the cytokine storm isoquercetin inhibits disulfide isomerase (PDI), an enzyme directly involved in the formation of clots and decreases D-Dimer, a predictor of COVID-19 thrombosis severity. the combination of masitinib and isoquercetin has a synergistic effect against senescent cells, a potential target of the virus that could explain the higher mortality rates in the elderly. Pascal Chanez, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the AP-HM and Aix Marseille University at Marseille, France and principal investigator said The combination of masitinib with isoquercetin is based on a strong scientific rationale and offers a differentiated strategy. On the one hand, masitinib and isoquercetin have upstream activity to prevent cytokine storm and its associated lung injuries and thrombosis, and on the other hand, the combination has a totally innovative synergistic effect to target the senescent cells, which could protect the most vulnerable aged population. The enrolment of patients in this study will primarily come from the second wave of the disease. About the study primary endpoint The 7-point ordinal scale for clinical status is: 1. Not hospitalized, no limitations on activities; 2.Not hospitalized, limitation on activities; 3. Hospitalized, not requiring supplemental oxygen; 4. Hospitalized, requiring supplemental oxygen; 5. Hospitalized, on non-invasive ventilation or high flow oxygen devices; 6. Hospitalized, on invasive mechanical ventilation or ECMO; 7. Death. About masitinib Masitinib is a new orally administered tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets mast cells and macrophages, important cells for immunity, through inhibiting a limited number of kinases. Based on its unique mechanism of action, masitinib can be developed in a large number of conditions in oncology, in inflammatory diseases, and in certain diseases of the central nervous system. In oncology due to its immunotherapy effect, masitinib can have an effect on survival, alone or in combination with chemotherapy. Through its activity on mast cells and microglia and consequently the inhibition of the activation of the inflammatory process, masitinib can have an effect on the symptoms associated with some inflammatory and central nervous system diseases and the degeneration of these diseases. About AB Science Founded in 2001, AB Science is a pharmaceutical company specializing in the research, development and commercialization of protein kinase inhibitors (PKIs), a class of targeted proteins whose action are key in signaling pathways within cells. Our programs target only diseases with high unmet medical needs, often lethal with short term survival or rare or refractory to previous line of treatment. AB Science has developed a proprietary portfolio of molecules and the Companys lead compound, masitinib, has already been registered for veterinary medicine and is developed in human medicine in oncology, neurological diseases, and inflammatory diseases. The company is headquartered in Paris, France, and listed on Euronext Paris (ticker: AB). Further information is available on AB Sciences website: www.ab-science.com . Forward-looking Statements - AB Science This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts. These statements include projections and estimates as well as the assumptions on which they are based, statements based on projects, objectives, intentions and expectations regarding financial results, events, operations, future services, product development and their potential or future performance. These forward-looking statements can often be identified by the words "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate" or "plan" as well as other similar terms. While AB Science believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of AB Science and which may imply that results and actual events significantly differ from those expressed, induced or anticipated in the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include the uncertainties related to product development of the Company which may not be successful or to the marketing authorizations granted by competent authorities or, more generally, any factors that may affect marketing capacity of the products developed by AB Science, as well as those developed or identified in the public documents filed by AB Science with the Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF), including those listed in the Chapter 4 "Risk Factors" of AB Science reference document filed with the AMF on November 22, 2016, under the number R. 16-078. AB Science disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update the forward-looking information and statements, subject to the applicable regulations, in particular articles 223-1 et seq. of the AMF General Regulations. For additional information, please contact: AB Science Financial Communication & Media Relations investors@ab-science.com Attachment Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 06, 2020 | SPRINGFIELD By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 06, 2020 | 06:17 PM | SPRINGFIELD Legislators and trade associations are voicing strong criticism of Governor Pritzker's five-phase plan to reopen the Illinois economy. On Tuesday Pritzker outlined his "Restore Illinois" plan that splits Illinois into Northeast, North-Central, Central, and South regions, allowing each to move separately through the phases. For the state or an individual region to advance to Phase Three, officials say infection rates, hospitalizations and demand for ICU beds must be stable or declining. That would allow manufacturing, offices, retail and services, including hair salons, to reopen. Non-essential gatherings of ten or less would be allowed. Officials say the earliest that a region could move to Phase Three is by May 29, but face coverings and social distancing would still be required. No gatherings of more than ten people would be allowed until June 26. In the face of pressure from central and southern Illinois regions where there are lower coronavirus case numbers than in Chicago, Pritzker has emphasized that hes guided by medical experts and scientific modeling. Republican lawmakers said Pritzkers plan moves too slowly to save many businesses or take the state back to how it was. Rep. Dan Brady said Restore Illinois proves the states pandemic response continues to be a decree by one person. With this plan it could be months or even years before the state would fully reopen as we wait for a treatment or vaccine, said Brady, a Bloomington Republican. I have already heard from countless business owners that if the governors plan continues, they wont be able to reopen whenever the time comes. The Illinois Chamber of Commerce is calling on the governor to modify his plan saying it's too slow. The Illinois Restaurant Association is echoing the concern. Under the governor's plan, restaurants and bars will not be able to re-open to dine in service until June 26 at the earliest. They said sales are down 80 percent in the state and it's predicted that 20 to 25 percent of the restaurants will not re-open. The coronavirus will hit all global economies hard but Australia could be one of the luckier countries. (Source: Getty) Amid some dire forecasts, one economist has presented an optimistic perspective of the nations recovery from the pandemic. Though unemployment figures have been estimated to hit as high as 15.1 per cent and the economy slated to contract by as much as 15 per cent, there are some reasons to believe that Australia will pull through the crisis better than other countries, according to AMP chief economist Shane Oliver. When it really matters, I reckon we are led pretty well. Particularly in times of crisis. Think of the 1980s when Hawke and Keating opened up and modernised the economy, or through the GFC when a rapid policy response was a big reason Australia avoided recession, Oliver said in an investors note. The response to the current crisis will likely also go down as a time when Australia rose to the occasion. Heres why Oliver thinks Australia will emerge on the other side with less battle scars than other nations: 1. Australia has controlled the virus better than other countries Australia hit a point in late March where we saw nearly 500 new cases in one day, but after the federal governments shutdown measures were implemented, the numbers have since dwindled to single digits. Among OECD countries, Australia actually ranks number one based on recovery rates per capita, Oliver pointed out. New Zealand is second, while the US with more than 1.26 million cases and counting comes in last place at 37th. OECD countries compared on how they are managing the coronavirus outbreak (based on recovery rates, active cases per capita, total cases per capita adjusted for the number of days since the first case and testing per capita). (Source: Worldometer, AMP Capital) For one thing, Australias ability to contain the virus has kept pressure off the health system, meaning less deaths, Oliver said. It also provides Australia more scope to open the economy sooner and with greater confidence that a second wave of cases will be avoided in contrast to the US where there is no clear downtrend in new cases. Story continues The government is already looking at how to ease shutdown restrictions, with a view to have a Covid-safe economy by July. 2. Australias had a superior policy response All global governments have spent an enormous sum of money on their economic response to the pandemic but Australias response has been particularly notable for not needing to make loans or debt guarantees. Actual fiscal support is a better measure and on this front Australia at 10.6 per cent of GDP has provided by far the strongest fiscal stimulus of G20 countries, said Oliver. He added that the JobKeeper wage subsidy was superior to other countries approaches. [JobKeeper] keeps people employed, minimises confidence zapping negative headlines around unemployment, preserves the employer/employee relationship, keeps workers getting paid and provides a subsidy to struggling businesses, Oliver said. 3. Australias key trading partner is China The virus may have originated in Wuhan, China, but that also means China and its economy is now months ahead of the rest of the world in dealing with and recovering from the pandemic. We may benefit from our biggest export market China, which takes a third of our exports being ahead of the global recovery curve by around two to three months and focused on infrastructure spending. This explains why prices for our key export iron ore are holding up relatively well compared to say the price of oil (of which we are a net importer). Bourke St Mall in Melbourne is quiet and empty during the Coronavirus pandemic and associated lockdown. (Source: Getty) A long road to recovery Oliver estimates weve already hit the low point in economic activity April and that growth will return to the economy in the second half [of the year]. But like other economists, Oliver is not predicting a quick bounce-back. The easing of the lockdown will likely be gradual to minimise the risk of a second wave, some businesses will not reopen, uncertainty will linger, debt levels will be higher and business models will have to adapt to different ways of doing things. But it will still see a return to growth, albeit it may not be until end next year before economic activity returns to pre-virus levels. Nonetheless, Australia has performed better than other countries in its response to the virus. Too early Independent economist Stephen Koukoulas had a more cautious outlook on Australias climb out of a recession and told Yahoo Finance there was too little data on how the Covid-10 crisis has impacted the Australian and global economy. I am not sure Australia's economic policy response has been better than other countries. There have been huge fiscal measures everywhere, all a little different, all with a different focus, but suffice to say, policies aimed at guarding the economy are not exclusive to Australia, he said. I hope Shane is right. But we will also have to deal with the shock of the fall in immigration (a bigger negative for Australia than every other country) so I would wait before making such a claim. Major drawbacks Australia Institute Centre for Future Work director and economist Jim Stanford told Yahoo Finance that there are also some other elements shoring up Australias economy, such as the drop in the Aussie dollar (though this is tipped to bounce back), as well as a potential recovery in manufacturing. With global supply chains disrupted, and Australians more sensitive to the need to produce more products domestically (including, obviously, medical supplies), government and business are now considering ways to support domestic manufacturing, Stanford said. That would be a great development for our trade balance and for job-creation. And while he agreed with Oliver that Australia has had a strong though imperfect policy response, there have also been some major drawbacks that cannot be overlooked, such as the exclusion of JobKeeper to more than 2 million casual workers and temporary foreign visa workers. That makes no sense economically: employers who hire these workers need to retain the employer-employee connection with them as surely as other employers do. Reopening too early will also mean a second wave, warned Stanford. We have to be very careful that a little bit of good economic news doesnt cause us to let down our guard. Register for the next episode of Yahoo Finance Breakfast Club: Live Online. Follow Yahoo Finance Australia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Those hoping to set off into Oregons central Cascade Mountains this summer wont need to scramble for a hiking permit after all once trailheads closed due to the coronavirus reopen to the public, that is. New hiking permits set to roll out this month in Oregons central Cascades will be delayed until 2021, the U.S. Forest Service announced Thursday, due to the ongoing pandemic. Given many logistical constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are delaying our implementation until next year, Holly Jewkes, supervisor for the Deschutes National Forest, said in a news release. Originally scheduled to begin May 22, the new permitting system is now expected to take effect around the same time next year. The permits are aimed at reducing the number of hikers allowed into the Mount Jefferson, Three Sisters and Mount Washington wilderness areas, as a response to overcrowding and human impact on what are supposed to be pristine natural spaces. The number of permits issued per day will vary from trailhead to trailhead. A full list of the trailheads and the number of permits that will be issued is posted in documentation of the plan online. Day hikers will be charged $1 and backpackers $6 to book a permit online at Recreation.gov, officials said. Forest officials initially delayed the launch date for the new permits, as Oregon Gov. Kate Brown issued a stay-home order that subsequently led to the closure of developed recreation areas, including trailheads, in national forests across the Pacific Northwest. While wilderness areas technically remain open to the public, trailheads used to access those areas are closed. However, some could begin to reopen later this spring. Our focus has been on responding to COVID-19, and preparations for the permit system were delayed, Dave Warnack, supervisor for the Willamette National Forest, said in the news release. We felt there was too much uncertainty for the public on when we might open the reservation system. Therefore, we made this difficult decision. One aspect of the new wilderness plan that will be implemented this year is a new elevational ban on campfires. All campfires will be banned above 5,700 feet in the Mount Jefferson, Mount Washington and Three Sisters wilderness areas, as well as above 6,000 feet in the Diamond Peak Wilderness. Otherwise, wilderness areas in the central Cascades will continue to be managed as they have been in the past, with no limits on entries and free, self-service wilderness permits at the trailheads. --Jamie Hale; jhale@oregonian.com; 503-294-4077; @HaleJamesB Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Michael Flynn, President Trump's former national security advisor, leaves the federal courthouse in Washington with his lawyer Sidney Powell, after a hearing in fall 2019. (Manuel Balce Ceneta / Associated Press) The Justice Department moved Thursday to drop its prosecution of Michael Flynn, President Trump's first national security advisor and the only White House official charged in the Russia investigation, a dramatic undoing of one of the most high-profile cases brought by former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. "Continued prosecution of this case would not serve the interests of justice," Timothy Shea, the U.S. attorney in Washington, wrote in a 20-page court filing that eviscerated the investigation into Flynn, a retired three-star Army general. Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to FBI agents about his phone calls with the Russian ambassador to Washington, shortly before Trump took office, about U.S. sanctions enacted as punishment for Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign. But Shea wrote that the agents' interview, conducted at the White House days after Trump's inauguration, did not have "a legitimate investigative basis" and was untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBIs counterintelligence investigation." The abrupt reversal marked a stunning legal victory for Flynn, who has claimed he was a victim of prosecutorial misconduct, and a political vindication for Trump, who fired his top national security aide after only 24 days in office but later insisted he had been framed. The decision immediately escalated the debate over whether Trump was improperly influencing criminal prosecutions. Critics accused Atty. Gen. William Barr of bowing to pressure in a politically charged case, saying it undermined the Justice Department's credibility. Mueller charged 34 people in all, and the Flynn case is the first to collapse. He served no time in jail and has been awaiting sentencing. Trump's anger over the Russia investigation hasn't abated even though it ended a year ago without establishing that his campaign criminally conspired with Moscow to help him win the White House. Story continues He told reporters Thursday in the Oval Office that the law enforcement officials who targeted Flynn were "human scum" and had committed "treason." He praised Flynn as "an innocent man" and "a great gentleman." President Trump lashed out at former law enforcement officials in the Oval Office on May 7, 2020. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) Trump apparently celebrated the news on a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying they talked about "the Russia hoax, this absolute dishonest hoax." "And we discussed that," he said. He added, "It was a total disgrace and I wouldn't be surprised if you see a lot of things happen over the next number of weeks. This is just one piece of a very dishonest puzzle." The decision to drop Flynn's case came as several aftershocks of the Russia investigation hit Washington. The House Intelligence Committee released thousands of pages of transcripts from its closed-door interviews with 53 individuals. The Justice Department separately asked the Supreme Court to block a request by House Democrats to review secret grand jury material from Muellers inquiry. The case against Flynn first appeared in jeopardy when Brandon Van Grack, who helped lead the Flynn prosecution in Mueller's office and still works at the Justice Department, abruptly notified the court that he was withdrawing. Shea filed for its dismissal soon after. Van Grack did not give a reason in his one-sentence filing, but prosecutors have previously withdrawn from cases to protest decisions by their superiors. In February, several federal prosecutors pulled out of the case against Roger Stone, a longtime political advisor to Trump who was convicted of witness tampering and lying to Congress, after the Justice Department disregarded their request for a stiff sentence. Trump had publicly complained that their sentencing recommendation was too harsh. Stone was eventually sentenced to 40 months in prison, but he has not been incarcerated and is appealing his conviction. U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, who is overseeing the Flynn case, did not publicly respond to the Justice Department's motion or set a hearing date. Nancy Gertner, a Harvard law professor and retired federal judge, expects Sullivan will probe whether "there there was any untoward political influence from the president. She said the Justice Department argument that Flynn's prosecution was substandard could affect other cases where people are charged with lying to investigators. The implications of the position theyre taking with Flynn would undermine false statement prosecutions from one end of the country to the other," she said. Gertner also suggested that the Justice Department was helping a defendant with friends in high places. Are they going to take this same position in the case of the ordinary, non-politically wired individual?" she said. "The answer is no. Barr told CBS News in an interview that the Flynn prosecution needed to be dropped to "make sure that we restore confidence in the system." Atty. Gen. William Barr, pictured here testifying on Capitol Hill, has been a critic of the Russia investigation. (Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images) But several former officials in the Russia investigation blasted Barr's move as tainted by politics. "Todays move by the Justice Department has nothing to do with the facts or the law it is pure politics designed to please the president," said former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who had arranged the agents' interview with Flynn and was later fired in a leak inquiry. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, called for the Justice Department's inspector general to examine the decision to drop the case. "A politicized and thoroughly corrupt Department of Justice is going to let the presidents crony simply walk away," he said in a statement. "Americans are right to be furious and worried about the continued erosion of our rule of law." Former federal prosecutors said they were stunned to read the Justice Department filing, which unraveled its own case against Flynn. "I have never seen the government advocate so aggressively on behalf of a defendant, much less than one who had already pleaded guilty," said Peter Zeidenberg, who previously handled corruption cases. But that was not a universal view. James Trusty, a former chief of the Justice Department's organized crime section, said Barr made the "right call." "He asked, What the hell are we doing here? Its a rinky-dink case,'" Trusty said. Thursday's decision came months after Barr took the unusual step of asking the U.S. attorney in St. Louis, Jeff Jensen, to review the Flynn prosecution. It produced new documents that were given to Flynn's defense team and released Thursday. The records show that the FBI began investigating Flynn during the 2016 race to determine if he "may wittingly or unwittingly be involved in activity on behalf of the Russian Federation which may constitute a federal crime or threat to the national security." Once a well-regarded battlefield intelligence officer in Iraq and Afghanistan, Flynn became a senior member of Trump's campaign. Trump later named Flynn as his national security advisor, a coveted and powerful post in the White House. The FBI prepared to close its investigation before Trump's inauguration but decided to keep it open when officials learned of Flynn's phone calls with Sergey Kislyak, then the Russian ambassador. There were suspicions Flynn might have violated the Logan Act, a little-known law that bars private citizens from unauthorized negotiating with foreign governments. But Justice Department and FBI officials disagreed about how to proceed. Sally Yates, then the acting attorney general and a holdover from President Obama's administration, was flabbergasted and dumbfounded" when James B. Comey, then the FBI director, sent agents to interview Flynn at the White House on Jan. 24, 2017, the documents show. Although Flynn knew the FBI probably was eavesdropping on Kislyak's calls "You listen to everything they say," he told McCabe when he agreed to sit down with agents, according to McCabe's notes prosecutors said he lied about the conversations. Most notably, Flynn concealed that he talked with Kislyak about U.S. sanctions that Obama had enacted as punishment for Moscow's meddling in the 2016 campaign. The episode quickly led to Flynn's undoing when Yates told Don McGahn, then the White House counsel, about the interview, and it became clear that Flynn had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other officials. After less than a month on the job, Flynn was fired. He pleaded guilty on Dec. 1, 2017, to lying to the FBI. He also admitted illegally lobbying for Turkey while he was a senior Trump campaign advisor in 2016. But he wasn't charged for that as part of his plea deal with Mueller. Flynn subsequently claimed he was poorly served by his original legal team and framed by investigators. His lawyer also alleges that Van Grack improperly threatened to prosecute Flynn's son, who worked for his father's private consulting firm while it was lobbying for Turkey. After the Justice Department said it was dropping the case against him, he tweeted a video of his grandson holding an American flag and saying "and justice for all." Keeping calm and getting creative, businesses are thinking outside the box as they carry on at the start of month three of shelter in place. Hayes Valley's Gazette delivers French fashion essentials to your door, City Arts & Lectures takes its formerly live programming to YouTube, and Governor Newsom has never looked cuterhe's a bobblehead! The store's boarded up, but Gazette finds new ways to connect with customers. Classic Breton-striped shirts available at Gazette, now offering delivery in SF. (Courtesy of Armor Lux) For a couple of years now, Hayes Valley's petite brick-and-mortar has been SF's go-to spot for French goodies. You know, the coziest Breton stripes, chicest beauty products, and coolest accessories. Oui oui, French-born founder Charlotte Boedec has all the right connections with need-to-know brands from her homeland. Right now, though, like many small business owners, Boedec has had to reinvent her business in order to keep on keeping on: "Of course, it was shocking to get the news of the shelter in place, but it has been a great opportunity to explore new ways for Gazette to keep connecting with its clientele and to keep on selling." Taking a cue from restaurants, Boedec implemented her own delivery and pickup service. SF customers can shop online and/or set up a Taking a cue from restaurants, Boedec implemented her own delivery and pickup service. SF customers can shop online and/or set up a virtual appointment where they can tour the IRL store and ask questions of the stylish Boedec. (Those in need of a bit of retail therapy sans spending are welcome to browse, or e-window shop, as well.) Once a purchase is made, Boedec hops in her electric car and within three hours of adding to cart, your order arrives at your doorstep. Since starting this service three weeks ago, Boedec has been delivering almost every day. Customers have been stocking up on a lot of C.Lavie skincare sleek bodysuits , and Saint James sweaters and shirts . Many of the items are those featured in Gazette's regular newsletters. The current theme? French essentials for your stay at home experience. Ooh la la! // 334 Gough St. (Hayes Valley), gazette-store.com Culture (and fashion) continues at City Arts & Lectures. A screenshot from City Arts & Lectures' recent webcast of "Femail: The Art of Sustainable Fashion." (Courtesy of City Arts & Lectures) Nowadays no one is queuing up outside the city's Sydney Goldstein Theater to hear a favorite author, artist or politico. Still, the 30-year-old City Arts & Lectures knows the show must go onon YouTube. The beloved nonprofit's cultural series and KQED radio program is turning both new events and those scheduled before the pandemic into webcasts, which can be enjoyed for free (hey, silver lining) on its YouTube channel. Our current fave is "Femail: The Art of Sustainable Fashion" with Camilla Carper and Janelle Abbott of Femail, an art and fashion collaboration created remotely through the mail. It's moderated by Avery Trufelman of the much-lauded podcast "Articles of Interest," which ponders things like why womenswear lacks pockets and the environmental impact of the textile industry. Debuting today, Thursday, May 7th at 7:30pm, is a conversation between Jia Tolentino and Jenna Wortham. The two brilliant, insightful, and funny writersat The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine, respectivelywill share their observations about life in these crazy dystopian times, plus what to watch, eat, read, and do. Note: Ticket holders for previously scheduled events are encouraged to forego refunds and, instead, make tax-deductible donations to help support the ushers, technical staff, and mission of the organization. The rest of us can help by donating here. // cityarts.net Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal Busy and hot. Thats how Meals on Wheels of Albuquerque executive director Shauna Frost describes current working conditions for the organizations staff members. Since mid-March, when the first COVID-19 cases appeared in New Mexico, demand for the organizations services has ballooned, with staff members fielding 300% more calls and preparing an extra 1,000 meals for delivery each week, Frost said. Pandemic-induced social distancing and isolation has contributed to the increase. We would get people calling, and they would cry, Frost said. They would cry on the phone because they didnt know what they were going to do if we couldnt help them. The need is still there. Its really hard because we have limited funds, Frost said. We pay for our food. We dont receive donated food because we have the medically tailored meals and we need to know whats in there. As the organization is in overdrive to keep up with demand, it has also had to reorganize the way services are provided. Hot meals once delivered daily by volunteers are now delivered frozen seven at a time by staff members, Frost said. Even with the limited funds, the organization has been able support the local community by purchasing local foods and including them with deliveries. Those who dont meet the organizations criteria are directed to other organizations that can help. Still, the organization is currently serving 650 clients and Frost said they could serve even more. We definitely have the capacity to do more, she said. Its the funding that prevents us. For Spencer Kent, the epic magnitude of the coronavirus epidemic became apparent in mid-March, after he listened to a chilling tip on his voicemail. Six members of a New Jersey family, the tipster explained, were in intensive care, in hospitals in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. All appeared to have contracted the coronavirus during a large family gathering two weeks earlier. Kent worked furiously to break the story of the Fusco family. Rita Fusco-Jackson was the second confirmed COVID-19 death in New Jersey. He continued to follow the tragedy as it unfolded, with three other members of the family dying. The Fuscos story soon became a national one a harrowing symbol of the coronavirus virulence and cruelty. I see the Fusco family as the quintessential canary in the coal mine situation, Kent explains. That story was one of the most stressful things, because I was dealing with a lot of family members, an overarching medical story, and a terrible tragedy. As the lead health reporter for NJ.com and The Star-Ledger, Kent has been writing about the coronavirus since January, sifting through research and ever-changing medical information, while also trying to capture the scale of human loss. His work, a cornerstone of NJ.coms coverage of the pandemic, and public service efforts like our Community News and Resource Desk and NJ is Open* illustrate why local news matters more than ever. And its one reason why, for the first time, were asking NJ.com readers to voluntarily subscribe and help us to continue providing the best local, regional and statewide news. Acting today by clicking this link will help essential reporting information that guides all of us through the worst of times continue as our industry confronts another advertising crisis. Kent, 32, took an unlikely path to public health reporting. A communications major who also studied acting and was a Division I wrestler at Rutgers University, he joined our company in 2012 as a breaking news reporter in South Jersey. When the health beat opened, he initially was resistant to apply: He didnt necessarily see himself writing about the latest medical studies about cholesterol or proffering tips on how to lower ones cholesterol. Would the job just be too dry? A colleague nudged him to reconsider, and when he landed the position, he realized he could use the beat to write about many different subjects, whether the intersection of health and business, or politics, or culture. Youre like a specialty pitcher, but you kind of see that the health reporter can be a rover on the field, where it dips into every area, says Kent, who is best known around the office for his unerring resemblance to a young Woody Harrelson, and for his seemingly endless strolls around the office parking lot. (Hes usually calling sources at the same time.) And at the core of the beat, he came to realize, was an invaluable public service. We all have anxiety over our health, he says. Its so big, and its so scary. You go into a hospital and you have to advocate for yourself. He adds, Having people that I can call on at 10 oclock at night, and say, Hey, can you break this down for me? and then being able to break it down (for readers), theres great satisfaction in that. The other part of the beat he treasures is telling peoples stories and doing justice to their struggles. In July 2018, Kent learned that a New Jersey man had contracted a flesh-eating bacteria from the waters of the Delaware Bay and was now fighting for his life. Kent worked frantically to cover the story as breaking news. But when the man, Angel Perez, eventually recovered and the spotlight faded, Kent realized there was a larger story to tell. For the better part of the next year, Kent followed Perezs recovery, while painstakingly reconstructing his nightmarish two months in the hospital, leading to quadruple amputation. The resulting story, The Man Who Lived, is a masterpiece of narrative storytelling that last week was named a finalist in the Local Reporting category by the Livingston Awards, the prestigious annual prizes awarded to journalists under 35. The winners will be announced on June 4. The story also earned a first-place prize for Enterprise Reporting from the New Jersey Press Association. Its therapeutic for people to tell their stories to reporters, Kent says. Because that is our job we listen. For now, Kent remains deeply committed to keeping New Jersey up to date on the latest news about the coronavirus. (He was one of more than three dozen reporters who contributed to 24 Hours in Crisis, NJ.coms comprehensive portrait of one day in the state during the pandemic.) He also is acutely aware he and his colleagues are writing the first draft of history. Im very proud of the way our newsroom is rising to the occasion, he says. I see my colleagues, and I see my editors we all know that we have this sense of history. It requires you to know in the back of your head to know this is an unprecedented historical moment that is being recorded. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Christopher Kelly is Director, News Innovation, Topics and Features for NJ.com. He may be reached at ckelly@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chriskelly74. International students doing it tough are receiving food supplies and care thanks to Good Samaritans in the community. TAFE Queensland international support officer Jared Hopkins preparing bags of non-perishable items for international students facing financial hardship during COVID-19. Credit:TAFE Queensland Brisbane community groups and TAFE Queensland staff are collecting non-perishable food items and have already distributed hundreds of items to international students who have lost employment during COVID-19. TAFE Queensland has also introduced an Adopt a Buddy program, which has connected 85 staff volunteers with international students twice a week to battle loneliness. Student Ravi Pandey came to Brisbane in February from Singapore to study mechanical technology. He says that since his arrival, the part-time and casual employment options available to international students have been greatly affected. Throughout the hospitality and retail sectors a lot of businesses have shut down and the ones that are still open are no longer hiring, he says. For those of us who have jobs, our income is becoming much smaller and we are relying on our families overseas for support. Local community groups such as Sikh Temple in Browns Plains have been offering free meals for international students to help them make ends meet. Mr Pandey is one of many students who has collected a free meal from the temple and wants to pay their generosity forward by offering to assist the temple with free deliveries to people who cannot commute. TAFE Queensland - SkillsTech general manager John Tucker says most of the 2400 international students that TAFE Queensland trains are facing financial hardship. Their contribution to our economy is enormous and we are doing everything we can to look after them during this challenging period, he says. NEW YORK, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- HR tech firm, Cappfinity is working with New York Times best-selling author and workplace expert, Lindsey Pollak on a ground-breaking global research project exploring the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the graduating class of 2020 and the future of graduate hiring. Based on expert opinion from talent acquisition leaders in the UK, US and APAC region, 2020 Strong will look at how the global pandemic is causing businesses to reshape their approach to graduate hiring, including shifts in on-campus recruiting and virtual hiring and investigating the impact on social mobility and diversity. Cappfinity will be sharing their findings with employers of entry-level talent and university career services professionals through a range of digital content including a webinar series. The company also plans to support the Class of 2020 and other current college students to discover their strengths and explore potential future career paths by providing free a Strengths Profile including the digital Career Guide. The Guide recommends the top six industry sectors based on an individual's realized strengths, and top two sectors based on their unrealized strengths. Cappfinity CEO, Dr Alex Linley spoke about the project, "The employment landscape is constantly shifting, creating uncertainty for both employers and graduates. While the job market may not be thriving, now more than ever employers need top talent to tackle the challenges created by the pandemic. By accessing expert global insight from industry thought leaders and sharing our strengths expertise and tools, we hope to add value to both businesses and students to help them navigate their way through these unprecedented times." Author and keynote speaker, Lindsey Pollak, added, "There can be no doubt that the global Coronavirus pandemic is creating major challenges for both students seeking entry level jobs and internships, and businesses looking to secure high calibre graduates. I'm delighted to be working Cappfinity on 2020 Strong to support the Class of 2020. I believe it will provide much-needed, timely support for both employers and students. For a student looking to stand out in a competitive job market, being able to understand and showcase their strengths will be a distinct advantage, and the insight we can provide from industry thought leaders around the globe will help businesses to evolve hiring practices and secure the talent they need to future-proof their businesses." Contact: Rachael Ramos, Cappfinity, [email protected], +44 (0)7719 986909 SOURCE Cappfinity A miles-long row of cars was seen on Saturday as visitors descended en masse on Lake Mead which was reopened for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown went into effect. At least 500 people visited Lake Mead on Saturday, where they lounged on the shore and swam in the water. The National Park Service allowed annual pass holders only to visit the Lake Mead Recreational Area on Saturday, though state and local authorities are urging vacationers to maintain social distancing. First of all, the kids are going crazy just being home and Im pretty sure we all needed a break, one visitor, Jazz Lewis, told KTNV-TV. A viral video which circulated on social media showed a long line of cars waiting to get to Lake Mead National Recreation Area about 25 miles east of Las Vegas on Saturday At least 500 people were estimated to have visited Lake Mead on Saturday as federal authorities allowed annual pass holders to bathe in the area Theres only so much you can do inside. Park rangers were on hand to make sure that bathers stayed at least six feet apart from one another. Rangers were seen approaching large groups of people on several occasions and telling them to spread out even groups that came to the site together. Those who pitched tents were also told by park rangers to keep their distance from each other. It is definitely a new normal that we have now, said Christie Vanover, Lake Mead Public Information Officer. Some people are supportive of it, some people dont care and just want to recreate. But it is really important that if you come to Lake Mead, we need you to social distance. Its up to you to if this place stays open, if you follow the rules. We want to keep it open for everybody to come out here. Large crowds were seen on the beach on Saturday as authorities reopened the popular reservoir Park rangers were seen in the area enforcing social distancing guidelines on Saturday A park ranger is seen far right keeping close eye on bathers to make sure they maintain social distancing State and local officials are gradually beginning to reopen recreation sites that were closed by the pandemic Visitors to Lake Mead are encouraged to wash their hands often, cover their mouths and noses when coughing or sneezing, avoid touching their faces, and to stay home if feeling ill. Lake Mead, one of the more popular recreation destinations, lies about 25 miles east of Las Vegas. Straddling the border between Nevada and Arizona, Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States in terms of water capacity. As of Thursday, there have been 5,491 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Nevada. Of those, 266 have died. Nevada Governor Steve Sisolaks office announced on Thursday that he has moved up the first phase of reopening the states economy from the previously set date of May 15 to this Saturday, May 9. The states stay-at-home directive, which the governor extended, is due to expire on May 15. The governor said he would begin to reopen the economy if the data showed a consistent and sustainable downward trajectory of COVID-19 cases and decrease in the trend of COVID19 hospitalizations over a 14-day period. Phase 1 of the governors plan calls for a transition from community mitigation to case-based interventions. It may include allowing small businesses and some retail outlets to reopen but with strict social distancing measures in place. The state will still encourage people to stay at home, particularly vulnerable populations. Gatherings of more than 10 people would still be prohibited. Businesses in the Las Vegas area have been especially hard-hit by the pandemic, as hotels and casinos that would normally be bustling have been forced to keep their doors closed. But there does appear to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Nevada gambling officials approved rules Thursday to limit customers, keep gamblers spaced apart from each other and disinfect dice and cards when the states casinos are allowed to reopen. The Nevada Gaming Commission, which is considered the final authority on regulations and licensing, unanimously approved the guidelines that were released last week by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, which sets rules and regulations. The commission did not act on a request from the casino workers Culinary Union to incorporate the workers suggested health guidelines, including the testing of workers for COVID-19 and screening workers and guests with temperature checks upon entry. The union also called for the commission to publicly release all re-opening plans submitted by casinos. The operator of the Wynn and Encore casinos already took that step voluntarily. We have to reassure guests that we are ready for them, that they will be safe when they come back. If we dont get it right when we reopen, the long-term consequences for our industry will be devastating, the unions leader, Geoconda Arguello-Kline, said in comments submitted to the commission. Nevada gaming authorities approved a series of guidelines for casinos in Las Vegas to reopen. The image above shows hotels and casinos on the Las Vegas Strip Several other public comments raised concerns that with the stress of the virus, the risk of gambling addiction was high and others suggested using the reopening to limit or ban smoking, noting that protective face masks would have to be lowered if people are allowed to continue smoking in casinos. Sisolak has not yet announced when casinos can reopen. He took the unprecedented step of shuttering casinos and all gambling, including slot machines in convenience stores, in mid-March, as part of a broader shutdown of non-essential business. He said last week that casinos would not be open at the beginning of the first phase and did not make it clear if they could be open before the end of May. Some Las Vegas Strip resorts have said theyre aiming to be open by Memorial Day, if allowed by the state. Under the guidelines approved Thursday, casinos will be limited to 50 per cent of the occupancy allowed in buildings, and conventions will be limited to 250 people. Restaurants will have limited seating, swimming pool cabanas and lounge chairs must allow for appropriate distancing and the usually tightly packed nightclubs and day clubs will stay closed for now. Seating at table games should be limited to three players for blackjack, six for craps, four for roulette and four for poker. Chairs should be removed from every second slot machine in order to keep safe distances between gamblers. Casino managers and supervisors must work to keep customers from gathering in groups around tables. Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak (above) announced that the state will gradually begin to reopen the economy on Saturday At least seven days before opening, casinos will need to create and enact plans detailing how they will sanitize everything, from chairs and slot machines, and regularly clean and disinfect dice, cards, roulette wheels and other gambling equipment. 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. Group to try to recall Las Vegas Mayor after she said city residents could be a 'control group' to test reopening economy during pandemic A Nevada group has formed to try to recall the mayor of Las Vegas, who drew condemnation from elected officials and others with her push to reopen casinos and suggestion that her city could serve as a test case to measure the impact of reopening during the coronavirus pandemic. The city of Las Vegas released a letter Wednesday confirming it received a notice of intent from The Committee to Recall Carolyn G. Goodman to circulate a petition and try to have the politically independent mayor removed from office. An emailed message seeking comment from the mayor was not immediately returned Wednesday night. There are growing calls to recall Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman (seen above) after she made comments last month saying city residents could be a 'control group' for restarting economic activity Goodman has issued public pleas for Sisolak to end the statewide shutdown of casinos and non-essential businesses, which she called 'total insanity' that was 'killing Las Vegas.' In an interview on CNN last month, she said that 'viruses for years have been here' and said she suggested that Las Vegas residents become 'a control group' to see how lifting closures and some restrictions would affect the city. State and local officials called the remarks 'reckless' and 'an embarrassment.' Goodman last year was overwhelmingly elected to a third and final term as mayor. The recall committee has until August 4 to collect 6,745 signatures on the petition. Organizers of the recall committee could not immediately be reached for more details. STOCKHOLM, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Q-linea signs global partnership with Thermo Fisher Scientific for commercialization of ASTar First quarter, 1 January -31 March 2020 Net sales amounted to SEK 0.2 million (0.4). (0.4). The operating result totalled SEK -55.9 million (-36.7). (-36.7). The result for the period amounted to SEK -56.0 million (-36.3). (-36.3). Earnings per share before and after dilution amounted to SEK -2.44 (-1.59). (-1.59). Cash flow from operating activities totalled SEK -59.1 million (-41.0). (-41.0). At 31 March 2020 , cash and cash equivalents amounted to SEK 28.3 million (26.0). Short-term investments in fixed-income funds totalled SEK 89.8 million (150.4), short-term portions of listed corporate bonds SEK 27.9 million (30.1) and long-term investments in listed corporate bonds amounted to SEK 115.2 million (121.0). Significant events in the first quarter of 2020 Q-linea signs global partnership agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific for the commercialisation of ASTar On account of the coronavirus pandemic, the company has taken action to protect our employees and has taken our social responsibility, while we are at the same time striving to minimise any adverse impact on operations. after the end of the period Q-linea is planning to unveil ASTar to the market in digital form at a later date, given that the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Comments by the CEO Q-linea signs global partnership with Thermo Fisher Scientific for commercialization of ASTar The first quarter of 2020 was one of the most eventful in Q-linea's history. The most important event was, of course, the signing of a global partnership agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific for the commercialisation of ASTar. We also moved to new production premises on Palmbladsgatan in Uppsala, where we have now begun to produce consumables. During the quarter, we solved the component problems that arose at the end of last year, which is naturally very positive. ASTar is now undergoing verification testing ahead of a future clinical study. Our exclusive worldwide partnership with Thermo Fisher Scientific for the commercialisation of ASTar is our most important commercial milestone to date. A number of global companies showed strong interest in commercialising ASTar and we are very pleased to be collaborating with Thermo Fisher Scientific. We are particularly pleased with the company's global reach and share their view of the market and how infection diagnostics can be improved. Thermo Fisher Scientific will have exclusive rights to offer ASTar to the market in all geographic areas, with the exception of the Swedish market where we also can market ASTar. Despite the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, for example in the form of digital meetings instead of physical, the collaboration has begun well. The coronavirus pandemic has naturally affected the mood at Q-linea, but we have thankfully been spared most of the direct and indirect effects of the pandemic. We have taken action to protect our employees and have taken our social responsibility, while we are at the same time striving to minimise any adverse impact on operations. The situation may, of course, change in the future but we are currently cautiously positive. In 2019, we took the strategic decision to relocate all plastic component production for our consumables to Sweden. If we had not taken control of our procurement and production from abroad, we may have been left with no components at this sensitive time. In conjunction with this strategic shift, we decided to establish an internal production and assembly facility for disposables. This has now been inaugurated in our new premises on Palmbladsgatan in Uppsala, which feels very positive for the future. Our clinical study is progressing as planned. This may change, but our clinical partner remains confident that the study will start. A large share of the study will be conducted on isolates internally by the company and is not dependent on patient material, which has partially reduced the risk of possible delays. We are holding very positive talks with other clinical partners should we need to conduct the study at several laboratories to keep to the timetable. The issue detected with an important component from a third-party manufacturer in October last year was resolved during the quarter. In collaboration with the component manufacturer, we quickly identified and completed the minor modifications and improvements that were required. The solution has now been tested since November and this component has operated without any issue. A number of the systems were also used in our new microbiology laboratory, in other words, in the same environment as at customers' sites, without encountering any problems with the component. In summary, I am proud to look back on one of Q-linea's strongest and most intensive quarters. However, we have no plans to rest on our laurels. We must now work just as hard towards the market launch of ASTar. In these turbulent times, we have an enormous strength in our global partner Thermo Fisher Scientific. We are looking forward to the joint launch - which is a value-creating move for us, for healthcare and for patients and therefore also for our shareholders. Uppsala, May 2020, Jonas Jarvius, President This report has been prepared in a Swedish original and an English translation. In the event of any discrepancies between the two, the Swedish version is to apply. Presentation Q-linea invites investors, analysts and the media to an audiocast and teleconference (in English) today, 7 May, at 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. (CEST). President Jonas Jarvius and CFO Anders Lundin will present Q-linea, comment on the interim report for the January to March 2020 period and respond to questions. Webcast: https://tv.streamfabriken.com/q-linea-q1-2020 Telephone number for the teleconference: SE: +46850558352; UK: +443333009261; US: +18332498403 Upcoming reporting dates 26 May 2020 Annual General Meeting 16 July 2020 Interim report, Q2 January to June 2020 5 November 2020 Interim report, Q3 January to September 2020 About the company Q-linea AB (publ) Corporate Reg. Number: 556729-0217 Registered office: Uppsala Contact: Dag Hammarskjolds vag 52 A, SE-752 37, Uppsala, Sweden www.qlinea.com E-post: contact@qlinea.com Tel: +46 18-444 3610 This information is information that Q-linea AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, on 7 May 2020 at 7:30 a.m. CEST. About Q-linea Q-linea is an innovative infection diagnostics company that primarily develops instruments and disposables for rapid and reliable infection diagnostics. Q-linea's vision is to help save lives by ensuring antibiotics continue to be an effective treatment for future generations. Q-linea develops and delivers preferred solutions for healthcare providers, enabling them to accurately diagnose and treat infectious disease in the shortest possible time. The company's lead product ASTar is a fully automated instrument for antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST), giving a susceptibility profile within six hours directly from a positive blood culture. For more information, please visit www.qlinea.com. For questions about the report, contact: Jonas Jarvius, President Tel: +46-70-323-7760 E-post: jonas.jarvius@qlinea.com Anders Lundin, CFO & IR Tel: +46-70-600-1520 E-post: anders.lundin@qlinea.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/q-linea/r/interim-report-1-january---31-march-2020,c3105929 The following files are available for download: New Delhi, May 7 : Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday said that the survey of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARI) and Influenza Like Illness (ILI) is one of the most important tools in the fight against COVID-19. He held a video conference with the Health Minister and officials of Uttar Pradesh, where he directed the officials to conduct surveys of SARI and ILI cases in the districts. Speaking at the video conference, the Minister said, "You have to find SARI and ILI cases in unaffected districts through active surveillance. At least 250 cases of SARI and ILI should be surveyed in every district. SARI and ILI surveys are very important in the fight against COVID-19 and to ensure that unaffected districts remain unaffected, this survey is the only way to ensure and maintain this status." He added that in Uttar Pradesh, only a few districts were doing that survey. Hailing the efforts of the state in combating the highly infectious coronavirus disease, the Minister said, "8 out of 75 districts are COVID free in UP. 67 districts are affected, of which, 22 districts have less than 5 cases and 11 districts have 5 to 10 cases. He said that Chitrakoot is a newly affected district in the state. The Health Minister said there are 655 cases in Agra, 292 cases in Kanpur and 205 cases in Saharanpur. "All cases in Saharanpur are due to Tablighi," he said. He added that there is a recent rise of 10 cases per day in Gautam Buddha Nagar in Noida and there are at least 193 cases there. "Lucknow has 231 cases but fortunately most cases are those which came initially and now only 4 to 5 cases per day are reported." The Minister informed the officials present there that the fatality rate of COVID-19 in India is the lowest in the world -3.3 - and the recovery rate is improving on a daily basis. "We have the capacity to conduct 95,000 tests per day in the country and more than 13 lakh tests have been done so far. Very few percent of people are critical in our country. Only 1.1 percent people are on ventilators, 3.3 percent people need oxygen and 4.8 % people are on ICU beds," said the Minister. The conference was also attended by the Health Ministers and officials of West Bengal and Odisha. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Nurses, and other medical personnel, put aside valid concerns for their health and emotional well-being every day to care for patients with the highly contagious coronavirus. For some patients overcome by the disease wrought by the virus, COVID-19, a nurse by their side is all that keeps them from dying alone. Appreciation for the sacrifices and commitment of health care providers during this months-long pandemic is keen. Community members donate lunches and dinners, show support with car parades and honking horns past hospitals. Organizations donate masks and other protective gear. This is all good. But another gesture should be given hazard pay. Nurses and other medical personnel giving up so much to care for COVID-19 patients deserve monetary compensation for their risk. More than 8,000 have signed online petitions seeking hazard pay for workers at Nuvance Health, which includes Danbury, Norwalk and New Milford hospitals; Yale New Haven Health Systems, which includes Bridgeport and Greenwich hospitals; the Hartford HealthCare Medical Group; and Prospect Medical Holdings. Hazard pay should pertain to all of the states hospitals where COVID-19 patients are treated, though the present concentration is in Fairfield, New Haven and Hartford counties. They are not asking for specific amounts; that would be negotiated by the unions. Some hospitals do recognize the extraordinary sacrifice. Yale New Haven Health System intends to give a COVID-19 Recognition Award of 5 percent of the employees earnings for total hours worked this year through May 9. Nuvance is providing extended time off for employees diagnosed with COVID-19. We would like to see a statewide approach. Granted, hospitals are facing challenging economic times. Income from elective surgeries, put on hold to free up resources for the pandemic, has evaporated while expenses, such as for increased personal protective equipment and testing, have soared. Yet, they must be open 24 hours, unlike other businesses, and provide health care to all. Some financial relief from the federal government is expected soon $329 million in hot spot aid for hospitals that have treated at least 100 COVID-19 patients this year through April 10. This is part of a $10 billion package from the federal Health and Human Services Department for 395 hospitals across the country. Congress has appropriated $175 billion for hospitals, but only half has been distributed and the process has been confusing with hospitals not knowing when and how much aid will arrive. Connecticuts Congressional delegation must work within the system to ensure hazard pay for medical workers is part of the packages or defined in a new round of aid. Nurses, and other hospital staff, risk contracting the virus from patients in their care; they risk unintentionally carrying the virus home to their families or they sequester themselves in hotel rooms away from loved ones. This is National Nurses Week, Compassion | Expertise | Trust is the theme. But every day we should appreciate their sacrifices in the pandemic and show it with support of hazard pay. SAINT HELIER, Jersey, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The CoinShares Group, a digital asset focused financial services firm, today announced the final step in the acquisition of GABI Trading with the rebranding and the launch of a new suite of trading tools and services under the CoinShares Capital Markets brand. These initiatives are part of CoinShares' mission to provide clients with a sophisticated, fit-for-purpose suite of products and services designed specifically for digital assets. This acquisition is part of a larger strategic realignment under the firm's new leadership comprised of Chief Executive Officer, Jean-Marie Mognetti; Chief Strategy Officer, Meltem Demirors; and Chief Revenue Officer, Frank Spiteri. The CoinShares Group has specialized in digital assets since 2014 and has a presence in multiple jurisdictions, with offices in Jersey, London, Stockholm, and New York. CoinShares Capital Markets (CSCM) began as the proprietary trading arm of the Global Advisors Group and was formerly known as GABI Trading. In the last six years, CSCM has built a powerful portfolio of products and services, including proprietary trading technology and trading systems. In 2019, CSCM traded over $3 billion of notional volume in digital assets and reported over $1.5 billion of notional volume traded in the first quarter 2020 alone. CSCM has historically supported the Group's passive products under the XBT Provider brand and the firm's actively managed family of funds, while also deploying proprietary trading strategies. Unlike many OTC desks or agency brokers which match buyers and sellers, CSCM clients trade alongside the firm, benefiting from best-price execution. Jean-Marie Mognetti, CoinShares CEO and head of CoinShares Capital Markets commented on the news, "With their deep expertise in trading, programming and mathematics, we're excited to welcome the Capital Markets team to the CoinShares Group. We look forward to leveraging the experience of the team, which complements our knowledge of the digital asset market structure and proprietary approach to managing market and infrastructure risk. By joining together, our clients will benefit from a broad suite of global, cross asset trading technology and services." CoinShares' Chief Strategy Officer, Meltem Demirors, added "The strategic integration of the Capital Markets team into the group enables CoinShares to bring best-in-class trading technology and services to our partners, portfolio companies, and clients. Professional investors in the digital asset market desperately need systems that provide efficiency, scale, and sophistication, and already our clients are responding very positively to this new offering." The CSCM offering covers linear and nonlinear products. It includes electronic trading, liquidity provisioning, lending and borrowing, as well as bespoke hedging and risk management solutions for miners, exchanges, brokers, crypto funds, and other specialized firms. For more information on CoinShares,visit: https://coinshares.com/. For more information on CoinShares Capital Markets, visit https://coinshares.com/investment-products/capital-markets For an in-depth look at the changes occurring in the trading space, see our series on the Future of Capital Markets, which was hosted by CSCM and our venture investing team. About the CoinShares Group At CoinShares, our mission is to expand access to the digital asset ecosystem while serving as trusted partners for our clients. We believe that Bitcoin and blockchain networks are landmark innovations that will fundamentally reshape the global financial system, and that investors should be able to participate in this transformation. We achieve this mission by providing institutional-grade investments products and services for digital asset investors. The CoinShares Group is a pioneer in digital asset investing and manages hundreds of millions in assets on behalf of a global investor base, with offices in Jersey, Stockholm, London, and New York. Media Contact Megan Carey 646 859 5953 mcarey@mgroupsc.com The NSW Department of Education has had to clarify that teachers will still be allowed to work remotely when some face-to-face teaching resumes next week, after new guidelines suggested all staff would be expected in schools from Monday. A fact sheet emailed to school staff on Tuesday night said all teachers including casuals were expected to work on site from May 11, unless they were in an at-risk category for COVID-19. Only staff aged over 65, those with compromised immune systems, pregnant women and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged over 50 with chronic medical conditions would still be allowed to work from home, under the advice. Education Department Deputy Secretary Murat Dizdar had to clarify expectations on Wednesday afternoon, telling staff that flexible roster arrangements still applied and some teachers could work remotely. " " Death Valley park ranger Alan Van Valkenburg discusses the current "super bloom" of wildflowers in the park. National Park Service Death Valley a name couldn't get more directly evocative than that. It's the hottest, lowest and driest place in North America, and its reputation that of a bleak place, bereft of visible life. But thanks to a perfect confluence of weather conditions, Death Valley National Park is seeing a serious explosion in its wildflower population right now, blanketing the valley in yellows, pinks, purples and white. While the national park, which spans 5,219 square miles (13,517 square kilometers) of California and Nevada desert, sees small flower blooms every spring, what's happening now is a once-in-a-decade event. Known colloquially as a "super bloom," the current floral phenomenon is due to significant rainfall in September and October 2015 and the current El Nino weather pattern. Previous super blooms happened in 1998 and 2005, and also occurred in El Nino years. Advertisement "I'm not really sure where the term 'super bloom' originated," says park ranger Alan Van Valkenburg, a Death Valley resident for 25 years, in a park press release. "But when I first came to work here in the early 1990s I kept hearing the old timers talk about super blooms as a near mythical thing the ultimate possibility of what a desert wildflower bloom could be." The peak blooming season for the seven species of wildflower that can populate the valley floor is right now, while April through July will offer a chance to see flowers that live at higher elevations on mountain slopes and canyon sides. "Right now is the best time to visit Death Valley in over a decade," says Death Valley superintendent Mike Reynolds in the press release. "The flower display is astounding and this is a rare time to experience one of the most incredible displays Death Valley has to offer. We don't know how long the bloom will last so come now!" Can't make it all the way out West? Check out these images from this special time below, and make sure to watch the video at the top of this article to learn more. " " The floor of Death Valley is normally dry and lacking plant life, though a current super bloom has blanketed the area in wildflowers. Glenn Lewis/Flickr " " The notch-leaf phacelia (Phacelia crenulata) is one of the more strikingly colorful wildflowers in Death Valley. RobynBeck/AFP/GettyImages " " The desert five-spot (Eremalche rotundifolia) is also known as a lantern flower or Chinese lantern. Mark Boster/LA Times/Getty Images " " Flowering desert plants like this one in the Cryptantha family are commonly called cat's eyes and popcorn flowers. Mark Boster/LA Times/Getty Images " " The fragrant Atrichoseris platyphylla is a weedy-looking plant better known as tobacco weed, parachute plant or gravel ghost Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images " " Phacelia distans is also called scorpionweed or blue phacelia, and is common on roadsides in the Southwest less so in Death Valley. Glenn Lewis/Flickr " " The pebble pincushion (Chaenactis carphoclinia) grows from a seed covered in papery scales. Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images " " The park has seen an increase in the number of visitors due to the once-in-a-decade nature of the "super bloom." Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images " " It's been 11 years since Death Valley experienced a similar wildflower explosion. David McNew/Getty Images Now That's Cool Death Valley is known for its "sailing stones," rocks as big as 700 pounds (318 kilograms) that mysteriously move around the dry lakebed seemingly on their own. Researchers finally solved the mystery in 2011, identifying ice and wind as the culprits. BAY CITY, MI An employee of a Bay City homeless shelter has tested positive for COVID-19, though fellow staffers and residents are working to keep the infection from spreading. Rescue Ministries of Mid-Michigan on Thursday, May 7, confirmed one of its employees working at Good Samaritan Rescue Mission at 713 9th St. had tested positive for the contagion. This is the first employee to have tested positive. The employee received the tests confirmation on Monday, May 4. The employee had been referred for testing by their medical provider after complaining of minimal symptoms. My prayers go out to our team member who has shown exceptional composure and concern for others during this time, said Dan Streeter, chief executive officer of the organization that oversees Good Samaritan Rescue Mission of Bay City and City Rescue Mission of Saginaw. The employee did everything right to keep the spread down by not reporting to work when symptoms arose and notifying us immediately. The staffer in question last worked at the shelter on April 29 and was tested the following day, Streeter said. The person is currently isolating at home and believes the worst of the symptoms have passed, Streeter said. Streeter said staff have implemented extreme precautions by screening all guests and staff and disinfecting all areas and surfaces on a continual basis. The shelter has been in communication with the Bay and Saginaw County health departments. Even before this took place, we were already doing a lot of work with social distancing and cleaning, Streeter said. Now, even since this has happened its gotten even more elevated. Everybody is wearing masks throughout the facility. Strong social distancing is taking place. Weve beefed up the cleaning so its now happening every hour, just to make sure all of the common areas are being done. The shelter is also enacting more precautions around meal times, with elongated service times, smaller groups going in shifts for their meals, and more cleaning and disinfecting taking place between each serving. Streeter said staff have informed the residents of the positive case. He also said those residents are doing their part to ensure the facility stays as contagion-free as possible. We all care for each other, he said. Our residents are just as passionate in helping with the cleaning. We had good adherence before, but we can see weve taken it up to another level of teamwork within the shelter. The facility currently has 50 residents and 23 full- and part-time employees. Prior to the pandemic, the shelters residential capacity was 110, which decreased to 98 once the crisis hit. With Gov. Gretchen Whitmers stay-home order in place, the shelter is seeing fewer people in need coming to them. Streeter attributed this to fewer evictions happening, a decrease in utilities being shut off, and an increase in families and loved ones helping those who might otherwise be homeless. However, Streeter expects an uptick in homelessness once the crisis passes. When we see whatever the new sense of normal is, there is going to be a new wave of homelessness this summer as a result of all this financial turmoil were experiencing right now, he said. Since Monday, the shelter has not been accepting new residents. Those who contact the shelter seeking housing are referred to City Rescue Mission in Saginaw and offered a safe ride there, Streeter said. The shelter is likewise offering to take residents to testing sites and is encouraging all employees to get tested. We hope to have that done within the next 24 hours, Streeter said. Were trying to be out in front of this to see if this is a bigger problem of if its just the one case. Im proud of our staff who come to work every day to assure homeless individuals in our region have a place to stay, Streeter said. Theyre essential workers helping the most vulnerable during these uncertain times. Related: More coronavirus cases and deaths reported in Genesee, Saginaw and Bay counties on May 6 Washtenaw County ramps up funding to support homeless amid COVID-19 pandemic More than 50 Grand Rapids homeless test positive for coronavirus, but nearly all isolated voluntarily PAW PAW, MI Move over, wine. The hot new product is hand sanitizer. Thats the story at Michigans oldest and largest wine producer, St. Julian Winery and Distillery, which changed its business model to include sanitizer, bottled and sold by the gallon, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, President John Braganini said. As the coronavirus spread across Michigan, restaurants and other businesses were forced to close dining rooms and other gathering spaces in March following an order from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer meant to mitigate the spread of the virus. St. Julian, established in 1921, reports annual sales of about 250,000 cases of bottled wine and 500,000 gallons of bulk wine. The governors order forced it to temporarily close its six Michigan tasting rooms, located in Paw Paw, Frankenmuth, Union Pier, Dundee, Troy and Rockford, taking a chunk out of the alcohol producers business, Braganini said. Our direct to consumer businesses very strong, so that decision threatened the very fabric of our business plan, Braganini said. So the company and its workers did what they know best: They sent more bottles down the line, filling them with products containing alcohol. We had to create an alternative business plan so that we didnt get damaged financially, he said. But instead of the wide variety of wines and spirits St. Julian is known for, judged for things like color, clarity, aroma and taste, the sanitizer rolling out of their production facility in Paw Paw has a more practical use, and they are not trying to make it taste good. Related: Michigan alcohol distillers cleared to make hand sanitizer for coronavirus outbreak The sanitizer is approved by the World Health Organization and contains 80% ethanol alcohol with peroxide, glycerin, and water, the company said. It is safe to use on hands and can also be used to sanitize surfaces, the company said. Hand sanitizer is recommended for use to kill germs in addition to hand washing. The product use aligns with the governors order that hampered the business: to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. St. Julian is shipping the jugs to retail customers and supplying commercial distributors. The company is also offering curbside pickup at each of its six tasting rooms around the state. The company is set up to produce more than 10,000 gallons per month, Braganini said. It has donated more than 500 of the products to non-profits, he said. Sales of wine and spirits are off a little bit but not noticeably, he said. The closure of tasting rooms is a part of the reduction, and sales of products at grocery stores have also been impacted, he said. The company, which also sells wine to stores and directly to customers, beefed up digital marketing efforts in the face of the pandemic, he said. Because they have a facility large enough to receive and store larger quantities of materials, St. Julian is working to supply other area distilleries with quantities of some of the high-proof ingredient used to produce sanitizer, he said. Most of them are craft distilleries and they only sell to people on site and so they were really threatened, because they didnt have a wholesale distribution presence, he said. Other Michigan distilleries producing sanitizer include New Holland Brewing Co. in Holland, Coppercraft Distillery in Holland, Traverse City Whiskey Co., based in Traverse City, Journeyman Distillery in Three Oaks, Green Door Distilling Co. in Kalamazoo, and Mammoth Distillery, which has locations in Central Lake, Bellaire and Traverse City. A bottle of hand sanitizer from Traverse City Whiskey Co. St. Julian has sold more than 50,000 gallons of sanitizer and bulk ingredients to date, Braganini said on May 6. Despite the changes, the pandemic hasnt had an impact on new product development, he said. We continually innovate, he said, though it will change the way the company does business. When St. Julian can safely re-open tasting rooms, he said they will look a little different than normal, with safety precautions in place, similar to what he expects to see as restaurants reopen. 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. Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces. Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus. Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus. The Powering Positivity campaign by MLive Media Group highlights how Michiganders are supporting one another during the coronavirus pandemic. It is sponsored by The MediLodge Group. Read more: Southwest Michigan company retools to make a million face masks More people move from Kalamazoo homeless shelter to hotels amid pandemic Bravo! Restaurant and Cafe closes after 33 years serving Kalamazoo area St. Julian Winery in good hands despite death of leader, co-owner says Virgin Media and O2 are merging to create a 31billion telecoms giant, their owners confirmed. Liberty Global and Telefonica parent firms of Virgin Media and O2 respectively said they had agreed a deal after announcing talks were under way on Monday. The tie-up will create a major rival for former state monopoly BT, which is the biggest provider of broadband and owns the EE mobile network. Mega merger: Liberty Global and Telefonica parent firms of Virgin Media and O2 respectively said they had agreed a deal after announcing talks were under way on Monday. Combined, the newly-merged company will bring together O2's 34m mobile customers and Virgin's 5.3m broadband, pay-TV and mobile users. The deal is expected to close in the middle of 2021 will need to be approved by regulators. It values Virgin at 18.7billion and O2 at 12.7billion. The two firms said they will create a 'full converged platform' for customers and will invest 10billion in the UK over the next five years. The 50-50 joint venture will also deliver 6.2billion worth of savings, they added. Mike Fries, boss of Liberty Global, said: 'We couldn't be more excited about this combination.' Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete, the boss of Telefonica, added: 'We are creating a strong competitor with significant scale and financial strength to invest in UK digital infrastructure and give millions of consumer, business and public sector customers more choice and value.' BT boss Philip Jansen said yesterday the deal was 'not a surprise' and that his company had no plans to lodge objections with competition authorities. He added: 'We welcome good, strong competition.' U.S. Senate Grills Trump's Director Of Intelligence Nominee Over Russia, China, And Partisanship By RFE/RL May 06, 2020 U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee for director of national intelligence (DNI) at his Senate confirmation hearing said he believed Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election and was prepared to meddle again. Representative John Ratcliffe, a Texas Republican, faced a grilling from Senate Intelligence Committee members on May 5 over whether the staunch Trump supporter would provide objective information heading 17 U.S. spy agencies. Ratcliffe, who sits on the House intelligence, judiciary and ethics committees, has questioned former special counsel Robert Mueller's findings last summer about the Russia investigation and was also a member of Trump's impeachment advisory team last fall. That has raised questions about whether Ratcliffe, if confirmed as the country's top spy, would alter intelligence to please a president who often disputes the findings of the intelligence community and Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election. "Let me be very clear: Regardless of what anyone wants our intelligence to reflect, the intelligence I will provide, if confirmed, will not be impacted or altered as a result of outside influence," he told the Senate Intelligence Committee. Senator Richard Burr, the Republican chairman of the committee, said he was convinced Ratcliffe would serve "in an independent capacity." He urged the Senate to quickly approve his nomination. But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, speaking on the Senate floor as the hearing was under way, called Ratcliffe a "deeply partisan cheerleader for the president, a yes man in every sense of the phrase." Concerns that intelligence could be politicized come as the intelligence community investigates election meddling and the cause of the coronavirus pandemic, which Trump has blamed on China and suggested came from a virus laboratory. 'Laser-Focused' Ratcliffe said that as DNI he would be "laser focused" on how the coronavirus pandemic began in China. Citing China's "Belt and Road" initiative, infrastructure, and military buildups, and Beijing's drive to expand its influence, Ratcliffe told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he viewed China as "the greatest threat actor right now." "Look, with respect to COVID-19 and the role China plays; the race to 5G; cybersecurity issues: all roads lead to China," he told lawmakers. Ratcliffe appeared before the Senate panel after Democrats, and some Republicans, questioned his qualifications and political positions. Trump had nominated the Texas lawmaker to the top intelligence post in July, a month before Dan Coats left amid differences with the president. But Ratcliffe then withdrew his nomination last year after Democrats and some Republicans voiced concerns about the pick. "I have to say that, while I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt at this hearing, I don't see what has changed since last summer when the president decided not to proceed with your nomination," said Virginia Senator Mark Warner, the panel's top Democrat. The DNI post has been vacant for nearly nine months, during which time about a half dozen top intelligence officials viewed as not loyal to the White House either left or were fired. Among those sacked was the intelligence community inspector-general who revealed a whistle-blower complaint that led to Trump's impeachment. Joseph Maguire, a top counterterrorism official, served briefly as acting DNI, but he was fired in February after one of his aides told Congress that Russia was meddling in the 2020 election and preferred Trump. Trump then named Richard Grenell, his ambassador to Germany and an administration loyalist, as acting DNI. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate and need 51 votes to confirm Ratcliffe. With reporing by AFP, AP, and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/u-s-senate-trump -director-intelligence-nominee- russia-china/30595381.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Facebook oversight board will be able to overturn decisions by the company and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on whether individual pieces of content should be allowed on Facebook and Instagram. But critics call the oversight board a bid by Facebook to forestall regulation or even an eventual breakup. (Photo | Facebook blog) San Francisco: A year and a half after announcing its creation, Facebook has named the initial 20 members of its oversight board, a quasi-independent panel that is to make decisions on thorny issues. The oversight panel is intended to rule on difficult content issues, such as whether Facebook or Instagram posts constitute hate speech. It will be empowered to make binding rulings on whether posts or ads violate the companys standards. Any other findings it makes will be considered guidance by Facebook. Facebook cannot remove members or staff of the board, which is supported by a $130 million irrevocable trust fund. The boards members were named by Facebook and hail from a broad swath of regions around the world. They include Tawakkol Karman, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate from Yemen, Alan Rusbridger, the former editor-in-chief of British newspaper The Guardian, and Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the former prime minister of Denmark. According to Facebook, the Oversight Board members have lived in more than 27 countries, and speak at least 29 languages among them. For the first time, an independent body will make final and binding decisions on what stays up and what is removed, Thorning-Schmidt said. This is a big deal; we are basically building a new model for platform governance. Critics call the oversight board a bid by Facebook to forestall regulation or even an eventual breakup. Here is a list of the members of the Facebook supreme court. Four co-chairs Catalina Botero-Marino: A former special rapporteur for freedom of expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States; currently dean at the law school of the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. Jamal Greene: Columbia University law professor specializing in constitutional rights adjudication. Michael McConnell: Former US federal judge who is now a constitutional law professor at Stanford University. Helle Thorning-Schmidt: Former prime minister of Denmark who later served as CEO of Save the Children. Other members Afia Asantewaa Asare-Kyei: A human rights advocate at the Open Society Initiative for West Africa. Evelyn Aswad: a University of Oklahoma law professor and former State Department lawyer on international human rights standards. Endy Bayuni: Former editor-in-chief of the Jakarta Post. Katherine Chen: Communications scholar at the National Chengchi University in Taiwan who studies social media, mobile news and privacy. Nighat Dad: Digital rights advocate who offers digital security training to women in Pakistan and across South Asia. Pamela Karlan: Stanford Law professor and former US Justice Department official who is on the board of the American Constitution Society. Tawakkol Karman: Nobel Peace Prize laureate and activist who promoted non-violent change in Yemen during the Arab Spring. Maina Kiai: A director of Human Rights Watchs Global Alliances and Partnerships Program, and a former UN special rapporteur who has been a human rights advocate in Kenya. Sudhir Krishnaswamy: Rights activist and vice chancellor of the National Law School of India University. Ronaldo Lemos: A technology, intellectual property and media lawyer who co-created a national internet rights law in Brazil, and teaches law at the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Julie Owono: Digital rights and anti-censorship advocate in Africa who leads Internet Sans Frontieres. Emi Palmor: A former director general of the Israeli justice ministry who led initiatives to address discrimination and promote diversity. Alan Rusbridger: A former editor-in-chief of The Guardian who oversaw its Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Edward Snowden disclosures. Andras Sajo: A former judge and vice president of the European Court of Human Rights. John Samples: A vice president of the US-based libertarian Cato Institute who writes extensively on social media and speech regulation. Nicolas Suzor: A Queensland University of Technology Law School professor who focuses on the governance of social networks. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Gov. Greg Abbott has amended his executive order, effectively eliminating jail time as punishment for violating coronavirus restrictions. The revision came in response to Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther's arrest after she refused to close her business during the statewide stay-at-home order. The Texas Supreme Court ordered Luther's release on Thursday. REOPENING TEXAS: Gov. Greg Abbott's list of businesses that can reopen on May 18, under certain rules Throwing Texans in jail who have had their businesses shut down through no fault of their own is nonsensical, and I will not allow it to happen, Abbott said in a statement. Gov. Abbott's executive order previously threatened violators with up to 180 days in jail. On Tuesday, Luther had been sentenced to a week in jail and fined $7,000. [May 06, 2020] Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) Market Research Report by Forecast to 2023 Mobile Virtual Network Operator Market Synopsis: The new report issued by Market Research Future (MRFR) asserts that the global mobile virtual network operator market is projected to acquire substantial revenue generation of USD 5 billion by 2023, at a moderate 12% CAGR over the review period (2017-2023). Some of the MVNO Market expected to influence market growth are the increasing percentage of smartphone connections across the globe, and the rising penetration of mobile devices, coupled with the technological advancements in cloud and virtualization across the world. Moreover, Supported by the telecommunication spectrum increasing from 3G, 4G, and now towards 5G, MVNO is expected to provide value-added services at a higher speed to the consumers. In addition, growing mobile subscribers across the globe are expected to drive the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) market share for the forecast period. Browse Full Report Details @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/mobile-virtual-network-operator-market-968 Competitive Analysis: The prominent market players acknowledged by MRFR, in the global mobile virtual network operator market are Tracfone Wireless, Inc. (U.S.), Virgin Mobile (U.S.), RedPocket Mobile (U.S.), AirVoice Wireless (U.S), Freenet AG (Germany), FreedomPop (U.S.), KDDI Mobile (U.S.), Polkomtel Plus (Poland), Tesco Mobile Ltd (U.K), Kajeet, Inc (U.S.), among others. Other players in markets are AT&T (U.S.), Verizon Communications (U.S.), Lyca Mobile Group (U.K.), Sprint Corporation (U.S.), T-Mobile AG (U.S.), Tracfone Wireless, Inc. (U.S.), Holding Limited (Hong-Kong), CITIC Telecom International Telefonica S.A. (Spain), among others. Industry News: January 2020: Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) announced the issuance of a bid to permit new mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) to provide services in Saudi Arabia. CITC wished to develop and enhance the telecom market in the Kingdom by encouraging the advent of MVNO services and making amendments and improvements to its regulations. Segmental Analysis: For the sake of the report, the global mobile virtual network operator market is segmented into type, service, and infrastructure. Based on the type, the global MVNO industry is segmented into a reseller and service operator. The service operator segment is expected to drive the market over the review period, at the highest CAGR. Based on the services, the market for the mobile virtual network operator is segmented into customer care, handset management (2G, 3G, 4G), b0illi& collection, network routing, and marketing & sales. Based on the infrastructure, the market is segmented as Thin MVNO, Skinny MVNO, and Thick MVNO. Regional Analysis: The geographical analysis of the global mobile virtual network operator market has been conducted in four major regions, namely the Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and the rest of the world (including Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa). The Asia Pacific is leading the global mobile virtual network operator market with the largest market share due to growth in the telecom industries of the region. The emerging economies in the region such as India, Myanmar, Vietnam, and China, are making more efforts to develop and improve the telecommunication services. southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines are further acknowledged to contribute to the regional market growth over the forecast period. Countries like Japan, Malaysia, and Australia rising in advanced cellular networks are projected to play a significant role in the market expansion in the Asia Pacific. About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. Contact: Market Research Future Office No. 524/528, Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar Pune - 411028 Maharashtra, India +1 646 845 9312 Email: [email protected] As a community-building service, TMCnet allows user submitted content which is not always proofed by TMCnet editors. If you feel this entry is of inferior quality or wish to report it for some reason, please forward the URL to "webedit [AT] tmcnet [DOT] com" with your comments. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] According to intelligence data, two members of Russia-led forces were killed and another three were wounded on May 6. Russia's hybrid military forces on May 6 mounted eight attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as wounded in action. "The Russian Federation's armed formations violated the ceasefire eight times in the past day," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation Headquarters said on Facebook in an update as of 07:00 Kyiv time on May 7. "As a result, one serviceman of the Joint Forces was wounded in enemy shelling." Read alsoUkrainian troops destroy enemy firing position in Donbas (Video) Russian-led forces opened fire from grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and rifles. Under attack were Ukrainian positions near the towns of Avdiyivka and Popasna, and the villages of Pavlopil, Pisky, Taramchuk, and Kamianka. Joint Forces returned fire to each enemy attack. According to intelligence data, two members of Russia-led forces were killed and another three were wounded on May 6. The enemy was observing the ceasefire from 00:00 to 07:00 Kyiv time on May 7. No Ukrainian army casualties were reported during that period. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 12:05:13|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CARACAS, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Wednesday two former members of U.S. special forces captured in a failed attempt to topple him will be tried in Venezuela. Maduro said the two Americans will be judged by the attorney general and the country's civil courts. On Monday, Maduro said that authorities had arrested two U.S. citizens, named Luke Denman and Airan Berr, among a group of "mercenaries" who launched an armed incursion on Sunday in the port of La Guaira, 30 km north of the capital Caracas. Venezuelan state television on Wednesday showed the passports of the two people, who were accused of trying to topple Maduro in a plot backed by the United States. The U.S. army has confirmed that Denman, 34, and Berry, 41, were former members of the Green Berets who served in Iraq. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his government had nothing to do with the operation, while U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. government would "use every tool that we have available to try to get them back." Enditem Imperial Valley News Center President Donald J. Trump is Protecting the Native American Community as We Combat the Coronavirus Washington, DC - "We will leverage every resource we have to bring safety to our tribal communities, and we will not waver in this mission." ~ President Donald J. Trump COMBATING CORONAVIRUS IN NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES: President Donald J. Trump is supporting Native American communities impacted by the coronavirus. President Trump is working to make sure Native American communities have the support they need to combat the coronavirus. The President signed the CARES Act into law, providing $8 billion to address coronavirus preparedness, response, and recovery for American Indians and Alaska Natives. The initial allocation of this funding, totaling nearly $5 billion, will be one of the largest programmatic investments in Indian Country in our Nations history. The Administration has also allocated over $1 billion through the Indian Health Service (IHS), to support tribes, tribal organizations, and Urban Indian Organizations in their coronavirus response efforts. In early March, the Trump Administration established a multi-agency coordinating group tasked with ensuring effective Federal coordination on tribal issues. The President has also acted to expand telehealth capacity and availability across IHS regions, allowing patients to get the care they need, while staying at home. DELIVERING VITAL SUPPLIES: The Trump Administration has rapidly delivered critical medical supplies to Native Americans communities in need. Unprecedented supplies of critically needed medical equipment have been delivered by the Trump Administration to Native American communities. The Federal Government delivered 250 Abbott testing systems to IHS and they have been distributed to IHS and tribal healthcare facilities throughout Indian Country. These systems allow for rapid testing at the time and place of patient care and expands testing capacity, especially important for harder to reach and vulnerable populations. The Administration sent 100 ventilators to Arizona to support Indian Country. The Trump Administration has worked closely to provide reliefincluding the delivery of 50 ventilatorsto the Navajo Nation, which has seen significant impacts from the coronavirus. The Federal Government has also deployed two Disaster Medical Assistance Teams and constructed three 50-bed Federal Medical Stations for the Navajo Nation. SUPPORTING TRIBAL COMMUNITIES: President Trump remains committed to supporting the wellbeing of our American Indians and Alaska Natives. Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. But soaring unemployment rates could hurt the companys insurance business as people lose health coverage with their jobs. And delayed surgeries or procedures that the insurer did not have to cover in the first quarter will probably be rescheduled later this year. Photo: The Canadian Press President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting about the coronavirus response with Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, May 7, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) The Justice Department on Thursday said it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for the president and his supporters in attacking the FBI's Trump-Russia investigation. The action was a stunning reversal for one of the signature cases brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. It comes even though prosecutors for the past three years have maintained that Flynn lied to the FBI in a January 2017 interview about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. Flynn himself admitted as much, pleading guilty before later asking to withdraw the plea, and he became a key co-operator for Mueller as the special counsel investigated ties between Russia and Trump's 2016 political campaign. Thursday's action was swiftly embraced by Trump, who has relentlessly tweeted about the outrageous case and last week pronounced Flynn exonerated." It could also newly energize Trump supporters who have taken up the retired Army lieutenant general as a cause. But it will also add to Democratic complaints that Attorney General Barr is excessively loyal to the president, and could be a distraction for a Justice Department that for months has sought to focus on crimes arising from the coronavirus. Shortly before the filing was submitted, Brandon Van Grack, a Mueller team member and veteran prosecutor on the case, withdrew from the prosecution, a possible sign of disagreement with the decision. After the Flynn announcement, Trump declared that his former aide had been an innocent man all along. He accused Obama administration officials of targeting Flynn and said, I hope that a big price is going to be paid. At one point he went further, saying of the effort investigating Flynn: It's treason. It's treason. In court documents filed Thursday, the Justice Department said that after reviewing newly disclosed information and other materials, it agreed with Flynns lawyers that his interview with the FBI should never have taken place because he had not had inappropriate contacts with Russians. The interview, the department said, was conducted without any legitimate investigative basis. The U.S. attorney reviewing the Flynn case, Jeff Jensen, formally recommended dropping it to Barr last week, the course of action vehemently and publicly recommended by Trump, who appointed Barr to head the Justice Department. Barr has increasingly challenged the federal Trump-Russia investigation, saying in a television interview last month that it was started without any basis. In February, he overruled a decision by prosecutors in the case of Roger Stone, a longtime Trump friend and adviser, in favour of a more lenient recommended sentence. Jensen said in a statement: Through the course of my review of General Flynns case, I concluded the proper and just course was to dismiss the case. I briefed Attorney General Barr on my findings, advised him on these conclusions, and he agreed. The departments action comes amid an internal review into the handling of the case and an aggressive effort by Flynns lawyers to challenge the basis for the prosecution. The lawyers cited newly disclosed FBI emails and notes last week to allege that Flynn was improperly trapped into lying when agents interviewed him at the White House days after Trumps inauguration. Though none of the documents appeared to undercut the central allegation that Flynn had lied to the FBI, Trump last week pronounced him exonerated." Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 03:34:46|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close British Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, on May 6, 2020. Another 649 COVID-19 patients have died, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in Britain to 30,076, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick said Wednesday. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua) LONDON, May 6 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday was faced with tough questions in the House of Commons (lower house of parliament) as he is mulling a "comprehensive" plan to ease the COVID-19 lockdown. On the second day after Britain overtook Italy as the worst-hit European country by the novel coronavirus, Johnson had his first head-to-head encounter with the newly elected main opposition leader -- Labour's Keir Starmer -- during the Prime Minister's Questions, which gives MPs the chance to question Johnson. Key points that emerged included Johnson's revelation that the government would this Sunday spell out its strategy for easing Britain out of its lockdown, and an ambition to see testing for the disease to be step up to 200,000 a day by the end of May. Johnson is expected to lead cabinet meetings as well as emergency COBRA meetings to pave the way for the much anticipated Sunday announcement of the plan to ease Britain out of lockdown. He said Sunday has been chosen because the government would have the data available to set out its plans. Another 649 COVID-19 patients have died, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in Britain to 30,076 as of Tuesday afternoon, said the Department of Health and Social Care Wednesday. The Daily Mail commented that when and how to ease the current draconian lockdown measures have dominated Westminster for weeks as government ministers try to figure out how to get Britain back to work. Questioning the government's strategy to tackle the pandemic, Starmer said: "When the Prime Minister returned to work a week ago Monday, he said that many people were looking at the apparent success of the Government's approach, but yesterday we learned that, tragically, at least 29,427 people in the UK have now lost their lives to this dreadful virus." How did it happen, he further asked. In response, Johnson said it was too early to draw comparisons with the data from other countries. Chairing Wednesday's Downing Street daily briefing, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick also insisted that "It is difficult to make international comparisons with certainty today, there will be a time for that." Enditem While Congress and the state Legislature have mostly avoided meeting during the coronavirus pandemic, the New York City Council has gone digital, holding a full meeting of the body and numerous hearings remotely over Zoom in the past couple weeks. New York City Councilman Donovan Richards, who is also running for Queens borough president, is in the middle of it, as chairman of the Public Safety Committee. He joined a City & State webinar on Tuesday to talk about safety and emergency management during the coronavirus pandemic. He discussed how Superstorm Sandy helped his Southeast Queens district prepare for this disaster, what to do about line of duty deaths and how the council is responding to the pandemic. What have you been doing as emergency response during the coronavirus pandemic? Let me just speak about the immediate work that has needed to be done, and that is to ensure that food access is front and center. There are a lot of New Yorkers out there who are struggling, who cant pay their rent, who dont know where their next meal is coming from because that check is not coming in. For my district, weve been setting up and coordinating food deliveries for all of my public housing developments. Also our senior citizens, who also have had a lot of challenges, many of whom attend senior centers that are currently closed, who dont know where their next meal is coming from. What preparation had been done in New York City and state for the coronavirus threat? How well were we prepared? Just to talk about the response, there was no concentrated effort to ensure there were resources on the ground. We needed a lot more coordination from city agencies. One of the reasons my community was blessed is because we did go through Hurricane Sandy. So a lot of our local community-based organizations knew where we needed to go, how we needed to respond. In order to address a pandemic of this nature, we have to address the inequalities that certainly continue to exist in communities. Black and brown communities specifically have been the hardest-hit during this COVID-19 crisis. If we are not addressing these issues prior to a pandemic, we will be here. And now the world gets to see once again, just as Sandy did, that when America catches a cold, black and brown communities get pneumonia. And in this case, COVID-19. Theres been discussion of New York City expanding benefits for workers killed in the line of duty, but theres debate over whether deaths from the disease should qualify. How would you address it? As Washington looks at another stimulus package, these are all things that I think can be addressed similar to 9/11. Its taken a long time to address that fight. This is a question of budget priorities and do we value the essential workers who really are putting their lives on the front lines every day for every New Yorker, and certainly other states around the country. With an economic slowdown and the lack of federal aid for states and municipalities, at least so far, is there a risk that there wouldnt be enough resources for emergency response? We are facing billions of dollars worth of cuts here in New York City, and Im certainly supporting the governor and the mayor in their call for Washington to get it right for New York City. I mean, youre talking about jump-starting an economy, youre talking about valuing essential workers and we need that money! The congressional delegation is working together to push a package for our entire state. But state and local governments absolutely need resources from the federal government. We cant get out of this hole without them. We can see much more substantial cuts if we dont get that support from Washington, D.C. Does the New York City Council plan on introducing any legislation on health and safety in workplaces? There was a package introduced (on April 22) for essential workers for them to get much more resources during this time of the pandemic. So were looking at that bill very closely. In my role as chairman of public safety and the NYPD, well be looking at resources and how were stockpiling (personal protective equipment) as we move forward. Im also looking from a small-business perspective as well on how resources are being delved out across the city. Last I read, 9% of all loans and grants (from the city government) went to Queens. Nearly 66% of those resources went to Manhattan. We want a recovery that benefits not just Manhattan, but the outer boroughs as well. In Netflixs brand-new Michelle Obama documentary Becoming, there are a few moments that Alabama filmmaker Gideon Kennedy can see as his own. One that hes particularly proud of is a sequence where shes speaking about a critical day in the White House, one that reflects the highs and lows of their time there, he said. It was June 26, 2015. President Barack Obama had traveled to Charleston, S.C., to deliver a eulogy for The Rev. Clementa Pinckney, among members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church killed in a racially motivated mass shooting. The same morning, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples had the right to marry. In Becoming, Michelle Obama talks about the difficulty of having to publicly process the divergent emotions of the two events, one so somber, the other overflowing with happiness. As she does, the film cuts from footage of her husband leading a verse of Amazing Grace mid-speech to scenes of the White House lit up in rainbow colors, with a jubilant crowd before it singing The Star-Spangled Banner. Kennedy is a Mobile-based independent filmmaker who also works as an archival researcher for film projects. In the end credits for Becoming, hes listed as the films archival producer. It was his job to go out and find photos and video to illustrate various scenes that director Nadia Hallgren had in mind. He said that on this project his work was relatively minimal, because the Obamas (who are listed as producers) and their families provided ready access to family photos and other personal materials. But for scenes like the one where Michelle Obama described that day, he hunted for footage that would help viewers picture the events she was describing. He credits Aaron Wickenden, one of three editors on the project, with weaving the new and old footage together. Thats a prime example that sticks out in my mind, he said. Becoming, released Wednesday, focuses on the book tour that Michelle Obama undertook two years after her husband left office. Promoting a bestselling memoir of the same name, the tour brought the former first lady to arena-size crowds across the country. Viewers get a good look at the scope of that effort, and plenty of scenes of Obama on stage with celebrity moderators such as Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Conan OBrien and Stephen Colbert. It also conveys her sense that eight years in the White House werent what defined her as a person, and that after those eight years she was burning to reassert herself as an individual. The constraints of political life are illustrated by another sequence Kennedy was instrumental in helping to build. Early in her husbands first presidential run, Michelle Obama emerged as a powerful asset to the campaign, a star in her own right at campaign rallies. This made her a target for the opposition. Historical clips that illustrate the point include Fox News anchor E.D. Hill referring to an innocuous gesture between the Obamas as a terrorist fist jab, Fox pundit Bill OReilly asking Does Michelle Obama dislike America? and OReilly guest Juan Williams calling her Stokely Carmichael in a designer dress. Being the target of such vitriol changes the shape of a persons soul, Michelle Obama says in the film. This was disturbing territory, Kennedy said of the subject, but it comes with the work. Its a two-part job, he said. On the front end, an archivist digs for photos and footage from whatever public and private sources might be available. Becoming credits about 30 sources for photos and video clips, including national news outlets, private individuals and even the Department of Defense. (The film also credits Rich Remsberg, Carsons mentor in this type of work, as archival consultant, and Tiffany Gill as historical archivist.) The fun way to see it is, I get paid to look up old photos and footage, said Kennedy. Archivists aim to provide all the material a films director and editors might need. Once theyve decided what they do need, Kennedys job is to go back and arrange clearance to use it and payment for the sources. The work can be complicated by non-disclosure agreements that limit an archivists ability to say why he or she needs the desired material. Kennedy said Becoming was relatively locked-down and until it premiered, so much so that he didnt even talk about it with friends and family. Among his other projects, he said, The one Im most proud of thats coming out that I can talk about is a John Lewis documentary. Kennedy said the civil rights icon and congressman was a personal hero, so digging into old footage of and about him was a pleasure. According to Magnolia Pictures, John Lewis: Good Trouble makes extensive use of archival material to illustrate Lewis life. Its due for release on July 3, according to Magnolia. Kennedys other credits include archival work on the Netflix series The Pharmacist, a true-crime miniseries about the opioid epidemic, and the film Just Mercy, a legal drama based on an Alabama case. In the latter, Kennedy said, he contributed some period photos and footage used in a closing montage. He also thinks his work might have helped other aspects of the film such as costume and set design. Sometimes an archivists work is there on the screen for everyone to see, he said. Sometimes it improves the authenticity of the finished product without being something you can point to. Either way, its challenging and rewarding work, Kennedy said. And he never knows where it might take him next. Every jobs unique, he said. Photo: The Canadian Press Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins The initial economic shock from the COVID-19 outbreak may start to ease as provinces reopen, but experts say its important for those struggling with debt to think about the longer haul since there's still little clarity as to how long the effects will linger. How long the economic hangover lasts is anyone's guess, but it won't be short. Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Wilkins said earlier this week that the bank expects a contraction of as much as 30 per cent for the second quarter of the year, and that the central bank hasn't published a full forecast because so many factors are up in the air. "Even in a good scenario, lost output will be made up only gradually as containment measures are lifted, people return to work and production ramps up," Wilkins said. Managing your budget and debts for the longer term is key even if you're feeling an immediate squeeze, said Doug Hoyes, a licensed insolvency trustee and co-founder of Hoyes, Michalos & Associates Inc. "Your urgent situation is what do you need to do today, but you should also be thinking ahead to how am I going to recover from this when this is over." Even before the crisis, household debt in Canada was near record levels and the Bank of Canada had identified it as a key risk to the economy. The downturn in the economy due to the pandemic has only increased the stress on household budgets as job losses pile up and the country sinks into a recession. A big part of that is being proactive with any bills or debts you haven't paid or creditors you haven't yet contacted, or ones that you may have scrimped by so far, but might have trouble paying going forward. "I strongly believe you should be getting on the phone talking to your landlord, your credit card company, your car, loan, your mortgage, whatever, because all of them understand what's going on," Hoyes said. "Doing nothing would be a big mistake." He advises that before contacting creditors and others who you owe money, think about if your situation is short-term or long term if you think you'll be able to handle the deferred payments when they eventually come due. You may need to think about what payments don't make sense to make. Overall for creditors, it's a good idea to try and spread around what you are able to pay without stretching yourself too thin, he said. "You want everybody to be equally pissed off at you." Hoyes also recommended opening up a new account at a new bank, since if you owe money to the bank where you keep your money, then they can take it straight out of your account. And of course, it's important to cut non-essential spending. "I think a lot of us will be more frugal going forward, will be more likely to be cooking at home and you know, finding ways to entertain ourselves that doesn't cost as much money," he said. Members of the PLA's anti-pandemic medical expert team instruct Pakistani medics to use the sterilization and disinfection equipment in Pakistan on May 3, 2020. (Xinhuanet/Photo by Liu Tian) By Liu Tian and Jiang Chao ISLAMABAD, May 7 -- An anti-pandemic medical expert team dispatched by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) arrived in Pakistan on April 24 amid the outbreak of COVID-19, and then immediately devoted themselves to local pandemic control and patient treatment. According to Zhou Feihu, head of the Chinese expert team and former director of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Department of the Chinese PLA General Hospital, the expert team visited seven medical institutions and designated hospitals in Islamabad and surrounding areas in the past week to introduce Chinas experience on COVID-19 prevention and control and emphasize the vital role of controlling sources of infection as well as cutting off the transmission of the virus. Besides, the expert team exchanged experience in patient treatment with Pakistani doctors, including the usage of antiviral drugs, ventilator therapy, and treatment of severe patients suffering inflammation storm. "After a week of extensive communication, we also learned about how Pakistani counterparts screened the infected, conducted laboratory testing and controlled nosocomial infections before, which laid a foundation for us to formulate more targeted plans and carry out work in the next stage," said Zhou. According to the preliminary arrangement of the Pakistani military, the Chinese expert team would cooperate with Pakistani military medics to fight the pandemic at the United Arab Emirates-funded military hospital in Pakistan, a designated hospital for COVID-19 patients. As of the night of May 3, Pakistan had reported more than 20,000 confirmed cases, with daily increase continuing to surge up. According to local media reports, infections and deaths of medical workers had been found in several designated hospitals. In this circumstance, the expert team will further investigate pandemic prevention and control procedures of Pakistani hospitals and help them optimize prevention and control measures to prevent nosocomial infections, so as to push forward pandemic control based on zero infection of medical workers. Zhou Feihu, who had once participated in the battle against the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, noted that the pandemic situation in Pakistan remained grim and complicated. "When we fought Ebola, the place we stayed was isolated, but now in Pakistan, the flow of people remains large. Although we stay in a Pakistani military guesthouse, it still sees a frequent flow of people. We need to take stricter anti-pandemic measures. This is a challenge faced by the Chinese expert team." It is learnt that under the guidance and coordination of the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, the expert team planned to open a consulting hotline at their office upon the permission of the Pakistani side. The hotline aims to provide anti-pandemic consultation services for overseas Chinese and employees of Chinese companies in Pakistan to help them maintain safety and health during the outbreak. Iraqs new prime minister Mustafa Kadhimi is a pragmatic operator and former spy chief whose ties to Washington and Tehran could help steer Baghdad through a laundry list of crises. He formally took the reins early Thursday after Iraqs parliament granted his cabinet a vote of confidence, capping weeks of horse-trading over ministerial positions. Kadhimi, who headed Iraqs National Intelligence Service (INIS), was nominated on April 9 by President Barham Saleh in a ceremony attended by a whos-who of the political elite, indicating broad support for the enigmatic figure. Born in Baghdad in 1967, Kadhimi studied law in Iraq but then left for Europe to escape repressive ex-dictator Saddam Hussein, working as an opposition journalist. After the US-led invasion of 2003 toppled Saddam, Kadhimi returned to help launch the Iraqi Media Network, archived crimes of the former regime at the Iraqi Memory Foundation and worked as a human rights advocate. But he made an unusual career jump in 2016, when then-PM Haider al-Abadi handpicked him to head the INIS at the height of the war against the Islamic State jihadist group. It was there, sources close to Kadhimi say, that he formed his uniquely close links with top players of key nations including in Washington, London and closer to home. Hes got a pragmatic mindset, relationships with all the key players on the Iraqi scene and good ties with the Americans -- and he was recently able to put his ties to the Iranians back on track, a political source and friend told AFP. The former journalist has a particularly close friendship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman. In footage from a visit to Riyadh after his appointment, the Saudi royal could be seen warmly embracing Kadhemi. But the clean-shaven man, his closely trimmed hair tinged by white around his ears, has otherwise mostly remained in the shadows. Unprecedented consensus Kadhemi was first floated as premier in 2018 but political blocs instead opted for Adel Abdel Mahdi -- the caretaker PM who resigned in December after months of protests, and whom Kadhimi would replace. The intel chiefs name began circulating again a few months ago as Barham Salehs preferred candidate, but a political adviser close to the talks told AFP he had hesitated to take the risk. He did not want to agree unless it was going to be a sure thing, the adviser said, having seen two candidates -- lawmaker Adnan Zurfi and ex-minister Mohammad Allawi -- fail before him. Allawi could not pull together a cabinet by his 30-day deadline while Zurfi dropped his bid on Thursday under pressure from Shiite parties close to Iran, who saw the lawmaker as worryingly close to Washington. In January, those same factions had accused Kadhimi of being involved in the US drone strike that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad. Since then, Kadhimi had worked through the caretaker PMs influential chief of staff Mohammad al-Hashemi to repair ties to Iran and its allies in Iraq, the adviser and a diplomat based in Baghdad told AFP. With pro-Tehran factions on board, the adviser said, Kadhimi scored an unprecedented Shiite-wide consensus. Superb negotiator That set Kadhimi up with better chances than the two prior candidates, but he still faces a host of challenges. Iraqs economy is faltering due to crashing oil prices and it is struggling to contain the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 100 people across the country. Islamic State group remnants have apparently stepped up attacks, and swathes of the country that saw fierce fighting between Iraqi troops and the jihadists are still in ruins. Tensions between arch rivals Tehran and Washington are simmering, and the US appears ready to take a harder line against Baghdad, seeing it as too friendly with Iran. It recently extended a short sanctions waiver that will allow Iraq to import crucial gas from Iran until May 26 to keep its power stations on. A figure like Kadhimi could have the right connections to steer Iraq through these crises, observers say. Kadhemi is a superb negotiator and an incredibly astute player, said Toby Dodge, head of the London School for Economics Middle East Centre. But, he cautioned, Iraq is on borrowed time -- the stakes have gone up much higher. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Surgeons at Monument Health started scheduling elective procedures Tuesday for a week in advance. The earliest the hospital could now perform an elective surgery is May 12, if all goes according to plan. Surgeries and procedures fall under four categories: emergent, urgent, compelling (cases where delays of surgical treatment by more than 60 days could cause problems) and elective. Elective procedures halted March 23. The hospital has continued to conduct emergent and urgent procedures over the last few weeks. Compelling procedures will be the first to resume, in addition to elective procedures. All surgeries are medically necessary or we wouldnt do them, but (elective procedures) are not time-sensitive, said Dr. Steven Maser, vice president and medical director of Monument Health Orthopedic and Specialty Hospital. An example of an elective procedure is total joint replacement, he explained. A patient whos got significant hip pain and can barely walk, if they do their procedure today or three months today, their outcome wont be any different, Maser said. We can get that good outcome today or three months from today, their outcome wont be any different. Elective procedures that will make a comeback over the next few weeks and months include joint replacement, bariatric procedures, hernia repair and tonsillectomies, for example. Depending on their roles, some of the 200 caregivers that had to be furloughed April 25 will be called back to work to support the surgical services that will resume in the future, said Dan Daly, Monument Health spokesperson. The health care system had seen a 30 percent revenue reduction since elective procedures stopped. The company also cited a reduction in inpatient admissions, emergency room visits and clinic visits as factors that brought its revenue down. If conditions change and theres a surge in COVID-19 patients, Maser said Monument Health would most likely stop doing elective surgeries once again. Back to normal South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noems plan requires hospitals to reserve 30 percent of their beds for COVID-19 patients, and to maintain adequate storage of personal protective equipment (PPE). Maser says Monument Health has that bed capacity available now for patients, and said the hospital has adequate PPE. In addition to the governors plan, Monument Health has a list of 14 metrics it needs to meet each day to make the appropriate COVID-19 response. The metrics detail that the hospital needs adequate amounts of the following to resume normal operations in addition to COVID-19 care: beds (ICU, general and post acute care), ventilators, PPE, supplies and medications, staff, symptom screening and testing for both patients and caregivers as well as proper sanitation procedures. The hospital also has to monitor the history of COVID-19 in the area, as well as any legal restrictions it may fall under with city, county and state plans and policies. Maser said Monument Health has met all 14 metrics so far, and if they were to fall short of one of the metrics on May 11, for example, then any surgeries set for May 12 would not proceed. Everythings green at this moment, and we will be checking that prior to any patient wheeling into the operating room for an elective surgery, Maser said. In addition to Noem's plan and Monument Healths own internal guidelines, the hospital follows guidelines from different associations of surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, registered nurses, hospitals, centers for Medicare and Medicaid services and more. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Philip Lowe, makes a speech on March 19, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. (Brendon Thorne/Getty Images) Up to 150 Victims of Superannuation Fraud in Australia Fraudsters have attempted to access the superannuation accounts of up to 150 Australians. Australian Federal Police commissioner Reece Kershaw has on May 7 told a Senate inquiry five search warrants had been executed in relation to the fraud. Some bank accounts have been frozen, containing about $120,000. The fraud relates to more than one superannuation provider. It is quite sophisticated, Kershaw said. Australians are able to access their super early to help them financially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Australian Tax Office boss Chris Jordan has urged the public to remain vigilant with their information. I would really wish to emphasise that people do keep personal information secure and private, he told the inquiry. The Senate inquiry is looking into the governments response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thursdays hearing will also gather evidence from Treasury officials. By Rebecca Gredley Northam has said he plans to call a special session of the General Assembly sometime this summer to address the budgetary impact of the pandemic, which is expected to carry costs and revenue shortfalls of about $3 billion over the rest of the fiscal year and the next two years. Bangladeshi authorities prepare to tow a wooden boat carrying 279 Rohingya to Bhashan Char, a controversial flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal, May 7, 2020. After insisting for weeks that it would not help Rohingya refugees stranded at sea, Bangladesh authorities relented Thursday and towed a boat packed with people to a flood-prone island, saying all refugees found at sea would be taken to the controversial site from now on. Authorities believe the wooden boat, which was carrying 279 men, women and children, was one of at least two cramped trawlers reportedly adrift at sea after not being allowed to land in Malaysia or Bangladesh. A naval boat spotted the fishing trawler adrift in Bangladeshs territorial waters, officials said. We rescued some 279 Rohingya at around 1 a.m. Thursday about 17 kilometers (10.6 miles) south of Saint Martins island. They were in a crowded trawler made in Myanmar, Afzalul Haque, the director of Bangladesh Navys intelligence unit, told BenarNews. The trawler, now nearing Chattogram, is heading for Bhashan Char, Haque said, referring to a low-lying island in the Bay of Bengal where a small group of Rohingya was taken on May 3. On Wednesday, Bangladeshs foreign minister told BenarNews that the Muslim-majority country would no longer accept Rohingya refugees despite pleas from international agencies concerned about hundreds of refugees stranded on at least two boats. Dr. Enamur Rahman, the state minister for disaster management, told BenarNews on Thursday the government had decided that refugees found adrift in the sea will be sheltered at the Bhashan Char. No new Rohingya will be allowed in Coxs Bazar, he said, referring to the southeastern district where close to 1 million Rohingya are sheltering after fleeing cycles of violence in Myanmars Rakhine state. Bangladesh had developed housing and other infrastructure to accommodate thousands of refugees on Bhashan Char, saying it would ease chronic overcrowding in its main camps. But rights groups had questioned the viability of the location, saying it was vulnerable to cyclones, and aid officials said it would be costly to provide services there. Bangladesh appeared to have indefinitely postponed the plan. Officials more recently said refugees would no longer be sent to the massive camps in the Coxs Bazar amid fears of the coronavirus pandemic spreading there. We have already sheltered 29 Rohingya at Bhashan Char. These people were floating in the sea for days, said Rahman, referring to the refugees who arrived in Coxs Bazar aboard a dinghy on Saturday. Bangladesh, which has deployed the army to enforce social-distancing measures, has recorded 12,425 coronavirus infections and 199 deaths. But, so far, no Rohingya has tested positive in the refugee camps in Bangladesh, according to health authorities. On Wednesday, Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen told BenarNews that Dhaka had no information about boats adrift within the nations territory. On Sunday, he said that the two had dropped anchor in Myanmars territorial waters. We wont take any more Rohingyas, he said. Let other countries take them. In the biggest cross-border exodus in recent years, some 740,000 Rohingya escaped from Myanmars Rakhine state beginning in August 2017 after Naypyidaws military launched a brutal crackdown in response to deadly attacks by insurgents on government security posts. After the huge influx of refugees in Coxs Bazar, the government developed Bhashan Char, building apartment-type concrete homes on the island about 59 km (37 miles) from the countrys coast. But no Rohingya agreed to go the island. On Tuesday, New York-based Human Rights Watch said Bangladesh should not quarantine refugees at Bhashan Char until they coordinate with the U.N. and other agencies to ensure that proper medical and food assistance are provided. Three U.N. agencies the UNHCR, the International Organization of Migration and the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime warned on Wednesday that the refusal of countries in the region to let boats land could lead to deaths at sea similar to what took place five years ago. Deterring movements of people by endangering life is not only ineffective; it violates basic human rights, the law of the sea and the principles of customary international law by which all States are equally bound, the agencies said in a joint statement. In May 2015, hundreds of people died at sea, and thousands of Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi migrants came ashore in Indonesia and Malaysia after Thailand closed its borders to smuggling boats. On Thursday, Momen, the foreign minister, appeared to have softened his stance on not accepting any more refugees. I still say that we will not accept a single Rohingya. But some of them have been allowed to settle at Bhashan Char on humanitarian grounds, he said. They had been floating in the sea for days. After all, they are human beings. We do not want to be so inhuman. There is now plenty of movement by German enterprises re-orienting from China, complementing their existing Chinese operations with new activities in Vietnam regarding sourcing and investments. Bjorn Koslowski, deputy chief representative of the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Vietnam, assesses the China+1 strategies and how they are being applied to Vietnam by German companies. Bjorn Koslowski, deputy chief representative of the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Vietnam China+1 is still a rather new concept. On the one hand, it has arisen from Chinas recent economic success and on the other hand it has to do with an increasing attractiveness of other Asian countries that also evolved in the meantime. German companies went all-in with their Chinese operations during the past 30 years. They invested heavily into manufacturing activities that not only served their existing worldwide markets but also a growing Chinese clientele. They had been lured in by a promising new market and low labour costs. Expenditures for employees also have been a major driver for sourcing: the country has become the most important origin for a slew of items that are consumed not only in Germany but worldwide. In fact, many German companies concentrate nearly 100 per cent of their Asian investment holdings and sourcing operations in the Middle Kingdom. This is naturally exposing them to risk emanating from adverse internal and external developments in China. There are currently three major trends that drive German companies to reassess their activities in China including rising labour costs, which have tripled over the past decade, a changing investment environment and perceived un-welcomeness of foreign investors and sudden shocks such as the 2018 implementation of environmental rules, last years US-China trade dispute, and now the coronavirus pandemic. To mitigate these challenges and the risk arising from new developments, German companies are looking for alternatives for manufacturing investments and sourcing operations. They often find them in Southeast Asia, with Vietnam being a prime destination. It is important to note that these alternatives for investment and sourcing are an addition to existing Chinese operations. They are not shifting from China to Vietnam entirely. If a process in China should be replaced by activities further down south it typically uses the Vietnamese comparative advantages, for example lower labour costs. Back in China, these companies then employ the benefits the country has to offer, such as a highly-qualified workforce or proximity to target markets. Activities in China will therefore be complemented by operations in a new market. Hence China+1. Naturally, some companies also extend their manufacturing or supplying networks to even more new destinations. In these cases, the term China+X may also be applied. Bosch is a German-based company that has expanded its activities to nations just like Vietnam. Photo: Le Toan Sourcing in Vietnam For most German companies coming to Vietnam, China+1 plays out in the realm of sourcing. From our experience, there are three industries of utmost interest in this context metal processing, furniture manufacturing, and electronics. Generally, we are seeing a lot of potential for sourcing operations in Vietnam. However, there are some industry specific challenges involving pricing as well as supplier and product availability. We are typically approached with sourcing requests in the China+1 context for four main reasons. Rising costs: Most of our customers do not know the exact composition of their Chinese suppliers calculation. Nevertheless, they suspect that increasing payrolls are to blame for escalating product prices. These companies then try to reach a more competitive solution with Vietnamese suppliers. They assume that their lower personnel costs should result in lower price tags. It should be noted though that in our experience this goal can sometimes not be reached. Sudden shocks: For us in Vietnam, inquiries for metal processing currently make up about 80 per cent of all requests for supplier matchings. They started to increase in 2018 after the Chinese government began implementing harsh environmental regulations that essentially brought a huge chunk of their heavy industries to a screeching halt. A lot of factories not only in steel-making but also downstream metal processing had to close down. Because the supplier base shrank prices and lead times began to rise this caused German customers that until then relied almost exclusively on the Chinese market to re-assess their sourcing strategies. This situation is still ongoing and many customers are now looking into Vietnam for alternatives. As another shock, the US-China trade dispute did not immediately disrupt goods exchange between Germany and Vietnam in such a dramatic fashion but led to a further rethinking of supply routes. The current pandemic will most likely lead to even more companies diversifying their country risks as supply shortages are emerging. Dissatisfaction with Chinese suppliers: In connection with aforementioned price hikes and rising lead times, many of our customers mention a certain dissatisfaction with their current Chinese suppliers. They do not feel as welcome as a few years back. Some suspect that this is due to their suppliers growing a lot in terms of company size and output so that they do not depend as much on smaller orders from German enterprises as they did in the past. Free trade agreements (FTAs): Vietnam has spun a vast FTA network over the past 15 years. It covers all of its major trading partners except for the United States. For German companies with manufacturing operations in China it can therefore be advantageous to source certain components in Vietnam and import them tax-free. Crucially, Vietnam will likely implement an FTA with the European Union in 2020. This will be beneficial for the costs of products sourced in Vietnam and should therefore accelerate the ongoing diversification of supply routes. As noted, Vietnam cannot supplant China as a supplying base. Its industry and average company sizes are much smaller. Vietnam is also missing the vertical industrial integration its northern neighbour can offer. Therefore, most new sourcing operations here will be added to the existing Chinese activities to mitigate individual country risks. Manufacturing investments Since 2016, we have received over 120 inquiries from German companies evaluating the setup of manufacturing activities in Vietnam. Over 20 of these enterprises actually invested here during this period. Most of the requests coming in at our offices have some connection to China. They mainly emanate from production plants and/or regional headquarters located there. These companies are typically mulling China+1 investments in Vietnam because of three crucial factors. The first is rising labour costs. Similar to sourcing, virtually all of our customers cite escalating human resource expenditures in China as a main reason to evaluate activities abroad. Vietnam naturally seems attractive in this respect because its labour costs are only about one-third of its northern neighbour. However, many investors also value non-monetary characteristics of their Vietnamese employees. They often praise their industriousness and their eagerness to learn. The second factor involves environmental regulation. In past years, we had some customers coming in from China and wanting to set up factories for activities such as casting, tanning, surface coating, and bleaching in Vietnam. German investors typically apply the latest technologies to ensure a clean output of their factories. Still, they reported that they can no longer set up these processes in China. They were therefore evaluating investments in Vietnam for this reason. While it still is possible to invest into heavy and chemical industries it is far from easy to find locations that are ready to accommodate such enterprises. There have been some significant environmental disasters in recent years that have left local governments extremely cautious. It can therefore be challenging to find a suitable location. All of the aforementioned enterprises found fitting industrial zones eventually; some with our help. The third factor is diversification. Many German enterprises have their Asia-Pacific manufacturing holdings solely located in China. Some of these are recently noticing an evolving risk from this concentration on one country. This is largely due to recent shocks such as the US-China trade dispute. If these companies add manufacturing capacities in the region, they will often implement them outside of China to diversify their holdings and mitigate country risks. Because the biggest sales market in Asia-Pacific is China and because they maintain long-standing, successful investments there, most German companies will not leave the country. There is no exodus out of China. Most manufacturing investor will however add capacities abroad to supplement their Chinese activities or transfer labour-intensive processes to Vietnam to make full use of the countrys comparative advantage. China+1 strategies are here to stay. The Chinese economy is rapidly evolving and so are supply routes within Asia-Pacific. This opens up tremendous opportunities for developing countries and for enterprises looking to source or to invest there. VIR By Laman Ismayilova Famous surrealist artist Mehriban Efendi has amazed art lovers with her new painting "Heavenly chosen". The art work expresses her personal view on the world after coronavirus pandemic. Mehriban Efendi believes that surrealism is an art movement that puts the attention of a confused person in a mysterious and unknowable world. For surrealism, people and the world, space and time lose their boundaries. Surrealism affirms the relativity of the world and its values. But it is only man and his love for the world around him that form the higher universe of the Earth.... "If you think about it, then the coronavirus pandemic has forced many things to take a fresh look, rethink the modern value system and take a big step into a colorful future. The state of our common home, the Earth, depends on us!," Mehriban Effendi told Trend Life. "The timely announced special quarantine regime helped prevent many serious losses, made it possible to get out of the difficult situation with minimal losses. Thanks to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, his immense care and attention to the citizens of the country, we were able to protect our beloved fathers and mothers, grandmothers and grandfathers, kids and everyone we care about. The coronavirus has not yet been defeated and the extension of quarantine until May 31 is the right decision to achieve the complete disappearance of this dangerous virus... As part of social self-isolation, I continue to be engaged in creativity, because every moment of this life is valuable and it must be useful, every minute of life on Earth should be appreciated. Let everyone have light in the window and in the soul, let the troubles go away forever! ", the artist added. Mehriban Efendi has successfully displayed her art works in Portugal, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Germany, France, Italy and Macedonia and other countries. In 2014, the artist was handed Sandro Botticelli Award For Art and Talent". Her paintings "Mystery" and "Impression of The Night" were included in the book "Polychromia 2016" highlighting the best contemporary artists. In 2016, Mehriban Efendi received the title of Azerbaijan`s Honoured Artist. She also worked as a costume designer with the German filmmaker Veit Helmer in his comedy "Absurdistan" (2008), shot in Azerbaijan. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is continuing to blast Chinese officials for holding back vital information about the coronavirus and demanding China act as a 'reliable partner.' 'They continue to be opaque, they continue to deny access for this important information that our research or epidemiologists need,' he said, adding that China could have prevented 'hundreds of thousands' of deaths. His latest attack, which follows Chinese state media making the top diplomat a top target, comes as a top government research scientist who became a whistleblower says in his complaint that Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar failed to ask the Chinese for coronavirus samples during a call at a critical time. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went after China again Wednesday, saying 'they continue to deny access for this important information that our research or epidemiologists need' Whistleblower Dr. Rick Bright, who was removed as director of a biomedical research division at HHS, says in his complaint there was debate inside the government about the need to get virus samples - not just its DNA samples, which China had provided earlier. We 'cannot emphasize enough the critical need to access virus to initiate' vaccine development,' he said in January 27th discussions, according to the complaint. Another official, Dr. Larry Kerr, who runs an office on Pandemics and Emerging Threats, responded that 'as of that day, no one had officially asked China for samples,' according to the whistleblower report. Azar had a call with China's health minister that morning but 'did not raise the need for virus samples.' Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, right, here with White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, didn't ask China for samples during a late January phone call, according to a whistleblower complaint President Trump called the coronavirus an 'attack' that he compared to Pearl Harbor and Sept. 11th This file photo taken on February 23, 2017 shows a worker standing next to a cage with mice (R) inside the P4 laboratory in Wuhan, capital of China's Hubei province. Pompeo wants China to hand over more information about the coronavirus Dr. Bright expressed 'disbelief,' according to the report, and Dr. Kerry replied that Robert Kadlec, the HHS assistant for Preparedness and Response, 'didn't speak up.' In the complaint, Bright also says he 'encountered resistance from HHS leadership, including Secretary [Alex] Azar, who appeared intent on downplaying this catastrophic event.' It cites another meeting, on Feb. 23, where Azar and Kadlec 'responded with surprise at [Brights] dire predictions and urgency, and asserted that the United States would be able to contain the virus and keep it out.' President Trump (right) in a meeting with Iowa Gov. Kimberly Reynolds (left) called Dr. Rick Bright, a government scientist whistleblower, 'disgruntled.' 'And I don't think disgruntled people should be working for a certain administration,' the president added Pompeo in his remarks Wednesday kept the focus squarely on China. 'They knew. China could have prevented the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. China could have spared the world descent into global economic malaise,' he said at a news conference. 'China is still refusing to share the information we need to keep people safe,' he said. COVID-19 has killed more than 255,000 people worldwide, including more than 70,000 in the United States, making it the worst-affected country according to official statistics. Pompeo also pushed back at critics of the Trump administration's election year blasts at China. President Trump on Wednesday said: 'This is worse than Pearl Harbor. This is worse than the World Trade Center. And it should have never happened. It could have been stopped at the source. It could have been stopped in China. It should have been stopped right at the source, and it wasn't.' He called it the worst 'attack' the country had ever experienced. Said Pompeo: 'People say, well America is bullying the Chinese. We are demanding of them only what we demand of every nation: be transparent, be open, be a reliable partner, the very things that they say. The Chinese say they want to cooperate. Great. Cooperation is about action.' According to the 89-page whistleblower complaint filed by Bright's lawyer, 'Dr. Bright and his staff recognized the urgent need to obtain genetic sequencing information about the virus and to acquire viruses and clinical specimens from people infected with the virus to share with laboratories and companies . While obtaining both was absolutely critical to being able to develop reliable diagnostic tools and medicins to combat the virus, Dr. Bright initially encountered indifference which then developed into hostility from HHS leadership , including Secretary Azar, as Dr. Bright and his staff raised concerns about the virus and the urgent need to act.' At an earlier Jan. 27 meeting with a top Azar deputy, Bright 'expressed frustration with the slow pace of accessing virus samples and/or clinical specimens from China, which he explained were critical to begin development of vaccines , diagnostics, and medicines.' Trump on Wednesday called the whistleblower 'disgruntled.' 'I never met him, I know nothing about him, but he's a disgruntled guy,' Trump said in the Oval Office during a meeting with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. 'And I don't think disgruntled people should be working for a certain administration,' the president added. In light of this mishap, state Governor Gavin Newsom is expecting a refund of $247 million for the protective masks, which would cover half its investment after the Chinese electric car company, Build Your Dreams, failed to meet the issued date. Instead, the deadline was reset to May 31. For the past month, Newsom has continuously denied requests from various media outlets for transparency of the contract, particularly for the Los Angeles Times. Something "Bold and Big" Turns "Murky" Democratic state assemblyman and budget committee member Richard Bloom criticized his decision and referred to the deal with BYD as "murky." Newsom announced last month that as a nation-state, and with a financial capacity that can be shelled out worth up to billions of dollars, he said, "[California is] in a position to do something bold and big." Last Wednesday, he shared with the public that California paid $3.30 for each N95 mask and 55 cents for each surgical mask under the contract with BYD. Other states were reported to have paid twice the amount for the same supplies. The delivery was scheduled to arrive last month. However, Newsom's office provided no details as to what caused the delay after the deadline on April 30. The masks would be tested and validated in Utah and then would move on to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health core certification. Republican state assemblyman and Vice Chairman of the budget committee Jay Obernol stated his concern about not having seen the contract himself. Nonetheless, he had faith in how Newsom handled the delay of the certification of the N95 masks. "I think that the administration is doing the best that they can," Obernol said. Check these out! Lack of Transparency Over BYD Deal Over the past month, criticisms have been fired at Newsom over the lack of transparency with regards to the contract. In a report by the Los Angeles Times, the governor's office claimed that public disclosure of the deal would ruin the delivery of the masks. An attorney working with the Governor's Office of Emergency Services wrote that any form of publication concerning the contract before its completion would risk the state from the procurement of the medical supplies. A statement from the agency said that all records were "exempt from disclosure." This included exemptions for records that revealed the work output of the legal services, privileged information between the attorney and the client, or other records exempt from disclosure under federal or state law. Meanwhile, assembly budget committee member Phil Ting told reporters on Wednesday that they lacked necessary information about the shipment, such as how many masks were being bought, who the office was buying them from, and at what cost. "What are we obligated?" Ting said. "For how long are we obligated?" Former vice president Joe Biden promised on Wednesday that as president he would reverse new due process protections that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos put in place to protect university students accused of sexual assault, saying they shame and silence survivors, and take away parents peace of mind. Biden, who has recently been accused of sexual assault in 1993 by a woman who worked for him, said the new rules give colleges and universities a green light to ignore sexual violence and strip survivors of their rights. The Title IX rule, issued on Wednesday, is intended to enhance due process for accused individuals on college campuses as well as in elementary and high schools. One part of the reforms ensures the right of the accused to submit, cross-examine and challenge evidence at a live hearing. The rule protects alleged victims from having to physically face the person they say assaulted them or answer questions written personally by the accused, but it does allow the accused to ask questions through a surrogate as well as question other witnesses. Survivors deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and when they step forward they should be heard, not silenced. Bidens campaign said in a statement. Its wrong, Biden continued. And, it will be put to a quick end in January 2021, because as president, Ill be right where I always have been throughout my career on the side of survivors, who deserve to have their voices heard, their claims taken seriously and investigated, and their rights upheld. Tara Reade claims that Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993 when she worked for him as a Senate staffer. She alleges that she was told by a top staffer to bring Biden a duffel bag in a Senate building, and when she met with him he pinned her against a wall and penetrated her with his fingers while forcibly kissing her. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has also condemned the Education Department due process rules, said last month that she is satisfied with how Biden has responded to the allegation. More from National Review A new study by an international team from the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas and Hokkaido University and Okayama University of Science in Japan further explores the proliferation of the most commonly occurring duck-billed dinosaur of the ancient Arctic as the genus Edmontosaurus. The findings also reinforce that the hadrosaurs -- known as the "caribou of the Cretaceous" -- had a huge geographical distribution of approximately 60 degrees of latitude, spanning the North American West from Alaska to Colorado. The scientific paper describing the find -- titled "Re-examination of the cranial osteology of the Arctic Alaskan hadrosaurine with implications for its taxonomic status" -- has been posted in PLOS ONE, an international, peer-reviewed, open-access online publication featuring reports on primary research from all scientific disciplines. The authors of the report are Ryuji Takasaki of Okayama University of Science in Japan; Anthony R. Fiorillo, Ph.D. and Ronald S. Tykoski, Ph.D. of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, Texas; and Yoshitsugu Kobayashi, Ph.D. of Hokkaido University Museum in Japan. "Recent studies have identified new species of hadrosaurs in Alaska, but our research shows that these Arctic hadrosaurs actually belong to the genus Edmontosaurus, an abundant and previously recognized genus of duck-billed dinosaur known from Alberta south to Colorado," said Takasaki. The report states that anatomical comparisons and phylogenetic analyses clearly demonstrate that attribution of the Alaskan hadrosaurines to a unique genus Ugrunaaluk is inappropriate, and they are now considered as a junior synonym of Edmontosaurus, a hadrosaurines genus previously known from lower latitude North America roughly in between northern Colorado (N40?) to southern Alberta (N53?). The fossils used for this study were found primarily in the Liscomb Bonebed, Prince Creek Formation of the North Slope of Alaska, the location of the first dinosaur fossils discovered in the Arctic. The team's research also show that the plant-eating hadrosaurs were taking over parts of North America during the Cretaceous, suggesting that Edmontosaurus was likely an ecological generalist. "In other words, Edmontosaurus was a highly successful dinosaur that could adapt to a wide variety of environmental conditions," said Fiorillo. "It's not unrealistic to compare them to generalized animals today -- such as mountain sheep, wolves and cougars in terms of their range and numbers -- that also roam greater geographic distributions." Members of this team also found ties to Kamuysaurus japonicus, a new genus species they discovered near Hokkaido, Japan, and named in 2019. "Combined with the newly named Kamuysaurus of Japan, Alaska Edmontosaurus shows that this group of hadrosaurs, the Edmontosaurini, were widely distributed in the northern circum-Pacific region, meaning that they were incredibly successful dinosaurs," said Kobayashi. "It's fascinating to think they likely used the ancestral Bering Land Bridge between Asia and North America for migration in a manner similar to mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses and early humans." Edmontosaurus belong to a clade Edmontosaurini as Kamuysaurus, a recently described hadrosaurine dinosaur from Japan, suggesting that Edmontosaurini widely distributed along the northern circum-Pacific region. North America and Asia were connected by Beringia during the Late Cretaceous, and some dinosaurs are believed to have traveled to the North American continent this way. Edmontosaurini is one of the dinosaur groups that may have ventured the North America-to-Asia pathway and adapted to the Arctic environment. Those creatures that stayed in North America evolved to Edmontosaurus, and those that stayed in Asia and moved on to Japan are believed to have evolved to Kamuysaurus. "This study is a wonderful example of why paleontologists need to be more aware of how individual growth and life stage of fossils matter when we try to interpret the anatomical features preserved in them. If you don't, you run the risk of erroneously erecting a new 'genus' or species based on juvenile traits that will change or vanish as the individual creature grows up -- and winds up being an adult of an already-known 'genus' or species!," said Tykoski. "Our study shows that was probably the case with these juvenile duck-billed dinosaurs from the ancient Arctic of Alaska." Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 19:33:47|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WINDHOEK, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The Namibian Police reported Thursday a rise in drug use following a ban on alcohol sale in the country as part of strict measures to curb the further spread of COVID-19 in the country. The public possession and sale of alcohol remains banned in the southwest African nation at least until June 1 when the current stage 2 lockdown is expected to come to an end. Namibian Police spokesperson, deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi said in a statement that drug-related substances with a combined street value of more than half a million Namibian dollars (around 26,934 U.S. dollars) were seized during April. One hundred and forty three suspects were arrested for drug possession and dealing in dependency-producing substances. The suspects include 131 Namibians, two Angolans, five Congolese nationals, one Tanzanian and one Rwandese, two Somalis and one Jamaican national. "Our observation is that after the restriction of alcohol, we now have a rising drug use in the country," the police spokesperson said. The drugs of choice remains cannabis, mandrax, cocaine powder and crack cocaine. The Namibian Police also reported last month a sharp rise in the number of people smuggling beer and whiskey from neighbouring Angola and Zambia ever since the southwest African country banned the sale of alcohol and closed its borders on March 27. Police said that Namibians, Zambians and Angolan nationals were responsible for bringing beer, spirits and whiskey during the lockdown period. Enditem The US special envoy to Afghanistan is on a mission to press Taliban negotiators in Doha and officials in India and Pakistan to support a reduction in violence, acceleration of intra-Afghan peace talks and cooperation on handling the coronavirus pandemic, the US Department of State said on Wednesday. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzads trip comes amid concerns that surging Taliban attacks and the coronavirus pandemic could deal potentially fatal blows to his stalled efforts to end decades of strife in Afghanistan. At each stop, Khalilzad will urge support for an immediate reduction in violence, accelerated timeline for the start of intra-Afghan negotiations, and cooperation among all sides in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan, the State Department said. The statement did not disclose the exact schedule of Khalilzads trip, which began on Tuesday. It is the second trip he has made since April 12 in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic to salvage a February 29 accord that he and the Talibans second in command, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, signed for a phased withdrawal of US troops from the USs longest war. A successful initiative could help US President Donald Trump as he seeks re-election in November. Khalilzad, the State Department said, would press Taliban officials for full implementation of the February 29 agreement. In New Delhi, a key supporter of the Afghan government, Khalilzad will discuss Indias role in sustaining peace, and he will hold talks on the peace process in Islamabad, according to the State Department. Pakistan has provided sanctuary and other support to the Taliban for decades as part of a strategy to blunt the influence in Kabul of India, Islamabads longtime foe, according to US officials. Pakistan denies backing the armed groups. The US-Taliban deal called for the Taliban to release up to 1,000 government prisoners and Kabul to free up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners before peace talks that were to begin on March 10. But a dispute over the pace and scale of the releases between the armed group and the government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, which was not a party to the deal, delayed the talks. The negotiations also have been stalled by a feud between Ghani and his rival, Abdullah Abdullah, who both claimed victory in a disputed September election, and by escalating Taliban attacks. The Taliban have mounted more than 4,500 attacks since signing the February 29 deal, according to data seen by Reuters. The provinces hardest hit are also the ones that have the most cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The armed group blames Kabul and the US for the surge in violence. Kansas City Dreams Of Coronavirus Fed Cash Tonight Federal money to help Kansas City fight COVID-19 may be on the way Federal help for Kansas City to fight the virus may be on the way after all. There had been a dispute between the city and Jackson County over its share $122 million to cover the costs. Local Food Tragedy Underway Triumph Foods employee dies after testing positive for COVID-19 BUCHANAN COUNTY, MO (KCTV) - A Triumph Foods employee has died of the coronavirus. The male Buchanan County resident tested positive for the coronavirus on April 22. Officials say he was in his 40s and had underlying conditions. Triumph Foods sent KCTV5 News a statement confirming the death. Curvy Late Night Look Tracker shows curve of coronavirus cases, deaths in Missouri, Kansas We're tracking the curve of coronavirus cases and coronavirus-related deaths that have occurred in Missouri and Kansas.The data shows the total number of COVID-19 cases along with the number of COVID-19 cases per day. Prez Trump Shares Historical Perspective On Pandemic Trump says virus worse 'attack' than Pearl Harbor US President Donald Trump has described the coronavirus pandemic as the "worst attack" ever on the United States, pointing the finger at China. Mr Trump said the outbreak had hit the US harder than the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in World War Two, or the 9/11 attacks two decades ago. NYT Ready To Surrender Opinion | The Virus Is Winning Magical thinking won't protect us. Then he realized that he had misheard. The task force wasn't "ramping up" but "wrapping up." "I was in shock," said Osterholm, a professor at the University of Minnesota. "We're just in the second inning." Everybody Enjoys Divisive Blame Game Politics How 'Karen' Became a Coronavirus Villain A popular joke about entitled white women is now a big pandemic meme. In the ongoing, tense conversation over how long America has to remain locked down during the coronavirus pandemic, one of the more absurd moments came two weeks ago: Carolyn Goodman, the mayor of Las Vegas, called for the immediate reopening of her city's casinos, offering her constituents up as a "control group" to test whether stay-at-home measures are actually effective. A glimpse at were we stand as KCMO and the Heartland emerge from the lockdown . . .Accordingly, here are a few more national and local links on the topic of COVID-19 impact . . .Developing . . . Nigerian poultry farmers have complained of recording huge losses due to the restriction of movement by the federal and state governments to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The farmers, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES within the week, said the lockdown and the decline in the purchasing power of most Nigerians have eroded the sale of poultry products such as eggs and broilers. Although the government later exempted farmers and marketers of food products from the restriction of movement, poultry farmers said this has not protected their business from the general effects of the lockdown. Lockdown President Muhammadu Buhari on March 29 declared a total lockdown on the Federal Capital Territory-FCT, Lagos and Ogun states as government rallied to check the spread of the deadly virus in Nigeria. However, the government of Ogun State obtained permission to delay the take of of the measure by a week until April 3 to enable the government and residents prepare for life under lockdown. Commercial establishments such as food processing, distribution and retail companies, petroleum distribution and retail entities, power generation, transmission and distribution companies and private security companies were exempted from the lockdown, as were workers rendering essential services. Apart from the presidential directive on the two states and Abuja, many other state governments also imposed lockdown in their states to check the spread of the virus. On April 12, the president addressed the nation again on the same issue and announced the extension of the lockdown by two weeks. Some Nigerians, including state governors, later called for a partial lifting of the lockdown, with the Nigerian Governors Forum advising intra-state movement be allowed, while interstate trips should remain restricted. At the end of the extension of the lockdown, the president on April 27 addressed the nation again and announced a relaxation of the lockdown from May 4 but declared a nationwide curfew between 8.p.m and 6.a.m from that date. He also announced a nationwide ban on interstate travel. Low production, poor demand and spoilage of products Idris Oladejo, who runs a poultry farm in Abuja, said fallen production and mass spoilage of products as a result of poor sales are the major problems he is facing under the lockdown. Mr Oladejo said the restriction of movement within communities and the closure of schools have drastically slowed down his business. He said he used to sell over 500 crates of eggs daily before the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic. Now, the business has turned upside down, Mr Oladejo said. Before now, a crate of eggs sold at N750-N800, but now, the few people who managed to get access to the farm want us to sell lower ( N650-N700). If we sell at a very low price, we would not be able to buy feed and pay salaries. I lost over 150 crate of eggs last week, he continued. A poultry farmer makes more sales when schools are in session. Then, we sell a crate of eggs at the rate of N800 N900. The Kaduna State Government had announced a lockdown a week before the president proclaimed it on the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos and Ogun states. Poultry farmers in the state said their experience has been harrowing throughout the period. Timothy Okunade, the president of the Kaduna State chapter of Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) spoke with PREMIUM TIMES early this week. He expressed worry over the continuous decline of sales and the spoilage of eggs. He said the demand of broilers has fallen sharply but demand for eggs is even worse. He said, farmers cant go out to sell and if they go out to sell, there are no buyers. We are stuck with so many products in the farm. This has forced us to bring down prices to ridiculous levels. Eggs are perishable, so you cant hold on to them for long. Even worse in Kaduna, there is no hope in sight regarding when the lockdown will be over, Mr Okunade said. The PAN president said he had written to the state government through the Ministry of Agriculture as well as spoken to some members of the states COVID-19 committee to add eggs to the palliative packages being distributed, so as to help mop up the unsold stocks. Jimmy John-Mark is a poultry farmer and veterinary doctor in Kaduna. He said the lockdown has affected the movement of feed and other necessities to his farm, which has led to a fall in his production of eggs per day. He said the restriction of movement also does not allow customers to access his farm. Even when we deliver to them, they are not allowed to open shops for sales as usual, except on specific days as instructed by the government, he said. Advertisements Yohana Moses, the spokesperson of the Poultry Association of Nigeria, Nasarawa State chapter, also lamented the plight of the business in the state as a result of the coronavirus-induced lockdown. He said the lockdown has deprived poultry farmers of the patronage of petty traders and others, forcing many of the farmers to cut the production of eggs by 50 per cent. We are trying to see how to sustain our farms. We have cut production by 50 per cent and have resorted to delivering eggs to customers, he said. Way forward Yusuf Ogunbiyi, Product Development Analyst at AFEX, said the widening nature of the coronavirus pandemic poses great challenges to food production across Nigeria. He called for proactive approaches to reduce the risks of a food crisis in the near future, adding that the government should provide the agricultural sector with necessary inputs. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) had warned that to mitigate the impact of coronavirus pandemic, countries must meet the immediate food needs of their vulnerable populations, boost their social protection programmes, keep the food supply chain flowing and gain efficiencies to reduce costs related to trade. FAO said in order to keep the food supply chains afloat and support smallholder farmers, governments should facilitate movement of agricultural products; buy surplus fresh produce to supply those in need; and connect farmers to markets to avoid food losses. It also urged them to match agricultural job opportunities to unemployed workers; provide financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises; and ensure access to agricultural inputs and services for next season. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Budi Sutrisno (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 7, 2020 15:04 621 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd68951d 1 National BMKG,rainy-season,extreme-weather,May,June,Indonesia,cuaca-ekstrim,musim-hujan,musim-kemarau Free The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has issued warnings of extreme weather in several parts of Indonesia in the upcoming days as the rainy season, initially predicted to end in April, is stretching to May or June. The agency said the rainy season, which began at the end of November last year, would reach its peak in May in Jakarta and in June in other parts of Java, in which heavy rains coupled with strong winds and lightning would potentially occur. We predict that the dry season will arrive 10 to 20 days late this year. So, during this transition period, it would be natural for rain and extreme weather to occur, BMKG climatology deputy head Adi Ripaldi told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. Adi said the start of the dry season was delayed due to several factors, such as the level of atmospheric humidity as the seas around Indonesia were still warm enough to support the rapid growth of cumulonimbus clouds. Read also: Not our conclusion: BMKG refutes suggestion hot weather kills coronavirus At the beginning of May, the MJO [Madden-Julian oscillation] phase is active in the maritime continent. Such a phenomenon has triggered the growth of massive cumulonimbus clouds for several days in Indonesia, Adi added. Besides Jakarta and other parts of Java, the BMKG has also warned of extreme weather in other areas including Aceh, Riau, Riau Islands, Bengkulu, South Sumatra, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), South Sulawesi and several parts of Kalimantan. On Sunday, heavy rains accompanied by strong winds flushed the city of Bireuen in Aceh, with water overflowing and damaging roads while at least four houses were reportedly damaged by falling trees. On Monday, heavy rains since the early morning in Cilegon, Banten, caused flooding of up to 1-meter deep, which inundated residential areas, industrial places and highways, as well as paralyzed a toll road and caused landslides. T he UK could start easing its lockdown by relaxing stay-at-home orders and allowing some types of non-essential businesses to reopen, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have looked at the successes of these measures along with other social distancing policies across 30 European countries. They cautioned that the study - funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Emergency Preparedness and Response and Public Health England - is experimental. The researchers found that banning mass gatherings, along with closing schools and some non-essential businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector, were the most effective ways at stopping the spread of Covid-19. They said that more investigation is needed on the use of face coverings in public, as the current results, which do not necessarily support their widespread use in the community, were "too preliminary". The researchers looked at the number of cases and deaths taken from daily published figures by the European Centre for Disease Control. The researchers found that banning mass gatherings, along with closing schools and some non-essential businesses were most effective / AFP via Getty Images These were compared with the start dates of different measures including the restriction of mass gatherings, the closure of schools and different types of businesses, stay-at-home orders and the wearing of face masks. Lead researcher Professor Paul Hunter, from UEA's Norwich Medical School, said the study shows that school closures in Europe had "the greatest association with a subsequent reduction in the spread of the disease", but it does not clarify the ongoing puzzle of whether children can pass Covid-19 to adults. He said: "And it does not identify which level of school closure has the most impact, whether it is primary, junior, senior school or even higher education. "It's also important to remember that our results are based on total closure, so it is possible that partial school closures could have worthwhile impacts on the spread of infection." Banning public and private mass gatherings was another key tool in fighting the spread of the virus. Prof Hunter noted that the size of the current banned mass gatherings varied between countries and so the importance and impact of the scale of the individual event is still not clear. Dr Julii Brainard, of UEA's Norwich Medical School, said the researchers were "really surprised" to learn that stay-at-home orders may not be needed to control the outbreak, provided that this did not lead to more mass gatherings. Coronavirus hits the UK - In pictures 1 /81 Coronavirus hits the UK - In pictures A deserted Westminster Bridge PA A man wearing a face mask or covering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, walks past customers sat outside a restaurant AFP via Getty Images Boris Johnson addresses the nation on the Coronavirus lockdown Andrew Parsons Runners pass cardboard cutouts of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince William during the London Marathon in London AP An empty escalator at Charing Coss London Underground tube station Jeremy Selwyn Electronic bilboards displays a message warning people to stay home in Sheffield PA A sign is displayed in the window of a student accommodation building following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Mancheste Reuters People take part in a 'We Do Not Consent' rally at Trafalgar Square, organised by Stop New Normal, to protest against coronavirus restrictions, in Londo AP People sing and dance in Leicester Square on the eve on the 10PM curfew Reuters Hearts painted by a team of artists from Upfest are seen in the grass at Queen Square, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bristol Reuters Graffiti reads 'good luck and stay safe', as the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases grow around the world, under a bridge in London Reuters A sign is pictured in Soho, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London Reuters Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures, during a coronavirus briefing in Downing Street, London AP A person runs past posters with a message of hope, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Manchester REUTERS Riot police face protesters who took part in a 'We Do Not Consent' rally at Trafalgar Square, organised by Stop New Normal, to protest against coronavirus restrictions in London AP An image of The Queen eith quotes from her broadcast to the UK and the Commonwealth in relation to the Coronavirus epidemic are displayed on lights in London's Piccadilly Circus PA Military vehicles cross Westminster Bridge after members of the 101 Logistic Brigade delivered a consignment of medical masks to St Thomas' hospital Getty Images Durdle Door in Dorset Reuters Captain Tom Moore via Reuters Mia, aged 8, and Jack, aged 5, take part in "PE with Joe" a daily live workout with Joe Wicks on Youtube to help kids stay fit who have to stay indoors due to the Coronavirus outbreak PA An NHS worker reacts at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital during the Clap for our Carers campaign in support of the NHS Reuters Goats which have taken over the deserted streets of Llandudno @AndrewStuart via PA Tobias Weller PA Novikov restaurant in London with its shutters pulled down while the restaurant is closed London Landscapes: Hyde Park and the Serpentine, central London. Matt Writtle A newspaper vendor in Manchester city centre giving away free toilet rolls with every paper bought as shops run low on supplies due to fears over the spread of the coronavirus PA Theo Clay looks out of his window next to his hand-drawn picture of a rainbow in Liverpool, as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continue Reuters A young man cuts another man's hair on top of a closed hairdresser in Oxford Reuters General view of the new NHS Nightingale Hospital, built to fight against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London via Reuters Jason Baird is seen dressed as Spiderman during his daily exercise to cheer up local children in Stockport, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues Reuters A woman wearing a face mask walks past Buckingham Palace Getty Images A man holds mobile phone displaying a text message alert sent by the government warning that new rules are in force across the UK and people must stay at home PA Medical staff on the Covid-19 ward at the Neath Port Talbot Hospital, in Wales, as the health services continue their response to the coronavirus outbreak. PA Prime Minister Boris Johnson taking part in a virtual Cabinet meeting with his top team of ministers PA A shopper walks past empty shelves in a Lidl store on in Wallington. After spates of "panic buying" cleared supermarket shelves of items like toilet paper and cleaning products, stores across the UK have introduced limits on purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have also created special time slots for the elderly and other shoppers vulnerable to the new coronavirus. Getty Images People on a busy tube train in London at rush hour PA Mia, aged 8 and her brother Jack, aged 5 from Essex, continue their school work at home, after being sent home due to the coronavirus PA Children are painting 'Chase the rainbows' artwork and springing up in windows across the country Reuters Social distancing in Primrose Hill Jeremy Selwyn A general view of a locked gate at Anfield, Liverpool as The Premier League has been suspended PA Homeless people in London AFP via Getty Images A piece of art by the artist, known as the Rebel Bear has appeared on a wall on Bank Street in Glasgow. The new addition to Glasgow's street art is capturing the global Coronavirus crisis. The piece features a woman and a man pulling back to give each other a kiss PA The Queen leaves Buckingham Palace, London, for Windsor Castle to socially distance herself amid the coronavirus pandemic PA A general view on Grey street, Newcastle as coronavirus cases grow around the world Reuters Matt Raw, a British national who returned from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China, leaves quaratine at Arrowe Park Hospital on Merseyside PA Britain's Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty (L) and Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance look on as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he speaks during a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) news conference inside 10 Downing Street Reuters The ticket-validation terminals at the tram stop on Edinburgh's Princes Street are cleaned following the coronavirus outbreak. PA Locked school gates at Rockcliffe First School in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear PA A sign at a Sainsbury's supermarket informs customers that limits have been set on a small number of products as the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases grow around the world Reuters 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 A sign advertising a book titled "How Will We Survive On Earth?" Getty Images A man who appears to be homeless sleeping wearing a mask today in Victoria Jeremy Selwyn A pedestrian walks past graffiti that reads "Diseases are in the City" in Edinburgh AFP via Getty Images Staff from The Lyric Theatre, London inform patrons, as it shuts its doors PA A quiet looking George IV Bridge in Edinburgh PA A quieter than usual British Museum Getty Images A racegoer attends Cheltenham in a fashionable face mask SplashNews.com A commuter wears a face mask at London Bridge Station Jeremy Selwyn A empty restaurant in the Bull Ring Shopping Centre Getty Images A deserted Trafalgar Square in London PA Passengers determined to avoid the coronavirus before leaving the UK arrive at Gatwick Airport Getty Images It was found that these stay-home policies were not linked with a decline in incidences, and that as the number of lock-down days increased, so did the number of cases. Differences in how the countries carried out these policies have ranged from them being an advisory notice in some places, while elsewhere they were orders which were enforced by police with penalties. The shut-down of non-essential businesses, which included places where people gathered such pubs, leisure centres, restaurants and venues, also had an impact on the spread of infection in each country. Prof Hunter said: "This suggests that keeping some businesses closed, particularly in the hospitality and leisure sector, would have the most impact. "However, we also know that while outbreaks of food poisoning are frequently linked with restaurants, outbreaks of other respiratory infections generally in the hospitality sector are fairly rare." Dr Joshua Moon, of the University of Sussex Business School, noted that differences in testing rates and strategies in each country would have an impact on the number of cases. He said the study may indicate that stay-at-home orders could be the first things to be relaxed. The World on Coronavirus lockdown 1 /60 The World on Coronavirus lockdown Getty Images A UK government public health campaign is displayed in Piccadilly Circus Reuters Chinese paramilitary police and security officers wear face masks to protect against the spread of the new coronavirus as they stand guard outside an entrance to the Forbidden City in Beijing AP A usually busy 42nd Street is seen nearly empty in New York AFP via Getty Images Bondi Beach, Australia Getty Images Military vehicles cross Westminster Bridge after members of the 101 Logistic Brigade delivered a consignment of medical masks to St Thomas' hospital Getty Images 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 Getty Images Rome AFP via Getty Images An Indian man paddles his bicycle in front of a mural depicting the globe covered in a mask, as India remains under an unprecedented lockdown over the highly contagious coronavirus Getty Images Aerial view of the empty 9 de Julio avenue in Buenos Aires in Argentina AFP via Getty Images A view of an empty Grand Canal Reuters Las Ramblas, Barcelona, Spain Getty Images Aerial view of the empty Central cemetery in Bogota, Columbia AFP via Getty Images The facade of the Palacio de Lopez (seat of the government palace) AFP via Getty Images Miami, Florida AFP via Getty Images Aerial view of the empty Simon Bolivar park in Bogota AFP via Getty Images An LAPD patrol car drives through Venice Beach Boardwalk AP Venice Beach, California Getty Images Los Angeles, California Getty Images Surfers Paradise is seen empty in Australia Getty Images Many shops stand shuttered on the Venice Beach boardwalk Getty Images Empty escalators are seen at a deserted train station during morning rush hour after New South Wales began shutting down non-essential businesses Reuters A nearly empty Times Square in New York AFP via Getty Images Caracas AFP via Getty Images Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador AFP via Getty Images A general view of an unusually quiet Midland Park in Wellington, New Zealand Getty Images A general view of an unusually quiet Civic Square at lunchtimein Wellington, New Zealand Getty Images A policeman rides his motorcycle wearing a face mask in front of a closed shopping mall in Buenos Aires, Argentina AFP via Getty Images Florida Keys AP The historic Channel 2 Bridge closed to fishermen, bikers and pedestrians in Florida Keys AP The Beach on Scenic Gulf Drive near Seascape Resort in south Walton County, Florida sits empty of tourists AP Surfers Paradise is seen empty in Australia Getty Images A deserted Rajpath leading to India Gate in New Delhi AFP via Getty Images A general view is seen of a closed Luna Park in Sydney, Australia Getty Images A general view is seen of a closed Luna Park in Sydney, Australia Getty Images Empty roads are pictured following the lockdown by the government amid concerns about the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Kathmandu, Nepal Reuters An empty New York Subway car i AFP via Getty Images The empty pedestrian zone is seen in the city of Cologne, western Germany, AFP via Getty Images Place de la Comedie in the city of Montpellier , southern France AFP via Getty Images An empty street in Kuwait city AFP via Getty Images A building is covered by the Portuguese message: "Coronavirus: take precaution" over empty streets in downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil, AP A general view shows an empty street after a curfew was imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters Parliament of Canada is pictured with empty street during morning rush hour AFP via Getty Images A near empty beach on Southend seafront in England PA Near empty Keswick town centre in Cumbria, England PA Dr Moon said: "We have to remember that decisions like this cannot and should not be made on a single finding. "Nor should policy be made based solely upon science - there are many social, economic, political, and moral factors to consider that science simply cannot answer. "When it comes to this pandemic, caution is paramount, otherwise we could tip too far and risk a second wave and a return to lockdown." Researchers from the University of Newcastle, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa are also part of the study team. 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The Kabul administration has released more than 900 Taliban fighters since the militants signed a landmark deal with the United States to end the war in Afghanistan, an official said on Thursday. The release is part of a prisoner-exchange programme included in the US-Taliban deal agreed February 29, which has also seen the Taliban free dozens of Afghan security personnel. "So far 933 Taliban detainees have been released from Afghan jails," Javed Faisal, spokesman for Afghanistan's National Security Council, told AFP. In return the Taliban have released 132 Kabul administration prisoners, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special envoy to Afghanistan who negotiated the US-Taliban deal, sees the prisoner exchange as an "important step" toward reducing violence in the war-torn country. The deal stipulated the Afghan government would release 5,000 Taliban prisoners, while the insurgents would free 1,000 Afghan security force personnel. The swap was supposed to have taken place by March 10 but has hit several hurdles, with Kabul claiming the Taliban want 15 of their "top commanders" released. The insurgents have accused Afghan authorities of needlessly dragging their heels on the exchange, which is supposed to be completed before peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban can start. Those Kabul has so far released are low-risk Taliban prisoners who have vowed to abstain from fighting, officials said. The insurgents also insist Kabul should expedite the release of its members given the growing threat of COVID-19 outbreaks in Afghan jails. The US has stepped up pressure on both sides to speed up the prisoner swap as it pushes ahead with withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan. Under the US-Taliban agreement, the insurgents promised not to strike forces from the US-led coalition -- but made no such pledges toward Afghan troops. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) GOSPER COUNTY A 17-year-old Gosper County female was killed and a 15-year-old female injured when the ATV they were riding was struck by a pickup in rural Gosper County. On Wednesday, May 6 at 4:32 p.m. the Gosper County Sheriffs Office was dispatched to a vehicle accident involving an ATV and a pickup, said Sheriff Dennis Ocken. The accident occurred on Road 415, a half mile north of Road 726. The investigation revealed the Yamaha ATV was ridden by 17-year-old Allysha Fischer, of rural Gosper County, and a 15-year-old McCook female. The ATV was traveling east and entered Road 415 from a private driveway. The ATV was then struck by an F250 Ford pickup, driven by 48-year-old Chad Johnson of rural Cambridge, which was southbound on Road 415, Ocken said. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Ocken said it has not yet been determined who was driving the ATV at the time of the accident. A helmet was found on scene, but it has not been determined if it was in use during the accident, said Ocken. Separated from his 6-year-old daughter in Jharkhand for close to two months, Arjun Singh Choudhary on whom fortune smiled, left from Katpadi in Tamil Nadu's Vellore district by a special train tohis home state. Though he has to return to CMC Vellore, again for treating his wife, he is rather relieved to be homeward-bound to be reunited with his little daughter and octogenarian parents in Bokaro. He was among the nearly 1,140 people who on Wednesday night were put on the first special train,arranged by the Tamil Nadu government on the request of the Jharkhand government to the northern state from Katpadi station in Velloredistrict. "It was a bitter experience staying in the lodge with my cash saving running dry, no food to eat and the cruel lodge owners demanding the rent. There were 15 of us from Bokaro, who were stranded in the lodge as the nationwide lockdown was enforced from March 25," reminiscences Arjun Singh, who works in an electrical shop in his home town. He had been to CMC hospital on March 17 for treating his wife for ear-related problems. As the Coronavirus spread rapidly, the state government sealed the inter-state borders, temporarily suspended all transport services and enforced the lockdown from March 24. Like several others, Arjun Singh and his wife too were caught unawares and their stay at the lodge got extended. "I sought help from several quarters.. finally the Tamil Nadu government responded and the Vellore district officials intervened. Apart from making the lodge owner to slash 50 per cent tariff, the administration offered to pay 50 per cent of the outstanding bill," he told PTI over phone. "I am happy the Tamil Nadu government came to our rescue. Now I am on myway home to be united with my daughter and my 80-year-old parents who can't take care of themselves," he said. "I have to return to CMC again after the coronavirus threat recedes and life becomes normal," Singh added apparently relieved that his 10 day short of nearly two month nightmarish stay in Vellore has ended. He hopes his second visit to the medical town would be pleasant. "The IRCTC has been providing us food. Due to gas leak in a chemical factory in (South Korean company LG Corp in) Visakhapatnam (in Andhra Pradesh) our special train has taken diversion. Now we are near Khammam (in Telangana state) and we hope to reach Nagpur tomorrow," Singh said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Ector County Health Department website reported five new positive cases Wednesday, making the total 90. There are three probable cases at this time. ECHD reported that 60 people have recovered. There have been 1,405 tests taken, with 1,245 negative results and 70 pending results. ECHD has contacted 1,109 people during contact tracing. The drive-thru at the Ector County Coliseum received three positive cases. Of the 52 tests done, 36 are negative and 13 are pending. 192 people have called the triage center for testing. tech2 News Staff In November last year, Facebook announced its plans to create an independent 'Oversight Board' that will make the call on how content is moderated on its platforms. Earlier this year, Facebook recommended some rules for how the 40-member board will work. Now, Facebook on Wednesday announced the first 20 members of the board. Among the 20-member list that has been announced is Alan Rusbridger, who is a British journalist, and was the editor-in-chief of the Guardian newspaper between 1995 to 2015. He is now the principal of Lady Margaret Hall, a college of Oxford University. Rusbridger has published an article on Medium titled: "Why Im Joining Facebooks Oversight Board" He answers the question this way: ...there is a crisis of free expression with oligarchs, populist leaders, and some corporations trying to delegitimise and repress the voices of those who would challenge them. Finally, there is a crisis of journalism: both the economic model which sustains it, and in the generally low levels of trust much of it enjoys. Facebook sits at the heart of these interlocking crises and its not hard to see why its tied itself in knots trying to solve even some of them. In his blog, Rusbridger compares his gig at Guardian with him now being on Facebook's Oversight Board: "For 20 years I edited a fast-growing and dramatically changing news organization The Guardian. Some of the challenges Facebook is grappling with are familiar, albeit on a vastly different scale. Others are issues that no one has ever, in history, had to think about." He writes: The Oversight Board is one of the most significant projects of the digital age, a pivotal moment in the words of Evelyn Douek, a young scholar at Harvard, when new constitutional forms can emerge that will shape the future of online discourse. (Also read: Facebook has announced the first 20 members of its independent, external Oversight Board: Here is the complete list) In the blog, Rusbridger frequently addresses the wide scepticism about whether the board will truly be transparent and if it would work. He quotes Harvard academic, Dipayan Ghosh, who believes that the Oversight Boards powers are too narrowly drawn. Ghosh says: We need oversight of the companys data practices to promote consumer and citizen privacy...oversight of the companys strategic acquisitions and data governance to protect against anticompetitive practice; and oversight of the companys algorithmic decision making to protect against bias. He adds that "its entirely reasonable to be sceptical, while also holding out hope that this new entity might have a real effect." Rusbridger also talks about why the Oversight Board is a better alternative over government-led regulation, which was also previously discussed briefly. He even goes back to January 2018 where the idea for the board was apparently born - when a Harvard Law Professor, Noah Feldman in conversation with Mark Zuckerberg suggested that "whoever should be making some hugely consequential decisions about the information which half the connected people on the planet were plugged into, it probably shouldnt be Mark Zuckerberg." Alan Rusbridger concludes his blog with the idea that not a lot of media companies out there would like being to be regulated by an external board. But Facebook is trying it, and that we should keep hope that it works. Bridget Anne Kelly, former deputy chief of staff to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, arrives for her sentencing in the Bridgegate trial at the Federal Courthouse in Newark, New Jersey, on March 29, 2017. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters) Supreme Court Overturns Convictions in New Jersey Bridgegate Case The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously reversed the federal convictions of two former New Jersey political operatives who orchestrated the 2013 George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal, commonly known as Bridgegate. The top court ruled in favor of Bridget Kelly, former deputy chief of staff to then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, and William Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The pair were charged with fraud for a scheme to create traffic chaos on the frequently congested George Washington Bridge as political payback against the mayor of Fort Lee for not backing Christies reelection campaign. Former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Bill Baroni, listens as his lawyer speaks following his sentencing in the Bridgegate trial at the Federal Courthouse in Newark, New Jersey, on March 29, 2017. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters) Justice Elena Kagan, who wrote the courts unanimous opinion, recognized that the scheme was done to punish the mayor but that it was not a violation of the federal fraud statutes that they were convicted of. The question presented is whether the defendants committed property fraud. The evidence the jury heard no doubt shows wrongdoingdeception, corruption, abuse of power, Kagan wrote (pdf). But the federal fraud statutes at issue do not criminalize all such conduct. Kagan pointed out that for the two individuals to violate the federal fraud statutes, the government needed to show that the object of their scheme was to obtain Port Authoritys money or property, which the court held was not satisfied. The government argued that Kelly and Baroni committed fraud when they conspired to close two of three local access lanes leading to the toll plaza of the George Washington Bridge, which caused gridlock for Fort Lees commuters for four days. The George Washington Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River that connects Fort Lee, New Jersey, and New York City. It is said to be the busiest motor vehicle bridge in the world, with over 100 million vehicle crossings per year. The government said the lane realignment, which was disguised as a traffic study, was fraud because the officials sought both to commandeer the Bridges access lanes and to divert the wage labor of the Port Authority employees used in that effort. Meanwhile, the attorneys for the two former officials claimed that their actions were bare-knuckle political behavior, not criminal activity. The alleged conduct here was petty, insensitive, and ill-advised. But in our system, political abuses of power are addressed politically, the lawyers wrote in a brief earlier in the case. The court on Thursday disagreed with the government, saying that the realignment was an exercise of regulatory power and that the employees labor was just the incidental cost of that regulation, rather than itself an object of the officials scheme. Kelly will serve none of her 13-month prison sentence, which had been on hold while she appealed. Baroni started serving his 18-month sentence but was released when the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case last year. Having been maligned, I now stand with my family and friends knowing that due process worked. While this may finally have made this case right for me, it does not absolve those who should have truly been held accountable, Kelly said in a statement. Meanwhile, Baronis lawyer, Michael Levy, said in a statement: Although the process of getting to this day has been an ordeal, Bill is heartened that the system ultimately worked, even as he recognizes how often it fails others who are less fortunate. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie speaks at the University of New Hampshire at Manchester, in Manchester, New Hampshire, on May 12, 2015. (Dominick Reuter/Reuters) Christie, a high-profile ally of then-candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 election, had denied involvement in the case and was never charged. In a statement to media responding to the decision, Christie said the unanimous decision today by the U.S. Supreme Court ends a 6 year political crusade by former U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman and the Obama Justice Department against Bill Baroni, Bridget Kelly and dozens of members of my Administration. As many contended from the beginning, and as the Court confirmed today, no federal crimes were ever committed in this matter by anyone in my Administration. It is good for all involved that today justice has finally been done. Matthew Vadum and Reuters contributed to this report. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 7) More Filipinos turned to online fund transfers instead of ATM transactions to access their money amid the coronavirus lockdown, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said. BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno reported a 25 percent spike in online bank transactions for the first one and a half months of the enhanced community quarantine, compared to 45 days before strict stay-at-home rules took effect. This translated to 2.13 million more digital bank transfers, cumulatively worth 64.62 billion. Combining recorded inter-bank fund transfers on the two platforms, the central bank official said transactions more than tripled in March and April compared to year-ago levels. Financial technology firm PayMaya also reported a more than double surge in the number of transactions done through its app, saying there's been additional traffic for virtual payments to groceries, drugstores, and other essential firms. Depositors can use two channels to move their money from accounts in one bank to a different bank online. Instapay allows real-time crediting of fund transfers worth below 50,000, while bigger fund transfers are cleared via PesoNET. Both clearing houses charge service fees, but these were waived by most banks during the lockdown period. BSP managing director Vicente de Villa III pointed out a corresponding 25 percent drop in withdrawals and other fund transfers done via automated teller machines, which Diokno said was "appropriate" in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. "ATM is full of contact. You touch the machine, you get contaminated... There are also costs in maintaining these kinds of machines, that's why there are fees," De Villa said. RELATED: Banks told to sanitize bills before transfer to BSP "If we move forward and encourage banks to further use digital forms of transacting, the market will actually correct on its own. These fees will probably dwindle when digital payments become on the rise," he added. Last year, the central bank lifted a 2013 moratorium on ATM fees of banks, effectively allowing lenders to seek higher charges whenever a customer uses a different bank's machine to withdraw money. RELATED: BSP says ATM fee hikes won't go beyond 20 The BSP has set a goal to transfer half of all local fund transactions to digital channels by 2023. Jana Sena Party president Pawan Kalyan on Thursday spoke to media about the gas leak incident in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam. He has urged the government to provide necessary medical facilities and financial assistance to those affected. Twitter "I extend sympathies on behalf of Janasena Party to the bereaved family members. I wish the people who are affected recover fast. AFP The government must provide the necessary medical facilities and extend financial assistance to the families of the deceased," Kalyan said in a statement. BCCL He said that the disaster, which occurred at RR Venkatapuram in Visakhapatnam, is heartrending. Agencies "Accidents are taking place very often in the limits of Visakhapatnam. The government must check the protective and pollution control measures immediately. These accidents are occurring repeatedly even after the requests to the officials to take action against the leakage of poisonous gases from the industries as people are facing health hazards," Kalyan said. He has also sent two of his team members to monitor the situation. In a series of tweets, he wrote: , , LG Polymers Industrial accident issue ki , GVMC . pic.twitter.com/KsfNODtu8B Pawan Kalyan (@PawanKalyan) May 7, 2020 Two of our General Secretaries ( Sri.Shiv Shankar & Sri Bolisetti Satya ) who hails from North coastal Andhra are monitoring the poisonous gas leak incident in Visakhapatnam. Pawan Kalyan (@PawanKalyan) May 7, 2020 Janasena demands for an Industrial safety audit in Visakhapatnam and North Coastal Andra. Pawan Kalyan (@PawanKalyan) May 7, 2020 I also appeal to EAS Sarma garu and Janapareddy Ratnam garu to demand for an industrial safety audit in these polluted industrial zones. Pawan Kalyan (@PawanKalyan) May 7, 2020 He added, "State Pollution Control Board must act tough with responsibility about the public health and environmental protection without any apathy. I advised my party leaders to prepare a report on the accident and other industries that are causing pollution." Agencies Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh government has said that the state machinery swung into action immediately after the incident, evacuated people and rushed those who fell ill to nearby hospitals. This comes after at least 10 people lost their lives and about 800 were admitted to hospitals after styrene gas leak took place at LG Polymers industry in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam on Thursday morning. Principal Investigator Efthyia Zesta and her team will study how Earth's upper atmospheric layers react to the ever-changing flow of solar energy into the magnetosphere with the Dione CubeSat mission. Todd Bonalsky (right) is providing the magnetometer system. Credit: NASA/W. Hrybyk NASA has selected a new pathfinding CubeSat mission to gather data not collected since the agency flew the Dynamics Explorer in the early 1980s. The new mission, called Dione after the ancient Greek goddess of the oracles, will carry four miniaturized instruments to study how Earth's upper atmospheric layers react to the ever-changing flow of solar energy into the magnetospherethe enveloping bubble of magnetic field around Earth that deflects most of the particles that erupt from the Sun. Earth's upper atmosphere is where most low-Earth-orbiting satellites reside, and their orbits are strongly affected by sudden density changes created by space weather. Expected to launch in 2022, Dione will help give scientists insights into these physical processeswhich contribute to atmospheric drag, a process that causes low-Earth-orbiting satellites to prematurely reenter the atmosphereand provide data needed to improve space weather forecasts. "As more aspects of everyday lives depend on the predictable functioning of satellites in low-Earth orbit, the understanding and ability to forecast the impact of space weather on these assets has become a national security need," said mission Principal Investigator Eftyhia Zesta, a scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "Measurements traditionally gathered by larger, more costly satellites must now be accomplished by thinking out of the boxor rather inside a CubeSat box. Dione will open the way for accomplishing exactly that." The pathfinding Dione spacecraft is a prototype. It would complement the conceptual Geospace Dynamics Constellation, a mission proposed by the 2013 Heliophysics Decadal Survey, which, if developed, would gather similar data from multiple similarly equipped spacecraft, Zesta said. "Our team wants to show we can do this type of measurement with a CubeSat and eventually fly Dione-type spacecraft in a constellation," Zesta said. With a constellation, scientists could collect simultaneous, multi-point observations of Earth's ionosphere and thermosphere, to learn more particularly how these upper atmospheric layers respond to energy dumped from the magnetosphere. Dione will gather data not collected since NASA's dual-spacecraft Dynamics Explorer mission launched in the early 1980s. Credit: NASA First Data Since the Dynamics Explorer Dione will provide the first set of energy input data and ionospheric-thermospheric data in more than three decades. "We haven't gathered this type of specific data since NASA launched the Dynamics Explorer in 1981," said Zesta, whose team includes Deputy Principal Investigator Marilia Samara and Dione System Engineer Jaime Esper as well as a number of Goddard and university scientists providing the instruments. The Dynamics Explorer consisted of two satellites that investigated interactions between plasmas in the magnetosphere and those in Earth's ionosphere. However, it will accomplish these goals with distinct differences. Where the Dynamics Explorer gathered data maybe once every three orbits, Dione will collect measurements from successive orbits due to Dione's lower power requirements and miniaturized systems. It will also do this from a much smaller platforma shoebox-sized, 6U platform that leverages experience gained from the Goddard-developed Dellingr spacecraft. A team of Goddard engineers and scientists specifically developed Dellingr to improve the reliability and robustness of these tiny spacecraft, but at a dramatically reduced cost. Dellingr launched in 2017. Densely Packed Platform "This will be perhaps the most densely packed CubeSat ever flown," Esper added. "We're flying four science instruments and one engineering experiment in a 6U CubeSat. That's very unusual." Three of the instruments will be provided by Goddard; all were developed with funding from Goddard's Internal Research and Development program and all have either flown or are slated to fly during upcoming CubeSat or suborbital missions. They include a flight-proven fluxgate magnetometer, which debuted on Dellingr's maiden flight, and the Ion-Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS), another instrument that flew on Dellingr as well as on a National Science Foundation-funded mission called ExoCube. On both Dellingr and ExoCube, the INMS was slated to measure the matter that creates atmospheric drag on satellites. Goddard's third contribution, the Dual Electrostatic Analyzer will fly on Endurance, a pioneering mission that will directly measure a particular component of Earth's electrical field generated in the ionosphere. Utah State University and Virginia Tech are providing the fourth instrument, the Gridded Retarding Ion Distribution Sensor (GRIDS). GRIDS is designed to measure the distribution, motion, and velocity of ions and will fly on the Goddard-developed PetitSat mission scheduled to launch in 2021. Zesta said she conceived the Dione concept several years ago while still working with the U.S. Air Force. "I came to NASA (in 2012) and the dream didn't die," Zesta said. Explore further CubeSat instruments to demonstrate NASA firsts More information: For more information about Goddard technology, go to: For more information about Goddard technology, go to: www.nasa.gov/sites/default/fil al_web_version_0.pdf The mentally ill mother and son had barricaded themselves inside their home Detective Inspector Anderson was stabbed by Barbieri's son in a 2012 siege She plead guilty in 2014 to the manslaughter of police officer Bryson Anderson Fiona Barbieri was sentenced to a minimum of six-and-a-half years in prison Fiona Barbieri was sentenced to a minimum of six-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty in 2014 to the manslaughter of a police officer A former American Express executive has been refused parole after serving her minimum term for the killing of policeman during a siege at a rural Sydney property. Fiona Barbieri was sentenced to a minimum of six-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty in 2014 to the manslaughter of Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson. The officer was stabbed during the December 2012 siege by Barbieri's son Mitchell. Mitchell Barbieri, then 19, was sentenced for murder to a minimum 15 years behind bars after successfully appealing his initial 26-year non-parole sentence. Police were called to the Oakville property when Mitchell Barbieri shot an arrow at an electrician installing floodlights at a neighbour's property. The mentally ill mother and son then barricaded themselves inside their home. Det Insp Anderson spoke with the increasingly belligerent son through a rear door, warning him police had a warrant to enter and he was under arrest. Mitchell Barbieri later lunged at Det Insp Anderson with a knife when police forced entry, stabbing him in the chest and face. Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson was stabbed by Barbieri's son Mitchell during the December 2012 The 45-year-old died in Hawkesbury Hospital less than an hour later. An inquest in 2018 found police failed to adequately assess risks before entering the Barbieri home and officers were not adequately informed of Mitchell Barbieri's suicidal tendencies or access to hunting knives. They had been informed Fiona Barbieri was unarmed and paranoid. The NSW State Parole Authority on Thursday refused Fiona Barbieri's parole bid, stating there was a need for further psychiatric reporting and her release would be inappropriate. 'The SPA has been informed that while in custody, Barbieri has been receiving psychiatric and psychological treatment and is on medication,' it said in a statement. 'In making its determination today, the SPA panel took into consideration a Community Corrections report and a submission opposing parole from the commissioner of Corrective Services. 'The panel also considered submissions made by the victim's family.' Mitchell Barbieri's appeal hearing heard police seized a large volume of material from the squalid Barbieri home after the killing, among them letters to Russian President Vladimir Putin. They revealed 'a complex delusional belief system alleging corruption, persecution and perceived grievances of a wide-ranging nature', according to a psychiatrist. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 18:34:16|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Students walk in line to enter a primary school in Hohhot, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, May 7, 2020. Students of fourth, fifth and sixth grades of primary schools in Hohhot resumed class on Thursday. (Xinhua/Bei He) Concerned over Italy-Malta migrant pressure, commissioner Asks other EU states to help (ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, MAY 7 - EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson said Thursday in a EU Parliament hearing that migrants have resumed using small boats to try to reach Italy and Malta. She stressed that she was concerned about their safety and the pressure that this is putting once more on Italy and Malta. She noted that there was also a resumption of migratory pressure on the Canary Islands. The EU commissioner noted that she had asked EU interior ministers to help out with the situation more.(ANSAmed). Nearly 40 health centers across Massachusetts will be able to offer more COVID-19 testing with an influx of funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The departments Health Resources and Services Administration has awarded $15,909,257 to health centers in the state to expand testing while nationally $583 million have been awarded to 1,385 health centers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and eight U.S. territories to support their testing capacity. Widespread testing is a critical step in reopening America, and health centers are vital to making testing easily accessible, especially for underserved and minority populations," said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar in a prepared statement. "Further, because health centers can help notify contacts of patients who test positive, they will continue playing an important role in cooperating with state and local public health departments. The funding is part of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump on April 24. The legislation provides funding for small businesses and individuals financially affected by COVID-19, additional funding for hospitals and healthcare providers, and increased testing capabilities to help track the spread and impact of the coronavirus. In Western Massachusetts the city of Springfield will receive $146,404, Caring Health Center in Springfield will receive $391,969, Holyoke Health Center will receive $429,985, and the Community Health Center of Franklin County in Greenfield will receive $222,589. Health centers are a first line of defense, as they are testing for coronavirus and delivering high-quality primary care to our nations most vulnerable populations. said Tom Engels, administrator for the Health Resources and Services Administration. With this funding health care centers can purchase of personal protective equipment; training for staff, outreach, procurement and administration of tests; laboratory services; notifying identified contacts of infected health center patients of their exposure to COVID-19; and the expansion of walk-up or drive-up testing capabilities. Related content: GENEVA -- Coronavirus patients declared recovered who later test positive for the disease are still expelling dead lung cells rather than getting a new infection, the World Health Organization (WHO) told AFP on Wednesday. South Korean health officials reported more than 100 such cases in April, raising concerns that patients who had recovered could become reinfected. "We are aware that some patients test positive after they clinically recover," a WHO spokesperson told AFP, without making specific reference to the South Korean cases. "From what we currently know -- and this is based on very recent data -- it seems they these patients are expelling left over materials from their lungs, as part of the recovery phase." People infected with the new coronavirus build up antibodies starting a week or so after infection or the onset of symptoms, research has shown. But it is still not clear, experts say, whether the body systematically builds up enough immunity to ward off a new attack by the virus or, if it does, how long such immunity lasts. As for the recovered patients who tested negative and then, weeks later, positive, more research is needed, according to the WHO. "We need systematic collection of samples from recovered patients to better understand how long they shed live virus," the spokesperson said. "We also need to understand if this means they can pass the virus to other people -- having live virus does not necessarily mean it can be passed to another person." In a recent interview with BBC, infectious disease epidemiologist Maria Van Kerhove, part of the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, explained the "dead cell" scenario. "As the lungs heal, there are parts of the lung that are dead cells that are coming up. These are fragments of the lungs that are actually testing positive," she said. "It is not infectious virus, it's not reactivation. It is actually part of the healing process." "Does that mean they have immunity? Does that mean they have a strong protection against reinfection? We don't know the answer to that yet." For some viruses, such as the measles, those who contract it are immune for life. For other coronaviruses such as SARS, immunity lasted from a few months to a couple of years. The pandemic has now killed more than 257,000 people globally and officially infected nearly 3.7 million, although with only the most serious cases being tested the number is believed to be far higher. Lionsgate has enlisted film stars Anil Kapoor, Ananya Panday and Sanya Malhotra to participate in this initiative. Lionsgate India has announced that it will be livestreaming some of its hit movies as part of a new initiative to raise funds for people impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The studio has partnered with Facebook for the initiative "Lionsgate Live! A Night at The Movies" during which it will screen a Hollywood blockbusters on four Fridays starting 8 May. Check out the announcement here In partnership with @Facebook and @GiveIndia, Lionsgate India brings to you, Lionsgate LIVE: A night at the movies. An initiative to raise funds for frontline workers through a community movie watching experience. Be a part of the initiative, stay tuned for further details! pic.twitter.com/xla8yQe2Pa Lionsgate India (@LionsgateIndia) May 6, 2020 The movies to be screened are Jennifer Lawrence-starrer The Hunger Games, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson's Twilight, heist movie Now You See Me 2 and Wonder, starring Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson and Jacob Tremblay. Lionsgate has enlisted popular film stars Anil Kapoor, Ananya Panday and Sanya Malhotra to participate in this initiative. Viewers can watch these films with their friends and family during the livestreaming and can also donate by pressing the button next to the video. All the proceeds from the initiative will go towards NGO GiveIndia. "This will be a unique opportunity for viewers to extend their support and donate for this charitable cause. Moreover, we are delighted to have Ananya Panday, Sanya Malhotra and Anil Kapoor on board who will help us to spread awareness of this ground-breaking initiative," Rohit Jain, Managing Director Lionsgate South Asia, said in a statement. The first special train from Delhi carrying around 1,200 migrants who were stranded in the national capital due to the COVID-19-induced lockdown will leave for Madhya Pradesh on Thursday night, officials said "About 1,200 migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh staying in shelter homes in Delhi will leave for their native state," an official said. The Delhi government is also in talks with Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to run special trains for migrant workers from the two states who wish to return, the official added. The special train will leave for Madhya Pradesh at 8 pm on Thursday. The official said that migrant workers leaving for Madhya Pradesh are being screened by authorities. Around 10,000 migrant workers are staying in government-run shelters in the national capital. Recently, the government had appointed Principal Secretary (Social Welfare) P K Gupta as the nodal officer to facilitate the movement of migrant workers to their native states. "Migrant workers who wish to go to their native states will be sent. We are also in talks with governments of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh," another official said. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a nationwide lockdown in wake of coronavirus outbreak in March, thousands of migrated workers started leaving for their native places. However, they were stopped by authorities and shifted to makeshift shelters across the city. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Video conference on Sino-British science and innovation By:Wu Qiong | From:english.eastday.com | 2020-05-07 10:25 A video conference on scientific research and innovation was held on May 4, Chinas Youth Day, for Chinese youngsters in the UK. Four special guests were invited to deliver speeches at the conference. They were: Dr. Wu Yijiang, an innovation executive at a multinational IT company; Dr. Yang Zongyin, a nanophotonics researcher at the Cambridge Graphene Centre; Dr. Shen Boyang, a researcher at the University of Cambridge and winner of the IEEE Graduate Study Fellowship in Applied Superconductivity; and Yuan Xinjie, a doctoral student at University College London. Apart from sharing their own stories in the UK, the speakers talked about the trend of scientific and technological innovation and its profound impact on human society. As COVID-19 is still raging across the globe, topics also included what scientific technology can do to help control the pandemic and make contributions to peoples health. Speaking of the significance of the video conference, Dr. Wu Yijiang said it was very meaningful to attend the event on Youth Day. With fire in heart and light in eyes, we in the bloom of youth have the right to choose our dreams, commented Wu. Dr. Yang Zongyin shared his research result: the invention of the worlds smallest mini-spectrometer, which is one thousandth the size of the smallest spectrometer currently available on the market. As he said, there were tough times in the research project and many times he had the mind of giving up, but he still carried on and won success. According to Dr. Shen Boyang, who specializes in superconducting technology, more and more top-tier research projects in the UK will be carried out with Chinese researchers, as China can provide more economical scientific research materials and the most advanced technology. China plays a significant role on the world arena and working with China will be an increasing trend in the future, said Shen. Yuan Xinjie from University College London introduced renewable energy, fuel cells and their applications, the CCHP (Combined Cooling Heating Power) system and its advantages, and discussed what we can do in terms of energy security during the pandemic outbreak. The video conference was initiated by the British Chamber of Commerce Shanghai, with the aim of inspiring more Chinese youngsters who are living or studying in the UK to commit more to their work and enhance the Sino-British cooperation in science and innovation. LOS ANGELES, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 300 Los Angeles hotels have volunteered more than 30,000 rooms to the LA County Department of Public Health and other agencies as temporary shelter to support the region's COVID-19 response, the Hotel Association of Los Angeles announced today. About 4,000 rooms are under contract, including more than 400 rooms at a large downtown hotel, to protect and isolate population segments vulnerable to the coronavirus outbreak. An additional 2,500 rooms are working through the contracting process as the County ensures proper staffing of trained personnel, indemnification for properties and insurance and liability coverage. "LA hotels have stepped up across the board in unprecedented ways to support our LA community during this crisis," said Heather Rozman, Executive Director of the Hotel Association of Los Angeles. "As various levels of government and supporting agencies are finally working together, the contracting process to get rooms online and vulnerable people houses is speeding up." Although the available 30,000 rooms are well above the County's request for 15,000 rooms, HALA continues to call upon the local hotel community to respond to this health crisis despite the hardships hotels and their employees face as the tourism economy has been hard hit. An estimated 15,000 LA hotel employees are without work and at least 157 hotels have suspended operations since the pandemic outbreak. It's important that hotels can reopen when it is safe so LA's No. 1 industry can bring employees back to work, host worldwide visitors and provide much needed tax dollars for critical city services. "We are doing everything we can to ensure the well-being of the LA community now while preparing for a recovery that provides so many economic benefits for our city," Rozman said. About the Hotel Association of Los Angeles The Hotel Association of Los Angeles has advocated for the Los Angeles lodging industry for more than 70 years through legislative support, coalition building, lobbying and public advocacy. Its members represent a cross-section of the lodging industry, including owners, managers, suppliers and vendors. Media Inquiries: Pete Hillan Phone: 831-227-5984 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Hotel Association of Los Angeles An influential American Congressman on Wednesday introduced a legislation in the House of Representatives that would prevent predatory investments of American companies by the Chinese government. Introduced by Congressman Jim Banks, member of the House Armed Services Committee, the Restricting Predatory Acquisition During COVID-19 Act would expand the scope of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review purchases by companies with ties to the Chinese Communist Party during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Our job is to ensure the Chinese Communist Party does not profit off a pandemic of their own making. President Trump won an election vowing to stop China from taking advantage of Americans. I am glad to be working with him now to stop Chinese predation," Banks said in a statement. The bill proposes to increase the scope of cases the CFIUS reviews and sends to the president prior to a financial transaction. It will prevent companies with ties to the People's Republic of China from owning more than 51 per cent of shares in the critical infrastructure, as defined by the Defense Production Act of 1950, organisations engaged in the production and dissemination of media, or entities otherwise determined to be critical to national security, critical infrastructure, or culturally significant by the president. Congressman Sharice Davids on Wednesday introduced a legislation to rapidly increase the supply of equipment like face masks, hospital gowns, ventilators and testing materials needed to fight the coronavirus and keep the frontline workers safe. The bill would also promote manufacturing these goods in the United States. "We have seen first hand that relying on China to produce the vast majority of medical equipment we use in the US is a big problem," Davids said. "It has led to shortages, price gouging and a surge in counterfeit products. Companies across Kansas want to help fill the gaps in production, but too often they have faced barriers that have stopped them in their tracks. The Supplies Act will cut the government red tape, keep people at work and help companies, so they can help us," Davids said. In the Senate, US Senators Mitt Romney, Jim Risch, Todd Young, David Perdue and Marco Rubio introduced the Multilateral Aid Review (MAR) Act of 2020 to review and improve the accountability and effectiveness of US participation in international organisations. The MAR Act would establish an inter-agency task force with peer review to conduct an evaluation of how well multilateral institutions carry out their missions and how they serve American interests and taxpayers. "It is in our nation's best interest that we have accountability and transparency of our investments in international organisations," Romney said. "As China pursues its predatory path on the world stage, this legislation can help equip the US to prioritise our investments in a way that aligns with our foreign policy objectives and counters China's efforts to gain influence in international organisations," he said. "As the world's most generous humanitarian and development donor, it is important that the United States knows where our taxpayers' dollars are going," Risch said. "The MAR Act will require a report from a Multilateral Review Task Force, which will provide the necessary insight to make informed decisions on how to prioritise our financial contributions. As we have seen most recently with questionable actions taken by the World Health Organisation in response to the spread of COVID-19, it is critically important to have accountability and oversight of our assistance," he added. "The coronavirus pandemic has shed new light on China's disturbing behaviour and growing influence within international, multilateral organisations. As China's influence grows in these organisations, US taxpayers are on the hook and we must ensure our tax dollars are being spent to advance America's interests both at home and abroad. "We are facing significant global challenges such as the coronavirus pandemic, human rights abuses, nuclear proliferation and global economic crises, but these challenges do not mean that we should blindly contribute to these organisations," Senator Young said. "Americans deserve both transparency and accountability for how their tax dollars are being spent and by establishing this new Multilateral Review Task Force, we will be able to better understand and determine whether our interests and values are being upheld and advanced by organisations like the World Health Organisation," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Afghan forces bust joint 'Daesh-Haqqani' terror cell Iran Press TV Wednesday, 06 May 2020 3:42 PM Afghanistan's security forces in two separate raids have busted a sleeper cell that was jointly run by the Afghan branch of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group and Haqqani network, the most ruthless branch of Taliban. In a statement released on Wednesday, the National Directorate of Security (NDS) said five militants were killed and eight others detained when security forces stormed two hideouts one in the capital Kabul and the other outside the city. The cell had been involved in carrying out several deadly attacks on places of worship across the country. "This joint cell of Daesh and Haqqani network had carried out major attacks in the capital, including an attack on a Sikh temple in March," the NDS said. In March, over two dozen people were killed when heavily-armed gunmen stormed the temple in Kabul where worshippers were offering morning prayers. The attack was claimed by the IS-K, the Afghan branch of Daesh. Sikhs are a small religious minority in Afghanistan. About 1,000 Sikhs and Hindus are estimated to reside in the overwhelmingly-Muslim country. Also in 2018, a bomb attack targeting the Sikh community killed more than a dozen people in the eastern city of Jalalabad. Daesh claimed responsibility. The Daesh-Haqqani cell was also behind a rocket attack that targeted the swearing-in ceremony of President Ashraf Ghani, the NDS said. The members of the cell had also killed several Afghan officials and fired rockets at Bagram, the US military's largest base in Afghanistan. Afghan officials have long accused the Haqqani network of carrying out major attacks claimed by or blamed on the IS-K. Afghanistan's intelligence agents have long believed that the Haqqanis were either aiding the IS-K in carrying out attacks or actually conducting attacks in their name. "If they are now caught side by side in the same trench as the NDS says... this could be an alarming development," said Atiqullah Amarkhail, a former Afghan army general-turned-security analyst. "It may indicate that even if the Taliban one day agrees to reduce or end violence, the actual violence perpetrated by more radical groups like Daesh and Haqqanis may continue." Late last year, Afghan officials said the IS-K had been completely defeated in Nangarhar, a key eastern province where it had first sought to establish a stronghold in 2015. The Haqqani network operates on both the Pakistani and Afghan side of the border. It has been behind some deadly attacks against civilians, security forces and NATO forces in the Afghan capital over the past decade. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Liberty Media appears determined to keep all ten of the current teams in business throughout the corona crisis. Williams finished dead last in 2019 and many fear that the once-great British team is most at risk of going out of business amid the sport's shutdown. "It's scary that you could not just lose one or two teams, but an awful lot of teams if you don't get back racing," team boss Claire Williams told Sky. But McLaren supremo Zak Brown told F1 business journalist Christian Sylt that F1's owner, Liberty Media, is paying normal income to the teams even though there are no races taking place. "Liberty is paying out against their forecast," Brown told the Guardian. "They are paid up 100 percent." However, the marketing expert admitted that the other part of the teams' revenue - sponsorship - is looking "really tough". And so he is fully supportive of F1's plans to at least stage 'ghost races' from July. Brown said it is "looking like the first race will be in Austria". "If that can all go off without a hitch I think you have got some momentum and energy back," he added. (GMM) As states resort to a variety of means and sources to procure the necessary equipment needed to respond to the coronavirus, questions about the role of the Strategic National Stockpile have arisen.Washington state, like so many other states, has experienced a dire shortage of life-saving medical supplies and has loosened contracting rules and recruited volunteers from the private sector to aid with procurement, according to a Seattle Times story today.Stockpile experts have said for years the country is not ready for a pandemic and would face shortages of equipment as is the case now. So where does the Strategic National Stockpile come into play?The stockpile, when it was developed, was as a supplement to state and local supplies during different types of public health emergencies. It was never meant to be the sole source of supplies, said Deborah Radi, manager of public health emergency preparedness for the Minnesota Department of Health. It wasnt designed for a whole pandemic like were facing now.The Strategic National Stockpile was born out of bioterrorism fears and initially included supplies to respond to such an event. It evolved over the years to include supplies that might be needed to respond to disasters like floods and tornadoes and included equipment for pandemics, such as ventilators and masks.It was tapped after the H1N1 flu virus response on 2009 but not restocked.People who somehow believed it was a bottomless pit filled with everything they can imagine were not paying attention, Tara OToole, a physician and former Department of Homeland Security official, told CNN this week.Like other issues in emergency preparedness and homeland security, interest, and thus funding, spikes after an event and then wanes as the public loses interest. This happens to the stockpile resources as well.Every time we have a really large incident, whether its COVID-19 today or the H1N1 and everything in between, everyone starts thinking about having stockpiles and caches in our warehouses, Radi said. States will do that for a while, but theyve run into the same problem in that its expensive to maintain caches.You have an increase in funding when you have a national event and then it goes back down, which depending on which state youre in and how much funding you get isnt always something you can maintain, she said.The competition in the United States for personal protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic is such that if one first responder gets an N-95 mask, it means that someone elsewhere, a first responder or health-care worker, missed out on it.Its a quandary when people say, Well the federal government should buy all this stuff, Radi said. That is an option but then that takes it out of the supply chain for hospitals and other health-care facilities that would be purchasing. Which is better, not buying everything up and keeping the supply chain going for health care or do what theyre trying to do now which is a combination of alternate sources that may be outside of the supply chain? Working together in Belize - support for schools and young Belizeans is one of Chaa Creek's community outreach initiatives Cooperation is written into our DNA Belize, like most developing countries dependent upon tourism, continues to be severely impacted by the global travel shutdown. However , The Lodge at Chaa Creek sees a silver lining in the number of Belizeans stepping up to help each other get through difficult times. Theres no doubt that these are challenging times, but seeing how people are sharing the burden and helping each other out really lifts our spirits, Chaa Creeks Managing Director Bryony Fleming Bradley said. Just seeing so many people who are struggling themselves right now, but still reaching out and sharing what they have, and with a smile, is incredibly uplifting. she added. Ms Bradley said there are many examples of large and small Belizean businesses, and individuals from all walks of life pitching in to help each other. A small company in Corozal near Belizes northern border, the countrys beer brewer and soft drink distributor, and a jewellery designer near the western border, are just a few of these examples, she said. Crispy Bites, a small Corozal company specialising in tortillas and corn chips, established an outdoor free little pantry, posting that: If you genuinely need something to eat, or an ingredient to help you cookfeel free to stop by and grab something If you have some extra pantry products, feel free to leave a little blessing for those that need as well. If you have homegrown produce you would like to bring to put in the pantry and take something you might need, it will be greatly appreciated too. The Free Little pantry took off, and in the first days gave out 75 one-pound bags of flour, rice and beans, as well as bags of eggs, tortilla chips, onions and other provisions. Bowen and Bowen, Belizes brewer of Belikin beer and stout, is donating hospital beds and a range of medical equipment that includes ventilators, PPEs, masks, and chemical reagents for COVID testing worth some half-million Belize dollars (one quarter million USD). A San Ignacio based artist, jeweller and small shop owner, Khadija Assales, began putting together packages to assist families in the Cayo District. She was soon assisted by the Cayo Tour Guides Association and the Belize Tourism Board in distributing packages of food, household and hygienic goods to families in need. Other donors ranging from the Belize Hotel Association, poultry farms, sugar cane growers and numerous individuals have also stepped up. These, Ms Bradley said, are just a few of many examples. Chaa Creek staff members, like many Belizeans, are using what would otherwise be called down time to volunteer for various projects and responses, including joining a volunteer fire brigade to help fight a spate of recent forest fires, she said. And this level of cooperation is built into the national consciousness, she added. From Belizes early days as a remote British Crown Colony, and then as the only English-speaking nation in Caribbean Central America, Belizeans have always relied on each other to get by. You see this in that age-old, uniquely Belizean expression of hand wash hand. More recently, after Belize achieved independence in 1981, the same year my parents turned our farm at Chaa Creek into Belizes first eco-resort, all these new mom and pop businesses came together and cooperated to create Belizes tourism industry. For a little country no one heard of, and with no marketing budget, it was quite an achievement. Thats why Im optimistic that, as a nation, well continue pulling together to get through this pandemic, and come back stronger than ever. Cooperation is written into our DNA, Ms Bradley said. The Lodge at Chaa Creek is a multi-award winning eco resort set within a 400-acre private nature reserve along the banks of the Macal River in Belize. It was recognised by National Geographic with first place honours at the 2017 World Legacy Awards held in Berlin. ENDS Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 23:59:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Public security organs across China Thursday launched a campaign against telecom fraud, arresting 798 suspects and shutting down 57 illegal text message platforms. According to the Ministry of Public Security, the campaign focused on telecom fraud suspects claiming to be able to offer loans to victims. A total of 15 provincial regions were involved in these cases, including Beijing and Shanghai, the ministry said. The criminal groups used text messages to spread links to their fraud apps, the ministry said, noting that such cases have appeared frequently this year. Enditem [May 07, 2020] AbacusNext Partners with Top Legal Organizations to Support Front-line Health Care Workers Parties will provide free software and legal services to medical workers during the COVID-19 pandemic SAN DIEGO, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AbacusNext, a leading technology provider for legal, accounting and compliance-focused professionals, today announced its partnership with Dykema Gossett PLLC, the Chicago Bar Association and the Alabama State Bar to provide free software and legal services to front-line medical staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. AbacusNext and its partners are proud to announce the Estate Plans for First Responders initiative, which allows health care workers to prepare legal documentssuch as a will, living will, estate plan and health care power of attorneyquickly and remotely, without the need to meet with an attorney in person. Virtual interviews, the newest feature in HotDocs Advance document automation software, enable this process by allowing legal firms to conduct interviews with clients online. The initiative is an expansion of the Wills for Heroes program , which provides free legal services to firefighters, police personnel and other first responders. AbacusNext will provide free licenses to HotDocs Advance to its partners, which will in turn provde free legal counsel to individuals to help them make the best decisions for themselves and their families. All attorneys are provided with training on how to use HotDocs software and become familiar with the accompanying document templates. The Chicago Bar Association is very grateful to our partners at AbacusNext for making it possible for us to quickly launch a user-friendly virtual platform to serve first responders and essential health care workers during this time, says Jennifer Byrne, Young Lawyers Section director of the Chicago Bar Association. Its a great example of how the legal community and its supporting vendors can come together to make a positive difference in the community. Christy Crow, president of the Alabama State Bar, also states, The Alabama State Bar is proud to have been a longtime partner of AbacusNext in our Wills for Heroes program. The current pandemic has revealed a new kind of hero to us all: the front-line medical responder. Were pleased to be able to partner with AbacusNext again to honor these heroes and provide them some peace of mind while they are providing our communities much needed health care. Scott Johnson, chief executive officer at AbacusNext, adds, Our partnership with these esteemed organizations will provide much-needed support to front-line medical staff. Our hope is that, by streamlining the preparation of necessary legal documentation, we can allow these individuals to focus on their work and families. Organizations interested in participating in the program can contact Jim Raynoha at [email protected]. About AbacusNext AbacusNext is a leading technology provider for legal, accounting and compliance-focused professionals, offering a complete suite of practice management, payment processing and document automation solutions with on-site, public and private cloud hosting options. With over 100,000 users across 60 countries, we have been recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of Americas fastest-growing private companies. To learn more, visit abacusnext.com . Media Contact Vicki LaBrosse Edge Legal Marketing for AbacusNext [email protected] 651.552.7753 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] OAKVILLE, ON, May 7, 2020 /CNW/ - Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. ("APUC") (TSX/NYSE: AQN) announced today that the Board of Directors has approved a dividend increase of U.S. $0.0564 annually per common share to a total dividend of U.S. $0.6204 per common share, paid quarterly at a rate of U.S. $0.1551 per common share. APUC also announced today that the Board of Directors has declared a dividend of U.S. $0.1551 per share on its common shares, payable on July 15, 2020, to the shareholders of record on June 30, 2020, for the period from April 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020. Shareholders receiving dividends in cash can elect to receive the dividend in Canadian dollars in the amount of C$0.2191. The common share dividend will be paid in cash or, if a shareholder has enrolled in the shareholder dividend reinvestment plan (the "Plan"), dividends will be reinvested in additional common shares ("Plan Shares") of APUC as per the Plan. Plan Shares will be acquired by way of a Treasury Purchase at the average market price as defined in the Plan less a 5% discount. Pursuant to the Income Tax Act (Canada) and corresponding provincial legislation, APUC hereby notifies its common shareholders that such dividends declared qualify as eligible dividends. The quarterly dividends payable on common shares are declared in U.S. dollars. Beneficial shareholders (those who hold common shares through a financial intermediary) who are resident in Canada or the United States may request to receive their dividends in either U.S. dollars or the Canadian dollar equivalent by contacting the financial intermediary with whom the common shares are held. Unless the Canadian dollar equivalent is requested, shareholders will receive dividends in U.S. dollars, which, as is often the case, the financial intermediary may convert to Canadian dollars. Registered shareholders receive dividend payments in the currency of residency. Registered shareholders may opt to change the payment currency by contacting AST Trust Company (Canada) at 1-800-387-0825 prior to the record date of the dividend. The Canadian dollar equivalent of the quarterly dividend is based on the Bank of Canada daily average exchange rate on the day before the declaration date. About Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. APUC is a diversified international generation, transmission and distribution utility with approximately U.S. $11 billion of total assets. Through its two business groups, APUC is committed to providing safe, reliable and cost effective rate-regulated natural gas, water, and electricity generation, transmission and distribution utility services to approximately 805,000 connections in the United States and Canada, and is a global leader in renewable energy through its portfolio of long-term contracted wind, solar and hydroelectric generating facilities representing over 2 GW of installed capacity and more than 1.4 GW of incremental renewable energy capacity under construction. APUC strives to deliver continuing growth through an expanding global pipeline of renewable energy, electric transmission, and water infrastructure development projects, organic growth within its rate-regulated generation, distribution and transmission businesses, and the pursuit of accretive acquisitions. APUC's common shares, Series A preferred shares, and Series D preferred shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols AQN, AQN.PR.A, and AQN.PR.D. APUC's common shares, Series 2018-A subordinated notes and Series 2019-A subordinated notes are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols AQN, AQNA and AQNB. Visit APUC at www.algonquinpowerandutilities.com and follow us on Twitter @AQN_Utilities. SOURCE Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. For further information: Amelia Tsang, Vice President, Investor Relations, Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., 354 Davis Road, Oakville, Ontario, L6J 2X1, E-mail: [email protected], Telephone: (905) 465-4500 Related Links http://www.algonquinpower.com The exodus of migrant labourers from Punjab to their native states will adversely impact the state's industrial and farm sectors, fear industry representatives and farmers. Their apprehensions emerged after more than 8 lakh migrant workers got themselves registered for going back to their home states. The Centre is running 'Shramik' trains to ferry migrants to their respective home states as they were stranded in other states because of the lockdown. Onkar Singh Pahwa, the president of All India Cycle Manufacturers Association on Thursday said the availability of minimum workforce is a prerequisite for the purpose of resumption of industry. He said the Centre has allowed only stranded migrants to be sent back home. But now even those labourers who are not stranded are getting tempted for registration to return to their home states because of the availability of free rail travel, he further said. It is inexplicable that the governments did not foresee the current exodus, triggered by the desperation of the workforce, which is not stranded, Pahwa said. "If bulk migration of workers is not stopped then Punjab will be ruined economically," said Rahul Ahuja, the chairman of the Punjab unit of industry body CII. Gurmeet Singh Kular, the president of Federation of Industrial and Commercial Organisations, said the migration of workers will prove to be a death knell for industrial activities in the state. "There was not even a single death in the state due to hunger. Thus, the propaganda of non-supply of the ration is false and motivated," he said on Thursday. D S Chawla, the President of the United Cycle and Parts Manufacturers Association, said the bulk migration of workers will turn out to be counterproductive for the industry as it will not allow industrial activities to restart. Representatives of All India Cycle Manufacturers Association, Chamber of Industrial & Commercial Undertakings, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and FICO on Thursday appealed to the Centre and state governments to stop the exodus of workers. They also said the state government should reach out to migrant workers to provide whatever assistance they require. Majority of migrant labourers who work in Punjab are from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand.Meanwhile, farmers are equally worried over the fate of paddy sowing which will start next month. Paddy growers said it is going to be a difficult task of paddy transplantation in the wake of labour shortage. Sowing paddy seedlings will be costlier, they added. Sukhdev Singh Khokri Kalan, general secretary, Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) said at least 50 per cent labour which works in paddy sowing season in Punjab is from other states. "Labour is going to be scarce and costly. Farmers will bear the burden of extra financial burden. We appeal to government to allow paddy transplanting now from June 1 so that farmers get time to complete sowing in time and yield is not affected, he said. Paddy transplanting machines are rarely used because most farmers do not have them and moreover, it will be expensive to use them on rent. He said the government must make these machines available to small and marginal farmers through cooperative societies. Paddy is sown over 30 lakh hectares area in Punjab. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Shimla, May 7 : The state-run Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) in Himachal Pradesh has procured 4,000 metric tonnes of peas valued at Rs 9.20 crore in Solan district amid the lockdown due to coronavirus scare, government officials said on Thursday. The district has earned a name in the production of off-season vegetables like capsicum, green peas, beans, cabbage, cauliflower, potato and cucumber that find markets in neighbouring Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and even New Delhi. Since the imposition of the curfew in the state on March 24 to contain the virus, the state has taken initiatives to enable the farmers across Himachal to reach markets and grow preferred crops, a government spokesperson told IANS. He said in Solan district, all 22 agricultural sale centres have been made operational on priority. For this, the Agriculture Department provided mobile numbers to 15 officers posted in the district so as to educate the farmers. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur took special interest to overcome the problems and concerns of the farmers. As per his directions, the Agriculture Department prepared an action plan for crop harvesting in the coming Rabi season and farmers were educated through subject-matter specialists and agricultural extension officers. Such initiatives not only helped the farmers in bringing their produce like peas, cabbage, tomatoes, capsicum etc to the market yards but also ensured that the APMC purchased off-season vegetables and cash crops from the fields itself. According to the spokesperson, from March 24 to May 6, the APMC in Solan purchased 4,000 metric tonnes of peas worth Rs 9.20 crore. It also purchased peas from Sirmaur and Shimla districts and also from Karsog in Mandi district. During this period, the Agriculture Department also ensured harvesting of wheat crop grown on 15,180 hectares in Solan. The farmers were educated about following the social distancing rules. Face masks and hand sanitizers were also provided to farmers engaged in harvesting and other activities. Many farmers of Baniya Devi village in Bakhalag gram panchayat in Arki subdivision said their produce could reach markets only because of timely support by the state and the Solan administration. They also helped them in getting remunerative prices for their produce. Vegetable production is generating revenue of Rs 3,500-4,000 crore annually and has emerged as an alternate economic activity in the horticulture sector in Himachal. The returns on off-season vegetable cultivation are very high compared with traditional food crops. As per the government estimates, off-season vegetables give a net return ranging from Rs 60,000 to Rs 2 lakh per hectare whereas the traditional crops fetch anything between Rs 8,000 and Rs 10,000 per hectare. The off-season vegetable production in the state in 2016-17 reached 16,53,506 tonnes. Due to favourable ago-climatic conditions, the state has already earned a name in the production of off-season vegetables. Between mid-June and September, there is no supply of vegetables to the markets in neighbouring states except for from Himachal Pradesh. The Future Fund has promoted chief investment officer Raphael Arndt to the top job after David Neal resigned as chief executive in February to join fund manager IFM Investors. Dr Arndt has held the role of chief investment officer at the $162 billion sovereign wealth fund since September 2014. He has previously served as investment director with Hastings Funds Management and has also held infrastructure policy positions with both the private sector and the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance. In a statement, the University of Melbourne scholar said he was honoured to be appointed as chief executive. "Investing for the benefit of future generations of Australians, the way we strengthen the governments long-term financial position and the support our investment activity provides to areas such as medical research have never been more important," Dr Arndt said. The Future Fund was established in 2006 to manage funds on behalf of the federal government. Chairman Peter Costello praised the new appointment that had been decided after a global search. JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. You should upgrade or use an You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.You should upgrade or use an alternative browser [May 06, 2020] Barnes & Noble Education Provides Update on COVID-19 Business Impact and Other Matters Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (NYSE: BNED), a leading solutions provider for the education industry, today provided updates on its COVID-19 related business disruption, as well as its ongoing strategic review process. BNED has experienced an unprecedented and significant impact on its business as a result of COVID-19 related campus store closures. The stores pride themselves on being a support system for the campus communities they serve. The Company remains in close contact with academic leadership to ensure it is supporting their needs during this difficult time. While its campus stores are closed, the Company continues to serve institutions and students through its campus websites, providing free shipping on all orders and an expanded digital content offering to provide immediate access to course materials to students at BNED campuses that have closed due to COVID-19. Most importantly, as institutions determine how to conduct their summer and fall semesters, the Company continues to provide valuable solutions that supplement its campus bookstores to help them navigate this time of uncertainty, including the Company's virtual store offerings and course material fulfillment capabilities, its BNC First Day offering, and its digital bartleby offerings to help students continue to excel while studying remotely. To prepare for the safe reopening of its campus stores, the Company has developed a comprehensive reentry program that incorporates social distancing guidelines from the CDC and the WHO to best promote the safety and well-being of staff and customers at each of its campus store locations. BNED plans to reopen its campus stores based on national, state and local guidelines, as well as the campus policies set by the school administration. To mitigate the impact of the business disruption, the Company has taken steps to significantly reduce costs, including furloughing the majority of its Retail workforce. The Company is reviewing its expense and capital spending to prudently manage its liquidity. While there is no assurance that the Company will achieve its objectives and plans, management currently believes that the Company's financial resources, including ongoing access to its credit facility, provide sufficient liquidity to alleviate any near-term need to obtain additional financing to support its business operations. The Company plans to provide additional information when it reports fiscal year 2020 earnings on or about July 9, 2020. The Company also announced that it continues to be actively engaged with its strategic review process. There can be no assurance that the review will result in a transaction or announcement of any kind. The Company does not currently intend to comment further on its strategic review process unless and until the Board has approved a specific course of action or otherwise determined that further disclosure is appropriate or required by law. ABOUT BARNES & NOBLE EDUCATION, INC. Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (NYSE: BNED) is a leading solutions provider for the education industry, driving affordability, access and achievement at hundreds of academic institutions nationwide and ensuring millions of students are equipped for success in the classroom and beyond. Through its family of brands, BNED offers campus retail services and academic solutions, a digital direct-to-stdent learning ecosystem, wholesale capabilities and more. BNED is a company serving all who work to elevate their lives through education, supporting students, faculty and institutions as they make tomorrow a better, more inclusive and smarter world. For more information, visit www.bned.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and information relating to us and our business that are based on the beliefs of our management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to our management. When used in this communication, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "will," "forecasts," "projections," and similar expressions, as they relate to us or our management, identify forward-looking statements. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make, including any statements made in regards to our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the future events and trends discussed in this press release may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect our current views with respect to future events, the outcome of which is subject to certain risks, including, among others: risks associated with COVID-19 and the governmental responses to it, including its impacts across our businesses on demand and operations, as well as on the operations of our suppliers and other business partners, and the effectiveness of our actions taken in response to these risks; general competitive conditions, including actions our competitors and content providers may take to grow their businesses; a decline in college enrollment or decreased funding available for students; decisions by colleges and universities to outsource their physical and/or online bookstore operations or change the operation of their bookstores; implementation of our digital strategy may not result in the expected growth in our digital sales and/or profitability; risk that digital sales growth does not exceed the rate of investment spend; the performance of our online, digital and other initiatives, integration of and deployment of, additional products and services including new digital channels, and enhancements to higher education digital products, and the inability to achieve the expected cost savings; the risk of price reduction or change in format of course materials by publishers, which could negatively impact revenues and margin; the general economic environment and consumer spending patterns; decreased consumer demand for our products, low growth or declining sales; the strategic objectives, successful integration, anticipated synergies, and/or other expected potential benefits of various acquisitions may not be fully realized or may take longer than expected; the integration of the operations of various acquisitions into our own may also increase the risk of our internal controls being found ineffective; changes to purchase or rental terms, payment terms, return policies, the discount or margin on products or other terms with our suppliers; our ability to successfully implement our strategic initiatives including our ability to identify, compete for and execute upon additional acquisitions and strategic investments; risks associated with operation or performance of MBS Textbook Exchange, LLC's point-of-sales systems that are sold to college bookstore customers; technological changes; risks associated with counterfeit and piracy of digital and print materials; our international operations could result in additional risks; our ability to attract and retain employees; risks associated with data privacy, information security and intellectual property; trends and challenges to our business and in the locations in which we have stores; non-renewal of managed bookstore, physical and/or online store contracts and higher-than-anticipated store closings; disruptions to our information technology systems, infrastructure and data due to computer malware, viruses, hacking and phishing attacks, resulting in harm to our business and results of operations; disruption of or interference with third party web service providers and our own proprietary technology; work stoppages or increases in labor costs; possible increases in shipping rates or interruptions in shipping service; product shortages, including decreases in the used textbook inventory supply associated with the implementation of publishers' digital offerings and direct to student textbook consignment rental programs, as well as the risks associated with the impacts that public health crises may have on the ability of our suppliers to manufacture or source products, particularly from outside of the United States; changes in domestic and international laws or regulations, including U.S. tax reform, changes in tax rates, laws and regulations, as well as related guidance; enactment of laws or changes in enforcement practices which may restrict or prohibit our use of texts, emails, interest based online advertising, recurring billing or similar marketing and sales activities; the amount of our indebtedness and ability to comply with covenants applicable to any future debt financing; our ability to satisfy future capital and liquidity requirements; our ability to access the credit and capital markets at the times and in the amounts needed and on acceptable terms; adverse results from litigation, governmental investigations, tax-related proceedings, or audits; changes in accounting standards; and the other risks and uncertainties detailed in the section titled "Risk Factors" in Part I - Item 1A in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 27, 2019. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results or outcomes may vary materially from those described as anticipated, believed, estimated, expected, intended or planned. Subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements in this paragraph. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this press release. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200506006027/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] TORONTO, May 6 (Reuters) - Canadian insurer Sun Life Financial is looking for acquisition opportunities, its chief executive said on Wednesday, even as the company flagged an uncertain sales outlook amid a raft of unknowns driven by the COVID-19 outbreak. "Anything we look at, we'll evaluate against our different scenarios, including our severe stress scenario," Chief Executive Dean Connor said on an analyst call after the company reported earnings that beat estimates on Tuesday. Sun Life also expects to return to buying back shares when restrictions imposed by the regulator on such use of capital end, Connor said. Sun Life shares jumped 7% on Wednesday, compared with a 0.3% gain in the Toronto stock benchmark. (Reporting By Nichola Saminather Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Vietnamese repatriated from the UAE land in the Can Tho International Airport in Can Tho, May 3, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Cuu Long. Vietnam confirmed 17 new Covid-19 cases Thursday evening, all of them repatriated on a flight from the UAE and quarantined upon arrival. Three of them are members of the same family who lived with a Covid-19 patient in Dubai. Of the new cases, six are male and 11 female. One of the patients is an newborn boy and the rest are between 20 and 58 years of age. The new patients are among 297 Vietnamese repatriated from the UAE on Vietnam Airlines flight VN0088 last Sunday. The flight landed at the Can Tho Airport in the Mekong Delta and all passengers were quarantined at a university dorm in nearby Bac Lieu Province. The 17 infected are now treated at the Bac Lieu General Hospital. The flight crew have also been quarantined. Thursday's update has raised Vietnam's infection tally to 288, of which 55 are active. Twenty-one of the active cases have tested negative at least once. Vietnam has ended 21 days without community tranmission of the disease. Officials have said that although the condition inside Vietnam is stable, authorities need to tighten control on all arrivals from abroad. In April and early May, Vietnam has repatriated 1,700 citizens from Canada, Japan, France, Thailand and the UAE. Another 300 Vietnamese are expected to return from Canada, Malaysia and the U.S. by Monday. Around 21,000 people are currently quarantined in Vietnam. Over 6,100 of them are quarantined in hospitals and isolation camps, while the rest are self-isolated at home. The Covid-19 pandemic has spread to 212 countries and territories, with more than 265,600 deaths reported so far. With uncertainty looming over the spring semester exams, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, has asked its students not to believe rumours of cancellation of exams. The administration is yet to take a decision on the matter. On March 28, amid the nationwide lockdown over the Covid-19 outbreak, the institute announced an early summer vacation for students from April 1 to May 31, 2020. It, however, did not clarify the status of the spring semester examinations which are usually held in the month of March. Last week, rumours were rife that the institute had cancelled the exams altogether causing anxiety among many students. However, on Wednesday, IIT Bombay director Subhasis Chaudhuri dispelled the rumours and said a final decision was pending. During the time of such a pandemic, such rumours add to the agony and anxiety of our students who are away from the campus right now. Please stop such fake news. Our Senate will take a decision on this soon and it will be reported on the institutes website and all students will be informed, said Chaudhuri. While academic and research activities remain suspended at the institute since March 14, the institute shut for summer vacations on April 1 and examinations remain deferred. An expert committee formed by the central government last month had suggested that universities hold online examinations. Meanwhile, different IITs have chalked out plans to conduct exams in batches while maintaining the social distancing guidelines laid down by the central government. While IIT Roorkee has prioritised its final year students for the completion of semester, IIT Madras may allow its students to take their exams at the nearest IIT. Thomson Reuters Foundation, May 4, 2020 By Stefanie Glinski In conservative Afghanistan, former dancing boy Farhad leads a double life; married father-of-six by day, cross-dressing dancer and sex worker by night. The practice of "bacha bazi" - translated as "boy play" - involves boys dressing up and dancing at private parties, but it was outlawed in 2017 amid concerns it fostered sexual abuse and servitude of young boys by powerful, older men. Islamic clerics led calls for the centuries-old tradition to be stopped, saying those involved should be stoned for sodomy which is forbidden under Islamic law. Ramesh (name changed), 28, has a wife and three children. He was raped by policemen when he was a teenager. Ramesh, who continues to sleep with men for money, is pictured in Kabul, Afghanistan on July 17, 2019. (Photo: Stefanie Glinski/Thomson Reuters Foundation) Ramesh (name changed), 28, has a wife and three children. He was raped by policemen when he was a teenager. Ramesh, who continues to sleep with men for money, is pictured in Kabul, Afghanistan on July 17, 2019. (Photo: Stefanie Glinski/Thomson Reuters Foundation) "(But bacha bazi) continues to happen and is a grave human rights violation," said Abdul Rasheed, executive director of the non-profit Youth Health and Development Organization (YHDO). "Pressing charges against the perpetrators is almost impossible as many are in a position of power," he added. The YHDO has highlighted how sexual abuse and trafficking of boys was a practice that exploded during Afghanistan's civil war in the 1990s, with boys from rural areas flocking to cities to find work to support families, leaving them vulnerable to abuse. In 2019 aid workers said they were seeing a growing number of children orphaned or forced to work on the streets. But human rights campaigners voiced concerns not only about the abuse of young boys but the impact on those forced into this kind of exploitation in their later lives. Farhad, now 29 - who asked not to be identified by his real name - said he was raped in his early teens by several local police officers but his parents quickly moved from their home city and never wanted to talk about the attack or report it. Shame, or threats from those responsible, prevents most victims of sexual abuse from speaking up in a country where the sexes are strictly segregated and it is common for men to dance for other men at weddings. Psychologist Lyla Schwartz, who works with child victims of rape in war-torn Afghanistan, said harsh parental attitudes meant many abuse victims carried the trauma into adulthood. "Stigma and unsupportive, denying family members make the healing process of being sexually abused even more difficult," she said. 'MY MOTHER BEAT ME' Farhad's friend, Ramesh, 28 - who also spoke on condition of anonymity - was raped when he was 16. "A car with armed militia stopped. They pulled me inside and drove off, announcing to their friends that they had brought 'a beautiful boy'. The men took turns raping me," he said. Ramesh said when his attackers took him home three days later, his family had already guessed what had happened. "My mother beat me and my father wanted to kill me," Ramesh recalled. Weeks later, the family moved from a northern town to the capital. But similar assaults happened in Kabul where he was forced to dance at parties as a "bacha bareesh", translated as a boy without a beard. After Ramesh finished school, he started to have sex with men for money, but he also got married. Today, he has three children but most of his income comes from sex work. "I realised many men wanted to sleep with me and I needed money. I started going home with people and developed an interest. Some are now my clients and pay me; others are friends who I decide to have sex with," he said. Ali Abdi, a PhD candidate at Yale University who has been researching same-sex relations in Afghanistan since 2016, said there could be hundreds of former dancing boys in Kabul making a living as dancers or sex workers. Abdi said in contrast to other sexual abuse victims, all the former dancing boys he had spoken to engaged in sex with men as adults, often leading complicated, confused lives. 'CONSTANTLY WORRIED, CONSTANTLY HIDING' Given the choice, Farhad says he would have had gender-reassignment surgery as he had always wanted to live as a woman but instead he married and lived a double life. "Afghan society puts a lot of pressure on people like us ... We're constantly worried, constantly hiding," Farhad told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, wearing a floral dress and bright lipstick as he spoke at a friend's home in the capital, Kabul. Every morning at his own house in the city, Farhad gets dressed in a traditional Afghan tunic and eats a plate of fried eggs for breakfast before heading out until late for work. He tells his wife and children he has a job as a driver, and while they never ask questions, he assumes they know the truth. Several nights a week, he puts on colourful dresses and make-up, paints his nails and performs as a dancer at private parties, often having sex with men for money afterwards. "I live a double life. I don't identify as a man. If I had the choice, I would undergo a sex change," he said. Farhad said he had made the difficult decision to marry and hide behind a conventional family life because of the potential dangers of being open about his gender identity. "(Being openly) gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender in Afghanistan is to risk abuse, even death," said Human Right Watch's associate Asia director Patricia Gossman. Abdi said the biggest threat often came from relatives. "If a family member finds out about their sexual proclivities, the violence they may experience may be unspeakable," he said. "They might get beaten, sexually abused, raped, kidnapped, and even killed under certain circumstances." Like Farhad, Ramesh said he assumed his wife knew about his secret life. His feet are decorated with henna and he often comes home in the early hours. Neither of them wants to split up their families, and they have no plans to leave Afghanistan, hoping instead that their homeland will gradually become more open and accepting. The weekend is a chance for the two friends to escape, often joining other former dancing boys for drives through the city, or picnics on the hilly outskirts. "It's only during our brief moments together that we forget and that we are free," Ramesh said. The cameras which WWF Armenia has installed in Yenokavan village of Tavush Province have captured a leopard, the WWF Armenia news service has informed in a statement. As per this statement, thus, we can state that the leopard has returned to Tavush Province after a 50-year break. This animal was last seen in the area in the 1970s. Now, Tavush became the fourth province in Armenia where leopards live. Since 2002, the WWF, together with the Ministry of Environment, has been implementing a leopard protection program in Armenia. Later, a number of other partner organizations joined this program. In the 1970s and 1980s, the leopard was quite widespread in Armenia. But over the years, leopard hunting expanded so much that in 1987, the leopard was included in the Armenian SSR Red Book of endangered animals. Currently, there are up to 10 leopards in Armenia. UK universities have urged distressed Indian students, whether still in Britain or in India, to get in touch with their varsity support services if they need help or guidance during the coronavirus related lockdown. On Monday, the Indian government announced plans to begin phased repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad from May 7. Air India will operate 64 flights from May 7 to May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals stranded abroad amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in New Delhi on Tuesday. As the Indian government's first phase of repatriations from the UK to India begins from Thursday, many Indian students in the UK still face a long wait before they can fly home. The UK universities said they wanted them to know that the support continues to be available. "We are aware that many Indian students are concerned about money and accommodation, are missing their families and are understandably distressed to be far from home during this global pandemic. My message to those students is: please, please speak to your university," said Vivienne Stern, Director of Universities UK international, which represents 143 UK university leaders. "We may not be able to fix everything, but there are people on hand who will do everything they can to make things easier for you. Universities are providing support in the form of funding, food, accommodation and advice and guidance. We are in this together, please don't struggle alone," she said. Universities UK said that support offered by universities includes delivering food to students, providing hardship funds for students in financial difficulty, waiving accommodation fees or moving international students into accommodation where they can look after them by providing cleaning, security and catering. Universities are also providing pastoral and mental health support. Jaspreet Singh, an Indian student at Birmingham City University (BCU), had some advice for his fellow BCU students: "I know being an international student how worried our parents can be. I send them regular updates and say I'm safe here. Make sure you are in touch with your lecturers and the amazing support team which BCU has got make sure you use them." Universities UK also highlighted a range of specific steps taken by a snapshot of universities around the UK to support international students who may feel stranded as a result of the coronavirus crisis and need support. The University of Bath has moved all students in university owned accommodation around the city into campus accommodation and is providing three free meals a day to all students who remain on campus. It has also enhanced the availability of financial assistance to students who find themselves in hardship. Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland has implemented a dedicated helpline for students, which operates seven days a week, and has introduced a fund to support students through the COVID-19 crisis as well as waived rent for April and May. Solent University and the University of Bangor have been supporting students stuck in the UK to access hardship funding. Indians make up one of the largest groups of international students from outside the European Union (EU) studying at universities in Britain, after Chinese students. Thousands of these Indian students have found themselves stranded as India imposed a ban on international flights in the middle of March. Indian students' representative groups such as the National Indian Students and Alumni Union UK (NISAU-UK) and Indian National Students Association (INSA) have issued advisories and have been organising food deliveries and other assistance through the lockdown. The UK Home Office had confirmed that any foreign students or professionals on visas that had expired or expiring would be given an extension at least until May 31. Many of the stranded students, from different parts of India including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand, expressed their relief at that extension but remain concerned about the limited resources at their disposal. A ticket on one of the initial seven Air India repatriation flights organised by the Indian government are set to cost around Rs 50,000, which combined with the cost of quarantine to be borne by the passenger on landing in India, is a new cause for worry among this group as they await their turn to be flown back to India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sophia Thomas, the head of the Natl. Assoc. of Nurse Practitioners: 'PPE has been sporadic, but it's been manageable' Donald Trump, a president: 'Sporadic for you, but not sporadic for a lot of other people.' Guess who was correct? The impeached and manifestly wacko tweeter-in-chief, or the nurse who is actually treating Americans who are sick with the novel coronavirus? A Louisiana nurse who serves as the leader of the National Association of Nurse Practitioners told Trump in the Oval Office today, National Nurse Day, that coronavirus protective gear access is 'sporadic.' At an event marking National Nurse Day at the Oval Office, acting U.S. President Donald Trump contradicted a nurse during an exchange about COVID-19 protective gear, which hospitals around the nation are begging for, while the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner flies around in private jets wheeling and dealing over. There is no bottom, there is nothing so deranged he won't do. Trump reproves nurse after she departs from party line on plentiful PPE. She quickly agrees the President is right. pic.twitter.com/YM9UBsMbBm Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) May 6, 2020 At an event marking National Nurse Day at the Oval Office, Pres. Trump told a nurse he's "heard the opposite" when she said the availability of personal protective gear has been "sporadic" "Sporadic for you," he said https://t.co/yR3ttA4W2g pic.twitter.com/GwgPJ7Yd92 CBS News (@CBSNews) May 6, 2020 NEW | Louisiana nurse tells Trump that coronavirus protective gear is 'sporadic.' He pushes back. STORY: https://t.co/aYzaCbqiYN Sophia Thomas: "PPE has been sporadic, but it's been manageable" Donald Trump: "Sporadic for you, but not sporadic for a lot of other people." NOLA.com (@NOLAnews) May 6, 2020 Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ardila Syakriah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 8 2020 Travel safe: Health quarantine officials conduct rapid testing at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, on Thursday. Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi reopened public transportation for certain individuals on Thursday as long as they undergo proper health protocol. The change has no effect on the Idul Fitri mudik (exodus) ban, which will remain in effect. (JP/Seto Wardhana) As countries around the world gradually relax their pandemic policies, Indonesia appears intent on easing its large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) amid claims of a slowing rate of COVID-19 infection. However, experts, pointing to official figures that contradict these claims, warn that the fight is far from over. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 rend: The online conference World Net Summit will be held on May 11-15 by Net Summit LLC with the support of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan, the United Nations Development Programme, SUP VC and the Innoland Incubation and Acceleration Center. The event, consisting of a total of 9 stages, such as the Startup Academy, Monex Summit, Government Address, Baku E-Trade Forum, Maintech Forum, Venture Summit, Creathink, Corporate Innovation Forum and Influencer Summit, will feature over 30 speakers from 15 countries. During the conference, which will be held online because of the COVID-19 pandemic, speeches will be made on innovation strategies of states in the post-pandemic period, steps to be taken by investors, challenges that fintechs face during this period, etc. In addition, representatives of regional innovation centers will discuss the current situation in the startup ecosystem. The online conference will kick off on May 11 with the Startup Academy and Monex Summit events. The Startup Academy stage will be moderated by Director of SUP VC Vusal Karimli. Chairman of Georgias Innovation and Technology Agency Avtandil Kasradze, Chief Executive Director of Startup Estonia Maarika Truu, Astana Hub Chief Executive Director Jospef Ziegler and Chief Executive Director of Startup Lithuania Roberta Rudokiene will participate in the event as speakers. Mount St. Marys University senior Veronica Balick and alumnus and adjunct professor John-Paul Heil, C15, have earned prestigious Fulbright awards to study and conduct research in the United Kingdom and Italy, respectively, in 2020-21. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is designed to provide research, study and teaching opportunities through grants in over 140 countries to recent graduates and graduate students. Balick, C'20, a biology and biochemistry major with a minor in mathematics, is the first Mount undergraduate student to secure a Research/Study Award, and those from the United Kingdom are particularly competitive and impressive to secure. Her award will fully fund a one-year Msc in cancer immunology and biotechnology at the University of Nottingham. Fulbright UK Study Awards are one of the most prestigious and competitive scholarships a student can win. Each UK university offers only one Fulbright scholarship for U.S. citizens, said Assistant Professor of History Jamie Gianoutsos, Ph.D., who directs the universitys Office of Competitive Fellowships. For the University of Nottingham Fulbright Award, Veronica competed against student applicants representing all types of U.S. universities and a vast array of disciplines. This honor speaks to her significant achievements as a student and as a representative of Mount St. Marys University. Balick has earned several competitive awards during her four years at the Mount. She is a 2019-20 Barry M. Goldwater Scholar and won competitive summer internships in an immunology lab at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital and at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research. She also earned the Mounts Founders Scholarship in 2016 and has worked in the lab of Science Department Chair Christine McCauslin, Ph.D., which focuses in transcriptional regulation of the initiation and progression of neuroinflamation in the brain. Balick recently received the universitys Edward J. Flanagan Memorial Prize, which is awarded to the member of the senior class who, in the opinion of the faculty, best represents the traditions of the university in scholarship, academics, service and mission. At the University of Nottingham, Balick will be one of about 15 students studying antibody and vaccine cancer therapies and exploring the immunology of the tumor host interface. The highly selective program, begun in 2005, has received thousands of applicants and graduated more than 150 students, the vast majority of whom have undertaken Ph.D. studies. As part of the program, Balick will conduct a six-month research project in the field of tumor immunology. I see cancer research as a way to serve God and others, and I hope to keep this mindset throughout all future endeavors, said Balick, who currently plans to enter a Ph.D. program for biomedical sciences after her year in the United Kingdom. Whether I pursue doctoral research in the United Kingdom or in the United States, continued international collaboration with British cancer research laboratories will be essential. I hope to be a lead scientist in the field of cancer immunology and contribute to the development of safer and more effective cancer treatment, she explained in her Fulbright application. Among Balicks many skills and talents, Professor McCauslin identified her holistic view of the world as the asset that will best serve her as a Fulbright Scholar. She is sincere in her desire to connect with people around the world to work collaboratively to address issues that deeply impact the lives of every person, wrote McCauslin in her Fulbright recommendation letter. As an academic scientist who has mentored many students over the years, I am thrilled to work with a student of Ms. Balicks caliber and I am confident that she will make a significant and valuable contributions to the scientific community and the world at large over the course of her career. Balick is grateful to the Competitive Fellowships Committee, including Director Gianoutsos, Associate Director and Professor Christine Blackshaw, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor Angy Kallarackal, Ph.D.; Associate Professor Thane Naberhaus, Ph.D.; and Assistant Professor Garth Patterson, Ph.D. She also appreciates the letters of recommendation from Professor McCauslin, Dr. Paulina Velasquez from St. Jude Research Hospital, and Andy Stephen, Ph.D., from the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research. John-Paul Heil This is the second time that Heil, C15, an adjunct professor at the Mount, has received a Fulbright. In his senior year at the Mount, he earned an English Teaching Award to Italy, which he declined to attend the University of Chicagos Ph.D. history program. Heil is one of 11 students who was awarded the Fulbright Open Study/Research Award to Italy for 2020-21. This program will fully fund his doctoral research at the Archivio di Stato di Modena, where he will examine how Renaissance Neapolitan princess Eleonora of Aragon applied her humanist education in virtue to her reign as duchess of Ferrara and how this led to an influx of Neapolitan thinkers in the north of Italy. He hopes to present his findings at the Centro Studi ARCE (Archivio Ricerche Carteggi Estensi) in Bologna and Modena. At the invitation of Professor Carmelo Elio Tavilla at the University of Modena, Heil will participate in graduate community events while he conducts research. "When we think of the Renaissance, especially in Italy in the 15th century, we rarely think of the women of that period as educated agents of change and almost never contextualize strong female leaders like Eleonora within the intellectual, cultural, and especially political worlds which they occupied," Heil explained. "My hope is to show how Eleonora fits in to the moral upheaval that humanists like her teachers from Naples were involved in, an ethical revolution which situated a monarch's legitimacy not in gender or a particular bloodline, but in virtue and classical education." A triple major in history, philosophy and Italian as an undergraduate, Heil won many academic and leadership awards during his time at the Mount, among them the prestigious Flanagan Prize. Upon his return to the United States, he hopes to complete his dissertation on Quattrocento Neapolitan humanist ideas of virtue and vice, to receive his Ph.D. in history at the University of Chicago and to continue to foster his vocation as a teacher of the Catholic intellectual tradition. Heil is appreciative of the Office of Competitive Fellowships support of his Fulbright application as well as advice from Gregory Murry, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the History Department, and Stephen McGinley, lecturer in the Philosophy Department. The submission would not have been a quarter of as good as it ended up being without the help of Christine Blackshaw and Jamie Gianoutsos, Heil said. They helped me with my Fulbright ETA back in the day and they helped me with this. 3 1 of 3 RICARDO B. BRAZZIELL, MBR / Associated Press Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Eric Gay, STF / Associated Press Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that salons and pools would be permitted to open May 8, earlier than initially expected. However, like retailers and restaurants, there are stipulations. With the May 2020 Android security patch, Samsung has fixed a critical zero-click vulnerability that impacted all its smartphones sold since 2014. The security flaw exploited how the companys Android skin handles the Qmage image format (.qmg). Qmage is a custom image format developed by South Korean company Quramsoft. Samsung started supporting .qmg files in its Galaxy smartphones since 2014. The company reportedly uses them in Samsung Themes. However, that implementation apparently had serious vulnerabilities. Mateusz Jurczyk, a security researcher working with Googles Project Zero bug-hunting team, recently discovered a way to exploit it (via ZDNet). Advertisement The vulnerability exploits how Skia (Androids graphics library) handles .qmg images sent to a Samsung smartphone. The bug can be exploited in a zero-click scenario, which means it doesnt need any user interaction. Samsung fixes the zero-click vulnerability with May 2020 update The Android OS redirects all images received by the device to the Skia library for processing and generating thumbnail previews. This happens without a users knowledge. Jurczyk could exploit the bug by sending repeated MMS messages to Samsung phones. Since those images are redirected to the Skia library, he could guess the position of the library in the devices memory. Advertisement Knowing the location of the Skia library means he could then bypass Androids ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization) protection. Once the library was located, one more MMS containing a Qmage file is sent to the phone. This file would then execute the attackers code on the device. Jurczyk says it takes anywhere between 50 and 300 MMS messages to exploit this vulnerability. The process takes about 100 minutes on average. The bug can be exploited through any app that can receive Qmage images, including Samsungs Messages app. The researcher could even get MMS messages fully processed by the Skia library without triggering a notification sound. So fully stealth attacks are very much possible. Advertisement Jurczyk discovered and reported the vulnerability to Samsung in February. The South Korean company eventually patched it with the May 2020 Android security update. The May security maintenance release for Samsung smartphones also contains fixes for 18 other Samsung Vulnerabilities and Exposures (SVE), the vulnerabilities that are exclusive to Samsungs custom Android skin. In addition, it also fixes nine critical and dozens of high and moderate-risk Android OS vulnerabilities. Samsung started rolling out the May 2020 Android security update last week. The update has so far been released for the Galaxy S20, Galaxy Fold, Galaxy Note 10, Galaxy S10, Galaxy Z Flip, and the Galaxy A50 phones. It should also be available to other eligible Galaxy smartphones in the coming weeks. The quality of sleep you get is always important, but even more so in times like these. And to help you deal with your sleep troubles, Audible has launched a brand new slate of content that is perfect to listen to when hitting the sack. Headlined by world-renowned artists like Diddy and Nick Jonas, this slate has been created in part through a collaboration with Arianna Huffingtons Thrive Global and will be offered to listeners, absolutely free of cost. Mindful titles such as Honor Yourself (narrated by Diddy on Sleep) and You are Here (narrated by Gabby Bernstein) will be sure to put your mind at ease. The Perfect Swing, an inspiring bedtime story narrated by Nick Jonas, is the best way to drift off after a long day. 6 Sleep Myths Debunked, narrated by Arianna Huffington, gives you a quick lowdown on how to improve your sleep cycle. Listeners can access this all-new content through the Audible app at Audible.in/Sleep, where they can download these titles, set a sleep timer and cast to their connected devices for hands-free listening. These stories, many of which are penned and voiced by wellness experts, are a treat for your daily sleep rituals. Relaxing bedtime stories, ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) and sound baths (a technique where participants bathe in sound waves produced by the human voice and instruments such as chimes, gongs and drums) promise a soothing experience for adults and children, alike. Shailesh Sawlani, Country Head, Audible India said The world is going through a difficult time, and it is essential to have a sound mind and body, now more than ever. At Audible, we understand that sleep plays a crucial role in managing stress and we believe in the power of audio content to soothe the mind. We are proud to collaborate with some of the worlds leading personalities and Ariana Huffingtons Thrive Global to release this new slate of audio content, specifically designed to help you rest better at night. We hope the sleep-inducing, wellness content across our audiobooks and Suno collection will help you find peace in these trying times and nurture your mental well-being. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- New York City education officials announced that as of Wednesday, schools can once again use the video conference platform Zoom -- lifting a previous ban on the platform due to security concerns. According to the Department of Educations (DOE) website, the agency prohibited the use of Zoom because the platform didnt have sufficient security settings. As soon as the ban went into effect, the department began working with Zoom to develop a DOE-licensed version of the platform that meets the agencys security standards. ...As of May 6, 2020, the DOE has approved the use of Zoom by students, staff, and related service providers to use, said the DOE on its website. Security configurations for all DOE-licensed Zoom meetings are pre-set and controlled by the DOE. Zoom also worked with us to add additional security features to meet our high standards. *** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK *** New security features include students being blocked from taking control of the screen, which means only the meeting host can share the screen or enable screen sharing with others. The meeting host can mute anyone in the meeting, and that person cannot unmute themselves. Only the host can invite participants to the meeting -- and recipients of a forwarded invitation wont be able to join. Non-DOE users may join meetings with a passcode. When joining a meeting, all participants are placed in a waiting room and are only admitted into the meeting by the host. Participants also cant rename themselves, and students cant privately chat with other students. The security of our students and staff is paramount, and weve worked with Zoom to create a tailored platform that provides the safety and functionality schools need to engage in remote learning," said Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza in a statement. "Im happy that Zoom has addressed vulnerabilities over the last few weeks, and effective immediately, our community can safely use the Department of Education-licensed Zoom account for remote learning. The DOE said Zoom will allow for virtual meetings with teachers, guidance counselors and other school staff, as well as DOE service providers. There can be up to 49 participants in a Zoom call, and students and staff can raise their hand during a meeting to ask questions or make comments. Educators, service providers, and students must use the DOE-licensed version of Zoom and sign in with their DOE account credentials. All other Zoom accounts, whether individual or school-based, are not considered safe for DOE use. Using the DOE-credentialed Zoom, teachers and students can join a Zoom meeting for remote learning by visiting this website, nycdoe.zoom.us. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan said he was proud that the DOE has made Zoom available as an approved home-based learning platform to educators and staff across the city for secure and frictionless remote education to the citys over 1.1 million students." We look forward to continued partnership with the DOE and service to the educators and students in New York, said Yuan in a statement. "We are proud and humbled to enable remote applications for schools, businesses and other organizations to stay connected and operational during this time. Schools can continue to use Microsoft Teams -- which the DOE approved for use when it banned the use of Zoom last month -- as well as Google Meet. For those who need help navigating Zoom, you can visit the Zoom Help Center or call the DOE Service Desk at 718-935-5100 for technical support. FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 00:23:10|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LUSAKA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The number of COVID-19 cases in Zambia rose to 153 following test results released by health authorities Thursday. The country recorded seven new cases out of 849 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, according to Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya. Two patients were discharged from the isolation facility after recovering. This brings the number of cumulative cases to 153, with 103 recoveries, four deaths while 46 active cases still remain in isolation facilities. The Zambian minister further said the response to the pandemic remains solid and commended health workers for the high recovery rate and low death. Enditem Since ancient Greece, no matter the medium, the age-old conflict between good and evil has not stopped haunting drama. The paradigm of a virtuous, selfless and brave hero against a malicious, selfish and careless villain underlies some of this years Ramadan TV, too. Written by Baher Dwedar and directed by Peter Mimi, Al-Ikhtiyar (The Choice, subtitled A story of loyalty and betrayal), is based on a true story that President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi touched on in one of his speeches when he compared two commando officers. It pits Colonel Ahmed Saber Mansi (played by Amir Karara) killed during confrontations with Islamist terrorists in Rafah, Sinai, on 7 July 2017 against Major Hisham Ashmawi (Ahmed Al-Awadi), who joined the Islamic State-affiliate Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis before founding his own Libya-based militia, Al-Morabitoun, only to be captured in May 2019 and executed on 4 March this year. The series opens with Mansis last operation, showing his courage and devotion. Two years later, Ashmawi is seen in custody on the military plane bringing him back from Libya. The first two episodes provide childhood clues as to why the two characters ended up as a hero and a villain. Mansis father is a doctor who treats the poor for free, while Ashmawis beat him up when he saw him talking to the girl next door as a teenager. As young officers working together, we can see Ashmawi treating the soldiers under his command too harshly and Mansi persuading him to be gentler. From then on, the series proceeds by showing the two characters stories in turn. By adding actual footage and archival photos of real events, notably from 2012, Mimi gives the action credibility. He shows the Rafah attack, Al-Sisi declaring the end of Muslim Brotherhood rule on 3 July, following the 30 June protests, or the Brotherhood sit-ins in Rabaa Al-Adawiya and Al-Nahda squares. With the exception of Al-Awadis who seems to be constrained by the one-dimensional nature of the character the acting is effective, with cameos by film stars such Karim Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz, Asser Yassin, Mohamed Adel Imam as army personnel striking a powerful chord. Mimi is well-known for his action work in both TV and commercial cinema films like Harb Karmouz (Karmouz War) and Casablanca, and series like Kalabsh (Handcuffs) but thanks to army cooperation the action sequences here are an improvement on previous achievements. ***Written by Amr Samir Atef and directed by Yasser Sami, the science fiction thriller Al-Nihaya (The End) is set in a post-Israel Jerusalem in 2120 and centres on Zein (Youssef Al-Sherif), an engineer involved in illegal solar energy development who also teaches in a banned school, and his wife Radwa (Nahed Al-Sebaai). In place of states there are now energy companies, with Energy Cubes (EC) serving as the currency, and security forces working for them. When he flees to a place called Oasis outside Jerusalem, Zein is told that a competing company is willing to support his research, though this seems to be a trick. Meanwhile, Radwas workmate Sabah (Sahar Al-Sayegh) has a spare-parts dealer named Aziz (Amr Abdel-Gelil) construct an android identical to Zein but so far only because she is secretly in love with him. With Zein as the protagonist, Moenis (Ahmed Wafiq), a security leader in a Nazi-like costume, is the antagonist. Al-Nihaya prompted an angry statement from the Israeli foreign policy saying it is unfortunate and totally unacceptable that the show should depict the US weakening and breaking up into smaller states while the Arab world gains enough power to launch a war to liberate Jerusalem, prompting an end to the state of Israel as its Jewish inhabitants flee to Europe, to which Atef responded by stressing the fact that it is a work of science fiction. ***Written by Hani Sarhan and directed by Hussein Al-Manbawi, Al-Fettewa (The Neighbourhood Leader) set in Cairo in 1850, in the same world as Naguib Mahfouzs Harafish is the most obvious take on the good-vs-evil theme. Its the story of Hassan Al-Ganaini (Yasser Galal), a strongman who helps the poor and fights injustice with his nabbout (or staff, equivalent to a mediaeval knights sword). Like Zorro and Batman, Hassan has two identities. As the son of Al-Gammaliyas late fetewwa who owns a copper mill and keeps to himself, he is harmless, but as the masked hero who helps those in need he undermines Azmi (Ahmed Salah Hosni), the son Al-Gammaliyas present, ageing fettewa Saber Abu Shedid (Ahmed Khalil), who unbeknown to his father charges higher and higher protection money and threatens to destroy peoples livelihoods should they refuse to pay. But there is a fiercer antagonist, Sayed Al-Labban (Riad Al-Kholi), the fettewa of another neighbourhood, whose son Abdou (Mahmoud Amr Yassin) harasses Hassans daughter Noura (Laila Ahmed Zaher) and whose men destroy some of the goods in his shop. Al-Labban is also seen killing the head of the jewellers guild Beshr (Mohamed Hassib) and kidnapping his own divorcee, Leil Abu Shedid (Mai Omar). *A version of this article appears in print in the 7 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Gemini gets lucky and takes a deep dive into Jupiter's clouds Researchers using a technique known as "lucky imaging" with the Gemini North telescope on Hawaii's Maunakea have collected some of the highest resolution images of Jupiter ever obtained from the ground. These images are part of a multi-year joint observing program with the Hubble Space Telescope in support of NASA's Juno mission. The Gemini images, when combined with the Hubble and Juno observations, reveal that lightning strikes, and some of the largest storm systems that create them, are formed in and around large convective cells over deep clouds of water ice and liquid. The new observations also confirm that dark spots in the famous Great Red Spot are actually gaps in the cloud cover and not due to cloud color variations. Three years of imaging observations using the international Gemini Observatory, a program of NSF's NOIRLab, have probed deep into Jupiter's cloud tops. The ultra-sharp Gemini infrared images complement optical and ultraviolet observations by Hubble and radio observations by the Juno spacecraft to reveal new secrets about the giant planet. "The Gemini data were critical because they allowed us to probe deeply into Jupiter's clouds on a regular schedule," said Michael Wong of UC Berkeley. "We used a very powerful technique called lucky imaging," adds Wong. With lucky imaging, a large number of very short exposure images are obtained and only the sharpest images, when the Earth's atmosphere is briefly stable, are used. The result in this case is some of the sharpest infrared images of Jupiter ever obtained from the ground. According to Wong, "These images rival the view from space." Gemini North's Near Infrared Imager (NIRI) allows astronomers to peer deep into Jupiter's mighty storms, since the longer wavelength infrared light can pass through the thin haze but is obscured by thicker clouds high in Jupiter's atmosphere. This creates a "jack-o-lantern"-like effect in the images where the warm, deep layers of Jupiter's atmosphere glow through gaps in the planet's thick cloud cover. The detailed, multiwavelength imaging of Jupiter by Geminiand Hubble has, over the past three years, proven crucial to contextualizing the observations by the Juno orbiter, and to understanding Jupiter's wind patterns, atmospheric waves, and cyclones. The two telescopes, together with Juno, can observe Jupiter's atmosphere as a system of winds, gases, heat, and weather phenomena, providing coverage and insight not unlike the network of weather satellites meteorologists use to observe Earth. Mapping giant lightning storms On each of its close passes over Jupiter's clouds, Juno detected radio signals created by powerful lightning flashes called sferics (short for atmospherics) and whistlers (so-called because of the whistle-like tone they cause on radio receivers). Whenever possible, Gemini and Hubble focused on Jupiter and obtained high-resolution, wide-area maps of the giant planet. Juno's instruments could determine the latitude and longitude coordinates of clusters of sferic and whistler signals. With Gemini and Hubble images at multiple wavelengths, researchers now can probe the cloud structure at these locations. By combining these three pieces of information the research team found that the lightning strikes, and some of the largest storm systems that create them, are formed in and around large convective cells over deep clouds of water ice and liquid. "Scientists track lightning because it is a marker of convection, the turbulent mixing process that transports Jupiter's internal heat up to the visible cloud tops," explained Wong. The largest concentration of lightning seen by Juno came from a swirling storm called a "filamentary cyclone." Imaging from Gemini and Hubble shows details in the cyclone, revealing it to be a twisted collection of tall convective clouds with deep gaps offering glimpses to the water clouds far below. "Ongoing studies of lightning sources will help us understand how convection on Jupiter is different from or similar to convection in the Earth's atmosphere," Wong commented. Glowing features in the Great Red Spot While scanning the gas giant for gaps in cloud cover, Gemini spotted a telltale glow in the Great Red Spot, indicating a clear view down to deep, warmer atmospheric layers. "Similar features have been seen in the Great Red Spot before," said team member Glenn Orton of JPL, "but visible-light observation couldn't distinguish between darker cloud material, and thinner cloud cover over Jupiter's warm interior, so their nature remained a mystery." Now with the data from Gemini, this mystery is solved. Where visible light images from Hubble show a dark semicircle in the Great Red Spot, images taken by Gemini using infrared light reveal a bright arc lighting up the region. This infrared glow, from Jupiter's internal heat, would have been blocked by thicker clouds, but can pass through Jupiter's hazy atmosphere unobscured. By seeing these features as bright infrared hotspots, Gemini confirms that they are gaps in the clouds. Even though earlier observations have seen dark features in the Great Red Spot, the rapidly swirling winds within it hid the true nature of these spots until the simultaneous Hubble and Gemini observations were conducted. "NIRI at Gemini North is the most effective way for the US and the international Gemini partnership investigators to get detailed maps of Jupiter at this wavelength," explained Wong. Gemini achieved a 500-kilometer (300-mile) resolution on Jupiter. "At this resolution, the telescope could resolve the two headlights of a car in Miami, seen from New York City," said Andrew Stephens, the Gemini astronomer who led the observations.[1] "These coordinated observations prove once again that ground-breaking astronomy is made possible by combining the capabilities of the Gemini telescopes with complimentary ground- and space-based facilities," said Martin Still, an astronomy program director at the National Science Foundation, which is Gemini's US funding agency. "The international Gemini Partnership provides open access to a powerful combination of large telescopes' collecting area, flexible scheduling, and a broad selection of interchangeable instruments." ### Notes [1] This corresponds to an angular resolution of the Gemini infrared "lucky imaging" observations down to 0.13 arc-seconds. More information The results were published in the April 2020 issue of The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. Because of their value for ongoing and future research, Wong is making the processed Gemini and Hubble data available to other researchers through the Mikulski Archives for Space Telescopes (MAST) at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. The publication team was composed of: Michael H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), Amy A. Simon (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), Joshua W. Tollefson and Imke de Pater (University of California, Berkeley), Megan N. Barnett (University of Chicago), Andrew I. Hsu (University of California, Berkeley), Andrew W. Stephens (Gemini Observatory North), Glenn S. Orton (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology), Scott W. Fleming (Space Telescope Science Institute), Charles Goullaud (University of California, Berkeley), William Januszewski and Anthony Roman (Space Telescope Science Institute), Gordon L. Bjoraker (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), Sushil K. Atreya (University of Michigan), Alberto Adriani (Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali), and Leigh N. Fletcher (University of Leicester). NSF's National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab), the US center for ground-based optical-infrared astronomy, operates the international Gemini Observatory (a facility of NSF, NRC-Canada, ANID-Chile, MCTIC-Brazil, MINCyT-Argentina, and KASI-Republic of Korea), Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), the Community Science and Data Center (CSDC), and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. It is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with NSF and is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. The astronomical community is honored to have the opportunity to conduct astronomical research on Iolkam Du'ag (Kitt Peak) in Arizona, on Maunakea in Hawai?i, and on Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachon in Chile. We recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence that these sites have to the Tohono O'odham Nation, to the Native Hawaiian community, and to the local communities in Chile, respectively. Links Research paper Photos of the Gemini telescope Contacts Peter Michaud NewsTeam Manager NSF's NOIRLab Gemini Observatory, Hilo HI Desk: +1 808-974-2510 Cell: +1 808-936-6643 Email: pmichaud@gemini.edu Odysseus Quarles GEMMA/PIO Intern NSF's NOIRLab Gemini Observatory, Hilo HI Email: oquarles@gemini.edu Michael H. Wong University of California, Berkeley Phone: +1 510-224-3411 Email: mikewong@astro.berkeley.edu This story has been published on: 2020-05-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. The Punjab Government on Thursday announced that summer vacations will be observed in government colleges and universities across the state for a month. The summer vacations will be observed from May 15 to June 15. The Punjab Government has decided to declare summer vacation in Government Colleges and Universities of the state from May 15 to June 15, the tweet read. LONDON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Many are still discussing what type of recession will ensue following the COVID-19 pandemic. Will it be U, V or Lshaped? Different people may refer to the same shape to mean different outcomes. V, U and L Demystifying recession shapes To bring clarity to this issue, this insight sets out the standard economic definition of each type of recession. The pandemic is forecast to give rise to different shaped recessions in different countries. For the world economy, CRU forecasts a U-shaped recession - defined as a permanent loss in the level of world GDP, but no change in the long-term growth rate of world GDP. Recession shape defined by what happens to the level and growth rate of output When assigning a letter to a recession, it is important to be clear how each letter represented recession is defined. Most common ones are V, U and L-shaped. Less frequently used is the double-dip recession which is referred to as W; and a tick-mark recession, which includes a sharp downturn followed by a prolonged recovery. However, the latter two are variants of the three main types of recession, which we focus on here . There are two factors which help differentiate the three types of recession whether there is a permanent loss in the level of output and a persistent fall in the growth rate of output. Factor 1: Whether the recession causes a permanent loss in the level of output. This happens when the missed spending during the downturn is not fully made up during the recovery phase. A good example of a permanent loss in output level is when a haircut missed in March, is unlikely to be followed by two haircuts in April in that sense some expenditure is lost permanently. Factor 2: Whether the growth rate of output returns when crisis is over. If the economy sees a permanent loss in its level of output but can return to its pre-crisis growth rate in the medium term it will be called a U-shaped recession. To continue with the example above, this occurs when the missed spending (e.g. haircuts) is not made up, but will continue at the usual frequency once the pandemic is behind us. Read the full story: https://www.crugroup.com/knowledge-and-insights/insights/2020/v-u-and-l-demystifying-recession-shapes/ Read more about CRU: http://bit.ly/About_CRU About CRU CRU offers unrivalled business intelligence on the global metals, mining and fertilizer industries through market analysis, price assessments, consultancy and events. Since our foundation by Robert Perlman in 1969, we have consistently invested in primary research and robust methodologies, and developed expert teams in key locations worldwide, including in hard-to-reach markets such as China. CRU employs over 280 experts and has more than 11 offices around the world, in Europe, the Americas, China, Asia and Australia our office in Beijing opened in 2004 and Singapore in 2018. When facing critical business decisions, you can rely on our first-hand knowledge to give you a complete view of a commodity market. And you can engage with our experts directly, for the full picture and a personalised response. CRU big enough to deliver a high-quality service, small enough to care about all of our customers. SOURCE CRU Thousands of private renters who have been forced out of work are facing a tsunami of evictions once the coronavirus lockdown is lifted, a housing and homelessness charity has warned. Shelter says many of the two million people applying for universal credit, which includes the local housing allowance, are still struggling to meet the costs of rent. With people unable to safely move to cheaper accommodation, leaving them vulnerable to mounting debt and rent arrears, the charity is calling on the government to further increase housing benefits to match 50 per cent of the average rent in an area. At the moment, payments only cover the lowest third of market rents in an area, meaning thousands are facing a large shortfall. For families in a two-bedroom home, the shortfall is as high as 400 a month outside of London, and up to 1,227 in the capital. Shelter says that those relying on benefits must find an estimated 13m a week in total to keep up with their rent payments. The government has suspended evictions for the duration of the crisis, but thousands could be forced out of their homes when the lockdown ends. Polly Neate, chief executive at Shelter, has warned of a tsunami of evictions amid the serious financial difficulty that people across the country are now facing. As renters lose their jobs and see their incomes hit, many will have to rely on the welfare safety net for the first time, she said. Our services are already hearing from families in homes they could comfortably afford under normal circumstances, who are now in serious financial difficulty. Were facing an onslaught of people suddenly unable to afford their rent, at a time when people need to stay put and cannot safely move to a cheaper home. To avoid spiralling debt and needless evictions once the ban lifts, the government must increase the housing element of universal credit so that it covers the average cost of local rents. Emma and her partner, who live in Manchester, have both lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic and, along with thousands of others across the country, are now struggling to pay rent. Both myself and my partner have now lost our income, she said. The landlord has offered a rent deferral but while we can pay we will, otherwise we will end up in thousands of pounds of debt over the next few months. Even with the deferral well have to pay it back at some point anyway. Nobody knows when we will be able to earn again, so we are stuck. We have just got to pare everything back and keep our heads above water if we can. I have applied for UC however the first payment isnt available until 13 May, and even then, I dont know if it will be enough to keep paying our rent. Ms Neate, who delivered a 43,000-strong petition to Downing Street on Thursday, calling on chancellor Rishi Sunak to take action, has said that millions of renters will be in dire straits further down the line without more government support. Last month, analysis by Shelter revealed that almost one in five private renters in England an estimated 1.7 million adults expect to lose their job in the next three months due to the crisis. More recently, research from the District Councils Network suggested that more than 486,242 households are spending over half their income on private rented housing. Communities secretary Robert Jenrick has said the government will ensure councils have the resources that they need to carry out the absolutely critical functions that they are playing in our national response to coronavirus. Seeking an answer from China about the origins of the deadly coronavirus, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday said that the US needs to know the details of patient zero Washington: Seeking an answer from China about the origins of the deadly coronavirus, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday said that the US needs to know the details of patient zero. Slamming China for a disinformation campaign, Pompeo in an interview to Jack Heath of The Jack Heath Radio Show also accused the World Health Organization of failing in its mission to provide the information to the world in a timely fashion about the risk that was emanating from China. "We know that this originated in Wuhan, China. That was challenged by the Chinese at the front end. This administration was very clear we weren't going to accept that disinformation, pushed back. I think the whole world knows that this began and originated there in Wuhan," he said. "Where exactly it came from, it matters. We want to know the answers to that. There's evidence that it came from somewhere in the vicinity of the lab, but that could be wrong. We need to get the answer to that. It matters because we need to know where patient zero came from," he said. The US needs it for all of the epidemiological work that needs to be done to protect Americans today and tomorrow, he asserted. In recent days, US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo have claimed that the deadly virus originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak was first detected last December. Since emerging in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December, the coronavirus is confirmed to have infected 1.2 million Americans, killing more than 73,000. Pompeo said that the US has no confidence in the data coming from China with respect to coronavirus. "There's no reason to believe that information that's coming out of China. As for how many there were, we're trying to figure our way through that, but we are watching what China has done, he said. "There's no reason to believe that either the reported cases that are coming out of China or the death totals that they have provided remotely reflect what actually took place and continues to take place there," he said. The United States, he said, is working with partners in many countries around the world, sharing information, sharing data, trying to get both therapeutics and a vaccine. It is unfortunate that the Chinese Communist Party has chosen not to share their data, not to behave in a transparent way. They have a special obligation this is where it broke out to share that data with the world, and they have chosen not to do so, he noted. Click here for Coronavirus Outbreak LIVE Updates "I think that's indicative of what communist parties do. It's what communist institutions do. Freedom-loving nations want information shared, want transparency, and want good things for people all around the world, he said. Pompeo alleged that the WHO didn't get it right. "The WHO failed in its mission to provide the information to the world in a timely fashion about the risk that was emanating from China, he said. "They knew it; they saw it. There was pressure from the Chinese government not to declare this a pandemic, and it became a political institution rather than a medical, scientific institution that it was designed to be, Pompeo said, adding that the United States needs an institution that's going to deliver good outcomes for the American people. The US has suspended over USD 400 million funding for the WHO pending an inquiry. Unconfirmed reports have been circulating that Iggy Azalea, 29, has welcomed a baby with rapper Playboi 'Jordan Carter' Carti, 23, in secret. And now TMZ has claimed that the pair have splashed out on a luxury new SUV to drive their growing family around in style. According to the website , Carti spent US$400,000 (AUD$626,000) on a 2020 Rolls-Royce Cullinan. Cash flow: Iggy 'Amethyst Kelly' Azalea, 29, and Playboi 'Jordan Carter' Carti, 23, have reportedly splashed out on a luxury family-sized SUV after unconfirmed reports couple 'secretly welcomed a baby boy' TMZ reports that the Magnolia hitmaker was after a luxury car that was big enough to attach a baby seat in. While neither Iggy or her rapper beau have confirmed their baby news, TMZ claims that they welcomed a boy in secret. Unconfirmed reports that the Fancy rapper had secretly given birth surfaced last week. Luxury: According to TMZ , Carti spent US$400,000 (AUD$626,000) on a 2020 Rolls-Royce Cullinan (pictured) At the time, artist DJ Akademiks told his 2.5 million Instagram followers that he'd heard word that the Australian star had a baby over the weekend with the rapper. 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.' He added in his own caption, 'Talked to some ppl.... allegedly this is true. Congrats to #playboicarti and #iggyazalea if it is.' Happy news: Last week, artist DJ Akademiks told his 2.5 million Instagram followers that he'd heard word that the Australian star had a baby over the weekend with rapper Playboi Carti 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 were first linked in the summer of 2018, and had an on-and-off relationship in the late months of 2019, with a brief breakup in December. Carti was arrested in April in Clayton County, Georgia in connection with weapons and drug possession. Shocked: Fans were surprised to hear of reports that Iggy may have secretly given birth 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 reached out to Azalea and Carti's reps for confirmation of the baby news at the time. Carti released his new single, '@ Meh', last month, which has already reached No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Two small legal practices have moved into downtown office buildings. The Baton Rouge offices of Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore are now located on the 11th floor of the Chase North Tower, attorney Matt Bailey told the Downtown Development District Board Tuesday. Sprinkle Law Firm has moved into One American Place, said attorney Richard Sprinkle. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 7, 2020) - TransCanna Holdings Inc. (CSE: TCAN) (FSE: TH8) ("TransCanna" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that products made by Lyfted Farms (a wholly-owned subsidiary) will now be sold at Cookies retail locations, beginning with the renowned marijuana and lifestyle retailers' flagship store in Oakland, California. Cookies is a leading, globally-recognized lifestyle and cannabis brand based in California, offering over 50 cannabis varieties and product lines. Realizing the Lyfted Farms motto (A Higher Standard of Growing) products made by the TransCanna subsidiary will now also be featured alongside the Cookie cannabis brands' other high-quality offerings. This achievement follows a focused and strategic effort by leaders at TransCanna/Lyfted Farms to improve product offerings in order to draw premier cannabis chain retailers and to position the company for statewide traction in the largest cannabis market in the world. "We at Cookies love this brand and are excited to be working with Lyfted Farms," says Omar Sanchez aka 'King Meezy', Cookies Oakland Store Manager. "The product and the people behind the brand are a great fit with what we are all about at Cookies." "We are extremely pleased to offer Lyfted Farms products through the most influential cannabis lifestyle brand and retailer," says Bob Blink, TransCanna CEO. "We are so enthusiastic about the Cookies stores, the branding, their products, and the relationship Cookies has developed with its customers, along with the position they hold as market leaders for higher-end consumers," adds Blink. "This first step in a close relationship between Cookies and Lyfted Farms is setting the table for a mutually beneficial future for investors and customers of both brands." 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/55513 South Africa's embattled ex-president Jacob Zuma said Wednesday that "people who were trying to kill me" instead poisoned and killed his son in 2018. Zuma claims he was the victim of several plots and assassination attempts during his nine-year rule, which was marred by graft allegations and dwindling popularity. At a corruption inquiry in July 2019 -- one year after he was forced to resign -- Zuma accused unnamed foreign intelligence services of plotting to kill him. His son Nhlakanipho Vusi Zuma was suffering from lupus when he died at the age of 25 on July 1, 2018. In a 45-minute video conversation with another son, Duduzane Zuma, the ex-president alleged that Nhlakanipho was poisoned by his enemies. "Here was a young man (who) had an ailment that you can control until you are very old. But he passed away very suddenly," Zuma said in the video, which was released on Wednesday. "I now know that it was people who were trying to kill me or to reach me, but who were finding it difficult," he added. "It was a failure to take my life, that they then went to the young man and... interfered with his treatment in order to poison (him)." The former president did not provide any evidence to support the claim. He is accused of allowing his cronies to plunder state coffers and influence government appointments during his time in office. He is also facing trial for allegedly enriching himself over a $3.4 billion arms deal in 1999, when he was deputy president. The 78-year-old former president has consistently denied any wrongdoing. His next court appearance -- initially scheduled for May 6 -- has been postponed to June 23 due to the coronavirus outbreak. With the ongoing lockdown, hope is what people are thriving on. The hope of a better tomorrow as well as a safe and healthy world is what everyone is looking forward to. Amid such hard times, police departments are doing their best to spread optimism among the masses. From Mumbai Polices witty tweets to police officers dressing up as Yamraj, the departments are doing all they can to keep up a cheerful spirit in the country. A similar instance of optimism was shown by the 112 emergency service wing of the UP Police that has won the heart of netizens. A picture posted on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, shows the picturesque Rumi Gate of Lucknow. Infront of the gate, the word HOPE was made by arranging the Police Response Vehicles of the 112 Emergency service wing. Hold On. Pain Ends reads the extended version of the acronym HOPE. The world rests on hope, and we stand on our resolve. HOPE keeps us all going! #JeetegaBharatHaaregaCorona, reads the beautifully put caption. Take a look at the photo: The drill, done as a reassertion of positivity amid the COVID-19 outbreak and countrywide lockdown has garnered much praise from netizens. With over 800 reactions, this is how people reacted to this message of positivity. Desh ke seva ke liye abhinandan UP Police, writes a Facebook user. Thank you corona heroes, says another. We will definitely win against corona, comments a third. What do you think of this beautiful drill by the UP Police? The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Digital World will be organised in Hanoi in September 2021, instead of September 2020, due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. ITU Digital World to be organised in Hanoi in September 2021, instead of September 2020 - Illustrative image (Source: https://www.biztoday.news/) The Ministry of Information and Communications said on May 7 that Minister Nguyen Manh Hung had discussed with ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao and reported the postponement to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. According to the organisers, this is a difficult decision as the event is expected to attract over 5,000 delegates from more than 100 ITU member states. ITU Digital World 2020, formally known as ITU Telecom World, will be co-organised by ITU Telecom, part of ITU, and the Vietnamese ministry. The new name, which was adopted following an initiative proposed by Vietnam at the 2019 event in Hungary, reflects the current global and regional digital transformation, focusing on partnerships and innovation in the development of digital governments, a digital economy and a digital society. ITU Digital World is a global platform for accelerating ICT innovations. It aims to deliver economic development faster through its exhibition of digital solutions, forums for sharing knowledge, and networking hubs connecting nations, organisations and individuals./.VNA Lucknow, May 7 : The Congress has asked District Magistrates of Rae Bareli and Amethi to submit lists of migrant workers who have returned from other states so that the opposition party can pay them the railway fares. In a tweet, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that letters have been sent to the District Magistrates by the local Congress leaders. The party has also listed two phone numbers on WhatsApp on which the migrant workers can send their addresses and photocopies of their tickets to enable reimbursement of the money they spent for the rail travel. Meanwhile, Congress Uttar Pradesh unit President Ajay Kumar Lallu and Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhana Mishra told reporters that the party would reimburse the railway fares to the migrant workers, as directed for by Congress President Sonia Gandhi. The UPCC chief said that the party had also sent a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, asking for lists of returnee migrants. "However, we have not received any response from teh CM's office so far," he said. Lallu said that acting on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's directive, state Congress would also form teams to offer food and water to migrant workers walking on the highways to return to their native states. Maryland regulators are fining Sagepoint Senior Living, the nursing home that has reported the state's highest coronavirus-related death toll, for not using appropriate personal protective equipment, not separating residents with suspected or known covid-19 cases, and not obtaining lab results in a timely manner, according to a letter sent to the facility late Wednesday. The 165-bed facility in La Plata will be fined $10,000 per day for the deficiencies beginning March 30, when the Office of Health Care Quality began its survey, and continuing until it complies with state regulations, the letter says. The fine marks the first civil penalty the state has levied against a nursing home since the pandemic began. There have been 34 covid-19 deaths among patients at Sagepoint, and one employee has died, according to state data. "Conditions at your facility posed immediate and serious jeopardy to the health and safety of your residents," Patricia Tomsko Nay, executive director of the Office of Health Care Quality, wrote to Sagepoint chief executive Andrea Dwyer. Sagepoint spokeswoman Joyce Riggs said Thursday that leaders at the facility, 35 miles south of Washington, D.C., strongly disagree with findings in the letter and will dispute them to the Office of Health Care Quality. "We feel it would be inappropriate and highly irregular to respond to last night's letter in the media before we have followed the proper process," she said in a statement. The Washington Post reported Wednesday that nurses and nursing assistants at Sagepoint were told not to wear masks when they requested them in March because it would scare residents. They also said they were assigned untenable numbers of patients because of staff shortages, and frequently asked to move between wings with patients who had tested positive for the coronavirus and those who had not, raising concerns about exposing negative patients. Employees at several other nursing homes in Maryland described similar conditions. Riggs said in a statement earlier this week that the nursing home followed guidelines issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which said on March 20 that only staff members working with patients who had tested positive for the coronavirus were required to wear masks. On April 2, the agency mandated that all employees wear masks in long-term-care facilities. As of Thursday, 804 coronavirus-related deaths have occurred at long-term care facilities in Maryland, according to state data, more than half of the state's reported deaths. There have been more than 6,000 infections at such facilities, including more than 1,900 among employees. Gov. Larry Hogan, R, last week ordered universal testing for nursing home residents and employees in Maryland and signed a contract for 260 medical professionals to assist with staffing. He said Wednesday that the state has done a survey of all its nursing homes and is beginning to test, with a focus on the nursing homes with the biggest problems. But Joseph DeMattos Jr., chief executive of the Health Facilities Association of Maryland, told a panel of state lawmakers Wednesday that tests have not been available for nursing homes. And employees at multiple nursing homes said additional protective equipment and staffing is desperately needed. They said the 260 medical workers being hired by the state will not come close to covering vacancies at the state's 226 facilities - particularly because universal testing is likely to yield new positive results that require more employees to quarantine at home for two weeks. At Sagepoint, regulators found that the facility did not implement an effective infection-control program that was in line with guidelines from the CDC, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Maryland Department of Health. Deficiencies included not using appropriate hand hygiene, the letter said. A statement listing the deficiencies will be issued in coming days, Nay wrote in the letter. The survey began March 30 and concluded Wednesday. "Based on the seriousness of these findings, it is imperative that you immediately determine the measures that are necessary to correct these deficient practices, what systemic changes you will develop to ensure that this does not happen again, and what quality improvement process will be implemented to oversee the system," Nay wrote. A Washington Post analysis found that 40% of more than 650 nursing homes nationwide with reported coronavirus cases have been cited more than once in recent years by inspectors for violating federal standards meant to control the spread of infection. One of Australia's biggest banks is forecasting a double-digit plunge in Australian property prices as coronavirus sparks a recession and causes immigration to dry up. National Australia Bank predicted capital city house prices would fall by 10 to 15 per cent during the next 12 to 18 months, as unemployment hit levels unseen since the 1930s Great Depression. The bank's chief economist Alan Oster expected apartment values to plunge at an even steeper pace than houses in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in particular. National Australia Bank predicted capital city house prices would fall by 10 to 15 per cent during the next 12 to 18 months. It saw Sydney's median apartment price diving by 12.8 per cent by 2021. Pictured is a Coogee unit block on Anzac Day, 2020 'While both the depth and duration of the downturn underway remain uncertain - and will depend on the evolution of the spread of COVID-19 - we expect a sharp fall in economic activity in the near-term, followed by a rebound in growth but slower recovery in activity levels,' he said. 'We expect dwelling prices to fall by around 10 per cent this year and decline further in the first half of 2021 before levelling off. 'The declines will be led by Sydney and Melbourne - but the other cities will not be immune to rising unemployment and slower wage growth.' Sydney's median unit price was expected to plummet by 8.8 per cent in 2020 followed by another four per cent next year. That would see mid-point prices for an apartment dive by 12.8 per cent, or $99,576, to $678,364, going by CoreLogic data. Melbourne was expected to take even more of a hit, with its median apartment prices tipped to plummet this year by 10 per cent, and by four per next year. A 14 per cent dive by 2021 would see a typical apartment lose $82,349, compared with April 2020 median prices, to hit $505,855. Brisbane unit prices were tipped to dive by 5.5 per cent in 2020 and by another 8.6 per cent next year. Melbourne was expected to take even more of a hit, with its median apartment price tipped to plummet this year by 10 per cent, or $58,820 to $529,383. By 2021, NAB predicted Melbourne unit prices would dive by 14 per cent, which would see a typical apartment lose $82,349, compared with its April 2020 price, to hit $505,855. Pictured are apartments at South Melbourne that featured on The Block in 2013 A 14.1 per cent plunge by 2021 would see median apartment prices fall to just $333,918. Adelaide was also in for a beating, with NAB expecting a 2.7 per cent drop in 2020 followed by a seven per cent fall in 2021. 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 A 9.7 per cent fall by next year would see median unit prices fall to $301,819. Australia's net immigration levels are set to plunge to very low levels, after almost a decade of 200,000 permanent arrivals every year. NAB expected this to dampen demand for property. 'While we do not see a fundamental over-supply in the market with construction continuing to decline, a slowing in migration will see demand for housing soften somewhat,' it said. Before the onset of coronavirus, house prices in Sydney and Melbourne had recovered since mid-2019, following a two-year slump sparked by an Australian Prudential Regulation Authority crackdown on investor and interest-only loans. During the past year alone, Sydney's median house price has surged 15.8 per cent to $1.026million while Melbourne's equivalent values have soared 12.8 per cent to $818,806, CoreLogic figures for April showed. 'There was evidence of a pre-COVID pickup in momentum. However, price growth has slowed more recently and activity in the established housing market has slowed sharply, ' NAB said. Brisbane unit prices were tipped to dive by 5.5 per cent in 2020 and by another 8.6 per cent next year. A 14.1 per cent plunge by 2021 would see median apartment prices fall to just $333,918. Pictured is Brisbane's city centre Since bottoming out in July 2019, Sydney's median house price has surged by 19 per cent from $864,993 to $1,026,418 last month, CoreLogic data showed. 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 This followed a record 17.6 per cent fall, after the market had peaked in mid-2017, in response to the new APRA rules. By comparison, Melbourne's median house price has grown by 16 per cent since bottoming out at $708,523 in May 2019. Mid-point values for a detached home reached $819,611 in March 2020. NAB isn't the only bank fearing a property market plunge, with Westpac chief executive Peter King this week telling investors a property market recovery that began in mid-2019 would be unwound because of coronavirus. 'House prices are expected to fall through the remainder of 2020, reversing the recent recoveries, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne,' he told the Australian Securities Exchange on Monday. Nonetheless, NAB wasn't as worried about Sydney house prices, predicting a 2.9 per cent slump in 2020 followed by a 3.6 per cent downturn next year. Adelaide was also in for a beating, with NAB expecting a 2.7 per cent drop in 2020 followed by a seven per cent fall in 2021. A 9.7 per cent fall by next year would see median unit prices fall to $301,819. Pictured is an aerial view of Adelaide's city centre A 6.5 per cent drop by 2021 would see Sydney's median house price fall under the $1million mark to $9659,700 - taking it back to the levels of late 2019. 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 Starr Partners chief executive Doug Driscoll, who sells real estate in Sydney, told Daily Mail Australia apartments were likely to take more of a hit from COVID-19 as investor landlords struggled to find tenants, following a drop in international students. 'If we're seeing a bit of a "rental crisis" - a lot of that is caused by things like students,' he 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.' Sydney's auction clearance rate halved from 76.6 per cent in early March to 33.8 per cent in the week ending on April 19, a point acknowledged by NAB. 'Auction clearance rates have fallen to low levels and turnover has fallen away,' it said. In another ominous sign, NAB is expecting Australia's jobless rate to surge from 5.2 per cent in March, before the shutdown of non-essential businesses, to 11.7 per cent by the end of June - a level unseen since the 1930s Great Depression. NAB is even gloomier than the Reserve Bank of Australia and Treasury, which are forecasting a 10 per cent unemployment rate by the middle of 2020, as COVID-19 measures caused the jobless level to hit the double digits for the first time since early 1994. NAB, Australia's biggest business lender, surveyed 320 property market players in the March quarter of 2020. To just solve a puzzle or play a game, artificial intelligence can require software running on thousands of computers. That could be the energy that three nuclear plants produce in one hour. A team of engineers has created hardware that can learn skills using a type of AI that currently runs on software platforms. Sharing intelligence features between hardware and software would offset the energy needed for using AI in more advanced applications such as self-driving cars or discovering drugs. Software is taking on most of the challenges in AI. If you could incorporate intelligence into the circuit components in addition to what is happening in software, you could do things that simply cannot be done today, said Shriram Ramanathan, a professor of materials engineering at Purdue University. AI hardware development is still in early research stages. Researchers have demonstrated AI in pieces of potential hardware, but haven't yet addressed AI's large energy demand. As AI penetrates more of daily life, a heavy reliance on software with massive energy needs is not sustainable, Ramanathan said. If hardware and software could share intelligence features, an area of silicon might be able to achieve more with a given input of energy. Ramanathan's team is the first to demonstrate artificial tree-like memory in a piece of potential hardware at room temperature. Researchers in the past have only been able to observe this kind of memory in hardware at temperatures that are too low for electronic devices. The results of this study are published in the journal Nature Communications. The hardware that Ramanathan's team developed is made of a so-called quantum material. These materials are known for having properties that cannot be explained by classical physics. Ramanathan's lab has been working to better understand these materials and how they might be used to solve problems in electronics. Software uses tree-like memory to organize information into various branches, making that information easier to retrieve when learning new skills or tasks. The strategy is inspired by how the human brain categorizes information and makes decisions. Humans memorize things in a tree structure of categories. We memorize 'apple' under the category of 'fruit' and 'elephant' under the category of 'animal,' for example, said Hai-Tian Zhang, a Lillian Gilbreth postdoctoral fellow in Purdue's College of Engineering. Mimicking these features in hardware is potentially interesting for brain-inspired computing. The team introduced a proton to a quantum material called neodymium nickel oxide. They discovered that applying an electric pulse to the material moves around the proton. Each new position of the proton creates a different resistance state, which creates an information storage site called a memory state. Multiple electric pulses create a branch made up of memory states. We can build up many thousands of memory states in the material by taking advantage of quantum mechanical effects. The material stays the same. We are simply shuffling around protons, Ramanathan said. Through simulations of the properties discovered in this material, the team showed that the material is capable of learning the numbers 0 through 9. The ability to learn numbers is a baseline test of artificial intelligence. The demonstration of these trees at room temperature in a material is a step toward showing that hardware could offload tasks from software. This discovery opens up new frontiers for AI that have been largely ignored because implementing this kind of intelligence into electronic hardware didn't exist, Ramanathan said. The material might also help create a way for humans to more naturally communicate with AI. Protons also are natural information transporters in human beings. A device enabled by proton transport may be a key component for eventually achieving direct communication with organisms, such as through a brain implant, Zhang said. ### Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, studied the quantum material test strips. The team used synchrotron facilities at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven and Argonne National Laboratories to demonstrate that an electric pulse can move protons within neodymium nickel oxide. Other collaborating institutions are the University of Illinois, the University of Louisville and the University of Iowa. The work was supported by the Lillian Gilbreth Fellowship from Purdue University's College of Engineering, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the U.S. Department of Energy. ABSTRACT Perovskite Neural Trees Hai-Tian Zhang1,2, Tae Joon Park1, Ivan A. Zaluzhnyy3, Qi Wang1, Shakti Nagnath Wadekar4, Sukriti Manna5,6, Robert Andrawis4, Peter O. Sprau3, Yifei Sun1, Zhen Zhang1, Chengzi Huang1, Hua Zhou7, Zhan Zhang7, Badri Narayanan8, Gopalakrishnan Srinivasan4, Nelson Hua3, Evgeny Nazaretski9, Xiaojing Huang9, Hanfei Yan9, Mingyuan Ge9, Yong S. Chu9, Mathew J. Cherukara5, Martin V. Holt5, Muthu Krishnamurthy10, Oleg Shpyrko3, Subramanian K.R.S. Sankaranarayanan5,6, Alex Frano3, Kaushik Roy4, and Shriram Ramanathan1, 1School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA 2Lillian Gilbreth Fellowship Program, College of Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA 3Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA 4School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA 5Center for nanoscale materials, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA 6Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL 60607, USA 7X-ray Science Division, Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA 8Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA 9National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA 10Department of Mathematics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16105-y Trees are used by animals, humans and machines to classify information and make decisions. Natural tree structures displayed by synapses of the brain involves potentiation and depression capable of branching and is essential for survival and learning. Demonstration of such features in synthetic matter is challenging due to the need to host a complex energy landscape capable of learning, memory and electrical interrogation. We report experimental realization of tree-like conductance states at room temperature in strongly correlated perovskite nickelates by modulating proton distribution under high speed electric pulses. This demonstration represents physical realization of ultrametric trees, a concept from number theory applied to the study of spin glasses in physics that inspired early neural network theory dating almost forty years ago. We apply the tree-like memory features in spiking neural networks to demonstrate high fidelity object recognition, and in future can open new directions for neuromorphic computing and artificial intelligence. Thousands of Stanford Health Care employees, from billing clerks to surgeons, have been pouring into clinics in the past few weeks to have swabs shoved up their noses -- all in the name of reassuring patients that it's safe to seek care again at their hospitals and clinics. The massive effort by one of the Bay Area's behemoths of health care to test all 14,000 of its employees for the coronavirus is generating a debate among medical providers desperately scrambling to bring back patients scared off by the deadly disease: Will testing an entire workforce soon be a must to keep patients safe? Or is it merely a marketing ploy for deep-pocketed institutions to win back trust while smaller medical practices struggle to keep up? "I hope it makes people feel more comfortable," said Stanford Health Care CEO David Entwistle. "Quite frankly, the testing goes a long way for individuals to know that they don't have the virus. We also felt it was important to do that for our employees, to show them they're healthy as well." Testing kits have been in high demand and short supply during the pandemic, with many health care providers saying they must limit who can be tested or risk running short on key supplies. But Stanford, unlike some of its peers, has been able to increase its testing capability in recent weeks. Walnut Creek-based John Muir Health, UC San Francisco, Sutter Health and Kaiser are generally limiting testing to symptomatic workers. Stanford's initial results are relatively comforting. As of Wednesday evening, 12,122 of the system's roughly 14,000 workers had been tested, with only 124 testing positive. Just 0.3 percent of those without symptoms have tested positive. Santa Clara County, too, is aiming to test its 8,500 hospital and clinic employees and other county health system workers for both the virus and antibodies that would indicate a person has had it and might have some level of immunity. So far, of 1,517 tests for the virus conducted, just five have come back positive. "The expanded testing will improve our ability to protect our health care workers, provide additional security and safety for our patients and help us understand the prevalence of the virus within our workforce and in the community," said Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Paul Lorenz. Part of what makes the virus so sinister is that people without symptoms can unwittingly spread it to others. So despite temperature checks at entrances and screening questions, patients and even doctors and nurses themselves have said they are scared of becoming infected at medical offices. Bringing patients in the door is key. This week, the California Hospital Association told lawmakers in Sacramento that the state's hospitals have lost as much as $14 billion by temporarily stopping elective surgeries and procedures to create space for a surge of coronavirus patients. And while they're pushing for federal and state aid, hospitals will rely heavily on patients and their insurance providers for badly needed revenue. Doctor's offices and dentists have also been hemorrhaging cash, and some health experts say they expect to see some small private practices consolidated into larger health systems that are better able to weather future crises and others closing up shop altogether. For now, Stanford's testing employees for the virus and antibodies is a one-time thing. But that could change if the number of Bay Area cases starts to rise. But not all hospitals or clinics have the ability to test all their employees even once, and not all think it's necessary. During a conversation hosted by UC Berkeley on Monday about the coronavirus's impact on public health, Sutter chief medical officer Stephen Lockhart said he worried about wasting valuable resources by testing asymptomatic people, especially just for marketing purposes. Instead, Sutter has rearranged waiting rooms to prevent people from sitting too close together and, for outpatient care, rolled out a system where patients tap an arrival button on their phone when they park at a clinic rather than languishing in a communal waiting room. John Muir, like other providers, limits visitors and requires people to wear masks. As of April 28, patients scheduled to come in for surgery have to undergo a coronavirus swab test beforehand. Stanford also requires such testing. "We have many precautions in place to help keep everyone as safe as possible, including patients who are with us for visits, surgeries and hospitalizations unrelated to COVID-19," said Irving Pike, the system's chief medical officer. The coronavirus pandemic has posed particularly difficult challenges for dentists -- who have not had access to FDA-approved testing kits for their staff or patients. "We do want to do it," said Cynthia Brattesani, a dentist in San Francisco. "We would love it." Instead, Brattesani is taking other precautions to keep her patients and staff safe when she hopes to reopen next month for nonemergency appointments. She's scheduling visits far apart to minimize the number of people in her office, screening people for coronavirus symptoms when they arrive, rearranging the office space itself and asking her staff to wear not only respirator masks but face shields. Where possible, she's scheduling visits over video chat. "We're ready. We've got this," Brattesani said. But, she acknowledged, "it's going to be totally changed." Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access, a statewide health care consumer advocacy coalition, thinks those precautions are just as important as testing, particularly when testing isn't done routinely. "It's important for health care providers to provide all the assurances that they can," Wright said, noting that he visited a clinic this week that only had every fourth chair in the waiting room open and staff wearing masks and other protective gear. "I think that goes a long way." He does want to see testing ramped up, too -- so it happens quickly and frequently and not just at clinics and hospitals. But a one-off test, he said, is just a snapshot of a single point in time. "If people go back home to their families, who may have had some encounters," Wright said, "then that raises the possibility of transmission." Whatever health care providers are doing, Wright said, they need to reassure anxious people that, just as trips to the grocery store are necessary, so are trips to the doctor. "If providers can be diligent but also project that security of being diligent," Wright said, "that's important." Editor's Note: Because of the health implications of the COVID-19 virus, this article is being made available free to all online readers. If you'd like to join us in supporting the mission of local journalism, please visit napavalleyregister.com/members/join/. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. National carrier Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express are all set to embark upon one of the worlds largest evacuation operations on Thursday. These flights under Indias massive Vande Bharat Mission are being organised to bring back Indian stranded in various countries due to the coronavirus pandemic. Here are the key things to know about Indias repatriation mission: Air India and Air India Express will operate to 64 flights in seven days to bring back 14,800 stranded Indians from 12 countries. The airlines have readied the aircraft type and taken care of all other logistical aspects to embark on this mission. The Press Information Burea shared the plan for the first day, where it said that 2,300 people will be brought back. The highest number of passengers - 300 - are coming back from the United States, followed by 250 each from the UK, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, and 200 each from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, Doha and Dhaka. Air India will operate the Delhi-Singapore flight on Thursday around 11 pm on Thursday from Delhis Indira Gandhi International airport. The flight will come back to Delhi at 7 am on Friday morning. Similarly, Air India Express will operate Cochin-Abu Dhabi-Cochin and Kozhikode-Dubai-Kozhikode services. Besides one-way ferry service, Air India invited passengers, who qualify under the governments new international travel norms to apply for passage from India to various destinations the airline will send its aircraft to conduct evacuation flights. Overall, more than 190,000 Indian nationals, who would have to pay a one-way ferry service charge, are expected to be brought back in the airlift operation. On Tuesday, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs stated that a person who has an OCI card, or held the citizenship of a foreign country, or held a valid visa of more than one year of that country, or had the green card of that country, can travel on the repatriation flight leaving India under the Vande Bharat mission. This is not the first time that Air India is carrying out such mission. Since February this year, Air India has been conducting various repatriation flights to virus-affected cities like Wuhan in China and Rome in Italy to bring back Indian nationals. It has also been instrumental in repatriating foreigners to Israel, UK and Germany. What happened 30 year ago: Three decades ago, Air India led a group of airlines which included Indian Airlines and Aeroflot as well as Indian Air Force to rescue an estimated 111,711 Indians from the Gulf, after Iraq invaded Kuwait in the year 1990. The 59-day operation involved 488 flights and was conducted before the first Gulf war. This time, the exercise will encompass flights to the US in the West to Philippines in the East. Colorized scanning electron micrograph of cell (green) heavily infected with CCP virus particles (purple), commonly known as SARS-CoV-2 or novel CCP virus, isolated from a patient sample on March 16, 2020. (NIAID) New CCP Virus Spread Swiftly Around World From Late 2019, Study Finds LONDONA genetic study of samples from more than 7,500 people infected with COVID-19 suggests the CCP virus spread quickly around the world after it emerged in China sometime between October and December last year, scientists said on May 6. Scientists at University College Londons Genetics Institute found almost 200 recurrent genetic mutations of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virusSARS-CoV-2which the UCL researchers said showed how it is adapting to its human hosts as it spreads. Phylogenetic estimates support that the COVID-2 pandemic started sometime around Oct. 6, 2019 to Dec. 11, 2019, which corresponds to the time of the host jump into humans, the research team, co-led by Francois Balloux, wrote in a study published in the journal Infection, Genetics and Evolution. Balloux said the analysis also found that the CCP virus was and is mutating, as normally happens with viruses, and that a large proportion of the global genetic diversity of the CCP virus causing COVID-19 was found in all of the hardest-hit countries. That suggests SARS-CoV-2 was being transmitted extensively around the world from early on in the epidemic, he said. All viruses naturally mutate. Mutations in themselves are not a bad thing and there is nothing to suggest SARS-CoV-2 is mutating faster or slower than expected, he said. So far, we cannot say whether SARS-CoV-2 is becoming more or less lethal and contagious. In a second study also published on Wednesday, scientists at Britains University of Glasgow who also analysed SARS-CoV-2 virus samples said their findings showed that previous work suggesting there were two different strains was inaccurate. An employee walks past the closed Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, which has been linked to cases of CCP virus, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on Jan. 17, 2020. (Getty Images) Just One CCP Virus Type Circulating A preliminary study by Chinese scientists in March had suggested there may have been two strains of the CCP virus causing infections there, with one of them more aggressive than the other. But, publishing their analysis in the journal Virus Evolution, the Glasgow team said only one type of CCP virus was circulating. More than 3.71 million people have been reportedly infected by the CCP virus globally and 258,186 deaths have been attributed to it, according to a Reuters tally. Cases have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since they were first identified in China in December 2019. Patients who recovered from the COVID-19 CCP virus line up to be tested again as a medical worker looks on, outside a hospital in Wuhan, in Chinas central Hubei province, China, on March 14, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) The genetic studies offer fascinating insights into the evolution of the CCP virus, and emphasise that it is a moving target with an unknown evolutionary destination, said Jonathan Stoye, head of the division of virology at Britains Francis Crick Institute. All the evidence is entirely consistent with an origin towards the end of last year, and theres no reason to question that in any way, Stoye said. A study by French scientists published earlier this week found a man in France was infected with COVID-19 as early as Dec. 27, nearly a month before authorities there confirmed the first cases. The World Health Organization said the French case was not surprising and urged countries to investigate any other early suspicious cases. Ballouxs team screened the genomes of more than 7,500 CCP viruses from infected patients around the world. Their results add to a growing body of evidence that SARS-CoV-2 viruses share a common ancestor from late 2019, suggesting this was when the CCP virus jumped from a previous animal host into people. The UCL researchers also found almost 200 small genetic changes, or mutations, in the CCP virus genomes they analysedfindings Balloux said offered helpful clues for researchers seeking to develop drugs and vaccines. By Kate Kelland Epoch Times staff contributed to this report. A 67-year-old man has been arrested for the murder of a teenager found dead over three decades ago. Cuyahoga Falls police said James E. Zastawnik, of Cleveland, is accused of murder involving a cold case. The department found the body of Barbara Blatnik on Dec. 20, 1987, in a wooded area. President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of retired Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Barrister Suleiman Abba, as the new chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund. The report of the latest appointment was contained in a statement released on Wednesday, May 6, by Garba Shehu, the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity. It was gathered that the president has also appointed Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto as the Executive Secretary of the fund. The appointment is pursuant to the Nigeria Police Trust Fund Establishment Act 2019. President Buhari also appointed six people as members of the Board of Trustees. They are: 1. Mr Nnamdi Maurice Mbaeri Representing Ministry of Police Affairs 2. Inspector-General of Police Representing Nigeria Police Force 3. Usman Bilkisu Representing Ministry of Justice 4. Mr Ben Akabueze (DG, Budget and National Planning) Representing Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning 5. Engr. Mansur Ahmed Representing Organised Labour 6. Dr Michael Bamidele Adebiyi Representing Civil Society Group Shehu noted that the appointments are in furtherance of the Buhari administrations commitment and drive to retooling the policing architecture in the country by emplacing the Police Trust Fund to meet the aspiration of a well-funded, equipped and highly professional Nigeria Police Force in line with international best practices. The senior presidential aide also noted that it was President Buharis commitment to rebranding the Nigeria police that informed his re-establishment of the Ministry of Police Affairs in 2019. The president also commended state governors, members of the National Assembly and Nigerians for their patriotic and spirited efforts at reforming the police to deepen the countrys internal security. Shehu said the minister of police affairs, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi will announce the inauguration date of the Board of Trustees of the Police Trust Fund. The post President Buhari makes new appointments (full list) appeared first on . Share this post with your Friends on State Agencies Update Faith and Nonprofit Leaders on COVID-19 Resources California state agencies came together on April 29 to update faith leaders and nonprofits executives on the disproportionate impact of coronavirus on African Americans and minorities and the array of resources available to combat the crippling disease. During a 90-minute teleconference, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California surgeon general, joined with representatives from the Governors Office of Emergency Services and the state departments of Public Health, Social Services and Aging, to share the latest facts and solicit support in educating communities of color. Burke Harris opened the assembly by acknowledging the increased stress that many individuals are experiencing as a result of the COVID-19. She also explained how that stress leads to secondary impacts that negatively affect physical and mental health. ADVERTISEMENT We recognize that people are feeling widespread anxiety about the virus, which is compounded by economic stress due to lost wages and unemployment and school closures, she said. Plus, many are feeling isolation because of the necessary physical distancing measures that we have had to take. All of these factors can result in an increase of stress-related health conditions. Citing some of the conditions, Burke Harris noted that heightened blood pressure, increased blood sugar and inflammation could potentially result in worse physical and mental health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, depression and unhealthy behaviors such as substance abuse. To reassure people that such responses were just not in their heads, Burke Harris urged the faith and nonprofit leaders to inform their constituents about simple activities that can protect brains and bodies from the effects of stress. She recommended healthy nutrition, regular exercise, meditation or prayer, staying connected with social supports and obtaining mental health care as actions that can reduce negative and overwhelming emotions. In addition, she emphasized the importance of reaching out to people of all ages, genders and living situations, noting that Blacks are often reluctant to trust the advice of medical professionals due to historical inequities in health care and misguided messaging. While the virus may be an equal opportunity menace, this pandemic is magnifying the deeper conditions that lead communities of color to be at a greater risk. Black and Brown people are dying from COVID-19 at disproportionate rates and at younger ages, insisted Burke Harris. These disparities are the result of generations of policies and decisions. People with disabilities, those without housing, those without legal protection and communities of color have been particularly impacted by the historic policies and practices that limited access to education, jobs and neighborhoods, she said. ADVERTISEMENT Mentioning Governor Gavin Newsoms commitment to protecting historically low-income communities, she also advised the participants about the governors actions to address inequities and requested that the leaders direct their congregations and clients to access the resources listed at covid19.ca.gov. Kim McCoy Wade, director of the Dept. of Aging, focused on sharing information that the state offers to assist older adults. Recognizing that some seniors are hesitant to visit hospitals for care due to concerns about catching the virus, McCoy Wade counseled against such opinions. Do not be concerned about calling 911 or [be] afraid of going to an emergency room. We want people who have a health emergency to get the assistance that they need, she said. We can also assist with food, health and connection services to assist those who are lonely. They are called friendship lines. They can help with loneliness, depression and feelings of isolation. They are all available at engage.ca.org or by calling 1-888-670-1360, added the director, who directed people to also call the hotline to request wellness checks on older adults. Kim Johnson, director of the Dept. of Social Services, outlined the states resources to aid undocumented immigrants. Since many immigrants may not qualify for the federal assistance provided by the CARES legislation, Johnson said the state has established a range of programs to help including legal assistance and housing support for people over 65. Also, California has compiled a guide that lists all of the programs to protect against coronavirus that are available for undocumented people. Other areas of assistance in the guide include small business support, testing and treatment, accessing public benefits and protection against scams. Please share all of these resources with your community members and take concrete steps to lessen the impact of COVID-19, Burke Harris said. To learn more, visit covid19.ca.gov. COVID-19 deaths, hospitalisations and lockdowns could be over this year, says WHO How the number of coronavirus positive cases increased from 40,000 to 50,000 in just three days India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P New Delhi, May 07: The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus crossed the 50,000 figure mark on Wednesday, as the number of positive COVID-19 cases added close to 3,500 in India. In this, it can be seen that Mumbai alone contributed over 10,000 cases. Earlier, India witnessed as it took nearly a month and a half to discover the first 10,000 cases. Now, the journey from 40,000 to 50,000 cases has taken just four days. Coronavirus outbreak: In just three days, India records nearly 10,000 COVID-19 cases In India, there are seven states with more than 3,000 COVID-19 cases. States such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh together account for more than 43,000 of the 52,900 cases in India. It can also be seen that this is more than 80 per cent of the entire caseload. Adding the cases of Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Punjab, it would take more than 90 per cent of all confirmed infections in India. Coronavirus outbreak: Study reveals heating N95 face mask disinfects it to reuse On May 6, India added 3,469 new patients, which is also the biggest single-day rise, excluding May 4 when more than 3,800 new cases were recorded mainly because of pending results in Maharashtra from previous days were confirmed. On Wednesday, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu together contributed nearly 2,000 cases while Gujarat and Delhi added another 800. Fake: Image of 8 year old boy suffering from coronavirus is incorrect The new cases in Maharashtra, that stands at 1,233, 769 were recorded in Mumbai alone. Also, Mumbai has a high positivity rate as well. Nearly 15 per cent of all people tested in Mumbai have turned out to be positive for the virus. More than 12.75 lakh people have been tested throughout the country, of which about 53,000 are positive. In Mumbai, the over 10,000 cases have been confirmed from just conducting about 73,000 tests. Zhao Guohua (first person from left) is trying out weapons on arrival in the international course of special operations forces. /Photo by Zhao Guohua By Wang Da and Wang Yukai At the Escuela de Operaciones Especiales General de Division Andres Rojas, a school of special operations in Venezuela which is popularly nicknamed as the hunter school in China, the ruthless subject titled "breaking through enemy interdiction barrage", along with many others, constitute the "hell-like trip" for Zhao Guohua, a staff officer from a special operations brigade of the PLA's 76th Group Army. The PLA first assigned special troops to the hunter school in 1999 and Zhao Guohua was among the latest Chinese special troops graduating from the Curso Intrenacionl de Fueraza Especiales (course for international special operations forces) there. He survived serial hell-like training on diving, sniping, helicopter landing, etc., and went through all the tests with the third-highest score among all the participants, for which he was granted the commando badge, a sign of the highest honor. Knockout begins before the course kicks off. The opportunity of training at the hunter school is greatly valued by members of the special operations forces (SOF) all over the world. The newly promoted company commander Zhao Guohua is no exception. After rounds of selection and Spanish training, he, along with seven other members, finally came to their dreamland. Located in the middle-east Venezuela, the training range is built on a mountain top at the elevation of 1,000m, surrounded by mountains and facing the Caribbean Sea in the north. Zhao Guohua and his peers had their hair cut and lived in the tin shacks of extremely poor conditions. During the daytime, it was more than 30 outdoors and up to 50 indoors, but at night it was only about 10. The school was infested with mosquitoes, insects, and snakes. But the poor living conditions were nothing compared to the unique training mode at the school, of which there was no training program, no plan, nor any notice for preparation. Before the training officially began, one day during the morning jogging, the trainees were ordered to jump into the cold water inside the deep mountain after running for more than ten kilometers. "This is really nightmare. I want to quit..." Zhao heard two foreign soldiers with knee injuries talking in the water. As soon as they got back, several soldiers went to the square and tolled the bell. Toll the bell, lower their national flag, and write a statement of voluntary withdrawal - that's the quitting process at the school. The rest 70 soldiers were asked to sign a waiver declaration with the school, which was written in Spanish and included numerous and complex articles, with some words difficult for Zhao to comprehend. Zhao understood the document was likely to have something about possible casualties during the training, to which the school is not liable. But he signed it with great calm. At that time, he might have not realized that the cruel training in the few months to come would leave an indelible impression on his mind. The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, yesterday celebrated his 70th birthday on a low key at the Manhyia Palace. A private mass and breakfast with his family at the Manhyia Palace were the only events that marked the birthday. The birthday had initially been planned to be an elaborate celebration to honour the Asantehene and also commemorate the 21st anniversary of his accession to the Golden Stool, which fell on April 21, but the plans had to change due to the ban on social and religious gatherings occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. In compliance with the directive, the Manhyia Palace has, since March 18, been closed to all public events and visits. Celebration Otumfuo Osei Tutu, who was clad in white Kente, was joined by his wife, Lady Julia Osei Tutu; the Chief of Staff at the Manhyia Palace, Mr Kofi Badu, and some few members of staff and members of the Asantehenes household for a private mass at Manhyia. The Anglican Bishop of Kumasi, the Most Rev. Prof. Daniel Yinkah Sarfo, led the mass and offered prayers of thanksgiving and supplication for good health and long life for the Asantehene. Otumfuo Osei Tutu later had breakfast with his family, who helped him cut a cake, after which he retired to his court. Postponement In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Badu said apart from the mass which was held but restricted to only a few people, all other events planned for the celebration of the Otumfuos Platinum birthday had been postponed. Instead, the Asantehene and his household spent the day in prayer to thank God for their lives, he said. The Asantehene prayed that a lasting solution would be found to the pandemic with the development of a vaccine, he added. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought such suffering on our people that any form of celebration will be inappropriate. More importantly, the day has been used to pray for Gods favour in opening the minds of our scientists to the vaccine the world needs to overcome the pandemic, Mr Badu said. He indicated that some important events had been planned, which would have been climaxed with a grand celebration, with a number of foreign dignitaries in attendance, but all that had to be postponed due to the current situation in the country. Congratulatory messages President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo led a number of personalities who sent congratulatory messages to the Otumfuo. The President congratulated the Asantehene on chalking up such an important milestone. Welcome to the club of the blessed 70-year-old family. On this important milestone, I pray for Gods blessing of wisdom, good health, long life, prosperity and many more years on the throne, the message said. Former President Jerry John Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, also congratulated the Asantehene, describing him as a unique Ambassador of Ghana and Africa, saying: For the past 21 years that you have been on the throne as the Asantehene, you have endeared yourself not only to the Ashanti Kingdom but also the entire country with your wisdom, leadership and calm demeanour. Former President John Dramani Mahama, in his message, wished the Asantehene good health and strength as he celebrated his 70th birthday and commended him for being an inspirational leader. As I have had the opportunity to indicate in the past, your achievements are nothing short of inspirational, he added. A message from the US Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Stephanie S. Sullivan, said: Congratulations on your 70th birthday. Nana wo nkwa so! 17th occupant Otumfuo Osei Tutu II became the 17th occupant of the Golden Stool in 1999 following the demise of Otumfuo Opoku Ware II, who passed away at the age of 79, having reigned for 29 years. Source: Daily Graphic 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 Salman Khan is a man with a big heart. Whenever people around him are low, they turn to him for help, and the superstar never backs off from extending his helping hand. In the time of crisis when the entire country is reeling under pandemic induced lock down, a lot of people are finding it tough to survive. Once again, Salman Khan is doing everything that he can. Twitter After helping local villagers with food supplies, Salman Khan has kickstarted a new initiative called Being Haangryy. Under this, he has introduced food trucks to provide food supplies to the needy people in Mumbai. Twitter Apart from this, Salman Khan had also transferred money in the accounts of daily wage workers from the industry. He had also supplied food essentials in Mumbai through his friend and politician Baba Siddiqui and his son. Twitter Although, Salman Khan has not announced the initiative himself, a Twitter user thanked him for his noble work and shared a video of the food truck. Thank you @Beingsalmankhan bhai for being there and silently doing something which is needed,service to mankind is service to the almighty!!!Jai Ho!!! I shall surely try and do my bit following the lockdown norms and request our Fanclub family to practice the same #BeingHaangryy pic.twitter.com/nOeQncO9Er Rahul.N.Kanal (@Iamrahulkanal) May 6, 2020 "Thank you @Beingsalmankhan bhai for being there and silently doing something which is needed,service to mankind is service to the almighty!!!Jai Ho!!! I shall surely try and do my bit following the lockdown norms and request our Fanclub family to practice the same #BeingHaangryy," he wrote. Once again, Salman Khan has won the hearts of the audiences. "Ek hi toh dil hai, kitne baar jeetoge?," a fan wrote. Food for hungry good initiative taken by @BeingSalmanKhan Bhai. Proud to be your fan Salman Bhai ek hi toh dil hai seene mein kitni baar jeetoge Bhai. #BeingHaangryy pic.twitter.com/80v3SKhNhL Square Root Constructions (@HashmiRizwan) May 6, 2020 So @BeingSalmanKhan asked his team to set up food trucks across the city to give free food and ration to the homeless and needy ones. I absolutely love this man. god bless #BeingHaangryy pic.twitter.com/b1gjPE7M9I brat (@FlybrownG) May 6, 2020 #SalmanKhan silently helping to needy & poor people by #BeingHaangryy. The most loved megastar of this nation for a reason _/_ JAI SALMAN KHAN pic.twitter.com/eS9q09A25h Devil V!SHAL (@VishalRC007) May 6, 2020 BEING HUMAN is this famous bcoz Salman just dont use it as a tag only,He live with it..Its his hard work and passion for helping poor and needy people which has made BH a household name in India#BeingHaangryy pic.twitter.com/GLJIxttvpm BeingHonest (@Itsss_Shivam) May 6, 2020 @BeingSalmanKhan In this time of lockdown, poor people have nothing to eat, You constantly coming forward to help needy by supplying ration & deposited money in their acc has won hearts of millions of people & inspire us to do social work #BeingHaangryy pic.twitter.com/8vpek2DMIw RENUSID-MYCHERRYPIE (@RENULOVESID) May 6, 2020 Salman Khan is staying at his farmhouse in Panvel along with his friends Jacqueline Fernandez, Iulia Vantur, Waluscha De Sousa and others. COVID-19 is being blamed for the surprise end to Sidewalk Labs controversial plan to create a high-tech district on Torontos waterfront a move that has some civic backers disappointed, while others see it as a chance to create a more citizen-directed development on the site in the future. The Manhattan-based sister company of tech giant Google made the news public Thursday in a blog post from Sidewalk Labs chief executive Dan Doctoroff. He blamed the global economic upheaval caused by the pandemic and the resulting uncertainty over Torontos real estate market. In October 2017, Sidewalk Labs and Waterfront Toronto set out to plan a shared vision for Quayside, a fundamentally more sustainable and affordable community resulting from innovations in technology and urban design, Doctoroff wrote. So it is with great personal sadness and disappointment that Sidewalk Labs will no longer pursue the Quayside project, he wrote. But as unprecedented economic uncertainty has set in around the world and in the Toronto real estate market, it has become too difficult to make the 12-acre project financially viable without sacrificing core parts of the plan we had developed together with Waterfront Toronto to build a truly inclusive, sustainable community, he added. And so, after a great deal of deliberation, we concluded that it no longer made sense to proceed with the Quayside project, and let Waterfront Toronto know yesterday. Sidewalk Labs will continue working on urban innovation, he wrote, calling it difficult to walk away from attempts to reach a final development deal. Toronto is one of the worlds great centres of technological innovation, and nothing about this decision will in any way diminish that, he said. Keerthana Rang, a spokesperson for Sidewalk Labs said the firm made the decision, then contacted Alphabet, the parent company of Sidewalk Labs and Google on Tuesday. Sidewalk Labs will maintain its head office at Parliament Street and Lakeshore Boulevard for now and attempt to redeploy the 30 staffers that work there. Waterfront Toronto, a tri-government agency that is steward of Torontos waterfront lands put out the original request for proposals to develop the 12-acre site in March 2017. Sidewalk Labs won that bid the following October. The project, which was to be a mainly residential development with commercial components, became highly controversial, in large part over the collection of data on everything from foot traffic through the community, to the garbage disposal and energy use of residents, weather conditions and more. But after a public outcry over privacy and data concerns, Sidewalk Labs agreed to significant concessions, including allowing Waterfront Toronto to be responsible for oversight of how the data collected at Quayside would be stored and managed. Sidewalk Labs was also forced to revert to the original 4.8-hectare footprint last fall after backlash over its proposal to help develop as much as 77 hectares of the Portlands. Waterfront Toronto chair Steve Diamond said hes disappointed the project fell through, but not surprised by the news of Sidewalk Labs leaving town. When you look at the deal, this goes back three years. It was really planned and modelled in a pre-COVID environment, said Diamond. Even then, apart from the financial considerations, the complexity of the project and regulatory changes the contemplation of construction of a tall timber factory (to construct wood framed buildings at Quayside), these are all enormous undertakings. And if you look around the world today, many existing plans have been altered or abandoned based on these (COVID-19) circumstances. Diamond suggested the departure of Sidwalk Labs, though unfortunate, presents new opportunities around what to do with the 12 acres and more on the eastern waterfront. Is a smart city the best objective now for the use of these lands? Or, for example, should we be concentrating on innovation but in a different sense the opportunity to provide more affordable rental and home ownership opportunities? The opportunity to create new and dynamic public open spaces? The opportunity to create, for example, new ways to help small businesses and retailers? Diamond, who is a real estate developer, went on to say that Thursdays news isnt a set back for the city. Toronto is an international city people want to invest in, he said. Waterfront Toronto spokesperson Andrew Tumilty said Thursday the agency spent $16 million over the past three years, less than three per cent of the appraised value of the Quayside land. Tumilty said Waterfront Toronto views That money as an investment in what will one day deliver innovative solutions on the eastern waterfront. Sidewalk has spent more than $50 million (U.S.) on the Quayside project. Shauna Brail, director and associate professor in U of Ts urban studies program, voiced concern about Sidewalk Labs decision. There will be many who say that todays decision is a win for Toronto. I disagree. As a global city, we need to build relationships and partnerships that bring people, new ideas, and investments to Toronto. We wont know the full impact of this decision for some time, however its safe to say that the implications go well beyond the 12 acres on our waterfront, she added. Regardless of whether or not one agreed with their decision to partner with Sidewalk Labs, Waterfront Toronto will be faced with rebuilding trust with communities, governments and industry. Matti Siemiatycki, an associate professor in U of Ts geography and planning department said the key now is for Waterfront Toronto to assert itself as the lead planner for that area. Where the Sidewalk Labs project ran into trouble in the community, is it was unclear who was leading. Was it Waterfront Toronto and the city or Sidewalk Labs bringing forward their ideas of what a significant portion of the city should look like? Siemiatycki said. Coming out of this project, weve learned residents want our civic officials as the guardians of the public interests to be the ones who are setting the vision and working with citizens and residents to come up with that collectively. Toronto Mayor John Tory said Thursday that hell push Waterfront Toronto to help create a new Quayside that will create new jobs and economic development opportunities, a carbon-neutral neighbourhood with more housing including affordable housing units, and better transportation and sustainability features. Asked how land values figured into the pullout, Tory said the city had to protect Torontonians interests in allocating to Sidewalk Labs one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in the city. That was clearly an issue, among other factors in the deals collapse, Tory said. The process certainly got off to a rocky start in terms of process and how the (partnership) was governed, and that might have plagued the project all the way through, he added. Ontario Premier Doug Ford called Sidewalks decision unfortunate, but added that: Now theres an opportunity for other people to do something spectacular on the Toronto waterfront and we look forward to sitting down with the mayor and getting his thoughts, he said, praising Torontos developers and architects. The Toronto Region Board of Trade, a strong supporter of Sidewalk Labs role in the Quayside project, called the pullout not unexpected. The world has changed a lot since the outbreak of COVID, which impacts capacity to take on really ambitious projects like this, said Janet De Silva, the boards chief executive. De Silva predicted that the post-pandemic era will see the economy rebuilt to reflect health concerns, so restarting waterfront innovation presents an opportunity. Waterfront Toronto chose Sidewalk Labs as its preferred development partner for Quayside, a former industrial site at Parliament Street and Queens Quay, with fanfare and international headlines. Organized opposition, including a group called #BlockSidewalk, urged Waterfront Toronto to end long and laboured negotiations to reach final agreement on Quayside that saw deadline after deadline pushed back. This is huge. We are sending a message to Silicon Valley on behalf of all those around the world who are fighting big tech in their cities, Julie Beddoes, one of the organizers with #BlockSidewalk said in a statement Thursday. With files from Robert Benzie David Rider is the Stars City Hall bureau chief and a reporter covering city hall and municipal politics. Follow him on Twitter: @dmrider Read more about: Be Kind or Be Poor What shall it Be? If everyone were kind, things would be very different. Jennifer and Chris went for a short stroll in the city. A poor priest was begging. Chris felt pity on him. He gave him a bag full of 100 gold coins. The priest was happy and thanked Chris. He left for his home. On the way, the beggar-priest saw another person who needed help. He ignored him. A thief robbed him of his coins and escaped! The priest went back to begging. Next day again when Chris saw the same priest begging, he was surprised that after getting a bag full of coins which can last a lifetime, the priest was still begging! He called the priest and asked him, Why? The priest told him the whole story. Chris felt sorry for him again and acted kindly, so, this time he gave him a diamond. The priest liked the diamond; but he was insensitive to others in need couldnt see his own faults, not helping others. Priest gets home, thinking he would hide the diamond put it in an empty pot of water, planning to cash it out and live lavishly. His wife was not at home. (she probably would be more than dumfounded with him) Feeling secure, he took a nap. His wife came home, picked up that empty pot of water, walked towards the river close by to fill up the water, not noticing the diamond in the pot. She gets to the river, put the whole pot into the rushing river to fill it up. The diamond was washed down the river. The priest woke up went and looked in the pot, which was empty.. asked his wife about the diamond. I didnt see any diamond. If it was in the pot, its been washed down the river. The priest couldnt believe his situation (sounds like past behavior coming back to haunt him)again started begging (this priest has a real problem and doesnt think clearly at all). Chris and Jennifer saw him begging again. Chris, obviously over-kind, inquired about it. He started thinking if this priest will ever have a happy life. Jennifer smiled. Chris gave that priest one coin which was not even enough to buy a lunch or dinner. Chris asked Jennifer, Lord, I gave him gold coins and diamond, which could have given him a wealthy life, yet it didnt help him. How will just one coin help this poor guy? Jennifer told Chris to follow that priest and find out. (By now, the priest must have a sense of entitlement) to be continued.. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for reading! Happy New Day!!Ask Dr. Jeanette Parkertm Ask Dr. Jeanettetm www.AskDrJeanetteParker.com; Articles copyright Inquiring Minds Want To Know Jeanette Parker Founder-Superintendent:Todays Fresh Start Charter School www.todaysfreshstart.org email: [email protected] By Trend Chief negotiators from Norway and Britain met for the first time since Britains exit from the European Union to discuss the future relationship of the two countries, Norways Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, Trend reports citing Reuters. Britain is one of our most important trading partners and the government wants to maintain as tight a relationship as possible between our two countries also after Brexit, Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide said in a statement. Norway is a not a member of the EU. Representatives from Iceland and Liechtenstein which, like Norway, are members of the European Free Trade Association(EFTA) also participated in the meeting, which took place via video, the ministry said. Donald Trump's reelection campaign released a rage blog post Wednesday on his website slamming George Conway, the leader of an anti-Trump Republican political action committee, as 'largely unemployed.' The post, titled 'The Lincoln Project Losers are Scam Artists', launches personal attacks against the PAC's leaders, including the husband of White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway, one of the president's closest advisers. 'You'd think George Conway would get off the couch more often, given that he's largely unemployed and his membership in Washington's elite will expire the second President Trump leaves office,' one bullet point in the campaign blog post asserts. Trump's campaign made the post after The Lincoln Project released on Monday an attack ad against the president Monday, titled 'Mourning in America', for his response to the coronavirus pandemic. Conway, a lawyer by trade, also published an op-ed with The Washington Post Wednesday addressing the ad and the president's response, again taking aim at Trump and questioning his fitness for office. Donald Trump's reelection campaign posted a rage-blog blasting George Conway for being 'largely unemployed' after his PAC released an attack ad against the president's response to the coronavirus pandemic The blog post is titled 'The Lincoln Project Losers are Scam Artists' and took aim at all The blog article came around the same time George Conway, who is married to White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway, published a Washington Post op-ed slamming the president for his response to the ad. He said the president 'reacts with such rage' because 'he fears the truth' After blasting Trump for attacking the media and political opponents and boasting of his coronavirus press briefing ratings, Conway wrote: 'Tens of thousands of mental-health professionals, testing the bounds of professional ethics, have warned for years about Trump's unfitness for office.' 'Trump's narcissism deadens any ability he might otherwise have had to carry out the duties of a president in the manner the Constitution requires,' he continued. 'He's so self-obsessed, he can only act for himself, not for the nation. It's why he was impeached, and why he should have been removed from office.' The president posted a thread of angry tweets against Conway's group at nearly 1:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, boosting traffic and fundraising for the group, which raised more than $1 million off the ad. Conway asserted in his op-ed that Trump responds with 'such rage' to criticism like those posed in the advertisement because 'he fears the truth.' In the blog post from his campaign, the advisers for The Lincoln Project were called 'scam artists' and 'trashy political grifters.' 'What do you do if you're a washed up Washington swamp creature who sided with Hillary in 2016 and hasn't actually been a part of a winning Republican political campaign in years?' the post poses. 'You start a scam PAC to stay afloat and stay relevant to MSNBC and CNN bookers and that's exactly what the scumbags at the 'Never Trump' 'Lincoln Project' have done,' it asserted. The post also says PAC adviser Rick Wilson, a longtime Republican media consultant, has called 'hardworking Americans stupid' and charges that he 'openly wishing for the First Lady to 'be infected' with coronavirus.' 'The Lincoln Project is nothing but a transparent way for political bottom feeders to make easy money,' it concludes. 'The Trump campaign encourages all Democrats to light their money on fire by sending money to line these losers' pockets.' When asked about the ad on Wednesday,, Trump went on a rant against the PAC. 'They should not call it The Lincoln Project. It's not fair to Abraham Lincoln, a great president,' the president said. 'They should call it the losers project.' Pegged to Ronald Reagan's sunny 'Morning in America' campaign theme, the ad describes an economy 'in shambles' with 26 million out of work. It infuriated Trump, who fired off a tweet storm after midnight on Tuesday, where he slammed Conway as a 'deranged loser' and 'moonface.' George Conway released an ad Monday blaming the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and the economic downturn as a result of Donald Trump's response to the outbreak in the U.S. The tweets brought scrutiny and media attention, and prompted the group to experience its best fundraising day of the year, with a $1 million haul, CNBC reported. They also brought 'earned media' where a group gets portions of its ad essentially played for free through news coverage. The group's ad had a limited run on Fox News stations in the Washington, D.C. area a relatively cheap way to get national exposure. The group raised nearly $2 million last quarter and had more than $1 million in the bank in order to produce more anti-Trump ads. As it turns out, the ad aired hours after Trump gave a sit-down with Fox News in front of the famed Daniel Chester French statue of Lincoln inside the Lincoln Memorial. 'That was the luck of the political gods,' John Weaver, an advisor to the late Republican Trump rival Sen. John McCain, told CNN. The ad demonized Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic and questioned the vitality of America as a nation if the president is reelected. Trump referred to the group as 'RINO Republicans' Republicans In Name Only. President Trump has slammed Kellyanne Conway's lawyer husband as a 'deranged loser' and 'moonface' in a series of bizarre tweets In a series of tweets, the President said: 'A group of RINO Republicans who failed badly 12 years ago, then again 8 years ago, and then got BADLY beaten by me, a political first timer, 4 years ago, have copied (no imagination) the concept of an ad from Ronald Reagan, 'Morning in America', doing everything possible to get even for all of their many failures. 'You see, these loser types don't care about 252 new Federal Judges, 2 great Supreme Court Justices, a rebuilt military, a protected 2nd Amendment, biggest EVER Tax & Regulation cuts, and much more. 'I didn't use any of them because they don't know how to win, and their so-called Lincoln Project is a disgrace to Honest Abe,' Trump wrote. 'I don't know what Kellyanne did to her deranged loser of a husband, Moonface, but it must have been really bad. John Weaver lost big for Kasich (to me). Crazed Rick Wilson lost for Evan 'McMuffin' McMullin (to me). 'Steve Schmidt & Reed Galvin lost for John McCain, Romney's campaign manager (?) lost big to 'O', & Jennifer Horn got thrown out of the New Hampshire Republican Party. They're all LOSERS, but Abe Lincoln, Republican, is all smiles!' 'I guess we know what keeps the president of the United States up at night. It isn't the Americans who are dying once every 45 seconds of covid-19,' Conway tweeted in response to the president's rant. Conway's minute-long political ad which was released yesterday asserts: 'There's mourning in American. And under the leadership of Donald Trump our country is weaker and sicker and poorer.' The ad includes several desolate images of the struggling U.S. economy, including empty roads and shut down factories 'And now Americans are asking: If we have another four years like this, will there even be an America?' the narrator questions in his conclusion. 'There's mourning in America,' the ad reiterated, then goes on to blame Trump for the poor economic downturn due to the coronavirus outbreak. 'Today more than 600,000 Americans have died from a deadly virus Donald Trump ignored.' 'Trump bailed out Wall Street, but not Main Street,' it asserted. 'This afternoon, millions of Americans will apply for unemployment, and with their saving run out, many are giving up hope. Millions worried a loved one won't survive COVID-19.' In a statement released Monday, the group said the ad is a play on Ronald Reagan's 1984 campaign ad titled Morning in America, where he highlighted the positive impact of his first term. Jennifer Horn, the co-founder of The Lincoln Project, said the goal of the PAC ad is to highlight Trump's failures as president, specifically during a time of crisis. 'Americans are asking: If we have another four years like this, will there even be an America?' the ad, titled Mourning in American, concludes Conway, a former Republican who turned independent in 2018, is a vocal and public Trump critic even though his wife works closely as one of the president's top advisers. Kellyanne Conway currently serves as counselor to the president and has previously held roles as campaign manager and strategist in the Republican Party. George Conway helped start The Lincoln Project in December 2019 with other anti-Trump Republicans to derail his reelection efforts while remaining true to their conservatives roots and values. The new ad comes as Trump's 2020 campaign has launched its own national advertising blitz after internal polling showed the president slipping in some battleground states. The ad campaign is aimed at praising the president for his response to the coronavirus outbreak and reports indicate a second wave of ads will come soon attacking his presumed Democratic contender Joe Biden. BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 Trend: Revenues of the State Social Protection Fund (SSPF) from January through April 2020 spiked by 39.6 percent compared to the same period of 2019, Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Population Sahil Babayev said in an interview to media representatives, Trend reports. According to him, in the reporting period, the amount of mandatory state social insurance fees to SSPF under the ministry surpassed the forecast by 163 million manat, or $95.8 million (17.2 percent). Despite the introduction of the special quarantine regime, revenues of SSPF increased by 313.4 million manat [$184.3 million], or by 39.6 percent compared to the same period of last year, Babayev said. The minister pointed out that last year, as a result of fulfilling a 105.5-percent forecast set on SSPF income, 200 million manat ($117.6 million) formed due to saving the Funds expenses has significantly contributed to ensure the continuity of social payments. (1 USD = 1.7 AZN on May 7) A minor girl was allegedly gangraped in Rajasthan's Tonk district following which three people were arrested and a juvenile was detained, police said on Thursday. A case was registered against four accused for kidnapping and gangrape on Wednesday on a complaint lodged by the victim's brother, SHO of the police station concerned said. He said three persons have been arrested and one juvenile has been detained. The victim had gone to the fields when the four accused kidnapped and later gangraped her at a secluded place, police said. The incident happened on Tuesday night. The girl's statement has been recorded and a medical examination has been conducted, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) T he Bank of England has been on the happy pills. Todays claim that the economy will crash 14% this year then recover 15% in 2021 is for the birds. Buy the first bit, but not the second. The Banks economists underestimate the impact on our lives of the end of state-funded furloughing. While they acknowledge that unemployment is going to leap to 9% or so, they fail to recognise the impact all those layoffs are going to have on the companies doing them. The fact is, having had no income for months, many wont have enough cash to pay the redundancy costs. Especially after settling two quarters of rent bills with landlords when the Government-ordered payment holiday ends on June 30. Senior accountants tell me, sad though it is, many firms will go under simply because they cant afford their layoff programmes. That, in turn, will trigger a further wave of redundancies. The disappearance of so many employers will make the long term chances of re-employment that much lower and crimp the supply side of the economy, just as consumer confidence plunges. Add onto that the potential of a botched Brexit causing queues of goods at ports, and a 15% GDP bounceback next year looks laughable. Im aware Ive painted a most miserable picture on this sunny day, and hopefully it wont all pan out this way. Britain is good at restructuring its businesses. Many workers will be transferred, not fired, as new owners take over their bust employers. State assistance programmes may succeed in keeping employers cashflow strong enough to survive. The furlough programme may be artfully tapered to somehow prevent layoffs and a sensible Brexit may be forthcoming. But be in no doubt, awakening the economy from its furloughed slumber will be the most dangerous time. Suggestions from Fine Gael ministers that planned pay rises for public sector workers will not be paid are outrageous and grotesque, Opposition left TDs have said. TDs across the left reacted strongly to a story in Read More: Ged Nash, Labour Party spokesman on employment, said the long-standing pay deal is already accounted for in 2020 and 2021. In the context of a multibillion deficit due to the Covid-19 pandemic it would be grotesque that the first cut a new government makes would be to the pay of the workers who got us through this crisis. The same ministers who are falling over themselves to be first in line to tweet their thanks to our nurses, doctors, healthcare assistants are now spoiling for a fight with them, he said. It is two-faced and plain wrong for Fine Gael to try to divide workers at such a critical period of our national response. A new pay deal will have to be negotiated in the months ahead and it would be an incredible act of bad faith for the Government to renege on previous agreements before even sitting down with the trade unions that represent the workers on whom we all depend, Mr Nash said. He said over the last eight weeks public servants across the country have gone above and beyond the call of duty in our national effort to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. Today we read comments from Fine Gael ministers saying any pay increase for public servants would not be credible, he said. Some basic facts have been forgotten. The pay rise in October is the final instalment of a three-year deal and the cost of it has already been included in the budget for 2020 that was passed just months ago, he added. Mr Nash said the cost of the proposals in 2020 is estimated to be approximately 340m and of that a large proportion relates to health alone who are our frontline heroes right now. There is then a carry-on cost of 227m in 2021. What cant be lost, however, is that these figures are already included in the budget figures for this year and next, he said. Solidarity TD Paul Murphy said he was not surprised that government ministers are beginning to say such things. It does not surprise me they have public servants who have done such incredible work since the crisis began in their sights, he said. We are beginning to see Covid austerity being rolled out and I am sure the government may plead an inability to pay but we on the left will not accept that. Unions have to be ready to stand up and fight for their members and it is our view the deal must be honoured, he told the Irish Examiner. His colleague, Brid Smith, said the impact of the austerity from the last crash is still being felt. The financial emergency legislation has not yet been fully repealed so such talk is outrageous and not acceptable she said. The deal must be adhered to fully and no one can doubt the solidarity shown by public sector workers during this crisis, she said. TORONTO - Scores more people in Canada have succumbed to COVID-19, authorities reported Thursday, as one of the country's major inter-city bus carriers announced it would be shutting down completely due to a precipitous drop in passengers caused by the pandemic. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 7/5/2020 (622 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. People walk by a mural of sign-language interpreter Nigel Howard and Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam created by artist Ian Morris seen along Government St. in Victoria, B.C., on Wednesday May 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito TORONTO - Scores more people in Canada have succumbed to COVID-19, authorities reported Thursday, as one of the country's major inter-city bus carriers announced it would be shutting down completely due to a precipitous drop in passengers caused by the pandemic. Of the new deaths, 121 were reported in Quebec, prompting Premier Francois Legault to delay reopening retail stores, schools and daycares in the Montreal area to May 25. Another 911 new cases were identified. Ontario reported 48 more deaths, with 399 new cases recorded over the previous 24 hours, continuing a trend of slowing growth. Nova Scotia recorded three more deaths, all at a long-term care home in Halifax, bringing the Canadian total to above 4,400 as provinces begin easing stay-home restrictions. However, the transit action by Greyhound Canada will leave people in Central Canada with fewer ways to travel and another 400 employees out of work as of May 13. Ridership, the company said, had fallen 95 per cent and revenues plunged. With service cut in Western Canada two years ago and several other routes already reduced or suspended due to COVID-19, the company said it was unable to continue without government money. "This decision came as a last resort option to address the uncontrollable consequences and devastating impacts of this pandemic," Stuart Kendrick, senior vice-president, said in a statement. "We will continue our discussions with the provincial and federal governments." The closure of bus routes comes along with already drastically reduced commercial air and rail traffic as well as local transit options, leaving cars as one of the few ways to travel any distance. "It is primarily women, low-income earners, seniors, and many essential workers who depend on these buses," NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said as he urged the federal government to come up with the "relatively little" $26 million bus companies say they need to stay in business. Across Canada, about 65,000 people are known to have contracted the novel coronavirus. The Canadian Armed Forces have deployed more than 1,000 troops in long-term care facilities and elsewhere, but Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan would not say how many members have fallen ill. Most of the deployed personnel are in Quebec nursing homes, which have been hit brutally by the pandemic, but some members are at five homes in Ontario. Others are helping out in a variety of tasks in remote and rural areas. Hospital capacity is of particular concern away from big centres, prompting the country's chief health officer to advise people to avoid heading to their cottages or second homes. Besides spreading COVID-19 into those areas, Tam said a key issue is the potential for too many people in need of medical treatment in places that simply can't handle a surge. In Ontario, for instance, Premier Doug Ford stopped short of telling people to stay away from their secondary properties over the upcoming Victoria Day weekend but urged common sense and respect for health advice. "It's not the party weekend it's been in the past," Ford said. "I'm asking you please don't go up there with a whack of people." At his daily briefing, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the federal government would spend $3 billion for wage top-ups for essential workers. The money will go to provinces, which are putting up another $1 billion and will decide who gets extra cash. Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Trudeau had previously offered federal wage assistance, particularly for personal support workers and other front-line health staff in light of the devastation in long-term care homes, where most of Canada's 4,300 deaths have occurred. Quebec and Ontario had already announced a $4-per-hour pay hike for workers in private long-term care homes and some other facilities, while Saskatchewan is supplementing wages by $400 per month for those working with seniors, in group homes and in child care. Trudeau said he's not overly concerned about the huge amounts of money the government is spending, saying cushioning the pandemic's economic blow is his priority. The global outbreak, he said, has revealed problems such as the plight of vulnerable workers that need to be dealt with. Reported cases globally have moved toward the four million mark, with deaths approaching 270,000. The U.S. accounts for more than one quarter of both totals. -With files from Canadian Press reporters across the country This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2020 Israel lifted most of its restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus outbreak on Thursday and allowed malls, gyms and markets to reopen. Temperature checks will be conducted at all entrances and shoppers are required to wear face masks and keep a distance of two meters from each other. Israel imposed sweeping restrictions on movement and ordered most businesses to close in mid-March. The country begun recently to ease restrictions as the rate of new infection seems to have stabilized. So far, Israel's Ministry of Health has confirmed 16,346 infections and 239 deaths. For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. [May 07, 2020] Newmont Donates $500,000 to Support the Colorado COVID Relief Fund Newmont Corporation (NYSE: NEM, TSX: NGT) (Newmont or the Company) today announced a $500,000 donation to the Colorado COVID Relief Fund, a statewide relief effort established in March with the support of Governor Jared Polis. A matching contribution from the Colorado Health Foundation will double the impact of Newmont's donation to $1 million. Newmont's donation to the Colorado COVID Relief Fund is targeted to benefit residents of Teller and Fremont counties, the communities closest to the Company's Cripple Creek and Victor mine (CC&V). Newmont owns and operates CC&V in Teller County which directly employs more than 550 people and contributes $132 million to the state economy through jobs, purchasing, tax and royalty payments and social investments. Governor Polis said, "We are excited that Newmont is joining the CO COVID Relief Efforts. We know their contribution will have a significant impact on the communities in our state that are being affected by this deadly virus." Tom Palmer, Newmont's President and Chief Executive Officer stated, "Our partnership with the Colorado COVID Relief Fund and the Colorado Health Foundation will bring much-needed resources to help communities in Teller and Fremont counties combat and recover from the impacts of this terrible Pandemic. These counties are ome to many of our employees and their families and we are stepping forward to do our part to keep them healthy and safe." On April 9th, the Company announced the establishment of the Newmont Global Community Support Fund to help host communities, governments and employees around the globe combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, Newmont has been actively partnering with local governments, medical institutions, charities and non-governmental organizations across the globe to target funds towards addressing the greatest needs with a view to serving as a catalyst for long-term resiliency and future community development. The Fund is focused on three key areas to ensure the most positive impact and reach those who need it most: Employee and Community Health; Food Security; and Local Economic Resilience. More information about Newmont's Global Community Support Fund can be found here. Additional information about the Colorado COVID Relief Fund, including grant application instructions, can be found at HelpColoradoNow.org. About Newmont Newmont is the world's leading gold company and a producer of copper, silver, zinc and lead. The Company's world-class portfolio of assets, prospects and talent is anchored in favorable mining jurisdictions in North America, South America, Australia and Africa. Newmont is the only gold producer listed in the S&P 500 Index and is widely recognized for its principled environmental, social and governance practices. The Company is an industry leader in value creation, supported by robust safety standards, superior execution and technical proficiency. Newmont was founded in 1921 and has been publicly traded since 1925. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005598/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] When schools and businesses started to shut down, Leslie Neelys first thought was what would happen to children with developmental disabilities who depend on behavioral therapy. The educational psychology professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio said government-mandated social distancing requirements, necessary to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, had also temporarily prevented some clients at the Autism Treatment Center in San Antonio from getting needed care. We had to consider the ethics of not continuing these services, said Neely, who started a new program that trains the nonprofit centers behavioral therapists to conduct sessions with clients virtually. These therapists help children with autism or other disabilities learn how to do the basics take their daily medication and brush their teeth, for example through a method of therapy called Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA. Neely received a $50,000 grant for the project from the COVID-19 Response Fund, a $5.4 million fund managed by the San Antonio Area Foundation and the United Way of San Antonio & Bexar County. Over an eight-week period, 70 children will receive behavior therapy using videoconferencing technology, and 23 therapists will remain employed while receiving hands-on training in telehealth. Carlos Javier Sanchez | Contributor / The long-term goal of this project, she said, is to establish telehealth as an effective alternative to in-person services, even after the threat of COVID-19 has passed. In the midst of the crisis, many health care providers are seeing patients online to minimize person-to-person. The looming question for the industry is to what extent telemedicine has taken root since mid-March. Apart from the convenience of conferring through laptops and smartphones, the answer will depend on: how well patients health outcomes from online sessions match up with the results of face-to-face appointments; how secure the digital platforms are in handling patients sensitive health information; and how willing insurers will be to pay for telemedicine at the same rates they do for in-person visits. For the first time, telemedicine is widespread in San Antonio. Carlos Javier Sanchez | Contributor / Laurel Ridge Treatment Center, a psychiatric hospital near Stone Oak, announced a new service allowing patients to participate remotely in their intensive outpatient programs. University Health System recently updated its new mobile app to give patients free access to a virtual triage and to schedule telehealth visits. Texas Medical Association recently conducted a poll of physician members asking whether they had started to use telemedicine during the pandemic: 74 percent answered yes. On ExpressNews.com: Drugstore giants vie for patients in telemedicine market Its time, said Neely, who has researched telemedicine in her field since 2015. Its been emerging for years. Within weeks, patients with chronic or acute health conditions were given easier access to their doctors via Zoom or FaceTime, without the risk of exposure to coronavirus at a doctors office or hospital. What took so long? For clinic owners, its an investment of time and money. It requires buying computer hardware and software, training employees, internet bandwidth and contracting with a company that offers a platform that can protect patient privacy and reduce liability from data breaches. Health care businesses transition to telemedicine is coming during a public health emergency when these providers are already hurt financially by lower patient volumes. The Good Newsletter: A weekly dose of inspiring San Antonio stories, delivered to your inbox But moving more of the business online could also mean reduced rent payments as providers seek to lease a clinic space with less square footage. Some doctors report being able to see more patients a day via telemedicine and many patients could get used to getting medical care without loading up the kids in the car or missing work. This telemedicine expansion is very much an urgent pilot study, said Dr. Zeke Silva, a diagnostic and interventional radiologist for South Texas Radiology Group in San Antonio. I think were going to look back at this point in time as objectively and responsibly as we can to see what worked and what didnt work. Silva runs the radiology departments at two Methodist Healthcare System hospitals and was a lead author of a white paper in 2012 on teleradiology. On Wednesday, the doctor spoke to American Medical Association members via webinar about coding for telemedicine during COVID-19, which is how providers get payment for services from multiple insurance companies. He said the increased use of telehealth was triggered by the current public health emergency because of a waiver of section 1135 of the Social Security Act relaxed rules about paying for online medical visits. Carlos Javier Sanchez The waiver allowed doctors to bill federally-funded health insurance Medicaid, Medicare and the Childrens Health Insurance Program for virtual services starting on March 18 at the same rate as face-to-face visits. Texas Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox Chad Mulvany, a policy director for Washington D.C.-based Healthcare Financial Management Association, said its likely that there will be an aggressive push for Congress to make these legislative changes permanent. When the national health emergency ends and the government rolls back the telehealth expansion, he said he fully expects to see a coalition of providers, health plans, patient advocates, consumer groups and public health workers band together to make telehealth just health care. Congress has already appropriated $200 million through the CARES Act to fund efforts to expand telehealth. Major health insurance companies tend to follow what the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services does. UnitedHealthcare has since announced plans to reimburse its members claims for telehealth services, at least through June 18. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas temporarily lifted cost-sharing, which includes copays, deductibles and coinsurance for remote care from in-network providers during the emergency. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues there has been a considerable increase in the utilization of telemedicine technology, said Laura Tolley, spokeswoman for BCBSTX. The average weekly telemedicine claims volume has increased from about 23,860 claims per week in early February to more than 160,000 claims per week in April. Laura Garcia covers the health care industry in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Laura, become a subscriber. laura.garcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @Reporter_Laura Texas Supreme Court orders release of mom jailed for reopening hair salon to feed family Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The Texas Supreme Court has ordered the release of a Dallas hair salon owner, who was sentenced to jail by a judge on Tuesday after she reopened her shop despite the governors order shutting down non-essential businesses. The move by the states high court came after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton voiced outrage over Shelley Luther being found in contempt of court and sentenced to seven days in prison. Luther reopened her business, Salon A la Mode, despite orders issued by Abbott for all non-essential businesses to shut down as the state tries to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus. She claimed that she needed to reopen her salon because she would not have been able to feed her children without doing so. In her hearing Thursday, Luther reportedly refused an opportunity by Dallas County State District Judge Eric Moye to apologize and label herself selfish for violating the state order rather than pay a fine or serve jail time. The judge found that she had no contrition, remorse or regret. Her sentencing came on the same day that Abbott announced that salons, gyms, and other businesses can begin reopening their doors on Friday. The Texas Supreme Courts order was laid down on the same day in which Abbott removed jail as a possible punishment for people who violate the states coronavirus shutdown orders. In a statement, the Texas attorney general praised the Supreme Court for correctly addressing Luthers excessive punishment and unnecessary jailing. No Texan should face imprisonment for peacefully resisting an order that temporarily closed a lawful business and drastically limited their ability to provide for their family through no fault of their own, Paxton said. Texans must all work together to overcome this crisis, and ensuring freedom from excessive punishment is critical. Luthers case drew the ire of state leaders and much pushback from people who have opposed orders forcing businesses to close during the pandemic. In a tweet Thursday, Abbott argued that [t]hrowing Texans in jail whose biz's shut down through no fault of their own is wrong. I am eliminating jail for violating an order, retroactive to April 2, superseding local orders, Abbott wrote. Criminals shouldnt be released to prevent COVID-19 just to put business owners in their place. Paxton wrote a letter to Moye on Wednesday, calling on him to release the mother and business owner. He also accused the judge of abusing his authority. As a mother, Ms. Luther wanted to feed her children. As a small business owner, she wanted to help her employees feed their children, Paxton wrote. Needless to say, these are laudable goals that warrant the exercise of enforcement discretion. Indeed, local officials in Dallas have already gone considerably farther in cases less deserving of enforcement discretion. The Dallas County District Attorney announced that he will not prosecute theft of personal items less than $750 unless the evidence shows that the alleged theft was for economic gain. Paxton stressed that if Dallas County is prepared to completely forgo prosecution of actual thefts it should not confine a woman to jail because she operated her business. I find it outrageous and out of touch that during this national pandemic, a judge, in a county that actually released hardened criminals for fear of contracting COVID-19, would jail a mother for operating her hair salon in an attempt to put food on her familys table, Paxton said in a statement Wednesday. The trial judge did not need to lock up Shelley Luther. His order is a shameful abuse of judicial discretion, which seems like another political stunt in Dallas. Paxton also stated that under the governors new executive order, Luther would be allowed to open her business on Friday. Confining Ms. Luther for seven days, well after she could be operating her business and providing for her children, is unjustifiable, Paxton stated. In Texas, there have been over 34,000 cases of COVID-19 reported. In the Dallas/Fort Worth region, there have been over 9,000 reported cases and 272 deaths as of Thursday afternoon. Luther is not the only business owner in Texas arrested for operating her business despite the order. In Laredo, two women Ana Isabel Castro-Garcia and Brenda Stephanie Mataoffering were arrested on April 15 for offering beauty and cosmetic services from their home. They were later released on bond. According to The Laredo Morning Times, Castro-Garcia and Mata faced the potential to serve up to 180 days in jail for their violations before Abbott eliminated jail time as punishment for violating the shutdown. This order is retroactive to April 2nd, supersedes local orders and if correctly applied should free Shelley Luther. It may also ensure that other Texans like Ana Isabel Castro-Garcia and Brenda Stephanie Mata who were arrested in Laredo, should not be subject to confinement, Abbott said in a statement. JetBlue Airways Corp. sold loyalty points to Barclays Plc for $150 million, making the carrier among the first in the U.S. to use the method to raise cash as the coronavirus pandemic all but extinguishes demand for travel. It was a good opportunity for us to get a small amount of incremental liquidity at attractive terms, chief financial officer Stephen Priest said on a conference call Thursday to discuss first-quarter financial results. Barclays, which issues JetBlues co-branded credit card, confirmed the sale. The deal adds a new dimension to fundraising efforts by the battered airline industry. Carriers have been rushing to build liquidity and slash spending amid a 95 per cent drop in travel demand from a year ago and expected declines in revenue of as much as 90 per cent this quarter. JetBlue has raised more than $2 billion since mid-March and received $936 million from the U.S. Treasury Department to support payroll expenses. The airline is seeking to raise an additional $750 million over the next couple of months, Priest said. Consumers can earn points in the airlines TrueBlue loyalty program by, for example, flying on JetBlue, using the credit card or booking hotels or rental cars through the carriers vacation unit. JetBlues sale of loyalty points echoes moves by Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and Marriott International Inc., which have raised $1 billion and $920 million, respectively, in recent weeks from similar transactions. Airlines disclose few financial details of their loyalty programs, including their primary source of revenue: selling miles to banks that then use them to reward credit card use by customers. JetBlue received $475 million from such deals last year, Stifel analyst Joe DeNardi said in an April report. American Airlines Group Inc. received total cash proceeds of $4.3 billion, while Delta Air Lines Inc. reaped $4.2 billion, he said. Some carriers have discussed using their loyalty programs as collateral for U.S. government loans, Bloomberg News reported. JetBlue has applied for a $1.1 billion loan from the government and has discussed the loyalty program, Priest said Thursday. CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the Republican National Convention Committee on Arrangements (COA) announced Dr. Jeffrey W. Runge, a leading national health security official, is joining their team as a Senior Advisor for Health and Safety Planning. With 35-years of experience as a board-certified physician in emergency medicine and notable leadership positions across the federal government and industry, Dr. Runge's extensive medical and risk management background and work with federal, state and private entities, including many in North Carolina, make him well equipped to guide the convention as they plan for a safe, in-person event in August. "We've said from the start that we are committed to hosting a safe and successful 2020 Republican National Convention in Charlotte, and Dr. Runge's background and expertise will be instrumental as we continue to map out our plans that ensure the health safety of all convention participants and the Charlotte community," said President and CEO Marcia Lee Kelly. "We recognize this hasn't been done before, but we remain committed to leading the path forward so that we can safely re-open America and create a five-star event for attendees and guests this August." Dr. Runge has decades of clinical, research, leadership and administrative experience. He served as the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at the United States Department of Transportation (2001 2005) and the Chief Medical Officer and Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (2005 2008). He continued to advise companies on their medical, safety and biodefense risk planning in subsequent years across both the public and private sectors. Dr. Runge lives in North Carolina where he consults on health and safety risk management, medical preparedness and response, operational planning, biodefense and transportation safety. ABOUT THE 2020 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION The 2020 Republican National Convention will be held at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina on August 24-27, 2020. Nearly 50,000 visitors including delegates, members of the media and guests are expected to gather to witness history as we re-nominate President Donald J. Trump as President of the United States. This 5-star event will play an integral role in promoting local businesses and generating millions of dollars across the region. It will leave a lasting impact not only in the "Queen City" of Charlotte, but also across the nation as we celebrate together American greatness. PAID FOR BY THE COMMITTEE ON ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE 2020 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE SOURCE 2020 Republican National Convention 3 1 of 3 Mark Lennihan / Associated Press Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Andrew Harnik / Associated Press Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Neiman Marcus filed Thursday for bankruptcy protection, the latest in an old guard of retail icons that has struggled for relevance in the dot-com era while absorbing a punishing hit during the coronavirus pandemic. Only last year, Neiman Marcus opened a department store at the new Hudson Yards development in New York City, with a White Plains, N.Y. store the closest to Connecticut. The companys brands also include Neiman Marcus Last Call and the Bergdorf Goodman department store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 06, 2020 | 05:54 PM | MCCRACKEN COUNTY On Wednesday, a drug detective with the McCracken County Sheriff's office allegedly noticed 27-year-old Christopher Reed of Paducah, walking on Bridge Street near Husbands Road. Detectives say they are familiar with Reed, and a warrant check revealed that he had two outstanding warrants from Marshall County and McCracken County for failing to appear for drug and theft charges. Detectives say when they attempted to arrest him, he pulled away and resisted, however they say he was taken into custody after a brief struggle. A search of Reed's belongings revealed a small amount of methamphetamine, a glass pipe, baggies, and a digital scale. Reed was lodged in the McCracken County Jail. He is being charged with second offense possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting arrest, and outstanding warrants. A Paducah man was arrested on several outstanding warrants, and faces additional drug charges. Perhaps the biggest question hanging over Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. in the midst of the pandemic is whether advertisers will resume spending as quickly as officials at the San Antonio-based outdoor advertising company hope. In the meantime, Clear Channels Worldwide CEO William Eccleshare said Wednesday its difficult to forecast what sort of a downturn it will endure as advertisers defer buying decisions and reduce marketing expenditures. We dont even yet know what the timing of the end of the lockdown in different states and different countries are going to be, Eccleshare said on a conference call with analysts. And we dont have any real sense of what the damage to the economies are going to be. And we dont yet know how advertisers are going to respond to this. The uncertainty has executives keeping a daily eye on our pipeline, he added. In some cases, there are signs of a positive pipeline building as things return to normal. But its way too early to call a number for (the second quarter), Im afraid. More for you Frost Bank hit with patent suit by mysterious company On ExpressNews.com: San Antonios Clear Channel taps line of credit during COVID-19 spread Clear Channels net loss widened on lower revenue in the first quarter. It reported a loss of $291.7 million, or 60 cents a share, on $550.8 million in revenue. By comparison, it lost $165.2 million, or 45 cents a share, on $587.1 million in revenue in the same period last year. The pandemic hobbled the company largely in Europe and China, where revenues already were sliding before the crisis. Revenue actually rose in the Americas, primarily in the U.S. where COVID-19s spread will be felt in second-quarter results. Clear Channel has been bracing for the impact. It has taken cost-cutting measures to maintain financial flexibility, including temporarily cutting salaries, reducing hours for hourly employees and implementing furloughs. Eccleshare and Scott Wells, CEO of the Americas division, each took 30 percent pay cuts effective last month. The company had 1,700 U.S. employees and 4,200 international employees as of Dec. 31. It has more than 460,000 advertising displays in 32 countries. Clear Channel has been negotiating with landlords of its billboard and display locations to align lease expenses with shrinking revenue. We have thousands of landlords and the process of engaging is one that you need to do kind of landlord by landlord, Wells said. The company is seeing good partnership with its government landlords but success with private landlords has been slower, he added. The company has a goal of axing more than $100 million in costs from the business and achieving more than $25 million in savings from reduced capital expenditures during the current quarter. Texas Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox Clear Channel also has drawn down on a $150 million revolving credit facility, becoming the first San Antonio-based publicly traded company to announce it was tapping a line of credit in response to COVID-19. In addition, the company expects to net $220 million from the sale of a 51 percent stake in a Chinese subsidiary. Clear Channel was spun off from iHeartMedia Inc. last year as part of the San Antonio broadcast companys bankruptcy reorganization. Outdoor advertising was experiencing great momentum before the pandemics arrival, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Alexia Quadrani said last month in a report on the state of the industry. Advertisers have been shifting outdoor advertising campaigns to later in the year rather than canceling them entirely. Overall, we expect (outdoor advertising) to maintain its relevancy in the advertising market following the COVID-19 crisis and for the medium to see a return to growth once normal out-of-home activity resumes, Quadrani added. Clear Channels shares closed at almost 76 cents Wednesday. The shares have traded below $1 for 38 consecutive days, falling as low as about 43 cents on March 23. 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 The logo for Goldman Sachs appears above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (Richard Drew/AP) Goldman Sachs (GS) staff around the world will have to socially distance from each other as they begin to return to the office, a sign of the new normal setting in at corporations around the world. Management at the investment bank sent staff a global memo on Thursday setting out Goldmans return to office approach. Executives said the bank was establishing key protocols and preparing our facilities to ensure the banks more than 30,000 staff worldwide were safe as they begin to get back to corporate life. Changes include controls around building access, strict physical distancing measures, and enhanced cleaning regimes. The banks said it was also reviewing on-site cafeterias, childcare facilities, and gyms, as well as investigating the safest way for staff to get to work. Our clear guiding principle is people first our priority above all else is your health and safety, chief executive David Solomon, chief operating officer John Waldron, and chief finance officer Stephen Scherr wrote in the joint memo. Read more: Goldman Sachs gives staff special COVID-19 leave Stepped up cleaning routines and strict controls on social distancing are among the measures office staff around the world will have to get used to in the coming months. Barclays chief executive Jes Staley said packed offices would likely be a thing of the past and said the bank was considering similar measures to Goldman, such as lifts running at half capacity. Goldman said staff in Hong Kong, China, Stockholm and Tel Aviv had started gradually returning to the office but it would take longer to get people back in offices in New York and London, where strict lockdown measures remain in place. UK prime minister Boris Johnson is due to announce the beginning of a relaxation of some measures on Sunday. Goldmans management said they would continue to learn and adapt as we move forward. KC Health Director warns against reopening too soon As coronavirus cases continue to increase in the Kansas City metro, some health experts are worried about reopening too soon. That includes the head of the Kansas City, Missouri Health Department. KMBC 9 spoke with Dr. Rex Archer about his concerns.As businesses begin to open their doors, Dr. Archer says proceed with caution. We talked about thisand To be fair the good doctor has been brash with his dire predictions that have inspired fear and then push back . . . Here's the latest dire prognosis: (all amounts in US dollars, unless otherwise noted) VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ero Copper Corp. (the Company) (TSX: ERO) today is pleased to announce its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2020. Management will host a conference call tomorrow, Friday, May 8, 2020, at 11:30 a.m. Eastern to discuss the results. Dial-in details for the call can be found near the end of this press release. HIGHLIGHTS First quarter copper production of 10,657 tonnes of copper; Record C1 cash costs* of $0.71 per pound of copper produced contributing to record quarterly cash flow from operations of $37.3 million during the three month period ended March 31, 2020; First quarter gold and silver production at the NX Gold Mine of 7,866 ounces of gold and 4,868 ounces of silver at C1 cash costs * of $594 per ounce of gold produced; of $594 per ounce of gold produced; Generated $33.4 million in Adjusted EBITDA * during the three month period ended March 31, 2020; during the three month period ended March 31, 2020; Adjusted net income attributable to owners of the Company * of $20.8 million ($0.23 per share on a diluted basis) during the three month period ended March 31, 2020; of $20.8 million ($0.23 per share on a diluted basis) during the three month period ended March 31, 2020; Ended the first quarter with strong liquidity position of $45.5 million; Reiterated full year production guidance for 2020; and, Updated full-year capital and operating cost guidance to reflect a weaker USD:BRL foreign exchange rate, significantly reducing C1 cash cost* guidance and the USD equivalent of the Companys planned, and materially unchanged, capital program by approximately $16 million, on average, vs. original guidance. Commenting on the results, David Strang, President & CEO, stated, Despite the significant global macroeconomic headwinds and challenges that emerged during the first quarter of 2020, our operations have and continue to perform well thus far into 2020. I would like to recognize the tremendous effort across our organization to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19. Our mine-site management teams have worked tirelessly to support the continuity and underlying performance of our operations and, more importantly, ensure the health and well-being of our employees, contractors, their families and local communities. Front and center in these efforts entails the purchase and delivery of over 5,000 COVID-19 testing kits, a portion of which have been donated to regional hospitals and medical clinics across our operational footprint along with critically needed PPE and medical supplies. Corporately, the restructuring of our senior secured debt which included the deferral of principal payments until March, 2022 and the draw-down of our lines of credit have well-positioned the Company to withstand unforeseen challenges that may arise as a result of COVID-19. The underlying strength of our business, and its benefit from the significant depreciation of the Brazilian Real versus the U.S. Dollar is best reflected in our record quarterly cash flow from operations of $37.3 million and record low C1 cash costs of $0.71 per pound of copper produced. Our GAAP profitability was adversely impacted by the requirement to provide a fair market value assessment of our term foreign exchange contracts that have remaining lives of up to two years. While the current mark-to-market valuation is a reflection of the global dislocation caused by COVID-19 impacting the pricing and volatility of the Brazilian Real against the U.S. Dollar, the projected benefits of a weaker Brazilian Real on our operating business significantly outweigh these fair market value assessments. While production guidance remains unchanged, we have taken into consideration the significant devaluation of the Brazilian Real with respect to revising operating and capital cost guidance for the remainder of 2020. We have lowered our C1 cash cost* guidance range to $0.70 to $0.85 per pound copper produced from $0.85 to $0.95 per pound copper produced. We are also providing a revised range of $56 million to $68 million for our capital cost guidance at MCSA, excluding exploration. For NX Gold, we have lowered our C1 cash cost* guidance range to $425 to $525 per ounce of gold produced from $475 to $575 per ounce of gold produced and are providing a revised capital cost guidance range of $7 million to $9 million, excluding exploration. *EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income (loss), C1 cash cost of copper produced (per lb) and C1 cash costs of gold produced (per ounce) are non-IFRS measures see the Notes section of this press release for a discussion on non-IFRS Measures COVID-19 OPERATIONAL UPDATE On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic. The Company has been closely monitoring developments of the COVID-19 outbreak since February 2020. While the Company has had no material disruption to operations, supply chains or sales channels as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic to date, it has implemented preventative measures and continues to engage in active operational and financial contingency planning to prudently manage the potential impact of the pandemic on its operations. OPERATIONS & EXPLORATION HIGHLIGHTS Mining & Milling Operations 2020 off to a strong start 607,959 tonnes processed grading 1.95% copper producing 10,657 tonnes of copper in concentrate after metallurgical recoveries that averaged 89.8% at the Companys Curaca Valley operations; The Companys 97.6% owned NX Gold Mine processed 36,211 tonnes of ore grading 7.76 grams per tonne gold, resulting in the production of 7,866 ounces of gold and 4,868 ounces of silver as by-product after metallurgical recoveries that averaged 87.1% during the first quarter of 2020; and 2020 off to a strong start Exploration Activities continue to operate one of the most comprehensive exploration programs globally, on schedule, at significantly reduced USD cost Pilar District Exploration activity within the Pilar District, where twelve drill rigs are currently operating, is focused on extending the limits of high-grade Superpod mineralization of the Deepening Extension zone. The Company has now identified a mineralized target area that extends over approximately 800 meters in strike length, over a total depth of approximately 400 meters and over an average thickness of approximately 15 to 20 meters with localized thicknesses of up to 50 meters. Within the total strike length, a higher-grade continuous zone with a strike-length of approximately 400 to 500 meters is emerging in the central and northern segments of the target area. The zone remains open to the north and to depth. Results during the period support the potential to meaningfully extend the mine life while maintaining an elevated grade profile from the Pilar Mine. Five drill rigs will continue to systematically drill the Deepening Extension zone through the balance of the year. Vermelhos District Exploration in the Vermelhos District, where eleven drill rigs are currently operating, is focused on both near-mine extensional drilling below the main Vermelhos orebodies, the extension of massive-sulphide mineralization down-plunge within the Siriema conduit and testing new regional targets identified during the Companys regional airborne survey and subsequent data compilation work of the broader Vermelhos System a north-south trend encompassing the Vermelhos Mine, East Zone, Siriema N8/N9 deposit, and several high priority targets that extends over ten kilometers in strike length. NX Gold Mine At the NX Gold Mine, five exploration drill rigs are primarily focused on extending mine life through resource upgrade programs within the current inferred mineral resource as well as testing down-plunge extensions of the Santo Antonio Vein. Regional Exploration Regional work at MCSA comprised of both exploration drilling and ground-based geophysical work is focused on four newly interpreted mineral systems within the portfolio of targets defined by the Companys comprehensive targeting work. Each of the new systems has an average strike length of 5 kilometers and contain multiple priority drill targets. While preliminary results are encouraging, additional detail on these ongoing exploration programs is expected during the second half of the year. In addition, the first regional exploration effort within the broader NX Gold Mine property commenced during the period. continue to operate one of the most comprehensive exploration programs globally, on schedule, at significantly reduced USD cost Growth Projects Remain Largely on Track on-schedule delivery and installation of HIG Mill, ore-sorting project progression, Deepening Extension drilling ongoing HIG Mill remains on schedule for delivery and installation by the end of Q2 2020; however, the commissioning timeline remains uncertain due to global travel restrictions as a result of COVID-19. A six-month full-scale test of the Companys recently installed ore-sorting plant to evaluate the potential to improve mill head-grades from a variety of deposits throughout the Curaca Valley remains ongoing. Results of the comprehensive test program are expected during the second half of the year. Five drill rigs are systematically drilling the Deepening Extension zone of the Pilar Mine, and a pre-feasibility study for the inclusion of this zone into the Companys updated mine plan (expected Q4 2020) is progressing on schedule. on-schedule delivery and installation of HIG Mill, ore-sorting project progression, Deepening Extension drilling ongoing Updated Capital and Operating Cost Guidance now reflecting a weaker Brazilian Real While the Companys capital programs for 2020 are materially unchanged from prior guidance, the Company has revised its USD:BRL foreign exchange rate assumption for the balance of 2020, reducing the USD equivalent of these planned programs. Capital cost guidance has been revised to between $58 to $68 million at MCSA, excluding exploration, from previous guidance of $74 million, with an additional revised exploration spend of between $20 and $25 million through September of 2020 for the same planned meterage as prior guidance of $28 million. NX Gold capital guidance has been revised to between $9 to $12 million, including exploration. Operating cost guidance has been lowered to between $0.70 and $0.85 per pound of copper produced and $425 to $525 per ounce of gold produced for MCSA and NX Gold, respectively. now reflecting a weaker Brazilian Real Corporate Highlights Prudent capital management and strong liquidity position Amended the Companys senior secured credit facilities during the period. Benefits of the amendment include a 25 to 50 basis point reduction in the Companys cost of borrowing and the deferral of scheduled principal payments for two years, now commencing March 2022. The Company bolstered its liquidity position during the period by drawing down its existing USD and BRL denominated credit facilities of $14.0 million and R$72.3 million, respectively. Ended the quarter with strong liquidity position of approximately $45.5 million in cash and cash equivalents, including restricted cash. Prudent capital management and strong liquidity position OPERATING AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS 3 months ended Mar. 31, 2020 3 months ended Dec. 31, 2019 3 months ended Mar. 31, 2019 Operating Highlights (MCSA Operations) Ore Processed (tonnes) 607,959 589,065 530,133 Grade (% Cu) 1.95 2.16 2.19 Cu Production (tonnes) 10,657 11,526 10,645 Cu Production (000 lbs) 23,495 26,411 23,468 Cu Sold in Concentrate (tonnes) 10,432 11,595 10,033 Cu Sold in Concentrate (000 lbs) 22,999 25,562 22,118 C1 Cash cost of copper produced (per lb)(1) 0.71 0.80 0.91 Gold (NX Gold Operations) Au Production (ounces) 7,866 6,043 10,119 C1 Cash cost of gold produced (per ounce) (1) 594 980 486 Financial Highlights ($millions, except per share amounts) Revenues $67.7 $75.7 $72.0 Gross profit (loss) $30.7 $31.1 $32.6 EBITDA(1) ($50.6 ) $34.3 $37.2 Adjusted EBITDA(1) $33.4 $31.2 $39.3 Cash flow from operations $37.3 $35.9 $25.1 Net income (loss) ($53.0 ) $16.3 $15.5 Net income (loss) attributable to owners of the Company ($52.8 ) $45.2 $15.3 Net income (loss) per share attributable to owners of the Company Basic ($0.62 ) $0.53 $0.18 Net income (loss) per share attributable to owners of the Company Diluted ($0.62 ) $0.49 $0.17 Adjusted net income (loss) attributable to owners of the Company(1) $20.8 $40.7 $15.7 Adjusted net earnings (loss) per share attributable to owners of the Company(1) Basic $0.24 $0.47 $0.19 Adjusted net earnings (loss) per share attributable to owners of the Company(1) Diluted $0.23 $0.44 $0.17 Cash and Cash Equivalents $44.3 $21.5 $19.5 Working Capital (Deficit)(1) ($12.4 ) ($4.9 ) ($0.7 ) Net Debt(1) ($140.1 ) ($136.4 ) ($133.1 ) Footnotes [1] EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income (loss) attributable to owners of the Company, Adjusted earnings (loss) per share, Net Debt, Working Capital, C1 Cash Cost of copper produced (per lb) and C1 Cash Cost of gold produced (per ounce) are non-IFRS measures see the Notes section of this press release for a discussion on non-IFRS Measures. ADJUSTED EBITDA & NET INCOME (LOSS) RECONCILIATION 2020 Q1 Adjusted EBITDA $ 33,404 Adjustments: Unrealized foreign exchange loss on USD denominated debt in MCSA (26,873 ) Unrealized foreign exchange loss on derivative contracts (52,655 ) Realized foreign exchange loss on derivative contracts (2,651 ) Share based compensation and other (1,792 ) EBITDA $ (50,567 ) Adjusted net income (loss) $ 20,834 Adjustments for non-cash items (attributable to owners of the Company): Unrealized foreign exchange loss on USD denominated debt in MCSA (26,766 ) Net unrealized foreign exchange loss on derivative contracts (43,081 ) Share based compensation (2,049 ) Unrealized loss on interest rate derivative (1,691 ) Reported net income attributable to owners of the Company $ (52,753 ) 2020 OUTLOOK While the Companys production guidance for 2020 remains unchanged, cash cost and capital expenditure guidance for 2020 has been updated to reflect the significant change in USD:BRL foreign exchange rates and precious metal prices as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional information is outlined below and further detailed in the Companys press release dated January 15, 2020. Production Guidance Production guidance remains unchanged from prior guidance. Copper production from the Curaca Valley operations for 2020 is expected to come from ore mined from the Pilar and Vermelhos underground mines. Production from the Pilar Mine is expected to contribute a total of approximately 1.4 million tonnes grading 1.40% copper while production from the Vermelhos Mine is expected to contribute a total of approximately 750,000 tonnes grading 3.50% copper resulting in a blended mill head grade of approximately 2.15% copper. 2020[1] Curaca Valley Operations Tonnes Processed 2,150,000 Copper Grade (% Cu) 2.15% Copper Recovery (%) 91.0% Cu Production Guidance (tonnes) 41.0 43.0 NX Gold Operations Tonnes Processed 150,000 Gold Grade (gpt) 9.00 Gold Recovery (%) 90.0% Au Production Guidance (000 ounces) 38.0 40.0 Footnotes: [1] Guidance is based on certain estimates and assumptions, including but not limited to, mineral reserve estimates, grade and continuity of interpreted geological formations and metallurgical performance. Please refer to the Companys SEDAR filings for complete risk factors. Operating Cost Guidance The Companys original guidance for 2020 had assumed a USD:BRL foreign exchange rate of 4.00, gold price of $1,450 per ounce and silver price of $17.00 per ounce. In recognition of the significant change in foreign exchange rates and precious metals during the first quarter of 2020, the Company has updated its operating cost guidance assuming a USD:BRL foreign exchange rate of 4.90, gold price of $1,700 per ounce and silver price of $15.00 per ounce. 2020 Guidance 2020 Revised Guidance Curaca Valley C1 Cash Cost Guidance (US$/lb)[1] $0.85 - $0.95 $0.70 - $0.85 NX Gold Mine C1 Cash Cost Guidance (US$/oz)[1] $475 - $575 $425 - $525 Footnotes: [1] C1 Cash Costs of copper produced (per lb.) and C1 Cash Costs of gold produced (per oz.) are non-IFRS measures see the Notes section of this press release for a discussion of non-IFRS measures. Capital Expenditure Guidance The Companys original capital expenditure guidance for 2020 had assumed a USD:BRL foreign exchange rate of 4.00. In recognition of the significant change in foreign exchange rates during the first quarter of 2020, the Company has updated its operating cost guidance assuming a USD:BRL foreign exchange rate of 4.90. Capital expenditures are presented below in USD millions. Curaca Valley Operations 2020 Guidance 2020 Revised Guidance Pilar Mine and Caraiba Mill Complex[1] 58.0 45.0 55.0 Vermelhos Mine 16.0 11.0 13.0 Boa Esperana Project 0.2 0.2 0.2 Capital Expenditure Guidance 74.2 56.2 68.2 Curaca Valley Exploration[2] 28.0 20.0 25.0 NX Gold Operations 2020 Guidance Capital Expenditure Guidance 5.7 7.0 9.0 Exploration[2] 3.5 2.0 3.0 Total, NX Gold 9.2 9.0 12.0 Footnotes: [1] Pilar Mine and Caraiba Mill Complex capital expenditure guidance for 2020 includes completion of the high-intensity grinding mill and operation of the ore-sorting pilot plant. [2] Exploration capital expenditure guidance for 2020 has been forecast through September of 2020 and, as with prior guidance, is dependent, in part, on future exploration success and subject to further review and revision. NOTES Non-IFRS measures Financial results of the Company are prepared in accordance with IFRS. The Company utilizes certain non-IFRS measures, including C1 cash cost of copper produced (per lb), C1 cash costs of gold produced (per ounce), EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income (loss) attributable to owners of the Company, Adjusted earnings (loss) per share, net debt and working capital, which are not measures recognized under IFRS. The Company believes that these measures, together with measures determined in accordance with IFRS, provide investors with an improved ability to evaluate the underlying performance of the Company. Non-IFRS measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS, and therefore they may not be comparable to similar measures employed by other companies. The data is 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. C1 cash cost of copper produced (per lb.) C1 cash cost of copper produced (per lb) is the sum of production costs, net of capital expenditure development costs and by-product credits, divided by the copper pounds produced. C1 cash costs reported by the Company include treatment, refining charges, offsite costs, and certain tax credits relating to sales invoiced to the Companys Brazilian customer on sales. By-product credits are calculated based on actual precious metal sales (net of treatment costs) during the period divided by the total pounds of copper produced during the period. C1 cash cost of copper produced per pound is a non-IFRS measure used by the Company to manage and evaluate operating performance of the Companys operating mining unit, and is widely reported in the mining industry as benchmarks for performance, but does not have a standardized meaning and is disclosed in addition to IFRS measures. C1 cash cost of gold produced (per ounce) C1 cash cost of gold produced (per ounce) is the sum of production costs, net of capital expenditure development costs and silver by-product credits, divided by the gold ounces produced. By-product credits are calculated based on actual precious metal sales during the period divided by the total ounces of gold produced during the period. C1 cash cost of gold produced per pound is a non-IFRS measure used by the Company to manage and evaluate operating performance of the Companys operating mining unit and is widely reported in the mining industry as benchmarks for performance but does not have a standardized meaning and is disclosed in addition to IFRS measures. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and Adjusted EBITDA EBITDA represents earnings before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA includes further adjustments for non-recurring items and items not indicative to the future operating performance of the Company. The Company believes EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are appropriate supplemental measures of debt service capacity and performance of its operations. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by removing the following income statement items: Foreign exchange loss (gain) Loss on gold hedge contracts Share based compensation Adjusted Net Income (Loss) attributable to owners of the Company and Adjusted Earnings (Loss) Per Share attributable to owners of the Company The Company uses the financial measure Adjusted net income (loss) attributable to owners of the Company and Adjusted earnings (loss) per share attributable to owners of the Company to supplement information in its consolidated financial statements. The Company believes that, in addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, the Company and certain investors and analysts use this information to evaluate the Companys performance. The Company excludes non-cash and unusual items from net earnings to provide a measure which allows the Company and investors to evaluate the operating results of the underlying core operations. During the period, the following non-cash or unusual adjustments to calculated adjusted net income (loss): Share based compensation Unrealized foreign exchange loss on USD denominated debt in MCSA Net unrealized foreign exchange loss on foreign exchange derivatives contract Unrealized loss on gold hedge contracts Unrealized loss on interest rate derivative Net Debt Net debt is determined based on cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and loans and borrowings as reported in the Companys consolidated financial statements. The Company uses net debt as a measure of the Companys ability to pay down its debt. Working capital Working capital is determined based on current assets and current liabilities as reported in the Companys consolidated financial statements. The Company uses working capital as a measure of the Companys short-term financial health and operating efficiency. CONFERENCE CALL DETAILS The Company will hold a conference call on Friday, May 8, 2020 at 11:30 am Eastern time (8:30 am Pacific time) to discuss these results. Date: Friday, May 8, 2020 Time: 11:30 am Eastern time (8:30 am Pacific time) Dial in: North America: 1-800-319-4610, International: +1-604-638-5340 please dial in 5-10 minutes prior and ask to join the call Replay North America: 1-800-319-6413, International: +1-604-638-9010 Replay Passcode: 4372 This press release should be read in conjunction with the unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements and managements discussion and analysis (MD&A) for the three month period ended March 31, 2020 available on the Companys website www.erocopper.com and on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). ABOUT ERO COPPER CORP Ero Copper Corp, headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., is focused on copper production growth from the Vale do Curaca Property, located in Bahia, Brazil. The Companys primary asset is a 99.6% interest in the Brazilian copper mining company, MCSA, 100% owner of the Vale do Curaca Property with over 40 years of operating history in the region. The Company currently mines copper ore from the Pilar and Vermelhos underground mines. In addition to the Vale do Curaca Property, MCSA owns 100% of the Boa Esperana development project, an IOCG-type copper project located in Para, Brazil and the Company, directly and indirectly, owns 97.6% of the NX Gold Mine, an operating gold and silver mine located in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Additional information on the Company and its operations, including Technical Reports on the Vale do Curaca, Boa Esperana and NX Gold properties, can be found on the Companys website ( www.erocopper.com ) and on SEDAR ( www.sedar.com ). The disclosure of scientific or technical information in this press release was reviewed and approved by Emerson Ricardo Re, MSc, MBA, MAusIMM (CP) (No. 305892), Registered Member (No. 0138) (Chilean Mining Commission) and Resource Manager of the Company who is a qualified person within the meanings of National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101). ERO COPPER CORP. Signed: David Strang For further information contact: David Strang, President & CEO Makko DeFilippo, Vice President, Corporate Development (604) 429-9244 info@erocopper.com CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION AND STATEMENTS This Press Release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information includes statements that use forward-looking terminology such as may, could, would, will, should, intend, target, plan, expect, budget, estimate, forecast, schedule, anticipate, believe, continue, potential, view or the negative or grammatical variation thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements with respect to the Company's expected operations at the Vermelhos and Pilar Mines as well as at the NX Gold Property, drilling plans, plans for the Company's exploration program, timing of any updated mineral resource and reserve updates and technical reports, the Company's ability to service its ongoing obligations, the Company's future production outlook, cash costs, capital resources, expenditures, the impact of new accounting standards and amendments on the Company's financial statements, and current global macroeconomic uncertainty stemming from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the Companys business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management in light of managements experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, as of the date of this Press Release including, without limitation, assumptions about: favourable equity and debt capital markets; the ability to raise any necessary additional capital on reasonable terms to advance the production, development and exploration of the Companys properties and assets; future prices of copper and other metal prices; the timing and results of exploration and drilling programs; the accuracy of any mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates; the geology of the Vale do Curaca Property, NX Gold Mine and the Boa Esperana Property being as described in the technical reports for these properties; production costs; the accuracy of budgeted exploration and development costs and expenditures; the price of other commodities such as fuel; future currency exchange rates and interest rates; operating conditions being favourable such that the Company is able to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner; work force continues to remain healthy in the face of prevailing epidemics, pandemics or other health risks, political and regulatory stability; the receipt of governmental, regulatory and third party approvals, licenses and permits on favourable terms; obtaining required renewals for existing approvals, licenses and permits on favourable terms; requirements under applicable laws; sustained labour stability; stability in financial and capital goods markets; availability of equipment and critical supplies, spare parts and consumables; positive relations with local groups and the Companys ability to meet its obligations under its agreements with such groups; and satisfying the terms and conditions of the Companys current loan arrangements. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable, the assumptions are inherently subject to significant business, social, economic, political, regulatory, competitive and other risks and uncertainties, contingencies and other factors that could cause actual actions, events, conditions, results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those projected in the forward-looking information. Many assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of the Company and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct. Furthermore, such forward-looking information involves a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks include, without limitation the risk factors listed under the heading Risk Factors in the Annual Information Form of the Company for the year ended December 31, 2019, dated March 12, 2020. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events, conditions, results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events, conditions, results, performance or achievements to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company cautions that the foregoing lists of important assumptions and factors are not exhaustive. Other events or circumstances could cause actual results to differ materially from those estimated or projected and expressed in, or implied by, the forward-looking information contained herein. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking information contained herein is made as of the date of this press release and the Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as and to the extent required by applicable securities laws. Unless otherwise stated, information of a scientific or technical nature in respect of the Vale do Curaca Property included in this press release is based upon the Vale do Curaca technical report entitled 2019 Updated Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Statements of Mineracao Caraibas Vale do Curaca Mineral Assets, Curaca Valley, dated November 25, 2019 with an effective date of September 18, 2019, prepared by Rubens Jose De Mendonca, MAusIMM, of Planminas Projectos e Consultoria em Mineracao Ltd. (Planminas), Porfirio Cabaleiro Rodrigues, MAIG, Leonardo de Moraes Soares, MAIG, and Bernardo Horta de Cerqueira Viana, MAIG, all of GE21 Consultoria Mineral Ltda. (GE21), and each a qualified person and independent of the Company within the meanings of NI 43-101. Information of a scientific or technical nature in respect of the NX Gold Mine included in this press release is based upon the NX Gold technical report entitled Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Estimate of the NX Gold Mine, Nova Xavantina, dated February 3, 2020 with an effective date of September 30, 2019, prepared by Porfirio Cabaleiro Rodrigues, MAIG, Leonardo de Moraes Soares, MAIG, and Paulo Roberto Bergmann, FAusIMM, each of GE21 and a qualified person and independent of the Company within the meanings of NI 43-101. Cautionary Notes Regarding Mineral Resource and Reserve Estimates In accordance with applicable Canadian securities regulatory requirements, all mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates of the Company disclosed or incorporated by reference in this press release have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and are classified in accordance with the CIM Standards. Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Pursuant to the CIM Standards, mineral resources have a higher degree of uncertainty than mineral reserves as to their existence as well as their economic and legal feasibility. Inferred mineral resources, when compared with Measured or Indicated mineral resources, have the least certainty as to their existence, and it cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred mineral resource will be upgraded to an Indicated or Measured mineral resource as a result of continued exploration. Pursuant to NI 43-101, Inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of any economic analysis. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of a mineral resource exists, will ever be converted into a mineral reserve, or is or will ever be economically or legally mineable or recovered. Two people have gone to hospital with what were initially believed to be non-life-threatening injuries after a family dispute at a Wellington Street South apartment Thursday. Hamilton police were called to the family trouble at 37 Wellington St. S., a low-rise building south of Main Street East, shortly before noon May 7, said Const. Lorraine Edwards. Both parties involved in the incident have gone to hospital. Police have seized a knife, but officers are still investigating what happened, Edwards said. There was a significant police presence in the area following the incident. Officers remained at the scene Thursday afternoon interviewing witnesses. President Muhammadu Buhari and the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Imran Khan, Thursday had a phone conversation on the Global Initiative on Debt Relief canvassed by leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement Contact Group. This was contained in a statement issued by Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity. According Adesina, the discussion between Buhari and the Pakistan leader occurred on Thursday afternoon through a phone conversation on the Global Initiative on Debt Relief canvassed by leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement Contact Group. During an online summit held on Monday, leaders of the 120-nation organization, the largest after the United Nations, had agreed that a debt relief campaign be launched for developing countries to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and unprecedented health and socioeconomic challenges facing most of them, Adesina said. A Royal Perth Hospital patient who was high on amphetamines when he made a shiv using hospital supplies and stabbed a nurse in the neck has been jailed for four years and three months. Justin Narrier, 31, attacked the 55-year-old registered nurse from behind as she was tending to other patients on night shift around 1.50am on May 12, 2019. Justin Narrier Credit:Facebook Narrier had been taken to the hospital by police after being apprehended with an injury to his foot that required medical treatment, however he was not in custody. During his sentencing in the Perth District Court on Thursday, Narrier admitted he was on a cocktail of drugs when he stole two scalpels and tape from a ward cupboard to make the double-edged weapon. TV actor Shivin Narang has thanked fans for their wishes as he returned home from hospital after a surgery to his hand. The TV actor had to be admitted after he fell at home and grievously injured his hands from the shards of a broken glass table. Sharing the pictures, Shivin wrote, All is well For all my frnds , family n loved ones Im back home Thankuu fr all your prayers & blessings unfortunately met with an accident at home injuring myself badly due to which I had undergone a surgery. Thankuu to the doctors and healthcare staff of @kokilabenhospital for taking such good care of me in this difficult scenario.....I remember one of the hospital staff saying Sir hum nhi karenge toh kaun karega #respect #realheroes #grateful. One of the pictures show the actor lying on a bed as he shows his bandaged hand; another has Shivin with a triumphant look on his face as he emerges from the hospital. Talking about the accident, Shivin told Hindustan Times in an interview, Everything happened in a fraction of a second. I accidentally slipped in my home and to steady myself, I balanced my hand on a glass table which gave away. The glass cut my hand quite badly and I had to rush to the hospital. Also read: Saif Ali Khans son Ibrahim is glad he can bully his sister Sara Ali Khan now, see his latest post As the injury was deep, the doctors had to operate as they needed to work on the tendons. Now, I have a plaster on my hand and I have to keep my hand in a certain position. It will be on for a month, he added. Earlier in January, Shivin suffered a hairline fracture when he injured his hand on the sets of his show Beyhadh 2. Apart from Beyhadh 2, Shivin was also seen on Khatron Ke Khiladi. Earlier, he has appeared in shows including Suvreen Guggal Topper of The Year and Ek Veer Ki Ardaas Veera. Follow @htshowbiz for more A quiet morning at the Bell Tower on the Temple University campus in Philadelphia, Pa. on Thursday, May 7, 2020. On Thursday, Temple University offered students an online commencement celebration because of coronavirus closures. Read more Thursday was commencement day at Temple University. In a normal year, that would have meant thousands of proud students savoring years of hard work, proceeding into the cavernous Liacouras Center, soaking up speeches and adulation, then swarming signature spots on campus for celebratory photos. Instead, much of that swath of North Broad Street was eerily quiet and half-deserted Thursday morning. At 11 a.m., the university invited graduates to a website, Classof2020.temple.edu, to hear encouraging words prerecorded by university leaders and watch a virtual video time capsule of highlights from their four years on campus, narrated by student commencement speaker Donovan Forrest. I hope that everyone stays encouraged and understands the current condition of our world cant really take away the joy and pride that we have for one another, said Forrest, a secondary education and history major who starts a job as a Philadelphia public high school teacher in September. It wasnt clear how many even logged on. Still, the coronavirus couldnt completely cancel tradition. By afternoon, dozens of students in cap and gown had flocked to campus for photographs and socially distant revelry. READ MORE: No pomp and circumstance on Temples commencement day, but lots of champagne popping and photos on campus Temple was among the first area colleges to mark the virtual end of its school year, but a similar experience memorable in a way none could have predicted awaits thousands of graduating seniors. Across the region, college campuses that are usually bubbling and packed during commencement will stand largely quiet, as they have since the coronavirus forced universities to move instruction online and most students off campus. Colleges have moved their commencement programs online, some of them opting for live virtual events with speakers. Others are creating commencement websites packed with laudatory messages, a salute to graduates and a variety of other features that students and their families can peruse at their leisure. Temples also featured hundreds of congratulatory messages from faculty, staff, family members and a couple of well-known faces, including trustee and talk show host Tamron Hall and the actress Tina Fey, whose brother and father attended Temple. Just about all the colleges, including Temple, have vowed to hold an in-person ceremony as soon as conditions allow. READ MORE: Im the first in my family to finish college. Thanks to coronavirus, I wont have graduation. | Perspective We heard from a lot of our students and their families, so many of them first-generation graduates, that they want to have an in-person commencement, said Temple president Richard M. Englert. West Chester University, which was scheduled to have more than a dozen commencement ceremonies from Friday to Monday, heard the same from its students and parents. They want to have their child walk across the stage and have his or her name announced, said Christopher Fiorentino, president of the more than 17,000-student university. The university this week will post a Virtual Celebration of the Class of 2020, including a video of congratulatory messages, a collage of class photos and videos and the name of each graduate scrolled across the page. The site also will include downloadable congratulation signs that students can display on doors and windows, university Zoom backgrounds and a Snapchat filter where graduates can dress in their cap and gown. Some graduates and their families have already come to campus to take photos near the Ram statue and other key places on campus, said Fiorentino, who lives in the presidents residence there. The quietness of the campus at what should be such a joyous time is sad, he said. The message were trying to give to the students is, 'This is life and you have to rebound , he said, and its going to make you more resilient. Well move forward from here, all of us. READ MORE: For seniors, coronavirus signals a premature end of an era Pennsylvania State University has opted for a live virtual commencement, which will be livestreamed internationally at 2 p.m. Saturday, with remarks from the president and provost, conferring of degrees and guest appearances by alumni. The University of Pennsylvania also will hold a live virtual ceremony on May 18. Penn has not released details of its plans. Rutgers Universitys virtual ceremony on May 31 will run from 60 to 75 minutes and feature an address by NBC News anchor Lester Holt from his home studio. Neumann University in Aston is collecting student mortarboard messages and plans to publish them on the website. The school also will offer congratulatory notes and videos, by and for seniors, and president Chris Domes is sending a champagne flute and note to every senior. The seniors also will receive a Neumann poster with the university mascot, a knight, in mask and gloves. For students, lack of an on-campus ceremony is disappointing but understandable, given the conditions. Its very bittersweet, said Emily Frizzelle, 23, a photography and digital arts major at Moore College of Art and Design. Its hard to wrap my head around that it had to end this way. As valedictorian, she was looking forward to giving the class address and she still will get that chance. She prerecorded a two-minute message to graduates that will be shared during the Zoom commencement ceremony on May 16. (Shell also speak at an on-campus commencement to be scheduled for later.) It was difficult figuring out what to say to classmates, said Frizzelle, of Levittown. The school is filled with creative people who are stressed when they cant create, she said. Try your best not to stress yourself out, she said, summarizing her message. Dont push yourself to do things when you are not feeling up to it right now. Take care of yourself. Forrest, 24, said his message to students is that even though graduation isnt what they expected, they should be proud they made it to the finish line. Were resilient, he said, and we have a whole entire community supporting us. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 07:06:39|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People shop at a flower market in downtown Los Angeles, the United States, May 8, 2020. California Governor Gavin Newsom released guidelines Thursday for reopening businesses starting Friday in the most populous U.S. state. Some lower risk businesses such as clothing stores, bookstores, florists, sporting goods stores can reopen, following the new rules issued by the California Department of Public Health. (Xinhua) LOS ANGELES, May 7 (Xinhua) -- California Governor Gavin Newsom released guidelines Thursday for reopening businesses starting Friday in the most populous U.S. state. "We're moving forward but we are doing always with an eye being led by the data, by the science, by public health," Newsom said at a daily press briefing as the state is taking steps to move further into stage 2 of a four-stage plan for a gradual reopening of the country's largest state economy. Some lower risk businesses such as clothing stores, bookstores, florists, sporting goods stores can reopen, following the new rules issued by the California Department of Public Health. Retailers should increase their pickup and delivery services and encourage physical distancing during pickup and install hands-free devices. Manufacturers should close break rooms, create outdoor break areas with physically distanced seating. Warehouses should carry sanitation materials during deliveries and use personal protective equipment for each stop, according to the new rules. The state is also planning to allow office, seated dinning at restaurants, shopping malls and outdoor museums to reopen in the gradual move to stage 2. The governor noted that these modifications will affect 70 percent of the state's economy. California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said at the press briefing that stage 2 doesn't mean a return to normal while COVID-19 is still spreading. As some counties of the state are rushing to reopen their businesses, Ghaly urged them to meet regional variance criteria, including epidemiologic stability, testing capacity, containment capacity and protection of stage 1 essential workers. According to the criteria, the counties which are eager to move deeper into stage 2 should have no more than 1 confirmed case per 10,000 people in the last 14 days and no COVID-19 deaths in the past 14 days. According to Newsom's plan announced earlier this month, California will gradually reopen some lower risk workplaces with adaptations in the second stage, including retail with curbside pick-up, manufacturing, offices and more public spaces. The third stage will be a gradual reopening of some higher risk environments with adaptations and limits on size of gatherings. And the fourth stage will be ending the stay-at-home order. There are more than 61,000 positive cases and 2,523 deaths related to COVID-19 in California so far, according to a continuous Los Angeles Times survey of numbers released by local health agencies across the state. With figures in hand showing the staggering number of hungry people the San Antonio Food Bank fed in April alone, state officials dramatically increased the funding theyre providing the nonprofit to help it continue aiding hundreds of thousands of area residents. Food Bank President and CEO Eric Cooper signed a 30-day contract with the state Wednesday that calls for the nonprofit to receive $9.1 million after it originally had been allocated less than $3 million. I think they felt the pressure of, Well, we didnt give them enough money. Thats not adequate, Cooper said Thursday. This keeps us from running out of food for a month or so, and thats a really good thing. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse the state for most of the funding. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio Food Bank will get a lot less in state-federal aid than expected, but its needed, officials say About 400,000 people received food from the Food Bank in April, many of them suddenly unemployed due to restrictions imposed to stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus, forcing them to ask for help for the first time. My guys are now working to procure the food as quickly as we can, Cooper said. Food distribution companies like (San Antonios) Labatt will participate, which is exciting. To be able to have some really great product for these families is something we are superexcited about. Michael Guerra, Food Bank spokesman, said the agency has distributed 17 million pounds of food over the past two months, compared to what normally would have been 8 million pounds. Nearly overwhelmed by the task of assisting 120,000 households per week during the coronavirus pandemic more than twice as many as before the crisis began in mid-March the Food Bank originally sought $12 million from the state in early April. Its request later was modified to $9.6 million before the state agreed late last month to supply $2.9 million. But pleas from advocates, hard data from the Food Bank and action from the private sector helped trigger the increase. The boost in public funding comes a week after the Food Bank received more than $6 million from the private sector, including $5.4 million from a televised fundraiser held by philanthropist Harvey Najim, WOAI-TV and KABB-TV. On ExpressNews.com: Private sector steps up to raise millions for San Antonio Food Bank The San Antonio Food Bank isnt the only one in Texas receiving increased funding from the state. Statewide coalition Feeding Texas, the coalition of 21 food banks, was instrumental last month in brokering a deal with the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) for $24 million from FEMA to be distributed to the banks for a 30-day supply of food. Now, Texas is providing a far greater amount, one that could reach as high as $50 million once all 21 food banks sign contracts with the state, Feeding Texas CEO Celia Cole said of the new agreement. Under terms between the state and FEMA, the federal agency will pay 75 percent of the cost while the state picks up the rest. Food banks have the opportunity to renew their requests for funding after 30 days if they still need to replenish their warehouses, Cole said. The governor has been very responsive, and we applaud him and TDEM for stepping up to help, because, really, no other government aid that has been promised has been able to get here quick enough, she said. Its good to see our top emergency manager stepping in and getting food banks the food they need quickly. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio Food Bank returns to site where avalanche of need first felt in San Antonio The food banks helped the state realize their true needs by providing data detailing how much they distributed last month, Cole said. In April, food banks in the state distributed at least 62 million pounds of food, Cole said. Those same food banks are serving more than 400,000 households per week, which represents an 85 percent increase from before the pandemic in the number of people seeking help. Once (the state) realized really the true need that food banks were experiencing, it just opened the door to a more evidence-based conversation about how much money the food banks really needed, Cole said. SNAP rules Financial aid isnt the only assistance Texas food banks are seeking from the state. Cooper and others would like to see the state change eligibility rules for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to help alleviate the demand on food banks during the pandemic. Due to asset limits, people with no income or people who have had their earnings significantly reduced still can be denied benefits because, say, they own a car valued at more than $15,000. A household is not eligible for benefits if the total value of countable resources (liquid resources and excess vehicle value) is more than $5,000, the Texas Health and Human Services website states. The fair market value of one vehicle up to $15,000 is excluded, but any value above that level is counted toward the $5,000 total asset limit, according to the website. You would have to have your car repossessed or sell it to become eligible, Cooper said. But then if you have too much money in the bank, you dont qualify. It really causes people to hit close to the bottom before those supports come in. And in a pandemic like this, if you can keep people from going all the way down to the bottom, thats a good thing because they will bounce back and recover faster. Cole said Feeding Texas has had conversations with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and members of Gov. Greg Abbotts staff about how important SNAP is to people who are quarantined because of the novel coronavirus and to other isolated populations. Getting rid of the asset test opens up SNAP to the percentage of the population effected by COVID-19 that really thought they would never need SNAP and never thought they would need help from a food bank, Cole said. In times like these, someone might have a recent model car and be making payments on it and suddenly they are out of work. They dont own that car and they wont get anything out of selling it, but yet it may keep them from getting critical nutrition benefits. By PTI LOS ANGELES: a film based on the coronavirus pandemic will be made, Hollywood veteran Robert De Niro says he would like to play the role of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has been receiving global praise for his leadership during the COVID-19 outbreak. Stephen Colbert on "The Late Show" video chat asked the 76-year-old actor which real-life figure he would like to play in a potential movie on the pandemic. To which De Niro replied, "Cuomo". "The Irishman" star, who is a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, said the governor was doing "what a president should do". When Colbert asked De Niro, if Cuomo could be POTUS one day, he said, "Yes, I could see it." The actor called Trump an "idiot" for largely ignoring the warning signs of the pandemic and expressed disappointment in the current administration's attempts to control the outbreak. "Pandemics have been in the world before and people survived them. It's appalling. It's all about him getting re-elected. I have no words for it anymore. I'm nonplussed. Dumbfounded." he said. "His enablers are not doing anything, not standing up to him. What could be worth it for them to sacrifice their souls to make this deal with the devil?" he asked. Recently, Brad Pitt impersonated Dr Anthony Fauci in a "Saturday Night Live At Home" episode after the White House infectious disease expert expressed his desire to see the actor portray him on the late-night sketch comedy show. United States President Donald Trump has praised Vietnams efforts in the fight against novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during his phone talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. The two leaders held the phone conversation on Wednesday at the request of the U.S. side. President Trump spoke highly of Vietnams capacity to cope with the COVID-19 outbreaks and extended thanks to the Southeast Asian country for having expedited transportation of medical supplies and donated face masks to the U.S.. The U.S. is ready to present ventilators to support the treatment of COVID-19 patients in Vietnam, the president stated, suggesting both countries should strengthen cooperation in the fight against the virus. He took the occasion to express his regret at the cancelation of the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit due to the COVID-19 pandemic, expressing his wish to further foster partnership with ASEAN in the time to come. PM Phuc extended sympathies to the American people during this hard time, stating his belief that President Trump and his administration will soon contain the pandemic and restart the economy. United States President Donald Trump is pictured in Arizona, the U.S. on May 5, 2020. Photo: Reuters The premier thanked the U.S. for providing financial support to ASEAN countries, including almost US$10 million for Vietnam to improve its healthcare capacity and aid post-pandemic economic recovery. The leaders expressed delight at the development of Vietnam-U.S. ties in politics, diplomacy, economy and trade, security and defense, and overcoming the aftermath of war. Both nations saw growth in bilateral trade in the first quarter of 2020, in which the U.S. exports to Vietnam rose by 17 percent year-on-year. The leaders discussed measures to further deepen the bilateral ties, especially on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, thus making practical contributions to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region. On the same day, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh held phone talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, during which they agreed that the Vietnam-U.S. relations continue maintaining the positive development in various aspects, especially economy and trade. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Overseas exploration and trade during the Age of Discovery (15th-17th centuries) were possible by sail technology, and deep-space exploration will require the same for the coming Age of NewSpace. This time, however, the new sails shall move with light instead of wind, for which these light sails need to be extremely large, thin, lightweight, reflective and strong. In a light-hearted leap for humankind, ESA-backed researchers demonstrate the laser-propulsion of graphene sails in microgravity. In an article recently published in Acta Astronautica, they report a scalable design that minimizes the overall sail mass and hence increases their thrust upon light irradiation. In addition, they prove the new sail concept by accelerating prototypes in a free-fall facility with 1W-lasers, reaching up to 1 m/s2. This milestone paves the way for lightweight ultralarge sails and eventually may help us to reach other star systems in a human lifespan. Let me play among the stars Physical exploration of deep space became a reality when NASA's Voyager 1 left our Solar System in 2012, after a trip of 35 years and 121 AU (18,100,000,000 Km, 11,250,000,000 mi). Were Voyager 1 traveling to Alpha Centauri Cb, the exoplanet of our closest neighboring star system at 260,000 AU, humanity would have to wait dozens of millennia and hope that the shuttle kept some power to reach us then. As demonstrated first by JAXA's mission IKAROS (2010) and recently by The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 (2019), using light sails as propulsion system is among the most promising ideas to enable fast and affordable space trips. Not only sails do not require fuel to move, but they save its corresponding costly weight and that of its containing tanks. Unfortunately, the light radiation pressure (momentum transfer of photons) only confers relevant acceleration when the sails are sufficiently large (from few to thousands of squared meters) with a minimal mass, and currently used materials are limited when scaling up their size. "Graphene is part of the solution", says Dr. Santiago J. Cartamil-Bueno, SCALE Nanotech's director and leader of GrapheneSail team. "We demonstrate a novel sail design that reduces the overall sail mass by using perforated films. By covering the holes with CVD graphene, the full area of the sail is again available for optical performance at minimal mass cost. The fabrication is relatively simple and could be easily scaled up to squared kilometers, although the in-space deployment of such a giant sail will be a serious challenge". Vollig losgelost, von der Erde With the support of ESA, the researchers gained access to the ZARM Drop Tower in Bremen (Germany), in order to test the graphene sails in space-like conditions. Here, experiments are performed in a free-fall capsule that ensures a high-quality microgravity environment (<10-6 g) for few seconds. When the sail prototypes of small sizes were weightlessly floating, they were irradiated by 1W lasers and started to move with accelerations up to 1 m/s2. Dr. Thorben Konemann, Dep. Scientific Director, ZARM Drop Tower Operation and Service Company, remarked: "It is always a great pleasure for us to support visionary and promising experiment concepts. The success of the GrapheneSail team underlines again the capabilities of the Bremen Drop Tower - offering not only an excellent microgravity environment for fundamental research, but also being a first stepping stone and testbed for space technology without the complexity of in-orbit operations". Accessing this type of facilities is not trivial, even for such a breakthrough initiative. Luckily, Dr. Astrid Orr, ESA's Physical Sciences Coordinator at ESTEC, saw it different: "this project is a wonderful example of scientific research that can be performed with the support of ESA on a ground-based space-analogue platform - in this case microgravity - and which also has high potential for ESA's future spaceflight and exploration programs". "We want to set sails to Mars before SpaceX," jokes Dr. Santiago J. Cartamil-Bueno, "but for now we keep our feet on the ground. Currently, the graphene sails are being developed through the European Space Agency Business Incubator Center Hessen & Baden-Wurttemberg and we look for more strategic partners that allow us to scale the technology up for an eventual test in space". Maybe it's the final countdown for graphene to take off. ### SCALE Nanotech is a digital startup operating in Germany that provides R&D and consulting services. Dr. Santiago J. Cartamil-Bueno, Managing Director of SCALE Nanotech and leader of GrapheneSail team, is a physicist (B.Sc. + M.Sc.), electronics engineer (B.Eng. + M.Eng.) and nanomaterial scientist (M.Sc. + Ph.D.). Original article: R. Gaudenzi, D. Stefani, S. J. Cartamil-Bueno, Light-induced propulsion of graphene-on-grid sails in microgravity, Acta Astronautica, In Press (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2020.03.030, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0094576520301582 This work received funding from the European Space Agency (ESA) via its Continuously-Open Research Announcement (CORA) for access to the ZARM Drop Tower. Part of the research leading to these results also received funding from the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 696656 Graphene Flagship. What lies beyond the pandemic? MassForward is MassLives series examining the journey of Massachusetts businesses through and beyond the coronavirus pandemic. ________________ Right now, everything is one big experiment in the beer industry. Brewers across Massachusetts are trying to find new ways to get their beer out while the coronavirus pandemic prevents customers from visiting taprooms. For Trillium Brewing Company, which is based primarily out of Canton, those experiments have led to the brewery exploring the beer-to-go home delivery market. The results have been positive so far, enough so that Trillium is expanding deliveries to seven days. Theyve already made a few deliveries to Worcester and are gearing up for their first-ever delivery to greater Springfield area on Monday, May 11. Its not the sort of service they expected to be offering. But according to Trillium director of marketing Mike Dyer, the interest was out there. Theres eventually that breakpoint where you say Wow, OK, thats thats cool, theres a lot of people in Agawam looking for Trillium,' Dyer said. As a result of the pandemic, Trillium was forced to close their Boston locations in Fort Point and Fenway. Right now, the bulk of Trilliums business still comes from no-contact curbside pickup at their brewery in Canton. But for those further away, making the trek outside while Governor Charlie Bakers stay-at-home advisory is in place isnt feasible for most people. Thats where Trillivery comes in. Right now, the brewery is offering delivery seven days a week, with Trillium trucks heading to a different part of the state on different days. Beer-to-go orders for curbside pickup or delivery can be made on the Trillium Brewing website, seven days a week. Orders for curbside pickup can be made from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Delivery orders can be placed from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (or until sold out) the day before deliveries are made. So if you want try to get a delivery to Springfield on Monday, May 11, customers should get their orders in when the ordering window opens on Sunday, May 10. The ordering window for Worcester was 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, which means youll need to wait until next week to get fresh ordering info. Keep up with the latest delivery schedule here. Delivery routes are changing every week and are announced on Fridays at 4 p.m. Orders for pickup have no minimum and can range anywhere from a single four-pack to a couple of cases. There is no surcharge for home delivery. However, the minimum order for delivery is one case (24 cans) of beer, which runs around $73 for pilsners, $103 for an IPA mix pack and up to $133 for special brews. The experiment has been a heavy lift for Trillium, but a worthwhile one. Normally, the brewery is in the hospitality business, hosting customers as guests in their taprooms, offering samples and advice to showcase their beers. Instead, Trillium is dealing with online transactions, which has its own benefit. Dyer says the one thing the company has learned the most about during this whole process is locations where there are pockets of interest in their beers. We have an international presence and were well known for our beer," Dyer said. "But you never quite have the qualitative data to say Hey, there are a lot of people in Springfield that would opt-in if they were given the option for delivery. The circumstances that brought about the delivery service arent ideal. But it does give Trillium a chance to help get their beer out to customers who dont normally make the trip to their locations, which mostly center around Boston. Dyer brought up the example of a customer from Worcester. Instead of them making the hour-long drive to Canton a few times a year, the Trillium truck can bring the beer to them an drop a case or two right on the doorstep. Right now, he says its too early to tell what the clear signs of interest outside the greater Boston area mean for the business moving forward. The focus right now is keeping business going amid a pandemic. After that, theyll have the chance to see if the market is still the same and if customers buying habits change. Trillium is still experimenting to see what works and has a form on their website for customers who want to know when home delivery is coming to their area. So far, Trillium has branched out to Worcester and Springfield after witnessing a strong demand there. However, they havent been able to satisfy all the requests theyve received. Dyer says theyve gotten requests from as far as West Coast. Unfortunately, the brewery cant simply ship their beer out to the California -- or even Pittsfield for that matter. Even just looking at the small state of Massachusetts, there are a lot of towns that we have yet to be able to service via delivery and theres probably gonna be towns that were never going to get to, Dyer said. The overall response has been positive, with customers appreciative and adapting quickly to the new procedures. Even so, the changes brought on by the pandemic have been tough on Trillium -- as it has on all breweries. Trillium has always a hospitality-focused business with their taproom as a destination for customers to visit, enjoy a meal, talk about the menu and get recommendations. That business model allows the brewery to sell draft beer at a more profitable mark-up than they do with can sales, which also deal with the overhead of packaging and distributing the beer. Its challenging, Dyer said. "The economics of beer in general always work best when youre able to sell beer and draft form. Thats where the money is at in beer. With COVID-19 safety guidelines shuttering taprooms across the state, breweries are being forced to adapt to new business models -- but not necessarily the same ones. Wormtown Brewery in Worcester and Vanished Valley Brewing in Ludlow are following a similar model of combining takeout orders with limited local delivery. Meanwhile, White Lion Brewing in Springfield is offering delivery only while continue to get its beer in stores. Berkshire Brewing Company and Fort Hill Brewing have closed their taprooms entirely, instead focusing on fulfilling orders to liquor stores. Some smaller brewers are getting more inventive, like West Springfields Two Weeks Notice, which has a drive-thru takeout system in place for orders. That sort of adaptability and risk-taking is common for craft breweries, Dyer says. Often times, owners are entering the business from other industries and backgrounds in engineering and myriad other skillsets. But the one thing they often have in common is an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for beer. Right now, Dyer said its vital for customers to get out there and support that entrepreneurial, spirit, whether its buying beer from a local brewer or getting takeout from a local restaurant. Right now every dollar does make a big difference in paying bills and keeping lights on, ideally keeping them open," Dyer said. So that once things do return to normal that theyre able to bring their staff back and you know, we can have places to go enjoy. --- Customers can order Trillium beer online through the brewerys website for curbside pickup and delivery. Keep an eye on the Trillivery map to see when and where deliveries are made for the upcoming week. MassForward is MassLive's series examining the journey of Massachusetts' small businesses through and beyond the coronavirus pandemic. Related content: Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 20:29:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- China's exports of epidemic control materials continued to increase in the past two months, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC). From March 1 to May 6, the country exported epidemic prevention supplies to 194 countries and regions through procurement, said MOC spokesperson Gao Feng at a press conference Thursday. As of Wednesday, 77 countries and regions and six international organizations had inked procurement contracts for 216 batches of medical supplies, while governments of 71 countries and regions and eight international organizations are conducting procurement negotiations on 128 batches of supplies with Chinese enterprises, Gao said. Meanwhile, the MOC has been working with other departments to strengthen quality control over exports of medical supplies. Products that do not meet either Chinese or foreign quality standards shall not be exported, according to Gao. The spokesperson noted that China has been cracking down on exports of counterfeit and shoddy products and other behaviors. Special work teams were deployed to 10 provinces and cities in mid- and late April to carry out on-site inspections. Enditem [May 07, 2020] Digital MRO Market Analysis Outlook by Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2030 Market Forecast Digital MRO Market is projected to be valued at USD 4,700 Million by 2030, registering a CAGR of 14.60% from 2019 to 2030. The rising demand for new aircraft, driven by growth in air passenger traffic, has significantly contributed to the expansion of the digital MRO market. High competition in the market owing to the presence of several players is forcing service providers to focus on offering enhanced and customized services. Furthermore, increasing collaborations between the various industry players are expected to drive the growth of the market. For example, in October 2019, Airbus SAS and Delta Air Lines collaborated to develop predictive maintenance and health-monitoring solutions. However, the absence of common data standards and high costs of MRO software suites might hamper the growth of the market. Market USP Reduced AOG time Growth Opportunities in the Market 3D printing segment expected to be fastest growing: The 3D printing segment is expected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period of 2019 to 2030. The rising adoption of 3D printing technology by MRO providers is expected to drive the growth of the segment. For example, in 2018, Lufthansa Technik opened a 3D printing center in Germany to manufacture lightweight aircraft parts. The use of 3D printing offers various benefits such as reduced aircraft weight, low replacement costs, and customization. Therefore, the segment is expected to register the highest CAGR during the review period. Parts replacement segment expected to register the highest CAGR: The growth of the parts replacement segment can be attributed to the adoption of 3D printing technology as it helps reduce aircraft weight, lower replacement costs, and offers customization. Furthermore, the high costs associated with new aircraft are expected to drive the growth of the segment. MRO providers segment to be fastest-growing: The segment is expected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period of 2019 to 2030. Collaborations between digital MRO providers and airlines are expected to drive the growth of the segment. For example, in July 2019, Croatia Airlines extended its maintenance contract with Lufthansa Technik. Browse Full Report Details @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/digital-mro-market-8603 Key Players Boeing (US) IBM (US) HCL Technologies (India) SAP SE (Germany) Ramco Systems (India) Oracle (US) IFS AB (Sweden) Traxxall Technologies (Canada) Honeywell International, Inc. (US) General Electric (US) Other Prominent Players IBS Software (US) Lufthansa Technik (Germany) Rusada (US) Collins Aerospace (US) Airbus SAS (Netherlands) Swiss AviationSoftware Ltd (Switzerland) Ansys, Inc. (US) WinAir (Canada) Microsoft Corporation (US) ATR (France) Capgemini (France) As a community-building service, TMCnet allows user submitted content which is not always proofed by TMCnet editors. If you feel this entry is of inferior quality or wish to report it for some reason, please forward the URL to "webedit [AT] tmcnet [DOT] com" with your comments. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] First Omicron case detected in Andhra Pradesh, overall tally rises to 36 People in Andhra to get quality liquor at Rs 50 if BJP comes to power: Somu Veerraju Night curfew in Andhra Pradesh: Know timings, guidelines, rules; What is allowed, what is not allowed Visakhapatnam Gas Leak: Death toll mounts to 11; Helpline numbers released India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, May 07: Andhra Pradesh government, on Thursday, released helpline numbers after gas leak from a chemical factory claimed several lives in Vizag (also known as Visakhapatnam). A helpdesk is being set up for response to the Vizag gas leak, Andhra Pradesh Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy has said. Taking to Twitter, the minister said, "In an ongoing effort to assist the rescue operations in #Gasleak incident in Vizag, a #helpdesk is being set up at Dept of Industries GM office in Vizag." Those in distress due to the Visakhapatnam gas leak tragedy can dial the following helpline numbers: S.Prasada Rao, DD - 7997952301 8919239341 R. Brahma, IPO - 9701197069 On Thursday, around 2.30 am, styrene gas leaked from a chemical plant of LG Polymers. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team has evacuated around 1,000-1,500 people from nearby areas. The Centre on Wednesday said 11 people died and 1,000 others were exposed to the gas leak at a chemical factory in Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Director General of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) S N Pradhan said leakage from the factory is now minimal but the NDRF personnel will be at the spot till it is totally plugged. As of now 11 people have lost their lives due to the gas leak, he said at a hurriedly convened press conference here. Member of the National Disaster Management Authority Kamal Kishore said that about 1,000 people living in nearby areas of the factory have been exposed to the gas leak. Pradhan said 500 people belonging to 200-250 families living in 3 km radius have been evacuated to the safer places. Dividend paying stocks like China XLX Fertiliser Ltd. (HKG:1866) tend to be popular with investors, and for good reason - some research suggests a significant amount of all stock market returns come from reinvested dividends. Yet sometimes, investors buy a popular dividend 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 China XLX Fertiliser. We'd guess that plenty of investors have purchased it for the income. Some simple research can reduce the risk of buying China XLX Fertiliser for its dividend - read on to learn more. Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on China XLX Fertiliser! SEHK:1866 Historical Dividend Yield May 7th 2020 Payout ratios Companies (usually) pay dividends out of their earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, the dividend might have to be cut. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. In the last year, China XLX Fertiliser paid out 30% of its profit as dividends. 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. Another important check we do is to see if the free cash flow generated is sufficient to pay the dividend. Unfortunately, while China XLX Fertiliser pays a dividend, it also reported negative free cash flow last year. While there may be a good reason for this, it's not ideal from a dividend perspective. Is China XLX Fertiliser's Balance Sheet Risky? As China XLX Fertiliser has a meaningful amount of debt, we need to check its balance sheet to see if the company might have debt risks. A rough way to check this is with these two simple ratios: a) net debt divided by EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), and b) net interest cover. Net debt to EBITDA is a measure of a company's total debt. Net interest cover measures the ability to meet interest payments. Essentially we check that a) the company does not have too much debt, and b) that it can afford to pay the interest. China XLX Fertiliser has net debt of 4.15 times its EBITDA, which is getting towards the limit of most investors' comfort zones. Judicious use of debt can enhance shareholder returns, but also adds to the risk if something goes awry. Story continues Net interest cover can be calculated by dividing earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by the company's net interest expense. With EBIT of 2.16 times its interest expense, China XLX Fertiliser's interest cover is starting to look a bit thin. Consider getting our latest analysis on China XLX Fertiliser's financial position here. 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. China XLX Fertiliser 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 CN0.029 in 2010, compared to CN0.08 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 11% a year over that time. The dividends haven't grown at precisely 11% every year, but this is a useful way to average out the historical rate of growth. It's not great to see that the payment has been cut in the past. We're generally more wary of companies that have cut their dividend before, as they tend to perform worse in an economic downturn. 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? China XLX Fertiliser has grown its earnings per share at 5.7% per annum over the past five years. Earnings per share have been growing at a credible rate. What's more, the payout ratio is reasonable and provides some protection to the dividend, or even the potential to increase it. Conclusion To summarise, shareholders should always check that China XLX Fertiliser's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. Firstly, the company has a conservative payout ratio, although we'd note that its cashflow in the past year was substantially lower than its reported profit. Second, earnings growth has been ordinary, and its history of dividend payments is chequered - having cut its dividend at least once in the past. While we're not hugely bearish on it, overall we think there are potentially better dividend stocks than China XLX Fertiliser out there. It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for China XLX Fertiliser (of which 1 doesn't sit too well with us!) you should know about. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our curated list of dividend stocks with a yield 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. HRAUN/iStockBy DR. NANCY A. ANORUO, ABC News (NEW YORK) -- Dr. Bill O'Callahan, an emergency physician, rested his elbows on his desk, his head in his hands. Despite his whirlwind thoughts -- a recent COVID-19 patient with failing lungs, a 30% pay cut, the dangers he faced on a daily basis -- he still counted himself among the fortunate. He was healthy, and he still had a job -- for now. A staggering number of hospital employees have been laid off or furloughed -- sent home without pay, waiting to hear whether they can return to work. Now, a fresh look at what lies ahead for hospitals post-pandemic reveals some may not recover from a COVID-19 patient surge that never came. Toward the beginning of the pandemic, initial worries included health systems being overwhelmed. But for most hospitals, novel coronavirus-related admissions have been more than offset by declines in unexpected areas. While fewer outpatient services and elective surgeries were expected, few hospitals anticipated steep declines in emergency room visits and in-hospital stays. With the exceptions of New York and San Francisco, almost every other U.S. hospital has experienced unforeseen declines in patient volume. From March 1 to April 15, health systems in the U S. saw average declines in emergency visits and in-hospital stays of approximately 30% to 50%. O'Callahan, who works just outside of Boston, said the volume of patients at his hospital dropped dramatically since the start of the pandemic, jeopardizing the hospital's revenue stream. Rather than furloughing staff, his hospital cut hours, cut salaries and ended retirement contributions. "We did this to avoid letting anyone go, as our volume dropped to just over 50% of our typical volume," he said. Hospitals across the country have been hemorrhaging money. According to a study by Crowe LLP that included data from about 1,500 hospitals and 100,000 physicians, U.S. hospitals were losing a combined $1.44 billion every day. Recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that even with so many in health care working tirelessly to combat COVID-19, job losses in health care are second only to the leisure and hospitality sector. U.S. unemployment numbers because of the pandemic now rival those of the Great Depression. With millions of Americans losing their jobs, they're losing their health care. Self-payers have increased 8.4%, and hospitals are bracing for more lost revenue as bad debts and charity write-offs increase. Many hospitals have received government bailouts, but Michigan Hospital Association spokesperson Ruthanne Sudderth said it's hardly enough. Last month, two of Michigan's largest health systems, Beaumont Health and Henry Ford Health System, announced they would lay off thousands. "The CARES Act funding and some state funding we've received have been very helpful and timely, but it's kind of a drop in the bucket," Sudderth said, referring to the $100 billion in federal stimulus money allocated for hospitals. With such a drastic drop in revenue the current situation is "a huge financial strain on hospitals of all sizes." Some frustrated Americans have pointed fingers at CEOs and health system leadership for the devastating job cuts, but health care analyst Seth Denson said it's really just "basic economics." "When it comes to the layoffs and furloughs of health care employees, it's easy to point fingers at the 'villainous' hospitals," he said. "But with no money, comes no paycheck. With no paycheck, comes no staff. And even if you can keep the staff, with no money, comes no supplies." The economic issues may be basic. The solution will be anything but. Although each hospital will need a unique solution, the analysis by Crowe showed that an average hospital would need to run at 110% capacity for six months to recover -- a seemingly impossible feat. Furloughed health care employees probably won't return all at once, and many may not return for a very long time -- or at all. Those fortunate enough to keep their jobs but at lower salaries may not return to their previous wages anytime soon. Outside of Boston, O'Callahan said he's now the sole breadwinner in his family. His wife, also a physician, was furloughed weeks ago. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. (CNN) - A member of the US Navy who serves as one of President Donald Trump's personal valets has tested positive for coronavirus, CNN has learned Thursday, raising concerns about the President's possible exposure to the virus. The valets are members of an elite military unit dedicated to the White House and often work very close to the President and first family. Trump was upset when he was informed Wednesday that the valet had tested positive, a source told CNN, and he was subsequently tested again by the White House physician. In a statement, the White House confirmed CNN's reporting that one of the President's valets had tested positive. "We were recently notified by the White House Medical Unit that a member of the United States Military, who works on the White House campus, has tested positive for Coronavirus," deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement. "The President and the Vice President have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health." A White House source said the valet, a man who has not been identified, exhibited "symptoms" Wednesday morning, and said the news that someone close to Trump had tested positive for coronavirus was "hitting the fan" in the West Wing. Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and the senior staffers who regularly interact with them are still being tested weekly for coronavirus, two people familiar told CNN. The White House is continuing to use the rapid Abbott Labs test, which provide results in about 15 minutes. Several officials who have received the test said it's often administered in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next door to the West Wing on the White House grounds. A medical official swabs the staffer's nostrils and informs them that they'll be notified within the next several minutes if it's positive. Still, the White House has not enforced strict social distancing guidelines for staffers and few people inside the building wear masks during the day, including valets. Trump said before traveling aboard Air Force One earlier this week that he was not concerned about being in close quarters with other people since those around him are regularly tested. "The test result comes back in five minutes, and we have great testing. Or they wouldn't be allowed to travel with me," Trump said. "It's not my choice; it's a very strong group of people that want to make sure they are tested, including Secret Service." Still, a negative test and lack of symptoms isn't a sure sign that someone can't spread the virus. Doctors say the incubation period for the coronavirus varies. The incubation period is the time that it takes from when you are exposed to the virus to developing symptoms. It ranges anywhere from 2-14 days. The average incubation period is estimated to be five days, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People can be infectious, meaning they can transmit the virus to somebody else, up to two days before they start showing symptoms. Like any other virus, this can vary from person to person. The coronavirus is spread between people mainly through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets can then spread to the nose or mouth of people nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs, according to the CDC. This type of spread is more likely when people are in close contact with each other, within about six feet. The CDC says that people who feel healthy but recently had close contact with a person with Covid-19 should stay home and monitor their health. They should quarantine by staying home until 14 days after their last exposure and should check their temperature twice a day and watch for symptoms. The CDC also recommends they stay away from people who are at higher risk for becoming very ill. The White House did not say whether Trump would adhere to those guidelines after his valet tested positive. This story was first published on CNN.com, "One of Trump's personal valets has tested positive for coronavirus" An El Salvadorian inmate at the Otay Mesa Detention Center died this Wednesday due to health complications by the coronavirus. Carlos Ernesto Escobar Mejia was the first U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainee to die from the pandemic. At 57 years old, he was hospitalized after the detention center could no longer alleviate his symptoms. His birthday would have been celebrated this month, according to the Union Tribune. More than 200 inmates at the San Diego prison were diagnosed with COVID-19 this Tuesday. "Petri Dishes" for Disease Transmission Earlier this week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overruled a judge's decision to allow the Adelanto ICE Processing Center to release 250 inmates. The Ninth Circuit nonetheless required the facility to adhere to the guidelines cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to control the spread of the coronavirus within the detention centers. Instructions require uninfected detainees to be within six feet apart. Those exhibiting symptoms are expected to wear masks, remain in isolation, and receive medical attention. The Deputy Director of immigration policy at the ACLU, Andrea Flores, said that public health experts and detention officials already voiced their concerns about the correction facilities becoming "Petri dishes" for further transmission of the COVID-19. Flores called it a "death trap for thousands of people in civil detention." She added that unless the ICE released more detainees, more people will die of the disease. At the Otay Mesa Detention Center, other detainees report to the Union-Tribune that the officials were insufficiently providing them medical attention or protecting them from the coronavirus. In contrast to this, medical director of epidemiology and immunizations services, Dr. Eric McDonald, claimed that they supported the center through offering infection control advice, testing the detainees for the coronavirus, and providing personal protective equipment for them. Check these out! Ninth Circuit Overrules Order to Release Detainees This week, the U.S. Court of Appeals overruled a lower-court judge's decision for the Ninth Circuit to release a minimum of 250 detainees to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Regardless, the Trump administration requested to reduce the ICE Processing Facility 's inmate population at a level that would allow the remaining detainees enough space to maintain social distancing. U.S. District Judge Terry Hatter ordered the facility to refuse admission of new detainees. Instructions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention demand that all detainees practice social distancing at all times, with six feet apart from the nearest person. Inmates with visible symptoms are required to wear masks, remain in isolation, and receive medical attention. They must be in quarantine for at least two weeks. Before Hatter's ruling decision, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California first filed a lawsuit that demanded the release of at least 250 detainees because of the poor conditions of detention facilities. According to a report, 674 detainees are already confirmed to have coronavirus in over 30 national detention centers. Arabian Travel Market (ATM) has officially announced the launch of ATM Virtual, a three-day event that will take place from June 1-3. The event, which underscores ATMs commitment to delivering positive business and networking opportunities to the regions vast travel and tourism community, will focus on emerging trends, opportunities, and the challenges which are directly impacting the tourism industry amid the Covid-19 global health pandemic. Danielle Curtis, exhibition director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said: Our debut virtual event provides us with the opportunity to work closely with the ATM community and ensure we can support the travel and tourism industry in rebounding as quickly and efficiently as possible. We will address the impact the global health pandemic has had on the travel and tourism industry and discuss a road map to recovery, identifying the trends shaping the future of the industry and the new normal that lies ahead. ATM Virtual, which will take place over three days, will feature comprehensive webinars, live conference sessions, roundtables, speed networking events, one-to-one meetings, as well as facilitating new connections and offering a wide range of online business opportunities. With up to four live high-level sessions each day, industry experts will address a range of topics including tourism strategies for the future, the hotel landscape in a post-COVID-19 world, and the resilience of the travel industry, as well as exploring emerging travel technology and sustainability trends, amongst other key topics. Sessions on the first day of the virtual event include, amongst others, Communicating and Building Confidence Now and The Hotel landscape in a post-Covid-19 world. Day two will include the Virtual ATM China Forum and Networking sessions as well as Bouncing Back: Tourism Strategies for the Future, and Catapulting Resilience Through Technology and Analytics. On day three, the event will conclude with the International Travel Investment Conference. The packed agenda will also feature interviews with high-calibre aviation keynote speakers providing a detailed update on the aviation industry. It will also feature a session run by Arival, focused on the rise of online travel agencies (OTAs), the re-opening of operations, and what this means for tour and attraction operators across the Middle East. One-to-one pre-scheduled 30-minute meetings between editors, exhibitors, and buyers will also take place, while live video sessions will include Q&As and polls which will be run alongside the presentations to enable audience interaction. A series of independently moderated, pre-recorded on-demand roundtables have been designed to discuss emerging hot topics such as domestic travel, luxury travel trends, corporate travel, and tourism recovery plans. Also, key travel editors and leading travel and tourism experts will be writing blogs on topical subjects spanning not just regional but international industry verticals. While a host of hour-long speed networking sessions, between key buyers and exhibitors, will culminate in over 1,400 five-minute meetings that can then be extended into more in-depth meetings where a business need is identified. For exhibitors from this region, the dedicated networking event will also have one Middle East-focused session per day, as well as sessions for buyers, focused on purchasing European and Asian products, plus a session specifically targeting Chinese buyers, added Curtis. In addition to ATM Virtual, the WTM Portfolio has launched a new online portal, the WTM Global Hub, which went live on April 23. The portal, which was set up to connect and support travel industry professionals around the world, will offer the latest news and advisory to help exhibitors, buyers and others in the travel industry face up to the challenges of the global coronavirus pandemic. The platform, which will provide content in English, Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese, will provide a wide range of webinars, podcasts, videos, news and blogs from key industry figures, providing travel professionals with a wealth of information, advice, and support to cope with the current crisis and plan for the future. ATM Virtual takes place from June 1 to 3. To register for the event please visit: atmvirtual.eventnetworking.com/register/ - TradeArabia News Service Fmr. Missouri governor defends Jim Bakker in 'Silver Solution' coronavirus lawsuit Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, has sided with Jim Bakker amid a lawsuit against the controversial televangelist over claims that he peddled a fake cure for coronavirus. Nixon is serving as an attorney for Bakker after the office of Republican Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit in March when the televangelist promoted a Silver Solution product claiming to have helped cure other strains of coronavirus. The former governor and state attorney general argued in a statement Monday that he believed his client is innocent. Jim Bakker is being unfairly targeted by those who want to crush his ministry and force his Christian television program off the air, stated Nixon, as reported by local media. The video recording of the Jim Bakker Show clearly shows the allegations are false. Bakker did not claim or state that Silver Solution was a cure for COVID-19. This case is about religious freedom. Nixon submitted a motion to dismiss the states lawsuit on Monday in the Circuit Court of Stone County claiming that the lawsuit against Bakker violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The motion argued that the lawsuit burdens the religious practice of Bakker and Morningside Church Productions and lacks a compelling governmental interest. The Attorney General asks the Court to determine which religious doctrines and sermons preached by a pastor from the pulpit concerning the interpretation and application of current world events to his religion, and his views on ecclesiastical matters, are sufficiently true to evade the proscriptions of secular law, stated the motion. Such an action by the Attorney General is as unprecedented as it is improper; neither the United States Constitution nor the Missouri Constitution permit this suit to be maintained. During an episode of The Jim Bakker Show that aired in February, Bakker and his guest, Dr. Sherrill Sellman, claimed that a Silver Solution product could cure strains of the coronavirus. This influenza, which is now circling the globe, youre saying that Silver Solution would be effective? Bakker asked Sellman, a naturopathic doctor. Well, lets say it hasnt been tested against this strain of the coronavirus, but its been tested on other strains of the coronavirus and has been able to eliminate it within 12 hours, replied Sellman. The broadcast was met with backlash from both state and federal officials, with the Food and Drug Administration and the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James sending cease-and-desist letters to Bakker. The 2019 novel coronavirus poses serious consequences to public health, and consumers are concerned as to how they can best protect themselves and their families, wrote James, as reported by The Hill in March. Your shows segment may mislead consumers as to the effectiveness of the Silver Solution product in protecting against the current outbreak. In an interview with Ozarks First in March, Schmitt said that Bakker and Morningside Church Productions have an opportunity, in a pretty short timeframe, to answer certainly the allegations that weve made and itd be our hope that they no longer represent that this 'Silver Solution' can cure the coronavirus. Bakker is known for selling various religious and health products in response to disasters and potential End Times scenarios. Jay Y. Lee, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman, has now taken part in a televised announcement to apologize for his part in company controversies and promised a structural change in its management. Mr. Lee reportedly assured viewers that there will no longer be any controversy regarding his inheritance of the company. Mr. Lee also promised that no unlawful actions will be allowed at the company. The apology and promises were made with guidance from the companys external compliance committee. That was formed by Justice Jeong Joon-young, who is currently overseeing Mr. Lees retrial. The Justice formed the committee in order to ensure that Samsungs compliance system was making visible efforts to improve. In particular, the committee intends to prevent bribery scandals, perjury, embezzlement, and further labor union disruptions at the company. A court convicted Mr. Lee of each back in 2017. The crimes were, the courts, determined, part of a plot to ensure his inheritance of the company. Advertisement Why should Samsung apologize and what structural change is being made? Now, there is a multitude of reasons for the Samsung executive to apologize here. Not least of all, it has long been expected that Mr. Lee would inherit the leadership of the company from his father, Chairman Lee Kun-hee. Thats been a source of controversy at Samsung for years. That will no longer be the case. Instead, the executive says that control of the companys management will not be given over to his children at all. The executive additionally apologized for and promised to ban its no labor union principles. Instead, Samsung will now nurture a healthy labor union culture, Mr. Lee claimed. The compliance monitoring committee advising the public apology is led by former Justice Chief Kim Ji-hyung. The former justice advised Mr. Lee back in March to concede and apologize for a number of company actions and policies. That includes its anti-labor union stance but also past criminal activity. Specifically, thats with regard to an ongoing retrial Mr. Lee is facing on charges of bribery and embezzlement. Advertisement The compliance committee, Mr. Lee indicated, will continue operating well after the retrial mentioned above is brought to a close. And that will remain an independent entity too if the executive is to be believed. Mr. Lee has promised to ensure that compliance becomes a part of company culture. Is this apology sincere? The courts released Mr. Lee, pending an appeal, after serving just one year of his five-year sentence. But that ruling has now been overturned as of August. In the interim, the public apology is widely considered to be a measured response, at the very least. More vocal criticism has centered on concerns that the statement was only made to gain the favor of the courts. Whether or not thats the case will be determined by Samsungs actions going forward. The company will need to remain in compliance regardless of the outcome in order to avoid more controversy. Right now, Samsung is the number one mobile manufacturer in the world and among the leaders in technology, overall. So Samsung has a lot to lose if it doesnt comply. Australians hoping to fly home during the coronavirus pandemic have been given new options with Qantas announcing limited flights to Melbourne from Los Angeles and London. It also opens the potential for pets to be flown back to Australia. Previous special Qantas and Virgin Australia flights organised during the pandemic flew from LA to Brisbane. Brisbane does not have the facilities to quarantine pets, forcing Australians planning to fly home during the pandemic to leave their pets in the US or opt not to return to Australia. Qantas has announced limited flights to Melbourne from Los Angeles and London Under Australia's strict border rules cats and dogs must arrive directly into Melbourne Airport and be quarantined at a facility at Mickleham, near Melbourne. The Australian government has requested owners of pets planning to fly back to Australia on one of the new Melbourne flights to contact Qantas and their chosen pet carriers to check on animal transportation. Comment is being sought from Qantas. Previous special Qantas and Virgin Australia flights organised during the pandemic flew from LA to Brisbane Airlines have severely cut back flights during the pandemic. Qantas' new limited Los Angeles to Melbourne flights are scheduled for May 16, 23 and 30 and June 6. United Airlines is flying daily from San Francisco to Sydney. The new Qantas London-Melbourne flights are on May 13, 15, 20, 22, 27, 29 and June 3 and 5. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 20:10:18|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is crucial for the economic development of Pakistan, local media quoted Chairman of CPEC Authority Asim Saleem Bajwa as saying on Thursday. The second phase of the multi-billion-dollar economic cooperation between Pakistan and China will have a special emphasis on agriculture, industry, trade, and science and technology, Bajwa said in an interaction with local media. He said that the Pakistani government's priority about the second phase of CPEC is to make special economic zones functional, besides development projects in Gwadar, according to the report. Bajwa, who also holds the additional position of the special assistant to the Pakistani prime minister on information and broadcasting, said that work for the completion of CPEC is in progress on a fast pace. "There is no political hindrance in its way. The project is Pakistan's future as well as a tangible reality and no compromise will be made on it," local media quoted the official as saying. Bajwa said Pakistan takes decisions which are within the best interest of the country and there is a political consensus that CPEC is the best for the interest of the country and for that matter "no external pressure against CPEC will be accepted," according to the report. Many projects focusing on infrastructure and energy sectors in the first phase of CPEC have been completed and are already operational, and work on the second phase is underway. Enditem Details are emerging that the two 'killer' fetish priests Christian Lawoe Gameli, aka Power One, 36, and his accomplice, Famous Adukonu, aka Scorpion, 37, who have been detained for the alleged callous murder of at least two people at their shrine were chased out of Suhum in the Eastern Region, where they were formerly practising, for a similar offence. The fetish priests, who claim to hail from Afife in the Volta Region, were arrested on Thursday, April 30 by officials of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service at Adu Kwadwo, near Adeiso in the Upper West Akim District of the Eastern Region where their shrine, 'Power 1 Herbal & Spiritual Centre', was located. Switching Places DAILY GUIDE's investigations at Adu Kwadwo and the adjoining town, Kwasi Nyarko at Maame Krobo Junction, confirmed that 'Power One' and his accomplice moved to their present location after residents of Suhum had chased them out of the place when their nefarious activities were uncovered. A resident of Kwasi Nyarko told DAILY GUIDE that they had learnt that 'Power One' was originally operating at Suhum and was chased out for similar offences. We have heard that he was operating at Suhum and was chased out of the place by the angry residents, she said. The Director General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, COP Ken Yeboah, confirmed this revelation on Adom FM on Tuesday that the police received a call from someone that 'Power One' was originally operating in another town which he did not mention before relocating to Adu Kwadwo. Chief Speaks When DAILY GUIDE visited the area on Tuesday, the Chief of Kwasi Nyarko, Barima Opoku Affi Nyarko, who is also the supervising chief of the adjoining towns, told DAILY GUIDE they were shocked when they heard that 'Power One' and his accomplice had been rounded up for killing some people and burying them behind their shrine. As I am speaking to you, we are still in shock because 'Power One' looked so innocent, very gentle and calm so nobody would have suspected him of such a crime, he said. The chief praised officials of CID for being able to trace and arrest the culprits. Chief's Meeting Barima Nyarko explained that there were complaints from residents of the area for being chased by some people when they go to the farm. He said the complaints intensified so the chiefs in the area summoned all the fetish priests to his palace to tell them about those complaints and to find out whether they had a hand in those supposed persistent harassment. Barima Nyarko pointed out that during the meeting there were accusations and counter accusations among the fetish priests numbering about 20 in the area. They, therefore, agreed to gather at the market square of Kwasi Nyarko with their deities to invoke curses on the people responsible for that, he said, adding that they could not come back to execute their promise of invoking those curses at the market square. We are happy that the cover of 'Power One' has been blown otherwise many of our people could have disappeared and we will not know who is behind it, he said. The chief told DAILY GUIDE that he had decided to confiscate a large tract of land bought by 'Power One' at Kwasi Nyarko and hand it over to the government for development. Kwasi Nyarko's chief, however, pleaded with the government to come to their aid by constructing toilet facility for his people, constructing speed rumps on the main Nsawam-Asamankese road which passes through the town and also erecting a telecommunication mast in the town to help boost mobile phone reception in all adjoining towns. Visiting Shrine When DAILY GUIDE visited the shrine of 'Power One' at Adu Kwadwo, the place looked completely deserted with repugnant smell all over the place. The paper met a man who only gave his name as Theophilus, whose house is located opposite the shrine of 'Power One'. He was sitting in front of his house with his wife, children and mother-in-law at the time of the visit. The looks on their faces were that of shock and awe, with their chins resting in their palms. Theophilus, who was initially not prepared to speak, told DAILY GUIDE that he and his family had still not recovered from the shock of their neighbour being such a 'callous murderer'. Meanwhile, DAILY GUIDE discovered that residents of Adu Kwadwo were going about with their normal life and duties, with children playing about as if nothing had happened in the town. Shrine Exhibits A special police team raided the shrine last Thursday and retrieved an assortment of tell-tale exhibits including gallons of suspected human blood, an idol made from human skull, human bones, human hairs and beads in shallow graves. The police also retrieved two pump action guns, a single barrel gun together with 11 packets full of cartridges. The weapons were found in the room of 'Power One'. During a news conference on Monday, the CID boss said the police uncovered graves that contained the remains of Edward Quartey Papafio, a biochemical consultant, and Kwashie Zormelo, a mason, at the shrine. ---Daily Guide Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was eviscerated on Twitter after sharing a seemingly harmless post showing him supporting businesses ahead of Mother's Day - only he and the two women seen inside weren't wearing masks. The Republican governor shared the photo in a Thursday post, which pictured him at the Rusted Arrow in Pensacola. 'With Mothers Day around the corner I stopped by Rusted Arrow in Pensacola to pick up some gifts,' DeSantis said in the post. 'Great store in a beautiful downtown area!' The Republican governor shared the photo in a Thursday post, which pictured him at the Rusted Arrow in Pensacola 'With Mothers Day around the corner I stopped by Rusted Arrow in Pensacola to pick up some gifts,' DeSantis said in the post. 'Great store in a beautiful downtown area!' Co-owners Samantha Breedlove and Ruth Cornelius are seen in the picture with DeSantis, and none of the three are wearing gloves or masks The owners took to Instagram to share the governor's visit and it appears they had an additional employee actually handle the items DeSantis purchased. She was wearing gloves Co-owners Samantha Breedlove and Ruth Cornelius are seen in the picture with DeSantis, and none of the three are wearing gloves or masks. The owners took to Instagram to share the governor's visit and it appears they had an additional employee actually handle the items DeSantis purchased. While she was also not wearing a mask, she did have on gloves. 'Thanks for shopping small with us today @rondesantisfl! Such a special visit and it was a pleasure to meet you and your staff,' they said in the post. 'Thank you for your continued efforts and support to reopen small businesses in Florida.' While the Rusted Arrow arrows hash-tagged the photo '#socialdistancing,' no one in the photos actually appeared to be staying 6ft apart. Folks on Twitter slammed DeSantis for a number of points, especially for not reopening the economy. But a bulk of those slamming the governor were disgusted that he hadn't taken measures to ensure everyone's safety. 'What is with the GOP,' asked one user, who added DeSantis in a group along with President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Missouri Governor Parsons Another wondered: 'Where the hell is your mask, jacka*s' One person pointed out that one of the women in the store classified as 'high-risk,' calling DeSantis a 'clown' Gov. DeSantis has only advised all Floridians to wear masks in public, but counties like Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade have mandated all residents cover faces in supermarkets and businesses. Other cities such as Hollywood, Cooper City, Miramar, Miami, Boca Raton, and Delray Beach already have mask orders in place. 'What is with the GOP,' asked one user, who added DeSantis in a group along with President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Missouri Governor Parsons. Another wondered: 'Where the hell is your mask, jacka*s.' One person pointed out that one of the women in the store classified as 'high-risk', seemingly because she is older, calling DeSantis a 'clown.' On Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis allowed restaurants to offer outdoor seating with six feet of space between tables and indoor seating at 25 percent capacity 'Wow photographic evidence they do not care about their customers and you do not care for health or safety of others,' one critic declared. 'Lovely.' On Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis allowed restaurants to offer outdoor seating with six feet of space between tables and indoor seating at 25 percent capacity. Florida has started to resume life as normal with certain businesses throughout much of the state opening their doors, except in the counties of Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach, which have the greatest number of COVID-19 cases. As part of our #LockdownLessons series, Bizcommunity is reaching out to South Africa's top industry players to share their experience of the current Covid-19 crisis, how their organisations are navigating these unusual times, where the challenges and opportunities lie, and their industry outlook for the near future. Sofia Neves, managing director at Salesian Life Choices What was your initial response to the crisis/lockdown? Did things go as expected? What temporary HR policies have you put in place regarding remote working, health & safety, etc.? How is your organisation responding to the crisis? Comment on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on your organisation or economy as a whole. Any trends youve seen emerge as a result of the crisis? What do you predict the next six months will be like? Your key message to those in the sector? We chatted to Sofia Neves, managing director at Salesian Life Choices, to get her take.In light of the South African President Cyril Ramaphosas National State of Disaster address, we decided to stop all activities on the 18th of March (which is when schools closed). The board and management took a no risk-taking approach. Our decision was informed by two fundamentals: (1) our ability to slow down the spread of coronavirus in SA and (2) the health and safety of our beneficiaries and team.The entire team moved to work from home. We established clear processes, workflows, and put in place deliverables. We planned that team members would communicate with each other on a daily basis. All field staff would continue working with beneficiaries via phone calls and would use the opportunity to talk about Covid-19 basics, answer questions, and promote the desired behaviour of social distancing. We also decided that the Life Choices Academy would continue teaching online and students were given laptops and data to work from home.The board set up a Covid-19 sub-committee that meets on a weekly basis with me. So, we moved fast and decisively.No, since it was difficult for almost everyone to adapt. Everything changed so fast, there was no change management process involved. We just moved and were faced with the daunting task of wanting to continue being as productive as before in a situation that was not conducive to that. The change did not affect a small number of team members - mainly staff without children living in the suburbs - it even increased their productivity. But the rest, we were getting very frustrated between childcare, home schooling, network problems, living conditions not conducive to work, and many more other nuances.After three weeks, we made the decision of letting everyone go on leave for five days so we could properly adjust to the new conditions. The break was good for the team, everyone returned more grounded and with a good understanding of what was a realistic expectation from each individual during this strange time.We are working on a flexi-hour model, with a reduction of hours for parents with children and no reduction of pay. Departments have short meet-ups in the morning to touch base and once a week we have a full organisation virtual meeting where we connect with everyone, a total of 47 staff members. Everyone reports daily on outputs achieved. Therapy sessions continue to be offered, now telephonically, to each member of the team in order to support their wellbeing.We are beginning to plan going back to the office, but only essential staff will be requested to do so. Whoever can continue working from home will stay home and no team member with a comorbidity will be stepping into the office for the next few months.Before sending everyone to work from home, we had a long staff meeting about Covid-19. We continue updating each other on developments, new information, and government initiatives on a daily basis. Independent of what the team is busy doing (e.g. psychosocial support sessions, career guidance, university applications, parental skills), Covid-19 awareness is part of the work.We were fortunate that over the years we captured thousands of contact numbers of our past beneficiaries. Our new activities include calling each number to provide Covid-19 awareness, emotional support, clarity on government interventions, connection to resources and, in some cases, to provide food vouchers (R800 per family). People are extremely thankful that we havent forgotten them. We also have opened psycho-social support services to anyone in need people can send an SMS or a 'please call me' to 0818178907 and a therapist will call them back.Covid-19s effect on the economy is devastating and will continue for many years to come. I am afraid that inequality will reach levels never seen before. Even though this pandemic affects everyone, it will hit the poor and most vulnerable the hardest. I am extremely supportive of government decisions, including a lockdown as the first response to Covid-19. However, the government is aware that in the worst-case scenario, Covid-19 will not kill as many people as poverty or inequality might do long term. As we are getting more data and knowledge on this virus, the government will need to ease lockdown and boost the economy if they want to avoid an even bigger disaster.In relation to Life Choices, we have been truly blessed with amazing partners. Many of our donors reached out and recommitted to continue supporting us. Some even offered extra support to assist our Covid-19 response (e.g. food vouchers, data, airtime). We are having real conversations where we are cognisant that the future holds difficult times for organisations and donors. We cant fully predict what will happen in 2021.For years, many of the initiatives being implemented by the government now had been debated, torn apart, and dismissed as impassable. In less than two months, Covid-19 has achieved what was unimaginable a few months ago.The list could go on and on, we could talk about the social grant increase, the establishment of a Covid-19 social relief of distress grant (catering for the forgotten), strengthening the health system, improvement of schools, more social workers and psychologists deployed, financial packages for small businesses in distress, support for industries performing poorly, financial incentives to recover the economy at large, reduction of carbon emissions, improvements in government service delivery through the use of technology, increased public transport, and so much more.The scale of the response to the pandemic is magnificent, and I hope it can capture the imagination of the collective because it has clearly showcased that where there is a global will, there is a way. What we are learning during this time could assist us in the future to tackle bigger enemies, namely inequality.Unless a miracle happens, much of the same. Our lives will continue being disrupted. Covid-19 is not going anywhere anytime soon. The government will continue being forced to lift the lockdown but life, as we knew it, will not return. We will need to continue to follow strict health and safety guidelines and a lot of our previous face-to-face work will not be able to be conducted this year.If your work is still relevant after the Covid-19 era, you will survive. These are daunting times for everyone. Everything and everyone is interconnected government, businesses, civil society, and communities. We will enter a global crisis of unprecedented proportions and everyone is going to be impacted. But in every crisis, there are opportunities. And that is where the sector will need to focus on, the new opportunities that will emerge. Advertisement Travellers turned out in huge numbers to attend a funeral in defiance of social distancing measures designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Guidelines introduced by the government meant that the mourners were told only 15 people could be present for the ceremony, but dozens of attendees could be seen walking alongside the hearse and crowding around the grave. Crowds began to gather at the cemetery in Thornaby, North Yorkshire, from around 9am and so many people came to pay respects that the ceremony planned for 1pm was delayed by 40 minutes, with police watching over the event from afar. In defiance of social distancing measures, a large crowd of travellers gathered to attend a gypsy funeral in Thornaby There have been several reported instances of groups ignoring social distancing measures to carry out funerals The number of mourners in attendance, beginning at 9am, meant that the service was delayed by 40 minutes The travellers were breaking the guidance in paying tribute to their deceased friend Jimmy Connors Funeral director Irene Jessops, whose company is based in Thornaby, was conducting the service and confirmed that mourners had been outside of her funeral home with the coffin since 9am. Guidelines instructing people to keep six feet apart from each other were introduced in March as the coronavirus pandemic reached the UK, with a full nationwide lockdown initiated from March 23. While Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to issue a statement on easing lockdown measures on Sunday night, they currently remain in place and include restrictions on mass gatherings for events such as weddings and funerals. This is not the first instance of mourners breaking lockdown rules to conduct funerals after travellers in Bedfordshire seized the body of a deceased friend and carried out their own ceremony in April. The group reportedly threatened to burn down the morgue if the body of the deceased was not returned to them so they could bury him. A police van could be seen outside the cemetery keeping a close eye on the gathering that flouted the social distancing rules And on Tuesday another group packed into Oxbridge Cemetery in Stockton, with police also keeping an eye on the gathering. It comes as Church of England bishops have rejected please to ease restrictions on funerals during lockdown. Churches shut down in March amid safety concerns over the spread of coronavirus, with current social distancing rules permitting funerals only at crematoriums or at the graveside. Large numbers of mourners could be seen walking alongside the hearse on its journey to the cemetery A letter signed by 36 Conservative MPs suggested clergy should be allowed into churches to officiate services while adhering to safety procedures. The letter, addressed to Lord Archbishops and Diocesan Bishops of the Church of England, voiced concerns that 'the wishes of the deceased and bereaved are not being fulfilled with a proper committal in the church of their wish'. However, following a scheduled virtual meeting of the House of Bishops on Tuesday, bishops rejected the MPs' pleas. Public Health England's guidance said: 'Mourners should avoid any direct face to face or physical contact, for example hugging each other unless they are part of the same household.' Negotiations start on holiday corridor to Croatia, but health experts call for people to stay in Slovakia. Restrictions at Slovakias borders with Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary were extended until May 27, the government decided on May 7. (Source: SITA) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Restrictions at Slovakias borders with Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary were extended until May 27, the government decided on May 7, despite lawyers and rights activists raising questions over the legality of stopping foreigners entering the country. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Slovakia imposed strict border controls in March in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus. At present, the only people allowed to enter the country are people transporting goods, Slovaks or foreigners with temporary or permanent residence in Slovakia and close family members, or people who live or work within 30km of the border and commute across the border from their homes to work. But there have been growing calls for the restrictions to be loosened as they have left some families and couples split between two countries. The World Association of Slovaks Living Abroad recently issued a statement calling on the restrictions to be lifted for Czechs and Slovaks, pointing out the close connections between many people in both countries. Meanwhile, the Srdcom Doma (Heart at Home) initiative said that many Slovaks who want to return home from abroad are unsure whether they can bring family members who are not Slovak citizens, or foreign partners who they are not married to, with them into the country. Activists, lawyers, and Slovakias Human Rights ombudswoman Maria Patakyova have questioned the legality of the strict border regime, pointing out that it has left families divided and that it is unclear under what legislation the original border controls were implemented. Zuzana Stevulova a lawyer and member of the non-parliamentary Progressive Slovakia party, explained that while EU member states such as Slovakia have a right to impose temporary border controls for reasons of public order, health or safety temporary border controls do not mean a total shutdown of borders. [The EU] directive about freedom of movement is still valid, she told The Slovak Spectator. Ten persons have tested positive to coronavirus at the Lagos State House, Marina, an official said on Thursday. Akin Abayomi, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, said the persons were confirmed positive, although the governor and his wife tested negative to the virus. The Lagos State House is the official residence of the governor of Lagos State. Details of the positive individuals were not disclosed, but the Commissioner said they are associated with the state house. I am glad to announce that COVID-19 Incident Commander Governor of Lagos State Babajide Sanwo-olu and the First Lady of Lagos Joke Sanwo-olu have consistently tested negative to COVID-19 following three consecutive tests conducted on them recently. However, 10 persons associated with Lagos State House in Marina have tested positive to COVID-19, Mr Abayomi wrote. These are the first officials at the governors house to test positive for coronavirus. Lagos recorded 82 new confirmed cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, increasing the total cases in the state to 1,324. It is unclear whether the ten positive officials are part of the cases recorded in the state on Wednesday, as of press time. As of Thursday, Lagos State has 1, 324 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 917 active cases, 358 discharged cases, two evacuated cases, 16 transferred cases and 31 deaths. Mr Abayomi urged Lagos residents to embrace the MaskUpLagos initiative and observe all precautionary measures such as physical distancing, hand washing and other personal hygiene in order to curb the spread of the virus. The commissioner said all directives on easing the lockdown in Lagos State remain in force and citizens should play their role in stopping the spread of the virus. Multi-billion dollar supply chain financing house Greensill is threatening to drop a key Australian client for treating its suppliers poorly, just days after it emerged that a string of defaults by offshore customers could expose the firm to losses. Greensill, which was founded by Australian-born, London-based financier Lex Greensill and is reportedly valued at $6 billion, has had several major clients around the world default on their debts in recent months amid allegations of accounting misconduct and shoddy business models. AFR Rich Lister Lex Greensill is seeing out the COVID-19 lockdown at his home in Cheshire, in the north of England. The company, which secured a $900 million investment from Japanese telco giant Softbank last October, operates in supply chain financing, providing a service which allows suppliers to big companies to be paid earlier for a fee. These financing arrangements are then packaged up and rolled into short-term investments. The funds that hold these investments are managed by Credit Suisse. In recent months the Credit Suisse funds have been impacted by corporate collapses and investors looking to extract cash in the wake of COVID-19 inspired markets rout. ATLANTA The former owner of Wines.com yesterday filed a federal lawsuit against an ecommerce entrepreneur and his company, after he allegedly transformed parts of the longtime site into a porn blog and swindled her after he sold the site. In the case, plaintiff Jacklyn Wilferd said she purchased Wines.com in 1994 and developed the domain and a website for 24 years, before entering into profit-sharing agreements in 2018 with Khuram Dhanani and his company, Digital Equity LLC, to further develop and sell the website and domain as a commercial product, while generating revenue in the interim. Wilferd, in the suit filed at Atlanta federal court, said that she spurned offers for Wines.com ranging from $700,000 to $2.5 million and chose Dhanani for a deal instead, as she wished to maximize the value of her sale as a 68-years-old senior seeking to retire. Dhanani, however, simply swindled Wilferd, paying her $50,000 for transfer of the website and domain to his company, Digital Equity, to facilitate a sale, but doing basically nothing to develop the website, except post pornographic content under Wilferds name contrary to his promises), the suit said. The series of blog articles on porn topics started appearing on the site in April 2019, the suit said. One example listed in the complaint was a review of adult star Sydney Cole, as well as her top 10 wine choices. The review also adds a link to her scenes in BrattySisters.com. Wilferd said that after learning that Dhanani sold the site last August, he claimed that he had no obligation to pay Wilferd anything more under their profit-sharing agreements, because the sale was purportedly not a product sale, but a corporate-level asset sale, a distinction nowhere part of their agreements. The former Wines.com owners said that to date Dhanani has even refused to provide her any details regarding the sale or an accounting for the company in which she was a profit-sharing partner. With the suit, Wilferd seeks to recover the value of the website and domain she developed for 24 years, worth between $1 million to $5 million, which defendants disingenuously claim they purchased from her for only $50,000 (with no further obligation under their profit sharing agreements to account for the sale of the website and domain). Because of Dhananis alleged conduct constitutes an egregious fraud and elder abuse, Wilferd is seeking to further recover punitive and trebled damages, attorneys fees and costs in the action. AVN attempted to reach Dhanani for comment but was unsuccessful at post time. According to his personal website, Dhanani describes himself as an e-commerce entrepreneur and investor who founded web companies known as Clear Spark and ZQ Network. Forbes in 2015 published an article on Dhanani called Inside The Mind Of A Millionaire: E-Commerce Entrepreneur Khuram Dhanani On Success & His Next Move. The Resistance Front (TRF), a new terror group that has taken responsibility for major attacks and gunfights in Jammu & Kashmir over the past few weeks, is controlled by three top handlers of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in Pakistan, according to an intelligence report submitted to national security planners in New Delhi. The idea behind TRF is to give terror in Kashmir an indigenous face, while also warding off international pressure on Pakistan, particularly from anti-terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that is keeping a close watch on Islamabads activities, the report added. Security officials aware of the matter said that TRF was launched late last year after Parliament nullified Jammu & Kashmirs special status on August 5, and divided the state into two centrally administered Union territories Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir. Attempts to put an India label on terror activities, one of the security officials cited above said, are reflected in the names Pakistanis spy agency Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) has picked for new groups -- such as TRF or the low-key JK Pir Panjal Peace Forum. These names dont have a religious label, but suggest that they are India-bred, the official said on condition of anonymity. The intelligence report prepared by Indian security officials on TRF said Lashkar leaders formed the core of the group. At this point, it said, efforts appeared to be concentrated on projecting TRF as a formidable force to attract local recruits. TRF is being controlled from Pakistan by top three Lashkar handlers: Sajad Jatt for South Kashmir, Khalid for Central Kashmir and Hanzala Adnan for North Kashmir, said the report accessed by HT. TRFs social media managers in Pakistan claimed responsibility after five terrorists and an equal number of army soldiers were killed in the Keran sector early April. The group also claimed responsibility for the gunfight in north Kashmirs Handwara town that killed five security men, including the commanding officer of a Rashtriya Rifles battalion and a Major, over the weekend. One of the two terrorists killed in the operation was later identified as Lashkar commander Haider, a Pakistani national. The other person was a local terrorist, a resident of Handwara. In Twitter posts on Wednesday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan accused India of trying to find a pretext for a false flag operation targeting his country even as he put emphasis on what he called indigenous Kashmiri resistance in the region. His tweets were seen by security experts as a response to reports of Pakistans attempt to send terrorists into India. Last week, Khan brought in Lt Gen (retired) Asim Saleem Bajwa, a former director general of the Pakistani militarys inter-services public relations, as his new special assistant. Indian intelligence officials said the LeTs old guard was focusing on getting TRF new recruits from the Kashmir Valley. In north Kashmir, they added, LeT terrorists such as Mehrajdduin Halwal are consolidating TRFs base. Also, the groups social media handles, which feature content traced back to locations in Pakistan, have been campaigning aggressively. The earliest version of its social media handles has been traced to internet protocol addresses in Pakistan. For now, security officials expect TRF to carry out grenade attacks, mostly using its overground workers or fresh recruits rather than risking its trained hands. A grenade lobbed in Srinagars Hari Singh High Street in October last year was one of its first attacks, they said. The group, however, lost dozens of grenades when the police caught some of its overground workers ferrying arms and ammunition in March. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON People turn to sanitisers and home remedies to cure the disease while the WHO says there is no proven cure or vaccine. Confirmed cases of the coronavirus are slowly rising in Africa. Health experts warn that efforts to contain the virus are being undermined by misinformation, including from some African leaders. Al Jazeeras Catherine Soi reports from Kenyas capital Nairobi. Error. Page cannot be displayed. Please contact your service provider for more details. (25) Vietnams Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has allowed the reopening of non-essential businesses as the country has recorded no novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) case in the community for three weeks. This move followed the gradual restart of the economy in which public transport, domestic air travel, inter-province bus operations, and intra-city bus services have been reinstated after being shut down in accordance with an enhanced social distancing fiat last month. Schools have started to reopen since late last month. Non-essential businesses and services are now permitted to come back on stream, PM Phuc said at a government meeting in Hanoi on Thursday. Bars, pubs, clubs and discos, beauty salons, massage parlors, karaoke lounges, barbers, and hairdressers are some of the services considered non-essential in Vietnam. Karaoke lounges and clubs and discos continue to be shuttered, PM Phuc noted. All businesses must adhere to safety guidelines such as face mask donning and hand washing while in operation, the government chief said. Vietnam will keep trying its best to bar imported cases by quaratining all international arrivals for 14 days, the prime minister said. Dont ever let international arrivals transmit the virus to the local community, he insisted. The government decided to lift a ban on some sporting activities and crowded events but participants must don face coverings and clean their hands frequently. It is still compulsory for everyone to sport face coverings in public and on public transportation means while washing hands and good personal hygiene are highly recommended in crowded places. The premier agreed to open some auxiliary border gates and open crossings along the Vietnam-China border for trade but preventive measures are required to be in place. Vietnam has confirmed 271 COVID-19 patients to date, with 232 recoveries and no virus-induced death, according to the Ministry of Healths statistics. The Southeast Asian country has gone three weeks without any community-transmitted infection, with only three imported cases detected in quarantine. It has conducted tests on 261,004 samples as yet while currently isolating 20,942 people. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 00:55:42|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Two women work at a biscuit factory in Kathmandu, Nepal on May 8, 2020. Nepali industrialists and economists said that restoring the supply chain disturbed by the ongoing lockdown in Nepal would be crucial to resume operation of nearly four dozen sectors after the Nepali government on Wednesday relaxed the provisions of lockdown for them. (Photo by Sulav Shrestha/Xinhua) KATHMANDU, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Nepali industrialists and economists said that restoring the supply chain disturbed by the ongoing lockdown in Nepal would be crucial to resume operation of nearly four dozen sectors after the Nepali government on Wednesday relaxed the provisions of lockdown for them. In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, the Nepali government has been enforcing a nationwide lockdown since March 24, including suspending ground and air travels, shutting down shops and industries, except those related to essential goods and services. With the economic cost of the lockdown increasing massively and the employment of thousands of Nepalis at stake, Nepal's cabinet on Wednesday decided to allow resuming operation of 44 sectors by following strict health protocol and in coordination with COVID-99 crisis management centres at federal and provincial levels. Among the sectors opened for businesses include production, transport and sales of agriculture and livestock products; medical goods and services; operation of transport services for goods; continuation of development activities; production of industrial goods including construction materials, food items and export products; banking services and hotels and restaurants along the highways, among others. "As when the pandemic comes to an end is uncertain, it was logical to run by ensuring necessary safeguards," Satish Kumar More, president of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries, a grouping of medium and large scale industries, told Xinhua on Thursday. "This will help save thousands of jobs." However, he said that resuming operation of the industries alone would not be sufficient. "The government should be flexible on opening the shops as well by ensuring adequate safety measures," he said. Since the lockdown began in late March, the Nepali government has only allowed shops related to medical goods and food items such as milk, foods and vegetables to partially open every day, while shops related to all other types of goods and services have not been allowed to open so far. "How long can we store the goods in our warehouses without access to the market?" Pashupati Murarka, owner of Murarka organization, a leading business house of Nepal, told Xinhua on Thursday. Although the cabinet decision allowed a number of industries to resume operation, it has not clearly stated about how the industries could deliver goods to the market. "The government should ensure the resumption of supportive industries and it should also ensure movement of workers and other employees to resume the industrial operation." Senior economist Govinda Nepal told Xinhua on Thursday that the limited relaxation in certain sectors was needed to give some respites to the economy which is expected to see a meager growth due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, the Central Bureau of Statistics projected Nepal's economy to grow by 2.7 percent in this fiscal year 2019-20 against the target of 8.5 percent. The current fiscal year comes to an end in mid-July. Enditem Three people are dead following an hourlong shooting spree in southwest Houston and authorities believe a shortage of illicit drugs caused by the coronavirus pandemic was a factor in the violence. Joshua Kelsey, 35, was arrested Thursday morning in connection with the slaying of three men Wednesday night at three locations. He has been charged with one count of murder and capital murder, court records show. Troy Finner, executive assistant chief of Houston Police Department, said the crime spree was drug-related and that all of the men involved including the victims knew each other. Theres a shortage of drugs on these streets, Finner said. Drug rips, drug disputes are really pushing the homicides in our city. Police have so far investigated 120 homicides in 2020, a 49 percent increase from the same time last year, authorities said. During a news conference, Finner detailed the chaotic events along a 9-mile path through the Almeda area. The suspect fired on two men during a confrontation over drugs around 8:15 p.m. in the 14200 block of Bridgeport Road. One man was shot and killed and the other was hospitalized, Finner said. The two were not identified. The gunman carjacked a Kia Forte and drove about 4 miles to the next home in the 5200 block of Kelling Street. By 8:36 p.m., he had broken into a home there and gunned down a 60-year-old man inside, police said. The victim was identified as Michael Miller, according to medical examiner records. The gunman moved on to another residence at the 13500 block of Hooper and knocked on the door. He walked in and fatally shot a man in his 40s, identified as Juan Garcia, records show. Hours later, Kelsey was apprehended after a chase while driving the stolen Kia, police said. Kelsey has a scattering of misdemeanor marijuana possession charges dating back to 2004. In 2018, he was arrested on a cocaine possession charge , but it was dismissed as he pleaded guilty to theft. In that incident, Kelsey was accused of stealing several rims off of a man's car. A Houston police officer wrote in the criminal complaint that Kelsey is in the HPD gang tracker database, but the document does not detail his affiliations. Details on Kelseys role in Wednesdays purported drug deal and which narcotic was involved were not disclosed. Sammy Parks, Drug Enforcement Administration special agent, mirrored Finners remarks on the shortage of drugs. He said the coronavirus is impacting the illegal drug trade in the Houston area based on the increase in pricing, citing their intelligence operations. This trend applies to methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine and heroin all of which have shown a pricing uptick. Parks said price gouging could be happening as well. For example, the bulk cost of meth from Mexico has increased by 25 percent to 30 percent from pre-coronavirus pricing. But the conclusion is that there is a decrease in available illicit products, Parks said. Drug cartels who are responsible for supplying the bulk of the product in the Houston area, theyre having problems transporting across the border because of the pandemic, Parks said. In the case of methamphetamine, Parks said Mexico manufacturers have been unable to obtain their normal chemical supply from China, where the novel coronavirus originated. Social distancing orders have changed drug trafficking in the Houston area, Parks said. We wont have a true sense of the impact for some time. nicole.hensley@chron.com Credit: CC0 Public Domain Jerry Davis is a professor at the Ross School of Business, where he also serves as associate dean for Business + Impact. He has studied the effect of crises on business for years, and the ways in which commerce has fallen into but fought its way out of crushing events like the Great Recession. He sees parallels between that crisis and the one caused by COVID-19. In the following discussion, he explores some of them, as well as how entrepreneurial and technological trends that bubbled up in the intervening years could be catalysts for significant change on the other side of the latest economic upheaval. In other words, are we headed for an era of "Uber-ization"? You wrote about the Great Recession in your 2009 book "Managed by the Markets." It detailed how tied to financial markets society had become. I realize the crisis today has different causes but what parallels can you draw? I started writing that book in 2006, before the financial crisis, and I had been monitoring how finance and financial transactions were pervading all of society. All these crazy things were being turned into financial instruments that could be traded on markets, including the payoffs of life insurance policies on the elderly and terminally ill. The financial logic behind it made perfect sense: Any one life insurance policy's payoff is hard to predict, but if you buy 1,000 of them the yields become much more regular. Why not pool them together and turn them into a bond? This kind of thing was happening all over the economy. I thought financializationrelying on financial markets to channel capitalwas a peculiar, one-time shift that had happened to our economy. But financialization is actually an information technology problem. It became possible on a grand scale because it got much cheaper to turn things into financial instruments and trade them on markets, such as bundles of mortgages. Information and communication technologies enabled finance to metastasize in the way that it did. But it's not just financenow this is happening to labor markets. Think of this as "Uber-ization." That's information technology applied to labor markets: Instead of hiring someone for a job, you pay them for a specific task. That is a pretty big shift. That is the labor market version of financialization. The financial crisis showed us the limits of financial markets: Where can things go wrong? The current crisis is showing what happens when people can't show up in a common place to do their work together. We've created this technology that allows us to pay people by the task to work remotely. That is the essence of Uber: Drivers never set foot in the Uber office. They don't have an Uber bossthey just connect to an app and complete their tasks. We're now stress-testing the idea that people can work from remote locations and still get things done. It's almost like a trial run for rampant Uber-ization. If the pandemic shows that there's an awful lot of business that can get done by people working in dispersed locations, managed by software, it is not much of a next step to say, "Why do they need to be employees? Why not just hire them as contractors?" This is going to prove which jobs can be done by folks wherever they happen to be, and which really need to be done on-site. It also provides in a sense proof of concept that you can have companies with almost no actual employees. Instead, you can basically "Uberize" the whole labor force. Think of the Instant Pot. You can cook a rock-solid frozen chicken breast into edible food in 20 minutes. It's also very inexpensive and a very well-made appliance. Here's what's amazing about the Instant Pot: The guy that created the company was a Ph.D. in computer science. He wanted to start his own business after the financial crisis. He thought, "What the world needs now is a quick way to make healthy food." So he devised a pressure cooker with computer technology built into it. He used $350,000 of his own money to start the company. After perfecting the design and finding a vendor to produce it, he listed the Instant Pot on Amazon and used the "Fulfillment by Amazon" service for storage and distribution. He read all the customer reviews on Amazon for his product research to improve the design. His marketing was that he sent 200 Instant Pots to influential food bloggers and cookbook writers. He used a vendor in China to manufacture it. It became a $300 million a year product category with just 50 employees in Ontario, which is insane. He's created an entirely new category of indispensable appliance that dominates its industry. He didn't need to go to Wall Street to fund it. He didn't build any factories. He didn't have to build a distribution channel or warehouse. He just hired Amazon. That to me is proof of concept that you can have styles of business that look a lot more like a pop-up. That also in some sense feels like the apotheosis of our current situationI think what the virus is doing is demonstrating in a fairly dramatic way that an awful lot of what we needed to show up to the office to do can be done remotely. If you don't need an office, why not just rely on all contractors all the time like an Instant Pot? Just to be clear, I'm not saying this is a good thing. It's likely to be a disaster for labor, at least in the U.S., where people get health insurance and pension savings from their employer. But in some cases, it is likely to be the cheaper thing. In capitalism, cheap usually wins. Credit: University of Michigan Speaking of test runs, auto and apparel makers, who have retooled their lines to make personal protective equipment, could similarly evaluate new lines of business or manufacturing approaches after the pandemic passes. You could visualize "reshoring"bringing manufacturing back to the U.S.but there's another trend that's really interesting: Capital equipment has gotten really cheap and really flexible. It can be programmed to do lots of different stuff. It used to be the advantage of China was cheap labor. Because capital equipment has gotten so good and so cheap, you can replicate that ability in the U.S. Next door to every Amazon warehouse you could build a universal manufacturing facility. I think about Ford Motor Co., where both my grandfathers were welders. Could Ford be a universal manufacturer? It's consistent with their heritagethe idea of converting to wartime production as part of the Arsenal of Democracy. Shifting to producing ventilators is the same kind of transformation. These days designs are often fungibleit can be done in a dispersed, online way, like Wikipedia, or crowd-sourced designs for ventilators. Design globally, manufacture locally. We're hearing about big companies being called out or shamed into returning public money that was intended for small business. Is the pandemic lens distorting or enhancing the behavior? Are most businesses doing right amid the pandemic? We're at one of those moments where leaders in business are being told that what you do now is what is going to end up in your obituary. Do I lay a bunch of people off or do I find some way to maintain them and repurpose them? This is one of those moments that is going to define people and their legacy. I think a lot of folks are feeling that. This is a situation where you don't want to be the one who says, "Shareholders first." It feels like that pressure, that scrutiny is out therebecause of social media, one wrong step and it will go viral instantly. There's a lot more at stake in making a morally defensible choice. From what I've seen, it feels that a lot of businesses are stepping up the best way they can. This has also enabled workers in an interesting way. For example, GE workers at an idled aviation factory organized this protest and said, "This factory could be making ventilators. We've got the equipment to do that. Why is this factory idled?" That was genius. They weren't protesting about hours or conditions, exactly. They were saying, "We can do some good here." The companies that enable their workforce to identify those opportunitiesit feels like they are going to win coming out of this. You'd rather work for a place where those values get built into the culture. Repurposing a manufacturing line to make ventilators and save lives is a story that will be told years from now. What else is important to know or ponder about the culture of business as we emerge from the pandemic? Where we end up on the other side of this is going to be a political choice and not purely an economic or business decision. I tweeted the other day: "How about we shift to a 30-hour workweek, where people show up in staggered shifts. That could give us more leisure, a little less income, less unemployment and a safer workplace. Thirty million unemployed in the last month is a lot. Can we return to work in a way that accomplishes some sort of social goals that would make us all better off?" During the Second World War, in the darkest period in the United Kingdom, they formed the Beveridge Committee. The committee essentially asked, "What can we do when the war is over to make these sacrifices worth it? What kind of vision can we provide about the world we're fighting for that will get us to the other end of this?" They came up with this set of ideas: A universal health care system, which became the NHS, universal education, pensions for the elderly. They came up with a set of core values and welfare policies for a civilized society. This is kind of our reward at the end of all this trauma. What can we offer as a vision for the future at the other end of this that would make people say that was horrible but now we're better off? I don't know what that would look like, but it's intriguing to think about. Army helicopter makes 'hard landing' during drill; pilots safe ROC Central News Agency 05/06/2020 09:10 PM Taipei, May 6 (CNA) An Army helicopter sustained minor damage during a "hard landing" at a military base in Taiwan on Wednesday, but the two pilots were uninjured, according to Taiwan's Army Aviation and Special Forces Command (AASFC). "The 0H-58D helicopter, with tail number 634, hard-landed during a flight training test," the AASFC said in press statement. "Fortunately, all personnel are safe." The Army is evaluating the damage, and a special taskforce will be assigned to investigate the incident, the AASFC said. All Army flight training will be suspended until the cause of the accident has been determined, the AASFC said An Army officer, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter, told CNA that the incident occurred at 3:20 p.m. at the AASFC's Guiren base in Tainan. A flight student and his instructor were performing an emergency landing drill that simulated a situation in which the helicopter lost power, the officer said. The two people on board the helicopter were taken to hospital but were found to have no serious injuries, he said Meanwhile, the helicopter's tail, main rotor and landing skids were damaged, the officer said. In March 2018, a similar incident occurred when a flight student miscalculated the helicopter's altitude during a landing simulation drill. The student and the instructor both received administrative penalties and were prohibited from flying for two weeks and three months, respectively. Taiwan's 39 OH-58D helicopters, manufactured by American aerospace firm Bell Helicopter, are used primarily for reconnaissance in support of ground troops, as they have multi-sensor sighting systems and low-altitude flight capabilities. (By Matt Yu and Emerson Lim) Enditem/pc NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Advertisement Google's parent company Alphabet has abandoned its more than $1billion smart city development in Toronto after two years of controversy over privacy concerns and amid economic uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Sidewalk Labs, also owned by Alphabet, had been proposing to turn a rundown part of Toronto's waterfront into a wired community called the Quayside Project. But Sidewalk Labs chief executive Dan Doctoroff said in a statement on Thursday that it is no longer financially viable. 'As unprecedented economic uncertainty has set in around the world and in the Toronto real estate market, it has become too difficult to make the project financially viable without sacrificing core parts of the plan,' Doctoroff said. Google's owner Alphabet has abandoned its more than $1billion smart city development in Toronto after two years of controversy over privacy concerns and amid economic uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic. This image showed how company officials envisioned the project once it was completed A unit of Google's parent company Alphabet had been proposing to turn a rundown part of Toronto's waterfront into a wired community called the Quayside Project. But Sidewalk Labs chief executive Dan Doctoroff said in a statement on Thursday that it is no longer financially viable. This image shows what the project would've looked like once completed 'As unprecedented economic uncertainty has set in around the world and in the Toronto real estate market, it has become too difficult to make the project financially viable without sacrificing core parts of the plan,' Doctoroff said. This image shows Toronto residents walking around in what would've been the Parliament Plaza The project included multiple structures that would've housed apartments and other businesses This aerial image shows the names of different areas in the project, including the Parliament Slip, Parliament Cove, and Parliament Plaza The company predicted that the project would've created 44,000 direct jobs and $14.2billion in annual economic impact 2040. Sidewalk Labs had partnered with a government agency known as Waterfront Toronto with plans to erect mid-rise apartments, offices, shops and a school on a 12-acre site - a first step toward what it hoped would eventually be a 800-acre development. Among other things, the development planned to have heated streets to melt ice and snow on contact, as well as sensors that would monitor traffic and protect pedestrians. But some Canadians balked at the privacy implications of giving one of the most data-hungry companies on the planet the means to wire up everything from street lights to pavement. Changes had been made to make it more palatable but some celebrated Google's decision to scrap it. 'This is a major victory for the responsible citizens who fought to protect Canada's democracy, civil and digital rights, as well as the economic development opportunity,' said former BlackBerry chief executive Jim Balsillie, a smartphone pioneer. The company predicted that the project would've created 44,000 direct jobs and $14.2billion in annual economic impact 2040. In this image construction crews are seen building what would've been the Quayside Project Sidewalk Labs had partnered with a government agency known as Waterfront Toronto with plans to erect mid-rise apartments, offices, shops and a school on a 12-acre site. This image shows another angle of what would've been the Parliament Plaza This photo shows what developers would've called the Parliament Slip. The area could've featured water activities in the summer and winter activities like ice-skating when temperatures drop Developers wanted to turn this industrial space into a smart city where people could not only rent apartments, but enjoy the waterfront with activities year round 'Sidewalk Toronto will go down in history as one of the more disturbing planned experiments in surveillance capitalism.' Doctoroff had said the company was not looking to monetize people's personal information in the way that Google does now with search information. He had said the plan was to invent so-far-undefined products and services that Sidewalk Labs could market elsewhere. Some wanted the public to get a cut of the revenue from products developed using Canada's largest city as an urban laboratory. Concerns in Canada intensified following a series of privacy scandals at Facebook and Google. Complaints about the proposed development prompted Waterfront Toronto to re-do the agreement to ensure a greater role for the official agency. A prominent Toronto developer resigned from the Waterfront Toronto board over the project. Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad), a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Ports, has announced new packages with up to 36 per cent savings as relief for freezone businesses, and support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) challenged by the global economic slowdown. In line with Abu Dhabi Ports and the Government of Abu Dhabis efforts to support and safeguard businesses, the relief package offers both existing and prospective Kizad Freezone customers savings of up to 25 per cent on new registrations and renewals, a waiver on the security deposit and two months free on renewals for all packages registered before June 30, 2020, a statement said. Khalid Al Marzooqi, Director Commercial, said: Small and medium enterprises are the backbone of any economy, and are a vital component of Abu Dhabis business landscape. As engines for growth and employment, SMEs are one of the main pillars of Kizads business strategy. As one of the leading enablers of industry, it is our responsibility to provide businesses with the opportunities to be competitive in their respective markets. The SME relief packages we announced today are aligned with the UAEs efforts to protect SMEs in the country from the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. SMEs are a crucial component of Abu Dhabis business landscape and one of the main pillars of the Ghadan 21 programme, which Kizad adheres to. Approximately 98 per cent of all companies in Abu Dhabi are SMEs, which contribute 29 per cent of its GDP and 44 per cent of its non-oil economy. Kizads relief package is available in three tiers, the first providing 25 per cent savings on renewal or new registrations of three-years, 20 per cent savings for two-year registrations and renewals, and 15 per cent savings for one-year registrations. Across all packages, new and existing customers will also benefit from having their security deposit waived. The new initiative follows similar measures undertaken by Abu Dhabi Ports and implemented by Kizad to aid its customers affected by the global economic slowdown in the wake of Covid-19. The measures announced by Abu Dhabi Ports recently include the waiving of penalties associated with the late renewal of licences in the second quarter of the year, as well as rent deferment and a freeze on late payment penalties.--TradeArabia News Service Complicating matters, multiple factions within the task force emerged with their own plans and priorities. These include a group of health officials overseen by the head of the White House Domestic Policy Council; a smaller group of medical doctors focused strictly on health matters; and yet another shadow task force led by Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law. Its little wonder the task forces communication often has obscured more than it has clarified. The public manifestation of the task force has been a series of rambling briefings, at which assembled experts from in and outside government have wound up as little more than political props. The briefings often have descended into a blend of therapy sessions and campaign rallies, with the president spending hours each week airing his many grievances, praising himself, parading out business executives and public officials to laud his leadership and spreading misinformation about the virus and the administrations handling of it. Where is the website developed by Google that the president, back in March, promised would soon enable people nationwide to check their symptoms and facilitate testing at a nearby convenient location? The sprawling, easily accessible network of drive-through testing sites in the parking lots of retailers that Mr. Trump also promised in March is still struggling to ramp up. All too often, the president has overpromised and underdelivered if he delivered at all. On April 28, Mr. Trump boasted that the United States would very soon be able to conduct five million diagnostic tests a day. The next day, he had to walk back that claim insisting, of course, that he had never made it. The briefings obviously have been a poor use of time for task force members, who help prepare the presidents talking points and then must stand around for hours during his performances. In addition to fielding questions from the media, they also need to respond to (and diplomatically shoot down) Mr. Trumps more dangerous nonsense, such as when he mused about possibly injecting Covid-19 patients with disinfectant. That surreal suggestion led the makers of Clorox and Lysol to plead with Americans not to drink or inject their products. So reconfiguring the task force is unlikely to have many concrete negative effects. It seems mostly to be a P.R. move, a way for Mr. Trump to push his message untethered from the consensus view of public health officials or public opinion that the worst of the pandemic has passed. In its coming incarnation, the task force is expected to have a partially new cast of characters, with less emphasis on scientists and more on economic advisers. On Tuesday, Mr. Pence noted that administration officials already have been discussing how to transition the response down to the agency level. If this means that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies will be empowered to take greater control, and suffer less meddling from Mr. Trump, all the better. 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. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. A major early morning chemical leak from a polymer plant near here impacted villages in a five-km radius, leaving eight people dead and scores of citizens suffering from breathlessness and other problems, as the Andhra Pradesh government ordered a probe into the issue. The leak of styrene, a chemical used to make synthetic rubber and resins, among others, occurred in the wee hours of Thursday while people were still fast asleep. Cattle and birds were not spared either as many of them in the vicinity were consumed by the leak. President Ram Nath Kovind condoled the loss of lives in the incident and prayed for the recovery of the injured. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who took stock of the situation, Home Minister Amit Shah and scores of leaders expressed concern over the mishap, which brought back grim memories of the horrific 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy that left over 3,500 dead and many maimed for life. However, state police chief Gautam D Sawang said the leak has been contained and the situation was under control, even as nearly 250 people were undergoing treatment in city hospitals, with 20 of them on ventilator support. Modi said the situation was being monitored closely. "Spoke to officials of MHA and NDMA regarding the situation in Visakhapatnam, which is being monitored closely. I pray for everyone's safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam," Modi said in a tweet. The dead included a child while scores of policemen who rushed to evacuate affected persons also were impacted by the leak of styrene vapour from the LG Polymers Limited plant at R R Venkatapuram village under Gopalapatnam limits near here in the wee hours of Thursday. Tragically, two of the victims met with their end after falling into a borewell while fleeing their affected village and their bodies were found later in the day. Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy held a high-level review meeting on the situation and ordered a probe into the matter, Sawang said. As many as eight people were killed in the styrene gas leak incident, he said, adding there was no more leakage and the situation was now "stable and under control". In all, over 800 persons were evacuated from R R Venkatapuram following the gas leak and most of them only needed first aid. "How the gas leaked and why the neutraliser at the plant did not prove effective in containing the leak will all be investigated. Styrene, though, is not a poisonous gas and can be fatal only if inhaled in excess quantity," Sawang said. The daybreak saw some grim scenes as visibly suffering people were being rushed for medical assistance in autos and two-wheelers while government workers tried to assist them with whatever first aid possible. People lying on roadside and near ditches in unconscious state painted the magnitude of the situation. Sources said the vapour leak occurred in the early hours of Thursday when some workers of the plant were making preparations for re-opening of the unit following easing of the ongoing lockdown restrictions. State Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy said the LG Polymers unit was supposed to reopen post-lockdown on Thursday. "We are trying to reach out to the top management of the (South Korean) company...our immediate priority is to arrest the leak and ensure proper medicare to the affected people," he said. Hundreds of villagers, most of them children, suffered the consequences of the vapour leak like irritation in eyes, breathlessness, nausea and rashes. Several police personnel, who came for the rescue operation, also suffered symptoms like breathlessness, irritation in eyes and fell unconscious. The 20-odd workers in the plant were well-versed with safety protocol and took appropriate steps and therefore did not suffer, sources said. The styrene vapour spread to nearby villages and left the unsuspecting people suffering while fast asleep. Home Minister Amit Shah termed the gas leak as disturbing. "Gas leak incident in Vizag is disturbing; we are continuously and closely monitoring situation," he said. Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekar Rao, BJP President J P Nadda and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi condoled the loss of lives in the mishap. TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu expressed shock over the incident while Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa expressed grief. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An inner-city councils "idealistic" push to allow developers to build new apartment blocks without car parks can not be supported without knowing if there would be adverse consequences, an independent panel has found. Last year Moreland City Council asked the panel to consider removing minimum parking requirements for new developments in the "activity centres" of Brunswick, Coburg and Glenroy to discourage car use in Melbourne's congested northern suburbs. Fair Parking Moreland spokesman Shirley Jackson said there had been a lack of consultation around the parking changes and the council had ignored residents concerns. Credit:Eddie Jim Under Victorian planning laws, developers are required to provide at least one car parking space per apartment, although councils can waive this requirement. Moreland Council wanted to abolish minimum parking requirements in the areas of its municipality that were well served by public transport and give developers the option of providing no car parks. A prominent doctors body in Bengal has questioned the distribution of hydroxychloroquine tablets among thousands of migrant workers arriving in Bengal. Labourers who arrived by a train from Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday were given these anti-malaria tablets. On Wednesday, too, the tablets were distributed among around 1,200 workers who arrived in a train from Kerala. The second train arrived at Berhampore in Murshidabad district. The districts chief medical officer of health, Dr Prasanta Biswas, said all labourers were screened for symptoms of the coronavirus disease and given the tablets. The West Bengal Doctors Forum on Wednesday wrote to the state health secretary, attaching links to news items in which government staff were quoted saying they had given these tablets to hundreds of migrant workers. The letter from the Forum said, As per the advisory available from the Government of West Bengal vide Order No. H&FW/139/20 dated April 10, 2020, in accordance with the Indian Council of Medical Research Advisory Memo No. VIR/4/2020/ECD-I dated 22nd March, 2020, the prophylactic use of HCQ for SARS - Cov- 2 is clearly indicated for two specific selected groups of people: Asymptomatic Healthcare workers involved in the care of suspected or confirmed cases of Covid-19 and asymptomatic household contact of laboratory confirmed cases. Click here for full Covid-19 coverage. We were confused when he saw on television that these tablets were being indiscriminately given to migrant workers returning from other states. We have asked the health secretary whether there has been any change in guidelines and wanted it to be put up on the departments website, said Dr Koushik Chaki, secretary of the Forum. In view of the side-effects including contraindications, the same needs to be prescribed by registered medical practitioners and under regular supervision, pharmacovigilence and reporting of adverse effects, if any, among the two above mentioned categories only, said the letter. In addition, the tablets are used for patients who are admitted for treatment. This is done following ICMR protocols, said Dr Chaki. In March, the ICMR had warned people against the indiscriminate use of hydroxychloroquine or HCQ after reports that there has been a rush to buy the medicine, which India has approved as a prophylaxis (a treatment to prevent a disease) in the fight against the deadly coronavirus infection (Covid-19). On April 23, an ICMR official said it will continue with the restricted use of HCQ to treat patients critically ill with Covid-19. On April 25, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on warned doctors against prescribing hydroxychloroquine touted by President Donald Trump for treating coronavirus except in hospitals and research studies. Hakam Ibrahim was seven when, like most Sudanese girls, she became a victim of female genital mutilation -- an age-old practice decried as horrific that the post-revolution government is now banning. A mother-of-four in her 40s, Ibrahim vividly recalls the traumatic experience of what remains a widespread ritual in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia despite a concerted human rights campaign to end it. The night before it happened, Ibrahim remembers, women from her neighbourhood in the capital Khartoum were singing and ululating as they drew ceremonial henna tattoos on her hands. On the day itself, she was taken to a small room where a woman in a white robe performed the operation to remove Ibrahim's external genitalia. "I was put on a bed and felt excruciating pain jolting through my body," she told AFP. "The pain lasted an entire week." The practice has long been viewed, especially in rural communities, as a "rite of passage" for girls and a way to preserve their chastity. In Sudan nearly nine out of 10 girls fall victim to what is known as FGM or genital cutting, according to the United Nations. In its most brutal form, it involves the removal of the labia and clitoris, often in unsanitary conditions and without anesthesia. The wound is then sewn shut, often causing cysts and infections and leaving women to suffer severe pain during sex and childbirth complications later in life. Rights groups have for years decried as barbaric the practice which can lead to myriad physical, psychological and sexual complications and, in the most tragic cases, death. - 'Rights violation' - Last week, Sudan's cabinet approved amendments to the criminal code that would punish those who perform the operation with up to three years in prison and a fine. It is expected to soon be ratified by Sudan's transitional authorities. The watershed move is part of reforms that have come since the ouster more than a year ago of strongman Omar al-Bashir after mass demonstrations in which women took a leading role. "It is a very important step for Sudanese women and shows that we have come a long way," said women's rights activist Zeinab Badreddin. The United Nations Children's Fund also welcomed the landmark decision. "This practice is not only a violation of every girl child's rights, it is harmful and has serious consequences for a girl's physical and mental health," said Abdullah Fadil, the UNICEF Representative in Khartoum. The UN says FGM is widespread in many countries across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, affecting the lives of millions of girls and women. In Sudan, rights campaigners say the custom has over the past three decades spread to remote regions where it was previously not practised, including Sudan's Nuba mountains. - Political upheaval - In neighbouring Egypt, as in several other countries, genital cutting is now prohibited. A 2008 law punishes it with up to seven years in prison. Sudan's anti-FGM advocates came close to a ban in 2015 when a bill was discussed in parliament but then shot down by Bashir who caved in to pressure from some Islamic clerics. Yet many religious leaders have spoken out against genital cutting over the years. "Criminalising FGM does not contradict religion, and there is no (religious) text that permits female circumcision," said 28-year-old rights activist Sherine Abu Bakr. "It is a practice that should be fought, especially with the change happening in the country." Sudan has been shaken by political upheaval -- most notably the April 2019 military ouster of Bashir following mass protests against his 30-year-rule, and the dismantling of his ruling Islamist party. A transitional administration including a civilian-majority ruling body has since August taken the reins to steer the country through a mountain of social, economic and political challenges. "While we are very happy with the amendments, the law alone is not enough," said Manal Abdel Halim of the Salima initiative fighting FGM in Sudan. "We still need more community awareness campaigns," she added. Badreddin also believes punishments should be extended to family members who pressure their female relatives into undergoing the operations. Ibrahim agreed. "I hope that the amendments help people realise that people should keep their girls in the good physical condition in which they were born," she said. To the Editor: Nothing in my lifetime of living in the Thumb (58 years) has dominated the news and our lives like the current pandemic. But then, there hasn't been a global health crisis of this magnitude since the Spanish Flu in 1913. In his Letter to the Editor May 2, 2020, Mr. James Millerwise points out the pandemic has dominated the news and our lives. He's right! But we've never had so many news sources to continually push their version of the news at us on a minute-by-minute basis. Some sources are very reliable, others not so much. Mr. Millerwise also indicates, through his veiled comment, that the governor would have acted differently if the initial cases of this pandemic would have shown up in Sault Ste. Marie. I am confident she represents all the people of this state and the reaction would have been the same. As reported here in the Huron Daily Tribune, as well as many other news sources, the numbers of COVID-19 cases continue to rise. These numbers also continue to rise in other parts of the state where the numbers were initially low. This would lead most thinking, intelligent individuals to understand that there's a risk involved with an enemy we cannot see. Governor Whitmer issued stay-at-home orders for the protection of all the residents. If there were no such orders, the projections of death were estimated to be in the tens of thousands. If we, together, follow the order, the belief is that we can keep the number of those infected or dying to a minimum. Yet the lower numbers have become some kind of political battle. Some will say, "the numbers are low; the governor is on a power grab." While others offer, "the numbers are low, the governor's orders are working." Emergency powers of the governor are Michigan Law (Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945). They are there for a reason. They are not invoked on a whim. From my research, they have been used regionally during the Detroit riots in 1967-68, during a few labor strikes around the state and at various locations related to natural disasters as a formal response to release disaster release funding. By comparison, these events are minor next to this pandemic. While I agree with Mr. Millerwise that we should be wary of the use (and potential abuse) of the emergency powers of the governor, I am thankful we have a true leader in Governor Whitmer and those she consults with to make the nearly impossible decisions for the people of our great state. Bill Esch Pigeon Two Air India (AI) Express flights Abu Dhabi-Kochi and Dubai-Kozhikode carrying the first batch of 347 evacuees from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will reach Kerala on Thursday evening. AI officials said the first two flights from the UAE comprise the vulnerable lot, who has been stranded in the Gulf state since India suspended all international flights on March 22 to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak. GS Athira, a seven-month pregnant woman, who had moved a plea in the Supreme Court last week pressing for the evacuation of the vulnerable stranded in the Persian Gulf states, is among the returnees. The first flight from Abu Dhabi will reach the Cochin International Airport at 9.40pm and will have 179 expatriates on board. Among the 179 UAE returnees, 73 are from Thrissur district, Ernakulam (25), Malappuram (23), Alappuzha (15), 13 each from Palakkad and Kottayam and another eight from Pathanamthitta. The second flight from Dubai, carrying 168 passengers, will reach Kozhikode International Airport by 10:30 pm, where the maximum number of passengers are from the Malappuram district. Erankulam district collector S Suhas said all arrangements for their mandatory 14-day quarantine have been made. The passengers will be directly taken from the Kochi International Airport to quarantine homes in their respective districts. Pregnant women, senior citizens, and children under the age of 10 will be quarantined at home. SCMS Hostel at Kalamassery in Ernakulam will double up as a quarantine facility, he said. The flight will have special parking bays and aerobridges. Upon entering the terminal, the temperature of the passengers will be checked along with thermal scanning. An ambulance will take those, who show symptoms for Covid-19, to Aluva District Hospital via a special route. While passengers bags will be disinfected with sodium hypochlorite, he added. The state government has set up Covid-19 facilities near all four international airports and has also arranged vacant flats, houses, and houseboats to accommodate the expatriates. Though over four lakh stranded people from across the world have enrolled on the state governments website pleading to return home, the authorities are looking at evacuating around two lakh in May. Besides, airlines are forced to operate half their carrying capacity because of strict enforcement of social distancing norms. Called Vande Bharat operation, the latest evacuation is dubbed as the biggest since the Kuwait invasion by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 1990. Kerala is grappling with twin issues ---inter-state workers and its own expatriates. At least eight trains, carrying stranded migrant workers, had left the state since last Friday and more are expected in the coming days. Kerala is the first state in the country to report a Covid-19 positive case after a student pursuing medical studies in China tested positive on January 31. On Wednesday, the state didnt report a single Covid-19 positive case. Kerala has reported 30 active Covid-19 positive cases and four deaths to date. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON [May 07, 2020] Primoco UAV Model One 150 Shatters Endurance Record, Ensuring Safety With Sagetech Avionics' XPS WHITE SALMON, Wash., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Primoco UAV, a leading global manufacturer of unmanned aircraft, recently demonstrated the successful completion of a 15 hour and three-minute continuous unmanned flight. Utilizing Sagetech Avionics' transponders integrated with UAV Navigation's Vector autopilot, The Primoco Model One 150 shattered the previous company record of 12 hours, eight minutes. The ADS-B out feature of Sagetech Avionics' XPS transponder allowed for the aircraft to be seen by Air Traffic Control as well as other aircraft in the area, providing an essential safety aspect for unmanned systems interacting with manned aviation. The unmanned aircraft flew 1650 km at an average fuel consumption of 2.2 liters per hour of flight. "This was a great demonstration of the mission endurance achievable with Primoco UAV's outstanding aircraft platform," said Sagetech Avionics CEO Tom Furey. "It also illustrates how the integration of reliable systems like UAV Navigation's Vector autopilot and Sagetech Avionics' XP or MX transponders with ADS-B, ensure the safe incorporation of unmanned aircraft in congested airspace, over long-range, beyond line of sight and at night." The flight was tracked online using a commercial website displaying real-time flight path data from the aircraft's ADS-B transmissions, which aregenerally required for all aircraft in controlled airspace. "ADS-B technology has become the go-to method of ensuring safe utilization of airspace," added Furey. "We are pleased to make this capability simple and easy to use through plug-and-play compatibility with advanced autopilots like the Vector. We're honored to be partnered with leading manufacturers like Primoco UAV and UAV Navigation, who entrust their flight safety to our robust miniature transponders." UAV Navigation and Sagetech Avionics, Inc. collaborate on the integration of the XP and MX families of transponders with the flight control solution. Sagetech's low SWaP and reliable transponders are entirely compatible with VECTOR, UAV Navigation's flagship autopilot. Sagetech's Mode S ADS-B transponders enable the seamless and safe incorporation of unmanned flight into manned airspace. Primoco UAV The Czech company Primoco UAV develops and produces the unmanned aircraft One 100/150 for numerous civilian and government applications. https://uav-stol.com UAV Navigation UAV Navigation is a Spain-based company involved in designing innovative flight control solutions for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). www.uavnavigation.com Sagetech Avionics Sagetech Avionics, Inc. provides the world's smallest robust aviation surveillance equipment. Our products dominate the UAS market and are standard or optional equipment on most production small and medium unmanned aircraft. https://www.sagetech.com CONTACT: KC Muir Director of Marketing [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/primoco-uav-model-one-150-shatters-endurance-record-ensuring-safety-with-sagetech-avionics-xps-301055276.html SOURCE Sagetech Avionics Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Several Israeli start-ups are vying to develop fast diagnostic tests to smell, hear or see the telltale characteristics of coronavirus infections. SOUND One company, Vocalis Health, which uses sensitive audio technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze voice and breathing, is trying to identify a vocal indicator for the coronavirus. Far-fetched as that may sound, the company has already linked vocal markers to the risk of mortality in patients with congestive heart failure and to pulmonary hypertension. Working with Sheba Medical Center, Vocalis has been recording voice samples from Covid-19 patients in hopes of refining an app that could categorize patients infections as mild, moderate or severe based on how they sound. Its a whole new area that I think a few years from now will be very central in health care, said Dr. Eyal Zimlichman, the hospitals chief medical officer and chief innovation officer. SMELL NanoScent, a company whose technology uses arrays of sensors to detect and digitize odors, says that the proliferation of virus cells among the microorganisms that inhabit the noses of Covid-19 patients produces what is believed to be a distinct smell. And it is training its artificial intelligence to detect that smell. Its not a definitive test, said Oren Gavriely, NanoScents chief executive and co-founder. But youd come, youd blow into a special bag that weve designed, youd have a 30-second test, youd expose it to the sensing device, and youd get a result: Either youre clear or youre suspected to have something. Two other teams are developing breathalyzers using spectrum analyzers operating at super-high frequencies. TeraGroups has patients blow into a cigar-sized tube, said Oren Sadiv, the start-ups chief executive. Mr. Sadiv said the device could handle 2,000 tests a day, each for the price of a cup of coffee. He said it would be intended not to make a positive diagnosis but to allow quick and cheap screenings at airports or marketplaces, flagging people who should get tested while letting others pass. [May 06, 2020] Celebrities Surprise Texas Teachers With Words of Encouragement, Appreciation AUSTIN, Texas, May 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The #TeachersCan initiative surprised more than 100 distinguished teachers with words of appreciation and encouragement from Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey, actress Eva Longoria, former San Antonio Spur Matt Bonner, and well-known fashion designer Kendra Scott during a virtual Toast to Texas Teachers on Tuesday. The event brought together the Regional Texas Teachers of the Year, the H-E-B Excellence in Education Award finalists and the Trinity Prize for Excellence in Teaching Award finalists in celebration of National Teacher Appreciation Week. During the celebration, H-E-B announced its Excellence in Education Award winners, awarding $430,000 in cash and grants to deserving teachers, principals, and school districts, as well as a school board and early childhood education facility. Eight individual winners were surprised live with the news that they won between $5,000 and $25,000 in cash for themselves and up to $25,000 for their school. The Toast to Texas Teachers is part of a week-long virtual celebration organized by the #TeachersCan initiative to give thanks to the many dedicated educators who are securing a future for the state and the nation. #TeachersCan National Teacher Appreciation Week activities consist of more than 40 events including health and wellness sessions, literary discussions with nationally acclaimed authors and a nightly concert series with well-known artists. The celebration will culminate with a live virtual performance by Randy Rogers, Wade Bowen, Sunny Sweeney and Parker McCollum from Whitewater Amphitheater in New Braunfels, Texas on Friday. Organized by a coalition of more than 110 Texas-based businesses and organizations, the #TeachersCan initiative aims to call attention to the critical nature of the teaching profession. For more information on #TeachersCan and a full schedule of events, visit: < rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2797056-1&h=1334733454&u=https%3A%2F%2Fteacherscan.org%2F&a=TeachersCan.org." rel="nofollow">TeachersCan.org. Video in order of appearance: - Former San Antonio Spur Matt Bonner - Actor Matthew McConaughey - Actress Eva Longoria - Fashion Designer Kendra Scott - H-E-B Vice President of Public Affairs, Environmental Affairs and Diversity - 2015 National Teacher of the Year Shanna Peeples - Laura Dunham, Rising Star Secondary from Clear Lake High School in Houston (won $5,000 cash and $5,000 grant for school)* - Morgan Castillo, Leadership Elementary Winner from Woodgate Intermediate School in Waco (won $10,000 cash and $10,000 grant for school)* - Diana Garcia, Lifetime Achievement Elementary Winner from DeZavala Elementary in San Marcos (won $25,000 cash and $25,000 grant for school)* - Dana Boyd, Principal Elementary Winner from East Point Elementary in El Paso (won $10,000 cash and $25,000 grant for school)* - Susie Towber, Principal from Early Childhood Facility Winner Lawson Early Childhood School in McKinney (won $25,000 grant for school)* - Dr. Thomas Price, Superintendent from Small District Winner Boerne ISD in Boerne (won $50,000 grant for district)* - Michael Hinojosa, Superintendent from Large District Winner Dallas ISD in Dallas (won $100,000 grant for district)* - 2020 Texas Teacher of the Year Karen Sams - 2020 Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year Michelle Sandoval Villegas * indicates H-E-B Excellence in Education Award honoree CONTACT: Lindsey Campbell, The DeBerry Group, 210-998-9000 Related Images image1.png Related Links #TeachersCan Website #TeachersCan National Teacher Appreciation Week Events Related Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkEuPbqelBI View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/celebrities-surprise-texas-teachers-with-words-of-encouragement-appreciation-301054464.html SOURCE #TeachersCan [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Japan on Thursday approved Gilead Sciences Inc's remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19, making it the country's first officially authorised drug to tackle the coronavirus disease. Japan reached the decision just three days after the US drugmaker filed for fast-track approval for the treatment. "There has so far been no coronavirus medicine available here so it is a significant step for us to approve this drug," a Japanese health ministry official said at a press briefing. Remdesivir will be give to patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms, he added. With no other approved treatments for COVID-19, interest in the drug is growing around the world. Administered by intravenous infusion, it was granted authorisation last week by the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Gilead says the drug has improved outcomes for people suffering from the respiratory disease and has provided data suggesting it works better when given in the early stages of infection. 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 Japan, with just over 16,000 infections and under 800 deaths, has recorded fewer cases than other major industrialized nations. However, a steady rise in cases has put pressure on medical facilities in some parts of the country, and a drug that helps patients recover more quickly could help in freeing up hospital beds. A trial performed by the US Institutes of Health (NIH) showed the drug cut hospital stays by 31 percent compared with a placebo treatment, although it did not significantly improve survival. On Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe extended a month-long state of emergency until the end of May in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Japan as yet does not know when it will get its first doses of remdesivir or how much, the health ministry official said. Gilead on Tuesday said it was in discussion with several companies, including generic drugmakers in India and Pakistan to produce remdesivir in large quantities. Remdesivir, which previously failed as a treatment for Ebola, is designed to disable the ability by which some viruses make copies of themselves inside infected cells. Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here Hooking Up actress Jordana Brewster debuted her brand new dog Endicott while out and about in Los Angeles on Wednesday. The 40-year-old mother-of-two was wearing a CDC-recommended COVID-19 surgical mask beneath her chin and she toted a Celine bag. LA County's stay-at-home order was extended through May 15 due to the 28,665 confirmed coronavirus cases in LA, which has led to 1,369 deaths as of Thursday - according to Johns Hopkins University. New fur baby! Hooking Up actress Jordana Brewster debuted her brand new dog Endicott while out and about in Los Angeles on Wednesday Squeee! The 40-year-old mother-of-two was wearing a CDC-recommended COVID-19 surgical mask beneath her chin and she toted a Celine bag Jordana - who boasts 10.7M social media followers - announced she adopted the precious pup on Sunday by sharing a snap of herself submerged in a swimming pool while clad in a Marysia string bikini. Little Endicott even joined Brewster for her Zoom work-out on Wednesday with fitness trainer Harley Pasternak. The Panama-born, Manhattan-raised beauty explained last month that she takes '50K quarantine hikes because it helps keep me (somewhat) sane.' 'She's about to invade this feed!' Jordana announced she adopted the precious pup on Sunday by sharing a snap of herself submerged in a swimming pool while clad in a Marysia string bikini 'Doggin it this morn!' Little Endicott even joined Brewster for her Zoom work-out on Wednesday with fitness trainer Harley Pasternak Routine: The Panama-born, Manhattan-raised beauty explained last month that she takes '50K quarantine hikes because it helps keep me somewhat sane' (pictured Wednesday) Still going strong! Jordana celebrated her 13th wedding anniversary on Wednesday with A Quiet Place Part II producer Andrew Form, with whom she has two sons - Julian, 6; and Rowan, nearly 4 (pictured February 3) Jordana celebrated her 13th wedding anniversary on Wednesday with A Quiet Place Part II producer Andrew Form, with whom she has two sons - Julian, 6; and Rowan, nearly 4. That same day, Brewster Instastoried a 'Willow the Whale' colored by her late onscreen leading man Paul Walker's daughter Meadow, who responded: 'I love you @jordanabrewster.' The 21-year-old - whose father died, age 40, in 2013 - now helps run the non-profit Paul Walker Foundation, which 'helps the ocean leaders of tomorrow.' That same day, Brewster Instastoried a 'Willow the Whale' colored by her late onscreen leading man Paul Walker's daughter Meadow, who responded: 'I love you @jordanabrewster' Racy snap: The 21-year-old - whose father died, age 40, in 2013 - now helps run the non-profit Paul Walker Foundation, which 'helps the ocean leaders of tomorrow' (pictured Wednesday) 'My friendship with Paul was definitely the highlight because he was the best guy,' Jordana told ABC News back in 2017. 'So, the bond I had with him was definitely the best part.' Brewster will next reprise her role as Mia Toretto in Justin Lin's star-studded action flick F9, which moved its May release date to April 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Jordana told ABC News back in 2017: 'My friendship with Paul was definitely the highlight because he was the best guy, so the bond I had with him was definitely the best part' A Chinese hacking group has been conducting ongoing espionage operations on foreign governments across Asia, according to security firm Check Point. Called Naikon, it has reportedly attacked governments in Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Brunei, targeting foreign affairs, science and technology ministries. The aim is to gather geo-political intelligence, Check Point wrote in a news release. The primary attack vector is our old friend, phishing. First, Naikon creates an official-looking email with information of interest to potential targets, obtained via public or stolen information. Should the hapless victim open the email attachment, its spiked with a sophisticated piece of backdoor malware called Aria-body. That gives the attacker access to the targets networks and from there, they attempt to access other parts of the infrastructure to gain wider access and launch new attacks. Naikons primary method of attack is to infiltrate a government body, then use that bodys contacts, documents and data to launch attacks on others, exploiting the trust and diplomatic relations between departments and governments to increase the chances of its attack succeeding, said Check Point. Naikon is a known hacker group, but apparently dropped out of view around 2015. However, Check Point found that despite avoiding detection, the group has been very active during the last five years, especially in 2019-20. During that time, the group developed new tools including Aria-body. To evade detection, they were using exploits attributed to lots of APT [advanced persistent threat] groups, and uniquely using their victims servers as command and control centers, wrote Check Point. Weve published this research as a warning and resource for any government entity to better spot Naikons or other hacker groups activities. COVID-19 deaths, hospitalisations and lockdowns could be over this year, says WHO Buddha Purnima: PM Modi hails people working selflessly for others in this difficult time India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P New Delhi, 07: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday addressed the nation on the occasion of Buddha Purnima and extended his wishes to all. He further said that the situation is such that he could not participate in the event physically, but would be his pleasure to be with you all in the celebrations. PM Modi also said that the message and resolve to reduce problems of every life has guided the Indian culture. "Lord Buddha contributed to the enrichment of Indian civilization and tradition. Buddha became his own light and also lit the lives of others in his journey of life," the Prime Minister said. Coronavirus outbreak: In just three days, India records nearly 10,000 COVID-19 cases "During this difficult time of coronavirus lockdown, there are several people around us who are working 24 hours to help others, to maintain law and order, to cure infected persons and to maintain cleanliness, by sacrificing their own comforts. All such people deserve appreciation and honour," PM Modi added. PM Modi also said that Buddha is the symbol of self realization. The Prime Minister further said that with this self realization, India is working in the interest of the humanity and the world, and will continue to do so. Coronavirus: Gilead in talks with Indian drug companies to produce remdesivir Buddha Purnima, also called Buddha Jayanti marks the birth anniversary of the founder of Buddhism, Gautam Buddha. Buddha Purnima celebrations are being held through a Virtual Visak day owing to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic across the globe. This event was conducted in honour of all the frontline workers and victims of coronavirus. May 8 marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Europe and many thousands of Holocaust survivors from the brutal terror of Nazi Germany. Today there are approximately 350,000 Holocaust survivors still alive around the world. Many of these survivors overcame their trauma, and began their lives again starting new families, launching careers and founding businesses, becoming active contributors to their communities and their societies as a whole. Many continue to share their stories with young people. Yet, as any survivor will readily acknowledge, they live constantly with their tragic memories. In the twilight of their lives, many survivors have taken to recording their life stories, so that the memory of their family members is preserved, and so that the record of their extraordinary experiences and the lessons to be learned from them is not lost to future generations. Here are excerpts and photos of some of their stories taken from Witness: Passing the Torch of Holocaust Memory to New Generations, compiled by Eli Rubenstein: Prisoner 157615 My father, Icek (Irving) Cymbler from Zawiercie, Poland, was prisoner number 157615. That number was tattooed on his arm. He was 15 when he arrived in Auschwitz, but he lied about his age. As a result, he was not gassed, as his parents and three sisters eventually were. Instead, he was sent to a slave labour camp in Warsaw. In August 1944, he was sent on a Death March to Dachau. On April 30, 1945, the U.S. army liberated him as he rode a train headed to the Tyrolean mountains. The Nazis were waiting there to execute him and his fellow prisoners. In 2008, my father returned with me to Auschwitz-Birkenau on the March of the Living. He had a photo of himself in his Dachau prisoner uniform taken a year after the liberation. I had an enlargement made and he held it proudly as we marched in Auschwitz. He had survived. My father passed away in 2011, two days shy of his 84th birthday. I miss him. Jeffrey Cymbler Do Not Create the Same Hatred That Was Done to Us Max Glauben was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1928. During the war, he survived the Warsaw Ghetto and several camps including Majdanek (where much of his family perished), Budzyn, and Flossenburg, before he was liberated on April 23, 1945. He has returned to Poland on the March of the Living eight times, sharing his difficult story with young students in a way that he hopes will encourage them to build a better world for all humanity. As he says, I am a strong believer that we must tell the stories to the youngsters they are going to be our witnesses. But please present them in a way, with the kind of emotions, that will not create the same hatred that was done to us. The 2012 March of the Living was especially significant to Max, when he saw the group of blind participants with their guide dogs. When I saw the dogs, I wanted to honour the courage these blind people had to come on a trip like this. It so touched my heart to see that the same animals used by the Nazis to maim us are now helping us, here in this very spot. Drop By Drop By Drop I always tell the young that I am carrying a torch of well-being and goodness. Despite the fact that it could have been a bitter one, I believe that my torch should be like the Olympic torch, a torch that brings goodwill on Earth, says Holocaust survivor Pinchas Gutter. We had a person named Moses on our trip, a survivor of the genocide in Rwanda. It was incredible how he bonded with me, by my being able to tell my stories. He wrote a letter about how its much easier for him to accept, to live in the future because I have given him another Weltanschauung, another world view. Its very important for Holocaust survivors or anybody else to spread togetherness and goodwill and I think its the young people specifically who can create this. Because drop by drop by drop, like water on a stone, the world can become a better place. What Drew Him Back Ernest Ehrmann was deported to Auschwitz when he was only 16 years of age. When he returned home after liberation, he discovered his beloved parents had been murdered in Auschwitz. Angry at God, about being a Jew, he vowed never to enter synagogue ever again. I felt like I lost a big part of my youthI didnt have the life of a young man it was robbed from me. It was taken because I was a Jew. But his love and respect for his parents drew him back. One night he had a dreamhis parents who he loved dearly appeared and pleaded with him, Is this the way we brought you up? Without any regard for our tradition, for how we raised you? He woke up in a cold sweat and began crying. I loved and respected my parents so much, I decided, that for their sake, Id return to Judaism. Since that fateful dream, Ernest has led an Orthodox Jewish life. But when asked if he still believes in God after the Shoah, he shakes his head sadly, and says he is simply unable to answer that question. Under This Same Sky Frank Lowy related his story to participants on a March of the Living, standing in front of a cattle car used to transport Jews to Auschwitz-Birkenau. A few months after my Bar Mitzvah, my father disappeared. I waited for almost 50 years (to find out what happened to him). In all that time, I never forgot him. Even in my dreams. So here I am, with you all in Birkenau. I know he was also here, under this same sky. Just like almost half a million Hungarian Jews, he came to this place in a wagon, and almost immediately after arriving, disappeared as smoke into this sky. I was 13 when I lost my father and now I am 82 and you know, I still miss himI still feel the loss of my father. But there is something I have gained. I never realized that he had strength the spiritual strength to take on the brutal guards here. No matter how hard they hit him, he protected the sanctity of his tallit and tefillin (religious objects). They could break his body but they could not break his spirit. The tallit and tefillin were part of him, part of his personal relationship with God. He was ready to die for them. And he did. A True Loves Kiss Halina Birenbaum tells students about how she survived the Warsaw ghetto, Majdanek, and Auschwitz. I remember there was this roll call. And I had this fleeting thought. Maybe one day I will burn in this crematoria and I will never have experienced a true loves kissWhen you are 14, you have different thoughts before you die. Sixteen people, including 15 who were already on quarantine after they came in contact with a religious leader who returned after attending the Tablighi Jamaat gathering in Delhi in March, have been tested positive, the health ministry has said. CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH All the 16 people were found COVID-19 positive on Sunday, it said, adding that the total number of coronavirus cases in Nepal now stands at 75. Of the 16 patients, 15 were already on quarantine after they came in contact with a Muslim religious leader who had returned to Nepal after attending the Jamaat congregation in Delhi and was found COVID-19 positive later, the ministry said on Sunday. All the 15 -- eight men and seven women -- are from the Nepalgunj area in Western Nepal. Tablighi Jamaat members have emerged as the prime suspects among potential coronavirus carriers, not just in India, but also in Pakistan, Malaysia and Brunei. In India, the Jamaat has come under severe criticism for defying the lockdown and organising the congregation in south Delhi's Nizamuddin Markaz last month. According to officials in Delhi, as many as 2,100 foreigners visited India for Tablighi activities since January 1 and all of them first reported at its headquarters in Nizamuddin. PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-07 21:55:47 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 901 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / Stans Energy Corp. (the "Company" or "Stans") (TSXV:HRE) wishes to provide an update on the coronavirus pandemic ("COVID-19") as it affects the Company and the status of the filing of its annual financial statements and accompanying management's discussion and analysis, and related CEO and CFO certifications, for the financial year ended December 31, 2019.The lockdown resulting from the outbreak of COVID-19 has created unprecedented disruptions in the global economy and stock markets. Stans's Board of Directors and Management are taking all necessary precautions to ensure the health of its employees and consultants and to manage the short-term challenges to its business.On March 23, 2020, the Ontario Securities Commission ("OSC") enacted Ontario Instrument 51-502 Temporary Exemption from Certain Corporate Finance Requirements (the "OSC Temporary Exemption") providing a 45-day extension for certain periodic filings required to be made on or prior to June 1, 2020 as a result of COVID-19. Stans will be relying on this extension period due to delays experienced as result of COVID-19.Company will be relying on the OSC Temporary Exemption in respect of the following provisions:the requirement to file audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 (the "Annual Financial Statements") within 120 days of Stans's financial year end as required by section 4.2(b) of National Instrument 51-102 ("NI 51-102");the requirement to file management's discussion and analysis (the "Annual MD&A") for the period covered by the Annual Financial Statements within 120 days of Stans's financial year end as required by section 5.1(2) of NI 51-102;the requirement to file certifications of the Annual Financial Statements (the "Annual Certificates" and together with the Annual Financial Statements, the "Annual Filings") pursuant to section 4.1 of National Instrument 52-109 ("NI 52-109"); andthe requirement to make disclosure with respect to executive compensation not later than 140 days after Stans's financial year-end as required by section 11.6 of NI 51-102.Stans confirms that since the filing of its interim consolidated financial statements for the period ended September 30, 2019, there have been no material business developments other than those disclosed through press releases including the press release issued on April 6, 2020 (relating to the Cooperation agreement with its Finance Providers to secure financing for the Award recognition and enforcement proceedings. This Agreement is an extension of the existing Litigation funding agreement of March 2018, and its main terms provide for the following:Stans assigns all its rights to title to and interest in the Award and the Costs Order (by the High Court of Justice of England) to the Finance Providers.Parties to the Cooperation agreement will cooperate in all matters pertaining to recognition and enforcement proceedings relating to the Award and the Costs Order.The Finance Providers bear full responsibility for all collection activities with respect to the Award and the Costs Order.If the proceeds of the Award and the Costs Order are collected, then the Finance Providers shall pay the Stans an amount equal to US$500,000.As required by the OSC Temporary Exemption, the Company will issue further press releases at 30 day intervals providing updates on material business developments, if any, including updates on the Annual Filings or the Interim F/S.Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.About Stans EnergyStans Energy Corp. is a resource development company focused on advancing rare and specialty metals properties and processing technologies. Stans is now transitioning to become a supplier of materials and technologies that will assist in satisfying the future energy supply, storage and transmission needs of the world. Previously, the Company acquired, among other things, the right to mine the past producing rare earth mine, Kutessay II, in the Kyrgyz Republic. Due to the expropriation actions taken by the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Company proceeded with the international arbitration litigation to protect the Company's rights and in August 2019 won the Award for damages at over US$24,000,000 plus interest.We seek safe harbour.Contact DetailsRodney IrwinStans Energy CorpInterim President & CEOrodney@ stansenergy.com Boris AryevStan Energy CorpChief Operating Officerboris@ stansenergy.com FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This document includes forward-looking statements as well as historical information. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, use of proceeds from the Offering, the completion of the Offering, the continued advancement of the company's general business development, research development and the company's development of mineral exploration projects. When used in this press release, the words "will", "shall", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intent", "may", "project", "plan", "should" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. Although Stans Energy Corp. believes that their expectations reflected in these forward looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statement. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include the potential that fluctuations in the marketplace for the sale of minerals, the inability to implement corporate strategies, the ability to obtain financing and other risks disclosed in our filings made with Canadian Securities Regulators.SOURCE: Stans Energy Corp. The largest-ever study of alleged racial profiling during traffic stops has found that blacks, who are pulled over more frequently than whites by day, are much less likely to be stopped after sunset, when "a veil of darkness" masks their race. That is one of several examples of systematic bias that emerged from a five-year study that analyzed 95 million traffic stop records, filed by officers with 21 state patrol agencies and 35 municipal police forces from 2011 to 2018. The Stanford-led study also found that when drivers were pulled over, officers searched the cars of blacks and Hispanics more often than whites. The researchers also examined a subset of data from Washington and Colorado, two states that legalized marijuana, and found that while this change resulted in fewer searches overall, and thus fewer searches of blacks and Hispanics, minorities were still more likely than whites to have their cars searched after a pull-over. "Our results indicate that police stops and search decisions suffer from persistent racial bias, and point to the value of policy interventions to mitigate these disparities," the researchers write in the May 4th issue of Nature Human Behaviour. The paper culminates a five-year collaboration between Stanford's Cheryl Phillips, a journalism lecturer whose graduate students obtained the raw data through public records requests, and Sharad Goel, a professor of management science and engineering whose computer science team organized and analyzed the data. Goel and his collaborators, which included Ravi Shroff, a professor of applied statistics at New York University, spent years culling through the data, eliminating records that were incomplete or from the wrong time periods, to create the 95 million-record database that was the basis for their analysis. "There is no way to overstate the difficulty of that task," Goel said. advertisement Creating that database enabled the team to find the statistical evidence that a "veil of darkness" partially immunized blacks against traffic stops. That term and idea has been around since 2006 when it was used in a study that compared the race of 8,000 drivers in Oakland, California, who were stopped at any time of day or night over a six month period. But the findings from that study were inconclusive because the sample was too small to prove a link between the darkness of the sky and the race of the stopped drivers. The Stanford team decided to repeat the analysis using the much larger dataset that they had gathered. First, they narrowed the range of variables they had to analyze by choosing a specific time of day -- around 7 p.m. -- when the probable causes for a stop were more or less constant. Next, they took advantage of the fact that, in the months before and after daylight saving time each year, the sky gets a little darker or lighter, day by day. Because they had such a massive database, the researchers were able to find 113,000 traffic stops, from all of the locations in their database, that occurred on those days, before or after clocks sprang forward or fell back, when the sky was growing darker or lighter at around 7 p.m. local time. This dataset provided a statistically valid sample with two important variables -- the race of the driver being stopped, and the darkness of the sky at around 7 p.m. The analysis left no doubt that the darker it got, the less likely it became that a black driver would be stopped. The reverse was true when the sky was lighter. More than any single finding, the collaboration's most lasting impact may be from the Stanford Open Policing Project, which the researchers started to make their data available to investigative and data-savvy reporters, and to hold workshops to help reporters learn how to use the data to do local stories. For example, the researchers helped reporters at the Seattle-based non-profit news organization, Investigate West, understand the patterns in the data for stories showing bias in police searches of Native Americans. That reporting prompted the Washington State Patrol to review its practices and boost officer training. Similarly, the researchers helped reporters at the Los Angeles Times analyze data that showed how police searched minority drivers far more often than whites. It resulted in a story that was part of a larger investigative series that prompted changes in Los Angeles Police Department practices. advertisement "All told we've trained about 200 journalists, which is one of the unique things about this project," Phillips said. Goel and Phillips plan to continue collaborating through a project called Big Local News that will explore how data science can shed light on public issues, such as civil asset forfeitures -- instances in which law enforcement is authorized to seize and sell property associated with a crime. Gathering and analyzing records of when and where such seizures occur, to whom, and how such property is disposed will help shed light on how this practice is being used. Big Local News is also working on collaborative efforts to standardize information from police disciplinary cases. "These projects demonstrate the power of combining data science with journalism to tell important stories," Goel said. Other authors include current or former Stanford graduate students or research assistants Emma Pierson, Camelia Simoiu, Jan Overgoor, Sam Corbett-Davies, Daniel Jenson, Amy Shoemaker, Vignesh Ramachandran, and Phoebe Barghouty. This work was supported in part by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and by the Hellman Foundation. Interior designers have shared the tricks for transforming your bedroom into a luxury hotel inspired space without spending a small fortune on decor and linen. Experts at Australian brand Bed Threads said adding five-star hotel touches to your room doesn't need to be expensive and you can 'replicate on any budget'. From 'white bedding' to avoiding fitted sheets, the simple elements are all about making your room seem luxurious but with your own personal touches. Interior designers have shared the secret tricks you can do to transform your own bedroom into a luxury hotel style without ever having to leave your home ALL-WHITE BEDDING How to make your bed feel like 'cloud nine' Decluttering and styling expert behind Mise en Place, Anita Birges said you need three things: a mattress topper, a quilted protector and a wool underlay. 'This three layer sandwich makes you feel like you are on cloud nine. This also helps with dust mites and if you are breathing better you will sleep better,' she told FEMAIL. Advertisement Most high-end hotels only stick to all-white bedding because it gives the room a sense of relaxation, newness, sharpness and cleanliness among guests. 'The all-white bed created this halo effect. People thought a room had been renovated, even if it was just the bed that had been changed. It had a huge impact Erin Hoover, former vice president of design for Westin and Sheraton, told Huffpost. Shane Jolly, who's the manager at Auckland's five-star hotel Cordis, said invest in Egyptian cotton - the higher the thread count the better. '300 is about as low as you would want to go, and a thread count of 1000 will have guests commenting on how beautiful the sheets feel,' he told Stuffed Home. MORE IS MORE WITH PILLOWS Hotel rooms often come complete with a big bed, with crisp sheets and a mountain of fluffy pillows in all shapes and sizes. 'A stack of pillows in different shapes and sizes will promote a sense of luxury and opulence, and also make for easy accessorizing in the bedroom,' the experts at Bed Threads said. Adding five-star hotel touches to your room doesn't need to be expensive and you can 'replicate on any budget' (stock image) AVOID FITTED SHEETS Steph Jurinovic, the general manager at Notel, said hotels actually tuck an oversized flat sheet perfectly underneath the mattress for a neat and smooth finish. 'Ever wonder why the sheet surface always feels so smooth in hotels? It's because they don't use fitted sheets. Think about the upkeep too - flat sheets are easier to fold, to store, and don't have the elastics that just wear out, Ecosa said. WARM LIGHTING Most hotels have low light setting or side lighting, usually by the bedhead. A lamp on the side of your bed is also another great option for your room. 'Consider your choice of bulb colour carefully - the warmer the better - and opt for an alternative with a lower wattage,' the experts said. Lizzi Whaley, CEO of commercial interior designers Spaceworks Design Group, said lighting helps enhance that soothing hotel ambiance - so getting the right lighting will create that feeling in your room. CURATE YOUR BEDSIDE TABLE Hotels usually keep a notepad on a bedside table and it's 'always clean, minimal and neat' - but for a homely feel, place your own choice of items. Items can include a lamp, framed picture, candles, flowers or plants but keep the space minimal without the clutter. 'Hotel bedsides oozes a sense of refinement and organisation we may otherwise lack in our daily lives or bedrooms at home,' the experts said. If you want your bedroom to look like a five-star hotel, avoid colours that are harsh on the eyes (stock image) STICK TO A THEME If you want your bedroom to look like a five-star hotel, avoid colours that are harsh on the eyes. For an elegant simplicity, incorporate a soft colour palette or style to your space, including the walls, curtains, drapery and bedding. 'It should be simple with no more than two or three colours and possibly one accent piece. A lamp or that has a special, unique colour,' Mr Jolly said. SLEEP ON A FEATHERBED For an authentic hotel bedroom experience, a featherbed is a luxurious option for your bed as it offers extra comfort with extreme softness. 'You'll find these in the bedrooms of Marriot and W hotels - used to help lull guests to sleep and incentivise them to stay on for another night, and then another,' the experts said. Hotel experts revealed the elements to make your space feel luxurious in the comfort of home INVEST IN A BETTER MATTRESS You spend more time in your bedroom than anywhere else in your home so the bed is the one thing you should never skimp on. 'This one speaks for itself - mastering a hotel-like bedroom experience begins and ends with the bed, which is the last place to cut corners,' the experts said. Ms Whaley said an 'enormous bed' is the 'piece de resistance in any hotel room. She said your bed should also be outfitted with a plush headboard - not only does it add a touch of luxurious element to your space, but it also hides any power points and electric cords. CREATE A CALM SPACE Mr Jolly said clocks should be silent in the bedroom. For an elegant simplicity, incorporate a soft colour palette to your space, including the walls, curtains, drapery and bedding. 'It should be simple with no more than two or three colours and possibly one accent piece. A lamp or that has a special, unique colour,' Mr Jolly said. AND DON'T FORGET THE CURTAINS Curtains are often overlooked by many homeowners - but they should be getting the treatment just as much as the bed. Ms Whaley suggested getting floor-to-ceiling curtains will certainly bring out the plush luxury of a hotel in your own bedroom. She added black-out curtains were also great to add to your windows. Iran Intelligence Ministry busts two terrorist groups, confiscates their arms cache Iran Press TV Wednesday, 06 May 2020 8:31 PM The Iranian Intelligence Ministry says it has dismantled two terrorist groups in the west and northwest of the country and confiscated a cache of arms from them. The public relations and information department of the ministry said on Wednesday that it managed to monitor and destroy two terrorist outfits affiliated with separatist groups, who had crossed into the country from neighboring areas to carry out acts of terrorism. According to the ministry, 16 members of the terrorist groups were arrested while two Kalashnikov assault rifles, a pistol, two grenades, seven magazines and 240 cartridges along with explosive devices were confiscated from them. The ringleader is supported by one of the regional Arab reactionary countries, and is based in Europe, the report added, noting that some of the arrested terrorists were also involved in the assassination of defenseless people and extortion from manufacturers and traders in the west of the country. A number of terrorists were also killed as forces with Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) carried out a security operation in the western province of Kordestan, which borders Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. A statement by the IRGC's Hamzeh Seyed al-Shohada Base said several 'counter-revolutionary' terrorists were killed during clashes in Divandarreh County on Tuesday, without providing a specified number. Three IRGC staff members were also martyred during the operation, it added. Iran's Kordestan Province has seen numerous cross-border incursions by Iraq-based terrorists. Iranian security forces have repeatedly disbanded terrorist outfits and killed their members during security operations near the western borders. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A man wearing a protective face mask walks by a deserted Mansion House in London, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), May 6, 2020. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls With the UK death toll reaching almost 30,000 - the highest in Europe - other countries have looked on in disbelief at what they judge to be the UK's delays, missteps and complacency. One of the most damning assessments was in the 'Sydney Morning Herald' under the headline 'Biggest failure in a generation: Where did Britain go wrong?' The paper focused on four main failings: the lack of PPE for healthcare workers, repeated delays in implementing a lockdown, a bungled test and tracing regime, and the failure to protect care home residents. Mike Rann, a former Australian high commissioner to Britain, said the UK made key mistakes when they had the most damaging impact. "The earliest stages were handled negligently. A shambles of mixed messaging, poor organisation and a complacent attitude that what was happening in Italy wouldn't happen here," he said. The decision, on March 12, to abandon mass testing has also been questioned. Across the Atlantic similar questions are being asked. CNN asked what went wrong with the UK's initial handling, showing footage of packed Tube trains before lockdown, and flashbacks to early government briefings when the concept of 'herd immunity' guided thinking. The 'New Yorker' was even more forthright, characterising the UK's handling as "a curious mixture of superiority and fatalism... which has been slow and calamitous". It said officials "dithered" in the face of reports of a new virus in China and hesitated as it tore through Italy. It also described "a directionless 10-day period in which the virus was able to circulate more or less freely". But perhaps the most damning criticism comes from Italy, where in a piece titled 'All the Johnson government's mistakes', 'La Repubblica' said: "Certainly many countries, including Italy, committed grave errors. But the confusion and contradictions displayed by the British government in the past few months have few equals, with consequences that have yet to be fully understood." ( Daily Telegraph) U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad is trying to advance a sluggish Afghan peace process with a trip to Qatar, India, and Pakistan, the State Department announced on May 6. "At each stop, he will urge support for an immediate reduction in violence, accelerated timeline for the start of intra-Afghan negotiations, and cooperation among all sides in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan," the State Department said. Early on May 7, Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman in Qatar, said Khalilzad met with the Talibans chief negotiator, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in Doha. The meeting discussed the prompt release of prisoners, the beginning of inter-Afghan peace talks and the complete implementation of the agreement [between the Taliban and the U.S.], he tweeted. In Pakistan and India, regional rivals whose struggle for influence plays out in Afghanistan, Khalilzad will meet with officials to discuss the peace process. The trip comes as U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on May 5 that the peace deal was "behind schedule" because both the Afghan government and Taliban have failed to live up to their commitments. Progress on intra-Afghan talks has been hobbled by a political feud between President Ashraf Ghani and his rival, Abdullah Abdullah, who both claim to be the leader of the country following a disputed election in September 2019. The political deadlock comes as the Taliban have ramped up attacks in recent weeks despite a pledge to reduce violence aimed at paving the way for direct talks with Kabul, which was not a party to the U.S.-Taliban deal. The Taliban had agreed to negotiate directly with the Afghan government by March, but disputes over mutual prisoner releases have delayed talks. The core deal is for U.S. and foreign troops to withdraw from Afghanistan following an intra-Afghan deal in exchange for guarantees from the Taliban not to allow the country to become a haven for terrorist groups aiming to strike abroad. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has no plans to close state parks despite visitors continuing to violate social distancing orders during the coronavirus pandemic. Ron Olson, DNR chief of parks and recreation, said discussions between the DNR and the governors office have not included talks about closing the parks completely. Public gathering spaces within the parks such as campgrounds, shelters, and lodging facilities are closed under the states stay-at-home order, which is due to expire May 15. Moving forward, there will be a strong emphasis on making sure people dont go out and lose their better judgement while at the parks, he said. This can create a potential for the virus to spread. We dont want the parks to become those types of spaces. We are working with other park systems about social distancing messaging during this pandemic. Recreation areas, trails, and other state-managed public lands remain open for use, but with previsions to decrease the risk of coronavirus spread. Over the weekend, the DNR closed all parking lots at Grand Haven State Park due to a lack of social distancing as people gathered for an impromptu car show and refused to disperse when warned by law enforcement. Belle Isle State Park in Detroit was closed twice due to having too many cars on the island at one time. The park has a 3,000 vehicle limit. Last month, Tippy Dam Recreation Area, located in the Upper Peninsula, closed as visitors continued to violate the states social distancing order and multiple citations were handed out at Sterling State Park, located in Monroe, to non-compliant visitors who refused to follow the social distancing order when advised by law enforcement. The citations totaled $500 each. In an interview with The Detroit Free Press on Monday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer expressed strong concern about a lack of social distancing at Belle Isle State Park. She suggested that greater restrictions could be placed on access to state parks. On Wednesday, Tiffany Brown, press secretary for Whitmer, told The Oakland Press that the governor is not expected to make any announcements about the state parks on Wednesday or Thursday. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Michiganders have been encouraged to take advantage of outdoor activities, including the use of state parks, as long as sound social distancing is followed. Gretchen Whitmer revises and extends stay-at-home order, some businesses allowed to reopen State expanding food benefits for 90,000 career and technical college students The second coronavirus wave: How bad will it be as lockdowns ease? Safety net grants now available for clinics treating COVID-19, underinsured Coronavirus in Michigan: Docs have discretion; order eases burden on morgues; more 6th Circuit Court of Appeals: Stay-at-home order places burden on candidates ballot access Detroit automakers pushing to reopen plants within 2 weeks President Duda ahead in polls originally set on Sunday but pandemic left uncertainty about voting and his future. The leader of Polands governing party and a partner in its governing coalition announced an agreement late on Wednesday to postpone Sundays presidential election, without setting a new date for the poll. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, head of the ruling Law and Justice party, and Jaroslaw Gowin, leader of a small party in the conservative coalition, announced in a joint statement that they had agreed to cancel Sundays vote and set a new date. They called their decision a solution that will guarantee Poles the opportunity to participate in democratic elections. The decision brought some clarity to a chaotic situation that left Poles uncertain about whether they would be casting votes this weekend. The May 10 date had been set months ago, but the coronavirus pandemic and a government-ordered lockdown threw preparations into disarray. Bitter fighting between the conservative governing party and its political opponents kept them from agreeing on an alternative. The governing party had sought to stick to the election date by making it a postal vote, but proper legislation was still not approved. Many in Poland voiced concerns that such a vote organised at short notice might not be conducted property or meet democratic standards for fairness. Political deadlock A disagreement between Kaczynski and Gowin had also created a impasse that had threatened to cause an larger political crisis. Their joint statement suggested the crisis had been averted. Under their plan, after Sunday the Supreme Court will declare the election void because it does not happen, and then parliament Speaker Elzbieta Witek will announce a new presidential election to be held on the first possible date. They did not indicate when that might be. Under a constitutionally dictated timeline, the last possible date for the presidential election in 2020 would be on May 23. But they said they would amend legislation regulating elections in 2020, which might suggest a later date. The vote will be conducted by postal ballot. The Law and Justice party is backing the reelection bid by President Andrzej Duda, whose five-year term expires on August 6. Duda leads in opinion polls, well ahead of the nine other candidates. Adam Bielan, the campaign spokesman for Duda, told private broadcaster TVN24 that he expected a new election to be held in late June or early July. Other politicians said it could be held as late as the end of July before Dudas term expires. The Law and Justice party proposed holding an all-postal vote weeks ago, saying that was the safe option during the pandemic. But the change in balloting methods requires parliamentary approval. The legislation passed the lower house of parliament last month but the senate took a month to debate it, then rejected it on Tuesday. The bill returned to the lower house, but there was no time left before Sunday to prepare the ballots and have postal workers deliver them to voters. The head of the electoral commission, Sylwester Marciniak, said on Tuesday that it was impossible for legal and organisational reasons. There had also been concern that the electoral commission was being sidelined in the push for May 10 elections. Gowin and Kaczynskis statement said they agreed the electoral commission would organise the future vote. One constitutional expert said Wednesdays announcement appeared to contradict constitutional provisions in Poland for changing election dates. Its astounding, Ryszard Piotrowski of Warsaw University said. How can you imagine in a democratic country that politicians decide what the Supreme Court will rule. Three contact persons of a Nigerian who tested positive of the COVID-19 and escaped from isolation in Wa about three weeks ago has tested positive. They have all been taken to the treatment centre at the Regional Hospital. This was contained in a statement signed by Upper West Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Wa. It said as at May 3, 2020, the region had recorded 11 new cases of the virus bringing the total cases in the region to 19, one person fully recovered and reintegrated into the community and with no death recorded. Seven of the confirmed cases were picked from the Sissala East Municipality following the mandatory screening of travelers arriving in the district from Kumasi and Accra during the partial lockdown period. The statement said five of them were identified and transferred to the treatment centre at Tumu, the Municipal Capital, whilst efforts were underway to track the remaining two. The remaining one person was a resident of Wa, who travelled into the region by a public transport after he returned from Kenya on February 16, 2020 and had his samples taken on April 16, 2020 upon self-request and was since in isolation in his house. All cases currently on treatment are mild to moderate. Investigation is underway to identify, isolate and treat all cases and trace all contacts. It is important to note that all the cases had a travel history or are contacts of known cases, the statement added. It therefore urged the people to remain calm and to support the authorities in the fight the deadly disease. As part of measures to control the disease in the region, the statement said the Rapid Response Teams (RRT) at both regional and district levels continue to monitor and investigate new cases and rumours as they are reported. It also reiterated the need for the public to strictly observe the COVID-19 protocols including; physical distancing, regular hand washing with soap and alcohol-based hand sanitizer; avoid going to public places unless it was absolutely necessary and properly wearing nose masks when going to any public place among others. ---Daily Guide 'Oh god, these workers will now spread the virus! Their only concern was to think about themselves.' 'The middle class was only concerned with flattening the curve of coronavirus and they were not bothered about how these workers live in one room with 10 people or 20 people.' IMAGE: Migrants who were stranded in Maharashtra during the ongoing national lockdown arrive at the Charbagh railway station in Lucknow. Photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo As the country continues to see images and stories of migrants putting themselves through hell just to reach home amid the national lockdown, activists Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey, of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, filed a fresh PIL in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre and authorities to pay full wages to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act workers for the entire period of the nationwide lockdown. "The government will have to provide something like the Employment Guarantee Act for these workers or else you will see some huge uprising or unrest," Dey tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com in the first of a two-part interview:. Before the lockdown began, we sorted out the problems of NRIs coming to India, then the government provided relief to the middle class through the moratorium on bank loans. However, the government, it seems, forgot about our migrant workers and labourers. Why is it so? We didn't forget about them, but we were careless. Forgetting is something when you are out of sight. This class is the backbone of the Indian economy and they live in vulnerable situations, which we don't think about. And when the lockdown began, these migrant labourers rushed to go home and we just ignored this humanitarian crisis. And it just kept getting worse. The government has certainly shown carelessness, but at least the middle class should have got up and raised their voices for these migrant workers by stating that they live in homes where there is food and space unlike these workers who don't have proper homes to stay in cities and food available to eat. These workers were told to stay where they were regardless of what the size of their homes were. These workers were hungry, very scared, there was no proper accommodation and they did not even get salaries as they were thrown out of their jobs. Many people were, in fact, very angry that these workers came out in such big numbers and flouted the rules of the lockdown and didn't practise social distancing. The middle class has a selfish attitude, Oh god, these workers will now spread the virus! Their only concern was to think about themselves. Lockdown works for people who have a reserve of food. The middle class was only concerned with flattening the curve of coronavirus and they were not bothered about how these workers live in one room with 10 people or 20 people. They were not concerned that these workers could not manage social distancing in their small homes. But many workers were provided food by the middle class and there were many such humanitarian gestures. Providing food is a different thing. And I am not talking about every (middle class) person being the same. I am talking about a set of people who have influence over policies. There were voices who tried to reach out. Migrant labourers were deliberately ignored in terms of policies. There were hollow orders passed that industries will pay these migrant workers. This is a terrible situation. The worst, I must add, is that the situation became communal. We allowed polarisation and communal propaganda against one community by boycotting sales from that community. We must stand with all communities in these times, otherwise we will harm everyone. Now the government is reported to have charged migrant workers for train tickets before backtracking on the decision. What should the government have done for them? After the first lockdown ended, the government could have given migrants around six days's time to go home by providing them with rail services. To bring people from abroad is more difficult and expensive than organising trains for migrant workers. And the government can do things when they want to get things done. Here in this situation they were just not doing it. Even this time they left it to state governments to follow orders, but state governments cannot arrange inter-state travel and arrangements on their own as they do not have the economic resources. Food grains, for instance, these people are without Public Distribution System ration cards and now we have enough of food grains in our country, but the message that comes from the government is that we don't care. National Rural Employment Guarantee Act workers who could not go to work could have been paid like they told industries to pay their workers. Press Release May 7, 2020 Bong Go lauds Executive Order institutionalizing the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa program; urges government agencies to act immediately to meet objectives and timeline of the program Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go said that President Rodrigo Duterte has signed Executive Order No. 114, "Institutionalizing the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Program as a Pillar of Balanced Regional Development, Creating a Council Therefor, and for Other Purposes," which will instruct concerned agencies to prepare and implement the "Balik Probinsya" program. "Nagpapasalamat ako dahil pinirmahan na ni Pangulong Duterte ang EO 114 para gawing prayoridad ang pag-plano at pag-implementa ng BPP kasabay ng ating pagsugpo ng COVID-19 crisis," he said. "Dahil dito, magkakaroon rin ng isang inter-agency body, ng isang Council, na mangunguna sa pagpapatupad nito," the Senator added. The signed EO came after Senator Go authored Senate Resolution No. 380 which was adopted by the Senate during the plenary session last Monday, May 4, to urge the executive department to formulate and implement the BPP. According to the EO, the BPP will bring "balanced regional development and equitable distribution of wealth, resources and opportunities through policies and programs that boost countryside development and inclusive growth." The program will also provide adequate social services to its people, promote employment, and focus on key areas, such as empowerment of local industries, food security, and infrastructure development in rural areas. The Senator emphasized the importance of the BPP as it complements existing health measures being done to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Go said that the short-term plans of the program can immediately help people who are badly affected by the health crisis to return home in the provinces. "'Yung immediate po 'yung mga kailangan na talagang umuwi sa kanilang mga probinsya kapag na-lift na ang travel restrictions. Mid-term naman 'yung gusto na mag-relocate pabalik ng kanilang home provinces. Long-term ay para ma-encourage ang paglipat ng mga tao at mga negosyo palabas ng urban centers to boost development sa mga probinsya," he explained. Go also took the opportunity to urge concerned government agencies to act immediately in order to prepare and implement the various components of the BPP according to its objectives and timeline. "Ngayon po na gagawing isa sa mga priorities itong BPP, nanagawan ako sa mga iba't-ibang ahensya ng pamahalaan na ilatag na ang mga kailangang proseso at protocols according sa mandato nila at sa timeline na ito," Go said. "Gawin na natin ngayon ang mga hakbang na kailangang ilatag dahil marami na sa ating mga kababayan ang gusto nang umuwi sa kani-kanilang mga probinsya," Go said citing that many Filipino families have already expressed their willingness to relocate to their home provinces. In an interview on Wednesday, May 6, Go stressed the importance of government agencies in identifying and implementing initiatives for the immediate, medium-term, and long-term phases of the proposed program. Senator Go said that for the immediate or short-term phase, local government units must strictly implement quarantine protocols, COVID-19 testing and coordinate with the Department of Health when they can accept BPP beneficiaries, especially those who are stranded in urban centers due to the pandemic. "Para sa mga immediate plans, kailangan po ng LGUs na magpatupad ng mga quarantine protocols, kasama ng pag-maintain at pag-operate ng mga quarantine facilities dahil in coordination po ito with DOH. Siguraduhin po natin na 'yung mga uuwi ng probinsya ay hindi po maging carrier ng sakit sa uuwian nila," Go said. The Department of Social Welfare and Development is also tasked to help by providing transportation assistance, food packs, hygiene kits, family kits, and other non-food items for the short-term phase. Senator Go said that the medium-term phase involves identifying families who want to partake in the BPP to relocate to the countryside. Go said that the priorities in this phase include employment, health, educational institutions, housing, and peace and order. "For mediate plans naman po, kailangan ng mga LGUs maglagay ng mga help desk para sa mga nais lumahok na po rito sa BPP. Kailangan din masiguro ang peace and order situation doon sa kanilang nasasakupan," Go said. Citing the BPP as a long-term initiative, Senator Go emphasized the need for government agencies to plan and implement continuing protocols that will lead to urban renewal, rural development and decentralized approach in governance in the years to come to boost regional development and equitable distribution of wealth and economic opportunities. "Sa long-term naman po, sa mga succeeding years, even after this administration, ang target nito ay 'to encourage' po... sa mga naninirahan sa mga malalaking lungsod na lumipat sa mga probinsya at magbigay ng mga insentibo para sa mga negosyo na nais mamuhunan doon," Go said. Senator Go said that as a legislator, he will continue to monitor the preparations and eventual implementation of the BPP, support related programs that could enhance further the BPP, and push for legislative measures that are geared towards the goals of the BPP to ensure the successful implementation of the program's various phases. The Senator reiterated that the BPP is not only a solution to decongest the country's urban centers, but a way of giving many Filipinos hope to start life anew. "Bigyan po natin ng pag-asa ang ating mga kababayan, ang mga kapatid nating Pilipino. Hindi naman po pwedeng pauuwiin po sila at hindi po natin sila bigyan ng bagong pag-asa. Tulungan natin sila na magkaroon ng mas mabuting buhay," Go said. "As the President said, starting fresh in the provinces would give Filipinos HOPE for a better future after COVID-19 crisis," he added. Iran's president said Wednesday the United States made a "stupid mistake" by abandoning a nuclear deal and warned of severe consequences if its allies agree to extend an arms embargo. The United States is waging a campaign to extend the ban on selling conventional weapons to Iran, which is set to be progressively eased starting in October. The ban is to be lifted in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which blessed the landmark international agreement that placed limits on Iran's nuclear programme in 2015. US President Donald Trump withdrew from the accord -- known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA -- in 2018 and began reimposing sanctions on the Islamic republic. "America made a very stupid mistake by abandoning this agreement," his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, said at a televised cabinet meeting. "The wise thing for the US is to return to the JCPOA... but those in charge today won't ever reach such wisdom," he added. Rouhani said the lifting of the embargo was "an inseparable part" of the nuclear accord. "If it is ever reimposed... they know well what severe consequences and what historical defeat awaits them if they make such a mistake." Rouhani did not elaborate on the consequences but said they were detailed in a letter sent previously to the remaining parties to the deal -- Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia. Tehran has progressively scaled back its commitments to the JCPOA in retaliation to the US pullout and what it sees as European inaction to salvage the accord. Iran's Supreme National Security Council secretary, Ali Shamkhani, warned Sunday that the deal would "die forever" if the embargo is extended. Tehran has in the past threatened to retaliate against any reimposition of UN sanctions by withdrawing from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Washington has said it would use a legal argument based on an interpretation of Resolution 2231 that it remains a "participant" in the deal despite renouncing it, and can extend the arms embargo on Tehran or see more stringent sanctions reimposed. Iran, for its part, accuses the US of violating the resolution over its 2018 withdrawal. "There is no longer a JCPOA for America," Rouhani said. He added that the US "should know, and some other countries too, that Iran will in no way accept a violation of Resolution 2231", while stressing that lifting the embargo is Iran's "inalienable right". Rouhani said Iran would not use weapons it purchases to "add fuel to the fire" but to "extinguish flames" by not allowing conflicts to take place. Merck announced its investment in SynSense (formerly known as aiCTX), a neuromorphic computing startup based in China and Switzerland. The startups AI (artificial intelligence) processors and sensors provide an unprecedented combination of ultra-low power consumption and low latency for a broad range of edge applications in smart home, smart security, autonomous driving, drones or robots. This is a great first investment by our newly established China Seed Fund and will further strengthen our ties with local entrepreneurs and investors, said Isabel de Paoli, Chief Strategy Officer at Merck. Our plan to be an active player in the China innovation landscape is paying off with this exciting step, which nicely complements our activities in our Performance Materials business sector. Merck invested in SynSense via its China Seed Fund, which was established in October 2019 by its corporate strategic investment arm M Ventures and the Merck China Innovation Hub. The Series A investment round was led by CTC Capital and joined by M Ventures, CAS Star, Ecovacs Robotics, Yunding and Archer Investment. Neuromorphic computing is generally considered a key enabler of next-generation AI. As a spin-off from the joint Institute of Neuroinformatics at the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich (lab of co-founder Professor Giacomo Indiveri), SynSense is leveraging the vast know-how of one of the leading academic research institutions in this space. Its neuromorphic chip design is inspired by the human brain featuring massive parallelism and asynchronous logic in order to overcome the von Neuman bottleneck that slows down AI on conventional computing systems. The implementation with Spiking Neural Networks (SNN) enables, for example, ultra-low power dynamic vision processing at less than 1 mW (milliwatt). The current deal marks the third investment of M Ventures in the advanced computing technologies space in less than a year, following investments in AI chip design company MemryX, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, and quantum computing startup SeeQC, Elmsford, New York, USA. This underlines the importance of the field for Merck. With its broad footprint as a leading science and technology company, Merck has a unique exposure to next-generation computing. Mercks involvement spans the entire value chain from being a supplier to the semiconductor industry to an end-user in pharmaceutical and biotech research & development. Each and every minute detail of Allu Arjun's Pushpa has left the fans super excited, ever since the inception. The movie is said to be an action thriller, wherein Allu Arjun will be seen doing some high-octane action sequences. Well, if the recent grapevine is true, the makers of Pushpa are going to spend a whopping among of Rs 6 crore for a 6-minute action sequence. As per sources, the director of the film has designed a high-voltage action sequence, wherein the Stylish Star's intense avatar will be displayed beautifully. It is said that Indian stunt choreographers will be hired for the same. Of lately, it was rumoured that Sukumar has dropped the plan of hiring Thailand stunt choreographers, to cut down expenses amid the Coronavirus pandemic. On a related note, sources reveal that Allu Arjun will not have a stylish dance number in the action thriller, like his other movies. It is also said that he will have a dappankuthu track to groove on, for the highly-anticipated thriller of the year. Disha Patani is rumoured to accompany him in that song. Pushpa's story revolves around red sandalwood smuggling, wherein Bunny will essay the role of Pushpa Raj, a lorry driver. Rashmika Mandanna will appear as the female lead and reportedly, in the role of a forest officer, who gets murdered by goons. Allu Arjun will be seen seeking revenge in the high-octane thriller. Initially, the movie was supposed to feature Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi as a police officer. But the actor backed off from the projects, owing to creative differences with the makers. Kannada actor Dhananjay has been roped in to reprise the role. Bankrolled jointly by Mythri Movie Makers and Muttamsetty Media, Pushpa has music composed by Devi Sri Prasad. No Stylish Dance Moves For Allu Arjun In Pushpa? Here Is The Reason! [May 07, 2020] Insider Threat Cybersecurity Pioneer Dtex Raises $17.5 Million Funding to Fuel Market Expansion San Jose, CA, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dtex, a next-generation insider threat cybersecurity company, today announced funding of $17.5 million led by Northgate Capital with additional participation from existing investors Norwest Venture Partners and Four Rivers Group. On the heels of doubling revenues in 2019, this new funding will be used to expand beyond established customer verticals including banking and financial services, critical infrastructure, government and defense, into industries where Dtex has experienced recent success, such as pharmaceuticals, life sciences and manufacturing. Dtex delivers always-on insider threat security to an entire organization, proactively illuminating dangerous activity in real-time across millions of devices to predict and uncover risky behavior, well before an incident occurs. In the past, there was a much smaller number of network ingress and egress points that needed to be secured, but todays company perimeter has morphed into an organic, constantly fluctuating network of millions of desktops, servers, cloud services, BYOD and now thousands of remote workers. Dtex eliminates the excessive noise and false positives of legacy point solutions via its patent-pending DMAP+ Technology, a real-time correlation of telemetry, introspection and predictive modeling, able to recognize threats based on contextual behavior and patterns, while maintaining full GDPR compliance. Over the past 12 months, 80 percent of Dtexs Fortune 500 customers have increased their deployments to cover all endpoints, including servers, across their entire global enterprise in order to declutter their defense-in-depth legacy technology that has become increasingly ineffective in detecting and preventing insider threats. These global companies require a next-generation insider threat platform that: Scales to the entire organization - with a continuous always-on audit-trail for millions of users/devices - rather than trigger-based monitoring for specific persons of interest Provides deep experience in the detection, prevention and prediction of insider threats with proprietary insider threat correlation vs. relying on 3 rd -party SIEMs -party SIEMs Collects noise-free telemetry with near-zero impact on users & devices Is cloud-ready so installing and enabling insider threat protection takes only a few hours, not weeks or months Has strongencryption for full GDPR compliance out-of-the-box The addressable market for Dtex sits squarely in the enterprise insider threat cybersecurity sector, where the need to eliminate point solutions has already moved beyond the early adopters, said Bahman Mahbod, President & CEO, Dtex. Insider threat security needed a total revamp one with a modern approach that offers comprehensive and organization-wide visibility. Dtex is providing customers with a simple and endlessly scalable platform to instrument the enterprise in real-time, with sophisticated analytics that are proven to find the needles in the haystack. Thorsten Claus, partner, Northgate Capital added, Dtex has built a highly scalable platform that utilizes a cloud-first, lightweight endpoint architecture, offering clients a number of use cases including insider threat prevention and business operations intelligence. With Dtex, we have found a fast-growing, long-term, investible operation that is not just a band-aid collection of tools, which would be short-lived and replaced. The versatility of DMAP+ Technology has drawn Dtex into the recent spike in remote working. Throughout the COVID-19 emergency, Dtex customers have been using DMAP+ Technology to analyse home worker security and business continuity trends. This requirement has resulted in a new suite of Dtex offerings, including automated reports and trend analysis which are now delivered out-of-the-box. This, in conjunction with Dtexs Counter-Insider Threat (C-InT) Taskforce, will support the sharp increase in demand for specialist insider threat intelligence and investigations, ensuring clients can detect and respond to insider threats proactively, flagging bad actors and accidental policy violations to prevent potential breaches for remote workers. Weve been impressed by the success of the Dtex management team that has successfully scaled and exited cybersecurity companies and has now delivered enterprise-wide deployments for world-renowned blue-chip financial services, critical infrastructure and government clients, said Justin Stebbins, partner, Northgate Capital. Todays cybersecurity needs are greater than ever. Threat vectors and sophistication of attacks are increasing, and information security has become a battleground of fragmented point solutions, to the dismay of security operators. About Dtex Dtex Intercept is the only Next-Gen Insider Threat Platform that delivers always-on security to proactively illuminate dangerous activity in real-time across the entire organization, uncovering risky behavior well before an incident occurs. The solution is powered by DMAP+ Technology, a combination of lightweight forwarders & real-time correlation of unique enriched telemetry from data, machines, applications and people (DMAP) done at incredible scale. Fortune 500 businesses, government agencies such as the US Defense Information Systems Agency and innovative enterprises such as Williams F1 & Advanced Engineering and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer one of only 5 Magic Circle law firms in the world -- use Dtex to identify risky users, prevent data loss, accelerate incident response, ensure compliance and detect fraud across their entire organization. Dtex is headquartered in San Jose, CA., with international offices in the UK and Australia. For more information, please visit www.dtexsystems.com. About Northgate Northgate Capital, founded in 2000 by Brent Jones and Tommy Vardell, is a venture capital investment management firm. The firm and its global affiliates jointly manage $4.9 billion in assets. With offices in the San Francisco Bay Area and Mexico City, Northgates investment programs focus on venture capital Fund-of-Funds and Direct with additional programs in private equity global small market Fund-of-Funds, Mexico growth equity and mezzanine finance. (www.northgate.com) Joe Volat Dtex Systems (408) 418-3786 [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Venkat Bharadwaj, whose film "Kempirve" had won in the Best Screenplay category at the Karnataka State Film Award in 2017, has gone ahead and shot a full-length feature film during the lockdown. Titled "The Painter", the Kannada film was shot in 10 days, across five different locations in Chennai, Tumkur, Bangalore, Kankapura and Hebbal. The shooting was done separately in location, and then the filmed footage was put together on the editing table to create the entire movie. Work on the script began in early April, and shooting the film wasn't simple. Owing to lockdown, no one could travel. Sourcing equipment was a problem, too. The director and his crew had to make do with available lights, ropes, bamboo sticks and wires. The script and dialogue had to be shared with artistes and technicians who shot from their respective locations. ''The story evolves with the current situation of lockdown, and how people act on various issues -- selfishness, extortion, and exploitation. There is murder, crime, and thrilling content in this movie. I don't want to reveal the entire story. People should enjoy the thrilling content after the release of this feature film. The shooting style being cinematic, there could be no compromise on quality and technicality of production,'' said Venkat Bharadwaj. The director explains that transferring raw footage filmed at one particular location to another, using home Internet data, was a big challenge. "On an average, around 70 GB data was being transferred daily between sources," he pointed out, explaining that due to the heavy footage quality, it was an uphill task transferring filmed data online. He added: ''Around 17 technicians and artistes have worked for this project, including makeup man, light boy, costume and art people. The shooting was fun as everyone was involved in all aspects. To give an example, when there were five artistes shooting for a scene, and all were supposed to be in the frame, four of them would take position while the last person rolled the camera and sound and then walked into the frame. Then the scene was shot. It was a great challenge and equally fun executing this project.'' The one hour and 30-minute film is due to release in the end of May. "The Painter" is presented by A Lab 19 Innovation in association with Amrutha Film Centre and Shekar Jayaram The Ayawaso West Municipal Assembly has begun the distribution of dry meals to some needy and vulnerable residents in the municipality. The distribution of the dry meal package which consists of bags of rice, sardines, canned tomato puree and cooking oil started on Tuesday at the La-Bawaleshie Mempeasem Electoral Area. The exercise was led by the Municipal Chief Executive of the Ayawaso West Municipal Assembly, Mrs Sandra Owusu-Ahinkorah with support from officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation and the Assembly of the Mempeasem Electoral Area, Mr Emmanuel Adjei Tutuani. About 2,000 persons have been projected to benefit from the monthly exercise across the 13 electoral areas of the municipality. In strict observance of the social distancing protocols, the MCE presented the packages to the Assemblyman for onward distribution to the residents. Mrs Owusu-Ahinkorah later seized the opportunity to interact with some residents in the area and hand them some of the relief packages. In an interview with Graphic Online after handing-over the packages, the MCE said the disbursement forms part of a Presidential directive to bring relief to Ghanaians during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said cooked food was distributed to the residents in April during the lockdown, adding that the distribution of dry meals was only a continuation of the relief effort. The Assembly of the Mempeasem Electoral Area, Mr Emmanuel Adjei Tutuani expressed gratitude to the municipality for coming to the aid of the residents of the area. Source: Daily Graphic 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 Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 03:43:23|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close An injured man receives medical treatment at a hospital in Tripoli, Libya, on May 6, 2020. Indiscriminate shelling on Wednesday killed three civilians and injured 19 others in Libya's capital Tripoli, said a Libyan official. (Photo by Amru Salahuddien/Xinhua) TRIPOLI, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Indiscriminate shelling on Wednesday killed three civilians and injured 19 others in Libya's capital Tripoli, said a Libyan official. "Indiscriminate shelling hit the Tajura district in eastern Tripoli, killing three civilians and injuring 19 others, including children," Amin Hashemi, information advisor of the health ministry, told Xinhua. "The shelling was carried out with missiles and targeted the coastal road in eastern Tripoli," Hashemi added. The forces of the UN-backed government accused the rival east-based army of carrying out the shelling, but the east-based army has not responded. For more than a year, the capital Tripoli has been witnessing deadly armed conflict between the UN-backed government and east-based army which is trying to take over the city and topple the UN-backed government. The violence has killed and injured hundreds of civilians and forced more than 150,000 others to flee their homes. Enditem New Delhi: The three forces are playing an important role in the war against the coronavirus epidemic. Speaking to the media today, Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat has said that it is absolutely wrong to exaggerate a terrorist leader like Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo. Let us tell you that on Wednesday, the army killed terrorist Riyaz Naiku, after which this news was in the headlines in the entire media. He said that the whole country is united to defeat the Corona epidemic. General Bipin Rawat further said that Indian Navy ships have reached Maldives. Taking some essential goods to our ship went to the Maldives. We are helping our other neighbors as well in this way. At the same time, the exercise to evacuate those citizens who are trapped there is also going on. We are always ready for whatever help we have to offer to our countrymen. The CDS said that the Army has made complete preparations for the future with the local administration. We have made our preparations in Jaisalmer, Jodhpur Jhansi, Bhopal, Visakhapatnam Mumbai, Kochi in all these areas. Preparations have also been done in Delhi. The morale of the corona warriors who are helping people day and night should be maintained. Also Read: Russian Cultural Minister found corona positive 75 policemen infected in 24 hours, Malegaon becomes Corona's hotspot Now shops in MP will open from 6 am to 12 pm Submarines hidden in underground tunnel, what is China's intention? NEW YORK - There was nothing but navy, teal and baby blue all the way down the block, as hospital workers in layers of protective gear streamed into a line that captured the attention of three police cars. They were headed to an open box truck with a big sign taped to the side: "Show your hospital ID: Get free PPEs." Some wanted to know whom to thank, and they'd inevitably be waved over to a slight, blond woman named Rhonda Roland Shearer. Just as she had done after 9/11, distributing millions of dollars in supplies to workers at Ground Zero that she'd mobilized herself, Shearer was in the thick of things - having once again leveraged a substantial line of credit to do so. "This is to save the skin behind your ears!" she said, handing out curious strips of plastic notches, similar to barrettes, that hold the loops of surgical masks. The "ear savers" were, as Shearer does best, a solution to a problem nearly everyone in line said they had, but no one had quite realized they needed fixed. Nationwide, the shortage of personal protective equipment has fueled a tense political standoff between federal, state and local government officials, one that has left many front-line medical workers to fend for themselves amid the ongoing crisis. In mid-March, to the frustration of state officials and hospital administrators, President Trump advised the country's governors "try to get it yourself," forcing states and hospitals into competition with one another for lifesaving PPE. Shearer doesn't necessarily present as a skilled medical supplies haggler, but that's all she does now. A 65-year-old sculptor whose late husband was the evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould, she's a rarity in the tony Manhattan neighborhood of Soho where she's lived in an artists' loft for decades. Nearly everyone else, it seems, fled to their second homes in the Hamptons or even farther afield when the coronavirus pandemic hit. "I have no country house, no car," said Shearer, and besides, this is where she feels at home, running not away from, but toward the fire. "This feels like having gold. Gold! Because we don't have sufficient supplies. It's very, very bad," said Karen Titus, a nurse clutching a Shearer-issued bag containing seven surgical masks, a KN95 filter and a face shield. Titus was wearing the PPE she'd improvised by taping "chucks," or disposable pee pads, around her calves and shoe coverings made from cut-up socks. Everyone in line was either from the city-run Kings County Hospital, like Titus, or the state-run University Hospital of Brooklyn across the street. Both are overwhelmed with covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and serve a low-income neighborhood. Some nurses showed up wearing rubber gas masks they'd bought in hardware stores. Shearer wasn't alone. This project, called Cut Red Tape 4 Heroes, is a partnership with Housing Works, a New York-based nonprofit serving the homeless and people with HIV/AIDS. Shearer and her then-husband, investor Joseph Allen, were the group's first benefactors in 1990. Housing Works CEO Charles King also credits Shearer with the idea that Housing Works start a high-end thrift store to raise money and employ clients. They now have 12 throughout the city. Shearer's goal with the PPE, as it was for months after the 2001 terrorist attack that leveled Lower Manhattan's twin towers, is to bypass an equipment distribution system that she believes is failing workers on the front lines, nonprofit workers and the homeless. "I'm running literally 18-hour, 20-hour days," she said, either hunting down good prices for the PPE or standing outside hospitals asking employees what they need. Over the past month, according to bank statements and receipts shared with The Washington Post, Shearer has gone from zero debt to borrowing more than $600,000 on a home equity line of credit to buy wholesale masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and face shields. She leveraged about $1 million in this way after 9/11. Shearer had tried to source deals and pass them along to city agencies, but "they didn't move fast enough," she said, and the PPE she'd secured for New York's front-line workers instead "went to somebody else." The only way to get workers what they needed, she decided, was to buy and distribute it herself. And she knew she could because she'd done it before. --- "I was delighted to have her there," said Harry Meyers, retired assistant chief of the FDNY who was the original Ground Zero incident commander managing 1,800 men digging victims' remains out of the debris. As documented at the time, the city's emergency management agency called the police on Shearer multiple times to arrest her for handing out items like hard hats, T-shirts, underwear, Carhartt pants and jackets, rakes, trowels and power tools. It was Shearer's daughter, London Shearer Allen, who first ran toward "the Pile" hours after the towers fell, with a hand truck loaded with leather gloves and face masks from her mother's sculpture studio. Shearer followed five days later, after getting stuck at the border in Canada with Gould. "It just made life so much easier for my guys to do their job safely," Meyers said. "At the time, the bureaucracy was entirely incapable of supplying the things we needed because nothing like it had ever happened before. It's kind of like this virus." At first, Shearer tried donating through official channels with the office of emergency management, but the supplies got loaded up on a barge and when she talked to workers, they said they never saw them. "I didn't have to do that more than a couple days to see, 'Boy, am I flushing money down the toilet,'" she said. She vowed from then on that she would bypass bulk donations and only do direct issuance, like in the military - meaning she would hand over supplies herself and get sizes of the individual recipients, "so we were able to give, you know, Firefighter Callahan his size 22 boots that are hard to get." She also went around to Salvation Army and the Red Cross outposts, which gave her lists of things they needed. Wanting to get the right goods into the right people's hands is also why she isn't buying N95 masks to give out for free now. Fit on those can be a matter of life or death, and she thinks it's irresponsible not to have fit testings. "It's particularly important now because women have small faces," she said. Key to her Ground Zero operation was C.J. Vallone, owner of DiVal Safety, a construction-gear distributor in Buffalo, who drove down a truck full of donations, and soon gave her a $1 million line of credit. "That was spooky," said Vallone about giving that much trust to a stranger. "But she was so sincere, and being able to help - that is one of the proudest moments of my professional life." Every month he'd drive down newly purchased supplies and donations. When she heard about the very similar problems with the supply chain for the coronavirus pandemic in late February, Shearer said she thought, "This is a complete Groundhog Day." It was a call from her daughter that activated Shearer again. "She said, 'Mom, I really think that this is something maybe we can help on,' " Shearer said. "And when your child points to something, a right to do to correct wrongs. Then that's it for me. I get on a mission." She called people she knew at the FDNY and they told her they were worried because they had no masks for doing crowd control. Then she called Vallone, who donated pallets of gloves and Tyvek suits, those white disposable hazmat coveralls seen in photos nationwide. "It was like Christmas. They just showed up," Shearer said. But she needed a medical supplier who could ship things fast. Soon she'd made contact with Mayank Parikh, owner of the independent Super Health Pharmacy, with nine stores in the city and New Jersey, who started helping her source big orders out of his State Island flagship. The first was 100,000 three-ply surgical masks, which he managed to ship to her in 24 hours. Parikh only orders through his trusted supply chain - either name brands or manufacturers on the Food and Drug Administration's list of approved PPE vendors. He also donated the trucks she's using, and paid for the Cut Red Tape 4 Heros banners. Shearer sources everything herself, ordering from other vendors or directly from manufacturers, too, following the same standards. "I feel like I've known her for decades, but it's been months," he said. "She's awesome. She really helps keep the energy and fire going. And it just really motivates me to help get her these items, you know?" --- Covid-19 is bringing back many memories of 19 years ago. Gould died after a recurrence of cancer in 2002, as Shearer was still distributing supplies at Ground Zero. Shearer cries often when she talks about being there. "I just need a second." Recently, London, 41, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer related to the toxins at Ground Zero, and her surgery was paid for by the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. "We're so happy," Shearer said. "We just got the news that the margins are clear, and they think she'll have a full recovery." A similar cancer killed Shearer's partner of 15 years after Gould, FDNY Chief Ronald R. Spadafora. They met after they'd finished up at the site. "He was someone I could relate to because it does affect you, the trauma," she said. But also as happened 19 years ago, Shearer's efforts are running into bureaucratic walls. University Hospital was the only one of a dozen hospitals that Shearer and Housing Works have called that welcomed them onto their property. She just showed up outside public hospitals like Kings County, Bellevue, and North Central Bronx, and was inundated with not just hospital workers but public housing residents and the homeless. One hospital used security to get them to move their operation across the street, she said. "The ironic twist is that the same admin people who called the police came out to get PPEs and said they were sorry," said Jaron Benjamin, Housing Works's vice president of community mobilization, who's been doing most of the outreach to hospitals to partner with them or let them park on their property. Among the sticking points are that Shearer wants to know the names and sizes of employees she's outfitting, and she wants to hand out of her truck with photographers present. "They want to do it in secret and I don't do secret things, I'm sorry," she said. "Part of the healing of all of this is transparency. We don't just bring supplies. We bring respect and community." Besides, she said, "I need to get the word out so hopefully more people help out." One director of donations, who asked not to be identified for fear of losing his job, explained that his hospital had a policy of only accepting donations to a general stockpile that could be vetted for quality. "It's about protecting our staff," the director said. Shearer said she's provided receipts for American-made, name-brand purchases - sealed boxes of DuPont and Medline, all FDA approved. An emergency medical technician in Queens, who also asked not to be named, said he was shocked. "It doesn't make any sense to me why anyone would turn away free PPE." Benjamin said he's heard from employees that "if there's any hesitation from the hospitals, it's because they don't want to publicly look like they can't provide for their staff." --- Back outside the hospitals in Brooklyn, pathologists were streaming back to their work stations each carrying a box of 25 Tyvek suits, donated by Vallone, which in today's market can go for $20 each. That was $15,000 the hospital didn't have to spend, Shearer said. Shearer chatted with emergency room nurse Jacqueline Reid, who said she was grateful to have masks to take home, since all hospital-issued masks had to be checked out and checked back in. "I have a daughter who had a bone-marrow transplant, and I just feel like this is so nice for her," Reid said. "That's what it's for!" Shearer said. "This is for you, ladies. Because at the end of your shift, you throw away your mask and what do you wear home? How do you shop?" She and Housing Works staffers passed out 2,200 kits of PPE and ran out of 50 gallons of hand sanitizer in an hour. Shearer has since acquired a van from Parikh to do smaller runs to veterans' hospitals. Her worry now is not just about hospital workers but the homeless; her research, she said, showed that many shelters on Staten Island had closed because of a lack of PPE - which might account for why the subways are so overrun. She's provided PPE for the two shelters King set up in hotels for homeless people with covid-19. "If I'm insane," she said, she could borrow her full $2 million home equity line of credit, which if she fails to pay off, could result in the loss of the Soho loft she bought with Gould. The Go Fund Me page that Housing Works had set up to help reimburse her costs was only $26,400 toward the well over a half-million she'd already spent, but Shearer said she had no intention of making herself whole any time soon. "I'd rather focus on people giving me money so I can keep doing this. I want to keep buying PPE," she said. "I'm just focused on helping the workers that are taking the real risk." Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, second from right, speaks at a meeting at the Seoul Government Complex in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, Thursday. / Yonhap DUBLIN, May 7, 2020 The "Metabolic Acidosis - Market Insights, Epidemiology and Market Forecast - 2030" drug pipelines has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report delivers an in-depth understanding of metabolic acidosis, historical and forecasted epidemiology as well as the metabolic acidosis market trends in the United States, EU5 (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom), Japan, Brazil, China, and Mexico. The metabolic acidosis market report provides current treatment practices, emerging drugs, metabolic acidosis market share of the individual therapies, current and forecasted metabolic acidosis market size from 2017 to 2030 segmented by 10 emerging markets. The report also covers market drivers, market barriers and unmet medical needs to curate the best of the opportunities and evaluates the underlying potential of the market. Treatment It covers the details of conventional and current medical therapies available in the market for the treatment of metabolic acidosis. It also provides the country-wise treatment guidelines and algorithms across the 10 emerging markets. The Metabolic Acidosis market report gives a thorough understanding of metabolic acidosis by including details such as disease definition, symptoms, causes, pathophysiology, and diagnosis. Epidemiology Metabolic acidosis epidemiology segment provides insights about historical and current metabolic acidosis patient pool and forecasted trends for 10 emerging countries. It helps to recognize the causes of current and forecasted trends by exploring numerous studies and views of key opinion leaders. This part also provides the diagnosed patient pool and their trends along with assumptions undertaken. Key Findings The total prevalent cases of metabolic acidosis patients were found to be more in males than in females in 10 EM during the study period 2017-2030. The disease epidemiology covered in the report provides historical as well as forecasted Metabolic Acidosis epidemiology segmented as Total Prevalent Population of CKD patients, Total Prevalent Population of Metabolic Acidosis in CKD patients, Gender-Specific Diagnosed Population of Metabolic Acidosis, Total Diagnosed Population of Metabolic Acidosis, and Total Treated Population of Metabolic Acidosis in 10EM covering the United States, EU5 countries (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and United Kingdom), Japan, Brazil, China, and Mexico from 2017 to 2030. Country-Wise Epidemiology The epidemiology section also provides the metabolic acidosis epidemiology data and key findings across the United States, EU5 (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom), Japan, Brazil, China, and Mexico. As per The estimates, the total prevalent cases of CKD patients in 10 EM were 263,018,799 in 2017, which are expected to reach a significantly high number by 2030. As per The analysis, the total prevalent cases of metabolic acidosis in China was found to be 8,881,796 in 2017, which are expected to reach a significantly high number by 2030. was found to be 8,881,796 in 2017, which are expected to reach a significantly high number by 2030. As per The analysis, in the year 2017, the gender-specific diagnosed cases of metabolic acidosis in Germany were 194,037 in males, and 158,757 cases in females, which are expected to reach a significantly high number by 2030. Drug Chapters This segment of the metabolic acidosis report encloses the detailed analysis of current drug therapies and late-stage (Phase-III and Phase-II) pipeline drugs. It also helps to understand the metabolic acidosis clinical trial details, expressive pharmacological actions, agreements and collaborations, approval and awards, advantages and disadvantages of each included drug, and the latest news and press releases. There are no FDA-approved therapies for long-term treatment of metabolic acidosis in CKD patients; however oral alkali therapies such as sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate, and potassium citrate/citric acid are currently prescribed by the nephrologists for treatment of metabolic acidosis. Emerging Drugs Veverimer (TRC101): Tricida Veverimer, which is also known as TRC101, is a novel, nonabsorbed polymer that is designed for the treatment of metabolic acidosis by binding hydrochloric acid in the gastrointestinal tract and removing it from the body through excretion in the feces. It also helps in decreasing the total amount of acid in the body and increasing blood bicarbonate. Veverimer is administered orally as a suspension in water, and it is currently under assessment by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for New Drug Application (NDA) assessment. ADV7103: Advicenne Pharma ADV7103 is a pioneering product with a prolonged-release formulation designed to maintain a sustained release over 12 h. The product was developed as a multi particulate formulation in 2mm granules that contains two active pharmaceutical ingredients. This drug molecule is tasteless and easy to administer orally in patients of all ages. It is an investigational drug designed to treat distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) in patients of all ages. In December 2019, Advicenne signed a supply agreement with the pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Elaiapharm Lundbeck for the manufacturing of its lead product ADV7103 with a view to its worldwide commercialization as a treatment for distal Renal Tubular Acidosis (dRTA). Market Outlook The metabolic acidosis market outlook helps to cultivate a detailed comprehension of the historical, current and forecasted market trends by analyzing the impact of current therapies on the market, unmet needs, drivers and barriers, and demand for the better technology. This segment gives a thorough detail of metabolic acidosis market trend of each late-stage pipeline therapy by evaluating their impact based on annual cost of treatment, inclusion and exclusion criteria's, mechanism of action, compliance rate, growing need of the market, increasing patient pool, covered patient segment, expected launch year, competition with other therapies, brand value, their impact on the market, and view of the key opinion leaders. The calculated market data are presented with relevant tables and graphs to give a clear picture of the market at first sight. According to the report, the therapeutic market of Metabolic Acidosis in 10 emerging markets generated USD 483.62 million in 2017. Key Findings Among the EU-5 countries, Germany had the highest market size, with USD 38.97 Million in 2017, while Italy had the lowest market size with USD 14.62 Million in 2017. had the highest market size, with in 2017, while had the lowest market size with in 2017. The market size of metabolic acidosis by therapies in Japan was observed as USD 45.95 Million for oral alkali therapy in 2017. was observed as for oral alkali therapy in 2017. The total market size of metabolic acidosis in Brazil was observed as USD 34.06 Million in 2017. Reimbursement Scenario Proactively approaching reimbursement can have a positive impact, not only during the late stages of product development but well after product launch as well. In the report, the publisher considers reimbursement to identify economically attractive indications and market opportunities. When working with finite resources, the ability to select the markets with the fewest reimbursement barriers can be a critical business and price strategy. KOL Views To keep up with current market trends, the publisher takes KOLs and SME's opinion working in and for metabolic acidosis domain through primary research to fill the data gaps, and validate the secondary research. Their opinion helps us to understand and verify current and emerging therapies treatment patterns or current market trends. It will also support the clients in potential upcoming novel treatment by identifying the overall scenario of the market and the unmet needs. Competitive Intelligence Analysis The publisher performs Competitive and Market Intelligence analysis of the Metabolic Acidosis market by using various Competitive Intelligence tools that include - SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis, Porter's five forces, BCG Matrix, Market entry strategies, etc. The inclusion of the analysis entirely depends upon the availability of the data. Scope of the Report The report covers the descriptive overview of Metabolic Acidosis, explaining its causes, signs and symptoms, pathophysiology, and currently available therapies. Comprehensive insight has been provided into the Metabolic Acidosis epidemiology and treatment in the 10EM. Additionally, an all-inclusive account of both the current therapeutic strategies and emerging therapies for Metabolic Acidosis is provided, along with the assessment of new therapies, which will have an impact on the current treatment landscape. A detailed review of Metabolic Acidosis market; historical and forecasted is included in the report, covering drug outreach in the 10EM. The report provides an edge while developing business strategies, by understanding trends shaping and driving the Global Metabolic Acidosis market For more information about this drug pipelines report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/rrh535 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 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com PNC General Secretary, Atik Mohammed, has admonished Ghanaians to stop flouting the preventive protocols to curb the spread of Coronavirus in the country. Speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo', Atik Mohammed bemoaned the character of some Ghanaians who have refused to heed the simple safety measures to control the disease. According to him, ''the Ghanaian attitude is terrible'' in all sectors of the economy. He stressed the nation will defeat the pandemic only when all Ghanaians play a significant role in observing the health instructions. Atik Mohammed advised the citizenry to cherish their lives because the pandemic is not a comic relief but a matter of life and death. "The Ghanaian attitude is terrible in every sector. When you take health, our attitude is bad. In sanitation and governance, our attitude is bad . . . There is no regard for social distancing. The people are not observing the protocols and all we're doing is spreading the virus among us," he stated. He added that "the very nature of our homes and social relationship is such that we tend to get close to one another and therefore if people keep disobeying the protocols", there will be a rapid spread of the disease. Watch his submission in the video below 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. Featured Video As the state dabbles in various online options to engage students at the start of the new session during the lockdown period, the Bihar state textbook publishing corporation has warned students against fake app claiming to provide Bihar board and CBSE textbooks. The corporation has got information about one such app launched on the Google Play Store by unknown persons. It has unauthorised copies of all the study material provided on the corporations official website for Class 1-12, said its managing director Ranjit Kumar Singh. The MD said that due to the app Bihar textbooks & CBSE books, the students as well as teachers were getting confused. The corporation has not launched any such app so far. The corporation takes exception to this app as it is a clear case of copyright violation, as no permission was sought from the corporation prior to launching the app, he added Maintaining that earning through the unauthorised app was a case of cyber crime, the corporation has warned the students and teachers to not use it, as it was fake. Besides, the app also shows some old study material. When the corporation will launch its own app, it will be communicated, said the MD, adding that chapter wise study material for all the classes had been made available on the corpoeayions website and the students could download them from there. However, despite the alleged fraud, the corporation has not lodged any case against it. Earlier, the corporation used to provide free books to the students, but due to delayed printing and more delayed distribution, the government decided four years ago to provide money for books in the bank accounts of students so that they could buy it on their own. Though in that case also, many kind of books copying the corporations material reportedly flooded the market. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Princess Elizabeth with her parents and sister on the balcony at Buckingham Palace on VE Day 1945. (Getty Images) Queen Elizabeth II will give her third broadcast of the coronavirus period as she marks the 75th anniversary of VE Day with a speech on Friday evening. The speech, which will be pre-recorded in Windsor Castle, will be broadcast at 9pm on 8 May, 75 years to the minute since her father delivered his broadcast when the Second World War was over. The Queen touched on her memories and experience of wartime a few weeks ago, when she delivered a broadcast to the nation and the commonwealth as the world tackles COVID-19. She drew on the lyrics of wartime favourite Dame Vera Lynn when she reassured the country Well meet again - and she might draw on inspiration closer to home in this address. King George VIs speech may have been about the end of the war, but there are a surprising number of themes which could apply to life in the coronavirus pandemic. In 1945, King George VI delivered the message from war-battered London. In 2020, the Queen will deliver the message from Windsor, but with one of the highest death tolls in the country, London may well feel war-battered. Read more: How the Queen became a symbol of stability in the chaos of coronavirus His message continued: Let us remember those who will not come back, their constancy and courage in battle, their sacrifice and endurance in the face of a merciless enemy: let us remember the men in all the Services and the women in all the Services who have laid down their lives. In 2020, those words will apply to those who have died from COVID-19, and all those who worked on the frontline to treat them. In 1945, King George VI pondered what it was which kept the nation going. While the UK endured six years of war, it has so far battled through seven weeks of lockdown with no clear idea of how long it will continue. He said it was the knowledge that everything was at stake: our freedom, our independence, our very existence as a people which kept the country going. He and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, (who became the Queen Mother after her husbands death in 1952), stood shoulder to shoulder with Londoners who were bombed out during the Blitz, and he touched on that in his message saying we are proud to have shared some of these ordeals with you. Story continues Princess Elizabeth is greeted by crowds as she tours the East End of London on the day after VE Day. (Getty Images) Read more: VE Day in colour: Amazing images show end-of-WWII victory celebrations ahead of 75th anniversary Similarly, the Queen has faced the uncertainty of her son, Prince Charles, being diagnosed with COVID-19, and has been in lockdown with the rest of the nation. She celebrated her 94th birthday in lockdown, and cancelled the usual gun salutes which mark her real birthday each year. She has also been separated from family, with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchild spread across the world, and unable to visit her. King George VI turned to the future as he finished his speech, and said: Let us turn our thoughts on this day of just triumph and proud sorrow; and then take up our work again, resolved as a people to do nothing unworthy of those who died for us and to make the world such a world as they would have desired, for their children and for ours. Surely a sentiment shared by many once lockdown lifts, and life returns to a version of normal. The crowd gathered outside Buckingham Palace, cheer and wave as their Majesties the King and Queen with the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. (Getty Images) Read more: Queens personal message to Captain Tom Moore revealed in 100th birthday card The Queens message will be broadcast at 9pm, followed by a nationwide singalong of Dame Vera Lynns Well Meet Again. In full: King George VIs speech on VE Day, 1945 Today we give thanks to Almighty God for a great deliverance. Speaking from our Empires oldest capital city, war-battered but never for one moment daunted or dismayed speaking from London, I ask you to join with me in that act of thanksgiving. Germany, the enemy who drove all Europe into war, has been finally overcome. In the Far East we have yet to deal with the Japanese, a determined and cruel foe. To this we shall turn with the utmost resolve and with all our resources. But at this hour, when the dreadful shadow of war has passed from our hearths and homes in these islands, we may at last make one pause for thanksgiving and then turn our thoughts to the tasks all over the world which peace in Europe brings with it. Let us remember those who will not come back, their constancy and courage in battle, their sacrifice and endurance in the face of a merciless enemy: let us remember the men in all the Services and the women in all the Services who have laid down their lives. We have come to the end of our tribulation, and they are not with us at the moment of our rejoicing. Then let us salute in proud gratitude the great host of the living who have brought us to victory. I cannot praise them to the measure of each ones service, for in a total war the efforts of all rise to the same noble height and all are devoted to the common purpose. Armed or unarmed, men and women, you have fought, striven, and endured to your utmost. No one knows that better than I do; and as your King I thank with a full heart those who bore arms so valiantly on land and sea, or in the air; and all civilians who, shouldering their many burdens, have carried them unflinchingly without complaint. With those memories in our minds, let us think what it was that has upheld us through nearly six years of suffering and peril. The knowledge that everything was at stake: our freedom, our independence, our very existence as a people; but the knowledge also that in defending ourselves we were defending the liberties of the whole world; that our cause was the cause not of this nation only, not of this Empire and Commonwealth only, but of every land where freedom is cherished and law and liberty go hand in hand. In the darkest hours we knew that the enslaved and isolated peoples of Europe looked to us; their hopes were our hopes; their confidence confirmed our faith. We knew that, if we failed, the last remaining barrier against a world-wide tyranny would have fallen in ruins. But we did not fail. We kept our faith with ourselves and with one another; we kept faith and unity with our great allies. That faith and unity have carried us to victory through dangers which are times seemed overwhelming. So let us resolve to bring to the tasks which lie ahead the same high confidence in our mission. Much hard work awaits us, both in the restoration of our own country after the ravages of war and in helping to restore peace and sanity to a shattered world. This comes upon us at a time when we have all given of our best. For five long years and more, heart and brain, nerve and muscle have been directed upon the overthrow of Nazi tyranny. Now we turn, fortified by success, to deal with our last remaining foe. The Queen and I know the ordeals which you have endured throughout the Commonwealth and Empire. We are proud to have shared some of these ordeals with you, and we know also that together we shall all face the future with stern resolve and prove that our reserves of will-power and vitality are inexhaustible. There is great comfort in the thought that the years of darkness and danger in which the children of our country have grown up are over and, please God, for ever. We shall have failed, and the blood of our dearest will have flowed in vain, if the victory which they died to win does not lead to a lasting peace, founded on justice and established in good will. To that, then, let us turn our thoughts on this day of just triumph and proud sorrow; and then take up our work again, resolved as a people to do nothing unworthy of those who died for us and to make the world such a world as they would have desired, for their children and for ours. This is task to which now honour binds us. In the hour of danger we humbly committed our cause into the Hand of God, and He has been our Strength and Shield. Let us thank Him for His mercies, and in this hour of Victory commit ourselves and our new task to the guidance of that same strong Hand. Robust production can fight off sanctions, other economic viruses: Leader Iran Press TV Wednesday, 06 May 2020 5:34 PM Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says an economy made robust through enhanced production can fend for itself and counter various intrusive elements such as sanctions that can harm an economy like a virus can hurt the human body. Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks in Tehran on Wednesday during a video call with representatives of several manufacturing conglomerates on the occasion of the national Labor Week. The Leader felicitated the Iranian workforce on the occasion during the call that was made as a means of overseeing the implementation of the slogan "Jump in Production" that Ayatollah Khamenei has assigned to this solar calendar year. The Leader drew an analogy between a country's economic apparatus and the human body, noting how both require a healthy defense mechanism to repel incoming viruses. "This very coronavirus entered people's bodies, but many did not fall ill. How did that happen?" Ayatollah Khamenei explained that a strong immune system was what enabled a successful fight against viruses. "Should we want to liken the economy to human body, the defense system that provides the economy with security would be production," the Leader pointed out. "In other words, the element that can neutralize invasive viruses and microbes targeting the economy and keep it healthy is production," Ayatollah Khamenei stated. The Leader categorized the invasive economic factors into "natural viruses" and "manufactured viruses such as sanctions and [the manipulation of] the oil price." "However, if we have good production [levels], we can resist these viruses," Ayatollah Khamenei said. The Leader called for the improvement of labor relations countrywide as a means of securing the desired production levels. Ayatollah Khamenei called for "genuine cooperation" between employees and their employers. The employees, the Leader said, should act more responsibly and rigorously, while the employers need to assign a bigger share of revenues to the workforce. Ayatollah Khamenei recalled that labor relations have been underlined in the "Resistive Economy" planning that the Leader has previously pioneered in the face of enemy maneuvers. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address More than two months after a 17-year-old girl slipped out of her family's home in Georgia in the middle of the night, there is still no trace of her and no new leads, despite a large reward being offered for information. Julia Mann vanished sometime between February 20 and 21 while staying at the home of her grandparents in Watkinsville. According to the Oconee County Sheriff's Office, it is believed Mann 'left alone and on her own accord.' Julia Mann, 17, went missing on the night of February 20 from her family's home in Watkinsville, Georgia. She has not been seen or heard from since In March, the agency doubled the reward for tips leading to Mann's safe return from $10,000 to $20,000. Sheriff Scott Berry posted a Facebook video in which he addressed Mann directly, pleading with her to contact him or a family member. Last glimpse: Mann is seen on surveillance video just hours before her disappearance on February 20 Mann was last seen by her grandfather at around 10pm on February 20 before retiring to bed at her grandparents' home in the area of Rocky Branch Road in Watkinsville. By the next morning, she was gone, along with her cellphone and laptop. From the time of her disappearance, Mann's cellphone and social media accounts have been dormant, raising concerns for her well-being. After an intense 10-week search involving officers on the ground and K-9 dogs scouring the area, there is still no sign of Mann. Her mother, Terrie Clark, described the situation as 'an absolute nightmare' in an interview with NBC's Dateline. Clark said it is possible that Mann had slipped out of the house to meet a friend, but she does not believe her daughter intended to run away from her family, including her beloved five-year-old sister, Olivia. Clark explained to Dateline that she and the girls were in the process of relocating to her parents' home in Watkinsville, but in order for Mann to start school in town, the teenagers had moved in with the grandparents first. Mann's mother said she does not believe her daughter intended to run away from her family, including her beloved five-year-old sister, Olivia (right) Mann is pictured playing with Olivia, who misses her terribly, according to the girls' mother 'She had just registered for senior classes for the next year, was doing really well in school and was making friends,' Clark said. 'She had been organizing her new room and was excited for us to join her. Things were just going really well for her.' Clark said her daughter is a good student with a keen interest in computer programming. She noted that the 17-year-old enjoyed playing online role-playing video games, raising concerns that Mann might have met someone on one of those gaming platforms who convinced her to run away from home. Clark added she is worried that her daughter is being held against her will. The mother-of-two has been posting regular updates on her Facebook page to keep her daughter's missing person case from being forgotten. Earlier this week, she wrote in a heartbreaking post about how her younger daughter falls asleep every night with a stuffed unicorn ballerina, which her big sister had picked out for her. Cops are offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to Mann's safe return 'Olivia talks about her big sister all the time - how she misses reading books and playing together, and she made another drawing for Julia today- one of the many surprises Olivia has left all over our house for when Julia comes home,' the mother wrote. Mann is described as being about 5-feet-3-inches tall and weighing about 100lbs. She has blonde hair and several ear piercings. Anyone with information on Mann's whereabouts is being asked to contact the Oconee County Sheriff's Office at 706-769-3945. Boris Johnson has become the first British Prime Minister to divorce while in office in 250 years as papers filed by his Indian-origin ex-wife Marina Wheeler earlier this year were granted recently. The 55-year-old had announced his engagement with fiancee Carrie Symonds soon after the decree absolute was filed in February. Symonds, 32, who moved into Downing Street with Johnson in July last year, gave birth to their baby boy Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson last Wednesday. According to the Daily Mirror', Johnson's divorce from Wheeler, his second wife, was finalised with the grant of the decree just before the birth of the baby on April 29. Wheeler, whose mother Dip Singh hailed from Punjab, is a barrister and columnist who has four grown up children with Johnson. On February 18, she obtained permission from the Central Family Court in London to apply for a decree absolute, the legal document ending a marriage. The newspaper believes the paperwork was filed immediately and it is believed Johnson and Wheeler could each end up with 4 million pounds from the divorce settlement. Wheeler, who has previously written about surviving cancer, is due to publish The Lost Homestead' about her mother, who married her father, BBC foreign correspondent Charles Wheeler, in 1962. Johnson's first marriage was to socialite Allegra Mostyn-Owen, between 1987 and 1993. With his latest divorce, he has become the first British Prime Minister to divorce while in office since Augustus FitzRoy, the Duke of Grafton, back in 1769. The Duke had shocked Georgian society at the time when he had a very public affair with the courtesan Nancy Parsons. Matters were further complicated as his wife became pregnant by her lover, the Earl of Upper Ossory, with an Act of Parliament was approved granting their divorce in March 1769. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Dzulfiqar Fathur Rahman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 8 2020 Shortages in key commodities have been reported in most of Indonesias 34 provinces as the nation copes with the double blow of the coronavirus outbreak causing supply chain disruptions and a dry spell hurting harvests. Garlic, sugar, chili and eggs are in short supply in more than 20 provinces, while a shortage of rice, a staple food for Indonesians, has hit seven provinces, according to government data presented by President Joko Jokowi Widodo. The data clashes with the Agriculture Ministrys claims that stockpiles, especially of Indonesias 11 key commodities, are safe and sufficient to meet nationwide demand during the annual peak consumption season of Ramadan, which began on April 24. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login RESTON, Va., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: LDOS) ("Leidos"), a FORTUNE 500 science and technology leader, today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Leidos, Inc. (the "Issuer"), intends to commence, subject to market and customary conditions, a private offering of senior unsecured notes (the "Notes") pursuant to Rule 144A and Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). The Notes will be the senior unsecured obligations of the Issuer and will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a senior basis by Leidos. The Notes and the related guarantee will be structurally subordinated to the liabilities of Leidos' and the Issuer's existing and future subsidiaries. The Issuer intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to pay the outstanding balance on the 364-day bridge loan facility entered into in connection with the previously announced acquisition of DYHC Inc. from the Dynetics, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Trust, and to pay related fees and expenses. The Notes and the related guarantee will be offered in the United States to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act, and outside the United States to non-United States persons in compliance with Regulation S under the Securities Act. The Notes and the related guarantee have not been registered under the Securities Act and may not be offered or sold in the United States without registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of, any securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration, qualification or exemption under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. 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 37,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Va., Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $11.09 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2020. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements The forward-looking statements contained in this release involve risks and uncertainties that may affect Leidos' operations, markets, products, services, prices and other factors as discussed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Without limiting the foregoing, forward-looking statements often use words such as "believe," "anticipate," "plan," "expect," "estimate," "intend," "seek," "project", "target," "goal," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "can," "continue" and other words of similar meaning in connection with a discussion of the transaction or future operating or financial performance or events. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, legal, governmental and technological factors. Accordingly, there is no assurance that the expectations of Leidos will be realized. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking statements. Consequences of material differences in results as compared with those anticipated in the forward-looking statements could include, among other things, business disruption, operational problems, financial loss, legal liability to third parties and similar risks, any of which could have a material adverse effect on Leidos' consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. For a discussion identifying additional important factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, see Leidos' filings with the SEC, including "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Risk Factors" in Leidos' annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 3, 2020 and subsequent quarterly report on Form 10-Q, which is available at http://www.Leidos.com and at the SEC's web site at http://www.sec.gov. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are made only as of the date of this release. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Leidos assumes no obligation to provide revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws. Media: Melissa Duenas (571) 526-6850 [email protected] Investors: Peter Berl (571) 526-7582 [email protected] SOURCE Leidos Related Links http://www.leidos.com Ada Gomez, 59, waits to be tested at a COVID-19 screening station in Watts Health Center in Los Angeles. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) In 1939, at the outset of World War II, the British writer and theologian C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) delivered a speech titled, Learning in wartime, where he said, War creates no absolutely new situation: it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. We believe the same is true about the current pandemic in relation to many core philosophical issues in medicine. The pandemic is making it harder to ignore conceptual complexities such as the evaluation of risk and the inherent uncertainties in diagnosis and treatment assessment. These issues have always operated behind the scenes of our medical system of diagnostic classifications and treatment protocols, but the public and medical personnel may be unfamiliar with the concepts behind the algorithms. Risk guides much of our medical care system. We describe diagnostic and treatment options in terms of balancing risks and benefits. Insurance structures are built on a foundation of risk-pools. People with preexisting conditions are thought of as high-risk. The concept of risk is used with little reflection on its meaning. Many view risk as a form of risky: some activities are risky (binge alcohol consumption), and others are not (walking leisurely). Patients are often categorized in terms of risk; for example, some people are considered at-risk for diabetes. Yet, risk is merely a probability and as COVID-19 is showing us, unless we have developed immunity, we are all at-risk. A patient is connected to a dialysis machine. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times) Our current medical protocols are based on risks for well-researched conditions such as cardiovascular disease. Insurance companies pay for clinical visits and laboratory evaluations when a person is categorized as at-risk for cardiovascular disease, for example after a screening test detects elevated cholesterol. Now, we are faced with reassessing the urgency for diagnosing and treating these established conditions given that COVID-19 appears to have a greater effect on life expectancy, at least in the short term. The contagious nature of the virus adds further disruption as travel to clinics or pharmacies for previously routine needs may put someone at greater risk for harm than if they had stayed at home. Clinics are actively discouraging visits to the office, seemingly destroying the previous protocols of care. Story continues The importance of any test must be viewed in the context of risk tolerance. If one tested positive for something that had no effect on quality or quantity of life, then it would be unimportant. When it comes to COVID-19, what is our risk tolerance for recommending the main treatment at this time, quarantine? A random person on the streets of New York City today is at higher risk for coronavirus infection than a person in Minneapolis. Given that both are at-risk, what is an acceptable level of risk, and does this risk vary based on ones community? When should our recommendation for restrictions on movement be increased, such as avoiding grocery stores, or decreased, such as allowing visitation with extended family members? Acceptable risk is a judgment call anchored in the assessment of risk. When the pandemic began, we might have determined a risk of 1% too high to go out in public. Now, a few months into the pandemic, a 1% risk may be viewed as lower than average and tolerable for someone to run errands. Judgment of risk may change when we know family, friends or colleagues who are suffering from the virus. As the virus spreads, behaviors that seemed atypical, such as wearing masks, may become commonplace. The concept of risk determination requires us to face the reality of uncertainty. Tests are rarely 100% accurate. Existing tests for COVID-19 appear to be falsely negative in many who have the disease. Unfortunately, we dont have independent knowledge of who does or does not have the condition; we only know who tests positive or negative. Determining the probability of illness given a test result requires some estimates, such as the probability of the condition prior to the test (which is never known precisely), and a calculation that seems to be difficult for many, including clinicians. Any test operates under the assumption of a gold standard to determine who has or does not have the condition. For immunity, is the gold standard the level of a specific antibody or the neutralizing ability of the antibodies? Theres also uncertainty in the determination of treatment effectiveness. We can never be certain of proving effectiveness, but when studies are repeated with similar findings, we become more convinced. With COVID-19, there are not long-standing studies to repeat and the studies being done have few patients, so the debates about assessing treatment effectiveness are especially relevant. Scientists around the world are conducting studies on patients at various stages of illness, and we may soon be more certain of the effectiveness of treatments beyond quarantine. Our previous medical structure was built upon disease conditions backed by decades of research. Now we are struggling with a new condition lacking previous research, and the public is witnessing decision-making based on the probability of illness, the accuracy of diagnostic tests and the likely results of treatment. Will we learn anything from our struggle to combat COVID-19, either to help us prevent another pandemic or to better address everyday medical issues? It is our fervent hope that we are, as C.S. Lewis aptly put it, learning in wartime. Brian Lugo, head of COVID-19 Response Team, holds a daily staff meeting about the coronavirus at Desert Valley Medical Group in Victorville. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Clinicians and others in public health need more training to help them understand conceptual issues behind their protocols. This will lead to better science and patient care. Furthermore, the public and our governmental leaders must recognize that medical solutions take time: Interpretations of risk include a value judgment, diagnoses are not always clear, and treatment studies need to be repeated. These lessons are important during normal times, and imperative to help us prepare for future health crises. The authors are both professors at the University of Minnesota, where they teach an undergraduate course titled, Conceptual Issues in Medicine: Disease, Diagnosis and Intervention. Alan C. Love, PhD, is in the Department of Philosophy and director of the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science. Steven D. Stovitz, MD, MS, is a physician in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. The upcoming opium harvest in Afghanistan may be hurt by virus-related labor shortages, and cocaine output in Colombia has been hit by a lack of gasoline, while production of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been slowed by shortages of precursor chemicals from Southeast Asia. The report added that lockdowns in Europe may trigger an increase in demand for marijuana that can likely be serviced by more local production. The U.S. Justice Department has asked a judge to drop the criminal charges against President Donald Trumps former national-security adviser, Michael Flynn. Flynn was among the first individuals swept up in special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into possible collusion between Russia and Trumps election campaign team in 2016. In court documents filed on May 7, the Justice Department said it is asking a judge to drop the case against Flynn following a review of all the facts and circumstances of this case. The judge must now rule on the motion. For months, Flynns lawyers have been seeking to reverse a 2017 guilty plea on charges of lying to the FBI about his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak weeks before Trump entered the White House. Flynn was fired in February 2017, having served as national-security adviser for less than a month, after it emerged he had lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with the Russian ambassador. In its filling, the Justice Department said it had concluded that Flynns January 2017 interview with the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador was untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBIs counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn. It also said that the interview was conducted without any legitimate investigative basis. The Justice Department decision was swiftly welcomed by Trump and fellow Republicans, who have long rallied around Flynn as an innocent victim of the Russia probe. He was an innocent man, Trump said of Flynn after the announcement, accusing officials from former President Barack Obama's administration of targeting the retired general. "I hope a lot of people are going to pay a big price. They're scum," he added. The Justice Department decision is likely to sharpen accusations from Trumps critics that Attorney General William Barr is politicizing the judiciary to please the president, who has repeatedly called the Russia investigation a hoax. Barr has repeatedly challenged the Russia probe. The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Jerrold Nadler, called the Justice Departments decision outrageous and vowed to investigate the matter. The evidence against General Flynn is overwhelming. He pleaded guilty to lying to investigators. And now a politicized and thoroughly corrupt Department of Justice is going to let the Presidents crony simply walk away. Americans are right to be furious and worried about the continued erosion of our rule of law, Nadler said in a statement. The Justice Department decision comes as Flynns attorneys have leveled a series of accusations about the FBIs actions, including that their client was improperly trapped into lying. As part of the attorneys' offensive against the case they asked to withdraw Flynns guilty plea. On April 30, Pence said he was more inclined to believe that Flynn had unintentionally misled him about contacts with the Russian ambassador after Flynns lawyers released new documents suggesting the FBI investigation could have been mishandled. As part of a Justice Department process launched earlier this year to examine the handling of the case, Flynns attorneys received emails and notes from the FBI investigation. One note from a senior FBI official related to internal deliberations about the aim of the Flynn interview read: Whats our goal? Truth/admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired? Other documents revealed that the FBI intended to drop its investigation into Flynn in the weeks before the January 2017 interview. However, later that month FBI officials became more concerned by Flynns conversations with the Russian ambassador as the White House insisted that Flynn had never discussed sanctions with Kislyak. In December 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about two conversations with Kislyak in December 2016 while he was still a private citizen. One encouraged Russia not to retaliate against the United States for sanctions imposed by the Obama administration over election interference. The other conversation was directed by a very senior member of the Presidential Transition Team to discuss derailing a UN Security Council Resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Flynn also admitted to lying about his lobbying activity on behalf of the Turkish government. Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, and dpa Its been a long wait for out-of-work New Jerseyans who have been hungering for news about when they will see their unemployment benefits. At Gov. Phil Murphys daily coronavirus briefing, Labor Department Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo explained the backlog of 300,000 claims and gave a timetable for some workers. People who already exhausted traditional unemployment benefits have been waiting to learn when they would be getting the 13 weeks of benefits under the expanded federal program and the answer is May 18. On May 18 we expect to start offering extended benefits to those who have exhausted (unemployment insurance) since July, Asaro-Angelo said during the briefing. When asked why there was a delay, the commissioner said the Labor Department had to get Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) the federal program that pays gig workers and the self-employed up and running first. Its a much larger universe. Its hundreds of thousands, Asaro-Angelo said. The folks who need the extension are in the tens of thousands. Thats still a large universe, obviously. All these programs have to be run and processed and programmed individually over time. We dont want to put the system at risk by putting them all in there at the same time, he said. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage The news was met with mixed reviews among those who are waiting for benefits. May 18 is unacceptable, said David Baggiano, an unemployed restaurant worker who lives in Haddon Heights. That would be a four-month wait since my unemployment benefits ran out on Feb. 18. Others were more understanding and just happy to have a target to shoot for. I am relieved to know I may be eligible for extended unemployment benefits starting May 18, theres a safety net there while I continue to search for gainful employment during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Kimberly Williams of Fair Lawn, who lost her job as a web editor and said she watched the briefings every day. Gov. Murphy has worked hard to make sure no one is left behind during this pandemic. The state announced Thursday that more than one million workers have filed for unemployment benefits since the pandemic began. New Jersey has processed claims for 700,000 unemployed, underemployed and furloughed residents totaling $1.9 billion, the state said. NJ Advance Media staff writer Matt Arco contributed to this report. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Karin Price Mueller may be reached at bamboozled@njadvancemedia.com. Sugar mills have exported 33.49 lakh tonnes of sweetener so far in the current marketing year ending September, with help from government's financial assistance, a trade association said on Thursday. Mills have contracted to export 42 lakh tonnes of sugar so far as against 60 the lakh tonnes quota assigned by Food Ministry, the All India Sugar Trade Association (AISTA) said in a statement. With five months still left for 2019-20 marketing year to end, the association feels the mills have the potential to fulfil their exports commitments. Sugar marketing year runs from October to September. According to AISTA, mills exported 33,49,132 tonnes of sugar from October 1, 2019 till May 4, 2020. India exported sugar to 60 countries, but around 60 per cent of the total shipments were to Iran, Somalia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. The government has allowed export of 60 lakh tonnes of sugar under Maximum Admissible Export Quota (MAEQ) during 2019-20 marketing year to liquidate surplus sugar in global markets. The country had exported 38 lakh tonnes of sugar during 2018-19 marketing year. The Centre has also taken various steps to help sugar mills clear cane dues. It has created buffer stocks of 40 lakh tonnes of sugar, costing Rs 1,674 crore to the exchequer. Besides, assistance of Rs 6,268 crore is being provided to help mills export 60 lakh tonnes of sugar. The government is also encouraging diversion of excess sugarcane and sugar to produce ethanol for blending with petrol. According to the Food Ministry, sugar production is estimated at 273 lakh tonnes in 2019-20 as against domestic consumption of 260 lakh tonnes. In the previous year, sugar output was 331 lakh tonnes as compared to 259 lakh tonnes domestic demand. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iraq's then-President Jalal Talabani is seen during a meeting with Iraqi politician Mustafa al-Kadhimi in the heavily fortified Green Zone area in Baghdad, Iraq, on Oct. 30, 2005. (Ali Haider-Pool/Getty Images) Iraqi Lawmakers Approve Government of Prime Minister-Designate Kadhimi BAGHDADIraqi lawmakers approved a new government on May 7 after six months without one as parties squabbled until the last minute over Cabinet seats in backroom deals. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Iraqs intelligence chief and a former journalist, will head the new government. He will begin his term without a full Cabinet, however, after several ministerial candidates were rejected. It remains unclear who replace him as head of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service. Read More Iraqi President Threatens to Quit in Defiance of Irans Allies in Parliament U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed Kadhimi and his new government in a call, the U.S. State Department said in a statement. It also said Washington would renew for 120 days a waiver allowing Iraq to import electricity from Iran to help provide the right conditions for success of the new government. The State Department also said it was looking forward to the upcoming U.S.-Iraq strategic dialogue to work together to provide the Iraqi people the prosperity and security they deserve. Former Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, who had been leading a caretaker government, resigned last year as anti-government protesters took to the streets in their thousands, demanding jobs and the departure of foreign influence, such as from the Iranian regime, of Iraqs ruling elite. They accuse the political class, which took over after the chaos of the 2003 U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, of corruption that has driven the country into dysfunction and economic ruin. The battle over government portfolios since Abdul Mahdis resignation in November 2019 prevented two previous nominees for prime minister from forming a Cabinet. Kadhimis candidates for Cabinet posts including interior, defense, finance, and electricity passed with votes from a majority of lawmakers present. Voting on the oil and foreign ministries was delayed as the parties failed to agree on candidates. They rejected the incoming premiers picks for justice, agriculture, and trade. The security, stability and blossoming of Iraq is our path, Kadhimi wrote on his Twitter account after parliament voted for his Cabinet. He said he would make tackling the coronavirus pandemic, of which Iraq has suffered more than 2,000 cases and more than 100 deaths, a priority and hold to account those who had killed protesters in previous months of anti-government unrest. Iraqi officials say Kadhimi is acceptable to both the United States and Iran, whose battle for influence over Iraq has boiled into open confrontation in the past year. Multiple Challenges The United States killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and his close ally Iraqi paramilitary leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, backed by Tehran, in a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport in January, in response to an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad by Iran-backed militias. Rockets have regularly been fired near the U.S. embassy and international Green Zone in Baghdad, with the latest attack reported on May 6. None of the rocket attacks have been claimed by known Iran-backed groups. 3 Katyusha rockets were launched toward the military part of Baghdad International airport, no casualties, the prison guards cafeteria was hit and a water tanker was damaged. pic.twitter.com/bTUDR5Oblq Steven Nabil (@thestevennabil) May 6, 2020 Kadhimis government must deal with an impending economic crisis precipitated by the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused the prices of oilIraqs principal source of revenueto plummet. It also faces a growing ISIS insurgency as the Islamic extremist group steps up attacks on government troops from hideouts in remote areas of northern Iraq. By Ahmed Rasheed and John Davison. Epoch Times staff contributed to this report. Technavio has been monitoring the calcium nitrate market and it is poised to grow by USD 2.67 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 4% 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/20200506005876/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Calcium Nitrate 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 concentrated, and the degree of concentration will accelerate during the forecast period. AKO KASEI Co.Ltd., Noah Technologies Corp., Nutrien Ltd., San Corp., Sasol Ltd., Shanxi Dongxing Co. Ltd., Spectrum Chemical Manufacturing Corp., Sterling Chemicals, Wentong Potassium Salt Group Co. Ltd., and Yara International ASA are some of the major market participants. The increasing demand for fertilizers 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 demand for fertilizers has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. Calcium Nitrate Market 2020-2024: Segmentation Calcium Nitrate Market is segmented as below: Application Fertilizers Wastewater Treatment Explosives Concrete Others Geography APAC North America Europe South America MEA 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=IRTNTR43326 Calcium Nitrate 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 calcium nitrate market report covers the following areas: Calcium Nitrate Market Size Calcium Nitrate Market Trends Calcium Nitrate Market Industry Analysis This study identifies growth in the concrete industry as one of the prime reasons driving the calcium nitrate market growth during the next few years. Calcium Nitrate Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the calcium nitrate market, including some of the vendors such as AKO KASEI Co.Ltd., Noah Technologies Corp., Nutrien Ltd., San Corp., Sasol Ltd., Shanxi Dongxing Co. Ltd., Spectrum Chemical Manufacturing Corp., Sterling Chemicals, Wentong Potassium Salt Group Co. Ltd., and Yara International ASA. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the calcium nitrate 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. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Calcium Nitrate Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024 Detailed information on factors that will assist calcium nitrate market growth during the next five years Estimation of the calcium nitrate market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the calcium nitrate market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of calcium nitrate market vendors Table Of Contents: Executive Summary Market Landscape Market Sizing Five Forces Analysis Market Segmentation by Product Customer Landscape Geographic Landscape Vendor Landscape Vendor Analysis Appendix 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/20200506005876/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ Firefighters disinfect the canteen in Wuhan No. 23 Middle School in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, April 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) BEIJING, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Wednesday chaired a leadership meeting on improving systems for regular epidemic prevention and control. The meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee heard a report from the central guiding group for novel coronavirus prevention and control. The guiding group, under the firm leadership of the CPC Central Committee and with the great support of the people across the country, fought side by side with people in Hubei Province and its capital city Wuhan, Xi said. Xi said that the group had spared no effort to curb the spread of the virus and worked hard to build a strong first line of defense, making important contributions to winning the people's war against the epidemic. He said the spread of the virus overseas has not been effectively curbed yet and cluster cases were reported in a few areas in China, posing considerable uncertainty to the epidemic control. Senior students walk through a temperature measuring station to enter Hubei Wuchang Experimental High School in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, May 6, 2020. (Xinhua/Xiong Qi) The epidemic prevention and control measures in Hubei should not be relaxed, Xi said. The CPC Central Committee has decided to dispatch a liaison group to better support the follow-up epidemic prevention and control work in Hubei and Wuhan, Xi said. He called for unremitting efforts in all aspects of work to consolidate epidemic control achievements. Xi also urged the implementation of a series of policies to promote the economic and social development of Hubei and help the province accelerate resuming normal life and work. The meeting required improving the medical and healthcare structure, reforming the disease prevention and control system, raising epidemic monitoring and early warning capabilities, strengthening public health emergency laws and regulations, and enhancing the response and treatment systems for major epidemics and public health emergencies. Efforts should also be made to overhaul the urban and rural sanitary conditions, improve public health facilities, popularize health knowledge among the public and promote a healthy and environmentally friendly lifestyle, according to the meeting. 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. Opening up liquor shops recently by the Government is a shot in the arm for the economy, bringing in some much needed revenues to the Government coffers. Prabhtej Singh Bhatia, CEO and Co-founder, Simba Beer, is upbeat about the revival of the economy. He stresses on businesses being empathetic towards their workforce in order to increase productivity while they work remotely. What steps are you and your organisation taking to help out the society at large or those engaged in the war against COVID-19? The wake of COVID-19 has brought with it several challenges that we as a nation have to stand strong against to overcome together. During these uncertain times, each individual at this point needs to play a key role by doing their bit for the society and support those who have taken the beating of this pandemic. While health and hygiene are the forerunners in this war, things like disinfectants, cleansers and masksare becoming hard to chase. To ensure the safety and security of the people, Simba has taken the initiative to provide 9,000 pieces of sanitizers free of cost to those in need. The overwhelming response towards the first batch has encouraged us to produce another batch of 10,000 sanitizers. How are you keeping your employees motivated and encouraging them to give their best, even as they are working from home? These tough times have given us an opportunity to grow, to think ahead, think back and think deep. This has allowed us to focus on long term as well as see a bigger picture. As work from home emerges as the new normal, we are conducting daily sessions through video or audio conferences with different teams to stay connected, stay updated on real time basis and stay motivated. By brainstorming a little everyday over our previous performance, we are building on strategies for the near future with the aim of yielding more successful results. Our employees are our brand ambassadors and it is of utmost importance to keep them informed and aware so that they can make rational decisions for themselves and their families. We have even shared online guides and short tutorials with our employees on topics such as using online conferencing tools, balancing work and home and safety guidelines for COVID-19. Once a week we host also a game night or trivia night to encourage healthy competition among employees and keep their morale high. What is most needed in challenging times such as these? (a) From the general public The need of the hour is to follow the advisory given by the Government and stay at home to follow social distancing. Besides balancing the work and home environment, it is essential to stay fit and healthy. Moreover, with the rise in the number of people dealing with lockdown blues, it important to distress by pursuing or developing a hobby, spending quality time with your family and taking time off from the virtual word. Additionally, give priority to taking care of and supporting your community. (b) From the authorities The Government authorities have put their best foot forward and are doing the best they can to encompass the nation with care, shelter and hospitality. We appreciate all the initiatives and steps taken to protect us all, be it the police, the doctor and even the service providers. Due to the pandemic, the companies, especially the start-ups, are facing a downturn and are seeking economic support, which will help these companies to revive once again. New initiatives and policies that will allow our in-house budding entrepreneurs to invest in our country will be a game-changer. (c) From business leaders Business leaders need to take their employees under their wings and be empathetic towards them. It is important to build the confidence of those around them to keep them motivated. We need to pave the way for a better and brighter future. After this pandemic is over, we will all evolve as strong beings with higher degree of endurance and resilience. Also Read: #FightBackCorona: Well take the plunge once the dust settles: Vinod Kumar Gupta #FightBackCorona: Theres a lot of unlearning & reskilling required: Navin Khemka A manhunt is underway in the Florida Keys for a 17-year-old boy who is suspected of stabbing to death his younger brother and wounding his father at their home early Thursday morning. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office received a call at around 6am from a resident at the Executive Bay Club townhomes in Islamorada, reporting that he was approached by his neighbor Ariel Poholek asking for help. Poholek, 43, reportedly told the neighbor that earlier this morning, his 17-year-old son, Daniel Weisberger, 17, fatally stabbed his 14-year-old brother, Pascal, and then attacked the father, inflicting multiple wounds, including in the neck. Wanted: A manhunt is underway in Islamorada, Florida, for Daniel Weisberger, 17 (left), who is suspected of killing his younger brother, Pascal, and injuring their father, Ari Poholek (right) The grisly incident took place at the Executive Bay Club townhomes in Islamorada (pictured) Pascal Weisberger was pronounced dead at the scene from his injuries. Poholek was airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center in Miami, where he remained hospitalized as of late Thursday morning. There was no word on his condition. According to the sheriff's office, it is unclear what spurred the teen to attack his brother and father. Weisberger fled the scene sometime after his father went to his neighbor for help. Law enforcement officials are currently scouring the area with K-9 dogs and helicopters in search of the 17-year-old. The sheriff's office described the wanted suspect as armed and dangerous. The agency is asking for the public's help in finding him. Anyone who comes across Weisberger is being urged to call 911 immediately. Pascal Weisberger, 14, was stabbed inside his family's home and died at the scene According to his LinkedIn page, Poholek is a fisheries biologist with the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries. His Facebook page is filled with photos showing himself and son Pascal on fishing and diving trips. His most recent post, dated May 1 and titled 'Sunday Funday Fishing,' included images from his latest outing with his younger son and a friend on Key Largo. Law enforcement officials and family acquaintances told Miami Herald the older son, Daniel, had a history with the juvenile justice system. Michelle Brinie, who knew Poholek through his involvement with the Boy Scouts, said Daniel had a reputation as a troubled teen known for acting out. Unlike his older brother, 14-year-old Pascal was studious and polite, she said. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Kazakh counterpart, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, discussed measures to combat the coronavirus, the Kremlin said in a statement on Thursday, UrduPoint reports. "The measures taken in Russia and Kazakhstan to combat the coronavirus epidemic and its consequences were discussed. The importance of further close coordination of actions in this area was noted. It was agreed to continue contacts," the statement says. The two leaders also exchanged congratulations on the upcoming 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the Kremlin added. The main gate to the Cedar Meats Australia abattoir in Melbourne, Australia on May 4, 2020. (WILLIAM WEST/Getty Images) Federal Government Wants Answers From State For Abattoir Outbreak The federal government has called for greater transparency from the Victorian government about the CCP virus outbreak at Cedar Meats Australia as 62 people with ties to the abattoir have now tested positive for COVID-19. Speaking on 3AW radio on May 7, Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud said he was troubled by the outbreak because it involved meat processing factories that are essential to Australias food security and supply chains. Littleproud said he was concerned by the protocols around the incident and had launched an investigation. Victoria Health notified his department about the outbreak on April 30, a few days after his department had already found out through gossip. So its important that there is transparency and swift action in notifying, particularly those that come into contact, so that we dont spread this virus, he said. The Victorian Labor government and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) did not name Cedar Meats Australia when first disclosing the outbreak, despite previously naming a school during another outbreak. This decision has since been criticised by Liberal opposition leader Michael OBrien. OBrien wrote on Twitter on May 5: Is this the same meatworks that Daniel Andrews tried to keep secret despite naming schools, hospitals and aged care homes? Is this the same meatworks that donated $15,000 to Labor just before Daniel Andrews became Premier? You know the answer Is this the same meatworks that Daniel Andrews tried to keep secret despite naming schools, hospitals and aged care homes? Is this the same meatworks that donated $15,000 to Labor just before Daniel Andrews became Premier? You know the answer #springst https://t.co/P2flMwxApZ Michael OBrien (@michaelobrienmp) May 5, 2020 In a media release (pdf) by Cedar Meats on May 5 the company said that it had first been made aware of an infected worker on April 27, and about the outbreak on April 29. However, the Victorian DHHS confirmed a worker at Cedar Meats tested positive on April 2. A second and third case was also discovered on April 24 and April 25 when a worker got tested for unrelated reasons. Speaking to 3AW on May 6, Victorias Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the DHHS ruled out the possibility the worker could have infected others because they had not been at the facility for weeks beforehand. He was also jailed in his early 20s when he punched a man he believed had sexually assaulted his sister. The victim in that case was left in a coma. Loading Following the sentence in the Supreme Court on Thursday, Ms Blackwood's family released a statement thanking police. "On behalf of Kylies family, we would like to thank the homicide squad and everyone involved with the case for their persistence and efforts to get a result," they said. "After 6 years we have some closure but it does not bring our daughter back. Kylie was a dearly loved daughter, wife, sister, mother and friend. "We hope that the parole system will be more accountable for whom they release in the future. The Prohaska family also released a statement thanking the police and armed crime squad for their "tireless efforts". "[Ms Prohaska] is happy with the sentence imposed and happy that the matter is now finalised," they said. The families watched the sentence via live-stream due to coronavirus restrictions. During sentencing, Justice Jane Dixon said Murdoch's offending involved a degree of pre-planning and that he "selected the homes and then went into those homes prepared to inflict serious violence on the occupants". "Ms Prohaska was stripped of her capacity to enjoy life. You did that," she said. "Kylie Blackwood lost her life and her husband lost a loving wife. Her children lost a devoted mother. Her daughters are irrevocably scarred by the experience of finding their mother's body. You did that. Family and friends of Kylie Blackwood leave the Supreme Court in August last year. Credit:Joe Armao "Your actions have left a path of devastation across many lives." She said the ferocity of the attacks and Murdoch's criminal history meant prominence had to be placed on deterrence and denunciation of the crimes. "The fact that both victims were attacked while you were on parole shows that your previous time in custody was not effective in reforming you," she said. "Crimes such as these propagate understandable fear and outrage in the community. An image of the man police were looking for at the time of Kylie Blackwood's murder. "Each of the victims was caught off guard by your intrusion into their homes and had no chance of escaping your cowardly attack," she said. Prosecutors earlier this year called for Murdoch to be jailed for the rest of his life despite pleading guilty, because his offending was so grave, his criminal history so serious and because he had shown no remorse. Michael Cardamone, who in January 2016 imprisoned neighbour Karen Chetcuti and burnt her alive, is the only person in Victoria ordered to never be released despite pleading guilty to murder and never having killed before. However, on Thursday, Justice Dixon said she had decided to fix a non-parole period due to Murdoch's guilty plea. Kylie Blackwood's family say she was a "dearly loved daughter, wife, sister, mother and friend". Credit:Nine News "Having carefully considered the competing submissions on whether a non-parole period should be fixed, an important factor influencing my decision is the public interest in encouraging offenders charged with very grave crimes to accept responsibility in open court by pleading guilty," she said. The number of coronavirus positive cases in Ahmedabad district of Gujarat reached 4,991 on Thursday after 275 new cases were reported during the last 24 hours, said officials. As many as 23 more COVID-19 patients died during the same period, taking the toll to 321, they said. These 4,991 cases in Ahmedabad district form a major chunk of the total 7,013 positive cases reported in Gujarat till now. Out of the 4,991 cases detected in Ahmedabad district till now, as many as 4,909 were found in Ahmedabad city alone. Out of the 29 persons who died in Gujarat due to the viral infection in the last 24 hours, 23 took place in different hospitals in Ahmedabad city, said Principal Secretary, Health, Jayanti Ravi. Earlier on May 6, Ahmedabad civic authorities had ordered closure of all shops, except those providing milk and medicines, till May 15 to contain the spread of the virus. Out of the total 425 persons who have died so far across the state due to COVID-19, as many as 321 belonged to Ahmedabad alone. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kigali, May 7 (UNI) Flash floods, induced by heavy rainfall, has ravaged dozens of homes across Rwanda, killing at least 55 people, the nation's public broadcaster claimed on Thursday. The Rwanda Broadcasting Agency quoted the Emergency Ministry's figures, which said that floods have destroyed 91 homes and damaged roads, besides washing away five bridges. Rain-induced disasters have been common across eastern Africa of late, as more than 100 people died in Kenya due to heavy downpour, while severe damage to property has been reported in Uganda and Somalia. UNI XC RKM RJ 2040 Find all our Lessons of the Day here. Lesson Overview Featured Article: Irish Return an Old Favor, Helping Native Americans Battling the Virus by Ed OLoughlin and Mihir Zaveri In 1847 the Choctaw people sent 170 dollars to help during the Irish potato famine. Irish donors are citing that gesture as they help two Native American tribes during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this lesson, you will learn about a unique bond between Native Americans and the Irish born of tragedy and shared suffering more than a century and a half ago. In a Going Further activity, you will consider ways to pay it forward to others during this pandemic. Warm Up What acts of kindness have you heard about or participated in during the coronavirus pandemic? What acts of generosity have you heard about in your community or anywhere else in which someone has helped others during the coronavirus crisis? Who was on the receiving end of those acts? How do you think the person or people in the helping role may also have benefited from the experience? What experiences have you had in your life with volunteering, donating or otherwise assisting others? Do you think the act of giving was beneficial to you in any way? If so, how? Have you heard the term paying it forward, in which a person who has been the recipient of a generous act does a similar kindness for someone else, often a stranger? When have you been the recipient of kindness from a stranger? When have you done something generous for someone you didnt know? Do you think there is truth in the adage its better to give than to receive? Explain. Questions for Writing and Discussion Read the article, then answer the following questions: 1. Why are Irish people giving to a charity drive for two Native American tribes suffering in the Covid-19 pandemic? What is the connection between the people of these geographically distant nations? A t least nine people have been killed and hundreds were rushed to hospital after a chemical gas leak in southern India. Many of those hurt complained of breathing difficulties and a burning sensation in the eyes following the incident on Thursday in Andhra Pradesh, with some falling unconscious. Officials said nine people had died, more than 300 were taken to hospital and more than 1,000 were evacuated from nearby areas. Styrene leaked from the plant during the early hours of the morning, when families in the surrounding villages were asleep, authorities said. "Hundreds of people have inhaled it and either fell unconscious or having breathing issues," Srijana Gummalla, Commissioner, Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation said on Twitter. Some 1,500 people had been evacuated, mostly from a neighbouring village, officials said. Areas within an approximately 3-kilometre (nearly 2-mile) radius of the plant were vulnerable, the municipal corporation said in a tweet. Cross-referencing maps of the affected area, there is at least one coronavirus containment zone in the neighbourhood. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he had spoken to officials from the federal home ministry and the National Disaster Management Authority, who were monitoring the situation. "I pray for everyones safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam," Modi said in a tweet. The LG Polymers plant makes polystyrene products, according to a company website, which are used in manufacturing electric fan blades, cups and cutlery and containers for cosmetic products such as make up. The raw material, styrene, is highly flammable and releases a poisonous gas when burnt. South Korean battery maker LG Chemical Ltd, the owner of the facility, was not immediately available for comment. The incident evoked memories of a gas leak at an factory of US chemical firm Union Carbide that killed thousands in the central Indian city of Bhopal in 1984. OTTAWAIts not the front line they signed up for. Its not even a deployment they prepared for. But for some 1,500 Canadian military personnel, their mission now is helping care for elderly residents in long-term-care homes hit hard by COVID-19. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan conceded Thursday that the deployment to facilities in Ontario and Quebec is not a typical Canadian Armed Forces operation. They will do whatever they can to help health-care providers in these long-term-care facilities maintain the health and well-being of vulnerable Canadians, Sajjan said. Canadians needed their service and they have stepped up. Working around the clock, the military tasks in the homes range from personal care and ensuring residents have the necessities of life to more routine roles, such as delivering food. And from all accounts, from what I've seen is the Canadian Armed Forces have been very proud to do this work, Sajjan said. The military had been on standby to provide assistance in the pandemic. It deployed to the homes following requests from Quebec and Ontario for help staffing long-term-care homes, which have become COVID-19 hot zones with widespread deaths and illness. In Ontario, some 265 military medical and support personnel are working in five facilities across the Greater Toronto region. Just over 1,000 troops are deployed to 20 facilities in Quebec, with 670 medical and support personnel working in the homes while another 350 provide support, such as deliveries of protective equipment. That operation is expected to increase to 1,350 personnel and 25 homes in the coming days. The military stressed that its work is meant as a interim measure to help Ontario and Quebec get through a critical situation over the short term. Gen. Jonathan Vance, the chief of defence staff, said the personnel work in teams that include two senior medical personnel, such as registered nurses, up to seven medical technicians and several dozen soldiers who help with routine tasks. You should think in terms of orderly-type functions: moving equipment, helping with logistics on the inside, cleaning and food service, duties not associated with the intimate medical care of an individual, Vance told a briefing. He said the personal care of residents would be done by military medical personnel, with the support troops available if help is needed to move someone. There are no tasks being done by non-medical people that should have a medical person doing it, Vance said. The deployment has turned a spotlight on the militarys limited medical capacity. Sajjan said the military is pulling in all of our medical personnel into this fight but conceded that has meant stripping military bases down to the bare bones. In terms of our capacity to provide that level of support ... we have a limited number of Canadian Armed Forces medical personnel, Sajjan said, adding that the militarys medical system is only designed to look after Canadian Forces members. We are literally going full out in our capability to do this. He said the question of whether the military needs an expanded medical capability would be looked at once the crisis passes. I think no one in Canada or even the world ... would think that we would be in an environment like this, and we will do our necessary lessons learned on this pandemic, just like our entire government will do to making sure that we have the right support for Canadians, Sajjan said. These discussions we will have at the appropriate time. Sajjan refused to say how many, if any, personnel had come down with COVID-19, citing operational security reasons. In this April 4, 2019, photo Tara Reade poses for a photo during an interview with The Associated Press in Nevada City, Calif. The woman who says presumed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993 called on him to withdraw from the 2020 election in a new interview, as she also declared that she would be willing to testify under oath and take a polygraph "if Joe Biden takes one." The woman, Tara Reade, also has retained a law firm that represents women who claim that they were victims of convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein, the fallen movie mogul whose serial abuse of women sparked the #MeToo movement, that firm announced. Reade said in an interview with journalist Megyn Kelly that she wanted to tell Biden, who strongly denies her claim, "You and I were there, Joe Biden. Please step forward and be held accountable.' " "You should not be running on character for the president of the United States," Reade said in a brief portion of the interview posted Thursday on Twitter by Kelly, a former host of NBC's "TODAY" show. Asked by Kelly if she wants Biden to quit the race for the White House, Reade said, "I wish he would, but he won't." "But I wish he would," she said. "That's how I feel emotionally." Twitter Asked if she wants an apology from Biden, Reade answered, "I think it's a little late." In another section of the interview tweeted by Kelly, Reade said that she "absolutely" would be willing to testify under oath, and be subjected to cross-examination, about her claims regarding Biden. She also said that she would be willing to take a polygraph, although she questioned the need for her to do so. "I'm not a criminal. Joe Biden should take the polygraph," Reade said. "What kind of precedent does that set for survivors of violence? Does that mean we're presumed guilty and we all have to take polygraphs?" Reade asked. "So I will take one if Joe Biden takes one," she added. "But I'm not a criminal." Tweet In an interview with Tampa Bay News 9 on Thursday, Biden was asked to react to Reade's interview and her call for him to drop his bid to unseat President Donald Trump. Biden said that "nothing ever happened with Reade." The New York firm Wigdor LLP said in a statement Thursday that it had been retained by Reade as legal counsel. "We at Wigdor LLP firmly believe that every survivor of sexual assault has the right to competent legal counsel, and we will represent Ms. Reade zealously, just as we would any other victim of sexual violence," said the statement issued by Douglas Wigdor, the firm's name partner. Biden, who served as vice president from 2009 through 2017, last week in an extensive interview denied Reade's claim that he assaulted his then-Senate staffer against her will in the 1993 when she allegedly was giving him a gym bag in a hallway on Capitol Hill. "I'm saying unequivocally that it never, never happened," Biden said in an interview last Friday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." Biden in that interview had referred to "the full and growing record of inconsistencies" in Reade's accusations and said: "They aren't true. This never happened." Wigdor, in his statement, said, "Ms. Reade will be heard shortly in an interview conducted by Megyn Kelly and produced by Richard McHugh, and she will describe to the American public what happened to her." "Her harrowing account is credible and supported by numerous 'outcry' witnesses from decades ago." McHugh is a former NBC News producer who worked with journalist and author Ronan Farrow on an expose of Weinstein's sexual misconduct, which Farrow ultimately published in The New Yorker after NBC declined to air his work. Reade rattled Biden's presidential campaign in March with an interview on a podcast in which she said that Biden pinned her against a wall and penetrated her with his finger in a hallway when he was a senator from Delaware. Reade's brother and a former neighbor have said that she discussed details of the alleged assault with them in the 1990s. But a number of people who worked in Biden's Senate office at the same time as Reade have said that her claims do not jibe with their own experience working for him. CNBC reported Thursday that Republican groups are aiming to use the sexual assault allegations against Biden in their battle with Democrats in key Senate races in this year's campaign. The GOP organizations argue that Democrats are applying a different standard to Biden than they did to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he was accused of sexual assault by Christine Blasey Ford during his Senate confirmation process. Kavanaugh denied Ford's claims. Wigdor's statement also said, "It is inevitable that partisan politics will lead people to attack our firm and Mr. Wigdor specifically, particularly given his support of Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign." "However, any objective view of Mr. Wigdor's career and the history of the Firm (which is comprised of partners, lawyers and staff from all political parties) belie such a false narrative and make clear that our representation is simply a continuation of our objective support of all legitimate victims," the email said. TUV Rheinland continued to grow in the 2019 fiscal year: The international testing service provider's revenues climbed above the EUR 2 billion mark for the first time, totaling EUR 2.085 billion in the past year. This represents an increase of EUR 87 million, or 4.4%. At EUR 135.6 million, the operating result (EBIT) was slightly lower than in 2018 (EUR 137.5 million). The EBIT margin for the past fiscal year was 6.5%. The number of employees worldwide increased, reaching an average of 21,441 full-time equivalents over the course of 2019. This corresponds to an increase of 991, or 4.8%, relative to the previous year. Investments stood at EUR 70 million. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005709/en/ TUV Rheinland: Group Figures 2019 (Graphic: Business Wire) "We are quite satisfied with our revenue growth. In the past years, we were able to increase both sales and earnings. This is also our goal for the coming years after overcoming the Corona crisis," said Dr. Michael Fubi, CEO of TUV Rheinland AG, during the presentation of the annual results. Against the backdrop of the current coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Fubi is confident only in the medium term: TUV Rheinland is currently negatively impacted by the coronavirus crisis in various countries. This is no longer confined to cases where it is not possible to provide services such as holding in-person seminars at the academy in Germany or for vehicle testing in Spain. Customers in almost all countries and industries are now severely affected by the consequences of the pandemic, so that an overall decline in sales is to be expected. In Germany, the company is using the tool of reduced working hours in several areas for this reason. From a mid-term perspective, TUV Rheinland considers itself very well positioned. Dr. Fubi: "Our business model is and will remain compelling: As TUV Rheinland, we serve as a guarantor for quality and safety. Suspending safety-related tests for several weeks is understandable and acceptable. However, going without testing indefinitely for industrial systems, power stations, vehicles, IT infrastructure or elevators is not an option. Many of our services are relevant to our lives and our economy. The present crisis can do nothing to change this." Financial Position and Investments TUV Rheinland's equity increased by EUR 5.3 million from EUR 412.2 million to EUR 417.5 million in 2019. Positive cash flow from operating activities totaled EUR 221.1 million in the 2019 fiscal year (2018: EUR 183 million). Investments, not including company acquisitions, stood at EUR 70 million in 2019. These investments focused on various software and digitization projects, the expansion of testing capacity and the expansion and modernization of testing laboratories. TUV Rheinland invested more than EUR 11 million in equipping the worldwide testing network with wireless communication technology. Performance in Germany and Internationally The German home market accounted for 53.4% of TUV Rheinland's total revenues in 2019, with the other regions contributing 46.6% accordingly. Revenues in Germany grew by EUR 4 million, totaling EUR 1.113 billion in 2019. Outside of Germany, revenues for 2019 developed more rapidly than in previous years, reaching EUR 972 million compared with EUR 889 million in 2018. As in the past, the Greater China region accounted for the largest share of international business and contributed roughly 17% of the Group's total revenues. The India, Middle East and Africa region once again registered particularly strong revenue growth in 2019. The company's internationality is also reflected by its employees: in 2019, 57.5% of the company's 21,441 employees were based outside of Germany. In Germany, TUV Rheinland employed an annual average of 9,082 full-time equivalents in 2019, just under 290 more employees than in the previous year. Outside of Germany, the number of employees increased by 700 to a current total of 12,359. Development of Business Streams Since the beginning of this year, TUV Rheinland has divided its global testing and certification business into five business streams. The Cybersecurity business, which was previously operated in the former business stream Digital Transformation Cybersecurity, has now been integrated into the Industrial Services business stream. The background for this decision is the fact that networked production facilities are increasingly being targeted by attacks, often with severe economic consequences. Under the new structure, TUV Rheinland is even more efficiently combining expertise in the functional safety of industrial systems with the knowledge and experience of more than 600 cybersecurity specialists worldwide. This newly-created Industrial Services Cybersecurity business stream made the largest contribution to revenue in 2019 with roughly EUR 597.5 million, representing revenue growth of EUR 32 million.Outstanding performance was recorded in areas such as the inspection of industrial plants. TUV Rheinland also recorded substantially higher revenues from inspection and certification for electrical engineering and building technology. Internationally, momentum for growth came from the Greater China and Asia-Pacific regions in particular. In the Mobility business stream, revenues increased by EUR 27 million to reach a totalof EUR 558.9 million in 2019. TUV Rheinland conducts vehicle inspections in Germany, France, Spain, Latvia and Chile. In Spain, the company significantly expanded its network of stations for periodical technical inspections of vehicles through the acquisition of Certio in summer 2019 with twelve additional inspection stations in Catalonia and on Menorca. The revenue trend in Product Testing, the second-largest business stream, was good once againin 2019. Revenues in this area totaled EUR 570.1 million, corresponding to revenue growth of 5.5% or just under EUR 30 million. This increase is attributable to factors including excellent revenue performance in China and the Asia-Pacific region. Following internal restructuring, the Academy Life Care business stream now also encompasses the guidance of companies and organizations into the digital future the key word here being digital transformation. Viewed according to the previous structure, revenues increased by just under EUR 24 million in 2019 to reach a total of EUR 250 million; under the new structure, the business stream generated overall revenues of EUR 298.3 million. The training and education business in Germany registered strong growth once again. The Systemsbusiness stream including the certification of management systems generated revenues of EUR 221.1 million in 2019, an increase of 4.2%. In this area, good performance was recorded in the business from audits of suppliers on behalf of major customers, known as supply chain audits. This is also one of the strategic growth areas of TUV Rheinland. Importance of Safety in Everyday Life Increases It is not yet possible to accurately measure the extent of the coronavirus pandemic's impact on the business of TUV Rheinland in 2020. Two trends important for TUV Rheinland are foreseeable. One is digitalization, which is advancing significantly in business and society at an international level due to the current pandemic. TUV Rheinland has already invested heavily in digitalization in past years, particularly in the area of developing relevant services and solutions for companies and customers. An additional EUR 15 million were invested in future-oriented subjects and digitalization in 2019, in particular in the implementation of One SAP on HANA, the largest IT project in recent decades. Significant investments were also made to establish a new digital platform for customers in the Products business stream. Services in the area of professional qualifications, continuing education and seminars will increasingly be provided via e-learning courses or in the TUV Rheinland "virtual Academy". For audits and upcoming tests, TUV Rheinland has developed remote audits wherever possible in coordination with regulatory authorities and customers and is carrying these out. The motivation for these measures is that TUV Rheinland anticipates that certain areas of business and working life will be permanently changed by the coronavirus pandemic, and that there is no going back to the old "normal". Dr. Michael Fubi believes that an additional effect of the coronavirus crisis lies in the perception of safety: "I am convinced that safety remains a basic human need. In fact, I imagine that our view of safety will change. What do I mean by that? It is well possible that, after the crisis, everyone of us will put on our 'TUV glasses' in everyday life more than before. To put it another way, the crisis is increasing awareness of health and safety in everyday life." A current representative survey by Civey confirms this assessment: On behalf of TUV Rheinland, the Berlin-based opinion research institute asked 2,500 people in Germany in mid-April 2020 how the coronavirus pandemic has affected their personal views of the importance of independent safety testing. 26.9% of survey participants stated that the importance of safety had increased for them; 62% reported that it was unchanged, and it decreased for 11.2% of respondents. Sustainability Remains a Global Challenge In the medium term, TUV Rheinland also assumes that other global developments that have been pushed somewhat out of public attention currently will move more sharply into focus again. This particularly includes the major topic of sustainability. Dr. Fubi: "Sustainability is much more than just climate and global warming, even if the climate crisis will not disappear because of Corona. Above all, sustainable supply chains are a prerequisite for a changed sustainable economy. The massive collapse of the global economy is expected to cost more than a hundred million jobs worldwide. Against this backdrop, it will be very important to promote sustainability if, at the same time, millions of new jobs have to be created, especially in emerging markets. Preserving ecosystems remains one of humanity's greatest challenges. Our sector of testing service providers, the TIC industry, is called upon to make its contribution to this. This corresponds exactly to our mission statement: We firmly believe that social and technological progress are inextricably linked, and that technology must benefit humanity. A fundamental prerequisite for this is safety, which is the top priority of TUV Rheinland today and will remain so in the future." About TUV Rheinland TUV Rheinland stands for safety and quality in almost all areas of business and life. Founded almost 150 years ago, the company is one of the world's leading testing service providers with more than 20,000 employees and annual revenues of 2 billion euros. TUV Rheinland's highly qualified experts test technical systems and products around the world, support innovations in technology and business, train people in numerous professions and certify management systems according to international standards. In doing so, the independent experts generate trust in products as well as processes across global value-adding chains and the flow of commodities. Since 2006, TUV Rheinland has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact to promote sustainability and combat corruption. Website: www.tuv.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005709/en/ Contacts: Phoenix Chen, TUV Rheinland Greater China Tel.: +862028391243 E-mail: phoenix.chen@tuv.com 'Regional journalists are doing so much to keep people informed' A Government minister is urging the public to "buy a newspaper" to support local and national media facing "significant financial pressure" because of the coronavirus pandemic. Communities secretary Robert Jenrick made his plea as he highlighted how regional papers continue to keep communities informed during the unprecedented crisis. Speaking at a Downing Street briefing yesterday (Wednesday), Mr Jenrick said: "Regional journalists are doing so much to keep people informed on how the national effort is being communicated in our own communities. "A free country needs a free press and the national, the regional and the local newspapers of our country are under significant financial pressure. "I would like to echo the words of the Culture Secretary recently in encouraging everyone who can to buy a newspaper." With a reduction in advertising in both print and online significantly decreasing revenue, many media companies across the UK have been forced to furlough staff. The Newbury Weekly News has continued to print every week, bringing our readers in-depth news, views and analysis of how coronavirus is affecting West Berkshire and North Hampshire. Our journalists have gone into the heart of our communities, reporting on the efforts of thousands of people to stem the spread of Covid-19 and those helping the most vulnerable, Last week, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said in The Times: Newspapers are at heart of the British media and essential to its vibrant mix. People across the country are rising to the coronavirus challenge and I suggest we all add one small thing to our to-do list: Buy a paper." COLUMBIA The special prosecutor in South Carolinas sweeping Statehouse probe was dealt a blow Wednesday when the state Supreme Court ruled against his efforts to throw out a guilty plea by a former lawmaker. And the states highest court says it has questions about how 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe was able to get $352,000 from businesses and state agencies to avoid prosecution in the investigation. The case led to guilty pleas and convictions of five lawmakers and effectively ended one of South Carolinas most influential political consulting firms. As an unsupervised prosecutor, free from any oversight or control by the Attorney General or the First Circuit voters, Pascoe has created a prosecutive mess, Justice John Few wrote. Pascoe, who was assigned the case because of conflicts with the state Attorney General Alan Wilson, said he was able to move forward an investigation that had stalled. One thing I learned in prosecuting public corruption, there will always be criticism, Pascoe told The Post and Courier on Wednesday. The S.C. Statehouse probe focused on stopping legislators from improperly benefiting from their positions while working on behalf of major companies and agencies. The probe has lasted seven years and featured heated battles for its control between Pascoe, a Democrat accused of targeting GOP lawmakers, and Wilson, a Republican whose campaign consultant was a lynchpin in the investigation. The new Supreme Court decision stems from former state Rep. Rick Quinn avoiding a prison sentence on a political corruption charge during a 2017 plea deal. Quinn, a Lexington Republican, was indicted on a number of corruption allegations but agreed to plead guilty to one count for failing to disclose his ties to a client of his fathers political consulting firm. Pascoe sought to have the plea deal reversed because he argued that Quinn did not admit to the crime in court. Pascoe also argued that the judge in the case, who sentenced Quinn to probation rather than up to a year in prison, was biased and should have recused herself. The S.C. Supreme Court rejected these arguments in a unanimous decision. Prosecutors lack standing to appeal a plea deal they orchestrated, as they are not considered an aggrieved party under state judicial rules, the justices found. Circuit Judge Carmen Mullen also had great discretion in the kind of evidence she may use to assist her in determining the punishment, the ruling states. Pascoe argued Mullen spoke with Quinns attorneys privately and presumed Quinn was innocent of other allegations included in an indictment. Pascoe and Mullen had terse exchanges in court and Mullens court reporter posted an online comment critical on Pascoe. But the justices said Pascoe failed to prove bias and said his call for her recusal was specious and wholly without merit. Pascoe said he was pleased with the ruling over Quinns plea deal because it affirmed the former lawmakers guilt. Few took Pascoe to task in a separate opinion for accepting $352,000 in restitution to aid his Statehouse probe from five business clients of Richard Quinn & Associates including AT&T, the University of South Carolina and Palmetto Health in exchange for them avoiding prosecution. Richard Quinn was indicted on corruption charges, but they were dropped in exchange for his sons guilty plea and $5,500 in fines and restitution by his firm. Quinn was indicted again on charges of lying to the State Grand Jury. That case is still pending. Pascoe reached what he called corporate integrity agreements with the Quinn clients. But Few said justices were not aware what authority or a legal precedent that allowed the agreements even after Pascoe sent an explanation to the Supreme Court. Richard Quinn remains free while awaiting hearing on perjury, obstruction charges We still do not know what is a corporate integrity agreement, nor what authority exists under South Carolina law to enter into such an agreement, Few wrote. The term has never been used by any appellate court in this State, and the term is not used in any South Carolina statute. The only legal authority Pascoe cites in his memorandum is his unfettered discretion as a prosecutor. Fews opinion raises questions about Pascoes role in the probe. The solicitor was assigned to the investigation by Wilsons office because Richard Quinn was the attorney generals campaign consultant. Wilson tried to wrestle back control of the probe, saying Pascoe was going after cases beyond those mentioned in a state law enforcement report. But Wilson was turned away by the Supreme Court. Pascoe has said in court he did not pursue extensive charges against the Quinns because his office did not have enough money. But Few questioned Pascoes tactics as the probes special prosecutor. On one hand, by his own description, Pascoe allowed the most corrupt politician in Columbia (Rick) Quinn and the most corrupt entity in politics (Richard Quinn & Associates) to go essentially scot-free, Few wrote. On the other hand, Pascoe accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from major South Carolina corporations on the promise not to prosecute them for conduct the State Grand Jury found probable cause to believe is criminal. These and other concerns demonstrate the risks and dangers (the state constitution) was designed to protect against. The Supreme Court plans to hear arguments on the payments when hearings begin in the appeal by former state Rep. Jim Harrison of his political corruption conviction. Harrison, like others convicted in the probe, had ties to Richard Quinns firm. Andy Shain runs The Post and Couriers team based in South Carolinas capital city. He was editor of Free Times and has been a reporter and editor for newspapers in Charlotte, Columbia and Myrtle Beach. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Mexico is running out of beer due to its coronavirus shutdown, but one brewer is still chugging along. If you guessed Corona was the one beer still getting brewed South of the Border during the coronavirus, well, have a cold one. Thats the case despite the fact that some people may have stopped drinking the popular beer, for some reason, believing it was connected to the virus. If you happen to have been one of those people we promise, Corona beer does not cause coronavirus. Anyway, according to a Bloomberg report, breweries were labeled non-essential during Mexicos shutdown, making it hard for a fella over there to find a store fully-stocked with brews. And, it said, last week, Latin Americas largest chain of convenience stores said it could run out of beer in 10 days. But Constellation Brands Inc., which makes Modelo and Corona, has kept right on brewing up batches for the American market. The story cites a spokesman as saying the company has had ongoing discussions with the Mexican government and continues to operate in compliance with the law. According to the story, government officials in Mexico did not comment on how Constellaion Brands was able to keep its breweries open while others have shutdown. / -- Indian Peroxide Limited (IPL), one of the largest producers of hydrogen peroxide, has shown commitment to co-operate with the Gautam Buddh Nagar District Administration to defeat the Coronavirus epidemic in Uttar Pradesh. The company has provided a large quantity of Hydrogen Peroxide chemical under its CSR initiative, free of cost to the district administration from its Dahej (Gujarat) plant, the chemical is environmentally friendly and will create around 120 tons of disinfectant solution, which will be used to stop Coronavirus spread in different locations in the district. IPL Chairman Mr. Anil Kumar Tyagi handed over H2O2 to the Senior Project Engineer (Public Health) Shri. S C Mishra yesterday after a conversation with the Additional Chief Executive Officer of the administration Mr. Praveen Mishra. Mr Tyagi has also said that, "We will do everything possible to assist government to save the country from the Coronavirus. There will be no shortage of disinfectant solution and we are also open to provide hydrogen peroxide solution in other cities of Uttar Pradesh to maintain the health and hygiene of the general public. The quantity provided is worth 5 lakh rupees and is free of cost for humanity and national service." 10 tons of hydrogen peroxide (35% concentration) provided by IPL will make up to 120 tons of disinfectant solution for the disinfectant drive. In the current scenario, the 3% concentration hydrogen peroxide solution is widely used and authorized disinfectant by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Countries like China, Korea, UAE, Hong Kong, Israel widely use H2O2 in all public places, hospitals and homes etc. to counter the spread of Coronavirus. Hydrogen Peroxide is an effective disinfectant to use against the Coronavirus epidemic that persists on inanimate surfaces and surroundings. A good broad spectrum of bactericidal and antiviral properties combined with excellent stability and environmentally friendly characteristics make hydrogen peroxide an ideal disinfectant for virus inactivation. This all-purpose solution releases oxygen and water when used as a sanitizer which is cost-effective and non-toxic in nature. Hydrogen Peroxide has been used regularly to sterilize medical devices and mild antiseptic has been used on the skin to prevent minor cuts, scratches, and burn infections. A 3% concentration solution of hydrogen peroxide is considered safe and used by consumers. About Indian Peroxide Ltd. (IPL) Indian Peroxide Ltd. (IPL) is a Swedish technology based Hydrogen Peroxide manufacturer and supplier based in India. IPL is part of Nuberg Group. IPL is a subsidiary of the Nuberg Group, a manufacturing, EPC and technology-driven industrial conglomerate. The state-of-the-art manufacturing facility of Indian Peroxide Limited located in Dahej (Gujarat) produces industrial-grade, premium quality and environmentally friendly hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in 35%, 50% and 60% concentration. For further information, please visit: http://www.indianperoxide.com Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1165240/Indian_Peroxide_Limited. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) If the novel COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control soon, the diseases impact on the insurance industry as a whole may be pretty much a wash. It not, the industry may be on the verge of an historic catastrophe. A report by Willis Towers Watson projects that personal and commercial auto insurers in the United States and United Kingdom will see a $51 billion reduction in claims costs this year, while returning an estimated $16 billion to consumers through refunds. Refunds estimated so far are estimated at $10 billion and insurers will likely kick more back to customers if stay-at-home orders continue, the analysis says. On the other hand, COVID-19 may add $16.7 billion to U.S. workers compensation losses and increase losses in the U.S. and U.K. by $11 billion for business-interruption and event-cancellations, $4 billion for credit and sureties, $1.5 billion for employment practices liability and $1.5 billion for directors and officers insurance, the report says. Calculating the net decrease in losses for auto ($35 billion) and comparing that to the sum of the increased losses in the other lines ($34.7 billion) results in the two numbers pretty much cancelling each other out. Moderate Scenario Those projections follow Willis moderate scenario, which assumes that four months of strict and two months of light social distancing will be effective at controlling the spread of the novel coronavirus fairly quickly. The moderate projection also assumes economic growth will resume before this fall and consumer confidence will return by winter. There are reasons to be skeptical as to whether strict social distancing will last that long. As of Friday, more than half of the U.S. states had allowed some businesses to reopen. In Georgia, consumers can even go get a tattoo or a haircut. Severe Scenario If a severe scenario projected by Willis plays out, the insurance industry could be in dire straits. While social distancing will reduce U.S. and U.K. auto claims by $77 billion, the pandemic could increase costs for other lines primarily workers compensation and general liability by $140 billion. That is more than a third of the entire $365 million in premiums reported by U.S. property and casualty insurers in 2018. The severe scenario assumes that social distancing lasts for 12 months and a global economic contraction continues until early next year. For true doomsday believers, Willis offered a limited success scenario that assumes governments lift social distancing rules after three months because of the catastrophic economic cost and the virus spreads until finally controlled by herd immunity. If that plays out, Willis projects $92 billion increase in workers compensation losses, a $27 billion increase for general liability and $22.7 billion more in event cancellation losses, as well as increases in losses to other lines. Optimistic Picture Willis also offers an optimistic scenario for those who see the glass as half full. That assumes government mitigation measures are highly effective and are able to control COVID-19 within three months, while consumer demand for get-away time returns within four months. In that case, auto claims drop by only $28 billion, offset by an additional $1.1 billion in business interruption and event cancellation claims and $600 million more for directors and officers claims. A $3.3 billion increase in workers compensation claims from the health care sector is largely wiped out by a $3.1 billion decrease in claims from workers outside of health care in the optimistic scenario. We have not associated probabilities with these scenarios, but we we regard all of them as possible and at his point should not be considered extreme tail scenarios (although some of them may have been before the COVID-10 outbreak), the report says. Workers Comp Losses Workers compensation line will suffer the greatest losses from the pandemic compared to other lines in each of the scenarios. Ultimate losses will vary greatly depending on how many workers are infected, and what share of those whore infected must be hospitalized or eventually die. Willis estimated that each COVID-19 claim will bring $35,000 in medical treatment costs and $3,000 in temporary disability. Some of those will be death claims that cost an average of $1 million for physicians and $750,000 for other health care workers, the study says. In its moderate scenario, Willis assumed that 20% of hospital-employed physicians and nurses will be infected and 12.5% of other healthcare workers will be infected. That amounts to 1.1 million infected workers, with. 9.5% of them requiring hospitalization and 9,300 of them dying from the disease. In the worst-case, limited success scenario, Willis projects a 75% infection rate for all health care workers, resulting in 7.9 million cases and 129,000 deaths. The broad range of scenarios that Willis included in the report mirrors an analysis released earlier this month by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. That report projected losses ranging from $2 billion to $81 billion, depending on infection rates and the number of claims that are deemed to be compensable. In conclusion, Willis said the cumulative impact of the pandemic could substantially exceed losses from the Sept. 11, 2011 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Along with those losses, the industry faces a serious risk that its reputation will suffer, the report says. A good portion of these losses will probably be considered to have been unintended, arising from broad wordings in smaller commercial policies, the report says. It will also beg a question however as to the full extent this should be transferred into the industry, which after all exists to provide continuity for just this type of event. Topics Catastrophe COVID-19 Workers' Compensation Claims USA Profit Loss It sounds like a news report out of yet another dystopian novel: Mexico is halting grid connection for new solar and wind power projects. In a world rushing to produce clean energy, Mexico has suddenly stood out like a sore thumb. But, as usual, there's more to the story. The country's National Energy Control Center, or Cenace, announced it would suspend grid connections of new solar and wind farms until further notice earlier this week. The motivation behind the decision was the intermittency of solar and wind power generation, which, according to the state-owned power market operator, could compromise Mexico's energy security in difficult times. "The intermittent generation from wind and PV plants affects the reliability of the national electricity system, [impacting] the sufficiency, quality and continuity of power supply," Cenace wrote in a document setting out the rules of the country's electricity market during the Covid-19 lockdown. Naturally, the move was immediately attacked by the business community as an attempt by the government to interfere with private businesses. "Without solid technical motivation or fully justified legal basis Cenace has neglected its legal mandate to safeguard the efficiency of the national electric system and competition in the electricity market, which negatively impacts thousands of consumers in the commercial and industrial sector," business group Consejo Coordinador Empresarial, or CCE, said in a statement. "Like before, the private sector will take the necessary legal measures to preserve the level field and Mexicans' right to a healthy environment," the body added. Related: Could Renewable Spending Solve The Unemployment Crisis In Oil? According to CCE, the move, which stops pre-connection tests for solar and wind farms explicitly, is the latest push against renewables on the part of the government. Conservative in its approach to the energy industry and protectionist of state-owned utilities, the Andres Manuel Lope Obrador government is, according to the critics, trying to stifle renewables to support state-owned Comision Federal de Electricidad, PV Magazine's Emiliano Bellini and Jorge Zarco wrote. Mexico's president has made no secret of his attitude to renewable energy, which could be called condescending. In a late March tweet, the Mexican president called wind turbines "fans", saying they didn't produce much energy. He proceeded to reportedly say that the government will stop issuing permits for new wind projects that interfere with the environment and cause "visual pollution". Other reports of the same tweet said Obrador also downplayed the amount of electricity wind farms produce and said the companies that build them were private businesses that needed to be subsidized. In short, one could safely say AMLO is not a fan of fans. There is, however, the issue of energy storage. While critics may be right that the decision to halt pre-connection tests for new solar and wind farms, it is a fact that Mexicoand Latin America as a wholehas been slow to build reasonable energy storage capacity, even after it has been identified as crucial for the long-term success of solar and wind power. Intermittency of power generation is a real problem. Its solution is energy storage. Mexico got its first battery storage facility at the end of 2018, at a car factory. A year later, the first behind-the-meter battery facility that also features frequency regulation capabilities came online in Puebla. Storage is slow in coming. The potential for renewable energy in Mexico is bright, though. According to an IRENA analysis, the country could generate up to 46 percent of its energy from such sources. Government opposition is a problem, but it is one that courts could help to solve. In fact, according to Fitch, despite the regulatory challenges put in the way of renewables by the AMLO government, they are not unmanageable. Related: Aviation Crisis Could Cause Lasting Damage To Oil Markets "We are aware that a lot of projects have had delays getting permits to construct new projects in new places, that they're having to pay high fees to get connected to their grid, so that presents a real headwind," the associate director of Latin America infrastructure and project finance at Fitch, Jacquelin D'Angelo said at a recent webinar as quoted by BNAmericas. "Over time, the market will come up with mechanisms to mitigate and to make investors more comfortable with these risks." This is one way things will develop. Given Mexico's potential for renewable energy and investor appetite for such projects, regulatory challenges would eventually turn into just another part of the landscape, especially if the legal response to unfavorable government measures is successful. But there is something else, as well. Lopez Obrador has promised a substantial increase in oil production by the end of his term. So far, this has proved challenging for many reasons, including the suspension of new oil tenders as well as the latest oil price crisis, which will likely have lingering effects on the global industry. Yet energy demand in Mexico is rising. At some point, solar and wind may simply become unavoidable. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: GRAZ, Austria, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Lithuania has officially joined the Biobanking and BioMolecular resources Research Infrastructure - European Research Infrastructure Consortium (BBMRI-ERIC) on 15 April 2020. Lithuania has become the 21st Member of BBMRI-ERIC. The Ministry of Education, Science and Sport will be the coordinating institution, while the new BBMRI-ERIC National Node will be hosted by the National Cancer Institute. Lithuanian Minister of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania, Dr. Algirdas Monkevicius, stated: "The demand for international Research infrastructures has grown substantially over the years and they have become an irreplaceable tool for building momentum and aiding scientists in accomplishing significant achievements. I am glad to see Lithuania integrating into well-established networks, such as BBMRI-ERIC. Moreover, I am sure that the vision of BBMRI-ERIC will lead both Lithuania and Europe to new horizons in biobanking." Tomas Simulevic, Chief Officer of the Division of Science of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania, declared: "Recent years have shown that Lithuania's prospects for the development of the life sciences sector are favorable. The academia has shown breakthroughs in molecular biology and the industry has been growing stably ever since. BBMRI-ERIC will definitely be a step forward for this sector and will contribute to its sustainable growth." Additionally, National Cancer Institute's Deputy Director for Research and Development acting as Director Prof. Sonata Jarmalaite reinforced: "Membership in BBMRI-ERIC is a unique opportunity for Lithuania to become a part of the largest European Research Infrastructure for biobanking. With this membership, our researchers will gain access to wide collection of biosamples prepared under the standardized protocols and procedures of BBMRI-ERIC. This will foster an integration of Lithuanian research institutions and individual researchers into the collaborative research projects together with partners from the BBMRI-ERIC member countries. Furthermore, members from BBMRI-ERIC will soon gain access to our biosample collections, structured according to the high standards of BBMRI-ERIC and linked with unified IT tools. Knowledge exchange will stimulate innovations in translational research and assist in development of new clinical and public solutions for the healthier Europe." BBMRI-ERIC's Interim Co-Director General Michaela Th. Mayrhofer said, "It is with great pleasure that we welcome Lithuania to BBMRI-ERIC. Lithuanian biobanks are now connected to the world like never before. At the same time, Lithuanian researchers and biobankers will have access to knowledge, IT tools, and tailor-made guidance by BBMRI-ERIC that will support their further development. "This is also a milestone for European research in general", Dr. Mayrhofer added. "While other countries are decreasing investments in research, Lithuania is showing the way by boosting the development of its biomedical sector - now more important than ever, considering the global health challenges we're facing. Lithuania's vision is particularly impressive". Dr. Mayrhofer concluded by saying: "BBMRI-ERIC believes in providing services and enabling knowledge exchange for the benefit of researchers from academia and industry - and ultimately society". 2020: BBMRI-ERIC's Directory makes it easier to find COVID-19 samples and data BBMRI-ERIC brings together more than 600 biobanks from across Europe. The Directory allows researchers to find samples and data from biobanks in 17 European countries. Over 30 biobanks within our network are providing COVID-19-specific samples, data and resources. It is constantly updated: https://www.bbmri-eric.eu/services-support/ BBMRI-ERIC is an international organisation established under EU legislation. Its headquarters are in Graz, Austria, with team members based in Brussels and throughout Europe. BBMRI-ERIC provides support and services to local biobanks via its National Nodes (one per country). The National Nodes are fully involved in the day-to-day management of BBMRI-ERIC and provide feedback from the national level. BBMRI-ERIC services cover three main areas: ethical, legal and societal issues (ELSI), quality management, and IT solutions that allow users to search biobanks and collections of samples and data online and request access. Editor's Note: Members: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom Observers: Cyprus, Lithuania, Switzerland, Turkey, IARC/WHO Paying people a universal basic income improves their mental well-being and has a small but positive effect on whether they take up jobs, a two-year pilot study has found. Scotlands first minister Nicola Sturgeon this week suggested the policys time had come, with new polling suggesting that post-coronavirus now enjoys the support of 71 per cent of Europeans, and growing support in parliament. The pilot, commissioned by the Finnish government, has been watched keenly around the world and comes amid increased interest in the policy as a way of supporting people during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond. The study, the most comprehensive carried out yet, saw 2,000 people chosen at random from among the unemployed paid a regular monthly income of 560 euros (490) by the state for two years with no strings attached and no reduction in payments if they found work in contrast to traditional unemployment benefits. Survey respondents who received a basic income described their wellbeing more positively than respondents in the control group, the studys authors at the Social Insurance Institution of Finland said. They were more satisfied with their lives and experienced less mental strain, depression, sadness and loneliness. They also had a more positive perception of their cognitive abilities, i.e. memory, learning and ability to concentrate. The basic income also appears to have moderate effect on encouraging people to find jobs an effect some had theorised would occur because recipients do not lose their support when they take one up. The study found that people paid the income were in employment on average six days more than people in a control group where people were not payed the income. The employment rate for basic income recipients improved slightly more during this period than for the control group, the study said. The latter finding is in contrast to arguments by opponents of the policy, such as former DWP secretary Iain Duncan Smith, who suggested the policy would be a disincentive to work because it did not include sanctions. Many developed western countries like the UK and US have in recent decades adjusted their welfare states to be more punitive, attaching strings and conditions to benefit payments with the stated aim of encouraging people back to work. Polling conducted by the European Studies Centre, at St Antonys College, University of Oxford, asked more than 12,000 people their view on the policy between 5 March and 25 March. The researchers found 71 per cent supported its introduction. Respondents were from the 27 EU member states and the UK. For an idea that has often been dismissed as wildly unrealistic and utopian, this is a remarkable figure, said authors Timothy Garton Ash and Antonia Zimmermann in an article on the findings. They found that support was equally strong across age groups. High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Show all 18 1 /18 High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Najaf, Iraq A man holds a pocket watch at noon, at an almost empty market near the Imam Ali shrine Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Bangkok, Thailand Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram (The Temple of the Emerald Buddha, part of The Grand Palace) Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Prague, Czech Republic An empty street leading to the historic Old Town Square Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Washington DC, US Lawn stretching towards the Capitol, home of Congress Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Jerusalem's Old City A watch showing the time in front of Damascus Gate Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world London, UK The Houses of Parliament seen from Westminster Bridge Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Wuhan, China Empty lanes in the city that saw the first outbreak of disease Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Havana, Cuba The Malecon road and esplanade winds along the city's seafront Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Cairo, Egypt A little busier than elsewhere: midday traffic in Tahrir Square Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Berlin, Germany The Brandenburg Gate, the only surviving city gate in the capital Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Caracas, Venezuela Bolivar Avenue, opened in 1949 and the site of many demonstrations and rallies Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Moscow, Russia Spasskaya Tower (left) on the eastern wall of the Kremlin, and St Basil's Cathedral Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Istanbul,Turkey The harbourside Eminonu district is usually buzzing with activity Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world New Delhi, India Rajpath, a ceremonial boulevard that runs through the capital Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Amman, Jordan The Roman amphitheatre that dates back to the 2nd century AD Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world New York City, US The main concourse of Grand Central station in Manhattan Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Kiev, Ukraine Maidan Nezalezhnosti, the site of many political protests since the end of the Soviet era Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Accra, Ghana The odd walker out in the midday sun on Ring Road Central Reuters Speaking in Edinburgh earlier this week the Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon said: The experience of the virus and the economic consequences of that have actually made me much, much more strongly of the view that it is an idea thats time has come. The position is also backed by many MPs and peers, over 170 of whom signed a letter published by The Independent in early March calling for the policy in response to the coronavirus crisis. Labour took some steps towards engaging with the policy under its previous shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who promised pilot studies if elected. New leader Keir Starmer has however moved away from backing the policy. It has long been supported by the Green party. Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, rejected the policy last month, telling MPs: I think we need to have a very focused approach providing the resources that we need to those that need it most. Coronavirus could be spread through sex, experts now fear after they detected the infection in the semen of recovering men. Researchers in China analysed semen samples from 38 men who tested positive for COVID-19. Some had recovered while others were infectious. One in six had traces of the coronavirus in their semen - including those who were no longer sick. Top infectious disease experts admitted the findings were 'not surprising' because viruses such as Zika and Ebola are present in semen samples. The Chinese study did not prove that the virus could be transmitted through sex - it only suggested it was a possibility. But the finding prompted the team to warn that abstaining from sex while infected - and during recovery - would likely be a wise decision until the truth is uncovered. So far 3.7million cases of COVID-19 - the disease caused by the coronavirus - have been reported globally. But that figure is only a fraction of the truth because it does not include the millions who have suffered mild disease and recovered at home without being tested. The killer coronavirus can be found in semen, a small study has shown The study was done at Shangqiu Municipal Hospital, the only designated centre for the treatment of COVID-19 in Shangqiu, Henan province. Men over the age of 15 who had tested positive for the virus between January 26 and February 16 gave semen samples. Of the 38 men, 15 (39.5 per cent) were in the acute stage of infection. The rest had recovered. Results of semen testing found that six patients (15.8 per cent) had results positive for SARS-CoV-2, the official name of the novel coronavirus. A quarter of those who were still infectious had the virus in their semen, according to the paper published in the journal JAMA. But what was 'particularly noteworthy' to the scientists, was that 8.7 per cent of the those who had recovered had traces in their semen. DOES THE VIRUS ENTER THE MALE REPRODUCTIVE TRACT? Scientists have found traces of SARS-CoV-2 in semen samples of very small studies. But the implication of this on male reproductive health or spread of the virus has not been robustly studied yet. Urologists at Suzhou Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University theorised that the coronavirus could cause testicular damage. In a paper published on MedRxiv.org a platform for papers that have not been peer-reviewed by other scientists to flag false claims - the team said their interest in COVID-19 was roused when it came to light that the coronavirus enters cells by binding to ACE2 receptors. 'Several researches have indicated that some patients have abnormal renal function or even kidney damage in addition to injury in respiratory system, and the related mechanism is unknown,' the team said. 'This arouses our interest in whether coronavirus infection will affect the urinary and male reproductive systems.' The team analysed 'online datasets' and found ACE2 expression in different human organs. The results indicate that ACE2 highly expressed in the mans tested, and can be concentrated in several cells which are directly related to the male reproductive abilities, including the germ cells, supporting cells and Leydig cells. 'Therefore, virus might directly bind to such ACE2 positive cells and damage the kidney and testicular tissue of patients,' they wrote. They warned that doctors should pay close attention to possible damage in the testicles of coronavirus patients, especially if they are of reproductive age. The warning was echoed by another team of scientists at Tongji Hospital, affiliated to Huazhong University of Science and Technology, is one of the hospitals designated by the government to treat coronavirus patients since an outbreak started in Wuhan in January. Although the coronavirus mainly targets one's lungs and immune system, the infection could result in 'impairment of immune homeostasis in the testes', which could cause orchitis an inflammation of the testicles. This in turn could reduce a mans sperm count and possibly lead to infertility, according to the team who also noted the ACE2 theory. They added that during the SARS outbreak in 2002 and 2003, medics observed serious immune system damage in the testicles of some male patients. The hospital report was widely shared on social media despite being pulled from provincial governments website just hours after being uploaded. Advertisement There were no obvious trends spotted in the men whose sample contained the virus. They ranged from their 20s to 50s, three had an underlying health condition, and their symptoms started between six and 16 days prior to giving the semen sa No follow-up with the men was conducted to see if the virus survived for long periods of time in semen and if it was viable. The authors of the paper, led by Dr Diangeng Li, of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, suggested the coronavirus may one day be found to be sexually transmissible. They wrote: 'If it could be proved that SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted sexually in future studies, sexual transmission might be a critical part of the prevention of transmission, especially considering the fact that SARS-CoV-2 was detected in the semen of recovering patients. 'Even if the virus cannot replicate in the male reproductive system, it may persist. 'Abstinence or condom use might be considered as preventive means for these patients. 'To avoid contact with the patients saliva and blood may not be enough, since the survival of SARS-CoV-2 in a recovering patients semen maintains the likelihood to infect others.' At this stage little is known about whether SARS-CoV-2 is found in semen and if this contributes to infection rates. But this study and others indicate a real possibility that is the case, according to Professor Richard Sharpe, MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, University of Edinburgh. Commenting on the findings, he said: 'This finding raises the possibility that COVID-19 might also be transmissible via semen (and thus via sexual contact), perhaps including during the recovery phase - which would have disease management implications.' But he added the study leaves 'many important questions unanswered', including how long after infection can the virus be found in semen for. Former chair of the British Fertility Society Allan Pacey, professor of andrology at University of Sheffield, said: 'This opens up the possibility that one route of infection may be through sexual contact, although this was not confirmed in the paper. 'We should not be surprised if the virus which causes COVID-19 is found in the semen of some men, since this is been shown with many other viruses such as Ebola and Zika.' Zika virus can spread through sex and can stay in semen longer than in other body fluids. Whether Ebola is passed through sex is less clear but 'strongly possible', according to the World Health Organization. Professor Pacey pointed to a study published two weeks ago which was in stark contrast to that of Dr Diangeng Li and colleagues. The conflicting results only adds to the drive to find answers, he said. The study by the Tongji Medical College in China found no evidence of the virus in semen in 34 Chinese men. However, the study only looked at men who had recovered and had been diagnosed with mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 a month before. None of the semen donors had been severely ill with COVID-19, the study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility noted. The researchers concluded they could not rule out the possibility the virus would be in seminal fluid during the infectious period. Urologist Dr James Hotaling, co-author of the study, at University of Utah Health said: 'If a disease like COVID-19 were sexually transmittable that would have major implications for disease prevention.' And Dr Hotaling also warned that it may have had 'serious consequences for a man's long-term reproductive health'. SARS-CoV-2 has also been found in samples of faeces and urine - but this doesn't necessarily mean it is an important route of transmission. S LALITHA By Express News Service BENGALURU: National carrier Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express will fly the first few repatriation flights on Thursday to bring back Indians stranded in 16 countries, said Director General of Civil Aviation Arun Kumar. The operation was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, but was delayed by a day as Covid-19 tests had to be conducted on all the crew members, he said. An airline source said four flights will be operated on May 7 New Delhi to San Francisco, Kochi to Abu Dhabi, Delhi to Singapore and Calicut to Dubai. Hopefully, we will run all of them from Thursday, he added sounding cautious. In a span of one week, Air India planned to bring back a total of 14,800 Indians from 12 countries on 64 flights, according to the flight plan released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Tuesday. The release of the plan led to a mad rush to register on the Civil Aviation ministry website, resulting in it crashing for a good part of the day on Wednesday. Air India has begun bookings on its portal on Wednesday evening, said an airport source. Speaking to The New Indian Express, Kumar said, There has been a minor delay in executing the plan. Tests related to Covid-19 had to be conducted on the pilots and the crew on Wednesday. It has been completed and they are ready to begin operations tomorrow (May 7). Indians who want to travel to the countries where the flights are being operated to, can also do so, Kumar added. Indians to be repatriated from US, UK As per the plan, Air India was supposed to operate 10 flights the day it begins the evacuation operations. Bengaluru was supposed to receive the first flight arriving from London on May 8, but due to the delay, schedules have gone haywire. We are not sure of the exact date now, an airport source said. He added that getting the necessary clearances from international agencies delayed the start of operations. The UAE, UK, US, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Phillipines, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Kuwait and Oman are the countries from where Indians will be repatriated. Air India spokespersons and authorities refused to answer calls despite numerous attempts by this reporter. PAY FOR THE FLIGHT The fares will be on par with commercial flights. Tickets from Chicago, San Francisco, Newark and Washington will cost nearly Rs 1 lakh per head. A ticket from London to Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and New Delhi will cost Rs 50,000 per passenger, while tickets from Dubai will cost Rs 13,000 and from Abu Dhabi, Rs 15,000. The cost from Singapore and Malaysia will be Rs 20,000. Ever since the lockdown was imposed and partially lifted, the first point of contact for most residents on what is permitted and what isnt has been the resident welfare association (RWA). The list of instructions shared by various RWAs among their resident members have only been increasing, leading to confusion and many even refusing to toe the line, saying the RWAs are not legally empowered to pass such orders. There have been reports that several residential societies have even threatened to name and shame residents who dare take a walk in the compound as rules did not permit. Some have issued advisories against newspaper and pizza deliveries. Others have put limits to walks, allowing only a 15-minute walk for pets and banned the entry of maids and all house helps. In short, RWAs throughout the lockdown period have tried to exercise an arbitrary role and, in some cases, powers far beyond what they are legally empowered to, which includes taking care of welfare and maintenance of residents. But is it really the case? The Ministry of Home Affairs detailed guidelines on May 5 allowed several persons to begin work. This has been interpreted to mean that domestic help, including maids and drivers, can return to work. While some media reports said that RWAs cannot stop domestic workers from reporting to work, others said the Delhi government had allowed services provided by domestic help. According to another report, the onus of allowing domestic help to enter had been placed on the RWAs by the respective administrations. 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 To put an end to the weird and ambiguous rules being framed by several residential societies in COVID-19 times, the Gautam Buddh Nagar administration has come up with a set of coronavirus guidelines on May 6. They clearly state that the residents are not allowed to take walks outside and have advised against inviting guests during the lockdown period. The guidelines have also clarified that RWAs can take a decision on the entry of maids into society after consulting and taking a consensus of residents. They make it clear that maids and house helps may only be allowed if they come from non-containment zones and after the RWA has made arrangements for their thermal screening. The Gurugram Administration has also issued FAQs to RWAs, which clarify the guidelines on the access of staff. Systematic process for domestic help such as maids, house helps, drivers, dhobis, tailors, car cleaners etc who do not stay within the RWA premises may be planned by respective RWAs as per need. "Maids, and other workers to strictly not be allowed if they are from containment zones. The FAQs also include information on delivery of goods. The summary states that MHA has left certain decisions with respect to the discretion of legitimate RWAs of Societies and Colonies. Several RWAs of Gurugram unanimously agree that in the current situation, the entry of domestic help/cooks/daily cleaners may be deferred until the end of the extended lockdown period. On the issue of outdoor walks, the guidelines have clearly stated that residents may take walks if it is necessary i.e. for residents with health conditions, having to walk pets. After walks, residents must wash hands before entering the building premises. As for the use of elevators and lifts, only two persons from the same family will be allowed at a time in a passenger lift. In case of an emergency, four may be allowed. They also make it clear that milk packets, newspapers can be delivered out of the building lobby and that the residents would need to collect it themselves. After collection, residents have to wash hands at the ground floor basins/use sanitisers before entering the lift. Sanjay Bhasin, member Central Park 1 Condominium Association told Moneycontrol that the RWAs are guided by the orders issued by the district administration or any competent authority. We simply comply with those orders. Until last week before the second clampdown, residents in societies continued to take a walk despite there being orders stating not to. We cannot restrict them from moving around as we are not a law enforcing authority, he said. In Uttar Pradesh, reports suggested the District Magistrate of Ghaziabad had stated that domestic help, car cleaners, and mechanics are not allowed in Ghaziabad. We have issued a detailed list of activities which have been allowed and anything that does not figure in the list obviously means that it has not been allowed, the administrator was recently quoted as saying but no specific guidelines on the issue have been released. This lack of guidelines on the issue has prompted RWAs to seek clarification from the district magistrates office. We have written a letter to the district administration asking for clarity on these issues. After Noida, guidelines need to be issued in case of Ghaziabad too as the lack of it is leading to confusion among residents and AOAs all of which are following different rules, Alok Kumar of Federation of Association of Apartment Owners (FedAOA) comprising over 100 societies in Ghaziabad told Moneycontrol. The letter has sought clarification on whether entry of domestic workers such as maids and car cleaners and technicians for fridge and television repairs should be allowed by societies, whether residents can take walks inside the complex after social distancing norms are followed. The question here is whether RWAs are legally empowered to draft arbitrary rules, no matter the unprecedented situation one finds oneself in today? Rajiva Singh, Noida, president, NOFAA Noida Federation of Apartment Owners Association, made it clear that RWAs are not law-making authorities. They implement the guidelines issued by the district administration. Problem arises when certain (minute) things are not defined in the rules and regulations. Its in those cases that the administration leaves it to the wisdom of RWAs to take a decision. The authorities often simply lay down the broad guidelines and then leave it to the RWAs, democratically elected by residents themselves, to decide what is best for the society. While the intent of the RWAs in most cases is to ensure the welfare of residents, in many cases they often cross the line, he said. Are RWAs legally empowered? Do RWAs have the power to restrict entry and exit of certain persons from a society? Amit Kumar Baliyan, advocate and expert on matters relating to registration of societies, said legally, the entry of persons cannot be stopped by RWAs citing coronavirus as the reason unless and until the district magistrate has delegated powers to the RWAs. If the DM has issued an order, the RWA will have to implement it, he said. Mukesh Kumar, KNM & Partners concurred. RWAs are constituted by the owners themselves that work for the welfare for the society as a whole. Legally they are not empowered and their orders not enforceable. Another lawyer pointed out that since residents agree to pay a fixed amount as maintenance, they have in any case agreed to abide by the rules set by their elected representatives. You may have to abide by the rules since you are paying for the services rendered but there is no legal authority rested on them, said advocate Varun Chopra. Advocate Kumar Mihir agreed that while some societies are acting as a law unto themselves, some actually derive the power from the rights of admission under the terms and conditions of maintenance as laid down under the contract agreed to between the RWA and the builder. The sale deed agreed to between the buyer and the builder allows the builder to retain the right to grant admission to people and when builder hands over the maintenance to the RWA, he hands over this right to the RWA, he said. In Noida, on the other hand, since there is no sale deed, these rules are governed by the will of the majority without any legal basis for it. Theres more to it Every colony is, under various development laws, meant to have RWA, by whatever name called. The law that governs these will vary from state to state, such as the Haryana Apartment Ownership Act, 1983; the Delhi Apartment Ownership Act, 1983, or the Uttar Pradesh Apartment (Promotion of Construction, Ownership and Maintenance) Act, 2010. All these acts mandate the creation of an RWA, which is to form its own by-laws in keeping with model by-laws prescribed by these various acts. The acts allow the RWAs to frame by-laws to ensure the smooth functioning of these colonies. Other colonies, such as those which were created as a result of the handover of land to cooperative societies, will also typically have RWAs, registered under the Societies Registration Act, or the Cooperative Societies Act (as applicable in a particular state), explained Vaibhav Gaggar, Managing Partner, Gaggar & Partners. The RWAs are meant to ensure a process of representative democracy, i.e. elections from among the homeowners, in keeping with the various acts, and their own by-laws. Therefore, most decisions would be taken keeping in mind the opinions of the residents, as well as inputs from law and order agencies, such as the police and the district administration. The by-laws may empower the RWAs to take such decisions as they deem fit, he said. It is pertinent to note that under regulations issued under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, such as the Delhi Epidemic Diseases, COVID -19 Regulations, authorised persons are Secretary (Health & FW), Director General Health Services (DGHS), at State Level and District Magistrate, Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO), Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and District Surveillance Officer in the districts and officers as authorised by Department of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of NCT of Delhi. It would appear that if there is any specific instruction from the concerned government then the RWAs would be obliged to implement the same. However, in the case of there being a vacuum in that regard or absent any communication from the district administration or the police, RWAs would have to turn to their own by-laws, which in turn derive legitimacy from the respective apartment acts, explains Gaggar. Often the bylaws may not have a specific provision for this kind of a situation. Largely, one would find the RWAs resorting to the following clause thats found across many societies: To provide for and to do all and/or any of the following matters: Such restrictions on the requirements respecting the use and maintenance of the apartments and the use of the common areas and facilities not set forth in the declaration, as are designed to prevent unreasonable interference with the use of their respective apartments and of the common areas and facilities by the apartment owners. This provision does not, in fact, give total powers to the RWA to enforce such a condition which would prohibit help from outside the complex to come to peoples homes. The government itself has permitted commercial activities to commence and not provided any specific conditions on help and daily wagers, then the RWA cannot be a law-making body, and certainly not that could impinge upon the fundamental rights enshrined under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution, whether with regard to the labour or with respect to the rights of the apartment owners themselves," Gaggar said. Having said that, if the government itself is delegating the power down to the RWAs in certain situations, in that case, the RWA could make such rules, subject off course to the same not being arbitrary or discriminatory, Gaggar said. COLUMBUS Ohios young hunters checked 1,843 wild turkeys during the 2020 two-day spring youth season, April 18 and 19, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. Young hunters harvested 1,331 wild turkeys during the same weekend in 2019. Youth hunters were required to be accompanied by a non-hunting adult during the two-day season. Learning from an experienced hunter is key to developing the skills to successfully harvest a wild turkey. The top 11 counties for wild turkey harvest during the 2020 youth season include the following: Monroe (71), Tuscarawas (68), Muskingum (63), Meigs (57), Washington (55), Noble (51), Guernsey (48), Belmont (47), Coshocton (45), Columbiana (44) and Harrison (44). Ohio offers more opportunities for hunters of all ages to pursue wild turkeys. The state has two zones for spring turkey hunting: the south zone and the northeast zone. For 2020, the south zone hunting dates are until May 17. The northeast zone dates are from May 4 to May 31. Find complete details in the 2019-2020 Hunting and Trapping Regulations or at wildohio.gov. For summaries of past turkey seasons, visit wildohio.gov/turkeyharvest. Hunting hours from May 4 to 10 in the northeast zone are 30 minutes before sunrise until noon. Hunting hours are until May 17 in the south zone and from May 11 to May 31 in the northeast zone are 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset. The spring turkey season bag limit is two bearded wild turkeys. Hunters may harvest one bearded turkey per day, and a second spring turkey permit may be purchased at any time throughout the spring turkey season. Turkeys are required to be checked no later than 11:30 p.m. the day of harvest. All hunters are required to report their turkey harvest using the automated game-check system, which is available online, by phone or at a participating license agent. Hunters may hunt wild turkeys with shotguns or archery equipment. It is unlawful to hunt turkeys using bait, live decoys or electronic calling devices, or to shoot a wild turkey while it is in a tree. The Division of Wildlife advises turkey hunters to wear hunter orange clothing when entering, leaving or moving through hunting areas in order to remain visible to others. / -- Vishal Fabrics Limited (VFL), one of the leading manufacturers of denim fabric, is closely monitoring the evolution of the Coronavirus situation and its impact on the business. The following update is in the interest of investors and stakeholders. Business Operations: As per government directives, and current circumstances, company in pursuance of the approval received from the concerned authorities in the State of Gujarat subject to fulfilment of certain conditions, the Company's manufacturing facility at Dholi Ahmedabad has partially resumed its operations with a limited workforce from April 11, 2020. The Company is monitoring potential knock-on effects on production and deliveries and will try to mitigate the same. Company has sufficient liquidity and bank limits in order to protect themselves from any potential delay in the working capital cycle. Employees : All permanent employees have been asked to work from home. HR department is playing very proactive role by constantly communicating with all permanent and on-contract employees and monitoring their health. Working Capital Update: Sales and marketing team has been in constant touch with our customers across the country and well-positioned to tap the opportunities that may come across post the lockdown. Trade receivables may be delayed; however, company is in a comfortable scenario to withstand the impact of the same. The company has a strong orderbook and will continue to serve their customers diligently. The Company is well equipped to fulfil all the export commitments. Being a large firm, MSME vendors will be paid on a timely basis because we understand that we need to take care of people and help society at large. Credit Rating: This is to inform that the ratings of Vishal Fabrics Ltd bank loan facilities amounting to Rs. 3442.9 Mn have been revised/reaffirmed by Brickwork Ratings as follows: Facility Previous Limits Rs. Mn Present Limits Rs. Mn Tenure Rating History (March 2019) Review Ratings* Fund Based - Term loan 2116.3 1582.9 Long Term BWR BBB+ (Stable) BWR A- Outlook: Stable Fund Based - Cash Credit 1700.0 1600.0 Non Fund Based 265.0 260.0 Short Term BWR A2 BWR A2+ Total 4104.7 3442.9 ? Three Thousand Four Hundred Forty Two Million and Nine Lacs Only Response by the Management: Business Continuity: All the departments are in constant touch in order to take inputs and to ensure business continuity. We are in regular touch with our suppliers, customers, employees, bankers and the authorities. Employee Safety: Employee safety is our utmost priority. We have shut down all our offices, cut down all non-essential travel and given work from home to all our permanent employees. Liquidity Management: Preserving cash in the need of the moment. We have identified areas for cost reduction and several initiatives have been taken to reduce the cost. We have already received moratorium from our Bankers. We also have sufficient cash and undrawn line of credit from the banks. CSR Activities: Chiripal Group contributed with Rs. 1 crore to Gujarat CM Relief Fund to fight Covid-19 pandemic. We have sanitized the surrounding villages. The Chiripal Group has supported 50,000 plus people with sanitizers and soaps. The Company supplied food grains to 2,500 plus families. We have also distributed food packages to 50,000 plus people in need. We also distributed masks to 50,000 plus people to fight the pandemic. The Chiripal Group also donated towels to 20,000 plus people. About Vishal Fabrics Limited (BSE Code - 538598) Established in 1985, Vishal Fabrics Limited (VFL), is one of India's leading manufacturers of Denim Fabric is a part of the Chiripal Group. The company has state-of-the-art manufacturing facility near Ahmedabad, Gujarat with an installed capacity of 80 MMPA and a processing unit of 105 MMPA. VFL is a premier supplier of top-quality stretch denim fabric which is very popular among people of all ages. Company had appointed Haribhakti & Co. as its internal auditors, a step towards improvement in corporate governance. Further, the Company through its CSR initiative promotes ROBOTICS Education in Rural and Urban Schools. The company has conducted 8 (Eight) ROBOTEX workshops and educated more than 2,000 number of children . The Robotex India competition event enrolled more than 5,000 participants. Disclaimer This press release and the following discussion may contain "forward looking statements" by Vishal Fabrics Limited that are not historical in nature. These forward looking statements, which may include statements relating to future results of operations, financial condition, business prospects, plans and objectives, are based on the current beliefs, assumptions, expectations, estimates, and projections of the management of Vishal Fabrics about the business, industry and markets in which Vishal Fabrics operates. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond Vishal Fabrics's control and difficult to predict, that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward looking statements. Such statements are not, and should not be construed, as a representation as to future performance or achievements of Vishal Fabrics. In particular, such statements should not be regarded as a projection of future performance of Vishal Fabrics. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 21:18:27|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 22, 2019. (Xinhua/Sputnik) Putin and Abe confirmed plans for expanding cooperation between relevant departments in the health field, including the joint development of medicines. MOSCOW, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe discussed the coronavirus pandemic during a telephone conversation on Thursday, the Kremlin said in a statement. "Putin and Abe informed each other about measures taken to combat the spread of infection," the statement said. The parties confirmed plans for expanding cooperation between relevant departments in the health field, including the joint development of medicines, it said. The two sides discussed other pressing issues concerning Russian-Japanese cooperation, including the trade and economic fields, and agreed to continue contacts at various levels as the epidemiological situation normalizes, it said. Abe also congratulated Putin on the 75th anniversary of the World War II victory, it said. A day after Hizbul Mujahideens operational commander Riyaz Naikoo was killed in Kashmir, security forces on Thursday arrested an overground worker of the outfit from Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir. The 22-year-old man arrested has been identified as Raqib Alam from Swanda village. The other day we had arrested Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Tanveer Ahmad in Doda district in a case under Sections 120 B,122 of the Indian Penal Code, 7/25 IAA of Unlawful Activities Act. During questioning, he disclosed the name of Raqib Alam and his association with Hizbul terrorist Haroon, who was killed in an encounter in January, police officer said. Raqib was picked up by a joint team of police and army on Thursday. During questioning, Raqib confessed that he had hidden a pistol and a wireless set given to him by the terrorists. He was taken to Shiva village from where recoveries were made, he added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON As multiple marijuana measures go to the ballot in Vista, proponents of the citizens initiative, Measure Z, have invested more than a half-million dollars toward legalizing pot sales in the city. Two campaign committees supporting the measure, which would allow up to 11 marijuana retailers to operate in the city, have spent a total of $575,469 since 2016 to get the initiative on the ballot and promote its passage. Measure Z, sponsored by citizens and businesses, is one of three measures on the Nov. 6 ballot that would permit and regulate marijuana sales. Two additional city-sponsored initiatives, Measures AA and BB, would allow up to three delivery-only medical marijuana dispensaries, and set tax rates on those businesses. With the multiple marijuana measures and six-figure campaign spending has come confusion. If all three measures pass, the one that receives the most votes would likely prevail, legal experts said. Specific provisions of the proposals may be subject to interpretation, however, and could lead to legal disputes. Advertisement The higher number of votes is the one that would take effect under state law, said Rick Hasen, a professor at Loyola Law School, a specialist in election law. But thats only if theyre competing. Sometimes, theres overlaps, and thats where theres legal challenges. Vista City Attorney Darold Pieper agreed that provisions of the higher-ranking initiative would take precedence, but said prior court rulings dont provide simple guidance for that process. There is case law out there, but it is all very fact-specific, Pieper said. So you have to look at each one and take them apart piece by piece, to see what may be left. In addition, the city has warned supporters of Measure Z to stop distributing campaign flyers in support of municipal candidates, without stating that the promotions are not affiliated with their campaigns. The city attorney issued cease-and-desist letters to one of the pro-pot campaigns regarding flyers distributed last month in support of mayoral candidate Joe Green and council candidate Corinna Contreras. In violation of campaign finance laws, the flyers were designed to appear as if they came from the candidates themselves, and didnt clearly disclose who paid for them, the city attorney stated. Green told the city attorney and The San Diego Union-Tribune that he had no role in creating or distributing the material. Contreras could not be reached for comment. The large cash infusions and flurry of campaign messages reflect the interests at stake, as marijuana producers and retailers and their supporters seek to secure legal sales outlets in the region. If voters approve the measure, Vista would become the first city in North County to allow storefront marijuana sales. They want Measure Z on the ballot because, at the end of the day, they want safe and reliable access for medical cannabis patients, said former Vista Councilman Cody Campbell, now a campaign consultant for the campaign. The measure qualified for the ballot last September, allowing Vista voters in this years general election to weigh in on retail sales of both medical and adult use marijuana. Measure Z, proposed by the pro-pot organization Vistans for Safe Community Access, would authorize retail medical marijuana sales for up to 11 businesses, at shops located in the citys commercial, industrial, business park and mixed-use commercial/residential zoning districts. It would also impose a 7 percent special tax on gross sales. The proposal followed two separate petition drives, the first of which was rejected for technical errors in the paperwork. The second qualified for this years general election, but not a special election, as supporters had hoped. In June, the city council, seeking to gain a handle on potential pot sales, approved an alternate ballot initiative that would permit more restricted marijuana business. Measure BB would allow just three delivery-only medical pot retailers and two product safety testing laboratories, located exclusively in industrial or manufacturing zones and part of the citys business park. Measure AA, also proposed by the council, would tax marijuana cultivation at $14 per square foot of cultivation facilities, and tax gross sales at up to 3.5 percent for testing labs, 8 percent for manufacturing and distribution, 10 percent for medical cannabis, and 12 percent for adult-use pot sales. Between the lengthy petition drives and the referendum campaign, Vistans for Safe Community Access collected total contributions of $467,869, according to campaign filings with the Vista City Clerk. That included campaign contributions of $191,118 in 2016, $227,101 in 2017 and $49,650 this year. The largest contributor was Jda Property Management Group, LLC, which donated $93,493 in 2016 and $201,887 in 2017. Another donor, Dub Brothers Management, LLC, contributed $85,125 in 2016. Campbell said thats not all going to campaign ads. The majority of that money, particularly contributions made in 2016 and 2017, funded the multiple petition drives needed to put the measure on the ballot, he said. A separate organization listed as Safe Vista-Safe Access-Safe Community, Yes on Measure Z, sponsored by Barry Walker, prospective licensee collected donations totaling $107,600, including $72,600 from Walker and $35,000 from Jay Tee Investments, Inc. Dub Brothers reported an additional $35,000 loan to that committee on Tuesday. On Oct. 2, the committee reported expenditures of $5,839 on a campaign flyer in support of council candidate Corinna Contreras. On Oct. 19, that committee reported spending $13,673 on campaign flyers for Councilman Joe Green, who is challenging incumbent Mayor Judy Ritter for her seat. The city attorney received complaints about the flyers, which didnt cite the committees full name, identify Walker as a potential licensee, or include a disclaimer that the ad was not authorized by the candidates. If its an independent expenditure, the candidate can in no way be involved in the flyer, Pieper said. Theres a no coordination rule. Otherwise, it would exceed campaign contribution limits. Pieper issued a cease-and-desist notice ordering the committees organizers to stop distributing the materials, or face potential misdemeanor charges and fines. During council debates on the measures, Green expressed support for legalizing access, noting that 57 percent of Vista voters voted for Proposition 64, which legalized marijuana in California, and an equal percentage favored retail sales in Vista, according to a city-commissioned poll. Those positions may have led Measure Z proponents to conclude that he would be a preferable candidate for mayor. Green said, however, that he had no part in the flyer, which included photos of him with his family and campaign volunteers, and the web address to his website. He responded to the city attorney with the following statement: Im in receipt of your cease-and-desist notice and wanted to respond in writing ASAP. The information contained in the mailers was sent from a PAC unaffiliated with my campaign. All photos, web sites, and information was obtained via public access and was in no way authorized or produced, by me, my campaign committee, or members. I appreciate your diligence in insuring compliance with FPPC regulations for all candidates for office. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter, please feel free to contact me anytime. Pieper said Contreras has not responded to his inquiry about the campaign flyers. Contreras did not respond to requests for comment by the San Diego Union-Tribune. deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan Health & Wellness By Ls Cohen Published: May 07 2020 Both counties reported a total of 76,335 positive cases. Numbers reported daily by Nassau and Suffolk counties show that there are a total of 76,335 positive cases on Long Island as of Wednesday night. Suffolk reported that there are 38,985 confirmed cases at this time and Nassau reported 37,350 total Covid-19 positives. This virus keeps throwing us curveballs, said Nassau County Laura Curran in a press conference on Thursday, noting a new report that showed most new cases are coming from people who are actually out of work and staying at home. Suffolk County also reported that there are 773 patients hospitalized. Of those, 295 are in the intensive care unit. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said during his daily briefing on Wednesday that after two days where hospitalizations were going up, the downward trend returned on Wednesday. He called the increases a real concern but said it might be an anomaly. He noted a decline in Covid-19 patients in ICU beds. Which is also very good news, he said. Intibations declined as well. In Suffolk, hospital capacity is at 74% and ICU capacity is around 70%. In Nassau, there were 974 people hospitalized, of those, 306 are in the ICU with 254 on ventilators. Curran said that the number of people hospitalized for Covid-19 was down for 21 straight days, a positive sign. Suffolk County has administered 101,975 Covid-19 tests, with 34.6% of those tested confirmed positive for COVID-19. Nassau County did not report on the total number of tests administered. Sadly, 3,187 people have died so far on Long Island from Covid-19. 1,296 deaths were in Suffolk County and 1,891 in Nassau County from Covid-19. Unfortunately, the Nassau County death rate due to Covid-19 was up, according to Curran. In the United States, 75,639 have died due to Covid-19 to date. Statistics also show that over 5,900 people have recovered from Covid-19 on Long Island so far. Food insecurity has also been a big issue on Long Island in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. Food stamp applications jumped in March, according to Curran. She said that Nassau County put money aside for Island Harvest hoping to aid those in need. No one in Nassau County should worry about their next meal, she said. Angry over a villager informing the district administration about the return of some migrants from Mumbai amid the coronavirus lockdown, two rival groups clashed in a village here, leaving nine people injured. Some residents of Hata Revaliya village had returned from Mumbai without informing the health department and the district administration, but a villager, Wakil Ahmed, informed authorities, following which a health department team reached the village, SP Vipin Mishra said on Thursday. This infuriated Zainuddin and Abdul Kadir who along with 10 others attacked Ahmed onWednesday, leaving nine people injured. Cross FIRs have been lodged and the main accused, Abdul Kadir, has been arrested, the SP said, adding that the matter is being investigated and more arrests will be made soon. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Guangzhou, capital of south Chinas Guangdong province, will hold the first live streaming festival in China to promote sales in various fields, Guangzhou Municipal Commerce Bureau disclosed Wednesday. A woman sells local farm products via live streaming in Zhashui county, Shaanxi province on Apirl 21, 2020. (Photo/Xinhua) The festival, marking the countrys first festival for product promotion via live streaming activities based in a city, will last for three days and is expected to witness more than 200,000 live streaming shows. Slated to kick off at the beginning of June, the event will include all live webcasts of several companies in multiple industries, while fully displaying Guangzhous abundant supply of goods, fast logistics, and mature supply chain. Under a 1+N pattern, the event will have a main venue and multiple parallel sessions across the city, with efforts expected to boost offline consumption through online promotion for iconic featured business areas, cultural and tourism projects as well as shopping malls. Besides traditional wholesale and retail trade, operators in other industries such as accommodation, catering, manufacturing, rental service, commercial services, as well as the education field, will all join the event to promote products and services. The event will also contribute to the countrys anti-poverty endeavor by promoting quality agricultural products and local specialties of impoverished regions, helping promote and sell products of central Chinas Hubei province, the worst-hit province in China during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Foreign trade enterprises and companies engaging in cross-border e-commerce are encouraged to promote export commodities at home via live webcasts during the event to help reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these enterprises. Live streaming e-commerce has become a new form of business and represents the direction of the development of e-commerce, said Qi Xianjun, a researcher at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou. MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With COVID-19 affecting 213 countries, areas and territories , Workato , the leading and fastest-growing enterprise automation platform, is helping businesses throughout the world adjust to the new reality of work. Autopilot, a package of 4 bots run by customizable automation recipes on the Workato platform, is being offered for free for 6 months. Autopilot helps with employee wellness, as well as enabling productivity through the popular collaboration, communication, and productivity platforms Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Workplace from Facebook . Workato has a large office in Singapore, a country that began dealing with the spread of Covid-19 earlier than many other countries. The government quickly put measures in place to stop the spread of the disease. "We first built these automations and bots just for our own internal use to help us manage our employees and comply with the guidelines of the Singaporean government," said Allan Teng, Managing Director and VP, APJ at Workato. "When we mentioned what we had created to customers, they wanted to use the Autopilot pack too. That's when we realized this could truly help companies across the world adjust to this new reality." Autopilot includes new bots and automations for the following: Assistant: Make administrative work easy - create IT request tickets, PTO requests, order WFH equipment, search knowledge bases, submit expense reports, and do all the approvals for these requests from inside of Workplace, Teams, or Slack. Seamlessly connect to your key applications for these activities like Trello, ServiceNow, Workday, Expensify, Amazon, and Coupa. Make administrative work easy - create IT request tickets, PTO requests, order WFH equipment, search knowledge bases, submit expense reports, and do all the approvals for these requests from inside of Workplace, Teams, or Slack. Seamlessly connect to your key applications for these activities like Trello, ServiceNow, Workday, Expensify, Amazon, and Coupa. Standup: Do your daily standups in Workplace, Teams, or Slack and view/update your tasks in your project management tool (Trello, Airtable, Jira, Zoom, Github) from the chat console. Do your daily standups in Workplace, Teams, or Slack and view/update your tasks in your project management tool (Trello, Airtable, Jira, Zoom, Github) from the chat console. Buddy: Connect with your colleagues and hangout with them virtually. Buddy pairs up people based on interests at or outside work. Connect with your colleagues and hangout with them virtually. Buddy pairs up people based on interests at or outside work. Wellness: Keep your employees engaged and healthy - Wellness guides you through a wellness plan for the day, from health reminders to participating in company-wide health challenges. Autopilot is helping some of the most essential businesses operate safely. For example, SMRT, Singapore's mass transit provider, has 11,000 employees that allow SMRT to support an average daily ridership of 3.384 million. "In this uncertain time, we are working hard to ensure business continuity. We started using Workato about 2 weeks into the Covid-19 pandemic to capture real-time travel declarations and the statuses of 11,000 employees. This not only saves administrative time, but creates a great experience for our employees, who can complete a declaration within Workplace from Facebook in just 15 to 30 seconds," said Jonathan Goh, Application Architect at SMRT Corporation. But does this really apply to the U.S. and other countries? "The three biggest concerns we hear from our customers in this new landscape are: 1. How do we ensure the well-being of our employees, 2. How do we provide business continuity as government guidelines and work environments change, and 3. How do we rapidly adapt our business processes to support the dramatically altered ways in which companies and their customers must work today and going forward," said Vijay Tella, CEO of Workato. "Companies in the Asia Pacific region began confronting these challenges much earlier and can help predict what life may look like when we start transitioning out of the stricter lockdown we have been under in the United States. We hope by releasing solutions we created for our Asia Pacific customers over the past three months, it will help businesses with the 'now' and the future." Autopilot for Workplace, Teams, and Slack is available to any organization free for 6 months via the Workato platform. Workato's advisory, consulting, and implementation partners have also come together to form the Global Automation Alliance. The Global Automation Alliance is volunteering automation "quick-start" services to any healthcare related organization on the frontlines of this pandemic. If you are a healthcare related organization and want to learn more, please contact [email protected]. To see how Autopilot for Workplace, Teams, or Slack can help you, visit: https://discover.workato.com/autopilot About Workato Workato is the operating system for today's fast-moving business. Recognized as a leader, Workato is the only enterprise automation platform that enables both business and IT to integrate their apps and automate even the most mission-critical workflows without compromising security and governance. Workato is trusted by over 6,000 of the world's top brands and fastest growing innovators. For more information, visit www.workato.com or connect with us on social media: SOURCE Workato Related Links https://www.workato.com/ South Africa has expressed willingness to assist Madagascar to undertake scientific analysis of COVID Organics (CVO), a herbal drink that is said to prevent and cure patients suffering from the novel coronavirus or COVID-19. We received a call from the government of Madagascar, which asked for help with scientific research, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, said in a Twitter post. Our scientists would be able to assist in the research. We will only get involved in a scientific analysis of the herb, he added. Last month, Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina officially launched the CVO, a herbal mixture, claiming that it can prevent and cure patients suffering from the novel coronavirus. The drug was developed by the Malagasy Institute of Applied Research. Rajoelina said on Monday that his government was already collaborating with foreign doctors and researchers for research possibilities of the Artemisia plant the main component of CVO. He said the country was working on a new injectable solution of CVO also. A pharmaceutical factory will be set up within a month to increase the production capacity of CVO. It will be administered in other forms such as injections, said the president. The African Union has also said that it is obtaining technical data related to the safety and efficiency of the CVO. But, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against any self-medication and said it has not recommended any medicine as a cure for COVID-19. The UN agency said it supports scientifically-proven traditional medicine. WHO welcomes every opportunity to collaborate with countries and researchers to develop new therapies and encourages such collaboration for the development of effective and safe therapies for Africa and the world, the UN agency responsible for global health said in a statement. The total number of coronavirus cases in Africa have reached 49,352, according to data released by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday. BerlinRosen has rebranded via a new website, social media presence and "Your story, above all" mission statement as the New York-based firm celebrates its 15th anniversary year. The rebrand is a result of a year-long process designed to showcase how BR embraces its clients' goals and works with them to develop and execute plans that get results, explained Valerie Berlin and Jonathan Rosen. "The idea to build a communications firm that operates with the speed and intensity of a political campaign has taken us from a two-person startup fifteen years ago to a team of nearly 200 strategists, writers, producers and designers," they said. The revamped website contains 13 subsites dedicated to practice areas served by the firm. They are arts & culture, campaigns & elections, crisis management, education, health, issue advocacy, labor, lifestyle & travel, nonprofits & philanthropy, public affairs, real estate & land use, renewable energy & environment, and technology & innovation. There also is a dedicated subsite for COVID-19 response that shows how BR helps clients navigate the crisis with tactics across earned media, digital strategy, advertising, internal communications and crisis management. BR, which has offices in NYC, Washington and Los Angeles, represents clients such as Samsung, Singapore Airlines, UNICEF USA, HBO Max, Bloomberg Media, Ford Foundation and Brookfield. Actor Kareena Kapoor Khan on Thursday took us back in time as she posted a vintage picture of her parents -- Randhir Kapoor and Babita -- with her late uncle Rishi Kapoor and music composer RD Burman. Sharing the picture, she simply wrote: Irreplaceable. In the picture, a young Babita holds on to the hand of RD Burman, as Randhir and Rishi stand next to her. Rishi has his charismatic smile on his face. After the death of her uncle Rishi due to leukaemia, Kareena has been posting quite a few old family pictures. She had posted a picture of Rishi and her late father-in-law Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and written: Two Tigers. Another time, she had written: The best boys I know... Papa and Chintu uncle. Also read: When Shah Rukh Khan asked Priyanka Chopra if shell marry an actor like him at Miss India pageant, this was her response Kareena has been a pillar of support to Neetu Kapoor and cousins, Ranbir Kapoor and Riddhima Kapoor, after they lost Rishi Kapoor to cancer on April 30. She and her husband Saif Ali Khan were among the few immediate family and friends to be present at the hospital after Rishis death. Later, after the rituals were done, she visited her aunt Neetu Kapoor and Ranbir to show support. The veteran actor had been battling the dreaded disease. He had been diagnosed in 2018 and left for New York for treatment. He, with his wife Neetu, stayed put in the US city, getting treated for the disease. He returned to India in September last year, but took seriously ill early this year. He died a day after another well known actor Irrfan Khan died in another Mumbai hospital, battling neuroendocrine tumour. Follow @htshowbiz for more New Delhi: A gas leaked from a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam in the early hours of Thursday (May 7) and spread to villages in a five-kilometer radius, killing at least 11 people and impacting about 1,000. The incident took place at the LG Polymer plant at Gopalapatnam on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam. The plastic factory that was closed during the lockdown was reportedly being prepared for the resumption of operations. About 500 people from 200-250 families in a three-kilometer radius were evacuated to safer places. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has ordered a probe into the matter, besides announcing an ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore for kin of the deceased. So far, 10,000 people have been rescued from the surrounding areas. Here is a list of major gas leak incidents across the world: 1. March 18, 1937: Nearly 300 students were killed in a natural gas explosion at Texas school. The gas leak took place in the basement of 1,200-student Consolidated School in New London, Texas, causing a massive explosion that killed almost 300 children and teachers. The Consolidated School of New London, Texas, was situated in the middle of a large oil and natural gas field. 2. Bhopal gas tragedy (1984): The 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy which killed thousands of people is among the world's major industrial accidents" of the 20th century, a UN report said. Around 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate gas leaked from a pesticide plant owned by US multinational Union Carbide Corp in Bhopal on December 3, 1984. According to official records, the Bhopal gas tragedy killed 3,787 people. The figures were updated by the Madhya Pradesh government later as the immediate official estimate had put the death toll due to gas leak from the Union Carbide factory at 2,259. In an affidavit submitted in 2006, the MP government said that the Bhopal gas leak caused 5,58,125 injuries that included approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries. 3. Piper Alpha disaster (1988): It was the worlds worst oil rig disaster, killing 167 people on July 6, 1988. The explosion took place at Occidental Petroleums Piper Alpha oil rig in the North Sea following a gas leak. 4. Ufa Train Disaster (1989): It was a railway accident in the Iglinsky district (then the Bashkir A.S.S.R, Soviet Union) that killed 575, injuring over 800 people on June 4, 1989. The gas had spilled out from a faulty pipeline near the railway, creating a highly flammable cloud in the path of trains. As the trains passed each other, sparks from their wheels ignited the gas, causing a huge explosion. 5. Guadalajara Gas blast (1992): A leak of gasoline into the sewer system caused 12 explosions in downtown Guadalajara, Mexico occurred between 10:05 and 11:16 am, killing over 200 people and injuring more than 600 on April 22, 1992. Eight kilometers of streets were destroyed or seriously damaged in the explosion. 6. Beijing Gas leak (December 2008): A gas leak at a steel plant near Beijing killed 17 people and killed 27, said China's official News Agency Xinhua. The accident occurred at the Ganglu Iron and Steel Co Ltd, which had 7,000 employees. 7. Gas leak in China Mine (Nov 2011): A gas leak in China Mine accident killed 20 miners. An initial investigation found that the gas leak occurred at one platform inside the shaft and the gas spread to another platform, trapping 43 miners working in the two areas. 8. Kaohsiung gas explosions (2014): A series of gas explosions took place in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung that killed 25 people and injured 267 others on July 31, 2014. A propane gas leak took place in an underground industrial pipeline which was not inspected for more than 20 years and it was reported to be the reason behind the origin of the blast. 9. China gas leak (May 2017): A gas leak had killed at least 18 people working in a coal mine in central China's Hunan province. As many as 55 people were working in the mining shaft when a gas leak took place at the Jilinqiao colliery in Huangfengqiao Township, Youxian County. 10. Iran Gas Leak (August 2017): More than 400 people suffered respiratory and other health problems after a chlorine gas leakage in the south of Iran. The gas leaked from reservoirs in an abandoned warehouse of a local water supply company in Dezful city on August 13, 2017. 11. China Hebei province gas leak (Nov 2018): A flammable gas leak at a plant owned by ChemChina subsidiary Hebei Shenghua Chemical Industry Co caused a blast that killed 23 people and injured 22 in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province. PVC producer Hebei Shenghua had leaked vinyl chloride during production, and it caught fire causing a series of explosions that burned trucks and buildings, according to parent company ChemChina. SPRINGFIELD Greater Springfield Senior Services Inc., is encouraging area residents to receive "Grab N Go lunches during the coronavirus being offered at six senior center sites in the region. The program, which began May 1, is for area residents over the age of 60 who are mobile and social distancing due to the coronavirus, but wish to receive a delicious, healthy lunch, organizers said. Greater Springfield Senior Services, Inc. (GSSSI) is providing the program with partners including: the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, Springfield (Tuesday & Friday), The Gray House, Springfield (Tuesday & Friday), Brimfield Council on Aging (Monday, Wednesday & Friday), Palmer Council on Aging (Tuesday & Thursday), Hampden Council on Aging (Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday) and Wilbraham Council on Aging (Tuesday & Friday). iThose who wish to check out the menu choices, and for reservation information, visit the GSSSI website at https://www.gsssi.org/. of call GSSSI at (413) 781-2135. Start-up funding was provided by the COVID 19 Response Fund for the Pioneer Valley, Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts. The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) is transporting food from the caterers to the meal sites Springfield Senior Services Inc. provides a variety of in home and community based services for older adults, individuals with disabilities and caregivers. Services include information and referral, caregiver support, care management, and protective services for victims of elder abuse. Chinese rights attorney Wen Donghai has reappeared following his detention in the wake of a Dec. 13 gathering in the southeastern port city of Xiamen. RFA contacted Wen, a rights attorney stripped of his license to practice by the ruling Chinese Communist Party, on Thursday, but he appeared reluctant to comment on his time behind bars. "There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the pandemic right now, so this may have had something to do with the fact that I couldn't come home for such a long period of time," Wen told RFA. "They told me not to post anything online, or to speak out, including giving media interviews," Wen said. "They sought out all of my family members including my brother, sister, nephew, niece, everyone," he said. "They also paid a visit to my wife, her parents, and her brother, as well as some of my friends." A source familiar with Wen's case said he is cautious about speaking to overseas media for fear of losing his freedom. "He knows very well that the authorities can redetain him at any time,so he is going to put some of his professional knowledge to good use to avoid the authorities getting hold of any information about him," the source said. "That's why he has been in hiding all of this time; it's been the only way to get through this period of time in safety," he said. "He also wants to protect the people who have been helping and protecting him." He said Wen's inside knowledge of law enforcement procedures and his major in investigative studies would likely help him stay on the right side of the system. Called in by police Wen was called in by state security police in Hunan's provincial capital, Changsha, on his return from the meeting in Xiamen last December, after which a number of prominent dissidents were also detained. "They just wanted to know what was going on and to take a statement from me," Wen said. "But I refused, and they didn't insist any further after that." Wen said the whole of China is in a phase of unpredictability amid the coronavirus pandemic. "I don't know what will happen in future; maybe times will get even harder," he said. "Especially for people like us, dissidents." The source familiar with Wen's case said his wife is now in the United States. "The epidemic situation has basically stabilized in China now, so [Wen] feels that it is safe to come out now; that the toughest time is over," the source said. "The authorities have also cooled off on the [Xiamen] case to a certain extent." Nationwide crackdown On Dec. 26, police from Shandong coordinated with other police nationwide to arrest human rights activists and participants who gathered in Xiamen, Fujian, in early December to organize civil society and plan nonviolent social movements in the country. People who attended were detained on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power and subversion of state power." The latter charge carries a minimum 10-year prison sentence. While their families waited to learn their whereabouts, other rights activists who had gone to the Xiamen event, and even those indirectly connected to them, fled the country or went on the run. Among them was New Citizens' Movement founder Xu Zhiyong, who was eventually detained in Guangdong province on subversion charges. Several others involved in the meeting, including human rights lawyers, were held for several days in police custody in various jurisdictions for questioning and investigation, according to recent U.S. State Department report. Three United Nations human rights experts have since expressed "grave concern" over the fate of three human rights lawyers forcibly disappeared by the Chinese authorities in the same operation. Ding Jiaxi, Zhang Zhongshun, and Dai Zhenya are currently being held without access to family visits or lawyers under a form of detention known as Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location (RSDL), which is used to "disappear" people accused of crimes relating to national security. Risk of torture The experts said RSDL is not compatible with international human rights law, because it enables the authorities to circumvent judicial processes and detain people incommunicado for up to six months, putting them at greater risk of torture. Rights activist Zhao Zhongyuan, who has worked with a number of torture victims caught up in a nationwide crackdown on rights lawyers and NGOs since July 2015, said he is now also under close police surveillance. "There has been a series of crackdowns on me, including drinking tea [questioning]," Zhao told RFA on Wednesday. "They come to my home regularly, two or three times a week, and neighborhood committee people come in with a camera and shoot [my home], then send the footage to the relevant departments," he said. "Police from the local police station often rush in for no reason and ask to check my ID," Zhao said. Reported by Gao Feng and Han Qing for RFA's Mandarin and Cantonese Services. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has in the past three weeks nabbed more than 100 traders from Accra who travelled to Aflao covertly in the hope of crossing to Lome, Togo, though unapproved routes. In most cases, the traders, mostly women, were with their properties at various locations in the border town, waiting their turn for okada operators to assist them to cross into Togo, in violation of the closure of the border. Mr Peter Claver Nantuo, Deputy Commissioner of Immigration (DCI) in-charge of the Volta Region disclosed these to the Ghanaian Times in an interview here on Tuesday. He said that the traders had all been sent back to Accra. According to DCI Nantuo, the persistent activities of okada operators along the frontier, was seriously affecting the operations of the GIS in collaboration with the other security agencies, to enforce the ban on the closure of the border. However, he said that some patriotic citizens in border town communities readily volunteered vital information on the activities of okada operators to the GIS. So, we intercept them before they cross the border, the Volta GIS commander added. DCI Nantuo said that the obstinate traders who often attempted to cross into Togo through unapproved routes were mostly dealers in textiles and vegetables. This is because they find those items cheaper in Togo, said DCI Nantuo. Meanwhile, the GIS have seized at least 30 motorcycles belonging to okada operators in the Ketu South Municipality for their alleged complicity in illegal cross-border activities in the recent time. DCI Natuo stated that the GIS had taken the necessary legal action to confiscate the bikes for the state permanently. Similarly, he said, the GIS had seized three motorbikes in near Xevi and two near the Batume Junction. Source: Ghanaian Times 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 WASHINGTON Testifying at a Senate hearing on the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday afternoon, conservative economist Avik Roy deployed one of President Trumps favorite metaphors for discussing the outbreak, which has killed more than 71,000 Americans. Thirty-seven thousand Americans die each year in traffic fatalities, and yet we dont shut down the roads, said Roy, president of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity. He called vehicular accidents a good mental framework for how to live with COVID-19, referring to the lower respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. Avik Roy attends 2019 Forbes Healthcare Summit at the Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 05, 2019 in New York City. (Steven Ferdman/Getty Images) That is, there were, in his view, ways to save lives that didnt require dramatic, society-wide measures. We expect individual drivers to be responsible for their own conduct and the conduct of passengers. Something similar can work for COVID-19, he said, describing how businesses could do regular deep-cleanings and people could continue to wash their hands thoroughly and regularly. Trump ally Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., convened the hearing, titled COVID-19: How New Information Should Drive Policy. Billed as a roundtable of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, which Johnson chairs, the hearing included some of the nations most prominent dissenters on mainstream measures like business closures, stay-at-home orders and calls for widespread testing. It fell to Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., to point out that, highly credentialed though they may be, the doctors present were not directly involved in the administrations pandemic response. That naturally devalued their opinions, she argued. We should not have low-level officials, Harris said, we should have those folks who have the responsibility and the authority for the administration of the American taxpayer dollars to come in and be accountable to our committee and our responsibility of oversight. Sen. Johnson said that many of those officials were too busy to testify before Congress. But, he promised, we will do the oversight. Story continues A Los Angeles freeway that usually has bumper-to-bumper traffic sits empty. (DutcherAerials/Getty Images) President Trump has kept Dr. Anthony Fauci, a prominent member of the White House coronavirus task force, from testifying before the House of Representatives, which is controlled by Democrats. But he did say that Fauci and others could appear before the Republican-controlled Senate. Participants in Tuesdays hearing included Dr. David L. Katz, a high-profile epidemiologist who in March published a widely debated New York Times op-ed provocatively titled Is Our Fight Against Coronavirus Worse Than the Disease? Speaking a month-and-a-half later from his home office, Dr. Katz, who founded the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, was ready to answer the question in the affirmative. He called lockdown measures draconian and said that the unintended consequences of our interdiction efforts were potentially more dangerous than the disease they were supposed to stop. Some of those consequences, he said, included poverty and unemployment, as well as fear of seeking non-coronavirus-related medical care. He cited an increase in domestic violence incidents and deteriorating mental health. Those are real families, Katz said. Those are real people. Epidemiologist Dr. David L. Katz (David Katz/Facebook) Considering the mortality statistics from last several months, Katz argued that a more nuanced approach was necessary. This is a different disease for different populations, he said. He called for the elderly and already ill to continue staying at home, while arguing that younger, healthier people should resume ordinary lives without much worry. Trump has argued much the same thing, though without describing a national plan for reopening. He has largely left that task to the states, which has resulted in a confusing patchwork of public health directives. All the witnesses present digitally, that is expressed skepticism of continuing lockdown measures, which many states are continuing. They also said it was unrealistic to test millions of Americans daily. Everything is about targeted protecting of at-risk people, said Dr. Scott Atlas of the Hoover Institution, and allowing people to get out who are not in those groups, particularly so that we can increase herd immunity. He seemed to be alluding to the Swedish model of pandemic response, which is predicated on the notion that letting the disease spread will lead more quickly to people developing widespread immunity against it. The notion has been disputed. Atlas also reprised a point made by Katz, not to mention frequently by President Trump. Were killing people with total isolation and lockdown, he warned. The economics alone is causing a massive catastrophe, he added. Nearly 30 million Americans have lost their jobs since the pandemic arrived in the United States in early 2020. This was the third day of hearings in a Senate that has slowly and sometimes awkwardly returned to work. At one point, a dog appeared to interrupt Dr. Atlas. And, as millions of Americans have in recent weeks, Sen. Harris, asked if she could be seen and heard before launching into her argument. All events and gatherings of people is cancelled due to Coronavirus in spring of 2020. (nktwentythree/istock/Getty Images) The sole Democratic witness was Dr. Thomas Inglesby of the Johns Hopkins University. He called for daily coronavirus diagnostic testing to be increased by about five times, to about a million tests administered a day. That is much lower than a recent Harvard study, which called for testing about 20 million people per day in order for the country to fully and safely reopen. He defended measures like testing and contact tracing, without arguing with fellow witnesses who discounted them. The roundtable lacked the kind of vitriol that has marked some of the White House coronavirus task force briefings, where President Trump has sometimes argued with reporters. Also absent were the broad denunciations often seen on cable news. At the same time, the impatience to reopen was evident. We can reassure the vast majority of the American population that their risk is extremely low, said Dr. John P.A. Ioannidis of Stanford University. He then used the same analogy that Roy, the economist, used in his opening statement, comparing the risk of contracting the disease to that of driving a car. (Thumbnail Photo: Noam Galai/Getty Images) _____ 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. Read more: Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, leaves the federal court following a status conference with Judge Emmet Sullivan, in Washington on Sept. 10, 2019. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo) DOJ Drops Case Against Michael Flynn The Department of Justice (DOJ) has dropped its case against Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and former national security adviser to President Donald Trump. Flynn pleaded guilty on Dec. 1, 2017, to one count of lying during a Jan. 24, 2017, interview with the FBI. The Government has concluded that the interview of Mr. Flynn was untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBIs counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynna no longer justifiably predicated investigation that the FBI had, in the Bureaus own words, prepared to close because it had yielded an absence of any derogatory information, said Timothy Shea, interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, in his May 6 motion to dismiss (pdf). Since the government wasnt persuaded that the FBI interviewed Flynn with a legitimate investigative basis, Flynns guilty plea was irrelevantto be a crime, a lie needs to be material, which means it has to have probative weight on the investigated matter, Shea said. Moreover, we not believe that the Government can prove either the relevant false statements or their materiality beyond a reasonable doubt. The Flynn case has been a focus for criticism among Trump supporters against a number of mostly former top FBI officials involved in the investigation dubbed Crossfire Hurricane. The probe, launched in 2016, was to determine whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to sway the presidential election. It was taken over in May 2017 by a special counsel, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, who concluded in March 2019 that the probe was unable to establish any such collusion. Several reviews of the Russia investigation uncovered a plethora of irregularities and malfeasance. At least some of the investigators themselves are currently under criminal investigation by U.S. Attorney John Durham. Flynn responded to the news by posting on Twitter a video of his grandson reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. My grandson Travisand JUSTICE for ALL, the retired general wrote. The dismissal of the Flynn case was recommended by Jeffrey Jensen, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, who was directed in January by Attorney General William Barr to perform a review of the case. I concluded the proper and just course was to dismiss the case, Jensen said in a May 7 statement released by the DOJ. I briefed Attorney General Barr on my findings, advised him on these conclusions, and he agreed. The move follows a recent release of documents that show the FBI was about to close the Flynn case on Jan. 4, 2017nearly three weeks before the Flynn interview. Believing that the counterintelligence investigation of Mr. Flynn was to be closed, FBI leadership determined to continue its investigation of Mr. Flynn on the basis of his December 2016 calls with then-Russian ambassador to the United States Sergei Kislyak and considered opening a new criminal investigation based solely on a potential violation of the Logan Act, Shea said. The purported basis was that Flynn allegedly voiced to Kislyak policy preferences of the incoming administration on several issues, including a request that Russia delay a United Nations vote on Israeli settlements and for Russia to only respond reciprocally to fresh sanctions imposed in late December 2016 by outgoing President Barack Obama. The Logan Act, passed in 1799, prohibits Americans from conducting diplomacy on their own with countries that the United States has a dispute with. Only two people have ever been indicted for allegedly breaking it, the last one in 1852. Neither was convicted. The investigation was never opened, as discussions with the Department of Justice resulted in the general view that the Logan Act would be difficult to prosecute, Shea said. The FlynnKislyak calls were entirely appropriate on their face and did not warrant either continuing that existing counterintelligence investigation or opening a new criminal investigation, he said, noting that such calls are not uncommon when incumbent public officials preparing for their oncoming duties seek to begin and build relationships with soon-to-be counterparts. The FBI had word-for-word transcripts of the calls, and there was nothing in them to indicate an inappropriate relationship between Mr. Flynn and a foreign power, Shea said. Indeed, Mr. Flynns request that Russia avoid escalating tensions in response to U.S. sanctions in an effort to mollify geopolitical tensions was consistent with him advocating for, not against, the interests of the United States. Instead of opening a new investigation based on the Logan Act, then-head of FBI counterintelligence operations Peter Strzok worked to keep the original counterintelligence investigation open on behalf of the 7th floor on Jan. 4, 2017, as shown by contemporaneous text messages with then-FBI attorney Lisa Page, who was at the time his mistress as well as special counsel to Andrew McCabe, then-deputy director of the bureau. About a week later, information about the FlynnKislyak calls began to be leaked to the media while speculation that Flynn violated the Logan Act circulated. Flynn then denied to several members of the incoming Trump administration that he discussed the sanctions with Kislyak. A number of top officials in the DOJ and the intelligence community argued that the Trump administration should be informed that Flynn didnt describe the calls accurately. But then-FBI Director James Comey pushed back, according to Shea, and instead directed McCabe to send Strzok and another agent into the White House to interview Flynn without informing either the DOJ or the White House. According to Shea, there was no justification for the interview. Whatever gaps in his memory Mr. Flynn might or might not reveal upon an interview regurgitating the content of those calls would not have implicated legitimate counterintelligence interests or somehow exposed Mr. Flynn as beholden to Russia, he said. Flynn agreed with McCabes interview request, saying the FBI already knew what was said in the Kislyak calls anyway. During the interview, he denied clear recollection of the request to Kislyak regarding the sanctions and denied asking for Russia to vote a certain way or delay the UN vote, the agents notes from the interview indicate. Strzok and the other agent came away with the impression that Flynn was not lying or did not think he was lying, Strzok later told one of Muellers prosecutors. Under these circumstances, the Government cannot explain, much less prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt, how false statements are material to an investigation thatas explained aboveseems to have been undertaken only to elicit those very false statements and thereby criminalize Mr. Flynn, Shea said. In January, Flynn asked District Judge Emmet Sullivan, who presides over his case, to allow him to withdraw his original guilty plea. In a declaration to the court, Flynn asserted innocence, saying his plea statement is false and that he only signed it because of his former lawyers ineffective counsel and because prosecutors threatened to charge his son. Hes accused his former lawyers, from the firm Covington and Burling, of keeping key information from him, including about the full scope of a conflict of interest the firm faced regarding the case. Also, Shea said, Flynn had pleaded without full awareness of the circumstances of the newly discovered, disclosed, or declassified information as to the FBIs investigation of him. Covington and Burling had no comment when reached by The Epoch Times via email. Flynns current lawyers, led by former Texas prosecutor Sidney Powell, have argued for months that the case should be dismissed for government misconduct and in the interest of justice. The Plateau State Government on Thursday discharged the states index case of Coronavirus (COVID-19), from one of its isolation centres at Jos University Teaching Hospital(JUTH). The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN), reports that the patient was confirmed positive to the pandemic on April 23, 2020 after the test was conducted on April 17. The Consultant Physician, Infectious Disease, at JUTH, Nathan Shehu, who confirmed the recovery and discharge of the patient, said the treatment was successful. The patient has recovered and is fit to reintegrate into the community. She no longer poses a risk. The patient came asymptomatic; after treatment, her samples were taken and they all are negative, so she is discharged and can go home. The advice we will give her is the same we will give those in the community. She should maintain social distance, respiratory and cough etiquette and hand hygiene, he said. The Consultant, who was involved in managing the patient, urged the public not to stigmatise those treated and discharged. Such persons should be encouraged. This particular patient has already received psyco-social support. The state Commissioner for Health, Nimkong Ndam, had, on Wednesday, told journalists that two tests were conducted on the index case with both results turning negative. He said that the patient would, therefore, be discharged. Mr Ndam, in a telephone interview with NAN on Thursday, said the patient would be conveyed home by government officials as she had been certified COVID-19 free. Government officials will take her home. She is now free from the virus, he declared. (NAN) By Li Jie The US Navy, which has blundered big time in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic, reported on April 23 infections on 40 military vessels, which made up 1/7 of US's existing vessels. Against such a background, the US Navy and Air Force's reconnaissance planes have flown over the Taiwan Strait at a much higher frequency recently. On May 4, two B-1B supersonic strategic bombers flew to the East China Sea and appeared over waters off Taiwan for the first time. What are they up to? It's known to all that ever since the US labeled China as an important strategic competitor in Trump's first National Security Strategy released in December 2017, the Pentagon has intensified its efforts to provoke, deter and curb China. It has not only based over 60% of its naval and air forces in the Indo-Pacific region, but has also had a more active engagement in West Pacific affairs. However, the unexpected COVID-19 outbreak, especially the US becoming the global epicenter, has upset the Pentagon's deployments. In particular, all four American nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in the Asia Pacific were forced to stop operation due to confirmed COVID-19 cases, and the absence of those core strengths of America's global deployments and strike led to a huge vacuum in frontier waters of West Pacific, resulting in a complete disappearance of US original aggressive offensive and defensive stance. In such a context, the US has more frequently sent military aircraft to the airspace over the West Pacific Ocean and the Taiwan Strait for the following considerations. First of all, the US wants to demonstrate its military presence in the key region of Asia Pacific in the fastest and most convenient way. At the forefront of the West Pacific particularly, it hopes to find, as soon as possible, one or two combat platforms or large weapons that can substitute aircraft carriers or amphibious assault ships to some extent. That's the primary goal for Pentagon decision-makers since the outbreak. As a result, the US Navy and Air Force have joined hands in the attempt to replace large and medium-sized surface warships with multiple types of aircraft since March. Incomplete statistics show that the US military assigned reconnaissance planes, assisted by anti-submarine patrol planes, to conduct 11 overflights and air patrols around Taiwan and above the South China Sea in March. More air force reconnaissance planes were used in April, which, along with its naval aircraft, flew over the region 13 times. Second, the US wants to back up some people in Taiwan amid the pandemic while accomplishing its own tactical tasks. The US military is perfectly aware of the tasks, reconnaissance approaches, and anti-submarine capabilities of its electronic surveillance aircraft and anti-submarine patrol aircraft. They are used to conducting close-in reconnaissance and spying on others. One of their main tasks is to detect the operations of submarines in the region, a task that can only be performed by US aircraft as most of its surface vessels in the Pacific Fleet have been suspended. Besides, Washington also intends to give some confidence to certain forces in Taiwan by telling them that the US hasn't given up its regional military presence because of the pandemic and is still able to send aircraft there even if their vessels are suspended. Third, the US wants to show China its determination to maintain strategic deterrence in key regions. The Pentagon knows that reconnaissance plane and the anti-submarine plane cannot fully demonstrate strategic deterrence, so it sent four B-1B strategic bombers and about 200 air force members from Texas to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam to replace the previous B-52H, and the new bombers flew close to the Taiwan Strait on May 4. The reason why the US made such adjustments is simpleB-1B has a larger payload, higher speed, and better stealth performance than B-52H. The decision-makers at Pentagon are obviously trying to use strategic bombers as a new tool to exert strategic deterrence against China. It's foreseeable that the US will probably send B-1B bombers more frequently to the airspace over the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea in May. Some are worried that the US may create another "aircraft collision over the South China Sea", or intentionally create frictions in sensitive regions around China, to deflect the domestic anger at the White House's poor response to the outbreak. Well, they have their reasons, and we have our preparations. (The author is a researcher at the Naval Military Studies Research Institute) Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), in proportion to population, has the highest number of Covid-19 cases in Pakistan. So far, 607 people have tested positive in a territory with less than one and half million people. Heroes like Dr. Osama Riaz and paramedic Malik Ashtar who unfortunately died while performing duties without virus protective kits have become a source to galvanize society. Locals blame the authorities for committing criminal negligence by not transporting Dr. Osama to Islamabad to save his life. Dismal economic condition and lack of preparedness could lead to more deaths in coming weeks. G-B is not a constitutional part of Pakistan and therefore survives on financial handouts from Islamabad. Locals including the Chief Minister, Hafiz Rehman, blames Islamabad for denying adequate funds to cope with the Covid-19 situation. Islamabad continues to reject provisions of protective gear with the excuse of fund shortage. Medical professionals are still not sure about the exact scope of positive cases as many people remain undetected due to faulty testing kits. Authorities warn that Islamic devotees returning from the Tablighi Jamaat congregation could stimulate local virus transmission. Locals are yet to benefit from the medical aid which military helicopters collect from the Chinese officials at the Khunjerav Pass. There is only one testing centre for the entire territory with capacity to test 15 people per day. At this rate, existing patients in Nagar alone, which is one of ten districts of G-B, would take eighty days to complete the process. Some hotels now function as quarantine centres but accommodate a small portion of patients. For now, G-B has only 15 ventilators for over 400 urgent-care patients and most of these ventilators were bought by local private donations. Transporting patients to Islamabad is cumbersome and economically impractical for most among locals. Naveed Murtaza, a local activist states that the people of District Hunza, which borders China, are protesting after failing to obtain stimulus fund. He said that videos have emerged of students of G-B sleeping on roadsides in Pakistan while waiting for government help. Local media reports ailing and starving prisoners and political activists protesting in different jails of G-B. This is no way to thank G-B which provides for more than half of Pakistans water needs. Pakistan should take lead from other countries and immediately release political activists in these testing times, says Naveed. Pakistan and China are using the pandemic to deepen control over G-B and squeeze more resources. Pakistani rulers call G-B countrys lifeline since CPEC related multi-billion dollar projects would fail without Gilgit facilitating border link between Pakistan and China. In the name of assisting local administration during the pandemic, Pakistan is expanding military presence and subjugating a territory that lawfully belongs to India. Pakistans behaviour is compelling a large majority of locals to demand withdrawal of its troops and seek complete independence. In the past, Pakistan sought help from Chinese army to quell such dissent. In 2010, media reported on the presence of eleven thousand Chinese troops in the region as part of CPEC security apparatus. Given the situation, people in G-B feel apprehensive about Chinese staffs resuming work on CPEC projects. Mohammad Lateef, a concerned activist from Skardo opines that locals fear the corridor will carry the virus deeper into the valleys. Locals see CPEC as an instrument of invasion which destroys environment, culture and social fabric without much benefit to the people. They fear China will force concessions from Pakistan by using CPEC as debt weapon, says Lateef. The merger of Macao and Hong Kong have taught China techniques to seek concessions from weaker nations to expand the Han empire. Hidden behind the testimonies of camaraderie, China plans to buy out assets in G-B, threatening freedoms, democratic values and national identities. Sajjad Raja, a political leader from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (POJK) accuses Pakistani military of moving Covid-19 patients to Mirpur. Many among locals think that Pakistan is risking lives of millions of POJK natives to siphon money from the Western aid agencies, says Raja. Another local leader, Amjad Ayub attests that many hotels in POJK were now crowded with Pakistani patients. Authorities forced local Mirpuris out of buildings and hospitals to accommodate Pakistanis. Staffs and equipment at Mohi-uddin Hospital were now at disposal of Pakistani patients while locals; wait for medical facilities, POJK belongs to India, and Pakistan has no right to abuse the territory to draw international attention, exclaims Amjad. Ishaq Sharif, a leader from District Bagh reveals that Pakistan invaded and divided J&K by employing religious terrorism and now it is hurting locals by changing demography through Covid-19, We are invaded by Pakistan army, not India. Entire world is praising India for securing ration for Kashmiris during Corona pandemic while Pakistan abuses its own people to attract international funds, Pakistan which does not miss a chance to abuse India is now begging PM Modi for ventilators and hydroxychloroquine. Seventy years of deprivation under Pakistani rule is now compelling people in POJK and G-B to look towards India for basics like food and medicines, exclaims Ishaq. Jafar Ismail, a resident of Muzaffarabad says that Pakistani army continuously talks about Kashmir valley and its Corona patients to distract Pakistanis away from the dismal situation in POJK and G-B. Pakistan betrays the people of G-B and POJK. It has no will or capacity to fulfil demands of local Muslims yet pretends to care for the Muslims in Kashmir valley. He warns Pakistan was only interested in keeping Punjab safe and prosperous by filling coffers with earnings from POJK and G-B. (Senge H Sering is a Washington DC-based researcher and human rights activist born in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan. He runs the Institute of Gilgit Baltistan Studies in Washington.) A Cairo court on Thursday ordered the release on bail of Egyptian TikTok influencer Haneen Hossam, 20, who had been detained for 15 days pending investigation after being charged with inciting debauchery and immorality. Hossam, who will have to pay EGP 50,000 (approximately $3,000) for bail, was arrested on 21 April after posting videos on TikTok which were described by prosecutors as "inciting debauchery and immorality." The Cairo University archaeology student, who has 1.2 million followers on the social media app, posted a video recruiting women to join a group she created on short video sharing platform Likee, with the purpose of promoting the platform in return for payment. The general prosecution said previously that she was caught with three phones and a laptop in her possession and that it found WhatsApp conversations on her phones containing agreements with those in charge of a social media app to lure young girls to make friends with the apps followers, taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic and societys economic condition. There were three accounts on different online applications, containing many pictures and videos of Hossam dancing and singing in a suggestive manner to get followers and likes. The prosecution also found a bank transfer statement of $3,600 received from the aforementioned app in exchange for the videos she recorded. Video-sharing platforms like TikTok have been gaining notoriety in Egypt in recent years, with content creators being condemned for making videos where they dress and behave in a way that many in the conservative country deem suggestive or inappropriate. Search Keywords: Short link: Saudi Arabia has banned gatherings of more than five people and announced the formation of a special police unit to enforce the new regulation. Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Nayef approved a new round of hefty fines for quarantine offenders, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said today. The penalty for family gatherings at home between people who dont already live together is 10,000 Saudi riyals ($2,660). The fine for nonfamily gatherings is 15,000 riyals (nearly $4,000). A newly formed police unit, according to the Saudi-based Arab News, will enforce the new social distancing regulations. Non-Saudi residents who violate the coronavirus mitigation measures will be deported and barred from reentering the country, the Interior Ministry said this week. Anyone who purposefully spreads the virus will be fined 500,000 riyals ($133,000) and be given up to five years in prison. Also today, Saudi health officials announced 1,793 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections to 33,731. The COVID-19 death toll in the country stands at 219. Saudi Arabia has joined a number of other Middle Eastern countries in relaxing some restrictions intended to curb the spread of the virus. In late April, the kingdom allowed businesses and markets to reopen and lifted a ban on travel into and out of the eastern Qatif province, which it sealed off in March. A 24-hour curfew has been lifted in all areas except Mecca. BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 By Fidan Babayeva - Trend: The Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers approved the List of licenses and permits on the issuance, suspension, restoration or cancellation, which must be sent to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee, Trend reports. The corresponding decision was signed by Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov. The Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers resolution outlines: 1. Licenses: 1.1. - import, export and transit of precursors; 1.2. - transportation of dangerous goods by transport; 1.3. - import of plant protection products and agrochemicals. 2. Permissions: 2.1. - permission to transport dangerous goods, including transit through the country; 2.2. - consent to the publication, import, export and distribution of religious literature (paper books and e-books), audio and video materials, goods (products) and other religious materials (informative); 2.3. In accordance with the law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Export Control, permission to export, re-export, import, re-import and transit of goods (work, services, intellectual property) that are subject to export control; 2.4. The circulation of objects belonging to certain participants of civil turnover and allowed to be circulated on the basis of permits for their availability (limited civil circulation) is allowed in accordance with the law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the List of things that may belong to certain participants of civil turnover and circulation of which is allowed on the basis of a special permit (limited civil circulation); 2.5. - certificate on the introduction of a special economic regime for export-oriented activity in the oil and gas sector; 2.6. - registration of a list (list of imported goods) of equipment and materials to be imported into Azerbaijan to obtain benefits on export-oriented activity in the oil and gas sector; 2.7. - permission for the creation, enrichment, sale of zoological collections, as well as their import and export to Azerbaijan; 2.8. - permission (certificate) for international trade (introduction, export, re-export and import from the sea) of endangered species of wild fauna and flora; 2.9. - international veterinary certificate for exported animals and animal products; 2.10. - certificate of registration of imported and manufactured veterinary medicines; 2.11. - certificate of state registration of pesticides, biological products and agrochemicals; 2.12. - phytosanitary certificate for export (re-export) of plant products; 2.13. - permission for the movement of big and heavy vehicles on roads; 2.14. - an agreement on regular city (intra-city), inter-city (inter-district) and international passenger transportation (organizing of passenger transportation) by vehicles; 2.15. - certificate of approval of standard samples or type of measuring instruments; 2.16. - food safety certificate; 2.17. - certificate of state registration of the medicinal product; 2.18. - permission to import medicines into Azerbaijan; 2.19. - permission to import and export psychotropic substances envisaged in lists 1 and 2 of the UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971; 2.20. - permission to export and import electricity; 2.21. - certificate of registration of a special economic zone; 2.22. - extract from the register on food safety registration of entities engaged in the production and sale of food products; 2.23. - certificate of registration of an industrial park; 2.24. - certificate of registration of a technology park; 2.25. - certificate of registration of a technology business incubator; 2.26. - a document confirming the import of machinery, technological equipment and equipment by individuals engaged in entrepreneurial activity without creating a legal entity and by legal entities, residents, the managing organization and operator of industrial or technology parks, as well as by legal entities that have received investment promotion certificates; 2.27. - investment promotion document; 2.28. - certificate confirming the country of origin of goods; 2.29. - certificate of protection of cultural values from the export of cultural property; 2.30. - certificate of temporary export of cultural values included in the Azerbaijani National List of Cultural Heritage in connection with holding of exhibitions, tours, restoration work, presentations, international cultural events. ---- Follow the author on Twitter: Fidan_Babaeva The BS Yediyurappa-led Bharatiya Janata Party government in Karnataka has been facing flak from migrants, opposition leaders as well as ordinary citizens on social media after its decision to cancel special trains for migrant workers. This week saw ten special trains run from Bengaluru to a number of states in North India. The state government, however, asked the Railways to cancel the trains on Tuesday. With industrial and construction work slowly resuming in Karnataka, the government decided to hold over a lakh workers back in Karnataka against their will as it needed migrant labour to help revive its economy. Stranded workers from across states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand have been agitating since Tuesday. The opposition slammed the government for treating migrant workers as "bonded labour" and holding them against their will. The government added that those who could arrange for their own vehicle were free to leave. These are the same workers who had earlier been left jobless and incomeless due to the lockdown, leading mass exodus on foot as workers left for their home states. Can't let the migrant workers go home because - "economy".Can't open the granaries to feed the hungry because - "economy"."Economy" must be defined by people not profits! @CMofKarnataka @BSYBJP @NitishKumar #TrainsForMigrantsNow Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) May 7, 2020 On Thursday, social media also joined the chorus of outrage against the government with the hashtag #TrainsForMigrants trending across the country. Residents of Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka even carried out poster campaigns to protest the move to hold back workers against their will. Many saw the move to cancel trains in order to incarcerate them in the city as a human rights violation, especially amid a global pandemic that has killed hundreds in India already and affected thousands. arrange for migrant workers to go home safely, for free, and do it now #TrainsForMigrantsNow pic.twitter.com/BhyMdaQklk buck up bitch! (stretching helps) (@tfoolexperience) May 7, 2020 Cooke Town stands with Migrant workers #TrainsForMigrantsNow pic.twitter.com/sDaswGKqMe Avani Chokshi (@avani_chokshi) May 7, 2020 Cancelling trains and not allowing migrant workers to return home is a violation of human rights. The state must provide free and safe travel for all workers. #TrainsForMigrantsNow pic.twitter.com/jCLtAEjlEi chic kebab (@MangaInji) May 7, 2020 Workers are people with families and dreams, not mere labour for your projects #TrainsForMigrantsNow pic.twitter.com/w7qwdgL6pl Avani Chokshi (@avani_chokshi) May 7, 2020 we are all sitting in cities built by migrant labour & here those who built them are being revoked of all dignity, being forced to work on construction projects, having no access to return home. There need to be free #TrainsForMigrantsNow! Saumya Dadoo (@saumyadadoo) May 7, 2020 #TrainsForMigrantsThe Karnataka Govts decision is a blatant violation of fundamental rights guaranteed u/ Articles 23 (prohibit of forced labour) and 19(1)(d) (right to move freely within the territory of India). An utter disregard for the life & dignity of migrant labourers. pic.twitter.com/wVbf0ve4Sh Barathi (@grimalkintweets) May 7, 2020 Migrant workers also demonstrated across the state. Our level of #HumanRights .. Keep poor uneducated workers guessing and clueless while we twiddle thumbs, clang plates, light candles and spend money showering flowers on hospitals. #IncredibleIndia #TrainsForMigrantsNow pic.twitter.com/nbrYw79ZyW Neerei (@soyierene) May 7, 2020 A group of migrant workers sent these photos. The poster says "We are prisoners in the city we built." pic.twitter.com/ntbnlQGgag Arun Dev (@ArunDev1) May 7, 2020 BS Yeddyurappa on Wednesday said that over a lakh workers were sent back to their home states. But with industrial work picking up, the chief minister said the state needed the remaining workers to stay. He also announced a Rs 16,000 crore relief package for those affected by the coronavirus lockdown including migrant labourers and construction workers. The workers who took the trains back home, however, were made to shell out Rs 800 to 1,200 per ticket depending on the destination, and also the fare for the state-run BMTC buses which ferried them to the railway station. The state has more than two lakh migrant labourers from different parts of the country and from Bangladesh and Nepal. More than 80,000 of them are from Orissa and about 70,000 are from Bihar, according to labour department's records taken during the pandemic. Small businesses trying to get their state legislatures to force insurance companies to cover coronavirus losses are coming up against an opponent many might not have expected: the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Businesses large and small often look to the chamber and its local counterparts to be their voice in statehouses and on Capitol Hill. The national organization fosters that expectation, saying on its website it represents the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions. But in this battle, its the interests of enormous insurers facing billions in liability that hold sway. The focus of the dispute is insurance for business interruptions, which after the SARS epidemic in 2003 usually exempts viruses. Eight states and others in the wings are considering bills that would close that loophole and make insurers pay up. In a letter to Congress last week, the U.S. Chamber said allowing Congress or states to rewrite contracts to cover coronavirus losses is unconstitutional and would leave the insurance industry in ruins. Bankrupting the insurance industry wouldnt help the situation at all, said Tom Quaadman, an executive vice president at the Chamber. Quaadman said the group discussed the situation with a cross section of its members and determined that allowing government to rewrite contracts does away with a bedrock certainty of transactions. Court battles over coronavirus coverage are likely to stretch out for years. In the near term, lobbying dollars flowing to the U.S. Chamber from small businesses are being used against them, said Bob Hunter, a former Texas insurance commissioner and current director of insurance at Consumer Federation of America. Were paying to build our own scaffold for where theyre going to hang us, Hunter said. Fine print means no coronavirus payouts Thirty-three million Americans are out of work, and surveys from the Chamber indicated one in four small businesses face permanent closure because of the coronavirus. A survey from Main Street America, a business nonprofit group, suggested that 7.5 million small businesses could close their doors forever. Story continues As businesses shuttered by government orders reviewed their insurance policies, they discovered the fine print excludes claims for viruses or bacteria. That language was created by the Insurance Service Office, a widely used insurance risk analytics firm, which wrote standards in 2006 stating, We will not pay for loss or damage caused by or resulting from any virus, bacterium or other microorganism. Estimates by a leading insurance industry group say paying coronavirus interruption claims would cost $255 billion to $450 billion per month for businesses with fewer than 100 employees. Other estimates put the tab closer to $100 billion a month. Insurers are dug in for the fight. Among the loudest voices opposing insurance payments or changes to contracts has been Evan Greenberg, chief executive officer of Chubb, one of the worlds largest insurers. Chubb is a prominent member of the U.S. Chamber and of its Institute for Legal Reform, a lobbying wing that seeks to crack down on lawsuits against businesses. Insurers have finite balance sheets, and the loss from a pandemic is infinite, Greenberg said on CNBC last week. The only one who can take that on is the government. Insurers have finite balance sheets, and the loss from a pandemic is infinite, says Evan Greenberg, chief executive officer of Chubb, one of the biggest insurers. A Chubb spokesman said the company provided discounts to auto and commercial policyholders and extended payment terms. Its been making pandemic-related loss payments to business customers for workers compensation and travel insurance and paying out business interruption claims to those whose policies included pandemic coverage. Insurers and their lobbyists started sweating even more last month after President Donald Trump signaled his support for a government mandate of interruption payments. You have people that have never asked for business interruption insurance, and they have been paying a lot of money for a lot of years for the privilege of having it, and then when they finally need it, the insurance company says, Were not going to give it, Trump said. We cant let that happen. The U.S. Chamber remains among the most influential lobbying organizations in the country, spending $77 million last year, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics more than 5,500 other interest organizations. Insurers cut and run Many businesses have filed claims with their insurance companies and been denied. Theyre left to seek help by other means, through appeals, complaints to state regulators or lawsuits. Anticipating the fight over coverage, Oklahoma attorney Michael Burrage filed a lawsuit seeking a judgment against 17 insurers for more than 40 casinos owned by Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes in Oklahoma. The WinStar casino in Thackerville, Okla., has been shut down since March 16. Places such as the 370,000-square-foot WinStar casino on the Texas-Oklahoma border have been shut down since March 16. Tribes had pumped millions into insurance policies they assumed would help cushion the crushing blow of a total shutdown. Theyve paid these premiums for all-risk policies for millions and millions of dollars, and then when you need to make a claim, [the insurers] cut and run, said Burrage, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton as the first Native American federal judge. Thats not fair. Coronavirus goes to court: After lives and livelihoods come the lawsuits Small businesses turned to their state insurance commissioners after being denied claims. In Wisconsin, state data shows complaints have been filed by day cares, bars, bakeries, bridal shops, hair salons and fitness centers. In Washington, Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler polled all insurers in the state. Just two of the 84 who responded offered pandemic coverage. About 194,000 business policies had paid $437 million in premiums to those insurers. Insurance companies need to fairly investigate all business interruption claims as they would during any disaster, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. In California, after fielding a wave of complaints over business interruption claim denials, Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a notice to insurers that they needed to investigate all claims sent their way. I want to be absolutely clear that insurance companies need to fairly investigate all business interruption claims as they would during any disaster, he wrote. Policyholders deserve all the services, coverage, and benefits they are due under their policy. Lara stopped short of suggesting any mandates. States consider mandates for coverage Across America, legislators are considering bills that would mandate limited coverage for businesses with interruption insurance. The first was introduced by New Jersey Assemblyman Roy Freiman, a Democrat, who drew backlash from insurers worried about bankrupting their funds. Seven other states followed suit: Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. I understand the concern they didnt write policies for this incredible peril," Freiman said, "but we must find a balance between insolvency and 100% denials of claims. "We must find a balance between insolvency and 100% denials of claims, New Jersey Assemblyman Roy Freiman says. The main pushback he's faced, Freiman said, has been about creating a legal precedent, which he said could be avoided with limited language. He equated the government mandate to Trumps order that insurers waive their deductibles for coronavirus testing. Ive heard from restaurants and their association and groups of dentists getting hammered by this, he said. Why arent the chambers supporting small businesses that they usually support? In Massachusetts, Democratic state Sen. James Eldridge modeled his bill on New Jerseys. He said the government could be a guarantor of insurance policies at federal or state level, so tax dollars could provide a financial backstop for claims. Insurers are pushing back in Massachusetts, too, he said, where support splits based on the size of establishments. Large franchises may be able to provide a safety net for local owners. Its been an interesting commentary on the different types of restaurants, Eldridge said. The chains and big ones can weather the storm, but the pizza place doing carryout wont and all of those interests intersect. If they go under, he said, all of those insurance premiums will go with them. Nick Penzenstadler is a reporter on the USA TODAY investigations team, focusing primarily on firearms and consumer financial protection. Contact him at npenz@usatoday.com or @npenzenstadler, or on Signal at (720) 507-5273. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Small businesses battle insurers over coronavirus coverage WASHINGTON The Justice Department on Thursday said it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trumps first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for Trump and his supporters in attacking the FBIs Russia investigation. The move is a stunning reversal for one of the signature cases brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. It comes even though prosecutors for the last three years had maintained that Flynn had lied to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador in a January 2017 interview. Flynn himself admitted as much, and became a key cooperator for Mueller as he investigated ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign. In court documents being filed Thursday, the Justice Department said it is dropping the case after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information. The documents were obtained by The Associated Press. The Justice Department said it had concluded that Flynns interview by the FBI was untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBIs counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn and that the interview on January 24, 2017 was conducted without any legitimate investigative basis. The U.S. attorney reviewing the Flynn case, Jeff Jensen, recommended the move to Attorney General William Barr last week and formalized the recommendation in a document this week. Through the course of my review of General Flynns case, I concluded the proper and just course was to dismiss the case, Jensen said in a statement. I briefed Attorney General Barr on my findings, advised him on these conclusions, and he agreed. The decision is certain to be embraced by Trump, who has relentlessly tweeted about the case and last week pronounced Flynn exonerated, and energize supporters who have taken up the retired Army lieutenant general as something of a cause celebre. But it may also add to Democratic concerns that Attorney General William Barr is excessively loyal to the president, and could be a distraction for a Justice Department that for months has sought to focus on crimes arising from the coronavirus. The Justice Departments action comes amid an internal review into the handling of the case and an aggressive effort by Flynns lawyers to challenge the basis for the prosecution. The lawyers cited newly disclosed FBI emails and notes last week to allege that Flynn was entrapped into lying when agents interviewed him at the White House days after Trumps inauguration. Though none of the documents appeared to undercut the central allegation that Flynn had lied to the FBI, Trump last week pronounced him exonerated The decision is the latest dramatic turn in a years-old case full of twists and turns. In recent months, his attorneys have leveled a series of allegations about the FBIs actions and asked to withdraw his guilty plea. A judge has rejected most of the claims and not ruled on others, including the bid to revoke the plea. The decision comes as Barr has increasingly challenged the Russia investigation, saying in a television interview last month that it was started without any basis. In February, he overruled a decision by prosecutors in the Roger Stone case in favor of a more lenient recommended sentence for the longtime Trump friend. Earlier this year, he appointed Jensen, of St. Louis, to investigate the handling of Flynns case. As part of that process, the Justice Department produced to Flynns attorneys a series of emails and notes, including one handwritten note from a senior FBI official that mapped out internal deliberations about the purpose of the Flynn interview: Whats our goal? Truth/admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired? the official wrote. Other documents show that the FBI had been prepared weeks before its interview of Flynn to drop its investigation into whether he was acting at the direction of Russia. Later that month, though, as the White House insisted that Flynn had never discussed sanctions with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, FBI officials grew alarmed by Flynns conversations with the diplomat and what he had communicated to the White House. The investigation remained open, and agents went to visit him in the White House on Jan. 24, 2017. Justice Department officials visited the White House two days later to warn officials that they feared that Flynn was compromised and vulnerable to blackmail by Russia because of his account of what was said on the call. White House officials waited several weeks to oust him from the job, saying theyd concluded that Flynn had lied to them. Flynn pleaded guilty that December, becoming among the first of the presidents aides to admit guilt in Muellers investigation. He acknowledged that he lied about his conversations with Kislyak, in which he encourage Russia not to retaliate against the U.S. for sanctions imposed by the Obama administration over election interference. He provided such extensive cooperation that prosecutors said he was entitled to a sentence of probation instead of prison. As it turned out, that sentencing hearing was abruptly cut short after Flynn, facing a stern rebuke from U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, asked to be able to continue cooperating and earn credit toward a more lenient sentence. Flynns misgivings about the case were already on display when his then-attorneys pointedly noted in their sentencing memo that the FBI had not warned him that it was against the law to lie when they interviewed him at the White House in January 2017. Since then, though, he has hired new attorneys including Sidney Powell, a conservative commentator and outspoken critic of Muellers investigation who have taken a far more confrontational stance to the government. The lawyers have accused prosecutors of withholding documents and evidence they said was favorable to the case and repeatedly noted that one of the two agents who interviewed Flynn was fired from the FBI for having sent derogatory text messages about Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. UnitedHealth Group is issuing health insurance credits of up to 20 percent of June bills, as the company has paid out fewer claims because some medical procedures were postponed to allow hospitals to focus on treating coronavirus patients. The Minnesota-based UnitedHealth has about 80,000 members in Connecticut who receive insurance through UnitedHealthcare or its Oxford Health subsidiary, which has its main office in Shelton. UnitedHealths giveback will approach $1.5 billion for its members nationally. Among other initiatives, the company is waiving deductibles and other cost-sharing measures through the end of September, and is accelerating funds to states to support a projected increase in people going onto Medicaid after losing access to their employers plans following a layoff. United Health reported a $3.5 billion profit in the first quarter of this year, with the company collecting $50.6 billion in premiums that contributed to $64.4 billion in total revenue. Anthem, the dominant health insurance carrier in Connecticut, suggested late last month that credits could be in the offing for its own customers, which account for about half of the 1.6 million people in Connecticut covered under commercial insurance plans. Last week, Anthem executives estimated that anywhere between 30 percent and 40 percent of its annual medical expense payouts are to cover procedures that are being deferred during the pandemic. But the company expects a boomerang next year as people catch up on postponed procedures, with implications for future rates. The real question is, whats the duration of the COVID-19 situation before the deferable procedures really kick back up? said John Gallina, chief financial officer of Anthem, speaking last week on a conference call. Theres a very good chance that many of those deferral procedures will work away into 2021. ... When youre looking at 2020 in a vacuum, theres a good chance that well be in that positive [trend] but over the course of a couple of years, people will get to care and we will have the [associated costs]. Connecticuts major insurance carriers had already offered to defer collecting premiums for any businesses and individuals strapped for cash as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. States monitor the premiums health insurers charge customers against the claims they pay out for care, creating a medical loss ratio that limits the profits carriers can make on premiums, with companies padding earnings otherwise through investments and other services. In the case of Oxford Health, the underwriter collected $218 million in premiums in 2018 from customers enrolled in small-group policies in Connecticut, paying out $173 million in claims for health services or $434 monthly on average for each member in that cohort. That resulted in a medical loss ratio of just under 80 percent, in line with its historic average over the preceding dozen years. Speaking in mid-April, UnitedHealth CEO David Wichmann gave no guess on when the carrier expects its own medical loss ratios to return to earlier projections as the coronavirus case counts continue to fluctuate from region to region. Itll have a lot to do with whether it comes back in the fall, what the time frames are, ... whether the elective procedures come back online [and] at what pace, Wichmann said. There are just so many unknowns right now. ... We very may well find ourselves in a position where we can provide some additional premium relief to those clients. Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman A shipment of 400,000 gowns from Turkey has reportedly been impounded in a warehouse after falling short of UK standards. The personal protective equipment (PPE) was flown into the UK by the RAF last month but has been held in a government warehouse near Heathrow, according to the Daily Telegraph. Inspectors deemed the equipment to be faulty, the newspaper said. Issues over the supply of protective equipment such as gowns and masks for health workers have plagued the Government throughout the coronavirus pandemic. The Government announced in April that it had managed to source a substantial supply of gowns from Turkey, which, after an initial delay, was flown back into the UK on April 22. However it has since been revealed that some of the equipment did not meet the required criteria to be suitable for use by frontline healthcare workers, the Telegraph reported. It is not yet clear whether the Government will pursue a refund over the order. In a statement to the paper, the Department of Health and Social Care said: "This is a global pandemic with many countries procuring PPE, leading to shortages around the world, not just the UK. "We are working night and day to source PPE internationally and domestically and brought together the NHS, industry and the Armed Forces to create a comprehensive PPE distribution network to deliver critical supplies to the front line. "All deliveries of PPE are checked to ensure the equipment meets the safety and quality standards our frontline staff need. If equipment does not meet our specifications or pass our quality assurance processes, it is not distributed to the front line." Bald cypress. Kentucky coffeetree. Pagoda dogwood. Those are just a few of the trees Philadelphia plans to offer residents free this spring through its popular TreePhilly program. But this years giveaway will keep within social distancing parameters because of the coronavirus, and there will be fewer trees than in prior years. Officials say trees will be available at two no-contact pickup events, with door-to-door delivery available for residents in high-risk populations or who are unable to pick up a tree by vehicle. Participants must preregister starting May 17 at Treephilly.org. Pickups are scheduled for Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24. Deliveries will take place from May 25 through 29. The number of trees is limited and they are available only as supplies last. TreePhilly typically distributes 1,000 yard trees in the spring, but this year it will give away only 200 due to a change in operations designed to protect against spreading COVID-19. However, the program plans to scale up for a distribution in the fall. The city did not give an estimate for how many street trees it is offering. Pickups this month will be organized with strict adherence to social distancing guidelines and to limit the number of residents at any scheduled time. Though staff will be on hand, residents are expected to load trees on their own into vehicles. In March, TreePhilly postponed its spring season of the Community Yard Tree Giveaway Program, which included 23 tree distribution events in neighborhoods across the city in collaboration with local partners. This months giveaway is replacing those events. Now more than ever, Philadelphians need trees in their communities, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell said in a news release. We are thrilled to be able to offer Philadelphia residents a safe opportunity to make a difference this spring, literally right in their own backyard. TreePhilly offers about 10 different species each season, including large shade trees, fruit trees, and flowering trees. They are planted in five-gallon buckets and run from two to 10 feet in height. They can fit in cars, trucks, grocery carts or even bikes. Some can be taken on public transportation. Residents can choose from trees suitable for yards or along the street. TreePhilly says it has given away more than 24,000 trees in partnership with the Fairmount Park Conservancy and neighborhood organizations, and sponsorship by TD Bank, since 2012. The program was launched in response to the Office of Sustainabilitys Greenworks Plan, which hopes to reach 30% tree canopy coverage in every Philadelphia neighborhood. Organizers point to a recent study in the Lancet journal showing that improved tree canopy in Philadelphia could save hundreds of city residents each year from premature death. TreePhilly is also partnering with the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership to deliver additional trees to residents of zip codes 19120 and 19124. Residents there can contact Nathan McWilliams at Nathan@TTFwatershed.org or call 215-744-1853. Here are the scheduled pickup events: Saturday, May 23, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Frankford Boat Launch, 5501 Tacony St. Sunday, May 24, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Carousel House, 4300 Avenue of the Republic. TreePhilly will email information about the exact delivery date after registration. Valhalla, N.Y. New York will extend its temporary pause on evictions in the state for another 60 days. The moratorium covers residential and commercial tenants. It will now run until Aug. 20, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today during a press conference in Valhalla in Westchester County. "People are anxious. The rent bill is going to come due," Cuomo said. "I hope it gives families a deep breath." Cuomo first announced a 90-day eviction moratorium in March to aid New Yorkers facing money problems during the coronavirus pandemic. The pause means no one can be evicted for not paying rent. But experts say tenants should still pay if they can. Cuomo also announced two other moves on rent relief today: The state will ban late payment fees during the eviction moratorium. Tenants will be allowed to use their security deposit as a rent payment and repay it over time. Some amazingly good news New testing for coronavirus antibodies on 27,000 employees at 25 downstate heath care facilities found a positive rate similar to the general population or even lower, Cuomo said. In Westchester County, for example, the positive rate among the workers was 6.8%, compared with 13.8% in the general population. The fear was that essential workers like those in hospitals would have much higher rates of infection, Cuomo said. "That is amazingly good news," he said of the new results. "We were afraid of what was going to happen." Antibodies are part of the body's immune response. Testing for them can reveal who has already been infected with the virus and recovered. The results demonstrate that all New Yorkers should wear masks and use hand sanitizer, Cuomo said. "If they're working for frontline workers, they're going to work for people in their day-to-day lives," he said. Update on help for farmers Cuomo announced a $25 million push in April to buy food and other products from Upstate New York farmers. The goods will be sent to food banks across the state, which have seen big spikes in demand during the pandemic. Some early numbers on the initiative, known as Nourish New York: Over 2,100 farms are participating so far. Nearly 50 food banks, soup kitchens and food pantries will get support. Over 20,000 households will get products in the next week. Farmers in the state have seen little demand for some products during the pandemic. Upstate dairy farmers have been forced to dump millions of gallons of raw milk. In addition to sending goods to food banks, the state partnered with a number of companies to buy excess milk and process it into finished products. Over the next six months, the program will produce 2.8 million gallons of milk, 8.2 million units of yogurt, 10.1 million pounds of apples and 10 million pounds of cabbage. The state is seeking support for Nourish New York from philanthropies, Cuomo said. Any organizations interested can email covidphilanthropies@exec.ny.gov. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources As CNY coronavirus lockdown loosens, 98% of us could still get sick Where are Onondaga Co. health officials worried about coronavirus spread? The complete list Onondaga County sets daily records for tests, coronavirus infections; 41st death Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598 The MeToo movement sparked a rise in reports to police, but convictions remain three times lower than for other crimes. The 23-year prison sentence imposed on Harvey Weinstein in New York in March was the culmination of a case that had catapulted the by then decade-old MeToo movement to international prominence. In its new hash-tagged social-media incarnation, #MeToo has undoubtedly played a part in raising societys awareness of the true scale and nature of sexual offending. The seminal prosecutions of Weinstein and a cohort of similarly high-profile celebrity and establishment giants are the tip of an iceberg which is now widely understood to extend through every part of society. It is against this background that figures reported in September 2019 showed that convictions in rape cases in the UK fell by 26 percent in the year between 2017-18 and 2018-19. In 2017-18, there were 54,045 rapes reported and 2,635 convictions a conviction rate of 4.9 percent. The following year, there were 58,657 rapes reported and 1,925 convictions a conviction rate of just 3.3 percent. According to the Criminal Justice Statistics published by the UK government, the total number of crimes reported in the year ending March 2019 was 5.95 million. Of these, 550,052 ended in a conviction a rate of 9.2 percent or nearly three times higher than that for rape. Given that rape figures are included in this total, the conviction rate for all other crime is even higher than this. More worrying perhaps than this headline figure is the 33 percent fall in the number of completed prosecutions and a 38 percent fall in the number of cases charged in the first place, the last figure heralding a potential ongoing decline in conviction rates. These are the biggest falls since records began. So why, at a time when sexual offending has perhaps never been more widely recognised and reported, have convictions hit an all-time low? The nature and effect of sexual offending have always presented a unique set of evidential and perceptual challenges for prosecutors. Such offences are almost invariably committed in private without witnesses and, consequently, the determination of the central issues in most cases relies on a jurys assessment of differing accounts from the complainant and the defendant. Consent is frequently chief among those central issues. In the majority of rape cases, the prosecution must make a jury sure that the complainant did not consent, and that the defendant did not reasonably believe that she or he consented. The jury is therefore required to determine the state of mind of both parties during the incident in question. These already highly nuanced decisions are further influenced by stereotypes still prevalent even in our more enlightened contemporary society: that a drunk woman cannot complain if she is raped; that previous consensual sexual activity between the parties reduces or removes a womans right to refuse consent on another occasion, or indeed to legitimately withdraw consent to further sexual activity on the same occasion; that rape will result in vaginal injury; and, yes, even in this day and age, that a woman wearing a short skirt or revealing too much cleavage must expect what she gets. Each of these stereotypes, and many more, are of course deeply and entirely flawed; the law determines that a person consents if they agree by choice, and have the freedom and capacity to make that choice, no more and no less than that. However, one or more of these stereotypes must inevitably be overcome in most trials. The psychological impact of sexual crime is profound. Victims who, like jurors, are influenced by the insidious myths and prejudice surrounding such offences, are often burdened with guilt and shame which makes them reluctant to report. And, even when they do report, rapes legacy of fear and trauma may affect a complainants ability to give a coherent account of their ordeal. The investigation and prosecution of rape cases, therefore, require sustained effort and commitment throughout the process. In England and Wales, the decision as to whether a suspect will be charged with a criminal offence lies with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Before charging, prosecutors must be satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and that prosecuting is in the public interest. The CPS takes a merits-based approach to this test in sexual offence cases. This approach requires prosecutors not only to anticipate defence points but to assess them as well. They must recognise factors which may objectively undermine the prosecution case, while appreciating that not every defence point will be good, let alone fatal to the prosecution and ensuring that cases do not fail the test merely because they are difficult. Vitally, this approach highlights the importance of not making decisions based solely on a jurys likely reaction to myths and stereotypes. A properly considered prosecution should be robust in the face of such challenges and should seek to counter and debunk prejudice. In my experience in the decade since its adoption in 2009, the merits-based approach has resulted in many successful prosecutions in just such difficult cases. In the three years between 2016 and 2019, however, CPS charging rates decreased by an unprecedented 52.1 percent. Womens and victims campaign groups have expressed concern that the merits-based approach to determining which cases should go to trial was being replaced by a more risk-averse attitude to charging decisions. The fear was that the CPS was urging its lawyers to take account of the myths and stereotypes that might influence a jury and to weed out potentially weak cases accordingly, thereby increasing the percentage of cases in which they achieved convictions. The CPS has denied any such change of approach, and a study conducted by Her Majestys Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate in 2019 found no evidence that prosecutors were becoming risk averse. Any reversion to considering cases in which stereotypes might apply as weak cases would indeed be a retrograde step. Successful prosecutions such as that resulting in the series of trials brought against those involved in child sexual exploitation and abuse in Rotherham in the UK from the 1980s until the 2010s, relied on prosecutors focusing on building a strong case against abusers, rather than on how juries might react to the evidence of young victims who considered those abusers to be their boyfriends. As Alison Levitt, former legal advisor to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), has observed: A system that only prosecutes safe cases is sending attackers the message that vulnerable people are open to abuse as the CPS will not prosecute. Charging decisions made by the CPS came under increased scrutiny following the failure of several high-profile trials of young men for rape after previously undisclosed digital material was discovered and provided to the defence at trial. Foremost among these, perhaps, was the case of Liam Allan, who was acquitted three days into his trial in December 2017 when previously undisclosed text messages cast potential doubt on the complainants account of non-consensual sex. These cases highlight one of the greatest challenges encountered during the investigation and prosecution of sexual offences in our digital age. When a defendant is charged with any offence, prosecutors are required to provide the defence with any material that undermines the case for the prosecution or assists the case for the defence. This frequently includes mobile phone messages, social media conversations or photographs. Police officers face the necessary but enormous burden of reviewing thousands or even tens of thousands of pages of downloaded digital material, often single-handedly. The size of this task has increased exponentially over a decade during which police numbers have fallen to their lowest level in 20 years because of government austerity policies. Police officers investigating sexual offences are often required to conduct numerous such investigations, many requiring similar digital-material reviews, simultaneously. The impossibility of managing such a workload has led to complainants and suspects waiting longer before any decision is made about charging. Changes made to the law in 2017 to protect suspects from spending many months on bail, have in fact led to the police simply releasing suspects under investigation, without bail conditions but in a state of permanent limbo for months or even years. It is perhaps not surprising, therefore, that the number of cases referred by the police to the CPS decreased by 22.6 percent between 2017 and 2019. These troubling declines contrast with a long period in which the CPS worked proactively with police officers and barristers, achieving real progress in improving outcomes in rape cases. My own professional experience includes numerous challenging cases where the dedication and hard work of the whole prosecution team has overcome investigative, disclosure and evidential difficulties to ensure fair and successful prosecutions. The progress made over the last decade in exposing myths and stereotypes has been both encouraging and inspiring. Jurors can and frequently do overcome such prejudice in cases which would undoubtedly have foundered because of them in previous years. Those rendered vulnerable by their own personal circumstances and the offences perpetrated upon them have been empowered and emboldened to disclose their abuse in ever-greater numbers. These advances should be championed and built upon. It is axiomatic that the strengths and weaknesses of every case must be critically analysed so that genuinely weak cases are not charged, but capitulation to stereotypes should play no part in this process. The prosecutions duty of disclosure must be discharged rigorously to ensure a fair trial process, and the scale of this duty in the face of the volume of evidence created by digital communication must be recognised with strategies that ensure all such reviews are guided by the issues in the case. None of this can be achieved, however, until the unmanageable burden on investigative officers is eased by the provision of more resources, both human and technological. In the CPS, staff numbers have been cut by 25 percent since 2010. The legacy of a decade of swingeing austerity-led cuts to a justice system now reduced to breaking point in the face of ever-greater challenges, combined with a relentless focus on a statistic-based measurement of success, have created a perfect storm. But the decline in convictions in rape cases can be halted and, indeed, reversed. The CPS must continue to hold a steady course, tending neither towards unrealistic optimism or unwarranted pessimism in its charging decisions. CPS Rape and Serious Sexual Offence (RASSO) teams throughout the country continue to be made up of experienced, dedicated lawyers who are as capable as ever of making well-judged and, where necessary, brave charging decisions in difficult cases. Both they and the police officers whose vital work it is to investigate and build cases, must be properly resourced. The 2019 Rape Inspection Conducted by Her Majestys Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate concluded that police and prosecutors had been deprived of funding. A government committed to the fair and effective prosecution of rape and other serious sexual offences must now evince that commitment by proper investment in a modern and effective justice system. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. YEREVAN. Hraparak daily of Armenia writes: It was confirmed yesterday that there is an employee infected with the coronavirus in the staff of the parliamentthe assistant of Nazeli Baghdasaryan, an MP of the [majority] My Step faction from Gyumri, who was infected by her girlfriend. The parliament was informed about her being infected yesterday, when the infected person ran a fever and was taken to Nork infectious diseases hospital; the test result was positive. But, for some reason, the leadership of the NA [National Assembly] was avoiding announcing it clearly. At the beginning of the NA sitting yesterday, [speaker] Ararat Mirzoyan stated that there are suspicions that "there is a person who has had contact [with COVID-19]" in the staff, and only after the media reports he admitted that they have an infected person. The MP had contact with her assistant 6 days ago; before that, the infected person also participated in the sittings of the NA [Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs] with the MP. We were informed that large-scale disinfection measures were launched in the parliament yesterday, and Baghdasaryan and the entire staff of the state and legal affairs [committee] were urged to self-isolate themselves; they plan to test them [for COVID-19] in the near future. BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 By Tamilla Mammadova - Trend: The situation due to coronavirus and the process of opening the economy in the post-crisis period were discussed by President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili and President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid over the phone, Trend reports referring to Georgian presidents press service. Zourabichvili outlined the challenges that tourism, one of the main sectors of the country, faced. She noted the need for further development of cooperation in this area in order to develop sanitary standards for international tourism. The head of state once again noted the importance of the role of Georgia as a trade and transport hub. The presidents of the two countries also discussed other pressing issues of Georgian-Estonian relations. Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Estonia and Georgia were established on 16 June 1992. Estonia has constantly supported Georgia since 2000. In the last five years, Estonia and Georgia jointly implemented more than 30 different development cooperation projects. Under the development cooperation development plan, Estonia has mainly focused support for education sector, development of good governance and democracy, economic development and sustainable environmental development in Georgia. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356 PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-07 22:36:47 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 866 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / Although the coronavirus has represented a hard social and health crisis, collaborative initiatives in this situation have also been remarkable. An example of this is Ayudar, the app launched with the purpose of connecting volunteers and vulnerable people in one place.Kevin Leyes, a 19-year-old entrepreneur, has been responsible for the creation of Ayudar. Hand in hand with Leyes Enterprises, this Argentinean-born entrepreneur has carried out what he defined as one of his most important projects: promoting social assistance and citizen participation actions.Leyes started in the business world at a very young age. It was in 2017 when, after winning an entrepreneurship and programming contest and being named "Youth Ambassador" by the U.S. Embassy in Argentina and the U.S. Department of State, he started with Team Leyes, an urban jewelry brand and company dedicated to designing urban jewelry for "reggaeton", trap and rap artists.What began as a small idea has become a whole business empire. Team Leyes has more than 60,000 followers on Instagram and is a registered company and trademark in the U.S. and Argentina.But Kevin didn't stop when he saw his dream crystallize, and taking advantage of all the resources offered by new technologies, he founded his second company. Leyes Media is a social media marketing and public relations agency, which has had remarkable growth.Now, and as a third purpose, it promotes solidarity, participation, and cooperation in difficult times. This, through Ayudar, his most recent project. The innovative app that allows people, organizations, public and private, connect with those citizens who need help with the pandemic.The platform allows its users to navigate through lists or on a map via geolocationHow is Ayudar born?"I have often thought that from great crises excellent opportunities and challenges also arise. In this way, Ayudar is born from the desire to collaborate in a useful way in the face of the situation that the world is going through due to the coronavirus", the young man pointed out.Likewise, he pointed out that this idea started last March and was developed in only 5 nights, which he assured were "of very little sleep". This is the constant work of this young man whose objective is to contribute to society from his knowledge.What is the objective of Ayudar?According to the information in the app, its objective is to promote solidarity, cooperation, and sensitivity among citizens, in view of the situation the country is going through. At the same time, it seeks to encourage support for people in vulnerable situations.How does Ayudar work?In principle, the app connects non-profit organizations and people with the possibility of helping those who are in a state of vulnerability or have a lower-middle-class social condition.Those who enter their website will have the possibility to offer or receive the help of various types: non-perishable food, furniture, school supplies, clothing, among others. On the other hand, during COVID-19, it has a special area for donations of supplies to hospitals, favors, purchases and deliveries, and emotional support.In addition, it allows finding local businesses that only work with home delivery. This in order to help people stay in their homes and, at the same time, the commercial sector, also affected by the crisis.Who can join Ayudar?Ayudar is a totally free and secure app. This guarantees that anyone who needs or can offer their help has the possibility to contact other users and organizations. In this way, the process on the platform is totally transparent and verified.How can Ayudar impact society?The main purpose of this initiative is to encourage citizens to be more sensitive, more supportive, and cooperative with those who are in a less favorable condition, even more so in this crisis.Kevin Leyes, the founder of Ayudar, decorated as the youngest official member of the Forbes Business Council and YECWhere is this project headed?"Our main objective is to reach the national government. We are having meetings with politicians and organizations to promote the use of the app", highlighted Leyes.In this context, Kevin Leyes, Chairman of Leyes Enterprises, assures that from the beginning he had the purpose of carrying out a social project. "Since I entered the world of entrepreneurship I had the desire to carry out some projects related to the social and solidarity area. Today I have the opportunity in this complicated situation of crisis that the world is going through".As well as Ayudar, more and more companies are joining to carry out campaigns to promote a positive impact during the pandemic, principally sharing messages aimed at avoiding contagion and helping to face one of the most critical moments in the history of mankind."From sharing the information of the app in social media and spreading the message of solidarity counts to add and bring the help that all affected people need in this situation," he said.To learn more about Ayudar and Leyes Enterprises, visit ayudarapp.com and leyesent.com . You can contact Kevin's team at booking@ kevinleyes.com or phone them through +54 9 11 2267-9932.SOURCE: Leyes Enterprises It's not quite hot enough to be considered a heat wave, but on Thursday California will bake with some of the warmest temperatures it has seen since the start of the year, according to the National Weather Service. Inland areas and the southern half of the state will see the hottest weather Thursday. Los Angeles County has opened eight cooling centers, providing respite from the sweltering conditions, as the mercury is expected to rise near 100 in many spots. PROVIDENCE, R.I., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Veterans Assembled electronics (VAe), a training school headquartered in Providence founded in 2009, has re-branded as STRAC Institute. The launch of STRAC Institute now allows for this advanced training and mission to be extended to all non-veteran students as well. STRAC Institute offers a 4-5-month, full-time skills training and certification program that teaches students electronics fundamentals. Upon program completion, students will receive 13 internationally recognized certifications and the skills needed to pursue a sustained career. Mike Videira, president of STRAC Institute states, "We've seen and experienced firsthand the type of impact our program has had on our students and those who employ them. For the past decade, our curriculum has provided education and opportunities to a number of veterans who have gone on to have successful careers. We are excited to begin offering this program to everyone, veteran and non-veteran alike, for just a fraction of the cost of any traditional two or four-year college or tech school." All classrooms are outfitted with industry standard equipment. Students who are enrolled in the program work towards attaining Senior and Master (ETA) electronics technician certification. A career advocate supports each student through the entire process. As they begin to prep for graduation, they will also complete leadership courses and career preparation education by completing a resume, participating in interview skills training, and receive support in applying for jobs to a network of over 100 companies who have previously hired our graduates. "The transition to STRAC Institute will allow us to continue expanding our program offerings, as we look to develop curriculums for the most in demand trade industries," says Videira. "We have developed a significant network of terrific companies that hire our graduates, and we have designed and evolved our curriculum to meet the ever-changing demands of those companies. These employers receive a qualified candidate who can make an immediate impact upon hiring, and we are thrilled to now offer this program to everyone interested." To apply for the program, a high school diploma or equivalent is required. STRAC Institute has training schools in Providence, RI, Fort Bragg, NC, and Orlando, Belleview and Melbourne, FL. Those interested in learning more can visit www.stracinstitute.com. Media Contact: Geralyn Hashway / McGuinness Media [email protected] / 401-773-7711 SOURCE STRAC Institute Related Links https://www.stracinstitute.com Kohl's is better positioned than its mall-based, department store peers to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic and draw customers back to shop, according to its CEO. Why? It boils down, in large part, to real estate. "We have always talked about our off-mall [stores] being a strategic asset for the company," Chief Executive Michelle Gass told CNBC in a phone interview Thursday morning. "I think it will be even more so as we look to what the new normal is. ... I do think our real estate portfolio will be an asset." Kohl's operates more than 1,100 locations many of which are situated within open-air shopping centers, alongside nail salons, grocery stores and local eateries. Analysts are predicting consumers will be wary of returning to enclosed shopping malls in a post-Covid-19 world, but will be more likely instead to venture to shops that are easily accessible by car, such as Kohl's. It is evident mall-based retail is struggling. Luxury department store chain Neiman Marcus filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday morning, following a filing by apparel brand J.Crew earlier in the week. Department store operator Lord & Taylor is looking to liquidate its stores as soon as they are reopened, a Reuters report said. And Texas-based chain J.C. Penney has also been exploring filing for bankruptcy, with its stores temporarily forced shut to help halt the spread of the coronavirus. Kohl's announced Thursday morning it will reopen stores in 10 additional states including Texas and Alaska come Monday. The retailer already reopened in four states Arkansas, South Carolina, Utah and Oklahoma earlier this week. That means about 25% of Kohl's stores will be open by next week, if everything goes as planned, according to Gass. Operating hours until further notice will be reduced to 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., the company said, and there will be dedicated shopping hours in place for at-risk individuals, including pregnant customers, each Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from 11 a.m. to noon. Kohl's said it will be shutting all fitting rooms until further notice. "We have done a lot of benchmarking," Gass said about Kohl's plans. "A lot of these things are becoming best industry practices." Notably, Kohl's also said it will still be accepting Amazon returns a program it rolled out to all locations last year in a separate part of each store, as locations reopen. "There will be great attention to detail," Gass said about Kohl's accepting any returns. She said returned items will be set aside for at least 48 hours. Kohl's will also continue to offer curbside pickup for online orders a service it has had in place since April. Gass said the company was able to pull together plans in under two weeks to make that happen. A customer recently ordered an engagement ring from Kohl's website for curbside pickup, she said. Kohl's joins a growing list of retailers including Macy's, Nordstrom and Gap that are putting plans in place to get stores back up and running after many were temporarily shut in mid-March. It remains to be seen if shoppers are ready to get back, however. Kohl's shares were up more than 4% Thursday morning. The stock, which is valued at about $2.7 billion, has fallen more than 67% this year. By ANI NEW DELHI: Union Minister of State (MoS) Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy on Thursday expressed condolences on the demise of victims in chemical gas leakage in Visakhapatnam. In a series of tweets, Reddy said that he has instructed NDRF teams to provide necessary relief measures at the mishap site. "My condolences to the families of 5 people who passed away due to gas leak at a Pvt firm in Vizag, AP early hours today. Spoke to the CS& DGP of AP to take stock of the situation. Instructed NDRF teams to provide necessary relief measures. I'm continuously monitoring the situation," Reddy tweeted. ALSO READ: PM calls for NDMA meet after eight die in gas leak from LG Polymers plant near Visakhapatnam "Hundreds of people have also been effected in the unprecedented and unfortunate event in Vizag, AP Spoke to the Home Secretary, GoI and requested him to provide all the required assistance to the state to tackle the difficulties," he said in another tweet. Hundreds of people complained of breathlessness, irritation in eyes and stomach pain following the leakage of gas at LG Polymers near Visakhapatnam. Express video | G Satyanarayana. @xpressandhra pic.twitter.com/6gOblB4fLo The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) May 7, 2020 Styrene gas leakage was reported at LG Polymers industry in RR Venkatapuram village.Over 100 people have been admitted to hospital after they complained of burning sensation in eyes and breathing difficulties. The death toll in gas leak at a chemical plant of LG Polymers at RR Venkatapuram village in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam district jumped to 8 on Thursday (July 7). "After gas leakage was reported in the factory, lockdown procedure was initiated immediately. Local admin was informed. Gas was neutralized to harmless liquid form. But, little gas escaped factory premises and affected people in nearby areas," said Andhra Pradesh Industries Minister MG Reddy. Reddy said that the company managing the operations at the chemical plant will have to take responsible for the incident and the government will seek explanation from them. "Company managing this has to be responsible for #VizagGasLeak mishap. They'll have to come & explain us exactly what all protocols were followed, and what all were not followed. Accordingly, criminal action will be taken against them," he added. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday (May 7) left for Visakhapatnam to enquired about the incident. According to the Chief Ministers Office, district officials have been directed by CM Reddy to take every possible step to save lives and bring the situation under control. It is learnt that CM Reddy will also visit state-run King George Hospital where the affected are being treated. The chief minister is closely monitoring the situation and has instructed the district machinery to take immediate steps and provide all help, CMO, Andhra Pradesh stated. Hon'ble CM @ysjagan will leave for Vizag to visit the hospital where the affected are being treated. The Chief Minister is closely monitoring the situation and has directed the district officials to take every possible step to save lives and bring the situation under control. CMO Andhra Pradesh (@AndhraPradeshCM) May 7, 2020 The prime minister also called a meeting of National Disaster Management Authority officials at his residence at 11 AM to hold discussions over the incident which has left over 100 in criticial condition. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also attended the meeting. According to reports, the gas has been neutralised and NDRF team has evacuated the people from the affected villages. It is learnt that the maximum impact of the gas leak was in about 1-1.5 km but smell was in 2-2.5 km. RK Meena, CP Visakhapatnam City said that an FIR has been registered. Ryan Reynolds and wife Blake Lively love to pull each other's legs on social media. During his latest appearance in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, he did not fail to pull her leg once again. Jimmy Fallon had asked him how he was coping up in the Coronavirus quarantine with his wife and three daughters, Reynolds joked that he had a secret family in Denmark and it was a "toss-up" between them and his "Hollywood family". Ryan Reynold was confused between his two families Ryan Reynolds said in the interview that he was confused whether he should spend the Coronavirus quarantine with his secret family in Denmark or his "Hollywood family", that is Blake Lively and their daughters. He also joked, with a straight face nonetheless, how much he missed Luna, Lekhet and Uhn. Even Jimmy Fallon quipped in saying "I love Uhn. Give my best to Uhn". Continuing with the charade, Ryan Reynolds further joked that he had to take a "split-second decision" and thought it would only be for a few days. But he was happy with his Hollywood family since he "loved" the people he was in quarantine with. Reynolds added that he did not regret spending time with his "public-facing family". Also Read: Ryan Reynolds And Blake Lively's Way Of Balancing Work And Personal Life Is Truly Iconic Further on the show, Jimmy Fallon asked Ryan Reynolds how was it like to spend all day with his children. The actor replied he thought it was a "dangerous precedent". He also said years from now when he would be busy again with movies, his children would remember how he used to be present all the time. Also Read: Ryan Reynolds And Blake Lively Troll Each Other Over Hairstyles And Birth Control Pills However, Ryan Reynolds went on to say how he was appreciating the time he got to spend with his family. He added that there are many people who thought the Coronavivurs quarantine was not a good idea and would cause anxiety. But, Reynolds is trying to make the most out of it and spending as much time with his family as possible. However, he also joked how his family time was usually an alternate between deep, beautiful connections and the third act of Aliens. Also Read: Ryan Reynolds And Blake Lively Are Made For Each Other & These Pics Prove It Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively are spending their time in Coronavirus quarantine with their three daughters and Lively's mother. He also went on to talk about his new movie, Red Notice. The movie stars Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Gal Gadot. However, it was shut midway in production due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Also Read: Ryan Reynolds And Blake Lively's Photos That Give Major Couple Goals; See Also Read: Blake Lively Had Major Wardrobe Malfunction In 'Gossip Girl' That Went Unnoticed 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. LANSING, MI -- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order Thursday extending the states stay-at-home order until May 28, but says manufacturing across the state can resume on Monday, May 11. Whitmer announced the order during a press conference Thursday where she addressed a phased approach to reopening the state economy and loosening restrictions on citizens. We know that even in this phase we are still safer at home. And thats why well be extending the order through the 28th, because we are still safer at home. While we can reengage in more things weve got to be smart about it, Whitmer said during the press conference. In order for manufacturing to resume, businesses must adopt measures to protect their workers from the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Examples given by the state include conducting a daily entry screening protocol for workers and everyone else entering the facility, including a questionnaire covering symptoms and exposure to people with possible COVID-19, together with a temperature screening as soon as no-touch thermometers can be obtained. They must also create dedicated entry points at every facility, and suspend entry of all non-essential in-person visits, including tours, according to a press release from the state. Governor Whitmer has brought together leaders in business and labor to ensure our workers can return to the job safely. The safety of our workers is our top priority and I am confident that Michigan manufacturers are prepared to deliver on the worker protections included in todays order, said John Walsh, President and CEO of the Michigan Manufacturers Association in a press release. We believe the manufacturing industry has a big role to play in Michigans economic recovery and were ready to lead the way. I look forward to continuing to work closely with the governor to bring the manufacturing industry back up to full strength. Whitmer said the states large auto manufacturers will reopen May 18. The extension of the stay-at-home order means it is scheduled to end the same day as the state of emergency order. Whitmer again explained the phased reopening of the economy as a dial that can be turned as needed to adapt to how the virus is spreading, rather than as an on and off switch. While she is encouraged that numbers are declining, Whitmer said there are some things that could cause the state to take a step back. She said data will continue to monitored and if the state sees a spike in cases that could overwhelm hospitals, they may have to scale back what is permitted under the orders. 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. Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces. Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus. Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus. READ MORE Complete coverage at mlive.com/coronavirus Wednesday, May 6: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan Whitmer vetoes bill that would have reopened some businesses sooner Whitmer issues orders extending state of emergency without support of legislature From closing restaurants to requiring masks, Gov. Whitmer has issued 69 executive orders in 56 days Six weeks into extreme social distancing, how are Michiganders still catching coronavirus? Rivers State Police Command has arrested over fifteen (15) persons around Obili-kwerre axis of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. The arrested persons were seen violating the executive order of the Governor on indefinite total lockdown which started today 7th May 2020. Recall that the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike had on Monday the 4th of May, 2020 declared an indefinite total lockdown in Obio-Akpor and Port Harcourt Local Government Areas respectively starting from 7th Thursday, May, 2020. The arrested persons were either on essential duties or under any emergency journey. The people will be handed over to the appropriate authorities for prosecution. Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF) has extended helping hand to those who have lost their jobs and are struggling for food following the coronavirus scare in Qatar. The Forum vice president Mahesh Gowda and Joint Secretary Subrahmanya Hebbagilu are serving the people in distress for the last four weeks. They are engaged in supplying food to over 700 people daily. People in Qatar who need help, can contact: Subrahmanya Hebbagilu (+974 5564 1025), Mahesh Gowda (+974 5534 2708) and Indian Embassy Covid-19 helpline - (+974 4425 5747). The warrant seeking the arrest and surrender of a Northern Irish man, who is alleged to have delivered the trailer in which 39 migrants were found dead in Essex last year, was "wholly unsatisfactory" his legal team have told the Court of Appeal. Eamon Ronald Harrison (23) of Mayobridge, Co Down, is wanted by Essex police to face 39 counts of manslaughter and one count of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. Ordering Mr Harrisons extradition to the UK in January, Mr Justice Donald Binchy said the British-Irish citizen was alleged to have been involved in transporting illegal migrants on two previous occasions, and that the trailer at the centre of the Essex discovery was used on one of those occasions. However, Mr Harrison was granted leave by the High Court last February to challenge his pending extradition to the UK on the grounds that the case raised issues in law. It is alleged that Mr Harrison delivered the trailer, in which the bodies of 39 Vietnamese nationals were found in an industrial park in Grays, Essex on October 23 last, to a Belgian port before its onward journey to Britain. The cargo was recorded as biscuits and the migrants died from a lack of oxygen between 8pm and 10pm after they had entered UK territorial waters. The temperature inside the unit rose to 38.5 degrees before it steadily reduced, and police discovered bloody hand prints inside. The eight women and 31 men had arrived in England last October on a ferry from Zeebrugge in Belgium. The youngest victims were two boys aged 15. Todays (Thurs) remote hearing saw lawyers, the three judges of the criminal side of the Court of Appeal and the appellant joined by video-link. Appealing the order for surrender, Mr Harrison's barrister, Siobhan Stack SC, submitted that the principle issue related to whether additional information was admissible before the High Court given that it did not come from the issuing judicial authority (a magistrate) but from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The barrister argued that the additional information was inadmissible as it was not submitted by the Issuing Judicial Authority as required. The second point of appeal related to whether the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) and the additional information state with sufficient clarity or detail the circumstances in which the offence is alleged to have been committed, including the time and place of its commission or alleged commission, and the degree of involvement or alleged degree of involvement of the person in the commission of the offence. Ms Stack maintained it was clear that the warrant had completely failed to give a precise description of the facts or even to set out what it was alleged Mr Harrison had done. She described the warrant in this case as brief in the extreme and said it was wholly unsatisfactory. There was no meaningful description of time and place nor a description of the event which Mr Harrison was alleged to have engaged in, she continued. Nothing more than the vaguest of circumstances and incredibly bald information concerning Mr Harrison allegedly dropping off the trailer had been provided, indicated Ms Stack, adding that there was also nothing about how the migrants had come to be in the trailer. She stated that this "critical information" should have been contained in the warrant. Concluding the legal challenge to Mr Harrisons pending extradition, Ms Stack said UK authorities should have gone back and issued the correct warrant but that was not done in this case. Counsel for the Minister for Justice, Ronan Kennedy SC, said there was no question but that this EAW was issued by the Issuing Judicial Authority, namely District judge Michael Snow sitting at Westminster Magistrates Court. He said it had received the appropriate scrutiny in terms of proportionality. At no time did the warrant seek to address that the CPS was acting as the Issuing Judicial Authority and it was no surprise that information had emanated from the CPS, he submitted. This confidence underpins the whole system and is the basis for mutual recognition, he argued. He further submitted that the High Court judge had engaged in a rigorous analysis of the additional information and whether he should have relied on it. Furthermore, Mr Kennedy said it was inaccurate to suggest that the warrant was deficient in the way it had been presented to the court and UK authorities had provided a level of detail which far surpassed the level of detail normally provided. The warrant contained most if not all of what was required and was not as marked as the appellant would have one believe, he added. The lawyer explained that what was being alleged against Mr Harrison was quite clear, namely that he was part of a conspiracy and had driven the trailer to a port, where it was loaded onto a ferry. Counsel said it was alleged: He had a part to play not only in the conspiracy but also in the manslaughter of people". President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham, who sat with Mr Justice John Edwards and Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly, said the court would reserve its judgment. Mr Harrison was remanded in custody pending delivery of the court's decision or until further order. On April 24, the Court of Appeal heard that UK authorities were no longer seeking to prosecute Mr Harrison for an offence of conspiracy to commit human trafficking under the UK's Modern Slavery Act. Last week, Monaghan haulier Ronan Hughes (40), who is alleged to be "the ringleader" and "chief organiser" of the organised crime group who trafficked the 39 migrants, was refused bail by the High Court ahead of his extradition hearing. The High Court was told at his bail hearing that Mr Hughes is alleged to have "organised, paid for the travel and controlled the drivers who collected the migrants." Mr Hughes (40), of Leitrim, Silverstream, Tyholland, Co Monaghan is wanted by UK authorities to face 39 counts of manslaughter and one count of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. Mr Hughes, who owns a haulage firm, was arrested on the evening of April 20 at his home in Co Monaghan following the endorsement of a EAW issued by the police in Essex. Maurice Robinson (25), of Craigavon, Co Armagh, has admitted 39 counts of manslaughter at the Old Bailey. He had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and acquiring criminal property - namely cash. He denied a further charge of transferring criminal property. He will be sentenced at a later date. Four other men will stand trial at the Old Bailey in connection with the investigation on October 5. How far off is Instem plc (LON:INS) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. This is done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple! Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model. Check out our latest analysis for Instem What's the estimated valuation? We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars: 10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 Levered FCF (, Millions) UK1.70m UK3.10m UK3.47m UK3.77m UK4.00m UK4.18m UK4.32m UK4.42m UK4.51m UK4.57m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 12.01% Est @ 8.57% Est @ 6.16% Est @ 4.47% Est @ 3.29% Est @ 2.46% Est @ 1.88% Est @ 1.48% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 5.9% UK1.6 UK2.8 UK2.9 UK3.0 UK3.0 UK3.0 UK2.9 UK2.8 UK2.7 UK2.6 ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St) Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = UK27m Story continues We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 10-year government bond rate of 0.5%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 5.9%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2029 (1 + g) (r g) = UK4.6m (1 + 0.5%) 5.9% 0.5%) = UK85m Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= UK85m ( 1 + 5.9%)10= UK48m The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is UK75m. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of UK4.5, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind. AIM:INS Intrinsic value May 7th 2020 Important assumptions We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Instem as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 5.9%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.891. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business. Next Steps: Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it shouldnt be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Instem, There are three relevant aspects you should look at: Risks: Take risks, for example - Instem has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of. Future Earnings: How does INS's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered! PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the AIM every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search 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. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has extended an order allowing governments and other public bodies to meet digitally as the coronavirus pandemic continues. Whitmer issued the order late Wednesday, May 6 and it extends provisions of a previous order through June 30. The order applies to public bodies subject to the state Open Meetings Act. Those bodies can use teleconferencing or video conferencing to meet and conduct business as long as they take measures to allow for public input. Related: Michigan hits 4,250 coronavirus deaths, more than all of Canada During this ongoing crisis, its critical to ensure public officials can continue to do their jobs and meet the needs of residents, while also ensuring meetings remain open, accessible and transparent to the public,'' Whitmer said in a May 6 written statement. Public bodies must comply with the following guidelines while meeting: Ensure two-way communication for members and the public to hear and address each other when speaking. Provide adequate notice to the public of the meeting. Post a public meeting notice on their website. Permit participants to record or broadcast the public meeting. Allow participants to address the public body during a public comment period. The order also temporarily excuses school boards from monthly meeting requirements. Public bodies, departments and agencies are also temporarily authorized to use technology to enable remote participation in public comment and hearings. 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. Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces. Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus. Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus. Related stories: Wednesday, May 6: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan 5 reasons Michigan lawmakers are suing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Eight weeks after Michigans first coronavirus cases, an animated map tracks its spread through the state Michigans approach to reopening the economy: slow, steady and safe Officials in the northwestern US state of Washington on Wednesday expressed concern over reports of people organizing "COVID-19 parties" to intentionally spread the virus. "Gathering in groups in the midst of this pandemic can be incredibly dangerous and puts people at increased risk for hospitalization and even death," warned John Wiesman, the state's secretary of health. "Furthermore, it is unknown if people who recover from COVID-19 have long-term protection," he said. "There is still a lot we don't know about this virus, including any long-term health issues which may occur after infection." Wiesman's comments came after officials in Walla Walla County, located 260 miles (420 kilometers) southeast of Seattle, reported that some of the nearly 100 cases in the region appear to have been intentionally spread or contracted at so-called "COVID-19 parties." The aim of these gatherings is for non-infected people to mingle with an infected person in an effort to catch the virus. "This kind of unnecessary behavior may create a preventable uptick in cases which further slows our state's ability to gradually re-open," Wiesman said. As of Wednesday, there were 94 cases of coronavirus reported in Walla Walla county and one death. Meghan DeBolt, Walla Walla's community health director, said contact tracing had shown that some of those infected had attended parties with the aim of contracting the virus. "We don't know when it is happening. It's after the fact that we hear from cases," she told the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. "We ask about contacts, and there are 25 people because: We were at a COVID party.'" She said such behavior was irresponsible and urged residents in a Facebook message to follow proper physical and social distancing measures to prevent community transmission. "We need to use this time to use good common sense and to be smart as we move through this pandemic so that we can begin to reopen our community," she said. "COVID-19 parties: not part of the solution," she added. There has so far been only one other report in the United States of a coronavirus party. In March, Kentucky's Governor Andy Beshear announced that a person had contracted the virus after attending a COVID-19 party. The United States is the country hardest hit by the pandemic with more than 1.2 million cases so far and 73,095 deaths. Patrick looked at the dialysis patients and adjusted his face mask as he stamped out a feeling of dread rising within him. It was in the early weeks of the coronavirus crisis, and the 28-year-old Filipino registered nurse, whod been in the United Kingdom less than a year, was suddenly facing the biggest challenge of his career: taking care of patients who had been infected with COVID-19. Patrick, which isnt his real name, is among the nearly 19,000 Filipinos working for the National Health Service (NHS), the publicly funded healthcare system of the United Kingdom. They work as nurses or porters, making them the third biggest group in the system after Britons and Indians. And as the coronavirus has swept across Europe, many have sacrificed their lives on the front lines. At least 25 Filipino nurses working for the NHS have died, prompting the Philippine embassy in London to express its deep concern over the tragedy. With deaths mounting each day, Coconuts Manila spoke to two Filipino nurses about why they chose to leave the Philippines and what theyre going through. Both nurses, who support their families, asked to speak anonymously for fear of losing their jobs. Patrick The nursing profession was thrust upon Patrick. He was not given a choice. In a Skype interview, he said he actually wanted to be a math professor. He had a real aptitude for numbers, but his uncle, a nurse working in the United States who supported their family, insisted that Patrick pursue a career in healthcare, because it would give the latter the opportunity to leave the Philippines. Read: Duterte OK with Filipino nurses working abroad but warns possible shortage Image for illustrative purposes only. Photo: Daan Stevens/Unsplash But despite following his uncles wishes, the big bucks didnt come easy for Patrick. Like most nursing graduates, he was forced to accept an unpaid nursing job in his school for several months just to gain experience. I volunteered in my schools hospital for eight months doing the night shift. They couldnt hire us immediately because there was a batch of nurses who were hired prior to us. We didnt receive a single cent, he said in English and Filipino. Story continues Nurses are paid a pittance in the Philippines, with new graduates getting paid as little as PHP9,000 (US$177) per month. Like Patrick, many are forced to take on unpaid work just so they can gain experience. With fees at Philippine nursing schools starting from US$2,800 a semester, its not exactly the most fortunate of situations. Some nurses have even been forced to pay hospitals just so they could get a job. Years ago, there were a lot of nurses, and hospitals werent hiring. Hospitals would low-ball nurses; some of them were even asked [by the hospitals] to pay just so they could volunteer. I know people who have paid [public] hospitals just so they could be hired, explains Patrick. After seven years of working in the Philippines, Patrick left for the UK, and landed a job in a hospital in a town thats a short drive away from London. While hes glad that Filipino nurses are highly respected and appreciated there, the COVID pandemic has unmasked just how unprepared UK hospitals are. Similar to the Philippines, theres a shortage of high-quality personal protective equipment (PPE), an issue that the British government has been criticized for. Those PPEs! A lot of people are disappointed with those PPEs. But according to the higher-ups [here in the hospital], based on scientific studies, they should be okay, he said. But Patrick cannot help but express alarm over what he has to wear each day. Its just a plastic apron, surgical mask, and gloves, he said. The lack of protective equipment has led to many sleepless nights where he is haunted by fears that he will get infected. It doesnt help that nurses in his hospital are not tested for the coronavirus. We are only tested when we display symptoms because there are limited testing kits. There are plans for [asymptomatic] frontliners to be tested, but they might start first with those working in the emergency rooms before those of us who work in the ward, he lamented. Im scared. We are all scared. No matter how healthy you are, you dont know how it would affect you. You have to be very meticulous with your handwashing [to avoid infection]. Im just really scared because I take care of dialysis patients, half of whom are COVID-positive, he added. Sometimes, I just want to go home. At least in the Philippines, even if you dont have money, youre with your family. Alice Unlike Patrick, Alice chose to be a nurse; it was not a path forced on her. A graduate of the University of the Philippines (UP), she initially planned to be a doctor but ditched her dream when she realized that medical school was not for her. [I realized] that you dont have to be a doctor to do great in your career, the London-based 35-year-old nurse told Coconuts on one of her days off. Like most UP graduates, Alice also not her real name worked at the Philippine General Hospital, an underfunded public institution servicing mostly Manilas poorest of the poor. Witnessing children dying at the pediatrics ICU pushed her to leave the Philippines, among other reasons. Read: Amazing Job: Host Piers Morgan thanks Filipino nurses for contribution to UKs COVID-19 fight A healthworker in the Philippines. Photo: Department of Health/FB Because I was working at the pediatric intensive care, many of my patients were dying. I was starting to feel desensitized over that and I realized that its time for a change because it was no longer healthy [for me], she said. Alice arrived in the UK in 2010, and became enamored with the healthcare system there. The management of patients in the Philippines is led by a doctor. Whatever the doctor says, thats how the patient will be treated. [As a nurse,] you dont have a lot of autonomy in your practice. But here, there are so many things that you can do as a nurse independently. You can make your own assessments, she said. Read: Cebu City nurses planning to quit as hospitals see spike in COVID-19 cases [Here,] its more collaborative. I can voice out my suggestions and my input has an impact on how the patient is managed. I think thats the biggest difference [between working in Manila and London]. Of course here, its more advanced, we have better equipment compared to the Philippines, she said. Yet even the UKs healthcare system was not prepared for the impact of COVID-19, which has killed almost 30,000 people in the kingdom, as of writing time. At first, its government wanted to pursue the strategy of achieving herd immunity, which Alice said showed how much in denial the government was of the impact of the coronavirus. I have this feeling that because the UK is a first world country, they thought, Its not gonna touch us. I feel that brought the downfall of many of the countries; thats why theyre struggling, particularly Europe, the UK, the U.S., she said. Alice is directly involved in the care of COVID-19 patients and the mounting number of deaths has made her anxious. Almost every person who shows up in the emergency room has the viral respiratory disease, and sometimes she fears that she would end up dead, like the other Filipino nurses and hospital porters who died in the UK. Every time I go to the hospital the thought that pops in my head, I might be next, she said. Even if you wear a PPE, you might still get infected. When youre on your way to work, when youre at the canteen, youre not wearing a PPE. The people around you, your colleagues who just got sick, and had to report again for workwhos to say that theyre no [longer] carriers [of the virus]? she said. Its really worrying but if I keep thinking about it, I wont be able to function. Read: I love my countrymen: Duterte mulls stopping healthcare workers from moving overseas Image for illustrative purposes only. Photo: Brandon Holmes/Unsplash She has also become a little cynical about flagrant displays of appreciation for NHS workers, the most notable of which is Clap for Our Carers, a weekly event where everyone across the UK applauds frontliners. Critics have lamented that more than applause, NHS workers need better pay and adequate equipment to protect them from the coronavirus. My cynical side says, Now youre applauding us but on normal days you would scream at us as if youre paying our salary, she said, chuckling. Well, its about time that we get the recognition that we deserve but aside from saying Thank you, there should be changes in how frontliners are being treated. Its not just doctors and nurses who put their lives on the line. For example, those people who drive buses, she said. But I feel, after COVID, the world will go back to its capitalist ways where people who work in financing, banking will keep earning more money [than we do], she said. The hardships that Alice has endured have led her to tell her sister, whose education she pays for, that she should pursue a career other than nursing. I said, Its enough that we have one nurse in the family. Its enough that theres one tribute. Its a hard job. For example, Christmas, New Year, these holidays, you cant assure your family that youll be there for them. Then [add the fact that] your patients will die under your care, she said. Its normal for people to die but its not normal for death to be a part of your job. It will eventually take a toll on you, she said. This article, Nightingales in Peril: Filipino nurses put their lives on the line in the UK, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company. Want more Coconuts? Sign up for our newsletters! UAE launched a new initiative to create a unified global legal and legislative framework for the Islamic finance sector. This was announced by Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Minister of Finance and Governor of the Islamic Development Bank, IDB, for the United Arab Emirates, a WAM report said. Launched by the UAE Ministry of Finance in partnership with the IDB, and the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre, DIEDC, the global legislative framework is set to enable the Islamic economy to expand its reach and responds to calls for greater standardisation within the sector. A memorandum of understanding, MoU, has already been signed between DIEDC and the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions, AAOIFI, enabling DIEDC to use AAOIFI's standards as a reference in building the international legal framework with the guidance of the Ministry of Finance and IDB. Furthermore, Norton Rose Fulbright has been recently appointed to provide legal advice in drafting the code for the global framework. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum said: "The Islamic finance sector will benefit greatly from a unified international legal and legislative framework. After its formulation and subsequent approval by internationally accredited relevant authorities, it will be formally established as a legal and legislative framework that serves as the basis for a new international treaty." He added: "Under the directives of the UAE leadership and with the sustained follow-up of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, and General Supervisor of the Dubai: Capital of Islamic Economy initiative, DIEDC is exploring new ways of advancing the Islamic economy sector globally. Over the years following its inception, the Centre has endeavoured to build strong partnerships and shape enabling legislations that can further develop the sector and unleash its potential. Today, we are reaping the fruits of those efforts and the UAE is considered a global centre for Islamic finance after becoming the first country to establish an Islamic bank that provides integrated banking services in compliance with Islamic law, and ranking first across various Islamic economic and finance indicators worldwide." Stimulating the Sector Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy and Chairman of DIEDC, said: "In line with the strategic framework of the Dubai: Capital of Islamic Economy initiative, DIEDC has worked relentlessly over the past several years to highlight the importance of global legislation in stimulating the Islamic finance sector. After conducting multiple studies in collaboration with major consultancies, we have concluded that the differences in the legislations and laws governing business practices in Islamic finance continue to slow down the growth of the Islamic economy sector, while expending more time, effort and cost. There is today an urgent need in the Islamic finance sector to accelerate growth and reduce discrepancies in practices across the globe. As part of this priority, the development of a general framework that standardises rules and regulations will be a major achievement for Islamic finance and for the Islamic economy in general." He added: "The legislative framework for Islamic economy will lead to a vertical and horizontal expansion of the sector globally due to the number of member countries in the Islamic Development Bank. This will serve as a crucial factor in triggering the steady and rapid growth of Islamic finance. Enabling and standardising legislations provides the guarantees and trust needed to build smoother and stronger business relations. New courts are expected to be established worldwide to settle Islamic financial disputes according to the new unified legislative framework." Trusted Transactions Dr Bandar Hajjar, President of the IDB, said: "This project to build a legal framework for Islamic finance transactions, with the support of the UAE Ministry of Finance, which is a founding member of the Islamic Development Bank and a key stakeholder in the Islamic economy, is a long-awaited step. It comes in response to the growing demand from Islamic financial institutions and dispute settlement centres, including courts and arbitration centres." He added: "IDB is a strategic partner in this landmark project and will offer technical assistance. We will support DIEDC in achieving the project's objectives and present it to member countries so that they can adopt it and make it an integral part of their own legislations with regard to Islamic financial transactions. We are confident that this framework will have the positive impact of stabilising the Islamic finance industry that is gaining ground in the modern global banking ecosystem for its transparency and ethical principles." "As the projects kicks off during the Holy Month of Ramadan, I congratulate Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the IDB Governor of the UAE, for the successful launch and the start of the implementation phase. This project is very important for the Islamic financial industry. IDB wholeheartedly supports DIEDC's efforts in establishing the legislative infrastructure for Islamic economy in collaboration with member countries and Islamic financial institutions. Such efforts will go a long way in supporting the growth and expansion of the Islamic economy footprint around the world." -- Tradearabia News Service Three more Delhi Police personnel, including a traffic inspector posted in Southern Traffic Range, tested positive for COVID-19, police said on Thursday. The 59-year-old Traffic Inspector, who is incharge of Sangam Vihar area of Southern Traffic Range, felt body ache and mild fever on May 4 following which, he went to the government CGHS dispensary, Minto Road, where the doctor prescribed medicines and advised five-days rest, they said. However, the official gave his swab sample to a private lab for COVID-19 test as a precautionary measure on May 6. On Thursday, the result was received as positive, a senior official said. He said the traffic inspector was residing along with his 22-year-old son and a 27- year-old domestic help at government quarters in Minto road area. In Northwest Delhi, a 46-year-old head constable posted in Mahendra Park Police Station also tested positive for COVID-19. He has been living with his wife, two daughters and a son in the police colony, Narela. He was on medical leave since May 1, police said. Also, an inspector posted with the Special Cell of Delhi Police has tested positive for COVID-19. He was is deployed at the Lodhi Colony office of the Special Cell, they said. Meanwhile, officials are tracing the people with whom the three police personnel came in contact so far so as to quarantine them, they added. More than 30 Delhi Police personnel have tested COVID positive so far. A 31-year-old Head Constable, Amit Kumar, posted at Bharat Nagar police station died on Tuesday evening due to COVID-19. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) France will get rid of 10 million litres of beer that were either left unconsumed or expired due to coronavirus lockdown, the national brewers' association said Wednesday, May 6. According to reports, the amount of beer is enough to fill up four Olympic-sized swimming pools. The national brewers' association, which represents 98 percent of the beer production in France, reportedly compiled the numbers with inputs from nearly 300 members. Read: France PM Philippe Hints At Resuming Religious Services Earlier Than Planned Brewery association boss Maxime Costilhes while talking to the press said that the beer that spoiled is very hoppy and were left for too long in storage which effected the taste and aroma. Maxime further added that most of the wasted brew is craft beer, which is unpasteurised unlike traditional blonde lagers and spoils quickly. The association also urged the government for aid to compensate for the loss as the sector is currently heavily indebted after investing 241 million euros ($260 million) in development in 2019. Read: Donald Trump Calls United States' Coronavirus Crisis Worse Than 9/11 Attack, World War II France went into lockdown in mid-March shutting down all non-essential businesses, including restaurants and bars, where most of the beer that is now being discarded would have reached. President Emmanuel Macron on April 13 announced that the country will see relaxation in lockdown restrictions starting from May 11. Prime Minister Philippe issued new guidelines outlining how the country will move ahead in the coming months allowing businesses to open but said restaurants and cafes will remain closed until at least June. Read: 'Evidence Says Covid Transfer Risk In Flights Is Low; Don't Leave Middle Seat Empty': IATA Coronavirus in France The peak in France has reportedly passed as the country recorded just over 500 new cases on May 2 compared to more than 17,000 on April 3. The new deaths in the country have also significantly decreased, recording just 135 new deaths compared to 1,438 on April 15. According to figures by Worldometer, France has reported 1,74,191 confirmed Coronavirus cases so far, of which 25,809 people have lost their lives. The recovery rate in the country stands at 68 percent with 51,972 recovered from the disease to date. Read: Spain's Coronavirus Death Toll Below 200 For Third Consecutive Day But Economic Cost High Fly ash geopolymer concrete: Significantly enhanced resistance to extreme alkali attack Fly ash generated by coal-fired power stations is an environmental headache, creating groundwater and air pollution from vast landfills and ash dams. Some of the waste product can be repurposed into geopolymer concrete, such as pre-cast heat-cured elements for structures. However, a critical durability problem has been low resistance to extreme alkali attack. Researchers at the University of Johannesburg have found that high temperature heat-treatment (HTHT) can reduce this harmful mechanism in fly ash geopolymer concrete by half. "In a previous study, we found that fly ash geopolymer concrete can be vulnerable under extreme alkaline conditions. The recommendation from the study, was that this material should not be employed in structures that are exposed to highly alkaline mediums, such as some chemical storage facilities. "The findings of our new study show that the alkali resistance of geopolymer concrete can be significantly improved by exposing it to an evaluated temperature, optimally 200 degrees Celsius," says Dr Abdolhossein Naghizadeh. The study forms part of Naghizadeh's doctoral research at the Department of Civil Engineering Science at the University of Johannesburg. Extreme alkali medium In the research published in Case Studies in Construction Materials, blocks of fly ash geopolymer mortars were variously heat-cured at 100, 200, 400 or 600 degrees Celsius for 6 hours. These were then immersed in water, a medium alkali medium or an extreme alkali medium; and stored at 80 degrees Celsius for 14 days or 28 days, depending on the performance measurement. (The prolonged heat-curing for 28 days was conducted to compare the results with those obtained by the other studies, which employed the same curing regime. This long-term curing is suitable for research purposes, but not recommended for actual construction. The medium alkali medium was a 1M NaOH solution. The extreme alkali medium was a 3M NaOH solution.) "The hardened blocks heat-cured at 200 degrees, and then immersed in the extreme alkali medium (the "200/3M" blocks), maintained about 50% residual strength at 22.6 MPa upon alkali attack. The blocks heat-cured at the other temperatures maintained much lower residual strengths at 10.3 - 14.6 MPa," says Naghizadeh. "The 200/3M blocks immersed in extreme alkali medium displayed only limited fine cracking indicating low expansion, compared to the others which displayed severe cracking. Leaching of silicone and aluminium was lowest for the 200/3M blocks. "X-ray diffraction showed that crystalline minerals, albite and sillimanite, formed in the binder phase of 200/3M blocks. Scanning electron microscope images of the 200/3M binders show the presence of a gel-like substance, characteristic of alkali attack. The heat-curing significantly reduced in the intensity of the attack but could not prevent it," he says. "The High Temperature Heat Treatment (HTHT) at 200 degrees created this effect by inhibiting the dissolution of unreacted fly ash particles within the hardened geopolymer concrete matrix. However, the HTHT also reduced the compressive strength for these blocks by 26.7%." Best used as precast Fly ash geopolymer binders exhibit remarkable durability properties. Among these are high resistance to alkali-silica reaction; superior acid resistance; and high resistance to fire, low carbonation and limited sulfate attack, says Naghizadeh. Fly ash geopolymer cement is suitable mostly for precast concrete manufactured at a factory or workshop. The reason is that strength development in geopolymer cement mixtures is generally slow under ambient temperatures. This makes heat-curing necessary or essential for early strength gain. The practical methods established for heat-curing pre-cast Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) can be adapted for this. This makes fly ash geopolymers suitable for precast concrete elements such as beams or girders for buildings and bridges, railway sleepers, wall panels, hollow core slabs, and concrete pipes. For regular fly ash geopolymer concrete, a 24-hour period of heating at 60-80 degrees Celsius would be enough to achieve sufficient strength. This curing regime (temperature and duration) is common in cement industry, which is also used for some Portland cement concretes. Although the use of geopolymer cement is growing every year, its application is still very small compared to OPC. Geopolymer has been employed as the binder in residential structures, bridges, and runways mostly in European countries, China, Australia, and the USA. A new generation cement Since the middle of the 18'th century, OPC has been used extensively to produce concrete. Its durability performance is well understood and its long-term behaviour can be predicted. However, a new generation of cement is emerging as a suitable alternative to OPC in certain applications. These geopolymer cements (or geopolymer binders) have a nature and microstructure totally different from OPC. A starting material used for geopolymer binder needs to be rich in alumina and silicate contents. On this criterion, multiple industrial waste or by-products qualify - such as rice husk ash, palm oil fuel ash and coal power plant fly ash. However fly ash has two advantages for use as a geopolymer cement, says Naghizadeh. Firstly, fly ash is available in millions of tons globally, also in developing countries. Repurposing fly ash as construction material can potentially reduce some of its environmental impacts. Currently, it is disposed of in vast ash dams and landfills close to coal-fuelled power plants, which generate air and ground-water pollution. The second advantage for fly ash as starting material for geopolymer cement is its chemical composition. Typically, fly ash is rich enough in reactive silicon and aluminium oxides, which results in a better geopolymerization. This in turn yields a binder with superior mechanical, physical and durability properties compared to the geopolymer concretes made using other waste products containing alumino-silicates. More complex mix design When designing a building, the engineer needs to ensure that the concrete used in the structure will have the expected strength for the service life. However, the physical and mechanical properties of concrete and other construction materials can change over time. Such changes can influence the material performance over the service life span of the construction. Generally, an OPC concrete mixture includes cement, water and aggregate. The civil engineer develops an OPC mix design using specific proportions of these three ingredients for the intended structure. "For fly ash-based geopolymer concrete activated by sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide, mix design is more complex than for OPC," says Naghizadeh. "More parameters are involved: the amounts of fly ash, sodium silicate, sodium hydroxide, water, and aggregate; as well as the concentration of sodium hydroxide; the proportion and quality of glass within the alkali." Fly ash from ash dams In South Africa, research about using fly ash as a geopolymer cement is limited, says Prof Stephen Ekolu. Ekolu is a co-author of the study and former Head of the School of Civil Engineering and the Built Environment at University of Johannesburg. "The existing research about fly ash geopolymer concrete uses fly ash supplied directly from power stations. Further research is needed about using fly ash from landfills and ash dams, technically referred to as "bottom ash" to produce geopolymer cement. "The biggest research questions are issues of material quality, mix design, and developing the technology to allow curing at ambient conditions rather than the current practice of curing at elevated temperatures. Once these three scientific issues have been resolved, fly-ash and indeed most other forms of geopolymer cements can be better placed as OPC replacements worldwide," says Ekolu. Not a concrete extender Currently, a small amount of fly ash is used as a common cement extender. In South Africa that amount is 10% of the 36 million tons produced annually. It is mixed with clinker to produce Pozzolanic Portland Cement (PPC). Though fly ash is used as a common OPC extender, fly ash-based geopolymer concrete (FA-GC) is not combined with OPC-based concrete. The reason is that the hydration process of OPC is completely different from the geopolymerization reaction of FA-GC. Also, OPC-based concrete and geopolymer concrete each requires a different curing condition. Different production than OPC The major phases in OPC production are the calcination and grinding processes. Unlike OPC, geopolymer production does not require these phases. Fly ash-based geopolymer binders consist of two components: The fly ash and an alkali activator. Usually, fly ash is used as produced in the power station, with no need for further treatment. Alkali activator solutions such as sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide are also extensively produced in the industry. These are used for multiple purposes, such as detergent and textile production. "Greener" concrete "The long-term durability of geopolymer cement under different environmental conditions needs further research. Also, the construction industry globally lacks technical knowledge of the production of geopolymers. To employ geopolymer binders, engineers, technicians and construction workers need training to design and produce geopolymer concrete mix designs with the required properties," says Naghizadeh. "There is no doubt that production of Portland cement needs to be limited in future, due to its huge environmental impacts. This includes about 5-8% global anthropogenic carbon-dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change," adds Ekolu. Several studies, including those from the University of Johannesburg, have shown that fly ash geopolymer can exhibit superior, or similar properties to Portland cement. This makes it a suitable alternative to replace Portland cement in certain applications. Moreover, the availability of fly ash worldwide, especially in developing countries, provides an opportunity to produce more economic concrete "greener" than Ordinary Portland Cement, from the viewpoint of potential repurposing of a problematic waste product. ### Written by Ms Therese van Wyk and Dr Abdolhossein Naghizadeh. INTERVIEWS: For email interviews or questions, contact Dr Naghizadeh at anaghizadeh@uj.ac.za. For interviews via mobile phone / Skype / Zoom with Dr Naghizadeh, contact Ms Therese van Wyk at Theresevw@uj.ac.za or +27 71 139 8407 (mobile) in Johannesburg, UTC + 2. Dr Naghizadeh's doctoral research was partly funded by the Centre of Applied Research and Innovation in the Built Environment (CARINBE) at the University of Johannesburg. This story has been published on: 2020-05-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Cerebral video call with prescribing provider With parts of the nation still in quarantine, COVID-19 has impacted the way most people go about their day to day lives. 30.3 million people have filed for unemployment in the past 6 weeks and the number continues to rise. As many find themselves out of work and school or mandated to stay at home, social isolation continues to challenge mental health. Telemedicine companies like Cerebral are offering mental health care and prescriptions through live video meetings to support people during this time. The company was founded by CEO Kyle Robertson and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ho Anh, who was previously the Founding Medical Director at the telemedicine upstart Hims and Medical Group President at Lemonaid Health. It has been available to residents in California, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas for months and has just launched in New York, Illinois, and Michigan. Those who find themselves struggling with mental health in those states can now access the care they need without risking exposure to COVID-19 at physical clinics. Cerebral clients report feeling heard, supported, and more focused. Because of their work with Cerebral, one of its clients has successfully managed their anxiety, allowing them to help out with food supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19. They were able to stay focused and set up new supply chains for the farmers, moving nearly 100,000lbs of food in one week that was otherwise going to go unused. Specialists fear the long-term impact of institutional closures on public healththe 2008 recession claimed over 10,000 lives by suicide in the United States and the UK, and this time, the impacts could be even more devastating. Cerebral is tackling the rising mental health crisis by providing over-video diagnosis and support. Those seeking treatment may set up an initial meeting with a provider and continue to meet with a personal Care Counselor each month to track treatment outcomes. Care Counselors are also available to support clients outside of regularly scheduled meetings through online messaging and text. Cerebrals services are now available in New York, Illinois, and Michigan. Cerebral is creating an easy and accessible process by which people are treated for anxiety and depression through the screen. The startup is growing rapidly due to additional demand for remote mental health services, having hired more than 30 new mental health clinicians in the past month alone. If you would like more information, please visit Cerebrals website at getcerebral.com or email support@getcerebral.com. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Wednesday issued a new policy that will reshape the way schools and universities respond to complaints of sexual misconduct, bolstering the rights of the accused and narrowing the scope of cases colleges are required to investigate. We released a final rule that recognizes we can continue to combat sexual misconduct without abandoning our core values of fairness, presumption of innocence and due process, DeVos said in a call with reporters. In announcing the new policy, which carries the weight of law, DeVos condemned the Obama administration for adopting a failed approach that turned campus disciplinary panels into kangaroo courts. DeVos' changes narrow the definition of sexual harassment and require colleges to investigate claims only if they're reported to certain officials. Schools can be held accountable for mishandling complaints only if they acted with deliberate indifference. Students will be allowed to question one another through representatives during live hearings. The regulation largely mirrors a proposal DeVos issued in November 2018 but tempers some measures that drew some of the heaviest criticism. The earlier proposal, for example, suggested that colleges would not be required to handle complaints arising beyond campus borders, but the final rule clarifies that their duties extend to fraternity and sorority houses, along with other scenarios in which the college exercises "substantial control over the accused student and the context where the alleged misconduct occurred. DeVos also clarified for the first time that dating violence, stalking and domestic violence also must be addressed under Title IX, and she added new language ordering schools to provide special support for victims regardless of whether they file a formal complaint. Title IX is the 1972 law barring discrimination based on sex in education. The law and DeVos regulation apply to the nations colleges and universities, along with elementary and secondary schools. Devos said the new rule "takes historic steps to strengthen Title IX protections for all students and to ensure all students can pursue an education free from sex discrimination. The changes take effect Aug. 14. The Education Department finalized them after reviewing more than 120,000 public comments submitted in response to DeVos' proposal. The final policy was quickly condemned by opponents who say it weakens protections for victims and will discourage many from reporting misconduct. The National Womens Law Center promised to take legal action. We refuse to go back to the days when rape and harassment in schools were ignored and swept under the rug, said Fatima Goss Graves, the groups president and CEO. We wont let DeVos succeed in requiring schools to be complicit in harassment, turning Title IX from a law that protects all students into a law that protects abusers and harassers. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., chairman of the House education committee, said the policy creates new barriers to justice for victims. While the departments stated intent was to secure due process for those accused of sexual misconduct, the actual effect of its rule will be to erode protections for students, weaken accountability for schools and make it more difficult for survivors seeking redress, he said. The overhaul drew praise from Republicans and from groups that represent the accused. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senates education committee, said it respects and supports victims and preserves due process rights for both the victim and the accused." The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a civil liberties group, called it an important victory. Students shouldnt have to relinquish their basic rights when they step foot on a college campus, but at almost every top college in this country, thats exactly what happens, said Samantha Harris, the group's senior fellow. Among the most hotly contested changes is DeVos' rule allowing students to question one another at live hearings. Advocates for victims say its a cruel policy that forces victims to relive the trauma of sexual violence. READ MORE: Judge upholds male students bias lawsuit against Colgate over sex assault probe DeVos added new limits around the hearings in her final rule, saying students must never be allowed to question one another directly, and she said only questions that campus officials deem relevant can be asked. The Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, an association of more than 200 public universities, said it still has significant concerns about cross examinations, saying the requirement will likely discourage reporting. Some will worry about an anguish-inducing process that includes requiring them to face direct questioning by respondents aggressive counsel in a live hearing courtroom-like setting, said Peter McPherson, the group's president. While cross examinations will be required at the college level, the final rule makes it optional for primary and secondary schools. Under the new rules, the definition of sexual harassment is narrowed to include unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it denies a person access to a schools education programs or activity. The Obama administration, by contrast, used a broader definition that included any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, including sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal, nonverbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Colleges now will be required to dismiss complaints that fall short of the updated definition, although any allegation of rape or sexual assault will be deemed to have met the definition. Opponents also take issue with a measure in the final policy allowing schools to choose a higher standard of proof when deciding cases of sexual misconduct. The Obama administration encouraged schools to use a preponderance of the evidence standard, meaning that the allegation is more likely than not true. But the new rules allow schools to use a clear and convincing standard, meaning the claim is highly probable. Democrats and some education groups had asked DeVos to postpone the final rule until after the coronavirus pandemic, saying schools were too busy responding to the crisis to implement complex federal rules. The American Council on Education, an association of college presidents, urged DeVos on Wednesday to delay the policy until summer 2021, saying the timing reflected appallingly poor judgment. This is irrational, unrealistic and completely at odds with the Trump administrations oft-repeated statement to tread lightly when imposing complex new regulations, the group said in a statement. DeVos said schools had been given fair warning. Civil rights really cant wait, and students cases continue to be decided now, she said. Weve been working on this for more than two years, so its not a surprise to institutions that its been coming. Australia has secured the emphatic support of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in its push for an independent probe into the origins of the coronavirus as the United States retreats on claims it has evidence the disease started in a Chinese laboratory. Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently discussed the inquiry with Mr Johnson and has identified two mechanisms at the World Health Assembly that could lead the investigation. Australia will use a European Union motion to zero in on China's handling of the initial outbreak and the global health response. Scott Morrison has secured Boris Johnson's support for an independent probe into the origins of the coronavirus. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on Thursday revealed there were rising suspicions within the Australian government and intelligence services that the US embassy in Canberra had leaked a western government dossier that tied the virus to a laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Senior sources said the research, reported by News Corp Australia on Saturday, contained no intelligence and was made up of publicly available material, including news reports. Australia has maintained that the most likely scenario is the virus emerged from a wildlife wet market in Wuhan. Former Australian Labor foreign ministers Gareth Evans and Bob Carr said the episode showed the importance of maintaining independent intelligence from the US. Read the full story here * Mubadala, APICORP could issue bonds as soon as next week * Islamic Development Bank has hired banks for potential deal * Saudi Telecom in talks with banks for potential bond sale By Yousef Saba DUBAI, May 5 (Reuters) - Several Gulf issuers, including Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala and the Saudi-headquartered Arab Petroleum Investments Corp (APICORP), will likely issue bonds as soon as next week, sources said, signalling a revival in the region's primary debt market. Public international bond issuances screeched to a halt in late February, with activity only tentatively restarting early last month. Investment-grade sovereigns Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia have subsequently raised a combined $24 billion in bonds, though corporates and banks have remained cautious so far. Two sources said Mubadala and APICORP could issue bonds as soon as next week. "We are always looking at ways to optimize our capital structure, at the right time in the market and in line with our funding plans," Mubadala's Chief Communications Officer Brian Lott said in response to a Reuters query. APICORP did not immediately return a request for comment. Reuters reported last week that Mubadala was in early talks with banks for a potential dollar bond issue. APICORP hired banks last month for a potential issuance, which would have a maturity of three or five years, sources have said. "When (APICORP) goes is dependent on whether they can get their pricing and the feedback all matches," a source said. "I'm sure that they won't be too far away from coming to the market." That could be as soon as next week, the source added. In the corporate space, Saudi Telecom is in talks with banks for a potential issuance, two sources said. The company did not immediately return a request for comment. Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank has hired banks to arrange a potential international sale of sukuk, or Islamic bonds, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. Story continues It will likely raise at least $1 billion, one of the sources said. IsDB did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Junk-rated Bahrain also hired banks on Tuesday to arrange investor calls ahead of a potential dual-tranche dollar bond issue. It would mark the first sub-investment grade public bond deal from the region since tumbling oil prices and the spreading coronavirus pandemic led to one of the biggest sell-offs of the region's debt on record. Qatar National Bank, the Gulf's biggest lender, on Tuesday became the first non-sovereign issuer from the Gulf to launch a public bond issue in the international debt markets, raising $1 billion. Bankers and fund managers have said large banks and government-related entities would need to return to the public debt markets following last month's sovereign issues in order to re-establish curves for smaller and less-creditworthy lenders and corporates. "We have seen a stabilisation in the regional fixed income markets following fiscal and monetary support measures announced by governments globally," said Doug Bitcon, head of credit strategies at Rasmala Investment Bank. "Despite the low oil price, secondary market bid/offer spreads have tightened significantly in the past month and as a consequence primary market activity has started to pick up." (Reporting by Yousef Saba; Editing by Jan Harvey) The Nagaland government, which is facing a financial crunch in the wake of the lockdown, has focused on strengthening the agriculture and allied sectors to revive the state's economy, a minister said. The government will hold a meeting with the representatives of the farming community and entrepreneurs on Friday to discuss various issues to improve these sectors, state planning and coordination minister Neiba Kronu said. He said the government led by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio is looking to become self-reliant in terms of agricultural production and reduce its dependence on the Centre and other states. "The present situation arising out of the COVID-19 outbreak has given us a lesson that we should take farming more seriously to become self-reliant in the food sector as the state has been facing a financial crunch," Kronu said on Wednesday. He said the state has conducive climatic conditions and fertile land to help the agricultural sector grow. Accepting that the performance of the agriculture and allied sectors was below par in the past, he said, "Now, we have to change the strategy and all have to be active." He also said that the government is working on a strategy to boost the veterinary and animal husbandry sector in the state. Speaking on the Nagaland people stranded in different parts of the country due to the lockdown, he said the state government does not encourage them to come back. At present, the government has a list of around 23,000 people including patients, students and workers, stuck in different parts of the country. The minister said the government is taking initiatives to make the BSL-3 lab functional for testing samples of people with coronavirus-like symptoms, though no COVID-19 case has been reported in the state. Home department's principal secretary Abhijit Sinha said the inter-district movement of stranded people would be allowed from Thursday till Saturday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 21:07:57|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ANKARA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Turkish airstrikes killed four members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq and six others across Turkey, said Turkey's defense and interior ministries on Thursday. "Four PKK terrorists were neutralized in Hakurk, Zap and Haftanin regions in an air-backed operation after determined by means of reconnaissance and surveillance. Our operations continue without pausing," said the ministry in its Twitter account. Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in statements to imply the "terrorists" who surrendered or were killed or captured. Meanwhile, three "terrorists" were killed in the southeastern Adiyaman province of Turkey and three others were killed in the rural areas of Agri province, Turkish Interior Ministry said in a written statement. They were "neutralized" by the provincial gendarmerie special operations forces in the air-backed anti-terror operation in the region, said the ministry noting that the operation in the region is still underway. Turkish security forces have long been conducting operations against the PKK in southeastern Turkey and in northern Iraq where the group has hideouts. The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the EU, launched a 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state which caused the lives of more than 40,000 people. Enditem John Duffy (R) and his son Dan make a repair to a grain drill while planting soybeans near Dwight, Ill., on April 23, 2020. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) USDA: Chinas Farm Purchases so Far Are Very Disappointing WASHINGTONThe Trump administration expressed disappointment and frustration over Beijings slow progress on meeting its pledges in the phase one trade deal signed in mid-January. The trade data for the first three months shows that China is far behind the pace necessary to meet its purchase target in 2020. While there has been progress on removing barriers to our exports, Chinas purchases so far this year have been very disappointing, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) told The Epoch Times in an email. Despite the outbreak, China has continued to import farm products. In particular, China has sourced imports from other suppliers this year, and our market share for a number of products has declined from 2017 levels despite the phase one agreement, the spokesperson said. Beijing pledged to buy $200 billion worth of additional U.S. goods and services over the next two years as part of the phase one pact, which went into effect in mid-February. The agreement states that China will increase its U.S. farm purchases by $12.5 billion this year and by $19.5 billion in 2021 from the 2017 baseline level of nearly $24 billion. This means China has to import at least $80 billion of U.S. agricultural products over the next two years. Chinas farm purchases from the United States stood at only $5.1 billion in the first quarter of this year. In order to satisfy the deal, Beijing has to accelerate its purchases sharply in the coming months. There are steps China can take immediately to facilitate imports of U.S. products, steps we think are necessary for China to fulfill its commitments under the agreement, the spokesperson said. U.S. agriculture has been crucial for the phase one trade agreement, as China was the largest export market for U.S. farm products in 2017 before the trade war started. Farmers were particularly hard hit by Beijings retaliatory tariffs. Nearly $30 billion of U.S. farm exports were subject to Chinas tariffs, according to a report by the Center for Agricultural Trade at Virginia Tech. As a result of the conflict, U.S. agricultural exports to China decreased by 54 percent in 2018. Despite a slight uptick in 2019, exports are still well behind 2017 levels. While China has a fifth of the worlds population, it has only one-tenth of the worlds arable land. Hence the country is heavily dependent on imports of farm products, particularly soybeans, cotton, sorghum, wheat, nuts, and pork. Trump said of the phase one deal in 2019, Theres never been a deal of this magnitude for the American farmer. He suggested farmers buy more land and get bigger tractors. However, he voiced disappointment over Chinas purchases recently and threatened to terminate the deal if Beijing fails to follow through on its promises. He said on May 6 that he would report in about a week or two on whether hes happy with Chinas progress. I will be able to report on that at the end of next week. Theyre buying a lot of farm products, but are they buying to the level that they were supposed to? Trump earlier indicated that he would consider new tariffs on Chinese goods for Beijings mishandling of the coronavirus outbreak. When asked on May 6 whether he was still considering tariffs, he said: I dont want to talk about this. Were in the midst of some very big things, so I just dont want to talk about that now. The tensions between the United States and China have intensified in recent weeks, which could spill over into another trade war, according to experts. China purchased $129.8 billion in U.S. goods in 2017 before the trade war began, and $57.6 billion in services, U.S. data shows. The phase one pact requires China to increase its purchases by $76.7 billion in 2020 from the 2017 baseline level. That means China needs to buy more than $260 billion U.S. agricultural goods, manufactured goods, energy products, and services this year. Theres progress being made on the phase one deal, particularly the removal of some nontariff barriers on agricultural access into China, according to Riley Walters, senior policy analyst and economist at The Heritage Foundation. The only problem is purchasing commitments, he told The Epoch Times. When the deal was signed in January, no one thought China would be able to make the purchasing commitments then. And its certainly not going to be able to make it now unless theres just this huge uptick. WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- NOA International, a Florida based manufacturing company, is pleased to announce that it is now mass manufacturing personal protective equipment, including made in the U.S.A. face shields. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and critical shortage of needed personal protective equipment (PPE), NOA has re-purposed its facility to produce PPE at scale. "It is our duty as a business to provide PPE to everyone in need. In these difficult and unprecedented times, we are motivated by this newfound purpose," said David Johansson, Vice President. NOA International, Inc. Utilizing their many years of manufacturing experience and resources, the Company is doing what it can to efficiently meet the global shortages of personal protective equipment in a cost-efficient manner. By mass-producing face shields exclusively in America, shipping costs and the associated carbon footprint have been significantly reduced, resulting in a competitively priced, quality product. While NOA is doing what it can to meet the PPE demand, its praise and thoughts are with all the many doctors, nurses, personal care attendants, police officers, EMTs, firefighters, grocery store clerks, delivery employees, sanitation workers, and every and all other workers globally who are doing an amazing job for public health and society at large. About NOA International, Inc.: NOA is a family-owned manufacturing company based in West Palm Beach, Florida, that has been in business for over 25 years. Its principal and lead mechanical engineer is one of the original founders of global medical technology company giant, ARJOHuntleigh. With its extensive design and engineering expertise, NOA stays ahead of the latest technological developments, explores creative options, and provides its customers with overall exceptional service. NOA is customer-driven and is dedicated to forming a partnership with each of its customers. NOA is proud of its reputation for noteworthy products, dedication to continuous improvement, and commitment to excellence. To learn more about NOA and its new line of PPE products, you can contact David Johansson at [email protected] or call him direct at (954) 294-3960. Related Images image1.jpg SOURCE NOA International, Inc. Ryan Reynolds has to get something off his chest. During Tuesday's at-home episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the Deadpool actor told host Jimmy Fallon that he's been missing his "secret family" in recent weeks, joking that he decided to practice social distancing with his "Hollywood" family, which is comprised of wife Blake Lively and their three young daughters, instead. "It was a toss-up with my public facing family or my secret family in Denmark," he said. "It was a real toss-up. I miss Luna, Lekhet and Uhn very much so." Chiming in, Jimmy quipped, "I love Uhn. Give my best to Uhn," to which Ryan replied, "Una is so sweet. Yeah, I went with the Hollywood family." He added, "And it's been great. It's a decision I don't regret at all." Still on the topic of his public facing family, as he called it, Ryan joked that he fears the pandemic has set a "dangerous precedent" for his kids regarding how long he's been home with them in between projects. Blake Lively & Ryan Reynolds: Romance Rewind "Frankly, I think it sets a dangerous precedent, Jimmy," he said. "You know, I think when we look back at this thing years from now, they're gonna think about me and how I used to be a present dad and I worry about that. I worry about the: Remember when dad was just home all the time and always up in our grill?'" On a more serious note, the 6 Underground star continued, "It's actually been amazing because, you know, I'm trying to let myself appreciate it as much as possible because at the same time you're thinking, like, there are so many people in the world that are---this not a good thing that this is causing a lot of free-floating anxiety for a lot of people and different things. So, I'm trying to let myself appreciate the actual face time with the family and spending as much time as possible." Story continues But, staying cooped up with his and Blake's little ones hasn't exactly been as easy feat. Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively "It really does, like, vacillate between deep, beautiful connection and then, suddenly, it's the third act of Aliens," Ryan added. "Suddenly, I'm having a totally normal conversation with a 3-year-old, then she's spitting acid in my face and I'm running for my life in the belly of a shipand wearing nothing but tank tops, sweaty as hell." Switching gears, the duo also discussed Ryan's upcoming movie Red Notice, which also stars Dwayne Johnson. After telling the Saturday Night Live alum that the film was shut down due to coronavirus concerns, he joked that the film might have been completed had it not been for him and the WWE alum's constant hijinks. "I've known Dwayne for, like, 15 years, so we tend to spend time trying to make each other laugh, which is a really irresponsible thing to do with Netflix and their money," he said. "But, you know, it makes for a great movie in the end once you get take 28 down in the can." Find out how Ryan always gets Dwayne to break during a scene in the hilarious video above! (E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal Family.) Shelly Luther in a booking photo on May 5, 2020. (Dallas County Sheriff's Office via AP) Texas Supreme Court Orders Release of Jailed Salon Owner Shelly Luther The Texas Supreme Court ordered the release of a Dallas hair salon owner who was jailed for violating the states stay-at-home mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shelly Luther, who is in custody at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center in Dallas, received the public support of Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton announced the state Supreme Courts decision on Twitter, saying that the petition for writ of habeas corpus remains pending before this court. State District Judge Eric Moye sentenced Luther to seven days in jail on contempt of court charges for disobeying a temporary restraining order that prevented her from operating her business. Throwing Texans in jail who have had their businesses shut down through no fault of their own is nonsensical, and I will not allow it to happen, Abbott said earlier this week after she was jailed. Amid concerns of the spread of COVID-19, salon owner Shelley Luther (C) listens to Dallas City officials as a reflection of a supporter filming them is seen from outside Luthers reopened Salon A la Mode in Dallas, Texas, on April 24, 2020. (LM Otero/AP Photo) The Dallas County Sheriffs Office told NBC5 that she would remain in jail until the office gets a copy of writ ordering Luthers release. Amid escalating controversy over Luthers case, Abbott wrote on Twitter that he is eliminating jail for violating an order, retroactive to April 2, superseding local orders criminals shouldnt be released to prevent COVID-19 just to put business owners in their place. Texas started allowing restaurants and retailers to reopen last week under limited capacity, but it wont be until mid-May until barbershops and salons can open. So far, Texas has recorded more than 34,000 CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus cases and more than 940 deaths, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins University. Luther, meanwhile, was cited last month for keeping her hair salon open despite state and local stay-at-home orders to keep businesses deemed nonessential closed. I couldnt feed my family, and my stylists couldnt feed their families, Luther testified in court on Tuesday. She said she had applied for a federal loan but didnt get it until Sunday. Feeding my kids is not selfish, she told Judge Moye, according to news reports. If you think the law is more important than kids getting fed, then please go ahead with your decision, but I am not going to shut the salon. Moye then wrote that she defied the court in an open and flagrant manner. Luther also expressed no contrition, remorse or regret for keeping her business open, he claimed. A GoFundMe page, which says Luther is an American Hero for deciding to resist tyranny, has raised more than $500,000 for her. Shares of Mallinckrodt MNK were down 14.8% after it reported mixed results for the first quarter, wherein sales missed estimates but earnings beat the same. Moreover, the company presented a disappointing outlook for the second quarter due to the ongoing pandemic. Mallinckrodts stock has lost 19.5% in the year so far compared with the industrys decline of 7%. The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.64 per share in the first quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.41 but decreasing from the year-ago quarters $1.94. Net sales in the quarter came in at $665.8 million, decreasing 15.8% year over year and missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $678 million. Quarter in Detail The company now operates in two reportable segments aligned with the previously-announced separation the Specialty Brands and the Specialty Generics. Specialty Brands sales came in at $490.6 million, down 18.8% year over year. Acthar, Mallinckrodts largest product, generated sales of $167.6 million, down 25.1% year on year, primarily due to continued reimbursement challenges affecting new and returning patients, continued payer scrutiny on overall specialty pharmaceutical spending, and reduced patient demand due to the COVID-19 stay-at-home order. Inomax, the companys second-largest product, generated sales of $141.7 million, down 6.2% year over year due to increased competition for inhaled nitric oxide. Ofirmev sales decreased 21.7% year over year to $74.9 million due to significant quarter-to-quarter order variability and a reduction in elective surgeries due to public health orders and institutions focusing on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales of the Therakos immunology platform came in at $63.7 million, up 3.1%. Amitza net sales were $41.1 million, down 22.5% due to increased competition in the United States and the biennial price reduction in Japan. Specialty Generics sales amounted to $175.2 million, down 6%. Story continues Adjusted selling, general and administrative expenses were $187.2 million, down from the year-ago quarters $211.4 million. Research and development expenses decreased to $77.4 million from $85.3 million owing to the completion of two phase III clinical trials in late 2019. Guidance Reduced patient demand due to the COVID-19 stay-at-home order started affecting the business toward the end of the first quarter and the company expects this impact to be more significant in the second quarter at least. Litigation Update In February 2020, Mallinckrodt announced an agreement in principle for a global resolution to its opioid litigation, subject to certain conditions. The agreement in principle has been reached with a court-appointed plaintiffs executive committee representing the interests of thousands of plaintiffs in the opioid multidistrict litigation and is supported by a broad-based group of 47 states and U.S. Territory Attorneys General. In March, the U.S. Attorney's office in Massachusetts announced its intervention in a lawsuit filed against the company alleging violations of the False Claims Act relating to the method to calculate Medicaid drug rebates for Acthar. Thereafter, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled against Mallinckrodt in its lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the company's calculation of Medicaid drug rebates for Acthar . Our Take Mallinckrodts first-quarter results were disappointing as the company missed on sales. Most products have registered a decline due to the ongoing pandemic and the impact will be magnified in the second quarter. The company warned that the next few quarters will be challenging due to the impact of COVID-19, as some of its products are sensitive to reduced numbers of surgical procedures and doctor visits. Meanwhile, the company is embroiled in a litigation with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and CMS related to the calculation of Medicaid drug rebates for Acthar. The woes do not seem to end for Mallinckrodt. The opioid litigation already adversely impacted its share price and now the coronavirus pandemic will affect the business. Meanwhile, Mallinckrodt partnered with Novoteris, LLC and Massachusetts General Hospital to study inhaled nitric oxide as a therapeutic option for COVID-19 patients. Given the widespread outbreak, quite a few companies are evaluating their drugs/candidates to contain/prevent the contagion. Last week, Amgen AMGN too announced that it will begin clinical studies to evaluate inflammatory medicine, Otezla, to treat respiratory distress in late-stage COVID-19 patients. Incyte INCY has also initiated a study on its lead drug, Jakafi, for COVID-19 infection. Zacks Rank & A Stock to Consider Mallinckrodt is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, currently. A better-ranked stock in this space is Adamas Pharmaceuticals ADMS, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Today's Best Stocks from Zacks Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2019, while the S&P 500 gained and impressive +53.6%, five of our strategies returned +65.8%, +97.1%, +118.0%, +175.7% and even +186.7%. This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 2019, while the S&P averaged +6.0% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +54.7% per year. See their latest picks free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Incyte Corporation (INCY) : Free Stock Analysis Report Amgen Inc (AMGN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Adamas Pharmaceuticals Inc (ADMS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Mallinckrodt public limited company (MNK) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. A major leak from a polymer plant near here impacted villages in a five-km radius, leaving six people dead and scores of citizens suffering from breathlessness and other problems in an early morning mishap that raised fears of a serious industrial disaster. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who took stock of the situation, and Home Minister Amit Shah expressed concern over the incident. "Spoke to officials of MHA and NDMA regarding the situation in Visakhapatnam, which is being monitored closely. I pray for everyones safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam," Modi said in a tweet. The dead included a child while scores of policemen who rushed to evacuate affected persons also were impacted by the leak of styrene vapour from the LG Polymers Limited plant at R R Venkatapuram village under Gopalapatnam limits near here in the wee hours of Thursday. Tragically, two of the victims met with their end after falling into a borewell while fleeing their affected village and their bodies were found later in the day. The daybreak saw some grim scenes as visibly suffering people were being rushed for medical assistance in autos and two-wheelers while government workers tried to assist them with whatever first aid possible. People lying on roadside and near ditches in unconscious state narrated the magnitude of the situation, as the government said arresting the leak was the first priority. Sources said the vapour leak occurred in the early hours of Thursday when some workers of the plant were making preparations for the re-opening of the unit following easing of the ongoing lockdown restrictions. State Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy said the LG Polymers unit was supposed to reopen post-lockdown on Thursday. "We are trying to reach out to the top management of the (South Korean) company...our immediate priority is to arrest the leak and ensure proper medicare to the affected people," he said. While hundreds of villagers, most of them children, suffered the consequences of the vapour leak like irritation in eyes, breathlessness, nausea and rashes, over 100 people were admitted to government and private hospitals. Visakhapatnam district Joint Collector Venugopal Reddy said people from R R Venkatapuram village have been fully evacuated and shifted to other places. Several police personnel, who came for the rescue operation, also suffered symptoms like breathlessness, irritation in eyes and fell unconscious. The 20-odd workers in the plant were well-versed with safety protocol and took appropriate steps and therefore did not suffer, sources said. The styrene vapour spread to nearby villages and left the unsuspecting people suffering while fast asleep. Teams of NDRF rushed to the spot and reports said the source of the gas leak was contained in the morning. Meanwhile, Amit Shah termed the gas leak as disturbing. "Gas leak incident in Vizag is disturbing; we are continuously and closely monitoring situation," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ukraine may lose 15-25% of winter grain harvest over spring frost expert 20:00, 07.05.20 1314 The harvest will depend on the frost resistance of crop varieties and technologies that farmers use. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Javier Tovar (Agence France-Presse) Los Angeles, United States Thu, May 7, 2020 12:59 622 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd67f96e 2 Environment bees,murder,Hornet,US Free A deadly giant insect known as the "murder hornet" has been spotted for the first time in the United States, prompting fears it could decimate the honeybee population and creating a buzz on social media. Two of the wasps -- the world's largest hornet species -- were discovered late last year in the western state of Washington, and scientists have since been trying to track the invasive insects to eradicate them. Karla Salp, a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Agriculture, said it was unclear how the Asian giant hornets -- which have orange and black markings and are nearly two inches (five centimeters) in length -- arrived in the United States. "Normally, though, they are unwitting hitchhikers on something (like shipping containers) or someone," Salp told AFP. Scientists suspect there are probably more of the insects than just the two spotted last year, which is why a public outreach campaign has been launched to help with eradication efforts. "During this trapping season and with the help of public education and encouragement to report suspected sightings, we hope to have a better idea of where they are as well as to eradicate them if we can," Salp said. Scientists warn that unless the insect is eliminated in the next couple years, it could spread in North America and become permanently established. The ones in the picture are queens, probably double the size of a regular giant hornet (here's the source of the photo, the woman might also just have small hands: https://t.co/4O6inwkuvT) This gives you a better idea of their size. Still terrifying, but not, like, bird-sized. pic.twitter.com/L1cUrxSowe att (@matttomic) May 5, 2020 Salp said the hornets, which are native to East Asia and Japan, don't usually attack people, but they are known for decimating honeybee colonies. "In general, people do not need to worry," she said. "As long as you don't step in a nest or approach a beehive they have taken over, there is a fairly low risk that you will be stung. "That being said, if you are stung, their venom is more toxic than that of local bees and wasps, and they have more of it," she added. In Japan, where the insects are hunted and eaten, some 30 to 50 people die each year from their venomous and excruciating sting. Mass slaughter But while the giant hornets are typically not harmful to humans, they do pose a great danger to bee populations, which have been declining in many parts of the world. Chris Looney, an entomologist at the Washington State Department of Agriculture, has explained that hornets slaughter honeybees by literally biting their heads off. The hornets then occupy honeybee nests for up to a week or more, feeding on the pupae and larvae. Paul van Westendorp, an apiculturist in British Columbia, said the only actual nest of hornets found in North America was discovered on Vancouver Island and destroyed. A specimen was also found in White Rock, British Columbia, last November. The two hornets spotted in Blaine, Washington, were found in December. One was alive and flew off, Westendorp said, while the second was dead. News of the "murder hornets'" arrival in the United States has set the internet abuzz in recent days, with many lamenting that it couldn't have come at a worse time, referring to the coronavirus pandemic. "Now I gotta worry about a hornet killing me! the world is ending," said one Twitter user. "Guys, I think we are going to be okay as long as someone tells the Murder Hornets about the 6ft social distancing rule," quipped another user. "With a name like that, I'm sure they are reasonable." Topics : bees murder Hornet US Ridhima Gupta By Express News Service HYDERABAD: The Telangana government late on Tuesday night lifted the ban on liquor sale amidst the lockdown. Long queues, people waiting for hours in the scorching heat to buy alcohol were observed on Wednesday. Many women, especially from marginalised sections have asked the government to not allow the sale of liquor as "it will only increase their woes" during this crisis. Near Uppal metro station, every day a group of women sit next to the main road surrounded by rubble and heaps of garbage, hoping that passers-by will give them some food. Speaking to the Express, these women who belong to the idol maker community said, "We have almost exhausted all our savings, but now with liquor sale resuming, we fear that our husbands will splurge our little left money on liquor. The only good thing about this lockdown was the ban on liquor!" said 50-year-old Deviamma. "At least men in my community were not able to spend money on alcohol and go home to beat their wives and daughters." ALSO READ| Liquor shops in Telangana witness long queues amid reopening after 45 days of COVID-19 lockdown Lost jobs Pushpa, who works as a domestic help in a residential area in Begumpet said, "Our husbands do not do household work. As they do not have any job due to the lockdown, they can just stand in front of liquor shops. We will not be able to stop them." A few women from nearby colonies shared the same opinion. They claimed, "Our husbands are extremely happy about the opening of liquor shops. They have started saying that the lockdown will be easy now, as they (men) can just eat meat, have alcohol, and go to sleep. However, our lives will get worse." Stating that sale of liquor would also increase domestic violence and social distancing would go to a toss, women right activist, Kondaveeti Satyavathi said, "Many men have lost their livelihoods they are already stressed over it and opening liquor shops will only provoke them to drink, who will eventually unleash physical and sexual abuse at home." The founder of Bhumika Womens collective also said that they along with other womens right organisations in the city were going to write to the Chief Minister to stop the liquor sale at least till the lockdown continues. However another activist Tejisvani Madabhushi, believes that a single State liquor ban would not serve the purpose as it would only increase the illegal sale of liquor from the neighbouring States. Instead, a proper regulation should be in place, she added. ALSO READ| Telangana crawls back to normalcy after easing curbs on COVID-19 lockdown Activists to write to Chief Minister The founder of Bhumika Womens collective said they along with other womens right organisations would write to the Chief Minister to stop liquor sale at least till the lockdown continues. Sale of liquor would increase domestic violence and social distancing would go to a toss, said women right activist Kondaveeti Satyavathi, "Many men have lost jobs, they are already stressed and opening liquor shops will only provoke them to drink, who will eventually unleash physical and sexual abuse at home." (Newser) Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther, who refused to close her business in defiance of state orders, won't be serving a week in jail after all. Luther walked free on Thursday after the state Supreme Court ordered her release, reports the Dallas Morning News. Luther spent two days in jail. Before the court ruling, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweaked the wording of his own previously issued directive to remove the prospect of jail time for offenders. And Luther received more good news on Thursday: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said he would pay her $7,000 fine, per CBS DFW. story continues below Im a little overwhelmed," Luther told supporters upon her release. "I just want to thank all of you who I just barely met and now youre all my friends." A judge sent Luther to jail on Tuesday for contempt of court after she refused to shutter her business and apologize for violating the governor's coronavirus orders. The move caused instant controversy, with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton among those calling it "outrageous" that Luther ended up in jail, per CBS News. Abbott also called the judge's move "excessive." On Friday, as part of the state's loosening of coronavirus restrictions, all salons will be allowed to reopen anyway. (Read more coronavirus stories.) India Coronavirus news and lockdown latest updates: AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Gulleria said on Thursday that the novel coronavirus cases will peak between June and July. He added the spike in cases will come due to more testing across states. In an interview to India Today TV, Gulleria said that even after 40 days of lockdown, the country has not seen a declining trend in COVID-19 cases. He however, added that the lockdown and aggressive steps in red zones (hotspots or containment areas) should continue to be enforced. He further said that several other countries such as Italy and China took strict measures such as social distancing that started manifesting positive results after a month. Maharashtra and Gujarat recorded a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra's tally has jumped to 16,758 with over 1,200 cases in 24 hours. The death toll in the state stands at 651. Gujarat is the second worst-hit state in India with 6,625 cases and 396 deaths. Mumbai is the worst-hit state not only in Maharashtra but in India with over 10,000 COVID-19 cases. The city recorded 769 fresh cases and 25 deaths in 24 hours. 64% of cases in Maharashtra are from Mumbai alone.The total number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases in the country jumped to 52,952 on Thursday, according to latest update by the Union Health Ministry. The total count includes 35,902 active cases, 15,266 cured/discharged, 1 migrated, and 1,783 deaths. The country registered 3,561 new COVID-19 cases and 89 deaths in the last 24 hours. Follow BusinessToday.in for live updates on coronavirus in India and world: 8.45 PM: Maharashtra COVID-19 cases Maharashtra Jail Authorities have informed that 72 inmates and 7 staff members at Mumbai's Arthur Road prison have tested positive for COVID-19. All positive inmates will be shifted to GT Hospital and St George Hospital in guarded vehicles tomorrow morning while staff members will be shifted separately, authorities added. 8.13 PM: Noida Authority has granted 475 industry operate permissions, whereas 250 applications have been rejected on grounds of being ineligible or for being located in containment zones. The authority has also allowed 40 construction projects. 7.05 PM: Personal Protective Equipment designed and produced by Indian Navy has been tested by Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, a Delhi-based DRDO organisation tasked with testing and certification of PPEs. It is now certified to be mass-produced and used in clinical COVID-19 situations, Indian Navy stated. 6.48 PM: JEE Advanced Exam will be conducted on August 23, informed HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal. 6.15 PM: Odisha coronavirus cases Odisha High Court, till the next hearing, has directed state government to ensure migrants who are to return to the state be tested negative for COVID-19 before boarding the conveyance. The court is hearing a PIL which expressed concern over the rise in coronavirus cases after return of migrants to Odisha. 6.07 PM: Passengers wait to board the special flight IX452 from Abhu Dhabi to Kochi. Passengers at the boarding gate of Abu Dhabi Airport ready to board Abu Dhabi to Kochi special flight IX452: Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi, UAE pic.twitter.com/jP9lURE6Am ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 6.05 PM: Coronavirus cases in Himachal Pradesh Number of active COVID-19 cases in Himachal Pradesh has increased to 6, stated State Health Department. Two patients have succumbed to the virus, while 34 others recovered, it further said. 5.55 PM: Karanataka coronavirus cases Karnataka Health Department reported 12 new coronavirus cases in the state during the last 24 hours. Total number of cases in the Karnataka now stand at 705, including 366 recoveries and 30 deaths. 5.45 PM: Maharashtra COVID-19 latest updates Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray chaired an all-party meeting over the status of coronavirus in the state. Deputy CM and NCP leader Ajit Pawar, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, Congress leader Ashok Chavan, MNS chief Raj Thackeray, and other leaders attended the meeting via video conference. Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray held an all-party meeting via conference over #COVID19. Deputy CM & NCP leader Ajit Pawar, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, Congress' Ashok Chavan, MNS chief Raj Thackeray, and other leaders were also present. pic.twitter.com/jrgkvWAy9E ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 5.40 PM: Kerala coronavirus cases latest updates No new case of coronavirus infection has been reported in Kerala today, informed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The number of active COVID-19 cases in the stands at 25, he added. 5.35 IN PICTURES: Workers in Rohtak leave for Jhansi A group of migrant workers in Rohtak, Haryana were seen leaving for Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh earlier today amid coronavirus lockdown. A worker tolf ANI, "We do not have problem of food but we have no work and want to see our families. Also the place where we were living had been dismantled by the contractor." Haryana: A group of migrant workers in Rohtak were seen leaving for Jhansi(UP) earlier today amid #COVID19 lockdown. A worker says,"We do not have problem of food but we have no work&want to see our families. Also the place where we were living had been dismantled by contractor". pic.twitter.com/hhIfhkGVSv ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 5.17 PM: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu met today to discuss the possibility of holding parliamentary committee meetings via video conferencing. They directed secretary generals of both Houses in this regard. Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla & Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu met earlier today. They directed secretary generals of both houses to explore the possibility of holding meetings of parliamentary committees via video conferencing. pic.twitter.com/x95hRgIcHT ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 5:10 PM: The Odisha government has launched an online initiative for issuing e-passes to stranded people and migrant workers who wish to return to home states. Happy to share that #Odisha has launched #ePass for people who are stranded here & need to travel to other states. Log into https://t.co/sAHr5LiWpV & apply. After online approval, #ePass with passenger & vehicle details will be sent to applicant though SMS & Email.#OdishaCarespic.twitter.com/I3ebZt5OeT - Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) May 6, 2020 5:00 PM: Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh on Thursday said the police were fighting an invisible enemy and he was confident that they will win the war against COVID-19. "The morale of the police force is high. The police have won the battles against underworld, mafia and terrorists during the 26/11 attacks. Similarly, we will win our battle against this invisible enemy," he said. 4:50 PM: The Indian Railways on Thursday said it has operated 163 Shramik Special trains since May 1 and ferried home over 1.60 lakh migrants stranded in various parts of the country due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown. Railways said it ran 56 Shramik special trains on Wednesday and 14 so far on Thursday, taking the total tally to 163. "We are planning to run some more trains by the end of the day," a railway spokesperson said. 4.40 PM: Another person has died in Bihar due to coronavirus. Death toll has increased to 5 in the state. 4.30 PM: The Uttar Pradesh government intends to bring back all its migrant labourers from other states and has sought district-wise lists from them, say Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. 4.25 pm: 10 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Gautam Buddha Nagar today. Total number of cases in the district now stand at 202, including 93 active cases. 4.20 PM: Govt of Karnataka has written to Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, West Bengal and Rajasthan Governments seeking their consent to operate trains to their states from 8 to 15 May for transportation of people stranded in Karnataka. -ANI 4.10 pm: One more death in Bihar due to coronavirus. Death toll rises to five, says the State Health Department. 4.05 pm: India coronavirus latest news: 422 cases in paramilitary forces so far India's paramilitary forces have recorded 422 fresh COVID-19 cases so far. The cases have been reported from BSF, CISF, CRPF, ITBP and SSB. 3.59 pm: Noida coronavirus cases: 10 more people tested COVID-19 positive 10 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Gautam Buddha Nagar on Thursday. Total number of cases in the district is now at 202, including 93 active cases. 10 people tested positive for #COVID19 in Gautam Buddha Nagar today. Total number of cases in the district is now at 202, including 93 active cases. pic.twitter.com/UoSkf0rEUg - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 7, 2020 3.56 pm: Indore coronavirus updates 31 police personnel have been tested positive for COVID-19 in Indore, said Mohammad Yusuf Qureshi, SP (East) Indore. (ANI reports) 3.49 pm: Coronavirus live updates: 2 BSF personnel die due to COVID-19 2 COVID-19 infected Border Security Force (BSF) personnel passed away on Thursday. Officials said that the 41 fresh coronavirus cases have taken the total infections in BSF to 193. 3.39 pm: India coronavirus warning: Cases could peak on June-July, says AIIMS director AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Gulleria said on Thursday that the novel coronavirus cases will peak between June and July. He added the spike in cases will come due to more testing across states. In an interview to India Today TV, Gulleria said that even after 40 days of lockdown, the country has not seen a declining trend in COVID-19 cases. He however, added that the lockdown and aggressive steps in red zones (hotspots or containment areas) should continue to be enforced. He further said that several other countries such as Italy and China took strict measures such as social distancing that started manifesting positive results after a month. 3.29 pm: Odisha coronavirus updates: State records highest 1-day jump in COVID-19 cases Odisha recorded its highest single-day jump in novel coronavirus cases on Wednesday as it registered 20 fresh virus cases (on Wednesday), state health department informed. Out of these cases, 17 are from Ganjam and 3 from Mayurbhanj. The sudden spike in cases is linked to the migrant labourers returning to the state who are mostly the textile mill workers and plumbers from Surat in Gujarat. Gujarat is the second worst-hit state in India in terms of coronavirus related cases and deaths. 3.24 pm: Coronavirus lockdown news: Vande Barat Mission to evacuate stranded Indians abroad begins from UAE Process of repatriation of overseas Indians is beginning today from United Arab Emirates (UAE), a place where we have the largest diaspora of Indians in the world, informed Pavan Kapoor, Ambassador of India to UAE. Process of repatriation of overseas Indians is beginning today from United Arab Emirates (UAE), a place where we have the largest diaspora of Indians in the world: Pavan Kapoor, Ambassador of India to UAE #VandeBharatMissionpic.twitter.com/DWZG8qPXNP - ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 3.19 pm: Rajasthan coronavirus latest updates: 45 fresh cases reported Rajasthan recorded 45 fresh COVID-19 cases on Thursday. The total count of cases stands at 3400 in the state; death toll at 95. Active cases in the state are 1565, said the state health department. 45 new #COVID19 positive cases reported in Rajasthan today. The total number of cases stands at 3400 in the state; death toll at 95. Active cases in the state are 1565: State Health Department pic.twitter.com/wgYg50SuBY - ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 3.12 pm: Coronavirus in Uttarakhand latest updates: No new cases reported Uttarakhand health department said on Thursday that no new COVID-19 positive case have been reported in the state till 2 pm. The total number of novel coronavirus cases stands at 61 with only 1 death. Active cases remain 21 in the state. (Inputs from ANI) 3.06 pm: India lockdown extension updates What's allowed in Red, Orange and Green zones E-commerce deliveries- Red Zones- only essential items' delivery allowed, Orange and Green Zones- All e-commerce services allowed in these zones Red Zones- only essential items' delivery allowed, Orange and Green Zones- All e-commerce services allowed in these zones Liquor shops- Red Zones- Standalone shops or the ones in the neighbourhoods are allowed but only in non-containment areas; Orange and Green Zones- allowed in these zones Red Zones- Standalone shops or the ones in the neighbourhoods are allowed but only in non-containment areas; Orange and Green Zones- allowed in these zones Salons and barber zones- Red Zones- Not allowed, Orange and Green Zones- allowed in these zones. Red Zones- Not allowed, Orange and Green Zones- allowed in these zones. Taxi and cabs- Red Zones- Commercial cabs will not be allowed to ply in these zones. However, private 4-wheeler riders can only ride solo, subject to permission for necessary. Orange and Green Zones- In Orange Zones, the cabs will be allowed to ferry 2 people besides the driver. In Green Zones, districts with no COVID-19 positive cases will also have the same rules as Orange Zones but these areas will have the permission to operate public transport buses at 50% capacity. Red Zones- Commercial cabs will not be allowed to ply in these zones. However, private 4-wheeler riders can only ride solo, subject to permission for necessary. Orange and Green Zones- In Orange Zones, the cabs will be allowed to ferry 2 people besides the driver. In Green Zones, districts with no COVID-19 positive cases will also have the same rules as Orange Zones but these areas will have the permission to operate public transport buses at 50% capacity. Domestic helps- The decision regarding the domestic helps will be taken by the respective state governments. 2.59 pm: India coronavirus containment zones: Red zones to be revised weekly, Centre tells states The central government 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 had said in a letter to Chief Secretaries of states. 2.49 pm: Maharashtra coronavirus news: Video shows dead bodies next to patients in Mumbai hospital, sparks row A video shot on a mobile phone has surfaced, showing corpses next to patients in Mumbai's Sion Hospital. The clip, has gone viral, and shows at least 7 dead bodies in the same ward as some patients there. Several leaders have shared the video comprising Congress leader Milind Deora and BJP's Nitish Rane. Outraged to see corpses laid beside the sick at Sion Hospital. Why isn't @mybmc following @WHO-prescribed protocols when disposing of #COVID19 corpses? Public hospital staff are doing their best with limited resources at hand. Mumbai's administration needs to step up NOW! pic.twitter.com/MURUNsIyfc - Milind Deora (@milinddeora) May 7, 2020 2.39 pm: Coronavirus in US live updates: First detained immigrant dies from COVID-19 A 57-year-old man in immigration custody died on Wednesday after testing positive for novel coronavirus infection. The detainee, according to news agency AP, was held at the Otay Mesa Detention Centre in San Diego and was in hospital since late April. The US immigration and Customers Enforcement neither confirmed, nor denied the death. It is the first death from the virus among 30,000 people in immigration custody in the United States. The country has recorded over 70,000 COVID-19 deaths so far, while the virus cases have crossed the 1.26 million-mark. 2.28 pm: Coronavirus in China live updates: 2 new cases reported China registered 2 fresh COVID-19 cases as on Wednesday (May 6), as per data from the national health authority. Both the cases were the travellers from abroad, the National Health Commission said in a statement. China's total count of novel coronavirus cases not stands at 82,885, and death toll at 4,633, the National health authority said. (Reuters) 2.18 pm: Coronavirus Outbreak in Maharashtra Latest Updates: Around 25 cops in Mumbai test COVID-19 positive Nearly 25 police personnel tested positive for novel coronavirus infection in Mumbai on Thursday, informed Mumbai Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh. "The number of symptomatic cases is low and none of them are in the intensive care unit," he said. About 250 police personnel have tested positive for #COVID19 in Mumbai. The number of symptomatic cases is very low and none of them are in ICU: Mumbai Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh pic.twitter.com/helaFZtWf4 - ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 2.11 pm: Mumbai Coronavirus Updates: Undertrial, 2 prison guards test COVID-19 positive at Arthur Road Jail An undertrial prisoners and 2 prison guards have been tested positive for novel coronavirus at Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail. The inmate has been admitted to JJ Hospital. The jail administration plunged into action and conducted test on 150 people, including prisoners and staff, the results of which are awaited. 2.05 pm: Gujarat Coronavirus Update A 45-year-old woman died in Gujarat's Bhavnagar on Thursday. She was earlier tested COVID-19 positive and had no co-morbid condition. 1.58 pm: First COVID-19 casualty in Delhi Police: Constable died 6 hours after manifesting first symptoms Delhi Police reported its first COVID-19 related-death when a 32-year-old constable passed away on Tuesday evening, barely 6 hours after complaining of couth, fever and breathlessness. His was admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital. 1.49 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). 1.45 pm: Lockdown 3.0 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. 1.39 pm: India 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. 1.33 pm: Coronavirus Red Zones in India; 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 1.29 pm: Punjab coronavirus updates 130 pilgrims who were at a Gurudwara in Manmad area of Nashik have been sent back to Punjab in buses arranged by Maharashtra Government. All the pilgrims have been medically screened and will be quarantined for 14 days on their arrival in Punjab. 130 pilgrims who were at a Gurudwara in Manmad area of Nashik have been sent back to Punjab in buses arranged by Maharashtra Government. All the pilgrims have been medically screened and will be quarantined for 14 days on their arrival in Punjab. pic.twitter.com/pffGGcaoic - ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 1.23 pm: Vande Bharat Mission to evacuate stranded Indians abroad The first repatriation flight of Air India Express IX419 to take off from Kochi (Kerala) for Abu Dhabi on Thursday. #VandeBharatMission: The first repatriation flight of Air India Express IX419 to take off from Kochi (Kerala) for Abu Dhabi today. #COVID19pic.twitter.com/da5j1RTPbw - ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 1.19 pm: Andhra Pradesh coronavirus cases: 56 more infected, 2 deaths in one day Andhra Pradesh recorded 56 fresh COVID-19 cases and 2 deaths in the state in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of positive cases to 1833. Total 51 persons have been discharged in the past 24 hours, the total discharged are 780 till date. Death toll stands at 38, said the state's COVID-19 Nodal Officer. (Inputs from ANI) 1.12 pm: Liquor, wine shops re-open amid lockdown 3.0 Do's and don'ts Only 5 people will be allowed in a shop at one time and social distancing norms have to be followed. Take your own bags as this will ensure that you do not come in contact with contaminated surfaces. Online and digitals transactions are another way to reduce human contact and chances of contamination. Lastly, do not forget to wear masks or face cover while going outside 1.09 pm: Wine shops: Is your local liquor shop open? If your nearest liquor store falls in a containment area, it will remain closed till situation improves. If your local alcohol shop is located in a mall or a marketing complex, it will not be open. Only standalone liquor shops have been allowed to operate in red, orange and green zones. Delhi government has asked concerned departments to provide a list of all liquor shops that conform to the Home Ministry guidelines for reopening 1.06 pm: Liquor shops opening and closing timings Since liquor shops are also categorised as 'non-essential shops', so in most states they will remain open from 8 am to 7pm pm only. 1.04 pm: Lockdown extension in India: Highlights The Centre has allowed all goods traffic. No state/UT shall halt the movement of cargo for cross land-border trade under treaties with neighbouring nations. No separate pass needed for the movement of essential goods and services across the country during the lockdown period. States/UTs, basis their assessment of the prevalent situation, may permit only select activities out of permitted activities, as they may deem necessary. The Centre has permitted e-commerce websites to deliver non-essential items in orange and green zones. All other activities, that are not particularly banned, will be allowed activities. 12.57 pm: Lockdown 3.0 extension updates Here are the additional restrictions at workplaces: - Workplaces Wearing face cover is mandatory in workplaces Arogya Setu app to be made compulsory for all employees Intensive employee training ion good hygiene All persons in charge of workplaces and transport shall ensure social distancing Social distancing at workplaces to be ensured through adequate gaps between shifts, staggering the lunch breaks of staff, etc Frequent sanitisation of workplaces, common areas Large physical meetings to be avoided Arrangements for transport facilities to be ensured with social distancing wherever personal/public transport is not feasible Persons above 65 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women and children below 10 years to stay at home Provisions of thermal scanning, hand wash and sanitisers to be made available at all entry and exit points and common areas A list of nearby dedicated Covid-19 hospitals/clinics to be made available. Quarantine areas to be marked so that any employee showing symptoms of coronavirus can be quarantined before being rushed to nearest health facility 12.54: Chennai coronavirus updates Over 1,300 cases in Chennai are linked to Koyambedu market cluster. The wholesale market has emerged as epicentre of coronavirus cases in Tamil Nadu. 12.48 pm: Lockdown 3.0 extension updates What's allowed at Public places:- Wearing a face cover is mandatory in all public places Marriage related gathering shall ensure social distancing with maximum of 50 guests Funeral or last rites to be held with a maximum of 20 people while ensuring social distancing All persons in charge of public places and transport shall ensure social distancing Spitting in public places punishable by fine Shops selling liquor, paan, gutka, etc to ensure the minimum two-metre distance between persons present at shops at all times No gathering of 5 or more persons to be allowed Consumption of liquor, paan, gutka, tobacco not permitted in public places 12.44 pm: Karnataka coronavirus cases: 8 more infections reported 8 fresh COVID-19 positive cases were reported in Karnataka from 5 PM on Wednesday to 12 noon on Thursday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 701 including 30 deaths and 363 cured/discharged said the state health department. (ANI reports) 12.36 pm: What's closed in lockdown 3.0? Besides zone-wise restrictions, the Centre has prohibited a limited number of activities across the country, irrespective of zones. These include: - Travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road Schools, colleges, institutions Hospitality services, including hotels and restaurants Places of large gatherings, such as cinema halls, malls, gym, sports complex, cultural, social and political and all kind of assemblies Religious places/places of worship will also be closed for public 12.29 pm: Lockdown extension updates What's open in red zones; see here All industrial and construction activities in rural areas, including MNREGA works, food-processing units and brick-kilns are permitted; besides, in rural areas, without distinction to the nature of goods, all shops, except in shopping malls are allowed. All agriculture activities, e.g., sowing, harvesting, procurement and marketing operations in the agricultural supply chain are allowed. Manufacturing units of essential goods, including drugs, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, their raw material and intermediates; production units, which require continuous process, and their supply chain; Jute industry with staggered shifts and social distancing; and manufacturing of IT hardware and manufacturing units of packaging material will continue to be permitted. All health services (including AYUSH) are to remain functional, including transport of medical personnel and patients through air ambulances. Public utilities, e.g., utilities in power, water, sanitation, waste management, telecommunications and internet will remain open, and courier and postal services will be allowed to run. Most of the commercial and private establishments have been permitted to operate in the Red Zones. These comprise and electronic media, IT and IT enabled services, data and call centres, cold storage and warehousing services, private security and facility management services, and services provided by self-employed persons, except for barbers etc. All plantation activities are allowed, including their processing and marketing. Animal husbandry activities are fully allowed, including inland and marine fisheries. A large part of the financial sector remains open, which includes banks, non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), insurance and capital market activities, and credit co-operative societies. Operation of homes for children, senior citizens, destitute, women and widows etc.; and operation of Anganwadis is allowed. Also Read: Coronavirus India: Lockdown guidelines for Red, Green and Orange zones 12.24 pm: Mumbai coronavirus cases can go up to 80,000, says BMC Situation in Mumbai can get worse as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has estimated the city's COVID-19 cases to go up to 80,000. Since Mumbai does not have hospitals to accommodate them all, BMC is building hospitals and quarantine facilities in open spaces. 12.19 pm: Mumbai coronavirus updates: Open spaces converted into quarantine and hospital facilities Mahalaxmi racecourse parking space is being converted into quarantine cum hospital centre. Migrant workers are building these facilities. From Mahalaxmi Racecourse Parking Space, to Worli's dome stadium and very famous Nehru Science Centre are being converted into Covid-19 facilities. 12.15 pm: Delhi containment zones List of districts in red, orange and green zones. District Zone South East Delhi Red Zone Central Delhi Red Zone North Delhi Red Zone South Delhi Red Zone North East Delhi Red Zone West Delhi Red Zone Shahdara Red Zone East Delhi Red Zone New Delhi Red Zone North West Delhi Red Zone South West Delhi Red Zone 12.13 pm: Gujarat lockdown extension: List of red, orange and green zones District Zone Ahmedabad Red Zone Surat Red Zone Vadodara Red Zone Anand Red Zone Banas Kantha Red Zone Panchmahal Red Zone Bhavnagar Red Zone Gandhinagar Red Zone Aravalli Red Zone Rajkot Orange Zone Bharuch Orange Zone Botad Orange Zone Narmada Orange Zone Chhota Udaipu Orange Zone Mahisagar Orange Zone Mehsana Orange Zone Patan Orange Zone Kheda Orange Zone Valsad Orange Zone Dohad Orange Zone Kachchh (Kutch) Orange Zone Navsari Orange Zone Gir Somnath Orange Zone Dang Orange Zone Sabarkantha Orange Zone Tapi Orange Zone Jamnagar Orange Zone Surendranagar Orange Zone Morbi Green Zone Amreli Green Zone Porbandar Green Zone Junagadh Green Zone Devbhumi Dwarka (Devbhoomi Dwarka) Green Zone 12.11 pm: Maharashtra containment zones: List of red, orange, green zones Red zones: Mumbai Pune Thane Nashik Palghar Nagpur Solapur Yavatmal Aurangabad Satara Dhule Akola Jalgaon Mumbai Suburban Orange zones: Raigad Ahmednagar Amravati Buldhana Nandurbar Kolhapur Hingoli Ratnagiri Jalna Nanded Chandrapur Parbhani Sangli Latur Bhandara Beed Green zones: Osmanabad Washim Sindhudurg Gandia Gadchiroli Wardha 12.07 pm: PM Modi chairs urgent meeting on Vizag gas tragedy Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired an emergency meeting over the Vizag gas tragedy on Thursday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and NDMA officials were also present during the meet to take stock of the situation in the wake of gas leak in Visakhapatnam early morning 11.59 am: Coronavirus live updates: Govt makes Aarogya Setu mandatory for employees in India The government has made Aarogya Setu mandatory for both government and private sector employees in India. Here is how you can register on the app: 1. After downloading the app, the user will need to read and agree with the terms and conditions to register. 2. The user will need to submit his/her mobile number for verification, after which an OTP will be sent. 3. Post registration, the user can fill his/her personal details such as name, age, profession, countries travelled to in the last 30 days 4. The app asks the user whether or not he/she is ready to volunteer in the times of need. 5. The user can also do a self-assessment test after providing all the necessary details. The app can let users know about the chances of their infection risk. 11.55 am: Liquor shops open in Delhi The Kejriwal government has allowed 172 wine shops in Delhi with people queuing outside the stores in large numbers. Delhi government earned Rs 25 crore with the liquor sale on Wednesday. 11.51 am: Noida lockdown extension news: Spitting in public to attract Rs 500-1000 fine Spitting in general, gutka or tobacco in public spaces across Noida and Greater Noida has been banned with Rs 500 fine for first-time offenders and Rs 1,000 for repeat offenders, according the orders issued to stem the further spread of novel coronavirus. 11.50 am: Lockdown extension in Maharashtra: Section 144 imposed till May 17 Maharashtra government has imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in the state till May 17. Mumbai Police said that the movement of one or more people for all non-essential services, except for medical reasons, will be banned between 8 pm and 7 am. 11.49 am: Wine shops in Punjab: State govt to home deliver liquor from Thursday The Punjab will now deliver alcohol at people's doorsteps to avoid crowding at the liquor stores across the state. The delivery will begin from Thursday and the alcohol will be delivered between 1 pm to 6 pm. 11.45 am: Maharashtra coronavirus news: Cop dies due to COVID-19; 5th death in police force Another cop died after testing positive for novel coronavirus infection in Maharashtra's Solapur district. The assistant sub-inspector, posted at Solapur MIDC police station, was admitted to the civil hospital there on Tuesday. With this, 5 police personnel from the state have succumbed to COVID-19 so far, reported PTI. 11.39 am: Coronavirus lockdown extension in Ghaziabad till May 31; Section 144 imposed The lockdown curbs have been extended in Delhi's neighbouring Ghaziabad till May 31. The order was issued by Ghaziabad district magistrate on Tuesday amid rising cases of novel coronavirus and the upcoming Eid festival. People can move for permitted activities between 7 am to 7 pm. Senior citizens above 65 years of age, children below 10, pregnant women, and high-risk individuals, must leave their homes only if there is any emergency. 11.36 am: Liquor shops in Tamil Nadu open on Thursday, long queues seen Long queue of people seen outside a liquor shop at Jakkampatti village in Dharmapuri. State Government has allowed opening of state-run liquor shops from today, except in COVID-19 containment zones. Tamil Nadu: Long queue of people seen outside a liquor shop at Jakkampatti village in Dharmapuri. State Government has allowed opening of state-run liquor shops from today, except in #COVID19 containment zones. pic.twitter.com/hhWQJmhWp6 - ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 10.29 am: Telangana lockdown extension till May 29 Telangana government has extended the lockdown till May 29 and imposed a curfew in the state from 7 pm. "Public should complete purchase of essential items by 6 pm and reach their residences. If anyone is found outside, police will initiate action," said Telangana CM K. Chandrashekar Rao. 10.25 am: 40 more coronavirus cases in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday The total count of confirmed cases in Uttar Pradesh rose to 2,998 with 60 deaths on Thursday, as per the latest update by the Union Health Ministry. 10.19 am: Indore coronavirus cases near 1,700-mark Madhya Pradesh's total count of confirmed COVID-19 cases jumped to 3,138 along with 185 deaths on Thursday, as per the latest update by the Union Health Ministry. The state recorded 89 new cases in the last 24 hours. Indore topped the list with 1,681 cases and 81 deaths. The district which is among the worst-hit by novel coronavirus in India, registered 27 fresh cases in the last 24 hours, an official said on Wednesday. 11.12 am: Delhi lockdown news: First special train to MP from Thursday First special train from migrant labourers will leave from Delhi on Thursday. The special train will ferry around 1,200 migrant workers to Madhya Pradesh. 11.08 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- 45 cases, 1 death Chandigarh- 120 cases, 1 death Chhattisgarh- 59 cases, 0 deaths Goa- 7 cases, 0 deaths Himachal Pradesh- 45 cases, 2 death Jharkhand- 127 cases, 3 deaths Ladakh- 41 cases, 0 deaths Manipur- 2 cases, 0 deaths 11.05 am: Maharashtra, Gujarat on edge with increasing coronavirus cases Maharashtra and Gujarat recorded a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra's tally has jumped to 16,758 with over 1,200 cases in 24 hours. The death toll in the state stands at 651. Gujarat is the second worst-hit state in India with 6,625 cases and 396 deaths. 10.59 am: Coronavirus in West Bengal: Highest mortality rate in India The state's COVID-19 tally stands at 1,456 along with 144 deaths. West Bengal's mortality rate remains one of the highest at 10.56%. 10.57 am: Tamil coronavirus cases: 771 more infections in 24 hours Tamil Nadu recorded 771 fresh COVID-18 cases and 35 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total count of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state now stand at 4,829, according to Union Health Ministry. 10.53 am: Coronavirus vaccine latest news With the COVID-19 cases mounting worldwide, the United States, UK, Israel, China, Italy, and India are currently busy researching and developing the vaccines to treat coronavirus patients. Read more here: Coronavirus vaccine update: These countries are closest to finding a treatment 10.48 am: Coronavirus vaccine: Italian firm claimes it has developed COVID-19 drug An Italian firm claims its vaccine has coronavirus antibodies that work on humans. The Takis company has developed this drug which has antibodies generated in mice that work on human cells, according to tests carried out at Rome's infectious-disease Spallanzani Hospital, the company's CEO Luigi Au Aurisicchio told ANSA on Monday. Also Read: World's first coronavirus vaccine? Italian scientists claim they have developed it 10.42 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. 10.35 am: Gas lead in Visakhaptanam Visakhapatnam District Collector Vinay Chand visited King George Hospital where people affected by Vizag gas leak are being treated. Andhra Pradesh: Visakhapatnam District Collector Vinay Chand visited King George Hospital where people affected by #VizagGasLeak are being treated. pic.twitter.com/tEZLriS82b - ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 10.26 am: Vizag gas leak: PM Modi to call emergency meet at 11 am PM Modi will hold a n emergency meet at 11 am on Thursday in the wake of gas leak in Visakhapatnam early morning. Meanwhile, he also took to Twitter to say that he is speaking to NDMA and MHA officials on the situation. Spoke to officials of MHA and NDMA regarding the situation in Visakhapatnam, which is being monitored closely. I pray for everyone's safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam. - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 7, 2020 10.18 am: Coronavirus India cases: State-wise tally; check here Maharashtra is the worst-hit state in India with 16,758 COVID-19 cases and 651 deaths Gujarat follows suit with 6,625 cases and 396 deaths Delhi is the third worst-hit state with 5,532 cases and 65 deaths. Madhya Pradesh with 3,138 cases, 185 deaths Rajasthan 3,317 cases, 92 deaths Tamil Nadu-4,829 cases, 35 deaths Uttar Pradesh (UP)-2,998 cases, 60 deaths Andhra Pradesh-1,777 cases, 36 deaths Telangana 1,107 cases, 29 deaths West Bengal-1,456 cases, 144 deaths Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)- 775 cases, 8 deaths Karnataka- 693 cases, 29 deaths Kerala- 503 cases, 4 deaths Bihar-542 cases, 4 deaths Punjab-1,516 cases, 27 deaths Haryana-594 cases, 7 deaths 10.11 am: Rajasthan reporst 38 fresh coronavirus cases Rajasthan recorded 38 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday. The total number of confirmed cases in the state now stand at 3,317 along with 92 deaths, according to Union Health Ministry. 10.06 am: Vizag gas leak: 5 dead, 2,000 affected A major gas leak at the LG Polymers chemical plant in Visakhapatnam has claimed 5 lives, including a child and affecting around 2,000 people. 20 others are said to be critical. Many workers were also present inside the plant at the time of the leak. Hundreds of villagers were rushed to nearby hospitals with complaints of headache, vomiting and breathing problems. The gas leak took place around 2.30 am on Thursday. 9.59 am: Liquor shops in Tamil Nadu to open from Thursday The state government has allowed the wine shops to open in the state from Thursday from 10 am to 5 pm, meanwhile bars wil remain closed in the state. However, Chennai is not allowed to open the liquor shops in the wake of increasing novel coronavirus cases in the capital city. 9.55 am: Coronavirus live updates: PM Modi's big message to nation on Buddha Purnima; highlights The world is passing through a tough phase We are determined in our fight against coronavirus I appreciate you for your cooperation in these desperate times of COVID-19 When we have love and affection for each other, these feelings make us strong enough to tackle any hardship in life We are very lucky that we get to see several examples of people who are sacrificing their own comfort for the greater good of serving the masses. All such people deserve acknowledgement and our appreciation Also Read: Buddha Purnima 2020: Wishes, messages, quotes, Facebook, WhatsApp status, images 9.48 am: Ludhiana containment zone In Pics: Police deployed for 24 hours in Moti Nagar hotspot of Ludhiana, Punjab. People from outside and vehicles are not allowed to go inside. 9.39 am: Coronavirus live updates: States with highest mortality rates West Bengal- 10.56%, the highest in India Madhya Pradesh- 5.7% Gujarat- 5.4% Karnataka- 4.2% Maharashtra- 4% Rajasthan- 2.5% Uttar Pradesh (UP)- 1.8% Delhi- 1.3% 9.29 am: Coronavirus in India: High mortality rate raises serious concerns India's high COVID-19 mortality rate has raised challenges, notably after a comparison with the recovery rate. The country's bigger states are grappling with the increasing number of coronavirus cases, with a daily average of over 2,000 over the past 3 days. 9.19 am: Chennai worst-hit city in Tamil Nadu Chennai recorded 324 fresh COVID-19 cases in 24 hours out of 771 new infections registered in Tamil Nadu in a day. The total tally of confirmed cases in the state now stands at 4,829 along with 35 deaths. 9.12 am: Coronavirus cases in India in 24 hours The country registered 3,561 new COVID-19 cases and 89 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the totall count of confirmed cases to 52,952. 9.07 am: Coronavirus cases in Dharavi, Maharashtra Dharavi, Asia's biggest slum, and a COVID-19 hotspot reported 68 fresh coronavirus cases and 1 death in 24 hours. This has taken the total count of coronavirus infections to 733 in the slum. 9.00 am: Mumbai worst-hit state in India; cases breach 10,000-mark Mumbai is the worst-hit state not only in Maharashtra but in India with over 10,000 COVID-19 cases. The city recorded 769 fresh cases and 25 deaths in 24 hours. 64% of cases in Maharashtra are from Mumbai alone. 8.55 am: Coronavirus deaths in India India reported 89 new deaths in 24 hours taking the COVID-19 toll to 1,783 on Thursday, as per the latest update on Union Health Ministry's website. 8.49 am: Coronavirus live updates India recorded 3,561 new COVID-19 cases in India in 24 hours taking the tally to 52,950 total cases including 1,783 deaths 8.45 am: Coronavirus cases in India cross 50,000 mark The total number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases in the country jumped to 52,952 on Thursday, according to latest update by the Union Health Ministry. The total count includes 35,902 active cases, 15,266 cured/discharged, 1 migrated, and 1,783 deaths. 8.30 am: PM Modi adresses nation on the occassion of Buddh Purnima, pays tribute to corona warriors Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a virtual keynote address on Thursday on the occasion of Buddh Purnima. He will also pay his tribute to COVID-19 warriors fighting the pandemic from the frontlines. 8.15 am: India coronavirus cases near 50,000-mark The countrywide count of confirmed COVID-19 cases is nearing the 50,000-mark as many cities are reporting huge spike in coronavirus cases every day. The total count of confirmed coronavirus cases now stands at 49,391 including 33,514 active cases, 14,182 cured/discharged, 1 migrated and 1,694 deaths, according to Union Health Ministry. The chairman of Wesfarmers has issued a grim warning about the retail industry following the coronavirus pandemic. Michael Chaney, who heads the company which owns Kmart, Bunnings and Target, believes it will take years before the Australian economy fully recovers. During the downturn he predicts many companies will collapse as shoppers become more cautious with their spending. 'I think consumption will suffer probably over the next few years as people are shorter of money,' he told the Australian Financial Review. 'People are going to remain cautious, partly because they'll have less money, but also because of the concern that things might break out again, or having been reminded that unexpected things can happen and that they had better be cautious.' Wesfarmers chairman, Michael Chaney, believes shoppers will become more cautious with their spending following the COVID-19 pandemic (pictured: A woman shopping at Kmart) Wesfarmers owns Bunnings, Kmart and Target. All stores have been forced to quickly adapt to social distancing measures The strict social distancing measures have been costing the economy $4billion a week since they were introduced in stages throughout March to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus, The Guardian reported. Stores, cafes and gyms were forced to close, leaving thousands of people without work. Mr Chaney said high unemployment would likely hurt the economy for at least the next two years. He said the biggest lesson to take away from the crisis was the importance of maintaining a strong balance sheet. 'If you maintain a strong balance sheet through the good times, then you're able to cope with the bad times. I think the same goes for consumers. I think if they're financially constrained, they're going to be cautious, and they are being cautious in many areas at the moment,' he said. Kmart and Target have seen a slump in sales since social distancing measures were introduced, with more shoppers looking online to purchase products instead. In February, Kmart swung to a 5.5 per cent first-half comparable sales growth from a 0.6 per cent decline a year ago, with revenue at the discount department store up $241million or 7.6 per cent to $4.99billion. Bunnings and Officeworks now offer drive and collect options, while Kmart has invested heavily in its online market as the crisis escalated Three target stores will close permanently after poor sales performances - heightened by the coronavirus pandemic Target's comparable sales went the other way, though, falling 2.3 per cent compared with 0.5 per cent growth a year ago as it recorded a worse-than-expected $67million sales slump. Bunnings and Officeworks had stronger results. Both companies were able to adapted quickly to suit social distancing measures during the lockdown. Bother stores now offer drive and collect options, while Kmart has invested heavily in its online market. The sharp sales decline for Target prompted a planned review into company's operations to be accelerated, which will be completed by June 30. Three Target stores will permanently close after sales plummeted in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. In New South Wales, the Campbelltown Target will close on July 4. But shoppers in south-west Sydney will still be able to visit the Macarthur and Narellan stores nearby. While sales have slumped for Target, in-store momentum has moderated in popular discount department store chain Kmart (pictured), despite the coronavirus lockdowns The Meadow Springs store in Mandurah, West Australia, will close on August 1, while Target in Pasadena, South Australia, closes on May 30. Staff at the impacted stores were made aware of the closures - and job losses - earlier in the year. Target is Australia's largest department store chain with 284 stores across the country. Established in 1926, the retailer was originally known as Lindsays until 1968, when Myer Emporium bought the chain of 16 stores across Victoria, which were renamed Lindsay's Target. The retailer was renamed Target Australia in 1973. Raytheon CEO Gregory Hayes told CNBC's Jim Cramer on Thursday that Americans would soon become antsy to travel again as the nation slowly reopens amid the coronavirus pandemic. "The fact is, people can only binge on Netflix for so long," Hayes said an interview on "Squawk on the Street." "Zoom is fun but you can't experience the Eiffel Tower from a Zoom meeting. You can't take your kids to Disneyland on Zoom, so, people will get back. They will start flying again, they will recover," he added. Hayes told Cramer that he believed the commercial aerospace market in the United States had bottomed in April. "I think it can't get much worse than down 95%," Hayes said. The four biggest U.S. passenger airlines in April posted their first quarterly losses in years as U.S. travel demand dropped more than 90%, a result of the virus and measures to keep it at bay, like shelter-in-place orders. United's stock is down by about 25% since the end of March, Delta is off 23%, Southwest has fallen 28% and American is down about 21%. "Just to give you an example, we typically get 80 to 100 engines in a month, takes about 90 days to overhaul those and we generate revenue as we overhaul the engines. For the month of April that was 24 engines instead of the normal 80 to 100, so yeah, it's going to be tough," he added. Hayes shared that in his discussions with airlines and other industry partners, assuming there was not a resurgence in Covid-19 cases, the recovery process for the commercial aerospace sector would begin in the summer. "So this is going to be a tough quarter on commercial aero but the good news is that we are starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. So we will see recovery but clearly, Q2 is going to be really tough," he said. -- CNBC's Leslie Josephs contributed to this article. WASHINGTON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA will award nearly $2.4 million to universities as part of the Artemis Student Challenges, a bold new initiative to inspire the next generation the Artemis Generation. The six universities receiving awards will use the grants to advance the quality, relevance and overall reach of opportunities to engage students as NASA takes the first step in the next era of exploration. Each of these opportunities will build foundational knowledge and introduce students to topics and technologies critical to the success of the agency's Artemis program, which will land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024 using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. Through the Artemis Student Challenges students will test and strengthen their skills for future mission planning and crewed space missions to other worlds. "NASA is proud of this collaborative effort between the agency and our Space Grant partners," said Mike Kincaid, associate administrator for NASA's Office of STEM Engagement. "These opportunities will bring the excitement of Artemis and the future of space exploration to students nationwide." Capitalizing on the momentum of the Artemis program, the Artemis Student Challenges will be led by NASA's Office of STEM Engagement, with cost-share support from four agency departments leading the Artemis efforts: the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, the Space Technology Mission Directorate, the Science Mission Directorate, and NASA's Chief Economist. Collectively, these new awards will connect Artemis Generation students to the science, technology and missions of Artemis through authentic, mission-driven experiences and learning opportunities. The following two universities were selected for Artemis Teaching and Resource Availability Awards: University of Alabama, Huntsville $200,000: The university will develop resources and materials related to Artemis Trajectory Design and Mission Analysis, which will enable spacecraft to transfer from Earth orbit to Earth-Lunar orbit and later onto Mars through the Gateway. The products will be available via a self-study, online learning platform. This team includes co-investigators from Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama; Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania; and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign $200,000: The University will develop learning resources, enabling self-study of topics and technologies directly relevant to Artemis, such as habitats, robotics precursor missions, and exploration spacecraft. Products will be disseminated via self-study online learning. This team includes a co-investigator from Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, and a broad partnership of contributors spanning the state of Illinois. In addition, students from seven additional states Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin are expected to participate in the initial evaluation of the learning resources. The following two universities were selected for Artemis Core Technologies Awards: University of Colorado, Boulder $499,333: The university will generate hands-on learning opportunities related to the Great Lunar Expedition for Everyone (GLEE) LunaSat platform. Each LunaSat includes a suite of sensors enhanced by innovative technology that makes it capable of eventually operating on the surface of the Moon. Students will learn how to integrate a suite of sensors, which include temperature sensors, accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes and radiation sensors. This team will include undergraduate students from the university. University of Hawaii, Honolulu $500,000: The university will generate hands-on learning opportunities related to orbital and suborbital CubeSats containing all of the subsystems of a fully functioning passive satellite. Each CubeSat will include onboard computing, communication components, dynamic sensors, an infrared camera and an electrical power system. The hands-on learning opportunities will be supplemented with online learning resources. The grant will also be used to assist CubeSat projects from states that are not yet part of NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative. This team will include undergraduate students from the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. A broad network of students from Hawaii and Washington will be included in performing the initial evaluation of the learning products. The following two universities were selected for Artemis Student Challenge Awards: University of California, San Diego $500,000: The university will develop a Lunar/Martian Lander skills competition, using existing technology to execute the competition in Earth's gravity and atmosphere. The competition requires competitors to develop and demonstrate Artemis-relevant systems engineering skills by building a lander free flier and navigating it through a 3D obstacle course. This team includes a co-investigator from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, working in partnership with the Space Science Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. University of Washington, Seattle $499,864: The university will develop a Lunar/Martian exploration and habitation skills competition involving several Artemis-relevant tasks. The competition includes using a rover to explore facsimile lava tube and surface structures, generating maps, identifying valuable resources, and deploying an airtight barrier to seal the lava tube as a potential pressurized living quarters for humans. This team has received commitments from four additional western Space Grant teams from Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Texas to host regional competitions in coordination with the University of Washington in Seattle. NASA selected the new award recipients in response to a solicitation open to colleges and universities within the National Space Grant Consortia network. The nationwide Space Grant network is positioned to eventually deliver these unique opportunities to American students regardless of where they live through virtual learning and deliverable technology education kits. New challenges can be expanded to every state once the pilot challenge award work is completed. "These Artemis Student Challenge opportunities continue the NASA Space Grant College and Fellowship Program tradition of creating team-building, highly-interactive, and extremely relevant opportunities for students that are directly applicable to the focus of the mission directorates as the nation prepares to return to the Moon." said Luke Flynn, Awardee and National Space Grant Consortia Executive Committee Chairperson. The National Space Grant Consortia operates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Each consortium has a lead institution responsible for coordinating and managing its activities. In addition, more than 1,000 affiliates, including colleges and universities, industry, museums and science centers, nonprofit organizations and state and local agencies, work to support and enhance science and engineering education, research and public outreach efforts for NASA's aeronautics and space projects. The affiliates work directly with the lead Space Grant institutions to deliver quality STEM programs. For more information about opportunities for students to get involved with Artemis, visit: https://www.stem.nasa.gov/artemis For more information about the National Space Grant and Fellowship Program, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/stem/spacegrant/home SOURCE NASA Related Links http://www.nasa.gov boardsi logo boardsi strives to treat each employee as if they are part of the family. We have an engaged and motivated workforce, in which everyone is excited about bringing their ideas to the table. We strive to improve our customer service, and we believe a positive work environment is the key to our success. INC. MAGAZINE REVEALS ANNUAL LIST OF BEST WORKPLACES FOR 2020 boardsi is one of the highest-scoring businesses, with standout employee engagement boardsi has been named to Inc. magazines annual list of the Best Workplaces for 2020. 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The strongest engagement scores came from companies that prioritize the most human elements of work. These companies are leading the way in employee recognition, performance management, and diversity. It is a different playbook from a decade ago, when too many firms used the same template: free food, open work environments, and artifacts of fun. boardsi strives to treat each employee as if they are part of the family. We have an engaged and motivated workforce, in which everyone is excited about bringing their ideas to the table. We strive to improve our customer service, and we believe a positive work environment is the key to our success. Since we work with executives, we must bring positive energy and new ideas into every session. - Martin Rowinski, boardsi CEO Building a great corporate culture comes only from strong leadership, says Inc. magazine editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. The companies on Inc.s Best Workplaces list are setting an example that the whole country can learn from, especially now, when company culture is more important to the workforce than ever. While researching the finalists, Inc. and Quantum saw distinct themes: 100 percent provide health insurance. 50 percent allow employees to bring pets to work. 62 percent take employees to offsite retreats to relax and recharge. 20 percent offer paid sabbaticals to reward length of service. About boardsi: Boardsi has created an efficient way for both sides of the coin. Boardsi is a technology company that matches up high-level executives with organizations that are in need of advisors or board members. Unlike the lengthy headhunter process, boardsi has streamlined the matchmaking process. Our talent ranges from executives that are looking to secure their first advisory position to seasoned C suite executives that have sat on many boards but all are looking to find the perfect match. This rings true for the small start-up business looking for guidance, to the business looking to go public, to the business that is already very successful wanting to launch a new product in a new industry or expand into other countries. The only options before were word of mouth and costly retained search firms, both are not very efficient. The issue that we have tackled as a company is matching the Executive that wants to provide knowledge and help with the business that needs it or could benefit from it. For more information, visit https://boardsi.com. About Inc. Media The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com. About Quantum Workplace Quantum Workplace, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is an HR technology company that serves organizations through employee-engagement surveys, action-planning tools, exit surveys, peer-to-peer recognition, performance evaluations, goal tracking, and leadership assessment. For more information, visit QuantumWorkplace.com. Environmentalists have advised that there must be immediate evacuation of everyone from areas in proximity to the factory in Vishakhapatnam where a styrene gas leak took place as the chemical is highly toxic and causes severe health impact both in the short and long terms. Sunita Narain, director general at the Centre for Science, said styrene can be more dangerous if it reacts with oxygen in the air and converts into Styrene di-oxide. She said evacuation of people is needed and advised them to wear wet masks to protect themselves. According to India's Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical Rules 1989, styrene is classified as a 'hazardous and toxic chemical'. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, transport, at the Centre for Science and (CSE), said air is the medium and the styrene gas is toxic and it is this kind of exposure that has caused the huge harm. CSE researcher Soundaram Ramanathan said the gas is still in the air and even its mild form can have health effects on people so the general practice is to wear wet masks and stay careful till the local environmental authorities say that the effect has gone and things are back to normal. "The effect can last for a few days. People should be very careful at least for the next three days. If possible nearby areas should be evacuated but it would be difficult in the present situation," she said. Due to fear of coronavirus infection, ideally people are staying indoors and it can help if they have filters or are disinfecting their houses, Ramanathan said. She said short term exposure to the gas can result in eye irritation, gastrointestinal effects while chronic long term exposure can affect the nervous system. "If it goes beyond 800 ppm then the person can go into coma," she told PTI. Sunil Dahiya, analyst with GreenPeace, said one of the reasons such things happen in India is due to negligence to environmental regulations. "In terms of protecting themselves, people experiencing symptoms should immediately reach out and wear wet masks. In the long term these kind of gases will impact you for years and there must be immediate evacuation of people from exposure areas," he said. "Styrene can stay in the air for weeks. It is highly reactive, it can combine with oxygen to form styrene dioxide which is more lethal. The presence of other pollutants can also affect the reactivity. On a sudden note operating one reactor in full load can also lead to such disasters," said Thava Palanisami, Senior Scientist, Global Centre for Environmental Remediation (GCER) & CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the (CRC CARE), University of Newcastle, Australia. The CSE, in a statement, said styrene is an organic compound used in the manufacture of polymers or plastic or resins and it is a likely carcinogenic substance. "It can react with oxygen in the air to mutate into styrene dioxide which is more lethal," the CSE said. It further said the duration of the exposure and its relative concentration will determine toxicity. "We currently know that roughly 3 tonnes of the gas leaked from its storage tank and the feeding line. We now need to determine exposure," the CSE said. The environmentalists said it seems that the gas leak occurred as the plant management, in its haste to re-start the plant, ignored the protocol of doing maintenance of the plant before resuming operations. "This, combined with the lack of proper storage of the gas not maintained at the temperature required and faulty fixtures could have resulted in the accident. The lesson for COVID times -- Vizag could be just a tip of the iceberg," the CSE said. They advised that an immediate directive must go to all units to ensure safety while resuming operations, and these safety precautions must not be negated in case the lockdown continues. A specialised CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and medical specialists are being rushed to Vishakhapatnam where 11 people have been killed and about 1,000 affected due to the gas leak at a chemical factory, the Centre said on Thursday. Till now, 500 people belonging to 200-250 families living within a 3 km radius of the factory have been evacuated to safer places. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Telescopes and spacecraft join forces to probe deep into Jupiter's atmosphere NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the ground-based Gemini Observatory in Hawaii have teamed up with the Juno spacecraft to probe the mightiest storms in the solar system, taking place more than 500 million miles away on the giant planet Jupiter. A team of researchers led by Michael Wong at the University of California, Berkeley, and including Amy Simon of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and Imke de Pater also of UC Berkeley, are combining multiwavelength observations from Hubble and Gemini with close-up views from Juno's orbit about the monster planet, gaining new insights into turbulent weather on this distant world. "We want to know how Jupiter's atmosphere works," said Wong. This is where the teamwork of Juno, Hubble and Gemini comes into play. Radio 'Light Show' Jupiter's constant storms are gigantic compared to those on Earth, with thunderheads reaching 40 miles from base to top -- five times taller than typical thunderheads on Earth -- and powerful lightning flashes up to three times more energetic than Earth's largest "superbolts." Like lightning on Earth, Jupiter's lightning bolts act like radio transmitters, sending out radio waves as well as visible light when they flash across the sky. Every 53 days, Juno races low over the storm systems detecting radio signals known as "sferics" and "whistlers," which can then be used to map lightning even on the day side of the planet or from deep clouds where flashes are not otherwise visible. Coinciding with each pass, Hubble and Gemini watch from afar, capturing high-resolution global views of the planet that are key to interpreting Juno's close-up observations. "Juno's microwave radiometer probes deep into the planet's atmosphere by detecting high-frequency radio waves that can penetrate through the thick cloud layers. The data from Hubble and Gemini can tell us how thick the clouds are and how deep we are seeing into the clouds," Simon explained. By mapping lightning flashes detected by Juno onto optical images captured of the planet by Hubble and thermal infrared images captured at the same time by Gemini, the research team has been able to show that lightning outbreaks are associated with a three-way combination of cloud structures: deep clouds made of water, large convective towers caused by upwelling of moist air -- essentially Jovian thunderheads -- and clear regions presumably caused by downwelling of drier air outside the convective towers. The Hubble data show the height of the thick clouds in the convective towers, as well as the depth of deep water clouds. The Gemini data clearly reveal the clearings in the high-level clouds where it is possible to get a glimpse down to the deep water clouds. Wong thinks that lightning is common in a type of turbulent area known as folded filamentary regions, which suggests that moist convection is occurring in them. "These cyclonic vortices could be internal energy smokestacks, helping release internal energy through convection," he said. "It doesn't happen everywhere, but something about these cyclones seems to facilitate convection." The ability to correlate lightning with deep water clouds also gives researchers another tool for estimating the amount of water in Jupiter's atmosphere, which is important for understanding how Jupiter and the other gas and ice giants formed, and therefore how the solar system as a whole formed. While much has been gleaned about Jupiter from previous space missions, many of the details -- including how much water is in the deep atmosphere, exactly how heat flows from the interior and what causes certain colors and patterns in the clouds -- remain a mystery. The combined result provides insight into the dynamics and three-dimensional structure of the atmosphere. Seeing a 'Jack-O-Lantern' Red Spot With Hubble and Gemini observing Jupiter more frequently during the Juno mission, scientists are also able to study short-term changes and short-lived features like those in the Great Red Spot. Images from Juno as well as previous missions to Jupiter revealed dark features within the Great Red Spot that appear, disappear and change shape over time. It was not clear from individual images whether these are caused by some mysterious dark-colored material within the high cloud layer, or if they are instead holes in the high clouds -- windows into a deeper, darker layer below. Now, with the ability to compare visible-light images from Hubble with thermal infrared images from Gemini captured within hours of each other, it is possible to answer the question. Regions that are dark in visible light are very bright in infrared, indicating that they are, in fact, holes in the cloud layer. In cloud-free regions, heat from Jupiter's interior that is emitted in the form of infrared light -- otherwise blocked by high-level clouds -- is free to escape into space and therefore appears bright in Gemini images. "It's kind of like a jack-o-lantern," said Wong. "You see bright infrared light coming from cloud-free areas, but where there are clouds, it's really dark in the infrared." Hubble and Gemini as Jovian Weather Trackers The regular imaging of Jupiter by Hubble and Gemini in support of the Juno mission is proving valuable in studies of many other weather phenomena as well, including changes in wind patterns, characteristics of atmospheric waves and the circulation of various gases in the atmosphere. Hubble and Gemini can monitor the planet as a whole, providing real-time base maps in multiple wavelengths for reference for Juno's measurements in the same way that Earth-observing weather satellites provide context for NOAA's high-flying Hurricane Hunters. "Because we now routinely have these high-resolution views from a couple of different observatories and wavelengths, we are learning so much more about Jupiter's weather," explained Simon. "This is our equivalent of a weather satellite. We can finally start looking at weather cycles." Because the Hubble and Gemini observations are so important for interpreting Juno data, Wong and his colleagues Simon and de Pater are making all of the processed data easily accessible to other researchers through the Mikulski Archives for Space Telescopes (MAST) at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. "What's important is that we've managed to collect this huge data set that supports the Juno mission. There are so many applications of the data set that we may not even anticipate. So, we're going to enable other people to do science without that barrier of having to figure out on their own how to process the data," Wong said. ### The results were published in April 2020 in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (the European Space Agency). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) in Washington, D.C. AURA operates the Gemini Observatory for the international Gemini partnership including the U.S., Canada, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and the Republic of Korea. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages the Juno mission for the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. Juno is part of NASA's New Frontiers Program, which is managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. This story has been published on: 2020-05-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. By PTI LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government has lifted a ban on the manufacture and sale of 'paan masala', according to an official order issued here. The order, however, clarified that the ban on manufacture, storage and sale of 'gutka/paan masala' with nicotine and tobacco will continue. The sale of these products will be in accordance with the guidelines of the Home Department. "The ban on manufacturing and sale of 'paan masala' imposed on March 25 has been lifted," Commissioner Food Security and Drug administration Anita Singh said in the order issued on Wednesday. The Yogi Adityanath government had banned manufacture and sale of 'paan masala', saying the move would help stop the spread of coronavirus in the state. "Manufacturing, sale and storage of 'paan masala' is being banned in the state till further orders," Food Security Commissioner Ministhy S had said in an order issued on March 25. "Spitting 'paan masala' can help in spreading COVID-19," the order had said. Afghan Taliban militants and villagers attend a gathering as they celebrate the peace deal and their victory in the Afghan conflict on US in Afghanistan, in Alingar district of Laghman Province on March 2, 2020. - AFP The son of the Afghan Taliban's late founder has been appointed as the insurgents' military chief in a political reshuffle to check the power of his predecessor, senior militant figures have said. Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob has been announced head of the military commission for the movement trying to overthrown the internationally-backed government in Afghanistan. His appointment was confirmed as the militants have significantly ramped up attacks following a withdrawal agreement with America. The appointment of the son of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the one-eyed founder of the Taliban, reins in the former military leader Sardar Ibrahim as the movement closes in on negotiations with the Afghan government. Mullah Yaqoob will keep his previous post as deputy to the movement's overall leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhunzada, but will now also oversee military operations. Mullah Omar died in 2013, though the insurgent movement continued to release statements in his name until it finally admitted he was dead in 2015. Two senior Taliban figures told the Telegraph that the decision had been made at the insistence of factions in the Taliban and among Pakistan's military who still have influence over the insurgents. Ibrahim had been considered too hostile to Pakistan and too close to Iran, the sources said. Zabiullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban, confirmed the appointment but would not comment on the reasons for it. The post of military chief has formally been vacant for several years, but Ibrahim has been de facto nationwide leader while officially deputy in charge of southern military operations. Ibrahim will remain as Mullah Yaqoob's deputy. Sources said Ibrahim blamed Pakistan for the death of his close friend, the former Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansoor. Mansoor was killed by a 2016 US drone strike in Pakistan's Balochistan province, after crossing the border from Iran. The Taliban sources claimed that since then, Ibrahim, originally from Helmand, had refused to base himself in Pakistan where many of his senior comrades reside. His insistence on staying in Afghanistan, or Iran, and his refusal to attend meetings in Pakistan had angered some comrades. Story continues Pakistan denies supporting the Taliban or providing safe havens, but Western officials say the country maintains influence over the movement. A former Taliban minister now in Kabul said Ibrahim had used his fortune from opium and marble smuggling to build internal support in the Taliban and was supported by Iran who had have significant dealings with the Taliban in Western Afghanistan. He has overseen significant military success for the Taliban in recent years as a growing tide of attacks forced America to the negotiating table. The insurgents signed a landmark deal in Qatar in February, securing the withdrawal of American troops if the Taliban agreed to negotiate with the Kabul government and cast international terrorists out of Afghanistan. By appointing Mullah Yaqoob, the leader of the faithful [Taliban leader] Haibatullah wants to send a clear message that he can remove or appoint Taliban leaders, said the former minister. But Ibrahim already holds strong local and Iranian support, so let's see how this moves ahead. Ibrahim had also been notorious among aid agencies for his opposition to the polio vaccination campaign. He banned vaccinators from conducting door-to-door polio drops campaigns in Taliban territory, after accusing them of gathering intelligence for drone strikes. The decision, two years ago, is feared to have created a pool of hundreds of thousands of children vulnerable to the crippling virus. America this week renewed its calls for the Taliban to curb violence. Zalmay Khalilzad, the US envoy who brokered the February 29 agreement with the Taliban, was due to hold talks with the militants to urge support for an immediate reduction in violence, accelerated timeline for the start of intra-Afghan negotiations, and cooperation among all sides in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic in Afghanistan," a State Department statement said. McKinsey's Global Managing Partner expects COVID-19 to restructure economic order The unprecedented coronavirus pandemic, which broke out in late December 2019 and has now engulfed the world, portends to reshape our lives, and the world order as we know it. This is the eighth of a series to cast light on the changes that might lie ahead. ED. By Kim Bo-eun Governments are assuming greater power over the private sector as a result of the coronavirus, according to Kevin Sneader, head of McKinsey & Company, one of the world's top consulting firms. "There has been a further shift in the relationship between government and business, amid unprecedented economic intervention by governments," McKinsey's Global Managing Partner told The Korea Times in an email interview. Kevin Sneader, global managing partner of McKinsey & Company Plandemic which has been trending on Twitter includes common themes of a federal government cover-up, profiteering over the virus and persecution of people attempting to expose the truth. While YouTube and other social media platforms have been trying to remove the video for violating their guidelines, the clip has been widely recirculated. An internal email to employees has identified a trucking company with a terminal in Brandon as the source of a cluster of COVID-19 cases, which has now grown to seven. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 6/5/2020 (622 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us Paul's Hauling is seen on Richmond Avenue East in Brandon. (The Brandon Sun) An internal email to employees has identified a trucking company with a terminal in Brandon as the source of a cluster of COVID-19 cases, which has now grown to seven. While Manitoba's chief public health officer, Dr. Brent Roussin, continued Wednesday to refuse to name the workplace involved, The Brandon Sun has obtained a company email sent to employees of Paul's Hauling Ltd. and Oak Point Service from Rod Corbett, vice-president of Paul's Hauling, based in Winnipeg. Oak Point Service is the maintenance arm of the business. After outlining the company's efforts to follow public health guidelines to protect staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, Corbett wrote in an email dated May 1: "In an effort to be transparent while respecting the privacy of individuals, I want to provide you with the facts around our current situation in the Brandon shop. "... We now have three confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 within our OPS Brandon staff. A weekend shift employee finished his shift on Monday April 20th then on Wednesday April 22th he started feeling ill. "On Friday April 24th, he was not feeling any better and called in sick, missing his next planned shift of April 25, 26, 27. On April 27th, he was confirmed positive for covid and is currently self-isolating. We contacted Health Links and were advised they did not think he was contagious on his last day worked, April 20th, this shift should continue to self-monitor. "We immediately attempted to have the entire weekend shift tested, but because no one was experiencing any symptoms, they would not test the rest of the people on the weekend shift. The weekend shift returned and completed their shift on April 25, 26 and 27th. One individual said he felt fine but had a runny nose, no other symptoms. He went along with another shop employee on the weekend shift to get tested (these 2 people carpool to work together). They were tested on Tuesday April 28th and on Thursday April 30th they were both confirmed positive covid. The other shop employee had NO symptoms whatsoever. "Our current plan is to shut down the shop on Saturday, May 2nd and 3rd and have it completely disinfected by an outside company. The weekend shift that has had 3 positive cases will be self-isolating for 14 days. We will work out a new shift schedule for the remaining 2 shifts in Brandon with some potential for support from Winnipeg. The Brandon shop will be diligently following the guidelines that have been previously laid out including self-monitoring for each employee." "I'm not a doctor. We've satisfied every public health official. They've come out. We've been working with them extensively," Corbett said in telephone interview with the Sun Wednesday afternoon. "There's been nothing hidden. We've been open to everything way before we began this whole thing," he said. "Our pandemic plan was approved by ... the public health officials. There have been zero recommendations to anything that we're doing now." He went on to say, "I want my employees to trust that we're doing everything we can to make sure that they're safe." Roussin reported the two additional cases during Wednesday's livestreamed health briefing. He said the affected staff in the cluster and their close contacts are self-isolating, and officials are working with them on detailed contact tracing. "This increase in cases is what we find when detailed contact investigation is done and we find cases related to this cluster," Roussin said. "Contact investigation had been largely completed," he added. "We have two new cases, and so we're not concerned about a risk to the public. If there was, we would definitely be articulating that as soon as we can." The family member of an employee, who wished to remain anonymous, said that news of the local outbreak should serve as a wake-up call for the general public. They said they're worried for the health of not only the family member, but also the public at large. "People are careless because they say it's not here," they said. "I can confirm it's here." Paul's Hauling Ltd. is one of the leading providers of bulk transport services in Western Canada, according to a company website. It was established in 1957 by Paul Albrechtsen in Winnipeg, and now has offices and terminals in a number of locations in Canada. Manitoba Health officials reported two new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total number of confirmed and probable cases to date to 284. Five people are currently hospitalized, none in intensive care. brobertson@brandonsun.com Baltic states to create 'travel bubble' as pandemic curbs eased Estonian Prime Minister Ratas attends a video call with his Latvian counterpart Karins and Lithuanian Prime Minister Skvernelis VILNIUS (Reuters) - Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will open their borders to each others' citizens from May 15, creating a Baltic "travel bubble" within the European Union amid an easing of pandemic restrictions, their prime ministers said on Wednesday. "It's a big step towards life as normal", Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas wrote on Twitter. The Baltic travel area would be first of its kind in the bloc, where most countries restricted entry to non-nationals and imposed quarantine on incoming travellers as the coronavirus spread across the continent. Citizens of the three countries will be free to travel within the region, but anyone entering from outside will need to self-isolate for 14 days, Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis said. "We showed a good example by stating, very clearly, that only countries which successfully dealt with the situation can open themselves up," he added. "I think we will keep to this principle when dealing with countries where the situation is very bad, which did not take measures to control the virus spread." Poland and Finland could be the next countries to join the free travel bloc, said Skvernelis. The European Commission has recommended that internal border controls between all member states should be lifted in a coordinated manner, once their virus situation converges sufficiently, the commission's office in Lithuania said. Moves to selectively open borders have emerged elsewhere. Australia and New Zealand are working towards resuming travel between the two countries. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, all major trading partners, are also taking cautious steps to re-open their economies. "This is a very important stimulus for regional tourism businesses. It will not get them back to where they were, but many jobs will be saved," said Zydre Gaveliene, head of a tourism lobby group in Lithuania. The region has been part of the European Union since 2004 and the European free-travel Schengen Area since 2007. Estonia and Lithuania closed their borders to non-citizens during the outbreak and all three nations imposed mandatory quarantines on anyone entering for non-work-related reasons. Story continues New infections have slowed to a trickle with none of the countries reporting more than five new cases on Tuesday. In total, Estonia has recorded 55 deaths, Lithuania 48 and Latvia 17. "For me personally, this means that, after the month-long stagnation, there is light at the end of the tunnel," Vilnius resident Gabija Narusyte, 47, told Reuters. (Reporting By Andrius Sytas in Vilnius, Gederts Gelzis in Riga, Tarmo Virki in Tallinn. Writing by Andrius Sytas; editing by Niklas Pollard and Nick Macfie) Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - The Burkinabe government Wednesday insisted on the need to make masks available for schoolchildren before the resumption of classes due 11 May, official sources told PANA here PFAS Testing & Analysis "Pace was one of the first commercial labs to analyze for PFAS compounds and we work continuously to remain at the forefront as new regulatory and methodologies evolve" Pace Analytical Services, LLC, the largest American-owned laboratory network providing environmental and life sciences analytical information and services, today announced that it has been certified by the California Environmental Lab Accreditation Program (ELAP) for the testing of PFAS compounds. ELAP is responsible for accrediting environmental testing laboratories producing analytical data for California regulatory agencies that protect public health. ELAP has certified Pace Analytical to analyze for all PFAS analytes in drinking water using the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) testing method 537.1. ELAP has also certified Pace for analysis of non-potable water and hazardous waste using the Department of Defense testing method QSM 5.3. PFAS, or Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, represent a diverse group of man-made chemical compounds that are persistent; meaning they dont break down and can accumulate over time. According to the EPA, there is evidence that exposure to PFAS can lead to adverse human health effects. PFAS compounds are resistant to heat, water, and oil and have been used in hundreds of industrial applications and consumer products including carpeting, apparel, upholstery, food paper wrappings, fire-fighting foams, and metal plating. Ongoing concerns over the pervasive use of PFAS have prompted the following recent Federal actions: February 2020: The EPA released an update to its PFAS Action Plan to include preliminary determinations to regulate PFAS contaminants, restrictions to manufacturing and importing of new PFAS chemicals, new drinking water validation methods, and more. March 2020: The Department of Defense (DoD) released an update to its PFAS Task Force Progress Report and announced that it is requiring all public water systems owned and operated by the DoD, be tested for PFAS contamination. Pace was one of the first commercial labs to analyze for PFAS compounds and we work continuously to remain at the forefront as new regulatory and methodologies evolve, notes Paul Jackson, PFAS Program Manager at Pace Analytical. ELAP certification is an important milestone for us. In addition to ELAP, Pace is certified in every state and territory requiring certification for PFAS analysis. The company is also accredited by the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Energy (DOE), NELAC, and ISO. Pace Analytical analyzes PFAS compounds through its in-house national network of labs or on-site via PFAST, the only certified PFAS mobile lab service in the industry. More information on Pace Analytical and its PFAS services may be found at http://www.pacelabs.com. About Pace Analytical Pace Analytical Services, LLC makes the world a safer, healthier place. For decades, we have been the trusted source for quality environmental and life sciences lab testing and analysis and the resource for scientific lab staffing services. Our work is done in partnership with our clients by providing the science and the data they need to make critical decisions that benefit us all. Pace delivers science better to businesses, industries, consulting firms, government agencies and more through the largest, American-owned and nationally certified laboratory network. More at PACELABS.com Updated at 6 p.m. with more details. ST. LOUIS Both St. Louis and St. Louis County will begin to lift stay-at-home restrictions by May 18, but County Executive Sam Page and Mayor Lyda Krewson said Wednesday that residents shouldnt expect things to return to normal. They said in separate briefings that some nonessential businesses probably will be allowed to reopen May 18, but rules for masks will be in place. Businesses will be asked to have employees who interact with the public wear face masks, and the city and county are considering allowing businesses to refuse service to customers who arent covering their faces, according to both leaders. Krewson and Page said a more detailed plan with specific social distancing rules and instructions for businesses will be released later this week. Krewson said Wednesday the tentative plan will recommend strongly that all people wear masks in public places, but wont require it. A ban on social gatherings of more than 10 people also likely would continue for a while, the mayor added during a livestream on Facebook. The former head of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned US lawmakers on Wednesday to brace for a long and difficult war against the coronavirus. Dr Tom Frieden, who ran the agency during the Obama administration, said that without a substantial improvement in the national response to the pandemic, the country is on track to top 100,000 deaths by the end of May. Until we have an effective vaccine, unless something unexpected happens, our viral enemy will be with us for many months or years, Dr Frieden told a House panel, in the first congressional hearing addressing the federal response to the pandemic. As bad as this has been so far, were just at the beginning, he added. Dr Frieden spearheaded the US response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak and now heads a global health initiative called Resolve to Save Lives. The bottom line is that our war against Covid-19 will be long and difficult, he said. Dr Frieden acknowledged that Americans are eager to get back to normal, with states and businesses reopening, but called for caution. He said more funding was needed to expand coronavirus testing, increase contact tracing, and boost public health capacity. Without sustained support, our health will be avoidably at risk, he said. The nations top infectious disease specialist Dr Anthony Fauci is set to testify before the Senate next week, but was barred from appearing before the Democratic-led House by President Donald Trump, who has admitted the move was political. However, Republican representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, who sits on the committee at which Dr Frieden testified, said that he disagrees and believes that Dr Fauci should appear before the House to provide expert advice to legislators. Congress is in the process of negotiating the next phase of federal coronavirus support, having already approved $3trn to counter both the health crisis and economic impacts of the pandemic. To date, the US has 1.2 million confirmed coronavirus infections and has recorded more than 71,000 deaths. SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE: EVC) today reported financial results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020. Historical results, which are attached, are in thousands of U.S. dollars (except share and per share data). This press release contains certain non-GAAP financial measures as defined by SEC Regulation G. The GAAP financial measure most directly comparable to each of these non-GAAP financial measures, and a table reconciling each of these non-GAAP financial measures to its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is included beginning on page 10. Unaudited financial highlights are as follows: Three-Month Period Ended March 31, 2020 2019 % Change Net revenue $ 64,249 $ 64,680 (1) % Cost of revenue - digital media (1) 7,347 7,642 (4) % Operating expenses (2) 40,270 42,744 (6) % Corporate expenses (3) 6,840 6,894 (1) % Foreign currency (gain) loss 1,508 132 1042 % Consolidated adjusted EBITDA (4) 9,679 8,057 20 % Free cash flow (5) $ 5,229 $ 1,293 304 % Net income (loss) $ (35,592) $ 1,424 * Net income per share, basic and diluted $ (0.42) $ 0.02 * Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic 84,317,767 86,101,741 Weighted average common shares outstanding, diluted 84,317,767 87,152,987 (1) Cost of revenue digital media consists primarily of the costs of online media acquired from third-party publishers. Media cost is classified as cost of revenue in the period in which the corresponding revenue is recognized. (2) For purposes of presentation in this table, the operating expenses line item includes direct operating and selling, general and administrative expenses. Included in operating expenses are $0.1 million of non-cash stock-based compensation for each of the three-month periods ended March 31, 2020 and 2019. Also for purposes of presentation in this table, the operating expenses line item does not include corporate expenses, foreign currency (gain) loss, depreciation and amortization, impairment charge, gain (loss) on sale of assets, gain (loss) on debt extinguishment, other income (loss) and change in fair value of contingent consideration. (3) Corporate expenses include $0.7 million of non-cash stock-based compensation for each of the three-month periods ended March 31, 2020 and 2019. (4) Consolidated adjusted EBITDA means net income (loss) plus gain (loss) on sale of assets, depreciation and amortization, non-cash impairment charge, non-cash stock-based compensation included in operating and corporate expenses, net interest expense, other income (loss), gain (loss) on debt extinguishment, income tax (expense) benefit, equity in net income (loss) of nonconsolidated affiliate, non-cash losses, syndication programming amortization less syndication programming payments, revenue from the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, spectrum incentive auction less related expenses, expenses associated with investments, acquisitions and dispositions and certain pro-forma cost savings. We use the term consolidated adjusted EBITDA because that measure is defined in the agreement governing our current credit facility ("the 2017 Credit Facility") and does not include gain (loss) on sale of assets, depreciation and amortization, non-cash impairment charge, non-cash stock-based compensation, net interest expense, other income (loss), gain (loss) on debt extinguishment, income tax (expense) benefit, equity in net income (loss) of nonconsolidated affiliate, non-cash losses, syndication programming amortization less syndication programming payments, revenue from FCC spectrum incentive auction less related expenses, expenses associated with investments, acquisitions and dispositions and certain pro-forma cost savings. (5) Free cash flow is defined as consolidated adjusted EBITDA less cash paid for income taxes, net interest expense, capital expenditures and non-recurring cash expenses plus dividend income, and FCC reimbursement for broadcast television repack less related cash expenses. Net interest expense is defined as interest expense, less non-cash interest expense relating to amortization of debt finance costs, and less interest income. Commenting on the Company's earnings results, Walter F. Ulloa, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Our first quarter results were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic crisis late in the period, which resulted in declines in our radio and digital segments compared to the prior year. However, we did achieve growth in our television segment compared to the first quarter of 2019. We expect a significantly greater adverse impact in future periods, depending upon the extent and duration of the economic downturn. We continue to maintain a solid balance sheet and are undertaking an extensive review of our business in order to more efficiently align operations and reduce costs. Looking ahead, we remain well positioned to build on our success in further attracting Latino and other audiences worldwide, as we execute our multiplatform strategy to the benefit of our shareholders." Quarterly Cash Dividend The Company announced today that its Board of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend to shareholders of $0.025 per share on the Company's Class A, Class B and Class U common stock, in an aggregate amount of approximately $2.1 million. The quarterly dividend will be payable on June 30, 2020 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on June 15, 2020, and the common stock will trade ex-dividend on June 12, 2020. The Company currently anticipates that future cash dividends will be paid on a quarterly basis; however, any decision to pay future cash dividends will be subject to approval by the Board. Impairment Due to the current economic crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, we experienced a decline in performance across all our reporting units beginning late in the first quarter of 2020. Additionally, the digital reporting unit was already facing declining results prior to the onset of the pandemic, caused by continuing competitive pressures and rapid changes in the digital advertising industry, which then further accelerated late in the quarter as a result of the economic crisis resulting from the pandemic. The results of our television and radio reporting units prior to the onset of the pandemic were exceeding internal budgets, driven in large part by political advertising revenue, but declined sharply in the last few weeks of the quarter because of the pandemic and the resulting economic crisis. As a result, we updated our internal forecasts of future performance and determined that triggering events had occurred during the first quarter of 2020 that required interim impairment assessments related to goodwill, indefinite lived intangible assets and long-lived assets. As a result of these assessments, we recognized impairment charges totaling $39.8 million in the three-month period ended March 31, 2020. Financial Results Three-Month period ended March 31, 2020 Compared to Three-Month Period Ended March 31, 2019 (Unaudited) Three-Month Period Ended March 31, 2020 2019 % Change Net revenue $ 64,249 $ 64,680 (1) % Cost of revenue - digital media (1) 7,347 7,642 (4) % Operating expenses (1) 40,270 42,744 (6) % Corporate expenses (1) 6,840 6,894 (1) % Depreciation and amortization 4,512 3,916 15 % Change in fair value contingent consideration - 359 (100) % Impairment charge 39,835 - * Foreign currency (gain) loss 1,508 132 1042 % Other operating (gain) loss (836) (1,996) (58) % Operating income (loss) (35,227) 4,989 * Interest expense, net (2,056) (2,571) (20) % Dividend income 23 255 (91) % Income (loss) before income taxes (37,260) 2,673 * Income tax benefit (expense) 1,668 (1,093) * Net income (loss) before equity in net income (loss) of nonconsolidated affiliates (35,592) 1,580 * Equity in net income (loss) of nonconsolidated affiliates, net of tax - (156) (100) % Net income (loss) $ (35,592) $ 1,424 * (1) Cost of revenue, operating expenses and corporate expenses are defined on page 1. Net revenue decreased to $64.2 million for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020 from $64.7 million for the three-month period ended March 31, 2019, a decrease of $0.5 million. Of the overall decrease, approximately $1.2 million was attributable to our digital segment and was primarily due to declines in international revenue. This decline in digital revenue is being driven by a trend whereby revenue is shifting more to programmatic revenue. In addition, approximately $0.3 million of the overall decrease was attributable to our radio segment and was primarily due to decreases in local and national advertising revenue, as a result primarily of ratings declines, competitive factors with other Spanish-language broadcasters and changing demographic preferences of audiences. Additionally, as we have previously noted, there is a trend for advertising to move increasingly from traditional media, such as radio, to new media, such as digital media, and we expect this trend to continue. The overall decrease was partially offset by an increase of approximately $0.9 million in our television segment due to increases in political advertising revenue and retransmission consent revenue, partially offset by decreases in revenue from spectrum usage rights and local and national advertising revenue, as a result primarily of ratings declines, competitive factors with other Spanish-language broadcasters and changing demographic preferences of audiences. Notwithstanding the increase in our television segment, as we have previously noted, there is a trend for advertising to move increasingly from traditional media, such as television, to new media, such as digital media, and we expect this trend to continue. Cost of revenue in our digital segment decreased to $7.3 million for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020 from $7.6 million for the three-month period ended March 31, 2019, a decrease of $0.3 million, primarily due to a decrease in expenses associated with the decrease in revenue in our digital segment. Operating expenses decreased to $40.3 million for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020 from $42.7 million for the three-month period ended March 31, 2019, a decrease of $2.4 million. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease in expenses associated with the decrease in revenue. Corporate expenses decreased to $6.8 million for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020 from $6.9 million for the three-month period ended March 31, 2019, a decrease of $0.1 million. Impairment charge related to certain FCC licenses in our television and radio reporting units was $23.5 and $8.8 million, respectively, for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020. Impairment charge related to goodwill in our digital reporting unit was $0.8 million for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020. Impairment charges related to intangibles subject to amortization and property and equipment in our digital reporting unit was $5.3 million and $1.5 million, respectively, for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020. Our historical revenues have primarily been denominated in U.S. dollars, and the majority of our current revenues continue to be, and are expected to remain, denominated in U.S. dollars. However, our operating expenses are generally denominated in the currencies of the countries in which our operations are located, and we have operations in countries other than the United States, primarily those operations related to our Headway business. As a result, we have operating expense, attributable to foreign currency, that is primarily related to the operations related to our Headway business. We had a foreign currency loss of $1.5 million for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020 compared to a foreign currency loss of $0.1 million for the three-month period ended March 31, 2019. Foreign currency loss was primarily due to currency fluctuations that affected our digital segment operations located outside the U.S., primarily those related to the Headway business. Segment Results The following represents selected unaudited segment information: Three-Month Period Ended March 31, 2020 2019 % Change Net Revenue Television $ 39,199 $ 38,253 2 % Radio 11,719 11,955 (2) % Digital 13,331 14,472 (8) % Total $ 64,249 $ 64,680 (1) % Cost of Revenue - digital media (1) Digital $ 7,347 $ 7,642 (4) % Operating Expenses (1) Television 21,757 20,741 5 % Radio 11,649 14,283 (18) % Digital 6,864 7,720 (11) % Total $ 40,270 $ 42,744 (6) % Corporate Expenses (1) $ 6,840 $ 6,894 (1) % Consolidated adjusted EBITDA (1) $ 9,679 $ 8,057 20 % (1) Cost of revenue, operating expenses, corporate expenses, and consolidated adjusted EBITDA are defined on page 1. Entravision Communications Corporation will hold a conference call to discuss its 2020 first quarter results on May 7, 2020 at 5 p.m. Eastern Time. To access the conference call, please dial 412-317-5440 ten minutes prior to the start time. The call will be webcast live and archived for replay on the investor relations portion of the Company's web site located at www.entravision.com. Entravision is a diversified global media, marketing and technology company that reaches and engages Latino consumers in the United States and other markets primarily including Mexico, Latin America and Spain. Entravision's portfolio includes digital media properties and advertising technology platforms that deliver performance-based solutions and data insights, along with 55 television stations and 49 radio stations. Entravision's digital and technology businesses include Smadex, a leading technology platform providing mobile, programmatic, data and performance digital marketing solutions. Entravision is the largest affiliate group of both the Univision and UniMas television networks, and its Spanish-language radio stations feature its nationally recognized talent. Entravision shares of Class A Common Stock are traded on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol: EVC. Learn more at: www.entravision.com. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements, which are included in accordance with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results and performance in future periods to be materially different from any future results or performance suggested by the forward-looking statements in this press release. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from these expectations, and the Company disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statements made by the Company. From time to time, these risks, uncertainties and other factors are discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Financial Table Follows) Entravision Communications Corporation Consolidated Balance Sheets (In thousands; unaudited) March 31, December 31, 2020 2019 ASSETS Current assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 53,512 $ 33,123 Marketable securities 74,684 91,662 Restricted cash 734 734 Trade receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts 63,879 71,406 Assets held for sale 6,878 950 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 15,108 11,557 Total current assets 214,795 209,432 Property and equipment, net 76,315 79,642 Intangible assets subject to amortization, net 10,192 16,772 Intangible assets not subject to amortization 216,853 252,544 Goodwill 45,711 46,511 Operating leases right of use asset 41,759 43,837 Other assets 7,506 7,462 Total assets $ 613,131 $ 656,200 LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY Current liabilities Current maturities of long-term debt $ 3,000 $ 3,000 Accounts payable and accrued expenses 55,557 53,931 Operating lease liabilities 8,802 9,056 Total current liabilities 67,359 65,987 Long-term debt, less current maturities, net of unamortized debt issuance costs 212,380 213,024 Long-term operating lease liabilities 39,476 41,387 Other long-term liabilities 3,611 3,371 Deferred income taxes 42,068 44,259 Total liabilities 364,894 368,028 Stockholders' equity Class A common stock 6 6 Class B common stock 2 2 Class U common stock 1 1 Additional paid-in capital 832,216 836,170 Accumulated deficit (583,468) (547,876) Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (520) (131) Total stockholders' equity 248,237 288,172 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 613,131 $ 656,200 Entravision Communications Corporation Consolidated Statements of Operations (In thousands, except share and per share data) (Unaudited) Three-Month Period Ended March 31, 2020 2019 Net revenue $ 64,249 $ 64,680 Expenses: Cost of revenue - digital media 7,347 7,642 Direct operating expenses 26,679 28,930 Selling, general and administrative expenses 13,591 13,814 Corporate expenses 6,840 6,894 Depreciation and amortization 4,512 3,916 Change in fair value contingent consideration - 359 Impairment charge 39,835 - Foreign currency (gain) loss 1,508 132 Other operating (gain) loss (836) (1,996) 99,476 59,691 Operating income (loss) (35,227) 4,989 Interest expense (2,680) (3,490) Interest income 624 919 Dividend income 23 255 Income (loss) before income taxes (37,260) 2,673 Income tax benefit (expense) 1,668 (1,093) Income (loss) before equity in net income (loss) of nonconsolidated affiliate (35,592) 1,580 Equity in net income (loss) of nonconsolidated affiliate, net of tax - (156) Net income (loss) $ (35,592) $ 1,424 Basic and diluted earnings per share: Net income (loss) per share, basic and diluted $ (0.42) $ 0.02 Cash dividends declared per common share $ 0.05 $ 0.05 Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic 84,317,767 86,101,741 Weighted average common shares outstanding, diluted 84,317,767 87,152,987 Entravision Communications Corporation Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (In thousands; unaudited) Three-Month Period Ended March 31, 2020 2019 Cash flows from operating activities: Net income (loss) $ (35,592) $ 1,424 Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation and amortization 4,512 3,916 Impairment charge 39,835 Deferred income taxes (1,813) 470 Non-cash interest 169 251 Amortization of syndication contracts 130 124 Payments on syndication contracts (130) (135) Equity in net (income) loss of nonconsolidated affiliate 156 Non-cash stock-based compensation 789 800 (Gain) loss on disposal of property and equipment 86 Changes in assets and liabilities: (Increase) decrease in accounts receivable 7,482 13,657 (Increase) decrease in prepaid expenses and other assets 1,026 869 Increase (decrease) in accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities (4,394) (7,311) Net cash provided by operating activities 12,014 14,307 Cash flows from investing activities: Purchases of property and equipment (2,671) (6,072) Purchases of intangible assets (155) Proceeds from marketable securities 16,617 10,721 Purchases of investments (200) Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities 13,791 4,449 Cash flows from financing activities: Tax payments related to shares withheld for share-based compensation plans (751) Payments on long-term debt (750) (750) Dividends paid (4,218) (4,271) Repurchase of Class A common stock (525) (7,706) Net cash used in financing activities (5,493) (13,478) Effect of exchange rates on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash 77 (8) Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash 20,389 5,270 Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash: Beginning 33,857 47,465 Ending $ 54,246 $ 52,735 Entravision Communications Corporation Reconciliation of Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA to Cash Flows From Operating Activities (In thousands; unaudited) The most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is operating cash flow. A reconciliation of this non-GAAP measure to cash flows from operating activities for each of the periods presented is as follows: Three-Month Period Ended March 31, 2020 2019 Consolidated adjusted EBITDA (1) $ 9,679 $ 8,057 Interest expense (2,680) (3,490) Interest income 624 919 Dividend income 23 255 Income tax expense 1,668 (1,093) Equity in net loss of nonconsolidated affiliates - (156) Amortization of syndication contracts (130) (124) Payments on syndication contracts 130 135 Non-cash stock-based compensation included in direct operating expenses (131) (134) Non-cash stock-based compensation included in corporate expenses (658) (666) Depreciation and amortization (4,512) (3,916) Change in fair value contingent consideration - (359) Impairment charge (39,835) - Non-recurring cash severance charge (606) - Other operating gain (loss) 836 1,996 Net income (loss) (35,592) 1,424 Depreciation and amortization 4,512 3,916 Impairment charge 39,835 - Deferred income taxes (1,813) 470 Non-cash interest 169 251 Amortization of syndication contracts 130 124 Payments on syndication contracts (130) (135) Equity in net (income) loss of nonconsolidated affiliate - 156 Non-cash stock-based compensation 789 800 (Gain) loss on disposal of property and equipment - 86 Changes in assets and liabilities: (Increase) decrease in accounts receivable 7,482 13,657 (Increase) decrease in prepaid expenses and other assets 1,026 869 Increase (decrease) in accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities (4,394) (7,311) Cash flows from operating activities 12,014 14,307 (1) Consolidated adjusted EBITDA is defined on page 1. Entravision Communications Corporation Reconciliation of Free Cash Flow to Cash Flows From Operating Activities (In thousands; unaudited) The most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is operating cash flow. A reconciliation of this non-GAAP measure to cash flows from operating activities for each of the periods presented is as follows: Three-Month Period Ended March 31, 2020 2019 Consolidated adjusted EBITDA (1) $ 9,679 $ 8,057 Net interest expense (1) (1,887) (2,320) Dividend income 23 255 Cash paid for income taxes (145) (623) Capital expenditures (2) (2,671) (6,072) Non-recurring cash severance charge (606) - FCC Reimbursement 836 1,996 Free cash flow (1) 5,229 1,293 Capital expenditures (2) 2,671 6,072 Change in fair value of contingent consideration - (359) (Gain) loss on disposal of property and equipment - 86 Changes in assets and liabilities: (Increase) decrease in accounts receivable 7,482 13,657 (Increase) decrease in prepaid expenses and other assets 1,026 869 Increase (decrease) in accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities (4,394) (7,311) Cash Flows From Operating Activities $ 12,014 $ 14,307 (1) Consolidated adjusted EBITDA, net interest expense, and free cash flow are defined on page 1. (2) Capital expenditures are not part of the consolidated statement of operations. SOURCE Entravision Communications Corporation (Natural News) There was a lot of hope when early reports indicated that the drug Remdesivir was helping some coronavirus patients, but a closer look at the clinical trial reveals that its effects are minimal, if any. In fact, all it accomplished was a slight decrease in time until clinical recovery. So why is this drug still getting so much attention? As usual, all roads lead to Big Pharma, from the unwarranted praise for this drug to the smear campaign launched against natural remedies like zinc or vitamin C and even other less profitable drugs like hydroxychloroquine. Remdesivir makers Gilead Sciences stand to make a lot of money off the drug, yet many experts are not convinced it has value in treating COVID-19 patients. In fact, Acute Care Surgeon Mark Hoofnagle said on Twitter, I am truly sorry to say, Remdesivir is probably worthless. He went on to explain that he feels some fascinating drug company shenanigans are behind the drugs recent attention. The drug was given emergency approval by the FDA after Gilead was allowed to change the clinical trials outcome goals in order to fit the poor results they had been achieving. The truth is that while those who took the drug and recovered from coronavirus did so a little faster than those who didnt take it, there was no significant difference in the number of people who died from the disease. A summary of the real results of the trial was accidentally posted on the World Health Organizations website before being quickly taken down. A few days later, however, the FDA gave emergency approval to Gilead for a seven-year monopoly on the drug, and they even waived the usual FDA fees. Its hard to imagine that anything other than a conspiracy between the FDA and Big Pharma is behind the odd moves. What is happening with hydroxychloroquine seems to support this theory. Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, pointed out that the anti-malaria drug was long said to be safe by the WHO as well as the FDA, but they changed their tune when it demonstrated an impressive survival rate when used to treat COVID-19 patients during the later stages of the disease, especially when taken in conjunction with zinc. Thats when we started to hear about its supposedly horrific side effects. The effort to discredit the medication shouldnt be surprising at all when you consider that its an off-patent generic drug that cannot rake in billions for pharmaceutical companies. In fact, it costs mere pennies per dose. What is remdesivir? The experimental antiviral drug remdesivir was originally developed as a treatment for Ebola. It blocks an enzyme in the body needed for the virus to make copies of itself, which theoretically could limit symptoms and the diseases spread. Side effects seen in studies include liver damage, nausea and vomiting. A pair of pharmacy experts from the University of Sydney wrote in The Conversation that the results of the new trial of the drug should be treated with caution. First, they point out that it has not been peer reviewed. Moreover, other trials into the drug, including one in China, have not found the same promise. While the drug may be effective, its too early to say if its as effective as we need it to be. While remdesivir may have a slightly positive effect on the disease, its far from the miracle cure that so many around the world have been praying for, and pinning too much hope on this controversial medicine could stop other potentially more effective treatments for coronavirus from being explored. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com NaturalNews.com TheConversation.com Outlander Rating: First Dates Hotel Rating: There has to be a prize for it. Books boast the Literary Reviews Bad Sex Award, movies stage the Golden Raspberries or Razzies. Television deserves its own medals for sheer, tongue-lolling awfulness. Call them the TraVesties. This years Worst TraVesty must go to Outlander (More4), the time-travelling romance, for a scene of treachery and slaughter so hilarious, I had to keep pausing to wipe my eyes. This time, the couple are shipwrecked in the New World. No one cares: as long as Jamie keeps taking his shirt off to hold Claire close and pledge undying passion in gruffly tender murmurs, devotees of Outlander will forgive it almost anything Fans of this show have a high tolerance for tosh. Last year they put up with a witch who bathed in the blood of virgins, before she was put to death by heroine Claire (Caitriona Balfe) a World War II medic who was transported back to the 18th century and now is kept prisoner there by her love for Highland warrior Jamie (Sam Heughan). This time, the couple are shipwrecked in the New World. No one cares: as long as Jamie keeps taking his shirt off to hold Claire close and pledge undying passion in gruffly tender murmurs, devotees of Outlander will forgive it almost anything. That interminable five minutes of misery in a tavern near the start, for instance, as the cast joined in a Gaelic folk dirge that didnt matter, as long as the romance was steamy and simmering, ready to boil over in the next scene. This years Worst TraVesty must go to Outlander (More4), the time-travelling romance, for a scene of treachery and slaughter so hilarious, I had to keep pausing to wipe my eyes And there was lots of that, including a long bedroom lecture from Claire about the impending American War of Independence, while Jamie admired the way she unrolled her silk stockings. She tried to explain about the American Dream. Is that the same as our dream? asked Jamie, gruffly yet tenderly. Claire agreed it was, and they kissed. None of this was unforgivably awful not dire enough to win prizes, at any rate. But then, as Claire and Jamie were rowed downriver to begin a new life on a plantation together, something weirdly incongruous began to happen. The sound faded out, to be replaced by soft jazz music. Ray Charles began to sing his excruciating, florid version of America The Beautiful, as fake as processed cheese. And just as I was beginning to wish for a return of the Gaelic tavern choir, Jamie and Claire were attacked by river pirates. On and on crooned Ray, as the pirates laughed evil laughs, silently in the faces of our lovebirds. The murderous villains were led by a man Jamie had saved from the Redcoats, who was intent on stealing Claires wedding ring and forcing her husband to watch . . . the unutterable beast. Claire tried to swallow the ring. The pirate chief prised it from her mouth. Jamie writhed in helpless agony, Ray kept wringing the life out of America The Beautiful, and I laughed so much I got hiccups and had to stick my head under the tap. The romantic shenanigans of First Dates Hotel (C4) were bland by comparison even though this weeks episode had to return to last weeks couples, because the set-up was so complicated. Estate agent Georgia was dining with ex-squaddie Robbie. Her friend Rachel was being chatted up by tattooed Blain. First Dates Hotel's Fred Sirieix is pictured above with restaurant manager Francesca Martusciello Robbie blew his chances early on, by admitting he tended to go for girls who were convenient. Blain seemed smitten, but Rachel thought he had a nice personality which is never good. Rachel and Georgia kept hinting that actually they fancied each other. Nice! said Blain. Eventually, he started dating Georgia. When modern love is that crass and banal, you cant blame a woman for wanting to be whisked off to the 18th century and ravished. But please, not to a soft jazz soundtrack. Ultra-violence of the night: An errant crook was trapped in a steel cage and buried alive in liquid concrete, in Gangs Of London (Sky Atlantic) just one of the ways this series kills off characters with offhand brutality. So callous, its almost flippant. Farming groups have welcomed the government's hardship fund for dairy producers but warned that more may be needed. Dairy farmers in England will be entitled to claim up to 10,000 each to cover 70% of their lost income during April and May, Defra announced. Producers who have lost more than 25% of their income over April and May due to the disruptions will be eligible to access the fund for those qualifying months. No cap will be set on the number of farmers who can receive this support or on the total funding available. The sector has seen a significant decrease in foodservice sector demand for products as a direct result of the coronavirus outbreak. Welcoming the announcement, the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) said it is 'thankful' to the government for taking the dairy sector's needs 'seriously'. It warned, however, that should farmers continue to be impacted for a longer period of time, additional support would be needed. RABDF chairman Peter Alvis said: We would like Defra to keep reviewing support measures for the industry. "We are conscious that should our farmers continue to be impacted for an extended period, we will need the government to act quickly and look at some additional support. Dairy producers receiving a reduced milk value or having to discard milk as a result of Covid-19 have been urged to continue filling in the group's milk losses survey. Mr Alvis added: We presented the first round of data to government last week and we need to continue presenting them with this data. Only by having accurate data can we highlight when additional support is needed. Devolved administrations have been urged to follow in Defras footsteps, with the NFU saying it is 'concerned' that it covers England only. "We will work with the devolved administrations to ensure that support reaches all farmers affected," NFU dairy board chairman, Michael Oakes said. While the fund will be helpful for those under financial strain, the union believes a 'combination of measures' are needed in order to stabilise the industrys viability. "Dairy farmers need much better contractual protection than they currently enjoy and that needs to be examined by government as a matter of urgency once we move to the recovery phase of the current crisis," Mr Oakes added. Israel's president on Thursday tasked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with forming a unity government Thursday, signalling the probable end of more than a year of political deadlock, a government statement said. "A letter assigning the task of forming a government to Benjamin Netanyahu was just sent to the prime minister's office," it said. "The office of the speaker of the Knesset (parliament) was also informed." The veteran premier now has 14 days to seal the details of the coalition accord and sign his partners up to ground rules spelling out policy. Failure would mean a fourth election, a presidential spokesman told AFP, after three inconclusive polls within a year. Earlier Thursday, Knesset members voted for the deal between Israel's longest-serving leader and his erstwhile rival Benny Gantz, then called on President Reuven Rivlin to mandate Netanyahu to form the government. The accord will see the rightwing premier share power with Gantz, a centrist former military chief. The two men plan to swear in their new administration on May 13, with Netanyahu remaining leader for 18 months before handing over to Gantz. While each man is in power, the other will serve as alternate PM, a newly created position. Representatives of Netanyahu's Likud party and Gantz's Blue and White presented Rivlin's office with a signed request, from 72 of the country's 120 MPs, that Netanyahu be mandated to form a government. It was delivered hours ahead of a midnight (2100 GMT Thursday) deadline. The proposed government had been challenged in the high court, with opponents arguing Netanyahu was ineligible due to corruption indictments. But the court ruled on Wednesday evening that there was "no legal reason to prevent the formation of a government" led by Netanyahu. It added that the allegations against Netanyahu could be addressed in his trial, due to begin on May 24. Netanyahu has been written off by pundits and rivals many times since taking power in 2009, but has invariably found ways to remain in the hot seat. As well as rebuilding an economy shaken by the coronavirus, the new government will also decide on the possible annexation of large parts of the West Bank, a move from which successive governments have refrained since Israel occupied the territory in the Six-Day War of 1967. - Lost year - Israel has been without a stable government since December 2018, after successive elections left Gantz's centrist Blue and White and Netanyahu's Likud near neck-and-neck. Netanyahu has remained in a caretaker role throughout. In January, he was charged with accepting improper gifts and illegally trading favours in exchange for positive media coverage. He denies wrongdoing, but if the trial goes ahead as planned he will become the first serving Israeli leader to be tried. Gantz's critics, including many former allies, accused him of betraying his voters after campaigning for cleaner politics and pledging not to serve under an indicted prime minister. "Never have so few cheated so many voters for such miserable reasons," former Gantz ally Yair Lapid, poised to become opposition leader, tweeted Thursday. But Gantz has defended his decision, citing the need for political stability as the country faces the economic damage wrought by a coronavirus outbreak that has infected more than 16,000 people. Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute think tank, said Gantz and Netanyahu had "zero trust" in one another. "This is probably the main characteristic of this political agreement," he told journalists. "Therefore a new regime was created whereby we have two prime ministers, both with veto power." - West Bank annexations? - In its first months the government will focus on the COVID-19 response. The country took rapid measures to lock down and has succeeded in limiting the death toll so far to just over 200, in a population of some nine million. In recent days it has started easing the measures and allowing some businesses to partially reopen. From July 1, the government can also decide whether to follow through with the annexation of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. President Donald Trump has given Washington's blessing for the move, which the United Nations says violates international law. Israel could also annex the Jordan Valley, another region Trump says he is ready to recognise as part of its sovereign territory. Either move is liable to trigger Palestinian unrest across the West Bank as well as in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians see the West Bank as the mainstay of their future state and the United Nations has warned that annexation would seriously damage any hopes for lasting peace. Plesner said if Democratic candidate Joe Biden were to beat Trump in November's election he would likely oppose annexation, taking the idea "off the table". As such, he added, the government will have a "short window of opportunity between July and the US elections in November." A 14-year-old boy, who had left Ludhiana on foot for his native village in Uttar Pradesh, was rescued on Thursday night. Members of the Child Welfare Society, Khanna, had found the teenaged boy, a resident of Janta Nagar, Ludhiana, wandering on the streets and taken him to the Khanna police station. Society member Munish Verma said when they found the boy, he revealed that he had left his house without informing his parents. Deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Rajan Parminder Singh said, The boy was feeling bored due to isolation amid lockdown and decided to head out for his native village in UP after his parents refused to leave. But, by the time he reached Khanna, he felt weary and realised that he wont be able to make it to his native village. The boys father, who is a labourer, said once the boy came to know that the government had arranged trains and buses for migrant labourers, he had started pressuring him and his wife to leave for their native village. But they were not ready to go, so he left on his own, he added. Facebook Dismantles IRIB-Linked Disinformation Campaign Radio Farda May 06, 2020 The social network Facebook has announced that it has taken down over five hundred Facebook assets that were linked to an IRIB disinformation campaign. According to Facebook the inauthentic behavior of creating posts and targeted countries in Africa Europe and included the United States. Facebook claims that the people behind the campaign tried to conceal their identity but "our investigation found links to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Corporation," said the company in their statement. Facebook published some of the posts that were used in the campaigns which were focused on "criticism of Saudi involvement in the Middle East, the Occupy movement in the US, criticism of US policies" According to Facebook's head of cybersecurity, Nathaniel Gleicher IRIB had "substantial connections" to the social media content that was caught by the platform. The social media analytics firm Graphika's report was used by Facebook to confirm the inauthentic behavior. It also found that IRIB's work was focused on promoting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. For example, this item posted on Facebook Page started on January,2020 was named the Leaders Approach. Other content that the Facebook assets tried to push and promote to a global audience were from IRIB international broadcasting which according to a recent analysis by the FDD had more than 139% increase in budget to $180 million dollars for fiscal year 2020-2021. Press TV and Al-Alam TV was the content source for some of the operations in Arabic while neutrally named Press TV content was pushed to English speaking audiences. The social media operation also posted content from IRIB's Bosnian language service. While Iran was struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic it didn't hesitate to use state resources to push coronavirus conspiracy theories out to the world. The network was clearly synchronized with its other media operations when it started pushing COVID19 as a reason to lift U.S. Sanctions on Iran, an effort also echoed in its Spanish language broadcasting by HispanTV. Iran and IRIB have been implicated in disinformation campaigns on all the major social networks over the past several years. Facebook has also acted against a disinformation campaign targeting the US that originated in Russia. Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/facebook- dismantles-irib-linked-disinformation- campaign-/30594737.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address THE 75th anniversary of VE Day has brought back memories for Bill Mundy. The 83-year-old artist, who lives off Wargrave Road near Henley, was present at the celebrations on May 8, 1945 as a child and painted this commemorative watercolour to mark the 42nd anniversary in 1987. His piece, entitled Well Meet Again after Dame Vera Lynns famous song, depicts an arrangement of about 40 items of wartime memorabilia on his bureau. Some of the artefacts were from his own collection while others were donated or loaned to him after Bill made an appeal in the Henley Standard. They include a gas mask, tins of anti-gas ointment and air raid window sealing tape, which he remembers having to use during German air raids as a child. There is also a photograph album which includes a shot of his late brother Bob as a child as well as his uncle Frank Carter, who served as a fireman in Wokingham. Other items include a signed certificate issued by the Queen to every family who took in an evacuee, three service medals, a ration book, cigarette cards, shoulder badges, an identity card, a small portrait of Winston Churchill and the sheet music for Well Meet Again. They are wrapped in a large Union flag which Bill still owns and will be hanging from his window in celebration today. The painting, which is about 2ft long, was exhibited at the Royal Academys summer exhibition, then purchased by a Swiss collector and is still owned by his widow. Bill says: Its probably the most enjoyable one Ive ever made because it brought back so many memories while I was painting it. When it was exhibited, I was contacted by a squadron leader who noticed the colours on one of the ribbons were the wrong way round, which shows how people studied all the items very closely. Bill was aged four when war broke out and his father Percy went off to fight in Gibraltar, leaving him and Bob with their mother Vera and grandfather Thomas. He recalls watching dogfights over the skies near their home in Wokingham and collecting small pieces of debris or traces of gunpowder which they would throw on the bonfire on Guy Fawkes Night. Later, Canadian troops set up camp a few miles outside the town and Bill and his friends would follow them back while marching. On one occasion, a soldier let them take home a chocolate bar. Bill recalls We hadnt seen anything like it in years. I took it home and my mother would cut a single square into quarters for us every Sunday so that it lasted as long as possible. When the war ended, the families in his street held a large party. It was all very exciting to us, says Bill. There were trestle tables all the way down the road and all the mothers made cakes and other things we hadnt seen in ages. Theyd hoarded enough supplies for the occasion. We all had little flags to wave. By that point I was old enough to understand what was going on. It was a real relief for the adults and the children were glad to see them happy again. Bill, who went on to serve as an Army cartographer during the Malayan Emergency, says celebrating VE Day 75 years later is as important as ever. He says: It was a very tough time for the country and in the early days of the war, when we were fighting alone, it could have gone either way. I remember seeing the orange glow from my mothers bedroom window. The efforts and courage of the soldiers who fought for this countrys future should always be remembered. LINCOLN PARK, MI A man is facing charges after allegedly spitting on hospital workers on two occasions while he was in care for a virus. It is unknown what virus 30-year-old Richard Allen Kechego, of Lincoln Park, was being treated for, but police believe he was intentionally trying to spread it when he spat on workers in March and April, WDIV Local 4 reports. Kechego has been arraigned on charges related to verbally assaulting, threatening and spitting at workers at a Wyandotte hospital on March 29, the report said. He is awaiting arraignment on charges related to a similar incident at a Dearborn hospital on April 16. In the March 29 incident, Kechego is charged with threat of terrorism and harmful devices/unlawful use; he is being held on a $50,000 cash bond, the report said. He is expected to be arraigned today on a charge of harmful devices/unlawful use related to the April 16 incident. It is unknown whether Kechego was infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus when the incidents occurred. It is hard to wrap ones mind around this defendants alleged behavior, especially during these times," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy told WDIV. "If you are even thinking about doing something like this, know that acting on it is criminal behavior. READ MORE: Mom in custody after 3-year-old son found stabbed to death Man who wiped nose on clerks shirt at Dollar Tree arrested Thursday, May 7: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan [May 07, 2020] BehavioSec Delivering Security and Cost Savings for an Evolving Enterprise Environment BehavioSec, the first vendor to pioneer behavioral biometrics, announced today its technology is helping global enterprise quickly adapt to meet user authentication challenges resulting from the dramatic transition to remote work environments while reducing reliance on cost prohibitive legacy solutions. Utilizing the BehavioSec Behavioral Biometrics Platform, organizations are improving business agility, advancing workforce access and achieving cost savings with deep authentication that continuously validates users using their own unique behavior patterns. "Organizations everywhere are scrambling to accommodate the sudden shift to a distributed workforce model," said BehavioSec Vice President of Products Jordan Blake. "Not only do they need to ensure employees have access to the data needed to do their jobs effectively, wherever they are, but must also maintain seamless security in the midst of unprecedented digital disruption. BehavioSec's technology is not only safeguarding data security, but removing obstacles to productivity necessary to meet critical tasks and deadlines." According to a recent Gartner survey, 74 percent of CFOs plan to permanently transition at least a portion of their on-site workforce to remote positions post-pandemic. With a more distributed workforce, in addition to consumers shopping, banking, and learning online, companies are increasingly faced with maintaining zero trust authorization while reducing the overall friction that comes withmulti-layered authentication. Legacy security protocols - like passwords, tokens and CAPTCHAs - can hinder productivity and embolden employees to find a less secure work around or persuade online consumers to go elsewhere. As organizations take a more permanent approach to working remote, the essential business value of frictionless, secure authentication to reduce disruption, manage costs, and streamline operations is more apparent than ever. BehavioSec's software authenticates digital identities and reduces friction in addition to offering potential cost savings benefits by instantly comparing new user sessions against existing account holders' behavior patterns which cannot be spoofed, stolen or socially engineered. In a recent case study, implementing BehavioSec in place of physical and digital security tokens unable to scale to meet remote workforce requirements resulted in yearly cost savings in the mid six-figures for one multinational technology company in addition to an 88 percent reduction of two-factor authentication challenges. Prior to deploying BehavioSec the company was spending an average $74 per call from staff to its internal support center to resolve lost security tokens and locked accounts. "By partnering with BehavioSec, we reduced our dependence on two-factor tokens while still blocking unauthorized access. BehavioSec's innovative approach allowed us to free up IT-resources, block unauthorized access and almost extinguish our need for mobile and physical tokens," remarked the organization of their experience. For more information on how BehavioSec solutions can help prevent account takeover and new account fraud while advancing risk based authentication visit: https://www.behaviosec.com/behavioral-biometric-solutions/ About BehavioSec BehavioSec is the first vendor to pioneer behavioral biometrics. The company's Behavioral Biometrics Platform is widely deployed across Global 2000 companies for its proven ability to dramatically reduce account fraud and data theft. Founded in 2008 out of groundbreaking academic research, BehavioSec technology allows companies to continuously verify digital identities with superior precision, in real-time. Strengthened with the leadership of serial entrepreneurs and experienced industry professionals, the BehavioSec team now spans the world, providing security while preserving a rich digital experience throughout web and mobile apps. BehavioSec is the only enterprise-grade vendor used in global deployments with some of the largest companies, reducing manual review whilst safeguarding millions of users and billions of transactions. BehavioSec investors include Forgepoint Capital, Cisco, ABN AMRO, Conor Ventures and Octopus Ventures. BehavioSec is headquartered in San Francisco, CA (News - Alert) and has global operations throughout Europe and Asia Pac. For more information, visit www.behaviosec.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005620/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Pursuant to the Document No. 21/TW3 dated 23rd April 2020 of Central Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company No.3 r egarding the cancellation of the shareholder list for attending 2020 Annual General Meeting, Vietnam Securities Depository (VSD) would like to announce as follows: Cancelling the shareholder list for holding 2020 Annual General Meeting on the record date of 24th March 2020 Reason for cancellation: Due to the complicated developments of the Covid 19 pandemic, the company decided to change the meeting date of 2020 Annual General Meeting. Photo: Twitter A cargo plane carrying coronavirus medical aid supplies was shot down this week in Somalia. The crash killed all six people on board. Aviation website AeroInside.com reports the East African Express Embraer EMB-120 was brought down Monday by a suspected rocket-propelled grenade. Pictures from the scene show the smoking debris of the wreck and the tail of the aircraft. The main fuselage was destroyed. The aircraft was performing a charter freight flight from Baidoa to Berdale, Somalia, with four passengers and two crew on board. It was carrying a load of medical supplies. Aeroinside reports the plane was on approach to Berdale, about three minutes out from landing, when it was hit by an object similiar to a rocket propelled grenade, impacted ground and burst into flames. The Somalian Transport Ministry reported no survivors. Ethiopian troops guarding the airport during the area's civil war secured the crash site. The airline reported the aircraft was shot down five kilometres from the airport and had flown from Mogadishu via an intermediate stop in Baidoa. It's not yet clear which forces launched the RPG. Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia are jointly investigating the incident. Berdale Airport is a base for the Ethiopian military under a multinational African Union Mission combating al Qaeda linked Al Shabab extremist forces. Texas legislators need to let the sunshine in and revisit a law that has allowed the names and locations of nursing home facilities where there have been COVID-19 cases and deaths to remain cloaked in secrecy. The failure to disclose such basic information for specific long-term care facilities is hampering families ability to make informed decisions about their loved ones in these homes. These families have had no physical contact with their loved ones since mid-March when quarantine orders went into effect. Keeping them in the dark about the health situation in facilities they are not allowed to visit is only compounding the stress and anxiety of involuntary separation. Thats bad enough, but theres more. It also represents a distortion of a law to protect privacy. No privacy is at risk with this type of information. Just the publics right to know. Some background: The Texas Medical Records Privacy Act, passed in 2001, expanded on federal privacy and security provisions for safeguarding patients medical information under the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, commonly known as HIPAA. The legislation gave Texas one of the most stringent laws in the country regarding the disclosure of patient information, but now its apparently being used to protect nursing homes during COVID-19. The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas last week sent Phil Wilson, interim executive commissioner of Texas Health and Human Services, a letter requesting the release of the names and locations of nursing home facilities where there have been confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths. The foundation argues the agency is overstepping its authority and does not have the legal grounds to withhold the information. The intent of the Texas law and HIPAA was clearly meant to protect personal health information, Freedom of Information Foundation director Kelley Shannon said in her letter. But, she states, that is not the case here; no personally identifying information has been requested. We agree. The public deserves to know where the hot spots are during this pandemic. In 23 states, more than 10,300 elderly people in long-term care centers have died as a result of the coronavirus, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit focusing on national health issues. In Texas, deaths at long-term care facilities account for about 40 percent of the more than 900 deaths that have been recorded. There are 1,200 nursing homes and 2,000 assisted living facilities in Texas. As of last week, 282 nursing homes and 85 assisted living facilities in the state reported at least one resident or staff member who had tested positive for the virus, ProPublica reported. There have been 303 deaths reported in those facilities, including a massive outbreak at Southeast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center where at least 17 residents have died from the virus. A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including members of the Bexar County delegation, last week sent Gov. Greg Abbott a letter demanding more funding support, more testing and personal protective equipment for nursing homes. They also requested more transparency in the release of information on COVID-19 cases in those facilities. Recently announced federal rules will require federally regulated nursing homes funded by public insurance programs to inform residents and their families of a COVID-19 case within 12 hours of a diagnosis. Its a small step in the right direction, but that still does not address bigger transparency problems in Texas. If the public doesnt know about COVID cases in these facilities, how can people make informed decisions? Grab some takeout, cozy up on the couch and watch a comedy filmed in Oregon. Oh, and help those affected by the coronavirus crisis while doing so. How does that sound for a Saturday night? The Oregon Hospitality Foundation is organizing Takeout & A Movie night this weekend, hosting a special remote screening of Phoenix, Oregon that will benefit frontline workers, the states restaurant industry and those experiencing food insecurity. Heres how it works: Visit the Takeout & A Movie website to purchase a ticket for $6.50 or multiple tickets if youre feeling generous and gain access to a special digital screening of the film, Phoenix, Oregon. Order takeout from your favorite neighborhood eatery. Sit back, relax and feel good about supporting a host of local causes. The benefit will not only help generate business for Oregon restaurants, which have been battered by stay-at-home orders and social-distancing practices, but also the states film industry. Furthermore, 100 percent of the proceeds from the fundraiser will go to the Oregon Hospitality Foundation, a nonprofit that will provide meals for frontline heroes and those experiencing food insecurity. All ticket purchases receive a one-time link to watch the movie at home on a variety of streaming devices. You can preorder the movie anytime and watch starting Friday. There also will be a virtual Q&A with cast and crew on Saturday at 7 p.m. This is the Oregon Hospitality Foundations first fundraiser and it has pledge to commit $10,000 from its own funding to help this cause. For more information, visit the Hospitality Help Fund website. Phoenix, Oregon is a comedy during which two friends, a graphic novelist and a chef, reinvent their lives by quitting their jobs to restore an old bowling alley and serve the worlds greatest pizza." Variety Magazine says the film is the sort of movie a lot of us need right now, calling it an enjoyable and reassuringly predictable dramedy in which nothing, not even the sourball attitudes of its comically unpleasant malcontents, ever is allowed to get out of hand or unduly strain credibility. Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Thursday that the past two days saw the return of 1,100 Egyptians from Kuwait, stressing that authorities are trying to repatriate nationals stranded abroad before Eid Al-Fitr, the Islamic feast following the holy month of Ramadan. During a video conference with cabinet members, Madbouly emphasised that quarantine facilities and medical staff needed to monitor repatriated nationals from Kuwait. The prime minister noted that the authorities are working on repatriating all nationals stranded abroad before Eid Al-Fitr, which is set to begin on 23 May. Egypt started operating flights to repatriate nationals stranded in Kuwait starting Tuesday, Egypt's information minister Osama Heikal said on Tuesday, a day after Kuwaiti authorities broke up riots by Egyptian workers with invalid residencies seeking to return home. Heikal said that repatriated nationals will undergo medical examinations upon arrival at airports and will quarantined for 14 days at university dorms. The cabinet said in a statement on Tuesday that the government will cover the cost of the reptriated nationals quarantined at university dorms. However, those willing to spend their quarantine period at designated hotels in the Mediterranean city of Marsa Alam will have to pay for their stay. Egypt began repatriating its citizens in March, bringing back hundreds of its nationals stranded in various countries due to the coronavirus pandemic. The country is keeping its airspace open to inbound charter and special flights to transport outbound passengers, and to cargo and domestic flights, during the suspension of air traffic that has been in place since mid-March. Search Keywords: Short link: VICKSBURG, MI An effort led by Kalamazoos Family Health Center rolled into Vicksburg Thursday, May 7, as part of expanded coronavirus testing in Kalamazoo County. The rolling" testing program scheduled 225 tests in the parking of Vicksburg High School Thursday. It was the second location this week, after 167 individuals were tested Tuesday at Comstock High School. After closing out the programs fourth week Thursday, organizers plan to bring drive-thru testing to Kalamazoo Central High School on Thursday, May 14. They plan to test at least 500 individuals at the site, which is slated to open at 8 a.m. and close at 4 p.m. Thursday. Individuals who want to be tested must first call Family Health Center at 269-488-0804 to undergo a pre-test evaluation and assessment to determine whether it is appropriate for them to be tested. Testing is free and open to all community members, regardless of whether they have been Family Health Center patients in the past or have a primary medical provider. If someone wants to be tested but does not have access to a car for the drive-thru testing, they can call the center to request a curbside test and then walk to either Family Health Center location, president and CEO Denise Crawford said. Testing locations are being chosen based on population density, socioeconomic factors and access to healthcare among the community, Crawford said. Local health officials have attributed part of the recent surge in Kalamazoo County COVID-19 cases in recent weeks to the increased testing being offered through the Family Health Center. RELATED: A timeline of coronavirus in the Kalamazoo area In the rolling testing programs first week held on April 17 at Stones Church in Kalamazoos Northside neighborhood Family Health Center aimed to schedule 100 appointments. Ultimately, they scheduled 125 appointments and tested 114 residents. Of those tests, 20% came back positive, Crawford said. In the second week, hosted April 23 outside Loy Norrix High School, 294 people were screened, according to a Family Health Center representative. Of those, 17 patients tested positive for COVID-19. Many of the people screened on April 23 were essential workers not exhibiting any symptoms, and most tests returned negative results, according to a Family Health Center representative. In the programs third week, 506 people were tested at Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency on April 30. Of those tests, 477 (94%) came back negative, 26 (5%) positive and three were inconclusive. During Tuesdays testing at Comstock High School, Family Health Center officials report processing 154 negative test results and 12 positive test results. As of data reported on Thursday, May 7, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kalamazoo County totaled 563 and the local death toll increased to 25. Statewide, Michigan had 45,646 confirmed coronavirus cases and 4,343 deaths more than Canada as of Thursday. Cumulative total cases and deaths in Kalamazoo County: Browser does not support frames. 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. Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces. Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus. Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus. Also on MLive: Michigans largest winery pumps out sanitizer after tasting rooms forced to close Michigan surpasses 1.3M unemployment claims since coronavirus crisis began More people move from Kalamazoo homeless shelter to hotels amid pandemic Southwest Michigan company retools to make a million face masks Doug Mills/ Reuters When the nations most-respected infectious-disease investigators take the time to write down some advice as the president rushes to reopen the country during a raging pandemic, it seems only sensible that youd listen very carefully to what they have to say. But, according to a report from the Associated Press, the White House decided to block the publication of this 17-page document from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention team. It lays out exactly what measures restaurants, schools, child-care facilities, and other public places should take if they decide to reopen their doors in the coming weeks. The report, titled Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework, was written to help all kinds of people such as religious leaders, business owners, teachers, and local officials as the president and some state leaders rush to reopen. Shortly after the document emerged, The New York Times reported that White House officials had pushed back on the guidelines and asked for revisions because they thought some had too much regulatory language. The Daily Beast confirmed the pushback with an official working with the coronavirus task force. The Daily Beast reported on the contents of the document last month. As of late April, the CDC, in coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, had finalized the guidelines. The document, officials said at the time, was incredibly intricate and showed how states could begin to open summer camps, restaurants, bars and religious centers. Officials inside the CDC said they had been working on the guidelines for several weeks and anticipated that the White House would release them to states in the following days. The Associated Press reported that the document had been slated for publication last Fridaybut that scientists at the CDC were then told by the White House that it would never see the light of day. Well, they were wronghere it is. Its not clear why the White House decided to block its publication. Some of the reports advice appears on federal websites, but the guidance in the report is much more detailed and tailored to different types of establishments. The White House published its own Opening Up America Again advice last month, but its guidance is much more general than the CDC teams forensic document. Story continues A source said to be close to the White Houses coronavirus task force reportedly told AP that White House officials were reluctant to offer such specific advice to people because they believe different parts of the country will need different advice depending on how hard they have been knocked back by the coronavirus pandemic. As of Thursday morning, more than 73,000 Americans have been reported to have died from the virus, according to numbers from Johns Hopkins University. As the document shows, the CDCs guidance sets out exactly what precautions people should take when reopening schools, restaurants, summer camps, churches, and day-care centers, among other establishments. It also includes detailed flow charts designed to be used by local officials so theyre prepared for difficult scenarios after reopening, such as if an employee becomes sick. In specific advice for restaurants and bars, the report states that owners should install sneeze guards at cash registers to protect their staff, and completely avoid having buffets, salad bars, and shared drink stations. It also says that tables should be spaced at least six feet apart and encourages the use of digital apps to let diners know when their table is ready so they dont need to handle a buzzer device that may not be clean. Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, told AP, You can say that restaurants can open and you need to follow social-distancing guidelines. But restaurants want to know, What does that look like? States would like more guidance. Despite the White Houses best efforts, they now have it. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. Brevard man sentenced to prison in death of 4-year-old A 23-year-old Brevard man was sentenced to 23 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of a 4-year-old child in his care, District Attorney Greg Newman announced. Keyshawn Trekell Smith, of 50 Gregs Bluff Road, was indicted in 2018 for murder after the child died from trauma to his head. A report was made to Transylvania County EMS on May 4, 2018, regarding a severely injured child at 50 Gregs Bluff in Brevard. The Sheriffs Department also responded and the child was transported to Mission Hospital where he later died from his injuries. The autopsy at Wake Forest Baptist Medical determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the childs head. The defendant originally reported that the child, who was the son of the defendants girlfriend, climbed out of a window and fell several feet to the ground outside the house trailer. The defendant was babysitting three kids in the home while the mother was working. There was also a second adult male in the home at this time. Detectives with the Sheriffs Office investigated the defendants story and determined that the evidence was inconsistent with his version of events. The State Bureau of Investigation performed a luminol test for body fluids and found traces of blood in the bathroom. Smith is the biological father to two of the children in the home, but is not the father of the victim. I authorized the plea to second degree murder in this case because no one could explain to me what actually happened inside the home to the child, Newman said in a statement. Even the other adult in the home gave very little clarity about what occurred to the child. What we know for certain is that the 4-year-old was being supervised by the defendant and, during this time, sustained injuries to his head. We still have questions about what actually occurred, but I believe the defendant is responsible for the injuries to the child and I believe this plea holds him responsible. The childs mother is relieved that the case is not going to trial and she is very supportive of this outcome." Jim Santilli remembers gasping for air. Feeling like he was drowning. The cough. The racing heart rate. Doctors at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital told Santilli they were almost out of options as they tried treating the 38-year-old Bruce Township man for COVID-19 in March at the start of the coronavirus outbreak in Michigan. "Every minute felt like an hour," Santilli said. Hospital workers didnt give up on Santilli, giving him experimental treatments of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin. A couple days later, Santilli was healthy enough to go home. "After that, I spent 22 days in isolation here at home which wasn't enjoyable," Santilli said. "But at that point, I was thankful to be alive." Feeling better, Santilli wanted to find a way to thank the health care workers who helped save his life. He teamed up with Villa Penna a Macomb County restaurant and banquet facility to provide 400 meals of pasta and garlic bread to hospital workers. He delivered the meals himself, Wednesday, May 6, via helicopter. "I just thought it'd be something very unique, to fly it in and give them something to see and basically salute them for all the great work they're doing," Santilli said. All 400 meals didnt all fit in the helicopter, so the rest were delivered via truck. Dave Lawler, of the Macomb County Sheriff Aviation Unit, donated the use of his helicopter, piloting skills and fuel toward the cause which was dubbed Operation Macomb Strong. Lawler and Santilli flew the helicopter to the restaurant, then to the hospital where they were greeted by hospital workers. That was the best part, just seeing how happy they were, Santilli said. Theres no better feeling than giving back to the community Theyre putting their lives on the line and theyre doing it to help us. The chopper did a few fly-bys to salute the workers on its flight out, Santilli said. He hopes he can inspire others to show appreciation to the health care workers fighting to keep people alive. Theyre seeing a lot of suffering in there, Santilli said. Theyre true heroes. 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. Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces. Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus. Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus. Stories that highlight how our communities are Powering Positivity are being done in partnership with The MediLodge Group, which has skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities throughout Michigan. Related stories: Michigan hits 4,250 coronavirus deaths, more than all of Canada 5 reasons Michigan lawmakers are suing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Eight weeks after Michigans first coronavirus cases, an animated map tracks its spread through the state Michigans approach to reopening the economy: slow, steady and safe Coronavirus continues to disrupt mail service in parts of Michigan Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has sought a list on migrant labourers from Uttar Pradesh stranded in other states due to the COVID-19-induced lockdown and assured that they will all be brought back home. Adityanath said, till now, 37 trains have arrived in the state carrying over 30,000 migrant labourers. Besides them, last week over 30,000 labourers from Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh arrived in buses, he said, adding that in March last week over 4.5 lakh migrant labourers were brought to Uttar Pradesh. Between March 1 and March 15, two lakh labourers have arrived in the state, the chief minister said, according to an official spokesman. "The Uttar Pradesh government intends to bring back all its migrant labourers from other states and for this district-wise list has been sought from them," Adityanath said. "From the states, which are giving lists, we are immediately taking measures to bring them (migrants) back," he said. The chief minister said on Thursday, 20 trains are arriving in Uttar Pradesh from other states with migrant labourers while on Friday 25 to 30 trains will come "Over 10,000 buses of the (UPSRTC) Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation have been deployed to take them to their homes," he said. He said arrangements for medical examination and quarantine centres have been made for all those coming from other states, and they will be provided food packets and Rs 1,000. The state is also preparing "skilling data" of the labourers so that after they complete home quarantine, they can be given jobs accordingly, Adityanath said. "The capacity of quarantine centres in the state has now gone up to 12 lakh. For check-up of migrant labourers 50,000 medical teams have been constituted," he said, adding that district administrations have been asked to take care of all those coming from other states. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi, May 8 : National carrier Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express have embarked upon -- Vande Bharat Mission -- touted as one of the world's largest evacuation operations. Accordingly, the two airlines operated flights to UAE and Singapore from Cochin, Kozhikode and New Delhi. These were the first of 64 flights that the two airlines will operate from May 7-13 to bring back 14,800 stranded Indians from 12 countries. Overall, more than 190,000 Indian nationals, who would have to pay a one-way ferry service charge, are expected to be brought back in the airlift operation. In comparison, three decades ago, Air India led a group of airlines which included Indian Airlines and Aeroflot as well as IAF to rescue an estimated 111,711 Indians from the Gulf, after Iraq invaded Kuwait in the year 1990. The 59-day operation involved 488 flights and was conducted before the first Gulf war. This time, the exercise will encompass flights to the US in the West to Philippines in the East. On Thursday, Air India operated its first evacuation flights under India's "Vande Bharat Mission" from New Delhi to Singapore. Accordingly, the airline's Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft departed the national capital's IGI Airport around 11.30 p.m. The return flight is expected to reach back to New Delhi at 11.30 a.m. on Friday. The national passenger carrier's subsidiary Air India Express operated two flights from Kerala to Gulf on Thursday. Air India Express operated the Cochin-Abu Dhabi-Cochin and Kozhikode-Dubai-Kozhikode service. Besides the one-way ferry service, Air India has also invited passengers, who qualify under the government's new international travel norms to apply for passage from India to various destinations the airline will send its aircraft to conduct evacuation flights. India has commenced one of the world's largest air evacuation operations from May 7, when the two airlines will start the first phase of the mission. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed In a heartbreaking moment Wednesday, two San Antonio families recovered the remains of their deceased matriarchs one in a casket and the other in an urn after the bodies were somehow swapped during funeral services. It was a very, very, emotional day. There were a lot of tears and a lot of anguish, said Alex Katzman, an attorney representing the family of Rosita Esquivel, who said her body was wrongly placed in a casket for the rosary of Delores Gutierrez DeLeon, 78. It has been really hard on the family and is not the kind of shock that they are going to get over quickly. DeLeons family filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Castillo Mission Funeral Home, claiming the mortuary lost DeLeons body and tried to pass off another woman as that of their mother. Family members said funeral home staff couldnt say who the woman was, at one point insisting it was DeLeon. But a check for a prominent scar proved it wasnt DeLeon, the family claimed. The whereabouts of DeLeon were unknown, they said. Calls to the management of Castillo Mission Funeral Home have not been returned. The San Antonio Express-News published an article about DeLeon and posted a photo at expressnews.com of the mystery woman taken by DeLeons family; the family was hoping someone would identify the woman and perhaps that could help find DeLeon. Wednesday, the family of Esquivel, who died on April 23, the same day as DeLeon, identified the mystery woman as their mother. Katzman said Esquivels family gathered April 30 at a different funeral home to say goodbye to their deceased loved one, who had died from cancer April 23. When they saw the body in the casket, however, they didnt recognize the person there. But Funeral Caring USA assured family members that was their loved one and that she just looked different due to the makeup, Katzman said. So the family moved forward with the service and cremation, and received an urn of ashes. Wednesday, six days after the funeral, a neighbor sent a news article to the family about DeLeon. Attached to the article was a photo of Rosita Esquivel lying in state. Comparing the sequence of events later, it was determined that the day of Esquivels services, May 1, was the same day of DeLeons rosary. When the DeLeon family members looked in the casket just before the rosary was to begin, they were adamant that it was not the body of their matriarch. Funeral home staff insisted that the woman was DeLeon, forcing the family to check for a scar from DeLeons hip replacement surgery. There was no scar, said Mark Louis Greenwald, an attorney representing DeLeons family. San Antonio police were called, and the family reported that the body was missing. The family then revoked the cremation order and told the funeral home to keep the rosary body in a safe place so the person could be identified. After the neighbor provided the article and photo, the Esquivel family came forward saying the body was Rosita Esquivel. Family members went to the Castillo-Mission Funeral Home and were able to confirm it by identifying their mothers own surgical scars, Katzman said. The Esquivel family could only assume the urn of ashes they had been given were those of DeLeon, so they gave the urn to the DeLeon family. Funeral Caring USA was not immeidately available for comment Wednesday. Greenwald said the event was traumatic for both families and that now one family has lost its chance of paying last respects at a viewing while the other family will have to go through another funeral. They (DeLeon family members) are overjoyed that they got the remains back, but it wasnt from the help of any funeral homes, Greenwald said. It was because of the news and the lawyers. The COVID-19 Armenia Fact-Finding Group has posted the following on its Facebook page: The COVID-19 Armenia Fact-Finding Group calls on the Ministry of Finance to present a detailed report on the use of funds collected to combat the spread of the coronavirus. The bank account for financial assistance to the State through donations of natural persons and organizations, to prevent and overcome the spread of COVID-19 was opened on March 17. According to the data released by the Ministry of Finance, on April 28, as of 6:30 p.m. the entries comprised AMD 1,055,559,226, and there is a total number of 3,952 entries. The COVID-19 Armenia Fact-Finding Group has recorded that, to this day, the relevant bodies havent presented a full report on what the funds sent to the aforementioned account have been used for, how the process of procurement is going, which companies are selling the products, etc. The COVID-19 Armenia Fact-Finding Group has called on the Ministry of Finance to perform its duty and, maintaining the principle of transparency, present a detailed report on the use of collected funds and present the acquired products and services and the data regarding supplying companies. Long term investing works well, but it doesn't always work for each individual stock. It hits us in the gut when we see fellow investors suffer a loss. Spare a thought for those who held China Chuanglian Education Financial Group Limited (HKG:2371) for five whole years - as the share price tanked 91%. We also note that the stock has performed poorly over the last year, with the share price down 28%. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 14% in the last 90 days. Of course, this share price action may well have been influenced by the 8.4% decline in the broader market, throughout the period. While a drop like that is definitely a body blow, money isn't as important as health and happiness. See our latest analysis for China Chuanglian Education Financial Group China Chuanglian Education Financial Group isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth. In the last half decade, China Chuanglian Education Financial Group saw its revenue increase by 14% per year. That's a pretty good rate for a long time period. So it is unexpected to see the stock down 38% per year in the last five years. The market can be a harsh master when your company is losing money and revenue growth disappoints. The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail). SEHK:2371 Income Statement May 7th 2020 We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. This free interactive report on China Chuanglian Education Financial Group's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further. Story continues A Different Perspective While the broader market lost about 11% in the twelve months, China Chuanglian Education Financial Group shareholders did even worse, losing 28%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. However, the loss over the last year isn't as bad as the 38% per annum loss investors have suffered over the last half decade. We'd need to see some sustained improvements in the key metrics before we could muster much enthusiasm. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand China Chuanglian Education Financial Group better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 4 warning signs we've spotted with China Chuanglian Education Financial Group . China Chuanglian Education Financial Group is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on HK 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. Shelley Luther, the Dallas salon owner who was arrested earlier this week for violating a stay-at-home order by reopening her business, was released from jail on Thursday. Texas Governor Greg Abbott modified his COVID-19 executive orders earlier in the day, effectively setting Luther free. Luther was serving a seven-day jail sentence but only served about two days after she reopened her business nearly two weeks ago and publicly tore up a cease-and-desist letter ordering her to close. Abbott modified his orders on Thursday to eliminate confinement as a punishment for violating the order, specifically naming Luther in his announcement. A crowd of people greeted Luther as she exited jail on Thursday afternoon. The group held signs and balloons, and chanted "Shelley's free." An emotional Luther thanked her supporters, but said she "was a little overwhelmed." "I just want to thank all of you, who I just barely met and now you're all my friends," she said. "You mean so much to me, and this would have been nothing without you. Thank you so, so much." WATCH: The moment Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther was released from jail Thursday. She was met by a large crowd of supporters.FOR MORE: https://t.co/DmP1ydMzuH pic.twitter.com/C9jxwcu1ON CBSDFW (@CBSDFW) May 7, 2020 Abbott said in a press release Thursday that his modifications are being applied retroactively to April 2. He said the modified order "supersedes local orders and if correctly applied should free Shelley Luther." "Throwing Texans in jail who have had their businesses shut down through no fault of their own is nonsensical, and I will not allow it to happen," Abbott said in the release. "That is why I am modifying my executive orders to ensure confinement is not a punishment for violating an order." The Supreme Court of Texas ordered Luther's release soon after the governor's announcement, CBS Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate DFW reports. Story continues Abbott said his modification "may also ensure" the release of Ana Isabel Castro-Garcia and Brenda Stephanie Mata, who were arrested in Laredo, Texas, for allegedly advertising and providing cosmetic services inside their homes. "As some county judges advocate for releasing hardened criminals from jail to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it is absurd to have these business owners take their place," he said. The announcement followed a statement from the governor on Wednesday in which he voiced agreement with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who called for Luther's "immediate release." Paxton said he believed the judge that sentenced Luther was abusing his authority, and that her arrest seemed like a "political stunt." Virus Outbreak Texas Salon Salon owner Shelley Luther speaks to the media after she was released from jail in Dallas, Thursday, May 7, 2020. LM Otero / AP Abbott joined the Attorney General "in disagreeing with the excessive action by the Dallas Judge." The governor said arresting Texans for non-compliance "should always be the last available option." "Compliance with executive orders during this pandemic is important to ensure public safety; however, surely there are less restrictive means to achieving that goal than jailing a Texas mother," Abbott said. Other officials have backed Luther. Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick said he would cover a fine owed she owed, and a spokesperson for Patrick later confirmed he followed through on his pledge, CBS DFW reported. Luther also found an ally in Alaska's former governor. CBS DFW reported that Sarah Palin visited Luther's salon on Wednesday, posing for pictures with the salon's employees. The case has highlighted the tensions between people wanting to return to work and officials warning about the dangers of COVID-19. Texas recorded more than 2,000 coronavirus cases over May 2 and May 3 the most the state has seen in a two-day period since the coronavirus crisis started. As of Thursday, the state had 15,852 active coronavirus cases. Dallas County had the second-highest number of cases with 4,623, according to the state's department of health. Over 1,700 people are currently in the hospital due to the disease, and 948 deaths have been reported. Cuomo urges vigilance about symptoms in kids: "This is every parent's nightmare" Antibiotic resistance may rise after COVID-19, as doctors struggle to treat secondary infections Evidence revealed in notorious serial killer Israel Keyes case Sumedh Singh Saini Chandigarh: A case has been registered against former Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini. According to information received, Sumedh Singh Saini was trying to reach Himachal this morning but was turned away by the Himachal Police as he did not had the valid pass. File photoThe Punjab Police has registered a case against former Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini in connection with the disappearance of Balwant Singh Multani in 1991. Sumedh Saini was the senior police officer of Chandigarh at that time. Balwant Singh Multani was picked up by two officers after a terrorist attack on Sumedh Saini in Chandigarh in which four policemen were killed in his custody. Advertisement The case was registered under Sections 364 (kidnapping or abduction in order to murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 344 (wrongful confinement), 330 (voluntarily causing hurt to exhort confession) and 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy). PhotoThe Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had started an investigation against Saini in the case in 2007 on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court but it was later dismissed by the Supreme Court. BEIJING, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- 58.com Inc. (NYSE: WUBA) ("58.com" or the "Company"), China's largest online classifieds marketplace, today announced that Zhuan Zhuan, an online used goods trading platform and a consolidated subsidiary of 58.com, has entered into definitive agreements to acquire 100% equity interest in Shenzhen Wanshifu Technology Co., Ltd. ("Shenzhen Wanshifu Technology") with a combination of cash in the amount of RMB360 million and newly issued Zhuan Spirit Holdings Limited shares, Zhuan Zhuan's ultimate holding company. Shenzhen Wanshifu Technology operates the Zhaoliangji app (which translates into 'find nice phone'), an online platform for used mobile phones and accessories in China. The transactions contemplated under the definitive agreements are subject to customary closing conditions, and are currently expected to close in the coming months. If the transaction were to close pursuant to the terms in the definitive agreements, the Company's equity interest in Zhuan Spirit Holdings Limited would be diluted from 54.6% to less than 50% on fully diluted basis. 58.com is assessing the accounting impact of the proposed transactions, if closed. Mr. Michael Jinbo Yao, Chairman and CEO of 58.com, commented, "We believe that the combined horizontal and vertical model provides unparalleled strengths for classifieds marketplaces. We intend to replicate the proven success we had with the combination of 58.com, a horizontal classifieds and Anjuke, an online housing vertical acquired in 2015. We believe Zhuan Zhuan, a horizontal used goods platform, and Zhaoliangji, a used cell phone vertical, will create another powerful combination." Mr. Wei Huang, the CEO of Zhuan Zhuan, commented, "We'd like to warmly welcome Zhaoliangji's highly experienced and talented team to Zhuan Zhuan. Used cellphones are the third largest category in the second-hand market in China after secondary homes and pre-owned cars. Used cellphones in particular have a very low online penetration rate which creates enormous opportunities for growth. For Zhuan Zhuan, used cellphones have always been the most important category. Zhaoliangji, which launched around the same time Zhuan Zhuan did, has been very successful over the years. The combination will not only solidify our leading position in online used cellphone B2C and C2C models and also better position us to build a larger and more efficient ecosystem that covers more models such as C2B and B2B for used cellphones. Zhaoliangji's team as well as its offline inspection centers will integrate with Zhuan Zhuan's used cellphone team. We look forward to building our ecosystem to scale and creating future success together." About 58.com Inc. 58.com Inc. (NYSE: WUBA) operates China's largest online classifieds marketplace, as measured by monthly unique visitors on both its www.58.com website and mobile applications. The Company's online marketplace enables local business users and consumer users to connect, share information and conduct business. 58.com's broad, in-depth and high-quality local information, combined with its easy-to-use website and mobile applications, has made it a trusted marketplace for consumers. 58.com's strong brand recognition, large and growing user base, merchant network and massive database of local information create a powerful network effect. For more information on 58.com, please visit http://www.58.com. Safe Harbor Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements. 58.com may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Any statements that are not historical facts, including statements about 58.com's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements that involve factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, but not limited to the following: 58.com's goals and strategies; its future business development, financial condition and results of operations; its ability to retain and grow its user base and network of local merchants for its online marketplace; the growth of, and trends in, the markets for its services in China; the outbreak of COVID-19 or other health epidemics in China or globally; the demand for and market acceptance of its brand and services; competition in its industry in China; its ability to maintain the network infrastructure necessary to operate its website and mobile applications; relevant government policies and regulations relating to the corporate structure, business and industry; and its ability to protect its users' information and adequately address privacy concerns. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is current as of the date of the press release, and 58.com does not undertake any obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law. For more information, please contact: 58.com Inc. [email protected] Christensen In China Mr. Christian Arnell Phone: +86-10-5900-1548 E-mail: [email protected] In US Ms. Linda Bergkamp Phone: +1-480-614-3004 Email: [email protected] SOURCE 58.com Inc Related Links www.58.com Sweden has so far refused to impose the type of lockdown seen in other European countries, keeping many schools, restaurants and businesses open - Shutterstock The architect of Sweden's coronavirus strategy has claimed the UK's lockdown has been largely "futile" in containing the virus. Johan Giesecke, a state epidemiologist who advises the World Health Organisation, said the UK's death toll suggested instating harsh social restrictions was not the best method of tackling the pandemic. Sweden has so far refused to impose the type of lockdown seen in other European countries, keeping many schools, restaurants and businesses open. The UKs death toll is more than 10 times that of that in Sweden, where fewer than 3,000 people have been killed by Covid-19 to date. Referring to the high coronavirus death toll across UK care homes, Prof Giesecke said: "A hard lockdown does not protect old and frail people living in care homes a population the lockdown was designed to protect. "Neither does it decrease mortality from Covid-19, which is evident when comparing the UK's experience with that of other European countries." Britain's lockdown strategy "only pushes the severe cases into the future" and has not prevented them, Prof Gieseck argued, adding: "There is very little we can do to prevent this spread. A lockdown might delay severe cases for a while but, once restrictions are eased, cases will reappear." He said most people infected with Covid-19 are healthy and young, and it is in this section of the population that the "real pandemic" is occurring. Despite resisting strict lockdown measures, Sweden's Public Health Institute estimated that the country's 'R' number the number of people each infected person passes the virus to fell from 1.4 at the start of April to 0.85 at the end of the month. Professor Giesecke has previously been critical of the pandemic modelling produced by the Imperial College London team led by Professor Neil Ferguson. He suggested Prof Ferguson's projected death tolls were too pessimistic and rejected suggestions that Sweden will see a mounting mortality rate, saying in a Swedish newspaper interview: "On the contrary, I think it will go down." Clarification: An earlier version of this article said Imperial College researchers predicted that Sweden's approach would leave it with an R of above three, leading to 40,000 coronavirus deaths by May 1. Imperial researchers did not estimate death figures. Instead, Paul Franks, a professor of epidemiology at Lund University, took the Imperial model and made calculations on fatalities. This paragraph has been removed and we apologise for the earlier confusion. The government on Thursday cancelled three trains which were to bring stranded people from Surat in Gujarat after the Orissa High Court suggested that the state ensure that only those tested negative for COVID-19 are allowed to return. Three trains were scheduled to bring over 3,000 people from Surat to Odisha on Friday. "However, we have asked the district magistrate of Surat to cancel the three Odisha bound trains tomorrow," a senior official said. So far 13 trains including 12 from Surat have brought people to Odisha and four others are on their way to the state. Officials said at least 4,225 people, who were stranded in other states due to the ongoing nationwide lockdown, returned to Odisha on Thursday. So far, 39,765 people have returned to Odisha by train, bus or other vehicles. Earlier, while adjudicating over a PIL, the Orissa High Court said, The state government should ensure that all the migrants who are in the queue to come to Odisha should be tested negative for COVID-19 before boarding the conveyance." A division bench comprising Justice Kumari Sanju Panda and Justice K R Mohapatra, however, has not specified whether the state government would ensure the corona status of the returnees through laboratory tests or thermal screening tests. Social activist Narayan Chandra Jena had written a letter to the high court on May 1 seeking judicial intervention for ensuring that corona inflicted migrant workers are not allowed to enter the state by the government. The letter was converted to a PIL on May 4 and the petitioner appeared in person to argue the case on Thursday. The bench adjourned the matter till the next sitting of the bench. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The gas leak at the Visakhapatnam polymers plant that killed at least eight people is now under control, the units' South Korean parent firm LG Chem said on Thursday. LG Chem, which operates the plant, said it is cooperating with Indian authorities to help residents and employees. "The gas leakage is now under control, but the leaked gas can cause nausea and dizziness, so we are investing every effort to ensure proper treatment is provided swiftly," LG Chem said in a statement. The firm is looking into what caused the leak of styrene monomer gas, which is used for producing plastic. "We are investigating the extent of damage and the exact cause of the leak and deaths," it added in a statement. Stating that the plant operations were suspended because of coronavirus lockdown at the time of the accident, the firm said none of the LG Chem's employees have died in the accident. LG Chem said it was seeking to ensure casualties received treatment quickly. Company staff reportedly inspecting machines to restart the factory noticed the leak and raised an alarm. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands, May 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aura Minerals Inc. (TSX: ORA) (Aura or the Company) today provided an update on the current status of operations at its properties in light of, as well as initiatives it is undertaking in response to, the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic (the Pandemic). Aura remains committed through the Pandemic to uphold its most important values, which, under the 360 Mining concept, include its commitment to act responsibly, to continue to build respectful and sustainable relationships with the communities around which it operates and to meet the highest safety standards for its employees. Through the Pandemic to date, Aura has undertaken a wide range of measures not only to help curtail the spread of COVID-19, but also to actively contribute to improving conditions for the surrounding communities where it operates. San Andres Mine in Honduras As previously announced, mining operations at San Andres were interrupted pursuant to orders of the Honduran government in response to the Pandemic and Aura has reduced its workforce to the minimum in order to maintain tailings and continue to satisfy environmental requirements in connection with operations and other critical activities at the mine. On May 3, 2020, the Honduran government issued a new order in which it extended its previously-issued decree until May 17, 2020. At this time, the Company expects that the interruption at San Andres will have a material impact on the Companys financial performance during the first half of 2020, and will keep the market informed on a timely basis. Notwithstanding its operational challenges, Aura has continued to give back to the local community, having donated food to more than 1,000 families, medicine and medical supplies to 6 local health centers, biosafety equipment to 8 health control checkpoints and other donations of personal protective equipment to the national police force, local reporters and nursing homes, among others. Meanwhile, together with local community leadership, authorities, our employees and other local businesses, Aura has been working on a detailed plan for the gradual and safe restart of operational activities when permitted. Aura has also implemented a series of measures to ensure safe conditions for our workers and restricted high-risk individuals from entering the site, including the provision of health questionnaires, temperature scanning, mandatory quarantine for high-risk individuals and the development of a software tracking system that will provide reliable information on interactions among employees at the site called Aura Tracker. Aranzazu Mine in Mexico On March 31, 2020, the Mexican government issued a decree requiring the suspension of all non-essential activities in the private and public sectors until April 30, 2020, which has since been extended until May 30, 2020, but which could be anticipated to May 18, 2020 to municipalities with low or no cases, what is, to date, the case of the municipality where our operation is located. The decree allows businesses to maintain critical activities which, if interrupted, could result in potentially irreversible damage that prevents their further continuation. Accordingly, the Company suspended all non-essential operations at Aranzazu while maintaining only critical activities which are required to prevent safety and/or environmental risks from materializing and potentially irreversible damage occurring that could prevent our operations from continuing. Despite these operational restrictions, there has not been a material impact on the mines operational or financial performance to date due to accumulated inventory at the site. Aura continues to monitor the situation closely and will keep the market informed on a timely basis. In addition to implementing all measures required by the governmental decree, the Company has also helped implement measures together with municipal authorities for Concepcion del Oro such as a screening checkpoint for all those entering the city and contracting the local workforce to produce additional face masks for ongoing essential activities. In addition, Aura is assisting with other initiatives designed to support the community in this difficult time, including by providing canteens, transportation vehicles and health questionnaires, facilitating temperature scanning and the use of screening checkpoints, hiring additional medical personnel and supplying COVID-19 test kits. Ernesto/Pau-a -Pique Mine in Brazil Our Ernesto/Pau-a-Pique mine has been allowed to continue operations as governmental authorities have deemed mining as an essential industry. Despite this, the broader Pandemic impact has led to certain shipping delays and the need to establish new export routes for product coming out of the mine, which has been resolved to date. Aura continues to monitor the situation closely and does not anticipate there will be a material impact on the mines expected operational or financial performance as the second quarter of 2020 progresses. In addition, Aura has implemented a series of initiatives to reduce risks among its employees at the mine, which includes the implementation of Aura Tracker; reducing its workforce on site by 20% and allowing such personnel to work from home, increasing the number of buses transporting employees to allow for a 50% reduction in seats, acquiring 2,000 COVID-19 test kits and mandating the use of masks on site at the mine. In addition, Aura extended its work with local communities and has donated masks and gloves to the state police force and personnel at the local detention center, in addition to purchasing 6,000 masks from local projects which were also donated and distributed to families in need, among other initiatives. Auras Other Projects and Personnel At this time, our exploration activities for the Almas, Matupa and Gold Road projects have not been materially disrupted as a result of the Pandemic, and Aura continues, at a reduced workforce, to conduct exploration work at these properties while complying with all applicable regulations and undertaking measures necessary to ensure a safe work environment for employees and contractors. With respect to the Gold Road mine in the United States, Aura has promoted social distancing and implemented a work from home policy for those able to perform their jobs outside the mine site. In addition, Aura has implemented extensive cleaning services, banned in-person meetings with large groups and implemented measures to restrict high-risk individuals from entering the site. Once in production, Aura will implement additional measures consistent with those already implemented at our producing properties if still required in response to the Pandemic. Liquidity Although the operational challenges arising from the Pandemic have negatively impacted cash flows, Auras solid capital structure and strong working relationships with financial institutions in the jurisdictions in which it operates has allowed the Company to maintain strong liquidity through the Pandemic. Rodrigo Barbosa, the Companys President and CEO, said: Aura Minerals, and our families, are aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on our communities, our stakeholders and the world as a whole. Moreover, the mining sector, in most cases, involves working in remote areas among communities with poor access to basic infrastructure, education and health resources, and such access has been further constrained by the COVID-19 situation. Our priority today lies with keeping our people safe, with the communities in which we work, and in doing our part to help them. That being said and although we have been impacted by this pandemic, we find ourselves to be fortunate enough to have the team and the financial resources that we do such that our cash position remains strong. Aura has been, and will continue, supporting these stakeholders to the best of our abilities. We remain active in our communities and are reaching out in each one, doing what we can to provide support and assistance. We will work together as one, seeking to apply best practices and procedures and find the best solutions to challenges that arise through this difficult experience and, together, we will all get through this. Forward-Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, as defined in applicable securities laws (collectively, forward-looking statements) which include, but are not limited to, the duration or extent of the restrictions and suspensions imposed by governmental authorities as a result of the Pandemic, and the effect that any such restrictions or suspensions may have on our operations and our financial and operational results; the ability of the Company to successfully maintain operations at its producing assets, or to restart these operations efficiently or economically, or at all; the impact of the Pandemic on our workforce, suppliers and other essential resources and what effect those impacts, if they occur, would have on our business; and the ability of the Company to continue as a going concern. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the Companys ability to predict or control, including any changes to the conditions and limitations imposed by governmental authorities in response to the Pandemic and the duration of such conditions or limitations, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Specific reference is made to the most recent Annual Information Form on file with certain Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities for a discussion of some of the factors underlying forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements herein are qualified by this cautionary statement. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. If the Company does update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that it will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. About Aura 360 Mining Aura is focused on mining in complete terms thinking holistically about how its business impacts and benefits every one of our stakeholders: our company, our shareholders, our employees, and the countries and communities we serve. We call this 360 Mining. Aura is a mid-tier gold and copper production company focused on the development and operation of gold and base metal projects in the Americas. The Companys producing assets include the San Andres gold mine in Honduras, the Ernesto/Pau-a -Pique gold mine in Brazil, the Aranzazu copper-gold-silver mine in Mexico and one pre-operational gold mine in the United States, Gold Road. In addition, the Company has two additional gold projects in Brazil, Almas and Matupa, and one gold project in Colombia, Tolda Fria. For further information, please visit Auras website at www.auraminerals.com or contact: Rodrigo Barbosa President & CEO 305-239-9332 Groove.co Logo We believe that sales engagement will become a multi-billion-dollar market. Successful expansion into account executives will open the enterprise market for these platforms. - Craig Rosenberg, chief analyst and co-founder, TOPO Research Groove, a leading sales engagement platform for account-based revenue teams, today announced that they have secured $12 million in Series A funding, bringing total investment in the company to $16 million. This funding round welcomed new investors Level Equity and Capital One Ventures, who join existing investors Uncork Capital and Quest Venture Partners in supporting Grooves unique market position as the only sales engagement platform optimized to meet the customization and security requirements of enterprise revenue teams. Grooves Series A round was led by Level Equity. We believe that sales engagement will become a multi-billion-dollar market, said Craig Rosenberg, chief analyst and co-founder of TOPO Research. Until now, the sales engagement market has been concentrated in the tech industry and focused on the prospecting use case. Other industries dont have sales development teams dedicated solely to prospecting, but they do have thousands of sales reps trying to engage with their customers. Successful expansion into account executives will open the enterprise market for these platforms. We are seeing this trend accelerate post COVID-19 as companies that have been slower to adopt remote working technologies are forced to embrace digital transformation. Groove is unique in that it is the only sales engagement platform that was built specifically for account executives, focusing on ease-of-use, advanced activity capture, and cross-team collaboration. The platform can also be configured to meet the complex requirements of different divisions and organizations within an enterprise and leads the industry with a unique architecture that ensures the highest levels of security and compliance. This strategic approach has resulted in Grooves rapid adoption by some of the worlds fast-growing companies and traditional enterprises, including Google, Uber, Atlassian, BBVA, and Veola Water. Grooves platform has been so well received that it has earned the highest customer satisfaction rating on G2 in the sales engagement category for two years running. When evaluating Groove as an investment, we felt that the company was poised to be the clear category winner, said George McCulloch, partner, Level Equity. The sales engagement space is thriving right now, and Grooves focus on supporting sophisticated AE use-cases and complex enterprise environments is setting them apart from the rest of the pack. As enterprises in new industries continue to adopt sales engagement platforms to make their revenue teams more productive, they will quickly see the unique advantages that Groove offers in terms of internal adoption, customization, and security. CAPITAL ONE COMES ON BOARD AS CUSTOMER AND INVESTOR Recent customer wins include Capital One, which implemented Groove to empower its field sales reps with productivity tools, while providing sales leadership with real-time visibility into their daily sales activities and performance. The success of the implementation drew the attention of additional business lines and the companys investment division, Capital One Ventures, who participated in the round. Groove has grown 103% year over year on average in a largely organic way and has invested deeply in product and engineering up until this point. This funding round enables us to drive greater awareness of our unique market position and competitive differentiation, said Chris Rothstein, CEO of Groove. Sales engagement platforms consistently rank as the number one most impactful sales technology investment that a company can make, and we are poised to lead the categorys expansion with a broad range of capabilities beyond the prospecting use case. ABOUT GROOVE Groove is a sales engagement platform that automates non-sales activities so that sales teams can spend more time building relationships and generating revenue. Groove eliminates the need for CRM data entry and provides managers with real-time visibility into activity levels and performance, regardless of location. Groove also has the industrys only native Salesforce integration, which reduces administrative overhead by as much as 90%. Over 50,000 account executive, sales development, and customer success representatives use Groove at some of the worlds largest and fastest-growing companies, including Google, Uber, Atlassian, and Capital One. Groove has earned the highest customer satisfaction rating on G2 in the sales engagement category for two years running. Groove was named one of Inc. Magazines Best Workplaces 2020 and is one of the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing privately held companies in the U.S. Groove also ranks #14 on the San Francisco Business Times' "fastest-growing private companies in the Bay Area in 2019." Founded in 2014, Groove is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in San Diego and Seattle. To learn more, visit groove.co. Ohio's Republican governor, Mike DeWine, has come in for well deserved criticism from conservatives for his lockdown policies. But the governor is doing one thing right: he's cutting the state's $32.4-billion budget, which by law has to be balanced, by $775 million. This is the direct result of the precipitous drop in the state's income and sales tax receipts upon which much of Ohio's budget relies. The income and sales tax sources are obviously dependent on employment and commercial activity, and both have been severely diminished by the lockdown. Here is where the cuts are coming from, according to the Plain Dealer. The cuts include $300 million reduction in K12 public school funding, $210 million from Medicaid and $110 million from college and university funding, DeWine said. DeWine said all state agencies will see their budgets cut, adding up to $100 million, except for the state Department of Corrections, which operates the prisons. DeWine is not tapping the state's $2.7-billion rainy day fund at this time, saying it will be needed in the future. True enough, as the fiscal year ends on June 30, which means that Ohio will enter the next budget year needing to address another revenue shortage. This seems like a prudent approach. Liberals disagree. The leftist Policy Matters Ohio says that instead of the cuts, the rainy day fund should be used and tax breaks for businesses should be eliminated. Yes, that's the ticket for recovery: kick small business when they're down. Nonetheless, DeWine is likely to get his way on the budget, as Republicans have strong majorities in both houses of Ohio's Legislature. It should be noted that DeWine's proposed cuts fall more heavily on the Democrat constituency than the Republican one. This is not out of any vindictiveness on DeWine's part. By any measure, the man is a moderate. Rather, it's because when government budgets need to be significantly cut, that's where the money is. The Democrats are the party of government, after all. It will be interesting to see how other states handle the hits their budgets will take as a result of the Wuhan virus. I suspect that the blue states will run to Washington while the red ones will mostly try to address the problem as best as they can. We'll know soon enough. President Xi Jinping has cautioned people against complacency over the declining trend of coronavirus cases in the country as China on Thursday downgraded COVID-19 risk levels in all regions, signalling its successful containment. All regions in China have seen their risk level downgraded to the lowest level starting Thursday, state-run China Daily reported. China has already reduced risk levels in Hubei province and its capital Wuhan -- the epicentres of the virus, while business and factories across the country have resumed operations. China's National Health Commission (NHC) on Thursday said while no new domestically transmitted coronavirus case was reported on Wednesday, two imported cases were detected. Hubei province and its capital Wuhan, which were free from new coronavirus cases for the last 33 days, reported six asymptomatic cases on Wednesday, taking the total number of such patients in the province to 626, the local health commission 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 The total number of asymptomatic patients in the country now stands at 880. Asymptomatic cases refer to people who are tested COVID-19 positive but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. However, they pose a risk of spreading the disease to others. No new fatalities were reported on Wednesday and the death toll in China remained at 4,633, the NHC said. The total number of COVID-19 cases in China now stands at 82,885, it said. Meanwhile, President Xi in a meeting with the central guiding group for novel coronavirus prevention and control cautioned people against lowering their guard following the declining trend of the coronavirus cases in the country. Addressing the meeting on Thursday, Xi said the spread of the virus overseas has not been effectively curbed yet and cluster cases were reported in a few areas in China, posing considerable uncertainty to the epidemic control. The epidemic prevention and control measures in Hubei should not be relaxed, Xi said. Praising the work of the central guiding group, he said it has spared no effort to curb the spread of the virus and worked hard to build a strong first line of defence, making important contributions to winning the people's war against the epidemic. The group, headed by Premier Li Keqiang, spearheaded the fight against the COVID-19 since January fourth week. Last month, China had announced to hold its annual parliament session from May 22, signalling that the pandemic which paralysed the country for over three months is finally under control. The session was earlier scheduled to be held from March 5 and got postponed for the first time due to the coronavirus outbreak. The annual session of the national advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), is also expected to be held in Beijing on May 21. China's GDP took the worst hit since the disastrous Cultural Revolution in 1976, plummeting by 6.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 as a result of the pandemic. President Xi was reported to have said recently that the country must get ready for unprecedented external adversity and challenges in the long run over COVID-19 crisis. China is also fighting back mounting calls for an international enquiry into the origin of coronavirus and allegation that the COVID-19 broke out from Wuhan Institute of Virology, the country's premier lab researching a host of viruses. US President Donald Trump has accused China for failing to tame the coronavirus at its very origin, saying it has led to 184 countries "going through hell. For its part, China is stonewalling any international enquiry asserting that the origin of the virus is a matter of science and should be studied by scientists and professionals and such investigations into the pandemics in the past have not achieved any conclusive results. However, amid the global criticism, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recently praised China for handling the coronavirus pandemic and said the countries need to learn from Wuhan on how the epicentre of the virus was bringing the society back to normal. Ian Paisley has asked the government how it aims to help people flying from Northern Ireland to London. The North Antrim MP - who has flown to London to work at Westminster during the pandemic - had previously said it is the "height of lunacy" to cut flights between Northern Ireland and Great Britain to help combat the spread of coronavirus. Speaking in the Commons yesterday, Mr Paisley asked Business Minister Paul Scully: "Can the minister tell us what guidelines will he put in place, and the government put in place, to assist necessary workers and passengers travelling from Northern Ireland to London on airlines?" he asked. Mr Scully replied: "In part of giving confidence to people to return to work, clearly it is also important to give people the confidence to be able to travel to and from various parts of the UK to be able to work as well and that's why this process will also look at transport." Mr Paisley was speaking after controversy over an Aer Lingus flight on a London-bound flight from Belfast. A passenger took photos of the packed cabin in which passengers sat beside each other, with no social distancing. He said any call for flights between Northern Ireland and Great Britain to be stopped would be "the height of lunacy. The alternative is that we do not leave Northern Ireland ever. Total reassurance cannot be given," he said. Imperial Valley News Center President Regarding Veto of S.J. Res. 68 Washington, DC - Yesterday, I vetoed S.J. Res. 68, which purported to direct me to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces in hostilities against Iran. This was a very insulting resolution, introduced by Democrats as part of a strategy to win an election on November 3 by dividing the Republican Party. The few Republicans who voted for it played right into their hands. In addition, S.J. Res. 68 is based on misunderstandings of facts and law. Contrary to the resolution, the United States is not engaged in the use of force against Iran. Four months ago, I took decisive action to eliminate Qassem Soleimani while he was in Iraq. Iran responded by launching a series of missiles at our forces stationed in Iraq. No one was killed by these attacks. Further, the strike against Soleimani was fully authorized by law, including by the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 and Article II of the Constitution. Finally, S.J. Res. 68 would have greatly harmed the Presidents ability to protect the United States, its allies, and its partners. The resolution implies that the Presidents constitutional authority to use military force is limited to defense of the United States and its forces against imminent attack. That is incorrect. We live in a hostile world of evolving threats, and the Constitution recognizes that the President must be able to anticipate our adversaries next moves and take swift and decisive action in response. Thats what I did! Congress should not have passed this resolution. A Chief Magistrates Court in Kafanchan, Kaduna State, on Thursday ordered that a 29-year-old man, Christopher Dauda, be remanded in a correctional centre for allegedly burning his mother-in-laws house. The police charged Dauda with criminal trespass, mischief by fire with intent to destroy a house and attempt to commit culpable homicide. Chief Magistrate Abdulaziz Ibrahim, ordered that the accused be remanded in the Kafanchan Correctional facility. Ibrahim adjourned the case until May 20, for further mention. Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel, Insp. Esther Bishen, told the court that the complaint, Asabe Andrew, who lives in Manchok, reported the matter at the Kaura Police Division on May 5. Bishen said that the complainant, who is the mother-in-law of the accused, alleged some people entered her house, locked the doors and set it ablaze while her son asleep in the building. She said that the complainant lost a leather carpet, bedsheets and other valuables worth N57, 000. The prosecution alleged that the accused was behind the crime because he threatened to deal with his mother-in-law for no just cause. When the charges were read to the accused, he pleaded not guilty. The prosecutor prayed for an adjournment to enable the Police to complete investigations into the matter. The offence, she said, contravened the provisions of sections 327, 322 and 189 of the Penal Code of Kaduna State, 2017. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates The U.S. Postal Service is increasingly in peril with over $78 billion in losses since 2007 and will require congressional action to remain afloat, according to a new multiyear audit conducted by the Government Accountability Office. The audit, a copy of which was obtained by National Review, states that USPSs current business model is not financially sustainable, and lays out three main issues: shrinking mail volumes, higher employee compensation and benefits, and increasing levels of unfunded liabilities. Absent congressional action on critical foundational elements of the USPS business model, USPSs mission and financial solvency are increasingly in peril, it states. USPSs growing difficulties to provide universal postal service in a financially self-sustaining matter provide Congress with the need to consider fundamental reform of the entire framework of postal services in the United States. The report began in October 2018 after requests from Senator Ron Johnson (R., Wisc.) and Representative Jim Jordan (R., Ohio), and lays out a number of areas to address, including redefining USPSs required universal services, determining to what extent the organization should be financially self-sustainable, and whether its status independent establishment of the executive branch should be reassessed. While the organization was restructured by the Postal and Enhancement Act (PAEA) in 2006, the GAO states that those reforms, which allowed the Postal Service to change postal rates, have been rendered ineffective by declining mail volumes, particularly that of first-class mail. The Postal Service has been unable to control rising compensation and benefits, which represents approximately 75 percent of total costs, due to high levels of unionized bargaining power that significantly inhibit by the collective bargaining process, as well as statutory rules that govern employee pay and benefits. It also had approximately $119 billion in unpaid health and pension requirements in 2019, with the Postal Service delaying payments to minimize the risk of running out of cash. Story continues The report also cited legal analysis from the National Bankruptcy Conferences that concluded federal bankruptcy laws do not apply to USPS. Jordan, ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement that the report reiterates what many of us have known for a long time. The Postal Services business model is failing and simply throwing more of taxpayers hard-earned money at them wont fix their problems, Jordan said. If Congress is going to be asked to get the Postal Service out of yet another fiscal jam, we owe it to the American people to make sure we arent just setting them up for yet another bailout the next time theres an emergency. The USPS needs to be a self-sufficient, competitive enterprise, and a legislative overhaul for the long-term is the only way to make it one. Treasury Department and the Postal Service are currently locked in negotiation over a $10 billion line of credit that was included in the Senates phase-three coronavirus relief package that passed in March. On Wednesday, the Postal Services board of governors announced that Louis DeJoy, head of fundraising for the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, will serve as the new postmaster general. The move comes after Trump has long criticized the Postal Service for not raising its shipping prices and for undercharging Amazon, including calling the organization a joke last month and saying he could block the emergency loan unless it raised its price of a package by approximately four times. For whatever reason, you can imagine, they dont want to insult Amazon and these other groups, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. If they dont raise the price, Im not signing anything. The New York Times reported Thursday that Amazon and other online retailers have launched a seven-figure advertising spree to push back on the presidents threats. Democrats have said they want to include $25 billion in additional Postal Service funding for the next round of coronavirus relief legislation. More from National Review Smartphones keep on getting more and more expensive. Price tags of around $1,000 have become a standard for mainstream flagship smartphones. Many people are not ready to pay that, however. Many people dont even want nor need flagship phones. Okay, what about phones at $500-600? Well, some people are not willing to go that high either, and some are not able to even if they wanted to. Thats why we have budget phones in play, and HONOR has been one of the main brands in the low and mid-range category for years now. HONORs newest phones come without Google services, though, so keep that in mind. More on that later. Were here to talk about one of the companys budget phones, the HONOR 9X Pro. If youre not willing to pay over $300 / 300 for a smartphone, this device may be right for you. The HONOR 9X Pro is now available in a number of markets with a price tag of around 250. It doesnt really get lower than that if you want a truly capable smartphone, and want to save as much cash as possible. In this article / review, well take a closer look at the HONOR 9X Pro, to see what it has to offer. No display notch / hole + thin bezels = a win The design of this phone is what struck me the most, having its price tag in mind. This phone does not have a display camera hole nor display notch, while it retains thin bezels. Its bottom bezel is thicker than all the others, but not by much. How can it achieve that without having a display notch or hole? Well, it includes a pop-up selfie camera. This is a setup weve seen on a number of phones, but you wouldnt expect it on such an affordable device. The rest of this phones design does not disappoint either. Advertisement The phone is made out of metal and glass. One would expect polycarbonate build at this price tag, but HONOR disagrees. There are two color variants, Midnight Black and Phantom Purple. We, luckily, received the latter for our review unit. This variant is far more striking. Its back side reflects light in a really interesting way. Weve included some images in the gallery down below for you to see for yourself. The phone fits really well in the hand, though its not small, it cant be with such a large display. It is curved on the back, and its quite ergonomic. The HONOR 9X Pro is not exactly light, though. It weighs 206 grams. That is to be expected considering its size and build materials, this weight is actually a good thing. There are three cameras on the back of this phone. All three are placed inside the same camera module, and are vertically aligned. That camera module sits in the top-left corner of the phones back side. A capacitive fingerprint scanner is a part of this phone as well, and its located on the right side. The device even includes a 3.5mm headphone jack, believe it or not. All in all, HONOR did a great job designing the HONOR 9X Pro. Id be happy with this design even if the phone cost way more, so color me impressed. Advertisement It includes an IPS LCD panel, but the display is not bad at all The HONOR 9X Pro features a 6.67-inch fullHD+ (2340 x 1080) LTPS IPS LCD display. This display offers a 19.5:9 aspect ratio, and it is flat. Is it any good, though? Well yes, it is. Do not expect flagship-grade quality, or OLED blacks, and youll be perfectly fine with it. The display is quite bright, and the colors are good. Theyre not extremely vivid or anything of the sort, but theyre good enough. Blacks are not as deep as on OLED panels, and weve seen better representations on LCD panels as well, but not by much. HONOR basically included the best possible display to balance quality and price tag here. This is a really capable display, and nothing to scoff at, and it was quite affordable. During the duration of this review, please keep in mind this phones price tag, you cant really expect a better display here. This panel was used in higher-end phones for a long time, and you wont have any issues with it unless you turn to nitpicking. Its quite sharp, and you wont notice any pixelation on it. Advertisement The performance is excellent, amongst the best in this class So, is the performance any good? Many people would say not, due to this phones price tag. Well, you may be surprised. Now, the HONOR 9X Pro actually performs really well. The Kirin 810 is still a really good chip, while the phones other specs are nothing to scoff at. Throw in HONORs EMUI 10 and its optimizations to the table, and you have a really good-performing device. Do not expect apps to load as fast as they would on a flagship smartphone. Also, some games may not run at full power, but this phone is more than capable of running games as well. Multitasking is really fast, while we did not notice any significant lag either. The phone did skip a bit from time to time, but that was to be expected. For the most part, the performance was great, and for the vast majority of people, this is all the power they need, really. We were able to do everything with this phone, well, everything as far as performance goes. Everything we would do on any other smartphone. Advertisement The bottom line is, if youre worried about the HONOR 9X Pro performance, dont be. This phone could be a great option for you if you dont want to spend more than 250. It could also be a great option for your kid, your parents, or whoever else is not too demanding when it comes to technology. The HONOR 9X Pro provides a truly excellent battery life Battery life is one of the strongest aspects of the HONOR 9X Pro. This phone offers excellent battery life, to say the least. It comes with a 4,000mAh battery on the inside, which is more than enough for its large 60Hz display. HONORs EMUI optimizations, plus the Kirin 810 work great and dont drain the battery at all. Google services are not included here, so thats probably yet another benefit for the overall battery life. In my testing, this phone is great even for heavy use during the day. Im a power user, and in terms of performance and battery life, this phone hasnt let me down once. I was constantly getting over 8 hours of screen-on-time, even in a 2-day period. So if you use your phone around 4-5 hours a day, chances are this will be a 2-day phone for you. For me, its a one day phone, as I almost always go above 6 hours of screen-on-time on a given day. Regardless, I always ended up with plenty of juice left in the tank. Im not big on gaming, but I did play some games just for this review. You can check out some battery stats down below. Advertisement Now, in terms of charging, this phone offers 10W wired charging. That is not exactly fast, but you cant really ask for much more at this price tag. This phones battery life is so good, that youll be able to charge it over night without a problem, even during most hectic days. The phone does not support wireless charging, nor reverse wireless charging, so keep that in mind. Cameras are not great in low light, but theyre good enough otherwise Cameras on 250 smartphones are not that good, usually. Well, youd be glad to hear that the HONOR 9X Pro is above average in that regard, though not great overall. Do not expect a flagship-grade performance out of this smartphone, but it can take some good looking photos. In good lighting, this phones images can look good. That 48-megapixel camera sensor on the back can capture enough detail, while it also does a decent job with the dynamic range as well. The camera tends to oversaturate pictures, though, especially red colors, as you can see below but for the most part, the phone does a good job in daylight. Advertisement Low light scenarios are where the HONOR 9X Pro struggles In low light, however, things are not as great. The HONOR 9X Pro is capable of capturing a good shot, but it all depends on the scene. The phone tends to lose a lot of detail in low light, and it also sometimes struggles with street lights, it overblows them but interestingly enough, not always. Another issue is with noise, theres lots of it in low light. Luckily, HONOR included a night mode in this camera, which can help immensely in low light conditions. Images still wont look great, but they will at least look better than in auto mode, and will be brighter as well, as long as the scene is not too dark. If it ends up being too dark, the HONOR 9X Pro tends to struggle with focusing on objects. The phone can shoot fullHD video at 30fps, so dont count on 60fps video here, nor 4K. That is to be expected considering its price, however. If youre into selfies, well, youll be glad to know that the camera on the front is not bad. It can take okay-looking selfies. Its not the best around, but its one of the best in this price range, thats for sure. There are quite a few software additions that you can play around with, in the camera app. Even if you leave things on default settings, youll be able to get a good shot more often than not. The video is good enough. its quite stable, though not the most stable weve seen, not even close. It does a good job in terms of image quality, though. Advertisement This camera is more than good enough for video chatting as well. Its a 26mm wide-angle lens, and even though wed wish for it to be even wider, this will do the trick. Ive seen a lot worse-performing selfie cameras in phones at this price range. So, all in all, the HONOR 9X Pro may not have stellar cameras, but it does have plenty to offer for the price. Camera samples on Flickr Audio is good in general, though the earpiece is a bit muffled Lets touch on the call quality first, shall we. Ive tested out the phones earpiece and microphone with several people during the review period. Each of them said that I sound muffled. That could indicate an issue with the microphone on the phone. They could hear me fine, but the sound was more muffled than what theyre used to. it is possible that is the issue with my phone specifically, but its worth noting. Ive wanted to experience it for myself, so I decided to be on the receiving end of it, and it does sound a bit muffled. As I said, its perfectly usable, but just note it. Now, in terms of audio in general. The HONOR 9X Pro comes with a single speaker on the bottom. That speaker is not half bad, but its not as good as some single-speakers on flagship phones, while it cannot hold a candle to stereo speakers. Truth be said, for what youre paying for the device, the speaker is more than serviceable. I did notice some distortion on higher volumes, while its not as crisp as Id like it to be, but as I said, Im used to far more expensive devices, so thats no indication. The speaker is more than fine. In terms of audio through headphones, well, its good. Its not great, its excellent, its good. Youll be getting good sound across the spectrum, that goes for lows, mids, and highs. I wasnt overly impressed with either, but wasnt disappointed either. I did notice a bit of bass in there, which is a good thing. EMUI 10 runs great on this phone, though the lack of apps could be an issue for some When it comes to software, theres plenty to say. Most of it has to do with app availability, and the whole Google situation. Before we get into it, though, lets first talk about EMUI as a separate entity. The HONOR 9X Pro runs EMUI 10, the latest version of Huaweis Android OS / skin. EMUI 10 is better than ever, its easily the best iteration ever. Its fast, its smooth, the animations are spot on, and it looks good. This may not be everyones cup of tea, but in combination with the Kirin 810, and Android 10, it worked great on the phone. Considering the price of this phone, not many people would expect such performance, but the HONOR 9X Pro delivers. There are still some kinks in EMUI in regards to app management in the background, but theyre far less noticeable than before, and quite frankly, many of you wont even notice anything. Googles apps are not included That being said, lets talk more about the apps situation, shall we. As many of you already know, Huawei has been banned by the US from doing business with companies from the US, well, not all of them the situation is quite complicated. The point is, Huawei is not allowed to use Google services on its smartphones, and that includes HONOR as well, the Huaweis sub-brand. You wont find a single Google app on this phone, and that includes the Google Play Store. Youll have to rely on Huaweis AppGallery, which grew immensely, but its not nearly ready to compete with the Play Store. You wont find many apps that you may be used to on the AppGallery, even though youll probably find some replacements. Many companies did push their apps to the AppGallery already, so you can use Opera instead of Chrome, for example, Blue Mail instead of Gmail, and so on. There are options, but not many of them. That brings me to my next point, Phone Clone. Phone Clone is an app that comes pre-installed on the HONOR 9X Pro, and its supposed to help you switch phones, and take your apps with you. So, if you have some apps that are not available in the AppGallery, and you want to use, while you have them on your current phone, you can switch them over to the HONOR 9X Pro, in theory. Phone Clone is good, but not perfect This app works really well in general, but for some reason, it did not transfer quite a few of my apps. Do note that the app transfers messages as well, and various other data that you may be interested in. It will also transfer your apps along with their data. To give you some examples. Phone Clone did not transfer Amazfit, Bolt, eBay, Facebook Messenger, McDonalds, and a number of other apps that I wanted to transfer. It did not have an issue with Microsoft Excel, Joey, Instagram, Monefy, and so on. All in all, Ive managed to transfer around 40-percent of apps I have on my phone. Do note that you can manually install APKs from lets say APK Mirror, and the vast majority of them will work fine. 95% of Google apps, however, will not work on the HONOR 9X Pro. It doesnt matter if you try to transfer them using Phone Clone, or sideload them, the point is, you wont be able to use them. if thats a problem for you, then this is not the device for you, unless you want to install Google Play Services manually, of course. That is also an option, but many people wont be willing to do that. The HONOR 9X Pro is great value for money, theres not denying that So, whats the bottom line here? Well, if Google apps are something you need, and you dont want to mess with forcefully installing Play Services, then maybe this is not a device for you. If you dont use many apps in general, and dont need Google apps, the HONOR 9X Pro is a great choice. For its price tag, this phone offers a lot, it really does. It offers excellent performance, great hardware in general, it looks really sleek, and the camera is not half bad at that price point either. The display is also really good, while the audio wont win any awards, but its okay. For many people, this phone will be more than they need, just have in mind the app situation before you buy it. See if that is an issue for you, or not, if its not, the HONOR 9X Pro is easy to recommend. SANAA, Yemen - A senior Yemeni rebel commander was killed Thursday, the Shiite rebels announced as fierce battles with government forces intensified along the front lines in the countrys central provinces. The slain rebels special forces commander, Mohamed Abdel Karim al-Hamran, enjoyed close ties to the top Houthi leader, Abdul Malek al-Houthi. He was the most high-ranking commander killed this year, part of an elite brigade trained by militants from the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Al-Hamran died in clashes between the central provinces of Marib and Bayda, which have been the epicenter of recent fighting, said Yemeni security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity under regulations. Warplanes with the Saudi-led coalition supporting the Yemeni government forces bombed Houthi targets across the provinces, setting five military convoys ablaze. Dozens were killed and wounded on both sides, the officials added. At least 16 fighters were killed in Bayda, mostly among the Houthis. The rebel military spokesman, Yehia Sarea, accused their adversaries of launching 11 ground assaults across the front lines in Marib and Bayda and unleashing 110 airstrikes, including on the rebel-held capital of Sanaa. Yemens conflict, now grinding into its sixth year, shows no signs of abating despite the grave threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic and the unilateral cease-fire announced by Saudi Arabia last month. Separately, a recent declaration of self-rule by Yemens southern separatists, who had been nominal allies with government forces in the fight against the Houthis, has thrown fuel on the increasingly divisive conflict, which has killed over 100,000 people and generated the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. In the southern Abyan province, an explosion hit a military checkpoint late Thursday, killing three soldiers and wounding four others. Security officials said they were investigating the cause of the blast, which likely stemmed either from an IED or car bomb attack. The governorate is a flashpoint for clashes between Saudi-backed government forces and the separatist group, supported by the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, aid workers warn of devastation as Yemens coronavirus case count rises. Although testing is extremely limited, the countrys internationally recognized government has detected 25 infections, including five deaths, across multiple provinces a sign that community transmission has taken off. The Houthis have reported just one fatality caused by COVID-19 in their territories, prompting speculation about the scale of the outbreak. The Trump administration this week announced $225 million in emergency aid to the World Food Program, which was forced to scale back its work in northern Yemen after donors cut funding because of long-standing Houthi obstruction. It said the boost would allow the WFP to reach some 8 million hungry people throughout the country. More than 22 million people are in need of humanitarian aid in Yemen, according to the U.N., and hundreds of thousands of children suffer from malnutrition. Birmingham craft brewery Trim Tab Brewing is set to release a special edition beer on Friday with proceeds being donated to struggling service workers. The beautiful people in the hospitality industry have been significantly impacted by restrictions on bars and restaurants due to the coronavirus pandemic, Trim Tab founder/CEO Harris Stewart said of why the brewery is participating in All Together, a nationwide initiative by New York brewery Other Half to help service industry workers. We view this as an opportunity, given that we still have active distribution that we have an opportunity to create a great beer, collaborate with a great company that we respect a lot and do whatever gesture we can do to make this time more manageable and show solidarity with our bros and sis in the hospitality industry. TOMORROW!! We invite you to join us for the release of ALL TOGETHER!! All Together is a worldwide, open-ended beer... Posted by TrimTab Brewing Company on Thursday, May 7, 2020 On Friday, Trim Tab is releasing All Together," a hazy IPA with flaked oats and mosaic, simcoe and citra hops. Participating breweries work with a base recipe before putting their unique twists on the beer. It was really just looking at some of the more nuance of how we approach these specific beers, Harris said of how Trim Tabs recipe was crafted. We also look at the hop profile and make some adjustment there as well. The brewery made more than 200 cases of All Together, which can be picked up Friday at socially distanced kiosks in Trim Tabs tap room. Online orders are also being taken at Trim Tabs website. Pre-orders can be submitted here. After covering costs of making the special edition beer, Trim Tab will be donating proceeds to hospitality industry workers, Harris said. The brewery has a goal of selling 10,000 All Togethers. Religious Never Trumpers Have to Be Tougher Than the Rest (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Conservative resistance to President Donald Trump comes at a price. But at least Never Trumpers in politics, such as the conservative operatives behind the Lincoln Project video that so enraged Trump this week, enjoy the praise of liberals and like-minded conservatives even as they are denied contracts with Republican campaigns and interest groups. White conservative religious leaders who resist the charms of MAGA face similar perils, with little of the upside. Trumps approval rating among white evangelical Protestants has been consistently high. According to the Public Religion Research Institute, it was 66% in April, down from 77% in March, when Trump enjoyed a bump in the brief window after the coronavirus became a national threat and before his personal incapacity was exposed. Even now, his support among white evangelicals is about 50% higher than among Americans generally. Trumps appeal, says Robert Jones, CEO of PRRI, is based more on fears about demographic change and white Christian displacement than the traditional culture war issues of same-sex marriage and abortion. Such fears are a consistent element of white Christian conservatism. Its worth noting those who rise above them. Rick Warrens Saddleback Church, an evangelical megachurch based in Southern California, offers a quiet counterpoint to the politics of white grievance and rage that permeate conservative America. Saddleback is conservative. But not like that. Warren has built a hugely successful ministry, notes Jonathan Merritt, an author of several books about Christianity in America. But over the last decade and a half, says Merritt over email, every time he has waded into the political arena, he has gotten burned. Yet how to avoid politics when its all-consuming? A recent Saddleback email to members and supporters highlights the story of Kristy Aguilar, a woman who moved to Southern California from Ecuador just eight months ago and had been working at a hotel until she was laid off. While the immigration status of people like Aguilar is a cruel obsession in the White House, it goes unmentioned in the email. Instead, Warrens church asks its predominantly white, relatively affluent members, many of whom may be suffering themselves, to stretch their moral imaginations: Story continues Picture yourself living in a foreign country with no job and a depleting savings account during this global pandemic. Think of the feelings of fear and hopelessness that could gnaw at you day in and day out. That is no imaginary scenario it is the reality Kristy Aguilar has been facing since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the presidency of George W. Bush or Barack Obama, such a statement might have seemed a gentle chime from the church steeple. Under Trump, it clangs like a fire bell. There is no way to project Christian empathy for an impoverished South American immigrant in 2020 without running smack into the pillars upholding the house of MAGA: xenophobia and racial antagonism. Later in the email, Saddleback drives home that its broad Christian embrace does not have an immigrant exception: One of Saddlebacks values is that we are an all-nation congregation. Kristys story shows that everybody is welcome and wanted at our church, and that God brings people to Saddleback from all over the world to further his kingdom. Warren offers a model of how to be deeply conservative without succumbing to the peculiar degradations of Trumpism. With rare exceptions, most notably Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, conservative politicians have failed spectacularly to manage that feat. Yet the pressure on religious conservatives appears no less aggressive than that directed at political conservatives. Russell Moore, the conservative president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the public policy wing of the Southern Baptist Convention, criticized Trumps immorality and racial aggression in 2016. Trump attacked him personally, and Moore has been fending off attacks from Christian conservatives ever since. By contrast, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler recently revised his stand to make it less offensive to MAGA. In 2016, Mohler called Trump a sexual predator unworthy of support. Last month, he said hes making a different political calculation in 2020. Professional religion, like professional politics, has a high tolerance for hypocrisy. Theres little to no risk in toeing the line. Thats all the more reason to admire those, like Moore and Warren, who refuse to truckle to the mob. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Francis Wilkinson writes editorials on politics and U.S. domestic policy for Bloomberg Opinion. He was executive editor of the Week. He was previously a writer for Rolling Stone, a communications consultant and a political media strategist. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Patients awaiting their COVID-19 test results were uncertain if they were positive or negative for more than a month due to a communication breakdown between NSW Health and the state's hospitals. Some Sydney residents have reported being unable to obtain their results after visiting a drive-through clinic, despite calling the NSW coronavirus hotline in an attempt to retrieve them. The car park at Bondi Beach has been turned into a coronavirus drive-through testing site. Credit:Rhett Wyman In two cases, patients were given an apology and their results from St Vincent's Hospital more than a month after being tested at the Bondi Beach drive-through clinic. It occurred after the Herald inquired about the lost tests. The hospital said in cases such as these, a wrong mobile number had been copied down or provided during the test, but could not explain why patients were not redirected to St Vincent's by NSW Health to get their results. CLEVELAND, Ohio If youre feeling scruffy from quarantine, you wont have to wait much longer. Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday that barbershops, hair salons, nail salons, tanning salons and day spas can reopen starting May 15, nearly two months after they were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Businesses will have to abide by certain health guidelines, including social distancing and strict sanitization regimens. Im sure thats good news for a lot of people who have been looking to get back, particularly in regard to their hair, DeWine said. I know Ive heard a lot about that. Rules and guidelines for most of the personal services industry were posted during the governors coronavirus briefing. Regulations for massage parlors will be part of a separate order from the state medical board, the licensing body for massage therapists. A spokesman for the governor said those rules could also be released as soon as today. Debbie Penzone, a licensed cosmetologist who headed the working group to develop rules for the industrys reopening, said customers will see some significant changes to their everyday salon or spa experience. Business, including waiting areas, will have restricted capacity with markings for social distancing guidelines. Specific hours for at-risk populations such as the elderly or immunocompromised must be established and posted. More than one person per customer wont be allowed into businesses at a time, save for children accompanied by parents or those who require a guardian, Penzone said. People will likely have to wait for their appointments in their cars or outside the building, Penzone said. You wont see the magazines or product testing or self-service beverages in the waiting area, she said. Products are only to be handled by employees under the new rules and should be sanitized before stocking when possible. Hand sanitizer will be made available for both customers and employees. Employees will be required to do a symptom check daily, including checking temperatures for fever. Workers, as in other industries, will be required to wear masks or face coverings. Customers, however, will not. Penzone asked potential customers to consider the health of workers in this industry and recommended that customers also wear a mask. Some facilities in some locations might have it mandatory that you wear that mask or face covering when you get that service done, Penzone said. Workers will also be required to wear gloves and dispose of them between tasks. If gloves cannot be worn, hand washing between tasks is acceptable. The salon and spa industry had extra sanitation required by the state before the pandemic. Equipment like salon chairs and tanning beds must now be sanitized before and after every appointment. Single-use materials must be disposed of between clients. The state is also recommending, though not requiring, establishments shut down once a week for deep sanitization. DeWine and Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton ordered barbershops, hair salons and most other personal services closed on March 18 during the initial response to the coronavirus outbreak, putting the states nearly 30,000 barbers and cosmetologists out of work. The lack of paid grooming became something of a flashpoint for protesters of DeWines actions, with many griping about being unable to get a haircut, dye job or shave. As the state has increased testing capacity and hospital space, DeWine has slowly begun the reopening of Ohios economy, starting with manufacturing, distribution, construction and office environments on Monday. The salon and spa industry carries inherent risks in reopening. By nature, the jobs require close personal contact with customers, which DeWine said increases the risk of coronavirus transmission. This is a gamble. This is a new part of the journey, DeWine said. We are on a road thats never been traveled before. Certainly never been traveled before in Ohio. It is a road that has danger signs and we need to fully understand that. Read the full list of rules and regulations for salons and spas: Read more cleveland.com politics coverage: Heres how Gov. Mike DeWine plans to reopen restaurants, hair and nail salons, barber shops -- starting May 15 Ohio coronavirus cases top 22,000: Thursday update Ohio Department of Health delays reporting of new nursing home data for coronavirus Ohio House Republicans move to limit Health Director Amy Actons authority SMILE can provide a great platform for those who want to learn how to enhance their facial appearance and maintain a beautiful facial appearance now and in the future Dr. Babak Azizzadeh, Chairman and Director of the CENTER for Advanced Facial Plastic Surgery in Los Angeles and a globally recognized facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon, has launched the SMILE podcast. With SMILE, Dr. Azizzadeh shares his unique and holistic perspective on a wide range of beauty, health, and wellness topics. SMILE features industry insights from Dr. Azizzadeh and other experts. Listeners can use SMILE to discover new ways to improve their overall health. Plus, SMILE experts provide tips, recommendations, and suggestions to help listeners get the best results from their current beauty, health, and wellness regimen or develop and start using a new one. The first three SMILE episodes come during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has made it exceedingly difficult for healthcare practitioners and their patients to connect. Each episode focuses on a different aspect of the pandemic's impact on the beauty, health, and wellness community: Episode 1 Coronavirus 101: Dr. C. Andrew Schroeder, formerly the Clinical Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and a clinical instructor of medicine at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, takes an in-depth look at the coronavirus crisis and its global ramifications. Episode 2 Coronavirus and the Nose: Ear, nose, throat, head, and neck expert Dr. Babak Larian of the CENTER for Advanced Parathyroid Surgery in Los Angeles discusses the coronavirus' impact on ear, nose, and throat (ENT) surgeons. Episode 3 Coronavirus and Your Teeth: Dr. Katrin Azizzadeh, a board-certified family dentist in the Encino, California area who has comprehensive experience in non-aggressive cosmetic and general dentistry, provides tips to help people manage their dental issues during the coronavirus pandemic. Millions of people undergo facial plastic and reconstructive surgery each year, and Dr. Azizzadeh works with patients to help them quickly and safely revitalize their facial features. Future SMILE podcast episodes will explore a variety of beauty, health, and wellness topics, as well as offer insights to help people achieve a balanced, natural-looking facial appearance. "I have a simple goal with SMILE: to bring a smile to the face of each listener," Dr. Azizzadeh says. "By sharing my insights into beauty, health, and wellness and encouraging other experts in these areas to do the same, SMILE can provide a great platform for those who want to learn how to enhance their facial appearance and maintain a beautiful facial appearance now and in the future." The first three SMILE episodes are available here. In addition, SMILE episodes are available on Spotify, SoundCloud, Apple, and YouTube. For more on Dr. Azizzadeh and the CENTER for Advanced Facial Plastic Surgery, visit http://www.facialplasticsbh.com. About Dr. Babak Azizzadeh and the CENTER for Advanced Facial Plastic Surgery: Dr. Babak Azizzadeh, Chairman and Director of the CENTER for Advanced Facial Plastic Surgery, is one of the leading international experts in facial plastic surgery. His expertise in cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery has made him one of the most sought-after physicians. Dr. Azizzadeh's client list includes not only celebrities, executives, physicians and dignitaries from around the world, but also amazing people from all walks of life. He has been featured in The Oprah Winfrey Show, People Magazine, New York Times, Discovery Health, Los Angeles Times, Beverly Hills Courier and numerous other media outlets for his expertise in facial plastic surgery. Dr. Azizzadeh is one of a select group of surgeons who are double board-certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery as well as the American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. His plastic surgery colleagues have consistently chosen him as one of the Top Doctors in Beverly Hills, CA. For more information, please visit https://www.facialplasticsbh.com/ Media Contact: Chloe, CENTER for Advanced Facial Plastic Surgery, 310-657-2203, chloe@facialplasticsbh.com Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, left, speaks as U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, right, and U.S. President Donald Trump listen before the H.R. 748, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, is signed in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, March 27, 2020. Erin Schaff | Bloomberg | Getty Images Republican groups are aiming to use the sexual assault allegations against apparent Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in their battle with Democrats in key Senate races in this year's campaign. The GOP organizations are arguing that Democrats are applying a different standard to Biden, who has vehemently denied the accusation that he assaulted a former Senate staffer in 1993, than they did to Justice Brett Kavanaugh a couple years ago when he was accused of sexual assault. Kavanaugh denied those claims, and he was confirmed to the Supreme Court. Some GOP outside groups told CNBC that they have been trying to incorporate the allegations brought against Biden by Tara Reade into their conversations with voters and overall campaigns against Democrats in competitive Senate races in states such as Alabama, Maine, North Carolina, Colorado and Iowa. Republicans hold a 53-47 edge in the Senate, but they have more incumbents up for reelection than Democrats do. These states have a mix of contests involving Democratic and Republican incumbents, along with some newcomers, fighting for Senate seats. Polls show that Democrats have a strong chance to flip many of the seats deemed toss-ups by analysis site Cook Political Report. The effort is largely being organized by the dark money GOP group The Article III Project, a 501(c)(4) organization, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Article III was formed after Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court and has been a staunch advocate of conservative judges being appointed to courts across the country. The group is not required to disclose its donors. Mike Davis, Article III Project's founder, said part of the reason they're accusing Democrats of hypocrisy is to excite the Republican base and possibly find a way to convince voters in line with Democrats to stay home. Democrats, including many lawmakers up for reelection in 2020, have continued to endorse and stand by Biden. Reade, in an interview with former NBC News and Fox News host Megyn Kelly, stood by her story and called for Biden to drop out of the presidential race. A spokesman for Biden's campaign did not respond to a request for comment. The Kavanaugh standard Two years ago, Christine Blasey Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were in high school in the early 1980s. He repeatedly denied the allegations. Ford's accusations against Kavanaugh led to a partisan battle both on the Senate Judiciary Committee and later during the buildup to the full Senate vote, with many Democrats arguing that Ford should be believed in the midst of the #MeToo movement and that Kavanaugh shouldn't be confirmed. Republicans tried to make it seem that Democrats were only using Ford as a tool against their nominee without properly vetting her accusations. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., was the only Democrat in the chamber who voted to confirm Kavanaugh. The Article III Project's leaders are crafting a letter intended for Democrats running for Senate seats in Maine, Michigan, Alabama and Kentucky. The letter will call on them to treat Biden with the same standard the Republicans believe the Democrats applied to Kavanaugh. "Do you believe all women, or just Republican accusers?" said the person familiar with the matter, in describing the letter. This person declined to be named as all of this has yet to be made public. Possible ad campaign Irans key oil-producing region and home to the countrys ports on the Persian Gulf is seeing an alarming increase in COVID-19 infections, medical officials said on Thursday. Irans total infections also began to rise again after the Islamic Republic relaxed lockdowns. The Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran bordering Iraq and lying on the Persian Gulf is home to most of Irans oil and gas fields - the chief foreign income for the Islamic Republic which is being severely crippled by the U.S. sanctions on its oil exports. Khuzestan also hosts the countrys ports and the land routes to them, through which most of Irans exports and imports pass. The COVID-19 pandemic is now spreading at an alarming rate in the province, Radio Farda reports, citing Ali Ehsanpoor, spokesman of Jondishapoor Medical University of Ahwaz in the province. Between Wednesday and Thursday, a total of 178 new cases were identified in the province, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in Khuzestan - which has a population of 4.7 million people - close to 4,000, Ehsanpoor said. As of Thursday, there were 483 patients with COVID-19 in hospitals in the province and the number of cases continues to increase, he said. Related: Is It The Right Time To Buy Into The Oil Price Rally? Iran was one of the first heavily affected countries by the coronavirus pandemic and the country worst hit in the Middle East. Authorities have relaxed lockdowns, but new cases began to rise again this week. Iran has eased lockdowns for businesses as its economy was already tanking even before the pandemic because of the U.S. sanctions on its oil industry and exports. In contrast to previously defiant statements that Iran will withstand any sanctions of its enemies, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani admitted in November that it was very difficult to run the country with severely crippled oil revenues. Now the coronavirus, the crash in global oil demand, and the collapse in oil prices have further hit the Islamic Republic and its key income source, oil revenues. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Trump vetoes Congress effort to limit his war powers amid tensions with Iran Iran Press TV Wednesday, 06 May 2020 10:07 PM US President Donald Trump has vetoed a measure by US Congress aimed at limiting his war powers amid his administration's hostility with Iran. Trump made the announcement Wednesday, terminating the lawmakers' efforts to keep his Iran war powers in check. "This was a very insulting resolution, introduced by Democrats as part of a strategy to win an election on November 3 by dividing the Republican Party," Trump said. "The few Republicans who voted for it played right into their hands." The resolution "purported to direct me to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces in hostilities against Iran," he added, further complaining that "Congress should not have passed this resolution." The US Congress was trying to "terminate the use of United States Armed Forces for hostilities against" Iran without its authorization. Trump's veto means he is capable of going solo in dealing with tensions in West Asia, a scenario deemed dangerous even by some Republican supporters of the commander-in-chief. The president has withdrawn the US from the Iran nuclear deal and reimposed harsh sanctions, rising tensions in the region. Tehran has maintained that it stands ready to defend its interests in the face of US aggression. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Separate announcements by two Western Massachusetts colleges this week underscored a fact worth remembering as schools look toward the fall term: One size doesnt fit all. The president of Hampshire College says his institution is preparing to welcome students back to campus, less than six months after the coronavirus pandemic emptied dorms and forced education into remote learning at the college in Amherst and throughout the nation. Ed Wingenbach described that scenario as "likely,'' but emphasized it remains up to the state government to allow it. Just 17 miles to the south, Holyoke Community College officials felt the reasons to make a decision outweighed those to delay. Basing it largely on the demographics of their students, HCC administrators declared the fall semester - with very few exception - would be handled online or remotely, just as the spring semester has been conducted. Differing strategies, announced on the same day, deliver an important message about college reopenings: a return to traditional classroom learning and campus activity will not be done uniformly. Rather, throughout Western Massachusetts, New England and America, unique circumstances at each school, along with varying state restrictions on social gatherings, will create a jigsaw puzzle of solutions. Assume one institutions decision will provide clues for the next is a mistake. As long as the State of Massachusetts allows colleges to open, which seems likely, Hampshire fully intends to welcome students to campus in the fall, Wingenbach said in a letter to the college community. Our class sizes are small, allowing students and professors to spread out in classrooms. Hampshire is projecting 550 to 600 students on its 800-acre campus, making social distancing viable. The irony of Hampshires situation - not referred by Wingenbach, but unmistakable - is that a college whose financial crisis was coupled with low enrollment seems unusually positioned to reopen in the fall, precisely because a relatively small number of students attend it. Wingenbach said Hampshire has been rallying from its financial straits and will continue to do so, despite the indisputable economic impact of COVID-19. At Holyoke Community College, a close look at the two-year colleges demographics caused school officials to commit to online education in the fall - four months before the 2020-21 academic year begins. Holyoke Community College has a significant population of students who are older, serve as essential workers or have children. As a rule, that makes them more susceptible to COVID-19 contact than teens or young adults in college. The biggest difference, though, is that Holyoke Community is a commuter school and Hampshire College is not. It might be tempting to look at this as an obvious apples-versus-oranges comparison, but the issues raised by their distinct populations will be faced by countless other institutions as well. Any institution, in fact, whose student body consists of both commuter and residential students (and often, international students) will face the same questions and decisions within their own campuses. Unlike residential campuses, some of whom are indicating a commitment to reopen in the fall, we have very limited control over where our students sleep, eat, work, and congregate. Our students are firmly embedded in local community networks, wrote Rachel Rubinstein, HCC vice president for academic and student affairs, in a memo to staff on Tuesday. They are more likely to belong to low-income and communities of color, that nation-wide have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. This makes them, and all of us, all the more vulnerable. The responsibility to keep everyone as safe as possible weighs heavily. In early April, Boston University became the first major institution to publicly recognize the possibility of closed campuses in the fall. The BU statement described continued remote learning as only one of many options, but it was a nonetheless chilling reminder of the uncertainty of the next few months - and raised an option that most other colleges were contemplating more privately. Aware that a second wave of coronavirus has been found in some fall forecasts, HCC officials decided to give students, faculty, and staff time to prepare for continued remote learning. The shuttered spring semester has forced officials at colleges and universities (including those who anticipate fall reopening) to examine where remote education fits into the broader higher education package, and how it can be best utilized. Rubinstein said HCC administrators remain optimistic that in-person activities will gradually resume at a community college that serves 11,500 students each year. Their wariness of a second wave of COVID-19 could foreshadow an agonizing late-summer decision at countless institutions: whether to reopen campuses as faculty, families and students all crave, or keeping them closed for fear of reigniting the pandemic, despite alluring numbers suggesting it had passed. Is Wingenbachs cautious optimism misplaced? Did HCC act prematurely? Or is it possible, even likely, that each is making the proper calculated analysis required at this moment. Campuses around the region and across the nation will face similar choices with only state regulations and informed analysis - and not the examples of neighboring institutions - as a guide. "Hampshire has some significant advantages for ensuring health and safety of our students on campus, and has already taken steps this spring to institute protocols,'' Wingenbach said in his qualified yet optimistic outlook. As colleges and universities await the day campuses are alive again, it appears certain that day will come more fully or at least sooner for some, but months later or in piecemeal for others. Last updated on: May 07, 2020 15:17 IST Unconscious children being carried by parents in their arms, people laying on roads, health workers scrambling to attend to those affected by the styrene vapour leak and residents fleeing were some of the scenes that played out near Visakhapatnam on Thursday, bringing back grim memories of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy. IMAGE: A man rushes to take his child for treatment at King George Hospital after a major chemical gas leakage at LG Polymers industry in RR Venkatapuram village, Visakhapatnam, on Thursday. Photograph: PTI Photo The leak of styrene, a chemical used to make synthetic rubber and resins, among others, occurred in the wee hours of Thursday while people were still fast asleep. IMAGE: A woman looks at her child lying on the pavement. Photograph: ANI Photo Women and children were seen lying on roads struggling to breath, reminiscent of the infamous Bhopal gas tragedy when a leak from the Union Carbide plant left around 3,500 dead and many maimed. IMAGE: A woman rushes to take her child for treatment. Photograph: ANI Photo The worst-hit Gopalapatnam village reverberated with cries of people for help. Many people fell unconscious during their sleep, a villager said. IMAGE: An affected woman being taken for treatment at King George Hospital. Photograph: PTI Photo Affected people, suffering writ large on their faces, were rushed to hospitals in autorickshaws and on two wheelers. Visakhapatnam Collector Vinay Chand said 20 ambulances were pressed into service as soon information about the gas leak was received. IMAGE: Affected children being treated at King George Hospital. Photograph: PTI Photo Exposure to styrene, also known as ethenylbenzene, vinylbenzene can affect the central nervous system (CNS), causing headache, fatigue, weakness, and depression. It is primarily used in the production of polystyrene plastics and resins. IMAGE: Family members take their unconscious children to hospital. Photograph: PTI Photo LG Polymers was established in 1961 as 'Hindustan Polymers' for manufacturing Polystyrene and its co-polymers at Visakhapatnam. The gas leak took place at LG Polymers chemical plant. IMAGE: An affected child being treated at King George Hospital. Photograph: PTI Photo It merged with McDowell & Co. Ltd of UB Group in 1978, according to the company's website. Taken over by LG Chem (South Korea), Hindustan Polymers was renamed LG Polymers India Private Limited (LGPI) in July, 1997. Advertisement Boris Johnson is caught in a struggle between those who want him to move faster to end the lockdown and those who fear it would trigger a second wave of coronavirus. As the Prime Minister prepares to set out his exit plan on Sunday, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon threatened to break the UK-wide approach, saying any watering down of the 'Stay Home' message would be a 'potentially catastrophic mistake'. But, with the Bank of England warning that the restrictions have sparked the deepest recession for 300 years, some Tory MPs are urging Mr Johnson to act swiftly to prevent an economic depression they say could scar a generation. Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepares to light a candle at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey in London, ahead of the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Thursday May 7, 2020 Downing Street confirmed the PM will unveil plans on Sunday night for a gradual easing of the lockdown. This will include ditching the Government's 'Stay Home, Save Lives' slogan in favour of a less restrictive message and a more relaxed approach to outdoor activities such as public sunbathing and picnics. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab confirmed last night that the lockdown, which has been in place since March 23, would continue for another three weeks. He urged the public to stick to the rules despite the sunny bank holiday weather which could see temperatures hit 25C (77F) in the South East. Speaking at the daily No 10 briefing, he said any changes would be 'modest, small, incremental and very carefully monitored'. And he warned they could be reversed if the virus starts to take off again, adding: 'The point at which we make even the smallest of changes to the current guidance will be a point of maximum risk.' Britain's Secretary of State for Foreign affairs Dominic Raab speaks during a daily news conference to update on the COVID-19 outbreak, at 10 Downing Street in London, May 7, 2020 Ministers are worried that advance reports of the changes, on top of the good weather, will tempt people to flock to parks and other public spaces this weekend before bans are lifted. Whitehall sources have told the Mail that the sunbathing ban is likely to be among the first measures dropped, with people allowed to do so as long as they stick to social distancing rules. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said: 'It looks like we could be going into a bank holiday weekend with a very good weather forecast and I would just urge caution. 'The best way still to manage the virus is to follow the guidelines and stay at home.' Mr Johnson told the Cabinet yesterday that keeping the coronavirus epidemic under control remained the top priority. He said: 'We are not going to do anything that risks a second peak. We will advance with maximum caution in order to protect the NHS and to save lives... we will not hesitate to tighten the rules if required.' Britain announced a further 539 coronavirus victims on Thursday, as the UK's official death toll rose to 30,615 But Whitehall sources confirmed the 'Stay Home' message that has defined the lockdown would be replaced on Sunday, when the PM will make an 'address to the nation' at 7pm. This was enough to prompt a warning from Miss Sturgeon that Scotland could splinter off from the rest of the UK in its approach to the lockdown. The devolved Welsh government also said it would be making its own decisions on how quickly the restrictions should be eased. Miss Sturgeon said: 'I will not be pressured into lifting restrictions prematurely before I am as certain as I can be that we will not be risking a resurgence of infection rates.' She added that she strongly believes dropping the 'clear, well understood' Stay Home message could be a 'potentially catastrophic mistake'. Hopes of a rapid easing of restrictions were dealt a further blow last night when the UK's National Statistician Sir Ian Diamond confirmed the so-called R rate, which measures how fast the virus is spreading, had probably risen slightly in the past fortnight because of the epidemic in care homes. Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon threatened to break the UK-wide approach, saying any watering down of the 'Stay Home' message would be a 'potentially catastrophic mistake' He said the estimated overall rate is in the range 0.5 to 0.9. Anything over the level of 1 would mean the virus accelerating again. But some Tory MPs urged the PM to move faster to prevent further economic damage. Former Brexit minister Steve Baker called on Mr Johnson to be 'bold with his actions'. He said: 'I want to see the Government going as far as it can to set us free again. We've got to get back to work. People need to work.' Weather forecasters say today and tomorrow could bring the warmest conditions of the year so far, with highs of 25C (77F) predicted both for this afternoon and tomorrow in the South East, before temperatures plunge back into single figures for most on Sunday. Sit tight and wait for Boris: Lockdown is extended for three weeks as Dominic Raab says social distancing rules REMAIN in place over weekend with temperatures set to hit almost 80F - despite PM expected to announce restrictions will ease from next week Dominic Raab tonight said lockdown has been extended but Boris Johnson will set out exit plan on Sunday Britain is set for temperatures of up to 80F this weekend but No10 insisted social distancing remains in place Poll for MailOnline finds public resistance could be one of main obstacles to getting country up and running Nearly two-thirds believe that ending lockdown too early is a bigger concern then immediate GDP meltdown The easing of measures is expected to follow a five-step roadmap with lockdown lifted entirely in the Autumn Monday is expected see garden centres reopen and workers return to businesses that have remained open However, plans may change if the UK is hit with a deadly second wave of the virus after restrictions are eased UK official death toll now over 30,000 - highest in Europe - but trends suggest that number could be higher By James Tapsfield, Jack Maidment and David Wilcock for MailOnline Dominic Raab tonight announced there is 'no change' yet to the UK's coronavirus lockdown rules as he urged Britons not to take advantage of sunny bank holiday weather - even as Boris Johnson prepares to ease restrictions. The Prime Minister will use an address to the nation on Sunday to set out his lockdown exit plan with some changes then expected to be made starting on Monday. Mr Raab said restrictions must remain in place for the moment as he renewed them for another three weeks but risked confusing the situation by saying the PM will spell out 'milestones' that will permit moves to loosen the draconian curbs. The Foreign Secretary told the daily Downing Street press briefing that initial changes will be 'modest' and 'incremental' - and could be reversed if the disease starts to flare up again. Mr Raab said the rate of infection - the R value - was between 0.5 and 0.9 and the number of new coronavirus cases and daily death toll were both 'steadily falling'. Mr Johnson today told Cabinet that the government will be proceeding with 'maximum caution' as Downing Street warned people not to sunbathe this weekend as temperatures are due to rise to almost 80F. The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman told reporters 'there is no change to the advice' and people are still being told to stay at home as much as they can. Asked if that meant 'don't sunbathe this weekend', the spokesman said: 'If you want to put it like that.' Some of the first changes to lockdown are expected to permit more outdoor activities because of the reduced rate of transmission outdoors compared to in confined spaces. Downing Street's sunbathing warning came as Nicola Sturgeon laid into Mr Johnson over the plans to ease lockdown as she warned ditching 'stay at home' guidance at this point would be 'catastrophic', hinting rules will not be changed north of the border for the rest of the month. Ms Sturgeon had earlier pre-empted the 'no change' announcement by Mr Raab which followed a formal review of restrictions after she said at lunchtime: 'Our assessment of the evidence leads me to the conclusion that the lockdown must be extended at this stage.' Labour's Sir Keir Starmer has suggested lockdown must stay in place until UK testing capacity is much higher - after daily numbers slumped below 100,000 again. A poll for MailOnline has highlighted the challenge 'coronaphobia' is likely to pose to the government as it tries to get the country up and running again. The research by Redfield and Wilton Strategies found 62 per cent of Britons are more worried about the effects of the draconian curbs ending too early, while 38 per cent say their main concern is the havoc they are wreaking on the economy now. Around seven in 10 believe bus and train drivers, teachers, and medical staff should have the right to refuse to go back to work, even if the government says it is safe. Some 60 per cent say the state should keep covering a proportion of people's wages even if in theory they should be able to resume their jobs. In other breakneck developments in the coronavirus crisis today: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have announced a further 464 coronavirus victims in NHS hospitals; The PM will address the nation to announce plans for the next phase of lockdown at 7pm on Sunday night; Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a 32million funding injection so doctors and chemists can stay open over the May bank holiday tomorrow; Ministers are facing demands to get a refund on PPE equipment they boasted about sourcing from Turkey after it emerged it has failed safety standards; Ministers have blamed the dramatic fall in daily tests from 122,000 to 69,000 on a 'technical issue', despite complaints that the figures were manipulated to make it look as it Matt Hancock's target was hit last week; Being obese may double the risk of needing hospital treatment for the coronavirus, according to a major study. Dominic Raab told today's Downing Street press conference that there was 'no change' to the social distancing rules but the PM will set out the way forward on Sunday Furious Nicola Sturgeon (pictured right in Edinburgh today) has laid into Boris Johnson (pictured left at PMQs yesterday) over plans to ease lockdown - warning that ditching 'stay at home' guidance at this point would be 'catastrophic' There were plenty of people enjoying the sunshine on Primrose Hill in London today as Mr Raab said lockdown restrictions had not changed Boris Johnson's five stage plan to reopen Britain Prime Minister Boris Johnson will reveal his lockdown exit plan on Sunday after most people in Britain have spent more than six weeks at home to help fight the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The proposals are to be split into five stages over the coming months, and a leaked version of the plan has suggested the first changes on Monday will see garden centres allowed to open and unlimited exercise allowed. There will also be a return to sunbathing and picnics, more key workers' children will go back to school, staff will start returning to businesses that stayed open during the lockdown and open-air markets may reopen. The second stage at the end of May will then see primary schools gradually return with smaller classes and some outdoor sports such as golf and tennis potentially resuming possibly along with open-air swimming. Premier League football could return behind closed doors towards the end of June, secondary schools will reopen before the summer holidays and outdoor gatherings of up to 30 people are expected to be allowed. Cafes could also reopen, before pubs and restaurants follow towards the end of August although it may take until October for all remaining areas of the economy including gyms to remove their shutters. Advertisement The lockdown measures were formally extended this evening, after the Cabinet met to consider the desperate crisis gripping the nation. But Mr Johnson is due to unveil the 'exit strategy' on Sunday, laying out immediate 'easements' to the misery of combating the deadly disease. There are claims the stay at home message will be replaced with a 'be careful when you're out' mantra, according to one Cabinet minister, who added that the easing of lockdown will be based on how much each step of the plan affects the rate of infection - or R. The government is thought to have drawn up a draft 50-page blueprint to gradually ease lockown in staggered steps between now and October. This blueprint is expected to lead to a five step roadmap to see Britain leave lockdown completely by Autumn - but an 'emergency brake' could be applied if a second wave of the deadly virus arrives. However, Mr Johnson faces a battle with Nicola Sturgeon and Labour mayors such as Andy Burnham, who have been warning it is too early for major loosening. The First Minister took an axe to the UK's united front on coronavirus as she insisted there can be no loosening at all for at least another week - and suggested it will be largely unchanged in Scotland for the rest of the month. She told a briefing in Edinburgh today that Mr Johnson had so far told her nothing about the proposals, and Cobra meetings had been delayed. She warned that the crucial 'R' number, for how much the virus is replicating in the country, could be 'hovering around one' - meaning it is close to growing again. Ms Sturgeon said there were signs Scotland's outbreak was currently fiercer, potentially because it had started later. Again pre-empting the Westminster government's actions, with the results of a formal lockdown review due to be announced tonight, Ms Sturgeon said: 'Our assessment of the evidence leads me to the conclusion that the lockdown must be extended at this stage.' She insisted she would 'not be pressurised' into lifting measures prematurely, and would act in the best interests of Scotland. Testing slump blamed on 'technical issue' as Starmer says lockdown must remain in place A Cabinet minister blamed a massive slump in coronavirus testing in the last few days on 'a bit of an issue at the labs' today amid mounting criticism of falling numbers. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said 'a technical issue' was behind a 43 per cent fall in completed daily tests between last Thursday and yesterday. His comments came after it was revealed last night that 69,463 took place in the 24 hours to 9am that day, raising concerns over the progress of the testing regime. The figure is just 57 per cent of the 122,327 tests that Matt Hancock boasted had been carried out on Thursday to meet his pledge of 100,000 tests conducted per day by the end of April. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer warned this morning that the lockdown should not be lifted until 'many, many more tests' could be done. Mr Lewis told Sky News today: 'There has been a bit of an issue at the labs, there's been a technical issue. 'That's not surprising with a completely new test and a new diagnostics system we've put in place. 'But that technical issue is now dealt with so we'll see that capacity and demand levels coming up. 'But the capacity has remained over demand and above 100,000.' Advertisement Ms Sturgeon said: 'The decisions we take now are a matter of life and death and that is why they weigh so heavily.' She said lockdown restrictions will not be formally reviewed again for three weeks, although she stressed changes were possible before then. She suggested no changes at all will be possible for at least another week. 'In particular I want to see what our estimates of cases and the R number look like a week from now,' she said. She said 'media reports' over the easing of lockdown measures have not been discussed with the Scottish Government but a call with the devolved nations will take place later today. 'I will not be pressured into lifting measures prematurely,' she said, adding that she strongly believes that to drop the 'clear, well understood' stay at home message could be a 'potentially catastrophic mistake'. No10 was frantically trying to lower expectations for the changes today amid the backlash. The PM's official spokesman told journalists: 'You will need to be very clear any easement to the guidelines next week will be very limited.' And Mr Johnson told the Cabinet that they needed to proceed with 'maximum caution'. 'Cabinet discussed where we are in the response to the coronavirus pandemic and the review which is being into the social distancing measures,' the spokesman said. 'The PM said that when considering whether there can be any easement of the existing guidelines, that we are not going to do anything that risks a second peak.' Mr Johnson told Cabinet: 'We will advance with maximum caution.' However, the spokesman effectively confirmed that outdoor activity is one area where there is scope for taking off pressure. Boris Johnson will not announce the 'exit strategy' - which is expected to include a five-point plan for easing lockdown - until Sunday Exclusive research for MailOnline shows 62 per cent are more worried about the effects of the draconian curbs ending too early, while 38 per cent say their main concern is the havoc they are wreaking on the economy now More than three quarters said they would be behind bus drivers who made the 'personal decision' to stay off because of safety fears, with just 16 per cent saying they would not support them Six in 10 thought the government should continue to subsidise some of the wages of workers who declined to go back, against just 24 per cent who said they would not favour such a move Nearly two-thirds of those pollled said that parents who refuse to send their children back to school should not face fines 'There is evidence of a very much reduced risk of catching coronavirus outdoors rather than enclosed indoor spaces,' he said. UK set to bask in sunshine over Bank Holiday People walk along the beach in Poole, Dorset, as they take their daily permitted exercise and walk their dogs during the lockdown. Today will see prolonged sunshine with tomorrow 'very warm' for most as temperatures rocket to 79F (26C) Britons are set to bask in scorching 79F (26C) temperatures tomorrow in the last three days of lockdown sun, before Arctic air brings wintry showers on Sunday and Britain goes back to work next week. It comes ahead of Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcing a five-step plan for Britain's 'second phase' of the coronavirus lockdown on Sunday, with the government set to drop its 'Stay at Home' message. Today will see prolonged sunshine with tomorrow 'very warm' as temperatures rocket to 79F (26C). Parts of the country are forecast to be hotter than some of the Europe's top tourist destinations, including Monaco and Corfu. The fine spell should continue for most areas into Saturday, but many beaches and open spaces are likely to be largely empty as people stay at home due to the coronavirus lockdown. Temperatures will hit up to 73F (23C) in warm spots today, but heavy and potentially thundery showers could develop in some areas of Wales. But the warmth will be short-lived as Arctic air blasts the nation on Sunday, bringing wintry showers in the north. Advertisement In a round of interview this morning, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis frantically tried to play down expectations on the scale of the easing, saying 'although we believe we are through the peak of this virus we are very cautious to ensure that we don't get a second peak'. The MailOnline poll, carried out yesterday as part of the Redfield and Wilton Strategies' Global Health and Governance Opinion project, suggests public resistance will be a major obstacle for the government in the coming weeks and months. Some 62 per cent said they were most worried about the lockdown being relaxed 'too quickly', while 38 per cent said their biggest concern was about the economic impact of the curbs lasting 'too much longer'. Even if the government loosened lockdown in line with scientific advice, there was strong support for workers being able to refuse to go back. More than three quarters said they would be behind bus drivers who made the 'personal decision' to stay off because of safety fears, with just 16 per cent saying they would not support them. The poll found the same for train and Tube drivers by a margin of 69 per cent to 22 per cent, while for teachers it was 71 per cent to 21 per cent. The figure for both doctors and nurses was 73 per cent to 19 per cent. Six in 10 thought the government should continue to subsidise some of the wages of workers who declined to go back, against just 24 per cent who said they would not favour such a move. The public was more split over whether people should go on strike if they are told to resume work, with 45 per saying they would endorse the step and 38 per cent against. Nearly two-third said parents fearing coronavirus should not be punished for refusing to send their children to school when they reopen, against 26 per cent who thought truancy fines would be fair. Under normal circumstances schooling is compulsory, with parents facing 60 fines if they fail to send their children to school without good reason. Fines double to 120 if not paid within 21 days, and parents can face prosecution if they refuse to pay after 28 days. Teaching unions have asked for guarantees that fines will be suspended during any back-to-school transition, when many children will still be told to stay at home. Any return is likely to involve only some year groups going back to school at first to allow for greater social distancing in the classroom. Tube services were still crowded at peak times in London today despite the lockdown still being in full force There was plenty of traffic in evidence on the South Circular near Hither Green in the capital this morning UK faces worst recession in 300 years, warns Bank of England UK GDP will slump by 14 per cent this year as coronavirus inflicts the worst recession for three centuries, the Bank of England warned today. In a grim assessment, the Bank said the economy could shrink by nearly 30 per cent in the first half of this year before recovering some ground. But the impact of the deadly disease will continue to be felt long afterwards. Unemployment could hit 9 per cent before falling back again. The overall 14 per cent fall in output estimated for 2020 would be the biggest recession for more than 300 years. The Bank says it believes there was a 3 per cent contraction in the first quarter, and sees GDP plummeting by an incredible 25 per cent in the current three month period, before finally clawing back some ground. Announcing that interest rates have been kept on hold at a record low of 0.1 per cent, Governor Andrew Bailey said it was acting to ease the effects as much as possible and tried to strike a more optimistic tone by saying there would be limited economic 'scarring'. But in another bleak sign this morning, former Chancellor Alistair Darling warned that the Bank might be too optimistic about the prospects for a quick recovery. Advertisement Leading expert Professor Hugh Pennington told the Scottish Parliament today that an early ending of lockdown might not result in a second spike of infections from the virus. In a letter to MSPs on Holyrood's Health Committee, the University of Aberdeen emeritus professor said he has seen 'no evidence' to suggest there could be a rise in cases 'more virulent than the one we have endured'. He said while previous flu pandemics have seen second waves of infection more deadly than the initial outbreak, this may not be the case for coronavirus. He said: 'In my opinion the more we learn about Covid-19, the more the differences with influenza virus become apparent.' Speaking of the potential for a second spike, he added: 'It is far more likely that our situation would resemble that in Singapore, where infections would continue to occur with cases numbers declining but at a slower pace than if controls had been maintained.' The Prime Minister will host a Cobra emergency meeting with leaders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on Sunday in the hope of agreeing a UK-wide approach. He is pushing ahead despite admitting the UK's official death toll, which surpassed 30,000 yesterday and is the worst in Europe, is 'appalling'. Mr Johnson said in the Commons yesterday: 'We have to be sure the data is going to support our ability to do this. 'That data is coming in continuously over the next few days. We want, if we possibly can, to get going with some of these measures on Monday. 'It would be a good thing if the people had an idea of what's coming the following day, that's why Sunday, the weekend, is the best time to do it.' Health Secretary Matt Hancock gave a hint as to what could be expected as he suggested cafes with outdoor seating could be allowed to reopen while Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said the exit plan will look at how a wide range of firms can be 'adapted' so they can resume business. Mr Hancock told Sky News: 'There is strong evidence that outdoors the spread is much, much lower, so there may be workarounds that some businesses, for instance cafes, especially over the summer, may be able to put into place.' His comments are likely to prompt questions as to whether pubs could also be allowed to reopen over the summer if they have a beer garden as some chains suggested customers could order rounds using their mobile phones. Meanwhile, Public Health England is said to have told councils across the country to prepare this weekend to shift away from the government's current 'stay home' message to a new slogan. Unions have also complained that teachers are being urged to come into schools more to get them ready for a return to work - demanding more clarity on what health and safety protections will be in place. Ending lockdown might not mean second virus spike, says expert A premature ending of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions might not result in a second spike of infections from the virus, leading expert Professor Hugh Pennington has told the Scottish Parliament. In a letter to MSPs on Holyrood's Health Committee, the University of Aberdeen emeritus professor said he has seen 'no evidence' to suggest there could be a rise in cases 'more virulent than the one we have endured'. He said while previous flu pandemics have seen second waves of infection more deadly than the initial outbreak, this may not be the case for coronavirus. He said: 'In my opinion the more we learn about Covid-19, the more the differences with influenza virus become apparent.' Speaking of the potential for a second spike, he added: 'It is far more likely that our situation would resemble that in Singapore, where infections would continue to occur with cases numbers declining but at a slower pace than if controls had been maintained.' Advertisement There have been splits in Cabinet over how quickly to ease the lockdown, with some 'hawks' suggesting the economy should be prioritised once it is demonstrated that the NHS can cope with coronavirus cases. But Mr Lewis said this morning that the mood in government was for 'caution'. 'I would say to people that the current Government position is very clear that where you can work from home you should, we should stay home wherever we can,' he said. He added: 'I would just say to people to not get too carried away with what we may be reading and just wait until the Government guidelines and the Prime Minister's statement.' Mr Lewis said: 'I would really urge caution. The safest thing to do at the moment with this virus and the way it spreads is wherever you can stay home.' The Bank of England today warned that GDP will slump by 14 per cent this year as coronavirus inflicts the worst recession for three centuries. In a grim assessment, the Bank said the economy could shrink by nearly 30 per cent in the first half of this year before recovering some ground. But the impact of the deadly disease will continue to be felt long afterwards. Unemployment could hit 9 per cent before falling back again. The overall 14 per cent fall in output estimated for 2020 would be the biggest recession for more than 300 years. The Bank says it believes there was a 3 per cent contraction in the first quarter, and sees GDP plummeting by an incredible 25 per cent in the current three month period, before finally clawing back some ground. Announcing that interest rates have been kept on hold at a record low of 0.1 per cent, Governor Andrew Bailey said it was acting to ease the effects as much as possible and tried to strike a more optimistic tone by saying there would be limited economic 'scarring'. The Bank of England today estimated a 14 per cent fall in GDP for 2020 - which would be the biggest recession for 300 years Unemployment could hit 9 per cent before falling back again, according to the Bank of England In its latest assessment, the Bank said the economy will shrink by nearly 30 per cent in the first half of this year before recovering some ground But in another bleak sign this morning, former Chancellor Alistair Darling warned that the Bank might be too optimistic about the prospects for a quick recovery. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Lord Darling said: 'I think the Government has to be flexible about the furlough plan because if you're going to get people to go back to work I think it is highly unlikely they are all going to go back to work on day one. 'We need to have flexibility so people can go onto short-time work and be gradually reintroduced to their jobs. 'But can I also make another point which I think is important - I hope like everybody else that many jobs come back and people go back to work, but I think we must plan on the basis that some jobs will not come back, at least they won't come back at anything like an acceptable rate. 'And that means the Government has also got to announce a plan for jobs.' Lord Darling added: 'What I do think is the Government's furlough scheme was a very good scheme, it was just what was needed, but it needs to be adapted now. 'But we have to accept the fact that it will take time for people to go back to work and the economy is not just going to open up like that. 'I have my doubts about what the Bank of England are saying today about that - it is going to take time.' In a round of interviews this morning, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said the figures showed the UK faced a 'very difficult time'. 'This is going to be a very difficult time for our country, it is a difficult time for countries around the world,' he said. 'And that is why it is important that, as we start to look at what the other side of the virus might be, one of the key things for us will be looking at how we can safely ensure that people can start to get back to work so that our economy will have a chance to blossom and grow again in the future and as quickly as possible once we're the other side of this virus.' Pupils leave Grosvenor Grammar School in east Belfast on the day before lockdown began No date has been set to reopen schools in Northern Ireland, the Education Minister has said. Peter Weir admitted that when they do resume, it will not be "business as usual". This will likely entail some form of remote learning, he said. Schools in Northern Ireland have been closed to all but a small number of pupils since March 20 due to coronavirus. Speaking at the Executive's daily briefing at Stormont yesterday, Mr Weir said that school summer holiday dates may not be sacrosanct when it comes to pupils returning to the classroom. Mr Weir indicated that a phased return of pupils is anticipated alongside the continuation of some remote learning. He said: "For many parents and carers, the timing of the reopening of schools is of crucial importance and there has been much speculation on this. "Let me state clearly that there is no planned date for the reopening of schools for normal business." He said any decision on this will be driven by "the circumstances, guided by science and health advice, and will not be date-driven". Mr Weir added: "Whenever schools do return, it's unlikely this will be on a business-as-usual basis. "There's likely to be a phasing of the return of pupils alongside some form of remote learning. "At all times the safety and wellbeing of our staff and pupils will be our priority. "Many issues need to be addressed before schools could reopen. "We are quite sensibly embarking on planning work to consider on scope these issues and I'm committed to full engagement with all relevant stakeholders, including schools and school leavers, before any decisions are taken." Mr Weir acknowledged some students may have issues accessing technology and said he had asked the Education Authority to work with schools to tackle the issue. Around 470 schools are open in Northern Ireland to care for the children of key workers, he said. Over 1,300 pupils continue to attend school and Mr Weir said the figure had continued to "rise steadily" after Easter. The Education Minister said 32 schools were pooling their resources. Earlier this week, Mr Weir was warned not to reopen schools prematurely by a group representing British and Irish teacher trade unions. Jacquie White, of the Ulster Teachers' Union, warned of a risk that transmission rates might spike if schools are opened prematurely, as well as operational challenges. Schools in the Republic of Ireland will remain closed until September at the earliest, having been shut since March 13. Asked about the prospect of schools here reopening before the new academic year, in July or August, Mr Weir said: "We're talking about things that are condition-led and circumstance-led rather than time-led. "To that extent I think we may need to look at whether there's any level of flexibility in terms of the school year, and from that point of view exact dates may not be sacrosanct on that basis." Mr Weir said the full reopening of the school estate could not happen "overnight" and schools and parents would need time to prepare for a return to classes. "There's got to be a level of lead-in period, particularly for schools to prepare on issues around social distancing," he said. "So, I believe it's important that when we come to the point in which the realisation in which that level of reopening can happen on a phased basis, that there's plenty of notice given to schools and also to parents so they're able to do that level of preparation for the level of resumption of direct school activities through any form of reopening." Mr Weir also announced that a 12m scheme to support the childcare sector would open for applications on Thursday. He said over 54,000 families, covering 98,350 children, had availed of free school meal payments, at a cost of 7.7m to date. Mr Weir urged anyone who is eligible for the scheme but who does not have a bank account to contact the Department for Communities' Covid-19 helpline. A video from inside an Indian hospital showing coronavirus patients in beds next to dead bodies has gone viral. According to the posts on the social media sites, the hospital shown in the video is Mumbai's Lokmanya Tilak Hospital, in the Sion district which is in the heart of the city which has over 18 million residents. Cases of the coronavirus in India rose past 50,000 on Thursday, with no sign of the pace of new infections slowing despite the extension of the country-wide lockdown to May 17. Today, India saw a rise in 3,561 new cases, putting the total at 52,952. The death toll also rose by 89, taking its total fatalities from the disease to 1,783, a number that is relatively low compared to the likes of the U.S. and Western European countries despite India's population of 1.3 billion. Bodies wrapped in black plastic can be seen close to Covid-19 patients in a video that has gone viral on social media in Mumbai, India. The video shows bodies of people who have died of Covid-19 on hospital beds, with live patients being treated in the same room India has seen a total of 52,952 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 1,783 deaths. 15,267 coronavirus patients are reported to have recovered in India The video in the hospital was filmed by a man who does not show his face, and from the way the video it is filmed, it appears he is attempting to be discreet. Starting from outside a hospital ward, he films as he walks into a room that reportedly has around ten Covid-19 patients being treated within. After showing a patient, the man pans his camera around, showing bodies wrapped in black polythene bags on tables or hospital beds, close to those being used to treat live coronavirus patients. As the video continues, more patients undergoing treatment can be seen, as can be more bodies wrapped in black plastic. Nitesh Rane, a member of India's Legislative Assembly (MLA), shared the video on Twitter with the message: 'In Sion hospital, patients are sleeping next to dead bodies! This is the extreme. What kind of administration is this! Very, very shameful.' Bodies next to coronavirus patients in a hospital in Mumbai, left and right. The video in the hospital was filmed by a man who does not show his face, and from the way the video it is filmed, it appears he is attempting to be discreet Rane's tweet alone has been shared over 2,500 times and garnered over 3,500 likes, and since the video was posted, outrage has grown both on social media and among politicians and the public. The MLA also noted that the hospital's patients mainly come from Dharavi, the largest slum in the country, which is currently experiencing high numbers of Covid-19 cases. Dharavi alone reported 50 new coronavirus on Thursday. The Brihanmummbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Thursday that it has set up a committee in order to verify the video after figures in India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit out at the city's administration. Nitesh Rane, a member of India's Legislative Assembly (MLA), shared the video on Twitter, calling it 'very, very shameful' MLA Nitesh Rane appeared to be the first public figure to draw attention to the video showing the hospital where Covid-19 patients were being treated, adjacent to body bags The hospital shown in the video is Mumbai's Lokmanya Tilak Hospital (pictured) in the Sion district which is in the heart of the city which has over 18 million residents. The dean of the hospital, Dr. Pramod Ingale, appeared to confirm the legitimacy of the video when he said that the hospital is facing a challenge when it comes to handing over bodies to relatives, finding that relatives are reluctant to take them, adding that they have since removed the bodies and are investigating. 'The video seems to be from Sion Hospital. The challenge with us is that relatives are not ready to take the bodies. Usually relatives are behind us to handover the body. In COVID-19 cases, they are not coming forward to collect the body,' Doctor Ingale said in a statement. 'By the time we disinfect and wrap the body of a COVID-19 patient the relatives disappear. We can't dispose bodies on our own. We have to inform the local police station and medical health officer about the death.' He also warned that the mortuary would be full in no time if all the bodies are moved there, saying that they have a capacity of 60 bodies, of which 15 spaces are set aside for those who have died from Covid-19. He said that this also impacts the hospital's ability to store non-Covid-19 bodies, and that they are trying to give them to relatives as soon as possible to keep the numbers down. 'We will improve on it in future,' he added. Reportedly, the hospital's patients mainly come from Dharavi, the largest slum in the country (pictured in April) which is currently experiencing high numbers of Covid-19 cases Devendra Fadnavis, the former chief minister of the Maharashtra state where Mumbai is located and the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly also hit out at the government over the video in a Tweet. 'Sion Hospital incident is extremely serious and shocking. Patients which are being treated are lying beside dead bodies. This is utterly inhuman,' he wrote. 'It is a very serious matter that patients have to be treated on the side of the corpse. The question is whether Mumbaikars have no guardian. Is there no one to care for Mumbai? The government must immediately look into this & ensure that it doesn't happen ever again!' he added. Congress leader Milind Deora questioned the BMC for failing to follow World Health Organisation (WHO) protocols for disposing of bodies, tweeting: 'Outraged to see corpses laid beside the sick at Sion Hospital. Why isnt [BMC] following WHO-prescribed protocols when disposing of COVID-19 corpses?' Deora was sympathetic towards hospital workers, saying the emphasis should be on the city's government to solve the issue: 'Public hospital staff are doing their best with limited resources at hand. Mumbais administration needs to step up now,' he wrote. The BMC has already issued an order that all bodies of people who have died of Covid-19, or even those suspected to have died from the disease, should be handed to relatives within 30 minutes of death. A young Indian man with a mask stands in front of a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who ordered a 3-week country-wide lockdown on March 24, which has since been extended to May 17 Workers prepare beds at the Nesco Cetre Hall, one of the biggest exhibition centres in Mumbai, which is being converted into a quarantine centre for Covid-19 patients Figures show that as of Thursday, Maharashtra state has seen 14,531 cases of the coronavirus and 583 deaths resulting from the disease, with Mumbai alone now accounting for 10,714 cases and 412 deaths in the state. The state is by far the worst hit in the country of 1.3 billion people, which has seen a total of 52,952 cases and 1,783 deaths. 15,267 coronavirus patients are reported to have recovered in India. Today, India saw a rise in 3,561 new cases, putting the total at 52,952. The death toll also rose by 89, taking its total fatalities from the disease to 1,783, a number that is still low compared to the likes of the U.S. and Western European countries despite India's population of 1.3 billion. Officials said the low death toll was due to the government's action to impose the stay at home order early in the country's crisis, but noted that a spike in infections was being seen in more densely populated areas, specifically citing Mumbai and Maharashtra. 'The (government) is ready to help in every way possible - be it manpower increase, capacity building, technical assistance, etc, or any kind of hand-holding that is required to manage the situation,' said Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. India's infection count has risen by an average of 6.1 per cent during the week before May 5, behind Russia and Brazil but higher than the UK, US or Italy. Health experts say the increase shows that India remains at risk of a devastating outbreak despite a severe month-long lockdown. In March, the country's Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an unprecedented lockdown starting on the 24 March, in which all the country's 1.3 billion people were ordered to stay at home. On May 1, two days before the end of the 21-day lockdown period, it was extended further until May 17. The country has divided the country into green, orange and red zones, each having relaxations applied in accordance with the severity of the virus in the zone. Now cases are doubling every 12 days, up from 3.4 days when the lockdown began, said Lav Agarwal, a joint secretary in the health ministry. 'Lockdown and containment are yielding results, the challenge is now to improve on the doubling rate,' he added. The lockdown has been eased to allow the sale of alcohol, but the measure prompted large gatherings at liquor stores in Delhi and elsewhere. By Online Desk Reacting to the unfortunate Visakhapatnam gas leak, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said he has spoken to officials at the Home Affairs ministry and the NDMA regarding the leak and the incident is being monitored closely. According to the PMO, Modi also spoke to Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy regarding the situation in Visakhapatnam. He assured all help and support to the state. Ten casualties, including two elderly people and a seven-year-old girl, have been reported so far. Spoke to officials of MHA and NDMA regarding the situation in Visakhapatnam, which is being monitored closely. I pray for everyones safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 7, 2020 Saddened by the news of gas leak in a plant near Visakhapatnam which has claimed several lives. My condolences to the families of the victims. I pray for the recovery of the injured and the safety of all. President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) May 7, 2020 Hundreds of people complained of breathlessness, irritation in eyes and stomach pain following the gas leak. People from all villages around the plant have been shifted to safer places. Im shocked to hear about the #VizagGasLeak . I urge our Congress workers & leaders in the area to provide all necessary support & assistance to those affected. My condolences to the families of those who have perished. I pray that those hospitalised make a speedy recovery. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 7, 2020 The incident in Vizag is disturbing. Have spoken to the NDMA officials and concerned authorities. We are continuously and closely monitoring the situation. I pray for the well-being of the people of Visakhapatnam. Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 7, 2020 Meanwhile, Home Minister Amit Shah in a tweet said, 'The incident in Vizag is disturbing. Have spoken to the NDMA officials and concerned authorities. We are continuously and closely monitoring the situation. I pray for the well-being of the people of Visakhapatnam.' LG polymers came up at RR Venkatapuram near Gopalapatnam in 1997 and is spread across 200 acres of land. The plant is capable of producing over 400 tonnes of polystyrene every day using styrene, a highly inflammable liquid. The gas leak followed an accident in the styrene chamber. CM Sri K. Chandrashekar Rao has expressed deep shock over the Visakhapatnam gas leakage incident. Terming it as unfortunate, Hon'ble CM offered condolences to the bereaved families. CM wished for the speedy recovery of those fell sick due to the gas leak. Telangana CMO (@TelanganaCMO) May 7, 2020 Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy will be visiting the King George Hospital, where the affected are undergoing treatment. (With ANI, ENS inputs) Professor Neil Ferguson will not face further action by police after accepting he made an "error of judgment" by breaching social distancing rules despite being a key figure in influencing the lockdown. Scotland Yard criticised his behaviour as "plainly disappointing" but ruled out issuing a fine because he "has taken responsibility" after resigning as a key Government adviser in the coronavirus response. The researcher, whose work was crucial in Boris Johnson's move to enforce strict conditions, stood down from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) after allowing a woman to visit him at his London home. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the Imperial College London professor had made the "right decision to resign" but that it was a matter for police to decide whether to take further action. Read More Scotland Yard said: "We remain committed to our role in supporting adherence to Government guidance and have made it clear that our starting position is explaining the need to follow the regulations with anyone who is in breach in order to keep people safe and protect the NHS. "It is clear in this case that whilst this behaviour is plainly disappointing, Professor Ferguson has accepted that he made an error of judgment and has taken responsibility for that. "We therefore do not intend to take any further action." The Metropolitan Police declined to say whether officers from the force had spoken directly to Prof Ferguson. Read More His is not the first high-profile resignation of the pandemic, with Belfast-born Catherine Calderwood quitting as Scotland's chief medical officer after making two trips to her second home. Police spoke to Dr Calderwood and issued her with a warning after the breach was made public. The latest data shows more than 9,000 fines have been issued across England and Wales for flouting lockdown rules. The Telegraph reported that Prof Ferguson allowed 38-year-old Antonia Staats, said to be his "lover", to visit him at home in London at least twice during the lockdown, on March 30 and April 8. Downing Street denied that the Government had pushed for his resignation, with the PM's official spokesman saying No 10 was informed "just before" the story broke. "The Prime Minister agrees with that decision. Social distancing regulations are there for a very clear purpose," his spokesman said. Mr Hancock said he was speechless after learning of Prof Ferguson's "extraordinary" actions. He praised him as a "very eminent" scientist whose work has been "important" in the Government's response, but said he had to resign. Asked about police involvement, Mr Hancock told Sky News: "Even though I have got a clear answer to what I think, as a minister the way we run the police is that they make decisions like this. "So I give them their space to make that decision, but I think he took the right decision to resign." Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader and former director of public prosecutions, respected the Met's decision. "It's right that Professor Ferguson has resigned after admitting he broke the rules. We all have a role to play in the fight against the virus," Sir Keir's spokesman said. "Scotland Yard has made its decision and we respect that decision." Expand Close Matt Hancock PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Matt Hancock Prof Ferguson's research warned that 250,000 people could die in the UK without drastic action before the Prime Minister imposed restrictions. "I accept I made an error of judgment and took the wrong course of action. I have therefore stepped back from my involvement in Sage," Prof Ferguson said. "I acted in the belief that I was immune, having tested positive for coronavirus and completely isolated myself for almost two weeks after developing symptoms. "I deeply regret any undermining of the clear messages around the continued need for social distancing to control this devastating epidemic. The Government guidance is unequivocal, and is there to protect all of us." Prof Ferguson said on March 18 that he had the fever and cough symptoms of Covid-19 and there was a small risk he had infected others in highlighting "the need for the response which has been enacted". U.S. Says Taliban Not Living Up To Commitments By RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan May 06, 2020 U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has said the Taliban is not living up to its commitments as militant violence is increasingly threatening a fragile deal signed with Washington this year. After extended talks in Qatar, the Taliban and the United States signed an agreement on February 29 for reduced violence and a move toward talks with the Afghan government aimed at ending the 18-year conflict, but attacks by the militants have increased since then. "I don't think they are," Esper told reporters on May 5 when asked if the Taliban were living up to their commitment. Esper said he believed the Afghan government was also not living up to its commitment. The Afghan government was not part of an agreement between the United States and the Taliban, but the deal called for Kabul to release 5,000 Taliban fighters as a confidence-building measure ahead of intra-Afghan talks. Esper said the Afghan government and the Taliban "both need to come together and make progress on the terms that [are] laid out." Progress on advancing to discussions between the Taliban and the Afghan government has been delayed, partially by the political feud between President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, who both claim to be Afghanistan's rightful leader following September's disputed election. The Taliban has stepped up violence, with an increasing number of attacks in the 45 days since signing the deal, which paves the way for a U.S. troop drawdown. The United States is continuing its drawdown of forces in Afghanistan, which are expected to reach about 8,600 troops this summer. The violence in the war-damaged nation has coincided with the rapid spread of the coronavirus. A recent report from the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction warned that the spread of COVID-19 could derail the stalled peace efforts. Afghanistan has registered 2,704 coronavirus infections and 85 fatalities, but there are fears the actual number could be much higher. On May 4, the Taliban called on the Afghan government to speed up the release of prisoners amid the rapidly spreading outbreak. "In the last 3 days, our 300 prisoners were released from the Kbl Adm. [Kabul administration] prisons which we welcome," Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen tweeted. "However, it is not enough -- the process should be expedited so the prisoners be saved from the Coronavirus and the way be paved for an earliest inception of intra-Afghan negotiations," Shaheen wrote. The Afghan government so far has released about 750 Taliban inmates from jails, according to the Office of National Security Council (ONSC). The agreement also provides for the militants to release 1,000 Afghan security force members. With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and tolonews.com Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/u-s-says-taliban-not- living-up-to-commitments/30595554.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Three contact persons of a Nigerian national who was tested positive of the COVID-19 and escaped from isolation in Wa about three weeks ago has tested positive of the virus. They have all been taken to the treatment centre at the Regional Hospital. This was contained in a statement signed by Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper West Regional Minister, and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Wa. It said as at May 3, 2020, the region had recorded 11 new cases of the virus bringing the total cases in the region to 19, one person fully recovered and reintegrated into the community and with no death recorded. Seven of the confirmed cases were picked from the Sissala East Municipality following the mandatory screening of travelers arriving in the district from Kumasi and Accra during the partial lockdown period. The statement said five of them were identified and transferred to the treatment centre at Tumu, the Municipal Capital, whilst efforts were underway to track the remaining two. The remaining one person was a resident of Wa, who travelled into the region by a public transport after he returned from Kenya on February 16, 2020 and had his samples taken on April 16, 2020 upon self-request and was since in isolation in his house. "All cases currently on treatment are mild to moderate. Investigation is underway to identify, isolate and treat all cases and trace all contacts. It is important to note that all the cases had a travel history or are contacts of known cases," the statement added. It therefore urged the people to remain calm and to support the authorities in the fight the deadly disease. As part of measures to control the disease in the region, the statement said the Rapid Response Teams (RRT) at both regional and district levels continue to monitor and investigate new cases and rumours as they are reported. It also reiterated the need for the public to strictly observe the COVID-19 protocols including; physical distancing, regular hand washing with soap and alcohol-based hand sanitizer; avoid going to public places unless it was absolutely necessary and properly wearing nose masks when going to any public place among others. On the Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM), the statement indicated that 30 cases with one death were recorded over the past two weeks, bringing the total number of cases in the region to 303 with 44 deaths. It identified the Nandom and Jirapa Municipalities and the Nadowli District as the worse hit areas but said none of the districts were currently experiencing any epidemic. "Laboratory investigation continues to show that the majority of the cases are caused by Neisseria Meningitides Sero Group X, which currently has no vaccine," it said. The statement observed that the CSM case fatality rate in the region had significantly reduced as individuals with the disease now reported early to the health facilities for treatment. It urged the people to "drink a lot of water during this season, sleep in well ventilated areas; cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing and report early to the nearest health facilities when you experience signs and symptoms of the disease". 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 By Davide Barbuscia DUBAI, May 6 (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco is about to finalise a $10 billion loan with a group of roughly 10 banks, three sources familiar with the matter said, as the oil giant seeks cash amid record low oil prices. Aramco is raising the loan to back its acquisition of a 70% stake in Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, a deal worth almost $70 billion, sources have previously told Reuters. Another source has said that while the loan would most likely back the SABIC acquisition, Aramco could also use the cash for other purposes, including dividend payments. A group of about 10 banks has agreed to provide the financing, with HSBC and Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) providing the largest commitments of nearly $1.5 billion each, the three sources said. The loan has been agreed upon but has not yet been finalised, said the sources. Aramco, HSBC and SMBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Aramco is the world's largest oil producer and its most profitable, but the fundraising plans coincide with historic turmoil in the global oil market. The company has committed to complete the $69.1 billion acquisition of a controlling stake in SABIC by the second quarter of this year. SABIC's chief executive said this week he expected no change to the timeline of the deal. (Reporting by Davide Barbuscia; Editing by Jan Harvey) China Is Listed as Country of Particular Concern for 21st Year The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom published its annual report on Tuesday, announcing that China is listed as a country of particular concern (CPC) for serious violations of religious freedom for the 21st consecutive year. The Chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Tony Perkins, stated, The evidence is overwhelming that China abuses human rights on a systematic basis and religious freedom is chief among the targets. According to reports, the situation of religious freedom in China continued to deteriorate in 2019. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) constructed a country with a high technology surveillance system that uses facial recognition and artificial intelligence to spy on religious groups. Tony Perkins continued, We see Falun Gong which is another religious minority that is suppressed in China, and in fact, linked to forced organ harvesting. What I have seen is very reliable evidence shows that it has become a big business in China and its primarily through these political-religious prisoners that this is taking place. The report mentioned particularly the CCPs pressure on the United Nations and foreign governments and the exporting of surveillance technology and systems training to more than 100 countries to undermine religious freedom on an international level. Tony Perkins: Thats extremely important to understand because some of this technology has been facilitated by American companies. Now its being exported from China now that it is being perfected. The report made several recommendations to the U.S. government, including sanctions against CCP agencies and Chinese officials that have been a part of serious violations of religious freedom. Some of these include seizing personal assets or banning entry to the U.S., also naming Chen Quan-Guo, who is currently the Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and Zhu Hai-Lun, former Deputy Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. To counteract the CCPs influence, the U.S. government has reinforced its diplomatic efforts. In January 2020, the Department of State appointed Mark Lambert as Special Envoy to counter the CCPs malicious influence at the UN. Faculty and staff members cheer as seniors drive by after picking up their graduation caps and gowns at Poly High School in Riverside. Such car parades and drive-through celebrations have been banned in Santa Clara County. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) Santa Clara County residents who thought they could shift their in-person celebrations to the car had a rude awakening this week when officials explicitly prohibited any vehicle gatherings. That includes the likes of car parades, caravans and drive-through graduations. County health officials extended the area's shelter-in-place orders through May 31 alongside a handful of other Bay Area communities. Though some restrictions have been lifted on businesses, officials added explicit prohibitions and clarifications around activities that have previously taken place as the coronavirus has pushed people indoors. Officials addressed the new rules in a Frequently Asked Questions page on the county's website. "The order prohibits all public and private gatherings with people who do not live in the same household or living unit, except for the limited purposes allowed in the order. Parades, ceremonies, and similar gatherings with people outside your household are not allowed, even if everyone stays in their cars," the page reads. The county previously told residents not to visit friends or family members outside their households. The county also addressed rules about the wearing of masks, which are required at businesses. Though the use of face coverings is encouraged elsewhere in public, they are not mandatory, officials stated. Ahead of Mother's Day, officials also noted that flowers may be purchased from essential retail businesses like grocery stores or from farmers markets, nurseries and online stores, but flower shops will remain closed. Santa Clara County was an early hotbed of coronavirus cases and remains one of the counties with the highest infection rates in the state. Nearly 2,300 people in the county have been infected with the virus and 126 have died, including five reported Tuesday. As nearby Northern California communities have eased restrictions, and some businesses have gone so far as to defy Gov. Gavin Newsom's closure orders, the counties of Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara, as well as the city of Berkeley, extended their stay-at-home orders and cautioned against moving too quickly to reverse course. Story continues You can still see that its still gone up pretty significantly in recent times, Dr. Jeffrey Smith told the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors earlier this week. Theres a lot of talk in California about relaxing shelter-in-place [orders]. I just want to point out that were still, in California, going up dramatically. So theres no clinical evidence that shelter-in-place [orders] should be relaxed at this point. Though Newsom has given the green light for counties to start lifting restrictions on certain businesses, he and other public health officials continue to warn of the dangers of reopening too much of the state too quickly. "We have to maintain the core construct of our stay-at-home orders," Newsom said this week. Kenneth Braithwaite testifies on his nomination to be Secretary of the Navy before the Senate Armed Services Committee at the U.S. capital in Washington D.C. Thursday, May 7, 2020. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Navy told lawmakers Thursday that if confirmed, he would fix the depressed morale plaguing the service branch in the wake of what he called a series of leadership failures. "It saddens me to say that the Department of the Navy is in rough waters due to many factors but primarily the failure of leadership," Kenneth Braithwaite, currently U.S. envoy to Norway, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in his opening remarks. Braithwaite, who would be the fourth civilian to lead the Navy in about five months, listed several incidents in recent years, including the coronavirus outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, the "Fat Leonard" corruption scandal and deadly Navy ship collisions. "They are all indicative of a breakdown in the trust of those leading the service," Braithwaite said, describing the culture in the Navy was "tarnished." Braithwaite's testimony comes as the Pentagon conducts a deeper investigation into the handling of a coronavirus outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt which subsequently led to the firing of U.S Navy Capt. Brett Crozier and the resignation of then-acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly. Naval Base Coronado officials recently updated the Imperial Beach City Council about construction of the new $1 billion SEAL training center. Capt. Scott Mulvehill, executive officer of Naval Base Coronado, told City Council members the Navy is committed to alleviating, as much as possible, any negative impacts associated with the 24 coastal campus projects planned along state Route 75. The 600-acre campus will add 1.5 million square feet of buildings to the base, which includes spaces for SEAL Teams, logistical support buildings, training facilities and classrooms. Advertisement The project is estimated to take 10 years to complete with about 3,300 personnel moved gradually from the current Naval Amphibious Base. The strip of land is south of Silver Strand State Beach along a scenic coastal corridor and near homes in Coronado and Imperial Beach. As soon as the proposal came forward, it prompted concern among neighbors and others interested in sensitive wildlife and habitat. As part of the Jan. 18 update, Mulvehill went over re-occurring neighborhood concerns: traffic and congestion, noise and intersection design. Mulvehill said he is focusing on a queue on base to alleviate traffic on Route 75. He said there will be about 800 feet of roadway leading up to the first guard. Once motorists are off Route 75, theyre on base property. Heading northbound on the strand, Mulvehill said there will be a dedicated turn lane 600 feet long, which he said can hold between 25 and 30 cars. Mulvehill said in total, theyve got the capacity to accommodate up to 110 cars. Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina said the issue with traffic on Highway 75 isnt each individual light. Its the cumulative impact of having an antiquated traffic signal system from the entrance to Interstate 5 all the way out to your new base, Dedina said. Mulvehill said the Navy is in negotiations with the Metropolitan Transit System and Caltrans to install a bus stop on the base. This was a goal of our community and the Navy, Councilwoman Lorie Bragg said. We really want to work with MTS in getting sailors to utilize public transportation, so I see this as a step in the right direction. Other considerations include low key signs for the campus that blend in with surrounding scenery. We couldnt ask for a better neighbor, Councilman Robert Patton said. And the fact that youre here checking in with us it means a lot, because youre doing something huge next to us. Mulvehill encouraged citizens to call the Naval Base Coronado Community Concerns hotline at (619) 545-8847. Edelman is handling the Chapter 11 filing of Neiman Marcus Group, the debt-burdened luxury retailer that is blaming the COVID-19 crisis for the need to restructure its finances. NMG CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck said the company prior to COVID-19 was making solid progress on its journey to long-term profitable and sustainable growth. "We have grown our unrivaled luxury customer base, expanded our industry-leading customer relationships, achieved higher omni-channel penetration, and made meaningful strides in our transformation to become the preeminent luxury customer platform," he said. Van Raemdonck blamed the "unprecedented disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," for placing "inexorable pressure on our business. NMG, which is based in Dallas, plans to use the Chapter 11 process to shed $4B in debt. The company also announced that temporary shutdowns of some Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Last Call stores will be extended through May 31 to protect the health and safety of its customers and staff. Edelman's Allison McLarty is working the bankruptcy. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram When the coronavirus arrived in Liberia, local journalists knew what it meant to report on a deadly, infectious disease; six years earlier they had donned personal protective equipment (PPE) to report on the Ebola crisis, Musa Kenneh, the Press Union of Liberias secretary general, told CPJ. But this time, Kenneh said, threatening comments from government officials have added more hazard to a dangerous job. We are risking our lives moving from place to place, villages, reporting to the people, educating the public about COVID-19[and] instead of complimenting us for what were doing, the government is coming back to fight us, Kenneh said. On April 29, Liberias solicitor general, Sayma Syrenius Cephus, told local reporters that the government would shut down news outlets and seize equipment from journalists alleged to have disseminated fake news. The justification, Cephus told CPJ during two phone interviews in early May, was legally grounded in Liberias COVID-19-related state of emergency, which began on April 11 and suspended freedom of expression. You cannot have 100 percent rights that you may exercise during normal timesLiberia is technically at war [with COVID-19], Cephus said. The government had so far been exercising tolerance, and any shutdown or seizure would require a judicial warrant and could subsequently be challenged in court, he said. Article 15 of Liberias constitution, which CPJ reviewed, protects freedom of expression save during an emergency and Article 86 affords presidential power to suspend or affect certain rights, freedoms and guarantees when a state of emergency is declared. All they [the government] want to do is be discretionary in determining what is false news or not, Kenneh told CPJ. The press union has zero tolerance for false news and views government regulation as a threat to journalistic independence, instead calling for authorities to respect the medias existing self-regulation processes, Kenneh said. The same day, April 29, Deputy Information Minister Eugene Fahngon told reporters that existing press passes, which journalists use to move freely amid the lockdown, would be voided and new ones issued, local media reported. Fahngons comments have caused confusion as well as concrete problems for journalists. CPJ spoke to three Liberian journalists who were stopped in Monrovia by security forces this week and told they could not move around without the new pass designated by Fahngon. One of them, Tetee Karneh, the general manager of the privately owned Spoon FM broadcaster, told CPJ that she had closed her newsroom after she was stopped by police yesterday because she was worried about her staffs safety. I advised my people to stay at home until we can sort this out. I dont want anyone to be brutalized, Karneh said, adding that the press pass issues were preventing journalists from delivering information to communities on how to prevent the virus spreading. Rita Jlogbe, a reporter with the privately owned Sky FM/TV, was stopped on May 4 and Akoi Baysah Jr., the Press Union of Liberias assistant secretary general, was stopped on May 5, the two journalists told CPJ. Jlogbe said she had not returned to work after the officer with Liberias Executive Protection Service had threatened her for having an expired pass. Today, on a live radio broadcast, Nathaniel McGill, senior presidential minister, warned journalists that they would be embarrassed at security checkpoints for not complying with Fahngons new pass requirements, Kenneh told CPJ, adding that McGill did not elaborate on his meaning. CPJs calls today to Moses Carter, spokesperson for Liberia national police, and presidential adviser Nathaniel McGill, went unanswered. CPJ exchanged messages with Fahngon on May 6 about a time to speak today, but subsequent messages and calls went unanswered. Reached by phone today, Trokon Roberts, director of the EPS, told CPJ he was surprised to hear about the incident involving Jlogbe and would follow up with the people concerned. Kenneh told CPJ he remembered how some Liberians didnt believe that Ebola was real and how journalists worked to inform them; now journalists are trying to play the same role, while taking similar precautions to protect themselves using protective gear like face masks and gloves. [But] right now we believe we are not protected with the kind of threats coming from the solicitor generaland deputy information minister, Kenneh said. The 400,000 gowns ordered by the government from Turkey last month are sitting in a warehouse near Heathrow Airport after inspectors discovered they were 'useless' and fell short of UK standards, it has emerged. The shipment was announced by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick on April 18 to much fanfare, with the minister claiming that 84 tonnes of PPE would arrive from Turkey the next day to aid NHS staff in the fight against coronavirus. However, an RAF plane that flew to collect the gowns was then forced to wait at a Turkish airport for several days after it was discovered the government forgot to check whether the supplier had an export license. Amid an international row with the government in Ankara, the shipment eventually arrived in the UK on April 22, carrying only enough gowns to last the NHS for a few hours. But in another farcical turn, Health and Safety inspectors branded the 400,000 gowns useless and they are now sitting abandoned in a warehouse. Millions of masks bought from factories in China have also been impounded after being found to fall below UK standards - though there are fears some have already been used by NHS staff while treating patients. 400,000 gowns ordered by the UK from Turkey are now sitting in a warehouse after inspectors deemed them useless. Pictured is an RAF C17 plane at Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, unloading PPE after arriving from Turkey The shipment was announced by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick on April 18 to much fanfare It is unclear if the government will be reimbursed after the materials failed to meet UK standards. Senior NHS sources suggested problems had been found with the type of material used and the length of the sleeves of the gowns. Mark Roscrow, the chairman of the Health Care Supplies Association, which represents NHS procurement teams, asked why government officials had failed to carry out proper checks before spending taxpayers' money. He told the Telegraph: 'Something very wrong has happened here. 'It's not clear to me why we weren't able to obtain samples in the usual way, and to see that these gowns weren't fit for purpose. 'We are being told that the people in charge know how to secure this vital equipment on our behalf, but the checks and balances clearly haven't been applied correctly. This equipment is still desperately needed at the front line, especially as hospitals begin to reopen other services which also require high quality PPE.' According to sources, the delivery of the gowns, dubbed 'Air Jenrick', was organised at the last minutes as pressure relating to PPE shortages grew. Downing Street reportedly ignored a Department of Health warning not to announce the delivery of the PPE from Turkey in April. NHS sources have suggested problems had been found with the type of material used and the length of the sleeves of the gowns Senior officials are thought to have warned No 10 and Mr Jenrick that any public confirmation of the plane-load of PPE for NHS staff battling coronavirus could backfire. But Mr Jenrick was authorised to announce its imminent arrival on April 18, a decision which sparked major embarrassment when it became clear it would not be ready in time. The following day, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson was forced to admit the equipment would not arrive on time and it eventually landed in the UK three days late. UK officials had first contacted the Istanbul-based firm behind the shipment, Selegna, two weeks earlier after it had offered to help. The final order was signed on April 17, prompting Mr Jenrick's press conference promise. He said: 'Today I can report that a very large consignment of PPE is due to arrive in the UK tomorrow from Turkey, which amounts to 84 tonnes of PPE and will include for example, 400,000 gowns so a very significant additional shipment.' It is unclear if the government will be reimbursed after the materials failed to meet UK standards. Pictured is another order of PPE being delivered to the UK on April 10 However, the plan took a farcical turn with an RAF plane only dispatched to pick up the items two days later. The plane then waited at the airport for 24 hours after it was found that an export licence had not been signed. The Turkish government was then forced to step in, ordering state-owned health company Ushas to dispatch PPE so the plane could return to the UK. But the first flight only saw around 32,000 taken back, with two larger RAF planes travelling to Istanbul later that week to pick up the rest of the gowns that were supplied by Selegna. However, when UK officials inspected the Selegna-made gowns, they found several faults that made them too dangerous for use by NHS staff. Last month, a spokesman for Selegna revealed the company had been founded by the owner's sister just four months before the PPE controversy. It originally produced shirts and tracksuits and only switched to the production of PPE as coronavirus spread around the world. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: 'This is a global pandemic with many countries procuring PPE, leading to shortages around the world, not just the UK. 'We are working night and day to source PPE internationally and domestically, and brought together the NHS, industry and the armed forces to create a comprehensive PPE distribution network to deliver critical supplies to the frontline. 'All deliveries of PPE are checked to ensure the equipment meets the safety and quality standards our frontline staff need. If equipment does not meet our specifications or pass our quality assurance processes, it is not distributed to the front line.' Also in April, the government demanded its money back for millions of faulty antibody tests supplied by China. The Department of Health admitted none of the 3.5million finger-prick tests ordered from mainly Chinese manufacturers in March passed accuracy checks. It comes as a number of European governments have already rejected Chinese-made equipment designed to combat coronavirus. The Dutch health ministry recalled 600,000 face masks at the end of March because they did not fit and the filters were defective. State and local governments, along with hospitals and critical infrastructure, have borne the brunt of ransomware, which has not been considered a national security risk by federal policymakers until recently. An attack on an ill-protected municipality, health care facility, small company or other organizations "wasn't at the same level as say, Chinese espionage or Russian election interference, Rob Knake, former director of cybersecurity policy on the National Security Council in the Obama administration. Knake said at a May 4 webcast hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations. The prevailing perception was that allowing cyber criminals to hit the lowest-hanging fruit would provide incentives to drive better investment and security behavior from others, he said. The financial pressures facing cities and states because of the coronavirus has changed this equation. A number of lawmakers on Capitol Hill are pushing to include dedicated federal funding in future COVID-19 relief bills that states and localities can draw from to bolster protections. One such bill would set aside $400 million per year for states to tackle ransomware and other cyber threats. Engagement from Congress and other policymakers around the issue has improved substantially following the high-profile ransomware attack on Baltimore last year, according to Matt Pincus, director of government affairs at the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). Additionally, the extra responsibilities state IT officials have taken on since the pandemic began have exacerbated the amount of responsibility they have in the cybersecurity world," Pincus said in an interview. NASCIO has historically gotten pushback from the Hill about subsidizing cybersecurity for state and local governments, Pincus said. His hope is that the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that these entities are often on the front lines of processing benefits passed by lawmakers to deal with the crisis. "The federal government charges the states to administer hundreds of federal programs even funding that's in the CARES Act," he said. "If you want unemployment insurance to be distributed amongst citizens, you need to make sure that you have systems that are capable of doing it." NASCIO helped craft the $400 million funding proposal and has lobbied for lawmakers to include it in future coronavirus relief bills. One of the top asks the non-profit has heard from state IT leaders is the need for more training to school their employees on how to avoid phishing lures and other tactics that provide an initial foothold to ransomware actors. Pincus said multifactor authentication, endpoint security, software patching tools and remote security assessments were also flagged as cybersecurity needs. Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) has successfully pushed for more federal funding to states and localities for their cybersecurity needs in the past and was one of four members who requested House leadership include regular grant funding in a future stimulus bill. A spokesperson for Ruppersberger's office said they have not heard back from House leadership since sending the letter in mid-April. "I think the challenge is going to be convincing members of the connection between the pandemic and ransomware," the aide said, noting that emphasizing how greater reliance on digital services by many states and municipalities during the lockdown offers one such avenue. "I think it's going to be a messaging battle." A spokesperson for the House Homeland Security Committee said members are still pushing House leaders to include the funding in future spending packages. One thing most agree on: All parties should do everything they can to avoid paying the ransom. Pincus said NASCIO's message to states is the same as those offered by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and other federal agencies: don't pay. Knake said organizations today are paying a price for past decisions made by organizations who failed to heed that advice. Criminal groups have "built these organizations starting from that $50 ransomware from your grandmother's computer, taking that money and reinvesting it in their capability and so what we're seeing today is the result of that," Knake said. "We have grown these criminal enterprises, we have paid their R&D budgets and now they are targeting us and we are in very bad shape." This article was first posted to FCW, a sibling site to GCN. Group of Asian parliamentarians, rights advocates also denounce decision to exclude Leila de Lima from Senate session. A group of parliamentarians from Southeast Asia have urged Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to immediately order the release of an opposition senator amid the coronavirus lockdown, as they joined rights groups in denouncing the decision to exclude the jailed legislator from the Senates ongoing online session. Senator Leila de Lima has been in jail since her arrest in February 2017 on charges related to drug trafficking allegations that she and her supporters believe are politically motivated and aimed at silencing one of the presidents most outspoken critics. In a statement issued on Thursday, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) said that de Lima and all political and human rights activists should be prioritised for release while the country struggles to contain the spread of the coronavirus Charles Santiago, a member of the Malaysian parliament and APHR chairman, said all charges against de Lima should also be dropped without conditions. At a time when the priority is to urgently decrease the prison population to stem COVID-19 pandemic, what is Senator de Lima still doing behind bars? While trial proceedings have begun against de Lima, her cases have been delayed multiple times after at least six judges withdrew from hearing her case. De Lima, an APHR member, remains one of the most vocal critics of Dutertes anti-drug policy, during which thousands of people have been killed. Dutertes vow to destroy senator Before her arrest, de Lima was leading a Senate investigation into the presidents so-called war on drugs. That prompted Duterte to vow to destroy her in public, and he ridiculed her private life during several speeches. Previously, de Lima led the countrys human rights commission and investigated rights abuse allegations against Duterte while he was the mayor of the southern city of Davao in Mindanao. Senator de Lima has not been convicted of any offences, despite spending the last two years in prison. Her only crime has been to stand up for human rights, Santiago, the Malaysia MP, said. Since the emergency declaration due to the coronavirus pandemic was announced in the Philippines in mid-March, the country has been placed under varying lockdown conditions, with most government institutions shut. Congress resumed its session on Monday, and members of the Senate and House of Representatives have agreed to hold parts of their deliberations online through teleconferencing. Foul and unfair While imprisoned, de Lima has not been able to attend Senate sessions, although she has been able to file bills, resolutions and committee reports through her staff. Now that the sessions have shifted online, de Lima has said she should be allowed to participate, insisting that it would not violate the conditions of her incarceration. But Senate President Sotto Vicente III, an ally of Duterte, has insisted de Lima will not be allowed to join the online hearings. She called Sottos decision foul and unfair, and part of the governments practice of petty politics. The ruling of the Supreme Court on this matter is clear. As long as I stay in the detention centre, there is nothing that prevents me from performing my job as a duly-elected Senator, de Lima said. A resolution filed by Senators Franklin Drilon and Panfilo Lacson in July 2019 to allow de Lima to attend plenary sessions by way of electronic means remains pending in the Senate. On Wednesday, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders also denounced de Limas exclusion. The decision to prevent Senator de Lima from exercising her mandate reflects a clear attempt to restrict her right to freedom of expression and to silence the voice of a lawmaker involved in the defence of human rights in the Philippines, said Alice Mogwe, president of the organisation. Malaysian MP Santiago also called the move ridiculous. Denying her the possibility to join Senate sessions online is yet another attempt at silencing her and preventing her from fully exercising her mandate as a directly-elected representative. WESTBOROUGH, Mass., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- EG Group and the American Cancer Society have announced that their nationwide partnership to drive funding for life-saving programs and services provided by the American Cancer Society has generated $252,394 in charitable donations. Throughout the month of March, guests of all EG Group convenience store locations across the nation were able to make a donation to support the critical resources provided by the American Cancer Society. Brands operated by EG Group include Certified Oil, Cumberland Farms, Fastrac, Kwik Shop, Loaf 'n Jug, Minit Mart, Quik Stop, Tom Thumb, and Turkey Hill. Donations received through this campaign will help fund the American Cancer Society's 24/7 cancer information helpline and fuel future research breakthroughs. During the month of the campaign, 80% of the calls the helpline received were related to COVID-19. EG Group's partnership with the American Cancer Society has helped keep cancer patients connected to vital support and answers at an unprecedented and isolating time. "This outcome not only shows the value of partnerships, but our steadfast commitment to fighting cancer during trying times. We may be facing unprecedented times, but cancer doesn't quit and neither will we. Now, more than ever, patients need our support and we applaud the EG Group for stepping up to the plate," said Wayne White, EVP at the American Cancer Society. "This fundraising effort could not have been accomplished without our dedicated team members and loyal guests," said EG America President George Fournier. "We thank our guests for their incredible generosity in helping raise over a quarter million dollars for such an important cause." For more information about the American Cancer Society, please visit www.cancer.org. About EG Group Founded in 2001 by the Issa family, United Kingdom based EG Group is a leading petrol forecourt retail convenience operator who has established partnerships with global brands such as ESSO, BP, Shell, Carrefour, Louis Delhaize, SPAR, Starbucks, Burger King, KFC, Greggs and Subway. The business has an established pedigree of delivering a world class fuel, convenience and food-to-go offer. EG Group entered the US market through the initial acquisition of 763 Kroger C-Stores in April of 2018 and now operates 1700 stores in 31 states. EG Group has made a significant commitment to delivering a modern consumer retail offer creating a destination to satisfy multiple consumer missions. EG Group now operates nearly 5,400 stores, in 9 countries with over 35,000 associates. About the American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of 1.5 million volunteers dedicated to saving lives, celebrating lives, and leading the fight for a world without cancer. From breakthrough research, to free lodging near treatment, a 24/7/365 live helpline, free rides to treatment, and convening powerful activists to create awareness and impact, the Society is attacking cancer from every angle. The Society does not endorse any product or service. For more information go to www.cancer.org SOURCE EG Group Earlier today, the Android Developers official YouTube channel released a short video teaser where it announced a new launch date of June 1 for the official release of Android 11 Beta. Normally, Google would release the Android Beta once Google I/O kicks off (which would have taken place on May 12, 13, and 14), but COVID-19 forced the major event to be cancelled entirely. Google is going to be kicking off a virtual conference starting with #Android 11: the Beta Launch Show. The show starts at 8AM Pacific (11AM EST) on June 1 and will hold presentations on the topics that were expected for Google I/O. For Android 11, we were expecting three Developer Previews, and three Beta builds, but Google went ahead and released a fourth build of the Preview and pushed back the Beta release schedule. Beta 1 comes in June, Beta 2 in July, and Beta 3 in August. The final release is then expected sometime after, but not after the #MadebyGoogle event, which is normally where Google announces the next Pixel device, sometime in October. The fourth Developer Preview of Android 11 doesnt bring any new features - especially since Developer Preview 3 was released just under two weeks ago. Instead, it gives developers more time to get their apps ready for the Android 11 Beta. The Developer Preview 4 is an incremental update for stability and performance. If your Pixel device is already running a previous build of the Android 11 Preview, your device will pull the latest build OTA. Otherwise, you must flash the latest image manually. Source: 1 * 2 'This prime minister thinks he knows everything.' 'He has to consult, he has to talk and he has to mobilise the best people, but having seen him function, I have no expectations from him.' Congress leader Jairam Ramesh worked in the finance ministry under then finance minister Dr Manmohan Singh in 1991 and participated in the economic reforms. He then served in Dr Singh's governments. "This crisis is far deeper and far more fundamental than what we faced in 1991. It was fundamentally a foreign exchange crisis in 1991. Today, it is a complete collapse of economic activities. It is a decimation of livelihood, and loss of morale and confidence as well," Ramesh tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com. Do you think more than a health crisis, is this an economic and humanitarian crisis for India? What we are facing is both humanitarian and economic crises, and this is not a short-term crisis, but one that will linger for a couple of years at least. The crisis is bleak and fundamental. Fundamental in the sense? The class character of the Indian State and Indian society has been exposed very, very badly. For example, the manner in which we have collectively reacted to the stress and anguish of migrants. The manner in which we have allowed the poor and the disadvantaged sections to bear the burden of this lockdown shows how deeply entrenched the class character of the Indian State and Indian society is. These are longer term issues which are going to redefine Indian society for a long time. In what way will it redefine Indian society? For example, lakhs and lakhs of people in India depend on daily wages and a lockdown of this long duration has affected their livelihood completely. One out of three Indians is a migrant of some sort or the other. Internal migration is a locomotive for many states in the country. We worry about external remittances which is about $70 billion. Internal remittance within India from one state to another is about $10 billion. It is not a small amount at all. The economy of states like Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam, Bengal, etc depend on the remittances from workers. Having seen the kind of wave after the crisis, I have very serious doubts whether we will ever return to the old situation of free migration we had in this country in the past. Our public health system has been badly exposed. The so-called Gujarat model has turned out to be a bogus model. I have always been saying there are only two states in the country which have any worthwhile public health system, and they are Kerala and Tamil Nadu. But our prime minister has shown a lack of sensitivity and lack of compassion for the poor, and for the migrants. We want to evacuate Indians from abroad, but we don't want to provide logistics facilities for migrants within the country. We will send buses to bring back students from Kota, but we will not send buses to bring back our migrant labour. This is an awful and appalling commentary on our society. What kind of repercussions will this have on the Indian economy once the lockdown is over? Fiscal federalism will receive a serious shock. In the last 30 years, we had political de-centralisation. But we have already seeing centralisation of power under this government. I foresee in a couple of years, the Centre will try to assume more and more financial and administrative authority, which is not good for this country. This country requires states to be more powerful. This country requires panchayats and municipalities to be more powerful. This crisis reinforces Mr Modi's instinct for centralisation. Centralisation of financial and administrative powers is what I am bothered about. They will review the powers in the name of consequences of dealing with the crisis. Do you think we are in an economic situation like what we had experienced in 1991? This crisis is far deeper and far more fundamental than what we had faced in 1991. It was fundamentally a foreign exchange crisis in 1991. We had only five days of foreign exchange. Today, we are sitting on mountains of foreign exchange, over $450 billion. Today, it is a complete collapse of economic activities. It is a decimation of livelihood, and loss of morale and confidence as well. Like many experts say, do you feel it all started with demonetisation? Yes, the economic downslide started with demonetisation. Then, this hasty implementation of GST happened. That was the second shock. Thirdly, the extraordinary powers that the tax officials have been given. This has created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. These three shocks were there before the Covid crisis. The Covid crisis only accentuated the economic decline. The economy is in a serious situation now. We will be lucky if we get positive growth in 2020-2021. I don't think the recovery will be sharp and quick. It will take time. But we have to be on guard against the over-centralisation that is being attempted in the name of dealing with the crisis. At some stage, normal political activity has to resume in this country and it is only through political activity that the aspirations of the poor and the disadvantaged can get a complete discourse. Do you feel the lockdown has been extended too long, and those who are suffering are the poor? The longer we prolong the lockdown, it is going to be devastating and disastrous for 90% of the workers in the unorganised sector. It is going to be disastrous for daily wage workers. It is going to be disastrous for trade and commerce. Big industries will somehow survive as they have champions in the government, but the little man will not. In 1991, when we had a huge economic crisis, we had P V Narasimha Rao as prime minister and Dr Manmohan Singh as finance minister. Do you see people of that calibre in this government to deal with the current economic crisis? This prime minister thinks he knows everything; he is all important; he is omnipresent. These video conferences are photo opportunities. There were no all-party meetings. He has not reached out meaningfully to other political parties. He has to consult, he has to talk and he has to mobilise the best people, but having seen him function, I have no expectations from him. Though Moody's predicted a GDP growth of 0.2%, many economists predict negative growth. I can only say that what will save the economy is agriculture. But you have to remember one thing, even before the crisis, the economy had slowed down very significantly. We had six quarters of declining GDP growth. Investment was very sluggish. Exports were stagnant. There was an atmosphere of fear and intimidation in trade, in MSMEs, in industry. Now, Modi has the perfect excuse for no or negative growth. But the fact is even before the COVID-19 crisis, even before the lockdown, the economy has been slowing down sharply. The magnitude of livelihood loss was horrendous. The unemployment rate, however imperfect the measures are, was 7% and was going to balloon. We understand what the problems are. But the question is, how is the government going to handle it? We have not seen an MSME package from the government. We have not seen a package to deal with the distress of the migrant labour. Some people say this is an opportunity for India to replace China with the kind of anti-China feeling all over the world. Do you think it is an unrealistic idea? I wouldn't say it is unrealistic. You should certainly try. Whether the companies wish to leave China want to go to Vietnam or the Philippines or India depends on what India has to offer, the kind of infrastructure and the kind of policies we can offer. But it is more important to address the problems of the migrant labour than getting investments displacing China. Right now, the priority is not to get FDI, but provide relief and rehabilitation to our migrant worker population. We have serious internal problems now which we have to fix first. What should be the government's first priority? I am not in the government and anyway, they wouldn't listen to us. But the fact is, it is very clear what needs to be done. First of all, you have to present a new Budget. The old Budget was irrelevant to begin with as it was based on all faulty assumptions and faulty numbers. So, you have to present a new Budget. Number two, you have to undertake a ruthless review of public expenditure. I feel the time has come for a complete review of public expenditure and we have to focus on public health single-mindedly. I would say we should re-look at our defence expenditure. Why do you need this kind of defence expenditure when the real needs of our society are different? It makes no sense whatsoever. Number three, there is an urgent need to fix the livelihood of migrant labourers, daily wage earners, workers in the unorganised sector, etc. These should be the priorities. You filed a PIL in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Centre and state governments to ensure universal coverage of Food Security for all. Do you think the government did not plan properly for the lockdown, and that's the reason why so many people are not getting food? It has become increasingly clear in the weeks post the lockdown that the government did not anticipate several of the challenges that presented themselves. The government's last minute announcements with a misleading final date, followed by subsequent extensions further demonstrated that the government's policy was ad hoc and being developed as it went along. This came at a huge cost especially to those at the margins of society. We witnessed a massive crisis with regard to the migrant labourers who had been stranded without food, medicines or resources and left to fend for themselves. Furthermore, when mobility was severely restricted how would food supplies reach those who needed it the most. These concerns should have been anticipated. It is reported that the Kerala government has been supplying food packets three times a day to everybody during the lockdown... Yes, some states are undoubtedly doing better than the others. Chhattisgarh as well; it has a robust PDS distribution system. On one side, we hear about vegetables and fruits rotting, no space in godowns to keep grains and farmers suffering, and on the other side, people are not getting food. Where did we go wrong, and how can we correct it? This is what I intended to seek clarity on with my petition. I wanted to identify areas where the PDS ration shops were working well, and where they weren't. The government has declared an additional entitlement of certain food-grains. But where does it stand in terms of implementation? That was the purpose of seeking data so that better policy could emerge, which would in turn lead to a more efficient use of resources. You were the minister for environment in the UPA government. Do you think the world should look at climate change more seriously now? Yes. It would be a mistake to loosen environmental laws in the name of economic growth or the revival of the economy. I think in many ways the crisis was brought about by man disturbing the ecological balance. The way we live with nature has been disturbed. In many ways, this COVID-19 crisis is a consequence of that. We should remember what our ancient sculptures say, prakruti rakshati rakshataha (nature protects those who protect it). If you don't protect nature, nature will react. The COVID-19 crisis, in many ways, is a reaction of nature to our interference with nature. In India we have a long cultural legacy of respecting nature. I hope issues of biodiversity conservation, issues of climate change will assume special significance now. And in the changed world we have entered, protection of nature assumes even greater significance. Some lucky design students at Central Saint Martins got the opportunity of a lifetime last year when Alexander McQueen enlisted their help to contribute in the making of its Spring 2020 collection. Related | Alexander McQueen Delivered a Powerful Show on Community Worn by British model Stella Tennant, the white sleeveless midi dress featured abstract line motifs of "dancing girls" that were drawn by the aforementioned students. (All of their names were credited in the show notes.) Alexander McQueen gave PAPER a behind-the-scenes look at the making of this dress. The students' dancing girl sketches were done on long white sheets during a life-drawing class led by Fashion Illustrator Julie Verhoeven at the brand's flagship store in London. Afterwards, Creative Director Sarah Burton enlisted the entire McQueen staff to hand-embroider and stitch over the sketches of a single ivory linen dress. The Stitch School, a group that fosters community through needlework, provided the teams in London and Paris with specialist tables and looms so that every single person could contribute in the making of this look. Tennant's dress went on to inspire the dancing girls embroideries in another look in the collection: a blue linen dress with an open neckline and short, bulbous sleeves. Between the school kids and her entire staff collaborating on this dress, it all amounted to the sense of community spirit and togetherness that Burton championed this season. As she wrote in her show notes back then, "I love the idea of people having the time to make things together, the time to meet and talk together, the time to reconnect to the world." You can view and shop the entire Spring 2020 collection on the brand's website. By PTI ITANAGAR: The Arunachal Pradesh government has spent Rs 9. 49 crore on COVID-19 management so far, an official said here on Thursday. The amount was spent from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund (CMFR) on capacity building, procurement of essential equipment, providing relief to stranded persons and logistics, Secretary to the chief minister, Ameya Abhyankar said. Chief Minister Pema Khandu had on Wednesday said Rs 19.89 crore was donated to the CMRF till date. "My gratitude to all those generous persons who have contributed to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund towards our battle against #COVID 19. So far we have received a sum of Rs 19,89,08,644," Khandu had tweeted. Only one COVID-19 case has been reported in the state so far. The 31-year-old attendee of the Tablighi Jammat congregation in Delhi was treated at the Tezu Zonal Hospital in Lohit district and discharged from the facility on April 17 after being cured of the disease. Meanwhile, a health department bulletin said that 1,039 samples have been tested in the state so far, of which results of 180 are awaited. The maximum number of samples was collected from Capital Complex (625), followed by 111 from East Siang district, 89 from Namsai, and 63 from Lohit, it said. F riday's celebrations of the 75th anniversary of VE Day are a moment to commemorate, with joy and gratitude, one of the great achievements in human history: the Allied victory in Europe and the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany on May 8, 1945. To this day we cherish the freedoms that were preserved by that military triumph. As battered and flawed as it may be, the international rules-based order that arose from the ashes of the Second World War has served humanity well. There is much to salute and to honour. The paradox, of course, is that we shall be doing so in circumstances that more closely resemble the night-time curfew during the conflict than the exuberant street celebrations of 75 years ago. There will be no veterans march, no service of thanksgiving in Westminster Abbey, no neighbourhood parties. Instead, we shall remain in lockdown, as the nation marks the anniversary with a two-minute silence at 11am, a virtual duet by Dame Vera Lynn and Katherine Jenkins at the Royal Albert Hall (without an audience), and a televised address by the Queen. It is a British reflex to compare contemporary experience to the milestones of the war: Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, the Blitz. So it is all but inevitable that the VE Day celebrations will become psychologically entangled with anticipation of the Prime Ministers plan to disclose on Sunday the route-map out of coronavirus captivity. Matthew d'Ancona This is a temptation to be strongly resisted. There will be no moment of sudden emancipation, no Big Bang of freedom to quote one Cabinet minister. Instead, what lies ahead will be phased, often confusing and almost certainly frustrating in its incrementalism. If anything, the true (and underappreciated) lesson of VE Day for this particular crisis is that struggles rarely, if ever, conclude quickly. The aftermath of an intense crisis is often as demanding and gruelling as what preceded it As A J P Taylor writes in his study of wars and how they end, they tend to do so raggedly. Victory in the East, for a start, was not achieved until August, and the Allied treaty with Japan only signed in 1951. As Martin Gilbert records in his masterly account The Day The War Ended, the street festivities were only part of the story of VE Day: those who had been wounded, bereaved, or traumatised by the war found that celebration was tempered by grief, pain and an awareness of the trials that lay ahead. As Silvia Szulman, a Jewish refugee in London, recalled to Gilbert: Of course, we were glad the war had ended, but like the relief after surviving a hurricane or earthquake, our sense of deliverance was tempered by apprehension of how much devastation we would find. Roger Peacock, a former prisoner of war, recalled: I felt nothing. I arrived home in the afternoon of VE-Day but the acceptance was intellectual, merely. David Ben-Gurion, who would go on to found Israel, was in London and wrote a single sentence in his journal: Victory day sad, very sad. Much privation lay ahead of victorious Britain: shortages, austerity, psychological reconstruction. When the young JG Ballard, future writer of great dystopian fiction, came to England after years of internment in a camp near Shanghai, he discovered the indirect rationing of simple unavailability, and the far more dangerous rationing of any kind of belief in a better life. The whole nation seemed to be deeply depressed. Ghastly as it is, this pandemic does not bear direct comparison with the Second World War, in which at least 75 million died. The lesson is more subtle: that the aftermath of an intense crisis is often as demanding and gruelling as what preceded it. Though the Governments scientific advisers are cautiously optimistic that the peak of fatalities has passed, they can give no guarantees that the contagion will not flare up again if we do not continue to observe a collective regime of social distancing and self-discipline probably for many months. The economic price of this virus will be stratospheric and its social costs higher than anything we have experienced in recent decades. As much as we must hope that the present spirit of solidarity and community outlasts the lockdown, we must also be vigilant against polarisation, political tribalism and the worst excesses of populism. Hear more in this episode of The Leader podcast So: let us celebrate tomorrow, as befits a great nation. And then prepare for the next stage of the immense challenge by which future generations will judge us, in our turn. According to The Motherly Guide to Becoming Mama, [Motherhood] means you have an opportunity to nurture, not lose, your true sense of self. Youll discover superpowers you never knew you had. Youll endure greater challenges than youve ever known. I can attest to this. My eldest is now 4 years old, and the person I am today is so much more capable, efficient, content, and loving than the pre-mom me. And if Im honest, its really been the challenges that have made me improve (and continue to do so), as well as the love. Motherhood is so perfectly and elegantly designed to help us reach our potential. It challenges us to our core, yet at the same time, the love we have for our little ones gives us the strength and motivation we need to meet those challenges. Accepting the Challenge One of the lessons of motherhood is to accept that your challenges as a mother will always be unexpected, and sometimes very different from the challenges of other mothers around you. Comparison has its limits because whats easy and natural for some may be difficult for others, whether thats due to character, life experience, or life circumstances. I have a perfectionistic and idealistic bent to my character, and this has made it hard for me to accept some of my shortcomings. For example, when my second child was born, I found it very challenging to manage my very active toddler with my hands full with the baby. I wasted a lot of breath cajoling and threatening consequences. With the pure logic of toddlerhood, my son soon realized that Mommy was no longer able to back up her words with immediate actions, so he learned he didnt have to listen. For a long time, I had nagging mom-guilt about this weakness in my parenting and wondered whether I messed up something crucial in him during those critical, early formative years. I dont have this guilt anymore. I do regret my poor parenting moments, especially when I see him copying my exasperated tone of voice during minor conflicts with his sister. But I no longer worry that he might need therapy at 35 to overcome my bad parenting. I dont worry because Ive come to see the amazing ability of people to grow and thrive when faced with challenges. Reflection and Transformation When we become mothers, we necessarily fall back on our own upbringingboth the wisdom and, in our low moments, the neurotic patternsas a foundation on which to build our own mothering. This has left me very grateful for my own upbringing and humbled at how difficult it is to raise another human being with patience and kindness. Of course, there are things we wont be able to change, such as our innate dispositions, but no matter where we start, we can model earnest striving and improvement. Hans Watson of Elite University, who specializes in reproductive psychiatry, said he advises his patients to strive to be good enough parents. When you boil good enough down, it is: if you teach your kids to self-reflect and then to be willing to change in ways that make your weaknesses become strengths, you will have a rock star of a child, he said. This is the key to resilience, something we really need our kids to learn if they are to succeed in life and be happy. Part of resilience, though, is also understanding our limits. Watson said that if you are finding yourself unable to have good days, it may be time to reach out for help. He also said that mental health during pregnancy and after birth can be very volatile, and sometimes you just need outside support. And it can be a sign of strength to admit when you cant do it alonebecause none of us really can. I have a lot to improve on in my mothering. Patience and kindness are top of the list these days. I get excited when I think about how calm and happy I can be in the future if I dedicate myself to these virtues. And this vision gives me strength in the present to be more so. So I wish you Happy Mothers Day and hope you find your own version of supermom. __________________________________ For New Moms Over the past couple of months, Ive been thinking about women who are now becoming mothers for the first time during the uncertainties of this pandemic. I reached out to Diana Spalding, a certified nurse-midwife, pediatric nurse, and co-author of The Motherly Guide to Becoming Mama, about how new mothers can better cope with the additional stresses of this time. She said: This is potentially one of the most stressful circumstances under which one can make their journey into parenthoodbut that means its the most profound. Youll dig deep, and realize that you are stronger than you could have ever imagined. And ultimately, when you dig deep, youll realize that the most significant emotion of all, is love. You love your baby, and your baby loves you, and that, it turns out, is the thing that matters mostduring a pandemic or not. Watson also shared a few practical tips: No. 1, after birth, if you are feeling overwhelmed or stressed by your child and its time to breastfeed, do it! The oxytocin thats released will reduce your stress and anxiety and help you bond. No. 2, keep reminding yourself to be good enough: With an infant, this means that you are meeting your childs basic needs and working on improving some aspect of your parenting. No. 3, reset your expectation of what a good mom looks like. You wont right away be as good as your mother was because what you remember is the end of her child-rearing years, after she had had years of practice! You are starting from square one and the best way forward is to learn. Samuel Andara, who was a detainee at Otay Mesa, was not sick at the time but sued the government to secure his release as a way of avoiding the virus. Andara had been a nurse in his native Venezuela and is acutely aware of the dangers the virus poses, according to his attorney, Kirsten Zittlau. Andara was able to leave the facility last month after posting a $15,000 bond with help from donations. The 'Jiyo Parsi scheme is proving to be a boon for the community, which has welcomed 261 babies to its fold over the last six years under the programme while grappling with shrinking population. The population of the community -- one of Indias six notified minority communities -- plunged from 1.14 lakh in 1941 to 57,264 in 2011, prompting the Centre to launch the scheme in September 2013 to arrest the dwindling numbers. The central government and the Parzor Foundation, a community organisation, adopted a multi-pronged approach of advocacy (counselling), medical and financial assistance to couples seeking help under the scheme, Parzor Foundation director Dr Shernaz Cama told PTI. Of the 261 children, 197 were born in Mumbai -- which has the largest concentration of Parsis in the country -- according to foundation, which has been implementing the initiative of the Union Minority Affairs Ministry. "So far, 261 children have been born as part of the Jiyo Parsi (live Parsi) ever since its launch, adding to the communitys population, Cama said. In Pune district of Maharashtra, 11 children were born under the scheme, while in Gujarats Surat, Navsari and Valsad 13, nine and four kids, respectively, were born, 'Jiyo Parsi' programme counsellor Pearl Mistry said. Besides, six children were born at Bengaluru in Karnataka, she informed. States like Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have reported birth of one or two children each over the period. Fourteen children were born under the scheme in 2014, while during 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, the community saw 38, 28, 58, 38 and 58 children, respectively, added to its strength. This year, 25 babies have entered the world so far, Mistry said. The drop in the birth rate in the community, whose members are located chiefly in the capital of Maharashtra and parts of Gujarat, is ascribed to socio-psychological reasons, Cama said. These include factors like Parsis having late marriages or not marrying, members marrying people outside the community and also many couples not willing to have children. Demographically, 31 per cent of the Parsis are aged above 60 years and around 30 per cent are unmarried. The total fertility rate of the community women is 0.8. That means, a Parsi woman in her child bearing age has less than one child on an average, Cama said. Under the scheme, a Parsi family having an annual income of Rs 15 lakh or below gets 100 per cent financial assistance, those having yearly income between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 25 lakh get 75 per cent assistance and the ones earning Rs 25 lakh or more are entitled for 50 per cent help, she said. The assistance is given for consultation, diagnostics, fertility treatment, cost of medicines, hospitalisation, pregnancy, delivery and post-delivery expenses to ensure proper health and survival of the mother and child. The scheme also provides monetary assistance of Rs 4,000 per head to support the elderly (aged above 60) and children (for creche support up to the age of 8) to lessen the financial strain on Parsi couples -- in a way helping them to think of having kids, Cama said. "We have a whole generation of single children (couples having only one child)...a boy when he grows up and gets married, he is responsible for his parents and the girl, when she becomes wife, is responsible for her parents, the official said. "So, there is a strain (on a couple) of looking after four elderly people...it is not easy to manage...it becomes emotionally and economically draining. So, we are now helping the elderly and children to reduce the stress on the couple, she said. "It has made a difference in the approach to having a second child, she added. Cama said till now, 140 elderly members have been supported (through couples) under the scheme, while the number of children who benefited thus is 167. In addition to this, the foundation has carried out 381 advocacy events across the country, Mistry said. Meanwhile, the Jiyo Parsi team has also started telephonic counselling through experts to assist people of all communities who are facing anxiety/psychological issues due to the COVID-19 crisis, she added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hospitals and physicians around the country are sharply criticizing the federal government for the uneven and opaque way it is distributing its supply of the Covid-19 drug remdesivir. The experimental drug received an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration last week, after preliminary data from a clinical trial showed that it reduced how long it took hospitalized Covid-19 patients to recover. Now, as the drug's producer, Gilead Sciences, tries to ramp up production, the U.S. government is starting to distribute the limited number of vials that aren't needed for ongoing research, so that patients can start to see the benefit outside of clinical trials. About two dozen hospitals are believed to have been chosen to receive the drug so far, but clinicians told STAT it is unclear why some medical centers were chosen to receive coveted doses while others weren't and who is making those decisions in the first place. More from STAT News: "In my opinion, and I think in the opinion of many of my colleagues, there is a complete lack of transparency about how this decision is being made and who is making it," said Daniel Kaul, an infectious disease physician at the University of Michigan. His hospital's pharmacy department informed him that their center wouldn't be getting any doses of remdesivir after being in contact with the drug's private distributor, AmerisourceBergen, earlier on Wednesday. "Those of us on the front lines treating people with Covid-19 need to know what the criteria are and where this drug is going to be available and why those places were selected," he went on."All of us want to make sure limited resources are used in the most efficient fashion The government entity making this decision should reveal itself and it should state its criteria." Even medical centers chosen to receive the drug were in the dark. "I legitimately do not have any insight into how hospitals were selected," said Paul Biddinger, director of Massachusetts General Hospital's Center for Disaster Medicine and one of the leader's of the hospital's pandemic response. On Tuesday evening, he said, the hospital's pharmacy got confirmation that it would receive enough remdesivir for about 170 patients. He had heard that three other medical centers in the state also got allocations. Most other Massachusetts hospitals including some that were among the hardest hit by Covid-19 would receive none. Biddinger said that on Wednesday, his team was in touch with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health about giving the agency the hospital's allotment, if federal regulations allowed that sort of transfer. "What we want is to make sure that everyone has fair access to the medication," said Biddinger. "We recognize that there are people from around the state that meet the criteria, and we certainly don't want to be the only hospital [in metro Boston] with access to the medication." Earlier instances of unapproved drugs being authorized for emergency use have been very different, said Michael Ison, an infectious disease physician at Northwestern Medicine. During the H1N1 flu outbreak in 2009, he explained, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention created a website as soon as the FDA authotized emergency use for peramivir, so that hospitals could apply for the medicine. Not so for remdesivir. "Currently there is no way anywhere I've seen to figure out how this is being distributed or how they're making decisions about this," Ison said. He found out through his hospital's head of pharmacy that Northwestern would not receive any doses under the emergency use authorization. "This led me to reach out to leaders around the country who are focused on the care of these patients, and found that a huge number of large academic medical centers didn't have access to this drug," he said. Ison heard that about 25 hospitals have been approved but that the University of Washington, University of California, San Francisco, Emory, Duke, Tufts, and Boston Medical Center had all been told they wouldn't get any of the government's supply of the drug. The fact that some of the hardest hit hospitals weren't among those selected was concerning, he said. "It raises significant questions about how this was done. It's not clear to anyone. There is no place this information can be found," he said. In the meantime, he said, UCSF has become something of a clearinghouse for information on which hospitals are getting access to the drug. One infectious disease doctor there posted a map on his twitter feed of the hospitals that received word of an approval or rejection. "They (UCSF) is doing what the government should be transparent about," Ison said. "I'm scared and nervous," said Peter Chin-Hong, a UCSF infectious disease doctor. "There are places that are having a lot more cases than California. But what I'm worried about is, are we ever going to get it [remdesivir]? What is the speed at which we're going to get it? And which hospitals in the area are going to get it if we're going to get it at all." Chin-Hong said a colleague in UCSF's pharmacy department began collecting information from other hospitals to create a map of which centers were approved to receive the drug and which were denied. Even as the information started to become public Wednesday, it was unclear which part of the federal government was making the decisions about which facilities will get access to the drug, and why. "We know who the vendor is AmerisourceBergen but we don't actually know who is making the decision. Is it Trump? Is it FEMA? Is it science-informed?" The Federal Emergency Management Agency told STAT that the Department of Health and Human Services is handling remdesivir distribution; a HHS spokesperson said they would look into the matter. Gilead declined to comment. He said patients and doctors in the system are actively seeking access to the drug. "This morning I got a call from one of the hospitals in our system in a different county. They didn't have the drug and they just wanted to know what the options were for their patients." Part of the issue is that the data on the drug's efficacy is still preliminary. "We don't think, for the short term, there will be enough remdesivir to treat everyone," said Biddinger, "and so we would like to prioritize those who are most likely to benefit from the drug." While many clinicians suspect treating a patient earlier in their illness may provide more benefit, the evidence isn't published yet. That leaves hospital systems in the unenviable position of choosing who will receive medication without all the relevant information. "The feeling at the end of the day is that it's probably going to have to be a lottery," said Chuck Morris, the incident commander of Brigham and Women's Hospital, where patients are receiving remdesivir as part of a clinical trial, and which is part of the same system as Mass. General. While there had also been discussions of having to invoke crisis standards of care, which can help hospitals ration limited medical resources in an effort to save the greatest number of lives, but there were concerns that that could introduce inequities, because those who've had less access to the medical system may have more underlying health conditions. The Infectious Disease Society of America, on Wednesday afternoon posted a letter addressed to Vice President Mike Pence urging the administration to create a fair and open process for distributing the drug. "The plan for distributing remdesivir should be transparent and should be based on state and regional COVID-19 case data and hospitalization rates," the letter states. "Supplies of remdesivir should be distributed on a regional basis with equitable distribution within the region to states and within states to hospitals." The organization, which represents the nation's infectious disease specialists, emphasized that creating such a process is particularly important to eliminate bias and help counteract health disparities that tend to fall along racial lines. "Data on the distribution of remdesivir under the EUA should be publicly available," it wrote. It added that data from the completed clinical trial, the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial, should be publicly released so that hospitals with a limited supply have the best possible data to inform how to distribute remdesivir among patients. Lisa Snowdon left viewers very distracted by her daring neckline during Thursday's This Morning. The presenter, 48, took centre stage to host the show's fashion segment, however, viewers were far more interested in what she was wearing. The star looked stunning in her summery floral dress by Rixo, but fans couldn't help but comment on the amount of cleavage she had on show. Distracting: Lisa Snowdon left viewers very distracted by her daring neckline during Thursday's This Morning Before she started her segment, host Holly Willoughby, 39, remarked on how 'gorgeous' she looked in her flower print dress. And fans were certainly in agreement, with many taking to Twitter to comment on Lisa's appearance. 'ThisMorning Lisa Snowdon morning jesus nowt like showing your cleavage straight to the camera' commented one viewer. While another joked: 'I guarantee that no one has listened to a word Lisas said, we are all staring at a particular place.' Showstopping appearance: The presenter, 48, took centre stage to host the show's fashion segment, however, viewers were far more interested in what she was wearing A third person remarked: 'I would guess that most straight men are paying no attention to a word shes saying!' 'Cor that dress under pressure there...' tweeted a fourth. 'Good grief I don't think anyone will be looking at Lisa's plants' wrote a fith. Eye-popping display: The star looked stunning in her summery floral dress by Rixo, but fans couldn't help but comment on the amount of cleavage she had on show With another adding: 'Hello there Lisa Snowden!' Last month, Lisa admitted she was heartbroken after being forced to cancel her wedding to fiance George Smart in Japan later in the year, amid the coronavirus pandemic. Talking to New Magazine, Lisa also spoke about her 'frightening' battle with the virus, which left her housebound for nearly a month. Distracted: Fans were certainly in agreement with Holly's 'gorgeous' comment, with many taking to Twitter to comment on Lisa's appearance Lisa and George, 40, had been planning on flying to Japan for their wedding ceremony, more than three years after getting engaged. 'It is heartbreaking having to cancel our wedding and wed hoped wed get married in Japan, but now George and I are going with the flow,' she said. 'We dont even really discuss it and we are going to leave it until next year, theres no point in planning anything and everything has been put on hold.' It's off! Last month Lisa revealed she had to cancel her wedding due to the coronavirus pandemic Lisa added the couple feel like they are already married so don't feel in any kind of hurry. Lisa and entrepreneur George have known each other for 15 years, and decided to rekindled their romance in 2015 after briefly dating in the past. George popped the question in December 2016 after 14 months of dating. This Morning continues weekdays from 10am on ITV. Sahrawi refugee camps, May 6, 2020 (SPS) - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed a contribution of CHF 1.8 million (US$ 1.9 million) from the Government of Switzerland that will help cover the basic food needs of thousands of Sahrawi refugee families and support WFPs school feeding programme. In the statement published on its website, the World Food Program (WFP) regrets that "For the past 45 years, the Sahrawi refugees have been living under harsh conditions in the Sahara Desert in southwestern Algeria. Hosted in five refugee camps near the Algerian town of Tindouf, refugee families rely primarily on WFP assistance for their food needs, while employment and livelihood opportunities are limited. . WFP noted that "Switzerland has been a key donor to WFP Algeria, contributing $ 30.6 million in the past 15 years." "In 2020, WFP will use Swiss funds to distribute monthly rations that include cereals, legumes, vegetable oil, sugar and fortified foods to thousands of refugee men, women and children to cover their basic food needs." In response to the Sahara Press Service, the Saharawi Red Crescent has thanked this donation stating that the annual contribution of the Government of Switzerland is of great importance for a population that has been living in difficult conditions for 4 decades due to conflict and process unfinished decolonization . Similarly, the president of the MLRS, Buhubeini Yahia Buhubeini, has announced through his Twitter account (https://twitter.com/BuhubeiniYahya) that the Saharawi humanitarian institution has already started the necessary actions for the distribution of the humanitarian aid sent last week by Algeria. The United Nations World Food Programme is the worlds largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies, building prosperity and supporting a sustainable future for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.SPS 125/090/TRA There are times in life when we expect the expected; but what happens in the unexpected moments when we are surprised by circumstances beyond belief? It is in these moments when we need hope the most. I recently heard about an online festival called Hope at Homea ten-week film series where people who are usually distanced from each other by time and space can connect and engage over movies and stories which excite and inspire. The man behind this festival is the CEO of Heritage Films, Rod Hopping, who I had the privilege of connecting with before the festival kicked off. Movies change people Rod explained to me that when people usually go into a movie theatre, they either love or hate the movie, talk about it with friends or family after the movie is over, and usually forget about it a few weeks later. But being able to connect and stay connected over film and conversation, especially films based on true events and storylines, inspire people to continue talking about it well after the movie has ended. As the theme of his company suggests, movies change people; people change the world. This got me thinkingwhy are we so impacted by stories? I recall many a time when I would watch a movie one evening, and wake up thinking about it in a half-sleep deprived daze the next day. Stories with meaning tend to impact people that way. In fact, there are many stories that have had a profound impact on history, and have been turned into films which have changed peoples thoughts and perceptions about life in an extremely meaningful way. People change the world There are people we often come across in life that change our lives for the better. In fact, there are some of these folks that are the subject of films as well. As part of the Hope at Home festival, Hacksaw Ridge, The Least of These, Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable, Loud Krazy Love, and others will be shown on screen, and can be viewed in the comfort of your own home. One of the films, the Passion of The Christ, directed by Mel Gibson, had quite an interesting take on the life of Jesus, focusing not on his life, but on his death. Contemplating this in the weeks following Easter seems almost nostalgic, as Easter has come and gone. But bear with me. An ordinary event? I once was taking an Uber to visit a family friend on a Saturday morning on a Summers day in hot, South India. Despite the traffic, I was making good time, and my Uber driver and I started a friendly conversation. Do you live in that church? he asked me, referring to my location. I mentioned to him that I was staying with my Uncle, whose home was next to the church he pastored. I remember watching the Jesus film in my hometown, he said excitedly. It was the first time I heard about Jesus, though I am a Hindu...his death, his life...I still remember it till today. Looking back on that interesting but brief conversation years later, I smile as I remember that interaction between the driver and I. His last statement remains in my mindhis death, his life. Why did one come before the other? Perhaps that is what makes Jesus' death so unique. It is what makes life begin. Extraordinary times We are living in extra-ordinary times, when what seems predictable is not so apparent anymore. Yet we have a life that is meant to be lived in expectation of such times; because Christ laid down the blueprint of life that we are meant to follow. You may be lacking hope during these difficult days, but He came to give us life. Its when we realise that this is what keeps us going, despite the unpredictability of living in a world thats changing, we find hope again. I have come that they may have life, and life more abundantly. (John chapter 10 verse 10) Will you find such hope in Him? People are being warned to check before they dig following two separate incidents in the North Island where a fibre cable was cut. The majority of Vodafone customers experience major network issues this morning. Two separate third-party incidents caused major damage to essential fibre cabling near Matamata and Napier, says Vodafone NZ wholesale and infrastructure director Tony Baird. He says this meant many customers in the central and eastern North Island were left without broadband internet and mobile phone connectivity Urgent remedial works were undertaken and service is now restored, with ongoing repairs continuing. While we have a number of resilience measures in place to ensure customers stay connected wherever possible, because there were two separate fibre cuts combined on the same fibre chain, it meant a reduced ability to reroute traffic in the area. Tony days with alert level 3 construction work back underway, and with shovel-ready projects likely to get started, contractors are being urged to check before they dig at all times. Mobile and internet broadband services rely on underground fibre cabling to function. While we appreciate that contractors are working to increased time pressures, accidental damage to underground cables can cause massive disruptions, which was evident today. We apologise to any customers who were impacted by these incidents outside of our control. Britons should be wearing protective face masks to help prevent the spread of Covid-19, according to a leading public health academic. Professor John Ashton CBE, former regional director of public health for north-west England, has been heavily critical of the government's response to coronavirus, The co-founder of the World Health Organisation's Healthy Cities Project, also criticised the government's testing strategy - saying areas of the UK could already be free from lockdown had it been implemented correctly. Speaking during an online interview with Dr Jen Hough, lecturer at Liverpool Hope University, he said: 'If we'd had a systematic approach to testing, we probably could have let some parts of the country carry on as normal - in places like the south west of England, rural parts of Wales, and other coastal areas where there weren't many cases. 'They could possibly have carried on as normal, but with a regime of screening, testing, isolating, quarantining and so on. We missed the chance to do that. And so we finished up with this devastating situation for the economy.' Britons should be wearing protective face masks to help prevent the spread of Covid-19, according to a leading public health academic. Pictured: stock image 'I'm afraid there's been a failure to stick with the tried and tested public health approach - which would have been to screen people, to test people, to contact trace, to triage, cohorting people into different groups depending on whether they were free of the virus, whether they had symptoms but were testing negative, whether they had symptoms that were testing positive, and whether they were really sick and needed hospital treatment. 'All of these measures are the classic public health measures which we didn't stick to. 'You can see that from looking at the data about the proportion of the population who have been tested, and how that's played through to cases, how it's played through to admissions, and how it's played through to death rates. 'We just failed to stick to the textbook of how to go about these things. And because we didn't get a grip on it sooner, we ended up having to lock down the whole country. Professor John Ashton (pictured on Good Morning Britain in March) - former president of the UK faculty of Public Health - addressed contradictory government advice on face masks to state his own belief in how important they could prove in stemming a potential second wave of the pandemic Professor Ashton is highly critical of the government repsonse, pointing to a slow initial reaction and lack of PPE preparedness. Yesterday the UK became the first country in Europe to record 30,000 deaths from the coronavirus after it announced 649 more victims. Now at a total of 30,076 dead because of the Covid-19 outbreak, the UK has hit the grim milestone before either Spain or Italy, which were widely considered to have the worst outbreaks in Europe. Only the US has recorded more fatalities, with 72,000. With Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcing he is hoping to begin easing the UK's coronavirus lockdown on Monday, Professor Ashton - former president of the UK faculty of Public Health - addressed contradictory government advice on face masks to state his own belief in how important they could prove in stemming a potential second wave of the pandemic. 'It's my belief people should be wearing some type of personal protective gear to stop them infecting others. 'It doesn't have to be a surgical mask. We've seen in some countries people making covers for their mouths out of tea towels and T-shirts for when they're mixing with other people. 'These are measures which need to be done.' Last Thursday, during his national address, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said face masks would prove 'useful' when the nation does leave lockdown in terms of 'giving people confidence that they can go back to work'. His comments came days after Health Secretary Matt Hancock criticised the 'weak science' underpinning Scottish government advice to wear face coverings in shops and on public transport. BORIS JOHNSON ADMITS UK DEATH TOLL 'APPALLING' Boris Johnson admitted in Parliament yesterday that the UK's death toll from the disease is 'appalling' in his first Prime Minister's Questions appearance since recovering from it himself, but refused to be drawn on comparing it to other countries'. Sir Keir Starmer, who is a lawyer by trade, started questioning the Government's tactics in Prime Minister's Questions today in his first showdown against Mr Johnson since he took over from Jeremy Corbyn. He said: 'Yesterday we learned tragically that at least 29,427 people in the UK have now lost their lives to this dreadful virus. 'That is now the highest number in Europe. It is the second highest in the world. 'That is not success, or apparent success, so can the Prime Minister tell us how on earth did it come to this?' Boris Johnson yesterday conceded at Prime Minsiter's Questions that the UK's coronavirus death toll is 'appalling' Mr Johnson replied: 'First, of course, every death is a tragedy and he is right to draw attention to the appalling statistics not just in this country but of course around the world. 'I think I would echo really in answer to his question what we have heard from Professor David Spiegelhalter and others that at this stage I don't think that international comparisons and the data is yet there to draw the conclusions that we want. 'What I can tell him is that at every stage as we took the decisions that we did we were governed by one overriding principle and aim and that was to save lives and to protect our NHS.' Advertisement But Professor Ashton said that he believes the government has, in some ways - apart from the constant incitement to wash your hands - 'really neglected the community end of this epidemic'. 'The community end is terribly important, particularly now that we've got many people being sick at home - and many elderly people probably dying at home,' he explained. 'And we have to really be on top of personal hygiene and personal prevention.' When it comes to fatalities, Professor Ashton says we've experienced 'far more than might have happened if we'd done the right thing, in the right way, at the right time' and accused Boris Johnson of being 'on the back foot' from the beginning. And he said the threat from a deadly 'second wave' of the virus is very real. 'Because it's a new virus, we're not very confident about its behaviour,' he warned. 'We don't know if it will fade during the summer months with increases in temperature, or whether it will come back again (in the autumn) as we move into the colder seasons again. 'We know from the 1918-1919 influenza epidemic that it went away initially in the early part of 1918 and then came back with a vengeance towards the end of 1918 - and killed between 50 and 100 million people worldwide. 'So in the absence of effective treatment, in the absence of an effective vaccine, we have to focus on containment, with the sort of isolated measures we're having for vulnerable people. 'Getting the PPE delivered and in place and people using it properly - these are the things that are absolutely essential before we can contemplate lifting up on the lockdown or thinking about moving forward and hopefully preventing a second wave coming in the autumn.' Worryingly, we should not pin all our hopes on a vaccine, either. Professor Ashton admitted: 'What's fair to say about the search for a vaccine is scientists around the country, and internationally, are working incredibly hard on this, and there's lots of cooperation going on between companies and organisations who'd normally be competitors. 'Normally, to produce a new vaccine would take years. The indications are that we might be able to have a vaccine in mass production within about 12 months. There are tests beginning already. The number of people dying each week during the UK's coronavirus crisis has been significantly higher - more than double in recent weeks - than the average number of deaths for this time of year and is now second only to the US 'But going from tests, to having a vaccine that works, to mass production in terms of millions of doses, is a big ask. 'The other problem you have is that even if you have a vaccine that works against the existing strains of the virus, these viruses are very adaptable. They may change, mutate. 'And by the time you've developed the vaccine, it may be that the virus itself is different and that the vaccine may not work against it. 'We have to just hope that we get it right, and the emphasis on vaccine research will no doubt continue for many years ahead.' PPE for Essential Medical Workers Courtesy of Aeroscena It only made sense to purchase what we could and then donate it to our hospital customers and partner medical research institutions to help protect their essential medical personnel. Clinical aromatherapy research and development leader Aeroscena is supporting front line medical workers in hospitals impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic by sourcing and distributing care packages of much-needed items. Each package contains a combination of personal protective equipment (PPE) and the companys Ascents-brand clinical aromatherapy inhaler sachets. This potent combination aims to address not just the physical health of essential medical personnel, but their mental health as well during these unprecedented times. Utilizing Manufacturing Connections for the Greater Good We kept hearing it repeated over and over in the media that hospitals and nursing homes were running low on PPE, and those on the front line were being forced to reuse masks or even go completely without protection while treating COVID patients, says Mark Kohoot, founder and CEO Aeroscena. At the same time, we were receiving emails from our manufacturing connections overseas that they had PPE capacity remaining from the Wuhan outbreak, including KN95 masks. It only made sense to purchase what we could and then donate it to our hospital customers and partner medical research institutions to help protect their essential medical personnel. Help with Hand Sanitizer Besides KN95 masks, the care packages also include bulk bottles of much-needed, FDA-approved hand sanitizer. Because our products are used by the healthcare community, it means we constantly interface with medical suppliers, including those that manufacture hand sanitizer, says Kohoot. We were fortunate to be able to source a limited amount of sanitizer for donation, so we decided to include that in the care packages as well. Caring for Caregivers Mental and Emotional Health The majority of news coverage regarding the impact of COVID-19 on front-line medical workers health has focused on the immense physical toll of caring for those stricken by the disease. More recently, however, there has been an increase in reporting the ways in which the pandemic is negatively affecting healthcare providers mental and emotional health, including increases in instances of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Many of Aeroscenas Ascents-brand clinical aromatherapy formulas address symptoms similar to those being experienced by essential medical personnel working in facilities overwhelmed by COVID-19, including stress, exhaustion, and difficulty concentrating, says company Vice President, Shannon Eggleton. While our products were developed for use by patients experiencing the side-effects of various medical treatments like chemotherapy, we realized they could easily be repurposed to help care for caregivers emotional health. Including our Calm and Focus essential oil inhaler sachets as part of the donated supplies seemed like the right thing to do in order to address multiple health concerns at once. The care packages shipped the week of 4/27 and were delivered to hospitals and other care centers across the U.S., including Moffitt Cancer Center (Tampa, FL), University Hospitals (Cleveland, OH), VCU Medical Center (Richmond, VA), Childrens National Hospital (Washington, D.C.). Also included was Nebraska Childrens Hospital (Omaha). Aeroscenas thoughtfulness and generosity are cherished, said Dr. Meaghann Shaw Weaver, Childrens' Chief of Pediatric Care, of the donation. We are sincerely grateful for their offering! About Aeroscena: Established in 2010, Aeroscena is the corporate research and development organization behind Ascents-brand clinical aromatherapy. Aeroscena has designed the first scientifically-recognized platform for essential oil and aromatherapy R&D for both therapeutic (OTC drug) and CPG (natural, functional fragrance) use. Ascents evidence-based essential oil formulas are the only aromatherapy solutions that are recommended by doctors, used by hospitals. Aeroscena is located in the Cleveland Clinic Global Cardiovascular Innovations Center in Cleveland, OH. Aeroscena: The Science of Scent. aeroscena.com shopascents.com The Gates Foundation is moving to jump start those efforts. It is developing an app that could be used to order test kits, deliver lab results and assist with contact-tracing, and the foundation provided technical support to U.S. Cotton, which will be making millions of polyester swabs. The goal is to produce a kit that costs under $5. Mr. Gates, the Microsoft co-founder whose philanthropy has directed $250 million toward fighting the coronavirus pandemic, has expressed frustration in recent weeks with the slow pace of testing in the United States. In a statement Thursday, Mr. Gates said the new F.D.A. guidance would provide a much-needed alternative to current coronavirus testing, which requires patients to visit a clinic or hospital staffed by health workers who must frequently change protective gear that remains in short supply. Soon people should be able to get access to testing swabs just about anywhere and drop their samples in the mail, Mr. Gates said. This should make it possible for testing to be safer and more accessible for everyone, something thats especially important for people with underlying conditions who cant risk going out and others who might not have easy access to health care. The approval of the new guidelines was months in the making. It had been repeatedly delayed as agency scientists requested additional data to ensure that at-home test specimens could endure a journey through the postal system or several days in street-side collection bins awaiting pickup by Fed Ex and other courier companies. The new testing methods are based on studies that found virus samples could be transported in a dry plastic tube and remain stable for up to three days with temperatures as high as 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Up until now, commercial labs have required swabs to be placed in tubes with a liquid transport medium, complicating the prospects for large-scale home diagnostics that relied on the Postal Service or private delivery companies. The F.D.A. last month approved a diagnostic kit by LabCorp, but the test must be ordered by a doctor, and only LabCorp can process the specimens. The kit costs $119, further limiting its potential to address the countrys need for millions of tests a day. Asian giant hornets with the nefarious nickname murder hornets have recently been discovered in the United States for the first time. Scientists are rallying to prevent a 2020 invasion from the pests, fearing the U.S. honeybee population could be vulnerable to attack with devastating consequences. The giant hornets attack using mandibles shaped like spiked fins to decapitate their primary prey, the honeybee, which is already an endangered species. The hornets target honeybee hives in groups of up to 50 and are able to decimate an entire colony in mere hours before flying off with the bodies to feed their young. The hornet also possesses a stinger with potent venom for larger, more resistant prey. The giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia in Latin) is the worlds largest hornet, and it measures between 1.5 and 2 inches long. The species prefers low-altitude mountain and forest habitats. According to The New York Times, the first two murder hornet specimens in the United States were discovered in the northwest corner of Washington state in the fall of 2019. Scientists are keen to take advantage of the brief window to eradicate the species before it can do major harm to native bee populations. This is our window to keep it from establishing, said Chris Looney, an entomologist at the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA). If we cant do it in the next couple of years, it probably cant be done. Vespa mandarinia (bottom) compared to Vespa tropica (middle) and Vespa velutina (top) (Private collection, F. Turetta) (Filippo Turetta/CC BY-SA 4.0) Etymologist Susan Cobey described the murder hornet as like something out of a monster cartoon with this huge yellow-orange face to Washington State Universitys WSU Insider. Seth Truscott of WSU explained that the hornets are sometimeseither accidentally or deliberatelytransported in international cargo and are at their most destructive in the late summer and early fall. They attack honeybee hives, killing adult bees and devouring bee larvae and pupae while aggressively defending the occupied colony, Truscott said. Their stings are big and painful, with a potent neurotoxin. Multiple stings can kill humans, even if they are not allergic. Ruthie Danielsen, a beekeeper in Whatcom County, Washington, spoke on behalf of her peers. Most people are scared to get stung by them, she told the NY Times. Were scared that they are going to totally destroy our hives. We've had lots of questions about how Asian giant hornets compare in size to other similar-looking insects. Check out Washington State Department of Agriculture In November 2019, additional specimens were discovered across the border to Canada in British Columbia and on Vancouver Island. Beekeeper Conrad Berube was tasked with exterminating the Vancouver Island hive and was stung seven times or more, describing the pain as like having red-hot thumbtacks being driven into my flesh. Murder hornets kill up to 50 people per year in Japan. Bearing through the pain and ultimately surviving, Berube managed to destroy the hive and collect samples for analysis. As of May 2020, WSDAs Chris Looney is leading the murder hornet push back by planning and placing hundreds of hornet traps in the Washington state area. Looney and his peers are also investigating the feasibility of various tracking methods to help lead them to hornet hives and eliminate colonies at their source. As of May 2020, Washingtons agricultural officials are urging American citizens to report any sightings of the giant hornets via a smartphone app, reports Fox 59. Dont try to take them out yourself if you see them, Looney advised. If you get into them, run away, then call us! The WSDA even uploaded a hornet identification chart to Facebook on April 29. It is really important for us to know of every sighting, Looney said, if were going to have any hope of eradication. It turns out, however, that honeybees are not entirely helpless and have even been found to go on the offensive against these murderous counterparts. Japanese honeybees in particular have demonstrated an incredible defense tactic, according to a 2012 study funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) of Japan. They have been observed surrounding an intruding Asian hornet and vibrating to achieve a raised temperature of over 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 degrees Celsius) in the hive, essentially cooking and killing the hornet. The studys authors called the phenomenon the hot defensive bee ball. The comparatively inexperienced American honeybees, however, have yet to develop this tactic. SpendEdge has been monitoring the global acai berry market and the market is poised to experience spend growth of about USD 490 million between 2017-2022 at a CAGR of over 11% during the forecast period. Request Free Sample Pages This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005571/en/ Read the 107-page research report with TOC and LOE on "The Global Acai Berry Market, Pricing Outlook in Geographies that include APAC, North America, South America, and MEA, and insights into best practices to optimize procurement spend." This increase in acai berry procurement will be primarily attributed to the demand for acai berry pulp and the growing popularity among end-users due to their medicinal properties. Currently, dried acai berries account for almost 62% of the global market share due to its increased shelf storage life and low risk of microbial deterioration. In terms of regional spend, North America owns the majority market share, accounting for approximately 34% of the total acai berry spend. The acai berry market in North America is dominated by the US due to the high demand for acai berry enriched nutritional supplements from consumers. To get instant access to over 1000 market-ready procurement intelligence reports without any additional costs or commitment subscribe to our procurement platform. Insights into the acai berry market price trends Despite forecasts of an initial price hike because of a supply deficit, predictions of an increase in cultivation in APAC countries such as Australia and Malaysia will bring stability in the acai berry price. This will have a positive impact on acai berry procurement prices. The impressive profit margin achieved by the current players in the supplier market is motivating newer enterprises to venture into the acai berry market. This will concentrate the supply market which will intensify competition and limit the chances of a drastic acai berry price hike. Insights into strategies that will help buyers optimize their acai berry procurement spend Implementing strategic contract management dashboards will help buyers maximize cost-saving opportunities and offer a detailed overview of all contract-related processes, such as contract compliance, contract savings, contract spend, and contract renewals. Buyers should implement vertical integration strategies across their value chain. This enables them to maintain consistent quality in acai berries and helps to significantly reduce the inventory and procurement costs and operational complexities such as stockouts. This will have a positive impact on acai berry procurement prices. COVID-19 Impact Assessment and Market Insights SpendEdge's reports now include an in-depth complimentary analysis of the COVID-19 impact on procurement and latest market data to help your company overcome sourcing challenges. Our Acai Berry Procurement Market Intelligence Report offers actionable procurement intelligence insights, sourcing strategies, and action plans to mitigate risks arising out of the current pandemic situation. The insights offered by our reports will help procurement professionals streamline supply chain operations and gain insights in the best procurement practices to mitigate losses. To stay on top of latest trends and supply market information, check out SpendEdge's knowledge center on COVID-19 impact assessment The top acai berry suppliers enlisted in this report This acai berry procurement market intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies. Bulk Nutrients Agriforte Unilife Vitamins Sambazon Vision America International Amazon Power To get access to regular sourcing and procurement insights into markets for a lifetime activate your subscription to our digital procurement platform for free. Some of the key topics covered in this report are: Acai berry market spend segmentation by region Acai berry supply market analysis Acai berry procurement best practices Regional spend opportunity for acai berry suppliers Acai berry suppliers cost structure Total cost of ownership analysis in the acai berry market Acai berry suppliers pricing models analysis Category management objectives to promote an optimized acai berry procurement Cost saving opportunities in the acai berry market Free sample of reports that you may like: Global Natural Fragrance Ingredients Market Procurement Intelligence Report Global Vegetable Protein Category Procurement Market Intelligence Report About SpendEdge: SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are the preferred procurement market intelligence partner for 120+ Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering robust, real-time procurement market intelligence reports and solutions. To know more, https://www.spendedge.com/request-free-proposal View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005571/en/ Contacts: SpendEdge Anirban Choudhury Marketing Manager US: +1 630 984 7340 UK: +44 148 459 9299 https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us Federal law enforcement and Jersey City police put a dent in the flow on guns coming into the city from out of state when a Georgia man was arrested Wednesday. Jonathan Brown, 26, was arrested in Georgia by special agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit the unlicensed sale of firearms, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. Authorities say seven guns Brown sold in Jersey City have been recovered. In October 2019, Hasan Mosby shot a person with a gun that was sold by Brown, the criminal complaint said. The complaint said guns provided by Brown were recovered in at least three other incidents, a shots-fired incident on Jan. 19 and the arrests of two men, one on Jan. 29 and the other on March 30, with loaded guns. Authorities say Brown is barred from purchasing firearms himself due to multiple prior felony convictions, so he used straw purchasers in Georgia to obtain the firearms to sell in Jersey City. The criminal complaint said authorities found evidence of gun sales on Browns Instagram page. The conspiracy count carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Carpenito credited the Jersey City Police Department and the Hudson County Prosecutors Office for their role in the arrest. The investigation was conducted as part of the Jersey City Violent Crime Initiative (VCI), which was formed in 2018 for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Jersey City. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorneys Office, the FBI, the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administrations (DEA) New Jersey Division, the U.S. Marshals, the Jersey City Police Department, the Hudson County Prosecutors Office, the Hudson County Sheriffs Office, New Jersey State Parole, the Hudson County Jail, and the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center. Launching its biggest ever repatriation exercise, India on Thursday airlifted 363 of its citizens, including nine infants, stranded in the United Arab Emirates due to the international travel lockdown over the COVID-19 pandemic. IMAGE: A passenger alights from the Air India plane which returned from Dubai as part of the Vande Bharat Mission. Photograph: ANI/Twitter While the first Air India Express flight carrying 177 passengers and four infants from Abu Dhabi landed at Kochi at 10.09 pm, the second flight from Dubai carrying same number of passengers and five infants landed at Kozhikode few minutes later at 10.32 pm. The massive repatriation exercise is named 'Vande Bharat Mission.' The evacuated citizens will be sent to the Institutional Quarantine facilities set up by the district administrations in their respective districts, Kerala government officials said. IMAGE: Passengers at the boarding gate of Abu Dhabi Airport ready to board Abu Dhabi to Kochi special flight IX452 under Vande Bharat Mission during coronavirus lockdown, in Abu Dhabi. Photograph: ANI Photo Pregnant women, people needing immediate treatment, those returning to attend ceremonies connected to death of a close relative, aged people needing continuous assistance and children under 10 years will be permitted to go to their houses, where they will be under strict home quarantine (self isolation) for 14 days, officials said. All passengers were asked to download Aarogya Setu app on their mobile devices and submit forms of undertaking, as directed by Government of India, on their arrival at the airport, they said. IMAGE: Doctors check Indian nationals who are being brought back from Dubai under Vande Bharat Mission during coronavirus lockdown, at Dubai airport in Dubai. Photograph: ANI Photo The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation buses were kept ready for transporting the evacuated expatriates. Taxis were arranged for those who needed cars. IMAGE: Indian Ambassador in UAE, Pavan Kapoor checks the medical screening process for returning Indian nationals under Vande Bharat Mission during coronavirus lockdown, at Abu Dhabi airport. Photograph: ANI Photo The pilots and cabin crew were in Personal Protective Equipment suit on the flights which carried the evacuated citizens. "Proud and privileged to carry out the first medical mission titled 'Vande Bharat", the pilot of Kochi bound flight said. Two masks, sanitiser, snacks box with two cheese sandwiches and a fruit cake slice and water were provided to the passengers inside the aircraft. IMAGE: Air India Express flight crew members in protective suits pose for photographs before departing to UAE to bring back stranded Indian nationals, during the ongoing COVID-19 nationwide lockdown, in Kochi. Photograph: PTI Photo Meanwhile, the state government partially modified its order on quarantine and stated that all incoming passengers who have not undergone testing at the point of departure, will be put in Institutional Quarantine for 14 days by the district administration. Those passengers tested and found COVID-19 negative will be put in IQ for seven days. If they do not develop symptoms after seven days, they would be put in home quarantine for the next seven days, the order issued by Chief Secretary, Tom Jose said. The Centre had insisted that all passengers coming to India should undergo 14 days Institutional Quarantine. Athira Geetha Sreedharan, 27, from Dubai, who is expecting her first baby in July this year and had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking help to return for her delivery, was among those who could board the Dubai-Kozhikode flight. "I am very happy that I have got ticket to travel in the first flight itself and I thank everyone," Athira, who stays in Dubai with her husband Nithin chandran, said. IMAGE: Airport staff carry out pre-departure checking of an Air India Express flight bound for UAE to bring back stranded Indian nationals, during the ongoing COVID-19 nationwide lockdown, in Kochi. Photograph: PTI Photo India has been under lockdown since March 25 to curb the coronavirus pandemic. All domestic and international commercial passenger flights have been suspended during the three phase lockdown which began on March 25 and will continue till May 17. In a relief to Kerala no new positive cases were reported for the second consecutive day on Thursday, while 474 people have been cured and only 25 active cases remain in the southern state. The state, which has done extremely well in containing the spread of the contagion, is hoping that there will not be any spike in numbers once the non-resident Keralites return from various countries. With its gaze steadily fixed on the well-being of its people, the government is going about taking all the imperative measures that need to be taken to beat back the pandemic, observes B S Raghavan. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi conducts a review meeting in New Delhi, May 1, 2020. Photograph: Press Information Bureau If the coronavirus is susceptible, as is claimed, to heat, it would have by now been incinerated in the intense political heat generated in the wordy wars that are being waged hurling various kinds of omissions and commissions against all and sundry. Everybody is shooting off corona's shoulders against everybody else: Opposition political parties against governments; Governments against the Opposition; Media against the Establishment and vice versa; the United States against WHO and China; China against the US. Dire predictions of Doomsdays are being made: Of a second, third and God knows how many onslaughts of the disease resulting in untold number of cases and fatalities; economic recession, Depression, collapse; corporates folding up; all round unemployment; climaxed by an Apocalypse and Armageddon. Recommendations in their thousands, most mutually conflicting, have been pouring in from all over the globe -- the less knowledgeable in worldly affairs and the less hands-on experience in management and governance, the more the certitude in making them. Everyone is unceasingly hectoring India across an infinitely wide spectrum from countering COVID-19 to reviving business to catapulting the economy to fostering 'cooperative federalism' to conducting international relations. Well-meaning analysts, cacophonous commentators, ill-disposed sceptics and carping critics alike uncompromisingly demand a 100 percent perfect angelic India -- with not a blotch nor blemish. Of course, to all these versatile Know-Alls who have not managed a single tea shop in their lives, nothing that the Indian government has done is right and everything that it has taken up has been botched. Does this mean that the Modi government is infallible? Of course, it isn't. That it has no failings? Of course, it has. Which set-up composed of human beings can be above these? But what the nit-picking Know-Alls fail to realise is that a government, particularly of a country like India, is a bewilderingly, and sometimes intractably, complex organism, with innumerable traps to avoid and levers to operate in the running of which all the three Murphy's Laws come into play: 1. Nothing is as simple as it seems; 2. Everything will take longer than planned; 3. If anything can go wrong, it will. Taking all that into consideration, the Modi government is delivering the goods as a government should. Let us take the four charges that obsessive bad mouthers never omit to harp on. IMAGE: A cartoonist draws on the wall of a hospital to express gratitude towards frontline COVID-19 warriors, in Kochi, May 5, 2020. Photograph: PTI Photo The first is that the Modi regime is bent on suppression of dissent and denial of civil liberties and displays an autocratic mindset worsened by State vendetta against opponents. All this is ostensibly rooted in the right-wing 'fascist' ideology of the Bhartiya Janata Party, which, in turn, is the cat's paw of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. I grew under the shadow of freedom heroes and pride myself in being nurtured in the values of Gandhi and Nehru. I refuse to concede that I am second to anyone in my passion for fostering of freedoms. However searchingly I may look at happenings in the country, I see no shred of evidence in this regard. Nor have the nattering nabobs of negativism (to borrow Spiro Agnew's words) offered any shred of evidence other than rhetoric. They go on repeating this charge in the Goebbelsian belief that it may stick. Unfortunately for them, the electorate has rejected, and will reject yet again, the practitioners of such tactics. I have a few questions to ask of them: Why do people like them bristle at any comment at all on Muslims, and call it 'communalisation', and take cudgels against the person commenting? Why do Indians of their ilk find it obligatory to become the spokespersons and apologists of Muslims? Don't Muslims have their own kind -- fully 200 million of them with their own associations and organisations -- to take that role? Has this peculiar class of Indians witnessed any similar phenomenon in other 'secular' countries such as France, the UK, the USA, Japan where native public and political figures jump to become spokespersons of Hindus resident there if they are commented upon? Will other religionists have the freedom to do so in Muslim-dominant countries? If someone mentions the possibility of the Tablighi Jamaat congregation being a source of spike in coronavirus cases, why does this class of Indians get rattled? Why don't they leave it to the Tablighi Jamaat to convince the people that they took all precautions not to be the source of infection? The second line of attack of Modi-baiters is demonetisation. On this particular obsession of theirs, they are like a dog with a bone: They will never let go despite being told again and again that the average resident of the real Bharat saw demonetisation as a well-intentioned and much-needed catharsis which was worth its while. That was why while the English-educated, Western-oriented so-called intellectuals were tearing their hair ascribing all kinds of tortures to it, the people in the mass patiently and peacefully stood in queues before banks and put up with the inonveniences that were part of a massive nationwide operation that had to be inevitably undertaken as a surprise. There was not one instance of riot or law and order disturbance over it in a country which was called a functioning anarchy. It might not have yielded all that was expected of it, but it cleansed the system, and made the tax returns and collections jump to phenomenal levels. The glitches in the implementation of GST and the number of course corrections that had to be made are their third strident charge. They forget that it is a historic first the multiplier effect of which will be of incalculable benefit jacking up the economy to unprecedented heights in future years. The fourth is the so-called unpreparedness about the corona crisis, especially with reference to the migrant labour and the inadequacy of the relief package. It was a literally a life-and-death operation on a continental scale and whatever initial wrinkles were there are being smoothened and things look like settling down. All one needs to do to get a sense of this is to just have a look at the way the world's most affluent, militarily the most powerful, technologically the most advanced, and as the world's policeman and mentor, the most pretentious, the United States of America, no less, is bungling the handling of the crisis. Look at the chaos that prevails in most other advanced countries and the predicament they are in. It is impossible to keep one's head, when everybody else is so determinedly losing his. But India is doing the impossible, despite all its institutional, systemic and resource constraints, its vast population, its complexities and diversities, and the tendency of its denizens to pull in different directions. IMAGE: Artists wearing coronavirus-shaped helmets and protective suits request people to stay at home in New Delhi. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters Quietly, composedly, committedly, with its gaze steadily fixed on the well-being of its people, and adhering to basic democratic tenets, undeterred and undaunted, the government is going about taking all the imperative measures that need to be taken to beat back the pandemic and mitigate its severity on the one hand and, on the other, to inject pep into its economy and keep it on an even keel. There is one explanation, and one alone, for this: The decisive leadership and the unblinkered vision of Narendra Damodardas Modi and the solid support and the unwavering understanding he enjoys from the teeming mass of the people. His standing has been bolstered by the fact that, unlike the ever-tottering, potty patchworks, miscalled governments, of the past 30 years, his is one with a sizeable majority of its own -- a feat achieved on the strength of his own charisma and appeal. For the first time in 30 years and more, India has a rock-like government that boldly governs. From all signs, Modi seems all set to breeze in with a record electoral triumph in 2024. The Khan Market gangs, the Lutyens lackeys, the self-professed, self-serving sickulars, the English-touting, half-baked hybrids -- all had better prepare themselves to reset their moorings and bearings to face that eventuality. B S Raghavan is a retired member of the Indian Administrative Service. He was formerly a US Congressional Fellow, Policy Adviser to UN (FAO) and chancellor, Jharkhand ICFAI University. Turkey has helped evacuate nine Ukrainian citizens from Argentina, Ukraine's Ambassador to Turkey Andrii Sybiha has said on Facebook. "I call this a real strategic partnership in action, as in many other important emerging issues on the bilateral agenda. As a result, our embassies in Argentina have prepared and approved a list of nine Ukrainians who flew out to Turkey this morning," Sybiha wrote. He said that six countries that sent planes to evacuate their compatriots had rejected Ukraine's request to help return Ukrainian citizens from Argentina. "We also asked the Turkish Foreign Ministry to consider admitting Ukrainian citizens to a special evacuation flight of Turkish Airlines organized by the Turkish authorities for their nationals, from Buenos Aires to Ankara. And in this case, we received a positive response for which we are very grateful," the diplomat said. The Turkish Airlines plane was to arrive in Ankara but the route later was changed and the Ukrainians arrived in Istanbul. The Ukrainian evacuates will then be heading home via Minsk. op WASHINGTON The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to block Congress from seeing grand jury secrets gathered in the Russia investigation by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, saying the executive branch would suffer irreparable harm if lawmakers see the evidence. In a 35-page filing, Noel J. Francisco, the solicitor general, asked the justices to halt an order by a federal appeals court that imposed a May 11 deadline on the Justice Department to turn over the evidence to the House Judiciary Committee. He said the Justice Department should first get a chance to fully litigate an appeal of the ruling before the Supreme Court. The government will suffer irreparable harm absent a stay. Once the government discloses the secret grand-jury records, their secrecy will irrevocably be lost, Mr. Francisco wrote, adding, That is particularly so when, as here, they are disclosed to a congressional committee and its staff. House Democrats have argued that they need to see the grand jury evidence in part because of suspicions that Mr. Trump may have lied under oath in his written answers to Mr. Mueller, including about his campaigns advance knowledge of and contacts with WikiLeaks about its possession of hacked Democratic emails and plans to publish them. Donald Trump called James Comey and other 'Obama' officials as 'human scum' and accused them of a plot to 'bring down a president' after his attorney general Bill Barr's justice department cleared his former national security adviser Mike Flynn. The president unloaded on what he said was a 'plot' against him shortly after the dramatic move to drop the case against Flynn, which will have to be approved by a federal judge. The Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss the charges with U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, who has presided over the case and has a reputation for fierce independence. Judges generally grant such motions, but Sullivan could demand answers from the department about its reversal or even deny the motion and sentence Flynn, a less likely scenario. Sullivan at a 2018 hearing expressed 'disgust' and 'disdain' toward Flynn's criminal offense, saying: 'Arguably, you sold your country out.' Flynn celebrated by tweeting a picture of his toddler grandson Travis reciting the pledge of allegiance with the words 'justice for all.' Trump reacted in the Oval Office by saying Flynn 'was an innocent man' and attacking his critics as 'scum' before going to a ceremony for the National Day of Prayer. 'Human scum.' Donald Trump blasted those who brought the case against Mike Flynn - then went to a ceremony for the National Day of Prayer Celebrating victory: Trump took a victory lap in the Oval Office then went to the Rose Garden hand in hand with his wife Melania Socially-distanced prayer: After blasting his perceived enemies, Donald Trump led a ceremony for the National Day of Prayer Attorney General William Barr (left) said on Thursday that he decided to dismiss the case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn (right) because the lies he told the FBI were 'not material to a legitimate investigation' "When history looks back on this decision, how do you think it will be written?" Barr: "Well, history is written by the winners [smug laughter] so it largely depends on who's writing the history." These people are comic book villains. Cartoonishly evil. pic.twitter.com/9yHF31xW3m Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) May 8, 2020 'Now in my book he's an even greater warrior,' the president said. Trump said he would reach out to Flynn at the 'appropriate' time. 'I think he's a hero. It's a scam. It was a scam and a hoax. I think he's a hero, the general,' Trump said. 'I hope a lot of people are going to pay a big price because they're dishonest, crooked people. They're scum and I say it a lot, they're scum, they're human scum. This should never have happened in this country,' Trump inveighed after hearing the news. Trump cast the Flynn prosecution in terms of investigations of himself. 'He is a great gentleman. He was targeted by the Obama administration and he was targeted in order to try and take down a president,' Trump said. He lashed out at the Obama administration over the prosecution, which was begun by career prosecutors before he took office and continues. 'The Obama administration Justice Department was a disgrace and they got caught. They got caught. Very dishonest people. But much more than - it's treason, it's treason,' Trump said. Barr said he doesn't know how history will judge him because 'history is written by the winners' hours after the Justice Department said Thursday it was dropping its criminal case against fired Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Barr on Thursday defended the decision not to pursue charges against Flynn, who had pleaded guilty in court to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia's ambassador during the Trump transition. The attorney general told CBS News that while Flynn did lie, the false statement was not 'material to a legitimate investigation.' 'It's on the question of materiality that we feel really that a crime cannot be established here because there was not, in our view, a legitimate investigation going on,' Barr said. 'They did not have a basis for a counterintelligence investigation against Flynn at that stage, based on a perfectly legitimate and appropriate call he made as a member of the transition.' Barr said that at the time Flynn pleaded guilty, he did not have information that has since come to light that 'has a bearing on whether there was a legitimate investigation.' The attorney general said that FBI investigators 'essentially' entrapped Flynn so that he would lie. On CBS Evening News Barr claimed that he wanted to uphold 'one standard of justice' and that he was not doing Donald Trump's bidding. 'There's only one standard of justice. And I believe that this case, that justice in this case requires dismissing the charges against General Flynn,' he said. 'I'm doing the law's bidding. I'm doing my duty under the law, as I see it.' Celebration: The former three-star general marked the Justice Department move by posting a video of his grandson reciting the pledge of allegiance Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his Russia contacts during the Russia probe. He also admitted to failing to register as a foreign agent due to his lucrative work for the Turkish government while serving as a campaign advisor to the Trump campaign. Trump said of Flynn, whom he fired and who cooperated with Mueller's investigators while facing prosecution: 'I'm very happy for General Flynn. He was a great warrior and he still is a great warrior. In my book, he's an even greater warrior.' Democrats however slammed the move. 'President Trump doesnt care about you. He doesnt care about your health. He doesnt care about your family. He doesn't care about testing. He just cares that his cronies are taken care of,' Schumer tweeted. Adam Schiff, who led the impeachment of Donald Trump, said that Flynn was not exonerated by the move and added: 'But it does incriminate Bill Barr. In the worst politicization of the Justice Department in its history.' Nadler tweeted: 'Flynn PLEADED GUILTY to lying to investigators. The evidence against him is overwhelming. Now, a politicized DOJ is dropping the case.' And Rep. Eric Swalwell said: 'The decision to overrule the special counsel is without precedent and warrants an immediate explanation.' The move is a sudden reversal for one of the signature cases brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. Mueller's prosecutors pressed the case against Flynn, which had attracted special interest from Trump since the beginning. He asked former FBI director James Comey about letting the case go, Comey testified in Congress. According to Comey's notes, Trump also said of his national security advisor: 'The guy has serious judgment issues.' The move, which must still be approved by the judge overseeing the case, comes even though prosecutors for the last three years had maintained that Flynn had lied to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador in a January 2017 interview. President Trump said Thursday that Flynn was an 'innocent man' Flynn himself admitted as much, and became a key cooperator for Mueller as he investigated ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign. In court documents being filed Thursday, the Justice Department said it is dropping the case 'after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information.' The documents were obtained by The Associated Press. The Justice Department said it had concluded that Flynn's interview by the FBI was 'untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI's counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn' and that the interview on January 24, 2017 was 'conducted without any legitimate investigative basis.' The U.S. attorney reviewing the Flynn case, Jeff Jensen, recommended the move to Attorney General William Barr last week and formalized the recommendation in a document this week. 'Through the course of my review of General Flynn's case, I concluded the proper and just course was to dismiss the case,' Jensen said in a statement. 'I briefed Attorney General Barr on my findings, advised him on these conclusions, and he agreed.' But the lead career prosecutor on Thursday abruptly withdrew from handling the case. Prosecutor Brandon Van Grack did not provide an explanation for why he was withdrawing from the case in a court filing. Van Grack also on Thursday withdrew from handling other cases for the Justice Department, according to court filings. A DOJ spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Van Grack's departure comes less than three months after Attorney General William Barr said he was appointing Jensen, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, to review the Justice Department's handling of the case. Flynn pleaded guilty in late 2017 to lying to the FBI about interactions with Russia's ambassador to the United States in the weeks before Trump took office, marking one of the first cases to emerge from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Flynn's defense team, led by conservative lawyer Sidney Powell, had frequently attacked Van Grack's integrity as part of a broader effort to convince a judge that the FBI framed and entrapped Flynn. That pressure increased last week, after partially redacted documents turned over to Flynn's defense and then made public in the court record showed more about the FBI's thinking ahead of its interview with Flynn. The decision is certain to be embraced by Trump, who has relentlessly tweeted about the case and last week pronounced Flynn 'exonerated,' and energize supporters who have taken up the retired Army lieutenant general as something of a cause celebre. But it may also add to Democratic concerns that Attorney General William Barr is excessively loyal to the president, and could be a distraction for a Justice Department that for months has sought to focus on crimes arising from the coronavirus. 'This is outrageous!' fumed House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jerold Nadler on Twitter. 'Flynn PLEADED GUILTY to lying to investigators. The evidence against him is overwhelming. Now, a politicized DOJ is dropping the case.' Tweeted former FBI director James Comey: 'The DOJ has lost its way. But, career people: please stay because America needs you. The country is hungry for honest, competent leadership.' Although the prosecutor did not reveal his reasons for withdrawing, the case echoed developments in the Roger Stone case in February. Four federal prosecutors took themselves off the case after Barr and the Justice Department to lower a prison sentence of up to nine years. Barr is also saying a broader look at the origins of the Russia probe and alleged FBI misconduct. Robert Mueller's team retraced Flynn's contacts with the Russian ambassador during the presidential transition, and what he told Trump officials about them According to the Mueller report, Flynn had multiple contacts with Russia's then-ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak, during the presidential transition, when the Obama administration was still steering foreign policy. They communicated on the explosive topic of U.S. sanctions but in place over election interference and the invasion of Crimea. 'On December 31, 2016, Kislyak called Flynn and told him that Flynn's request had been received at the highest levels and Russia had chosen not to retaliate in response to the request,' according to the report. Flynn after public denied having discussed sanctions with Kislyak. According to the Mueller report, 'Flynn repeated that claim to Vice President-Elect Michael Pence and to incoming press secretary Sean Spicer.' It was his lie to Pence that Trump and the White House cited as the reason Trump fired him after just weeks on the job. The false statements 'alarmed senior DOJ officials, who were aware that the statements were not true.' 'Those officials were concerned that Flynn had lied to his colleagueswho in turn had unwittingly misled the American publiccreating a compromise situation for Flynn because the Department of Justice assessed that the Russian government could prove Flynn lied,' according to the report. FBI documents related to the investigation of Michael Flynn reveal that the bureau was planning to close a probe in early 2017 of whether he was a Russian asset due to a lack of 'derogatory' evidence. Documents unsealed late last month show FBI officials discussed whether to get Flynn 'to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired' during a bureau interview with the former Trump national security advisor about Kislyak. A January 4, 2017 FBI memo described an FBI look at Flynn to see if he was 'wittingly or unwittingly' involved in activity on behalf of Russia. It noted pubic reporting on Flynn's trip to Russia where he attended a dinner with Vladimir Putin. The FBI reached out to another agency whose name was blacked out, and it found 'no derogatory information' on Flynn. An additional agency also turned up no derogatory information. Barr's approval is just the latest time when the loyalist has acted to facilitate Trump's moves against the Russia probe and its fallout. He infuriated Democrats by issuing his own letter summarizing the Mueller report after obtaining it, while Trump described it as a complete exoneration. Barr tapped a career US attorney to look at FBI conduct. And although he urged Trump to stop commenting publicly on the Flynn case, the department's actions provided a result in line with what the president wanted. Barr defended the move on Flynn in an interview with CBS to air Thursday night. 'I want to make sure that we restore confidence in the system. There's only one standard of justice. And I believe that ... justice in this case requires dismissing the charges against Gen. Flynn,' he said. The woman who franchised Pandora Jewellery house in Australia has sold her waterfront Sydney home for $9million. Karin Adcock offloaded the seven-bedroom mansion to spend more time at her Hunter Valley winery Winmark. The property is complete with a pool, three-car garage, private beach and jetty. The woman who franchised Pandora Jewellery house in Australia has sold her waterfront Sydney home (pictured) for $9million Karin Adcock offloaded the seven-bedroom mansion to spend more time at her Hunter Valley winery Winmark Ms Adock originally listed the Newport home with Ray White Prestige Palm Beach for $10million back in September but had trouble finding a suitable buyer for the ultra-expensive three-storey property. But this time the Jewelry magnate had no problems selling the house after relisting it with Ray White Prestige Palm Beach two weeks ago. Although the mansion still had a $10million price tag, independent sources revealed to real estate site Domain, the home sold for somewhere around the $9 million mark. The last time the 3000-square-metre property changed hands was in 2009 when Quiksilver Europe founder Harry Hodge and Surfing New South Wales deputy chairman Harry Hodge sold it for $8.1 million. The Newport property is complete with a pool, three-car garage, private beach and jetty The ultra-expensive home was listed for 10million dollars but sources said it sold for about $9million Ms Adcock also let go of another Northern Beaches property at Yachtsmans Paradise for $3.85million in February after scooping it up in August last year. The businesswoman first introduced the Danish jewellery brand to Australia in 2004, selling earrings, bracelets and necklaces out of her garage in Avalon. Eight years later she sold her stake in the company which had become a 200million dollar empire in Australia and New Zealand with more than 300 employees, She has now invested in her own vineyard after purchasing the Pooles Rock winery in Broke and rebranding it Winmark. Actor Jennifer Anistons representative has dismissed recent reports that Brad Pitts daughter, Shiloh, has started calling the Friends actor mommy. This is just another complete fabrication and has no relationship to reality, Anistons rep told Express.co.uk. The claims surfaced after it was reported that Pitts ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, had banned their children - Maddox, 18, Zahara, 15, Pax, 16, Shiloh, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 11 - from meeting Aniston. Also read: Brad Pitt breaks silence on Jennifer Aniston dating rumours Theyve been spending so much time together and been bonding, it felt like a natural next step for Shiloh, the original report quoted a source as saying. It has been speculated that Pitt and Aniston grew close during the coronavirus lockdown. They made headlines after being photographed together at the 2019 Screen Actors Guild Awards, where Pitt tearfully watched Aniston pick up an award for her performance in The Morning Show. Reacting to reports of a possible romantic reconciliation, Aniston had told ET then, Its hysterical. But what else are they going to talk about? Also read: Jennifer Aniston reacts to Brad Pitt crying while watching her acceptance speech: No! Pitt has been linked up with several women since his split from Jolie. The actor also made a joke about it at the 2019 Golden Globe awards. While accepting the honour for his performance in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the actor quipped in his speech, I wanted to bring my mom but I couldnt because any woman I stand next to, they say Im dating. It would just be awkward. Follow @htshowbiz for more Ammonia is a key component of fertilizer and vital in supporting plant growth and ultimately providing food for populations around the world. It is also a major pollutant that, after it is used in the food chain, enters municipal wastewater treatment plants where it is often not adequately removed. It is then released into the environment where it pollutes aquatic settings and damages ecosystems, triggering destructive algal blooms, dead zones, and fish kills. Ammonia capture is now a critical challenge for the 21st century, especially as city populations are expected to increase dramatically, with a projected urban growth of 2.5 billion people by 2050. At the same time, providing improved sanitation to the 2.3 billion people who are currently unserved globally will entail the installation of new toilets, wastewater facilities, and sanitation infrastructure, putting even more stress on the environment. To date, most ammonia capture is done through an extremely energy-intensive technique, the Haber-Bosch process, which is used by industry across the globe to produce fertilizer and accounts for 1-2% of the world's annual energy consumption. A Columbia Engineering team, led by Ngai Yin Yip, assistant professor of earth and environmental engineering, reports today that they have recovered ammonia through a new method that uses a very low level of energy, approximately a fifth of the energy used by the Haber-Bosch process. In addition, because the technique recycles ammonia in a closed loop, the ammonia can be recaptured for reuse in fertilizer, household cleaners, and other industrial products. The findings are published today by ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. The management of nitrogen, an essential nutrient for life, has been recognized by the National Academy of Engineering as one of the Grand Challenges of the 21st century. Yip's group, which focuses on advancing sustainable production of both energy and water, wanted to invent a better, more ecological way to produce nitrogen, of which ammonia is a bioavailable form. It was clear that we needed a paradigm shift to transition to a circular economy model, where nitrogen is recovered and recycled, instead of the current unsustainable linear approach of costly production, utilization, and then discarding pollutants to the environment." Ngai Yin Yip, Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering Yip's team has expertise in membrane distillation, a technique that drives the permeation of volatile species, in this case, ammonia, from a feed stream to a collector stream, while the non-volatile species remain in the feed stream. The volatile species are driven across the membrane by a difference in vapor pressure, which is dependent on temperature and concentration. The researchers developed a technique, which they call "isothermal membrane distillation with acidic collector," or IMD-AC, that uses low-temperature heat, and applied it to selectively separate and capture ammonia from the ammonia-rich waste stream of urine (simulated for this project). "Because our process is driven by moderate temperatures as low as 20-60 degrees Celsius, the energy can be supplied by cheap or even free waste heat from, for instance, cooling tower water, bath water, or solar thermal collectors," Yip says. Next steps for the team include exploring ways to recover phosphorus, another key ingredient of fertilizer, sustainably and cheaply from urine. "Now that we've demonstrated the sustainable recovery of nitrogen from urine," Yip adds, "we think that the growing population and sanitation trends present ideal opportunities for the introduction of decentralized urine diversion facilities for nutrient recovery, without costly retrofits or overhauls of the existing system, shifting wastewater management to a more sustainable and efficient paradigm." Washington, May 7 : US President Donald Trump vetoed a resolution aimed at limiting the president's power to use military forces against Iran. "This was a very insulting resolution, introduced by Democrats as part of a strategy to win an election on Nov. 3 by dividing the Republican Party," Trump said in a statement regarding the veto on Wednesday, adding that "the few Republicans who voted for it played right into their hands," Xinhua news agency reported. Trump noted that the resolution would have harmed the president's ability to protect the United States, its allies, and partners. "Congress should not have passed this resolution," he added. US media reported later in the day that the Senate on Thursday would attempt to override Trump's veto, but it is expected to fall short of the two-thirds' support needed. "I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to override his veto-Congress must vote before sending our troops into harm's way," tweeted by Virginian Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who led the legislative effort. The House approved the resolution in a largely party-line vote of 227 against 186 in March, and the Republican-controlled Senate passed the resolution in February. The veto came as the tension between the United States and Iran is still lingering. Trump said last month that he had instructed the US Navy to destroy any Iranian gunboats if they harass US ships at sea. Iranian officials downplayed US threats and vowed to respond if the security of Iranian territory is at stake. GENEVA, May 6 (Xinhua) -- World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday said that the "while the fire is raging," he calls upon the world to now "focus on fighting the fire". Responding to a question about examining the timeline for the declaration of the global public health emergency, the WHO chief said at a virtual press conference in Geneva that WHO "actually wants any assessment more than anyone. We will do the assessment when the time comes -- what we call the after-action review." "On assessments, I know that WHO has a culture of assessing issues and it has a process called after-action review," Tedros said. "So we will see what happened based on the timeline, when we do the assessment." "But now, I call upon the world to focus on fighting the fire, because while fire is raging, I think our focus should not be divided. And we should really focus on fighting the fire and saving lives," he said. The chairman, Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) Kano state chapter , Dr. Sunusi Muhammad Bala ,on Tuesday disclosed that its association has lost one doctor to the raging coronavirus pandemic while 32 others tested positive in the state. This was just as he stated that its members has resolved that it would not risk it lives if Personal Protection Equipment, PPEs are not provided for them. Making this assertion in interview in Kano, added that the doctors were infected while on duty and attending to patients with symptoms of the coronavirus. According to him, its body still compiling the list of it doctors affected but at the moment it has 32 who were infected and one dead. His we have 32 doctors positive and one doctor is dead in Kano. We are still compiling the data but as at now we have 32 and within the last two weeks. He however hinted that the body has developed a feedback mechanism system whereby we access each facility, what we have and we report to the relevant authorities to provide. But what we all agreed is that, all doctors if they dont have PPEs, they shouldnt risk their lives, Dr. Bala however said. Recall that as of the time of filing in this report the number of confirmed positive cases in the state stands at 365 and eight deaths. Photograph: Corey Sipkin/AFP via Getty Images New measures to close the New York subway for nightly coronavirus cleaning will have devastating consequences for the thousands of homeless people who regularly sleep there, experts have warned. Starting on Wednesday, for the first time in its history the usually 24-hour service will shut down every night between 1am and 5am to be disinfected in a bid to improve travel conditions for essential workers during the Covid-19 outbreak. Related: A tale of two cities: how New York police enforce social distancing by the color of your skin But homelessness groups and charities said the move will have counterproductive and harmful impacts for those who seek safety and shelter in subway trains and stations forcing them on to the streets or into the citys shelters, where more than 700 people have tested positive for coronavirus in recent weeks. Its actually extraordinarily counterproductive and harmful, said Giselle Routhier, policy director at Coalition for the Homeless, which works with 3,500 people in New York every day. Whats happening is that large groups of police officers are gathering at the end of the [subway] line, telling people to move, forcing people often to the streets, offering them access to congregate shelters which many are rightfully refusing to enter because of the safety issues and not actually offering real solutions to help people access a safer space. New York police officers clear the platform of passengers at the last stop at the Coney Island station in Brooklyn, New York, on 6 May. Photograph: Corey Sipkin/AFP via Getty Images New Yorks governor, Andrew Cuomo, who recently referred to a picture of homeless people on the subway as disgusting and disrespectful to the essential workers, made the announcement about closures last week amid concerns about conditions on the subway. More homeless people are thought to be seeking shelter on trains, while passenger numbers have dropped by 92%. Routhier said the new policy will encourage a more punitive approach, leaving homeless people vulnerable to the elements and potentially the criminal justice system. Conditions for New Yorks homeless are already dire, she added, especially with many of the citys cafes, restaurants, public bathrooms, gyms and food banks that many rely on for hygiene and nourishment closed. Demand for Coalition for the Homelesss mobile food programme has doubled on some nights. Story continues Meanwhile, the virus is spreading in the citys shelters which many homeless people already feared for safety reasons before the outbreak. As of Tuesday, there had been 829 positive cases 705 of which were in shelters and 65 deaths. An MTA worker cleans a subway car on 5 May. Photograph: Jeenah Moon/Reuters Routhier believes the true number of cases could be higher. I dont know that theres really a precedent in our lifetime, she said. What were seeing now is a devastating event that is continuing to go on and on. Currently, 62,679 people are living in New Yorks shelters, but this does not include the thousands living on the citys streets and subway a number which experts say is growing as the economic impact of the pandemic takes hold. Joshua Goldfein, an attorney at the Legal Aid Society and a member of its Homeless Rights Project, said all homeless people should be offered hotel rooms. We have tens of thousands of empty hotel rooms in New York City right now, and rates that those hotels are asking for those rooms are much lower than they were before this, and Fema [Federal Emergency Management Agency] is going to pay for that, so it would be very simple to move people into hotel rooms, to offer case management services onsite. The city said it is using hotels, but that it is prioritising relocating older people and single adults based on risk from larger shelters. So far, they said about 7,000 people have been moved to hotels from shelters, with plans for 1,000 more each week as needed. Under the new subway plan, more than 100 outreach workers will be deployed to 30 high-priority stations to engage homeless people when it closes about services, assess them for symptoms and connect them to care, isolation or shelter. For essential workers, there will be extra buses between 1am and 5am and an essential connector programme of free cabs. Workers clean the Grand Central subway station on 5 May. Photograph: Eduardo Munoz/Getty Images New Yorks mayor, Bill de Blasio, has said the closures will enable the city to help people more effectively. But Josh Dean, executive director of the street homelessness organisation Human.nyc, said it will put many on the streets potentially in an unfamiliar area. He also fears it will breach trust and damage existing relationships between homeless people and social workers. This is going to be a tragedy, he said. Tonight [Tuesday] at the same time 2,000 homeless folks or more are going to be thrown out of the train and into the streets The impact of that is really going to be devastating. In recent days he said he has already witnessed police ordering homeless people to get off trains at end of the line stations at night. He added: They even forced a man with one shoe out into the rain one night. So its a pretty brutal and cruel operation. In collaboration with other organisations, Human.nyc has raised more than $63,000 for its #homelesscantstayhome campaign which has so far housed 27 people in hotels. Anthony Williams, 57, who has been homeless on and off for decades, had been sleeping on the subway for the last two and a half years until he got a room in a hotel through the campaign three days ago. He said: Now that Covid-19 exists and theyre shutting it [the subway] down it leaves a void. Where do people go to find their safety, to sleep? He predicts some people will sleep in the day on the subway and walk the streets at night or try to hide in abandoned train stations or tunnels. But, he said, they will not go in shelters both because of coronavirus and, like him, have negative past experiences. MTA workers prepare to clean a subway car on 6 May. Photograph: Jeenah Moon/Reuters He said he found the new police approach intimidating and aggressive. Kelly Doran, an emergency physician and faculty member in the departments of emergency medicine and population health at NYU School of Medicine, said homeless people are especially vulnerable to Covid-19. Premature ageing and higher rates of illnesses such as uncontrolled hypertension, diabetes and obesity combined with racial disparities, she added, are compounding together to make this population at particular risk. If homeless people are not offered their own rooms, she said infection will continue. Essentially theyre just displacing somebody from one bad setting to another bad setting is not decreasing risk of contracting coronavirus. The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) said all passengers will have to leave trains and stations and there will be shuttle buses to transport homeless people. It said police will continue to work with them to connect homeless people to the medical care and social services they need and deserve. A New York police department (NYPD) spokesperson said officers are patrolling the subways with nurses and that homelessness is not a crime. But they added: Without a doubt, disruptive passengers are more visible now and burglaries are up. We are working hard to address both these issues. A passenger sleeps inside a subway car at the last stop at the Coney Island station on 6 May. Photograph: Corey Sipkin/AFP via Getty Images Isaac McGinn, a spokesman for the citys social and homeless services departments, said they are adapting and responding to meet need at a scale and speed never before seen, as we have in our pandemic response since this crisis began and that they are in regular conversations with Fema. Fema said it has conditionally approved New York states request for non-congregate sheltering assistance. New York state did not respond to requests for comment. FHFA CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle discussed how credit unions are serving members during the pandemic, and what the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) could do to help, Tuesday with FHFA Director Mark Calabria. CUNA previously wrote to Calabria outlining ways the agency could help credit unions assist members better. Credit unions have a vested interest in keeping members in their homes and have worked diligently throughout this crisis to work alongside members to offer assistance and other relief as necessary, Nussle said. I shared this with Director Calabria, as well as the feedback weve heard from our members about what policy changes could help credit unions increase outreach to affected members and communities, and I thanked him for his time. CUNA previously said that liquidity assistance, clear guidance and additional regulatory relief would help credit unions work better with mortgage borrowers. Some specific recommendations CUNA has made to the FHFA include: Shelley Davies waits for her delivery at Plants and Friends./Douglas Zimmerman/SFGate LATEST, May 7, 5:15 p.m. Bay Area counties announced new COVID-19 cases and deaths in the Bay Area Thursday. These numbers will be updated as they are released: Marin County announced eight new cases, for a total of 255. The death toll remains 14. Napa County reported three new cases for a total of 78. The death toll remains two. Solano County announced 17 new cases for a total of 342. The county also added one additional death, for a total of seven. Sonoma County announced 25 new cases Thursday for a total of 286. The death toll remains three. Alameda County reported 45 new cases and one additional death to increase its case total to 1,854 and its death toll to 67. San Francisco reported 52 new cases and one additional death, bringing the case total to 1,806 and death toll to 32. San Mateo announced 36 new cases to increase its total to 1,377. The death toll remains 56. Contra Costa reported 30 new cases to increase its total to 999. The death toll remains 29. Santa Clara County reported one new death and 19 new cases. The total number of cases is 2,281, and the death toll is 127. May 7, 4:10 p.m. Some businesses in San Francisco may resume operations at a limited capacity as early as May 18, city Mayor London Breed announced Thursday. We have been hard at work to find ways to reopen more businesses and activities safely and responsibly, she said in a statement. Giving businesses the option to reopen and provide storefront pickup will provide some relief for everyone in our city allowing some people to get back to work, while still protecting public health." Read more from SFGATE Editor Alyssa Pereira. May 7, 1:30 p.m. During a Thursday press conference, California Governor Gavin Newsom stated that community spread of the coronavirus in his state started in a nail salon. Newsom reported this finding after being asked why nail salons and other personal care services are in Stage 3, and not Stage 2 of the state's reopening plan. "This whole thing started in the state of California the first community spread in a nail salon," he said. "I just wanted to remind you, remind everybody, of that. I'm very worried about that. As you may know, it's certainly informed me that many of the practices that you would otherwise expect of a modification were already in play in many of these salons with people that had procedure masks on, were using gloves and advancing higher levels of sanitation." The governor did not specify when, or where this earliest-reported community spread occurred. An autopsy in Santa Clara revealed that an individual who contracted COVID-19 died on Feb. 6, which was long before the county's first confirmed death on March 9 and the entire country's first reported death on Feb.28. Newsom also provided more guidelines for retail businesses opening on Friday. Click here to read more. May 7, 12:45 p.m. Bay Area counties announced new COVID-19 cases and deaths in the Bay Area Thursday. These numbers will be updated as they are released: Alameda County reported 45 new cases and one additional death to increase its case total to 1,854 and its death toll to 67. San Francisco reported 52 new cases and one additional death, bringing the case total to 1,806 and death toll to 32. San Mateo announced 36 new cases to increase its total to 1,377. The death toll remains 56. Contra Costa reported 30 new cases to increase its total to 999. The death toll remains 29. Santa Clara County reported one new death and 19 new cases. The total number of cases is 2,281, and the death toll is 127. May 7, 12:45 p.m. Berkeley's Ashby Flowers is slated to defy the shelter-in-place order in effect in six Bay Area counties by reopening for curbside pickup on Friday. For florists, Mother's Day weekend is one of the important periods of the year, and Ashby Flowers plans to distribute flowers Friday unless someone arrives and physically shuts them down. They will be following the state guidelines of no-contact curbside picking and no-contact hand-offs. May 7, 11:15 a.m. The City of San Francisco reported its highest number of COVID-19 tests conducted in a single day on Tuesday. Public health officials reported that 3,800 individuals were tested for the virus on Tuesday, and just one percent of tests came back positive. The city currently has the capacity to conduct 4,300 tests a day. May 7, 11:00 a.m. The California Highway Patrol reported it is still seeing a surge in speeding along highways during the region's shelter-in-place order. Officers issued 85 tickets over the weekend to individuals speeding over 100 miles per hour. In addition, 1,572 citations for speeding were issued, and officials report an 87% increase in citations for speeding over 100 mph since the state's shelter-in-place order went into effect in March. May 7, 10:30 a.m. An organization representing barbershops and hair salons in California is preparing to file a lawsuit against Gov. Gavin Newsom over the shelter-in-place order that continues to prevent them from doing businesses. The Professional Beauty Federation of California has hired the San Francisco-based Dhillon Law Group that is leading other legal battles against the state over the shutdown. Fred Jones, legal counsel and lobbyist for the federation, said California is home to some half-million licensed barbers and cosmetologists and they have closed their businesses and supported the shelter-in-place order to support public health. But when the governor announced that salons won't be allowed to open until Stage 3 in a four-phased plane, Jones believes the industry became frustrated. "I think when Governor Newsom came out last week with four very specific stages and said Stage 3 is months not weeks away. I think that freaked out our industry. We had all supported this lock down for the last nearly two months. But more months of this ... its just not feasible. Most of the salons, and that's both mom-and-pops and chains, can't survive." Jones said cosmetologists and barbers have gone through 1,500 to 1,600 hours of training to earn their licenses and most of those hours are dedicated to instruction in sanitation health and safety protocols. He argues that a hair stylist has the training to be vigilant in customer safety and should be allowed to open. "Unlike your Walmart cashier, weve actually got training in this," he said. The Professional Beauty Federation of California will file a lawsuit this week, Jones said. Cumulative cases in the greater Bay Area (due to limited testing these numbers reflect only a small portion of likely cases): ALAMEDA COUNTY: 1,854 confirmed cases, 67 deaths For more information on Alameda County cases, visit the public health department website. CONTRA COSTA COUNTY: 999 confirmed cases, 29 deaths For more information on Contra Costa County cases, visit the public health department website. LAKE COUNTY: 8 confirmed cases For information on Lake County and coronavirus, visit the public health department website. MARIN COUNTY: 255 confirmed cases, 14 deaths Fore more information on Marin County cases, visit the public health department website. MONTEREY COUNTY: 247 confirmed cases, 6 deaths For more information on Monterey County cases, visit the public health department website. NAPA COUNTY: 78 cases, 2 deaths For more information on Napa County cases, visit the public health department website. SAN BENITO COUNTY: 54 confirmed cases, 2 deaths For more information on San Benito County cases, visit the public health department website. SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY: 1,806 confirmed cases, 32 deaths For more information on San Francisco County cases, visit the public health department website. SAN MATEO COUNTY: 1,377 confirmed cases, 56 deaths For more information on San Mateo County cases, visit the public health department website. SANTA CLARA COUNTY: 2,281 confirmed cases, 127 deaths Fore more information on Santa Clara County cases, visit the public health department website. SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: 139 confirmed cases, 2 deaths For more information on Santa Cruz County cases, visit the public health department website. SOLANO COUNTY: 342 confirmed cases, 7 deaths For more information on Solano County cases, visit the public health department website. SONOMA COUNTY: 286 confirmed cases, 3 deaths For more information on Sonoma County cases, visit the public health department website. CORONAVIRUS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW 90% of people who tested positive for COVID-19 in Mission District study had one thing in common Why your N95 mask could endanger others San Francisco officials outline 5 goals before reopening businesses WHEN WILL THE BAY AREA REOPEN? Newsom details 4 stages to reopen California businesses Los Angeles will likely follow the state's Stage 2 reopening. Will the Bay Area do the same? As state prepares to reopen retail, Newsom says, 'Were not going back to normal' Odisha posted its highest single-day surge in coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positive cases, as 21 people were found to be infected by SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease, and the overall tally in the state rose to 206 on Thursday. All 21 new Covid-19 positive cases were migrant labourers, including 17 and four from Ganjam and Mayurbhanj districts, respectively, who had recently returned home from the industrial town of Surat in Gujarat, the state health and family welfare department said in a tweet. A 20-year-old girl is among the 17 new Covid-19 positive cases reported from the coastal Ganjam district. While Mayurbhanj districts green zone tag was wiped out when four migrant labourers tested Covid-19 positive. All the new Covid-19 positive cases are asymptomatic and have been kept at quarantine centres on their return to Odisha, the health department officials said. On Wednesday, another nine migrant workers, who recently returned from Surat, tested Covid-19 positive in Jagatsinghpur, Ganjam and Kendrapara districts. Of the 206 Covid-19 positive cases in the state, around half have either returned from Surat or Kolkata. Till Wednesday, 35,540 migrant workers had returned to Odisha. Another five lakh is expected to arrive over the next few weeks, and the state government has arranged an equal number of quarantine beds in around 12,000 makeshift medical camps. State health department officials said that the curve is unlikely to be flattened in the coming days, as Odisha is expecting an influx of stranded migrant labourers. Odisha reported its first Covid-19 positive cases in 37 days, and the figure doubled in only 11 days, raising concerns for the state government. On March 15, only one district Khurda, had reported a Covid-19 positive case, but it has since spread to 16 of the 30 districts in the state. Special Relief Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Jena has asked all district collectors and municipal commissioners to ensure spot registration of non-enrolled migrant returnees in temporary medical camps immediately after their arrival from other states. To make matters worse, hundreds of migrants, who returned from Surat, flouted state governments guidelines and did not register their vehicles on the Covid-19 portal giving the journey details. The government is worried about the rampant violation of norms that are putting paid to its containment plans. For instance, in some quarantine centres in Ganjam district, over 100 migrant returnees fled as a mark of protest against lack of food and water and in another case they threw away unpalatable food. The authorities have booked seven people at a quarantine centre in coastal Bhadrak district for filming a video in violation of social distancing norms. Allegations are also doing the rounds about some migrant returnees, who are quietly slinking away at the dead of night from the quarantine centres to spend time with their families. Though the state government has issued stern warnings against such indiscretions, officials said they did not want to be seen heavy-handed in their approach while dealing with the migrants. Dont look down at the migrant returnees, as theyve returned from the states that have emerged as Covid-19 hotspots. Though some of them have tested Covid-19 positive, we need to treat them properly, said Subroto Bagchi, state governments spokesperson on Covid-19. The returnees have the same rights as anybody else living in Odisha. In fact, theyve more rights on the states resources, as they are in distress due to the loss of their livelihoods because of lockdown restrictions, he added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday expressed sadness over the gas leak incident at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and said his thoughts and prayers are with the families affected. "Extremely saddened by the incident in Visakhapatnam. My thoughts and prayers are with the families affected. @AndhraPradeshCM," Yediyurappa tweeted. Eight people, including a child, were killed and over 100 hospitalised after a major gas leak at a polymer plant in Visakhapatnam in the wee hours of Thursday. The gas leak impacted villages within a five kilometer radius of the plant, according to officials. Former Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas M Veerappa Moily expressing shock over the incident said, "...we find from the report that not much rescue operation has been taken. Emergent measures will have to be taken on a war footing to bring the situation under control. I pray that situation comes under control and all the affected are taken care." Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in a tweet said, "Sad to know about the tragic gas leak in Visakhapatnam which has taken many lives. We stand in support with the people of Andra Pradesh in this hour of grief. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jos Verstappen does not believe his native Holland will be able to host a race at Zandvoort in 2020. While other circuits like Austria, Silverstone, Hungary and even Monza are eyeing back-to-back 'ghost race' weekends amid the corona crisis, organisers at Zandvoort appear less keen. "The grand prix of the Netherlands was one of the races that everyone in Formula 1 was looking forward to," Dutchman Verstappen, whose son is Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, said. "Everything was ready for a big party, but now I cannot imagine a race at Zandvoort will happen this year. "I can even hardly imagine that without a vaccine we can be all together again with 100,000 people. It is an absurd situation. "Postponing until next year is an option, but it's a decision that belongs to F1 and the circuit," Jos Verstappen added. (GMM) People are seen casting their votes during the 2018 elections, New York City, New York, on November 6, 2018. Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Democratic members of the New York Board of Elections have appealed a federal judge's ruling that the state's presidential primary must go on. Last month, members of the board canceled the presidential primary, removing Sen. Bernie Sanders from the ballot, citing the coronavirus pandemic. The cancellation was reversed Tuesday by US District Judge Analisa Torres of Manhattan, who said doing so was unconstitutional. The presidential primary is "unnecessary" and "frivolous," said David Kellner, co-chair of the board. While Sanders is no longer running for president, he seeks to gain delegates for the Democratic National Convention through the remaining elections. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Democratic members of the New York Board of Elections have appealed Tuesday's court decision to reinstate Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on the Democratic presidential primary ballot, once again fighting to prevent the election from taking place. The appeal was filed Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. The Democratic presidential primary, slated for June 23, was originally canceled in April. The state's election board said the coronavirus pandemic made in-person voting too dangerous. On Tuesday, the cancelation was reversed after former presidential candidate Andrew Yang filed a lawsuit against the board. The Sanders campaign decried the initial decision to end the election as "a blow to democracy." Though Sanders suspended his presidential campaign in April as former Vice President Joe Biden became the presumptive nominee, he remains on the ballot to continue to rack up delegates for the party's convention. In her court ruling Tuesday, allowing the election to move forward, US District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan called the initial cancellation unconstitutional. "If all but one of the presidential candidates are removed from the ballot and the primary is not held, Delegate Plaintiffs will be deprived of the opportunity to compete for delegate slots and shape the course of events at the Convention, and voters will lose the chance to express their support for delegates who share their views," Torres wrote. "The loss of these First Amendment rights is a heavy hardship." Story continues Douglas Kellner, co-chairman of the board and one of the defendants in the lawsuit, said last month that there was no reason to hold the presidential primary, since Sen. Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign on April 8. "What the Sanders supporters want is essentially a beauty contest that, given the situation with the public health emergency that exists now, seems to be unnecessary and, indeed, frivolous," Kellner said. No other state has canceled its presidential primary, though dozens have postponed them. The Sanders camp disagreed with Kellner, noting that other New York elections would still take place, including dozens of congressional and state-level elections. The state has also expanded absentee voting in the middle of the pandemic. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a prominent Sanders surrogate, decried the decision on Twitter. "This decision is not informed by public health: the state is still holding elections for every other seat that day," she wrote. "So far the only way your ballot will 100% be counted in NY is to vote in person!" The New York Board of Elections did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider Depositors with valid claims are to be paid by May ending, Mr Eric Nana Nipah, Official Receiver and Liquidator of the collapsed nonbank financial institutions, has said. He said out of the total claims worth approximately GHC6.4 billion that was received at the close of the extended deadline for the submission of claims for the organisations, legitimate claims admitted for processing and payment after validation was around GHC5.66 billion. The organisations that submitted these legitimate claims were made up of; 347 micro-finance companies, 39 microcredit companies, 23 savings and loans and finance house companies. Mr Nipah disclosed this in a presentation delivered on his behalf by Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Minister of Information, on Thursday at the meet the press series, which was held to give an update on the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana. Mr Nipah noted that the approximate GHC740 million difference between the total claims received and the value of the legitimate claims admitted for processing and payment was due largely to two main reasons: Invalids claims, which were rejected and setoffs and cross lending - that is some depositors who had either taken loans from some of these same entities or had in their custodies placement from some of these (resolved) companies. "So when you net that off, in addition to those that were invalid you will get a difference of GHC740 million. So what they have validated to pay is GHC5.66 billion," he said. "Now based on those validations, the Receiver and Official Liquidator has commenced work on some GHC5.32 billion, leaving an amount of GHC340 million that is going through the very final processes of second-level cheques." With regards to payments made to date, Mr Nipah said depositor payments were made in two forms; that is in cash and by way of zero-coupon rated depositor payment bonds. He said, "To date approximately GHC2.11 billion has been paid in cash, while about GHC2.95 billion has been paid in bonds, bringing total payments to GHC5.06 billion. "Now based on total cash payments to be made by the end of the depositor payment exercise, it is expected that the population of individuals depositors numbering about 297,000, whose claims have been validated and accepted in the resolution of the aforementioned groups of companies and ultimately not less than 290,000. That is, 98 per cent in a number of individual claims will be fully paid in cash, the remaining two per cent of individual depositor claims will be paid by a combination of cash and bonds." On the next steps of the payments, Mr Nipah intimated that they were, first of all, concluding the depositor payment process, and the key next steps to be undertaken were that they want to conclude the final GHC340 and make payment accordingly. Adding that they expected that by the end of May, they should be done with that one. He said there were some of the organisations, whose books and records still had challenges which were being processed for further investigations. Mr Nipah said they would finally issue a report to the Bank of Ghana on the depositor payment scheme. 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 Thiruvananthapuram, May 7 : A 21-year-old woman Divya P. Johnny, studying to become nun, was found dead in a well at her convent in Thiruvalla, according to the police on Thursday. On hearing a thud and splash sound around 12 noon, a few inmates looked into the well in the compound of the Baselian Convent at Thiruvalla, around 120 km from the state capital. The convent authorities immediately informed the Fire Department and the police. In about 20 minutes, Divya was taken out of the well and shifted to a private hospital by the police. She was was declared dead on arrival. The police are set to begin a probe into the unnatural death after autopsy. The Orissa High Court on Thursday suggested that the state government ensure that only those migrant workers, who are tested negative for COVID-19, are allowed to return to the state. Adjudicating over a PIL, a division bench comprising Justice Kumari Sanju Panda and Justice K R Mohapatra adjourned the matter till the next sitting of the bench. "In the meantime, the state government should ensure that all the migrants who are in the queue to come to Odisha should be tested negative for COVID-19 before boarding the conveyance," the bench said during the hearing. The high court, however, has not specified whether the state government would ensure the corona status of the returnees through laboratory tests or thermal screening tests. Social activist Narayan Chandra Jena had written a letter to the high court on May 1 seeking judicial intervention for ensuring that corona inflicted migrant workers are not allowed to enter the state by the government. The letter was converted to a PIL on May 4 and the petitioner appeared in person to argue the case on Thursday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-07 14:32:04 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 1026 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 THIS NEWS RELEASE IS INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATESTORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / Pelangio Exploration Inc. (TSXV:PX)(OTC PINK:PGXPF) ("Pelangio" or the "Company") announces a non-brokered private placement for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $840,000 (the "Offering'). The Offering will consist of the sale of hard dollar units (the "HD Units") of the Company at a price of $0.12 per HD Unit and common shares of the Company issued on a flow-through basis (the "FT Shares") at a price of $0.14 per FT Share.Each HD Unit consists of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant ("Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Common Share at a price of $0.18 for a period of two years from the initial closing date of the Offering. The FT Shares will qualify as "flow-through shares" (within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada)). The gross proceeds from the sale of the FT Shares will be used to incur qualifying Canadian Exploration Expenses. Qualifying expenses are to be incurred by no later than December 31, 2021 for renunciation to investors of FT Shares in the Offering effective December 31, 2020. The balance of the proceeds of the Offering will be used for general corporate and working capital purposes, and for the development of the Company's mining projects.The shares issued under the Offering will be subject to a four-month and one day hold period and will not be sold in the United States. The Offering is subject to customary closing conditions including, but not limited to, receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, including approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.The closing of the Offering may occur in one or more tranches, with the initial closing date of the Offering expected to occur on or before June 1, 2020 and is not subject to receipt of a minimum amount of gross proceeds. The Company may pay to certain introducing parties in respect of the Offering finder's fees of up to 7% cash and non-transferable 7% warrants, subject to compliance with applicable securities legislation and TSX Venture Exchange policies. Closing is subject to customary closing conditions including but not limited to, receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.The securities issued pursuant to the Offering will be subject to a four-month and one day hold period in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws and TSX Venture Exchange policies.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 release.About PelangioPelangio acquires and explores land packages in world-class gold belts in Canada and Ghana, West Africa. In Canada, the company is focusing on the 6.7 km2Grenfell property located approximately 10 km from the Macassa Mine in Kirkland Lake, the Dome West property located 800 metres from the Dome Mine in Timmins, the 25 km2 Birch Lake Property located in the Red Lake Mining District and the Dalton Property located 1.5 km from the Hollinger Mine in Timmins. In Ghana, the Company is focusing on two 100% owned camp-sized properties: the 100 km2 Manfo Property, the site of seven recent near-surface gold discoveries, and the 284 km2 Obuasi Property, located 4 km on strike and adjacent to AngloGold Ashanti's prolific high-grade Obuasi Mine. Ghana is an English speaking, common law jurisdiction that is consistently ranked amongst the most favourable mining jurisdictions in Africa.For additional information, please visit our website at www.pelangio.com , or contact:Ingrid Hibbard, President and CEOTel: 905-336-3828 / Toll-free: 1-877-746-1632 / Email: info@ pelangio.com Forward Looking StatementsCertain statements herein may contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements or information appear in a number of places and can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or "believes" 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 and information include statements regarding the Offering generally, the proposed use of proceeds and the Company's exploration plans. With respect to forward-looking statements and information contained herein, we have made numerous assumptions, including assumptions about our ability to close the Offering in a timely manner, if at all, and the state of the equity markets. Such forward-looking statements and information are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statement or information. Such risks include the ability of the Company to meet the conditions of closing, our ability to conduct our exploration programs as planned, changes in equity markets, share price volatility, volatility of global and local economic climate, gold price volatility, political developments in Ghana, increases in costs, exchange rate fluctuations, speculative nature of gold exploration and other risks involved in the gold exploration industry. See the Company's annual and quarterly financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to the forward-looking statement and information. There can be no assurance that a forward-looking statement or information referenced herein will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Also, many of the factors are beyond the control of the Company. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. We undertake no obligation to reissue or update any forward-looking statements or information except as required by law. All forward-looking statements and Scores of Australian MPs are refusing to download the government's coronavirus app, despite Scott Morrison telling the public it was the best way to get restrictions eased. COVIDSafe launched on April 26 and has so far been downloaded by 5.1 million Australians, desperate to get the country back up and running after the pandemic. But some publicly-elected officials are refusing to set an example and download the app themselves, which does not hold or pass on any of a user's personal data. This reportedly includes at least three of the Coalition's own MPs, the National Party's Barnaby Joyce, Liberal National Party of Queensland's Llew O'Brien and Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells. Only one Green MP, South Australia's Sarah Hanson-Young, has downloaded the app, while the party's controversial leader called it 'concerning'. Adam Bandt (pictured on Australia Day this year) is the leader of the Greens and has refused to download the government's COVID-19 tracing app Green members are understood to not trust the government on data security, despite the app using an encrypted user ID, which regenerates every two hours, and not logging any location data. It means neither a user's whereabouts nor activities will be tracked, with all data deleted after 21 days. The app is not mandatory, but the government hopes that high usage of the contact tracing technology could mean lockdown is eased sooner than expected. The prime minister, alongside Health Minister Greg Hunt, said they are hoping that a 40 per cent uptake could help officials trace and track any future COVID-19 cases. Finding the close contacts of confirmed cases is key to stopping the spread of the disease, and opening up Australia - including bars, restaurants and state borders. National Party MP Barnaby Joyce (pictured, left ) has not downloaded the app, and neither has Liberal MP Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (right) COVIDSafe (pictured) has so far been downloaded five million times, but there needs to be a greater uptake, the government said Members of both One Nation and the Greens have expressed their concerns over the app, while the vast majority of Coalition and Labor members have already downloaded it, according to ABC. The Greens slammed the app as a 'shameful disregard for privacy' when it launched last month. They even accused the government of turning Australia into a 'surveillance state'. If the government wants people to use this app, they need to put protections in law beforehand, Leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt MP, said. 'People have very legitimate concerns about how the data will be used and where it will be stored. Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi (pictured, left) has also not yet downloaded the app while the member for White Bay, Llew O'Brien (right) said he would now consider getting it The Australian MPs who HAVEN'T downloaded the COVIDSafe app MP Adam Bandt, Greens Senator Richard Di Natale, Greens Senator Pat Dodson, Labor Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Greens Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Coalition Senator Pauline Hanson, One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce, Coalition MP Bob Katter, Katter's Australian Party MP Peter Khalil, Labor Senator Jacqui Lambie, Jacqui Lambie Network Senator Nick McKim, Greens MP Llew O'Brien, Coalition Senator Rex Patrick, Centre Alliance MP Graham Perrett, Labor Senator Janet Rice, Greens Senator Malcolm Roberts, One Nation MP Rebekha Sharkie, Centre Alliance Senator Rachel Siewert, Greens Senator Jordan Steele-John, Greens Senator Anne Urquhart, Labor Senator Larissa Waters, Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, Greens MP Andrew Wilkie, Independent Source: ABC Advertisement The reported storage of the data by a US company raises real concerns. When it comes to privacy, if theres one person I trust less than Peter Dutton, its Donald Trump. We all want the lockdown to end, but something like this needs to be done properly because the stakes are too high. Once its out, the genie cant be put back in the bottle. The Greens told Daily Mail Australia the party was 'open-minded about the app' but were concerned it didn't work properly on iPhones, which the majority of its MPs have. Since then, the government has revealed proposed laws surrounding the app and people's privacy and liberties. There could be a five year prison sentence if a person is caught collecting, using or disclosing information collected by the app, except by public health officials. Businesses who ban people from entry unless they have downloaded the app also face five years in jail and a $63,000 fine. The measures were part of a draft released by the government this week. Mr O'Brien, who is a Coalition backbencher, told ABC he would consider downloading the app after the government's legislation was unveiled. The small number of Labor MPs yet to get the app said they would do so once the legislation was passed. Patrick Dodson lives in remote Western Australia, but said he will download the app when he is next in Broome - the nearest town with stable reception. But Greens leader Mr Brandt, 47, from inner-city Melbourne, is ardently opposed to the government. Australia's coronavirus tracing app has so far been downloaded five million times (pictured, a woman uses her mobile phone while walking at Bondi Beach on April 3) WHAT PERSONAL DATA IS COLLECTED? - The name you choose to provide - Your age range - Your phone number - Your postcode - Information about your encrypted user ID - Information about testing positive for coronavirus - Contact IDs should you consent to that being uploaded. - Bluetooth data is also uploaded, so officials can decide who needs to be notified if you test positive Advertisement The anti-coal zealot once called for the overthrow of capitalism, and has used his platform to advocate higher taxes, more welfare and the end of Australia's most lucrative industries. Meanwhile, former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has said if privacy breaches are found in the app, any politician who supported it should resign. A vocal critic of the app, he said on Monday: 'I just am not confident in the Bluetooth capacity and I will test other people's confidence. 'If you give a raving endorsement of it that's your choice and if it does leak, do you now instantly resign your position - whatever that is - because you can't stand behind your warrant? 'I bet you will find that all the senior officers in this land will not say, "I will resign from office if we find out there is a leak" - and there is your answer.' To run the COVIDSafe app, users have to agree to turn their battery optimization off - meaning they cannot try and use a power saving mode Both the Singaporean version and Australia's own COVIDSafe use Bluetooth to connect with nearby phones to determine who a person has been into close contact with. It means that if a user later tests positive for COVID-19, officials can easily find out who else may be at risk. But the Greens Digital Rights spokesperson Nick McKim also criticised the app, citing the government's 'terrible track record of undermining privacy and IT blunders.' 'This government has repeatedly failed to ensure the security of data it has collected, and has made an art form of deliberately releasing peoples sensitive personal information to media outlets for political gain,' Senator McKim said. 'Peter Dutton has been dreaming of a surveillance state in Australia for years, and this app, without protections, takes him one step closer.' Drone images of Universal Studios Hollywood show empty parking garages April 28. Los Angeles is forecast to lose 22 million visitors and $13 billion in spending because of the coronavirus outbreak. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Once one of the world's most popular tourism destinations, Los Angeles is expected to draw about 22 million fewer visitors this year and lose more than $13 billion in tourist spending because of the coronavirus outbreak. A forecast commissioned by the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board estimates that Los Angeles County will draw about 29 million tourists this year, down from a pre-outbreak forecast of about 51 million. Instead of $25 billion in spending on hotels, meals, tour buses and souvenirs, tourists will spend less than $12 billion, the report said. Tourism board president Ernest Wooden Jr. called the numbers "pretty devastating" and predicted that a full recovery for the county could take as long as three and a half years. "It's pretty bad, the hit we took," he said. The forecast by Tourism Economics, a Philadelphia-based travel data company, assumes that the travel industry gradually will begin to recover through the summer months with a true rebound beginning in 2021. Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics, said international travel will continue to be severely curtailed through the first part of 2021. "As a result, Los Angeles may be slower to recover than other parts of the country given its exposure to international markets, especially Asia, and larger events," Sacks said in an email. "However, the recovery as it takes shape in 2021, especially in the second half, is expected to be robust." A similar report for the state of California by Tourism Economics predicted overall travel spending in the state will drop to $72.8 billion in 2020, or 50% below 2019 spending. The California forecast also projects a slow recovery, with travel spending in April expected to drop to $2.3 billion, or 81% below the levels of April 2019. By December, Tourism Economics predicts travel spending will be at least $7 billion, or 33% below the level of the previous December. When tourism businesses such as theme parks, hotels and restaurants will reopen is unclear, with government and medical experts suggesting that such destinations may open in phases over the next several months. Story continues Once stay-at-home orders are lifted, Wooden said, the tourism board hopes to launch a campaign to try to encourage visitors from within California and the surrounding states to visit Los Angeles. A campaign to reach out to international visitors will come later, he said. "Travel is a resilient business and it's coming back," Wooden said. The tourism industry in Los Angeles County was estimated last year to support more than 525,000 jobs and ranks as the third-largest employment sector, behind professional and business services and educational and health services. Tourism Economics did not predict how many travel-related jobs the county would lose because of the pandemic, but Wooden said he wouldn't be surprised if 75% of tourism workers were now furloughed. The tourism forecast for California estimated the state had 613,000 fewer tourism and travel jobs in April compared with the 1.2 million such jobs in the same month last year. By December, California should have only 212,000 fewer jobs than in December 2019, when there were 1.18 million such jobs, the report said. Before the virus outbreak, Los Angeles achieved nine straight years of record visitation numbers, topping out at more than 50 million visitors in 2019. Before the outbreak, the tourism board expected to attract 51 million visitors in 2020. One of the most painful financial blows to the travel business will be the loss of lucrative international travelers, according to the forecast. The number of international visitors is expected to drop by nearly 60% to only 3 million foreign tourists in 2020 while domestic visitation will drop by about 41% to about 26 million, the forecast predicts. The loss of international travelers, especially those visiting from overseas, is particularly costly because foreign tourists typically stay longer and spend more money than tourists from other parts of California or from nearby states. A burgeoning middle class in China has helped fuel a surge in Chinese tourists in Los Angeles, spending an average of about $6,900 per visit, according to the U.S. Travel Assn., a trade group for the country's travel industry. The number of local hotel rooms booked by tourists is expected to drop to about 16 million this year, down from the previous projection of nearly 31 million before the coronavirus outbreak, according to the Tourism Economics forecast. At Los Angeles International Airport, the number of international travelers flying in and out of the airport dropped to less than 900,000 in March, down nearly 57% from a year earlier, while the number of domestic fliers dropped to 2.4 million, down 55%, according to LAX statistics. Data for April are not yet available. LAX, once the second- or third-busiest airport in the country with 1,200 takeoffs and landings a day, now operates about 400 takeoffs and landings daily, according to LAX officials. For the record: 2:13 PM, May. 07, 2020: An earlier version of the story identified Ernest Wooden, Jr. as chairman of the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board. He is the president and chief executive. California State Capitol Building View Photo Sacramento, CA The impacts of COVID-19 on state government revenue are detailed in a new report released by the California Department of Finance. It comes one week before Governor Gavin Newsom will release his May-revised budget. California is projecting a shortfall of $13.4-billion for the fiscal year that ends on June 30 and a $40.9-billion shortfall for the 2020-21 budget year that commences on July 1. The overall $54.3-billion figure is equivalent to 37-percent of the current $146-billion fiscal year 2019-20 budget. In the upcoming fiscal year, personal income tax is anticipated to fall by 25.5-percent, sales and use taxes by 27.2-percent and corporate taxes by 22.7-percent. Based on the Proposition 98 constitutional calculation, the revenue decline will result in an $18.3-billion drop in General Fund money for k-12 education and community colleges. The report also notes that 4.2-million Californians have filed for unemployment since mid-March. More specifics about the proposed impacts to services will be detailed in the Governors revised budget next week. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 02:54:18|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A child rides a bike on a street in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, April 12, 2020. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) "Mr. Trump's aides and Republicans in Congress have sought to blame China for the pandemic in part to deflect criticism of the administration's mismanagement of the crisis in the United States, which now has more coronavirus cases than any country," The New York Times reported. BEIJING/WASHINGTON, May 6 (Xinhua) -- As the novel coronavirus rages on worldwide, politicizing the outbreak won't eliminate the virus. Instead, this global fight demands collaboration. NOT MANMADE VIRUS Many researchers have ruled out that the virus was created, or engineered in a lab, with genetic studies showing that the virus has a natural source, evolution, and a transmission most probably of leaping from animal to human. The hypothesis that a virus was created in a laboratory in China's central city of Wuhan sounded "a conspiracy vision that does not relate to the real science," Jean-Francois Delfraissy, an immunologist and head of the scientific council that advises the French government on COVID-19, once commented in an interview with French television BFM TV. A screenshot of Jean-Francois Delfraissy and his biography on the website of the Vaccine Research Institute. (Xinhua) China is the first to report the coronavirus outbreak, which hit Wuhan, at the end of December. But this does not necessarily mean that China or Wuhan is the origin of the novel coronavirus. The New York Times reported on Thursday that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other senior officials of the Trump administration have pushed U.S. intelligence agencies to "hunt for evidence to support an unsubstantiated theory" that a Wuhan lab was the virus' origin. "The Intelligence Community also concurs with wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified," said a statement released Thursday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence of the United States. Concerning a possible accidental release of the virus from the lab, an article carried Friday by The Washington Post said that despite "the intense scrutiny" by the U.S. intelligence community, the virus' origins remain murky. "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," said the report. A screenshot of Robert Lawrence Kuhn and his foundation's introduction on the website of the Kuhn Foundation. (Xinhua) VIRUS POLITICIZATION "UNFORTUNATE" There is yet no vaccine nor cure for the novel coronavirus, much of which remain unknown. As of Wednesday, there have been over 3.66 million COVID-19 cases confirmed, with over 257,000 deaths, globally, and 1.2 million cases in the United States, with over 71,000 deaths, showed data by Johns Hopkins University. International cooperation on virus research is urgently needed to facilitate quick development of treatments -- vaccines or medications. Scientists have warned of the possibility that the epidemic may return, adding both public health and economic uncertainty. However, instead of focusing efforts on saving lives and livelihoods, politicians in some countries, especially in the United States, have tried to conveniently scapegoat China for their own failures to tackle the coronavirus outbreak. "Some facts are generally accepted," Robert Lawrence Kuhn, chairman of the Kuhn Foundation, told Xinhua in an interview on Friday. "Trump's initial reluctance to heed early warnings of the American intelligence community about the then-coming epidemic was likely rooted in his concern that tanking the economy would tank his re-election." "Mr. Trump's aides and Republicans in Congress have sought to blame China for the pandemic in part to deflect criticism of the administration's mismanagement of the crisis in the United States, which now has more coronavirus cases than any country," The New York Times reported on Thursday. A screenshot of Peter Daszak and his biography on the website of the EcoHealth Alliance. (Xinhua) "We started to see the conspiracy theories, the pointing of finger at China and just the sort of politicization ... It is very unfortunate because what we need right now is open communication with scientists across the world," Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, told an interview with CNN on April 27. Daszak's research helped identify the origins of the SARS outbreak. CNN introduced him as one of the world's foremost "virus hunters." "The U.S. has wasted the whole of February and early March," said Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of the prominent British medical journal The Lancet, recently in an interview with China's CCTV television. "It is disappointing to see American politicians giving credence to conspiracy theories and promoting unproven treatments." "We should be working together to face down this threat," he said, adding that it is useless and wrong to blame China for the origin of the novel coronavirus. A screenshot of Richard Horton and his biography on the website of the World Health Organization. (Xinhua) In a signed letter recently published by The New York Times, more than 70 U.S. and Chinese public health scholars urged the United States and China to cooperate in tackling COVID-19. "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," read the letter. Diseases know no borders; supply chains are internationally-embedded; and crisis management necessitates intergovernmental collaboration and data sharing among scientists, they noted. They also called for rebuilding global public health alliances, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), another scapegoat for the White House in its disappointing response to COVID-19. Committee Chairman Sen. Richard Burr arrives for a meeting of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in Washington on Aug. 16, 2018. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) Sen. Burrs Brother-in-Law Sold Off Stocks on Same Day Senator Did Sen. Richard Burrs (R-N.C.) brother-in-law sold stocks on the same day the senator did, according to newly released documents. Gerald Fauth sold between $97,000 and $280,000 shares of stocks in six companies on Feb. 13, according to stock sale disclosures. Fauth is a board member on the National Mediation Board, a U.S. government agency that helps resolve labor-management disputes in the rail and airline industries. The board, reached by The Epoch Times, said it and Fauth have no comment at this time. Fauth, who is married to Burrs sister Mary, was appointed to the board by President Donald Trump in 2017. The stock sale disclosure forms were obtained by Luke Brindle-Khym, a partner and general counsel of New York-based investigative firm QRI. He shared them with ProPublica, which published them online. Brindle-Khym estimated that Fauth avoided losing between $37,000 and $118,000 by dumping the stocks when he did, just before the COVID-19 pandemic seriously hit the United States. Burrs office didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. Gerald Fauth in a file photograph. (National Mediation Board) Alice Fisher, an attorney representing Burr, told the outlet, Sen. Burr participated in the stock market based on public information and he did not coordinate his decision to trade on Feb. 13 with Mr. Fauth. The sales from Fauth included shares of Altria, a tobacco company, furniture chain Williams-Sonoma, and gas company Chevron. Burr sold stocks in February after receiving sensitive briefings on the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, a novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, as did several other U.S. Senators. While most of the lawmakers said others completed the sales, Burr said he made the decision to sell himself, relying solely on public reporting, including reports from CNBC. Burr has called for the Senate Ethics Committee to probe him. Ethics Chairman Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) hasnt announced whether a probe will be conducted, nor has Ethics Ranking Member Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.). Neither returned requests for comment. The FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission, which were reportedly investigating Burrs sales, declined to comment on the reports. Burr has faced questions from within his own party. I think Senator Burr owes everybody in North Carolina and the United States an explanation, and well see where the investigation goes, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said last month. Some conservative Christians argue that stay-at-home restrictions have limited their religious freedoms. In California, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday that Gov. Gavin Newsom was allowed to ban church assembly to protect public health, after a small evangelical church in the San Joaquin Valley, Cross Culture Christian Center, had sued him last month. In Fresno, Jim Franklin, pastor of Cornerstone Church, announced this week that he planned to reopen his doors to in-person worship on May 31. He is part of a growing group of evangelical pastors across the state who are working with a law firm to urge Mr. Newsom to allow churches to open along with other essential businesses. We want to keep people healthy mind, body and spirit, Mr. Franklin said. If people can be safe at a big-box store, if hundreds of people can gather there to pick up home improvement items, I think the church can also do it safely. Cornerstone plans to require socially distant seating for the about 3,000 people who usually attend services each week, and the church will not permit handshaking or fellowship times, he said. Advertisement The final supermoon of 2020 made an appearance in the night sky last night and stunned stargazers with its sheer size and brightness. Stunning images from the UK, Europe, US and the rest of the northern hemisphere reveal the dazzling celestial showcase as it provides an awe-inspiring backdrop to some of the world's most iconic locations. Due to its elliptical orbit, the moon was at its closest point to Earth and therefore appeared to be six per cent bigger than usual. The moon is set to reach perigee the point where it is at its fullest at around 11.45am BST Thursday morning, but it will be hidden below the horizon. However, the moon was still exceptionally large on the evening on Wednesday May 6 and in the early hours of May 7. Today (May 7), moonrise is expected to be around 8.45pm BST and, providing the skies remain clear, astronomers can expect more astonishing views. It is known as the 'Flower Moon' due to early-May being revered as a period of increased fertility in Native American culture. Other names for this supermoon include Mother's Moon, Milk Moon and Corn Planting Moon. Scroll down for video Pictured, the stunning Flower moon is seen setting above Stonehenge last night. The moon was still exceptionally large on the evening on Wednesday May 6 and in the early hours of May 7 The startlingly large full moon was seen early this morning over Galata Tower in Istanbul, Turkey (pictured). Today (May 7), moonrise is expected to be around 8.45pm BST and, providing the skies remain clear, astronomers can expect more astonishing views This supermoon is about about six per cent larger than a typical full moon and around 14 per cent bigger than a micromoon, which is when the moon is at its furthest point from Earth. The moon is pictured over the Statue of Liberty in New York City The full moon rises beyond clouds and the spires on a downtown apartment building in Kansas City, Missouri, yesterday. It is called the 'Flower Moon' due to early-May being revered as a period of increased fertility in Native American culture Stunning images from across the UK and Europe reveal the dazzling celestial showcase put on by the moon as it provides an awe-inspiring backdrop to some of the world's most iconic locations. Pictured, the full moon sets behind trees in the Taunus region near Frankfurt, Germany this morning Due to its elliptical orbit, the moon was at its closest point to Earth and therefore appeared to be six per cent bigger than usual Greg Brown, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory, said yesterday: 'Times for moonrise and set vary slightly across the UK, but not by more than about 10 minutes or so.' This supermoon is about about six per cent larger than a typical full moon and around 14 per cent bigger than a micromoon, which is when the moon is at its furthest point from Earth. Dr Brown said: 'The moon's orbit around the Earth is not entirely circular, instead a slightly flattened circle or ellipse. 'As such, it is sometimes closer to and sometimes further away from the Earth. 'While definitions vary, a supermoon typically occurs when a full moon coincides with the moon being within the closest 10 per cent of its orbit.' Pictured, the full Flower moon is seen behind a hammer and sickle, parts of the sculpture of 'Worker and Kolkhoz Woman,' in Moscow. The moon is set to reach perigee the point where it is at its fullest at around 11.45am BST Thursday morning, but it will be hidden below the horizon The Flower Moon is seen here at 99 per cent fullness behind Victoria Tower on Castle Hill yesterday. 100 per cent fullness occurs when the moon is below the horizon but another stunning celestial display will occur tonight Pictured, the full Flower Moon sits in the sky above buildings being constructed in Pamplona, Spain.This supermoon is about about six per cent larger than a typical full moon and around 14 per cent bigger than a micromoon The flower moon is seen in the dawn light over the Statue of Liberty in New York City Dr Brown also said this event would be the third and final supermoon of this year. He added: 'Because of how the dynamics of orbits work, these usually occur in runs of two or three with longer gaps of several months between each set of supermoons.' The full moon comes in the midst of another celestial display - the Eta Aquariids Meteor Shower, which reached its peak earlier this week. The Eta Aquariids take place every year from the middle of April until the end of May, when Earth passes through the stream of debris left behind by Halley's Comet. This results in dozens of shooting stars every hour. Like tomorrow's supermoon, they are visible with the naked eye and did not require a telescope or specialist equipment, The current supermoon is the third and final such event of 2020 and it is also the smallest of the trio, which occurred on March 9 and April 7-8. The next supermoon will be visible in April 2021, with the Flower Moon being the last one of 2020. Pictured, the stunning backdrop of the supermoon illuminates the silhouette of statues atop St. Isaac cathedral in St Petersburg Pictured, how the moon looked overnight in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. The full moon comes in the midst of another celestial display - the Eta Aquariids Meteor Shower, which reached its peak earlier this week The current supermoon is the third and final such event of 2020 and it is also the smallest of the trio, which occurred on March 9 and April 7-8. The next supermoon will be visible in April 2021, with the Flower Moon being the last one of 2020. Pictured, the moon rises over Worthing Seafront Beacon in West Sussex The moon rises over Windsor Castle in Berkshire yesterday. This month's full moon is also supermoon, meaning it will be about 6 percent larger than a typical full moon and around 14 percent bigger than a micromoon, which is when the moon is at its furthest point from Earth The Flower Moon is visible over Kansas City Hall in Missouri HOW TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THE MOON ON YOUR IPHONE There are two main ways you can take images on your iPhone with the built-in camera software, or via a third-party camera app from the App Store. You will get the best results using a separate app, but there are some specific settings you need for both. Using a night-photography app: 1 - Go to the app store and download a night photography app. For iPhone NightCap Pro app is recommended. 2 - Start by reducing ISO, which impacts how sensitive your cameras sensor is to light. To do this, launch the Nightcap app and slide your finger downwards on the left hand side of the screen. Set it the ISO to the minimum of 25 to 64, depending on the model of iPhone. You will get the best results using a separate app for iPhone. Go to the app store and download a night photography app, like NightCap Pro 3 - Adjust your exposure by sliding your finger up and down on the right side of the screen to adjust brightness, until the moon looks grey instead of white. 4 - Set your focus to 100 (infinity). This usually happens automatically, but if not slide your finger to the right in the bottom half of the screen to adjust it manually. 5 - Once you are happy with the way your image appears on the screen, click the circular shutter button at the bottom of the app to take a shot. @newburyastro @VirtualAstro @NightCapApp @WessexWeather @JonMitchellITV @StormHour #supermoon #halo from Scunthorpe pic.twitter.com/gcmvsOAkog andy stones (@andy_stones) December 3, 2017 Using the iPhone's inbuilt camera: 1 - Turn off the flash. This will only illuminate nearby objects which could ruin your image. To do so, tap the lightning bolt image from the top of the camera app and tap the word 'Off'. The iPhone 8 and iPhone X now feature enhanced capabilities in low light conditions, to ensure vivid colours are preserved even in the dark. 2 - Zoom in. If you need to make the moon more prominent in your image, now is the time to do this. Pinch on the display with two fingers to zoom in and out. Digital zooms will reduce the quality of your image, so it is not advisable to use more than 2x zoom. iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X will let you zoom in with an optical zoom rather than digital zoom, which will provide better results. 3 - Lock the focus on your subject by tapping and holding the screen where the moon appears. This will bring up the square autofocus lock box. 4 - Change the image's exposure by using the sun logo slider on the right hand side of the autofocus lock box. This will prevent the moon from appearing blurry in your images. 5 - Once you are happy with the way your image appears on the screen, click the circular capture button at the bottom of the app. It's best to do this remotely if possible, for instance, via the volume buttons on your headphones, to avoid any shaking from your finger. @newburyastro @NightCapApp @IridiumComm iridium 75 satellite flare -6.6 mag #flarewell pic.twitter.com/ASCtEHyv0n andy stones (@andy_stones) November 25, 2017 Advertisement Brazilian photojournalist Sebastiao Salgado has sent an open letter to President Jair Bolsonaro calling for "urgent measures" to save the indigenous peoples of the Amazon from the coronavirus pandemic. "The indigenous peoples of Brazil face a serious threat to their own survival with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic," the letter, backed by an online petition which has so far gathered more than 200,000 signatures, said. "Five centuries ago, these ethnic groups were decimated by diseases brought by European colonisers. The letter was signed by a list of celebrities including Paul McCartney, Richard Gere, Madoona, Brad Pitt and Meryl Streep. "Today with this new scourge spreading rapidly throughout Brazil", the Amazon's indigenous people may disappear completely since they have no means of combating COVID-19. Satere-mawe indigenous men use a smartphone to contact a doctor in Sao Paulo State to receive medical guidance amid the coronavirus pandemic. Source: Getty Images The stars appear in a video by Brazilian director Fernando Meireles, which features Salgado calling on Mr Bolsonaro to put an end to economic intrusion into the lives of the Amazon peoples, and to "guarantee their protection". "Brazil owes a debt to its first inhabitants. It is time to do what should have been done a long time ago," Salgado said. We are on the eve of a genocide, Salgado told The Guardian. The 76-year-old has won numerous international awards for his portrayal of the poor across the world, most recently turning his focus on the peoples of the Amazon rainforest basin. Photographer Sebastiao Salgado has won numerous international awards for his photographs of the poor across the world, most recently turning his focus on the peoples of the Amazon. Source: Getty Images We are in danger of extinction The mayor of Manaus, the biggest city in the Amazon rainforest region, asked world leaders on Tuesday (local time) for help fighting the novel coronavirus, which has brought his city's health system to the brink of collapse. Manaus is the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas, which has been devastated by the pandemic. Mayor Arthur Virgilio sent video messages and letters pleading for funds and medical equipment to 21 world leaders, including US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron. Story continues With only one intensive care unit to serve a state more than four times the area of Germany, Manaus has been overwhelmed by the outbreak, leaving hospitals to store cadavers in refrigerator trucks. Amazonas state has registered 649 deaths from COVID-19 so far. "For decades, we have played an important role for the health of the planet, keeping 96 per cent of our original forest," Mr Virgilio said in his video to Mr Macron, speaking in French. "Now, in return, we need medical personnel, ventilators, protective equipment, anything that can save the lives of those who protect the great forest." Satere-mawe indigenous men navigate the Ariau river during the COVID-19 pandemic at the Sahu-Ape community, 80 km of Manaus, Amazonas State. Source: Getty Images Coronavirus has already infected 180 of the 600 indigenous tribes of the Amazon basin and killed 33 of their members in a single month. Source: Getty Images Though not densely populated, the Amazon region is home to indigenous groups particularly vulnerable to outside diseases and has limited public health infrastructure. Brazil is the Latin American country hit hardest by the pandemic, with 7,921 deaths so far We cannot wait any longer for our governments ... We are in danger of extinction, Jose Gregorio Diaz Mirabal, general coordinator of COICA and a member of the Wakuenai Kurripaco people of Venezuela, said. COVID-19 has already infected 180 of the 600 indigenous tribes of the Amazon basin and killed 33 of their members in a single month, he said. With AFP and Reuters 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. Residents of a mobile home park in southeastern Tennessee say they have been threatened with eviction and deportation in a scheme to extort money from workers living there. The Auburn Hills Mobile Home Park in Ooltewah, a suburb of Chattanooga, is home to mostly Hispanic immigrant families. Police are investigating the families complaints after the mobile home parks operators, identified by the Chattanooga Times Free Press as Steven and Kim West, were arrested and charged with hoarding $60,000 in supplies donated for the park residences. Donations were made after an EF-3 tornado moved through the area hitting the park on Easter Sunday and destroying or damaging many homes and killing one man, 46-year-old Jose Arzate. Sheriffs deputies seized donated items including 54 American Red Cross totes, diapers, masks, cases of bottled water and an unopened generator, the Times Free Press reported. Also reported was that many of the donations, according to the Sheriffs department, were stored in a trailer that had been screwed shut. Residents told police that the Wests never seemed to lack a reason to charge them fees, sometimes asking for additional rent payments even though it had been paid. To balk at paying again would prompt threats of eviction and deportation. The mangers also imposed fines ranging from $25 to $50 for menial property rule infractions and late payment fees on rent that was paid on time. Each charge was backed up by the threat of deportation or eviction made by the Wests, the newspaper reported. "They threaten you no matter what," Joel Trujillo, who has lived in the park with his wife and three children for 10 years, told the Times Free Press. "I mean, they just do it for no reason. And every time they threaten you, it's $25. Every time you get a letter, 25 bucks ... and we don't, I mean most of us don't, have anywhere we can go or anyone we can go to about this." Such cruel behavior does not just happen because some people are bad and cruel. Acts like this, if proven true, occur in a social context. The building of Trumps border wall, the raids on immigrant workers at their jobs, the separation of immigrant families, confining of immigrant children in cages and the constant nationalist drone that they are stealing our jobs help create a noxious atmosphere which inflates fear and hatred of immigrants, in a effort to pit workers against each other. As in the past, todays anti-immigration campaign has intensified in tandem with the capitalist crisis. Xenophobia and racism have been relentlessly promoted in the period since the 2008 financial crash, the World Socialist Web Site wrote earlier this year in reviewing The Guarded Gate, a book on the history of US immigration policy. Trumps vicious scapegoating of immigrants exceeds even that of the anti-immigration forces of the past. The Democrats, as shown by the massive deportations of undocumented immigrants under Obama, share responsibility for whipping up xenophobia, even as they pretend otherwise. Moreover, their promotion of identity politics serves to divide the working class, complementing and encouraging the racists. Immigrant workers and their families in Tennessee have been subjected to abuse and harassment from the highest levels of the state. The New York Times reported on a 2018 Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) raid at a meatpacking plant in Morristown, Tennessee, a town of about 30,000 northeast of Knoxville. Dozens of panicked workers fled in every direction, some wedging themselves between beef carcasses or crouching under bloody butcher tables. About 100 workers, including at least one American citizen, were rounded upevery Latino employee at the plant, it turned out, save a man who had hidden in a freezer, the Times reported. The raid did not go unnoticed by the working class or the friends of the children who saw their fathers and mothers snatched away from them. Despite the best efforts of the Trump administration, there remains deep sympathy and support among native-born workers for their immigrant brothers and sisters. Two non-Hispanic kids on the bus were having a conversation about how they were worried about their friends, Angela Kanipe, a Morristown third grade teacher who also works as a school bus driver, told the Times. And they were talking about how God was going to be mad because he doesnt want you to be mean to people. Why would someone take away someones parents? When I think about it, it just breaks my heart. Its hard not to cry. Last year when an immigrant father and son took refuge in their van to avoid being seized by ICE agent at their home in Nashville, neighbors came to their aid, providing them with gas to keep their vehicle running as well as food and water. After several hours, the ICE agents were compelled to leave the premises without arresting the pair. What I saw was an injustice from the government in a country that basically was built on the backs and sweat of immigrants. Even our forefathers were immigrants. We all started as immigrants is what Im saying, neighbor Rosheda Martin told the WSWS. Theres a lot of us out here thinking this is just what it is, its just going to be this way, its not going to change. But we can change it. We can come together as a force. It says We the People of the United States, not we the government. We have got to come together and help one another and educate one another. Reports in Afrin have said that four people in the region have tested positive for coronavirus, the first cases to be registered in the area reports Smart News. A medical source revealed that four cases of coronavirus (COVID-19), were registered in the Afrin area, 44 kilometers north of Aleppo, northern Syria. These cases are the first to be registered in areas outside Syrian government forces control. The source added that the Dar al-Shifa Hospital in Afrin received five people who exhibited COVID-19 symptoms. The hospital sent samples from the people to Turkey. The results confirmed that four of the people are infected with COVID-19. The source said that the people are still at the hospital. The source noted that the Turkish authorities that run the Afrin area withhold information about the cases for unknown reasons. On Monday night, Maram al-Sheikh, the Syrian Interim Governments Health Minister stated that no cases of COVID-19 have so far been registered in northwestern Syria. Earlier, international and United Nations organizations warned of a real disaster in areas outside Syrian government forces control if COVID-19 spreads. The warnings were not met with even the simplest of actions to save the lives of 4 million people, about a third of whom live in camps. On Mar. 22, 2020, the Syrian government officially registered the first case of COVID-19 in the Syrian government-controlled city of Damascus. Later, the total number of registered cases gradually increased to 44, amidst international warnings that the disease poses an imminent danger to all Syrians. On Dec. 31, 2019, the novel coronavirus COVID-19 spread in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The virus has infected more than 3.7 million people until May 6, 2020 in 210 countries, about 259,000 of them have died, and more than million others recovered, according to the website Worldometer. COVID-19 is an infectious disease that spreads from person-to-person and by respiratory droplets. People could be infected if they inhale droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes, so it is important to keep a distance from infected people. Infection symptoms include body aches, blocked nose, sore throat, cough, and fever. The symptoms begin as mild and develop gradually. Some people become infected without showing any symptoms and without feeling ill. About 80 percent of infected people recover from the disease without any special treatment. This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. Karnataka government will resume the train services to help migrant workers reach their home towns. The move has come two days after Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa stopped train services. Reports reveal that the train services will resume from Friday and at least three trains will run. Meanwhile, Railway authorities refused to speak anything on the matter and said that the officials of the state are authorized to speak. IAS officer revealed that till now only the Bihar government has agreed to the proposal of the transportation of the migrant workers and other states like West Bengal, Jharkhand, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are yet to respond. According to the recent report, the trains are expected to run from May 8 to May 15. Earlier, the Karnataka government had made a schedule of a total of eight special trains on May 3 and May 4 which was supposed to transport 1200 migrant workers on each train. On May 5, Chief Minister of Karnataka appealed to the migrant workers not to leave for their hometowns and promised them for food and work. He said that it is the responsibility of the government to generate work opportunities for the workers. Also Read: First Air India Express repatriation flight departs for Abu Dhabi, scheduled to return this evening Govt of Karnataka has written to Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, West Bengal and Rajasthan Governments seeking their consent to operate trains to their states from 8 to 15 May for transportation of people stranded in Karnataka. #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/9IugwcFdZH ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 Post to Yediyurappa, appeal, labour unions, and activists accused the government of not taking care of the labourers and instead of using them for lifting the economy. Reports reveal that the government has till now run 171 trains for migrants which are stuck in different corners of the nations. Reports reveal that even when the lockdown has been lifted in some areas, the migrant labours are finding it difficult to return back to their home towns. For all the latest National News, download NewsX App Credit Union Magazine seeks nominations for the eighth annual Credit Union Rock Stars program, sponsored by Fiserv. Credit Union Rock Stars are professionals and volunteers in credit union organizations who leverage their exceptional creativity, innovation, and passion to advance their credit unions and elevate their communities. Every year the successes of our industrys Rock Stars reinforce why we put people first, says Ann Hayes Peterson, CUNAs vice president of publishing and editor-in-chief. Were looking forward to reading the inspiring stories from the past year and honoring these individuals. Given everything that has already transpired in 2020, the opportunity to recognize the work and dedication of credit union professionals who are putting members first every day is timely and refreshing, says Theo Curey, president, Credit Union Solutions, Fiserv. We are looking forward to learning from and celebrating this years Rock Stars. For long term investors, improvement in profitability and outperformance against the industry can be important characteristics in a stock. In this article, I will take a look at Stratec SE's (XTRA:SBS) track record on a high level, to give you some insight into how the company has been performing against its historical trend and its industry peers. Check out our latest analysis for Stratec Commentary On SBS's Past Performance SBS's trailing twelve-month earnings (from 31 December 2019) of 16m has jumped 45% compared to the previous year. Furthermore, this one-year growth rate has exceeded its 5-year annual growth average of -6.7%, indicating the rate at which SBS is growing has accelerated. What's the driver of this growth? Well, lets take a look at whether it is solely attributable to an industry uplift, or if Stratec has seen some company-specific growth. XTRA:SBS Income Statement May 7th 2020 In terms of returns from investment, Stratec has fallen short of achieving a 20% return on equity (ROE), recording 10% instead. Furthermore, its return on assets (ROA) of 5.7% is below the DE Medical Equipment industry of 5.8%, indicating Stratec's are utilized less efficiently. And finally, its return on capital (ROC), which also accounts for Stratecs debt level, has declined over the past 3 years from 14% to 7.7%. This correlates with an increase in debt holding, with debt-to-equity ratio rising from 0.08% to 53% over the past 5 years. What does this mean? Stratec's track record can be a valuable insight into its earnings performance, but it certainly doesn't tell the whole story. Recent positive growth isn't always indicative of a continued optimistic outlook. There may be factors that are influencing the industry as a whole, thus the high industry growth rate over the same time frame. I suggest you continue to research Stratec to get a more holistic view of the stock by looking at: Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for SBSs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for SBSs outlook. Financial Health: Are SBSs 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. 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. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the trailing twelve months from 31 December 2019. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. 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. William & Mary Law Schools veterans benefits clinic remains flexible to serve clients Serving clients online: The Lewis B. Puller, Jr. Veterans Benefits Clinic offers William & Mary law students the opportunity to assist veterans with filing claims for disability compensation with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Now, during the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty and staff are operating remotely to help clients and teach students. Photo by David F. Morrill Photo - of - Hide Caption For the faculty and staff of the Lewis B. Puller, Jr., Veterans Benefits Clinic, it was all hands on deck when William & Mary Law School closed its building during the COVID-19 shutdown. Only this time the deck was in different locationsat professors home offices or living rooms, in students apartments, in their parents homes, and anywhere else work could be done away from the clinic offices in the Law School. As Caleb Stone put it, welcome to the new normal. We had to scramble during spring break, said Stone, Professor of the Practice at the Veterans Benefits Clinic. For the period before our next clinic class, we needed to figure out how we would operate remotely from a clinic operations standpoint and how we would perform our class obligations; thanks to Zoom, weve been very fortunate to do this without any technological encumbrances. Stone explained that the clinic was already nearly paperless thanks to years-long use of the Clio legal file management system, which allows faculty and students to work with and share PDFs and documents in a secure manner. Stone himself has been visiting the office twice a week to check and process mail, scan letters, and fax documents to the Department of Veterans Affairs as needed. Its not perfect, but its not nearly as bad as it would have been 10 years ago with differences in technology, Stone said. Our students have been incredibly resilient about the entire thing; I cant say enough about their efforts in the face of something thats really disturbed their routine. Working with the clinic, Christina Kapalko J.D. 20 considers the clinic experience to be different from doctrinal and lecture-based courses. The Puller Clinic in particular has an extensive learning curve compared to other clinics. She said that learning about the VA system, the medical jargon, and how the law is woven into claims for disability is a lot to assimilate in such a short time. This is hands-on work that requires organization, communication, and a willingness to make true change for clients in the community, Kapalko said. Its so much more than listening to a lecture and studying for an exam. Kapalko praised faculty for being willing and able to assist students as much as possible to smoothly switch to long-distance clinic work. They care about our well-being as more than student advocates, but also as people, and thats the kind of psychological and emotional support that keeps my fellow students and I engaged and able to work for our clients to the best of our abilities, Kapalko said. Kapalko also praises her fellow clinic students, all of whom have proven to be an incredible support system. Because clinic is so different, only fellow clinic students really understand the extensive amount of effort required to work for our clients, Kapalko said. As such, they are always willing to give advice about ways to address certain problems we may be having, advice about working with the VA, or simply to lend a listening ear when stressed about more difficult scenarios. Two weeks into working from home, Gabby Vance J.D. 21 was impressed with the clinic's transition from the office and classroom to online. Like any law school class, there is a learning curve for all of us at the clinic to move to remote work, Vance said. I think we are fortunate as part of the Veterans Clinic that we can do much of the work electronically without problemand we usually meet with clients over the phone anyway. Vance says the hardest transition for her was not working with clients online, but rather missing the tight-knit community in her class. Professors [Michael] Dick [Visiting Professor of the Practice] and Stone have been the best professors, though, through this transition and time of uncertainty, Vance said. They are so good about checking in and reaching out to us to make sure we can get everything done remotely and are okay. Vance hopes to work at a law firm after graduation, and thinks this experience is proving beneficial in learning how to work remotely and successfully. She realizes that at law firms or even government agencies, she will not always be in the office contacting clients. For Stone the biggest initial challenges consisted of uncertainty and remoteness. No one knew how things were going to operate, or how long students would be out. (Originally, the idea was for classes to resume on April 2, but that soon lengthened to the Law School extending distance learning for the rest of the semester.) Questions were numerous. Would VA decisions continue to be delivered? How long is the time frame? Will people stay healthy around here? None of us were able to plan two to three weeks in advance, Stone said. So weve had to be flexible to roll with the punches. In terms of clinic work, Kelsey Reichardt J.D. 20 thinks technology has made it slightly more challenging to interact with clients due to the difficulty in calling them without access to the Clinic phone line and voicemail system, though it hasn't significantly hampered her efforts. Thankfully, a lot of our items are online or can be accessed easily via the internet so we are still able to submit the necessary documents and paperwork back and forth with the VA and our clients, Reichardt said. Professor Stone has done a fantastic job of continuing to support all the students and answer questions/concerns that we may have. For Kapalko, some stress simply results from students worrying about those who benefit from their work. Each student in this clinic works hard to advocate to the best of their ability for their clients, Kapalko said. We have each spent nearly 100 hours this semester working with these veterans, and we care about them as people, not just clients. As such, there is the added stress worrying about their welfare and well-being at a time where they may be particularly at risk should they catch COVID-19. Stone admits that a lot can get lost in technology when everyone is in a different physical space. He says that classes have been more difficult, but there have been some opportunities to use tech in ways that make classes more interesting. Both Professors Stone and Dick have put in place a good mix of lectures and classes with more class participation. The Clinic has even brought in a guest speaker or two. One day, Steven Combs, the Chief Deputy Commissioner for the Virginia Department of Veteran Services (VDVS), spoke to students remotely from his office in Richmond. Combs talked about how VDVS is dealing with the coronavirus and how all the veterans care centers and cemeteries and veterans benefits offices across the state continue to operate. Another speaker, Bradley W. Hennings, a managing attorney at Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick, whose practice focuses on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, would ordinarily have traveled to the clinic from his office in Providence, Rhode Island, but now he presents on Zoom. Weve been pretty happy the way classes have gone, Stone said. Its tough to bring the energy into the laptop for 75 minutes at a time, but overall faculty and students are doing great under the circumstance. Kapalko believes that each law student should take the opportunity to conduct experiential learning while at school. I did not feel ready to enter the legal profession until I took this course, and thanks to the Puller Clinic I now feel capable to tackle the challenges that come with being a first-year attorney, Kapalko said. I cannot say enough that despite the challenges weve had to face switching to virtual clinic work, our professors and classmates have made the experience as painless as possible. Three University of Stirling projects will play a key role in safeguarding carers and support workers during the COVID-19 pandemic - and assessing the impact the experience has on them. Conducted by scientists from the Faculty of Social Sciences, they are among 10 Stirling-led projects funded under the Scottish Government's Rapid Research in COVID-19 programme. Dr Liz Forbat will lead a team to develop an app that will help to reduce the risk of infection among a vulnerable group - informal carers of people with life-limiting conditions. The app will enable informal carers to receive peer support for their caring practices, and access targeted, credible, and accurate learning resources, while minimising feelings of isolation. During the five-month project, which will begin immediately, Dr Forbat's team will work with a group of carers and app specialists, Vidatec, to develop the new technology. It is hoped the app will better connect carers, while also reducing face-to-face contact - an important factor in helping to minimise the risk of infection. Dr Forbat said: "Our aim is to develop an app for carers to use, to enable them to gain the support and information they need while looking after someone during the COVID-19 crisis. Scotland has many people living with serious health conditions, who are more vulnerable to infection and yet require ongoing care." It is therefore essential to address the support, learning, and safety of informal carers, to enable them to continue to provide care. The project draws on our team's expertise in family caring, palliative care, and using technology to deliver education and information. We expect to have the app ready for use within a couple of months, focused on family carers looking after people receiving palliative care. Dr Liz Forbat, University of Stirling The other two projects in this area will look at the resilience and mental health of carers and support workers working with vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr Grant Gibson's team will research how the pandemic is affecting staff in small, local, community-based organisations which provide vital support services to vulnerable groups, including older people with dementia. People with dementia are particularly vulnerable to the health risks posed by COVID-19, and the isolating effects of social distancing measures - including the withdrawal of their usual support activities. This means staff in the wide range of community based organisations that provide assistance and support to people with dementia and their carers are faced with both an increased demand and severe restrictions on how to deliver those services. Dr Gibson's project will identify and create mechanisms that will equip staff in these organisations with the knowledge and resources to continue delivering services, while safeguarding their own physical and mental wellbeing. Community organisations play a vital but often under-recognised role in supporting older people and people with dementia to live well in their communities. Our project aims to support people in these organisations, working on the frontline of the outbreak, to enhance their resilience in the face of COVID-19. This will have significant benefits - both for them and those people with dementia they are caring for. We will analyse our findings, which will be valuable in helping staff members identify and develop suitable responses as the pandemic continues, and for any similar situations in the future. Dr Grant Gibson, University of Stirling A further project, led by Dr Hannah Carver, will research the stress and mental health challenges facing third-sector homelessness workers. The study aims to help inform future service provision for homeless people, and to identify specific support needs for staff working in this challenging environment. People working to support those experiencing homelessness face challenges and stress on a daily basis. This situation is made more complex by the high rates of drug and alcohol related deaths in Scotland, and is severely compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr Carver's team will conduct interviews with frontline workers to learn about their experiences, how they are coping, and what needs they have. She said: "This study will look to answer the question of: what challenges do frontline homelessness services staff in Scotland face in terms of stress, wellbeing, burnout, and mental health during COVID-19?" "Using our team's expertise and experience of qualitative research in the homelessness field, we aim to help inform future service provision and mental health support for those engaged in this work." The University of Stirling is leading 10 major projects investigating the impact of COVID-19 pandemic after receiving almost 500,000 in Scottish Government funding. Treefrogs become easy targets for predators and parasites when they send mating calls, but they're finding a way to fool their enemies with a little help from a wingman. Researchers at Purdue University have discovered that male treefrogs reduce their attractiveness to predators and parasites by overlapping their mating calls with their neighbors. By overlapping their calls at nearly perfect synchrony with neighboring treefrogs, an auditory illusion takes effect and those enemies are more attracted to the leading call, leaving the other frogs to find mates without risking their life. The work was recently published in American Naturalist. "The male frogs are essentially manipulating the eavesdroppers through creating this auditory illusion," said doctoral student Henry Legett, who led the research with Ximena Bernal, associate professor of biological sciences at Purdue University. "Humans experience this illusion too, it's called the 'Precedence Effect.' When we hear two short sounds in quick succession, we think the sound is only coming from the location of the first sound." Research at the Bernal lab focuses on the relationship between predation and communication -- or what they simply refer to as eavesdropping. "The illusion created by the male treefrogs calling in synchrony has no effect on female frogs, which was a surprising observation," Bernal says. "These male frogs have figured out a way to trick these enemies. We thought the females might be more attracted to the leading caller, but it didn't really affect attraction at all. It's a win-win for the frogs because it helps reduce attacks from those enemies who were hoping to prey on the male frogs and females are not tricked by the illusion." The study included experiments using playbacks of recorded calls from speakers and sound traps both in laboratory and field settings at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, where Bernal is a research associate and frequently visits to work with students. Researchers discovered that after the initial male treefrog sends a mating call, other frogs follow suit within milliseconds. "It's so fast, it's almost like a reflex," Legett said. "There's no way their brains have time to process that information. They hear their neighbor and they react immediately." Bernal and Legett said the research has cultivated even more questions about how frogs communicate. "You have to wonder why a male frog would call first, given that if increases his chances of being eaten," Legett said. "It's a very strategic game they're playing. The frog that calls first might not get lucky that time, but maybe he knows he'll get his chance the next time he hears one of his friends make the first call. These are the questions we'll keep asking as we move forward." Prisons have been given a helping hand in keeping Covid-19 from their cells by a drop in the number of people being sent to jail. The number of prisoners getting temporary release has also fallen by nearly a fifth from its coronavirus peak as pressure for space has eased within the prison system. An analysis of daily counts published by the Irish Prison Service for the past two months shows how the total number of people in the prison system has fallen by more than 6% from previously high levels. On March 12, there were 4,726 people total prisoners in [the] system of whom 363 were on temporary release. However, by Wednesday of this week the total number within the entire prison system had fallen to 4,403 with 490 of them on temporary release. The total figures include all those in custody, those on temporary release, people being detained in hospital or the Central Mental Hospital, and lifers in the community. The number of people being given temporary release has also dropped significantly from the high of 600 it reached on April 3, according to official figures. It has been steadily trending downwards since and by Tuesday of this week, it had fallen by almost 20% from its peak at the beginning of last month. The latest figures show that there were 484 prisoners on temporary release on Tuesday and 490 on temporary release as of Wednesday. Of that, the largest number were from Mountjoy Mens Prison (99), followed by Cork Prison (83), and Wheatfield in Dublin (77). There were also 69 prisoners from Mountjoy Womens Prison on temporary release with a further 108 in custody. Another 25 women were on temporary release from Limerick Womens Prison with just 20 remaining in custody, according to the Irish Prison Service records. Arbour Hill which is home to a large population of sex offenders had no prisoners on temporary release on Wednesday of this week. Similarly, the states high-security prison Portlaoise had only two prisoners on temporary release this week, both from the jails C-block. The prison system is currently operating at around 87% of its bed capacity and that figure has dropped significantly since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. On February 26, the system was running at 97% of its bed capacity. A spokesman for the Prison Service said it has been working closely with the Department of Justice and others to manage during the crisis with 572 prisoners granted temporary release since March 10: Of course, public safety is absolutely paramount when deciding whether someone is suitable to early release. A 42-page document deals a blow to credibility of opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has denied any links to the plot. Members of Venezuelas opposition in October negotiated a $213m deal with a small Florida security company to invade the country and overthrow President Nicolas Maduro, according to a document published by the Washington Post on Thursday. Venezuelan authorities this week arrested more than a dozen people, including Americans who work for the company SilverCorp USA, as part of a bungled incursion that has served as a public relations victory for Maduros struggling government. The document deals a blow to the credibility of opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has vehemently denied any links to SilverCorp or involvement in the attempt to remove Maduro by force. Guaido, the president of the opposition-held National Assembly, argues that Maduro is usurping power after rigging a 2018 election and is recognised by dozens of countries as Venezuelas rightful leader. The plan described in the 42-page document offers minute tactical details ranging from which landmines to deploy and what riot gear to use, but offers no explanation of how a small group of commandos could overpower hundreds of thousands of security forces who remain loyal to the ruling Socialist Party. Opposition leader Juan Guaido asking for silence during a session of the National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela [File: Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo] Service Provider Group will advise and assist Partner Group in Planning and executing an operation to capture/detain/remove Nicolas Maduro (heretoafter Primary Objective), remove the current Regime, and install the recognized Venezuelan President Juan Guaido, reads the agreement. Reuters was unable to immediately confirm the authenticity of the document. The Washington Post said the general services agreement, signed by Guaido, had been provided by SilverCorp CEO Jordan Goudreau, who has publicly described leading the operation. It said the detailed attachment had been provided by Venezuelan opposition officials. Guaidos press team did not respond to a request for comment. Guaido adviser Juan Rendon, whose signature also appears on the document, told CNN that he signed an exploratory agreement with SilverCorp but that it was never completed. He said SilverCorp had led a botched suicide mission without Guaidos support. Reuters could not immediately reach Rendon for comment. The document was also signed by opposition legislator Sergio Vergara and Goudreau. Reuters was unable to obtain comment from Goudreau, whose voice mail box was not accepting messages on Thursday. Military equipment on display during a meeting with the Bolivarian armed forces a day after Venezuelas government said it foiled an attempted incursion by terrorist mercenaries from Colombia, at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela [Via Reuters] Vergara did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Two main opposition parties First Justice and Popular Will, which Guaido is affiliated with on Thursday said in a statement the democratic forces do not promote or finance guerrillas, outbreaks of violence or paramilitary groups, and reiterated calls for a transition government. The logos of six other parties, including Democratic Action and A New Era, which have significant representation in the National Assembly, appear on the document. Luke Denman, one of the two captured Americans, appeared on Wednesday in a video on Venezuelan state television saying he had been tasked by SilverCorp with controlling Caracas airport to bring in a plane that would fly Maduro to the United States. He and Airan Berry will be tried in Venezuelas civilian courts, Maduro said. Moudi Tajjour is engaged to a 23-year-old mystery brunette (pictured) The former national president of the Nomads outlaw motorcycle gang is engaged to a new woman after a string of disastrous relationships. Moudi Tajjour is the 'happiest he's ever been' after burning his old bikie clothing and starting medication to manage his anger. The 36-year-old met his fiancee just three months ago through a friend. The 23-year-old was out of a job due to the coronavirus pandemic and Tajjour offered her the role of manager in one of the western Sydney cafes he owns. 'I said she could come on as a manager, come live with me and I'll take care of you,' he told The Daily Telegraph. The happy couple have been engaged two weeks, and Tajjour isn't yet ready to share her identity with his followers. Tajjour has been unlucky in love up until this point. He was briefly married to disgraced property developer Salim Mehajer's younger sister, Sanaa, but the whirlwind romance came to a bitter end just two weeks later on their honeymoon. Tajjour (pictured) has been unlucky in love in recent years but is the 'happiest he's ever been' with his new fiancee Tajjour's new fiancee is not ready for the public to know who she is. His last relationship ended because of media scrutiny Police filed an apprehended violence order against Tajjour on Ms Mehajer's behalf following a series of domestic disputes and arguments. Court documents revealed Ms Mehajer was fed up with allegedly being called a "rat", a "sl*t" and being abused by her husband on their honeymoon, and later felt unsafe due to his increasingly erratic behaviour. In May 2019, about a year on from the failed relationship, Tajjour shared pictures of a weekend away in Hamilton Island with Instagram model Jessica Foster. Tajjour boasted about deleting his female fans from his Instagram account out of respect to his newest flame, but just two days later, the relationship was over. Ms Foster broke up with him over text, saying she couldn't cope with the sudden media attention. She was particularly concerned about the attention that comes with dating a former bikie boss and said she wanted to focus on her studies. Sanaa Mehajer (left), the little sister of property developer Salim, had a brief but volatile marriage to Mouhamed 'Moudi' Tajjour (right) 'It was unforeseeable': Ms Mehajer said she never imagined her marriage to Tajjour would fall apart in the manner that it did Tajjour grew from the experience, hinting that it was the first time he'd ever been dumped. 'Yeah I got dumped but that's ok - [I] now know how the 50,000 I've let go feel. I am sorry to you girls who I've dumped in past straight out.' Tajjour said he has no regrets about his history, which includes spending four years behind bars for manslaughter, but is glad the chapter is over. His brother Sleiman, who is the current Nomads national president, gave him the authorisation to burn his colours, officially ending his union with the OMCG. Ex-Nomads enforcer and convicted killer Moudi Tajjour, 35, was dumped by Instagram model Jessica Foster (pictured) after a romantic couple's getaway Their relationship came to a sudden end via text. Left is screenshot of the message uploaded to Instagram by Tajjour. Right is Tajjour's caption 'It sent shivers up my spine. It was a happy moment but I was also upset as I walked away from 20 years on the street... Now I've never been happier, it took me six weeks to adjust,' he said. Tajjour had no choice but to distance himself from the organisation after police introduced and heavily enforced anti-consorting laws which forbid known bikies from gathering together. He has been outspoken in his criticism of the laws, citing them as contributing to his depression and loneliness. But since meeting his new partner, Tajjour has had a change of heart. 'Police did me a favour. Police helped me by putting me on an order, even though I was retired I was still seeing some of them for coffees so I had to cease contact with everyone. [They] saved me from this life. I had an excuse to say I was out I walked away,' he said. Indigenous groups from nine countries in the Amazon basin called on Wednesday for donations to help protect 3 million rainforest inhabitants who are vulnerable to the spread of the novel coronavirus because they lack adequate access to healthcare. They said the failure of regional governments to consider the needs of indigenous people in their plans for curbing the pandemic made it imperative to find other funding to buy food, medicine and basic protective equipment such as masks. The Amazon Emergency Fund aims to raise $3 million in the next two weeks and $5 million over 60 days, its organizers at the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin (COICA) said on a conference call. "We cannot wait any longer for our governments ... We are in danger of extinction," said Jos Gregorio Diaz Mirabal, general coordinator of COICA and a member of the Wakuenai Kurripaco people of Venezuela. Coronavirus has already infected 180 of the 600 indigenous tribes of the Amazon basin and killed 33 of their members in a single month, he 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 The fund will be fiscally sponsored by the Rainforest Foundation US, an NGO that works to protect jungles in Central and South America. Grants will be managed by a governing council that includes indigenous representatives and the foundation will be responsible for wiring funds directly to grantees accounts. The foundation's executive director, Suzanne Pelletier, said indigenous communities are the guardians of the rainforest, whose survival is critical for maintaining life on Earth. "This pandemic is not only a humanitarian emergency, it is also an environmental emergency," she said. "Indigenous people across the Amazon are the last line of defense against forest destruction and our best hope of mitigating climate change." The call for an emergency fund for the Amazon people followed a dire warning of the risk of ethnocide made on Sunday by dozens of international artists, musicians, actors, writers and scientists in a letter to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro urging him to protect Brazil's indigenous population. Signers included artists Ai Weiwei and David Hockney, musicians Sting and Paul McCartney, actors Glenn Close and Sylvester Stallone and film directors Wim Wenders and Werner Herzog. The "extreme threat" faced by indigenous people in Brazil was amplified by invasions of protected tribal lands by illegal miners, loggers and cattle ranchers, the letter warned. Patricia Cardenas, health technician at Hosler Middle School in Lynwood, gives a computer to a waiting parent last month. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) They transitioned to distance learning almost overnight. They sent dozens of school supply packs to students in the mail. They fielded hundreds of parent questions. Teachers could use a thank you. Were exhausted, said Marc Perkins, a biology professor at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. This Teacher Appreciation Week, there will be no apple on the desk or hugs at the classroom door. Still, there are plenty of creative ways to honor teachers online or at a social distance. The biggest appreciation isnt [a gift]. Those things are nice, but it almost feels like a social thing you do, said Teresa Kaufman, preschool teacher and owner of Tiny Scholars Daycare, a Chinese immersion school in Redondo Beach. Really, the appreciation comes from when a parent acknowledges the effort the teacher puts in for their kid. ... 'Yes, thank you, I know he can be difficult. Thank you for giving him those extra hugs.' When the pandemic first stunned schools into shutdown mode, teachers were the ones coming up with ideas for how to acknowledge their students from a distance. Cars carrying teachers paraded through students neighborhoods to cheer them on . Schools released videos of teachers saying hello from their homes. This week in Long Beach, a reverse parade of families drove by Prisk Elementary School, where a line of teachers standing six feet apart waved homemade signs and cheered. Now its up to families to return the favor. They may take inspiration from teachers by creating video collages or organizing a thank-you parade. Or students can send gift cards, draw homemade cards, write emails, drop off desserts, decorate their sidewalks with chalk art, put up yard signs or send money online through websites such as AdoptAClassroom.org or DonorsChoose.org. New teachers may appreciate traditional gifts, like a mug, said Kaufman. But more senior teachers, who probably already have a large collection of such items, are more likely to appreciate a personalized thank-you. Story continues Some families may find inspiration for an appreciation in a teacher's Zoom classroom. Deija Johnson, who teaches first- through sixth-grade students with disabilities at Killybrooke Elementary School in Costa Mesa, said it was initially strange to invite her students into her home virtually, and to see into theirs. But now she knows them more intimately than she would in a typical schoolyear. I will never forget these students because we learned so much about them through this process and their siblings and their dog, Johnson said. We almost are in this synergy with each other, and its bonded us. Carmen Ornelas, a third-grade teacher at McKibben Elementary School in Whittier, is accustomed to getting small gifts during Teacher Appreciation Week. This year, her principal is sending out daily thank-you emails with inspirational songs. She has received a bouquet of virtual flowers and a few messages from parents. But one of the most memorable messages came at the end of a Zoom class this week, when one third-grader raised his hand. Its not a question, I just want to tell you thank you, she recalled him saying. Just the small thinking of you words, just the kindness and I appreciate you. ... I appreciate them as well. The gratitude doesnt have to come from current students, either. Perkins said he recently received an email from a student hed taught in a biology class nearly a decade ago, who is now graduating from medical school. The note, which Perkins said still makes him tear up, reminisced on how much the student had loved the course. "Those kinds of notes can mean so much to know that somebodys still thinking about my little course that was one of, what, hundreds that he took on his journey, Perkins said. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Three jets will fly over New York City on Thursday to show gratitude to first responders. The flyover is scheduled for 7 p.m., the same time New Yorkers have been encouraged to go on their balconies to clap to show their appreciation to emergency workers. Each of the three jets will have themed special liveries: One will have the flag of the New York City Police Department, one will have the flag of the Fire Department and one will have the iconic I Love New York symbol. The planes will be three JetBlue A320 aircrafts. JetBlues mission of inspiring humanity is stronger now more than ever, said Joanna Geraghty, president and chief operating officer of JetBlue. We applaud the healthcare workers who are helping us get through this challenging time and inspiring humanity along the way." The flyover will start at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens and will proceed through the east coast of Brooklyn. The jets will then fly over Queens, the Bronx and go down the west coast of Manhattan. The aircrafts will then proceed south, flying in proximity of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and stay east of Long Island before eventually returning to JFK. This is the second flyover organized to honor first responders. On April 28, eight U.S. Air Force Thunderbird F-16 jets with red, white and blue markings and seven U.S. Navy Blue Angel jets flew over New York City passing by the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and Staten Island. The Kerala government on Thursday informed the High Court that 1.35 lakh rooms with attached toilets are available for quarantining the Keralites returning from foreign countries due to COVID-19 pandemic. It also submitted that Kerala State Disaster Management Authority with the help of Tourism Department and Public Works Department has prepared a list of infrastructure that could be used for temporary accommodation of the affected. "An amount of Rs 13.45 crore has been provided from State Disaster Response Fund till date since April 1, 2020 to the District Disaster Management Authorities for the purpose as laid by the Union Home Ministry vide a letter dated March 28, this year," the government said in a statement submitted before the High Court. The statement was submitted in response to petitions related to the problems of the expatriates, who are presently outside India, and are unable to come back on account of the lockdown announced by the government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The state government said about 1.35 lakh rooms with attached toilets is readily available to accommodate the expatriates for purpose of quarantining. In addition to this, about 9,000 rooms in hotels and resorts have been identified for the purpose of housing those NRIs who wished to stay in these places at their own cost, it said. The government said the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited has in its possession about 40,000 RT-PCR test kits to conduct tests. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) South Korean ambassador Shin Bong-kil on Thursday expressed shock and sorrow at the accident at the LG Polymers plant in Andhra Pradesh, describing it as a highly unfortunate incident. At least 11 people died and hundreds more were taken ill after a gas leak at the LG Polymers chemical plant in RR Venkatapuram village at Vishakapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. South Koreas LG Chem, which owns the plant, said the leak had been brought under control. I am shocked and saddened by the news of the accident that occurred at the LG Polymers plant in Venkatapuram, Andhra Pradesh, that caused loss of valuable lives with many falling ill, Shin said in a statement. Watch | Vizag gas leak: PM Modi holds meet with NDMA; gas neutralized | Key details This was a highly unfortunate incident and our deepest condolences go out to those affected by this tragic event. We pray for the speedy recovery of those who have been taken ill. Australias deputy high commissioner Rod Hilton too sent condolences on behalf of all Australians to the families of the dead. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of #Visakhapatnam and @AndhraPradeshCM in the wake of this tragedy, Hilton tweeted. Emergency services rushed more than 300 people to hospital and evacuated hundreds more from areas near the chemical plant, police officials said. BANGALORE, India, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Chatbots Market Size is projected to rise from USD 2.28593 Billion in 2018 to USD 9.17249 Billion by 2025, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.95%. Consumer loyalty and retention is one of the key areas of focus in all industries, and the chatbot can be an efficient way to increase consumer engagement and, thereby, loyalty. Industries have started to deploy chatbots powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) into their operations to engage clients and give them seamless experiences. Talkbots serve as an important tool for attracting, maintaining, and engaging new customers due to their ability to engage customers, gather new data, and shorten sales life cycles. The chatbot market report offers in-depth insights into demand forecasts, industry dynamics, and micro and macro indicators. This report also provides insights into the factors that drive and limit the demand of the talkbots market. In addition, the report highlights and offers an outlook on current industry trends, potential developments in the Chatbots Industry, which will affect demand over the forecast period. The global impacts of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are already starting to be felt, and will affect the Chatbots market significantly in 2020. The report covers the impact of COVID-19 Get Free Sample: https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/360I-Auto-8U19/Chatbots_Market TRENDS INFLUENCING THE CHATBOTS MARKET SIZE Primary market growth drivers include technological innovation coupled with increasing consumer demand for self-service and 24/7 customer care at lower operating costs. Chatbots are proving to be a powerful agent capable of delivering 24/7 services while reducing overall operational costs. In addition, AI-powered talkbots have advantages, such as automating routine tasks leading to improved process performance, providing multi-language support, and offering better self-service experiences. Chatbots are expected to play a key role in the coming years when it comes to customer support systems, due to their ability to personalize the experience without any interruption. Machine learning systems are now being used to assess trades performed on Wall Street and to predict how consumers are going to click on different advertisements. Besides being revenue generators, chatbots may also act as study bots, or to save companies money for lead generation and brand recognition. This feature of the chatbot is expected to increase the market size during the forecast period. Insurance firms represent some of the early adopters of chatbot services focused on AI. Insurance firms use location-based technology to automatically start the claims process, using chatbots, along with visual resources such as live chat, to inform consumers about changes to requests, inspections, and documentation claims, as well as update them on claim status. These implementations of chatbots among various insurance organizations are expected to increase the talkbots market size. While the adoption of chatbots solutions among different industries is growing, challenges related to efficient use and limited knowledge of the benefits offered by AI-powered chatbots solutions limit the growth of chatbot solutions among developing regions. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/360I-Auto-8U19/chatbots CHATBOTS MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS During the forecast period, North America is projected to hold the largest chatbot market share. Growth in this region is primarily due to the increasing deployment of chatbots in different market verticals. is projected to hold the largest chatbot market share. Growth in this region is primarily due to the increasing deployment of chatbots in different market verticals. Many Asian countries, such as China , Singapore , India , and Japan , are leveraging information-intensive AI technologies, and the chatbot is one of the leading technology trends, and thus APAC is expected to show promising growth during the forecast period. , , , and , are leveraging information-intensive AI technologies, and the chatbot is one of the leading technology trends, and thus APAC is expected to show promising growth during the forecast period. Technologies such as artificial intelligence, IoT, and APIs are emerging at a rapid pace. Using these technologies, chatbots can be designed to deliver improved operations and thus fuel consumer demand. Artificial intelligence and voice-based audio chatbots are projected to constitute the biggest talkbots market share in the future. CHATBOTS/TALKBOTS MARKET SEGMENTATION ANALYSIS: On the basis of Geography, the Chatbots Market is studied across. Americas Asia-Pacific Europe Middle East Africa . Country wise analysis is also covered within these regions. Inquire for Regional Report: https://reports.valuates.com/request/regional/360I-Auto-8U19/Chatbots_Market On the basis of Type, the Chatbots Market is studied across Service Software. On the basis of Deployment, the Chatbots Market is studied across Cloud On-premise. On the basis of End User, the Chatbots Market is studied across BFSI Government Hospitality Travel Retail. The Chatbots Market research report provides the company usability profiles and analyze the overview, strategy, SWOT and scorecard of the following company: Astute Solutions Facebook, Inc. Helpshift Imperson Ltd. Kiwi, Inc. Google, Inc. Haptik, Inc. Kasisto Inc. Microsoft Corporation Pandorabots, Inc Others. Buy Now @ https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=360I-Auto-8U19 VIEW SIMILAR REPORTS: Healthcare Chatbots Market Report The Global Healthcare Chatbots Market size is projected to rise at a CAGR of 21.01 percent from USD 110.68 Million in 2018 to USD 420.68 Million by the end of 2025. The factors attributable to Global Healthcare Chatbots Market growth are the need for AI-integrated virtual health assistance, Application Programming Interface (API) and compatibility with the mobile phone, consistent technological advancements, and rapid adoption of smart devices due to internet connectivity. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/360I-Auto-2I4/global-healthcare-chatbots Chatbots Software Market Report Chatbots Software Market landscape provides the vendors with descriptions and data knowledge. The study provides detailed analysis and major player revenue statistics for the 2015-2020 period. It also provides comprehensive revenue statistics (global and regional) for major players in the chatbot software market. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-34N872/global-chatbots-software Advanced Chatbots Market Report Chatbots are programs designed to communicate with the received messages automatically. Chatbots can be programmed to respond the same way through time, respond differently to messages containing certain keywords, and even use machine learning to customize their responses to suit the situation. This report focuses on the status of Advanced Chatbots, future projections, opportunities for growth, key industry, and key players. The aims of the study are to present the evolution of Advanced Chatbots in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India, and Central & South America. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-2Z1267/global-advanced-chatbots AI Chatbots Market Report An AI chatbot is a computer program that uses voice commands or text chats or both to mimic human communication. It utilizes an artificial intelligence algorithm to understand user behavior and reply with an appropriate message. The Artificial Intelligence, Chatbots Market report, offers in-depth insights into demand forecasts, industry dynamics, and micro and macro indicators. This report also provides insights into the factors that drive and limit the demand of the AI Chatbots Market. In addition, the report highlights and offers an outlook on current industry trends, potential developments in the Chatbots Industry, which will affect demand over the forecast period. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-7F1444/global-ai-chatbots Chatbot Builders Market Report A Chatbot builder is a powerful automation tool that enables users to create incredible chatbots quickly and easily. The main benefit is that it helps you to build chatbots without coding, thereby making them available to everyone. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-7S1893/global-chatbot-builders ABOUT US: Valuates offers in-depth market insights into various industries. Our extensive report repository is constantly updated to meet your changing industry analysis needs. Our team of market analysts can help you select the best report covering your industry. We understand your niche region-specific requirements and that's why we offer customization of reports. With our customization in place, you can request for any particular information from a report that meets your market analysis needs. Valuates is curating premium Market Research Reports from the leading publishers around the globe. We will help you map your information needs to our report repository of Market research reports and guide you through your purchasing decision. We are based out of Silicon Valley of India (Bengaluru) and provide 24/6 online and offline support to all our customers and just a phone call away. CONTACT US: Valuates Reports [email protected] For U.S. Toll Free Call +1-(315)-215-3225 For IST Call +91-8040957137 WhatsApp : +91-9945648335 Website: https://reports.valuates.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/valuatesreports Linkedin - https://in.linkedin.com/company/valuatesreports Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/valuatesreports/ SOURCE Valuates Reports The government's deal with broadband providers to help students study and work from home does not cover popular Zoom or Microsoft websites. A number of third-level institutions and schools have alerted their representatives that a majority of the sites that students are actually using for their online studies, such as teleconference platform Zoom, Youtube and Microsoft, are not included in the government's plan that educational sites would be "zero rated" by broadband providers. Zero-rating is the practice of providing Internet access without financial cost under certain conditions, such as by permitting access to only certain websites or by subsidizing the service. On April 15, the government announced that: "Access to healthcare and educational resource websites identified by the Government will be zero-rated for all customers where technically feasible." "I can confirm that all major telecommunication operators have made commitments to measures which will assist people to stay in touch and work from home during Covid-19," Minister for Communications Richard Bruton repeated in the Dail on Thursday. A parliamentary question from Sinn Fein's David Cullinane, now reveals that popular sites used by educational institutions such as Zoom, Youtube and Microsoft linked websites, are not covered by the measures, meaning students will have to use their own internet allowances to access the sites, and could incur extra costs. "Telecommunications operators are currently finalising their work in zero-rating of educational resource platforms and information in this regard will be published shortly," Mr Bruton replied. "I understand that industry does not propose zero rating specific platforms such as YouTube, Microsoft or Zoom as it is not technically possible to establish when they are being used specifically for educational purposes." Mr Cullinane says without such sites, there is no real benefit to students. It now appears these companies are refusing to zero rate anything of real benefit to students," he said. "I have been contacted by staff in a number of third-level institutions who have told me that the providers will not zero rate any commercial websites including Microsoft, YouTube or Zoom, but these are sites that thousands of university students are using for their online studies. This means that students have to pay for online classes done via Zoom, for example. I understand that HEAnet offered to help broadband providers identify individual students on their networks so that they could zero rate users rather than websites but this offer was rejected At this stage, by the time there is any agreement on this exams will be over and the only person to benefit will be Richard Bruton. Fianna Fail TD Brendan Smith also raised the impact of the "digital divide" with Minister Bruton, where low broadband access could result in excess costs for students who have to use mobile data providers, or go without access entirely. "Poor broadband coverage in so many parts of Cavan/Monaghan is causing serious problems for many students," he said. "This causes particular difficulties for students preparing for examinations both at second and third level. "Each day I receive representations from families where there is utter frustration and concern about the impact poor broadband is having on students work." Minister Bruton said the issue was "a matter for service providers", with whom his officials have been "engaging intensively with". 998185[/readmore[ BERKELEY, Calif., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The CARESTAR Foundation has partnered with Prevention Institute to fund a two-year, $150,000 grant to promote a progressive public health model for community safety. According to Tanir Ami, CEO of the CARESTAR Foundation, the grant aligns directly with CARESTAR's goals to foster innovative solutions for preventing injury. "Benefitting from the wealth of information, programs and experts across the violence prevention field, we are excited to support this cutting-edge work that forms partnerships focused on preventing traumatic injury and re-injury," she says. "The relevance of this work is even more clear now, as the COVID-19 pandemic highlights deep inequities that affect the health of our communities. More than ever, we are invested in long-term programs that cultivate system change, addressing root causes of violent injury. The current crisis shows us how important it is to understand, support and practice the public health model in all our work going forward." Prevention Institute is a national non-profit that aligns strategy, policy and networks of organizations to build health, foster equity and prevent injury. Its mission is to build prevention and health equity into key policies and actions at the federal, state, local and organizational level. It works with communities, government, and foundations to design prevention strategies that save lives and money in communities across the country. Rachel Davis, Executive Director of Prevention Institute, says, "In California, we have the opportunity to fully embrace a public health approach to achieve safer communities, even as some of the risk factors for violence may be increasing as a result of COVID-19. The actions we take now can mitigate that risk." She adds, "We firmly believe that in collaboration with funding partners like CARESTAR and our organizational and community partners, we can transition from the current moment of crisis management and reaction to a national agenda that supports equitable health, safety and wellbeing and prioritizes the public health and community infrastructure needed to achieve that." The public health approach to preventing violence includes moving away from a criminal justice and law enforcement framework for violence response, and promoting upstream strategies to deter violence before it occurs. Prevention Institute cites the effectiveness of this approach in cities that have developed community safety plans in partnership with residents, nonprofit organizations, and city agencies: Philadelphia logged a 55 percent reduction in group or gang-member involved murders from 2011 to 2015, and Minneapolis saw a 62 percent reduction in youth gunshot victims from 2007 to 2015. In California, the group says, the public health approach to preventing violence is gaining momentum in many cities, but barriers such as lack of investment have meant it's difficult for this approach to reach across the state. The CARESTAR grant is specifically aimed at educating city and county leaders in California about what a public health approach looks like, providing models, examples, and guidance that support effective violence prevention interventions. As a result of this project, Prevention Institute anticipates that community safety in California will be strengthened with: Increased understanding of the efficacy of an upstream approach to violence prevention and community safety Increased understanding of the infrastructure needed to support and sustain efforts to prevent violence across jurisdictions Stronger partnerships and networks Greater uptake of emerging community strategies Increased understanding of what's needed to advance a public health approach to violence prevention across the state, across topics such as infrastructure needs, measurement approaches, and racial equity and community trauma/resilience approaches Davis says, "It's so important to bring together different fields that want to reduce violence. Prevention Institute has deep roots in the fields of public health and violence prevention. CARESTAR has deep roots in the field of emergency and trauma response. We will only be successful in demonstrating that violence is preventable if our fields work together for a safer, healthier state." About the CARESTAR Foundation The CARESTAR Foundation was founded as a result of the sale of CALSTAR (California Shock Trauma Air Rescue), and honors CALSTAR'S legacy and lifesaving work in the field of emergency and trauma care. Our mission is to strengthen connections and foster partnerships in California's injury prevention, emergency response and trauma care landscape to improve health outcomes for all Californians. www.carestarfoundation.org . SOURCE CARESTAR Foundation Related Links carestarfoundation.org MBABANE - Emaswati occupying well built houses claim to have been left out of the list of food aid beneficiaries. The food relief programme is spearheaded by the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA). Some people had raised concerns that they had been neglected in the ongoing registration for the food aid solely because they were occupying well-built houses. However, NDMA Chief Executive Officer Russell Dlamini yesterday said this was wrong. Occupants Living in a well-built house does not mean the occupants have food, he said, during a morning radio show. NDMA is working hand-in-hand with local authorities and nongovernmental organisations to make sure that deserving people do not miss out on the food distribution exercise which starts tomorrow. The food distribution is intended to benefit 301 762 people who have been hit hard by the effects of the coronavirus. These are mainly people living with disabilities, those with chronic diseases, breastfeeding women, the elderly, orphaned and vulnerable children and those who have lost their income after the closure of their companies. The ongoing registration by the NDMA is aimed at identifying people who meet the criteria. It should be noted that there were people already on the programme but their situation had worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Neglected However, some people alleged that caregivers tasked with identifying deserving beneficiaries neglected occupants of well-built houses and are of the view that living in such houses created the impression that they had food yet this was not the case. Some claimed that the caregivers told them that they were registering people in phases, which they believed to be untrue. Other residents alleged that they were made to pay E50 in order to qualify for the programme. In response to the allegations, the NDMA CEO, Dlamini, advised those who felt left out to engage the local authorities on the matter. We advise those in charge of the exercise to work as a team for fairness and transparency. If people feel neglected, they should engage the team. However this is not to say everyone would qualify for the programme. A proper analysis of the lists from the caregivers will be done to ensure that the most vulnerable benefit, he said. Regarding the issue of registering beneficiaries in phases, Dlamini said he did not know how the idea came about. He said in his knowledge, there were no phases in the ongoing registration apart from the verification exercise. The CEO warned the nation against paying E50 to have their names registered. He said there was still a long way to go with the exercise, which might result in some people being left out. Dlamini warned the nation to desist from the payment of bribes. Registration If you pay E50 for registration, it means you have money to buy food, he said. Dlamini was also asked to clarify on whether the distribution would be money or food. In response, he said it could be both, depending on the situation. He also stated that the NDMA was preparing to distribute food parcels in two constituencies in the Lubombo Region. He clarified that the food in question was donated by the Republic of China (Taiwan) towards the end of last year. Taiwan donated rice. World Vision purchased beans and cooking oil. This is what will be distributed at the constituencies, he said. SPRINGFIELD U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal says that with lines growing at food banks across the country an expansion of SNAP food benefits and money to pay for it will be part of the next recovery bill now taking shape in Washington. Its a continuation, the Springfield Democrat said, of the ongoing efforts to get money out into the economy though the hands of people and businesses that will spend it. An infusion of money with an emphasis on people on the lower and middle end of the income scale, Neal, chairman of the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means, told reporters and editors at The Republican and MassLive on Thursday during a Zoom meeting. And using SNAP food benefits is a good way to move that cash into the economy because the bureaucracy is in place. It's the same reason stimulus payments went out through the IRS and Social Security because the addresses and direct deposit information for recipients was available. "We do have the pipeline in place," he said. Neal said the package would also include money to help state pay unemployment claims for much the same reason. It's why he's backing expanded tax credits as well. News came Thursday that around than 55,000 Massachusetts residents filed new claims for unemployment insurance in the week ending May 1, marking the seventh straight week the depth of the economic impact coronavirus crisis has been reflected in the labor market. The total number of new unemployment claims filed in Massachusetts since March is 780,000, the Department of Labor said Thursday. Neal also sounded optimistic Thursday not only about getting another recovery package passed but about securing funding for longer term recovery including infrastructure project like broadband internet, rail including east-west rail through Springfield, roads. Hes also continuing to call for aid for cities and states whose revenue streams have been impacted by the crisis. "So there has to be some relief for those who are what I would call the first responder stage," Neal said. The states and cites are not in financial trouble because of mismanagement or malfeasance. They budget for revenue that would have come if not for the virus and the shutdowns ordered to slow its spread. One of the challenges here is that as Democrats we are one half of one third of the federal government, Neal said. "So, I think to date weve done pretty well in securing our priorities. He spoke of how he was able to hammer out the last most recent stimulus package with Trump Administration Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and of how Trump himself has backed an infrastructure plan. Also, the Republicans are looking for liability protections that would shield hospitals and other businesses from lawsuits related to COVID-19. The plan is to shield businesses that can show they have followed best practices during the crisis. Neal said he can see those protections being a point of negotiations as long as it helps get money in the pipeline. He also talked of electoral politics, saying while Joe Bidens polling numbers are headed up now, he knows that only a few swing states will decide the election. Also, Neal reacted well to the suggestion of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren as Joe Bidens vice presidential pick. Neal endorsed Warren in the Democratic primaries. Related Content: Sana Shakil By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo has come as a huge success for the security forces in Kashmir. However, data for past two years, obtained from highly placed sources, show that April 2020 has been most successful for the forces compared to the same month in 2018 and 2019. A senior security said the sudden spike in the number of encounters in April, when the nationwide shutdown was in force, was not a mere coincidence. According to him, the lockdown helped local police build a rapport with locals and gave time to the forces to spread their network of sources in the Valley which, in turn, gave more valuable and precise intelligence that has led to more successful operations against the terrorists. The intelligence from security agencies has sharpened with the assistance of locals. The image of police has improved considerably during the shutdown. The inflow of actionable intelligence has increased, the official said. While 28 terrorists were killed in April, the number of terrorists killed during the same month in 2018 and 2019 were 20 and 11, respectively. So far, a total of 68 terrorists in J&K have been killed this year, of which 13 were foreign nationals and the rest locals. The elimination of so many terrorists early on in the year is a significant achievement because April is the time when snow begins to thaws in the higher reaches of the peaks along the LoC and Pakistan begins to push terrorists trained by it into the Valley. A swift and decisive action against the infiltrators, including senior commanders of the terror groups, is likely to translate into a more peaceful Valley, sources said. Almost half the terrorists killed till May 5 this year were eliminated in April. Most of them are from Hizbul Mujahideen, which has a mostly local cadre and a vast network of Over Ground Workers. South Kashmir, where the encounter with Riyaz Naikoo took place, continues to remain the epicentre of militant activities as the data reveals 44 of the 60 terrorists have been killed in the four districts of south Kashmir. And of all the districts, Pulwama where some of the most dreaded terrorists including Burhan Wani, Zakir Musa and Riyaz Naikoo hailed from has been at the centre of action, accounting for more than one-fourth of the total successful counter-insurgency operations. Apart from Naikoo, other wanted terrorists eliminated include Jaish-e-Mohammeds Kashmir chief Qari Yasir, his associates Abu Qasim and Sajad Nawab Dar, Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Muzaffar Ahmed Bhat and Hizbul commander Haroon Wani. Economic development key part of recovery Wed, 05/06/2020 - 10:39am | By: Caron Blanton The Coronavirus pandemic has impacted almost every facet of Mississippians lives and the economic impact of the disease is one of the most severe. The economic piece of the recovery will be critical for the future of the state and economic development will play a key role in helping the states economy rebound from the pandemic. This week marks Mississippi Economic Development Week, which highlights what economic development is and how it shapes communities throughout the state. Mississippi Public Universities play a integral role in economic development in Mississippi. As centers of innovations, public universities have a wealth of resources, from human resources to research capabilities, to support economic development engines across the state. The pandemic has brought to light the many ways that universities innovate to solve problems. Mississippi State University mechanical engineering students turned a conventional truck toolbox into a device that will sterilize face masks for the universitys John C. Longest Student Health Center staff. A team of two students, Ryden Smith, a mechanical engineering graduate student and Wesley Cameron, a senior mechanical engineering major, under the leadership of researchers at MSUs Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, built and tested the device before delivering it to the health center in mid-April. Built using low-cost materials, the device can sterilize 15-20 masks in minutes, filling a need for the health center during the COVID-19 pandemic and a nationwide shortage of masks. A collaboration between health care providers at Forrest General Hospital and Hattiesburg Clinic and researchers at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) helped to boost to efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic through increased COVID-19 testing. Researchers at USMs Center for Molecular and Cellular Biosciences and the Mississippi IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE), housed at USM, provided technical laboratory support through preparing viral transport media (VTM) that has been used by Forrest General Hospital and Hattiesburg Clinic to transport samples to outside labs and developing a workflow to perform up to 50 high-priority tests a day, with a turn-around time of 24 hours or less, and with the possibility of scaling up if urgently needed. The collaboration combined a pair of leading health care entities with a Carnegie R1 research institution for the benefit of Mississippians in the battle with COVID-19. The University of Mississippi Medical Center has worked tirelessly to test citizens across the state for COVID-19 through drive-through testing sites in counties across the state, while treating Mississippians who have contracted the disease and finding innovative ways to address the myriad challenges brought on by the disease. UMMC worked with the Mississippi State Department of Health, Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and Mississippi National Guard to establish one-day mobile collections for COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has left hospitals in short supply of personal protective equipment and medical supplies. Hospitals have wondered if they will have enough ventilators to support all the patients who need them. Dr. Charles Robertson, an assistant professor of anesthesiology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, has built about 170 ventilators of his own design to use in the event of a shortage, doubling the Medical Centers supply. The ventilators were built using approximately $50 worth of materials, all of which are commonly available at a hardware store. The University of Mississippi Medical Center is also launching as many as nine clinical studies related to COVID-19 treatment. The trials are designed for people with COVID-19 who are ill enough to require hospitalization or intensive care, not those who are asymptomatic or able to recover from the disease at home. These examples of innovation demonstrate the value that public universities bring to the economic development efforts across the state. These efforts will be a key factor in Mississippis recovery from the pandemic and its economic impact. The Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning governs the public universities in Mississippi, including Alcorn State University; Delta State University; Jackson State University; Mississippi State University including the Mississippi State University Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine; Mississippi University for Women; Mississippi Valley State University; the University of Mississippi including the University of Mississippi Medical Center; and the University of Southern Mississippi. (PRAGUE) As Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) journalists work at risk and overtime in 23 countries to report essential news and information about the coronavirus, RFE/RL is recognizing the first-responders in the Czech Republic, where it is headquartered, who are making extraordinary contributions during the pandemic to safeguard public health. RFE/RL, which moved to Prague in 1995 at the invitation of then-President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel, has made donations to the Vinohradska Hospital (Vinohradska Nemocnice) and the Olga Havlova Foundation. As we mark 25 years in Prague this year, we feel only gratitude toward the Czech Republic and appreciation for the people of this great city. They have welcomed us and supported us and helped our journalists and our families stay healthy all these years, said RFE/RL President Jamie Fly. Our work has been enriched by the many Czech staff who are part of our team, and our journalists continue to be inspired by the freedom-loving spirit of the Czech people. The coronavirus pandemic presents us with an opportunity to say thank you, and to be here for our neighbors as they have been here for us for so many years. The Olga Havlova Foundation was established in 1992 to help disabled, abandoned, and discriminated people integrate into society and enjoy the right to a dignified life. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Foundation launched a Seniors Support Fund to ensure that senior citizens are supplied with food, medicines, and medical assistance during their quarantine. The Vinohradska hospital, which marks 118 years of medical service on May 11, serves the needs of citizens of Prague 3 and Prague 10, focusing on trauma, burn treatment, oncology, and cardiology. It is a renowned teaching hospital, operating in partnership with Charles University. RFE/RL moved to Prague from Munich in 1995, standing up broadcast operations in the former Czechoslovak Federal Assembly building on Wenceslas Square. With the move, RFE/RL and Czech Radio collaborated on the launch of a new channel, Czech Radio 6, under the leadership of former RFE/RL Czechoslovak Service Director Pavel Pechacek. The channel became fully independent on September 30, 2002. In 2009, RFE/RL relocated to its current Prague 10 address. RFE/RLs longstanding partnership with the Czech Republic is reflected in two joint programs, the Vaclav Havel Journalism Fellowship and the Jiri Dienstbier Journalism Fellowship, which it has implemented since 2011 in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The fellowships, which have trained over 40 participants over the past decade, provide mentoring and support for aspiring independent journalists in the European Unions Eastern Partnership countries and Russia, and the Western Balkans, respectively. About RFE/RL RFE/RL relies on its networks of local reporters to provide accurate news and information to more than 37 million people in 27 languages and 23 countries where media freedom is restricted, or where a professional press has not fully developed. Its videos were viewed over 3.6 billion times on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram/IGTV in FY2019. RFE/RL is an editorially independent media company funded by a grant from the U.S. Congress through the U.S. Agency for Global Media. ---- FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Joanna Levison in Prague (levisonj@rferl.org, +420.221.122.080) Martins Zvaners in Washington (zvanersm@rferl.org, +1.202.457.6948) Frederick Barclay's nephews sold the Ritz hotel for "half the market price" after secretly recording conversations between the billionaire co-owner and a Saudi investor offering 1.3bn (1.5bn) for the London landmark, the High Court has heard. The 85-year-old businessman and his daughter Amanda are suing three of his twin brother David's sons - Alistair, Aidan and Howard - and Aidan's son Andrew over 94 hours of recordings made over several months. The High Court has previously heard that the "elaborate system of covert recording" came to light only in January when Alistair was filmed on CCTV "handling the bug placed in the conservatory at the Ritz". At a further preliminary hearing, conducted remotely yesterday, Mr Justice Warby heard that the recording of Frederick and Amanda Barclay's conversations was "commercial espionage on a vast scale". Hefin Rees QC, representing the pair, said in written submissions to the court that the recordings "captured over 1,000 separate conversations over a period of months", including conversations with the claimants' lawyers as well as "bankers and business people". The court was told that Frederick, who had "placed great trust" in Aidan and Howard Barclay to run his and his brother's business empire, is "now left to contemplate his nephews' betrayal". Frederick and Amanda Barclay are bringing a legal action alleging misuse of private information, breach of confidence and breach of data protection laws, against their four relatives and Philip Peters, who "holds a board position" in the Barclay group of businesses. Mr Rees submitted that material previously disclosed to his clients "reveals beyond doubt that the defendants derived significant financial and commercial advantage from the unlawful use of the recordings". In March, Frederick said he had received competing bids to buy the Ritz for more than 1bn (1.15bn), adding that any move to sell the establishment for "below the proper value would give rise to further litigation". The Ritz has since been sold to an unnamed Qatari investor for an unknown price, reported to be around 750m (860m). Mr Rees told the court the defendants heard "Frederick's conversations with Sidra Capital, which at the time had made an initial offer of some 1.3bn for the acquisition of the Ritz hotel". He added: "Despite this, the defendants sold the Ritz hotel to another buyer from Qatar at a price that appears to be for half the market price. One is left to speculate why." Borsa Italiana non ha responsabilita per il contenuto del sito a cui sta per accedere e non ha responsabilita per le informazioni contenute. Accedendo a questo link, Borsa Italiana non intende sollecitare acquisti o offerte in alcun paese da parte di nessuno. Sarai automaticamente diretto al link in cinque secondi. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 00:52:50|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NAIROBI, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday said that between 83,000 to 190,000 people in Africa could die of COVID-19 while an additional 29 to 44 million are likely to contract the disease if containment measures fail to work. A new study conducted by WHO regional office for Africa shed light on the likely COVID-19 fatalities in the continent during the first year of the pandemic based on prediction modeling that factored demographics, social and environmental factors as well as existing disease burden. "While COVID-19 likely won't spread exponentially in Africa as it has done elsewhere in the world, it likely will smoulder transmission hotspots," said Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa. "COVID-19 could become a fixture in our lives for the next several years unless a proactive approach is taken by many governments in the region. We need to test, trace, isolate and treat," she added. The WHO study reveals that a lower rate of COVID-19 transmission in Africa points to a likelihood of a prolonged outbreak while small countries in the continent alongside hotspots like South Africa, Algeria and Cameroon were at a higher risk if they failed to invest in robust containment measures. The study proposed upgrading of primary healthcare infrastructure across Africa to enhance its capacity to cope with emergency care for COVID-19 patients. Moeti said that robust mitigation measures are key to averting widespread transmission of the disease that could overwhelm already fragile health systems in Africa. Enditem A new report from the Heritage Foundation argues that public education special interest groups, particularly teachers unions, are detrimentally promoting excessive federal relief for education. Such spending, the report suggests, will come at the immediate expense of priorities like national defense. Professor Jack Schneider of the University of Massachusetts Lowell reviewed Financial Crisis Looming for K-12 Schools? Flexibility Needed, Not Bailouts. He found that its selective use of data presents a misleading picture of the school funding landscape. The Heritage report recommends that instead of increasing spending, policy leaders should renegotiate teacher contracts, trim administrative bloat, and give schools more discretion over how to spend their reduced budgets. But the reports findings and recommendations are poorly grounded. The report frames educational expenditures as steadily rising over the past two decadesthe product of the unreasonable demands made by teachers unions. However, spending on public education rose only moderately between 2008-2009 and 2016-2017 (the most recent available federal data). During this period, current expenditures per pupil rose from $12,435 to $12,794an average annual increase of under 0.4%. Moreover, the average teacher salary since 1999-2000 has declined in constant dollars by 1.6%, suggesting that teacher interests are not driving the small spending increases. Further, Professor Schneider contends, the core argument against federal spending does not engage with the research demonstrating that short-term federal relief for K-12 public education is likely to prevent job losses and help stabilize the economy. As the report neither consults the scholarship on school finance nor on the economic impact of federal stimulus spending, Professor Schneider concludes that it does not represent an evidence-based or research-informed contribution to the policy discussion. Find the review, by Jack Schneider, at: https://nepc.colorado.edu/thinktank/funding Find Financial Crisis Looming for K12 Schools? Flexibility Needed, Not Bailouts, written by Jonathan Butcher and published by the Heritage Foundation, at: https://www.heritage.org/sites/default/files/2020-04/IB5061.pdf NEPC Reviews (http://thinktankreview.org) provide the public, policymakers, and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected publications. NEPC Reviews are made possible in part by support provided by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice: http://www.greatlakescenter.org The National Education Policy Center (NEPC), a university research center housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, produces and disseminates high-quality, peer-reviewed research to inform education policy discussions. Visit us at: https://nepc.colorado.edu Two men have been charged after an 11-year-old boy was shot during an alleged fake delivery burglary on a home in east London. The boy, who had been playing a video game, suffered a gunshot injury and is in a serious but stable condition in hospital, while a man aged in his 40s suffered cuts to his head. Antony Lascelles, 32, from Romford, and Adian Muirhead, from South Ockendon, are due to appear at Barkingside Magistrates' Court on Thursday in connection with the incident in Kerry Drive, Upminster. Two men have been charged after an 11-year-old boy was shot during an alleged fake delivery burglary on a home in east London Scotland Yard previously said the homeowner opened the front door to someone claiming to be a delivery driver who then, along with others, forced their way into the property A number of suspects escaped before officers arrived, and two firearms were recovered from the address, police said Lascelles is charged with aggravated burglary, possession of a knife and driving while disqualified and Muirhead is charged with assisting an offender. Scotland Yard previously said the homeowner opened the front door to someone claiming to be a delivery driver who then, along with others, forced their way into the property. A number of suspects escaped before officers arrived, and two firearms were recovered from the address, police said. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the homeowner opened the front door at 9.30pm on Friday to a person purporting to be a delivery driver, before the male, and a number of other suspects, forced their way into the property The suspects allegedly rushed in to the 500,000 property - slashing the father's head and shouting for the security box The boy's father, 45, opened the door believing it was a parcel being delivered at 9.30pm. The suspects allegedly rushed in to the 500,000 property - slashing the father's head and shouting for the security box. It has also been claimed a knife was used to threaten the throat of a woman in the house. A 16-year-old schoolboy and another teen, 18 were questioned by detectives over the attack. The youngest was bailed while the older supsect was released without charge. Christopher Sargent, 26, of Macaulay Road, East Ham, appeared at the same court on Wednesday charged with aggravated burglary and possession of a knife and is next due to appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court on June 3. Just because a company hails from China, it doesn't mean it's components also come from China. Here's why Indians should not boycott Chinese tech brands amid coronavirus. Since the beginning of the lockdown and the prevailing COVID19 situation, there has been a sudden surge in anti-China sentiment from consumers. Its natural considering the Chinese government tried to hide the existence of the virus, which is one of the reasons why we are in the middle of a pandemic. That being said, any rhetoric and anti-Chinese sentiment towards consumer electronics companies hailing from China will be self-destructive for Indians. The reality is that these Chinese brands have added a lot to the economy of the country by hiring a lot of Indian talent. They have added to the market by democratising smartphone technology and generally have helped bring a lot of Indians online. From a broader perspective, it is also important to understand that just because a company hails from China doesnt mean that the components that make a product like a phone come from China and vice versa. Its important to understand whats inside your phone If one takes the example of two incoming phones from highly influential Chinese companies the Mi 10 and OnePlus 8 Pro from Xiaomi and OnePlus, you will realise there is very little Chinese intellectual property at play. If one looks at 5 of the most critical components of these phones you will understand my argument. The processor and modem on both these phones come from Qualcomm, which is an American company based out of San Diego. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, which is literally the brains of the OnePlus 8 Pro and the Mi 10, is fabricated by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which is a Taiwanese company. It has fabrication units all around the world including Taiwan, China and the US. Also Read: Apples updated 13-inch MacBook Pro will appeal the most to music producers and graphic designers The display technology of both phones is coming from Samsung. The South Korean giant is arguably the best exponent of OLED screens in the world. Both these phones use OLED screens with high refresh rates and wide colour gamut. These screens are mostly made in South Korea. The calibration would probably be done differently via software on both the phones by the respective manufacturers. A similar argument can be made for the cameras of these phones. While on the Xiaomi you get a unique 108-megapixel sensor, which has been co-designed with Samsung, that also manufacturers it, the OnePlus uses the Sony IMX 689 48-megapixel sensor that is made by the Japanese giant. Things are even more complex here because of the lens design, which can be custom in the case of different manufacturers, and also the processing, which in the case of both these phones is handled by the Qualcomm chip. The operating system on every Android phone comes from a little American company called Google. If Google doesnt give access to the full version of Android that comes with core Google apps like the Play Store and YouTube, then the OS is all but a hollow shell. Thats why its not recommended that people buy Huawei phones because they dont get access to all Android applications. Any customisation in terms of user interface and features, which in the case of OnePlus and Xiaomi is Oxygen OS and MiUI 12, comes after the core of Android. Things like batteries on phones like Mi 10 and OnePlus 8 come from companies like LG chemical and Sony who are the major players in the development of battery technology on smartphones the same will hold true for these phones as well. Beyond this, yes, there are some valid concerns around the data harvesting habits of some Chinese brands like Xiaomi as they have ad-supported devices which collect data as proven by the recent controversy with the Mi Browser collecting user data in incognito mode. These concerns are valid because of the nature of Android, which is a very open system that allows OEMs to customise the operating system visually and functionally opening a window for some insidious habits. Also Read: Aarogya Setu app to be preloaded on phones? Apples iPhone likely to be a problem But again, this behaviour the ad-supported business model is just not a Chinese brand thing. Windows has advertising running in it, Google literally wrote the playbook on ad-supported free products which is what Android as a platform is which preloads Googles cloud services which we all use and generating them billions of dollars as we share some data voluntarily. Even in the context of devices, companies like Samsung are also selling ad-supported products with instances of ads even coming up in their flagship premium phones. At the same time, one should remember, both Xiaomi and OnePlus claim in their premium offerings like what the Mi 10 and OnePlus 8 Pro, there will be no advertising. This, of course, needs to be tested. On a broader level, it is also important to understand that almost everything is manufactured and assembled in China. Every big tech company manufacturers its products via contract manufacturers like Foxconn in China because of a lot of the components are fabricated there and assembly at scale is affordable because of cheap/skilled labour, an ecosystem of component manufacturers already operating there and compliance to international manufacturing and environmental standards. It has taken decades for this perfect storm to be established and yet not everything is actually Chinese. India, of course, has been trying to project itself as a China alternative for years but in the last 6 years since the Modi government has been in power, we have only seen major smartphone brands assemble in India. So when Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and OnePlus tell you a phone of theirs has been made in India, it has actually been only assembled here. The display is coming from somewhere in South Korea, the chipset is likely coming from Taiwan and all of it is being put together in an Indian factory. While this is an oversimplification of how global supply chains work and how electronics are made, the point is that even in China, not everything is made by the Chinese companies; they are sourcing components which are core to making gadgets from companies that arent Chinese and likely arent even manufacturing the component in China. Its just they are at least two decades ahead of India in their manufacturing journey which is going to take a long time to catch up to considering we have only started to print PCBs recently. It also goes without saying all of this need a more relaxed incentivised environment for both local and international players, not one of fear that has been a modus Operandi of the current government. At least for this decade, the anti-China sentiment isnt only foolish and unfounded but not even an option. Also Read: Vivaldi for Android: A desktop web browser on your phone For all the latest Gadgets News, download NewsX App [May 07, 2020] Earnin Partners with Harvard-Based Opportunity Insights to Help Policy Makers Understand the Economic Impact of COVID Crisis Earnin, the leader in innovative solutions to some of the world's toughest financial problems, today announced that it is partnering with Opportunity Insights to help launch a new economic tracker, which will provide a deeper understanding of the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis. Opportunity Insights (OI) is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization based at Harvard University. Earnin contributed to the OI Economic Tracker by providing an understanding of COVID-related employment trends in different areas of the country. The Opportunity Insights Economic Tracker is available at tracktherecovery.org. Additional resources and analysis can be found at opportunityinsight.org/tracker-resources. "Our Economic Tracker will provide policymakers, non-profits, and the public with the tools they need to tackle an economic crisis," said economist Raj Chetty, Director of Opportunity Insights. "Rather than waiting weeks to see where the economy is falling and playing catch-up, the new data assembled in this tool offers the capacity to spot economic problems as thy emerge and to consider a more targeted policy response." The OI Economic Tracker, launched with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is a unified platform that aggregates data from multiple sources to present a daily picture of economic activity. The interactive dashboard focuses on key economic indicators - including small business activity, employment, and consumer spending - alongside key contextual factors on education, public health, and policy milestones. Moreover, this data is provided at granular geographic levels and by industry and income level. "The Economic Tracker is a great example of public and private organizations coming together in partnership to help solve a problem during a major crisis," said Earnin CEO and Founder Ram Palaniappan. "Together, we're able to help policymakers and the broader public get a clearer picture of how this crisis is impacting workers and communities in every corner of our economy." Data Privacy The data reflected in the Opportunity Insights Economic Tracker, including all data provided by Earnin, are aggregated, de-identified, and do not reveal information about specific individuals, transactions, or businesses. Opportunity Insights is a leader in developing privacy protection tools and methods, and all data releases follow rigorous protocols to protect individual privacy. About Earnin Earnin is a community-supported financial platform with a suite of tools that let people take control of their financial future. Earnin started out by solving one of the greatest - and least discussed - inequities in the American financial system: the practice of employers paying workers bi-weekly. Earnin's core product, Cash Out, allows people to access the pay they've already earned. There are no loans or hidden costs. People pay what they choose. Other products include: Balance Shield, which helps prevent overdrafts, a financial calendar that helps people budget and schedule payments, and Health Aid, a service that negotiates unpaid medical bills without charging mandatory fees. Current funding partners include: Andreessen Horowitz, Matrix Partners, Ribbit (News - Alert) Capital, Felicis Ventures and March Capital. About Opportunity Insights Opportunity Insights is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization based at Harvard University that seeks to translate rigorous scientific research to policy change by harnessing the power of "big data" using an interdisciplinary approach. Founded by economists Raj Chetty, John Friedman, and Nathaniel Hendren, Opportunity Insights' mission is to identify barriers to economic opportunity and develop scalable solutions that will empower people throughout the United States to rise out of poverty and achieve better life outcomes. For more information, please visit www.opportunityinsights.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507006180/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Here is a breakdown of where each state is with current lockdown measures, total number of cases and deaths and their reproduction rate of COVID-19: Partially reopening Alabama Alabama's current infection spread rate is 0.88, which means it is among the states that appears to have managed to transmission of the virus. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced the state had lifted a stay-home order and replaced it with a 'safer-at-home order' effective from April 30. People are encouraged, but are no longer required, to stay home. The updated order expires May 15. Alabama's employers and retail stores are allowed to reopen from April 30 at a reduced 50 percent capacity. Beaches will reopen but residents have to adhere to social distancing, including not gathering in groups of 10 or more. High risk business including theaters, night clubs, fitness centers, barber shops, hair and nail salons will remain closed. Bars and restaurants can only have takeaway or curbside pickup. Alaska Alaska's current secondary rate of infection is at 0.83, which is below the 1.0 Rt rate where cases start to slow. It is among the states that appear to have stopped the spread but has a higher variable rate (red shaded area) - meaning that it is not completely certain it has stopped the spread. Starting April 24, officials in Alaska allowed dine-in service at restaurants and reopening of retailers, personal care services and other businesses, with limitations. Under the new rules, restaurants will reopen but are limited to 25 percent capacity and there must be 10 feet between tables and only family members can be seated at the same table. Salons in Alaska may only accept customers by appointment. The state in April decided there would be no in-person classes for K-12 students for the rest of the academic year. Arizona Arizona appears to have limited the spread of coronavirus with a 0.91 secondary infection rate. Infections have been increasing in the state throughout the pandemic. Small retailers reopened May 4 with curbside, delivery or appointment-based services. They will be allowed to welcome customers inside with social distancing starting May 8. Gov. Doug Ducey otherwise extended his stay-home order until May 15. He's working with restaurants on how to eventually reopen dining rooms safely, but there's no set timetable. Arkansas Arkansas has lowered the spread of coronavirus and currently has a 0.86 rate of secondary infection. The number of infections in the state appear to have decreased rapidly since peaking about two weeks ago. The state is one of the few that did not issue a state-wide stay-at-home order but did place some restrictions on businesses to slow the spread. As the state reopens, restaurants can open for limited dine-in services from May 1 but can only operate at a third of its normal capacity. Gyms and indoor recreational facilities can resume operations from April 30. Restrictions can lift on hair salons and barber shops on May 1. State parks can reopen from May 1. California California is one of the few states that appears to have stopped the spread of the virus, according to data. The state has a secondary infection rate of 0.84. California was among the first to go into lockdown with some of the strictest measures in the US. As the state reopens, there is still an indefinite stay-at-home order and gatherings in a single room or place are prohibited. Some businesses in the state will receive permission to reopen as early May 8. Clothing stores, sporting goods, florists and other retailers to resume operations with curbside pickup. Nonessential businesses are limited to minimum operations or remote work. Dining in at restaurants and office reopenings are still prohibited. Essential surgeries are now being allowed in California. Six counties in the Bay Area, including San Francisco, have extended its shelter-in-place order until mid-May but will allow construction to restart. Three Northern California counties have already reopened in defiance of state orders. Colorado Colorado has managed to slow the spread of the virus with a 0.88 secondary infection rate. Infections across the state have been gradually increasing throughout the pandemic. The state was among the first to lift restrictions with elective surgeries and retail curbside delivery beginning on April 27. Hair salons, dental offices and tattoo shops could also reopen that date with restrictions. Other retail was allowed to reopen from May 4 with social distancing restrictions. Large workplaces could reopen on May 4 at 50% capacity. Restaurants and bars are still limited to takeout only. The state's stay-at-home order expired April 26 but residents are still urged to stay home where possible. Florida Florida is among the states that appear to have slowed the spread of coronavirus with a secondary infection rate of 0.89. Infections have been steadily declining since peaking in early April. It comes as the state started reopen some businesses on May 4 except for in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. Restaurants can now offer outdoor seating six-feet between tables and indoor seating at 25% capacity. Retail can operate at 25% capacity. Bars, gyms, movie theaters and personal services - like hair salons - are to remain closed. Some beaches and parks reopened from April 17 if it could be done safely. Georgia Georgia, which became a lightning rod for criticism in the national debate over reopening, appears to have slowed the spread, according to Rt data. The state currently has a secondary infection rate of 0.82, which essentially means the virus has stopped spreading. Infections appear to be slowly declining in the state. Georgia is continuing on its aggressive course to reopening after the statewide shelter-at-home order expired. Gyms, hair salons, bowling alleys and tattoo parlors started reopening from April 24 as long as owners followed strict social-distancing and hygiene requirements. Elective medical procedures can also resume. Movie theaters may resume selling tickets and restaurants limited to takeout orders can return to limited dine-in service from April 27. At-risk people are urged to remain home until May 13. Bars, live performance venues and amusement parks will remain closed. Religious institutions are still urged to hold drive-thru or online services for now. Idaho Idaho appears to have slowed the spread of coronavirus with a 0.81 secondary infection rate. Infections also appear to have declined since cases peaked in early April. As the state starts reopening, some business are allowed to offer curbside pick up, drive in and drive thru services. Bars and restaurants limited to take-out only. Child-care centers were able to reopen May 1 under the first phase of the reopening plan. Churches can reopen, with distancing and sanitation rules. Bars, gyms, salons, movie theaters and sporting venues remain closed. Illinois Illinois appears to have slowed the spread with a secondary infection rate of 0.90. The number of infections have been increasing across the state since the pandemic began. The state's stay-at-home order is currently in place until at least May 30, which includes school and nonessential business closures. From May 1, nonessential businesses could fill phone and online orders. Some nonelective surgeries may resume, and many state parks are open for hiking and fishing. Face-coverings are mandatory for public places where social distance cant be maintained. Iowa Iowa is among the few states that are yet to stop the spread of the virus. The state currently has a secondary infection rate of 1.03, which means an average of one person is being infected by a COVID positive person. Infections appear to have increased steadily throughout the pandemic. After loosening business restrictions across most counties, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said that virus trends will dictate how soon she does the same in remaining counties, which include urban areas. Iowa is among the states that had no stay-at-home order but some restrictions were imposed to stop the spread. From May 1, restaurants can open at 50 percent capacity but no more than six people at one table. Malls, fitness centers, libraries and retail stores can open at 50 percent capacity. Horse and dog racing tracks can reopen with no spectators.All other businesses remain closed through May 15. Indiana Indiana appears to have limited the spread of COVID-19, according to the data. Infections have been on the rise in the state since March. The stay-home order was lifted May 4 for most of the state, while Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb allowed more manufacturers and retailers to reopen. In-person restaurant dining and hair salons remain closed for another week. Gyms, movie theaters, bars and casinos remain closed until at least late May. Holcomb says he hopes to restart nearly all activities by July 4. Kentucky Kentucky is yet to curb the spread of the virus, according to Rt data. The state currently has a 1.0 Rt secondary infection rate. Infections do appear to be declining in the state. Kentucky has no stay-at-home order but anyone going out in public will have to wear a mask from May 11. Dentists, chiropractors, optometrists were allowed to start taking non-urgent patients from April 27. Prior to that, those services were only allowed to take urgent appointments. Outpatient/ambulatory surgery and invasive procedures can begin May 7. Elective and non-urgent procedures can resume at 50 percent capacity from May 13. Manufacturing, construction, car dealerships and professional services can start May 11 at 50% capacity. Retail and houses of worship can begin May 20. Barber shops and salons can reopen from May 25. Restaurants and bars can likely reopen for dining in June. Louisiana Louisiana has stopped the spread of the virus, according to the Rt data with a secondary infection rate of 0.78 - one of the lowest in the country. Infections have also been decreasing after spiking in early April. At the beginning of the outbreak, Louisiana was expected to becoming an emerging hotspot given its sudden increase in infections and deaths. As the state slowly lifts its strict lockdown measures, bars and restaurants are limited to take-out only but from May 1 they will be allowed to let customers eat in outdoor areas as long as there's no table service. Malls can also start operating curbside retail from May 1. The state's stay-at-home order has been extended until May 15 and there's a 10 person limit on gatherings. Maine Maine appears to have limited the spread of coronavirus with a secondary infection rate of 0.95. Infections across the state have been slowly decreasing. With a safer-at-home order lasting through May, restrictions were lifted May 1 on golf courses, many state parks and visits to dentists, barbers and hairdressers. Restrictions are set to lift for restaurants, lodging and camping June 1. Michigan Michigan has managed to stop the spread of coronavirus, according to Rt.Live data. The state has a 0.74 secondary infection rate, which is currently the lowest in the country. Cases in the state have been decreasing after peaking in early April. The state's stay-at-home order is in place until May 15. Garden stores, nurseries, lawn-care, pest-control and landscaping operations were allowed to resume business from April 24. The construction industry can return to work on May 7. Nonessential businesses are still limited to minimum operations or remote work. Retailers that do not sell necessary supplies can reopen for curbside pickup and delivery. Bars and restaurants limited to take-out only. Minnesota Minnesota is one of the few states across the US that is yet to stop the spread of the virus, according to Rt.Live data. The state currently has a 1.03 secondary infection rate. Infections have been increasing over the course of the pandemic. In terms of reopening, only businesses that don't interact with the public can reopen from April 27. It includes those in industrial, manufacturing and office settings. Retail stores must remain closed. The state's stay-at-home order still runs through to at least May 3. Entertainment and performance venues remain closed and bars and restaurants are limited to take-out only. Mississippi Mississippi is among the states that appears to have slowed the spread of the virus. The state currently has a 0.90 secondary infection rate. In Mississippi, retail stores, including those in strip malls and shopping centers, are now allowed to reopen on April 27 if they reduce their customer capacity by 50 percent at any given time. Businesses that can't avoid person-to-person contact, including gyms, cinemas and salons, are to remain closed. Elective medical and dental procedures are now allowed. The state's stay at home order has been extended until at least May 11. Missouri Missouri appears to have slowed the spread of the virus with a 0.90 secondary infection rate. Infections appeared to decrease after peaking in early April but experience another surge late in the month. From May 4, all businesses will be allowed to reopen and social events can resume as long as residents and business owners continue social distancing and limit capacity. Local governments can impose stricter limitations if their officials believe it is necessary. Kansas City's stay-at-home order is scheduled to continue through May 15. Montana Montana is among the states that appears to have slowed the spread of the virus. While the state's secondary infection rate is among the lowest at 0.78, the state has a large range of interval of values that Rt might actually be. According to the data, that means the state might not have curbed the spread. Infections in Montana have been on the decline with peaking in early April. In terms of reopening, churches resumed services on April 27. Starting May 4, restaurants and bars can start providing some dine-in services. Schools have the option to return to in-classroom instruction May 7. Visitors from out of state still must self-quarantine for 14 day. Nebraska Nebraska, which doesn't have a stay-at-home order, is among the few states that are yet to curb the spread. The state has a secondary infection rate of 1.09, which means more than one person will become infected by a COVID positive person. Infections have increased drastically over the course of the pandemic. From May 4, people can dine-in at restaurants but they must remain six feet apart and everyone must wear masks. Bars are still limited to take-out only. Hair salons, tattoo parlors and strip clubs closed through May 31. There's a 10 person limit on gatherings. Nevada Nevada is among the states that have limited the spread of COVID-19, according to the data. Infections peaked in early April but have almost plateaued since then. Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak extended a stay-at-home order until May 15 and says he may allow the reopening, on that date or sooner, of many nonessential businesses. But he said bars, casinos and shopping malls would likely stay shuttered. Sisolak is still deciding whether he will allow restaurants, barber shops and salons to reopen in mid-May with other businesses. New Hampshire New Hampshire appears to have limited the spread of the virus, according to Rt.Live data. The state has a secondary infection rate of 0.94. Infections appear to be increasing in the state. New Hampshire's stay-at-home order is extended until May 31. Drive-in theaters, golf courses and hair salons will be allowed to start up again from May 11 with strict social distancing. Restaurants that have outdoor seating can reopen from May 18 if tables can be spaced six feet apart. Campgrounds, manufacturing services and state parks can open immediately if they follow the guidelines. North Dakota North Dakota, which has no stay-at-home order, appears to have limited the spread of the virus. Infections appear to be increasing and the secondary rate of infection is currently 0.93. Bars and restaurants, recreational facilities, health clubs and athletic facilities, salons, and tattoo studios can reopen from May 1 with social distancing measures. Movie theaters must limit admittance to 20% capacity. Ohio Ohio appears to have limited the spread of the virus, according to Rt.Live data. The state has a secondary infection rate of 0.81. Infection appear to be decreasing in the state following a steady rise early in the pandemic. Non-essential surgeries that don't require an overnight hospital stay will start May 1. Manufacturing, distribution and construction sectors will reopen May 4, following by consumer retail and services on May 12. Companies will need to require employees and customers to wear face masks and follow social distancing guidelines. Oklahoma Oklahoma appears to have limited the spread of the virus with a 0.99 secondary infection rate. Infections in the state peaked in early April before gradually declining since then. Some businesses that were closed in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus were allowed to reopen from April 24 and others can reopen within 10 days. Barbershops, hair and nail salons, pet groomers and spas were allowed to reopen from April 24. The move is contingent on businesses practicing social distancing, and employees and customers must wear masks if they are within six feet of each other. Restaurants, movie theaters, gyms and places of worship can reopen May 1. Nurseries tied to places of worship will remain closed. South Carolina South Carolina appears to have stopped the spread of the virus with a secondary infection rate of 0.82. Infections peaked in the state in early April but have not yet had a steady decline since. Department stores, sporting goods stores and flea markets are among the businesses allowed to reopen in parts of the state from April 20. Other stores selling furniture, books, music, flowers, clothing and accessories can also reopen. The businesses are allowed to open at 20 percent capacity, or five people per 1,000 square feet. Beaches are also allowed to reopen April 21. South Dakota South Dakota is among the few states that are yet to stop the spread of the virus, according to the data. It currently has a 1.01 rate of secondary infection. Infections appeared to peak in late April but appear to be declining since then. Republican Gov. Kristi Noem didn't order any severe restrictions, instead asking people to observe social distancing and avoid groups larger than 10. Still, Noem last week issued a 'Back to Normal' plan that advised businesses to open doors while taking precautions to keep people spread apart. Tennessee Tennessee is among the states that appear to have curbed the spread of the virus for an extended period. The state has a secondary infection rate of 0.95. Infections in the state have been increasing over the course of the pandemic. Businesses in most counties can reopen as early as April 27. Retail stores, which can reopen from April 29, and restaurants will operate with a 50 percent customer capacity. Many of Tennessee's 56 parks will open on Friday. Businesses can expect temperature checks, enforced mask wearing and social distancing. Large cities including Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville can decide on their own when to reopen. Texas Texas is among the few states that appear to have stopped the spread. Its secondary infection rate is 0.76. Cases increased in early April before appearing to decline. Cases have been increasing again in recent days. Retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls can reopen at a 25 percent reduced capacity from May 1. State parks reopened on April 20 but people must wear face coverings and masks and adhere to social distancing. People also cannot visit in groups of five or more. Hospitals could resumed surgeries on April 22 that had been postponed by coronavirus. Schools and universities will remain closed for the rest of the year. Utah Utah appears to have slowed the spread of the virus with a secondary infection rate of 0.95. Cases have been steadily increasing throughout the pandemic. There is no stay-at-home order but some restrictions were enforced. Restaurants can allow customers dine in again with precautions from May 1. Gyms and personal services including hair salons can reopen May 1. Vermont According to the Rt.Live data, Vermont appears to have been limiting the spread of the virus throughout the entire pandemic. Cases peaked in early April but have been declining since them. A stay-at-home order for the state runs through May 15. Construction, home appraisers, property management and municipal clerks can reopen from April 27 with a maximum of five workers. Farmers markets can operate from May 1. Outdoor retail space can allow in-person shopping with a max of 10 people. West Virginia West Virginia appears to have lowered the spread of the virus and has a low secondary rate of infection. But the state has a large range of interval of values that the Rt might actually be, which means it might not have curbed the spread. Infections appeared to peak in mid April but have been declining since then. Elective surgeries can resume from April 30. Small businesses with less than 10 employees can reopen next week, including hair and nail slaons, barber shops and pet grooming. There is an indefinite stay-at-home order. Bars and restaurants limited to take-out only. Wisconsin Wisconsin is among the few states that is yet to curb the spread, according to Rt.Live data. The state currently has a 1.0 rate of secondary infections. Cases have been gradually increasing in Wisconsin for the duration of the pandemic. The stay-at-home order has been extended to May 26. Nonessential businesses and public libraries can have curbside pickup and delivery. Groomers, engine repair shops are allowed to do curbside drops offs. Golf courses are open. Some state parks will reopen from May 1. Not reopening Connecticut Connecticut appears to have curbed the spread of the virus, according to the data after a shelter in place order was given early in the pandemic. Infections are on the decline after peaking in mid-April. There's a stay-at-home order in the state that runs through May 20. Five person limit on social gatherings, 50-person limit for religious services. Non-essential businesses must suspend all in-person operations and bars and restaurants are limited to take-out only. Out-of-state visitors strongly urged to self-quarantine. If the state meets certain criteria by May 20, including 14 days of downward infections, increased testing availability and sufficient contact tracing methods, it will forge ahead with partial reopening. If that criteria is met, restaurants with outdoor seating, offices, hair and nail salons and outdoor museums and zoos will be allowed to reopen. Delaware Delaware appears to have curbed the spread of the virus with a 0.96 rate of secondary infections. The number of infections have been sporadically increasing and decreasing throughout the pandemic. Stay-at-home order through May 15. 10 person limit on gatherings. Nonessential businesses limited to minimum operations or remote work. Visitors from out of state who aren't just passing through must self-quarantine for 14 days. Bars and restaurants limited to take-out only. Hawaii Hawaii appears to have limited the spread of the virus throughout the duration of the pandemic. It could be a result of the island state forcing visitors to self-quarantine for 14 days. Infections peaked early in the pandemic but have declined drastically since then. The state's stay-at-home order has been extended until May 31. 10 person limit on gatherings Nonessential businesses limited to minimum operations or remote work Visitors from out of state must self-quarantine for 14 days Bars and restaurants limited to take-out only Kansas Kansas is among the few states that is yet to limit the spread of coronavirus with a secondary infection rate of 1.03. Cases have been steadily increasing in the state since mid-April. The state's stay-at-home order ran until May 3. 10 person limit on gatherings - exempting funerals and religious services with social distancing Nonessential businesses limited to minimum operations or remote work Residents who traveled to California, Florida, New York or Washington state after March 14, or visited Illinois or New Jersey after March 22, must self-quarantine for 14 days Bars and restaurants limited to take-out only. Maryland Maryland appears to have curbed the spread of the virus with a secondary infection rate of 0.92. Infections have been increasing across the state since the pandemic began. Indefinite stay-at-home order 10 person limit on gatherings Nonessential businesses limited to minimum operations or remote work Visitors from out of state must self-quarantine for 14 days Bars and restaurants limited to take-out only Massachusetts Massachusetts appears to have almost stopped the spread of the virus, according to the data. Infections have been steadily increasing throughout the pandemic but appear to have declined in recent days. Non-essential businesses closed through May 4 10 person limit on gatherings Visitors from out of state advised to self-quarantine for 14 days Bars and restaurants limited to take-out only New Jersey Hard hit New Jersey appears to have almost stopped the spread of the virus. Infections peaked in early April but have been declining since then. The state has strict lockdown measures and an indefinite stay-at-home order There's a 10 person limit on gatherings, nonessential retail businesses must close bricks-and-mortar premises. Recreational and entertainment businesses are also closed. Bars and restaurants are limited to take-out only. New Mexico New Mexico appears to have limited the spread of the virus with a secondary infection rate of 0.92. Infections across the state have been rising throughout the pandemic. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham extended the stay-home order until May 15 but has begun modest moves to reduce business restrictions, recently allowing curbside and delivery operations for nonessential businesses, opening golf courses and some state parks, and allowing firearm sales by appointment. New York New York is among the few states to have stopped the spread of the coronavirus, according to the data. Infections have been on a downward trend in recent days. The state has among the strictest lockdown measures with the stay-at-home order running through May 15. After that, while New York City is the epicenter of the US outbreak, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed letting some less-affected upstate regions begin phased reopening once they've met criteria key virus markers. Some upstate hospitals have been allowed to resume elective surgeries but must maintain a certain threshold of open beds for emergencies. Schools are closed through the academic year. North Carolina North Carolina is among the states that appear to have slowed the spread of the virus. Infections have been on rise the rose in the Southern state since the pandemic broke out. The stay-home order, including business restrictions, remains until May 8, after which Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper hopes to begin a phased reopening. He said that decisions on the pace of reopening depend on key metrics including trends in positive cases and hospitalizations. Oregon Oregon is among the states that appears to have slowed the spread of the virus with a secondary infection rate of 0.91. Infections peaked in the state early in the pandemic before gradually decreasing since then. Gov. Kate Brown says some rural counties where there are almost no cases can begin reopening slowly starting May 15 if certain conditions have been met. Medical facilities in Oregon were allowed to resume providing nonurgent medical care starting May 1. Pennsylvania Pennsylvania appears to have slowed the spread of the virus with a 0.91 secondary rate of infection. Infections have been decreasing in the state after peaking in mid-April. Golf courses, marinas and private campgrounds can reopen. Construction work can resume. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf plans to lift his stay-at-home order on May 8, reopen many retailers and ease other restrictions in the least-affected parts of the state. Wolf says the shutdown can be loosened in a county or region once virus trends hit key benchmarks. Rhode Island Rhode Island appears to have slowed the spread of coronavirus with a 0.82 rate of secondary infections. Cases have been on the decline since peaking in late April. Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo has consistently said she hopes to lift the states stay-at-home order May 8 to begin a phased restart of the economy. The first phase includes opening some state parks or beaches, allowing hospitals to perform elective procedures and other easing of restrictions, all with social distancing. Virginia Virginia appears to have limited the spread of the virus with a secondary rate of infection of 0.87. Cases have been increasing since the pandemic broke out. Gov. Ralph Northam hopes to let more businesses reopen by the end of next week. Northam's announcement extended by a week an executive order that closed businesses. The order initially was set to expire Friday. It now expires May 15. Washington Washington state has limited the spread of coronavirus, according to the data. Infections in the state peaked in early April before rapidly decreasing. Cases appear to have plateaued since since. Gov. Jay Inslee has already eased some restrictions, including allowing day use of state parks. Outdoor recreation such as fishing and golfing will be allowed from this week. The Democratic governor also announced the states stay-at-home order will be extended through at least May 31. That will be followed with a four-stage process of lifting restrictions, starting with allowing retail curbside pickup, automobile sales and car washes by mid-May. Tejashree was ecstatic when news came in that the Indian government will operate flights to bring back Indians stranded overseas. She wasn't stranded overseas, but in her hometown of Guntur, in Andhra Pradesh. The planes flying out from India could also take non-resident Indians like Tejashree who were looking to get out of the country. She had come to India in February, to take her mother back to Michigan. "I am having an operation and thought mother could help me out," she says over a call. She was originally planning to fly back by end of March, but by then, the government had announced the lockdown to limit COVID-19 spread. The joy of knowing about the Vande Bharat Mission though soon turned to despair as Tejashree went about trying to book a ticket. The problem was that there was no connecting flight from Hyderabad - closest airport to Guntur - to Mumbai or Delhi, from where Air India plans to have flights to Chicago. 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 were two more big hurdles. One, she had to get an e-pass to travel by road to Delhi or Mumbai. "But I have been calling up one department after the other. Each directed me to the other. Finally, I was told that I need to apply through an app," says Tejashree. But it takes three days for the application to be processed. Tejashree was initially planning to take the May 9 flight to Chicago, but now she will have to look for the May 14 one. She had already booked a ticket for the May 9 flight - as you need a ticket to apply for the e-pass. Tejashree has cancelled the ticket and will now book again. The ticket costs Rs 1.36 lakh. "The taxi to Mumbai will cost Rs 45,000. It will be higher to Delhi. I had already spent Rs 1 lakh on ticket I had booked, but Air India has refused to refund it. We may work overseas, but does it mean we have huge savings?" she asks. Second, is the safety part. She will have to travel 20 hours on road to reach Mumbai. "Is it safe for a single woman to travel alone? I can't take my mother now. How will she travel on road for so long. If the government has a return Chicago-Delhi flight that also connects to Hyderabad, why not also pick passengers from Hyderabad on the onward journey?" She has a medical appointment in May, and hopes to make it by then. "The last couple of days have been draining, emotionally," she says. Many questions Like Tejashree, there are hundreds of non-resident Indians who have been waiting for the skies to open. Now they are scrambling to get tickets on Air India and Air India Express. India plans to bring back 15,000 Indians stranded in more than 10 countries, over seven days in 64 flights. On an average, about 2,000 Indians will be flown back each of the days. Equal number of Indians can fly out too. But like the Guntur resident's experience, it has been hardly smooth. Even though some of them have already booked tickets on a few of these flights, there is still uncertainty, especially on reaching airports. Many of the airports, including that in Mumbai, fall in red zones, and getting to them can be tricky. @CMOMaharashtra @OfficeofUT @AUThackeray I need to go from Pune to Mumbai. They opened flight booking today for 9th May. How do I get the intercity pass at such short notice? Can you please help me out? Avik Gandhi (@AvikGandhi) May 6, 2020 Many of these customers took to Twitter to air their grievances. One of them said: He was soon joined by another flier, also stuck in Pune and wondering how to reach Mumbai. Both of them have booked on the Air India flight on May 9, from Mumbai to Newark. There are scores of others going through similar dilemmas. Ankit Patel is in a similar fix. The software professional from San Francisco had come to Ahmedabad on vacation in February. "My return flight was on March 24," says Patel. But then the lockdown was announced on the same day. "My work has been impacted. I can't work from home as we handle sensitive data... I haven't got my salary, but still have to pay the rent of the house in San Francisco," he adds. Though Air India has flights from Ahmedabad, but these are to the New York airport. "I want to go to San Francisco, for which flights are from Delhi. How do I travel to Delhi?" he asks. Interestingly, Air India's schedule that is doing the rounds on social media, has flights that connect cities like Hyderabad and Ahmedabad to Delhi and Mumbai. But when Moneycontrol tried to book tickets on these routes, there were no options. At the same time, one could book tickets to international destinations like London. The uncertainty has left many fending for answers. "Please let know if you have information on outbound flights," requested one Twitter user. She is from Chennai, and has been away from her husband, who is in the US, for over eight months now. "I also have a course coming up, and if I don't reach on time, I may miss it," she says. "On Air India website, I can only see tickets from Delhi and Mumbai. And not Chennai. What should I do?" she asks in despair. HOUSTON - (May 7, 2020) - Rice University researchers have found evidence of piezoelectricity in lab-grown, two-dimensional flakes of molybdenum dioxide. Their investigation showed the surprise electrical properties are due to electrons trapped in defects throughout the material, which is less than 10 nanometers thick. They characterize these charges as electrets, which appear in some insulating materials and generate internal and external electric fields. Piezoelectricity is likewise a property of materials that respond to stress by generating an electric voltage across their surfaces or generate mechanical strain in response to an applied electric field. It has many practical and scientific uses, from the conversion of a wiggling guitar string into an electrical signal to scanning microscopes like those used to make the new finding. The researchers at Rice's Brown School of Engineering found their micron-scale flakes exhibit a piezoelectric response that is as strong as that observed in such conventional 2D piezoelectric materials as molybdenum disulfide. The report by Rice materials scientist Pulickel Ajayan and collaborators appears in Advanced Materials. The key appears to be defects that make molybdenum dioxide's crystal lattice imperfect. When strained, the dipoles of electrons trapped in these defects seem to align, as with other piezoelectric materials, creating an electric field leading to the observed effect. "Super thin, 2D crystals continue to show surprises, as in our study," Ajayan said. "Defect engineering is a key to engineer properties of such materials but is often challenging and hard to control." "Molybdenum dioxide isn't expected to show any piezoelectricity," added Rice postdoctoral researcher Anand Puthirath, a co-corresponding author of the paper. "But because we're making the material as thin as possible, confinement effects come into the picture." He said the effect appears in molybdenum dioxide flakes grown by chemical vapor deposition. Stopping the growth process at various points gave the researchers some control over the defects' density, if not their distribution. Lead author and Rice alumna Amey Apte added the researchers' single-chemical, precursor-based vapor deposition technique "helps in the reproducibility and clean nature of growing molybdenum oxide on a variety of substrates." The researchers found the piezoelectric effect is stable at room temperature for significant timescales. The molybdenum dioxide flakes remained stable at temperatures up to 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit). But annealing them for three days at 250 C (482 F) eliminated the defects and halted the piezoelectric effect. Puthirath said the material has many potential applications. "It can be used as an energy harvester, because if you strain this material, it will give you energy in the form of electricity," he said. "If you give it voltage, you induce mechanical expansion or compression. And if you want to mobilize something at the nanoscale, you can simply apply voltage and this will expand and move that particle the way you want." ### Co-authors of the paper are Rice alumna Sandhya Susarla, now a postdoctoral scholar at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; graduate students Kosar Mozaffari and Farnaz Safi Samghabadi, research assistant professor Long Chang and Dmitri Litvinov, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, at the University of Houston; Jordan Hachtel and Juan Carlos Idrobo of Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and David Moore and Nicholas Glavin of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Apte is now at the Intel Corp., Chandler, Arizona. Ajayan and Pradeep Sharma, the M.D. Anderson Chair Professor and department chair of mechanical engineering at the University of Houston, are co-corresponding authors. Ajayan is chair of Rice's Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Engineering and a professor of chemistry. The Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Department of Energy's Office of Science supported the research. Microscopy research was performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences. Read the abstract at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.202000006 This news release can be found online at https://news.rice.edu/2020/05/07/2d-oxide-flakes-pick-up-surprise-electrical-properties/ Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews. Related materials: Emerging applications of elemental 2D materials: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.201904302 Ajayan Research Group: https://ajayan.rice.edu Rice Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering: https://msne.rice.edu/ George R. Brown School of Engineering: https://engineering.rice.edu Image for download: https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2020/04/0420_2D-1-WEB.jpg Electrets -- electrons trapped in defects in two-dimensional molybdenum dioxide -- give the material piezoelectric properties, according to Rice University researchers. The defects (blue) appear in the material during formation in a furnace, and generate an electric field when under pressure. (Credit: Ajayan Research Group/Rice University) 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. Jeff Falk 713-348-6775 jfalk@rice.edu Mike Williams 713-348-6728 mikewilliams@rice.edu Schools in Wales will not be returning on 1 June says Education Minister This article is old - Published: Thursday, May 7th, 2020 The situation for schools in Wales will not change on June 1st, Education Minister Kirsty Williams has said today. In a message posted on her Twitter account, the minister said: As youll know, there is a lot of speculation about what may or may not be announced regarding schools in England this weekend. As I have said before, you will always hear directly from me on the decisions we make in Wales for our pupils, parents and school staff. The situation for schools in Wales will not change on 1 June. You have my guarantee that we will give everyone time to plan ahead of a next phase starting. Any decision to increase the operation of schools will be communicated well in advance. We are working closely with local authorities to ensure that schools are supported in this preparation work. In the meantime, critical workers and those who need to use schools or hubs for your children should continue do so. We will continue to be guided by the very latest scientific advice and will only look to have more pupils and staff in schools when it is safe to do so. We will, of course, need to ensure that social distancing requirements can be adhered to. The Minister has also written to all of the main teaching unions in the UK and Ireland, in response to their concerns that schools will be open to most pupils before it is safe to do so. Next week, the Minister will publish a working document which sets out more of the thinking, planning and modelling for the next steps for education in Wales, including childcare and further education. The document will include how key decisions will be reached and who will providing advice on those decisions. The Minister reiterated that the five key principles she previously set out to determine when and how schools will return to providing education for most school pupils will remain in place. She said: Of my five principles the first, and most important, is the safety and mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of students and staff. The Minister set out her five key principles on 27 April, which are: The safety and mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of students and staff Continuing contribution to the national effort and strategy to fight the spread of COVID-19 Having the confidence of parents, staff and students based on evidence and information so that they can plan ahead Ability to prioritise learners at key points, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds Consistency with the Welsh Governments framework for decision making, to have guidance in place to support measures such as distancing, managing attendance and wider protective actions. Earlier today Wrexham.com reported that there had been some confusion over the lifting of lockdown after a series of publications suggested that there could be significant UK-wide changes to the current restrictions from Monday. The lockdown is still fully in place, with two separate regulations on the statue books one for Wales and one for England. The documents are different, reflecting the difference in laws in both countries. The over the top headlines in some newspapers overnight has prompted a sharper reaction today, with a specific statement released this lunchtime directly targeting the reports. A Welsh Government spokesperson has said today: The Welsh Cabinet met this morning to discuss the lockdown restrictions and will meet again this evening. It is crucially important that the people of Wales are informed clearly and accurately about what, if any, changes are made to the current stay-at-home restrictions. Some of the reporting in todays newspapers is confusing and risks sending mixed messages to people across the UK. The First Minister of Wales will announce the outcome of the Cabinets decision in due course. Our message for this bank holiday remains, stay home, protect the NHS, Save Lives. With their mere presence flickering in the face of Liberal ubiquity, Andrew Scheers Conservatives have decided to go (in the Canadian way) not-quite-full Trump. So we got their amendment to the Liberal student aid package, a followup to the wage and CERB packages, which Justin Trudeau shamefully accepted. The result is that students, whove already lived through the 2008 recession and now COVID-19, will have to grovel by showing theyre earnestly looking for jobs before receiving the benefit, something not applied to others, so far. Theyre expected to track job notifications from the federal Job Bank that, Im told, can flood your inbox with non-stop opportunities often in the food sector, like Albertas Cargill meat processing plant. Its had more COVID-infected workers than any workplace in North America. Worse than the inconvenience is the implicit humiliation. (A sense of dignity is invaluable for surviving stuff like recessions, wars or plagues.) Scheer says the plan tranquilizes students against work and they need incentivizing. But this is a cohort who often work excessively as they study full time, to pay extortionary tuition fees while also engaging in climate and social justice campaigns. Many have self-isolated, not because they fear the virus theyd likely be fine but, as one said, because I dont want to give it to some homeless guy as I pass. They dont need civics lessons from Scheer. In fact, Scheer could use some incentivizing, hes pretty tranquil. He became an MP at 25, got the cushy perks of House Speaker for nine years and has never known another career. He let the party subsidize his kids private school costs. Maybe he should start checking job notices. Yet the Liberals bought his amendment, which hell use as a lever for shifting the same imputations onto the unemployed, gig workers etc. Its a way to turn the discussion from surviving COVID-19 to preventing lazy, greedy types like students or the unemployed, from ripping off worthy Tory voters and donors. Why did Liberals agree? Maybe to show they can be tough too, not just caring. Theyre far easier on employers, who dont even have to top up the 75 per cent wage subsidies theyre getting from the feds, though theyre gently encouraged to. Or maybe its a sign of that Liberal virus, Paul Martinism, i.e., letting the toffs at finance take over the show, giving them a chance to put in play their dusty undergrad Economics notes on moral hazard. It means oh, look it up yourself. But roughly: giving greedy, lazy people an excuse to keep being that way. This is how Conservatives hope to rebuild their right wing base. It probably wont work. Why? Its an imported U.S. right wing tactic: you turn one desperate group, like former manufacturing workers, against another even more desperate, like inner city minorities. You stoke their fear that the underclasses will rip them off in order to get, say, public health care. Theyd rather die themselves than be conned into paying out for their inferiors. But we already have medicare and nobody feels diminished. Plus we lack the unique depth of U.S. racist hysterias along with their imperial delusions. Its a reversion to type by right wing conservatives who now are the party. They got caught up by the pandemic, especially their reliable provincial premiers, who seemed to turn into crazy leftist spenders. For years they promised to unleash the private sector, as if it had been a whipped cur since Reagan/Thatcher, then they wind up unleashing the public sector. Theyre trying to get their mojo back. Its hard to believe even Scheer believes this rubbish: in the midst of a raging lethal virus, we should worry about youth getting away with not working. He mouthes it because he thinks its a way to return to power. Digression: speaking of Tory premiers, Ive become fond of Doug Ford and his cliches. Im laser focused Im on this like a dog on a bone Even he seems aware of it but cant stop. Asked about his health, he said, Im healthy as, then paused aware of what was coming but couldnt think of an alternative. A horse, he surrendered. Its quite lovable, Im afraid. Rick Salutin is a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. He is based in Toronto. Reach him on email: is a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. He is based in Toronto. Reach him on email: ricksalutin@ca.inter.net Read more about: BALDWIN - Local artist Elizabeth (Eli) Heckler-Cambridge is opening an art gallery and studio at 879 Michigan Ave., in Baldwin. "When the governor lifts the stay at home order, Red Tree Curiosities,LLC., will open," Heckler said. "We have been impacted by COVID-19, with delayed opening, plus the loss of Mother's Day and the annual Blessing of the Bikes for retail events, but I am excited about bringing a new business to Baldwin, and look forward to opening soon." Heckler said her storefront will open with an array of local artists' works, including her own. In addition, she will have an in-house studio, where she will be busy creating new works. Heckler holds a bachelor's degree in fine art and environmental design, and works in a wide range of media, she said. "I favor colored pencil and painting," Heckler said.. "All my work is inspired by nature. I have participated in Art Prize, among other exhibits, and until recently have sold my work through other local shops." "After more than a few years, however, my work nearly fills my new store," she added. "I will sell other artists' work, as well, and my studio is in the adjoining room, so I will be busy making new works, too." "Red Tree Curiosities is not typical," Heckler added. "It's more casual than a gallery." Fishing industry representatives want an investigation into how a Spanish-owned trawler with sick crew onboard was allowed to dock in Ireland. The MFV Notre Dame docked in Castletownbere on April 21 where it unloaded fish it had caught since leaving Spain on April 10. Its skipper then left after a few hours and carried on fishing until the 32.8 metre boat was forced to return to Spain when the skipper fell ill. When it arrived back at Celeiro Port around May 3, it was met by health officials who tested the skipper and his 15 crew members. At least eight are believed to have tested positive, including one of them had reported feeling ill shortly after the boat left Spain. The Department of Agriculture has not said whether or not it will investigate, and the Spanish Embassy insists there was no incident. But Patrick Murphy, of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation said: There needs to be an investigation into this matter. We understand the skipper made a declaration about his crew, as he is required to before docking. However, if it is true a crew member took ill after the boat left Spain, and the captain declared this, then why was a boat with at least one crew member who had a recent history of illness allowed to dock at Castletownbere? We need to learn from this incident and we need to know exactly what happened. "If we dont, this sort of incident is going to lead to the sort of protests we had earlier in the year. And there is going to be a perception by our Spanish colleagues that there is hostility towards them, when there isnt among the fishing community. He added: This is not a fishing issue. This is a health and safety issue and those Spanish fishermen were at risk of dying, and that concerns us. Although we come from different countries, as fishermen and women, we are part of the same fraternity. He is worried this incident will lead to a repeat of protests in Dingle and Castletownebere by dozens of people who, earlier this year, blocked access to the piers by foreign registered vessels. Protesters were worried the harbours are not policed in a way that people suffering from Covid-19 could not get into local communities. Shortly after the protests ended, the Department of Agriculture introduced the need for all fishing boats entering port to make a full declaration about the health of their crew. Javier Gonzalez, Spains deputy Head of Mission at the Spanish Embassy in Dublin, said: "The Embassy of Spain considers there was no incident and understands that Spanish vessels comply with national and European regulations. The crew of Notre Dame Cedeira remained on board during the port call in Castletownbere. Nobody went ashore. The declaration of the skipper is addressed to the Irish authorities. The Embassy of Spain doesnt know the content of the declaration. The HSE said it could not discuss what details the skipper of the boat declared before he arrived at Castletownbere. The Department of Agriculture said procedures in place for the Covid-19 crisis were implemented in full during the landing. By Express News Service BHUBANESWAR: Commissionerate Police on Wednesday warned people not to download Aarogya Setu app by clicking any link forwarded to them on WhatsApp or SMS.Issuing a cyber security alert, Twin City Commissioner of Police Sudhanshu Sarangi asked people to download the Aarogya Setu app only from www.mygov.in, Google Playstore and Apple App store. Alert on fake Aarogya Setu app. These links are malicious and leading to downloading of an app called ChatMe, which is being used by Pakistan-based groups to take away data, said the advisory issued by the Commissionerate Police on its twitter handle. If anyone receives such link then delete it. In case, an individual has downloaded he/she should factory reset their mobile phone, said the advisory.Meanwhile, rejecting the charges of Opposition that Aarogya Setu breaches privacy, Information Technology and Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the app is completely safe. Smoke rises from LG Polymers plant, the site of a chemical gas leakage, in Vishakhapatnam, India, Thursday. Synthetic chemical styrene leaked from the industrial plant, leaving people struggling to breathe and collapsing in the streets as they tried to flee. A diagnosis of the COVID-19 coronavirus may keep prospective recruits out of the U.S. military, according to a memo from U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command making the rounds on Twitter. U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command issued the missive to recruit processing stations saying a history of COVID-19, confirmed by a laboratory test or a clinician diagnosis, is permanently disqualifying. And "during the pre-screen process, a reported history of confirmed COVID-19 will be annotated 'Considered disqualifying,' " the memo adds. Pentagon spokeswoman Jessica Maxwell confirmed the memo's authenticity, but said it has been updated to clarify the guidance. She declined to disclose the update. But a Department of Defense official with knowledge of the change said hospitalization for COVID-19 will be considered medically disqualifying. Any potential recruit with such a history, however, could apply for a waiver. The contents of the memo were first reported by Military Times. The guidance also spells out the process at MEPS for handling new applicants during and after the pandemic. Currently, all entrants to MEPS receive a temperature check and answer a questionnaire about symptoms and any contact with anyone confirmed with the coronavirus. Related: Drug Smugglers May Have Started COVID-19 Outbreak on Navy Destroyer, SecDef Says Applicants who fail screening will be asked to return to MEPS after a minimum of 14 days if they remain symptom-free. If they develop symptoms and are diagnosed, they must wait at least 28 days after diagnoses to report to MEPS. There, they may be designated as medically disqualified, depending on the severity of their cases. While very few viral infections are medically disqualifying for military service, active human immunodeficiency virus cases and an eye condition caused by the herpes simplex virus are disqualifying. Respiratory illnesses such as asthma, a history of pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease also preclude people from serving in the U.S. military. -- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime. Read More: Dozens of Marine Recruits at Boot Camp in San Diego Have COVID-19 MEXICO CITY, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Volaris* (NYSE: VLRS and BMV: VOLAR), the ultra-low-cost airline serving Mexico, the United States and Central America, reported April 2020 preliminary traffic results. In April 2020, capacity measured by ASMs (Available Seat Miles) decreased by 82.4% vs the same period of last year, while demand measured by RPMs (Revenue Passenger Miles) decreased 81.8% year over year. Volaris transported a total of 307 thousand passengers during the month of April, a decrease of 83.4% year over year. Network-wide load factor for April 2020 was 87.4%. These decreases were a result of the decline in demand of air travel services related to the virus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, which affected Volaris in the month of April, as announced in the capacity guidance issued by the Company. On April 21st, 2020, the Mexican General Health Council announced "Phase 3" of the spread of the COVID-19, the most serious stage in Mexico, extending governmental restrictions to contain the COVID-19 until May 31, 2020. Going forward, Volaris announced a capacity reduction, as measured by available seat miles (ASMs) for the month of May 2020, of approximately 90% versus the originally scheduled capacity. Volaris' President and Chief Executive Officer, Enrique Beltranena, commenting on the traffic results for April 2020, said: "I am especially proud of the job of our ambassadors and their selfless attitude facing this unprecedented challenge. Volaris is taking crucial actions to prioritize the health of our ambassadors and customers while protecting the business. We are implementing decisive actions to mitigate the operational and financial impacts of COVID-19 pandemic by making deep schedule reductions for April and May, drastically reducing spending and carefully managing our liquidity position. We are not hesitating to make difficult decisions to ensure the long-term success of our airline." In addition, during April "Avion Ayuda Volaris", the program that encompasses the sustainability efforts of the airline, transported health equipment destined for professionals fighting COVID-19 in 14 different cities in Mexico, as well as ventilators aimed at preserving lives in Baja California. The following table summarizes Volaris traffic results for the month and year to date. April 2020 April 2019 Variance April YTD 2020 April YTD 2019 Variance RPMs (in millions, scheduled & charter) Domestic 271 1,259 (78.5%) 3,931 4,644 (15.4%) International 48 493 (90.2%) 1,554 1,852 (16.1%) Total 319 1,752 (81.8%) 5,485 6,496 (15.6%) ASMs (in millions, scheduled & charter) Domestic 293 1,444 (79.7%) 4,546 5,415 (16.1%) International 72 628 (88.6%) 1,915 2,361 (18.9%) Total 365 2,072 (82.4%) 6,461 7,776 (16.9%) Load Factor (in %, scheduled) Domestic 92.4% 87.1% 5.3 pp 86.5% 85.8% 0.7 pp International 67.1% 78.7% (11.6) pp 81.2% 78.6% 2.6 pp Total 87.4% 84.6% 2.8 pp 84.9% 83.6% 1.3 pp Passengers (in thousands, scheduled & charter) Domestic 278 1,504 (81.6%) 4,507 5,508 (18.2%) International 29 347 (91.6%) 1,077 1,305 (17.5%) Total 307 1,851 (83.4%) 5,584 6,813 (18.0%) The information included in this report has not been audited and it does not provide information on the company's future performance. Volaris' future performance depends on many factors and it cannot be inferred that any period's performance or its comparison year over year will be an indicator of a similar performance in the future. About Volaris: *("Volaris" or the "Company") (NYSE: VLRS and BMV: VOLAR), is an ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC), with point-to-point operations, serving Mexico, the United States and Central America. Volaris offers low base fares to build its market, providing quality service and extensive customer choice. Since beginning operations in March 2006, Volaris has increased its routes from five to more than 32 and its fleet from four to 82 aircraft. Volaris offers more than 44 daily flight segments on routes that connect 21 cities in Mexico and 3 cities in the United States and Central America with one of the youngest fleet in The Americas. Volaris targets passengers who are visiting friends and relatives, cost-conscious business people and leisure travelers in Mexico and in selected destinations in the United States and Central America. Volaris has received the ESR Award for Social Corporate Responsibility for ten consecutive years. For more information, please visit: www.volaris.com. Investor Relations contact: Maria Elena Rodriguez & Andrea Gonzalez/ Investor Relations / [email protected] / +52 55 5261 6444 Media contact: Gabriela Fernandez / [email protected] / +52 55 5246 0100 SOURCE Volaris Related Links http://www.volaris.com Turkey coronavirus recoveries top 78,000 amid drop in daily deaths A total of 78,202 people have recovered from the novel coronavirus in Turkey so far, the countrys health minister said on Wednesday. The death toll from the pandemic rose to 3,584 as Turkeys daily fatalities dropped to 64 in the past 24 hours, Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter. The country recorded 2,253 new cases, bringing the tally to 131,744, the minister added. Also, over 30,303 additional tests have been conducted over the last 24 hours, and the total number of tests has so far exceeded 1.23 million. https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/turkey-coronavirus-recoveries-top-78000-amid-drop-in-daily-deaths/news WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE WEEKEND NOW THERE IS NO CURFEW? In a televised address on Monday (May 4), President Erdogan announced that Turkey would start easing the measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. The first measure to be lifted was entry-exit restrictions from seven of the 31 provinces currently under restriction, namely Antalya, Aydin, Erzurum, Hatay, Malatya, Mersin, and Mugla. The Ministry of Interior sent a circular to 81 provincial governorships last night (6 May) stating that a curfew will be imposed in 24 provinces over the weekend (9/10 May). The provinces still under curfew are: Adana, Ankara, Balkesir, Bursa, Denizli, Diyarbakr, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahramanmaras, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Konya, Manisa, Mardin, Ordu, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanlurfa, Tekirdag, Trabzon, Van and Zonguldak. There will be NO CURFEW in the seven provinces for whom the travel restrictions have been lifted. This means there will be NO CURFEW in Mugla this weekend (9/10 May). NB: ALL RESTRICTIONS IN PLACE THROUGHOUT THE WEEK WILL STILL BE IN PLACE ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY (9/10 May). They revert back to normal days in these extraordinary times. It has been suggested on social media that restaurants, bars, cafes, beaches, promenades and parks will be open. THIS IS NOT THE CASE AND THESE ESTABLISHMENTS AND AREAS REMAIN CLOSED TO EVERYONE. OVER 65S In his address, the president also announced that over 65s will be allowed out on Sunday 10 May between the hours of 11am -3pm. Outings are restricted to walking within the vicinity of home, face masks MUST be worn and social distancing guidelines followed. Over 65s are NOT allowed to go shopping, walk on the promenades, beaches or parks (see above). CHRONIC ILLNESSES AND UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITIONS According to this report in HABER TURK, those with chronic illnesses or underlying health conditions may also go out on Sunday, May 10, between 11: 00-15: 00, with limited walking distance, respecting the social distance rule and wearing a mask. MASKS Masks are available from the Zabita office located at Kesikkap Mahallesi. Cars Caddesi. No: 304 48300 Fethiye The office is to the right as you go in the main entrance and is open 24/7. https://goo.gl/maps/RkBphPT4gnSzCPKG6 Please ask a family member, friend or neighbour to pick up a mask for you. You will need to provide your name, address and Turkish ID number when collecting your mask so make sure you give this information to your representative. To avoid congestion at the Zabita office, if possible, arrange for a representative to collect masks for a group of people in an area. For over 65s who DO NOT have a representative who can collect a mask for them, please fill out the form at this link ASAP. https://forms.gle/UKxjKshbQwDriDGNA David Ismail Jaime from Corona Caring Fethiye is working with the Zabita to do his best to try and make sure everyone has a mask. https://www.facebook.com/groups/672522866909614/ Please be mindful if you plan to be out and about on Sunday, that these vulnerable groups have not been out for many weeks for a reason. The health and safety of these groups during their outing is of the utmost important so please maintain social distancing and wear a mask whilst out and about. Or consider staying in between the hours of 11am and 3pm, after all, we can go out at any time. Thank you. This information is accurate as of 13:20 on 7 May 2020. https://www.haberturk.com/icisleri-nden-65-yas-ve-uzeri-ile-20-yas-alti-sokaga-cikma-kisitlamasi-istisnasi-genelgesi-2670348 Turkish Airlines eyes resuming flights as of June Turkish Airlines has drafted a plan to restart flights in June, July, and August, sources told Anadolu Agency on May 6. Turkeys national flag carrier will resume domestic flights in June and reintroduce international flights gradually, said the sources, who spoke anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to the media. According to the three-month flight plan, starting in June Turkish Airlines will fly to 22 destinations in 19 countries, including Canada, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Belarus, Israel, Kuwait, Georgia, and Lebanon, with a weekly frequency of 75 flights. Read more here: https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-airlines-eyes-resuming-flights-as-of-june-154510?fbclid=IwAR3KbQzDjVqoInp39x1L1u-tTPk8LRWOpBaSvACv8sz7zXAJbCC3d-hnqIg Global statistics There are now 3,791,646 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally, of which 1,317,109 have recovered. The number of fatalities stands at 266,076. Source: Worldometer. Follow Fethiye Times on social media for regular updates. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Twitter Todays featured image: Looking across the lagoon to a cloud covered Babadag by Lyn Ward The disinvestment process for national carrier Air India looks 'very uncertain' in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that has impacted the aviation sector the most globally, according to rating agency CRISIL Mumbai: The disinvestment process for national carrier Air India looks "very uncertain" in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that has impacted the aviation sector the most globally, according to rating agency CRISIL. In another attempt to sell loss-making Air India, the government, in January this year, sought Expression of Interest (EoI) and the deadline for submission of EoI has now been extended till 30 June. Initially, the deadline was 17 March and was first extended till 30 April. "With the current kind of environment, for people to bid for a known airline like Air India and the kind of commitment that they would have to make, it looks very uncertain that their process can go through in the current scheme of things," Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, Director and Practice Leader (Transport and Logistics) at CRISIL Infrastructure Advisory said on Thursday. However, CRISIL expects mergers and acquisitions of airlines in the face of the losses that the domestic carriers are estimated to suffer in the current situation. "The EoI might have been issued but in the current situation, airlines are unlikely to take up any new assets on its books," he said. "The Air India part of privatisation will have to wait for its turn. What is the timeline, I don't know as of now. But the current environment may not be the best time to go through (the sale process)," Padmanabhan said. In 2018, the government's efforts to divest Air India failed to take off. At that time, 76 percent stake in the airline was to be sold. Under the current disinvestment plan, the government has proposed to sell 100 percent stake in the airline along with entire shareholding in AI Express and 50 percent in ground handling joint venture -- Air India-SATS. Of the airline's total debt of Rs 60,074 crore as of 31 March, 2019, the buyer would be required to absorb Rs 23,286.5 crore, while the rest would be transferred to Air India Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL), a special purpose vehicle. Padmanabhan said all airlines irrespective of their size or business model or nature of operations have been impacted due to the coronavirus outbreak and all are looking at how to survive in the current situation. According to him, the domestic aviation industry is expected to incur a combined loss to the tune of up to Rs 25,000 crore, with the airline sector accounting for an estimated loss of Rs 17,000 crore. Anheuser-Busch InBev warned that its biggest three beer brands -- Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona -- are bearing the brunt of a collapse in sales caused by the coronavirus. Revenue from those brands dropped 11% in the first quarter, about twice the rate of decline for the company's overall portfolio of more than 500 labels. Shipments plunged the most in China, where the effect of covid-19 lockdowns hit hardest because they started earlier than in the U.S. and Europe. As demand evaporates amid a global shutdown of bars and restaurants, AB InBev and rivals Heineken and Carlsberg are racing to find ways to cut costs to reduce the effect on profit. So far AB InBev's more expensive products are suffering less, but longer-term, as the pain from a pandemic-induced recession spreads from blue-collar to white-collar workers, that could also harm the collection of niche premium labels that AB InBev has built up in past years. AB InBev is in more of a pinch than Heineken and Carlsberg, given that it's also struggling to reduce its a pile of debt that stood at $96 billion at the end of 2019. The brewer said Thursday that shipments plunged 32% in April. Budweiser, Stella and Corona are in its mid-priced segment in the U.S. Carlsberg said last week that it was already preparing for a new normal in which more profitable craft labels face more competition from cheaper alternatives. An eye-opening moment for CEO Cees 't Hart was when he took a taxi to Amsterdam airport on April 26 on his way to Copenhagen: He was the driver's first customer in a month, and the 60-euro fee his only income. "We need to cater to this with a slightly different portfolio -- it could be that for a while, we will have have a focus on economic brands," the CEO said. "The aftermath will be much longer and maybe quite a bit more painful, with people not having the money to spend." Cut-price beer is performing well in some markets, such as South Africa. AB InBev was already seeing its inexpensive Lion Lager grow at a double-digit rate in the first quarter there before its production and distribution was halted to comply with a government mandate. China's lockdowns were largely responsible for AB InBev's 9.3% decline in total first-quarter shipments, and excluding that market, the decline was only 3.6%. That may bode badly for Europe and the U.S., which entered lockdowns later. While some craft breweries are seeing surging demand from drinkers looking to prop up local producers, catastrophic levels of unemployment in the U.S. in the longer term may eventually lead those consumers to switch to less glamorous labels such as Bud Light. In recent years, demand for craft has surged, and the industry will be keen to see if that can continue. In China, the market hardest-hit by covid-19 restrictions in the first quarter, AB InBev's superpremium offerings outperformed the rest. AB InBev, Carlsberg and Heineken, caught out by the trend in developed markets such as the U.S. and the U.K., have collectively spent billions of dollars acquiring popular small brands like Devil's Backbone, Elysian Brewing, Lagunitas and London Fields. "There will be permanent economic damage and the shape of this recession is likely to impact low-income workers hardest, and we probably will see some down-trading as a result of this," Trevor Stirling, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, said by phone. A specialised chemical called PTBC, made only in Vapi town of Gujarat, will be sent to Visakhapatnam on an urgent basis to help in neutralising the effects of gas leak at a polymer plant there, a Gujarat government official said on Thursday. A major leak from a chemical plant of LG Polymers near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh in the wee hours of Thursday impacted villages within a five-km radius, leaving eight people dead and scores of citizens complaining of breathlessness, nausea and other problems. Para-tertiary butyl catechol or PTBC is currently being used in Visakhapatnam to neutralise the effect of the gas leak, said Ashwani Kumar, secretary in the Gujarat chief minister's office. "This chemical, used for reducing the effects of gas in the air after a leak, is manufactured only in Vapi. The Andhra Pradesh government requested Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani to facilitate airlifting of the chemical from Vapi to be sent there as soon as possible," Kumar said. As instructed by Rupani, senior officials have asked Valsad district collector to make necessary arrangements to procure 500 kg of the chemical. The stock will soon be airlifted from Daman where it will be taken by road from Vapi, he said. PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-07 11:04:01 CALGARY, Alberta, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Commenting on the Company's first quarter 2020 results, Tim McKay, President of Canadian Natural stated, "Through the first quarter of 2020 and in response to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19"), we have taken proactive and effective steps to ensure the safety and health of our employees, service providers and the communities we work in, while maintaining safe, reliable operations. We currently have approximately 6,000 employees working remotely and approximately 4,000 field personnel working under safety protocols with minimal impact to our operations. Canadian Natural is in a strong position. Our vast and diverse asset base is robust, unique and sustainable. The effectiveness of our strategies and our ability to execute on those strategies allows us to react quickly in this challenging commodity price environment. Our long life low decline assets have industry leading breakeven prices as a result of low sustaining capital requirements, effective and efficient operations, low operating costs and low to no reservoir risk, a distinct advantage in volatile price environments. As a result, a small percentage of our total proved reserves are produced during challenging commodity price periods, resulting in very little impact to net asset value, thereby preserving long-term value for our stakeholders. In Q1/20, we delivered top tier operational results, producing our maximum allowable volumes under the Government of Alberta curtailment program, achieving record quarterly corporate production of approximately 1,179 MBOE/d, including record liquids production of approximately 939 Mbbl/d. Importantly, we increased the level of high value Synthetic Crude Oil ("SCO") production in the quarter, maximizing adjusted funds flow. We target to effectively and efficiently manage through the current environment. Our balance sheet is strong with significant liquidity available and our 2020 capital program is disciplined at approximately $2.7 billion having executed on approximately $1.4 billion in reductions. Targeted operating cost reductions from 2019 levels are significant in 2020, at approximately $745 million and the Board of Directors has maintained our current dividend levels, demonstrating their confidence in the Company's assets and plan moving forward." Canadian Natural's Chief Financial Officer, Mark Stainthorpe, added, "In Q1/20, we have been proactive in managing our balance sheet and executing on our capital flexibility, given the volatility in commodity prices. To date, including the most recent reduction in the capital expenditure forecast, we have reduced our targeted capital expenditures by approximately $1.4 billion in 2020 from the original budget announced in December 2019, while at the same time targeting to increase crude oil and natural gas production over 2019 levels. In Q1/20, our strong adjusted funds flow of over $1.3 billion was in excess of our capital expenditures and dividend requirements. Our liquidity at the end of Q1/20 remains robust at approximately $5.0 billion, including approximately $1.1 billion in cash reserves and our balance sheet remains resilient through this commodity price cycle and supported by strong investment grade credit ratings." COPORATE UPDATE COVID-19 Response Canadian Natural has taken proactive and effective steps to ensure the safety and health of our employees, service providers and communities where we work during the outbreak of the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19"), some of which are over and above guidance from the Public Health Agency of Canada and provincial health authorities. Canadian Natural's proactive measures are allowing for continued effective and efficient operations with minimal impact to the Company's operations at its head office and in the field, both Internationally and in North America. Currently the Company has approximately 6,000 employees working remotely and approximately 4,000 field personnel working under safety protocols to maintain safe reliable operations. Canadian Natural has pandemic response and business continuity plans in place to protect the health and safety of our personnel while maintaining safe, reliable operations and supporting the aggressive measures being taken by public health officials to limit the spread of COVID-19. Canadian Natural monitors government updates daily and follows the guidance of public health officials. As the situation with COVID-19 evolves, the Company has enhanced precautionary measures and ensured actions are implemented and followed. Precautionary measures are currently in effect across the Company's work locations. Canadian Natural will continue to strengthen these measures at the advice of public health officials as needed. Balance Sheet Strength and Liquidity Canadian Natural is in a robust overall financial position with strong liquidity. The Company continues to manage effectively through the current short term commodity price environment. As at March 31, 2020, the Company had approximately $5.0 billion of liquidity available, an increase of $116 million over Q4/19 levels. Liquidity is represented by cash and cash equivalents of approximately $1.1 billion and committed bank credit facilities. The liquidity is more than sufficient to retire, when due, any upcoming debt maturities. Subsequent to quarter end, the Company's $750 million non-revolving term credit facility, originally due February 2021 was increased by $250 million to $1,000 million and extended to February 2022, further increasing liquidity. Canadian Natural continues to maintain strong investment grade credit ratings. The Company has a high degree of communication with credit rating agencies to ensure they understand the robust and sustainable nature of the Company's assets. Their understanding is evident in the following results: On March 20, 2020, Moodys Investors Service, Inc. (Moodys) affirmed the Company's long term and short term investment grade credit ratings of Baa2 and P-2 with a stable outlook. On March 26, 2020, Standard & Poors Rating Services (S&P) rating action on the Company resulted in long term and short term investment grade credit ratings of BBB and A-2 with a stable outlook. DBRS Limited (DBRS) current credit rating for the Company is BBB high. Production Flexibility Canadian Naturals vast and diverse asset base is robust, unique and sustainable. The Company has a significant advantage during volatile pricing scenarios because its long life low decline assets have low sustaining capital requirements, low operating costs and low to no reservoir risk. This results in the Company producing an immaterial percentage of its total proved reserves during challenged commodity price periods, resulting in very little impact to net asset value, thereby preserving value for all of the Company's stakeholders. In Q1/20, the Company effectively executed on its curtailment optimization strategy within the Government of Alberta curtailment guidelines and achieved maximum allowable production, resulting in record production volumes. Production was optimized across the asset base to produce the highest value products, maximizing the Company's netback and adjusted funds flow. Canadian Natural continues to be prudent and proactive in managing its production volumes. The current operating plan is targeting to reduce well servicing activity and to shut-in higher cost volumes in North America Conventional E&P business. In addition the Company targets to temporarily curtail production in its thermal in situ assets. The majority of these volumes can be brought back on quickly when commodity prices recover. Details are as follows: North America Conventional E&P crude oil production volumes are targeted to be approximately 36,000 bbl/d lower in May 2020 than it would be in a more normalized price environment, as the Company has shut-in high variable cost volumes and stopped well servicing activities. Thermal in situ production volumes are targeted to be approximately 38,000 bbl/d lower in May 2020 than it would be in a more normalized price environment, as the Company has temporarily slowed down production volumes and is conducting planned maintenance activities. North America Conventional E&P crude oil production volumes are targeted to be approximately 36,000 bbl/d lower in May 2020 than it would be in a more normalized price environment, as the Company has shut-in high variable cost volumes and stopped well servicing activities. Thermal in situ production volumes are targeted to be approximately 38,000 bbl/d lower in May 2020 than it would be in a more normalized price environment, as the Company has temporarily slowed down production volumes and is conducting planned maintenance activities. The Company's strength of operations and diverse asset base allows Canadian Natural to optimize activities within its Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading assets as follows: Canadian Natural has planned routine de-coking activities at Horizon that were deferred from Q1/20 to May 2020 which will result in Horizon volumes being 50,000 bbl/d lower than normal in the month, running at restricted rates. In the second half of 2020, the Company is targeting planned turnaround activities at both AOSP and Horizon mines. The Company has the flexibility to shift timelines to ensure minimal, if any overlapping activities between the two sites, maximizing high value SCO production and operating cash flows. Details are as follows: At the non-operated Scotford Upgrader, a turnaround is targeted for early in Q3/20, at which time the plant will run at restricted rates. Timing of these activities at the AOSP mines are aligned with the planned turnaround at the Scotford Upgrader. During the turnaround, production from AOSP is targeted to average approximately 100,000 bbl/d net lower than normal, in the months of July 2020 and August 2020. At Horizon, the planned turnaround is targeted for the second half of 2020. Monthly average production is targeted to be impacted by approximately 80,000 bbl/d over a two month period once timing is finalized. Canadian Natural has planned routine de-coking activities at Horizon that were deferred from Q1/20 to May 2020 which will result in Horizon volumes being 50,000 bbl/d lower than normal in the month, running at restricted rates. In the second half of 2020, the Company is targeting planned turnaround activities at both AOSP and Horizon mines. The Company has the flexibility to shift timelines to ensure minimal, if any overlapping activities between the two sites, maximizing high value SCO production and operating cash flows. Details are as follows: At the non-operated Scotford Upgrader, a turnaround is targeted for early in Q3/20, at which time the plant will run at restricted rates. Timing of these activities at the AOSP mines are aligned with the planned turnaround at the Scotford Upgrader. During the turnaround, production from AOSP is targeted to average approximately 100,000 bbl/d net lower than normal, in the months of July 2020 and August 2020. At Horizon, the planned turnaround is targeted for the second half of 2020. Monthly average production is targeted to be impacted by approximately 80,000 bbl/d over a two month period once timing is finalized. Canadian Natural's natural gas portfolio is significant, providing the Company with additional production flexibility and opportunities to maximize value as prices improve. The Company has identified a number of highly economic opportunities to add additional natural gas volumes at less than $3,000 per flowing BOE. These activities are targeted to add approximately 60 MMcf/d of natural gas volumes, which equates to approximately 35 MMcf/d for 2020 annual natural gas production levels. Canadian Natural's natural gas volumes provide significant supportive operating cash flow, targeted at approximately $700 million over the next twelve months at AECO pricing of $2.50/GJ. Canadian Natural's natural gas volumes provide significant supportive operating cash flow, targeted at approximately $700 million over the next twelve months at AECO pricing of $2.50/GJ. Due to the current uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company is officially removing its 2020 corporate production guidance. However, if the current strip pricing continues for the remainder of 2020, the Company forecasts that targeted production will meet the previous issued corporate guidance range. Operating Cost Reductions Canadian Natural has top tier operating costs and as a result of the Company's culture of innovation, continued focus on effective and efficient operations and continuous improvement, Canadian Natural is targeting to lower operating costs throughout 2020 by approximately $745 million versus 2019 levels. ($ million) 2019 2020 Forecast 2020 Targeted Operating Costs Savings North America Natural Gas $ 610 $ 575 $ 35 North America E&P Liquids (excluding Thermal) (1) 1,230 930 300 Thermal In Situ (1) 865 795 70 International 500 410 90 Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading 3,275 3,025 250 Total Targeted Operating Cost Savings $ 745 (1) 2019 includes proforma full-year of Jackfish using an average of 100,000 bbl/d of production and pre-acquisition operating costs of $12.00/bbl and Manatokan heavy crude oil using an average of 20,000 bbl/d of production and pre-acquisition operating costs of $16.00/bbl. As previously announced, the Company has taken proactive steps to reduce administrative expenses. The Company targets an approximate reduction of $90 million in G&A compared to the original 2020 budget. Capital Flexibility The Company has executed on additional capital flexibility, reducing its 2020 capital expenditure budget by an additional $280 million beyond the March 18, 2020 update. Capital expenditures are now targeted to be approximately $2,680 million, a $1,370 million reduction from the Company's original 2020 budget released in December 2019. A summary of the 2020 targeted capital budget by area is as follows: ($ million) 2020 Original Budget 2020 Original Revision 2020 Current Forecast Conventional/Unconventional $ 1,550 $ 990 $ 875 Long Life Low Decline $ 2,500 $ 1,970 $ 1,805 Total $ 4,050 $ 2,960 $ 2,680 2020 capital expenditure requirements are targeted to be approximately $1.8 billion to be deployed over the last three quarters. Canadian Natural's flexibility and ability to be nimble was evident in Q1/20 as net capital expenditures were reduced quickly by approximately $200 million from the original Q1/20 capital budget. Dividend Update Canadian Naturals business is unique, robust and sustainable. The strength of the Company's assets and its ability to generate significant and sustainable free cash flow over the long term combined with strong liquidity, production flexibility, significant capital reductions and targeted operating costs savings provided the Board of Directors with the confidence that the Companys current dividend levels can be sustained through the commodity price cycle. As previously announced, on March 5, 2020 the Company declared a quarterly dividend increase of 13% to $0.425 per share, paid on April 1, 2020. The increase marks the 20th consecutive year that the Company has increased its dividend. Subsequent to quarter end, the Company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.425 per share, payable on July 1, 2020. Marketing Strengths Canadian Natural has many strengths when marketing its products that will benefit the Company going forward, these include: Balanced and diverse product mix of natural gas, conventional heavy crude oil, conventional light crude oil, thermal in situ and SCO. The Company's natural gas portfolio is robust with approximately 1.4 Bcf/d of economic production exposed to an improving natural gas market, supported by owned and controlled infrastructure and low operating costs. Canadian Natural's natural gas volumes provide significant supportive operating cash flow, targeted at approximately $700 million over the next twelve months at AECO pricing of $2.50/GJ. Canadian Natural has approximately 3.6 million barrels of crude oil storage at major hubs in Edmonton and Hardisty, which allows the Company to adjust monthly sales, manage pipeline logistical constraints, and production fluctuations, as well as pricing differences from month to month. Market egress continues to improve in the mid-term as the Trans Mountain Expansion and Keystone XL projects are progressing with construction, on which Canadian Natural has 94,000 bbl/d and 200,000 bbl/d of committed capacity respectively. Combining these two pipeline projects and including Enbridge Line 3 replacement, Western Canadian egress is targeted to increase by approximately 1.8 MMbbl/d in the mid-term. QUARTERLY HIGHLIGHTS Three Months Ended ($ millions, except per common share amounts) Mar 31 2020 Dec 31 2019 Mar 31 2019 Net (loss) earnings $ (1,282 ) $ 597 $ 961 Per common share basic $ (1.08 ) $ 0.50 $ 0.80 diluted $ (1.08 ) $ 0.50 $ 0.80 Adjusted net (loss) earnings from operations (1) $ (295 ) $ 686 $ 838 Per common share basic $ (0.25 ) $ 0.58 $ 0.70 diluted $ (0.25 ) $ 0.58 $ 0.70 Cash flows from operating activities $ 1,725 $ 2,454 $ 996 Adjusted funds flow (2) $ 1,337 $ 2,494 $ 2,240 Per common share basic $ 1.13 $ 2.11 $ 1.87 diluted $ 1.13 $ 2.10 $ 1.86 Cash flows used in investing activities $ 859 $ 854 $ 1,029 Net capital expenditures (3) $ 838 $ 1,056 $ 977 Daily production, before royalties Natural gas (MMcf/d) 1,440 1,455 1,510 Crude oil and NGLs (bbl/d) 938,676 913,782 783,512 Equivalent production (BOE/d) (4) 1,178,752 1,156,276 1,035,212 (1) Adjusted net earnings (loss) from operations is a non-GAAP measure that the Company utilizes to evaluate its performance, as it demonstrates the Companys ability to generate after-tax operating earnings from its core business areas. The derivation of this measure is discussed in the "Advisory" section of this press release. (2) Adjusted funds flow is a non-GAAP measure that the Company considers key to evaluate its performance as it demonstrates the Companys ability to generate the cash flow necessary to fund future growth through capital investment and to repay debt. The derivation of this measure is discussed in the "Advisory" section of this press release. (3) Net capital expenditures is a non-GAAP measure that the Company considers a key measure as it provides an understanding of the Companys capital spending activities in comparison to the Company's annual capital budget. For additional information and details, refer to the net capital expenditures table in the "Advisory" section of this press release. (4) A barrel of oil equivalent (BOE) is derived by converting six thousand cubic feet (Mcf) of natural gas to one barrel (bbl) of crude oil (6 Mcf:1 bbl). This conversion may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation, since the 6 Mcf:1 bbl ratio is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. In comparing the value ratio using current crude oil prices relative to natural gas prices, the 6 Mcf:1 bbl conversion ratio may be misleading as an indication of value. A net loss of $1,282 million was realized in Q1/20, while the adjusted net loss in Q1/20 was $295 million. Cash flows from operating activities were $1,725 million in Q1/20. Canadian Natural generated quarterly adjusted funds flow of $1,337 million in Q1/20, which was negatively impacted by charges taken in the first quarter of approximately $100 million including the impact of approximately $50 million of product inventory valuation adjustments and an additional $50 million related to certain pricing mechanisms impacting realized pricing in the North Sea. The decrease of $1,157 million from Q4/19 levels was also due to lower netbacks across all segments driven largely by lower crude oil and natural gas pricing, partially offset by increased higher value Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading production volumes. Adjusted funds flow was in excess of the Company's net capital expenditures of $838 million and dividend requirements of $444 million in Q1/20, resulting in free cash flow generation of $55 million reflecting the strength of the Company's long life low decline asset base and its effective and efficient operations. Adjusted funds flow was in excess of the Company's net capital expenditures of $838 million and dividend requirements of $444 million in Q1/20, resulting in free cash flow generation of $55 million reflecting the strength of the Company's long life low decline asset base and its effective and efficient operations. Cash flows used in investing activities were $859 million in Q1/20. Despite low commodity prices at March 31, 2020, upon review of the Company's stated book value of property, plant and equipment no impairment charge was required, reflecting the strength of the asset base. Canadian Natural maintained a strong financial position in Q1/20 with significant liquidity of approximately $5.0 billion including cash balances of approximately $1.1 billion and committed and demand bank credit facilities as at March 31, 2020. Returns to shareholders totaled $715 million in Q1/20, $444 million by way of dividends and $271 million by way of share repurchases. As previously announced on March 18, 2020, share repurchases have been suspended and the Board of Directors have at the present time made the decision to not renew the Company's NCIB program, which expires in May 2020. The Company effectively executed on its curtailment optimization strategy, producing our maximum allowable volumes under the Government of Alberta curtailment program, achieving record quarterly production volumes of 1,178,752 BOE/d in Q1/20, increases of 14% and 2% from Q1/19 and Q4/19 levels respectively. Record liquids production was achieved by the Company in Q1/20 with volumes reaching 938,676 bbl/d, increases of 20% and 3% from Q1/19 and Q4/19 levels respectively. The increases from previous periods for BOE's and liquids primarily reflect the following: Increased production from the acquisition of thermal in situ and primary heavy crude oil assets from Devon Canada when compared to Q1/19 levels. Increased production from high utilization rates and reliable operations in Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading following a strong ramp up at Horizon after the successful completion of the turnaround in Q4/19 and the completion of the proactive piping replacement in January 2020, when compared to Q4/19 levels. Record production volumes were optimized across the asset base to achieve maximum allowable production under the mandatory Government of Alberta curtailment guidelines during Q1/20. Higher value SCO was maximized in Q1/20 with conventional crude oil and thermal in situ being curtailed as a result of mandatory Government of Alberta curtailments. The Company's product mix was enhanced in Q1/20 as light crude oil and SCO represented approximately 48% of total corporate production volumes, a 12% increase from Q4/19 levels. Canadian Natural's continued focus on delivering effective and efficient operations and cost control was demonstrated as the Company's liquids E&P Q1/20 operating costs were $13.71/bbl (US$10.19/bbl), a 15% reduction from Q1/19 levels. Canadian Natural's North America E&P crude oil and NGL production volumes, excluding thermal in situ, was slightly curtailed in Q1/20 averaging 228,574 bbl/d, comparable to Q1/19 and an 8% decrease from Q4/19 levels. The decrease from Q4/19 levels primarily reflects optimizing curtailment volumes across the asset base that resulted in increased production volumes of higher value SCO. At the Company's world class Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading assets quarterly production volumes were strong, averaging 438,101 bbl/d of SCO in Q1/20. Increases of 5% and 22% of high value SCO production over Q1/19 and Q4/19 levels respectively, were due to high utilization rates and reliable operations following a strong ramp up at Horizon after the successful completion of the turnaround in Q4/19 and the completion of the proactive piping replacement in January 2020. Production reflected the Companys optimization of curtailment volumes across the Company's asset base. Industry leading operating costs averaged $20.76/bbl (US$15.43/bbl) of SCO in Q1/20, representing decreases of 3% and 17% from Q1/19 and Q4/19 levels respectively. The decreases in operating costs in Q1/20 from the comparable periods primarily reflects higher utilization rates following a strong ramp up at Horizon after the successful completion of the turnaround in Q4/19 and the proactive piping replacement in January 2020. Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading achieved operating costs of $809 million in Q1/20, a 5% decrease from $856 million in Q4/19. The decrease in operating costs on a total and per barrel basis demonstrated the Companys continued focus on efficiencies and cost control. The Company's Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading operations are top tier, resulting in industry leading operating costs. Canadian Natural's teams continue to focus on efficiencies, innovation and cost control resulting in targeted operating costs to be reduced further. In March 2020, Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading achieved record production of approximately 478,300 bbl/d of SCO as a result of high utilization and safe, steady and reliable operations. Additionally, these strong operations resulted in low operating costs of approximately $18.42/bbl (US$13.20/bbl) of SCO in the month. Additionally, Horizon achieved a significant milestone in March 2020, producing its 500 millionth barrel of cumulative SCO. Industry leading operating costs averaged $20.76/bbl (US$15.43/bbl) of SCO in Q1/20, representing decreases of 3% and 17% from Q1/19 and Q4/19 levels respectively. The decreases in operating costs in Q1/20 from the comparable periods primarily reflects higher utilization rates following a strong ramp up at Horizon after the successful completion of the turnaround in Q4/19 and the proactive piping replacement in January 2020. Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading achieved operating costs of $809 million in Q1/20, a 5% decrease from $856 million in Q4/19. The decrease in operating costs on a total and per barrel basis demonstrated the Companys continued focus on efficiencies and cost control. The Company's Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading operations are top tier, resulting in industry leading operating costs. Canadian Natural's teams continue to focus on efficiencies, innovation and cost control resulting in targeted operating costs to be reduced further. In March 2020, Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading achieved record production of approximately 478,300 bbl/d of SCO as a result of high utilization and safe, steady and reliable operations. Additionally, these strong operations resulted in low operating costs of approximately $18.42/bbl (US$13.20/bbl) of SCO in the month. Additionally, Horizon achieved a significant milestone in March 2020, producing its 500 millionth barrel of cumulative SCO. Thermal in situ oil sands production volumes were strong in Q1/20. Including curtailed volumes, production in this segment averaged 228,303 bbl/d, a 142% increase over Q1/19 levels, primarily as a result of the Jackfish acquisition and increased production from Kirby North and pad additions at Primrose. Production decreased by 12% from Q4/19 levels primarily reflecting the optimization of curtailment volumes across the Company's asset base that resulted in increased production volumes of higher value SCO and planned turnaround activities in Q1/20 at Jackfish, which was successfully completed in mid-April 2020. Thermal in situ operating costs were strong in Q1/20 averaging $11.02/bbl (US$8.19/bbl), a decrease of 39% from Q1/19 levels, primarily as a result of higher production volumes, synergies captured to date from the Devon Canada asset acquisition and the Company's continued focus on cost control and lower energy costs. OPERATIONS REVIEW AND CAPITAL ALLOCATION Canadian Natural has a balanced and diverse portfolio of assets, primarily Canadian-based, with international exposure in the UK section of the North Sea and Offshore Africa. Canadian Naturals production is well balanced between light crude oil, medium crude oil, primary heavy crude oil, Pelican Lake heavy crude oil, thermal in situ crude oil, bitumen and SCO (herein collectively referred to as crude oil), natural gas and NGLs. This balance provides optionality for capital investments, maximizing value for the Companys shareholders. Underpinning this asset base is long life low decline production from the Company's Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading, thermal in situ oil sands and Pelican Lake heavy crude oil assets. The combination of long life low decline, low reserves replacement cost, and effective and efficient operations results in substantial and sustainable adjusted funds flow throughout the commodity price cycle. Augmenting this, Canadian Natural maintains a substantial inventory of low capital exposure projects within the Company's conventional asset base. These projects can be executed quickly and with the right economic conditions, can provide excellent returns and maximize value for shareholders. Supporting these projects is the Companys undeveloped land base which enables large, repeatable drilling programs which can be optimized over time. Additionally, by owning and operating most of the related infrastructure, Canadian Natural is able to control major components of the Company's operating costs and minimize production commitments. Low capital exposure projects can be quickly stopped or started depending upon success, market conditions, or corporate needs. Canadian Naturals balanced portfolio, built with both long life low decline assets and low capital exposure assets, enables effective capital allocation, production growth and value creation. Drilling Activity Three Months Ended Mar 31 2020 2019 (number of wells) Gross Net Gross Net Crude oil 37 35 30 30 Natural gas 12 11 10 8 Dry 1 1 Subtotal 49 46 41 39 Stratigraphic test / service wells 420 367 375 332 Total 469 413 416 371 Success rate (excluding stratigraphic test / service wells) 100 % 97 % The Company's total crude oil and natural gas drilling program of 46 net wells for the three months ended March 31, 2020, excluding strat/service wells, represents an increase of 7 net wells from the same period in 2019. North America Exploration and Production Crude oil and NGLs excluding Thermal In Situ Oil Sands Three Months Ended Mar 31 2020 Dec 31 2019 Mar 31 2019 Crude oil and NGLs production (bbl/d) 228,574 247,184 225,291 Net wells targeting crude oil 28 9 28 Net successful wells drilled 28 9 28 Success rate 100 % 100 % 100 % Top Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists body wont be handed over to family India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, May 07: The body of Riyaz Naikoo, the operational commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen will not be handed over to the family. It would instead be buried at an undisclosed location. This has been a norm for sometime in the Valley as funerals of terrorists had started gathering huge crowds. Moreover, the funerals had started becoming glorification events. Naikoo was killed in an encounter with security forces on Wednesday. He had been on the run for the past 8 years and on several occasions given the forces the slip. The importance of eliminating Kashmirs dreaded terrorist Riyaz Naikoo The problem that the security agencies have faced in the past is the crowding at terrorist funerals. During those times, it caused a security problem and today there is an added problem of coronavirus, which requires social distancing. Jammu and Kashmir too has been hit by the pandemic and the administration has been advising social distancing. It was only recently following the killing of a terrorist in Sopore that large crowds turned up at his funeral. However, the security forces have now shifted their strategy and have successfully ensured quiet funerals for these terrorists. Last month, the authorities managed to bury four terrorists quietly at Ganderbal. They were killed in a gunfight in Shopian in South Kashmir. On April 17, two terrorists were killed in an encounter at Shopian. The two who were killed were quietly buried at Baramulla in north Kashmir the same day after all formalities were completed. In both these cases, the police said that the terrorists were not identified. However, in the Shopian case, the families claimed that the two terrorists were their sons. They have now approached the District Magistrate demanding that the bodies are handed over. Top Hizbul terrorist, Riyaz Naikoo killed This is a clear message that the forces and the authorities are sending out to ensure that these terrorists are not buried in the presence of large crowds. Large crowds gathering especially in a situation like this is nothing but a nightmare. First and foremost it is a security issue and secondly, all efforts being made by the administration to curb the spread of the pandemic will be lost, an official informed OneIndia. In the previous funerals, crowds had gathered in Kulgam. The police had a tough time in controlling the crowds. Following this, an FIR was filed and 100 persons were arrested. In recent times bodies of only five terrorists have been handed over to the families. The families have to undertake that the funerals will be held quietly and if found violating the same, stringent action would follow. Japan is set to approve on Thursday the antiviral drug remdesivir for use against the novel coronavirus, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. The rapid move by Japans usually conservative authorities comes days after the U.S. authorized Gilead Sciences Inc.s drug for emergency use on virus patients. Special approval in Japan is reserved for urgent situations, where there is no alternative, and the drug has already been authorized for use overseas. Finding a treatment for Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, could move the world closer to easing lockdown measures put in place to help slow its spread. One early analysis showed that about two-thirds of severe Covid-19 cases improved when treated with the drug, according to a report published in April. Multiple trials of remdesivir are still under way. In April, the World Health Organization prematurely published results of a China trial by accident but retracted it soon after. The WHO post indicated that the drug didnt show benefits in preventing death and reducing virus load, but the Chinese trial was halted early after researchers struggled to enroll patients. While the virus has so far wreaked less health damage in Japan than the U.S. or some European countries, the economy has taken a severe hit. Abe has said treatments and vaccines are needed to help restore economic and social activities. Typically, for a drug to be approved in Japan, the government requires clinical trials to include Japanese patients, or for a new trial to be done in Japan, said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Caroline Stewart, who covers the pharmaceutical industry. While doubt remains over its efficacy, its better than nothing, she added. Health Minister Katsunobu Kato had said earlier in the week that the panel charged with deciding on remdesivirs approval was to meet Thursday and that the process would be completed as soon as possible. Earlier this month, Japans Health Ministry said in a message to local governments that even if remdesivir is approved, supplies may be limited and will be controlled by the central government. More than 15,000 people have been confirmed as infected with the virus in Japan, and more than 500 have died, although experts say the relatively small number of tests conducted means there are probably more undetected cases. Japan has extended its nationwide state of emergency until May 31, with Abe saying the countrys coronavirus measures need more time to reduce infection rates. The state of emergency allows local governments to direct businesses to close and to urge residents to stay in their homes. Abe Extends Japan Emergency Through May in Bid to Slow Virus Abe said Monday hes aiming to have Avigan, an antiviral drug developed by Fujifilm Holdings Corp., approved for use as a Covid-19 treatment by the end of this month. He added in the live streamed internet interview late Wednesday that trials were also beginning with an anti-parasite drug known as ivermectin, developed by Nobel prize-laureate Satoshi Omura. (Updates to add the type of approval) For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2020 Bloomberg L.P. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Activist investors failed in their attempts to force Barclays to phase out funding for fossil fuels at the companys Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday. But ShareAction, a charity that campaigns for responsible investment, managed to gain support from nearly a quarter of the banks investors to back its resolution. In response, Barclays put forward an alternative proposal to make the bank emissions neutral by the middle of the century and promised to continue engaging with investors. The banks resolution passed with 99.9% of investors voting in favour. ShareActions resolution only secured backing from 23.95%, with 76.05% rejecting it. For its #NetZero ambition to be credible, @Barclays needs to align its fossil fuel lending with climate science. Were in a #ClimateEmergency! We cannot afford to wait. Our statement to the #Barclays board today >> https://t.co/LGOqotkirG #BarclaysAgm #BarclaysResolution pic.twitter.com/NJpI0tT65Y ShareAction (@ShareAction) May 7, 2020 ShareAction and its supporters had said they would vote for both, while Barclays dismissed the activists proposal as unworkable. Following the vote, Barclays said its commitment to tackling climate change was reflected in the resolution that passed. It added: We have engaged extensively over recent months We will reflect on this feedback from our shareholders and ensure that we understand fully the reasons why those shareholders who did so supported this resolution. Prior to the vote at the AGM, which took place remotely due to lockdown, the investor group questioned some elements of the boards plan, despite pledging to vote for it. Jeanne Martin, campaign manager at ShareAction, said: Barclays ambition, while a positive result for investor engagement, leaves a lot of unanswered questions about the banks harmful financing activities in the short-term since it fails to commit to phase out support for fossil fuels. Voting for both resolutions is a way for investors to guarantee Barclays joins the dots between its long-term ambition and its current fossil fuel financing activities. *Barclays AGM Today*. XR Rebels have sprayed the head office of Barclays with fake oil to highlight their position as the biggest fossil fuel financiers in Europe, thus a major contributor to climate breakdown. pic.twitter.com/PBwiUmYX4W Staines XR (@Staines_XR) May 7, 2020 Several institutional investors, including the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF), M&G Investments and EOS1, the stewardship provider at Federated Hermes, had said they would support both resolutions. During the AGM, chief executive Jes Staley revealed the bank has approved 5,270 loans worth just over 1 billion as part of the Governments coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS). It also approved around 670 million worth of lending to 20,000 small businesses in the first day the bounce back loan scheme was offered on Monday. Behind those numbers are stories of businesses and jobs surviving this crisis, Mr Staley said. Chairman Nigel Higgins said the bank was still committed to delivering a return on tangible equity consistently above 10%, however, he admitted this would be much more difficult to achieve in present conditions. Mr Higgins added: We have done a lot of thinking recently about how we can make a real and positive difference to society, and I think this has informed the way in which the bank has responded to the current crisis and to customers and clients. This also extends to our role in the preservation of our external environment. Barclays can and should play a leading role in tackling climate change. The size and scale of our business means that we can really help accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. Separately, three members of Extinction Rebellion sprayed fake oil on the banks headquarters in Canary Wharf in London on Thursday morning during the meeting. The growing mound of mismatched socks and food-stained childrens clothing is a reminder of my shortcomings as a single mother during this pandemic. Working at home, I thought, would give me time to do the laundry, at the least. Surely, I could be the teacher, nurturer, chef, nurse, housekeeper, DIY expert and handywoman, all while keeping up with my full-time job. Not to mention caring for my dogs, who have become more like emotional therapy pups, providing comfort as they nestle at my feet while I work. Dogs dont know social distancing, thankfully. Many working mothers, especially single ones, across the country have felt the burden of doing everything, all day, every day, with little relief as they stay at home. This Mothers Day may bring more of the same, as schools are closed and millions of children remain home because of the coronavirus. Still, its a time to celebrate. Motherhood is something special. This has been been the hardest thing Ive ever done, said Frida Villalobos, communications director for Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia and single mom to 7-year-old Gael. I had to work during Hurricane Harvey in shelters, but this is on another level. Anyone who has children, whether they are single or not, has it hard right now. Villalobos plans to celebrate Mothers Day by wearing a marigold-yellow dress she recently bought at Target. Funny, I bought a lilac eyelet blouse at Target for the same reason. Nothing will change about this pandemic by Mothers Day, but at least I have a dress, Villalobos said. I officially joined the motherhood club a year ago when I became a foster-to-adoptive mom. It was the scariest leap of faith Ive ever taken. More terrifying than moving to New York at age 22, relocating to Mexico at age 30 or buying a house by myself. Over the years, Ive interviewed celebrities who have adopted children. The late designer Oscar de la Renta was teary when he talked about his love for his son, whom he adopted from a Dominican Republic orphanage. . Diane Keaton shared that at age 50, she had adopted her first child, the second child a few years later. Ive always known that if I had the chance to adopt, I would. I was approved to foster several times during the past decade, but fear stopped me from going through with it each time. A fear of parenting by myself combined with a tinge of worry that I might not get it right. In 2019, just before I set sail on Oprahs Girlfriends cruise for a dream assignment, I told myself, Either Im going to do this or let this dream go. When I got back, I got the call that a little girl would be placed with me. A few months later, her little brother came. Now Im living single with kids and dogs during a pandemic. I didnt see that coming. Villalobos days, like mine, are filled with video conference calls as her son works on his school assignments right beside her. I have to work in a lot of breaks for him. I also have to remind myself to have compassion because we are trying to survive and get through this, she said. Running, along with virtual sessions with her therapist, has helped her cope, she said. Ive found a peaceful escape painting my wood fence a rainbow of colors and listening to books on Audible.com after the children have gone to sleep. I shared a photo with friends of my pile of laundry spilling out of the hamper. I had reached a breaking point. Thankfully, theres a common language among moms. They understand the signs for help like smoke signals you dont even know youre sending. Within an hour, a friend showed up at my door with her face mask and gloves on to pick up my laundry. She returned several hours later, the childrens clothes and sheets neatly folded in a large Zip-loc bag. Tears poured from my soul. The last year has been much like that women showing up at my doorstep with food, diapers, clothes, toys, gift cards and hugs. Theyve sent texts of support and love. Theyve showered my children with a deep sense of extended family. Most of all, theyve known what I needed even before I knew what to ask for. My mom, who has declared that she wont babysit before noon because shes earned that right, has shown up many days to put the children to bed and read them countless bedtime stories. Villalobos aunt, Maribel Cerritos, has been her anchor to help care for her son when she has to go to the office or for a much-needed run. I dont see an end to this, and it worries me, Villalobos said. I had one breaking point a few weeks into this. I was stressed out with Gaels schoolwork because there are three or four apps he has to use. I just wanted to cry. I told him I need a little space to get myself together. I have to remind myself I need that grace and self-care. Now after nearly two months of working at home, Im trying not to stress over the piles of dirty clothes, no matter how large they get. Ive learned to be clear with my words that the kitchen isnt open like a buffet on a cruise ship. Ive realized that kids just want a Band-Aid even when theres no real boo-boo. Ive also learned that parenting 24 hours a day is intense. There will be drama and tears, but there also will be laughs and hugs. The hugs are the best. Thats why Mothers Day for me is so special. Because there is a village of women those with and without children who will swoop in to hold your child when you are at your breaking point, clean your kitchen, do your laundry, pray with you and just offer words of comfort. They know what its like. They speak the language of mothering. Happy Mothers Day. joy.sewing@chron.com Aer Lingus-owner IAG said that chief executive Willie Walsh would stay on until September to steer it through the coronavirus crisis, and that it was planning for flights to return to service in July. Walsh had been planning to retire in March but would now leave on September 24, the group said, when Luis Gallego will succeed him. IAG said on Thursday that it was planning for flights to restart in July and that passenger capacity would be about 50% lower, adding that the return was subject to the easing of lockdowns and travel restrictions. The coronavirus pandemic has halted most flights, leaving airlines across the world battling to cut costs, shed jobs and shrink their operations to try to ride out a travel slump which is expected to last years. IAG, which also owns British Airways and Vueling in Spain, warned that passenger demand would not return to previous levels until 2023, and as such it would seek to defer deliveries of 68 aircraft. That adds to steps it announced last week to try to cope with the crisis, when it said that it would seek to cut up to 12,000 jobs, or over a quarter of staff at its biggest airline British Airways. "Group-wide restructuring is essential in order to get through the crisis and preserve an adequate level of liquidity. We intend to come out of the crisis as a stronger group," Walsh said in a statement. The group said on Thursday that it had 10 billion euros ($10.8 billion) of liquidity available to it at the end of April, making it one of the financially strongest airlines in Europe. IAG said that part of the additional liquidity had come from accessing 300 million pounds from Britain's Coronavirus Corporate Finance Facility. The crisis has forced some airlines, such as competitors Air France-KLM and Lufthansa to seek government bailouts. IAG, however, said that while it was using general facilities such as state-backed loans and furlough schemes, it had no need to ask for a specific government rescue. "A bailout is financial assistance to a failing business, we're not a failing business so we're not looking for a bailout. I've been very clear that state aid which is made on a general basis, if it's applicable to us and we can avail of it ... then we will do so," Walsh told reporters on a call. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie If there had been no advance warning that the elderly would be more badly hit by Covid-19, then the devastation which has overwhelmed care homes across Northern Ireland as a result of the coronavirus crisis might have been forgivable. File image posed by model If there had been no advance warning that the elderly would be more badly hit by Covid-19, then the devastation which has overwhelmed care homes across Northern Ireland as a result of the coronavirus crisis might have been forgivable. As it was, the air was heavy with the sound of alarm bells. Northern Ireland was behind the curve compared to other parts of Europe. The first death from Covid-19 was not reported here until March 19. On that day alone, 427 people died in Italy, and it was already being reported, horrifically, that over 80s could be "left to die" because of pressure on hospitals. There could have been no doubt looking at those figures that they were a glimpse into Northern Ireland's immediate future. First Minister Arlene Foster seemed to recognise as such by pledging, after that first death, to "shield those most vulnerable from the effects of this virus". Rather than being spurred into action, what followed was a collective outbreak of... how would you describe it? Panic? Complacency? Burying of heads in the sand? Whatever the reason, delay was inexplicable. There are still many mysterious things about this particular coronavirus, but two things were known from the start. The first is that old people, in contrast to some previous pandemics, were most likely to die. The second is that the virus was highly infectious and rapidly produced dangerous clusters. Put together those different factors, and it was obvious that care homes would be in the eye of the storm. As the director of one American nursing home put it bluntly: "A number of people with multiple illnesses, living very closely. Viruses love that." At the least, personal protective equipment (PPE) should have been earmarked for them as a priority. Instead, it took too long to provide staff with what they needed, and the result has been that the number dying in care homes in Northern Ireland in the four weeks up to April 19 was 68% higher than the previous four weeks. Only now does deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill come out and say that the "battle is now in our care homes". It always was. It would be unfair to suggest there were easy answers. Authorities cannot distribute what they do not have, and there was a severe shortage of PPE for all health workers for weeks. But care homes should have been further up the queue when equipment became available, and the authorities were too slow to redeploy NHS staff when, despite original fears, hospitals were mercifully not overwhelmed by the surge. Both those decisions undoubtedly led to unnecessary deaths, and not only in Northern Ireland. The same tragedy has played out south of the border as well. It is too easy to shrug and say that the victims were old anyway, or had underlying health conditions which would have exacerbated their risk of death whatever precautions were taken. The average age of victims of Covid-19 is over 80. That means they were born in the 1930s or even earlier. They have endured huge economic hardship for most of Northern Ireland's history. Their entire adult lives were overshadowed by the Troubles. Now their lives have been snatched away. It is not for anyone to decide that, just because they have had their allotted three score years and 10, they did not have more living to do, or that their avoidable deaths are any less tragic. Shockingly, these dismissive attitudes towards the elderly seems to be getting worse rather than better. A study last year found that ageism was now the most common form of prejudice; and what makes it more heartbreaking is that it can lead many older people themselves to feel they should not make a fuss. Despite staring death in the face during this crisis, polls show they actually want younger people to be given the chance to get back to normality, even at the risk to themselves. Their selflessness is still not properly recognised. It used to be that the elderly were valued for their wisdom, or for the contribution they had made to the country during their lives. Now they are increasingly regarded as a nuisance or hindrance. That could actually be a contributory factor to the death toll. Many parts of the developing world have been less badly hit by Covid-19, despite being poorer and with threadbare healthcare systems. One reason which has been suggested for why that might be the case is because elderly relatives live at home with their families. Those who place their parents in a nursing home are simply trying to do their best in trying circumstances, juggling their responsibilities as children, parents, workers. It is never easy. Care homes also do a tireless job of looking after the vulnerable. But if nothing else, the terrible toll this virus has exacted should lead to an urgent rethink in how we see older people as a burden on society, rather than an asset. Uttarakhand BJP on Thursday termed as ridiculous offer made by the Congress to reimburse the travel expenses of migrant workers returning to the state, saying the question does not arise as they are not being charged for the journey. "The Centre and the state government are together bearing the costs of bringing back the migrants. The Congress's offer of reimbursing their expenses is therefore ridiculous," Pradesh BJP Vice President Devendra Bhasin said. The Centre is bearing 85 per cent of the expenses and the rest is being taken care of by the state government. The Congressstatement is meant onlyto delude people, he said Congress president Sonia Gandhi had recently announced that the party will reimburse the travel expenses of migrants returning to their home states from different parts of the country. Congress incharge for Uttarakhand Anugrah Narayan Singh had said on Wednesday that a list of migrants returning to the state is being prepared by the party to reimburse their travel expenses. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A high level of Ukraine's representation in the Trilateral Contact Group should demonstrate to the world the country's serious commitment to the implementation of the Minsk agreements, and it will remain in place even if Russia makes no steps on its part. Head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak told this to reporters on Thursday, May 7, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. "The decision has been made to increase Ukraine's representation in the TCG. I believe that with this step Ukraine once again demonstrates the seriousness of its intentions to implement the Minsk agreements. We want to move forward and not to waste time. Today we are showing the world and, in particular, Russia that Ukraine is doing everything in its power to fulfill the Minsk agreements without crossing our 'red lines.' If there are no retaliatory steps, we will continue to work in the same format," Yermak said. He reiterated that the parties to the TCG are Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE, "there are no other parties in the TCG - there are invited people." At the same time, Yermak noted that the initiatives of the Ukrainian side are not a "100 percent panacea," but "this is our sovereign right." "We think we need it and our position will be proactive. Ukraine will be the initiator. Ukraine will be the dominant party in all further negotiations. No one will wait anymore. The war is going on in our territory, our people are dying. That's why today we will take a dominant position," Yermak said. On May 5, President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed the composition of the Ukrainian delegation for participation in the Trilateral Contact Group for the Peaceful Settlement of the Situation in Donetsk and Luhansk Regions. The Ukrainian delegation to the TCG is headed by Leonid Kuchma, the president of Ukraine in 1994-2005. The delegation also includes Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov (first deputy head of the delegation), Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation, MP Oleksandr Merezhko (deputy head of the delegation), Deputy Minister for Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture Yulia Svyrydenko (Ukraine's representative in the working subgroup on socio-economic issues), Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy, and MP Andriy Kostin (Ukraine's representative in the working subgroup on political issues). In addition, the delegation includes Deputy Defense Minister Oleksandr Polishchuk (Ukraine's representative in the working subgroup on security issues), Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights, and MP Halyna Tretiakova (Ukraine's representative in the working subgroup on humanitarian issues). op - The actor took to his social media pages to congratulate his son for graduating from a respected American university - TUKO.co.ke has learnt that Arnold's son graduated online due to the coronavirus pandemic - Many people including Arnold's fans camped on the comments section of his post to laud him for raising a smart kid It is every parent's dream to see their children excel in whatever field they put their interests in. While most parents enjoy or should we say thank God immensely when their children get their dream jobs, their greatest joy and satisfaction is derived from their offsprings' academic excellence. READ ALSO: 9 Kenyan celebrity marriages that weathered storms to become inspiration to many READ ALSO: Rayvanny leaves fans in suspense after deleting all IG posts months after rumoured breakup Revered Hollywood action actor Arnold Schwarzenegger knows this perfectly well, especially after his beloved son, Joseph Christopher Baena graduated from a top American university. TUKO.co.ke has learnt ''The Terminator'' 's son, Baena graduated from the prestigious University of Michigan just recently. It should be noted the actor's graduation was done online due to the dreaded coronavirus. To celebrate one of his son's greatest moment on earth, the revered actor took to social media and shared a photo of Baena in a cap and gown holding an I Did It trophy followed by a sweet and encouraging caption. READ ALSO: Grandpa Dynamics boss Refigah sells wife's Mercedes Benz worth KSh 2.6M to feed Kibra residents during pandemic READ ALSO: Seneta Murkomen aanika picha zake zenye mahaba tele kwa mkewe ''Christopher, you are a champion and I love you. I know your graduation from Michigan was not the big celebration you dreamed about for years, but walking across a stage is not what makes me so proud of you: it is your compassion, your hard work, your vision, your critical thinking, and your selflessness that make me burst with pride. I cannot wait to watch you keep climbing and succeeding,'' the 72-year-old actor wrote on Instagram Monday, May 4. ''Commando'' moved many of his followers with his touching post and congratulating him on end they did, for his effort to raise such a hardworking and smart son. Chris is Arnold's third child and has always been a very private personality. The 38th Governor of California, US led the state from 2003 all the way to 2011. 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. Where is our son? Our only child after six miscarriages is missing, help us find him Source: TUKO.co.ke Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Laurie Goering (Reuters) London, United Kingdom Thu, May 7, 2020 08:06 622 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd66bff7 2 Environment climate,climate-change,climate-crisis,Youth,environment,Greta-Thunberg,human-rights Free Young people face a "fundamentally altered world" that threatens their human rights and safety unless governments take effective action to curb climate change, lawyers for Greta Thunberg and other child climate activists said on Tuesday. The arguments came in a filing after Brazil, France and Germany - three respondents in a legal complaint brought in September to the Committee on the Rights of the Child at the United Nations - said charges against them lacked jurisdiction and were unsubstantiated. The young people's complaint accuses Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany and Turkey - all substantial emitters of planet-heating gases - of knowing about the impact of their greenhouse gas emissions on the climate and doing nothing to mitigate it. Such a failure represents a "direct, imminent and foreseeable risk to (the) health and well-being" of the young plaintiffs, the suit noted. Thunberg and 15 other petitioners from 12 countries, aged between eight and 17, filed the lawsuit in New York last year, saying the polluting countries were undermining their rights. "World leaders have failed to keep what they promised. They promised to protect our rights and they have not done that," Thunberg said then, as the petitioners presented their case on the sidelines of the UN Secretary-General's climate summit. Michael Hausfeld, one of their lawyers, said the response by Brazil, France and Germany argued in part that no one nation was exclusively responsible for climate change, so no single country should be held individually responsible. Read also: Young people take to the streets for climate: Who are they? But the countries named provided no "justifiable explanation of why they're failing" to reduce their own emissions in line with warnings from scientists about global warming, he said. He said bringing a legal challenge on human rights grounds was the "correct" way to try to drive swifter emissions cuts, nothing "there are rights and obligations involved" under international child protection agreements. "This is not a matter of discretion that nations can ignore as they so choose. This is a matter of an obligation to which they are accountable," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview. Hausfeld said the Committee on the Rights of the Child would now consider whether to uphold the objections of Brazil, France and Germany and dismiss the lawsuit, or move ahead and ask for a full briefing on the issues. A decision is possible later in the year, the lawyers said. Argentina and Turkey, the other two countries named in the complaint, have yet to submit a response. The world's biggest emitters of climate-changing gases, China and the United States, are not among the 46 countries that have signed a protocol allowing children to seek redress under the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. Who doesn't know the Bad Man? Gulshan Grover earned that nickname because he has majorly played villainous roles in his movies. He is hailed as the ultimate villain of Bollywood who has done about 400 movies in his career so far. Today, he is a name that almost every cinema lover knows. He credits his success to his dear friend Rishi Kapoor who helped him bag many roles in the industry. Twitter Paying a heartfelt tribute to Kapoor, he said the late actor helped him get validation and work in the industry. "I have been a younger friend to Rishi ji. It is like a personal loss for me," the actor told Times of India in an interview. Twitter Remembering the old days when they worked together, Grover said that he was intimidated by Rishi Kapoor when he met him for the first time. "I worked with him when I was new in the industry. I did a film titled, Hawalaat which starred Rishi Kapoor along with Mithun Chakraborty and Shatrughan Sinha. I knew Mithun Chakraborty from my acting institute days... I did not know Rishi Kapoor at all. I was quite intimidated." Twitter "However, after having seen me during the shooting and afterwards, he came out and started praising me in front of everybody by saying that I am very hard working. He helped me get validation in the industry and eventually more work. From there, I went on to do many films, all thanks to him. He was always very warm and affectionate towards me. He also helped me and guided me through my journey. I was an outsider, I did not belong to this industry. I was a commoner. He made me feel at home." Twitter Recently, Kareena Kapoor posted an old photo of her uncle with her parents Randhir Kapoor and Babita. Music composer RD Burman is also a part of the old picture. Rishi Kapoor passed away after losing battle to leukaemia. He was first diagnosed with cancer in 2018. A man suffered minor burn injuries while he was extinguishing a fire that broke out from a small LPG cylinder in Okhla Phase-1 here on Thursday morning, Delhi Fire Services (DFS) officials said. The incident took place at the Mazdoor Kalyan Camp, they said. The DFS said a call was received at 9.32 am about the fire after which six fire tenders were sent to the spot. The fire was from a small LPG cylinder kept in a hut and one man suffered minor burn injuries on his hands while extinguishing it, a senior fire official said. The fire was brought under control within minutes, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Credit: CC0 Public Domain Several years ago, a student walked into Ilya A. Strebulaev's office to share a sad tale. Before attending Stanford Graduate School of Business, she'd worked for a successful venture-backed startup. She owned thousands of stock options that, she'd been led to assume, were worth $50,000. Instead, when the company went public, she got nothing. Strebulaev, a finance professor, saw other students in his venture capital courses make the same mistake when sizing up offers from prospective employers. They often used reported but unconfirmed valuations for startups to estimate the value of non-cash compensation, such as restricted stock and options. Many of these companies are so-called unicorns, with reported values exceeding $1 billion. "I knew early on that they were not making decisions based on actual fair value, but it wasn't sufficient just to say, "You can't use those numbers.'" Strebulaev recalls. "I had to come up with something they could use." In February, Strebulaev did just that. Along with Will Gornall, an assistant professor of finance at the University of British Columbia, he released a free online calculator to help employees estimate how much their holdings are really worth. Inflated Valuations Job hunters, investors, journalists, and others can also use the tool to gauge the true value of around 130 startups. At least one venture capitalist is employing it to help set compensation, Strebulaev says. In some cases, the startups' reported value and actual value are off by hundreds of millions of dollars. For instance, Postmates, the on-demand delivery service, was worth $1.7 billion as of its last financing round in January 2019, not the $1.9 billion reported, according to Strebulaev's calculator. Airbnb had a fair value of $27.6 billion during its last funding round in 2017, rather than the reported $30 billion. And of course, any shareholder who wonders how their holdings have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic can use the calculator to assess the current worth of their equity. Strebulaev says using reported valuations can mislead employees, because those figures are based on the preferred stock that more recent investors get, not the common shares issued to employees. Preferred shares are typically worth more, since they often come with perks, such as guaranteed returns when companies go public and priority over other investors in the case of liquidation. In many cases, workers at secretive startups don't have even basic information about their employers' finances or ownership structure, Strebulaev says. Winning Ticket or Worthless Paper? That can leave them guessing about how much their compensation is worth. "If you ask the startup CEO, she tells you they are winning lottery tickets. If you ask your grandmother, she tells you they are worthless," the calculator website notes. "A non-trivial fraction of these employees' wealth is in their options and stock, and a lot of financial decisions, like saving for retirement or buying a house, are based on their estimates of how valuable they are," Strebulaev says. "They typically think they're worth more, and thus they make a lot of costly mistakes." To build the calculator, Strebulaev and Gornall used a valuation model they developed several years ago to appraise 135 venture-backed billion-dollar unicorns. Their research, recently published in the Journal of Financial Economics, found that the companies' reported valuations were 48% higher, on average, than their true worth. Sixty-five of the unicornsnearly half of themwere actually worth less than $1 billion, they concluded. The calculator, a side project for the professors, applies the valuation model to data from startups' corporate charters. Those are the legal documents filed with secretaries of state and are typically amended during financing rounds. The researchers' framework assumes that the companies are "typical" venture-backed startups. Those that have concrete plans to go public in the next year or have seen their valuations drop during a recent financing round may not fit the bill. "Our data is not perfect, but it's better than most outsiders or even insiders have," Strebulaev says. Daily Updates The calculator website points out that, while the tool gives a fair estimate, the value of stock is partly subjective. Shares and options may be worth less to those who are uncomfortable with risk, need the money soon, or are likely to leave the startup early. After getting several requests, Strebulaev and Gornall also added a tool, updated daily, for valuing options and restricted stock units at public companies. While short-term options are traded at clear prices, employees had no reliable way to appraise the longer-term securities they own. "In an unprecedented situation like we have now, where stock prices go up and down dramatically every day, people are increasingly interested in what their options are worth," Strebulaev says. Employees and investors who know details about financing for private companies not listed in the tool can use the calculator to value those shares (Strebulaev says no data is recorded or tracked). Users can also request to add other companies to the databaseeventually, Strebulaev hopes to include several hundred. "My biggest hope is that people will become more savvy and better informed when they make financial and life decisions," he says. Explore further Field experiment uses fake emails to measure gender and racial bias among startup investors More information: Will Gornall et al. Squaring venture capital valuations with reality, Journal of Financial Economics (2019). Journal information: Journal of Financial Economics Will Gornall et al. Squaring venture capital valuations with reality,(2019). DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2018.04.015 A long-haul trucker from Iowa has been arrested after authorities say they linked his DNA to the killings of three women whose bodies were dumped in Wyoming and Tennessee in the early 1990s. Police arrested Clark Perry Baldwin, 58, at his home in Waterloo, Iowa, on murder charges filed in Wyoming and Tennessee in the deaths of the women, including two who were pregnant. Investigators said they were looking into whether Baldwin could be responsible for other unsolved slayings. Baldwin was arrested after investigators used semen and other material recovered from the victims to develop DNA profiles of their perpetrators, according to court documents in Wyoming. Last year, they learned that the same profile matched all three cases. Investigators zeroed in on Baldwin after finding DNA in commercial genealogy databases of someone related to the suspect's profile, court documents say. Last month in Waterloo, the FBI secretly collected DNA from Baldwins trash and a shopping cart he used at Walmart and it matched the profile. Police arrested Clark Perry Baldwin, 58, at his home in Waterloo, Iowa, on murder charges filed in Wyoming and Tennessee in the deaths of the women, including two who were pregnant Two of the victims who were found slain in Wyoming were never identified by investigators. In Tennessee, Baldwin is charged with two counts of murder in the 1991 killing of a 32-year-old pregnant woman from Virginia, Pamela McCall (pictured), and her fetus Two of the victims who were found slain in Wyoming were never identified by investigators. In Tennessee, Baldwin is charged with two counts of murder in the 1991 killing of a 32-year-old pregnant woman from Virginia, Pamela McCall, and her fetus. In Wyoming, Baldwin is charged in the deaths of the two unidentified women, whose bodies were found in 1992 roughly 400 miles apart. A female trucker discovered the nude body of the first victim in March 1992 near the Bitter Creek Truck turnout on Interstate 80 in southwestern Wyoming. An autopsy determined the woman suffered head trauma consistent with strangulation and her body had likely been in the snow for weeks. A month later, Wyoming Department of Transportation workers found the partially mummified body of a pregnant woman in a ditch off of Interstate 90, near Sheridan in northern Wyoming. An autopsy didn't determine the cause of death but found the victim had an injury potentially consistent with suffering a blow to the head. Investigators never identified the women and referred to them as 'Bitter Creek Betty' and 'I-90 Jane Doe.' Both were believed to be in their late teens or early 20s, Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Cmdr. Matt Waldock said. McCall was found in woods off Interstate 65 in Spring Hill, Tennessee in March 1991. Investigators never identified the women slain in Wyoming and referred to them as 'Bitter Creek Betty' and 'I-90 Jane Doe,' based on where they were found. Both were believed to be in their late teens or early 20s, according to the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation An autopsy determined McCall had neck injuries and died of strangulation. Sperm was recovered from pantyhose worn by McCall, who was last seen at a Tennessee truck stop days earlier. Court documents say that Baldwin allegedly raped a female hitchhiker in Wheeler County, Texas, at gunpoint in his truck in 1991. The 21-year-old woman told police that Baldwin struck her on the head, bound her hands and mouth and tried to choke her to death. He allegedly admitted to the assault but was released pending grand jury proceedings. Court documents do not indicate whether he was charged or prosecuted. Baldwin, who has previously lived in Nashua, Iowa, and Springfield, Missouri, was a cross-country truck driver for Marten Transport at the time. Baldwin's name also surfaced during a 1992 homicide investigation in Iowa. His ex-wife told police then that Baldwin once bragged about 'killing a girl out west by strangulation and throwing her out of his truck,' court documents say. Waldock said investigators were 'hopeful' to solve other cases with Baldwin's arrest. One case of interest is the 1992 death of Tammy Jo Zywicki, 21, an Iowa college student who was last seen after her car broke down on an Illinois highway. A white man who was driving a semi-trailer was seen near her vehicle. Zywickis body was found in rural Missouri, stabbed to death. Waldock said investigators were 'hopeful' to solve other cases with Baldwin's arrest. Cases of interest include the 1992 deaths of Iowa college student Tammy Jo Zywicki (left), 21 and the killing of Rhonda Knutson, 22, a truck stop convenience store clerk in northern Iowa (right) Another is the 1992 killing of Rhonda Knutson, 22, a truck stop convenience store clerk in northern Iowa who was bludgeoned to death during an overnight shift. Investigators have released sketches of two men who were in the store, including one trucker. Baldwin lived in nearby Nashua then. In 1997, Secret Service agents raided Baldwins apartment in Springfield, Missouri, after learning he was making counterfeit US currency on a personal computer. He and two female associates were indicted on counterfeiting charges. Baldwin was sentenced to 18 months in prison and released in 1999. In 2008, a fire destroyed a Nashua building where Baldwin operated a candle business and damaged two adjacent buildings, including one that housed the town's newspaper. The cause of the fire was never determined. Baldwin is being held at the Black Hawk County jail pending extradition proceedings to Tennessee. The charges stunned Jazz Baldwin, 32, of New Hampton, Iowa, who said she learned two years ago that Baldwin was her father after he purchased a DNA test kit. The two had been in contact over Facebook since then, she said. 'I heard rumors about his `possible crimes but always thought they were bogus,' she wrote in a Facebook message. 'Murder was NOT on the list of things we thought he had done and gotten away with.' Caracas, May 7 : Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said that two former members of US special forces captured in a failed attempt to topple him will be tried in the South American country. On Wednesday, Maduro said the two Americans will be judged by the attorney general and the country's civil courts, reports Xinhua news agency. On Monday, the President confirmed that authorities had arrested two US citizens, named Luke Denman and Airan Berr, among a group of "mercenaries" who launched an armed incursion on Sunday in the port of La Guaira, 30 km north of the capital Caracas. Venezuelan state television on Wednesday showed the passports of the two people, who were accused of trying to topple Maduro in an alleged plot backed by the US. The US army has confirmed that Denman, 34, and Berry, 41, were former members of the Green Berets who served in Iraq. US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his government had nothing to do with the operation, while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it would "use every tool that we have available to try to get them back". LG Polymers India, the company behind the deadly styrene gas leak in Visakhapatnam that left at least nine dead and hundreds hospitalised, is a subsidiary of leading South Korean chemical firm LG Chem that had entered India in 1997 through the acquisition of a local company. The Vizag plant manufactures polystyrene (PS) that finds wide utility in the food-service industry as rigid trays and containers, disposable utensils, and foamed cups, plates and bowls. The company, according to its website, was established in 1961 as 'Hindustan Polymers' by the Shriram Group for manufacturing PS and its co-polymers at Visakhapatnam. It got merged with MC Dowell & Co Ltd of UB Group in 1978. Considering India as an important market for its aggressive global growth plans, LG Chem in July 1997 acquired Hindustan Polymers and renamed it as LG Polymers India Pvt Ltd (LGPI) in July 1997. The factory recorded 222.8 billion won (USD 181.8 million) in revenue and 6.3 billion won in net profit last year. In terms of sales, the parent company LG Chem was the 10th largest chemical company in the world in 2017. LGPI's Visakhapatnam factory was being prepared to reopen on Thursday after the lockdown when the accident took place. Company workers were preparing to restart the operation when the gas started to leak in the early hours. As much as 1,800 tonnes of styrene is said to have been in the storage tank when the leakage happened. Due to stagnation and changes in temperature, styrene could have resulted in auto polymerisation that could have caused vapourisation. Styrene gas is a flammable liquid that is used to make polystyrene plastics, fiberglass, rubber, and latex. The accident at the Visakhapatnam factory raised questions on the improper maintenance of chemicals in the industry and reminded of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, the world's worst industrial disasters. "LG Chemical has a very strong presence in Styrenics business in South Korea and has plans to establish an equally strong presence in the Indian market by the current product range of PS and EPS," the company says on its website. "Presently, LGPI is one of the leading manufacturers of polystyrene and expandable polystyrene in India. LGPI in true LG tradition is committed to excellence in product quality, service, and enriching customers through added value. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Wellington: After much equivocation and despite criticism from China, New Zealand has signed up to a push championed by the United States and Australia to return Taiwan to the World Health Organisation. On Thursday, Foreign Minster Winston Peters called Taiwan the "standout world success story on COVID-19". New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters. Credit:Getty Images "Our position is to join a number of countries in seeking to get them put back on the WHO as an observer, when they were in 2016," he said. "They have got something to teach the rest of the world, and every country including China must surely want to know the secret of the success." Despite mounting worker opposition to returning to work amid the raging COVID-19 pandemic, Quebec Premier Francois Legault is determined that non-essential businesses and all elementary schools and daycare centres will be reopened in Canadas second most populous province by May 19. This premature lifting of lockdown measures will result in countless new cases of COVID-19, and potentially tens of thousands of preventable deaths. Like the Trump administration in the US and Europes governments, Quebecs CAQ (Coalition Avenir Quebec) government is enforcing the demands of the financial and corporate elite. Big business is determined the economy be restarted forthwith, so they can intensify profit extraction from the working class and make it pay for the trillions of dollars governments have gifted investors throughout bailout packages. Although several provincial governments have decided to postpone the reopening of schools until next September, all are following Quebecs lead in reopening non-essential businesses and relaxing social distancing measures. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal Liberal government, meanwhile, are providing much needed political cover for this reckless back-to-work drive. Trudeau has greenlighted the provinces actions and praised them for acting prudently and according to the best scientific advice, even as they make a mockery of Ottawas own, far from exacting, reopening guidelines. The Legault government is well aware that the return to work will cost human lives. This was tacitly admitted by Dr. Horacio Arruda, Quebecs Director of Public Health and Legaults accomplice in the back-to-work drive, when he said that lifting the lockdown is a risky bet and that he hopes not too many people will die. Warmly welcomed by employer organizations, the premature reopening of schools and of some of the provinces most lucrative sectorsmanufacturing, construction, civil engineering and retailhas exposed the Legault government as a ruthless servant of big business. At a time when ordinary people are furious to see profit being put before human life, the entire Quebec establishment, from the right-wing Journal de Montreal to the pseudo-left Quebec Solidaire, has rallied behind Legaults criminal return-to-work policy. They are also providing him with advice and cover to deflect popular anger. Mathieu Bock-Cote, a far-right columnist with the Journal de Montrealthe pro-CAQ daily newspaper owned by telecommunications magnate and former Parti Quebecois leader Pierre-Karl Peladeauhad to acknowledge, in a worried tone, the broad popular opposition to lifting the lockdown measures. The operation is not being carried out in the same way everywhere and requires a great deal of skill, he wrote. And as weve seen since Monday, it arouses a great deal of skepticism, and a certain amount of protest from both teachers and parents. Editorialists and columnists at the provinces other main newspapersthe pro-Quebec Liberal Party La Presse and the pro-Quebec independence Le Devoir have been working full time trying to bamboozle the public into going along with the return to work. Unsurprisingly, the Liberals and the Parti Quebecoisthe parties that from 1970 to 2018 alternated as Quebecs government and for decades have imposed austerity, including by bleeding the public health care system dryhave effectively endorsed the CAQs plans. They have raised only minor reservations about its application in order to give themselves some political cover. The most pernicious role in legitimizing the forced return to work, however, is being played by Quebec Solidaire (QS). It has offered its full cooperation to the CAQ from the beginning of the health emergency, which it sees as an opportunity to integrate itself further into the political establishment. On May Day, QS co-spokesperson and former student leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois urged Legault to act as the workers advocate and protector against big business. He requested the premier guarantee a right of withdrawal for health reasons to all employees whose health is at risk. In so doing, Nadeau-Dubois is calling on workers to leave their fate in the hands of a former multi-millionaire CEO; one moreover, who has built his entire political career on championing the dismantling and privatization of public services and massive tax cuts for big business and the rich. A Facebook comment by Christine Labrie, another one of the ten QS MNAs (members of the National Assembly), illustrates how this petty-bourgeois party fully endorses the anti-worker policies of the Legault government and the entire ruling elite. I am relieved for the entrepreneurs who will soon be able to resume their activities, and also for the children for whom staying at home was not easy, Labrie wrote. I sincerely hope that the measures taken since the beginning and those announced this week will be effective, that the top of the curve is behind us, and that we will soon be able to relax the distancing measures for everyone. Labrie is repeating here a whole series of lies put forward by the CAQ and the corporate media to justify their back-to-work campaign. These include the claim that the vast majority of children are suffering mentally from the lockdown and that a return to school, where they will be threatened with infection and illness, is preferable to being confined to their homes. To begin with, the situation in Quebec is far from under control, Legaults incessant claims notwithstanding. The province accounts for more than half of the approximately 63,400 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada, and, with its 2,510 deaths, nearly 60 percent of Canadas 4,223 fatalities. In Montreal, the epicentre of the pandemic, outbreaks have occurred in several hospitals that are close to being overwhelmed. The situation is particularly critical at the Maisonneuve-Rosement Hospital in the citys east end, which no longer has enough beds to receive COVID-19 patients and has had to cancel surgeries. Meanwhile, in the working-class neighbourhoods of Montreal North and Park Extension, widespread community transmission is taking place. A return to work can only lead to an exponential increase in coronavirus cases. Social distancing and hygiene measures are virtually impossible to apply in factories crowded with workers, on construction sites where workers exchange tools, or in public transit where passengers are crowded up against each other. The government is promising to ensure health and safety measures in the workplace. But even in the provinces hospitals, long-term care facilities and senior residences, it has woefully failed in ensuring that front-line health care workers have proper personal protective equipment (PPE). School and daycare staff, who will be required to work with young children, are not being supplied with N-95 masks and other necessary protective gear. Workers who complain to state authorities about the unsafe working conditions will simply be ignored. This is underscored by a report from neighbouring Ontario, where out of 200 workplace safety complaints filed with the province since the onset of the pandemic, not one was upheld. Quebec Solidaire has come out in support of a big business government that is threatening to deny jobless benefits to any worker who fails to return to work out of fear of being infected by the deadly coronavirus. In a statement supported by Legault, Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet has said that workers should seize the opportunity to return to work because the CERB [Canada Emergency Response Benefit] is purely temporary and can and will be denied those who refuse to work without reasonable cause. As for the unions, they continue their treacherous role of suppressing any opposition to Legault, whom they have been promoting since his election in October 2018. Acting like an industrial police force for big business, the unions have assured the government that they will corral their members back to work. The Quebec Federation of Labor, the provinces largest labor federation, has welcomed Legaults reckless back-to-work campaign, calling it an economic recovery plan. The ruling elite wants to use the return to work to introduce a series of retrograde measures in labour relations, starting with wage and job cuts. But all over the world there is growing anger among the working class against the hasty reopening of the economy and the criminal neglect of capitalist governments. Workers must reject the false choice between a return to work that endangers their lives and those of their loved ones, or the loss of their livelihood and economic ruin. In all workplaces, they must build rank-and-file committees, independent of the pro-capitalist unions, to fight for the following demands: an immediate halt to all non-essential economic activity; full protection for health care workers and others in essential sectors; and the payment of full wages to all workers laid off or unable to work because of the pandemic. The ruling class and its political representatives will say that these demands are unrealistic and unrealizable. In fact, there are abundant resources to realize them, but they must be taken out of the hands of the capitalists through the struggle for a workers government and the socialist reorganization of socioeconomic life. Prosecutors demand probe into fake videos about man-made nature of coronavirus flickr.com/ Ivan Radic 17:23 07/05/2020 MOSCOW, May 7 (RAPSI) Moscow prosecutors seek to open a criminal case over publishing online videos containing fake information about the man-made nature of coronavirus (COVID-19), the press service of the citys prosecutors office reports. The check materials have been sent to investigation for taking decision on the prosecution, the statement reads. On Wednesday, prosecutors requested Russias communications watchdog Roskomnadzor to restrict access to the videos. According to the videos published on YouTube and Odnoklassniki social network, the infection was artificially created for chipping of people and establishing the global order. The fakes say that the virus is a modified biological weapon. However, World Health Organization, Russian government and other official bodies of the the Russian Federation did not confirm that the infection had been artificially created, the statement reads. A federal judge on Thursday mandated COVID-19 testing of detainees and staff at the Bristol County House of Correction. U.S. District Court Judge William Young ordered that Immigration and Customs Enforcement pay for testing, using the PCR tests that were approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Young initially said he required anyone who came in contact with a coronavirus case to be tested. He went on to say that all staff and immigrant detainees must be tested. I require that everyone be tested from the sheriff on down, anyone in the facility whose service, medical facility, guards, everyone be afforded to test at no cost to them, and certainly all the detainees be afforded a test at no cost to them, Young said during a Thursday morning hearing. Young read his order during a telephonic hearing for a preliminary injunction. He said a written order will follow, but that his order takes effect Thursday. I dont have any idea of the practical implications of instituting the widespread testing youre talking about, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Kanwit. I know you said it needs to be done as soon as possible. I dont know how else to respond to that because its such a novel idea. It was not immediately clear whether the mandate includes testing for prisoners who are not held in ICE custody. Before Youngs order, Kanwit argued he didnt believe the petitioners met the standard to convince the judge to stop the facility from admitting new detainees. An ICE Boston official said the agency is reviewing the judges ruling and will not comment on the order. Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson blasted Youngs decision, saying it flies in the face of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that do not require asymptomatic staff or detainees to be tested. In reaching his decision, the judge overlooked the fact that every employee is temperature screened and questioned every day before beginning work and that any one reporting COVID-like symptoms are isolated, tested and not allowed to return to work until cleared by a physician, Hodgson said in a statement, adding that the correctional staff sanitizes the facility three times a day and scrupulously enforces CDC recommended social distancing guidelines. Hodgson also noted that one ICE detainee has tested positive since the coronavirus pandemic. The 27-year-old Honduran national who contracted the virus was placed in restrictive housing, also known as administrative segregation, and is being monitored by health care workers, according to the Bristol County Sheriffs Office. Hodgson estimated about 600 people total would have to undergo testing. Young also ordered the facility, which has 82 immigrant detainees, to stop admitting new detainees to prevent crowding during the coronavirus pandemic. Fifty immigrant detainees have been released from the Dartmouth facility since the start of the class-action lawsuit, filed by Lawyers for Civil Rights and the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization at Yale Law School. Some of them have been voluntarily released by ICE, but others were released under Youngs orders. They argued the CDC guidelines do not mandate that prisons take steps to keep detainees 6 feet apart and lack other restrictions designed to limit the spread of COVID-19. Many of the detainees who joined the class-action lawsuit have pre-existing conditions and low-level charges. Some had no criminal charges. Young said the new provisions dont stop him from considering the release of any other detainees. Hodgson, who opposes the release of detainees, called the lawsuit an effort to undermine the federal immigration policies. These actions brought by activist groups and the decisions made by judges who have little understanding of the safeguards employed by prisons or believe the fabrications of detainees as to unsanitary conditions have encouraged unrest at the Bristol County facility by the detainees resulting in damage being done and officers lives being placed at risk, Hodgson said, arguing that most of those released have committed serious or violent crimes. As more detainees and inmates see violence as a ticket to be released from custody more officers and medical staffs will face danger every day on the job. After reading his order, Young said he was struck by how many of the detainees had minor criminal records compared to the prisoners involved in other cases he has adjudicated. I recognized I released on bail people who had pending charges, in every case the local authorities have been notified and in no case so far as this case is aware, have the local authorities taken those individuals into custody and at least so far as this board is aware and I know I will be forced to eat my words here but as we sit here today, I am unaware of any of the individuals I have released have violated the conditions of their bail, and that suggests to me that the policies which I recognize and which I must uphold may well be misguided, Young said. Young also expressed concerns about the governments opposition to releasing detainees throughout the class-action lawsuit, filed in Boston federal court on behalf of Bristol County detainees, and the lack of contact tracing at the jail after correction officers and a detainee tested positive. What did they do there? What sort of contact testing has there been? The record is silent," Young said. Attorneys filed the complaint in March on behalf of dozens of detainees calling for their release, alleging poor hygiene and crowded units in the Bristol County facility. According to court records, detainees beds are two or three feet apart, as opposed to the recommend six feet apart under guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Conroy Lewis, who has been held in Unit B for nine months, said the facility has not brought in any janitors or cleaners since detainees were made to stop cleaning the unit, according to court records filed this week. Lewis said he doesnt have enough room to stay six feet apart from other detainees. The correctional officers (COs) refuse to clean. They say thats not their job, Lewis declaration states. So the bathroom is very dirty. The shower doesnt get cleaned. The water doesnt get washed out. Nothing is cleaned between uses. The toilet seats are dirty. Lewis said there is no regular cleaning of door handles, telephones and other shared surfaces, much less cleaning after each use. Young expressed concerns about the conditions at the facility, though he acknowledged that the government attorneys had not yet filed a response. I am gravely concerned about the allegations and I take them as allegations as to the sanitation facilities available in this detention facility, Young said. Kanwit asked for more time to respond to a series of declarations filed by attorneys representing the detainees, but Young moved forward with his order. Hodgson said he will ask the Department of Justice to seek an emergency stay of the judges order and appeal the decision. Bristol County and ICE strongly believe that this judges order has far exceeded his authority and that his order directing staff to undergo invasive and unnecessary testing in order to keep their jobs in unconstitutional and plainly not right, Hodgson said. Bristol County House of Correction came under scrutiny after a May 1 incident involving immigrant detainees and correction officers. Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, who was at the scene, said he and his staff were violently rushed by detainees who refused testing. Advocates representing the detainees say they were pepper sprayed and assaulted by Hodgson and the correction officers. They also say the detainees wanted testing but did not want to leave the unit to get tested because they feared being exposed to COVID-19 in the process and ending up in solitary confinement. Related Content: But for all the former chaos wrought by factions vying to be king of the hill, most of the places appear quiet and rather unremarkable. Some, such as Limes Germanicus, the former site of a Roman wall on the Empires frontier in Germany, are now just trees and grass, recalling the Robert Frost line, Whose woods these are I think I know. Tara Reade, the woman who's accused Joe Biden of sexual assault, sat down with Megyn Kelly for her first major on-camera interview and included new details about the alleged incident - and said she wants to see Biden drop out of the presidential race. For the first time in the telling of her story to news organizations, Reade told Kelly that Biden 'said something vulgar' to her during the alleged assault, which Read said occurred when she was working for Biden in the U.S. Senate in 1993. 'He said I want to f*** you,' Reade told the former Fox News and NBC News anchor. Since March, Reade has told reporters that Biden pushed her up against a wall in a Capitol Hill hallway, told her that he 'heard' that she liked him, and proceeded to stick his hand down her skirt and digitally penetrate her. When she froze up and indicated that she wasn't interested, she consistently quoted him saying to her that she meant 'nothing' to him. Tara Reade said in a new interview with journalist Megyn Kelly that she hoped Joe Biden would drop out of the presidential race because he shouldn't be 'running on character' Megyn Kelly (right) teased an interview with Joe Biden's sexual assault accuser Tara Reade (left) on Thursday, which included these images of the two women In the telling with Kelly, she added the four-letter expletive. 'And he said it low. And I was pushing away and I remember my knee hurting because our knees, because he had opened my legs with his knee and our kneecaps clashed, so I felt this sharp pain,' Reade said. 'His fingers were inside of my private area, my vagina,' the ex-staffer added. In every telling of the story, Reade said Biden told her she 'was nothing' before walking away. 'I think that's the hardest thing,' she told Kelly. 'Those words stayed with me my whole life.' 'I remember small things,' the accuser continued. 'I remember trying to put my shoe back on because I came out of my shoe and I remember my knee hurting and I remember the smell.' She told Kelly that she wanted to say 'stop.' 'I thought it, I don't know if I said it,' she said. She also said she wanted Biden to end his presidential run and face the music. 'I want to say you and I were there, Joe Biden, please step forward and be held accountable, you should not be running on character for president of the United States,' Reade told Kelly, who had asked what her message was for Biden. Kelly followed up by asking Reade if she wanted Biden to withdraw from the presidential contest. 'I wish he would,' Reade answered. 'But he won't, but I wish he would, that's how I feel emotionally,' Reade said. She previously wrote on social media that Americans should support Bernie Sanders, Biden's former Democratic primary rival. She then told Kelly that an apology now wouldn't be sufficient. 'I think it's a little late,' Reade said. Reade revealed to Kelly that she had taken her complaint to both Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris' presidential campaigns when they were still active. 'I tried to reach out to them,' Reade said. 'I didn't get a response.' She said she chose Harris because as a Californian, the ex-2020 candidate is her senator. Reade also told Kelly that she would testify under oath and be cross examined, but she'd only take a polygraph test if the former vice president took one first. 'I'm not a criminal,' Reade said. 'Joe Biden should take the polygraph. What kind of precedent does that set for survivors of violence? Does that mean we're presumed guilty? And we all have to take polygraphs.' 'So I will take one if Joe Biden takes one, but I am not a criminal,' Reade added. Megyn Kelly, who currently works for herself and has been producing her own content and posting it on YouTube, said the interview was a 'riveting exchange,' though didn't give details on when she would be releasing footage Joe Biden denied Reade's accusations in his own sit-down interview, last Friday with 'Morning Joe' Tara Reade, who said she was sexually assaulted by the presumptive Democratic nominee as a Senate staffer in 1993, told The New York Times that major broadcast networks hadn't asked her to do a televised interview Kelly, formerly of Fox News Channel and NBC News, had announced earlier Thursday on Twitter that she had nabbed the first major sit-down with Reade, who previously complained about the big networks not giving her TV time. 'Her story & some tough Q's in a riveting exchange,' Kelly wrote. 'A ton of news coming ... ,' she said and included a photo of both she and Reade. Since leaving NBC News in January 2019, Kelly has worked for herself, posting interviews to her YouTube channel, and then promoting them on social media platforms. The first clip of the interview, which Kelly posted on Twitter late Thursday afternoon, began with Reade telling the former Fox anchor about harassment she's endured at the hands of so-called Biden 'surrogates.' 'It's been stunning, actually, how the - some of his surrogates, with the blue checks, that are his surrogates, have been saying really horrible things about me and to me on social media,' Reade said. 'He hasn't himself, but, there's a measure of hypocrisy with the campaign saying it's safe,' she continued. 'It's not been safe,' Reade said. 'All my social media has been hacked. All my personal information has been dragged through. Every person that maybe has, you know, a gripe against me, an ex-boyfriend or an ex-landlord, whatever it is, has been able to have a platform rather than me.' Late last month, Reade told The New York Times' media critic Ben Smith that no major networks had offered to put her on TV. 'They're just doing stories. No anchors, no nothing like that,' she said. At the time, Smith reported, Reade was in talks with Fox News Channel about doing an on-camera interview, with 'Fox News Sunday' with Chris Wallace looking to be the venue. Reade told The Times that she backed out due to getting death threats. A Fox News source told DailyMail.com that the network was en route to the interview and Reade canceled for security concerns. She brought the death threats up again Thursday in her sit-down with Kelly. 'I got a death threat from that because they thought I was being a traitor to America,' Reade said, pointing to some postings that branded her a Russian agent. 'And his campaign is taking this position that they want all women to be able to speak safely, I have not experienced that,' she added. Reade previously did an on-camera interview with Hill.TV, but when discussing media coverage with The Times, she was referencing major network television, saying she had hoped for a sit-down with someone like Gayle King, the host of 'CBS This Morning.' Reade has accused Biden of sticking his hand down her skirt and digitally penatrating her in a Congressional hallway when she worked for him as an aide in 1993. The allegations evolved from what Reade had told reporters in 2019 when a number of women came out and said Biden had touched them inappropriately, though not in a sexual way. Reade had previously claimed that Biden liked her legs and wanted her to waittress at a Capitol Hill cocktail party while she was on staff. Reade also complained that he was touchy-feely, putting his hands on her shoulders, neck and hair. 'This is not a story about sexual misconduct; it is a story about abuse of power,' she had told Vox reporter Laura McGann, who wrote about Reade's changing story in an essay Thursday. Reade first told her sex assault story to journalist Katie Halper for her 'Katie Halper Show' podcast on March 25. 'None of that means Reade is lying, but it leaves us in the limbo of Me Too: a story that may be true but that we cant prove,' McGann wrote. While a neighbor of Reade's recalls the ex-Senate staffer talking about an incident with Biden in the mid-90s, according to reporting from Business Insider, so far no official documentation has been produced. Reade has also said that the sex assault charges weren't included in any Senate complaint she said she made. Biden denied the allegations on-camera last Friday on 'Morning Joe,' which was his first television appearance pushing back on Reade's story. 'Im saying unequivocally, it never, never happened,' Biden said. Kelly was among the women at Fox News Channel who accused the late Fox News Channel CEO Roger Ailes of sexual harassment. Since leaving NBC News, Kelly's video report on how real life Fox News employees responded to the movie 'Bombshell,' a film where she's portrayed by Charlize Theron, was her most widely viewed piece of content, receiving 1.5 million hits on YouTube. Fatoumata is one of the first to get up in the darkness. It's 4:00 am and in the Malian capital of Bamako, the 18 members of the Sinaba family are gradually preparing to greet the day. The young woman, the mother of a small child, lights the fire to heat rice left over from the previous day before the start of the fasting. Her brother, Solo, in his 20s, grumbles. He eats in silence, his eyes glued to his portable phone and social media. Mahamadou, the family patriarch, shakes the late risers. "What's the time?" he asks the eldest son, Moussa. "Five o'clock. The muezzin will sound in just 12 minutes." Once the muezzin's call has resounded, 10 family members will have to wait until the end of the day to drink and eat again during the holy fasting month of Ramadan. The great-grandmother and the youngest children need not take part, under Islamic principles. During the day, the sun beats down and the faithful will have to deal with temperatures that can reach beyond 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). In Mali, more than 560 people have tested positive for COVID-19, of whom 27 have died, but hardly anyone mentions the coronavirus in the Sinaba household, as in many middle-class families. Nevertheless, activity at the ministry where Mahamadou Sinaba is a civil servant has been turned upside down. Other family members sell ice cream or are training to be electricians. Despite quarantine restrictions, the pandemic seems to be having only a minimal effect on day-to-day life in this country ravaged by strife and poverty. - 'Best time of day' - "There was death before the coronavirus. There will be death after it," Moussa Sinaba says philosophically on the way to the mosque. Unlike other countries, Mali has not shuttered its mosques, and religious gatherings at close quarters have led to angry debate. The sun rises slowly. Mahamadou Sinaba grabs his phone and goes to sit on a rock overlooking the Niger River, a few dozen metres (yards) from the house. With a faraway gaze, he listens in silence to a crackly radio broadcast while other old men from the district settle around him. The foreign news was full of tensions between China and US President Donald Trump, while the big story at home was the second round of long-delayed parliamentary elections held on April 19, despite the risks of jihadist violence, ethnic clashes and a pandemic. It was still early morning when a breeze came up. "This is the best time of the day," Mahamadou smiled. Behind him, two of his daughters are washing the dishes in the river and a couple of children brush their teeth, feet in the water. One constant in daily life is that the women of the household will get on with preparing meals. Everybody soon returns to the courtyard of the house. The mattresses the family used to sleep out of doors because of the stifling heat inside have been put away, along with the mosquito nets. Lethargy takes hold with the mounting heat, but women toil at the cooking and going to the market, which remains open despite the health crisis. The men are either at work or gathered in groups, for their endless discussions. - 'Family affair' - Mats and chairs are installed in the shade of a grand old tree in the centre of the courtyard. People who have not drifted off are chatting. "Our Ramadan is a family affair. From the great-grandmother to the baby, we're together," the patriarch says with pride. Loud cries punctuate the settled calm. In the time of coronavirus, Ramadan remains a time for the young ones, whose schools have been closed. Small kids race from courtyard to courtyard in their dozens, playing marbles and chasing each other. The notion of social distancing gains no traction here. "How could we manage that in our context?" asks Fatoumata Sinaba. "Coronavirus is something people talk about, but we haven't seen anybody with it in this district," adds Souda, Mahamadou Sinaba's wife. Souda objects to the curfew that prevents her from going out to sell braised fish in the evening. "That's the only impact of the corona I see around here," she smiles. - Sunset approaches - During prayers at 1:00 pm, the local mosque was packed, but in his family, Mahamadou Sinaba was the only one to wear a mask. "God is there for us," he declares, "but that doesn't prevent us from protecting ourselves!" Mostly stretched out on the floor, some men listened attentively to the preaching of the imam, while others dozed. By around 4:00 pm, people become itchy for sunset. Children flock to the river to play, splash and show off their somersaults. The air in the district lightens up and people break into smiles, knowing that their daylong fast will soon be over. At 6:45 pm, the family is ready in the courtyard. The dates have been pitted and glasses are filled with the juices of ginger and kinkeliba, a west African plant used in herbal tea and for a range of medicinal purposes. At 6:47 pm, the voice of the muezzin rings out. The hour has come and the family can begin iftar ? breaking the fast together. Fatoumata Sinaba rised at 4am to prepare her family for a day of fast before heading to the market to buy vegetables for the Iftar Mahamadou Sinaba is a civil servant at a ministry where life has been turned upside down by coronavirus In Mali the mosques have remained open during Ramadan leaving the faithful free to gather and read the Quran Rest is important during the holy month of Ramadan, even in the mosque With the schools closed, Malian children find other diversions like marbles to pass the time Malian children freshen up in the cool waters of the Niger River before breaking the fast Members of the Sinaba family sttle down for Iftar, the evening meal that breaks the fast after the sunset The United Nations on Thursday issued a new appeal for $4.7 billion in funding to protect millions of lives and stem the spread of coronavirus in fragile countries. The money is on top of the $2 billion the UN already called for when it launched its global humanitarian response plan on March 25. It has received about half of that money so far. The most devastating and destabilizing effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic will be felt in the worlds poorest countries, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock said in the statement. Unless we take action now, we should be prepared for a significant rise in conflict, hunger and poverty. The spectre of multiple famines looms, he warned. The full $6.7 billion is expected to cover costs of the humanitarian response plan until December. It prioritizes some 20 countries, including several in conflict such as Afghanistan and Syria. The new call for donations came as nine more countries were added to the list: Benin, Djibouti, Liberia, Mozambique, Pakistan, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Togo and Zimbabwe. The funds are to be used to buy medical equipment to test and treat the sick, provide hand-washing stations, launch information campaigns and establish humanitarian airlifts to Africa, Asia and Latin America, according to the UN. It also aims to develop new programs to better combat food insecurity that is growing as a result of the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Extraordinary measures are needed, Lowcock stressed. I urge donors to act in both solidarity and in self-interest and make their response proportionate to the scale of the problem we face, he added, warning of a long-term boomerang effect if poor countries are neglected by rich countries. Covid-19 infections are expected to peak in the worlds poorest countries in the next three to six months, according to UN estimates. BRIDGEPORT The city will be giving away up to 100,000 free facial masks to residents Saturday at five different distribution sites. Mayor Joseph Ganim said those seeking masks must show proof of residency which can be proven with a utility bill, a drivers license or some other person identification item showing a residence in the city. Mukhtar Ahmed, 106, a resident of Central Delhi's Nawabganj, has recovered from coronavirus and been discharged from Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital. Image used for representation. The centenarian was admitted in Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital on April 14 after been infected with the coronavirus. He was discharged on May 1. Dr B L Sherwal, Medical Director of the designated COVID-19 hospital, said, "Whenever a patient recovers it is a proud moment for us. However, this case, due to the age of Ahmed, is inspiring news for all of us." "Our doctors who were treating him had noticed his stern will to fight against the virus. It is the will that is important in the battle against coronavirus. Ahmed fought with the disease as bravely," he said. On being asked about Ahmed's immunity, Dr Sherwal said, "The recovery depends on whether one's body has a mild or severe coronavirus infection." "He has set an example that even people above hundred years can too fight coronavirus and emerge victoriously," he added. Ahmed got the infection from his son who is still undergoing treatment. However, Ahmed is now fit and is maintaining social distance from his family members, thus, obeying the prescribed instructions. The gas leak from a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam in which at least 11 people were killed and 1,000 affected on Thursday is one in a long list of industrial accidents resulting from poisonous gases seeping into the air. The December 1984 Bhopal tragedy in which more than than 3,000 people were killed when methyl isocyanate leaked out is the world's worst industrial disaster. Here are other gas leaks that made headlines in the last few years: IMAGE: Firefighters stand outside the LG Polymers industry after a major chemical gas leak in RR Venkatapuram village in Visakhapatnam. Photograph: PTI Photo Bhilai, Chhattisgarh: On June 12, 2014, there was a leak in a methane gas pipeline at the Bhilai plant of Steel Authority Of India Limited. Six people, including two deputy general managers of the company, were killed and over 50 injured. Nagaram, Andhra Pradesh: On June 27, 2014, a massive fire broke out following a blast in Gas Authority of India Limited's plant, killing 29 people and injuring 10. The 18-inch underground pipeline, designed to supply gas to the Lanco power plant, was used for transporting wet gas having condensate/water. This corroded the pipe and led to a gas leak. An ignition triggered the explosion and the subsequent fire. Mangaluru, Karnataka: On November 17, 2016, a gas leak in an HPCL running between Mangaluru-Hassan-Mysuru and Solur created panic in villages in the area. Several people were reportedly hospitalised after they inhaled the gas. The leak was spotted early on and was contained before much damage. Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh: At least five people were killed and several injured in an explosion caused by an ammonia gas leak in the Katiyar cold storage in Kanpur on March 15, 2017. The explosion caused the roof of the building to collapse, trapping several people. Delhi: About 450 girl students were hospitalised on May 6, 2017, after toxic fumes spread due to chemical leakage at a container depot near two schools in south-east Delhi's Tughlaqabad area. The chemical, 'chloro methyl pyridine' is an eye and respiratory irritant and causes redness and watering of eyes along with respiratory symptoms like sneezing, coughing or difficulty in breathing. Por village, Gujarat: At least 20 people were hospitalised after the valve of a chlorine gas cylinder in a drinking water tank in Gujarat's Por village developed a leak on April 13, 2017. Those exposed to the gas complained of eye and throat irritation. Belur, Karnataka: At least 25 people were reportedly hospitalised after inhaling chlorine gas that leaked from a water treatment plant on the outskirts of Belur on May 16, 2017. Those who inhaled the gas showed symptoms like breathlessness, nausea and burning sensation in the throat. Bhilai, Chhattisgarh: On October 9, 2018, 11 people died and 14 injured in a blast at the Bhilai Steel Plant. The blast took place in a pipeline near the coke oven section at the steel plant during a maintenance job. Valsad, Gujarat: Over 40 workers of a glass manufacturing factory in Gujarat's Valsad district were hospitalised following a leakage of chlorine gas in an adjacent chemical company on December 20, 2018. The police have arrested 13 members of a group for embarking on a demonstration at Nima in Accra without authorisation. The group, known as the Coalition of National Zongo Political Groupings, was also accused of flouting the ban on social gatherings and the physical distancing protocol aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The demonstrators were protesting against the replacement of the paperless port and electronic clearance systems, spearheaded by West Blue and GCNET, with a new system, the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS), also known as Uni-pass. Blocked Led by the Chairman of the coalition, Alhaji Yahaya Alhassan, the demonstrators carried placards with various inscriptions expressing their views against the Unipass. Some of the inscriptions on the placards read: "Zongo unite for West Blue", "Declining West Blue is an attack on womanhood" and "Corruption". They were blocked by the police from marching from the Nima Roundabout through the Nima Highway to the private residence of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. A team of policemen drawn from the Accra Regional Police Command Operations Unit and the Nima Divisional Command, led by the Accra Regional Police Operations Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr Kwesi Ofori, mounted roadblocks on the Nima Highway as early as 5 a.m. last Tuesday when it had a hint about the demonstration. Hot chase When attempts to persuade the group to rescind its decision failed, the police attempted to arrest the members, leading to many of them taking to their heels and abandoning their placards. After a hot chase, 13 of them, including the chairman, were arrested, while some journalists who did not have any proper form of identification were also picked up during the melee. Charge ACP Ofori told journalists that those arrested would be charged for defying the Public Order Law and the ban on social gathering, since the demonstration led to a mass gathering and attracted a number of onlookers. "The police will not countenance any public demonstration and other activities that may call for mass gathering," he said. Statement A copy of a statement signed by the Chairman of the coalition, which was made available to the media, said the gains of the paperless port system had made a positive impact on revenue generation over the years through the work of West Blue Consulting Limited and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), and that was what the country needed. It said the new system, which had proved to be inferior and unable to operate the paperless port system under the current reforms, was a selfish agenda being executed to satisfy the specific political and ethnic business interests of the orchestrators, who were key government appointees. Source: Daily Graphic 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 New York, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Cruise Missile Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2020 - 2025)" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05891610/?utm_source=GNW Following the theory of deterrence and mutually assured destruction, countries are procuring and developing more lethal cruise missiles having high speeds and ranges. From a strategic perspective, the possession of such lethal missiles will help the countries in keeping their potential adversaries at bay. - The market is expected to grow primarily due to the emphasis on the cruise missile procurement and development activities undertaken by militaries to gain a strategic upper hand. - However, this growth is subjective to several associative factors, such as allocation of funds for procurement of cruise missile systems and may be adversely affected due to budget constraints and various factors that may eventually lead to the program delays and cancellations. Key Market Trends Supersonic Missiles Segment Held the Largest Market Share in 2019 In segmentation by speed, the Supersonic segment held the largest share in the market as of 2019. A supersonic missile relies primarily on sheer speed and inbuilt electronic countermeasures to penetrate the air defense network of the hostile enemy forces. Countries, such as the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and India are a handful of countries that possess the capability to develop a supersonic cruise missile. Currently, Russia is actively developing the 9M730 Burevestnik, also known as the SSC-X-9 Skyfall, to deliver long-range strategic nuclear strikes. Theoretically, a nuclear-powered supersonic missile, such as the SSC-X-9 Skyfall can have unlimited range, while sustained supersonic speeds would enhance the difficulty to intercept and enable it to circumnavigate bubbles of radar coverages and leverage terrain to minimize the chance of interception. Russia has also developed and deployed the P-800 Oniks anti-ship cruise missile. The missile launches from a vertical position and uses angular thrusters located near the nose to reposition itself horizontally and begin its flight path toward the target. The missile then flies at supersonic speeds, can maneuver to avoid air defense, and is resistant to electronic countermeasures. ? Also, in October 2019, the Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted test firings of two BrahMos surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missiles to validate the IAFs ability to neutralize targets located at up to 300 kilometers with pinpoint accuracy. Such developments have helped the segment gain the largest market share in 2019. North America to Dominate the Market During the Forecast Period During the forecast period, North America is projected to dominate the market by growing with the highest CAGR. The region also accounted for the highest market share in terms of geography in 2019. The growth in the US cruise missile market is the biggest reason for the regions dominance. The enhanced capabilities of China and Russia on the battlefield forced the United States to increase its investment in technologically advanced weapon systems. Other factors, such as the rising violence in the Middle-East, due to geopolitical tensions and terrorism, significantly contributed toward the growth of the procurement of missiles and missile defense systems by the US armed forces. In February 2020, the current US president proposed an FY 2021 budget of USD 740.5 billion for national security, of which USD 705.4 billion is allocated for the Department of Defense (DoD). The FY 2021 base budget for procurement is USD 131.75 billion, out of which the munitions procurement investment accounts for USD 21.3 billion for Air Force, Navy, and Army. AMRAAM, JASSM / JASSM ER, Harpoon, and Tomahawk are the commonly used cruise missiles by the US Air Force and Navy, respectively. Tomahawk cruise missile is carried by over 145 warships in the United States. Recently, in January 2020, the government announced its plan to upgrade the arsenal of Tomahawk cruise missiles to the latest Block V configuration in the coming years, and to retire and demilitarize the older models. Currently, the plan is to convert all the Block IVs into Block V missiles and Block III missiles are to be retired and demilitarized. Furthermore, under the new defense budget, the largest RDT&E budget of USD 106.6 billion was requested to invest in the development of crucial emerging technologies, like hypersonic, autonomy, and artificial intelligence (AI), among others. With such huge investments into advanced technologies, the country plans to develop and deploy advanced missiles in the coming years. For instance, in February 2020, the government announced its plan to create a program for the development of a new, nuclear-armed, submarine-launched cruise missile with a separate allocated budget in FY 2022. This new program development comes under the Nuclear Posture Review (in 2018) focused on the development of two new nuclear capabilities (submarine-launched ballistic missile and a sea-launched nuclear-capable cruise missile). The government aims to complete the development of the missile over the next decade. As a part of FFG(X) program of the US Navy, the country plans to induct 20 guided-missile frigates (FFGs) during the next decade. In April 2020, the US Air Force placed an order for 78 new F-35 fighter aircraft. Such procurements of sea and air platforms are anticipated to generate demand for cruise missile from the country during the forecast period. Competitive Landscape The prominent players in the cruise missile market are Lockheed Martin Corporation, Raytheon Company, The Boeing Company, Tactical Missile Corporation, and MBDA, among others. Currently, many local, as well as international players, are developing various cruise missile models. Local production has allowed for a decline in per-unit cost of cruise missiles; this has reduced dependency on large players for advanced and better missiles.? The sales of cruise missiles from major players are for upgrade kits and modernization kits of existing missile inventory from countries, like the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and other European nations.? The COVID lockdown situation across the world is expected to delay existing projects and planned projects by half a year, as communities and government reel with the aftereffects of the manufacturing and production shutdown. The impact of the same will be visible directly on raw material and logistics and project completion. Still, the demand in 2020 is expected to drop slightly and then improve starting from 2021. Reasons to Purchase this report: - The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format - 3 months of analyst support Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05891610/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ By Divya Chowdhury (Reuters) - World equity markets are now in recovery mode, according to veteran emerging markets fund manager Mark Mobius, who said he was betting that markets had bottomed out. "You would expect at a time like this, you have a bigger bear market, and that is why Ive been cautious and kept a little powder dry, because there could be relapses in the market," said Mobius, founder of Mobius Capital Partners, which has $130 million assets under management. "But the way it looks now, we may be in full recovery mode," Mobius told the Reuters Global Markets Forum on Thursday, May 7, from Munich. Mobius said his top country picks were India, Brazil, South Korea and Taiwan. In terms of sectors, his fund had increased weights in education, healthcare, software, specifically companies involved in cloud computing, and consumer areas, particularly those focused on online sales. Following are edited excerpts from the conversation: Q: Would you say the equity markets have bottomed out? Or will there be more pain? A: My bet is that they've probably bottomed out, but there will be relapses. I frankly was very surprised the bear market came down so quickly, and revived so suddenly as well. If you look at the markets, you see declines in dollar terms of between 30% and 40%. But looking at history, the bear markets, the average (decline) is 50%. You would expect at a time like this, you have a bigger bear market. That is why Ive been cautious and have kept a little powder dry, because there could be relapses in the market. But the way it looks now, we may be in full recovery mode. Q: How have you churned your portfolio in the coronavirus crisis, and what major shifts do you see coming as lockdowns start getting reversed? A: We haven't changed country weightings very much. But we have increased sector weightings in education, healthcare, software, particularly related to the cloud, and in certain consumer areas where they're taking advantage of the internet and increasing their online sales. Story continues Q: Have your cash positions changed? A: We've kept cash level stable at 5% to 10%. Q: What would be the top emerging markets that you would invest more in? A: I would say India, Brazil, Korea, Taiwan, which is an indirect way to get into China, and Hong Kong. Q: What is your view on Brazil? A: We invested in consumer-oriented companies, internet and software, education, especially distance education, which is a growing fad as a result of this COVID-19 crisis. Q: What are your views on Turkish stocks and the lira given all the volatility we've seen? A: Generally speaking, we want to go into those areas where things may look bad on a macro level, but on a micro level theyre pretty good. Same sectors in Turkey too, that I mentioned earlier, but added to that would be consumer goods, both export-oriented and local. ((This interview was conducted in the Reuters Global Markets Forum, a chat room hosted on the Refinitiv Messenger platform. Sign up here to join GMF: https://refini.tv/2LbSKPl)) (Reporting by Divya Chowdhury; Editing by Kevin Liffey) Visakhapatnam, May 8 : Another gas leakage was reported from LG Polymers on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam late Thursday, forcing people in nearby residential areas to move to safe places. Fumes were seen billowing out of the chemical plant, where the gas leakage in the early hours of the day claimed 11 lives and affected over 300 others. People from Gopalpatnam, Simhachalam and Pendurthi areas were seen moving to safe places. Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner R K Meena, however, said there was no need for panic. "Efforts are going on to neutralize the gas leak. There is no danger," he said. People from RR Venkatapuram and four other villages were evacuated after the leakage early Thursday. The gas smell sent panic in areas about four km from the plant late Thursday night. Many people rushed out of their houses and were seen heading to safer places in their vehicles. A lack of financial support and murky direction from government about evictions during the pandemic have put some tenants and landlords at odds across the city over late rent payments. At one Crescent Town apartment complex, tenants described to the Star feeling scared by property management going door-to-door trying to collect rent. One woman said they tried to get her to use a credit card on the spot with a payment processing machine. Premier Doug Ford has suspended all legal evictions during the pandemic. But under provincial rules, landlords are still allowed to threaten eviction by issuing an N4 notice, which is not an eviction order but the start of a long legal process that has currently been paused by COVID-19. Meanwhile, tenants say emergency financial supports from the federal government if you qualify arent enough to cover basic needs and rent, especially in Toronto. There have been no relief programs created specifically for residential renters, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying that is up to the province and Ford encouraging landlords and tenants to work out some kind of deal. The Star spoke to tenants at the high-rise buildings at 7, 9 and 11 Crescent Place in the largely immigrant and working-class neighbourhood of Crescent Town about actions by the landlord that left them feeling intimidated. Pinedale Properties Ltd., which owns and manages the buildings according to their website, could not be reached for comment. Sergio Moyano, who moved into a $1,400 bachelor unit in November, said he was laid off a few weeks ago from his hospitality job. Before that they had cut his hours, which was not enough to cover rent, let alone basic needs. At that point, you start having to decide you pay for your rent or you pay for your food, he said. A lot of people here are under the same situation. On a work permit, Moyano didnt originally qualify for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, but has now applied. He came to Canada as a student from Colombia and tries to provide for his family back home his mom is by herself while paying back the bank for the funds it took to get here. At first, when the landlord called about his missed rent payments, he visited the property management office with some neighbours to discuss a solution, he said. Moyano said they were told by a woman he could not identify that COVID-19 is a very bad cold and not a big thing and that they could go to a food bank if they needed. She was very rude, and shouting, he added. Then the eviction notices came. We dont really want to stop paying for our stuff but we cannot, he said. Another tenant, the woman who says she was asked to pay by credit card, told the Star her family has been stretched to survive during the pandemic, gathering extra supplies for her family she has small kids. She asked not to be identified for fear of being targeted by property management. When she answered a loud knock at the door last month, she said a woman identified herself as the property manager (the tenant did not know her name) and asked when she could pay rent. She was telling me that if I dont pay, then she will take us to the court and we have to lose this house. They will kick us out from the building, she said I was scared. Because I dont know what I will do. If I had money I could give her. When another woman in the hall produced a hand-held payment machine, she said she told them her credit card was already overdrawn. She later received an eviction notice. Her family is not eligible for government supports, she said. On its website, Pinedale promises a superior rental experience: The absence of any third party management companies allows for better communication between residents and management, and happy loyal tenants. Across the city in the Annex, Leah Horzempa, a tenant co-organizer at 50 Walmer Rd., said many of her neighbours are facing uncertain employment futures. As a group, theyve sent letters to the rental property management company Briarlane and owners Mountrealco to ask for rent forgiveness, she said, and communicated with all tenants about holding onto what money they do have to pay for basic necessities. The group, originally formed to fight an above-guideline rent increase, is now focusing on COVID-19-related issues. It has received what Horzempa said she felt was increasingly intimidating responses from both the property managers and the owners. Some tenants have been offered rent deferment, but have been asked provide detailed employment information, which she said gave her concerns about privacy. Horzempa and other organizers also received a lawyers letter on behalf of the property owner saying they could be sued civilly for inciting breach of contract, she said. I think its just legal intimidation, to try to get them to stop organizing, she said. A person who answered the phone at the address listed on corporate records for Mountrealco referred the Star to Briarlane for comment. In an email, Andrus Kung, Briarlanes vice-president of operations and commercial properties, provided a timeline of a series of letters sent to tenants, dating back to March 26. The letters reference available government programs and ask residents to contact them if they cannot pay, to discuss a payment plan, requiring details about their former employer, including contact information. These are certainly unprecedented times, and our thoughts are with you and your loved ones during this time. Please do not hesitate to contact property management with any questions you may have, an April 7 letter concluded. Kung said N4 notices were served to tenants that had still not paid their rent between April 15 and 17. After that, anyone who hadnt paid or wasnt on a payment plan got a final notice. He said those cases are pending since the Landlord and Tenant Board the provincial tribubal is not hearing cases. He also detailed how he and other management officials have been the subject of an email and phone message campaign connected to the advocacy group Keep Your Rent. Kung confirmed the owners did send a lawyers letter, saying they were concerned about tenants being encouraged to keep their rent, even if they can afford to pay. Jennifer Pagliaro is a Toronto-based reporter covering city hall and municipal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @jpags New Delhi, May 7 : The political slugfest over the issue of charging fares from migrant workers who are heading home on special trains continued on Thursday with Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slamming the Uttar Pradesh government and said that the government needs to be compassionate. In a series of tweets, Priyanka Gandhi, who is also the party in-charge for eastern Uttar Pradesh, said "The labourers were brought from Gujarat to Uttar Pradesh. Money was also collected. Those going to Agra and Bareilly were taken to Lucknow and Gorakhpur." "Today is Buddha Purnima. The voice of the Buddha was the voice of compassion. There should be compassionate treatment of migrant workers and they should be supported - this should be our effort," she said. "It is not enough to repeat the voice of God. The government will have to execute it," the Congress leader said in another tweet. Her remarks came amid the political row over the charging of rail fares from the migrant workers travelling from other states to their home states. The railways, which has suspended the services of passenger, mail and express trains till May 17 amid the nationwide lockdown to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, has started to run Shramik Special trains since May 1. However, many migrants alleged that the railways was charging them for their journey. The national transporter had earlier said that according to the guidelines, sending states will pay the consolidated fare to the railways, which they (sending states) can collect from the labourers or from the receiving states. The railways prints tickets to the specified destinations as per the number of passengers, indicated by the originating state. The city authorities will give the tickets to passengers and hand over the total fare to the railways. Besides sanitisation, there are provisions for meals and packaged water on the trains by the railways. The railways is only running freight and special parcel trains to ensure supply of essential items during the lockdown. On Thursday, the number of Covid-19 cases in the country increased to 52,952 with 1,783 deaths. In the last 24 hours, India saw a spike in the number of Covid-19 positive cases as 3,561 tested positive with 89 deaths. A study of female astronauts has assessed the risk of blood clots associated with spaceflight. The study, published in Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance, in collaboration with King's College London, the Centre for Space Medicine Baylor College of Medicine, NASA Johnson Space Centre and the International Space University, examines the potential risk factors for developing a blood clot (venous thromboembolism) in space. The findings, which looked at 38 female astronaut flights between 2000 and 2014, found spaceflight and combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP) use does not appear to increase the risk of venous thromboemoblism (VTE). Dr Varsha Jain, lead author of the study from King's College London and a Wellbeing of Women Clinical Research Fellow at the Medical Research Council Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh, said: "The first episode of an astronaut developing a blood clot in space was reported earlier this year. It is unknown how spaceflight impacts the risk of an astronaut developing a blood clot. This study aimed to look specifically at the potential blood clot developing risks for female astronauts during spaceflight. We wanted to understand if their use of the hormonal contraceptive pill for menstrual cycle control, increased that risk." Developing a VTE in space is life threatening and potentially a mission critical risk. The risk may have been further increased by COCP use, however as female astronauts are more fit and healthy than general population, their risk remains low. The study, which is the first of its kind, proposes more blood tests be carried out during astronaut selection and during medical reviews. There are points during pre-mission training and during spaceflight, such as particular training activities, which may briefly increase the risk of developing a blood clot, and the authors recommend a review of these. Finally, the study advises a more holistic approach to be taken for contraceptive agent prescribing as women from all professions, including astronauts, may wish to control their menstrual cycles and occupation related risks should be considered during a risk review. Dr Jain said: "There may be possible time points in an astronaut's pre-mission training or during the space mission itself where blood clot risk may potentially be transiently increased. Due to the potentially life-threatening nature of blood clots, we would advise further targeted research in this area to further understand how an astronaut's risk of developing a blood clot is altered by spaceflight." Dr Virginia Wotring, associate Professor at the International Space University and senior author of the study, said: "We see a need for continuing studies with female astronauts. Much of the previous biomedical research in space was conducted on mostly male astronauts, because most of the astronauts were male. That has changed, and now we need to understand how the spaceflight environment impacts female physiology." Potential Venous Thromboembolism Risk in Female Astronauts Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. Kavi Chongkittavorn - Senior advisor of Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia On February 14, Vietnam called for a teleconference on the situation with colleagues to discuss common measures to tackle the virus. The joint statement from ASEAN foreign ministers clearly set out the guidelines for key tasks on which the member countries must work together to combat the coronavirus. They identified nine priorities they could address as a common body. One of the two most important resolutions was the strengthening of the co-ordination of national and regional efforts in ensuring the groupings readiness and responsive measures to mitigate and subsequently eliminate the threat of the pandemic. Another was the real-time exchange of information related to virus development. Under Vietnams chair, a total of 15 teleconferences were held through April 23 among various ministries and agencies of the members and their dialogue partners including China, Japan, South Korea, the EU, and the US. Officials from defence, economic, health, and tourism sectors held discussions though only a few listed separate action plans. Most of them are in sync and ensured that the groupings common approaches would be understood and subsequently acted upon. For instance, the ASEAN economic minister would stress the economic wellbeing of the region and the importance of maintaining ASEAN supply chains and facilitating access to input materials by business, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises. In the case of defence-related matters, it was decided to hold joint drills on disease prevention and control among their military medicine forces. They also agreed to tap the expertise of dialogue partners of the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus to enhance the overall capacity of military medicine in responding to disease outbreaks. The newly set up ASEAN Centre for Military Medicine sprang into action to discuss joint efforts and mutual concerns. They also came up with measures to quell the virus. On April 14, the virtual summit among the ASEAN leaders and another later the same day with the leaders of China, Japan, and South Korea was a milestone in their relations. They pledged to work together both with the ASEAN and the other members of the trio. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said all its members were struggling to prevent the coronavirus from negatively affecting their people. It is in these grim hours that the solidarity of the ASEAN Community shines like a beacon in the dark, he told ASEAN colleagues in his opening statement. Over the past three years, relations between China, Japan, and South Korea have not been as amiable as each country has its own historical grievances to settle. But the pandemic has transformed bilateral relations and allowed mutual empathy among their citizens to be shared. With such a strong public sentiment, leaders from the ASEAN and the aforementioned nations have embraced each other. In his recent article on ASEANs co-operation to combat COVID-19, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh stated, This crisis stemmed from a virus that is minuscule in size, yet transboundary in nature, able to spread to every corner of the globe, threatening the life of every person, every community, and the shared future of humanity as a whole. Combating it is a responsibility shared by all countries, governments, and regional and global mechanisms. He also expressed the belief that after the pandemic is over, the bloc will emerge stronger, noting that given its centrality in the region, it provides a common shelter for its member states to weather the storm of COVID-19. Throughout our history of development, whenever challenged or faced with a crisis, we have emerged stronger. Hanoi has been paying attention to efforts in mitigating the socio-economic impact of the virus and its recovery. The people must be placed at the centre of the ongoing efforts and social security must be guaranteed so that no-one is left behind, the minister added. DPM Minh recommended a few measures that the ASEAN should follow in fighting against the virus including mobilising common resources, especially the regions medical equipment to meet emergency needs and setting up a fund to fight with the existing resources from dialogue partners and international organisations. In addition, ASEAN members should organise online drills on pandemic response between countries to augment common preparedness. Think community and act community has now become the flag-bearer for the ASEAN to overcome many challenges caused by the pandemic. Therefore, it is incumbent on the bloc to move forward together and overcome the trials in this difficult time. In the post-pandemic world, a more united and integrated ASEAN will play a leading role in the global economic recovery and sustainable development. Toxic leak at Indian plant is under investigation The authorities are looking into whether the rush to reopen a chemical plant in eastern India after a long coronavirus lockdown contributed to a deadly gas leak on Thursday morning that killed at least 11 people and sickened hundreds. A cloud of styrene vapor, which can be deadly in high concentrations, leaked and drifted over the outskirts of the coastal city of Visakhapatnam from the polymer plant, which is owned by the South Korean industrial giant LG Corp. Residents living about a mile from the plant said they were enveloped in a white mist. We could smell the gas in our mouths, a local resident told our reporter by telephone as he was driving off, trying to get his family as far away as possible. It was terrifying. Dozens of men and women were left lying unconscious in the street. Mothers ran to hospitals with limp children in their arms. Ji Chaozhu, a veteran Chinese diplomat who provided English translation for leaders including Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping and served as an undersecretary of the United Nations, has died, the foreign ministry said. He was 90. Ji also served as ambassador to Britain over the course of a lengthy career that began after he left Harvard University to return to China during the Korean War, when U.S. and Chinese troops engaged in vicious combat. After briefly studying at prestigious Tsinghua University, he was assigned by dint of his fluent English to assist with the peace talks at the Korean village of Panmunjon between the warring sides. That led to a job as interpreter to Premier and Foreign Minister Zhou Enlai as well as Mao, with whom he appeared on the reviewing stand atop iconic Tiananmen Gate when foreign guests were present. After Mao's death, Ji took on a similar role with successor Deng Xiaoping. Having been dispatched by Zhou to set up an informal liaison office in the U.S. in 1973, Ji accompanied Deng to America after the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the long-time antagonists in 1979 and later worked at the Chinese Embassy in Washington. That was followed by assignments as ambassador to Fiji and the U.K. and five years as a U.N. under-secretary-general for development support and management services, a position from which he retired in 1996. His last post was as vice president of the All China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, from which he stepped down in 2005. Ji was born into a wealthy family in the northern Chinese province of Shanxi in 1929 and moved with his family to the U.S. when he was 9. He and his brother attended exclusive private schools in New York where he developed the fluent English and deep knowledge of American culture that would prove him so valuable to China's drive to confront the West and restore what it views at its traditional dominant role in Asia. Like many high officials, Ji experienced various persecutions during the xenophobic 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, particularly due to his foreign education and the fact that his brother had remained in the U.S. He chronicled his experiences in his autobiography, The Man on Mao's Right In a brief notice sent to The Associated Press, the foreign ministry said Ji died on April 29 in Beijing from an unspecified illness. We mourn the unfortunate passing of Mr. Ji Chaozhu and send our condolences to his family, the ministry said. Ji is survived by his wife and two sons. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Public officials often must make life and death decisions, and rarely has that been more true than now that the coronavirus has disrupted our financial, physical and emotional lives. But in moving to rev and open up state and local economies, they should not be guided by economics alone. They must also be guided by moral values and a belief that all of human life is precious.On the state level, governors, presumably after consulting with professional staff, will make the call on what and when businesses can reopen and when to end social distancing. In their deliberations and public statements, I have been deeply disturbed by some casually equating the life of our economy with the lives of human beings. I am uncomfortable with the notion that it is acceptable to endanger the health of workers, so many of whom are low-wage employees who have to interface directly with the public. If these workers were to become infected with COVID-19, they would run a serious risk of, in turn, infecting their families and communities. The painful cycle of closing down communities would start over again, but how many more would have died unnecessarily?In my home state of Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp was slow to order residents to stay home and non-essential businesses to close, although Atlanta and some other cities mandated those steps much earlier. And last week Georgia became the first state to begin moving to reopen its economy despite lacking capacity for widespread coronavirus testing or a plan to address the social determinants of health . No one would suggest that COVID-19 has been defeated in Georgia: Over the first two days after the governor partially lifted the lockdown, the state reported about 1,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases per day and two dozen deaths.Kemp allowed restaurants to resume dine-in service and certain other businesses, including hair and nail salons, gyms, bowling alleys, and massage and tattoo parlors, to reopen under conditions that seem impossible to enforce and unlikely to effectively keep the virus from spreading. Recently I read about a reopened restaurant in the exurbs of Atlanta that requires staff to wear faceguards along with gloves and masks. The optics of this are of customers dining in a hazardous bio lab with servers wearing hazmat suits. It would be comical were it not sadly necessary. This picture, alone, suggests that these businesses probably should not be open at this point.It's not that the public is demanding that their communities' economies be restarted now. In a recent University of Georgia poll , 62 percent of Georgians said Kemp was moving too fast to reopen the state, while only 10 percent opposed the statewide lockdown. And nationally, a recent Axios-Ipsos poll found that 88 percent of Democrats and 56 percent of Republicans were concerned about their communities opening too soon.Since Georgia began its partial reopening, at least a dozen other states have moved to follow suit and others plan to do so soon. With all the unknowns, why are states willing to risk undermining the progress they've made over the past two months in flattening the curve of the virus? The answer seems to be driven by several factors. One is strong influences from business leaders who don't want to see the economy shut down for too long and profits to continue to plummet. And, sadly, some of the groups most negatively impacted by the virus are minorities, low-wage earners, sick elderly people, and those with underlying health conditions, groups that have always been considered by some to be superfluous to the American economy. Finally, the political fallout of entering a national election in November with high unemployment and low GDP is nothing any party in power would want.The future will reveal much about the true soul of America. It will tell us who we really are at heart. Will more public officials prematurely reopen their economies, sending desperate, helpless workers onto the frontlines of the virus, risking spreading it to their families and communities? Or will they follow the advice of scientists, doctors and other professionals who have been dealing with the pandemic up close and personal?As public officials answer these questions, they must prioritize people over profits. They must make sure that when they decide how to proceed in this crisis they do so with an understanding that life is precious and that at the end of their days of public service they will have only their good names to take with them.GoverningGoverning Welsh Government to meet Debenhams over business rates wrangle five further stores set to close This article is old - Published: Thursday, May 7th, 2020 Debenhams has warned that its stores across Wales could close in a row over business rates with the Welsh Government. However Finance Minister Rebecca Evans has defended the decision not to extend rates relief to to properties with a rateable value of 500,000 and above, saying the lack of a payment holiday for the chain means more micro, small and medium sized companies have had pandemic support. At the end of April Debenhams warned that its stores in Wales including Wrexham could face permanent closure unless the Welsh Government extended business rates relief to properties with a rateable value of 500,000 and above. The Debenhams store at Eagles Meadow has a rateable value of exactly 500,000. Debenhams chairman Mark Gifford wrote to Finance Minister Rebecca Evans last month saying: by electing to take a different approach to that taken elsewhere in the UK, you have made it economically unviable for us to continue trading the majority of our Welsh business. You have failed to understand the situation, where Debenhams Retail Limited is in administration and will cease to pay business rates unless it chooses to reopen its stores in Wales. It will be unable to reopen its stores unless you reverse your decision. Last night the chain announced it would be shutting a further five stores after failing to reach agreement with its landlords over rent, taking the total to 15 of confirmed closures so far. Currently Wrexhams store, along with the others in Wales (Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and Llandudno) are among others with uncertain futures. Yesterday we asked the Minister Rebecca Evans, if there was any flexibility with the Welsh Governments stance on the rate relief and for an update on the situation with Debenhams. She said: Nobody wants businesses such as Debenhams and other large stores to succeed more than I do, because I do recognise the important role that those anchor stores play, and have played traditionally on our high streets here in Wales. This is one of the very difficult decisions that I was talking about in my opening remarks. When we looked at what we would do to support businesses with their rate relief, we decided that those large businesses, many of them multinational companies with rateable values over half a million pounds wouldnt be eligible for Welsh Government to pay their rates for that year. But, we would use that funding then to support the Economic Resilience Fund, which is funding which goes into the pockets of micro, small and medium sized enterprises based here in Wales. I think that that was a difficult decision, but I think it was the right decision in terms of what we do with our very limited resources here in Wales. I understand. Of course I do, the concerns of Debenhams, and Ill be looking forward to a conversation with them, either later this week or early next week, whenever thats been being set up to explore what support that they need. Only 200 properties were affected by that decision, many were the large supermarkets for example, which are doing very well in the coronavirus outbreak because people dont have that choice that they used to have. We also asked about the new announcement by Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick MP that the a revaluation of business rates will no longer take place in 2021, to help reduce uncertainty for firms affected by the impacts of coronavirus. Legislation had been introduced to bring the next revaluation forward by one year from 2022 to 2021. We asked the Welsh Government Minister if she saw that as a good thing for Wales, and if it would be a helpful move in the bounce back from the affects of the pandemic. Minister Rebecca Evans said, Well, we welcomed the bringing forward of the planned revaluation to 2021 because we think thats important because it does give businesses the most accurate reflection of a rateable value of their property. So it ensures that businesses are paying the correct amount for the property in which they are operating from. Its disappointing but completely understandable given the legislative challenges that UK Government is facing at the moment. Clearly, we will just have to work to a refreshed timetable in due course. You can view the full brief here along with the Q&A session: Digital content creators on TikTok are continued to see their levels of fame rise, especially during quarantine where people are constantly seeking out new content. Addison Rae, one of the most popular TikTok users in the world, has amassed a huge net worth in a short amount of time. Addison Rae | Rachel Murray/Getty Images for Netflix How Addison Rae got her start Before getting popular on TikTok, Rae, whose full name is Addison Rae Easterling, was preparing for her first year of college at Lousiana State University. In an April interview with Business Insider, Rae spoke about her quick rise to fame. I initially found out about TikTok through a lot of young girls at my school and in my dance studio. I remember being in a few of them, and after a while I downloaded it, not thinking I was going to post. A video that she posted in April 2019 landed on TikToks For Your Page (FYP). I had never experienced that many likes or views, Rae said. She then kept creating content, mostly videos of her dancing by herself or with others. Soon, she became one of the most-viewed TikTok creators in the world. One of her biggest TikTok creations is a video set to Mariah Careys hit 2009 single, Obsessed. Part of it was her just her randomly hitting it big, however, Rae has been a competitive dancer since she was little, making TikToks popular dance challenge trend come easy to her. Dancing has always been a huge part of my life and honestly, I contribute so much of my TikTok growth to me being raised as a dancer, she added. Her popularity continued to rise She has collaborated from several other big names, from Kourtney Kardashian to James Charles. Shes also a member of a popular TikTok group, the Hype House. It was one of the first TikTok groups. When she got to LSU, she started getting noticed on campus due to her TikTok videos. Soon after, she went to California to do a video for the site Famous Birthdays. On this trip, she also met many creators. She said after this visit, she would fly to Los Angeles almost every two weeks. By October, she had reached 1 million followers on TikTok and she left LSU. Speaking about this moment, she said, I remember thats when it changed for me. I knew I wanted to take it more seriously and expand it to other platforms. I uploaded a video to YouTube and got really active on Instagram. Shes now 1 of the the biggest personalities on TikTok As of early May 2020, Rae is closing in on 40 million followers on TikTok. She also has 15 million followers on Instagram and has 1.8 million subscribers on YouTube. Her family now has a house in Los Angeles and they split their time between California and Louisiana. Just like her friend and former Hype House member, Charli DAmelio, Raes family members, including her parents and siblings, have TikToks and are also popular in their own right. In January, Rae signed with WME for representation in all areas. Her parents are also represented by WME. Talent agencies have been pressed to snap up all the popular creators on TikTok as their fame continues to rise. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter at the time, WME will focus on building out Easterlings business across modeling, fashion, music, dance, TV, film, digital, podcasting, touring, books, licensing and endorsements. The family will also work with the Endeavor Foundation to support charitable causes. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Raes net worth is estimated to be around $5 million. Rae continues to make money through several endorsement deals. Shes already worked with Reebok and LOreal. She is hoping to extend her brand by creating more content related to beauty and haircare, with goals for her brand to go beyond being just an influencer. TANZANIA, Tanzania - U.N. experts say a private Russian security company has provided between 800 and 1,200 mercenaries to support the offensive by Libyan commander Khalifa Hifter, whose forces have been trying to take the capital, Tripoli, for over a year. The panel of experts monitoring sanctions against Libya said in a report obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press that mercenaries from the Wagner Group are engaged in specialized military activities including calling in artillery and air strikes, providing electronic countermeasures expertise and deploying as sniper teams. Their deployment has acted as an effective force multiplier for Hifters forces, the panel said. Libya has been in turmoil since 2011, when a civil war toppled long-time dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. The country has since split between rival administrations in the east and the west, each backed by armed groups. Hifters offensive is supported by France, Russia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and other key Arab countries. The U.N.-supported government in Tripoli is backed by Turkey, which deployed troops and mercenaries to help defend the capital in January, as well as by Italy and Qatar. Mercenaries, mainly from the Syria battlefield, are now fighting on both sides and complicating the already complex proxy war. U.S. and Libyan officials have accused Russia of deploying fighters from the Wagner Group in key battleground areas in Libya. Moscow has repeatedly denied playing any role in Libyas fighting. Yevgeny Prigozhin, who reportedly has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, is allegedly tied to the Wagner Group. The panel said the first reports of Syrian foreign fighters being recruited by a Russian company to fight in Libya in support of Hifter emerged Jan. 7, with more details on Feb. 14 that fighters were being recruited from the town of Douma in the Damascus suburbs for $800 a month. On March 5, the panel said, open sources reported that fighters were being recruited by Wagner through the Syrian National Youth Party in Sweida, a mountainous area that is a centre for the Druze religious minority, for salaries between $1,000 and $1,500 monthly. It is estimated from ground sources that the number of Syrian foreign fighters supporting Hifters operations is less than 2,000, the report said. The experts said open sources put the number of Syrian fighters in Libya to be nearer 5,000, but they said that this almost certainly includes those fighters recruited by Turkey to support the government in Tripoli. The panel said it has identified the presence of mercenaries from Wagner in Libya since October 2018, providing technical support for the repair of military vehicles, participating in combat operations and engaging in influence operations. The panel said it was provided with details of 122 Wagner operatives who are highly probably operational in Libya, including 39 from its specialist sniper group and 83 from its 1st Attack and Reconnaissance Company or other combat units. The panel said mercenaries from the Russian company Rossiskie System Bezopasnosti Group have also been identified as providing maintenance and repair support for military aircraft. The experts said they continue to investigate reports that mercenaries from Russian-based Moran Security Group and Schit Security Group deployed to Benghazi on Jan. 6. Only the River By Anne Raeff Counterpoint. 304 pp. $26 --- In the wake of her beautiful 2018 novel, "Winter Kept Us Warm," Anne Raeff has created another richly memorable world in a complex mode - crisscrossing time and swaths of history, exploring one family's intertwined impulses to find love, political drama and meaning. Like its predecessor, "Only the River" draws us in at once with the quiet authority of its voice, promising to guide us with clarity and care. In fact, multiple voices speak here, expertly mobilized. Central among them is that of Pepa, a New York widow of almost 85 as the novel opens. Pepa, who now runs a Spanish language bookstore, guards the secret (no spoiler) of her own likely terminal illness as she awaits a visit from grown daughter Liliana, whose longtime female lover has abruptly, inexplicably left her. Pepa's tasks - to comfort her grieving daughter, hide her own discomfort with "something growing inside her" and find ways to carry forward despite present ordeals and the past losses of her husband and son - strike us as overwhelming, yet real. Pepa has determined that, rather than endure "the long decline," she'll let the apparent tumor "grow until there was no going back." By increments, we absorb the principals' accrued stories. First (perhaps most urgently) comes that of Pepa's youth, as her Viennese parents, who are doctors, flee the ravages of World War II with their daughter to Nicaragua, resolved to combat its rampant yellow fever. There, teenage Pepa falls in love with neighboring Guillermo (whose earnest spirit, like that of every player in this saga, is tenderly conveyed). Together the two find solace in the magical, anarchic jungle. One of Raeff's signal strengths is to ground and immerse readers in the sensuous present of any era, in each setting's vibrant textures and temperatures, however extreme. When Guillermo, who works as a youth on a rubber plantation, "his hands sticky from the sap. . . his boots thick with mud," catches a baby caiman for young Pepa in the San Juan River, where the lovers spend much of their time, we smell the river, the humid air, the warm rain and constant decay. But a terrible ordeal awaits Pepa when her parents decide to move to New York, and she is forced to leave her first, great love. Difficult gay love is a sub-theme considered in two quiet narratives: that of Liliana, whose longtime lover, Irene, has left her for a man, and that of two kind, educated German emigrants, Friedrich and Georg, photographers, who've built a secret retreat in the Nicaraguan jungle where they teach a young Guillermo to read. (This novel is suffused with passionate belief in arts and letters. "Though Guillermo didn't fully understand the poems that Friedrich read, they made him feel. . . the kind of sadness that made him want to stay up all night listening to Friedrich read poems that he did not understand.") A reader prays that, safe in their art-filled hideaway, all may go well for the Germans. But slowly, subtly, the two become poisoned by their outcast status, paralleling the fate of Anna Karenina and Vronsky. Deceased Oskar, Pepa's eventual husband, whose first family was destroyed in German concentration camps, carries his own astonishing story (including his poignant courtship of Pepa), told by stately turns. That story infuses Pepa's and those of their grown children, Liliana and William, who will - uncannily yet believably - encounter individuals in Nicaragua intimately connected with their mother's past. One of many reasons Raeff's work is so deeply pleasurable is the gripping concreteness of her characters' bodies and natures. William, presumed dead in Nicaragua as a volunteer soldier during its heinous, Sandinista-Contra warfare, is a brooding idealist who's also desperate to define himself away from the emotional tyranny, even suffocation, of his father's tragic past. When news of William's presumed death reaches the horrified family, Oskar says, "The body is not important. The only thing that matters is that he is dead." Liliana did not argue, "because when it came to death, her father always had the last word." Through intricate interweavings of plot delivered in lean yet powerful, often poetic prose, "Only the River" ponders what the Germans call "the unanswerable questions . . . about the difference between courage and cowardice, weakness and strength" - the moving riddles of human confrontation with atrocity and possible redemption. It offers, with open hands, a complicated feast: irreconcilable impasses of character and event; what we can and cannot control. Epic and cinematic, wrought and soulful, it is a deeply serious novel, yet full of tenderness. In one lovely sequence, Pepa and Oskar dance on the Brooklyn Bridge, as Pepa sings. In fact, the novel makes its own soft, steady music, and its traces will haunt a reader's heart and mind. --- Frank's most recent books are "Where You're All Going: Four Novellas" and "Try to Get Lost: Essays on Travel and Place." Various N95 respiration masks at a laboratory of 3M, in Maplewood, Minnesota, U.S., on March 4, 2020. (Nicholas Pfosi/Reuters, File Photo) Department of Defense Awards 3M With $126 Million Contract to Increase Production of N95 Masks The Department of Defense, in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services, has awarded multinational conglomerate corporation 3M a $126 million contract to increase production to 26 million N95 masks per month, starting from October 2020. The Departments Joint Acquisition Task Force (JATF) spearheaded the new contract with 3M, DOD spokesman Lt. Col. Mike Andrews said in a press release on May 6. Funding will be provided through the bipartisan $2 trillion Coronavirus Economic Stimulus Bill (CARES Act) signed into law by President Donald Trump in March. This increased production/industrial capacity will continue to ensure a sustainable supply chain of N95 respirators and resupply the Strategic National Stockpile in response to the increased national demand caused by the COVID 19 pandemic, the spokesman said. Andrews added that the department remains closely partnered with FEMA and HHS, providing almost $800M in lifesaving supplies and equipment to service members and federal agencies in the nations whole-of-government approach to the coronavirus pandemic. Under the new contract, 3M will increase production of N95 respirators to at least 312 million units within the next 12 months. The company said it will expand its factory in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and start initial production in Wisconsin to meet demand. According to the Department of Defense, 3M has already placed orders for raw material and initiated two new N95 manufacturing lines. The latest contract comes after Trump last month invoked the Defense Production Act (DPA) in relation to 3M, saying he was not happy with the amount of N95 masks the company was delivering to U.S. healthcare workers on the frontlines of fighting the CCP virus. The DPA order on April 3 authorized acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf to use any and all authority to acquire as many respirators from the company or its affiliates as was deemed appropriate. Later that day, Trump wrote on Twitter saying, We hit 3M hard today after seeing what they were doing with their masks, in an apparent reference to reports that the manufacturing giant had been exporting many of its masks to other countries instead of reserving them for domestic use. But 3M said in a statement at the time that it had gone above and beyond to manufacture as many N95 respirators as possible for the U.S. market, and have been working closely with the administration to do exactly that. It added that ceasing the export of respirators to Canadian and Latin American markets could have significant humanitarian implications. Trump later said that the 3M saga ends very happily and that he was very proud to be dealing with 3M, after reaching an agreement with the manufacturing giant to bring more than 55.5 million N95 respirators to the United States a month to support healthcare workers. The DOD announced on April 11 that it would spend $133 million in contracts to increase U.S. domestic N95 mask production by over 39 million over the next 90 days. 3M received $76 million of that contract, while global healthcare logistics company Owens & Minor received $29 million and multinational conglomerate Honeywell received $27.4 million. Michael Skvarla says the emails have been coming in fast and furious with questions about a newly infamous type of wasp, and they all have murder hornet in the subject line. Why my inbox is blowing up now is because of The New York Times story that called them murder hornets and that got people worried, said Skvarla, a Ph.D. arthropod researcher with the Penn State Extension. Skvarla is the author of a super-detailed look at the creatures, actually known as Asian giant hornets (Vespa mandarin), in a Penn State Extension publication. Murder hornets, coined last Saturday by The New York Times, is a name loathed by entomologists. They are not murder hornets. They are just hornets, said Washington Agriculture Department entomologist Chris Looney. This is 99% media hype and frankly Im getting tired of it, said University of Delaware entomologist Doug Tallamy. Murder hornet? Please. They are, in fact, murderous -- especially to honeybees, and in gruesome fashion: "Because the hornets are targeting bees for protein, they only utilize the muscle-rich bee thorax and discard the head, abdomen, and legs," Skvarla writes. "After the bee is killed, the hornet prepares the thorax into a 'meat ball,' which is carried back to the nest." The hornets can even enter a state known as the "slaughter phase" in which 20 to 30 of them can kill anywhere between 5,000 and 25,000 honeybees in a few hours. Menacingly, theyre the largest wasps in the world, with the queens of the Asian giant hornets growing as long as 2 inches or more, with a wingspan of 3 inches, Skvarla says. The male workers can grow to 1 1/2 inches long, similar in size to wasps established in Pennsylvania that may be confused with the Asian giant hornets. The good news is the Asian giant hornet, a non-native species in the United States, is not found in Pennsylvania or the Northeast in general. A dead Asian giant hornet is seen Dec. 30, 2019, in a lab in Olympia, Washington. It is the world's largest hornet, a 2-inch long killer with an appetite for honey bees. Dubbed the "murder hornet" by some, the insect has a sting that could be fatal to some humans.Quinlyn Baine/Washington State Department of Agriculture via AP The Asian giant hornet was sighted for the first time in the United States last December, when the Washington State Department of Agriculture verified two reports near Blaine, Washington, close to the Canadian border. It also received two probable, but unconfirmed reports from sites in Custer, Washington, south of Blaine. The hornet can sting through most beekeeper suits, deliver nearly seven times the amount of venom as a honey bee, and sting multiple times, the department said, adding that it ordered special reinforced suits from China. Worldwide, they have been reported to kill 50 people a year due to sting-induced allergic reactions and, more rarely, multiple organ failure due to a large number of stings, according to Skvarla. For perspective, an average of 62 people in the U.S. alone are killed every year by bees and lesser wasps, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The business end -- for humans at least -- of a dead Asian giant hornet is seen Dec. 30, 2019, in a lab in Olympia, Washington.Quinlyn Baine/Washington State Department of Agriculture via AP There is the chance the Asian giant hornet could establish a nest in the Northeast if it were to arrive on a shipment from its native Asia, Skvarla said. Thats in all likelihood how they got to the Pacific Northwest, and how America has gotten its share of other non-native, invasive pests like the spotted lanternfly, brown marmorated stink bug and emerald ash borer -- all of which are found in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding region. Only the queen of an Asian giant hornet overwinters to reproduce the following year, so its extremely unlikely the populations confirmed in the United States will spread east by themselves. Which brings us to what to do IF you encounter an Asian giant hornet. First, the Penn State Extension wants to know about it, and offers instructions on its website for insect identification and mitigating infestations. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also offers instructions on Asian giant hornet survey, eradication and control options, including ways in which beekeepers in Asia protect their honeybees from attack, Skvarla says. The species found in Pennsylvania that the Asian giant hornet resembles include the native cicada killer wasp, which is deadly -- as its name suggests -- to cicadas like the annual species that emerges each summer. The female may sting a human, but only if theyre really being harassed, Skvarla said. The European hornet, found in America since the 1800s, is the other species the Asian giant hornet resembles and will also sting if provoked. LEHIGH COUNTY UPDATE Recently, stories have been circulating focusing on Murder Hornets or the Asian Giant Hornets... Posted by County Of Lehigh on Wednesday, May 6, 2020 Both the Asian giant hornet and cicada killer wasps make their nests in the ground, while the European hornet makes its nest 30-40 feet up in tree hollows. The one thing interesting about European hornets is theyre the only nocturnal hornet species, Skvarla said. Cue the headlines: Nighttime marauders drawn to your porch light pack stingers! Seriously, though, as Skvarla writes: As far as any entomologist in the United States can tell, murder hornet was not used in English prior to the (New York Times) article. Therefore, it is not recommended to refer to V. mandarinia as murder hornets. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force who served in the Middle East during the Cold War died April 24 from complications of COVID-19, according to his obituary. Carl Robert Bentley, 78, who lived in Bloomfield and Windsor, earned a degree in geology from Michigan Technological University and attended the Russian language program at Indiana University for the Air Force. Another 13 cases of coronavirus have been recorded at a Victorian abattoir, bringing the cluster's total to 62. But Premier Daniel Andrews has hosed down any concerns about his government's handling of the outbreak at Cedar Meats in Melbourne's west. "This has been a model example ... of dealing with an outbreak," he told reporters on Thursday. The fresh cases at the facility include seven infected workers and six of their close contacts. They are among 14 new infections in Victoria on Thursday, bringing the state's total to 1454. Mr Andrews said the new cases at Cedar Meats demonstrate just how contagious the illness is. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews defended the handling of the outbreak on Thursday. Source: AAP "That's the nature of outbreaks. This is a very infectious disease, it spreads rapidly," he told reporters. An abattoir worker tested positive to COVID-19 on April 2, but the workplace wasn't regarded as an exposure site because the employee had told health officials they hadn't been at work for weeks. The second case linked to the workplace was diagnosed on April 24, followed by a third case about 24 hours later. The department took further actions, including closing the site, on April 29. Andrews defends investigation of first case Mr Andrews said health officials were right not to question the account given by the worker who tested positive on April 2. "If you say I have not been at work for four weeks, then we take you on face value," he said. "If you looked where people said they hadn't been, well that wouldn't have any sense and we could never have enough staff to do it." He noted Australia's Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy had commended the state government's handling of the outbreak at a meeting earlier in the week. "I am very confident that everything that can be done is being done by a dedicated team of contact tracers," he said. The Cedar Meats cluster has rocked Victoria days before the National Cabinet is likely to advise the easing of restrictions. Source: AAP Mr Andrews went as far as to say some of Victorias contact tracers were some of the best in the world. The meat facility outbreak has rocked Victoria ahead of a national cabinet expected to outline a relaxation on coronavirus restrictions. Story continues Hospital worker didnt wear PPE when treating first case Among those infected is a healthcare worker at Sunshine Hospital, who was exposed to a Cedar Meats employee who came in after cutting their hand at work and before they later tested positive to the virus on April 26. The Sunshine Hospital nurse in her 60s treated the worker over three shifts and was not required to wear protective equipment until the third instance, The Australian reports. Another 24 workers at the hospital remain in quarantine. A worker at Doutta Galla Aged Care in Footscray who was in close contact with an abattoir worker was also confirmed as positive on Wednesday. The home is now closed to all visitation until at least May 11. Meanwhile, a worker at Grant Lodge aged care in Bacchus Marsh tested positive on Saturday. It's not believed to be connected to the Cedar Meats outbreak. Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has taken issue with his department not being notified of the Cedar Meats cases until April 30, despite permanent meat inspectors and those that move between abattoirs being on site in March and April. He says Victorian officials should have told his department as soon as they knew, but stressed he was "not looking for any recriminations". Authorities are still unsure how the Cedar Meats outbreak emerged. 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. Legislators call on Cooper to allow camps to open next month Four North Carolina legislators from the mountains are calling on Gov. Roy Cooper to allow summer camps to open by June 22 with at least 80 percent capacity, access to lake activities, open-air assemblies and sleeping accommodations "with 6 feet between heads." In an open letter, Sens. Chuck Edwards of Flat Rock and Jim Davis of Franklin and Reps. Chuck McGrady, of Hendersonville and Kevin Corbin of Franklin said the camp industry generates millions of dollars in revenue statewide. Co-written with the board of directors of the N.C. Youth Camp Association, the letter said summer camp is a good antidote to the emotional strain of being confined indoors during pandemic stay-at-home order. "Many of those children have started counting down the days until they can attend summer camp in North Carolina," the legislators said. "Because of the uncertainty and social distancing caused by this pandemic, we believe they will need the unrestricted and emotionally positive experience camp provides more than ever." Here's the letter: This time of year is often with unbridled anticipation for kids and parents alike as summer approaches. That anticipation has morphed into worry, uncertainty, and disappointment as families across the state are canceling plans because of the coronavirus pandemic, even though conditions here in North Carolina are steadily improving. Despite all this, we hope to maintain what is a summer tradition for many families: summer camp. Every year, staff work to ensure summer camp and safety go hand in hand, and this year be no different. They will not compromise the health and safety of staff, campers, and families. Camps are committed to following the CDC, ACA, and State Health Department guidelines. Summer camps arent like other close-quartered industries. There are safety precautions inherently involved with running a camp. Because of these precautions, its appropriate for them to open during the pandemic. The average stay in a camp is two weeks, during that time campers can avoid contact with the larger community. Most living spaces at the camps including cabins and dining halls are open-air and activities are primarily outdoors. Camps already have medical staff and health centers on the grounds. These distinctions provide a peace of mind for worried families that are on the fence about attending camps. Summers camps are ingrained in the lives of so many North Carolinians. Campers look forward to those weeks away from home with their friends for months. The camps not only build lasting relationships, but they also teach campers necessary life skills. The camps also generate millions of dollars of revenue from Murphy to Manteo. For many camps, 90% of their annual revenue comes during the summer months. As camp leaders and legislators, we believe a phased opening is the safest, most viable option for camps this summer. To open, camps will need a minimum allowance of 80% capacity, a June 22 start date, relaxed social distancing, access to swimming and lake activities, open-air assemblies, and sleeping accommodations with 6 feet between heads. Camps primarily rely on national parks, state parks, and park vendors for many of their outdoor activities during the summer. A phased opening of parks that allows for camp use and licensed vendors is also necessary for a successful summer. To effectively communicate plans with parents and staff, summer camps need plans to be in place by May 9. School closures and social distancing have left many children confined at home. Many of those children have started counting down the days until they can attend summer camp in North Carolina. Because of the uncertainty and social distancing caused by this pandemic, we believe they will need the unrestricted and emotionally positive experience camp provides more than ever. We urge Gov. Cooper to take immediate action and release guidelines that would allow camps to open this summer. China accused the United States on Thursday of trying to shift blame over the coronavirus, after President Donald Trump said the pandemic was a worse "attack" than Pearl Harbor or 9/11. Tension between the worlds two biggest economies has reached fever pitch in recent days as they have exchanged barbed comments on each other's handling of the virus. "We urge the US side to stop shifting the blame to China and turn to facts," said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a press briefing. On Wednesday Trump drew analogies with the virus, which emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year, and infamous military and terrorist attacks on the United States. "This is really the worst attack we've ever had," Trump told reporters. "This is worse than Pearl Harbor. This is worse than the World Trade Center." The Japanese assault on the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii drew the United States into World War II. The September 11, 2001 jihadist attacks on that killed about 3,000 people and triggered two decades of war. Trump said the coronavirus pandemic "should never have happened". "Could have been stopped at the source. Could have been stopped in China," he said. Hua responded: "They might say the pandemic is comparable to Pearl Harbor or 9/11, but the enemy facing the US is the novel coronavirus". She said Washington should "fight side-by-side" with Beijing instead of as "enemies". Hua added that "lots of foreign countries, experts and scientists have all made positive comments on China's effective virus prevention and control." "But the US alone has made some very disharmonious, untruthful and insincere remarks," said Hua. The coronavirus, which first emerged in central China late last year, has now killed more than 73,000 people in the US. [May 07, 2020] U.S. Cellular Unveils Videos From the Future of Good Highlighting Young Humanitarian Efforts Today, U.S. Cellular (News - Alert) is celebrating the first three young humanitarian recipients of the company's The Future of Good program by releasing videos highlighting the work they are doing, bringing fairness to their communities. The videos, posted on The Future of Good website (thefutureofgood.com/new-recipients), are mini documentaries showcasing each of the recipients' organizations and the inspirational work that earned them this recognition. Kenzie - Mount Olive, N.C.: At age 10, Kenzie felt it was only fair that everyone had access to healthy meals, so she started her nonprofit, the Make a Difference Food Pantry. Now 15, she has expanded the organization to include a fixed food-distribution site; mobile feeding programs for the elderly and children; and outreach pantries to help more North Carolinians in need. She also established Kenzie's Kids Summer Feed Program, which involves cooking and delivering 400 hot meals every Friday. Paige - Appleton, Wis.: After hearing that a family friend with an intellectual disability had been defrauded, Paige wanted to help teach vulnerable people in her community how to protect themselves and their money from scammers and ill-inentioned strangers. She decided a board game would be a fun way to teach basic financial literacy, so she created the SuperConsumers Financial Literacy Project. Aaliyah - Cedar Falls, Iowa: When Aaliyah was growing up, she always shared her stuffed animals and blankets with the foster kids who stayed in her home. She noticed that the gesture gave them comfort, and she wanted to share that with other foster kids in her community. Aaliyah started Furries 4 Fosters, which allows her to collect new stuffed animals and blankets for foster kids. These six individuals receive $10,000 each toward their cause and will join the community of over 40 extraordinary The Future of Good recipients. About U.S. Cellular U.S. Cellular is the fourth-largest full-service wireless carrier in the United States, providing national network coverage and industry-leading innovations designed to elevate the customer experience. The Chicago-based carrier is building a stronger network with the latest 5G technology and offers a wide range of communication services that enhance consumers' lives, increase the competitiveness of local businesses and improve the efficiency of government operations. To learn more about U.S. Cellular, visit one of its retail stores or www.uscellular.com. To get the latest news, promos and videos, connect with U.S. Cellular on Facebook.com/uscellular, Twitter.com/uscellular and YouTube.com/uscellularcorp. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200506006155/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Error. Page cannot be displayed. Please contact your service provider for more details. (19) Poet, playwright, author and artist of many kinds - its hard to estimate the sheer weight of Rabindranath Tagores influence on modern Indian culture. With over 2,000 songs, poems and other beautiful pieces of writing to his name, his legacy is as imposing as it is prolific - and it remains as one celebrated across the country on May 7 - sometimes referred to as Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti. With this year marking the famous polymaths 159th birth anniversary, were diving into history - rediscovering some of the lesser known facts behind Gurudevs incredible talent and influence. A Colour-Blind Artist Sothesbys Not only did the longtime writer pick up drawing and painting at the ripe age of sixty, proving that its never too late to explore a passion - he did so while being red-green colourblind. This disorder, medically known as protanopia, resulted in many of his paintings featuring unique, unusual and often striking interpretations of these two colours. A Friend Of Einsteins Wikimedia Great minds think alike - and for these two intellectual giants of the 20th century, this led to a sustained friendship between the artist and physicist that resulted in enlightening conversations - two of which were recorded by interpreters. While they bumped into each other four times across their lives, their greatest meeting was at Einsteins home in Potsdam, Germany - where the two sat down for a spirited philosophical discussion on the nature of reality. The Interesting Aftermath Of His Nobel Prize Reuters Tagore has been immortalised in history for having been the first non-European to be awarded the prestigious Nobel prize in 1913 - but whats truly remarkable is what the man did with his prize money of 8,000 pounds (worth over 7 crores in todays money). It was used to construct the Visva-Bharati school in his hometown of Shantiniketan. The school ran on the Shantiniketan Education System and gave the nation many distinguished personalities, Amartya Sen, Satyajit Ray, and Indira Gandhi to name but a few. Tragically, the prize itself was stolen by thieves in 2004, with the Nobel academy offering two replicas made of gold and bronze to the school. The strange heist was even chronicled in a 2012 Bengali film starring Mithun Chakraborty, named Nobel Chor. Nearly 12 years later in 2016, the thieves were discovered and the prize was returned to its rightful place. The Man Behind Three National Anthems Wikimedia As one of the foremost writers during the most transformative era of the Indian subcontinent, Tagore was famous and is remembered every day across the nation for his penmanship of Indias national anthem Jana Gana Mana - originally composed in Bengali as Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata. While its also fairly common knowledge that the writer also composed Bangaldeshs Amar Sonar Bangla, yet a controversy exists, claiming that he also had a hand in Sri Lankas Sri Lanka Matha national anthem - which was penned by Tagores longtime student Ananda Samarakoon. Some believe that Samarakoon was inspired by Tagore, while others maintain that Tagore himself wrote the original. A Writer With Wanderlust Sothesbys While many have an impression that Tagore was holed up at his desk in Shantiniketan, working away on his manuscripts, the truth is that he was an incredibly well-travelled person, and owed much of his vision and scope to these experiences. While weve already mentioned his visit to Germany, the writers travels began with studies in London, where he gave up law to study the works of Shakespeare. In his subsequent years as a writer, the man covered a stunning 30 countries - meeting many eminent personalities such as Benito Mussolini, the Shah of Iran and countless writers both famous and obscure. Curious about more of his work? A good place to begin would be to read some of his most famous poems - which you can find here. 07.05.2020 LISTEN The General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu has denied suggestions that the partys National Executive Committee (NEC) intends handpicking parliamentary candidates to contest in the general elections if COVID-19 persists. Mr. Boadu was quoted by a section of the media as saying the partys NEC might resort to selecting parliamentary candidates for the general elections if the NPP is unable to organise primaries for siting MPs ahead of the general elections, due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Mr. Boadu on the Citi Breakfast Show, however, dismissed these claims, saying he was misrepresented. He clarified that he had only indicated that the NEC was devising other strategies of electing parliamentary candidates if COVID-19 is not contained. It is the headline that was given [my earlier remarks]that created that impression but if you had gone further to listen to the interview I had granted, I do not think anyone would have come to the conclusion that we are planning to hand pick our parliamentary candidates for where we have sitting Members of Parliament, he said. The NPP suspended its April 25, 2020 parliamentary primaries indefinitely in accordance with the President's ban on public gatherings in the wake of the Coronavirus. NPP against the postponement of elections Mr. Boadu also said the party is not in support of a possible postponement of the 2020 general elections. The conduct of the December 7, 2020 polls is in limbo 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. While many continue to cast doubts over the ability of the Electoral Commission (EC) to compile a new voters' register ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections, some have already begun looking into the practicalities of some constitutional provisions to be considered for the present situation. Both legal and constitutional arguments have also been made to minimize the risk and political implication of holding or cancelling the election in the phase of the outbreak. Mr. Boadu said the government is mindful of putting in place the necessary social distancing measures under circumstances when elections have to be held in the wake of the pandemic. We took a decision to postpone the 25th April much-awaited primaries indefinitely and that is where we are now. We [NPP] do not believe that the mandate of the President should be extended for one minute. The NPP is totally against the situation where 6th of January, we have not been able to renew the mandate of the President or on 7th January, Ghanaians have not been given the opportunity to vote. So it is the responsibility of government itself, looking at how tight our presidential, parliamentary elections are to put in place or put together measures that will allow the EC to register if not at all, for the people who have turned 18 and that will enable political parties to put in place measures such as parliamentary primaries for the preparation of the 2020 elections. ---citinewsroom A manhunt is underway for a man whose family have links to the Calabrian mafia following the death of a 26-year-old mother in South Melbourne. Ellie Price was found dead in her Park Street apartment on Monday afternoon after police received a call of concern over her welfare. Victoria Police believe she may have been dead for up to a week inside the property. Detective Inspector Tim Day told reporters on Thursday Ms Price is believed to have suffered a "significant assault" either on April 28 or 29. On Thursday, police released an image of Ricardo Barbaro after failing to locate the 33-year-old who is wanted for questioning over Ms Prices death. Police are looking for Ricardo Barbaro in connection with the death of Ellie Price. Source: Vic Police Police say the pair were known to be in an on-off relationship which began in October last year. Ricardo Barbaro is the brother of Sydney crime figure Pasquale Barbaro who was shot dead in Sydney in 2016, The Age reports. Their father Giuseppe "Joe" Barbaro is a cousin of another Pasquale Barbaro, a prominent gangland figure who was gunned down alongside Jason Moran in Essendon in 2003. Some members of the wider Barbaro family had known links to the Calabrian mafia. His grandfather Peter Pasquale Barbaro was also gunned down in Brisbane in 1990. While Mr Barbaro's uncle - yet another Pasquale Barbaro, from Griffith - was the kingpin in the world's biggest ecstasy bust in 2007. He was sentenced in Melbourne to 30 years in jail in 2012. Ricardo Barbaro is known to frequent the northwest and western suburbs of Melbourne with his last registered address in Southport in Queensland. Ellie Price's body was found in her home on Monday. Source: Facebook Joe Barbaro told the Herald Sun he hasnt seen his son in five years and doesnt know where he is. Det Insp Day said it was likely Ricardo Barbaro had been in contact with family members in recent days and that it was a "possibility" he was being harboured by them. Weeks before her death, Ms Price made a Facebook post where she urged people not to take life for granted and that the coronavirus outbreak had taken her by surprise. Story continues Ricardo Barbaro is described as 185cm tall with a solid build and black hair. Ms Price's car is missing from her property. Source: Vic Police Police urge anyone who has seen Ricardo Barbaro to contact Triple-0 immediately and not to approach him. Detectives are also searching for his white 2009 Toyota Hiace van with registration 1OZ 8PC. The victims vehicle, a white 2017 E 350 Mercedes sedan with pink number plates, registration 22ZERO, is missing from her property. Investigations are ongoing and police are asking for anyone who witnessed suspicious activity on either April 28 or 29 on Park or Ferrars Street. with AAP Anyone with information about his whereabouts is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report online. 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. Pictures taken on Aer Lingus Belfast-London flight yesterday morning and posted on Twitter by the BBCs Kelly Bonner DUP MP Gavin Robinson has called on the government to implement clear guidance on the use of air travel and other forms of public transport after images emerged of a packed flight between Belfast and London Healthrow on Monday morning. The East Belfast MP said airlines and individual passengers also have responsibility for their personal safety as some restrictions look set to be eased. Read More Aer Lingus carried out a review following the incident and on Tuesday evening announced it was adding an extra flight to the route and making changes to boarding procedures. Mr Robinson said he was shocked to see no one appeared to be wearing gloves or masks on the flight and said he would have felt "uncomfortable" sitting on the plane. But he said fundamental questions had to be asked about what steps need to be taken to ensure personal health and safety when in close proximity with others. "I'm not aware of any clear guidance from government, either the Department of Infrastructure here in Northern Ireland or indeed nationally about air travel," he told BBC's Good Morning Ulster. Mr Robinson said people whose employers were still operating will need to satisfy their contracts of employment, which may involve travel. "If they don't, they will be in a very precarious position," he said. A Department for Infrastructure spokesperson said the department is not responsible for air travel advice. "Aviation matters in Northern Ireland, including airline safety, are the responsibility of central UK Governments Department for Transport (DfT) which has issued advice and guidance to all UK airports and airlines in response to the COVID-19 crisis," the spokesperson said. The chief executive of Belfast City Airport, Brian Ambrose, has said it was working "around the clock" to make it as safe as possible for travellers. Mr Ambrose said Monday saw the first big influx of passengers since the virus outbreak, with 154 on the flight. He told the BBC's Stephen Nolan Show: "Measures yesterday were not up to our usual standards. The people at the airport will not be found wanting to find solutions." North Antrim MP Ian Paisley raised the matter in the Commons on Wednesday. He asked Business Minister Paul Scully what guidelines the government would put in place to protect workers. Speaking from Northern Ireland, he asked: "Can the minister tell us what guidelines he will put in place and the government put in place to assist necessary workers and passengers travelling from Northern Ireland to London on airlines? "What assistance will he put in place to air operators taking and making necessary flights to ensure there is the necessary guidelines and protections in place for those workers?" In response, Mr Scully said from Westminster: "In part of giving confidence to people returning to work, clearly it's also important to be able to give the confidence to travel to and from the various parts of the UK to work as well. "That's why this process will also look at transport, it will look at opening of schools and these kind of things when the health guidance is suitably appropriate." This week, Aer Lingus advised all customers due to travel on an extra route to give themselves additional time to check in, as changes to the boarding procedure will be introduced and more luggage will be checked into the hold. "In order to reduce the operational pressure involved in implementing these measures, Aer Lingus is putting on an additional flight frequency on each day of operation of the service," said the airline. "The two services will depart at 0845 and 0945 on each day of operation. It is expected that this additional frequency will result in reduced loads on each flight. "The Belfast-London Heathrow service is provided to maintain a vital air link between Belfast and London and to allow critical workers to travel where required. "The safety and security of Aer Lingus' customers and crew is our number one priority, and these process changes are being implemented as a matter of urgency." Meanwhile, the DUP raised concerns about a job retention scheme put in place by the Westminster government that is set to end on June 30. The party has called on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to extend the scheme until October to assist ground airline staff as well as other sectors. "If this ends on June 30, it will lead to thousands upon thousands of redundancies in Northern Ireland and across the United Kingdom," said Mr Robinson. He said the ending of the scheme in June would have a "cataclysmic outcome" for the economy. The department for Infrastructure has been asked for a response. LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / BTCSHORT ('BTCS') will be available for trading on the BEQUANT Exchange from Thursday 7th May 2020. BTCSHORT is the first fully-hedged inverse token that tracks the daily inverse performance of Bitcoin. The first-of-its-kind, BTCS is structured as a stablecoin and fully hedged. It is ideally suited for token holders who want exposure to the inverse or -1x the daily performance of Bitcoin on any given day. In short, if bitcoin declines in value, BTCS will function in the opposite direction. The price will climb by the approximate equal value- generating a market gain for an investor. The launch of the BTCS inverse token marks a significant step for the digital assets community which was carefully planned to take place before the halving of bitcoin. has been demanding more tools to hedge and capitalize on a likely increase in volatility. CEO of BEQUANT George Zarya said: "The BTCSHORT ('BTCS') token release is a milestone event for the digital assets community. The community has been demanding more tools to hedge and capitalize on a likely increase in volatility. BTCSHORT is innovative product that meets this demand and we are delighted to support its entry to the market." BEQUANT has made the necessary technical preparations to integrate the BTCSHORT token on its trading platform after its official release. BEQUANT, alongside Bitcoin.com and HitBTC, will integrate the USDT pair when BTCSHORT is officially released by Amun Ltd. About Amun Ltd. Amun is the technology company behind the innovative inverse token BTCS. Its sister company, 21Shares AG, the Swiss-based issuer of fully-collateralized, passive investment ETP (trackers) of crypto assets. Amun has built proprietary technology to allow users to issue their own inverse tokens in exchange for stablecoins. All smart contracts are open-source for the benefit of the community. The Amun team consists of an experienced mix of engineers, product managers and marketing team with the sole mission to bring innovative and useful instruments to the crypto market. About BEQUANT Located in London and Malta, 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. The BEQUANT team is composed of experts from institutional, retail and digital financial services with experience in banking, derivatives, electronic trading and prime brokerage. Websites BEQUANT Digital Assets Trading Platform:www.BEQUANT.io BEQUANT Prime Brokerage Services:www.BEQUANT.pro Social Media Follow BEQUANT onTwitter,Facebook andLinkedIn Media contact BEQUANT Sunil Chauhan T: +44 (0)20 3893 3214 E: marketing@bequant.pro W: https://bequant.pro/ SOURCE: BEQUANT View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/588890/BEQUANT-Exchange-to-Integrate-BTCSHORT-Token MIAMI, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Axela Technologies, the leading provider of collection solutions for community associations, has announced a funding program that will provide a financial lifeline at a time when HOAs and condos need it most. The funding is available nationwide, effective immediately. "We realize that times are tough, and they are going to get more difficult for community associations," said Martin Urruela, Axela's CEO. "Community associations have received little help from the federal or state governments and are suffering due to the unforeseen hardships placed on their owners, so we're stepping up to help." HAAP, short for Homeowner Assessment Assurance Program, advances a portion of a community's receivables in the form of an immediate cash injection. It is not a loan; it is non-recourse, interest-free, and does not require the association to sign a note or a security interest. Axela is repaid with funds recovered through their collection of delinquent accounts. "Besides being not-for-profit entities, associations are a zero-sum business and rely on owners' assessments to pay their bills," continues Urruela. "As a collection firm, we know that most, if not all assessments will be recovered at some point, but we don't know when. Associations often don't have the luxury to wait, but we do, so we're providing the funds up front to help them meet their day-to-day financial requirements." Until now, Axela's HAAP program has been available exclusively in Florida. Prior to the pandemic, approximately 10 percent of the company's Florida clients had applied for an advance but that number has steadily increased in recent weeks. The spike in demand is what prompted the company to open the program to other states. "While HAAP is innovative and most certainly helpful, the way it works is simple," adds Urruela. "Instead of funding clients after we collect their money, we're funding them up front. If for whatever reason, we are unsuccessful in collecting, we lose. The advance is non-recourse, so the association will never be on the hook for amounts that we advance them." Axela's clients who have taken advantage of HAAP have praised the program. "One of our associations had their insurance renewal coming up, but didn't have the money," said Fabio Setton, owner of PMI Top Florida Properties, a management company based in Aventura, FL. "Axela stepped up and advanced the funds within days of our request, which saved the association from having to pass a special assessment or risk losing insurance coverage." Taylor Pena of Marquis Association Management stated, "Axela has been providing funding for our community for nearly two years, allowing us to replicate a perfect cash flow scenario, despite the fact that several owners were not making timely payments." The application process requires community associations to submit a roster of units that would be placed into collections with Axela. The underwriting process is fully automated, and associations can be approved and funded within 72 hours. More information on the program is available at www.axela-tech.com/haap ABOUT AXELA TECHNOLOGIES Axela Technologies is a collections firm specialized in recovering delinquent assessments for community associations. Axela reduces the cost of outreach and engagement by automating much of the standardized collections process while providing exceptional customer service and a centralized platform for all stakeholders to promote transparency and efficiency. To learn more about Axela Technologies, visit www.axela-tech.com Media Contact: Andrea Drennen Frontage Marketing Group Phone: 727.557.6177 Email: [email protected] Related Images axela-technologies-how-the-future.png Axela Technologies: How the Future Collects Axela Technologies Logo Related Links Axela Technologies Website HAAP Program Details SOURCE Axela Technologies Related Links http://www.axela-tech.com Health and technology providers have joined forces to deploy XrAI, a machine learning tool that acts as a co-pilot for clinicians to increase accuracy in detecting lung abnormalities associated with diseases such as COVID-19 infection, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and lung cancer. VANCOUVER, May 7, 2020 /CNW/ - 1QBit, a global leader in advanced computing and software development, and its partners representing health authorities from East to West, have received funding from the Digital Technology Supercluster to accelerate the clinical deployment of XrAI, the first radiology AI (artificial intelligence) tool to be certified as a Class III Medical Device by Health Canada. XrAI (pronounced "X-ray") is a machine learning, clinical-decision support tool that improves the accuracy and consistency of chest X-ray interpretation. This tool supports medical teams by identifying lung abnormalities on chest radiographs within the teams' existing clinical workflow, requiring little to no further training. Its analysis capabilities empower clinicians with this information so that they can more effectively manage patients with COVID-19 infections or other respiratory complications, such as SARS, pneumonia, and tuberculosis. "As a physician, I recognize that trust is the currency with which health systems operate. So we designed XrAI to act as a trusted co-pilot that helps doctors and nurses on the front lines. The tool identifies a lung abnormality and displays this information in terms of a confidence level. This is intuitive to busy clinicians, as it reflects a familiar way in which a radiologist would share their opinion," said Dr. Deepak Kaura, Chief Medical Officer of 1QBit. "We were so impressed by how quickly the Saskatchewan Health Authority mobilized to conduct the clinical trial for XrAI, which had actually been planned for a later date. Equally impressive was Health Canada, whose team was detail oriented, responding diligently and acting effectively to grant us approval." XrAI received certification as a Class III Medical Device by Health Canada last month, based on rigorous review and the results of a single-blind, randomized control clinical trial. 1QBit trained the algorithm on 250,000 cases taken from more than 500,000 anonymized radiograph images from Canadian health organizations, and open and subscription-based datasets. The data covered a broad spectrum of diseases, across geographically and demographically diverse populations, while the tool's features were designed with input from a broad cross section of physicians and other health care professionals. "Many physicians recognize the value of machine learning applied to our field. However, we are not willing to sacrifice the scientific rigour upon which medicine and our profession has been built. XrAI is one of the first AI tools that I have seen that has been built and validated with a randomized control trial across multiple physician groups," said Dr. Paul Babyn, Physician Executive of the Saskatchewan Health Authority. "The trust that 1QBit's tool has garnered as a result of its rigorous approach is what I believe has led to such a prompt and positive response from the medical community." The ability to get XrAI into the hands of clinicians is being accelerated by funding from the Digital Technology Supercluster through its COVID-19 Program. This award is contributing to the implementation costs for partnering health care authorities to deploy the software across their clinical systems, which span hospitals and clinics in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. Microsoft is also providing support for 1QBit as they implement XrAI with their partners. "XrAI is yet another example of the Supercluster's 'all hands-on deck' approach to overcoming the challenges presented by COVID-19. By collaborating closely with health authorities, 1QBit has allowed us to expedite this critical technology to get into the hands of practitioners across the country and contribute to what we expect may be a turning point in the speed at which we identify abnormalities and treat those infected with COVID-19," said Sue Paish, CEO of the Digital Technology Supercluster. Early on, 1QBit engaged health authorities, front-line health care workers, and technology providers to ensure the roll-out of its technology would be led by physicians. 1QBit's partners include the Saskatchewan Health Authority, the Fraser Health Authority, the First Nations Health Authority, Trillium Health Partners, the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Medicine as well as The Red Cross. Trans-national implementation of XrAI is now underway and will provide a comprehensive and inclusive elevation of care from West to East, including First Nations, the north, and rural communities, as well as urban centres. 1QBit is continuing to partner with new clinicians and health organizations interested in arming their teams with XrAI to enhance quality of care, and to improve the efficiency of health resources during the current COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. About 1QBit: 1QBit is a global leader in advanced computing and software development. Founded in 2012, 1QBit builds hardware-agnostic software and partners with companies taking on computationally exhaustive problems in advanced materials, life sciences, energy, and finance. Trusted by Fortune 500 companies and top research institutions internationally, 1QBit is seen as an industry leader in quantum computing, machine learning, software development and hardware optimization. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, the company employs over 120 mathematicians, computer scientists, physicists, chemists, software developers, physicians, biomedical experts, and quantum computing specialists. 1QBit develops novel solutions to computational problems along the full stack of classical and quantum computing, from hardware innovations to commercial application development. About Digital Technology Supercluster: The Digital Technology Supercluster is led by global companies like Canfor, MDA, Microsoft, Telus, Teck Resources Limited, Mosaic Forest Management, LifeLabs, and Terramera, and tech industry leaders such as D-Wave Systems, Finger Food Advanced Technology Group, and LlamaZOO. Members also include BC's post-secondary institutions, including the Emily Carr University of Art + Design, the British Columbia Institute of Technology, the University of British Columbia, and Simon Fraser University. A full list of members can be found here . About the COVID-19 Program: The COVID-19 Program funds projects that contribute to improving the health and safety of Canadians, supporting Canada's ability to address issues created by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, these projects will build the expertise and capacity needed to address and anticipate issues that may arise in future health crises. More information can be found here . For media requests related to 1QBit and XrAI, please contact Amanda Downs at amanda.downs@1qbit.com or at +1 (778) 425-4434; For media requests related to the Digital Technology Supercluster, please contact Elysa Darling at elysa@switchboardpr.com or at +1 (587) 890-9833. Related Links http://www.1qbit.com/ SOURCE 1QBit By Ted Hesson WASHINGTON, May 7 (Reuters) - U.S. arrests along the border with Mexico fell dramatically in April as migrants were swiftly deported under new rules aimed at limiting the spread of the novel coronavirus, the top U.S. Customs and Border Protection official told reporters on Thursday. The Border Patrol arrested about 16,000 migrants in April, a 47 percent decline from a month earlier, according to CBP. Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan credited the drop-off to the Trump administration's decision to "expel" migrants under a health-focused statute put into effect in March, as well as restrictions on travel put in place by other countries along the traditional migrant routes to the U.S. border. The statute allows agents to deport migrants apprehended at the border - including asylum seekers and unaccompanied children - without standard legal processes. "That really has led to the reduction in overall numbers," Morgan said. He said the majority of crossers caught in April were single adults from Mexico, who can be quickly returned to that country. The statistics underscore how U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed ahead with his broad immigration crackdown during the coronavirus crisis. Trump faces voters in November and has made immigration a central theme of his presidency and the 2020 campaign. In addition to swiftly turning out illegal crossers, the administration has pushed ahead with its efforts to build a vast barrier on the southern border in the midst of national shutdowns due to the public health crisis. In March, the United States temporarily closed its borders with Mexico and Canada to non-essential travel and paused routine visa services in most countries around the world. Trump has also targeted legal immigration during the pandemic. In April, he issued an executive order that temporarily blocks some immigrants seeking green cards from coming to the United States, saying the immigrants pose a threat to U.S. workers. That order stopped short of broader halts to U.S. immigration. Four Republican senators sent a letter to Trump on Thursday calling for him to suspend all foreign guest worker visas for 60 days and to block some visa types for a year or until the U.S. economy "has returned to normal levels." (Reporting by Ted Hesson; Editing by Mica Rosenberg and Dan Grebler) Chance the Rapper is marking Teacher Appreciation Week by hosting a virtual awards show to honor the strongest, coolest, most inspirational people he knows: the nations teachers. From his home in Chicago, the Grammy award-winning musician will host his first Twilight Awards, in three Instagram Live sessions May 6-8. The new awards were designed to celebrate 10 teachers chosen for their dedication, originality and creativity in helping their students thrive. The recognition comes with a $30,000 prize for each teacher winner. The teachers can use half of the money however they wish. The other half is for their schools. The cash prize is provided by Box Tops for Education, the school donation program run by the food company General Mills. Teachers are really the only true celebrities, the only people who will stick with us for the rest of our lives, the rapper said to his Instagram Live audience on Wednesday night, the first of three broadcasts. They deserve their own Grammys, their own Oscars. They deserve a night where we all come together and give them their flowers. I want you to give a big round of applause wherever you guys are, whether youre in your living room, orthats probably the only place you should be during a pandemic, he joked. On the first Instagram Live ceremony, the musician honored four Chicago teachers: Mahmoud Aliamer, a 4th grade teacher at Sayre Language Academy; Lesa Jackson, a 1st grade teacher at Beasley Academic Center; Demetrius Heard, a music teacher at Fuller School of Excellence; and Shari Masters, a teacher at William P. Gray Elementary. Tonight and tomorrow nights ceremonies will feature teacher winners from across the country, outside of Chicago. Chance, whose given name is Chancelor Bennett, first developed the idea for the awards show in 2017, after working with educators in the Chicago Public Schools. That year he donated $1 million to the school system , and started a grant fund to establish arts and enrichment programming in Chicago classrooms through his nonprofit, SocialWorks. In that time, I got to work hand in hand personally with, in my opinion, some of the greatest teachers and principals in the country here in our Chicago public schools, Chance said, on Wednesday during the awards show. He spoke with each of the four teachers on Instagram Live, asking about how they were keeping in touch with students and teaching through the school shutdowns. Illinois public schools are closed through the end of the academic year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Masters, an elementary school teacher, said she was calling her students every day to check in. Jackson, a first grade teacher at a different school, is organizing remote professional development and took on an additional class for virtual learning, after the teacher got sick. I would not have said no, Jackson said. I knew that they had already been out of school for some time, and I knew that they needed to be learning, just like my students in my class. Read more Teacher Appreciation Week posts: See How 3 Educators Are Helping Students During COVID-19 Stories of Dedication and Creativity Heard, the music teacher, works with his students to write and record original songs during the school year. Hes posted videos of himself on his YouTube channel making music with his family during the shutdowns, and has encouraged his students to keep singing and playing, too. Chance said that hearing about Heards work was especially important to him. We need, need, need, more black males in the position of teachers at schools, especially at public schools, Chance said. Outside of my home space, there werent too many strong black male figures, and I very, very well remember the three that I had through the entirety of my academic career, and it makes a world of difference. The teachers all talked about missing their students, and looking forward to being back in the classroom. Im not blood related to any of them, but in a sense, its kind of like were a family, said Aliamer. I think I can speak for a lot of teachers when I say teachers are missing their school family, and theyre missing working with one another, too. Chance isnt the only celebrity recognizing teachers this weekother stars have also sent their virtual appreciation from lockdown. Actors Matthew McConaughey and Eva Longoria thanked teachers during a virtual Toast to Texas Teachers on Tuesday, hosted by the #TeachersCan initiative. And Jimmy Fallon, the host of the tonight show, started his at-home episode on Tuesday with an original song he wrote for Teacher Appreciation Week. Teachers should make a billion dollars, and get more vacation time, the lyrics go. They spend their days wranglin all our crazy kids. When they go out, they should get free bottomless wine. Image: Chance the Rapper speaks with Demetrius Heard, a music teacher at Fuller School of Excellence in Chicago, during Wednesdays Instagram Live cast of the Twilight Awards. [May 07, 2020] WGU Labs, InScribe Partner to Create Community among Prospective Online Students SALT LAKE CITY, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- WGU Labs, Inc., an affiliate of online nonprofit Western Governors University (WGU), has announced a research and market development agreement with Denver-based InScribe Education. The InScribe platform leverages the power of people and communities, as well as artificial intelligence, to connect learners with answers, resources, and individuals they need to succeed in their postsecondary journeys. While InScribe strives to improve every stage of the student learning lifecycle, WGU Labs will research the platform's impact on WGU's enrollment process, outcomes, and student experience. Engendering a sense of belonging early in a prospective student's enrollment experience is critical to that student's matriculation. And, while chatbots and static Q&A webpages can offer standardized responses to prospective students' basic questions, they cannot replace the confidence-inspiring, community-building results of human-to-human interaction, even when that interaction is online. InScribe aims to provide that level of engagement, at scale, through community-powered support and artificial intelligence. "We all seek meaningful, relevant human connections in so many aspects of life, including learning," said WGU Labs Managing Director Todd Bloom. "Learning is an investment in many senses of the word. Therefore, opportunities to connect with others going through a similar life experience are so important to one's successful outcomes, whether related to educational access, progress, and/or completion." "We value the expertise of the WGU Labs team and their commitment to supporting solutions that make a measurable and meaninful difference for postsecondary students," said InScribe Co-Founder and CEO Katy Kappler. "Like WGU, we're committed to providing an experience that meets the needs of today's studentone that is highly flexible, always available, and tailored to each learner's specific needs and challenges." Postsecondary institutions are increasingly focused on boosting access and improving retention and completion rates. InScribe's peer-to-peer, community-based approach allows schools to tackle this issue by offering scalable support for students. Institutions can increase student engagement and improve outcomes, all while decreasing the cost of support. Kappler and her team's philosophy is centered around the belief that education is not a "solo sport." Through their partnership with WGU Labs, InScribe will continue to demonstrate its community-building capabilities and its importance to postsecondary access and student success. About WGU Labs WGU Labs is a nonprofit that is an affiliate of WGU. WGU Labs primarily provides research, services, inventions, and builds, and secondarily provides investments in strategically aligned innovative learning solutions that improve quality and advance educational outcomes for learners everywhere. Building on social psychology, learning science, and industry trends, WGU Labs accelerates education startups and develops its own research-supported, scalable products. Learn more about WGU Labs at https://wgulabs.org/ . About InScribe InScribe is a digital student support platform that leverages the power of community and artificial intelligence to connect students with the answers, resources, and individuals they need to succeed. InScribe's digital communities cut across the traditional support silos in higher education, giving students a single place to turn when they need helpno matter the topic or time of day. Students benefit from on-demand, peer-to-peer, and student-to-expert collaboration that helps them feel more connected and increases student engagement, satisfaction, and retention. Learn more about InScribe at https://www.inscribeapp.com/ . Follow WGU: http://www.facebook.com/wgu.edu http://www.linkedin.com/companies/western-governors-university http://twitter.com/wgu http://www.youtube.com/WesternGovernorsUniv http://news.wgu.edu/news/news.xml www.wgulabs.org Contact for media inquiries: Matt Griffin, WGU Communications (615) 472-6055 [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wgu-labs-inscribe-partner-to-create-community-among-prospective-online-students-301055302.html SOURCE WGU Labs [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Sierra Leone has recorded a massive jump in coronavirus cases over the last seven days. The country took 29 days from the end of March to the end of April to reach 104 cases. But things took a turn for the worse this week, with 121 new cases reported bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 225. The Head of Case Management at the Emergency Operations Centre in the capital Freetown, Professor Sahr Foday has explained that the rise in numbers is because we are actively searching and identifying cases and bringing them to the hospital. He added we increased the testing capacity, we increased the surveillance system and made it more robust, and we made sure that the surveillance team contact trace and investigate all primary and secondary contacts, and we made attempts to actually meet all those primary contacts and obtain samples from them. So I think that would be one of the reasons why the numbers have gone up. Foday, who is a serving brigadier with the Sierra Leonean military, said the idea was to chase the virus. Therefore, they had identified three slum communities Susan's Bay, Thompson's Bay and Mabela where they wanted to undertake random testing. The strategy Foday said we have identified cases in these places, so our plan was to go to these communities and do random sampling, to actually establish that there is indeed community transmission, but unfortunately we went there two times, three times and although a few people allowed us to take samples but the vast majority refused and actually frustrated our efforts. The country observed its second 3 day lockdown from Sunday 3 May to Tuesday 5 May and during that time 59 positive cases were identified and confirmed. Bed capacity When asked if the country continues to record more hundred cases per week and whether the healthcare system's bed capacity could be over-run, the Case Management Head said No, we have more beds and we are trying to increase the number of beds, Fourah Bay College alone has 151 then Jui has 50 or more, 34 Military Hospital has over 30 beds, we have opened treatment centres in Lungi and Makeni and we are increasing the number of beds. Sierra Leone is already under an indefinite partial lockdown, including a dusk-to-dawn curfew and inter-district travel restrictions, with permission for the transportation of only food, fuel, medicines and other essential items. Riot against Covid-19 restrictions At the end of the 3 day lockdown youths in one of the fishing villages revolted and attacked police stations releasing all suspects held in custody and breaking all the windows in the barracks. A community centre which also doubles as a health centre was also ransacked. The youths were angry because of Covid-19 restrictions imposed by town authorities allowing no more than 10 fishing boats out to sea. A daylight curfew has been imposed to re-establish calm in the area. Robert Fico and a Constitutional Court judge mentioned in the messages recently restored from the mobster's phone. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Shortly before he was sent to prison, Marian Kocner tried to involve former prime minister Robert Fico in influencing the court to his benefit. The international network of journalists Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which runs the "Kocner Library" - a collection of data that has been gathered by the investigators of the murder of Jan Kuciak and Martin Kusnirova - has made new information available to the Slovak media. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Related article Related article How the Kuciak case changed Slovakia (overview) Read more Over 10,000 messages from the last weeks before Marian Kocner was put into pre-trial custody on June 28, 2018 have been brought to the media's attention. Most of these messages had been erased, but the OCCRP managed to restore them. These messages were also part of the Kuciak murder case file, meaning the police had been working with them for months. "The police had most likely known about this communication. We are working with the same dataset," Pavla Holcova of OCCRP said. These are some of the findings that follow from the newly-obtained data, as reported by the Sme daily: Fico mentioned in the messages New Delhi, May 7 : A day after allowing the release of about 4,000 Tablighi Jamaat members who have completed their due quarantine period or have been cured of COVID-19, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday said they can return to their home states. Speaking to the media here, Jain said those who attended the religious congregation at the Nizamuddin Markaz in March and are not facing any police action will be allowed to travel along with the migrants. "For the people of Tablighi Jamaat whoever has recovered and spent the designated time in quarantine can go to their respective states following the guidelines. If any police investigation is going on against anyone then the police will take care of such issues," Jain said. On Wednesday, the Delhi government issued an order to release about 4,000 Tablighi Jamaat members who attended the religious congregation at the Markaz in March and have completed their due quarantine period or have been cured of COVID-19 infection. Around 1,100 people related to the Markaz tested positive for COVID-19 in Delhi. As on date, the national capital reported 5,532 positive COVID-19 cases, Jain said. "Yesterday 428 cases were reported from Delhi. In Delhi, the situation is under control and the doubling rate of coronavirus cases in the city is currently at 11 days," he said. The Health Minister also said the people may have to be very careful as they may have to live with the coronavirus for a certain period. "It (the infection) may stay for a longer period of time. We have to follow all rules, use masks and maintain social distancing at all times. The Delhi government is monitoring the situation 24x7 to ensure that the virus does not spread further," he said. Compared to western countries, Jain added, the situation in India is much better. "In Delhi right now we have 3,925 active cases and only 84 patients are in ICU. We should not look into the cases in terms of absolute numbers but we should calculate the rate of growth with respect to the base value. Rate of growth of COVID-19 cases in Delhi was around 8 per cent on Wednesday, earlier the rate was around 20 per cent." Till May 3, Jain added, there was a lockdown and no movement of people was allowed. "But now the Centre has permitted to send back the stranded people. We are in constant touch with all the states regarding sending the migrant labourers and stranded people to their respective states and certain states have also taken a number of steps to bring back their labourers. We have shared the list of people with respective states and today a train with stranded people will leave for Madhya Pradesh." Jain also said the liquor shops have been opened as per rules and the situation will be under control in 2 to 3 days. For Bridgegate defendants Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni, it was a day of redemption. After asserting their innocence for years, with one of them actually serving time in prison for a brief period, both expressed their joy and thanked their attorneys after the U.S. Supreme Court, against all expectations, took the case and overturned their convictions. The two had been found guilty in November 2016 of fraud and conspiracy in connection with a scheme to purposely tie up traffic around the George Washington Bridge, in an alleged scheme of political retaliation. Today, the Court gave me back my name and began to reverse the six-and-a-half-year nightmare that has become my life, said Kelly, 47, a former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Chris Christie. Having been maligned, I now stand with my family and friends knowing that due process worked. While this may finally have made this case right for me, it does not absolve those who should have truly been held accountable. Thanking her legal team of Michael Critchley, Mike Critchley, Jr., Edmund DeNoia, and Yaakov Roth, she also gave thanks to her friends and family for their support. Today, I want nothing more than to hug my children knowing they will have their mom with them always, Kelly said. Baroni, the one-time deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who was charged with Kelly and opted to begin serving his prison term before his release on bail after the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, said the high court vindicated" him and told the world he never committed any crimes I am thankful for the Supreme Court of the United States for this clear statement of my innocence, he said. "I have always said I was an innocent and today, the Supreme Court unanimously agreed. Baroni said the past six years have been difficult for him, his family and friends. There were many tough days, and it was their faith in me and my innocence that allowed me to get through this, he said, also thanking his attorneys, including Michael Levy of Sidley Austin. He added that he had no regrets about reporting to prison, despite the courts decision. My fellow inmates at Loretto prison taught me so much about strength, resilience, and determination. They kept me going, even on the other side of the jail bars. And I shall always be there for them. I hope and pray they are well taken care of in this perilous time of COVID-19, he said. He said his joy was tempered by his concern for the people with whom he served time in prison, where coronavirus remains a deadly threat. This is a scary time for all of us; it is especially scary for people in prison who cant self-isolate; cant socially distance; cant stay 6 feet apart. I am going to do all that I can to make sure they are not forgotten, he said. Baroni said he has always believed in public service. And now that the Supreme Court has ruled so clearly, I can continue my efforts to serve my community. And I am going to work to help those who are headed to prison, in prison, and getting out of prison, he said I have learned much in these past seven years about our criminal justice and prison systems. And I am going to spend these next years helping those that are caught in them. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Zoom has acquired security start-up Keybase, the first purchase in the company's nine-year history. With in-person dealmaking off the table because of social distancing requirements, the negotiations took place over Zoom video calls. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. The acquisition of the 25-person start-up is the latest move in a 90-day plan that Zoom announced on April 1 to fix its security flaws. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan told CNBC the company needed a solution for users who are demanding the highest level of privacy and certainty that uninvited participants have no access to their conversations. When Keybase is implemented, the Zoom user who schedules a meeting will be able to choose end-to-end encryption. That setting will prevent anyone from calling in by phone, which is one way people can access meetings, and will disable cloud-based recording of the chat. Yuan said it's critical that users know that the encryption key is not on Zoom's servers, so the company has no access to the contents of the call. Yuan has made security his primary focus over the past month, after Zoom was hammered by critics for allowing "zoombombings" from unwelcome guests, allegedly misleading investors about its level of encryption, and revelations that its app shares personal data with Facebook. Zoom has acknowledged that it was unprepared for the sudden spike in usage, which has surged thirtyfold since the end of December as millions of office workers were forced to comply with lockdown orders. In early April, Yuan hired former Facebook security chief Alex Stamos as a consultant to help the company beef up its efforts after apologizing to users for falling "short of the community's and our own privacy and security expectations." Within days, Stamos was on the phone with Keybase co-founder Max Krohn, and the teams started working toward a deal. Yuan said after he talked with Krohn and dug into Keybase's software, he was convinced this was the right deal. tweet "If you look at all the technologies, all the companies, I think Max and Keybase have the best tech and best team," Yuan said, in a Zoom call on Wednesday, which Krohn also joined from his home in New York. Krohn said it will take some time to bake Keybase's technology into Zoom's software, primarily because the product is currently used largely by security and cryptography experts and needs to be simplified for Zoom's broad customer base. "These are subtle problems and we've been working on this problem for roughly five years, and nothing else," said Krohn. "Teaming up with Zoom really gives us an amazing opportunity to apply all our technology and all our expertise at a scale that's much larger." The Keybase service will be part of Zoom's paid offering, not the free service. The announced deal comes after Zoom added more rudimentary security features, like defaulting to the waiting room option so the meeting host can control who joins, and forcing people who join manually to enter a password. In a blog post on Monday, Yuan said that in his effort to meet the company's 90-day plan for improvements, "We are working hard, engaging top experts to help us, and not wasting any time." As for hashing out the acquisition, Yuan said it worked well over Zoom and that "I feel like this could be the standard," though he acknowledged that in this case they had "no choice." Krohn said not having to fly across the country for a meeting allowed the deal to close about 25% faster. He was also able to avoid airports and planes and to stay at home, focused on the technical aspects of the tie-up, which is "where I prefer to work and what I prefer to think about," Krohn said. Keybase raised a $10.8 million financing round in 2015, led by Andreessen Horowitz. WATCH: How Zoom rose to the top during social distancing The cremation of 31-year-old Delhi Police constable Amit Kumar who died due to COVID-19 was held here on Thursday, police said. Kumar, the first policeman in the national capital to die due to coronavirus, was posted at the Bharat Nagar Police Station in northwest Delhi, they said. After his condition deteriorated on Tuesday evening, he was taken to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, where he was declared brought dead by doctors. Kumar's sample was sent for COVID-19 test and the reports came as positive on Wednesday, police said. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal condoled the demise of the constable and said his family would be provided with an ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore. Joint Commissioner of Police (Northern Range) Manish Agrawal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Vijayanta Arya and other officers of the district paid their last respects to the deceased at Punjabi Bagh crematorium, they said. The joint commissioner of police interacted with the family members of Kumar and conveyed his condolences in this hour of grief. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Technavio has been monitoring the metal cutting tools market and it is poised to grow by USD 10.24 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 6% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, the 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/20200507005334/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Metal Cutting Tools 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. AMADA HOLDINGS Co. Ltd., Berkenhoff GmbH, Colfax Corp., DMG MORI Global Marketing GmbH, FANUC Corp., Gedik Welding, Illinois Tool Works Inc., Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Sandvik AB, and TRUMPF GmbH Co. KG are some of the major market participants. Although the growth in the automotive industry will offer immense growth opportunities, increased competition from substitute products 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. Growth in the automotive industry has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. However, increased competition from substitute products might hamper the market growth. Metal Cutting Tools Market 2020-2024: Segmentation Metal Cutting Tools Market is segmented as below: Product Milling Tools Drilling Tools Other Tools 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=IRTNTR43164 Metal Cutting Tools 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 metal cutting tools market report covers the following areas: Metal Cutting Tools Market Size Metal Cutting Tools Market Trends Metal Cutting Tools Market Industry Analysis This study identifies growth in demand for additive manufacturing as one of the prime reasons driving the metal cutting tools market growth during the next few years. Metal Cutting Tools Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the metal cutting tools market, including some of the vendors such as AMADA HOLDINGS Co. Ltd., Berkenhoff GmbH, Colfax Corp., DMG MORI Global Marketing GmbH, FANUC Corp., Gedik Welding, Illinois Tool Works Inc., Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Sandvik AB, and TRUMPF GmbH Co. KG. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the metal cutting tools 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. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Metal Cutting Tools Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024 Detailed information on factors that will assist metal cutting tools market growth during the next five years Estimation of the metal cutting tools market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the metal cutting tools market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of metal cutting tools market vendors Table Of Contents : Executive Summary Market Overview Market Landscape Market ecosystem Value chain analysis Market Sizing Market definition Market segment analysis Market size 2019 Market outlook: Forecast for 2019 2024 Five Forces Analysis Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes Threat of rivalry Market condition Market Segmentation by Product Market segments Comparison by Product Milling tools Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Drilling tools Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Other tools Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Market opportunity by Product Customer landscape Overview Geographic Landscape Geographic segmentation Geographic comparison APAC Market size and forecast 2019-2024 North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Europe 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 by geography Drivers, Challenges, and Trends Market drivers Market challenges Market trends Vendor Landscape Overview Landscape disruption Vendor Analysis Vendors covered Market positioning of vendors AMADA HOLDINGS Co. Ltd. Berkenhoff GmbH Colfax Corp. DMG MORI Global Marketing GmbH FANUC Corp. Gedik Welding Illinois Tool Works Inc. Mitsubishi Electric Corp. Sandvik AB TRUMPF GmbH Co. KG Appendix Scope of the report Currency conversion rates for US$ Research methodology List of abbreviations 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/20200507005334/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ One author's obsessive pursuit to unmask the Golden State Killer, one of the most prolific serial murderers and rapists in US history, is being brought to life in a new six-part HBO documentary series. True-crime author Michelle McNamara died of an accidental overdose on April 21, 2016 - just two years before police arrested 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo, a retired police officer. Suspected of being the masked assailant, police say DeAngelo is responsible for at least 13 murders, 50 rapes and 100 burglaries in California between 1974 and 1986. Though tragically she never lived long enough to witness the fruits of her labor, in the five years leading up to her death, McNamara compulsively played amateur sleuth - delving into the history of the Golden State Killer and meticulously analyzing his every step, hoping to finally bring him to justice. 'I had a murder habit - it was bad,' McNamara once wrote of her obsession over the case, which had been fueled by an unrelated, unsolved murder in her hometown as a child. 'I knew I would be feeding it for the rest of my life.' McNamara's unrelenting voyage to identify the infamous killer is captured in HBO's upcoming documentary series, 'I'll Be Gone in the Dark', set for release on June 26. 'I just obsess over it,' McNamara is heard confessing in a newly surfaced video diary. 'What drives me is the need to put a face on an unknown killer. 'After my husband and daughter fall asleep, I hunt for the killer on my laptop.' True-crime author Michelle McNamara died of an accidental overdose on April 21, 2016 - but in the five years leading up to her death, McNamara compulsively played amateur sleuth - delving into the history of the Golden State Killer and analysing his every move in a bid to finally bring him to justice She died just two years before police arrested Joseph James DeAngelo, a retired police officer, believing him to be responsible for at least 13 murders, 50 rapes and 100 burglaries in California between 1974 and 1986 The series shares its name with McNamara's book, which was published posthumously in February 2018. The title was taken from a quote the book's subject allegedly hissed at one of his victims: 'Youll be silent forever, and Ill be gone in the dark,' From the early 1970s to the mid 1980s, California was terrorized by a balaclava-wearing assailant who would monitor suburban neighborhoods, sneak into homes in the dead of night and blind his prey with a flashlight. Usually targeting couples, he would tie up the man, place dishes on his back and threaten to kill both victims if he heard the plates fall onto the floor while he was raping the female victim. He spoke only through gritted teeth and his depraved obsession of committing heinous acts of rape soon escalated into a deadly taste for murder. Many of survivors have claimed he would often sob uncontrollably after committing a sexual assault, calling out for his mother. He would then sit quietly in the darkness for hours to trick his blindfolded victims into thinking he'd left, before striking again. The suspect's last known killing occurred in 1986; and as mysteriously as the demonic figure appeared, he vanished without a trace. The various crime sprees of the masked assailant would go on to be attributed to a number of different names - the Visalia Ransacker; the Original Night Stalker; and the East Area Rapist - before it became evident they were all committed by the same man. It wasn't until McNamara began compiling some 3,500 pages of evidence for her book and online crime blog, that she would coin the moniker the Golden State Killer. 'She had material that other investigators had never seen,' retired detective Paul Holes, who had worked on the unsolved murders at the time, told HBO of McNamara. 'Even though she never had a badge and a gun, Michelle was always one of us.' 'I just obsess over it,' McNamara is heard confessing in a newly surfaced video diary. 'What drives me is the need to put a face on an unknown killer. 'After my husband and daughter fall asleep, I hunt for the killer on my laptop.' The various crime sprees of the masked assailant would go on to be attributed to a number of different names - the Visalia Ransacker; the Original Night Stalker; and the East Area Rapist - before it became evident they were all committed by the same man From the early 1970s to the mid 1980s California was terrorized by a balaclava-wearing assailant who would monitor suburban neighborhoods, sneak into homes at night and blind his prey with a flashlight The Golden State Killer is suspected of committing dozens and dozens of crimes in Sacramento County in the late 1970s. Pictured is crime scene evidence from one of the attacks Usually targeting couples, he would tie up the man, place dishes on his back and threaten to kill both victims if he heard the plates fall onto the floor while he was raping the female victim After McNamara's death, aged 46, her husband Patton Oswalt solicited the help of Paul Haynes and Billy Jensen, two investigative journalists and friends of McNamara, who worked to finish her book. I'll Be Gone in the Dark was released just weeks before the arrest of 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo, on April 24, 2018, who was initially charged in connection to the 1980 double homicide of suspected GSK victims Lyman and Charlene Smith. Police would later charge him in relation to 11 more murders. Because of California's statute of limitations on pre-2017 rape cases, DeAngelo was not charged in relation to any of the instances of sexual assault, but he was charged in August 2018 with a slew of kidnapping and abduction charges. Investigators zeroed in on DeAngelo by matching DNA evidence found at the crime scene to genealogical data stored on the websites 23andme and Ancestry.com. At the time, his only known run-in with police occurred in 1979, when he was fired as an officer of the Auburn Police Department for shoplifting from a Citrus Heights Drug Store. 'We knew we were looking for a needle in a haystack, but we also knew that needle was there,' Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said at the time. 'We found the needle in the haystack and it was right here in Sacramento. The answer was always going to be in the DNA.' After McNamara's death, aged 46, her husband Patton Oswalt (right) solicited the help of Paul Haynes and Billy Jensen, two investigative journalists and friends of McNamara, who worked to finish off her book. Joseph James DeAngelo, the suspected Golden State Killer, is arraigned in a Sacramento courtroom in april 2018 DeAngelo was initially charged in connection to the 1980 double homicide of suspected GSK victims Lyman and Charlene Smith At the time, his only known run-in with police occurred in 1979, when he was fired as an officer of the Auburn Police Department (seen left in uniform) for shoplifting from a Citrus Heights Drug Store. A composite sketch of the suspect draws a remarkable resemblance to DeAngelo at the time DeAngelo was living quietly in this Citrus Heights home when he was arrested in April 2018 on the basis of groundbreaking genetic genealogy evidence DeAngelo faces charges linking him to at least 13 murders and over 50 rapes across California in the 1970s and 80s In March, DeAngelo offered to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence, but the Sacramento County District Attorneys Office countered saying they wished to continue seeking the death penalty. Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Steve White allowed prosecutors, over defense objections, to take four more cheek-swab DNA samples from DeAngelo as they try to link him to old crimes. White gave prosecutors permission to swab the suspect's cheek for additional DNA evidence to be used in crimes in Ventura, Santa Barbara, Orange and Contra Costa counties. For the time being, he turned down a request that a fifth sample be taken to be given to prosecutors in Sacramento, where his trial on 13 murder and 13 rape-related charges is expected to be held. 'I am ordering that buccal swab samples be taken from the defendant,' White said. 'They will not be done forcibly. ... It won't be in open court,' Sacbee reported. The state last executed someone in 2006, and has a backlog of more than 700 killers on death row. A capital trial, which would follow a lengthy preliminary hearing in May, could cost taxpayers an estimated $20 million. Joseph James DeAngelo is currently being held without bail in the Sacramento County Main Jail. "Our People Drive Tech program was personally curated to ensure that candidates are prepared for the digital transformation companies are leading, - Cathy Light, CEO of Lideranca Group With the global skills gap expecting to cost $8.5 trillion dollars, job seekers face the need to become more marketable with an influx of workers projected after COVID passes. One global firm wants to add clarity to individuals wondering their next career move. Lideranca Group, a business and workforce acceleration firm witnessed first-hand the need for workers to demonstrate adaptability and created a first-of-its-kind program for individuals seeking to develop and showcase their skills in I.T., one of the highest-growing sectors in the job market today. With the world of work rapidly changing, the World Economic Forum recently found, More than half (54%) of all employees will require significant reskilling [by 2022] as 133 million new roles are generated as a result of the new division of labor between humans, machines, and algorithms. "For many of us working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this is a unique opportunity to up-level and sharpen our technical skills as we get ready to enter the New World of Work when this is all behind us, explained Frank Tawil, Chief Technology Officer at Lideranca Group. Afterall, People Drive Tech was designed to work around busy schedules, but now with most of us sheltered-in-place, it is the ideal time to actually sign up and learn networking, programming or any new skills you have been wanting to develop." With remote work on the rise, employers are actively seeking candidates who are, remote-ready to face other challenges ahead. According to Human Resources Today, Global trends show that remote work has increased 159% and employers are sourcing candidates that are not only more resilient, but more technologically-savvy. Right now, job seekers can become a part of the future of work by augmenting their knowledge and skills with a proven set of lessons and learning tools in technology and IT, with a dashboard of over 3,000 course titles and online modules at People Drive Tech, located at http://www.peopledrivetech.com. The People Drive Tech Solution Our People Drive Tech program was personally curated to ensure that candidates are prepared for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the digital technologies that are transforming workplaces, shared Cathy Light, CEO of Lideranca Group. The World Economic Forum believes the human race is on the verge of a technological revolution and were committed to equipping job seekers with skill sets for the future. Each module provides an abundance of training resources to help individuals prepare for certification exams and acquire new technical skills; all through a model of continual learning. With a focus on up-leveling candidate skillsets, Lideranca Group is ensuring the next century brings parity between the genders and better-equipped job seekers than ever before. From a Human Resources perspective, companies are turning to their employees to drive their own growth, taking control of their learningall in an effort to stay ahead. The Learning Experience Platform, or LXP, has risen rapidly as the technology of choice to facilitate key education and drive innovation. Jobseekers Can Join the Digital Talent Demand at PeopleDriveTech.com About Lideranca Group Lideranca Group is a unique consulting firm that applies the principles that have made some of Silicon Valleys most famous companies so successful helping new and mature organizations navigate the waters of disruption or expansion. Combined in four intentional brands that ignite great leaders in the workplace, Lideranca is the parent company of: Labels on Zylast products claimed the goods could protect against Ebola and other viruses. (Lara Solt / Dallas Morning News) The Department of Justice earlier this week ordered an Orange County-based company to stop distributing its hand-sanitizer products until it received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval or removed certain claims from its labeling that its products could protect against norovirus, rhinovirus, rotavirus, flu and Ebola. As of Thursday morning, the products website was processing orders. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter of the Central District of California instructed Innovative BioDefense Inc. of Lake Forest, Calif., on Monday to stop distributing its Zylast products until stipulations were met. But Carter also admonished the FDA for a lack of enforcement against a more well-known company that made similar claims, Purell-maker GOJO Industries. Purell products have been purchased in droves over the past few months as concerns over the coronavirus have prompted people to seek out ways to protect themselves in addition to washing their hands. Attorneys for BioDefense Inc. argued that the case was brought at the persistent urging of GOJO Industries. Zylast owner Hotan Barough refrained from commenting on the matter until consulting a lawyer. Attorney Kirby Behre, who represents Innovative BioDefense, previously said the company was "happy to comply with Judge Carter's order." In a 2018 complaint, the United States alleged that the distributors of Zylast products had violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by claiming that its goods antimicrobial antiseptics, antiseptic lotions and antiseptic foaming soaps could protect against certain diseases, despite a lack of proof or approval from the FDA. Consumers are entitled to drug labeling that complies with the law, said Assistant Atty. Gen. Jody Hunt of the Department of Justices Civil Division. The Department of Justice works closely with the FDA to ensure that manufacturers lawfully comply with the drug approval process. The company made headlines in late 2014 after it won USAIDs Fighting Ebola Grand Challenge and was touted as a product that could help prevent the spread of Ebola. Story continues But in a letter to company Chief Executive Colette Cozean roughly six months later, the FDA warned Zylast to address violations of misbranding and unsubstantiated advertising of an unapproved new drug. Although all three Zylast products have stated purposes as topical antiseptics the product labeling states intended uses that cause the products to be unapproved new drugs, the letter states. In January, the FDA served a similar letter of warning to GOJO, instructing the company of violations pertaining to statements suggesting its Purell hand sanitizers could be effective against diseases such as the Ebola virus, norovirus and influenza. Samantha Williams, corporate communications senior director for GOJO, said the company took "immediate action," updating its website and other digital content marketing the product. But according to Carter, the FDA's action against GOJO should have occurred sooner. As for Zylast, its original website, which stated it was for educational purposes, on Thursday morning included the following line: The Company does not make, and the FDA does not allow, efficacy claims against specific pathogens or general claims of reducing illness. The site linked to a customer portal, which was operating. A 2-ounce bottle of antiseptic, for example, cost a customer $12.45. That included a $7.50 charge for priority shipping. It did not appear that the site currently mentioned its former claims. City News Service contributed to this report. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- More than a dozen states loosened lockdowns in the past week even though many have yet to fully control the spread of Covid-19. The consequences wont be visible in the data on infections for some time, because loosened state restrictions take time to generate more human contacts and infections, the coronavirus takes time to incubate, and tests take time to process. Yet theres already reason to worry that several states are reopening too soon. The case against loosening restrictions before outbreaks are well-controlled is dead simple: When there is a higher base level of infection in a population, it takes fewer interactions between individuals to spread the virus. That makes every step taken to mitigate the spread less effective, and every day that people spend in public more dangerous. When testing, contact tracing and the ability to isolate infected individuals is limited, as continues to be the case in large parts of the U.S., the risk is higher still. Theres a great deal we dont understand about why Covid-19 hits some areas harder than others. Spread is determined by a combination of factors that includes initial seeding, density, demographics, public health response and plain luck. Some states that never issued statewide stay-at-home orders, or put them in place late in the pandemic, have avoided major outbreaks, while others are now seeing many new infections. However, as states allow renewed activity, the harsh reality of viral spread will come into play. States to be most concerned about are those where the rate of population-adjusted cases is still growing or elevated, and testing is limited. Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Colorado and Kansas all arguably fall into this category. Colorado at least has seen a reduction in average new cases over the past week or so, but because it remains close to its peak and testing is not up to speed, safety in reopening is not a sure thing. States are moving forward in various ways. Nebraska and Iowa never had statewide stay-at-home orders, and both are now allowing many businesses to open at limited capacity. Indiana and Colorado are keeping many retailers and restaurants closed for in-store business. Kansas is taking a middle path, allowing restaurants to open dining rooms as long as they maintain distancing, but keeping gyms and personal service businesses closed. Time will tell if this variation leads to diverging outcomes, but the virus is poised to punish incautious moves. Story continues None of the states in this chart are above average in either the number of tests being conducted per capita or in the rate of positive results which indicates of the severity of an ongoing outbreak. A high percentage of positive tests suggests that many cases are going undetected, and that a testing capacity isnt meeting the need, let alone providing the kind of expanded surveillance that should accompany reopening efforts. Other reopening states have high numbers of new cases that may be explained at least partially by comparatively good testing rates. These include Mississippi, Tennessee and, to a milder extent, Utah. Texas continues to have a comparatively small number of Covid-19 cases per capita, but its seeing a significant growth in cases as it begins to reopen. South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and North Dakota have managed to stay on a plateau, but not to reach the other side. Missouris infection rate was on a good trajectory for weeks, but its beginning to rise just as the state is allowing even large venues to reopen. Starting off in a better position are Maine and Oklahoma, both at relatively low plateaus with positive-test rates that suggest theyre not missing a lot of cases. Florida, Arkansas and South Dakota have achieved a reasonably sustained decline in new cases, though South Dakotas especially high number of per capita cases may yet seed renewed growth. Premature openings will almost certainly lead to avoidable deaths. States that jump the gun risk a return to shutdown and, worse, a delay in bringing the epidemic under control. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Max Nisen is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering biotech, pharma and health care. He previously wrote about management and corporate strategy for Quartz and Business Insider. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Gov. Gavin Newsom has shown his willingness to listen to public health officials as well as industry and the concerns of the electorate. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Lots of people have specific roles in life. In our American democracy, no single sector can rule absolutely not even public health officials in a pandemic. Public health professionals have one compelling goal right now: Vanquish the coronavirus. And do whatever it takes to achieve that end. Were fortunate theyre here and so dedicated. They should be the most influential advisors listened to by all elected chief executives the president, governors and mayors. And by all indications they are, except it seems for President Trump. But regardless of their wisdom about virus contagion, health experts cannot be given a free hand in dictating public policy. They have only one professional agenda. People collectively have many. Gov. Gavin Newsom is very much aware of that real-life truth. If we followed public health officials, California wouldnt open back up to anything this year, says a Newsom insider, who didnt want to be identified. This is a balancing act. Public health isnt absolute. Part of living life is having a livelihood. He gets that. Newsom also gets this, as he mentioned in his daily coronavirus briefing Wednesday: Peoples mental health has to be considered. For many people, their mental health deteriorates after being cooped up at home for a long period. And its even worse for workers who have been laid off because their employers business has collapsed during the pandemic. Governors also must listen to business, whose sole reason for existence is profit. If profitable, business provides jobs and tax revenue to pay for the government safety net programs that Democrats demand, plus schooling for everyones kids and grandkids. Democratic politicians must listen to organized labor their campaign patrons whose sole goal is well-compensated jobs. And most important, theres the citizenry the electorate. Ultimately, voters are the boss. And anyone who thinks thats naive should read up on former Gov. Gray Davis. Also, former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter. All three were ousted from office by unhappy voters in the last 40 years. Story continues Its often damned if they do, damned if they dont for elected officials. In a republican system of democracy, candidates for office get elected to represent the people in decision making. Thats called politics. What Ive never quite understood is why politicians then seem to be ashamed of being swayed by voters or interests in making tough decisions. They wont admit to acting based on what they consider to be good politics doing what their constituents want. On the flip side, if they dont heed their voters wishes, they get slammed for not obeying the publics will as Newsom did shortly after taking office when he ordered a moratorium on capital punishment. Voters had twice declared in recent statewide elections that they wanted to execute the most brutal murderers even expedite it. Newsom has been fortunate in his battle against the virus. His leadership has enjoyed overwhelming public support so far. In a mid-April poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, a phenomenally high 70% of voters approved of how Newsom was handling his job up 10 percentage points from September. Part of the reason for that high mark surely was because they agreed with the governors anti-virus actions. Seventy percent of voters were more worried that his stay-at-home orders would end too soon, causing the virus to spread, than they were that the confinements would linger too long, further damaging the economy. That was mid-April, however. There have been growing protests against Newsoms stay-at-home order in rural areas where the virus has had little if any impact. Some counties have defied Newsom by reopening on their own. Their public health officials have planned it. But although Newsom said Tuesday those counties were making a big mistake putting their public at risk, he pragmatically acknowledged there are regional differences throughout California and said some rural communities would be allowed to open up faster than others. He also approved the partial reopening of some businesses throughout the state. Two weeks ago, he wisely backed off his plan to close all beaches in California after his intention was leaked and protests erupted overnight. One big reason he pulled back was that most communities agreed to negotiate with him over terms for remaining open. Only Orange County cities refused, and their beaches were ordered temporarily closed. When they came to the bargaining table and worked out a plan with the governor, he reopened the beaches Monday. Hes going to follow science, the Newsom insider told me. But theres lots of wiggle room. A governor has tremendous power after he declares a statewide emergency. But any edicts require local cooperation to enforce his orders and provide medical care. We have a democratic system of government based on the consent of the governed, says Democratic consultant Garry South, former chief strategist for Davis. If the governed start withdrawing their consent, you have a problem. I think Newsom has handled it skillfully. Bob Shrum, director of the Center for the Political Future at USC, says, The folks conducting protests are a noisy minority. If I were running the government, I would listen to scientists and health directors. Newsom is. But as an elected politician, he also knows its wise to listen to everyone. The Nigerien Ministry of Defense says two attacks occurred on Sunday. One at midday: the army claims to have intercepted a column of vehicles coming from Tumbun Fulani, a locality 24km north-east of Bosso. The second attack occurred around 5:45 p.m., at the border crossing with Nigeria. The Nigerien Ministry of Defense deplores two deaths and three wounded but says that 50 people were neutralized in the Nigerian village of Dumbaa. The attack was claimed on Wednesday May 6 by the Iswap, which claims to have killed five soldiers. ISWAP claims responsibility for the attack in a short two-minute video broadcast by the West African branch of the Islamic state. The video shows, among other things, several armed men attacking what appears to be a military post. However, it is impossible to date or locate these images accurately. The insurgents seize vehicles and ammunition stocks. In a press statement the company released, Shell Philippines said that the 110,000 barrel-per-day facility will halt operations beginning sometime in May of this year. In response to the drastic decline in local product demand and the significant deterioration of regional refining margins brought about the COVID-19 pandemic, the company will temporarily shut down its refinery operations for approximately one month starting mid-May 2020, said the company in a statement. With the COVID-19 pandemic essentially wiping out demand for oil and other petroleum-based products, Shell Philippines announced that the Tabangao oil refinery will temporarily shut down for one month. But with Shell temporarily halting operations at the Tabangao refinery in Batangas City, where will the company source oil? The company said that they will resort to the full importation of petroleum products to maintain a steady supply. With it, the company said that this will safeguard its 'continuous and cost-effective supply of high-quality fuels in the country'. Shell Philippines also said that they will also use this opportunity to conduct maintenance activities in the Tabangao refinery. The company will also use the refinery shutdown as an opportunity to conduct proactive maintenance activities in the refinery while we reassure the public that we comply with the minimum inventory requirements of the government, added Shell. Shell said that the Tabangao refinery can immediately resume operations once market conditions improve and stabilize. Until then, they will rely on fuel supplies via their North Mindanao Import Facility (NMIF) located in Cagayan de Oro City. Just last Monday, President Duterte temporarily imposed a 10% tax on the importation of both crude oil and refined petroleum products. This was done in order for the Philippine government to raise income amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The local oil companies will shoulder the added cost, but the tax will serve as an added source of income for the country. Flags of some of the 193 countries that are members of the United Nations fly in front of the U.N. building in New York. (Associated Press) The United Nations on Thursday made an urgent appeal for nearly $7 billion to battle the coronavirus in vulnerable countries where COVID-19 is only starting to spread. The appeal, nearly triple the amount it requested just two months ago, comes as President Trump plans to freeze aid to the U.N.s principal health agency, the World Health Organization, and after his recent refusal to participate in a major conference of world powers to pledge money for vaccine development. Mark Lowcock, the U.N. undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, said if the appeal is successful, millions or tens of millions of lives could be saved. But he warned the greater threat in numerous countries is famine, forced migration, violence and waves of nationalism that have turned governments inward. "Unless we take action now, we should be prepared for a significant rise in conflict, hunger and poverty; the specter of multiple famines looms," Lowcock said at a virtual press briefing from New York, where the U.N. is headquartered. The appeal targets 46 of the world's poorest countries, including nations devastated by war like Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria and others grappling with chronic poverty or dysfunctional health systems, like Bolivia and the Philippines. Also included on the list is Brazil, where President Jair Bolsonaro, an admirer of Trump, continues to downplay the seriousness of the disease. Most of the countries are in Africa and Latin America, and Lowcock said women and girls are most vulnerable. In part because the population in many of these countries skews young, the disease has not yet infected or killed as many people as in the U.S. and Europe. But the outbreak in those needy countries is not likely to peak for another three to six months, he said. Testing and laboratory capacity is also weak in many of the countries. David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Program, said the agency is feeding around 100 million people a day. "Unless we can keep those essential operations going, the health pandemic will soon be followed by a hunger pandemic, he said in the same briefing with Lowcock. Story continues The U.N. said it had raised about $1 billion of the $2 billion it sought in March; the new appeal is for $6.7 billion. The Trump administration was roundly criticized in public health circles when it announced in mid-April that it was suspending funding to the WHO pending a 60- to 90-day review. Trump accused the agency of pro-China bias that allowed the Chinese government to conceal the extent of the coronavirus as it began to spread globally from the city of Wuhan late last year and early this year. The U.S. is the largest single donor providing roughly $400 million last year to the WHO but is about a year behind in making payments, a common practice of donor countries at the U.N. Other senior administration officials have said the action against the WHO will not apply to money already approved by Congress but to future allotments. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, who defends U.S. assistance to foreign countries in the pandemic as among the "most generous in the world," said there are plenty of alternative agencies that the administration can use to funnel aid that would otherwise go to the WHO. "The WHO failed in its mission to provide the information to the world in a timely fashion about the risk that was emanating from China," Pompeo told a radio interviewer Thursday. "They knew it; they saw it.... It became a political institution rather than a medical, scientific institution that it was designed to be." That made a review essential, he said. In numerous appearances to discuss the topic in recent weeks, Pompeo has hinted the penalty might be broader, including cutting off all funding or demanding that the WHO director resign. The dispute typifies what has been a steady increase in bitter rhetoric between Beijing and Washington as bilateral relations appear to be unraveling and as Trump seeks to deflect criticism of his handling of the pandemic. The administration further signaled its anger by boycotting three key international conferences convened to raise money for research into coronavirus vaccines and other urgent steps. For example, on Monday, the United States did not participate in a virtual summit that ultimately pledged $8 billion for the development of vaccines and treatments. Global health experts criticized the Trump administration's approach. "It is not clear to me how we [the U.S. government] extricate ourselves from this and go it alone entirely," said J. Stephen Morrison, director of the Global Health Policy Center in Washington. "We're failing to prepare the ground for informed decision making when the most promising vaccine candidates come forward," he said in a teleconference sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The result, he said, is "far less transparency.... Its going to alienate a good part of the world. And its going to leave many of the poor, less well-positioned countries ... on the sidelines." A senior State Department official, speaking anonymously in keeping with administration protocol, declined to answer questions on why the United States did not attend the meeting, but said it "would welcome additional high-quality, transparent contributions from others." He said the U.S. was already "in the process" of providing $2.4 billion to the global response to the coronavirus, but it was unclear through what mechanisms. Another official, the State Department's director of U.S. foreign assistance resources, James Richardson, said separately that the United States "stands ready to collaborate and cooperate with all partners and international organizations that demonstrate they are effective in executing global health programming and delivering solutions and results to that end." Gap Inc., the San Francisco mall stalwart that owns Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta in addition to its namesake stores, said it plans to reopen up to 800 locations in North America by the end of the month as retailers clamor to return to business after temporarily shutting down because of the coronavirus pandemic. Our goal is to be responsibly aggressive, Gap CEO Sonia Syngal said in an interview this week. Every retailer will have its own opening strategy, but suffice it to say we are looking to open where were legally allowed to open as soon as we can. The plan follows similar strategies announced in recent weeks by Macys, owner of Bloomingdales and Bluemercury; and Simon Property Group, the biggest mall operator in the United States. Retailers that sell nonessential goods, especially clothing, have been eager to reopen as their sales have plummeted, promising new safety protocols for the pandemic era, including plexiglass partitions, hand sanitizer stations and face masks for their employees. Foot traffic to stores had been down even before the virus outbreak, and it remains to be seen how quickly shoppers will return to the newly refashioned environments while the country continues to grapple with a highly contagious virus. Syngal emphasized that most of Gaps revenue does not come from indoor malls, pointing to Old Navy locations at strip malls, its outlet business and online business. Old Navy, in particular, is very, very relevant for what people are wanting right now, she added, with apparel for families and active wear available at off-mall stores. Gap said it will start reopening stores this weekend in Texas, though it declined to provide the number of locations. The company said it anticipates 800 reopenings this month, based on changing decisions by state and local authorities and a patchwork of restrictions across the country. The figure represents nearly one-third of Gaps locations in North America, where it also owns Intermix and Janie and Jack. While the company has built a strong online operation, its stores remain crucial. It has nearly 2,800 locations in North America, mostly in the United States. The company recently said that it had stopped paying rent for its North American retail stores in April, which comes out to about $115 million per month, and it has been negotiating lease terms. In the meantime, Gaps brands have introduced curbside pickup and shipping products from stores. The company, which furloughed nearly 80,000 store employees in North America as part of the closures, declined to say how many workers have been brought back or how many will return. Syngal, who was appointed CEO in March, said that Texas has made it especially easy for national retailers to reopen. Texas has aligned state-level and county-level requirements, and thats made it easier for retailers to have a more consistent opening plan, she said. Its a state-by-state and county-by-county decision, and large retailers like us have been advocating for more consistency at that level. She added: It really does come down to what governors decide our whole stance is that we will be ready to reopen as it is safe to do so as dictated by local authorities. None of the stores to be reopened are in Gaps home state of California. While Gov. Gavin Newsom has said some retailers in the state could offer curbside pickup as soon as Friday, that loosening of shelter-in-place restrictions is subject to local health officials approval. At the chains operated by the Gap, fitting rooms and restrooms will not be available when stores reopen. Returns will be quarantined for 24 hours. The company will encourage, though not require, customers to wear face coverings while shopping, and monitor the flow of customers in stores while encouraging social distancing. Syngal said the company expected that shoppers would generally wear masks as authorities and businesses encouraged their use and that it has learned from its 250 locations in Asia, which have reopened. Our approach to reopening balances the fact that taking care takes time, with the urgent need to restore the economy and provide the opportunity for our teams to come back to work, she said in a news release. Chronicle staff writer Shwanika Narayan contributed to this report. Sapna Maheshwari is a New York Times writer. Airdrie, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - May 7, 2020) - Further to its news release of April 3, 2020, Vitreous Glass Inc. (TSXV:VCI) ("Vitreous" or the "Corporation"), a processor of post-consumer waste glass for the fibreglass industry in Alberta, advises that volumes of incoming supply of waste glass in the last week of April and the first week of May have been at levels higher than previously anticipated. Provided that this level of supply continues on an ongoing basis, Vitreous considers it unlikely that it will have to suspend operations due to lack of supply. For further information, please contact: VITREOUS GLASS INC. Pat Cashion, President (403) 616-2773 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 and accuracy of this release. Forward Looking Information Disclaimer The information in this news release contains certain forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or the Corporations future performance, in particular, but not limited to, uncertainties relating to the significance of the impact of COVID-19 on the Corporation's operations and the expectation that the Corporation will suspend operations, as well as the timing thereof. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements. These statements involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Corporation's control. The forward-looking statements in this news release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Except as required by law, the Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55538 A teenager was hospitalized Thursday morning after he was randomly attacked by a man with a knife on the Southwest Side, San Antonio police said. Officers were called out to the Five Palms Drive and Rain Dance area just after 3 a.m., and when they arrived, they found a 16-year-old male sitting on the curb bleeding from a cut on his chest. Lucknow, May 7 : The Uttar Pradesh Expressway and Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) has restarted the construction of 340 km-long Purvanchal Expressway by engaging over 50 per cent of the workforce. The strength of workers before the lockdown was 10,000, of which about 5,000 have returned to work. Media advisor to the UPEIDA, Durgesh Upadhyay said the majority workers were back at the site. "They have been deployed while imposing social distancing norms. We hope the project would be expedited in days to come with help of more workers. Work began on April 20 with help of 4,000 workers and the strength of workers is rising gradually," he said. The development comes two days after the state government issued an advisory to restart construction activity to revive the economy. The offices of contractors have also opened in other districts through which the Purvanchal Expressway passes. The state government has fixed Diwali deadline for completing the project and officials are hopeful that they would be able to complete work on time, despite the prolonged lockdown break. The UPEIDA officials said that nearly 42 per cent physical work had been completed before the lockdown. Similarly, work on the 297 km-long Bundelkhand expressway has also resumed with over 2,000 workers. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 7 By Matanat Nasibova Trend: Prices for commercial facilities in Azerbaijani capital Baku decreased by 5.5 percent in March 2020 compared to the preceding month, Director of the MBA Group consulting company Nusrat Ibrahimov told Trend. Meanwhile, the growth in the prices compared to March 2019 amounted to 6.4 percent. In March 2020, price for one square meter of commercial property was $1,602. A slight increase was also observed in the price of land plots. In the reporting month, the average price per 100 square meters of land stood at $11,503, compared to $11,202 in March 2019. On an annualized basis, this indicator increased by 1.1 percent. Prices for courtyard houses in March of this year increased by over 1.7 percent compared to the same month in 2019. Moreover, a slight decrease in prices was also observed for country houses; the prices declined by 1.3 percent compared to the same month last year. There was also a drop in prices in the rental segment - by 1.3 percent in March 2020 compared to February of the same year, by 0.7 percent on an annualized basis. At the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, the time between Match Day when graduating medical students find out where they are headed for residency and the start of those residencies is typically filled with celebration. Beyond the academic-related milestones of Match Day and graduation that begin the graduates professional future, many advance their personal future, too, with marriage. Basically, we had a wedding with someone from the med school planned almost every weekend between April and May, said Lena Turkheimer, a member of the VTCSOM Class of 2020. I had been looking forward to these upcoming months. I dont think anyone could have imagined that this would be happening right now. Instead, Match Day and graduation are now virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many weddings are following suit. I was supposed to go to three other weddings besides my own within my class in the next month-and-a-half. And none of those are happening now, said Abby Winn, a member of the VTCSOM Class of 2020. I think there at least six weddings that were supposed to happen in my class in May and June and all of them are impacted, added Stephen Owen, also in the VTCSOM Class of 2020. Almost a quarter of the graduating class had weddings scheduled from April to June. Many are postponing because of the pandemic, while others like Stephen, Lena, and Abby have opted for an elopement or virtual ceremony this year with a larger celebration postponed until 2021. While not all of the class is marrying a fellow VTC student, Abby tied the knot with fellow soon-to-be graduate Cody Roberts, Stephen married Class of 2022 member Quinn Weinberg, and Lena married classmate and fellow newlywed Stephens brother, Mark Owen. Mark Owen and Lena Turkheimer Artsakh Ombudsman Artak Beglaryan presented Thursday on the annual report on the results of activities for 2019 and the state of human rights during an online press conference. Beglaryan noted that one of the main functions of the Ombudsmans office is the consideration of appeals and applications, monitoring the situation of human rights, children, and the observance of rights in prisons. The appeals are divided into groups: 234 appeals were received in 2019, which is significantly more than in 2018. About 30% of complaints received a positive decision, however, given that not all complaints are included in the functions of the Ombudsman, the number is increasing. Beglaryan noted the low legal literacy of the population, urging state bodies to conduct more information work. The Ombudsman, in turn, will contribute to improving the legal literacy of the population. According to him, he made four foreign visits, while the state paid only for one visit. Other visits have been assisted by the diaspora. The ombudsmans office monitors the situation on the line of contact with Azerbaijan. The Ombudsman intends to make an extraordinary report on the violation of human rights by Azerbaijan. DiDi President Jean Liu told CNBC that the company's core ride-hailing business is profitable, and that it has picked up again after the coronavirus outbreak hit China, its home market. "I can share with you the core business is profitable or (making) a small profit," Liu said in an interview that aired on Thursday. Liu did not give specific figures or say which measure of profitability she was referring to. However, it's the first time the Chinese technology firm has made the claim, as long-term viability of the ride-hailing sector continues to be called into question. Liu also said that DiDi's ride volume in China has reached 60% to 70% of pre-coronavirus levels and is five times its February low. China was effectively shut down for a number of weeks as Wuhan, where the coronavirus was believed to have originated, was cut off from the rest of the country. But in recent weeks, the country has started relaxing travel restrictions again, and Wuhan has re-opened. Headquartered in Beijing, the company operates in China and eight overseas markets including Australia and Japan. DiDi's president said that recovery of the business is taking place at a different pace in different markets. "There has been a very steep drop and a very sharp comeback (in China). And now you can see our businesses (is) five-times (the) February low. So there's certainty here," Liu told CNBC. "But for different countries, there's different strategy. Some counties, there's a less strict social distancing restriction. And we see ... not that sharp drop. However, the bounce back is uncertain as well." She also said that despite the outbreak, the long-term potential for the company has not fundamentally changed. "We're in this business that needs long-term commitment and we think we are probably, among everyone, we're the most committed and invested in this industry," Liu said, adding the company is investing in areas from artificial intelligence to autonomous cars. The outbreak has hit ride-hailing companies around the world. In the U.S., Lyft said last month that it was laying off 982 employees. So far, DiDi has not axed roles and Liu said the company currently has no plans for job cuts or raising capital. "We have a very strong balance sheet," she said. DiDi has raised over $21 billion from investors including SoftBank and Japanese carmaker, Toyota. Adapting to coronavirus Liu said the company was "overwhelmed" when the outbreak first occurred in China earlier this year and its core team got together to figure out what to do. The focus was on protecting drivers and riders. DiDi set up service stations to give masks and disinfectants to drivers, it offered free rides to medical workers across a number of Chinese cities, and it began installing a protective sheet in cars to separate the driver from his passengers. We're a young player, but we are going global. And from this crisis ... we know that we can leverage our best practice in China and ... share with other countries. Jean Liu President of DiDi Athanasius Tanas Sylliboy, RN and graduating Master of Nursing nurse practitioner student, is in his community of Eskasoni, working hard to minimize the impact of COVID-19. Tanas graduated from Cape Breton University with his Nursing degree. He says he and a fellow classmate were the first two Mi'kmaw men to graduate from CBUs nursing program. After doing a placement with a nurse practitioner, Tanas realized he was very interested in pursuing that career and believed it would be beneficial to his community in Eskasoni. When I was working as a nurse here, a physician said it would be interesting to see a Mi'kmaw provider in the community. The biggest thing is compliance and understanding the severity of an illness. Community members often tell me, when your own people tell you, you take it to heart and listen. Im telling them in our own language, so things are understood and dont get lost in translation. When Dalhousie increased their seats for the NP program along with an incentive program with the Nova Scotia Health Authority, Tanas thought that would be the perfect time to apply. Throughout the program, Tanas worked in the Emergency Room at the IWK Health Centre and was a part-time clinical researcher with the Aboriginal Childrens Hurt & Healing Initiative through the same hospital. Those experiences led Tanas to his current job as a nurse practitioner in Eskasoni. He works with primary care providers at a health centre that houses community health, primary care, home care, diabetic care and pharmacy care. Community care during COVID-19 The day they announced our first case in NS, I was like Okay its happening, I need to do something. Completing my hours is important but I wanted to minimize the impact of covid19 through education and resources. Its not even doing work or volunteering, its my responsibility to do what I can to help. Tanas immediately thought about the home care clients in his community who would be high risk of severe symptoms if they contracted COVID-19. He got to work to create awareness, and started making posters on his phone. In our community we already put signs on doors if someone if undergoing treatment, to say please dont come in or please wash hands on entry. Naqasi, the word for stop. I created posters that warned others, this household has high risk members. Tanas posted them on Facebook and emailed different Mikmaw health directors to ask them to disperse them to other communities. He started to get requests to make signs that say certain things in different languages. People in Sydney, NS made their own and thanked their Eskasoni neighbours for sharing the idea. Creating care packages Tanas and his team started making care packages for people self-isolating which include informational packets and thermometers. Tanas wanted to make sure there was awareness and education for everyone returning home from March Break or international travel, and as policies changed, coming in from out of province. In addition to the packages, Tanas and his team also did wellness checks, calling people to check-in on how they were doing. It could take several hours to call just six people. Calls were informational, but also social people would share stories of coming back home, saying one minute they were in Florida, next minute they are home alone. Self-imposed lockdown Tanas and his team are working with anyone with symptoms to try to minimize transmission in their households and how to avoid leaving their house. Eskasoni enacted a self-imposed lockdown and curfew, and people cannot enter or exit except for essential services. Tanas ends up working 12 hours some days to make sure everyone has what they need. We make arrangements for the community grocery store to deliver to people, and call them and let them know its there. With groceries, the social aspect and any other errands like banking were fortunate in Eskasoni that we work really well together. Tanas says the measures may seem extreme but if COVID-19 hits Eskasoni it would hit hard because people live in close proximity sometimes seven-eight individuals per household with people living with parents or grandparents and the amount of chronic disease in the community. There was some hesitancy and backlash from the community at first but once the province started having increasing cases of COVID-19 it was clear the measures were called for. There is no testing centre in the community, and Tanas says transportation is a barrier regardless of COVID-19 or not. They transformed their community van to a COVID-19 van so its sealed off from the driver, and the passenger sits in the back when they need to get tested. Engaging with the community Tanas says the information coming from the government is in English and French, so he and his team are creating videos to provide it in Mikmaq as well. That includes a handwashing video created by community members with clips of them singing Amazing Grace in Mikmaq. The video has been shared in Eskasoni as well as other communities. Tanas says it was educational but also made people feel peaceful. &amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp; Tanas says they are trying to really get the point out that this is serious. There is a word in Mikmaq, Mukk mali-ksua'tup, that means dont underestimate it. If you dont take it seriously it will take you seriously. The clinic youth workers are interacting with young people in the community through social media and a television challenge and doing different challenges like drawing or TikTok to keep people engaged. A few weeks ago it was chaos. Now theres an understanding that things are going to be like this for a while. Its not normal but its okay. Tanas is on track to graduate in May, as he was able to finish his clinical hours before research activity was halted. Working right after graduation wasnt what he had planned, but he is glad to be able to help. I wouldnt have it any other way, Im doing everything I can to support our communities and other Mikmaq and First Nations communities. The full list of films to have inspired the fourth season of Stranger Things has been released. Each time the writers assemble to create new episodes of the hit Netflix show, they share the films they have all been watching on a specialised Twitter account, named @strangerwriters. Every Friday since November, they have been divulging the names of these films as part of a series of Video Store Friday tweets. However, with season four fully written, a recent post on 24 April was their last one, and to celebrate, they shared a whiteboard filled with every single film to have inspired the new episodes. The tweet read: This is it our last Video Store Friday! Every time we discussed a movie, we wrote it on a whiteboard. So here it is the Video Store whiteboard in its full glory. That means that yes on this board, you will discover the DNA that makes up season 4! Enjoy, and stay safe! If youre hoping to find clues about what to expect, the picture could give you a headache it has everything ranging from British horror film The Descent to Jim Carrey comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Other surprising films to feature on the list include the Coen brothers Fargo, Stanley Kubricks Vietnam War drama Full Metal Jacket and Colin Trevorrows critically-panned The Book of Henry. The inclusion of Bram Stokers Dracula, The Devils Advocate and 28 Days Later, though, certainly hints that dark times are ahead for the citizens of Hawkins, Indiana, an idea that has been corroborated by Steve Harrington actor Joe Kery, who recently told Total Film that the new season is scarier than previous seasons. See the image in its entirety below. Find everything we know so far about Stranger Things season four, including a possible Netflix release date, here. With its parent company burning through 4,000 per minute, British Airways will not fly meaningfully before July. IAG, which also includes Aer Lingus of Ireland and the two Spanish airlines, Iberia and Vueling, has published its financial results for the first three months of 2020. In January and February, the company traded reasonably normally despite mounting concern over coronavirus. But traffic collapsed almost completely by the end of March. As a result IAG reported an operating loss of 535m (467m) for the first quarter, compared with an operating profit of 135 (118) million in the same months last year. Most of the loss occurred in the last two weeks of March 2020. In addition IAG has taken an exceptional charge of 1,325m (1,157m) for losses on fuel-hedging derivatives. The price of jet fuel, one of the groups biggest costs, has more than halved since the start of the year. The company hedged for far more fuel than it will use in 2020, when it expects to carry only around half as many passengers. Unsurprisingly, the aviation conglomerate said: IAG expects that its second quarter will be significantly worse than the first quarter. Willie Walsh, the chief executive, was due to retire in March 2020 but has stayed in post because of the Covid-19 crisis. He will remain until 24 September 2020. He said: The operating result up to the end of February was in line with a year ago. Marchs performance was severely affected by government travel restrictions due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 which significantly impacted demand. We are taking all appropriate actions to preserve cash, reduce and defer both capital spending and operating costs and secure additional financing in order to strengthen and maintain our liquidity. IAG is cutting up to 29 per cent of staff at British Airways, amounting to 12,000 of the 42,000 jobs. During April and May the normal running costs have been more than halved to 200m (175m) per week but that equates to 4,000 per minute, with almost no fresh revenue. While IAGs airlines are running some skeleton services, Mr Walsh revealed that a meaningful return to service will not happen before July at the earliest. The actual date will depend on the easing of lockdowns and travel restrictions around the world. After photographs emerged on Monday of a packed Aer Lingus flight from Belfast to London Heathrow, many prospective passengers have expressed concern about the lack of social distancing on board aircraft. The aviation industry is desperate to reassure customers that they can travel safely in the company of strangers with airlines and airports imposing a range of controls from pre-flight temperature checks to wearing face masks on board. Mr Walsh said: We will adapt our operating procedures to ensure our customers and our people are properly protected in this new environment. We are working with the various regulatory bodies and are confident that changes in regulations will enable a safe and organised return to service. The industry will adapt to new requirements in the same way that it has adapted to developments in security requirements in the past. However, we do not expect passenger demand to recover to the level of 2019 before 2023 at the earliest. We intend to come out of the crisis as a stronger group. Mr Walsh has been invited to appear before the Transport Select Committee on 11 May. The chair, Huw Merriman MP, said: In March, BAs parent, IAG, warned against the UK government bailing out its competitors and said it would administer self-help before seeking support. Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Show all 11 1 /11 Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Ben Gurion International airport, Israel Reuters Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Daxing International Airport, Beijing AFP via Getty Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Taoyuan International Airport, Taiwan EPA Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Noi Bai International Airport, Vietnam AFP via Getty Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Haneda Airport, Tokyo Reuters Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Changsha Huanghua International Airport, China Reuters Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Shanghai Pudong Airport in Shanghai, China EPA Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Daxing International Airport, Beijing AFP via Getty Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Haneda Airport, Tokyo Reuters Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Shanghai Pudong Airport in Shanghai, China EPA Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Noi Bai International Airport, Vietnam AFP via Getty BAs UK staff are now facing mass redundancies or working on vastly reduced terms. BAs passengers are not being given flight refunds they are entitled to. In Spain, it would appear that BAs parent has adopted a different strategy of seeking substantial government financial support and maintaining its operations and employee numbers. Its vital that BA reassure their staff and passengers that they are not using this epidemic to reduce their UK wage bill and competitors, in order to maximise future profits if and when the market returns. British Airways has warned staff that its base at Gatwick may close. Virgin Atlantic has already confirmed that it will leave the Sussex airport. Both carriers are grounding Boeing 747 aircraft. Cardinal George Pell has refused to accept a royal commission's findings about his knowledge of paedophiles within the Catholic Church and failure to protect children under his care, saying they are not supported by evidence. Previously unpublished findings by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse implicate Australias most senior Catholic cleric in the culture of cover-up that allowed notorious predators such as Gerald Ridsdale, Edward Dowlan and Peter Searson to abuse children over three decades. Cardinal George Pell defended his record in a TV interview following his recent acquittal. Credit:Sky News The royal commission found Cardinal Pell knew by 1982 of complaints against Ridsdale and perhaps as early as 1977, about 16 years before he was first charged by police. Ridsdale, one of the nations most prolific paedophiles, is still being brought to justice and will be sentenced next week for further crimes against children. The royal commission described as "implausible" Cardinal Pells explanation that he was deceived about Ridsdale by Ronald Mulkearns, a former bishop of Ballarat who, when confronted by complaints against Ridsdale, moved him from parish to parish to avoid scandal. Tucked away off a side street in Hamiltons industrial sector, a niche distillation and liquid destruction plant has quietly produced around 4,000 litres of federally approved hand sanitizer a day all from stale and unusable booze. Canadian Liquid Processors Ltd., a division of the Emterra Group, has shipped thousands of bottles of locally made sanitizer to customers across the country amid the coronavirus crisis. The 24-hour plant sees about 10 tractor-trailers each spanning some 50 feet and filled to the brim with rejected containers of beer and liquor roll past its gated fences on Biggar Avenue on any given day. There, a group of more than four-dozen workers process the reclaimed beverages to produce around 2,000 half-litre bottles of sanitizer per trailer that meet the World Health Organizations standard for effective antibacterial disinfectant. The spectrum (of customers) that were helping support is very wide, said Sean ONeill, the plants general manager, noting that their sanitizer has been sent to as far as an in-need fire department in rural British Columbia. Once we got going, the phones started ringing and didnt stop ... Its been an amazing and very rewarding experience. ONeills plant offers confidential destruction of consumer products and liquids. The ethanol they extract from reclaimed beverages is generally sold to industrial manufacturers who make products like windshield wiper fluid and RV antifreeze. When the market dried up at the outset of the pandemic, ONeill got thinking. One of the plant owners kind of poked me and asked, Can we turn our ethanol into hand sanitizer? he said. I stated searching the internet and what we could make, and I came up with a few formulas. Using a three-column still, as they always do, the plant processes unsuitable booze to an ethanol product that boasts a 96.5 per cent purity rate. They then break it down with the ingredients required to make sanitizer water, glycerine, hydrogen peroxide and churn out a market-ready solution with an 80 per cent ethyl alcohol concentration. ONeill said the sanitizer was initially intended to supply Emterras 1,200 employees. Eventually, though, word got out in the community the plant first donated a batch to Hamiltons paramedic unit and the side project of sorts took off. Its really challenging to move anything across the country right now. We havent had to change our core business (model), weve just had to reinvent our end product, ONeill said. Part of that change comes with the packaging and distribution of products. ONeill said the plant has partnered with bottle suppliers in Toronto and Hamilton to get the hand sanitizer to those that need it most. And its a given a boost to local businesses in the process. Crescent Oil, a lubricant supplier in operation since 1905 on Cannon Street, saw its sales crunch once customers in the auto and farming industry rolled back their production and demand. The company then shifted gears to outsourcing personal protective equipment, a change which owner Dash Ewen said was largely begot of a feeling to still serve the community and essential workers. Masks and face shields were scarce, but sanitizer even more so, Ewen said. When a Crescent Oil driver dropped off lubricants to process at ONeills plant and was offered a bottle of sanitizer, Ewen said it seemed a no-brainer to chip in with the cause. Were well setup to deliver in cases, jugs and pails since we normally deliver heavy containers of oil, he said. So weve been able to get the sanitizer out to the people of Hamilton in smaller qualities. For ONeill, besides offering a product thats experiencing critical shortages to the community, whats been most rewarding is seeing it shipped to front-line workers in dire demand. Weve been able to get it into the hands of EMS, fire departments, homeless shelters, and the feedback from people has just been incredible, he said. It really is a positive thing that we can turn something that may have impacted our environment negatively into something thats very positive in these challenging times. Early Thursday, Iraq's Parliament selected Mustafa al-Kadhimi to serve as the country's new prime minister. Iraqi officials have said the 53-year-old former intelligence chief is acceptable to both the United States and Iran, The New York Times reports. The country has been without a prime minister since late last year, when Adel Abdul Mahdi resigned amid anti-government protests; he has been leading a caretaker government. Kadhimi has already met with protesters, taking a different approach from the previous government, which at times used the military against demonstrators. In addition to social unrest, Kadhimi will also have to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, which has locked down Iraq, as well as historically low oil and gas revenues. The government is Iraq's largest employer, the Times reports, and it's likely that within a few weeks, there will have to be pay cuts or mass layoffs. More stories from theweek.com Sen. Joe Manchin forgot to mute a call with Senate Democrats while he went through an Arby's drive-through Trump reportedly got 'lava level mad' over potential exposure to coronavirus Did we just witness one of the nuttiest foreign policy blunders in American history? Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 7) The Ninoy Aquino International Airport has already lost over 1 billion in revenues nearly two months into the lockdown, the Manila International Airport Authority confirmed in Thursday's Laging Handa virtual briefing. "Medyo malaki po ang kawalan ng ating paliparan," MIAA General Manager Ed Monreal said. "Sa ngayon po, sa last tally ho namin ay end of April, tumatala na po kami ng almost mahigit isang bilyon na losses sa ating revenue sa paliparan." [Translation: Our airport has suffered quite a big loss. As of now, in our last tally, as of end-April, we have recorded almost over 1 billion in the airport's revenue losses.] The government placed the entire island of Luzon, which includes Metro Manila, under enhanced community quarantine effective March 17 in an attempt to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus. Restrictions on air, land and sea travel within, to, and from the island were put in place under the lockdown, which was initially extended to April 30. The enhanced community quarantine on Metro Manila has been extended until May 15, along with Central Luzon, except Aurora, Calabarzon, and other high-risk provinces until May 15. Other low-risk and moderate-risk areas, meanwhile, are placed under general community quarantine until mid-May. Monreal said NAIA's current operations haven't even reached 10 percent of its capacity before the pandemic happened. Back then, the airport had an average of 768 flights daily, he added. "Sa ngayon po, meron pong pinakarami na bago ho tayo magsuspinde ng incoming flights ay nasa minsan po sampung flights na lang po ang commercial flights natin," said Monreal. [Translation: For now, the highest number before we suspended incoming flights of commercial flights we've had is at ten.] On May 3, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines suspended inbound international flights for a week. The order covers NAIA and eight other international airports in the country. READ: Inbound passenger, commercial flights temporarily suspended Only cargo flights, medical flights, utility flights, and maintenance flights are exempted from the suspension. The MIAA general manager added that emergency flights on their runway and flights arriving without any passengers which will leave with people will also be allowed to depart from NAIA. With the new normal resulting from the pandemic, Monreal said all employees of NAIA have been required to observe health protocols such as the usage of face masks, observance of social distancing, and the practice of proper hygiene. Monreal added that he is hoping NAIA's business operations will once again flourish, although he acknowledged it will take quite long to happen. "[A]lam naman po natin marami po tayong restrictions at siguro po, (We already know we have many restrictions and maybe) we have to build the passengers' confidence in terms of traveling," he said. With this, he called on public to help in keeping their areas free from the virus as much as possible, as the government takes steps to help the country adjust to the new normal. To date, the country has 10,004 cases of COVID-19. 658 have died from the virus, while 1,506 have recovered. By late last week, many of those conditions had improved. Hospitals had enough capacity without the temporary help. The state had gotten shipments of PPE, along with thousands of masks manufactured by the Department of Corrections. After averaging about 2,600 tests per day, Virginia had doubled its total and was climbing toward its goal of 10,000 daily tests. We understand why we have to cocoon and we all want to protect the most vulnerable. Photo: Kirsty OConnor/PA In this pandemic there are a forgotten group of people. They are the people who have to cocoon because of underlying health conditions and families of vulnerable children with complex medical needs, many of whom have a physical and/or intellectual disability/autism. Almost all families like ours are no longer getting respite or home care/nursing because its too risky. We have been forgotten. We are usually isolated much of the year because of the nature of our lives and our childrens illnesses. Hospital appointments and all therapies have been cancelled, therefore treatments/ surgery have been delayed. The knock-on effect on the entire family is immense. Our families are never mentioned. The mental health of carers is vitally important for us to continue to be able to care for our children and the people we care for to the best of our ability. Lack of sleep, lack of contact with other people and lack of support are huge issues. We understand why we have to cocoon and we all want to protect the most vulnerable. We respect and care about our healthcare professionals probably a lot more than most. They are our lifeline. But it would nice if just once An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar would acknowledge us. We care, but who cares for us? Aisling McNiffe Straffan, Co Kildare Free will and choices give us liberty in sexual activity Colm O Torna (Letters, May 5) overlooks the free will given to every individual by God. We do not live in an Eden, rather we live in a world where individual choice is the norm. There are sufficient lessons in all religions for human beings on how to live their lives. Sexual activity is a normal human activity. Declan Foley Berwick, Australia Well done to defiant over-70s who broke lockdown diktat Liam Collins certainly hit the mark for me with his article (Irish Independent, May 2) about the iniquity that cocooning has imposed on the over-70s. As I am in that age group I find it both patronising and indeed insulting to have us regarded as a collection of mindless miscreants who have to be herded and cocooned for their own good and, depending on the benevolence of the powers-that-be, are then let out under strict limitations (of course). I have absolutely no problem with the advice that those with underlying health issues should stay at home but that surely applies to anyone in any age group. For people in our age bracket who have good health and are leading full lives, the confinement is truly draconian. Full credit to those over-70s I saw defying that ridiculous diktat by going to the shops, walking their dogs or taking a stroll. Thomas Cantwell Rathmines, Dublin 6 Age is nothing but a number no matter what the year I will never be elderly (Letters, May 5). I expect to live until Im 98 and then die young. Robert Sullivan Bantry, Co Cork Cocooners deserve their day fluttering about in the sun Yesterday was historic for us cocooners, as we have now finally been liberated. But the rest of the population should prepare themselves for what is appearing into the sunlight from these cocoons. Maybe some of us will emerge from our pupas as beautifully coloured butterflies, moths and bees, and fly with abandon, while others, the less fortunate ones, may emerge as unwanted fleas and ants. So I appeal to the public to stay indoors and let us have our moment in the sun. Brendan Butler Malahide, Co Dublin Sounds like fighting talk about wearing gloves... Do the HSE infection control experts, who say they are not recommending wearing gloves while shopping or when out and about, mean the gloves are off about the gloves being on? John Williams Clonmel, Co Tipperary China must be wary with a Healy-Rae ready to swoop The Irish Independent (May 1) tells us Danny Healy-Rae is pointing the finger at China. They would do well to take account of this. After all, in 1917 the Skibereen Eagle warned it had its eye on Tsar Nicholas II. He ignored the warning and we all know what befell him and his family shortly afterwards. John F Jordan Killiney, Co Dublin French designer Marine Serre has been using masks in her collections since her catwalk debut in 2018, yet this season they took on a whole new meaning. In late February, Serre showed masks in chic houndstooth and the label's signature crescent moon print, seemingly intended for street style rather than fending off germs. But as the coronavirus pandemic took hold, their purpose transformed from fashionable to functional, as many areas around the world mandate the wearing of masks in public areas. "Face coverings will be advised, not all the time, but in certain scenarios," Leo Varadkar said last week. "For example, indoors in a shop, on public transport, in a crowded place or where social distancing may not be practical." Starting on June 8, face coverings will be recommended when visiting those who are cocooning during phase two of the Government's roadmap to ease lockdown restrictions. Chief medical officer Tony Holohan has said that further guidance on wearing face coverings will be issued in the next two weeks, which may include advice to wear them on public transport or in shops. Both are keen to emphasise that supplies of medical-grade masks should be reserved for healthcare workers. The rest of us will likely be seeking out some sort of face covering in the coming weeks, and if we're all wearing them, it's only a matter of time before the mask becomes a fashion statement. The most common alternative is the loose-fitting cloth mask, which offers one-way protection to capture bodily fluids from the wearer. They don't provide full coverage against Covid-19, but can act as a barrier when you cough or sneeze, and remind you not to touch your face. Expand Close 10pc of Eamonn McGills masks go to charity / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp 10pc of Eamonn McGills masks go to charity Of course, from a public-health perspective, it doesn't matter what colour your mask is or where it's from. But we've always been particularly discerning about what we put on our face, whether it's a pair of glasses or a shade of lipstick. With our faces half-covered, we lose one of our primary modes of communicating with others, which may instil a desire to broadcast our individuality through our choice of face covering. The mask will inevitably become, for some, a means of self-expression, a way of indicating our taste level and standing out from the crowd. Back in January, Billie Eilish wore a Gucci mask on the Grammys red carpet. Last month, Miley Cyrus wore a Gucci mask to the supermarket. Lyst, the fashion search platform, named Off-White's arrow logo mask - 90, but now going for 330 on resale sites - the most searched-for item of the year. And on Instagram, mask selfies are trending, with posts from the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Marc Jacobs and Kerry Washington, who joked: "Quarantine, but make it fashion." The age of the statement mask is nigh. The masks produced for frontline staff by luxury houses such as Prada and Louis Vuitton are basic, white and unbranded, but others are experimenting. Collina Strada's exuberant printed masks, with large bows on the side, sell for 92, for which the brand also donates five masks to healthcare workers. And as well as the thousands of plain masks his team has made for New York hospitals, Christian Siriano has shared photos of decadent pearl-encrusted and petal-covered masks on social media, suggesting they "could be the future of protection and fashion". Expand Close Christian Siriano has made some decadent creations / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Christian Siriano has made some decadent creations Video of the Day For small businesses facing an uncertain future, the pivot to manufacturing face masks can provide a boost. With peak wedding season called off, Hazel Comyn, a bridal designer in Cahersiveen, is focusing her efforts on making masks, while Jane Carroll is repurposing the printed fabrics she typically uses to make children's clothes at her Blackrock store, and Dublin lingerie shop Space Out Sister has swapped feathered robes for face coverings. In Cork, textile artist Jenny Monk has been selling printed masks through Instagram for 10 and in Kilkenny, Zoe Carol Wong is offering linen masks for 20 in muted red, grey and navy in her online shop. Peacocks may prefer the vibrant prints of Niamh McCabe's organic cotton masks (33, nimcake.com), Natalie B Coleman's luxurious silk face coverings with pleated trims (25, nataliebcoleman.bigcartel.com) or the glamorous sequinned and animal-print masks by Eamonn McGill (23-26, trendsbeautydistribution.com). Masks are often a symbol of fear, which is why many Irish creatives are getting playful with their designs. "We wanted to make them fun and colourful and beautiful, as well as useful," explains Coleman, who is creating new styles every two weeks, and says a percentage of profits will be donated to Women's Aid. "The masks we are creating are a lot less threatening or scary-looking." Expand Close Niamh McCabe is making organic cotton masks / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Niamh McCabe is making organic cotton masks Eamonn McGill says he was spurred into making masks after a housemate requested one, adding: "I don't want a medical mask, I want a fashion mask!" This week, McGill says he sold 1,000 masks in 48 hours, with 10pc of sales donated to the Simon Community. "It gives us a chance to bring more fun to our day-to-day outfits," he observes. "You can be more expressive with it. For us, there's a lot of plain black being sold, but also a lot of the more fun, glam ones being sold as well. It's all about personal preference." Some critics feel uncomfortable with the idea of designers profiting from the anxiety and fear caused by the pandemic - following a heated backlash, online retailer Farfetch removed the listing for Off-White's masks, saying it had "blocked sales of face masks at excessive prices". Yet producing masks can be one of the few ways to keep small studios alive. It can help when customers know a portion of sales go to charity, or that masks will be donated to those in need. We Make Good, a social enterprise brand based in Dublin, runs a "buy one, donate one" offer: for each purchase of a 25 mask, another is donated to a person living in Direct Provision. Sales also help to support its staff, women and men from a refugee background. In five weeks, it has sold 45,000 worth of masks. The charity aspect helps, but, co-founder Caroline Gardner points out, you can't discount the fashion element. Created using natural fabrics in dark, neutral colours, she describes the style as "utilitarian". "It's like a pair of jeans. Everybody's got them, and there's a real focus on quality, comfort, durability and fit. That's really what we're trying to go for as well," she says. "There's a certain kind of beauty when form meets function. People are really responding to that type of beauty." Expand Close A luxurious silk version from Natalie B Coleman / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A luxurious silk version from Natalie B Coleman Testing people for the coronavirus - even those without symptoms - is a key to getting Connecticut back to work and reopening shuttered businesses later this spring and summer, state officials said Thursday. But right now, as the pandemic is in a decline and the first deadline to reopen part of the state is May 20, focus should remain on testing nursing homes residents and those showing signs of infection, they said. On a day when another 79 COVID-19-related fatalities brought the states pandemic death toll to 2,797, and a net reduction of 60 hospitalizations resulted in the lowest number of people in hospitals since April 7, officials led by Gov. Ned Lamont stressed the need for those feeling symptoms to take advantage of the states newly expanded testing capacity and free service, even without referrals from personal physicians. What we know from past epidemics is that about 80 percent of the people who are infected actually never show symptoms or maybe have just very mild symptoms, said Dr. Albert Ko, a professor of epidemiology and infectious diseases at the Yale School of Public Health and the Yale School of Medicine, who is co-chairman of the governors reopening task force. Ko said that those displaying symptoms are literally shedding the virus and should be quarantined or hospitalized to protect the public from the highly contagious COVID-19. Ko, speaking during Lamonts daily hour-long briefing for reporters in the State Capitol, said that when the state reaches the ability to perform 42,000 tests a week by mid-month, further testing will continue and can expand to include those not showing signs of infection. As of Thursday, 116,174 people have been tested, with 4,727 new test results since Wednesday, according to the state Department of Public Health. In all, there have been 31,784 who tested positive for COVID-19, including 789 since Wednesday. We have to protect the vulnerable, Ko said. We need to use that testing so that we can prevent, for example, someone who doesnt have symptoms, who works in the hospital, from going into the hospital and spreading the infection there. Or someone working in nursing homes and being infected, and actually infecting a highly vulnerable population. Social distancing and other precautions, particularly wearing face masks in public will remain important, but testing more people will create a more-thorough picture about COVID-19s presence in the state. This is not going to be a one-step deal, Ko said. Lamont said that the states testing capability has ramped up. That means on average we want to double the amount of testing were doing right now, Lamont said. All symptomatic patients should be tested. They should be tested on a regular basis. Just as importantly we want to test asymptomatic patients, so were not just relying on the app and the thermometers. We get a better sense of what infections look like and community spread in the greater community. Last month Lamont encouraged state resident to download the How We Feel app to submit anonymous information that medical professionals can access. The other co-chairman of Lamont task force, Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo, stressed the need for people to feel safe in public, as they return to shopping and the first phase of restaurants reopening, with outside seating only to supplement the take-out and delivery service to which they have been limited during the pandemic. In other pandemic developments, Lamont told reporters in Hartford earlier Thursday that any decisions on opening up mail-in voting would have to be approved by the General Assembly, likely during a special session sometime in June. Its going to be part of our future, Lamont said outside St. Francis Hospital in Hartford after he helped commemorate National Nurses Week. Ive got to talk with leadership about it. Certainly people over 65 should be voting by mail. On Thursday afternoon, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill joined in a virtual news conference with state Democrats in support of so-called no-excuse absentee ballots. No one should ever have to make a choice between their health and their vote, Merrill said in the conference call. Connecticut is a very bad position when it comes to flexibility of the way we vote. We are probably the last, I guess I would say the worst, in the country on having any flexibility. We have no early voting - like 35 other states - and we have very little voting by absentee ballot because the reasons for you to be able to obtain an absentee ballot are outlined in our state Constitution, which is of course very, very difficult to change. Even the governor cannot override provisions in the state Constitution. Absentee ballots are generally limited to people who are ill, out of their towns for the day or in the military. She said that she has been in regular contact with Lamont over the issue, as the pandemic first delayed the scheduled April 28 primary to June, and now August 11. Also on Thursday, first-term state Reps. Christine Palm of Chester and Matt Blumenthal of Stamford, announced they are leading an effort to push legislative leaders to allow all voters to vote by absentee both in August and November 3 presidential election. The two Democrats claims that fear of the virus and the current lack of proven immunity to it, are good enough reasons for voters to stay away from the polls, threatening their right to exercise a civic obligation. The the right to vote is one of the most sacred of American rights, enshrined in both our federal and state constitutions, wrote Blumenthal, vice chairman of the legislative Judiciary Committee. kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT The Donald Trump administration announced today that the United States will provide an additional $225 million in emergency food aid for Yemen, significantly more than the $73 million in Yemeni assistance that the United States cut in March. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at a press briefing that the assistance will go to a UN emergency food program in southern Yemen and to a reduced operation in northern Yemen that the UN World Food Program "was forced to scale down earlier this month because of the Iran-backed Houthis. The Trump administration previously announced some $1.7 million in aid to help Yemenis cope with the COVID-19 crisis, but that accounts for less than 1% of the $1.3 billion that the Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation estimates will be needed to help the country cope with the coronavirus pandemic. Lise Grande, the UN humanitarian aid coordinator for Yemen, praised the $225 million in food aid as a lifeline as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads faster and faster. Every day, millions of innocent Yemeni people wake up hungry, Grande told Al-Monitor. Everywhere you go, people need help. UN programs are closing every day because of lack of funding. Since July 2018, the United States has provided more than $1.1 billion in Yemen humanitarian aid to international organizations and nongovernmental organization partners. In March, the Trump administration cut $73 million in aid to Houthi-controlled territories, where the majority of the Yemeni population lives, citing the rebels aid restrictions. The steep aid cut, coupled with the administrations decision to stop working with the World Health Organization, forced the United Nations to scale back many of its operations throughout the war-torn country. We welcome the announcement of US funding, but it still doesnt solve the problem of suspended aid for the WHO organizations working in northern Yemen, said Scott Paul, the humanitarian policy lead for Oxfam America. We are still calling for USAID to work with other donors and authorities to find a way to safely resume funding for programs that provide clean water, soap distribution, support for health care centers and more. The Houthis have since made some concessions on humanitarian assistance, such as scrapping their plans for a 2% foreign aid tax and agreeing to allow NGOs to use biometrics to scan for fraud. Humanitarian officials within the administration acknowledge that some progress has been made but more needs to be done to allow agencies to operate independently. We need to see concrete actions to remove impediments, including approvals for travel permits to deliver aid, honoring partner agreements, halting interference in the selection of beneficiaries and allowing agencies to operate independently, neutrally on the basis of need, said Richard Albright, the deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, at a press briefing. Air France-KLM lost 1.8 billion euros ($1.9 billion) in the first quarter, mostly just in a few weeks in March as travel restrictions grounded planes worldwide, and said Thursday that it will take several years to recover. The partner airlines, which have already won billions of euros of bailout loans from the French and Dutch governments, forecast that the second quarter will be far worse, with traffic down 95%. Air France-KLM predicted a slow resumption of activity over the summer, but estimated it would still be down 80% in the third quarter compared to previous years. In a statement, the company forecast a prolonged negative impact on passenger demand, not expected to recover to pre-crisis levels before several years. Air France-KLM announced increased revenue in January and February, but then a big drop in March as countries closed borders and confined much of the world's population. It reported 5 billion euros in revenue over the quarter, down 15% from 2019. Profit for the quarter was down 1.8 billion euros compared to a 324 million euro loss in the first quarter of 2019. Like airlines around the world, Air France-KLM is working to ensure virus protections in its planes, in hopes of persuading people to resume flying once travel restrictions are lifted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) I have had the pleasure of working with him on the board since I joined; David always demonstrated his passion for broking. His input and insight will be missed. NIBA did not cite reasons for the departure. Meanwhile chief executive Dallas Booth expressed appreciation for Wyners work on the board as well as his service and commitment not only to NIBA but to insurance brokers in general. Wyner, who was convention committee chair at NIBA, also acted as Australian representative on the World Federation of Insurance Intermediaries. David is a passionate advocate for the role our profession plays and was always a supportive sounding board, commented board director Tim Wedlock. We thank him for all his knowledge, guidance, and input. For Di Phelan, vice president of the board, it had been a pleasure working with Wyner, from whom Phelan said she has learned a lot. I will certainly miss wisdom and smiling face around the table in the future, added the VP. In a separate development, the board said it has decided to proceed with the NIBA Awards process, which was previously put on hold in light of the COVID-19 crisis. All nominees will be contacted and invited to participate in this years programme, with further details to be announced in due course. Shareholders might have noticed that Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) filed its first-quarter result this time last week. The early response was not positive, with shares down 2.3% to US$159 in the past week. Illinois Tool Works missed revenue estimates by 2.2%, with sales of US$3.2b, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.77 beat expectations, coming in 3.6% ahead of analyst estimates. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year. See our latest analysis for Illinois Tool Works NYSE:ITW Past and Future Earnings May 7th 2020 After the latest results, the consensus from Illinois Tool Works' 18 analysts is for revenues of US$11.3b in 2020, which would reflect a chunky 18% decline in sales compared to the last year of performance. Statutory earnings per share are expected to dive 32% to US$5.26 in the same period. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$11.8b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$5.89 in 2020. From this we can that sentiment has definitely become more bearish after the latest results, leading to lower revenue forecasts and a substantial drop in earnings per share estimates. The analysts made no major changes to their price target of US$155, suggesting the downgrades are not expected to have a long-term impact on Illinois Tool Works'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. The most optimistic Illinois Tool Works analyst has a price target of US$200 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$121. Analysts definitely have varying views on the business, but the spread of estimates is not wide enough in our view to suggest that extreme outcomes could await Illinois Tool Works shareholders. Story continues 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 highlight that sales are expected to reverse, with the forecast 18% revenue decline a notable change from historical growth of 1.2% over the last five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the same industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 4.7% annually for the foreseeable future. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - Illinois Tool Works is expected to lag the wider industry. The Bottom Line The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. Unfortunately, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and our data indicates revenues are expected to perform worse than the wider industry. Even so, earnings per share are more important to the intrinsic value of the business. 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 Illinois Tool Works 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 Illinois Tool Works 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. The World Health Organization on Thursday advised governments to clinically test a herbal drink touted by Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina as a remedy against coronavirus. The Covid-Organics infusion is derived from artemisia -- a plant with proven anti-malarial properties -- and other indigenous herbs. Rajoelina hopes to distribute the infusion across West Africa and beyond, claiming it cures COVID-19 patients within 10 days. Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Niger have already received consignments of the potion. Others such as Tanzania have expressed interest. But the World Health Organization (WHO) has repeatedly warned that there are no published scientific studies of the herbal tea and that its effects have not been tested. "We would caution and advise countries against adopting a product that has not been taken through tests to see its efficacy," WHO Africa Director Matshidiso Moeti said in a press briefing on Thursday, calling on Madagascar to take the drink "through a clinical trial". Moeti said that in 2000, African governments had committed to taking "traditional therapies" through the same clinical trials as other medication. "I can understand the need, the drive to find something that can help," Moeti said. "But we would very much like to encourage this scientific process in which the governments themselves made a commitment." Rajoelina defended his tonic during a coronavirus screening campaign in Madagascar's eastern city of Toamasina on Thursday. "The WHO has indicated that artemisia could lead to a cure for coronavirus," the president said, promising to submit the drink to clinical trials. - Scepticism remains - Earlier this week, the WHO recognised artemisia as a "possible treatment" for COVID-19. But the organisation also repeated its calls for more rigorous testing. South Africa's Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on Wednesday said Madagascar had reached out for "help" with scientific research. "Our scientists would be able to assist with this research," Mkhize tweeted, adding that South Africa would only "get involved in a scientific analysis of the herb". The country has the highest number of coronavirus cases in sub-Saharan Africa, with 7,808 infections and 153 fatalities recorded to date. Neighbouring eSwatini -- a tiny landlocked nation wedged between South Africa and Mozambique -- said it would not consider Rajoelina's tonic for the time being. "It is important as a country to first ascertain where such herbal products have been tested," she said Health Minister Lizzie Nkosi on Thursday. "We have to do adequate proper research and be sure that the product works." To date eSwatini has reported 123 cases of coronavirus, including two deaths. Meanwhile, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has debunked claims that it had ordered a package of Covid-Organics from a "third country". "We are aware that several claims of a COVID-19 cure have been made in different parts of the world," ECOWAS said in a statement on Wednesday. "But we can only support and endorse products that have been shown to be effective through scientific study." A firefighter battles a brush fire that broke out in the Hollister Ranch area of Santa Barbara County early Thursday. (Daniel Bertucelli / Santa Barbara County Fire Department) A brush fire bolstered by strong sundowner winds erupted early Thursday, charring 200 acres and threatening homes in the exclusive coastal enclave of Hollister Ranch in Santa Barbara County. The fire broke out shortly after 2 a.m. in medium brush between Gaviota State Beach and the Hollister Ranch guard gate. The blaze, pushed by gusty winds blowing up to 25 mph, quickly began burning downhill toward the ocean, said Daniel Bertucelli, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. Roughly 120 firefighters are battling the blaze, which is 10% contained, with the help of fixed-wing aircraft and water-dropping helicopters. The rural coastal area's topography, which presents access challenges for firefighters, is frequently buffeted by strong winds. The sundowner winds, similar to Santa Ana winds, have fueled many brush fires in Southern California, including the massive Thomas fire, which burned more than 281,000 acres in 2017. Officials issued voluntary evacuation warnings for a handful of properties in the area. However, those residents chose to shelter in place. No homes have been damaged, Bertucelli said. It is not clear how the fire started. While fire activity appeared to have diminished significantly by daybreak, crews still face another hot day in the region, with temperatures spiking up to 90 degrees in the area. The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for the coastal region through 9 p.m. "Looking at it now, I feel pretty good about it, but we're going to continue to be cautious," Bertucelli said. "With the heat wave that we're having and the windy conditions, we don't want to take anything for granted." Story continues Another day of sweltering temperatures is also in store elsewhere across Southern California. A heat advisory is in effect for Los Angeles County, warning of temperatures between 85 and 90 degrees along the coast and up to 100 degrees inland. In downtown Los Angeles, temperatures are expected to spike to 95 degrees on Thursday, a roughly 20-degree departure from normal for this time of year, said David Sweet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. Temperatures in the San Fernando Valley are expected to be even higher. Woodland Hills is expected to see the mercury rise to 100 degrees, Sweet said. "It's definitely going to be another hot day, but we'll start to see some cooling today in areas closest to the coast," Sweet said. In response, Los Angeles County opened emergency cooling centers that will provide relief from the heat while also complying with physical-distancing guidelines implemented in response to the coronavirus outbreak . This week's heat has even broken some temperature records. Los Angeles International Airport reached 86 degrees on Wednesday, breaking the previous record for the day of 84 degrees set in 1953, according to the weather service. Cooler conditions and a thicker marine layer will begin to return Friday and over the weekend into early next week, the weather service said. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered the recruitment of 69,000 primary teachers within a week. the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday, had asked the state government to recruit 69000 teachers in primary schools in the state. The court favoured the government's decision to increase the cut-off marks 60-65 per cent. It has also ordered the recruitment process to be completed within six months. The written exam for 69,000 teachers' recruitment was conducted on January 6, 2019. The examination authorities are all set to release the results the next week. On July 25, 2017, the Supreme Court had asked the state government to cancel the recruitment of 1,37,517 teachers on the post of TET Assistant Teacher but give them the benefit of experience in two recruitments. Six months later, on January 17, 2018, the government issued the order for the written examination for the assistant teachers' posts for the first time to hire 68,500 teachers. About 7200 Shiksha Mitras qualified in the written examination held on May 27. They all got an opportunity to be recruited for the 68,500 assistant teachers' posts. The exam was conducted on January 6, 2019, for 69,000 teachers' recruitment but there was a dispute regarding the cut-off marks and the examination regulatory authority office could not release the final answer key in 11 months. HONOLULU Hawaii authorities are cracking down on rogue tourists who are visiting beaches, riding personal watercraft, shopping and generally flouting strict requirements that they quarantine for 14 days after arriving. A newlywed California couple left their Waikiki hotel room repeatedly, despite being warned by hotel staff, and were arrested. Others have been arrested at a hotel pool, loading groceries into a vehicle outside a Costco and bringing take-out food back to a hotel room. The rules, the strictest in any U.S. state, have helped keep coronavirus infections relatively low. As of Wednesday, Hawaii reported 626 cases and 17 deaths. Yet the shutdown has devastated the islands' economy, which is hugely dependent on tourism. Since March 26, when Hawaii put the rules in place, about 5,000 visitors have arrived, compared to pre-pandemic times when about 30,000 came daily. That's left the state reeling unemployment is estimated to be in the range of 25% to 35%. Tourism industry officials say the hotel occupancy rate was down about 34% compared to March last year. More than 100 hotels have suspended operations and workers laid off from their jobs wait in long lines at food distribution sites. It makes those who ignore the rules especially offensive, said Honolulu City Councilmember Kym Pine, who wants travelers tracked via their cellphones or tested for the virus before boarding planes for Hawaii. "The people that are coming don't care about us. They're coming to Hawaii on the cheap and they obviously could care less whether they get the virus or not," she said. "So they obviously could care less about that mom and dad who have no job and no food." While in quarantine in a hotel room or residence, people aren't allowed to leave for anything other than medical emergencies. That means no grocery shopping, no strolls on the beach, no hotel housekeeping services. When the honeymooning couple, Borice Lepovskiy, 20, and Yuliia Andreichenko, 26, of Citrus Heights, Calif., arrived at their hotel last week, a front desk manager read them the quarantine order, but they claimed airport staff told them it would be OK to visit friends and go to beaches. They left the hotel. According to the state, they returned after midnight with a pizza, checked in and refused to sign a quarantine agreement. In the morning, they left their room and were arrested when they returned. They're among at least 20 people arrested statewide on charges of violating the quarantine, and many others have received warnings or citations. Anyone convicted of violating the emergency rule faces a fine of up to $5,000, a year in jail, or both. Officials have even considered having travelers wear an ankle bracelet during their quarantine period, or setting up a designated site where tourists would be required to stay at for the 14 days. When travelers arrive, officials verify their accommodation arrangements by contacting hotels directly and giving them a heads up that a visitor has arrived, the state said. Call center workers from the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau and the Hawaii Tourism Authority follow-up numerous time to verify travelers are in quarantine. When call center workers can't contact someone, they alert law enforcement. Last month, a pair arrived on Kauai and were told to go directly to their hotel. Kauai police stopped them after they were seen going in the opposite direction of their hotel. Adam Schwarze, 36, who police said lives on Oahu and his travel companion, Desiree Marvin, 31, of Alexandria, Va., were ultimately arrested in the parking lot of a grocery store. Leif Anthony Johansen, 60, of Truckee, Calif., was supposed to be in quarantine but was spotted on a personal watercraft off Oahus famed North Shore. He was later followed to a Costco, where agents from the state attorney generals office arrested him as he was loading groceries into his vehicle. Johansen, Lepovskiy and Andreichenko could not immediately be reached for comment. Schwarze and Marvin declined to comment. More: Ocean City, Md. will open beach and boardwalk access Friday; what will be allowed? Disney has shared the recipe for Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup served at Epcots Le Cellier Steakhouse Carnival cancels cruises through July, says it will phase in services in August with a measured approach BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 By Ilkin Seyfaddini Trend: Specialists of the Syrdarya Territorial Power Grid Enterprise are working to eliminate damage in the sphere of energy supply caused by the dam breakage of the Sardobinsky reservoir and the subsequent flood, Trend reports citing the Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan. As it was established by the working group of Syrdarya Territorial Electricity Networks Enterprise JSC, because of the flood in Sardobinsky district the following electrical equipment was damaged: 51 transformers and 10.4 kilometers of overhead lines with voltage of 10.4 kV. The number of damaged transformers on the territory of Akalta district is 28. On the territory of Mirzaabad district 27 transformers were damaged. Together with the employees of Ferghana, Namangan and Andijan regional power companies, who arrived in Syrdarya region with all necessary technical means to assist in the restoration of the accident, specialists of Syrdarya Territorial Electricity Networks Enterprise are systematically working around the clock to restore power supply. Currently, as a result of this work, power supply has been restored in 3182 households. The dam built several years ago at the Sardobinsky reservoir broke on May 1, 2020 in Syrdarya region. Several villages close to the dam were flooded with water, about 70,000 people were evacuated from the site, and mud flows reached the border of Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, today, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Uzbekistan have arrived in Maktaaral district of Turkestan region of Kazakhstan to help eliminate the consequences of the floods. More than 30,000 people were evacuated in Turkestan Region. --- Follow author on Twitter: @seyfaddini The World Health Organization is considering a new mission to seek the source of the coronavirus in China, amid growing controversy over the origin of a pandemic that has killed more than a quarter of a million people. Without knowing where the animal origin is, its hard to prevent it from happening again, Maria Van Kerkhove, a WHO epidemiologist, said at a press briefing Wednesday. There is discussion with our counterparts in China for a further mission, which would be more academic in focus, and really focus on looking at what happened at the beginning in terms of exposures with different animals, she added. Van Kerkhove in February participated in a previous mission to China, which concluded that the virus was zoonotic in origin. Bats appeared to be the reservoir for the virus, but an intermediate host could not be determined, the report said. Talk of a new mission comes as debate grows over the source of the outbreak, which was first identified in Wuhan, China, more than four months ago. US President Donald Trumps administration has said the virus likely escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which runs a laboratory that studies dangerous pathogens. Some intelligence agencies are casting doubt on that theory, and China has repeatedly denied the claim. The WHO has come under fire from Trump, who has moved to cut off funding to the Geneva-based United Nations agency, saying it was overly deferential to China as the virus spread in that country and beyond. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Wednesday asserted that China covered up the origins of the virus even as he eased off earlier claims of enormous evidence that the virus escaped from a Wuhan laboratory. Pompeo repeated the US allegation that China is still refusing to share virus samples or details about the start of the pandemic and on patient zero, the first victim. And he said other countries are starting to see it the US way. Our truth-telling and calls for transparency arent about politics, its not about bullying, its not about blame, Pompeo said. Its about the ongoing need to save American lives. This is an ongoing threat. Chinas foreign ministry didnt immediately reply to questions about the WHOs proposed mission. On Wednesday, in response to calls from the likes of Australia and the European Union for investigations into how the previously unknown pathogen made the jump from animals to humans, ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that China would support a review about the origins of the virus at an appropriate time. We will continue supporting the WHO and support looking back and summarizing the experience at an appropriate time to support global health cooperation and so we can better deal with pandemics like this in the future, Hua said at a briefing in Beijing. What we oppose is the presumption of guilt under the pretext of an investigation, or using the epidemic for political purposes. Hua also dismissed Pompeos claims the virus escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan. Xi Seeks Reform Mr. Pompeo cannot present any evidence because he does not have any, Hua said. This matter should be handled by scientists and professionals instead of politicians out of their domestic political needs. China has come under fire over its early handling of the virus, which has pushed the global economy toward recession as it spreads around the world. Authorities had reprimanded doctors including Li Wenliang, who later passed away, for sharing warnings about the coronavirus infection risk in WeChat groups in late December. President Xi Jinping called for reform of Chinas disease control system at a meeting of the Politburo on Wednesday, an apparent acknowledgment of lapses in the nations response. The countrys top leaders agreed to boost epidemic monitoring and early-warning capabilities, revamp public health emergency laws and regulations and enhance the response to major epidemics, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. With the production of these urgently needed masks and garments, we're working to rapidly build a supply of protective equipment requested by medical professionals and government leaders to help contain the expansion of the Covid-19 virus. Vidalia Mills, the leading North American maker of yarns and denim fabrics, and Keep it Here, a major Los Angeles-based manufacturing of t-shirts, jeans, and other clothing, have announced a new joint-venture to manufacture and distribute surgical masks, gowns, and face masks to assist medical professionals in limiting the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Vidalia Mills has purchased one automated surgical grade mask-making machine, along with two automatic N95 high-protection mask-making machines, which will be installed within the next 90 days in a new cleanroom facility under construction at the Vidalia Mills plant and will utilize nonwoven and other advanced textile materials. The machines can produce up to 100 million units annually. Additionally, Vidalia Mills has deployed twenty high-speed weaving looms to make lightweight cotton fabrics for the production of medical gowns and consumer face masks to be cut and sewn at Keep it Here in Los Angeles. In turn, the materials will be anti-viral and anti-microbial infused, and made with BASFs e3 sustainable cotton fabrics. In making the announcement, Vidalia Mills CEO, Dan Feibus, said, "With the production of these urgently needed masks and garments, we're working to rapidly build a supply of protective equipment requested by medical professionals and government leaders to help contain the expansion of the Covid-19 virus." Patrick Stewart, President of Keep it Here, added, "With our highly trained team, we are able rapidly to design and manufacture products. Because of our manufacturing capabilities, we will be able to make a substantial supply of cotton surgical gowns and consumer face masks to help our country in its hour of need." Keep it Here (KIH) is a subsidiary of Omniverse Group. This diversified development company has hired Dr. Pietro D. Marghella, an expert in medical and public health emergencies, to oversee the medical requirements of the production at Vidalia and KIH. Marghella is an accomplished medical professional and former government and military official. He said of the new joint-venture, "I am pleased to work with the teams at KIH and Vidalia to get production ramped quickly by providing sound medical advice to make high-quality products for the medical community and public at large." Commenting on Vidalias use of BASFs e3 sustainable cotton for the production of surgical gowns and face masks, Jennifer Crumpler, Director of the e3 sustainable cotton program said, BASF is pleased to play a role in supplying versatile cotton grown by farmers throughout the United States for much-needed medical equipment. We are proud that our agricultural community is able to assist healthcare workers and citizens with gowns and face masks made from sustainable cotton during this unprecedented time. ### Contacts: Dan Feibus, CEO, Vidalia Mills Email: d.feibus@vidaliamills.com Patrick Stewart Email: p.stewart@k2ominiverse.com http://www.omniverse-group.com Jennifer Crumpler, Director of e3 Program Email: Jennifer.gasque-crumpler@basf.com Warren Buffett | Berkshire Hathaway Inc - 49 years (Image: Reuters) live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Berkshire Hathaway confirmed that in April it sold its entire positions in the four largest carriers - American Airlines Group Inc, Delta Air Lines Inc, Southwest Airlines Co, and United Airlines Holdings Inc, Warren Buffett told investors last weekend. The legendary investor sold his stake in the "big four" US airlines at a loss in April, going against his own advice. But, it does suggest that investors should not wait, and cut losses at the earliest. Warren Buffett exited the positions after the coronavirus pandemic which could alter the way airlines function once the lockdown opens. Buffett said he made a mistake investing in the sector, which the pandemic has changed in a very major way with no fault of the airlines. Also read: Warren Buffett offloads US airline stocks: Time to sell Indigo & Spicejet? Warren Buffett once again showed investors as to how one can cut losses and preserve cash, and one should just build a portfolio based on the investment climate. The investing phenomenon is dynamic in nature and usually changes over a period of time based on prevailing trends, suggest experts. There are few cyclical sectors which see ups and downs over the course of the business cycle, and to capitalize from their undervaluation it is imperative to catch the bottom which is technically difficult, Dinesh Rohira is a Founder & CEO of 5nance.com told Moneycontrol. Nevertheless, the long term investor can still capitalize from such valuation gaps of quality names through a staggered investment approach at different price levels and stick to the core fundamentals of investing. The challenges in the economy are likely to persist for an extended period due to the current pandemic which might remain even for 1 or 2 years from now, he said. What to buy: Warren Buffett, a former student of Benjamin Graham, is noted as a legendary value investor. He emphasizes on stocks that are trading at reasonable prices. Making the job simpler for investors in picking stocks conforming to the values of Buffett, we have taken data from MarketSmith powered by William O'Neil. The following stocks were filtered with the highest Master Score and RS (Relative Strength) rating. Master Score is a proprietary filter created by MarketSmith that highlights great earnings potential and strong price performance of a stock. On the other hand, RS rating is a technical tool that is the most popular way to see the markets top performers. The Relative Strength rating is the result of calculating a stocks percentage price change over the last 12 months. A 40 percent weight is assigned to the latest three-month period; the remaining three quarters each receive 20 percent weight. All stocks are arranged in order of greatest price percentage change and assigned a percentile rank from 99 (highest) to 1 (lowest). The filter is applied to look for companies with long-term past and potential future growth. Of the stocks returned by the screen, Buffett most likely would emphasize on those trading at reasonable prices. The stocks having a market capitalisation greater than Rs 500 crore and Average Rupee Volume greater than 10,000 crores are considered to filter stocks for the list. Here are 10 stocks according to the above-mentioned parameters that one should look at (they are filtered based on Market Score). The stocks having market capitalization greater than Rs 500 crore and Average Rupee Volume greater than 10,000 crores are considered to filter stocks for the list: Abbott India: Master Score 85 Sanofi India: Master Score 78 Indraprastha Gas: Master Score 75 Amrutanjan Health Care: Master Score 74 Bharat Rasayan: Master Score 70 Honeywell Automation: Master Score 69 Relaxo Footwear: Master Score 69 Britannia Industries: Master Score 68 Balkrishna Industries: Master Score 66 : 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. As global efforts to tackle the pandemic intensify, so the spotlight has finally shifted to focus on the potential of small pharma players during the week beginning 27th April. According to Ivan Sedgwick, a director at corporate finance firm LGB & Co, the poor share price performance of major healthcare names has demoralised investors, forcing them in their quest for value into unfamiliar territory such as AIM. 'Investors have moved from a focus on balance sheet and funding risk and are back looking at the upside potential that some of these companies exhibit,' Sedgwick added. New focus: The spotlight has finally shifted to focus on the potential of small pharma players Among his top picks are Scancell, part of a coronavirus vaccine programme, university spin-out investor Frontier IP Group and Open Orphan, which is testing an antiviral. In fact, the flurry of fundraises underlines a growing confidence small-cap innovators. In the three weeks to Easter weekend 500million was raised on AIM, with just under third going to healthcare companies. The week beginning 27th April was another strong one of the sector. Genedrive rocketed 52 per cent to 126p after reporting that its Covid-19 testing kit, designed to deliver faster results, is to receive a CE mark in three weeks. Likewise, Omega Diagnostics soared 41 per cent to 65p after sticking the same mark on its coronavirus antibody test. EKF Diagnostics rose 12 per cent to 40p on a contract to supply sample collection kits to Source BioScience, a provider of testing services for the NHS. Verona Pharma was the exception. It tumbled 26 per cent to 40p after admitting the struggle to raise enough capital for the final phase of trials for nebulised ensifentrine, a candidate for respiratory diseases, which may be delayed. Turning to the wider market, the AIM All-Share index rose 2 per cent, touching the 800-mark for the first time since the crisis started, while the FTSE 100 was flat at 5,772. Among the risers, Erris Resources soared 63 per cent to 5p after the explorer reported its two highest grade gold results to date at its Loch Tay project in Scotland. Staying in the mining sector, Asiamet Resources surged 24 per cent to 2p after receiving approval from the Indonesian authorities for the further exploration permit on its KSK Contract of Work in central Kalimantan. Peer Empire Metals ascended 24 per cent to 1p after it agreed to acquire an interest in the Munni Munni palladium project in Western Australia. Fellow gold digger Condor Gold flew 20 per cent to 30p after receiving an environmental permit for the development and exploitation of gold in the high-grade Mestiza open pit project in Nicaragua. Changing sector, TV automation firm Pebble Beach Systems jumped 28 per cent to 11p after reassuring investors the pandemic will not hit trading too severely as people turn to media to entertain themselves during isolation. Similarly, convenience store and petrol station services provider Universe Group gained 26 per cent to 3p after noting that all of its customers are retailers of vital supplies, being food, drink and/or fuel. Unrelated to the pandemic, Baron Oil shares gushed 21 per cent higher to 0.07p on a work-sharing agreement with its joint venture partners for the P2478 licence in the North Sea, while pre-tax losses for 2019 halved to 1.6million compared to the year before. Elsewhere, NAHL Group rose 21 per cent to 43p as it continues to work across its three divisions although the coronavirus crisis has hit operations. Meanwhile, business expenditure monitoring specialist Proactis bobbed 20 per cent higher to 26p after revealing a reset of its banking facilities is to provide an extra 3million in the short-term. Among the fallers, stock broker Arden Partners tanked 42 per cent to 5p after announcing material losses as the coronavirus crisis hits equity trading. Similarly, education firm Malvern International slumped 31 per cent to 0.1p after admitting considerable uncertainty around its prospects as its learning centres in the UK and its school in Singapore remained closed due to lockdown measures. Intellectual property investment group Tekcapital slipped 17% to 12p after raising 925,000 by placing shares at a 13 per cent discount to support its firms during the crisis. Finally, detection technology specialist Kromek Group dropped 12 per cent to 17p after revealing that revenue growth for the year to 30 April will be flat due to market disruption. Presidential Veto Message to the Senate for S.J. Res. 68 May 6, 2020 TO THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES: I am returning herewith without my approval S.J. Res. 68, a joint resolution that purports to direct the President to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces in hostilities against Iran. This indefinite prohibition is unnecessary and dangerous. It would weaken the President's authority in violation of Article II of the Constitution, and endanger the lives of American citizens and brave service members. This joint resolution is unnecessary because it rests upon a faulty premise. Due to my decisive actions and effective policies, the United States is not engaged in the use of force against Iran. As Commander in Chief, I will always defend our Nation against threats to our security. In response to an escalating series of attacks by Iran and Iranian-backed militias on United States forces and interests in the Middle East, on January 2, 2020, United States Armed Forces eliminated Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force as he was traveling in Iraq. The purposes of this strike were to protect United States personnel, deter Iran from conducting or supporting further attacks against United States forces and interests, degrade the ability of Iran and Qods Force-backed militias to conduct attacks, and end Iran's strategic escalation of attacks against and threats to United States interests. On January 7, 2020, Iran launched 16 ballistic missiles against United States and coalition forces in Iraq. These attacks resulted in no fatalities. The next day, in an address to the Nation, I noted that "Iran appears to be standing down" and emphasized that "the United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it." One day later, this resolution was introduced. Its apparent aim was to prevent an escalation in hostilities between the United States and Iran. Yet no such escalation has occurred over the past 4 months, contrary to the often dire and confident predictions of many. S.J. Res. 68 is also unnecessary because it incorrectly implies that the military airstrike against Qassem Soleimani in Iraq was conducted without statutory authority. The resolution states that "the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) against the perpetrators of the 9/11 attack and the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107-243; 50 U.S.C. 1541 notes) do not serve as a specific statutory authorization for use of force against Iran." The strike against Soleimani, however, was fully authorized under both the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 ("2002 AUMF") and the President's constitutional authorities as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive. The United States has long relied upon the 2002 AUMF to authorize the use of force for the purpose of establishing a stable, democratic Iraq and for addressing terrorist threats emanating from Iraq. Such uses of force need not address only threats from the Iraqi Government apparatus, but may also address threats to the United States posed by militias, terrorist groups, or other armed groups in Iraq. This has been a consistent application of the statute across Administrations, including the last Administration, which relied upon it to conduct operations in response to attacks and threats by Iran-backed militias in Iraq. Moreover, under Article II, the President is empowered to direct the use of military force to protect the Nation from an attack or threat of imminent attack and to protect important national interests. In addition, S.J. Res. 68 is dangerous because it could hinder the President's ability to protect United States forces, allies, and partners, including Israel, from the continued threat posed by Iran and Iranian-backed militias. The resolution states that it should not "be construed to prevent the United States from defending itself from imminent attack." But this overlooks the President's need to respond to threats beyond imminent attacks on the United States and its forces. Protecting the national security of the United States involves taking actions to de-escalate threats around the world, including threats posed by Iran and Iranian-backed militias. Iran and Iranian-backed militias have a long history of attacking United States and coalition forces. As demonstrated by the recent indirect fire attacks on January 26, 2020, on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and on March 11 and 14, 2020, on Camp Taji, Iraq, Iran and Iranian-backed militias continue to present a threat. This resolution would impede the President's ability to counter adversarial forces by anticipating their next moves and taking swift actions to address them decisively. For all of these reasons, I cannot support this joint resolution. My Administration has taken strong actions, within statutory authority, to help keep our Nation safe, and I will not approve this resolution, which would undermine my ability to protect American citizens, service members, and interests. Therefore, it is my duty to return S.J. Res. 68 to the Senate without my approval. DONALD J. TRUMP THE WHITE HOUSE, May 6, 2020. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A meat-processing plant in Melbourne has been temporarily closed as a result of Victorias largest coronavirus outbreak. To date, 62 confirmed cases have been linked to the Cedar Meats facility in Brooklyn, a mostly industrial suburb in Melbournes west. This morning, Victorian officials announced an additional 13 cases, indicating that infections stemming from the cluster are continuing to spread. Although a worker at the plant was diagnosed with COVID-19 on April 2, health authorities did not take any action to investigate the possible spread of the virus at the plant until more than three weeks later. The Cedar Meats facility in Brooklyn, Melbourne (Credit: Google Maps). The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) told the Australian on Tuesday that the workplace had not been considered an exposure site because the worker had not been at work while infectious. A second worker tested positive on April 24, but the DHHS did not deem the abattoir worthy of scrutiny until another case was discovered the following day. The third worker was diagnosed when he developed symptoms after undergoing emergency surgery on a severed thumb at the nearby Sunshine Hospital. Two dozen hospital workers were sent home to self-isolate as a result of this exposure. The company was notified of the positive test on April 27, but no decisive action was taken until two days later, following the discovery of additional COVID-19 cases. The initial cluster of employees all worked in close proximity in the plants boning room. At least four workers had been diagnosed by the time Cedar Meats announced that the plant would be closed for two weeks, and that all 350 workers at the facility would be tested and self-isolated. The plant had a reduced kill on May 1 and some workers remained until May 3. Some workers who have spoken to the media anonymously, have said that the first they heard of the COVID-19 outbreak was on May 1. In other words, they were forced to stay on the job after the company and state authorities knew of the dangers and were told nothing. As the number of COVID-19 cases linked to the meatworks has steadily increased, Victorian health authorities and the state Labor government have released minimal details about the outbreak. The name of the facility was officially suppressed by the authorities. This was a clear attempt by the Labor government to ensure that the health crisis did not impact on continued production at the plant. Previously, schools and health facilities, sometimes with only one confirmed case, have been named immediately. The company only outed itself as the centre of the cluster after media scrutiny and amid growing anger over the veil of secrecy. The government decision to conceal the location of the outbreak increased the risk of wider community transmission as even the most thorough tracing would not have turned up everyone who was in close contact with the meatworkers. This includes delivery drivers or contractors who visited the site, as well as workers in the surrounding area. Already, a staff member at the nearby Footscray Aged Care Home has tested positive for COVID-19. The worker is a close contact of one of the Cedar Meats workers. The ongoing crisis at the Newmarch House aged care facility in western Sydney, where 16 residents have died of the coronavirus, demonstrates the potential consequences of the Victorian governments failure to divulge the details of the Brooklyn outbreak. The federal government has now launched an investigation into the possibility that the virus may have been spread to other facilities by Commonwealth meat inspectors who visited the Melbourne abattoir in April. Reports in the Murdoch press have suggested that the state governments silence is related to a $15,000 donation Cedar Meats made to the Labor Party in 2014. The reality is, all levels of government in Australia are seeking to downplay the prevalence of the coronavirus. Their claims that the worst of the crisis is over, exposed as a fraud by the abattoir outbreak, are aimed at creating the conditions for workers to be herded back onto the job to ensure the resumed flow of corporate profits. While Victoria has maintained a stricter lockdown than elsewhere in the country, the state government still plans to begin lifting restrictions and fully reopening schools as early as next Monday. The Brooklyn outbreak has further exposed the role of the unions as central partners in this corporate offensive. The Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union (AMIEU) did not issue a statement about the outbreak until May 6, days after it had publicly been revealed. It is not clear whether the union knew about the outbreak while it was being covered-up by state authorities, but its delay in making any public comment demonstrates that the AMIEU, no less than the Labor government, is seeking to downplay the dangers facing workers. The statement said that while Cedar Meats had put preventative measures in place, the outbreak showed that they were not sufficient. According to a worker at the plant who spoke to the Guardian, these measures amounted to little more than staggered lunch breaks, additional cleaning, and a security guard hired to check workers temperatures. In other words, they are merely window-dressing. The AMIEU statement made no criticism of the Labor governments handling of the outbreak and indicated the unions intention to work with management to push for an imminent return to work at the Brooklyn plant. The statement said: The AMIEU is willing to work with Cedar Meats to reach agreement on the necessary controls, including physical distancing, appropriate barriers where practicable, work processes, personal protective equipment and vaccinations if and when they become available. The statement also downplayed concerns that Australian meat-processing plants would experience coronavirus outbreaks such as those seen overseas, stressing there were significant differences between the processes in the USA and many workplaces in Australia. It provided no evidence for these assertions. In the United States, more than 4,900 meat workers have tested positive for COVID-19 and 20 have died. In Canada, 935 workers at the Cargill meatpacking plant in Alberta have contracted the virus and one has died. In Germany, nearly 300 slaughterhouse workers in Baden-Wurttemberg are among the countrys confirmed cases. As in Australia, many meatworkers in North America and Europe are immigrants, often with limited or no access to health care. In addition, low wages and the precarious nature of their employment put meatworkers under pressure to come to work sick, and to remain silent about poor health and safety standards in what is, at the best of times, a dangerous environment. Many workers in the Australian meat industry, including at Cedar Meats, are casuals employed by third-party labour hire companies, meaning they do not get sick leave. A large number across the industry are migrant workers on temporary visas and are unable to access welfare payments if they are fired. These circumstances are the result of decades of attacks on jobs, wages and conditions, enforced by Labor and the unions. These dire conditions are now being exploited by the unions, along with governments and companies, to force workers to stay on the job in unsafe conditions so that profit-making operations continue. This is further proof that workers can only defend their basic social rights, including to a safe working environment, through a rebellion against the unions and the establishment of new organisations of struggle, including Action Committees at all plants and factories. In addition to coordinating the broadest industrial fight, such committees will face major political issues, including the need to place the major corporations and essential industries under public ownership and democratic workers control. This is inseparable from the fight for a workers government that will reorganise production to meet social need, not private profit. The Trump administration has urged a federal court not to block Obama-era work authorization for spouses of H-1B visa holders cleared for Green Cards, who are mostly from India, in a major departure from the US presidents push for securing American jobs for Americans. The Department of Homeland Security, which runs immigration among other things, told a court in Washington DC in a brief filed Tuesday that plaintiffs challenge to H-4 employment authorization document (H-1 EAD) that it causes them economic harm is speculative. Plaintiffs five-year old affidavits do not meet this demanding standard because they say nothing about the present job market or threat of impending economic harm, the brief said as reported by Law360, arguing the plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate how the rule caused job losses and how its revocation will help them. Save Jobs, the plaintiff, represents employees of a California public utility company who were laid off in 2014, as the company outsourced their jobs to Indian IT services companies Infosys and TCS that use H-1B workers from India. President Barack Obama authorized work permits for spouses of H-1B visa holders whose application for Green Cards had been cleared but who had to wait for their turn to actually be issued one. It can take years for Indians because there is a massive backlog of their applications, that gets higher every year because of the annual limit on the number of Green Cards that can be issued to applicants from any one country. More than 300,000 people in the Green Card queue are from India and the present laws are not changed, the waiting time for Indias could be as long as 150 years. The Trump administration has wanted to remove rescind the Obama-era rule but has not yet. The court has continued, meanwhile, starting in 2014, the year the rule was notified. Save Jobss challenge was thrown out in 2016 as the court concluded its members lacked standing, were not an affected party. That was a win for the Obama administration DHS. The court reversed the earlier ruling and said last November Save Jobs employees had standing. The plaintiff then sought an injunction blocking the rule. Affected H-1B visa holders India and a body representing them had argued against the injunction. And how this brief from DHS. In episode 6, "The King: Eternal Monarch" showed King Gon and his army in a war with Japan in his aim to protect the Kingdom of Corea's territory. The controversy arose when citizens questioned the presentations of the video. The SBS drama, amid competition ratings, still reached a high percentage. As per data gathered, episode 6 aired on May 2 and gained 7.4% nationwide ratings and 10.3% on the second part. The series' second episode reached double-digit ratings and next is last week's episodes. During its first two episodes, the drama series encountered disputes about the structures presented on the scenes. The management issued apologies on the matter. Another headline issued from the said series is the Japanese warships, which do not symbolize or does not meet the requirements as what they wanted to state from the story. The conflicts show the history of both countries rooted way back in the old times. It came to be known during World War II, which issues Japan's use of people from Korea as laborers and "comfort women." Since then, trades and other dealings from the two countries provided intense dislike for both nations. Although the drama is fictional and not based on true events, the citizens made remarks on the scene. Producing director Baek Sang-Hoon of "The King: Eternal Monarch" released a statement to the media regarding the controversy, as stated below. A busy Derry mum of five is raising money for Atlnagelvin Hospital's Children's ward to say thank you for the life changing treatment her son received there last year. Sarah Serna's eldest son Joseph, 14, was suffering from spontaneous pneumothorax, which causes the sudden onset of a collapsed lung without any apparent cause. Thanks to the expert care he received at Altnagelvin's children's day case unit and on the children's ward he was put forward for surgery in Belfast and has now fully recovered. "The staff at Altnagelvin went above and beyond to do everything they could to ensure our son received the best care in what was a complex case," explained Sarah. "Dr Corrigan, Dr Armstrong and Nurse Sharon Hall made sure he got the treatment he needed. "It was a very scary time because it was a spontaneous condition and could happen at any time. "After Joseph's first surgery he went back for a check up which showed his second lung had collapsed without us even knowing, so he had to have a second surgery." Sarah, who has four other boys aged 10,7,4 and 1 said she is very grateful for the care and attention the family received. "I'm so glad that Joseph had his surgery when he did because of everything that is happening now with the coronavirus. "My youngest was just six weeks old when he had his second operation and the staff just couldn't have done enough for us. "It was important for us to know he was in such safe hands." In recent weeks Sarah, who also runs a small crochet business 'Hookywork', had received requests for crochet rainbows to support the NHS. "It didn't feel right to charge for them given everything that is going on, but then I had the idea that I could sell them to raise money for the children's ward," she explained. "We will always be forever grateful and thankful to every one of the staff there. "And so, this is a little way of saying thank you by donating whatever I can raise by making rainbow decorations. "Every pound raised will go directly to them." Sarah, who is entirely self taught, is combining her crocheting with looking after her five boys. "I got interested in crocheting whilst searching for a hobby which would keep my brain active as well as enable me to produce something tangible and beautiful," she explained. "I started by watching Youtube videos and I thought I'd never get the hang of it but then the penny dropped. " I am always learning new techniques and am now starting to write my own patterns and designs. "I feel very lucky to be a part of the crochet community, it has given me purpose and pride to create things which become a part of memories to be treasured forever. " Sarah's crochet rainbows are available to buy from her Facebook Page 'Hookywork' at a suggested donation of 10 and can be delivered within the Derry area, or posted further afield. -- Bernard John "Bernie" Waclawski, age 87, passed away on April 30, 2020 at Hospice House in Charles County. Bernie was born on June 24, 1932 in Dickson City, PA, a small mining town. After high school, he enlisted in the United States Navy, serving his country on two different aircraft carriers during the Korean Conflict. He subsequently attended college and graduate school, obtaining his Master's Degree in Physics from Penn State University, Phi Beta Kappa. While at Penn State, Bernie met and married his sweetheart, Cecily Quayle Waclawski. They moved to the D.C. Metro area, where Bernie worked as a Physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology for nearly 30 years. His work focused on low-energy particle physics. After residing more than 40 years in Rockville, Md., Bernie moved to La Plata, Md., where he lived for the past 11 years. He greatly enjoyed math, physics, reading, and crossword puzzles, and he could frequently be seen walking around town as long as his health allowed. Bernie and Cecily raised one daughter, Debra. Bernie's number one goal in life was to protect and provide for his wife and his daughter. In addition to his parents, Bernie was preceded in death by his wife, Cecily Quayle Waclawski. He is survived by his daughter, Debra Lynn Jones, and her husband, Steve, of Port Tobacco, Md. In light of current circumstances, interment will be private and take place at a later date at Arlington National Cemetery, with U.S. Navy Honors, where Bernie will be laid to rest with his late wife, Cecily. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Bernie's memory may be made to The Salvation Army or Hospice of Charles County, 2025 Davis Road, Waldorf, Md. Russian Coal Baron Bosov Dead In Possible Suicide By RFE/RL's Russian Service May 06, 2020 Russian billionaire Dmitry Bosov has been found dead at his home in a Moscow suburb, in what officials say was a suicide. The Investigative Committee announced on May 7 that Bosov, 52, had died the previous evening of a gunshot wound to the head. A pistol was reportedly found near the body. Bosov was a major shareholder and board of directors chairman of the Alltek group, which controls the coal producers Siberian Anthracite, VostokUgol, and other firms. According to the Forbes billionaires' list, Bosov was the 86th-richest Russian, with a fortune estimated at $1.1 billion. The RBK news agency quoted acquaintances of Bosov's as saying his affairs had been in turmoil since the beginning of the year, when he began moving assets around and dismissing employees. Early last month, Bosov dismissed his partner in the VostokUgol coal company, Aleksandr Isayev, for purported abuse of his position and embezzlement. Isayev has filed a defamation suit. On May 1, it was reported that a former employee of the Genius Fund Group, an investment firm controlled by Bosov that is active in the legal marijuana business in the United States, had filed a civil suit against Bosov in Los Angeles seeking more than $1 million for alleged breach of contract. The complainant, Francis Racioppi, is a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran. With reporting by Forbes and RBK Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russian- coal-baron-bosov-dead-in-possible -suicide/30597743.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A Florida woman has been arrested on a felony charge for allegedly having a virtual conjugal visit with her incarcerated fiance, during which she pleasured herself with a bevy of sex toys while a child was present in the same room. Noelle Rascati, 32, from Claremont, was taken into custody on April 22 and booked into the county jail on a charge of lewd or lascivious exhibition stemming from her virtual visit with her groom-to-be, 26-year-old Tathan Fields, in the Santa Rosa County Jail on March 25. Fields is serving a 15-year sentence on burglary and grand larceny convictions. Noelle Rascati, 32 (left), has been charged with lewd of lascivious exhibition stemming from her March 25 virtual jail visit with her fiance, Tathan Fields, 26 (right) A video recording of the loved-up couple's remote encounter was discovered by Detective Scott Assmann, with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office, during a review process, as The Smoking Gun first reported. According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by DailyMail.com, in the course of their jailhouse teleconference, Rascati and Fields began speaking in a sexual manner, and a few minutes into the conversation began masturbating while watching one another on screen. As this was happening, according to the court document, a young child entered the room in which Rascati was pleasuring herself. The woman was described in the affidavit as being 'completely nude on the bed and used various "sexual Apparatus"' while masturbating, with the child 'just feet away watching.' Rascati's computer screen, which was visible to the child, displayed a view of her jailed fiance bearing a '100% Solid' face tarttoo, who was also pleasuring himself, according to the affidavit. The document includes a highly graphic play-by-play description of the virtual visit, which begins with Rascati sitting on a bed in a pink robe and her fiance dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit nestled into some kind of a 'jail pod.' After making small talk for a couple of minutes, Rascati she opens her robe, exposing her nude body to the camera, 'all while the little [child] is standing right next to her,' the affidavit states. An affidavit said a video of the visit showed Rascati (left) exposing her fully naked body and pleasuring herself with various sex toys while a child was in the room. Rascati's computer screen, which was visible to the child, displayed Fields masturbating in jail A short time later, Rascati goes to the closet to retrieve a pink box, from which she removes a pink sex toy. She then proceeds to insert it into her body while reclining on the bed 'with her legs spread toward the camera.' The couple's virtual encounter continued for more than 12 minutes and saw Rascati using a variety of adult toys on herself while laying on the bed with her naked body fully exposed. During that whole time, the child, believed to be Rascati's, could be seen on video walking and talking in the background. Rascati was released from jail after posting $2,000 bond. She is due back in court for her arraignment on May 18. Fields has not been charged with any crime in connection to the incident. According to court records, in December 2018, Fields was accused of committing a sexual act in the presence of a correctional facility employee after he was allegedly caught masturbating while attending a prison class led by a female instructor. Earlier that year, Fields was accused of mailing a phony anthrax letter to the State Attorney's Office in Polk County, which contained a note that read: 'I made sure to put plenty of Anthrax. I waited so long for this moment. Just make sure to breath [sic] deep.' Nigerian actor and model, Denola Gray, has apologized for some 9-year-old Tweets where he chiefly called out people for their body. This is coming after he was reminded of the tweets by a fan identified as Magic It was gathered that Denola had earlier advised people to stop making negative comments about other peoples bodies. READ ALSO Angela Simmons Posts Bikini Snaps; Shares Message Of Body Positivity Advertisement Reacting to the old tweets, Denola pointed out that it was shameful, what he had Tweeted as he also pointed out that it doesnt represent how he feels or thinks now. See His Post Here: CLEVELAND, Ohio In what is sure to be one of the most talked about steps in Ohio Gov. Mike DeWines reopening plan, he announced Thursday that restaurants and bars can reopen in the coming weeks. Outside dining is allowed starting May 15, while inside dining can begin May 21. As part of his daily briefing, DeWine also announced that hair salons, barber shops, day spas and nail salons can also open on May 15. But most buzz on social media centered on bars and restaurants, which have been closed (aside from carryout and deliver services) since March 15. I am so ready to go eat at a good restaurant and have a beer. Thank you Ohio!!! Michael Wadsworth (@Michael04261972) May 7, 2020 When asked if they would go to restaurant when they reopen, @GovMikeDeWine and Doctor Amy Acton did not answer. Mike Thompson (@mthompsoncbus) May 7, 2020 Restaurants in #Ohio can open 5/21 for dine-in, but @GovMikeDeWine says the way to prevent further #COVID spread is to wear #masks. What does that look like while dining??? Ann Timmons (@annspeaks) May 7, 2020 restaurants opening back up next week in ohio i get to start working again!!!!! em (@medleydun) May 7, 2020 DeWine did not separate bars and restaurants in issuing Thursdays order. He said he drew on recommendations from his restaurant advisory group as well as health officials, among others. Some people on Twitter responded with joy. Many others were skeptical of social distancing guidelines that have been put in place. Ohio restaurants, bars get green light to reopen in May: Here are the details, guidelines On Tuesday, 85% of Ohios economy will be reopened! Then, on May 15, barbershops and hair salons will reopen. On May 21, restaurants and bars will reopen. Ohios economy is well on its way to entirely reopening! We can do this safely and also fight the virus. @JonHusted Niraj Antani (@NirajAntani) May 7, 2020 Ohios restaurants bars and salons are reopening later this month, I guess well see how it goes? pic.twitter.com/km93nbFMtT Alaina (@lainlovesramen) May 7, 2020 "We need to do this [open the state] judiciously." -Dr. Amy Acton My two decades working in bars has taught me that "judiciously" and "Jagermeister" are mutually exclusive. At least Ohio didn't cut healthcare funding... Oh Wait. Rob Rozycki (@RobOn1100) May 7, 2020 Lol. Bars reopening in Ohio mid-month with stipulations. Try telling a drunk person to maintain social distancing and see how that goes. mrs. courtney poullas (@courtneypoullas) May 7, 2020 The guidelines bars and restaurants must adhere to include creating a floor plan that meets state social distancing guidelines. Groups of over 10 people are strictly prohibited. Congregations of people will be banned or discouraged, while buffets arent allowed. Many, but not all, restaurant employees will be required to wear masks. Restaurants and bars must also ensure a minimum of six feet between employees in kitchens and other workspaces. A full list of requirements and restrictions is posted on Ohio Health Departments coronavirus website. So #Ohio numbers have not be declining...but sure open all the bars and restaurants I will be #STAYinghome GuacaMollyGeib (@GuacaMollyGeib) May 7, 2020 To all our Pre-virus clients and potential clients... We have a system in place prepared to roll out immediately featuring digital bingo cards and prizes in accordance with Ohio Law on Social Distancing in Bars/Restaurants beginning May 21st. Bar Bingo Columbus (@bingocolumbus) May 7, 2020 https://publish.twitter.com/?query=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FDatJimKray%2Fstatus%2F1258465688571830272&widget=Tweet Ohio is opening up bars... uh... what? Andrew Gutierez (@Guut88) May 7, 2020 https://publish.twitter.com/?query=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FDatJimKray%2Fstatus%2F1258465688571830272&widget=Tweet Some people on social media were curious why bars and restaurants are allowed to be open, while places like gyms and churches remain closed. Others plan on waiting to see how this phase goes before re-entering major social spots. Coronavirus in Colorado: Live updates - How does Colorado Springs feel about shops reopening?; El Paso County approaches 1,100 cases of COVID-19 Before Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja celebrate two years of wedded bliss on Friday, May 8, he gave her an early anniversary present - a Nintendo Switch with her favourite games on it, including Legend of Zelda and Mario Kart. She shared a glimpse of it on her Instagram stories. Sharing a video of her Nintendo Switch, Sonam wrote, @anandahuja knows me too well Love you so much. She is heard squealing excitedly as she says, This is my anniversary present. Sonam Kapoor has received the perfect anniversary gift from Anand Ahuja. Sonam and Anand got married in a traditional Anand Karaj ceremony on May 8, 2018. The wedding was followed by a lavish reception, which was attended by the whos who of Bollywood. Earlier, Sonam has said that she was tricked into meeting Anand during the promotions of Prem Ratan Dhan Payo in 2015 and her friends were actually trying to set her up with his best friend. I saw Anand and his friend. His friend was tall like me, liked reading like me and was a huge fan of Hindi movies. He was an educated and a nice guy, she told Filmfare, adding that the man her friends wanted to set her up with reminded her too much of her brother Harshvardhan Kapoor. Also read | Sonakshi Sinha on Ramayana gaffe: Disheartening that people still troll me over one honest mistake Sometimes, people believe that when they have similar interests, they can be together. No one would think of Anand and me together because Anand is totally different. He had no idea that Anil Kapoor was my father. I ended up speaking to Anand the whole evening. Anand was trying to get me to talk to his friend...like being the middle man. But we ended up talking more, she added. Currently, Sonam and Anand are quarantined at their house in Delhi, after they returned from London in March. She has been sharing glimpses of their daily activities on her Instagram stories. Follow @htshowbiz for more SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Families and others in need of food will have the chance to receive vegetables, meats and other food products during another free food give-away being hosted at the Shadowbend Place YMCA in The Woodlands starting at 9 a.m. May 23. According to a press release, the event will be hosted by The Woodlands Family YMCA in the Shadowbend Place YMCA parking lot May 23 at 6145 Shadowbend Place in The Woodlands. Patrons will drive thru each station, never leaving their vehicles. Boxes of food will be loaded into their cars by volunteers and Y staff, officials stated in the release. Each family could receive an assortment of fresh produce, dry or canned goods, frozen meat, breads and desserts based on availability. Distribution of food will be on a first come, first serve basis with enough food to serve 300 families. Roxanne Davis, community liaison for the YMCA locations in The Woodlands, said the free food give-way, which is the fourth to be conducted in the past two months as the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic causes financial havoc for local families, is part of the organizations mission to help the public. The event is hosted in conjunction with the Montgomery County Food Bank, which has experienced exponential demand for food during the pandemic and has distributed tens of thousands of more meals than in a normal year. Over the past eight weeks, the YMCA quickly responded to address the critical needs of our communities including food insecurity, child care for essential personnel and launched a virtual platform to help everyone stay active, engaged and connected. Collectively, the Ys have provided meals for more than 110,000 individuals and the need continues to grow during this pandemic, Davis said. We are blessed with great community partners, such as the Montgomery County Food Bank, to work together to provide meals for 300 families at the Mobile Market at the Shadowbend Y on May 23. Davis stressed to families or others who will attend the food give-away to not leave their vehicles and to follow all rules and intructions from volunteers and signage that will be in place. Social distancing and other CDC recommendations will be vigorously enforced, she added. jeff.forward@chron.com ALTON Within seconds, a pajama-clad family sat on their couch less than one week ago, big bowl of popcorn, messy hair, sodas in hand, while they watched the regional Emmy Award nominations telecast online. By the time the video concluded, the family all three were Emmy Award nominees, several times over. It was all telecast, so we said, Lets make it a chill night at home, and put it on, said Alton native, Dan Brown Jr, now of Los Angeles, where he lives with his wife, Beth Brown, originally from Ballwin, Missouri, and their son, Daniel Brown III, 12. The trio are producers of an eight-time Emmy nominated public service announcement, filmed in Bakersfield, California, by CrimeSonics: Exquisitely Criminal Production Music, which the Browns own. Quite fitting for Brown Jr, who recalled teaching himself to play guitar, sitting like a curmudgeon on his moms front porch, in Alton, and going to Hoppers Music, to earning his first Emmy nominations for a production made in the town of the Bakersfield sound. He credits the former stores owner, Jody Hopper, and an employee, Robert Shaw, as his biggest Alton supporters when he was a kid. Her store was my sanctuary , he said. Id go there and practice guitar quietly for hours and hours. When I think about how I grew up, and became completely self-made with work and determination, I want to talk about encouragement, he said. As a young guy, struggling in school, I knew I had talent but I needed to hear a success story. Brown Jr graduated from Alton High School in 2001 and was an original member of the band Rock Bottom, in which he played lead guitar, before he took off for L.A. Rock Bottom also was made up of lead vocalist/second guitar Donnie Sandidge Jr., bassist Chuck Mann and drummer Craig Bosomworth. People loved to come see us, said Brown, who played with the band at the Alton riverfront during a Fourth of July celebration; he also played with Surreal Zeal. I grew up very poor. I did not get good grades in high school. I showed up in L.A. with a suitcase, he recalled. I grew up right off Main Street in Hillcrest. If you told the 12-year-old me, riding around on my bike and doing who knows what, that Id move from A-Town, to L.A., Id never believe it. I mean, Ill never feel uncomfortable at a networking event, ever again. I just want to be encouraging and show that you can go as high as you want on this earth, he said, all kidding aside. I just found out Saturday about the nominations, and in less than one month Ill find out if we won. Unlike in high school, Brown went for it in college. He received his bachelors online in music production, graduating as the salutatorian, which is runner up to valedictorian. It ticked me off, so when I got my masters, I got valedictorian, he said. I was going to get that. Im more proud of those accomplishments, because theres a much smaller group of cohorts walking around with that. That said, CrimeSonics is nominated for eight individual regional Emmys, but individually Brown is nominated for six. All three of the Browns are listed as producer, which also is Emmy nominated. We made our way to L.A., writing music for various companies, the last eight to ten years, our music has been used all over world, with various publishing jobs, Brown said. Before he created his own company, CrimeSonics, he also contracted with Disney Interactive for music and sound effects for different platforms, including social media, mobile games, commercials and Disney apps. Then the contract ended. I hoped for a full-time gig, but ya know, that was the best thing that ever happened to me, he said. So, I thought, Im going to start my own business. I was always fascinated with true crime, so geared toward that kind of music, that kind of sound effects. Thus, Brown linked up with his local police departments, recording sirens, recording tasers, recording the sound when someone zips up a body bag, etc. Now, 60 composers from around the world supply CrimeSonics with music. This is not what I would have expected, being the kid playing the guitar on the front porch, he said. I remember feeling so stuck, and wondering how Im going to make something of myself. The Emmy-nominated public service announcement (PSA) was created for 23ABC News KERO-TV, a virtual channel ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Bakersfield, which used it on air in its crime reporting segments. Brown wrote, directed, shot and cast the PSA, while it was produced entirely in house with CrimeSonics. We did everything and brought it to ABC 23, they aired it and submitted it to the Emmys, he said. We got eight, it just blew my mind. It was just me, my wife and son producing it and nominated for it, thats what we wanted. But directing, shooting, all that? We went from a very specific industry award (for the PSA), the MARK award for music, to Emmys. No one knows what a MARK is, but everybody knows what an Emmy is. The coolest thing about this, is all three of us have a producing role for the PSA. He said son, Brown III, is wise beyond his years. Hes quite the editor, quite the producer, talented, he said. Hes, like, really 25 and its unreal. He caught our reactions during the telecast. We went from a family hanging out on the couch to three Emmy-nominated producers. Once it was over, I turned to my wife and asked, How many was that? he recalled. She said, I dont know, I lost count. CrimeSonics specializes in providing sound design, criminal investigatory music and sound effects to crime shows around the world. I was always interested in filmmaking, so I was able to flex those muscles, he said. The producing, the writing and producing is such a broad stroke and the academy recognized our work, he said, and as a family team. And its super, just, awesome being nominated for director of photography, which is just the guy behind the camera, he said. Ive always loved cameras, making video content. I had to buy and learn to fly drones, I mounted a gimbal with suction cups on the hood of my car. I love this stuff. In the fight scene, in every single shot, Im holding that camera and hoping all that messiness transfers. The shooting and production took months, getting opening and drone shots in Bakersfield, going back to Bakersfield on a different day or night for the appropriate shot. For a car shot at night, we need a lot of gear, he said. We were working on something and the first night of opening shots I didnt plan it, but I wanted it I knew I was going to be up all night, because this drone had to be back and forth for hours to get it. Aint that crazy? Its kind of a crime-y city and I just happened upon a drug bust, he said. We were filming the cop car, parked there, and the ending shot was another lighting-in-a-bottle moment. To view the entire list of regional Emmy nominations, visit https://nataspsw.org/2020-emmy-nomination-list-natas-pacific-southwest-chapter/ . BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend: Turkmenistan takes effective measures against the spread of COVID-10, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Central Asia, head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia Natalia Gherman told SNG FM online radio, Trend reports. The activities of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia was discussed during a recent telephone conversation between President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres. I am deeply grateful to the president of Turkmenistan and the Secretary-General of UN for the attention they have paid to the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia during a telephone conversation held on April 22 of this year. In this conversation, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov emphasized that Turkmenistan as a country hosting the UNRCCA headquarters, will continue to actively support the mission and its regional projects and programmes in Central Asia. We continue to work in priority areas, such as supporting regional initiatives aimed at close cooperation in Central Asia; combating violent extremism and terrorism; addressing cross-border water use issues; and enhancing the role of youth and women in preventive diplomacy. These strategic priorities have not lost their significance today, when all the attention of the world community is focused on fighting the pandemic, but on the contrary have become more important in the current context. Strategic priorities of the Regional Center are discussed at the annual meetings of deputy foreign ministers of Central Asian countries. Given the increasing interaction between the Central Asian countries and Afghanistan, in recent years, these meetings have been held with the participation of the deputy foreign minister of Afghanistan in the 5+1 format. The next meeting in this format under the auspices of the UNCCA is planned to be held at the end of this year. If we talk about specific examples of our current activities in Turkmenistan this is expert assistance in developing an action Plan for the implementation of the national strategy of Turkmenistan for preventing violent extremism and countering terrorism from 2020 through 2024, which was implemented by the Regional center and the UN counter-terrorism office, she added. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva MBABANE Edcon Holdings LTDs financial challenges mean some of the local textile industries might not be able to resume business despite being allowed to operate during the eased lockdown. The Edcon group announced, on April 29, that its board had passed a resolution authorising it to file for business rescue in the course of the next few days. It stated that following the coronavirus outbreak in South Africa, and the presidents first announcement on March 15, Edcon said it had lost E2 billion sales. The sales miss, and the decline in collections of the debtors book has meant that Edcon is unable to pay its suppliers for both the March and April month-ends, it said. Targetting With that said, Fashion International Managing Director Vick Royce said they did not have any United States markets but were targeting South African markets. Fashion International is one of the leading textile suppliers in the country, Royce said at this stage, they had lost, in business, in the region of 150 000 units that had been cancelled by their customers including Edgars and Jet. He said despite that the Edcon Holdings group had cancelled its orders; they would still resume operations on Monday and their biggest customer at the moment was Woolworths, whom they would be supplying. He was not specific on the order required by Woolworths but stated that they were in communication with their customers to ascertain what they needed. South Africa sort of relaxed their trade regulations and at this moment we are still contacting our customers to establish what they want and in what quantity but I can say that with Edgars and Jet, there are no orders, all were cancelled, he said. Other textile companies did not want to comment on the prime ministers statement and that includes human resource manager at Tex Ray Factory, another local renowned supplier of textile. Jackie Xu declined to comment when quizzed on what their international orders were and what their immediate resumption strategy was. The Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland (ATUSWA), a workers union for textile employees, said it was still engaging the textile industry in forging an immediate working strategy as some of the companies wouldbe resuming operations on Monday. The unions Secretary General Wonder Mkhonza said all local textile companies were not selling within the country but to South Africa and abroad. He said in all likelihood, companies that will resume operations will be at work on Monday. He said companies would have to separate their workers into shifts and it would depend on the magnitude of their orders, and how swift they have to deliver the orders. If anything, they would have to go and seek permits to have night shifts from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade, but for them to adhere correctly to the WHO guidelines in maintaining the social distance; they would have to make shifts. That will entail having one group working 50 per cent of their normal working hours and be substituted by another group to accommodate all the workers, he said. Mkhonza mentioned that it was still a suggestion to have the workers come in shifts and an ongoing discussion between the union and the textile companies. Announcing the easing of the partial lockdown and the partial opening of the economy on Wednesday, Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini said extra businesses were allowed to operate, including manufacturing and production companies that had international orders to fulfil. However, they shall operate under strict World Health Organisation (WHO) and Ministry of Health guidelines. Other companies that are allowed to resume operations are agents and consultants, furniture shops, dry cleaners, retail clothing, vehicle testing and deco shops. FILMMAKER Kobi Rana has disclosed that he is not interested in using controversies to sell his movies. In May last year, while he was about to shoot the movie 'Freedom and Justice', Kobi Rana received a death prophecy from the Founder and Leader of the Power Embassy International Church, Prophet Prince Elisha Osei. According to the prophet, the movie would ruffle the feathers of politicians who would kill Kobi Rana. And while it may have seemed like a publicity stunt for the movie, Kobi Rana said thats not how he operated. I've not spoken about it because I didnt want to give attention or publicity to any man of God. I believe in God and thats what matters. I dont give attention to real or false prophecies. Ive been riding on pure talent and hard work for about a decade now so I dont want it to look like Im selling my productions through controversies, he told Graphic Showbiz recently. 'Freedom And Justice', which Kobi Rana said was ready for release, is a collaboration with actress Kafui Danku and tackles issues in the country, including the economy, leadership, utilities, transportation and education. Its the biggest film Ive ever shot and features all the celebrated stars. The movie is based on the daily realities we face. We intend premiering it on one of the national holidays so everyone should anticipate it, Kobi Rana said. Kobi Rana also revealed that COVID-19 had had a big impact on his productions, especially because of the ban on public gatherings as he was unable to shoot. We werent done shooting the Red Carpet movie so we couldnt premiere it. We were planning on showing My Name Is Ramadan 3 during the Eid festivities but looking at how things are, we wont be able to do it. Baby Is Coming, the movie that was telecast on TV this Easter, was last years project. We decided to give back to our fans and keep them entertained as our contribution to the lockdown situation. Its only Freedom And Justice, which is meant for the second half of the year, thats ready, but we havent settled on the date yet because of our current situation, he stated. Kobi Rana, whose real name is Cornelius Phanthomas, was a member of music group Rana before he branched into movies. He released his first production Kiss Me If You Can in 2010 followed by Hotel St James and Fire for Fire. Since then, he has been releasing movies every year and some of them are 1 Hour To The Wedding, My Name is Ramadan, Kudi - My Name Is Ramadan 2, Akwaaba, 3 Idiots And A Wise Man, The Sextape, Apples and Bananas, Chaskele and Players Vs Slayers. After completing St Augustines College in Cape Coast, Kobi Rana obtained a Bachelors degree in English and Theatre Arts from the University of Ghana, Legon. Source: Graphic Showbiz 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 Todays Headlines The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning. Email address By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven addresses the nation about the coronavirus crisis, broadcast on Swedish national public television. (Anders Wiklund / Associated Press) To the editor: The op-ed article by Karin Olofsdotter, Sweden's ambassador to the United States, left me incredulous. Sweden has rejected the procedures adopted by nearly all other European countries to safeguard the lives of their citizens, to say nothing of their healthcare workers. To say, as the ambassador does, that "it is too early to draw any firm conclusions about the effectiveness of the measures taken in Sweden" is disingenuous. About 3,000 people have died in Sweden because of COVID-19. In comparison, about 500 people have died in Denmark, and around 220 people have died in Norway. The most cruel consequence of Sweden's negligence is the fate of Swedish healthcare workers for what have they been sacrificed? Clinton Winant, Solana Beach .. To the editor: The key difference between Sweden and the U.S. is the high level of trust in Swedish society, as the ambassador writes in her op-ed article. The ads here tell us that "we're all in this together," but we're not. Our national persona of rugged individualism really translates as "every man for himself." Sweden's fairly homogeneous society and strong welfare model lend themselves to making society come together. But Sweden's coronavirus response is an experiment, less fraught than ours but, in terms of lives lost, no more successful. Yes, numbers may be apples and oranges in the way they are calculated, but we use what we have. Sweden counts about 290 dead per 1 million people, compared to about 215 in the United States. Sweden's death rate is much more stark when compared to other Scandinavian countries. So, the Swedish way may not be good for other countries, but I greatly admire and long for the level of trust among the Swedes. Linda Shahinian, Culver City .. To the editor: Wouldn't it be nice if we lived in a country where our president and his administration, political parties, the population and the medical experts worked together to find a solution? Story continues Instead we blame, and blame leads to division, delay, confusion and lack of confidence in leadership. Time will tell how well Sweden's plan works, but there is no doubt it was not hampered by a lack of unity, responsibility or confidence in government. Jim Matlock, Ventura As many election officials across the country move to bolster vote by mail efforts in their states amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, some leaders in Native American communities are worried their voters could be left behind if voting by mail becomes the overwhelming norm for conducting the 2020 election. Their concerns are largely rooted in existing hurdles facing some Native Americans living in rural communities and who, as a result, would not be able to easily access the resources necessary to register and vote in a predominately all-mail election. As outlined by the Native American Rights Fund, an organization that provides legal assistance to tribes and Native American individuals, the potential obstacles range from issues with access to traditional mail services, to a lack of broadband connectivity, and in some cases, cultural communication barriers. Experts also point out that high poverty rates and some states voter identification requirements create even more potential roadblocks for Native Americans seeking to cast their ballots. PHOTO: Steve Yankton and Nathaniel Badmilk speak to drivers during a lockdown at the entrance to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Pine Ridge, S.D., April 15, 2020. (Andrew Hay/Reuters) We've tried to point out to people -- you got to stack all of these things on top of each other, Natalie Landreth, a senior staff attorney with Native American Rights Fund said in an interview with ABC News. Having a rural, non-traditional address, no home mail delivery and being forced into a situation where you have to use a P.O. box causes all of these practical hurdles that people seem unaware of as they're advocating universally that vote by mail is so rad, Landreth said. MORE:Tribes will begin to see some of coronavirus relief money owed by federal government Challenges with traditional postal services One of the biggest mail voting obstacles facing Native American communities is rooted in a basic requirement of the post office -- having a traditional street address in order to receive and send mail, which isnt typical for many Native communities and reservations. Many Native Americans dont get mail delivered to their homes, they just don't, Landreth says. Story continues Most reservations do not get home mail delivery, and the reason for this is that they will frequently have what are called non-traditional mailing addresses, she explained. Over the years, the Native American Rights Fund has held a number of field hearings aimed at documenting these unique voting challenges, and Landreth says Native Americans who offered insights would generally describe their non-traditional addresses in terms of physical markers, rather than street names or city grid numbers. MORE: Donations flood in from Ireland to Navajo Nation in repayment of centuries-old bond Someone at the Tuba City, Arizona hearing said his address is I'm the Hogan located three miles down the road from the Hard Rock chapter house, Landreth said, It's a descriptive address -- he can't put that on a form, he doesn't get physical mail, [and] he has to go to a P.O. box. PHOTO: A road sign outside Bloomfield, N.M., warns Navajos to stay home during their nation's 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew to slow the spread of the coronavirus, on April 7, 2020. (Andrew Hay/Reuters) While Native Americans without traditional mail addresses frequently rely on using P.O. boxes for sending and receiving mail, the practice is riddled with logistical hurdles because P.O. boxes are located at physical post offices, and in some cases, people have to travel vast distances in order to actually use them. People from the Navajo Nation testified they travel 140 miles round trip to get to their P.O. box, so they only go once every week or two, and when you have gas money, Landreth said. Additionally, some rural post offices -- which are often the closest to Native American reservations -- are only open during limited hours. The shortened operating hours put more constraints on when and how communities are able to send and receive mail. MORE:For tribes, casinos fund what the government doesn't. Now, they're closed The administration of mail ballots relies on a series of timelines that require postmarked deadlines which often do not mix well with logistical impediments. Complicated rural mail route logistics paired with the fact that many Native American families share P.O. boxes among themselves or with other families could also result in delays of ballot processing, or even prevent some individuals from obtaining voter registration forms in a timely manner. Often rural mail will be collected and postmarked somewhere else, Landreth says. So if you mailed [your ballot] on election day or the day before, even two days before, it's going to look like it's late through no fault of your own. During a panel discussion about voting during the coronavirus pandemic, experts from New York Universitys Brennan Center for Justice acknowledged the struggles of Native American communities' lack of easy access to the postal system, and said any move toward expanding vote by mail efforts should accommodate currently faulty voting systems. There's a lot of really good evidence about how Native American communities have really terrible access to vote by mail, and we have to make sure that we are not baking into our electoral process and a system failure already, said Myrna Perez, director of voting rights and elections with the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. We don't want to cut off the very avenues that they have by building our voting process on top of a system that is already not serving people, Perez added. Lack of Broadband Access Advocates of mail voting often cite the need for increased access to online resources as a way to facilitate voter registration and subsequent mail ballot access while maintaining social distancing during current pandemic conditions. But these experts also warn that online systems cannot replace traditional polling places due to existing digital divides. We could see millions of Americans who typically register in the lead up to election being shut out of the process unless we make registration options available to them -- standing online registration, making sure that registration is available to people who don't have driver's licenses, making sure people who don't have internet access being registered as well, said Wendy Weiser, a vice president and director at the Brennan Center for Justice Democracy Program during a recent virtual panel alongside Perez. Landreth echoed that warning, saying that currently the vast majority of reservations and large Native American communities do not have access to broadband, and in areas where access to internet connectivity is possible trying to download a PDF form will be like having a dial-up modem in the early 2000s. MORE:Navajo community left to fight COVID-19 with limited resources Rep. Deb Haaland, a New Mexico Democrat who is one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress, is optimistic about voting access for members of Native American communities in her home state, but adds that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic also put a sharper spotlight on the need for greater broadband access in those areas. Haaland says access to modern internet connections would not only make the voter registration process easier, but would also provide Native communities with a portal to critical necessities including public health and safety information. In April, the Congresswoman led a Congressional Native American Caucus letter asking the Federal Communications Commission to give tribes temporary authority to create broadband infrastructure on their lands during the coronavirus pandemic. This pandemic is highlighting a lot of things that we needed, Haaland said in an interview with ABC News, adding, There's a limited broadband in so many rural communities but definitely in Native communities across the country. According to a press release from Haalands office, the Government Accountability Office cites the lack of wireless connectivity in Indian Country has left approximately 1.5 million people on tribal lands without access to fundamental services, which is lower than some third world countries. PHOTO: Rep. Deb Haaland at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol Sept. 27, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, FILE) Existing language barriers According to the Voting Rights Act, Americans who do not speak English well, have depressed literacy rates or are members of a single language minority group, must be provided with information about the electoral process in their respective language, in addition to English. The Native American Rights Fund warns that a preference for mail voting without an accommodation for populations who rely on this type of in-person translation of election literature would seriously limit the voting abilities of elder tribe members in Alaska, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Mississippi. MORE:New Mexico's governor warns tribal nations could be 'wiped out' by coronavirus A lot of Native America -- this is a lot of New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, parts of the Dakotas and even counties in Mississippi -- are protected under the Voting Rights Act because so many people still speak their native language and are not fluent in English, and you can't get that kind of assistance -- which is mostly oral in a vote -- by mail ballot, Landreth explains. Rep. Haaland, whose state is among those identified as having elder tribe members who rely on in-person translations, says most Native American voters in New Mexico are used to voting in person, and adds that she is working with party leaders to ensure these voters are aware of any changes in the voting process so they can be better prepared to participate in upcoming elections. Democratic Party in New Mexico and I are jointly undertaking a messaging campaign to make sure that everybody knows how to vote, fill their application for their ballots out, and send them in and vote by mail, she told ABC News. Early voting ahead of New Mexicos June 2 primary election began on Tuesday, and voters can request absentee ballots through May 28, and limited options for in-person voting will be available later this month. Haaland says the various accommodations allow her constituents to vote in a manner that doesnt put their health ahead of their voting rights. During this pandemic, no one should have to choose between their health and voting, Haaland said, This needs to be something that's fundamental -- that we put our health first for everything we do and voting is no different, so it's critical, I think, that we protect the health and safety of every single voter in this country and the obvious choice for that is mail in balloting. Recommendations to boost representation Experts say that while no one-size-fits-all solution exists, engagement from Native American leaders is crucial to alleviate existing voting hurdles before they possibly worsen amid the ongoing pandemic. We advocate that people contact the tribes in their states first of all to say what do you need, Landreth told ABC News. Education campaigns, like the one Rep. Haaland describes, are just one of the ways experts and advocates say can better support Native American voters in tandem with a push for mail voting. The reality is that not everyone is going to be able to vote by mail, Perez acknowledged, In part, some of it is going to be a technological limitation because there are going to be folks who can't get their applications processed on time or folks who are unfamiliar with the system. Additional options put forth by experts for Native American voters who are unable or reluctant to vote by mail include social distancing adjustments like curbside voting, an increased number of ballot drop boxes, paid postage for election day postmarks and the utilization of mobile voting stations, which would stay open temporarily as polling locations. The Native American Relief Fund also suggests state election officials consider funding non-profit third parties to perform registration and ballot collection, as well as collective transportation for Native Americans to and from polling sites or post offices, although current pandemic conditions would likely necessitate additional social distancing measures. The most long-lasting suggestion involves designating one or more tribally-designated buildings to each precinct in order to ensure more localized voting access. Landreth explains that these buildings could open at the same time as a particular states early voting period, and with enough resources, could serve as one-stop shops for Native American voter registration, ballot mailing, and translation services all on tribal land. Landreth, along with the Native American Relief Fund, advise that these kinds of buildings should also stay open beyond election day to serve the communities other administrative purposes, like Census counts and future voter registration efforts. According to the National Congress of American Indians, currently about 5.2 million Americans at least partially identify as American Indian or Alaskan Native, and while not all Native Americans live on reservations, 345 tribal nations exist across 34 states. Nearly 78 percent of those who identify as American Indian or Alaskan Native are at least 18 years old, which could translate to potentially sizable voting blocks across crucial 2020 battleground states that have larger Native populations like Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, North Carolina, and Minnesota. In some of those battleground states there's going to be some narrow margins, so it's going to be absolutely critical that we do everything we can to ensure natives can cast their vote, says Echo Hawk, founder and executive director of IllumiNative, a nonprofit group that aims to increase the visibility of Native Americans across the country. Echo Hawk hopes efforts to boost and maintain Native American political participation will lead to more visibility for Native American people both politically and culturally. There's actually a significant portion of the American population that aren't even sure we exist anymore, Echo Hawk said in reference to findings in a public opinion study she co-lead called the Reclaiming Native Truth Project. Contemporary Native Americans do not exist largely in the consciousness of the American public, and what our research found is that that invisibility really fuels its own implicit bias because if someone doesn't exist for you, you can't have empathy, you're not really thinking about them on a range of issues, she said. Echo Hawk pointed to Native American congressional leaders work ensuring that tribes were included in stimulus package negotiations as an example of how increased Native American political representation would help further ensure that Native communities are not forgotten or left behind. The federal government needs to consistently be reminded that they have a federal trust responsibility to tribes, she added, These aren't handouts, there's a federal trust responsibility because of our treaties and what Native Americans gave up -- the land we all stand on today. Experts worry push for 2020 mail voting could leave Native American voters behind originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Irans Intelligence Ministry says it has tracked down and dismantled two terrorist cells in the Western part of the country. The ministry said in a statement issued late on May 6 and quoted by Iranian news agencies that the terrorists affiliated with separatist groups had entered Iran from neighboring areas to carry out acts of terror and sabotage. It said its forces arrested 16 members of the groups and confiscated their arms, including two AK-47 rifles, as well as some ammunition. "The ringleader of this terrorist group is residing in Europe and being supported by a certain Arab country," the semiofficial Fars news agency quoted the ministry as saying. The claims could not be verified independently. Iranian media said some of those arrested had been involved in killing civilians and extortion from manufacturers and traders in the west of the country. One of the terrorist teams had [killed] the child of a supporter of the [clerical] establishment, the reports said without providing more details. Earlier this week, Iranian media reported that three members of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), including a colonel, were killed in a shoot-out with unknown gunmen near the countrys Western border with Iraq. The reports said several counterrevolutionaries were also killed in the fighting near the Kurdish town of Divandarreh, about 60 kilometers from the Iraqi border. No details were given on the affiliation of the gunmen. The area has seen occasional fighting between Iranian forces and Kurdish separatists, as well as militants linked to the Islamic State extremist group. Based on reporting by Tasnim, Fars, AP and AFP Dhaka, May 7 : Police in Bangladesh have charged 11 people and arrested two others for allegedly spreading rumours over the coronavirus pandemic on social media, officials said. The charges were made under the controversial Digital Security Act that activists say was being used to create a "climate of fear" and suppress the public discontent about the Bangladesh government's handling of the pandemic that has infected 11,719 people and killed 186 others so far, reports Efe news. "They were posting on Facebook about our Father of Nation, liberation war and spreading rumours over coronavirus pandemic. They had been damaging the image of the country and the government and were creating confusion among the people over the pandemic," Monirul Islam, the officer-in-charge of Ramna police station in Dhaka, told Efe news on Wednesday. Islam said security forces arrested cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore and writer Mushtaq Ahmed on Tuesday. Kishore introduced himself as a political cartoonist in his Facebook account "Ami Kishore", and Mushtaq earned his fame for running a crocodile farm before turning as a writer. Police said the two men have links with the other accused, including Sweden-based Bangladeshi journalist Tasneem Khalil and Germany-based blogger Asif Mohiuddin, for a campaign against the government. Bangladesh approved the controversial Digital Security Act in September 2018, which penalizes "negative propaganda" against Bangladesh's liberation war or late president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Journalists and editors have criticized the law claiming it would curb freedom of expression. The cybercrime tribunal has dismissed more than 200 cases for lacking sufficient evidence into the allegations. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Kwamena Duncan, Central Regional Minister says former President John Mahama is not the right person to criticize the ruling government for dropping in the lastest world press freedom ranking. According to him, there were several instances when the media came under attack under his tenure "and he said nothing about it . . . but he still thinks Ghanaians have a short memory". "We remember everything that happened to Journalists under his tenure," he stated. Kwamena Duncan who was contributing to a panel discussion on Wednesday's edition of Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo' wondered why "today the same man" is "occupying the moral high ground and making claims that are not true, but the records are there . . . please dont come and proselytize". Listen to Kwamena Duncan in the video below President John Dramani Mahama during his speech to the people of Ghana and the Press as the World celebrated World Press Freedom Day on May, 3 said, Ghana ranked first in Africa during his tenure.He said, According to Reporters Without Borders, during my Presidency, Ghana became the country with the highest levels of press freedom in Africa. At the time, we were ranked number one out of 54 countries in Africa. We placed 23rd on the global ranking among 180 countries.Three and half years later, we have slumped seven places on the global ranking and lost the number one spot in Africa to Namibia and Cape Verde. We have unfortunately lost this priceless status that made all of us very proud.This should worry us- not only journalists and media owners but all of us, as citizens and as Ghanaians. As I said, when the freedom of the press is curtailed, democracy suffers. And all the other human rights that anchor our dignity as human beings are eroded. Without freedom, our dignity is trampled. This is why we need a free press as much as we need fresh air to breathe. So, let us all protect the freedom of the press. Source: Rebecca Addo Tetteh/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 Envoy: Iran tops list in accepting IAEA 2019 inspections IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency London, May 6, IRNA -- Iranian Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna said by accepting 21 percent of total inspections of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2019 and also accepting over 90 percent of inspections in its own group, Iran is now on top of the list. Speaking to reporters, Kazem Gharibabadi said Iran is among 62 countries that implement additional protocols and safeguards agreements but still lack the IAEA's broader aggregation of the articles and activities which have not yet been declared. Based on the reports about implementing IAEA safeguards in 2019, from 466 inspections among member states, 432 ones were related to Iran which is equal to 92 percent of total inspections in its group, and 20 percent of them in the world, he added. He noted that from 45 additional accesses among a 62-member group in 2019, 33 accesses have been made in Iran which is equal to 73 percent of the total accesses in this group and 24 percent total in the world. Referring to Iran's full transparency in its peaceful nuclear program and that a significant volume of the agency's inspections is carried out under the influence of Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Gharibabadi said thanks to unfavorable conditions of the JCPOA, Europe's lack of commitment and the US' plans to carry out other destructive measures in the UNSC and out of it, cooperation is not the only option for Iran. Iran has a range of options like establishing cooperation, returning to safeguards commitments, and revising these commitments that it will adopt one of them based on other parties' acts, he reiterated. In the wake of the US unilateral and illegal withdrawal from the JCPOA, Iran tries to preserve the deal on the condition that other parties comply with their commitments. But after about two years and due to the Europeans' inability to be committed, Iran started reducing JCPOA-related commitments aiming to preserve Iran's economic interests. Britain, France, and Germany initiated a process that could lead to the United Nations' sanctions being re-imposed on Iran and the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal despite the fact that they did not fulfill their commitments to the JCPOA after the US withdrawal since May 2018. High Representative of the European Union Josep Borrell said earlier "On 14 January, I received a letter from the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom (UK) referring a matter concerning the implementation of Iran's commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to the Joint Commission for resolution, triggering the Dispute Resolution Mechanism." "I have subsequently undertaken extensive bilateral and collective consultations. All the JCPOA participants reconfirmed their determination to preserve the agreement which is in the interest of all," he added. 9376**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 7) Nearly half of workers in the private sector lost their sources of income during the enhanced community quarantine that was imposed by the government to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus. About 20 percent of businesses were forced to lay off employees during the quarantine to stay afloat, the National Economic and Development Authority said Thursday. Citing results of a series of surveys, acting NEDA Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said that two-thirds of private establishments were forced to go dark during the Luzon-wide lockdown since March 17, which was scaled down this month to cover fewer provinces. Of them, a fifth had to let go of their employees amid the COVID-19 crisis. "We also know that about 45 percent of non-government and self-employed workers lost their sources of income," Chua said during a media briefing on economic data for the first quarter. "The government stands ready to help them through our various social amelioration and wage subsidy programs." READ: Cash aid distribution extended until May 10 The Department of Finance said government has released around P258 billion for various subsidies meant to support struggling families during the health crisis. Several surveys covering more than 350,000 consumers, farmers, and small business owners said they were experiencing "significant income pressures," as well as uncertainty about job retention, Chua added. He said this became the basis of cash subsidies to 18 million poor and low-income families as well as no-work, no-pay individuals in various industries. The rest of the country saw strict stay-at-home rules partly eased since May 1, but big business hubs like Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Cebu and Davao City remain under quarantine. No decision has been announced yet on the fate of residents in these areas after May 15. "When we move from ECQ to GCQ (general community quarantine), we are opening up to 75 percent of the economy. That of course is good for the economic trajectory, and we are allowing up to 50 percent of people to go out to work. What we need to balance here is the increased risk of spreading infections," Chua said, but it may come with a huge cost. "Is it worth to open up the economy but have more sick people or dying people, including your families and friends? We have to make this decision very carefully," Chua pointed out. RELATED: Govt finalizes rules for areas under enhanced, general community quarantine The economy was hit hard in the first quarter, shrinking by 0.2 percent for its weakest performance since 1998. Chua and several independent economists said the second quarter could be worse, as businesses remained closed for the entire April. Areas under GCQ still face some restrictions, but more firms have been allowed to resume operations under strict health and sanitation standards. When Sally Rooney's 'Normal People' was translated to the small screen, it won a legion of new fans who never read the bestselling book. And while the sex scenes may be what everyone's talking about, it's the way it handles consent that's truly revolutionary. For anyone who hasn't seen it, the TV adaptation of the novel follows star-crossed young lovers Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell (Paul Mescal) as they begin a hometown romance before heading off to university. For the more intense scenes, the show's makers hired intimacy co-ordinator Ita O'Brien to ensure the comfort of the actors at all times. By the second episode, when Marianne and Connell become intimate for the first time, the depiction of the sexual encounter is both poignant and rare. Connell acknowledges that it's her first time. "If you want me to stop or anything we can obviously stop," he tells her. What follows is a two-way conversation between the couple. It's consent right there on screen depicted in a fluid, easy way. While Edgar-Jones told an interviewer that seeing communicative consensual sex shouldn't be novel, she said one of the things that she believes is brilliantly done in the series, and one of the things she's proud to be a part of, is the depiction of Marianne's first time with Connell. Actress Sarah Greene, who plays Connell's mother in the show, has also described the show as "a fantastic piece of art for conversations around consent". In the wake of the Belfast rape trial and the #MeToo movement, consent became a hot topic, with experts arguing it was a cultural watershed moment to start a conversation with our children about sex and consent. 'Normal People' is another cultural watershed moment for its portrayal of something that is often seen as complicated and difficult to talk about. According to Noeline Blackwell, the chief executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, while there's a lot of sex on TV, what's remarkable about this early episode of 'Normal People' is how clearly the central characters communicate throughout their sexual encounter and how conscious each is of the other. While she says nobody uses the word 'consent', there is true communication throughout and great clarity that this is an encounter they both want. And whether you agree with sex on TV or not, Ms Blackwell believes this depiction of consensual sex is important. Sarah Sproule, a mother of three and an occupational therapist, supports families to have conversations about sex and consent. She says she watched the 'consent' episode with a smile on her face. Seeing consent that is seamless and naturally woven into the narrative, with a to-and-fro conversation between the characters while they are engaging in this erotic way is, she believes, progress in how sex is portrayed on screen. For parents watching the programme, it may remind them of their own early encounters - we all have our stories and we all have feelings and judgments around these issues as parents, but with help we can tackle our fears around these subjects, according to Ms Sproule. She's strongly of the belief that we live in a culture where many conversations about sex have been shut down, leaving lots of us ill-equipped to talk about sex comfortably, which she feels could be no different to learning about nutrition from a young age if parents had the right support. Talking to our children about an issue like consent can begin early and start off small, she says. It's about talking about the everyday things in life, like what's happening on telly or in advertising. It's slowly building up the skills to have conversations about more complex things, she believes. "When kids are small, you can have the conversation about consent and it's not about sexuality at all. When two kids are rough-housing at home and one says, 'I don't like this', they've already worked out what they don't like. "You can help them talk to you and to other children about what they do like and what they don't like." Ms Sproule points out that we negotiate with other people about everything in life. Whether we want to go on a date to the cinema or out for a walk, negotiating skills like these are laid down early with our children as we teach them about everyday life. If 'Normal People' does anything, it reminds us that we were all Marianne or Connell at one point in our lives - awkward and young and muddling along. It might just also prompt us to think about how we'd like to bring our own kids up to be open and honest and able to have the kind of conversations we've seen in 'Normal People'. In a cultural context, that would be quite the revolution. ROME - It was the sort of development that might catch the eye of anyone weary of lockdowns: The Italian island of Sicily wants to lure back tourists by discounting plane tickets and covering every third night in hotels. But even as European nations begin to emerge from stay-at-home restrictions, they are nowhere close to reopening as international vacation destinations. The most optimistic countries - Greece and Portugal among them - hope there's a chance they might be able to pitch themselves as safe options by the second half of summer. Others, including Italy, are looking to regional travel to partially salvage their tourism industries and economies, while they sort out when to reopen borders and whom to let in. "It is too soon to say whether we can take holidays," President Emmanuel Macron told French citizens on Tuesday. "What I can say is that we will limit major international travel, even during the summer. We will stay among Europeans and, depending on how the epidemic evolves, we might have to reduce that a little more." Travel has been tightly restricted in Europe since March, when the continent's vaunted open borders closed in quick succession, and the European Union shut its external boundaries to nonessential travel. European leaders credit the combination of those closures and strict social distancing measures with helping them to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Now, as governments seek to get their societies moving again without triggering an unmanageable spike in transmissions, they are counting on continued or even reinforced restrictions at their borders to help maintain some level of control. The European Union's ban on nonessential travel from countries outside the bloc is set to expire on May 15. But one E.U. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss deliberations, said the ban was highly likely to be extended for another month, at least. On top of that, some countries are considering mandatory quarantines for international arrivals. British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told the BBC last weekend that he was "actively looking at" the possibility of a 14-day quarantine, "so that when we have infection rates within the country under control, we're not importing." British airline lobbyists objected that a quarantine would be a "blunt tool" that "would effectively kill air travel." A provision under consideration by the French parliament this week would require 14 days of isolation for new arrivals and up to 30 days for people with symptoms. The government has clarified that people from the European Union would be exempt, as would, for instance, truck drivers transporting good. But it remains unclear whether the measure would apply to travelers from all other countries, or only those on a French government list of "zones where the virus is circulating." Macron earlier voiced particular concern about the United States being behind Europe on the outbreak curve. Within Europe, too, the progression of the virus may influence when borders between countries come down. Thierry Breton, a European commissioner who handles tourism policy for the E.U. bloc, told French radio that it is likely that certain areas of the E.U. would be open to tourists and others not. He said borders could turn on and off between E.U. countries depending on the outbreak. "It is like this, and it has to be accepted," he said. "The borders of the pandemic do not match geographical borders." Austria, which has been confident in its virus management and was among the first European countries to relax its lockdown, has broached the idea of a travel bubble with neighboring Germany, which has been similarly credited with its coronavirus response. German tourism commissioner Thomas Bareiss confirmed to Der Tagesspiegel newspaper that Germany was in talks with its neighbors about permitting summer vacation travel. "I hope that, given the good numbers, we will be able to relax the restrictions in the next four to eight weeks," he said, adding that destinations "that can be reached by car" would be the most likely possibilities. Other countries, though, don't appear ready to reopen their borders any time soon. France has extended its coronvirus-related border controls until the end of October. Denmark, Norway and Sweden have indicated that theirs will continue until at least Nov. 12. Some officials have expressed hope that coronavirus tracking apps might enable countries to open their borders to fellow Europeans, while retaining the ability to alert people who may have been exposed to the virus. But such apps are in their early stages. There are concerns about whether the voluntary technology will be adopted widely. And the versions France and Britain are pursuing may not be compatible with the rest of Europe. For the tourism dependent economies of southern Europe, there is widespread resignation that this will be a crushing summer. The European Union is trying to draw up a tourism "Marshall Plan," and countries including Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus are asking for specific support for tourism businesses. Christina Tetradis, the vice president of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels in Greece, said that 65 percent of member hotels feared they were at risk of bankruptcy. "Greece has 1 million people working in tourism and tourism related services," she said. "This is a huge issue. It means many of these people may work less, or not at all this summer. They also have little chance of finding other work." Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in a Sunday interview with CNN, said tourism could resume "only if we agree to very specific protocols, hopefully at the European level." He said the "best-case scenario" is that Greece is "open for business" on July 1. "Let's assume people get a test before they fly out and then we carefully monitor them, either an antibody test or a [diagnostic] test, and then of course the tourism experience this summer may be slightly different," he said. Mitsotakis said it depended on whether the global pandemic was on a "downward path." Italy - which is only just beginning to loosen Europe's longest coronavirus lockdown - will be far more reliant on domestic travel. For now, Italians are only free to move within their own region for specific reasons, including to visit relatives. Any other travel must be for health or work-related purposes. In southern Italy, which was spared the worst of the outbreak, there has been resistance to the notion of accepting visitors from the hard-hit north. The normally tourist-friendly region of Puglia in the south continues to impose quarantines on those arriving from northern regions. But the tourism sector is getting desperate. "A regional reopening would give us back some oxygen," said Caterina Valente, 55, the owner and manager of a hotel in Rome. Still, she said, she isn't sure that would be enough. "For the next two to three months, hotels will only live thanks to the internal market. It won't be good. We live thanks to foreign tourists." Many of the variables have yet to be sorted out, but one of the biggest factors facing travel has to do with the travelers themselves: whether they have the money for vacations, and whether they think boarding a plane or train for another country is too great a risk. "Optimistically, I feel that by September or October [tourism] could all start anew, but I may be too optimistic," said Giorgia Tozzi, 48, the manager of Hotel Vilon in Rome, which depends mostly on foreign clients. "Until there's a cure or a vaccine or until people will be certain that by coming to Italy they won't fall sick, or risk it - or that they can then go back home - it'll be difficult for them to make the trip." - - - The Washington Post's Stefano Pitrelli in Rome, Elinda Labropoulou in Athens, Loveday Morris and Rick Noack in Berlin, Quentin Aries in Brussels, Pamela Rolfe in Spain and Christine Spolar in London contributed to this report. The Lone Star Flight Museum announced Thursday that due to a potentially dangerous weather forecast, a warbird flyover in Houston will be moved from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon. The flight will include 30 rare and historic warbirds flying over much of the Houston area, to lift spirits and commemorate the anniversary of VE Day. Space Force uniform unveiled to derision: United States Space Force Maybe your purpose on this planet isnt on this planet. That is the tagline accompanying the US Space Forces recruiting ad that appeared on Twitter on Wednesday. The 30-second commercial is a montage of young people looking to the stars, intercut with images of rockets rising from monolith-like hangars, all colour graded the familiar teal and orange of blockbuster action movies. In addition to the expected military recruitment fare included in the video stoic service members dutifully doing their part for the cause while looking away from the camera the ad also includes the first official glimpse of the X37-B reusable space vehicle. You may have caught a quick glimpse of the space vehicle, previously cloaked in secrecy, the X37-B, Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett said during a livestream event on which the ad was first revealed. This reusable space craft has completed five missions. The US Space Force which was founded on 20 December, 2019 by order of president Donald Trump will be in charge of projecting and protecting the USs global and domestic agendas in all matters relating to space, from missile warning systems to satellite operations. Reaction to the new branch of the largest military in the history of the world has been mixed; the Space Force was mocked when it revealed its troops would be wearing camouflage the semi-sarcastic implication being that camo would not be especially useful in space. The military organisation won a second round of ribbing after its logo was revealed and observers noted the emblem looked suspiciously like that of Star Treks Starfleet Command. After consultation with our Great Military Leaders, designers, and others, I am pleased to present the new logo for the United States Space Force, the Sixth Branch of our Magnificent Military! pic.twitter.com/TC8pT4yHFT Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2020 A show parodying the US militarys latest addition aptly titled Space Force and starring Steve Carell has already been filmed, and will debut on Netflix on 29 May. Story continues Despite the mockery, Air Force officials claim theyre having no problems finding eager recruits to join its ranks. Theres been an avalanche of applicants, Ms Barrett said during a livestream interview. Applications for current members of the military who want to transfer into the new branch first opened on 1 May. That recruitment period will continue for the remainder of the month. Read more Trump admin mocked for launching camouflage Space Force uniform President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic has hit the United States harder than Pearl Harbor in World War II or the 9/11 attacks. "We went through the worst attack we've ever had on our country. This is really the worst attack we've ever had," he told reporters at the White House. "This is worse than Pearl Harbor. This is worse than the World Trade Center," he said. The surprise Japanese attack in 1941 on the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii drew the United States into World War II. The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks killed about 3,000 people, mostly in the World Trade Center in New York, triggering two decades of US wars and anti-terrorism operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries. So far, more than 70,000 Americans have died in the flu-like global pandemic, while severe social distancing measures to stop the virus have forced the shutdown of much of the economy. [May 07, 2020] Skadden Arps' Jennifer Voss "Committed a Serious Breach of Ethics" in Attempting to Silence Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware, TransPerfect Lawyers Say in Recently Filed Court Documents Following a series of recent filings in the Delaware Court of Chancery, new facts were released publicly that Jennifer Voss, a partner in Skadden Arps' Wilmington office, was purported to act on behalf of the Delaware Judiciary when she attempted to silence the advocacy group, Citizens for Pro-Business Delaware (CPBD). CPBD, a grassroots organization founded by TransPerfect employees, advocates for transparency, accountability and diversity in the Delaware Judiciary has been subject to threats and hate mail from some of Delaware's elite law firms. During a heated exchange of attorney correspondence, Voss is alleged to have publicly posted privileged settlement communications between attorneys representing TransPerfect and Skadden Arps in violation of ethical canons. The substance of the emails revealed that Voss sought to silence the CPBD movement by disallowing any public discourse that casts a negative light on Custodian Robert Pincus, Skadden Arps, the Chancery Court system, and the State of Delaware. Said Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware Campaign Manager Chris Coffey, "Our organization is made up of more than 5,000 Delawareans working to increase accountability, transparency, and diversity not just in the state's judiciary, but the entire government. The First Amendment clearly protects our right to call out injustice where we see it. It's unfortunate that Skadden would try to dictate the actions of our members without actually talking to us directly. But what we want to see happen should come as no surprise to anyone, as we have relentlessly advocated for our platform for increased judicial transparency, accountability, and diversity for the better part of a year. To demonstrate our commitment to stay in Delaware for the long haul, we will be spending over $500,000 this year to highlight the failures of transparency and diversity in Delaware's courts and advocating for reforms to fix the broken status quo, and we're planning to declare a political action committee dedicated to electing candidates at every level of the state governmet who support our cause. "If Voss and Skadden would like to engage in a meaningful conversation about how to end corporate corruption and cronyism, and the overwhelming lack of diversity in the Delaware Chancery Court, we'll meet them anytime and anywhere - we're in this fight for the long haul." Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware fight for commonsense and modern-day reforms to the archaic Chancery Court system, and for more diverse representation in courts, and government and in law. It supports the following legislative initiatives: Establishing an independent Office of Inspector General with a degree of jurisdiction over the Chancery Court, which would ensure a rigorous and regular review process for auditing the Chancery Court's decisions. Ensuring that Delaware's courts reflect the 'broad diversity' of Delaware's citizenry. Introducing transparency to the judicial nomination process by making public the members of the judicial nominating commission and the names of the candidates they put forward to the Governor. Building awareness of the lack of diversity in Delaware's legal industry and advocating for a diverse pipeline to Delaware's elite law firms. Ensuring that appointed Members of Courts can't serve on the Court of Judiciary, which has the power of judicial review. Ensuring that if a Justice of the Chancery Court appoints a custodian or a receiver to any Firm, Corporation or Officer of the Court for whom they were previously employed or shared business interests with, this conflict must be disclosed and consented to by both parties. Requiring that any custodian or receiver appointed by the Delaware Chancery Court itemize and make public a complete list of costs incurred because of acting in that capacity. Allowing a camera in the Chancery Court to ensure that a public record exists of the Court's actions, allowing citizens and good government groups to audit the Court's actions and deliberations to make sure they honor justice and transparency. Requiring 'wheel spin' in the Chancery Court so that Chancery Court Chancellors cannot select cases based on their own self-interest. Requiring financial disclosure by Delaware's judges so the public can see the income they receive outside their judicial salaries, including investments, business and charitable affiliations and gifts. Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware is a group made up of more than 5,000 members including employees of the global translation services company TransPerfect, as well as concerned Delaware residents, business executives and others. They formed in April of 2016 to focus on raising awareness with Delaware residents, elected officials, and other stakeholders about the issue. While their primary goal of saving the company has been accomplished, they continue their efforts to fight for more transparency in the Delaware Chancery Court. For more information on Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware or to join the cause, visit DelawareForBusiness.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005603/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] As Massachusetts adult-use marijuana businesses face severe financial losses and await a chance to open up again amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cannabis Control Commission has offered to speak to an advisory board planning the states reopening. Gov. Charlie Baker has appointed the 17-member board to come up with a plan to reopen the state by May 18 as the rate of COVID-19 cases starts to trend down. Baker banned non-essential businesses from operating in March. While recreational marijuana was not considered essential, medical marijuana dispensaries have been allowed to operate. Cannabis Control Commission Chairman Steven Hoffman said Thursday that he has not spoken with Baker but has spoken with some of his staff members. We have also reached out to the governors advisory board and told them wed be delighted to come in if they had any questions or concerns about how this industry could be operated safely, but we have not received a request to do so at this point in time, Hoffman said to reporters after the commissions meeting on Thursday. The reopening advisory board is scheduled to meet with representatives of the cannabis industry on Saturday, officials said Thursday evening. The Reopening Advisory Board continues to meet with a variety of business groups and community coalitions, and will make specific recommendations to the Governor in accordance with public health guidelines, said an Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development spokesperson. The board is scheduling and holding regular meetings to solicit input as they develop a reopening report due on May 18, officials said. I am really hopeful that the way this advisory board is going to operate is to get away from this debate about essential versus non-essential, which again, as you know, we have not taken issue with the governors original determination about essentiality, but Im hoping that the advisory board goes in a direction of what can be done safely," Hoffman said. "I think thats an easier and probably more important conversation to have than essentiality. Hoffman has said several times that he believes the adult-use industry can operate safely amid the pandemic. I think weve demonstrated that we can do so on the medical side of the business, Hoffman said. We have been creative, weve been flexible, weve been quick-moving and I think theres absolutely no reason we cant do exactly the same thing on the adult-use side." Since March, the commission has made changes to try and ease the burden on cannabis businesses and medical patients and promote safety. It has allowed medical dispensaries to offer curbside pickup, patients to renew their registration via telehealth methods and for the recreational market to support the medical market via wholesale transfers. Hoffman noted that he is not privy to any discussions the advisory board is having and is not sure how Baker will react to the boards recommendations. Im hopeful that the advisory board, and then the governor making decisions based upon the advisory boards recommendations, uses the criteria of what can be operated safely as an important dimension of their decision making, Hoffman said. I do want the opportunity, I hope I get the opportunity, to meet with, or the commission to meet with the advisory board and convince them that we are totally confident of our ability to operate this industry safely and have the opportunity to answer any questions or address any concerns that they might have. Massachusetts is the only state with legal marijuana that has halted recreational marijuana sales during the pandemic. Related Content: The Montgomery Independent School District is seeking an interim superintendent and has selected a search firm to recruit a new superintendent by August. The school board made the approval on Tuesday at a special meeting to post the position, said board president Jim Dossey. The school district confirmed the interim position would serve between June 1 and the start date for the new superintendent, which is tentatively set for Aug. 3, The board will consider internal and external candidates, Dossey said. The school board has selected a new search firm to aid in the search for a new superintendent following the announcement that the current superintendent, Beau Rees, has been selected to serve Weatherford ISD. Rees is expected to begin his new position on June 1. Following the April 24 special meeting, Dossey said seven firms responded to the request for proposals. The school board narrowed down those requests to three firms, who were interviewed during the virtual meeting. Those firms included the Texas Association of School Boards executive search services, HYA, and Thompson and Horton. Ultimately, the school board school board chose Thompson and Horton to help find the school districts new leader. Dossey stated in his post that Thompson & Horton is known throughout the state as one of the best firms to conduct a superintendent search because of their experience and connections in the state of Texas. Some successful searches conducted by the firms in recent years include independent school districts in Alvin, College Station, Tomball and Aldine. The firm is currently assisting with the search for Lake Travis and Travis ISDs, which Dossey said is comparable to Montgomery ISD, his post stated. The board was particularly impressed with their emphasis on community involvement in the process, Dossey said. Thompson and Horton presented a well thought out plan to meet our timelines, although they reiterated that the timeline is just a tool to drive the process it is most important that we select the best candidate for the job. The board has wasted no time in getting started on the plan with the search firm. During the special meeting where David Thompson and Dr. Mike Moses of Thompson were interviewed, the two shared they have been personal friends for decades and have worked together for over 20 years conducting superintendent searches. The firm has also worked with Montgomery ISD on various issues. We have been lucky to work with top tier district in Texas and we certainly consider Montgomery ISD to be one of those districts, said Moses, the former Commissioner of Education for the State of Texas who resigned in 2019 from his position as the superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District. Thompson shared the firm is normally very hands-on with its searches, including with devoting time for community outreach and focus groups with identified community leaders. Due to the novel coronavirus pandemic which has created some limitations and social distancing practices, he acknowledged that may not be possible for this search. With some uncertainty over the next six weeks, the firm may need to take different approaches, such as online surveys for community input. Should the unusual setting require online information gathering instead of the usual in-person process, the firm discussed the option of lowering its fee from $18,000 to $15,000, Thompson said. The firm does not believe the search for other school districts, which they said are far enough along, or COVID-19, will interfere in its search for Montgomery ISD. According to the suggested and fairly aggressive timeline discussed in the interview, the firm recommends closing the search and meeting the school board around June 1. The firm expected to start immediately on advertising the search, which normally is conducting over four months, as soon as authorized and handles advertising and recruiting in its fee. We dont wait for people to apply, Moses said. We will recruit top professionals in public education. To meet the boards goal and the state laws 21-day waiting period, the firm said the district needs to be interviewing by June 8 and recommends two rounds of interviews. Background and financial checks and district visits would need to be conducted around June 22. The board would approve candidates by July 16 and name a lone finalist by June 25. The firm recommended considering a temporary housing or relocation expense to get a qualified superintendent under contract by mid-July and welcome them to the district by August 1. The firm can develop the contract, has ways to assist with the transition, will confidentially reimburse candidates for expenses, will not try to recruit the new superintendent for at least five years and will issue one bill to the school district at the end of the search. mellsworth@hcnonline.com My name is Rachel Watt. Some would call me the girl who would never be bothered by classes getting cancelled. Well, they cant call me that now, because I am in the middle of a monumental once in a lifetime pandemic, stuck at home, stocked with toilet paper, taking classes on a screen that mimics The Brady Bunch, wishing I could reach out and hug every one of the people I miss (my classmates); basically living the boring life of a stay-at-home dog.Tuesday, March 24, 2020Now I understand why my dog runs out the door every time the door opens.During the chaos of COVID-19, I have gotten to live the same life as my dog.I go outside when I absolutely have to. I leave when my authorities say its okay. I hang out on the couch all day. I eat whatever junk is presented to me. Living like my dog was cool for the first few days, but it sure did made me appreciate the great outdoors.During this time, going outside has been like stepping into Narnia. The second you step outside, you see potential for a great day. My dog, G-baby, is well aware of that.Meet the Storyteller:Rachel Watt is a senior at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga studying multimedia storytelling and visual arts. Her interest in storytelling began at a very young age and has been her passion throughout her entire life. Being a part of Rising Rock allows her to express herself and show off her writing, photography and communication skills. Contact her at lrv791@mocs.utc.edu. THE ADECCO GROUP ISSUED CHF 225 MILLION NOTES Zurich, Switzerland, 7 May 2020: The Adecco Group, the world's leading HR solutions partner, successfully issued CHF 225 million Senior Fixed-Rate 5.5-year Notes with a coupon of 0.875%. Yesterday, the Adecco Group successfully issued CHF 225 million of 0.875% notes due 27 November 2025. The notes were issued by Adecco Group AG, within the framework of Adecco Group's Euro Medium-Term Note Programme. The proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes. The details of the notes are as follows: 2025 notes Principal amount: CHF 225 million Coupon: 0.875% p.a. Maturity: 27 November 2025 Issue price: 100.102% Redemption price: 100% The settlement date for the notes is 27 May 2020. Adecco Group AG is currently rated as follows by the international rating agencies: Moody's (Baa1 stable) Standard & Poor's (BBB+ stable) This represents the largest of the three CHF notes outstanding for the Group after the CHF 125 million which matures in December 2020 and the CHF 100 million which matures in 2026. For further information please contact: The Adecco Group Investor Relations investor.relations@adeccogroup.com or +41 (0) 44 878 88 88 The Adecco Group Press Office media@adeccogroup.com or +41 (0) 44 878 87 87 adeccogroup.com Facebook: facebook.com/theadeccogroup Twitter: @AdeccoGroup Forward-looking statements Information in this release may involve guidance, expectations, beliefs, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based on information available to Adecco Group AG as of the date of this release, and we assume no duty to update any such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations. Numerous factors could cause or contribute to such differences. Factors that could affect the Company's forward-looking statements include, among other things: global GDP trends and the demand for temporary work; changes in regulation of temporary work; intense competition in the markets in which the Company operates; integration of acquired companies; changes in the Company's ability to attract and retain qualified internal and external personnel or clients; the potential impact of disruptions related to IT; any adverse developments in existing commercial relationships, disputes or legal and tax proceedings. About the Adecco Group The Adecco Group is the world's leading HR solutions company. We believe in making the future work for everyone, and every day enable more than 3.5 million careers. We skill, develop, and hire talent in 60 countries, enabling organisations to embrace the future of work. As a Fortune Global 500 company, we lead by example, creating shared value that fuels economies and builds better societies. Our culture of inclusivity, entrepreneurship and teamwork empowers our 34,000 employees, who voted us number 11 on the Great Place to Work - World's Best Workplaces 2019 list. The Adecco Group AG is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland (ISIN: CH0012138605) and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ADEN) and powered by the global lead brands: Adecco, Adia, Badenoch + Clark, General Assembly, LHH, Modis, Pontoon, Spring Professional and Vettery. A little snowball of an idea placed a million dollars worth of wine in the hands of health care workers from Eugene to Portland. This gift of wine is the Willamette Valley wine industrys way of saying thank you to the people risking their lives on the COVID-19 front lines. On May 4-5, employees from the Newberg Mail Room, Mitchell Wine Group, Galaxy Wine Company and Northwest Distribution and Storage loaded their vans with 1,413 cases of wine and 268 cases of non-alcoholic sparkling wine grape juice. The bottles were delivered to Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) and Legacy Health in Portland, Providence Newberg Medical Center, and PeaceHealth Medical Group and McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Eugene. 154 wineries donated the wines as part of the Willamette Valley Wineries Associations Wines for the Front Lines project. The bottles were handed out to hospital employees at the end of their shifts. The donation is valued at over $1 million, but the wineries mostly just wanted to acknowledge the caregivers and say thank you for your service and for putting yourself at risk, said Scott Shull of Raptor Ridge Winery in Newberg. Shull describes the idea for the project as a little snowball that got bigger and bigger as it rolled downhill. The idea of giving bottles of wine to health care workers was initially inspired by the generosity of Paul Bachand, the owner of Recipe restaurant in Newberg. Shull and his wife, Annie, learned Bachand was donating meals to employees at the Providence Newberg Medical Center. Thinking people might like a bottle of wine with their meal, we asked Paul if we could tag along on his next delivery, Shull said in a telephone interview. The Shulls delivered 75 bottles of a 2014 pinot noir they originally created for the Salud! Oregon Pinot Noir Auction. Their wine was paired with beef stroganoff and braised greens prepared by Bachand. The looks on peoples faces as they received the food and wine were moving. It said, I need this. I appreciate this, Shull says. Motivated by the smiles they received at Providence Newberg, the Shulls ended up delivering 62 cases of Raptor Ridge wines to four different hospital systems in the Portland metropolitan area. The Shulls also wondered if other wineries might like to follow suit. A few weeks ago, Shull contacted the Willamette Valley Wineries Association, who then presented the idea at a weekly Zoom call. The response was swift. By April 28, we had over 1,400 cases of wine, with the Ponzi family adding 268 cases of their Cugini non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice, Shull said. Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter Collecting and organizing more than 20,000 bottles is quite a logistical challenge. Southern Willamette Valley donations were collected at King Estate Winerys warehouse in Cottage Grove. Northwest Distribution and Storage in Salem collected the wines from Cottage Grove as well as those stored in their own warehouse for delivery to Eugene area hospitals and the Newberg Mail Room. Oregon Wine Services in McMinnville and Tualatin managed the aggregation and trucking of wines from other parts of the valley to the Newberg Mail Rooms storage facility. Newberg Mail Room owner Molly McDonnell and her staff sorted and organized the wines and non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice for delivery. On May 4, a Newberg Mail Room van filled with 56 cases of wine arrived at the Providence Newberg Medical Center loading dock. After supervising the unloading of the wine, Providence maintenance planner Joanne Lynch said, The generosity of the local community is amazing. This has been a humbling experience, to say the least. -- Michael Alberty writes about wine for The Oregonian/OregonLive. He can be reached at malberty0@gmail.com. To read more of his coverage, go to oregonlive.com/wine. Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Around 850,000 people across Africa population 1.3 billion have been tested for the coronavirus since the pandemic began. That's according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Director John Nkengasong again tells reporters that we are not testing enough. The Africa CDC last month said it hoped to test 1 million people within four weeks and 10 million within about six months. But the supply of testing kits remains a challenge. Without tests, we'll be fighting blindly, Nkengasong said. He added that we are in for a very long fight, let me be clear with everyone. Africa's confirmed virus cases are now above 51,000. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) PM takes stock of situation, assures all help to Andhra CM. (DC Photo) New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday took stock of the situation in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam where a gas leak from a chemical plant has left six dead, and assured all possible assistance to state Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. The prime minister has also convened a meeting of the National Disaster Management Authority at 11 am in wake of the situation, the PMO said. The prime minister wrote on Twitter that he spoke with Union Home Ministry officials and National Disaster Management Authority regarding the situation "which is being monitored closely." Spoke to officials of MHA and NDMA regarding the situation in Visakhapatnam, which is being monitored closely. I pray for everyones safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 7, 2020 "I pray for everyone's safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam," he said. The Prime Minister's Office said Modi spoke to the state chief minister. "He assured all help and support," a PMO tweet said. At least six people have died and nearly 100 hospitalised after a gas leak at a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam in the early hours of Thursday. Other leaders too expressed anguish over Vizag gas leak tragedy and shared their condolence messages on their Twitter timelines. Here's a look... Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted, saying he was "shocked" and had asked party workers and leaders in the area to aid rescue and relief efforts. Im shocked to hear about the #VizagGasLeak . I urge our Congress workers & leaders in the area to provide all necessary support & assistance to those affected. My condolences to the families of those who have perished. I pray that those hospitalised make a speedy recovery. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 7, 2020 Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also tweeted, saying news of the gas leak was "worrying" and that disaster response teams were working with the state government to contain the situation. The news of gas leak from a Polymer plant in Visakhapatnam is worrying. @NDRFHQ is working together with the state government in performing the first responders duty. My prayers for the safety of all. Condolences to the family of those deceased. Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) May 7, 2020 Telanagan CM K Chandrashekar Rao and Industres minister KTR express sorrow over the incident, offering condolences to bereaved families. CM Sri K. Chandrashekar Rao has expressed deep shock over the Visakhapatnam gas leakage incident. Terming it as unfortunate, Hon'ble CM offered condolences to the bereaved families. CM wished for the speedy recovery of those fell sick due to the gas leak. Telangana CMO (@TelanganaCMO) May 7, 2020 Shocked & deeply anguished by the visuals from #VizagGasLeak My wholehearted condolences to those who lost their near & dear. Lets pray for the well-being of the hospitalised What a horrible year this has been! KTR (@KTRTRS) May 7, 2020 Vice President Venkaiah Naidu also offered his condolences and said he would pray for the well-being of the people of Visakhapatnam. Deeply distressed by the loss of lives due to gas leak from chemical plant of a private company in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. My condolences to bereaved families and wishes for speedy recovery of those taken ill. Vice President of India (@VPSecretariat) May 7, 2020 Actor Chiranjeevi express sorrow over the incident, offering condolences to bereaved families. Though Peter Weber got engaged to Hannah Ann Sluss on his season of The Bachelor, he ended his season with the intention of seeing if he could make things work with Madison Prewett. Madison Prewett and Peter Weber | John Fleenor via Getty Images Prewett left the show after Weber revealed to her that hed been intimate with other contestants. Prior to fantast suites, Prewett told Weber that shed have a hard time moving forward if he had sex with Sluss or Victoria Fuller. Though Prewett showed up to the following rose ceremony and begrudgingly met Webers family afterward, she eliminated herself before proposals. Why Madison Prewett waited to tell Peter Weber about her beliefs Prewett was criticized by some fans for not telling Weber about her strong religious beliefs (and the fact that shes waiting to have sex until shes married) sooner. In an interview she did with Kaitlyn Bristowe on her podcast, Off The Vine, Prewett says shes the first to admit [shes] not perfect]. Ill be the first to admit that I am not perfect. I was not perfect through the process. I didnt handle everything perfectly So for me I really tried to do the best that I could with the situation I was in and let my heart lead me in those moments, she said. Prewett had in mind that she wasnt just telling Weber about her beliefs, she was telling the entire Bachelor audience. Opening up about something like saving myself for marriage and that gift I one day want to give to my husband, thats a very intimate and vulnerable thing to open up about. Its something Im extremely proud of and so grateful for in my life, but its still something thats intimate to talk about. Thats something I wasnt just discussing with Peter, but I was inviting millions of people into that vulnerable place, she said. That said, Prewett did say she probably should have had that conversation with the pilot earlier. I probably shouldve shared it sooner and who knows if it wouldve made a difference? Of course hes going to argue it mightve made a difference, but who knows? she said. Madison Prewett says it didnt feel right to tell Peter Weber she was waiting to have sex when she had the chance Prewett addressed why she didnt tell Weber at any of her previous opportunities. I know a lot of people were like Why didnt you say it outside of the hanger that night? And thats a valid point. What I will say is we were only out there for five minutes, she said, adding that she could see how much sending Kelsey Weir home affected him. Thats why I didnt do it then, but like I said, I probably should have. She also explained why she didnt tell Weber about how her beliefs affected her romantic relationships in Peru when they spoke about religion. Thats when he shared with me that he was falling in love with me, so it wasnt really the time to get into that kind of conversation, she said. Weber has said he wishes Prewett would have told him shes waiting to have sex until shes married sooner. But hes with Kelley Flanagan now and it seems Prewett has moved on, too. Read more: The Bachelor: Victoria Fuller Posts About Farm Life Amid Chris Soules Quarantine Rumors DALLAS, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jacobs (NYSE:J) is pleased to announce that Nino Kharaishvili, MD, MBA, PMP, CMAP, a global expert in health security and health system emergency preparedness and resilience, has joined the company's Federal & Environmental Solutions team as Principal of the Health System Resilience practice. The practice combines Jacobs' multidisciplinary expertise in policy development, legislation and planning for emergency preparedness, response and recovery; broader organizational/inter-agency coordination; comprehensive healthcare infrastructure services; logistics and supply chain management; operational management and business continuity; information management systems and data analysis; and assessments of risks, vulnerabilities and technical capacities, as well as training and exercises for healthcare workers, teams and support staff. Dr. Kharaishvili brings to Jacobs more than 15 years of healthcare systems consulting experience supporting the U.S. Department of Defense, and most recently the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's (DTRA) Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP), which focuses on especially dangerous pathogen and infectious disease surveillance, biosafety and biosecurity. She has specific expertise in defining pathways for healthcare system sustainability and resilience, as well as designing and implementing various emergency management exercises aimed at improving public health emergency preparedness and response. "Jacobs recognizes that the challenges we face today with the COVID-19 pandemic, and those we anticipate in the future, require more resilient, holistic solutions to improve public health," said Jacobs Federal & Environmental Solutions Senior Vice President and General Manager Tim Byers. "Dr. Kharaishvili strengthens our already impressive healthcare services team and brings a new depth of health security expertise, a broad-based understanding of emergency management, and a global consulting portfolio that will be a tremendous asset in leading our Health System Resilience practice." As part of her DTRA work, Dr. Kharaishvili developed a risk assessment tool that analyzes a country's vulnerability to naturally-occurring, accidental or nefarious release of weaponizable infectious pathogens. The tool has been used in more than 25 countries to establish a baseline of the health security risk landscape and to provide a foundation for identifying and prioritizing system-wide risk mitigation and management activities. Additionally, Dr. Kharaishvili developed and implemented a Global Health Security Capacity and Capability Measurement Framework. The framework, which has helped transform BTRP's business practices, tracks impacts across 24 programmatic biosafety, biosecurity and biosurveillance metrics, as well as numerous capability, capacity, sustainability and regional indicators for human and animal health systems. Dr. Kharaishvili received her doctor of medicine degree from Aiety Medical School, Georgia (country), and her Master of Business Administration from the College of Saint Rose, Albany, New York. She also provides academic and technical support to the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health at the Uniformed Services University, within the scope of its mission leading domestic and international disaster health education and research efforts. At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. With $13 billion in revenue and a talent force of more than 55,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector. Visit jacobs.com and connect with Jacobs on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements as such term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provided by the same. Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related reaction of governments on global and regional market conditions and the company's business. For a description of some additional factors that may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 27, 2019, and in particular the discussions contained under Item 1 - Business; Item 1A - Risk Factors; Item 3 - Legal Proceedings; and Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, as well as the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company is not under any duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform to actual results, except as required by applicable law. For press/media inquiries: Kerrie Sparks 214.583.8433 SOURCE Jacobs Related Links http://www.jacobs.com In Mexico, the supply of beer is nearly depleted since so much of the beverage was panic-bought at the beginning of quarantine. Currently, the demands of a robust black market are yet to cease. President of Cerverceros de Mexico Karla Siquieiros said in an interview with el Universal that they were not producing a single beer. Groupo Modelo, the managing company of popular beer brands like Corona, Pacifica, and Modelo, followed suspension orders after authorities regarded brewing as a non-essential activity. La Ultima Chela Corner store franchise Oxxo announced in late April that their beer would only last a little over a week, but this only led to shoppers buying mass amounts of beer. Rather than demonstrations of anger and resentment, Mexicans were instead bewildered by the lack of supply. Empty fridges and stacks of bottles are posted on Twitter as the hashtags #LaUltimaChela, and #ConLasChelas trend online. Both roughly translate to "last beer" and "don't mess with my beer." Director of the National Alliance of Small Merchants, Anpec, Cuauhtemoc Rivera, simply put, "Mexicans like to drink beer. [It's] a big money-maker for small stores." Rivera added that families commonly run businesses that sell beer, and in the heat of the day, sales go up by 40 percent. Anpec advocated for beer brewing to be considered by the Mexican government as an essential activity with the conviction that the beverage would greatly help people cope with the lockdowns. The organization had been pushing since last month the reopening of beer brewing companies. Municipalities and localities in Mexico have banned the sale of alcoholic beverages during the quarantines. They argued that various states of anxiety, desperation, and even fears might turn into episodes of irritability and intolerance. Anpec added that "The consumption of beer at home operates as a relaxant, which helps endure a difficult trial." Check these out! Non-Essential Goods Last month, Grupo Modelo made an announcement declaring that the company would put a halt to brewing Corona beer. This is done in response to the federal government's orders to suspend 'non-essential' activities to mitigate the transmission of the coronavirus in the country. A week before this, they already began to scale back production in anticipation of the suspension orders. The company did, however, explain that should the Mexican government reconsider beer as an agro-industrial product, and, therefore, its production an essential activity, "We are ready to execute a plan with more than 75% of our staff working from home and at the same time guaranteeing the supply of beer." The decision of the federal authorities to determine that brewing beer is not considered an activity as essential as the agricultural process, or food production will presumably shut down all of the plants that operated under Grupo Modelo in Mexico. Grupo Modelo's beers are delivered and distributed to the United States through Constellation Brands. At the time, CEO Bill Newlands said that they had sufficient supply to meet the demand, which meant they would expect no shortages anytime soon. As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. Sacramento, Calif. California will get a $247 million refund amid delayed delivery of protective masks it ordered under a deal with a Chinese manufacturer. The N95 respirator masks, made in China by electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, failed to meet an April 30 certification deadline from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a spokesman for the Office of Emergency Services said Wednesday. The state disclosed the refund when it released its nearly $1 billion contract it signed in April for about 500 million masks over 2.5 months, a mix of N95 and surgical masks. Tens of millions of masks were set to arrive in California this month. The state paid the first half of the contract up front to Global Healthcare Product Solutions, a BYD subsidiary, nearly a month ago. That payment covered 300 million tight-fitting N95 masks at a cost of $3.30 each. The office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom didn't say what caused the certification delay. An amendment to the contract signed Wednesday gives the company until May 31 to meet certification. If it does not, it must return the other half of the state's upfront payment. Last month, Newsom announced the deal to great fanfare, calling it a "bold and big" effort in the state's fight against the coronavirus. The price per mask was first reported Wednesday by the Los Angeles Times and based on purchasing documents from the state treasurer's office. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Tens of millions of surgical masks have already arrived, but the N95 masks were delayed, Newsom said. Last week, the state paid an additional $104.7 million for those first shipments. Newsom said last month that the state and federal governments had "teams on the ground" in China auditing and visiting BYD's factories. "We are looking to make sure we do not procure what is not authorized and ultimately is not validated," he said. Newsom has provided few details of the BYD deal, prompting criticism from some lawmakers. The Associated Press and other news agencies sought the documents through public records requests and were denied. State lawmakers said they would have had more time to vet the deal under normal circumstances. Documents from the treasurer's office indicated Newsom's administration hadn't finished vetting BYD before Newsom publicly announced the contract or before his administration asked the state treasurer's office to prepare $495 million in an initial wire transfer. Steve Bird has been the CEO of The Vitec Group plc (LON:VTC) since 2009. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid. View our latest analysis for Vitec Group How Does Steve Bird's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies? Our data indicates that The Vitec Group plc is worth UK305m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as UK1.4m for the year to December 2019. That's below the compensation, last year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at UK463k. We further remind readers that the CEO may face performance requirements to receive the non-salary part of the total compensation. We examined companies with market caps from UK162m to UK648m, and discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was UK753k. Now let's take a look at the pay mix on an industry and company level to gain a better understanding of where Vitec Group stands. Speaking on an industry level, we can see that nearly 44% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 56% is other remuneration. Vitec Group is largely mirroring the industry average when it comes to the share a salary enjoys in overall compensation Thus we can conclude that Steve Bird receives more in total compensation than the median of a group of companies in the same market, and of similar size to The Vitec Group plc. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the pay is too high. A closer look at the performance of the underlying business will give us a better idea about whether the pay is particularly generous. You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Vitec Group has changed over time. Story continues LSE:VTC CEO Compensation May 7th 2020 Is The Vitec Group plc Growing? The Vitec Group plc has seen earnings per share (EPS) move positively by an average of 6.4% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is down 2.4%. I would argue that the lack of revenue growth in the last year is less than ideal, but I'm happy with the EPS growth. In conclusion we can't form a strong opinion about business performance yet; but it's one worth watching. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts. Has The Vitec Group plc Been A Good Investment? Since shareholders would have lost about 23% over three years, some The Vitec Group plc shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. It therefore might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously. In Summary... We examined the amount The Vitec Group plc pays its CEO, and compared it to the amount paid by similar sized companies. Our data suggests that it pays above the median CEO pay within that group. The growth in the business has been uninspiring, but the shareholder returns have arguably been worse, over the last three years. Although we'd stop short of calling it inappropriate, we think the CEO compensation is probably more on the generous side of things. On another note, we've spotted 3 warning signs for Vitec Group that investors should look into moving forward. If you want to buy a stock that is better than Vitec Group, 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. San Francisco, May 7 : Disney's video on-demand streaming service Disney Plus (Disney+) has garnered 54.5 million subscribers worldwide, up 21 million from the 33.5 million it last reported on March 28. Disney's significant growth earlier this year came from launches of the service in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, France, Switzerland, and India, the company disclosed during its quarterly earnings call. Back in February, Disney+ was estimated to have 28.6 million paid subscribers. The new numbers indicate that Disney+ is on its way to double the base in just about three months. Disney+ originally set a target of 60 million to 90 million subscribers by the end of fiscal 2024, when it was first launched in the US in November. Disney on April 3 launched Disney Plus (Disney+) in India via Hotstar, a popular on-demand video platform, at a starting price of Rs 399 a year. Disney+ Hotstar, the rebranded streaming service in India, has approximately 8 million paid subscribers, the company reported last month. Meanwhile, Netflix also added 15.77 million subscribers to its tally during the last quarter, taking its overall subscriber base to 182.9 million globally. Three arrested for drug trafficking in Carlisle County To the Editor, Governor Pritzker has proposed a constitutional amendment to institute a graduated tax system for Illinois. If I have learned anything from a career fixing broken organizations, it is that you dont give more money to profligate spenders and expect a different outcome - no matter how much they say this time, it will be different. Anybody who thinks that the graduated tax system is only going to affect the rich should spend just a few minutes looking at the dismal condition of this states finances. Digging out of this enormous hole will require everybodys taxes to be raised significantly. If we are going to open up the constitution and amend it, lets add 5 other amendments that will limit the ability of the political class to keep on behaving the way that got us into this mess. 1. Require Defined Contribution only pension plans for public employees. This would end the kick the can down the road behavior of the politicians and provide certainty to both employees and the taxpayers. The contribution percentage should be fixed by a vote of the taxpayers and require a high bar to change. 2. Limit the Ability of Government to pay higher than market salaries to employees benchmark all jobs over $100K per year and limit salaries to the average of the top of similar jobs nationwide. 3. Require a balanced state budget within 5 years and require the legislature to seek public approval for subsequent budget increases that are greater than the population increase. Require the budget to decrease if the population decreases. 4. Prohibit the state tax rate on businesses from being greater than the average of the bottom 1/2 of other states business tax rates. This will keep the state competitive. 5. Establish Term Limits for all state and local officials end the reign of professional politicians. These are 5 things that, if they were written into the constitution of the state, would make many of us more willing to vote for the graduated tax amendment. Without these changes, adopting a new tax system is just handing more money to people who have proven inept at handling it for many many years. That would be the very definition of insanity. This time will be different - but we know it wont - unless we, the people, take steps to limit their proven irresponsible behavior. Tom Purves Springfield, Illinois Despite all the best efforts of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to whitewash the origin of the deadly Wuhan virus, the facts are in, the jig is up, and everyone knows that President Xi Jinping had Wuhan whistleblower Dr Li Wenliang tortured, muzzled the World Health Organisation and allowed the virus to infect the world. China is getting hit with trillion-dollar lawsuits, as 40 million Americans have lost their jobs, over 60,000 Americans have been killed, and new polling data shows that nine out of 10 Americans have a negative perception of the Chinese government. But every night on the television news, a parade of the American elite castigate the United States and openly defend the CCP, even as the death toll of their fellow Americans climbs by the minute. Rachel Maddow, the top-rated news anchor at MSNBC, spews her touted brand of vitriol for US government agencies, spreading disinformation and playing into the CCPs gameplan of blaming the US for the pandemic. Microsofts billionaire founder Bill Gates just made a disgraceful appearance on CCN where he said the US reacted poorly to the pandemic whereas China did a lot of things right. The Asia Society, long a platform for CCP apologists, just hit a new low with a letter signed by numerous dignitaries such as former secretary of state Madeline Albright and Robert Blackwill, a former ambassador to India, saying that America must address its shortcomings and cooperate with China. This unholy alliance between American elites and the CCP is crashing on the shoals of reality. The Trump administration is taking measures to stop US financiers from investing a $500 billion pension fund of federal and military retirees in Chinese military companies such as Hikvision, which builds surveillance systems, up and running in the CCPs massive concentration camps in Tibet and Xinjiang. This story was deemed insignificant by the New York Times, which publishes full page ads from China Daily every week, as the CCPVirus kills three New Yorkers per minute. And now we Tibet People are getting calls from anguished friends that you were right we should have listened. Being a Free Tibet activist is a long and lonely road. Forget getting booked on TV or hosting a college conference, one call from CSSA the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, and we get shut down, every time. Never mind that the CSSA is a branch of the CCPs United Front, which gathers intelligence on, manages relations with, and attempts to influence elite individuals and organisations inside and outside China. We have persisted, and we have exposed the CCPs manifold crimes against humanity genocide, concentration camps, forced organ harvesting, torture of children. Atrocities that would make a Nazi proud, but which appear to be of no concern to tycoons who shipped millions of US jobs to China, wont audit Chinese firms on the NY Stock Exchange and assert that the CCPs authoritarian capitalism is a better model of governance than our messy democracies. The CCPs United Front mission to co-opt US elites has been a smashing success. In 2019 Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, who willingly exploits the slave labour of the Chinese people proffered by their CCP overseers, joined Beijings Tsinghua University. In 2017 Bill Gates was elected to the Chinese Academy of Engineering to expand Chinas nuclear capacities. Rachel Maddows bosses at Comcast, which owns NBC News, signed major deals with the Chinese government years ago. Harvard and Yale are being investigated for failing to report millions of gifts from China Harvard has accepted over $1 billion from CCP donors, and in 2010 enrolled Xi Jinpings daughter Xi Mingxie as a freshman, under a pseudonym. A former admissions officer at Harvard, my alma mater, told me: If your father is a Chinese Communist you have a better chance of getting into a top Ivy League school than an American kid whose grandfather helped build that school. The world is waking up to what the Tibet People and our Indian allies have always known the CCP plays dirty and plays to win. Beijing is now crushing Hong Kong without fear of censure or sanction. Benedict Rogers, founder of Londons Hong Kong Watch, says: When the Prince of Wales left Hong Kong after the handover 23 years ago he apparently wrote in his journal: Thus we left Hong Kong to her fate and the hope that Martin Lee, the leader of the Democrats, would not be arrested. Well now he has, and the CCP has made it clear that it is tearing up its promises to the people of Hong Kong. The world must act quickly before Hong Kong becomes another Tibet or Xinjiang. Dont think its just Hong Kong at risk of being the next Tibet. The Davos Gang, which has long exalted Xi Jinping as the new world hegemon, is working overtime for their man in Beijing. But were ready too whenever Chinese dictators roll into New York, to be wined and dined, we will hoist Tibetan flags and chant: Which Side Are You On? Axl Rose has a new reply guy and his name is Steve Mnuchin. Photo: Getty Images Suicide Squad producer Steve Mnuchin has, frankly, had enough of your complaints about the economy and being unemployed and needing more than one stimulus check to survive, and hes decided to take that out on [checks notes] Axl Rose? On Wednesday night, Guns N Roses frontman Axl Rose exercised his First Amendment right on Twitter, criticizing United States Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin for well, basically being Steve Mnuchin. Its official! Whatever anyone may have previously thought of Steve Mnuchin hes officially an asshole, wrote Rose. The tweet must have popped up on Mnuchins timeline while he was scrolling away, probably liking tweets about prematurely reopening the country or traveling during a global pandemic or something. This prompted Mnuchin to respond directly to Rose, unleashing the inner reply guy within him. What have you done for your country? wrote Mnuchin, initially. While that might seem like a real sick burn, the first time Mnuchin replied, he included an emoji of the Liberian flag instead of the U.S. flag, which, while definitely reminiscent of our stars and stripes, is ultimately not the same. Mnuchin realized his error pretty quickly, deleted the tweet, and reposted with the correct flag, but, thankfully, the gaffe was captured by @PhillipinDC and is included below for your viewing pleasure. As for Mnuchins query, Axl Rose and Guns have given us Sweet Child O Mine, Welcome to the Jungle, and Patience, which we sang in my college a cappella group, so I think he has done plenty for our country, Liberia, and the world at large, thank you very much. The Treasury Secretary is mad online at Axl Rose pic.twitter.com/arg5o6R1a8 Josh Billinson (@jbillinson) May 7, 2020 A keen fisherman in the Northern Territory has managed to scare off a three-metre crocodile that attacked him by hurling beer stubbies at the beast. Jayden Stockbridge, 30, had to think quickly after his tinnie ran aground in mangroves at about 2.30pm on Monday in a stretch of water known as 'middle arm' off the Darwin coast. The throttle on Mr Stockbridge's boat locked, sending him speeding out-of-control into the mangroves, forcing him to duck tree branches 'like a scene from The Matrix' before crashing into the bank. The centre of the boat was ripped out and he was knocked unconscious for three minutes. When he regained consciousness, he turned around, still dazed, to see a crocodile staring at him from the water. 'I had think quickly - I didn't want to be a chicken nugget for this croc,' Mr Stockbridge told Daily Mail Australia. A fisherman in the Northern Territory is thanking his lucky stars after he managed to scare off a three metre crocodile by hurling beer bottles at it after his boat crashed. Mr Stockbridge saved one beer while he was waiting to be rescued (pictured) Jayden Stockbridge, 30, had to improvise after his tinnie ran aground in mangroves at about 2.30pm on Monday afternoon in a stretch of water known as 'middle arm' off the Darwin coast 'I had some mid-strength beer stubbies in the boat so I threw them at it - full ones. I was going to drink them but what can you do you've got to scare off the croc with something and they were right there.' He said the tactic worked and the creature disappeared so he pulled out his phone and called police. 'My initial thought was I can't believe it's worked and nobody was here to see it,' he said. 'Also... I'd kill for a beer,' he said. Mr Stockbridge said the tactic worked and the creature disappeared The incident happened in the crocodile infested waters of Darwin's rover inlet His ordeal was not over yet, however, reaching for a cigarette to calm his nerves, he said he could smell petrol. 'Fuel was leaking everywhere so i thought it's be best not to light up - but a dart would have helped and they were expensive ones.' Two nearby fisherman in separate boats then heard his calls for help, collected him and his rods and took him to hospital. He spent a night in the emergency, before being discharged with a broken nose and a torn bicep. His boat, however, was written off. The attack hasn't deterred him, and he said he would salvage what he could and head back out on the water as soon as possible. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the Qatari partners for their assistance in returning Ukrainian citizens home Emir of Qatar AP President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky had a telephone conversation with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani during which the monarch offered to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine in the form of medical supplies. This was reported by the press service of the President's Office. In addition, the parties discussed the situation with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine/Qatar and agreed to coordinate efforts in order to jointly combat the spread of the virus. The Emir of Qatar also offered to provide Ukraine with humanitarian aid in the form of medical supplies that are needed to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The issue of trade and economic cooperation was also raised. Zelensky expressed interest in strengthening investment cooperation between Ukraine and Qatar. In particular, they discussed food and energy security, as well as the implementation of mutually beneficial projects in the infrastructure and port sectors. President of Ukraine also thanked the Qatari partners for their assistance in returning Ukrainian citizens home. As we reported earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Polands President Andrzej Duda negotiated on joint fight against coronavirus, energy security of the countries and Donbas conflict. The High Court has appointed a provisional liquidator to the firm behind an app that allows its users to order and pick up meals from restaurants and cafes all over Ireland. The Bamboo app, which launched in 2018, was designed to allow professional people get meals from over 100 restaurants, in Galway, Dublin and Cork, located near their place of work. The court heard the company behind the app, Mahalo Ltd, had been seeking fresh investment to develop its business, which generated revenue by charging a small commission on every order placed. However, its financial situation significantly dipped after 95% of the restaurants it worked with closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition most of the app's users, who were mainly professionals, either started working remotely or ceased working at all. The court heard that a rival firm was interested in acquiring the company's assets for 37,000 and hiring the company's six employees. Following the receipt of legal advice the directors sought to have Mahalo wound up and a provisional liquidator appointed. The liquidator, it is claimed, would be of benefit of the firm's creditors and ensure that the company's assets could be sold for the best possible price, and would ensure that Mahalo's server is maintained. The company's main creditors are an investor in the firm Mr Joseph Elias, who is owed 460,000, and Revenue which is owed 30,000. The firm's directors are Luke Mackey of Hyde Road, Dalkey, Co Dublin, and Stefanos Focas of Rathmichael, Co. Dublin. Today, Mr Justice Senan Allen appointed insolvency practitioner Paul McCann of Grant Thornton as provisional liquidator to Mahalo. The judge said he was satisfied the firm is insolvent, but he expressed his concerns that the winding up process was being done through a court-appointed liquidator, as opposed to a voluntary liquidation. The judge said his concerns were because a rival firm had made an offer to acquire Mahalo's assets for 37,000. Mahalo's debts were well in excess of that offer, and that was before one took the costs of a High Court liquidation into account. Despite his reservations, the judge said he was prepared to appoint a provisional liquidator, and adjourned the matter to a date later this month. At least seven workers have been hospitalised and three are critical as a paper mill in Chhattisgarh reported a gas leak, Raigarh Superintendent of Police told news agency ANI. The unfortunate incident is said to have occurred at Shakti Paper Mill in Tetla village, where the victims were cleaning an open tank and fell ill after inhaling a poisonous gas. The incident came to light only after the hospital authorities alerted the police. Chhattisgarh: Raigarh Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh & Collector Yashwant Kumar meet those who were affected by gas leak at a paper mill in the district. SP says, "Owner of the mill tried to hide the incident from us & did not inform police. A case will be registered". https://t.co/VsOVl6l3TU pic.twitter.com/p1D73NLAVW ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 Raigarh SP Santosh Singh and Collector Yashwant Kumar met those who were affected by the gas leak. Singh said, "Owner of the mill tried to hide the incident from us and did not inform police. A case will be registered". The mill had remained shut ever since the COVID-19 lockdown was enforced and the cleaning work was underway to resume operations, the official told PTI. The workers were admitted to a local hospital, from where three were shifted to Raipur in view of their critical condition. A team of forensic experts was dispatched to the spot to investigate the exact cause of the incident, Singh said, adding that a case will be registered soon. The incident occurred the same day when gas leak at the LG Polymers plant in Visakhapatnam was reported in the wee hours of May 7. At least 10 people have died and hundreds are hospitalised due to the Vizag gas leak. COVID-19 deaths, hospitalisations and lockdowns could be over this year, says WHO SC pulls up Andhra, Bihar for non-payment of compensation to kin of Covid victims Chinese researcher on verge of making significant COVID-19 drug shot dead International oi-Vicky Nanjappa Washington, May 07: A Chinese medical researcher on the "verge of making very significant" coronavirus findings has been found shot dead in the US state of Pennsylvania, media reports said on Wednesday. University of Pittsburgh professor Bing Liu, 37, was found dead inside his home in Ross Township, north of Pittsburgh, on Saturday with gunshot wounds to the head, neck, torso and extremities, according to the Ross Police Department. Investigators believe an unidentified second man, Hao Gu, 46 who was found dead in his car, shot and killed Liu in his home before returning to his car and taking his own life, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Show 'enormous evidence' of COVID-19 originating from Wuhan lab: China asks Pompeo Police believe the men knew each other, but say there is "zero indication that there was targeting due to his (Liu) being Chinese," according to Detective Sgt. Brian Kohlhepp, the CNN reported. The university issued a statement saying it is "deeply saddened by the tragic death of Bing Liu, a prolific researcher and admired colleague at Pitt. The University extends our deepest sympathies to Liu's family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time." "Bing was on the verge of making very significant findings toward understanding the cellular mechanisms that underlie SARS-CoV-2 infection and the cellular basis of the following complications," his colleagues at the university's Department of Computational and Systems Biology said in a statement. "He was a very talented individual, extremely intelligent and hard-working," said Ivet Bahar, the head of the computational and system biology department in Pitt's School of Medicine. Members of the university's School of Medicine describe their former colleague as an outstanding researcher and mentor, and have pledged to complete Liu's research "in an effort to pay homage to his scientific excellence." Liu, who earned a Ph.D in computational science from the National University of Singapore, worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University before becoming a research associate at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The deadly coronavirus which originated from the Chinese city of Wuhan has infected over 3.67 million people and killed 258,051 people globally, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Nordstrom plans to permanently close 16 full-line department store locations across the nation amid the COVID-19 pandemic which has dealt a blow to fashion retail, the company announced Wednesday. The closures are estimated to make up 14% of the Seattle-based company's 116 full-line stores. Company leaders did not give any indication to which locations will be shuttered or how many employees will lose their jobs as a result, but emphasized adapting to the new digital environment in light of COVID-19. "Weve been investing in our digital and physical capabilities to keep pace with rapidly changing customer expectations. The impact of COVID-19 is only accelerating the importance of these capabilities in serving customers," CEO Erik Nordstrom said. "More than ever, we need to work with flexibility and speed. Our market strategy helps with both, bringing inventory closer to where customers live and work, allowing us to use our stores as fulfillment centers to get products to customers faster, and connecting digital and physical experiences with services like curbside pickup and returns." The Good Newsletter: Offset the sobering reality of the pandemic with a weekly dose of inspiring San Antonio stories The company did not provide a specific schedule for reopening stores, but noted that the remaining stores will reopen "in a phased, market-by-market approach where allowed by local authorities and with the health and safety of employees, customers and communities as a priority." Additionally, the company has moved its annual July Anniversary Sale to August. Gabby Jones/Bloomberg Economic analysts noted that the closures were more likely to hurt surrounding shopping malls. "It is a blow for malls already severely bruised by the crisis and slowdown in retail," said Neil Saunders, the managing director of GlobalData Retail to BusinessInsider. Nordstrom is not the only American clothing brand struggling to survive the pandemic. On Monday, J. Crew announced that it was filing for bankruptcy and other major department stores that rely on store-based retail, such as Sears and JCPenney, are under similar crushing debt with physical locations closed. Noble Energy Inc. NBL is scheduled to release first-quarter 2020 results on May 8. In the last reported quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 44.4%. Lets discuss the factors that are likely to get reflected in the upcoming quarterly results. Factors to Consider During the first quarter, the novel coronavirus outbreak resulted in unprecedented economic crisis and a slowdown of commercial and industrial activities on a global scale, in turn lowering the demand for oil and resulting in a drop in prices. Of Noble Energys total production, 60% has been hedged, which is likely to have somewhat protected the company from the huge commodity price decline. During the first quarter, Noble Energy decided to trim capital expenditure and identified avenues wherein it can lower expenses. Some benefits of these steps are expected to have been realized in the first quarter. The company began operations in the Leviathan natural gas field, offshore Israel, on Dec 31, 2019. Contribution from this field is anticipated to have had a positive impact on first-quarter earnings. Q1 Expectation U.S. operations have been a major contributor to the companys overall sales volume. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for crude oil and natural gas liquids sales volume per day in the United States is pegged at 117,000 and 66,000 barrels per day, indicating growth of 3.5% and 11.9%, respectively, from the year-ago reported figures. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings per share is 3 cents, which indicates year-over-year growth of 133.4% from the prior-year reported figure. Earnings Whispers Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Noble Energy this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP (which represents the difference between the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate) and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. That is not the case here as you will see below. Story continues Noble Energy Inc. Price and EPS Surprise Noble Energy Inc. Price and EPS Surprise Noble Energy Inc. price-eps-surprise | Noble Energy Inc. Quote Earnings ESP: The companys Earnings ESP is 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before theyre reported with our Earnings ESP Filter. Zacks Rank: Currently, Noble Energy carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Stocks to Consider Here are a few companies worth considering from the same sector that have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings in the upcoming releases. Targa Resources Corp. TRGP is set to release first-quarter results on May 7. It has an Earnings ESP of +0.75% and a Zacks Rank of 3. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Apache Corporation APA is set to release first-quarter results on May 7. It has an Earnings ESP of +1.33% and a Zacks Rank of 3. Talos Energy TALO is set to release first-quarter results on May 7. It has an Earnings ESP of +25.00% and a Zacks Rank of 3. Today's Best Stocks from Zacks Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2019, while the S&P 500 gained and impressive +53.6%, five of our strategies returned +65.8%, +97.1%, +118.0%, +175.7% and even +186.7%. This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 2019, while the S&P averaged +6.0% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +54.7% per year. See their latest picks free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Apache Corporation (APA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Noble Energy Inc (NBL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Targa Resources Inc (TRGP) : Free Stock Analysis Report Stone Energy Corporation (TALO) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Of the total 5,532 novel coronavirus cases reported in Delhi till Wednesday, more than one-third were recorded from May 1 to May 6. On Wednesday 428 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported in the national capital, the largest number in a single day. The previous largest spike in a day was 427 on May 3. In the last six days, May 1- May 6, as many as 2,017 cases were recorded. On May 1, 223 COVID-19 cases were reported; May 2 (384); May 3 (427); May 4 (349); May 5 (206); and May 6 (428). Besides the 428 novel coronavirus cases on Wednesday, one person died of the disease. No fresh death was reported from May 3 to May 5. Of the total number of 65 fatalities reported till date, 33 of the deceased were aged 60 and above, making over 50 per cent of the total death cases, officials said. Twenty-one of them were aged between 50-59 and 11 were aged less than 50 years, they said. By Tuesday night, the number of cases of the deadly virus in the city stood at 5,104 including 64 deaths. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain told reporters on Wednesday that, in the city, coronavirus cases are now doubling in 11 days, which was earlier 13 days. "It is so because a lot of pending reports were there whose results have now come out," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The incidents indicate a discordant approach from Europe toward China at a moment when the continent is heading into what it expects will be the worst economic collapse in its post-World War II history. Europe is eager for Chinese trade as an economic lifeline and seeks to hedge its bets if China manages to be the first to develop a vaccine against the virus. But it also prides itself on being a defender of liberal democracy, press freedoms and human rights all areas where European policymakers have criticized Beijing. A chef who has called Australia home for 10 years says he is one of the thousands of foreign workers left behind by the Morrison government. Nelly Robinson moved to Australia in 2010 to pursue his passion, after working under Michelin starred chefs back home in Lancashire, northern England. He worked hard to open his own fine dining restaurant, Nel, in Surry Hills in 2015. He now employs 19 staff - 18 of which also aren't entitled to any benefits. Mr Robinson closed his doors on March 23, along with every other restaurant, cafe, pub, cinema and gym in Australia, after the government locked down the nation to slow the spread of COVID-19. Nelly Robinson (pictured) moved to Australia in 2010 to pursue his passion, after working under Michelin starred chefs back home in Lancashire, northern England The government has invested $320 billion in financial aid to help Australians during the crisis, but people in Mr Robinson's position aren't entitled to a cent - even though he's been living and paying tax in Australia for a decade. 'My family's here. My two dogs are here - who are technically my children. My wife is here. My house is here,' Mr Robinson told A Current Affair. Returning to England isn't an option, and he doesn't want it to become his only choice. 'I love this country,' he said. 'I've contributed to this country a lot. I do a lot of charity work. In a time of need, we're not being looked after and it hurts, massively.' An estimated one million Australians were put out of work during the COVID-19 pandemic, while an additional 1.1 million foreign workers are ineligible for government support. 'My family's here. My two dogs are here - who are technically my children. My wife is here. My house is here,' Mr Robinson said. Pictured with his wife and two dogs Nelly Robinson worked hard to open his own fine dining restaurant, Nel, in Surry Hills in 2015. Pictured: Samples of his food from the menu Prime Minister Scott Morrison suggested any non-Australian who cannot financially support themselves through the crisis head home. Mr Robinson said he and his family weren't seeking a handout. They just want enough to get by until they can return to business as usual. 'We're not asking for $750 a week. We're asking for enough to pay for food on the table and we need a rent freeze,' he said. Rockpool Dining's Neil Perry described the government's stance as un-Australian. 'I think in a way it's very un-Australian. I honestly think the government's doing a brilliant job, but we have to open our hearts to everybody,' he said. 'What is Australian? What isn't Australian? I couldn't tell you. But what I know is it's not human,' Mr Robinson added. Despite the closure of his restaurant, Mr Robinson is still paying his staff and suppliers, but the company is now operating at a loss. He personally sponsors four of his staff, meaning if they were to be stood down, they'd have 28 days to leave the country. Congress needed to stand up in a bipartisan way to make plain that this president should not get into a war with Iran or any new war without a vote of Congress, Kaine said. This is not about the president President Trump or any president. Its about Congress, and we should not be at war without a vote of Congress. GEOGRAPHY THE AGE OF ISLANDS by Alastair Bonnett (Atlantic 16.99, 256 pp) If you stand on the coast of Long Beach, California, and gaze out at San Pedro Bay, you will see four small islands. They contain luxury buildings which are illuminated at night by coloured lights. There is also a waterfall. But dont bother trying to book a holiday there: everything on view is fake, a frontage to conceal the fact that these man-made islands are in fact oil rigs. Why are we fascinated by islands? Theyve always had a certain magic. The word utopia comes from a story by Sir Thomas More (as in Henry VIII, Hilary Mantel, etc) in which a king called Utopus creates an island to start a perfect society. Wanting to get away from it all is an understandable human trait, even if at the moment were all marooned on our own domestic islands. Alastair Bonnett explores islands around the world in a new geography book (file image) But if the idea is simple, a definition isnt. Its not only a question of size (when does an island become a continent?) theres also the matter of how permanently a piece of land stays above the water. The way the reefs near Jersey appear and disappear with the tides make it incredibly difficult to draw the boundary between the UK and France. It took 13 years of negotiations (ending in 2004) to settle the matter. Not that anything is permanent. Sea levels are rising, partly because of the global warming caused by human activity, although some people arent worried. A meeting was held in Newquay to discuss the threat of flooding off the Cornish coast, but residents a little way inland said: So those houses [nearer the sea] are going to go? Fantastic! We can have seafront properties! Man-made territories provide the most interesting moments in Alastair Bonnetts tour of our planets many islands. Theyre nothing new: the Lau fishing people built about 80 of them in the Solomon Islands by paddling out, every year for centuries, and dropping lumps of coral into the water. Their islands were refuges from attack by farmers on the mainland. THE AGE OF ISLANDS by Alastair Bonnett (Atlantic 16.99, 256 pp) The most bizarre example is The World, a collection of 300 islands built off the coast of Dubai, in the shape of well, the world. Each one represents a different country, or part of a country. The project was launched in 2003, with the islands intended as play things for the worlds elite. Karl Lagerfeld and Richard Branson were allegedly signed up. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were said to have bought Ethiopia for their children. But then came the 2008 financial crash. Only two of the islands have been completed. Bonnett visits one of them (Lebanon) and finds a member of staff complaining that the island representing his native India is smaller than the one representing Pakistan: That is very wrong. My favourite fact was that Ellis Island (off Manhattan), where would-be immigrants to the U.S. were processed from 1892 to 1954, is semi-artificial. Its three acres were bulked out to 27 largely with debris from the building of New Yorks subway system. HANOVER, N.H. - May 7, 2020 - The Neukom Institute for Computational Science at Dartmouth College has awarded the 2020 Neukom Institute Literary Arts Award for Playwriting to Drive by Deborah Yarchun. In light of the threat to the arts brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Neukom Institute is also pleased to be able to recognize an additional play for this year's program. A second-place prize has been awarded to Override by Elizabeth Keel. "I was floored and delighted by the overwhelming number of submissions for this year's award," said Dan Rockmore, director of the Neukom Institute and creator of the spec fic program. "In a time when so many artists are struggling, we are glad to be able to support even more playwrights by offering two awards this year." The Neukom Institute Literary Arts Awards program was established in 2017 as an open competition to honor and support creative works around speculative fiction. The playwriting award is offered to works that respond to the prompt: "What does it mean to be human in a computerized world?" The first-place prize includes a $5,000 honorarium. Second place comes with a $750 honorarium. Drive tells the story of truckers who lose their jobs to self-driving vehicles. The play explores fears surrounding the next stage of automation in a country where people are defined by their work. "An award celebrating work that explores what it means to be a human in a computerized world is so relevant, particularly in these strange, socially-distant times," said Yarchun. "The resources this honor provides would be helpful anytime but are particularly meaningful now." The second-place winner, Override, is a story of innovation and competition wrapped in a romantic comedy. The play reinforces the importance of contact through the body, heart, and mind. "The play's emphasis on human interaction and touch-based technology resonates even more keenly now than when I first wrote it," said Keel. "I feel such an abiding appreciation for the Neukom Institute's efforts to bring scientists and theatre artists together. This prize allows me to move forward in the hope of collaborating in a shared space again soon." Both plays will have remotely-staged readings with Dartmouth's VoxFest this summer. "The festival's virtual production will necessitate an exploration of new forms of theater," said Matthew Cohn, co-founder of VoxFest. "Both Drive and Override are extremely engaging, relevant plays, and we couldn't be more excited to explore these new forms with Deborah Yarchun and Elizabeth Keel." Additionally, Yarchun will work with Northern Stage to further develop her play. Drive will receive a staged reading at Northern Stage in White River Junction, Vermont during the 2020-2021 season. "In the past two years, Northern Stage's collaboration with the Neukom Institute has introduced us to imaginative new content and important new writers," said Jess Chayes, the BOLD Associate Artistic Director at Northern Stage. "We are thrilled to develop Drive, Deborah Yarchun's thoughtful and sensitive exploration of the human cost of automation." The playwrights will also have the opportunity to work with members of Dartmouth's Department of Theater. The Neukom Institute Literary Arts Awards also honors speculative fiction books. Awards are given to established and first-time authors who feature themes relevant to computational work or computing in their writing. The book awards will be announced later this year. ### Editor's Notes: For a full list of award-winners and additional information, please see: http://sites.dartmouth.edu/neukominstitutelitawards/ Photos of winning playwrights Deborah Yarchun and Elizabeth Keel: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/tvdoavld6j3jksx/AAAJgDw2AG9Wrc_Otszsyl4Na?dl=0 About Dartmouth Founded in 1769, Dartmouth is a member of the Ivy League and offers the world's premier liberal arts education, combining its deep commitment to outstanding undergraduate and graduate teaching with distinguished research and scholarship in the arts and sciences and its leading professional schools: the Geisel School of Medicine, the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, Thayer School of Engineering and Tuck School of Business. About the Neukom Institute for Computational Science at Dartmouth College In an age in which all forms of knowledge and experience can find their way to the computer, computation is central to many of the investigations and innovations that range across the humanities, arts, and sciences. The mission of the Neukom Institute for Computational Science at Dartmouth College is to support this broad view of computational investigation across Dartmouth's campus, and to catalyze creative thought throughout the Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, and Business, for undergraduates, graduate students and faculty. About VoxFest VoxFest is a laboratory festival of daring new works-in-progress at Dartmouth College. The festival meets every summer and is co-produced by Vox Theater and the Dartmouth Department of Theater. About Northern Stage Northern Stage is a regional non-profit LORT-D professional theater company located in White River Junction, VT. Northern Stage actively engages its audiences with world-class productions and extensive educational programs in its home, the Barrette Center for the Arts. Founded in 1997, the company has offered more than 150 professional productions of new works, classics, and musicals. Now in its 24th season, Northern Stage serves over 50,000 people annually. In 2014, the company launched a new play festival that has cultivated seven world premiere productions and three Off-Broadway transfers. A robust educational program focuses on professional training in a nurturing and supportive environment for students of all ages. Offerings include student acting ensembles, a summer musical theater intensive, and an expansive theater-in-the-schools residency program. Northern Stage's breadth of programming supports the company's mission to "change lives, one story at a time..." What You're Doing Wrong with Birds on the Oregon Coast Published 05/07/2020 at 5:54 AM PDT By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Oregon Coast) Stop feeding the freakin birds. Didnt you learn anything from Hitchcock? Feeding the birds along the Oregon coast is seriously bad and even the so-called animal activists make this clueless mistake. (Above: Yachats. Anywhere gulls go is the "poop" deck). What on Earth do you think birds really eat? You think that your personal fast food problem of French fries and crusty carbs are whats been sustaining the descendants of dinosaurs for millions of years? Lets look at the science of not feeding the birds. Gulls and other feathered beach beauties eat fish. Yes, theyre dumb as rocks so theyll eat what we throw at them, but that doesnt make it right nor thoughtful. These fatty foods can actually harm their digestive system and its almost as bad as when they gobble up our plastic bits (thanks again, inconsiderate-types). It can clog them up and they may actually starve to death. Dont believe us? Oregon Coast Beach Connection talked to the Wildlife Center of the North Coast in Astoria years ago about this. Back then, it was Sharnelle Fee who was running the place (she passed away a few years later). She had done necropsies on dead birds that looked to be starving yet their little bellies were crammed full of human grub. It was weird, Fee said back in 2011. Ive found hot dogs, chicken bones, etc. Not to dump all over your fave childhood memories of feeding birds on the beach, but you probably helped kill a few. Maybe teach your own kids not to do that. If youre going to feed them anything, give them what they usually eat: fish. But youre not going to waste your catch-of-the-day on some little feathery dude, are you? So dont throw anything at them. Heres another problem with this: ever notice how they like to flock around people who are eating on the beach? How they sometimes dive bomb you if youre munching on pizza out there? Thats your fault. Well, you and millions of other tourists (and hey, locals too) who trained them to think bipeds like us are vending machines. They now know by repetition that when those tall creatures nearby start stuffing stuff into those holes in their faces the gulls think that they could get in on the hustle. In one beach town in England Brighton its become such a problem gulls will actually peck at people until they drop their morsels. Another thing the wildlife center warns us about is what this does in parking lots in some areas of the Oregon coast. Yachats main access downtown can be pretty slammed with the gray ones, and there has historically been big problem in Seaside on the other side of Highway 101 (that may have declined, thankfully). All it takes is one French fry and youve got 50 birds, Fee said. Worse yet they start to think of cars as seagull food carts, so theyre not afraid of them anymore. Then they get hit by cars and someone has to put the thing out of its misery or clean up the corpse. Yummy. Then theres the poop problem. Cannon Beach has tried to clamp down on feeding gulls a little more aggressively, as all that flocking and dive-bombing around creek outfalls on the beaches causes more of their droppings to go sailing into the ocean. State health authorities acknowledge that when they find higher-than-normal fecal matter in oceans that its quite possibly from birds. Then someone has to close that one beach and tourists flip out and somehow think the entire Oregon coast is contaminated. Most hotels on the Oregon coast have signs on the balconies saying dont feed the birds. A lot of that has to do with droppings all over your balcony. So if you dont want that in your personal space while in your room, then you should also think about that the next time you think its cute when a gull picks up food youd usually leave for garbage. Thats one thing you and the gulls have in common: that grub is garbage for both of you. Oregon Coast Hotels in this area - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Klein High School junior Sneha Shenoy began a campaign to promote social distancing in mid-April. Less than two weeks after launching the official Pledge To Distance website April 23, the campaign already had 900 supporters pledge to help slow the spread of COVID-19. The Pledge To Distance campaign asks people to sign a pledge promising to practice social distancing and follow stay-at-home orders issued by government officials. The campaign pledge states that social distancing involves maintaining physical distance from others by avoiding public places and staying at least six feet away from people when in public. Shenoy decided to use her love of art and drawing to supplement the campaign. Pledgers will receive a free personalized piece of art depicting their face with the letters of their name arranged to look like a mask. People are encouraged to share their custom art piece on social media to inspire others to take the pledge. ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Spring High School student making free paintings for others during pandemic In a Take 5 with Klein Facebook video interview, Shenoy told Klein ISD Assistant Director of Communications Justin Elbert that she created the campaign to grow awareness about the unfamiliar topic of social distancing. Its such a new concept, but its something that I think its very important that we take seriously right now, Shenoy said. Its not anything that we would have thought wed have to do, but we have to be able to adapt and do whats best for society. HELPING PEOPLE IN NEED: Houston area mother and daughter donate more than 2,000 handmade masks She began the campaign on her own in April, not sure what to expect in terms of the attention it might garner. As of May 5, in addition to the 900-plus pledges, the campaign had more than 850 Instagram followers. We actually have a few more people helpingwith the logistics of the campaign and the artwork itself and because of how fast its still growing, we are thinking about adding some more artists, Shenoy said. Shenoy founded Pledge To Distance, but several others have jumped onboard the campaign team including students Kwisha Patel, Emily Tran, Christy Vu, Jeanie Ho, Kristin Dinh, Grace Pham, Coleman Hall-Brown, and their teacher advisor Kristen Haggard. The #PledgeToDistance campaign is on social media @PledgeToDistance on Instagram, @PledgeDistance on Twitter, and Pledge To Distance on Facebook. The pledge and more information can also be found at www.pledgetodistance.com. Since launching the campaign, Pledge To Distance has collected some high-profile supporters in the Klein ISD community. For one, my amazing principal Ms. Jessica Haddox from Klein High School, Shenoy said. Our incredible superintendent Dr. Jenny McGown has also been a part of this, as well as numerous teachers and counselors from not just Klein High School, but across the district. So, weve been very, very fortunate to have those people support this campaign and help promote it. A May 4 campaign press release states that social distancing practices continue to be important in the fight against COVID-19, even as Texas begins reopening. But, Shenoy explained that social distancing doesnt mean people cant stay socially connected. ONLINE COFFEE BREAK ANYONE?: Lone Star College-Tomball Community Library embraces virtual services during COVID-19 closure Its a difficult concept to grasp at first, but we can learn how to adapt, Shenoy said. We can still form connections and keep our friendships through technology and social media. We just have to adapt in this time and its important to stay home, stay safe, and pledge to distance. mfeuk@hcnonline.com Fly-by confessions and outdoor masses could be on the cards as the Catholic Church charts its way out of Covid-19 lockdown. These are in addition to bringing services to "hundreds of thousands" who are "accessing prayer online" since the introduction of restrictions in March. While any return to normal service will be "slow, gradual and evolutionary", Archbishop Eamon Martin, Catholic Primate of All Ireland, is open to suggestions for creative ways to bring people together once again. Churches are not due to reopen for ordinary services until July 20. Weddings and baptisms will be subject to social distancing from that date, too. The Archbishop told Sean ORourke on RTE radio he is keen to see religious ceremonies return and that "creative solutions" might be needed. Drive-in confessions are already on offer in one Dublin parish and the Archbishop said there is no reason they couldnt be extended out to other areas. In fact, he offered a confession to a parishioner of his own in recent days, sitting three metres apart in a church car park, rather than in a confessional. Outdoor masses are not currently an option but the Archbishop is open to the idea in the coming months, weather permitting. "I would like to think that even in advance of July 20, well be able to think creatively like others, and say that yeah, we actually can do something outdoors. As long as we can ensure that not just the mass itself is safe but also getting there. If we weigh up all of those things, I see no reason why we can come up with some creative solutions for small gatherings," Archbishop Martin said. He sympathised with those affected by cancelled weddings and baptisms and the restrictions imposed on funerals. He said he must be realistic about how quickly normality can resume. There is "simply no way" first communions or the blessing of graves can happen at the moment, he said, but added that creative solutions, such as priests offering online services, have been a huge success, offering a "lifeline" to those cut off by the restrictions. Much of the sordid history of how accusations of sexual assault and harassment have been handled includes the shaming and dismissing of accusers, especially if they are women. The #MeToo movement has prompted a watershed moment of courageous women speaking out about the abuse theyve suffered, in turn forcing many men to confront how their actions or obliviousness contributed to perpetuating that abuse. Alleging to have been sexually assaulted or harassed doesnt confer upon the accuser an automatic right to be believed without questions. But every allegation must be taken seriously and investigated on its own merits, with the accuser treated with dignity and fairness. Allegations and denials, especially involving powerful public figures, must be thoroughly investigated by the press. This brings us to former Vice President Joseph Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, who has been accused by a former staffer of sexually assaulting her 27 years ago. Tara Reade, who worked for then-Sen. Biden from late 1992 into 1993, says the assault happened when the two were alone in a hallway on Capitol Hill and Biden pressed her against a wall, put his hand under her skirt and penetrated her with his fingers. In the spring of 2019, Reade was one of eight women who accused Biden of making them feel uncomfortable by touching them in inappropriate ways, such as kissing them on the back of the head, rubbing noses or hugging them too long. Reade said that Biden touched her shoulder and neck in a way that made her feel uncomfortable. Biden acknowledged these complaints by saying, The boundaries of protecting personal space have been reset and I get it. I get it. I hear what theyre saying, I understand it, and Ill be much more mindful. Reades first public allegation of the assault was on a progressive podcast a few weeks ago. At least one of her friends says that Reade told her about the assault contemporaneously. For an article published April 12, Reades brother told the Washington Post he remembered his sister telling him Biden had been inappropriate. But days after the interview, he told the Post he also remembered her saying Biden had put his hands under her clothes. Reade also told the New York Times she filed a complaint with the congressional personnel office alleging harassment not assault against Biden but that she doesnt have a copy. As of now, the paperwork hasnt been found. On Friday, in an unequivocal denial of the allegations, Biden asked the National Archives to release any documents related to Reades complaint. When notified that personnel records are under control of the U.S. Senate, Bidens campaign and his personal attorney asked the secretary of the Senate to search for any relevant records and release them to the public. However, they were told by the Senate secretary that she has no legal obligation to release them. Allegations of sexual assault or harassment cant be seen through the subjective lens of politics. A persons credibility shouldnt be weighed, one way or the other, by the politics or party of the person who has been accused. To ignore the allegations of groping or sexual assault made by a dozen women against President Donald Trump but then rush to give uncritical support of Reade is as wrong as backing the allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh made by Christine Blasey Ford but then summarily dismissing those made by Reade. Several news outlets have reported and published stories about Reade and continue to investigate her allegations. If shes telling the truth, she deserves to have her story told and amplified, and Biden should end his presidential campaign. If Biden is being falsely accused, he deserves vindication. The truth is that except for the two of them, none of us knows the truth. Only through a complete release of relevant documents, if they exist, and full divulgence of the facts, as they exist, can any of us make an unbiased assessment of who we think is truthful. Apple continues to look for ways in which it can use its platforms and power to help in the struggle against COVID-19; now, it has poured $10 million from its Advanced Manufacturing Fund into sample collection kit manufacturer COPAN Diagnostics. A big increase in production While some find it hard to accept, COVID-19 looks to be part of life for some time to come, and in order to return to something like normal all countries need to massively expand their testing regimes. You see this in Australia, where infection and casualty rates have at last shrunk to a point at which it seems rational to begin opening for business again though with extensive testing at every Apple retail store. The challenge is that we need to ramp up the manufacturing of test kits. This is what Apple hopes to help with under the new investment. COPAN Diagnostics currently makes several thousand sample collection kits a week. But the new money should help it ramp manufacturing up to more than a million kits per week by early July, Apple said. These will be made available to hospitals across the U.S. Take a look at this post for an idea as to why these collection kits matter. More than the money Apple isnt just throwing money at the wall and hoping it will stick the company is getting deeply involved in the task. Not only is it supporting COPANs expansion into a larger manufacturing facility in California, it is also helping the company design advanced new manufacturing equipment. In a statement, Apples chief operating officer, Jeff Williams, said: We feel a deep sense of responsibility to do everything we can to help medical workers, patients, and communities support the global response to COVID-19. This certainly seems to be the case, given the numerous actions the company has taken and continues to take in response to the crisis. And while there is a case to argue that the worlds wealthiest people and companies should all dig really deep at a time of human struggle, it is refreshing to see this one try to meet that challenge. Apples teams seem to have been incredibly focused on the task since the gravity of the challenge became clear. Apple takes responsibility others should emulate this It has made dozens of changes across its platforms, created a COVID-19 information and symptom checking website, donated tens of millions of dollars, distributed millions of face shields and sourced more than 30 million face masks for healthcare professionals in hard-hit areas. It is also working with Google to develop a contact-tracing solution that provides health authorities with the information they need while also protecting user privacy. It is unfortunate that the UK, with the worlds second highest death rate, has neglected to choose that solution in a triumph of exceptionalism. Everything Apple has done and continues to do is a message to any enterprise that when you lead with positive vision at the top, youll often find that vision echoes across your company, customers and partners: I couldnt be prouder of our teams for bringing all of their energy, passion, and innovative spirit to supporting the countrys COVID-19 response, Williams said. What is COPAN? COPAN is a global player in the field of specimen collection and preservation for infectious disease diagnostics. The sample collection kits it makes have revolutionized the diagnostic industry and play a critical role in the COVID-19 testing process, the partners explain. Norman Sharples, CEO of COPAN Diagnostics: Collection and transport kits are a critical component in the fight against COVID-19. At COPAN, were excited and grateful for this partnership with Apple as our strong beliefs of innovation, quality, and excellence in manufacturing and design are perfectly aligned. Apples operational expertise will help us increase delivery of important pre-analytical tools for medical professionals across the country at this critical time. The company has pushed itself to address the challenges of the pandemic. In February, an executive revealed that the companys staff massively increased their working shifts in an attempt to cope with the demand for its kits, moving to seven-day shifts. The company is not alone in this market, with similar demands across all manufacturers. Smaller tech firms are also exploring new ways in which they can improve the testing process. Please explore these additional reports for insights on how best to manage the current situation: Please follow me on Twitter, or join me in the AppleHolics bar & grill and Apple Discussions groups on MeWe. CMMB Vision Holdings Limited (HKG:471) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 13% in the last month. But will that heal all the wounds inflicted over 5 years of declines? Unlikely. In fact, the share price has tumbled down a mountain to land 99% lower after that period. The recent bounce might mean the long decline is over, but we are not confident. The fundamental business performance will ultimately determine if the turnaround can be sustained. We really feel for shareholders in this scenario. It's a good reminder of the importance of diversification, and it's worth keeping in mind there's more to life than money, anyway. Check out our latest analysis for CMMB Vision Holdings We don't think CMMB Vision Holdings's revenue of US$7,153,000 is enough to establish significant demand. We can't help wondering why it's publicly listed so early in its journey. Are venture capitalists not interested? As a result, we think it's unlikely shareholders are paying much attention to current revenue, but rather speculating on growth in the years to come. Investors will be hoping that CMMB Vision Holdings can make progress and gain better traction for the business, before it runs low on cash. As a general rule, if a company doesn't have much revenue, and it loses money, then it is a high risk investment. We can see that they needed to raise more capital, and took that step recently despite the fact that it would have been dilutive 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). Some CMMB Vision Holdings investors have already had a taste of the bitterness stocks like this can leave in the mouth. CMMB Vision Holdings had liabilities exceeding cash when it last reported, according to our data. That put it in the highest risk category, according to our analysis. But since the share price has dived -64% per year, over 5 years , it looks like some investors think it's time to abandon ship, so to speak, even though the cash reserves look a little better with the capital raising. The image below shows how CMMB Vision Holdings's balance sheet has changed over time; if you want to see the precise values, simply click on the image. Story continues SEHK:471 Historical Debt May 7th 2020 Of course, the truth is that it is hard to value companies without much revenue or profit. Given that situation, would you be concerned if it turned out insiders were relentlessly selling stock? I'd like that just about as much as I like to drink milk and fruit juice mixed together. It costs nothing but a moment of your time to see if we are picking up on any insider selling. A Different Perspective We regret to report that CMMB Vision Holdings shareholders are down 78% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 11%. 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. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 64% per year over five years. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand CMMB Vision Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 4 warning signs with CMMB Vision Holdings , and understanding them should be part of your investment process. 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. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on HK 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. Pastor Chuck Salvo delivers his sermon to the congregation during a drive-in service at On Fire Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., on April 5, 2020. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images) Federal Court Allows Californias Ban on In-Person Services Amid Pandemic A federal judge has allowed California to enforce its ban on in-person religious services in the interest of public health amid the CCP virus pandemic. Judge John Mendez of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California on Tuesday denied Cross Culture Christian Centers request for relief from state and county stay-at-home orders that require residents to remain in their places of residence and prohibit gatherings deemed non-essential. Earlier this year, the church filed a lawsuit against California Gov. Gavin Newsom, as well as county and city officials to challenge the orders, alleging that they infringe on the congregants constitutional and statutory rights to speak, assemble, and practice their religion as they wish. This came after Pastor Jonathan Duncan and the church received warnings that it was in violation of the orders after Duncan continued to assemble with congregants. In late March, police officers posted a notice on the building explaining that their non-essential use of the facility was a public nuisance. Local officials also warned the churchs landlord that they would face penalties if they continued to let their tenant use the building. Duncan returned to Cross Culture Christian Center on April 5 to find that his landlord had changed the locks. In the complaint, the church asked the court to block enforcement of the orders as long as Cross Culture Christian complies with the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions social-distancing guidelines while conducting the services. Mendez found in favor of Newsom and local officials, saying that the orders flow from valid exercises of state and local emergency police powers and therefore did not infringe on constitutional rights. He also said that the church was not able to show that the state and local officials had targeted them in their orders. Even in times of health, government officials must often strike the delicate balance between ensuring public safety and preserving the Constitutions fundamental guarantees. The judiciary plays an important role in ensuring that balance is permissibly struck, Mendez wrote. During public health crises, new considerations come to bear, and government officials must ask whether even fundamental rights must give way to a deeper need to control the spread of infectious disease and protect the lives of societys most vulnerable. Under these rare conditions, the judiciary must afford more deference to officials informed efforts to advance public healtheven when those measures encroach on otherwise protected conduct; even when thoughtful minds could disagree about how to best balance the scales, he added. Duncan told the Associated Press in a statement that he was disappointed by the ruling but will continue to fight for the right to worship. It is time for pastors and religious leaders across the state to rise up and start pushing back against these draconian stay-at-home orders that completely fail to take into account the true essentiality of religion in our society, he said in the statement. This comes at a time when many local and state officials across the country have taken action to stop people of faith from gathering, in an effort to slow the spread of the CCP virus pandemic. This has fueled tension between political and religious leaders as they attempt to navigate the uncertainties of how to operate during the pandemic. Attorney General William Barr, who has been vocal about ensuring that lockdown measures do not violate the constitutional rights and civil liberties of Americans, had previously issued a memorandum directing federal prosecutors to be on the lookout for state and local restrictions that could be running afoul of the Constitution. In his memo, Barr said that in the event an ordinance crosses the line between attempts to stop the spread of the virus and violating constitutional and statutory protections, the DOJ may have an obligation to address that overreach in federal court. Many policies that would be unthinkable in regular times have become commonplace in recent weeks, and we do not want to unduly interfere with the important efforts of state and local officials to protect the public, Barr said. But the Constitution is not suspended in times of crisis. The Justice Department has also filed two separate Statement of Interests in support of churches that appeared to be singled out in state or local restrictions that appeared to not be applied neutrally. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 20:14:52|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BAGHDAD, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) on Thursday welcomed the parliament approval of most of Mustafa al-Kadhimi's ministers. It also urged to complete the formation of the cabinet to address the country's challenges. "The government faces an uphill battle, and there is no time to spare. Confronting the economic crisis, further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and falling oil prices, is a top priority," said a statement by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert. However, there are also other long-standing challenges that "must also be tackled without delay. These include adequate public service delivery, fighting corruption, strengthening governance as well as justice and accountability," Hennis-Plasschaert said. Hennis-Plasschaert, who is also UNAMI chief, reaffirmed continued UN support to the Iraqi government in addressing the country's challenges. "The United Nations stands ready to assist in identifying the opportunities and tackling the challenges, and working in partnership with Iraqis to build a prosperous and stable future for their country," she said. Hennis-Plasschaert's statement came hours after al-Kadhimi was sworn in as the new prime minister in Iraq following the approval of the parliament on most of his cabinet members. "It is a difficult stage. The challenges that Iraq faces are great ... but they are not greater than our ability to address them," al-Kadhimi said in his address to the parliament before the voting. After al-Kadhimi's swearing-in, he vowed to "work with the ministerial team to win the trust and support of the people. I hope that all political parties will unite to face difficult challenges." Enditem Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Global Automated Material Handling Equipment Market was valued US$ 29.57 Bn in 2017 and is estimated to reach US$60.11 Bn by 2026 at a CAGR of more than 9.27% during a forecast period. Automated Material Handling Equipment Market by Product segment is classified into Robots, ASRS, Conveyor and Sortation Systems, Cranes, AVG. By System Type Segment classified into Unit Load, Bulk Load. By Function segment classified into Storage, Transportation, Assembly, Packaging, Distribution, and Waste Handling. By Industry segment classified into Automotive, Chemicals, Aviation, Semiconductor & Electronics, E-Commerce, Food & Beverages, Healthcare, Metals, and Heavy Machinery. Geographically split into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. Get Sample Copy Of The Report@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/10775 In terms of Product, Segment Robots is a major share in the Automated Material Handling Equipment Market. Robots are used in the manufacturing industry for a various purpose that is in assembly, machine loading, material removal, order picking, packaging, and waste handling. They help to reduce cost, improve quality, minimize waste, and save space in high-value in the manufacturing industry. Implementing robots significantly increases the efficiency and productivity of manufacturing and warehouse operating companies. Also, reduce labour cost, protect personnel or employees from injuries and deliver a high return on investment. Such advantages are increasing the demand for robots in manufacturing units and warehousing facilities. The most use of unit load material handling systems in various industries is accredited to their cost-effectiveness and ability to handle several items concurrently which decreases the number of trips, a time required for loading and unloading, and cost of handling. Unit load material handling systems involve properly sized items ordered into a single unit that can be relocated easily. It is a quick and economical method to move a large number of items in a single run. These systems help reduce the damage and handling cost and it is more efficient. Automated Material Handling Equipment is used for holding or buffering material over a certain period or when they are not being transported at that time storage segment plays a major role. The storage equipment consists of pallets, shelves, or racks on which materials may be stacked until they are transported. In Automated Material Handling Equipment for storage include warehouse floor space utilization, increased storage speed, efficient handling of heavy items and decreases a frequency of accidents at workplace. These firms required to carry out their manufacturing and assembly operations efficiently by handling a varied variety of components carefully and keeping track of the same. The need for persistent availability of components and spare parts, just-in-time (JIT) delivery of materials and a decrease in the cost of unproductive labour are driving the growth of the market for the automotive industry. A growing level of order customization and personalization is caused to increase demand for Automated Material Handling Equipment. Growing start-up companies offering robotic solutions for warehouse automation. The rising popularity of Automated Material Handling equipment among leading industries. Rising labour cost and safety concerns. High integration and switching costs. It requires skillful workforce for repair and maintenance. Request For Report Discount@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/discount/10775 The Asia Pacific holds the major share in the Global Automated Material Handling Equipment Market. The availability of unskilled labor and lesser production cost are some of the prime enablers which are the major reason for the growth of the manufacturing sector in the country. The increasing awareness related to warehouse automation, increased emphasis of the leading developing economies such as China and India on robotics and automation, and growing e-commerce industry are some of the prime factors contributing to the larger size of Asia Pacific in the Automated Material Handling Equipment Market. The report includes detailed profiles of the prominent market players that are trending in the market. Toyota Industries, Jungheinrich, KION, Daifuku, Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Hanwha, John Bean Technologies, KUKA, BEUMER, Fives, KNAPP, Murata Machinery, SSI Schaefer, TGW, Viastore, among others. Scope of the Global Automated Material Handling Equipment Market Global Automated Material Handling Equipment Market By Product: Robots ASRS Conveyor and Sortation Systems Cranes AGV Global Automated Material Handling Equipment Market By System Type: Unit Load Bulk Load Global Automated Material Handling Equipment Market By Function: Storage Transportation Assembly Packaging Distribution Waste Handling Global Automated Material Handling Equipment Market By Industry: Automotive Chemicals Aviation Semiconductor & Electronics E-Commerce Food & Beverages Healthcare Metals and Heavy Machinery Other Global Automated Material Handling Equipment Market By Region: North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America The Middle East and Africa Key Player analyzed Report: Dematic Murata Machinery SSI Schaefer Vanderlande Siemens AG Bosch Rexroth Swisslog Holding AG SSI Schaefer AG Toyota Industries Corporation JBT Corporation Bastian Solutions, Inc. Daifuku Hyster-Yale Material Handling Jungheinrich KION Hanwha John Bean Technologies KUKA BEUMER Fives KNAPP TGW Viastore Make an Inquiry before Buying@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/checkout/10775/Single TRENTON Facing swift backlash and calls for her resignation from some of New Jerseys top Democrats, councilwoman Robin Vaughn apologized late Wednesday night for her homophobic diatribe saying she let emotions get the best of me. I apologize. That must be the first thing you hear from me, she wrote in a letter to council members posted on her social media pages. I am deeply and specifically sorry for the language that has offended so many. It was also not my intent to attack anyone on the basis of any classification or personal preferences, but I should have been more sensitive to the potential implication of my words and how they might be perceived. Vaughn was caught on tape calling openly gay Mayor Reed Gusciora a pedophile and suggesting he ran young boys through City Hall. She also told councilman Joe Harrison to continue to suck the mayors dick and ranted against his mother calling her a whore, among other insults. Gov. Phil Murphy, Sen. Robert Menendez and Cory Booker, and many other politicians Republicans and Democrats and two gay-rights groups condemned Vaughns comments and called on her to resign. And some West Ward constituents distanced themselves from her while considering whether to take up a recall petition. The West Ward legislator avoided censure Tuesday night. She also received support from the publisher of the Nubian News, who planned to demonstrate outside City Hall on Thursday morning to bring attention to the mayors name-calling. The rally was later canceled. Gusciora has since apologized for calling Vaughn radioactive, idiot, child, little a**hole and suggesting she should be lobotomized. Vaughn, however, did not apologize during Tuesdays meeting. She apparently grew self-reflective the day after, although she did not directly apologize to Gusciora for insulting him in the letter. Gusciora said he was still looking for Vaughn to own up to what he called slanderous and false allegations of pedophilia. Those attacks emboldened others to troll Trentons openly gay mayor online. The personal attacks were referred to State and Trenton Police, Gusciora said. It is what it is, Gusciora said of Vaughns apology. In her letter, Vaughn acknowledged she has a responsibility to lead with dignity, decency and respect. I was out of order, and as a result, we were collectively ineffective in delivering the critical information that is paramount to the safety, care and well-being our our communities in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Vaughn wrote. As Australia faces a looming skills shortage, many school leavers are overlooking traditional trades, unaware that they can provide a grounding for careers in robotics, automation and solar energy. As the federal government talks up the need to pivot towards advanced manufacturing, gaps in the provision of relevant training pathways to achieving that end are now being highlighted. Matthew Kohne is an apprentice with Strategic Engineering. Credit:Rhett Wyman Gary Workman, chief executive of the Global Apprenticeship Network, which represents training organisations that provide businesses with apprentices, said new training opportunities were needed to create pathways into manufacturing jobs that offered a more promising future beyond production lines. Mr Workman said new opportunities in advanced manufacturing relied on traditional skills in trades such as plumbing, welding, electrical, mechanical and sheet metal. Many school leavers, often encouraged by their parents, were choosing university over trade at a time when employers were looking for more hands-on experience. Weve never seen this before. Ive never seen anything slow migration like the coronavirus. Those are the words of Ramon Marquez, in an interview with Kirk Semple of the New York Times. Marquez is the former director of La 72, a shelter in southern Mexico that Semple describes as a popular way station for those traveling from Central America to the United States. Since the end of March, no more than 100 migrants have passed through the shelter. Most of those passing through were, according to Semple, heading south, trying to get back to their homes in Central America. About Semples story, it requires one correction. Or it requires a correction of Marquezs wording. The new coronavirus didnt slow migration into the U.S., rather the panicked reaction of the U.S. political class to the new coronavirus was the cause of reduced migration into the U.S. History supports the previous assertion. Looking back to the late 1960s, American Institute for Economic Research editorial director Jeffrey Tucker writes that the Hong Kong flu reached the U.S. in 1969, only to result in a horrid death toll north of 100,000 people. But in Tuckers words: Stock markets didnt crash. Congress passed no legislation. The Federal Reserve did nothing. Not a single governor acted to enforce social distancing, curve flattening (even though hundreds of thousands of people were hospitalized), or banning of crowds. No mothers were arrested for taking their kids to other homes. No surfers were arrested. No daycares were shut even though there were more infant deaths with this virus than the one we are experiencing now. There were no suicides, no unemployment, no drug overdoses. Tucker would agree that there never could have been a banning of crowds, curve flattening or forced social distancing simply because damaging responses like all three would have led to bankruptcy and unemployment at levels that would make the present carnage seem extraordinarily tame by comparison. In other words, in the 1960s work was a destination for nearly every worker, which means there was no way for politicians to be ridiculous in 1969 without wrecking the life of nearly every American. In modern times, careless politicians have mostly just wrecked the lives of the poor and lower middle classes. With their work in all-too-many instances still defined by meeting the needs of people in public places, theyve suffered this political crack-up the most, along with business owners whove seen their lifes work taken from them. Politicians? They, like millions of well-to-do Americans, can work from anywhere. Though no one has been spared the staggering idiocy of the political class whereby it fought a virus with economic contraction, the advanced nature of the U.S. economy, its advanced state a consequence of economy-boosting technological advances, has positioned it to weather our national political crack-up much better than most countries. Thats all a long way of saying that only political error can bring on mass economic decline. Absent it, people continue to work and produce. They had no choice but to in 1969, which meant the economy continued to expand. In 2020, politicians aided by experts intervened in response to the new coronavirus on the way to mass desperation. Which brings us back to immigration. Marquez ties a lack of it to the virus. No, its once again a consequence of the political classs response to the virus. Command and control has a way of repelling people. More specifically, if your goal is shrinking immigration, have politicians suffocate the economy. Walls wont work. Walls, by their very name, can be walked through, around, under. Goodness, even prisons are escaped with some regularity. Even prison-like countries such as North Korea suffer defections. Walls, moats, barriers and other things like those three are invariably traversed; even if manned by men with guns. Applied to the U.S., Americans would never accept the cost or the symbolism of a fully armed, thousand-mile+ wall, not to mention that Americans would never accept perpetual shutdown of foreign travel stateside. Most of all, Americans would never accept a perpetuation of the command-and-control economic policy that theyre enduring right now, and that is crushing the countrys economic vitality. Since they wouldnt and wont, legal and illegal immigration will always be the norm. People are both an instigator and consequence of economic growth. The U.S. has an immigration problem precisely because its for the longest time had the worlds most dynamic economy. Absent the economic dynamism, immigration is no longer a problem. For the longest time its been said by those who should know better that immigrants are attracted to the U.S. for its welfare state. Really? The previous supposition never really stood up to logic (who would risk life and limb for the state's meager handouts) and empirical evidence. Per Ronald Reagan, facts are stubborn things. Amid massive growth of state handouts, the inflow of migrants from Central America has plummeted. While there were 29,000+ arrests of migrants before the hideous lockdowns began, the number has plummeted since. Per the flow of strivers through La 72, the U.S. is only attractive insofar as its economy is growing. If its contracting, theres little to no inflow to speak of. So while it says here that an inflow of immigrants is always and everywhere a positive sign of a country thats evolving to its betterment, the erection of walls meant to keep out immigrants will fail every time. The only walls that are truly impenetrable arent in any way visible. Theyre a creation of politicians who place barriers to production in front of people such that the people who migrate toward progress start looking elsewhere. The only cost required to keep out immigrants is prosperity. Suffocate the latter and youll never, ever have a problem related to immigration again. AGOURA HILLS, Calif., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) (the "Company"), a leading provider of high-quality single-family homes for rent, today announced that the Board of Trustees declared a dividend of $0.05 per share on the Company's common shares for the second quarter of 2020. The distribution will be payable in cash on June 30, 2020 to shareholders of record on June 15, 2020. The Board of Trustees also declared a per share quarterly distribution on the Company's cumulative redeemable perpetual preferred shares of $0.40625 per share on the 6.5% Series D shares, $0.39688 per share on the 6.35% Series E shares, $0.36719 per share on the 5.875% Series F shares, $0.36719 per share on the 5.875% Series G shares and $0.39063 per share on the 6.25% Series H shares payable in cash on June 30, 2020 to shareholders of record on June 15, 2020. About American Homes 4 Rent American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) is a leader in the single-family home rental industry and "American Homes 4 Rent" is fast becoming a nationally recognized brand for rental homes, known for high-quality, good value and tenant satisfaction. We are an internally managed Maryland real estate investment trust, or REIT, focused on acquiring, developing, renovating, leasing, and operating attractive, single-family homes as rental properties. As of March 31, 2020, we owned 52,776 single-family properties in selected submarkets in 22 states. Additional information about American Homes 4 Rent is available on our website at www.americanhomes4rent.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that relate to beliefs, expectations or intentions and similar statements concerning matters that are not of historical fact and are generally accompanied by words such as "believe," "expect," "will," "intend," "anticipate" or other words that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. These forward-looking statements include the payment and anticipated timing of the payment of distributions of the Company's common and preferred shares. The Company has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations and assumptions about future events. While the Company's management considers these expectations to be reasonable, they are inherently subject to risks, contingencies and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company's control and could adversely affect our cash flows and ability to pay distributions. Additional information about these and other important factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from anticipated results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements is available in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to conform to actual results or changes in expectations, except as required by applicable law. Contact: American Homes 4 Rent Investor Relations Phone: (855) 794-2447 Email: [email protected] SOURCE American Homes 4 Rent Related Links https://www.americanhomes4rent.com San Francisco, May 7 : Uber Technologies, Inc. is laying off some 3,700 full-time employees amid COVID-19, the US ride-hailing company said. The company plans to reduce its operating expenses in response to the economic challenges and uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the company's business, according to Uber's regulatory filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported. Due to lower trip volumes in its rides segment and the company's current hiring freeze, Uber is reducing its customer support and recruiting teams by approximately 3,700 full-time employee roles, the filing said. "With the reality of our rides trips volumes being down significantly, our need for communication operations as well as in-person support is down substantially. And with our hiring freeze, there simply isn't enough work for recruiters," the company's CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a letter to staff. Khosrowshahi also reached an agreement with Uber's Board of Directors, effective May 2, to waive his base salary for the remainder of the year ending December 31, 2020. In connection with these actions, the company estimates that it will incur approximately US $20 million related to severance and other termination benefits. The company is evaluating other cost and will provide an update in subsequent SEC disclosures regarding such amounts if material, said Uber's filing. County officials also read more than half of the 60 comments residents submitted by email and phone ahead of the meeting. Nearly all of them were opposed. I do take a little bit of satisfaction in county staff reading emails about how inept and unethical they were. But it left a lot to be desired from inflection and being able to read the room, said Rod Morgan, a local resident opposed to the project. While the property has been zoned for industrial use for three decades, Wegmans sought to amend special zoning conditions the county adopted in 1995 to protect the surrounding residential community. In exchange for some allowances, such as taller building heights and light poles, Wegmans offered to create larger buffers between the property and surrounding roads and a requirement for its trucks to use only Sliding Hill Road. It also offered to help pay for road improvements in the area. Supervisors who voted for the new proffers said they think it will help protect the community better than the current zoning conditions. After the vote, Supervisor W. Canova Peterson sought to clarify that the county did not choose the location for the project. The first Air India Express flight carrying Indian citizens from Abu Dhabi landed at the Kochi airport on Thursday night as India launched its biggest ever repatriation exercise in its history to bring back its nationals stranded abroad amid the international travel lockdown over the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. The Air India Express flight IX 452 with 181 passengers landed at the Cochin International Airport (CIAL) at 10.09 pm, news agency PTI reported quoting an airline spokesman. First flight of #VandeBharatMission has landed at Kochi with 181 passengers. A moment to cherish the leadership of @PMOIndia @narendramodi ji & @DrSJaishankar ji which made this complex mission possible. Kudos to #TeamMEA & sister ministries for their tireless efforts! pic.twitter.com/MSidtZ4fvl V Muraleedharan (@VMBJP) May 7, 2020 Taking to micro-blogging website, Twitter, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said, "First flight of Vande Bharat Mission has landed at Kochi with 181 passengers. A moment to cherish the leadership of PM Narendra Modi ji and S Jaishankar ji which made this complex mission possible. Kudos to Team MEA and sister ministries for their tireless efforts!" Another Air India Express flight IX 344 with over 180 passengers from Dubai is expected to land at the Kozhikode International Airport at on Thursday night, he said. The evacuated citizens will be sent to the quarantine facilities set up by the administration in their respective districts, Kerala government officials said. Drug dealers are disguising themselves as joggers during lockdown, according to a gangs expert. (Getty Images) Drug dealers are exploiting the coronavirus lockdown by dressing as joggers or using fake NHS ID badges to move around freely, according to an expert on gangs. Professor Simon Harding, director of the National Centre for Gang Research at the University of West London, said "county lines" gangs are finding new ways of doing business during the pandemic. The academic said many dealers are "heeding government advice on social distancing", turning to social media, "drive-by sales" or letterbox drops to avoid infection. But some have dressed as joggers to avoid police detection, while others have made fake NHS ID badges to continue street dealing, according to Prof Harding. Some drug dealers are believed to have dressed as joggers to avoid police detection. (Getty Images) "On one hand they really are heeding government advice on social distancing, but at the same time it is business as usual and as people were panic-buying food, dealers were running bulk deals and selling lockdown party packs," he said. "Vehicles are being used more often to carry out deals arranged by phone, with products thrown from windows and money chucked on the back seat to keep items clean. Prof Harding said the lockdown and travel restrictions are affecting the "county lines" gang model which sees young and vulnerable people used as couriers to move drugs and cash between cities and smaller towns. 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 The new tactics have also led to a reduction in so-called "cuckooing" where gang members take over the home of a vulnerable person to cut, sort and deal drugs because it is seen as too risky for health, he explained. "Sending groups of young lads out to Southend-on-Sea by train to carry drugs is too risky now, so increasingly dealers are driving runners around, or hiring local people to do the job," said Harding. "Street gangs are being forced to find new tactics, such as shifting grooming and recruitment online to social media. Story continues "This means young people can become ensnared in dangerous gang activity from their phones while their families have no idea and that is a worry. Last month, National Crime Agency director general Lynn Owens said prices are rising with fewer drugs entering into the UK. She said some drug dealers are trying to disguise themselves as key workers by wearing high visibility clothing or operating from supermarket car parks as they adapt to the coronavirus lockdown. "They are having to find new ways of working and new networks," Owens said. "Drug dealers moving illicit drugs are concerned about greater scrutiny as they recognise that with less people on the streets, they are more visible." On 14 April, UK Border Force officials found 14 kg of cocaine stashed among two consignments of facemasks after stopping a Polish van driver near Calais. Coronavirus: what happened today Click here to sign up to the latest news, advice and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter Some angry youth of Adabraka Odorna in Accra who have been incensed by the death of a fellow resident have vandalised the Adabraka police station. The residents blamed the police for the death of a man who fell and drowned in the Odaw drain. Scores of the residents besieged the police station with the body of the deceased man after the incident at the drain. They chanted angrily to express their displeasure over the issue. According to the Assemblyman for the area, Hendrick Noble Kinnah, he heard about the incident on Wednesday evening at around 5:41 PM. He had been told the deceased resident fell into the Odaw drain while being pursued by police who were trying to arrest him. He fell into the Odaw drain and he couldn't swim backThere were police who came to make arrests and he ran and fell into the drain, Mr. Kinnah told Citi News. He further said some residents accused the police of causing the death saying it is the policeman who pushed him into the water [the drain]. Upon hearing of the incident, he said he first made his way to the Adabraka police station where he saw a police officer who had been assaulted. I saw two policemen here. One had been beaten and he had blood on his mouth. There is currently heavy police and military presence at the Adabraka Police station. ---citinewsroom YEREVAN, 7 MAY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 7 May, USD exchange rate up by 1.17 drams to 483.14 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 1.94 drams to 521.74 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.07 drams to 6.55 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 0.77 drams to 597.26 drams. The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals. Gold price down by 61.12 drams to 26274.59 drams. Silver price up by 5.60 drams to 234.16 drams. Platinum price down by 219.90 drams to 11572.32 drams. In the Czech Republic, a cyber attack halted all urgent surgeries and rerouted critical patients in a busy hospital fighting Covid-19. In Germany, a food delivery company fell victim to a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. In the US, workers received a slew of phishing attacks after the passing of a government relief bill. Photo by Sebastiaan Stam from Pexels Focus Area 1: Ensure that the organisations incident response protocols reflect the altered operating conditions and are tested early Focus Area 2: Ensure that all remote access capabilities are tested and secure and endpoints used by workers are patched Focus Area 3: Reinforce the need for remote workers to remain vigilant to socially engineered attacks Focus Area 4: Ensure security monitoring capabilities are tuned to have visibility of the expanded operating environment Focus Area 5: Engage with security services vendors to evaluate impacts to the security supply chain Focus Area 6: Account for cyber-physical systems security challenges Focus Area 7: Dont forget employee information and privacy Despite the current global pandemic, cyber attackers have made it clear theyre not taking any time off. Now that many workers have shifted to working remotely and organisations are distracted trying to handle the virus, security and risk management teams need to be more vigilant than ever.During pandemics, organisations are focused on employee health and business continuity, says Richard Addiscott, senior director analyst at Gartner. Take preemptive steps to ensure the resiliency and security of your organisations operations as attackers seek to exploit human nature and nonstandard operating modes.In a sea of overwhelming priorities, security and risk teams should focus on seven areas.Given that most of the security and risk team is now operating in completely different environments and mindsets, incident response plans and protocols might become obsolete or need to be adjusted. Even incidents that would normally be well-managed risks can become bigger issues if the team cant respond effectively.Begin by reviewing the response team. Ensure that primary, secondary and alternate roles are filled and that everyone has access to the equipment they need to be effective. This is also a good time to reach out to suppliers to see what hardware they have and whether you can get it to the right people if needed.Review all documentation and conduct a walk-through with a careful watch for any problem areas. If the organisation does not already have a cybersecurity incident response capability, consider using the services of a managed security service provider instead of trying to stand up a new system.Given how quickly most organisations found themselves moving to remote work, it makes sense that security teams would not have had time to perform basic endpoint hygiene and connectivity performance checks on corporate machines. Further complicating the matter are employees who are working on personal devices.Ensure that corporate laptops have the minimum viable endpoint protection configurations for off-LAN activity. Security and risk teams should also be cautious with access to corporate applications that store mission-critical or personal information from personally owned devices.Where possible, they should confirm whether personal devices have adequate anti-malware capabilities installed and enabled. If not, they should work with the employee and their corporate endpoint protection platform vendor to ensure the device is protected as soon as possible.Other mechanisms such as software-token based multi-factor authentication will also be useful to ensure only authorised personnel have access to corporate applications and information remotely.On a strategic level, make sure someone from the security team is part of the crisis management working group to provide guidance on security concerns and business-risk-appropriate advice.The reality is that employees will have more distractions than usual, whether its having kids at home, worrying about family or concerns about their own health. Theyre also operating in a different environment, and might not be as vigilant about security during a time where cybercriminals will exploit the chaos.Make sure you reach out to senior leaders with examples of target phishing attacks, and alert employees to the escalating cyberthreat environment. Remind them that they must remain focused and hyper-vigilant to suspicious activities.If appropriate, send out reminders every two weeks and remind them of the location of pertinent documents such as remote and mobile working policies, as well as where they can access security awareness training material if they want a refresher. Further, clearly communicate who to contact and what to do if employees suspect a cyberattack.The sudden relocation of much of the workforce (including security and risk management teams) to remote locations creates the potential for cybersecurity teams to miss events.Ensure that your monitoring tools and capabilities are providing maximum visibility. Check that internal security monitoring capabilities and log management rule sets enable full visibility. If using managed security services providers, check in to make sure they are adapting their monitoring and logs in a manner that makes sense for the new operating landscape.The changes in the security landscape wont just come from your own organisation. Be aware of what your partners and supply chain are actively doing with regard to security that will affect your organisation.Confirm how they will be securing collected data and information from the business. Remember that each of these organisations has their own people to worry about and their own business concerns. Ask questions about where third-party organisations might fail to deliver on promised security services.Covid-19 is stressing many pieces of the economy, from hospitals and healthcare to delivery services and logistics. This extends cybersecurity concerns to cyber-physical challenges, especially given the increase in automated services and systems.For example, a robot in a hospital will help reduce the human workload, but must also be deployed safely. In the legal world, firms are asking employees to disable smart speakers and voice assistants. Security and risk teams should focus on ensuring foundational CPS/OT security hygiene practices such as asset discovery and network segmentation and evaluating the risk of fixing a vulnerability against the risk, likelihood and impact of an attack to prioritise scarce resource deployments.Organisations may collect employee information that relates directly to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, organisations might want to record when an employee visits a risk area or is home with an illness.First, all this information is subject to laws and industry rules. Beyond that, organisations should seek to collect the least amount of information possible, ensure it is factual and store it in a secure manner. This information should be disclosed only when required by law and within the organisation only on a need-to-know basis. By Trend The price of Azeri LT CIF Augusta, produced at the Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli (ACG) oil field, amounted to $29.47 per barrel on May 6, which is $0.07 less compared to May 5, Trend reports with reference to the source from country's oil and gas market. The price of Azeri LT FOB Ceyhan amounted to $28.44 per barrel on May 6, which is $0.05 less compared to May 5. Azerbaijan has been producing Azeri LT since 1997 and exporting it via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) and Baku-Supsa Western Export Pipeline, as well as by rail, to the Georgian port of Batumi. Azerbaijan also sells its URALS oil from the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, delivering it through the Baku-Novorossiysk oil pipeline. The price of URALS with shipment from the port amounted to $26.88 per barrel on May 6, which is $0.51 less compared to May 5. The cost of a barrel of Brent Dated oil, produced in the North Sea, amounted to $23.02 per barrel, indicating a decrease of $0.82. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz COVID-19 office closures, economic downturn highlight vital importance of time and SSDI applications for former workers with disabilities, says disability expert Allsup during May Belleville, Illinois, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Disability Insurance Awareness Month in May highlights the importance of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) as a financial and economic backstop, particularly in managing an unexpected risk such as the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many people do not understand the need to apply for benefits as early as possible, according to Allsup, the nations premier provider of Social Security Disability Insurance representation services. When people experience a severe, disabling health condition, they wait an average of 7.6 months before applying for benefits, according to the Social Security Administration. But waiting only makes the process harder. Many people fall into financial ruin, experience foreclosure, and rack up huge medical debts while being unable to work, said Steve Perrigo, Vice President at Allsup. With an estimated 600,000 people waiting for a decision at the initial level, which typically takes 4-6 months, people with severe injuries or illnesses should find out immediately if theyre likely to be qualified for SSDI before they get stuck in this backlog. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, 40% of workers have access to short-term disability insurance and 34% have access to private long-term disability coverage through their employer. Nearly 156 million workers who paid FICA payroll taxes are insured for SSDI benefits. However, many Americans are not familiar with this program, and the application process can be extremely complex and have different criteria than private disability insurance. Two-thirds of former workers who apply for the first time are denied, often due to paperwork mistakes and technical errors. Subsequent appeals levels can take up to 500 days or longer before they receive a decision. Story continues Allsup has helped more than 325,000 people receive their SSDI benefits. The online tool empower by Allsup combines an SSDI assessment for eligibility and Social Security disability application support, along with return-to-work guidance for those who may medically recover. Customers experience a 97% approval rate if they complete the process with Allsup. Find more information about how to apply for disability benefits or returning to work with a disability, visit TrueHelp.com. To get started with your SSDI eligibility assessment, go to FileSSDI.Allsup.com. ABOUT ALLSUP Allsup and its subsidiaries provide nationwide Social Security disability, veterans disability appeal, return to work, and healthcare benefits services for individuals, their employers and insurance carriers. Allsup professionals deliver specialized services supporting people with disabilities and seniors so they may lead lives that are as financially secure and as healthy as possible. Founded in 1984, the company is based in Belleville, Illinois, near St. Louis. Learn more at TrueHelp.com and @Allsup or download a free PDF of Applying for Social Security Disability Insurance: Getting It Right The First Time. Attachment Rebecca Ray Allsup (618) 236-5065 r.ray@allsup.com Victoria Shockley Pinkston (919) 780-9727 victoria.shockley@pinkston.co Childcare providers have been told their insurance will not cover them for Covid-19 claims if they take part in the new Government childcare scheme. From May 18 the scheme intends to provide childcare in the home for 5,000 essential healthcare workers. However, this morning broker Arachas wrote to childcare providers saying a Covid-19 exclusion would be applied to their insurance if they take part. Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore is calling on the Government to provide a solution as soon as possible: She says the scheme is "unworkable" if a childcare provider is not covered by insurance they will not be able to participate. The Wicklow TD says the Government needs to talk with insurance companies and stakeholders as "a matter of urgency" to find a solution. She says the childcare scheme needs to "get up and running as quickly as possible." 'None of us can say that it is safe': Further concerns raised about new childcare plan for frontline workers Childcare workers are raising concerns about the Governments new childcare initiative for those on the frontline. Under the plans, 5,000 essential healthcare workers will receive 45 hours of childcare per week in their home, from providers who are willing to do it. The childcare workers will be paid 15 an hour and most of the cost will be covered by the State. She says: "None of us can say that it is safe because the virus is still very much out there. "We hear these reports every evening about the numbers of cases and I don't think the department can say it is safe." Childcare providers 'fearful' of health implications for new government plan Childcare providers say they are 'fearful' of the health implications of the Government's new plan to provide the service in the homes of healthcare workers. Applications open today for the scheme, and 5,000 workers are being asked to take part. It will be rolled out from May 18 and participating households will pay 90 a week - the rest will be funded by the State. Elaine Dunne from the Federation of Early Childcare Providers says there are a lot of unanswered questions around it. Childcare workers have a number of questions about what will be required of them. She says: "The inital reaction is: 'How is it going to work? What mechanisms are they going to put in place?' "Do we have to have PPE, equipment? That's stuff we haven't had the answer to at the moment. "The other thing is will we know the family? Will the family know us? Will the children know us?" Sudbury, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 7, 2020) - Rockcliff Metals Corporation (CSE: RCLF) (FSE: RO0) (WKN: A2H60G) ("Rockcliff" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the completion of its phase four drill program at the Company's Bur Property located in central Manitoba. The drill program was successful in identifying additional shallow, near surface, high-grade Zinc-Copper mineralization along strike of the historcial Bur Zinc-Copper Deposit. Rockcliff is presently earning a 100% interest in the Bur Property. Rockcliff's President and CEO Alistair Ross commented: "Our phase four drill program has shown great promise in extending the known mineralization of the historical Bur Zinc-Copper Deposit. The drilling has identified shallow high-grade mineralization above 150 metres vertical over a distance of more than 500 metres in an underexplored area south of the high-grade deposit. We look forward to continuing to advance the property as we near our 100 % earn-in requirement of $3 million. Given our current copper focus, we are particularly interested in the number of copper assays over 2% in this area." Significant down the hole assays from Rockcliff's phase four drill program are included in the following table: Hole # From (m) To (m) Length (m) Zinc % Copper % Gold g/t Silver g/t ZnEq* RBU050 72.24 73.65 1.41 3.10 1.36 0.02 4.13 4.75 RBUR52 115.25 116.20 0.95 0.09 1.46 0.02 11.86 4.37 RBU053 84.60 85.25 0.65 1.25 3.23 0.04 10.19 10.37 RBU054 122.53 124.15 1.62 1.65 1.55 0.02 8.44 6.10 RBU055 91.30 92.15 0.85 1.21 0.98 0.02 4.06 4.01 RBU056 90.70 92.80 2.10 6.18 1.83 0.05 15.82 11.60 RBU057 137.57 138.50 0.93 3.31 1.40 0.05 14.78 7.53 RBU058 91.80 95.40 3.60 1.42 2.45 0.05 19.60 8.62 includes 92.20 95.10 2.90 1.75 2.75 0.05 20.86 9.79 RBU059 92.74 96.00 3.26 6.68 2.34 0.04 16.79 13.51 includes 92.74 94.90 2.16 10.05 2.58 0.05 23.36 17.69 RBU060 106.81 108.67 1.86 3.06 3.39 0.05 10.70 12.82 RBU062 83.42 84.33 0.91 11.96 3.18 0.05 19.23 21.14 RBU063 101.37 103.94 2.57 1.94 1.41 0.17 50.96 7.21 RBU064 90.48 92.42 1.94 9.98 1.90 0.02 10.72 15.64 includes 90.86 91.72 0.86 22.06 2.12 0.04 17.30 28.28 RBU065 102.35 104.06 1.71 7.26 2.06 0.05 12.39 13.25 includes 102.94 104.06 1.12 11.05 3.01 0.07 15.72 19.73 (m) = metres represents down the hole widths as true widths are not currently known, % = percentage, g/t = grams per tonne, *ZnEq = zinc equivalent values used: US$1.10/pound zinc, US$3.00/pound copper, US$1350/ troy ounce gold ($43.40/gram) and US$16.50 /per ounce silver ($0.53/gram). ZnEq = Zn grade (%) + [Cu grade (%) X Cu price per lb / Zn price per pound] + [Pb grade (%) X Pb price per lb / Zn price per pound] + [Au grade (gpt) X Au price per gram / Zn price per tonne]X 100 + [Ag grade (gpt) X Ag price per gram / Zn price per tonne] X 100. No process recoveries or smelter payables were included in the calculation. The numbers may not add up due to rounding. Holes numbered RBU049, 51 and 61 did not return significant values. Figure 1: Longitudinal Projection of Bur Zinc-Copper Deposit (dark red), Surrounding Mineralized Envelope (pale red) and 2020 Drill Hole Pierce Points with Assay Intervals To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3071/55518_a8800a77749458e7_001full.jpg A report was prepared on the Bur Property in 2007. Rockcliff is treating the estimate of mineral resources on the Bur Zinc-Copper Deposit Report as an "historical estimate" under NI 43-101 and not as a current mineral resource. Historical Resource, Bur Zinc-Copper Deposit, Snow Lake, Manitoba: Resource Tonnes Zn (%) Cu (%) Ag (g/t) Au (g/t) Indicated 1,050,000 8.6 1.9 12.1 0.05 Inferred 302,000 9.0 1.4 9.6 0.08 ____________________________________________________________________________ Notes: 1. CIM definitions were followed for the estimation of mineral resources. 2. Mineral resources are estimated at a zinc equivalent cut-off of 5%. 3. Cut-off grade was based on a zinc price of US$1.15 per pound and a copper price of US$2.35 per pound. 4. Given the tonnage, grade and orientation of the deposit, AMEC considered the Bur Deposit to be reasonably amenable to extraction using underground mining methods. 5. Specific Gravity measurements used to estimate the mineral resource tonnes ranged from 2.64 to 3.74 with an average of 3.16. 6. A minimum mining width of 3 metres was used. 7. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. 8. The deposit was documented in a report dated October 1, 2007 and titled "Bur Project, Snow Lake Manitoba, Canada NI 43-101 Technical Report" (the "Bur Deposit Report"). The report was prepared for Hudbay by AMEC and was filed on Hudbay's SEDAR profile on January 31, 2008. Historical estimates of grade and tonnage disclosed in this press release are viewed as reliable and relevant based on the information and methods used at the time. The 2007 NI 43-101 Bur Deposit Report was prepared in compliance with resource definitions under NI 43-101 but must be considered only as historic resources as neither Rockcliff nor its Qualified Persons have done sufficient work to classify the historic estimate as a current mineral resource under current mineral resource or mineral reserve terminology and are not treating the historic estimate as a current mineral resource. The historic resource should not be relied upon. Additional work including surface geophysics, drilling and bore hole geophysics will need to be completed to upgrade the historical resource to current. The historical Bur Zinc-Copper Deposit is a narrow stratiform, distal, massive sulphide volcanogenic massive sulphide ("VMS") deposit that occurs within a turbidite assemblage of interbedded metagreywacke, metasiltstone and graphitic meta-argillite in a basinal area situated between two granitic intrusions. The northeast striking deposit dips 60-70 degrees northwest, ranges from <0.3metres up to 5 metres thick and to date has a known lateral extent of approximately 4,500 metres. Historic and recent drilling throughout the Bur Property has encountered near surface, disseminated, semi-massive and massive sulphide mineralization below shallow overburden along a strike length of over 8,000 metres and to a vertical depth of 950 metres. Mineralization consists of sphalerite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, pyrite, galena and arsenopyrite. The Bur Zinc-Copper Deposit is open in all directions and contains up to 20% felsic or cherty nodules consisting of wall-rock and late quartz fragments displaying a brecciated texture to the mineralization. The Bur Zinc-Copper Deposit may be amendable to ore sorting technology where unmineralizaed diluted waste rock is selectively removed from mineralized ore to enhance the quality and grade of the material that could trucked and made available to a processing facility. Additional drill hole information from Rockcliff's phase four drill program is highlighted below: Hole # UTM-E UTM-N Dip Azimuth Length-metres RBUR049 457381 6090588 -50 130 87.0 RBUR050 457381 6090588 -63 130 107.0 RBUR051 457353 6090567 -55 130 135.0 RBUR052 457327 6090586 -63 130 151.0 RBUR053 457313 6090532 -48 130 124.0 RBUR054 457267 6090521 -65 130 151.0 RBUR055 457276 6090509 -49 130 115.0 RBUR056 457242 6090469 -50 130 121.0 RBUR057 457190 6090450 -64 130 175.0 RBUR058 457205 6090435 -49 130 124.0 RBUR059 457146 6090361 -48 130 124.0 RBUR060 457146 6090361 -63 130 136.0 RBUR061 457190 6090380 -55 130 139.0 RBUR062 457109 6090305 -49 130 124.0 RBUR063 457109 6090305 -67 130 133.0 RBUR064 457044 6090232 -49 130 127.0 RBUR065 457044 6090232 -67 130 148.0 Rockcliff is earning a 100% interest from Hudbay by spending $3.0M over a 4 year period on the Bur property. Please refer to the Company's news release on Sedar dated September 26, 2016 for specific terms of the option agreement Quality Control and Quality Assurance Samples of half core were packaged and shipped directly from Rockcliff's field office to TSL Laboratories (TSL), in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. TSL is a Canadian assay laboratory and is accredited under ISO/IEC 17025. Each bagged core sample was dried, crushed to 70% passing 10 mesh and a 250g pulp is pulverized to 95% passing 150 mesh for assaying. A 0.5g cut is taken from each pulp for base metal analyses and leached in a multi acid (total) digestion and then analyzed for copper, lead, zinc and silver by atomic absorption. Gold concentrations are determined by fire assay using a 30g charge followed by an atomic absorption finish. Samples greater than the upper detection limit (3000 ppb) are reanalyzed using fire assay gravimetric using a 1 AT charge. Rockcliff inserted certified blanks and standards in the sample stream to ensure lab integrity. Rockcliff has no relationship with TSL other than TSL being a service provider to the Company. QP Ken Lapierre P.Geo., VP Exploration 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://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArNsowrnnjA Cannot view this video? Visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArNsowrnnjA 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 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/55518 After common antacid drug Famotidine shot to the limelight for being a potential treatment for Covid-19, the demand surge for the drug has led to a shortage in the US. Some see this as an opportunity for Indian firms like Alembic and Aurobindo that make both the bulk drug and the formulation. Meanwhile, the central government, too, has taken note of the demand and decided to undertake a stock-taking exercise for the drug in case of a sudden export demand, besides procuring for Jan Aushadhi stores. So far, there has not been any significant jump in demand for the ... Republican lawmakers frustrated with continued business closures took the first step toward undercutting Gov. John Bel Edwards' stay-at-home order Wednesday, aiming to revoke the Democrats ability to enforce restrictions in place to stem the spread of the new coronavirus. After a tense, hours-long hearing, the House and Governmental Affairs Committee approved a resolution by state Rep. Blake Miguez, the chair of the House Republican Delegation, to remove Edwards' ability to enforce restrictions on businesses and residents. Instead, it would urge and request local officials to institute federal guidance for reopening, which calls for a slow easing of restrictions, starting with allowing some businesses to open with strict social distancing in place. The intent of this is to take the teeth out of his executive order," Miguez said of his House Concurrent Resolution 58, adding he "strongly believes" certain parishes are ready to reopen. Coronavirus in Louisiana, May 6: Total cases climb past 30K after reporting delay After a delay of more than three hours Louisiana officials reported 403 new cases of coronavirus across the state, bringing the total infected The measure appeared aimed to force Edwards' hand to begin reopening businesses in mid-May, when the governor has said the first phase of reopening could begin. And it revealed more cracks in the relationship between the Democratic governor and deeply-Republican Legislature, as partisan divisions return to the State Capitol after a largely unified front at the beginning of the outbreak. If Edwards begins reopening businesses in mid-May, Miguez indicated he may drop the effort. But in the meantime, Republicans set the effort in motion in case Edwards doesnt lift restrictions to their liking. Miguez received legal advice on his legislation from Republican Attorney General Jeff Landrys office. The governors office blasted the measure, saying it risked hampering the governors efforts to respond to emergencies and enforce things like school closures. Matthew Block, Edwards executive counsel, noted local officials would not be required to institute any rules for reopening, meaning some places could let businesses return to normal operations, a prospect that is widely panned by public health experts. We know theres going to be mass confusion and a hodgepodge response in the biggest public health disaster in probably 100 years, Block said. Jim Waskom, head of the Governors Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said it would bring chaos and confusion to an already chaotic and confusing situation. +3 Editor Peter Kovacs: Why coverage of Louisiana state government 'seems more important than ever' Baton Rouge is usually buzzing when the legislators come to town. Trade groups hold receptions to mingle and press the flesh, and colleges and The committee, which is stacked with Republicans, voted 9 to 7 to advance the resolution to the full House. It would also need approval in the Senate to become effective. While it was supported by several conservatives often at odds with Edwards, the administration has drawn the ire of a wide swath of Republicans for his handling of the stay-at-home order extension. In particular, lawmakers have expressed frustration that they learned about Edwards extension just minutes before he announced it last Monday, even after the governor repeatedly indicated the state would likely start reopening May 1. Speaker Pro Tem Tanner Magee, a Houma Republican, said he was concerned the Legislature was having a hard time getting information like modeling data from the administration, and he grilled Block on what he described as broken lines of communication. Several Republicans also advocated for a parish-by-parish approach to reopening, including Miguez. The governor cited regional data in justifying the continued stay-at-home order, but has rejected opening up the state by region so far. Some Republicans also said Wednesday they were upset the governor and state Fire Marshal Butch Browning recently announced a website that gives businesses guidance on reopening and lets residents report businesses that are violating the stay-at-home order. Miguez called it a tattle-tale website, and Rep. Danny McCormick, a Republican from Oil City who organized the protest outside the governors mansion, likened it to snitching. 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 Neighboring states with rising coronavirus rates reopen, and Louisiana progress is in jeopardy Louisianas place on the steep backside of the coronavirus curve is getting to be the envy of other states, epidemiologically speaking. Before it passed, Miguez amended the measure to try to allay concerns that the resolution, which originally would have revoked the governor's ability to declare an emergency, would hamper his ability to respond to natural disasters. With the changes, the measure would instead block his ability to enforce his order. Under the measure, local officials are "urged and requested" to issue proclamations and executive orders to institute restrictions outlined by the President Donald Trump's administration. The resolution, HCR58, goes now to the full House, where it needs 53 votes in support before heading to the Senate. Edwards has said he is following White House guidance for reopening, arguing the state did not meet thresholds for phase one at the beginning of May. Earlier this week, Edwards said it is his hope and expectation the state will start the reopening on May 16, and he is set to make an announcement Monday. Miguez indicated his goal could be accomplished if that happens. Im going to continue to bring this forward as long as we have a stay-at-home order in place, Miguez said. A group of conservative Republicans who often feud with the governor, led by state Rep. Alan Seabaugh, have also pushed a separate petition that would revoke the state's emergency declaration entirely. The governor's office warned such a move would put billions in federal aid at risk. Still, some Republicans on the House and Governmental Affairs Committee told Miguez his measure didnt go far enough, and that the Legislature should back the petition. Legislative leaders have backed away from the petition because of warnings about its impact on federal aid. The state's stay-at-home order, which shutters bars, casinos, gyms and adds a host of other restrictions to businesses and residents, was set to expire April 30. But epidemiologists and public health experts recommended Edwards extend it, warning the state was not ready to reopen safely. Since the virus was discovered in Louisiana, in early March, the state has stayed near the top of the list in U.S. states for the number of cases per capita. The state also has an outsized death toll, something health officials are investigating. If Louisiana moves to reopen on May 16, when restaurants could begin modified dine-in services and barbershops, salons and churches could open, all at 25% occupancy. Edwards has in recent days pointed to the state's ability to test and track more people. Voting to report the resolution favorably to the full House (9): Reps. Beau Beaullieau IV, R-New Iberia, Les Farnum, R-Sulphur; Foy Bryan Gadberry, R-West Monroe; Charles Henry, R-Jefferson, Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, Dodie Horton, R-Haughton; Barry Ivey, R-Central; Tanner Magee, R-Houma; and Rodney Schamerhorn, R-Hornbeck. Voting against HCR58 (7): Reps Wilford Carter Sr., D-Lake Charles; Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans; Sam Jenkins, D-Shreveport; Mike Johnson, R-Pineville; Jeremy LaCombe, D-Livonia; Candace Newell, D-New Orleans; and Malinda White, D-Bogalusa. In recent years, Texas has emerged as a national leader in cutting crime and closing prisons. Now, as we confront COVID-19, state and local leaders must recognize the health of our fellow Texans behind bars, both those incarcerated and staff, is intertwined with the health of our communities. Coronavirus cases have mushroomed in the state prison system and in local jails, with 70 percent of those tested in Texas prisons found to be positive. The majority of new cases in Bexar County are now attributed to the jail. State prisons house disproportionate numbers of elderly and medically fragile individuals in close quarters with limited sanitary and medical supplies. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which oversees state prisons, has for more than a month declined to accept admissions from county jails. Fortunately, there are solutions that can minimize the potential for loss of life inside our correctional institutions and help ensure they dont become an incubator for community spread. This danger stems from the rapid turnover in county jails, which mostly house pretrial detainees, and the tens of thousands of staff who work at prisons and jails and interact with their families every day. In addition to improving sanitary conditions behind bars consistent with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, freeing up space can reduce the risk to those who remain inside somewhat less-crowded lockups. U.S. Attorney General William Barr, who has never been mistaken for being soft on crime, issued a directive designed to expedite the release of the elderly and medically vulnerable from federal prisons to home confinement, leading to a 70 percent increase in such placements. Texas has a medical parole statute, but it is rarely used. In 2018, medical staff identified some 2,122 Texas prisoners who warrant consideration, but only 63 were released. In contrast, 503 Texas prison inmates died in custody in 2018 and some pass away during the many months that the reviews can take. There are more than 9,600 inmates 60 or older in Texas prisons, and this group continues to increase even as the overall population falls. This trend is a major reason why taxpayers pay $750 million a year for prison health care costs, which included $3.1 million for just the 10 most expensive individuals in 2019. In addition to those 60 and older, there are others who are younger who have chronic health conditions that place them at greater risk of succumbing to COVID-19. Regardless of the context, no one should be paroled without an individualized review that assesses risk with public safety as the top consideration. Fortunately, an evaluation of 188 elderly releases in Maryland found just a 3 percent recidivism rate compared with 40 percent overall. Re-entry support is also essential, and Texas continues to require a valid home plan prior to release, even after parole has been granted. Carefully considered action consistent with public safety is also needed at the local level. In Collin County, conservative Sheriff Jim Skinner has asked police to rein in unnecessary arrests for Class C misdemeanors and instead issue citations. In Houston, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez identified 500 cases of elderly, medically infirm and low-risk nonviolent defendants who could be safely released from a jail of 8,000 people. One is an 82 year-old man who was jailed for seven months as a pretrial detainee for nonviolent drug charges. While some local courts are closed for in-person hearings, they should expedite video hearings as allowed by new Texas Supreme Court guidance. Prioritizing county jail space for public safety is critical given that TDCJ is not accepting admissions and is using the pause to expand testing and medical resources. Moreover, properly vetted individualized consideration of pretrial defendants would reduce taxpayers exposure to federal litigation that both preceded and followed COVID-19, as well as potential wrongful death lawsuits. Back in 2007, it was projected that Texas would spend billions of dollars building prisons, but through smart policies that bolstered proven alternatives such as drug courts, Texas will have closed 10 prisons by the end of this year while achieving more than a 30 percent drop in crime. Indeed, the virus is accelerating crime declines. Ultimately, Texas leaders can be confident that taking data-driven steps to address COVID-19 behind bars can benefit both public health and safety. Marc Levin is chief of policy and innovation for Right on Crime, an initiative of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Kelli Rhee is president of Arnold Ventures. Shimla Mayor Satya Kaundal has home-quarantined herself as a precautionary measure after the return of her daughter-in-law from New Delhi. The Shimla mayor told PTI that she along with her family members have been living in quarantine in their residence near Sajnauli Chowk for the last few days. The mayor said she and her family members resorted to the precautionary measure against the coronavirus spread a few days after her daughter-in-law and nephew returned from Delhi's red zone area on April 28, she added. To a query, she said she kept herself in home quarantine at her own and no doctor had advised her to do so. Kaundal said she had been informed by her close contacts that some people were raising objections over her moving around despite her daughter-in-law and nephew having returned from Delhi. The mayor said, My son is in the USA and his wife works in Delhi. I sent my another son in a car after getting curfew passes to bring her and my nephew to Shimla. They returned from Delhi on April 28 and kept themselves in home quarantine. My nephew has quarantined in his nearby home, she added. The mayor and her husband, however, quarantined themselves for two weeks after some days on their own. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Express News Service KOCHI: Relief was palpable as the first batch of expatriates from the UAE boarded special flights to reach Kerala's Kochi on Thursday - the first day of India's evacuation of citizens stranded abroad. From elderly parents forced to spend an extended vacation in Dubai to pregnant women faced with the challenge of finding medical help, many Keralites flew back to the safety of home. ALSO READ | First flight carrying stranded Indians from Abu Dhabi lands at Kochi Dubai-settled interior designer Abhilash M never thought his parents would get permission to board the flight on Thursday. The news lifted the spirits of his elderly parents, who were supposed to reach their village in Malappuram on April 22 after a three-month vacation. The lockdown hit them hard as Abhilash's father, Chandran Nair, 75, is a cardiac patient and had stocked medicines only for three months. The Tirur-based elderly couple had flown to Dubai on January 26. The extended days in Dubai were stressful. From April 1, we were trying to procure medicines, some of which were not available here. We tried to find substitutes. However, some medicines could not be replaced, Abhilash said over the phone. Hence, he desperately wrote to the Indian Consulate General in Dubai explaining his father's situation. "We were asked to register on Consulate's website. Initially, only my mother's name, Meenakshikutty, 70, figured on the list. After repeated queries, my father too found a place, he said. At 6.30 pm (IST) as Chandran and Meenakshikutty boarded the Kozhikode-bound Air India Express flight, Abhilash heaved a sigh of relief. Like Abhilash, Somi Jose felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders as his wife Sneha Thomas' flight took off on Thursday evening. Sneha, who worked as a nurse in Abu Dhabi, is 35 weeks pregnant. "We had no backup," said Somi over phone. "And if anything (untoward) had happened, it would have been tough for us to manage," he said. Somi said Sneha continued to work till March-end. "But as she entered the seventh month of pregnancy, she stopped working," said Somi. "She was given a complete health check-up even on Thursday morning and was deemed fit by the doctors. Only if the 'fit-for-travel' sticker was affixed on the passport would the passenger be allowed to check-in." Passengers of the first #VandeBharatMission flight from Abu Dhabi in #UAE come out of Kochi airport in #Kerala, late on Thursday. The Air India Express flight had 181 passengers on board. @airindiain@DrSJaishankar@MOS_MEA@NewIndianXpress pic.twitter.com/ZWqfDsdSbP Sovi Vidyadharan (@sovividyadharan) May 7, 2020 During the flight, everyone was wearing masks and gloves. Most of the passengers were elderly, children, and pregnant women. The cabin crew also used PPEs. However, there was no extra space between the seats. "After landing at Karipur airport, health department officials advised us to inform them if we develop any symptom during home quarantine and not to go to the hospital directly," Chandran Nair told The New Indian Express. Polands governing parties have agreed to postpone the countrys presidential election, which was scheduled for the weekend, over concerns about safety due to the coronavirus pandemic. The ruling nationalist party, Law and Justice (PiS), and its junior coalition partner, Accord, reached an agreement on Wednesday to call off the vote in anticipation that the countrys Supreme Court would declare the result invalid because of difficulties with voting in person. Opposition parties had accused PiS of putting political interests ahead of public health by calling for the election to go ahead on Sunday. On Thursday, Polands lower house of parliament gave the green light for the election to be held by postal vote at a later date, potentially in July. A spokesperson for PiS suggested 12 July as a potential new date for the election, while Jacek Sasin, the deputy prime minister, told the radio station RMF FM that the earliest possible date for the vote would be in June. Yesterday, we worked out a solution which is good for Poland, which guarantees safe, fully democratic and transparent elections, Jaroslaw Gowin, Accords party leader, told reporters on Thursday before the parliamentary vote. Opinion polls had suggested that Polands president, Andrzej Duda, who is an ally of PiS, was set to win re-election by a landslide if the vote had gone ahead. Meanwhile, PiS had wanted the election to take place this month due to fears that an expected recession brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic could dent its support and damage Mr Dudas chances of victory. The Polish president said he welcomed the agreement to postpone the election but hoped the rescheduled vote could be held as soon as possible. Anna Materska-Sosnowska, a political scientist at Warsaw University, said the climbdown by the ruling party was unusual. This situation showed that the PiS had to step back for the first time in five years, she told broadcaster TVN24. Under PiS, Poland has clashed with the EU over controversial judiciary reforms, backed by Mr Duda, which the European Commission has said violate democratic norms. The country currently has nearly 15,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 737 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre. Additional reporting by agencies COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. Venturing beyond Washington for the first time since March, Defense Secretary Mark Esper got updated Thursday on the militarys coronavirus battle plan and declared the Pentagon ready for any new wave of infections. We are preparing for a second wave and maybe more, said Esper, who took a variety of health precautions during his visit to U.S. Northern Command headquarters, including wearing a mask when social distancing wasnt possible. We dont know what the trajectory of this virus will be. He added, We are preparing for the long haul. Espers visit comes as he faces criticism from some Senate Democrats who say the Pentagon approach to fighting the coronavirus pandemic has been slow and disjointed. And it reflects Trumps push for a reopening of the country and demonstrations of the administrations shift from crisis management to rebooting a battered economy. Trump ended his isolation in the White House with a trip to Arizona on Tuesday to visit a face mask factory, and Vice President Mike Pence has made several recent trips. Esper met at Northern Command with its leader, Air Force Gen. Terrence OShaughnessy, and participated in a virtual battlefield circulation speaking via video conference with deployed military personnel working in civilian hospitals in New York and Connecticut. OShaughnessy is the most senior commander managing the far-flung military contributions to civilian agencies fighting the pandemic. Esper offered high praise for the work of the thousands of active-duty medical specialists who pitched it at overloaded civilian hospitals. In my view it has been flawless, he said during the video chat. You guys made a great difference. Israel Rocha, chief executive of New Yorks Elmhurst hospital, told Esper that military health care professionals who helped out were invaluable and their arrival was greatly appreciated. It was a turning point, Rocha said. It literally was the cavalry arriving, Esper said. The praise was in contrast to criticism from Congress. A week ago, 10 Senate Democrats, including former presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, complained that he has taken a slow and disjointed approach to the coronavirus problem. In a letter to Esper, they said he may have put politics ahead of service members health and that he failed to issue coherent guidance to military commanders. They demanded answers by next week to a range of questions about virus testing and steps to mitigate the viruss spread. Esper said Tuesday he was disappointed by the letter, asserting that it contained statements that were false or misleading. He said he has spoken to governors of the states represented by the senators who signed the letter, and all thanked him and praised the Pentagons performance. Esper has regularly asserted that the Pentagon has been ahead of the curve in dealing with the outbreak, starting with his decision to begin implementing a pandemic plan on Feb. 1. Support to civilian authorities has been just one aspect of the Pentagons response. It also has scaled back training, reduced face-to-face recruiting and largely stopped deploying new forces abroad. These and other measures aimed at protecting the health of the force have had degrees of success, despite major setbacks such as a virus outbreak aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt that has sidelined the ship on Guam for weeks, creating turmoil among Navy leadership and taken the life of one sailor. The visit to Northern Command provided Esper a first step toward a slice of normalcy, but it also offered a look at how carefully he is limiting his exposure to the virus threat as he interacts with the military he oversees. No one lined up for the customary plane-side greeting when Esper arrived. And there were head nods and elbow bumps, no hand shakes or shoulder slaps. His travel party was smaller than usual and they were all equipped with face coverings. The only journalist was an Associated Press reporter. During meetings, tablet computers provided for Espers use were handled with surgical gloves. And smiles were hidden and voices muffled behind masks as all were careful to keep their distance. The sessions also made clear the active-duty militarys gradually declining roles in the pandemic response. The hospital ship USNS Comfort returned to its home port at Norfolk, Virginia, on Saturday after 31 days in New York harbor. A second Navy hospital ship, the USNS Mercy, will soon depart Los Angeles, where it has been since late March. Military medical specialists have played a key role in hospitals in hard-hit New York City and elsewhere, but their numbers are declining. A little over a week ago, 4,400 were working in civilian medical facilities across the nation. That number had shrunk to 2,600 on Wednesday. Also, military expeditionary medical facilities that were set up in Texas and Louisiana are being returned to Naval Air Station Jacksonville in Florida this week. Still, more than 46,000 National Guard members remain on active-duty, under state governors control, to provide assistance. Even as he ventures out to visit commanders and troops after weeks cooped up in the Pentagon, Esper has stressed that the military cannot expect to resume business as usual any time soon. He hopes to ease military travel and training restrictions by summer, but such steps will be gradual. I think that we will be in a new type of normal for a period of time, measured in months at least, and were going to take it one step at a time to make sure we do everything possible to protect our people, he said Tuesday. Nicola Sturgeon said lockdown measures in Scotland will be extended for a further three weeks in her daily briefing on coronavirus. (PA) Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed that coronavirus lockdown measures in Scotland will be extended for a further three weeks. Speaking at her daily COVID-19 briefing on Thursday, the first minister said: Our assessment of the evidence leads me to the conclusion that the lockdown must be extended at this stage. Sturgeon insisted she would not be pressurised into lifting measures prematurely, continuing: The decisions we take now are a matter of life and death and that is why they weigh so heavily. She added that while really significant progress was being made in curbing coronavirus, the situation remains fragile. Boris Johnson told leaders of the devolved nations on Thursday afternoon that he is committed to a UK-wide approach to tackling coronavirus even if different parts of the UK begin to move at slightly different speeds. 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 A Downing Street spokesman said: During the call, the Prime Minister emphasised that this is a critical moment in the fight against coronavirus and that the Government will not throw away the efforts and sacrifices of the British people. He was clear that we will not risk a second peak that could overwhelm the NHS and we will act with maximum caution in order to save lives Members of the public walk in the Meadows in Edinburgh. (PA) An announcement on extending the lockdown in England is expected at the daily Downing Street press conference. Earlier in the day, the prime ministers spokesperson played down reports that any significant changes could be made to the lockdown as early as next week. The spokesperson said Johnson told the cabinet that nothing would be done which risked a second peak in the outbreak and that he plans to proceed with maximum caution. Boris Johnson is due to speak to the leaders of the UK's devolved administrations on the UK wide easing of lockdown restrictions. (PA) The PM is due to make a statement on Sunday setting out his long-term plan to lift the country out of lockdown, following reports that restrictions on exercise may be eased on Monday. Story continues Sturgeon hinted she may agree to allow people to exercise more than once a day but only if it is justified by a decrease in COVID-19 cases and deaths. She added: The other possible changes that are reported in the media, such as encouraging more people back to work now, opening beer gardens, or encouraging more use of public transport, would not in my judgment be safe for us to make yet. And I particularly strongly believe for us to drop the clear, well-understood stay at home message right now could be a potentially catastrophic mistake. It comes as a total of 1,762 patients died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus, up by 59 from Wednesdays total of 1,703. Sturgeon has previously said that the lifting of lockdown measures would likely be phased, and that measures could be in place into 2021. Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during First Minster's Questions (FMQ's) in the debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. Recently, the Scottish government also issued an updated a document detailing their strategy for transitioning out of the current lockdown arrangements. Lockdown measures have been cautiously lifted in countries that are already ahead of the UK, including Germany, Italy and Spain. Coronavirus: what happened today Watch the latest videos from Yahoo News UK 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. Vote View Results Nigerian startup Helium Health sits in a good position during a difficult period, according to its co-founder. The Lagos based healthtech venture is in the black, has batted away acquisition offers, and just raised a $10 million Series A round, CEO Adegoke Olubusi told TechCrunch. The startup offers a product suit that digitizes data, formalizes monetization and enables telemedicine for health care systems in Nigeria, Liberia, and Ghana. Helium plans to use the latest funding round to hire and expand to North and East Africa, including Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Morocco, Olubusi confirmed on a call. He co-founded the startup in 2016 with Dimeji Sofowora and Tito Ovia to bring better delivery of medical services in Nigeria and broader Africa. "It's really about tackling three core problems that we see in the healthcare sector in Africa: inefficiency, fragmentation and a lack of data," said Olubusi. When he and co-founders Sofowora and Oviato set out doing research for Helium, they noted a data desert on medical info across the continent's healthcare infrastructure. "We figured out very quickly that that is a long term problem to solve. And the best way to get the data and access to it is to give simple technology to the providers and let them use it to make their lives more efficient." Helium Health has since developed several core product areas for healthcare entities with application for providers, payment, patients, and partners. It offers tech solutions and developer resources for administration, medical records and financial management. Helium Health has digital payment and credit products for hospitals and insurance providers. As part of the latest financing, the startup is launching several new products such as the MyHelium Patient app to facilitate appointments and information sharing between healthcare providers and citizens. Images Credits: Helium Health Helium also accelerated deployment of a telemedicine platform in response to the coronavirus hitting Nigeria and the lockdowns that ensued. Story continues "In the last three weeks since we launched we've had roughly 360 hospitals sign up, and they've had thousands of [online] visits already," Olubusi said. Helium Health generates revenues by charging percentages and fees on its products, services and accompanying transactions. Current clients include several hospitals in the West Africa region, such as Paelon Memorial in Lagos. Helium Health's model got the attention of the startup's $10 million Series A backers and Silicon Valley accelerator Y-Combinator which accepted the startup into its spring 2017 batch. Global Ventures and Africa Healthcare Masterfund co-led the investment with participation that included Tencent and additional Y-Combinator support. Global Ventures General Partner Noor Sweid confirmed the Dubai based fund's co-lead of the $10 million round and that the firm will take a Helium Health board seat. The path of the startup's CEO Adegoke Olubusi to becoming a tech founder passed through the U.S. and traditional corporate roles. He went to Maryland in 2014 to complete an advanced degree in engineering at Johns Hopkins University, then did a stint at Goldman Sachs before landing positions in big tech with eBay and PayPal. Olubusi found work with big corporates less than stimulating and gravitated to forming his own company and returning to Nigeria. "When I was at eBay and Goldman I was really bored and I wanted to do something more challenging," he said. "We thought, 'why don't we pick a problem that is a long-term problem in Africa,'" Olubusi explained. Helium Health founders (L to R) Dimeji Sofowora, Tito Ovia, and Adegoke Olubusi: Image Credits: Helium Health The founder believes the products Helium Health creates can improve the poor health care stats in countries such as Nigeria which stands as Africa's largest economy and most populous nation. Nigeria also ranked 142nd out of 195 countries on health performance indicators in The Lancet's 2018 Healthcare Access and Quality Index. On the dismal stats, "We need more properly run hospitals, and we need more profitable hospitals, health systems and health care providers," said Olubusi. Better monetization and organization of hospitals could lure more doctors back to African countries, he believes. "Half my family are doctors but none of them practice in Nigeria. Everyone's practicing all over the place, but Nigeria," Olubusi said. The founder also sees a more digitized and data driven health care sector as something that can draw more entrepreneurs to African healthtech. Compared to dominant sectors, such as fintech, health related startups in Africa gain a small percentage of the continent's annual VC haul only 9.3% by Partech's 2019 stats. "There are people who want to invest in the market but they can't...and founders can't really tackle a healthcare problem because they don't know what's going on," he said. As for his venture, Olubusi expects growth even given the precarious economic outlook COVID-19 is creating for countries, such as Nigeria which is expected to enter recession this year. The coronavirus and lockdowns are shining a light on the country's healthcare inadequacies (according to Helium Health's CEO) that people can't ignore, including the elite. "This is the first time they can't get on their jet and leave so they have to go to the hospitals we have. The system was neglected for the last few decades because people had that [previous] option," said Olubusi. "I'm hoping this coronavirus crisis will be a period that forces everyone to rethink what we're doing [on healthcare]." That could lead to more business for Helium Health. The startup doesn't release financial information but has positive net income. "We do generate revenues in millions of dollars and are profitable," Olubusi said. Helium Health has received acquisition offers, but declined them, according to its CEO. Olubusi and team intend to grow the venture to the point where it can list on a global exchange. "We know this is the kind of business we can take public, without having to sell," he said. ANKARA, Turkey Turkish prosecutors have charged four pilots, an airline company official and two flight attendants for their alleged roles in former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosns escape from Japan to Turkey and from there to Beirut, Lebanon, Turkeys state-run news agency reported Thursday. Anadolu Agency said prosecutors in Istanbul have completed an indictment against the seven, formally charging the four pilots and the official of illegally smuggling a migrant. The two flight attendants are accused of failing to report a crime, the agency said. A trial date will be set after a court in Istanbuls Bakirkoy district formally accepts the indictment. Details of the indictment were not immediately available. Mr. Ghosn, who was arrested over financial misconduct allegations in Tokyo in 2018, skipped bail while awaiting trial in Japan late last year. He flew to Istanbul and was then transferred onto another plane bound for Beirut, where he arrived Dec. 30. MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio - For the second time this week, the 910th Airlift Wing out of the Youngstown Air Reserved Station flew two of its C-130H Hercules aircraft over the skies of Northeast Ohio and Northwest Pennsylvania on Thursday morning to honor frontline workers at nearly 20 hospitals. The Hercs Over America flyover held Monday was only able to fly over a limited number of hospitals, so they decided to honor more hospitals. The two aircraft were scheduled to fly over 20 hospitals on Thursday. More than 100 employees at Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights, as well as members of the Mayfield Heights Fire Department, gathered outside the hospital in anticipation of seeing the two aircraft fly low overhead. And as the aircraft flew toward the hospital out of the north, many people could be heard yelling there they are! As the aircraft flew low over the hospital, employees cheered loudly and waved to the pilots. People also gathered along Mayfield Road in front of the hospital to watch the flyover. The flyovers were fit into the wings regular training missions so as to not incur additional costs to taxpayers, according to a press release from the 910th Airlift Wing Public Affairs office. Lehigh Valley Academy ranked 41st on a list of Pennsylvanias best high schools and as the regions top high school in U.S. News & World Reports 2020 rankings. No local schools ranked high in the national rankings, but U.S. News also compiles rankings by state and metro area. The Allentown metro area covers Pennsylvania and New Jersey schools. The regional charter school was the highest-rated charter high school in the state and the 1,179th high school nationally. The rankings take a holistic approach to evaluating schools on six factors, including reading and math performance, graduation rates and college readiness measured by participation and scores on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams. The Best High Schools rankings provide the most comprehensive, data-based information on nearly every public high school in the country, said Anita Narayan, managing editor of education at U.S. News. Families can use this information to see how their local schools compare on graduation rates and state assessments, as well as academic performance by students who are traditionally underserved those who are black, Hispanic or from low-income households. Heres how Lehigh Valley schools stacked up against others in the state: 41. Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School 46. Southern Lehigh High School 71. Wilson Area High School 80. Nazareth Area High School 100. Emmaus High School 105. Parkland High School 106. Saucon Valley High School 130. Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts 132. Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School 161. Northwestern Lehigh High School 222. Northampton Area High School Visit here to see the full Allentown metro area rankings. 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. Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. PM Modi holds a high-level meeting with ministers on Vizag gas leak tragedy. In the meeting, he assures all help and support to Andhra Pradesh CM. Vizag Gas leak: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting to take stock of the steps being taken in response to the gas leak incident in Vishakhapatnam. The Prime Minister discussed at length the measures being taken for the safety of the affected people as well as for securing the site affected by the disaster, read a statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs issued on Thursday. The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Ministers of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai and G Kishan Reddy, besides other senior officers. #VizagGasLeak: Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a meeting of the NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority), in wake of the situation in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh). Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Home Minister Amit Shah also present. pic.twitter.com/riFiBKnFMY ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 On receiving the first information about the incident in the morning today, Prime Minister Modi and Shah talked to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and assured all required aid and assistance from the Centre to tackle the situation. They are monitoring the situation closely and continuously, the statement added. Immediately after the meeting, the Cabinet Secretary took a detailed review meeting along with the Secretaries of the Ministries of Home Affairs, Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Information and Broadcasting. 500 kg of Para-tertiary butyl catechol (PTBC) chemical will be airlifted from Daman by Andhra Pradesh govt for neutralizing the gas leakage in Visakhapatnam plant: Ashwani Kumar, Secretary to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani #VizagGasLeak pic.twitter.com/ZUfBAlu5Rs ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 Members of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Director General (DG), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF); Director-General of Health Services (DGHS) and Director AIIMS, and other medical experts, to chart out specific steps to support the management of the situation on the ground. Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister was also present in the meeting. Spoke to officials of MHA and NDMA regarding the situation in Visakhapatnam, which is being monitored closely. I pray for everyones safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 7, 2020 It was decided that a team from CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) unit of NDRF from Pune, along with an expert team of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, would visit Vishakhapatnam to support the state government in the management of the crisis on the ground, and also to take measures for resolving the short term as also long term medical impact of the leak. The incident of styrene gas leakage occurred in a chemical plant in the early hours on Thursday at 3 am in RR Venkatapuram village, Gopalapatnam Mandal in Visakhapatnam district. It affected the surrounding villages, namely, Narava, BC Colony, Bapuji Nagar, Kampalapalem, and Krishna Nagar. Earlier today, PM @narendramodi chaired a meeting of the NDMA to review the situation in Visakhapatnam. pic.twitter.com/JWvhzcZEoz PMO India (@PMOIndia) May 7, 2020 Styrene gas, which is toxic in nature, may cause irritation to the skin, eyes and causes respiratory problems and other medical conditions. The NDRF team with CBRN personnel at Vishakhapatnam was deployed immediately to support the state government and local administration. PM @narendramodi has spoken to Andhra Pradesh CM Shri @ysjagan regarding the situation in Visakhapatnam. He assured all help and support. PMO India (@PMOIndia) May 7, 2020 The NDRF team carried out an immediate evacuation of communities living in the immediate vicinity of the site. The specialised CBRN unit of NDRF from Pune and NEERI expert team from Nagpur has left for Vishakhapatnam. Besides, DGHS will provide specialised medical advice to medical practitioners on the ground, the statement said. In the wake of the situation in Visakhapatnam, PM @narendramodi has called for a meeting of the NDMA at 11 AM. PMO India (@PMOIndia) May 7, 2020 For all the latest National News, download NewsX App DALLAS, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- NexPoint, a multibillion-dollar alternative investment platform, today announced the addition of three new sales and marketing professionals. The new hires are part of an ongoing expansion of the firm's distribution capabilities designed to support real estate investment offerings and reflect growth across the platform. Including the latest appointments, NexPoint added 17 members to its distribution team in the last year across a range of roles. "NexPoint's real estate expertise continues to give rise to new investment opportunities that we can bring to investors," said Dustin Norris, NexPoint's head of distribution and chief product strategist. "As we develop our distribution capabilities around these opportunities, we are able to expand access to NexPoint's real estate investment solutions." NexPoint operates across the real estate landscape, with experience in multifamily, single-family rentals, office, industrial, hospitality, and self-storage, among other property types. The firm brings this expertise to investors through a range of public and private vehicles and investment solutions, including public and private REITs, closed-end funds, Delaware Statutory Trusts (DSTs), tax-advantaged real estate transactions, and other private real estate investments. In expanding its distribution team, NexPoint has focused on aligning distribution capabilities with the platform's offerings, adding new hires with relevant backgrounds and industry expertise. Among the latest new hires is David Bulger, who joins as the regional sales director for Florida and Georgia. Bulger spent the previous 14 years wholesaling alternative investment offerings to independent broker dealers in Florida, most recently with Cantor Fitzgerald. With Bulger, NexPoint has added seven sales directors in the last six months. Others include: Scott Belval , who joined as regional sales director for the New England and Upstate New York regions; , who joined as regional sales director for the New England and Upstate New York regions; Luke Castanien , who joined as regional sales director for the Great Plains region, covering Kansas , Missouri , Iowa , and Nebraska ; , who joined as regional sales director for the Great Plains region, covering , , , and ; Kyle Castle , who joined as regional sales director for the Great Lakes region, covering Illinois , Michigan , and Indiana ; , who joined as regional sales director for the Great Lakes region, covering , , and ; Paul DeMaio , who joined as director of RIA and family office sales; , who joined as director of RIA and family office sales; Mark Dillion , who joined as regional sales director for the Four Corners region, covering Arizona , Colorado , New Mexico , and Utah ; and , who joined as regional sales director for the Four Corners region, covering , , , and ; and Sean Parvin , who joined as senior regional sales director in the Southern California region. Other new hires announced today include a marketing manager and an internal sales consultant. "The additions to the team over the last year align our distribution capabilities with the investment opportunities available on the NexPoint platform," said Kirby Noel, managing director and national sales manager. "As a result, we can better serve financial advisers and their clients, building a broader understanding of investors' evolving needs and bringing them a range of investment solutions from NexPoint. About NexPoint NexPoint is an alternative investment platform comprised of a group of investment advisers and sponsors, a broker-dealer, and a suite of related investment vehicles. NexPoint's platform provides differentiated access to alternatives through a range of investment solutions, including public and private real estate investment trusts, tax-advantaged real estate vehicles, other private real estate investments, closed-end funds, interval funds, and a business development company. NexPoint is based in Dallas, Texas and is part of a network of affiliates with expertise across the asset management and financial services spaces. For more information visit www.nexpointfunds.com. NexPoint Securities, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC, is the dealer manager for the NexPoint product offerings. Media Contact Lucy Bannon [email protected] 1-972-419-6272 SOURCE NexPoint Related Links http://www.nexpointfunds.com Photo: Canadian Armed Forces A nation already struggling with the emotions of a pandemic lockdown, a horrific plane crash in Iran and the worst mass shooting in its history grieved again on Wednesday as it honoured the victims of Canada's worst military tragedy in more than a decade. Canadians from coast to coast to coast watched as the six Armed Forces members killed in last week's helicopter crash off the coast of Greece were welcomed home in a special ramp ceremony at Canadian Forces Base Trenton in Ontario. The crash, the cause of which remains under investigation, represents the largest loss of life in one day for the Canadian Armed Forces since six Canadian soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan on Easter Sunday 2007. Reminders of COVID-19 were everywhere as the ceremony began, from the sparse crowd outside CFB Trenton to the masks and physical distancing of the victims' families, military personnel and government leaders on hand. Among those there in person were Gov.-Gen. Julie Payette and Justin Trudeau, the first Canadian prime minister to attend a ramp ceremony since Paul Martin in January 2004, according to Queen's University professor Kim Nossal. The pandemic wasn't the only difference from previous ramp ceremonies, which started in their modern form during the decade-long war in Afghanistan. There were also the pillows and military headdresses, a reminder that the remains of most of those lost have not been recovered. Under partially cloudy skies, six hearses were lined up on the tarmac awaiting the arrival of the C-17 Globemaster as the families of the dead and missing Forces members met privately with a mask-wearing Trudeau in a building on the edge of the tarmac. A short time later, the heavy transport aircraft landed and taxied to the loading area, preparing to discharge its precious cargo to those families and a grieving nation. The first to emerge was the casket of Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough, the 23-year-old sailor from Halifax whose remains were recovered shortly after the Cyclone helicopter crashed into the Ionian Sea on April 29 while returning from a NATO training mission. The casket bearing her remains was slowly carried from the Globemaster's hulking belly by eight military pallbearers wearing masks to a waiting hearse as a lone bagpiper played a lament. There Cowbrough's family was given a chance to pay respects and lay roses on her casket. And then came the first of the pillows for those now missing and presumed dead. This one bore the headdress of Capt. Brenden Ian MacDonald of New Glasgow, N.S., one of the pilots on board the Cyclone helicopter known as Stalker 22. A lone Air Force member carried the pillow and hat to a hearse as the bagpiper started to play again, the pillow-bearer's lonely form a striking contrast to the eight pallbearers who moments before carried Cowbrough's casket across the same stretch of grey tarmac. As the pillow was placed in the hearse, MacDonald's family came forward, roses in hand. Then more pillows and headdresses. One for Capt. Kevin Hagen of Nanaimo, B.C., the other pilot on board. One for Capt. Maxime Miron-Morin, the Cyclone's air combat systems officer from Trois-Rivieres, Que. One for Sub-Lt. Matthew Pyke, a naval warfare officer from Truro, N.S. And then the last, for Master Cpl. Matthew Cousins, Stalker 22's airborne electronic sensor operator, originally from Guelph, Ont. After a few minutes, the families climbed into waiting limousines that followed the hearses out of CFB Trenton, past a column of saluting troops before starting the traditional voyage west down the Highway of Heroes. South Africa: 511 healthcare workers test positive for COVID-19 A total of 511 healthcare workers in the country have tested positive for the Coronavirus (COVID-19), says Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize. Addressing the media in Rustenburg on Wednesday at Job Shimankana Tabane Hospital, the Minister said of those who have tested positive for COVID-19, 149 have recovered, 26 were hospitalised and two have lost their lives. Mkhize, together with the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, received personal protective equipment (PPE) from Sibanye-Stillwater and Old Mutual. The donation from Sibanye-Stillwater is part of the mining sectors support in containing the spread of COVID-19. All mine workers must be screened. It is more helpful to be proactive. We can save staff and the whole mine if we screen miners. We encourage all mining companies to work with the provincial government on this, Mkhize said. The Minister noted the increase in the number of people testing positive for the virus. We have seen the numbers increasing. We said that many of us will get the infection. Our role has been to slow down the rate at which the infection gets to us. In terms of our scientific focus, we were able to push the peak. If we were to prolong the lockdown, it would not have delayed the peak substantially. We can now spot where the problems are coming from. We have learned lessons from other countries and we have an advantage, the Minister said. As of Tuesday, 5 May, South Africa had a total of 7 572 COVID-19 cases and 148 deaths. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2020-05-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. In Venezuela, the hospitals have little to no medicine left. The number of medical equipment in care facilities remain sparse. Their medical facilities are crumbling, with some completely abandoned. The economic crisis in the country led the nation into a downward spiral. Essential services such as gas, clean water, fresh food, and medicine are suffering under the increasingly authoritarian government under President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela's collapse has already claimed an untold number of lives. Gloves and soap have completely vanished from some hospitals. Cancer medicines are found only on the black market where they are sold at a mind-boggling price. Pregnant women are left to fend for themselves, leading to hundreds of deaths involving mothers and their unborn children. A guard with a baton waited on the other side. 6/This is one of the more dramatic scenes I have ever witnessed. Here is Cristina Vasquez, begging Venezuelas largest maternity ward to let her pregnant daughter in.A guard with a baton waited on the other side. pic.twitter.com/LeKCn8DvTy julieturkewitz (@julieturkewitz) April 10, 2020 State Secret Venezuela's public health system was once considered the best in Latin America. However, it started to collapse in 2016, crippled by a broken economy. Maternity wards are left without access to critical birth tools-including vital sign monitors, ventilators, and sanitation systems. Due to the lack of equipment, doctors are forced to turn women away. Pregnant women often find themselves travelling long distances and visiting countless hospital over the course of two days. They are refused services for lack of sterile tools and incubators. Doctors place their hands inside the mothers to measure their dilation, only to apologize and show them out. "We can't help you," they said. In recent years, about half of the country's healthcare workers have left, desperate to save their own families. In Venezuela, they made less than $10 a month, a salary that was too small to live on. The Venezuelan government stopped releasing data on women's and infants' deaths in 2016. According to that year's report, infant mortality rate shot up by 30 percent in a single year. Maternal deaths also saw a dramatic rise of 65 percent. Newer reports were kept a state secret since. Seltzer Water The government has neglected its electric and water services. Hospitals often experience hours of power outages. In some hospitals, water is running extremely low. Doctors use seltzer water to clean their hands while preparing for surgery on a still bloody operating table. Many die on the way to hospitals as ambulances lack oxygen tanks needed to sustain breathing and life. Hospitals have no functioning X-ray or dialysis machines. Patients lie in their own pools of blood when bed spaces are unavailable. Most go to hospitals healthy but leave as a corpse. In 2016, the opposition declared a humanitarian crisis and passed a law that would allow the country to receive international aid to improve the health care system. President Nicolas Maduro, however, went on state television to reject the offer which he believes in a bid to undermine his authority. In many of his speeches, he touts the country's healthcare system as one of the best in Latin America. "There is nothing like it," he said. He acknowledged it is facing challenges but claims it is "doing well." He also encouraged women to have multiple children "for the good of the country." Want to read more news? Check these out: File image Israel, whose aggressive response to the coronavirus has held its fatality rate to a fraction of those of the United States and other hard-hit nations, is readying a nationwide serological test of 100,000 citizens to see how widely the virus has spread across its population and how vulnerable it may be to a new wave of the contagion. The survey, to be conducted at clinics run by Israeli HMOs beginning in a week or two, is one of the largest efforts yet to determine the prevalence of antibodies to COVID-19. Germany has also announced antibody testing using a representative nationwide sample. The results could aid in deciding how quickly businesses and schools should be allowed to return to normal operations. On Monday, Israel announced that citizens could leave their homes after a 40-day lockdown, but many aspects of economic and social life remain curtailed. Even more important, officials said, the surveys findings could spur preparations for any strong resurgence of the virus, perhaps when hospitals and health clinics are also busy with seasonal influenza. This is the most important mission: Get ready for the next wave, especially a wave during wintertime, Moshe Bar-Siman-Tov, director-general of Israels Health Ministry, said in an interview Tuesday. Luckily, the COVID-19 caught us post-influenza season. But we cant assume that theres not going to be a next wave or that it will be during summertime. 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 Officials say they hope the survey will identify the portion of the healthy population that has not yet been exposed to the virus, and the portion that has already been exposed but has developed antibodies to it. The answers could have enormous implications for a countrys capacity to withstand a new wave of the virus. If antibody tests show that a sizable portion of the population has developed antibodies, that could mean Israel is on its way to herd immunity and would be well equipped to withstand further outbreaks. But if the tests show that only a tiny percentage of the population has been exposed, the countrys health system could still be overwhelmed by the spread of COVID-19, Bar-Siman-Tov said. He said estimates of the percentage of Israelis with antibodies range widely, from less than 1% to upward of 10%. We want to know the truth, he said. The World Health Organization has cautioned that no evidence exists that people who have recovered from COVID-19 or have antibodies to it are protected from another infection. But Dr. Yair Schindel, a member of a Health Ministry task force on the virus who pushed for a large survey, said the Israeli study could produce such evidence. Part of what were trying to achieve here is to answer the questions the WHO is raising, he said. Schindel sketched out two scenarios for Israel. In the rosier one, the survey would show that 10% of Israelis have antibodies to COVID-19. If so, and if a future wave of the virus resulted in the same proportions of Israelis becoming critically ill or dying as have occurred so far, that would mean about 2,300 people would need intensive care, Schindel said. That would be well within the capacity of the countrys health system. But in a bleaker scenario, the survey would reveal that only 1% of Israelis have antibodies, in which case the number of people needing intensive-care beds in a future wave could exceed 12,000 well beyond Israels capacity, he said. Its quite an exercise in epidemiology so critical that its really important to do, said Schindel, a co-founder of aMoon, an Israeli venture fund that invests in life-sciences startups. Israel spent nearly $40 million to obtain 2.4 million antibody tests from two suppliers that have received Emergency Use Authorization from the Food and Drug Administration: Abbott Laboratories in the United States, and DiaSorin in Italy. One potential pitfall: If the coronavirus mutates, the blood tests might not be able to identify it, Schindel said. Another is that not all antibody tests approved by the FDA have proved reliable. The blood tests check plasma for specific iterations of Immunoglobulin-M, or IgM, and Immunoglobulin-G, or IgG, that are created by the immune system in response to COVID-19. While IgM is created quickly as part of the bodys response to infection and dissipates soon, IgG lingers in the body and represents our memory of our immunity, Schindel said. Patients visiting their clinics for blood tests for ordinary reasons will be asked to allow their samples to also be tested for coronavirus. They will also be asked to complete questionnaires about whether and when they experienced symptoms, whether they were isolated at home or hospitalized, who among their friends and relatives contracted the virus, and so on. Those whose blood tests show the presence of coronavirus antibodies will be called back for a standard polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, test for the virus, to determine the correlation between viral load and antibody levels, Bar-Siman-Tov said. There are so many things that we can learn and research, if we plan it correctly, he said. Asking so many citizens to submit to something as invasive as a blood test could seem a tall order in a country where a digital-surveillance initiative to identify coronavirus patients using smartphone location data set off political protests and lawsuits. Many Israelis, citing privacy concerns, also declined to download a government-sponsored app that was designed to help them avoid fellow citizens who had tested positive. But Bar-Siman-Tov said he did not expect the survey to be a tough sell because participants will be told the results. I think the people would like to know, he said. I mean, I think about myself, and I would like to know. He added, I think that well have more demand than supply. Moreover, whether out of a tendency toward hypochondria or because their socialized health-care system makes it cheap and easy, as many as 70-80% percent of Israelis already have blood drawn in any given year, Bar-Siman-Tov said. Israelis are addicted to health services, he said, laughing. In addition to the broad nationwide sample, Bar-Siman-Tov said the ministry planned to test greater concentrations of subjects in cities that have experienced major outbreaks, like Bnei Brak and Jerusalem. Health-care workers will also be tested as a group. The remaining antibody tests will be made available to researchers for further studies, he said. If the nationwide survey shows a large portion of the population has gained immunity, that could prompt the government to ease remaining restrictions faster, Bar-Siman-Tov said. But he said there was no going back to a stricter lockdown based on the serological tests alone. Though Israelis have complained about chaos and inconsistency in the way the rules have been developed and enforced, the country has fared relatively well, with only 237 dead and 16,268 cases as of Tuesday afternoon. Fatalities per million of population are 27 in Israel, compared to 213 in the United States. Bar-Siman-Tov said Israels experience had shown that to be preemptive, that was the key. The time to take action, or to take the measures that you want to take during pandemics, is when you think its too early, he said, recalling decisions beginning with the cancellation of airline flights from China in early February. Everybody thought we were being too aggressive about it, or just exaggerating the threat, that nothing is going to happen, were just ruining Israeli foreign affairs, or being hysterical, or ruining the economy, he said. It usually took a day for us to feel that we did the right thing, and about two to three days for others. c.2020 The New York Times Company SACRAMENTO California is facing a deficit of more than $54 billion in its upcoming state budget as tax revenue plummets and the demand for social services soars amid the coronavirus pandemic. The updated projection, released Thursday by the state Department of Finance, is the latest sign of how badly Californias economy has been battered since the pandemic took hold less than three months ago. Gov. Gavin Newsom said a multibillion-dollar budget reserve would be of some help, but he also pleaded for Washington to come to the states rescue with bailout money. This is not a cry by any stretch. We are proud of this state and our capacity to meet the moment and to be resilient, Newsom said at a news conference. But this is bigger than all of us, and we really need the federal government to do more and to help us through this moment. The pandemic has caused a national recession, a precipitous decline in income, rapidly rising health and human services caseloads and substantial COVID-19 driven costs, the Department of Finance wrote in a memo that spelled out how Californias fiscal picture has been turned upside-down. In a January budget proposal of record size, Newsom estimated the state would have a $6 billion surplus. He hoped to use it to increase funding for homeless services and expand health care to undocumented immigrant seniors. Next week, Newsom will be putting out a revised budget with far different goals. State finance officials now expect tax revenue to come in $41 billion below their earlier projections. Businesses have shed millions of jobs and consumer spending has shriveled during a statewide stay-at-home order in place since March, leading to an expected decline of 27% in sales taxes, 26% in personal income taxes and 23% in corporation taxes next year. Combined with a $7 billion increase in caseloads for state health and human services programs and $6 billion in costs to respond to the coronavirus, state officials project a $54.3 billion deficit through the end of the next budget year. That includes $13.4 billion in the current year. The total, which equals more than one-third of current spending levels, is far more than California has in its reserves. A rainy-day fund exceeded $16 billion heading into the budget cycle, but under California law, the state can tap into only half of that next year. The expected losses will trigger more than $18 billion in cuts to funding for K-12 schools and community colleges under Proposition 98, a funding formula that voters approved in 1988. Other cuts will need to be negotiated with the Legislature in a process that could extend far beyond the June deadline when lawmakers must pass a budget or forgo their paychecks. Assemblyman Phil Ting, a San Francisco Democrat who chairs the Budget Committee, said that while the state will probably try to raise revenue through a vaping tax, deep cuts are inevitable. He said the state should do everything it can to avoid slashing programs that help low-income families, such as food assistance and education. Its devastating because at a time when people need government the most, which is any recession, is also the time when we have limited ability to help, Ting said. Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Berkeley Democrat who serves on the Budget Committee, said the state must design cuts to minimize harm and encourage low-income people to take advantage of federal assistance like food stamps and the earned-income tax credit. Newsom has called on the federal government to pass a relief bill that would aid state and local governments and soften the impact of the economic crash. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, has proposed a $1 trillion bailout, but there is resistance among Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who said the GOP did not want to provide revenue replacement for state governments or solve their pension problems. He suggested states consider declaring bankruptcy instead. Congress included $150 billion for state and locals governments in a $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill it approved in March. Pelosi said at a news conference Thursday in Washington that well have to do very much more than that in a new bill. Well get through this, Newsom said at his news conference. This is a global pandemic, and theres not an economy around the world that has ... been immune. Among the most troubling indicators for the state is the more than 4.2 million jobless claims that have been filed since mid-March. Finance officials project that unemployment will be 18% in 2020, a higher rate than during the worst of the recession a decade ago. Personal income is expected to fall by 9% this year. Those job losses have been disproportionately in the low-wage sector, state financial officials wrote, amplifying the wage disparity that existed before the pandemic. This is particularly concerning as state median income did not return to the pre-Great Recession level until 2018, they wrote. San Francisco Chronicle Washington correspondent Tal Kopan and staff writer Dustin Gardiner contributed to this report. Alexei Koseff is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff LOS ANGELES, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic sweeping across America, Loma Linda University Medical Center was in desperate need of military-grade medical tents and other critical supplies essential in handling the surge in patients. With elective surgeries being canceled statewide and funds being drained without the replenishment of those procedures, Loma Linda was in a very tight spot. They reached out to their donors in the hopes that they can raise the half-million dollars they required immediately. That's when Karl McMillen acted and donated the full amount the hospital needed. "Save lives, just save lives," said Chuck Campbell, McMillen's stepson and board member of the McMillen Family Foundation. "That's all Karl said to me, he handed me a check for the full amount the hospital needed and said just save lives!" McMillen and his foundation, The McMillen Family Foundation has bestowed generous support, in the past, to Loma Linda. The Foundation's mission is to provide financial support to non-profit groups and agencies in Southern California dedicated to helping people of all ages who are affected by the scourge of alcohol and drugs. In addition to rehabilitation clinics, the foundation supports groups committed to providing community outreach and education to help prevent drug and alcohol addiction before they occur. "The foundation's mission prevented it from making a direct donation to the hospital for their current need, so Karl decided to make the donation personally. We are all in this together and Karl is grateful for the warriors on the front line fighting the invisible enemy. He truly believes in the philosophy of Margaret Mead that a small group of dedicated people can change the world, it's the only thing that ever has," said Campbell. "Karl McMillen's passion for the well-being of others is evident by this generous gift," said Richard Hart, MD, DrPH, President of Loma Linda University Health. "We are honored to use his philanthropic support to save the lives of those entrusted to our care." "We are challenging others to step up and help. The help doesn't need to be financial, it can be as simple as donating personal protective equipment or even just staying home until it is safe," concluded Campbell. Contact: Victor Cipolla (646) 477-1282 [email protected] SOURCE Karl McMillen SOUTH HADLEY Fifteen of 107 residents at Vero Health and Rehab and 15 out of 20 staff members there have tested positive for COVID-19, according to town officials. A separate wing at the Granby Road facility has been assigned to people who have tested positive or suspected to be positive, Town Administrator Michael J. Sullivan informed the Selectboard on Tuesday. They (Vero) are complying with all of the protocols and working closely with our health director and the Massachusetts Department of Health to make sure they have it under control, Sullivan said. In care facilities across the state and the country, its very difficult to stem the tide against something like this. As of May 6, there were 61 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Hadley, according to the state DPH. The Vero cases were not included in the towns overall totals. Information entered into the states reporting system has a three-day lag time, according to Sullivan. There are some cases that have come off that list as well, he said. It is difficult. In a release, Vero stated, We continue to follow the latest Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) COVID-19 preparedness guidelines to ensure residents are receiving the care they need. Health care workers and staff are appropriately protected during this unprecedented public health emergency. In response to the outbreak, Vero tested all patients at the South Hadley facility and contacted their families Infected workers remain in-home quarantine. We contacted the National Guard and requested that they assist with testing of all residents and staff for the COVID-19 virus, the statement read. Vero also stepped up cleaning and sanitation measures, limited visitations, restricted residents to their rooms, regularly check staffs and patients temperatures and monitor for COVID-19 symptoms. Like so many long-term care facilities across the country, we are working hard to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, the statement read. During this time, our dedicated staff has worked diligently to keep our residents and facility staff safe and healthy. We thank them for their continued care of residents during this trying time. Selectman Sarah Etelman said, This is exactly why the precautions are in place. I want to remind folks that there is no fault assigned in this. We know everybody is doing everything they can. But this is why the precautions and guidelines are out there. Etelman said residents must remain vigilant by wearing masks and practicing social distancing. We as a community want to keep residents as safe as we possibly can, she said. In other news, Sullivan said the Massachusetts Legislature passed a bill that would allow municipalities to hold virtual town meetings. The bill awaits Gov. Charlie Bakers signature. He also expects the Baker-Polito Administration to release a reopening plan early next week. It doesnt necessarily mean things are opening next Wednesday. But therere going to be a number of phases and phases within particular industries, he said. Sullivan noted the governor wants to see a 10 to 14-day decline in COVID-19 cases before a reopening could occur. The state now mandates residents wear masks in public spaces. Its strongly encouraged you have a mask available, and you use it, Sullivan said. There are civil penalties related to that. The South Hadley Department of Public Works released the yard-waste collection schedule. Between May 18 22, crews will pick up yard waste bags on Routes 9, 10, 1, 2 and 3. For Routes 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, collections will take place May 26 30. The DPW reminds residents to place leaves, grass, and brush in paper bags or open containers. Brush must be tied up in bundles with nonmetal ties and not exceed 4 feet in length. In a statement, the DPW said, We urge our residents to take advantage of this service on their designated collection day. At the time, the Compost Area at the DPW remains closed. The town is working diligently to formulate a plan to reopen the Compost Area. Adding, When the Compost Area and other Town facilities reopen, we will ask residents only to use them as a last resort and continue to adhere to social distancing. The DPW does not accept trees, stumps, dirt, sand, rocks, asphalt, bricks, concrete, or yard ornaments for pickup. For more information, call the DPW at 413-538-5033. Actors Cara Delevingne and Ashley Benson have parted ways after being in a relationship for almost two years. According to E! News, Delevingne is single and spending time with her friends in quarantine. The "Carnival Row" actor admitted dating Benson last June when she thanked the "Pretty Little Liars" star accepting an award at the TRevorLIVE New York Gala. "She showed me what real love is and showed me how to accept it, which was a lot harder than I thought. I love you, Sprinkles," Delevingne had said to Benson who had accompanied her to the event. Neither Benson nor Delevingne has publicly acknowledged the break-up rumors. Representatives for the duo couple are yet to respond. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) CLEVELAND, Ohio A 31-year-old man was found dead of suspected violence Thursday in the citys Broadway-Slavic Village neighborhood, police said. Dorian Crayton of Cleveland was found dead in the backyard of his home on Morgan Avenue, between East 68th and East 70th streets, according to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner. No arrests have been made. Family members asked police about midnight Thursday to check on Crayton after they were unable to contact him for five days, according to police. Officers found him dead in the backyard with trauma to his head. The medical examiner said the case is being investigated as a suspected homicide, but a cause of death has not been determined. Read more from cleveland.com: Cleveland man released from prison after winning new trial in wifes 1974 slaying that he says he didnt commit Man in Akron robbed of stimulus-check cash at knifepoint One dead, two injured in high-speed crash in Cleveland, police say (Newser) President Trump, who recently slammed the US Postal Service as a "joke," will soon have an ally leading the agency. Louis DeJoy, a Republican fundraiser and staunch Trump supporter, will take charge as the new postmaster general on June 15. The USPS says the board of governors has unanimously appointed DeJoy, who is currently in charge of fundraising for the Republican National Convention, CNN reports. The Trump administration has been pushing for changes at the USPS as it negotiates an emergency $10 billion loan approved by Congress in a coronavirus relief package, the Washington Post reports. Last month, Trump accused Amazon of taking advantage of the USPS and said the agency should quadruple its prices. story continues below DeJoy, former CEO of New Breed Logistics, has donated more than $2 million to the Trump campaign and other GOP causes since 2016. "Having worked closely with the Postal Service for many years, I have a great appreciation for this institution and the dedicated workers who faithfully execute its mission," he said in a statement. The USPS recently warned that it would run out of cash by the end of September without help from Congress. Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly, chairman of the House Government Operations Subcommittee, criticized the appointment of a "partisan donor," Politico reports. "The Postal Service is in crisis and needs real leadership and someone with knowledge of the issues," he said Wednesday night. "This crony doesnt cut it." (Read more US Postal Service stories.) Various pictures of Stephen Clements down the years were part of the tribute. Various pictures of Stephen Clements down the years were part of the tribute. Family and friends of Stephen Clements shared their most cherished memories of the late radio presenter on Thursday night during an online memorial event. 'An Evening For Stephen' was streamed live on the Stephen Clements Foundation's website. The much-loved BBC Radio Ulster star and father-of-two died suddenly on January 6. His family and friends aim to keep his memory alive through the recently launched foundation, which will serve as a vehicle to drive money to the many charities close to Stephen's heart. The three trustees behind the charity include Stephen's brother Gavin, his former Q Radio sidekick Cate Conway and his friend Gareth Murphy. The tribute show was presented by U105 broadcaster Ms Conway, who shared the airwaves with Stephen for almost five years on their highly successful Q Radio breakfast show. Expand Close Stephen's friend Cate Conway / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Stephen's friend Cate Conway The audience got to enjoy some of the Carrickfergus man's best work and heard from those who knew and loved him, including his cousin Wendy Davis, actor James Nesbitt, former Ulster and Ireland winger Tommy Bowe and the Belfast Giants' former star Adam Keefe. Opening the tribute show, Ms Conway said: "On the 6th of January Stephen Clements left us and it feels a bit like the world has unravelled ever since. "I have had so many messages from people saying what would Stephen make of the current situation and 'I really miss Stephen's sense of humour, Stephen would have kept us all going through this'. "While we had always wanted to have a physical memorial event for Stephen, it just wasn't possible with lockdown but this seems like the right way to do it. "We thought it would be nice if we could all spend a bit of time together talking about Stephen, sharing some stories about him and sharing some of his work and just remembering just how amazing he was." Expand Close Various pictures of Stephen Clements down the years were part of the tribute. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Various pictures of Stephen Clements down the years were part of the tribute. Stephen's brother Gavin looked back on Stephen's early life and early career and said he was and always will be his hero. "From those very early days he has just been and he was everything to me," he told the audience. "I looked up to him all the time. He was just my superhero. "That continued the rest of my life. When we moved to Carrickfergus he went to Carrick Grammar School and, although I didn't have the grades that he had, it was a given that I would follow him to Carrick Grammar School." Expand Close Various pictures of Stephen Clements down the years were part of the tribute. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Various pictures of Stephen Clements down the years were part of the tribute. TV presenter Eamonn Holmes added: "I know a thing or two about partnerships in broadcasting and it's not easy, it doesn't always work. But when it does, as with him and Cate, it is absolutely magic knowing who does what, when they do it and things that just happen spontaneously. "It's a beautiful, beautiful, chemistry and the refore from his point of view, he knew he had to be good, he knew he had to inquire and he knew he had to get better. He also knew the other aspect to him, which was Cate, and it was very, very funny. "That's a skill in itself, knowing when to give, when to take and when to bring someone else in." Indian nations and tribes are the original American sovereigns. Our Creator blessed us with life and liberty. Our grandfathers and grandmothers from the dawn of time established our Native nations to protect and serve our Native Peoples and Mother Earth. When America declared Independence from Great Britain, our Indian nations were independent sovereigns, our territory was our own, and we were free, equal and independent people. Our Native nations and our Itaacaa (Leaders) signed treaties with the United States to preserve the best and highest form of government: self-government. The President promised that war shall forever cease. In our treaty, our Indian nations reserved our lands as our permanent home. We are free and equal people today, as Sitting Bull said: Each man is good in the sight of the Great Spirit. We are free people, no one controls our footsteps. The Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate wrote to Congress as the National COVID-19 Emergency was just beginning. First and foremost, we asked for inclusion in State-Local-Tribal Government Funding because we are Tribal Governments. Tribal Governments have police and fire departments, hospitals and health care systems, pre-school, K-12 schools, and tribal colleges, water, sewer and sanitation systems. Tribal Governments are part of drug interdiction task forces, we plan road construction, provide essential government functions and do the myriad of things that governments do. Donovan White serves as chairman of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, an Indian nation with homelands in present-day South Dakota and North Dakota. Courtesy photo When there is an emergency, our Tribal Governments operate the ambulances, health care clinics, and hospitals and our Native people are on the front line as first responders. In the CARES Act, Congress included Tribal Governments in funding for Coronavirus Relief along with State and Local Governments. On Tuesday, the Treasury Secretary announced the formula for allocating funding among the 574 Federally Recognized Indian nations and tribes that are Tribal Governments. Wrongly, the Secretary of the Treasury disregarded our status as Native sovereigns, our Treaty Rights to our homelands, and the status of our Native peoples as tribal memberscitizensof our Indian nations and tribes. Tribal memberstribal citizensunder the original jurisdiction of Indian nations are recognized in the Constitution as Indians not taxed. Rather than count our tribal citizens, Treasury used the U.S. Census that counts those who self-identify as Native American by race or mixed-race to allocate funds. The Secretarys action reflects a fundamental disregard for Indian nations as sovereigns. After consulting with Indian nations for two weeks, Treasury asked for detailed comments concerning allocation of funds. Naturally, Indian nations counseled Treasury to consider our Indian lands and the extensive territory that we govern. Yet, despite the United States treaty pledges to assist us to make our Indian lands livable permanent homes, the Treasury completely disregarded our Indian lands and territories. A statue of Albert Gallatin, the 4th United States Secretary of the Treasury stands on the north side of the Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C. Gallatin studied tribal nations and was a personal friend of Cherokee leader John Ridge. His work on Native languages has led some to call him "the father of American ethnology." Photo: dog97209 Finally, the Secretary of the Treasury maintains that Alaska Native state-chartered corporations can be considered Indian tribes. Yet the Secretary of Interior published a list of Federally Recognized Indian Tribes on January 30, 2020 that includes Alaska Native villages, but no Alaska state chartered corporations. Treasurys effort to equate Indian nations with state law corporations is contrary to the Constitution, statutes, and laws of the United States. We call upon Congress to set this to rights: 1) Use the Federally Recognized Tribe List Act to determine who the recognized Indian tribes are(we are not state law corporations.) 2) Use Indian Country as the measure of Indian lands in recognition of tribal jurisdiction. 3) Put the Alaska Native Corporations with the other corporate businesses under Small Business Relief, Main Street Loans or corporate relief. There is no need to consult the Bureau of Indian Affairs on these clear rules of Federal Indian law. Donovan White serves as chairman of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, an Indian nation with homelands in South Dakota and North Dakota. Join the Conversation Related Stories Mercenaries from the Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary organization seen as being close to Vladimir Putin, are fighting in Libya, UN diplomats said Wednesday, citing an experts' report on the country's arms embargo. It was the first time the UN has confirmed claims first made in US media that the group is supporting military strongman Khalifa Haftar. Moscow has denied being responsible for deploying the group. The report also revealed that Haftar was being supported by Syrian fighters. The Wagner Group is a shadowy private security firm and thousands of its contractors are believed to be in foreign conflicts from Syria and Ukraine to the Central African Republic. A senior US State Department official has told AFP the group is "an instrument of the Kremlin's policy" in Libya. "The Panel has identified the presence of private military operatives from ChVK Wagner in Libya since October 2018," the UN report says, according to several diplomats who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity as the document has not yet been made public. "Wagner has been providing technical support for the repair of military vehicles, participating in combat operations and engaging in influence operations," the UN report says. They are also involved in "more specialized military tasks such as acting as artillery Forward Observation Officers and Forward Air Controllers, providing electronic countermeasures expertise and deploying as sniper teams," it continued. "Their deployment has acted as an effective force multiplier" for Haftar, it said. The experts said they could not independently verify how many Wagner mercenaries were in Libya, but estimated their deployment at between 800 and 1,200. The report, submitted on April 24 to the UN Security Council, notes that there are tensions between Wagner and Haftar's command. - No call for sanctions - It also revealed that Haftar is receiving help from Syrian fighters, further complicating the conflict. In February, Turkey said that pro-Turkish Syrians were fighting in Libya in support of the internationally-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA). Haftar has opened a consulate in Damascus, where the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is backed by Russia. The UN report says Syrian mercenaries are now fighting alongside Haftar -- though it said it could not identify who was responsible for training and financing them. The fighters reached Libya via at least 33 flights operated by Damascus-based private Syrian company Cham Wings Airlines since the start of this year, according to the report, adding that they numbered less than 2,000. The text is an update of the expert panel's last annual report from December, which had noted the existence of foreign armed groups from Chad and Sudan in the conflict, but did not mention Wagner. Pro-Haftar forces have been battling to seize the capital Tripoli from the GNA since April 2019. Foreign military involvement has exacerbated the conflict, with the United Arab Emirates and Russia backing Haftar and Ankara supplying the GNA. A January truce brokered by Turkey and Russia has been repeatedly violated. Wagner's involvement in the conflict was first revealed by The New York Times and The Washington Post last year. The former put their numbers at 200, while the latter said it could be as high as several thousand. The UN report does not recommend sanctions against the groups or any action to prevent their involvement. A report by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres submitted to the Security Council on Tuesday and obtained by AFP also mentioned foreign mercenaries but did not identify them or recommend any action against them. GLASGOW The soaring slopes of Wales Carneddau mountains make for unforgiving pastures. To survive on these alpine grasslands, species need to be as rugged as the wind-hewn hills themselves. Short, stout, and sturdy, Carneddaus wild ponies are no exception. They are just so hardy, said Sandra Roberts, who's been photographing the ponies for almost a decade. Year after year, she has seen the smallest foals survive the worst of the winter weather, following them as they mature and have young of their own. Image: Wild ponies in the Carneddau mountains in Wales on May 3, 2020. (Sandra Roberts) For all their resilience, Britains wild pony population remains small, with fewer than 3,000 estimated nationwide. With Brexit, that could be about to change. Sustained by subsidies from the European Union, rural land use in the United Kingdom has for generations been guided by one principle: maximize production. But as Britain breaks away from the E.U., Brussels billions are drying up, forcing farmers to think creatively or face financial ruin. For the British Isles indigenous plants and animals, this is good news. Driven by a need to diversify, U.K. landowners are embracing rewilding allowing, even encouraging, the return of native plant and animal life to long-changed ecosystems. Ken Hill Estate in Norfolk, in eastern England, is at the forefront of the rewilding movement. For 150 years the Buscall family has tended the land, growing wheat, barley and sugar beets. Conservationism has been key to their approach for decades but in 2018, the family decided that even more sweeping changes were needed. Two years ago, we took the decision to be a bit more radical and we rewilded over a quarter of the total area of the farm, project manager Dominic Buscall said. More than 1,000 acres are being returned to nature unproductive land that, without E.U. funding, would soon be in the red. A handful of beavers have been set free there, with plans for other keystone species, including wild horses, to join them next year. Story continues Image: Wild ponies in the Carneddau mountains in Wales on May 3, 2020. (Sandra Roberts) [The] animals will drive habitat change with the way they behave, Buscall said. Theyll do a lot of work with grazing, browsing. They carry seeds around in their fur; they root and disturb the soil, which helps improve biodiversity." Overrun with problem grasses, large swathes of Britains rural terrain cannot be grazed by sheep or cattle, Mariecia Fraser, an agroecosystems scientist at Aberystwyth University, said. While the nuisance growth could be cleared with machinery, Fraser advocates a more sustainable solution. Weve got some hill grasses that have taken over big areas, and the ponies actually quite like to eat them, unlike cattle and sheep, she said. If we bring the ponies into the system, we can reduce the dominance of problem grasses, which allows for biodiversity and the ecosystem to function a bit better. This would be particularly helpful on peat bogs, which draw in and store huge volumes of atmospheric carbon dioxide. If the purple moor-grasses that dominate British peatland were pared back by hungry ponies, this carbon sink phenomenon would be even more pronounced, Fraser said. The U.K. government, which is committed to achieving carbon-neutrality by 2050, is eager to see such programs take off. Public money for public goods has become the mantra of Britains post-Brexit agricultural policy, with financial incentives for farmers who encourage biodiversity, decarbonization and the conservation of native species. And theres another source of revenue available to rewilders: nature tourism. In time, Ken Hill Estate will be opened to paying visitors, with treehouses, educational opportunities and even a wildlife safari, Buscall said. But rewilding has not been universally accepted by Britains rural community. A blend of traditional agricultural practices and environmentalism is important, most say but for some, that balance has already been struck. Weve got plenty of trees on the farm; weve got plenty of wildlife on the farm. Were making a living by producing food, and thats the most important thing, having the right balance, Hedd Pugh, a Welsh sheep and beef farmer, said. Bringing in other species will change the balance, and I dont think thats the way forward, he said. Meanwhile, on the uplands of North Wales, Carneddaus wild ponies are oblivious to the seismic changes afoot. Having survived the winter, the foals are growing, and they will soon seek fresh pastures. Snapping happily with her camera, Roberts intends to follow them every step of the way. Theres something different about wild horses, she said. I just love spending time with them. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott joined the chorus of those calling for justice in the shooting death of Georgia jogger Ahmaud Arbery, issuing a series of tweets on Thursday saying the 25-year-old man was hunted and killed "in cold blood." "Every.single.time. The excuses pour in he looked suspicious we thought he was committing a crime The fact remains, #AhmaudArbery was hunted down from a pickup truck and murdered in cold blood. My heart breaks for his family, and justice must be served," Scott, R-S.C., said in a three-part tweet. He included the #IRunWithAhmaud hashtag. "just as every person of color should be able to go for a jog or out to the store without fear. Congress can do our part starting with finally fully passing anti-lynching legislation. However, as a nation, we have to admit some hard truths," he also noted. "#AhmaudArbery is far from the first person of color to meet this fate. But his life, or James Byrds, or Emmett Tills, cant be forgotten," Scott's message also read. "The only way we can stop this is together, as one American family. Its too late for Ahmaud; lets ensure his memory powers a better future," he said. Sign up for updates! Get the latest political news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email Sign Up! Scott is the Senate's only black Republican. Arbery was slain during a pursuit by two white men armed with guns in an attack that was caught on cellphone video. The shooting occurred Feb. 23, but the public outcry has grown this week after the video was disseminated online Tuesday. Arbery's family said he was out for his daily jog in a neighborhood outside the port city of Brunswick. They have called for the arrest of the two white men involved. According to an incident report filed by Glynn County police, Arbery was shot after two men spotted him running in their neighborhood on a Sunday afternoon. Gregory McMichael told police that he and his adult son thought the runner matched the description of someone caught on a security camera committing a recent break-in in the neighborhood. They armed themselves with guns before getting in a truck to pursue him. This Is How a Ban on Tobacco Looks: Unintended Consequences The behavior of the Rancho Cordova police officer who pinned an unarmed 14-year-old African American boy to the ground and punched him repeatedly for purchasing a tobacco product is disgraceful, distressing and outrageous. Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. It is one of far too many videos of police using physical force on a daily basis against people of color in neighborhoods of color. Most police officers work hard to do the right thing, but bad police behavior is enabled and fueled by racist policies such as the proposed ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes preferred by over 80% of African Americans who choose to smoke. This is not the first time we have seen a Black man beaten by police for violating tobacco laws. Eric Garner, father of six, died in NYPD custody in 2014 after he was stopped on suspicion of selling loose cigarettes. The Baptist Ministers Conference and Southern Christian Leadership Conference does not want people to smoke. We dont want our youth to smoke and we strongly encourage smokers to quit. Although we appreciate the efforts to protect the health and well-being of all California residents, you cannot ignore the disproportionate unintended consequences of a menthol cigarette ban on African Americans. Menthol cigarette bans are not proposed or passed with racist intentions, but they will have racist effects. Not only do menthol cigarette bans deny our civil right of personal choice, they will give police another reason to come in black communities, approach people of color, and create an encounter that could deteriorate into tragic deaths or unjustified detentions, beatings and arrests. ADVERTISEMENT Public health advocates insist that menthol cigarette ban ordinances will only make the sale of menthol cigarettes illegal. They claim that no one will be violating the law nor will anyone be approached by police, if they simply purchase or possess menthol cigarettes. The recent encounter of the Rancho Cordova police officer and a 14-year old African American youth is a perfect example that contradicts that claim. Health proponents maintain that there will be language in the law to prevent these situations from happening. In the real world of fragile police-communities of color relations, what language or wording can you include in a paternalistic, racist menthol cigarette ban that will stop bad police behavior? Criminalizing the sale of products people wish to consume only encourages the establishment of illicit trade to provide these products to consumers who want them. Law enforcement will be called upon to enforce the ban and to enforce the law against those who engage in this illicit trade that will inevitably happen in African American communities. At a time in which we know that interactions between law enforcement and young men and women of color lead all-too-often to tragic results, we should be looking to lessen any negative encounters in our community with law enforcement. No one wants another Eric Garner. No one wants to watch another video of a Black youth being attacked and beaten over buying or possessing a cigarette. We will no longer tolerate bad police behavior. We will not support elected officials who insist upon and support passing ordinances that create the environment for inevitable negative police encounters to occur in communities of color. We wholeheartedly support the proven methods of education and treatment to reduce smoking which have brought smoking rates down drastically over the past forty years. Lets not defer to the criminal justice system to solve a public health crisis. ADVERTISEMENT PASTOR KW TULLOSS President/CEO Baptist Ministers Conference REV WILLIAM SMART President Southern Christian Leadership Conference Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone has called on Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to maintain the Department. Ms Zappone, who is a caretaker Minister as she lost her seat in the general election, told RTE radios Morning Ireland that if the Department were dissolved it would dilute the focus on the rights of children. Ms Zappone had been commenting on plans for the introduction of childcare for health care workers. Under the proposals childcare workers would look after the children of health care workers in their own homes at a cost of 90 per family, per week. Anyone who wants to take part of the scheme, which will be introduced on May 18, should contact their Human Resources manager, said Ms Zappone. The scheme includes hospital staff such as cleaners, canteen staff and private nursing home staff. A full list of staff covered under the scheme is being finalised today, she said. The delay in introducing the scheme was because the government had been awaiting the advice from Dr Tony Holohan on the public health risk of allowing child care workers into the homes of health care workers. Full details of the scheme are available on the website of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and letters will be going out to human resource managers to appraise them of the details, she said. Other frontline workers, such as gardai, will be included in Phase 2 when the scheme is broadened. Ms Zappone said that the scheme will commence on the 18th May for four weeks, with a review after two weeks. It is a temporary measure, something like this has never been done before. It will be a logistical challenge, but the scheme is there to support health care workers. When asked about suggestions that the Department of Children and Youth Affairs will be dissolved, Ms Zappone said she had read the reports, but hoped that was not the case. Asked if she had mentioned that to the Taoiseach, Ms Zappone said she had and she hoped he was listening to the interview. It is the sixth largest spending department. A lot goes on there. It would dilute focus on the rights of children if it were dissolved. House Republicans are probing the extent of Chinese influence and propaganda on college campuses in the United States.The ranking members of seven House committees cosigned a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Monday asking for information on the department's effort to tighten transparency rules for universities receiving foreign funding, according to The Washington Examiner the letter states.The letter is signed by Reps. Virginia Foxx, Jim Jordan, Michael Rogers, Frank Lucas, Michael McCaul, Devin Nunes, and Mac Thornberry. The lawmakers requested the department turn over all communications, data, and preliminary findings related to the department's investigation into U.S. universities that have underreported the amount of financial support they have received from foreign groups.Citing a CNN report , the GOP lawmakers said that Beijing has put in place a strict review process over Chinese university researchers that are looking into the coronavirus. China has also given money to hundreds of U.S. universities, and the officials are concerned that Beijing may use its donations as leverage to influence academic research in the U.S.the letter continues, citing a November 2018 report from the Hoover Institution that notes the presence ofThe college Confucius Institutes are university programs set up to teach students about Chinese language and culture, and they are funded by the Chinese Ministry of Education. Many institutes have closed since 2018 because of an August 2018 law that barred universities from receiving funds from the U.S. Defense Department while also taking gifts from the Chinese government.Still, U.S. colleges and universities are the recipients of a significant number of financial gifts and donations from the Chinese government, the Chinese Communist Party, and other closely-tied groups. Since 2013, the U.S. higher education system has taken close to $1 billion from Chinese groups. Harvard benefitted the most from such donations, receiving $93.7 million.the letter says.the letter continues. One would be hard-pressed to find someone who has not had to develop a new normal lifestyle due to the unforeseen circumstances that is the coronavirus pandemic. Finn Gomez is no exception, but he has not let any of that or social distancing protocols hinder how he operates on a day-to-day basis. In fact, hes doubled down and has turned his passion for music and playing the trumpet into a good cause. Gomez, a 17-year-old Wyandotte Roosevelt High School student, has been putting together porch concerts for several weeks now in an effort to raise money for essential workers and first responders. The concert got started when I was practicing on my porch and my neighbor started asking for tunes, Gomez said. I jokingly said I gotta get a tip box out here. One day I came home from walking a dog and there it was on the porch. That tip box was on display again on a flawless Sunday afternoon. Family and friends gathered outside his Wyandotte residence applauded after each of his renditions. Some even partook in some light casual dancing for some of the segments of the show. All while Finns father, Ray, operated a livestream on his phone so even more people could enjoy the show. Several cars drove by, even slowing down to take in the action. A few even stopped momentarily to get out and drop a donation into the tip box before hopping back in and driving off. I think its just a small thing Im able to do to help, Gomez said. To me, playing trumpet is a part of me, and its fun to play. If I can play on my porch for an hour once a week and give back so much, its just a small thing I can do to help. Born deaf, Gomez was never formally diagnosed with a hearing loss until early in grade school. He says some teachers were not as accommodating, which led to a change in school districts while in middle school. Gomez said his experience within the Wyandotte school community has been amazing. Gomez not only accepted the hearing deficiency early on, but embraced it. So much so, he is taking on an ambassador role of for Phonak, whose hearing aids have dramatically improved his hearing. He sits on the Phonak Teen Advisory Board, where members are encouraged to create an open dialogue with other teens who also have a problem with hearing loss. As far as music goes, Gomez discovered that passion in fifth grade. Oddly enough, playing the trumpet was not his first option for instruments. Had it not been for mistakenly forgetting to turn in a permission slip to play percussion, he jokes about, Gomez might be playing the drums out on his front porch instead. But he quickly latched on to being a trumpeter and has been playing ever since. It has gotten him positions with several different groups, including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Downriver Community Band, in addition to various school bands. As far as being a musician who is deaf or hard-of-hearing, there have been some notable albeit minor adjustments made whenever he performs. Playing alone, it doesnt really change that much because it is all I have ever known, Gomez said. Playing in a group though can definitely be harder. Sometimes I cant even hear the bass player behind me playing the chorus. I do focus more on the other trumpet players next to me. But having a conductor is the most important part for me. Gomez is livestreaming all of his porch performances on his phone via Facebook. Donations can be sent to him directly through his Venmo account if not in person. The funds gathered from Sundays showing are going towards gift cards and hot meals for the Wyandotte Fire Department. Gomez previously donated to Downriver for Veterans in the form of hot meals for hospital workers in Wyandotte. They most recently delivered dinners to police officers. He says he definitely plans to do more porch concerts and will seek to donate to truck drivers in the form of bagged lunches next. All of this is taking place while Gomez is still continuing his education, albeit in a more remote online manner. He also is operating a growing business on the side, Detroit Salsa Co. Nevertheless, the high school junior said hes feeling determined to build on the success hes already compiled. I think the hardest thing is determining if whatever I am doing is the right thing, Gomez said. But I mean I definitely have the confidence to do what I want. Sometimes there are potential solutions to vexing problems right before our noses but we cant see them because were not focusing our vision properly. And that might be the case right now with an overlooked treatment for the new coronavirus that could help save lives: convalescent plasma infusions. In the fifth month of a global pandemic and economic calamity that is unprecedented in recent history, New Yorkers have grown accustomed to news so grim that 230 deaths from COVID-19 in the state in one day is considered a cause for celebration. We only get cloudy visions of the future, filtered through the lenses of imperfect and sometimes politically conflicted elected leaders. In part, thats because we havent yet developed and begun deploying a vaccine or treatment thats known to be effective. The highly touted antiviral drug Remdesivir was found to shorten median recovery time for COVID-19 patients from 15 days to 11 days in a clinical study. Its efficacy in minimizing deaths from COVID-19, however, was negligible. Vaccines are being developed at a breakneck pace around the world, but even the most optimistic view holds that one of those wont be ready for widespread use before early 2021 which feels like eons in socially distanced, economically damaged Covid Time. And yet antibody-rich plasma infusions are a promising therapeutic treatment that doesnt seem to garner headlines like Remdesivir or hydroxychloroquine. The blood of people who recover from COVID-19 contains antibodies to immunize against future infections. These antibodies can be transfused to those suffering from the virus as a way to jump-start and bolster their immune system in fighting the disease. Although we need to wait for the results of double-blind studies comparing the benefits of convalescent plasma infusions to a placebo to really know how effective the treatment is, a clinical trial at UC San Francisco is expected to begin within weeks because the anecdotal evidence is positive. In Long Island last week, a middle-aged man who was gravely ill for one month with COVID-19 made a miraculous recovery after getting a convalescent plasma infusion. Once they gave that to me in the ICU, all of my numbers within 24 hours started going from 'you were saying (goodbye)' to 'welcome back, the recovered patient, Scott Cohen, told NBC 4 New York. The principle of using donated blood from people who have recuperated from a virus is not new. It has existed since the late 1800s and was used throughout the 20th century, including in treating serious viral illnesses like measles and mumps. But like so many things related to COVID-19 thus far, its use and effectiveness has been overshadowed by the multiple negative story lines that flood the news each day. In the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on April 28, there was a headline that caught my eye: Anecdotal evidence is overwhelmingly positive: Nearly 2,600 patients in US have been treated with plasma. We are quite encouraged by the results weve seen, Dr. William Hartman of the University of Wisconsin told the Journal Sentinel. Nationally, what we are hearing is that it seems to be a very safe treatment. I recently discussed this with a close friend who is a doctor at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx. Like so many doctors and health care workers, she was an early coronavirus patient. After a week-long bout of extreme fatigue and other mild symptoms, she recuperated fully at home and decided to donate blood as soon as the appropriate window from convalescence to donation ended. When the results came back, she was told that her blood was rich with antibodies, making her plasma prime material to help others. Even though people are generally prohibited from donating blood more than once a month, she was asked to come back the following week to make a donation. Studies have shown that those who have recovered from COVID-19 have different degrees of antibodies in their blood and therefore not all blood donors are equal. The more antibodies that can be infused after this plasma extraction, the greater likelihood that the recipient can make a strong recovery from their own illness. Thus, it seems logical that New York should now launch the largest blood donation drive in history. With the state Department of Health recently finding that 21% of 1,300 New York City residents tested positive for antibodies, there could be a potential donor pool of 1.7 million people in just the five boroughs. If even 5% of those people have the strong antibody concentration exhibited by my friend, then thats 85,000 potential donors each week who can help the tens of thousands of people currently hospitalized in New York. As more people recover and become eligible donors and if everyone pays this forward we will have enough plasma to not just cure the many that are ill today, but to bank enough plasma for the fall, when there may be another spike of cases in New York. That clearly would take a massive effort to obtain the proper equipment and staffing and to conduct a public information campaign. It would require an all-out effort to get blood banks, labs, hospitals and medical professionals coordinated to start a plasma pipeline. Some creative public policy making might be needed too: The state should offer a $500 tax credit to everyone who has healed from the virus and then donates their blood to be used for this plasma therapy. For those who have rich antibody concentrations in their blood, an additional $250 tax credit could be awarded each time they donate. Within weeks, we could be well on our way to creating a plasma pipeline that can speed up recovery and minimize deaths. Its potentially a game changer for the vulnerable population in New York and could bring down mortality rates that have seen more than 25,000 New Yorkers perish in this crisis. New York needs, as former President Barack Obama once said, the fierce urgency of now to get this project off the ground. MONTREAL - BCE Inc. executives said Thursday that they are beginning to see early signs that customers are getting ready to emerge from COVID-19 restrictions and Bell Canada is in good position to respond. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 7/5/2020 (621 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. BCE Inc. logo is shown at the company's annual general meeting in Montreal, Thursday, May 6, 2010. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes MONTREAL - BCE Inc. executives said Thursday that they are beginning to see early signs that customers are getting ready to emerge from COVID-19 restrictions and Bell Canada is in good position to respond. However, they can't predict yet what measures the company will take to adapt to a post-pandemic environment. They made the remarks after the Montreal-based company, Canada's largest communications and media business, announced a $680-million profit attributable to common shareholders for the first quarter ended March 31. BCE and Bell chief executive Mirko Bibic told analysts that overall Bell Media viewership was up 25 per cent as Canadians watched CTV and specialty channels for news and entertainment. Bibic said even Bell's sport-related services held up, despite a lack of professional events, and thinks viewership will bounce back once events resume. Similarly, Bibic said he expects a surge in wireless equipment sales, once consumers can return to stores that have been closed since mid-March. "My sense is those who go out to shop are going out to shop with a purpose, and that's to buy rather than to just browse," Bibic said. But the outlook for Bell's business customers is more complex, because some small- to mid-size enterprises may be unable to recover fully from the pandemic shut-downs while others may continue to make greater use of communications services by employees, suppliers and clients. "While we have seen an increase in pricing concessions to customers, particularly in the SME space, as well as lower data equipment and business service solutions sales to larger enterprise customers, we also provide critical connectivity services needed to maintain business continuity," Bibic said. Chief financial officer Glen LeBlanc said that Bell's performance in the early part of the first quarter showed that it was on track to meet 2020 financial estimates, which have now been withdrawn because of COVID's disruption. "The financial impact of COVID-19 was limited in Q1 as government lockdown measures and related shutdown of businesses only went into effect towards the end of the quarter," LeBlanc said. He said total service revenue remained positive for the full quarter but product revenue was down 10 per cent compared with a year earlier. "This was a result of a significant reduction in wireless customer transactions attributable to retail channel disruptions as well as lower business wireline data equipment sales, given last year's strength and the current economic environment," LeBlanc added. Earlier, BCE Inc. reported its first-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as the company was hit by derivative losses related to a hedging program, while the pandemic took a bite out of its revenue. The company said its profit attributable to common shareholders was 75 cents per share, compared with $740 million or 82 cents per share in last year's first quarter. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.68 billion, down from $5.73 billion as the pandemic affected all of BCE's Bell Canada operating segments. On an adjusted basis, BCE said it earned 80 cents per share up from 77 cents per share a year ago. Analysts on average had estimated BCE would earn an adjusted profit of 76 cents per share and nearly $5.68 billion in revenue, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv. by David Paddon in Toronto This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2020 Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE) U.S. President Trump has vetoed a congressional resolution to prevent military action against Iran without first receiving permission from Congress amid rising tensions in the Middle East. In a statement on May 6, Trump described the attempt by lawmakers to curtail a presidents war powers as very insulting and based on misunderstandings of facts and law. In a rare show of bipartisanship, the House passed the nonbinding resolution in March after it had earlier cleared the Senate. It came amid concern that the United States was on a warpath after a U.S. airstrike killed Iran's most powerful general, Qasem Soleimani, and a top Iraqi militia leader in Baghdad in January. Iran responded by launching ballistic missiles at an Iraqi base housing U.S troops that left more than 100 soldiers with traumatic brain injuries. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the sole power to declare war. But Trump said that contrary to the resolution, the United States is not engaged in the use of force against Iran. The resolution implies that the Presidents constitutional authority to use military force is limited to defense of the United States and its forces against imminent attack. That is incorrect, Trump said. We live in a hostile world of evolving threats, and the Constitution recognizes that the President must be able to anticipate our adversaries next moves and take swift and decisive action in response. Thats what I did! Trump also said the strike on Soleimani was allowed under a 2002 resolution authorizing war with Iraq. The resolution now heads back to the Senate, where it is unlikely to muster a two-thirds majority to overcome a presidential veto. Tensions rose between Washington and Tehran after Trump in 2018 withdrew from a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and reimposed crushing sanctions. With reporting by AFP, AP, dpa, and Reuters KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- David Mercker, an Extension forestry specialist with the University of Tennessee Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, has been named 2020 Extension Forester of the Year by the Forest Landowners Association (FLA). FLA is a national organization that promotes and protects the interests of private forest landowners and bestows this award annually as determined by its board of directors. Wayne Clatterbuck, UT professor of silviculture and forest management, nominated Mercker for the award, writing, "David is a consummate, respected forestry professional and is looked upon as a colleague and friend by landowners and professionals alike." Clatterbuck noted Mercker's many achievements, including his service on the Tennessee Tree Farm Committee; the creation of the Welcome to Your Woods Initiative, which introduces new landowners to forest ownership; and the numerous Extension articles and presentations developed for the benefit of Tennessee's landowners. Mercker's 34-year career in forestry has seen many milestones and highlights, but most notably Mercker was named a Fellow by the Society of American Foresters and received the National Family Forest Education Award for his Tennessee Healthy Hardwoods Program, now in its 14th year. He coordinated the establishment of Tennessee's County Forestry Associations (CFA), which act as local branches of the Tennessee Forestry Association. These CFAs work directly with landowners and local county Extension agents to provide best management practices and educational resources. On receiving the award, Mercker noted, "It's an honor to be recognized for contributing to forest landowner education. Only through decades, with the caring counsel of mentors, was this award possible. I'd like to thank everyone involved in the award process!" In his decades-long career, Mercker was a consulting forester for 13 years and has served with the University of Tennessee for 21 years. Mercker is working on a new educational project that resourcefully complies with current social distancing policies: Back Porch Forestry. The videos for this Extension project are being recorded from Mercker's own back porch and will be distributed to private forest landowners. Of Mercker, department head Don Hodges remarked, "David is truly deserving of this recognition. He has developed a reputation not only for the quality of his Extension efforts, but also for the contributions he has made to the forests of Tennessee and to the forestry profession." ### The UT Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries is part of the Herbert College of Agriculture, UT AgResearch and UT Extension at the UT Institute of Agriculture. The curricula focus on a mastery learning approach, emphasizing practical, hands-on experiences. FWF's faculty, staff and students conduct research and extension that advances the science and sustainable management of our natural resources. For more information, visit fwf.tennessee.edu. Through its land-grant mission of research, teaching and extension, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. utia.tennessee.edu. TORONTO, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Compass Gold Corp. (CVB.V) (Compass or the Company) is pleased to provide an update on the recently completed drilling and ongoing shallow soil geochemistry exploration work at the Tarabala and Sodala prospect areas, located on the Companys Sikasso Property in Southern Mali (Figure 1). Highlights Air core (AC) drilling at Tarabala (26 RC holes, 1,435 m) intersected gold mineralization within the 10-km long Tarabala soil geochemistry trend Best interval at Tarabala was 16 m at 1.51 g/t Au (from 16 m), including 4 m @ 5.20 g/t Au (from 26m) Drilling at the Sodala artisanal workings intersected NE-trending structure containing five narrow gold zones in one hole (SAAC031), including 1 m at 2.71 g/t Au (from 16 m) An AC drill program of at least 2,500 m will commence immediately, starting with 1,550 m at Tarabala and Sodala, with the remainder at Samagouela Compass CEO, Larry Phillips, said, This initial bedrock drilling on our Sankarani permit has identified wide intercepts of gold mineralization associated with quartz veins adjacent to the Tarabala fault. There are numerous indications of mineralization along this fault within our permit area over a distance of 10 km, which is only part of a 60-km long series of artisanal workings on the Tarabala fault outside the permit. We are encouraged by the drilling results that show clear geological and geophysical evidence of impressive gold in shallow soil samples associated with large faults on both the Sankarani and Sankarani East permits. Additional exploration, including drilling, is required to determine the extent of mineralization over the 600 m length of the Tarabala artisanal workings, as well as to the north, over the 3.5 km zone of soil anomalism along the Tarabala fault. Compass Exploration Manager, Dr. Madani Diallo, added, Our latest findings undoubtedly call for follow-up work on what is only a 1.5-km portion of this promising 10-km trend. We will initiate this next round of drilling shortly, and expect to finish by late June. Story continues Tarabala-Yala Air Core Drilling Results Between mid-February and early April, the Company completed 1,435 m of air core (AC) drilling over selected geophysical and geochemical targets on the eastern portion of the Sankarani permit (Figure 1). The drilling targeted a 1-km-long and 350-m-wide zone within the greater Tarabala Trend. The Tarabala Trend has a strike length of 10 km and an up to 600-m-wide zone on the permit. It encompasses several areas with anomalous gold in shallow soil samples, and three artisanal gold workings (Tarabala, Yala, and Assama), which follow the trace of the Tarabala fault. Approximately forty artisanal gold workings, over a distance of 80 km, are known to occur with this north-northeast trending fault, suggesting it is a major gold-bearing mineralized system. Figure 1: Location of artisanal workings, regional soil geochemistry and drilling locations at Tarabala and Sodala is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/112d0628-a963-422f-8b38-711395ea1f44 Permit overview map: http://compassgoldcorp.com/sikasso-properties/ The Tarabala prospect, one of four identified so far along this trend (Figure 1), was drilled by three fences of AC holes (Figure 2). The northern eight-hole fence (SAAC01-08, 398 m) at Tarabala identified wide, discrete, gold mineralization in two of the holes (Table 1), with five of the eight holes containing gold intercepts. Mineralization was present within metamorphosed sandstones and siltstones. All the holes had a planned depth of 70 m, but due to the number and thickness of the quartz veins encountered, the maximum depth reached was 60 m. As a result, some gaps are present between drill holes. Figure 2: Map showing the location of AC drilling and summary intercepts at Tarabala and Yala is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3a7e2366-0667-44b9-810c-0a3d149b4876. The location of the next stage of drilling at Tarabala is also illustrated. The best mineralization occurred in drill hole SAAC02, where four discrete zones of mineralization were intercepted. The highest-grade intercept was 4 m @ 5.20 g/t Au (from 26 m), within a wider 16 m @ 1.51 g/t Au (from 16 m) interval, which also included 1 m @12.98 g/t Au (from 27 m.) A broader zone of 18 m @ 0.43 g/t Au (from 41) was encountered in SAAC01. This mineralized zone is interpreted as being distinct from the shallow vein encountered in SAAC02. Quartz veining was abundant in all the holes, but did not necessarily contain gold. Table 1. Significant assays (>0.5 g/t Au) identified during recent drilling at Tarabala Hole ID From (m) To (m) 1, 2 Interval (m) Au (ppm) SAAC01 34 36 1 0.59 SAAC01 41 59 18 0.43 Inc. 48 53 5 0.64 SAAC02 16 32 16 1.51 Inc. 25 32 7 3.16 inc. 26 30 4 5.20 SAAC04 45 47 2 2.31 SAAC26 1 2 1 29.98 SAAC29 1 2 1 0.78 SAAC31 16 17 1 2.71 SAAC32 8 9 1 0.82 1True thicknesses are interpreted as 60-90% of stated intervals 2 Intervals use a 0.2-gram-per-tonne gold cut-off value Of the thirteen holes, totalling 804 m, drilled on the highly anomalous gold soil anomaly on the central line, gold mineralization was only encountered in SAAC26 (Table 1). The best intercept was 1 m @ 29.98 g/t Au (from 1 m), and is interpreted to be related to the NE-trending Tarabala Fault. No artisanal gold workings are present in the area of the intercept, and there was no evidence of disturbed ground. Technical Detail The northern fence (SAAC01-08) was drilled on an azimuth of 290 (towards the WNW), at dips of 60, with lengths varying from 39 m to 60 m. This fence was planned to cut the southern part of the 600-m-long Tarabala workings. The central fence (SAAC09-20) was drilled on an azimuth of 250 (towards the WSW), at dips of 55, with lengths varying from 46 m to 72 m. One additional hole, SAAC26 was drilled on the same line, on an azimuth of 070 and a dip off 55 to test an area with a dangerous break in slope. This fence was drilled on a slight plateau where shallow soil sampling identified samples containing up to 0.95 g/t Au, but with no artisanal workings present. Gradient induced polarization (IP) geophysics identified the presence of three interpreted faults, including the NE-trending Tarabala Fault. The southern fence of holes was drilled on an azimuth of 045 (towards the NW), at dips of 60, with lengths varying from 39 m to 51 m over the small Yala artisanal workings. Grab samples of quartz veins collected from the workings in July 2019 returned grades up to 1.28 g/t Au. Drilling was performed by IDC Drilling (Senegal), and collected samples were assayed at SGS (Bamako, Mali) by fire assay. The southern fence, drilled 550 metres to the south of the central fence, targeted the small Yala artisanal workings. Hole SAAC23 was the only drill hole to contain gold, with two 1-m-wide intercepts containing 0.29 and 0.46 g/t Au from the upper 15 m of the hole. Sodala Results A six-hole fence, totalling 310 m, was completed at Sodala in mid-April. The purpose of the drilling was to test mineralization currently being worked by artisanal miners over a strike length 200 m. They have been following a NE-trending fault identified by geological mapping and delineated by ground magnetics and IP surveys performed in February 2020. The artisanal workings occur 250 m to the northwest of an area where extremely high shallow soil samples were collected in 2018. Holes SAAC27-32 were drilled on an azimuth of 135 (towards the southeast), a dip of 60, and to depths of from 48 to 54 m. Mineralization was encountered in three of the drill holes, with SAAC31 containing six mineralized zones. All mineralized zones were narrow (less than 2 m), and the highest grade was 1 m @ 2.71 g/t Au (from 16 m). Table 2. Significant assays (>0.5 g/t Au) identified during recent drilling at Sodala Hole ID From (m) To (m) 1, Interval (m) Au (g/t) SAAC29 1 2 1 0.78 SAAC31 16 17 1 2.71 SAAC32 8 9 1 0.82 1True thicknesses are interpreted as 60-90% of stated intervals Pending Results - Samagouela In mid-April, the Company completed the drilling of 19 AC holes (totalling 1,055 m) at Samagouela on the Kourou permit (see Figure 1). Final assay results are expected within the next few weeks. Next Steps Compass is preparing to conduct at least 2,500 m of AC drilling during May and June on the Tarabala, Sodala and Samagouela prospects. This work is expected to be completed by the end of June. Field teams are also continuing to perform in-fill shallow soil geochemistry sampling on high priority targets based on previous studies. About Compass Gold Corp. Compass, a public company having been incorporated into Ontario, is a Tier 2 issuer on the TSX- V. Through the 2017 acquisition of MGE and Malian subsidiaries, Compass holds gold exploration permits located in Mali that comprise the Sikasso Property. The exploration permits are located in three sites in southern Mali with a combined land holding of 867 km2. The Sikasso Property is located in the same region as several multi-million-ounce gold projects, including Morila, Syama, Kalana and Komana. The Companys Mali-based technical team, led in the field by Dr. Madani Diallo and under the supervision of Dr. Sandy Archibald, P.Geo, is conducting the current exploration program. They are examining numerous anomalies first noted in Dr. Archibalds August 2017 National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report on the Sikasso Property, Southern Mali. QAQC All AC samples were collected following industry best practices, and an appropriate number and type of certified reference materials (standards), blanks and duplicates were inserted to ensure an effective QAQC program was carried out. The 1 m interval samples were prepared and analyzed at SGS SARL (Bamako, Mali) by fire assay technique FAE505. All standard and blank results were reviewed to ensure no failures were detected. Qualified Person This news release has been reviewed and approved by EurGeol. Dr. Sandy Archibald, P.Geo, Compasss Technical Director, who is the Qualified Person for the technical information in this news release under National Instrument 43-101 standards. ForwardLooking Information This news release contains "forwardlooking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding the Companys planned exploration work and management appointments. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forwardlooking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by such information. The statements in this news release are made as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forwardlooking information except as required by applicable law. For further information please contact: Compass Gold Corporation Compass Gold Corporation Larry Phillips Pres. & CEO Greg Taylor Dir. Investor Relations & Corporate Communications lphillips@compassgoldcorp.com gtaylor@compassgoldcorp.com T: +1 416-596-0996 X 302 T: +1 416-596-0996 X 301 Website: www.compassgoldcorp.com 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. SUMMIT, N.J., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ETF Managers Group (ETFMG), an industry leader in bringing innovative thematic ETFs to market, has announced the extension of its headline-making partnership with powerhouse UFC heavyweight, Alexey Oleynik. The extension of this unique sponsorship comes ahead of Oleynik's upcoming fight in UFC's highly anticipated return to live television this Saturday, May 9, in Jacksonville, FL. Oleynik, known to UFC fans as "The Boa Constrictor," has been representing ETFMG's rare marketing efforts, successfully bridging the gap between next gen investors and the financial community since March of 2019. With the extension of his contract, Oleynik will continue as a brand representative for MJ (NYSE:MJ), the U.S. first and world's largest cannabis ETF, GAMR (NYSE:GAMR), the first video game tech ETF, along with the addition of the firm's most recent product launch, IVES (NYSE:IVES), giving investors access to the next $1T in global cloud technology spending. "Alexey is a respected and accomplished athlete in and out of the octagon, our partnership with Alexey has added a great deal of value to our firm, providing significant exposure to a brand new target audience that is often overlooked by our competitors," said Sam Masucci, Founder and CEO of ETFMG. "Alexey is a force to be reckoned with and we are proud to continue our partnership with him." Oleynik holds the record for highest rankings in the past five years, compiling a 58-13-1 record, with eight of his wins coming by knockout and 46 by submission, the 4th most wins by submission in MMA history. He is the first and only UFC fighter to have won two UFC fights using the "Ezekiel Choke," and 12 MMA fights with that tactic throughout his career. "The ETFMG team have been great friends and partners," said Oleynik. "I always strive to do the best and be the best. Sam and his team have provided one of a kind opportunities to investors that align with everything I do." "We are extremely proud to extend a sponsorship that has brought us a correlated 85% lift in website traffic and has been dubbed "a rare and highly unusual marketing move"1 by financial media outlets," said Tricia Vanderslice, CMO of ETFMG. "The UFC audience size, demographics and global reach are a perfect pairing with several of our products that have proven next gen investor appeal. We look forward to cheering Alexey on in his return to the octagon this Saturday." Oleynik will fight this Saturday in the UFC's return to live television against Fabricio Werdum. The event, to be broadcasted on ESPN, will be staged in Jacksonville, FL, with no fans in attendance due to COVID-19. About ETFMG ETFMG is a provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), founded in 2014 with a vision of developing innovative thematic ETFs that provide investors unique exposure to new markets. Today, the ETFMG fund line up provides access to a diverse collection of global themes and is comprised of 75% first to market products. We turn portfolio management strategies into successful ETFs by partnering with market segment experts to bring long-term growth opportunities to investors. ETFMG funds are proof as to the power of the ETF wrapper and that thematic products can have a place in investors' portfolios. To learn more about ETFMG and our portfolio of exchange traded funds please visit www.etfmg.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter @ETFMG, or YouTube. Carefully consider a Fund's investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Fund's summary or statutory prospectuses, available on www.etfmg.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at market price (not NAV), may trade at a discount or premium to NAV and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Narrowly focused investments typically exhibit higher volatility. ETF Managers Group LLC is the investment adviser to the Funds. The Funds are distributed by ETFMG Financial LLC. ETF Managers Group LLC and ETFMG Financial LLC are wholly owned subsidiaries of Exchange Traded Managers Group LLC (collectively, "ETFMG"). ETFMG Financial LLC is not affiliated with Wedbush Securities, EEFund Management, Prime Indexes or Level ETF Ventures. Sam Masucci is a registered representative of ETFMG Financial LLC. Sources: Contact: Deborah Kostroun Zito Partners 201.403.8185 [email protected] SOURCE ETFMG Related Links https://etfmg.com The already icy relationship between Perth Airport and Qantas Group has grown colder amid a row over money which both claim is owed to them and desperately needed to keep their heads above water. The claims are the latest in a series of skirmishes between Qantas and Perth Airport since the mid-2010s over usage of terminals and a separate ongoing legal stoush over fees that began in 2018. The dispute between Qantas and Perth Airport is the latest in a long line of skirmishes since the mid-2010s. Credit:Jason South On Monday, the airport sounded the alarm in revealing passenger numbers had dropped 97 per cent in April compared to the same time last year, confirming its fears revenue would take a $100 million hit thanks to COVID-19. The airport said Qantas surprise decision in April to defer payment of airport charges and rent for February and March would rip another $20 million of income from the airport at a time when cash flow was critical. London: The husband of a prisoner in Irans notorious Evin jail has claimed that Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a British-Australian academic who is also detained there, has attempted suicide several times. Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert. In a post on Facebook, Reza Khandan wrote: News received from Evin prison says that Kylie Moore-Gilbert, the Australian citizen, who is staying in the security ward of Evin prison, has so far attempted to kill herself three times. The long stay in the security detention centre and the conditions of solitary confinement have become so unbearable that she has had several suicide attempts. Khandan is the husband of Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer who was sentenced to 38 years in Evin prison and 148 lashes last year on various security charges, which she strongly denies. OPINION: "This should be a no-brainer, so whats the problem? Some members of the RTA board are hesitant to change the scope of the First Avenue project. They appear to want Tucson to build a six-lane roadway because it was the project scope promised in the 2006 plan and the RTA must do what was promised no matter the need or the cost. Decisions by the RTA Board should be made based on facts and data, not out of fear of public perceptions and long ago promises," write Tucsonans Ruth Reiman and Jane Evans. Photo: James Willamor/Flickr Here's the most recent top news you may have missed in Durham. NC Air National Guard jets buzz the state The planes were to fly over various spots in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill before noon today. Read the full story on The News & Observer. Durham businesses able to reopen under states order, remainder of local order in effect through May 15 In Durham County, local officials said the city/county stay-at-home order will stay in effect through May 15. However, when considering retail businesses, the states modified order that was signed by Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday said, local restrictions cannot set different retail requirements. Read the full story on WNCN. Durham-based company helps keep people stocked with fresh produce during pandemic Harvesting at Jeff Bender's Warren County farm will look a little different this year because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Precautions will go beyond wearing latex gloves, which is something employees already did. Read the full story on WNCN. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. IRVING, Texas, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- 7-Eleven, Inc., the world's largest convenience retailer with more than 70,000 stores worldwide, has signed a master franchise agreement with CP ALL (Cambodia) Co., Ltd., an indirect subsidiary of CP ALL Public Company Limited, to develop and operate 7-Eleven stores in Cambodia. The first Cambodian 7-Eleven-branded convenience store is expected to open in Phnom Penh in 2021. The master franchisee plans to construct stores, modernizing the small-retail environment and bringing greater convenience to shoppers, backed by the world's largest convenience retailing brand. In 1988, CP ALL was established to operate 7-Eleven stores in Thailand under an exclusive licensing agreement with 7-Eleven, Inc. The first Thailand 7-Eleven store opened in Bangkok in 1989, and CP ALL now operates close to 12,000 stores in the country, second only to Japan in the world. Internationally popular products, beverages, snacks and immediately consumable fresh foods with recipes developed for regional tastes will be part of the convenience offerings for Cambodian shoppers. "In the past several years Cambodia's economy has experienced dramatic growth, and in 2019 was projected to become the fastest-growing economy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). CP ALL has done a tremendous job growing the 7-Eleven brand in Thailand, and I can think of no one better to bring our brand of convenience to consumers in Cambodia," said 7-Eleven, Inc. President and CEO Joe DePinto. "This relationship also promises to bring additional jobs and economic opportunities throughout Cambodia." CP ALL has successfully operated 7-Eleven stores in Thailand for over 30 years, and the brand has become part of popular Thai culture. The stores there serve as one-stop destinations for beverages, snacks, ready-to-eat meals, financial services such as banking and bill payment, digital technology and delivery all which the company plans to replicate for Cambodian customers. Cambodia will be the 19th country where 7-Eleven stores operate or will operate soon. Other countries and/or regions include the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, China (including Hong Kong), the Philippines, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Viet Nam, United Arab Emirates, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and India. About 7-Eleven, Inc. 7Eleven, Inc. is the premier name and largest chain in the convenience-retailing industry. Based in Irving, Texas, 7Eleven operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 70,000 stores in 17 countries, including 11,800 in North America. Known for its iconic brands such as Slurpee, Big Bite and Big Gulp, 7Eleven has expanded into high-quality sandwiches, salads, side dishes, cut fruit and protein boxes, as well as pizza, chicken wings and mini beef tacos. 7Eleven offers customers industry-leading private brand products under the 7-Select brand including healthy options, decadent treats and everyday favorites, at an outstanding value. Customers can earn and redeem points on various items in stores nationwide through its 7Rewards loyalty program, place an order in the 7NOW delivery app in over 35 participating markets, or rely on 7-Eleven for bill payment service, self-service lockers and other convenient services. Find out more online at www.7-Eleven.com, via the 7Rewards customer loyalty platform on the 7-Eleven mobile app, or on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. SOURCE 7-Eleven, Inc. Related Links http://www.7-eleven.com Unknown malfunction during cargo return capsule re-entry: CMSA Global Times Source:Global Times Published: 2020/5/6 16:27:08 A test version of China's first flexible and inflatable cargo return capsule, which was launched into orbit on Tuesday by the Long March-5B's maiden flight, experienced a failure during its re-entry to Earth due to an unknown malfunction, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced on Wednesday. The cause of the malfunction is under investigation, the CMSA said. Ji Qiming, an official with the CMSA, said at a Tuesday press conference that the cargo return capsule, which is flexible and inflatable, was China's new-generation test vehicle for space cargo, and the mission was intended to test the key re-entry technology of inflatable unfolding style. According to the Xinhua News Agency, the development of the new cargo return capsule is intended to provide more agile space cargo shipments at a lower cost. The idea of an inflatable capsule was developed by the Second Academy of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp starting in 2014, in order to increase reliability and significantly lower costs in the payload return process. China's latest state-of-the-art carrier rocket, the Long March-5B, made a successful maiden flight on Tuesday. During that flight, the new rocket sent the assembly of a trial version of the country's new-generation manned spaceship - without a crew in this case - and the testing cargo return capsule into planned orbit. The trial version of China's new-generation manned spaceship has completed duties including solar sail deployment, relay antenna deployment and autonomous orbit control. The spaceship maintained a steady flight form and was in a good working condition as of press time with normal functioning of electricity supply and measurement links, according to the Chinese authority. The successful launch signaled that a new era of in China's manned space projects including space stations has officially begun, according to rocket developers and space industry insiders. Ji revealed that China aims to complete the construction of its space station by roughly 2022, which involves 12 flight missions. After the Tuesday debut flight of the Long March-5B, there will be launch missions of the Tianhe core cabin, as well as the Wentian and Mengtian lab cabins which are modules of the space station, Ji said. There will also be four launch missions each for the Shenzhou manned spaceship and the Tianzhou cargo spaceships, to allow astronauts to rotate time in space and cargo supply. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The chief executive of the urban Southeast Texas city thats arguably had the hardest time testing residents worries that his job is about to get harder. For more than a week, Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bill Bartie has called upon other elected officials to establish a testing site in the city because it has had low testing rates and many of its residents are at higher risk for contracting the novel coronavirus and experiencing complications. Residents on Wednesday seemed to prove the need, logging one of the regions largest numbers of people tested at a temporary testing site in one day. There were so many, in fact, that some people had to be referred to a different site. But the six-county coalition formed to fight the pandemic in Southeast Texas will halt all of its testing operations in one week. Port Arthur is scrambling to find a partner and the funding to open its own centers. All the while, the state continues to allow for the reopening of businesses and the number of confirmed coronavirus cases, and related deaths, keeps ticking up. >> Related: Public coronavirus testing sites to close May 15 So Bartie again turned to the news media just hours before another round of businesses were set to reopen to implore residents to continue staying home, practicing social distancing, and wearing masks and gloves despite what the county and state governments are doing. I know I have to take care of my family. I have to take care of myself, he said. The mayor doesnt have to tell me I have to take care of my family. I should be cognizant and aware I need to take care of my family. As of Wednesday, the city finally reported that more than 1% of its residents had been tested, meeting the goal set in late April by Gov. Greg Abbott and touted by county officials on Wednesday. But Bartie said he wouldnt feel comfortable endorsing efforts to get business back to normal until 2% or 3% of the areas residents have been tested for the virus and the number of cases confirmed each day stops or, at the very least, dramatically slows. Notably, Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick, at a Wednesday news conference to announce the deactivation of the six-county coalition, said he does not plan to dine in at restaurants any time soon. He continued to urge similar precautions as Bartie. >> Beaumont opens up outdoor dining to accomodate social distancing, Abbott's orders Instead, the decision to discontinue the coalitions testing program was led in part by the increasing availability of testing. So, the six county judges thought the need could be handled by local public health departments and private providers. But the region on Thursday continued a strong week for individual testing, adding another 200 people to the rolls. This is influenced, in part, by the increased daily testing sites running this week and part of next. However, this is the first week the region has seen nearly 200 people tested at the public sites each day. Another 128 people called in to the hotline set up to streamline screening and testing. And Southeast Texas continued its relatively steady rise in confirmed coronavirus cases on Thursday, adding another 12 to bring the total to 593. The city of Beaumont also confirmed an additional two virus-related deaths, bringing the region to a total of 31. Meanwhile, two of the countys peace justices, the officials responsible for pronouncing people dead, expressed continuing concern over the cases that are not, and may not ever be, confirmed by testing. Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Marc DeRouen, reached before Barties news conference, said he has performed an inquest on two individuals whose cause of death was confirmed through testing to have been related to the coronavirus. But hes handled just as many cases where family members or doctors suspect coronavirus caused the death but dont have tests to prove it. >> Related: Beaumont logs two more coronavirus deaths The true number of unrecorded virus-related deaths could therefore be higher. Forensic medical isnt wanting us to send them there (for an autopsy). If theyre confirmed, dont send them. If its suspected, they want me to stay clear of it as well, he said. Thats one thing that bothers me about these numbers, because you wont have an accurate picture of whats going on. Precinct 8 Justice of the Peace Tom Gillam III said he expects that problem to just get worse. He said hes had one case where family members suspected an individuals death was the result of coronavirus. That person ultimately ended up testing negative for the virus. Gillam said hes watched as other states with a relatively small number of cases slowly became hotspots as they reopened businesses. He worries for Port Arthur, which is only now beginning to hit its stride in testing and has little knowledge of who could be asymptomatic and unknowingly spreading the virus. I pray theres not going to be a spike here, he said. kaitlin.bain@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/KaitlinBain The country's largest lender SBI has decided to extend the RBI-approved moratorium to the cash-strapped NBFC sector to help them tide over the crisis, its MD Dinesh Kumar Khara said on Thursday. The RBI has allowed banks to extend moratorium to borrowers of term loans of all kinds for three months -- March, April and May. "SBI has taken a decision to extend the moratorium allowed by RBI to the NBFC sector which is facing severe problem of cashflow," Khara said. The bank would extend the moratorium to the Non- Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) on a case-to-case basis after assessing their cash budgets and examining the need for extending it, he told PTI. "Just to ensure that there is no gap in the cashflow and help them tide over the contingency, SBI has taken such a decision," Khara said. Earlier, the State Bank of India extended 10 per cent emergency COVID response contingency loan to all kinds of borrowers to an extent of Rs 200 crore each, he said. Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Monday reviewed liquidity position and ways to promote lending to the MSME sector during a meeting with representatives of NBFCs and mutual funds amid the lockdown induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Operations of NBFCs have commenced from Monday as the government eased restrictions for the lockdown. Some of the issues discussed during the meeting included availability of liquidity from banks and other financial institutions and post-lockdown strategies for supply of credit, including working capital, to MSMEs, traders and bottom of pyramid customers in semi-urban, rural and urban areas, the RBI said. Implementation of three months moratorium on repayment of loan instalments announced by the RBI, and strengthening grievance redressal mechanisms were also discussed. The governor acknowledged the critical role of NBFCs, including micro finance institutions (MFIs), in delivering last mile credit, and the importance of mutual funds in financial intermediation, RBI said in the statement. The RBI governor on Saturday had met heads of public sector and private sector banks asking them to step up their lending towards the MSME sector. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Gardai have arrested a man in connection with a seizure of more than 13,000 worth of suspected drugs, cash, and counterfeit cash, linked to a Munster drugs operation. The haul was located during a search of a house, at Shanagolden, Co Limerick, and during a follow up search in Abbeyfeale, yesterday, May 6, gardai said. More than 1.20 lakh Himachalis have already returned home in less than a weeks time. There is a list of 21,000 others approved for return, and at least two lakh more are still awaiting official nod for their return. Will this influx see a spike in coronavirus numbers? That is the administrations main worry, reports Ashwani Sharma. IMAGE: A view of Shimla under lockdown. Photograph: Pradeep Kumar. Himachal Pradesh Principal Secretary (disaster management) Onkar Sharma, who is the designated nodal authority to facilitate the return of Himachalis stranded elsewhere in India, hasnt slept for the past five days. I have handled disaster situations, not once but a hundred times. But, this one is terribly nerve-wracking looking at the number of people desperate to come back, he tells media-persons amid answering endless phone calls. The calls are pouring in non-stop not just from those stranded due to the lockdown but also their families. Sharma is finding it impossible to answer every single call or reply to WhatsApp messages pouring into his phone. This is a real reflection of the gravity of the situation prevailing in the states official machinery, which on one hand is trying to combat the coronavirus spread -- fortunately under control -- and at the same time work out plans for a mega reverse movement of distressed natives. There is alarm, too. More the number of people coming from other places and hotspots, greater the risk in the next few weeks, warn field health workers in the districts. Official reports suggest more than 1.20 lakh persons have already returned home in less than a weeks time. There is a list of 21,000 others approved for return, and at least two lakh more are still awaiting official nod for their return. Ironically, not just those stranded, even others who had left Himachal Pradesh for good are now looking to their homecoming, as they view the state as being safer for them in the current situation. There is no state in the country from where calls are not coming in asking for help. The main places include Lucknow, Mumbai, Goa, Bengaluru, Chennai, north-east including Assam and Manipur, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Gurugram. Onkar Sharma has a team of 12 nodal officers to help him, yet the situation looks like beyond anyones imagination. Look at states like Bihar, Maharashtra or even UP, the officials have already given up. Even my team is fizzling out except for me standing up to the situation, he says. Now the main worry is over coronavirus infection returning to Himachal Pradesh, after the number of active cases have been reduced to just 2, of a total 46 tested positive so far. On Monday a 30-year old youth working in a private company in Delhi, who had returned to his home in Mandi district on April 29, tested positive. He was on home quarantine, yet developed symptoms of infection. Two other youths who travelled with him have also been put under institutional quarantine and the entire area has been sealed. His aged parents have also been subjected to tests. On Wednesday, one youth who had returned from Delhi to his village in Kangra district on April 27, tested positive. He had travelled in a taxi with four others and the police is trying to contact trace them and the also taxi driver who brought them to Himachal Pradesh. More shocks came on Thursday when the mother of a 21 year old youth who died two days ago also tested positive. Two youths who came home to Chamba have also been tested positive. So within the past 100 hours Himachal Pradeshs number spiked to 46. Before this, Himachal Pradesh had had no positive case for the past 10 days and Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur was planning to declare the state coronavirus free. Its is definitely a blow to the states efforts but it has a responsibility to bring back those stranded elsewhere and were managing without food and shelter at places still in the red zone. We brought back students from Kota. All were subjected to COVID test before sending them to home quarantine, Sharma revealed. How to protect the state against a second spurt of coronavirus? This is a big question facing officialdom as returnees carry with them risk of infection. Says Thakur, As per protocol devised, we are subjecting every single returnee to thorough medical testing. This is followed by a strict home quarantine schedule. Health teams will visit them, the police will keep surveillance on their movements and local gram pradhans, ward members will oversee every person who is required to strictly and mandatorily follow the quarantine or face action. The states health secretary R D Dhiman also sounded an alert to those returning home and told them to act responsibly or they will themselves turn victims of this virus apart from resulting in its community spread. The fear, however, is that gains achieved through the 42-day lockdown will get jeopardised once the infection enters families, and those in close contact. The opposition Congress has accused the government of a complete mishandling of the coronavirus situation and doubts if the active cases have really come down to two. The exact number of coronavirus cases will be known only if you start testing and managing the cases. There is no testing happening even at the end of lockdown 2.0. Those entering the state are subjected to thermal testing. The actual carriers of this infection may develop systems later for which no COVID testing is done. Its a huge risk and grave lapse, says Asha Kumari, Dalhousie MLA who is also AICC incharge for Punjab. She quotes the examples of Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Delhi which had done massive testing. We are happy the state government has decided to bring Himachalis back but there is now a need to step up effective testing at entry points, sending them to institutional quarantine and ensuring their isolation instead of passing the buck on to them, she advises. After heart-warming videos and messages, the Mumbai police on Thursday posted memes of popular rock bands, termed as 'safety tunes', urging citizens to stay indoors during the COVID-19 lockdown. The city police, in the past, have adopted unique ways to appeal to citizens to follow the lockdown, which has been in place since March. "Stay indoors, for we are on the streets, playing your favourite safety tunes with our Band-o-bast," the tweet posted on @MumbaiPolice reads, with memes of popular rock bands such as U2, Backstreet Boys, Oasis and Linkin Park. Using names of these bands cleverly, the police advised citizens to "U2" stay home, not loiter in "backstreet boys", home is an "oasis" and don't visit "Linkin park". The post garnered praise from Twitteraties, who appreciated the police for their taste in music. The city police's Twitter handle recently crossed the five million followers mark. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 15:02:02|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SUVA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Fiji's Ministry of Agriculture launched on Thursday its rice expansion initiative and reintroduced rice cultivation for sugarcane growers in the hope that the island nation would be self-sufficient in rice production. While announcing the initiative at the Sugar Research Institute in Lautoka, Fiji' second largest city, Fiji's Minister for Agriculture Mahendra Reddy rationalized the program as being one that would ensure Fiji to gradually achieve self-sufficiency in rice production. He said under this initiative, each sugarcane farmer was encouraged to plant at least one acre of rice, as the ministry would provide them with seeds of improved high yielding varieties that could be grown under rain-fed climatic conditions. Reddy said the ministry would provide 30 kg of rice seeds free to every sugarcane farmer. "We want each sugarcane farmer to plant rice as a supplementary and complementary crop. It could supplement your food and income security. It has also proven to be a good complementary crop rotation with sugarcane." He added that about 8,000 metric tons of rice was produced and consumed locally. "We have achieved around 66 percent self-sufficiency of rice production before and this can be done again as the agro-climatic conditions in Fiji are exceptionally favorable for rice cultivation," he said. Reddy said Fiji had around 7,000 acres of land under rice cultivation and to achieve self-sufficiency, a total of 24,000 acres of land with two crops per year was needed. In 2019, Fiji imported 42.6 million Fijian dollars (about 18.9 million U.S. dollars) worth of rice into Fiji. Enditem 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". Error. Page cannot be displayed. Please contact your service provider for more details. (29) [May 07, 2020] HP Graphics Print Providers Continue to Support the Health and Well-being of Local Communities PALO ALTO, Calif., May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HP Inc. together with its global network of print service providers (PSPs) continue to innovate printing applications to help medical teams, businesses and the public adapt in the ongoing effort to combat COVID-19. We are living through a time that is very unique to our human experience. The COVID-19 pandemic creates a new paradigm in how we relate to each other and today, so many people need help. Each day I am humbled and inspired by these shining examples of humanity and hope as the global print community is coming together for our global communities health and well-being, said Haim Levit, global head, Worldwide Industrial Indigo and PWI Commercial at HP. Printing personalize protective gear for patient and medical worker well-being As it is difficult to see faces behind medical personal protective equipment, many patients, especially the elderly, find it a frightening alien experience. Two medical students in Israel launched the More than Masks movement on Facebook calling for photos on the medical COVID-19 suits and gear. The page attracted the attention of HP Indigo team employees who helped launch the project by supporting the printing of the first 70,000 photo stickers. To date, 200,000 photo stickers have been printed by HP and print partners, and donated to an estimated 2000 medical personnel at 16 hospitals in Israel. The doctors were very excited that they feel more comfortable getting closer to patients with the ability to introduce themselves and the patients were also very moved, said Nisim Asayag, founder of the project along with fellow student Anat Skliar. In addition, the photo stickers help the medical staff identify each other for better teamwork. The 5.8 x 8.3-inch size photo stickers feature a smiling face with their name and function. The medical teams stick them directly on their protective gowns and then dispose of them at the end of the shift. Free templates for downloading can be found here. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9498339e-a78b-4af4-8eea-f39781c4da81 Sending a real print hug to frontline workers at hard-hit hospitals Postable, a US web-to-print greeting card company, is offering an online service to create and mail thank you cards to frontline workers. They are donating 100% of the profits from these cards to the Frontline Responders Fund to help get critical supplies to frontline hospital workers combating COVID-19. You can send a card printed on HP Indigo digital presses at Mercury Printing in Memphis, by visiting their website, picking a design, selecting a hospital from a list of hard hit areas and typing a message of love and encouragement to the brave medical workers saving lives. Postable prints, addresses and mails the cards to the hospitals on a daily basis. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/53959adf-0200-4a7b-b885-885c14aad96d Helping restaurants stay afloat with sealed delivery boxes Around the world, restaurants have closed their doors to dine-in patrons, leaving delivery or curb-side takeout as the only option to survive through these difficult times. CompanyBox, a Charlotte, NC based converter printing on the HP PageWide C500 Press with water-based ink compatible for food applications, developed a takeout box and bakery box with a single use seal, which keeps the food securely inside until the recipient removes the adhesive tear strip. Restaurants have had to close their doors to dine-in patrons. Other small businesses that are part of the restaurant supply chain are also suffering, businesses like farms, bakeries, breweries and wineries. We decided to respond. We hope this added peace of mind drives more takeout orders and helps all those involved, said Louie DeJesus, CEO of CompanyBox. CompanyBox has started a program to donate the first 100 boxes free to any local Charlotte restaurants, and plans to produce 100,000 boxes in total. Mobilizing fabric design community to produce and donate face masks Spoonflower, based in the US and Germany, is a digital printing company and design community that utilizes HP Stitch technology to print custom fabrics for fashion and decor applications. The Spoonflower team has established the Spoonflower Mask Response Project to mobilize its in-house sewing team to design patterns for knit gaiter and double-layer cotton styles, and its community of designers to design, produce and donate masks to healthcare workers on the front lines. Watch tutorials from the Spoonflower team on how to sew a mask. Due to high interest, more than 5,800 yards of fabric has been produced for mask makers to sew an estimated 70,000 masks for healthcare workers on the front lines. We are energized and motivated by how quickly our creatives and entrepreneurs have mobilized and leveraged their talents for the greater good, supplementing the PPE shortage with non-medical grade fabric masks, said Michael Jones, CEO, Spoonflower. Producing hand sanitizer to help hospitals with shortages The HP Graphic Arts Experience Center in Barcelona launched the printing of labels for INEOS of France to donate millions of bottles of hand sanitizers to hospitals across France, UK, Germany and the USA suffering from shortages and lack of supplies. HPs support for the production of the first 150,000 labels helped the delivery of millions of bottles to hospitals across France just ten days after the plan was announced. See how it all happened in this video. Bringing sustenance to frontline workers Baker Labels of the UK is donating three million labels printed on the HP Indigo 6900 Digital Press for the Salute the National Health Service (NHS) campaign, aimed to provide a million meals to NHS staff over the next three months. The nutritious boost meal packs are for vital frontline NHS staff working either in hospitals or those sick and confined to isolation at home. They hope to be doing around 10,000 meals a day in the coming weeks and expand across the country to targeted locations. We are in a position to be able to manufacture the number of labels required and to be flexible on quantities, variations and demand. With the added support from our material suppliers at Avery Dennison, who have agreed to donate 15000 square metres of material, Im proud to be part of the team of suppliers collaborating to get this done, said Steve Baker, managing director, Baker Labels. Read more about Baker and the NHS campaign. About HP Inc. HP Inc. creates technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere. Through our product and service portfolio of personal systems, printers, and 3D printing solutions, we engineer experiences that amaze. More information about HP Inc. is available at http://www.hp.com. Vanessa Forbes, HP [email protected] www.hp.com/go/newsroom Nina Gilbert, HP [email protected] Copyright 2020 HP Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] T he hospital trust that treated Londons first coronavirus cases almost ran out of oxygen as hundreds of patients fought for their lives, it can be revealed. Extraordinary footage gathered by a BBC documentary crew showed the Royal Free London NHS trust stretched to near-breaking point as ambulances queued at its doors to off-load Covid-19 patients. At one point, alarms sounded as oxygen levels plummeted at its main Hampstead hospital due to the vast number of patients on breathing support. One medic said there was a risk of a catastrophic failure of the entire oxygen supply system. But the documentary, a two-part special edition of the Hospital series, also shows how the entire trust transformed itself in a matter of days to save hundreds of lives as admissions soared across the capital. The programmes, to be broadcast next Monday and Tuesday, reveal that doctors across the trust were advised to try to reduce the rate that oxygen was administered to patients to conserve supplies. Similar advice was issued to all hospitals across London. Demand for oxygen soared due to the use of CPAP high-pressure masks, which deliver six to eight times more oxygen than normal in a bid to avoid the need to put patients on a ventilator. Dr David Levy, caring for a critically ill patient at Barnet hospital, said: Who would have thought that we would be concerned about running out of the air we breathe, oxygen? But we are using it in vast quantities... Its the mainstay of the support we are able to give patients with coronavirus. Loading.... Oxygen tanks are seen being delivered twice a day as demand increased by 100-150 times, with a months supply being consumed every two days. Trust sources said last night this prevented the oxygen supply from running out. Film crews were granted three weeks of unprecedented access from March 23, the day the lockdown began. Footage includes video images gathered by clinical staff wearing body-cams in intensive care. One heartbreaking scene shows a professor of surgery breaking down in tears after telling the wife of a transplant patient - who had recently received a new kidney - that he had deteriorated and had to be placed on a ventilator. The Royal Free in north London / AFP/Getty Images Another scene shows a 22-year-old pregnant woman with Covid-19 undergoing an emergency caesarean as her condition deteriorated the first baby born at the Royal Free in the coronavirus era, with maternity staff in full PPE. Doctors told the Standard they hope the two hour-long programmes will show the outstanding teamwork that kept the hospital open and saved hundreds of lives. At one point, the trust is caring for 328 Covid-positive patients plus another 94 suspected to have the virus. More than 80 per cent of all trust patients have coronavirus. Intensive care beds have been opened in seven areas of the Hampstead hospital. Staff absences reach 1,000 a tenth of the trusts workforce. Some are too terrified to come to work. Staff are crying before and after shifts due to fear and emotional strain. The trusts world-renowned plastic surgeons are rapidly retrained to work on intensive care. There are concerns about a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE). Its not to be taken lightly, one doctor says. Its not a joke. 448 coronavirus deaths at Royal Free Trust At one point, only two of 75 spaces in a mortuary are free. At another, four dead patients cannot be transferred from the wards. A temporary mortuary the size of a HGV lorry is delivered to Barnet hospital. 1,000 staff absences at peak of crisis Dr Tim Lockie, a consultant cardiologist, said that younger patients who had been sent home from A&E a few days earlier and told to self-isolate had suddenly crashed and died. He said the severity and ferocity of the disease was terrifying. He said: Its the rapid nature in which this virus seems to overtake people and cause massive organ function is the thing that is very, very scary. The viciousness of this virus and the way it attacks all different organ systems is very, very severe. By last night, the trust had declared 448 coronavirus deaths, the second highest in London. A sign of hope emerges when doctors are able to enrol some patients on the trial of the anti-viral drug Remdesivir, which the Royal Free, a specialist infectious diseases hospital, had previously given to Ebola patients. Dr Sanjay Bhagani, an infectious diseases consultant who led the drug trial, told the Standard it was amazing how the Royal Free had rapidly changed its practices to cope with the pandemic. He told how doctors were faced with the huge challenge of tacking a new virus, which often spread beyond the lungs to cause life-threatening multi-organ inflammation, with no available cure. He said: What we thought it was really important for people to understand is how the NHS responds at a time of crisis like this. Dr Maggie Blott, the consultant obstetrician who performed the caesarean, said the maternity de-partment came under additional pressure when the labour ward was used to care for Covid-positive mothers who were in earlier stages of pregnancy. She said: One of the things that struck me, and I have been an obstetrician for a very long time, is just how well the NHS has responded. Its been enormously rewarding to work in an environment where nothing was ever too much trouble. People worked long hours, people worked extra hours, people worked well beyond the call of duty. That is what I would like people to see: just how wonderful an institution the NHS is, and how well it responded, and how it deserves to be properly funded and allowed to make preparations to make sure we can respond in a similar way in the future if we are unlucky enough to see this again. Hospital: Fighting COVID-19 is on BBC 2 at 9pm on May 11 and 12. The coronavirus disease (Covid-19)-induced pandemic has triggered a civilisational crisis with no immediate end in the sight. Many would reckon that India has done well to contain it. Yes, this is a crisis of enormous dimensions with extreme complexities. Lives are under threat, livelihoods are at stake, large reverse migration is underway, and the economy is in a tailspin with disruptions. This requires a multi-pronged response mechanism. The Union government, along with the state governments, is working on these lines. A national economic relief package has been announced, with more in the offing. The economy is being opened up incrementally. State governments are addressing migration woes. People are getting used to the idea of their homes being their second workplace. If there is one image of the national lockdown that has stayed with most of us, it is that of migrant labourers trudging to their respective home towns. Such episodes have been reported from Delhi, Mumbai, Surat, parts of Telangana, and elsewhere. More than 90% of the workforce is in the unorganised sector. In the lockdown, its the poorest and the marginalised who are hit the most. A United Nations University report says that 104 million more people could slip below the poverty line in India due to the crisis. An International Labour Organization report, on the other hand, says that around 400 million workers in the unorganised sector of India could sink further into poverty due to this. When the poorest dont have enough for two square meals a day, it means that we, as a nation, have failed them. Look around and you will hear appalling stories of starvation deaths and malnourishment. All this will get exacerbated if the lockdown is extended. Its generally believed that democracy, and a free Press, are the best guarantees against starvation. So, where have we failed? What can be done to ensure that starvation and hunger deaths dont assume the form of a crisis in the uncertain times ahead? When I moved a private members resolution, advocating for a zero hunger Act in the Lok Sabha in 2006, I got overwhelming across-the-board support. A responsive political class, media, and civil society groups ensured that India got a National Food Security Act (NFSA) in 2013. It entitles 67% of the population (75% in rural India, and 50% in urban India) to five kg of food grains per person per month for priority households. The Act covers over 810 million people. During the lockdown, the government has increased the monthly quota of subsidised food grains to seven kg per person along with the free distribution of five kg food grains under the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna for the next three months. While the spread of the NFSA is welcome, more needs to be done. India ranks 72nd in a list of 113 countries in the Economist Intelligence Units 2019 Global Food Security Index, where availability, affordability, quality and safety of food are measured. Or, the Global Hunger Index of 2019, which ranks India at the 102nd position in a list of 117 countries. As part of a long-term plan, India, like other countries, is working to end hunger, and eliminate malnutrition by 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A 2019 Niti Aayog report says that Goa, Mizoram, Kerala, Chandigarh are among the states and Union territories that are doing well, but others are lagging behind. As India comes to terms with a new post-Covid-19 normal, we should work vigorously towards a hunger-free, malnourishment-free India well before the deadline. This must be the top priority as we rejig our priorities. While the SDGs with 2030 as the deadline were launched in 2016, countries like Brazil launched a war on hunger way back in 2003, with its pioneering Fome Zero (Zero Hunger) aimed at providing everyone enough food, and the right kind of food, for nutritional needs and well-being. We should use this crisis as an opportunity to undertake large-scale changes to be able to feed India, especially the most vulnerable sections, in the right manner. The five kg food grain quantum under the NFSA should be raised to 10kg going forward. The government could consider introducing breakfast, in addition to midday meals, in schools, to ensure that children are healthy. Its time to make the NFSA coverage universal. The Food Corporation of Indias godowns are filled to capacity with more than three times the buffer stock it is required to maintain. In other words, no one going to a public distribution system shop must be turned away because of the absence of a ration card. Some states have already acted on this. A problem faced by migrant workers is that the ration cards from their places of origin are not valid in other states. The Union government is readying a one nation, one ration card scheme, and this needs to be prioritised. In the post-lockdown period, the issue has become particularly important, with large-scale reverse migration. Another important problem pertains to the linking of Aadhaar cards to ration cards. In many rural areas, the identification infrastructure often malfunctions. The glitches in the verification process must not become an excuse to deny someone food grains. We also need to universalise direct transfers to those living on the fringes. Let the Covid-19 crisis usher in policy changes that ensure that our poorest are well fed, their nourishment needs taken care of, and their dignity upheld. It is only then that India will be able to script an inclusive growth story. Naveen Jindal is chairman, Jindal Steel & Power Limited and a former Member of Parliament The views expressed are personal In parts of California, only the wealthy have access to nature during the coronavirus shutdown. (Lingxiao Xie/Getty Images) Up a suburban cul de sac a police car prowls, looking for hikers. Down below, immigrant men stand around with no place to go. Marin County, which has 143,000 acres of public lands and 258,000 citizens, has issued an order declaring that anyone driving to parks for the purpose of accessing that facility constitutes an imminent threat and menace to public health, constitutes a public nuisance, and is punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both. The fight for access to open space and natural landscapes has a long history, and its taken a new turn in the pandemic. "Avoid gatherings stay home save lives," says a big flashing light board on Highway 101 just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. But not staying home can be the opposite of gathering; it can be dispersing, and recent studies suggest that the risk of transmission outside is quite low. People enjoying nature, while remaining at a distance from everyone whos not in their household and doing it not too far from home, pose little public health risk. Throughout California, emergency orders have allowed people to leave their homes for essential activities, including exercise. But whats outside each of our front doors varies. A lot. I respect the efforts taken to prevent people from crowding well-known beaches and other public spaces and from creating work that could put park rangers and maintenance people at risk, and I know that small towns from the California coast to the eastern Sierra have been hard hit by people swarming their grocery stores and otherwise stressing their local resources. I agree we should stay local. The question is how local. Marin County has closed parking lots and parks and posted signs at trailheads in residential zones that state, All individuals are expected to remain local when enjoying the outdoors. But in one of that countys poorest neighborhoods, the poet Javier Zamora, who grew up there, reported, The local park, Pickleweed Park is officially shut down. The park served as a meeting place of sorts for people who live in crowded apartments (read: immigrant men who may cram 6 to 7 people in a 1 bedroom apartment they mostly use to sleep in). He told me his aunts, who still live in the old neighborhood, report that with the park closed, the men, many of them out of work, have no place to go and just stand around by their buildings much of the day. Thats remaining local; its not enjoying the outdoors. Walking out the front door, were still not equal, if yours opens onto glorious, open parkland and mine onto a spaghetti bowl of freeways or an industrial wasteland. Sonoma County has similar regulations, and a Santa Rosa woman told me the parks she can walk to are not safe, in her view. Story continues Were dealing with three disasters right now, not one. The first is a pandemic. The second is a financial catastrophe. The third, just swimming into sight right now, is what gets called a mental health crisis but maybe should be called an emotional and spiritual crisis instead. A lot of depression, grief, loss, disorientation, exhaustion, stress, fear and loneliness are welling up all around us. The data are already in that exercise is good for depression, and that nature and natural landscapes provide solace, hope, reassurance, perspective and encouragement for a lot of people. Not long after the 2008 economic crash, a Midwestern woman told me that part of how she weathered the crisis was by driving to the shore of one of the Great Lakes every day to put her woes in the context of that vastness. Last month, San Francisco doctor C. Dale Young described how, driving home from his hospital exhausted, he had wept onto his mask and begged a park ranger barring his way to let him see the ocean. I go to it when I need to think through difficult things. It has always helped me, he wrote. In the long run, we should think of access to nature and open space as human rights and health issues and recognize how unequal that access has always been. In the short run, we should think about how to meet that need and those rights in this crisis. I am not suggesting undermining the stay-at-home order or dismissing the need for it. On the contrary, the more humane we make it, the more people will comply with it, and the longer it goes, the more we need to recognize emotional and spiritual needs as among what many county orders define as essential needs, when they do not conflict with the stay-separate mandate. Katy Butler, a Mill Valley resident, recently pointed out that what worked during the AIDS crisis wasnt asking gay men to give up sex; it was asking them (and everyone else) to practice safer sex. She believes the same principle should apply to access to nature today. When affluent counties like Marin insist that no one should drive to green space, that effectively bars many people from access to nature. San Mateo County has asked people not to drive more than five miles, which seems like an ideal balance between keeping people from converging on popular well-known spots and acknowledging that not everyone has access to tolerable space to walk in out their front door nor the muscle to reach distant open space on foot or bike. Local should include green space for everyone, and California has always been a place with unequal access. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Los Angeles, with its notorious lack of public parks in poorer parts of the city and endless open space up the canyons and on the edges. But throughout the state, we have unequal access to nature and open space, and making it more unequal in the pandemic does not serve a public health interest. If its safe for the software baron in the mansion up on the mountain to hit a trail, its safe for the grocery cashier and her kids in the apartment down below to get onto it too. Rebecca Solnit is the author of numerous books, including, most recently, "Recollections of My Nonexistence." Australian chicken shop Chargrill Charlie's has joined forces with celebrity pastry chef Anna Polyviou to develop a mouthwatering triple chocolate cookie dough, with simple instructions on how to bake it at home. The limited edition cookie dough, which is priced at $15, will be available to purchase as a 600g tub at all 14 Chargrill Charlie's stores across Sydney and Melbourne from this Friday May 8. It will be available in store and on the company's app until they sell out. Australian family-run chicken shop Chargrill Charlie's has joined forces with celebrity pastry chef Anna Polyviou to develop a mouthwatering triple choc cookie dough The limited edition cookie dough, which is priced at $15, will be available to purchase as a 600g tub at all 14 Chargrill Charlie's stores across Sydney and Melbourne Working with former Masterchef guest judge Anna is part of the store's Local Flavours idea, a community initiative helping businesses and chefs sell their products during COVID-19. Anna is affectionately described as the 'Punk Princess of Pastry', and has dazzled Australians with appearances on Masterchef and Family Food Fight, and with her two books, Sweet Street and Kids Corner. She now works primarily as the Creative Director of Pastry at the Shangri-La Sydney, and is eager to return to the hotel to distribute her famous high teas soon. 'I am very excited for my collaboration with Chargrill Charlie's as we both share the same passion for food and family,' she said. 'I am very excited for my collaboration with Chargrill Charlie's as we both share the same passion for food and family,' she said What are Anna's best baking tips? What is the secret to baking the perfect cookie? * It's all about the ingredients you use. For example, use quality chocolate, you can taste the end result. * Rest the dough * Make sure the size of your cookies is consistent * Always pre-heat the oven * Pre-Weight the ingredients. One thing I also do is pre-weight everything before I started baking. The last thing you want to do is forget an ingredient, especially mid-cook. Lay it all out, triple check. What are the top three baking mistakes home cooks make in the kitchen? * Forget ingredients * Don't pre-heat the oven * Don't cook with love. When you bake with love you can taste the end result! Do you have any kitchen tricks that will help prolong the life of baked goods? * Make a big batch and freeze it. You can freeze your cookie dough in smaller portions and defrost it piece by piece to keep baking the cookies fresh. * Muffin mix and lots of other batters can be left in the fridge for 4-5 days. That way you can bake it fresh as you need and want it. It's a nice thing to do, like when you have people coming over. You can even mix new fruit into the batter to give it a fresh taste. Never throw anything out! Advertisement 'I really want family and friends to have fun during this time, and baking is the perfect way to spend time together at home.' Anna said the secret to baking the perfect cookie, in general, is to use good quality ingredients - particularly if the recipe involves chocolate - rest the dough, ensure the size of the cookies are consistent and always pre-heat the oven. 'One thing I also do is pre-weight everything before I start baking. The last thing you want to do is forget an ingredient, especially mid-cook. Lay it all out, triple check,' she told FEMAIL. The worst mistake home cooks make is forgetting to put in ingredients and not pre-heating the oven, sabotaging their own good work. When you do make a delicious batch of your own cookie dough, freeze it in smaller sections and defrost it piece by piece to keep the cookies fresh. 'Muffin mix and the same lots of other batters can be left in the fridge for 4-5 days,' she said. 'That way you can bake it fresh as you need and want it. It's a nice thing to do, like when you have people coming over. You can even mix new fruit into the batter to give it a fresh taste. Never throw anything out.' Each tub of cookie dough mixture can be flattened out and made into biscuits, perfect for young children who want to feel like they're piecing their own food together Each tub of cookie dough mixture can be flattened out and made into biscuits, perfect for young children who want to feel like they're piecing their own food together. Ryan Sher, co-owner of Chargrill Charlie's, concurred by saying: 'Anna is all about having fun with food and that is exactly what we want to see - families enjoying time together in the kitchen'. Last week Lotus head chef Sam Young collaborated with the chicken sellers to deliver his Lasagna al Forno, while Redfern's Kepos Street Kitchen is continuing to offer signature menu items at a number of the stores across Sydney. Chargrill Charlie's operates 13 stores across Sydney in Rose Bay, Woollahra, Mosman, Lane Cove, Wahroonga, Willoughby, St Ives, Neutral Bay, Frenchs Forest, Drummoyne, Mona Vale, Dee Why and Annandale and one store in Melbourne at Camberwell. A new data analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health finds patients who visited the emergency department for an opioid overdose are 100 times more likely to die by drug overdose in the year after being discharged and 18 times more likely to die by suicide relative to the general population. Additionally, in the year after emergency department discharge, patients who visited for a sedative/hypnotic overdose had overdose death rates 24 times higher, and suicide rates 9 times higher, than the general population. The findings, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, highlight the need for interventions that reduce suicide and overdose risk that can be implemented when patients come to the emergency department. "We knew that nonfatal opioid and sedative/hypnotic drug overdoses were a major cause of disease. What these new findings show is that overdose patients also face an exceptionally high risk of subsequent death--not just from an unintentional overdose, but also from suicide, non-suicide accidents, and natural causes," said Sidra Goldman-Mellor, Ph.D., lead study author and assistant professor of public health at the University of California, Merced. Drug-related mortality is an ongoing public health problem. Deaths by drug overdose increased 225% between 1999 and 2015, with prescription drugs and heroin overdose accounting for the majority of these deaths. Although previous studies have detailed trends in emergency department visits related to opioid and sedative/hypnotic drug overdose, less is known about the risk of death in the year following emergency care for a drug overdose. "We have tracked and reported patient survival for health concerns such as cancers and heart surgery for decades," said paper co-author Michael Schoenbaum, Ph.D., a senior advisor for mental health services, epidemiology, and economics at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the NIH. "We improve what we measure and should be doing the same type of tracking for people with overdose or suicide risk to inform our prevention and treatment programs." To learn more about the risks for death that follow a nonfatal opioid overdose, a research team led by Dr. Goldman-Mellor examined discharge data for all visits to emergency departments in California between 2009 and 2011. These data were matched with death records from the California Department of Public Health, which provided information about the date and cause of death for all individuals who died between 2009-2012. The researchers focused on patients who visited the emergency department for an opioid overdose (e.g., heroin, methadone) or for a sedative/hypnotic drug overdose (e.g., barbiturate, benzodiazepine) at least once during the 2009-2011 study period. The data showed that for those who had visited for sedative/hypnotic drug overdose, the death rate in the following year was 18,080 per 100,000; for those who had visited for an opioid overdose, the death rate in the following year was 10,620 per 100,00 patients. The death rates for these groups were significantly higher than the death rate observed in a demographically matched group of Californians (3,236 per 100,000 people). Eighty-eight percent of the unintentional deaths among patients who had visited for opioid overdose were caused by an unintentional overdose (1,863 per 100,000)--a rate 100 times higher than that of the general population. The suicide rate for this group (319 per 100,000 patients), which included some deaths by intentional drug overdose, was 18 times higher than that of the general population. Sixty percent of unintentional deaths among patients who had visited for sedative/hypnotic overdose were caused by an unintentional drug overdose (342 per 100,00 patients)--a rate 24 times higher than that of the general population. Among those who had previously experienced a sedative/hypnotic drug overdose, the rate of death by suicide (174 per 100,000 patients) was almost 9 times higher than the general population. "There are already promising emergency department-based interventions that could reduce overdose and other mortality risks, such as suicide, among these patients, but such interventions need to be much more widely implemented," said Dr. Goldman-Mellor. "Moreover, those interventions should target not just patients overdosing on opioids, but also those overdosing on sedative/hypnotic drugs, since their mortality risks were also very high." Dr. Goldman-Mellor indicated that although this study provides important information about the outcomes of individuals presenting to emergency departments after an overdose, the findings should be replicated in other parts of the U.S. using more recent data, as patterns of opioid and sedative/hypnotic use (and related mortality) have changed substantially over time. ### Reference: Goldman-Mellor, S., Olfson, M., Lidon-Moyano, C., & Schoenbaum, M. (2020). Mortality following nonfatal opioid and sedative/hypnotic drug overdose. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. About the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): The mission of the NIMH is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery, and cure. For more information, visit the said NIMH website. About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit the NIH website. NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health He taught catechism to kids at his church, but at the butcher shop during the week, hed sometimes scream out just because he felt like it, when he was bored. Or, hed tell us that all he really wanted to do was go back to Puerto Rico, or to Texas where his wife was from, and forget everything. London: Twitter said on Wednesday it would tackle the spread of damaging conspiracy theories linking mobile phone technology with the coronavirus with a prompt to direct people searching for 5G to British government-verified information. A fire-damaged tower in Birmingham, UK. Credit:Bloomberg The theory, which has spread on social media, has resulted in attacks on mobile telecoms masts and abuse directed at engineers in Britain. Scientists, phone companies and the government have said it is completely untrue. Twitter said the search prompt would inform users that the government had seen no link between 5G and COVID-19, and include a link to a government website with credible, factual and verified information in relation to 5G. Katy Minshall, Twitter UK's head of government, public policy and philanthropy, said the move was the latest step in its focus on connecting people with authoritative information regarding COVID-19. Jim Abaze adjusts his respirator as he gets ready in the emergency room. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Editor's note: Some of the following reporting and photographs were originally used in NJ.com's 24 Hours in Crisis project. This story is an extension of that undertaking. Read the full project here. Dr. Gregory Sugalski doesnt sleep much these days. He thinks about the war he witnessed in Afghanistan, as a field medic in 2012, and the one hes fighting now, every day inside Hackensack University Medical Center. A lot of our patients are dying, says Sugalski, chief of quality and patient safety in the emergency medicine department. Its just really hard right now. Don't Edit EMT's bring a patient to the emergency room at Hackensack University Medical Center. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Sugalskis team appears tired on the morning of April 21, and who can blame them they have been battling the coronavirus nonstop since the first COVID-19 patient in New Jersey was treated at the center on March 4. It since has cared for over 1,700 coronavirus patients more than any other New Jersey hospital. In the early morning, not even the birds chirp outside the entrance to the E.R., where a sign reminds all entrants to wear a mask. Its eerily quiet, considering all the bustle inside the hospital: the emergency room is crowded with 25 patients believed to have COVID-19 and deeper in the facility, the ICU houses 170 patients, with 140 on ventilators. One of the patients is a HUMC worker. Don't Edit Jim Abaze and nurse Nicole Kilgallen embrace in the emergency room entrance. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com When you are caring for somebody you know, youre experiencing a different level of anxiety and pressure and fear, says Sugalski. A supplementary emergency trailer was used during the initial surge in March, in addition to two more tents erected to handle the high volume of patients just outside, said Mary Jo Layton, director of executive communication and media relations. Thankfully, coronavirus hospitalizations have begun to decline. Don't Edit Tent outside the emergency room entrance to give extra capacity in case the number of patients rapidly increases. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com We have made so much progress in the last two weeks by consistently discharging more patients than we are admitting each day, said Mark Sparta, president and chief executive officer of Hackensack University Medical Center, noting the facility has discharged more than 1,100 patients and ICU volumes have declined by more than 25 percent. And the staffers try to bring some levity to the situation when the can. Nicole Kilgallen wears her scrubs extra short so she can show off the fun socks for which shes known. This day, they are green with koala bears. Don't Edit Emergency room entrance. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com The virus has caused Kilgallen to switch shifts and when she sees Jim Abaze, a patient technician, they embrace. Its been a long time. Soon after, Abaze stands at the door to E.R., waiting. An ambulance pulls up, a pair of EMTs emerge and wheel out a patient, who despite not being treated for COVID-19 is still temperature-checked before being carted inside. Non-coronavirus patient visits to the emergency room are down dramatically but the front-line workers cant be too careful. Don't Edit Don't Edit Emergency room entrance with a patient at Hackensack University Medical Center. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com The morning goes on, another routine day amid a crisis that now feels all too familiar. But Sugalski is haunted by the terrifying question that keeps popping into his mind: When is the second wave coming? Im still worried, Sugalski says, about another spike. Matthew Stanmyre contributed to this report. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Ed Murray may be reached at emurray@njadvancemedia.com. Don't Edit Dr. Gregory Sugalski adjusts his mask at emergency room entrance. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Reshema Edwards and Jim Abazi walk out the emergency room. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Emergency room entrance waiting for an ambulance. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Staff check out one of three tents set up outside used to receive patients. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Don't Edit Nicole Kilgallen, RN outside the emergency room. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Nicole Kilgallen, RN who is known for her fun socks. This pair is decorated with koala's. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Outside the emergency room entrance. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Nurse Nicole Kilgallen embraces tech Jim Abaze. They used to work on the same shift but she was switched due to the virus. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Protective gear in the emergency room. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Don't Edit Hospital tech Andrea Delbert adjusts her respirator. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Dr. Gregory Sugalski comes out of the emergency room entrance. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Ambulance brings a patient to the emergency room. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Nicole Kilgallen, RN at Hackensack University Medical Center. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Staff check out one of three tents set up outside used to receive patients near the Emergency room entrance. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Don't Edit Patient tech Jim Abazi adjusts his respirator as he gets ready at the emergency room entrance at Hackensack University Medical Center. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Outside the emergency room entrance. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit EMT's bring a patient to the emergency room. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Emergency room entrance. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Tent outside the emergency room entrance to give extra capacity. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Don't Edit Ambulance brings a patient to the emergency room. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Reshema Edwards prepares the area outside under the building where several tents have been built and ready for patients. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Nurse Melissa Cobos adjusts her shield in the emergency room entrance. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit A patient arrives at the emergency room. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Patient techs Mirilinda Ahmetaj, Andrea Delbert and Aliya Royster. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Don't Edit Ambulance brings a patient to the hospital. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Jim Abaze and nurse Nicole Kilgallen in the emergency room. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Security at Hackensack University Medical Center emergency room. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Looking out from the emergency room entrance. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit EMT's bring a patient to the emergency room. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Don't Edit Jim Abazi looks out from the emergency room. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Patient tech Jim Abazi in the emergency room entrance. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Nurse Nicole Kilgallen embraces Jim Abaze at the emergency room entrance. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Don't Edit Jim Abaze talks to a patient. Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The city will open a free coronavirus antibody test site in Concord next week as part of a larger effort to test a total of 280,000 New Yorkers for antibodies through June, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday. The city plans to test 140,000 New Yorkers free of cost at sites across the city by the end of June, conducting 1,000 tests per day at each location with the goal of 70,000 over two weeks in May, and another 70,000 over a two-week period in June. The Concord site is one of five being established for the initial testing period in May. Beginning next week, antibody testing will be offered on an appointment-only basis for approximately two weeks at the Concord site, according to a release issued by de Blasios office. De Blasio said the antibody survey testing, which is being launched in a partnership between the city and BioReference Laboratories, will be open to the general public, though people who live near the sites will be prioritized for testing. The city would not provide details on exactly where the Concord site will be located, but Borough President James Oddo said that he has been told the former St. John Villa campus will be the location. In order to visit the test site, the mayor said an appointment would need to be made through a hotline that will launch on Friday. He said a persons demographic and employment information would need to be provided to the hotline. City Hall said the locations of the sites and information on the hotline would be announced in the coming days. In addition to the five antibody test sites, the mayor said he would start testing 140,000 health care workers and first responders next week at hospitals, firehouses, police precincts and correctional facilities in a partnership with the federal government, bringing the citys total antibody testing capacity to 280,000 in the coming weeks. The mayor first announced antibody testing for health care workers and first responders last week. Combined 280,000 will get antibody tests in just the next few weeks in New York City, over a quarter million antibody tests will be given, these are numbers that really start to add up even against the size of a city as big as ours, de Blasio told reporters during a press conference Thursday. He said the antibody testing would play a key role in the citys expansive test and trace initiative and strategy to reopen the city. The mayor said last month that the city would have at least 100,000 coronavirus test kits at its disposal in the coming weeks with 50,000 tests produced weekly by the city at the beginning of May and another 50,000 to be received by the city each week from Aria Diagnostics, a private firm in Carmel, Indiana. However, the mayor said Wednesday, more than three weeks later, that the city is conducting only between 13,000 to 14,000 tests a day. The mayor vowed Thursday to proceed energetically with antibody testing while building up its coronavirus testing capacity at the same time. Asked what assurances he could give New Yorkers that he would be able to meet the 280,000 antibody test goal by June, he said he was confident." Im totally confident on the schedule we laid out, he said. STATE HAS BEEN TESTING The state Health Department recently conducted its initial random antibody testing across 19 counties over two days. At least one site was on Staten Island outside Grasmeres Met Food on Hylan Boulevard. In the initial testing, the state randomly sampled people who the governor characterized as non-essential workers who did not need to be quarantined and were outside of their home. With 15,000 people sampled, about 20% of New York City residents and 19% of Staten Islanders tested positive for the virus antibodies a sign an individual has already been infected. However, the citys Deputy Health Commissioner Dr. Demetre Daskalakis had also expressed skepticism around the serological testing, warning medical providers last week in a letter that antibody tests could produce false negatives. On Staten Island, Quest Diagnostics, which has several locations on the borough -- though some are temporarily closed -- is collecting blood-drawn samples for antibody testing. Either a doctors order is required, or a consumer-initiated test can be purchased for $119. Borough Hall, Richmond University Medical Center, and Long Island testing manufacturer Chembio have also partnered to conduct widespread antibody testing in the Islands coronavirus-plagued nursing homes. FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER. *** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK *** In a major expose, the Punjab government on Thursday said that the Punjab Police has traced inter-state links of slain Pakistan-supported Hizb-ul-Mujahideen's top terror commander Riyaz Naikoo. This has come to light after the Punjab Police arrested two accomplices of Naikoo's close associate, Hilal Ahmed Wagay, from Amritsar. Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, the state government said, "In a major expose, Punjab Police has traced inter-state links of slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander, Riaz Ahmed Naikoo, with the arrest of two accomplices of his close associate, Hilal Ahmed Wagay, from Amritsar." In a major expose, @PunjabPoliceInd has traced inter-state links of slain Hizbual Mujhahideen commander, Riaz Ahmed Naikoo, with the arrest of two accomplices of his close associate, Hilal Ahmed Wagay, from Amritsar. Government of Punjab (@PunjabGovtIndia) May 7, 2020 Naikoo and his associate were killed on May 6 in an encounter in Beighpora village of Awantipora in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. His elimination is a major blow to the local terror groups active in the area. He became a terrorist in May 2012 and was a close associate of former Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief Burhan Wani. The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Thursday asserted that they were tracking Naikoo for the last six months. J&K Police IG (Kashmir Range) Vijay Kumar said, "We were tracking Riyaz Naikoo for six months." He further said that anti-terror operations will be increased and there will be no slow down on them. Kumar stated that Naikoo was a Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander and he was trying to recruit youth. He was also involved in the killing of civilians, added Kumar. "We are proud of our security forces who managed to kill him. Its a relief. Naikoo was finally found in the seventh hideout, earlier we had found six hideouts but never caught him," he added. Speaking on the current law and order, Kumar added, "We have tools like curfew and communication blockade. There would have been so many rumour-mongering and thats why we shut internet and phone services." On May 6, in a big move to stop glorification and big funeral procession of terrorists, the bodies of Naikoo and his associate were not handed over to their relatives. The J&K administration decided to bury them and not reveal the location. This decision also came at the backdrop of stone-pelting by youths on a vehicle of security forces in Pulwama at the encounter site of Naikoo. Kumar said, "Handwara is a red zone and thats why we didnt hand over the body of civilian to the family. Till the time there is coronavirus COVID-19 even local terrorist bodies would not be handed over to the families." He stated that the security forces have eliminated 64 terrorists since January 2020 in 27 operations and arrested 25 active terrorists. He also added that The Resistance Force (TRF) is an offshoot of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and it came into existence after international pressure on Pakistan. "All the terrorists which were on our list of LeT are of TRF. Now they have Hizb-ul-Mujahideen also but most of them are LeT's. We have blocked TRF communications and thats why they havent said anything on Naikoo' killing," said Kumar. Riyaz Naikoo took over as the commander of Hizbul Mujahideen after the outfit`s poster boy and commander Burhan Wani was eliminated in a gunfight with the security forces in the Kokarnag area in Anantnag district on July 8, 2016. Security forces hold Naikoo responsible for holding Hizbul together after its possible disintegration when Zakir Musa broke away from the Hizbul ranks to form his own splinter group. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. The global injection molded plastics market size is expected to reach USD 372.9 billion by 2027, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. It is anticipated to register a CAGR of 4.6% over the forecast period. Increasing demand for key applications including automotive, packaging, and construction, particularly in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and BRICS, is likely to drive the market growth. High-growth regions such as Middle East and Asia Pacific have witnessed a surge in capacity addition over the last few years. Increasing presence of plastic injection molding companies in China on account of low manufacturing costs and availability of skilled labor is anticipated to benefit the regional market. Major foreign companies are increasing their production capabilities in the region owing to growing demand for plastic products. Government support in the form of tax benefits and financial incentives in China and India to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) flow has helped develop the market for plastics in these countries. In packaging application, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) is extensively used in thin wall injection molding. Growing demand for food packaging , bin liners, and thin gauge bags is anticipated to drive the product demand over the forecast period. Rising penetration of injection molded HDPE in shipping containers, industrial pails, and houseware applications is anticipated to further drive its demand. Further key findings from the report suggest : Demand for packaging is likely to increase owing to the improving economic conditions of countries such as India, China, Brazil, and Mexico Demand for injection molded plastics from the packaging industry in Asia Pacific is projected to register a CAGR of 4.3% in terms of volume, from 2020 to 2027. This is attributed to the growing demand for food packaging Growth of the electronics industry, coupled with cost-effectiveness of electrical appliances, is projected to remain a key driving factor for the injection molded plastics market over the forecast period Demand from the medical sector in North America is anticipated to register a CAGR of 2.9% from 2020 to 2027 owing to the increase in demand for plastic components for medical devices Key market players include BASF, LyondellBasell, Eastman Chemical Company, ExxonMobil, Huntsman Corporation, Eastman Company, DuPont, Dow Chemicals, and SABIC. Grand View Research has segmented the global injection molded plastics market on the basis of raw material, application, and region: Injection Molded Plastics Application Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027) Packaging Consumables & Electronics Automotive & Transportation Building & Construction Medical Others Injection Molded Plastics Raw Material Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027) polypropylene Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) High-density Polyethylene (HDPE) Polystyrene Others Injection Molded Plastics Regional Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027) North America US Canada mexico europe germany UK france italy spain Asia Pacific china India japan South Korea Central & South America brazil Argentine Middle East & Africa Saudi Arabia Access full research report on global injection molded plastics market: www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/injection-molded-plastics-market Three days after railways started Shramik Special trains to transport migrants from Punjab to their home states amid the Covid-19 lockdown, lack of awareness and tech illiteracy continue to be pose hurdles in their return home. Nearly 6 lakh migrants from Ludhiana have registered on the Punjab helpline portal. Yet, several do not know how to apply and are consequently visiting the railway station directly to understand how to board a train. Cops have a hard time filtering out migrants without tickets when they approach the railway station with luggage. Among them are also those, who have got registered, but havent received a text message for date of boarding. Yet, they reach the railway station believing they can catch a train. KNOW THE PROCESS The district administration has been shortlisting passengers from the applicants on the portal. The shortlisted passengers are sent two SMSes, one for confirmation of application and another sharing their date of travel. Only passengers receiving the second SMS need to report to their nearest pick-up point at the time mentioned in the message. From here, a bus will transport them to the Guru Nanak stadium for medical screening, and thereon, they have to walk to the railway station after collecting food from the stadium. Passengers walking towards the railway station after medical screening at the Guru Nanak stadium in Ludhiana on Thursday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT) Dani Ram, 43, who hails from Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, accompanied his neighbours, who had received the text messages. I had also registered to return home and received a confirmation message. But, I have not received the pick-up message, while my neighbours have got them and were taken to the stadium in a bus, he said. On their part, deputy commissioner Pradeep Agrawal and commissioner of police Rakesh Agrawal have shared video messages, explaining the process to board the trains. In the videos, the officials have urged the passengers not to approach the railway station directly. Even if 2,500 people have registered for a destination, a train can transport only around 1200 passengers. So, messages are sent on first-come, first-serve basis, the DC said. TICKETS TO WRONG DESTINATIONS There are also incidents where migrants have received tickets for the wrong destination. Vaseem Ansari, 33, who wants to travel to Moradabad, said he got a ticket for Bareilly, which he realised only after receiving the train ticket on the bus while going to the railway station. Ansari said he did not know how to apply on the portal, and took somebodys help. They must have entered the wrong destination. Now, I will have to apply again and wait for my turn, he said, adding that several migrants were facing troubles using the mobile application for the portal. Steven Chen (pictured) pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and stupefying in order to commit an indictable offence. He is currently behinds after being sentenced for fraud A court has heard horrific details of how a former Gold Coast real estate agent turned convicted fraudster drugged a young virgin before raping her twice over a 20-hour period. Steven Chen, 48, pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and stupefying in order to commit an indictable offence in Southport District Court on Wednesday. The court heard Chen invited the woman and a male work associate back to his home after they attended a dinner in October 2018, where he spiked their drinks with the tranquilliser drug rohypnol. Chen drove his drugged ex-colleague to a park and dumped him there, before returning to the woman sleeping at his home. Chen's victim woke during the night to find him on top of her and was raped again the following day while she was still unresponsive, The Gold Coast Bulletin reported. The court heard that the offence was premeditated by Chen, who was previously convicted of sexually assaulting a young Korean woman. 'He deliberately set out to, and did, stupefy two people. He removed the male complainant from the house and dumped him in a park, in a senseless state,' Crown Prosecutor Michael Mitchell told the court. 'He committed two vaginal rapes on the female complainant, who was at that time a virgin, and who had been rendered senseless and unable to resist. 'The offending was prolonged in that [the victim] was rendered unable to resist him for it seems up to 19 to 20 hours from the point the drug was first ingested.' The court heard the woman was drugged and raped twice over a 20 hour period (stock image) He added that the two victims are still impacted 18 months after the traumatic ordeal. Chen's barrister Michael Bonasia told the court his client had little recollection of the night and drank heavily after his business collapsed during the global financial crisis. He added Chen has been attending Alcoholics Anonymous sessions while behind bars. Judge Katherine McGinness has reserved her decision. Chen has been in custody for 535 days after he was sentenced to three-and-a-half years prison for fraud last September. He should not be confused with a real estate agent with the same name, Steven Chen of The Agency. Advertisement Italy is adjusting to its 'new normal' with people pictured enjoying the outdoors after strict coronavirus lockdown measures were eased - provided they keep their distance from one-another. Laws which had forbidden Italians from leaving their houses without permits and restricted shopping to supermarkets were eased on Monday, allowing for people to travel within their regions and for markets to reopen. Italians were pictured taking advantage of their hard-won freedoms on Thursday while socially distancing after Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte warned measures will come back if infections spike. Families were pictured soaking up some sun on a near-deserted beach south of Rome, while markets in the Italian capital, Sicily and the hot-spot city of Milan all welcomed back customers. In a further easing of measures, Conte announced that public Masses will restart from May 18 having been banned as part of his initial coronavirus lockdown measures on March 10. An Italian family socially distances at a beach south of Rome after Italians were allowed to travel around their home regions, provided they do not put others at risk of infection Italy had been under one of Europe's strictest lockdowns - with permits required to go outside - from March 10, but measures began to be eased from Monday as the country entered 'Phase 2' Italians stand at least 6ft apart on a nearly-empty beach south of Rome as the country adjusts to a 'new normal' after coronavirus measures started to be relaxed Provided the curve of infection can be kept down, more measures will be relaxed on May 18 - including the reopening of museums and libraries (pictured, a newly-reopened beach south of Rome) The move had caused huge controversy among the nation's large Catholic population, who had argued that prayer should be counted among essential business. Tensions ran high again late last month when the government announced a gradual staged easing of the lockdown, but did not include a return to Masses in a phase that began on May 4. The bishops told the government they could 'not accept seeing the exercise of freedom of religion being compromised'. Most of Italy's churches have remained open during the crisis, but only for individual prayer. Catholics have been following Masses on television or on the internet as priests said them in empty churches. With Thursday's agreement, Masses for the public can resume on May 18 but under strict conditions outlined in a protocol signed by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, president of the Italian Bishops Conference. Individual pastors will determine the maximum number of people who can fit in a church while staying at least a metre (yard) apart. If there is demand, additional Masses should be held, rather than allowing more people into the church for one service, the protocol says. Church services have been added to the list of activities that will be permitted from May 18 after Guiseppe Conte struck a deal with Italy's top bishops to allow Masses to resume (pictured, two nuns at a market in Rome) People wearing protective masks shop at a market in Rome after stall owners were allowed to reopen as the country relaxes its strict coronavirus lockdown measures A vendor wears a protective face masks as he serves a customer wearing a face shield at a fruit and vegetable stall at the San Marco street market in Milan, one of the virus hot-spots A vendor wears a protective face masks as he picks olives at a food stall at San Marco street market in Milan An elderly couple walk in Benedetto Cairoli square in Rome after public spaces were reopened as the country eases itself out of one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe The faithful will have to wear masks in church. Priests can celebrate most of the Mass without masks but they will have to wear one, as well as gloves, when they distribute the communion wafer. Initially, choirs will be banned, holy water fonts will remain dry, and the traditional exchange of a sign of peace - usually in the form of a handshake - will be eliminated. The collection, in which a basket is passed around for offerings of money, will be replaced by containers where the faithful can make contributions. May 18 was chosen as the date because it is the day after the current state of emergency declaration - under which Conte assumes powers to close businesses - expires. The Church is far from alone in asking for an exception. A virtual meeting of Italian regional governors on Thursday ended with demands for full control of lockdown measures to be handed over to them, also starting May 18. Giovanni Toti, president of the northern Liguria region, told Ansa that it should be up to regional leaders to decide how best to move forward after that date. 'It is the opinion of most governors that it is necessary to establish reopening plans region by region,' he said. 'We will ask the Government tomorrow to modify the Dpcm in force to allow the individual regions to present reopening plans as early as next week.' An overview of the historic fish market of Catania, in Sicily, on its first day of reopening on Thursday after it was shut down due to the spread of coronavirus A customer making his way into the fish market has his temperature checked to protect against coronavirus People with protective masks walk in Campo de' Fiori square in Rome as public places begin to reopen amid coronavirus People socially distance themselves in the Borgo Pio district, Rome, after being allowed back into the streets as the country eases its lockdown A woman wearing a face mask walks past a shop with empty mannequins that has not been allowed to reopen in Rome He also called for all retail businesses not already allowed to open to start trading again from next week. Italy was the first European country to go into full coronavirus lockdown on March 10 after emerging as a virus hot-spot following an outbreak in the Lombardy region. Since then it has reported 214,457 cases of coronavirus and 29,684 deaths - the third-highest number of fatalities of any country after the US and UK, and the third-highest number of cases after the US and Spain. A new phase of loosening of restrictions began on Monday, when some 4.5 million people returned to work. The Masses will resume on the same day Italian museums and libraries can reopen. The Vatican, which for the most part has been mirroring Italy's containment measures, has not yet said when St. Peter's Basilica or the Vatican museums will reopen. Pope Francis celebrated the major Christian feast of Easter last month with none of the usual packed crowds. American Express Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend The Board of Directors of American Express (News - Alert) Company (NYSE: AXP) has declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.43 per common share, payable on August 10, 2020 to shareholders of record on July 2, 2020. About American Express American Express is a globally integrated payments company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at americanexpress.com and connect with us on facebook.com/americanexpress, instagram.com/americanexpress, linkedin.com/company/american-express, twitter.com/americanexpress, and youtube.com/americanexpress. Key links to products, services and corporate responsibility information: charge and credit cards, business credit cards, travel services, gift cards, prepaid cards, merchant services, Accertify, InAuth, corporate card, business travel, and corporate responsibility. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005698/en/ The Karnataka administration did not allow over a hundred migrant workers to return to the state from Goa, a senior official claimed here on Thursday. The labourers, allowed by the Goa government to return to their state amid lockdown, were refused permission to enter Karnataka on Wednesday night, said the Goa government official. The labourers then camped in Campal area of Panaji for the night. "What is happening @BSYBJP? Are you going to intervene? This is a matter concerning the self-respect of Kannadigas and will not be taken lying down," Congress spokesperson Brijesh Kalappa tweeted. The senior official in Panaji claimed the Karnataka government was refusing to admit inside its borders those who do not have proof of residence in Karnataka. "Some of them have Aadhaar cards issued in Goa while voting card is from Karnataka," he said, adding that wherever documents were not in order, the government of the neighbouring state did not allow people to cross the border. The Goa government was in contact with Karnataka authorities and trying to streamline the process so that migrant labourers who want to return to Karnataka can do so, he added. More than 80,000 migrant labourers -- majority of them from Uttar Pradesh -- have registered with the Goa government to go back to their native states, as per the officials. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had announced earlier that two special trains would be run to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to ferry these labourers. On Wednesday, Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik had alleged that BJP-led Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka governments were adopting uncooperative attitude in taking back migrant workers from their states. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 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 Europe Correspondent Bevan Shields to discuss the spread of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom has reported over 32,300 cases of COVID-19 and has overtaken Italy to report the highest official death toll in Europe. Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Becoming a subscriber also gets you exclusive behind-the-scenes content and invitations to special events. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald. MADRID (dpa-AFX) - Liberty Global plc (LBTYA, LBTYB and LBTYK) and Spanish telecom major Telefonica SA (TDE.L, TEF) announced Thursday an agreement to merge their operating businesses in the U.K. to form a 50:50 joint venture. The companies said the combination of Virgin Media and O2 will create a nationwide integrated communications provider with over 46 million video, broadband and mobile subscribers. The transaction is expected to close around the middle of 2021 and is subject to regulatory approvals, consummation of the recapitalizations, and other customary closing conditions. The companies have agreed to provide a suite of services to the JV after closing. These services will principally consist of IT and technology-related services, procurement, brand management and other support services. The annual charges to the JV will ultimately depend on the actual level of services required by the JV. 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. Foreign property buyers, particularly those from China, see Australia as an "appealing" and "safe" country for investments, according to an analysis by Juwai IQI. Georg Chmiel, executive chairman of Juwai IQI, said Chinese buyers are increasingly making enquiries on Australian real estate market. In fact, interest from Chinese buyers doubled in April. "Australia was already appealing as a safe country where your investments are protected. Now, the country seems to have managed the pandemic well. That makes it even more appealing to foreign buyers, he said. Chmiel said the first three months of the current year were challenging, affected by the restrictions rolled out in March. "The travel restrictions and social isolation measures made that difficult. Now, the Australian market is beginning to open up slowly. That's a positive development that will make marketing and closing sales progressively easier," he said. Also read: Expert Insight: Property Market Changes To Expect This Decade Of all the property markets in Australia, Melbourne remained the top city for foreign buyers. Chmiel said Chinese buyers often go for newly-constructed units and houses, with values ranging from $610,000 to $1m. "They prefer homes near good schools and universities and convenient to services, transit and shopping," he said. The Foreign Investment Review Board recently released its annual report for 2018-2019, which showed a drop in Chinese real estate investment into Australia. During the financial year, investment from Chinese buyers hit $6.1bn, the lowest level since 2012-2013. "Our buyer enquiry data shows that Chinese investment in Australian real estate fell for a long time, from late 2016 right into the first half of 2019. That's nearly three years of declining Chinese buying. The tide may have turned because Chinese buyers seem to be coming back since the second half of last year," Chmiel said. Chmiel said the factors that were limiting activity from foreign investors started to loosen up. "Non-bank lenders are again willing to finance Asian buyers. The 8% stamp duty doesn't look so large when compared to the 20% taxes in places like Singapore and Vancouver. And, after years of globalization, Chinese have accumulated more overseas wealth that they can freely invest outside of China. HARBIN, May 7 (Xinhua) -- No new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Wednesday, the provincial health commission said Thursday. By Wednesday, the province had reported a total of 558 locally-transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases and 386 imported cases. Also by Wednesday, 509 locally-transmitted COVID-19 patients and 284 imported cases had been discharged from hospital after recovery. By Wednesday, the province still had 36 domestically-transmitted confirmed cases including 16 asymptomatic cases, and 102 imported confirmed cases including two asymptomatic cases, according to the commission. Massachusetts marijuana companies are getting closer to being able to offer delivery of retail cannabis, as some state regulators on Thursday said they believe delivery is a priority during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. But one commissioner said she was concerned about the safety of delivery amid the pandemic. The application for a delivery license is expected to be released on May 28, Cannabis Control Commission Executive Director Shawn Collins said during the commissions meeting on Thursday, which was live-streamed and held virtually. For at least the first two years, the licenses, which are for third-party delivery of adult-use marijuana, will be reserved for social equity and economic empowerment applicants. Those programs are for businesses owned by minorities, people with drug convictions and people who have lived and worked in communities that were disproportionately affected by marijuana prohibition. Commissioner Jennifer Flanagan said she was apprehensive to have delivery licenses move forward in the middle of the pandemic. Im uncomfortable with the timing of it, Flanagan said. "I really think we need to take into account whats going on at the time that this starts to happen. I know its not a popular thought to have. Ill probably get a lot of criticism for it, Flanagan added. But I really think that we need to at the same time balance the health needs. Commissioner Shaleen Title, however, said she felt the delivery license moving forward is a top priority. I feel that delivery was already crucial because of the fact that we put it off because there were concerns in the beginning back in 2017. We addressed those concerns but we also made it exclusive knowing that we would have licenses where the barriers were lower, Title said. But now, just the entire concept of delivery is so much more relevant. Commissioner Britte McBride noted that marijuana sales are still happening in the illicit market and the start of retail delivery could help address that concern. Were in the middle right now of uncharted territory but, we know, or suspect, that just because other people are staying at home it doesnt mean that the illicit market is staying at home, McBride said. It still exists, its still there, it is still available, and starting to chip away at that is extremely important. I think that this provides us with a tool to start to get there and its important to do so. During the meeting, the commissioners discussed a precertification for delivery applications before they go for a provisional license. The precertification will include things like business information, tax information and insurance plans, but not things like the certification of a host community agreement or capital resources, which will be looked at for the provisional license. Collins compared the precertification to a prequalification for a mortgage. Commissioners on Thursday took two votes concerning the delivery license: that the suitability determination for the relative parties for delivery-only license be based on applicants disclosures within the precertification application; and that the commission delegate the approval for precertification for delivery-only applications to the executive director. The first motion was approved 4-1, with Flanagan voting against the motion. The second motion was approved unanimously. Speaking to reporters following the meeting, CCC Chairman Steven Hoffman hes hopeful the licensure can move quickly. Last September, the CCC voted to approve regulations to will allow marijuana home delivery services, as well as for marijuana cafes, places where people will be able to go with friends to consume, smoke or vape marijuana legally. Medical marijuana companies are already able to offer delivery. Thre are currently 18 Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers that offer the service, according to the CCC. Amid the COVID-pandemic, the CCC has said Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers that offer delivery to patients can consider a geographic expansion of that delivery service. Related Content: [May 07, 2020] HDI Hosts Virtual Summit Focusing on the Future of Service and Support COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HDI is hosting a complimentary, one-day virtual summit on Tuesday, May 19th, focusing on best practices and industry insights for service and support professionals. Featuring six insightful sessions, attendees will hear from practitioners and experts on delivering stellar customer experiences, maintaining operational efficiency, engaging employees, calibrating the future of the industry, and more. SupportWorld Virtual is a platform that connects service and support professionals, thought-leaders and solution providers for a day of discussions around navigating our new normal in the service and support industry, said Megan Selva, Group Content Director, HDI. Everyone in our community will find value in HDIs virtual event and we are pleased to have such strong support from industry partners. SupportWorld Virtual includes the following sessions and panels: Ask the Experts: The Future of Service Management CX Principles Every Service Desk Should Leverage ESM: Moving Past the Hype to Gain Real Traction Ask the Experts: The State of Customer and Employee Experience in Recovery Brave New World: The Future of Service and Support Ask the Experts: What's Next for Service and Support Industry experts presenting sessions at SupportWorld Virtal include Roy Atkinson (Group Principal Analyst, HDI), David Cannon (EVP, Nfiniti3), Andrew Gilliam (Associate Analyst, HDI), Julie Mohr (Author and International Keynote Speaker), and Jeff Rumburg (Managing Partner, MetricNet LLC), to name a few. SupportWorld Virtual will be presented on HDIs BrightTALK channel. Registration is complimentary and attendees will need a BrightTALK account to participate. For more information and to register, visit https://bit.ly/SWV2020 . About HDI For thirty years, HDI has partnered with thousands of professionals and their organizations to improve their performance by helping them to: drive change, harness knowledge, transform teams, make connections, and turn challenges into opportunities. HDI empowers the technical support and service management community to advance their strategy, operations and teams through optimized service delivery. From the employee to the enterprise, HDI transforms service and support through its comprehensive lineup of training and certification courses, industry-leading annual conferences, results-driven consulting services, community-based networking opportunities, and insightful research and informational resources. What does HDI stand for? HDI stands for smarter service resulting in better business outcomes. Learn more at https://www.thinkhdi.com . HDI is brought to you by Informa Tech. About Informa Tech Informa Tech is a market leading provider of integrated research, media, training and events to the global Technology community. We're an international business of more than 600 colleagues, operating in more than 20 markets. Our aim is to inspire the Technology community to design, build and run a better digital world through research, media, training and event brands that inform, educate and connect. Over 7,000 professionals subscribe to our research, with 225,000 delegates attending our events and over 18,000 students participating in our training programs each year, and nearly 4 million people visiting our digital communities each month. Media Contact: Briana Pontremoli Informa Tech [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] WASHINGTON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The COVID-19 global pandemic by its very nature of how and what a pandemic behaves has created an unprecedented and rapidly evolving environment in which the industry has to operate. Additionally, the amount of disinformation, speculation, and uninformed forecasting has created its own pandemic; complicating how senior management teams grapple with short term, real-time impacts on their businesses. All the while trying to forecast the longer-term impact and formulate strategies for return to work productivity. The TMT sector, specifically Media, is experiencing a myriad of short-term revenue impacts due to delayed exhibition of content, ad sales cancellations, and delays, and a complete shutdown of global film and television production to name just a few. "A continued shutdown of film and television production until there is a therapeutic or vaccine to battle COVID-19, versus a strategic production ramp up, with strict virus mitigation protocols, is simply not acceptable. The industry has to produce inside this COVID-19 environment, or the long-term effects will be devastating to one of the United States' most important economies and treasured exports," stated Charles Segars, a media executive, and crisis mitigation specialist for OPSEC Alliance. "Studios have already formed internal working groups with decision-makers representing finance, human resources, legal, global safety & security and physical production as they prepare for an inevitable ramp-up and return. We strongly believe they should target the 3rd quarter, understanding that significant adjustments will have to be made on how they produce as well as accepting that they will be facing a myriad of changing domestic and international requirements. There is nothing these organizations can't accomplish." Timothy Stefanick, a retired Marine colonel, who now leads the OPSEC Alliance mitigation teams stated, "We have encouraged and helped media partners to connect with local, state, federal and international regulatory bodies to better understand timelines of re-openings and virus mitigation requirements. However, we have also cautioned that these government agencies and their assumptions are rapidly changing and do not take into account all the unique challenges the makers of film and television content face. It is a manufacturing ramp-up like no other, particularly because production requires an extraordinary amount of logistics, as large groups of artists and craftspeople must be traveled, housed, and fed while working across varying locales around the world. The onus of coordination will be on the studios since most regulatory bodies continue to have varying standards. There is no playbook for operating a robust production ramp-up within a pandemic environment. However, there are many learnings drawn from how our advance teams and military have moved world leaders, and command and control organizations through epidemic hot zones while mitigating exposure." Both Stefanick and Segars have personal experience in the arena of global logistics, security, safety, and movement of world leaders and staff. Stefanick was a Military Aide and Emergency Actions Officer to the Office of the Vice President of the United States serving two Vice Presidents (2008-2011) and Segars was a top Advance Team Leader for the Office of the President and Vice President of the United States (2008-2016). Segars emphasized that "level setting" data regarding COVID-19 including behavioral characteristics and associated timelines must be widely accepted and used as a baseline - referring to his COVID fact list below which is listed below. "If you believe the science of what we know about this virus, and embrace what we still do not understand, then designing real mitigation protocols inside the traditional production process will be much more effective and can allow for a return to work." However, Segars did caution, "there is an extraordinary amount of work to do and all the outside stakeholders unions, guilds, financiers and production insurers must have authorship in said mitigating protocols. They must accept the very nature of this pandemic will create hot zones in and around the locations that production is taking place." Stefanick also emphasized that 100% COVID-19 free mitigation is "simply not possible inside any production process. However, by creating said protocols, you can greatly lower the chances of exposure, and if/when someone is exposed, greatly reduce the impact on the production going forward. It is always a people-first mitigation strategy." Segars was quick to add, "Behaviorally, production personnel will need to see global COVID-19 cases and critical care numbers decreasing AFTER the current social distancing and gathering protocols have been systematically relaxed. They will need to see and understand definitive protocol changes in production processes designed to ensure their safety and that includes how they are traveled, locally transported, housed, and fed. Transparency and authorship will be critical to acceptance. And already, there is a fear that questioning any of those protocols might lead to discriminatory practices, i.e. replacing that person with someone willing to sign a waiver just for the opportunity of the job." Both were asked to give a "how-to" on enhancing the traditional movie-making process towards virus mitigation. Stefanick stressed, "Every production, no matter where it is located, must have an assigned, on-set, COVID-19 Czar whose primary responsibility is to know, understand, and implement "local" regulatory requirements as well as those required by their studio employer. They will require all personnel to take multiple tests, temperature checks, and wear masks and gloves. Social distancing would still apply. There will be strategically placed hand wash and sanitizer stations, all meals will be individually boxed and served, and all personnel will be required to self-quarantine for 7 days upon their arrival before reporting to the production offices." Segars added, "All productions will have to implement a pod-like rotation. It is a specific and proven model that has been applied to a number of other sectors that have operated in epidemic-like hot zones. The basic strategy is to greatly reduce the number of people on stage at one time. Pods of lighting, rigging and set dressers will have to work separately and need not always intersect or remain on set when cameras roll. Video village cannot be on stage; it must be located off-site, and include multiple, separate monitors so individuals do not crowd around one. The need to adopt existing simple wireless technologies that can deliver the video village signal to personal devices, not just nearby but to anywhere in the world. Sound carts can be removed from the stage, ventilation with open stage doors and fans on for as long as possible between takes, and production office space seating and craft service seating must respect social distancing. Restrooms and common surfaces are to be cleaned hourly; we even need personnel to record who they met with or spoke with each day in case contact tracing needs to occur. The real challenge is that actors and stunt people cannot wear masks, and hair and make-up will have to be extremely vigilant in their protocols. Currently, there are other productions shooting, safely and securely in Germany and South Korea. When pressed for an estimated cost, Segars said "the pod-based system requires shorter working hours and productivity is lower per day. It would not surprise me if it was 15% of the budget. However, the alternative is zero content in the pipeline and devastating unemployment." OPSEC COVID-19 FACTS: FACT 1: More people have COVID-19 than we know. This sounds alarming, but it is meant to be reassuring because that means the percentage of morbidity is lower. HOWEVER, FACT 2: COVID-19 is more infectious due to asymptomatic spread and without identification and containment can and will spread through working groups big and small. Once identified strict contact tracing, testing, containment, quarantine protocols will be instituted and will average 7-10 days. FACT 3: Most challenging beyond the asymptomatic spread, COVID-19 patients who do show symptoms are the MOST contagious one to two days PRIOR to symptom onset. Thus, temperature checks are not enough. Wide-spread testing is the only real solution. FACT 4: COVID-19 testing is 75 days away from becoming easily available and providing more accurate results. Mitigation will require multiple testing protocols throughout the workplace weeks to ensure personnel are not asymptomatic carriers. Antibody/immunity tests are very limited and lack accuracy. More importantly, while it is expected that SARS-CoV-2 infection and the associated antibodies will provide some level of immunity, it remains highly unclear how complete that immunity will be against the virus and how long it will last. This will take over 100 days to properly determine. FACT 5: There is no way to ensure 100% COVID-19 free capability in any workplace environment. Thus, strict mitigation protocols unique to your industry must be designed, communicated, and practiced. Regulatory bodies will hold companies liable as well as individuals who don't follow requirements. FACT 6: COVID-19 will slow in "summer," however early openings will exasperate that perceived decrease. New cases will continue to appear. Also, COVID-19 will continue to spread in the other hemisphere during their fall/winter THUS, FACT 7: COVID-19 will reappear in the United States Nov 2020-March 2021. This will be accompanied by the influenza season. Our current social distancing - no large gatherings, and shelter in place protocols WILL be re-applied, however with more precision. FACT 8: "Normalcy" will not return until there are two technological breakthroughs One: therapeutics, both anti-viral and antibody, to lessen symptoms and critical care impacts of COVID-19, must be made widely available. The approximate timeline is November 2020. Two: a vaccine must be made widely available (minimum 1 billion persons). Approximate timeline Jan. 2022. FACT 9: Most importantly, global regulatory bodies will continue to consider COVID-19, a "must contain" virus until a vaccine is widely in use. Thus, anyone with identified infection and transmissions will be legally required to be quarantined and companies will be legally required and liable if they fail to apply 'local" best practices to identify and contain it. The adoption of best practices and the constant evolution of said practices will determine industries' ability to remain productive and insurable. FACT 10: COVID-19 will be with us for the remainder of our lives and some mitigation will always have to be applied. SOURCE OPSEC Alliance The service supported by Azercell received 756 calls. Azerbaijan Children Hotline Service established and operating with the support of Azercell Telecom LLC has released results on its activity for April. During this period the helpline service received 756 calls. The majority of the calls, specifically 423 queries were related to education. The remaining calls related to social (98 cases), psychological (51 cases), legal (44 cases), and other (74 cases) matters. 665 appeals were received for the first time, while 91 were repeated. 692 calls were made by girls while the remaining 612 were received from boys. The remaining 5 appeals were received via SMS, so the gender of the applicants was not determined. About 85% of the applicants were older than 18. Amid lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic, the employees of Azerbaijan Children Hotline Service conducted their activities from home in April. Short number 116111 of Hotline Service was forwarded to mobile number and calls were answered on 7/24 basis by the operators. 712 inquiries were received through mobile number, while 18 through landline numbers and 26 via SMS. Despite the quarantine applied throughout April, the representatives of Hotline service arranged meetings with 6 families on the basis of queries, while sending letters to 44 relevant addresses to provide them urgent support. Starting from April 29, within the framework of the service, consultations, and meetings with families involved in rehabilitation have been partially restored. A range of measures aimed at raising awareness about the Service were carried out on social media channels over the last month. The representatives of the Service regularly spoke in local media outlets and actively participated in awareness-raising initiatives aimed at protection of children's rights. Meanwhile, the Service expanded the activities in social media and arranged live sessions. Notably, Azerbaijan Children Hotline Service received a total of 2069 appeals during the first 4 months of 2020. For more information about 24/7 Children Hotline please visit www.usaqxetti.az. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz by Sumon Corraya Contagion cases are rising in the country. Doctors and nurses have left hospitals to avoid getting sick. Tithy Margaret Costas faith has helped her heal the sick. People are struggling to keep social distancing. Garment factories are reopening. Dhaka (AsiaNews) Tithy Margaret Costa, a Catholic nurse at the Kurmitola General Hospital in Dhaka, is at the forefront of the fight against the coronavirus. Hers is a risky task. The public hospital in the capital can accommodate up to 500 COVID-19 patients. Some of the most seriously ill patients die every day, while the flow of new patients is constant. Six of Costas fellow nurses, a doctor and a cleaner have also been infected. Bangladesh has reported so far 11,719 cases with 186 deaths. More than 1,400 have recovered, including 30 Christians. However, the figures do not reflect the reality, given that the health authorities have done little testing. Costa sees her job as a mission, although it is hard for her to see people die every day from the coronavirus. "Many, including doctors and nurses, have left the hospital to avoid getting sick; I will never do that. This is the time to show my talent and courage by helping defenceless people. The 28-year-old nurse from Dhaka puts her health on the line despite having a child. Her husband never tried to dissuade her from working with coronavirus patients. Every time he comes home, he helps her disinfect herself to limit the danger of contagion in the family. COVID-19 patients expect love, patience and compassion from us, Costa said. Faith helps me heal them in the best possible way. One patient, an older Muslim man, once he was healed, called on Allah to bless her. Still, Costa is worried about the future. The government imposed measures of social confinement and economic lockdown until 16 May, but the population is struggling to keep social distancing. High population density and widespread poverty favour the spread of the disease. Contagion cases are on the rise. Meanwhile, garment factories reopened last Monday. The garment industry represents 80 per cent of Bangladeshs export earnings, employing a large part of the countrys workforce. To the editor: The plight of our nation under siege from the Chinese virus has generated numerous enlightening observations. Many are positive and demonstrate the greatness of America. Then there are those negative, which should serve as a wake-up call for every American. For instance: The fallout of this pandemic and its impact on our everyday life should be viewed as a small but significant example of what life in our land of the free would become under the full implementation of the socialist agenda embraced by the socialist/communist Democrats and foisted by whatever deceptive means upon us. The term progressive is used to put a positive spin on their treasonous drive to alter, compromise and ultimately eliminate our God-given Constitution, the foundation of our freedoms. In the ominous grip of fear resulting from this pandemic, the foundation is being laid to condition citizens to surrender some of their freedom for the common good. This, coupled with increased government control over personal lives, will pave the path to bondage. Our younger generations enthusiastically embrace this toxic dogma of socialism/communism but they lack adequate schooling or are willingly ignorant of the satanic outcome such as seen in Russia or Venezuela where hunger, poverty and death are the way of life. Socialist/communist Democrats have, with great consistency, politicized every aspect of governmental response to the Chinese virus and the state mainstream media have backed them. A glaring example appeared in an AP article titled Flatter or Fight in the Journal-Courier on March 27. Nearly two-thirds of a page attempted to paint the presidents response to the pandemic in a negative light. Yet buried in the middle of this hit piece, the AP writers state: There is no evidence that Trump has held up a governors request for assistance for personal or political reasons. Maybe the AP and the other mainstream news media should do their homework on past administrations disaster responses and failure to prepare for the present ongoing pandemic. But there is one ultimately important observation. Throughout the course of this pandemic, there has been a deafening silence in appealing to God, the Greatest Physician. He either causes or allows such disasters to occur, and He has the power to swiftly mitigate their effect. He is merciful unto those who revere him and His ear is attuned to the plea of those who seek Him in their moment of fear and distress. May He be merciful unto us, His people, in their hour of need. Roger True Murrayville (GETTY) Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO)(CNQ) has swung to a billion-dollar loss and now looks to save $745 million in costs this year as COVID-19 snuffs out oil demand and Saudi-Russian price aggression clobbers prices. Canadas largest oil and gas producer also said it will slash an additional $280 million in capital expenditures on top of the more than $1 billion in planned spending it eliminated in March. Canadian Natural Resources reported a net loss of $1.28 billion or $1.08 per share in its first quarter, after booking profit of $961 million or 80 cents per share in the same three months last year. The Calgary-based company said on Thursday that average realized prices for crude and natural gas liquids plunged more than 52 per cent year-over-year to $25.90 per barrel in the quarter ended March 31. The company said it has a free-cash-flow break-even price of US$30 to US$31 per barrel. The dual shocks of the price war and COVID-19 have decimated commodity prices. West Texas Intermediate crude prices briefly slipped into negative territory last month. Western Canadian Select prices have also fallen to historic lows. Our teams have been focused on all of our costs, chief executive officer Tim McKay told analysts on the quarterly call. Canadian Natural is in a strong position in these challenging times. Our assets are robust. The company said it had about $5 billion in liquidity at its disposal at quarters end, including $1.1 billion in cash reserves. Due to the ongoing pandemic, Canadian Natural Resources has withdrawn its 2020 production outlook and plans to curtail output by 14 per cent. The company said it produced a record-setting quarterly output of roughly 1.18 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Production rose nearly 14 per cent in the first quarter as the company took advantage of the Alberta governments special production allowance, permitting additional output if moved by rail. Canadian Natural Resources said its May reductions will amount to about 36,000 barrels per day of conventional production, and about 38,000 barrels per day of steam-driven oil sands output. Routine maintenance at its Horizon facility will result in an additional 50,000 barrel per day decline in May. Story continues Unlike many of its peers, Canadian Natural Resources has maintained its dividend amid unprecedented pressure on the sector. I think it speaks to the resilience and sustainability of the assets. The board understands the underlying assets, their ability to generate free-cash-flow sustainably, even in low commodity price environments, chief financial officer Mark Stainthorpe said on the call. Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jefflagerquist. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. The Sundance Film Festival may have been an early breeding ground for the coronavirus that helped spread the deadly illness across the country, microbiologists say, after dozens of attendees suffered harsh flu-like symptoms at the January festival days after the first US case was identified. The annual event, held in Park City, Utah, was attended by more than 120,000 actors, writers and industry executives on January 23, who traveled in from 27 different countries. As part of the proceedings, guests pile into cramped theaters, shake hands, and party together long into the night a combination of events scientists are calling the perfect formula to contaminate everybody with COVID-19. Its not unusual to contract what event veterans call Sundance flu during the 10-day festival, which is often the result of altitude sickness, cold weather, sleep deprivation and endless cocktail parties, but there was something different about this years event. A large number of attendees became sicker than ever before, leading some to later believe they suffered early, undocumented cases of COVID-19. The Sundance Film Festival couldve been the first petri dish of coronavirus that helped spread the deadly illness across the country, microbiologists say, after dozens of attendees suffered harsh flu-like symptoms at the January festival days after the first US case was identified Its not unusual to contract what event veterans call Sundance flu during the 10-day festival, which is often the result of altitude sickness, cold weather, sleep deprivation and endless cocktail parties, but there was something different about this years event One of those festival-goers interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter was Ashley Jackson, 20, who said she started feeling sick on January 27, her last day in Park City, for the premiere of the movie Blast Beat, in which she co-starred. Jackson said her first symptoms were consistent with that of a nasty bug, suffering a fever, clammy skin, fatigue and a shortness of breath. But the Atlanta native powered through regardless, attending the final premiere as well a number of after parties before flying home the next day. However, it was back in Georgia that her symptoms began to worsen. Jackson began suffering from a sore throat, full-body aches and a cough so severe her neck swelled. Within the first 24 hours, she made what would go on to become her first of dozens of emergency room visits where she was diagnosed with the flu, though no flu test was administered. I started texting other people who had been at Sundance, and one said, Yo, we just started calling it the Sundance Plague on social media, Jackson told THR. We all had the same symptoms, all had the cough, all had trouble breathing at night. Some of us got humidifiers and some got oxygen. And we were all just miserable for three to four weeks. And then out of nowhere, we're back living in society like nothing is wrong. And then I see all these coronavirus stories, and I was like, Whoa." According to the CDC, the first US case of COVID-19 was identified on January 21 a man in Washington State who had recently returned from Wuhan, China, where coronavirus is first believed to have originated. In response, the government body said that airports would conduct health screenings for passengers traveling from Wuhan to Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. However, Salt Lake City the main port for Sundance attendees was not included. Ashley Jackson, 20, said she started feeling sick on January 27, her last day in Park City. However, it was back in Georgia that her symptoms began to worsen. Jackson began suffering from a sore throat, full-body aches and a cough so severe her neck swelled Sundance 2020 started two days after Patient Zero was identified - and Jackson certainly wasnt alone in suffering from a mystery illness. Several other Hollywood Reporter interviewees, who chose to remain anonymous, said one writer and three friends all got the same mysterious sickness a little different for each of us but always quite intense. One actor was said to be gravely ill, with members of his team also exhibiting similar severe symptoms to him in the days after. Sundance Regular, Franklin Leonard, who founded Black List, said he began feeling sick on January 28, the day he flew back from Salt Lake to Los Angeles. Landed with a sore throat, and by Wednesday I was barely functional, Franklin told THR. [I] was as sick as I've ever been for two weeks. Only really felt 100 percent by the weekend of the Oscars. Franklin said he knew of at least two others who left the festival early due to illness, including a lawyer. Actress Paige McGarvin, 23, who was also struck down by a mystery illness says she wasnt thinking seriously about coronavirus at all, remembering it only as a kind of internet meme at the time of Sundance. I didn't think it was a real threat that was anywhere near me, she said. Sundance Regular, Franklin Leonard, who founded Black List, said he began feeling sick on January 28, the day he flew back from Salt Lake to Los Angeles. Franklin said he knew of at least two others who left the festival early due to illness, including a lawyer McGarvin had flown from Los Angeles to Park City on January 23 to attend the premier of the Alec Baldwin-produced drama Beast Beast, in which she plays the role of a teenager from Georgia. Over her eight days at Sundance, McGarvin said she started to get that vague Im getting sick feeling. But by February 1, the day she was due to drive back to LA, she said she woke up feeling like I got hit by a truck, and was unable to speak or move. I was driving back with three friends, and we were going to split the drive into four pieces and each drive two and a half hours. And me and another girl that I was with, we just laid in the back seat in so much pain, McGarvin recalled to THR. I have never felt more miserable. I couldnt open my eyes. I put something over my face, and I couldnt even sleep. My body just hurt. By February 4 and much like Jackson McGarvins condition took a drastic downturn. In a text to her mother that day, she wrote: I can barely breathe when I cough; its like I cant stop coughing enough to inhale. She then took herself to the doctors and was diagnosed with flu-like symptoms and exacerbated asthma. McGarvin was prescribed steroids and assured that the worst was behind her. Her symptoms did subside in the next few days, and by February 12 she felt as if she was nearly back to normal. But five days later, the symptoms resurged and this time more severely than before. Actress Paige McGarvin, 23, who was also struck down by a mystery illness says she wasnt thinking seriously about coronavirus at all, remembering it only as a kind of internet meme at the time of Sundance My legs were unbearably achy. I was in so much pain. Extreme temperature fluctuation, was wearing two hoodies and still freezing, then would start sweating a few hours later. The 23-year-old returned to the doctor, who was baffled by the fact she was now into her third week of flu symptoms which typically wane after five days. McGarvin underwent a series of tests, and came back negative for flu and strep, while her Chest X-ray was clean. The doctor basically was like, OK, I'm guessing you're developing pneumonia. He didn't see pneumonia, but he didn't know what else it would be, she told THR. But just as mysteriously as her symptoms materialized, they disappeared suddenly on February 21. Both McGarvin and Jackson showed similarities in their bouts of respective illness. Jacksons medical records also ruled out flu, strep and pneumonia. A series of other tests she underwent were also inconclusive. A February 3 CT scan showed enlargement of the bilateral adenoids and palatine tonsils most likely representing tonsillitis. Jackson also developed symptoms uniquely linked to COVID-19, including conjunctivitis. I wasnt completely healed but needed to start catching up and felt well enough to attend, she said of her return to school on February 12. In the weeks after, as coronavirus coverage started to dominate media headlines, Jackson become increasingly certain she had in fact contracted COVID-19. She called Spelman College Health Center on April 1 to inquire about the possibility and was told there was a high likelihood she had it and was instructed to isolate if she was still exhibiting any of the symptoms. In the weeks after Sundance, a vast network of illness began to emerge. Olivia Charmaine Morris (right), 28, who works as the senior director of development at Kerry Washingtons production company Simpson Street, said: I had a few different friends I talked to since who were like, 'I got sick, my lawyer, my assistant, my stylist' In the weeks after Sundance, a vast network of illness began to emerge. Olivia Charmaine Morris, 28, who works as the senior director of development at Kerry Washingtons production company Simpson Street, said: I had a few different friends I talked to since who were like, 'I got sick, my lawyer, my assistant, my stylist. Like whole groups of people getting sick, not just like random people here and there. Anecdotally, I know seven or eight people that had the same symptoms, and they all know three to seven more people. Just as Leonard did, Morris flew from Salt Lake City to LA on January 28 and suffered the first wave of symptoms when she arrived back home. Multiple doctor visits and tests would yield negative results for strep and flu, with clear X-ray results. Everything came back negative, she said. And I was given three different rounds of antibiotics. I ended up going to a private doctor and getting an IV drip with an immune booster. The most startling thing about this type of sickness over anything that I've ever had before was that truly nothing was mitigating the symptoms. I have had the flu before, I have had bronchitis. Nothing came close to this. The Park City Medical Center, Summit County Health Department and Sundance Film Festival have not yet responded to a DailyMail.com request for comment. In a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, SCHD said the first official case of coronavirus was documented on March 10. Meanwhile, a Sundance spokesperson told DailyMail.com that theyre not aware of any confirmed festival connected cases of COVID-19. 'The health of our guests is very important to us so were very troubled by reports that any of our festival attendees were unwell either during or after our January edition,' Sundance said. 'As we plan for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival we are coordinating with health authorities at local, state and the federal level and considering all measures to ensure the safety of the Sundance community, including social distancing in theaters and other public spaces and increased sanitation practices.' At a Wednesday news conference, Utahs state epidemiologist said that it was definitely possible that COVID-19 was being transmitted at Sundance At a Wednesday news conference, Utahs state epidemiologist said that it was definitely possible that COVID-19 was being transmitted at Sundance. Microbiologist Dean Hart also supported the theory, citing that the Wuhan lockdown began on January 23 the same day Sundance started. Logic dictates that they most probably did have it, Hart said of the sickened Sundance attendees. With Sundance, you've got the perfect formula for this virus to really go to town and contaminate everybody. Its also likely that coronavirus hit the US long before the Washington state case. The Santa Clara County medical examiner recently announced that two residents who died in mid-February were later found in post-mortem testing to be infected with COVID-19 meaning the virus was already silently spreading in California before mid-January. All those people that were in Park City, we all flew in and went somewhere else. And even a lot of the Uber or Lyft drivers were just in town for the festival, so they werent all necessarily even from the area, Morris theorized to THR. We really could have been the first petri dish, and then we all just scattered. Odisha on Thursday reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases in a day as 21 people, who recently returned from Surat, tested positive for coronavirus, an official said. With these new cases, the total number of people afflicted with the disease has climbed to 206, he said. Of the 21 new patients, 17 are from Ganjam district and four from Mayurbhanj, a new one in the list of districts where coronavirus cases have been reported, an official from the Information and Public Relations department said. "These new patients have recently returned from Surat and are in quarantine centres," the official said. Following the spurt in COVID-19 cases, the state government declared Ganjam as a red zone while Mayurbhanj and Jagatsinghpur were classified as orange zones. Jagatsinghpur had reported four cases on Wednesday. The first case in Ganjam was reported on May 2 and since then, there has been a sudden spurt in the number of cases, the official said. "All necessary stipulations by the Centre and the state government applicable for different zones in the districts and municipal corporation areas are to be followed scrupulously," Health and Family Welfare department Additional Chief Secretary P K Mohapatra said in a letter to the three district administrations and the commissioner of Berhampur Municipal Corporation. Nearly three lakh Odia workers mostly from the Ganjam district are engaged in diamond cutting and other works in Gujarat's Surat. They started coming back to the eastern state after the Centre allowed movement of migrant labourers during the ongoing lockdown. Ganjam district collector V A Kulange said the local administration is taking care of those who have travelled back to the state, and authorised persons have only been allowed to enter into quarantine centres or temporary medical facilities. Apart from Ganjam, three districts -- Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore, and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) area in Khurda -- are classified as red zones. There are 10 orange and 14 green zones in the state. With 21 more people testing positive for COVID-19, the number of active cases now stands at 142, while 62 people have recovered from the disease. Two persons from Bhubaneswar have died of the infection. The state government on Wednesday had tested 3,060 samples, the official said. A total of 50,514 samples have been tested so far in the state, he said. Jajpur district has reported the maximum number of cases at 55, followed by Bhubaneswar in Khurda district 47, Balasore 25, Bhadrak and Ganjam 21 each, and Sundergarh 12. Four cases each have been reported from Jagatsinghpur and Mayurbhanj, and three from Kendrapara districts. Two cases each have been detected in Cuttack, Jharsuguda, Bolangir, Keonjhar and Kalahandi, and one each in Puri, Dhenkanal, Deogarh and Koraput districts. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) HUDSONVILLE, MI -- A large Ottawa County egg producer is reporting that seven workers have tested positive for COVID-19, but none since April 30. Sunrise Acres Egg Farms issued a statement Wednesday, May 6 about the companys efforts to combat the virus. We are extremely grateful for our team in place and the way they have responded to our protocols in place and desire to keep everyone safe, Joe Patmos, part of the leadership team at Sunrise Acres, said in a written statement. Patmos said the company, located at 2465 32nd Ave., is taking extra precautions. He said they have 170 workers. Related: Michigan hits 4,250 coronavirus deaths, more than all of Canada Employees have been retrained on protocols about hand washing, mandatory mask wearing and social distancing. They also have COVID-19 screening methods in place for employees coming to work and also have added a professional cleaning company -- in addition to company cleaning staff -- to continually sanitize the property. When the operation closes at night, a more thorough deep clean process takes place, Patmos said. This continues to be a challenging time for all essential businesses and farms at this time, and were grateful for our dedicated team who has truly rallied together, which has been a bright spot in the midst of these challenging times. We have the privilege and necessity to care for hens who need consistent, daily, specialized care and to be able to provide a low cost, high quality protein source for our communities in this time of need, he wrote. 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. Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces. Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus. Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus. Related stories: Wednesday, May 6: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan 5 reasons Michigan lawmakers are suing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Eight weeks after Michigans first coronavirus cases, an animated map tracks its spread through the state Michigans approach to reopening the economy: slow, steady and safe Coronavirus continues to disrupt mail service in parts of Michigan New Delhi: On the auspicious occasion of Buddha Purnima, renowned sand artiste Sudarsan Pattnaik paid a heartfelt tribute to Lord Buddha with his beautiful sand art creations. He shared two of his masterpieces which will definitely make you feel the peace and serenity depicted by the Lord. Sudarsan Pattnaik extended Buddha Purnima greetings on Twitter. He wrote: Greetings to all on the auspicious occasion of #BuddhaPurnima. One of my SandArt of lord #Buddha Greetings to all on the auspicious occasion of #BuddhaPurnima . One of my SandArt of lord #Buddha pic.twitter.com/9li2Yy2CWv Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) May 7, 2020 Buddha Purnima, also known as Buddha Jayanti - celebrates the birth of Lord Buddha. This year, it falls on May 7, marking the birthday of Lord Buddha. Traditionally, it's a holiday in Mahayana Buddhism commemorating the birth of the Prince Siddhartha Gautama, later the Gautama Buddhafounder of Buddhism. The birthday of Lord Buddha is widely celebrated across the globe and followers begin preparation, days in advance. Before denouncing the worldly pleasures, the Lord was known as Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who later transformed into Gautama Buddha and founded Buddhism as a path leading to the spiritual enlightenment of the soul. It is said that as per Theravada Tripitaka scriptures, Prince Gautama was born in Lumbini which is now known as modern-day Nepal, around 563 BCE. He was later raised in Kapilavastu. Here's wishing all our readers a very happy Buddha Purnima! Eagle Eye Networks, the global leader in cloud video surveillance, announced today one of the fastest completions of a large scale, fully integrated city-wide surveillance program, installing 13,720 cameras in 4 months. This project has been a large success for Mexico City C5, contributing to Mexico City's larger Citizen Safety mobile application. This mobile application facilitates content sharing for more effective neighborhood watch and a panic SOS button. Effective citywide surveillance is more than installing cameras in a few key locations, its about creating a platform that meets the unique needs of each municipality. In partnership with Eagle Eye Networks we leveraged the Eagle Eye Video API and SDK to customize a unique web application that is designed to integrate fixed, mobile body worn, and vehicle cameras into one interface, providing an unprecedented level of insight and awareness into our cities operations, said Jaime Abad Valdenebro, CEO, Omnicloud.mx. 4G connectivity with Eagle Eye Networks bandwidth optimization was utilized in order to facilitate this quick deployment, installing approximately 250 cameras per day at its peak. The cameras are all operational, remotely monitored, and providing safety and security to citizens today. This fast-paced install occurred amidst the global supply chain challenges caused by COVID-19, however, Eagle Eye Networks strong partnership with both the Reseller, Omnicloud.mx, and suppliers provided alternatives and solutions to keep the project on schedule. Eagle Eye Networks solution was chosen because the Eagle Eye Cloud Video API Platform provides an open solution that allows integration of new technologies (AI, advanced analytics, search, license plate recognition), new suppliers, and new cameras at any time. Future and cybersecurity proofing the citys investment and eliminating the headaches associated with managing large premise based data centers was crucial in their decision. When deploying a city-wide surveillance project, scalability, retention, and cellular transmission must be considered. Eagle Eyes cloud video retention and massive on demand scalability make it ideal for large scale deployments. To operate your own large data center system for video recording is expensive and challenging. With Eagle Eyes subscription service we provide a more robust and lower cost answer for large scale deployments. Furthermore, our open platform provides a future proof solution, integrating AI, video analytics, and advanced search at the click of a mouse, said Dean Drako, CEO of Eagle Eye Networks. More than half of the worlds population resides in cities, creating an increased demand for smart, accurate insights to help streamline everyday operations including public safety, traffic flow management, infrastructure and transportation. Enormous amounts of data collection, aggregation, and storage are necessary to drive the deep analysis that is required to produce these smart insights. The only way to efficiently manage this data is to aggregate and analyze in the cloud, said Jeff Kessler, Managing Director of Imperial Capital and Publisher of the Security Industry Annual Report. The Eagle Eye Cloud is a robust, scalable and cost-effective solution, purpose-built to support the data storage and analysis demands that city-wide deployments require. ABOUT EAGLE EYE NETWORKS Founded in 2012, Eagle Eye Networks, Inc., is #1 in cloud video surveillance worldwide, addressing the needs of businesses, alarm companies, security integrators, cities, and individuals. Eagle Eyes 100% cloud managed solutions provides cloud and on-premise recording, bank level security and encryption, and broad analog and digital camera support all accessed via the web or mobile applications. Businesses of all sizes and types utilize Eagle Eye solutions for operational optimization and security. All Eagle Eye products benefit from Eagle Eyes developer friendly RESTful API platform and Big Data Video Framework , which allow for indexing, search, retrieval, and analysis of live and archived video. Eagle Eyes open Video API has been widely adopted for integration in alarm monitoring, third party analytics, security dashboards, and point of sale system integrations. Eagle Eye sells its products through authorized global resellers and installation partners. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, USA, Eagle Eye has offices in Europe and Asia-Pacific. For more information, please visit http://www.een.com or call +1-512-473-0500 (US), +31 (0) 20 26 10 460 (EMEA) or +81-3-6868-5527 (JP). Delivery of many of the medical masks that Gov. Gavin Newsom secured in a nearly $1 billion deal with a Chinese company has been delayed because a federal agency has yet to certify they meet safety standards, according to documents released Wednesday night. The situation led California to seek repayment of half the $495 million that it paid upfront to manufacturer BYD for N95 particulate-filtering respirators intended to protect medical workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. It will have to pay the money if and when the company wins federal approval for the masks. BYD is still sending the state millions of lower-grade surgical masks every week under the deal that Newsom announced last month, according to contract documents released by the Governors Office of Emergency Services. Those masks offer protection against droplets, not particulates, and dont require federal safety certification. Newsom and a BYD spokesman said they are hopeful that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health will soon certify that the N95 masks meet safety standards and allow them to be delivered to California. The unfortunate news, but its part of these larger contracts, is on the back end we needed some certification, federal certifications, for these N95 respirator masks, Newsom said during a news conference Wednesday. Thats been delayed a little bit, so on the back end, a little bit of delay, he said. Its not immediately clear whats causing the holdup with the federal agency, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. N95 respirators must be capable of filtering 95% of airborne particles. The federal institute vets them to ensure they function properly. BYD, or Build Your Dreams, mainly manufactured electric buses until the coronavirus pandemic struck. It then branched into personal protective equipment for medical workers. Under the contract with California, BYD was supposed to obtain safety certification for the N95 masks by April 30. California has renegotiated part of the contract to give the company until May 31. If BYD cannot obtain certification, the company must refund the other half of the states $495 million prepayment. California would pay the money if BYD eventually won federal certification. BYD spokesman Frank Girardot said the company had hoped the certification process would be complete earlier this week. We have every intention of delivering the masks the state wants, he said. Californias deal with BYD had already drawn scrutiny over the companys reported track record of selling defective nonmedical products. Giradot has said BYD would comply with any quality standard that the state is asking for. State officials had previously refused to release the BYD contract to lawmakers and journalists. They said doing so before any masks arrived could jeopardize Californias chances of receiving the equipment, given the fierce competition worldwide for N95 and surgical masks. But the recent deliveries of surgical masks have eased those concerns, according to a spokesman for the Office of Emergency Services. Under the contract, California plans to pay $990 million for the 300 million N95 respirators and 100 million surgical masks over a roughly two-month period, with an option to extend the deal. The contract shows that the state is paying $3.30 apiece for the N95 respirators and 55 cents for each surgical mask. At a time when local, state and federal agencies were paying an average of $6-7 per (N95) mask, and in some cases well in excess of $10 per mask, this agreement locked the state in at a competitive price point at scale, Brian Ferguson, a spokesman for the Office of Emergency Services, said in an email. California has used its statewide purchasing power to act as a backstop for hospitals and county health departments scrambling to secure masks and other personal protective equipment during the pandemic. The Office of Emergency Services said BYD has already delivered more than 10 million surgical masks. San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Alexei Koseff contributed to this report. Dustin Gardiner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dustin.gardiner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dustingardiner Tonic, a digital agency based in Denver, Colorado, has been named to Inc. magazines annual list of the Best Workplaces for 2020. Hitting newsstands May 12 in the May/June 2020 issue, and as part of a prominent Inc.com feature, the list is the result of a wide-ranging and comprehensive measurement of private American companies that have created exceptional workplaces through vibrant cultures, deep employee engagement, and stellar benefits. Collecting data from more than 3,000 submissions, Inc. singled out 395 finalists for this years list. Each nominated company took part in an anonymous employee survey, conducted by Quantum Workplace, on topics including trust, management effectiveness, perks, and confidence in the future. Inc. gathered, analyzed, and audited the data, then ranked all the employers using a composite score of survey results. This year, 73.5 percent of employees from the companies surveyed by Inc. were engaged by their work. Tonic emerged as a leader in employee experience, with Inc.s survey finding 100 percent of employees at Tonic were engaged. If you want people to be inspired to do great work, you have to treat them well, Ellen Caviglia Clark, Co-founder, believes in putting her team first. A great deal of Tonics success is a direct result of investing in our team and culture. Its amazing how much of a difference it makes when people are excited to come to work. Building a great corporate culture comes only from strong leadership, says Inc. magazine editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. The companies on Inc.s Best Workplaces list are setting an example that the whole country can learn from, especially now, when company culture is more important to the workforce than ever. About Tonic Tonic builds digital platformsweb and mobile applicationsfor organizations who need a strong technology partner to help carry out their missions. The Tonic team delivers work with impact; through getting involved, doing the right thing, and having fun. Based in the heart of Denvers thriving tech community, Tonic provides strategy, design, development, and technology consulting services for innovative companies in the energy and financial services industries. The Tonic team has extensive experience building secure and scalable applications that make an impact. Learn more at http://www.hellotonic.com. About Inc. Media The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com. A Fairhope man and blogger who frequently chides public officials in Baldwin County on the Ripp Report website is asking a judge to direct Sheriff Huey Hoss Mack to enforce the State Health Order prohibiting indoor dining, religious services and businesses like hair salons. The lawsuit filed by Francis Paul Ripp asks for Judge J. Clark Stankoski to issue a Writ of Mandamus instructing Mack to enforce the order that was authorized April 28 by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris. The order prohibits certain public gatherings such as indoor church services and indoor restaurant dining. Mack, in media interviews and on Facebook, has said he isnt going to have his deputies perform custodial arrests for violations to the state health order. He joins a growing list of other sheriffs in Alabama who have openly said they will not have their departments enforce the health order. The lawsuit alleges that Macks decision appears to be political activity against an unpopular order. According to the lawsuit, the Sheriffs dereliction of his enforcement duties creates an immediate public health crisis in Baldwin County, Alabama. The state health order is set to expire on May 15. The lawsuit requests and emergency hearing, and for the reimbursement of court costs and attorney fees. How the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting marine ecosystems, Part 1: Fisheries and aquaculture by Sarah Carr May 07,2020 | Source: The Skimmer Fisheries and their attendant industries and communities across the globe ranging from European to UK to South African to Indonesian to North American are being devastated by problems starting fishing voyages, decreases in demand from large-scale buyers particularly restaurants, and the shutdown of exports to Asia particularly China. The head of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermens Associations called the COVID-19 pandemic the biggest crisis to hit the fishing industry ever. In some countries, fishing vessels are stuck in port due to measures intended to decrease the spread of COVID-19, while in others countries, lack of demand for product, border closings, and trouble gathering crews and supplies are keeping fishers at home. Satellite data suggest that fishing activity has decreased dramatically as much as 80 percent in China and West Africa. Offshore fleets that can spend extended periods of time at sea because they can process and freeze fish at sea and/or offload catch to transshipment vessels seem to be maintaining effort, however. Sales and prices for premium seafood products that are generally sold to restaurants such as lobster, crabs, scallops, and wild salmon have been hit particularly hard. US Maine lobster, which would normally sell for $10 a pound (boat price) at this time of year, is currently selling for under $3 a pound. Many grocery stores have shut down their fish counters and are only selling the most popular, prepackaged seafood items to make restocking easier and satisfy demand for less perishable products. Fishing groups are starting to explore ways to increase direct sales of fresh seafood to consumers, but current direct-sale markets and supply lines are insufficient to deal with the mass quantities of fresh seafood that are now available. Pandemic stories from the fisheries sector highlight the intense globalization and complexity of the seafood trade. Many countries, such as the UK, Canada, and the US export most of the catch from their domestic fisheries while importing most of the seafood that their residents eat. (Some catch is exported to take advantage of lower labor costs for processing fish and then reimported.) These complicated trade patterns are a massive liability to the industry as the pandemic shuts down normal trade routes. Even as nations start to relax measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and open businesses and industries, safety concerns may continue to dog the seafood sector. Fishing vessels and crowded seafood processing facilities do not easily allow for physical distancing, and both commercial and recreational fisheries are potential vectors of COVID-19 to remote communities. As with other environmental issues, the impacts of the pandemic on fisheries depend on local circumstances. Some Kenyan fishers are experiencing a temporary boost in sales and prices as local buyers switch from frozen Chinese fillet imports to local catch from Lake Victoria. This boom is unlikely to be long-term, however, because Kenya typically only produces a third of the fish that it consumes, relying on China for much of the difference. Restrictions on imports from China may soon lead to more widespread protein shortages for the country. Similar shortages of aquatic foods and increases in prices are likely to occur in many other areas, harming poor consumers who depend on seafood for protein and essential micronutrients. And, in general, already vulnerable and marginalized small-scale fishers and the industries and communities that depend on them (e.g., fish vendors and fish processors) are likely be devastated by the pandemic as their access to coastal areas is restricted and fish markets are affected by shutdowns. There is relatively little news coverage of the impact of the pandemic on small-scale fishers, and Too Big To Ignore (a global research partnership) and the Ocean Frontier Institute are currently working to document how the pandemic is affecting small-scale fishers. The extent of the COVID-19 pandemic on recreational fisheries is not yet clear, but some recreational fisheries, including all recreational fisheries in the Mediterranean, have been closed. For some fisheries, decreases in fishing effort from commercial and recreational fisheries for an extended period of time could allow marine stocks to recover. If fishing effort stopped for a full spawning cycle, the biomass of some species, such as herring, could nearly double. However, the pandemic is also having some negative impacts on fisheries sustainability and management. In some areas, fishing pressure is increasing on species that are commonly canned or frozen, e.g., small pelagics and tuna. There are currently mass migrations of city dwellers to rural areas in some countries (e.g., in India and Kenya) due to urban shutdowns to slow the spread of COVID-19. These migrations may place further pressure on marine stocks and coastal ecosystems that are already stressed. Fishing is often an occupation of last resort when other employment opportunities and sources of income and food are limited. Some countries are extending their fishing seasons, halting stock assessment surveys, and decreasing fisheries monitoring, both from onboard observers and fishing patrols. NOAA Fisheries in the US recently issued an emergency action allowing it to waive requirements for fisheries observers onboard vessels and at fish processing plants for the next six months if it is deemed necessary to protect public health and safety (e.g., of fishers and observers) and maintain fish supply to markets. Many fisheries science and management meetings are being cancelled. Leading seafood sustainability rating organization Seafood Watch has had to substantially reduce its workforce through layoffs and furloughs. Marine aquaculture is being affected by many of the same factors as fisheries, including lack of demand for fresh seafood and trade restrictions. In addition, fish farmers are incurring expenses to continue feeding stocks that they are not harvesting, and they are running into problems importing brood stock. The UN Food and Agricultural Organization has a host of recommendations for mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the fisheries and aquaculture sectors and seafood consumers. Some recommendations include: -- Government purchases of excess seafood supply for institutions such as prisons -- Restricting fishing to levels that match demand to keep prices level -- Direct financial assistance to fishing vessel owners and crews -- Increased access to credit programs and loan forgiveness for seafood industry businesses -- Reducing trade restrictions on food items -- Increasing remote monitoring and surveillance of fishing activity. Theme(s): Others. A training programme that teaches GPs how to identify domestic violence and abuse (DVA) victims has led to a 30-fold increase in DVA referrals, according to a collaborative study of 205 general practices led by Queen Mary University of London, in partnership with the Centre for Academic Primary Care, Bristol Medical School. Across the world, 'lockdowns' in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are putting women at increased risk of DVA. In England, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge, has seen a 50 percent increase in calls compared to pre-COVID-19, along with a 400 percent increase in web traffic In most settings, including high-income countries, healthcare is still not responding adequately to DVA. The World Health Organization, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Department of Health and Social Care have called for greater health sector involvement in helping those affected. IRIS (Identification and Referral to Improve Safety) is a training and support programme to help primary care teams identify and refer women affected by DVA. It involves training the whole primary care team at GP practices (GPs, nurses, practice managers and healthcare assistants and ancillary staff) in identifying DVA in their patients. This includes adapting electronic medical records to prompt health workers to ask further questions about DVA, when presented with clinical conditions such as depression, anxiety or injury. The programme also includes a simple referral pathway to a named DVA advocate, ensuring direct access for women to specialist services. The latest research, published in the journal BMC Medicine, looked at 205 general practices across London over four years. It compared practices in four London boroughs which had implemented the IRIS DVA training and referral programme, with general practices in a fifth borough which only had a stand-alone education session. The study found that the benefits seen in the 144 practices receiving the full IRIS DVA programme were substantial, increasing DVA referrals 30-fold, with no increase in the 61 practices in a comparator borough. IRIS also led to a 27 percent increase in new identification of women affected by DVA in the implementation borough, but not in the comparator borough. Beth, who used the DVA service as a result of the IRIS programme, said: "IRIS were the first people to get right into my life and begin to make that difference. I had stressed repeatedly about what was happening to many professionals in the past but no-one could really help to make it stop. By the time IRIS became involved I was exhausted. My Advocate Educator was incredible, so knowledgeable, patient and intent on transforming my stuck situation. I will always feel beyond grateful to her and the team at IRIS for giving me the freedom I have now. The children and I are now safe and happy. It feels amazing." Study lead Dr. Alex Sohal from Queen Mary University of London said: "This new work shows that implementation of the IRIS programme surprisingly remains highly effective at scale in day to day general practice. It allows GPs to engage constructively with DVA rather than turning their back on this vulnerable group of patients." A previous smaller randomised controlled trial in London and Bristol found IRIS to be very effective in identifying and referring women facing domestic abuse. The IRIS programme has been funded in 41 English and Welsh sites, but in one quarter of those, funding has since stopped despite the programme being effective Co-author Professor Chris Griffiths from Queen Mary University of London, said: "Health commissioners can now commission this programme with the confidence that it works in practice. IRIS can help GPs respond to the increased needs of women during COVID-19. Our work shows that the Mayor of London's recent investment in rolling out the IRIS DVA programme across a further seven London boroughs is an excellent use of resource. Boroughs and Violence Reduction Units across the UK should follow this lead." Professor Rosalind Raine (Director, NIHR ARC North Thames) said: "We were delighted to be able to fund this research, which has profound implications for women and their families in great need. Our findings are timely given thenewDomestic Abuse Bill in which the Governmenthas committedto investing in domestic abuse training for responding agencies and professionals." Co-author Professor Gene Feder of University of Bristol said: "This is a landmark study, showing that an evidence-based DVA programme commissioned within the NHS is effective and sustainable in general practice. Our findings strengthen the case for the implementation of IRIS across the whole NHS and further development of a global primary care based response to DVA." The social enterprise IRISi, who work to improve the healthcare response to gender-based violence, have recently been helping GP teams to continue to respond to domestic abuse during the COVID-19 lockdowns, by releasing guidance on how to apply IRIS during telephone and video consultations with their patients. Explore further Sexual health clinics should ask about abuse More information: Alex Hardip Sohal et al. Improving the healthcare response to domestic violence and abuse in UK primary care: interrupted time series evaluation of a system-level training and support programme, BMC Medicine (2020). Journal information: BMC Medicine Alex Hardip Sohal et al. Improving the healthcare response to domestic violence and abuse in UK primary care: interrupted time series evaluation of a system-level training and support programme,(2020). DOI: 10.1186/s12916-020-1506-3 Press Release May 7, 2020 PRC TESTING CENTERS, BUILDING MOMENTUM - GORDON Senator Richard J. Gordon on Wednesday expressed elation that the Coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 testing centers of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) are picking up speed as more samples are brought in this week. Gordon, PRC chairman and CEO, reported that starting Monday, the test centers have been working work harder than the last two weeks because more samples are being turned in. "I am elated that our testing centers are picking up speed as more samples come in; though our machines are still not maximized. The Philippine Coast Guard and some local government units in Metro Manila have started sending more samples and I commend them. Testing is the key, that's why I call on the LGUs to test more people, because the more people are tested, the faster the enemy will be unmasked," he said. The PRC already opened two testing centers that are both equipped with polymerase chain reaction machines that can run up to a total of 8,000 tests a day. The PRC's testing capacity would expand to 20,000, with the opening of another testing center in Port Area, Manila this week and four others in Subic, Clark, Batangas and Los Banos in the next few weeks. Records showed that a total of 12,622 unique individuals have been tested by the PRC from April 16 to May 4. From a high of a little more than 700 last week due to the small number of samples to be tested, this week showed a dramatic increase in the output of the facilities. On May 4, a total of 990 tests were conducted; 1,980 on May 5; and 2,136 as of 7 pm of May 6. "Kung maraming magpapa-test, mahihiwalay 'yung mga positive at malalagay sila sa mga mga ospital o sa mga quarantine centers. Bibigyan ng pagkain 'yung pamilya nila habang sila'y naka-quarantine at i-momonitor ang status ng kanilang kalusugan. Di na kakalat 'yan masyado pag nagawa natin yan. Our aim is to ensure victory over the virus," Gordon stressed. Amiya Meethal By Express News Service KOZHIKODE: Wayanad kept its COVID slate clean for 32 days before a truck driver, who had visited Koyambedu market in Chennai, tested positive on May 2. Subsequently, 30 persons were identified as primary contacts of the 52-year-old from Mananthavady, who went to Tamil Nadus biggest vegetable market which is linked to nearly 600 cases. Three of them tested positive on Tuesday his 82-year-old mother, a 49-year-old wife and his co-driver's 21-year-old son. The fresh cases pushed Wayanad from green zone to orange zone, and brought back fear in the minds of the people as all four were asymptomatic. It was the health departments sentinel surveillance system taking random samples from people belonging to high-risk groups which helped detect the cases. Sentinel sampling was being done in Mullankolly, Poothadi and Kaniyampatta grama panchayats last week, but Mananthavady was not on the list. One vigilant field health worker reported the truck drivers return from Koyambedu and health officials acted promptly. Our fieldworker passed the information. We took the samples of the driver and co-driver immediately, said Dr S Soumya, medical officer at Kurukkanmoola PHC in Mananthavady. The co-driver tested negative in the first test while his second result is awaited. As many as 29 wards spread across Mananthavady Municipality and five panchayats have been put under surveillance. We are zeroing in on other truck drivers who visited the Koyambedu market, said Wayanad District Collector Adeela Abdulla. As a University of North Georgia (UNG) orientation leader, Will Reeves always looks forward to the afternoon of the first day during orientation on UNG's Dahlonega Campus. "We stop briefing the students about fees, and hang around and chat," said the junior pursuing degrees in biology and psychology. "I can share personal advice. And I make my closest connections with the freshmen. They feel more comfortable about asking personal questions." The COVID-19 pandemic, however, has caused UNG to alter its orientation schedule and transition components of it online. Instead of initially meeting students face-to-face on campus, Reeves and the other 35 orientation leaders will connect with students in the digital world. "We are reaching out via email to the new freshmen who are taking classes in the summer," Reeves said, explaining each orientation leader has a group of 20-30 students to contact. "We will have virtual meetings with the students, as well as video chats." Darcy Hayes, director of Orientation and Transition Programs, explained the orientation for summer semester will transfer to an all-digital format while orientation for fall will be a hybrid. "We made the decision to keep students safe during this current health crisis but still ensure they are connected to the university," she said. For new and transfer students taking summer courses, they will complete their orientation day online on a specified day. It will involve a live webinar followed by a group meeting with the academic adviser. Finally, they will complete their course registration online. Orientation dates for the summer 2020 semester are as follows: Cumming Tuesday, May 12 Dahlonega Friday, May 15 Gainesville Wednesday, May 13 Oconee Thursday, May 14 Students may visit the Orientation and Transition Programs website, click on Orientation Reservations, and select their campus to register for orientation. The Blue Ridge Campus will not offer summer courses as faculty and staff work to move into the new building. Orientations for fall 2020 semester will feature online and in-person elements. Incoming freshmen and transfer students will complete their online pre-orientation computer modules as part of the orientation reservation process. Next, they will complete a newly developed orientation course through eLearning@UNG, or the D2L system, in the summer on specified dates. In August, students will arrive on campus for an abbreviated orientation day, which will include a tour and other pertinent information. Abbreviated face-to-face orientation dates and times are: Blue Ridge 9 a.m. Friday Aug. 14 Cumming 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday, Aug. 3, and Tuesday, Aug. 4 Gainesville 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11, and Wednesday, Aug. 12 Oconee 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6 and Friday, Aug. 7 "For the residential students on the Dahlonega Campus, their in-person orientation will be paired with their move-in day," Hayes said. "That way we can limit the number of trips students and their parents will have to make to campus." For example, if students move in Friday morning, then they will complete their orientation that afternoon. Hayes said move-in days will begin Aug. 13 to accommodate the new model. All freshmen will be moved in by mid-day Aug. 15. Orientation and Transition Program personnel also will provide multiple opportunities for students to connect with UNG throughout the summer. "Because we can't connect to them face-to-face, we are increasing the number of Facebook Live sessions and webinars throughout the summer," Hayes said. "This way the students can connect with UNG, ask questions and gear up for the fall." STAMFORD Undercover police on Wednesday night busted a secret massage parlor allegedly trading sexual favors for money and operating out of a commercial Bedford Street address, police said. Two women from Brighton Beach, in Brooklyn, New York were slapped with prostitution charges. Capt. Richard Conklin said neighbors complaints led to the raid of the establishment. Conklin said officers in the Narcotics and Organized Crime squad began watching the address at 1258 Bedford Street and saw men come and go. Some women entered as well, he said At about 6 p.m. Wednesday, an undercover officer entered the address to ask for a massage, police said. He was allowed in by Natalvia Gissa, 54, of West End Avenue, Brooklyn, police said. He was then shown to a massage room and given the massage, by 29-year-old Mariia Radomirova, of 12th Street, Brooklyn, according to police. Once the massage was completed, Conkln said Radomirova offered to perform a sexual favor on the officer for additional money, police said. At that point the officer gave a prearranged signal to waiting officers who raided the address, seizing $800 in cash as well as numerous tools of the trade, such as condoms, lubricating gels and lotions, police said. The interesting thing about this was there was no social media footprint for the business and it was unmarked, Conklin said. Intelligence about this operation we gained from the community, from local people. ... Had it not been for the community complaints, we probably wouldnt have known about this location. Gissa was charged with promoting prostitution and Radomirova was charged with prostitution, police said. The two were released after signing a promise to appear in court. Their arraignment on the charges is scheduled for July 6. jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com Chhattisgarh's chief minister has accused federal government-run NMDC Ltd of diverting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) money owed to the state to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's coronavirus fund, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The state also said the iron ore miner had not paid 10.23 billion rupees ($134.51 million) in remaining penalties over alleged violations, adding that the miner was not keeping up its commitments that included a housing scheme. Modi is facing criticism for creating a new coronavirus relief fund PMCares when about $500 million was lying unspent in an older fund, even as top businesses and celebrities pledge millions of dollars in new donations. "NMDC has diverted the rightful CSR funds of people of Chhattisgarh to the newly created PMCares Fund," Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said in a May 4 letter to Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. NMDC, which is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Steel, said in March it contributed 1.5 billion rupees to the PMCares fund. Some of India's state governments, who manage public health and public order, have been demanding more funds from the federal government to attend to the rapidly spreading virus. The Chhattisgarh government is run by the Congress party, the main opposition to Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Congress has said the new fund lacks transparency, and some aid groups are concerned that it might divert resources away from grassroots humanitarian efforts. Baghel asked the miner to "act responsibly" and urged the federal government to push NMDC to pay remaining dues at the earliest to help the state fight the spread of the coronavirus, and not be a "mute spectator". "In this crisis situation, the state government needs financial resources and people of Chhattisgarh are looking for their legitimate resources to come in handy during this hour of crisis," Baghel said in the letter. NMDC chairman N. Baijendra Kumar said the company will continue to work with the Chhattisgarh government, but did not comment on the penalties or the alleged diversion of the fund. The Ministry of Steel did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment. "We have an excellent relationship with the government of Chhattisgarh and if there are any issues which have been raised by the state government, we will try to sort it out," Kumar told Reuters on Wednesday. Also read: Coronavirus India Live Updates: PM Modi chairs urgent meet on Vizag gas tragedy; country's total cases-52,952 Also read: PM-CARES Fund: FinMin issues modified circular on one day salary contribution till March 2021 The ventilator belonging to physicist Professor Stephen Hawking which has been donated by his family to Royal Papworth Hospital in England to be used to treat patients with coronavirus. Hawking, who had motor neurone disease, died in 2018, aged 76. Read more Treating coronavirus patients with blood thinners could help boost their prospects for survival, according to preliminary findings from physicians at New York City's largest hospital system that offer another clue about treating the deadly condition. The results of an analysis of 2,733 patients, published Wednesday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, are part of a growing body of information about what has worked and what has not during a desperate few months in which doctors have tried dozens of treatments to save those dying of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Valentin Fuster, a physician in chief at Mount Sinai Hospital and one of the study's authors, said in an interview that the observations are based only on a review of medical records and that more rigorous, randomized studies are needed to draw broader conclusions, but that the results are promising. "My opinion is cautious, but I must tell you I think this is going to help," he said. "This is the opening of the door for what drugs to use and what questions to answer." Since March, when the pandemic hit Europe and the United States, doctors have been reporting mysterious blood clots, which can be gel-like or even semisolid, in a significant subset of coronavirus patients. Autopsies of patients who died of respiratory arrest have shown that some had unusual microclots in their lungs rather than the typical damage expected. And last month, doctors reported in the New England Journal of Medicine on five unusual cases of covid-positive people in their 30 and 40s experiencing large strokes. The Mount Sinai study focused on hospitalized patients treated at its five branches from March 14 through April 11. Among patients who were not on ventilators, those treated with blood thinners died at similar rates to those who did not get blood thinners. But they lived longer - a median of 21 days compared to 14 days. For patients on ventilators, the difference was more significant. About 63% of patients who did not receive the medications died compared with 29% who received the treatment. Another critical finding of the study is that giving blood thinners to these patients appears to be relatively safe. There was not a significant difference in the most dangerous side effect of anticoagulants - bleeding - in those who were on the drugs vs. those who were not. As a result of the analysis, Fuster said, the hospital system changed its treatment protocols several days ago to begin giving patients with covid-19 higher doses of blood thinners. Deepak Bhatt, a professor at Harvard Medical School who specializes in interventional cardiology, called the paper "a very important study" with the blood issues in covid-19 patients having evolved from just a suspicion to a well-recognized complication of the virus. "What we are figuring now is what do we do now that we know" in terms of treatments, he said. Thomas Wakefield, head of vascular surgery for Michigan Medicine, said the anticoagulant heparin, which was used in some patients, probably has "two mechanisms among others that contribute to the good results seen in the study." He said some data suggest heparin may interfere with entry of the virus into cells through spike proteins, and that heparin may also be able to decrease the inflammatory effects of the "cytokine storm" in patients with severe infection. Doctors caring for the sickest coronavirus patients confront a limited arsenal of treatments. On May 1, the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for the antiviral drug remdesivir in patients who are hospitalized and seriously ill. But trials of other treatments, including those involving hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug touted by President Trump, have been stopped because of a lack of efficacy and concerns about toxicity. In late April, scientists reported that an arthritis drug made by Regeneron and Sanofi that had drawn enthusiasm from investors early on produced disappointing results in clinical trials. Anticoagulants - first discovered more than 100 years ago and available in pills, injections and IVs - have been a key building block of treatment plans for weeks at many medical centers, prompted by discoveries about how the virus attacks the human body and an increasing recognition of blood-related complications in coronavirus patients. A number of medical societies, including the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis and the American Society of Hematology, have put out guidance recommending use of blood thinners for some covid-19 patients, but the advice has taken a conservative approach. "It's a delicate balance between clotting and bleeding, especially when patients are as sick as some of the ones who have covid-19," said Geoffrey Barnes, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan who works in cardiovascular medicine. "A week ago, we were making some educated guesses on how to prevent blood clots," he said. "This is the first time we have seen data that says higher doses may possibly be effective and safe." Mitchell Elkind, a professor of neurology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and president-elect of the American Heart Association, agreed the Mount Sinai study was "encouraging" but urged caution. He said there may be other explanations for why the treated group had better outcomes unrelated to the blood thinning drugs. Elkind said "people are rushing to get answers for the good reason that we are in the midst of a crisis, but we need to make sure we are not jumping ahead of the evidence." Fuster said Mount Sinai is beginning a trial this week that will include 5,000 patients who will be randomized into treatment groups to try to get more definitive information. Many unknowns remain about the blood thinners, including the best dosage and timing, and whether patients with covid-19 who are not sick enough to be hospitalized and are dealing with their illness at home would benefit from taking the medication. --- Video Embed Code Video: http://www.washingtonpost.com/video/postlive/wplive/dr-zeke-emanuel-says-we-need-more-than-one-drug-to-treat-the-coronavirus/2020/05/06/dcd3e0aa-5f88-4a9c-95eb-2d6b407b41cb_video.html(Washington Post Live) The protest from a small group of NRL players who took issue with the sport's vaccination policy has forced the governing body's hand, with the code on Thursday agreeing to amend the waiver the players had been modifying. The NRL, after a lengthy ARL Commission meeting, has decided against the blanket banning of players from competing in 2020, on the proviso they agree to signing an amended waiver. The Herald obtained the original document that up to 10 NRL players modified over the past couple of days - including Canberra trio Josh Papalii, Sia Soliola and Joseph Tapine, as well as Gold Coast's Bryce Cartwright. The NRL's vaccination waiver form. Highlighted are the clauses some players have scored out before signing. The players crossed out a section on the original waiver, refusing to agree that they were at a greater health risk by rejecting the influenza injection. Slate is making its essential coronavirus coverage free for all readers. Subscribe to support our journalism. An online gathering of world leaders announced a joint project this week to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, with several governments and some private foundations donating $8.2 billion to the effort. President Donald Trump declined to take part in the conference call, which included the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Israel, Turkey, and the European Commission. He didnt put up any money either. The brushoff reflected his America First hostility toward international alliances generallyand could pose similarly self-destructive consequences. Advertisement One administration official said Trump prefers a whole-of-America approach to the coronavirus crisishoping that the United States will win the race to devise a vaccine on our own and for our benefit. Many Americans might applaud this unilateralist approach. But there are two risks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First, some other countrymaybe a lab benefiting from the consortiums $8.2 billionmight win the race for an effective vaccine, in which case Americans will have to get in line along with everyone else and maybe, since we didnt pay the dues upfront, closer to the back of the line than to the front. Second, even if an American scientist or pharmaceutical firm wins the race, it will have to rely on foreign countries to help out with productionperhaps of the vaccine itself, certainly of ancillary hardware such as syringes or pills. China, the country that Trump is trying to blame for the virus and its death toll, is the country whose good graces we will need the most. Advertisement Advertisement In this sense, fighting a pandemic is similar to fighting other common threats: The best way to defeat it is for the threatened countries with the most resources to fight it together. Scientists from the United States, China, and other countries worked together to stave off the SARS and Ebola epidemics. Back in the 1960s, U.S. and Soviet scientists collaborated on a vaccine to eradicate smallpoxand this was at a time when Cold War tensions were far graver than tensions between Washington and Beijing today. Another fact worth noting: The World Health Organizationanother of the administrations favorite current punching bagswas instrumental in bringing the American and Soviet scientists together. Advertisement Even now, despite the widening schism between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, American and Chinese scientists are collaborating intensively on trying to stem the pandemic. So far this year, researchers from the two countries have co-authored more than 400 scientific papers on COVID-19. In January, before Trump acknowledged the pandemic, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, a company in Pennsylvania, announced it was working with Beijing Advaccine Biotechnology Co. to find a treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Not all Americans are avoiding the international consortium in pursuit of a vaccine. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated $125 million to the effort. This virus doesnt care what nationality you are, Melinda Gates, who participated in the viral summit, told the gathering. As long as the virus is somewhere, its everywhere. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan told the U.N. General Assembly, I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside the world. His aides, rolling their eyes, excised that line from the draft of the speech. Reagan added it back in. They took it out again. He put it back in. Reagan had an obsession with alien attacks from outer space, possibly stemming from one of his favorite Hollywood movies, The Day the Earth Stood Still, made in 1951, about an enlightened scientist from outer space who visits Earth to warn its leaders that they needed to stop playing games with nuclear weapons, which were endangering the entire universe. When Reagan first met Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, at the Geneva summit in 1985, the two at first exchanged tense words about a number of disputes. Then they took a walk by a nearby lake and ducked into a cabin, where a fireplace was roaring. Sitting side by side, with only their translators present, Reagan asked Gorbachev what he would do if the United States were attacked by aliens from outer space. Would you help us? he inquired. Gorbachev replied, No doubt about it. Reagan said he felt the same way; he would help the Soviets if aliens attacked them. When the two men came back to the chateau to resume the more formal talks, Secretary of State George Shultz, who had not heard their discussion about outer space attacks, observed that they were suddenly laughing and talking like old friends. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thus, in one of the more bizarre pivots of history, did the Cold War begin its unwinding. Im not saying that Americas tensions with China and other countries can be eased with banter and bonhomie. Reagan and Gorbachev were transformative figures, in their own oddball ways; and they each had a common interest in ending the 40-year superpower standoff. But every country, whatever its conflicts on other matters, has a common, vital interest in ending a pandemic. And in a world where supply chains are so intertwined, the pursuit of vaccine nationalism is not only morally questionable but practically doomed. Trump has likened the fight against COVID-19 to a warour big war, hes called it. To the extent the analogy is valid, its more like Reagans vision of an attack from aliens outside the world. The threat knows nothing of national borders, national interests, or human emotions. It requires a response that transcends those limits as well. By waving away a coalition of governments and saying he can do this on his own, Trump has not only revealed a deep misunderstanding of what the war is about, but also reduced the chance that the world can win it quickly. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Just because a business does not make any money, does not mean that the stock will go down. For example, although Amazon.com made losses for many years after listing, if you had bought and held the shares since 1999, you would have made a fortune. 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. So, the natural question for Whispir (ASX:WSP) shareholders is whether they should be concerned by its rate of cash burn. In this report, we will consider the company's annual negative free cash flow, henceforth referring to it as the 'cash burn'. Let's start with an examination of the business's cash, relative to its cash burn. View our latest analysis for Whispir When Might Whispir Run Out Of Money? A cash runway is defined as the length of time it would take a company to run out of money if it kept spending at its current rate of cash burn. As at December 2019, Whispir had cash of AU$20m and no debt. In the last year, its cash burn was AU$18m. Therefore, from December 2019 it had roughly 13 months of cash runway. That's not too bad, but it's fair to say the end of the cash runway is in sight, unless cash burn reduces drastically. The image below shows how its cash balance has been changing over the last few years. ASX:WSP Historical Debt May 7th 2020 How Well Is Whispir Growing? Whispir boosted investment sharply in the last year, with cash burn ramping by 95%. That does give us pause, and we can't take much solace in the operating revenue growth of 16% in the same time frame. In light of the data above, we're fairly sanguine about the business growth trajectory. Clearly, however, the crucial factor is whether the company will grow its business going forward. For that reason, it makes a lot of sense to take a look at our analyst forecasts for the company. How Easily Can Whispir Raise Cash? Given the trajectory of Whispir's cash burn, many investors will already be thinking about how it might raise more cash in the future. Generally speaking, a listed business can raise new cash through issuing shares or taking on debt. Many companies end up issuing new shares to fund future growth. By comparing a company's annual cash burn to its total market capitalisation, we can estimate roughly how many shares it would have to issue in order to run the company for another year (at the same burn rate). Story continues Since it has a market capitalisation of AU$186m, Whispir's AU$18m in cash burn equates to about 9.7% of its 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. So, Should We Worry About Whispir's Cash Burn? On this analysis of Whispir's cash burn, we think its cash burn relative to its market cap was reassuring, while its increasing cash burn has us a bit worried. We don't think its cash burn is particularly problematic, but after considering the range of factors in this article, we do think shareholders should be monitoring how it changes over time. Taking an in-depth view of risks, we've identified 2 warning signs for Whispir that you should be aware of before investing. Of course Whispir may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this 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. HEFEI, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Villager Dong Heqin had his day back in the 1980s as a successful entrepreneur. A string of misfortunes befell him, and he became one of the poorest in his village. Now, the 67-year-old is on his way to becoming a millionaire thanks to a nationwide poverty-relief campaign that aims to eradicate absolute poverty in China by the end of this year. Dong's life changed in 2015 when he started to grow peppers. "I had a bad credit rating when I was on the poverty list in around 2014, when I was so disheartened that I could hardly hold my head up while walking in the village," said Dong, a farmer from the village of Yanmiao in Funan County, east China's Anhui Province. Life was completely different in the late 1980s when Dong opened a brick factory and made his first bucket of gold. As the richest man of his village back then, Dong was the first to build a two-story house in the area. However, in 1989 a heavy flood washed away his factory and left him in crippling debts. "People lined up in my doorway to ask for their money back," he recalled. After that horrid incident, he took over a scrapyard in Beijing and worked there to pay off his debts. Many years later his business started to boom, yet more challenges soon followed. Due to environmental concerns, Dong's scrapyard was forced to close down as the capital was gearing up for the 2008 Olympic Games. Shortly after in 2003, his son became mentally ill, and the treatment bills from the prestigious hospitals his son went to started to pile up, draining his bank account. "It felt like the end of the world. I almost lost all hope in life," said Dong. But a glimmer of hope came when he was included in the local government's poverty-relief program. "I felt overwhelmed when I received a 6,000-yuan (about 850 U.S. dollars) poverty-relief subsidy. I held it tight on the way back home to make sure I wouldn't lose it," he remembered. With that amount of money given to him by the local government, he started to grow peppers, the main source of livelihood in the township. Dong soon became an expert on how to apply fertilizer, irrigation, and how to maintain the greenhouse, and it was the bumper harvest that same year that helped him cast off poverty. He then poured all of his earnings, totaling 15,000 yuan, into growing the business. His company now has 35 pepper greenhouses, covering an area of 4 hectares and raking in almost 1 million yuan last year. Dong hires up to 50 villagers during the busiest picking season in May and September, and those jobs have provided impoverished households with a steady income. The farmer-turned-entrepreneur is willing to share his secret to success with his fellow villagers who are also interested in the pepper-growing business as this particular plant has helped lift many villagers in the county out of poverty for years. Funan was officially removed from the country's list of impoverished counties in late April, according to the provincial government. By the end of 2019, over 200 hectares of greenhouse vegetables have been planted in the village, mostly peppers, said Wang Meng, Party chief of the Yanmiao Village. "I plan to build a four-story house next year, with an elevator, also a first in the village," said Dong. The economic downturn could have a silver lining for 45,000 children who receive or need foster care, because people are more likely to volunteer as carers. Research has found when unemployment rises, so does the recruitment of foster carers. Modelling based on historical trends suggests a rise in unemployment to 8 per cent could yield an additional 800 foster households in Australia. David Whyman, 18, grew up in foster care and is now living in student accommodation. Credit:Janie Barrett The analysis is published in the report Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 on Out-of-Home Care in Australia by Ernst & Young partner Mark Galvin and associate director Melissa Kaltner, who is also an academic at the University of Sydney. "When there are periods of high unemployment it's an opportunity for many people to re-evaluate their priorities and also to act on their altruistic tendencies to give back to the community," Mr Galvin said. Elizabeth Timmes family flew home to Los Angeles from a vacation in the West Indies on New Years Day and spent nearly two hours in a tightly packed immigration line at Miami International Airport. Soon after, the whole family became ill with unusually severe colds. Timme didnt think much of it even after she was prescribed steroids to help her breathe easier that is, not until her youngest child, Bob, 2, became seriously ill. It seemed like a bad cold for the first two weeks, and then it seemed like a bacterial infection that we couldnt necessarily pin down, and then it seemed like all-out war on his body for about three to four days, Timme, 38, told Yahoo News in an interview. It was horrifying. When Bob wasnt recovering after a month, Timme brought him to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. Doctors there told her he had tested positive for coronavirus, but could not specify whether it was COVID-19. At the time, doctors figured it didnt matter the family hadnt been to China, and children didnt get severely ill with COVID-19. What mattered, doctors told Timme, was that Bobs inflammatory markers were off the charts. Elizabeth Timme aids with changing the IV for her son Bob. The family routinely changed it because kids blow out their IVs when they are that little, and the IVs need to be replaced every 12 to 24 hours. (Elizabeth Timme) Bob was diagnosed with a somewhat rare condition called Kawasaki disease, which can affect the heart and the circulatory system. Doctors around the world are just starting to suspect that these cases are tied to COVID-19 infections in children with a genetic susceptibility but there is currently no way to predict which children carry the gene. Now, more than three months after Bob was diagnosed with the rare condition, he has been found to have normal heart function on two echocardiograms. He hasnt had the third and final recommended scan because Timme doesnt want to risk getting him sick again by bringing him to the hospital. She believes his illness began with a coronavirus infection acquired in that immigration line in Miami. The team at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles wore full protective gear before treating him, which she found strange at the time. Story continues Bobs cardiologist doesnt see much point in running an antibody test to confirm that COVID-19 is what caused his illness, because his treatment wouldnt change. But Timme said Bobs doctor told her three weeks ago that Bob is the ninth child she is treating for recent-onset Kawasaki disease now, and that five of the other eight had tested positive for COVID-19. (Two of the other three had not been tested.) For Timme it is almost a moot point: Bob is now potentially immunocompromised amid a pandemic, and it is still possible he will have heart complications down the road. Instead, she is worrying about whether his older sisters can go back to preschool in July when it reopens. She doesnt want to risk exposing Bob to further complications in the midst of an ongoing pandemic. They told us that we had to be very careful with him getting sick, Timme said. They told us they suspected he might have lower immunity but that every kid is different. ... What happens to the population whose health is compromised after this? How do they enter the world? Meanwhile, a 13-year-old is now fighting for life in the critical care unit at Seattle Childrens Hospital. Dr. Michael Portman, a pediatric cardiologist, is determined to understand why the teen and many other children worldwide have developed dangerous new symptoms after being infected with the coronavirus. Two tents stand at the emergency entrance to Seattle Childrens Hospital, March 18. (Elaine Thompson/AP Photo) The child entered the hospital Sunday with characteristics of the new syndrome, which doctors believe is related to Kawasaki disease, the same disease that was diagnosed in Timmes son. The child was sick for a few days last week with nausea, fatigue and vomiting. Doctors at the hospital tested him for the coronavirus and his swab came back negative, but an antibody test was positive, suggesting the severe respiratory and cardiovascular symptoms hes showing could mean he contracted the coronavirus weeks ago and only now developed the dangerous form of the disease. While the total number of children now ill with the unusual ailment is small, five top pediatric heart, infectious disease or critical care specialists told Yahoo News they are closely tracking cases of the new syndrome affecting children infected with the coronavirus. And while all five acknowledged it is too soon to understand exactly why some children have become so ill and sustained potentially permanent damage to their hearts after becoming sick with the coronavirus in some cases, weeks after their initial infections they all described the new cases as both bewildering and worrisome, particularly since testing for COVID-19 remains challenging and antibody tests do not always accurately capture whether an ill child has been infected with the coronavirus. No children are known to have died as a result of coronavirus-related Kawasaki. Dr. Michael Portman, a pediatric cardiologist at Seattle Childrens Hospital. (Erik Stuhaug/Seattle Childrens Hospital) The unusual new syndrome was first reported by the British National Health Service last week and dubbed PIMS (pediatric inflammatory multi-system syndrome). Since then, the New York City Department of Health has reported at least 15 cases through May 1, with additional cases reported in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston and Seattle. About 80 cases have been seen in Europe, according to Dr. Anthony Rossi, director of the cardiac intensive care unit at Nicklaus Childrens Hospital in Miami. As it happened, Portman, who is one of the countrys top experts on Kawasaki disease, applied to expand a $3.3 million National Institutes of Health grant that Seattle Childrens Hospital initially won in December 2018 and did so two weeks ago, before the new pattern emerged and was reported by European doctors. Portmans team, including his collaborator, Dr. Sadeep Shrestha at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, began researching the grant application in mid-March, well before the first cases emerged in England, Spain and Italy. We wrote up a theory that the new coronavirus would stimulate a syndrome like Kawasaki disease, so we submitted that even before all these news reports came out, Portman told Yahoo News in an interview. Theres been a lot of discussion among cardiologists and Kawasaki disease experts on the relationship between this new syndrome that were seeing with COVID and Kawasaki disease. Kawasaki disease was first identified in Japan in the 1960s and has long been believed to have a genetic component. The five doctors interviewed by Yahoo News for this story said they believe it is possible an undetermined number of children, likely with an underlying and undiagnosed mutation, could be vulnerable to the complications now emerging in hospitals around the country. Prior to the current pandemic, Kawasaki disease was diagnosed in only about 5,000 American children a year, but Portman said experts believe those estimates are low since some cases dont get reported and others are missed. Of the 5,000 annual cases in the United States, Portman said about 10 percent each year evolve into a more recently identified form of Kawasaki disease known as Kawasaki disease shock syndrome (KDSS), in which patients blood pressure drops dangerously low. While treatments for Kawasaki disease exist, a minority of patients are not helped by them. All the pediatric cardiologists and critical care specialists interviewed by Yahoo News stressed that it is vital for children to be treated within five to 10 days of showing symptoms in order to avoid permanent heart damage and aneurysms. They also all agreed that it is too early to know exactly why some children are developing the more serious condition but said they were speaking out to ensure parents know to have their children seen if they develop symptoms. As recently as last Tuesday, doctors at Childrens National Hospital in Washington, D.C., were talking about this as a theoretical thing, according to Dr. Michael Bell, division chief for critical care medicine. That changed quickly. We hadnt seen anybody here in D.C. until Wednesday or Thursday of last week and then saw three kids between then and now, so it does seem like its happening, Bell said. Theres a concern that the Kawasaki disease related to COVID is also related to more coronary artery problems, as well as possibly more shock states where kids come in with low blood pressure and hemodynamic problems. Registered nurse Jean Boone watches from Childrens National Hospital in Washington, D.C., as the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds fly over the area on May 2. (Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images) Bell said parents should watch their children closely for a sustained high fever that presents with a rash, red eyes and cracked lips all signs of Kawasaki disease. Critical care pediatric doctors from around the world have been meeting online and by phone to discuss new patterns as they emerge. Doctors are still sorting out the picture. There are some links genetically probably related to the virus as well as the patient but its unclear the interaction between them, and thats what everyone is trying to figure out, so people can predict whos going to get this so we can protect their hearts for later on, Bell said. He added that he had participated in a call with other critical care specialists from around the world on Saturday, and at that point it appeared the unusual cases were localized mostly on the eastern U.S. and in Europe, as opposed to Asia and the West Coast, so if Seattle has cases that would be interesting. Bell said about 200 Childrens National patients have tested positive for the coronavirus and about 50 have been admitted to the hospital for treatment. Fourteen of them have been transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit, he said. But the new pattern of patients with Kawasaki-type symptoms only just emerged, and it is too soon to know why. He added that in England there have been a few patients who tested negative for COVID-19 but later showed up at hospitals with the new multi-symptom inflammatory disease, so it is possible the testing is not catching all patients. It appears there are some kids who get the [multi-symptom inflammatory] disease while theyre sick with COVID while they have some respiratory symptoms, and it appears to me there are some kids who get Kawasaki-like symptoms weeks after theyve had COVID, so it could be an antibody-related thing, Bell said. That would be consistent with a growing belief among doctors that some of the worst symptoms in adult COVID-19, including acute respiratory distress and multiple organ failure, are the result of an overactive immune system response to the infection. Dr. Michael Neely, chief of infectious diseases at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, where Timmes son was treated, told Yahoo News in a statement that the hospital experienced an increase in Kawasaki cases in April compared with previous years. Preliminary data indicate that three patients treated at CHLA exhibited symptoms consistent with PIMS, Neely said. These patients tested positive for antibodies against SARS-Cov-2 virus [which causes COVID-19] but tested negative for the virus by RT-PCR, meaning they did not have a current infection. These results indicate that their inflammation may have been a late response to a recent past infection with SARS-Cov-2, Neely said. But Portman, the Seattle Childrens Hospital pediatric cardiologist, said that while it is too early to say anything for certain about the new and more severe pediatric cases, he has heard from doctors he has trained that theyve seen the new form of the disease show up in many different ways. Dr. Michael Bell, division chief for critical care medicine at Childrens National Hospital in Washington, D.C. (Children's National Hospital) Theyve had patients come in, children come in early in the COVID when they have the full picture of COVID, but they also have dysfunction of their heart. So it looks like the virus might actually cause inflammation in the heart directly, and thats without the immune response, Portman said. Theyve had some patients who come in and they have all those clinical manifestations of Kawasaki disease, and they come in with this shock-like syndrome, and some of these patients when you do the swab for COVID are negative. Occasionally theres a positive one, but its been variable. And theres some patients who come in with full-blown Kawasaki disease who even show the aneurysms, and they can develop these aneurysms even while theyre in the hospital. Portman said that when Kawasaki disease is not treated in the first 10 days after symptoms appear, 1 out of 4 pediatric patients develops aneurysms, which can lead to heart attacks. Doctors are concerned that if children with coronavirus infections and the unusual Kawasaki-type symptoms arent evaluated quickly, they could miss the window for getting treatment in time. Rossi, now chief of the cardiology division at Nicklaus Childrens Hospital in Miami, spent 10 years at New Yorks Mount Sinai Hospital, one of the American hospitals to first report the strange new pattern of cases. Rossi said that while Miami has not yet seen any cases fitting the new pattern, the city also has not yet seen a surge in coronavirus cases. Were really not sure what this relationship is, but it is very, very unusual to see a cluster of cases like this, he said. Whats really also unusual is that in this entire pandemic, the first few months, nobody saw anything like this at all. Rossi said that the pattern was identified only about three weeks ago, leading to speculation that some patients initially recover only to subsequently develop multi-symptom inflammatory disorder symptoms. But he admitted that even the worlds top pediatric cardiologists dont know what to make of the shift. Dr. Anthony Rossi, director of the cardiac intensive care unit at Nicklaus Childrens Hospital in Miami. (Nicklaus Children's Hospital) Were probably a few weeks behind the rest of the country, Rossi said. I think we have to brace for whats likely to come, and that is a bunch of kids showing up with this Kawasaki-like disease which affects the heart. There is a spectrum of disease that were seeing in kids today that is very different from the adult disease, and we have no idea why. Whatever is going on, the doctors all warned that parents should ensure that their children continue to maintain social distancing as the country begins to reopen. Dr. James Schneider, chief of critical care at Cohen Childrens Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y., along the border with Queens, who appears to be the first American doctor to speak publicly about the new pattern of cases, said his children wear masks anytime they leave their home which is almost never. Schneiders hospital is in the middle of a coronavirus hot spot and draws patients from across New York City and Long Island. He said his hospital has admitted approximately 90 patients with COVID-related illness and that 15 of those children have shown severe symptoms indicating likely Kawasaki complications. He said the caseload is growing quickly, with five new cases admitted to the hospitals pediatric intensive care unit in 24 hours this week between Monday and Tuesday. We expect to see more kids develop this, Schneider said. The consequence of Kawasaki disease, which is why this is really important, is that your coronary arteries, the arteries of the heart, can get affected, and those can lead to aneurysms or ballooning of the coronary arteries, and thats where it can be life-threatening in the future. Thats why we want to get the word out. (Thumbnail Photo: Getty Images) _____ 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. Read more: The young patients began showing up in the emergency room with strange symptoms about two weeks ago. Red eyes. Fevers that lasted for days. Low blood pressure. At least five children, ages 6 to 12, have arrived at Bristol-Myers Squibb Childrens Hospital in New Brunswick since late April with symptoms mirroring Kawasaki disease, an illness that causes inflammation in blood vessels. They soon were treated in the intensive care unit for serious cardiac issues. They are among the first New Jersey cases of a rare and potentially deadly pediatric inflammation syndrome being investigated for its links to the coronavirus, according to state health officials. The five children who all tested positive for the coronavirus came to the hospital with signs of cardiac failure, according to Dr. Jennifer Owensby, a pediatric intensivist and medical director of the pediatric intensive care unit at Bristol-Myers Squibb Childrens Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Three remain in intensive care, and two have been discharged. Weve known about Kawasakis disease for a long time in pediatrics. Its not common, but its not exceptionally rare," Owensby said. I think whats new now is that we are seeing an association with COVID-19, similar to what theyre seeing in New York and Europe." The New Jersey Department of Health first acknowledged cases on Wednesday, although its unclear how many have been identified in the state. The New Jersey Department of Health has been alerted to this pediatric inflammatory syndrome and is aware of potential cases in New Jersey, health department spokeswoman Donna Leusner said in a statement. We are in the process of getting additional guidance from the CDC, including the criteria for defining a case. The multi-system inflammation syndrome has already been found in more than 60 children in New York state about a week after European health officials warned doctors to look out for it. Were paralleling what happened in New York, Owensby said. "Kawasakis has been around for a long time, but associating it with COVID is definitely new. Kawasakis disease mainly affects the coronary arteries, said Dr. Patricia Whitley-Williams, professor of pediatric infectious disease at Rutgers RWJ Medical School and president-elect of the National Foundation for Infectious Disease. The five children in New Jersey have had carditis inflammation of the heart and cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle that hinders its ability to pump blood. Their hearts are inflamed, Whitley-Williams said. When the heart goes to pump, the muscle cannot pump efficiently. If you dont pump blood out to the rest of your body, your blood pressure goes down. These patients come in in shock with low blood pressure. On Tuesday, New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said she had not received any reports of multi-symptom inflammatory disease in the state during the governors daily coronavirus media briefing. But that had changed by Wednesday afternoon. New Jersey has identified at least 131,890 cases and 8,549 deaths related to COVID-19 in a state of 9 million residents. But there have been no deaths reported among people 16 and younger. While infected adults often battle pneumonia and chest tightness, these five children are suffering cardiac issues. The lungs are not the problem. Its the heart, Whitley-Williams said. The UK reported this and referred to it as the inflammatory syndrome. Were talking about the same thing there." Kawasaki disease symptoms include conjunctivitis, a fever that lasts at least five days, a very specific rash and a strawberry tongue, according to Owensby. Not all of the New Jersey patients had the full range of symptoms. And the syndrome is usually found in patients 5 years old and younger. These patients are coming in an older age range and not with all of the symptoms of Kawasaki, even though the rest of their symptoms look like Kawasaki, Owensby said. "Its not your textbook definition, but its very close. Were treating them for Kawasaki. The question remains: What role is the coronavirus playing in this inflammation disease? Were not 100% sure why or what that connection is, but it could be a stimulus for the Kawasaki-like syndrome," Owensby said. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Patrick Lanni may be reached at planni@njadvancemedia.com. WASHINGTON - The Justice Department moved Thursday to drop charges against President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, a stunning reversal that prompted fresh accusations from law enforcement officials and Democrats that the criminal justice system was caving to political pressure from the administration. The unraveling of Flynn's guilty plea for lying to the FBI came after senior political appointees in the Justice Department determined lower-level prosecutors and agents erred egregiously in the course of special counsel Robert Mueller III's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. In court documents filed Thursday, the Justice Department said that "after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information . . . the government has concluded that [Flynn's interview by the FBI in January 2017] was untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI's counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn," and that it was "conducted without any legitimate investigative basis." The Justice Department's abandonment of the Flynn case is a political windfall for Trump, who had already declared that he was considering a pardon for his former adviser. The Justice Department's decision means he won't have to become personally involved in the Flynn case. Trump fired Flynn in February 2017, and when he pleaded guilty, the president tweeted: "I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!" On Thursday, Trump told reporters that Flynn was "an even greater warrior" and called the senior FBI and Justice Department officials who pursued him "human scum." The president's lawyer, Jay Sekulow, said Mueller "should be ashamed of the conduct of his agents and lawyers that he allowed." Through a representative, Mueller declined to comment. A Justice Department spokeswoman said the department did not brief the White House on the decision to move to dismiss the case. It is highly unusual for the Justice Department to seek to undo a guilty plea, and comes just months after Attorney General William Barr pressed prosecutors in another of Mueller's cases to soften their sentencing recommendation for the president's friend and former political adviser Roger Stone. "Attorney General Barr's politicization of justice knows no bounds," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., "Overruling the Special Counsel is without precedent and without respect for the rule of law." Shortly before the Justice Department abandoned Flynn's prosecution, the line prosecutor on the case, Brandon Van Grack, formally withdrew - just as the Stone prosecutors had. In the new filing, Timothy Shea, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, wrote that "continued prosecution of this case would not serve the interests of justice," but current and former law enforcement officials said the decision was a betrayal of long-standing Justice Department principles. Shea, who was tapped by Barr to lead the U.S. attorney's office, was the only lawyer to sign the filing; no career attorneys affixed their names to it. "Another pillar in the foundation of the Department of Justice and the rule of law has fallen," said one federal prosecutor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because that person was not authorized to discuss the case publicly. "The justification for this move is not credible, and it may be used by criminals in the future to escape legitimate prosecution." Gregory Brower, a former U.S. attorney and former senior FBI official, said the move shows Barr is intent on overturning much of the work done by former FBI director James Comey, a longtime target of the president's wrath. Flynn's defense team "came up with this idea that, it doesn't really matter what happened," said Brower. "The truth here is - and this is from the defendant himself - that he did in fact lie to the FBI about a very serious matter." Flynn was one of the first and highest-ranking Trump aides to plead guilty and cooperate with Mueller's investigation. He pleaded guilty in December 2017 to making false statements about his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the United States before Trump had taken office and as the FBI was attempting to ascertain whether anyone in Trump's campaign had coordinated with Russia to influence the election's outcome. After Mueller's probe ended in March 2019, Flynn changed course, hired new lawyers and began fighting to undo his plea deal. The retired general sought to void his conviction by arguing that he was the victim of a partisan conspiracy by prosecutors, federal investigators and even his initial attorneys. His new defense team also alleged he was insufficiently represented by one of Washington's most prominent law firms, Covington & Burling, when he entered his guilty plea. Barr in January directed U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen of St. Louis to review the case's handling by the federal prosecutor's office in Washington, which took over Mueller cases last year. Jensen made the final recommendation. "Through the course of my review of General Flynn's case, I concluded the proper and just course was to dismiss the case," Jensen said in a statement. "I briefed Attorney General Barr on my findings, advised him on these conclusions, and he agreed." In an interview Thursday on CBS News, Barr said the Justice Department was duty-bound to dismiss the case because prosecutors could not establish a crime had been committed. "People sometimes plead to things that turn out not to be crimes," he said. He disputed the implication that he was doing Trump's bidding - "No, I'm doing the law's bidding," he retorted - and said he was ready to take criticism for the decision. "I'm prepared for that, but I also think it's sad that nowadays these partisan feelings are so strong that people have lost any sense of justice," Barr said. Thursday's filing blames a handful of former senior FBI officials for what Shea declared was an unjustified pursuit of Flynn. The filing mentions internal communications between the FBI's former deputy director, Andrew McCabe, his close aide Lisa Page, and former case agent Peter Strzok - all of whom have faced criticism for other conduct - and argues that those conversations show the FBI investigation of Flynn, dubbed Operation Razor, should not have existed at all. "The frail and shifting justifications for its ongoing probe of Mr. Flynn, as well as the irregular procedure that preceded his interview, suggests that the FBI was eager to interview Mr. Flynn irrespective of any underlying investigation," the filing contends. The filing asserts that the government could not prove Flynn lied, but more important, cannot show his statements were relevant to an ongoing investigation because the FBI was winding down its case against Flynn before suddenly deciding to interview him about his phone calls. Legal analysts and those involved in the case vigorously dispute both assertions. In a statement, the FBI said that it has cooperated fully with the review of Flynn's case, and that FBI Director Christopher Wray "remains firmly committed to addressing the failures under prior FBI leadership while maintaining the foundational principles of rigor, objectivity, accountability, and ownership in fulfilling the Bureau's mission to protect the American people and defend the Constitution." Comey, now an outspoken critic of Trump, tweeted that the Justice Department "has lost its way. But, career people: please stay because America needs you. The country is hungry for honest, competent leadership." In a lengthy statement, McCabe defended the FBI's actions and said the development "has nothing to do with the facts or the law - it is pure politics designed to please the president." Aitan Goelman, a lawyer for Strzok, said the idea that the FBI did not have a good reason to conduct a counterintelligence investigation "is preposterous." The filing came one day before a court-mandated deadline for the Justice Department to answer defense allegations of misconduct prompted by the Barr-ordered review. The government's motion to dismiss the case must be reviewed by a judge, who could press the government for a further explanation. Flynn, 61, was a senior Trump campaign foreign policy aide who went on to serve 24 days as national security adviser, the shortest tenure on record. He was fired from the White House in 2017 for misstating the nature of his contacts with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, senior White House aides, federal investigators and the news media. In his plea, Flynn admitted he was in touch with senior Trump transition officials before and after his communications with Kislyak. The pre-inauguration communications with Kislyak involved efforts to blunt Obama administration policy decisions on sanctions on Russia and a United Nations resolution on Israel, according to his plea. He also admitted misstating his lobbying work for the government of Turkey. The move to withdraw charges against Flynn came as new details emerged about his efforts to conceal the nature of his conversations with Kislyak. White House adviser Hope Hicks testified to House investigators in 2018 that Flynn had sought to enlist her and other Trump aides in backing Flynn's false claims that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador. Hicks said Flynn did so after questions about his Kislyak call were raised in a January 2017 Washington Post op-ed column by David Ignatius, according to a transcript released Thursday by the House Intelligence Committee. Flynn emailed Hicks, his then-deputy K.T. McFarland and others saying the Ignatius report "is not accurate, what can be done?" Hicks testified. "I didn't know that it was a lie at the time," Hicks said, "but I think, based on the reporting that we've seen since then, it would appear that he was not being truthful." Flynn faced up to a five-year prison term under the charge, but in exchange for his cooperation with investigators eyeing the Trump campaign, Mueller's team initially recommended probation as a possible sentence. Once Mueller's probe ended, however, Flynn changed course and accused the FBI and prosecutors of manufacturing the case against him. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan rejected those arguments, but Flynn still sought to take back his plea. Prosecutors have previously rejected any government misconduct in his case. They argued his allegations had no relevance to the sole charge to which he pleaded guilty, and the main focus of that charge, lying about his Kislyak contacts. In recent days, Flynn had elevated attacks on law enforcement, citing newly unsealed documents turned over by Jensen's review to the defense showing that the FBI was about to close the investigation into Flynn in early 2017 until new evidence prompted them to keep it open. Flynn also seized on notes turned over in the review showing that FBI officials discussed in advance how to handle the January 2017 interview with Flynn about his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the United States before Trump took office. A page of handwritten notes show that before the Flynn interview, FBI officials discussed the possibility that he would lie to them, given that he had already apparently denied to other White House officials that he had discussed sanctions against Russia weeks earlier in phone calls with Kislyak. "What is our goal?" the notes said. People familiar with the case said the notes were written by E.W. Priestap, the FBI's former assistant director for counterintelligence. "Truth/admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?" Priestap also wrote that the FBI should "protect our institution by not playing games." As conservatives seized on those notes last week as evidence that Flynn was railroaded, Trump cranked up his public support for Flynn, calling him a war hero and saying he would consider rehiring him. Flynn had admitted that he knowingly lied to the Justice Department in foreign lobbying disclosure filings about whether he and his former business partner, Bijan Rafiekian, had acted as agents for the Turkish government, but his new, more aggressive defense blamed that and shoddy work by his past lawyers. The Jensen review came after Barr named Shea, a top aide to the attorney general, to serve as the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, taking charge of both the Flynn and Stone cases. Shea's filing Thursday acknowledged that Sullivan previously deemed Flynn's lies as "material" to the investigation, but argued that he did so "based on the Government's prior understanding of the nature of the investigation, before new disclosures crystallized the lack of a legitimate investigative basis for the interview of Mr. Flynn." - - - The Washington Post's Tom Hamburger, Carol D. Leonnig and Felicia Sonmez contributed to this report. The two institutes are an evolution of the former Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology, which was led by Warner Greene, MD, PhD, since its establishment in 1991 and made significant contributions to the fight against HIV/AIDS. "As the joint Gladstone-UCSF search committee met with eminent scientists from around the globe to find a new director for the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology, Melanie and Alex stood out as exceptional candidates in terms of their research accomplishments and their scientific vision," says Gladstone President Deepak Srivastava, MD, who chaired the search committee. "We realized they represent complementary, rather than alternative, directions for the future of Gladstone." "They are both remarkable scientists," he adds. "We are honored to have them join our scientific leadership team and we look forward to the discoveries that will emerge from these new institutes." The Gladstone Institute of Virology will focus on how viruses interface with human host cells to cause disease and how to intervene in that process. Ott's goal is to identify critical pathways that are common to human pathogenic viruses as a way to develop innovative treatments. "Contrary to the current strategy of combining several drugs to treat one virus, we want to develop one drug against multiple viruses," says Ott, senior investigator at Gladstone and professor in the UCSF Department of Medicine. "As antibiotic resistance becomes an increasingly urgent problem, we will also delve into how we can use viruses as therapeutics, which involves using viruses against themselves or to fight bacteria." Ott and her colleagues in the institute are concentrating their immediate efforts on the study of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This work will continue to contribute important insights into the current pandemic through the development of rapid diagnostic, prevention, and treatment strategies, as well as help be better prepared for future coronavirus outbreaks and other emerging infections. The Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology will combine cutting-edge genomic technologies with gene editing and synthetic biology to better understand the genetic control of human immune cells and develop novel cell-based immunotherapies. Manipulation of the immune system holds great promise not only to treat cancer, but also for infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and maybe even neurologic conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. "These rapidly advancing fields are starting to converge in ways that are too big for any single lab to take on," says Marson, senior investigator at Gladstone and associate professor in the Departments of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology at the UCSF School of Medicine. "The impetus to start a new institute was the realization that we need to create an ecosystem to bring together people with different perspectives to think about transformative opportunities for how patients can be treated in the future." Marson's institute will have lab space at Gladstone, adjacent to UCSF's Mission Bay campus, as well as at the University's Parnassus Heights campus, creating a unified community across the two campuses. "The importance of pursuing advances in virology and immunology for human health has never been more clear, and we at UCSF applaud Gladstone's visionary leadership in establishing these two new institutes," says UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS. "Under Melanie and Alex's excellent leadership, these research institutesincluding the first-ever Gladstone-UCSF institutewill complement and enhance UCSF's strengths in immunology and cell therapy, and will build on Gladstone's established expertise in the host-pathogen interface and gene editing technologies. Our long-standing partnership leverages the best of both institutions." About the Search Committee The joint Gladstone-UCSF search committee that recruited Melanie Ott and Alexander Marson was chaired by Deepak Srivastava. Other members included Katerina Akassoglou, Warner Greene, Todd McDevitt, Katherine Pollard, and Leor Weinberger from Gladstone, as well as Max Krummel, Susan Lynch, Tiffany Scharschmidt, Anita Sil, and Julie Zikherman from UCSF. About Melanie Ott A native of Germany, Melanie Ott, MD, PhD, is the director of the Gladstone Institute of Virology, a senior investigator at Gladstone Institutes, and a professor of medicine at UCSF. Ott is passionate about using viruses to find fundamental new biology in host cells. She has made important discoveries about how virusesincluding the hepatitis C virus and Zikahijack human cells, and has contributed to efforts to eradicate HIV by gaining insight into viral transcriptional control. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, she pivoted the focus of her team and spearheaded the effort to establish a dedicated airborne pathogen BSL-3 lab to enable work on live SARS-CoV-2. Prior to joining Gladstone in 2002, Ott started her own research group at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany, working closely with Nobel laureate Harald zur Hausen. She is a trained neurologist with an MD from the University of Frankfurt/Main in Germany. She transitioned to basic virology research during the AIDS crisis, earning a PhD in molecular medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in Manhasset, New York. Ott has received several honors, including the Young Researcher Award at the European Conference on Experimental AIDS Research and the Hellman Award. She is a member of the Association of American Physicians and a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. She is a recipient of the Chancellor's Award for Public Service from UCSF for her work as the founder and co-chair of the student outreach committee at Gladstone. Ott also received the California Life Sciences Association's Biotechnology Educator Pantheon Award for establishing the PUMAS (Promoting Underrepresented Minorities Advancing in the Sciences) internship program at Gladstone, which seeks to increase diversity in STEM. About Alexander Marson Alexander Marson, MD, PhD, is the director of the Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, a senior investigator at Gladstone Institutes, and an associate professor in the Departments of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology at UCSF. Marson is interested in how DNA controls the behavior of cells in the human immune system. He uses the power of CRISPR technology to genetically engineer cells to fight cancer, autoimmune diseases, and infectious diseases. He completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard University, and earned an MPhil in biological sciences from Cambridge. He earned his PhD at Whitehead Institute at MIT, where he worked with mentors Rick Young and Rudolf Jaenisch on transcriptional control of regulatory T cells and embryonic stem cells. After completing his MD at Harvard Medical School and an internship and residency at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Marson joined UCSF in 2012 to complete clinical work as an infectious diseases fellow. He started his lab as a Sandler Faculty Fellow, before joining the faculty at UCSF and becoming scientific director of biomedicine at the Innovative Genomics Institute. He is also a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator and member of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy. 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 the University of California, San Francisco. About UCSF The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is exclusively focused on the health sciences and is dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. UCSF Health, which serves as UCSF's primary academic medical center, includes top-ranked specialty hospitals and other clinical programs, and has affiliations throughout the Bay Area. Learn more at ucsf.edu, or see our Fact Sheet. Sources Gladstone Institutes: Megan McDevitt | [email protected] | 415.734.2019 UCSF: Pete Farley | [email protected] | 415.502.4608 SOURCE Gladstone Institutes Shobana Radhakrishnan By Express News Service MADURAI: For a section of the containment zone residents in city limits, their areas are being treated just like any normal zone, and they were not given masks and sanitiser as mandated by containment guidelines. Of the 100 wards in the city, around 28 areas fall under the containment zone. While Madurai Corporation claimed (in the earlier press releases) that 5-km radius of the main containment zone and 2-km radius of a buffer zone would be monitored, residents beg to differ. A resident of Balaji Nagar 1st Street in Vandiyur, A Perumal (52), said that he came to know that a few locals, who were his acquaintances, tested positive for COVID-19 through news channels. The area has four COVID-19 cases now. Perumal said: Even before the first COVID-19 case was reported in our area, domestic breeding checkers used to come to our area on a daily basis for door-to-door survey. They taught us a few breathing exercises. However, after our area was declared a containment zone, the announcements were made by police and that too for the first few days only. Officials did the door-to-door survey twice in the past 13 days in Vandiyur, while the disinfection was carried out only on Vandiyur Main Road. I live just two streets away from the house of COVID-19 patients. However, our area doesnt seem like a containment zone, Perumal added. Contradicting the civic bodys statement that Kabasura Kudineer (herbal concoction) is being given to all residents of containment zones daily, K Jothi of the locality said the concoction was distributed only once in her street. Let alone the concoction distribution, our area is not even barricaded. But, essential commodities are made available, she added. While the containment norms mandate distribution of masks and hand sanitiser to each household in every containment zone, one L Ponni of Race Course Colony, where a staff nurse from Government Rajaji Hospital was tested positive, said her area was neither visited by frontline workers nor they were provided masks and sanitiser. Denying the allegations, Corporation Commissioner S Visakan said as per the latest guidelines, 1-km radius from the residence of a COVID-19 patient is locked down with barricades. If we go by the earlier guidelines, the entire Madurai city should be locked down. As it is infeasible, we were told to shrink the radius, he said. The norms mandate to increase the tests in containment zones through random sampling. We are testing those who have influenza-like illness and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness. Also, those who visited the local hospitals with COVID-19 symptoms are also being tested, the official added. Fact Sheet Containment zones: 13. Total houses contained: 1,01,943. Total population contained: 5,10,101. Each house in the containment zone must be given masks and sanitiser. At least eight workers were injured on Thursday in a boiler explosion at Neyveli Lignite Corporation power plant at Cuddalore district in Tamil Nadu. As per initial reports, the explosion was caused due to the above normal temperature in the boiler. A total of five fire tenders have brought the fire under control. The explosion took place in the sixth unit of the second power plant and the blast set ablaze the oil that was stored nearby. It has a capacity of 210 Megawatt production. The injured have been taken to the NLC Medical hospital in Neyveli. The officials have rushed to the spot to investigate the incident. NLC India Limited is a 'Navratna' government of India company in the fossil fuel mining sector in India and thermal power generation. It annually produces about 30 million tonne lignite from opencast mines at Neyveli in the state. This is a developing story. More details are awaited. The European Union (EU) announced on Thursday it has joined the "60 Days Initiative" together with Rotary Egypt, El-Orman NGO and other Egyptian national partners in supporting 1,000 Egyptian families of the most vulnerable who were impacted by the outbreak of the Covid-19. According to the statement issued by the EU in Egypt, it contributed EGP 85,000 to the initiative, making up 500 food boxes distributed in the neediest villages of Fayoum and Minya. "In solidarity with the Egyptian people, the EU has joined this initiative that seeks to alleviate the economic burden of some of the neediest persons including informal workers whose work was stopped during the coronavirus pandemic outbreak," said Ambassador Ivan Surkos, head of the EU delegation in Egypt. According to the EU statement, the initiative was launched by Rotary Egypt District 2451, to distribute 4,000 boxes of food supplies to address the needs of over 1,000 Egyptian families of the most unprivileged who were affected by the coronavirus outbreak over the course of two months, including the holy month of Ramadan. The European Union and El-Orman Association have joined forces with Rotary, undertaking the distribution and coordination process to guarantee optimum results of inter-NGO cooperation and coordination with the Public Service Committee of the district, headed by (the former president) Ola El-Noury. The statement added, quoting El-Noury, that 30 Rotary clubs have taken part in the initiative, with a total fund of EGP 720,000 to fill 4,000 food boxes that would suffice the needs of over 1,000 Egyptian families (or approximately 5,000 persons) for a period of 60 days. The 4,000 boxes were distributed as follows: 350 boxes in El-Hamrawein village, Hurghada; 1,100 boxes to the most unprivileged families in El-Amir village and the adjacent villages in El-Shaghab and Karam El-Hagga, Luxor; 500 boxes in Nazlet El-Samman, Giza; 1,000 boxes in the El-Rayyan village, Fayoum; 500 boxes in El-Saff village, Giza; and finally on the third day, 350 boxes in El-Ayyat, Giza. Search Keywords: Short link: Mortgage lender HDFC Ltd plans to raise up to Rs 5,000 crore by issuing bonds on private placement basis to meet its business requirements New Delhi: Mortgage lender HDFC Ltd plans to raise up to Rs 5,000 crore by issuing bonds on private placement basis to meet its business requirements. HDFC will issue secured redeemable non-convertible debentures on private placement basis with an issue size of Rs 2,500 crore and an option to retain over-subscription of up to Rs 2,500 crore, according to a regulatory filing. The coupon on the bonds, to be maturing in December 2021, has been fixed at 7.06 percent per annum. Click here to follow LIVE news and updates on stock markets "The object of the issue is to augment the long-term resources of the Corporation. The proceeds of the present issue would be utilised for financing /refinancing the housing finance business requirements of the Corporation," HDFC said. Its shares closed 2.49 percent higher at Rs 1,732.95 apiece on the BSE on Wednesday. Amid global firms looking to shift their bases from China to India amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday asked officials to make changes in existing policies to prepare the state as a favourite destination for attract investments and industries. The chief minister asked officials to ensure that the changed policies should attract more and more investments and industries in the state and create more and more employment opportunities, an official release said. He asked for simplifying rules for attracting Investments, keeping in mind the requirements of the present times. Delay in taking decisions was a hurdle in attracting capital investment, he said, adding that accordingly prompt decisions should be taken while amending the policies. The chief minister issued these instructions while chairing a review meeting after presentation of different policies including the Industrial and Employment Promotion Policy 2017, UP Warehousing and Logistics policy 2018, UP Electronics Manufacturing Policy 2017 and UP Electronics Policy 2020 among others. The chief minister stressed that under the changed global situation, Uttar Pradesh has become an attractive destination for the capital investment for which the state needs to remain prepared for creating policies with a positive mind set for setting up industries. The investors need to get a message that investment in Uttar Pradesh would prove to be very beneficial, he told officials. During another presentation, the chief minister said with the migrant workers returning to Uttar Pradesh because of the changed situation arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic, employment has to be made available to them at the local level itself as per their skills. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) He initially mistook it for a leak from cooking gas cylinder in his house, but only when G Vinay stepped out did he realise the pungent smell was of the killer vapour from a nearby chemical plant that snuffed out 11 lives and hit nearly 1,000 people in Andhra Pradesh. Heart-wrenching scenes of anxious parents carrying their wards in arms, health workers scrambling to help the affected and fleeing residents were witnessed on Thursday as the enormity of the situation forced them to ignore social distancing and other precautions against coronavirus. Many collapsed on roads and kerbs trying to flee from the affected areas in a five km radius, bringing back grim memories of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy. The leak of styrene, a chemical used to make synthetic rubber and resins, among others, occurred in LG Polymers Limited plant at R R Venkatapuram village near here in the wee hours while people were still fast asleep. The worst-hit Venkatapuram reverberated with cries of people for help. Many people fell unconscious during their sleep, a villager said. A couple of people in the village whom PTI contacted painted a grim picture, ruing their personal losses. "Initially I thought that it was an LPG cylinder leak. However, when we came out we realised it is a leakage from LG polymers factory near our village," Vinay, who lost his uncle in the tragedy, told PTI. Narendra, another resident of the village, said he saw many people slowly losing their strength and falling unconscious when they tried to take them out of their houses. "We were fast asleep and at around 2.30 am I woke up as my skin was itching. I opened my eyes but felt a burning sensation. I sensed some danger and woke up my other family members. We all came out and I along with my other neighbours and friends started waking up others," he said. A first year medical student, two girls, aged six and nine, were among the 11 people killed due to the leakage of styrene vapour and related incidents. Women and children were seen lying on roads struggling to breathe, reminiscent of the infamous Bhopal gas tragedy when a leak from the Union Carbide plant left around 3,500 dead and many maimed. Vinay said his brother Kannaji fell unconscious after inhaling the gas and also sustained injuries. "He is now undergoing treatment at the NRI hospital here. Doctors told us that his lungs were filled with gas. He is being shifted to the ICU," Vinay said. He said his brother must have sustained injuries in stampede when many of the residents were trying to come out on to the road at once. He, however, was not sure of it. His uncle Ganga Raju, who also suffered vision problems due to the vapours, fell into a well and died, he said. Vinay's other family members were treated as outpatients and discharged. In the hour of crisis, several people extended a helping hand, throwing caution to the wind amid the coronavirus scare. Visakhapatnam has reported 45 COVID-19 cases. Local youth who sensed danger started knocking the doors of other residents and brought them out in the wee hours. Madugula Pydiraju, a local tailor, said his daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren were undergoing treatment. His son-in-law Appala Naidu works for LG Polymers. Incidentally, Naidu helped many others to be shifted to hospitals, before he himself fell unconscious. Police took him and his family members to a state-run hospital here, Pydiraju said. Some undertook more than one trip in the process, helping the police along the way. Some brought their cars for the operation and all in all they safely evacuated close to 1,000 men, women and children from the affected villages. The police, too, won praise for their immediate response. Local Deputy Commissioner Uday Bhaskar virtually became a hero as he led the operation from the front despite himself falling sick due to styrene vapour inhalation. Overall, around 20 police personnel suffered from the effects of the gas leak. Visakhapatnam Collector Vinay Chand said 20 ambulances were pressed into service as soon information about the gas leak was received. Meanwhile, official sources said two of the 11 deceased were yet to be identified. One of the victims, 19 year-old Annepu Chandramouli was a first year student at the Andhra Medical College here and a resident of Venkatapuram. Son of a police head constable, he had joined the college here to be near home, after securing the 270th rank the National Entrance cum Eligibility Test (NEET) last year. Besides Vinay's uncle, another person also fell into a roadside well and died while trying to escape from their village, sources added. Exposure to styrene, also known as ethenylbenzene, vinylbenzene, can affect the central nervous system (CNS), causing headache, fatigue, weakness, and depression. It is primarily used in the production of polystyrene plastics and resins. LG Polymers was established in 1961 as "Hindustan Polymers" for manufacturing Polystyrene and its co-polymers at Visakhapatnam. It merged with McDowell & Co. Ltd of UB Group in 1978, according to the company's website. Taken over by LG Chem (South Korea), Hindustan Polymers was renamed LG Polymers India Private Limited (LGPI) in July, 1997. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ten Catholic schools - nine elementary and one high school around northern New Jersey - will close at the end of the academic year, the Archdiocese of Newark announced Thursday. Academy of St. Therese of Lisieux in Cresskill, St. Anne School in Fair Lawn, Trinity Academy in Caldwell, Good Shepherd Academy in Irvington, Our Lady Help of Christians School in East Orange, St. James the Apostle School in Springfield, The Academy of Our Lady of Peace in New Providence, Holy Spirit School in Union, St. Genevieve School in Elizabeth and Cristo Rey Newark High School will shut down, according to a news release. The ten schools will continue online learning through the end of the year, in line with Gov. Phil Murphys order aimed at curbing the coronavirus pandemic in the state, officials said. We recognize that this is an incredibly sad time for our school communities, especially during this pandemic crisis, Barbara Dolan, acting superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Newark, said. Every effort will be made to find a Catholic school for those families interested in continuing to provide a Catholic education for their children in the next academic year. The Archdiocese said financial support to its Catholic elementary schools would total about $80 million over the next five years under current conditions. Officials cited unsustainable levels of subsidy brought on by sharp enrollment declines as factors that threaten the operations of schools. Factors considered by the Schools Strategy Committee in assessing the situation at these schools included declining enrollment numbers and increasing and unsustainable dependence on archdiocesan funding over time," the Archdiocese said in a statement. "Consideration also was given to geographic locations and proximity to nearby matched archdiocesan schools that will accommodate new students. Other dioceses have also announced school closures. Last month, officials announced five South Jersey Catholic schools would be shuttered, citing financial troubles worsened by the pandemic and sinking enrollment. In Thursdays announcement, officials noted the decision to close the latest 10 schools was not directly linked to impacts of the virus outbreak, but the pandemic only weakened the financial position of the institutions. Nationwide, changing demographics and increased competition from public and secular private schools have contributed to ongoing declines in Catholic school enrollment, decreasing the long-term viability of many school communities, the Archdiocese of Newark said in a statement. The states coronavirus-related restrictions on gatherings prevented school officials from informing parents and students in person, but the Archdiocese said families were notified this week. Officials said support efforts were underway and would continue over the coming weeks. For teachers, principals and other staff, the Archdiocese said it was working with a career service to support their search for new opportunities inside or outside of the Archdiocese. It was not immediately clear how many employees and students were impacted by the closures. I want to acknowledge the pain experienced by the students and their families, teachers, staff, administrators, pastors, and parishioners, and all who are affected by these difficult decisions, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, archbishop of Newark, said. We are committed to placing these students into nearby archdiocesan schools, all of which are fully prepared to welcome them, accommodate them, and provide them with a continuing, outstanding Catholic education. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Noah Cohen can be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. - Vilma Santos posted on her social media account about ABS-CBN after it got shut down - The shutdown occurred after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) ordered ABS-CBN to cease and desist from broadcasting on television and radio - According to Vilma, she refuses to say goodbye to the Kapamilya network because she knows that the company will make a triumphant return in the future - Luis Manzano, her son, is a long-time talent of ABS-CBN, hosting several popular shows in the network PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed Vilma Santos finally shared her thoughts on the controversial shutdown of ABS-CBN, the biggest broadcast company in the Philippines. The shutdown occurred after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) ordered ABS-CBN to cease and desist from broadcasting on television and radio, just a day after its 25-year operating franchise expired. The showbiz legend said that she refuses to say goodbye to the Kapamilya network because she knows that the company will make a triumphant return in the future. Her son, Luis Manzano, is a long-time talent of ABS-CBN, hosting several popular shows in the network. HINDI AKO MAGPAPAALAM DAHIL ALAM KONG MAGBABALIK KAYO!!! MABUHAY ABS-CBN, Vilma posted on Instagram. PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! In a previous report by KAMI, Vilma received a heartfelt message from fellow actress Claudine Barretto. Vilma Santos is considered as one of the greatest actresses in Philippine showbiz history. She is married to Senator Ralph Recto. The iconic star has a celebrity son named Luis Manzano with her former partner, Edu Manzano. Please like and share our amazing Facebook posts to support the KAMI team! Dont hesitate to comment and share your opinions about our stories either. We love reading about your thoughts and views on different matters! In this new episode, we explain to you the symptoms of COVID-19 that everyone should be aware of amid the pandemic. Check out all of the exciting videos and celebrity interviews on our KAMI HumanMeter YouTube channel! Source: KAMI.com.gh Dr. de Wit and her fellow virologists made a checklist. They started with steps they could take as soon as the gene sequencing data of the virus went online. They made plans for how to create an animal model of the virus (reproducing the virus inside live animal cells) once they could get access to it. They waited and watched the news out of China. It wasnt until on the night of Jan. 10, when a postdoctoral fellow at the lab looked at the sequence of the virus, that Dr. de Wit knew what was coming. It appeared the virus was targeting a specific receptor on cells called ACE2, the same receptor targeted by both SARS and the virus that causes the common cold. The alarm bells went off then because it suggested that it could be both very prevalent and very contagious, Dr. de Wit said. The lab immediately made plans to be fully prepared as soon as researchers could get the live virus. Dr. de Wit told me that the weeks since then have been a blur. For the last month her team has worked to test the antiviral drug remdesivir in rhesus macaques. The findings which showed the drug significantly reduced the progression of the disease and lung damage in the animals made national news as the drug continues to move into human trials. She and her colleagues work seven days a week, arriving in the lab early and coordinating to make sure theyre socially distanced, including inside the air-locked biosafety lab where theyre handling the virus. The researchers have been told to take extra precautions to avoid infection in the lab and in their lives outside. Its long days at work and then come home and eat and sleep, Dr. de Wit said. She goes to the grocery store early on weekend mornings to avoid crowds. The stakes are high: If they get infected, their potentially lifesaving work would have to stop indefinitely. At first it was all so fascinating and new from a scientific standpoint, she told me. But then I began to see we could get a pandemic. Thats when I got worried. Its a weird experience because youre scientifically fascinated, but on a personal level, you start to think more seriously about what this means for the people you love if this keeps spreading. The Coronavirus lockdown has brought life to a halt, but it has also given us a chance to reconnect with our families. Thappad actress Taapsee Pannu is glad to be spending time at home because of the lockdown as her life previously involved busy schedules. As she spends time with her sister in her apartment, Taapsee worries about how her parents are coping with the pandemic. In a recent interview, Taapsee said that she is glad her parents aren't living in the Coronavirus hotspots in Delhi. Talking to Hindustan Times about her time in lockdown, Taapsee said, "I really needed this time to spend with my family and refresh my energy. We work so hard to build our own house and we barely live there, as we're mostly travelling for work. I used to look forward to coming back home after work but would barely have time to relax. Now, I have so much time that I sit for hours at the favourite corners of the house." Worried about the safety of her parents, she said, "I'm glad that my parents aren't living anywhere near the hotspot. They're in their 60s and need to be slightly careful. My dad is retired and mom is a housewife. Most of the time, they stay indoors and (earlier) would only go out for a walk, meet friends, or visit the Gurudwara or market place nearby. So after the lockdown, it hasn't affected them the way it has affected us. They seem to be more worried about how we're coping with it." Taapsee is staying connected with her fans by sharing throwback pictures with interesting stories behind them, during the quarantine period. ALSO READ: Taapsee Pannu Shares Favourite Photo With Rishi Kapoor 'Even In His Bullying There Was Love' ALSO READ: Happily Quarantined With Her Sister, Taapsee Pannu Is Making The Most Out Of Lockdown! Kohls plans to reopen its Alabama locations on Monday, May 11, the company announced in a statement. The chain is one of the first of the big box retailers closed due to the coronavirus pandemic to announce reopening. Alabama Gov. Kay Iveys safer at home order allowed retailers to reopen but many larger chains, such as Kohls, TJ Maxx and Marshalls, had stayed shut. Kohls opened locations in four states Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah on May 4. On May 11, Kohls in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana and Texas will reopen, as will select locations in Florida and Tennessee. Kohls CEO Michelle Gass said the chain is implementing many new rigorous procedures that prioritize the safety of our associates and customers. We are taking an informed, measured approach based on a number of factors to reopen our stores on a phased timeline, with about 25 percent of our stores open by next week, Gass said. Stores will be operating with reduced hours, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., until further notice. There will also be dedicated shopping hours for at-risk individuals, seniors, pregnant women or those with underlying health conditions Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 11 a.m.-noon. Signage encouraging 6 feet social distancing and dedicated entrances and exits will be in place. Stores will also be operating with limited capacity in places like Alabama which limits the number that can be in a location. Fitting rooms will be closed and fixtures removed from aisles to increase space for customers. All Kohls associates will undergo mandatory wellness and temperature checks before their shifts and will be requires to wear masks and gloves, the store said. A principal who was stood down for ignoring state government advice and telling children to stay home from school has got her job back. Bronwyn White, principal of Halls Head College in Mandurah, Western Australia, was stood down by the WA Department of Education for giving advice that was 'not in line with departmental expectations' on April 28. She had previously sent out an email to parents, urging only children of essential workers and those unable to stay at home attend the first week of term. Outraged by Ms Bronwyn's 'unfair stepping down', 4,561 people signed a change.org petition, urging the department to allow the principal to return. The department finally gave in to the petition and reinstated Ms Bronwyn back to her normal position on Thursday. Bronwyn White (pictured), principal of Halls Head College in Mandurah, Western Australia, was stood down by the WA Department of Education for giving advice that was 'not in line with departmental expectations' on April 28 After a petition to have Ms White reinstated garnered 4,561 supporters, the principal was reinstated by the WA DOE on Thursday The petition was started by Halls Head parent Aaron Palmer, who rejoiced at the victory on Wednesday night. 'This goes to show people power can create change and rectify mistakes made by governments,' he wrote. Another parent Angie Willis said Ms White 'did what she believes was the right for her staff and students to keep them as safe as possible'. 'As a parent of one of students I fully support her decision. She should be commended for making the decision that was in the best interest for all under her duty,' she wrote. Mother Angie MacDonald said:' I believe she spoke in the best interests of our children and her staff.' The Department of Education warned Ms White of 'the limits of her authority' and confirmed she returned to her role on Thursday. 'A performance issue was identified which prompted the department to ask Bronwyn White to explain the letter she sent to her school community on April 24,' executive director Damien Stewart said. 'Ms White has provided her response and has been reminded of the limits of her authority and obligations as an employee of the Department of Education.' The Department of Education warned Ms White of 'the limits of her authority' and confirmed she returned to her role on Thursday Ms White's conflict with the Department of Education began on April 24 when she sent an email to parents, advising only certain students come to school at the start of Term Two. 'We cannot adequately apply physical distancing and safety requirements if we have the entire College community recommencing Week 1. We simply do not have the physical space required with 1,450 students,' Ms White wrote. For the first week of term (April 29 to May 1), she advised only children of essential workers or those unable to stay at home attend school. She also said only Year 11 and 12 students should return for the second and third weeks. This goes against the WA Department of Education has encouraged all students to return to school ever since its initial announcement on April 17. 'From Wednesday 29 April, public schools are open for all students whose parents/carers choose to send them to school. Students at school will be taught a face-to-face program and timetable,' the Department's website reads. 'Year 11 and 12 students are strongly encouraged to attend to learn in classrooms as they are at a critical point in their schooling.' Ms White went against the against the WA Department of Education, which has encouraged all students to return to school since Term Two began on April 29 On April 28, Ms White apologised to parents via email and retracted her advice as it 'was not in line with Departmental expectations'. 'I apologise for any confusion created by the letter sent out last Friday,' she wrote. 'I need to retract the letter sent last week that was not in line with Departmental expectations. I am writing to confirm that school is open for all students to attend.' She was then stood down and replaced with acting principal Alen Kursar, who took her place for a week until she was reinstated on Thursday. Parents have the option of keeping their children home for the first three weeks under the WA state government's soft restart to term two. Public schools had an average attendance rate of 73.5 per cent on Tuesday, which the WA premier said was good given the circumstances. Opportunity Zones are well suited for long-term, countercyclical investments, and at the same time can be instrumental in efforts to rebuild the U.S. economy during this webinar. Specialty financial administrator NES Financial, a JTC Group Company (LON: JTC), announced today that it will host its next Opportunity Zones webinar, Opportunity Zones: An Economic Recovery Solution, with S. Lawrence Davis, President & CEO of Shorewood Real Estate Group, Jim Lang, Shareholder of Greenberg Traurig, Michael Bernier, Partner of Ernst & Young, and David Coelho, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Investment Officer Opportunity Zone Program of Bridge Investment Group. The informational webinar is scheduled for Thursday, May 14 at 11 a.m. PT and will be moderated by Reid Thomas, Executive Vice President and General Manager of NES Financial. The event is free and open to public to attend. Given the rapid and reactive market selloff, following the longest bull-market in history, significant capital gains have been realized by many without a plan for subsequent reinvestments, said Thomas, a frequent speaker at events and conferences across the country. Opportunity Zones are well suited for long-term, countercyclical investments, and at the same time can be instrumental in efforts to rebuild the U.S. economy during this webinar. Qualified Opportunity Zones were created by bipartisan Congressional legislation in 2017 to help incentivize economic development and growth in communities previously overlooked by investors. The initiative has grown considerably, with recently released final Treasury regulations and multiple legislative proposals to provide more meaningful reporting. In addition to discussing economic recovery and social impact, NES Financial will provide key industry insights. To RSVP and attend this webinar, please click here for more details or visit nesfinancial.com. About NES Financial NES Financial, a JTC Group Company (LON: JTC), is a specialty financial administrator which serves sectors characterized by high administrative complexity, increased transaction security needs, and challenging regulatory compliance requirements. The companys purpose-built solutions streamline the administrative processes of these markets simplifying specialized financial transactions, curtailing fraud and abuse, and ensuring the utmost in security, transparency and regulatory compliance through each step of an investments life cycle. NES Financial, recognized on the San Francisco Business Times top Bay Area fintech list, has defined industry best practices in each of the markets it serves from 1031 exchanges and EB-5 visa funding, to private equity and the landmark Opportunity Zones program. NES Financial services more than 300 funds, administers over $20B annually, and has worked with over 700 EB-5 projects. For more information, please visit nesfinancial.com. About Shorewood Real Estate Group Shorewood Real Estate Group LLC is a developer and asset manager that specializes in the financing, development and management of institutional quality assets in major gateway markets throughout the US, with a specialty in New York City. The firm has extensive experience in all aspects of the real estate investment and development arena and provides integrated and innovative solutions to maximize the long-term value of real estate assets. Shorewood currently manages nearly 2 million square feet of real estate across 10 assets in New York City and New Jersey, representing a portfolio value over $1 billion. About Greenberg Traurig Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has approximately 2,200 attorneys in 41 locations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 20 on the Am Law Global 100. About Greenberg Traurigs Tax Practice To stay competitive in today's global marketplace, international companies must seek out greater efficiency in their tax planning and compliance, including coordinating tax decisions from country to country. For U.S. operations, an environment of increased scrutiny including passage of more restrictive legislation and a spike in audit activity at every level is quickly becoming the norm, likewise spurring a need for greater self-evaluation and for more frequent representation in controversies and litigation with tax authorities. Greenberg Traurigs multidisciplinary tax team works closely with clients to address these and other tax planning needs, as well as tax controversies and litigation issues. Web: gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law. About Ernst & Young Your business will only succeed if you build it on a strong foundation and grow it in a sustainable way. At EY, we believe that managing your tax obligations responsibly and proactively can make a critical difference. Our global teams of talented people bring you technical knowledge, business experience and consistency, all built on our unwavering commitment to quality service wherever you are and whatever tax services you need. We create highly networked teams that can advise on planning, compliance and reporting and help you maintain constructive tax authority relationships wherever you operate. Our technical networks across the globe can work with you to reduce inefficiencies, mitigate risk and improve opportunity. Our 50,000 tax professionals, in more than 150 countries, are committed to giving you the quality, consistency and customization you need to support your tax function. About Bridge Investment Group Bridge is a privately-held real estate investment management firm with $20.1 billion in assets under management. Bridge combines its 3,600+ person, nationwide operating platform with specialized teams of investment professionals focused on select U.S. real estate verticals, which Bridge believes offer above-market opportunity: multifamily, office, seniors housing, affordable housing, opportunity zones, and debt strategies. Facebook Announces First Members of Oversight Board Facebook on May 6 announced the first members of its oversight board, which it says will be an independent body that can overturn the companys own content-moderation decisions. In a press release, the social media and technology company, which has more than 2 billion users, said the members reflect a wide range of views and experiences, have lived in more than 27 countries, speak at least 29 languages, and are all committed to the mission of the Oversight Board. We expect them to make some decisions that we, at Facebook, will not always agree withbut thats the point: they are truly autonomous in their exercise of independent judgment. We also expect that the boards membership itself will face criticism. But its long-term success depends on it having members who bring different perspectives and expertise to bear, the company said. The members include lawyers, current and former journalists, rights advocates, and academics, with experience in areas such as internet censorship, platform transparency, digital rights, content moderation, press and religious freedom, and online safety. The board will review some of the companys most complex calls over whether to take down potentially harmful posts including graphic content, so-called hate speech, violence, and often polarizing posts on Facebook and Instagram. According to USA Today, the board will receive cases through a content management system that is linked to Facebooks own platforms. They will then discuss the case as a group before issuing a final decision on whether the content should be allowed to stay up or not and will have 90 days to make a decision. For more urgent cases referred by Facebook, a 30-day expedited review will be conducted. Among those on the board who all hold the title of co-chair and were selected by Facebook directly are Helle Thorning-Schmidt, former prime minister of Denmark; U.S. law professors Jamal Greene and Michael McConnell; and Catalina Botero Marino, dean of the Universidad de Los Andes Faculty of Law, who has served as special rapporteur for freedom of expression at the Organization of American States. Former Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt attends the Jonathan Yeo Portraits exhibition opening at the Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerod, Denmark, on March 19, 2016. (Schiller Graphics/Getty Images) The panel also includes Alan Rusbridger, former editor-in-chief of The Guardian; Tawakkol Karman, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who promoted nonviolent change in Yemen during the Arab Spring; and John Samples, vice president and founder of the Center for Representative Government at the Cato Institute who has written extensively about social media and speech regulation. Others include law professor and former senior U.S. State Department lawyer Evelyn Aswad; Stanford law professor and U.S. Supreme Court advocate Pamela Karlan; Queensland University of Technology Law School professor Nicolas Suzor; Brazilian academic, technology and policy issues lawyer Ronaldo Lemos; director of Human Rights Watchs Global Alliances and Partnerships program Maina Kiai; and former judge and vice president of the European Court of Human Rights Andras Sajo. Making up the final board members are former editor-in-chief of the Jakarta Post, Endy Bayuni; digital rights and anti-censorship advocate Julie Owono; vice chancellor of the National Law School of India University, Sudhir Krishnaswamy, former national communications regulator in Taiwan, Katherine Chen; digital rights advocate with the Human Rights Tulip Award, Nighat Dad; human rights advocate with dual Ghanaian and South African citizenship, Afia Asantewaa Asare-Kyei; and former director general of the Israeli Ministry of Justice, Emi Palmor. Alan Rusbridger, former editor of The Guardian newspaper, arrives at Portcullis House in London on Dec. 3, 2013. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images) The members of the board, who Facebook said arent employees and cant be removed by Facebook, will begin hearing cases in the coming months. It will eventually have around 40 members, at which point it alone will take responsibility for selecting members going forward, the technology company said. Facebook acknowledged that the board wont be able to hear every case we or the public might want it to hear. We know the board will play an increasingly important role in setting precedent and direction for content policy at Facebook. And in the long term, we hope its impact extends well beyond Facebook, and serves as a springboard for similar approaches to content governance in the online sphere, the company said. Facebook first announced its plans to launch an oversight board in November 2018, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying the move was an attempt to create a new way for people to appeal content decisions to an independent body, whose decisions would be transparent and binding, as Facebook should not make so many important decisions about free expression and safety on our own. I believe independence is important for a few reasons, Zuckerberg said in a note posted to Facebook. First, it will prevent the concentration of too much decision-making within our teams. Second, it will create accountability and oversight. Third, it will provide assurance that these decisions are made in the best interests of our community and not for commercial reasons. People dine in a restaurant on March 27, 2020 in Stockholm during the the new coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. JONATHAN NACKSTRAND Sweden's decision to avoid a strict lockdown like its European neighbors drew global attention and was not without controversy. But now the country is past the peak of infections, its chief epidemiologist says, and there are few actions he would have done differently apart from how elderly care homes were prepared for the outbreak. "I don't think anybody who is really thinking that much about this, is really sure about any strategy, because we're all doing something that nobody did before," Anders Tegnell, Sweden's state epidemiologist who has led the country's coronavirus response, told CNBC Thursday. "On the other hand, it looks like it's going to work out. We're clearly past the peak in Stockholm and our health care (system) has been able to handle it, we have extra beds in the hospitals and everybody has been treated that needs to be treated, even non-Covid patients have been able to get treatment." He said Sweden's experience had shown that "we can keep our schools open." "That has not caused any major problems at all it has not caused any problems that we can see. We can keep our society reasonably open, without huge effects." Unlike its Scandinavian neighbors in Norway, Denmark and Finland, Sweden went its own way as the coronavirus pandemic manifested itself in Europe in late February and early March (though new studies show it could have been circulating in the continent in late 2019). While the countries around it closed borders, schools, bars and businesses and imposed strict social-distancing measures, in contrast, Sweden's government acting on advice from its Public Health Agency and Anders Tegnell, as well as a group of other experts opted for mostly advisory measures. Tegnell said that the number of admissions to Sweden's hospitals is "clearly falling," as well as the number of deaths. As of Thursday, Sweden has 23,918 confirmed cases of the virus and has recorded 2,941 deaths, with over half the deaths occurring in elderly care homes. Sweden conducts around 30,000 coronavirus tests per week. "Of course, there is a huge regret over the fatalities that we've had but we're not really clear how that could have been avoided. We know that these (elderly care home) settings are very vulnerable in this kind of situation and we're not sure that doing something different would make a huge difference to that," Tegnell said. Asked if Sweden would follow the same policy in any future outbreak, he answered "to a great extent, yes." "Now we know things that we could do better, for sure, but on the whole I think we would go down the same route," although he conceded that more work could have been done to prevent outbreaks in Sweden's care homes. Controversy over the country's more laissez-faire approach to the virus has centered around the fact that allowing a virus to spread among a population can enable "herd immunity" (although research is still being conducted into immunity post-infection), but such a strategy does put vulnerable people at risk. Tegnell said investigations were continuing but sampling and modeling data indicated that 20% to 25% of Stockholm's population was immune to the virus. Sweden's government advocated working from home if at all possible and to avoid nonessential travel. Meanwhile, restaurants, bars and cafes remained open but offered table service only, and gatherings of more than 50 people were banned. Yet schools for under 16-year-olds have remained open. In sum, life in Sweden has carried on as before, but at a gentler pace. Despite not imposing a lockdown, Sweden's central bank warned last week that its economy could suffer just the same (and even worse than its neighbors). Difficult comparisons Another church sues Ky. over ban on in-person services; AG requests to join Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A church in Kentucky has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Gov. Andy Beshear and a top health official over orders prohibiting in-person services, even though the church has put in place social distancing precautions. Tabernacle Baptist Church of Nicholasville filed the lawsuit on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky seeking an injunction against March 19 and March 25 orders banning mass gatherings amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The plaintiff claims the orders wrongfully target the church and interferes with sincerely-held religious beliefs. The lawsuit lists the governor and Acting Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services Eric Friedlander as defendants. Defendants statewide ban on religious worship services is a substantial burden on the religious exercise of Tabernacle and its members if they cannot meet for in-person corporate worship, the complaint reads. For six weeks, since March 22, 2020, Tabernacle and its congregants have been unable to gather for religious worship in person in their sanctuary for fear of criminal prosecution despite their willingness to abide by social distancing precautions. Although the church has conducted drive-in services over the last few weeks, the lawsuit claims that Tabernacle has a sincerely-held religious belief that online services and drive-in services do not meet the Lords requirement that the church meet together in person for corporate worship. Tabernacle also believes that online and drive-in church services are not substitutes for real in-person corporate worship, the lawsuit contends. Tabernacle insists that it would follow guidelines for social distancing, including keeping families at least 6 feet apart from each other and regularly disinfect touched items and surfaces. Defendants prohibition of in-person church services in the name of social distancing is not generally-applicable, the lawsuit argues. There are numerous business organizations and other entities that Defendants are not cracking down on where far more people come into closer contact with less oversight. Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron on Wednesday asked to join Tabernacles lawsuit and argued that the worship service ban violates the First Amendment, the Kentucky Constitution and the states Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Cameron also threatened to file a lawsuit on April 28. Even in times of crisis, the law must be followed, and its my job as Attorney General to defend it when it comes under attack, Cameron said in a statement. Our Constitution demands neutrality, and Governor Beshears executive orders target the practice of religion in every part of the Commonwealth by allowing secular activities while prohibiting faith-based gatherings. Roger Byron, senior counsel for First Liberty Institute, which is helping to represent Tabernacle Baptist, said in a statement Wednesday that he believed the orders unlawfully target religious worship and violate the First Amendment. The Constitution forbids the government from burdening churches with restrictions that are not imposed on other entities, Byron stressed. The fundamental rights of religious Americans who seek to abide by the public health guidelines during this pandemic may not be singled out for onerous restrictions. Corporate worship is an important part of many faiths, and we have to balance that right with the need to protect public health during this crisis, Cameron added. Governor Beshears orders fail to strike this important and necessary balance. Beshear responded to the Tabernacle lawsuit during a press briefing on Wednesday. According to The Courier-Journal, Beshear said that the state is three weeks away from being able to allow in-person services. "We want to get people back at the right levels and in a safe way to an in-person service, but only if a church is ready," Beshear said. "And I just request everybody spend the next couple weeks, because you've been doing that virtual service or that drive-in service, figuring out the best way to do it." Last month, members of Maryville Baptist Church of Hillview in Bullitt County filed legal action against Kentucky after state police recorded the license plates of people who attended the churchs Easter worship service. Attendees were informed that they would have to undergo a 14-day quarantine even though they wore face coverings during the service and followed social distancing protocols. Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled that Maryville Baptist could hold drive-in worship services despite the bans on in-person gatherings. "Assuming all of the same precautions are taken, why is it safe to wait in a car for a liquor store to open but dangerous to wait in a car to hear morning prayers?" the three-judge panel reasoned in its opinion. "The Governor has offered no good reason so far for refusing to trust the congregants who promise to use care in worship in just the same way it trusts accountants, lawyers, and laundromat workers to do the same." United States President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that a health official who filed a whistle-blowers complaint accusing the administration of retaliating when he voiced concerns about the coronavirus in January seemed to be a disgruntled person seeking to help his Democratic rivals. The Republican president told reporters at the White House that he did not hear good things about Rick Bright, who was removed last month from his job as the director of a US agency responsible for developing drugs to fight the coronavirus outbreak. I did not hear good things about him at all. And to me he seems like a disgruntled employee thats trying to help the Democrats win an election, the president said. Hes got a pre-taped sermon about, you know, what he thinks. I could tell you they didnt think he did a particularly good job as I understand it. Bright had been director of the agency, known as BARDA, since 2016. Last month, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees BARDA, said had him moved to a new role within the National Institutes of Health. Bright said in a whistle-blower complaint filed with a government watchdog on Tuesday that he warned about the virus in January and was met with hostility from HHS Secretary of Health Alex Azar and other high-ranking officials in the agency. Bright alleges he was reassigned to a lesser role because he resisted political pressure to allow widespread use of hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug favoured by Trump. He said the Trump administration wanted to flood hot spots in New York and New Jersey with the drug. Bright also said the Trump administration rejected his warnings on COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. He said he acted with urgency to address the growing spread of COVID-19 after the World Health Organization issued a warning in January. But, Bright said, he encountered resistance from HHS leadership, including Health and Human Services Secretary [Alex] Azar, who appeared intent on downplaying this catastrophic event. Bright also alleges in the complaint that political appointees at the Department of Health and Human Services had tried to promote hydroxychloroquine as a panacea. The officials also demanded that New York and New Jersey be flooded with these drugs, which were imported from factories in Pakistan and India that had not been inspected by the FDA, the complaint said, referring to the US Food and Drug Administration. But Bright opposed broad use of the drug, arguing the scientific evidence was not there to back up its use in coronavirus patients. He felt an urgent need to tell the public that there was not enough scientific evidence to support using the drugs for COVID-19 patients, the complaint states. Man held for hindering COVID-19 data collection gets bail India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Mumbai, May 07: The Bombay High Court granted bail to a city resident arrested for obstructing a team collecting data on COVID-19 from his residential society. The court also directed him to deposit Rs 10,000 in the chief minister's relief fund for coronavirus. Justice Bharati Dangre was hearing a bail plea filed by one Zafar Jamal Khan, who was arrested by the Mira Road police in March for allegedly assaulting and obstructing a team that visited his society to collect data in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Coronavirus outbreak: In just three days, India records nearly 10,000 COVID-19 cases As per the police case, the accused person, who was present in the society premises at that time, created obstruction and persuaded other members of the society to not share any information with the team. The police later arrested the accused and booked him under Indian Penal Code Sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public officer), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of a disease dangerous to life) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging his duty). He was also charged under the Disaster Management Act Section 51(B) (refusal to comply with directions given by centre or state government). After perusing the FIR, Justice Dangre noted that a case under section 353 is not made out against the accused. The court also observed that the other sections under which the accused is booked and arrested are bailable. The high court directed Khan to be released immediately and asked him to deposit Rs 10,000 in the chief minister's relief fund. The applicant had behaved in an irresponsible manner and particularly at a time when every citizen of this country is expected to co-operate with those rendering useful services to prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. He is directed to deposit an amount of Rs 10,000 in the CM Relief Fund after his release, the court directed. In another case, Justice Dangre granted anticipatory bail to a man, Shekhar Sanadi, who was accused of having a verbal altercation with a police official who scolded him for not wearing a mask. The United States recorded 2,073 coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 73,095, according to the latest real-time tally Wednesday reported by Johns Hopkins University. The country -- hardest hit by the pandemic in terms of the number of fatalities -- has now confirmed a total of 1,227,430 cases, the Baltimore-based school reported. Gov. Tom Wolf has continued to announce counties that are moving to the yellow phase, but Perry County has not been among them. Elected county officials say that should not be the case. State Senator John DiSanto, Rep. Mark Keller and Perry County Commissioners Brian Allen, Gary Eby and Brenda Watson sent a letter to Wolf on Thursday stating they believe Perry County should be included among those being moved into the yellow phase. Twenty-four counties were among the first to be moved to the yellow phase last Friday, with another list of counties being announced this Friday. --Check out all of PennLives coronavirus coverage by clicking here-- "It is beyond comprehension why Perry County, which had fewer than 40 cases of COVID-19 altogether, was not selected for reopening with the first counties May 8th. It is time to rectify this error and allow our businesspeople to get back to work if they choose," the letter read. Counties moved into the yellow phase will still face several restrictions, including prohibiting gatherings of more than 25 people and restaurants and bars will still be limited to carry-out only. Schools will still continue remote learning. However, it will allow retail shopping to be permitted and stay at home restrictions will be lifted in favor of aggressive mitigation. The letter argues that by moving the county into the yellow phase, it would not adversely impact public health and said that county residents have followed guidelines to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus. The county was well-positioned among the states 67 counties to be reopened given the low number of cases. The cooperation of Perry County residents is evidenced by its minimal caseload and should not be put to a disadvantage when compared to counties in a similar situation in the northwestern and northcentral part of the state, the letter read. It later added: You have called for a data-driven approach to reopen Pennsylvanias economy, yet you have chosen to ignore data that demonstrates rural sections of the state are better equipped to social distance than the cities. The stay-at-home orders are having a detrimental effect on our economy and way of life." Perry County has had 34 positive cases of the virus, which is 47th among the 67 counties. Text PennLive to 717-745-7532 to sign up to have breaking news and essential updates about the coronavirus delivered right to your mobile device. Data and messaging rates may apply. -- Follow Ed Sutelan on Twitter, @EdwardSutelan 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. The doubling rate of coronavirus cases in the national capital at present is 11 days, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Thursday. In a statement issued by the Delhi government, he was also quoted as saying that "compared to the western countries, the situation in India is much better". "In Delhi, right now we have 3,925 active cases (till Wednesday) and only 84 patients are in ICU. We should not look into the cases in terms of absolute numbers but we should calculate the rate of growth with respect to the base value," he said. "The rate of growth of COVID-19 cases in Delhi was around 8 per cent yesterday, earlier the rate was 20 per cent, then it became 15 per cent and now it has become 12 per cent," Jain said. The health minister also said that the doubling rate of coronavirus cases in Delhi is 11 days at present. There are 5,532 positive COVID-19 cases in Delhi and 12 patients are currently on ventilators. On Wednesday, 428 fresh cases were reported in Delhi. However, the Delhi health minister said the situation is under control here. "We have to be very careful as we may have to live with coronavirus for a certain period as it may stay for a longer period of time. We have to follow all rules, use masks and maintain social distancing all the time," he said. The Delhi government is monitoring the situation round-the-clock to ensure that the virus does not spread further. Also, for the people belonging to Tablighi Jamaat, whoever has recovered and spent the designated time in quarantine, can go to their respective states as per the guidelines. If any police investigation is going on against anyone then the police will take care of such issues, Jain said. He said liquor shops have been opened as per rules and the situation will be under control in two-three days. "Also, we are in constant touch with all the states regarding sending the migrant labourers and stranded people to their respective states, and certain states have also taken a number of steps to bring back their labourers. We have shared the list of people with respective states and today a train with stranded people will leave for Madhya Pradesh," he said. The Delhi government is working proactively to make sure all the beneficiaries across the city get their ration regularly, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Papamoa family is grateful for the amazing community support they have received after watching their home burn to the ground. Brett and Sandra lost everything in the fire and Sandras daughter Leana spoke to SunLive about their ordeal. Brett was upstairs when he saw plumes of smoke coming into the house on Wednesday morning. He got out of the house and was met by Sandra, who was at a police cordon. She was on her way home from work when she saw her house engulfed in flames. Leana says she is still in shock so she cant imagine what her 60-year-old mum and 70-year-old step-dad are feeling. She doesn't have a gown or slippers. It's the small things that you just take for granted every day in your life. She's got none of it, and he's got nothing of it. They're retirement age, and it's a whole lifetime of things that you build up - memories. Bretts had that house for nearly 40 years. It's their home, he brought his kids up in that house, it isn't just a house. [Its a] worst nightmare, but at the end of the day theyre ok and thats the most important thing. Leana says it is even harder for her parents at the moment because of the alert level three restrictions, they cant just walk into a shop and replace things. Having grown up in Papamoa, Leana says the community support there is amazing and its shown even more after the fire. She says people have offered support in any way they can and local business Pizza Library have helped to feed the family and the firefighters. Papamoa is such a beautiful community. I grew up in Papamoa and that community is amazing, they just rally around you. My mum and dad are both very much loved in the community and they're such amazing people. Literally, Brett would do anything. There's been times where mum has had a bit of a giggle because somebody has got stuck on the beach in their car and before mum would even mention it, Brett will be out the door, there with his big green truck and his winch helping them, hes just always there. He would actually take the skin off his back to help anybody. Hes an incredible person, they just don't deserve this, Leana says, while holding back tears. She says the fire fighters were there most of the day and were amazing, trying to help the couple salvage what they could after putting the fire out but there was very little. They were just so kind and thoughtful. All that could be saved was the fire place, despite it being burnt, because Brett is sentimental about it and a log with ferns growing in it from the rear of the house that Sandra wanted, says Leana. Fire and Emergency New Zealand received a call to the fire on Papamoa Beach Road, near McCullum Place at 8.52am on May 6. Four fire trucks worked to put out the blaze and a fire investigator was sent the scene to determine the cause says FENZ northern communications shift manager Daniel Nicholson. Leana says the cause of the fire is still unknown. The couple, who have been together for nearly 20 years, have insurance and are working through the process now. Family friend Barbara Noghera set up a Givealittle page yesterday to help after the tragedy - so far it has raised $4364. I felt a Givealittle page was the most efficient way for people to help, says Barbara. They are like family to me and I feel for them so much with what they are going through. The Givealittle page for Sandra and Brett can be found here. SEATTLE, WA / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / Riverdale Oil & Gas Corporation (OTC PINK:RVDO, the "Company"), announced today that the Company has entered into a binding letter of intent with Hempstract, LLC. Under terms of the deal, Riverdale Oil & Gas Corp will acquire all assets including licenses, equipment, materials, inventory, assignment of all lease, service, and vendor contracts. Assets include 3,125 kilograms of CBD Isolate valued at $10,700,00 along with material assets and equipment valued at over $750,000. Following the acquisition, the company will be reclassified as a subsidiary corporation under Riverdale Oil & Gas Corporation. Hempstract is currently in the process of renovating a historic ICBM Titan Missile facility site in eastern Washington state to produce only the highest quality THC-Free products that are derived from Non-GMO industrial hemp grown with natural farming practices. Under the leadership of Dr. Todd Talley, Hempstract's planned products include CBD Isolate & distillate oil, nutritional whole plant extract for topicals, lotions, bath bombs, pills and pet products. After transitioning from a career as a research scientist and professor, Dr. Talley entered the recreational cannabis industry. Dr. Talley's work includes the development of novel cannabinoid formulations and industrial methods for the isolation of THCA. Now focused on Hemp, Dr. Talley continues isolating novel cannabinoids and developing new processes for the isolation of CBD. In addition, Dr. Talley, has developed many new formulations and applications for CBD and related cannabinoids. "This is an amazing time for us, and we are thrilled to have the structure and backing of the team at Riverdale." Said Dr. Todd Talley, President and Chief Scientist of Hempstract. Richard Hawkins, CEO of Riverdale Oil & Gas Corp commented on the letter of intent: "This deal marks a pivotal change in direction for the company in support of plans to diversify into new and exciting industries. We are so fortunate to have Dr Talley onboard and have had such a positive experience working with him and his team at Hempstract on this project. We look forward to continuing into a long and profitable future together." About Riverdale Oil & Gas Corporation Riverdale Oil & Gas Corporation (OTC Pink:RVDO) is a Nevada registered publicly-traded company. About Hempstract, LLC Located in Warden, Washington, Hempstract offers business partners premium CBD Solutions they can trust at competitive prices. Hempstract and its laboratories go to great lengths to ensure that all of its solutions are of the highest quality and control standards and provides pure, high-quality, and safe, CBD isolate and oil to its customers. For more information, please contact: Richard Hawkins IR@rvdoil.com Forward-looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" which are not purely historical and may include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the development, costs and results of new business opportunities and words such as "anticipate", "seek", intend", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "project", "plan", or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with new projects, the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based products. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10-k, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For more information, please visit www.sec.gov. SOURCE: Riverdale Oil & Gas Corporation View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/588861/Riverdale-Oil-Gas-Corporation-RVDO-Executes-Binding-LOI-with-Hempstract A Houston murder case that garnered international headlines is being retold with new details. Dateline NBC's new true-crime podcast "Motive for Murder" will follow the murders of Coty Beavers and Gelareh Bagherzadeh, which happened 11 months apart in 2012. Lawsuits demanding that stay-at-home orders be repealed have been filed this week in Maryland, Minnesota, and Nevada. In Michigan, a Family Dollar store security guard was shot after telling a customer to wear a face mask, which is mandated throughout the state for all retail stores. In Oklahoma, McDonalds employees were shot at for asking customers to leave the dining area, which was closed due to coronavirus restrictions. Small but media-gobbling gatherings of armed protesters continue to gather, demanding that state stay-home orders be rescinded, using lethal weaponry to demonstrate a power their numbers cannot convey. Members of the state Supreme Court in Wisconsin, hearing arguments in a case challenging the governors safer-at-home rules, invoked the language of tyranny and the Japanese internment to describe the current public health efforts to contain a pandemic. President Donald Trump has tweeted support for the armed militants (These are very good people, but they are angry. They want their lives back again, safely!) and demanded the liberation of the states. Defiant public intellectuals embrace the general democratic principle that being a grandma killer is a small price to pay for resuming dentist visits and family trips to the zoo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its certainly not the case that the federal Constitution protects everything you feel like doing, whenever you feel like doing it. The words freedom and liberty have been invoked breathlessly in recent weeks to bolster the case for reopening. Protesters of state public safety measures readily locate in the Bill of Rights the varied and assorted freedom to not be masked, the freedom to have your toenails soaked and buffed, the freedom to open-carry weapons into the state capitol, the freedom to take your children to the polar bear cage, the freedom to worship even if it imperils public safety, and above all, the freedom to shoot the people who attempt to stop you from exercising such unenumerated but essential rights. Beyond a profound misunderstanding of the relationship between broad state police powers and federal constitutional rights in the midst of a deadly pandemic, this definition of freedom is perplexing, chiefly because it seems to assume not simply that other people should die for your individual liberties, but also that you have an affirmative right to harm, threaten, and even kill anyone who stands in the way of your exercising of the freedoms you demand. We tend to forget that even our most prized freedoms have limits, with regard to speech, assembly, or weaponry. Those constraints are not generally something one shoots ones way out of, even in a pandemic, and simply insisting that your own rights are paramount because you super-duper want them doesnt usually make it so. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To be sure, a good number of these protesters and pundits represent fringe groups, financed by other fringe groups and amplified by a press that adores conflict. The data continues to show that the vast majority of Americans are not out on the hustings fighting for the right to infect others for the sake of a McNugget. Also, it is not irrational in the least to fear a tyrannical government capitalizing on a pandemic; its happening around the world. But even for those millions of people genuinely suffering hardship and anxiety, its simply not the case that all freedoms are the same. And its certainly not the case that the federal Constitution protects everything you feel like doing, whenever you feel like doing it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a superb essay by Ibram X. Kendi in the Atlantic this week, were reminded that there is a long-standing difference between core notions of what he calls freedom to and freedom from. The freedom to harm, he points out, has its lineage in the slaveholders constitutional notion of freedom: Slaveholders disavowed a state that secured any form of communal freedomthe freedom of the community from slavery, from disenfranchisement, from exploitation, from poverty, from all the demeaning and silencing and killing. Kendi continues by pointing out that these two notions of freedom have long rubbed along uneasily side by side, but that those demanding that states open up so they may shop, or visit zoos, are peeling back the tension between the two: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From the beginning of the American project, the powerful individual has been battling for his constitutional freedom to harm, and the vulnerable community has been battling for its constitutional freedom from harm. Both freedoms were inscribed into the U.S. Constitution, into the American psyche. The history of the United States, the history of Americans, is the history of reconciling the unreconcilable: individual freedom and community freedom. There is no way to reconcile the enduring psyche of the slaveholder with the enduring psyche of the enslaved. The very idea that it doesnt matter what happens to the larger community, so long as the individual has unfettered freedom to do as he pleases, is not just a vestige of the slaveholder ethos. As Charlie Warzel points out this week, this has been the core animating theory behind the American gun rights movement: reduce the debate to an absolutist fight about freedom that eventually narcotizes an entire population into believing that the cost of true liberty is tens of thousands of avoidable gun deaths each year. Any effort to regulate anything within the vast space between assault weapons for everyone on demand and reasonable gun safety is cast as a dire step toward tyranny. As Warzel puts it, this leads to another version of freedom to, in this case, the freedom to either do mass harm or the freedom to insist that nothing be done about it: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This idea of freedom is also an excuse to serve ones self before others and a shield to hide from responsibility. In the gun rights fight, that freedom manifests in firearms falling into unstable hands. During a pandemic, that freedom manifests in rejections of masks, despite evidence to suggest they protect both the wearers and the people around them. It manifests in a rejection of public health by those who dont believe their actions affect others. In this narrow worldview, freedom has a price, in the form of an acceptable number of human lives lost. Its a price that will be calculated and then set by a select few. The rest of us merely pay it. We now find ourselves on the precipice of a moment in which Americans must decide whether the price they are willing to pay for the freedom of armed protesters, those determined to block hospitals, and pundits who want to visit the zoo, is their own health and safety. Polls show that the majority of Americans are still deeply devoted to the proposition that their government can protect them from a deadly virus, and that they trust their governors and scientists and data far more than they trust the Mission Accomplished Industrial Complex that would have them valuing free-floating ideas about liberty over the health and indeed lives of essential workers, the elderly, and their own well-being, despite the presidents recent insistence that this is what, all of us, as warriors must do. As Jamil Smith points out, this cultish view of liberty as demanding mass death in exchange for liberty, as in freedom to is an assembly-line, AstroTurf version of liberty pushed by those who are already very free. Their true goal, plutocracy, is the diametrical opposite of freedom, Smith writes. It is a life lived to spite other lives, and often take advantage of them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the coming weeks, we will see some relatively small portion of Americans with great big megaphones and well-financed backers start to openly attack the selfsame health care workers who were celebrated as heroes just a few weeks ago. We will see attacks on people wearing masks and attacks on people lawfully asking others to wear masks. Some leaders will buckle under the pressure to rescind orders with claims that in choosing between liberty and death, they went with liberty. Others, like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, will respond by insisting that the brandishing of guns inside the state Capitol is not, in fact, liberty, and that if it is liberty and justice, it is hardly liberty and justice for all, but rather for a small minority of people who seek to define freedom as something they will seize and threaten and even kill for. A good rule of thumb for COVID-based discussions about opening up is that if someone is demanding it while threatening to hurt or kill you, you are probably not as free as they are, and that their project does nothing to increase freedom in America and everything to hoard a twisted idea of freedom for themselves. Advertisement Advertisement When you hear someone demanding inchoate generalized freedom, ask whether he cares at all that millions of workers who clean the zoos and buff the nails and intubate the grandmas are not free. These people are cannon fodder for your liberty. The long-standing tension between individual liberty and the collective good is complicated, and as Kendi is quick to point out, the balance often tilts, trade-offs are made, federal and state governments shift clumsily along together, and the balance tilts again. Nobody denies that individual liberty is essential in a democracy, but in addition to parsing whether we as a collective do better in providing the freedom from while also offering some freedom to, its worth asking whether those making zero-sum claims about liberty are willing to sacrifice anything for freedom, or are just happily sacrificing you. Sales of in-vehicle sleeping pads and dome-to-go hatchback tents have increased. Courtesy of WeMakePrice Many South Koreans are heading outdoors as the COVID-19 coronavirus shows signs of stabilizing and the government lifts social distancing guidelines. But the pandemic may have a lasting impact on consumer behavior instead of using hotels, many travelers are now sleeping in cars. Social commerce platform WeMakePrice said Wednesday sales of in-vehicle sleeping pads jumped more than sixfold last month, compared to a year before. Along the same line, the sales of dome-to-go hatchback tents rose sixfold in April compared to last year. These hatchback tents wrap around the trunk area of cars to expand available sleeping space. "While people want to get back out there, they still seem to care about the virus," a WeMakePrice representative told UPI News Korea. "We plan to come up with products to meet new related demand." South Korea saw the worst of its COVID-19 outbreak in late February and early March, but the number of new infections per day has dipped to around 10 or fewer in recent weeks. For the third day in a row, South Korea reported only imported COVID-19 cases from incoming travelers on Wednesday. While some Koreans look for new ways to limit their exposure to the virus while enjoying the great outdoors, many are still opting to stay at home and keep up social distancing practices. As a result, the popularity of water purifiers, air purifiers, automatic dishwashers and massage chairs have gone up during the pandemic. SK Magic, a Seoul-based home appliance manufacturer, said the number of customers using its dishwasher rental services surged 160 percent in the first quarter from a year ago. "COVID-19 has benefited our business. As our customers eat mostly at home, more and more appear to rent our dishwashers," an SK Magic official told UPI News Korea. In March, Chungho Nais even came up with a portable air purifier, which the company said has become popular with health-conscious shoppers. (UPI) It's safe to predict that the Wisconsin Supreme Court will invalidate the states "Safer at Home" order. The hearings this week on the policy were an empty exercise on the way to a foregone conclusion. Shakespeare would have called the hearings a dumb show, which means a pantomime. The ruling will result in a shit show, which needs no explanation. Gov. Tony Evers COVID-19 mitigation strategy, while effective, is toast. The Republicans who brought the suit are willing to recklessly endanger the health of Wisconsinites to get them back to work. That's the goal of Republicans' most important constituency their wealthy donors. "Safer at home" is credited with keeping the states caseload much lower than original projections. Thats why more than 100 professional health care groups signed a letter to the court praising the policy and urging the justices to leave it intact. But the court wouldnt allow medical professionals to testify. The Republican justices who dominate the court with a 5-2 majority didnt want public airing of facts that could raise questions about their decision. The health experts would have told the court that before Safer at Home, the number of people testing positive for the coronavirus was doubling every 3.4 days. Afterward, the number of positive COVID-19 tests doubled every 12.4 days. Nevertheless, business interests, along with an increasing number of broke and stir-crazy citizens, have had enough. They want to be free of the stifling chains that Evers has bound them in, even if those chains have saved their lives. Anti-lockdown protesters, who consider themselves a freedom movement, are backed by right-wing advocacy groups that have familiar names behind them, including Koch. If their rallies resemble pro-Trump gatherings, that's because they also serve that purpose and at a time when the president himself has been shut down by the pandemic. But to the backers' chagrin, the rallies have become increasingly joined by white supremacists, militia groups and gun fanatics. Anti-choice activists, anti-vaxers, and neo-Nazis are also sprinkled among them, making for a 360-degree view of the radical right. That view could be a turn-off for some people who agree with re-opening the economy but don't want to jump in a pool full of extremists. Evers administration has recognized the frustration and economic perils of continuing the social-distancing and isolation policies long enough to stop the pandemic. Hes trying to accommodate the resistance crowd by rolling out a gradual lifting of restrictions. Evers hopes that, if its done carefully enough, he can tone down public anger and circumvent a spike in new cases that would overwhelm hospitals. Definition of tyranny The justices conducted the hearings via Zoom, from the comfort of their own homes. Theyre willing to go through the motions of a trial, but theyre not crazy enough to meet in a public place while a deadly and highly contagious coronavirus floats invisibly in the air. They're inappropriately partisan, but most of them aren't stupid. Judges are supposed to listen impartially and weigh arguments from both sides in a case. But the Republican justices didnt even pretend to be impartial. Instead of listening, they argued their own viewpoints, displaying sarcasm, ignorance, prejudice and elitism in the process. Esquire magazine tuned in to watch the proceedings and described the antics of the right-wing justices as compelling theater of the absurd. Some remarks made by the justices fit that description. Justice Rebecca Bradley damned the states shutdown as the very definition of tyranny. Screwing her face into a fist, Bradley suggested that quarantining people to fight a deadly pandemic is the moral equivalent of incarcerating Japanese-Americans in concentration camps during World War II. Thats a false equivalency that only someone drenched in privilege and a stranger to racism could make. The defense might have argued that forcing people either to work in life-threatening conditions or starve to death is the definition of slavery. But it was hard to get a word in edge-wise. Settled law The right of states to suspend individual freedoms to protect their citizens is established U.S. law. As far back as 1793, the City of Philadelphia was isolated to contain an outbreak of yellow fever. In a 1905 ruling about the constitutionality of mandated vaccinations for small pox, the U.S. Supreme Court said: But the liberty secured by the Constitution of the United States to every person within its jurisdiction does not import an absolute right in each person to be, at all times and in all circumstances, wholly freed from restraint. There are manifold restraints to which every person is necessarily subject for the common good. The incarceration of Japanese-Americans was an extreme act of racial bias that had nothing to do with the common good. And the safer at home order is not intended to keep possible bad players off the streets. Its a strategy for saving lives. In one of her embarrassing comments, Republican Justice Patience Roggensack channeled Leona Helmsleys only the little people pay taxes moment. When presented with the exploding number of cases in Brown County as an example of how fast the virus is spreading, she replied: These were due to the meatpacking. Thats where Brown County got the flare. It wasnt just the regular folks in Brown County. That statement prompted a rush of people to social media to ask, Who are the regular folks? Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of the immigrant advocacy group Voces de la Frontera, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Roggensacks words were elitist and racist. Neumann-Ortiz noted that a high percentage of workers at meatpacking plants are minorities and immigrants. Best court money can buy Its often said that the Wisconsin Supreme Court is the best that money can buy, and the wealthy individuals, corporations and special interest groups that shoveled millions of dollars into electing Roggensack, Bradley and the others, would do anything to end the shutdown, even if it meant sacrificing lives. Republican officials and business leaders, including the regular peoples folk hero Donald Trump, have openly acknowledged feeling that way. They dont even know their attitude might seem objectionable. Without the real people to work in their plants and buy their products, the wealthy are losing a lot of money. Those real Americans are the source of their wealth and privilege, and they cannot afford for the state to abide by rules keeping them from working to create that wealth. Pull Quote "Safer at Home" is credited with keeping the state's caseload much lower than original projections. Ultimately, its allegiance to their big-money backers and their Republican political allies in the Legislature that will determine the courts decision in the shutdown case. Remember, this court is all politics, all the time. This is the same court that in early April told citizens they could either give up their right to vote or stand in very long lines during a surging pandemic. They could have offered voters a third choice by postponing the election. Thats what every other state with an election scheduled in April did. But that choice could have hurt their political agenda. Republican justices did not want to lose their colleague, the anti-bellum throwback Dan Kelly. Hes the guy that wrote same-sex marriage is a form of affirmative action, which itself is a form of slavery. Kelly, who was appointed by Scott Walker, was running for retention on April 7. Conventional wisdom holds that keeping urbanites away from the polls increases the odds for Republican victories, and Republican judges saw their opportunity to ensure Kellys victory. After all, theyve used every other weapon in their arsenal to keep young people, educated people, and people with swarthy complexions out of the voting booth. But proving that karma is real, Kelly lost anyhow to Democrat-backed Jill Karofsky. Its believed that 67 voters contracted coronavirus at the polls that day. The toll of lifting Evers social-distancing and isolation orders will be much grimmer. Lifting the lockdown policy would be coming at a time when record numbers of new cases are being found on a regular basis. The state is learning the problem is much more extensive than originally thought. As of 6 p.m. on May 7, 8,236 cases had been confirmed in the state and 340 patients had died. Experts say there are many more cases that are yet to be discovered or confirmed, as well as additional deaths that have not been recorded or attributed to COVID-19. OSAKA, Japan, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Naotsune Alliance, a financial advisor for the world of business that provides discretionary investment advisory services for individual clients, wealthy families, institutional investors and investment trusts, with extensive fund management experience and product development capabilities, is pleased to announce that the firm's Chief Executive Officer is currently heading a delegation of three representatives in Hong Kong, engaged in securing the final legal approvals from the local Regulatory Institutions. The new office is located in the Financial District of Hong Kong and will be opened for business in the next short space of time. Naotsune Alliance is a financial advisor for the world of business, a world in which community is key. The firm is currently in the process of securing all the legal approvals from the local authorities Naotsune Alliance is a leader in the private equity sector that primarily guides itself according to client demand and expectations. Therefore, in respect of the increased interest displayed by the firm's worldwide family of clients regarding an enhanced spectrum of investment solutions closely related to the ever-growing Chinese markets, the company will be developing the new office as a means to deepen its opportunity pool for value-creation. Mr. Arinobu V. Saito, Chief Executive Officer at Naotsune Alliance, says that "our high standards of market performance and laser-guided focus on risk-management strategies are the elements for which most of our investors became long-term clients. We are prepared to take full advantage of the opportunities presented to us by the Hong Kong markets and, once all the expansion goals are met, we will be considering further business development, this time into Mainland China. The opportunities are many and the profit potential is big; therefore, we feel the need of giving our clients a share of the profits that are made on the Chinese Market." Naotsune Alliance office in Hong Kong will be comprised of a 21-strong team of market analysts and researchers, expert traders, management, legal, I.T. and administrative staff. The firm is planning to transfer one of its Senior Executives from the Osaka Head Office to the Hong Kong location in order to establish a better connection with the local institutions and government officials, with the prospect of further business expansion. Mr. Kenneth Yeung, the new Head Counsel of the soon-to-be-opened Hong Kong Office is currently overseeing a legal team that is expected to complete all procedures and meet all legal requirements in the next short space of time. About Naotsune Alliance Naotsune Alliance is a financial advisor for the world of business, a world in which community is key. The company's memberships, partnerships and associations are chosen with care, and its selectiveness ensures it is connected to the right people and have access to the best and most up-to-date knowledge. Our main products are Japanese equity funds, thus utilizing Naotsune Alliance's local expertise for Japanese firms with a focus on mid-small cap companies, start-ups and IPOs. Contact: Wilhelm Wagner +81 9045012521 [email protected] https://naotsune-alliance.com/ SOURCE Naotsune Alliance Related Links https://naotsune-alliance.com/ Error. Page cannot be displayed. Please contact your service provider for more details. (21) The big lie of the Trump administration is that China is the cause of America's problems, wrote Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, in a CNN opinion article on Wednesday. The meme has worked for a while, since it plays into American smugness that if China is succeeding, they must be cheating, Sachs pointed out. Since President Trump took office in 2017, his approach to U.S.-China relations has included increased pressure via tariffs and trade war rhetoric, and now, with the onset of an unprecedented pandemic, the Pew Research Center concluded in one of its surveys of Americans in March. According to the survey, roughly two-thirds now say they have an unfavorable view of China, up nearly by 20 percentage points since the start of the Trump administration. The U.S. has now seen the most confirmed cases and deaths due to the pandemic globally. There was plenty of warning, wrote Professor Sachs in the article, listing a timeline of how China and the World Health Organization alerted others about the virus. The Five Eyes intelligence alliance and even U.S. leading health expert Anthony Fauci have thrown cold water on Trump's claims that the virus originated from a Chinese lab. However, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is still saying that he had "seen evidence that this likely came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology," without showing any evidence. If these claims by the Trump administration are shot down by intelligence agencies and independent scientific analysis, as now seems likely, they recall the end of McCarthy era, said the professor in the article. "Trump is our present-day Senator Joseph McCarthy, who uses lies and innuendos to scare Americans into submission," he added. On the same day, Foreign Policy also published an opinion piece, pointing out that the narrative of "make China pay" is unfolding during Washington's "political silly season" of presidential election run-up. This unofficial slogan reflects the usual tactics of Trump using China as a campaign prop for partisan gains. Author Doug Bandow, senior fellow at the Cato Institute, pointed out that the idea of "making China legally liable is [] foolish." If the U.S. Congress voted to allow Americans to sue the Chinese government, Chinese government can authorize its citizen to do the same thing. Then, the rest of the world will follow, as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Iran, Venezuela, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Libya, Serbia, Haiti, and perhaps countries like Egypt, Vietnam, Laos, and Mexico, can all adopt corresponding legislation. "It would set an extraordinarily dangerous precedent," Bandow warned. "Imagine the rest of the world 'making America pay' for Washington's mistakes, failures, and crimes." Durham, NC - Infection, inflammation, trauma, disease, contact lenses - all of these and more can lead to corneal scarring, which according to the World Health Organization is a leading cause of blindness worldwide. While corneal transplant remains the gold standard to treat this condition, patient demand far outweighs donor supply. However, in a study released today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine researchers demonstrate a potential solution to this major problem. The cornea is the clear front surface of the eye that not only protects the eye, but allows light to enter and provides as much as 75 percent of the eye's focusing power. When scarring occurs, the cornea clouds over and impacts vision. The stroma - the thick middle layer of the cornea - plays a pivotal role in normal visual function as it produces a variety of cellular products that support normal corneal development and maintenance. "As such, corneal stromal stem cells (SSCs) show promise for replacing conventional donor tissues as they are potentially able to regenerate the corneal stromal extracellular matrix, which is essential for maintaining corneal transparency," said study leader Vincent Borderie, M.D., Ph.D., and first author Djida Ghoubay, Ph.D, both of the Institut de la Vision, Sorbonne Universite, INSERM and CNRS. "Additionally, SSCs can be easily retrieved and cultured from the patient's or donor's eye." With this in mind, the two and their team, which included researchers from several other institutions in Paris, set out to determine the therapeutic effect of these adult stem cells and whether they might indeed restore the cornea to its pre-injured state. They tested their theory on a new mouse model created especially for the study. Younger mice (four weeks old) were selected, as the researchers were hoping to mimic a stromal scarring condition called keratoconus that generally occurs in teenagers or young adults. They sedated the mice, then did an epithelial scraping followed by an application of liquid nitrogen (N2) to the corneal surface of each mouse's left eye. Its right eye was left untouched for comparison. After the injured corneas had scarred over and become opaque -- approximately three weeks after injury -- the mice were divided into groups. One group received injections of murine (mouse) stromal stem cells (MSSCs) at the injured site. A second group received injections of human stromal stem cells (HSSCs). A third group received sham injections, and a fourth group received no SSCs, as a control. The animals' eyes were then examined for several indicators of corneal health, with the assessments occurring just before the N2 application and then repeated in intervals up to three months after. "Results showed that injection of SSCs resulted in improved corneal transparency associated with corneal SSC migration and growth in the recipient stroma without inflammatory response. Moreover, decreased stromal haze, corneal rigidity and improved vision were observed," Dr. Borderie reported. Dr. Ghoubay added, "Interestingly, the injected HSSCs showed a different fate compared with the MSSCs. In fact, the former were still detected three months after injection, whereas the latter were no longer detected following the first month. As labeling is lost with cell divisions, we can hypothesize that xenogeneic HSSC divide slower than allogeneic MSSC after injection." "In conclusion," Drs. Borderie and Ghoubay said, "our study demonstrates the ability of corneal SSCs to promote regeneration of transparent stromal tissue. Injection of corneal SSCs can constitute an alternative approach in the treatment of corneal scarring." "This study provides evidence that corneal stromal stem cells, which can be easily retrieved and cultured from patient or donor eyes, have the ability to regenerate the corneal stromal extracellular matrix, which is essential for maintaining corneal transparency," said Anthony Atala, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine and director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. "The finding has potential translational application as a cell-based therapy to treat corneal scarring, and we look forward to seeing continued research." ### The full article, "Corneal stromal stem cells restore transparency after N2 injury in mice," can be accessed at https://stemcellsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/sctm.19-0306. About STEM CELLS Translational Medicine: STEM CELLS Translational Medicine (SCTM), co-published by AlphaMed Press and Wiley, is a monthly peer-reviewed publication dedicated to significantly advancing the clinical utilization of stem cell molecular and cellular biology. By bridging stem cell research and clinical trials, SCTM will help move applications of these critical investigations closer to accepted best practices. SCTM is the official journal partner of Regenerative Medicine Foundation. About AlphaMed Press: Established in 1983, AlphaMed Press with offices in Durham, NC, San Francisco, CA, and Belfast, Northern Ireland, publishes two other internationally renowned peer-reviewed journals: STEM CELLS (http://www.StemCells.com), celebrating its 38th year, is the world's first journal devoted to this fast paced field of research. The Oncologist (http://www.TheOncologist.com), also a monthly peer-reviewed publication, entering its 25th year, is devoted to community and hospital-based oncologists and physicians entrusted with cancer patient care. All three journals are premier periodicals with globally recognized editorial boards dedicated to advancing knowledge and education in their focused disciplines. About Wiley: Wiley, a global company, helps people and organizations develop the skills and knowledge they need to succeed. Our online scientific, technical, medical and scholarly journals, combined with our digital learning, assessment and certification solutions, help universities, learned societies, businesses, governments and individuals increase the academic and professional impact of their work. For more than 200 years, we have delivered consistent performance to our stakeholders. The company's website can be accessed at http://www.wiley.com. About Regenerative Medicine Foundation (RMF): The non-profit Regenerative Medicine Foundation fosters strategic collaborations to accelerate the development of regenerative medicine to improve health and deliver cures. RMF pursues its mission by producing its flagship World Stem Cell Summit, honouring leaders through the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Action Awards, and promoting educational initiatives. DeJoy, a North Carolina native, has played a prominent role in Republican politics, particularly since Trump won the presidency in 2016. He has given more than $2 million to the Trump campaign or Republican causes since 2016, according to the Federal Election Commission, including a $210,600 contribution to the Trump Victory Fund on Feb. 19. He has given more than $650,000 to the Trump Victory Fund and more than $1 million to the RNC. Harris County Sheriffs Office Sgt. Raymond Scholwinski died Wednesday after a weeks-long battle with COVID-19, becoming one of the first known coronavirus-related fatalities among Houston-area law enforcement agencies. Scholwinski, 70, was among thousands of first responders nationwide in mid-March to be sickened by the virus. His symptoms had worsened when he was hospitalized March 29. He was put on a ventilator and fought for his life in the Memorial Hermann ICU, according to earlier reports in the Chronicle. A full-time deputy for 26 years, his most recent assignment was the day watch Contract Sergeant in District 2, where he helped run public safety town halls with residents. Sgt. Scholwinski represented the best of the Harris County Sheriffs Office family, said Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. Whether he was on patrol, making a neighborhood association presentation, or in the field during hurricanes, tropical storms, and other disasters, Ray consistently delivered for the people of Harris County. We will miss our brother, and we will honor his legacy of service. His wife, Rynda Scholwinski, spoke of her husbands caring nature in an interview last month with the Chronicle. He always looked out for her and helped elderly residents at the complex where she used to live, she said. I never thought I wouldnt be able to be with my husband when hes so sick, she said. Rynda said when they met 35 years ago his heart was set on the sheriffs office. At the time, he was working at the apartment complex where she lived and slowly began courting her. When she cut her hand on shattered glass and needed surgery, he drove her to and from the appointment. He brought her meals and flowers. He eventually asked her to marry him on a camping trip a year after they met. By then, shed long since fallen for him. Scholwinski started working at the sheriffs office in 1979 as a reserve deputy. He joined full-time soon after they tied the knot. It was a nerve-wracking experience for Rynda, she said, but it never prepared her for the pandemic. They go through training how to learn how to approach a vehicle to make a stop, how to answer a door when theyre going to a domestic violence call, she said at the time of the interview. But you cant even train against this. The sergeant was one of the first sheriffs office employees to contract the virus, a department spokesman said. Rynda believes he may have caught the virus March 16, when the sergeant met with a deputy who later tested positive for COVID-19. Fever and fatigue arrived a few days later. Scholwinskis colleagues said he worked long hours, helping frustrated residents and attending community meetings. He loved people and his job, one captain told the Chronicle. He was a colleague and friend to many of us and will be missed dearly, according to a Facebook post from the Harris County Deputies Organization. We will continue to keep his family in our prayers during this difficult time. Blessed are the Peacemakers. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo also offered condolences on social media. His service earned him the communitys love and support, she said. Law enforcement are part of the front lines in this fight. Scholwinski had been one of 12 sheriffs office employees who as of Wednesday were hospitalized because of the virus. He was among 256 total employees battling the disease, including 229 who work in the jail. As of Wednesday, 402 Harris County Sheriffs deputies, detention officers and support staff were on quarantine for possible COVID-19 exposure. Funeral arrangements for Scholwinski are pending. St. John Barned-Smith contributed to this report. julian.gill@chron.com On April 13, 2020, in a 4-3 decision on party lines, the four elected Democratic justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld Democrat Governor Wolf's order dated March 19, 2020 that shut down all "non-essential" businesses in Pennsylvania. The order does provide a mechanism for businesses to apply for a waiver. Wolf's order is imposed by the governor, not the Legislature. This raises a constitutional issue of separation of powers because the Legislature gave the governor power to enact executive orders that have the force of law, which may result in criminal prosecutions. The order can last up to 90 days and may be renewed by the governor unless terminated by the Legislature. But the governor may veto the Legislature's termination, which Wolf did. The challenge to the breadth of Wolf's order was based on constitutional grounds of separation of powers, procedural due process, equal protection, and the First Amendment. The majority dismissed the constitutional issues. The effect of the Court's reasoning is that the coronavirus presents such a danger that the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights must accommodate the virus. The plaintiffs filed an appeal the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court should hear the appeal to determine the power of a governor to enact orders that have the force of law when the orders infringe upon the Bill of Rights. These orders were issued by the governor, not the Legislature, where the proposed laws infringing on the Bill of rights could be debated and voted upon. The majority upheld the authority of Wolf to declare the emergency. It held that the Pennsylvania statute, 35 Purdon's 7301, empowers the governor to issue the order because the COVID- 19 virus is a "natural disaster" within the meaning of the statute. Section 7301(a) and (b) provide: (a) Responsibility to meet disasters. The Governor is responsible for meeting the dangers to this Commonwealth and people presented by disasters. (b) Executive orders, proclamations and regulations. Under this part, the Governor may issue, amend and rescind executive orders, proclamations and regulations which shall have the force and effect of law. The issue is the meaning of "disasters," stated by the Court thusly: Because consideration of Petitioners' arguments require[s] that we engage in statutory interpretation, we note that when doing so a court's duty is to give effect to the legislature's intent and that the best indication of legislative intent is the plain language of the statute. When a Court says it must look to the "intent" of a statute, it means the plain language does not say what the Court wants to do. The Court puts itself in the position of the Legislature that passed the law to "interpret" the statute to say whatever the Court wants. Thirty-five Purdon's 7102 describes three types of disasters: "Disaster." A man-made disaster, natural disaster or war-caused disaster. "Man-made disaster." Any industrial, nuclear or transportation accident, explosion, conflagration, power failure, natural resource shortage or other condition, except enemy action, resulting from man-made causes, such as oil spills and other injurious environmental contamination, which threatens or causes substantial damage to property, human suffering, hardship or loss of life. "Natural disaster." Any hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, earthquake, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, drought, fire, explosion or other catastrophe which results in substantial damage to property, hardship, suffering or possible loss of life. The Legislature enumerated specific instances of man-made and natural disasters without including a virus. Yet the Court concluded the virus is a natural disaster by ruling that the virus fits the definition. Obviously, a virus is not a "hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, earthquake, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, drought, fire, or explosion." Does "virus" fit into "or other catastrophe which results in substantial damage to property, hardship, suffering or possible loss of life"? The virus does result in substantial damage to property, hardship, suffering, and loss of life, but the key phrase is "explosion or other catastrophe." There is no comma after the word "explosion." This is significant, because the Court ruled the phrase "or other catastrophe" is a separate class of a natural disaster that is not limited by the words used by the Legislature to enumerate the natural disasters. The Court treated "other catastrophe" as expansive and not limited by the enumerated disasters. The Court discussed but rejected the statutory interpretation maxim of ejusdem generis, which the Court defined as follows: Under the statutory construction doctrine of ejusdem generis ("of the same kind or class"), where general words follow the enumeration of particular classes of persons or things, the general words will be construed as applicable only to persons or things of the same general nature or class as those enumerated. This means that for virus to be included in the general word of catastrophe, virus must be of the same kind or class as the enumerated catastrophes such as "hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, earthquake, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, drought, fire, or explosion." A virus is not of this class. If the Legislature wanted to add virus to this definition, it could easily have done so. The majority stated: [T]he COVID-19 pandemic qualifies as a "natural disaster" under the Emergency Code for at least two reasons. First, the specific disasters in the definition of "natural disaster" themselves lack commonality, as while some are weather related (e.g., hurricane, tornado, storm), several others are not (tidal wave, earthquake, fire, explosion). This is weak reasoning. The enumerated disasters are physical and weather-related. The Legislature, when it drafted the law in 1978, and amended it in 2004 and 2014, knew about viruses that cause illness and death, such as the flu, SARS, Ebola, and others, but did not include viruses or other disease outbreaks. The real reason for the majority's decision is this: We further note that while ejusdem generis is a useful tool of statutory construction, such tools are used for the sole purpose of determining the intent of the General Assembly. Ejusdem generis must yield in any instance in which its effect would be to confine the operation of a statute within narrower limits that those intended by the General Assembly when it was enacted. The majority held the intent of the Legislature was to include all disasters that result in substantial damage to property, hardship, suffering, or possible loss of life. If so, there was no need to enumerate natural disasters and man-made disasters. All that was needed was to include "all disasters that result in substantial damage to property, hardship, suffering or possible loss of life." Under the majority's reasoning, catastrophe could include drug addiction, cancer, heart disease, and numerous other illnesses or problems that cause substantial damage to property, hardship, suffering, or possible loss of life. This gives enormous power to the governor. It is dangerous for a court to presume the "intent" of a Legislature. The Legislature is not one person. In Pennsylvania, it consists of 203 House members and 50 senators. Each voted for or against the law for various reasons. It is arrogant for a court to say it knows the "intent" of the Legislature, unless there is a clear statement in the statute specifying the intent. If the U.S. Supreme Court hears this appeal, the Court will likely deal only with the constitutional issues, not with the Pennsylvania Court's interpretation of a Pennsylvania statute. The U.S. Supreme Court usually defers to a state supreme court's interpretation, however misguided and wrong, of a state law. But in this case, the Court's interpretation of a "natural disaster" produces a violation of the Bill of Rights because it gives the governor unlimited discretion to determine what is a natural disaster, which results in broad quarantine orders that trample the Bill of Rights and the rights of citizens to work. This is probably the same in other states. We have governors acting as the Executive and Legislature to make and enforce laws defining what is an essential business, which restricts the rights of people to work and exercise their constitutional rights. We have moved from the government existing to protect our rights to the governors telling us what our rights are. While there is a need for a governor to act in a true natural disaster, a governor should not have dictatorial powers for 90 days or more. The state Legislatures must enact laws to clearly define the powers of governors and mayors, specify what constitutes a disaster, and have a time limit of not more than 10 days. The Legislatures of each state should be in session within 10 days of a governor's emergency declaration to debate and pass laws on how to deal with a disaster. It has been just three days since liquor shops across most parts of the country opened for the first time in nearly one and a half months. And the massive queues in front of every liquor shops are anything to go by, alcohol is the one thing that Indians missed the most during the lockdown. BCCL The reopening of liquor shops is also bringing windfall gains to various state coffers which have been quite literally dry during the lockdown as tax revenues had dried up. One of the states that are making the most out of the liquor mania is Karnataka. On Monday, the southern state sold alcohol worth Rs 45 crores, while on Tuesday it set a record sale worth Rs 197 crore. The previous record was Rs 170 crore on December 28, 2019. BCCL It is not just Karnataka, that has seen crores pouring into its coffers from the liquor sale. In Uttar Pradesh around Rs 100 crore worth liquor was sold in a day, while in West Bengal it was Rs 40 crore on Monday. In Delhi despite the ''special corona fee'' of 70 per cent levied on the sale of alcohol, hundreds of tipplers queued up outside liquor shops. BCCL In Maharashtra, liquor worth Rs 62 crore was sold on the second day since the outlets were reopened. However, BMC commissioner Praveen Pardeshi issued an order withdrawing the relaxations for non-essential and liquor shops in Mumbai. Liquor stores in Haryana reopened on Wednesday after the state government permitted the same along with the imposition of a 'COVID Cess' on alcohol. States like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Punjab too have announced a hike in liquor prices. BCCL Notably missing from the list is Kerala - the land of the highest per capita liquor consumers in India. Surprisingly Kerala is among one of the few states that have said no to reopening liquor shops after lockdown restrictions were eased. Despite the sale of liquor being the biggest revenue generator for the Kerala government, it decided to defer it till May 17 stating that it will be impossible to maintain social distancing, and could lead to a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases. BCCL Kerala's fear is not unfounded as there has been any number of incidents from across the country where people refused to follow social distancing while buying liquor. There were also incidents where the cops had to intervene to control the crowds. (Natural News) Concern is growing in New Jersey as the states nursing homes are seeing disproportionate numbers of coronavirus-related fatalities. So far, at least 17 percent of people in nursing homes and other types of long-term care facilities who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the state have died. This is four times the percentage of total fatalities that has been seen statewide in the population overall. Making matters worse is the belief among health officials that the true numbers are quite possibly significantly higher. The numbers are self-reported by facilities, and there are some doubts about just how accurate they are. The states health commissioner has said that they will compare this against death certificates to ensure proper counting. Families of those in nursing homes have been expressing outrage over their inability to get in touch with their loved ones or get any kind of information about what is going on behind closed doors, including the level of contamination or news on any outbreaks in a given facility. Governor Phil Murphy stated: Theres no question theres an unevenness, and that would be charitable, of communication to loved ones to next-of-kins about the state of play. He added that theyve been hearing lots of complaints that no one is answering the phones at these homes. State surveyors have been tasked with investigating nursing homes and ensuring theyre equipped to handle the outbreak. Theyll be looking at issues like personal protective equipment and infection control. Meanwhile, the Department of Health has said that it has repeatedly reminded care homes that they are obligated to keep families, staff and residents updated on case and fatality numbers, but theyve received reports that many arent doing so. Heres a look at the state of some New Jersey care homes: New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home in Paramus: This facility tops the state in terms of coronavirus case and death numbers. Here, more than 80 percent of residents have tested positive for COVID-19. More than 50 have died and at least 241 have been diagnosed, despite claims by the facility that there were less than 190 cases. Ocean Crest Pointe Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center: Nine cases were initially reported, but the facility doubled its numbers just hours later during reporting on April 22. There are now said to be 55 cases and one death there. Cranes Mill Retirement Home in West Caldwell has seen 18 coronavirus deaths. Administrators there say theyve been taking steps to protect their 365 residents as well as staff members from the virus. New Vista Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Newark came under fire from a California doctor after her epileptic and autistic uncle, a resident of the facility, died of coronavirus. In the days leading up to his April 13 hospital admission, family members had tried to call the facility several times; none of their calls were returned. Journalists following the story also had trouble getting in touch, and when they did, the person answering the phone had no comment. Moreover, the New Jersey Department of Health was unable to complete a report for the facility in its first round of coronavirus counts because their calls also went unanswered. Recent statistics show 41 confirmed cases and 21 deaths there. Last week, the state reported 16,277 cases of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities, a rise over the 14,579 reported the previous week. Deaths climbed in just three days from 2,696 to 2,973. All told, around three of every ten COVID-19 deaths in New Jersey are occurring in long-term care facilities and thats only if you take into account cases that have been confirmed by lab testing. The true number of coronavirus deaths in care homes and elsewhere is likely far higher than anything were hearing. Sources for this article include: Patch.com NJ.com A new Iraqi government has been finally formed after months of deadlock and a political crisis that hit the countrys stability and economy. The majority of ministers proposed by Prime Minister-designate Mustafa al-Kadhimi were approved by parliament, thus allowing the formation of a new government only days before his 30-day deadline to form a government. Out of a total 329 members of the parliament, 266 attended the session late May 6, which was followed by a long discussion and negotiation between the prime minister and the head of parliamentary blocs. Kadhimi was serving as director of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service when he was designated by Iraqi President Barham Salih on April 9 to be prime minister. The previous two nominees, Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi and Adnan al-Zurfi, were unable to form a government. The parliament voted on the prime ministers program and approved about two-thirds of the Cabinet including those up for the key ministries of interior, defense, finance and electricity. Kadhimi will present new names to parliament at a later date in subsitution for Cabinet nominees who were rejected. Why it matters: In his speech to the parliament, Kadhimi emphasized the sensitivity of the moment, as the country is facing great economic, security and health challenges. He also emphasized the unity of the country, expressing his readiness to work with all parties to overcome the crisis, calling his government a solution government, not crisis government. Kadhimi promised to organize early elections and form a transitional government that takes the country out of the crisis and toward stability. In his program, he prioritized the countrys sovereignty and bringing all armed groups and militias under control of the prime minster as the commander in chief of the armed forces, and preventing Iraq from being a battleground between regional and international forces. He also focused on protesters' demands, promising to fulfill them and protect freedom of expression and the right to protest. Solving the disputes between the central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government was also among the issues he mentioned in his program and speech. Whats next: The parliament approved 15 members of the Cabinet, including Juma Enad for the Defense Ministry, Othman Ghanimi for the Interior Ministry, Ali Abdul Amir Alawi for the Finance Ministry and Nabil Kadhim for the Higher Education Ministry. Nominees for the ministers of trade, justice, culture, migration and agriculture were rejected and the parliament postponed voting on the candidates for the Foreign Ministry and Oil Ministry. Most of the new ministers are technocrats who have long worked in their areas of expertise. The new government has received substantial internal and external support, including from both Iran and the United States. This could facilitate the government important tasks in overcoming the great challenges and threats that the country is facing. Know more: For more information about the new Iraqi prime minister, see this piece by Al-Monitor staff after Kadhimi was initially chosen. Also check out Ali Mamouri's piece on the preparation for forming the new government. Rouhani Threatens JCPOA Partners With 'Historic Defeat' If Arms Embargo Extended Radio Farda May 06, 2020 President Hassan Rouhani responding to the United States has said extending the UN Security Council's arms embargo against Iran will have "serious consequences." He was referring to the United States move to make sure that the UN Security Council will extend an arms embargo on Iran which will end by October based on the 2015 nuclear deal also called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Speaking in Tehran on Wednesday May 6, on the anniversary of the United States' pull-out from the nuclear deal, Rouhani said that "if the arms embargo is extended in any form and through any mechanism, our response will be what I have stated in the last paragraph of my letter to the heads of JCPOA member states." He had warned in the letter that "if so and so is done, we will do such and such. They know that if they make a mistake, it will mark a historic defeat for them." Rouhani's words were cryptic but his body language on the Iranian state TV was elaborately threatening." Referring to the United States pull-out from the JCPOA in May 2018, Rouhani said that the United State may return to the nuclear deal only if it so requests and accepts the "special conditions" set by Tehran. However, he warned that "Iran would never accept the extension of the arms embargo against Tehran." He said the U.S. pull-out from the JCPOA was "a very foolish act" and said that Washington probably did it to provoke Iran to resort to reciprocation. Rouhani said, "For the United States, there is no return to the JCPOA. It is finished for them," adding "unless they come forward, ask for coming back and all the parties involved accept their request and America lifts all the sanctions on Iran under special conditions." However, he did not elaborate on those conditions. He warned the JCPOA partners that Iran would never accept any violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231." This comes while the U.S. has prepared a draft resolution that extends the arms embargo on Iran beyond October 2020. Iran's threatening tone while addressing JCPOA's European partners has been continuing in recent months. Earlier this week, Rouhani's spokesman Ali Rabiei threatened that Tehran will show a "hard reaction" to the extension of the arms embargo. The spokesman threatened the signatories of the 2015 nuclear agreement that extending the arms embargo will entail "serious consequences not only for the nuclear agreement, but also for the security and stability of the region." Meanwhile Iranian hardline media including the Kayhan and Vatan Emrouz newspapers have been demanding security restrictions on European diplomats in Tehran and Vatan Emrouz accused the German ambassador and a few other European diplomats in Tehran of spying for Israel. The charge came after Germany banned all the activities of Iran-backed Hezbollah group on its territory. Other Iranian officials including Foreign Minister Javad Zarif made sarcastic statements about the U.S. position. Zarif charged: "The United States has long been the world's top military spender, arms seller, war initiator and instigator and conflict profiteer, yet Secretary Pompeo is apparently so worried about Iran a huge US arms customer till 1979 that he is pouring weapons all over the globe." Iranian security chief Ali Shmakhani also warned JCPOA partners that the nuclear deal will be "dead forever" if the arms embargo is extended. A large majority of U.S. legislators on both sides of the aisle called on President Donald Trump's administration on Monday, May 4, to push for an extension of the UN arms embargo on Iran. In another development, the State Department's senior diplomat on Iran, Brian Hook, said earlier this week that the U.S. is working on making sure that the new resolution would not be vetoed by China or Russia. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week that Washington will use its rights at the UN Security Council to prevent the ending of the arms embargo against Tehran. Iran has been barred from buying and selling weapons since 2007 due to international concerns about its destabilizing military acts in the Middle East and its links with militant groups such as the Lebanese Hezbollah and HAMAS in the Palestinian territories. Based on the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran, Iran will be entitled to buy or sell weapons after October 2020. However, reporters in Washington say that the Trump administration has been lobbying at the UN Security Council to pass a new resolution that would bar other countries from selling weapons to Iran after October. Rouhani claimed on Wednesday that the weapons Iran sells will be "like pouring water on fire," while Western weapons sold in the Middle East pour fuel on fire. Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/rouhani-threatens -jcpoa-partners-with-historic-defeat-if-arms- embargo-extended/30596107.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address How much do Facebook, Google earn from India? Here's what BJP lawmaker says Facebook-funded Unacademy data hacked, claims cybersecurity firm India pti-PTI New Delhi, May 7: Facebook-funded education technology firm Unacademy's data comprising over 20 million accounts has been hacked by cybercriminals and put up for sale in the dark web, according to cybersecurity firm Cyble. The hackers have claimed that they have access to the complete database of Unacademy and decided to leak only users' accounts at this point of time, Cyble said. The cyber intelligence firm added that further leaks are expected in the near future. "On May 3, 2020, Cyble Inc discovered that a threat actor had begun to sell an Unacademy user database containing 20 million accounts for USD 2,000. Unacademy is India's largest online learning platform. This data breach apparently took place in January 2020," Cyble claimed. When contacted, Unacademy co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Hemesh Singh said the company has been closely monitoring the situation and claimed that no sensitive information such as financial data or location has been breached. "As per our internal investigations, e-mail data of around 11 million users has been compromised as against 22 million stated in reports. This is on account of only around 11 million e-mail data of users available on the Unacademy platform," Singh said. He said the company is following stringent encryption methods and making it highly implausible for anyone to decrypt passwords. "We also follow an OTP-based login system that provides an additional layer of security to our users. We are doing a complete background check and will be addressing any potential security loophole to further bolster our efforts of ensuring a far more robust security mechanism. We are in communication with our users to keep them updated on the progress," Singh said. Facebook, General Atlantic, Sequoia India, Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy, and Nexus Venture Partners have invested in the company. According to Cyble, this breach can have an impact on security of other companies as well. "Cybercriminals are always on the lookout for such breaches and utilise them for credential stuffing attacks. We have seen accounts/records with domain names from Infosys, TCS, Cognizant, Reliance Industries, HDFC, Accenture, ICICI, SBI, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank and several other large organisations," Cyble said. Applications are now open until 2:00pm on June 03 for the grants, which were unveiled by Littleproud with Minister for Communities Coralee ORourke. Small grants of between $2,500 and $50,000, as well as larger grants of between $50,001 and $100,000 are available. It is vitally important recovery efforts from the bushfires are locally-led and supported by the Commonwealth and Queensland governments and we are pleased to be able provide funding to help, said the Emergency Management Minister. Well continue to work closely with all bushfire-impacted communities to ensure they have the resources and support they need to make a complete recovery. Meanwhile, Mareeba Shire farmers can now access grants of up to $75,000 to assist with their bushfire recovery. Queensland Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner noted: The activation of these DRFA (Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements) Category C grants ensures the Mareeba community has the support it needs. Department of Agriculture and Fisheries staff worked closely with Mareeba primary producers to ensure they were able to access this special disaster assistance. The Queensland and Commonwealth governments are committed to working with farmers and supporting them until they are able to get back on their feet. "We have demonstrated PUL-042's unique ability to stimulate the immune system in the lungs to protect against a wide range of pathogens in multiple animal models," said Colin Broom, MD, Chief Executive Officer of Pulmotect. "Pulmotect is optimistic that its immune-stimulating technology could be useful in mitigating the threats of SARS-CoV-2 and future emerging pathogens and protecting vulnerable populations. We were encouraged by PUL-042's ability to provide protection in animal models of two different coronaviruses causing SARS and MERS which provides a strong rationale to evaluate PUL-042 as a potential therapy for COVID-19." "PARI's LC Sprint Nebulizer equipped with a PARI Filter Valve Set to reduce potential aerosol emission and Vios PRO compressor will deliver PUL-042 to study participants. We are pleased that PARI products were chosen as the exclusive nebulizer system in these important studies for treatment of COVID-19," said Lisa Cambridge, MSHS, RRT, Director of Medical Science at PRE Holding, Inc. "PARI's highest priority during this unprecedented time is to ensure our products are in supply for existing patients and new clinical trials for respiratory indications, including COVID-19." About PARI Respiratory Equipment, Inc. PARI is a leading worldwide developer and manufacturer of fast and efficient aerosol delivery systems for patients with asthma, COPD, cystic fibrosis, and NTM. PARI's mission is to improve the lives of those affected by respiratory diseases and those who provide care for them. This is reflected in our comprehensive portfolio of innovative products and services. PARI's North American headquarters is in Midlothian, VA with worldwide headquarters in Starnberg, Germany. Online at www.pari.com About Pulmotect, Inc. Pulmotect is developing PUL-042, a clinical stage, first-in-class, inhaled, immunomodulatory agent. A synergistic agonist that amplifies the innate immune defenses of the lung epithelial mucosa to provide broad-spectrum, pathogen-agnostic protection against respiratory infections. Invented at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center/Texas A&M University, PUL-042 has patents issued in 10 countries, both as a stand-alone composition of matter product and in combination with antivirals. PUL-042 R&D has been supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIAID, NIGMS), the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), and other funding agencies. For more information, visit www.pulmotect.com. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04313023?term=pulmotect&draw=2&rank=1 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04312997?term=pulmotect&draw=2&rank=2 SOURCE PARI Respiratory Equipment, Inc. Related Links https://www.pari.com To the Editor: President Donald Trump has declared today, May 7, as the National Day of Prayer. This spring observance was established by President Harry Truman in 1952, as a time when Americans are asked to turn to God in prayer and meditation. Since our founding as a republic, our forefathers understood that this country of ours had a divine purpose for our existence. More than ever, this current COVID-19 crisis provides an opportunity for us as Americans, and the global community, to look at what really is of value. I believe that God often uses a crisis whether broken relationships, illnesses, untimely deaths, job losses and our finances to get our attention. As a nation, we are torn apart by man-made labels such as the Haves and the Have-nots; Red states vs. Blue states; The Rights of the Women vs. The Rights of the Unborn; Progressives vs. Liberals vs. Conservatives. We have forgotten, at the core, we are human beings with unalienable rights, created by God who gave us value, dignity and freedom of choice. How do we need to respond to this current crisis? We need to be humble. The world does not evolve around me. We do not know it all. We need to admit our errors and make amends to those we have wronged. We were made for relationships. We need one another. We need to cultivate gratitude. We need to use this time to express our appreciation to those significant others in our lives before its too late. Finally, we need to ask ourselves, what if this God thing is for real? In the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, when our lives become unmanageable, we are encouraged to look toward a Power greater than ourselves to restore our sanity in the midst of these times of uncertainty. This takes both humility and our gratitude. We need to come together as a nation. We have seen enough bickering and blaming in those who are called our leaders. Regardless of party affiliation, we need to pray for our leaders, in Washington, D.C., in Albany and here in Syracuse. Besides government, we can use this time to prayer for our families, our educational system, our businesses and for those who serve sacrificially on our behalf: our military, our healthcare workers, as well as those unseen heroes in our grocery stores, our farms, our processing/manufacturing plants, and those who volunteer their time to serve the underserved. As Americans, we have been known for our fierce independence, our resilience, our generosity, but perhaps, we do need to humbly admit, maybe we do need help to make sense of our upcoming new normal. During this time of worldwide pandemic, on this National Day of Prayer, our country needs healing: physically, emotionally, relationally, and most of all spiritually. It begins with humility. We would be wise to echo the words spoken by King Jehoshaphat of Israel when he confessed aloud, We dont know what to do, but our eyes are upon You. Mark H. Okazaki Solvay How to submit letters and commentary to Syracuse.com The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, has warned security officials that journalists are exempted fr... The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, has warned security officials that journalists are exempted from the nationwide curfew imposed by President Muhammadu Buhari. There have been reported cases of journalists clashing with policemen and other law enforcement agents over whether they are allowed to move around from 8pm. But Mustapha, who is also the chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, made it clear that the media is part of essential services. At PTFs daily briefing on Wednesday, he highlighted the role of journalists, making it clear that Buhari categorised journalists among those who could move freely. Journalists are part of the essential service. Because, whatever we do here, if you dont report it, then the news item will not get out to the population. We will look at the issue that happened in Lagos; the Minister of Information will take that up, he said. On medical professionals facing similar challenges, Mustapha said: We will look at that. If it is the release of the protocol that did not consider that I believe that the national coordinator, who has the primary responsibility of dealing with that, would take a look at it and see how best to handle it. The curfew Buhari imposed from Monday, May 4 is from 8pm to 6am. Bank customers have asked to defer repayments on loans worth almost $160 billion in a new sign of the pressure on households from economic restrictions to be eased in a new framework to be decided on Friday. The federal figures highlight the cost of the sweeping curbs on business during the coronavirus crisis, as national cabinet sets a timetable to allow more social and economic activity in three stages by July. Scott Morrison and his charts showing the economic impact of the coronavirus. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Prime Minister Scott Morrison will cite the economic cost to urge state and territory leaders to agree to the framework for relaxing the restrictions, leaving it to each jurisdiction to decide when each stage begins. But the Australian economy will have to operate behind closed borders for the foreseeable future, with no plans to allow international travel beyond New Zealand while COVID-19 continues to spread overseas. The number of patients with active coronavirus infections in Hungary has been declining for the second consecutive day, Cecilia Muller, the chief medical officer, said. Speaking at the regular press conference of the operative board coordinating the epidemic response, Muller noted that altogether 3,111 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 since the emergence of the virus. The current number of registered patients is 1,979, she said. So far, 373 people have died and 759 have recovered. Muller noted that outpatient clinics are only receiving patients on appointment. GPs will consult patients over the phone, Muller said. Personal inspections will take place only when its unavoidable, and after a coronavirus status assessment. Should the suspicion of an infection arise, the patient will be isolated from other patients, she said. Scheduled procedures in hospitals will only be performed if the patient has a negative test, she added. Regarding testing in retirement homes, Muller said the authorities have registered coronavirus cases in 31 care homes so far. The Pesti Road home has registered 296 patients, of which 40 are deceased and 41 have recovered, she said. Another 40 infections have been registered in a retirement home in south Buda, she said. Robert Kiss, a member of the operative board, said that maintaining restrictions of movement and opening times in Budapest and Pest County is still justified. Nine of the ten deceased on Tuesday died in this region, he said. Further steps regarding the epidemic are expected to be announced at the governments regular press briefing on Thursday, he said. Currently, the authorities are monitoring 10,628 home quarantines, and have taken steps against 1,522 cases of violations of quarantine rules since the measure was introduced on March 12, Kiss said. The authorities are currently investigating 325 cases of epidemic-related crimes, including the spreading of fake news, endangering the public, fraud and violating epidemic regulations, Kiss said. MTI Photo: Karoly Arvai NEW YORK, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Increasing demand for AI-based homeland security solutions is expected to drive the growth of the market during the COVID-19 crisis Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05891556/?utm_source=PRN Post COVID-19, the size of the global homeland security management market under realistic scenario is projected to grow from USD 1,035 billion in 2020 to USD 1,081 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 0.9% during the forecast period. The COVID-19 crisis has created a demand for facial recognition solutions that do not require human interference and can replace fingerprint scanners.AI platforms that analyze personal, clinical, travel, and social data, including family history and lifestyle habits from social media sources, will enable more accurate and precise predictions of individual risk profiles and healthcare results. AI has already found its way into homeland security applications. AI-driven perception, processing, and analysis are essential for collecting, sorting, and interpreting data for better-informed human decision-making. The increase in demand for AI-based homeland security solutions and the upgrading of existing IT systems are anticipated to boost the growth of the market during the forecast period. However, tight security budgets across the globe are limiting the overall growth of the market. Based on end-use, the cybersecurity segment is anticipated to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period within the homeland security management market Based on end-use, the cybersecurity segment is anticipated to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.Positive growth is expected in the cybersecurity sector due to a 7 to 8 percent increase in cyber threats in the last three months. An increase in the implementation of IT security systems is expected for the next 12 months. The spread of COVID-19 is posing serious challenges for airlines, airports, and their ecosystems. In the long term, however, the pandemic could help catalyze investments in new technologies and radically reshape the industry. Based on technology, the AI-based solutions segment is anticipated to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period in the homeland security management market Based on technology, the AI-based solutions segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.COVID-19 patients need frequent monitoring of their infected lungs using chest X-rays, but quantifying the extent of the infection is a time-consuming step for already overloaded radiologists. There is high demand for AI-based solutions that can detect findings like ground-glass opacities and consolidation abnormalities that are indicative of COVID-19.AI-powered solutions also help detect tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, lung malignancies, and medical emergencies like lung collapses and cardiac disorders. They can also localize lesions and quantify the volume of an infection. Asia Pacific is estimated to lead the homeland security management market in 2020 Higher adoption of unmanned systems such as drones and robots to disinfect affected areas, as well as the increasing usage of robots in the healthcare sector for logistics purposes in hospitals, is anticipated to boost the market for homeland security management solutions in Asia Pacific.Hospitals in China, are now shipping in robots that can disinfect patient rooms from the Danish company UVD Robots. UVD Robots work by emitting ultraviolet light throughout an area in order to kill viruses and bacteria, including the novel coronavirus. The break-up of profiles of primary participants in the homeland security management market: By Company Type: Tier 1 35%, Tier 2 45%, and Tier 3 20% By Designation: C-Level Executives 35%, Directors 25%, and Others 40% By Region: North America 45%, Europe 20%, Asia Pacific 30%, Rest of the World 5% Research Coverage The report covers the homeland security management market across a number of segments.It aims to estimate the market size and the growth potential of this market across different segments, including technology, end-use, and region. The study also includes an in-depth impact analysis of the key players business models in the market, along with their key strategies for COVID-19 Outbreak, key observations related to product and business offerings to fight against COVID-19, recent developments and company profiles, and key strategies.Reasons to buy this report the report covers three scenarios realistic, pessimistic and optimistic of COVID-19 impact on Homeland Security Management Market. Which would be helpful for market leaders to prepare of action to survive in all three scenarios.This report will help the market leaders/new entrants in this market with information on the closest approximations of the revenue numbers for the overall homeland security management market and its subsegments. The report covers the impact of COVID-19 on entire ecosystem of homeland security management. It will help stakeholders understand the competitive landscape and gain insights to better position their businesses and plan suitable go-to-market strategies. The report will also help stakeholders understand the pulse of the market and provide them with information on key market drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05891556/?utm_source=PRN About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker Related Links www.reportlinker.com This year marks the 159th birth anniversary of Tagore. Every year, his birth anniversary is observed as Rabindra Jayanti across the country. Rabindranath Tagore, the first Asian to win Nobel Prize, was born on 7 May 1861 in Kolkata. This year marks the 159th birth anniversary of Tagore. Every year, his birth anniversary is observed as Rabindra Jayanti across the country. The birth anniversary of the Nobel laureate is widely celebrated by the Bengali community on Pachishe (25th) Baishakh. Tagore used to pen poetry, songs, stories, and dramas. Tagore's writings also include portrayals of lives of common people, literary criticism, philosophy and social issues. Most of his writings were in Bengali, later translated to English to make them accessible to a broader audience in the West. Rabindranath Tagore is also known as Kabiguru, Gurudev and Biswakabi. Here are some interesting facts about Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 and is the only Indian to have received the honour in the category. He received the prestigious award for his collections of poems titled Gitanjali. According to a statement by Nobel committee, Tagore was recognised for the prestigious prize "because of his profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, by which, with consummate skill, he has made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of the literature of the West." To challenge the conventional methods of classroom education, Tagore founded Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan, West Bengal. Many classes in the university are still conducted under trees in open fields. Visva Bharati University was declared a central university in May 1951. A bronze statue of Rabindranath Tagore was unveiled in Gordon Square, London on his 150th birth anniversary in 2011. The statue was unveiled by Prince Charles who said the inscriptions will "shine out as a beacon of tolerance". Tagore shared a good bond with Albert Einstein. Both Nobel laureates met a number of times and had a common interest in music. After his maiden meeting with Einstein, Tagore wrote, There was nothing stiff about him - there was no intellectual aloofness. He seemed to be a man who valued human relationship and he showed me a real interest and understanding. Rabindranath Tagore was awarded a knighthood in 1915, but he renounced it on 31 May 1919 as a protest against the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre in Amritsar. In his letter to Lord Chelmsford, Tagore wrote, "The time has come when badges of honour make our shame glaring in the incongruous context of humiliation, and I for my part wish to stand, shorn of all special distinctions, by the side of those of my countrymen, who, for their so-called insignificance, are liable to suffer degradation not fit for human beings. The US government provided payments to farmers of $10 billion in 2018 and $14.5 billion in 2019 to compensate for market losses due to retaliatory tariffs imposed on US agricultural exports as part of a larger trade war. These Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payments were authorized through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act. Congress allocated another $14 billion in March to the CCC to offset market losses to farmers due to COVID-19. There has been substantial debate about the magnitude and distribution of farm payments provided through the CCC. In the new Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy (AEPP) article Are Farmers Made Whole by Trade Aid? AAEA members Joseph Janzen and Nathan Hendricks from Kansas State University provide new insights on the size and distribution of trade aid payments in 2018 and 2019. Their paper compares MFP payment rates to estimated market price declines that approximate farmer losses caused by the trade war. Janzen says, One unique aspect of this research is the comparisons we make across commodities. Most previous analyses have focused on soybeans because the impact of the trade war on agricultural exports have been largest for that crop. However, we show that the difference between MFP payment rates and estimated price declines due to the trade war are larger for other crops like cotton, sorghum, and wheat than for soybeans. This led to substantial variation in payment receipts across regions and individual farms. Another unique aspect of our work is that we provide maps of payments relative to rental rates and payments for average-sized farms. Previous analysis has only shown maps of total payments or payments per acre. By mapping the payment relative to the rental rate, we can adjust the payments for differences in land productivity across space. For example, we find that per-acre MFP payments in Iowa were about one-third of land rental rates in 2019, but in Alabama, MFP payments were more than double land rental rates. If you are interested in setting up an interview, please contact Allison Scheetz in the AAEA Business Office. ABOUT AAEA: Established in 1910, the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) is the leading professional association for agricultural and applied economists, with 2,500 members in more than 60 countries. Members of the AAEA work in academic or government institutions as well as in industry and not-for-profit organizations, and engage in a variety of research, teaching, and outreach activities in the areas of agriculture, the environment, food, health, and international development. The AAEA publishes two journals, the American Journal of Agricultural Economics and Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy, as well as the online magazine Choices and the online open access publication series Applied Economics Teaching Resources. To learn more, visit http://www.aaea.org. I can definitely identify with Gloria Jackson, and every word she uttered in the May 3 front-page article Voices of the pandemic: I apologize to God for feeling this way echoed my sentiments. I just turned 82, live alone and am terrified of this novel coronavirus. One difference may be I dont feel quite as isolated. I live in a development with a primarily older population, but there are many neighbors offering us older folks assistance getting our groceries or running other errands. I can get outside to walk and chat with neighbors while keeping the appropriate distance and putter around my yard, taking note of the chores I will have to hire someone to tackle. As the days warm up, I can sit outside and soak up some vitamin D, and, like Ms. Jackson, I can vent on Facebook about living in what seems these days to be a parallel universe. We can only rely on hope to get us through. PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-07 22:01:03 Automated Data Pipeline Provider Opens New Office in Sydney, Boosting Customer Support for APAC Region Fivetran Expands in Australia, Grows Global Footprint Mike Diamond, +1 408-594-9350, press@fivetran.com Fivetran, an automated data integration provider, today announced the opening of a new office in Sydney, Australia, continuing the companys global expansion and growing its footprint in the Asia-Pacific region. At the official launch event held earlier today via video conference, the company also announced the availability of its first data center in the region, located in Australia, which will address on-shore data residency requirements, as well as offer local performance benefits for Fivetran customers. T.J. Chandler, Fivetrans Managing Director for the region, hosted the online event and introduced the Sydney-based team. In March, Fivetran announced a new office in India and continues to report impressive growth. Over the past year, Fivetran has grown its customer base by 75 percent, recently surpassing the 1,000-customer milestone, boosted revenue by more than 150 percent and more than doubled its global team, which now stands at approximately 350 employees. Fivetran technology removes the final barrier to widespread adoption of data analytics programs: centralization of data into cloud warehouses and data lakes. Working with all major cloud providers, including Google, AWS, Microsoft Azure, Snowflake and Databricks, Fivetran makes the resource-intensive struggle to build and maintain data connectors to each individual data source a thing of the past. Fivetrans pre-built connectors automate the entire process within minutes, enabling teams to focus on business intelligence, process enhancement, machine learning and other business-critical activities. Centralizing data is a problem all companies face and were proud to help customers across the globe implement solutions, said George Fraser, CEO and co-founder of Fivetran. Establishing an office in Sydney is an exciting step for us as we look to expand our footprint in the Asia-Pacific region and continue to scale our global business to meet rapidly growing demand. Fivetran is growing and investing in areas that are most important to our customers success, said Chandler. In this instance, that means timely, substantive, in-region support and a product that just works for customers in Australia, New Zealand and beyond. The Fivetran customer roster features Australian brands such as Afterpay, Boral, SWEAT and Oneflare, along with companies across the globe including ClassPass, Conagra Brands, Jumeirah International, Kiva, Lime, Monzo Bank, Optimizely, Talkdesk, Urban Outfitters and Square. In September 2019, Fivetran announced it received $44 million in Series B funding, bringing its total funding to approximately $60 million. Fivetran is backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Matrix Partners and CEAS Investments. About Fivetran Fivetran is the smartest, fastest and most reliable way to continuously load data into your cloud warehouse. Prebuilt, zero-maintenance Fivetran connectors deploy in minutes and completely replicate your applications, databases, events and files powering comprehensive business insights. Fivetran builds the best schemas and ERDs around, and we protect the continuity of your data projects with automatic schema migrations and micro-batch updates. Fivetran culture flows from a relentless determination to solve a critical data engineering problem and then perfect the solution. For job inquiries, please visit:https://fivetran.com/careers To schedule a demo, please visit: https://get.fivetran.com/demo View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005 The year of birth of Gautam Buddha, however, remains debatable. Buddha Purnima or Vesak Day marks the birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. It was on this day that Gautam Buddha was born in 623 BC. It is believed that this was also the day he attained enlightenment. It is believed that when Gautama was 29 years old, he ventured outside the comforts of his luxurious palace and witnessed the sufferings of the people for the first time. The event had a profound impact on him and he renounced his palace life in search of truth. Six years later, he became enlightened. The year of birth of Gautam Buddha, however, remains debatable. In 2013, archaeologists uncovered evidence of the oldest Buddhist shrine dating to around 550 BC. An international archaeology team dug beneath existing brick structures at the Lumbini pilgrimage centre and discovered older wooden structures. It is believed that Lumbini is the place where the Buddha's mother, Maya Devi, grasped a tree and gave birth to the historical figure. While people are advised to remain indoors during the COVID-19 lockdown, they can read and send the following quotes of Buddha to their near and dear ones on Buddha Purnima 2020. Fillig up: The scheme at Penrose Dock now has over 65pc occupancy Tight supply of industrial and logistics properties in Cork may lead to a reduction in yields from 6.25pc to 6pc this year, according to the latest forecasts from Cushman & Wakefield. Meanwhile, at the end of March, office rents and yields held last year's levels at 355 per square metre and 5.25pc respectively. However, managing director in Cork Peter O'Flynn says the forecasts may be revised in the current quarter. Furthermore, rival agency CBRE says Cork's prime high street rents and yields are tending weaker and estimated Zone A at 1,935 per sq m at the end of April and yields for these properties at 7pc. Mr O'Flynn says Cork's industrial market recorded a strong start to 2020 with 21,150 sq m of industrial space taken in 13 deals, "making it the strongest opening quarter on record". In contrast to historical trends, owner occupiers dominated the first quarter with 73pc of activity. Consequently, availability had fallen to 65,400 sq m at the end of March - its lowest level in over a decade - and the vacancy rate dropped to 5pc. "The longer term trend remains positive with upward momentum on rents and capital values in due course. Investor interest remains positive for good quality product, but opportunities remain few and far between due to lack of new product," Mr O'Flynn said. He puts rents at 90 per sq m, while CBRE says they are 91.50 for prime industrials. In the city centre, 38 500 sq m of offices were under construction across the Penrose Dock, Horgan's Quay and Counting House developments in March and are due for completion this year. While Covid-19 has dampened expectations somewhat for offices, his colleague Sean Haley said: "There has been little evidence of transactions that are in the pipeline being cancelled which is positive." One of the county's most active developers, JCD Group, has let 4,645 sq m of offices to Qualcomm and 835 sq m to Sophos at Penrose Dock bringing the scheme to over 65pc occupancy. Brian Edwards of CBRE reports three investment transactions with a total spend of 25.3m between them in the first quarter. They include Corum's purchase of an Aldi store in Carrigtwohill for 5.6m equating to a net initial yield of 7.34pc. The UK's first ever online festival to help the nation with numbers is being led by the charity National Numeracy, with videos, interviews, book readings for kids, practical sessions for adults, free resources and puzzles on www.numeracyday.com The National Numeracy Virtual Festival covers three areas people want support with during this challenging time: helping children; personal development; and getting to grips with household finance. It aims to help everyone feel a bit better about their number skills. The Festival will include Lauren Child reading from her Charlie and Lola and Ruby Redfort maths-focussed books, Carol Vorderman answering questions about unlocking maths confidence, Maths for Mums and Dads author Rob Eastaway sharing tips on how to teach maths at home, the Bank of England's Andy Haldane helping with household finance and more. Even Amazon's Alexa will be joining in by answering questions about numeracy. With home schooling, for instance, the most effective way to help children is for parents to improve their own confidence and skills with numeracy. Parents' attitudes and beliefs are the main influence on the success of primary school aged children. But with just a fifth of the working-age population having the equivalent numeracy level of a GSCE pass (Grade 4)[1] , it is no wonder people feel anxious. Struggling with numbers can make people more vulnerable to debt, unemployment, poor health and fraud and impacts mental health and opportunities - all exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis. So, with number confidence and skills more important than ever, the Day will encourage people to join the 285,000 others who have already started improving their numeracy with the free National Numeracy Challenge. Rachel Riley will be talking people through how to use the tool and opening the Festival. And National Numeracy Day's Heroes, five people who have improved their careers and home lives through overcoming anxiety about numeracy - from a nurse to a warehouse worker - will be talking about their stories. Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Gillian Keegan said: "Throughout my career I've seen first-hand how important it is that everyone is confident with numbers, to enable them to succeed in life. I'm delighted to support National Numeracy Day. Whether you are a parent, a young person or you just need a little extra help, this online festival is a great opportunity to build your maths skills." Mike Ellicock, Chief Executive of National Numeracy, said: "National Numeracy Day is about showing that being confident with numbers isn't a special talent, it's something we can all improve throughout our lives. The 'Couch to 5K' programme gets people running, and numeracy is the same; anyone can get better with a bit of practice. In these uncertain times, improving everyday maths at home is positive for both adults and children." Bobby Seagull, maths teacher, TV presenter and National Numeracy Ambassador, said: "The anxiety people feel about maths can sadly stay with them throughout their lives. But with a little help, everyone can start to see the benefit of a better relationship with numbers." For the full festival line-up visit: www.numeracyday.com Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSvSxmPiLjA Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1164776/National_Numeracy_Virtual_Festival_Line_up.jpg Related Links https://www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/ SOURCE National Numeracy At this time, the District does not see a pathway forward for hosting a prom that would comply with social distancing requirements this summer, Clark said. We will continue to monitor our regions status; however, we need to be honest and share that it does not look hopeful at this time that prom will occur this summer. While down, the drop in foreign reserves is not unexpected amid the fallout of the global coronavirus pandemic The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has reported a decline in its net international reserves (NIR) to $37.037 billion as of end of April 2020, down from $40.108 billion at the end of March. This is the lowest level reserves have reached since January 2018 when the CBE reported reserves at $38.21 billion. According to a CBE statement, global markets at large remain under pressure due to the persistence of the Covid-19 pandemic, which continues to drive portfolio flow reversals from emerging markets, albeit at a slower pace than in the previous month, where reverse flows peaked. The Egyptian market, according to the statement, was no different, and for this reason the CBE continues to cover the legacy CBE foreign exchange repatriation mechanism flows as they exit the market, as well as all of the CBE's external obligations, amounting to $1.6 billion, under which falls the maturity of the 2020 Eurobond, worth $1 billion, according to the statement. Reserves were also utilised in order to cover strategic goods necessary to ensure the wellbeing of the population, according to the statement. During May, the CBE and the government have also taken strong, affirmative action to preserve the achievements of the Egyptian economy by approaching the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to secure the funds Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) and a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) which will allow the government to address any immediate shortfalls in the balance of payments while supporting the most affected sectors and the most vulnerable segment of society, the CBE said. The engagement with the IMF, according to the statement, comes on the back of the successful implementation of the homegrown reform programme and the drive to ensure sustainable growth. The CBE stands ready to take all necessary measures to preserve the stability of the Egyptian economy under the current exceptional and globally unprecedented circumstances, the bank affirmed. Search Keywords: Short link: We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So before you buy or sell Sydney Airport Limited (ASX:SYD), 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, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market. We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise. Check out our latest analysis for Sydney Airport The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Sydney Airport In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Non-Executive Director Ann Sherry bought AU$99k worth of shares at a price of AU$6.19 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of AU$5.52. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is encouraging to see an insider paid above the current price for shares, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. Ann Sherry was the only individual insider to buy during the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction! ASX:SYD Recent Insider Trading May 7th 2020 Sydney Airport is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying. Story continues Insider Ownership For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Sydney Airport insiders own about AU$34m worth of shares. That equates to 0.3% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders. So What Do The Sydney Airport Insider Transactions Indicate? The recent insider purchase is heartening. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. Insiders likely see value in Sydney Airport shares, given these transactions (along with notable insider ownership of the company). In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Sydney Airport. When we did our research, we found 2 warning signs for Sydney Airport (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that we believe deserve your full attention. But note: Sydney Airport 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. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ivany Atina Arbi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 7, 2020 09:43 622 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd670197 1 National Johnny-G-Plate,Kominfo,Communications-and-Information-Ministry,Tokopedia,hacker,hacking,data-breach,pornography,piracy,Twitter,meme Free Indonesian netizens have turned to memes to criticize the Communications and Information Ministry's apparent blase attitude toward a major data breach affecting millions of users of homegrown e-commerce unicorn Tokopedia. According to a recent report by cybersecurity research collective Under the Breach, an as-yet-unidentified party managed to hack into the tech companys database in March, gaining access to the records of more than 15 million Tokopedia users in the process. Communications and Information Minister Johnny G. Plate summoned the company's representatives to his office to discuss the incident on Monday, but his statement after the meeting, which only repeated what Tokopedia representatives had already said, did little to reassure worried customers. Tokopedia has explained that user accounts and financial data are safe, Johnny said. Read also: Tokopedia data breach exposes vulnerability of personal data Netizens jumped on the statement and contrasted the ministers cavalier response to major data theft with how the ministry is quick to respond to supposed pornographic or pirated content online. Twitter user @martabakiju posted a meme showing cartoon character Squidward, representing the ministry, closing his eyes to data breaches while becoming wide awake when looking at pornography. A kominfo moment, @martakiju tweeted on Wednesday, referring to the ministry by its local abbreviation. The tweet has garnered more than 5,000 likes and 5,000 retweets as of Wednesday afternoon. Fellow Twitter user @_mardial_ posted a similar meme, this time with a character from popular Japanese anime Naruto, which has been retweeted more than 6,400 times and liked 9,600 times. Another user posted a meme depicting the ministry tackling pornography while ignoring hacking and privacy breaches. User @tembakauharam, meanwhile, suggested that the ministrys name be changed to the Morality Ministry of Indonesia. Kementrian moral indonesia Kim Jong Jun (@tembakauharam) May 4, 2020 Kominfo became a trending topic on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon, with many people complaining about the ministrys lack of sensitivity over which issues were important to handle immediately. Kominfo works really fast to block websites providing pirated movies or pornographic content. But when it comes to data theft, as just happened to Tokopedia, the ministry does nothing," user @afandi_shan tweeted. California projects it will face a $54.3 billion deficit as a result of the economic damage caused by the coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsoms administration announced Thursday. Why it matters: It's a sign of the massive economic devastation caused by the coronavirus and the stay-at-home orders that have followed, especially when compared to the $21 billion surplus that California ran a year ago, per CNBC. The budget deficit means California's required funding level for public schools and community college will drop by $18.3 billion. Meanwhile, the state has to pay an extra $7.1 billion due to the surge of residents who have enrolled in social safety net programs. The big picture: State and local tax revenues across the country have been severely depleted during the pandemic, while states have had to increase their spending because of unemployment and medical obligations. The crisis will be at the heart of the federal government's negotiations over the next coronavirus stimulus bill. Democrats are pushing for billions in relief for state and local governments, while some Republicans are resisting citing poor budget management by some states prior to the pandemic. Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) are proposing a $500 billion fund for state and local governments to be included in Congress' next coronavirus rescue package. By the numbers: The $54.3 billion deficit dwarfs California's $16 billion "rainy day fund," Newsom said. The state also predicted an 18% unemployment, up from 3.9% earlier this year. California also projects personal income will fall by close to 9%, while permits for new housing construction will drop more than 21%. What he's saying: Newsom said in a memo released Thursday that the massive deficit underscores the necessity of further federal stimulus to help states and local governments," per CNBC. These numbers are jaw-dropping, Newsom said. I just hope that people are preparing themselves ... for the effort that we all need to engage together to undertake to unwind that and get back on our feet. Go deeper: Cuomo tears into McConnell for suggesting states should declare bankruptcy 100 Years of Assyrian Genocides The exodus of the Assyrians from Urmia, Iran to the Caucasus in 1915. ( Basile Nikitine, handed over to Dominican missionaries, Paris) (AINA) -- An article titled The Year of the Sword - The Assyro-Chaldean Genocide under the Ottoman Empire (1915-1918) appeared in the history section of the March-April issue (no. 103) of the French magazine Diplomatie affaires stratAgiques et relations internationales. The article was authored by Joseph Yacoub, honorary professor in political science at the Catholic University of Lyon. Prof. Yacoub is an Assyrian (also known as Chaldean and Syriac). He was the first chairholder of UNESCO's 'Memory, cultures and interculturality', expert on minorities, human rights and Eastern Christians. His parents, originally from Iranian Azerbaijan (Salamas district), suffered during the Turkish genocide of Assyrians during World War I, taking refuge in the Caucasus (Georgia) before settling in Syria in 1921. Prof. Yacoub is author of several books, among them an English book titled Year of the Sword - The Assyrian Genocide, A History (AINA 2016-11-27). In his article Prof. Yacoub starts by reminding readers that in 1915 hundreds of thousands of Assyrians suffered in the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek genocide committed by Ottoman Turks during World War I, a genocide that met all the criteria of the UN Genocide Convention of 1948 (AINA 2012-03-91, 2007-01-15). A century later, the international community witnessed another genocide of Assyrians in Iraq and Syria committed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Prof. Yacoub highlights numerous acts and scenes of horror that mark the history of the Assyrians, who became victims of pan-Turkism and pan-Islamism in eastern Turkey and northern Iran between 1915-1918. They lost 75% of their population (750,000) to massacre, death marches, hunger and starvation. The aim of the Ottoman government was to eliminate them under the pretext of evacuation from the geographical areas deemed sensitive from a Turkish nationalism point view. Kurdish irregulars were mainly used to eradicate the Christian population. This genocide, recognized by international genocide scholars (AINA 2007-12-15) and many parliaments of many countries is in accordance with the definition of the term given by the UN Convention of December 9, 1948. The tragedy suffered by the Assyrians under the Ottoman Empire "continues now under other skies," writes Prof. Yacoub. For Assyrians, the 21st century started with persecution in Iraq (since 2004) and Syria (since 2011). Ironically, the 2015 Assyrian victims of ISIS in Khabour, northeast Syria, were descendants of refugees from Iraq who settled there in 1933, whose parents were themselves survivors of the 1915 genocide. Once again, they were driven out by Muslims, like their brothers in Mosul and from the Nineveh region. Far from being resettled in Iraq after the defeat of ISIS, their drama continues in northeast Syria, because they have been living in uncertainty since the proclamation of the Kurdish rule in 2012 and also by the Turkish military offensive since October, 2019. Weakened and existentially threatened, more than half of the Christian population in Syria took the path of exile, says Prof. Yacoub. Commenting on the events that lead to the 1915 genocide, Prof. Yacoub says, To understand 1915-1918, it is necessary go back to 1907, looking at the evolution of the Ottoman Empire and its decline process. From that year on, the Turks began to mingle with Iranian politics, with ambitions declared on the region of Azerbaijan, supported by the Kurds who acted like their agents and charged with plundering villages...Turkish-Kurdish invasions thus devastated in 1907-1908 of the Christian villages of the mountains of Iran as Mavana, inhabited by more than 1,000 Assyrians, which caused an exodus to the town of Urmia. William A. Shedd, American Presbyterian missionary in Ourmia, wrote in 1916: "The Turks occupied in 1906 a strip of territory along the Persian border stretching from Soujboulak to southwest to Khoi to the west. The Young Turks Revolution (1908-1909), which ended the despotic reign of Sultan Abdel-Hamid, was initially welcomed by the Christian communities. However, it quickly gave way to oppressive and genocidal nationalism. Prof. Yacoub points to an interesting fact, that prior to the entry into World War I, and on September 9, 1914, the Turkish government unilaterally abolished the so-called capitulary system, which were agreements granting European powers a set of favorable and exclusive rights in the Ottoman Empire while recognizing them as the protective powers of the Christian minorities. In the pre-war political atmosphere of islamization, this seemed like opening the way for non-Muslim communities. Before the war was officially declared, massacres took place in BachkalA (kaza of Albaq) in the districts of Gavar and Shemsdinan, located northwest of the Hakkari Mountains, towards the Turkish-Persian border, and other areas. As the war began, the Assyrians were extremely shocked to see Germany supporting Turkey and its call for jihad, while German missionaries were managing some schools and orphanages in the region for them. Prof. Yacoub continues with details related to the process of genocide with references to eyewitnesses, particularly missionaries, and documents. He elaborates on the impact of the Bolshevik Revolution 1917 on the events related to the Assyrians in the Caucasus and Urmia. Prof. Yacoub also discusses the ethnocide aspect in context of the genocide, which, through its dismal policy, sought to destroy the cultural heritage of a people: This physical genocide and this spoliation of lands and property was accompanied by serious damage to the cultural inheritance cultural. Historical monuments were destroyed while churches were desecrated churches and schools demolished. Libraries containing rare books and rich manuscripts have been squandered, like those of the Chaldean diocese of SAert... The Hakkari region counted over 200 churches, the oldest of which date back to 4th century. The Assyrians were thus dispossessed of a large part of their places of memory and their culture. In all, more than 400 churches and convents were ruined, including 156 Syriac Orthodox. Prof. Yacoub concludes with the recognition initiatives by Western parliaments while presenting a list of source documents related to the genocide of the Assyrians. Congress took up the resolution after Washington and Tehran appeared to be on the brink of war earlier this year. United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed legislation passed by both houses of Congress seeking to limit a presidents ability to wage war against Iran. This was a very insulting resolution, introduced by Democrats as part of a strategy to win an election on November 3 by dividing the Republican Party, Trump said in a statement released by the White House. The few Republicans who voted for it played right into their hands, he said. The US Senate, where Trumps fellow Republicans hold a 53- to 47-seat majority, is expected to hold a veto override vote as soon as Thursday. The resolution, which passed the House of Representatives in March and the Senate in February, was the latest effort by Congress to wrest back from the White House its constitutionally guaranteed authority to declare war. A handful of Republicans in both houses supported the measure when it passed, but not enough to muster the two-thirds majority necessary in both houses to override a veto. The US House of Representatives passed the resolution in an attempt to stop Trump from further military action against Iran, rebuking the president after he ordered a January 3 drone strike that killed top Iranian commander General Qassem Soleimani, bringing the two nations to the brink of war. The Democratic-controlled House voted 227-186, mostly along party lines, sending the war powers resolution to the Senate. The partisan vote reflected the deep divide in Congress over Trumps Iran policy and how much of a say lawmakers should have over the use of the military. Democrats accused Trump of acting recklessly and backed the resolution, while Trumps fellow Republicans, who rarely vote against the president, opposed it. Republicans said Democrats endangered the country by trying to pass a resolution they characterised as an empty political gesture, at the start of a US general election year. The War Powers Act, which was passed in 1973 as Congress reacted to secret bombings during the bitterly divisive Vietnam War, says the House and Senate can pass a resolution to force the withdrawal of troops engaged in a foreign conflict without Congresss consent. The move marks the seventh time Trump has used his veto pen, including on a previous war powers resolution related to the US militarys assistance to Saudi Arabia in Yemens civil war. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have discussed strategic partnership between their countries by telephone. "We are determined further to develop the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the U.S. Not for the sake of diplomatic formality, but in order to strengthen the true friendship between the people of Ukraine and America," Kuleba was quoted by his ministry's press service as saying. A particular focus was on developing the economic cooperation, all the more important during the pandemic period. Kuleba stressed that the pandemic, and its aftermath, was turning Ukraine into a guarantor of the global food security. Kuleba also reassured Pompeo of Ukraine's readiness to create favorable conditions for U.S. enterprises which are considering moving their production from other regions to streamline supply chains. "Kuleba suggested to his U.S. counterpart that the U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Partnership Commission discuss promising cooperation projects at its next meeting and that this be held as early as this year," the ministry said. The pair also discussed the results of the April 30 videoconference between the Normandy Four foreign ministers. The two sides noted the sizeable role of Germany and France in facilitating Russia's participation in the dialogue and fulfillment of its obligations. Pompeo in turn offered reassurances of Washington's support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The two sides discussed the reform process in Ukraine including projects and programs supported by the U.S. government. Kuleba informed Pompeo of the process of passing key reform legislation necessary for further successful cooperation with the International Monetary Fund. In particular, he reaffirmed an intention to pass a banking law. Kuleba thanked the U.S. for helping counter the spread of Covid-19 and tackling the socio-economic effects of the pandemic. He also expressed confidence that it is Ukrainian Ruslan and Mriya aircraft which are flying medical supplies into the U.S. these days, while particularly noting the U.S. global leadership in overcoming the pandemic. "I am confident Ukraine-U.S. strategic partnership will further thrive to the benefit of our nations. Grateful for the unwavering U.S. support of Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and reforms," Kuleba tweeted after the conversation. Lucknow, May 7 : After the Uttar Pradesh government revoked the ban on manufacture, storage and sale of 'paan masala, the BJPs Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj has questioned the decision. In a tweet, the member of Parliament said: "The lockdown has been imposed to save people's lives and for their good health. They why allow liquor, cigarettes, 'bidis', 'gutka', 'paan parag'?" Keeping in mind the public health considerations, the state government had on March 25 banned the production and sale of 'paan masala' in Uttar Pradesh. Food Safety and Drug Administration's Principal Secretary Anita Singh has already issued ordered to lift the ban subject to the guidelines of the Home Ministry on the third phase of the nationwide lockdown. However, the ban on 'paan masala' and 'gutka' containing tobacco and nicotine will continue. Al-Kadhimi is viewed as pragmatic as well as having good relations with main players across Iraqi political spectrum. Iraqs new Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi took office after the countrys parliament approved a new government on Wednesday following nearly six months of political wrangling. The parliament approved 15 ministers out of a prospective 22-seat cabinet in a vote of confidence. Five candidates were rejected while voting on two ministers was postponed, leaving seven ministries still empty, including the key oil and foreign affairs positions. Two previous nominees for the role of prime minister Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi and Adnan al-Zurfi failed to secure enough support among cabinet ministers. This led to President Barham Salih appointing al-Kadhimi as prime minister-designate last month as the third candidate to form a cabinet, amidst a backdrop of anti-government protests. The protests began in October 2019 after thousands of Iraqis took to the streets and called for the overhaul of what they said was the countrys political and corrupt ruling elite. Heavy-handed responses by the government security forces, which killed hundreds of protesters, forced then Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi to resign, although he remained in a caretaker role until Allawi was appointed in early February. Before the voting session on the new cabinet on Wednesday, al-Kadhimi said his government would be a solution-based, not a crisis government. He promised early elections and rejected the use of Iraq as a battleground by other countries. The prime minister also pledged to address the repercussions of the economic crisis by rationalising spending and negotiating to restore Iraqs share of oil exports. Early life Born Mustafa Abdellatif Mshatat in 1967 in the capital Baghdad, he left Iraq in 1985 to Iran, before moving to Germany and the United Kingdom, which he later became a citizen of. He holds a bachelors degree in law and is better known for his work as a journalist, where he chose the title of al-Kadhimi. He was known to oppose the rule of the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. After the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003, al-Kadhimi returned to Iraq and cofounded the Iraqi Media Network, running in parallel with his work as executive director of the Iraq Memory Foundation, an organisation founded for the purpose of documenting the crimes under Husseins Baath regime. Al-Kadhimi also served as editor-in-chief of Iraqs Newsweek magazine for three years from 2010. He is also an opinions writer as well as the editor of the Iraq section of the US-based Al-Monitor website. 191128084334582 In June 2016, al-Khadhimi took over the role of director of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service, in light of the intensification of the battles against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS). During his tenure, he forged links with dozens of countries and agencies operating within the US-led international coalition against ISIL. During a rare visit to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in 2017, accompanied by former Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, al-Kadhimi was seen in a long embrace with his friend Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). Al-Kadhimi is widely viewed by associates and politicians as having a pragmatic mentality in addition to cultivating relations with all the main players across the Iraqi political spectrum: a good relationship with the US, and another that has recently reached out to the Iranians. Iran and its allied Iraqi Fatah political bloc had previously vetoed al-Kadhimis appointment. Last month, Kataeb Hezbollah, an armed group close to Iran and linked to the Popular Mobilization Units, issued a statement accusing al-Kadhimi of having blood on his hands for the deaths of its leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, and accused him of collaborating with the US. However, with the oil price crash and the coronavirus pandemic, compromises were made between the Fatah bloc and al-Kadhimi who said he will uphold the muhasasa, or political apportionment system. Introduced in Iraq after the 2003 US-led invasion in an attempt to provide proportional government representation among Iraqs various ethno-sectarian groups, many Iraqis believe the system is deeply flawed and acts as a conduit for corruption and political patronage. According to Iraqi political analyst Hisham al-Hashimi, al-Kadhimi faces no easy task in getting the country back on its feet again. I dont doubt his ability on the technical issues such as forming equitable laws and a fair commission, al-Hashimi told Al Jazeera. He will succeed in preparing for early elections, but the timing is not on his side due to the dire economic conditions and the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. [May 07, 2020] COVID-19 Impact and Recovery Analysis- Global Gallium Arsenide Components Market 2020-2024 | Increased Demand For Data to Boost Market Growth | Technavio The global gallium arsenide (GaAs) components market size is expected to grow by USD 2.38 billion during 2020-2024. The report also provides the market impact and new opportunities created due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact can be expected to be significant in the first quarter but gradually lessen in subsequent quarters - with a limited impact on the full-year economic growth, according to the latest market research report by Technavio. Request a free sample report This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200506006129/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Gallium Arsenide Components Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire) The rising demand for data is a crucial factor driving the GaAs components market growth. The consumption of data among consumers, especially through mobile handsets is increasing in several countries. The increasing volume of data consumption results in faster battery drainage. Due to this issue, mobile handset manufacturers require efficient power amplifiers that contain GaAs content. Moreover, to accommodate the increased data consumption (both broadband and mobile data) and ensure proper quality of service, network operators are developing sophisticated wired and wireless networks, architecture, and devices. As GaAs is suitable for such architecture and networks, the demand for GaAs components for network infrastructure expansion will increase, thus leading to the growth of the market over the forecast period. 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=IRTNTR43058 As per Technavio, the rapid growth of 3G and 4G networks will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other significant trends and market drivers that will influence market growth over 2020-2024. Gallium Arsenide Components Market: Rapid Growth of 3G and 4G Networks The rapid growth of 3G and 4G networks, one of the key GaAs components market trends, will also drive market growth. Developed and emerging nations are increasingly focusing on the deployment of 3G and 4G networks to propel rapid technological advances. The higher adoption of 3G and 4G networks stimulates the demand for GaAs components as the use of GaAs content is crucial for communication devices to be compatible with such networks. For instance, TriQuint offers its proprietary indium gallium phosphide (InGaP)-GaAs high-voltage heterojunction bipolar transistor (HV-HBT) technology to improve the efficiency of 3G and 4G power amplifier applications. "Factors such as the rising adoption of smartphones and tablets, faster product replacement cycle and increased design complexity will have a significant impact on the growth of the gallium arsenide components market value during the forecast period," says a senior analyst at Technavio. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Gallium Arsenide Components Market: Segmentation Analysis This market research report segments the gallium arsenide components market by application (mobile devices segment and wireless communications segment) and geography (APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and MEA). The APAC region led the gallium arsenide components market in 2019, followed by North America, Europe, South America, and MEA respectively. During the forecast period, the APAC region is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to factors such as the increasing demand for power applications, and high-growth economies. Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report Some of the key topics covered in the report include: Market Drivers Market Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Competitive scenario About Technavio 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/20200506006129/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] WASHINGTON, D.C. - Champaign County GOP Rep. Jim Jordan, who argued that a panel the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives is creating to oversee the coronavirus crisis is actually a Democratic plot to discredit President Donald Trump, was appointed to the new panel on Thursday by House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of California. Jordan contends the fact that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked South Carolina Democratic Rep. James Clyburn to chair the panel shows it will be used to help Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden attack Trump, given Clyburns role in helping Biden clinch the Democratic partys presidential nomination by endorsing Biden before his states primary. The House of Representatives voted along party lines last month on a resolution to formally establish the select committee. It passed on a vote of 212-182, with Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) voting with Republicans in opposition. Pelosi, of Calfornia, has described the committee as a bipartisan oversight panel that will examine all aspects of the federal response to coronavirus to ensure that tax dollars are being spent wisely and efficiently. She says it will be modelled after the Truman Committee that saved lives and billions of tax dollars by preventing waste, fraud and abuse during World War II We must make sure that the historic investment of taxpayer dollars made in the CARES Act is being used wisely and efficiently to help those in need, not be exploited by profiteers and price-gougers, said a statement from Pelosi. In addition to Clyburn, she named Democrats Maxine Waters of California, New Yorkers Carolyn Maloney and Nydia Velazquez, Bill Foster of Illinois, Andy Kim of New Jersey and Jamie Raskin of Maryland to serve on the committee. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of California on Thursday named Jordan, House Republican Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Blaine Luetkemeyer of Missouri, Jackie Walorski of Indiana, and Mark Green of Tennessee to serve on the panel. While Democrats might use this to take another stab at impeachment 2.0, Republicans will remain committed to truth and transparency, McCarthy pledged. A statement from Jordan thanked McCarthy for giving him the opportunity to work with colleagues to help fight for the truth and push back against this blatant attempt to use the coronavirus pandemic for partisan ends. Jordan argued there are already numerous mechanisms in place to provide oversight of tax dollars spent in response to the crisis. We fear this Select Committee is nothing more than the Speakers politicization of a crisis in a last-ditch attempt to attack the President after her impeachment sham and other witch hunts failed, said Jordan. "The Oversight Committee and the other relevant committees are more than equipped to ensure accountability for taxpayers. Instead of relying on them, Speaker Pelosi put Joe Bidens key House advocate in charge of a powerful new panel that is more like an arm of the DNC than the U.S. Congress. More coverage: Gun sales soar in Ohio during coronavirus pandemic Is Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio the most conservative Congress member of all time? Ohio Congress members want people who lack internet access to be able to track their coronavirus stimulus checks Ohio hospitals want Medicare to forgive coronavirus loans Rep. Jim Jordan wants probe of FBIs Michael Flynn investigation Trump administration to probe whether imported transformer parts threaten Cleveland Cliffs subsidiary AK Steel Groups pushing to reopen after coronavirus give Gov. Mike DeWines efforts a C Sen. Sherrod Brown wants child care bailout in next coronavirus bill Sen. Rob Portman asks Treasury Department to make coronavirus loans available to small business owners with criminal records Ford Motor Company will require that workers wear face masks and have their temperatures taken when it reopens U.S. plants Coronavirus drains Ohio municipal treasuries; Mayors seek federal aid to avoid cuts Christina Hagan on track to challenge Rep. Tim Ryan: See who won Ohios congressional primaries Ohios plan to reopen after coronavirus is more cautious than many other states NASA Glenn is helping local company develop a fogging system to decontaminate rooms and ambulances for coronavirus House approves refill of coronavirus aid fund and backs panel to oversee coronavirus spending Rep. Jim Jordan, refusing to wear mask at contentious hearing, calls proposed coronavirus oversight subcommittee a Democratic plot to attack Trump THIS years Leaving Cert students are expected to be assessed through predictive grades, in a radical departures from the normal State exams. These grades would be based on their performance in school, under plans that are set to go before the Cabinet on Friday. It is understood one approach under active consideration would involve a mix of grades in a selection of house exams, along with their overall ranking against their peers in the same school. Intensive discussions on the alternative arrangements have continued today, with a major focus on developing a system of predictive grading which would win the trust of students. Achieving fairness is considered paramount, with inconsistencies between schools in terms of measuring student performance. Account will also have to be taken of the varying socioeconomic circumstances of different school communities and how that affects pupil attainment. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar acknowledged in the Dail that the uncertainty over the Leaving Cert was causing enormous stress and said he wanted to bring conclusion to the issue this week, which suggests an announcement will be made after the Cabinet meeting on Friday. He was responding to Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin who said the position regarding the Leaving Cert is unacceptable. Mr Martin asked why had members of Government talked about starting dates for examinations without any detail on how that can be accomplished? The expected plans will be a radical departure from the norm. It comes against the backdrop of the challenge of conducting exams for 61,000 students while social distancing protocols and other public health restrictions are in place. Even rescheduling from early June to July 29, as initially proposed in response to the Covid-19 threat, offers no guarantee that a written examination could go ahead safely. The ongoing uncertainty has driven up student stress levels and forced the move this week to open up discussions on other options, including predictive grading. Surveys by the Irish Second-Level Students Union (ISSU) show a big jump in support among sixth years for cancellation of the exams and the use of predictive grading. It was up to 79pc this week, compared with 58pc a month ago. The ISSU told Education Minister Joe McHugh this week that a predictive grading system must ensure fairness and equity. Childrens Ombudsman Dr Niall Muldoon joined the Leaving Cert debate yesterday to welcome the broadening of discussions to include options such as predictive grades, rather than an exclusive focus on exams on July 29. He met Mr McHugh on Wednesday evening to outline a range of concerns arising from the nationwide closure of schools on March 12 and the delayed start to the Leaving Cert, which had been relayed to him by students and parents. These include student mental health, students with special educational needs, the impact of the digital divide and a lack of consistency in what schools are offering since they closed. The extra two months that students would face before the rescheduled exams on July 29 has been a major source of worry. Dr Muldoon said parents told him of the pressure felt by students who, for two years, had been working towards a fixed end point in June and now that pressure was sustained for two more months. We have made progress, in no small part due to the Illinois National Guard. Gov. (J.B.) Pritzker, however, must continue to call on our neighbors in uniform; his plan to reopen the state relies on them to help combat the spread of COVID-19 in hard hit areas such as prisons, nursing homes and other congregate housing facilities, the delegation letter to Esper said. Chuck Schumer said Thursday that Democrats are looking to pass a relief package as massive and far-reaching as those implemented during the Great Depression under then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt. 'We need Franklin Rooseveltian-type action,' the Senate Minority Leader told MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle during a three-hour coronavirus special Thursday. 'And we hope to take that in the House and Senate in a very big and bold way.' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said during her weekly press briefing Thursday morning that the next COVID-19 relief package will include an expansion of SNAP, the federal food stamp program. Schumer, during his interview, compared Republicans, including Donald Trump, to former President Herbert Hoover, who was at the helm at the start of the Great Depression. 'The people like McConnell and McCarthy and even Trump who say let's wait and do nothing, well, they remind me of the old Herbert Hoovers,' Schumer said, referencing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Senate Minority Leader chuck Schumer said Thursday that Democrats are preparing to propose the next coronavirus package claiming it will be 'Rooseveltian-type action' Franklin D. Roosevelt (pictured) was elected president a few years into the Great Depression in the 1930s and created the New Deal, which was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms and regulations enacted between 1933 and 1939 Schumer then compared Republicans' actions, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (left) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (right), claiming they were dismissing the crisis like then-President Herbert Hoover did during the Depression Hoovery famously predicted the Great Depression would end the economy would rapidly recover from the Great Depression by 1930, but instead it lasted until 1939 and he was voted out in the 1932 election by an embarrassingly large margin to FDR House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also said Thursday that the next relief package will include an expansion of the federal food stamp program SNAP His comments came after McConnell released a statement earlier this week asserting Congress 'take a pause' before passing more pandemic relief. 'We had the Great Depression. Hoover said, 'just let's wait it out.' It got worse and worse,' Schumer said, likening the federal and Republican response to the coronavirus to Hoover's response to depression in the 1930s. Hoover wrongly predicted the economy would rapidly recover by 1930, but instead the Great Depression lasted until 1939. Hoover was widely shamed for not doing enough to combat the economic crisis in America, and was voted out in the 1932 election to Roosevelt with an extremely large margin of 472 Electoral College votes for FDR and 59 for Hoover. Trump will also be facing reelection in November in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, or at least the direct aftermath if the virus were to wane out in the next few months. Contrasting Hoover's response was Roosevelt. The latter implemented The New Deal, which was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms and regulations enacted between 1933 and 1939. There have been a handful of coronavirus relief packages already passed through Congress and signed by Trump, including the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, which he signed at the end of March. Democrats are looking to pass a part two of the CARES package, which would be the fifth piece of legislation passed as part of coronavirus relief and there are signs it could surpass $3 trillion. The bill would include, according to Democrats' rough proposals, more direct checks for Americans, enhanced capabilities for unemployment offices and more relief for those filing for unemployment, rent and mortgage suspensions and expansions of the food stamps program. Food banks are overwhelmed as hundreds of cars line up across the country for free food Trump says he wants the next coronavirus package to include a payroll tax cut but both Democrats and many Republicans are against the idea 'We need big, bold action,' Schumer told MSNBC, adding that he is 'working very closely' with Pelosi 'on putting together a very strong plan, which you will hear shortly.' Pelosi told reporters Thursday that one of her 'motivations for being in politics' is to make sure children are fed. 'One in five mothers report that their children are not getting enough food,' the California Democrat said. 'Three times the rate during the Great Depression.' 'So in addition to putting money in people's pockets direct payments, unemployment insurance, some other tax credits, etc. we really also have to put food on the table,' she continued. 'We had SNAP in the first bill in the last three bills wouldn't accept SNAP,' she said, insinuating blame on Republicans. 'We have to have SNAP. When I was hungry you fed me. I mean, what is it that why is that a mystery? The American people know it. The food banks are overwhelmed and we have to have a significant increase in SNAP.' Several food banks have been run dry of their supplies, with hundreds of cars lining up to receive free giveaways as more than 33 million people have applied for unemployment in the last six weekly filing periods. Trump has demanded the next relief bill include a payroll tax cut, which Democrats and many Republicans oppose, claiming it's more important to help those out of work rather than providing tax cuts to those who still have their jobs. A tragic chemical gas leak incident left at least 11 dead and more than 5,000 sick in Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh. The incident happened at around 3 am at LG Polymers Ltd at Gopalapatnam - a major commercial and residential neighbourhood in Visakhapatnam when residents of the nearby colonies were asleep. This is not the first such gas leak disaster in India. Here is a list of the major industrial disasters in India in the last 80 years. Bombay Docks Explosion (1944) On April 14, 1944, the freighter SS Fort Stikine, carrying a mixed cargo of cotton bales, gold and ammunition including tons of explosives, caught fire and resulted in two massive blasts in the Victoria Dock of Bombay. Ships in the area of the explosion sank after the impact. 800 people died in the explosion and some 80,000 were made homeless. Chasnala Mining Disaster (1975) On December 27, 1975, a huge explosion rocked the Chasnala Colliery in Dhanbad (then under Bihar) killing 372 miners. The explosion is supposed to have caused by sparks from equipment igniting a pocket of flammable methane gas. The flooding in the mine drowned the miners trapped under the debris. The Union Carbide Gas Tragedy (1984) In what is the biggest industrial disaster of the last hundred years in India, 5295 people died and 5,27,894 were affected after being exposed to some 40 tonne of methyl isocyanate gas leaked from a pesticide plant owned by the US multinational, Union Carbide Corp, in Bhopal. It has been more than 35 years since the incident which happened on December 3, 1984, but there is still a massive debate on the number of people affected. Some activists estimate around 20,000 to 25,000 deaths. Korba Chimney Collapse (2009) On the September 23, 2009, 45 people lost their lives when a chimney under construction at a power plant at the Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco) collapsed in Korba in Chhattisgarh. The structure had reached a height of 240 metres when it collapsed on top of more than 100 workers due to incessant rainfall and lightning in the area. Jaipur Oil Depot Fire (2009) On October 29, 2009, an oil fire broke out at the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) depots giant tank in the Sitapura Industrial Area on the outskirts of Jaipur, killing 12 people and injuring at least 130. The blaze continued for more than a week and half a million people were evacuated from the area post the incident. Mayapuri Radiolgical Accident (2010) A big radiation scare hit the national capital ten years ago when one person was killed and 8 others hospitalised at AIIMS after exposure to radioactive substances at the Mayapuri scrap yard in West Delhi. The event was rated level 4 out of 7 on the International Nuclear Events Scale. Visakhapatnam HPCL Refinery Blast (2013) 23 people were killed on August 23, 2013, when a blast caused due to sparks originating from welding after a heavy build-up of hydrocarbons in a pipeline, led to the collapse of the cooling tower in the HPCL refinery in Visakhapatnam. Nagaram GAIL pipeline explosion (2014) 18 people were killed and around 40 injured when in June 2014, a massive fire broke out after a blast in the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) underground gas pipeline in the coastal village of Nagaram in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. Bhilai Steel Plant Gas Leak (2014) Six people were killed and over 40 injured due to a leakage in methane gas pipeline at a water pump house in the Bhilai Steel Plant in Durg district in Chattisgarh. Tughlakabad Gas Leak (2017) As many as 200 school students of the Rani Jhansi School for Girls were admitted to four hospitals after a chemical gas leakage from a container truck at the customs area of Tughlakabad depot in South Delhi. Kanpur Ammonia Gas Leak (2017) On the March 15, 2017, Ammonia leaked from the gas chamber of a cold storage facility at Shivrajpur in Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Many farmers were trapped inside the building, waiting to stock the potato harvest, when the tragedy occurred. Five people were killed and nine others injured in the incident. Belur Chlorine Gas Leak (2017) More than 10 people took ill and were rushed to the hospital following a chlorine gas leak at a water treatment plant at Gandehalli in Belur near Hassan in South Karnataka in May 2017. Bhilai Steel Plant Pipeline Blast (2018) An explosion in a gas pipeline connected to the coke oven section of the Steel Plant in Bhilai in Durg district of Chhatisgarh, operated by the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) resulted in the death of 9 people while injuring 14 others. Lake Houston area residents can receive free masks at a distribution event beginning at 8 a.m. on Thursday, May 7. Officials from Houston City Council District E will be handing out 2,500 masks on a first-come, first-served basis at the Kingwood Metro Park and Ride located at 3210 Rustic Woods. Those who arrive can receive up to four face masks per vehicle. The masks can be used up to three times, according to Jessica Beemer, District E office chief of staff. TEXAS-MADE: Where to buy Texas-made face masks online Those who are handing out the face masks to vehicles are taking necessary precautions, including wearing gloves that are changed out every 30 minutes, wearing face coverings and not making physical contact with residents while handing out masks. Volunteers are being asked to sanitize between glove changes. Mayor Sylvester Turner provided the District E office with the necessary face masks, Beemer said. We do our best to meet the needs of our community which is why we are also conducting no contact home deliveries of masks to residents, Beemer said in an emailed statement. This is the second mask giveaway hosted by city of Houston officials in Kingwood. The office of Dave Martin, who serves as Mayor Pro Tem and District E Councilmember, has delivered 5,000 masks to the districts nonprofit organizations, churches, senior assisted living centers and apartment complexes, as well as partnered with local school district food distributors and to residences, according to the monthly District E email. By May 8, their office expects to have provided 10,000 masks to the entire district, which also includes the Clear Lake area. At the last District E mask distribution, 1050 three-ply masks were provided to the community during the two hour event. Breaking News: Get email alerts from Chron.com sent directly to your inbox The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing cloth face masks in public places where social or physical distancing is difficult to maintain, such as a grocery store, to aid in flattening the curve. Residents should wear a mask especially if they are coughing or sneezing but keep in mind that masks are effective only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning, Beemer said in an emailed statement. These masks must also be disposed of and not reused more than three times, which is why we are also passing out no-sew mask instructions with our masks. For more information on how to make a cloth face mask, or on the use of masks, visit the CDC website here. savannah.mehrtens@chron.com Food historian Seren Charrington-Hollins, who is working with Dawn Foods in its 100th birthday year, looks at the important role of the baker and baked goods in the 1940s. When Britain entered World War II in 1939, commercial bakers were an important part of domestic life, but as the war continued, the baker was to become a vital lifeline for the home front. When news of the war broke, Britain was importing around 20 million tons of food each year to feed the nation. However, importing food to keep the country fed became problematic as cargo ships were needed to carry troops and munitions. Britain was quickly running out of food and rationing had to be introduced, which spelled many changes for home and commercial bakers alike. The Ministry of Food advised housewives to try using mashed potatoes in place of flour, and carrots as a sweetening agent, leading to some curious cake recipes such as potato shortcake. Baked bread consumption was at a consistently high level in the 1940s and while bread and flour werent rationed during the war, white flour was in short supply and went to commercial bakers. Bread was considered a vital resource and the British Ministry of Food urged citizens to make the most of every crumb, because bread is worth more than dough. Posters urged householders to be economic with their bread consumption through slogans such as Save the Wheat and Help the Fleet, and /The Kitchen is the Key to Victory: Eat Less Bread. The commercial baker was also facing imposed economies and restrictions on his baking activities. The shortages of fat, sugar and white flour naturally changed the lines baked and sold commercially. In general, cakes returned to being stodgier, plainer affairs, with bread pudding, dripping cakes and lower-sugar cakes replacing pre-war delicacies. Bakers were considered important enough to the war effort to be exempt from military service. On 23 December 1940, commercial bakers were given orders to discontinue making 1lb white loaves and, by 1942, the only type of bread that could be sold was the National Loaf, which was coarse, crumbly and dry. Though it is certain the National Loaf was a far cry from the white bread of peace-time, bread was still considered such a staple food that the role of a baker was a reserved occupation, meaning bakers were considered important enough to the war effort to be exempt from military service. Bakers throughout wartime and post-war rationing were an important part of the community and their role during this troubling time was a necessary one. Though people longed for the luxury of many unavailable food stuffs they still queued for their bakery staples and made the most of it. By 1943, virtually every household item was either in short supply and had to be queued for or was simply unobtainable, but the community spirit was strong and people clung to hope and took comfort in the few baked goods wartime allowed and the fact that, one day, it would all be over. The hardship of wartime is often reflected upon, but the camaraderie and community spirit is perhaps the part of the war that is most fondly re-told. Bakery shops were not just somewhere to buy a cake or a loaf of bread. As houses were bombed and household supplies of gas and electric were interrupted, the baker and his oven became a vital asset to the community, with desperate housewives able to bring in a ham or casserole to go into their oven after the bread was finished. There are some wonderful stories of how communities and bakers pulled together during desperate times throughout the wartime era. When Coventry suffered a 12-hour blitz on 14 November 1940, all the bakeries were put out of production. Despite their own plight, the bakers rallied around to ensure the city was fed; bakers vans were sent out to Birmingham and 4,500 loaves were brought back. Rationing was so tight that wartime wedding cakes were sometimes made from cardboard and for display only. Bakers would loan the cardboard cakes to wartime sweethearts, so at least it looked like they had a cake in their wedding photographs. Apprentices were often given mashed potato in a piping bag to keep piping skills honed Severe sugar rationing meant that being able to pipe cakes with royal icing was a rarity even among master bakers, and their apprentices were often given mashed potato in a piping bag to keep piping skills honed. But while icing may have been off the menu, the baking of wedding cakes became a community effort. With rationing in full swing, it was common for each wedding guest to be asked to donate an ingredient for the wedding cake and the local baker to mix and bake the cake. During the difficulties of wartime, bakeries were an essential part of the community, helping and assisting not just with morale-boosting with their baked goods, but by acting as a solid institution within the community and being resourceful. A young woman faces multiple charges after an altercation with a police officer at a Birmingham Walmart. The altercation was captured on cell phone video. Krystulen Smith, 18, has been charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, third-degree criminal trespassing, possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of a controlled substance. She was booked into the Jefferson County Jail Thursday at 7:51 p.m. and released at 8:53 p.m. after posting $10,000 bond. The incident took place Tuesday night at Walmart in Roebuck. Videos of the incident have been shared thousands of times on Facebook and show the officer handcuffing Smith who is not complying. He then picks her up and takes her to the ground. Krystulen Smith (Jefferson County Jail) Birmingham police spokesman Sgt. Rod Mauldin said the reason for the officers contact with the woman was for disorderly contact and not just the mere violation of an ordinance requiring face coverings. We understand were operating in trying times, Mauldin said in a video statement. The Birmingham Police Department has maintained a consistent, community-oriented educational approach to the surrounding circumstances of COVID-19. No one has been arrested or issued a citation for violating the mask or Birminghams stay-at-home ordinance. Mauldin said Tuesdays incident began when the officer, who was working an extra security job for Walmart, heard the woman yelling obscenities toward customers and employees. The female continued and was asked to leave the store. However, she refused, Mauldin said. The officer began to detain her, however she continued to resist. The officer used a takedown measure to gain control due to the other threat factors in the store. Smith wan was not injured, and she refused medical evaluation, Mauldin said. As is standard procedure for all use of force incidents within the department, Birminghams Internal Affairs Division is looking into the officers actions. No additional information has been released. Linking the local market with Amazon is suggested as a way to cope with the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business and production, said the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT). MoIT is considering a Vietnamese stall on global e-commerce site Amazon. Photo plo.vn MoIT said most activities were affected by COVID-19, with purchase power and consumer spending sharply decreased as accommodation, F&B services and travel establishments have been temporarily closed. In the first four months of the year, the total retail sales of consumer goods and services were estimated at more than VND1.5 trillion (US$64 million), down 4.27 per cent over the same period last year. Though retail sales saw the highest figures, reaching VND1.2 trillion, an increase of 0.41 per cent from the same period last year, the development was modest, said MoIT. To boost the sector, the ministry told it to apply more information technology in commercial activities, linking e-commerce with other traditional channels. Firms should connect local e-commerce trading floors with the local production areas; building and operating a traceability system with QR codes, and stamps to help consumers easier check quality. MoIT also suggested firms build a Vietnamese products stall on global e-commerce site Amazon. The ministry was developing a project to build an e-commerce platform to promote the connection between manufacturers and distributors with the support of the Government. VNS As the pandemic continues its infectious spread, few might have imagined that towns in Iowa and South Dakota would become among the deadliest hotspots for the virus. But the Midwest and Great Plains are home to large meatpacking plants for Tyson and Smithfield that produce much of the poultry, beef, and pork sold in U.S. supermarkets. These facilities, where thousands of people work 8- to 10-hour shifts standing shoulder to shoulder earning an hourly wage, have become, according to Successful Farming magazine, the coronavirus leaders. The Smithfield plant in Sioux City, South Dakota, has one of the largest known clusters of COVID-19 cases in the country. Cases in the state have quadrupled since late April and the death rate continues to climb, according to scientists with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and reported in Successful Farming. In late April and amid reports of declining U.S. meat supply, President Donald Trump authorized the agricultural secretary, based on a statute of the Defense Production Act, to do what he must to reopen plants that had closed and to keep others open. The legal power of the presidents order remains uncertain, yet many interpreted the statement as an executive order. No actions have yet been taken. Andrew Elmore, a professor in the University of Miami School of Law with expertise in labor and employment law, pointed out that the federal government, via the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), has primary responsibility for regulating safety and health in the workplace. Employees have the right to refuse to work in dangerous conditions, and OSHA requires employers to furnish a place of employment free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees, Elmore cited. Historically OSHA provides for specific standards, but OSHA has failed to enact emergency standards to require employers to reopen safely, Elmore said. The guidelines are voluntary, and OSHA is not enforcing themthere is no private right of action to enforce OSHA, so the statute relies entirely on public enforcement. Elmore recognized that OSHA suffers from lack of resources. And its gotten worse, he said, noting that at its height in 1980 the agency had 1,469 inspectors. According to Elmore, as of the beginning of this year, OSHA counted on 862 inspectors to protect the safety and health of 150 million workers. Rebecca Sharpless, professor and director of the School of Laws Immigration Clinic, noted that the hard, low-paying plant jobs, like field and farm work, tend to attract many immigrant workers. Upwards of 30 percent of workers in the processing plants are foreign-born. Its questionable that these plants are continuing to operate in the face of COVID, Sharpless said. The workers are at the mercy of those who control the factories, and they dont have enough political power. Sharpless likened the risks for plant workers to the conditions in jails, where, because of close conditions and the absence of protections, detainees are especially vulnerable. When you see a vulnerable population that doesnt have power, you see very questionable practices. The jail is one of those settings, and these factories where low-wage workers work is another, she said. It points to the class aspect of enduring this COVID experience, that low-income workers and people who are vulnerable are having a very different experience from that of people who are able to safely quarantine at home and telecommutewe need to keep that in mind. Elmore pointed out that some states have helped fill the gap where the federal government fails to safeguard workers, and that workers are attempting to take collective action to protect themselves. Federal labor law (the National Labor Relations Act or NLRA) protects the right of even non-union employees to engage in collective actions to protect their safety and health, he said. We are seeing an unprecedented increase in worker participation in strikes to protest unsafe workplaces. While some insist that the meat food supply chain is essential and must be maintained, others argue that workers safety and health take precedence. Is there a way to resolve this tension? Im not sure there is a tension, Elmore said. When employees must work in unsafe circumstances, it is a public health hazard. He referenced the situation at the Smithfield plant in South Dakota. Many retail establishments have reported that their employees have gotten sick, and this means that customers are at risk too. Preventing a second wave will require safely reopening business establishments. This seems to me to be an area where labor and health officials are, or should be, working in lock step. Companies have instituted some additional safeguards such as face shields and additional testing at the plant sites. In a notice on its website, Smithfield stated: Our more than 40,000 U.S. team members, thousands of American family farmers, and our many supply chain partners are a crucial part of our nations response to COVID-19. While plant workers call for more protection equipment and labor advocates urge slowing down production lines to require fewer workers and allow greater distance between workers, Elmore said there are no historic precedents that might offer alternatives to the current dilemma. Economists have estimated that the United States is facing its highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression, and this is also the biggest workplace safety and health crisis weve faced in our lifetimes, Elmore said. And OSHA is less prepared for it than it has been in my memory. There's a quintet of cute at the Chester Zoo. The English zoo recently welcomed five Humboldt penguin chicks, who hatched between March 26 - April 14. Keepers, who often name penguin chicks after a certain theme, decided to name this new group of cuties after healthcare heroes and the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS) hospitals fighting the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The five chicks have been named Florence (after Florence Nightingale), Thomas (after St Thomas Hospital), Bevan (after Aneurin Bevan who founded the NHS), Arrowe (after Arrowe Park Hospital) and finally Countess (named after the zoos local hospital the Countess of Chester Hospital). "Each year the team chooses a new naming theme for the chicks and, given everything that is happening around us, we decided to name this years class after NHS hospitals in acknowledgment of our wonderful NHS Heroes just as a thank you from everyone here at the zoo," Anne Morris, lead penguin keeper at Chester Zoo, said in a statement. Courtesy of the Chester Zoo RELATED: San Diego Zoo Penguin Goes For a Waddle to Visit Orangutans on Adorable Field Trip For now, the chicks are tucked away in their nests with their moms and dads, who share parenting duties, and all of the families are doing well. Courtesy of the Chester Zoo "The arrival of Humboldt penguin chicks always signals the start of spring and, although its still early days, the chicks look really healthy and the parents are doing a fab job of caring for their new arrivals," Morris said. "To help with raising the new youngsters, were providing the parents some extra fish, which they swallow, churn into a high-protein soup and then regurgitate to feed the chicks. We also weigh the chicks regularly so that we can monitor their development, as they can more than triple in size and weight in the first three weeks!" Courtesy of the Chester Zoo RELATED: Temporarily Closed to Humans, Shedd Aquarium Takes Penguins on Field Trip to Meet Other Animals Story continues These new arrivals are helping support their species, which, according to the zoo, is listed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The "increasingly rare" birds are found on the rocky coastal shores of Peru and Chile, and are in decline due to climate change, over-fishing of their natural food sources and the rising acidity and temperature levels in the oceans. Courtesy of the Chester Zoo As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments. PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMe to raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, click here. Dismissed Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure in Kano State, Engineer Muazu Magaji has tested positive for COVID-19. It happened less than three weeks after he lost his job for gloating on Facebook over the death of Malam Abba Kyari, President Buharis chief of staff. Kyari died on 17 April in Lagos, of coronavirus complications. He was buried in Abuja on 18 April. Now things have turned round and Magaji is now hoping he does not end up in Gudu Cemetery Abuja like Abba Kyari. Magaji in a Facebook post on Thursday, revealed his coronavirus status: Dear all, I do truly apologize to you not getting across to me on phone or messages. I have been indispose due to ongoing health challenges some of us going through in Kano. In Sha Allah it will be well. This morning my NCDC test is out. I have been confirmed COVID-19 positive and have been moved to one of the state facilities pray for us. His special assistant Musslihu Yusuf Ali, in another Facebook post said Magaji suffered persistent headache, cough and fever for three days before he called the NCDC hotline requesting for a test. He is now in isolation at the Muhammadu Buhari Hospital Giginyu, he said. Governor Abdullahi Ganduje dismissed Magaji on 18 April for the Facebook posts that appeared to mock Kyari. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 7) The scorching summer heat will likely remain for the rest of the month, the country's state weather bureau said on Thursday. "Itong summer, itong tag-init, posibleng mag-last pa ito (This summer will possibly last) until third or fourth week of May," said Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration is the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (PAGASA) weather forecaster Loriedin dela Cruz told CNN Philippines' Newsroom Ngayon. She added that the country had recorded on May 5 its highest temperature for 2020 to date, which is 40 degrees Celsius in Tuguegarao. On the same day, Metro Manila hit 37.3 degrees Celsius, its hottest temperature in the year so far. Meanwhile, seven PAGASA stations have posted a heat index ranging from 46 to 49 degrees Celsius on Thursday, the agency reported. The heat index refers to temperature apparently perceived by the human body, explained dela Cruz. It is acquired by recording temperature by using a thermometer, which will then be used in a formula along with the relative humidity for the day. According to PAGASA, a heat index of 41 to 54 degrees Celsius is dangerous, as it might cause heat cramps and exhaustion. These might lead to a heat stroke with prolonged physical activity. "Usually po, nar-record ang maximum temperatures natin from 11:30 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon, so yun po talaga yung i-avoid natin, yung peak na yun," advised dela Cruz. [Translation: Usually, maximum temperatures are recorded from 11:30 in morning to 3 in the afternoon, so let's avoid that peak.] She also recommended avoiding direct exposure to sunlight as much as possible, ensuring proper ventilation in homes, and drinking eight to ten glasses a day to stay hydrated amid the hot weather. More than three-quarters of New Jerseyans applaud Gov. Phil Murphys performance in office as he steers the state through the coronavirus pandemic. Murphy received a 77% job approval rating in the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll released Wednesday, with just 21% disapproving. That surpassed then-Gov. Chris Christies job approval rating of 73% in February 2013 Rutgers-Eagleton poll en route to an easy re-election victory that fall. More than seven in 10 New Jersey residents graded Murphy with an A (39%) or a B (33%). Murphy also received high marks in a Quinnipiac University survey also released Wednesday, with 68% of New Jersey voters approving his performance as governor and 23% disapproving. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage And in a Monmouth University poll released last month, 71% of state residents approved of Murphys job performance with 21% disapproving. Like a number of other governors during this pandemic, Governor Murphy is experiencing a rally round the flag effect that we sometimes see emerge with leaders in times of crisis, said Ashley Koning, assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers UniversityNew Brunswick. After two years of middling ratings, Murphys visibility and leadership have propelled his overall numbers to something we have not seen the likes of since Governor Christie after Hurricane Sandy." CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage Murphy on Wednesday extended the states public health emergency for 30 days, even as he said he was looking at ways to reopen some businesses with proper safety precautions. "What remains to be seen is how long this overwhelming support for Murphy will last as the economic impact of the outbreak becomes increasingly dire and as we approach summer, Koning said. While some state lawmakers of both parties have called on Murphy to begin easing more of the restrictions he imposed to stop the spread of COVID-19, most New Jersey voters sided with the governor in the Quinnipiac poll. Almost three-fourths of state voters polled by Quinnipiac, 74%, said there should be more testing before state officials begin lifting their stay at home orders. Only 20% disagreed, even as some protesters descended on Trenton to demand that the shutdown be lifted. A total of 65% in the Quinnipiac poll said Murphys actions were just right with 20% saying they did not go far enough and only 14% saying they went too far. And by 71%-24%, voters in the Quinnipiac survey said they supported keeping people home to fight the coronavirus rather than reopening the economy. Most New Jerseyans have a far dimmer view of President Donald Trump. In the Rutgets poll, 42% gave Trump a failing grade, with 31% giving him an A or a B. In the Quinnipiac survey, just 36% of voters approved of Trumps performance in office, with 59% disapproving. President Trump has been one of the few politicians handling this crisis who hasnt benefited from any type of rally round the flag bump, which has really carved a path for more localized leaders like governors to shine, Koning said. The Rutgers-Eagleton poll of 1,502 adults was conducted April 22May 2 with a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points. The Quinnipiac survey of 941 registered voters was conducted April 30May 4 with a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. A former director of the National Broadband Plan bidding company has sold his Northern Ireland fibre broadband startup to the British equity firm Infracapital for an undisclosed fee. Conal Henry is the co-founder of Fibrus, which is currently building fibre-to-premises connections north of the Border. The company claims to have a 100m (114m) capital investment plan to cover 145,000 premises in Northern Ireland by 2024. Mr Henry was a long-time executive in Enet, which became a central player in the consortium that went on to win the public tender for the National Broadband Plan. He left Enet in early 2018, subsequently founding Fibrus with Dominic Kearns last year. Infracapital is a London-based equity firm that specialises in unlisted infrastructure companies. It has a portfolio of 53 investments across Europe, representing 6bn under management across six separate funds. "We are exceptionally proud to bring this investment to Northern Ireland," said Mr Henry. "Alongside Infracapital, Fibrus now has the firepower to deliver, at scale and pace, our radical plan to transform the broadband landscape in the region. With this investment we will deliver the digital infrastructure that will transform our economy and our society. Fibrus is an organisation that is about being the best." Infracapital's investment is its first in the North. "The investment is indicative of the significant opportunity to build, deliver and operate essential greenfield infrastructure across Europe, where we are seeing a number of opportunities to deploy further funds in the coming months and years," said Andy Matthews, head of greenfield at Infracapital. A survey from the George Washington University evaluated whether patients consider a dermatologist's social media presence when looking for a doctor WASHINGTON (May 7, 2020) - Patients often do not take social media into consideration when looking for a dermatologist, according to a survey from researchers at the George Washington University. The survey was published recently in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology. As of 2019, 79% of Americans have a social media presence on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Many dermatologists consider social media to be a useful tool for building their practices and recruiting patients. However, limited data exists about whether a provider's social media presence is a driver in attracting new patients to their practice. "A rapidly growing number of dermatologists are advocating for the value of social media to promote their practices," said Adam Friedman, MD, interim chair of the Department of Dermatology at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences and senior author on the study. "Only one other survey has been conducted on patient perception of social media. There hasn't been enough to show us how effective social media is as a marketing tool for dermatologists." The GW research team distributed a 10-question online survey to a diverse patient population to evaluate their perceptions of social media and what aspects of a dermatologist's site are the most helpful. Only 25% of respondents aged 18-30 years old thought social media was extremely or very important, suggesting that leaning on social media may not be the best way to grow a practice. The results also indicated that respondents who did utilize social media for these purposes were interested in seeing patient education, viewing patient reviews, as well as dermatologists' experience levels rather than personal information. "While patients overall may not rely on social media to select a dermatologist nor be interested in nonmedical content, many of our respondents did express interest in educational content written by their dermatologists on social media," Friedman said. "Practitioners should still count social media as a tool in building their practices and engaging their current patients, however, it should be one of many methods that they rely on to recruit new patients." The authors say that further research needs to be done to determine whether social media is an effective educational tool for dermatologists. ### The article, titled "The Influence of Dermatologists' Use of Social Media on Attracting Patients" is published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology and is available at jddonline.com/articles/dermatology/S1545961620P0532X. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the European Council Charles Michel discussed on Thursday the situation arising out of the coronavirus outbreak and recognised the importance of regional and global coordination to effectively address the health and economic impact of the pandemic. The two leaders also discussed the situation of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in India and the European Union. They appreciated mutual cooperation extended in the face of the pandemic, including for ensuring supplies of essential pharmaceutical products, according to an official statement said. "The leaders recognised the importance of regional and global coordination to effectively address the health and economic impact of COVID-19," it said. They reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the India-EU strategic partnership. The two leaders agreed that their officials would work together to prepare a substantive agenda for the next India-EU Summit meeting. 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 15th annual India-EU Summit, planned for March in Brussels, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The leaders decided to remain in touch on the evolving dimensions of the crisis as well as the post-coronavirus context, the statement said. Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to boost morale and show appreciation for employees in the hard hit metro Detroit area, family owned and operated AJM Packaging Corporation will be providing bonuses of up to $1,000 to all eligible Detroit area manufacturing employees. AJM Packaging Corporation is also hiring more than 250 new employees to meet crucial needs being driven by the ongoing pandemic. AJM produces high-quality paper products, including paper plates, cups, bowls and bags, which have seen a surge in demand since late February. "In spite of the challenges we're facing together right now, we continue to be inspired and motivated by the resilience of our employees," said Robert A. Epstein, President of AJM Packaging. "We're very proud to have been designated a 'Critical Infrastructure' company and we are just as proud of our 'critical employees' and the courage and commitment they have demonstrated." AJM is implementing a "Critical Infrastructure Bonus Plan" in its three metro-Detroit manufacturing sites, communities that have been some of the hardest hit by Coronavirus. "We want to show our team that we appreciate the effort they're putting forth, being present, on time and available for work every day," said Epstein. "The bonus of up to $1,000 is based on employee attendance over a ninety-day period and will be made available to both current and new employees who start by May 20, 2020." "The health and safety of our employees has always been our top priority, but it's been particularly challenging to safeguard since the arrival of COVID-19," said Epstein. As the situation evolves, AJM has taken additional steps to protect front-line employees including temperature checks upon entry into each facility, providing all employees with masks and gloves, and regularly sanitizing communal spaces. The 250-plus new full-time hires at AJM locations in metro Detroit will be permanent positions. AJM expects demand for disposable paper goods to continue to grow, even after the current pandemic is under control, as more and more people prefer purchasing their own food to eat at home. Manufacturing openings at AJM include machine operators, machine techs, maintenance mechanics, shift supervisors, and general production laborers. All employees, including the 250-plus new hires, also receive company-paid medical insurance from Blue Cross Blue Shield. For information on current openings and benefits, visit ajmpack.com/careers. ABOUT AJM PACKAGING CORPORATION Founded in 1957, AJM Packaging manufactures high-quality branded and private-label paper products. The Michigan-based company operates eight plants throughout the country, including its original Detroit manufacturing site. AJM was named 2018 Employer of the Year by SER Metro-Detroit. For any media inquiries please contact: Meredith Tepper [email protected] SOURCE AJM Packaging Corporation Press Release May 7, 2020 GRACE POE INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT Headstart with Karen Davila May 7, 2020 Karen Davila: Sen. Grace Poe led the Senate hearing a few months back in relation to ABS-CBN application for franchise renewal. Good morning to you Senator Grace. Sen. Grace Poe: Good morning, Karen. Davila: Sen. Grace Poe, first of all, were you surprised with the NTC's actions given that during the Senate hearing the NTC said that as long as there was a joint resolution from both Houses, they can grant a provisional authority to ABS-CBN to operate? Poe: I think Karen that we were all really blindsided by the order of the National Telecommunications Commission because it was against their pronouncements when they were in the Senate and I think that at that time it was quite clear that based on precedents and based also on what the Department of Justice had said their opinion will be, meaning that there should be equity in the gap of the law, that the NTC can really go ahead and give a provisionalized authority to operate. Davila: Pero sa pananaw niyo labag po ba sa mandato ng NTC ang kanilang ginawa? Poe: Ang kanilang ginawa na paghahain ng cease and desist order ay taliwas sa mga ginagawa nila noon. This is more an exception than the rule because in the past they've already, they were either silent or they just allowed the operation of other franchises that have expired but have their renewal lodged in either Congress or the Senate. Again, I've said this so many times before, this has been done, this provisional authority was given to Smart, it was given to GMA 7, it was given to TV 5, it was given Globe-Innove and PT&T, CBCP, I don't know. Clearly, it confuses us why the NTC now is having this position; and either they were really duplicitous and deceitful in the hearings or they were pressured by the letter of SolGen Calida, which for me is also quite confusing. I mean, I myself can't understand why the Solicitor General who's supposed to be defending a government agency, is in fact the one pressuring a government agency and threatening a case against it. Davila: SolGen Calida said what the NTC did, he describes it as a triumph of the rule of law. And he says NTC only followed the law and it is actually the Congress to blame. Do you believe that, Senator? Poe: Of course not, because Congress already made it clear by a letter enjoining the NTC to provide the provisional authority to operate; that was from Congress, the chairman of the committee as well as the pronouncement of Speaker Cayetano. And in the Senate, we actually passed Resolution 344 directing the NTC to issue a provisional authority for ABS-CBN. Now, if they want to be very strict about it, if they want to adhere to strict letter of the law, it's still quite arguable because there are precedents already that allowed other companies to operate. The spirit of the law clearly allows that because when you think of who may grant the permit to operate, it's clearly Congress. And Congress already said, "We are tackling this, therefore, allow them to continue to operate." And in fact, the NTC came up with a memo that said that during this time of the Enhanced Community Quarantine, all permits and licenses, renewals can actually be extended, I think 30 or 60 days even after the ECQ. Now, granted they did not specify franchises but that's clearly the point, at this time when we're experiencing this pandemic and the focus should be on mass testing, fighting the corona virus, the timing of this is really suspect. Remember, although franchises are given by Congressional grace, the basis of this is still public service. And what public service is being provided? Number one, information. Members of media are frontliners, they are the ones who cover what's happening in society, in our country right now. They're helping the government explain regulations of this ECQ. And aside from that, ABS-CBN is also providing jobs to 11,000 people or let's say 11,000, 5,000, how many thousands of people, particularly those also in the downstream industries that are relying on ABS-CBN. Now that the government can't even fulfill the requirements of giving enough social amelioration packages to those that need it, were going to add more people that will be in need of government support. I think the timing is really off and very suspect. Davila: Senator Grace, Congressman Alvarez mentioned that he may file and hold the NTC in contempt. Cong. Lito Atienza completely blames Congress, the Lower House, for the situation ABS-CBN is in. Is it necessary to call the NTC to the Senate, do you suggest that? Poe: You know, there's 10 days I think for ABS-CBN to reply to the order of NTC. I think the most prudent thing to do right now is number one, I hope that, I trust that our counterparts in Congress will act quickly on whatever remedial measures they think will be most equitable and perhaps most expedient at this point. Another thing is ABS-CBN should really better file, file a case against NTC or maybe a case to stop the NTC from proceeding with this, maybe a TRO from the courts, to seek relief from the courts. And the Senate, what most of our countrymen perhaps should understand is that even if we had a hearing in the Senate already, the franchise has to come from the House, it has to emanate from Congress. Sa ating mga kababayan, ginawa ng Senado ang lahat ng aming makakaya para sa prangkisang ito pero hindi namin maibibigay ang prangkisa na ito kung hindi ito naaprubahan na sa Kongreso. Kaya nga importante ang mga hakbang ng Kongreso sa mga darating na araw na ito. Davila: Cong. Rufus Rodriguez filed a resolution for what he calls, Senator, a provisional franchise. Hindi na daw po provisional authority, iba raw po ito, provisional franchise valid until 2022. Is there a similar resolution in the Senate already as well? Poe: I am not aware of a resolution in the Senate extending the validity of franchise until 2022 but if that's the cure that Congress has in mind and it's elevated to the Senate, and we need to act quickly, hopefully there's enough time because I think we only have 10 days to work with regard to the order of NTC; then I think that will be good if Congress really thinks that they need to deliberate further on the measure of the franchise of ABS-CBN; if they are deserving of another 25 years. But when you grant a franchise, it's not just the financial capability of the company or the applicant that you are looking at; you also want to look at the track record, you also want to look at other factors that will enable them to provide the service. And frankly now, who's going to take over the franchise of ABS-CBN. There might be people there with a lot of money who might be interested to take over the franchise, but what about the experience, how about the people behind it. Oo, pwede silang kunin ulit para magtrabaho pero iba na ang operasyon. And in the middle of this pandemic, if your franchise expires, ABS-CBN's franchise expired, we cannot grant a franchise immediately to another company that will take over. And in many parts of the country, the signal of ABS-CBN is strong. In other parts of the country, the signal of GMA 7 is strong or TV 5. So if you don't have one network present, it is possible that a particular community is not being serviced properly with information. So this is what we are trying to say. And if you say, 'You know there's just 11,000, what's that?' But don't they realize that there are others also dependent on this, the catering service, the security personnel, janitorial and many others; and if another company will take over, they will to start from scratch and right now, the focus should be how do we survive with social distancing and new health protocols. That's what ABS-CBN is trying to do now so that people can continue working, what is the new norm with this paradigm shift. How are we going to allow our actors to continue to work, how will we allow our reporters to continue to work safely. Would a new company be able to set that up. Davila: Some have also connected this to the issue of press freedom. I mean, being a journalist it's close to our hearts that it is an issue of press freedom, but to be fair, many also say that it isn't; some say that, 'How can journalists argue that it is an issue of freedom of the press when there are other sources of information.' What do you think about that Senator? Poe: Yes, there are other sources of information, and thankfully, because we need as many outlets to provide checks and balances. But remember, when you threaten one media outlet or when one media outlet is in jeopardy, this also sends out a signal to others that we better be watching our back, we better be careful and somehow that poses as a threat for others who would like to cover the news fairly. So, I think that this has a larger impact than just on ABS-CBN. This is not just a tragedy for one person or one company, hindi lang ito trahedya ng iisang kumpanya. Ito ay trahedya ng lipunan, 'pag nangyari ito, sapagkat ipinapakita natin na puwedeng baluktutin ang batas para lang maserbisyuhan siguro ang layunin ng iilan. Nakita naman natin that the laws should be used as a tool for fairness and not just used for the caprices of a few. And it seems now, it's really, clearly, SolGen Calida who's shouting loud and clear that ABS-CBN has to be shutdown...And to the NTC, particulary, Mr. Cordoba, I've known him to be a quite a nice person and it's easy to talk with him, that's why I'm really disappointed about why he had to resort to this order, to shutdown operations. They could have reached out to us from the very beginning and said, 'You know, we are a little bit unsure about this, so Congress please better act or these are the remedies.' In fact, we asked for the NTC, 'Please give us a guideline of what the requirements are for you to issue a provisional authority to operate;' and they have not done so from the time that we requested in the hearing; because for them, they keep saying it's been done in the past, it's more like a tradition already, a precedent that's been set over and over again. Davila: Senator, Sec. Harry Roque said that based on his conversation with President Duterte the other night, the President is completely neutral. He's accepted the apology and he asked his allies in the Lower House, vote according to your conscience, it will not endear, either way you go, it won't endear to him, vote as you please. What do you think is holding up Congress, considering that is the President's message? Poe: I really don't know because I don't belong to the House. But maybe now it's a wake-up call for them as well, that NTC is not adhering to what it professed that it will do based on the opinion of the DOJ. I don't think NTC should be afraid. I think that the reason why they feel really threatened now is because of the threat of graft. But if you believe you are doing the right thing, I think your case will hold up in any court, and especially you have the senators behind you, you have members of Congress who will testify and say that, 'Yes we gave that provisional authority.' And remember, it's in the Constitution that franchises really come from both Houses. The Constitution doesn't really spell out all the steps that are necessary for you to be able to give that provisional authority to operate from the NTC. But clearly with the Congressional fiat, with an enjoiner from Congress, with a resolution from the Senate, which has never been done before, at least in the Senate, it's pretty clear that the intention of the lawmakers is to, at least, give that extension to ABS-CBN. Davila: Senator Grace, anong epekto o mensahe po nito sa buong mundo, ang pagsasara po ng ABS-CBN ulit? Poe: Well siyempre, hindi maganda 'yan. Many different fronts, there's the political and social, when others are saying that 'Is there really a threat to media in the Philippines?' Meaning is there a limitation in, is democracy being jeopardized. I mean that's a question, I am not saying tha,t it is but that could be questioned. Number two, it's also economic, if you are a potential investor to the Philippines, you'll be thinking they can easily shut down a company like ABS-CBN, why will I risk going there, if I would be under the same threat after I've already invested enough capital. So, those two things can be detrimental. Moving forward, number one you have the good will and support of other countries, democratic countries, that would question our situation; and then number two, what we need right now, Karen, are more investors especially with what we are experiencing the government is shelling out a lot. Instead of investing in more projects with the "Build, Build, Build," we have to focus first on being able to give support to our countrymen because of the pandemic. Davila: Senator Grace, is it fair to liken this to martial law when ABS-CBN was shutdown in 1972 because some have also said there's no comparison at all. Poe: Well, you can't blame those who will liken it, perhaps, to what happened in 1972 but there are clearly marked differences. Number one, in 1972, the military took over all media, I think in particular ABS-CBN, and the owner of ABS-CBN is imprisoned. In this case, they are not using the military to take over but they are using the law and they are hiding behind the law to push for their selfish and suspicious intentions. So, yes, there's a closure, an order for a closure, it's not exactly the same as in 1972 but still it will be a closure. Davila: Alright, last words, Senator Grace. Moving forward, so the House suggested, well, Congressman Rufus suggested that provisional franchise, what, is there anything the Senate can still do at this point, Ma'am? Poe: Unfortunately, we have to wait for the House to act before we can do anything really meaningful. We can express as much as we want, our opinions about it but no binding action can take place. Now, let me make it clear Karen, I'm expressing my opinion here, on the other hand, I've already said that in any proceeding under my committee and any voting with regard to ABS-CBN, I've already inhibited myself. Davila: On that note, Sen. Grace Poe, chairman of the Senate committee on public services, thank you so much for joining us this morning. Poe: Thank you, Karen. THIS NEWS RELEASE IS INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / Pelangio Exploration Inc. (TSXV:PX)(OTC PINK:PGXPF) ("Pelangio" or the "Company") announces a non-brokered private placement for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $840,000 (the "Offering'). The Offering will consist of the sale of hard dollar units (the "HD Units") of the Company at a price of $0.12 per HD Unit and common shares of the Company issued on a flow-through basis (the "FT Shares") at a price of $0.14 per FT Share. Each HD Unit consists of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant ("Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Common Share at a price of $0.18 for a period of two years from the initial closing date of the Offering. The FT Shares will qualify as "flow-through shares" (within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada)). The gross proceeds from the sale of the FT Shares will be used to incur qualifying Canadian Exploration Expenses. Qualifying expenses are to be incurred by no later than December 31, 2021 for renunciation to investors of FT Shares in the Offering effective December 31, 2020. The balance of the proceeds of the Offering will be used for general corporate and working capital purposes, and for the development of the Company's mining projects. The shares issued under the Offering will be subject to a four-month and one day hold period and will not be sold in the United States. The Offering is subject to customary closing conditions including, but not limited to, receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, including approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. The closing of the Offering may occur in one or more tranches, with the initial closing date of the Offering expected to occur on or before June 1, 2020 and is not subject to receipt of a minimum amount of gross proceeds. The Company may pay to certain introducing parties in respect of the Offering finder's fees of up to 7% cash and non-transferable 7% warrants, subject to compliance with applicable securities legislation and TSX Venture Exchange policies. Closing is subject to customary closing conditions including but not limited to, receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. The securities issued pursuant to the Offering will be subject to a four-month and one day hold period in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws and TSX Venture Exchange policies. 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 release. About Pelangio Pelangio acquires and explores land packages in world-class gold belts in Canada and Ghana, West Africa. In Canada, the company is focusing on the 6.7 km2 Grenfell property located approximately 10 km from the Macassa Mine in Kirkland Lake, the Dome West property located 800 metres from the Dome Mine in Timmins, the 25 km2 Birch Lake Property located in the Red Lake Mining District and the Dalton Property located 1.5 km from the Hollinger Mine in Timmins. In Ghana, the Company is focusing on two 100% owned camp-sized properties: the 100 km2 Manfo Property, the site of seven recent near-surface gold discoveries, and the 284 km2 Obuasi Property, located 4 km on strike and adjacent to AngloGold Ashanti's prolific high-grade Obuasi Mine. Ghana is an English speaking, common law jurisdiction that is consistently ranked amongst the most favourable mining jurisdictions in Africa. For additional information, please visit our website at www.pelangio.com, or contact: Ingrid Hibbard, President and CEO Tel: 905-336-3828 / Toll-free: 1-877-746-1632 / Email: info@pelangio.com Forward Looking Statements Certain statements herein may contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements or information appear in a number of places and can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or "believes" 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 and information include statements regarding the Offering generally, the proposed use of proceeds and the Company's exploration plans. With respect to forward-looking statements and information contained herein, we have made numerous assumptions, including assumptions about our ability to close the Offering in a timely manner, if at all, and the state of the equity markets. Such forward-looking statements and information are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statement or information. Such risks include the ability of the Company to meet the conditions of closing, our ability to conduct our exploration programs as planned, changes in equity markets, share price volatility, volatility of global and local economic climate, gold price volatility, political developments in Ghana, increases in costs, exchange rate fluctuations, speculative nature of gold exploration and other risks involved in the gold exploration industry. See the Company's annual and quarterly financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to the forward-looking statement and information. There can be no assurance that a forward-looking statement or information referenced herein will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Also, many of the factors are beyond the control of the Company. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. We undertake no obligation to reissue or update any forward-looking statements or information except as required by law. All forward-looking statements and information herein are qualified by this cautionary statement. SOURCE: Pelangio Exploration Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/588852/Pelangio-Exploration-Announces-Combined-840000-Flow-Through-And-Hard-Dollar-Private-Placement NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE O ngoing attempts to tackle COVID-19 have provided conservatives with more opportunities to criticize Big Tech. Regrettably, like complaints about Silicon Valleys alleged anti-conservative bias, criticisms of efforts to clamp down on COVID-19 misinformation and anti-lockdown protests betray a misunderstanding of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and include proposals that would result in less online speech. Governors across the country have issued a range of COVID-19 executive orders, imposing social-distancing guidelines, postponing elections, and mandating businesses closures. The prospect of spending months on end unemployed, unable to socialize, and stuck at home with the kids has understandably prompted widespread anxiety and anger. People all over the world have taken to social-media sites to complain about the orders, propose remedies, initiate protests, and spread conspiracy theories. It was only a matter of time before Big Techs content-moderation policies and Section 230 which protects websites big and small from civil liability for most of the content posted by users were in the crosshairs. Some of the largest social-media firms took steps to remove content that ran afoul of state social-distancing orders, including protests against the orders themselves. Unfortunately, attacks on Big Tech and Section 230 have revealed misunderstandings of both legislation and the fundamentals of free speech. As COVID-19 spread, Silicon Valley giants amended their content-moderation policies. In March, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai published an announcement outlining COVID-19 updates. Pichai noted that YouTube, which Google owns, had removed thousands of misleading COVID-19 videos. The same month, Twitter broadened its definition of harm in an attempt to combat content that goes directly against guidance from authoritative sources of global and local public health information. Twitters policy change targets misleading health information rather than the organization of protests, and while users have taken to Twitter to organize such gatherings, it is not best known as a venue for event organization. Story continues Facebook, however, is well known as a platform for organizing events. Many Americans who object to stay-at-home orders have used Facebook to organize protests. Facebook has removed event listings promoting gatherings understood to violate state-mandated social-distancing guidelines. In effect, Facebook has eased the enforcement of stay-at-home orders by denying its event-organization software to anti-lockdown protestors. These changes in content-moderation policies have prompted commentary from conservatives that ranges from the misinformed to the outright histrionic. Among the more bizarre comments are those from Breitbart editor Alex Marlow, who called Facebooks decision with respect to moderating COVID-19 content Orwellian, proving once again that Orwell can always be used as a cudgel in any political debate by those who dont understand Nineteen Eighty-Four (or anything else George Orwell wrote). Conservative commentator Dan Eberhart also took to Twitter to complain about Facebook, noting, We have a constitutional right to assembly, and that right doesnt go away regardless of whether it is actually safe to do so or not. Senator Joshua Hawley (R., Mo.), responding to news that Facebook had removed content associated with anti-lockdown protests in California, New Jersey, and Nebraska, asked, Because free speech is now illegal in America? Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson has also been critical of content-moderation policies relating to COVID-19, describing as a ban on dissent YouTubes decision to remove footage of two doctors questioning the severity of COVID-19 and Californias response to the pandemic. These comments all betray a misunderstanding of how free speech is supposed to work in a liberal democracy. A functional freedom of speech requires freedom of association. The freedom of National Review to decline an op-ed submission is as important a freedom as the freedom of the author to write the op-ed. Similarly, Facebooks leadership are free to disassociate from content they find unconducive to their business or irresponsible to host, whether it is pornography, beheading videos, or COVID-19 misinformation. For Facebook to make such decisions is not Orwellian in the slightest, nor does it impact freedom of speech. Those who wish to spread the content that Facebook bans are still free to do so. Contrary to what Senator Hawley and Mr. Eberhart suggest, Facebooks content-moderation policies do not harm the freedom of assembly or freedom of speech. The Internet is much more than Silicon Valleys giants. Facebook and Twitter might be household names, but there are other websites that allow for content sharing. BitChute is a video-sharing site that emerged in response to YouTubes content-moderation decisions, and the social-media website Gab allows for much of the content banned by Facebook and Twitter. Even if these services didnt exist, your right to speak would not impose any duties on firms to host your speech. Nor do content-moderation policies reveal a need to amend Section 230. In fact, these debates highlight confusions about Section 230 and illustrate that proposals for reform would curtail online speech. These confusions have prompted misguided policy proposals. Recently, Deroy Murdock wrote an article for National Review Online stating that Big Tech companies had to make a choice between being public fora or private entities similar to newspapers. These companies must make no such choice, despite what Murdock thinks. Murdock went on to argue that Big Tech companies shouldnt be allowed to engage in content moderation while also enjoying Section 230 protection. Murdocks policy proposal reveals a misunderstanding of why Section 230 was necessary. He would like Section 230 protections to be contingent on websites allowing material of every hue. Under such a regime, websites would be plunged into a dilemma: either allow material of every hue (pornography, footage of animals being crushed to death, racist rhetoric, etc.) and enjoy liability protection, or screen every comment or photo before it goes live in order to avoid lawsuits. Allowing material of every hue results in an Internet that the vast majority of users dont want; screening every piece of content would kill online speech as we know it. Ironically, Murdocks proposal would result in far less online speech. Weve been here before. In fact, this dilemma is what spurred Section 230s creation in the first place. Congress passed Section 230 in 1996 as a way to solve this so-called moderators dilemma. In 1991, a federal judge held that the Internet-service provider CompuServe, which did not engage in moderation of the alleged defamatory content at issue, was the functional equivalent of a more traditional news vendor. As such, it could not be held liable for user-generated content. In 1995, a New York Supreme Court judge held that, because an Internet-service provider did moderate content, it was the publisher of a users content. The dilemma for the burgeoning Internet industry was clear: engage in no content moderation and be considered a distributor, or moderate content and be considered a publisher. Section 230 solved the dilemma by stating that interactive computer services are not the publishers of user-generated content and are free to moderate content in whatever way they desire. Despite what many on the political right seem to think, Section 230 does not distinguish between publishers and platforms, does not say anything about so-called public forums, and does not hold that content moderation makes a website such as Facebook the publisher of third-party content. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and many others made the prudent business decision not to use the First Amendment as their content-moderation guideline. With billions of people using these companies products, it shouldnt be surprising that their content-moderation policies will sometimes irritate and anger some of their users. But such irritation should not prompt proposals that are contrary to the principles of free speech and risk destroying the Internet of today that while far from perfect remains the best venue for speech in history. More from National Review The Mobile County Sheriffs Department isnt doing enough to protect its inmates and employees, according to two civil rights groups. A coronavirus outbreak at the jail has affected at least 60 people is to blame for the death of a medical staff worker this week. The sheriffs department has responded by testing guards and employees. But the American Civil Liberties Union and Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center are pushing for Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran to either release more inmates or test the inmates. The county set up a testing center outside Metro Jail on Tuesday and screened approximately 189 employees within the jail during the past two days. Employees with USA Health administered the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) nasal swab test to determine if the employees have COVID-19. The sheriffs office is expected to know the results in a matter of days. Mobile County is facing a wider spike in cases in recent weeks. As of Thursday afternoon, there were 1,340 cases of coronavirus in Mobile County and 77 deaths. Both are highest in the state. Approximately 2.5% of the countys population has been tested, according to state records. Not enough tests Cochran said there are no plans to test all the inmates. Approximately 38 inmates and around 30 employees have tested positive for coronavirus at the metro jail. The department has been isolating inmates who are showing symptoms of coronavirus into a variety of units, including the nearby minimum-security barracks building that can house up to 325 people. Inmates who arrive to the jail are being quarantined for at least seven days before being placed into the general population. Until just recently, no one had enough tests to give, said Cochran. The Board of Health wasnt testing enough people in certain instances. We were very limited. We were directed that when an inmate showed the symptoms, rather than waste another kit on them, to go ahead and treat them as if they were exposed. Cochran said that first responders, which included the countys corrections officers who work inside the jail, received the blood serum tests to detect the coronavirus antibodies. The PRC test is considered a more reliable examination than the antibody screening. Inmates did not receive antibody testing last month, but Cochran said they are examining whether to do some limited testing. We acquired some of those and we are looking at taking random sampling of inmates in the jail, he said. Then if they test positive for the antibody, we can use limited PCR tests and that would give us a better read of how spread throughout the jail the virus is. We just got those (antibody) kits (on Tuesday) but we wont be able to do that until we get the final results of the corrections officers we tested all day (Tuesday and Wednesday). Testing inmates Dillon Nettles, policy analyst at the ACLU Alabama, and Micah West, senior staff attorney with the SPLC, argue that testing should be more thorough throughout the jail in order to prevent further infections from spreading. Limiting testing to certain staff and visitors over a temporary time period ignores the guidance from public health experts who have acknowledged that COVID-19 can still spread through asymptomatic individuals, said Nettles. It is also shameful that Sheriff Cochran is resisting testing any of the incarcerated population considering the risk of spread in jails because of crowding within the facilities. West and Nettles both point to Tennessee, which has implemented system-wide testing follow a recent outbreak at a state prison northeast of Nashville. Gov. Bill Lee, last week, authorized mass testing at all state correctional facilities of staff and inmates after 50% of the 2,450 tests that occurred at the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center returned with positive COVID-19 cases. In other places across the country, mass testing at correctional facilities has shown a high level of coronavirus infections. At the Marion Correctional Institute in Ohio, 73% of the total population tested positive for COVID-19 after Gov. Mike DeWine vowed that every prisoner would receive a test. West said very few state or county inmates in Alabama, compared to Tennessee, are being tested. I dont know how many they have tested in Mobile, but Id imagine that if they tested the entire population, who knows how many are positive, said West. Because people are often asymptomatic, they may be sitting there and spreading it throughout the jail where I highly doubt they can achieve social distancing. Reducing jail population Nettles and West also said Mobile County is not doing enough to lower the number of people incarcerated inside the jail. They compare Mobile Metro Jail (which had a jail population of around 1,050 people on Tuesday) with Montgomery County (400 inmates), Jefferson County (800 inmates) and Orleans Parish Jail in New Orleans (800 inmates). But Mobile Metro Jail, unlike Jefferson and Montgomery counties, also accepts offenders from the local municipal courts. Mobile County doesnt have municipal jails, and Cochran said the ACLU and SPLC were misconstruing the numbers. According to Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, there are approximately 50 municipal inmates at Metro Jail. Still, West said he believes that city and county officials need to be taking more aggressive steps to remove people from the jail who dont need to be in there. Mobile County has lowered the inmate population during the coronavirus outbreak by about a third, from around 1,630 in early March to 1,050 as of Tuesday. Other jails have also lowered their populations including Montgomery County (from 570 to 600 down to 440), and at Jefferson Countys two county jails in Birmingham and Bessemer (from 1,100 to 825). There have been no reported cases of COVID-19 in either jail. But in Montgomery, the city jail has seen an uptick in cases. The jail has eight federal inmates, and 13 employees who have tested positive for coronavirus. According to city spokesman Michael Briddell, the city jail continues to follow CDC guidelines and proper prevention protocols to ensure the health and safety of all. He said that court and jail supervisors have the authority to evaluate cases on their individual merits, and the city is limiting the number of individuals jailed. It was unclear if any inmates or employees at city jails in Jefferson County, such as Birmingham and Hoover, had a similar outbreak. Cochran, in Mobile County, said his deputies are not making many arrests at all, but acknowledged there are eight to nine cities in the county who bring people arrested to the jail on a routine basis. He said his deputies are not doing a lot of misdemeanor arrests, and are instead issuing court summons in which an offender will appear before a judge at a later date. West, pointing to the Mobile Metro Jails daily log, noted that very low-level charges are still occurring in Mobile where people are being arrested and transferred to the jail for offenses that include possession of marijuana and public intoxication. He credits Montgomery County Circuit Judge Johnny Hardwick for entering a standing order instructing criminal justice actors that every decision resulting in an incarceration should be made with the goal of limiting detention and incarceration in order to reduce the spread of the virus. Mobile County Circuit Judge Michael Youngpeter said that Mobile Countys courtrooms have, since mid-March, focused on reducing the number of inmates inside Metro Jail. He said that circuit and district court judges have reviewed court files to make sure people who are incarcerated for missing payments for a variety of fines were given summons and allowed to leave the jail. Its obvious that an outbreak of a COVID virus at a 1,000-person jail is bad for the jail and the community, said Youngpeter. If a significant portion of the inmate population contracts the virus, it has the potential to have downstream problems for our health resources. State prisoners Youngpeter credited Cochran for removing approximately one-third of the jailed inmates. We just went through a list of dockets again to proactively find folks who can be released who are nonviolent offenders and to decrease the jail population so that the folks who do need to be over there are protected by the staff that is there, said Youngpeter. I dont know what else we could have done. The numbers have been brought down by 600 people in a little over a month. They have worked hard to get that population down and I know that for a fact. Cochran said one issue that remains a problem is that Mobile Metro is housing state prisoners after the Alabama Department of Corrections quit taking inmates about 1-1/2 months ago. The ADOC had a 30-day moratorium on taking in county inmates, but that expired late last month. The ADOC is now taking in an a limited number of county inmates, but it will not accept intakes from any jail facility that has had an inmate test positive for COVID-19 in the last 14 days. Its been three or four weeks ago when we had something like 100 that were backlogged from being sent to the state prison system and they arent accepting them for 30 days, said Cochran. Im sure those numbers have increased by more than 100 now. The Department of Corrections said they would accept (inmates) under a pilot program. But if there is coronavirus in a jail, they wont take them. Its a problem for us. The ADOC statement, issued on April 16, requested county jails to follow best practices and procedures recommended by the CDC which include screening, testing quarantining, and treating any inmates who test positive for COVID-19 or who directly are exposed to an individual who tests positive. CDC guidance Casadear Ceda Williams, 58 The CDC, in a study released Thursday, showed that nearly 5,000 people in the U.S. that are incarcerated have been diagnosed with COVID-19, along with nearly 3,000 staff members. Of those who have died, 88 are inmates and 15 were staff members. The totals did not include May figures, which would include the death of 58-year-old Casadear Ceda Williams, a medical assistant at Mobile Metro Jail who spent over six days in the ICU after testing positive for the virus. The study also states that symptom screening alone is inadequate in identifying and isolating infected people inside jails. Additional strategies include physical distancing, movement restrictions, use of cloth face coverings, intensified cleaning, infection control training for staff members and disinfection of high-touch surfaces in shared spaces. Some jurisdictions, the CDC notes, have implemented decompression strategies to reduce crowding such as reducing or eliminating bail and releasing people to home confinement or community supervision. States like Louisiana, South Carolina and Kentucky have pushed to have the number of jailed inmates lowered. Cochran said that officials are looking at increasing the number of house arrests, noting that his department has acquired ankle bracelets to accommodate that strategy. But as for increased testing inside the jail, he said he would follow the best experts in the medical fields to determine who needs to be tested and does not. Certainly, you dont need to test every inmate in the jail, said Cochran. We know people get (coronavirus) and get over it without knowing they ever had. Wed have to also see if (the inmate) volunteered to take (a test). I dont know if we can force a test on an inmate. Corchran said he wasnt going to worry about what the ACLU And SPLC were pushing for him to do. I know what were doing is correct and Im confident it is, he said. The woodwork industry is experiencing many hardships with 80 percent of orders postponed in April. Vietnams woodwork companies could not export last month as large markets have become frozen. The Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association (Vifores) predicted that woodwork exports may have zero percent or minus growth rate this year. A survey of 124 woodwork enterprises in March found that 100 percent of them have been hit by the epidemic. At least 75 percent of enterprises reported initial losses of VND3.066 trillion. More than half of the surveyed enterprises said they have to scale down production, 35 percent still keep operation but may have to suspend production in the time to come, 7 percent have halted operation, and only 7 percent still operate normally. This is because the epidemic is attacking nearly all of Vietnams important export markets, including the US which consumes 50 percent of Vietnams exports, and the EU which consumes 10 percent. There are signs of the epidemic returning to Japan which uses 13 percent of Vietnams exports. China, the third largest export market of Vietnam, accounts for 12 percent Vietnams export turnover. However, experts said it will take time to restore the purchasing power and supply chain. China, the third largest export market of Vietnam, accounts for 12 percent Vietnams export turnover. However, experts said it will take time to restore the purchasing power and supply chain. Exported timber and forest products is one of the key industries of Vietnam with expected export turnover of $12 billion in 2020. However, Covid-19 may dash those hopes. To date, nearly all large markets have become frozen, said Dien Quang Hiep, chair of the Binh Duong provincial Timber and Forest Production Association. The US and EU are completely frozen. There are still sporadic orders from Japan and South Korea. China has reopened its market but it will take a long time to return to normal, he said. An internal report delivered among timber associations on March 30 showed Vifores estimates that 80 percent of buyers from the US and EU have postponed or canceled orders. According to Vu Hai Bang, CEO of Woodsland, one of the biggest exporters with 3,000 workers and revenue of $60 million in 2019 from the US and EU, consumer stores in major markets have closed. The buyers of Woodsland have postponed orders. Things happened quickly, just within two weeks, Bang said. Nguyen Duc Kien, deputy general director of Ke Go Co Ltd, which mostly exports plywood to South Korea and Japan, said his company can export five containers a month now, just 1/10 of the export volume before the epidemic. Mai Lan Vietnamese woodwork industry: the path to $20 billion goal More and more foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) in Vietnam have begun exporting woodwork products as Vietnamese enterprises increasingly lose market share. With lakhs of migrant labourers choosing to return to their home states from Ludhiana, schools located in the district have another reason to worry amid the coronavirus lockdown the decreasing class strength. Principals of various government and private institutions are receiving calls from parents for school leaving certificates.Over 5 lakh migrants working in Ludhiana have registered on the Punjab helpline portal to return home. As per sources, majority of students at the government and private schools in Giaspura, Dhandari Kalan, Dhandari Khurd, Sherpur Kalan, Lohara, Shimlapuri, Jamalpur and Mundian Kalan belong to migrant families. Headmaster of Government High School, Sherpur Kalan, Lakhvir Singh said, Of the 1,010 students in Classes 6-10, 90% come from migrant families hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. I am receiving many calls from students informing that they are going back to their home towns. This is worrying, as it will bring down our enrolment. Most of the 1,056 students in Classes 6-12 at our schools are from other states. So far, 12 students from Bihar have informed me about their return and they are not sure when they will come back to Ludhiana, said Ujjalvir Singh, principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Dhandari Khurd. Satish Kumar, who works at a factory, said he and his family will be travelling to Uttar Pradesh on Friday. Due to depleting finances, we have decided to return home. My family will die of hunger here. My children study in Government School, Sherpur Kalan, and I have informed their teachers about them leaving, he said. Durga Rani, a domestic help who hails from Gaya in Bihar, said they were a family of six. Earlier, my three children got mid-day meal from school, but it stopped with closure of schools. Now, I have no money to buy ration and prepare meals for my family, so we have decided to return to Bihar, she said. Head teacher of Government Primary School, Giaspura, Nisha Rani, said, We have a strength of 2,675 students. As of now, no parent has informed me of their ward leaving. We will get clarity once the school reopens. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Moving crews and the military families they're moving will have to wear face masks, practice social distancing and follow other coronavirus prevention guidelines during the peak season for permanent change of station moves this summer, defense officials said Wednesday. The movers will also have to give families written verification that the crew members have been screened for COVID-19 and have the necessary gear with them to follow guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before they start loading or unloading the trucks, said Rick Marsh, the Defense Personal Property Program director. The crews will also have to use as few personnel as possible to get the job done, clean frequently touched surfaces and "simply practice good hand hygiene," Marsh said in a Pentagon telephone conference. In addition, military families will have to follow CDC guidelines during the moves "to protect themselves and moving personnel," Marsh said. He also stressed that families should reschedule the move if they're uncomfortable with how it's going. Related: In First, DoD Awards Massive $7.2 Billion Contract to Single Company for PCS Moves "Families are empowered to decide who enters their residence, empowered to question moving personnel on their adherence to these [CDC] protocols, and they're empowered to say 'Stop' at any point" in the process, Marsh said. "If families aren't comfortable, they should stop work and reschedule their move -- period," Marsh said. The military this year has moved about 12,500 military families under exceptions to Defense Department stop movement orders. Another 30,000 are in line to move this summer, Marsh said. Military families have often complained of a lack of oversight for the moves and difficulties in getting compensation for damaged goods. Marsh and other officials pledged a better performance this summer. Marsh said a DoD representative would be in touch with every family, either in person or online, to check on the moves. If something seems wrong, the local transportation office and the chain of command "will get involved to make it right," Marsh said. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Jason France, the senior enlisted adviser for U.S. Transportation Command, said he expected the new procedures to make the sometimes difficult PCS moves easier for families. He said he had moved 15 times in the course of his career and noted that various issues had "plagued the program for years. I fully understand the stresses and frustrations" involved in each PCS move, he said. The moves this summer will be under exceptions to stop-movement orders throughout the military that Defense Secretary Mark Esper began issuing in March. In April, Esper extended the stop-movement orders through June 30, but he has also pledged to review the restriction based on the progress in combating coronavirus. Marsh said about 30,000 military families are "in the queue" for PCS moves. "Those are families that have been approved or authorized to move if conditions allow." He said the demand for more exceptions was expected to be significant and would continue to the end of this year. The officials also said that the entire PCS process was expected to improve and afford more accountability for lost or damaged goods with the signing of a three-year, $7.2 billion contract with American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Group, Inc., based in Parsippany, New Jersey, to manage PCS. Ken Brennan, director of acquisitions for TRANSCOM, said the current contracts for moves lacked accountability, and American Roll-On Roll-Off offered the "best service for the best value" over six competitors for the contract. He said the first moves under the contract were expected to begin in February 2021. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. Read More: Coronavirus Survivors May Be Barred from Joining the US Military Senate Republicans are beginning to sour on Christopher Wray. Theyre not ready to push for the FBI directors firing as some of President Donald Trumps most fervent allies have demanded, but theyre looking for speedier action on Trumps desires to clean up the Justice Department. Im not calling on [Trump] to make a change, but I think the FBI needs to show more energy in terms of solving some of these internal problems, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in a brief interview. They need to up their game. Graham, a close Trump ally, made his comments before DOJs stunning reversal Thursday to drop the criminal case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russias then-ambassador to the U.S. And Flynns newfound freedom from legal jeopardy could deliver Wray some breathing room. The harshest attacks have come from conservative media figures close to Trump, who accused Wray of covering up evidence that would exonerate Flynn. In recent days, the Justice Department released documents including a handwritten note that Flynns allies suggested was proof that the government was trying to trick him into lying. Another showed that the FBI initially intended to drop its investigation into Flynn well before the January 2017 interview. FILE - In this Sept. 10, 2019 file photo, Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, leaves the federal court following a status conference in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) In court documents explaining its decision to drop the case, the Justice Department cited a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information. But even apart from the Flynn saga, a series of interviews with GOP senators underscored the frustration with the FBIs broader handling of the Russia investigation and the agencys responsiveness to their oversight requests. Still, they also want Wray to stay put for now with many of them privately saying they want no part of a tough confirmation fight to replace him in an election year. Most importantly, they say, many of the alleged abuses in the Russia investigation occurred well before Wrays tenure. Story continues I wouldnt ask for him to go right now, said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who has feuded with Justice Department leaders in recent years over access to documents. I want him to take some action. Hes responsible for it. Hes responsible for getting things changed. [But] I dont want to say hes responsible for a lot of the stuff that happened before he was there. Grassley suggested that Wrays job status will depend on whether he takes punitive measures against FBI officials who allegedly behaved improperly. I expect very dramatic action that proves that they know something was badly wrong over the last five or six years, Grassley said. And around this town, the only thing that you send a signal is one of two things: either somebody gets fired or they get prosecuted. Flynns case has been a rallying cry for conservatives and allies of the president who believe the Justice Department was weaponized against Trump and has consistently sought to undermine him and his associates. And in the days leading up to the decision to drop the case against Flynn, several of Trumps most vocal boosters in the conservative media world were unrelenting in their criticisms of Wray, arguing that the Flynn revelations reflect a pattern of abuse that the current FBI leadership has failed to address. They also whacked Wray for not turning over the Flynn documents sooner. Allies of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell praised Wray, in a sign he still has some strong backing on the Hill. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Wray is the right man to clean up what was broken at the FBI. And Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) called Wray very capable. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, walks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, during a break in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) But other Republicans said they arent satisfied with Wrays progress so far. Im highly concerned about his lack of, really, reform within the FBI and certainly not turning over the type of documents I think he shouldve turned over to Congress a long time ago, Senate Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said. So Im very disappointed in his performance. There are a lot of questions that have to be asked on exactly where in the hierarchy of the FBI the buck stops, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, warned. So Ive not formed a formal opinion, but I think there are some questions, based on the answers, that could lead me in that direction. Republican senators supported the initial Russia investigations, including special counsel Robert Muellers probe, but have since soured on the predicates for those investigations, including the surveillance of former Trump adviser Carter Page, whose Russia ties drew scrutiny from the intelligence community. Some of the presidents closest allies want Wray to hold accountable officials who they think treated Trump and his presidential campaign unfairly in 2016. Ill reserve judgment on whether he ought to be fired, but I think he needs to do more to get rid of the people who perpetrated this on the president, said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed Wray to lead the agency by a vote of 92 to 5, with all Republicans voting in favor. But many of those same Republicans have grown concerned that Wray is not being transparent with Congress, specifically on how the FBI is implementing reforms in the aftermath of a blistering inspector general report that found widespread abuses of the surveillance courts. I think hes been a little derelict in not being more accommodating to help get to the bottom of what many of us are concerned with, Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) said. I think he needs to be more energetic and more responsive. And I think if hes not, theres going to be increasing pressure for him to maybe move on down the road. I wouldnt be calling for it myself. But I think he puts himself in a spot where hes vulnerable. Trump himself is growing increasingly frustrated with Wray, but he has said privately that he does not want to be accused of having a constitutional crisis on his hands, and is letting Attorney General William Barr take the lead on handling Wray, according to a person close to the White House. Trump has never liked Wray, the person said, adding that keeping his job isnt in the cards for him. In an interview last Friday with conservative commentator Dan Bongino, the president said that what Flynn faced was a disgrace, adding: One way or the other hes innocent. Trump did not answer questions about the fate of the FBI director and whether he should be trusted to enact reforms. Instead, the president praised Barr and said he is looking into the matter. Ill tell you what, youre going to see what a good job hes doing, Trump said. I dont get involved, I say Bill, you have to do whats right. I can get involved in theory I am the chief law enforcement, but I think its better if I dont. The president has rarely voiced his concerns with Wray publicly. But last year, he lashed out at Wray after the FBI director backed up the Justice Department inspector generals conclusion that the FBIs Russia probe was appropriately launched. At the time, Senate Republicans raced to defend Wray from the presidents attacks. Wrays penchant to sometimes buck the president has rubbed Trumps allies the wrong way, in particular when it comes to election interference and the origins of the Russia investigation. I think his attitude, his very dismissive attitude, when hes been up before the Judiciary Committee addressing that situation is of deep concern to me, said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a member of that panel. So I would just say that I have a lot of concerns. The FBI seemed to acknowledge the pressure Wray is under earlier this week when an agency spokesman released a rare statement seeking to distance Wray from the Flynn controversy, placing the blame on prior FBI leadership. Director Wray remains firmly committed to addressing the failures under prior FBI leadership while maintaining the foundational principles of rigor, objectivity, accountability, and ownership in fulfilling the Bureaus mission to protect the American people and defend the Constitution, the spokesman said. House Republicans have gone even further than their counterparts in the Senate. Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Wray earlier this week in which he suggested that the FBI director was shielding the agencys alleged misconduct in the Flynn case. Even more concerning, we continue to learn these new details from litigation and investigations not from you, Jordan wrote. It is well past time that you show the leadership necessary to bring the FBI past the abuses of the Obama-Biden era. Meridith McGraw contributed to this report. With no containment, the outbreak could kill between 83,000 and 190,000 on the continent in the first year, WHO says. The coronavirus pandemic could kill between 83,000 and 190,000 people in Africa in the first year and infect between 29 million and 44 million during that period if it is not contained, the WHO has warned. Russias coronavirus cases, which now stand at over 177,000, have overtaken France and Germany to become the fifth highest total in the world after a record daily rise. Prime Minister Imran Khan said Pakistan will ease lockdown in phases from Saturday despite an increase in number of coronavirus cases in the country. Senior German health official Lars Schaade said a second coronavirus wave could hit Germany before autumn. Case numbers are falling but this is not an all-clear signal, Schaade said at a news conference. Globally, more than 3.7 million people have been confirmed infected with the new coronavirus so far, and more than 264,000 have died, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Thursday, May 7 23:35 GMT US airliner to mandate temperature screening on all passengers Frontier Airlines said on Thursday it would begin temperature screenings for all passengers and crew members on June 1 and bar anyone with a temperature at or exceeding 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 C). The move, in what Frontier said was the first among major US airlines, followed the industry mandating facial coverings for all passengers and heightened cleaning to address coronavirus concerns and a massive air travel decline. Frontier customers will be screened via touchless thermometers prior to boarding. If a reading is at or exceeds 100.4 F, customers will be given time to rest and potentially receive a second check, the company said, adding it would work with any customer with an elevated temperature to rebook travel for a later date. 22:45 GMT UN body warns of mega-famines The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that the world faces mega-famines if enough funds are not pledged to combat the ripple effects of coronavirus pandemic on the worlds most fragile countries, which are already grappling with food insecurity. What we are facing now is a double pandemic [of] famines that could impact us at biblical proportions, WFPs executive director David Beasley said during a conference in Geneva on Thursday. Read more here. 20:30 GMT Latvia to ease restrictions for public gatherings from May 12 Latvia will raise the limit for public gatherings to 25 people from two beginning May 12, as the country starts to ease restrictions introduced back in March to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus, the government has said. The government still extended the state of emergency, which has allowed it to introduce a series of actions to curb COVID-19, to June 9, but said a string of measures would be eased starting on Tuesday. Latvia currently has 909 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 18 deaths. The first is that it will be allowed to gather up to 25 people at the same time, but precaution remains, Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said late on Thursday, adding people would still have to observe two meters distance from each other. 20:15 GMT Mexico turns ex-presidential residence into base for nurses, doctors Mexico has transformed the luxurious former presidential Los Pinos complex, which was for many decades the countrys most prestigious residence, into a temporary home for healthcare workers battling the coronavirus outbreak. Once famed for its sumptuousness, the sprawling residence now appears sparse with converted rooms housing modest single beds with crisp white sheets and grey metal lockers, similar to those found in hospital changing rooms. Mexican officials say they expect the outbreak to peak this week. So far Mexico has registered 27,634 coronavirus cases and 2,704 deaths but officials say low testing means both figures underestimate the spread of the disease across the country. About 58 doctors and nurses are already staying in Los Pinos but officials say up to 100 people could be accommodated in the complex that acted as a home for successive Mexican leaders and their families since 1934. Police walk outside the former presidential residence of Los Pinos in Mexico City [Rebecca Blackwell/The Associated Press] 19:45 GMT New York extends moratorium on rent evictions by 60 days New York will extend a moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rent for another 60 days until August 20 to alleviate anxiety over the economic impact of the coronavirus, Governor Andrew Cuomo has said during a daily briefing. The governor in March had issued a moratorium on residential and commercial evictions that lasted through June, but he said he wanted to reduce the anxiety of families struggling through the economic shutdown. It is now extended until Aug. 20. I hope it gives families a deep breath, Cuomo said at his daily briefing. The executive order will also ban late fees for missed payments and allow renters to apply their security deposit to a payment, though theyd have to pay it back over time. 19:15 GMT Trump says Putin accepted US offer of ventilators President Donald Trump has said Russian President Vladimir Putin had accepted his offer to provide ventilators to aid in the fight against the novel coronavirus causes a potentially deadly respiratory illness, adding that Russia is having a hard time with the disease. Trump and Putin spoke by phone on Thursday, where they discussed the coronavirus as well as arms control, according to the White House. 18:45 GMT WHO: Pandemic could kill up to 190,000 in Africa in first year if not contained The novel coronavirus could kill between 83,000 and 190,000 people in Africa in the first year and infect between 29 million and 44 million in the first year if containment measures fail, the WHO has warned. The projections are contained in a new WHO Africa study based on assumptions that containment measures are not put in place or fail, WHO Africa head Matshidiso Moeti told reporters in a teleconference. Most countries on the continent have imposed restrictions on public gatherings, international travel and curfews among other measures meant to curb the spread of the virus.The virus hit Africa later than other continents and transmission rates are lower than elsewhere. The importance of promoting effective containment measures is ever more crucial, as sustained and widespread transmission of the virus could severely overwhelm our health systems, Dr Moeti said in a statement. Curbing a largescale outbreak is far costlier than the ongoing preventive measures governments are undertaking to contain the spread of the virus. 18:30 GMT Northern Ireland says no headroom to lift restrictions now Northern Ireland does not plan to soften restrictions designed to curb the spread of COVID-19 at this time due to the high infection rate, Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill has said. We have no headroom for change at this moment in time, ONeill told a press briefing, saying that the reproduction rate, or R0, of the disease in the British province was 0.8-0.9 compared to around 0.5 in both England and Ireland. 18:10 GMT France death toll just below 26,000 The number of people who have died from a coronavirus infection in France has increased by 178 or 0.7 percent to 25,987, the lowest rate of increase in four days. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said earlier in the day that France would start lifting its almost two-months old national lockdown from Monday. The Health Ministry said in a statement the number of people in intensive care units fell by 186 or 5.9 percent to 2,961, a total below the 3,000 threshold for the first time since March 25. The number of people in ICU a key measure of a health systems ability to deal with the epidemic is now well below half the peak of 7,148 seen on April 8. The number of people in hospital with coronavirus also fell again to 23,208 from 23,983, continuing an uninterrupted three-week fall and down almost 30 percent from an April 14 peak of 32,292. A nurse prepares medical equipment at the intensive care unit of the Lariboisiere Hospital in Paris [Joel Saget/AFP] 17:50 GMT UK: 400,000 Turkish gowns not good enough for front-line staff The UK government says a shipment of personal protective equipment (PPE) from Turkey intended to help ease supply problems is sitting in a warehouse because it does not meet British standards. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said on Thursday that the 400,000 medical gowns are not of the quality that we feel is good enough for our front-line staff treating coronavirus patients. The shipment has become an embarrassment for the UK government since a minister announced on April 18 that it would arrive the next day. Read more here. 17:40 GMT Denmark to allow reopening of entire retail sector from Monday Danish shopping malls will be allowed to open again on Monday as the Nordic country enters its second phase of reopening after the coronavirus lockdown, the government has said. Smaller stores have already reopened but the entire retail sector, including shopping malls, will be allowed to reopen from May 11, and restaurants and cafes one week later. The result of negotiations with neighbouring countries about border controls and travel bans will be announced by June 1, the government said. 17:30 GMT Massachusetts must allow gun retailers to reopen despite pandemic: judge A federal judge ordered authorities in the US state of Massachusetts to allow gun shops to reopen after the governor deemed them non-essential businesses that needed to close to slow the spread of the coronavirus. US District Judge Douglas Woodlock in Boston ruled that the restrictions ordered by Governor Charlie Baker in response to the pandemic imposed an improper burden on the constitutional rights of citizens seeking to possess firearms. 17:20 GMT Large number of cases among Afghan medics spark alarm in Kabul: Report More than a third of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Afghan capital have been among doctors and other healthcare staff, two senior health officials have told Reuters news agency, in a sign that the war-torn country is struggling to deal with the pandemic. The officials cited a lack of protective equipment for medics as well as a lack of awareness among some medical staff of the precautions needed to avoid infection. However, it is not clear whether the apparently disproportionate rate of infection might be at least in part because medical staff are more likely to be tested for the illness. The total of 925 confirmed cases in Kabul has included some 346 medical staff, a government health official and an Afghan doctor who is on the board of a government-led pandemic task force said. As of Thursday, 3,563 people have tested positive and 106 people have died from COVID-19 in Afghanistan, according to official figures. Read more here. A health worker checks the body temperature of a devotee as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus before the Friday prayers in [Kabul Wakil Kohsar/AFP] 17:05 GMT With record daily cases, Russia overtakes France and Germany Russia now has the fifth most cases of the coronavirus in the world, surpassing the totals of France and Germany. Russia reported a record 11,231 new cases on Thursday, bringing its total to 177,160, the fourth highest in Europe and the fifth highest in the world. Moscows mayor has suggested there are three times as many cases in the capital city than official numbers reflect. 17:00 Norway eyes reopening most of society by mid-June: PM Norway aims to reopen by mid-June most of the public and private institutions that have been closed to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, Prime Minister Erna Solberg has said. Thanks to our common efforts since March, we have brought the contamination under control, Solberg told a news conference. We can therefore, over time, lighten the toughest measures. The Nordic country was one of the first in Europe to curb activities to rein in the spread of the novel coronavirus, on March 12, and to relax some restrictions once it got the outbreak under control, in late April. 16:50 GMT Turkey death toll rises by 57 to 3,641 The number of people who have died from COVID-19 in Turkey has risen by 57 in the last 24 hours to 3,641, according to health ministry data. The overall number of cases rose by 1,977 to 133,721, the data showed, the highest total outside Western Europe, the United States and Russia. The number of daily deaths and new cases has fallen sharply from peaks recorded last month. Employees of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality youth center sew face masks in Ankara, Turkey [Adem Altan/AFP] 16:40 GMT UK death toll rises 539 to 30,615 Britains COVID-19 death toll has risen by 539 to 30,615, according to figures announced by the foreign ministry. The figures, collated by government agency Public Health England and equivalents in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, comprise deaths in all settings following positive coronavirus tests and cover the period up to 1600 GMT on Wednesday. Another dataset published by Britains Office for National Statistics published on Tuesday showed a higher toll. This included deaths where coronavirus is mentioned on the death certificate, and the data is only published weekly. 16:30 GMT Easing British lockdown is point of maximum risk: Raab Any easing of Britains lockdown represents a huge risk and could be stalled by an increase in infection rates, foreign minister Dominic Raab has said, warning that if social distancing lapsed, the virus would spread exponentially. The point at which we make even the smallest of changes to the current guidance will be a point of maximum risk. If people abandon the social distancing the virus will grow again at an exponential rate, Raab told a news conference. 16:20 GMT Italy daily death toll falls, new cases stable Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy have climbed by 274, against 369 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new infections declined marginally to 1,401 from 1,444 on Wednesday. The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on February 21 now stands at 29,958, the agency said, the third highest in the world after the US and Britain. The number of confirmed cases amounts to 215,858, the third highest global tally behind the United States and Spain. 16:10 GMT Georgia to lift lockdown in Tbilisi on Monday Georgia will lift its lockdown in the capital Tbilisi and allow shops to reopen on Monday as part of a gradual easing of coronavirus restrictions, Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has said. He told a televised cabinet meeting on Thursday that a lockdown imposed in another large city, Rustavi, would be lifted on May 14. The country would reopen to foreign tourists from July 1, with domestic tourism resuming from June 15. Tbilisi, Rustavi, Batumi and Kutaisi were locked down on April 15, with bans on vehicles entering or leaving. Batumi and Kutaisi were released last week. Georgia still has a state of emergency until May 22, which includes a night curfew, the closure of restaurants, cafes and most shops, the suspension of public transport and a ban on gatherings of more than three people. Grocery stores, pharmacies and petrol stations remain open. 16:00 GMT Canada, provinces agree to boost wages of essential workers: Trudeau Canada and the ten provinces have agreed to boost the pay of essential workers such as those working in seniors residences, where many coronavirus cases have occurred, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said. Trudeau told a briefing that Ottawa would contribute C$4 billion, which he said represented 75 percent of the total cost. The provinces will be responsible for determining who is essential and how much they receive, he added. A body is removed from Centre dhebergement Yvon-Brunet, a seniors long-term care centre, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus in Montreal, Canada [Christinne Muschi/Reuters] 15:50 GMT France to keep borders closed until at least June 15: Interior minister French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said that following the lifting of the coronavirus lockdown in France on May 11, the countrys borders would remain closed until further notice. Since the start of the crisis the closure of the borders is the rule, and the authorisation to cross a border is the exception. We have to keep this protection in place, this will not change soon, Castaner told a televised news conference. He said that the restrictions would remain in place until at least June 15. 15:40 GMT Kremlin says Trump offered to send medical aid to Russia US President Donald Trump offered during a phone call with Russias President Vladimir Putin to send medical aid to Moscow to help fight the coronavirus pandemic, the Kremlin has said. In a readout of the phone call, the Kremlin said the two presidents had also discussed global oil markets, noting their support for last months output deal between OPEC and non-OPEC producers, something they said had helped stabilise oil prices. 15:30 GMT Trump tests negative after report valet infected US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have tested negative for coronavirus after finding out a member of the US military who worked on the White House campus had become infected, a White House spokesman has said. The military official was identified by CNN as personal valet to Trump. US President Donald Trump has tested negative for coronavirus [Doug Mills/EPA] 15:20 GMT Japan approves Gilead Sciences remdesivir Japan has approved Gilead Sciences Incs remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19, making it the countrys first officially authorised drug to tackle the coronavirus disease. Japan reached the decision just three days after the US drugmaker filed for fast-track approval for the treatment. There has so far been no coronavirus medicine available here so it is a significant step for us to approve this drug, a Japanese health ministry official said at a press briefing. Remdesivir will be give to patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms, he added. With no other approved treatments for COVID-19, interest in the drug is growing around the world. 15:00 GMT Belarus: Life as normal despite ravaging epidemic Belarus, a country of about 9.5 million people where most live in urban centres, has been run by the same president, Alexander Lukashenko, since 1994, and is now grappling with one of Europes highest per capita coronavirus infection rates. According to Johns Hopkins University data, there are at least 19,255 cases of the new coronavirus. COVID-19 has led to the deaths of at least 112 people in the country, but some experts say that many coronavirus-related fatalities are registered as cases of pneumonia. Lukashenko, who is campaigning for the presidential election to be held by the end of August, has repeatedly played down the danger of the coronavirus, saying a lockdown would be ineffective, unjustified and bad for business and society. Read more here. People enjoy the good weather by the lake, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, on the outskirts of Minsk, Belarus, on May 1, 2020 [Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters] 14:45 GMT Paris region will end lockdown slower than rest of France: PM Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has said France would gradually end its lockdown from Monday, May 11, but some restrictions would remain in place in the Paris region where the new coronavirus is still circulating. From Monday we will progressively unwind the lockdown that started on March 17 but the country is cut in two, with the virus circulating more quickly in some regions, notably in the Ile de France region, which is very densely populated, he said. In other parts of France, secondary schools, cafes and restaurants may open from early June if the infection rate remains low. 14:30 GMT IMF approved $18 bn in 50 requests for emergency aid: Spokesman The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved requests for emergency pandemic aid from 50 of its 189 members for a total of about $18 bn, and is continuing to work quickly through the remaining 50-plus requests, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said. The IMFs executive board would consider a request from Egypt for both emergency financing and a stand-by lending arrangement on May 11, Rice told reporters during an online briefing. Rice did not name all the countries that still have requests pending, but, in answer to questions, said the Funds staff were currently considering requests from Sri Lanka, South Africa and Zambia. 14:20 GMT No fans in Dutch stadiums until vaccine developed: Health minister Sporting events in the Netherlands will have to take place without fans in attendance until there is a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, Health Minister Hugo de Jonge has said said. Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Wednesday organised sport could resume from September 1, but de Jonge said mass gatherings would not be allowed until a vaccine had been developed. We cannot yet mention a date for the last step, the mass gatherings. That is actually only possible if there is a vaccine and no one knows how long it will take, de Jonge wrote in a letter to the Dutch parliament. We hope of course soon, but a year or more is very real. 14:10 GMT 33 million have sought US unemployment aid Nearly 3.2 million laid-off workers in the US applied for unemployment benefits last week as the business shutdowns caused by the viral outbreak deepened the worst economic catastrophe in decades. Roughly 33.5 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the seven weeks since the coronavirus began forcing millions of companies to close their doors and slash their workforces. That is the equivalent of one in five Americans who had been employed back in February, when the unemployment rate had reached a 50-year low of just 3.5 percent. The Labor Departments report released on Thursday suggests that layoffs, while still breathtakingly high, are steadily declining after sharp spikes in late March and early April. Initial claims for unemployment aid have now fallen for five straight weeks, from a peak of nearly 6.9 million during the week that ended March 28. 14:00 GMT Public Masses in Italy to resume May 18 Italys government and Roman Catholic bishops have signed an agreement to allow the faithful to attend Masses again from later this month, ending a standoff between the Church and state over the coronavirus lockdown. The government banned attendance at Masses in early March, part of its prohibition on gatherings as it sought to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Many Catholics asserted that church services should have been permitted along with other essential activities such as food shopping. With Thursdays agreement, Masses for the public can resume on May 18 but under strict conditions outlined in a protocol signed by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, president of the Italian Bishops Conference. Individual pastors will determine the maximum number of people who can fit in a church while staying at least a metre (yard) apart. If there is demand, additional Masses should be held, rather than allowing more people into the church for one service, the protocol says. The faithful will also have to wear masks in church. Priest Don Giuseppe leads a Mass to an empty church in San Fiorano in northern Italy [Marzio Toniolo/Reuters] 13:30 GMT Moscow lockdown measures extended till May 31: Mayor Restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the novel coronavirus in Moscow have been extended until May 31, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has said in a blog post on his personal website. Some measures in place since late March will be eased from May 12, he said, including the return to work for industrial and construction companies. But Sobyanin added it was still too early to reopen sports facilities, restaurants and theatres. Moscow is the epicentre of Russias coronavirus crisis, with 92,676 of the countrys 177,160 cases, though Sobyanin said earlier the real number of cases in the capital was around 300,000. Police officers wearing protective face masks speak in a street amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Moscow [Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters] 13:15 GMT UKs 2020 Notting Hill Carnival cancelled Londons Notting Hill Carnival, an annual celebration lead by the citys British West Indian population, will not take place on the streets in 2020, its board has announced. Instead, organisers said they were planning an alternate event that revelers will be able to participate in from home. This has not been an easy decision to make, but the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic and the way in which it has unfolded means that this is the only safe option, the board said in a statement. The carnival, which was first held in 1961, was meant to begin on August 30. NHC PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT We have an update for you regarding NHC 2020. Please see our official statement from the NHC Board of Directors. pic.twitter.com/owjdchFcz1 Notting Hill Carnival (@NHCarnivalLDN) May 7, 2020 __________________________________________________________ This is Joseph Stepansky in Doha taking over the live updates from my colleague Mersiha Gadzo. ___________________________________________________________ 12:41 GMT UK will announce very limited easing of lockdown: PM Johnsons spokesman Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce a very limited easing of the UKs lockdown next week because the government will not do anything to risk a second spike in COVID-19 cases, his spokesman said. Johnson is scheduled to announce possible changes to social restrictions on Sunday following a review by ministers. His spokesman told reporters that while the government understood the lockdowns huge impact on the economy, it would be worse to ease the measures too soon. 12:40 GMT Saudi Arabia forms police unit to enforce curbs on social gatherings Saudi Arabia has formed a police unit to monitor violations of rules banning gatherings of more than five people imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the state news agency SPA said. The kingdom had previously said such gatherings were prohibited and said on Thursday that those breaching the rules would be punished by law. It also encouraged people to report in breach of the restrictions. 12:37 GMT Egypt extends nationwide nighttime curfew until end of Ramadan Egypt extended a nationwide nighttime curfew until end of the holy month of Ramadan to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said. 12:28 GMT Germanys Bundesliga football league confirms return on May 16 The Bundesliga and second division will return from a suspension caused by the coronavirus outbreak on May 16, the German football league (DFL) said. Football officials are hoping to restart the league without spectators in May [Martin Meissner/AP] 12:14 GMT Cases in the Netherlands rise by 455 to 41,774 The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Netherlands rose by 455 to 41,774, with 84 new deaths, health authorities said. The countrys death toll stands at 5,288, the National Institute for Health (RIVM) said in its daily update. The RIVM cautioned that it only reports confirmed cases, and actual numbers are higher. 12:07 GMT Japan approves Gilead Sciences remdesivir as COVID-19 drug Japan approved Gilead Sciences Incs remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19, the health ministry said, making it the countrys first officially authorised drug for the disease. Japan reached the decision just three days after the US drugmaker had filed for approval. Remdesivir was granted authorisation last week by the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use for COVID-19. An ampule of Remdesivir is pictured during a news conference at the University Hospital Eppendorf (UKE) in Hamburg, Germany [Ulrich Perrey/Reuters] 12:05 GMT Putin warns global market rivalry rising amid pandemic Russian President Vladimir Putin said that international rivalry on global markets was rising because of a fall in demand caused by the pandemic. Against the backdrop of falling global demand, the struggle for international markets for deliveries of fuel and raw material goods, food, and other products has intensified, Putin said at a government meeting broadcast on state television. 12:00 GMT Bangladesh cartoonist, writer charged for anti-government posts A Bangladeshi cartoonist and a writer are among 11 people to be charged for posting content on social media critical of the governments handling of the coronavirus outbreak in the country. Read about it here. Police have arrested at least 40 people in recent weeks under the controversial law [Monirul Alam/EPA] 11:44 GMT Coronavirus cases in Africa surpass 50,000 Africa reported more than 50,000 cases of coronavirus across the continent, according to the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. South Africa tops the list with almost 8,000 confirmed cases as the World Health Organization expresses worry of community spread in West Africa. Read more here. 11:16 GMT Malaysia reports 39 new cases Malaysia confirmed 39 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 6,467 coronavirus infections. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths stands at 107. 11:13 GMT Africa disease control body rejects Tanzania assertion that tests are faulty The head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) rejected an assertion by Tanzanias president that his nations coronavirus tests are faulty and are giving too many false positives. The tests that Tanzania is using we know they are working very well, Dr. John Nkengasong told journalists on a conference call. The Africa CDC, along with the Jack Ma Foundation, a charity run by a Chinese billionaire, supplied the tests, Nkengasong said. 11:02 GMT Mayor says Moscows real tally is more than triple the official Moscows mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said that the real number of cases in the Russian capital was actually around 300,000, a figure that is more than three times higher than the official total, the TASS news agency reported. Authorities reported 92,676 cases in Moscow and 177,160 cases nationwide. 10:58 GMT Pakistan to ease lockdown in phases from Saturday Pakistan will ease its lockdown from Saturday, Prime Minister Imran Khan said, despite the fact that the number of cases in the country is still accelerating. The decision is due to the countrys large number of poor people and labourers who cannot afford to live under lockdown any more, he said. We know that were doing it at a time when our curve is going up but it is not edging up as we were expecting, Khan said in a televised address. Markets will be allowed to reopen five days a week, but all shops must close by 5pm every evening. Public transportation remains suspended, as well as intercity travel. 10:53 GMT Qatar records 918 new cases Qatar reported 918 new coronavirus cases, raising the total number of cases to 16,592. 12 deaths have so far been recorded in the country. Latest update on Coronavirus in Qatar#__ #YourSafetyIsMySafety pic.twitter.com/cPz0JXQjiR (@MOPHQatar) May 7, 2020 09:55 GMT Spains daily death toll falls again Spains daily death toll fell to 213 from 244 the day before, the health ministry reported. The total number of coronavirus deaths rose to 26,070, up from 25,857 on Wednesday. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases increased to 221,447 from 220,325 the previous day. 09:00 GMT Black, Indian and Pakistani people more likely to die: UK stats Black people and those of Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani ethnicity have a significantly higher chance of dying from COVID-19 than white people, the British statistics office said. The risk of death involving the coronavirus among some ethnic groups is significantly higher than that of those of White ethnicity, the Office for National Statistics said. Black males are 4.2 times more likely to die from a COVID-19-related death and Black females are 4.3 times more likely than White ethnicity males and females, the ONS said. People of Bangladeshi and Pakistani, Indian, and Mixed ethnicities also had statistically significant raised risk of death involving COVID-19 compared with those of White ethnicity. Read more here. 08:50 GMT Second coronavirus wave possible in Germany before autumn A senior German health official warned there could be a second coronavirus wave before autumn depending on peoples behaviour, just as the country is opening up its economy again. Case numbers are falling but this is not an all-clear signal, Lars Schaade, Vice President of the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases, said at a news conference. 08:42 GMT Polish parliament supports law allowing election to be held by postal ballot The Polish lower house of parliament, the Sejm, approved government-sponsored legislation that would allow the presidential election to resume by postal ballot, according to voting records. The presidential election was scheduled to take place on Sunday. The ruling party wants to hold it by postal ballot due to the pandemic, a plan opposition parties strongly oppose, saying the election would not be transparent or fair. Although lawmakers have now approved in principle a postal ballot, the deputy prime minister said earlier on Thursday that June was now the earliest date that the election could be held. Read more about Polands presidential vote here. 08:40 GMT Reproduction rate at 0.65 in Germany The reproduction rate of the coronavirus in Germany is currently estimated at 0.65, the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases said. The rate is one of the factors that are closely monitored when deciding on further loosening restrictions. A rate of 0.65 means that 100 people who contracted the disease infect on average 65 more, meaning the number of new infections will decrease. 08:37 GMT Japans emergency could be lifted early in some areas Japans state of emergency could be lifted early in some areas of the country that have seen declines in new infections, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said. Nishimura told a news conference it was possible the emergency would be lifted for some areas around May 14. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe extended the nationwide state of emergency until May 31. Commuters wearing face masks cross a street by a railway station in Tokyo on May 7 [Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP] 08:00 GMT China accuses Pompeo of telling lies over its handling of coronavirus China accused US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of telling one lie to cover up another in his attacks against Beijing over the pandemic. The remarks were made by Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, who reiterated that Beijing has been transparent about the outbreak that emerged in China late last year and that US politicians are making baseless accusations against China. The US has accused Beijing of mishandling the outbreak. Read more here. 07:55 GMT Russia reports new record in daily rise of cases Russia recorded 11,231 new coronavirus cases, a record daily rise that raised the case total to 177,160. Russias coronavirus taskforce said 88 people died overnight, bringing the death toll to 1,625. Moscow, the worst-hit area, also reported a record overnight case increase of 6,703 new cases. Moscows mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that the case total was rising in Moscow because the amount of testing had stepped up. 07:50 GMT China says it opposes US, others trying to politicise COVID-19 China said it supports World Health Organization efforts to investigate the origin of the pandemic, and opposes attempts by the US and some other countries to politicise the issue and attack Beijing. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, asked about US President Donald Trumps comments comparing the outbreak to Pearl Harbor and the 9/11 attacks, said the enemy the US faced was the coronavirus and not China. Read more about what Trump said here. 07:10 GMT Singapore reports 741 new cases, taking total to 20,939 Singapore reported 741 new coronavirus cases, its health ministry said, bringing the total number of cases to 20,939. The vast majority of the new cases are migrant workers living in dormitories, the health ministry said in a statement. Five are permanent residents. 06:50 GMT Bank of England forecasts a real wakeup call: UK minister Bank of England forecasts that the UK could be facing the biggest economic slump for 300 years are a real wake up call, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said. In what it called an illustrative scenario, the BoE said it saw a plunge of 14 percent in UKs economy in 2020 followed by 15 percent rebound in 2021. Lewis also said the public should be cautious over media articles that the governments stay at home message to curb the spread of the coronavirus would be significantly changed in a review of the lockdown over the next few days. I would just say to people to not get too carried away with what we may be reading and just wait until the government guidelines and the prime ministers statement, Lewis told BBC TV. The Bank of England forecasts that the UK could be facing the biggest economic slump for 300 years [Hollie Adams/Getty Images] 06:30 GMT Merkels chief of staff: Pandemic to last at least for rest of year The pandemic will last for at least the rest of this year, German Chancellor Angela Merkels chief of staff told Deutschlandfunk radio. We are not living after the pandemic now rather we are living in the middle of a pandemic, one that will be with us for a while at least for this year and thats being very optimistic, Helge Braun said. Merkel announced steps on Wednesday to ease the lockdown in Germany but at the same time launched an emergency brake mechanism allowing for renewed restrictions in case infections pick up again. 06:00 GMT Thailand records three new cases, no new deaths Thailand reported three new coronavirus cases, bringing its total to 2,992, a senior official said. Of the new cases, two were Thai men who had returned from Kazakhstan and have been in state quarantine, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman of the governments Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration. The third case was a 59-year-old Thai woman in the southern province of Yala, he said. __________________________________________________________ Hi, this is Mersiha Gadzo in Doha taking over the live updates from my colleague Zaheena Rasheed. ___________________________________________________________ 05:01 GMT Poland postpones May 10 presidential election Polands governing parties say they have agreed to postpone a presidential election on May 10 after it became clear the poll could not be held via a postal vote because of the coronavirus pandemic. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the governing Law and Justice (PiS), says: The Speaker of Parliament will announce new presidential elections as soon as possible. Read more here. 04:46 GMT UN appeals for $4.7bn more to fight pandemic The United Nations is issuing a new appeal for $4.7bn in funding to protect millions of lives and stem the spread of coronavirus in fragile countries. The money is on top of the $2bn the UN already called for when it launched its global humanitarian response plan on March 25. It has received about half of that money so far. The most devastating and destabilising effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic will be felt in the worlds poorest countries, says UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock. Extraordinary measures are needed. The full $6.7bn response plan prioritises some 20 countries, including Afghanistan, Syria, Liberia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Zimbabwe. The funds are to be used to buy medical equipment to test and treat the sick, provide hand-washing stations, launch information campaigns and develop new programmes to better combat food insecurity. 04:23 GMT New Zealand could resume professional sport next week Grant Robertson, New Zealands sports minister says professional sport could resume as early as next week when authorities decide whether to ease coronavirus restrictions further. Moving to Alert Level 2 continues to expand the opportunities for sport and recreation and reintroduces the opportunity for competitive sport both at a local and professional level, Robertson says. Obviously, the paramount concern is that a return to competitive sport is done safely. New Zealand Rugby says it is thrilled and has plans for 10 rounds of domestic games for the countrys five Super Rugby teams, who have been idle since the season was suspended in March. 03:45 GMT Cases in India continue to surge despite strict lockdown Indias health ministry says the number of coronavirus infections rose to 52,952 in India, up by 3,561 over the previous day, despite a strict weeks-long lockdown. The death toll is up by 89 to 1,783. The spurt in cases has come from the densely packed metropolises of Mumbai, New Delhi and Ahmedabad which are also the growth engines of the economy. Read about it here. Meanwhile, health officials in the southern city of Chennai are rushing to contain a coronavirus outbreak in one of Asias largest fruit and vegetable markets. So far, the Koyambedu market has been linked to more than 500 cases in several districts of Tamil Nadu state and the adjacent Kerala state. Over 7,000 people with connections to the market are being traced and quarantined, says J Radhakrishnan, the leader of Chennais response to the coronavirus. 03:11 GMT US officials warn against COVID-19 parties Officials in the US state of Washington are expressing concern over reports of people organising COVID-19 parties to intentionally spread the virus. Gathering in groups in the midst of this pandemic can be incredibly dangerous and puts people at increased risk for hospitalisation and even death, warns John Wiesman, the states secretary of health. Furthermore, it is unknown if people who recover from COVID-19 have long-term protection, he says. There is still a lot we dont know about this virus, including any long-term health issues which may occur after infection. Wiesmans comments came after officials in the states Walla Walla County reported that some of the 94 cases in the region appear to have been intentionally spread or contracted at so-called COVID-19 parties. The aim of these gatherings is for non-infected people to mingle with an infected person in an effort to catch the virus. 02:53 GMT Korean Air to resume some suspended flights in June South Koreas largest airline says it will resume some of its suspended flights to North America, Europe and Asia next month to expand cargo transport and prepare for a possible increase in travellers as countries ease their coronavirus restrictions. Despite the increased flights, Korean Air says it will still be operating only 32 of its 110 international routes in June. They include the cities of Washington, DC, Seattle in the US, Vancouver and Toronto in Canada and Amsterdam and Frankfurt in Europe. Flights to Singapore, Malaysias Kula Lumpur, Myanmars Yangon and Vietnams Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will also resume. 02:47 GMT US sees first death of detainee in immigration custody US authorities say a 57-year-old man held in immigration custody in San Diego, California, has died from complications related to the coronavirus. The death of Carlos Ernestor Escobar on Wednesday marks the first reported death from the virus among about 30,000 people held in immigration custody in the US. Escobar, who his sister describes as one-of-a-kind, had been held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego and was hospitalised in late April. Read more here. 02:18 GMT Bolsonaros spokesman tests positive for virus Otavio Rego Barros, spokesman for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, has tested positive for the new coronavirus. The 59-year-old former army general is home following all recommended protocols after his positive test result was confirmed on Tuesday, the presidents office says. More than 20 top Bolsonaro officials have tested positive for the virus, including communications chief Fabio Wajngarten and National Security Minister Augusto Heleno. Bolsonaro himself says he tested negative. In this file photo taken on April 11, 2019, Otavio Rego Barros, presidential spokesman speaks during a ceremony marking the first 100 days of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaros government at Planalto Palace in Brasilia. He has tested positive for the coronavirus [File: AFP] 01:57 GMT China reports 2 new coronavirus cases, both imported Chinas National Health Commission is reporting two new coronavirus cases on May 6. Both were so-called imported cases involving travellers from overseas. The two cases from the day before were also imported. Chinas total number of coronavirus cases now stands at 82,885, while the death toll remains unchanged at 4,633. 01:39 GMT All childrens activities back to normal in Iceland Iceland is further easing coronavirus-related restrictions, allowing gatherings of up to 50 people and letting all childrens activities to return to normal. It is extremely important to remain vigilant and minimise the risk of a renewed outbreak. If we see any signs of a re-emerging of the virus, we will be prepared to implement appropriate measures to extinguish any localised infection clusters, says Thorolfur Gudnason, its chief epidemiologist. 01:29 GMT Pandemic is pushing up price of illegal drugs, UN says Coronavirus-related border controls, lockdowns and flight shortages are making illegal drugs more expensive and difficult to obtain around the world, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Many countries across all regions have reported an overall shortage of numerous types of drugs at the retail level, as well as increases in prices, reductions in purity and that drug users have consequently been switching substance (for example, from heroin to synthetic opioids) and/or increasingly accessing drug treatment, the UNODC says in a new report. 01:17 GMT Amazon indigenous groups launch fund to fight coronavirus Indigenous groups from nine countries in the Amazon basin are calling for donations to help protect three million rainforest inhabitants who are vulnerable to the spread of the novel coronavirus because they lack adequate access to healthcare. They say the failure of regional governments to consider the needs of indigenous people in their plans for curbing the pandemic makes it imperative to find other funding to buy food, medicine and basic protective equipment such as masks. Satere-mawe indigenous people are seen using a smartphone to contact a doctor in Sao Paulo state to receive medical guidance amid the COVID-19 pandemic at the Sahu-Ape community, near Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil, on May 5, 2020 [Ricardo Oliveira/ AFP] The Amazon Emergency Fund aims to raise $3m in the next two weeks and $5m over 60 days, say its organizers at the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin (COICA). We cannot wait any longer for our governments We are in danger of extinction, says Jose Gregorio Diaz Mirabal, general coordinator of COICA and a member of the Wakuenai Kurripaco people of Venezuela. The coronavirus has already infected 180 of the 600 indigenous tribes of the Amazon basin and killed 33 of their members in a single month, he says. 00:48 GMT UK study finds higher risk of virus deaths for ethnic minorities The risk of dying from coronavirus is two to three times higher for the UKs black and minority ethnic communities, according to an academic analysis of health service data. The study, by University College London (UCL), finds the average risk of death for people of Pakistani heritage is 3.29 times higher, for a black African background it is 3.24 times higher and 2.41 times higher for Bangladeshi. Black Caribbean communities are 2.21 times more at risk, and Indian groups 1.7 times. In contrast, the researchers find a lower fatality risk for white populations in England. Rather than being an equaliser, this work shows that mortality with COVID-19 is disproportionately higher in black, Asian and minority ethnic groups, says UCLs Dr Delan Devakumar, the studys co-author. It is essential to tackle the underlying social and economic risk factors and barriers to healthcare that lead to these unjust deaths. 00:24 GMT El Salvador to suspend public transport for 15 days El Salvador will temporarily suspend public transport from Thursday onwards in a bid to strengthen efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The measure will remain in place for 15 days, a government decree says. El Salvador, which has reported 15 deaths from the pandemic, has applied some of the toughest measures in the Americas to tackle the coronavirus. 00:07 GMT Brazil hits new daily record for novel coronavirus cases, deaths Brazil, one of the worlds emerging coronavirus hot spots, is reporting a record number of cases and deaths with the health minister flagging the possibility of strict lockdowns in particularly hard-hit areas. Official figures show 10,503 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, well above the previous record of 7,288 cases on April 30. There are 615 deaths, up from the previous record of 600 on Tuesday. Health Minister Nelson Teich tells reporters for the first time that an increasing number of local authorities may have to institute lockdowns, as the coronavirus growth curve does not appear to be flattening. He is not naming any specific cities or states. While authorities have ordered non-essential services and businesses closed in most states, residents are still allowed to circulate. A lockdown, which so far has only been implemented in the city of Sao Luis in the countrys northeast, prohibits people from leaving their homes except for certain necessary activities. Still, Teich says, some areas of the country that had not borne the brunt of the pandemic may be able to consider gradually opening up. Teichs comments stand in stark contrast to comments over the past two months from President Jair Bolsonaro, who has called the virus a little flu and criticised business shutdowns ordered by governors as more damaging to the countrys economy than the virus itself. Teich took office last month as virus cases started surging in Brazil. He pledged to save lives and the economy and said at the time that he and Bolsonaro saw eye to eye. Hello and welcome to Al Jazeeras continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Im Zaheena Rasheed in Male, Maldives. For key developments from yesterday, May 6, go here. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 14:39:42|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MOSCOW, May 7 (Xinhua) -- A new gigantic Chinese-made shield machine has been munching mud and gravel under the ground of Moscow since Tuesday, propelling China-Russia cooperation in infrastructure construction. The large equipment, named "Victory", was developed and produced by China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC). The shield machine has been working for a section of the "Large Circle Line" or the "Third Interchange Contour" in Moscow, excavating two tunnels with a total length of nearly 3 km. With a diameter of 10.88 meters and a weight of 1,700 tons, the titan is the largest Chinese-made shield machine working in Europe. Xue Liqiang, head of the CRCC metro construction project in Moscow, said "We've all put our hearts into it." All components were shipped from the Chinese city of Shanghai to Russia's St. Petersburg via the Suez Canal in 48 days, and then to Moscow. "The machine is specially customized to the Moscow metro construction environment and it can certainly deal with the city's harsh winter," said Gao Yutian, head of the section. "When the machine was being developed, we made technical specifications for it ... We tried to make full use of all previous experience," said Konstantin Orlov, deputy chief engineer of the section. Although six Chinese welders were unable to come to Russia due to COVID-19 restrictions, the project team hired 12 Russian welders and other skilled workers to assemble the machine, with the help of Chinese specialists online. The machine was assembled in 35 days and launched as scheduled, which was "indeed a victory," Moscow's Deputy Mayor Andrei Bochkarev said. For Xue, the safety of all personnel weighs heavily on his mind. His team has taken precautionary measures, including disinfecting working places, checking workers' temperatures, and requiring mask-wearing, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. "The project is under the close attention of the governments of the two countries. Our large shield machine will demonstrate its capabilities through its work," Xue said. Enditem The $50,000 set aside by Brisbane City Council to purchase and send 150,000 items of medical personal protective equipment to its Chinese sister-cities has been "reabsorbed" into council's struggling budget. Lord mayor Adrian Schrinner in mid-February announced the donation in response to a request from Brisbane's sister-cities Chongqing and Shenzhen for assistance during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic. Brisbane lord mayor Adrian Schrinner reiterated that the planned donation did not include any medical supplies that were in short supply. Credit:Albert Perez/AAP At the time Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had begun to roll out support measures for Queensland's tourism and small business sector as the impacts of coronavirus began to be felt. The shipment was meant to include items such as goggles and hair nets, but was cancelled weeks later after Queensland's Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young raised the issue of such donations with her federal counterparts. Fishermen in Sierra Leone on Wednesday attacked a police station and a health clinic in an angry response to drastic cuts in the number of boats allowed to go to sea as part of measures to fight COVID-19, local officials said Freetown, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th May, 2020 ) :Fishermen in Sierra Leone on Wednesday attacked a police station and a health clinic in an angry response to drastic cuts in the number of boats allowed to go to sea as part of measures to fight COVID-19, local officials said. After three days of strict isolation, economic activity was authorised anew on Wednesday morning in the poor West African nation, but fishermen in the major port of Tombo were informed on shore that no more than 15 out of hundreds of vessels could sail. The restriction, which was not previously announced, was taken out of "fear that there would be too many people at the wharf" when boats returned to the port, said Kashor Holland Cole, chairman of the district collective including Tombo, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Freetown. Authorities also acted out of concern that people from neighbouring Guinea would be brought in by boat, despite closed borders, he added. "Just after the announcement at the wharf the fishermen and some youths went on the rampage, destroying the police station, a community clinic and the house of the Tombo community chief," a senior police source said, asking not to be named. The authorities restored a daytime curfew with the military to restore calm. Dozens were arrested and taken to a police station for further investigation, the police source said, adding details of any casualties were unknown The government released a statement saying that "certain individuals and communities began targeting ambulances and healthcare workers in the course of providing essential healthcare services."The country has so far recorded 225 coronavirus cases, 14 of them fatal. During the Ebola epidemic that ravaged west Africa in 2014-2016, at a cost of some 4,000 lives in Sierra Leone, many inhabitants strongly opposed tests for the virus and attacked medical workers trying to combat the disease. Omar Lali and Tecra Muigai Karanja lived as husband and wife for almost two years, a cousin to the 51-year-old Lamu native has revealed. Mohamed Ali Mohamed said his cousin Lali had introduced the Keroche Breweries heiress to friends and relatives. He said Tecra was well known in Kizingitini within the Lamu archipelago, where Lali operates luxury boats between islands and also rears dogs. He would often take Tecra on voyages, said Mr Mohamed. Lali is said to have met Tecra in 2017 while working on the boats, with the beachboy who is said to be a smooth-talker playing the role of knight in shining armor for the damsel in distress. He had gone to Peponi Hotel to drop luggage belonging to some tourists when he found a lady (Tecra) in commotion with the owner over a bill. Lali bailed her out after realizing she was the same tourist he had dropped at the hotel days before, said Mohamed. Omar paid for the room Tecra was occupying and thats how the two struck a friendship that blossomed into an intimate relationship. When her stay in Lamu ended, she returned to Naivasha with a promise to return and after two weeks, she was back. That was in 2017, Mohamed said. From then on, the lovestruck Keroche heiress would frequent Lamu and stay for months on each visit. Tecras Parents Rejected Omar However, like a script out of a love story between a rich girl/poor guy, Tecras billionaire parents opposed their union. She had gone with Lali for introduction to her parents. They rejected him but the girl stood her ground, he said. The parents were against the relationship. They (Omar and Tecra) did not spend the number of days they had planned to in Naivasha. After three days, they were back in Lamu. She pledged to remain loyal to Lali and her parents eventually accepted her choice, Mohamed recounted. Down at the Coast, the lovebirds spent most of their time at the Diamond Hotel in Shella or Peponi and would normally be seen basking in the sand or resting at the seafront at night. It is claimed that Tecra and Lali lived together at the hotel since March but later moved into an apartment following strict Covid-19 restrictions. Tecra even converted to Islam and even helped secure a job for Lalis relative at Keroche Breweries, Mohamed said. Noting that Lali is popular with women, Mohamed said his cousin was married to three foreign women before, a German, an Italian and a Dutch whom he befriended on their Lamu visits as tourists. Omar is very famous; he is known to have children even abroad with different women but as a family, we cannot judge him but had to accept his new wife after he introduced her to us, the cousin said. Omar Lalis family is now in distress over how their kin is being treated by billionaire brewers Joseph and Tabitha Karanja. We are wondering why Lali is being treated as a criminal. The family was aware of the relationship and there was a standby vehicle that had been hired by the family for the two to use to run errands while Tecra was in Lamu. The family would even send them drinks, said Mohamed. Lalis mother, Aisha Mohamed Lali, said her son is innocent and that he might have been framed. BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 5 By Samir Ali - Trend: The first meeting of the Council for Public Control of Azerbaijans Fund to Support Fight against Coronavirus was held on May 5, Ibrahim Mammadov, spokesman for the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers, said. Mammadov made the remark in Baku at the briefing of the Operational Headquarters under the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to the work of Azerbaijans Fund to Support Fight against Coronavirus, Trend reports. The spokesman stressed that to date, the fund has collected more than 113 million manat ($66 million). "The information about spending these funds will be posted on the fund's website, Mammadov said. "Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev made the biggest donation to the Fund - 20 million manat ($11 million)." Welspun Enterprises rose 2.35% to Rs 50.15 after the company announced its plans to acquire a build-operate-transfer (BOT) toll project from Essel group's company, Mukarba Chowk-Panipat Toll Roads (MCPTRL). This acquisition through Welspun Infrafacility (the company's subsidiary) is being done by way of harmonious substitution which was recommended by the project lenders and subsequently approved by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). As on date, MCPTRL had completed ~31% of the 71.1 km long Mukarba Chowk - Panipat Highway (NH-44) project. The 'harmonious exit' clause was introduced by the NHAI in January of this year. It allows lenders to transfer the stuck project to another construction company if the first one is unable to deliver on time. The original total project cost was estimated to be Rs 2,122 crore out of which Rs 1,593 crore is the balance to be incurred, to complete the project. All existing lenders to the project have agreed to continue supporting the project; thus the project is fully financially tied up. The company expects to complete the project by June 2021. As per the concession agreement, the scheduled concession end date is October 2033, extendable up to 3.4 years based on actual average traffic in year 2025. The current toll revenue for only Haryana section is about Rs 200 crore per annum. Upon achieving CoD (commercial operations date) for both Haryana and Delhi section, the company expects to collect toll of Rs 300 crore per annum. In December 2019, NHAI had reportedly terminated the work given to Essel Infraprojects to widen NH-44 into 12 lanes, including eight main lanes and four service lanes. The project of widening the highway from Mukarba Chowk in Delhi to Panipat in Haryana has not only missed its April 2019 deadline but only some portion of the work had been reportedly completed. The project was allotted to Essel Infraprojects in 2015 in the public-private partnership (PPP) mode, media reports said. Post NHAI termination notice, the banks, who were the project's financier, had to decide whether the NHAI or some other private company would complete the project, reports concluded. Welspun Enterprises operated in the infrastructure business. On a consolidated basis, the company's net profit fell 40% to Rs 26.05 crore despite a 13% rise in net sales to Rs 504.47 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In the new filing, Timothy Shea, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, wrote that continued prosecution of this case would not serve the interests of justice, but current and former law enforcement officials said the decision was a betrayal of long-standing Justice Department principles. Shea, who was tapped by Barr to lead the U.S. attorneys office, was the only lawyer to sign the filing; no career attorneys affixed their names to it. Press Release May 7, 2020 Pangilinan, Hontiveros call for Senate probe into PAGCOR lobby for POGOs' quarantine exception SENATORS Risa Hontiveros and Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan on Thursday called for a Senate inquiry in aid of legislation into the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) lobby to exclude Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the COVID-19 quarantine. Senate Resolution 396 comes after the gaming regulator last week allowed POGOs to resume partial operations, subject to strict conditions, purportedly to boost government revenues during the COVID-19 pandemic. But, Hontiveros and Pangilinan said, "PAGCOR's actuations in lobbying for an exception in favor of the POGO industry threaten to unduly put the health and well-being of the Filipino people at risk by undermining the ECQ (Enhanced Security Quarantine)." "Even going by the official estimate, allowing more than 50,000 workers in the online gambling industry to return to work represents a substantial exception to the ECQ rules," they said. "Allowing the partial resumption of POGO operations could reverse the efforts put in place to stem the spread of COVID-19 as there is no assurance that POGOs will follow the Department of Health's guidelines on physical distancing, wearing of masks, and frequent handwashing and sanitation," they added. Earlier this week, PAGCOR took out ads for the publication of a primer on POGOs. The primer, which was also posted in the PAGCOR website, refutes allegations, including a report by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) linking POGOs to crimes including drug trafficking and money laundering. In pushing for the exemption of POGOs to the ECQ, PAGCOR chairman Andrea Domingo argued that POGOs are part of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector, which has been allowed to operate during the ECQ. But the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) rejected that POGOs are part of the BPO industry, citing four key differences: (1) BPO companies are registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) or the Board of Investments, while POGOs are registered with PAGCOR, (2) the offshoring nature of POGOs are allegedly because they are unable to practice their betting or gambling functions in their respective shores, (3) IT-enabled jobs BPO companies create are of much higher value, requiring a range of technical, domain, and soft skills, and (4) BPOs come to the Philippines to leverage off the country's human capital, like strong English and technical skills, customer service orientation, malasakit, and ability to adapt to foreign cultures. On the other hand, majority of POGO staffing comes from foreign labor brought into the country to support their operations. According to IBPAP, POGOs are not part of the annual IT-BPO Headcount and Revenue report, which in 2019 ended with 1.3 million direct employees and $26.3 billion in revenues. PAGCOR also contends that revenues from POGO operations can be a significant source of funds for the government's COVID-19 response. It also says operators are ordered to pay all tax obligations up to March 2020 before they will be allowed to resume operations and only registered workers cleared in COVID-19 rapid tests will be allowed to report back to work. But on February 2020, the Bureau of Internal Revenue revealed that POGOs failed to pay the government an estimated P50 billion in withholding and franchise taxes in 2019. Pangilinan and Hontiveros said the uncollected taxes of POGOs could be a source of additional government funds for COVID-19 response. "[But these] taxes need to be collected regardless of the industry's status of operations during the community quarantine," they said. Earlier this week, House Minority Leader Bienvenido Abante Jr. led a group of congressmen in filing an Anti-POGO Act seeking to have POGOs declared illegal by prohibiting the operations of any offshore gaming by any means or device within Philippine territory. Pangilinan and Hontiveros pointed out that the resumption of POGO operations will have minimal impact on the country's economy, citing AMLC records showing that the industry only accounts for 0.04% of the domestic economy. A teenage boy who pleaded guilty to murdering 20-year-old college student Cameron Blair has lodged an appeal in relation to the life sentence imposed on him for the killing. The murder of Cork Institute of Technology student Cameron Blair sent shock waves through the community in Bandon Road last January after he was fatally stabbed at a house party in the city. A teenager was sentenced to life in prison in relation to the murder of the native of Ballinascarthy in West Cork with a review after 13 years. He pleaded guilty to the murder in the Central Criminal Court. The teen cannot be named because of his juvenile status. A spokesperson for the Court Service has confirmed that an application for leave to appeal has been lodged against the severity of the sentence. In murder cases, a life sentence is mandatory for an adult. However, such a sentence is not mandatory for juveniles. Mr Justice Paul McDermott passed down a life sentence on the teenager with a review scheduled for November 2032. He said the life of Mr Blair was taken in "an act of extreme violence that was clearly deliberate and unanticipated by him. The teen, in a letter of apology to the Blair family, said: "Cameron was nothing but nice to me on the night and did nothing wrong to me. It was never ever my intention for any of this to happen." In a victim impact statement, Cameron's mother Kathy said: "My heart aches everyday for the loss of my son. The loneliness can sometimes be overwhelming. "Often when I am alone in the house I scream at the injustice of this. How could someone so cruelly take the life of our beautiful boy? Following the hearing the family of the late student expressed anger in relation to the sentence. His uncle Aidan Donnelly said they had very little time to grieve Cameron prior to the hearing. Having pleaded guilty we were told that due to the fact that the accused was a juvenile he had to be sentenced prior to his 18th birthday resulting, it appears to us, in the case being expedited through the courts. We believe that this is something that needs to be examined and ask that the appropriate authorities look into this. Meanwhile, Mr Blair died in Cork University Hospital (CUH) after he was stabbed in the neck at a house party in Bandon Road in Cork city on January 16. The attendance was so large at his funeral service at St Peters in Bandon that mourners flowed out from the church on to the steep steps all the way down to the street. Kate Middleton has continued her support for her local High Street by donning a floral yellow dress from a Notting Hill based brand to launch a new photography project. The Duchess of Cambridge, 38, launched the community photography project Hold Still with the National portrait Gallery today, with the campaign designed to catch the 'spirit, mood, hopes and fears' of the nation. The mother-of-three, who is currently isolating with her husband Prince William, 37, and their children, George, six, Charlotte, five, and Louis, two, in Anmer Hall in Norfolk, selected a pretty yellow floral dress from Raey and opted for her usual glamorous bouncy blow dry to speak about the project in an interview with This Morning today. While it marks the first time the Duchess has worn the brand, their flagship store is in Notting Hill, just a stone's throw from her London home of Kensington Palace. Kate Middleton, 38, continued her support for her local High Street as she donned a yellow midi dress from Notting Hill based brand Raey to launch a new photography project today Launching the project, Kate wore her brunette locks in loose waves around her shoulders and opted for her signature natural make-up, with brown eyeshadow and a nude lip. The Duchess also selected a stunning yellow bracelet-sleeve silk dress by British brand Raey, featuring a pink and green tree print. The midi dress is currently on sale on Matches Fashion for 148, reduced from 495. The piece, which is adorned with a playful brown, light-green and pink tree print, the silk dress has a flowing, draped silhouette and bracelet-length sleeves. The Duchess donned the silk midi dress from the Notting Hill based brand to launch the project earlier today It's the first time the Duchess has worn the trendy brand, which is known for it's slim-cut separates in luxurious fabrics. And while materials like cashmere and crepe are often sourced in Italy and Nepal, much of the collection is manufactured in England. Beneath her bouncy blow dry, Kate revealed glimpses of her favourite Catherine Zoraida earrings, which feature a leafy fern design. The pieces, which sell for 165 on the brand's website, 18ct gold-plated silver, making them a gorgeous special occasion purchase. The Duchess also selected her gold leaf earrings by Catherine Zoradia for the interview, having previously worn the pieces during a farm visit in Ireland in February Kate previously showed her support for the high street by selecting quintessentially British brand Boden for a virtual call with a maternity ward in London Celebrity hair stylist James Johnson previously told FEMAIL how he believes the Duchess has been styling her own hair, and how it looks healthier as she goes to less events and has given it a break from regular heat. The British label Raey is not the only one that the Duchess has worn during her time in isolation. In a virtual visit to a maternity ward in Kingston last week, the royal wore a pretty blue midi dress from Boden as well as supporting a family friend, Tabitha Webb, by opting for a 70s inspired 275 jumper by the British designer. The Duchess has had a busy few days amid the coronavirus pandemic, with the royal Court Circular revealing she and Prince William spent Wednesday speaking to care home residents. It wasn't the only British brand that Kate wore during the call, with the royal also opting to support her family friend Tabitha Webb by donning a jumper from the designer's label The entry for Wednesday's Court Circular reads: 'The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge this morning talked to residents and staff at a Royal British Legion Care Home, Mais House, 18 Hastings Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, via video link.' Today, Kate is spearheading the Hold Still campaign, as a patron of the National Portrait Gallery and a keen amateur photographer, which aims to capture a snapshot of the UK at this time, with the help of the nation. The Duchess is today launching the Hold Still project in conjunction with the National Portrait Gallery The project aims to showcases the lives of those who have put everything on hold to help protect our NHS - and the reality of everyday life on the frontline for our helpers and heroes. The Duchess will personally curate 100 photographs for the Hold Still exhibition. She said she had been 'struck' by the many 'incredible' images seen already, 'which have given us an insight into the experiences and stories of people - some desperately sad images showing the human tragedy of this pandemic'. WASHINGTON - A Senate committee Thursday voted to advance President Donald Trump's nominee to fill a vacancy on the Federal Election Commission, which would restore the agency's ability to conduct official business. The Senate Rules Committee voted along party lines to nominate conservative Texas lawyer James "Trey" Trainor III and move his nomination to the full Senate, three years after he was first named for the position. The FEC, which regulates federal campaign finance laws, lost the ability to do its job in August, when the resignation of a commissioner left it unable to operate without its necessary four-person quorum. The nomination of Trainor had been in limbo amid questions over his social media postings and a standstill among Senate leaders on the logistics of appointing commissioners. In March, the committee had held a rare public hearing on Trainor's nomination, which served as the first step to confirm him to the position. Trainor, an Austin-based elections lawyer, has pushed for less regulation of money in politics and fought efforts to require politically active nonprofit organizations to disclose their donors. Government transparency groups widely oppose Trainor's confirmation. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, said it is important to restore the FEC's ability to do its official work, with candidates seeking guidance on how to safely and legally campaign during the coronavirus outbreak. "As candidates navigate the novel campaign issues that have been created by this pandemic, a fully functioning FEC will allow them to receive the guidance that they need in this uncertain time," Blunt said Thursday. The senator noted that Trainor's confirmation would reestablish party balance among commissioners. The current three commissioners are one Republican, one Democrat and an independent who often caucuses with Democrats. Under federal law, no more than three FEC commissioners can be from the same party, and the panel typically has been split equally along party lines. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the committee's top Democrat, objected to the nomination, citing concerns with Trainor's views on loosening restrictions on the role of money in politics. She also cited an unwritten tradition of appointing a pair of commissioners - one from each party - at a time. Senate Democrats said they have vetted and recommended Shana Broussard, an FEC attorney, to the panel. But there has not yet been a formal nomination sent to the Rules Committee. "Moving forward with this nomination today may restore quorum, but it should've instead proceeded in a bipartisan manner," Klobuchar said. "The American people deserve an FEC that works, an agency that enforces the law and protects our political system from corruption." All the Republican senators voted for his nomination and Democratic senators voted against it, mostly by proxy. His nomination was approved on a 9-1 vote of senators who physically attended the vote. It is unclear when the full Senate will vote on Trainor's nomination. JERUSALEM Israel's Supreme Court on Wednesday approved a coalition deal between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival-turned-ally Benny Gantz, paving the way for a unity government to be sworn in next week. The alliance formed last month between the right-wing incumbent and his centrist challenger followed three inconclusive elections in less than a year. Under the three-year deal, Netanyahu will serve as prime minister for 18 months, with Gantz as his alternate, a new position in Israeli governance. They will swap roles midway through the deal, with cabinet positions split between Netanyahu's Likud party and Gantz's Blue and White alliance, as well as their respective allies. Israel has been without a stable government since December 2018 and the deal offers rare political stability as the country seeks to repair the economic damage wrought by the novel coronavirus, which has infected more than 16,000 people in the country. The pact's opponents sought to torpedo it in court, arguing Netanyahu should be barred from forming a government while under criminal indictment and that certain provisions in the agreement broke the law. But the Supreme court ruled that "there was no legal reason to prevent the formation of a government" led by Netanyahu. As the decision was delivered, Likud and Blue and White said in a joint statement that the new government would be sworn in on May 13. Serious charges Netanyahu has been charged with accepting improper gifts and illegally trading favours in exchange for positive media coverage. He denies wrongdoing and his trial is set to start on May 24. While Israeli law bars ministers from serving while under indictment, there is no such law for prime ministers. Opponents of the deal had argued at a court hearing this week that Netanyahu is not currently a normal prime minister, but rather the caretaker leader of a transitional administration who is a candidate to form a government. They claimed he should be barred from doing so due to the charges against him. The judges said that while they were not seeking "to diminish the severity of the charges against Netanyahu," they believed those could be addressed at his upcoming trial. No room to intervene The deal's opponents also mounted legal challenges against specific provisions in the Gantz-Netanyahu agreement. Those included the creation of a government with a three-year mandate, instead of the traditional four, as well as a clause that defined the first six months of the government as an "emergency" phase tasked exclusively with confronting the pandemic. Likud and Blue and White informed the court on Tuesday that they would adjust certain provisions. The justices said that while the coalition agreement "raises significant legal difficulties, we have decided there is no room to intervene." Israel's Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit had advised the court that problematic clauses in the pact could be reviewed "at the implementation stage." Parliament vote Separately, lawmakers in Israel's 120-seat had begun voting earlier on Wednesday on various bills to enact the coalition deal. But individual votes were scheduled on each of the roughly 1,000 amendments proposed by the opposition, so a definitive outcome is not expected until Thursday. The coalition appears to have the 61 votes needed for approval, counting Likud's 36 Knesset seats, the 15 controlled by Gantz and ultra-Orthodox lawmakers who support Netanyahu. Assuming the deal passes, parliament would then ask President Reuvin Rivlin to give Netanyahu a formal mandate to form a government. With a presidential mandate, Netanyahu would then be able to finalise his coalition, including ongoing haggling over cabinet jobs. Former Gantz ally Yair Lapid, poised to become parliament's opposition leader, blasted what he termed an excessive focus on ministerial positions. "A single mother with two children who lives in a rented apartment and lost her job will be on the street next month," because of the pandemic, Lapid said. "That's what we should be dealing with, not which politician gets which job." AFP BJP president J P Nadda on Thursday expressed deep pain over the gas leak tragedy in Visakhapatnam and asked party workers to provide all possible help to victims. "Deeply pained to hear about the tragic gas leak in Visakhapatnam. My deepest condolences to the families of the deceased, I pray for the wellbeing of all. I urge party workers to provide all possible relief in coordination with the administration, following all health protocols," he tweeted. At least six people have died and nearly 100 hospitalised after a gas leak at a chemical plant in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam in the early hours of Thursday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Photo credit: U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Cmdr. Aaron Hicks From Popular Mechanics Across America, airplanes from the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy are taking to the skies. The mission: thank Americas healthcare workers and promote a message of national unity. Although the Air Force Thunderbirds and Navy Blue Angels are the most visible sign, other air force units, including B-1 bombers and Navy Super Hornets, are buzzing cities as a show of appreciation in the fight against COVID-19. Other units are overflying smaller cities and metropolitan areas. The Navy and Air Force have conducted more than a dozen flights so far, with many more on the way. Heres some of the best videos from Operation America Strong. On April 28, the Navys Blue Angels, flying F/A-18C Hornet strike fighters, flew over New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania with the Air Force Thunderbirds. The video ends with the Blues and Thunderbirds taking on gas from an Air Force KC-10 Extender aerial refueling tanker. The Thunderbirds use the probe refueling system, in which a boom lowered from the rear of the KC-10 connects to a gas port along the F-16s spine, between the cockpit and vertical stabilizer. The Blue Angels, like all U.S. Navy and most NATO tactical aircraft, refuel from a drogue dragged behind the tanker. Here's the same flight from the Thunderbirds perspective. The same day, the Kansas City area got an overflight by B-2A Spirit bombers from nearby Whiteman Air Force Base. The stealth bombers were accompanied by a flight of four T-38 Talon trainers and a flight of A-10 Warthog ground attack jets. The two teams overflew the Washington D.C.-Baltimore area and Atlanta on May 2nd. Heres a shot from the DC area, with Pentagon visible in the first moments of the shot. The Navy-Air Force teams are flying over Dallas-Forth Worth, Houston, and New Orleans on May 6, and Jacksonville and Miami are scheduled for May 8. The Pentagon is declining to release the schedule for flights more than a few days into the future in an attempt to prevent large crowds and viewing parties from forming. Story continues Over in the Southwest, the Air Force scrambled a total of 17 F-16 Fighting Falcons and F-35 Lightning IIs to fly over the Phoenix area. The fighters, accompanied by a KC-135 Stratotanker, were from Arizonas Luke Air Force base. Southern Louisiana received one of the most impressive flyovers of all: two B-52H Stratofortress bombers based at Barksdale Air Force Base, accompanied by F-15E Strike Eagles from the Louisiana National Guard. The big, lumbering, immortal bombers flew low over the New Orleans area and beyond. In the meantime, here's a list of known flyovers out to May 12. You can also follow the Blue Angels ( Twitter , Facebook ) and Thunderbirds ( Twitter , Facebook ) on social media. You Might Also Like Supraja Mahesh By Online Desk Waking up to the morning alarm, getting ready, slipping on an ironed uniform, eating breakfast and then hurriedly rushing to catch the school bus - all these have hit the pause button ever since the Great Lockdown. School and college students are being 'homeschooled' from March 24 and Zoom and online classes have replaced traditional classrooms. But at a time when many are of the opinion that online classes will transform education as we know it, not all is rosy, especially in India, where problems like lack of technology, of digital training and bandwidth are posing challenges for many families and teachers. "The importance of classroom learning is undeniable and this pandemic proves that we are not yet ready to handle online classrooms," said Dr Saroj Rani, a professor at Delhi University's Maitreyi College. While digital classes might get the job done, Dr Saroj felt that it is difficult to provide the same level of education to all students - especially to those in rural India. A few primary school teachers have other concerns. They are of the opinion that college students are easier to manage in digital classes than primary school children. ALSO READ: HRD formulating safety rules for schools, colleges to ensure social distancing when they reopen "Students don't finish homework as there is no fear of them being questioned," said Namita (name changed on request), who teaches Math in a Delhi-based school. The digital class divide has especially been highlighted in this pandemic. Internet is no more a privilege, but a necessity. If you don't have it, a student risks missing out altogether. While connectivity is a common problem, Namita says households with one laptop are facing issues especially if there are siblings. "The classes tend to clash and students don't show up," she added. According to a study conducted by scholarship ed-tech platform Buddy4Study, of the 25 crore students affected by the lockdown, 80 per cent fall in the Economically Weaker Section category. A big problem in schools where they study is the number of students per class. "When we are looking at a class strength of 40-50 students of a government school, it becomes difficult to give attention to everyone as a teacher," said Nandini Mishra, a curriculum developer at SOS Herman Gmeiner school in New Delhi. Her solution is simple. Involve these students in a PBL (Project Based Learning) system where students are given tasks based on the previous year's syllabus. This way they can revise old concepts and avoid being anxious about the new syllabus they learn online. Dear Sir, I am a student of class 10 ICSE board our bord is saying to conduct the rest of our exams after lockdown the question is that what should we study 11th or 10th if we study 10th we will be behind from other board 11th class students #EducationMinisterGoesLive Rekha Bhardwaj (@RBhatdwaj) May 5, 2020 Five other Delhi-based teachers too told The New Indian Express that online classes are ideal when the class strength is less than fifteen. "This way there is a student-teacher connect," said Leena Rajoria. While digital classrooms have made parents more involved in their kids' school life, it can't be denied that interaction in classrooms helps in character development, Leena stressed. "While online classes are the need of the hour, they cannot be a replacement for traditional classes..." she added. Leena also felt that even teachers need time to adapt to digital learning as some concepts need visual aids and innovative ideas to make primary school children understand topics. Talking about conducting the pending class X and XII board exams and semester examinations in colleges, Dr Saroj felt that a majority of students, especially from the Delhi University, are not keen on taking exams online. "Moreover, the DU website is slow most of the times due to high traffic which can be frustrating for any student," the professor added. The HRD Ministry on Tuesday stated that there will "soon be a decision" on conducting the pending board exams at the earliest. Leena felt that "vigilance will be a problem" in government schools while conducting these online exams. "The digital divide in India needs to be addressed. The more students are kept away from classes, especially children from economically weaker sections, the more the chances of them not returning to schools..." one of the teachers warned. According to data provided by UNICEF, 1.57 billion students have been affected due to school closures in more than 190 countries worldwide because of COVID-19. While In India, The Ministry of Human Resource Development plans to reopen schools and colleges by September 2020, teachers feel that alternative plans need to be made in case another lockdown-like situation arises. State home minister Anil Deshmukh late on Thursday announced that Palghar superintendent of police (SP) Gaurav Singh has been sent on compulsory leave over his handling of the April 16 Palghar mob lynching case. The state government has already suspended a few police personnel and officers for their inept handling of the incident, wherein three people were murdered by a mob of tribals during the nationwide lockdown. Deshmukh, on Thursday, visited Gadchinchale village in Dahanu tehsil of Palghar district where the lynching took place. He was accompanied by director general of police (DGP) Subodh Kumar Jaiswal and met local political representatives including MP, MLA and members of gram panchayat. Local political leaders reportedly complained to the minister that the police did not take adequate steps to mitigate the rumours which led to the killings. Deshmukh, in a video message on Thursday, said, After visiting the village and meeting the elected representatives, we have taken the decision of sending the Palghar SP on compulsory leave. The charge of the post has been given to the additional superintendent of police of Palghar. On April 16, three men two seers and their driver were dragged out of their vehicle outside Gadchinchale village, around 110km from Palghar, and were beaten to death by a mob on suspicion that they were child-lifters. The incident occurred when the victims were going from Mumbai to Surat to attend a funeral. The deceased were identified as Kalpavriksha Giri, 70; Sushil Giri, 35; and their driver Nilesh Telgade, 30. The seers belonged to Varanasi-based Juna Akhara and were slated to attend the last rites of their guru Mahant Shri Ram Giri in Surat. JACKSON, MI Jackson College employees may not be on campus right now, but that didnt stop four of them from receiving annual outstanding faculty awards. The 2020 Outstanding Awards were presented virtually to Tom McMillen-Oakley, Vincent Maltese, Kelly Crum and Jonathan Ponagai, a release said. Outstanding Administrator Award Kelly Crum, a Jackson College alumna, has been working at the school since 2013. As the director of multicultural affairs, Crum oversees the Men of Merit and Sisters of Strength, two student groups on campus. She also coordinates the Student Multicultural Center and helps to offer student programs. I love everything about my job from the relationships I have with the students, collaborating with my colleagues on a daily basis and being able to provide insight as we serve students, Crum said in the release. I am in awe of our Jackson College family. She loves working with people and the chance to give back to her alma maters current students, the release said. Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award After a brief stint as an adjunct faculty member at Jackson College in 1999, Vincent Maltese left and returned to the school in 2016. He now teaches math and business courses in the Corrections Education Program at the Milan Federal Prison. When I was told that I had won the award I was surprised and humbled, Maltese said in the release. I have met so very many outstanding adjunct faculty members during my time at Jackson College. The two things I enjoy most about my job are making a positive difference in the lives of students and working as an integral part of an outstanding faculty, staff and administration. J. Ward Preston Outstanding Faculty Award Tom McMillen-Oakley has taught studio art at Jackson College since 2000. His classes have included drawing, painting, two-dimensional design ceramics and sculpture and art history. I love my students, and I love being a teacher, McMillen-Oakley said in the release. I am so sad to be away from them now, as many of them thrive in the studio setting. Online is awesome, but it's not the same. In his time at Jackson College, McMillen-Oakley has also helped to design the curriculum and mentored students by helping them create portfolios to apply to four-year institutions. He currently serves as the Language, Literature and Arts department chair at Jackson College. It's been a journey these past few years taking on the role of chair, but I have a great department that is supportive and a lot of fun to work with, he said. I truly couldn't have done this without them. I am both honored and humbled at the same time. Outstanding Staff Member Award Jonathan Ponagais story at Jackson College started in 1999 when he enrolled as a student to complete an associates degree. He has now been working at the school for four years in information technology as database and internet systems coordinator. Ponagai creates all staff, student and faculty accounts and manages the online learning platform and system administration, the release said. I love my job for several reasons. I am passionate about education and believe that it is the best vehicle for people to better themselves; thus, I find a great deal of meaning in serving others, Ponagai said in the release. The challenges of meeting the needs of our students and faculty are interesting and can often make a difference. I also love all the opportunities I get to be involved at various levels of the institution where I can bring my technical insights and learn from others, working to deliver our promise to change lives together. Plays exploring human drive and human touch win 2020 Neukom Honors HANOVER, N.H. - May 7, 2020 - The Neukom Institute for Computational Science at Dartmouth College has awarded the 2020 Neukom Institute Literary Arts Award for Playwriting to Drive by Deborah Yarchun. In light of the threat to the arts brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Neukom Institute is also pleased to be able to recognize an additional play for this year's program. A second-place prize has been awarded to Override by Elizabeth Keel. "I was floored and delighted by the overwhelming number of submissions for this year's award," said Dan Rockmore, director of the Neukom Institute and creator of the spec fic program. "In a time when so many artists are struggling, we are glad to be able to support even more playwrights by offering two awards this year." The Neukom Institute Literary Arts Awards program was established in 2017 as an open competition to honor and support creative works around speculative fiction. The playwriting award is offered to works that respond to the prompt: "What does it mean to be human in a computerized world?" The first-place prize includes a $5,000 honorarium. Second place comes with a $750 honorarium. Drive tells the story of truckers who lose their jobs to self-driving vehicles. The play explores fears surrounding the next stage of automation in a country where people are defined by their work. "An award celebrating work that explores what it means to be a human in a computerized world is so relevant, particularly in these strange, socially-distant times," said Yarchun. "The resources this honor provides would be helpful anytime but are particularly meaningful now." The second-place winner, Override, is a story of innovation and competition wrapped in a romantic comedy. The play reinforces the importance of contact through the body, heart, and mind. "The play's emphasis on human interaction and touch-based technology resonates even more keenly now than when I first wrote it," said Keel. "I feel such an abiding appreciation for the Neukom Institute's efforts to bring scientists and theatre artists together. This prize allows me to move forward in the hope of collaborating in a shared space again soon." Both plays will have remotely-staged readings with Dartmouth's VoxFest this summer. "The festival's virtual production will necessitate an exploration of new forms of theater," said Matthew Cohn, co-founder of VoxFest. "Both Drive and Override are extremely engaging, relevant plays, and we couldn't be more excited to explore these new forms with Deborah Yarchun and Elizabeth Keel." Additionally, Yarchun will work with Northern Stage to further develop her play. Drive will receive a staged reading at Northern Stage in White River Junction, Vermont during the 2020-2021 season. "In the past two years, Northern Stage's collaboration with the Neukom Institute has introduced us to imaginative new content and important new writers," said Jess Chayes, the BOLD Associate Artistic Director at Northern Stage. "We are thrilled to develop Drive, Deborah Yarchun's thoughtful and sensitive exploration of the human cost of automation." The playwrights will also have the opportunity to work with members of Dartmouth's Department of Theater. The Neukom Institute Literary Arts Awards also honors speculative fiction books. Awards are given to established and first-time authors who feature themes relevant to computational work or computing in their writing. The book awards will be announced later this year. ### Editor's Notes: For a full list of award-winners and additional information, please see: http://sites. dartmouth. edu/ neukominstitutelitawards/ Photos of winning playwrights Deborah Yarchun and Elizabeth Keel: https:/ / www. dropbox. com/ sh/ tvdoavld6j3jksx/ AAAJgDw2AG9Wrc_Otszsyl4Na?dl= 0 About Dartmouth Founded in 1769, Dartmouth is a member of the Ivy League and offers the world's premier liberal arts education, combining its deep commitment to outstanding undergraduate and graduate teaching with distinguished research and scholarship in the arts and sciences and its leading professional schools: the Geisel School of Medicine, the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, Thayer School of Engineering and Tuck School of Business. About the Neukom Institute for Computational Science at Dartmouth College In an age in which all forms of knowledge and experience can find their way to the computer, computation is central to many of the investigations and innovations that range across the humanities, arts, and sciences. The mission of the Neukom Institute for Computational Science at Dartmouth College is to support this broad view of computational investigation across Dartmouth's campus, and to catalyze creative thought throughout the Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, and Business, for undergraduates, graduate students and faculty. About VoxFest VoxFest is a laboratory festival of daring new works-in-progress at Dartmouth College. The festival meets every summer and is co-produced by Vox Theater and the Dartmouth Department of Theater. About Northern Stage Northern Stage is a regional non-profit LORT-D professional theater company located in White River Junction, VT. Northern Stage actively engages its audiences with world-class productions and extensive educational programs in its home, the Barrette Center for the Arts. Founded in 1997, the company has offered more than 150 professional productions of new works, classics, and musicals. Now in its 24th season, Northern Stage serves over 50,000 people annually. In 2014, the company launched a new play festival that has cultivated seven world premiere productions and three Off-Broadway transfers. A robust educational program focuses on professional training in a nurturing and supportive environment for students of all ages. Offerings include student acting ensembles, a summer musical theater intensive, and an expansive theater-in-the-schools residency program. Northern Stage's breadth of programming supports the company's mission to "change lives, one story at a time..." This story has been published on: 2020-05-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. CAIRO - Artillery shelling by Libyas eastern-based forces killed more than five civilians and wounded dozens in the capital, Tripoli, an official with the countrys U.N.-supported government said Thursday. It was the latest attack on Tripoli by the eastern forces commander Khalifa Hifter, who launched a push last year to capture the city. The fighting, which has killed hundreds of civilians and displaced tens of thousands, has mostly stalemated in recent months. Libya has been in turmoil since 2011, when a civil war toppled long-time dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. The country has since 2015 been split between rival administrations in the east and the west, each backed by armed groups supported by an array of foreign powers. Hifters offensive is supported by France and Russia, as well as Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and other key Arab countries. The government in Tripoli is backed by Turkey, which deployed troops and mercenaries to help defend the capital in January, as well as by Italy and Qatar. Mercenaries, mainly from the Syria battlefield, are now fighting on both sides and complicating the already complex proxy war. Meanwhile, a report by U.N. experts monitoring sanctions against Libya obtained earlier this week said that a private Russian security company has provided between 800 and 1,200 mercenaries to support Hifters offensive on the capital. Hifters artillery on Wednesday hit two Tripoli neighbourhoods, Tajoura and Abu Salim, according to Amin al-Hashemi, the Health Ministrys spokesman with the Tripoli-based government. Children and paramedics were among the 46 civilians wounded in the shelling, al-Hashemi added. This the first time since the beginning of 2020 that residential neighbourhoods are that intensively targeted, he said. Late Thursday, artillery shells fired by Hifters forces struck the area around the Italian ambassadors residence, killing two civilians, according to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These attacks are unacceptable and denote contempt for international law and human life, the ministry said in a statement. At the United Nations, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body continues to remind the parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law to take all feasible measures to avoid civilian harm. Earlier this week, the International Criminal Courts prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said her office is working on new arrest warrants for possible war crimes committed in Libya. Attacks on civilians may constitute crimes under the Rome Statute that established the ICC, she said, adding that military commanders will be held accountable for crimes committed by their forces. The fighting over Tripoli has intensified in recent weeks despite U.N. calls for a cease-fire to allow authorities to focus on curbing the spread of the coronavirus. Libya has so far recorded 64 virus cases, including three deaths. The pandemic could possibly devastate war-torn Libya, where a decade-long conflict has ravaged key infrastructure and created dire medical shortages. Dujarric said that already this year, 13 attacks have impacted field hospitals, health care workers and ambulances, including attacks on hospitals identified to treat COVID-19 in Libya. He added that the U.N. fears that figures may be underreported as there is a lack of testing capacity and contact tracing. ___ Associated Press wrioter Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report. Los Angeles, May 7 : Actress Jennifer Anistons representative has dismissed reports claiming that Brad Pitts daughter Shiloh, has started calling her 'mommy. The Australian weekly publication, New Idea magazine, recently claimed that Shiloh, 13, had developed a "special bond" with the former "Friends" actress before the COVID-19 lockdown. "They've been spending so much time together and been bonding, it felt like a natural next step for Shiloh," said a source in that report. Aniston's representative has come forward to set the record straight, reports express.co.uk. "This is just another complete fabrication and has no relationship to reality," said the representative. The claims come after sections of the media reported that Pitt's estranged wife and actress Angelina Jolie had banned her children -- Maddox, 18, Zahara, 15, Pax, 16, Shiloh, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 11 -- from meeting Pitt's former lover Aniston. Earlier this year, Pitt and Aniston had a few flirtatious encounters during the award season, making fans curious if a romantic reunion was about to happen. In January, Aniston and Pitt were spotted backstage at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, where he touched her wrist and they chatted a while. The pair shared another moment during the awards ceremony as Pitt accepted a supporting actor prize for "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood". He quipped that "it was a difficult part. A guy who gets high, takes his shirt off, and doesn't get on with his wife. It was a big stretch". The camera then cut to Aniston, who could be seen clapping at the joke. At the Golden Globes, she looked delighted when he was declared Best Supporting Actor for "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood". Air India has opened up bookings on Thursday on special flights to 12 foreign countries that will also bring back more than 14,000 stranded Indian citizens on the return flight. Air India is operating 64 flights to 12 countries over nine days to evacuate Indian citizens between May 7 to May 15 under the governments Vande Bharat Mission and the national carrier on Thursday said that citizens from these countries looking to return could book a ticket home on these flights. Indian nationals with at least a year-long visa to these destinations will also be allowed to travel in case of medical and other emergencies. The Airline released a schedule of flights to the US, UK Bangladesh, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Philippines, UAE and Malaysia. Several Air India Express flights will also connect domestic sectors like Delhi-Srinagar, Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Delhi-Hyderabad, Delhi- Ahmedabad, Cochin-Chennai, Delhi-Chennai etc during the period. The HT Guide to Coronavirus COVID-19 Over 200,000 Indians struck abroad have registered for repatriation, Union minister Hardeep Puri said that the final number of evacuees could actually be lot more. Two ships have also set sail, one for the Maldives to bring back some 1,000 Indian citizens and another to the Gulf countries for repatriation of Indians stuck there. Air India has made it clear that the entire cost of travel will be borne by the passengers and it will only allow the following category of people to book flights to the foreign destinations. 1. Nationals from these 12 countries 2. Indian nationals with at least a one-year long visa for these destinations 3. Green Card and OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) cardholders 4. Health workers holding a valid permit for travel to destination countries provided they have obtained written permission from the Embassy/High Commission of the destination country. The airline has also specified that passengers must ensure that they comply with all travel and health requirements of the country of destination. Additionally, at the time of boarding the flight, they will have to undergo thermal screening as per health protocol and only asymptomatic travellers would be allowed to board the flights. According to a detailed list of conditions put on the Airlines website, all passengers will be travelling on these flights at their own risk Heres the latest schedule of flights released by Air India Lisa Kealy, who leads EY Wealth and Asset Management (WAM) in Ireland, has been elected as chair of Irish Funds, and will represent the priorities of the Irish funds industry for the next 12 months. Lisa takes over from Yvonne Connolly, CEO of Carne Group. The Irish Funds Industry Association (Irish Funds) is the representative body for the international investment fund community in Ireland. Its membership includes asset managers, service providers, and professional services firms. Meeting room tables feature disinfectant wipes next to teleconference speakers. Repurposed name tag stickers proclaim employees' successful daily temperature screening, and in hallway conversations, co-workers gab through face masks. Inside the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department, these scenes highlight the historic times and some of the routine work at 3131 O St., where the agency leading the local coronavirus response does its work. The usual day-to-day efforts to keep Lancaster County residents healthy through air monitoring, water testing, animal control and restaurant inspections can often get overlooked, said Lori Seibel of the Lincoln Community Health Endowment. But Seibel, a former epidemiologist for the health department, said these city employees have prepared their whole careers for a challenge like this. "This has brought to the forefront that there are people every day working inside a department that does nothing more than do those things plus, when something like this (pandemic) happens, theyre called on to exercise an even greater responsibility to the community," Seibel said. "This is when public health comes out of the shadows." * * * Work weeks at the health department now encompass Saturdays and Sundays. "Honestly, it is 'Groundhog Day,' every day, said Steve Beal, who's normally the department's animal control manager but oversees public health operations in the city's ongoing emergency response. Most mornings begin at dawn when testing data returned overnight and reports from people being monitored for their potential exposure to COVID-19 await first-arriving staff. The whiteboard in a second-floor office quotes the adage imparted by the late comedian Milton Berle: "Laughter is an instant vacation." Communicable Diseases Coordinator Tim Timmons seems to have adopted the adage, and before allowing his team to dive in, he takes a moment to differentiate this day from the previous one by reading from his calendar of daily "dad jokes." On Friday, he began with the question: Why cant a shoe use a computer? Answer: It cant boot itself. As a new month began, Lancaster County was monitoring 338 people for symptoms and had confirmed five more cases. Nebraska had added 349 and the U.S. surpassed the 1 million mark. These numbers frame the daily 8:15 a.m. meeting of health officials, joined in the city's response by fire, police and city transportation officials. They consider how Lincoln will fight the pandemic in the short, medium and long term. Many of the daily objectives carry over from the previous day. Staff focuses on analyzing and tracing the virus' spread, issuing isolation and quarantine guidance to the sick and potentially infected, and ensuring health care providers, first responders and those caring for vulnerable groups in the county have enough protective equipment. But Friday also included efforts to craft a travel policy for city employees, prepare messaging to ensure safe community celebrations of Cinco de Mayo and provide guidance for the reopening of certain businesses. * * * Staff on Timmons' team started watching the virus' movements in Wuhan, China, in January. Local coronavirus planning and preparation began in February and ramped up in March even before Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird declared a state of emergency over the pandemic March 16. Health officials took the lead but joined with Lincoln Fire and Rescue, the Lincoln Police Department and Lincoln Transportation and Utilities to create a unified command guiding the execution, planning and coordination of the response. The efforts paired city officials who previously knew and worked with each other across their different departments, but the structure also kept local experts on tasks they know best, said interim Lincoln Fire and Rescue Chief Pat Borer. For example, Lincoln police and transportation officials helped determine the best configuration of the new drive-thru testing sites that the local hospitals offered to launch. COVID-19 work has overtaken most of the health department's usual duties. For example, Beal said his animal control staff prioritized its day-to-day enforcement and investigative objectives. He spends about nine of every 10 hours each day focused on coronavirus response operations and an hour snatched in minutes here and there reviewing new dog bite cases and other usual animal control tasks. With no walk-in health clinic services, more than a dozen nurses in the department's clinic have switched to contact tracing and undertaken investigations determining how the newest patients contracted the coronavirus and who they may have spread it to. Timmons' team may be spending an outsized amount of time tracking the coronavirus, but it hasn't stopped paying attention to what non-coronavirus, communicable diseases are circulating in the community, he said. Kathy Cook and her team typically focus on the health department's budgets and technology, but what's in the warehouse and how it's being distributed have become the team's new focus. Early in the pandemic, her staff revisited supplies stockpiled from the 2009 H1N1 outbreak and found everything largely intact except for a few specialized respirators that needed new batteries, Cook said. The scarcity of protective gear, such as N95 masks and gowns and hand sanitizer, became apparent, so the team created an inventory, reached out to local health care providers and groups working with vulnerable populations to assess their needs, screened requests and worked with city purchasing to hunt for needed supplies. Friday marked a day when a new cache of personal protective equipment from the state was set to arrive at a secure city warehouse. Cook and her team screen and vet requests and make recommendations to the unified command on who should receive equipment. Gowns have become the new scarce commodity even after the department's Brock Hanish designed a body covering with help from Nebraska Innovation Campus folks that could be cut from house wrap and used by Lincoln EMTs and paramedics. Lincoln Public Schools staff have worked to cut the gowns, nicknamed "Brock smocks," from rolls of Tyvek, while other staff sew them to make the one-size-fits-all smocks. To date, they've gone through 50 150-foot rolls of the waterproof wrap, which can be decontaminated at the health department's north Lincoln site, where UV light is used to allow masks and gowns to be recycled. The department hoped to receive an order early this week to restart production, said Janette Johnson, an office manager who's coordinating volunteer efforts for personal protective equipment. * * * Scott Holmes, the deputy chief for the local response, described the virus as a tsunami coming from both coasts. But geography has given Lincoln and Lancaster County enough time to get plans together by talking to and learning from officials in health departments in New York, Seattle and California, he said. When they put out a call for a training response exercise for local health care providers in February, more than 160 people showed up the next week to review their pandemic plans despite the short notice, Holmes said. Early collaboration between the otherwise competing local hospitals helped the health department create a plan that would dedicate a hospital bed to every COVID-19 patient who needs one, said Jesse Davy, who monitors hospital capacity. They've created a four-tiered plan to ensure there's enough capacity to treat the acutely sick, Davy said, and so far have not come close to overwhelming the hospitals and forcing a move into contingency tiers. Collaboration and relationships in the community have proven important in ongoing public health efforts, especially considering the health department needed to close businesses such as barbershops, which it doesn't typically regulate. The department's proposed guidelines to reopen those businesses generated hundreds of emails, but the vast majority provided constructive feedback, staff members said. And the community has shown its appreciation for the workers. On a particularly tough day last month that started at 5:30 a.m., Cook stepped out of the Health Department at 6:30 p.m. to see the words "Thank You" chalked on the sidewalk outside the entrance. The message moved her to tears. When she's away from 3131 O St., she reflects on the environment she works in, where so many people commit themselves to a trying mission. "It may be stressful, but people come to work every day, they work really hard, they support each other," Cook said. While the numbers of cases or hospital beds or ventilators in use may indicate the severity of the problem here, health department staff don't see this community simply in numbers, Davy said. When they walk in to work, they feel the weight and understand the consequences of their decisions, knowing it's their friends and relatives who live here and own businesses here who feel the effects, he said. "Its the most defining moment of most of our lives." Photos: A day in the life of the health department: Reach the writer at 402-473-2657 or rjohnson@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSRileyJohnson. Five diplomatic allies prod WHO to review Taiwan's status ROC Central News Agency 05/06/2020 10:34 PM Brussels/London, May 6 (CNA) Five of Taiwan's diplomatic allies have put forth a proposal for the issue of Taiwan's exclusion from the World Health Organization (WHO) to be put on the agenda for discussion by its decision-making body later this month. The proposal was made in letters sent separately between April 21 and May 5 to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus by the governments of Nicaragua, Palau, Eswatini, Saint Lucia and the Marshall Islands. In the letters, the five nations, all diplomatic allies of Taiwan, said the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgency and importance of leaving out no one from the global health network. The continued exclusion of Taiwan from the WHO undermines the interests of its members and endangers global health, the allies said. They also pointed out that Taiwan's "exceptional response" to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has been "lauded by the international community" and said Taiwan's experience and expertise could be valuable to numerous countries. The five countries urged the WHO to grant Taiwan full access to all of its meetings, mechanisms, and activities and to invite Taiwan to participate in its decision-making body, the World Health Assembly (WHA), as an observer. The issue of Taiwan's status in the WHA should be put on its agenda for discussion when the body convenes later this month, the five countries said. It was the latest push for the WHO to restore Taiwan's status as an observer, which has been in limbo since 2017. In late April, a United States-based magazine reported that the U.S. and Japan were asking Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and other countries to co-sign a letter, requesting that the WHO restore Taiwan's observer status. Citing diplomatic sources and notes from WHO internal meetings, Foreign Policy magazine said there was "considerable support in Washington and other foreign capitals" for Taiwan to participate in WHO discussions. The WHA is scheduled to hold its 73rd session from May 18 to 19, but it will be a virtual meeting due to travel restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the WHO. From 2009 to 2016, Taiwan participated in the WHA as an observer under the name Chinese Taipei, amid better relations with China during the then-Kuomintang administration. Since 2017, however, China has persuaded the WHO not to invite Taiwan, in line with Beijing's hardline stance on cross-strait relations since President Tsai Ing-wen () of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party took office in May 2016. (By Tang Pei-chun, Tai Ya-chen and Chiang Yi-ching) Enditem/pc NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Vietnamese government is encouraging young people to marry by age 30 and have their second child by age 35, a response to concerns over declining fertility rates in some parts of the country. Late last month, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved a birthrate adjustment program scheduled through 2030 that aims to help the Southeast Asian nation implement its national population strategy. The program is meant to increase the birthrate by ten percent in 21 provinces and cities, including Ho Chi Minh City, Ba Ria Vung Tau, Binh Duong, Can Tho, Hau Giang, and Dong Thap, where married couples are averaging birth rates below two. According to population experts, the falling birth rates in Ho Chi Minh City could spell disaster for economic growth and welfare systems in Vietnams most populous city. The southern metropolis has a permanent population of nine million and a population density of 4,363 people per square kilometer, the highest in all of Vietnam, according to a 2019 population census. Those numbers may, however, begin to decrease as city dwellers continue to decide against having children. The citys 2018 total fertility rate (TFR) the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime was just 1.33 children, according to statistics from the municipal Population and Family Planning Department. Meanwhile, the governments new program also targets to reduce the rate in 33 localities where birthrates are higher than 2.2 children per couple. The nine remaining provinces and cities, including the capital city of Hanoi, that average 2.2 children born per woman in her lifetime are asked to maintain this replacement fertility rate the TFR at which women give birth to enough babies to maintain population levels. According to the program, localities with fertility rates of 2.2 or below should educate their residents on the benefits of having two children, the disadvantages of giving birth later in life, and the familial and socio-economic impacts of bearing too few children. The program also urges local authorities to enact measures aimed at supporting married couples with two children. Such measures include the introduction of marriage and family consultation services, including dating clubs and pre-marriage health consulting, and the expansion of worker-friendly services, including babysitting, milk banks, and family medicine. The construction of babysitting facilities and kindergartens, especially in economic, industrial and urban areas, should be given special attention, according to the program. Mother and baby healthcare and malnutrition prevention consultations must be accessible to pregnant women and mothers. Married couples with two children should be made eligible for reductions in their personal income taxes, support in renting apartments or owning affordable housing, and priority admission for their children into public schools, as well as financial assistance for their kids education. Vietnams population hit 96.2 million in 2019, ranking third in Southeast Asia and 15th globally, according to the 2019 census. However, the country had reached a turning point in 2015 when it moved up on the list of countries with the fastest-aging populations in the world, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs said in a 2016 report. Several localities have seen birth rates fall far below two children per woman. Population experts pointed out low fertility rates could result in a rapidly aging population and a strained social welfare system. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! BOGOTA, Colombia A disenchanted band of Venezuelan politicians and military deserters gathered in secret last year to plot the overthrow of Venezuelas authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro. They determined they would need four tools to succeed: men, money, a plan and guts. Jordan G. Goudreau, a United States citizen and former Green Beret, would be the guts. At least, thats one version of the story. On Sunday, a group of self-declared freedom fighters set sail from Colombia to Venezuela on an apparent mission hatched by Mr. Goudreau to overthrow the Venezuelan government. The operation failed miserably, and the men were apprehended by the authorities. Eight of the rebels were killed. Two Americans, former members of the U.S. Army special forces, have been arrested. But the figure who has emerged as the central character in what one official described as something out of a Hollywood script, is Mr. Goudreau, 43, who was not on the mission. The Justice Department has released a mostly-unredacted version of a memo outlining the scope of former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The memo penned by then-acting Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in August 2017 has long been sought by Republicans who believed it would reveal that Mueller and his team exceeded their authority by probing members of President Donald Trump's campaign team. The DOJ on Wednesday provided a less redacted version of the memo to Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, who requested it earlier this week. It includes a bulleted list authorizing Mueller to investigate specific allegations against former Trump campaign associate Carter Page, former Trump national security adviser Mike Flynn, former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopolous, and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. A fifth bullet point remains redacted in the new version, indicating that it likely referred to someone who was never charged in the investigation. The Justice Department on Wednesday released a mostly-unredacted version of a memo then-Acting Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (right) wrote to Robert Mueller (left) in August 2017 outlining the scope of the former special counsel's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election The first bullet point tasks Mueller with determining whether Page committed a crime by 'colluding with Russian officials' as they interfered in the 2016 election. The allegations echoed claims leveled against him in the unverified anti-Trump dossier compiled by ex-British spy Christopher Steele. At the time of the memo, the FBI and DOJ knew the dossier had potentially been compromised by Russian disinformation. The second bullet point features allegations against Manafort, including collusion with Russia, payments he received from the Ukranian government, and loans he took from a bank CEO who was pursuing a job in the Trump administration. Mueller was likewise given authority to investigate whether Papadopolous committed crimes by colluding with Russia or by acting as an unregistered agent of the government of Israel. In regards to Flynn, Mueller was asked to investigate: whether he committed crimes by talking to Russian government officials during the Trump transition, whether he lied to the FBI about contacts he had with the Russian government, whether he failed to report foreign contacts and income on his background investigation application and whether he properly registered as an agent for the Turkish government. The allegations referenced the possibility that Flynn broke the law under the rarely-enforced Logan Act - which criminalizes negotiation by unauthorized American citizens with foreign governments having a dispute with the United States. The memo includes a bulleted list asking Mueller to investigate allegations against former Trump campaign associate Carter Page (top left), former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort (top right), former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos (bottom left) and former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn (bottom right) Many of the allegations Rosenstein listed were eventually borne out in charges handed down by Mueller. Manafort was convicted of eight counts of fraud related to his foreign business dealings and is now serving a seven-year sentence at a federal facility in Loretto, Pennsylvania. Papadopolous pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials in October 2017 and served 12 days in prison. Flynn pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI about his dealings with the Russian ambassador in 2017. In January he filed a motion to withdraw his plea, and his sentencing was postponed indefinitely the following month. Mueller never brought charges against Page. The memo released this week was the second of three that Rosenstein issued to structure Mueller's probe. The first memo, issued when Rosenstein appointed Mueller in May 2017, gave a general overview of his authority to investigate 'any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump' as well as 'any matters that arose or may arise directly from that investigation'. The third memo, issued in October 2017, added Michael Cohen, Rick Gates, Roger Stone and other individuals to the scope of Mueller's probe. That memo remains classified. The August 2, 2017, memo is shown in full below: BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 By Ilkin Seyfaddini Trend: The Central Bank of Uzbekistan has released preliminary figures for the current account of the balance of payments for the first quarter of 2020, Trend reports with the reference to Central Bank of Uzbekistan. The Central Bank noted that the operational indicators were drawn up on the basis of preliminary data and expert assessments, they may differ from the actual values. "The fall in global energy prices as well as a slowdown in the global economy has affected exports of goods and services, which amounted to $3.3 billion compared to $3.7 billion last year. At the same time, the increase in the value of some exchange commodities exported by Uzbekistan has partially offset losses," the Central Bank stressed. Imports of goods and services made up $5.41 billion compared to the same period last year ($5.9 billion). The structure of imports is dominated by groups of goods - machinery and equipment (30 percent of the total volume), metals and products from them (14 percent of the total volume), chemical industry products (11 percent of the total volume), as well as vehicles (10 percent of the total volume). As a result, the trade deficit against the first quarter of 2019 improved by nine percent to $2 billion. According to preliminary calculations, the current account deficit for the first quarter of 2020 was $864 million, an 18 percent decrease compared to the first quarter of 2019 ($1 billion). The positive balance of factor revenues and transfers remained at the same level as in the same period last year due to a slight increase in cross-border remittances to residents ($1 billion). In turn, the investment income of non-residents (on issued loans and foreign investments) was $422 million. Report data on the balance of payments, international investment position and external debt for the first quarter of 2020 will be compiled in accordance with the BPM methodology and presented before the end of June 2020. --- Follow author on Twitter: @seyfaddini It has been over 30 days since Nihal Ahmad has been able to visit an ATM to withdraw cash. He has been locked inside his house in Ekta Vihar area of Pratap Khand in east Delhis Shahdara district. His movement, as well as that of other residents in the neighbourhood, has been strictly restricted since April 8, when Pratap Khand in Jhilmil Colony was declared a containment zone after two people tested Covid-19 positive. Residents of Pratap Khand on Thursday staged a demonstration in the locality, demanding their area be de-contained since they were facing lot of problems in procuring essential commodities and going about regular activities. Scores of residents stepped out of their houses on Thursday morning and gathered near police barricades, from where the colony has been cordoned off, to protest against the authorities for not de-containing the colony even after a month. They complained about the irregular supply of essential items such as milk, vegetables, fruits and medicines in the last few weeks. I require cash and we cannot go to ATMs to withdraw it. There is no proper arrangement for mobile ATMs. It has been over a month since the entire locality was sealed due to Covid-19 cases. Now no new cases are emerging yet our colony is marked as a red zone while many areas in the city are being de-sealed. The area should be de-contained now, Ahmad said. Another resident of the locality, Yogesh Kumar Bhati, who was also at the protest, said that initially, the system of home delivery of essential items was working fine, but now it has become erratic. Residents complained that even after hours of placing orders with the notified vendors of the area, they have to wait, sometimes an entire day, for the delivery. Most vendors, who are authorised to deliver essentials in the locality, open their shops in the morning and evening only. So if you need anything urgently you have to wait the entire day. We demand the colony should be opened and if any case is found, then that particular lane or block should be contained not the entire locality, he said. A senior official of the district administration, who wished not to be named, said a few cases were reported in the area even after April 15, thats why the locality was not de-contained. The official said that a discussion and survey would be conducted with the health department officials to decide when to de-seal the area. We are making all possible arrangements. For the home delivery of items, we have engaged civil defence volunteers. But still, if residents are facing problems then will look into the matter, the district administration official said. Containment zones are complete quarantine zones and no one is allowed to go out even to buy essential goods such as milk, vegetables, fruits etc. All entry and exit points and even internal lanes are barricaded in containment zones. The authorities allow only selected vendors to supply groceries and other essentials to the neighbourhood. Till Thursday, Delhi had 86 containment zones. As per the central governments guidelines, an area can be de-contained only when no fresh Covid-19 positive cases are reported in the last 28 days. Till now, 14 areas have been de-contained in Delhi. The residents of other containment areas in the city also complained about the irregular supply of essential items such as milk, vegetables, fruits and medicines. In south-west Delhis Bengali Colony in Mahavir Enclave, residents complained that though in the beginning services were delivered smoothly, over the last 10 days, even sanitation and disinfection is not taking place regularly. Bengali Colony was made a containment zone on April 12 when one Covid-19 positive case was found in the locality. The area has been in containment for the last 25 days. Sunita Nagar, a resident of the colony who lives with her six-month-old daughter and her old parents, said that the biggest problem that she has been facing since the area was contained is to find items for her baby. The colony was locked up in a day and I did not get a chance to stock up on my daughters essentials such as diapers, wipes and milk power. In the beginning, the vendors here would delivery some of the items but now I am finding it hard to get the things I need, Nagar said. In Dinpur Village, residents said that residents are fed up of the authorities keeping them locked up for no reason. Dinpur village was made a containment zone on April 8 when three cases of a family were reported Covid-19 positive. The village has been under containment for last 27 days. We agree that there were one or two cases from the colony, but you contain those houses, why are you keeping the entire colony locked? We are ready to co-operate with the agencies but there should be some relaxations, Dhruv Pradhan, a local politician living in the south-west Delhi village, said. In the Zakir Nagar containment area, residents complained about the irregular supply of drinking water bottles. Gali number 18 to 22 in Zakir Nagar were contained on April 10 after two residents tested Covid-19 positive. People in the area purchase 20-litre water bottles but the authorities do not allow them to be delivered at home. Plus the supply is also irregular, Shoeb Danish, councillor of the area, said. District magistrate (south-west) Rahul Singh said that the assessment of areas was ongoing to ascertain when they could be de-contained. I have not yet received any complaint about irregular supplies in containment areas. But still, we will look into the matter, he said. A presenter with Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Pacesetter FM, Umuahia, Chinenye Iwuoha, who was abducted on Monday night has regained her freedom. The Commissioner of Police in the state, Jane Agbede, confirmed the release of the journalist to journalists in Umuahia on Thursday. Mrs Agbede said Ms Iwuoha was released unconditionally on Wednesday night by her captors, following heavy pressure from the police. Ms Iwuoha was kidnapped by armed bandits while returning from work. It was learnt that the suspects accosted the official Toyota Hilux van, conveying home the victim and General Manager of the station, Uche Ndukwu. The suspects reportedly shot several times at the driver, Kingsley Onyeokuche, before taking Ms Iwuoha away to an unknown destination, while the GM and another occupant of the vehicle escaped unhurt. READ ALSO: The yet-to-be identified kidnap suspects were said to have demanded N20 million ransom before they would release her. Meanwhile, Mr Onyeokuche, who was reportedly rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, where the bullets were extracted, was said to be responding to treatment. (NAN) Illustration by Kelly Caminero/The Daily Beast/Getty Even a global pandemic and economic crisis isnt enough to break President Trumps perception of the Democratic House as a den of haters and losers who care more about hurting him than about helping the American public. Asked on Tuesday why he wasnt permitting members of his coronavirus task force to testify in front of the House, Trump responded that the chamber is a set-up thats full of Trump haters. They, said Trump, frankly, want our situation to be unsuccessful, which means death. It was a remarkable bit of open political retaliation that not only undercut the White Houses official linethat individuals like Dr. Anthony Fauci were too busy fighting the pandemic to spend hours before Congressbut also set up a situation where only the presidents own party would be in charge of hearings into his conduct. Indeed, shortly after Trump spoke, the Republican-run Senate Health panel announced that Fauci would be testifying there next week. Its so political. Ive never seen anything like it, said Rep. Donna Shalala (D-FL), who serves as the House Democratic representative on the not-yet-functional panel to oversee COVID-19 spending. I cant remember anyone preventing us from testifying in one house of Congress versus another To not go to the Peoples House is justits stupid, and its dangerous. Congressional oversight has always been an irritant to the occupant of the White House. But rarely has a president so blatantly disregarded it when the context has been so non-partisan and the stakes so high. Even before the emergence of COVID-19, Trumps defiance of Congress had prompted legal battles that promised to rearrange the long-term balance of federal power. But his insistence on continuing to snub the legislative branch in the midst of a pandemic has sparked an altogether new set of questions and frustrations. The fact that the president of the United States has directed those responsible for the federal response to avoid appearing before Congress is shocking, irresponsible, and will result in more loss of life, said Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.). Democrats trying to understand the federal COVID-19 response, he said, are being limited to what the president says and what mid-level officials from the administration tell us on a conference call. Story continues Lawmakers Know They Cant Keep Track of the $2.2T They Just Spent on Virus Relief Privately, Democrats have grumbled that the party should have anticipated this situation. Just a few months ago, the administration staved off subpoena and document requests as part of the impeachment inquiry. With resolution of those matters still in the courts, leadershipthe argument goesshould have demanded stronger oversight structures be put in place before trillions of dollars went out the door to prop up an imploded economy. "[House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi has left Democrats largely invisible in negotiating COVID-19 legislative responses and sidelined at a moment that cries out for congressional oversight, said Jeff Hauser, the founder and director of the Revolving Door Project, a public interest group. An unleashed House could also make sure Trump's systemic errors are well understood and beyond dispute for the 70 percent of Americans who are not willfully indoctrinated by Fox News. Such public education is necessary to make sure the federal government is never again so unprepared for a mass tragedy. Those criticisms have been amplified as its become clearer that the oversight mechanisms in existence have been either undercut, brushed aside, or largely neglected. There was, for example, no creation of a centralized database to show who received so-called Paycheck Protection Program loans that were meant to aid small businesses but also found their way to boutique hotels and publicly traded restaurant chains. A Democratic aide said that the presumption was that the Small Business Administration would release such information under provisions in existing law. But, the aide conceded, they arent. The congressional panel tasked with tracking the trillions of dollars being lent out by the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department was authorized six weeks ago. But it still lacks a chair and the appointed members cant hire staffrendering it basically non-functional. Meanwhile, the president has sidelined or sacked independent inspectors general who have surfaced damning information about the administrations COVID-19 response or were in a position towhile telling Congress he has the power to decide what lawmakers learn about the pandemic response, not a special IG assigned to the task. And, while administration officials involved in the COVID-19 response appeared before lawmakers in the early stages of the pandemic, they have since gone silent. None has testified since March 12, when there were fewer than 1,000 cases of the virus in the U.S. And House Democrats told The Daily Beast that direct engagement with top officials has been inconsistent. On April 15, for example, the administration cold-emailed a handful of Democratic lawmakers informing them theyd been selected to a congressional task force to advise Trump on reopening the economy. After an initial conference call the next day, no follow-up was scheduled until this week, when House members in the group were told there would be a second call with top Trump economic advisers Larry Kudlow and Kevin Hassett on Thursday. In the interim, administration officials instructed lawmakers to contact them with their three best ideas on economic responseslike homework, recalled an aide. In the absence of traditional lines of oversight and cooperation, there has been improvising. Bharat Ramamurti, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumers appointee to the new congressional panel, said that he was leaning on friends and associates with expertise in his issue areas. And though he continues to encounter absurdly commonplace hurdles (on Tuesday, his computer ran out of batteries because electricity in his neighborhood was down and he couldnt venture elsewhere) he held out hope that the commission would soon have a chair and get its report done by May 9. The other unique thing about the oversight commission is all the members are appointed by the Congress, Ramamurti told The Daily Beast. Our committee is the only one immune from tampering by the president, which is why it is really important to get the chair in place as soon as possible. Meanwhile, outside groups are trying to reverse-engineer oversight by starting from the broadest set of data points and working their way back to the administration. Accountable.US, a nonpartisan oversight group, has filed nearly 200 public records requests and skimmed through hundreds of federal filings to see if publicly traded companies have nabbed PPP loans. This still leaves gaping holes. And on those fronts, Democrats are scrambling to patch things up, with a group of lawmakers introducing legislation mandating disclosure of PPP loans and others calling for subpoenaing witnesses. Theyre going to stonewall as much as they can, Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI) told The Daily Beast. We cant fold. We have to use the tools we have. We may have to issue subpoenas, and try every way we can to get the information we need. Some Democrats argue that the partys most effective mechanism for forcing the Trump administration to comply with congressional oversight would be through the purse. But few believe that Pelosi will, or even could, effectively deploy such hardball tactics if the economic situation in the country remains dire. And so, the last hope is that the public pressure will become so overbearing that members of the Trump administration will see it as in their political self-interest to comply. Already, one memberformer BARDA program director Dr. Richard Brighthas agreed to testify before a House Democratic committee about a whistleblower complaint he filed detailing systematic missteps and misjudgements the administration made in the early stages of the pandemic. And it would not be unprecedented for the White House to eventually fold on others. In 2013, the Obama White House refused to make available for testimony key figures involved in the botched rollout of the Affordable Care Act on grounds that their time fixing the website was too valuable to spend on the Hill. Under threat of subpoena, top technology officer Todd Park eventually agreed to testify in front of the GOP-led House Oversight Committee. Two professorsMark J. Rozell of George Mason University and Mitchel A. Sollenberger of the University of Michigan at Dearbornpraised the move at the time as a worthy mitigation of tension between the two branches. Reached by The Daily Beast, both said a similar step from Trump would be warranted now. This is why you have a hierarchical organization, Sollenberger told The Daily Beast. Theyre there to give voice to organizational needs, respond to Congress when it comes to the organizational issues at hand, the questions Congress has. This is how government works. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. In spite of their protected status under international laws, pangolins remain one of the most trafficked animals in the world and at least some of that trade is taking place right out in the open on Facebook . A new report from tech watchdog group the Tech Transparency Project details how Facebook users are engaged in the sale of illegally trafficked pangolin parts, even though the practice is illegal and prohibited by Facebook itself. In one example, a public page of Facebook called "Pangolin Scales for Sale in Vietnam" advertised the sale of the forbidden animal products, asking potential buyers to send a message to the seller over WhatsApp or email. Another public Facebook page, "Rhino Horns And Pangolin scales For sale In China," was created in March and directed customers to "embrace our businesses like never before" in the wake of the coronavirus. Other pages offered the sale of pangolin oils. Most of these sites were hiding in plain sight, easily found by using basic search terms like the Vietnamese word for "pangolin" or even the phrase "pangolins for sale" in English. Facebook's own platform rules prohibit the sale of live animals as well as anything that "promotes, encourages, or coordinates the poaching of endangered species and their parts." The company joined an anti-wildlife-trafficking coalition in March of 2018, but since that date reports have detailed the ongoing sales of everything from hornbill parts to tiger teeth through ads and direct sales facilitated by the platform. Pangolins are again in the spotlight right now as the global scientific community searches for answers about the pandemic's origins. Wild animals carry coronaviruses and can transfer those potentially devastating diseases to humans, as is believed to be the case with a Chinese bat population and the 2002 SARS outbreak. According to new research, some pangolins carry coronaviruses related to the one that causes COVID-19. Most scientists believe the novel coronavirus likely originated in bats, but how the virus spread from bats to humans is a mystery researchers are still seeking to understand. (Natural News) Great Britain has officially unveiled its incremental plan for reopening the country post-coronavirus. And you might say that one of the new restrictions falls into the category of what liberals have come to dub as fat shaming. According to the Daily Mail, workplaces all throughout the country are being completely revamped to keep people as far away from each other as possible. And one of the changes being made is that fat people will have to work from home, even if this means finding them a new role at their companies. Because morbid obesity is said to be a major risk factor for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), the British government wants all larger folks, as well as the elderly and the pregnant, to stay away from everyone else and do their business in isolation at home. Fat people are being categorized as vulnerable, in other words, and thus subject to extended stay-at-home orders that could go on for years, officials say. Meanwhile, thinner people who are allowed to come into work will have to eat lunch alone, use photocopiers alone, and avoid any areas that facilitate congregating. A draft of the U.K.s back-to-work dossier reveals that there will be no return to pre-pandemic normality for the foreseeable future. Workers will not be allowed inside cafeterias, nor will they all be allowed to work together at the same time, with staggering shifts and times of being at the office. Certain areas of offices will also be cordoned off with ropes or tape to prevent people from going there. Everyone will instead be told to sit in their offices or cubicles alone and work in total isolation at all times. Listen below to The Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks about how Big Pharma is pulling a lot of strings behind the scenes to keep people enslaved like this forever, or at least until a Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine is unveiled: Youll only be allowed a tad more freedom than others if you weigh less than they do Health officials in the U.K. have been ordered to conduct an investigation into why fat people are more at risk of catching the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). They, along with certain ethnic minorities, are said to be more prone to suffering complications from the disease, and authorities want to know why. Until then, obese people will apparently have no choice but to stay at home while the government sorts things out and comes up with a special plan of release for its larger members of society. Just a few years ago, in fact, it was considered fat shaming simply for Google to have a calorie-counter on its search page. The rules have apparently changed in the age of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), where people are now being singled-out based on their size, gender and ethnicity. The idea of one human family no longer applies, and if you fail to meet the governments criteria for being a safe human being, then you may be stuck inside forever. What a strange virus, wrote one Daily Mail commenter about the situation. It comes out of nowhere. Everyone has it. But nobody knows anyone who has it. It becomes the sole cause of death as all other causes of death disappear. Shall we just hide away every time theres another virus outbreak? wrote another. In all honesty I think Id rather take a chance, and enjoy a decent life. Weve seen many other outbreaks and some people have unfortunately died, but the world goes on. Life is for living and were only here once. How this is being accepted in a place as progressive as England is anyones guess, especially since this type of fat-shaming never would have been acceptable prior to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. More of the latest news about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) is available at Pandemic.news. Sources for this article include: DailyMail.co.uk NaturalNews.com Canada has largely avoided the COVID-19 catastrophes seen in the hospitals of northern Italy and New York City. Yet, Ontario long-term care (LTC) homes have been devastated. Residents living in LTC homes account for more than 75 per cent of all Ontario deaths from COVID-19. The situation has become so dire, that Ontario Premier Doug Ford has called in the military to five LTC homes. Four of these five Ontario LTC homes share a common feature. They are long-term care homes operated in the pursuit of profit. While both hospitals and long-term care facilities are publicly funded, hospitals are operated as not-for-profit organizations. Long-term care homes, however, run the gamut. Some are run on a not-for-profit basis, either by government or community-based organizations. Others are for-profit operations, owned either locally or by large corporations traded on the stock exchange, like Extendicare and Chartwell. Why does it matter who owns our LTC homes? Not-for-profit nursing homes are associated with higher quality care, including fewer complications like pressure ulcers and medical transfers to hospital for health issues such as pneumonia, anemia, and dehydration. Public money used to provide care to older adults in LTC also purchases more direct care and staff hours in not-for-profit homes than for-profit ones, which directly relates to quality of care. Large for-profit homes suffer from high staff turnover, which is associated with lower-quality care, lower wages, and heavier workloads. In British Columbia, the provinces Seniors Advocate found that some personal care aides were paid 28 per cent less in for-profit homes than non-profit ones. As of 2010, 60 per cent of Ontarios LTC beds were owned by private, for-profit companies, and had guaranteed funding from the provincial government. While some patients will be asked the pay the full cost of long-term care, for any person who lacks the financial means to pay, the province will cover the full cost of the basic accommodation whether the bed belongs to a for-profit or not-for-profit company. If for-profit LTC homes, on average, provide worse patient outcomes than not-for-profit homes, why do we direct public dollars to for-profit beds that ultimately pad shareholder profits? The initial growth of for-profit LTC homes dates, in part, back to the 1940s, when these institutions didnt need to provide much medical care at the time. Fast forward to today, and LTC homes provide medical care to older adults who are living longer and with multiple, complicated health conditions. Instead of funding only not-for-profit LTC, as is the case with hospitals, successive governments capitulated to well-heeled lobbyists working the halls of power on behalf of for-profit LTC homes. Their indifference to profit-seeking in the care of older adults has led us to where we are today. Though the evidence shows care in non-profit LTC homes is superior to that in for-profit ones, it is still true that most are crowded, with most residents living in shared rooms. The lack of physical space gives little ability to physically distance and isolate in ways that prevent disease spread, such as COVID-19. Many LTC workers, including nurses and personal support workers, are poorly compensated. Theyre often hired part-time to avoid providing vacation pay or supplemental health benefits, so have little choice but to take multiple jobs to make ends meet. As we have tragically learned, this has meant that health care workers unknowingly carried COVID-19 between LTC homes. How can we turn the corner? Lets give community-based care, like long-term care, the same consideration we give hospitals. That means paying staff in LTC and home-based care equivalent wages to their hospital-based counterparts. LTCs should be required to hire more staff to provide more direct care to residents. Community-based health care workers should receive better training, supports and resources to help manage medical issues at home and in LTC without needing to transfer seniors to hospital. It also means integrating long-term care into the larger health care system, something this pandemic is accelerating. And as weve pointed out, lets keep profit out of long-term care. Just as we mandate hospitals as non-profit organizations, we should demand the very same of the homes caring for our most frail and vulnerable older adults. The quality of their care may very well depend on it. A gas leak at an LG Chem Ltd. polymer plant in southern India has killed at least 11 people and forced the evacuation of thousands in the city of Visakhapatnam after the company tried to restart operations following the partial easing of the countrys coronavirus lockdown. More than 20 people were in a critical condition in the citys hospital, National Disaster Response Force Director General S. N. Pradhan told reporters Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modis office is monitoring the relief work, while a team from the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear unit, along with environmental experts, will help manage the crisis on the ground, the government said in a statement. The unfortunate event took place past midnight when they tried to restart the polymer plant, which is pretty old, said P. V. Ramesh, secretary to the chief minister of the state of Andhra Pradesh. The government will issue new safety guidelines for factories being restarted after the lockdown to avoid similar accidents, Ramesh said. About 400 people have been hospitalized suffering breathlessness and eye irritations, M. Venu Gopal Reddy, additional district magistrate of Visakhapatnam district said by phone. Hospitals were able to provide immediate relief as they were stocked with oxygen supplies and ventilators to deal with possible coronavirus infections, according to Ramesh. A similar accident was reported in the eastern state of Chhattigarh, where seven laborers cleaning a paper unit had to be hospitalized, according to police. Investigation Underway The gas leakage is now under control, but the leaked gas can cause nausea and dizziness, so were doing our best to ensure the right treatment is provided swiftly, LG Chem spokesperson Choi Sang-kyu said, adding that the company has started an investigation into the cause of deaths and the scale of damage at the Andhra Pradesh plant. The plant was shut down due to coronavirus worries when the accident took place. A night time dutier came to learn of gas leakage from a styrene monomer storage tank. None of LG Chems employees there have died from this accident. A possible link between the gas leak and deaths of people is subject to further investigation. The companys staff who were inspecting the machines to restart the factory rushed out and raised an alarm, said Zahid Khan, who heads operations of the disaster response force in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. People in five nearby villages became ill, he said. A large number of animals including pet dogs, livestock, and birds have died and a team of veterinary doctors have reached the villages to assess the situation, the Indian Express reportedciting V. Vinay Chand, head of the district administration. With assistance from Bibhudatta Pradhan and Rajesh Kumar Singh. About the photo: Smokes rise from an LG Polymers plant following a gas leak incident in Visakhapatnam on May 7. Photographer: -/AFP/Getty Images Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. When Luciana Lira, an elementary school teacher in Stamford, Connecticut, received a phone call on April 1 from the mother of a student asking for help, she didnt think twice. Zully, whose son, Junior, is in Liras first grade class, was eight months pregnant and in the hospital. I can hardly talk because Im having a very hard time breathing, but I wanted to let you know that I need your help, Zully said, according to Lira. Please call my husband. Zully, 30, needed an emergency C-section. She had also tested positive for coronavirus. I did not think twice about it. ... When that mom called me asking for help, it did not even come across my mind not to say 'yes,' Lira, who teaches English as a second language at Hart Magnet Elementary, told NBC News. Baby Neysel was just 5 pounds, 10 ounces when he was born. Lira asked that the last name of the family be withheld due to privacy concerns. Image: Immigrant Mother And Family Suffer With COVID-19 As Teacher Cares For Their Healthy Newborn (John Moore / Getty Images) Lira, 42, only knew Zully and her husband, Marvin, from parent teacher conferences and occasional phone calls about Junior's performance in school. Initially, Lira was serving as a liaison and translator between doctors and Zully's family. She was also working to get the family baby supplies, like bottles and a car seat, fully expecting Neysel would go home with his father eventually. But right before Neysel was supposed to go home, it struck Lira that Marvin might also have COVID-19, the disease associated with coronavirus. How are we going to release this baby to this father? There's a chance he could be COVID positive," she said. "What are we doing here? Marvin shared the concern, according to Lira, telling her: I am desperate. I dont want to kill my baby. If I'm COVID positive, he's probably not going to make it. Image: Immigrant Mother And Family Suffer With COVID-19 As Teacher Cares For Their Healthy Newborn (John Moore / Getty Images) I said, You know what, if you want, I know you dont know me and I dont know you, and I think Im crazy for doing this until you get tested, I can keep the baby with me for one or two days, Lira told him. Story continues She told Marvin that if he did test positive, he couldn't be around her because she's asthmatic and at higher risk. "He said, 'Oh my god, Ms. Lira, I don't know you but I know I can trust you and I'm going to trust you with my baby's life,'" according to Lira. Both Marvin and his son tested positive for the coronavirus a couple days later. All we could do was cry and be thankful that I had the baby with me and the father didnt have any contact with the baby, she said. Zully remained hospitalized after giving birth. Shed been in critical condition, on a ventilator, with doctors worried that she would not survive. Finally, on April 25, she was discharged from the hospital, but still testing positive for COVID-19. During this we cried a lot together, Lira said. "There were days we would tell each other, Lets pray, because thats it.' Image: Immigrant Mother And Family Suffer With COVID-19 As Teacher Cares For Their Healthy Newborn (John Moore / Getty Images) Its been more than a month since that first phone call and Lira is still caring for baby Neysel, while also juggling teaching full time and caring for her own 11-year-old son. Ive been getting help from all over and that makes all the difference, she said. Lira emphasized that everyone, from her colleagues to some nonprofits, have pitched in to help her navigate this new life. Image: Immigrant Mother And Family Suffer With COVID-19 As Teacher Cares For Their Healthy Newborn (John Moore / Getty Images) She was asked to care for a newborn baby during a pandemic when she herself was concerned for the welfare of her own child and family, Hart Magnet Principal Linda Darling told NBC News. In a split second, Ms. Lira said yes, and totally committed her time and efforts to seeing that this baby was nurtured emotionally and cared for as one of her own. Lira said Marvin and Junior are awaiting new coronavirus test results to see if they are negative. Zully will also be tested again on Friday. Shes hoping Neysel will finally meet his mother soon. It is what it is, right? Lira said. At least were saving his life. Ratan Tata, who has pumped in hundreds of crores of rupees into start-ups since his retirement from the Tata Group, has invested an undisclosed amount in a 17-year-old kid's pharma start-up Generic Aadhaar, in his personal capacity. Generic Aadhaar was founded by the Thane kid, Arjun Deshpande, in April 2019, when he was 16. It supplies quality generic drugs from reputed manufacturers at up to 80 per cent lesser cost and other medicines 20-30 per cent cheaper. The boy, an alumni of DAV Public School, Thane, began his entrepreneurial journey with the aim of bringing affordable medicines to the poor, a statement issued by his PR agency said on Thursday. It did not disclose how much Tata has invested. The chairman emeritus of Tata Sons has so far invested in over a dozen start-ups since he retired from the group in December 2012 and all his investments are routed through his investment company RNT Associates. Some of his investments include Ola, Paytm, Snapdeal, CureFit, Urban Ladder and Avanti Finance. Generic Aadhaar sources generic drugs directly from manufacturers and sells it to retailers, eliminating 16-20 per cent wholesaler margins. The start-up boasts of an annual revenue of Rs 6 crore and is looking at a revenue of Rs 150-200 crore in the next three years, the statement said. It also claimed to have employed about 55 persons, including pharmacists, IT engineers and marketing professionals. Deshpande plans to partner with 1,000 pharmacies on a franchisee-based model and expand his reach to Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Delhi, Goa and Rajasthan. Generic Aadhaar will provide all the support to the unorganised sector by bringing the right technology, IT infrastructure and branding to the forefront. "Our business model gives us an edge over others as we aim to bring affordable healthcare to millions. Our mission is to provide senior citizens and pensioner the care they deserve by delivering inexpensive medicines," says Deshpande. Currently, it supplies diabetes and hypertension drugs but will soon start offering cancer drugs also at rates lower than the market price and has also tied up with four WHO-GMP certified manufacturers at Palghar, Ahmedabad, Puducherry and Nagpur. It provides quality and affordable medicines directly from WHO-GMP facility and has tied up with 30 retailers from Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Odisha following a profit-sharing model. "Tata got impressed with our business plan and decided to be a part of this mission in a personal capacity and help Generic Aadhaar to reach more and more poor people," Arjun Deshpande, founder and chief executive officer of the start-up, said. Generic Aadhaar steps in to solve this problem as it aims to partner with 1,000 pharmacies on a franchisee-based model in the coming months and expand their reach to markets such as Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, New Delhi. Generic Aadhaar supplies diabetes and hypertension drugs but will soon start offering cancer drugs at rates much lower than the market price. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Reinforcing its commitment towards its battle against COVID-19, Canon India initiated its second phase of relief efforts by providing over 732 PPE kits for healthcare workers of the country. Keeping in mind the urgent need of PPE kits to safeguard the paramedical staff especially those visiting isolation wards, the organization is handing over the kits to the Health Ministries/The Directorate of Medical Education and Research of New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Additionally, they are also donating the PPE kits to the government hospitals near their adopted villages in Mumbai, Haryana and Bengaluru, ensuring the safety of health workers involved. Speaking about this initiative, Mr. Kazutada Kobayashi, President & CEO of Canon India said, People across countries have been profoundly impacted by COVID-19 and our hearts continue to be with them. In uncertain times like this, we have a responsibility to combat this global pandemic with great solidarity. The testament to this is the heroic work of our healthcare workers, who are protecting and safeguarding people round the clock with immense care and compassion. We, along with every citizen of India, are truly proud of all the healthcare workers across the country. As an acknowledgement of their efforts, we are now extending our support and providing PPE kits to the government hospitals of our adopted villages and Health Ministries of New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Through the initiative, we are reinforcing our corporate philosophy of Kyosei which embodies the spirit of living and working together for the common good. Our relief efforts further underscore our commitment to work relentlessly to combat this pandemic. We are certain that India will win this battle against COVID-19 and rise with greater vigor. Canon India had commenced its CSR outreach in the beginning of April, by donating essential food and sanitation items to over 12,500 beneficiaries including the daily wagers and Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in its adopted villages and children from SOS Childrens Village Family homes. As a part of the relief, Canon India provided 3000 food packets which included rice (5 kg), flour (5 kg), pulses (1 kg), salt (1 kg), sugar (1 kg) and cooking oil (1 kg). Along with distributing essentials such as surgical masks, sanitizers, liquid soap and home & surrounding cleansing items, informative and awareness sessions were also conducted for the children of SOS Childrens Villages in Faridabad & Hyderabad. As a way forward, the company will closely monitor the situation and will continue to support and safeguard communities across the country. Aer Lingus-owner IAG said that chief executive Willie Walsh would stay on until September to steer it through the coronavirus crisis, and that it was planning for flights to return to service in July. Mr Walsh had been planning to retire in March but would now leave on September 24, the group said, when Luis Gallego will succeed him. IAG said on Thursday that it was planning for flights to restart in July and that passenger capacity would be about 50pc lower, adding that the return was subject to the easing of lockdowns and travel restrictions. The coronavirus pandemic has halted most flights, leaving airlines across the world battling to cut costs, shed jobs and shrink their operations to try to ride out a travel slump which is expected to last years. IAG, which also owns Iberia and Vueling in Spain and British Airways, warned that passenger demand would not return to previous levels until 2023, and as such it would seek to defer deliveries of 68 aircraft. That adds to steps it announced last week to try to cope with the crisis, when it said that it would seek to cut up to 12,000 jobs, or over a quarter of staff at its biggest airline British Airways. The group also said on Thursday that it had 10bn of liquidity available to it at the end of April, making it one of the financially strongest airlines in Europe. "Group-wide restructuring is essential in order to get through the crisis and preserve an adequate level of liquidity. We intend to come out of the crisis as a stronger group," Mr Walsh said in a statement. Emirates Aviation University, the academic wing of the Emirates, has been awarded an overall score of Five Stars by QS Stars University Ratings for its outstanding performance and academic excellence across a wide range of categories. The university is the first non-federal educational institution to receive a Five Stars QS rating in the region, achieving five stars in teaching, employability, facilities, inclusiveness and social responsibilities and four stars in academic development and internationalisation categories. The university also received five stars for its MBA in Aviation Management programme. Of the 129 overall QS star rated institutions in the Arab Region, only five, including EAU, are rated as Five Stars. Approximately 580 universities are evaluated globally by QS, of which 48 universities are rated as five stars. Emirates Aviation University also received the UAE Ministry of Education accreditation for four of its new Applied Bachelor in Engineering programmes. The programmes are: Aerospace Engineering, Avionics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Aircraft Maintenance Engineering as well as the Bachelor of Business Administration in Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and chief executive Emirates Airline and Group, said: "These are outstanding achievements for Emirates Aviation University that reflect the hard work and dedication of the faculty who have worked hard to make it an educational, world-class institution of distinction. I would like to congratulate the team at EAU, and hope they continue with their commitment to fostering a culture of creativity, innovation and continuous improvement." Dr Ahmad Al Ali, Vice-Chancellor of Emirates Aviation University, said: "We are very pleased to be recognised with the QS Five Stars rating and to receive the UAE Ministry of Education accreditation of four of our programmes. These achievements will open up new and wonderful opportunities for the university to build on the learning experience we provide to our students, and we will work hard to attain further successes." QS Stars is a rating system which was inaugurated In the UK and provides a detailed appraisal of an educational institution, and is used as an essential tool for prospective students to identify which universities rank highest in specific fields of study. Universities and educational institutions are ranked on criteria like program strength, facilities, graduate employability, social responsibility, inclusiveness, amongst others. - TradeArabia News Service Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin David Courbet, with Maggy Donaldson in New York (Agence France-Presse) Berlin Thu, May 7, 2020 11:01 622 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd679317 2 Entertainment Kraftwerk,Florian-Schneider,Germany,obituary Free Kraftwerk's Florian Schneider, co-founder of the pioneering electronic music group that re-wired the future of pop, has died, the group's management said Wednesday. He was 73 years old. Schneider died following a short battle with cancer, according to a statement citing his fellow co-founder Ralf Huetter, obtained by AFP from Kraftwerk's publicist in Los Angeles. Schneider and Huetter began their artistic collaboration in 1968 as part of the so-called "krautrock" movement -- a broad experimental genre blending psychedelic rock with electronic rhythms and early synthesizers, seen as a rebellion against the Anglo-Saxon pop brought in by British and American troops. But Kraftwerk, launched in 1970, hatched a far more singular vision from their "Kling Klang" studio in the western German city of Duesseldorf. Their influence on par with The Beatles, the duo crafted the blueprint for genres from new wave to synth-pop, hip hop to rock, industrial to techno. The nearly 23-minute title track of their 1974 album "Autobahn" -- the German word for highway -- comprised the entire first side of the LP with a prototypical, hypnotizing sound of the future, punctuated with car horns, doors slamming and ignition. The industrial clang, sparse arrangements and computerized beats of Kraftwerk -- which means "power station" in German -- brought international recognition to the group who famously said they wanted to make music more as machines than as men. Schneider's tools included the electric flute, violin, electric guitar and synthesizer. He also sang with Huetter, who played keyboards. Their haunting basslines, synthesizer pads and drum machines combined with robotic vocals captured the attention of a dizzying array of stars past and present, including David Bowie, Madonna, Daft Punk and Kanye West. "My favorite group is a German band called Kraftwerk -- it plays noise music to 'increase productivity,'" Bowie told Playboy in 1976, when asked what will happen to music's future. "Sound as texture, rather than sound as music. Producing noise records seems pretty logical to me," Bowie told the magazine. The late legend named his largely instrumental track "V-2 Schneider" off the classic 1977 album "Heroes" after the Kraftwerk co-founder. Florian Schneider, co-founder of highly influential electronic pop group Kraftwerk, has died at the age of 73. Heres a clip of the group showing Tomorrows World their studio back in 1975. For more archive clips of electronic music, you can visit - https://t.co/Uz3A3Vx8dN pic.twitter.com/yaZ12qhbsq BBC Archive (@BBCArchive) May 6, 2020 Read also: Farewell, Godfather of Broken Hearts Never-ending 'Autobahn' Born April 7, 1947, Schneider was the son of Paul Schneider-Esleben a prominent architect whose designs included the Cologne airport. The musician met Huetter when the pair were both students in Duesseldorf, where they began cultivating their pioneering concepts, tapping into the ubiquity of machines and the growing place of technology in daily life. While "Autobahn" was perhaps their best-known album internationally, they also found global success with "Radioactivity" (1975), "Trans-Europe Express" (1977), "The Man Machine" (1978) and even the later "Tour de France Soundtracks" (2003). The notoriously enigmatic group in 2018 also took the Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Album for "3-D The Catalogue," a high-tech recreation of their back albums. They won a 2014 lifetime achievement Grammy but the six-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees have yet to be chosen for induction into that pantheon of music royalty. Schneider's "innovative music left a lasting legacy and his work will continue to exert influence across various genres for years to come," said the Recording Academy in a statement. "Florian's creativity knew no bounds," the body behind the Grammys said, adding "our culture is richer" thanks to the German artist. Schneider left the group at the end of 2008 and did not participate in future tours. Before the coronavirus pandemic halted shows worldwide, the group in February had announced a North American tour of its immersive "3-D Concerts" -- a concept launched in 2013 that fuses three-dimensional visuals and performance art with Kraftwerk's music catalog. Music world tributes poured out to Schneider upon news of his death, including from the "Father of Disco" Giorgio Moroder of Italy, another major electronic dance music mastermind, who called the Kraftwerk co-founder "one of my heroes." "The mighty Florian Schneider has left this earth. 2020 is really just the worst thus far," tweeted rockers Garbage, as Russian DJ Nina Kravitz wrote "what would electronic music be without Kraftwerk?" France's legendary Jean-Michel Jarre also hailed Schneider: "My dear Florian Your Autobahn will never end." New York Citys coronavirus outbreak grew so large by early March that the city became the primary source of new infections in the United States, new research reveals, as thousands of infected people traveled from the city and seeded outbreaks around the country. The research indicates that a wave of infections swept from New York City through much of the country before the city began setting social distancing limits to stop the growth. That helped to fuel outbreaks in Louisiana, Texas, Arizona and as far away as the West Coast. FUTURE OF TRAVEL: Airlines confront keeping middle seats empty The findings are drawn from geneticists tracking signature mutations of the virus, travel histories of infected people and models of the outbreak by infectious disease experts. We now have enough data to feel pretty confident that New York was the primary gateway for the rest of the country, said Nathan Grubaugh, an epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health. The central role of New Yorks outbreak shows that decisions made by state and federal officials including waiting to impose distancing measures and to limit international flights helped shape the trajectory of the outbreak and allowed it to grow in the rest of the country. HARDEST-HIT: These Houston neighborhoods have lost the most jobs due to COVID-19 The city joins other densely populated urban hot spots around the world, starting with Wuhan, China, and then Milan, that have become vectors for the virus spread. Travel from other U.S. cities also sparked infections across the country, including from an early outbreak centered in the Seattle area that seeded infections in more than a dozen states, researchers say. Even if New York had managed to slow the virus, it probably would have continued to spread from elsewhere, they say. But the Seattle outbreak proved to be a squall before the larger storm gathering in New York, where, at the end of February, thousands of infected people packed trains and restaurants, thronged tourist attractions and passed through its three major airports. During crucial weeks in March, New Yorks political leaders waited to take aggressive action, even after identifying hundreds of cases, giving the virus a head start. And by mid-March, when President Donald Trump restricted travel from Europe, the restrictions were essentially pointless, the data suggest, as the disease was already spreading widely within the country. Acting earlier would most likely have blunted the viruss march across the country, researchers say. It means that we missed the boat early on, and the vast majority in this country is coming from domestic spread, said Kristian Andersen, a professor in the department of immunology and microbiology at Scripps Research. I keep hearing that its somebody elses fault. Thats not true. Its not somebody elses fault; its our own fault. A lack of testing obscured the true extent of the outbreak for months, and officials acted on incomplete and sometimes conflicting information. The enormous growth of New Yorks outbreak partly reflects its volume of international visitors, especially from Europe, where most of its infections came from. Dani Lever, communications director for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, criticized federal authorities, describing an enormous failure by the federal government to leave New York and the East Coast exposed to flights from Europe, while at the same time instilling a false sense of security by telling the state of New York that we had no COVID cases throughout the entire month of February. A White House spokesman, Judd Deere, said that Trump had acted quickly. The president blocked most visitors from Europe starting March 13, more than a month after he restricted travel from China. Just as he acted early on to cut off travel from the source of the virus, President Trump was advised by his health and infectious disease experts that he should cut off travel from Europe an action he took decisively without delay to save lives while Democrats and the media criticized him and the global health community still did not fully comprehend the level of transmission or spread, Deere said. Now that infections are dispersed around the country, travel from New York is no longer a main factor shaping the progression of the epidemic, researchers said. As states around the nation begin to relax their restrictions, the findings demonstrate that it is difficult, if not impossible, to prevent those actions from affecting the rest of the nation. Geneticists have analyzed and shared more than 2,000 samples of the virus from infected people. As the virus infects new people and replicates, it picks up mutations along the way. These mutations typically do not change the behavior of the virus, but they can provide a signature of a virus origin. Most samples taken in Texas, Ohio, Louisiana, Idaho, Wisconsin and many other states carry distinct mutations that can be traced back to viruses introduced into New York. Overall, Grubaugh estimated, infections spreading from New York account for 60% to 65% of the sequenced viruses across the country. Other scientists said that they would like to see more samples before calculating precise figures. But they agreed that New Yorks prominence in seeding the national spread appears to have begun in early March, two weeks before stay-at-home orders were put in place. New York acted as the Grand Central Station for this virus, with the opportunity to move from there in so many directions, to so many places, said David Engelthaler, head of the infectious disease branch of the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Arizona. The most commonly detected viruses tied to New York have a distinct genetic signature linking them to outbreaks in Europe. Those spreading from Washington state have a signature linking them directly to China. At this stage, scientists say, genetic fingerprints alone are not sufficient for pinpointing the source of the viruses. But travel patterns and case histories of early known cases support the idea, they said. It is a combination, still, of what genomic epidemiology and shoe-leather epidemiology is going to tell us, Engelthaler said. Scientists modeling the progression of the disease nationally said the prominence of New York as a national hub was broadly consistent with their findings, although the picture was still emerging. I would say this is not surprising in a sense, said Alessandro Vespignani, director of the Network Science Institute at Northeastern University in Boston. The picture emerging is consistent with numerical models. Earlier research by Vespignani showed just how rapidly, and invisibly, the outbreak exploded in New York. By March 1, when the first coronavirus case was confirmed in New York, the city probably had more than 10,000 undetected infections, his research group showed. New York and Washington state are not the only sources of the outbreak. Other large domestic hubs contributed to the spread, scientists believe, and a more diverse genetic mix is still seen in some places around the country, particularly in the Midwest and parts of the South. Even as domestic travel began to drive the outbreak, some infections were still seeded around the country by international travelers, geneticists said. It is possible, experts said, that some of the virus samples attributed to New York may have instead been seeded in other cities by direct flights from Europe, or from travelers laying over in New York before traveling elsewhere. For that reason, some scientists said they would like to see more samples before linking the majority of U.S. infections to New York. I think thats probably the story line thats going to emerge, but Id like to see more data, said Harm van Bakel, a geneticist at Mount Sinai in New York. A New York Times analysis of travel data supports the idea that the chains of infection originated in New York, experts said. The number of cases across the country was closely related to how many travelers each place received from New York in early March, based on anonymized cellphone tracking data from Cuebiq, a data intelligence company. It looks like most of the domestic spread is basically people traveling out from New York, said Dr. Kari Stefansson, founder and chief executive of deCODE Genetics, a leading genome analysis firm based in Reykjavik, Iceland. Last week, Andersen of Scripps Research and other scientists analyzing the outbreak in New Orleans reported that all of the samples taken from New Orleans were from the line linked back to New York. The virus swept through the area in March and has killed more than 1,000 people. You can figure out, with travel patterns, that the most likely thing to have happened is those came into New Orleans directly from New York, Grubaugh said. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Hollywood Creators - Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan Cast - David Corenswet, Darren Criss, Laura Harrier, Samara Weaving, Dylan McDermott, Jake Picking, Joe Mantello, Jeremy Pope, Jim Parsons, Patti LuPone Netflixs Hollywood is a bonkers show that imagines a fantastical world in which a gay, black man could walk hand-in-hand with his boyfriend, a movie star, in public, in the 1940s; a woman could be in-charge of a major movie studio, and an actor belonging to a minority race could be cast as the lead in the years biggest film. All this at a time when neither women nor black people enjoyed much freedom in America. There is, of course, an argument to be made and creator Ryan Murphy will probably make it that presenting a hypothetical account of the Golden Age of Hollywood is sort of the point. But by introducing historical figures and diluting the very real discrimination that both women and minorities faced in the industry at the time, the show, about a group of young men and women whose destinies collide in the City of Dreams, ends up coming across as overwhelmingly trivial. Its entertaining, for sure; in the way that most Ryan Murphy shows tend to be; but its also undeniably flawed. Watch the Hollywood trailer here The series imagines a world populated exclusively by decent souls, selfless human beings looking only to help each other in their endeavours. A subplot involving a prostitution ring has none of the gravity it ideally should have had, and is instead portrayed as a dream factory for aspiring actors. A pimp who convinces countless men to sell their bodies and souls to achieve their Hollywood dreams, knowing perfectly well that most of them wont make it, is rewarded handsomely by the writers towards the end of the seven-episode miniseries. The shows only real antagonist a terrible, terrible man, played by Jim Parsons is shown not like the sexual predator that he is, but almost like a loveable loon, someone whose history of abusive behaviour the show is almost too eager to downplay. This isnt to say that Parsons isnt good in the show he really is, as is most of the cast but a character that should have been portrayed as a Harvey Weinstein-level creep is instead reduced to a mere ancestor of Ari Gold. Also read: Feud review: Hollywoods most disturbing rivalry is addictively brought to life Everyone, including the kind-hearted pimp and the goofy sexual offender, is shown to have redeeming qualities. The others, meanwhile, are almost Jesus-like in their decency. After a point, it becomes difficult to root for people who seem to have no hurdles to cross, nor obstacles to overcome. What they want is routinely handed to them plum roles in popular pictures, women when they are feeling lonely, and moral support when it is needed the most. Characters who no longer serve a purpose in the plot, or are proving to be a hinderance in the progress of another (more important) person, are swiftly removed. For a show that seems to be driven by a single-minded urge to retroactively rewrite history, it borders on self-parody towards the latter half. The shows final episode is so outlandish that it should surrender its emotional tag on Netflix and instead be classified under the fantasy section. The alternate reality established in the early episodes is so flimsily defined that none of it seems believable when the risks begin to pay off. There are moments of effective drama, such as the scene in which Eleanor Roosevelt comes to deliver a pep-talk on the importance of representation in movies, or another in which the de-facto female head of the central movie studio decides to go against the grain, and at great financial and personal risk cast a black actor as the lead of her film. It reminded me of a similar scene in Steven Spielbergs The Post, in which Meryl Streeps newspaper mogul decides to publish a story critical of the Richard Nixon government. But the reason why the scene in The Post was so powerful, and the one in Hollywood merely comes across as a subpar remake of it, is because one feels resoundingly real, and the other indefensibly made-up. Success is counted sweetest, wrote the poet Emily Dickinson, By those who neer succeed. To comprehend a nectar, requires sorest need. This is a show without any stakes, despite its impressively large scale; it is a show without relatable characters, despite being overpopulated. Unlike the revisionist films of Quentin Tarantino, which ask poignant and subversive questions about the lasting impact of bad decisions, Hollywood believes that the course of human history could forever have been altered had a few powerful men and women made the unpopular choice many decades ago. It is a thought as delusional as some of the movies the town produces. Follow @htshowbiz for more The author tweets @RohanNaahar Inside an office building in Shanghai's Changning District, three robotic arms work simultaneously to cook, package, and serve food they make behind glass curtains. After scanning a QR code to place an order and pay, customers get freshly-made meals. The special "kitchen" with no human chefs appeared to have stirred much interest among locals in the financial hub of China. It is an unmanned bento store developed by Xi Xiang, a local catering company. As a mechanical design engineer of this company, Zhao Jun's daily work is to "talk" with the machines. "After the chef develops a new dish, I will convert the chef's cooking process into a machine language," Zhao said, adding that after setting up everything, the robots are able to produce dishes that are comparable to those made by a chef. "Sometimes we are able to turn the chef's new recipe into reality within a day," Zhao said. A graduate of the Material Forming and Control Engineering major, Zhao also enjoys cooking. He said he did not expect the two seemingly unrelated things could be integrated as a job. "The most rewarding moment for me is seeing that after designing, assembling and debugging, the robots can make dishes comparable to a chef's craftsmanship," Zhao said. Liu Yunxi, founder of Xi Xiang, said that the "unmanned economy" does not necessarily mean the loss of jobs. Established in 2013, Xi Xiang is a service provider of integrated solutions for unmanned kitchens. The unmanned canteens and food carts developed by this company will be launched in the middle of this year. Although there is no man in the kitchen, the robots still need experienced chefs to be their "mentors." Liu said the chefs had helped develop more than 1,000 kinds of recipes for robots. Huang Li, who works as a food research and development engineer in Xi Xiang, can develop more than 10 dishes per month by using seasonal materials and teach the cooking robots. The COVID-19 outbreak has cast a shadow on the catering industry, since people have to stay at home instead of dining out. Huang said that many of his friends in the catering industry are at the risk of losing jobs, while he remains unaffected and continues to develop new dishes. The epidemic is both a crisis and an opportunity for Xi Xiang. Liu said that although their catering orders have been affected to some extent, they have recently received many catering companies' intent to seek cooperation with their unmanned kitchens. Xi Xiang is not the only company jumping on the robot bandwagon. Cofe Plus, a robot coffee bar made by Hi-dolphin Robotics Co., Ltd., a Shanghai technology company, also explored opportunities during the epidemic. Inside a 2.5-square-meter kiosk, a robotic arm is able to brew a cup of hot coffee within 30 seconds. Han Feizi, general manager of Hi-dolphin Robotics, said that in order to make a decent cup of coffee, they have made a lot of research including how to enable the robotic arm to accurately cover the lid of a coffee cup. Last month, the Shanghai municipal government issued a guideline to promote the new online economy, specifically encouraging the development of unmanned economic forms such as unmanned factories, unmanned supermarkets, smart vending machines, and unmanned parcel delivery. At the end of 2019, Xi Xiang's unmanned kitchen received a license for catering business, the first of its kind in Shanghai. Liu said the unmanned economy will create greater career choices. In the future, the company plans to invite more chefs to contribute their recipes. Pastor Robert Jeffress launches 40-day anti-coronavirus prayer campaign Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Texas megachurch Pastor Robert Jeffress has launched a 40-day prayer campaign and is urging Christians to join him daily to pray for an end to the coronavirus pandemic. Known as the 4:01 Challenge, the observance calls on people to pray at 4:01 p.m. every day for the next 40 days, starting Thursday, which is the 69th annual National Day of Prayer. The time of day was inspired by Psalm 4:1, which reads: Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer. In a message posted on the Pathway to Victory website, Jeffress said he was inspired to launch the challenge when talking with his daughter, Julia Jeffress Sadler. Recently, she asked, Dad, why arent Christians praying more about the coronavirus? That question hit me right between the eyes! Julia is right, Jeffress wrote. The most powerful thing you and I can do to bring an end to the coronavirus pandemic and its devastating effects is to ask for Gods miraculous intervention in our country. Jeffress also noted that as a thank you for those who sign up to participate, he promised to provide a free chapter download of his latest book. First Baptist Dallas will be reopening for in-person services on May 31 and released a detailed plan last month for its members to review. In recent times, many prominent Christian leaders and ecclesiastical bodies have launched prayer campaigns in addition to charity efforts in response to COVID-19. For example, in March, Pope Francis called on Christians from all denominations to join him in reciting the Lords Prayer on a given time in response to the pandemic. Let us stay united. I invite all Christians to direct their voices together toward Heaven, reciting the Our Father tomorrow, 25 March, at noon, the pontiff tweeted at the time. The Vatican's post also included a short video of Francis giving a prayer with English subtitles, calling on people to pray together for the sick, for the people who are suffering. I thank all Christians, all the men and women of goodwill who pray at this moment in unison, whichever religious tradition they belong to, Francis said in the video. Research has indicated participation and interest in the practice of prayer has increased since the new coronavirus became a pandemic and governments imposed lockdown orders. Jeanet Sinding Bentzen, executive director of the Association for the Study of Religion, Economics, and Culture, released a preliminary draft of a paper in late March titled In Crisis, We Pray: Religiosity and the COVID-19 Pandemic. Bentzen analyzed internet searches for prayer in 75 countries and reported that search intensity for prayer doubles for every 80,000 new registered cases of COVID-19. In times of crisis, humans have a tendency to turn to religion for stress relief and explanation. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic is no exception, read the Abstract. I document that Google searches on prayer has skyrocketed during the month of March 2020 when the COVID-19 went global. The Madhya Pradesh government shifted the chief medical officer of Ujjain on Wednesday and asked the central government to send a team of experts to control the Covid epidemic in the city, government officials said. Madhya Pradesh is the second state after Gujarat to request the Centres help. As per the states health departments bulletin on Wednesday evening, Madhya Pradeshs Covid tally rose to 3,138 with 89 new cases in the past 24 hours. While Indore topped the Covid chart with 1,681 patients and 81 deaths, Ujjain, with 40 deaths among 184 patients in the district, had the highest death rate in the state. Another hot spot, Bhopal, has reported 605 positive cases so far and 40 deaths. The state health bulletin did not report any new case or death from Ujjain. However, according to a health department official from Ujjain, 14 new cases and three more deaths were reported from the town Ujjains chief medical and health officer Ujjain Ansuiya Gwalir was replaced with Dr ML Malviya. On Monday, collector Shashank Mishra was replaced with Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) officer Ashish Singh. State government officials said Madhya Pradesh health minister Narottam Mishra asked Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan to send a team of doctors from AIIMS, New Delhi, to Ujjain to study the problem and suggest remedial measures. As the Centre is yet to respond to the request, the state government sent a team of doctors from Indore to Ujjain. Ujjain municipal corporation commissioner, Rishi Garg, said, We are looking into all the aspects and making all out efforts to control the situation in Ujjain. Hundreds of people, mostly migrant workers, have been thronging clinics in Mumbai and adjoining areas since the last few days to get medical certificates for obtaining a pass to travel to their native places. A large number of people, mostly migrant workers and also some students, pilgrims and others, are stranded here because of the coronavirus-enforced lockdown. Since the Centre eased restrictions last week and the Railways started operating special trains for migrant workers, they now want to return home at the earliest. But, before being allowed to travel in a train or bus from one state to another, it is mandatory for them to produce before the authorities concerned a medical document certifying that they do not have any symptoms of influenza-like disease. In view of this, hundreds of people have been gathering outside clinics in the city and nearby areas since the last couple of days for their checkup and tests. In the eastern suburbs of Mankhurd, Govandi and Shivaji Nagar, queues of 20 to 30 people each were witnessed on Wednesday outside some clinics of general practitioners, who were charging Rs 100 to Rs 200 per person, claimed some those of those who got the certificates. There were similar scenes outside some clinics at Jogeshwari, Kandivali, Malad, Goregaon and Mira Road in the western suburbs and in neighbouring Thane and Navi Mumbai. Vaibhav Kumar (21), a daily wager who got his checkup done at a clinic in Kamothe area of Navi Mumbai, told PTI that he was trying to return to his native place Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh since the last one month. He is now hopeful of being able to leave from Maharashtra after producing the medical certificate. Kumar said the doctor charged him Rs 100 for the certificate. Rahul Tiwari, working as a watchman at a society in Kalamboli area of Navi Mumbai, said he is happy to have got the medical certificate and hopes to return to his native place Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. Sunil Nimbalkar, an advocate residing at Airoli in Navi Mumbai, said he was trying to get an e-pass since the last few days to travel to Sangli in Maharashtra. He filled an online form and tagged the medical certificate that he obtained along with it, following which he got the e-pass. "The process is easier now. But, it takes quite some time to get the medical certificate due to long queues of people outside clinics," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Just to promote govts policy of Make in India, BSNL said, it cannot afford to procure sub-standard equipment from inexperienced companies, not having proven technology. BSNL complained that when competitors were procuring world-class 4G equipment from experienced vendors, why should BSNL be compelled to procure locally. The employees union of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) has approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop domestic telecom gear makers from scuttling the companys revival plan by stalling a tender for sourcing 4G equipment. In a letter to Modi, BSNL staff have said the complaint raised by the industry body Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC) is a ploy to stall 4G equipment procurement and launching of 4G services by BSNL. According to media reports, TEPC complained to the Department of Commerce that BSNLs tendering process flouted the governments policy of Make in India and favoured multinational companies. BSNL staff said TEPC took exception to some conditions in the tender, which stipulates that bidding companies should have prior experience in setting up a mobile network for at least 20 million 4G lines and that potential bidders should have Rs 8,000-crore turnover in the previous two fiscals. Both those conditions, BSNL staff said, were reasonable as they came within the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) guidelines. The turnover of almost all the companies under TEPC was less than Rs 1,000 crore. BSNL cannot afford to procure sub-standard equipment from inexperienced companies, not having proven technology. "Their product is not tested or validated so far. "The Indian players do not have experience in managing large mobile networks, even if they have developed 4G technology. "Further, the quality standards of their equipment have not been tested, the letter said. All the private operators - Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea - procured 4G equipment from MNCs like Nokia, Ericsson, ZTE, Huawei and Samsung. BSNL staff said in the letter that when competitors were procuring world-class 4G equipment from experienced vendors, why should BSNL be compelled to procure locally. The burden of supporting domestic manufacturers cannot be put on the shoulders of BSNL alone, in a highly competitive telecom market, they said. BSNL staff requested Modi to intervene and ensure that the authorities concerned examine the matter in a time-bound manner and allow BSNL to go ahead with the 4G tendering process. Photograph: Rupak De Chowdhury/Reuters LONDON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- After a wait of more than 19 months, China's importing consortium finally agreed a new potash contract on April 30. Settled at $220 /t CFR with BPC, the new agreement marks a $70 /t decline on the previous contract and is only $1 /t higher than the decade-low 2016 contract. Although this underlines the magnitude of spot price erosion since 2018, it nevertheless sets a new floor for the market. Suppliers will now hope this finally brings stability to weak spot prices and ultimately tightens global product availability. However, with record high stocks already held in bonded warehouses which exporters will be keen to clear it will likely be months before China requires significant import volumes. Consequently, spot prices are unlikely to respond until much later in 2020. China finally settles new potash contract, but will it stop the spot market rot (PRNewsfoto/CRU) Why did it take so long to settle a new contract? More than a year and a half has passed since the Chinese importing consortium of Sinofert (Sinochem), Sino-Agri (CNAMPGC) and CNOOC, agreed the last potash import contract. This was signed on September 17 2018 at $290/t CFR. In the nearly 600 days which have elapsed since, global spot prices have plunged to multi-year if not decade lows as the potash market swung into oversupply. Nowhere was the situation more acute than in China. MOP imports in 2019 surged to a 12-year high and domestic production in Qinghai exceeded 7.4 Mt for only the second time. This was despite actual consumption declining to a six-year low, leading to the accumulation of record high country-wide inventories by the end of 2019. Optional volumes and seaborne import suspension led to a rush of arrivals in H2 2019. Different drivers led to the mismatch between gross supply (imports and domestic production) and actual consumption in 2019. Following the arrival of initial volumes agreed under the 2018 contract, CRU understands Chinese importers agreed to receive optional volumes from suppliers during the first half of 2019. Chinese port wholesale prices reached three-year highs in late Q1 2019, and this is likely to have strongly influenced the decision to receive optional volumes. This maintained imports above 600,000 tonnes a month well into Q3, driving up port inventories to more than 3 Mt for the first time since 2016. Read the full story: https://www.crugroup.com/knowledge-and-insights/insights/2020/china-finally-settles-new-potash-contract-but-will-it-stop-the-spot-market-rot/ Read more about CRU: http://bit.ly/About_CRU About CRU CRU offers unrivalled business intelligence on the global metals, mining and fertilizer industries through market analysis, price assessments, consultancy and events. Since our foundation by Robert Perlman in 1969, we have consistently invested in primary research and robust methodologies, and developed expert teams in key locations worldwide, including in hard-to-reach markets such as China. CRU employs over 280 experts and has more than 11 offices around the world, in Europe, the Americas, China, Asia and Australia our office in Beijing opened in 2004 and Singapore in 2018. When facing critical business decisions, you can rely on our first-hand knowledge to give you a complete view of a commodity market. And you can engage with our experts directly, for the full picture and a personalised response. CRU big enough to deliver a high-quality service, small enough to care about all of our customers. SOURCE CRU Two years ago Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and chief executive of Facebook, first raised the idea of an independent Supreme Court that might help regulate content on the network. Now, the first members of what it calls its Oversight Board have been named. The company released details of the 20 appointees on Wednesday morning, and also held a conference call with journalists. The call was hosted by Thomas Hughes, director of administration for the Oversight Board, along with the boards four co-chairs: Jamal Greene, a professor of law at Columbia University; Michael McConnell, director of the constitutional law center at Stanford and a former federal circuit-court judge; Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the former prime minister of Denmark and CEO of Save the Children, and Catalina Botero-Marino, the former special rapporteur for freedom of expression for the Organization of American States. The other 16 appointees announced on Wednesdayabout half of the total number the board is expected to have when it is completed, according to Facebook executive Brent Harrisare an illustrious group that includes a director from Human Rights Watch, the founder of the Digital Rights Foundation in Pakistan, a professor at Stanford Law School, a First Amendment scholar and vice president at the Cato Institute, a director of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa, and Tawakkol Karman, a Yemeni winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. The group also includes a couple of journalists: Alan Rusbridger, former editor-in-chief of the Guardian, and Endy Bayuni, a senior editor at Indonesias Jakarta Post. In a Medium post about his appointment, Rusbridger says about his decision: Will it work? Lets see. There is, in my view, no excuse for not trying. The balancing of free expression with the need for a better-organised public square is one of the most urgent causes I can imagine. The idea behind the oversight board is to have an independent body that can rule on contentious decisionswhether Facebook was right to take down an image of a naked Vietnamese girl covered in napalm, for example. There are a number of restrictions on what the board can review: at least for now, it can only hear cases about things that have been taken down, not things that have been left up, and its ambit doesnt extend to WhatsApp. Facebook says it is committed to the independence of the group, and that under the charter that it put together to govern the board, its decisions are bindingmeaning it will theoretically be forced to implement them (unless doing so would break the law). Some see the board as a valuable check on Facebooks power to control the speech and behavior of billions of users. But others question whether the board will truly be independent or effective against such a massive corporation, and see it as a fig leaf that allows Facebook to pretend that it cares. ICYMI: Why did Matt Drudge turn on Donald Trump? Facebook maintains that it is committed to the independence of the board, but the company unilaterally selected all four co-chairs, who then chose the 16 other members and will choose the next 20. It also funds the board, albeit via an arms-length trust. And Facebook also had some input into who else is appointed: In a blog post last year Facebook said co-chairs would work together with us to select, interview and make offers to candidates to fill the remaining board positions. The company also said it would take recommendations from participants in its global consultation programsix workshops and 22 roundtables attended by more than 650 people from 88 different countriesas well as from consultants and executive search firms. Did Facebook have the ability to veto a candidate or the ability to require the board to accept a particular candidate? And if so, did it have to provide the co-chairs with reasons for its choices? CJR tried to ask those questions during the Facebook call on Wednesday, but was never called upon by the moderator. A Facebook spokesperson said only that the process of selecting board members was collaborative between co-chairs and Facebooks governance team. When asked why anyone should believe the co-chairs claim that Facebook will implement the boards recommendations, Botero-Marino said the company and Mark Zuckerberg had committed to doing so, and there would be a high reputational cost if the company didnt follow through. But Kevin Roose of the New York Times pointed out that there is no legal or financial mechanism to prevent [Zuckerberg] from totally ignoring these people whenever he wants to. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Heres more on the oversight board: Fire-hose of awful : New York Times columnist Kara Swisher writes that while she is in favor of the effort to create an oversight board for content decisions, the problems with Facebook are much broader and intractable than any board of advisors can fix. Swisher says shes not sure that even a very smart group of qualified and thoughtful people under pressure from a fire hose of all the awful issues of our digital lives can actually help and rein in what Facebook has wrought. Swisher adds that the oversight board has all the hallmarks of the United Nations, except potentially much less effective. Dont fool yourself : Daphne Keller, the director of intermediary liability at Stanfords Center for Internet and Society and a former associate general counsel at Google, wrote in an Atlantic essay that while efforts such as the oversight board are worthwhile, we should not fool ourselves that mimicking a few government systems familiar from grade-school civics class will make internet platforms adequate substitutes for real governments, subject to real laws and real rights-based constraints on their power. Keller went on to say that we should be careful before urging platforms to take on greater roles as arbiters of speech and information. Skeleton for a jellyfish : Last year Kate Klonick, a law professor who has studied the board, said that she was cautiously optimistic, and that she liked to describe the idea as trying to retro-fit a skeletal system for a jellyfish. A private transnational company voluntarily creating an independent body and process to oversee a fundamental human right [is] really a very daunting idea that no one has ever tackled before. Caveats and exclusions : In a piece he wrote for CNBC about the boards bylaws, Salvador Rodriguez noted that Facebook has put a number of restrictions on what the board can do. For example, it cant consider anything that has to do with Facebooks Marketplace classified advertising service, Facebook Messenger, the sites dating feature, Instagrams private messaging feature, or WhatsApp. And while Facebook said that it will look into whether the boards decisions on specific pieces of content should apply to other similar situations, it reserved the right not to take action on them if doing so is beyond its technical and operational capacity. Other notable stories: The New York Times said Wednesday that it added more digital subscribers in the last quarter than it had gained during any quarter since it started charging readers for online content in 2011. The company said it added 587,000 new digital subscriptions , with 468,000 of those related to the core news product (the rest of the new additions were for digital apps like Cooking and Crossword). However, the paper also noted that the coronavirus has hit its advertising business badly, and that in the current quarter it expects that ad revenue will fall by as much as 55 percent. Sinclair Broadcast Group agreed on Wednesday to pay a record $48 million fine to resolve a series of allegations with the Federal Communications Communication. The FCC announced that the agreement will end three investigations into the broadcaster, including charges that it failed to disclose the sponsor of paid content, and that it misled the FCC during its failed merger with Tribune Media. In a statement, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called Sinclairs conduct completely unacceptable and said the fine should serve as a warning to others. BuzzFeed will furlough 68 staffers without pay starting next week through mid-August. The digital-media firm will also extend previously announced salary reductions through the end of the year. Chief executive Jonah Peretti told staff about the moves in an internal memo Wednesday, a copy of which was obtained by Variety . He said the company is hoping to keep losses to under $20 million for the year, but the decline in revenue in recent weeks has been even bigger than anticipated. Ive made the very difficult decision to furlough 68 employees beginning May 16th. In the US, the furlough will last for 3 months, wrote Peretti, who is forgoing a salary during the pandemic. Shaun Raviv writes for CJR about John Greenewald, who has been running a document archive known as the Black Vault for almost 25 years. The vault is a collection of more than two million pages of documents obtained via Freedom of Information Act requests, which he started filing in 1996 in an attempt to get information about UFO reports. Greenewald, now thirty-nine, recently started hosting a podcast, which he uses to drill deeper into the documents he obtains and to discuss them with experts on the topics they cover. He has also written two books and appeared on TV discussing the files hes unearthed. Facebook announced today that more than 200 news organizations will receive nearly $16 million in grants through the companys Journalism Project relief fund for local news, as part of the $25 million in funding that Facebook announced in March. Of the $16 million, a little over $10 million is going to 144 local newsrooms as part of the companys COVID-19 Local News Relief Fund grant program. Facebook says about 80 percent of the news organizations receiving the grants are family-owned or independently owned, and more than half are published by or for communities of color. $5.4 million of the total is going to 59 newsrooms that were part of the Facebook Local News Accelerator program focused on increasing subscriptions and memberships. NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shells executive committee leaders, a group of about a dozen people, will take a 20 percent salary reduction as part of the companys coronavirus cost-cutting measures. The company also plans to roll back salary increases for exempt employees who make more than $100,000 in salary. For the vast majority of you, this means reversing the recent merit increase that just went into effect in early March, Shell wrote Tuesday in his memo, which was obtained by The Hollywood Reporter . He went on to say that We know that these changes are difficult, and hopefully we can get to the other side of this crisis as fast as possible. Renee DiResta, technical research manager at Stanfords Internet Observatory, writes that many institutions have been unable to keep up with the speed with which disinformation is spreading. The WHO, the CDC, and other leading health institutions have failed to adapt to the way information now circulates, she says in a piece written for The Atlantic . Agencies accustomed to writing press releases and fact sheets for consumption by professional reporters are unequipped to produce the style and speed of information that the social platforms have made routine. Former AdWeek editor Josh Sternberg writes in his subscription newsletter about a new study published by the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers and the Association of Online Publishers, along with PricewaterhouseCoopers. By tracing the advertising supply chain, with data from 15 brands, eight agencies, 12 publishers and more than a dozen ad networks. the report found that publishers get a little over 50 percent of the money spent by advertisers. Most surprisingly, the study found that even after accounting for display network fees and other costs, about 15 percent of all advertising spending could not be attributed to any player in the supply chain. The French government has taken down a Covid-19 fake news page it created after journalists in the country complained that selecting true and false news to highlight on the page was an overstepping of its constitutional role and an infringement on press freedoms. The page, called Desinfox (a play on the French word for detox) appeared on the governments website last week and claimed to be busting disinformation about coronavirus in the French media. After the French journalists union reported the government to the countrys highest administrative court, the page was removed. ICYMI: Covering science at dangerous speeds Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Mathew Ingram is CJRs chief digital writer. Previously, he was a senior writer with Fortune magazine. He has written about the intersection between media and technology since the earliest days of the commercial internet. His writing has been published in the Washington Post and the Financial Times as well as by Reuters and Bloomberg. Graduating seniors are receiving their caps and gowns but, because of social distancing restrictions, wont get the chance to share some of the words of wisdom students often share on their mortarboards. (Newser) Remember "Bridgegate"? That was the New Jersey scandal back in 2013 in which allies of Gov. Chris Christie created an epic traffic jam as political revenge. It's back in the news Thursday because the Supreme Court unanimously tossed the convictions of two Christie aides behind the move. The justices ruled that Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni may have lied to create the traffic jam in Fort Lee, but they didn't commit fraud under federal law, reports Bloomberg. Because the scheme here did not aim to obtain money or property, Baroni and Kelly could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws, the court ruled. In other words, as USA Today sums it up in a headline, this was "politics, not crime." Christie himself was not charged, though the scandal helped torpedo his 2016 presidential campaign. story continues below The Christie aides snarled traffic on the George Washington Bridge under the false premise of conducting a traffic study, all because the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee didn't endorse Christie's bid for reelection, per Politico. The pair were convicted of fraud, but the court ruled that doesn't fly. "If US Attorneys could prosecute as property fraud every lie a state or local official tells in making such a decision, the result would be ... a sweeping expansion of federal criminal jurisdiction," wrote Justice Elena Kagan. She added that the move was indeed an "abuse of power," but "not every corrupt act by state or local officials is a federal crime." Kelly received 13 months but did not serve time as the appeals process unfolded. Baroni served 3 months of his 18-month sentence before being released on bail when the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. (Read more US Supreme Court stories.) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday visited the Panchkula residence of Major Anuj Sood, who was killed in an anti-terror operation in Kashmir, and conveyed condolences to his family. "We are proud of the soldiers who have not only dedicated their lives to safeguard the country's borders but are always ready to give a befitting reply to the terrorists. They do not think twice before sacrificing their lives," Khattar said. The chief minister said the state government is committed to provide all necessary help to their family members. A separate Sainik and Ardh Sainik Welfare Department has been formed by the Haryana government for the welfare of serving soldiers, ex-servicemen and their dependents. As per the state government's policy, an amount of Rs 50 lakh and a government job is given to the family of the soldier killed in the line of duty. Khattar met Major Anuj Sood's family members, including his father Brigadier Chandrakant Sood (retd), mother Suman Devi, sister Capt. Harshita, and wife Aakriti Singh. Major Anuj Sood was among the five security personnel killed in an encounter with terrorists in north Kashmir's Handwara on Saturday night. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) STOCKHOLM, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The following primary insider (or related party as described below) has, as part of the company's incentive program, committed to acquire shares in Ocean Yield ASA (the "Company" or "Ocean Yield"): Lars Solbakken , CEO of Ocean Yield ASA, has through his wholly owned company Finmarine AS acquired 40,000 shares in Ocean Yield. Upon completion of such acquisition, Lars Solbakken will own, directly or indirectly, 1,590,880 shares in the Company. The acquisition of shares has been made as part of the Company's management incentive program. The price paid per share will equal the closing price as of 7 May 2020 of NOK 23.85 per share, less a discount of 20% reflecting that the shares will have a lock-up period of three years. This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5 -2 and 4-2 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. Contact: Oksenyveien 10, PO Box 5013, 1327 Lysaker, Norway +47-24-13-01-82 +47-920-27-419 http://www.oceanyield.no This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/ocean-yield/r/primary-insider-disclosure,c3106852 SOURCE Ocean Yield The Arunachal Pradesh government has spent Rs 9.49 crore on COVID-19 management so far, an official said here on Thursday. The amount was spent from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund (CMFR) on capacity building, procurement of essential equipment, providing relief to stranded persons and logistics, Secretary to the chief minister, Ameya Abhyankar said. Chief Minister Pema Khandu had on Wednesday said Rs 19.89 crore was donated to the CMRF till date. "My gratitude to all those generous persons who have contributed to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund towards our battle against #COVID 19. So far we have received a sum of Rs 19,89,08,644," Khandu had tweeted. Only one COVID-19 case has been reported in the state so far. The 31-year-old attendee of the Tablighi Jammat congregation in Delhi was treated at the Tezu Zonal Hospital in Lohit district and discharged from the facility on April 17 after being cured of the disease. Meanwhile, a health department bulletin said that 1,039 samples have been tested in the state so far, of which results of 180 are awaited. The maximum number of samples were collected from Capital Complex (625), followed by 111 from East Siang district, 89 from Namsai and 63 from Lohit, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Home Regional News East B lack men and women are more than four times as likely to die from coronavirus than white people, a new study has shown. A striking number of the medics who have died with the disease have been from ethnic minority backgrounds. Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that ethnic minority groups were particularly vulnerable, including when socio-demographic, age and health factors are taken into account. If just considering age, black women were 4.3 times more likely to die from a Covid-19-related death, and black men 4.2 times more likely, than their white counterparts. People of Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian and mixed ethnicity also had a raised risk of death compared with the white population. The figures, which were adjusted for age, suggest that people from all ethnic minority groups except women with Chinese ethnicity are at greater risk of dying from the disease than white groups. Researchers said the difference in virus mortality is partly due to socio-economic disadvantages and other circumstances, but a remaining part of the disparity remains unclear. Shadow justice secretary David Lammy responded to the figures by calling for an urgent investigation into the disproportionate number of deaths. He tweeted: It is urgent the causes of this disproportionality are investigated. "Action must be taken to protect black men and women as well as people from all backgrounds from the virus. The ONS analysts also found that men of Bangladeshi/Pakistani ethnicity were 3.6 times more likely to die with the virus than white men, with the equivalent figure for Bangladeshi/Pakistani females set at 3.4. Men of Indian ethnicity were found to be 2.4 times more likely to die from Covid-19 than white men, while the figure for women of Indian ethnicity is slightly higher, at 2.7. For people of Chinese ethnicity, the team found an increased risk among men but not women: men were 1.9 times more likely to die from Covid-19, while the figure for women was 1.2. The ONS used data on death registrations up to April 17, combined with 2011 Census records, to model the impact of the virus on different ethnic groups. It also looked at Covid-19 deaths between March 2 and April 10 in England, when more than 1,000 black people died 560 of Indian ethnic background, 501 of Pakistani and Bangladeshi, 130 of mixed ethnic background, and 14,781 white people. Once further factors were taken into account, including socio-demographic and self-reported health and disability factors, the differences closed but were still stark. The risk of a Covid-19-related death for black men and women was then 1.9 times more likely than the white population. Men in the Bangladeshi and Pakistani ethnic group were 1.8 times more likely to have a Covid-19-related death than white males, with the figure being 1.6 times for women. Commenting on the findings, Tim Elwell-Sutton, assistant director of strategic partnerships at the Health Foundation, said: This is a complex issue and the exact reasons why black and minority ethnic groups are being disproportionately impacted by the virus are still unknown but existing social inequalities and structural discrimination in British society are likely to be playing a significant role. Todays data shows some of the impact of socioeconomic disadvantage, as well as region and health status, but even after taking these things into account, black and minority ethnic groups are still at higher risk. Some black and minority ethnic groups are more likely to have existing health conditions compared to the white population and may therefore be more likely to experience worse symptoms if they become infected with the virus. Recent mortality data has shown that Covid-related deaths have been higher among those living in deprived areas where people from black and minority ethnic communities are more likely to live. Government Press Conference Response About Effect Of Coronavirus On BAME Communities A Department of Health spokesperson also commented on the data, saying: "Any death from this virus is a tragedy and we are working incredibly hard to protect the nations public health. Were aware that this virus has sadly appeared to have a disproportionate effect on people from BAME backgrounds. "It is critical we find out which groups are most at risk so we can take the right steps to protect them and minimise their risk. We have commissioned Public Health England to better understand the different factors, such as ethnicity, obesity and geographical location that may influence the effects of the virus." The ONS acknowledged that because its analysis of population characteristics was linked to the 2011 Census, it may not accurately reflect the current circumstances in 2020. The differences in the risk of dying with the virus could be driven by factors not included in its model, it said. Some ethnic groups may be over-represented in public-facing occupations and could be more likely to be infected by the disease for example, individuals in the Bangladeshi and Pakistani ethnic group are more likely to work as transport operatives than those in any other ethnic group. Listen to The Leader: Coronavirus Daily podcast The ONS said it plans to conduct further work to identify occupations that are particularly at risk. UN experts say mercenaries from the Vagner group, a Russian private security firm, are supporting Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar in his battle to capture the capital, Tripoli. A UN panel monitoring Libya sanctions said in a report obtained by the AP, AFP, and Reuters news agencies on May 6 that the shadowy group has between 800 and 1,200 military contractors in Libya, including snipers and specialized military teams. The Vagner group is believed to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Controlled by Kremlin-linked Russian financier Yevgeny Prigozhin, it is involved in conflicts ranging from those in Ukraine and Syria to African nations. U.S. media has previously reported on Vagner deploying to Libya, but this is the first time its presence has been confirmed in a UN report. Moscow has denied the Russian state is responsible for any deployments. An expert report provided to the UN Security Council on April 24 said that Vagner "has been providing technical support for the repair of military vehicles, participating in combat operations, and engaging in influence operations" in Libya. 'Specialized Military Tasks' The private security firm is also involved in "more specialized military tasks such as acting as artillery Forward Observation Officers and Forward Air Controllers, providing electronic countermeasures expertise and deploying as sniper teams," it said. More than two dozen civilian aircraft flights between Russia and eastern Libya from August 2018 to August 2019 were "strongly linked to, or owned by" the Vagner group or affiliated companies, the report said. Libya has been torn by civil war since a NATO-backed popular uprising ousted and killed the North African countrys longtime dictator Colonel Muammar Qaddafi in 2011. The conflict pits Haftars self-styled Libyan National Army in the east against the internationally-recognized Government of National Accord in the western city of Tripoli, the country's capital. The UN panel said it identified that the Vagner group has been in Libya since October 2018. Since then, it has "acted as an effective force multiplier" for Haftars forces. The report said forces affiliated with the Government of National Accord had captured arms "typical of the weaponry observed being used by [Vagner] operatives elsewhere in eastern Ukraine and Syria." It also said Vagner forces use equipment typical of the Russian military. However, the report said that there were tensions between Vagner and Haftar, who is known to be notoriously stubborn. Libyas conflict has drawn in multiple regional actors, with Russia, France, Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates backing Haftars command. Turkey, which deployed troops, drones, and Syrian rebel mercenaries to Libya in January, supports the government in Tripoli alongside Qatar and Italy. The UN panel said that a Russian company has been recruiting Syrian fighters since at least the beginning of 2020. It is estimated from ground sources that the number of Syrian foreign fighters supporting Haftars operations is less than 2,000," the report said. The experts estimated the total number of Syrian fighters in Libya at around 5,000, but this almost certainly includes those fighters recruited by Turkey to support the government in Tripoli. The report also confirms the private Russian security company, Rossiskie System Bezopasnosti (RSB) Group, is in Libya "providing maintenance and repair support for military aircraft." It said that sanctions monitors are still evaluating reports that two other Russian private security organizations -- Security Group and Schit Security Group -- are active in Libya. The UN experts said most Vagner contractors are Russian nationals, but there are also citizens of Belarus, Moldova, Serbia, and Ukraine. With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters All India Trade Union Congress AITUC Bhawan: 35-36, DDU Marg, Rouse Avenue, New Delhi a 110002 E Mail: aituchq[at]gmail.com Tel: +91 1123217320 [Press Release] 07.05.2020 AITUC demands enquiry to fix the guilty for negligence and stringent action in the L G Polymer Company gas leakage accident - Demands compensation for the deceased and sick Gas leak accident in LG Polymer Company a a South Korean company with its parent firm LG Chem a a chemical plant in Vishakhapatnam for making synthetic rubber and resin having claimed eleven lives till now and about two dozens of people on ventilators among several hundreds hospitalized once again brings forth the issues of occupational safety and health (OSH) not only for those who are at the work place but also for all those who happen to be living in the vicinity of such plants. It reminds us the Bhopal gas leak tragedy. The lessons have not been learnt from the previous accidents to ensure as continuous process of safety measures in industries. Among the deceased there are two girls aged 6 & 9 years and a young boy of 19 years and many sick are from the villages RR Venkatapuram, Venkatapuram, Padnabhapuram, Ashok Nagar, B C Colony, Banta Colony, in the vicinity of the company. Trade Unions have always been demanding for OSH to be a serious issue and no negligence on that account by the authorities who issue NOC for opening and operations as well as of the inspectorate who should regularly ensure compliance. The pollution or environmental deterioration must be a due consideration while granting permission for any factories to be established. In the deaths confirmed till now and those of affected people hospitalized are also the people from the villages around the factory. Even though it is being claimed that Styrene gas is not fatal but even then it has already taken lives of some people and pushed about more than 2000 into sickness. The initial report says that there were several hundred of workers inside the factory. We demand proper enquiry to reveal the facts and to fix responsibility for adequate legal action on the guilty management for this tragic mishap. AITUC demands adequate compensation to the victims of this accident, to the families of deceased and those fallen sick and hospitalized. The government should bear the expenses for all those who have fallen sick in this accident. AITUC further demands that all safety and health issues of the workforce be kept in mind and the centre and state governments and concerned authorities should once again look at the safety requirements when the companies/ factories reopen after lockdown. Amarjeet Kaur General Secretary, AITUC SEE OPIGIANL SIGNED PDF: Andhra Pradesh Industries Minister MG Reddy has said that the management of LG Polymer Industry is responsible for the gas leak mishap and criminal action will be taken against the authorities. Andhra Pradesh Industries Minister MG Reddy on Thursday said that management of LG Polymer Industry will need to explain how the gas leak happened, what protocols were followed and criminal action will be taken against them for violations. People managing LG Polymer Industry have to be responsible for gas leakage mishap. They will have to come and explain to us exactly what all protocols were followed, and what all were not followed. Accordingly, criminal action will be taken against them, MG Reddy told ANI. We have very clearly said in our direction that companies should have people with technical expertise during the re-opening of such manufacturing companies. Most of the companies have followed the rules, he added. The Minister said the mishap happened in LG Polymer, which resumed production in their factory premises. Also Read: Coronavirus update: Total cases in India cross 52,000 with toll near 1800, Tamil Nadu witnesses sudden surge in cases #VizagGasLeak: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy leaves for Visakhapatnam. He will be visiting King George Hospital where the affected persons are being treated. pic.twitter.com/ViCxnxfTwT ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2020 The company basically manufactures chemicals, polymers, and plastics. After gas leakage was reported in the factory, the lockdown procedure was initiated immediately. The local administration was informed. Gas was neutralised to harmless liquid form. But, some gas escaped and affected people in nearby areas. People in the area who came in contact with the leaked gas complained about nausea, skin irritation, and eye irritation, he said. Eight people have been killed in the mishap so far, while 800 have been hospitalized, the police have informed. Styrene gas leakage had occurred at LG Polymers industry in RR Venkatapuram village in Visakhapatnam early this morning. Moreover, PM Narendra Modi also called for a meeting and had also discussed the details with Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan. For all the latest National News, download NewsX App Aster DM Healthcare jumped 5.05% to Rs 99.80 after the company said its diagnostics arm has started providing RT-PCR confirmatorytest service forCovid-19 in Bengaluru. Aster Clinical Lab LLP (Aster Labs), the diagnostics arm of Aster DM Healthcare, the largest integrated healthcare network in GCC and emerging healthcare player in India has started providing RT-PCR confirmatory test service for Covid-19 in Bengaluru. Aster Labs has set up its pathology reference laboratory at Queens Road, Bengaluru, which is fully equipped to serve routine and specialized investigation. It has approval from The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) to start full-fledged testing of COVID-19 RT-PCR confirmatory test, which remains a Gold Standards for Covid-19 testing. The announcement comes at a time when Bengaluru is preparing to emerge from the lockdown and testing becomes essential to control the spread of Covid-19 infection through fast identification, quarantine, isolation and treatment. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 6 May 2020. RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) is a laboratory technique used for detecting the presence of specific genetic material from any pathogen, including a virus. On a consolidated basis, the company's net profit rose 38.6% to Rs 139.12 crore on an 8% increase in net sales to Rs 2321.66 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018. Aster DM Healthcare operates in various segments of the healthcare industry, which include hospitals, clinics and retail pharmacies, and provides healthcare services to patients across economic segments in various gulf corporation council (GCC) states through its various brands, such as Aster, Medcare and Access. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi govt to get Rs 10,000 cr revenue from bidding of liquor shops under new excise policy Delhis liquor shops reopen from today under new excise policy| Check timings, costs and other details here MP liquor shops offer 10% discount for those taking second jab of COVID-19 Seized liquor bottles go missing from police station in MP India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Bhopal, May 07: As many as 950 bottles of country liquor, kept in the strong room of a police station at Bhind following seizure, have gone missing amid the lockdown, prompting authorities to suspend two policemen and order a probe, an official said. District superintendent of police Nagendra Singh said he got information that the country liquor missing from the strong room ('malkhana') of the Mihona police station here has been sold during the lockdown, which saw closure of liquor shops. Coronavirus crisis: Why sale of liquor matters to state? Which state collects more in revenue? I went to the police station on Tuesday night and after going through the seizure stock record, found 950 quarter bottles (of 180 ml each) (of country liquor) missing, he said. I have suspended police station in-charge inspector Amar Singh Sikarwar and head constable Ramesh Bansal, in- charge of the strong room, forthwith, he said. I have asked a Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) to carry out an inquiry," Singh added. He said 3,400 country liquor bottles (of 180 ml each) had been seized by the Mihona police in the last four years. Of these, 2,200 bottles had been deposited in the local courts strong room, while the remaining 1,200 were in the police station, the SP said. Liquor price to be hiked in Tamil Nadu by Rs 20 from May 7 During my visit, I found only 250 bottles instead of 1,200," he added. Sources said tipplers had paid four time excess money to buy these liquor bottles during the lockdown during which liquor shops across MP remained closed. PG-13 | 1h 37min | Comedy, Drama | 11 January 2008 (USA) Before seeing director Rob Reiners 2008 dramedy The Bucket List, the critic in me worried that it might not live up to my expectations. The plot certainly sounded inspiring, but I was concerned that it would be a little too saccharine for my taste, or simply ring false. Boy, was I wrong. The first act of the film shows us background info on two men from completely different walks of life. Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) is a working-class auto mechanic. Hes a brilliant and wise man who has an unwavering faith in God, but he happens to be at odds with his wife, Virginia (Beverly Todd). Meanwhile, Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) is a loud and obnoxious corporate mogul with money to burn. Morgan Freeman (L) plays a retired auto mechanic and Jack Nicholson a mogul in The Bucket List. (Warner Bros. Pictures) The one thing that the men have in common is the fact that they both have terminal cancer: The two end up sharing a hospital room together. At first, the pair seem to be at odds with each other. Edwards rudeness doesnt mix well with Carters intellectualism, which sometimes comes off as condescending. However, the two begin to thaw out one anothers icy facade; they even begin playing cards together on a regular basis. Carters family drops in on him throughout his hospital stay, but the only person to visit Edward is his assistant, Thomas (Sean Hayes). One day, Carter begins to write a list of things that hed like to do before he dies, the titular Bucket List. Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) holds the bucket list. (Warner Bros. Pictures) The men are eventually informed by the medical staff that they have only six months to a year to live. Because of the crushing news, one of Carters first reactions is to throw away his list. Edward later stumbles across it and scribbles his own items on it as well. Edward tells Carter that they can actualize the list together since he has the financial means to make it possible. Carter, a proud man, initially refuses. But the shrewd businessman within Edward convinces Carter to take a globe-trotting trip around the world with him to places such as Egypt, India, and France so that they can realize their last wishes. Their sudden departure causes a further rift between Carter and Virginia. Their Journey Edward and Carters journey starts off on a whimsical note as they engage in skydiving and muscle car racing, to name a few activities. The comedy between this odd couple feels natural as the men bond. Throughout the trip, however, they begin to share deeper things about their pasts, as well as what made them who they are. They discuss faith, family, their philosophies, and childhoods. Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson, L) and Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) in Egypt. (Warner Bros. Pictures) At a certain point, it dawns on them both that although they come from different walks of life, they are grappling with similar things. Carter is running away from his family in order to do things he never got to do because of the sacrifices he made as a hard-working family man. Edwards never found true love and has been avoiding contact with his estranged daughter for years. For the most part, Nicholson doesnt fall too much into his Nicholson-mode (with flailing eyebrows and all), and we can see his character: a rich man afraid to die, with no one to love or to be loved by. Meanwhile, Freeman completely disappears into his role as a somewhat bitter man who never actualized his dreams because of family obligations. The two brilliant actors effectively portray two individuals who are trying to figure out what their lives mean, as well as what their limited futures might hold. The Bucket List may initially resemble a buddy-road-trip film, but it manages to escape the trivial trappings of the genre. The result, under Reiners assured directing hand, is a phenomenal cinematic experience that blends deeply moving drama with some lighter comedic bits spliced in. It will cause many a tear to be shed, as well as bouts of laughter. The Bucket List Director: Rob Reiner Starring: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes Rated: PG-13 Running Time: 1 hours, 37 minutes Release Date: Jan. 11, 2008 (USA) Rated: 4.5 stars out of 5 Ian Kane is a filmmaker and author based out of Los Angeles. To see more, visit DreamFlightEnt.com or contact him at Twitter.com/ImIanKane Maura Higgins has reportedly become a millionaire after securing a huge money deal with Ann Summers. The Irish beauty, 29, has been working with the lingerie giant since appearing on the 2019 series of Love Island. It has been claimed that Maura has earned 500,000 from both Boohoo and Ann Summers for her collections with the companies. Ka-ching! Maura Higgins has reportedly become a millionaire after securing a huge money deal with Ann Summers (pictured modelling her latest bikini collection) The former grid girl has also reportedly bagged 250k from Bellamianta and 150k from her stint on Dancing On Ice in January A source told The Sun: 'Maura will be lapping up the fact Love Island is cancelled this summer. 'Given the winter series failed to produce any real stars, she can continue to secure the most lucrative brand deals. 'Shes a canny operator and knows she has a shelf-life, but Maura is definitely maximising her current popularity.' Stunning: The Irish beauty, 29, has been working with the lingerie giant since appearing on the 2019 series of Love Island MailOnline has contacted a representative for Maura and Ann Summers for comment. It comes after Maura showed off her new Ann Summers swimwear collection to Instagram on Wednesday. The Irish beauty, 29, set pulses racing as she displayed her toned figure in an 'Itsy Bitsy' purple bikini. Sizzling: It has been claimed that Maura has earned 500,000 from both Boohoo and Ann Summers for her collections with the companies Maura styled her brunette locks into a wet slicked back look, she added a slick of glamorous make-up and oversized silver hooped earrings. She penned alongside the photo: 'This little "Itsy Bitsy" purple beauty from my @annsummers collection has just landed online.' Posting her discount code, she added the hashtags: '#stayhomestaysexy #bemoremauraswim2020.' Maura's new swimwear collection, called More Maura Swim, combines her own taste with the lingerie giants' classic styles. The sizzling snap comes after Dancing On Ice star Alexander Demetriou confirmed he had separated from wife Carlotta Edwards last week. The professional skater, 28, took to Instagram Stories to confirm the news and revealed to his followers that it had been a 'tough time' for him. Sad: The news comes after Dancing On Ice star Alexander Demetriou confirmed he had separated from wife Carlotta Edwards last week (pictured in November 2019) It comes amid weeks of speculation that their four-year marriage was on the rocks after reports that Alexander became 'besotted' with Love Island beauty Maura. In a statement posted on Instagram stories, Alexander said: 'I'm sorry I have been quiet on social media recently but it's been a tough time personally for me. 'Carlotta and I have separated. Although it saddens me that we can no longer be together, I feel this is best for both of us. His statement: The professional skater, 28, took to Instagram stories to confirm the news and revealed to his followers that it had been a 'tough time' for him 'I'm looking forward to what the future will bring but in the meantime let's all stay home and stay safe.' While Alexander went public with a statement, Carlotta, 30, has remained silent, and has instead been hauled up in Calgary, Canada with her family. A friend of the former couple recently told their marriage troubles 'came as a shock', as they were so close before the last Dancing On Ice series. 'Besotted': It comes amid weeks of speculation that their four-year marriage was on the rocks after reports that he became 'besotted' with Maura A source spoke to The Sun about the visit, saying: 'Everything has seemed fine and her family thought they were having a good time. 'No one in her family suspected anything was up between them, so obviously this has all been quite a shock.' Responding to speculation linking Maura and Alex, Curtis Pritchard recently revealed that Maura forbid him from coming to watch her skate with Alex and that he's sure nothing 'more' happened between the pair. Forbidden: Curtis Pritchard recently revealed that ex Maura forbid him from coming to watch her skate with Alex and that he's sure nothing 'more' happened between the pair Curtis, 24, told The Sun: 'I have no proof that anything more has happened between them. I don't like to think about it. 'I don't want to look back over the past few months for warning signs. But it's not nice to read about her relationship with Alex and to see pictures of them together. 'I went to her first three shows, but after that she asked me not to come. She said she had terrible nerves and it was easier without me there. I just accepted that. I wasn't concerned about there being anything romantic between her and Alex.' As Luis Decker entered the third week of his deployment to New Jersey, the horrors of the COVID-19 pandemic still loomed over the world. Despite the ongoing circumstances and the loss of normality, he continues to work to help his patients through their recovery and hopes to reach a day where the world is COVID-19 free. After the Board of Nursing put a call out to all inactive and retired nurses to help, Decker chose to risk his life and renew his license and head to New Jersey, a U.S. COVID-19 hotspot. According to a report, there have been over 7,538 deaths in New Jersey. When I first got here, it was the real deal here, Decker said. Im grateful Laredo wasnt hit like it is here. As one of the many traveling nurses, Decker volunteered in order to fight the pandemic head-on. While the distance from his family weighs heavily on him, Decker and his fellow traveling nurses are there for a good cause. He detailed his trip by saying when he first arrived he was unsure of where he would be assigned throughout the whole network of New Jersey hospitals. Despite extreme and strict precautions for staff members, some hospitals were overwhelmed by the virus. He was assigned to a nursing rehab center for patients and was fortunate to know that there was no shortage of personal protective equipment. With a professional staff, strict policies to minimize risks and the proper equipment, Decker had plenty of hope. This hope however was tested as the number of positive cases increased, and on his fourth shift he lost his first patient. It was difficult to see; I knew to expect it, but I wasnt prepared to experience it, Decker said. His first patient was an elderly woman who had recovered from COVID-19. During her recovery, however, her kidney was damaged and could not recover. I was with her when she took her last breath. She wasnt alone, Decker said. As he previously mentioned in a previous LMT article, recovery continues to be an isolated endeavor that leaves many without the comfort of their family, regardless if their chances of recovery are high or not. Patients dont have access to their loved ones, and that is a part of the process of recovery, Decker said. We are going to have to fill that void and show care and empathy. As some states move forward with re-opening select businesses, the sight of New Jersey has been bleak since Decker first arrived there. It was surreal. Its like a warzone without the war, he said. The streets were completely dead in New Jersey. As the weather matched the mood with its dark clouds, icy wind and rain, he said that the city had been like a ghost town when he arrived, a heavy contrast to what the average person thinks of when they see New Jersey in a movie. Despite the number of cases continuing to rise, Decker said they are stabilizing. It may be a result of the strict leadership by the hospital and the effort of the many local and traveling nurses. According to Decker, the average patient load is between 10 and 15 patients which results in a long and grueling day. Fortunately, he received some much-needed support on Saturday when his wife arrived to accompany him on his duty. Saturday is also the day that the parks reopened in Jersey which brings additional concerns to Decker and health professionals worldwide. Were cautiously worried and reserved, he said. We understand the need to get out and for business to reopen, but were concerned about the consequences. According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, states should only reopen if they have a two-week decline in the number of positive cases. There is a large risk in reopening prematurely that can result in slowing down the progress made to stop the pandemic. Theres 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. According to Fauci, New York has more than 300,000 confirmed cases and approximately 23,600 deaths. With Jersey being hit by the pandemic as hard as it was, Decker said that the reality is that the way of life everyone knew has changed. Just know that this is real; I hadnt known how real this was until I got here, he said. We build a mental picture in our head [of the pandemic] and its very seldom the case. On Friday, Laredo eased restrictions on restaurants, movie theaters and other business. Despite the loosening pressure, local businesses continued to stay closed or only offer curbside and delivery services. None of us have ever experienced a pandemic, and it is a complete change of our lives, Decker said. Regardless, as his work continues, he has kept his head up, and the appreciation of the New Jersey locals have boosted the morale of the traveling nurses during these last few weeks. A great appreciation has been shown by the people in the form of boatloads of food, Decker said. On his days off, he takes the time to roam the area, and as luck would have it, during a trip to the Statue of Liberty he and a fellow nurse caught the flight of The Blue Angels. The flight was to show support for health care workers, first responders and everyone working together against the pandemic. He also mentioned that during his time off, he would walk around in Philadelphia Eagles territory with a Dallas Cowboys jacket waiting for some flak from the locals; but there was nothing but love and tons of Italian food. There were a lot of people with American flags showing support to workers, Decker said. It felt like an amazing feeling being in something so much bigger than ourselves. Im glad to be here; its been an experience. His children are waiting for him in Laredo. From medical health professionals to a member of the Air Force, Decker said that his children have made him so proud and he is proud of each of them. He hopes to continue to share as much as he can and said that once the pandemic is over, he would like to take his family on a New Jersey vacation. With the help of God and help of my coworkers, we do what we have to do, Decker said. I am honored to work with the people I work with. Its going to get better. We are going to come out of this very soon, stronger and wiser. Christian Ocampo may be reached at cocampo@lmtonline.com Cape honey bee workers laying parasitic eggs on a queen cell. Credit: Professor Benjamin Oldroyd/University of Sydney In a study published today in Current Biology, researchers from University of Sydney have identified the single gene that determines how Cape honey bees reproduce without ever having sex. One gene, GB45239 on chromosome 11, is responsible for virgin births. "It is extremely exciting," said Professor Benjamin Oldroyd in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences. "Scientists have been looking for this gene for the last 30 years. Now that we know it's on chromosome 11, we have solved a mystery." Behavioural geneticist Professor Oldroyd said: "Sex is a weird way to reproduce and yet it is the most common form of reproduction for animals and plants on the planet. It's a major biological mystery why there is so much sex going on and it doesn't make evolutionary sense. Asexuality is a much more efficient way to reproduce, and every now and then we see a species revert to it." In the Cape honey bee, found in South Africa, the gene has allowed worker bees to lay eggs that only produce females instead of the normal males that other honey bees do. "Males are mostly useless," Professor Oldroyd said. "But Cape workers can become genetically reincarnated as a female queen and that prospect changes everything." But it also causes problems. "Instead of being a cooperative society, Cape honey bee colonies are riven with conflict because any worker can be genetically reincarnated as the next queen. When a colony loses its queen the workers fight and compete to be the mother of the next queen," Professor Oldroyd said. Masses of parasitic eggs laid by parasites in a dying colony. Credit: Professor Benjamin Oldroyd/Univeristy of Sydney The ability to produce daughters asexually, known as "thelytokous parthenogenesis", is restricted to a single subspecies inhabiting the Cape region of South Africa, the Cape honey bee or Apis mellifera capensis. Several other traits distinguish the Cape honey bee from other honey bee subspecies. In particular, the ovaries of worker bees are larger and more readily activated and they are able to produce queen pheromones, allowing them to assert reproductive dominance in a colony. These traits also lead to a propensity for social parasitism, a behaviour where Cape bee workers invade foreign colonies, reproduce and persuade the host colony workers to feed their larvae. Every year in South Africa, 10,000 colonies of commercial beehives die because of the social parasite behaviour in Cape honey bees. "This is a bee we must keep out of Australia," Professor Oldroyd said. A 'Super Cape ' worker (black in centre) is nearly as big as a Capensis queen (with white disc). Credit: Professor Benjamin Oldroyd/University of Sydney The existence of Cape bees with these characters has been known for over a hundred years, but it is only recently, using modern genomic tools, that we have been able to understand the actual gene that gives rise to virgin birth. "Further study of Cape bees could give us insight into two major evolutionary transitions: the origin of sex and the origin of animal societies," Professor Oldroyd said. Perhaps the most exciting prospect arising from this study is the possibility to understand how the gene actually works functionally. "If we could control a switch that allows animals to reproduce asexually, that would have important applications in agriculture, biotechnology and many other fields," Professor Oldroyd said. For instance, many pest ant species like fire ants are thelytokous, though unfortunately it seems to be a different gene to the one found in Capensis." Explore further A single gene turns socially organized bees into social parasites (Photo : REUTERS/Brendan McDermid) Scientists work in a lab testing COVID-19 samples at New York City's health department, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City, New York U.S., April 23, 2020. Picture taken April 23, 2020. In times of a global emergency, such as the current coronavirus pandemic, information is crucial. And the speed at which that information arrives is also important. But sometimes, accuracy is sacrificed in favor of efficiency. Social media, for example, has been embraced by scientists and doctors to relay information quickly to the public However, another information avenue that's gaining popularity among researchers is preprint--an academic research paper posted in advance to a publicly accessible server before it goes through peer review. However, Ars Technica reports that when an unconfirmed study goes straight to the public, it can cause problems, particularly those that make bold claims such as a recent one on coronavirus mutations. Preprint may lead to misinformation, anxiety, and chaos during coronavirus pandemic Traditionally, scientists share their findings through peer-reviewed journals. A scientist or a team of scientists do their research, draft the results, and sends them to a journal that covers that particular field or to a multidisciplinary publication like Nature or Science. Once the journal receives the paper, it sends copies for review to scientists who are also in the same field or peers of the authors. They criticize the paper for flaws in the methodology and analysis or other potential issues. If they do not find any, the paper will be published. However, the usual outcome of the peer review is that reviewers will find something they deem unacceptable or insufficient. They then send it to the editor who will forward the concerns to the author. The author then addresses the issues before the editor accepts the research for publication. While the process is not perfect and takes time, enough prudence is applied to the study. The Preprint community The peer-review method of publishing is already hundreds of years old. However, in the 1990s, physics researchers decided to enhance it with the relatively new internet. They created servers like arXiv, a storeroom for research publications that had not yet been peer-reviewed and published. These researchers then started sharing the papers with the research community. Scientists could read the research and discuss it with each other even before the findings are printed, thus called "preprint." The popularity of preprints led to more servers being created for medical science like bioRxiv and medRxiv. As scientists can easily publish their findings while young researchers can show their studies to funding and hiring bodies to demonstrate how productive they are while waiting for nods from peer reviews. There was a rapid increase in the number of papers stored in bioRxiv since it was created in 2014, according to a study conducted in 2019. Similarly, there has been an increase in the number of downloads from biorXiv. Meanwhile, the study also found that two-thirds of the preprints posted to bioRxiv within its first four years were published in peer-reviewed journals. Where lies the problem? While many scientists support preprints, not everyone does. These oppositions are based on policies forbidding the promotion of an unpublished research paper. Other scientists are also worried that submitting their work to a preprint server would allow rivals to race with them in publishing. More importantly, an unpolished or inaccurate work may and up in the hands of readers who cannot completely evaluate it. For example, when an unfinished study about a more contagious mutation of a virus is reported in the middle of a global pandemic, then it may lead to fear, anxiety, and even chaos. Although peer review is not always perfect, when a report in the media comes from a preprint, perhaps treat it with one more grain of salt than usual. Read also: SARS-CoV-2 Gets Duplicated by Scientists! While Another Researcher Found Dead 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. How ironic that the 1984 iconic advertisement that Apple used to introduce the Macintosh computer "played on imagery from George Orwell's 1984 novella [sic] presenting Apple as rebels fighting a technocratic elite. The spot certainly was a lot gloomier than the company's previous commercials, that used Apple celebrity spokesman Dick Cavett." In truth, "there was nothing cuddly about the new Macintosh ad, which was firmly rooted in the burgeoning dystopian cyberpunk aesthetic." Ostensibly, the advertisement's intention was "to remove people's fears of technology[.]" In fact, Apple claimed that it "wanted to democratize technology, telling people that the power was now literally in their hands." How things have changed as the tech giants have morphed into near-totalitarian giants controlling far too much of our lives. Like serfs, we bend to their will or are punished. Thus, Candace Owens is suspended from Twitter for challenging Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer while Facebook flags the Declaration of Independence as '"hate speech." In 2016, Aaron Renn reported that both conservative and left-wing groups are pulled down at Twitter. In 2019, "YouTube blocked some British history teachers from its service for uploading archive material related to Adolf Hitler, saying they [were] breaching new guidelines banning the promotion of hate speech. The video-sharing website announced that it would remove material glorifying the Nazis from its platform in an attempt to stop people being radicalised. In the process however, it also deleted videos uploaded to help educate future generations about the risks of fascism." Peter J. Hasson's The Manipulators highlights how tech giants relish their coercive power against conservatives. In 2018, Michael Cutler noted that Twitter has "now morphed into a means of thought control through the control of language." Thus, any discussion about immigration that does not pass the politically correct litmus test is censored and controlled. Today our cell phones and other devices that apparently eavesdrop on us, are far more intrusive than Orwell could have envisioned. Most recently, YouTube, a subsidiary of the technology giant Google, abused its power by censoring opinions criticizing the continuation of strict stay-at-home government mandates in response to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2017, Roger McNamee highlighted the fact that "the big Internet companies know more about you than you know about yourself, which gives them huge power to influence you, to persuade you to do things that serve their economic interests." Thus, in 2013, "a study found that average consumers check their smartphones 150 times a day. And that number has probably grown. People spend 50 minutes a day on Facebook. Other social apps such as Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter combine to take up still more time. Those companies maintain a profile on every user, which grows every time you like, share, search, shop or post a photo. Google also is analyzing credit card records of millions of people." In academia, many colleges now mandate that instructors use a security system in order to log in to their classes e.g., Okta, Duo. They use identity verification with multifactor authorizations. These cloud-based platforms are supposed to "protect users, data and applications from malicious hackers and data breaches." But with that vast array of information, who is watching the watchdogs? Moreover, state and federal governments are now preparing to hire "contact tracers." Also known as "disease detectives," contact tracers notify people by phone, email, or social media platforms that they may have had "sustained contact" with someone who has the coronavirus. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand introduced a $55-billion bill to cover the salaries of contact tracers, and Michael Bloomberg is donating $10 million to get the tracing off the ground. Thus, "[a]n army of pandemic detectives will have to be recruited, trained and deployed in short order." Teachers are being recruited. AFT president Randi Weingarten asserts that the Trump administration has engaged in "conflicting guidance, bluster and lies" re: the pandemic. Given those who sponsor this program, is it prudent to inquire whether this information can eventually be used against Americans? While many households use Amazon's Alexa, do they realize that it stores "query history meaning [it] knows everything from a consumer's shopping history, travel patterns and musical preferences?" Vance Packard's Hidden Persuaders could never have imagined the power that technological giants now possess. Moreover, "[t]housands of Amazon workers are already listening to some Echoes in order to improve Alexa's comprehension of human speech." In fact, "in modern life, privacy is no longer a given people are being tracked on their daily commute, at work, online, and when they're shopping. That's because data is valuable. In 2018, American companies spent an estimated $19 billion attaining and interpreting consumer data." The data are an "invisible supply chain that create[] marketplaces out of behavioral data." Thus, "[w]hen someone has a digital conversation or makes a purchase, that's recorded. That record is shared with a third party, which can sell the data to another organization." Incrementally, our privacy is invaded. In fact, "[t]he day of losing privacy begins at night, because even in our sleep, we're likely to be providing data." Furthermore, with facial recognition devices, we are heading into a world where businesses and government know "potentially everywhere you've been, who you were with and what you were doing all of the time." In addition, "operating within your own email inbox is no longer private. If you're applying for college, your email etiquette could be monitored. Universities in the U.S. are using data, such as the length of time an email is open and whether links are clicked, to work out the level of 'demonstrated interest' from a possible new student." Ever wonder why Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are free? You are paying with your information. According to Forbes, "Facebook has 2 billion active users. Every minute, users upload 50,000 photos to Instagram, and send 500,000 tweets on Twitter. Everything you post could help build a more cohesive data profile of you." Moreover, carrying a smartphone [is] like carrying a tracking device because Google Maps can remember where you go and save it to a Google Timeline. Workplaces monitor employees' movements, their work rate on computers, and their calendar data. Gordon Chang has long been concerned with the '"digital totalitarianism in China which assigns every person a constantly updated score on observable behaviors." The score "is designed to control conduct by permitting the Communist Party the ability to administer punishments and hand out rewards." Lest one scoff that this could never happen here, consider: [C]orporations and governments are using technology to influence our behavior. Total tech is a term that describes devices and algorithms by which individuals forfeit their privacy and autonomy for the benefit of either themselves or some third party. In 2019, Betsy McCaughey wrote that "Facebook was 'imposing its own Silicon Valley brand of political correctness.'" Daniel Greenfield maintains that "[a] digital iron curtain descends over the internet" and the only way "to stop the rise of Big Brother is to break up Big Data." Otherwise, he predicts, "free speech on the web as we once knew it will be over within a decade." Scott McKay asserts that "[w]hen Facebook and YouTube start restricting speech, they are taking an editorial position. They are not policing speech in order to provide a safe environment for their users; they are asserting that their point of view is the only valid one." That makes them publishers and if they want to be publishers, they can be sued as one. It isn't acceptable for monopolistic Big Tech actors to arbitrarily ban content they don't like while acting to drive competitors from the scene, and whether that's punished by the courts, antitrust laws, or federal regulation before the market can do its work, something has to give. If not, then we will find ourselves just like China before long, where only one opinion is allowed. Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com. The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted just how reliant the United States and other countries are on Chinese manufacturing, with widespread shortages of protective medical gear produced there. But U.S. dependence on China extends far beyond surgical masks and N95 respirators. China is the largest producer of many industrial and consumer products shipped worldwide, and about one-quarter of the country's gross domestic product comes from exports. It is also the world's largest emitter of climate-altering carbon dioxide gas, generated by the burning of fossil fuels. A new study details the links between China's exports and its emissions by mapping the in-country sources of carbon dioxide emissions tied to products consumed overseas. University of Michigan researchers and their Chinese collaborators tracked these emissions to a small number of coastal manufacturing hubs and showed that about 1% of the country's land area is responsible for 75% of the export-linked CO2 emissions. The study, scheduled for publication May 7 in Nature Communications, provides the most detailed mapping of China's export-driven CO2 emissions to date, according to corresponding author Shen Qu of the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability. The findings, which are based on 2012 emissions data, offer insights that can guide policymakers, he said. "Developing localized climate mitigation strategies requires an understanding of how global consumption drives local carbon dioxide emissions with a fine spatial resolution," said Qu, a Dow Sustainability Postdoctoral Fellow at SEAS who combines the tools of input-output analysis and network analysis to uncover the role of international trade in global environmental impacts. "The carbon footprint hotspots identified in this study are the key places to focus on collaborative mitigation efforts between China and the downstream parties that drive those emissions," he said. The study found that the manufacturing hubs responsible for most of the foreign-linked emissions are in the Yangtze River Delta (including Shanghai, China's top CO2-emitting city), the Pearl River Delta (including Dongguan) and the North China Plain (including Tianjin). These cities have, or are close to, ports for maritime shipping. The modeling study uses data from large-scale emissions inventories derived from 2012 surveys of individual firms in all Chinese industries that generate carbon dioxide emissions. Emissions levels have likely changed in response to recent U.S.-China trade disputes and the COVID-19 pandemic, which has significantly impacted Chinese manufacturing and exports. Chinese CO2 emissions driven by foreign consumption totaled 1.466 megatons in 2012, accounting for 14.6% of the country's industrial-related carbon dioxide emissions that year. If the Chinese manufacturing hubs identified in the U-M study constituted a separate country, their CO2 emissions in 2012 would have ranked fifth in the world behind China, the United States, India and Russia, according to the authors. The study also found that: Exports to the United States, Hong Kong and Japan were responsible for the biggest chunks of Chinese foreign-linked CO2 emissions, contributing about 23%, 10.8% and 9%, respectively. About 49% of the U.S.-linked CO2 emissions were driven by the production of consumer goods for the household. About 42% of the export-driven CO2 emissions in China are tied to electricity generation, with notable hotspots in the cities of Shanghai, Ningbo, Suzhou (Jiangsu Province) and Xuzhou. Much of that electricity is produced at coal-fired power plants. China is the world's largest steel producer and exporter. Cities that manufacture large amounts of iron and steel--and that use large amounts of coal in the process--were hotspots for export-driven CO2 emissions. Cement plants and petroleum refineries were also big contributors. In the study, U-M researchers and their collaborators used carbon footprint accounting--i.e., consumption-based accounting--to track greenhouse gas emissions driven by global supply chains. They mapped those emissions at a spatial resolution of 10 kilometers by 10 kilometers, a level of detail that enabled them to identify specific source cities. "Previous studies have linked greenhouse gas emissions to final consumption of products, but primarily at national or regional levels," said study co-author Ming Xu of the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. "Given the increasing importance of non-state actors--provinces, states, cities and companies--in climate mitigation, it becomes increasingly important to be able to explicitly link the final consumers of products to the subnational actors that have direct control over greenhouse gas emissions." ### The other authors of the study are Yuantao Yang of Beijing Institute of Technology, formerly a visiting student at U-M's School for Environment and Sustainability; Sai Liang of Beijing Normal University, formerly a postdoctoral researcher at SEAS; Bofeng Cai and Jinnan Wang of the Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning; and Zhaohua Wang of Beijing Institute of Technology. The research was partially supported by the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies at U-M. Graphic link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11r7oJ13kwpKjHAvNyDAaweMkoYj7mMel Study: Mapping global carbon footprint in China (available when embargo lifts) Shen Qu Ming Xu TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Japan will on Friday see March data for average household spending, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. Spending is predicted to sink 6.7 percent on year after easing 0.3 percent in February. Japan also will see final April numbers for labor cash earnings and for the services and composite PMIs from Jibun Bank. In March, labor cash earnings were up 1.0 percent on year, while the services PMI score was 33.8 and the composite was at 36.2. Malaysia will release March figures for industrial and manufacturing production; in February, they were up an annual 5.8 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively. 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. President Donald Trump turned down suggestions by aides who suggested he press Chinese President Xi Jinping on transparency dealing with the coronavirus in January during a month when Trump praised Xi for it. His administration continues to fault China for holding back critical information on the pandemic. Trump twice turned down the advice two times about pushing the sensitive issue with China, an economic rival where the coronavirus outbreak is believed to have originated and spread, the Wall Street Journal reported. On a second occasion, Trump said the criticism could backfire and cause Beijing to be less helpful. President Donald Trump twice turned down requests to push Chinese president Xi Jinping on transparency Trump's public statements about China's role around that time were upbeat. He tweeted January 24: 'China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!' Trump also made numerous statements publicly praising China's response at that time. 'Our relationship with China is the best it's ever been,' Trump said January 15. He touted his 'great relationship' with President Xi in a January 24 interview with CNBC from Davos. Trump in January was trying to end a long running trade dispute with China. As the world was learning about the coronavirus, the U.S. wanted to get genetic information about the virus, plus get U.S. officials inside China and obtain samples of the virus itself. As many officials would later learn, the U.S. was dependent on China's supply chain to provide masks and other protective gear to deal with the pandemic. Trump has repeatedly praised his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping Sellers and customers wearing facemasks to help stop the spread of a deadly virus which began in the city are seen at a market in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on January 24, 2020. - China sealed off millions more people near the epicenter of a virus outbreak on January 24, shutting down public transport in an eighth city in an unprecedented quarantine effort as the death toll climbed to 26 Workers are seen inside the P4 laboratory in Wuhan, capital of China's Hubei province, on February 23, 2017 Trump praised China for its transparency in January the same month insiders say they were urging him to press Xi Jinping on the issue Other U.S. officials also appear to have held back from pushing China too hard. A top government research scientist who became a whistleblower says in his complaint that Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar failed to ask the Chinese for coronavirus samples during a call in January. We 'cannot emphasize enough the critical need to access virus to initiate' vaccine development,' he said in January 27th discussions,' Dr. Rick Bright, who was removed as director of a biomedical research division at HHS, says he warned officials, according to his whistleblower complaint. Trump's public comments about China soon soured as the virus spread, and for a time he referred to the coronavirus as the 'Chinese virus.' He has now stopped that practice. The ongoing pandemic has now put U.S.-China relations under strain. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday again blasted China for holding back information. 'They knew. China could have prevented the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. China could have spared the world descent into global economic malaise,' Pompeo said at a news conference. 'China is still refusing to share the information we need to keep people safe,' he said. Trump at a press conference last week suggested the U.S. could impose tariffs to punish China. Trump warned: 'We signed a trade deal where they're supposed to buy, and they've been buying a lot, actually. But that now becomes secondary to what took place with the virus.' He added: 'The virus situation is just not acceptable.' On Thursday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying went after Pompeo for his claim, also put forward by Trump, that the virus could have originated in a Chinese lab. 'While scientists have not come to a conclusion, why is Secretary Pompeo drawing the hasty conclusion that the virus came from a Wuhan lab? Where is his proof? Show us the proof. If he cannot show any evidence, then he may still be in the process of making up this evidence." An op-ed in China's Global Times said Pompeo 'betrays Christianity with lies.' A state broadcaster branded Pompeo 'evil' and 'insane.' Mauritania Coronavirus Update - Coronavirus cases climb to 8, Total Deaths reaches to 1 on 07-May-2020 In Mauritania total confirmed cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) have increased to 8, while 1 people died due to the growing infection in the country. Coronavirus (Covid-19) update from around the world: Gujarat, 02-May-2020: Gujarat reported 333 new COVID-19 positive cases in the past 24 hours raising the total positive cases count to 5,054 in the state. While 262 deaths are reported so far as per Gujarat Health Department. Tamil Nadu, 02-May-2020: Tamil Nadu government eases the restrictions in non-containment areas as per the Center's fresh guidelines on Covid-19 ongoing lockdown. Tamil Nadu government will allow the resumption of construction activity, road works, opening of SEZs, and some other from May 4 in non-containment areas in the state. Mumbai, 02-May-2020: Mumbai reported 547 Covid-19 cases and 27 deaths today, raising the total cases of 8,172 and deaths to 322. Over 137 patients have been discharged today which increased the cured patient count to 1704. Public Health Department, Mumbai report provided the details of the patients in the state. 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 Mauritania: Sr. No. Date Total Cases New Cases Total Deaths Deaths 1. 02-May-2020 8 0 1 0 2. 03-May-2020 8 0 1 0 3. 04-May-2020 8 0 1 0 4. 05-May-2020 8 0 1 0 5. 06-May-2020 8 0 1 0 6. 07-May-2020 8 0 1 0 TOP 10 Deaths by country due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak: 1. Europe (147,273) 2. North America (82,651) 3. USA (74,810) 4. UK (30,076) 5. Italy (29,684) 6. Spain (26,070) 7. France (25,809) 8. Asia (20,974) 9. South America (12,830) 10. Brazil (8,588) Total Deaths Worldwide (265,882) Globally till now over 265,882 people died due to the outbreak of deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19). The new infection and death cases are increasing fast. Authorities in the Mauritania 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 147,273 deaths and 1,544,276 confirmed cases. Check latest update: Coronaviurs Covid-19 cases around the world by Fady Noun The plan involves various social or socio-political associations and organisations. Lebanons Maronite Church is already helping 33,456 people at a cost of 71.585 billion Lebanese pounds (about US.2 million at the official exchange rate). Beirut (AsiaNews) Patriarch Bechara al-Rahi yesterday announced that the Maronite Church, alarmed by rising poverty in the Lebanese population, will undertake an ambitious country-wide plan to provide food and social assistance to families without income as a result of the current economic crisis. The plan will be based on a survey conducted by parishes, bishoprics and monasteries as well as Caritas-Liban, the Churchs official charity, coordinated by the Maronite Center for Documentation and Research under Patriarchal Vicar Samir Mazloum. A meeting was held yesterday to vet the assistance plan. Various social or socio-political associations and organisations will be part of the effort: the Maronite League, the Maronite Foundation in the World, the Maronite Foundation for Integral Development, the Pontifical Mission, the Lebanese Red Cross, the Saint Vincent de Paul Association, the Maronite Central Council, the Maronites Rally for Lebanon, the Kallassi group, Labora, Offer-Joie and the National Council for the Cedar Revolution , as well as the Patriarchal Rescue Committee. They will be joined by donors acting without intermediaries or making donations to charities, parish fraternities, apostolic communities, and various associations, municipalities and collective initiatives. The Patriarch noted that Lebanons Maronite Church is helping about 33,456 people at a cost of 71. 585 billion Lebanese pounds (about US.2 million at the official exchange rate). In addition, its educational, hospital and social institutions are providing employment opportunities to 18,870 families, with an overall annual payroll of 430.73 billion Lebanese pounds (US$ 283.8 million) with an average monthly salary of US,253. For the Maronite Patriarch, The Churchs diakonia of love today finds itself faced with the heavy duty of helping the poor and the needy, whose number is rising as a result of the economic and financial crises, a stifled life, the unpredictable rise in prices and the depreciation of the Lebanese pound. Finally, Patriarch al-Rahi noted that the meeting in Bkerke coincided with the meeting at the presidential palace centred on the government economic rescue plan. We hope both state and church will succeed for the greater good of all and the well-being of everyone, each in their respective domain of activity and by their own means," said the prelate. The Solidarity association It is worth noting that on Monday a campaign began to provide food rations to 5,000 families deprived of resources because of the economic crisis and social confinement. Placed under the patronage of the Maronite Patriarchate, the campaign has been organised by Solidarity, an NGO backed by the Maronite Foundation in the World, linked to Bkerke, and the Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chaghouri Foundation, in partnership with the Lebanese Maronite Order, which has set up distribution points for the operation. The campaign will help 5,000 families meet their food needs for six months. Its success will serve as a test and allow more families to benefit, for longer periods, conscious however that there is no way of knowing when economic and daily difficulties will end. It is equally worth remembering that the Finance Minister announced yesterday that almost half of the Lebanese population is now living below the poverty line, and that the unemployment rate has reached 35 per cent of the active population, with massive job losses in the past few months, with the economic slump getting worse because of the containment policy put in place to fight the COVID-19 epidemic. Various organisations have already set up food relief operations, particularly in predominantly Muslim urban areas, where the Ramadan fast is being observed. In mid March, as the U.S. began to confront the coronavirus outbreak, New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced a statewide lockdown. I want to be able to say to the people of New York, I did everything we could do, he said. And if everything we do saves just one life, Ill be happy. House speaker Nancy Pelosi offered a similar rationale for an extended shutdown in April: To say People will die, so be it instead of a science & testing-based path to reopening the economy is deeply frivolous & wrong. Every life is precious. Each death is heartbreaking for a family & for a community. This is something we are all in together. Just yesterday, Joe Biden expressed the same sentiment. Ive said it before, and Ill say it again: No one is expendable. No life is worth losing to add one more point to the Dow, the presumptive Democratic nominee tweeted. Defending her harsh lockdown policies in Michigan, Democratic governor Gretchen Whitmer wrote in the New York Times that her actions were aimed at protecting public health: . . . we will never know precisely how many lives were saved as a result. Earlier this week, Cuomo doubled down on his rhetoric as he argued against reopening the economy, asking at a news conference, How much is a human life worth? . . . To me, I say the cost of a human life, a human life is priceless. It has been good to hear these and other politicians, on both sides of the aisle, affirm the value of life and place such an emphasis on crafting policy that attempts to recognize its dignity. It has been reassuring, too, to witness the willingness of Americans to temporarily sacrifice a great deal of freedom, and in many cases their livelihoods, to reduce the risk to the most vulnerable. It is difficult, though, to take these politicians seriously when they and their party intensely oppose offering protection of any kind to human life in the womb and when supporters of abortion rights have capitalized on the COVID-19 crisis to push their preferred abortion policies. Story continues As much as Democrats might wish otherwise, abortion isnt a routine health-care procedure to remove an unwanted clump of cells or an inhuman parasite from a woman. Abortion intentionally kills a genetically distinct, living human being that womans son or daughter. The small size of a fetus makes her no less valuable than the adult men and women dying of COVID-19. Her location inside her mother renders her no less unique, no less human, and no less worthy of life. Yet instead of responding to abortion the way theyve responded to the pandemic, pursuing every possible means of saving as many lives as they can, Democratic politicians have carved out a space to allow abortion to carry on despite the health risks. In Michigan, Whitmer deemed elective abortion essential, even as she limited most medical procedures as part of the states coronavirus response. A womans health care, her whole future, her ability to decide if and when she starts a family is not an election, Whitmer said. It is a fundamental to her life. It is life-sustaining, and its something that government should not be getting in the middle of. Several other states have designated abortion essential, even as they place strict limits on most health-care procedures in order to curb the spread of disease and conserve medical supplies. In Virginia, Democratic governor Ralph Northam outlined his response to the spread of COVID-19 in nursing homes, tweeting, We will continue to do everything possible to help the Virginians living and working in these facilities. These are our parents and grandparents, and we have an obligation to protect them. The same day, he signed into law the Reproductive Health Protection Act, allowing non-physicians to perform abortions, removing parental-consent requirements for minors seeking an abortion, and removing standard informed-consent procedures. Meanwhile, advocates of unlimited elective abortion have used the pandemic to demand that the FDA loosen safety regulations and allow women to obtain at-home abortions without physician supervision, posing health risks to them and placing a greater strain on limited medical resources. In states that have included elective abortion among non-essential procedures, pro-abortion groups have filed lawsuit after lawsuit, fighting for their ability to continue profiting from abortion despite the crisis. To comply with the stay-at-home order in Pennsylvania, Planned Parenthood closed every clinic save those that perform abortions. In Colorado, the president of the local Planned Parenthood affiliate described the number of abortions performed at her clinics as pretty extraordinary, citing an increase in women traveling from out of state. As health-care professionals around the country work tirelessly to save lives from the coronavirus, abortion advocates fight to continue intentionally taking them. How much is a human life worth? To Cuomo, it appears to be worth something only when it is located outside the birth canal. Last January, the governor enacted one of the most radical abortion laws in the country. It permitted abortion for any reason up to 24 weeks, after fetal viability, and made it easier to obtain an abortion until birth. He signed the bill in a ceremony on the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade. Later that evening, he instructed New York City to illuminate the spire of Freedom Tower in pink to celebrate this expansion of the right to kill the unwanted unborn. How much is a human life worth? Cuomo asks. Far more than he and his fellow Democrats think it is. More from National Review Rajesh Kumar Thakur By Express News Service PATNA: Bihar has set a record of conducting screened around 9.25 crore people during ongoing door-to-door screening programme started on March 16 with an objective to find out people living with cough, cold and other illness. Sharing this with the media, Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey on Wednesday said: "Bihar has 9% population of the country while has just 1.15% coronavirus positive patients from the total cases in the country, which is very low." Bihar also has a higher cure rate of 31%, than the average 27.5% cure rate of the country. He said that 106 containment zones have been set up in 32 districts of the state, covering 1200 wards and villages. "About 4.20 lakh houses and about 22.90 lakh people are under the containment zones. The most important thing is that out of total reported 541 positive cases,188 patients have been cured and discharged so far," he said. He informed further that 30 True Net machines would be supplied by the centre government to Bihar in two installments in the next one week. "In addition to this set, the health department has also placed order to purchase 10 more true net machines, through which the suspected corona patients would be screened," he said. Pandey also claimed that more than 30,500 samples were tested in the state till date and the capacity of testing is being enhanced by the department to conduct at testing of at least 2500 samples per day. According to official sources, Munger continued with the highest number of 102 positive cases of which 30 have been cured and rest 71 are active and one had died recently. After Munger, Buxar has the highest number of 56 positive Covid-19 patients followed by 52 in Rohtas, 45 in Patna, 36 in Nalanda, 32 in Siwan, 31 in Kaimur, 24 in Madhubani and other districts. Total number of active COVID-19 positive cases in Bihar is 347 out of 542 reported and 188 cured after 4 deaths. As the country battles COVID-19, traders' body CAIT on Thursday said traders are facing tremendous financial crunch and payment of full salary for April to their staff was next to impossible. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has written to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal seeking his intervention in the matter. "If such payments are made, the business of the traders will fall like anything and in absence of any inflow of money, such payments will be disastrous for the retail trade of the country and in turn will badly affect the economy," CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said in the letter to Goyal. He said it is becoming difficult for traders to pay full salary for the month of April to their employees since they are experiencing "tremendous financial crunch and any full payment of salary to the employees for the April month is next to impossible". CAIT said, while realising the unprecedented current situation, the government should devise a method under which "this crucial and critical issue is resolved to the satisfaction of all". In a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday, CAIT had urged the government to allow traders to pay salaries as per a mutual agreement between the employer and the employee or allow them to pay 30 per cent of the salary to meet their livelihood needs. Alternatively, the government may contribute 50 per cent of the salary and traders may contribute 25 per cent, CAIT had suggested. "Under the current scenario, when there is no business and traders are overburdened with several financial obligations, a needy intervention from the government is required to meet the end of justice," the trader's body said in the letter to the finance minister. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Impeached U.S. President Donald Trump spoke today with Russian crimelord Vladimir Putin today, ostensibly to mark the 75th anniversary of V-E Day, but one wonders what other information may have been exchanged, don't one. Trump and Putin are reported to have also talked about what Trump refers to as the war on Coronavirus. The White House readout of their call says the two leaders also talked about ways to avoid a costly arms race that would include China. "President Trump reiterated that the United States is working hard to care for Americans at home and is also ready to provide assistance to any country in need, including Russia," the White House readout says. Trump and Putin spoke by phone today. Aamer Madhani (@AamerISmad) May 7, 2020 WH says Pres Trump spoke today with Pres Putin to mark the 75th anniversary of V-E Day. They also discussed what @POTUS regards as the war on Coronavirus. WH readout says the two leaders also conferred about ways to avoid a costly arms race that would include China. Mark Knoller (@markknoller) May 7, 2020 Today, @realDonaldTrump spoke with President Vladimir Putin of Russia to commemorate and reflect upon the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day. President Trump and President Putin discussed progress on defeating the coronavirus pandemic. Judd Deere (@JuddPDeere45) May 7, 2020 From the White House readout of today's Trump Putin call: "President Trump reiterated that the United States is working hard to care for Americans at home and is also ready to provide assistance to any country in need, including Russia." Philip Crowther (@PhilipinDC) May 7, 2020 Afghan security forces have taken down a centre operated jointly by terror groups Haqqani Network and the so-called Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) that was responsible for bloody attacks including one on Kabuls gurdwara that killed 28 worshippers on March 25, a statement by the National Directorate of Security, or NDS, said has said. Five terrorists were killed and eight arrested when commando teams attached with Afghanistans lead intelligence agency raided two hideouts of the group in and around Kabul, the NDS said. The statement implies that the two Pakistan proxies in Afghanistan - Aslam Farooqui led ISKP and the Taliban deputy leader Sirajuddin Haqqani-led Haqqani network - which had often targeted each other in the past had taken some steps to work together. This contrasts with Aslam Farooquis claim in the early part of his interrogation that his fighters had been on the run under pressure from the Taliban and had been mostly limited to a eastern Afghanistan district. Farooqi was arrested by the NDS last month in raids carried out weeks after four gunmen stormed Guru Har Rai Gurdwara in Kabuls old city and opened fire from automatic weapons on March 25. According to the police, 28 worshippers were killed in this attack on the Sikh shrine that had drawn sharp condemnation. But Wednesdays statement by the NDS fits with New Delhis assessment that the attack on the gurdwara was ordered by the Taliban at the behest of Pakistani deep state with the larger motive of driving out India from Afghanistan. There are intelligence reports with national security planners in New Delhi that the Taliban, which had stepped up attacks on Afghan security forces after the United States signed a troop withdrawal agreement on February 29, could carry out more attacks on Indian interests and religious minorities. The NDS said the joint centre destroyed by its forces was controlled by Sanaullah, who was responsible for recruitment for the ISKP and was the urban coordinator of Haqqani Network in Kabul. It also held this joint cell responsible for the rocket attacks in March on the inauguration ceremony of President Ashraf Ghani and the Bagram air base, the US militarys largest base in Afghanistan. No one was killed in either attack. But 30 people were killed when rockets landed in the Shahid Mazari Mosque where many members of the ethnic Hazara community had gathered to mark the anniversary of the death of a Hazara leader. According to the NDS, this attack was executed by the joint cell. To be sure, the Taliban has countered the NDS findings, describing it as propaganda. We have no joint base with ISIS but have fought and eliminated them from the country, the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted. Kabul watchers in Delhi attribute the Talibans rushed denial to the basic principle in the US-Taliban pact that the Taliban would not allow groups such as the ISKP to use Afghan soil to plan attacks against the US and its allies. An arrangement between the Taliban-linked Haqqani network and the ISKP implies that even if the Taliban agrees to end violence, it could use other groups such as Aslam Farooquis ISKP to keep sending the rockets via its allies. Afghan officials have accused the Haqqani network, a US-designated terror group, of carrying out major attacks claimed by or blamed on IS-K. The March 25 attack on the gurdwara was one such case. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Visakhapatnam, May 7 : From Mahesh Babu to Allu Arjun, from Ram Charan to Vijay Deverakonda and Nani, several sourthern superstars offered condolences to the families affected by the unfortunate gas leak at LG Polymers in RR Venkatapuram village of Visakhapatnam on Thursday morning. At least 10 casualties have been reported at the time of publishing, while hundreds were rushed for treatment to hospitals after complaining of breathing difficulties and burning sensation in the eyes. Heartwrenching to hear the news of #VizagGasLeak, more so during these challenging times... Heartfelt condolences and strength to the bereaved families in this hour of need. Wishing a speedy recovery to those affected. My prayers for you... Stay safe VIZAG. Mahesh Babu (@urstrulyMahesh) May 7, 2020 Reacting to the shocking news, Mahesh Babu tweeted: "Heartwrenching to hear the news of #VizagGasLeak, more so during these challenging times... Heartfelt condolences and strength to the bereaved families in this hour of need. Wishing a speedy recovery to those affected. My prayers for you... Stay safe VIZAG." Its really heart breaking to see Vizag which one of the most special places in my life in such a state. I am deeply saddened by this horrific accident. Condolences to families who have lost their lives and hoping for a speedy recovery for the rest . Allu Arjun (@alluarjun) May 7, 2020 Allu Arjun too prayed for the safety and well being of the victims. "It's really heart breaking to see Vizag, which one of the most special places in my life, in such a state. I am deeply saddened by this horrific accident. Condolences to families who have lost their lives and hoping for a speedy recovery for the rest," he wrote. This is heartbreaking .. its just getting more and more worse .. helpless and all we are left to do is pray #VizagGasLeak Nani (@NameisNani) May 7, 2020 Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured, "Jersey" actor Nani took to social media and wrote: This is heartbreaking .. it's just getting more and more worse .. helpless and all we are left to do is pray." Deeply disturbed by the visuals from the #VizagGasLeak. Praying for the recovery of those admitted to the hospital. Heartfelt condolences to those who lost their near and dear ones. rajamouli ss (@ssrajamouli) May 7, 2020 Filmmaker SS Rajamouli, who is known for helming the "Bahubali" franchise, is extremely disturbed by the visuals from the Vizag Gas Leak. "Praying for the recovery of those admitted to the hospital. Heartfelt condolences to those who lost their near and dear ones," Rajmouli added. Vizag we are all thinking and praying for you pic.twitter.com/72xJB2JVDY Vijay Deverakonda (@TheDeverakonda) May 7, 2020 "Arjun Reddy" star Vijay Deverakonda too tweeted about the tragic incident. He said: "Vizag, we all are thinking and praying for you." Actress Pranitha Subhash found the news "heart wrenching". #VizagGasLeak news is just heart wrenching .. My prayers with the families of the bereaved.. #PrayForVizag 2020 - Im just speechless pic.twitter.com/x022Emrxwe Pranitha Subhash (@pranitasubhash) May 7, 2020 "VizagGasLeak news is just heart-wrenching Persevering face. My prayers with the families of the bereaved.. #PrayForVizag 2020 - I'm just speechless," Pranita tweeted. Heart breaking to see the visuals of #VizagGasLeak. My heartfelt condolences to the families of the people who are no more. I hope all necessary measures are taken to make sure the affected people recover at the earliest. My thoughts and prayers with the people of Vizag. Ram Charan (@AlwaysRamCharan) May 7, 2020 Actor Ram Charan is also heartbroken. " Heart breaking to see the visuals of #VizagGasLeak. My heartfelt condolences to the families of the people who are no more. I hope all necessary measures are taken to make sure the affected people recover at the earliest. My thoughts and prayers with the people of Vizag," he grieved. -- Syndicated from IANS Press Release 7 May 2020 London UK/Spokane WA - Magnuson Hotels, the fast-growing franchise alternative, announced the launch of a new extended stay brand this week with locations in Canton, Ohio and Irving, Texas. Advertisements Formerly affiliated with Red Lion Hotels Corporation, the Magnuson Hotel Extended Stay Canton Ohio is located on I-77 near Akron/Canton Airport. Previously independent, the Magnuson Extended Stay and Suites Airport Hotel Irving TX is well positioned near DFW airport. Both launch properties have been newly renovated to Magnuson Hotels Extended Stay brand standards and feature kitchenette suites, free parking, with special rates for corporate, government, construction, medical, educational and trucker customers. Each hotel will upgrade its market position to attract travellers as a member of a top 20 global chain with over 65,000 hotels and 700 airlines on its worldwide booking platform www.magnusonhotels.com "We are so proud to be working with Ms. Himal Patel of Canton and Mr. Mohammad Budhwani of Irving on these two launch hotels," stated company CEO Thomas Magnuson. Magnuson further stated the Extended Stay segment is performing strongly in the currently impacted US hotel sector, with a focus on serving non-leisure business segments of essential services workers. U.S. economy extended stay hotels held a nearly 72 percent occupancy rate compared to the 42 percent hotel industry average, according to STR data sampling the first 28 days of March. In its recent Q1 performance report, Magnuson reported a sustainable portfolio-wide occupancy reduction of only 0.4%, against an industry-wide fall of 15% across the USA; a factor of almost 30 to 1. Magnuson withstood a $1.00 loss in ADR (average daily room rate) compared to USA average of -$5.14. The company reports that because its portfolio is widely dispersed across USA secondary, tertiary, rural and highway markets, many areas have been less impacted than primary markets dependent upon leisure, corporate and international. Magnuson states that its midscale business segment moved to a 100% focus on serving essential services workers across secondary tertiary, rural and highways markets of the USA. Customer groups staying in Magnuson Hotels include blue collar, construction, transportation, truckers, medical, government and student housing. Exterior corridor properties are performing strongly as guests can drive up to their rooms, eliminating interaction with other guests, using elevators or passing through lobbies. HANNOVER, Germany, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has triggered a public health emergency of international concern. To date, there is neither a vaccine nor drugs for COVID-19 treatment available. Researchers of the international consortium iCAIR are striving to develop novel anti-infective agents to treat or prevent clinically significant respiratory diseases caused by viruses, fungi and bacteria - and recently started a project to develop medications against SARS-CoV-2. In the iCAIR consortium (Fraunhofer International Consortium for Anti-Infective Research) Fraunhofer ITEM is collaborating with Griffith University'sInstitute for Glycomics (IfG) in Australia, the Hannover Medical School (MHH; Germany), and TWINCORE, a joint venture between MHH and Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (Germany) to develop new, urgently needed agents against respiratory tract infections. "Striving to develop a drug for COVID-19 treatment, we combine our complementary expertise and pool a broad spectrum of methods in this research alliance - from the identification of therapeutic targets and drug candidates via drug design and efficacy testing in preclinical models to toxicological studies," says Professor Armin Braun, Fraunhofer ITEM Division Director of Preclinical Pharmacology and Toxicology and coordinator of the iCAIR consortium. The researchers are first screening substance libraries for drug candidates that stop SARS-CoV-2 infection. "We made use of substance libraries available at IfG and HZI. Furthermore, Fraunhofer IME with its ScreeningPort in Hamburg and expertise in drug discovery based on high-throughput technology is involved," explains Braun. Identified drug candidates will be subject to chemical modification to optimize their efficacy and safety. Efficacy and tolerability testing will be performed in sophisticated cell-based infection models and human precision-cut lung slices (PCLS). This viable, immunocompetent lung tissue model enables detailed analysis of biological and immunological responses to the virus in the deep lung - which is where the SARS-CoV-2 infection is most harmful. A unique human test system is thus available for safety and efficacy testing of novel medications. "We will systematically develop the most promising candidates further to achieve inhaled administration, as SARS-CoV-2 primarily infects the lungs and airways," explains Braun. "Administering therapeutics via the airways enables high local concentrations at the site of infection, reducing the required doses of active substance. In addition, systemic side effects can be minimized." Fraunhofer ITEM experts will test the drug candidates selected for inhaled administration in an in-house developed and patented in-vitro exposure system - P.R.I.T. ExpoCube. This system allows inhaled administration of the drug candidates into the lung to be mimicked by using human airway epithelial cells or PCLS. Potential local cytotoxic effects can thus be ruled out and the best candidates for further preclinical development can be identified. "The iCAIR consortium is ambitious: together, we want to expedite the advancement of new drugs into the preclinical phase. Unfortunately, there is still a significant gap between the discovery of new agents and their further development into usable therapeutics, which we have to bridge even faster now with our combined synergies to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic," says Professor Mark von Itzstein, IfG Director and iCAIR project manager in Australia. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1164898/iCAIR_Medical_Research.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/973057/Fraunhofer_Logo.jpg CONTACT: Dr. Cathrin Nastevska, cathrin.nastevska@item.fraunhofer.de, +49 511 5350-225 COVID-19 deaths, hospitalisations and lockdowns could be over this year, says WHO India logs over 2.82 lakh new cases, 441 deaths in last 24 hours SC pulls up Andhra, Bihar for non-payment of compensation to kin of Covid victims COVID-19: 62 per cent decline in hiring activities India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, May 07: The nationwide lockdown due to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in 62 per cent decline in hiring activities in April compared to the same month last year, according to a report. Hiring activities dropped to 951 last month from 2,477 in April 2019, according to the Naukri JobSpeak Index. The April 2020 decline in hiring is led by sectors like hotel/restaurant/travel/airlines (-91 per cent), auto/ancillary (-82 per cent), retail (-77 per cent) and accounting/finance (-70 per cent). COVID-19: Nearly half the worlds workforce at risk of losing jobs says ILO The Naukri JobSpeak is a monthly Index which calculates and records hiring activity based on job listings on Naukri.com website. New jobs for professionals in the ticketing/travel/airlines, hotel/restaurants and HR/administration sectors witnessed a dip of 95 per cent, 89 per cent and 78 per cent, respectively. Functional roles in purchase/supply chain (-70 per cent), marketing/advertising (-69 per cent), sales/business development (-69 per cent) and accounts/finance (-68 per cent) also witnessed a steep decline. However, new jobs for professionals in the IT-software (-51 per cent), BPO/ITES/KPO (-54 per cent) pharma/biotech/healthcare (-57 per cent) and teaching/education (-56 per cent) sectors were less impacted as compared to other sectors in April 2020. The job market across cities registered a double-digit dip in hiring mainly led by metros where Delhi dipped by 70 per cent followed by Chennai (-62 per cent), Kolkata (-60 per cent) and Mumbai (-60 per cent). There was an across-the-board decline in hiring at varied experience levels with the entry-level experience bands (0 to 3 years) witnessing the sharpest decline of 67 per cent. New Delhi, May 7 : Amid the political row over the shifting of the Indian Railway Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (IRIMEE) from Bihar's Jamalpur to Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow, the Indian Railways on Thursday refuted the claims as "misleading". It said it has only planned to enlarge the activities of the century old institute to impart educational programmes in transportation technology and management. The remarks of the railway ministry came a day after senior Bihar minister Sanjay Kumar Jha on Wednesday urged Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to rescind the "outrageous" order to shift IRIMEE from Jamalpur in the state's Munger district. A railway spokesperson in a statement said, "Railways clarifies that it has no plans to shift IRIMEE from Jamalpur to Lucknow. Any assertions to this effect are incorrect and misleading and do not have the approval of the Railway Ministry." He said, "In fact, railways has planned to enlarge the activities of IRIMEE to also impart educational programmes in transportation technology and management." Several additional educational programmes starting with one-year diploma courses at Jamalpur are planned to be introduced for which curriculum development and design is underway, he added. The spokesperson said that Indian Railways is very proud of the history and legacy of IRIMEE and there is no question of it being transferred from its present location. "In fact, all efforts are to further strengthen it and enlarge its role at the existing location," he said. He added that railways in particular and the transportation sector in general in India are witnessing major growth and transformation. "A well-developed training and educational facility like IRIMEE in Jamalpur will not only play a significant role in providing training to Indian Railway employees but also provide high quality professional education and skills to youth from Bihar and neighbouring areas and contribute to economic development in the region." Founded in 1888, IRIMEE has produced several illustrious railwaymen, including former Railway Board chairman Ashwani Lohani. Zoom agreed to step up security protections for all of its users under an agreement with the New York attorney general's office announced today. The big picture: Zoom is keen to placate lawmakers and regulators as it deals with the increased scrutiny that has accompanied the popularity of its videoconferencing service during the coronavirus pandemic. What's happening: Zoom has agreed to implement security measures to settle an investigation from New York AG Letitia James. They cover the following topics: Data security. Among other measures, the company will establish and maintain a comprehensive data security program; review code for any possible bugs that could be exploited by hackers; and step up encryption of users' information. Among other measures, the company will establish and maintain a comprehensive data security program; review code for any possible bugs that could be exploited by hackers; and step up encryption of users' information. Privacy. The company will add privacy controls for its free and K-12 accounts. Hosts will by default be able to require other users to enter a password or wait in a digital waiting room before joining a meeting, and they'll be able to control who can see email addresses and private messages from conferences, among other limits. The company will add privacy controls for its free and K-12 accounts. Hosts will by default be able to require other users to enter a password or wait in a digital waiting room before joining a meeting, and they'll be able to control who can see email addresses and private messages from conferences, among other limits. Abuse mitigation. Zoom will explicitly ban abusive conduct based on race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation, and it has agreed to swiftly investigate and, if warranted, punish reported misconduct. What they're saying: "We are pleased to have reached a resolution with the New York Attorney General, which recognizes the substantial work that Zoom has completed as part of our 90-day security and privacy plan," a Zoom spokesperson said in a statement. The changes Zoom committed to under the agreement include some the company has already announced under that 90-day plan, begun in early April. "Our lives have inexorably changed over the past two months, and while Zoom has provided an invaluable service, it unacceptably did so without critical security protections," James said in her own statement. "This agreement puts protections in place so that Zoom users have control over their privacy and security, and so that workplaces, schools, religious institutions, and consumers dont have to worry while participating in a video call." Context: Zoom has faced criticism over a range of issues, including security flaws, overstated claims about usage and encryption, and failures to protect users against "Zoombombing," in which strangers join open Zoom meetings to share abusive or obscene material. James' office opened its probe into the company in late March. Days later, New York City schools barred teachers and students from using Zoom. The city lifted that ban Wednesday after reaching its own security and privacy agreement with the company. Zoom has spent recent weeks building out its policy apparatus, just this week recruiting a longtime tech trade group executive as its Washington point person and naming former Trump national security adviser H.R. McMaster to its board. Meanwhile: The company also announced Thursday that it's buying identity management firm Keybase to help build out an end-to-end-encrypted mode on meetings. Error. Page cannot be displayed. Please contact your service provider for more details. (26) The Covid-19 outbreak challenges hospitals around the globe to protect staff and patients adequately. The University Medical Center in Hamburg (UKE) uses DERMALOG's Fever Detection Camera for additional health protection. HAMBURG, Germany, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Covid-19 currently shows how important it is to prevent the spread of infection as far as possible. Hospitals are facing a serious challenge, as staff and patients are at increased risk of infection. Fever screenings are increasingly being carried out at hospital entrances to identify persons with symptoms. Temperature checks are already part of daily operations at many airports. In the meantime, many healthcare facilities are also using this technology to provide better protection for patients and staff. The University Medical Center Hamburg (UKE) has also increased its protective measures by using DERMALOG's Fever Detection Camera. The system of the German biometrics company measures body temperature within one second by scanning people's faces using state-of-the-art sensor technology. If an increased temperature is detected, the system sets off an alarm. High accuracy, even from a distance of up to 2 meters, is another advantage of the camera. "Fever detection allows us to identify infected persons before they enter the hospital and thus reduce the risk of infection for staff and patients," says Professor Klaus Puschel, Chair of the Legal Medicine Department at UKE. DERMALOG's thermal camera was initially developed for border controls and airports. The system is increasingly being used in healthcare facilities and clinics. Companies and institutions in more than 40 countries have already put the new "Made in Germany" technology from DERMALOG into operation for additional health protection. - Picture is available at AP Images (http://www.apimages.com) - Press contact DERMALOG Identification Systems GmbH Sven Bockler Press Relations +49 40 413227 0 info@dermalog.com www.dermalog.com Regulated information Strong progress in regulatory and operational preparations to start mid/late-stage clinical studies of companys advance pipeline assets A total of 11 million financing secured, further strengthening cash position Gosselies, Belgium, 6 May 2020, 7am CET BONE THERAPEUTICS (Euronext Brussels and Paris: BOTHE), the leading biotech company focused on the development of innovative cell and biological therapies to address high unmet medical needs in orthopaedics and bone diseases, today provides a business update for the first quarter ended 31 March 2020. Bone Therapeutics has experienced an excellent start to 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, said Miguel Forte, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Bone Therapeutics. We have gathered regulatory approvals for the start of the next clinical trials of both JTA-004, Bone Therapeutics enriched protein solution, in patients with knee osteoarthritis and ALLOB, Bone Therapeutics allogenic cell therapy product in patients with difficult-to-heal fractures. As we have strengthened our cash position, Bone Therapeutics is now well prepared to advance both of its lead candidates through late-stage clinical development as soon as it is suitable to progress. Until then, we are fully focused on ensuring that when the trials go ahead, all precautions are taken for the safety of the nurses, physicians and patients involved in the studies. Together with our partners, we are taking the necessary health measures to conduct our clinical studies in compliance with the guidelines of the health agencies. Operational highlights Q1 2020 Bone Therapeutics has received regulatory approvals for its Clinical Trial Applications (CTA) for the next studies of both of its lead candidates. The pivotal phase III with the enriched protein solution, JTA-004, targeting osteoarthritic knee pain has now been approved by regulatory authorities in Belgium, Denmark, Moldavia and Hong Kong. The phase IIb study of its allogeneic cell therapy product, ALLOB, in patients with difficult tibial fractures, also received a first approval from Belgian regulatory authorities in March, ahead of schedule. The company appointed Stefanos Theoharis, PhD as Chief Business Officer (CBO), further strengthening its management team. Stefanos will be responsible for the companys corporate development activities and executing its business strategy. Story continues Financial highlights Q1 2020 (1) Net cash at the end of March 2020 amounted to 4.9 million. Good cost and cash management remains a key priority. The net cash burn for the full year 2020 is expected to be approximately 15.0 million. The increased expected net cash burn for FY2020 compared to FY2019 is mainly the result of increased clinical trial activities and costs associated with the JTA phase III and ALLOB phase IIb clinical studies. This assumes normal operation, as there may be further effects of the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic. Potential delay in patient recruitment in both studies could lower the expected cash burn and extend the anticipated cash runway further into 2021. Post period, Bone Therapeutics secured 11.0 million financing. This enables Bone Therapeutics to advance its key assets through mid/late stage clinical development. The financing operation consists of bridge loans, equity private placement by existing shareholders, and a private placement of convertible bonds (CBs) on an as-needed basis. The bridge loans are subject to obtaining a credit assurance, which is pending regulatory approvals expected in May 2020. As a result, the company anticipates having sufficient cash to carry out its business objectives into Q1 2021. Outlook for the remainder of 2020 and COVID-19 impact on 2020-2021 guidance. Following the regulatory approvals, Bone Therapeutics is ready to initiate recruitment in the pivotal JTA-004 phase III clinical study targeting osteoarthritic knee pain and the ALLOB phase IIb study in patients with difficult tibial fractures, in the aforementioned countries. Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Bone Therapeutics has decided to decrease the recruitment activities of both studies to a minimum. This will support healthcare systems in the respective trial countries and enable them to concentrate on treating COVID-19 patients whilst necessary. As the evolution of the pandemic is uncertain and cannot be predicted at present, the studies may encounter a delay compared to the initial schedule. The situation in Europe and Hong Kong will be actively and closely monitored on an ongoing basis, and Bone Therapeutics plans to initiate the recruitment as soon as conditions allow. The Chinese Special Administrative Region Hong Kong has been less severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and clinical centers in this area might be able to resume patient recruitments for the JTA-004 phase III trial before the summer. In Europe, the COVID-19 epidemic seems to have passed its peak, as the number of infected people and hospitalized patients start to taper off, resulting in countries gradually lifting the lockdown measures. As the situation in the hospitals progressively normalizes, Bone Therapeutics expects to be able to reinitiate clinical trial activities and patient recruitments for the JTA-004 phase III and ALLOB phase IIb studies in the European clinical centers during the summer and second half of 2020. In the second half of 2020, the company expects to report results from the 2-year follow-up period of the Phase IIa study with ALLOB in patients undergoing a spinal fusion procedure. In the next few months, Bone Therapeutics plans to initiate the first discussions with the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in preparation of the next studies with ALLOB and JTA-004 in the large, important US market. Bone Therapeutics continues to engage discussions with potential partners to explore business opportunities. It also intends to prepare a fundraise in the second half of 2020, when favorable market conditions are met. Existing shareholders have already taken a pre-commitment to participate. (1) Unaudited numbers About Bone Therapeutics Bone Therapeutics is a leading biotech company focused on the development of innovative products to address high unmet needs in orthopedics and bone diseases. The Company has a broad, diversified portfolio of bone cell therapies and an innovative biological product in later-stage clinical development, which target markets with large unmet medical needs and limited innovation. Bone Therapeutics is developing an off-the-shelf protein solution, JTA-004, which is entering Phase III development for the treatment of pain in knee osteoarthritis. Positive Phase IIb efficacy results in patients with knee osteoarthritis showed a statistically significant improvement in pain relief compared to a leading viscosupplement. The clinical trial application (CTA) for the pivotal Phase III program has been approved by the relevant authorities allowing the start of the study. Bone Therapeutics other core technology is based on its cutting-edge allogeneic cell therapy platform (ALLOB) which can be stored at the point of use in the hospital, and uses a unique, proprietary approach to bone regeneration, which turns undifferentiated stem cells from healthy donors into bone-forming cells. These cells can be administered via a minimally invasive procedure, avoiding the need for invasive surgery, and are produced via a proprietary, scalable cutting-edge manufacturing process. Following the CTA approval by the Belgian regulatory authority, the Company is ready to start the Phase IIb clinical trial with ALLOB in patients with difficult tibial fractures, using its optimized production process. The ALLOB platform technology has multiple applications and will continue to be evaluated in other indications including spinal fusion, osteotomy and maxillofacial and dental applications. Bone Therapeutics cell therapy products are manufactured to the highest GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) standards and are protected by a broad IP (Intellectual Property) portfolio covering ten patent families as well as knowhow. The Company is based in the BioPark in Gosselies, Belgium. Further information is available at www.bonetherapeutics.com. Contacts Bone Therapeutics SA Miguel Forte, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer Jean-Luc Vandebroek, Chief Financial Officer Tel: +32 (0) 71 12 10 00 investorrelations@bonetherapeutics.com International Media Enquiries: Image Box Communications Neil Hunter / Michelle Boxall Tel: 44 (0)20 8943 4685 neil@ibcomms.agency / michelle@ibcomms.agency For French Media and Investor Enquiries: NewCap Investor Relations & Financial Communications Pierre Laurent, Louis-Victor Delouvrier and Arthur Rouille Tel: + 33 (0)1 44 71 94 94 bone@newcap.eu Certain statements, beliefs and opinions in this press release are forward-looking, which reflect the Company or, as appropriate, the Company directors` current expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions 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 should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. As a result, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any update 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. 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. The number of coronavirus cases in the country crossed the 52,000-mark on Thursday with 52,952 total cases. According to the latest figures updated by the Ministry of Health, there are 35,902 active coronavirus cases in the country, 15,266 patients have been cured or discharged while 1,783 people have died from the deadly contagion across the country. Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra breached the 16,000-mark. With 16,758 cases, the state continues to lead the national coronavirus tally. The state has recorded 651 deaths so far while 3,094 patients have recovered. The number of coronavirus cases near the 7,000-mark in Gujarat while in Rajasthan, cases have crossed 3,000. In the national capital, as many as 5,532 people have tested positive for coronavirus. Over one thousand fresh cases were reported in the last few days in Delhi. More than 1,030, fresh coronavirus cases were registered in the national capital between May 1 to May 3. Also read: India cases cross 50k, public transport may resume soon Mumbai, Pune, Thane in Maharashtra, Delhi and Gujarats Ahmedabad and Surat are among the worst-affected cities in the country. According to data, India reported nearly 10,000 fresh coronavirus cases in the last three days. It took around five days for the number of coronavirus cases to reach 40,000 to 30,000 previously. Earlier, the cases rose to 30,000 from 20,000 in about a weeks time. India recorded its first 10,000 Covid-19 cases in nearly 43 days, with a wave of infections beginning in March after three isolated cases were first reported in Kerala in January. Coronavirus has infected more than 3 million people across the globe. Over one million patients have recovered globally while more than 2 lakh people have lost their lives to the deadly contagion. Russian political scientist Natalia Shavshukova sat down with UNIAN to speak about the potential consequences of Vladimir Putin zeroing his presidential terms, why does the government no longer control the situation in the country, what are the attitudes toward Donbas and Crimea, and will the Kremlin's policy change once the quarantine is lifted. Natalia Shavshukova has co-founded the School of Local Government (http://mundepschool.ru/). The goal of the project is to enable local activists and simply citizens willing to bring change to express themselves in politics and become deputies. Natalia is one of the few in modern Russia who spoke up on national television, calling Putin's will to restart the count of his presidential terms as a coup d'etat. The Constitutional Court ruled otherwise and, in fact, the operation with a code name "Eternal Putin" has practically been completed. A mere formality remains a popular vote, which should crown the triumph of the Russian ruler. However, Shavshukova is convinced, it's this very stage that the "zeroing" process could face certain challenges. How do you think will the coronavirus affect Russian politics? The farther, the worse for Putin but better for us. After the coronavirus is gone, sociology will be even worse. Even as of April 22, the date the referendum was initially set to be held, the situation wasn't as rosy as the authorities had planned. I think we can even count on a roll-out vote. This feeling is based on reviews coming from regions, as well as opinion polls. We see that Putin has lost Moscow, Petersburg, and a few other big cities. And all this opposition thing is seeping even further, toward more distant regions. I've got this feeling that it's 86%, but on the opposite side that is, against Putin. What will the authorities do in such a situation? After all, they no longer can just call off the vote, can they? They are already introducing some tricky procedures for collecting signatures online. I don't rule out that now they will go for the following types of manipulation: they will introduce online voting beyond Moscow across other regions. We already had a precedent in Moscow City Duma (Council) elections where an opposition candidate lost precisely in the district where people voted via the internet. Moreover, when the results were appealed in court, the authorities presented data that cast doubt on whether there had been any vote at all. That is, they seem to have just made everything up on their computer. Most likely, they'll go for it again. Now the authorities are expanding the powers of the police, the Russian Guard, and security agencies. This is all in preparation for mass protests. Experience they gained with QR codes during a pandemic outbreak in Moscow, Moscow region and other areas, will of course be useful to them. In other words, they can't win in a nice way. They could only win either through manipulation at the polls or the use of force against descendants in city streets. How will Putin reign for another 16 years if his people are no longer enthusiastic about him? There's a version that he actually wanted to step down, seeking to once again hand over power to someone from his entourage, like Medvedev, as it happened in 2008. Then something went wrong, and suddenly they decided not to make him chief of a newly-created body, the State Council. They have opted for that "zeroing" of presidential terms. Obviously, the decision was made behind the scenes by a small group of people, literally. It hasn't been seriously worked out so it's more of an emotional step in response to plunging popular rating. We can only guess. See, our politics sort of resembles the times of the late Soviet era, when everyone had to guess the next Secretary General, based on who carried the coffin of the late leader or stood really close. Now, the "Death of Stalin" saga is repeating itself. We can only judge by some echoes of the Kremlin battles, by some leaks, but no one can say anything for certain. The only thing that can be said for sure, based on all I said, is that the Kremlin folks are seriously panicking. They understand that the regional elites are turning away from them. They understand they're losing control of the country because now they have appointed non-adapted governors who are Moscow natives. They have absolutely no clue about working with the people or negotiating with local businesses all they can do is report to their bosses in Moscow. So what could be Kremlin's next steps? Now it's difficult to predict what they'll come up with next time. This is like trying to predict the trajectory of the chickens' movements across their coop once a fox breaks in. Those "Kremlinoids" are now running around erratically just like those chickens. What are those chickens thinking? Only chickens know What will post-quarantine Russia be like? Russia will get angrier. Russia will get poorer. Russia will be seeking some new leaders, but here people choose not among the best, but among the worst. That is, they will seek lesser evil. As for the economy, we shouldn't underestimate previous years with high oil prices and a reserve fund. There's quite a lot of money still in stock. What made people especially upset against the background of the situation in other countries was that no money was paid directly to anyone. That's the problem. We do have some kind of payments in place. Suppose you worked in tourism and now you can get RUB 12,130 per employee if you behaved well. But at the same time you must collect a ton of paperwork of all ridiculous kinds just to apply, to prove that you're the right kind of guy to receive aid. And then maybe just maybe they'll give you money. Some 10 million people live in Moscow and only 4,000 have applied for stabilization payments as those who've lost their jobs... This is what must be borne in mind when we talk about Putin's vertical and bureaucracy. At the same time, everyone's watching Donald Trump handing out $1,200 payments to Americans or Merkel giving out more than anyone actually expected. Meanwhile, we're bragging about being such a rich oil power, that we're sustainable, that we've got our Reserve Fund, and that we're able to deal with challenges. And so the bad thing happens. So everybody's asking: "Where's the money?" "This isn't your money, this is our money, get out of here," the government's telling them. Maybe Putin is trying to stretch the National Welfare Fund throughout all these 16 years of his reign? He will need the Fund to feed Russian Guards and security agencies to suppress those taking to the streets. Plus, they will "put out fire" in certain hotspots, for example, somewhere in Chechnya or North Ossetia. Moscow could quietly give them some money, and they'll shut up. This is how they'll be acting. They will buy loyalty in exchange for resources. In fact, the government has been doing this for 20 years. You've already mentioned several times that the Russians would take to the streets to protest. Protest what? The degree of discontent is rising. That's because of the wage gap between Moscow and other regions, as well as because of an industrial decline. Businesses are upset because they got cheated of their money. Remember how the Revolution began in Russia in the early 20th century? Warship crew spotted worms in their soup during lunch. No one knows for sure how the situation with this modern-day "worm soup" develops. Maybe there'll be something about the popular vote for the "zeroing". Can such discontent lead to political change in the country? Why not? This has already happened in Moscow where opposition deputies already occupy a third of the Moscow City Duma. Radical change has already taken place at the municipal level. For example, chief of the Tverskoy district where the Kremlin is located, was nominated by the Yabloko party, which, incidentally, opposed the annexation of Crimea. What are the chances that the Putin-Medvedev's "United Russia" party will win next year's elections to the State Duma (Russia's Parliament)? Let's first survive this year. In our country, the State Duma is being formed by a mixed system candidates running in constituencies and those put on party lists. Authorities control all parties in the country, and all lists are approved by the presidential administration. No matter what they say, no matter the loud talk of opposition parties, they will quickly have their heads torn off, figuratively speaking, if they cease to coordinate things. What we have left is single-mandate constituencies, huge ones. If we take Moscow and the entire region, it's 250,000 voters. It takes you a day to drive across my constituency. Here the opposition is ready to act, so all they need is funding. But businesses are being intimidated. If someone supports opposition, the authorities could try to take their license or they force CEOs to emigrate to London or elsewhere. There's also an issue with crowdfunding. Russian opposition has learned to raise significant funds online. But what happened to [Russian opposition figure and anti-corruption activist] Alexei Navalny? His accounts are being blocked, including those of his relatives and people whose accounts were used to raise money. Its like a virus. The government is that virus, while we're inventing a vaccine. The virus is very complex, very mean, but our team of researchers is on it. Don't you think that Putin, when making statements from his secret bunker, seems confused or even lost, especially when he compared the coronavirus with wild ancient hordes trying to invade Russia? I used to work at the press service of one of the political parties, so I had my speakers there, for whom I drafted talking points in their speeches. Now there's a feeling that Putin simply threw such kind of people out of his closest circle. He believes he'll outsmart anyone, that he is some major historian, virologist, or whatever. Previously, his perception of reality was compensated by some smart people around him. Well, now he doesn't need smart people he needs loyal ones. So did Putin begin to change amid the coronavirus and plunging oil prices? I don't know if he was self-confident in the early 2000s. Then, it seems to me, he was leaning precisely on quite competent economists. Kasyanov was his prime minister, while Gaidar drafted laws in the State Duma, and Gref was engaged in strategic planning... Back in the day, he used to listen to smart people. Now the feeling is that he got carried away. He just stops listening to anyone. The way they are building public policy and their dialogue with voters is a just a long series of mistakes. When preparing for our interview, I found a YouTube video where you say that Putin has become a lame duck. Why's that? First of all, Russian regions has become destabilized. Now they are appointing to top regional posts under the "Leaders of Russia" program the so-called effective managers. They are being trained in many weird ways, like jumping from rocks, and then they're assigned to lead regions and republics. But public policy is is about something else. Now what they've got is discontent of regional elites, who will inevitably try to devour those guys as soon as they get such an opportunity. Second, competent people and experts are disappearing from his entourage. He used to have so many great minds around him: Illarionov, Kasyanov, or Ulyukaev. Some got locked up, some got shot, some poisoned, while some were forced to flee from Russia. In fact, the entire Russian economic school was destroyed. Nothing's left of it. What we got is Sechin who's sitting there, showing off before the Arabs. We got, Maria Zakharova Lord, have mercy... I don't even know how she holds negotiations. Third, and most important, they make terrible mistakes, because they have absolutely no idea how to work with the people. They don't even understand their own country anymore. They greatly overestimate public support. The fact is that sociological numbers they see is something that's been doctored to their pleasure. Here's a small example. Last year, I led the campaign of an opposition candidate, and this candidate won. Then someone from the rival's team asked me, how was this even possible. I said that we saw the poll a week and a half prior to the vote, and I realized that we were winning. In response, I heard this: "We also saw the polls and we thought that we were winning by a wide margin." It turned out that someone simply drew some numbers for them, while scolding people if poll figures are poor. Could it be that the guiding star is turning its back on the incumbent? Putin used to be incredibly lucky with oil. There's a saying in Russia: the higher the oil price, the lower the IQ of the government. Now, of course, if in this situation Putin doesn't take technocrats back on his team, everything will be getting worse. Smart people are needed, but they might be too scared to go work for him. I've always had doubts about whether there is an opposition force in Russia that not only aspires to gain power, but is also ready to really manage the country by changing the current regime? There are groups of people who are ready to claim power. They are quite scattered, but they are out there. There is a group led by Alexei Navalny, there is a group of systemic parties. There's the Communist Party, Fair Russia, and the LDPR semi-loyal parties already going rogue in certain regions. There are groups of municipal deputies who win local elections and candidates who intend to run. I'm working with such people. And we must understand that inside the Russian government there are people who sympathize with the opposition. These are experts at the middle and low levels in the power vertical, they have remained there since the early 2000s. Let's talk about Ukraine now. Is it of any interest to ordinary Russians today? For the most part, the Russian electorate is still convinced that Russian speakers are being persecuted in Ukraine and urgently need to be rescued "from evil fascists", that "we must help our fraternal Ukraine by any means." This is an attitude of masses. Plus, of course, there is certain nostalgia for the Soviet Union these sentiments haven't gone anywhere. As for Crimea, most of them think that everything should be left as it is. As for Donbas give it back and let Ukraine deal with it. The consensus is pretty much something like this. Do you expect any changes in Kremlin's approaches to the Ukraine issues? There may be several options. First, Putin could hold his grip and not let go. The second way is that the Ukrainian issue will become a bargaining chip, as it was in the late Soviet era. Gorbachev was releasing the Warsaw bloc gradually, in exchange for political loans. Then oil prices fell, just like they did now. The Soviet Union was actually bankrupt, and there was nowhere to borrow. They bowed to the then Western leaders, gradually loosening their grip on Eastern Europe, in exchange for tranches to save the economy. I can't rule out that the Ukrainian issue could become such a bargaining chip. How long should we wait for this miracle to happen? The Soviet Union lasted for six years in this mode. The fall in oil prices was in 1984. In 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Something like that. But, once again, who knows? Various options are always on the table. Can you explain where Russians get this nostalgia for the Soviet Union, especially the youths who don't know what it is? Well, you had your health care reform, and many praise it. Meanwhile, in our country, the optimization of health care in Moscow was, to put it mildly, inadequate, so people remember how things were in the Soviet Union. There were a lot of free medical services. And people remember that. The same with education - a lot of things for free. But this is not some serious talk like "let's return everything." People might fly Soviet flags on their expensive mansions outside Moscow on May 1. But this doesn't mean that they are ready to give up their mansion or their business. This doesn't mean that they are ready to sacrifice the opportunity to travel overseas. Naturally, everyone understands that nothing can be brought back. They might get nostalgic sometimes, drink a couple of shots, and that's it. Russian society is like this: they could hang a St. Georges ribbon [in commemoration of victory in WW2] on a BMW, which was bought at a nice dealership or brought from abroad, but no one wants to opt for a Russian-made Lada. People have grown pragmatic, which shouldn't be underestimated. You mentioned Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. She recently said that traveling abroad is, in fact, the right of the privileged and wealthy. Do you think this was an unfortunate slip or the first step towards creating an "Iron Curtain" and introducing exit visas? Naturally, they would love both exit visas and the Iron Curtain. Then it will be possible to control that those traveling overseas knew the Charter of "United Russia" by heart. Naturally, they want to revive all this. But no one will allow them. Everyone wants to travel. As for Zakharova's statement, this was, in fact, a slip about the way of thinking of the Russian elite. She has voiced stereotypes of the Soviet elite and let loose on how they see us. They see us as serfs, taxable folk. They seriously think of themselves as "boyars", the ruling class. So how do you think, could this luck again help Putin out, or has it been zeroed along with his presidential terms and global oil prices? Perhaps oil prices could rebound. But he'll still lack the other success factors. He scared away everyone around him. Roman Tsymbaliuk Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Paris Thu, May 7, 2020 13:08 622 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6814b0 2 Entertainment lockdown,Celebrities,coronavirus,COVID-19,open-letter Free A host of celebrities and scientists including Madonna, Robert de Niro and a clutch of Nobel Prize winners have called for radical change in the world rather than "a return to normal" after the coronavirus lockdowns. Hollywood stars Cate Blanchett, Jane Fonda, Marion Cotillard and Monica Bellucci also added their names to the open letter published in the French daily Le Monde pleading for an end to unbridled consumerism and a "radical transformation" of economies to help save the planet. "We believe it is unthinkable to 'go back to normal'," said the letter which was also signed by Nobel laureates for medicine, chemistry and physics as well as peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus. They said the pandemic was a tragedy but it was a chance for humanity to "examine what is essential". "Adjustments are not enough. The problem is systemic," the letter added. Read also: Pandemic-era celebrities struggle to strike appropriate tone "The ongoing ecological catastrophe is a meta-crisis. Unlike a pandemic... a global ecological collapse will have immeasurable consequences," it said. The 200 signatories said it was time for leaders "to leave behind the unsustainable logic that still prevails and to undertake a profound overhaul of our goals, values, and economies. "The pursuit of consumerism and an obsession with productivity have led us to deny the value of life itself: that of plants, that of animals, and that of a great number of human beings," the short letter added. "Pollution, climate change, and the destruction of our remaining natural zones has brought the world to a breaking point." The country's previous solar target was 4 GW by 2031. Around 1.4 GW of large scale projects are expected to be tendered this year, according to a document published by the Ministry of Energy.Uzbekistan's Ministry of Energy has raised its solar generation capacity target by 1 GW and brought the deadline forward a year. The Concept Note published by the ministry, which outlines plans for electricity supply up to 2030, outlined an ambition to secure 5 GW of solar by that date. Most of the solar project capacity is expected to come in the form of 100-500 MW facilities in the regions of Jizzakh, ... 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. When she was born four months early and weighing the same as a small bag of sugar, doctors warned Lilly Menears parents to prepare for the worst. But five months later she has fought off a string of infections, a bleed on the brain and other life-threatening problems to be allowed home. She was so fragile that her parents, Tayla Menear, 26, and Shane Rumbles, 29, were not allowed to hold her for the first month. Lillys survival after being born at 22 weeks and two days will fuel the debate about the 24-week cut-off date for abortions. Miss Menear yesterday said staff at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital told her they had previously seen only one other baby survive at 22 weeks. When she was born four months early and weighing the same as a small bag of sugar, doctors warned Lilly Menears mother Tayla to prepare for the worst She added: I have since come across other cases and now want people to know if they go into labour at 22 weeks not to feel hopeless. There is always a chance. Miss Menear, 26, of Norwich, was 21 weeks and four days into her pregnancy when she was admitted to hospital with a suspected infection and broken waters. Lilly arrived a few days later on December 9, weighing 1lb 2oz (511g), and her round-the-clock care began immediately. She was initially stabilised by a senior neonatal team who put a tiny tube in her airway to help her breathe. She was transferred to neonatal intensive care where she spent seven weeks on a ventilator. Lillys survival after being born at 22 weeks and two days will fuel the debate about the 24-week cut-off date for abortions During her stay in hospital she had three infections which were treated with antibiotics, a gut obstruction caused by curdled milk, a bleed on the brain and a distended intestine which required major surgery at three months. However, doctors say they are positive about her future. Her mother said: We took each day as it came. Each improvement was a sign that she was becoming more comfortable and settled. She reacts to my voice and will open her eyes when I come in and talk to her. She gives me big beautiful smiles. Describing the first time she held her tiny daughter, she said: I was far too excited to feel scared. The fight for survival also coincided with the coronavirus outbreak, which meant the parents were not allowed to visit at the same time. But on Tuesday they were told they could finally take her home. It was complete disbelief, said Miss Menear. For the first few months of Lillys life no one knew if we would ever reach the point of going home as a family. Little Lilly was so fragile that her parents, Tayla Menear, 26, and Shane Rumbles, 29, were not allowed to hold her for the first month Lilly's fight for survival also coincided with the coronavirus outbreak, which meant the parents were not allowed to visit at the same time Consultant neonatologist Dr Priya Muthukumar said: We know babies born so prematurely are at higher risk of future developmental issues. Nevertheless, we are reasonably optimistic for Lilly because her brain scans while in the neonatal unit have been reassuring and she has made very encouraging progress. Official guidelines dating from 2008 included a presumption that life-saving treatment should not be offered to a baby born before 23 weeks. But, following an improvement in survival rates, the British Association of Perinatal Medicine announced in October that doctors should attempt to save those born after 22 weeks. Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital said each case was looked at on its own merits. Those born before 22 weeks are thought to have little chance of survival because their lungs, heart and brain are so poorly developed. The worlds youngest survivor is James Elgin Gill, born in Canada in 1987, at 21 weeks and five days. Leader of Congress party in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, on Thursday said that he requested to Union Home Minister Amit Shah to take steps so that patients, students and migrant workers of West Bengal, who are now stranded in various states, can return home. Chowdhury also alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal was not keen on getting these people of the state back. The Congress eader said that Shah has assured him that he will talk to the West Bengal chief minister in this regard. "I have talked to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. It is his responsibility to give relief to the people stuck in different states owing to the lockdown and hold consultations with the respective state governments in this regard," Chowdhury said. The Congress leader claimed that Shah has told him that Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have facilitated the return of 2.5 lakh and 1.5 lakh migrant labourers respectively, while the West Bengal government is not pursuing the return of its people. "The state government can arrange for quarantine facilities after bringing the migrant labourers and other people back. It can also ask for Corona-negative certificates from the states where they are stranded before allowing them to return," Chowdhury said in a video message from New Delhi. He said that the stranded people, who also include patients, students and tourists, are facing an arduous situation owing to lack of money and other needs. The Congress leader said that the state has brought pilgrims and labourers from Rajasthan and Kerala in two trains only, which he claimed is minuscule compared to the large number of people stranded in different states of the country. Around 2,500 people of the state have been brought in two trains - one from Ajmer in Rajasthan and another from Ernakulam in Kerala till Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Malda district administration arranged for sending home 298 workers from other districts of the state in seven buses on Thursday, official sources said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) File Photo New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced an allowance of Rs 1 crore to the family of 31-year-old Delhi Police constable Amit Kumar, who was killed while fighting with Corona. "Irrespective of his life, Amit himself became infected with corona while serving the people of Delhi during Corona's time and said goodbye to us," Kejriwal said. Arvind Kejriwal"Amit ji did not care for his life and kept serving us Delhi people. He got infected with corona and passed away. I pay homage to his sacrifice on behalf of all Delhi people. An ex gratia of Rs one crore will be given to his family," Kejriwal said in a tweet. Advertisement An amount of Rs 1 crore would be given to his family. Amit did not show any symptoms of corona till the last moment. Suddenly his health deteriorated and he was admitted to the hospital where he breathed his last. PhotoAmit died on Tuesday, but his investigation report on Corona came a day later on Wednesday. The report described Amit as "corona positive". According to Delhi Police Headquarters, Amit's health suddenly deteriorated on Tuesday. He was rushed to nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead. This is believed to be the first death of a police constable from Corona in the Delhi Police and District Police around the national capital. Amit was a resident of village Hullaheri, Sonipat, Haryana. He was survived by his wife and a three-year-old son. Lithuanian Minister of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania, Dr. Algirdas Monkevicius, stated: "The demand for international Research infrastructures has grown substantially over the years and they have become an irreplaceable tool for building momentum and aiding scientists in accomplishing significant achievements. I am glad to see Lithuania integrating into well-established networks, such as BBMRI-ERIC. Moreover, I am sure that the vision of BBMRI-ERIC will lead both Lithuania and Europe to new horizons in biobanking." Tomas Simulevic, Chief Officer of the Division of Science of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania, declared: "Recent years have shown that Lithuania's prospects for the development of the life sciences sector are favorable. The academia has shown breakthroughs in molecular biology and the industry has been growing stably ever since. BBMRI-ERIC will definitely be a step forward for this sector and will contribute to its sustainable growth." Additionally, National Cancer Institute's Deputy Director for Research and Development acting as Director Prof. Sonata Jarmalaite reinforced: "Membership in BBMRI-ERIC is a unique opportunity for Lithuania to become a part of the largest European Research Infrastructure for biobanking. With this membership, our researchers will gain access to wide collection of biosamples prepared under the standardized protocols and procedures of BBMRI-ERIC. This will foster an integration of Lithuanian research institutions and individual researchers into the collaborative research projects together with partners from the BBMRI-ERIC member countries. Furthermore, members from BBMRI-ERIC will soon gain access to our biosample collections, structured according to the high standards of BBMRI-ERIC and linked with unified IT tools. Knowledge exchange will stimulate innovations in translational research and assist in development of new clinical and public solutions for the healthier Europe." BBMRI-ERIC's Interim Co-Director General Michaela Th. Mayrhofer said, "It is with great pleasure that we welcome Lithuania to BBMRI-ERIC. Lithuanian biobanks are now connected to the world like never before. At the same time, Lithuanian researchers and biobankers will have access to knowledge, IT tools, and tailor-made guidance by BBMRI-ERIC that will support their further development. "This is also a milestone for European research in general," Dr. Mayrhofer added. "While other countries are decreasing investments in research, Lithuania is showing the way by boosting the development of its biomedical sector now more important than ever, considering the global health challenges we're facing. Lithuania's vision is particularly impressive." Dr. Mayrhofer concluded by saying: "BBMRI-ERIC believes in providing services and enabling knowledge exchange for the benefit of researchers from academia and industry - and ultimately society." 2020: BBMRI-ERIC's Directory makes it easier to find COVID-19 samples and data BBMRI-ERIC brings together more than 600 biobanks from across Europe. The Directory allows researchers to find samples and data from biobanks in 17 European countries. Over 30 biobanks within our network are providing COVID-19-specific samples, data and resources. It is constantly updated: https://www.bbmri-eric.eu/services-support/ BBMRI-ERIC is an international organisation established under EU legislation. Its headquarters are in Graz, Austria, with team members based in Brussels and throughout Europe. BBMRI-ERIC provides support and services to local biobanks via its National Nodes (one per country). The National Nodes are fully involved in the day-to-day management of BBMRI-ERIC and provide feedback from the national level. BBMRI-ERIC services cover three main areas: ethical, legal and societal issues (ELSI), quality management, and IT solutions that allow users to search biobanks and collections of samples and data online and request access. Editor's Note: Members: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom Observers: Cyprus, Lithuania, Switzerland, Turkey, IARC/WHO SOURCE BBMRI-ERIC At least seven people died of COVID-19 in West Bengal in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll in the state to 79 on Thursday, the state health department said. Of the seven, five are from Kolkata and two from North 24 Parganas district, it said. The number of active cases in the state rose of 1,101, after 92 more people tested positive for the infection during the period. Two pregnant women admitted to KPC Medical College and Hospital here were found to have contracted the disease, health department sources said. An officer at Jorasanko police station also tested positive for the virus and was shifted to a private hospital for treatment, the sources said. The state has so far registered 72 deaths due to co-morbidities, where COVID-19 was incidental, the bulletin said. Thirty-one people have been discharged from different hospitals since Wednesday evening. According to the health department, 2,611 samples were examined on Thursday. The number of samples tested in the state so far climbed to 32,752. Bengal has reported a total of 1,548 COVID-19 cases so far, the department added. Meanwhile, Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim on Thursday said movement of trucks will be restricted in the city's central business area of Burrabazar as part of the efforts to contain the spread of the disease. Hailing the steps taken to contain COVID-19 in Belgachia slum areas in north Kolkata, Hakim, who is also the state's urban development minister, said the administration was mulling the option to implement similar measures in other areas of the city. "We have noticed that the disease is spreading in areas like Burrabazar, Jorashanko, Posta and Koley Market. Accordingly, we have taken a decision to control the movement of trucks in these areas. In Belgachia, we have seen the successful implementation of certain steps to contain the disease. We are looking into the option of implementing the same in other areas," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As Vietnam joins the rest of the world in social distancing to combat COVID-19, the country's tourism board is reaching out with a themed resource kit to keep travelers connected, creative and inspired. Vietnam Publishes Stay At Home with Vietnam Kit for Housebound Travelers Those who have had to cancel or cut short trips to Vietnam, or are unable to travel to the country this year may enjoy exploring the activities in the 'Stay At Home' kit, created by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) together with the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board (TAB). The kit, free on www.vietnam.travel, features 360-degree interactive tours of Vietnam's renowned UNESCO World Heritage Sites, easy recipes for popular Vietnamese dishes such as banh mi and bun cha, coloring pages celebrating classic Vietnam moments, and suggestions for cultural explorations in books, music and art. The tourism board is also inviting future travelers to explore its 'My Vietnam' series: a collection of insightful videos and personal interviews with locals across the country. While the country's borders have been officially closed since March 22, the tourism board hopes the 'Stay at Home' kit will offer a piece of Vietnam to those outside, until the country is ready to welcome visitors again. Tourism leaders said the country's fast action and effective prevention system place Vietnam in a strong position to receive travelers again soon. Those who wish to share experiences from past trips to Vietnam can do so by tagging #MyVietnam or @vietnamtourismboard on Facebook and Instagram, or can win gift sets by participating in giveaways on Vietnam's official social platforms. Vietnam recently set up an English-language tourism helpline for travelers remaining in the country. Those seeking assistance can call (+84) 378 173371 during business hours for guidance on visas, accommodation, food services, and more. New policies, closures and statistics related to the COVID-19 situation in Vietnam are updated daily on the national tourism website. Photo credit: Courtesy of Lisa Todd From Town & Country Lisa Todd had been working as a successful interior designer for the best part of two decades when a tragic accident changed her life. A broken sun lounger at a spa triggered cervical dystonia, a neuromuscular condition causing involuntary contraction of the neck muscles and reduced motor function, forcing Todd to give up a career that had included high-profile commissions such as designing Princess Margarets former home. The next three years were spent developing my own exercises and health regime, trying to get my life back, she says. I missed design terribly and looked at crafting options such as beading, but didnt have the motor skills to do them. Eventually, Todd rediscovered a love of painting at a local art class and found a way to transform her personal tragedy into a source of creativity, starting a new chapter as an artist and designer. Today, she creates abstract prints and patterns influenced by her childhood in South Africa and her late fathers Australian heritage, printing her work onto surfaces including carpets, rugs, pillows, mugs and vases. Todd also collaborates regularly with female artists from matriarchal tribal communities; this October, she is set to host a show in London in collaboration with three African beaders from Cape Town. Photo credit: Courtesy of Lisa Todd Sixteen years on from her accident, Todds designs have a new-found importance; her patterns and materials are being used to make scrubs for NHS nurses and to decorate a family-liaison room in the Bristol Nightingale hospital. It is an unusual commission for all involved, with the Welsh Guard coming to Todds home to pick up the finished creations, which include paintings, rugs and velvet cushions as well as the scrubs themselves. Designing this special room for Nightingale Bristol will always be a highlight of my career, says Todd. I am so honoured to be able to help. Photo credit: Courtesy of Lisa Todd The Bristol Nightingale isnt the only NHS service Todd is supporting. Scrubs Glorious Scrubs is a voluntary sewing collaborative with more than 400 members that has so far produced more than 1,000 non-surgical scrubs for NHS workers. When Todd reached out through a local Facebook group, the group were thrilled, knowing that her bold colours and patterns would provide much-needed cheer to both patients and nurses. Story continues Photo credit: Courtesy of Hannah Spencer, St Peters Chertsey Intensive Care Nurse. Fabric Lisa Todd Designs, gifted to Scrubs Glorious Scrubs Todds experience with cervical dystonia has made her inspiringly resilient. While being stuck indoors is unusual for most of us, it is something she has had to battle through before because, as she explains, dystonia is incredibly isolating you cant get out on your own. Eye-catching patterns and bright, lively interiors have been a source of consolation to her during long periods at home, as is reflected in her favoured colour schemes when designing prints. Turquoise is very calming, especially good in a bedroom, while pink is a very uplifting, energising and at the same time calming, she explains. Her current palette features ultramarine blue, light blue-violet, light magenta and brilliant purple vivid shades that are guaranteed to raise a smile in homes and hospitals alike. Photo credit: Courtesy of Lisa Todd Lisa Todd's work is available through her Instagram and website. [May 07, 2020] UK's First Ever Virtual Festival of Numbers to Help a Nation at Home With Maths, From National Numeracy - Celebrities, maths teachers, businesses and the Skills Minister join charity in boosting numeracy confidence on Wednesday 13 May BRIGHTON AND HOVE, England, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- National Numeracy Ambassadors Rachel Riley, Martin Lewis and Bobby Seagull, Maths Factor creator Carol Vorderman, author Lauren Child, comedian Luisa Omielan and the Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane are among those set to help the nation with its numeracy on 13 May. The UK's first ever online festival to help the nation with numbers is being led by the charity National Numeracy, with videos, interviews, book readings for kids, practical sessions for adults, free resources and puzzles on www.numeracyday.com The National Numeracy Virtual Festival covers three areas people want support with during this challenging time: helping children; personal development; and getting to grips with household finance. It aims to help everyone feel a bit better about their number skills. The Festival will include Lauren Child reading from her Charlie and Lola and Ruby Redfort maths-focussed books, Carol Vorderman answering questions about unlocking maths confidence, Maths for Mums and Dads author Rob Eastaway sharing tips on how to teach maths at home, the Bank of England's Andy Haldane helping with household finance and more. Even Amazon's Alexa will be joining in by answering questions about numeracy. With home schooling, for instance, the most effective way to help children is for parents to improve their own confidence and skills with numeracy. Parents' attitudes and beliefs are the main influence on the success of primary school aged children. But with just a fifth of the working-age population having the equivalent numeracy level of a GSCE pass (Grade 4)[1] , it is no wonder people feel anxious. Struggling with numbers can make people more vulnerable to debt, unemployment, poo health and fraud and impacts mental health and opportunities - all exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis. So, with number confidence and skills more important than ever, the Day will encourage people to join the 285,000 others who have already started improving their numeracy with the free National Numeracy Challenge. Rachel Riley will be talking people through how to use the tool and opening the Festival. And National Numeracy Day's Heroes, five people who have improved their careers and home lives through overcoming anxiety about numeracy - from a nurse to a warehouse worker - will be talking about their stories. Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Gillian Keegan said: "Throughout my career I've seen first-hand how important it is that everyone is confident with numbers, to enable them to succeed in life. I'm delighted to support National Numeracy Day. Whether you are a parent, a young person or you just need a little extra help, this online festival is a great opportunity to build your maths skills." Mike Ellicock, Chief Executive of National Numeracy, said: "National Numeracy Day is about showing that being confident with numbers isn't a special talent, it's something we can all improve throughout our lives. The 'Couch to 5K' programme gets people running, and numeracy is the same; anyone can get better with a bit of practice. In these uncertain times, improving everyday maths at home is positive for both adults and children." Bobby Seagull, maths teacher, TV presenter and National Numeracy Ambassador, said: "The anxiety people feel about maths can sadly stay with them throughout their lives. But with a little help, everyone can start to see the benefit of a better relationship with numbers." For the full festival line-up visit: www.numeracyday.com Notes to editors 1 Numerate Nation: What the UK think about numbers, National Numeracy 2019. www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/sites/default/files/national_numeracy_day_2019.pdf About National Numeracy Day National Numeracy Day is all about numbers and how we use them in everyday life. Its aim is to help everyone in the UK to have the confidence and skills to use numbers well. It brings together individuals, employers, educators and supporters from across the UK to show the importance of numbers and the benefits of using them more effectively. For National Numeracy Day 2020, we are encouraging everyone in the UK to take one simple step towards improved confidence with numbers, by taking the National Numeracy Challenge . The campaign is run by the UK charity National Numeracy and founding supporter KPMG. Find out more at www.numeracyday.com National Numeracy Day Supporters National Numeracy Day is supported by an ever-growing list of organisations who believe in improving the nation's numeracy confidence and skills www.numeracyday.com/supporters-2020 About National Numeracy National Numeracy is an independent organisation, founded in 2012, committed to transforming attitudes and achievement in numeracy across the age range. It particularly focuses on those with low levels of numeracy. National Numeracy is a registered company (company no: 7886294) and charity (charity no: 1145669). Find out more: www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSvSxmPiLjA Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1164776/National_Numeracy_Virtual_Festival_Line_up.jpg [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] America is in serious danger on this 2020 National Day of Prayer. We cannot deny that America is a nation divided. We are divided Republicans vs. Democrats, liberals vs. conservatives, black vs. white, rich vs. poor, Trump supporters vs. Trump haters, racists vs. Black people, and on-and-on the list goes. Tribalism runs rampant. People from one tribe cannot even talk with people from another. A Jewish man by the name of Jesus said centuries ago, If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. His statements have proven to be true in history. Many nations including the great Roman Empire, which once ruled the civilized world, have fallen due to internal divisions and corruption, rather than an external enemy. We must admit that America is broken. Division is undeniable. Racial tension is alarming. Lawlessness abounds. Reconciliation appears impossible. Government cannot fix it. Politics will not heal it. The spirit of the age is ruling all over this nation. If we love America, the land of the free and home of the brave, it is time for people of faith to lay our differences aside and come together to pray. Prayer can make a big difference. Effective prayer begins by admitting we have a problem, and we cant keep ignoring it, or hoping it will go away. It must be fixed. Once we face that fact, we must admit that we dont have the power to fix it. We must humble ourselves and take our problem to the One who can. If America perishes, we must admit we all lose. Therefore, we must all come together, and take our problem to God. We must take our problem to Him, knowing that He loves us and wants only the best for us. We dont annoy God when we take our problems to Him. He is never too busy to listen, and He is powerful enough to bring about the changes we ask for. When we pray, our load is lightened because we are sharing our burdens (deep concerns) with Him. He encourages us to do exactly that. The Bible tells us we are to Cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us (I Peter 5:6). Thursday, May 7, 2020, is our National Day of Prayer. If we love our country, the United States of America, we will pray for it. # # # Robert Wilkerson is a writer who has authored 10 books. He lives in the Birmingham area. drbobwilkerson@bellsouth.net. (Natural News) In many parts of the world, healthcare workers are lauded as heroes, thanks to their work amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But in Mexico, these heroes are harassed, mobbed and even assaulted over fears that they will spread coronavirus. Recent estimates from the National Council to Prevent Discrimination the federal government agency that ensures rights to non-discrimination and equal opportunity reveal that around 44 attacks against medical personnel have been carried out since mid-March. Authorities say that the recent surge in cases in the country has triggered a wave of violence against doctors and nurses, with some attacks motivated by rumors that healthcare workers are responsible for the outbreak. As of Friday, Mexico has 12,872 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,221 deaths nearly 10 times as many as they had on April 1. Listen below as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks with Dr. Paul Cottrell about the real science of coronavirus antibody test kits. Vilified for their work For Dr. Alondra Jovanna Torres, the attack came as she was walking her dogs near her house in Guadalajara, a city in western Mexico. The ear, nose and throat doctor was walking home when she heard someone behind her scream something inaudible. As she looked, she felt a splash on the side of her face, and within seconds, her vision went cloudy as the liquid streamed from her left eye and down her neck. As the color from her medical scrubs faded, the smell made her realize that she had been doused with bleach. The attack left her with conjunctivitis and burns on her skin. At first, I was in shock, Torres told CNN in an interview. Then, I felt scared and angry. Other stories are equally gut-wrenching. Many doctors and nurses in Mexico report being targeted by trolls on social media, barred from entering their homes, denied service in restaurants and groceries, forced out of public transportation and attacked just for wearing their scrubs. For Sandra Aleman, a nurse in San Luis Potosi in central Mexico, the attack on her began when some children sprayed juice and soda on her white uniform as she was leaving a coffee shop on her way to the hospital. Its COVID! Stay away from us! the children yelled. The childrens mother then attacked her, with the woman hitting the nurse in the face so hard it made her crumple to the ground. Aleman ended up receiving two fractured fingers during the ordeal. Whats wrong with you, Mexico? Were just trying to go to work. I care for you but you dont care for me. No more attacks on health workers! she wrote in a Facebook post after. In other parts of the country, residents have blockaded roads to prevent healthcare workers from going back to their houses. A nurse who went to her home village in northern Mexico found herself locked out, with police escorting her to collect her things and leave the village. Too little, too late? On Monday, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador condemned the attacks, stressing that healthcare workers are especially needed in this situation. I respectfully urge the whole population to take care of health workers, to respect them, to love them, he added. We couldnt do anything without health workers. Many public health experts, however, are increasingly concerned that the country isnt prepared to handle a health crisis of this magnitude, especially after Lopez Obrador slashed funding for hospitals and medical centers by millions. Also, Lopez Obrador has continued to stick to his austerity program, even amid the coronavirus response. Based on data from the International Monetary Fund, Mexicos budget for dealing with the coronavirus is the smallest in Latin America, amounting to only 1 percent of the countrys GDP. All this leaves the nations 128-million strong population short of doctors, hospital beds and medical equipment. According to the United Nations, there are only 29 medical workers for every 10,000 Mexican citizens. As many healthcare workers steel themselves for the impending outbreak, Torres has this request: We dont need to be clapped for and no one needs to give us flowers. Just let us do our jobs. Pandemic.news has more stories about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Sources include: TheGuardian.com Edition.CNN.com Coronavirus.JHU.edu LatinTimes.com Reuters.com Vox.com TheHour.com A Railway Protection Force (RPF) jawan has tested positive for COVID-19 while 21 people who he came in contact with have been quarantined in Shamli, an official said on Thursday. The RPF jawan, a resident of Khodsama village in Shamli district, had left for Chennai on May 2 where he is currently posted, District Magistrate Jasjit Kaur said. Out of the 21 people who have been quarantined, 13 are RPF jawans while eight others are his family members, including his parents and wife. DM Kaur told reporters here that the infected man's contacts were traced and isolated on receiving information that he had tested positive in Chennai. The affected man had come on leave to his native village just before the nationwide lockdown was imposed on March 25. On the directives of the higher authorities, he joined the nearest RPF police station in Shamli. Later, he left for Chennai to join duty. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An American mercenary captured after a bungled attempt to topple Nicolas Maduro has claimed he was on a mission to seize control of Venezuelas main airport in order to abduct its leader and he alleged that was acting under the command of Donald Trump. Luke Denman was one of two US citizens seized by Venezuelan security forces this week after what appears to have been a catastrophically conceived bid to overthrow Maduro by sneaking into the South American country in a fleet of battered fishing boats. In a heavily edited video confession, broadcast on Wednesday by the state broadcaster VTV, Denman said he had flown to Colombia in mid-January, where he was tasked with training Venezuelan combatants near Riohacha, a city 55 miles west from the Venezuelan border. From there, Denman who said he had never previously set foot in Colombia nor Venezuela claimed the group planned to journey to Caracas to secure the city and the nearby Simon Bolivar international airport, before bringing down Maduro. Venezuelan soldiers in balaclavas move a suspect from a helicopter after what Venezuelan authorities described was a mercenary incursion. Photograph: Reuters Tv/Reuters Denman said his mission had been to secure the airport, set up a perimeter, communicate with its tower and then bring in planes including one to put Maduro on and take him back to the United States. I thought I was helping Venezuelans take back control of their country, Denman added. There was no sign that any lawyers were present during Denmans alleged confession, or that he was not speaking under duress. Denman said he had been working for Silvercorp, a Florida-based private security firm run by Jordan Goudreau, a former US special forces soldier who on Sunday claimed his 60-man team had launched a daring amphibious raid designed to overthrow Maduro and liberate Venezuela. Denman, from Austin, Texas, was detained alongside another American, named as 41-year-old Airan Berry, and 11 others . Eight other alleged mercenary terrorists were killed. A photo released by the Venezuelan Miraflores preisdential press office shows ID cards of former US special forces citizen Airan Berry and Luke Denman. Photograph: AP Speaking on Wednesday, Maduro painted the failed invasion as a 21st-century version of the failed US invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs and claimed the intruders had been working for Trump. Story continues Donald Trump is behind all of this, Venezuelas authoritarian leader said, brandishing a contract allegedly showing that the mission had been commissioned by his rival, the opposition leader, Juan Guaido. Here is the contract. Here are the signatures a contract for the invasion of Venezuela. A serious offense, Maduro said, holding up a Washington Post article which also branded the operation a Bay of Pigs-style fiasco. Guaido has denied any links to the incursion. Maduro claimed Trump had subcontracted the disastrous invasion so as to be able to wash his hands of the episode if it went wrong. The mission does indeed seem to have backfired quite spectacularly. Related: Donald Trump denies link to Venezuela armed raid by US citizens They came to Venezuela thinking the people would greet them like some kind of Rambos, with applause, Maduro said on Wednesday. But the Venezuelan people captured them, tied them up, and the police had to intervene so there were no acts of violence against them. Maduro claimed Venezuelas justice system would decide whether or not Guaido would be arrested. In Washington, the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said the US would use every tool to get the two captured Americans back, and raised eyebrows by saying there was no direct US government involvement in the strange raid. If we had been involved, it would have gone differently, Pompeo told reporters shortly before Denman was shown on Venezuelan state television. As for who bankrolled it, were not prepared to share any more information about what we know took place. Well unpack that at an appropriate time. Well share that information that makes good sense. Asked about what action the administration would take, Pompeo said: We will start the process of trying to figure a way if, in fact, these are Americans that are there that we can figure a path forward. We want to get every American back. If the Maduro regime decides to hold them, well use every tool that we have available to try and get them back. Its our responsibility to do so. Maduro has ruled Venezuela since 2013, in which time more than 4.5 million people have fled the country to escape food shortages, violence and political turmoil. He has been accused of overseeing gross violations of human rights during a crackdown on political opponents and in March was indicted in the US on charges of drug trafficking and money-laundering. A Florida man shot and killed a 17-year-old burglary suspect in what authorities say will likely be investigated under the states stand your ground statute. Adrein Green was found collapsed in the street with a gunshot wound at around 1.15am on Tuesday, minutes after a man called 911 and said hed shot someone outside his home in Sanford. Investigators said Green was burglarizing cars parked outside the gated home when the owner, who has not been identified, opened fire from his front door. In audio from the 911 call, the homeowner is heard explaining how his wife woke him up when she heard noises outside while she was up feeding their baby. He said that he believed someone was trying to break in to the home, so he grabbed his firearm and went to investigate. Are there any weapons, the dispatcher asked. Yes. I just fired a shot, he came by. Help me out, please help, the caller said. Asked whether the teen was armed, the caller said he wasnt sure. I dont know he just ran, he just ran, he faced me and I got super scared and my wife was behind me with the baby cause we kept hearing like a big bump, we kept hearing something, he said, later adding he wanted to scare the unknown person off. Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith played the audio at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon and told reporters that preliminary evidence shows the homeowner was about 20 feet from the victim when he opened fire. Green took off on foot after he was shot, and police officers found him lying in the road nearby minutes later. Smith said the officers performed life-saving measures before first responders arrived and transported him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The investigation has now been turned over to the state attorneys office, Smith said. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates A US-based Hungarian immunologist has developed a medication he says could prevent the cytokine storm, an overreaction of the immune system. This kind of immune response can be triggered in Covid-19 patients. In an interview published in the daily Magyar Nemzet, Lajos Baranyi said the cytokine storm caused severe and possibly lethal pneumonia due to an overproduction of peptides with toxic breakdown products. The recently developed therapy involves a complex drug currently in the process of being patented which would be administered intravenously or injected, Baranyi said. The therapy is yet to undergo clinical trials, which, he added, may take place in Hungary. Also, the drugs eventual production may also be located in the country, he added. The drug would be extremely cost effective and easy to produce, Baranyi said. Ferenc Jakab, the head Hungarys coronavirus working group, has agreed to contact a large European nonprofit to fund the trials, he said. MTI Photo: Tamas Soki Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Thursday charged the opposition with spreading rumours that BJP-ruled Karnataka had sought cancellation of trains ferrying away migrant workers while remaining silent on not a single Shramik Special coming to the state from Punjab where the Congress is in power. The Deputy CM, who is one of the states senior-most BJP leaders, said already two trains have arrived from Karnataka and more were to follow in the days to come and bristled at the Congress paying just under Rs six lakh for bringing some students and labourers from Gujarat but touting it as a great benediction bestowed upon by Sonia Gandhi. In a series of scathing tweets, Modi sought to debunk the allegations by the opposition RJD-Congress combine which had on the previous day attacked the B S Yeddyurappa government for reportedly seeking cancellation of trains following pressure from the builders lobby. Two trains have already come from Karnataka and eight more are scheduled to arrive in the days to come, said Modi shortly after the government of the southern state did a volte face and shot off missives to various provinces, including Bihar, seeking in principle approval for running more trains. Citing the example of Punjab, where Bihari migrants have been finding employment as agricultural labourers and at cottage and small scale industries for a few decades, the Deputy CM sought to know whether Amarinder Singh government has held them hostage. He also sought to draw contrast with BJP-ruled Haryana and cited the example of a train carrying labourers from Hisar reaching Kishanganj. However, a list of trains scheduled to reach here on Friday, released by the East Central Railway zone at Hajipur, showed two Shramik Specials coming from Ludhiana and Jalandhar to Purnea and Darbhanga respectively. Reacting with indignation, Congress MLC and AICC spokesman Prem Chandra Mishra said Sushil Modi has been in a habit of speaking lies. Recently he had lied about no opposition legislator contributing salary to Chief Ministers Relief Fund following which I have sent him a legal notice. But he refuses to mend his ways. Modi, who also holds the finance portfolio, added that many workers were now preferring to return to work instead of a journey back home in the wake of relaxations in the lockdown which has led to resumption of some economic activities. The lockdown imposed to prevent spread of coronavirus has served as an occasion to remind the entire country about the preciousness of Bihars work force. A reason why 222 workers from Khagaria district have returned to Telangana, where the government was imploring them to resume work at rice mills. "Moreover, Karnataka government has announced special package for them, Modi remarked with pride. He, however, also expressed disgust over the Congress going public with its payment of Rs 6.82 lakh for a train that has brought back 1185 workers and students to Bihar from Gujarat, yet another BJP stronghold. They are calling it Sonia Gandhis mahaan kripa (great benediction). Those respecting Indian sanskaars (value system) do not trumpet their acts of generosity, remarked the BJP leader. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Facebook has a new connectivity app called Discover to help those who cant afford to get online access information on the web. The service, available through mobile web and Android app, allows users to visit any website in text format (no video, images, audio and other elements that eat up large amounts of data) and consume a few megabytes of internet data. For Discover, which is part of the companys Free Basics initiative, Facebook is working with mobile operators in Bitel, Claro, Entel, and Movistar. Discover is currently available in Peru, where it is in the initial testing phase. In Peru, Discover is offering 10MB of free data to users each day. A Facebook spokesperson told TechCrunch that the partner mobile operator determines the daily data allowance, and it anticipates operators in other countries where Discover would be tested to offer up to 20MB each day. But nothing is set in stone. We'll be assessing how people are using Discover and the amount of daily data more during the trials and may work with our operator partners on adjustments going forward, the spokesperson said, adding that mobile operators will also determine whether support for photos could be added to Discover. Eliminating support for videos and images means that Discover users would be able to load dozens of websites in a day without running out of their data allowance. Discover is the latest of a handful of internet connectivity efforts that Facebook has rolled out in recent years. The company maintains Internet.org, which offers unfettered access to dozens of websites in dozens of markets; and Express WiFi, which allows neighbourhood stores to sell small sachet of internet plans to users, in India. Facebook has partnered with more than 10,000 merchants and stores in the country to sell these data plans. On the Internet .org website, the company also lists Connectivity Lab, another effort that is part of Free Basics initiative through which it is exploring a variety of technologies, including high-altitude long-endurance planes, satellites and lasers to bring more people online. At least one of those tests has been discontinued. Story continues During the coronavirus public health crisis, we believe it is particularly important to explore ways to help people stay connected and to increase access to health information and other resources on the internet. As part of our ongoing work to connect people to accurate health information, coronavirus health resources will be highlighted on the Discover homepage, said Yoav Zeevi, a product manager at Facebook. Facebooks Free Basics initiative, which has helped tens of millions of people access internet, has also received scrutiny for its approach and some unintended consequences. Internet.org was banned in India after the local authority in the worlds second largest internet market found that the program violated net neutrality principles. Zeevi said the company has heard the feedback and responded by allowing people to browse all websites. Our work on Discover has been informed by our broader efforts including our participation in the Contract for the Web to expand connectivity and access to the open web while continuing to protect privacy, he said. Tim Berners-Lee's Contract for the Web has welcomed the launch of Discover. Critics have argued that programs such as Internet.org, which has been discontinued in some additional markets, have also fuelled violence in real life. As Facebook expands its connectivity efforts, some other companies have scaled down their initiatives. Earlier this year, Google discontinued its free Wi-Fi program called Station that offered internet access in more than 400 railway stations in India, and was available at public places in handful of other markets. In 2018, Wikimedia shut down Wikipedia Zero, a program that allowed more than 800 million people to access the online encyclopaedia in 72 countries for free. The fund is open to residents of Illinois who are currently homeless or have been homeless in the past and at risk of becoming homeless again. Applicants must be at least 18 years old, or if they are an unaccompanied youth, at least 16 years old. Undocumented individuals and permanent residents are welcome to apply. No more than one grant per household will be awarded. New Delhi, May 7 : Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, P.K. Mishra on Thursday held a meeting with Cabinet Secretary, Home Secretary, NDRF, NDMA, Director AIIMS and medical experts on the incident of gas leak in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam in which 11 people lost their lives and also directed to send a team of experts and measures for relief and rescue work. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs officials, Mishra held a high level meeting with Cabinet Secretary, Home Secretary, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF), Director All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), and medical experts on Vishakhapatnam gas leak situation. The official said that Mishra directed sending of team of experts to Visakhaptanam and also short term as also long term medical impact. The high-level meeting by Mishra came shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called a meeting with the NDMA officials in the wake of the gas leak incident in Visakhapatnam on Thursday morning. Eleven people including a minor, died while hundreds of others reported sick after a gas leaked from the LG Polymers India plant at R.R. Venkatapuram village on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam. Around 246 people have been rushed for treatment to hospitals after complaining of breathing difficulties, and burning sensation in the eyes. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text The Andhra Pradesh Police on Thursday listed out preventive measures for people living around the area affected by the styrene gas leak at LG Polymers chemical plant in Visakhapatnam. The plant is located in Visakhapatnams RR Venkatapuram village. If the skin feels itchy, wash your skin with soap, the tweet read. Take milk, banana and jaggery to neutralise the effect of gas, AP Police said in a tweet. Earlier in the day, Andhra Pradesh DGP Damodar Goutam Sawang said one of the antidotes to the reactions caused by the gas inhalation is drinking a lot of water. The AP Police have also urged people in the nearby areas to wear a mask for protection, even while at home. Watch | Vizag gas leak: PM Modi holds meet with NDMA; gas neutralized | Key details On feeling irritation in eyes, one should wash them thoroughly and use eye drops, it said. Also read: What is styrene, the gas that leaked from Vizag plant and killed 11 On feeling a sense of uneasiness, people have been directed to call at 108 and seek immediate help. Previously, the Andhra Pradesh Police rubbished the reports of a second gas leak at the premise of LG Polymers chemical plant. Reports of a second leak at #LGPolymers premises are false. Maintenance team was repairing the system and some vapour was let out. There is NO second leak, the tweet read. Also read: Gas leak might have occurred from storage tank,says Andhra Pradesh minister Poisonous styrene gas leaked from the chemical plant during the early hours of the morning when families in the surrounding villages were asleep. At least 11 people have been killed and thousands have fallen sick. Hundreds have been admitted to hospital for treatment. Reports of a second leak at #LGPolymers premises are false. Maintenance team was repairing the system and some vapour was let out. There is NO second leak. AP Police (@APPOLICE100) May 7, 2020 Around 1,000 to 1,500 people were evacuated of which more than 800 were taken to hospital, SN Pradhan, NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) DG said. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced Rs 1 crore each as compensation to the kin of those who have been killed in the tragedy. Yongmao Holdings Limited (SGX:BKX) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 23% in the last quarter. But looking back over the last year, the returns have actually been rather pleasing! Looking at the full year, the company has easily bested an index fund by gaining 88%. View our latest analysis for Yongmao Holdings To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time. Yongmao Holdings was able to grow EPS by 269% in the last twelve months. It's fair to say that the share price gain of 88% did not keep pace with the EPS growth. So it seems like the market has cooled on Yongmao Holdings, despite the growth. Interesting. This cautious sentiment is reflected in its (fairly low) P/E ratio of 3.28. You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values). SGX:BKX Past and Future Earnings May 6th 2020 Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here. What About Dividends? It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. We note that for Yongmao Holdings the TSR over the last year was 95%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return. A Different Perspective It's nice to see that Yongmao Holdings shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 95% over the last year. Of course, that includes the dividend. There's no doubt those recent returns are much better than the TSR loss of 0.7% per year over five years. This makes us a little wary, but the business might have turned around its fortunes. 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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Yongmao Holdings (at least 1 which is significant) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process. Story continues For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on SG 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. A boiler explosion at an NLC India thermal power plant here injured eight workers who have been hospitalised, the company said. The fire broke out at the TS II Power plant at Neyveli, resulting in burn injuries to two regular employees and six contract workers, NLC India Ltd said in a statement. The boiler is 84-meter high and when the accident occurred, the workers and technicians were at a height of about 32 meters, an NLC India official said. The fire has been brought under control by the fire wing of CISF Unit of NLCIL, the company said. "The company has constituted a six-member committee headed by a General Manager to enquire into the incident and give its findings at the earliest for taking further necessary action," the company said. NLC India Chairman and Managing Director Rakesh Kumar told PTI that the injured persons were immediately shifted to Kaveri Hospital in Trichy where they are undergoing treatment. A team of executives of the company has been sent along the injured to help them and coordinate their treatment, he said. Arising out of the incident, two other generating units of 210 MW capacity each have also been shut down and these units will be restored for power generation only after all safety aspects have been taken care of which is expected to be completed shortly. Simultaneously, the company is ensuring that the injured workmen are given the best possible treatment with necessary support extended to their families by NLCIL, NLC India said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) on Thursday said it has deployed four COVID-19 test labs and four outpatient department (OPD) centres across the country to assist the central and state governments in their efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. These facilities -- set up in Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, and Dehradun -- have been set up to provide additional authorised testing facilities and isolation beds to manage the increased demand across the country. "Donated as part of HPE's commitment to India announced last July, the HPE COVID-19 test labs are designed to enable quick and clean testing of individuals who suspect they may have contracted COVID-19, and will be based on the specifications provided by the Ministry of Science and Technology," according to a statement by HPE. The test labs will be run and managed by the government agency concerned, including installing testing equipment, deploying paramedics and technicians, providing broadband connectivity, personal protective equipment (PPEs) and medical supplies, US-based company added. "As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge local communities across the world, we are responding with initiatives to support the communities where we live and work. The deployment of HPE COVID-19 test labs and OPD centres will support the government's efforts to prevent, detect and respond to COVID-19," HPE Managing Director (India) Som Satsangi said. HPE has developed and deployed these test labs and OPD centres in 40-feet refurbished negative air pressure containers equipped with biometrics, blood pressure apparatus, spirometer, serum analyser, pulse oxymeter, glucometer, pulse reader, and ECG. All this equipment will be integrated with EMR (electronic medical record) applications, and an online dashboard will be provided to monitor the related OPDs, the statement said. Additionally, suitable IT equipment will be provided, including workstations, headphones, thermal cameras, networking components, and UPS (uninterruptible power supply) systems, it added. The OPD centres will handle walk-in patients and will have provisions to house six patients for 24 to 48 hours for observation purposes. It will have negative air pressure doors to ensure isolation and also serve as a temporary housing for people with COVID-19 symptoms until they are either discharged or are sent to the applicable wards for treatment. Precautions have been taken to ensure minimal IT downtime and issues can be rectified remotely without the need of an on-site engineer. In case of any issues, the HPE Network Operations Centre (NOC), located at Chandigarh, will be able to detect and resolve problems, the statement said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Gannett headquarters in McLean, VA. USA TODAY owner Gannett reported a net loss in the first quarter as the spread of the coronavirus reduced advertising spending from businesses hobbled by the pandemic, but the company turned a profit when factoring out one-time occurrences. The media company, which owns more than 260 daily publications, posted a net loss of $80.2 million, including $78 million due to depreciation and amortization and $34 million in cash charges tied to the companys recent merger. Excluding one-time items, Gannett posted adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $99.1 million. And before the impact of one-time issues, revenue fell 10% from a year earlier to about $939 million. The results reflect the combination of New Media Investment Group and Gannett after their merger in November, a deal that created the largest U.S. media company by print circulation and one of the largest by digital audience. Revenue and EBITDA performance were strong, despite the disruption experienced over the last two weeks of March from the COVID 19 pandemic, Gannett CEO Michael Reed said in a statement. The impact on our business from the pandemic came fast and is significant. However, we continue to execute on our operating and integration plans from the Acquisition of Legacy Gannett last year. The realization of synergies remains on track and debt pay down remains ahead of schedule. Before the pandemic hit, Gannett was actually pacing ahead of expectations for both revenue and EBITDA, Reed said on a conference call with investors and analysts. Pulitzer Prizes awarded: USA TODAY Network's Louisville Courier Journal wins for Breaking News Coronavirus impact: Gannett suspends dividend and implements cost cuts The journalism industry is grappling with a sharper-than-usual reduction in advertising due to COVID-19, which has hurt key spenders like restaurants, stores and travel companies. The industry also continues to deal with the advertising shift from print to digital. Story continues To offset a sudden drop in revenue from the coronavirus fallout, Gannett suspended its dividend on April 1 and announced plans to implement $100 million to $125 million in cost cuts in addition to previously planned savings tied to the merger. The fresh round of cuts has included furloughs, job cuts, pay reductions for senior managers and the suspension of nonessential travel and spending. Many other news outlets have taken similar steps in recent weeks. Reed projected that year-over-year second-quarter expenses would fall by more than 25%, compared with a decrease of about 10.5% in the first quarter. We continue to evaluate additional options to strengthen our company as we navigate through this crisis, he said in a statement. Annualized savings tied to the companys merger totaled more than $75 million in the first quarter, as the company said it remains highly confident of achieving its goal of $300 million by the end of 2021. Gannetts print advertising revenues fell 21.2% to $268 million in the first quarter, compared with the same period a year earlier. Digital advertising and marketing services revenue rose 1.7% to $136 million. Circulation revenue declined 7.5% to $375 million. The companys digital business has definitely held up better than print advertising, Reed said on the call. Paid digital subscriptions to the companys journalism rose 29% from a year earlier to 863,000 in the first quarter. Online subscriptions are viewed as critical to the success of media companies in the digital age as newspaper dollars decline. Those digital subscriptions accounted for about $60 million in circulation revenue in the first quarter, Reed said, while print subscriptions accounted for $315 million. He said hes been impressed with the resiliency of circulation during the pandemic, including no change to the negative in our print circulation trends other than single-copy declines. Gannett is obligated to pay off a 5-year, $1.8 billion loan owed to Apollo Global Management, which helped finance GateHouse Media parent company New Medias acquisition of the old Gannett. The combined company, which took on the Gannett name, paid down debt by about $13 million during the first quarter, with the proceeds coming mainly from real estate sales. Reed said the company remains highly confident in its ability to pay off the debt on time and that the main requirement on the loan is that Gannett maintains $20 million in cash on its balance sheet at the end of every quarter. Gannett ended the first quarter with about $200 million in cash. Quarterly interest payments will begin coming due in June, when Gannett will owe a $125 million, followed by payments of $50 million each in the third and fourth quarters. Reed said Gannett has great relationships and a very open dialogue with our lenders and that gives us confidence that we can deal with future uncertainty as the pandemic continues to unfold. Asked whether the company is considering eliminating any unprofitable days of newspaper printing and delivery, Reed said thats not part of our plan today and the company continues to believe its best bet is to maintain a daily print relationship with its readers. Despite the ongoing pandemic, Reed said the company is cautiously optimistic that the worst is behind us after steep declines in revenue in late March and early April. Gannetts publications include the Arizona Republic, Detroit Free Press, Columbus Dispatch, Austin American-Statesman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Louisville Courier Journal and hundreds of other daily and weekly news properties. The Courier Journal on Monday won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting for its coverage of last-minute pardons issued by Kentuckys outgoing governor in 2019. Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gannett reports net loss but says performance 'strong' amid COVID-19 Scientists have developed an app that provides insights on COVID-19 hot spots, and the symptoms users must look out for, an advance that may aid public health officials in their efforts to contain the pandemic. According to the study, published in the journal Science, the COVID Symptom Tracker app has already seen early usage by more than 2.5 million people in the US and the UK, generating valuable data for physicians, scientists, and public officials. The app collects daily information from individuals in the community about whether they feel well, and if not, their specific symptoms, and if they have been tested for COVID-19, said study senior author Andrew T. Chan from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in the US. The scientists said it may be useful as a planning tool to inform guidelines around self-isolation, identify regions in need of additional ventilators, expand hospital capacity, and provide real-time data to prepare for future outbreaks. They said the app was launched in the UK on March 24, and became available in the US on March 29. Since its launch, the study noted that the app has seen more than 3 million users. This work has led to the development of accurate models of COVID-19 infection rates in the absence of sufficient population testing, Chan said. For example, the UK government has acted upon these estimates by providing advanced notice to local health authorities about when to expect a surge of cases, he added. Using results from the app, the scientists are also investigating risk factors for infection, as well as the effects of COVID-19 on patients health. Chan also pointed out that the app does not have any contact tracing function in contrast with software that is being rolled out in collaboration with Apple and Google. Our app is designed to be entirely voluntary so that they can share information about how they are feeling in a way that safeguards their privacy, he added. The scientists are asking individuals, even those who are feeling well, to download the app and participate in this effort to provide information related to COVID-19. PTI VIS VIS VIS The world's media has lined up to savage Britain's coronavirus response this week after the UK's death toll surpassed Italy's to become the worst in Europe. Headlines describe the UK as a 'the problem child of Europe' and the policies of Boris Johnson's government as 'the biggest failure in a generation'. A shortage of protective gear, a late decision to go into lockdown and an 'inadequate' testing policy are all identified as reasons for Britain's huge death toll. There is scathing criticism not only from countries such as Germany and Australia which have been widely praised for their handling of the virus, but even from nations such as Italy and the United States where the crisis has been equally severe. Italian media said the UK had not heeded warnings from northern Italy where the outbreak was in full swing two weeks before it reached a similar stage in the UK. Australia: The Sydney Morning Herald described the UK's response as the 'biggest failure in a generation', pointing to a series of errors including on testing and lockdown Germany: A story in news magazine Focus described the UK as Europe's 'problem child' and said Britain's response 'reads like a chronology of failure' Italy: This headline in Positano News said the situation in Britain was a 'disaster' - as Italian media wondered why the UK had failed to learn lessons from Italy's experience Boris Johnson (pictured at a Downing Street press conference) has come under severe criticism after Britain's death toll became the worst in Europe The UK's official death toll is now 30,076, compared to 29,684 in Italy. The only country with a higher tally is the United States with 73,431. Health secretary Matt Hancock has played down comparisons with other nations, saying that 'different countries are in different stages in this epidemic'. In Australia, which has seen only 97 deaths after taking early action to shut its borders, the Sydney Morning Herald ran a feature about Britain under the headline: 'Biggest failure in a generation: Where did Britain go wrong?'. The newspaper described a 'growing chorus' of experts and members of the public who regarded the UK response as a 'series of deadly mistakes and miscalculations'. The Herald laid out four main failures: a shortage of protective gear, a late decision to enter lockdown, a 'bungled' testing policy, and a failure to protect care homes. Boris Johnson did not announce a lockdown until March 23, after ministers had initially played down talk of shutting down schools and public gatherings. A public health expert told the paper that 'the countries that moved fast have curtailed the epidemic. The countries that delayed have not. It's as simple as that'. The newspaper quoted the editor-in-chief of medical journal The Lancet as calling Britain's response 'the most serious science policy failure in a generation'. A former Australian envoy to Britain, Mike Rann, said that the early stage of the crisis was handled 'negligently'. He called Number 10's response 'a shambles of mixed messaging, poor organisation and a complacent attitude that what was happening in Italy wouldn't happen here.' The article also highlighted Britain's decision to stop testing people in their homes in early March as the virus continued to spread. 'The decision on March 12 to abandon mass testing meant the government could only guess who was infected with the virus and how it was behaving,' it said. The PM said yesterday that the UK did not have the testing capacity at the time to track down every chain of infection. Austria: The newspaper Kleine Zeitung used the same expression of 'problem child', saying there were 'wrong measures' and a lack of restrictions Norway: The digital newspaper Nettavisen said there was 'increasing criticism' that UK authorities had not 'taken the corona outbreak seriously enough' Italy: The Italian edition of HuffPost blamed 'contradictory choices' for the scale of the UK death toll after it overtook that in Italy This chart shows the latest number of deaths in several European countries, with the UK in an unwanted lead. Germany's is the lowest despite having the largest population of the five In Germany, which has seen far fewer deaths among a larger population, the news magazine Focus described the UK as the 'problem child of Europe'. The magazine accused the UK government of 'carelessness and arrogance' and said Britain's response 'reads like a chronology of failure'. 'There are many signs that the government in London massively underestimated the pandemic,' the article says. The report said Boris Johnson had 'shown little interest' in the health crisis during February, when the UK's numbers were still small. It referred to a prime ministerial speech on February 3 when Mr Johnson referred to the 'risk' that the coronavirus would 'trigger a panic and a desire for market segregation that go beyond what is medically rational'. The article also highlighted Mr Johnson's statement on March 3 that he was still shaking hands. On testing, the magazine said that Britain's slow conversion to mass testing could have 'cost many people their lives'. 'Only when the Brits became aware of Germany's successes did London convert to mass testing, but that took time,' the magazine said. In Austria, which has similarly been praised for its mass testing strategy, the newspaper Kleine Zeitung used the same expression of 'problem child' to describe the UK. The newspaper said the scale of the crisis in Britain was 'a story of wrong measures and a lack of restrictions'. Highlighting criticism of 'poor crisis management,' the paper suggested that ministers had become complacent when Britain did not initially see a huge surge. 'Politicians were already clapping themselves on the back and praising the health system that was supposedly better prepared for a pandemic than any other,' the article said. 'But that would soon turn out to be a mistake.' It also referred to how Britain had abandoned mass testing in mid-March only to revive it in recent weeks after seeing how it had worked in other countries. 'It is feared that this late realisation could have cost many people their lives,' the report suggests. The WHO's advice that countries should keep carrying out as many tests as possible was dismissed as applying only to developing countries, the newspaper said. United States: A comment piece in the New Yorker referred to 'Britain's coronavirus disaster' and said the UK was having a 'terrible encounter with the virus' Spain: This story in El Pais pointed out how ministers have tried to play down comparisons between countries as the UK death toll mounts In Italy, where there has been plenty of introspection about the scale of the country's own crisis, La Repubblica laid out a series of 'mistakes' by UK authorities. 'From herd immunity to mask delays: All the errors of the Johnson government,' one headline read. In a reader's letter, one Italian living in London remarked semi-jokingly that 'I begin to think that the British government is trying to make me feel at home, giving me the familiar show of incompetence to which we Italians have been used to for so long'. 'In theory we had a few weeks ahead of Italy, but instead of gearing up, perhaps copying from the Germans, the government first did nothing, then tried to run for cover,' the letter said. A separate report in the Italian edition of HuffPost described Britain's death toll as 'the result of contradictory choices'. 'Britain has therefore overtaken us in Europe in the sad lead of the number of people who lost their lives due to the virus that came from China,' it said. 'This was despite the fact that the pandemic hit the United Kingdom almost two weeks behind us, giving the British government ample time to organise the most appropriate measures to tackle the epidemic.' The article said the PM was guilty of 'an initial underestimation of the danger and the delayed start of the lockdown'. The government said at the time that it was trying to 'bring forward the right measures at the right time'. Another Italian outlet, Positano News, described the situation in Britain as 'a disaster with over 30,000 victims'. 'A dramatic situation that also definitively closes the doors to a possible and rapid economic recovery,' is how the article described it. 'In a more general context, the repercussions on the tourism sector are also strong as the English people are notoriously dedicated to holidays.' In Spain, which has also seen an appalling death toll, the newspaper El Pais ran a story called 'Mr Johnson's Unexpected Odyssey' which made a theme of the PM's classical education. The paper quoted former Conservative MP Paul Goodman as saying that Mr Johnson saw himself as a 'classical god'. 'For the challenges and uncertainties that lie ahead, cunning, daring or rhetoric do not serve, but rather rigour, seriousness and perseverance,' the article said. 'Johnson himself presented as a national victory that the United Kingdom had dodged the most dire figures that circulated during the government's initial slow reaction to the outbreak, when half a million deaths were predicted if a response was not accelerated,' the article said. 'And both the Prime Minister and his team of scientific advisers implore journalists to stop comparing the death toll with that of other countries that began to suffer the ravages of the virus earlier, such as Spain or France.' United States: CNN asked where it had 'gone wrong' for the UK on coronavirus and pointed to the 'inadequacies of Britain's testing regime France: The newspaper Sud Ouest said Mr Johnson was under 'heavy pressure' because of the economic impact as well as the number of deaths Chief medical officer Chris Whitty's call to avoid comparisons was a departure from his usual 'phlegm and temperance', the Spanish newspaper said. Mr Whitty said last week that 'different countries are recording different things in relation to deaths'. 'Every country measures its Covid cases in a slightly different way so comparing them to one another is largely a fruitless exercise,' he said. 'There are comparisons to make and there are certainly technical things we can learn from other countries and, to be clear, other countries can learn from us'. In the United States, a comment piece in the New Yorker referred to 'Britain's coronavirus disaster' and said the UK was having a 'terrible encounter with the virus'. Acknowledging the similarly awful death toll in the US, it said: 'Each nation that has failed is more likely to have its own particular story of what went wrong. We are unhappy in our own way.' But it said the 'most obvious misstep by Boris Johnson's government was its hesitation to implement a national lockdown' until late March. The article said there was a 'directionless ten-day period in mid-March' after the government insisted it had never been following a 'herd immunity' strategy but before the UK went into lockdown. 'The reasons behind this drift are complex and contested,' the author wrote, pointing to a 'curious mixture of superiority and fatalism about Britains entire response'. The author said Britain's politicians appeared to be 'latching onto concepts' such as herd immunity and behavioural fatigue 'because they liked the sound of them', despite their insistence that they were following 'the science'. The SAGE committee of experts also 'appears to have given advice that was politically viable rather than aimed solely at saving lives,' the article suggested. It also said that the PM 'is congenitally unable to make it not about him' after he gave interviews about his own spell in intensive care. Meanwhile, CNN ran a story asking 'Where did it go wrong for the UK on coronavirus?'. The story said the government's jubilation when it claimed to have reached its 100,000-a-day-testing target 'only served to illustrate the inadequacies of Britain's testing regime in the first place'. 'Whether the target was hit or missed, there are other failings. The UK is on track to have one of the highest coronavirus death tolls in Europe, with more than 26,000 deaths recorded by Wednesday,' the story said. 'Its patchwork of care homes for the elderly has been ravaged by the disease. There have been near-daily reports of insufficient personal protective equipment on the front line, meaning doctors, nurses and care home workers risk catching it every time they go to work.' However, it says that ministers have clung on to the fact that the NHS has not yet been overwhelmed as 'one crucial measure of success'. This chart shows the daily death toll in the UK. Although the seven-day average has been falling, Britain is still recording hundreds of new deaths per day In France, the newspaper Sud Ouest said Mr Johnson was under 'heavy pressure' because of the economic impact as well as the number of deaths. 'The balance sheet of the United Kingdom has exceeded that of Italy,' the article said. 'Pressure weighs on the Prime Minister, taken to task by the opposition a few days before the presentation of his deconfinement plan.' The paper quoted Labour leader Keir Starmer's question to Mr Johnson at PMQs yesterday: 'How on earth did it come to this?'. In Sweden, which has similarly come under scrutiny from abroad because of its distinctive lockdown-free strategy, public broadcaster SVT said the 'huge' death toll was caused by a failure of testing and tracking. And in Norway, the digital newspaper Nettavisen said Britain's response to the pandemic had been 'late and unclear'. 'Britain has the most deaths in Europe, and criticism is growing against the authorities for not taking the corona outbreak seriously enough,' an article said. 'Johnson maintains that expert advice has been followed throughout the crisis. But many believe the government's response was both slow and unclear. 'Infection tracing was carried out to a limited extent, and the work was not stepped up even though the infection figures shot up.' The coronavirus may have dealt the final blow to Sidewalk Labs, but thats not the only reason it abandoned its proposal to build a more interesting and liveable neighbourhood on Torontos waterfront. Long before COVID-19 started terrorizing the globe this innovative project was in trouble. Waterfront Toronto, guided by its tripartite political masters, was unwilling to step outside the traditional development and financing box far enough to give the Sidewalk proposal a fair chance to succeed. So its not much of a surprise that Sidewalk Labs chief executive Dan Doctoroff finally announced on Thursday that they were done pushing uphill. But its an enormous lost opportunity for the city, even if few people recognize the true extent of that loss just yet. The immediate loss is the chance to plan an entire neighbourhood at once, which provides the most potential to include dramatic and substantial public spaces, more affordable housing and transit. But theres also the ongoing loss that comes in the form of the banal high-rise developments with postage-size patches of greenspace that Toronto is almost certain to get in its place. And not just on the 12-acre Quayside site, but on the broader 190 acres of Port Lands eventually up for grabs. If a deep-pocketed, Google-affiliated company cant make a go of Quayside theres little hope that anyone with a plan of this scope will be enthusiastic or eager, as Mayor John Tory claims, to work with Waterfront Toronto anytime soon. And Premier Doug Ford practically confirmed a return to status quo development, noting he has all the confidence in the world in our development people in Ontario. The departure of Sidewalk Labs means theres endless opportunities for other people to come in there and do something spectacular, he said. If it were that easy and the local development industry had any interest in large-scale visionary projects the waterfront would not look as it does now. There would not be, as there clearly is, a steady march eastward of uninspired towers along the waterfront, with the odd patch of green space. And rapid transit just a distant dream. We would not be left to applaud the odd breakthrough, like the charming (albeit tiny) Sugar Beach, squeezed amid the wall of waterfront developments. When Waterfront Toronto first announced it would work with Sidewalk Labs on a master plan for the area it was supposed to be about doing development differently. Thinking about the future in a big and bold way. It was an opportunity not only to stop repeating the same mistakes along the waterfront but to also raise the bar for whats possible and expected for developments elsewhere. Instead, this dismal two-and-half year episode has underlined our inability to rise above mediocrity. Thats something Torontos political leaders, who are keen to suggest this innovative proposal was simply withdrawn due to changing economic circumstances and that a tremendous new opportunity will come along, need to think hard about. Certainly with this particular project there were concerns about technology running amok and residents being used as lucrative data mines. But with proper government oversight which is overdue when it comes to the use of technology in our communities that could have been overcome. The challenges that Waterfront Toronto was nowhere near close to addressing were more traditional in nature. How should land be valued in a project offering enhanced public space, more affordability and environmental benefits? And when does that bill come due? What role does public transit play? Who should pay for it and how? Sometimes business deals just dont end up happening, Tory lamented on Thursday. Thats true. Sometimes there are good reasons for that; and sometimes theyre not good reasons at all. Read more about: Air France KLM general manager South Africa, Wouter Vermeulen shares the struggles the airline has experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic and some valuable lessons for other businesses navigating the crisis. While many global industries have ground to a standstill in the face of the prevailing pandemic, the travel and tourism industry is one of the hardest-hit as most international borders have closed to travellers, in a bid to stop the transmission of Covid-19. Wouter Vermeulen Communicate clearly Be proactive Be flexible Be considered Be patient IATA numbers indicate that the global capacity, the number of seats flown, is down globally -80% on originally scheduled and the fact that the remaining 20% capacity is not anywhere near load factors of pre-corona time, presents an existential threat for the entire airline industry.Speaking from an airline perspective and I know there are many other industries which find themselves in a similar situation, across the board we have plenty of sunken operational costs to consider.These sunken costs do not disappear when you stop operating and with no real end in sight, we need to find ways to deal with continuing to operate our business until travel is possible, once more.The situation boils down to this: everyone at Air France KLM needs to do everything they can to limit our expenses and do everything possible to ensure the future of our airline.We do what we think is best, based on the limited information available in a context that changes on a daily basis.During this crisis there are many lessons learnt that might aid other businesses navigating the uncertainty.For me, the most important thing in ensuring a business makes the right decisions is for everyone to have as much information as possible. When it comes to our team, I am as open as possible in my communication with them I tell them what I know from my discussions with our international operations and the South African government and I share my thoughts about the way forward.It is important to project a realistic picture and for everyone to have as much clear, relevant information at their disposable as possible, to enable them to make informed suggestions and decisions.It is also essential to put the decisions taken by the South African government in context for them and outline how these decisions impact operations. While it is an incredibly dramatic decision for us to have to suspend operations in South Africa, I support the way the government has approached the situation.It is also vital to ensure you are clear with your team; that they should never assume anything and that there is no limit on the number of times to ask a question to make sure they are crystal-clear on what is required of them, so that they can continue to work productively together.Finding ways to be proactive during this crisis in whatever way you can in your respective industry, is valuable, and can contribute positively to any crisis situation.What we have worked hard to establish is that, while passenger flights are suspended, we can still add value in terms of flying cargo in and out of South Africa to provide food, equipment, pharmaceuticals and other essential goods to the country and others in our global network, to help out with the pandemic. Addressing these issues is important, because we believe that we are still able to provide vital assistance, which helps our business, other businesses and millions of people.We found that there were thousands of vitally-important COVID-19 test kits sitting at warehouses in Europe that had been ordered by labs in South Africa, but that there was no way of getting them here, under the original travel ban. We worked hard with our Embassies and associates to get the message across that we were ready to help - but that we needed to change the operating restrictions to be able to do so. Our engagement with the authorities allowed us to resolve to continue with cargo flights and facilitate safe stays for our crews in the country to allow for turn-around.No two days during this crisis have been the same. Being flexible in these circumstances is essential.The constantly-changing rules and regulations have taught me to prepare myself to let go of days of planning at a moments notice. We have experienced changes in the rules just hours before a long-planned flight was due to depart, with a massive international logistical and communications ripple-effect. Ive woken up every day with the mentality that I would possibly need to let go of everything wed planned and start again, with renewed levels of enthusiasm.Ive found huge satisfaction in remaining pragmatic, being resourceful and finding ways to make things happen, no matter the obstacle. By being persistent and determined, we have been able to play our role in a massive repatriation effort that was ultimately executed safely and perfectly, under the most trying conditions weve ever seen.To date, Air France KLM has been able to operate four repatriation flights from South Africa, returning 1079 people including 6 infants to their homes before Easter in a joint effort involving the French and Dutch Embassies and we have plans to operate two more.The logistics involved in this operation were staggering, taking into account not only communicating with all the passengers, but also in terms of working within Civil Aviation guidelines, lockdown restrictions and legislation in our home countries. Not only was it tough to secure permission to operate the flights, but our team also then had to work incredibly hard to find ways to operate them securely taking into account a rapidly-shifting lockdown legislative framework and solving for conflicting rules.After finding most doors closed to us in terms of setting up a safe hub to allow us to rotate crews to allow the log flight between Europe and South Africa to take place, we eventually managed to negotiate space with the government in La Reunion island, in close co-operation with the French Embassy. Without their willingness to assist within the strictest safety protocols we would never have been able to help more than 1 000 people return home.Dealing with the constantly-shifting rules would have been challenging if a team were able to sit together in an office and work through them, but not being able to do so under lockdown has made it even more difficult.The result of this is that weve had to shorten communications lines and avoid parallel communications to ensure that theres no confusion. Leaders within an organisation should endeavour to make things simple and straightforward, giving everyone a sense of whats important, whats urgent and what they can influence. Its also important to recognize whats out of your hands and why you should worry about what you can influence, rather than what you cant.Final thoughts are that under normal operations, everyone on the team knows what to do theres a rhythm to the work. Theres music and everyone knows the dance but when the music stops, they need to have someone there to pick up the steps and set the pace again.That should be a key part of any business leaders role, right now. I hope these few tips will help leaders in their respective companies and industries. In going forward in this uncertain environment, I am committed to dealing with and guiding my team through the challenges that the 'new normal' will bring, contributing to the recovery of the South African economy and the longevity and success of the Air France KLM group. Quantum technology is currently one of the most active fields of research worldwide. It takes advantage of the special properties of quantum mechanical states of atoms, light, or nanostructures to develop, for example, novel sensors for medicine and navigation, networks for information processing and powerful simulators for materials sciences. Generating these quantum states normally requires a strong interaction between the systems involved, such as between several atoms or nanostructures. Until now, however, sufficiently strong interactions were limited to short distances. Typically, two systems had to be placed close to each other on the same chip at low temperatures or in the same vacuum chamber, where they interact via electrostatic or magnetostatic forces. Coupling them across larger distances, however, is required for many applications such as quantum networks or certain types of sensors. A team of physicists, led by Professor Philipp Treutlein from the Department of Physics at the University of Basel and the Swiss Nanoscience Institute (SNI), has now succeeded for the first time in creating strong coupling between two systems over a greater distance across a room temperature environment. In their experiment, the researchers used laser light to couple the vibrations of a 100 nanometer thin membrane to the motion of the spin of atoms over a distance of one meter. As a result, each vibration of the membrane sets the spin of the atoms in motion and vice versa. A loop of light acts as a mechanical spring The experiment is based on a concept that the researchers developed together with the theoretical physicist Professor Klemens Hammerer from the University of Hanover. It involves sending a beam of laser light back and forth between the systems. "The light then behaves like a mechanical spring stretched between the atoms and the membrane, and transmits forces between the two," explains Dr. Thomas Karg, who carried out the experiments as part of his doctoral thesis at the University of Basel. In this laser loop, the properties of the light can be controlled such that no information about the motion of the two systems is lost to the environment, thus ensuring that the quantum mechanical interaction is not disturbed. The researchers have now succeeded in implementing this concept experimentally for the first time and used it in a series of experiments. "The coupling of quantum systems with light is very flexible and versatile," explains Treutlein. "We can control the laser beam between the systems, which allows us to generate different types of interactions that are useful for quantum sensors, for example." A new tool for quantum technologies In addition to coupling atoms with nanomechanical membranes, the new method might also be used in several other systems; for example, when coupling superconducting quantum bits or solid-state spin systems used in quantum computing research. The new technique for light-mediated coupling could be used to interconnect such systems, creating quantum networks for information processing and simulations. Treutlein is convinced: "This is a new, highly useful tool for our quantum technology toolbox." ### The experiments conducted by the researchers in Basel were funded by the European Research Council as part of the project MODULAR, and by the SNI PhD School. With just four days to go until France's expected easing of its coronavirus lockdown, pressure is mounting on the government to row back on its decision to keep beaches and coastal paths closed beyond 11 May. Local Mayors and MPs have struggled to explain the decision and numerous campaigns including #RendezNousLaMer have sprung up on social media to get the decision overturned. Gwendal Richard, a keen surfer, told French newspaper Ouest-France that the beach ban was completely unjust. All those who love the sea are welcome to join him on nearby beach in Erquy to express their anger peacefully on 11 May, he says. He's calling on them to line up on the beach while respecting social distancing regulations and wearing facemasks and he plans to stream the event live on Facebook. Mayors sidelined The leading international Yachtswoman Anne Quemere is a vocal campaigner and she says she'll be among those on the beach on Monday. The navigator says people are safer outside in the open air than in confined spaces such as shops, which are set to reopen, and she told the newspaper the ban had no sound base, and was based on fear. Quemere wants local mayors, who know their areas to be authorized to decide which beaches open and which remain closed. Laurent Peyrondet, Mayor of the Atlantic coastal town of Lacanau is annoyed that Mayors have been sidelined. Local mayors area considered capable of deciding whether town markets should re open and told to manage somehow to reopen schools but when it comes to beaches, we are not allowed to have our say, he commented. Dozens of MPs for coastal areas are up in arms too. Liliana Tanguy, MP for the Brittany region of Finistere and a member of Emmanuel Macron's LaREM party has called on the government to reconsider in a letter to Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, signed by 60 MPs. She maintains that opening up beaches now would allow people to adapt to social distancing rules at the sea, before the summer season. Many are also puzzled that forests look set to be re opened in France, even in the Red Zones where the risk of Covid 19 is deemed higher, while beaches, often in the lower risk Green Zones, must remain closed. But so far the government is standing firm. Pressure cooker Jean Castex, charged by the government with planning the lifting of lockdown restrictions, told a Senate committee on Tuesday that if beaches were re opened to the public too many people would be tempted, leading to a further spread of the virus. Anne Quemere reckons it would be better to open up the beaches now so that there isn't a huge rush when they finally re open. If the government doesn't move on this issue, she tells Ouest-France, the pressure cooker will explode. Claybon was known as Mom to all her neighbors in west suburban Berkeley, and though the 83-year-old had seven children, those familiar with her warm personality also saw her as a matriarch figure, her daughter Glenda Harris said. She wasnt with her loved ones in the final two months of her life before she died on March 30. Jeff MacAdam, CBI, of The Bridlebrook Group I am very fortunate to have such amazing people as clients, and I take great pride in doing the best possible job that I can for them, said Jeff MacAdam of The Bridlebrook Group. The International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) has recognized Philadelphia area business broker, Jeff MacAdam, CBI, with the Chairmans Circle Award for exceptional achievement in 2019 as part of its Member Excellence Awards Program. IBBA Excellence Awards are bestowed upon member business brokers who conduct a considerable amount of business sale transactions in a calendar year, explained Executive Director, Kylene Golubski. These individuals have helped a significant number of people successfully transition ownership of their businesses, doing a great service to both entrepreneurs and our economy at large. I am very fortunate to have such amazing people as clients, and I take great pride in doing the best possible job that I can for them, said MacAdam of The Bridlebrook Group. About The Bridlebrook Group Since 2003, The Bridlebrook Group has been at the forefront of the market for confidential business sales and mergers & acquisitions for profitable companies. As the Philadelphia areas leading business intermediary, they selectively represent well-run companies and their owners who expect the highest degree of professional representation. Their broad base of knowledge and experience enables them to provide their clients a competitive edge when it comes to confidentially marketing and selling their businesses for maximum value. More information about Jeff MacAdam and The Bridlebrook Group can be found at http://www.bridlebrookgroup.com, or by contacting him at jeff@bridlebrookgroup.com or (610) 325-7066. About the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) Founded in 1983, the IBBA is the worlds largest nonprofit association for the business brokerage profession, providing education, conferences, professional designations, support and networking opportunities for business intermediaries. It offers coursework and testing required to obtain its prestigious Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) certification. For more information visit http://www.ibba.org. (Photo : KCNA/via REUTERS) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the completion of a fertiliser plant, in a region north of the capital, Pyongyang, in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 2, 2020. South Korea's spy agency said there are no signs North Korean President Kim Jong Un underwent heart surgery. Intelligence officials refuted the claims the leader was 'gravely ill' following surgery. Speaking to a parliamentary committee on Wednesday, May 6, South Korea's spy agency chief Suh Hoon told a congressional committee there is nothing to worry about Kim's health. Rumors that Kim was unwell garnered attention after he failed to attend the annual ceremonies to mark the April 15 anniversary of the birth of the country's founder Kim Il-sung. The North Korean leader was only seen on Saturday while he was seen attending a ceremony in a fertilizer factory. ALSO READ: Former CIA Analyst Says North Korea Has Coronavirus: Kim Jong Un Still Denies While Building New Hospital Groundless reports, says South Korean intelligence Members of South Korea's parliamentary intelligence committee said after an assembly with the National Intelligence Service (NIS) that the reports were 'groundless.' "The NIS assesses that at least he did not get any heart-related procedure or surgery," committee member Kim Byung-kee told reporters. The North Korean leader, according to the official, was usually performing his duties away from the public eye. "At least there's no heart-related health problem," he added. Two leading experts backed this assessment, according to Newsweek. In a report by DailyMail, the lawmaker said Kim Jong Un only had 17 public appearances this year, compared to an average of 50 from previous years. Kim Byung-kee said the North Korean leader focused on strengthening military forces and party-state meetings. The official added Kim Jong Un's public activity was further limited due to coronavirus concerns. While North Korea insists that there have been no recorded instances of the new coronavirus disease, NIS did not rule out the possibility of an outbreak there. Kim Byung-kee said Pyongyang had active exchanges with Beijing in January. ALSO READ: North Korea Boasts ZERO Coronavirus Case After Reportedly Shooting COVID-19 Patient; Experts Left Doubtful South Korea's Unification Minister Kim Yeon-Chul said Kim's disappearance was not unusual as the country takes steps to prevent the pandemic. No unusual movements South Korea had urged warning over the reviews of Kim's ill-health, emphasizing that intelligence agency had detected no unusual movements throughout the border. The warning comes after a former senior North Korea diplomat wrongly announced that Kim Jong-un was likely ill. North Korea's former deputy ambassador to Britain, Thae Yong Ho, told CNN Kim's 'abnormal' absence meant the leader must be physically impaired. As hypothesis mounted, Newsweek said a nonprofit news site pronounced that Kim Jong Un had gone through a heart procedure. Newsweek cited an anonymous source in North Korea, saying the leader was recovering at a mountain villa north of Pyongyang. Other media reports also suggested the North Korean leader was ill, injured, or even dead. However, officials told Newsweek there was no proof suggesting anything was amiss in North Korea, based on observations of regional army activities. Had Kim Jong Un gone missing before? According to BBC, Kim Jong-un disappeared from the public eye last 2014. His 40-day disappearance sparked a torrent of speculation - before reappearing, pictured with a cane. North Korea admitted their leader suffered from an "uncomfortable physical condition." Still, it did not address rumors that Kim Jong-un suffered from gout. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. NEW YORK A new study released today discounted past findings that individuals with COVID-19 cannot transmit the virus through their semen. The latest study, conducted at Chinas Shangqiu Municipal Hospital and described in a research letter published by the Journal of the American Medicine Association, raises the prospect of sexual transmission with the new coronavirus. Currently, there still is no evidence that individuals can be infected by sexual contact with infected semen. Transmission during sex is far more likely by infectious respiratory droplets. But, if scientists were to find infectious virus present in semen, there could be implications for the safety of oral sex. Researchers in the Shangqiu study said they found that the coronavirus, or fragments of it, may linger in semen. According to the letter, researchers took semen samples from 38 male COVID-19 patients in a hospital in the Henan province, which borders Wuhan, between Jan. 26 and Feb. 16. With the samples, researchers detected the virus in the semen in six of the 38 patients or 15.8 percent. Of the six, four were at an acute stage of active infection and two had recovered. "There was no significant difference between negative and positive test results for patients by age, urogenital disease history, days since onset, days since hospitalization or days since clinical recovery," the studys authors wrote. Last month, AVN reported that researchers in other studies Nanjing Medical University and University of Utah/Columbia University found that COVID-19 wasnt carried by semen. Over 1,000 migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh, stranded in the national capital for nearly 40 days due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, left for their state in a special Shramik train on Thursday. Health Minister Satyendra Jain said the government was in constant touch with all the states regarding sending the migrant labourers and other stranded people to their homes. A railway official said the second Shramik train carrying stranded migrant labourers will leave Delhi for Bihar on Friday. "First train carrying 1,050 migrants from Delhi left for Chattarpur, MP, today at 8 pm. A series of such trains would be carrying migrants to diff parts of India in the coming days," Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot tweeted. After chaos outside liquor shops for four days, the AAP government has launched an e-token service to buy liquor. The decision has been taken to encourage people to avoid standing in long queues in violation of social distancing norms. While applying for an e-token, the buyer's name and phone number will be required and the e-coupon will be sent at the registered mobile number. Through the e-token the person will be allowed to buy liquor from a nearby shop. The migrant workers leaving for Madhya Pradesh were screened by the authorities. Around 10,000 migrant workers are staying in government-run shelters in the national capital. Carrying their belongings, the migrant workers arrived at the railway station in over 70 buses arranged by the Delhi government to board the special train for Madhya Pradesh. After alighting from the buses, the passengers stood in circular rings some feet apart from each other outside the station in accordance with social-distancing norms. They were allowed in the station in batches and railway officials guided them to the train. On the platform also, authorities have marked white circular rings for the passengers to stand at a safe distance from each other. "I was at a shelter home in Roop Nagar for the last eight days. I polish marble slabs for a living. I will come back when things get back to normal," said Balram Kumar, one of the outbound migrants. Thousands of migrant labourers across the country were stranded after the nationwide lockdown was announced due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Railways started the migrant special services from May 1 and has since then operated 171 such trains. On Wednesday, the number of coronavirus cases reached 5,532 after the highest spike in COVID-19 cases in a day was reported. The death tally stands at 65. Of the total cases, more than one-third have been reported between May 1 and 6. Jain said the growth rate of COVID-19 cases in Delhi was around 8 per cent till Wednesday. Earlier the rate was 20 per cent, then it dropped to 15 per cent and further dropped to 12 per cent. "Delhi government is monitoring the situation 247 to ensure that the virus does not spread further. Compared to western countries the situation in India is much better. In Delhi right now we have 3,925 active cases and only 84 patients are in the ICU. We should not look into the cases in terms of absolute numbers but we should calculate the rate of growth with respect to the base value, Jain said. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced an exgratia of Rs 1 crore to the family of Delhi Police constable Amit Kumar who died of coronavirus. Amit ji did not care for his life and kept serving us Delhi people. He got infected with corona and passed away. I pay homage to his sacrifice on behalf of all Delhi people. An ex gratia of Rs one crore will be given to his family," Kejriwal said in a tweet. The 31-year-old constable, who hailed from Sonipat, was posted at Bharat Nagar Police Station in northwest Delhi, police said. The constable is survived by his wife and a 3-year-old son, he added. East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir said his Gautam Gambhir Foundation will take care of the education of the constable's son. The administration failed him. The system failed him. Delhi failed him. We can't bring Constable Amit back, but I assure that I will look after his child like my own. GGF will take care of his complete education. #DelhiFailedAmit #CoronaWarriorsIndia, Gambhir tweeted. Kumar's last rites were held at the Punjabi Bagh crematorium. Joint Commissioner of Police (Northern Range) Manish Agrawal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Vijayanta Arya and other officers of the district paid their last respects to the deceased. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) For the first time in perhaps nine decades, the Macoupin County Fair has been canceled. Other event organizers are watching closely as the days move closer to summer fair and festival season. Some like the Virginia Bar-B-Que, which was scheduled for June 7-9 have been waylaid while others such as the Greene County Fair are holding out some flickering hope. Longtime Macoupin County residents have said they believe this is the first time the fair has been scrapped since the Great Depression of 1929 to 1933. The fair was scheduled for June 9-13, but its board decided this week that there was too much uncertainty about what the coming weeks will hold in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. In todays world with so many unknowns, we feel it is in the best interest of the county, vendors, sponsors, exhibitors, volunteers and fairgoers to make this decision, fair board members said in a statement. We had an amazing 2020 fair planned and we look forward to being back bigger and better in 2021. Illinois remains under a stay-at-home order that prohibits large gatherings and non-essential business. Although Gov. J.B. Pritzker this week unveiled a five-phase plan to reopen the state, there is no clear timeline for when large events will again be allowed. In Greene County, fair board members are mulling their options for the June 20 event. We may reschedule. We may have a weekend festival at some point. We may have our fireworks show with social distancing as a requirement, the board said in a statement. We are just not sure how COVID-19 will affect the Illinois county fair schedule. The board said its greatest concern is for the welfare of the community. Rest assured, the Greene County Agricultural Fair is alive and well, the board said. We will overcome this. We will see you at some point in 2020. READING, Mass., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Eliassen Group, LLC ("Eliassen Group") has been named to Inc. magazine's annual list of the Best Workplaces for 2020. Hitting newsstands on May 12 in the May/June 2020 issue, the list is the result of a wide-ranging and comprehensive measurement of American companies that have created exceptional workplaces through vibrant cultures, deep employee engagement, and stellar benefits. Collecting data from more than 3,000 submissions, Inc. singled out 389 finalists for this year's list. Each nominated company took part in an employee survey, conducted by Quantum Workplace, on topics including trust, management effectiveness, perks, and confidence in the future. Inc. gathered, analyzed, and audited the data. Then all the employers were ranked using a composite score of survey results. This year, 73.5 percent of surveyed employees were engaged by their work. The strongest engagement scores came from companies that prioritize the most human elements of work. "This is our third time being named to Inc.'s list of best workplaces, and this achievement means so much to us, now more than ever," said Dave MacKeen, Eliassen Group CEO. "At Eliassen, we often talk about our purpose: To positively impact the lives of our employees, clients, consultants, and the communities in which we operate. While we are fully committed to serving each of those groups, our employees come first, which is deliberate on our part. Regardless of any challenges presented by the world around us, the heart of Eliassen Group lies with our employees, and we will always be committed to creating a transparent, inclusive and supportive work environment with a focus on collaboration, listening, engagement, adaptation, and respect. "Building a great corporate culture comes only from strong leadership," says Inc. magazine editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. "The companies on Inc.'s Best Workplaces list are setting an example that the whole country can learn from, especially now, when company culture is more important to the workforce than ever." About Eliassen Group Eliassen Group provides strategic consulting and talent solutions to drive our clients' innovation and business results. Leveraging over 30 years of success, our expertise in technology consulting, Agile consulting, creative services, managed services, risk management & business optimization services, government solutions, and life sciences enables us to partner with our clients to execute their business strategy and scale effectively. Headquartered in Reading, MA, and with offices from coast to coast, Eliassen Group offers local community presence, deep networks, as well as national reach. For more information, visit http://www.eliassen.com. About Inc. Media The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com. About Quantum Workplace Quantum Workplace, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is an HR technology company that serves organizations through employee-engagement surveys, action-planning tools, exit surveys, peer-to-peer recognition, performance evaluations, goal tracking, and leadership assessment. For more information, visit QuantumWorkplace.com. Contact: Sandra Callahan [email protected] SOURCE Eliassen Group Related Links http://www.eliassen.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 19:36:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CHONGQING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- A mayor in Italy has written an acknowledgment letter to a district government in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality for helping with the fight against COVID-19. In the letter, Gian Vittorio Campus, the mayor of Sassari, expressed gratitude and appreciation to Chongqing's Ba'nan District for its friendship and donations in the fight against the epidemic. Sassari, located in the north of Sardinia, counts "several hundreds of affected people and some tens of deaths," the mayor wrote. "In this condition, your very kind action of friendship and the donation of materials to fight against the novel coronavirus disease, the 1,000 suits of medical disposable protective clothing and 5,280 KN95 masks, (are) really welcome and all of us warmly thank you," read the letter. "Your donation will help our population to go through these days and to look forward to future, better, days," the letter continued. "The present very difficult times will be overcome, and we will be very glad to contribute to strengthen the relations between Chongqing Ba'nan District and Sassari." The Ba'nan District government donated KN95 masks and protective suits to Sassari in April to aid its fight against the epidemic. Enditem India on Wednesday donated 30,000 COVID-19 test kits to Bangladesh as part of its emergency medical assistance to the neighbouring country which has reported 11,719 coronavirus cases and 186 fatalities. "This assistance which is covered under the SAARC COVID-19 Emergency Fund is intended to support the efforts of Government of Bangladesh in tackling the spread of coronavirus," the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said in a statement. Indian High Commissioner Riva Ganguly Das handed over the kits to Bangladeshs Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen at his office, saying these domestically produced kits were widely used in India for COVID-19 detection. According to the statement, Das said Bangladesh was the first country to receive these test kits from India on priority, "which reflects the importance of Dhaka to New Delhi". Momen appreciated Indias help for the three tranches of assistance. Follow latest updates on the COVID-19 pandemic here An Indigo cargo flight transported the supply to be dispatched to Bangladeshs Institute of Epidemiological Disease Control and Research (IEDCR). Dhaka received the first tranche of the Indian emergency medical assistance containing 30,000 surgical masks and 15,000 caps on March 25. The second Indian consignment consisted of 50,000 sterile surgical latex gloves and 1,00,000 Hydroxychloroquine medicine tablets. The Indian gesture came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi ensured his country's readiness to help Bangladesh in containing the spread of COVID-19 and in mitigating health and economic impact of the pandemic. In a video conference on forming a joint strategy to fight COVID-19 in the SAARC region, Prime Minister Modi on March 15 proposed the emergency fund with an initial offer of USD 10 million from India and asserted that the best way to deal with the coronavirus pandemic was by coming together, and not growing apart. Bangladesh's foreign ministry said in a statement that Momen thanked India for the medical supplies as well as assistance in returning Bangladeshi nationals stranded in India. He also urged India to take steps to allow goods-laden Bangladesh-bound trucks stranded in Petrapole land border to cross the frontier, saying the delay would result in huge loss to Bangladeshi importers. Meanwhile, Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Additional Director General (administration) Nasima Sultana said that three people died with coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, taking the toll to 186. The confirmed cases have jumped to 11,719, as the country recorded the highest single-day jump with 790 more people testing positive in the last 24 hours, she said. On March 8, the health authorities in Bangladesh reported the first case of COVID-19, a severe acute respiratory illness caused by a new strain of coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. A man walks by a closed store during the COVID-19 in Chicago, Thursday, April 30, 2020. Another 3.8 million people filed claims for jobless benefits last week, according to the Labor Department. While that's down from the previous week's 4.4 million, a staggering 30.3 million have applied for unemployment in the six weeks since the coronavirus began taking a wrecking ball to the U.S. job market. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) Read more You shouldnt have to be a rocket scientist to figure out a $660 billion government relief scheme called the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP. I mean, cmon ... its right there in the name! Protect paychecks! Instead of supporting idled workers through unemployment insurance, well keep them on the books, so theyll remain connected to their jobs and to benefits such as health insurance. Places like Germany and Norway do something similar, and it works. But America is baffled. Protect workers? How would we even do that? Several small- and medium-sized businesses recently told the New York Times they dont understand the logic of paying their workers in businesses that have been ordered shut, and so a ridiculous amount of the $660 billion seems to be sitting in the bank doing nothing as America slides into its second Great Depression in less than a century. READ MORE: SIGN UP: The Will Bunch Newsletter The paper noted that the tavern chain, Coyote Ugly, received hundreds of thousands of dollars through the program but still laid off its managers (the real working stiffs like bartenders were already long gone) because they didnt see the point in paying managers to sit around in empty bars, and in any case the funds would be exhausted within a couple of pay cycles. I dunno ... maybe so the managers wouldnt run out of food in a couple of weeks? I empathize with the plight of small business owners, and they make fair points that they also need relief for other costs (rent, protective equipment) besides payroll and that PPP like any government program has way too much red tape and confusion. And yet the inability to steer the billions in relief to where it was meant to go speaks to a toxic attitude thats become a fundamental tenet of late-stage capitalism in America and has poisoned any efforts to save the economy. The worker or, in about 33 million cases and counting, the former worker always comes last. Look at how the trillions of bailout dollars cascade downhill like a rock-slide on Mt. Everest when large public companies jump in to grab relief money that wasnt really intended for them, or when billionaires get one more tax cut because, hey, theyve earned it (not really). Contrast that to the steep cliff-climbing that the average ex-worker has to do just to get a few measly dollars to put some Ramen noodles or mac and cheese on his table tonight. The fact that a Paycheck Protection Program isnt protecting their paycheck is just one of middle-class Americas 99 problems these days. Yes, unemployment compensation has been made much more generous in the short run like the PPP, an actual good idea from Washington but millions of applicants are still waiting to be approved, especially in states where mostly GOP governors or lawmakers slashed those agencies to the bone. Another stimulus program that $1,200 check for every middle- and lower-income adult isnt just a pittance compared to neighbors like Canada but was set up so the money got to the upper-middle-class right away, while the neediest will wait months, assuming they can be located. I think the economy is sort of set up so that you have all of these intermediaries and Wall Street is one of the biggest ones, Alexis Goldstein, the progressive financial-policy expert who soured on her former Wall Street career, told me. And its not set up to deliver government money to individuals. These were the policy decisions from decades of neoliberalism, or conservatism, or Reaganism. The invisible hand of the late Ronald Reagan work has clearly been at work this spring as Senate Republicans led by Sen. Mitch McConnell have worked to shape the federal relief packages to do as much as possible for the GOPs large corporate patrons. Although furious at the $600 per week bump in unemployment checks a rare concession to Democrats who control the House the McConnell gang managed to largely neuter an effort to boost mandatory sick leave (something you might want to boost during a pandemic, right?) and are blocking efforts to expand food stamps, turning their backs on the tens of thousands of Americans whove been lining up at pantries. But blocking any kind of meaningful social-welfare state while allowing billions in corporate welfare is just baked into the American system. In many ways, the PPP is a textbook case. As NPR which has done some outstanding investigative journalism on the relief program recently documented, the big banks (remember 2008-09, when they got bailed out and we got sold out?) took in a whopping $10 billion to administer the program, even though the loans carried virtually no risk. Thats not all. The bank fees were structured so these titans like JP Morgan Chase get bigger fees for bigger loans, which may help explain why actual, struggling small businesses found it hard to access the money before it ran out the first go-round, and why money initially flowed to companies that were neither small nor struggling for example, Shake Shack or the L.A. Lakers (both of which returned the dough under the glare of bad publicity). And its more likely that Washington will double down rather than learn from the initial mistakes of coronavirus relief. The latest word from Capitol Hill is that while congressional Republicans ignore the hunger pleas of food-stamp recipients, the government is warming up to a massive bailout of Big Oil, the ultimate corporate-welfare queens whose massive profits havent stopped the industry from getting sizable tax subsidies for decades, even before its recent fracking boom was revealed to be largely yet another American accounting scam. Whats so frustrating is that theres no shortage of good ideas on how the federal government since it is willing to open the cash spigot in the face of the looming Great Depression II could make sure these dollars actually get to the people who cant pay their rent, rather than seed money for 2020s big Christmas bonuses down on Wall Street. The big question is how do we turn around the massive aircraft carrier of Washington bad corporatist policy thats been set on a course to plow through workers rights ever since the election of Reagan in 1980. In a recent essay, Goldstein who was economics guru for the Occupy Wall Street movement argued for everyday-citizen-friendly reforms like a return to postal banking, which would not only help the millions of unbanked lower-income Americans but would also boost the troubled U.S. Postal Service. She also called for an idea long promoted with little or no fanfare by progressives in Congress to establish citizen accounts with the Federal Reserve Bank, which would have sped the flow of stimulus payments. READ MORE: Disaster socialism: Will coronavirus crisis finally change how Americans see the safety net? | Will Bunch Cornell Law Schools Saule Omarova recently told Congress the problem is that pandemics economic crisis calls for measures as bold and expansive as those undertaken during Franklin Roosevelts New Deal, and yet government lacks the basic mechanisms to carry out such an effort. Instead, she noted the initial relief efforts have led to bad spending decisions that are bound to have disastrous long-term financial, economic, and political consequences. She called for creation of a National Investment Authority, or NIA, that would make future decisions on the money flow based on what was good for Americas long-term interests, as opposed to the crony capitalism of big banks. Sounds great, right? There are just two problems. One is that McConnells Senate stands as a roadblock for the next eight more long months to any people-not-big-business-friendly solutions to the crisis, by which time the food-bank car lines may stretch from Philadelphia all the way to the Field of Dreams in Iowa. Its a reminder that the White House race isnt the only critical election in November. Even so, it may be an easier task to change the Senate than to change Americas mindset. As long as the nations policy-makers remain hypnotized by Reaganism, and continue to believe that it makes more sense to run relief through greed-is-good bankers rather than a government democratically elected by citizens, the relief money is going to struggle to make it up that hill. Yes, we need a new Congress in January, but if theres any hope of saving Americas economy were going to need to learn how to move some mountains before then. DEDHAM, Mass., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- First Quarter 2020 Financial Results Net income attributable to Atlantic Power of $29.5 million or $0.23 per diluted share increased from $8.9 million or $0.07 per diluted share in Q1 2019; increase primarily attributable to a foreign exchange gain of $20.6 million vs. a foreign exchange loss of $5.0 million in Q1 2019 or per diluted share increased from or per diluted share in Q1 2019; increase primarily attributable to a foreign exchange gain of vs. a foreign exchange loss of in Q1 2019 Cash from operating activities of $8.4 million declined from $29.2 million in Q1 2019, primarily due to unfavorable impact of changes in working capital declined from in Q1 2019, primarily due to unfavorable impact of changes in working capital Project Adjusted EBITDA declined to $50.8 million from $53.7 million in Q1 2019, primarily due to the Cadillac outage, partially offset by above-average water flows at Curtis Palmer from in Q1 2019, primarily due to the Cadillac outage, partially offset by above-average water flows at Curtis Palmer Repaid $21.6 million of term loan and project debt and achieved a leverage ratio of 3.6 times of term loan and project debt and achieved a leverage ratio of 3.6 times Liquidity at March 31, 2020 of $149.7 million ; on May 1, 2020 , used $25 million of cash to purchase 12.5 million common shares of ; on , used of cash to purchase 12.5 million common shares In March 2020 , extended maturity of revolving credit facility by three years to April 2025 (coincident with term loan maturity); revolver capacity reduced to $180 million from $200 million , with the ability to increase to a maximum of $210 million , subject to certain conditions Capital Allocation Initiatives Repurchased nearly 3.8 million common shares for a total investment of nearly $8.2 million and an average price of $2.17 per share and an average price of per share Repurchased 564,159 preferred shares at a total cost of Cdn$8.9 million ( US$6.4 million equivalent), representing an average 39% discount to par ( equivalent), representing an average 39% discount to par On March 25, 2020 , announced substantial issuer bid for up to $25 million of common shares; completed offer on May 1, 2020 , repurchasing 12.5 million common shares at $2.00 per share Operational and Commercial Updates To date, plant operations have not been affected by the coronavirus pandemic Repairs to Cadillac plant on schedule for a targeted return to service in Q3 2020 Williams Lake plant operated throughout the quarter; has been in a planned outage since April 9 plant operated throughout the quarter; has been in a planned outage since Received recent indication from provincial government for a six-month extension at Calstock 2020 Guidance Reaffirming Project Adjusted EBITDA guidance in the range of $175 million to $190 million (1) to Reaffirming estimate of cash from operating activities (assuming working capital changes are nil) in the range of $100 million to $115 million Atlantic Power Corporation (NYSE: AT) (TSX: ATP) ("Atlantic Power" or the "Company") today reported its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2020. "Results for the first quarter modestly exceeded our expectations, primarily due to above-average water flows at Curtis Palmer. We are reaffirming the 2020 guidance we provided on February 27," said James J. Moore, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic Power. "We came into this year well positioned for turbulent markets following a five-year program of reducing debt and cutting costs. Our Power Purchase Agreements provide strong operating cash flow to continue delevering our balance sheet while buying back our own securities or investing opportunistically in growth. We expect to generate an estimated $115 million to $165 million of discretionary cash flow over the next five years, after repaying an estimated $423 million or more than 60% of our debt during that period. This cash generation is very meaningful relative to the current market values of $170 million for our common shares and $75 million for our preferred shares." "In the past five years, during a period of significant debt repayment, we invested $72 million in repurchases of common shares and another US$25.5 million equivalent in repurchases of preferred shares, including $33.2 million of common shares and US$6.4 million equivalent of preferred shares in 2020 alone. These common share repurchases were done at prices below our estimates of intrinsic value, while the preferred share repurchases carried attractive after-tax yields," Mr. Moore continued. "We also are continuing to seek additional external growth investments with compelling returns such as the $45 million of investments that we made in 2018 and 2019." (1)The Company has not provided guidance for Project income or Net income because of the difficulty of making accurate forecasts and projections without unreasonable efforts with respect to certain highly variable components of these comparable GAAP metrics, including changes in the fair value of derivative instruments and foreign exchange gains or losses. These factors, which generally do not affect cash flow, are not included in Project Adjusted EBITDA. Financial Results for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 Cadillac Insurance Recovery As previously disclosed, the Cadillac plant has been out of service following a fire at the plant in September 2019. The Company has insurance coverage that it believes will be adequate to cover the cost of repairs and lost profits (business interruption losses) during the outage. In the first quarter of 2020, the Company received $7.4 million from its insurers in payment of its second claim related to the incident. The $7.4 million is included in cash flows from investing activities. Cumulatively through March 31, 2020, the Company has received $18.6 million in payment of claims related to the incident. The cost of repairs to the plant is included in capital expenditures, a component of cash flows from investing activities. The Company incurred $9.7 million of capital expenditures for repairs in the first quarter of 2020 and a total of $14.8 million through March 31, 2020. Payments from the Company's insurers are not allocated between property insurance and business interruption insurance. The Company estimates that approximately $3.2 million of the $7.4 million payment represents recovery of business interruption losses in the first quarter of 2020, and that $5.2 million of the $18.6 million in payments through March 31, 2020 represents recovery of business interruption losses since the incident. Insurance recoveries related to business interruption losses are accounted for as a gain contingency and will not be recorded as income (or included in Project Adjusted EBITDA) until final payment is made by the Company's insurers and the claim is settled, which will occur only after the plant is returned to service. Thus, although Cadillac is expected to generate Project Adjusted EBITDA losses while it is out of service, once it is returned to service and the claim is settled later in 2020, there should not be a net impact on Project Adjusted EBITDA for the year. Atlantic Power Corporation Table 1 - Summary of Financial Results (in millions of U.S. dollars) Unaudited Three months ended March 31, 2020 2019 Variance Project revenue $72.8 $73.0 ($0.2) Project income 24.7 30.6 (5.9) Net income attributable to Atlantic Power Corporation 29.5 8.9 20.6 Earnings per share attributable to Atlantic Power Corporation - basic 0.28 0.08 0.20 Earnings per share attributable to Atlantic Power Corporation - diluted 0.23 0.07 0.16 Project Adjusted EBITDA 50.8 53.7 (2.9) All amounts are in U.S. dollars and are approximate unless otherwise indicated. Project Adjusted EBITDA is not a recognized measure under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP") and does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP; therefore, this measure may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Please refer to "Non-GAAP Disclosures" on page 15 of this news release for an explanation and a reconciliation of "Project Adjusted EBITDA" as used in this news release to Project income (loss). Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 Consolidated Results Project revenue in the first quarter of 2020 decreased by $0.2 million to $72.8 from $73.0 million, with decreases at Cadillac and Morris mostly offset by increases at Allendale and Dorchester, which were acquired in July 2019, and at Williams Lake. Project income in the first quarter of 2020 was $24.7 million as compared to $30.6 million in the first quarter of 2019. The decrease of $5.9 million was primarily attributable to a $4.2 million increase in operation and maintenance expense, including $2.5 million for Allendale and Dorchester. The change in the fair value of derivative instruments accounted for another $3.2 million of the decrease in project income. These increased expenses were partially offset by a $0.8 million increase in equity in earnings from unconsolidated investments, including $0.6 million from equity interests in the Craven and Grayling projects that were acquired in August 2019. Net income attributable to Atlantic Power Corporation in the first quarter of 2020 was $29.5 million as compared to net income of $8.9 million in the first quarter of 2019. The increase of $20.6 million was primarily attributable to a foreign exchange gain of $20.6 million as compared to a foreign exchange loss of $5.0 million in the comparable 2019 period. The foreign exchange gain was related to the revaluation of debt denominated in Canadian dollars (the Canadian dollar depreciated 9.2% from December 31, 2019 to March 31, 2020). This favorable variance of $25.6 million was partially offset by a $5.9 million decline in project income from the first quarter of 2019. Diluted EPS in the first quarter of 2020 was $0.23 as compared to $0.07 in the first quarter of 2019. The increase was attributable to higher net income and a reduction in diluted shares to 134.8 million from 138.6 million. Project Adjusted EBITDA decreased $2.9 million to $50.8 million in the first quarter of 2020 from $53.7 million in the first quarter of 2019, with most of the decrease attributable to the Cadillac extended outage, partially offset by EBITDA contributed by the biomass projects that were acquired in July and August of 2019. Atlantic Power Corporation Table 2 - Project Income (Loss) and Project Adjusted EBITDA by Segment (in millions of U.S. dollars) Unaudited Three months ended March 31, 2020 2019 Variance Project income (loss) Solid Fuel $1.5 $3.5 ($2.0) Natural Gas 19.5 18.4 1.1 Hydroelectric 10.4 10.7 (0.3) Corporate (6.7) (2.0) (4.7) Total $24.7 $30.6 ($5.9) Project Adjusted EBITDA Solid Fuel $7.8 $10.1 ($2.3) Natural Gas 28.2 28.1 0.1 Hydroelectric 15.3 15.6 (0.3) Corporate (0.5) (0.1) (0.4) Total $50.8 $53.7 ($2.9) Segment Results Project income Solid Fuel : Project income decreased $2.0 million primarily due to a $3.9 million decrease at Cadillac as a result of the extended outage. This decrease was partially offset by increased project income at Williams Lake, due to higher revenue under the Energy Purchase Agreement that became effective in October 2019, and at the acquired biomass projects. Natural Gas : Project income increased $1.1 million primarily due to a $2.7 million increase at Nipigon, mostly driven by a $2.1 million gain in fair value on the fuel agreement accounted for as a derivative. This increase was partially offset by decreases in project income at Orlando and Morris. Hydroelectric : Project income decreased $0.3 million as slightly lower generation at Curtis Palmer and higher expenses at Moresby Lake more than offset increased generation at Mamquam. Generation declined 2% at Curtis Palmer from the comparable 2019 level, but was 29% above the historical first-quarter average. Mamquam generation increased 31% from the comparable 2019 level and was 23% above the historical first-quarter average. Project Adjusted EBITDA Solid Fuel : Project Adjusted EBITDA decreased $2.3 million, primarily due to a $4.3 million decrease at Cadillac due to the extended outage. This decrease was partially offset by increased Project Adjusted EBITDA at Allendale and Dorchester ($0.9 million), Craven and Grayling ($0.8 million), and Williams Lake ($0.8 million). Natural Gas : Project Adjusted EBITDA increased $0.1 million, primarily due to increases at Nipigon due to a contractual rate escalation and at Oxnard due to gas turbine repairs in the comparable 2019 period, partially offset by a decrease at Orlando due to a maintenance outage in March 2020. Hydroelectric : Project Adjusted EBITDA decreased $0.3 million, as decreases at Moresby Lake (higher maintenance expenses related to a replacement of the transformer) and Curtis Palmer more than offset an increase at Mamquam. Atlantic Power Corporation Table 3 - Cash Flow Results (in millions of U.S. dollars) Unaudited Three months ended March 31, 2020 2019 Variance Net cash provided by operating activities $8.4 $29.2 ($20.8) Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities (2.6) 1.2 (3.8) Net cash used in financing activities (40.1) (25.5) (14.6) Cash Flow Cash provided by operating activities of $8.4 million decreased $20.8 million from $29.2 million in the first quarter of 2019. The decrease was primarily due to a $16.8 million unfavorable impact from changes in working capital and a $2.9 million reduction in Project Adjusted EBITDA. The unfavorable change in working capital was primarily due to the timing of cash receipts at Williams Lake, Morris and Nipigon, as well as larger cash disbursements for repair work at Cadillac and in preparation for a maintenance outage at Morris later in 2020. Cash used in investing activities was $2.6 million for the first quarter of 2020 as compared to a $1.2 million source of cash for the first quarter of 2019. The $3.8 million unfavorable change was primarily due to a $9.7 million increase in capital expenditures (primarily for Cadillac repairs), which was mostly offset by the receipt of $7.4 million of insurance proceeds related to the Cadillac fire. In the 2019 period, the Company received $1.5 million of cash proceeds from the sale of equipment at the San Diego projects, which did not recur. Cash used in financing activities of $40.1 million increased $14.6 million from $25.5 million in the first quarter of 2019. The majority of the increase was attributable to higher uses of cash for common share repurchases and debt repayment. In the first quarter of 2020, the Company used $8.2 million to repurchase common shares as compared to $0.1 million in the first quarter of 2019, and $21.6 million for repayment of term loan and project debt as compared to $15.8 million in the first quarter of 2019. The Company also incurred $1.5 million of deferred financing costs related to the amendment of its credit facilities in the first quarter of 2020. These increases were partially offset by a $1.3 million reduction in use of cash for preferred share repurchases as compared to the first quarter of 2019. During the first quarter of 2020, the net decrease in the Company's cash, restricted cash and cash equivalents was $34.3 million. Liquidity, Balance Sheet and Capital Allocation Liquidity In March 2020, as previously reported, the Company executed an amendment to its revolving credit facility, extending the maturity by three years to April 2025, coincident with the maturity of the APLP Holdings term loan. In conjunction with the extension, the revolver capacity was reduced to $180 million from $200 million previously. The amendment allows an upsizing of the revolver capacity by up to $30 million, to a maximum aggregate amount of $210 million, subject to conditions. Such an upsizing would not require a further amendment. As shown in Table 4, the Company's liquidity at March 31, 2020 was $149.7 million, a decrease of $46.9 million from $196.6 million at December 31, 2019. The decrease was attributable to the $20 million reduction in revolver capacity, a $14.9 million reduction in cash at the parent and a $12.2 million reduction in cash at the projects. During the quarter, the Company used $14.6 million in parent cash for repurchases of common and preferred shares. Cash at the projects was reduced because of the changes in working capital balances. Atlantic Power Corporation Table 4 - Liquidity (in millions of U.S. dollars) Unaudited March 31, 2020 Dec. 31, 2019 Cash and cash equivalents, parent (1) $34.0 $48.9 Cash and cash equivalents, projects (2) 13.8 26.0 Total cash and cash equivalents 47.8 74.9 Revolving credit facility (3) 180.0 200.0 Letters of credit outstanding (78.1) (78.3) Availability under revolving credit facility 101.9 121.7 Total liquidity (1) $149.7 $196.6 Excludes restricted cash of (4) : $0.5 $7.7 (1) On May 1, 2020, the Company utilized $25.0 million of cash to repurchase and cancel 12.5 million shares under the Substantial Issuer Bid. (2) Includes $2.1 million and $4.0 million at March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively, from Cadillac insurance proceeds for use in reconstruction of the plant. (3) On March18, 2020, the borrowing capacity under the Revolver was reduced to $180 million. (4) Includes $0.2 million and $7.3 million at March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively, from Cadillac insurance proceeds for use in reconstruction of the plant. Balance Sheet Debt Repayment During the first quarter of 2020, the Company repaid $20.0 million of the APLP Holdings term loan and amortized $1.6 million of project-level debt at Cadillac. At March 31, 2020, the Company's consolidated debt was $606.3 million, excluding unamortized discounts and deferred financing costs, and the Company's consolidated leverage ratio (consolidated gross debt to trailing 12-month consolidated Adjusted EBITDA) was 3.6 times, which was improved from 3.8 times a year ago. On a net debt basis (debt net of $47.8 million of cash), the consolidated leverage ratio at March 31, 2020 was 3.3 times. The Company expects to repay approximately $72.5 million of term loan and $3.9 million of Cadillac project debt in 2020. In addition, the Company expects to repay $7.8 million of its share of Chambers project debt (Chambers is accounted for on the equity method). Capital Allocation Normal Course Issuer Bid (NCIB) Update In the first quarter of 2020, under the NCIB that was put in place on December 31, 2019, the Company repurchased approximately 3.76 million common shares at a cost of $8.17 million, or an average price of $2.17 per share. In addition, the Company repurchased 381,794 shares of the 4.85% Cumulative Redeemable Preferred, Series 1, at an average price of Cdn$15.17 per share; 62,365 shares of the 7.0% Cumulative Rate Reset Preferred, Series 2, at an average price of Cdn$15.20 per share; and 120,000 shares of the Cumulative Floating Rate Preferred, Series 3 at an average price of Cdn$17.90 per share. The total cost to the Company of preferred share repurchases during the quarter was Cdn$8.9 million (US$6.4 million equivalent) and the average discount to par was 39%. Substantial Issuer Bid (SIB) As previously disclosed, on March 25, 2020, the Company announced a substantial issuer bid for up to $25 million of common shares at a price not less than $1.95 per share and not to exceed $2.20 per share. The Company completed the offer on May 1, 2020, repurchasing 12.5 million common shares at a price of $2.00 per share. The shares repurchased have been canceled. As a result, the Company's shares outstanding were reduced approximately 12% to 93,002,338. Year to date under the NCIB and recently completed SIB, the Company has repurchased approximately 16.3 million common shares at a total cost of $33.2 million, or an average price of $2.04 per share. 2020 Guidance The Company has not provided guidance for Project income or Net income because of the difficulty of making accurate forecasts and projections without unreasonable efforts with respect to certain highly variable components of these comparable GAAP metrics, including changes in the fair value of derivative instruments and foreign exchange gains or losses. These factors, which generally do not affect cash flow, are not included in Project Adjusted EBITDA. The Company is reaffirming its guidance for 2020 Project Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $175 million to $190 million. Guidance for 2020 assumes average water flows for the year for Curtis Palmer, which accounts for most of the anticipated decline from the 2019 level of $196.1 million. Guidance also assumes that PPAs for Oxnard and Calstock are not extended and expire as scheduled in May and June of this year, respectively. Lastly, maintenance expense associated with a planned hot gas path inspection at Morris also is a factor in the projected decline from 2019. These negative variances are expected to be partially offset by a full year contribution by the acquired biomass projects and modest increases at several other projects. The Company's 2020 guidance assumes that Cadillac is returned to service later this year and that the Company records to revenues and Project Adjusted EBITDA those insurance recoveries related to business interruption. Table 5 provides a bridge of the Company's 2020 Project Adjusted EBITDA guidance to an estimate of 2020 Cash provided by operating activities. For purposes of providing this bridge to a cash flow measure, the impact of changes in working capital is assumed to be nil. The decline in 2020 estimated Cash provided by operating activities to a range of $100 million to $115 million from the 2019 level of $144.7 million is largely attributable to lower expected Project Adjusted EBITDA, the working capital assumption discussed above (versus a favorable contribution in 2019), modestly higher project debt repayment at Chambers (captured in the adjustment for equity method projects) and higher decommissioning outlays for the San Diego projects (majority of the cash outlays occurring in 2020 rather than in 2019). Atlantic Power Corporation Table 5 - Bridge of 2020 Project Adjusted EBITDA Guidance to Cash Provided by Operating Activities (in millions of U.S. dollars) Unaudited 2020 Guidance 2019 Actual (Initiated 2/27/20) Project Adjusted EBITDA $175 - $190 $196.1 Adjustment for equity method projects(1) (8) (3.5) Corporate G&A (cash) (24) (22.4) Cash interest payments (36) (37.6) Cash taxes (4) (2.3) Decommissioning (San Diego projects) (4) (1.0) Other (including changes in working capital) - 15.4 Cash provided by operating activities $100 - $115 $144.7 Note: For the purpose of providing bridge of Project Adjusted EBITDA guidance to a cash flow measure, the impact of changes in working capital on Cash provided by operating activities is assumed to be nil. See comment in preceding paragraph. (1) For equity method projects, represents difference between Project Adjusted EBITDA and cash distribution. Operational Updates Coronavirus Pandemic With power generation deemed a critical and essential service, to date, the pandemic has not materially affected the Company's ability to continue operating its plants safely and reliably. The Company has taken appropriate steps at its plants to ensure that health and safety guidelines are being followed, including frequent plant sanitization. Non-essential personnel are not permitted access to the sites. The Company is monitoring fuel supply for its biomass plants (which generally have multiple suppliers including mills and other sources) to ensure that potential supply disruptions are minimized. As the coronavirus pandemic is a rapidly evolving situation, we continue to monitor it and cannot predict what its ultimate impact will be on our business. Cadillac Reconstruction The plant remains out of service following the September 2019 fire. Repairs and replacement of equipment are ongoing, with both the replacement generator and the steam turbine having arrived on site earlier this month. To date the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the schedule has been minimal. Construction crews have been granted travel and site access. The Company continues to target a return of the plant to service in the third quarter of this year. Williams Lake Operations The plant returned to service in mid-December and operated continuously until April 9, when the Company took it down for a planned outage. Under the terms of the Energy Purchase Agreement with BC Hydro, the plant will not operate during the months of May, June and July. During the current outage, the Company expects to undertake significant maintenance, including a replacement of the cooling tower, and rebuild fuel supply for the plant. Fuel availability remains challenging, although fuel costs to date have been in line with the Company's expectations. Considering the planned maintenance (which will be expensed) and expected run time for the plant, the Company continues to estimate that Project Adjusted EBITDA will be approximately breakeven for the year. Decommissioning of San Diego Projects Demolition of the three project sites in San Diego (Naval Station, Naval Training Center and North Island) is now expected to begin in June, due to coronavirus-related delays in site access, and should be completed within approximately six months. The Company's estimate of the cash outlay to decommission these projects is $6.6 million, or approximately $5 million net of salvage proceeds received to date. Approximately $4 million of this is expected to be incurred to complete the work this year. These decommissioning expenditures are not included in Project Adjusted EBITDA. Maintenance and Capex In the first quarter of 2020, the Company incurred $5.5 million of maintenance expense and $0.3 million of capital expenditures. These figures exclude capital expenditures for repairs and replacement of equipment at Cadillac of $9.7 million, which are expected to be covered by the Company's insurance, excluding the deductible. For 2020, the Company is projecting maintenance expense of $32.8 million and capital expenditures of approximately $4.0 million (excluding Cadillac). These figures include the Company's proportional share of maintenance expenses and capital expenditures at equity method investments. Commercial Updates 2020 PPA Expirations The Company has two projects with PPAs that are scheduled to expire in 2020. Oxnard (California) The PPA with Southern California Edison will expire in late May 2020. The Company is continuing to pursue potential short-term offtake structures for the project. Depending on the outcome of these re-contracting efforts, the plant may be mothballed when its PPA expires. Calstock (Ontario) The PPA with the Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation will expire in June 2020. The Company recently received an indication from the provincial government that it plans to extend the Calstock PPA for a six-month period while the government evaluates the future role of biomass in the province. The extension has not yet been executed. Financial Results by Project A schedule of Project income, Project Adjusted EBITDA and Cash Distributions by project for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and the comparable 2019 period can be found in the first quarter 2020 presentation on the Company's website. Cash Distributions from Projects is the amount of cash distributed by the projects to the Company out of available project cash flow after all project-level operating costs, interest payments, principal repayment, capital expenditures and working capital requirements. Supplementary Information Regarding Non-GAAP Disclosures A discussion of non-GAAP disclosures and a schedule reconciling Project Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, to the comparable GAAP measure, can be found on page 15 of this release. Investor Conference Call and Webcast Atlantic Power's management team will host a telephone conference call and webcast on Friday, May 8, 2020 at 11:00 AM ET. Management's prepared remarks and an accompanying presentation will be available on the Conference Calls page of the Company's website prior to the call. Conference Call / Webcast Information: Date: Friday, May 8, 2020 Start Time: 11:00 AM ET Phone Numbers: U.S. (Toll Free): 1-855-239-3193 Canada (Toll Free): 1-855-669-9657 International (Toll): 1-412-542-4129 Conference Access: Please request access to the Atlantic Power conference call. Webcast: The call will be broadcast over Atlantic Power's website at www.atlanticpower.com . Replay / Archive Information: Replay: Access conference call number 10143620 at the following telephone numbers: U.S. (Toll Free): 1-877-344-7529 Canada (Toll Free): 1-855-669-9658 International (Toll): 1-412-317-0088 The replay will be available one hour after the end of the conference call through June 8, 2020 at 11:59 PM ET. Webcast archive: The conference call will be archived on Atlantic Power's website at www.atlanticpower.com for a period of 12 months. About Atlantic Power Atlantic Power is an independent power producer that owns power generation assets in eleven states in the United States and two provinces in Canada. The Company's generation projects sell electricity and steam to investment-grade utilities and other creditworthy large customers predominantly under longterm PPAs that have expiration dates ranging from 2020 to 2043. The Company seeks to minimize its exposure to commodity prices through provisions in the contracts, fuel supply agreements and hedging arrangements. The projects are diversified by geography, fuel type, technology, dispatch profile and offtaker (customer). Approximately 75% of the projects in operation are 100% owned and directly operated and maintained by the Company. The Company has expertise in operating most fuel types, including gas, hydro, and biomass, and it owns a 40% interest in one coal project. Atlantic Power's shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AT and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ATP. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.atlanticpower.com or contact: Atlantic Power Corporation Investor Relations (617) 977-2700 [email protected] Copies of the Company's financial data and other publicly filed documents are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com or on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml under "Atlantic Power Corporation" or on the Company's website. ************************************************************************************************************************ Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements To the extent any statements made in this news release contain information that is not historical, these statements are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and forward-looking information under Canadian securities law (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Certain statements in this news release may constitute "forward-looking statements", which reflect the expectations of management regarding the future growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities of the Company and its projects. These statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe the Company's future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of the words "may," "will," "should," "project," "continue," "believe," "intend," "anticipate," "expect," "estimate," "target" or similar expressions that are predictions of or indicate future events or trends and which do not relate solely to present or historical matters. Examples of such statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the following: the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy and the Company's operations, including the measures taken by governmental authorities to address it, which may precipitate or exacerbate other risks and/or uncertainties; the Company's expectation that its designation as essential will allow it to continue to operate through the coronavirus pandemic; the Company's view that first quarter results modestly exceeded its expectations; the Company's view that it is well positioned for turbulent markets; the Company's expectation that its Power Purchase Agreements will produce strong operating cash flow; the Company's estimate of cumulative discretionary cash flow of $115 million to $165 million over the 2020-2024 period; to over the 2020-2024 period; the Company's expectation that it will repay $423 million or more than 60% of its debt during the 2020-2024 period; or more than 60% of its debt during the 2020-2024 period; the Company's view that common share repurchases over the past four and a half years were done at prices below its estimates of intrinsic value per share, and that preferred share repurchases during this period carried attractive after-tax yields; the Company's expectation that the cost of repairs and business interruption losses at its Cadillac plant following the September 2019 fire will be mostly covered by its insurance, and the Company's target of returning the plant to service in the third quarter of 2020; fire will be mostly covered by its insurance, and the Company's target of returning the plant to service in the third quarter of 2020; the Company's guidance for 2020 Project Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $175 million to $190 million , and its views of the underlying drivers; to , and its views of the underlying drivers; the Company's estimate for 2020 Cash provided by operating activities in the range of $100 million to $115 million , assuming for this purpose that changes in working capital are nil; to , assuming for this purpose that changes in working capital are nil; the Company's estimate that there should be no net impact on Project Adjusted EBITDA in 2020 from the Cadillac outage, assuming the plant returns to service this year; the Company's expectation that it will repay $72.5 million of its term loan and $3.9 million of Cadillac project debt in 2020, and another $7.8 million of project debt at Chambers (equity-owned project) from project-level cash flow, including amounts already repaid in the first quarter of 2020; of its term loan and of Cadillac project debt in 2020, and another of project debt at Chambers (equity-owned project) from project-level cash flow, including amounts already repaid in the first quarter of 2020; the Company's estimate that Williams Lake will have approximately a breakeven level of Project Adjusted EBITDA in 2020; will have approximately a breakeven level of Project Adjusted EBITDA in 2020; the Company's estimation that cash outlays associated with the decommissioning of the three San Diego projects will total approximately $6.6 million , or approximately $5 million net of salvage proceeds, and that approximately $4 million of this will be incurred in 2020, with the work expected to start in June, subject to potential coronavirus-related delays; projects will total approximately , or approximately net of salvage proceeds, and that approximately of this will be incurred in 2020, with the work expected to start in June, subject to potential coronavirus-related delays; the Company's estimation that, in 2020, including its share of equity-owned projects, maintenance expense will total approximately $32.8 million and capital expenditures will total approximately $4.0 million (excluding capital expenditures for repairs to Cadillac); and capital expenditures will total approximately (excluding capital expenditures for repairs to Cadillac); the Company's views with respect to the re-contracting and post-PPA outlook for Oxnard and Calstock , and and , and the results of operations and performance of the Company's projects, business prospects, opportunities and future growth of the Company will be as described herein. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not or the times at or by which such performance or results will be achieved. Please refer to the factors discussed under "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Information" in the Company's periodic reports as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") from time to time for a detailed discussion of the risks and uncertainties affecting the Company. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what are believed to be reasonable assumptions, investors cannot be assured that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements, and the differences may be material. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except as expressly required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Atlantic Power Corporation Table 6 Consolidated Balance Sheet (in millions of U.S. dollars) Unaudited March 31, December 31, 2020 2019 Assets Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $47.8 $74.9 Restricted cash 0.5 7.7 Accounts receivable 32.6 30.4 Insurance recovery receivable 6.1 13.5 Current portion of derivative instruments asset - 0.7 Inventory 15.8 18.6 Prepayments 6.7 3.8 Income taxes receivable 2.5 1.8 Lease receivable 0.4 0.9 Other current assets 0.3 0.4 Total current assets 112.7 152.7 Property, plant, and equipment, net 490.5 502.1 Equity investments in unconsolidated affiliates 103.7 96.6 Power purchase agreements and intangible assets, net 137.5 144.3 Goodwill 21.3 21.3 Operating lease right-of-use assets 5.9 6.3 Deferred income taxes 9.8 10.4 Other assets 0.6 1.9 Total assets $882.0 $935.6 Liabilities Current liabilities: Accounts payable $4.7 $8.9 Accrued interest 3.2 2.6 Other accrued liabilities 13.6 20.8 Current portion of long-term debt 78.5 76.4 Current portion of derivative instruments liability 18.0 12.0 Operating lease liabilities 2.0 2.0 Other current liabilities 0.2 0.2 Total current liabilities 120.2 122.9 Long-term debt, net of unamortized discount and deferred financing costs 436.3 473.5 Convertible debentures, net of discount and unamortized deferred financing costs 74.2 81.1 Derivative instruments liability 16.5 15.9 Deferred income taxes 24.1 23.7 Power purchase agreements and intangible liabilities, net 18.5 19.8 Asset retirement obligations, net 49.8 51.5 Operating lease liabilities 4.3 4.8 Other long-term liabilities 4.1 4.7 Total liabilities $748.0 $797.9 Equity Common shares, no par value, unlimited authorized shares; 105,502,338 and 108,675,294 issued and outstanding at March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 1,252.1 1,259.9 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (152.2) (140.7) Retained deficit (1,134.7) (1,164.2) Total Atlantic Power Corporation shareholders' equity (34.8) (45.0) Preferred shares issued by a subsidiary company 168.8 182.7 Total equity 134.0 137.7 Total liabilities and equity $882.0 $935.6 Atlantic Power Corporation Table 7 - Consolidated Statements of Operations (in millions of U.S. dollars, except per share amounts) Unaudited Three months ended March 31, 2020 2019 Project revenue: Energy sales $40.7 $37.0 Energy capacity revenue 28.0 30.2 Other 4.1 5.8 72.8 73.0 Project expenses: Fuel 19.6 20.0 Operations and maintenance 20.7 16.5 Depreciation and amortization 15.6 16.2 55.9 52.7 Project other income (loss): Change in fair value of derivative instruments (5.6) (2.4) Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates 13.7 12.9 Interest, net (0.3) (0.3) Other income, net - 0.1 7.8 10.3 Project income 24.7 30.6 Administrative and other expenses: Administration 6.7 6.8 Interest expense, net 10.8 11.1 Foreign exchange (gain) loss (20.6) 5.0 Other expense, net 2.6 4.7 (0.5) 27.6 Income from operations before income taxes 25.2 3.0 Income tax expense 1.5 0.6 Net income 23.7 2.4 Net loss attributable to preferred shares of a subsidiary company (5.8) (6.5) Net income attributable to Atlantic Power Corporation $29.5 $8.9 Net earnings per share attributable to Atlantic Power Corporation shareholders: Basic $0.28 $0.08 Diluted $0.23 $0.07 Weighted average number of common shares outstanding: Basic 107.2 108.9 Diluted 134.8 138.6 Atlantic Power Corporation Table 8 - Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (in millions of U.S. dollars) Three months ended Unaudited March 31, 2020 2019 Cash provided by operating activities: Net income $23.7 $2.4 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation and amortization 15.6 16.2 Share-based compensation 0.4 0.6 Equity in earnings from unconsolidated affiliates (13.7) (12.9) Distributions from unconsolidated affiliates 6.0 5.8 Unrealized foreign exchange (gain) loss (20.9) 5.3 Change in fair value of derivative instruments 8.2 7.1 Amortization of debt discount and deferred financing costs 2.0 1.9 Non-cash operating lease expense 0.5 0.4 Deferred income taxes 0.3 (0.7) Change in other operating balances Accounts receivable (2.1) 5.1 Inventory 2.8 2.7 Prepayments and other assets (1.7) (1.4) Accounts payable (5.7) 1.9 Accruals and other liabilities (7.0) (5.2) Cash provided by operating activities 8.4 29.2 Cash (used in) provided by investing activities: Insurance proceeds 7.4 - Proceeds from sales of assets and equity investments, net - 1.5 Purchase of property, plant and equipment (10.0) (0.3) Cash (used in) provided by investing activities (2.6) 1.2 Cash used in financing activities: Common share repurchases (8.2) (0.1) Preferred share repurchases (6.4) (7.7) Repayment of corporate and project-level debt (21.6) (15.8) Cash payments for vested LTIP withheld for taxes (0.7) - Deferred financing costs (1.5) - Dividends paid to preferred shareholders (1.7) (1.9) Cash used in financing activities: (40.1) (25.5) Net (decrease) increase in cash, restricted cash and cash equivalents (34.3) 4.9 Cash, restricted cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 82.6 70.4 Cash, restricted cash and cash equivalents at end of period $48.3 $75.3 Supplemental cash flow information Interest paid $8.3 $8.2 Income taxes paid, net $0.7 $0.8 Accruals for construction in progress $0.3 $- Non-GAAP Disclosures Project Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure recognized under GAAP and does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP, and is therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Investors are cautioned that the Company may calculate this non-GAAP measure in a manner that is different from other companies. The most directly comparable GAAP measure is Project income. Project Adjusted EBITDA is defined as Project income (loss) plus interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, impairment charges, insurance loss (gain), other (income) expenses and changes in the fair value of derivative instruments. Management uses Project Adjusted EBITDA at the project level to provide comparative information about project performance and believes such information is helpful to investors. A reconciliation of Project Adjusted EBITDA to Project income and to Net income on a consolidated basis is provided in Table 9 below. Atlantic Power Corporation Table 9 - Reconciliation of Net Income to Project Adjusted EBITDA (in millions of U.S. dollars) Unaudited Three months ended March 31, 2020 2019 Net income attributable to Atlantic Power Corporation $29.5 $8.9 Net loss attributable to preferred share dividends of a subsidiary company (5.8) (6.5) Net income $23.7 $2.4 Income tax expense 1.5 0.6 Income from operations before income taxes 25.2 3.0 Administration 6.7 6.8 Interest expense, net 10.8 11.1 Foreign exchange (gain) loss (20.6) 5.0 Other expense, net 2.6 4.7 Project income $24.7 $30.6 Reconciliation to Project Adjusted EBITDA Depreciation and amortization $19.8 $20.2 Interest expense, net 0.7 0.7 Change in the fair value of derivative instruments 5.6 2.4 Other income, net - (0.2) Project Adjusted EBITDA $50.8 $53.7 SOURCE Atlantic Power Corporation Related Links http://www.atlanticpower.com Jails and prisons are among the most challenging places to control the outbreak of the coronavirus. Similar to cruise ships and nursing homes, detention facilities have crowded living spaces and shared dining areas, as well as communal bathrooms and a lack of space to isolate infected detainees, all of which makes physical distancing practices difficult to achieve. On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study of the spread of the coronavirus in prisons and detention centers in the United States, both public and private. Although it did not have complete figures for the approximately 2.1 million people incarcerated nationally, the study found that nearly 5,000 prisoners had contracted the virus along with over 2,000 staff members, resulting in 103 deaths in total. This analysis provides the first documentation of the number of reported laboratory-confirmed cases of Covid-19 in correctional and detention facilities in the United States, the report said. Among the findings, the report found that slightly more than half of the affected facilities (53 percent) had at least one case among staff members and not detainees. Staff members move regularly between facilities and outside communities, which could be important factors in introducing the virus into prisons, it said. Subscriber content preview By FARES AKRAM and ILAN BEN ZION Associated Press GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip A Georgian-Israeli billionaire believes he has found a solution to the Gaza Strip's chronic water crisis. Michael Mirilashvili wants to deliver hundreds of generators that produce drinking water out of thin air. His company, Watergen, sent a machine to a Gaza hospital last week in a rare case of Israeli-Palestinian cooperation in the Hamas-ruled enclave. . . . The son who didn't get another chance to see his dying father. A husband and daughter who aren't able to see his wife and her mother while she fights terminal cancer. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 6/5/2020 (622 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The son who didn't get another chance to see his dying father. A husband and daughter who aren't able to see his wife and her mother while she fights terminal cancer. These are just two Winnipeg families who were already going through a terrible time, but whose grief and pain have been exacerbated because of the restrictions put on visitors to hospitals and long-term care facilities including the Riverview Health Centre during the coronavirus pandemic. SUPPLIED Krall and his wife of 47 years Cora, both 66 "Six months from now, or a year, people will look back and think that was a terrible thing we did," said Jamie Brown, whose dad Robert, 72, died early Sunday at Riverview. "This is people dying. This is family. I never had a chance to say goodbye. When the ambulance took him away that was the last I ever saw him. "Maybe someone needs to recalibrate this so another family doesn't have to deal with this." It's similar to the situation facing Greg Krall, whose wife of 47 years, Cora, is battling terminal cancer in St. Boniface Hospital. "She's terribly ill, but not at the stage where she will die yet," Krall said on Tuesday. "I haven't seen her in two weeks. I begged them. She is terribly ill, but they wouldn't budge. I guess she doesn't meet their criteria. SUPPLIED Robert James ("Bob") Brown with grandson Liam. "This has been a long hard ride." Krall finally saw his wife for the first time on Wednesday, but it was at an hour-long meeting dealing with future plans for palliative care and afterwards he had to leave. In a memo first sent in March to acute care facilities, and updated last month, Dr. Brent Roussin, the province's chief public health officer, and Lanette Siragusa, Shared Health's chief nursing officer, said in order to protect patients from contracting COVID-19 they were implementing "strict precautions to protect our patients" and would immediately suspend visitor access on March 19. They said the only exceptions would be for compassionate reasons or end-of-life "on a case-by-case basis." Similarly, the pair sent a memo, which was updated March 27, "strongly recommending" visitors be restricted from going inside long-term care facilities, while saying it would be up to individual facility managers to make exceptions for compassionate reasons or end-of-life on individual situations. But Brown said for him that meant for the two days his dad was in Riverview he wasn't allowed to see him, because he wasn't diagnosed as being close to dying. He said that changed on Sunday at about 1 a.m., when his dad took a sudden turn for the worse. The facility phoned his residence he missed the call and then called his sister, who was then allowed to go to Riverview with her stepmother. His father died four hours later. "My wish would be that someone in Dr. Roussin's office, or Dr. Roussin himself, would say we did this a month ago, let's look at it again," Brown said. "All these people have been alone. When you know people have very short time, at the end of their lives to not allow family to visit, that's wrong. "So other families don't have to go through this, surely this deserves a second look." During Wednesday's provincial update on Manitoba's response to coronavirus, Siragusa said health officials are looking at whether to ease current restrictions on visitors and "will continue to re-evaluate that." Siragusa said since the restrictions were put in place workers at long-term care facilities are now restricted from working at more than one care home. "The team is working on what that would look like," she said. "So it wont be in the next week I dont think. "We want to just watch and make sure with the staffing changes that just happened recently that everybody is safe and stable, and then we will be looking at when we can open up and loosen those restrictions as soon as possible." Krall said the hardest thing for him, besides the separation, has been not being allowed in hospital to see his wife and advocate to help make decisions for her care. "She fell three times this weekend and they never called us she told us she fell when we talked to her on the phone," he said. 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. Krall said until now he hasn't been separated from his wife in 47 years not even for a vacation and they were together for several years before that. "We met in Grade 7 and began dating in Grade 8 we've never been apart. Everyone who knows us knows we've always been together." Their daughter, Carly Lowing, said not being able to visit is hard on her as well, especially with the province beginning to ease restrictions in other areas that were put in place to combat COVID-19. "You can go have a beer with your buddy on the patio but I can't go see my dying mom and give her a hug and say I love you?" Lowing said. "It's just ridiculous." kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca At some point, you might be tempted to say that the suffering associated with all the mild headaches, considered as a group, outweighs the suffering associated with my severe migraine. But no one endures the sum of all those mild headaches. Each experiences just her own mild headache. And Professor Taurek thought it would be outrageous for anyone in the group to ask me to suffer severely so as to save that person some modest pain. For the same reason, Professor Taurek thought that the five people who would split the drug had similarly weak arguments. Each could ask the person who needs the whole supply to give it up for the benefit of all the others. But none of them could say that she needed it more. Wouldnt they suffer more as a group? No, Professor Taurek said. The group doesnt suffer. Just the individuals. Since the stakes are the same for everyone involved, Professor Taurek thought all six deserved an equal shot at survival. This is why he said he would flip a coin. If it comes up heads, we save the person who needs the entire supply. If it comes up tails, we save the other five. Everyone has a 50-50 shot at survival. Many found Professor Taureks argument maddening. I think the most compelling response came from the philosopher Derek Parfit. He argued that we can, indeed, sum suffering across groups. But he also urged a different interpretation of equality. He said that equality demands that we give equal consideration to each persons life, rather than equalize their chances at survival. We should save the larger number, he said, because each person counts for the same, so more people count for more. Who has the better take on equality? Professor Taurek, who wants equal chances? Or Professor Parfit, who wants to count each person equally? Im not sure. And it gets more complicated, because there are further ways to think about equality. The conditions that make Covid-19 more deadly, for example, are not distributed evenly among all social groups. In particular, they are concentrated among poor and minority communities. And thats not an accident. Its the result of decades of deliberate policy choices about, among other things, whom we insure and where we pollute. More than 13,000 calls were made last year to the My Options helpline, which provides information on abortion services. A total of 1,740 women and girls also attended crisis-pregnancy clinics across the country. Whenever a film based on the coronavirus pandemic will be made, Hollywood veteran Robert De Niro says he would like to play the role of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has been receiving global praise for his leadership during the COVID-19 outbreak. Stephen Colbert on "The Late Show" video chat asked the 76-year-old actor which real-life figure he would like to play in a potential movie on the pandemic. To which De Niro replied, "Cuomo". "The Irishman" star, who is a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, said the governor was doing "what a president should do". When Colbert asked De Niro, if Cuomo could be POTUS one day, he said, "Yes, I could see it." The actor called Trump an "idiot" for largely ignoring the warning signs of the pandemic and expressed disappointment in the current administration's attempts to control the outbreak. "Pandemics have been in the world before and people survived them. It's appalling. It's all about him getting re-elected. I have no words for it anymore. I'm nonplussed. Dumbfounded..." he said. "His enablers are not doing anything, not standing up to him. What could be worth it for them to sacrifice their souls to make this deal with the devil?" he asked. Recently, Brad Pitt impersonated Dr Anthony Fauci in a "Saturday Night Live At Home" episode after the White House infectious disease expert expressed his desire to see the actor portray him on the late-night sketch comedy show. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) For the first time in award history, a Coast Guard spouse, Paulette Fryar, has been named the 2020 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year, a program designed to honor and recognize exceptional spouses who have made a selfless commitment to serve their community. This year, the winner was announced during a virtual reveal at Fort Leavenworth, KS, on May 7. Paulette and husband, Commander Troy Fryar, Coast Guard, are currently stationed at the Personnel Service Center located at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. She was recognized for her community engagement efforts and mentoring young military spouse moms through Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPs), an international support program designed to encourage mothers with children under school age through relationships and resources. Military spouses have the added challenges of frequent moves, extensive training, distance from family, and extended deployments. "I had never lived anywhere, but in my hometown of Vancouver, WA, near my parents, siblings, and lifelong friends. Getting remarried, moving to a place I had never lived nor experienced, and living a new life as a military spouse while suddenly raising a blended family of four boys, often on my own, was a huge challenge," said Paulette. Finding support as a military spouse can be a daunting task. Paulette began mentoring with MOPs at the Fort Belvoir, VA chapel, which helps more than 120 young military spouses every year find their tribe through authentic community, mothering support, personal growth, and spiritual hope. "With our adult kids living 3,000 miles away, we're now empty nesters, and in this new stage in our lives, more so, my life as a mom, I'm learning to reestablish myself in a new community. Now I use my time to give back. At MOPs, we come together like a family in a supportive environment to help each other navigate an unpredictable life that includes many hellos and constant goodbyes," said Paulette. "This year is unique as our 2020 recipient comes from our nation's Coast Guard. Since 1790 our Coast Guard has continuously defended our country and participated in every major military conflict we have been engaged in. The challenges faced by members of the Coast Guard and their spouses are very much what all our other military members face to include PCS moves and deployments. Therefore it is our privilege to recognize Ms. Paulette Fryar as the 2020 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year. Paulette was chosen after an extensive voting and board process. The competition was tough as all of our branch winners are exceptional spouses who represent their member, family, and service with distinction. We congratulate Paulette on her selection and thank her for her service to our country as well," said Lieutenant General Stanley E. "Sid" Clarke III, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) and AFI Chairman. "I'm honored and humbled to be the first Coast Guard recipient chosen to represent the more than one million military spouses who support and maintain the homefront. I look forward to continuing my work connecting military spouses and reaffirming that no young military spouse should ever feel alone in parenting, marriage, through deployments, or any other life-changing moment. I believe that a happy and supported spouse leads to a stronger service member, enabling them to better serve our country. My motto is #TogetherWeAreStronger, Paulette added. For more information on the Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year program, please visit http://msoy.afi.org. ### About Armed Forces Insurance: Armed Forces Insurance was founded in 1887 by military leaders with a single mission: to protect the property of those who protect our nation. The company provides premium quality, competitively priced property, and casualty insurance to military professionals throughout the United States and overseas. Armed Forces Insurance understands that its members have unique circumstances and insurance needs, enabling the company to offer a level of personalized service that's unequaled in the industry. For more information, visit the website at http://www.afi.org or call 1-800-495-8234, and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. About Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year The Armed Forces Insurance (AFI) Military Spouse of the Year Award was founded in 2008 by Chris Hale, CEO of veteran-owned Neptune Holdings, and after nine years as title sponsor, AFI assumed ownership in 2018. The award is presented at a base, branch, and overall level each year to military spouses who are making a difference in their communities and providing a collective voice for spouses around the world. Through a national nomination and voting process, these nominees are judged on five core criteria: overall involvement in the military community, exhibition of leadership skills, community building capability, communication skills, and overall personal story. With more than one million military spouses worldwide, this award program aims to shine a spotlight on the force behind our armed forces. For more information, please visit https://msoy.afi.org/. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 17:15:16|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Minorities in the U.S. state of California are facing more health and economic risks in the COVID-19 pandemic, with less freedom to work from home and more anxiety over financial difficulties, said a research by the University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley) Wednesday. The study was based on a poll by the Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) of UC Berkeley in conjunction with the California Institute of Health Equity and Access, which surveyed 8,800 voters statewide online in English and Spanish between April 16 and April 20. White Californians were significantly more likely than Latino and black residents to have the safety that comes from working at home during the pandemic, the poll found. According to the poll, 61.3 percent of the white people in California said they could work from home, nearly 20 points more than those reported by Latino respondents. Among black Californians, 53.3 percent said they are able to work at home, joined by 58.9 percent of Asian-Americans. As the infection risk is compounded by the degree of exposure to other people, among white Californians, 26.5 percent said that they face a somewhat serious or very serious problem because they work in close proximity with other people, while 56.7 percent of Latino voters expressed similar worries, followed by 43.8 percent of blacks and 44.4 percent of Asian Americans, according to the research. "The stark racial differences in which populations can safely work from home are striking," said IGS co-Director Cristina Mora. "Latinos and blacks, and their families, simply face more contact and more risk than whites." Beyond work safety, the IGS report suggests that health insecurity is almost inseparable from economic security. A total of 60 percent of Latino and 54 percent of Black Californians report that COVID-19 is a "major threat" to their personal or family's financial situation, compared with 45 percent of Asian Americans and 37 percent of white Californians. The poll also found that Californians overall strongly support stay-at-home measures intended to limit the spread of the infection. Over 87 percent somewhat or strongly support a national stay-at-home order, with black respondents reporting the highest support at 92.6 percent. "Those groups facing the greatest economic hardship from the pandemic are not necessarily the most eager to end the lockdown," said IGS co-Director Eric Schickler. "That may be because these same groups also are most likely to have jobs that put them at the greatest risk of exposure to COVID-19," Schickler explained. Enditem RICHMOND, Va. - An attempt by a Virginia church to prevent the state from barring gatherings of more than 10 people would seriously undermine the states efforts to deter the spread of the coronavirus, attorneys for Gov. Ralph Northam argued Thursday in a legal filing. Attorney General Mark Herrings office made the arguments in a memo filed in response to a federal lawsuit brought by Lighthouse Fellowship Church of Chincoteague. The church sued after its pastor was issued a criminal citation for having 16 people at a Palm Sunday service that authorities said violated Northams order barring gatherings of more than 10 people. The U.S. Department of Justice has sided with the church. In a court filing, the DOJ argued that Virginia cannot treat religious gatherings less favourably than other similar, secular gatherings. Lawyers for the church have said that during the service, those who attended maintained social distancing and had extensive sanitizing of common surfaces. The church said attendees had to stay 6 feet (2 metres) apart and use hand sanitizer before entering the building. In arguing against the injunction sought by the church, Virginia Solicitor General Toby Heytens wrote that the temporary restriction on in-person gatherings is a good-faith, evidence-based emergency measure. Such a ruling would seriously undermine Virginias efforts to resist a once-in-a-century pandemic and threaten irreparable harm to an unknown (and unknowable) number of people, he wrote. Heytens said Northam recognizes that the restrictions hes imposed including closing schools and nonessential businesses and issuing a stay-at-home order have been hard on all Virginians, including religious communities. But Virginias restrictions do not operate in the way plaintiff and the Federal Government claim, nor has religion been singled out for unfair treatment, Heytens wrote. He said Northam issued guidance designed to help religious leaders find creative solutions, including holding in-person worship services of 10 people or fewer, holding online services or hosting a service of any size as long as participants stay in their cars and observe social distancing. The church and pastor Kevin Wilson argue that Northam violated their religious freedom. In its statement of interest, the DOJ said the church has presented a strong case that the governors order on gatherings impermissibly interfered with the churchs free exercise of religion. Last week, Northam announced a multiphase plan to begin to ease restrictions. In the first phase, which Northam has said could begin as early as May 15, some businesses required to close may be permitted to open with social distancing measures put in place, and the temporary gatherings restriction may be modified for churches. Vice-President Mike Pence, who heads the White House Coronavirus Task Force, weighed in on the dispute Wednesday, saying he agrees with the church and the Justice Department. Speaking on The Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox News Radio, Pence said even in the midst of a national emergency, every American enjoys our cherished liberties, including the freedom of religion. The very idea that the Commonwealth of Virginia would sanction a church for having 16 people come to a Palm Sunday service, when I think the church actually seats about 250, was just beyond the pale, and Im truly grateful for Attorney General William Barr standing by religious liberty, Pence said. For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up within weeks. For some, especially older adults and those with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness and death. The vast majority of people recover. ___ Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak. The country's largest lender SBI has decided to extend the RBI-approved moratorium to the cash-strapped NBFC sector to help them tide over the crisis, its MD Dinesh Kumar Khara said on Thursday Kolkata: The country's largest lender SBI has decided to extend the RBI-approved moratorium to the cash-strapped NBFC sector to help them tide over the crisis, its MD Dinesh Kumar Khara said on Thursday. The RBI has allowed banks to extend the moratorium to borrowers of term loans of all kinds for three months -- March, April and May. "SBI has taken a decision to extend the moratorium allowed by RBI to the NBFC sector which is facing severe problem of cashflow," Khara said. The bank would extend the moratorium to the Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) on a case-to-case basis after assessing their cash budgets and examining the need for extending it, he told PTI. "Just to ensure that there is no gap in the cashflow and help them tide over the contingency, SBI has taken such a decision," Khara said. Click here to follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak Earlier, the State Bank of India extended 10 percent emergency COVID response contingency loan to all kinds of borrowers to an extent of Rs 200 crore each, he said. Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Monday reviewed liquidity position and ways to promote lending to the MSME sector during a meeting with representatives of NBFCs and mutual funds amid the lockdown induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Operations of NBFCs have commenced from Monday as the government eased restrictions for the lockdown. Some of the issues discussed during the meeting included the availability of liquidity from banks and other financial institutions and post-lockdown strategies for supply of credit, including working capital, to MSMEs, traders and bottom of pyramid customers in semi-urban, rural and urban areas, the RBI said. Implementation of three months moratorium on repayment of loan instalments announced by the RBI, and strengthening grievance redressal mechanisms were also discussed. The governor acknowledged the critical role of NBFCs, including microfinance institutions (MFIs), in delivering last-mile credit, and the importance of mutual funds in financial intermediation, RBI said in the statement. The RBI governor on Saturday had met heads of the public sector and private sector banks asking them to step up their lending towards the MSME sector. After lawmakers lashed out at Frontier Airlines on Wednesday for its plan to charge passengers a fee to make sure they are next to an empty seat, the airline abandoned the idea. The idea was that passengers could guarantee the middle seat would be empty while flying during the coronavirus pandemic. Frontier was going to charge $39 for the more room option. According to CBSN-Denver, the chairman of the House Transportation Committee called it outrageous. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., said the Denver-based airline is using the need for social distancing as an opportunity to make a buck capitalizing on fear and passengers well-founded concerns for their health and safety." CBSN-Denver reported that, "Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., highlighted the fee during a congressional hearing on how COVID-19 is affecting the airline industry. I dont think its appropriate for some passengers who cant afford to pay an additional charge for a seat to be less safe than other travelers, Klobuchar said." Denver-based Frontier President and CEO Barry Biffle wrote a letter to Congress dated yesterday, May 6. Biffle offered these points of clarification: 1. From the beginning of the pandemic, we have led the industry with safety steps, such as enhanced deep cleaning and sanitation of aircraft, including fogging disinfection, HEPA filters on all aircraft, requiring passenger health certifications during the check-in process, and being among the first airlines to require that all flight crews and passengers wear face coverings. All of these important steps are designed to keep passengers healthy when flying Frontier. 2. Like other airlines, we have been fostering social distancing among passengers on our aircraft by allowing them to spread out among seats and rows. However, this week we are exceeding 50 percent systemwide load factors and trending higher on many flights over the coming weeks. Social distancing becomes more problematic as flights fill up and, therefore, we chose to require face masks for everyone. While we believe this ensures safety, we knew some customers wanted more peace of mind and therefore we introduced the More Room product that guaranteed an empty middle seat. 3. Blocking all middle seats or one-third of all airline seats would materially change airline economics and cause airfares to increase by 50 percent to maintain the same revenue. This would not only be harmful to consumers but would cause further strain on the economy at a time when our country can least afford it. The smaller communities we provide critical service to in states like Montana, for example, would be especially harmed with higher fares and it would also hurt jobs at Frontier. We recognize the concerns raised that we are profiting from safety and this was never our intent. We simply wanted to provide our customers with an option for more space. However, we will rescind the seat price increase associated with the More Room product and revert to our former seat assignment pricing. We will leave the seats blocked which were associated with this product and honor purchases made by all customers who bought the product up until now. Further, we will continue to be consistent with the broader industry and make best efforts to ensure as much social distancing as possible throughout the aircraft." READ MORE 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. AN army cadet from Shiplake is calling for people to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Colour sergeant Ashleigh Poolan, 16, made a video to show them how they can deocrate their home to commemorate the end of the Second World War in Europe. She made it on Sunday, May 3, at the request of her Henley detachment commander Melissa Haynes, and it already has more than 1,000 views on the Oxfordshire Army Cadet Force Facebook page. In it she talks about the history of VE Day and the defeat of Nazi Germany before she demonstrates how to make bunting and paper chains with red, white and blue paper. Ashleigh, dressed in her multi-terrain pattern uniform and beret, also encourages people to make their own Union flags, posters, leaflets and banners or blow up balloons. She said: It was about encouraging the cadets to get decorating their houses and we wanted to support the Royal British Legion, which had the initial idea to get the community in Henley decorating houses. We decided it would be beneficial to make this video because I think its important that during these unprecedented times we dont forget about that day in history. She filmed at her home where she lives with her parents Katharine and Martin and her brother Jackson, 17. Ashleigh added that she is pleased so many people have already watched her video. I think its quite nice to know that people are actually getting involved with the important event, she said. I thought they would forget about it because of the coronavirus. Its nice to know theyre getting involved. Its such a revolutionary day and its especially important to remember it now its 75 years ago. The main point of the video was to get everyone involved regardless of the situation. Theres been quite a few comments from people saying well done and posting pictures of their own houses. I think everyone has been very complimentary about it but Im more happy to be involved than getting all the praise for it. Ashleigh has attached a Union flag rug to the garage door at her family home in order to make it stand out. Its good to use anything you can decorate your house with, she said. The rest of the Henley detachment, which comprises more than 50 cadets, will follow virtual celebrations with The Rifles regiment to whom it is affiliated. This includes the two-minute silence at 11am and Winston Churchills victory speech at 3pm. Miss Poolan also encouraged residents to send pictures of their decorations to the Henley and Peppard branch of the Royal British Legion. It is running a competition and will judge all the pictures it receives and the top three will be published in the Henley Standard. Email entries to 2anne.evans@sky.com by Wednesday, May 13. To watch Ashleighs video, visit https://bit.ly/3caYKE4 The inaugural Everywhere Book Fest took place online May 12, reaching more than 43,000 unique viewers from around the world. Organized by authors Melanie Conklin, Ellen Oh, and Christina Soontornvat, the festival was created to bring the joy of childrens books to young readers and their families at home during the pandemic. In addition to directing online sales to 60 independent bookstores that have been affected by the coronavirus crisis, the festival also partnered with We Need Diverse Books to distribute books to schools, libraries, and literacy programs in need across the U.S. Weve gathered a selection of photo highlights from the event, which featured a number of author panels and interactive sessions. The festival kicked off with a live welcome from authors and co-founders (top row, from l.) Christina Soontornvat, Melanie Conklin; and (bottom row, from l.) Ellen Oh's daughter Summer, with American Sign Language interpreter Jennye Camin. Backstage with (top row, from l.) Jennifer Baker (Everyday People), Liara Tamani (All the Things We Never Knew), Bethany C. Morrow (A Song Below Water); (bottom row, from l.) Brandy Colbert (The Voting Booth), and ASL interpreter Camin before the Out of the Box: Exploring the Boundlessness of Black Girlhood session. The authors offered insight into their storytelling process by sharing personal photos and Spotify playlists that inspire their characters and world-building. Facing off in an Illustration Fight to the Death were picture book artists (top row, from l.) Adam Rex (Unstoppable), Shannon Wright (Twins), Molly Idle (Coral), and (bottom l.) Juana Martinez-Neal (Swashby and the Sea). Andrew Eliopulos (The Fascinators) (top row, from l.), Isabel Sterling (This Coven Wont Break), Aiden Thomas (Cemetery Boys), and Anna-Marie McLemore (Dark and Deepest Red) (bottom l.) conjured up a conversation on Magic in Queer YA. Thomas said, The magic in Cemetery Boys is a way for readers to explore queerness and gender and the societal constructs and expectations that we put around that. McLemore added, Theres also this literal and figurative magic to community, to queer community. The Black Voices Matter panel brought together How High the Moon author Karyn Parsons, who played Hilary Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (top row, from l.); author-illustrator Vashti Harrison (Little Legends); National Ambassador for Young Peoples Literature Jason Reynolds (Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You); and Coretta Scott King Honoree Jewell Parker Rhodes (Black Brother, Black Brother) for a discussion about race and intersectionality. Sharing that he initially found it difficult to take on nonfiction with his young readers adaptation of Dr. Ibram X. Kendis Stamped, Reynolds said, In order for me to settle into myself, I had to subvert everything that people thought his book was. Diversity was a major emphasis of the festival. One attendee told the organizers after the event, The wholly glorious takeaway for me was seeing on screen the full beauty of diversity. I watched 18 sessions, and in each one, I found intense pleasure and pride to see such talented people who reflect me. My familys immigration story. My life in a duality of cultures. People who look like me. People who get me. The Marvel: Heroes of Tomorrow panel featured (top row, from l.) Marvel editor Lauren Bisom (moderator), author-artist Skottie Young (Strange Academy series), Preeti Chhibber (Orientation: Marvels Avengers Assembly #1); (bottom row, from l.) Saladin Ahmed (Throne of the Crescent Moon), and Nic Stone (Shuri) with ASL interpreter Brian Truitt. Authors (top row, from l.) Samira Ahmed (Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know), Abigail Hing Wen (Loveboat, Taipei), Gabby Rivera (Juliet Takes a Breath); (bottom row, l.) and Libba Bray (the Diviners series) discussed writing feminist YA, during the Write #HerStory session. YA authors Ismee Williams (This Train Is Being Held) (top l.), I.W. Gregorio (This Is My Brain in Love) (top r.); Mayra Cuevas (Salty, Bitter, Sweet) (bottom l.), and Natalia Sylvester (Running) (bottom r.) answered questions and took on dares from fans (center). During her closing keynote, William C. Morris Award finalist Nic Stone (Dear Martin; Clean Getaway) spoke about her craft and outlined the essential components of a strong narrative. Stone said, The whole point of what I am telling you right now is to emphasize the fact that we are all living a story, and that is why story is so important. The panels and speeches featured on the festival website and on YouTube will be available to readers, teachers, and parents for a calendar year. AUSTIN, Texas, May 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The #TeachersCan initiative surprised more than 100 distinguished teachers with words of appreciation and encouragement from Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey, actress Eva Longoria, former San Antonio Spur Matt Bonner, and well-known fashion designer Kendra Scott during a virtual Toast to Texas Teachers on Tuesday. The event brought together the Regional Texas Teachers of the Year, the H-E-B Excellence in Education Award finalists and the Trinity Prize for Excellence in Teaching Award finalists in celebration of National Teacher Appreciation Week. During the celebration, H-E-B announced its Excellence in Education Award winners, awarding $430,000 in cash and grants to deserving teachers, principals, and school districts, as well as a school board and early childhood education facility. Eight individual winners were surprised live with the news that they won between $5,000 and $25,000 in cash for themselves and up to $25,000 for their school. The Toast to Texas Teachers is part of a week-long virtual celebration organized by the #TeachersCan initiative to give thanks to the many dedicated educators who are securing a future for the state and the nation. #TeachersCan National Teacher Appreciation Week activities consist of more than 40 events including health and wellness sessions, literary discussions with nationally acclaimed authors and a nightly concert series with well-known artists. The celebration will culminate with a live virtual performance by Randy Rogers, Wade Bowen, Sunny Sweeney and Parker McCollum from Whitewater Amphitheater in New Braunfels, Texas on Friday. Organized by a coalition of more than 110 Texas-based businesses and organizations, the #TeachersCan initiative aims to call attention to the critical nature of the teaching profession. For more information on #TeachersCan and a full schedule of events, visit: TeachersCan.org. Video in order of appearance: - Former San Antonio Spur Matt Bonner - Actor Matthew McConaughey - Actress Eva Longoria - Fashion Designer Kendra Scott - H-E-B Vice President of Public Affairs, Environmental Affairs and Diversity - 2015 National Teacher of the Year Shanna Peeples - Laura Dunham, Rising Star Secondary from Clear Lake High School in Houston (won $5,000 cash and $5,000 grant for school)* - Morgan Castillo, Leadership Elementary Winner from Woodgate Intermediate School in Waco (won $10,000 cash and $10,000 grant for school)* - Diana Garcia, Lifetime Achievement Elementary Winner from DeZavala Elementary in San Marcos (won $25,000 cash and $25,000 grant for school)* - Dana Boyd, Principal Elementary Winner from East Point Elementary in El Paso (won $10,000 cash and $25,000 grant for school)* - Susie Towber, Principal from Early Childhood Facility Winner Lawson Early Childhood School in McKinney (won $25,000 grant for school)* - Dr. Thomas Price, Superintendent from Small District Winner Boerne ISD in Boerne (won $50,000 grant for district)* - Michael Hinojosa, Superintendent from Large District Winner Dallas ISD in Dallas (won $100,000 grant for district)* - 2020 Texas Teacher of the Year Karen Sams - 2020 Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year Michelle Sandoval Villegas * indicates H-E-B Excellence in Education Award honoree CONTACT: Lindsey Campbell, The DeBerry Group, 210-998-9000 Related Images image1.png Related Links #TeachersCan Website #TeachersCan National Teacher Appreciation Week Events Related Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkEuPbqelBI SOURCE #TeachersCan The death toll from the styrene gas leak near Vishakapatnam on Thursday climbed to eight and the Andhra Pradesh government ordered a probe into the incident, the state police chief said here. Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy held a high-level review meeting to take stock of the situation and ordered a probe into the matter, state DGP D Gautam Sawang said. As many as eight people were killed in the styrene gas leak incident at LG Polymers Limited plant at R R Venkatapuram near Visakhapatnam in the wee hours of Thursday. The DGP said there was no more leakage of gas and the situation was now "stable and under control". At least 246 persons with health complications are undergoing treatment at the King George Hospital, Visakhapatnam and 20 of them are on ventilator support, he told reporters after the meeting with the chief minister. In all, over 800 persons were evacuated from R R Venkatapuram following the gas leak and most of them only needed first aid. The chief minister ordered an inquiry into the gas leak incident, the DGP said. "How the gas leaked and why the neutraliser at the plant did not prove effective in containing the leak will all be investigated. Styrene, though, is not a poisonous gas and can be fatal only if inhaled in excess quantity," Sawang said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WASHINGTON - Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is glad to be home after being discharged Wednesday from a Baltimore hospital, the court said. Ginsburg, 87, spent one night at the Johns Hopkins Hospital to receive nonsurgical treatment for an infection caused by a gallstone. She participated in court arguments by telephone from her hospital room Wednesday. She will return to the hospital for outpatient visits over the next few weeks and will eventually have the gallstone removed, the court said. The procedure does not involve surgery. The courts oldest justice has been in the hospital twice since November because of infections. She also received outpatient radiation treatment in New York in August for a tumour on her pancreas. Ginsburg has twice been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and also had lung surgery in December 2018 to remove cancerous growths. She underwent surgery for colorectal cancer in 1999. Proponents of legalizing cannabis say the coronavirus pandemic has renewed old arguments for why the plant with medical qualities and recreational uses should come out of the shadows, especially now. Citing how prohibition has led to overcrowding prisons with non-violent drug offenders and how small business in the cannabis space are being denied federal loans, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said reform is more important than ever. The COVID-19 outbreak is no time to permit federal policy to stand in the way of the reality that millions of Americans in states across the country face daily, he said. Cannabis businesses are sources of economic growth and financial stability for thousands of workers and families, and need our support. Congress must step in and make these badly needed reforms during these challenging times. Over the past 12 months, Congress had its first-ever hearing on the question of ending marijuana prohibition and a comprehensive, equity-focused legalization bill was proposed and passed out of committee, said Karen OKeefe, the director of state policies for Marijuana Policy Project , a national lobbying group. The House also heard and passed out of committee bills related to research and veterans access. The Senate held a hearing, and the House passed with a strong bipartisan vote, the SAFE Banking Act, which MPP and our allies are urging Congress to include in the next COVID relief package, OKeefe told NJ Cannabis Insider. The bill would reduce safety risks for cannabis workers and consumers and to facilitate access to capital for small businesses and diverse applicants. On May 13, Blumenauer, who recently introduced legislation to make cannabis businesses eligible for Small Business Administration COVID-19 relief programs, will be a keynote speaker for the livestream discussion, Cannabis and COVID-19: Where Does America Go From Here? presented by Duane Morris (For tickets, go here.) The two-hour program will feature OKeefe and other leaders in the national cannabis space, including: Adult-use cannabis shops in Massachusetts brought in more than $420 million in sales in 2019, the first full calendar year of legalization. Illinois, which launched its adult-use marijuana program on Jan. 1, sold nearly $40 million of legal marijuana the very first month of this year. With conservative projections of the legal cannabis market to hover around $30 billion by 2025, the next few months could accelerate growth even as the pandemic continues to disrupt the economy. Executives from the nations largest growers and distributors of medical and adult-use marijuana said their companies have been forced to change the way they operate, adapting quickly to meet patients needs, while weathering a turbulent market. Being deemed essential is an incredible responsibility for a young industry. This is not a one-time event with a defined ending, said Melillo of something at Curaleaf, which has corporate offices in Wakefield, Massachusetts, and operations in New York, New Jersey, Arizona and Oregon among several states. Its a different world now. Cannabis was already a brand new industry and now, at such an early stage in its existence, the industry is forced to pivot dramatically after receiving its essential designation. Theres no road map - and were building this on the fly, he told NJ Cannabis Insider. And as the crisis has spurred innovative thinking, previously stalled initiatives are now being accelerated. Neer of at New York City-based Acreage Holdings, the largest vertically integrated owner of cannabis licenses with operations in 20 states, said state governments should learn from each other as they move to expansion and eventual legalization. As New Jersey moves toward making home delivery a reality, it can look to its neighbor for lessons learned, she wrote in a recently published op-ed. The New York Department of Health has eased regulations on delivery to maximize safety for both patients and dispensary staff as social distancing efforts continue in an effort to prevent transmission of the virus. Patients in New Jersey must set reasonable expectations when it comes to home delivery, especially in an initial rollout. For the May 13 webcast, audience members will be able to submit questions in advance for Blumenauer and the panelists to answer. The program begins 1 p.m. EST (10 a.m. PST) and costs $8.50. 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. To submit a question, go here. 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. I'll admit it. Sometimes, when my kids were small, work was a welcome respite from the never-ending chaos at home -- and I had a pretty stressful job as a reporter for a big city newspaper. One of my now adult kids reminded me the other day of all the times she would interrupt me when I was trying to make phone calls from home. "And you never told me to stop," she said. That was, of course, before Zoom made every home interaction instantly visible to work colleagues and at a time "face time" meant you were at your desk in an office where bosses could see you. Bosses never believed you were really "working from home." Now, of course, most of us not only have to work from home -- if we still have jobs -- but the pandemic has required working parents take over day care and home-schooling without help or without a break. Except for first responders and healthcare workers who literally put their lives on the line when they go to work, afraid they will get sick as so many have from treating COVID-19 patients. UroMap Gene Expression Test Will Add to CareDxs Best In Class Transplant Surveillance Comprehensive Solutions SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CareDx, Inc. (CDNA), a leading precision medicine company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of clinically differentiated, high-value healthcare solutions for transplant patients and caregivers, today announced a strategic alliance with Weill Cornell Medicine that makes CareDx the exclusive development and commercialization partner of UroMap, a urine-based gene-expression test for acute cellular rejection in kidney transplant recipients. CareDx is collaborating with Weill Cornell Medicine on a multi-year research collaboration with exclusive rights to bring UroMap to patients. UroMap developed by Dr. Manikkam Suthanthiran, a pioneer in molecular diagnostics and Chief of Nephrology, Hypertension and Transplantation Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and his collaborators at Weill Cornell Medicine is an extensively studied technology including a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The NEJM study concluded that the UroMap technology is able to distinguish acute rejection episodes with high accuracy, and may predict future development of an acute rejection episode. Adding UroMap to CareDxs suite of kidney transplant solutions, which includes AlloSure and KidneyCare, may potentially provide healthcare professionals a comprehensive view of immune and injury status of the transplanted kidney. CareDxs solutions enable cutting-edge patient management and support optimizing immunosuppression. UroMap provides early detection and quantification of clinically relevant cellular rejection, said Dr. Suthanthiran, who is also the named inventor on the patent for the urine gene expression technology. We are hopeful that this test will benefit kidney transplant patients. Story continues We are delighted to announce this collaboration with Weill Cornell Medicine to help bring UroMaps rapid allograft rejection detection capabilities to our industry-leading suite of transplant care solutions, said Peter Maag, CEO of CareDx. We continue our commitment to fund research and drive innovation for transplant patient care. CareDx has obtained the exclusive rights to the UroMap technology through an exclusive license agreement with Cornell University, which was negotiated with Cornell Universitys technology transfer office, Center for Technology Licensing at Cornell University (CTL). About CareDx CareDx, Inc., headquartered in South San Francisco, California, is a leading precision medicine solutions company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of clinically differentiated, high-value healthcare solutions for transplant patients and caregivers. CareDx offers testing services, products, and digital healthcare solutions along the pre- and post-transplant patient journey, and is the leading provider of genomics-based information for transplant patients. For more information, please visit: www.CareDx.com . CONTACTS: CareDx, Inc. Sasha King Chief Marketing Officer 415-287-2393 sking@caredx.com School districts are scrambling to distribute food to the families who qualify for free or reduced-price breakfasts and lunches, and many are now also feeding hungry parents and other adults in the community. But other districts are still struggling to get food out to all of the children who need it; the New York City Department of Education recently said it was serving around 470,000 meals per day through its 475 Meal Hub locations, and another 110,00 via home delivery impressive figures that nevertheless fall short of the 900,000 free meals provided each day by New York City schools when they are open. If you have to catch the bus to go pick up your childs school meals or go to the food pantry, youre putting yourself at higher risk for catching Covid-19, just trying to meet your childs food needs, said Marisol Perez, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology at Arizona State University who studies the health trajectories of low-income Mexican-American families in Phoenix. And with no child care, people are wondering, do I leave my children home alone or take them with me to go get the meals? These are tough decisions with no right or wrong answer. Infants and toddlers in food-insecure households were at higher risk for iron deficiency, experienced more hospitalizations and were generally in worse health than children who had enough to eat, according to data collected by Childrens HealthWatch, a network of public health researchers who study how economic conditions impact young children. But along with the physical health risks of so many children going hungry, parents and anti-hunger advocates are worrying about the longer-term impact on child development and the emotional health of families. Dr. Perez said stress is skyrocketing among the families in her study. In addition to the effort and risk that goes into procuring enough food for their children, she said, many parents reported going all day without eating so their children wouldnt miss meals. Its an understandable choice with potentially dire consequences, because even when children arent going hungry themselves, they still suffer as their hungry grown-ups struggle to be patient, present parents. Mothers in food-insecure households were more likely to report depressive symptoms than mothers who had enough to eat, according to a 2018 review of 31 studies. And depressed moms were less likely to read stories, show affection and offer other interactions critical to a young childs brain development, said Dr. Deborah Frank, M.D., a founder of Childrens HealthWatch and a professor who studies child health and well-being at Boston University School of Medicine. Everyone is more worried, irritable, headache-y and lethargic when they arent getting enough to eat. Dr. Franks data also shows that children who experienced household food insecurity may have higher rates of attention issues, anxiety and behavioral outbursts. By age 5, she said, children are old enough to understand the pressures parents are facing. Theyll try to squash the younger sibling from asking for seconds because there isnt enough, or share their school lunches with parents, she said. Parents try to protect the children and children try to protect their parents. Dr. Megan Sandel, M.D., an associate professor of pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine, is a director of the Grow Clinic for Children at Boston Medical Center, originally founded by Dr. Frank. The clinic treats children from mostly low-income families who have been diagnosed with failure to thrive, a common consequence of household hunger. Since the pandemic started, she said, children who had previously graduated from her program have returned because their families are worried they may fall off the growth curve again in the face of new food insecurity. And many of the families she works with are reporting an increase in behavioral outbursts and regression on milestones like potty training. One mom kept saying her 4-year-old was being mean to her, but what it came down to is, he is really anxious, Dr. Sandel said. Hes internalizing whats going on, and hes worrying about dragons and spiders coming to get him, so he wants to sleep in the bed with her. Dr. Sandel worked with that mother to figure out a new bedtime routine for her child, because she said getting enough sleep is crucial for all children, but especially those struggling with missed meals and increased stress. And if he wants to sleep in her bed, right now, Im going to say thats OK! With the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in Nigeria, pressure has begun to mount on President Muhammadu Buhari to lock down the country in order to avert disaster. As at the time of filing this report, Nigeria has 3,145 confirmed cases of Coronavirus, with 103 deaths recorded. On Wednesday, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Youth Task Force on COVID-19 advised President Muhammadu Buhari to lockdown Abuja again to curtail further spread of the Covid-19. In the same vein, Itsey Sagay, Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), called on President Buhari to lockdown Nigeria for two months. Advertisement On Thursday, the Progressive Students Movement (PSM), a pan-African student group, also joined the growing list of groups to urge the Federal Government to totally lock down states with rising cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country. 3 1 of 3 Houston Police Department Show More Show Less 2 of 3 OnScene TV Show More Show Less 3 of 3 The man accused of killing three men in a string of shootings on Houston's southwest side late Wednesday night was captured hours later. Joshua Kelsey, 35, was spotted driving a Kia Forte that was taken from one of the three victims hours after the killings, according to Houston police. Police identified him as the suspect in the shootings, although no formal charges appear to have been filed yet. MADRID (Reuters) - Spain has extended the state of emergency imposed to combat the coronavirus pandemic for two more weeks from Sunday, allowing the government to control people's movements as it gradually relaxes a national lockdown. Parliament approved the measure on Wednesday after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who heads a fragile coalition government, mustered enough support from opposition parties to carry the vote. Spain, where more than 25,000 people have died from the COVID-19 disease, has been under a lockdown since March 14 and the current state of emergency ends at midnight on Saturday. MADRID (Reuters) - Spain has extended the state of emergency imposed to combat the coronavirus pandemic for two more weeks from Sunday, allowing the government to control people's movements as it gradually relaxes a national lockdown. Parliament approved the measure on Wednesday after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who heads a fragile coalition government, mustered enough support from opposition parties to carry the vote. Spain, where more than 25,000 people have died from the COVID-19 disease, has been under a lockdown since March 14 and the current state of emergency ends at midnight on Saturday. Although the situation is improving, Sanchez says it is necessary to maintain some restrictions on movement to keep the infection at bay. (Reporting By Belen Carreno; Editing by Angus MacSwan) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Farmers in western Rajasthans Barmer, Jalore, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur districts are battling a double whammy. Amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, the locust invasion from neighbouring Pakistans Sindh province, which made its wild foray for the first time in 26 years on May 21, 2019, is threatening to cause major damage to the green fodder and some rabi crops such as raiyda and bajra. The authorities are claiming that this years locust invasion may surpass last years, as both rabi and kharif crops are under threat. Official data suggested that crops spread over around 1.5 lakh hectares have been damaged, including Jalore (60,000), Jaisalmer (55,000), Barmer (35,000) and Jodhpur (10,000), by the locust attack. The state government is worried about the economic implications of the locust attack. State revenue minister Harish Choudhary has drawn the central governments attention and sought its urgent intervention in the matter. Choudhary has written to both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar and reminded them about the extent of damage caused to the crops during a similar attack last year. He cited a lack of coordination between the centre and state government for the situation spiralling out of control last year and also urged that New Delhi raises the matter at the international level such as the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), as the insects are invading from neighbouring Pakistan, and make a desperate bid to restrict the invasion. Farmers, however, can heave a sigh of relief, as they have harvested the cumin crop, one of the swarming locusts favourite targets. The state government is trying to contain the locust attacks that have been reported from several villages of Barmer and Jaisalmer districts and other parts of western Rajasthan. Vishram Meena, district collector, Barmer, said that the authorities have started monitoring the locust invasion and meetings have been held with revenue and agricultural departments to prevent them. Locust attacks have been controlled in 250 hectares in Barmer districts Gida block. Many villages under Sheo, Chohtan, Barmer and Gadara blocks in the district are also grappling with the crisis. In Jaisalmer district, Chandhan, Lathi, Ramgarh, Tanot and Kishangarh areas are facing a similar problem. So are some parts of Ganganagar and Bikaner districts, Meena said. Jaisalmer district administration authorities have held a meeting with officials from the Border Security Force (BSF), who guards the international border with Pakistan, to tackle the crisis. Several districts in western Rajasthan, including Barmer, Jalore, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Ganganagar, fell prey to the locust attack last summer, which took the farmers by surprise, as it occurred after a gap of 26 years. Barmer, Jaisalmer and Jalore districts were the worst-hit last year. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Russell Brand on the spike in google searches for 'prayer': People are looking for a 'sacred experience' Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Google searches for the word prayer increased massively over the past few weeks amid the worldwide pandemic and controversial comedian Russell Brand, who's best known for his vulgarity, offered his thoughts on why. "I found out that everyone's googling prayer, Brand said in an Instagram video post, titled Why the h*** are people suddenly googling prayer? People want to know how to pray all of a sudden. There was a time not that long ago when we thought that prayer and religion was redundant that mankind could answer all of our questions through technology. Brand said that now everyone is looking for a sacred experience. He then went on to define the meaning of the word sacred as holy, divine, the presence of God. What I think that means is the presence of the limitless that is always, by its nature, present in the limited bandwidth of our physical sense-based experience here on Earth, which on some level we know is not enough," he said. In March, it was discovered by Jeanet Sinding Bentzen, associate professor at the University of Copenhagen and executive director of the Association for the Study of Religion, Economics, and Culture that In Crisis, We Pray: Religiosity and the COVID-19 Pandemic. In a draft released by Bentzen, she found that prayer intensity rose in countries that have only recently been hit by the pandemic themselves. "Daily data on Google searches for 95 countries demonstrates that the COVID-19 crisis has increased Google searches for prayer (relative to all Google searches) to the highest level ever recorded," she wrote. "The level of prayer search shares in March 2020 was more than 50% higher than the average during February 2020." Brand noted that the world has now been forced into a monastic corner, except for those of us that are frontline workers. "The fact that people are googling prayer suggests to me that we need to find a way to pray together, he added. Now you might not want to pray because you say, 'Hey man, I don't like religion, it's trying to tell me how to think.' It ain't trying to tell you how to think, it's just giving you some suggestions. Brand, who became famous for his insults and wild behavior, challenged people to think about why they were googling prayer. "Think about why are you looking to prayer? What are you looking for? Is it you feel trapped in your home at the moment? Do you feel afraid? You feel afraid for loved ones? he inquired. "My conception, a prayer to the limitless, to the oneness from which all phenomena. In 2018, Brand said he discovered that Jesus Christ is the solution to the world's problems. Following his divorce from pop star Katy Perry after being married for 14 months, Brand began the process of changing his life around. He wed actress Laura Gallacher in 2017 and has since been sharing a more positive message on his platforms. Brand ended the video on prayer by showing people how he prays. "This is how I pray: I go what do I really want, what am I trying to get to? Firstly, I acknowledge that what I really want, may not matter. So I go, 'God, try and make me of maximum use, try and liberate me from the limited view of myself as a vessel for primal desires and wants, just an object for economic systems that would seek to control me. Show me, God, how I can be useful in other people's lives. Show me the way of kindness, compassion and simplicity. Please help me to have faith that even though I don't know how things are going to be alright, that they will be alright. Brand told those who are googling help me God that the real answer is within themselves. Although thought to have been a newly converted Christian after his recovery from drug and alcohol and his 2017 book, titled Recovery: Freedom from our Addictions, Brand shared in 2019 that he is a Perennial and embraces all religions. The coronavirus outbreak has not only caused thousands of deaths around the world but has caused untold damage to the economy: on 12 August it was confirmed that the UK economy had fallen into recession. Many businesses have struggled to maintain revenue and relied on the government furlough scheme to pay staff, meaning they could keep employees on payroll but temporarily delegate payment of wages to the state. Previously, the scheme paid employees paid 80 per cent of their salary (up to a maximum of 2,500 per month) but this has now gone down to 70 per cent, with the employer paying 10 per cent of the salary. Next month the scheme will be wound down altogether. This made sense when employees were being encouraged back to the office and hospitality was reopening, and supported by Eat Out To Help Out, but on 22 September stricter measures were reintroduced, which have led to renewed concerns about unemployment rates once the scheme ends. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to unveil a replacement for the furlough scheme on Thursday in an attempt to avoid mass redundancies. But what happens to those on the furlough scheme when it is wound down? Will they be entitled to any compensation if their employer can still not have them back full time? When will the scheme end? When the furlough scheme was first announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak on 20 March it was only made available to businesses until 31 May. It has since been extended to the end of October, but has been winding down since the start of August. From 1 September, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will pay 70 per cent of the wages for workers placed on leave up to a cap of 2,187.50 a month, down from 80 per cent up to a maximum of 2,500 a month. Employers will also start paying 10 per cent of the furloughed employees' wages. Then, the next stage will begin in October, when the government will pay 60 per cent of wages up to a cap of 1,875. The employers' share of the bill will then go up to 20 per cent. Could the scheme be extended again? So far, Rishi Sunak has ruled out extending the scheme past October. However, on Thursday he is expected to unveil an emergency job protection plan to replace it, in a bid to protect millions of jobs in sectors hit by the latest Covid-19 restrictions. Pressure has been mounting from a number of high-profile figures asking the government to reconsider ending the current furlough scheme. Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, has directly challenged Sunak to stop and rethink ending furlough in October, suggesting some sectors, such as hospitality, may need targeted help in the coming months. "[Furlough] has helped manage the shock, to firms and to labour [but now] the use of it, as far as we can tell, is more concentrated," Bailey said at a British Chambers of Commerce webinar . "I think it is therefore sensible to stop and rethink the approach going forward. Similarly, Kate Nicholls, of trade body UK Hospitality said the sector will see a ''steady stream of job losses'' if more support isn't given, following the implementation of a 10pm curfew across pubs and restaurants on 22 September. The government must immediately announce an exhaustive package of financial support, otherwise our sector is facing ruin, she said. Employment support must be extended. The furlough scheme is already wining down and it comes to a complete halt at the end of October. Unless it is extended for our sector, businesses are inevitably going to have to make staff redundant. We are looking at a steady stream of job losses for six months, otherwise. 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 While Sunak appears steadfast on ending the scheme, there have been reports that he is considering replacing furlough with German-style wage subsidies. Government officials are examining whether the state can subsidise the wages of employees who can work at least 50 to 60 percent of their normal hours, the Financial Times states. The Guardian has also shared similar reports, adding that Sunak has delayed an announcement on 23 September, saying that he would extend four government-backed loan guarantee schemes to November, because he now wants to draw up a wider support package. What happens to furloughed employees when the scheme ends? For the millions of people relying on the scheme to pay rent and bills, it is obviously concerning thinking about what will happen to your income when the scheme is wound down whenever that might be. Lucy Lewis, partner at HR law firm, Lewis Silkin, tells The Independent: The idea is that employees will be able to come back to work. The scheme is designed so that employers dont need to make redundancies and then recruit a new workforce once the crisis is over their existing workforce will be ready and waiting to resume work. But of course this relies on the business being in a stronger position than a few months ago, and for many this will not be the case. CIPD says that when the scheme ends businesses will either be able to bring employees back full-time or choose one of three options: agreed reduced working hours with some or all staff, furlough staff for a further period (at the expense of the business not the government) or consider redundancies. What do these options mean for me? Lewis says of bringing employees back: This is easiest but most expensive option. It is likely to be used by employers who anticipate that they can get back to near-normal trading conditions in the relatively short-term. There is no prescribed mechanism for bringing employees back to work, but we would anticipate giving no less than 48 hours written notice. CIPD says if employers are in a position to take staff back full-time employers will need to ensure that payroll staff are aware furlough has ended and they should return to full pay (taking into account the national minimum and living wage rates increases from April for any staff employed on those rates). If your employer wants to reduce your hours, CIPD says this will need to be in writing. They should also be clear about the reasons for reducing your working hours. Can I be made redundant? If trading conditions have not improved and staff cannot be taken back, Lewis says the usual redundancy rules will apply including a formal giving of notice and reasons why you are being made redundant. This is significant because other European countries that have similar schemes in place are imposing restrictions on employers making redundancies. No such conditions are being imposed in the UK, she adds. On 30 July new laws were introduced that mean furloughed workers who lose their jobs will receive redundancy pay based on their normal wage. Ministers said the move will ensure that furloughed employees receive statutory redundancy pay based on their normal wages rather than a reduced furlough rate. The changes will mean those furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme are not short-changed if they are made redundant, the government said. Ministers said the changes will also apply to statutory notice pay and other entitlements, providing some reassurance "during this difficult time". If your business is making more than 20 people redundant (but fewer than 100 people) they must start collective consultation on the redundancies at least 30 days before giving notice to employees. A number of businesses have already announced that job losses will occur when the furlough scheme ends, including former Pizza Express boss Luke Johnson, who told Newsnight: I would estimate of the three million [on the furlough scheme], at least a million will be made redundant. Similarly, the owner of the Premier Inn chain of hotels and Brewers Fayre restaurants, Whitbread, said it expected to lose 6,000 staff members. Can I be made redundant before the scheme ends? Citizens Advice says that employees should be aware they can also be made redundant during the period of furlough before the scheme is officially over. When will I know what is happening? Employment lawyer Gareth Price of Parklane Plowden Chambers says: A good employer will maintain good communication with their employees so it is fair and reasonable for employees to want to know the likely status as soon as possible. I saw that no matter what we talked about or no matter what we did, she later said in an interview, unless we became sophisticated and educated to the point that we could devise methods of change that would not in any way constantly threaten the lives of those who would be the ones to map out strategy, we were never going to be able to survive. They note that they serve a population that is by default among the most vulnerable, due to residents advanced age and medical conditions like lung and heart problems that make their complications more severe. In addition, its now known that workers, visitors and residents may have been spreading the virus without showing symptoms. Apropos Karnataka goes all out to hold onto migrants (May 7), which talks about a ~1,610 crore mega package, claimed to be the biggest announced by any state so far. Flower cultivation being a seasonal thing, many anthurium cultivators who adopt polyhouse farming will be deprived of any relief under the package as the crop column in the record of RTC (rights, tenancy and crops) gets updated only once a year. The flower growers usually do not bother much about the RTC too. This exotic flower has its importance mainly in the overseas markets ... A statue of the "Fearless Girl" stands in front of the NYSE during the coronavirus pandemic on April 30, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images) By Enda Curran The pandemic that turned the global economy upside down is also threatening to rewrite the rules of capitalism itself. The stringent lockdowns enforced by governments to contain the virus have triggered unprecedented intervention into not just financial markets, but also the day-to-day wheels of global commerce. From buying bonds to paying wages, authorities are playing a role in the economy that was unimaginable even a few months ago. To be clear, its not like they had much choice. The alternative would have been to stand back and watch as companies fell and workers were left stranded, ultimately digging an even bigger economic hole to fill once the crisis passes. The challenge is how and when to unwind all of this support without setting off the kind of political and ideological bushfires that will burn for years. The longer authorities remain in the market whether its a controlling stake in an airline or backstopping loans to energy companies the greater the risk of collateral damage. The dilemma is real and will play out in legislatures and policy meetings for years to come. Cutting and running too soon risks stripping away a vital safety net that both companies and workers may still need. Staying too long risks crowding out private players. Big government may be back, but how long its welcome is another story. A pedestrian walks past a graffiti that reads 'Lucidream' on the shutters of a closed shop in the London borough of Newham, east London, on May 2, 2020, as life in Britain continues during the nationwide lockdown due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. (Photo: BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images) Global Headlines Phase two | President Donald Trump fixed his course on reopening the nation for business, acknowledging that the move would cause more illness and death from the pandemic but insisting its a cost hes willing to pay to get the economy back on track. Trump presented the imminent easing of stay-at-home rules as a fait accompli, as governors across the South and Midwest have begun returning people to work. Trump said White House officials are discussing disbanding the task force that has helmed the federal virus response efforts so far. Blame game | Chinas ambassador to the U.S. said allegations faulting Beijing for the spread of the coronavirus risked a decoupling of the worlds two largest economies. In a column published in the Washington Post, Ambassador Cui Tiankai called for an end to the blame game, saying that increased suspicions threatened to hurt U.S.-China cooperation to fight the pandemic and restart the global economy. Its time to focus on the disease and rebuild trust between our two countries, he said. Story continues Spreading charges | Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro wanted to replace the chief of the federal police in Rio de Janeiro, where he built his political career, former Justice Minister Sergio Moro told investigators. The accusation adds to his previous one that Bolsonaro tried to meddle in police work by naming a family friend as top cop at the institution akin to the U.S.s Federal Bureau of Investigation. Abandoning caution | The unusual unity that has permeated Germany since the pandemic arrived is starting to fray as pressure grows on Chancellor Angela Merkel to speed up the countrys exit from lockdown. With Europes biggest economy forecast to shrink 6.3% this year, business and industry lobbies are clamoring for Merkel to throw off her caution and allow more commerce. Merkel meets with state leaders today to forge a consensus on reopening. Getting closer | With a Friday deadline looming, Argentina and its biggest creditors are suggesting possible revisions to the countrys $65 billion debt restructuring proposal that could help break an impasse. While both sides are uncompromising in public, behind closed doors they are showing some willingness to improve the terms of the exchange and continue talks, Bloomberg reports. The pressure is still on, however: crucial bond payments come due May 22. What to Watch The EU warned today that the 27-nation bloc is facing the deepest economic downturn in its history, threatening the future of the euro if the crisis is badly handled. Trump supports Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal for a summit of the five UN Security Council permanent members and sent him a message describing the initiative as a good idea, the American ambassador to Moscow told the Interfax news service. Russian mercenaries are engaged in a large-scale effort in Libya to bolster eastern commander Khalifa Haftar providing technical support, direct involvement in combat operations and sophisticated influence campaigns, according to United Nations experts. Ivory Coast arrested 14 soldiers and five civilians on allegations of planning a coup linked to presidential hopeful Guillaume Soro, who was sentenced in absentia last week on charges of embezzlement and money laundering. And finally ... Long a target of the Philippines outspoken president, Rodrigo Duterte, the countrys largest media company was ordered to close overnight after its franchise expired. ABS-CBN has more than 50 TV and digital stations along with 20 radio stations, and its closure has sparked a wave of criticism directed at Dutertes administration. Along with ABS-CBN, Duterte has attacked several media outlets since he came to power in 2016 for their reporting on his drug war that has killed thousands. Supporters and other media persons gather in front of ABS-CBN's main office on May 5, 2020 in Manila after the Philippine government shuts down ABS-CBN, the country's biggest and leading broadcaster that has been critical of president Rodrigo Duterte while the country is facing the threat of the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Jes Aznar/Getty Images) 2020 Bloomberg L.P. [May 07, 2020] Green Dot Hires Daniel Eckert as Executive Vice President & Chief Product, Strategy and Development Officer Green Dot Corporation (NYSE: GDOT) today announced that Daniel Eckert has joined the company as Executive Vice President & Chief Product, Strategy and Development Officer, leading all of Green Dot's product and Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform business efforts. In this role, he will be responsible for product vision, strategy, design and development, from conceptualization through launch and post-launch, and on business development activities to acquire and grow major BaaS platform partnerships. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507006167/en/ Daniel Eckert, Executive Vice President & Chief Product, Strategy and Development Officer (Photo: Business Wire) "Daniel has been a valued Green Dot partner since he joined Walmart in 2010 and has a deep understanding of our business and the role we play in the financial lives of our customers," said Dan Henry, President and Chief Executive Officer. "While at Walmart, Daniel served as a catalyst for Green Dot's creativity, always pushing for continued innovation on the programs and platforms we support for this important relationship. He possesses a unique ability to balance customer value and satisfaction with a sustainable business model, and we're excited that he's joining our team to continue driving our growth." Mr. Eckert joins the Company following a 10-year career at Walmart, where he most recently served as Senior Vice Preident, Walmart Services & Digital Acceleration, Walmart U.S., responsible for accelerating Walmart's transformation as an omni-channel retailer. In 2019, Mr. Eckert spearheaded the creation and launch of TailFin Labs, LLC - a first-of-its-kind joint venture between Walmart and Green Dot - with a mission to develop innovative products, services and technologies that sit at the intersection of retail shopping and consumer financial services. "For a decade I had a front row seat to witness Green Dot's transformation from a prepaid debit card company to a FinTech powerhouse that was able to evolve not just the Walmart MoneyCard, but also the entire Banking-as-a-Service industry," said Mr. Eckert. "The combination of Green Dot's technology platform, bank charter, and BaaS partnerships has created a financial services innovation ecosystem that is unmatched in the industry and I'm looking forward to realizing its full potential." Mr. Eckert joined Walmart in January 2010 as Vice President of Financial Services before transitioning to lead all of Walmart Services in 2013. During his tenure with Services, Mr. Eckert nearly tripled the size of the business through organic innovation and growth, while building Walmart's financial services practice into the 3rd largest money services business in the U.S. He was also responsible for the conceptualization, implementation, and growth of market-disruptive fintech innovations such as Walmart's fintech point-of-sale platform, Walmart2Walmart / Walmart2World Money Transfer services, Walmart Pay, and GoBank & Prize Savings with Green Dot. Before Walmart, Mr. Eckert served as senior vice president of card and retail services for HSBC, where he founded and led HSBC's venture development and payment products group. He also previously held positions at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Accenture (News - Alert), and was an entrepreneur and president of an early-stage investment banking company. Mr. Eckert is a proud military veteran, having served as a Logistics Officer in the United States Marine Corps. He holds a bachelor's degree from University of Michigan (Class Honors) and a Master's degree in Business Administration from University of Chicago Booth School of Business (High Honors). About Green Dot Green Dot Corporation, (NYSE:GDOT), is a financial technology leader and bank holding company with a mission to power the banking industry's branchless future. Enabled by proprietary technology and Green Dot's wholly-owned commercial bank charter, Green Dot's "Banking as a Service" platform is used by a growing list of America's most prominent consumer and technology companies to design and deploy their own bespoke banking solutions to their customers and partners, while Green Dot uses that same integrated technology and banking platform to design and deploy its own leading collection of banking and financial services products directly to consumers through one of the largest retail banking distribution platforms in America. Green Dot products are marketed under brand names such as Green Dot, GoBank, MoneyPak, AccountNow, RushCard and RapidPay, and can be acquired through more than 100,000 retailers nationwide, thousands of corporate paycard partners, several "direct-2-consumer" branded websites, thousands of tax return preparation offices and accounting firms, thousands of neighborhood check cashing locations and both of the leading app stores. Green Dot Corporation is headquartered in Pasadena, California, with additional facilities throughout the United States and in Shanghai, China. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507006167/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Coronavirus Outbreak LIVE Updates: Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said that the state government had no plan to deploy the army in Mumbai, which is one of the worst-hit cities by coronavirus. Auto refresh feeds "Besides, all the customers are being asked to put down their names, address and mobile number in the register kept at the liquor shops," he said. "The indelible ink is being applied to the index finger of buyers coming to purchase liquor, in Hoshangabad district. It's being done to trace people in near future if needed," Tiwari told ANI. Madhya Pradesh's Hoshangabad district Excise officer Abhishek Tiwari on Friday said that the district is keeping a record of all customers who are purchasing alcohol by applying indelible ink to their fingers. They were resting on the railway tracks at the time of the accident and meant to catch a train from Aurangabad to their village. The tragic incident occurred when the migrant workers were asleep on the rails between Badnapur and Karmad. At least 14 migrant labourers in Maharashtra, who were headed home to Chhattisgarh, were killed by a goods train at Gadhe jalgaon area of Aurangabad on Friday morning. The flight to bring back stranded Indian students from Bangladesh will leave at 11 am on Friday. All the 167 passengers are medical students from Srinagar studying in Dhaka. First batch of Indian nationals arrived at the Ferry Terminal in Male to go through necessary checks and procedures as they prepare for evacuation by INS Jalashwa later on Friday under Operation Samudra Setu. IndiGo airline decided to announce a pay cut for senior employees up to 17 percent amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has hit the aviation industry hard. The reduction in pay will be applied for the months of May, June and July, according to The Economic Times. He further said that special arrangements will be in place for patients already admitted. "A PG student at Guwahti Medical College has tested COVID positive last night. Consequently we have to screen everyone who came in contact with him and sanitize the entire GMCH premises," said Sarma. The Assam government has ordered sanitisation of the entire premise of Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on Friday after an PG student tested COVID-19 positive. The hospital has been shut for new patients for next few days, said Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Mokshada Patil, SP Aurangabad, on Friday said 16 people were killed in Aurangabad due to the train accident. She said efforts were ongoing to gather more information about the incident and provide counselling to four others who witnessed the incident. The injured in the train accident on the Aurangabad-Jalna railway line have been taken to Aurangabad Civil Hospital. Railways have ordered an inquiry into the matter. He is in touch with Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray for arrangements related to treatment of the injured migrants, officials in Madhya Pradesh said. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan conveyed his condolences and spoke with Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, seeking help for the families of the workers who died in the accident. Chouhan also announced Rs 5 lakh compensation for their families. Responding to the Aurangabad-Jalna railway accident that happened on Friday morning at 5.30 am, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal offered his condolences to the victims and said that the coronavirus and lockdown proved to be harshest to the poor. "I am shocked at the news of migrant labourers being crushed to death by a goods train. We should be ashamed at the treatment meted out to the builders of our nation. My condolences to the families of those killed and I pray for the early recovery of the injured," tweeted Rahul. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi condoled the deaths of migrant labourers who were mowed down by a goods train in Maharashtra's Aurangabad on Friday morning. She is not a superpowered camelid. Winter was simply the lucky llama chosen by researchers in Belgium, where she lives, to participate in a series of virus studies involving both SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome). Finding that her antibodies staved off those infections, the scientists posited that those same antibodies could also neutralize the new virus that causes COVID-19. They were right and published their results Tuesday in the journal Cell. Winter is a four-year-old chocolate-coloured llama with spindly legs, ever-so-slightly askew ears and envy-inducing eyelashes. Some scientists hope she might be an important figure in the fight against the coronavirus. IndiGo is likely to implement a pay cut of up to 37 percent of senior employees for the months of May, June and July, The Economic Times reported. For pilots, the salary reduction could be up to 32 percent, the report added. "The faceless migrant workers are reduced to mere statistics, both in their lives and death. Make no mistake, but for few exceptions, Govts both at Centre and States have been brazen in leaving them at their fate and the mercy of the greed of the society," said Kishor. Political strategist Prashant Kishor on Friday took a jibe at both Central and State governments following the mishap in Aurangabad in which 16 migrant labourers were killed after a goods train ran over them on Aurangabad-Jalna railway tracks. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to address the media on Friday on COVID-19 situation and the prevailing economic crisis in light of the lockdown imposed across the nation. "Lockdown not an on and off switch, it is a transition which requires cooperation between Centre, states and people," said Rahul. During his video press conference, Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that a "visible" clash was evident between economic supply chain and 'red, orange and green zones'. Congress' Rahul Gandhi stressed on the need to enforce transparency on Central government's actions in response to COVID-19. "We need to understand when they open the coronavirus lockdown what will be the criteria for its opening," said Rahul. Coronavirus not a deadly disease for everyone, only 1% of the society is susceptible to contract the viral infection, said Rahul Gandhi during the video press conference on COVID-19 situation on Friday. "We have to protect job creators, build a wall for them to protect jobs, wages," Rahul Gandhi said it was pivotal to provide them financial support. Rahul Gandhi said it was crucial to restart the economic activities to save the nation from worsening impacts of coronavirus lockdown. "We need to start our domestic economy soon, the more time we lose, the worse impact it will have," said Rahul. "We need to decentralise fight against COVID-19; there will be calamity if we continue to centralise decision-making," said Rahul. During his video press conference, Congress' Rahul Gandhi reiterated the need for decentralisation in decision-making in the fight against the novel coronavirus. He further of warned of a "calamity" if centralised decision-making authority continues to mete out the impact of pandemic. This is a slower rate of increase compared to the previous 48 hours, when the reported case count rose by 16 percent to 49,391. The number of reported coronavirus cases in India increased by 14 percent over the past two days to 56,342, according to the latest data released by Health Ministry on Friday. According to the COVID-19 nodal officer, the state has recorded 41 deaths till now. While the recovery rate stood at 45 percent after 842 patients were discharged. With 54 more individuals testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Andhra Pradesh in past 24 hours, the total number of confirmed cases in the state climbed to 1,887 on Friday. According to reports, she was detected COVID-19 positive after her body was tested for the infection. Some of her family members are also said to be have contracted the disease. A 16-year-old girl from Bongaigaon in Assam has reportedly died of the coronavirus pandemic, on Thursday. As per reports, the girl succumbed to the viral infection in Dr B Barooah Cancer Institute Colony, Guwahati. "We will not pass any order but states should consider home delivery or indirect sale of liquor to maintain social distancing," a three-judge bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and BR Gavai said, while hearing the case via video-conferencing to follow distancing norms. The Supreme Court on Friday advised states to consider "indirect sale, home delivery" of liquor to ensure crowds are minimised at alcohol shops across the country. Disposing off a PIL on the subject, the apex court, however, stressed on the necessity to adhere to social dostancing norms. Mumbai and Pune metropolitan regions have contributed 90 percent of Maharashtra's cases so far. The extended lockdown is scheduled to end on 17 May. Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, while addressing an all-party leaders' meeting via video conference on Thursday, hinted that the coronavirus lockdown may be extended till the end of May in the state's red zones. "45 new positive cases have been reported from last evening to this noon. Till date 750 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed. This includes 30 deaths and 371 discharges," the health department said. Forty five new COVID-19 positive cases, including that of a five month old girl, were confirmed in Karnataka, taking the total number of infections in the state to 750. "Seeing people coming home is the best feeling for Delhi Airport. Here's a glimpse of the first Evacuation flight AI381 to Delhi that landed a short while ago from Changi Airport," tweeted Delhi Airport. Air India's first flight that took off from Singapore carrying stranded Indian nationals onboard landed at the Delhi Airport on Friday afternoon. The COVID-19 situation in Assam has deteriorated since Thursday after four more people, who took a bus journey from Ajmer in Rajasthan to Silchar in Assam, have tested positive for the viral infection, said health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during press meet at NHM office, Guwahati, on Friday. He further said that the person travelled in a bus with 45 passengers. "All the other passengers from Cachar will undergo institutional quarantine. Many areas in Cachar district have been declared as containment zones. We are a little worried about the COVID scene in Cachar," he said. Himanta Biswa Sarma said that a Dhekiajuli resident, tested positive for COVID-19 in Cachar district on Wednesday night after he had reached Assam from Ajmer in Rajasthan. Many staff members, including the superintendent of the college, are in quarantine now, "Since he is a hostel resident, boys hostels 1 and 5 are declared containment zones," said Himanta Biswa Sarma during press meet on Friday. A PG student at the Gauhati Medical College, who was on screening duty, has tested positive for COVID-19. Based out of Karnataka, the student currently was put up in the college hostel. "All Grade-3 and Grade-4 staff of the medical college who were in contact with the doctor have been tested for COVID-19. A total of 1,500 people are tested in this connection," said Sarma during the briefing on Friday. After a PG student at the Gauhati Medical College tested COVID-19 positive, health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that no new patients will be admitted to the hospital for the next three days. The Maharashtra government has decided to promote all the students of first year and second year, studying in various universities in the state, without any exam. However, it has decided to promote third year students on the basis of examination. The exam will be held in July. "If we can send samples to them we can have the results in 2-3 days but, otherwise locally it will take 5-6 days," said Sarma. We are in talks with laboratories in Kolkata and Delhi to expedite the testing of COVID-19 samples, said Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday. Drug Controller General of India has given approval for clinical trials of Favipiravir which is used in influenza in Japan, China and other countries. The drug can be potentially useful against COVID-19 and a phytopharmaceutical which is an extract of a plant, CSIR Director General Shekhar Mande told news agency ANI. As many as 100 people lost their lives to the deadly virus. After 64 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Rajasthan, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state climbed to 3,491 on Friday. Of the total, there are 1,475 active cases, said Rajasthan Health Department. The second special train with 1,301 migrant labourers left Mohali Railway Station at 10 am on Friday for Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh, the Mohali District Public Relations Office said. As many as 1,853 patients have recovered from the virus in the state. While, Jaipur has seen a recovery of 677 patients, taking the recovery rate to 60 percent. Of the total 3,386 COVID-19 cases in Rajasthan, the maximum was reported in Jaipur with 1,137 patients being infected. More than half of the total COVID-19 deaths in the state, Jaipur registered 53. MHA joint secretary PS Srivastava on Friday said that the Railways has run 222 Shramik Special Trains for the movement of stranded people, and more than 2.5 lakh people have made use of this facility so far. "We have written to 11 states. Our limitation is that only five trains can run per day. Trains will depart everyday," he added. The Karnataka nodal officer for the exercise of sending stranded people back to their native states on Friday said that the BS Yediyurappa government has received consent from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Jharkhand so far. R Ashok, Karnataka revenue minister and in-charge of the transportation of stranded migrant workers said. "We have already booked 16 trains and are ready to send the migrant workers. But consent is awaited from other state governments. Bihar has given one train permission every day. There is no fault of Karnataka." "They will be placed on 250 identified stations and will be used for treatment of mild and very mild cases while ensuring that different coaches are designated for suspected and confirmed cases," he added. Union health ministry joint secretary Lav Aggarwal said that the Railways has converted 5,231 coaches as COVID-19 care centres. A revised list of red, orange and green zones will be circulated to state governments soon after the analysis of data, said Lav Agrawal, Health ministr joint secretary on Friday. "If we will follow required do's and don'ts, we may not achieve the a peak in the number of COVID-19 cases in India. There is always a possibility to witness a spike in cases if we do not take the required precautions and follow processes," said Lav Agrawal, Joint Secretary of Health Ministry. "Today, when we are talking of relaxations and return of migrant workers, we have to understand that we also have to learn to live with the virus. The preventive guidelines against the virus need to be implemented as behavioral changes," said Lav Agrawal, Health Ministry joint secretary. A man has been tested positive for coronavirus in the Bhadrak district of Odisha, taking the total number of cases to 246 in the state, the health department said. The APMC market in Surat will remain closed from 9 May to 14 May after more than 25 vegetable traders have tested positive for coronavirus, the Surat Municipal Commissioner, Gujarat said. The Karnataka health department said that 48 new coronavirus cases were reported in the state on Friday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 753. "The second week may focus on those stranded in Russia, CIS, Ukraine, Thailand, Spain and Germany. It will also see feeder flights," News18 reported. Reports said that the second phase of the Centre's repatriation exercise dubbed Mission Vande Bharat will start from 15 May. The Tamil Nadu health department said that the number of coronavirus cases has reached 6,009 in the state on Friday, including 1,605 recovered/discharged and 40 deaths. Number of active cases stands at 4,361. More such flights are also being readied by the authorities to facilitate other Indians as part of the Operation Vande Bharat - A homecoming, Indias massive repatriation operation to bring home its citizens stranded abroad. The evacuation flight carrying the students from here will land in Srinagar directly. The first batch of 168 Indian students, stranded in Bangladesh due to the coronavirus-linked global travel restrictions, left for home on Friday on board a special Air India flight, officials said. Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray on Friday said that the Maharashtra government defer university final year exams if the coronavirus situation in state continues. "There has been a rumour for the past 2-3 days that army will be deployed in Mumbai.There is no need for army deployment here.Whatever I've done till today I've done by informing citizens. You all should be disciplined&that will be enough. No need to call army here," he said. Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said that the state government had no plan to deploy the army in Mumbai, which is one of the worst-hit cities by coronavirus. Of these, Indore has reported 1,727 COVID-19 cases so far. The Madhya Pradesh government said that 89 new cases of coronavirus were reported on Friday, taking the total tally of cases to 3,341. So far, the COVID-19 toll is at 200 in the state. "IRCTC is monitoring round the clock food supplies in these trains. Extra food packets are being given in these trains so that there is no shortage of food," the statement said. The Indian Railways on Friday said that so far, 251 Shramik Special Trains all over the country. On Thursday, 61 trains had departed from different parts of the country. Out of the 53 trains planned for Friday, so far 43 trains have left. The number of coronavirus cases rose to 19,063 in Maharashtra on Friday, with 1,089 more people testing positive. 37 people lost their lives due to the disease in the last 24 hours, taking COVID-19 toll to 731. Number of recovered/discharged patients stands at 3,470, the Maharashtra health department said. The Delhi government on Friday directed all the district magistrates to strictly enforce lockdown measures and the national directives for COVID-19 management for public and workplaces. INS Jalashwa has set sail from Male, Maldives bringing back 698 Indian nationals. According to the Indian Navy, there are 19 pregnant women among the 698 Indian nationals being brought back from the Maldives. This includes 595 males and 103 females on board the ship. Mumbai reported 748 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, taking the total number of cases in the city to 11,967, the MCGM said. Reports said that Delhi reported 338 new coronavirus cases were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally to beyond 6,000. Delhi's total coronavirus count stands at 6,318. Meanwhile two COVID-19 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours, taking the toll to 68. 30 new positive cases (Kashmir division) were reported on Friday in Jammu and Kashmir, taking the total number of cases to 823 in the union territory, the administration said. The Delhi government on Friday directed all the district magistrates to strictly enforce lockdown measures and the national directives for COVID-19 management for public and workplaces. INS Jalashwa has set sail from Male, Maldives bringing back 698 Indian nationals. According to the Indian Navy, there are 19 pregnant women among the 698 Indian nationals being brought back from the Maldives. This includes 595 males and 103 females on board the ship. All educational/training institutions in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to remain closed till 31st May 2020: Government of Jammu and Kashmir "More than 31,000 people who have tested positive for coronavirus, die in Britain, show new health ministry figures. The number of fatalities in hospitals, care homes and the wider community rise by 626 on the previous day to reach 31,241. A six-week old baby with an underlying health condition is among the new deaths recorded in England, according to the state-run National Health Service (NHS)," AFP reported. Have asked all CAPFs to adopt innovative ways to contain the further spread of Corona virus among its ranks and ensure proper and timely health checks. Also instructed them to establish a dedicated hospital to treat the COVID-19 affected CAPF personnel. pic.twitter.com/uCO6vb4GJM "Have asked all CAPFs to adopt innovative ways to contain the further spread of Corona virus among its ranks and ensure proper and timely health checks. Also instructed them to establish a dedicated hospital to treat the COVID-19 affected CAPF personnel," Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted on Friday. "The total number of infections recorded in the country has now reached at least 1,257,023, with at least 75,662 related deaths, according to JHU," the report said. CNN on Friday quoted the John Hopkins University tally as saying that 28,420 new coronavirus cases and 2,231 deaths were recorded in the United States on Thursday. The World Health Organization on Friday said that the novel coronavirus could kill as many as 190,000 people in Africa during the first year of the pandemic if containment measures fail. Coronavirus Outbreak LATEST Updates: Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said that the state government had no plan to deploy the army in Mumbai, which is one of the worst-hit cities by coronavirus. "There has been a rumour for the past 2-3 days that army will be deployed in Mumbai.There is no need for army deployment here.Whatever I've done till today I've done by informing citizens. You all should be disciplined&that will be enough. No need to call army here," he said. Iqbal Singh Chahal on Friday was appointed as the new Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), former BMC chief Pravin Pardeshi transferred to the Urban Development department as Additional Chief Secretary. The Tamil Nadu health department said that the number of coronavirus cases has reached 6,009 in the state on Friday, including 1,605 recovered/discharged and 40 deaths. Number of active cases stands at 4,361. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that one person, who returned from Chennai, has tested positive for coronavirus in Ernakulam on Friday, taking the total number of active cases to 16 in the state. A total of 19,810 people are in home quarantine and 347 others are admitted to different hospitals in the state, he added. After 64 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Rajasthan, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state climbed to 3,491 on Friday. Of the total, there are 1,475 active cases, said Rajasthan Health Department. As many as 100 people lost their lives to the deadly virus. The Maharashtra government has decided to promote all the students of first year and second year, studying in various universities in the state, without any exam. However, it has decided to promote third year students on the basis of examination. The exam will be held in July. A PG student at the Gauhati Medical College, who was on screening duty, has tested positive for COVID-19. Based out of Karnataka, the student was put up in the college hostel. "Since he is a hostel resident, boys hostels 1 and 5 are declared containment zones," said Himanta Biswa Sarma during press meet on Friday. Many staff members, including the superintendent of the college, are in quarantine now, The COVID-19 situation in Assam has deteriorated since Thursday after four more people, who took a bus journey from Ajmer in Rajasthan to Silchar in Assam, have tested positive for the viral infection, said health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during press meet at NHM office, Guwahati, on Friday. Forty five new COVID-19 positive cases, including that of a five month old girl, were confirmed in Karnataka, taking the total number of infections in the state to 750. "45 new positive cases have been reported from last evening to this noon. Till date 750 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed. This includes 30 deaths and 371 discharges," the health department said. Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, while addressing an all-party leaders' meeting via video conference on Thursday, hinted that the coronavirus lockdown may be extended till the end of May in the state's red zones. Mumbai and Pune metropolitan regions have contributed 90 percent of Maharashtra's cases so far. The extended lockdown is scheduled to end on 17 May. The Supreme Court on Friday advised states to consider "indirect sale, home delivery" of liquor to ensure crowds are minimised at alcohol shops across the country. Disposing off a PIL on the subject, the apex court, however, stressed on the necessity to adhere to social dostancing norms. "We will not pass any order but states should consider home delivery or indirect sale of liquor to maintain social distancing," a three-judge bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and BR Gavai said, while hearing the case via video-conferencing to follow distancing norms. A 16-year-old girl from Bongaigaon in Assam has reportedly died of the coronavirus pandemic, on Thursday. As per reports, the girl succumbed to the viral infection in Dr B Barooah Cancer Institute Colony, Guwahati. According to reports, she was detected COVID-19 positive after her body was tested for the infection. Some of her family members are also said to be have contracted the disease. The number of reported coronavirus cases in India increased by 14 percent over the past two days to 56,342, according to the latest data released by Health Ministry on Friday. This is a slower rate of increase compared to the previous 48 hours, when the reported case count rose by 16 percent to 49,391. During his video press conference, Congress' Rahul Gandhi reiterated the need for decentralisation in decision-making in the fight against the novel coronavirus. He further of warned of a "calamity" if centralised decision-making authority continues to mete out the impact of pandemic. "We need to decentralise fight against COVID-19; there will be calamity if we continue to centralise decision-making," said Rahul. Rahul Gandhi said it was crucial to restart the economic activities to save the nation from worsening impacts of coronavirus lockdown. "We need to start our domestic economy soon, the more time we lose, the worse impact it will have," said Rahul. "We have to protect job creators, build a wall for them to protect jobs, wages," Rahul Gandhi said it was pivotal to provide them financial support. During his video press conference, Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that a "visible" clash was evident between economic supply chain and 'red, orange and green zones'. "Lockdown not an on and off switch, it is a transition which requires cooperation between Centre, states and people," said Rahul. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addresses the media on Friday on COVID-19 situation and the prevailing economic crisis in light of the lockdown imposed across the nation. IndiGo is likely to implement a pay cut of up to 37 percent of senior employees for the months of May, June and July, The Economic Times reported. For pilots, the salary reduction could be up to 32 percent, the report added. Lower level employees will exempted from the salary cut. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan conveyed his condolences and spoke with Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, seeking help for the families of the workers who died in the accident. Chouhan also announced Rs 5 lakh compensation for their families. He is in touch with Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray for arrangements related to treatment of the injured migrants, officials in Madhya Pradesh said. Mokshada Patil, SP Aurangabad, on Friday said 16 people were killed in Aurangabad due to the train accident. She said efforts were ongoing to gather more information about the incident and provide counselling to four others who witnessed the incident. The Assam government has ordered sanitisation of the entire premise of Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on Friday after an PG student tested COVID-19 positive. The hospital has been shut for new patients for next few days, said Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. "A PG student at Guwahti Medical College has tested COVID positive last night. Consequently we have to screen everyone who came in contact with him and sanitize the entire GMCH premises," said Sarma. He further said that special arrangements will be in place for patients already admitted. With 26 more people testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Odisha, the total number of confirmed cases in the state climbed to 245 on Friday. According to media reports, Kendrapara reported five positive cases and Bhadrak detected two cases while, rest of the 19 cases were registered in Ganjam district. At least 14 migrant labourers in Maharashtra, who were headed home to Chhattisgarh, were killed by a goods train at Gadhe jalgaon area of Aurangabad on Friday morning. The tragic incident occurred when the migrant workers were asleep on the rails between Badnapur and Karmad. They were resting on the railway tracks at the time of the accident and meant to catch a train from Aurangabad to their village. The toll from COVID-19 disease in India rose to 1,783 while the number of novel coronavirus cases climbed to 52,952 on Thursday, registering an increase of 89 deaths and 3,561 cases in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry said. However, a PTI tally of numbers reported by states and UTs till 6.45 pm put the total number of confirmed cases at 53,950. The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 35,902 while 15,266 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said. In what comes as worrying news, as many as 77 inmates and 26 officials of Arthur Road jail in Mumbai have contracted coronavirus. According to India Today, tests were conducted on all inmates and staffers a day after a 45-year-old prisoner facing narcotics-related charges tested positive. Meanwhile, speaking at a virtual global Buddha Purnima event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India is making every effort to save the life of every citizen from coronavirus, but it is also taking its global obligations during the pandemic very seriously. He also said that India's growth will always be aiding global growth. State-wise cases The highest number of confirmed cases in the country is from Maharashtra at 16,758 followed by Gujarat at 6,625, Delhi at 5,532, Tamil Nadu at 4,829, Rajasthan at 3,317, Madhya Pradesh at 3,138 and Uttar Pradesh at 2,998. The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 1,777 in Andhra Pradesh and 1,516 in Punjab. It has risen to 1,456 in West Bengal, 1,107 in Telangana, 775 in Jammu and Kashmir, 693 in Karnataka, 594 in Haryana and 542 in Bihar. Kerala has reported 503 coronavirus cases so far, while Odisha has 185 cases. A total of 127 people have been infected with the virus in Jharkhand and 120 in Chandigarh. Uttarakhand has reported 61 cases, Chhattisgarh has 59 cases, Assam and Himachal Pradesh have 45 each, while Tripura has 43 and Ladakh has registered 41 cases so far. As many as 33 COVID-19 cases have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Meghalaya has registered 12 cases, Puducherry has nine, while Goa has seven COVID-19 cases. Manipur has two cases. Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Dadar and Nagar Haveli have reported a case each. A total of 89 deaths deaths have been reported since Wednesday, of which 34 people died in Maharashtra, 28 in Gujarat, nine in Madhya Pradesh, four each in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, three in Rajasthan, two each from Punjab and Tamil Nadu and one each from Delhi, Haryana and Orissa. Of the 1,783 fatalities in the country, Maharashtra tops the tally with 651 deaths, Gujarat comes second with 396 deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 185, West Bengal at 144, Rajasthan at 92, Delhi at 65, Uttar Pradesh at 60 and Andhra Pradesh at 36. The death toll due to COVID-19 climbed to 35 in Tamil Nadu while Telangana and Karnataka have reported 29 fatalities each due to the disease. Punjab has registered 27 COVID-19 deaths, Jammu and Kashmir eight and Haryana seven. Kerala and Bihar have reported four deaths each. Jharkhand has recorded three COVID-19 fatalities. Odisha and Himachal Pradesh have reported two deaths each. Meghalaya, Chandigarh, Assam and Uttarakhand have reported one fatality each, according to the ministry data. 77 inmates of Mumbai jail test positive As many as 77 inmates and 26 staff members of Arthur Road prison were found to have contracted coronavirus after coming in contact with a cook who had caught the infection. "The prisoners will be quarantined with the help of the Mumbai civic body," Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh said. Deshmukh also said that to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus in jails, the state government had decided to release on parole some 5,000 prisoners who have been sentenced to less than seven years' imprisonment. Hindustan Times quoted an unnamed senior police official claiming that the state-run JJ Hospital authorities have already collected swab samples of 150 people from the prison and more samples are being collected. The possibility of COVID-19 having entered the prison through BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) cleaning staff, sanitisation workers, or through essential services that used to come to the jail cannot be ruled out, the officer told the newspaper requesting anonymity. Repatriation of Indians stranded abroad begins The first of the two flights from the UAE carrying 177 Indian nationals left for Kerala on Thursday, as India began its biggest ever repatriation exercise to bring back its citizens stranded abroad amidst the international travel lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic. A total of 354 Indian nationals, including 11 pregnant women and a pair of twins, will return home on Thursday in the two flights from the UAE to Kerala as part of the repatriation exercise named 'Vande Bharat Mission'. The Air India Express flight IX452 took off from Abu Dhabi to Kochi, which will be followed by a Dubai-Kozhikode flight of the same airline. Passengers started arriving at Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports as early as 9.30 am on Thursday. Some of the passengers were carrying the Indian flags. "All of them have cleared the tests, Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul was quoted as saying by the Gulf News. Harsh Vardhan holds meeting with state home ministers On Thursday, Union Health minister Harsh Vardhan held a meeting with the health ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, and senior officials from both Centre and state governments to review the situation, actions being taken and preparedness for management of COVID-19. He noted that in comparison to other countries, India is in a better condition as the fatality rate is 3.3 percent and recovery rate is 28.83 percent. The minister also said that among the active cases, 4.8 percent patients are in ICU, 1.1 percent on ventilators and 3.3 percent on oxygen support. The testing capacity has increased in the country and it is 95,000 tests per day. Cumulatively, 13,57,442 tests have been done so far for COVID-19. There are 180 districts with no new cases in less than 7 days, 180 districts with no new cases in 7-13 days, 164 districts which have not had reported any new cases in 14-20 days and 136 districts with no new cases since the last 21-28 days. In view of the increase in the number of migrant labourers expected to reach their native states in the days to come, the Union health minister noted that a robust strategy and mechanism need to be drawn up for their testing, and quarantine and treatment of the positive cases. Japan approves Gilead Sciences' Remdesivir as COVID-19 drug Japan has approved Gilead Sciences Incs Rmdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19, the country's health ministry said on Thursday, making it the countrys first officially authorised drug for the coronavirus disease. Japan reached the decision just three days after the US drugmaker filed for fast-track approval for the treatment. Remdesivir will be give to patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms, a Japanese health ministry official said at a press briefing. With no other approved treatments for COVID-19, interest in the drug is growing around the world. With inputs from agencies Afghan Spy Agency Says 'IS-Haqqani' Cell Busted In Kabul By RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan May 06, 2020 KABUL -- Afghanistan's intelligence agency says it has busted a joint "terrorist" cell of the Islamic State (IS) group and the Haqqani network, a powerful Taliban faction. Five members of the cell were killed and eight others arrested when security forces stormed two hideouts of the group in Kabul and the Shakar Dara district, some 25 kilometers north of the capital, the National Directorate of Security (NDS) said on May 6. It said in a statement that the cell had carried out "major attacks" in Kabul, including a March 25 assault on a Sikh temple that left at least 25 worshippers dead. The attack was claimed by the Afghan affiliate of the IS, Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP). The joint IS-Haqqani cell was also behind a rocket attack during President Ashraf Ghani's swearing-in ceremony on March 9, according to the NDS. The intelligence agency said the members of the cell also killed several Afghan officials and fired rockets at Bagram Airfield, the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan, located north of Kabul. Afghan officials have long accused the Haqqani network, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, of carrying out attacks claimed by or blamed on the IS. The ISKP has been active in the war-torn country since 2015, fighting the Taliban as well as Afghan and U.S. forces. With reporting by AFP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-spy-agency-says-is- haqqani-cell-busted-in-kabul/30597524.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A communal agent measures the body temperature of traders at the opening of Rood Wokos great market in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on April 20, 2020, after the market was closed since March 25, 2020, as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19. (Olympia de Maismont/AFP via Getty Images) Why Is a Small, Remote African Country Hit Hard by the CCP Virus? Six lawmakers in Burkina Faso tested positive for Covid-19 Commentary Burkina Faso is a small landlocked country located in West Africa. Although the country is not a transportation hub and far away from China, it is hit hard by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus. Among 23 cabinet members, six ministers have contracted the virus. Burkina Faso spans 273,600 square kilometers, according to World Bank data in 2018. The United Nations estimates that the countrys current population is around 20.8 million. Once a French colony, the country was renamed Burkina Faso, which means Land of Incorruptible People in the regions main native languages, in 1984. Six Cabinet Ministers Infected With CCP Virus Burkina Faso had 645 confirmed cases and 43 deaths caused by the CCP virus, as of April 30. According to African News, Burkina Faso is experiencing one of the highest virus infection rates in sub-Saharan Africa. So far six government ministers among the countrys 23 cabinet members have been confirmed to be infected, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Commerce, Mines and Quarries, Education, Interior, and Trade, Reuters reported on April 10. The country announced its first COVID-19 death on March 17. The patient was 62-year-old Rose Marie Compaore, who was former vice president of parliament. Minister of Foreign Affairs Alpha Barry confirmed he was infected with the CCP virus on March 20. The number of confirmed cases probably represent just the tip of the iceberg, said Jerry-Jonas Mbasha, an official representing Burkina Faso at the World Health Organization (WHO). The New Humanitarian, an independent media outlet, revealed that the only testing laboratory in the country is located in Bobo-Dioulassothe second largest city and a five-hour drive from the capital. This means patient samples across the country will take at least 12 hours before getting diagnostic results. There is currently only one hospital with 500 beds and one small clinic, each with just a few ventilators, designated to treat patients infected with the CCP virus, according to the report. The report said the government wants to establish a second laboratory in the capital Ouagadougou, but no one in the country is qualified to set up the equipment. In the past year, 135 health centers around the country were shut down due to escalating violence by extremist and local militant groups that have forced almost 800,000 people to flee their homes, the report said. The growing number of virus patients could overwhelm the weakened health system, resulting in a public health crisis. Poor living conditions in Burkina Faso are also a major drawback in battling against the CCP virus. There is a severe water shortage in the country, meaning poor sanitation. Washing hands frequently is one of the key methods of preventing the virus from spreading. In addition, many refugees live in close quarters, with five to ten people sharing a tent. It is therefore impossible to maintain social distancing. WHO official Mbasha told the Arabic news outlet Al Jazeera that the international community needs to step in to help prevent a major crisis. We need technical and financial partners to come in and protect Burkina Faso, he said. Lessons Learned the Hard Way Countries with close or lucrative relations with the Chinese regime are most affected by the CCP virus. Burkina Faso is no exception. On May 24, 2018, Burkina Faso announced that it would sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which the Chinese regime considers to be part of its territory. Two days later, the African countrys Foreign Affairs Minister, Alpha Barry, signed an agreement with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to resume diplomatic relations between the two countries. Since 2016, Beijing has focused on luring away Taiwans allies by offering them Chinese investments and loans. Despite Taiwan being a self-ruled island with its own democratically-elected government, Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade province that should be united with the mainland, with military force if necessary. Burkina Faso and China established a joint economic and trade committee shortly after resuming diplomatic ties. Since then, bilateral trade has rapidly developed, and there have been a number of high-level officials visits between both countries. In September 2018, Burkina Fasos President, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, paid a state visit to China and attended the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. In January 2019, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi visited four African countries, including Burkina Faso. In April 2019, the President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Burkina Faso made another state visit to China. In July 2019, when Chinese Vice-Minister of Agriculture Qu Dongyu was elected as the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Qu received firm support from Burkina Faso. State-run media China Daily reported that Wang Yi later said, From now on, China has got another good friend, which is our African allies, inside the international organizations of the United Nations. At the U.N. Human Rights Council in 2019, 22 countries condemned the large-scale detention of Uyghurs in China. Meanwhile, more than 50 countries collectively issued a joint statement expressing their support for the Chinese regime. Burkina Faso was one of the countries that chose to support the CCP. Some of the CCPs supporters included human rights violators, such as Russia, Venezuela, North Korea, Burma (Myanmar), and Cambodia. The vast majority of African countries are developing countries, and they have been the focus of the CCPs diplomatic efforts. Beijing influences and manipulates these countries by offering lucrative deals, such as substantial economic assistance, investment, and trade, as well as helping with local infrastructure projects. At present, the African countries with the most virus infections have either close political or economic ties with the Chinese regime, such as Egypt, South Africa, Morocco, and Algeria. Conversely, Swaziland, now officially known as eSwatini, which is the only country in Africa that has not established formal diplomatic relations with China, has far fewer virus cases. So far, there have been only 100 confirmed cases and one death as of April 30. In todays globalized environment, it is quite common to establish diplomatic and trade relations with China. The key issue is whether a nation or an individual is able to understand the true nature of the CCPs communist ideology, and what stance they take with regard to the CCPs human rights abuses. Two typical examples are Hong Kong and Taiwan. Despite close proximity to mainland China, as well as intimate trade and tourism to and from China, these two regions have few confirmed cases and low death tolls. Especially in the case of Hong Kong, large numbers of mainland Chinese entered Hong Kong every day, before the city partially closed its borders to the mainland on March 23. The success of virus containment in Taiwan and Hong Kong can hardly be explained by modern science. Why is this happening? People of Hong Kong have explicitly said no to the CCP by participating in anti-government protests, and people in Taiwan publicly supported Hong Kongs democratic movement. Taiwan has adopted democratic elections and followed the will of its people to stay away from the CCP. Burkina Faso, a landlocked African country far away from China, is suffering the bitter fruits of maintaining diplomatic relations with the CCP. It is truly a lesson learned the hard way. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Kasautii Zindagii Kay star Erica Fernandes has no doubt become a heartthrob in very little time. From flaunting her style with her social media posts to making her fans go gaga with her innocent look on-screens, Erica Fernandes is no doubt a stunner. Today, the hottie turns a year older, and to make her feel special recently, Hina Khan shared throwback pictures of the actor where the hottie is seen showcasing her hot moves in Hina Khans birthday party. This wont be wrong to say that both Erica and Hina share a great bond and manage to set the screens on fire when they share the frame. Recently, the birthday girl also opened up about her plans during an interaction with a media portal and said that she has no plans for her special day. She added that she will shut off from everything and will be back after some days. Talking about her career graph, since the time Erica Fernandes appeared in Kuch Rang Pyaar Ke Ese Bhi, the actor won hearts with her genuine personality with Shaheer Sheikh. She added that she also loves playing the role of Prerna and since the time, Prerna has become a businesswoman, it has become more interesting. On asked which is her favorite character Prerna or Sonakshi Bose, Erica opened up saying that both are very close to her heart and there is no comparison between the two. Later she admitted that Prerna has let her experiment and explore more as it is full of drama and fun. Also Read: Bigg Boss 13: Paras Chhabra addresses Mahira Sharma as Bhabhi Ji in latest TikTok video, take a look Take a look at Hina Khans post for Erica Fernandes Before appearing on Hindi tv screens, Erica Fernandes has also tried her hands in Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films like Ainthu Ainthu Ainthu, Ninnindale, Babloo Happy Hai, Galipatam and Buguri and makes sure to prove herself well. For all the latest Entertainment News, download NewsX App Eicher Motors Ltd today announced the appointment of Kaleeswaran Arunachalam as the Chief Financial Officer of the company effective May 6, 2020. In this role, Kaleeswaran will report to Vinod K Dasari, CEO - Royal Enfield, and will be part of the Management Team of Royal Enfield. He will lead the finance function for Eicher Motors. With a career spanning 17 years, Kaleeswaran Arunachalam has extensive experience in corporate finance, financial planning & analysis, business partnering, investor relations, fundraising, strategic planning, audit, and risk management. He has played an instrumental role in the transformation of Future Lifestyle Fashions Limited as a market leader in its segment, through retail formats and own brands, driven by a strong business and financial model. His previous experiences include critical roles with Mondelez International in India, and Asia, and in his early career with Aditya Birla Fashions Limited and with TVS Motor Company Limited. Kaleeswaran takes on this role from Lalit Malik who has been the CFO of the company for the last 10 years. Lalit continues to be the Chief Commercial Officer of Royal Enfield. We welcome Kaleeswaran to the Eicher Motors and Royal Enfield family and wish him the very best. As COVID-19 deaths climb ever higher in Europe and the United States, millions of lives are at risk in developing nations where lockdowns and overwhelmed medical systems are disrupting vital testing, vaccination and treatment for other killer diseases. The pandemic has seen unprecedented social distancing measures, with billions confined to their homes in a bid to stem the viral spread. Schools, businesses and public spaces have been shuttered en masse. It has also fuelled unparallelled economic stimuli from governments and research funding to develop COVID-19 treatments and -- the holy grail -- a vaccine. But while the world is focused on the novel coronavirus, other infectious diseases continue to kill millions of humans, many of them children. Health experts warn that the COVID-19 pandemic is already denying untold numbers of patients treatment for illnesses such as tuberculosis, pneumonia and malaria. The United Nation's child care programme UNICEF said last month that 117 million children were now at risk of contracting measles as vaccination programmes are suspended. "In some places routine services have been suspended also because the health systems are so stretched, all resources are being diverted to the COVID response," Robin Nandy, head of UNICEF's immunisation programme, told AFP. "Countries want to limit the contact of health people with potential patients, and this has an impact on vaccination coverage." Measles killed more than 140,000 people in 2018, the vast majority aged under five. - 'Sleepless nights for a decade' - More than 2,500 children die every day from pneumonia -- a bacterial infection treated with effective drugs that cost pennies. That's more than 800,000 preventable child deaths a year, studies have shown. In Nigeria, where pneumonia is the leading cause of under-five mortality, fears are growing that COVID-19 is already keeping infants from accessing live-saving interventions. "We see a lot of children coming to clinics having respiratory problems and the issue is with diagnosis and treatment," said Sanjana Bhardwaj, UNICEF chief of health in Nigeria. "Another challenge is we do not have oxygen available across the country for children." And that was before the onset of COVID-19, a disease where treatment often requires placing patients on ventilators of oxygen. "I've been having sleepless nights for more than a decade (about a pandemic)," Bhardwaj told AFP. "When you're at the frontline and you go into communities and see the healthcare there you just get scared." The Democratic Republic of Congo was suffering from multiple disease outbreaks even before COVID-19. A measles epidemic there has killed more than 6,000 people -- again, mostly children -- since the start of 2019. Malaria is a constant menace for infants in DR Congo and kills around 13,000 people there annually. And last month the World Health Organization was forced to delay an announcement heralding the end of the country's Ebola crisis as new cases were discovered. "We already had significant morbidities such as malaria that was a huge problem, as well as malnutrition which really impacts children's lives," Alex Mutanganyi, Save The Children's COVID-19 response coordinator in the country, told AFP. "COVID-19 has just increased the threats that always existed." - Vaccine development, reach - Billions of dollars are currently being funnelled to research for a COVID-19 vaccine, without which scientists doubt economies can fully return to normal. More than 100 candidate vaccines exist, and around 70 of them are already being tested in clinical trials. On Wednesday, the Stop TB Partnership warned that coronavirus lockdowns could lead to as many as 1.4 million additional tuberculosis deaths, as testing and treatment programmes are disrupted. TB is the world's biggest infectious disease killer, with around 10 million new infections and 1.5 million deaths annually. Unlike COVID-19, effective, safe and cheap treatments for TB already exist. The only current vaccine is more than 100 years old and only works on very young children. And despite being the deadliest infectious disease on Earth, TB research funding is still dwarfed by that given over to HIV and, now, COVID-19. Lucica Ditiu, executive director of the Stop TB Partnership, said that it would cost around $500 million to finish developing a safe and universally effective TB vaccine. "TB has been with us for thousands of years. For 100 years we've had an infant vaccine and we have two or three potential vaccines in the pipeline," she said. "We look on in amazement at a disease that is 120 days old and it has 100 vaccine candidates in the pipeline. This is really fucked up." Ditiu said that while governments are rightly focused on COVID-19, they mustn't take their eye off of other communicable illnesses. "TB doesn't effect too many visible people. It's a disease for people with other vulnerabilities, poor people, ones living in poor parts of the city," she said. "The fear we have is that developing a vaccine for COVID-19 now... may take the focus off of other diseases." Not that finding a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine will be enough to guarantee an end to the pandemic. "We need to be mindful that even with existing vaccines that we have had for decades, we're still not reaching the populations that need them most," said Nandy. UNICEF said last month that around 20 million children worldwide were missing out on routine vaccinations, with 13 million never receiving immunisation. "Developing a vaccine is not enough. Vaccines don't deliver themselves. They need a functioning health system," Nandy added. - 'Staying alive is work' - COVID-19 is not just exposing the gaps in global responses for communicable diseases. Hundreds of millions of people need daily medication to manage a host of chronic conditions, from diabetes to high blood pressure. Last week the Non-Communicable Disease Alliance called on governments to ensure that people living with these illnesses can continue to receive vital treatment during the pandemic. While estimates vary, it is thought that as many as 175 million people suffer from undiagnosed diabetes and up to one billion from undiagnosed hypertension. Not only does this pose a hidden risk of COVID-19 complications for hundreds of millions globally, it also makes managing diagnosed disease harder. Vicki Atkinson, a health campaigner with the South Africa NCD Alliance, said that the No. 1 killer among women there was diabetes -- a condition that can be well managed with daily medication. Atkinson, who herself suffers from diabetes and psoriasis, set up an information helpline so patients know how to access medical care during the lockdown. It was inundated with calls. "One woman was told to take a taxi two hours to go to a regional hospital in Cape Town to pick up her medicine," she told AFP. "She is pregnant, on insulin and asthmatic. She didn't want to do it." The NCD Alliance warned of "severe disruptions" to global supply lines of medicine and biomedical equipment due to COVID-19. Atkinson and other health experts said the current pandemic had proven what they have been warning of for decades: the world is unhealthy, and health should not be taken for granted. "Without this people would have carried on as normal," she said. "Across the board, we cannot pretend anymore. Chronic illness should be viewed as work. It's work to stay alive." Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said Thursday that shes asking residents across the state to wear face masks in public to be considerate of others, but indicated its not required. During a news conference announcing the states plans for reopening that could begin May 15, Brown said she wants Oregonians to be kind and smart when considering whether to wear face coverings in public and to think about themselves, their families and other people they may encounter. We want to make sure that Oregonians are protecting themselves as well as their neighbors and their community members, Brown said. The governor noted that some businesses will be required to have employees wear face coverings to reopen. She also acknowledged that not everyone may have access to face masks and said a state website was in the works to connect families with vulnerable members to personal protective equipment. She urged people who know how to sew to continue volunteering to create masks for others and said that the state would look to help coordinate the donations in some way. Brown didnt wear a face mask during the news conference, and neither did representatives from the Oregon Health Authority and her Medical Advisory Panel. She said she decided not to wear the covering to make sure people could hear her clearly. At one point Brown held up her mask, which she said was made by one of her staffers children. An image of the Oregon state flag was on the front and on the inside were Douglas fir trees and Bigfoot. Brown said she wore the mask on the way to the news conference and planned to wear it afterward. Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter -- Everton Bailey Jr; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. More patients who have hospital and GP appointments will be asked to wait in their car until they are ready to be seen as part of a radical shift in the way care is delivered due to the coronavirus crisis. Hospitals and family doctors are hoping to ramp up treatments for non-Covid patients in the coming weeks, amid concern about a backlog of waiting lists and a reluctance among the public to seek emergency treatment. Dublin GP Dr John O'Brien, who has been seconded by the HSE to oversee primary care during the crisis, said it was "easier to slam the brakes" - where appointments were deferred over the last two months - than to take them off. "You do not want to expose anyone to unnecessary risk of getting the virus. "There will be more virtual consultations where the patient is contacted by phone or online," he said. "If they need to see the doctor, a good deal of information would already have been gathered if they need to come to surgery - the time they are physically present would be minimised." He said GPs who operated out of modest premises would be hardest hit by implementing physical distancing in the waiting room, and patients would be nervous about sharing space with others. "Patients who have come by car could be asked to stay in the car until the GP is ready to see them. But not every patient has a car," he added. "We have to proceed with new ways of working. It will slow things down. There is no simple one size fits all." He emphasised the important message to patients was that GPs were open for business and they should not hesitate to make an appointment if they had any concern. Dr Niall Sheehy, a radiologist in St James's Hospital in Dublin, said the area of radiology, involving scans and diagnostics, had taken a huge hit in capacity because so much equipment such as CT scanners had been given to the Covid-19 section of care. "It takes it out of circulation for everybody else," he said. "Patients are not able to be brought in at the same density as before." The capacity to do outpatient work has diminished significantly. He added: "The challenge from a radiology point of view as we move on is will we get the capacity back." He said in the future, due to the Covid-19 restrictions, it would not be possible to scan at the same rate as before. "If you had a throughput of five patients per hour, you might have three patients per hour," said Dr O'Brien. He said that down the line the way the hospital system was designed was not suitable for physical distancing. "Waiting rooms can be tiny," he added. While other areas of patient care can use telemedicine, that is not possible in radiology because the patient must be physically present. Dr Stephen Frohlich, who manages a large practice of intensive care consultants and anaesthetists in the Beacon Hospital, said the average occupancy of private hospitals, which have been temporarily taken over by the HSE, was at less than 20pc. Private practice doctors will work as public consultants under a HSE contract but they needed their expenses for consulting rooms and staff reimbursed, he added. The Arab Group delegation, including Oman, the Arab League and Palestinian officials, slammed the illegality of all colonisation and annexation measures by Israel in Occupied Palestine on Wednesday amid Israeli intentions to move forward with its plans on 1 July. Following a meeting with UN Chief Antonio Guterres on 5 May, in its statement, the Arab Group stressed that Israels actions are severely violating the Palestinian peoples rights and destroying the viability of the two-state solution on the pre-1967 borders." If not stopped, Israels illegal actions would result in a one-state reality, bringing only more conflict and suffering and impeding prospects for peace and security in the entire region, the statement read. Noting that Guterres believes the annexation would effectively end the two-state solution and close the door to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, the Arab Group called on all international stakeholders including the Quartet to mobilise to bring to a halt these illegal policies and practices. They [the Arab Group] reiterated the call for an internationally-sponsored political process, within a defined timeframe and based on the longstanding parameters, to shepherd negotiations for the achievement of a just solution to the Palestine question, and pledged full cooperation with, and support to, the secretary-general, all UN organs, including the Security Council, and all relevant UN agencies in fulfilling this solemn responsibility, the statement concluded. The recent agreement on the formation of a new coalition government in Israel jointly created by Israels Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White Party stipulates that Israel will claim sovereignty over the whole West Bank by 1 July and implement the controversial peace plan that was developed by US President Donald Trumps administration. A couple of months from now, Im confident that that pledge will be honoured, that we will be able to celebrate another historic moment in the history of Zionism, Netanyahu said on 27 April. Despite US backing, such plans have been criticised by both the Arab League and the European Union. Search Keywords: Short link: Health Minister Greg Hunt is adamant Australia's 1.5 million coronavirus antibody tests work, despite high-profile failures of the method overseas. The United Kingdom wasted $30 million on nearly two million antibody test kits found to be inaccurate. Mr Hunt is confident Australia's kits will work, but wants to wait for experts to evaluate the safety of the method before putting it into use. 'What Australia has purchased is of the highest quality,' he said in Melbourne on Thursday. Antibody tests are designed to check if someone has had the disease, giving health authorities a more accurate picture of how the virus has spread. Health workers are seen testing people for COVID-19 in Perth on April 24 (pictured), with more tests soon to be rolled out to check for coronavirus antibodies Mr Hunt said the expert medical panel wanted to do more work on how the tests should be used before giving them the green light. 'We do know that some countries were provided tests and equipment in the early days which may not have been fully accurate,' he said. 'We've made sure that it is our health authorities, following the highest procurement standards, that have made the procurement. 'But then we have to make sure that there is full and safe and accurate testing, validation and affirmation from our scientific and medical authorities to ensure that anything we do is safe.' A healthcare worker (pictured) talks to a man at a pop-up clinic testing for the coronavirus disease at Bondi Beach on April 1 Health Minister Greg Hunt (pictured on April 29) said Australia's antibody tests do work despite failings of other kits overseas He said the antibody method would not be a replacement for the pathology lab tests that are being used to detect infections. On April 6, the British government admitted that none of the 17.5 million antibody tests it ordered worked well enough to be reliable. The UK paid two Chinese companies just over $30 million for the kits. 'As simple as a pregnancy test,' Prime Minister Boris Johnson said at the time. 'It has the potential to be a total game changer.' A spokesman for the UK's Department of Health and Social Care said it would try to recover the money from the Chinese companies. People are seen enjoying lunch in Sydney's Barangaroo shortly before the lockdown on March 17 (pictured) Top health officials are confident coronavirus restrictions can be safely lifted soon, despite outbreaks in Australia's two biggest cities. Sixteen people have died from the disease at Sydney's Newmarch House nursing home where 37 residents have been infected. A cluster at a Melbourne abattoir has been linked to 62 cases, but is yet to result in deaths. Australia's increase of 26 new cases on Wednesday was the highest daily spike for more than two weeks. Finding cases through testing, tracing contacts and responding to outbreaks have been the key criteria for gradually easing restrictions. A group enjoy last drinks at the Pyrmont Bridge Hotel on March 22 (pictured), the last night before pubs were shut down across Australia Deputy chief medical officer Paul Kelly is confident those targets are being met, putting national cabinet in a strong position to ease rules on Friday. 'This will be gradual. Some things will open - others will not,' he told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday. New South Wales will not relax any coronavirus restrictions until next week but Queensland will allow five household members to visit another family in a home from Sunday. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said no restrictions will be relaxed in his state - and told reporters that he will not be visiting his own mother on Mothers' Day. On Friday the national cabinet will set out a three-step framework to ease the rules - but state and territory leaders will be able to choose when they implement the changes. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said rules in Australia's biggest state by population will not be changing until after the weekend. Congratulatory message hails Long March 5B maiden flight PLA Daily Source: Xinhuanet Editor: Yang Tao 2020-05-06 16:54:14 BEIJING, May 5 (Xinhua) -- The success of the first flight mission of China's new large carrier rocket Long March 5B marks a good beginning for the country's space station program, said a congratulatory message sent by the central authorities on Tuesday. The Communist Party of China Central Committee, the State Council and the Central Military Commission extended the congratulations to all personnel participating in the mission after the rocket blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center and sent the trial version of China's new-generation manned spaceship and a cargo return capsule for test into space. The message noted that all participating units and personnel had been working in solidarity and overcome difficulties amid the COVID-19 epidemic to achieve the success, which laid a solid foundation for the "third step" of China's manned space program to construct a space station. It is the latest accomplishment that all mission teams, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, obtained in following the path of independent innovation to develop the country's space industry, said the message. It called for unwavering efforts in pushing forward the work, as the follow-up tasks of the manned space program is arduous, and difficulties and tests are severe and complex. The central authorities encouraged scientists and engineers in China's space sector to make more contributions to the realization of the two centenary goals and the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenat NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the Supreme Court building in Washington on June 1, 2017. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters/File) Ruth Bader Ginsburg Discharged From Hospital, Will Have Gallstone Procedure Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was discharged from the hospital and is now home, according to the court. Ginsburg, 87, spent one night at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore to receive treatment for an infection caused by a gallstone. On Wednesday, she participated in court arguments via telephone while she was in the hospital. Ginsburg will return to the hospital over the next several weeks, and she will have the gallstone removed eventually, the Supreme Court said in a statement. Justice Ginsburg has been discharged from the hospital. She is doing well and glad to be home, the court statement said. The Justice will return to The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, for follow-up outpatient visits over the next few weeks to eventually remove the gallstone non-surgically. On Tuesday, the court said Ginsburg, 87, was taken to the hospital. She has suffered several health issues over the past several years, including multiple bouts with cancer. She was treated for a tumor on her pancreas in August of last year, and in December 2018, she had cancerous nodules removed from her lungs. Ginsburg in January announced she was cancer-free during an event. As different as we are, the court is the collegial place Ive ever worked, she also said of her colleagues in December. And I can tell you that from a personal experience surviving four cancer bouts with my colleagues around me and made it possible for me not to miss a single case. She also suffered colorectal cancer in 1999 and pancreatic cancer in 2009. "LUSTs are a ticking time-bomb of liability for insurance carriers, as well as an expensive and unexpected clean-up for property owners especially when LUSTs are not disclosed as part of the property transactions. " HazardHub, the USAs fastest-growing supplier of geospatial risk data and a 2019 Insuretech 100 company announced that they have developed the first-ever national database of Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (LUSTs). Insurers and property specialists can easily see both the closest LUST and the number of leaking tanks within a quarter-mile of nearly any location in the United States. Rachel Revolinski, Senior GIS Specialist for HazardHub says, We are very excited to release the latest update to our Underground Storage Tank (UST) database that now includes whether the tank was ever flagged as leaking. We initially started with each locales tank data, then spent a massive amount of time cleaning, compiling, and standardizing the tank data. The result is the only national, comprehensive database of LUSTs (Leaking Underground Storage Tanks). HazardHubs Underground Storage Tank database is national, while 42 states will have the leaking designation. Oil spills from leaking underground storage tanks at homes and gas stations are the largest single threat to groundwater quality in the United States today. The EPA estimates that the cleanup of petroleum spilled underground could cost upwards of $40 billion. LUSTs are a ticking time-bomb of liability for insurance carriers, as well as an expensive and unexpected clean-up for property owners especially when LUSTs are not disclosed as part of the property transactions. Together with our Brownfield, Superfund, and Toxic Release Facility databases, HazardHub now has one of the most complete environmental risk datasets ever created. Bob Frady, CEO of HazardHub adds, At HazardHub, we continue to develop new, meaningful data for the insurance, real estate, and consumer markets. We believe that people should never be surprised by the risk either at or around their property. Our job is to not only create great data but to provide it quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively to the marketplace. With our new LUST dataset, we have raised the bar for awareness for what can be an unexpected and expensive leaking tank remediation cost. The LUST database is available today via HazardHubs lightning-fast API and is no additional charge for all existing API clients. About HazardHub HazardHub is your insurance policy against property risk. Air. Fire. Water. Earth. Man-Made. HazardHub is the only third-generation provider of property-level hazard risk databases spanning the most dangerous perils in the continental United States. HazardHub translates huge amounts of geospatial digital data into easy to understand answers, providing easy to comprehend risk scorecards that are used to make real-world decisions. Our team of scientists provides comprehensive, and innovative, national coverage for risks that destroy and damage property. With more than 10,000,000 results returned to the market, HazardHub is fast-becoming the industrys go-to vendor for property and risk data. To learn more about HazardHub or to use our free lookups, visit http://www.hazardhub.com or reach us directly at support@hazardhub.com. "Human tests are expected after this summer," says chief executive of company developing treatment. Italian researchers claim to have developed a vaccine that can neutralise the coronavirus in human cells. Tests carried out at Rome's Lazzaro Spallanzani Hospital, which specialises in infectious diseases, generated antibodies in mice that work in human cells, according to The Independent. "This is the most advanced stage of testing of a candidate vaccine created in Italy," said Luigi Aurisicchio, chief executive of Takis, the company working on the treatment. "According to Spallanzani Hospital, as far as we know we are the first in the world so far to have demonstrated a neutralisation of the coronavirus by a vaccine," he told the Italian news agency Ansa. "We expect this to happen in humans too." "Human tests are expected after this summer," Mr Aurisicchio said. Read alsoChinese scientists successfully conduct first animal trials of inactivated coronavirus vaccine He added: "We are working hard for a vaccine coming from Italian research, with an all-Italian and innovative technology, tested in Italy and made available to everyone. "In order to reach this goal, we need the support of national and international institutions and partners who may help us speed up the process." After a single vaccination, the mice developed antibodies capable of blocking the virus from infecting human cells, Mr Aurisicchio claimed. He said researchers observed that five candidate vaccines generated a large number of antibodies and they then selected the two with the best results. The candidate vaccines were based on the genetic material of the "spike" DNA protein that the coronavirus uses to enter human cells. The next tests to be conducted will aim to determine how long the immune response lasts. Last week, experts at the University of Oxford said the first results of their coronavirus vaccine trials could be ready by as early as mid-June. The institution also announced a new partnership with British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. Human trials of the vaccine developed at the university's Jenner Institute began last month, with hundreds volunteering to be part of the study. Credit: CC0 Public Domain South Africa was put under strict social and economic lockdown on 26 March. By the end of April the government announced that it was easing some of the restrictions. This included allowing certain key sectors to begin operations once again. One of them was mining. Mining is an important contributor to the South African economy. It employs around 450,000 people and makes a direct contribution of 8.1% to GDP. Approximately 78% of these people work on gold, platinum and coal mines that are largely underground operations. Under the regulations easing the lockdown, mining can resume operation at 50% capacity and must provide health and safety protection from COVID-19. But the government guidelines were not binding on employers. This decision led a trade union, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, to take a case to the country's Labour Court. At issue was the adequacy of the voluntary guidance about the COVID-19 response to protect mineworker health. The case challenged the preparedness of the sector to protect workers. The threat posed by COVID-19 on mines is considerable. Working conditions underground are cramped, transportation is in packed cages, and there is a high incidence of respiratory diseases. The union argued that the hazard posed by the pandemic was too substantial for voluntary guidance and that both the mineral resources minister and the chief inspector of mines had failed to institute the necessary mandatory measures under the country's Mine Health and Safety Act. The judge agreed. As a consequence, measures to address COVID-19 are now compulsory for all mines. One aspect of the union's argument for compulsory guidance was that worker health and safety representatives appointed under the Mine Health and Safety Act would be unable to hold the employer to account without enforceable standards. Research we have done shows that worker health and safety representatives on South African underground mines are indeed in a weak position. Even with enforceable standards they will face an uphill task. Case study research we conducted on four underground mines revealed the important, but hugely compromised role of health and safety representatives in a health response. Health and safety representatives The powers of safety representatives are largely universal. They include representing workers on all matters related to health and safety, conducting inspections and withdrawing workers from a dangerous workplace. They have the right to training and to resources to support them in their role. On a large underground mine with more than 1,000 employees there are between two and four full-time representatives per shaft and sometimes hundreds of workplace representativesthose who take on the role of representative alongside his or her job of employment. These arrangements are subject to agreements signed between the employer and recognised trade unions at a mine site. These agreements typically cover the number and election of representatives and their training and resourcing. Representatives are elected by workers and while the employer must ensure their training and resourcing, there is no requirement for workplace representatives to be paid. Full-time representatives are paid by the employer and this resembles arrangements for shop stewards. Consultation by the employer with autonomous employee representatives is a central tenet of the Mine Health and Safety Act. Our research made three major observations about worker representatives when it comes to health issues. Firstly, that representatives were engaged in activities to address the existing triple disease burden on mines: occupational (lung disease and noise induced hearing loss), communicable (HIV and tuberculosis) and noncommunicable (diabetes and hypertension) diseases. Workplace representatives acted as frontline health workers responding to the ill-health and emotional problems of production workers. They advised and counseled workers, encouraged visits to the clinic, escorted workers to the surface should they fall unwell, and reorganized workloads in the production team when workers were upset, weak or tired. Full-time representatives acted as the compassionate voice for workers. This involved, for example, escorting individual workers to face bullying supervisors to address health related problems. Secondly, representatives took on the responsibilities of the employer too. Full-time representatives took daily instructions (including some about health) from safety management. Representatives conducted inspections, gave education talks and policed the behavior of workers on behalf of the employer. They also engaged in inappropriate problem solving, such as encouraging workers to use a cloth as a dust mask in the absence of personal protective equipment. Representatives were often left feeling they would get into trouble with the employer if something went wrong. Representatives who challenged the production imperative by withdrawing workers from a dangerous workplace felt unsupported by the employer. We found approximately 30% of mineworkers who had withdrawn from a workplace went back despite believing it was still dangerous. Workers had little confidence that their health and safety representative could get the workplace fixed. Thirdly, representatives were dominated on a daily basis by the employer and faced retaliatory employer actions. Supervisors threatened representatives who exercised their powers or had them removed from a workplace. In some instances, they lost their jobs. We found that worker representatives were not an autonomous voice for worker concerns and therefore could not hold the employer to account. Nor could representatives rely on trade union support. The employer actively discouraged their reporting into trade union branch structures. Employer appointed service providers, rather than trade unions, provided training and delivered the accredited skills program. Not one representative in our research knew their powers correctly under the laweven after training. Neither did they have instruments for routine tests, such as for dust, or access to the internet to support their role. Dangers For worker representatives to fulfill their role, mandatory standards for COVID-19 protection are a first step. But more needs to be done. International evidence shows there are broad preconditions necessary to support the effectiveness of worker representation. These include trade union training and support for worker representatives; a supportive steer from the regulator, which could include dedicated guidance about the role and resourcing of worker representatives; and an appreciation by the employer of the autonomous role of representatives. Mine health and safety has become more complex under COVID-19. A bold step to resource and equip health and safety representatives is now needed. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Strunk said he will reopen once the state gives businesses like his the green light. He will establish a few safety measures like interviewing customers before a session about their symptoms and the exposure theyve had to the virus. He also plans to increase the time between each session to an hour so that he can sanitize his workstation and face cradle. And he will wear a mask. Strunk said he is considering not working on a the scalp and head to avoid face contact with clients. Jergens MOMentos is a social media campaign inviting consumers to celebrate the MOMentos that keep their moms and mothers figures close. A MOMento is an item that represents an inside story, joke, or memory between the two. The campaign will run on Facebook and Instagram from April 27, 2020 to May 10, 2020, and those who participate will have the opportunity to have their MOMento featured on the brand's Instagram page . How to Participate in the MOMentos Campaign: Posting your MOMento and the story behind it on Facebook or Instagram Tag @ jergensus and # JergensMotherDay and # The campaign will support Baby2Baby and Cincinnati Children's About Jergens Original Scent Moisturizer with Cherry Almond Essence: Jergens Original Scent Moisturizer has been providing a touch of comfort for generations, enriching body and mind for an unmistakable feeling of love and care that we all yearn for, especially now. Original Scent Moisturizer relieves dry skin with moisturerich hydration to reveal deeply luminous, visibly softer skin. Skin's luminosity is restored with a unique illuminating HYDRALUCENCE blend and nourishing hydrators. It provides dry skin with long-lasting moisture to soften and visibly improve overall tone and texture. PRICING/AVAILABILITY: $5.99; TARGET.COM About Kao USA Inc. Kao USA Inc. is a leading manufacturer of premium beauty care brands that are recognized around the world for their innovation and quality. The Kao USA Inc. portfolio includes Ban antiperspirant deodorants and Total Refresh Cooling Body Cloths; Jergens and Curel hand and body lotions; Biore facial care; John Frieda Frizz-Ease Luxurious Volume, Sheer Blonde, Beach Blonde, Brilliant Brunette, Radiant Red, and Precision Foam Colour professional hair care products. Founded in 1882, Kao USA Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kao Corporation. About Baby2Baby Baby2Baby is a non-profit organization that provides children living in poverty, ages 0-12 years, with diapers, clothing and all the basic necessities that every child deserves. In the last 8 years, Baby2Baby has distributed over 70 million items to children in homeless shelters, domestic violence programs, foster care, hospitals and underserved schools as well as children who have lost everything in the wake of disaster. Every year, Baby2Baby serves hundreds of thousands of children across the country. To learn more about Baby2Baby please visit www.baby2baby.org. About Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Cincinnati Children's, a nonprofit academic medical center established in 1883, is one of the oldest and most distinguished pediatric hospitals in the United States. A leading medical research institution and teaching hospital, Cincinnati Children's is consistently ranked as one of America's best children's hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. Learn more at www.cincinnatichildrens.org Contact: Lindsay Mirkin, [email protected] SOURCE Jergens Skincare SANTA CLARA (BCN) A 37-year-old San Francisco man is in custody after allegedly stabbing a 16-year-old girl and her 58-year-old father at a home in Santa Clara early Tuesday morning, police said. Officers responded at 2:32 a.m. to a report of a double stabbing in the 3200 block of Homestead Road and arrived to find the two victims, who were taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries that are not life-threatening. Police identified Henry Gregory Jones Jr., an acquaintance of the victims, and arrested him in San Francisco at about 12:15 p.m. Tuesday. He was booked into Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and burglary, according to police. ALSO: The post-shutdown Bay Area commute may be hell No other details about what led to the stabbing were immediately released by police. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Detective Sgt. Bill Lutz at (408) 615-4814. 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. US President Donald Trumps re-election campaign took off with him telling potential voters that a coronavirus vaccine will be ready by the end of 2020, even as European leaders pledged to raise US $8.3 billion to kickstart an unprecedented global co-operation between scientists, industry, governments and philanthropies for vaccine development. Global efforts to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) have progressed at an unprecedented pace aiming to stop the spread of the pandemic, which has infected 3.5 million people, killed 250,000 and wrecked global economies within four months. At least 120 vaccine projects are in various stages of development since China shared the genetic sequence of Sars-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, with the World Health Organization (WHO) on January, 12, 2020. Of these, seven have entered human trials to test the safety and efficacy of the vaccine on healthy volunteers, according to WHO. Another 82 are in pre-clinical animal trial phases, and at least two have been found to protect monkeys from infection. Also Watch: Covid-19: India begins testing possible cure on patients at PGI Chandigarh Johnson & Johnson, which was singled out by Trump as an example of vaccine success, said last month that it will be ready to produce 600 million to 900 million doses of its potential vaccine by April 2021 if human trials set to begin in September go as planned. Pfizer and the German company, BioNTech, said if their human trials are successful, they can produce millions of doses by the end of 2020. Vaccine development, on average, takes 10.71 years from the preclinical phase, and has a market entry probability of 6%, according to a study in peer reviewed journal, PLOS One. The development includes at least three human trials to test their safety, dosage and the strength and duration of the protection they offer, followed by production, licensure, deployment of vaccines and plans for post-marketing surveillance. With Covid-19, the goal is to develop, test and manufacture a vaccine on a scale of hundreds of millions of doses within 12 to 18 months. Since the vaccine will be needed very quickly, an unprecedented approach has been taken by the companies. Since approvals are expected for an emergency use of the vaccine, they will start mass manufacturing as soon as they finish phase 2 trials and move to phase 3, and, in doing so, risk the failure of phase 3. In such cases, consortiums and countries fund for risk reduction and provide market commitments, said Dr N K Ganguly, former director general, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Pune-based Serum Institute of India started work 10 days ago on manufacturing in parallel to the human safety trials, the Oxford experimental vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, at its own risk. SII plans to begin manufacturing the ChAdOx1 vaccine in anticipation of the clinical trials in the UK succeeding by September/October. SII will initiate the manufacture at its own risk to jump-start manufacturing and have enough doses available, if the clinical trials work, said SII CEO, Adar Poonawalla in a statement. WHO last week organised a meeting of vaccine manufacturers and national regulatory authorities in its South-East Asia Region, of which India, Indonesia and Thailand are a part. The three countries are among the worlds largest vaccine manufacturers. The manufacturing capacity that exists in the region is of the quality and scale required to produce and roll out a Covid-19 vaccine globally. This region is a vaccine manufacturing powerhouse, and it must now also play a lead role in overcoming the ongoing pandemic, said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director, WHO South-East Asia. At the virtual meeting, leading manufacturers from India, Indonesia and Thailand discussed timelines and production capacity, while regulatory bodies discussed how to fast-track processes to make large scale production and deployment of Covid-19 vaccines possible by the end of the year. The way this pandemic is progressing, we are left with no choice but to have an emergency use vaccine within eight months, we cant afford to wait for years. In the case of Covid-19, we already have some experience from SARS CoV-1 and MERS platforms, which have been used previously for delivering other vaccines. The same is the case with proven adjuvants [a substance which increases the bodys immune response to an antigen], which could be used. So considering the fact that we are not starting from scratch, it is in the realm of possibility, said Dr Ganguly. Last month, WHO launched the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, which brings together key global health actors, private sector partners and other stakeholders to accelerate the development and production of Covid-19 essential health technologies, including vaccines, and to help guarantee equitable access. Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recently said its within the realm of possibility to have a vaccine widely available by January, but only if drug companies are willing to assume the risk of beginning to ramp up production of the vaccine before it is fully tested and approved. Vaccines have led to the global eradication of small pox, and wiped out polio from most countries of the world, except Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria, where it remains endemic. Vaccines for diseases such as HIV, however, remain elusive after two decades of effort. All countries are now preparing to safely transition towards a new normal in which social and economic life can function amid low or no Covid-19 transmission. No country is safe until we all are safe, for which an effective vaccine that is accessible to all is needed, said Dr Khetrapal Singh. Coronavirus vaccines: types and methods Covid-19 vaccines use a wide variety of platforms and techniques to train the immune system to identify the Sars-CoV-2 virus and block or destroy it before it infects the body. Most vaccines feed immune cells, a signature of the unique spike protein on the surface of the Sars-CoV-2 virus, which it uses to enter human cells to cause infection. An effective vaccine is one that generates neutralising antibodies, which store the genetic blueprint of the virus to give long-lasting protection. At least eight vaccine types that rely on different viruses or viral parts are being developed. Virus vaccines At least seven teams are developing vaccines using the Sars-CoV-2 virus in a weakened or inactivated form, such as those against measles and polio. Sinovac Biotech in Beijing is testing an inactivated form of Sars-CoV-2 in humans. Weakened virus: A virus is conventionally weakened for a vaccine by being passed through animal or human cells until it picks up mutations that make it less able to cause disease. Codagenix in New York is working with Pune-based Serum Institute of India to weaken SARS-CoV-2 by altering its genetic code so that viral proteins are produced less efficiently. Inactivated virus: The virus is made uninfectious using chemicals, such as formaldehyde, or heat. Nucleic-acid vaccines Around 20 projects are using coronavirus genetic material (DNA or RNA) to prompt an immune response. The nucleic acid is inserted into human cells, which then churn out copies of the virus protein. Most coronavirus vaccines encode the viruss spike protein. RNA- and DNA-based vaccines are safe and easy to develop: to produce them involves making genetic material only, not the virus. But they are unproven: no licensed vaccines use this technology Viral-vector vaccines A weakened virus, such as measles or adenovirus, is genetically engineered to produce coronavirus proteins in the body without causing disease. There are two types of weakened viruses, those that can still replicate within cells, and those that cannot, because key genes have been disabled. Replicating viral vector (such as weakened measles): The newly-approved Ebola vaccine is an example of a viral-vector vaccine that replicates within cells to provoke a strong immune response. The vaccine is safe but existing immunity to the vector could blunt the vaccines effectiveness. Non-replicating viral vector (such as adenovirus): No licensed vaccines use this method, but they have a long history in gene therapy. Booster shots can be needed to induce long-lasting immunity. US-based pharma major, Johnson & Johnson, and Oxford University are using this approach. Protein-based vaccines Coronavirus proteins, of fragments of proteins or protein shells, that mimic the coronaviruss outer coat, are injected directly into the body. Protein subunits: Twenty-eight teams are working on vaccines with viral protein subunits, with most of them focusing on the viruss spike protein or a key part of it called the receptor binding domain. Similar vaccines against the Sars virus protected monkeys against infection, but they havent been tested in people. To work, these vaccines might require adjuvants, or immune-stimulating molecules delivered alongside the vaccine, as well as multiple doses. Virus-like particles: Empty virus shells mimic the coronavirus structure, but arent infectious because they lack genetic material. Five teams are working on virus-like particle vaccines, which can trigger a strong immune response, but can be difficult to manufacture. Source: Nature SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON There is a war going on in nature murderous Asian hornets are invading honeybee hives, and are decapitating the insects and feeding the bodies to their young. However, Japanese honeybees have developed a bizarre counter attack that cooks the predators to death. More than 500 workers bees swarm around the hornets, trapping them in 'hot defensive bee balls'. The bees then vibrate their muscles to produce friction heat up to 116 Fahrenheit -scorching the hornets within an hour. Incredibly, the bees can survive temperatures up to 118 degrees, leaving the bees safe while the hornets are cooked to death. The giant hornets, which are more than double the size of honeybees and have a wingspan over three inches, are native to East Asia, but are slowly occupying other parts of the world. Scroll down for videos There is a war going on in nature murderous Asian hornets are invading honeybee hives, and are decapitating the insects and feeding the bodies to their young. However, Japanese honeybees have developed a counter attack that cooks the predators to death. 'Anti-predator behaviors are essential to survival for most animals,' researchers wrote in a study published in PLOS ONE. 'The neural bases of such behaviors, however, remain largely unknown.' 'Although honeybees commonly use their stingers to counterattack predators, the Japanese honeybee (Apis cerana japonica) uses a different strategy to fight against the giant hornet.' The honeybees have developed the tactic of surrounding the invading hornets and killing them with heat. In the fall months, giant Asian hornets attack Japanese honeybee colonies to steal larvae and pupae to feed on. Called 'hot defensive bee balls,' more than 500 workers bees surround the hornets and vibrate their muscles to produce heat up to 116 Fahrenheit -scorching the hornets within an hour In the fall months, giant Asian hornets attack Japanese honeybee colonies to steal larvae and pupae to feed on. However, the bees come together in a spherical formation called 'hot defensive bee ball,' which traps the hornets inside However, researchers have now discovered that more than 500 worker honeybees gather in a large group to fight back. They come together in a spherical formation called 'hot defensive bee ball,' which traps the hornets inside. The bees vibrate their flying muscles that creates temperatures up to 116 degrees Fahrenheit. Within 30 minutes to one hour, the hornets are cooked to death. Although the hornets are native to Asia, they have made their way to the US in the recent months. The bees vibrate their flying muscles that creates temperatures up to 116 degrees Fahrenheit. Within 30 minutes to one hour, the hornets are cooked to death However, European honeybees, a common pollinator in the nation, have not yet developed hot defensive bee ball, and the hornets are decimating hives The honey bees are able to create heat up to 116 degrees just by vibrating their muscles together in a large swarm Researchers observed the attack in an experiment, which shows the worker bees forming the circle and attacking a decoy hornet However, European honeybees, a common pollinator in the nation, have not yet developed hot defensive bee ball, and the hornets are decimating hives. Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) wrote in a blog post: 'Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia) is the world's largest species of hornet.' 'In December 2019, WSDA received and verified two reports of Asian giant hornet near Blaine. 'These are the first-ever sighting in the United States. 'Canada had also discovered Asian giant hornets in two locations in British Columbia in the fall of 2019. The insects also have a large stinger filled with venom that contains neurotoxin, which is capable of causing both cardiac arrest and anaphylactic shock. Beekeeper Conrad Berube told The New York Times he was recently attacked by a swarm of the 'murder hornets' on Vancouver Island. 'It was like having red-hot thumbtacks being driven into my flesh,' Berube stated, adding that he was left bleeding from the attack. Berube was stung seven times and was lucky to be alive. But while the hornets can be deadly to humans, entomologists are more concerned that they could kill off bee populations in North America. The giant hornets, which are more than double the size of honeybees and have a wingspan over three inches, The insects also have a large stinger filled with venom that contains neurotoxin, which is capable of causing both cardiac arrest and anaphylactic shock Last November, a beekeeper in Washington state found 'thousands and thousands' of his honeybees with their heads torn off. 'I couldn't wrap my head around what could have done that,' the keeper stated. Asian giant hornets' nest in the ground for most of the year, but are most active between July and November. He is the Grand Tour presenter who is known for his lustrous locks. But James May's crowning glory was left dishevelled as he encountered a strong gust of wind on a trip to Tesco on Tuesday. The journalist, 57, did battle with the elements as he picked up some pints of milk, with his silver locks swept back from his face. Out and about: James May's crowning glory was left dishevelled as he encountered a strong gust of wind on a trip to Tesco on Tuesday The star cut a casual figure in a white tee paired with a quilted orange jacket as he stepped out. James paired this with grey cargo trousers and scarlet trainers. The star continued to be blown about as he left the shop carrying two cartons of milk, before heading home. Oh dear: The journalist, 57, did battle with the elements as he picked up some pints of milk, with his silver locks swept back from his face Casual cool: The star cut a casual figure in a white tee paired with a quilted orange jacket as he stepped out Errand: The star continued to be blown about as he left the shop carrying two cartons of milk, before heading home Off we go: The star's locks were blown about by the wind as he set off home James shot to fame as a co-presenter of iconic programme Top Gear, which he starred in alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003-2015. He now hosts The Grand Tour alongside Hammond and Clarkson. In December they appeared in the first of a series of specials called The Grand Tour Presents: Seamen. The feature-length episode saw the captivating trio head off on an adventure across the waters of Vietnam and Cambodia, where they will captain three very different types of vessels. In the special, Jeremy, James and Richard headed out on a 800km journey through Vietnam and Cambodia that begins Tonle Sap Lake. During their trip, the trio had to weave their way through a series of challenges and unexpected mishaps as they make their way to the Mekong Delta. To go on this epic adventure, Jeremy headed out on a Vietnam-era PBR (Patrol Boat River), which most famously appeared in Apocalypse Now. And Richard channelled his inner Don Johnson by setting off on a Miami Vice style speedboat, while James headed out on a classic 1939 wooden river cruiser. Ronald Reagan time and time again called America a city on a hill, evoking the words of Jesus and making America the people of Jesus. A bold move. Yet, Reagans vision was not so Christian and was what Lee Camp (in Scandalous Witness) calls an expression of conservative liberalism, but still liberalism (and not therefore a kingdom vision of Jesus). Read on. Here are Reagans words from two different speeches: These visitors to that city on the Potomac do not come as white or black, red or yellow; they are not Jews or Christians;conservatives or liberals; or Democrats or Republicans. They are Americans awed by what has gone before, proud of what for them is still . . . a shining city on a hill. Ive spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I dont know if l ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it.But in my mind it was a tall proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with peo-ple of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. Thats how I saw it and see it still. Reagan has usurped the churchs role and therefore it is idolatrous. If Trump were to say this today, the Left would jump up and down in protest; when Obama got too close to the Bible in terms like this, the Right did the same. Its partisan complaint, not biblical insight. While Reagans rhetoric is indeed brilliant, we must see it as idolatrous. It is important as well to note here that this critique-this charge of idolatry-is not and must not be a partisan one. Reagan here provides but a poignant example of the rhetoric often employed by the American Left and the American Right. Reagan vs. Paul, vs. Jesus, vs. John in Revelation: Compare and contrast, then, the apostle Paul with President Reagan.For Paul, then, it was the new humanity created in Christ who embodied neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:28 NIV). But for Reagan it is the awed citizens of the United States, who do not come as white or black, red or yellow; they are not Jews or Christians; conservatives or liberals; or Democrats or Republicans. No, transcending all these markers of division, the Great Communicator contends, is patently not the fact of a unity in Christ. Transcending all these markers of presumed hostility, he claims, is the fact that they are Americans. Thus Reagan weaves Pauls ministry of reconciliation into Johns vision of the new Jerusalem, and in a shameless coup de grace co-opts Jesuss language from the Sermon on the Mount: the shining city on a hill. Image: Cover Photo Behind Reagan, behind Obama, behind Trump all the same: it is liberalism of one sort of another. Many Christians today are battling over which is the most Christian and some saying only one can be Christian. Camp says No, no, no. Neither is: each is liberalism. Liberalism is a politica ltheory and movement that focuses on the liberty of the individual over against various forms of authority or power. With the rise of the Enlightenment, old established forms of authority were challenged: that of the church, monarchies, and patriarchy. Liberalism is not Christian though Christianity has shaped some important elements (freedoms of various sorts, for instance) of liberalism. Liberalism is vacuous at the level of ethics and morality. Liberalism does not explicitly concern itself with a shared conception of the meaning of life, the purpose of life, or the end of history. Liberalism may in fact, after all, concern itself with the meaning of life or the end of history but only by privatizing the question of what a good life entails. But with the advent of liberalism, morality and rights are primarily seen as a restriction of human liberty, not the pathway to greater freedom. Morality becomes, under the purview of liberalism, a constraint to human freedom. Not only is a particular kind of freedom running rampant, but it goes deeply private as well and thus cant be a public morality. Liberal liberals, for example, insist that a maximum amount of freedom should be afforded to an individuals use of their bodies, that a great deal of freedom should be extended with regard to sexual mores, gender identity, and sexual preference. For a liberal liberal, restrictions of abortion are, put most crassly, the federal government intruding into a womans control over her own womb. But liberal liberals believe that the government should limit what individuals (and corporations) are allowed to do with their money and their guns. Conservative liberals, on the other hand, insist that a maximum amount of freedom should be afforded to individuals and corporations in the use of their money and their guns, For a conservative liberal, restrictions of gun ownership are, painted in broad strokes, the beginning of the slippery slope of the federal government becoming a totalitarian state. But conservative liberals believe the government should limit what individuals are allowed to do with their bodies and sexual mores. So which are you? By Trend In about 10 percent of the cases of coronavirus in Azerbaijan, the infection was spread from abroad, Chairman of Board of Azerbaijans State Agency for Compulsory Medical Insurance Zaur Aliyev said. Aliyev made the remark at a briefing of the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers, Trend reports on May 6. All citizens arriving in Azerbaijan are placed in the quarantine zones for 14 days, the chairman said. They are advised to comply with the rules of the quarantine regime at home after they leave the quarantine zones. "This process also covers citizens arriving from Russia, the chairman said. The citizens with negative results of coronavirus tests are allowed to go home." --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz For weeks, theres been a gap on store shelves in the place plastic bottles of hand sanitizer once sat. Since late March, its been a dust farm as coronavirus-fueled demand exploded in a personal hygiene revolution the industry couldnt match. Now its May, the virus is still here and that shelf space remains empty as states begin phased reopening. So, when will alcohol-based hand sanitizer return to retail outlets? Lisa Anderson, a supply chain expert and consultant, initially said she expected to see the plastic bottles on shelves in about a month before reconsidering. With states now allowing hospitality businesses to open doors, the demand will again skyrocket just as the supply was starting to catch up for the consumer market. Even though I think well sporadically have it in stock in the next month, Anderson said, with the reopening of businesses, theyre going to need to stock hand sanitizer. So its probably going to take through the summer to get this operating just because the demand has probably tripled without a hoarding mentality because every hospitality group is going to need to have a lot more than they thought of having before in addition to all the consumers who want it for their homes. Marriott, for example, announced Wednesday a wide range of new cleanliness additions to its portfolio of 7,000-plus hotels. They include hand sanitizer stations located throughout their properties and disposable disinfecting wipe packets in each room. For weeks, most of the available supply has gone to medical facilities fighting COVID-19 on the front lines. Gojo, the privately-owned Ohio company that produces Purell, has been churning out hand sanitizer 24/7 at its two manufacturing facilities since January. Since March, it has prioritized healthcare facilities. The company on May 5 said it expects demand to grow exponentially with more businesses opening as states relax stay-at-home orders. As a result, Gojo CEO Carey Jaros said they were working on a bold expansion plan that will support dramatic increases in production. In Alabama, those economic restrictions were loosened April 30 as retail outlets were allowed to open at 50 percent of store capacity. Now there will be more of a desire to clean hands after visiting a larger menu of open businesses in this phase of the pandemic. Further good news for those seeking hand sanitizer comes from overseas. Part of the supply problem for the industry came from the dependence on chemical ingredients imported from China. The combination of the coronavirus hitting there first and the annual slowdown surrounding Chinese New Year (Jan. 25 this year) impacted the importation of those materials. They were out, Id say, two-to-three months, Anderson said. Not 100 percent but basically, they were largely limited in their ability to produce. Now, they are back to about 90 percent overall. Theyre not 100 percent and they may not get back to 100 percent any time soon. Nevertheless, 90 percent is fine. It's all part of what economists call the bullwhip effect. Even a small change in customer demand can severely damage a supply chain -- and the coronavirus remains anything but a minor event. Changing one link in that supply chain has an impact on all the others and its just starting to repair itself. Anderson said she recently spoke with West Coast ports gearing up for more business. They have the staffing and the ability to receive product, but the supply chain is in misalignment because of the bullwhip effect, she said. The inventory is in the wrong place at the wrong time, as well as the transportation assets like the trucks and pretty much everything you could imagine. The empty containers are in the wrong place at the wrong time, so the ports were addressing that. The supply chain understands this problem and theyre addressing it. Theres also the matter of all the local breweries and distilleries that transitioned to hand sanitizer production when market forces changed. Large portions of that new product went to healthcare facilities or were sold directly to customers instead of being available on grocery store/drug store shelves. And once the brand name hand sanitizer production catches up with demand, Anderson said the big national chain stores will likely see the first trickle of supply because of the volume of sales. Disinfectant wipes and aerosols from places like Clorox or Lysol are somewhat different from hand sanitizer, Anderson said. Shes seen more of those wipes available mostly because the consumer side of the industry isnt competing as much with medical needs compared to hand sanitizer. There are just more needs coming for more places for the hand gel. Thats why hand sanitizer is probably the worst-case scenario right now, Anderson said. The FAQ pages on the both the Clorox and Lysol websites stated theyve recently stepped up production of disinfectant products. Lysol suggested reaching out to your local retailer to ask when the next shipment will arrive. Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 00:31:36|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIRUT, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese security forces arrested in April 247 people for committing different kinds of crimes, the National News Agency reported Thursday. The number of arrests in April was down sharply from 1,494 in March, the report said. The suspects, who are of different nationalities, were reportedly involved in the crimes, including drug trafficking, theft, smuggling, possession of weapons, and illegal movement in the country. The Lebanese security forces also seized 31 war weapons of various types, as well as a big quantity of light and medium munitions, motorcycles, fishing boats, drugs and communications devices, during the operations. The suspects were transferred to proper authorities for legal procedures, the report said. Enditem Its the year 2029, and youve arrived for a day at Walt Disney World. Youve made your reservations ahead of time, as you always do now, and once you arrive, the park is a lot less crowded than you ever remember it being before the coronavirus pandemic of 2020. People in line for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance are staggered much further apart than they would have been at that time. Its almost like thinking back to when people just called up their friends to talk rather than texting or emailing. After you take a turn on Pirates of the Caribbean in a boat carefully distanced away from other parties you make sure your face mask is secure and head over to the eatery youve reserved seats for at lunch. Guests will soon return to Walt Disney World, pictured empty in March, but what will it be like? (Photo: Alex Menendez/Getty Images) How weird is it to remember that there was once a time when people (without masks) would just show up at the park? No one knows exactly whats going to happen to theme parks, which shut down worldwide in response to the coronavirus in March, following the health crisis. What does seem clear is that, at least for a time, a day there will be a lot different than what weve come to expect, although thats not necessarily a bad thing. I was thinking about the 1918 flu, which wiped out millions and how life eventually got back to normal after that, and so Im hopeful that someday we will be able to go back to theme parks the way we used to, said Martin Lewison, an associate professor of business management at Farmingdale State College in New York who teaches a class on amusement parks and tourism. Maybe people will be a little more careful about washing their hands and things like that, but it's certainly within the realm of possibility. Were not there yet. There continues to be a lack of understanding about many factors of the virus, even as many states begin to reopen. Its tough to see what will happen when it comes to theme parks or any businesses, for that matter. But we have some clues, mostly from Disney, which tends to lead the way in the industry. Story continues Bob Iger, the executive chairman of Walt Disney Co., said in April that the company was considering checking the temperature of guests when they entered the park, just as they check bags for weapons. Then, on Tuesday, Disneys chief medical officer, Dr. Pamela Hymel, outlined several other safety measures the company is considering, which includes limiting the number of people allowed into the park or any specific part of it even lines. Today, were sharing an update from Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pamela Hymel about our plans and considerations as we prepare for the reopening of our Disney parks, resorts and stores: https://t.co/90NnSvOR2o pic.twitter.com/5wQonjx8um Disney Parks (@DisneyParks) May 5, 2020 As you can imagine, managing guest density in queues, restaurants, hotels, ride vehicles and other facilities throughout the park and across the resort is a major focus, as we implement physical distancing guidelines based on guidance from health authorities, Hymel said. Here are the new safety measures: Limited and pulsed attendance with an advanced reservation and entry system: Guests are required to purchase admission tickets valid on a selected date only and Annual Pass holders must make a reservation prior to arrival. Controlled guest density: Capacity will be recommended and managed in queues, restaurants, ride vehicles and other facilities. Queues will be structured and ride vehicles will be loaded to promote social distancing. Implementing required government health and prevention procedures: This includes temperature screening and the use of the government-issued Shanghai Health QR code, a contact tracing and early detection system used in China. Additionally, guests must wear a mask during their visit, except when dining. Increased sanitization and disinfection measures: Hand sanitizers will be available at queue entries and attraction exits. High-touch locations, such as ride vehicles, handlebars, queue railings and turnstiles will have increased sanitization. Training for cast members: Cast members will receive training on procedures with an emphasis on contactless guest interaction, cleaning and social distancing and will receive additional protective equipment including masks. With Disney considered the industry leader, other parks will likely follow with similar guidelines. Universal Studios in Florida surveyed its fans in April about their opinions on potential safeguards, including rapid testing for COVID-19 for guests and employees. Six Flags websites already state that, once it reopens, impromptu visits will be a thing of the past, at least in the beginning: To meet state social distancing guidelines and ensure the health and safety of our guests, all visits to the park must be pre-scheduled using our online reservation system. Lewison, a roller-coaster enthusiast who visits roughly 100 theme parks a year, said a system like that might not be what were used to, but it makes sense. This way, by having reservations, they can just better plan what size crowd theyre going to have, Lewison said. Its better for the guests, and its better for the park. The park knows how many guests are coming and if youre a guest, youre not going to drive two hours and then find out that they're letting 10,000 people in and youre 10,001, so you don't get in. So I wouldnt be shocked if Disney did something like this as well. Once youre inside the park, there are other variables. Some rides might need to be redesigned so guests are farther apart. The way people are funneled onto rides, like those long, twisty lines might need to be altered. Should rides be cleaned and sanitized after each cycle? And then theres the question of masks. Do you suggest to guests that they wear face masks, or do you require guests to wear a face mask, and then do you have the face mask police in the theme park? Lewison said. And thats kind of a big bummer, because people want to forget their cares when they go to the theme park and not have to worry about things, but at least in the near- and medium-term, the parks and the guests are going to have to negotiate some kind of mask. Disneyland guests enter Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge on June 24, 2019. (Photo: Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images) Its not clear if guests will be able to interact with park workers called cast members at Disney dressed as characters. We do know that they wont at Shanghai Disneyland, which is scheduled to begin a phased reopening May 11. Disney CEO Bob Chapek said Tuesday during an earnings call that characters will be social distancing and most of them, all but human characters such as Snow White and Cinderella, will be wearing masks. The reopening of Shanghai Disneyland will be a test exercise for Disney in many ways. The Chinese government has limited the number of guests the park can have to 30 percent of its normal operating capacity, but Disney is going to go below that number early on, Chapek said Tuesday. So while 80,000 people is peak capacity, Shanghai Disneyland will aim for fewer than 24,000. Just to have our training wheels on with our new procedures and processes, Chapek said on the call, to make sure we dont have any lines backing up either as guests entering into the park or as they wade through the park. Amusement parks are at a crucial moment, as Lewison noted. They have this problem: How do we reopen safely? If you make mistakes, then you have to close up again, Lewison said. So you can just imagine staffing up, getting a workforce, getting them trained, getting everything ready and then finding out that youre a vector for the virus and then you have to shut down again anyway. So that would be a nightmare for all involved. Disneys Chapek made his announcement in the same meeting he reported that the companys quarterly profit fell a whopping 90 percent in the last quarter, with closures accounting for a 58 percent drop in operating revenue for the companys parks. Keep in mind that his company has Disney+ and other revenue outlets, which many other amusement and theme park companies dont. Lewison, who lives in Queens, N.Y., with his wife, an emergency room doctor, is rooting for the theme parks, particularly the smaller regional and family-owned parks. Hed like to be back at one of them soon. We were going to go to Tokyo and Tokyo Disney in March for spring break but then spring break got canceled, he said. We were in Vietnam in January. We were riding roller coasters around Vietnam, which was a great trip. And then we came back, school started and then school only lasted about six weeks. Social distancing is a part of our everyday lives. The below experience allows you to place art in the space between. Place the image in front of you and move it around to line up with your loved one. Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 22:12:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A student gets his temperature checked before entering Nanchang University in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, on May 7, 2020. Students of Nanchang University started to return to school on Thursday. The university has taken various epidemic prevention measures on campus to ensure the safety of students. (Xinhua/Peng Zhaozhi) Police departments throughout the U.S. have seen crime rates fall since the coronavirus pandemic, but shootings in some cities have surged despite stay-at-home orders. Why it matters: Before the pandemic, mass shootings when four or more people are injured drove the national conversation on gun violence. But while shootings at schools or crowded places snagged the headlines, victims were in their homes 61% of the time when gunfire erupted. By the numbers: The U.S. logged nearly 2,100 gun deaths between March 1 and April 19, 6% more than the same time period in the past three years, per aggregated data from the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive. What's happening: Nerves are frayed, and cities are reporting gun violence at grocery stores and other public spaces over people exercising what they believe are their rights. A security guard at a Family Dollar in Flint, Michigan, was fatally shot after he asked a customer to wear a state-mandated face mask to shop in the store and an argument broke out, CNN reports. Stillwater, Oklahoma, amended an emergency order this week after residents said wearing face masks was unconstitutional and threatened employees and store owners with violence. The big picture: Americans are still confronting gunfire in their homes during the pandemic, including domestic violence incidents, injuries from improperly stored firearms and suicide, per research organization Giffords. Stay-at-home orders have meant fewer bystanders and police in public who can provide eye-witness accounts. Many Americans have also stocked up on guns since the outbreak, including a rise in first-time owners. "Under all of these social-economic stressors and social isolation, you now have firearms, one of the biggest risk factors for fatal outcomes for self-harm. ... Now we have a lot of guns in homes and I'm deeply concerned about domestic homicide, suicide and a lot of bored kids with time on their hands if those guns are not stored safely." Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research Zooming in: Dallas, Nashville, Philadelphia and Tucson saw shootings, firearm homicides and assaults go up while crimes like robberies and drug offenses declined, per an analysis on shootings and the pandemic by The Trace. Chicago, New Orleans and Washington saw gun violence fall while under lockdown compared to weeks prior, but not as much as other crimes where guns weren't involved. Some cities like Baltimore, St. Louis and Philadelphia had already been grappling with an upswing in homicides since 2019. A vast majority of these deaths were caused by guns. Yes, but: Shootings generally increase as the weather warms up. Experts say it's best to watch year-over-year trends of gun violence in addition to data from periods before and after the state lockdowns. Between the lines: Emergency response workers already had the daunting task of treating shooting victims in underserved neighborhoods before the onset of the pandemic. Now these same communities are also the hardest hit by COVID-19 infections, and their resources are battling both public health crises. The bottom line: It will likely take months or longer to fully understand the effects of gun violence during the coronavirus pandemic, Webster said. Ms. Lorraine, a Richmond native, briefly worked for the Department of Education before joining the FDA in 1982. For the past 38 years, she held various positions in public health policy and help mentored co-workers on how to navigate a complex government bureaucracy. In the 1990s, she worked on FDA rules to restrict tobacco marketing and sales to teenagers. Those rules provided the framework for the creation of the departments Center for Tobacco Products in 2009. Cries for justice are being heard across the country for Ahmaud Arbery. This after a video shows the struggle between the 25 year old, who was jogging through a Glynn County neighborhood, and two men before Arbery was shot and killed. Leaders with the Brunswick branch of the NAACP are calling for Glynn County Police Chief John Powell to resign over his department's handling of the case. Currently he is on administrative leave. This demand from the NAACP comes a day after District Attorney Tom Durden, who is based out of Hinesville, announced that he would present this case before a grand jury for the consideration of criminal charges. Durden was brought in after two other district attorneys recused themselves from the case. The FBI and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are also looking into the case. Below video: GBI comments on Ahmaud Arbery investigation Police reports show that Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael were the two men involved in the shooting. They told police they believed Arbery was a burglar tied to recent break-ins. As it stands Wednesday, no charges or arrests have been made in the wake of Arbery's death. Protesters say that is their biggest concern. Despite the shooting happening over two months ago, potential conflicts of interest between previous district attorneys caused a delay in the case. Before moving forward, leaders want to make sure the system is fixed. "We've said from the beginning the case hasn't been handled right," said Brunswick NAACP's John Perry. "As a city, we're sorrowful that this case wasn't handled right and now we want to assure our citizens that as a community of leaders, we will assure we have a city that operates to the letter of the law." Perry says he is also calling on the governor to step in on the case. Complicating matters further is that the case will not be heard by a grand jury until at least June 13 because of COVID-19. The State News Agency of Turkmenistan (TDH) and the Republican Unitary Enterprise Belarusian Telegraph Agency (BelTA) signed through diplomatic channels a Memorandum of Cooperation in the area of exchange of news with the view of developing partnerships in exchanging information. BelTA is the largest news agency of the Republic of Belarus with a century-old history, offering news in six languages for the audience in 180 countries. The Belarusian Telegraph Agency is the principal source of official information and news of the country. Under the Memorandum, the news agencies of Turkmenistan and Belarus intend to broaden cooperation in exchange of news, provide information support for official events held in the two countries and exchange journalists and photojournalists. The Memorandum also provides for holding joint forums and other events. The TDH News Agency develops similar partnerships with the Azerbaijani State News Agency (AzerTaj), Trend International Agency, the Associated Press of Pakistan Corporation (Pakistan), the National News Agency of Uzbekistan, Kazinform International News Agency and Russia Today Television Channel (Russia). TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2022 The Seattle Indian Health Board. Google Street View In mid-March, the Seattle Indian Health Board asked its county, state, and federal governments for personal protective equipment and coronavirus test kits to address the outbreak in its community. Three weeks later, they were sent a package of body bags instead, according to NBC News. It turned out that county health officials had made a mistake with the packages. Regardless, the Seattle Indian Health Board official told the network that it was an ominous message. "The Navajo Nation is in a crisis with cases," said Abigail Echo-Hawk, the health board's chief research officer. "This is a metaphor for what's happening." Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. In mid-March, Seattle was at the center of the US coronavirus outbreak, with more than 500 positive cases and around 50 deaths. To address the outbreak in its community, a Seattle Native American health center asked the county, state, and federal government for personal protective equipment (PPE) and coronavirus test kits. Three weeks later, all the community health center had received was a box of body bags, according to NBC News. Esther Lucero, CEO of the Seattle Indian Health Board, told NBC News that her team turned "ghost white" when it received the package, which included white zippered bags and tags to attach to the toes of corpses. The package turned out to be the result of a mistake from the King County Public Health Department, according to the network. Nonetheless, one Health Board official said it was an ominous message. "The Navajo Nation is in a crisis with cases, and there are tribes and other Indian organizations across the country that are in similar crises and can use medical supplies and help instead of watching people die," Abigail Echo-Hawk, the health board's chief research officer, told NBC News. "This is a metaphor for what's happening." People wearing face masks in downtown Seattle, Washington, on April 30, 2020. Lindsey Wasson/Getty Story continues The county did eventually deliver 200 coronavirus kits to the Seattle Indian Health Board which serves 6,000 people a year from FEMA, Lucero told NBC News. Lucero also said the Federal Emergency Management Agency which is in charge of distributing medical supplies from the governmnet did initially offer to provide testing for her center, but it had to turn them down because the logistics of FEMA's initial offer weren't feasible. Business Insider has contacted FEMA and the Seattle Indian Health Board for comment. Now, Echo-Hawk worries it will not continue to get support from the local and federal government as lockdown restrictions across the country are lifted, and a possible second wave of infections comes. "My questions is: Are we going to keep getting body bags or are we going to get what we actually need?" Echo-Hawk told NBC News. The federal government on Tuesday announced it would begin distributing $4.8 billion in coronavirus aid to Native American tribes as part of the government's Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The US government is required to provide healthcare to the Native American tribes per longstanding treaties. However, urban health programs like the Seattle Indian Health Board are not included in this round of funding. Lucero and Echo-Hawk told NBC News they're now relying more on donations from Native-owned businesses to fill in the gaps. Read the original article on Business Insider Saudi Arabia has announced resumption of the flights between the kingdom and the United States amid ongoing repatriation of Saudi citizens. The kingdoms ambassador in Washington, Princess Rima Bint Bandar made the announcement, The New Arab reports. The daily flights to Riyadh and Jeddah according to Saudi Gazette will take off from a number of US cities and priority will be given to citizens with more compelling reasons for travel. Flights between the two countries were temporarily halted to curb the outbreak of novel disease which has infected 1,243,475 in the U.S and caused the death of 72,828 as of Wednesday. Saudi has begun the second phase of the evacuation of citizens out the U.S. foreign scholarship students and Saudi residents of the US will be flown back home. Around 3,000 Saudis have already returned home. CLEVELAND, Ohio More retailers are requiring customers to wear a mask in order to enter their store. As Ohio has begun re-opening the state from coronavirus closures, and stances on face coverings have flip-flopped by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, cleveland.com has been contacting supermarkets, big box retailers, drug stores and assorted stores around Northeast Ohio to obtain their latest face covering policy for customers. Here is the latest roundup of store policies. REQUIRING CUSTOMERS TO WEAR MASKS: Mustard Seed Mustard Seed announced this week that anyone entering the building is required to wear a face cover, effective May 4. It has two locations in Akron. This new procedure requires all customers, vendors, delivery drivers and salespeople have a face covering. The exceptions are for health purposes and children under 2. Costco Costco was the first major retailer to announce it was making face coverings mandatory for customers. The policy began May 4. The requirement does not apply to children under age 2, or to shoppers with medical conditions that make it difficult to wear one. Menards Calling it an evolving situation, Menards spokesperson Jeff Abbott said guests must wear a face mask to enter stores. Each outlet will have a limited supply of three-layer face masks for sale for $1 at the door while supplies last. Were simply trying to keep our store as a safe place for all," he said. NOT REQUIRING CUSTOMERS TO WEAR MASKS: Aldi Aldi is asking customers to wear a mask, but is not requiring them to do so. CVS Since Ohio does not mandate customers to wear masks it is not required at local CVS stores, said representative Matt Blanchette. We have store signage in any market with state or local orders to remind customers that wearing a mask is required by law, Matt Blanchette, CVS manager of retail communications, said. Daves Markets Aaron Saltzman, one of the owners of Daves Markets, said the chain is strongly encouraging their customers to wear a face covering when shopping." Posted at the entrance of Daves Markets at Severance Center in Cleveland Heights is a sign asking patrons to limit shopping trips to only one family member. (Photo by Brenda Cain, cleveland.com) Drug Mart Face coverings are not required for customers, according to an email from a Drug Mart spokesperson. Fresh Thyme Customer face coverings are strongly encouraged but not required, Fresh Thyme said in a statement from president Gerald Melville. Giant Eagle Dan Donovan, a spokesperson for Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle, said the chain has no face covering policy for customers. Heinens Locally-owned Heinens strongly encourages" guests to wear face coverings but does not mandate it. Home Depot A mask is encouraged but not required in order to shop at Home Depot. Joann Joann, a national fabric and craft company based in the Cleveland area, is strongly encouraging customers to wear a mask, said spokesperson Shauntina Lilly. Lowes Lowes customers will not be required to wear a mask, a company spokesperson said. Luckys Market Luckys customers are not required to wear face coverings but it is strongly encouraged, said Cleveland store manager Vanessa OBrien. Marcs Flyers at Marcs grocery store suggest customers wear masks and gloves while shopping, but the store does not require them. Flyers being handed out to Marc's shoppers offer tips on staying safe, including wearing masks and gloves. (Photo by Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com) Meijer Michigan-based Meijer says shoppers in Ohio will be encouraged, but not expected, to cover their faces. Trader Joes While Trader Joes customers are encouraged to wear face coverings, the store does not require them. Rite Aid Face coverings are strongly encouraged but not required of customers at this time, said Rite Aid spokesperson Chris Savarese. Save A Lot According to the companys website, Save A Lot asks customers and team members to wear masks," but are not requiring usage. Target Target is not mandating that customers wear a face covering in order to shop, according to policies on its website. Walmart Walmart customers are not required to wear face masks. However, Walmart spokesperson Rebecca Thomason said the company encourages customers to be especially mindful of one another during this unprecedented time and adhere to recommendations that we all use face coverings while in public spaces. Whole Foods Whole Foods is not mandating that shoppers wear a face covering. "Over the next week we will begin requesting that all customers wear masks while shopping in our stores. Whole Foods will be providing face masks at the entrance of all stores for customers who do not have their own face covering, said Nathan Cimbala of the chains Global Public Relations Department. Reporter Brenda Cain contributed to this report. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 23:49:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DAR ES SALAAM, May 7 (Xinhua) -- An assessment of Tanzania's tourism industry after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the number of tourists visiting the country will drop from an estimated 1,867,000 to 437,000 annually, a cabinet minister told parliament on Thursday. Hamisi Kigwangalla, the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, said the drop in tourist arrivals followed the suspension of international flights from America, Europe and Asia in the wake of the pandemic. Kigwangalla said the assessment also showed that the earnings from the tourism sector were expected to drop dramatically this year due to the pandemic. "The drop in the earnings will hugely affect some conservation institutions under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism," he told the House in the capital Dodoma when he tabled his ministry's budget proposals for the 2020/2021 financial year. He added that as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, direct employment in the tourism sector will go down from 623,000 jobs to 146,000 jobs. Kigwangalla said the ministry was working closely with various stakeholders in the tourism sector to put in place strategies aimed at saving the sector from further deterioration. Enditem (TNS) As video conferencing platforms like Zoom become the norm for hosting classes online, Burlington County. N.J., schools are becoming increasingly comfortable with them, especially as the rest of the school year is set to take place remotely But the transition has also come with some unexpected challenges around the nation, classes have been interrupted by "zoom bombings," in which hackers get into online classes, and often share inappropriate language or pornographic images with the virtual classroom.Lumberton fell victim to one of those hacks recently. The township school district and police are investigating the April 28 incident, in which a hacker displayed racist words and pornographic images to a middle school class.Superintendent Joe Langowski said that by Tuesday, the district transitioned to Google Hangouts for all video conferencing moving forward, but wished not to speak about Zoom further.Sometimes, the issue of "zoom bombing" can be caused by Zoom meeting links being distributed publicly, whether on a website or social media, but the cause of the Lumberton incident is still being investigated.The FBI is also investigating nationwide zoom bombings, USA Today reported earlier in April "As large numbers of people turn to video-teleconferencing (VTC) platforms to stay connected in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, reports of VTC hijacking (also called zoom-bombing) are emerging nationwide," the FBI Boston field office warned. "The FBI has received multiple reports of conferences being disrupted by pornographic and/or hate images and threatening language."While navigating remote learning technology is new for many educators, there are some key safety features available for those using the platform.Tabernacle is among the school districts continuing to Zoom, and Superintendent and Principal Shaun Banin outlined some of the district's safety measures Friday."We have it set up so there's a waiting room. By default, all education accounts have a pre-selection, so when someone signs up, the teacher has to let them in," Banin explained.There's also an option in which the video chat host usually the teacher, for class meetings can prohibit other members of the chat from sharing their computer screen with the rest of the group, he said.The host of a video conference also has a variety of controls, such as turning off other participants' videos or microphones, removing participants, and locking a meeting so no new participants can join it, according to Zoom's guide for school administrators Outside of the video, the host can also prohibit private chats between members of a Zoom group and limit who can and cannot use the direct messaging feature.Westfield Friends' Head of School Margaret Haviland said the small Cinnaminson school plans to leave some room in its budget next school year to pay for future Zoom upgrades as it continues to update its security."We control at a high level what teachers can and can't do," she said. "Passwords are required to get in, and we don't publish our Zoom meetings publicly. All my teachers use the waiting room feature and only admit names of students they recognize."Recently, Westfield held a town hall meeting for parents, for which the parents had to ask Haviland's assistant to send them the meeting link in an email."Right now everyone's trying to find the best way to interact with their students," Banin added. "You're going to have hiccups along the way, but if you're constantly doing what you think is best, that's the golden rule in education." Are you one of those brides who always dreamed of having your destination wedding in Italy? Its such a beautiful and magical place to tie the knot but planning a wedding somewhere you dont live can be hard. There are a lot of things to take under consideration and today well be sharing some useful tips for planning a destination wedding in Italy: Hire a Wedding Planner The first step is to hire a professional wedding planner, preferably someone who is known for planning destination weddings and has done one in Italy before. Trust us, this would make the process so much easier. The planner would act as your guide to ensure you have a stress free and memorable wedding. Look Into the Legal Procedure The legal procedure and paperwork for marriage is different in each country, so you need to figure and work this out beforehand. The Italian government has different agreements with each nation, so ask your wedding planner to look into your case and advise the best solution. Pick the Perfect Location A lot of couples go for the well-know countries like Rome and Florence. However, we would suggest going for something a bit more different. The most beautiful places in Italy are a little outside the city, so if you want to have an outdoor wedding then that should be your pick. If you do want to get married in the city, opt for luxury hotels. Find Trustworthy Wedding Vendors Since you know dont country, its best to find some trustworthy vendors to make your experience easier and better. You can talk to your wedding planner about it or go on the internet and use those research skills. Dont be afraid to make calls and ask as many questions as you can. Photography Is Important! Youre flying off to a new country to get married so photography is 10 times more important now! You want to make sure that everything is captured for you to look back on later in life. Again, use the internet to find wedding photographers in Italy. Create a Wedding Website A wedding website will make it easier for your guests to know all the information they need to attend your wedding. Its also a good way for people to RSVP. Go For an Off-Season Wedding Italy is super busy during the months of June, July and August, so do your best not to plan a destination wedding during that time period. When you plan off season, youll get cheaper rates from vendors and wont have to deal with packed streets and booked bars. The best months are November, January and February. Plan Activities Afterwards Youre in a new country, so why not make the most of it for you and your guests? Plan some fun after-wedding activities and explore the city. We hope your destination wedding in Italy is a blast! With over 200 countries affected by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, almost everyone is working tirelessly to find a cure. Now a new study claims that a llama's antibodies could help neutralise the virus. According to an ANI report, the animal mentioned is a four-year-old llama named Winter who lives at a research farm in Belgium along with 130 other llamas and alpacas. All of them produce a special class of disease-resistant antibodies that help in binding the spiky proteins that stud the surface of the coronavirus. By doing so, it neutralises its insidious effects. Llamas (Representative image) The Washington Post wrote about a paper which was published in the journal Cell which explains the experiment in grave detail. Based on the preliminary study, this could be a possible treatment for the deadly virus if the same results show up in human studies. Up until now, the virus has has claimed a quarter million lives across the globe. The report further adds that Winter the llama, is chocolate in colour with 'spindly legs, ever-so-slightly askew ears and envy-inducing eyelashes'. The experiment discovered that her antibodies are a niche kind called nanobodies. They are extremely prized by the researchers because of their ability to get to remote areas of the body and are also slow to degrade. Presently, laboratory mice are being exposed to the coronavirus spike protein by researchers from the University of Texas at Austin, the National Institutes of Health and Ghent University in Belgium. A study around the blood of people who have already recovered from Covid-19 is also taking place to track down any traditional antibody drugs. Sciencelabs (Representative image) In 2016, Winter was also immunised by researchers with spike proteins from MERS and SARS in order to develop a universal vaccine for human coronavirus. Four out of those viruses are common and cause cold-like symptoms. The process involved drawing her blood and isolating antibodies and one of them showed potential for neautralising MERS. Another one neutralised SARS, according to Daniel Wrapp, co-author of the study and graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin. He said, "While the researchers were hoping to find a single antibody that could target all the coronaviruses, the 'consolation prize' was finding two that showed promise against MERS and SARS. If the small antibodies work in humans, their stability means they possibly could be delivered as treatment via an inhaler." University of Texas He further added that larger monoclonal antibodies have to be administered by injection. Wayne Marasco, an infectious disease specialist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute who developed experimental antibody therapies against close cousins of the current coronavirus, thinks this approach to the pandemic could be a "game-changer". Apparently, just a single dose has the potential to treat the disease or prevent it for months. Presently, the antibodies provided by Winter are far from being tested on humans and Belgian researchers have only now started pre-clinical trials on hamsters. Hospitals in the US are harnessing naturally-occurring anitbodies to treat patients by providing experimental transfusions of blood plasma from people who have recovered from the deadly disease Covid-19. Their hope is that the plasma which is rich with virus-fighting antibodies can save us from the disease. According to experts, antibodies could fight against COVID-19 in a promising way and is a potential weapon to fight out the pandemic. CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Australian and NZ dollars drifted higher against their major counterparts in the European session on Thursday amid risk appetite, as China exports data for April exceeded expectations and bleak U.S. data released overnight prompted calls for more government spending. European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos called for greater cooperation in fiscal policy from the region's political leaders to support the recovery. Stating the euro zone economy is facing a deep recession, he told the European Parliament's committee on economic and monetary affairs that 'it is thus vital that the fiscal response to this crisis is sufficiently forceful, in all parts of the euro area.' Survey from the Australian Industry Group showed that Australia's services sector continued to contract in April, and at a steeper pace, with a Performance of Services Index score of 27.1. That's down from 38.7 in March and it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that Australia posted a merchandise trade surplus of A$10.602 billion in March. That surpassed expectations for a surplus of A$6.8 billion and was up from the downwardly revised A$3.865 billion surplus in February (originally A$4.36 billion). The aussie rose to 2-day highs of 0.6474 versus the greenback and 68.84 versus the yen, from its early a 3-day low of 0.6379 and a new 2-week low of 67.63, respectively. The aussie is seen finding resistance around 0.70 versus the greenback and 74.00 versus the yen. The aussie strengthened to an 8-day high of 1.0699 versus the kiwi, more than 4-month high of 0.9125 versus the loonie and a 1-week high of 1.6691 versus the euro, off its early lows of 1.0635 and 0.9039, and a 2-day low of 1.6924, respectively. The aussie is likely to challenge resistance around 1.09 versus the kiwi, 0.92 versus the loonie and 1.62 versus the euro. The kiwi appreciated to 0.6063 versus the greenback and 64.56 versus the yen, after falling to a 9-day low of 0.5995 and more than a 4-week low of 63.56, respectively in early deals. The next possible resistance for the kiwi is seen around 0.645 versus the greenback and 68.00 versus the yen. The kiwi hit a 1-week high of 1.7805 versus the euro, from a 2-day low of 1.8008 set at 6:45 pm ET. If the kiwi rises further, it may locate resistance around the 1.70 level. Looking ahead, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended May 1, consumer credit for March and Canada Ivey PMI for April are set for release in the New York session. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says multi-billion dollar dam project will create almost 2000 full-time jobs A multi-billion dollar dam project in Central Queensland is one step closer to becoming a reality with the development declared a coordinated project by the state government on Thursday. The proposed $2.9billion Urannah Dam is now set to undergo an assessment process to determine the environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts it may have on the region. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the 1.5-million-megalitre dam has the potential to create up to 1,200 full-time jobs during the construction phase and 675 full-time positions once operations have commenced. But local environmental and Indigenous groups are firmly opposed to the controversial development. 'Jobs and water security are two of the most important things for Queensland right now,' Premier Palaszczuk said. 'Progressing projects like this will help to secure our state's future. 'If we're backing industry and helping facilitate big projects, we're putting more Queenslanders into jobs.' The proposed $2.9billion Urannah Dam site (pictured) will supply to high-value agriculture precincts, as well as mines and other heavy industries But local environmental and Indigenous groups are firmly opposed to the controversial development at the Broken-Bowen River system (pictured) The pipeline is set to provide water to high-value agriculture precincts, as well as mines and other heavy industries. The Premier says the site will also feature a pumped hydro-electricity power scheme in the upper Broken River Valley, north west of Mackay. But Shine Energy, who have proposed a coal-fired power station in North Queensland, have stated they will not use any water coming from the dam and are instead opting for internal dry-cooling systems. 'We as Birri and Widi traditional owners stand opposed to the [Urannah Dam] project as it will have a major environmental impact on our sacred rivers and all water rights belong to our people,' the company's CEO Ash Dodd told the Guardian. Mackay Conservation Group coordinator, Peter McCallum, told Daily Mail Australia that members of his organisation stand in solidarity with the traditional owners of the land. 'We hope that the coordinated project process for Urannah Dam is full and comprehensive and considers an option for no dam, as well as other options such as eco-tourism. This must be done in conjunction and with the full consent of traditional owners,' he said. Environmentalists are concerned a rare turtle found in the river system could come under threat as a result of the project. 'The Irwin's turtle was first discovered by famed naturalist Steve Irwin and his father Bob in 1990, and is a freshwater turtle with its main habitat in the Broken-Bowen River system which includes the proposed dam catchment. Habitat loss is identified as a key threat to this species,' Mr McCallum said. 'If proposed projects like the Urannah Dam are to go ahead it will directly affect the last remaining population stronghold of the turtle and will very likely endanger the survival of this ancient species.' Local environmental and Indigenous groups are firmly opposed to the controversial development and say the Irwin turtle will come under threat The creature first discovered by famed naturalist Steve Irwin and his father Bob in 1990 He said, while Queensland and Australia are facing an extraordinary crisis with the coronavirus pandemic, it is irresponsible to throw $2.9 billion at a 'pipe-dream'. 'The Queensland Government has a track record of dams that cost the public a lot of money, which later turned out to be economic disasters,' Mr McCallum said. 'You don't have to look far, the Paradise Dam at Bundaberg has been an unqualified failure. 'Since the 1960s there have been at least 25 investigations into the feasibility of a dam at Urannah Creek. None of them have resulted in a compelling case for this dam to go ahead.' Despite the criticism, Minister for State Development Cameron Dick said the government will continue to investigate new water infrastructure proposals for Central and North Queensland. 'If there's a big job-creating project proposed for Queensland that has merit, we'll look at it,' Mr Dick said. 'These assessments are extremely thorough, and through the independent Office of the Coordinator-General we look to identify the most optimal projects for our regions.' [May 07, 2020] COVID-19 & Video Conferencing - Zoom the Most Downloaded Video Conferencing App Globally in February and March DUBLIN, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ResearchAndMarkets.com published a new article on the videoconferencing industry, "COVID-19 Outbreak: Video Conferencing Demand Rises due to Social-Distancing" Video conferencing software and video chat applications have seen a huge surge in demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, video conferencing apps saw a record 62 million downloads. Much of the growth is due to increasing adoption of platforms like Google Hangouts Meet, Microsoft Teams and Zoom as businesses switched to remote working to limit the spread of the virus. Zoom was the most downloaded video conferencing app globally in February and March and it continues to see a high number of downloads across the US, EU and UK. Spain, Houseparty downloads during the week ending March 21st, increased by 2360 times the average weekly number for Q4 2019. To see the full article and a list of related reports on the market, visit "COVID-19 Outbreak: Video Conferencing Demand Rises due to Social-Distancing" About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. 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 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/covid-19--video-conferencing---zoom-the-most-downloaded-video-conferencing-app-globally-in-february-and-march-301054942.html SOURCE Research and Markets [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram Since April 5, 2020, multiple Facebook users have sent death threats to Bolivian cartoonist Abel Bellido Cordoba, he told CPJ in a phone interview. Bellido told CPJ that the threats were in response to cartoons published on his professional Facebook page and in the independent La Paz daily Pagina Siete, where he has worked as a cartoonist for the past decade under the pen name Abecor. The cartoons, published on April 5 and 18, depicted recent political controversies and anti-drug operations in the Chapare, a jungle region in central Bolivia that, according to news reports, produces much of the countrys cocaine. In a screenshot Bellido shared with CPJ, a Facebook user named Francisco Villa commented on one of the cartoons, saying, The day you will meet your maker is getting closer. Another comment from a user named Katy Carla included a photo of Bellido and a caption that said: If this man disappears, it will not be because of magic. Bellido said he received about half a dozen such threats in response to the two cartoons. He said he showed the threatening messages to Pagina Siete editor Isabel Mercado who, on April 28, sent a letter to Interior Minister Arturo Murillo. In the letter, she demanded security guarantees so Bellido could safely carry out his work. Bellido told CPJ yesterday that he plans to report the threats to the police, and said that there was no official reaction to the letter. CPJs calls to the Interior Ministry were not returned. Its worrisome because the government doesnt do anything, Bellido told CPJ. In its 2015 special report, Drawing the Line, CPJ found that cartoonists are often targeted for harassment because their satirical portraits, whether backhanded or overt, communicate complex political ideas in a form that is accessible and resonates with mass audiences. (Natural News) A second wave of coronavirus (COVID-19) infections is sweeping through southern China. Cities throughout the region are reporting increasing numbers of new cases, even as authorities try to downplay the resurgence. In Guangzhou, more than 10 new asymptomatic carriers of the coronavirus have been reported in recent days. This adds to the over 100 new infections that were reported in the city last month. Meanwhile, the nearby city of Shenzen also reported new infections, mainly from people who had come from Guangzhou. This seems to indicate that the second wave was spreading further in southern China. Second wave of infections from Guangzhou On Sunday, Guangzhous municipal health commission announced that it had found one new asymptomatic carrier in the citys Zengcheng district the tenth officially reported case in the district. Other districts in Guangzhou have also reported outbreaks in April. However, data from nearby regions indicates that the outbreak in the Zengcheng district might have occurred earlier than the ten cases. On April 29, the Shenzen city government confirmed that one of its cases was a 29-year-old man who had arrived in the city from Guangzhous Zengcheng district. The patient had arrived in the city on April 22 and then started developing symptoms on April 24. The man eventually went to the Baoan Peoples Hospital on April 26 where he tested positive for the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region also announced a new case related to Zengcheng involving two residents who attended a gathering in the district. Xu Wanjie and his wife had visited the district, staying in a hotel there from April 12 to April 26. Upon returning home to Guanxi, they attended a large funeral reception, where at least 35 families were in attendance, and visited several areas. On April 28, Guanzhou police contacted the couple, informing them that some of the other guests who had stayed in the same hotel as they did were diagnosed with the virus. Xu, his wife and hundreds of their close contact were now possible carriers of the coronavirus and could be placed under quarantine. While Guangzhou police mentioned positive coronavirus cases in Zengcheng, authorities did not officially announce any patients with COVID-19 symptoms in the district. However, Guangzhou authorities have been known for reporting inconsistent data in the past. (Related: Chinas response to COVID-19 is the latest in string of COVER-UPS and suppression.) Similar situation unfolding in northern China Provinces in the south of China arent the only ones that are looking at a second wave of coronavirus infections. Heilongjiang province in the countrys northeast is also experiencing a surge in new cases, despite official reports to the contrary. Official figures for the city of Jiamusi show no new infections. However, reports from citizens are painting a different picture. One resident, going by Ms. Zhang, told the Epoch Times that authorities were building walls to isolate each building in the neighborhood in the Xiangyang district where she lived. She also added that several residential compounds in the neighboring Qianjing district had been locked down as well. The security people at the checkpoints of our residential compound told us to stay at home because the outbreak is very severe, said another resident, going by the name Mr. Li. Some hotels are being used as quarantine centers. Meanwhile, Heilongjiangs capital city Harbin is also experiencing a second wave of infections. Local authorities have admitted to cluster outbreaks at two of the citys major hospitals, as well as in the neighborhoods of the Dawai district. In addition to this, the city of Mudanjiang, which sits on the border with Russia, also reported outbreaks inside hospitals. The city has since initiated strict measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com 1 TheEpochTimes.com 2 WSJKW.HLJ.gov.cn Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel has come under attack for criticising the reopening of markets while churches remained closed in ... Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel has come under attack for criticising the reopening of markets while churches remained closed in Nigeria. As part of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, the Nigerian government banned religious gatherings till further notice. However, Oyedepo speaking on Wednesday morning during the Covenant Hour of Prayer programme of the Church, said the continuous closure of churches was suspicious. He disclosed that the Lord told him that it was part of moves to stop the church of God from expanding. His comments did not go down well with some Nigerians on social media. They criticised Oyedepo for taking such stance, adding that the church is not essential like the market, hence the closure should not be politicised. Here are some comments gathered from Twitter: @Justinabenson10 It is quite simple for me, churches arent running essential services like our markets offer. Bishop Oyedepo of all people should understand this. So who has died because he couldnt go to church or mosque? Same can never be said of the markets, people need to re-stock supplies. @Ogbenibambam I guess Bishop Oyedepo is fighting for his pocket and not God, No one can fight the battle of the Lord. @Abdrahimnda This is why we are so poor in mind, in thoughts and pockets. We think everything is about religion. Why wont people go to markets for 6hours? Will you feed them at the church? Or is it that prayers and worships are no more accepted at homes? @Boxypiper Churches arent running essential services papa. Do you know what it means for Muslims not to pray on Fridays during Ramadan? @Ichinazam Even the Bible preaches of quarantine. God told Moses that if someone had leprosy he had to separated from everyone and kept in isolation. Stop free styling with Christianity and read your bible. Spreading false information like this damages our beliefs. @Kene_Onyemaeme Meanwhile his churches in UK and US are still closed but his Nigerian churches should operate. What do you take Nigeria for? The lockdown was partially lifted because of the impending economic implications on the masses, instead of his Church to support the government hes smelling a rat. @Lorenzodgenius Market is a place where people go to buy basic things they need to survive, church is not. If Oyedepo is a common man, can he and his family survive without food stuffs. What purpose does the church serve right now? This is not about being sentimental, no need for church now. @Wolenchy02 Sentiment aside, Bishop is making sense.Church is more organised than the market and bus stops though, so God help us. @Cephas_Basu He has a point about the church being more orderly than the market.But please all these Pastors should know that not everything is an attack on the church. The paranoia is too much. @Supaflyest Papa doing the most to secure his bag, hurts bad when you suddenly stop seeing free weekly money. Growth and expansion of the church worldwide but 95% of the members are not growing. Market provides food but the church wouldnt. You are not going to eat the words.God is everywhere! @Obianuju_Obakpu What people fail to understand is that we Christians are the church. The body of Christ. Not the building!. No body was stopped from praying and holding services with family in their houses. So you can pray in your house. Market is opened because we have to eat. Eat food! Facebook on Wednesday appointed 20 people from around the world to serve on what will effectively be the social media networks Supreme Court for speech, issuing rulings on what kind of posts will be allowed and what should be taken down. The list includes nine law professors, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate from Yemen, journalists, free speech advocates and a writer from the libertarian Cato Institute. ... BRASILIA, May 6 (Reuters) - Indigenous groups from nine countries in the Amazon basin called on Wednesday for donations to help protect 3 million rainforest inhabitants who are vulnerable to the spread of the novel coronavirus because they lack adequate access to healthcare. They said the failure of regional governments to consider the needs of indigenous people in their plans for curbing the pandemic made it imperative to find other funding to buy food, medicine and basic protective equipment such as masks. The Amazon Emergency Fund aims to raise $3 million in the next two weeks and $5 million over 60 days, its organizers at the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin (COICA) said on a conference call. "We cannot wait any longer for our governments ... We are in danger of extinction," said JosA Gregorio Diaz Mirabal, general coordinator of COICA and a member of the Wakuenai Kurripaco people of Venezuela. Coronavirus has already infected 180 of the 600 indigenous tribes of the Amazon basin and killed 33 of their members in a single month, he said. The fund will be managed by the Rainforest Foundation US, an NGO that works to protect jungles in Central and South America. It will wire funds directly to grantees' accounts. The foundation's executive director, Suzanne Pelletier, said indigenous communities are the guardians of the rainforest, whose survival is critical for maintaining life on Earth. "This pandemic is not only a humanitarian emergency, it is also an environmental emergency," she said. "Indigenous people across the Amazon are the last line of defense against forest destruction and our best hope of mitigating climate change." (Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by David Gregorio) Representative image live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Ahmedabad-based company Hester Biosciences on April 29 had announced that it is collaborating with IIT-Guwahati to develop a vaccine against COVID-19. The small cap rallied almost 20 percent that day, with huge spurt in trading volumes and it prompted BSE to seek clarification from the company. Hester said the vaccine will be based on recombinant avian paramyxovirus based vector platform - which means it uses avian paramyxovirus-1 to produce the immunogenic protein of SARS-CoV-2. Hester makes poultry and animal vaccines, and it is yet to make a human vaccine. COVID-19 vaccine bandwagon 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 isn't Hester alone that has jumped onto the COVID-19 vaccine bandwagon, according to government more than 30 vaccines are currently in various stages of development in India and a few are expected to hit human trials next few months. The list of companies developing vaccines include the traditional powerhouses of vaccine making such as Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech, Biological E, Zydus Cadila, Indian Immunologicals; there are other small biotechs such as Gurgaon-based Premas Biotech, Pune-based Gennova Biopharmaceuticals and Aurbindo Pharma's subsidiary Auro Vaccines. Even a diagnostic lab called Neuberg Supratech Reference Laboratory is also working on a vaccine. There are many other COVID-19 vaccine projects that are underway but not publicly announced yet. The companies are developing vaccines based on live virus, protein sub units of virus, RNA and DNA. Some of the companies are doing the vaccine development internally, while others have collaborated with foreign biotech companies and academic institutions. Track this blog for latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak India has reported about 52,987 COVID-19 confirmed cases and 1,785 deaths. Globally, there are 3.8 million COVID-19 cases, and 2.65 lakh people have died. Many countries have imposed lockdowns at a huge economic cost to contain the spread of virus. Vaccine is considered to be sure shot panacea against the pandemic. Vaccination helps to quickly establish herd immunity against the disease, and allows countries to get back to normal. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double that time to bring vaccine from lab to market. With Indian drug regulator assuring speedy permissions for clinical trials, waiver of data requirement for animal studies and approval of manufacturing licenses within seven days, Indian companies believe that a vaccine could be possible anywhere between nine months to two years. The average timeline that's widely cited is 12-18 months. That's an unprecedented timeline to develop a vaccine. To achieve the fete, companies will have to shorten the vaccine development life-cycle, that comes with possible risks of omissions and commissions in terms of safety and efficacy of the vaccine. "I am little nervous on 12-18 months timeline, it is long enough in the context of a pandemic, but extremely tight time-frame to develop a vaccine," said an executive of a vaccine company who didn't want to be named. His company is one of the major vaccine makers of India. "We can guarantee immediate safety of the vaccine, which means nothing is going to happen to a person who is taking it, like fever and other allergic reactions. Also we can ensure acceptable efficacy of the vaccine. But the grey area is the long term safety and efficacy. What happens to a person if he is infected with the virus one year or two years down the line. How will that person immune system react, will the vaccine gives the desired protection, we need time to determine these things," the above mentioned executive said. Also Read | COVID-19 vaccine hunt heats up globally, still no guarantee There have been high profile cases of companies coming up short. The recent example is the Dengue vaccine of Sanofi. Setting bar low Conventionally a vaccine aims at more than 90 percent effectiveness, but now even if the vaccine achieve 60-70 percent, regulatory agencies are ready to back them. They cite example of flu vaccine, which is approved even though its effectiveness is less than 50 percent. "Given the emergency pandemic situation, governments are ready to push the bar for efficacy lower, that makes things easy," the above executive said. Animal model challenges A pre-clinical study that involves testing the vaccine on animals is very crucial before a vaccine enters human trials. The fate of many vaccine candidates will be determined in the pre-clinical stage itself. This study has to be robust and takes upto six months. Here too some vaccine makers are rushing without having a animal trial data. Also Read | Sanofi to enroll thousands for its coronavirus vaccine trials The race to make a vaccine is also compounded by the problem of availability of animal disease model or animal challenge model Mice, the mainstay of animal studies however is inert to SAR-CoV-2 virus. So researchers have to engineer a mice (transgenic) that expresses both the mouse and the human versions of the receptor's gene ACE2. ACE2 receptors provide gateway for the virus to enter the cell. "There are a few companies that offer these mice (disease) models, they are based in US, France and Japan. They give preference to vaccine developers in their countries, and it is also quite expensive," the above quoted vaccine executive said. The mice model market is billion dollar market. Also Read | COVID-19 might never have a vaccine, just like HIV and dengue: Experts Despite the absence of animal challenge model, vaccine makers are still moving ahead. "It is a human virus. Having a mouse model is very difficult. Earlier it took many years to develop challenge (disease) model. It is equally rare that a human virus will co-infect a mouse. What we are testing in the pre-clinical is that is not a challenge model. We will take the candidate and see the antibody response. We will also how see the toxicity to the animal," said Dr Prabuddha Kundu, co-founder & Managing Director of Premas Biotech. Meanwhile World Health Organisation (WHO) is working with several laboratories across the world to provide R&D blueprint of the animal models available to vaccine developers. Monkeys and ferrets are now found to be infectable with SARS-CoV-2, show evidence of virus replication and shed virus in nasal swabs. But a vailability of these animals for testing would be another challenge. Human trials, funding, scale-up and distribution The department of biotechnology in India will be facilitating and overseeing human trials. But with multiple vaccine trials to commence shortly, there is a dilemma among vaccine developers on how to enrol patients. Many would be conducting clinical trials on humans for the first time and doesn't have necessary expertise. Indian government is funding vaccine projects in the initial phase of development through BIRAC grants. Once these vaccine projects advance into larger human trials they would be require huge funding to set up manufacturing, scaling it up and distribution. For instance Serum estimated the cost of the project at Rs 300 crore. Serum indicated that it is may look at securing outside funding. Executives say its possible to do a vaccine at much lesser cost than Serum. Indian vaccine companies themselves rely on funding from government, WHO, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and non-profits like Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to fund vaccine development projects and de-risk the costs of investment. But even after funding clinical trial costs and setting up manufacturing facilities, company's aren't sure they would get a payback. Indian companies learned hard, when they jumped to develop vaccines against H1N1 influenza outbreak in 2009 but soon realised that there isn't much demand for the vaccine. The US government model is something that can be considered. The New York Times reported that US administration has identified 14 vaccine projects it intends to focus on. It would further narrow the group to a handful that could go on, with government financial help and accelerated regulatory review. "One can create a splash in media by announcing COVID-19 vaccine project, but how many will be able to sustain, is what we need to watch out for," the above executive said. Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak In this March 13, 2020 file photo, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear discusses developments in Kentucky regarding the new coronavirus in Frankfort, Ky. Associated Press/Bruce Schreiner A Kentucky man faces both state and federal charges after he admitted to making Facebook comments suggesting the governor be killed, court documents show. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, has faced criticism from some residents over his strict coronavirus lockdown measures, which included a ban on in-person church gatherings. Jeremiah Wooley, 25, was arrested April 29, and Kentucky authorities found a cache of firearms and 50 MKII pineapple-style hand grenades in a bucket in his home. Wooley also admitted to FBI agents that he posted the threatening comments under a fake name on Facebook, the affidavit said, according to an affidavit. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Prosecutors have charged a Kentucky man with terroristic threatening after he made Facebook comments suggesting Gov. Andy Beshear be killed over his coronavirus response, court documents show. "When would it be acceptable to go and kill this guy," one comment said, in response to a video titled, "Kentucky Governor sends State Troopers to Church to Enforce Social Distancing." "Anybody think about maybe going and visiting the governor at his house," another comment said. Beshear has faced criticism from some Kentucky residents over his strict coronavirus lockdown measures, which included a ban on in-person church gatherings. Jeremiah Wooley, 25, was arrested April 29. Kentucky authorities who searched his home found a cache of firearms and 50 MKII pineapple-style hand grenades in a bucket, according to federal prosecutors. There were also approximately 12 guns in the home, including "a 50-caliber rifle, assault-style firearms, shotguns, rifles, and handguns," according to an affidavit filed as part of a federal criminal complaint. Federal prosecutors said most of the grenades had been "rendered inert" or were not real grenades, but a number of other boxes in the same room contained "all of the necessary components" to complete and assemble a grenade. Story continues Wooley also admitted to FBI agents that he posted the threatening comments under a fake name on Facebook, the affidavit said. Wooley faces federal charges of possessing an unregistered firearm, and state charges of third-degree terroristic threats. It's unclear if he has retained a lawyer or made a plea. Read the original article on Insider Wow. How the dining world has changed in 60 days. It was March 19 when Gov. Greg Abbott closed Texas restaurants and bars to stop the spread of COVID-19. Last week, the governor gave the OK to partially open dining rooms. In the governors Phase 1, restaurants can opening their dining rooms to 25% capacity with rules for distancing of tables, limits on customers per table and more. Some area restaurants have chosen to remain closed. An informal survey of Southeast Texas restaurants found a number of establishments choosing to remain closed during Phase 1. Among them: Schnitzel in Vidor; West Texas Style Bar-B-Q in Silsbee and Rodair Roadhouse in Port Arthur. Sadly, some restaurants closed their doors permanently in the wake of the shutdown. The small local chain Woogies shuttered its Nederland store. The upscale The Grill by Arfeen, Smith & Payne announced its permanent closure Monday via social media. Other closures include downtown Beaumonts Green Light Kitchen, which thanked its customers for five great years on April 6, and Groves Cafe. The latter announced its closure before the governors shutdown. But not all the dining news is grim. When you finally feel comfortable returning to Southeast Texas dining rooms and I know that I wont be for the forseeable future there will be some new restaurants to explore. More Information ON THE COVER Diners share a meal on the patio of High Tides in Bridge City. The two-story restaurant, which opened shortly before the COVID-19 shutdown, is located on Cow Bayou. Photo by Fran Ruchalski. See More Collapse Docs Yardhouse on Calder is the reincarnation of Lukes Icehouse. The restaurant opened its doors and inviting patio on May 1. The owners already have begun to rebrand the Mid-County Lukes. Docs specialty is burgers and barbecue, all to be washed down with ice cold beer. In Bridge City, High Tides opened its doors just days before the statewide shutdown. The boil house that sits on Cow Bayou offers boatside service. The specialties are poboys and frozen adult beverages. MacKenzies Pub, which is known for its live music and prime rib, opened a second outpost during the shutdown. The restaurant at Brentwood Country Club already is earning praise for its crawfish boils and patio parties. Fans of Pine Tree Lodge, which was devastated by Hurricane Harvey, will be pleased to know the roadhouse on Taylor Bayou has reopened. It currently is only doing take-out but its just a matter of time before the patio opens and live music returns. Cat5s annual restaurant guide hit doorsteps in mid-March, just days before the shutdown. Weve decided to republish it here with updates on what services the restaurants are providing. Many have chosen to keep their dining room closed until Phase 2, when it is expected that restaurants will be able to serve 50% of capacity. Unless stated otherwise, the restaurants are offering dine-in service. Be sure to call ahead or check social media sites before heading out. Many restaurants have reduced operating hours or altered menus. Six polling places in Dauphin County have been changed for the upcoming Pennsylvania primary election and more are expected to be affected due to the novel coronavirus, the county announced Thursday. Nearly 300, or 30 percent, of Dauphin Countys volunteer poll workers, have declined to work at the ballot box this election, according to commissioners. Workers said they are concerned about contracting or spreading COVID-19. "This election season, weve had numerous curve balls thrown at us from the state and with the pandemic, Commissioner Mike Pries said, who chairs the countys Elections Board. "Were adjusting our primary election plans accordingly to ensure voters can cast their ballots safely and without difficulty. Many Dauphin County poll workers are 60 years old and older or care for older relatives. The countys elections bureau approved the temporary polling place changes April 29 at the boards public meeting. Voters will receive a postcard in the mail explaining the temporary changes. Signage will be posted at former locations, as well, to notify voters of the new voting location. Most of the recent changes made are at senior living facilities. More polling location changes are anticipated to be announced once Derry Township and Royalton Borough municipal meetings, scheduled on May 13, are held. Pennsylvanias primary election, which was slated for April 28, was moved to June 2. Polling place changes Harrisburg Citys 1st Ward/1st Precinct Former UPMC Pinnacle Health/Life Team Facility 1000 Paxton Street Harrisburg, PA 17104 Temporary Foose School Building 1301 Sycamore Street Harrisburg, PA 17104 Harrisburg Citys 14th Ward Former Chisuk Emuna Synagogue 3219 Green Street Harrisburg, PA 17110 Temporary Camp Curtain Academy 2900 North Sixth Street Harrisburg, PA 17110 Middletown Boroughs 2nd Ward/1st Precinct Former Middletown Presbyterian Church 290 North Union Street Middletown, PA 17057 Temporary Lyall J. Fink School Building 150 North Race Street Middletown, PA 17057 Middletown Boroughs 3rd Ward/1st Precinct Former Frey Village 1020 North Union Street Middletown, PA 17057 Temporary Middletown Area High School 1155 North Union Street Middletown, PA 17057 Lower Paxton Townships 19th Precinct Former The Jewish Home of Greater Harrisburg 1000 Linglestown Road Harrisburg, PA 17112 Temporary Linglestown Middle School 1200 North Mountain Road Harrisburg, PA 17112 Susquehanna Townships 2nd Ward Former Pheasant Hills Estates Community Center 4400 Pheasant Hill Rd. Harrisburg, PA 17110 Temporary Thomas Holtzman Elementary School 1900 Linglestown Road Harrisburg, PA 17110 On election day, personal protective equipment kits will be available for workers, which include disinfectant antibacterial wipes, sanitary protective gloves, surgical masks, hand sanitizer, and microfiber cloths. "We went ahead and acquired protective equipment weeks ago from a supplier to provide the safest possible environment for voters and election day volunteers, Dauphin County Board of Commissioner Chairman Jeff Haste said. "Voters who go to the polls on election day can be assured that were taking precautions. There will be available hand sanitizer, isopropyl alcohol screen wipes, and sanitary headset covers for voters. The county is following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, but ask for voters to consider bringing their own ball-point pens - black or blue ink. Pens at the polling locations will be regularly disinfected. Voters are encouraged to use the new mail-in ballot option. "Voting by mail is a safe and secure alternative, especially for the elderly or those with respiratory or immune system issues, Commissioner George P. Hartwick, III. said. "Our goal is to keep voters safe while ensuring the integrity of our elections. To vote by mail, visit www.DauphinCounty.org/vote for a link to download a mail-in ballot application or go to www.VotesPA.com/ApplyMailBallot to apply online. To apply online, you must enter a valid PA Drivers License or PennDOT ID number. Voters without proper ID need to download the application and use the last four digits of their Social Security number. Mail applications to: Dauphin County Bureau of Elections and Voter Registration, P.O. Box 1295, Harrisburg, PA 17108-1295. Applications can also be dropped off in a locked box outside the entrance of the Dauphin County Administration Building, 2 South 2nd St, Harrisburg, PA 17101. Important deadlines for the June 2 primary are the following: May 18 is the last day to update voter registration information. May 26 is the last day to apply for a mail-in ballot. June 2 at 8 p.m. is the deadline to return completed mail-in ballots. To learn more about polling places, apply for a mail-in ballot, or watch a video demonstration on how to use the new Clear Ballot voting system, go to www.DauphinCounty.org and then > Government > Election & Voter Registration or call 717-780-6360. More: Website ready for contractors, self-employed, gig workers to file for unemployment compensation Heres where and how you can get tested for coronavirus, even if you dont have symptoms With most travelers still hunkered down, the flight schedule keeps shrinking at San Antonio International Airport yet budget carrier Allegiant Air is adding a route. But it took an order from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the airline, which has not operated out of San Antonio for more than a month, to do it. The carrier, which received about $172 million in federal stimulus money, had asked the department for exemptions from requirements to provide service to San Antonio and other markets in the U.S. DOT officials said no to the San Antonio request. Up to $50 billion in grants and loans are available to airlines under the stimulus program on the condition that they keep workers on the payroll and continue flying, even if it is at a reduced frequency. In an April 29 order, the DOT allowed Allegiant to reduce service at some airports from three times a week to once a week while turning down the carriers request to pull out of San Antonio. The head of a consumer travel organization applauded the decision regarding San Antonio. We recognize and are concerned that the entire travel industry, especially the airlines, are facing an extremely serious, unprecedented period and need assistance, said Kurt Ebenhoch, executive director of Travel Fairness Now. At the same time, in exchange for generous taxpayer-funded support, we thank the DOT for making sure that the commitments that go with billions in aid are honored by airlines. The order requires Allegiant to resume service within seven days of receiving federal funds, according to a DOT official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Texas Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox It's unclear if the airline has received its stimulus money, which was awarded by the DOT on April 21. The airline's schedule shows no service until June to either of its former designations from San Antonio, Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla. Though Allegiant had requested the San Antonio exception until Sept 30, officials have maintained they planned to offer service here in June, July and August. Allegiants ticket counter at San Antonio International Airport remained closed this week. Airline spokeswoman Sonya Padgett said in an email that the details for May flights from San Antonio International are being finalized and that tickets would be on sale soon. She did not comment on the DOT decision or whether the airline had received the stimulus funding. San Antonio International has new nonstop service to Albuquerque, N.M., also because of stimulus funding. Alaska Airlines had eliminated its two nonstop flights from San Antonio to Seattle, but it now flies to Seattle once a day, but with a stopover in New Mexico. Airline analysts say that larger airlines are eliminating some nonstops and flying so-called milk runs that stop in several cities as a way to meet requirements of the program, part of the federal CARES Act. The act requires airlines to serve all cities they served during the week of February 29, but not necessarily through nonstop service. Saddled with nearly empty planes, carriers save money by using one plane to serve multiple cities, the analysts say. An Alaska spokesperson said stopping at multiple designations streamlines the use of our resources aircraft, fuel and crews. Alaska is receiving nearly $1 billion in stimulus money. In the last month, other daily nonstop flights that have disappeared from the schedule at San Antonio International include service to Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Nashville. Flight departures from San Antonio in May have shrunk to around 30 a day, down from an average 120 departures a day just two months ago, show airline schedules. Passengers can still travel to multiple U.S. designations from San Antonio but must change flights in hubs such as American Airlines at Dallas/Fort International Airport or Uniteds George Bush InterContinental Airport hub in Houston. On ExpressNews.com: Get the latest update on coronavirus and a tracking map of U.S. cases The four biggest airlines at San Antonio International American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines each received billions of dollars in stimulus funding to help maintain the air system in the U.S. The stimulus program, however, has only minimum service requirements. At San Antonio International, the four airlines each have to fly five flights a week, a requirement they are easily meeting even though they have slashed service. Southwest Airlines, which had 48 flights a day from San Antonio International in March, more than any other airline, is down to 13 flights a day. A Southwest ticket agent at San Antonio International, who asked not to be identified, said some flights have as little as five or six people aboard. He said that on a few flights in the last few days there had been an uptick of passengers, as many as 50. The agent said this has occurred as stay-at-home orders have been lifted in Texas and other states over the last week. Southwest spokesman Dan Landson said in a statement that the flight reductions stem from the fact that the carrier is right-sizing our operations to be closer in-line with current demand. For our customers, some previously nonstop routes might now require a stop before reaching their destinations. He said the airline intends for those changes to be temporary. Analysts say demand to air travel may not pick up again until 2021 because of fears of coronavirus. Passengers going through Transportation Security Administration checkpoints at San Antonio International have been as low as 300 a day in May. 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 SKY News political team Kieran Gilbert, Annelise Nielsen and Tom Connell will provide analysis tomorrow as the National Cabinet meets tomorrow to decide if COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted. Will Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the State and Territory leaders decide now is the time to let Australians out of lockdown? Sky News will provide coverage from the beginning of the National Cabinet meeting with exclusive reports on its progress. Sky News will then deliver live and uninterrupted coverage of the Prime Ministers news conference. Plus, full analysis on what the decisions mean for each state, crossing live to reporters across the country and insights from economic, health and political experts. Then, from 5:00pm unrivalled analysis and commentary, with special programs from Chris Kenny, Peta Credlin, Andrew Bolt and Paul Murray. Road To Recovery Friday 8 May Live coverage from 10:00am on SKY News. Donna Perry is a Sun Chronicle columnist and media commentator. You can reach her at donnaperryhome@gmail.com. Follow her on twitter @donnaperryma1. Her columns are published here on Thursdays. Oil prices edged higher on Thursday on a surprising rise in Chinas April exports, U.S. output cuts and the slow return of some activity in Europe. Brent crude was up by 52 cents, or 1.75%, to $30.24 a barrel by 1023 GMT, after dropping 4% on Wednesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 47 cents, or 1.96%, to $24.46 a barrel. WTI rose $1 in early trade after having declined more than 2% in the previous session. Brent is trying to go back to early April levels, the market is testing the capacity of Brent to stay above $30 a barrel, Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix consultancy said. Were out of the super contango now. Refinery runs are coming back, the U.S. is cutting production so this is providing support. However, a mismatch between demand and supply remained, despite a rebound from dire figures in the physical market. A shift in market sentiment was lifting prices earlier this week, but the physical overhang does not want to go away just yet, Citi Research said. China was a bright spot in terms of demand last month. Imports climbed to 10.42 million barrels day (bpd) in April from 9.68 million bpd in March, according to Reuters calculations based on customs data for the first four months of 2020. Overall exports from China also rose against expectations of a sharp drop, though a big drop in total imports suggested any recovery is some way off as economies around the world fall into recession, meaning demand for fuels will likely remain subdued at best. Oil prices should eventually settle on a wide $10 range, with WTI crudes upper boundary being around the $30 a barrel level, while Brent crude targets the $35 a barrel level, said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA. U.S. crude inventories were up for a 15th straight week last week, rising by 4.6 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. That was less than analysts had forecast in a Reuters poll, which suggested a 7.8 million-barrel rise, but the gain highlighted once again how much supply is being stored. Distillate inventories also rose sharply. Gasoline stocks, however, fell for a second week as some U.S. states eased lockdowns that had sharply hit traffic. Also capping prices were indications that Iraq, OPECs second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia, has not yet informed customers of impending restrictions on its oil exports. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied producers - a grouping known as OPEC+ - agreed to cut production from May 1 by around 10 million bpd to stabilise prices amid the plunge in demand in economies ravaged by the coronavirus outbreak. (Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Jason Neely) Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 22:01:53|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Golestan Gallery, in collaboration with Tehran Municipality, has held a painting contest for children amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Iran Front Page daily reported on Thursday. Lili Golestan, owner and art director of the Golestan Gallery in Iranian capital Tehran, said that the contest, with the subject of "quarantine," is for the children under the age of 10. "To date, we have received 885 works, which will continue until May 9," she said. "On average, I get about 30 to 40 works a day, which is a good thing. However, the interesting point is that I have received paintings from Iranians residing in other countries such as the United States, France, Britain, Qatar and Oman," Golestan said. "For the convenience of the jury and in order to be fair, we divided the works into two sections, of children under six and over six, and the prizes of each section will be awarded separately," she was quoted as saying. Enditem Pakistan will begin easing its nationwide lockdown in a phase-wise manner by allowing various businesses to open up from Saturday, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Thursday, citing the economic crisis due to the shutdown even as the country recorded a rise in new coronavirus cases with over 24,000 people infected so far. The premier made the announcement after chairing the National Coordination Committee (NCC) meeting in Islamabad where recommendations made by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) regarding reopening of small businesses and educational institutions by easing lockdown curbs in the wake coronavirus pandemic were discussed. We have decided to lift the lockdown. I must make it clear that lockdown will be lifted from Saturday not from tomorrow but from Saturday, the prime minister said in a televised briefing. He said the decision was taken as businesses and people were facing problems. We are doing it because the people are in extreme difficulty. Small business owners, daily-wagers, labourers are facing difficulties. We fear that small and medium industries may completely vanish if we do not lift the lockdown, he said. He said 35 percent of revenue collection decreased and exports shrunk. We have already opened the construction sector and from today we are going to open various sectors relating to the construction industry. He agreed that the situation was not clear as the curve of coronavirus cases was going up and there was no indication when the peak would be reached. He said Pakistan did not witness a peak as was witnessed in the European countries. The easing of lockdown came as coronavirus cases crossed 24,000 with 38 more deaths in a single day. The nationwide tally of COVID-19 patients stands at 24,526 with 9,077 cases in Punjab, 9,093 in Sindh, 3,712 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 1,659 in Balochistan, 388 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 521 in Islamabad and 76 in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The virus has claimed at least 578 lives while at least 6,464 coronavirus patients have recovered. Khan urged the people to maintain social distancing and following the official guidelines. He said that the success of this next phase would depend on the cooperation of the people. He said public transport would not be open as provinces opposed the decision but clarify that he was in favour of opening public transport. We have asked the provinces to make SOPs so that public transport could be made functional. Public transport has even opened in the countries where 30,000 people passed away due to coronavirus, he said. Khan said about 125,000 Pakistanis wanted to come back but it would take time as government need to put them in quarantine. When we bring people from abroad we have to conduct tests, keep them in quarantine and we do not have that many resources, he said. Minister for Planning Asad Umar said that six major decisions had been taken about lifting of restrictions. He said more sectors related to construction will be opened; selected OPDs in hospitals will be opened to treat specific diseases and illnesses; markets will open after sehri (start of fast at dawn) but close at 5 pm; markets will remain closed for two days per week; and small markets will also be allowed to open. However, the reopening of schools was delayed on the demand of various provinces, according to Umar. Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood said that all schools, universities and other educational institutions will remain closed till July 15. The Prime Minister's focal person on coronavirus Faisal Sultan said that the number of patients was increasing due to more tests being done. But, he said, still the trajectory was slower. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WASHINGTON During an appearance in the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon President Trump excoriated the administration of President Barack Obama as human scum who attempted to undermine him by targeting former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Trump made his comments after a reporter asked about the Justice Departments announcement earlier today that it is dropping its criminal case against Flynn. The president also railed against the media and argued the Pulitzer Prizes should all be returned. He was an innocent man. He is a great gentleman. He was targeted by the Obama administration and he was targeted in order to try and take down a president, Trump said of Flynn, who was facing prison time after pleading guilty more than two years ago on charges related to special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. Trump went on to allude to the charges against members of his former campaign team and other allies that emerged from Muellers probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election. He called the situation a disgrace and suggested it was a partisan effort. Its treason, Trump said. So Im very happy for General Flynn. Michael Flynn, President Trumps former national security adviser, departs a federal courthouse after a hearing, June 24, 2019, in Washington. (Patrick Semansky/AP) The initial investigations began in 2016 while Obama was still in office. Mueller ultimately concluded the Kremlin mounted an extended effort to boost Trumps campaign and identified multiple instances where Trump could have been seen as obstructing the investigation and documented multiple contacts between Trumps team and associates of the Russian government. However, Mueller did not uncover evidence that Trumps campaign worked with the Kremlin. In the Oval Office, Trump suggested officials involved in investigating his administration and campaign wanted to pressure his allies to lie. Its a disgrace. The Obama administration Justice Department was a disgrace and they got caught. They got caught, very dishonest people but much more. ... Its treason. Its treason, Trump said. So Im very happy for General Flynn. Story continues Trump made his comments when he took questions from reporters while meeting with Texas Gov. Greg Abboott about the coronavirus pandemic. A spokesperson for Obama did not respond to a request for comment. Flynn, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general, had the shortest tenure as White House national security adviser in history. He resigned in February 2017, less than a month after Trump took office, when information surfaced indicating that he had lied to the FBI and Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with former Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak. In December 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the FBI and made a deal to cooperate with former special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential race. President Trump speaks during a meeting with Gov. Kim Reynolds, R-Iowa, in the Oval Office on Wednesday. (Evan Vucci/AP) In December 2018, as federal prosecutors prepared to sentence Flynn, Mueller filed a memo that indicated the former national security adviser had provided substantial assistance to the Russia probe and a separate criminal investigation. Mueller recommended Flynn receive a sentence that potentially didnt include any jail time. However, in more than a year since then, Flynn has not been sentenced amid legal wrangling that included him firing his initial attorneys and hiring Sidney Powell, a veteran attorney and conservative activist. In January of this year, Powell filed motions to have Flynns case dismissed due to alleged government misconduct. Federal prosecutors were fighting back against those motions. That same month Attorney General William Barr appointed Jeffrey Jensen, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, to review Flynns case. Jensen subsequently shared documents with Powell including notes and emails from FBI officials. Those documents included notes suggesting the FBI conducted the interview with Flynn to get him to lie. Powell, Flynns attorney, argued the documents showed appalling behavior by the FBI agents and an abuse of authority. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story. U.S. Attorney Timothy Shea filed a motion to dismiss the case against Flynn in D.C. District Court on Thursday. The motion cited the recently revealed documents and argued they show the FBIs 2017 interview of Flynn was untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBIs counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn. The Government is not persuaded that the January 24, 2017 interview was conducted with a legitimate investigative basis and therefore does not believe Mr. Flynns statements were material even if untrue. Moreover, we [do] not believe that the Government can prove either the relevant false statements or their materiality beyond a reasonable doubt, She wrote. The D.C. District Court still must formally approve the governments request to dismiss the case. Cover thumbnail photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Tom Brenner/AP, AP _____ 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. Read more: Europe's biggest airline is about to get an important new shareholder. Deutsche Lufthansa on Thursday confirmed it's discussing handing the German government a stake of up to 25% plus one share as part of a 9 billion-euro ($9.7 billion) bailout. A holding at that level would give state officials veto power over decisions such as job cuts and the carrier's commercial strategy. The talks are ongoing on a package that would also include loans and a so-called silent stake similar to preferred stock, Lufthansa said. The state-owned shares may be issued at their nominal value, providing the government with a deep discount on its investment. In talks that have stretched on for weeks, Lufthansa has resisted government demands to gain influence in the sprawling airline group in exchange for a financial lifeline. The aviation group's management fears state interference and the debt attached to the government's proposals would hamstring it in competition with U.S., Asian and Gulf carriers who've gotten less stringent terms on state assistance packages. While there's been some internal debate in Angela Merkel's ruling bloc over whether the government should take a direct stake at all, the key economy and finance ministers have settled on a unified stance informed by lessons from the 2008-2009 financial crisis. It is currently unclear if the push by some lawmakers to refrain from taking a stake will have an effect. "Lufthansa, along with other companies, is part of the silver table settings of our economy," Germany Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said to Bild newspaper, adding the country would do whatever it takes to save the company. Like airlines across the world, Lufthansa is fighting for survival as the coronavirus crisis punctures a decades-long aviation boom. The company, which connects Germany's industrial titans to far-flung export markets, plans to operate fewer aircraft when flights resume and is closing discount arm Germanwings to resize for what could be years of depressed demand. It warned last month that it risks running low on cash within weeks. Capital Cut Bloomberg News reported this week that the government was pressing for the 25% plus one share blocking stake at a potential price of 2.56 euros a share. That is the nominal value reported on the balance sheet -- the lowest possible price at which any German company can issue new shares. Lufthansa in its statement said it could undergo a so-called capital cut, meaning it could lower the current value even further, potentially to 1 euro per share. Buying shares at such a low level means the German government has a downside protection should the carrier's value drop further, but it would also have a substantial gain should its shares appreciate. Negotiating points: - 9 billion-euro stabilization package. - Silent participation, secured loan. - State stake be up to 25% + 1 share. - Waiver of future dividends. - Supervisory board seats for Federal Economic Stabilization Fund. Lufthansa had already secured aid from Switzerland for its unit there in the form of credit guarantees worth 1.28 billion Swiss francs ($1.3 billion) and is negotiating separate packages for divisions in Austria and Belgium. Deputy General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Obiri Boahen says former President John Dramani Mahamas petition to the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to investigate NPPs Abronye DC is fundamentally flawed, adding that the approach is questionable. He explained in an interview with NEAT FMs morning show Ghana Montie that, the Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe was not formally served by the former Presidents lawyer after condemning his alleged utterances. Citing some technicalities in the law, Nana Obiri Boahen who is also a lawyer said the Presidents approach is wrong. Ex-President Mahama reports Abronye to CID Mr. Mahama through his lawyer is asking the Police Service to investigate murder allegations made against him by Abronye DC. His lawyer, Tony Lithur said Abronye DC has accused his client, John Dramani Mahama, and some members of the NDC of planning to assassinate some members of the NPP. My instructions are that in a recording on a TV programme on Net 2 TV, Madina, Accra which has been circulating on various social media platforms including Facebook and Whatsapp platforms, Abronye made certain false claims alleging a plot masterminded by His Excellency John Dramani Mahama to assassinate some NPP personalities including him, Abronye DC, himself . . . ". Former President John Dramani Mahama has reported, Kwame Baffoe Abronye, alias Abronye DC to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service for alleging that the former president had plans to kill some leading members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). The former President lodged the complaint on Wednesday, May 6, 2020 at the police headquarters through his lawyers, LithurBrew Company. Obiri Boahen's reaction Reacting to the issue, defense lawyer for Abronye DC, Nana Obiri Boahen called on Mr Mahama to serve NET 2, Abronye DC and NPP with an official complaint because they were all mentioned by Mahama and his lawyer. It must be an oversight for not serving all of them, so they should correct that immediately, he told host Kwesi Aboagye. Why is Mahama not going to court if Abronye DC has indeed defamed him? What don't NDC Communicators do to President Nana Addo? he further questioned. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/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. Featured Video [May 07, 2020] Richnerstutz Ltd: Covid-19 Solution for Retailers - Smart Counting System Helps Customers to Keep Their Distance VILLMERGEN, Switzerland, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- "Extraordinary situations require extraordinary measures." These were the words of the CEO of one of Switzerland's largest event agencies when its turnover completely collapsed on 1 March due to the coronavirus. Richnerstutz Ltd. has developed a solution to halt the spread of the Covid-19 virus with its specially developed CountMe product. A sophisticated system facilitates access controls for shops and stores. An innovative traffic light system automatically measures and controls customer flows without incurring personnel costs. Governments have imposed drastic reductions to the recommended numbers of customers per floor area to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus. In practice, affected companies are attempting to do so through controls by door personnel, entry ticket distribution systems or mobile barriers. The result is usually unsatisfactory and cost-intensive. An innovative, easy-to-install traffic light system is now set to implement the mandatory access controls effortlessly and cost-effectively, an measure customer flows. Above all, this will help retailers, restaurants and museums, railway stations, airports and even virus test centres. Sensor automatically counts customers CountMe looks like a welcome sign and is similar like a traffic light in red and green. The pillars stand at the entrance and exit of a store and a sensor registers the customers as they enter and leave the store. The system turns red once the defined number of people in the store has been reached. Otherwise, customers meet a green light and may enter the store. The system is easy to assemble; installation and set-up can be done in a few minutes via an app. The appropriate floor stickers are also available to match the pillars to maintain the required distance. Innovative, flexible, creative "When we had the idea, we immediately started developing it together. We tested the prototype after only a week, as we have the necessary knowledge and expertise, technology and material within the company," explains Andre Richner, CEO of Richnerstutz Ltd. "We are really happy to be making a significant contribution to tackling the Covid-19 pandemic." Retailers in Europe are already measuring customer flows The first CountMe systems have already been successfully installed at several hundred retailers across Europe, US and several overseas markets are already primed for the roll out. The benefits of CountMe are obvious: It is the precise solution, efficient and saves money. Retail has already recognised this. - Picture is available at AP Images ( http://www.apimages.com ) - Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1164768/CountMe_Red_Light.jpg Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1164767/CountMe_Green_Light.jpg Contact Richnerstutz Ltd. Press Relations Durisolstrasse 1 CH-5612 Villmergen, Switzerland [email protected] +41 56-616-67-67 SOURCE Richnerstutz Ltd. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was released from a Baltimore hospital Wednesday after being treated for a gall bladder condition. She is doing well and glad to be home, the Supreme Courts public information office said in a statement. Ginsburg, 87, was in the hospital to be treated for a gallstone that migrated to her cystic duct, where it caused an infection. She will return to Johns Hopkins Hospital in the coming weeks to have the gallstone removed without surgery, the statement said. Ginsburgs hospital stay didnt appear to slow her work schedule. Hours before she left the hospital, she participated in a teleconference court hearing on a Trump administration rule that would let employers cite religious or moral principles to opt out of providing no-cost birth control to women required under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Ginsburg lectured a Trump administration lawyer, saying he had tossed entirely to the wind what Congress thought was essential, that is, that women be provided with birth control services with no hassle, no cost to them. Ginsburg, a Brooklyn native, was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton. By John D. Saxon, a Birmingham lawyer, who chaired the Alabama Presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, and General Wesley Clark in 2004. A former Special Assistant to Vice President Walter F. Mondale, in 1984 he was on the Washington legal team that did damage control regarding the ethics complaints against Vice Presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro. Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for President, faces the biggest decision of his life. Who will be his running mate? His predecessors have faced the same decision: do you seek philosophical, demographic, or geographic balance, seek to carry a swing state, balance in terms of age or experience, or just healing the party? All are important. The person he selects will be a heartbeat away from the Presidency, and a strong candidate for President in 2024. The two most important questions are: is this person qualified to be President, and does she help him get to 270 electoral votes? Biden has already announced that he will select a woman, which eliminates the gender question. As a moderate, if he is looking for philosophical balance, the most progressive woman on his list is Elizabeth Warren. Critics, even among Democrats, caution that she is too liberal. If he looks for demographic balance, then she needs to be African-American: either California Senator Kamala Harris, former Georgia lawmaker Stacey Abrams, or - - some would say a risky choice, others would say a bold choice - - Michelle Obama. U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., left, and Kamala Harris, D-Calif., are frequently cited as potential Democratic nominees for vice president. (Michael Reynolds/Pool Image via AP)AP With Harris, there was that bad chemistry from an early Presidential debate. Abrams has no national or statewide experience, though she has championed the cause of opposing GOP efforts at voter suppression. For all her energy and persuasiveness, she has never served beyond the state legislature, and her actually running for the job is unseemly. Michelle Obama would remind voters of the Obama/Biden ticket in 2008 and 2012. It would excite the base, a strong component of which is African-American women. Other than being First Lady, she has no governmental experience. But she is very bright, a Princeton and Harvard Law graduate, and was in the White House for eight years observing her husband and his Vice President running the country. Even former First Lady Hillary Clinton, though, by the time she got the nomination in 2016, had been a U.S. Senator and Secretary of State. Next there is geographic balance. Biden, from Delaware, might choose someone from the West Coast, such as Californias Harris, or, from a Deep South state, Georgias Abrams. But geographic balance is not always required. Bill Clinton, of Arkansas, chose Al Gore, from neighboring Tennessee. They were both from the South, but in 1992, they chose a ticket of generational change, pointing to the future. No surprise that their theme song was Fleetwood Macs Dont Stop Thinking About Tomorrow. If Biden wanted to focus on a swing state, or a region, he could look at the Midwest, thinking about Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio. He could select Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar or Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. While Klobuchar has swing state appeal, and was quick with her endorsement after the South Carolina primary which propelled Biden into a Super Tuesday landslide, there is an enthusiasm gap for Klobuchar. Whitmer, on a daily basis, accumulates baggage from demonstrators wanting her home state re-opened, though others see this as decisive, even courageous, leadership. Biden might want to balance the ticket based on age. If he takes the oath, he will be 78 years old. He might not want to choose Warren, who would be 71 years old. Klobuchar, by comparison, would be 60, Harris a youthful 56, Whitmer 49, Abrams just 47. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks to the media outside her home Thursday, March 5, 2020, in Cambridge, Mass., after she dropped out of the Democratic presidential race. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) APAP If Biden wants to heal the party, he would reach out to Warren, who represents the progressive wing that supported Bernie Sanders, though it is hard to believe many Bernie followers would vote for Trump. There is precedent for healing the party with a VP choice. Kennedy chose his chief rival, Johnson, to join him on the ticket in 1960. Reagan chose George H. W. Bush in 1980. A presidential nominee can choose a running mate to balance out experience. In 1976, Jimmy Carter, former Georgia Governor, picked Walter Mondale, a Senator from Minnesota, which added Washington experience, and both regional and philosophical balance. In 1980, Reagan, former California Governor, picked Bush, who had been a Member of Congress, Chief Liaison to China, U.N. Ambassador, and Director of the CIA. In 2000, George W. Bush, a Texas Governor, chose Dick Cheney, a former Member of Congress, White House Chief of Staff, and Secretary of Defense. Biden served in the U.S. Senate for 36 years, Vice-President for eight years. He chaired both the Judiciary and Foreign Relations Committees in the Senate. He doesnt need to balance out the ticket in terms of experience. What about Hillary Clinton? I cant imagine she would agree to run. More importantly, though Ive known her for more than thirty-five years, and have immense respect for her, she is too divisive. Biden, and Democrats, want to win. Trump won eleven states that Bill Clinton carried in both 1992 and 1996. If you put it all together, to heal the party and create philosophical balance, he would pick Warren. That adds little in terms of geography (he should carry her home state of Massachusetts) but it helps bring Bernie supporters on board. Warren would certainly hold her own on a debate stage with Vice President Pence. Kamala Harris would help him with demographic balance, but he will carry California anyway. Regarding black women, Biden should be in good shape there, as demonstrated in the primaries, and one can assume that both Obamas will be on the campaign trail for Biden. Klobuchar has her detractors, but she gets it done in the Senate. Whitmer has no national experience but has proven tough under fire in Michigan - - a state Trump won in 2016 by 0.23%. Warren in perhaps the best campaigner. Queen of the Selfies, she connects with people in a populist way. Being a bankruptcy expert, and losing a brother to COVID-19, may give her powerful themes in a fall campaign. Klobuchar has never lost an election, can work across the aisle, and helps in the Rust Belt. Harris has few negatives and would be an interesting contrast to Pence. Giving it to Biden over busing proves she would be no push-over in a debate with Pence. The choice for Biden isnt easy. Warren, Klobuchar, and Harris seem to deserve the most serious consideration. All three are qualified to be president. Or he could be bold and select the most admired woman in America: Michelle Obama! As recommendations to stay home and avoid going out continue in order to help stave off the spread of coronavirus, more and more people are eating at home and taking up hobbies like cooking and baking to pass the time. As a result, the demand for basic ingredients like flour has gone up as increasing numbers of home chefs are buying it to cook with, which has caused the stock of flour products in some supermarkets to run dry. In the wake of stores selling out, some cunning citizens have turned entrepreneur and taken it upon themselves to resupply the flour marketaby reselling flour products at exorbitant prices. On Japanese e-commerce site Mercari, sellers are typically offering flour, pancake mix, okonimiyaki mix, takoyaki mix, and other flour-based batter mixes at two to three times their normal price, and sometimes much more. One seller was even selling one-kilogram bags of bread flour for as much as 1,980 yen each (though those specific listings have since been removed.) The Japanese government, however, wants its citizens to know that there is no production shortage of flour. The minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, Taku Eto, called the price gouging aextremely outrageousa at a cabinet meeting held on May 1 and expressed concerns that resellers will spark panic buying in other citizens, who, upon seeing the flour for sale online, may come to the conclusion that there is a shortage. aIf this reselling continues, the ministry will have to take action,a he said. Both Eto and the Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, who held a press conference after the cabinet meeting, encouraged citizens not to panic buy. aWeare aware of the low stock of flour products in some stores,a Suga said. aCurrently we have a domestic stockpile of the raw materials needed to make flour, so there is no shortage. Mills were asked to continue working in full production even over the Golden Week holidays, so please make your purchases calmly and rationally.a An Australian-British academic has reportedly tried to kill herself multiple times amid unbearable conditions in Irans most notorious prison. Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a lecturer at the University of Melbourne, is currently serving a 10-year sentence in Tehrans Evin prison for espionage. In September 2018, she traveled to Iran to conduct research interviews and attend an academic conference on Islam in the city of Qom. While at the airport in Tehran, she was arrested by the intelligence wing of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). She reportedly spent months at a time in solitary confinement in a 2 by 3 meter (6 by 10 foot) cell, and has participated in a hunger strike with jailed French-Iranian anthropologist Fariba Adelkhah. Reza Khandan, the husband of human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who is also imprisoned in Evin, wrote on Facebook that Moore-Gilbert had attempted suicide three times. The Tehran-based activist also told the Center for Human Rights in Iran, an American nonprofit, that Moore-Gilbert was extremely troubled, angry, and unhappy. We dont know the details about how she attempted suicide or how she is now, but we do know that shes being held in horrible, unbearable conditions, Khandan said. In a letter Moore-Gilbert wrote last year to the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, which was smuggled out of prison and published by the Center for Human Rights in Iran, she called on the government to do whatever it takes for her release as there is no hope of a fair trial. I beg you to act faster to bring this terrible trauma that myself and my family must live through day after day, she wrote in June. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abbas Mousavi said in December that Moore-Gilbert was being held for violating Irans national security, and that the academics arrest was legal. In another set of letters obtained by The Guardian in January, Moore-Gilbert said she had turned down Irans offer to become a spy. She also wrote that she feared she was in the midst of a serious psychological problem." Iran is currently holding a number of dual nationals and foreigners on trumped-up espionage charges. As the coronavirus began to spread in February, Iran released tens of thousands of prisoners on furlough, including British-Iranian charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, UK resident Aras Amiri and US Navy veteran Michael White. Other dual nationals, including US-Iranian citizens Siamak Namazi and Morad Tahbaz, remain in Iranian detention. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters Wednesday that Switzerland, which represents American interests in Iran, had sought humanitarian furloughs for the two men, as well as an extension of Whites temporary leave. I hate to be that guy, but this is what I wrote last July right after the United States Supreme Court decided to hear the Bridgegate case: I will eat this very newspaper if they dont overturn the convictions. I wish DraftKings would offer odds on this. Kelly and Baroni, six years after the events of Bridgegate, will have their convictions tossed by the court. Which means, in the end outside of Baroni doing three months in a federal prison before being let out on bail last week after the Supremes decided to hear the case no one is doing any time for what happened. And uh, since Im already that guy, check this out, from May of 2015: I think Bill Baroni is the Bridgegate patsy. I think he got set up, he got knocked down, and now hes got to fight his way forward in hopes the truth whatever that word means within this context comes out. Well, its always nice to be proven right, aint it? I mean, sure, bully-bully for Baroni, but how about three cheers for yours truly for nailing this? In case youve been stuck under a coronavirus mask for the last few hours, youve no doubt heard the news: Bill Baroni, Hamilton native, former state assemblyman, former state senator and uh, the former top cheese at the Port Authority had his conviction (along with Bridget Kellys) tossed out by the United States Supreme Court. And please note this wasnt some Republican conspiracy the justices voted 9-0. Now, to be clear, Squees BFF and the gang didnt exactly bestow Citizen of the Year medals upon the duo. Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the court, noted that For no reason other than political payback, Baroni and Kelly used deception to reduce Fort Lees access lanes to the George Washington Bridge but not every corrupt act by state or local officials is a federal crime. By the way, Im not entirely on board with the Baroni and Kelly used deception thing. Kelly seems like she did, with the whole time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee bit. But Baroni? He seemed like the guy who was invited to the party late and was left holding the tap when the police busted up the festivities. Remember: At the beginning of all this, Baroni without being asked by the feds handed over every single piece of material he had in regard to Bridgegate. Is that the work of a man who thinks hes guilty of something? Anyway, after six-plus years, Bridgegate is officially truly and forever over. One of the biggest political scandals of our time if only because it was so painfully easy to understand is dead and buried. This scandal took down the presidential aspirations of Chris Christie, took away the livelihoods and good names of Baroni and Kelly, and gave us the birth of David Wildsteins New Jersey Globe, which, at the time of this writing (three hours after the Supreme Court decision) is bereft of any Bridgegate news. Hmmmph. Anyway, Ive known Baroni since practically my first day at The Trentonian. I was a rookie reporter, he was trying to win a seat on the Hamilton town council. Over 20 years later, Im veteran columnist and hes a vindicated (not)co-conspirator. What a world. And really, what a waste. Millions of dollars of taxpayer money wasted, careers wasted, time wasted. Is Baroni an innocent here? I mean, who knows. He probably shouldve made like Woody and gone right to the police when he caught wind of this. He didnt, and he ended up getting ensnared in a disaster. Heres hoping Baronis second act and you better believe there will be one is more successful than his first. New Delhi, May 7 : The India Meteorological Department on Thursday said that the temperature in the national capital did not shoot up much in the sweltering month of April and May as a result of the incumbent western disturbance but added that the mercury will touch 40 degrees in ensuing two-three days. "Rainfall and thunderstorm in the Northwest region are due to western disturbance. As a result of this, temperature has remained below the normal mark. The mercury is, however, on the rise now and will cross 40 degrees on May 9-10," said Kuldeep Srivastava, Head of IMD's North-West Meteorological Center. Mahesh Palawat, Vice president Meteorology and climate Change at Skymet Weather also echoed similar predictions and added that the heat wave conditions will come around in the third week of May when the temperature will rise over 45 degrees. Scientist Kuldeep Srivastava went on to say that western disturbance could have some effect on the arrival of monsoon but since there is a lot of time between that, nothing can be said concretely. He speculated, "The monsoon will arrive in four plus and minus days of its scheduled arrival in the respective states." India will likely have a normal monsoon, with a chance of 'above normal' rain in August and September, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had predicted last month. This year, the monsoon will hit the national capital on June 27 as against June 23. Mahesh Palawat also reverberated IMD's predictions and said that western disturbance will not have much effect on the monsoon in Northern India. Western disturbance usually comes in from October till March and subsides in April and shifts towards upper latitudes. That is why March and April were cool and temperature in the month of May also remain normal. "Slowly, western disturbance's intensity will subside, and it will shift towards the Northwest. Though there will still be rain showers, its effect will be less," he added. Property and mall owner Brookfield Asset Management is targeting spending $5 billion to help struggling retailers, as the retail industry reels from the coronavirus pandemic, the company announced Thursday. The company said its retail revitalization program, backed by Brookfield and its institutional partners, will focus on taking noncontrolling stakes in retailers to assist them with their capital needs during this time of "dislocation." The announcement comes as mall-based retail has been one of the hardest hit industries during the Covid-19 crisis. Thousands of retailers' stores have been shut since mid-March, to try to help curb the spread of the virus. Two retailers J.Crew and Neiman Marcus filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week. More retail bankruptcies, and many more permanent store closures, are expected to be looming. Brookfield has already bet big on retail. It acquired the remaining stake it did not already own in U.S. mall owner General Growth Properties in 2018, taking control of properties such as Fashion Show in Las Vegas, and Oakbrook Center in Illinois. GGP had earlier in 2016 teamed up with the biggest U.S. mall owner, Simon Property Group, to buy the embattled teen apparel retailer Aeropostale. And just earlier this year, Brookfield, Simon and Authentic Brands Group acquired the clothing chain Forever 21 out of bankruptcy court. Brookfield said the $5 billion initiative announced Thursday will be led by Ron Bloom, managing partner and vice chairman of Brookfield's private-equity arm. As a former restructuring banker at Lazard, Bloom is known for serving a major role during the 2008 financial crisis on the U.S. government's auto task force. "This initiative is being designed to assist medium-sized enterprises in getting back on their feet," Bloom said in a statement. "We believe this is a critical component to getting the economy moving again, and we would like to partner with companies and entrepreneurs that can draw on our capital and expertise to stabilize and grow their business." Brookfield said it will be focused on funding retailers that were bringing in normalized revenue of at least $250 million pre-Covid-19, and that have been operating for at least two years. A spokeswoman declined to comment further. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 17:22:13|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BERLIN, May 7 (Xinhua) -- German stocks remained almost unchanged at the start of trading on Thursday, with the benchmark DAX index increasing by 34.57 points, or 0.33 percent, opening at 10,640.77 points. The biggest winner among Germany's largest 30 companies at the start of trading was automotive supplier Continental, increasing by 3.48 percent, followed by carmaker Daimler with 2.31 percent and telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom with 1.67 percent. On Thursday, automotive supplier Continental announced that sales declined by 10.9 percent year-on-year to 9.8 billion euros (10.6 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of 2020, while adjusted EBIT plummeted by more than 50 percent to 432 million euros (466 million dollars). "We will feel the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic even more strongly in the second quarter," warned Elmar Degenhart, chief executive officer of Continental, but he noted that production in China would be "stabilizing again." Shares of Allianz fell by 4.05 percent after the company announced on Wednesday that revenues declined by roughly 25 percent year-on-year to 2.3 billion euros (2.48 billion dollars) in the first quarter of 2020. The German insurance company was by some distance the biggest loser at the start of trading on Thursday. On the same day, the German Federal Statistical Office announced that production in Germany "decreased significantly" in March 2020, down by 9.2 percent compared to the previous month and even 11.6 percent year-on-year "because of the coronavirus pandemic." The yield on German 10-year bonds went up by 0.006 percentage points to minus 0.497 percent, and the euro was trading almost unchanged at 1.0795 U.S. dollars, decreasing slightly by 0.01 percent on Thursday morning. Enditem Como Secondary College students handed corporal punishment, teacher under investigation by Education Department. Credit:Education Department website Boys aged 11 and 12 were forced to kneel outside on concrete in the middle of the night, holding their pillows with their arms outstretched and were yelled at if they dared to move after being rowdy at a school camp. The corporal punishment was handed down to the Year 7 Como Secondary College students for being "persistently disruptive", according to a school teacher who their parents had entrusted with their childrens' care during a school camp. The group of boys were among 143 students on their 'transition camp' at Point Peron on March 9 when some of them became disruptive in the middle of the night. As punishment, a female science teacher made all the boys, as well as those trying to sleep, go outside and kneel on the concrete in a line while holding their pillow with their arms outstretched in front of them. Iranian Foreign Ministry reminded the world of American officials' habit of breaking promises and violating agreements. On the second anniversary of US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Foreign Ministry shared a post in its Twitter account about the deal. The US is in no position to raise issues about the deal, the Foreign Ministry of Iran added while also posting a picture which shows eight instances of US breaching its commitments. The remarks come as the US has started efforts to extend arms embargo on Iran which will end this October. Washington has announced that it will use all its tools in the United Nations Security Council to achieve its aim. However, such a resolution is believed to be vetoed by Russia and China. As a second approach, Washington will then try to argue that it is a JCPOA participant so as to trigger the snapback mechanism which will return UN sanctions against Iran. This is while US President Donald Trump ceased his country's participation in the JCPOA in May 2018 and re-imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran. A shipment of medical gowns from Turkey has not been used by health workers because it did not meet British safety standards, the government has confirmed, in the latest blow to the UKs attempts to secure sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus pandemic. The shipment of 400,000 gowns was flown into the UK by the RAF last month amid dire reports of shortages in the NHS, but it is now being held in a government warehouse near Heathrow, the Daily Telegraph initially reported. Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, said on Thursday that the gowns had turned out to not be of the quality that we feel is good enough for our frontline staff and had not been used. When were securing PPE from around the world you do it based on a set of standards that youre looking to acquire to, but obviously once its here we check that it is good enough for what we want to use and in this instance, some of this PPE turned out not to be good enough, Mr Lewis said on Sky News. There was a view that it was good enough PPE, it is only when it has got here that teams have looked at it again and taken a view that it is not up to the right standard and theyve decided not to use it. The government announced last month that it had managed to source a substantial supply of gowns from Turkey, which was flown back into the UK on 22 April after an initial delay. It is not yet clear whether the government will pursue a refund over the order. Issues over the supply of PPE, such as gowns and masks, has plagued the government throughout the UKs Covid-19 outbreak. On Wednesday, prime minister Boris Johnson said it had been enraging to see the difficulties over supplying PPE but insisted the government was working hard on the issue. In a statement, the Department of Health and Social Care said there had been shortages of equipment around the world during the pandemic. We are working night and day to source PPE internationally and domestically and [have] brought together the NHS, industry and the armed forces to create a comprehensive PPE distribution network to deliver critical supplies to the front line, the statement said. All deliveries of PPE are checked to ensure the equipment meets the safety and quality standards our frontline staff need. If equipment does not meet our specifications or pass our quality assurance processes, it is not distributed to the front line. A senior Turkish official told The Independent: The PPE in question is commercial merchandise that a private company has sold to the United Kingdom. The Turkish government authorised this sale despite an export ban, out of solidarity with the UK authorities. However, no part of the Turkish government was involved in producing, packaging or delivering said equipment to the United Kingdom. This is a dispute between the buyer and a private company in Turkey, not an intergovernmental issue. There have been no similar problems with PPE that Turkey donated to the United Kingdom, for which the UK government kindly expressed their gratitude at the time. Additional reporting by PA Kristi Nix Due to future uncertainty created by COVID-19, Fort Bend ISD officials say it is too early to know what will happen when school starts in August, but online classes are likely to continue on either a full-time or part-time basis. Its just going to be a matter of how many students and what format that would take because if were given direction from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the governors office that we can only have 25 percent to 30 to 50 percent of our students in the building at one time, or that we have to provide a certain type of social distancing requiring a certain amount of space or (the TEA) limits the number of students in the classroom, then we know we would have some students in the building while other students at home, Dupre told trustees at an agenda workshop Monday. Aggrieved since the West Bengal government has not managed to make arrangements to get them back to their native places in Bengal, hundreds of stranded Bengalis resorted to a sit-in protest to express their resentment in Haridwar. At Haridwars Vishnu Ghat, around 450 Bengali pilgrims and workers, have been agitating and raising slogans for the past few days hitting out at chief minister Mamata Banerjee for not taking them back to the state. With help from the city magistrates office these stranded Bengali pilgrims and workers have also conveyed to the West Bengal government and tourism department information about their situation as they have been stranded in Haridwar for the past forty days. A memorandum through district tourism officer Seema Nautiyal has also been forwarded to the West Bengal government by these stranded residents of Bengal asking for permission to return on a priority basis. We have become refugees in a sense as our state government is denying permission for our return to our homes. Forget bearing the expenses which we will afford on our own, CM Mamata Banerjee has not even conveyed any concern regarding our plight, Mitthu Mukherjee a Bengal resident said. Local tehsildar Ashish Ghildiyal said as the West Bengal government had not granted permission to stranded residents, these people are not being allowed to move further. Chandrima Chakravarti, another stranded pilgrim said she had arrived in Haridwar in March for pilgrimage. But due to the lockdown, I got stranded with my family members and its quite disheartening that our own state government is not granting us permission or taking measures to take us back as is being done by Uttarakhand or even Uttar Pradesh government, she said. Radhe Krishan ashram spiritual guru Satpal Brahmachari said that till the lockdown sanctions are waived fully and pilgrims, workers from other states are unable to go to their homes, their ashram will distribute free food to all such people. Arctic Edmontosaurus lives again -- a new look at the 'caribou of the Cretaceous' DALLAS, TEXAS (May 6, 2020) - A new study by an international team from the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas and Hokkaido University and Okayama University of Science in Japan further explores the proliferation of the most commonly occurring duck-billed dinosaur of the ancient Arctic as the genus Edmontosaurus. The findings also reinforce that the hadrosaurs - known as the "caribou of the Cretaceous" - had a huge geographical distribution of approximately 60 degrees of latitude, spanning the North American West from Alaska to Colorado. The scientific paper describing the find - titled "Re-examination of the cranial osteology of the Arctic Alaskan hadrosaurine with implications for its taxonomic status" - has been posted in PLOS ONE, an international, peer-reviewed, open-access online publication featuring reports on primary research from all scientific disciplines. The authors of the report are Ryuji Takasaki of Okayama University of Science in Japan; Anthony R. Fiorillo, Ph.D. and Ronald S. Tykoski, Ph.D. of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, Texas; and Yoshitsugu Kobayashi, Ph.D. of Hokkaido University Museum in Japan. To read the entire manuscript and view renderings, go to https:/ / journals. plos. org/ plosone/ article?id= 10. 1371/ journal. pone. 0232410 . "Recent studies have identified new species of hadrosaurs in Alaska, but our research shows that these Arctic hadrosaurs actually belong to the genus Edmontosaurus, an abundant and previously recognized genus of duck-billed dinosaur known from Alberta south to Colorado," said Takasaki. The report states that anatomical comparisons and phylogenetic analyses clearly demonstrate that attribution of the Alaskan hadrosaurines to a unique genus Ugrunaaluk is inappropriate, and they are now considered as a junior synonym of Edmontosaurus, a hadrosaurines genus previously known from lower latitude North America roughly in between northern Colorado (N40?) to southern Alberta (N53?). The fossils used for this study were found primarily in the Liscomb Bonebed, Prince Creek Formation of the North Slope of Alaska, the location of the first dinosaur fossils discovered in the Arctic. The team's research also show that the plant-eating hadrosaurs were taking over parts of North America during the Cretaceous, suggesting that Edmontosaurus was likely an ecological generalist. "In other words, Edmontosaurus was a highly successful dinosaur that could adapt to a wide variety of environmental conditions," said Fiorillo. "It's not unrealistic to compare them to generalized animals today - such as mountain sheep, wolves and cougars in terms of their range and numbers - that also roam greater geographic distributions." Members of this team also found ties to Kamuysaurus japonicus, a new genus species they discovered near Hokkaido, Japan, and named in 2019. "Combined with the newly named Kamuysaurus of Japan, Alaska Edmontosaurus shows that this group of hadrosaurs, the Edmontosaurini, were widely distributed in the northern circum-Pacific region, meaning that they were incredibly successful dinosaurs," said Kobayashi. "It's fascinating to think they likely used the ancestral Bering Land Bridge between Asia and North America for migration in a manner similar to mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses and early humans." Edmontosaurus belong to a clade Edmontosaurini as Kamuysaurus, a recently described hadrosaurine dinosaur from Japan, suggesting that Edmontosaurini widely distributed along the northern circum-Pacific region. North America and Asia were connected by Beringia during the Late Cretaceous, and some dinosaurs are believed to have traveled to the North American continent this way. Edmontosaurini is one of the dinosaur groups that may have ventured the North America-to-Asia pathway and adapted to the Arctic environment. Those creatures that stayed in North America evolved to Edmontosaurus, and those that stayed in Asia and moved on to Japan are believed to have evolved to Kamuysaurus. "This study is a wonderful example of why paleontologists need to be more aware of how individual growth and life stage of fossils matter when we try to interpret the anatomical features preserved in them. If you don't, you run the risk of erroneously erecting a new 'genus' or species based on juvenile traits that will change or vanish as the individual creature grows up - and winds up being an adult of an already-known 'genus' or species!," said Tykoski. "Our study shows that was probably the case with these juvenile duck-billed dinosaurs from the ancient Arctic of Alaska." ### About the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. The top cultural attraction in Dallas/Fort Worth and a Michelin Green Guide three-star destination, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science is a nonprofit educational organization located in the heart of Dallas, Texas. With a mission to inspire minds through nature and science, the Perot Museum delivers exciting, engaging and innovative visitor and outreach experiences through its education, exhibition, and research and collections programming for children, students, teachers, families and life-long learners. The 180,000-square-foot facility in Victory Park opened in December 2012 and is now recognized as the symbolic gateway to the Dallas Arts District. Future scientists, mathematicians and engineers will find inspiration and enlightenment through 11 permanent exhibit halls on five floors of public space; a children's museum; a state-of-the art traveling exhibition hall; and The Hoglund Foundation Theater. Designed by 2005 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate Thom Mayne and his firm Morphosis Architects, the museum has been lauded for its artistry and sustainability. To learn more, please visit perotmuseum.org. About Hokkaido University. Hokkaido University is home to some 4 million specimens and documents that have been gathered, preserved and studied since the Sapporo Agricultural College began more than 130 years ago. Amongst these are more than 10,000 precious "type specimens" that form the basis for the discovery and certification of new species. Opened in the spring of 1999, the Hokkaido University Museum conveys the diverse range of research carried out at Hokkaido University while also using various original materials and visual media to introduce the university's cutting-edge research. Okayama University of Science. Okayama University of Science carries a various scientific departments more than 5000 students are enrolled every year. The university recently opened a new course for studying paleontology in 2014 and renovated a dinosaur museum in this April. Dinosaur research projects at the Okayama University of Science are appointed to one of the selective projects of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and the University is now known as one of the key institutions for dinosaur researches in Japan. This story has been published on: 2020-05-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. "The notion that everyone needs to be tested for the coronavirus is nonsensical," said Donald Trump's press secretary Kayleigh McEnany today. Her explanation: because COVID-19 tests would have to be given over and over again. The stupid, it burns. This is an obvious nonsensical lie, and contradicts what public health experts and the obvious basics of science and math tell us about COVID-19. At a briefing with reporters at the White House on Wednesday, Trump's Press Sec Kayleigh McEnany said "the notion that everyone needs to be tested is nonsensical," because even if we tested every American now, they would have to retest an hour later. Let's dismiss a myth about tests now. If we tested every single American in this country at this moment, we would have to retest them an hour later and an hour later after that. The notion that everyone needs to be tested is nonsensical. ????? The notion that everyone needs to be tested for the #coronavirus is non-sensical, @PressSec says, because tests would have to be given over and over again. pic.twitter.com/M9qK7oposm Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) May 6, 2020 .@PressSec: "Let's dismiss a myth about tests now. If we tested every single American in this country at this moment, we would have to retest them an hour later and an hour later after that. The notion that everyone needs to be tested is nonsensical." https://t.co/RIaSu2bs1c pic.twitter.com/92W9VHLvnC CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) May 6, 2020 WH Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany: If we tested every American right now, we would have to retest them again an hour later. She said it is "nonsensical" to test everyone and that vulnerable populations at nursing homes or ppl working in meat processing plants should be tested. Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) May 6, 2020 "The notion that everyone needs to be tested is simply nonsensical" Kayleigh McEnany pic.twitter.com/3KXs1S6d6d Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 6, 2020 VANCOUVER, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Copper Mountain Mining Corporation (TSX:CMMC | ASX:C6C) ("Copper Mountain" or the "Company") is pleased to announce positive results from its 2020 Feasibility Study Update ("2020 FS") on its 100% owned Eva Copper Project ("Eva" or "the Project"), which is located in Queensland, Australia. The 2020 FS demonstrates significantly improved economics and operating metrics, including a higher after-tax NPV, increased production, lower cash costs and a longer mine life, when compared to the prior 2018 Feasibility Study. All dollars are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated. 2020 FS Highlights Economic metrics highlights: After-tax Net Present Value (NPV) (1) at an 8% discount rate of $437 million . at an 8% discount rate of . After-tax Internal Rate of Return (IRR) (1) of 29%. of 29%. Total initial development capital $382 million . Operating metrics highlights: Key Metrics Feasibility Study Update 2020 Feasibility Study 2018 % change Total copper production (Mlb) 1,502 959 57% Average annual copper production (Mlb/a) 100 80 25% C1 cash costs per pound, after by-product credits(1) ($) 1.44 1.74 -17% Project life (years) 15 12 25% (1) Assumes bank consensus metal prices: Year -1 of $2.97 per pound copper and $1,466 per ounce gold, Year 1 of $3.03 per pound copper and $1.434 per ounce gold and Year 2 and long-term prices of $3.04 per pound copper and $1,362 per ounce gold. "These results demonstrate the high quality nature of the Eva Copper Project," commented Gil Clausen, Copper Mountain's President and CEO. "The economics of the Project have been improved with higher production, a longer mine life and lower operating costs. The Blackard and Scanlan deposits were added to Mineral Reserves, increasing total Mineral Reserves by 46%, and we have made process flow sheet optimizations. Eva Copper has the potential to add significant production and cash flow to our existing solid operating base. While we are and will continue to add value to Eva Copper, it should be noted that we will only move forward with development in the right copper price environment. Eva provides Copper Mountain shareholders with high quality organic growth potential in a low risk jurisdiction." Mining Conventional open pit mining methods, which include drilling, blasting, loading, and hauling, will be employed at the Eva Copper Project. There are seven pits that make up the Project's mine plan: Little Eva is the primary pit and will be supplemented by progressively mining six satellite pit areas at Blackard, Scanlan, Turkey Creek, Bedford, Lady Clayre, and Ivy Ann. The pit designs for the seven deposits were based on a Whittle Lerchs-Grossmann optimization at US$2.75 per pound copper price, generated using Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources only. Mining costs are based on a first-principles model based on locally-sourced costs for major inputs. The mine plan includes mining 551 million tonnes of ore and waste from seven deposits over a mine life of 15 years. Total ore mined is expected to be 170 million tonnes and total waste is expected to be 380 million tonnes, for a waste to ore strip ratio of 2.2 to 1. With an overall copper recovery of 87%, the Project's total copper production is expected to be approximately 1.5 billion pounds of copper, while gold production would be 205,000 ounces based on a gold recovery of 78%. Metal production on an average annual basis would be 100 million pounds of copper and 13,650 ounces of gold. However, the first two years of mining are expected to produce approximately 128 million pounds of copper per year. Processing The process plant is designed to mill 31,200 tonnes per day (tpd) for an average throughput of 11.4 million tonnes per year. Sequenced mining from the seven deposits will deliver a mixture of sulphide and native copper ore in a ratio of 75% to 25%. The sulphide deposits include Little Eva, Turkey Creek, Bedford, Lady Clayre, and Ivy Ann, whereas the Blackard and Scanlan deposits contain both native copper and sulphide ore. The processing flowsheet consists of a crushing, grinding, gravity separation and flotation to recover copper and gold in concentrate form. The flotation concentrate will be thickened, filtered and stockpiled for shipping to the Mt. Isa Smelter. Full transportation, smelting and refining costs were based on the Company's existing long-term contract with Glencore's Mt. Isa Smelter, which is situated 194 kilometres to the SW of Eva Project area. A key update in the 2020 FS flowsheet from the 2018 Feasibility Study is the change from a SAG mill and pebble crushing circuit to a secondary crusher and High-Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGR) design. The ball mill has also been upsized in order to support 31.2 kt/d at a P80 target grind of 165 m. The process plant flowsheet developed for the Eva Copper Project is a standard concentrator design and all the unit operations selected for the plant consist of proven technology and are considered low-risk. The Project is near existing infrastructure with power available through a 220 kV powerline. Water for the operations will be supplied through a well field located near the processing facility, pit dewatering and water reclaimed from the tailings storage facility, all of which are located on the Company property. The well field has been drilled, pump tested and verified by independent hydrologists as sufficient for the Project's water consumption needs. A summary of mining and production parameters is provided below. A summary of the Eva Copper Project's life of mine production schedule by year is available in appendix 1. A detailed life of mine production schedule by deposit and zone is available in the 2020 FS Technical Report. Total material mined (kt) 550,959 Total ore processed (kt) 170,386 Total waste (kt) 380,574 Waste to ore strip ratio 2.2:1 Processing Rate (tpd) 31,200 Total copper production (Mlbs) 1,502 Annual copper production (First two years) (Mlbs) 128 Annual copper production (LOM) (lbs) 100 Total gold production (koz) 205 Annual gold production (LOM) (koz) 14 Average copper recovery (%) 87% Average gold recovery (%) 78% Average copper feed grade (%) 0.46% Average gold feed grade (g/t) 0.05 Mine life (years) 15 Capital and Operating Costs Total initial development capital for the Eva Copper Project is estimated to be approximately $382 million, which includes a contingency of $42 million and pre-production revenue of $11 million. Capital is estimated using an Australian dollar to U.S. dollar exchange rate 1.55 to 1. Total Initial Development Capital (Years -2 to 1) $ Millions Direct Costs Mining 35 Process Plant 151 Infrastructure 68 Ancillaries 26 Total Direct Costs 279 Indirect Costs Indirect Costs 57 Owner's Costs 15 Total Indirect Costs 72 Subtotal 352 Contingency 42 Pre-production Revenue (11) Total Project 382 Total life of mine development capital is estimated to be $492 million which includes total sustaining capital of approximately $34 million and total rehabilitation costs of $14 million. Average C1 cash cost, net of by-product credits, is approximately $1.44 per pound of copper. Total operating costs are estimated to be $11.39 per tonne milled. Total mining costs are estimated to be $1.66 per tonne mined or $5.26 per tonne milled. Total operating costs do not include royalties, which are estimated to be approximately $1.18 per tonne milled. Unit operating cost $ per tonne milled Mining 5.26 Processing 5.14 G&A 0.56 Accommodation & Travel 0.43 Total 11.39 Economic Analysis The after-tax NPV using an 8% discount rate is $437 million and the after-tax IRR is 29%. The economics are calculated using average bank consensus metal prices, which are as follows: for copper, $2.97 per pound in Year -1, $3.03 per pound in Year 1, and $3.04 per pound in Year 2 and long-term. For gold, $1,466 per ounce in Year -1, $1,434 in Year 1 and $1,362 per ounce Year 2 and long-term. The Australian Dollar to United States Dollar exchange rate used was 1.55. A sensitivity analysis on varying copper prices and other variables was completed on the after-tax NPV (8%) and the results are summarized below. Copper Price Factor NPV (8%) $M 0.90 286 1.00 (base case) 437 1.10 587 Exchange Rate Factor NPV (8%) $M 0.90 396 1.00 (base case) 437 1.10 470 Capital Cost Factor NPV (8%) $M 0.90 466 1.00 (base case) 437 1.10 408 Operating Cost Factor NPV (8%) $M 0.90 506 1.00 (base case) 437 1.10 367 Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves The Eva Copper Mineral Reserve increased 46% to 171 million tonnes grading 0.46% copper and 0.05 g/t gold for a total of 1.7 billion pounds of copper and 260,000 ounces of gold, when compared to the previous September 2018 Mineral Reserve. The Mineral Reserve is included in the Mineral Resource and the effective date of the Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource is January 30, 2020. A summary of the Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource is provided below. A complete detailed Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource table by deposit is available in the 2020 FS Technical Report. Eva Copper Mineral Reserve Tonnes (kt) Cu Grade (% Cu) Au Grade (g/t) Cu Pounds (Mlb) Au Ounces (koz) Proven 92,623 0.48 0.05 975 144 Probable 78,425 0.43 0.04 743 115 Total Proven and Probable 171,047 0.46 0.05 1,718 260 Total Proven and Probable (Gold only) 106,380 0.08 260 Mineral Reserve Notes: 1. CIM Definition Standards were followed for Mineral Reserves. 2. Mineral Reserves were generated using the December 31, 2019 mining surface. 3. Mineral Reserves are reported at an NSR cut-off value of $8.95/t for Little Eva and Turkey Creek, $9.35/t for Bedford and Blackard, $10.32/t for Lady Clayre and Scanlan, and $11.44/t for Ivy Ann. 4. Mineral Reserves are reported using copper and gold prices of $2.75/lb and $1,250/oz, respectively. 5. Average process recoveries of 95% for copper sulphide, 63% for native copper, and 78% for gold were used for all deposit areas. 6. Little Eva, Turkey Creek, Bedford, and Lady Clayre have an equivalent 5.3% NSR royalty; Ivy Ann has an equivalent 5.8% royalty. 7. Blackard, Scanlan, and Turkey Creek do not contain gold. 8. Totals may show apparent differences due to rounding. Eva Copper Mineral Resource Tonnes (kt) Cu Grade (% Cu) Au Grade (g/t) Cu Pounds (Mlb) Au Ounces (koz) Measured 111,821 0.45 0.05 1,098 160 Indicated 148,818 0.40 0.04 1,307 172 Total Measured + Indicated 260,659 0.42 0.04 2,419 330 Total Inferred 46,267 0.42 0.04 415 51 Mineral Resource Notes: 1. Joint Ore Reserves Code (JORC) and CIM definitions were followed for Mineral Resources. 2. Mineral Resources are inclusive of Mineral Reserves. 3. Mineral Resources are constrained within a Whittle pit shell generated with a copper price of $3.50/lb, a gold price of $1,250/oz and an exchange rate of AU$1.35 = US$1.00. 4. Density measurements were applied (ranges from 2.4 t/m3 to 3.0 t/m3). 5. Significant figures have been reduced to reflect uncertainty of estimations and therefore numbers may not add due to rounding. Technical Report The 43-101 compliant technical report for the Eva Copper 2020 FS ("Technical Report") is available on SEDAR at www.SEDAR.com and on the Company's website at www.CuMtn.com. Ausenco Limited (Ausenco) designed the 2020 process plant and associated site infrastructure for the Eva Copper Project and provided technical input into the preparation of this Technical Report. Klohn Crippen Berger (KCB) designed the 2020 Tailings Storage Facility and provided input to water management. Merit Consultants International (Merit), a division of Cementation Canada Inc., developed the 2020 capital cost, construction management, and execution plan of the Project. Qualified Persons The Mineral Resource estimate for the Eva Copper Project was prepared by Copper Mountain Mining Corporation in accordance with standards as defined by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") "CIM Definition Standards-For Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves", adopted by CIM Council on May 10, 2014. Messrs. Paul Staples, Alistair Kent, David Johns, Peter Holbek, Stuart Collins, Mike Westendorf, Roland Bartsch and Richard Klue serve as Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 for the Technical Report related to the Eva Copper Project. Mr. Stuart Collins of SEC Enterprises Corp., who is independent of the Company, is the Qualified Person for Mining and the Mineral Reserve. Mr. Peter Holbek, Vice President, Exploration at Copper Mountain Mining Corporation, is the Qualified Person for the related Mineral Resource. Mr. Alistair Kent, Senior Project Manager for Merit Consultants International, who is independent of the Company, is the Qualified Person for the Development Capital Estimate. Mr. Paul Staples, Vice President and Global Practice Lead for Ausenco Limited, who is independent of the Company, is the Qualified Person for Ore Processing. Mr. Richard Klue, Mr. Alistair Kent, Mr. Paul Staples, Mr. Johns, Mr. Peter Holbek, Mr. Mike Westendorf, Mr. Roland Bartsch and Mr. Stuart Collins have reviewed and verified that the technical information related to the Eva Copper Project in this news release is accurate. Competent Persons Statement The information in this report that relates to Exploration Targets, Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves is based on information compiled by Peter Holbek, B.SC (Hons), M.Sc. P. Geo. Mr. Holbek is a senior officer and a full time employee of the Company and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Mr. Holbek does consent to the inclusion in this news release of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears. About Copper Mountain Mining Corporation: Copper Mountain's flagship asset is the 75% owned Copper Mountain mine located in southern British Columbia near the town of Princeton. The Copper Mountain mine currently produces on average approximately 90 million pounds of copper equivalent annually. Copper Mountain also has the development-stage Eva Copper Project in Queensland, Australia and an extensive 4,000 km2 highly prospective land package in the Mount Isa area. Copper Mountain trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "CMMC" and Australian Stock Exchange under the symbol "C6C". Additional information is available on the Company's web page at www.CuMtn.com. On behalf of the Board of COPPER MOUNTAIN MINING CORPORATION "Gil Clausen" Gil Clausen, P.Eng. Chief Executive Officer Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release may contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (together, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as "plans", "expects", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or variations of such words, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance and opportunities to differ materially from those implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include the successful exploration of the Company's properties in Canada and Australia, the reliability of the historical data referenced in this press release and risks set out in Copper Mountain's public documents, including in each management discussion and analysis, filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although Copper Mountain believes that the information and assumptions used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Except where required by applicable law, Copper Mountain disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. APPENDIX 1: Eva Copper Production Plan Category Units Total -1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Sulfide Tonnes t 000 132,091 1,168 18,908 6,898 9,643 13,285 10,700 9,155 5,701 14,172 6,301 6,186 6,020 7,597 10,628 2,058 3,669 Sulfide Cu Grade % Cu 0.41 0.51 0.53 0.43 0.41 0.41 0.42 0.41 0.35 0.33 0.39 0.36 0.39 0.36 0.38 0.40 0.50 Sulfide Cu Tonnes t 543,767 5,920 100,981 29,902 39,343 54,488 45,320 37,177 20,062 46,989 24,454 22,165 23,272 26,983 40,232 8,199 18,278 Native Tonnes t 000 35,560 0 0 1 3,620 3,302 3,011 2,986 798 2,989 2,922 2,790 2,921 2,961 2,975 2,460 1,824 Native Cu Grade % Cu 0.62 0.00 0.00 0.31 0.57 0.61 0.63 0.66 0.52 0.53 0.56 0.61 0.66 0.68 0.63 0.67 0.74 Native Cu Tonnes t 220,863 0 0 3 20,610 20,302 18,970 19,706 4,174 15,885 16,354 16,892 19,156 20,231 18,711 16,364 13,508 Transition Tonnes t 000 2,734 0 0 0 12 45 256 542 36 136 78 61 124 279 491 674 0 Transition Cu Grade % Cu 0.55 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.47 0.65 0.55 0.51 0.47 0.60 0.86 0.41 0.49 0.55 0.56 0.55 0.00 Transition Cu Tonnes t 15,022 0 0 0 58 291 1,408 2,752 168 812 676 251 611 1,548 2,729 3,718 0 Total Ore Tonnes t 000 170,386 1,168 18,908 6,899 13,275 16,632 13,966 12,683 6,535 17,296 9,301 9,038 9,066 10,838 14,095 5,192 5,494 Total Ore Cu Grade % Cu 0.46 0.51 0.53 0.43 0.45 0.45 0.47 0.47 0.37 0.37 0.45 0.43 0.47 0 0 1 1 Total Ore Cu Tonnes t 779,653 5,920 100,981 29,904 60,010 75,081 65,699 59,636 24,404 63,686 41,484 39,308 43,038 48,762 61,672 28,281 31,786 Waste Tonnes t 000 380,574 13,520 16,132 45,113 35,669 24,541 27,339 36,100 46,185 29,424 20,233 26,265 17,148 15,077 13,245 9,408 5,174 Total Tonnes t 000 550,959 14,688 35,040 52,012 48,943 41,174 41,228 46,671 52,720 46,720 29,534 35,303 26,214 25,915 27,340 14,600 10,668 Total Cu Production klbs 1,501,930 16,685 133,481 122,457 92,767 106,484 107,600 104,086 99,078 91,197 95,298 88,253 93,058 94,300 100,930 79,885 76,372 Sulfide Au Grade g/t 0.05 0.07 0.08 0.02 0.02 0.06 0.06 0.03 0.08 0.07 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.04 - - Sulfide Au Ounces oz 000 260 3 49 5 9 34 26 12 16 41 9 10 13 13 18 - - SOURCE Copper Mountain Mining Corporation Related Links www.CuMtn.com BRICS Senior Officials to Discuss Coronavirus Situation Thursday - Russian Health Ministry Moscow, May 7 (Sputnik) Senior officials of the BRICS association (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) will hold a meeting on Thursday in the format of a video conference due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, the Russian Health Ministry said. "On May 7, the Russian Health Ministry will hold a meeting of senior BRICS officials in the format of a video conference on health issues," the ministry said. "The meeting will be dedicated to discussing the joint actions of the BRICS countries in connection with the outbreak of the epidemic of the new coronavirus infection COVID-19," it said. A federal high court in Abuja has awarded the sum of N703 million as damages to the National Universities Commission (NUC) and Zain Ni... A federal high court in Abuja has awarded the sum of N703 million as damages to the National Universities Commission (NUC) and Zain Nigeria Ltd (now Airtel) over copyright infringement. Both companies were fined for infringing on the copyright of TV Xtra Production, a media company. In his judgement on Wednesday, Inyang Ekwo, the judge, ruled that the actions of the defendants breached the copyright of the plaintiff. Christian Ogodo, chief executive officer of TV Xtra Productions and general editor of Arise News, had designed and registered University Challenge, a quiz programme, with the National Copyrights Commission. Ogodo told the court he was surprised to see the programme being aired on television stations by NUC and Zain, four weeks after he made the presentation to the NUC. In its defence, Zain Nigeria argued that TV Xtra is not the original owner of the programme, saying the idea was copied from the British Universities Challenge, a similar programme in the UK. However, the judge ruled in favour of the media company. Ekwo held that airing the programme on AIT and NTA without the permission of the author violated sections 2 (a) (1), 6 (1) (a) (1) and 8 of the copyrights act. adaptations of the work going by Section 6(1) (a) (1) and 8 of the Copyright Act, he said. The law is that a work in Nigeria is the exclusive right of the owner to control the reproduction of the work in any material form and makingadaptations of the work going by Section 6(1) (a) (1) and 8 of the Copyright Act, he said. I find that the case of the plaintiff succeeds on the merit I make an order entering judgement on the terms of the claims. TV Xtra had demanded N500 million as special damages for the infringement as well as N200 million as general damages for airing the programme titled Zain African Challenge on both television stations. It had also demanded the sum of N3 million as cost of the suit and also requested an order of the court compelling the NUC, which is the first defendant in the suit, to endorse and approve the programme called University Challenge. The media company also prayed the court to issue a perpetual injunction restraining Zain Nigeria from producing, airing, marketing or exercising any right in respect of the programme called Zain African Challenge. The first wave of a massive exercise to repatriate hundreds of thousands of Indians stuck abroad began Thursday, with two flights landing in India from the United Arab Emirates. Delhi banned all incoming international flights in late March as it imposed one of the world's strictest virus lockdowns, leaving vast numbers of workers and students stranded. Some 15,000 nationals will be repatriated from 12 countries on planes and naval ships, in a mammoth exercise which saw the civil aviation ministry's website crash Wednesday as panicked citizens rushed to register. Two warships have steamed to the Maldives and another to the UAE -- home to a 3.3-million-strong Indian community which makes up some 30 percent of the Gulf state's population. The consulate in Dubai said it had received almost 200,000 applications, appealing on Twitter for "patience and cooperation" as India undertakes the "massive task" of repatriation. The two flights which landed in Kerala state from Abu Dhabi and Dubai Thursday were carrying 354 people, including nine infants. "I'm relieved that I'm home," a man on the flight from Abu Dhabi told AFP by telephone as he waited to disembark in Kerala state. "People were sitting next to each other -- at least the row I was sitting, we were all sitting next to each other. They are making people get out of the plane right now in shifts -- first a few people left the plane and we have been asked to wait," he continued. Indian citizens with coveted tickets, arriving at Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports, were greeted by medics in masks, gloves and plastic aprons who took blood samples for antibody tests. "The results came out in 10 minutes. Mine has been negative. I'm super relieved," one 40-year-old passenger at Abu Dhabi airport told AFP. "I've lost my job in the company I was working with. I'm feeling a bit weird going home -- while I'm happy that I am going home there is also a sense of uncertainty." The oil-rich Gulf is reliant on the cheap labour of millions of foreigners, mostly from India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Many live in squalid camps far from the region's showy skyscrapers and malls. But the novel coronavirus and its devastating economic impact have left many workers sick and others unemployed, unpaid and at the mercy of sometimes unscrupulous employers. "We have one or two flights planned every day now for the next five or six days," Consul General Vipul, who goes by one name, told AFP at Dubai airport. Vipul said most of those aboard were workers who had lost their jobs, together with pregnant women, the elderly and some stranded tourists. "Some people will be left out, it's inevitable in this kind of situation... not everyone can be accommodated immediately," he said. - Delays and frustration - A naval vessel is expected to arrive at Dubai's Port Rashid. The Indian High Commission in the Maldives posted images on Twitter of one of its warships entering Male harbour ahead of Friday's planned evacuation of some 1,000 people. Other flights will leave Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, as well as London, San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Washington. A flight planned for Thursday from Qatar has been postponed until the weekend, however. Indian media have reported delays triggered by the need to test air crew for coronavirus. But frustrations have mounted over the slow pace of the exercise, as well as the fact that evacuees will have to pay for their passage home and spend two weeks in quarantine on arrival. "There are so many people who have lost their jobs here -- they're literally going hungry," Yasin, a 50-year-old restaurant manager who is now out of a job, told AFP as he checked in for his flight. "And now the government has asked for people to pay for the tickets. I sincerely want to request the government to waive that," he said. "People do not have money to survive here, paying for flights is not possible at all." Those who haven't managed to get a ticket home have voiced their frustrations in a torrent of posts on social media, while some turned up to try their luck. Ajith, a 43-year-old IT engineer whose mother died two days ago, waited anxiously at Dubai airport, checking with the official who held the all-important waiting list for the first flight out. "My mother was old and had medical issues... there is no one in India to take care of things, so I made an emergency request to the consulate," he told AFP, before finally managing to secure a seat on the plane. burs-st/ft Opinions are divided over footage that captured the moment a cyclist was hit by an indicating Honda. The pair collided when the cyclist tried to undertake the car on Collins Street in Melbourne's city centre on February 24. Victoria Police determined the Honda was responsible for the collision and the driver was issued with a Penalty Infringement Notice for failure to give way. A cyclist was hit by a black Honda (pictured) when they tried to ride past the car as it was indicating left on Collins Street in Melbourne's city centre on February 24 Bicycle camera footage revealed how the cyclist was initially riding in a bike lane behind the black Honda. The cyclist then tried to pass the car but failed to notice the Honda was indicating left. As the Honda turned to pull into a parking space it collided with the approaching cyclist. Footage showed how the bike rider hit the front corner of the car and was knocked onto the ground. The video sparked a heated debate where some commenters disagreed with the police decision. One viewer wrote: 'Overtaking on the left when the vehicle in front is indicating to turn left, you're at fault. Piss poor decision by police. I would be taking it to court.' Another commenter said: 'If you're on a bike and you're going to drive with traffic you need to be alert to the cars around you and what they're going to do.' Other viewers sided with the bike rider and noted drivers should take care. One user said: 'People think just because they turned their blinker on they can turn without looking. The guy on the bike didn't see the blinker because it was too late so how was he supposed to know.' Another commenter observed that drivers should 'always check mirrors before changing lanes or pulling over.' A young school board member from Tigard is running a youth volunteer-backed campaign challenging Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick for her seat in the Oregon Senate representing most of Southwest Portland and Tigard. Ben Bowman, 28, an education consultant who served as a legislative chief of staff and lobbied for the states school superintendents and principals, is the only Portland-area Democrat taking on an established incumbent senator in the May primary. Burdick, 72, a former journalist and public relations consultant who is the second-ranking Democrat in the state Senate, has been elected to the Legislature six times and held the Senate seat since 1997. Burdick has said she plans to step down as majority leader because she says she wants to chair the Senate Revenue Committee and work on property tax reform before she ends her political career. Whoever wins the primary is the shoo-in to win the seat in November. No Republican has filed to run in the lopsidedly Democratic district. Burdick has raised just over $100,000. Top contributors include Oregon Realtors ($7,000), Dentists of Oregon ($6,000), Local 48 electricians union ($6,000) and the state soft drink industry ($5,500). Bowman has raised $60,000, with his largest donations from the Portland teachers union ($10,500), various family members ($9,500), the Oregon School Employees Association ($5,000) and the Tigard-Tualatin teachers union ($2,500). The two candidates policy positions are similar in many ways, from favoring similar climate change legislation to supporting public records laws that strongly favor openness. Bowman criticized Senate leaders, who include Burdick, for not cracking down harder on Republican senators for fleeing Salem and causing a raft of important bills, including a carbon cap-and-trade bill, to fail. Here are the two candidates answers to six key questions posed by The Oregonian/OregonLive. Some responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity. Tigard-Tualatin school board member Ben Bowman talks with youthful volunteers at a campaign event at Tigard High before Oregon's stay-home order was issued. Bowman is counting on his large corps of volunteers to do well as the only Democrat in the Portland metro area challenging a sitting Oregon senator. What specifically in your track record would you point to that makes you the best Democratic nominee for Oregon and for your district at this time? Bowman: I have been a progressive leader on the school board: fighting for stable education funding, advocating for equitable opportunities for all students and standing up to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials when they came to our district. After COVID-19 arrived in Oregon, I helped found a food bank for vulnerable families that now feeds thousands each week and I organized over 10,000 wellness checks on older folks in our community. You can also look at my campaign: Im the only candidate not accepting out-of-state corporate money. My campaign is powered by hundreds of volunteers, including students excited about politics for the first time. Burdick: I have served in the Oregon Senate for 23 years, including 10 years in top leadership as president pro tem and majority leader. I have chaired or co-chaired six committees, including Judiciary, Finance and Revenue and Marijuana Legalization. As the COVID-19 pandemic decimates our economy, I believe my experience navigating the Great Recession of 2008-09 and the budget crisis of 2002 will be particularly valuable as we face the tough choices ahead. The market downturn has further undermined the funded status of Oregons public pension system, which will lead to further cost increases for public employers. Is there anything further you think should be done to address the problem? Burdick: Protecting the promises made to our public employees through Oregons public pension system has to be a top priority. I think the most important thing we can do in Oregon, as in the entire country, is get our economy back on track. Bowman: The Supreme Court has been clear that a contract is a contract and cannot be violated, including our Public Employee Retirement System. The only changes that can be made to PERS are changes moving forward, meaning we cannot take away benefits that have already been earned by current employees or retirees. And after several rounds of PERS reforms, retirement benefits for our newest employees are far less generous than retirement benefits for Tier 1 retirees. We are already struggling to attract qualified applicants to be teachers in many areas. These reforms have unintended consequences that we cannot neglect. Oregon has hundreds of public records law exemptions on the books, making it one of the less transparent states in the country. Is there any public records exemption you believe should be removed? Or a new public records exemption you believe lawmakers should add? Bowman: I support greater transparency in our government. One of the biggest problems right now is that even non-exempt public records can be very difficult to access because of confusing processes and high discretionary fees. We need to improve access to public records for journalists and all Oregonians. I also support making the public records advocate an independent position to strengthen the office and remove any potential political conflicts of interest. Burdick: As a former reporter and strong advocate of transparency, I believe that exemptions to the public records law should be kept to a minimum and should be made conditional in almost all incidences, subject to a public interest test. Oregon Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick, long a powerful figure in the Oregon Senate, walks with students on the campus of Portland State University. She has chaired multiple senator committees and wants to head one more, the Senate Revenue Committee, to work on property tax reform. Republicans succeeded in killing cap-and-trade legislation and Gov. Kate Browns executive order can only accomplish a fraction of the greenhouse gas emissions a new law would have achieved. What should the Legislature do next to reduce climate warming emissions? Burdick: I appreciate the efforts of the governor to use her executive authority as broadly as possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and move Oregon more rapidly into a green economy. However, there is only so far she can go and the Legislature must finish the job in the next session by passing a Clean Energy Jobs bill. Bowman: Climate change is the greatest threat that we face and the Legislature should pass the Clean Energy Jobs bill immediately. The Republican walkout was disgraceful and they should have been fined for their behavior Im disappointed that Senate leaders did not hold them accountable for their actions. Voters sent Democratic supermajorities to the Legislature to pass a progressive agenda for Oregon. Republicans in the super-minority should not have an automatic veto over anything they dont like. I support changing the quorum requirements (through a state constitutional amendment) so this kind of undemocratic tactic does not happen again. Oregon businesses have called for a suspension or temporary modification of the new gross receipts tax to fund education. Do you support this? Bowman: I strongly oppose this. Oregon schools have been underfunded for 30 years, leading to overcrowded classrooms, fewer opportunities and a very short school year. Students deserve better. The Student Success Act is a game-changing opportunity for Oregon kids, but only if the adults dont let it slip away. I will fight to keep the Student Success Act intact. And its important to note: The vast majority of small businesses will not pay this tax, and any corporation whose business has been harmed by this recession will have a smaller tax liability. Burdick: Absolutely not. I do not favor across-the-board changes to the commercial activities tax that the 2019 Legislature enacted to fund the landmark Student Success Act, which provides necessary funding to our public schools. I also support targeted support for small businesses, which form the backbone of the Oregon economy. Before the coronavirus crisis, the Portland metro area was enjoying a long-term economy recovery. But the benefits were not shared by some Oregonians in rural areas and even many in the metro area remained financially unstable as they depended on the gig economy. Whats one thing you could do as a state lawmaker to bring economic stability to more Oregonians? Burdick: I think the COVID-19 pandemic has brought welcome attention to the incredible contributions made by working Oregonians like health care workers, grocery cashiers and stockers, truck drivers, bus drivers and mail deliverers. We need to use this energy to continue to build on the policies we have enacted in the past few sessions, including minimum wage increases, paid sick leave, paid family leave and predictive scheduling. We also need to work on policies to remove barriers to unionization, which is an essential component to building a healthy middle class. Bowman: The gap between middle-income Oregonians and the wealthiest has never been wider and the top 1% of Oregonians make more than the bottom 50% combined. This is a moral issue. The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated the inequality in our society, and our recovery is an opportunity to build a better, more progressive Oregon. I will fight for affordable housing and healthcare for every Oregonian. We need to increase career and technical education opportunities, particularly in rural Oregon, to revive our economy. We need to end tax loopholes that benefit millionaires and billionaires to pay for these critical services. -- Betsy Hammond; betsyhammond@oregonian.com; @OregonianPol -- Hillary Borrud; hborrud@oregonian.com; @hborrud Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. ATLANTA Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, in his first public comments about the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man in late February, called the videotaped slaying "absolutely horrific" Thursday. Before briefing reporters on the state's efforts to curb the coronavirus, Kemp said Georgians "deserve answers" about the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, who was gunned down Feb. 23 in Brunswick, a coastal city about midway between Savannah, Georgia, and Jacksonville, Florida. A neighbor captured video of the fatal confrontation in which white men confronted Arbery. They told police they believed he was a burglary suspect. Arbery's family has insisted that he was a health buff who was simply jogging through the neighborhood when he was shot. "Earlier this week, I watched the video depicting Mr. Arbery's last moments of life. I can tell you it's absolutely horrific and Georgians deserve answers," Kemp said. Download the NBC News app for breaking news and alerts The governor said he's been in contact with Vic Reynolds, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, who announced Wednesday that his agency had joined the investigation. "I have full confidence in Vic Reynolds and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation," Kemp said. "I know that they will be working around the clock to thoroughly and independently investigate Mr. Arbery's death to find the truth." Kemp declined to comment when asked whether Glynn County police have properly investigated the case. Police say Arbery was chased by Brunswick resident Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Travis McMichael, 34, before the fatal shooting. The governor said he called for a GBI probe "right after seeing that horrific video." "I've told Director Reynolds to follow the facts, follow the truth and to administer justice," Kemp said. "I have no doubt in my mind that it will be fair and that Director Reynolds and this seasoned team that he has of investigators will work very quickly, but they will also be very thorough, and they will go wherever the truth takes them." Story continues No one has been charged or arrested in Arbery's killing, which happened more than 10 weeks ago. IMAGE: Ahmaud Arbery and Wanda Cooper (Courtesy family) George Barnhill, one of the prosecutors who first handled the case, defended the McMichaels' actions, as well as those of a third man who was part of the incident. In a letter to the Glynn County Police Department obtained by NBC News, Barnhill wrote that the men had "solid first hand probable cause" to chase Arbery, a "burglary suspect," and stop him. Barnhill also said that after he watched the video of the incident, "given the fact Arbery initiated the fight" and grabbed the shotgun, he believed Travis McMichael "was allowed to use deadly force to protect himself" under Georgia law. But family attorney Lee Merritt told MSNBC on Thursday: "The Glynn County Police Department should have arrested these men on the day of the shooting. All they needed was probable cause that a crime was committed." Blayne Alexander reported from Atlanta and David K. Li from New York. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been discharged from the hospital, a day after she underwent treatment for a gallbladder infection. Ginsburg, 87, was happy to be home on Wednesday following her release from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, where she spent one night to receive nonsurgical treatment for an infection caused by a gallstone, the Supreme Court said. 'She is doing well and glad to be home. The Justice will return to The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, for follow-up outpatient visits over the next few weeks to eventually remove the gallstone non-surgically.' Scroll down for video Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was discharged from the hospital Wednesday, a day after she was treated for a gallstone infection. Pictured above in December 2019 Ginsburg proved she was still sharp as she participated in arguments on Wednesday in a teleconference hearing from the hospital. Though her voice was shaky at times, she still delivered tough questions on the Affordable Care Acts contraceptive mandate, according to CNN. Wednesdays meeting was the third time the justices heard oral arguments via telephone due to the coronavirus lockdown. On Monday Ginsburg participated in the courts first day of oral arguments by phone and afterwards went for outpatient tests at a hospital in Washington DC. Those tests 'confirmed that she was suffering from a gallstone that had migrated to her cystic duct, blocking it and causing an infection'. By Tuesday evening the court announced she was 'resting comfortably' following treatment and was predicted to stay in the hospital for a 'day or two'. Ginsburg - the oldest justice on the nine-person Supreme Court bench - has said she would like to serve until she's 90, if her health allows. She is pictured (bottom row, second right) with fellow justices in November The court's oldest justice has suffered a string of medical issues over the past few years. In November 2018 Ginsburg received treatment for three fractured ribs after she fell in her office. In January 2019 Ginsburg missed oral arguments for the first time while recovering from surgery after two cancerous nodules were removed from her left lung. In August 2019 the liberal icon was treated for pancreatic cancer, which she has been diagnosed with twice. She underwent surgery for colorectal cancer in 1999. Ginsburg has said she would like to serve until she's 90, if her health permits. Her health is closely watched because a Supreme Court vacancy would give President Donald Trump the opportunity to appoint a third justice to the nine-member court and shift it further to the right. The court's 5-4 conservative majority includes two justices named by Trump - Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. Inc. singled out 395 finalists for this years list. Each nominated company took part in an employee survey, conducted by Quantum Workplace, on topics including trust, management effectiveness, perks, and confidence in the future. Inc. gathered, analyzed, and audited the data and employers were ranked using a composite score of survey results. This year, 73.5 percent of surveyed employees were engaged by their work. It is an honor to be recognized 2 years in a row by INC Magazine as one of the Best Workplaces. Everyone at Platform Specialists puts enormous effort into fostering a culture of teamwork, flexibility, and successful delivery for our clients and partners. A huge thank you to our team for always balancing our 3 Ps people, partnering, and philanthropy. Justin DOnofrio & Joe Stasi, Executive Leadership Team About Platform Specialists At Platform Specialists, we build platforms for financial intelligence. Our team focuses on deploying systems that drive functional value in the areas of budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, and corporate close. By balancing expertise in best finance practices as well as the latest technology platforms, we are able to serve the most demanding use cases in our high growth and Fortune 500 clients. Platform Specialists was formed on a culture of quality, flexibility, integrity, and a team that shares the same core values. These values are key ingredients to client success and make up our Platform Promise. The strongest engagement scores came from companies that prioritize the most human elements of work, just like Platform Specialists. These companies are leading the way in employee recognition, performance management, and diversity. It is a different playbook from a decade ago, when too many firms used the same template: free food, open work environments, and artifacts of fun. Building a great corporate culture comes only from strong leadership, says Inc. magazine editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. The companies on Inc.s Best Workplaces list are setting an example that the whole country can learn from, especially now, when company culture is more important to the workforce than ever. About Inc. Media The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multi-platform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com. About Quantum Workplace Quantum Workplace, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is an HR technology company that serves organizations through employee-engagement surveys, action-planning tools, exit surveys, peer-to-peer recognition, performance evaluations, goal tracking, and leadership assessment. For more information, visit QuantumWorkplace.com. Under normal times, respiratory therapists have a range of situations they work through to help patients breathe easier. From delivering COPD treatments, to providing oxygen supplementation, to giving non-invasive ventilation, they are specially trained to assist in the emergency room with a number of breathing-related needs. Their role is a critical component of managing COVID-19 patient care, as they manage ventilation and breathing treatments once a patient is intubated and they are a part of the rapid response team. Jessica Caraballo is a respiratory therapist and the manager of the Respiratory Care Department for MidMichigan Health. As the clinical educator for her department of more than 30 respiratory therapists, Jessica has provided new critical care training for her staff and has helped establish critical care capabilities at MidMichigan Health, typically only reserved for much bigger tertiary academic institutions. She has been working tirelessly and bravely to save lives in our community by leading the department during this pandemic, said David Caraballo, Jessicas husband, who also works at MidMichigan Health as a CRNA. This is a virus that aggressively attacks the lungs of patients and requires the very special and unique skill set of respiratory therapists. Its important to recognize these special health care workers that operate ventilators to save patients infected with COVID-19. The respiratory therapist is the master of the mechanical ventilator. These skilled clinicians closely monitor COVID-19 patients' oxygen saturation levels, strategically adjusting the settings on the ventilator to optimize clinical goals, and carefully wean patients from these critical care devices once patients improve and can breathe with more independence, said David. She has participated and has been integral in writing and establishing new protocol for her staff and COVID-19 patient care. Caraballo said her team has banded together to quickly assist in this time of need. She has had additional help from staff in pulmonary rehabilitation and the sleep lab, some of who were retrained to run blood samples and give breathing treatments among other support roles. To see the camaraderie among the team, having them come together and really strengthen and support each other has been inspiring, said Jessica. They are a dedicated group, and everyone has been there each day, putting themselves on the front line. It has been powerful to see everyone come together as a team through all this, whether its sharing best practices for donning and doffing protective gear to critical patient care. It started out as stressful, we all have a passion for helping patients in need of critical care. We navigated this time together, Jessica said. Beyond her demanding role at work, Jessica is a mother of two toddlers and a wife to another front-line clinician. She has worked at MidMichigan Health for five years, transferring from Michigan Medicine. She goes to work every day with fresh ideas to advance her department and protect her patients and does it with a sense of duty. She is aware of the risk she is putting herself through being on the front lines but knows that its all hands-on deck and is eager to lead her team, said her husband David. She knows she doesn't do it alone either, her staff are a group of dedicated professionals answering the call selflessly each day. Its their dedication that makes her so proud and eager to work for her team of more than 30 respiratory therapists whose expertise is seldom recognized yet integral in saving lives every day. A federal judge has ruled that Massachusetts gun stores must be allowed to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic. US District Judge Douglas Woodlock in Boston ruled Thursday that the restrictions on firearm dealers imposed an 'improper burden' on the constitutional rights of citizens seeking to possess firearms. This comes after various gun store owners and pro-gun groups filed a legal complaint saying the state executive order shuttering the businesses had violated their Second Amendment rights. Massachusetts gun stores were forced to shutter when Governor Charlie Baker deemed them non-essential businesses under an executive order to slow the spread of the virus. US District Judge Douglas Woodlock (right) overruled Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker's (left) executive order Thursday and ruled that gun stores can reopen Saturday Woodlock ruled during a virtual hearing Thursday that there was 'no justification' to the store closures. 'There's no justification here,' he said, saying he doesn't see a fit 'between the goals of the emergency declared by the Commonwealth and the burdening of the constitutional rights of the defendants in this narrow area.' He added: 'I have enough information to say, in this very small corner of this emergency, we don't surrender our constitutional rights. 'These plaintiffs... have constitutional rights that deserve respect and vindication. And it becomes necessary for a court to do that.' The state must now allow licensed firearms dealers to sell guns, ammunition and other goods between the hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily from Saturday. Under Woodlock's order, store owners must follow social distancing guidelines including operating by appointment only, with no more than four appointments an hour, employees wearing face masks, and regular cleaning being carried out in the store. Protestors wave signs and American flags at a Reopen Massachusetts Rally outside the Massachusetts State House on May 4 Protesters call for the state to reopen. Firearms dealers will be allowed to sell guns, ammunition and other goods from Saturday while practising social distancing The suit was filed last month by a group of four gun store operators, six people seeking to become gun owners and various groups including Commonwealth Second Amendment and the Second Amendment Foundation, who claimed the closure of the stores violated their rights. The victory for the pro-gun supporters comes after Baker did a u-turn last month in excluding gun stores from his list of essential businesses. The governor had first included firearm retailers among those that could open when he revised his executive order late March. But he backpedaled on the move just hours later after facing a backlash from gun control groups. Anti-lockdown protesters have taken to the streets across Massachusetts in recent weeks demanding stay-at-home orders end so businesses can reopen. ALBANY The federal government has filed a lawsuit against Pioneer Bank, claiming the Capital Region financial institution "wrongfully seized" millions of dollars in tax funds during its response to the MyPayrollHR fiasco last year. The lawsuit, filed last week, concerns more than $7 million in tax funds held in a Pioneer bank account belonging to Michael Mann, who owned several payroll and banking related businesses including the now-defunct Clifton Park payroll firm MyPayrollHR until last September, when he was accused of a multi-million dollar bank-fraud scheme. He also owned a majority stake in Southwestern Payroll Services, an Oklahoma-based payroll processor whose duties included gathering its clients' tax funds and paying them to the correct taxing authority. Previously: After losing $10M, payroll firm demands MyPayrollHR answers MyPayrollHR victims confront Pioneer CEO at shareholders meeting MyPayrollHR debacle: Who is Michael Mann? Complete coverage According to the lawsuit, Pioneer froze outgoing transactions on Mann's accounts in late August after learning he was in default on a $42 million line of credit the bank had extended him a few weeks prior. One of those accounts was the Southwestern tax fund account, in which $7,270,458.79 had been contributed by 842 different employers for tax funds. Funds seized by Pioneer also include an additional $6.6 million in payroll taxes that came from non-Southwestern clients, though the government said in the lawsuit, "it is unknown at this time whether the wages associated with those payroll taxes were paid and, of that amount, what portion constituted trust funds." Southwestern previously filed its own lawsuit against Pioneer, demanding the bank release the money. "It is very refreshing that, sometimes, people agree with you," said C. David Rhoades, a certified fraud examiner who was appointed emergency receiver of Southwestern shortly after MyPayrollHR's collapse. "And it's even more wonderful when its the IRS that agrees with you." Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Asked for comment Thursday, Pioneer CEO Tom Amell called Mann "an admitted criminal fraudster who has victimized many people, including Pioneer Bank." "Once the IRS receives and reviews the information it is seeking, Pioneer Bank is confident the several inaccurate assumptions in the complaint will be corrected, and it will be shown that Pioneer Bank has acted in accordance with the law and well-established banking norms," Amell said. "For instance, no funds at Pioneer Bank controlled by Michael Mann were ever held in any trust accounts; rather, all his accounts were general operating accounts. After his arrest on a bank-fraud charge, Mann told FBI agents that he had taken part in an alleged decade-long bank fraud scheme, during which he created several companies, then wrote himself checks based off non-existent receivables from those companies, transferring those funds across his various bank accounts in a so-called check-kiting scheme. The alleged scheme's collapse set off a chain of events that led to the failure of MyPayrollHR, paychecks being yanked from the accounts of employees who relied on the firm to process payroll, and Mann's arrest on a federal bank fraud charge. He has not yet pleaded to the charge. Michael.Williams@timesunion.com STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Wrapped in the grief of losing her 70-year-old father, Anthony Catapano, to the coronavirus (COVID-19), Tara Catapano, 37, received an unthinkable shock in the mail her fathers credit card statement that spanned his time in the hospital. Normally, I dont really pay too much attention (to the statements)," Tara, an Eltingville resident, said. Like, you know, I just kind of open them up and pay them. But something was off. Her father, who was admitted into Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze on April 4 for his coronavirus symptoms and unfortunately later died on April 12 Easter morning had charges of about 60 dollars, for gas and other small purchases, on his American Express card from April 9, she said. I called the credit card company like an absolute lunatic, she said, and the charges were removed; however, she then turned her attention to how such charges could ever be made since Anthony was on a ventilator during his stay. Tara said her fathers credit cards were back in his wallet when she received his belongings about two days after his death. Since visitors are not currently permitted in the hospital, Tara said the charges were obviously from an employee. This means an employee went in his wallet, stole his credit card, used it and then returned it. That is taking complete advantage of these poor, vulnerable patients, she said. After she said initial efforts to have an investigation launched were unsuccessful, Tara was able to file a police report, and Danielle Conti, 43, of Grace Drive in Old Bridge, N.J., was arrested and charged by police Thursday morning. Conti faces charges including grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and petit larceny, according to a spokesman for the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information. Conti was employed as a nurse for SIUH when she removed a patients credit card while he was being treated and used that card to make purchases without permission, police allege. Danielle Conti has been temporarily suspended and faces termination in response to the felony charges, according to a statement from SIUH. "We are working closely with the law enforcement authorities and the hospital is conducting its own investigation. Ms. Conti has been an employee since 2007. While partially relieved that some resolution has happened thus far, Tara said the situation has been an absolute nightmare. It was hard enough losing my dad in the way that I lost him, Tara said, overwhelmed with emotion. I thought he was going to come home. I told him he was going to come home. He kept asking to come home, and to have to go through this on top of it just made it so much worse." Tara said her father Anthony was an amazing person" who was there for everybody. After her mother died six years ago, she said her father began living with her, which made us closer. He was a huge, huge part of my life. And its just very, very devastating." Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Diatce G Harahap (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 7, 2020 08:52 622 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd66e8ce 3 Science & Tech chatbot,artifical-intelligence,retail,business,online-shopping,WhatsApp Free COVID-19 is bringing massive economic impacts and a possible recession that the International Monetary Fund predicts would be even worse than the Great Depression. In order to survive, businesses need to take drastic measures and respond with effective and efficient strategies. The implementation of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB), first applied in the capital and now enforced in other cities, regencies and provinces across Indonesia, has caused a change in consumer behavior. While online shopping activities have spiked, retail businesses have seen a plunge in sales. Retail businesses are pressured to adjust their online presence in order to cope with the situation. As Indonesia hits the wave caused by the pandemic, businesses throughout multiple industries start using WhatsApp as their primary sales channel. According to Gatra, 83 percent of 171 million internet users in Indonesia are active on WhatsApp daily, presenting a huge potential market for businesses to utilize the platform as their sales channel. The question is on their scaling ability: How quickly can they respond to customers' queries? Hitherto, most businesses rely highly on human administrators to answer customer queries. However, as WhatsApp becomes more popular for sales, businesses are looking to have an automation system with artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP). Simply put, this translates into a smart chatbot to answer customer queries with good customer experience. Using chatbot or WhatsApp chatbot eases ordering through a simple chat-to-order process. We have seen numerous brands shifting to WhatsApp as their main sales channel. Supermarket retail chains like Hypermart, traditional market Pasar Jaya, mobile retailers like Oppo and Erafone, food and beverage businesses, consumer goods firms and even state-owned oil company Pertaminas delivery service have jumped onto the chat-to-order bandwagon. We are seeing more and more businesses use this solution as a form of survival to keep their sales figure on track during this pandemic. While existing marketplaces and ride-hailing apps have a strong foothold and market share in the country, high commission for the platforms is one source of hesitation for business. Besides, big retail businesses want to utilize their idle resources and infrastructure during this pandemic by taking orders and deliveries directly to their customers. As a real case, one of the fast-moving consumer goods companies in Indonesia has adjusted its sales channel to use a chat-based platform. Keeping their consumers in mind, they have decided to utilize chatbot technology for ordering on WhatsApp. This commonly used chatting platform is already installed in most Indonesians mobile devices, giving consumers the benefit of not having to install a new application. With a simple step of adding a new phone number, consumers can start chatting and ordering products. Also, bear in mind, the cost acquisition for WhatsApp chatbot is cheaper compared to installing apps. This pandemic has forced many retail businesses from big corporations to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to rethink the use of chatting platforms as their main sales channel. At first, they might be able to depend on human administrators, but when customers' demand grows and becomes harder to handle, businesses will need automation. Once the transaction volume is big enough, they need a scalable chatbot to increase sales and capacity. In the next one to three months, we are expecting more retail businesses to switch to chatbots as a result of an increase in demand and change in chatting behavior where more customers are familiar with chatbots. Using a chatbot on WhatsApp is targeted for mid to big retail businesses due to the cost. For small and medium retailers, there is a more affordable chatbot; try using a self-service platform with a monthly subscription. This platform offers a chatbot that is available in a URL that can be shared on any digital asset, such as Instagram, WhatsApp, LINE Messenger, as well as an embedded chat widget on websites. The change of behavior to using chatbots as a chat-to-order system, loyalty points checker and customer service are the reasons it will not be a luxury feature for businesses after this pandemic ends. People will get more comfortable talking to a bot on WhatsApp because they are familiar with the interface and most importantly, they dont need to install a new application that will reduce mobile phone storage. This chat-to-order-with-bot behavior will be the new normal and it will turn retail businesses more effective and efficient. (dev/kes) *** Diatce "Ache" G Harahap graduated from Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Australia. He continued his postgraduate study in the University of Westminster, United Kingdom. Ache is the CEO of artificial intelligence company PT Jualan Online Indonesia and runs BJTech, which produces chatbot platforms for SMEs. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. TDT | Manama The total number of active coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Bahrain went over the 2,000-mark yesterday after the Ministry of Health announced the registration of 214 new cases. Of these, 159 were expatriate workers, 53 were contacts of active cases and two were travel related. Their detection brought the total number of active cases to 2,066 as of last night. Four of these patients are critical. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry announced 98 new recoveries, bringing the total discharged to 1,860. The total tested reached 160,341. Meanwhile, Bahrain evacuated 144 citizens from Jordan yesterday. Bahrains Embassy in Amman and the Foreign Affairs Ministry coordinated the fourth flight from the Jordanian capital to facilitate the citizens safe return to the Kingdom. EU scientists are taking a closer look into the CRISPR/Cas-9-induced population-wide genetic modifications before introducing it into practice Within the last decades, new genetic engineering tools for manipulating genetic material in plants, animals and microorganisms are getting large attention from the international community, bringing new challenges and possibilities. While genetically modified organisms (GMO) have been known and used for quite a while now, gene drive organisms (GDO) are yet at the consideration and evaluation stage. The difference between these two technologies, where both are meant to replace certain characters in animals or plants with ones that are more favourable for the human population, is that, even though in GDO there is also foreign "synthetic" DNA being introduced, the inheritance mode differs. In GDO, the genome's original base arrangements are changed, using CRISPR/Cas-9 genome editing. Once the genome is changed, its alterations are carried down the organism's offspring and subsequent generations. In their study, published in the open-access journal BioRisk, an international group of scientists led by Marion Dolezel from the Environment Agency Austria, discuss the potential risks and impacts on the environment. The research team also points to current regulations addressing invasive alien species and biocontrol agents, and finds that the GMO regulations are, in principle, also a useful starting point for GDO. There are three main areas suggested to benefit from gene drive systems: public health (e.g. vector control of human pathogens), agriculture (e.g. weed and pest control), environmental protection and nature conservation (e.g. control of harmful non-native species). In recent years, a range of studies have shown the feasibility of synthetic CRISPR-based gene drives in different organisms, such as yeast, the common fruit fly, mosquitoes and partly in mammals. Given the results of previous research, the gene drive approach can even be used as prevention for some zoonotic diseases and, hence, possible future pandemics. For example, laboratory tests showed that the release of genetically modified mosquitoes can drastically reduce the number of malaria vectors. Nevertheless, potential environment and health implications, related to the release of GDO, remain unclear. Only a few potential applications have so far progressed to the research and development stage. "The potential of GDOs for unlimited spread throughout wild populations, once released, and the apparently inexhaustible possibilities of multiple and rapid modifications of the genome in a vast variety of organisms, including higher organisms such as vertebrates, pose specific challenges for the application of adequate risk assessment methodologies," shares the lead researcher Mrs. Dolezel. In the sense of genetic engineering being a fastly developing science, every novel feature must be taken into account, while preparing evaluations and guidance, and each of them provides extra challenges. Today, the scientists present three key differences of gene drives compared to the classical GMO: 1. Introducing novel modifications to wild populations instead of "familiar" crop species, which is a major difference between "classic" GMOs and GDOs. "The goal of gene drive applications is to introduce a permanent change in the ecosystem, either by introducing a phenotypic change or by drastically reducing or eradicating a local population or a species. This is a fundamental difference to GM crops for which each single generation of hybrid seed is genetically modified, released and removed from the environment after a relatively short period," shares Dolezel. 2. Intentional and potentially unlimited spread of synthetic genes in wild populations and natural ecosystems. Gene flow of synthetic genes to wild organisms can have adverse ecological impact on the genetic diversity of the targeted population. It could change the weediness or invasiveness of certain plants, but also threaten with extinction the species in the wild. Possibility for long-term risks to populations and ecosystems. Key and unique features of GDOs are the potential long-term changes in populations and large-scale spread across generations. In summary, the research team points out that, most of all, gene drive organisms must be handled extremely carefully, and that the environmental risks related to their release must be assessed under rigorous scrutiny. The standard requirements before the release of GDOs need to also include close post-release monitoring and risk management measures. It is still hard to assess with certainty the potential risks and impact of gene drive applications on the environment, human and animal health. That's why highly important questions need to be addressed, and the key one is whether genetically driven organisms are to be deliberately released into the environment in the European Union. The High Level Group of the European Commission's Scientific Advice Mechanism highlights that within the current regulatory frameworks those risks may not be covered. The research group recommends the institutions to evaluate whether the regulatory oversight of GMOs in the EU is accomodate to cover the novel risks and challenges posed by gene drive applications. "The final decision to release GDOs into the environment will, however, not be a purely scientific question, but will need some form of broader stakeholder engagement and the commitment to specific protection goals for human health and the environment", concludes Dolezel. ### Original source: Dolezel M, Luthi C, Gaugitsch H (2020) Beyond limits - the pitfalls of global gene drives for environmental risk assessment in the European Union. BioRisk 15: 1-29. https://doi.org/10.3897/biorisk.15.49297 100 Years of Service at Indiana Wesleyan University Humble beginnings. Thats where we started 100 years ago, when we were known as Marion College. For an entire century, Indiana Wesleyan University has been committed to serving all kinds of people through education. Originally, our founders needed an institution that would train and develop great ministry leaders, but they quickly realized ministry could happen in any context, even careers in the marketplace. So they resolved to keep Christ at the centereven in training teachers and social workers and musiciansand strive to create the best academic institution possible. The university was challenged from the start. After opening its doors in 1920, the Great Depression began a few years later, followed by war. Finances and resources were limited. Faculty, staff, and students stayed afloat with creative solutions and held tightly to prayer. Many Christian institutions at the time were in danger of being lost in the struggle of the conflict. But we would rise out of hard times. In the years that followed, the university survived and even thrived, resulting in a generous family of supporters fiercely loyal to the institution. The local community also rallied around the school it was so proud to call its own. The impact of IWU, even in early days, was evident. In fact, nearly half of the teachers in the local school system were graduates of Marion College in 1949. Our academic programs have certainly diversified, with more than 150 degree programs available today. Teacher education has been offered since 1920, alongside theological training, both of which are now part of a long list of programs that include business, health sciences, social work, criminal justice and more. We also changed the way we offer education when we realized there were working adults who needed higher education but couldnt complete their degrees in the traditional, residential format. In 1985, this led to brave new things. We changed our name to Indiana Wesleyan University and launched an adult education program that today serves over 8,000 students around the world through online and distance education programs. That kind of innovation in education has been part of our DNA since IWUNational & Global launched over 30 years ago. What does 100 years mean to us? In 100 years, Indiana Wesleyan University has reached some major milestones: Regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission since 1966 Largest member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) 14 regional education centers across Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio Largest private university in Indiana 250 students in 1920 trusted us with their education. We are now a growing family of over 90,000 graduates who represent more than 300 countries. See why so many people have trusted us with their education, their careers, and their future plans. Visit iwueducation.com to explore academic programs and start planning your future with us at IWU. With educational institutions shut due to the lockdown, the National Digital Library of India (NDLI) has reached out to students with 3.5 crore academic content to enable them to study from home, an NDLI spokesperson said on Thursday. The NDLI is a project under the Ministry of Human Resource Development and is spearheaded by the IIT Kharagpur. The content can be accessed on 'Corona Outbreak: Study from Home' section in the NDLI's mobile application and its online portal www.ndl.gov.in, the spokesperson said. Of the 3.5 crore academic content, the Union HRD Ministry has given people free access to 78 lakh content after the imposition of the lockdown while they need to register themselves to get complete access to the remaining content, she said. The digital content is in the form of e-books, audiobooks, lecture materials, thesis, reports, articles, journals, question papers and their solutions, simulation tools and video lectures in engineering, science, management, humanities and law streams, the spokesperson said. Also, an updated and consolidated research resource repository on COVID-19 has been made available to the students, she said. It is also urging faculty members of other institutes to share new content to the NDLI's repository for the benefit of the students, the project's principal investigator and former IIT Kharagpur director Professor P P Chakrabarti said. He said the initiative has received a positive response, leading to the addition of a large quantity of new content to the NDLI's repository. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinas exports unexpectedly rose in April for the first time this year as factories raced to make up for lost sales due to the coronavirus pandemic, but a big fall in imports signalled more trouble ahead as the global economy sinks into recession. Aprils better-than-expected exports helped Asian shares trim early losses, but analysts say Chinas trade outlook remains bleak as major economies remain in the grip of the health crisis with rising infection numbers and deaths. Overseas shipments in April rose 3.5% from a year earlier, marking the first positive growth since December last year, customs data showed on Thursday. That compared with a 15.7% drop forecast in a Reuters poll and a 6.6% plunge in March. The increase was driven in part by rising exports of medical equipment, traditional Chinese medicine and textiles including masks. China exported millions of tonnes of medical products worth 71.2 billion yuan ($10 billion) in the March-April period, according to the customs agency. The daily export value of medical supplies jumped by more than three times last month. Some economists also attributed the rise in exports to factory closures elsewhere, leading to a surge in import demand, just as Chinas manufacturers reopened after extended shutdowns due to the virus outbreak. Not only was the global demand taking a hit from the coronavirus, but the shock to the production side was actually more pronounced last month, said Nie Wen, economist at Shanghai-based Hwabao Trust. A better export performance than expected could extend into May as some production constraints remain in place for other economies, Nie said. But Im particularly worried about the slump in foreign demand - the impact would only be fully felt later on as world factories reopen. In light of the rebound in April shipments, Nomura raised its forecasts for Chinas exports to minus 22% for May and June from minus 30% previously, but still deep in contraction as the coronavirus crisis ravages the global economy. Given the continued contraction of export orders in March and April as suggested by the sharp drop in new export orders sub-index of official and Caixin manufacturing PMIs we do not think the improvement in Aprils export growth is sustainable, Nomuras analysts said in a note. Both official and private factory surveys for April showed export orders collapsed, even as some countries started easing lockdowns. Many Chinese factories are grappling with slashed or cancelled overseas orders after reopening as global demand stays tepid. They are faced with rising inventory and falling profits, and some have let workers go as part of cost-cutting efforts. WEAK DOMESTIC DEMAND Imports sank 14.2% from a year earlier, the biggest contraction since January 2016 and below market expectations of an 11.2% drop. They had fallen 0.9% the previous month. The soft imports reading was due to weak domestic demand and declines in commodity prices. The shutdowns outside China also dealt a heavy supply shock to the countrys importers. Chinas trade surplus for the period stood at $45.34 billion, compared with an expected $6.35 billion surplus and a surplus of $19.93 billion in March. With the coronavirus under control domestically, Chinas economy has begun to open up again as authorities loosen draconian restrictions including stay-at-home orders, but economists say the recovery has been disappointing. There is further downside for imports too given the slow domestic recovery, already elevated inventory levels, and the fact that over a quarter of imports feed into Chinas export sector, said Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics. The threat of additional U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods shouldnt be ignored given the likelihood that the phase one trade deal soon falls apart imports from the United States remained near multi-year lows last month. Customs data showed on Thursday that China imported $36.7 billion goods from the United States in the first four months of the year. That compared with a target of Chinese purchases worth about $218 billion this year under the first-phase trade deal. U.S. President Donald Trump said he was watching closely whether China would meet its commitments to increase U.S. goods purchases under the early phase trade deal. China could roll out more support measures to stimulate domestic demand in the event that tensions with the United States flare up again, Nie from Hwabao Trust said. Some nonessential businesses could soon be allowed to reopen for curbside pickup and non-essential construction might be allowed to resume within days as New Jersey continues to make progress in battling the coronavirus pandemic, according to Gov. Phil Murphy. Well continue, as the curves come down and we lay out what the testing and contact tracing look like you can expect that over the next week or so well continue to take other what I call baby steps, Murphy said during his Ask the Governor television show on News 12 New Jersey on Wednesday evening. Murphy also said the state will soon offer guidance on how beaches should operate this summer. He has left decision on beach openings and closures to local officials so far. Outdoor stuff is more likely ... for obvious reasons, he said, referencing what might reopen next. Its harder to catch a virus outdoors than it is indoors. ... Indoor spaces are gonna be harder to deal with. Thats further down the road. Earlier Thursday, Murphy extended the public-health emergency he declared in New Jersey over the coronavirus pandemic by 30 days. Murphy declared both a state of emergency and a public-health emergency on March 9 as the pandemic was beginning to spread in New Jersey. He extended the public health emergency a month later on April 7. The state of emergency remains in place indefinitely, but the governor said the public-health emergency expires after 30 days. At least 8,549 have died of COVID-19 related causes in the state after officials announced an additional 308 deaths on Wednesday. The number of people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases fell below 5,000 for the first time in five weeks on Wednesday night. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage More coronavirus news: N.J. expects to finally get through unemployment backlog next week, Murphy says: With hundreds of thousands of New Jersey residents seeking unemployment during the coronavirus pandemic and many still waiting sometimes for six weeks or more to actually get paid, Murphy said Wednesday night the state expects to be through the backlog early next week. Rare inflammatory disease linked to coronavirus found in five N.J. kids: At least five children, ages 6 to 12, have arrived at Bristol-Myers Squibb Childrens Hospital in New Brunswick since late April with symptoms of Kawasaki disease, an illness that causes inflammation in blood vessels. They soon were treated in the intensive care unit for serious cardiac issues. They are among the first New Jersey cases of a rare and potentially deadly pediatric inflammation syndrome being investigated for its links to the coronavirus, according to state health officials. Quit hopping the barriers to get to the beach, Jersey Shore towns cops warn: The coronavirus pandemic has forced the closure of several beaches along the Jersey Shore, but that has not stopped some people from trying to access them without permission. Now officials are warning people to steer clear of closed beaches. In a Wednesday Facebook post, the Sea Isle City Police Department reminded people to stay off the citys beaches and the Promenade, and to not damage, take down or cross any of the barriers blocking access to the locations. Town forced me to quarantine after I complained about no protective gear, worker says in suit: A public works employee is suing the city of Englewood and his superiors for allegedly retaliating against him when he complained the Department of Public Works was not sufficiently protecting workers, exposing them to the coronavirus. In a lawsuit filed Monday, William Fulmore, of Hackensack, claims that his superiors at the Englewood DPW were not protecting employees from the virus or abiding by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Fulmore alleged that the department did not provide personal protective equipment, disinfect common areas or even enforce social distancing, according to the lawsuit. Booker wants Murphy to release more inmates as N.J. has highest coronavirus prison death rate: U.S. Sen. Cory Booker wants Murphy to release more inmates from New Jersey prisons, which now have the highest coronavirus death rate in the nation. The New Jersey Democratic senator and six House Democrats asked Murphy and the governors of five other states to use their clemency and emergency powers to lower prison populations, according to a Tuesday letter obtained by NJ Advance Media. Heres how a restaurant owner gave back to the Rutgers workers who developed the coronavirus test: The owner of two New Brunswick restaurants has launched a not-for-profit community kitchen that brings free meals to hospital workers, first responders and people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. On Wednesday, Doug Schneider donated 165 meals to Rutgers Universitys RUCDR Infinite Biologics, the lab that made national headlines when the FDA approved its collection method that uses saliva as the primary test biomaterial for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Worldwide coronavirus cases: There have been more than 264,000 deaths among the approximately 3.77 million infected in 187 counties as of 7 a.m. Thursday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. More than 1.25 million have recovered. U.S. cases: More than 73,000 have died in the U.S. among the roughly 1.23 million who have tested positive for the virus as of 7 a.m. Thursday, the center says. NJ Advance Media staff writers Noah Cohen, Chris Franklin, Brent Johnson, Patrick Lanni, Blake Nelson, Keith Sergeant and Rodrigo Torrejon contributed to this report. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Thomas had it right when she said access to personal protective equipment had been sporadic,' Kane told the Daily News. "Here in New York, the epicenter of the coronavirus, supplies continue to be sporadic in some facilities. In fact, half of our nurses surveyed say their PPE is inadequate to this day. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Overcast. Morning high of 36F with temps falling to near 20. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 13F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph. Wow, your shirt is really see-through. Are you wearing matching underwear? the man says lewdly. Its a virtual reality simulation -- but its enough to shock 23-year-old Elizabeth Lee into silence as the scene plays out on her headset. The VR technology is part of the Girl, Talk project which is aimed at helping women fight back against harassment in Singapore. I would think that I would respond in a more confrontational way, Lee admits. It felt very physically close... it was just really disgusting to hear such crass remarks. Sexual harassment has been a key issue in the city-states university campuses after a student at a top institution took to Instagram to recount a story of being secretly filmed in a dormitory shower. The victim, Monica Baey, felt the perpetrator got off too lightly and her decision to go public has been dubbed Singapores #MeToo moment. There were 56 cases of sexual misconduct involving students from six Singapore universities between 2015 and 2017, according to information Education Minister Ong Ye Kung provided to Parliament last May. But many students told AFP the real figure is far higher and many incidents go unreported. Girl, Talk was created by four women -- Danelia Chim, Seow Yun Rong, Heather Seet and Dawn Kwan -- at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), who felt that while #MeToo had raised awareness there was little to equip survivors on how best to respond in different situations. Even if youre caught in a physically vulnerable situation, being able to evaluate your situation and make choices about how you behave and react can be incredibly empowering, the group say on their website. - Sexual harassment is common - The VR simulation features five scenarios based on real experiences. They enlisted male friends to act out the scenarios and filmed them. It was partly inspired by the work of psychologists at a US university, who developed a VR programme to tackle sexual harassment after finding that young women had a stronger reaction to virtual scenarios than conventional role play. Lee explains: I think it definitely prepares me better for these various possibilities. It emotionally readies me. I would know what further steps to take. I would know to tell a friend, and get support from the community around me and then go and take further action if its necessary. I actually think that its (harassment) quite common, just that sadly it has been normalised. When you really go and dissect what people say to you, some of these things are really a bit crass and very inappropriate, and it needs to be acknowledged that its not okay to say such things about womens bodies, she adds. The #MeToo movement, sparked in 2017 by revelations of disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinsteins sexual misconduct, has since spread around the world. Weinstein, 68, was jailed for 23 years in March, after being convicted of sexual assault and rape. Similar allegations have rocked key players in almost every industry from Bollywood and the Italian opera to politicians and the tech giants. Though the movement was slow to spread in Asia, it has gained traction with Japan, India, and South Korea all seeing high profile cases. - Wall of silence - A YouGov survey found more than a quarter of women in Singapore had experienced sexual harassment but only 56 percent had reported the incidents. However there is no specific law against it -- instead such acts are covered by the Penal Code and the broader Protection from Harassment Act, for which the maximum penalty is usually six months in jail and a $5,000 fine. And while Singapore is regarded as one of the worlds safest cities with little violent crime, cases of molestation increased more than 15 percent to 1,632 between 2010 and 2019. Sexual assault involving penetration rose from six cases in 2016 to 13 in 2019, but the number of rapes recorded by the State Court dropped from four to two in the same period. Marital rape was only criminalised in Singapore this year. Baeys supporters say her revelations helped break down a wall of silence surrounding sexual misconduct in the socially conservative country. The 24-year-old, who is studying at the prestigious National University of Singapore, took to social media last year to protest, arguing the male student who filmed her received a lenient punishment. He was given a 12-month conditional warning by police, made to write an apology letter by the university, and suspended for a semester, according to local media. Many feel her story has fuelled public debate on the issue, while universities have brought in measures to better protect their students. NTU has introduced a mandatory anti-harassment online module and insisted it is taking a zero tolerance stance. The NUS now gives a minimum one-year suspension for serious offences and immediate expulsion for severe cases -- previously they had allowed students two strikes before removing them. Girl, Talks VR simulation and other digital campaigns are further breaking taboos and help give women a voice. Student Chin Hui Shan says: It made me realise that I face this problem. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. ) Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter The chief medical officer of the Oregon Health Authority recently made a surprising remark about the spread of the new coronavirus that defies growing evidence from scientific studies and even the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a video news conference with the governor broadcast statewide two weeks ago, Dr. Dana Hargunani answered a reporters question about whether Oregonians should be very concerned about people with no symptoms mingling with others and spreading the disease. Hargunani responded that people who show no symptoms of COVID-19 are unlikely or certainly less likely to cause transmission of the virus. Listen to the reporters question and Hargunanis answer here: Hargunani stood by her statement after The Oregonian/OregonLive sent her links to the latest body of research last week. While we are concerned about transmission in any circumstance, she said in an email, we remain particularly concerned about transmission from actively ill individuals, in particular those coughing. But Hargunanis assertion appears at odds with what CDC Director Robert Redfield said in March as he talked about what the science now appears to be showing: People with the virus who never develop symptoms or havent yet shown symptoms help explain how rapidly this virus continues to spread across the country. For presymptomatic people, its probably up to 48 hours before they have any inkling that theyre sick, he said. The CDC now appears to be rethinking its guidance to public health departments across the nation in response to the spread of coronavirus by people with no symptoms. Some studies have found high levels of transmission from people who were infected but said they felt perfectly fine. One published last month by the journal Nature Medicine determined that 44% of COVID-19 patients it analyzed in Guangzhou, China, had been infected by others who werent showing symptoms. That study also found people were most contagious about 17 hours before they felt any symptoms. A study by Oxford University researchers published in the journal Science in March concluded that 50% of those infected caught the virus from presymptomatic or asymptomatic people -- noting that was similar to study findings out of Tianjin, China, where it was 48%, and Singapore, where it was 62%. *** Hargunanis stance appears to also reflect the way Oregon has structured its fight against COVID-19. Gov. Kate Brown announced last week that as the state begins to take baby steps into reopening, it will rely on more contact tracing and testing to try to contain the disease. Tracers will work to identify Oregonians who have had contact with positive cases, but only those who show symptoms will get tested under the states plan. People showing no symptoms will be asked to stay home for 14 days without testing. When asked during the news conference why officials wont test the asymptomatic people -- if it was because the state doesnt have enough tests to go around -- neither the governor nor public health officials answered. State epidemiologist Dr. Dean Sidelinger said then that asymptomatic people shouldnt be contagious after 14 days of self-quarantine whether they are tested or not. But that approach raises important questions: Will people who feel fine actually stay home based solely on the suspicion that they might have been exposed to COVID-19? As the rest of Oregon reopens, will they forgo trips to the grocery store, stay home from work and avoid socializing if they dont have test results confirming that they have the disease? Will they cordon themselves off from others in their households -- or at the very least wear masks inside their shared living spaces for those two weeks, which is in line with the best medical advice. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in February documented the case of a 20-year-old woman in Wuhan, China, who had no symptoms of COVID-19 but is believed to have infected five members of her family. A piece published by the New England Journal of Medicine by three American doctors described the public health strategies to address the asymptomatic spread of the disease -- especially in situations where people live in close quarters, such as nursing homes and prisons -- as the Achilles heel of COVID-19 pandemic control. *** Within the U.S., some local governments have started to see importance in testing people who feel healthy. Los Angeles and Houston in recent weeks have announced testing for everyone. No one should have to wait, wonder, or risk infecting others, said LA Mayor Eric Garcetti. Dont leave it to chance. Schedule a test. In countries such as South Korea and Taiwan, public health officials routinely test every person who has had contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 -- symptoms or not. South Korean officials launched the countrys massive testing campaign by testing all 200,000-plus members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus after a 61-year-old member was identified as a super spreader in February. She had attended a few church services before she tested positive and ultimately is believed to have led to the infections of thousands of people with connections to the church. Today, Koreans without symptoms but who are believed to have been exposed or foreigners arriving in the country are required to stay at home for 14 days. Most have an app on their phones that will alert police if they leave home during their quarantines. To combat the urge to go out, the penalty for violating quarantine is up to $8,100 and a year in jail. Similar measures are enforced in Taiwan, where a man who broke quarantine when he sneaked out to a nightclub was fined $33,000 after police officers hunted him down there. An article printed in the Journal of the American Medical Association last week by Dr. Robert Steinbrook of the University of California San Francisco emphasized the success Taiwan has had in part for tracking down asymptomatic people, testing and isolating them. These findings underscore the pressing public health need for accurate and comprehensive contact tracing and testing, Steinbrook wrote. Testing only those people who are symptomatic will miss many infections and render contact tracing less effective. Epidemiologists and public health academics have heaped praise on Taiwan, given its close ties and proximity to mainland China -- just 81 miles away. With about 24 million people, the Southeast Asian island has had 440 known cases and six deaths. Even Oregon with some of the nations lowest numbers of known cases and deaths -- has far higher numbers. With about 4 million residents, Oregon recorded more than 2,900 cases and 121 deaths as of Thursday. South Korea also has been held up as a global model. Its population is one-sixth that of the U.S. but it has had fewer than 1% of the cases and about 0.3% of the deaths. Thats 10,800 known cases and 256 deaths in Korea. The U.S. has identified more than 1.25 million cases and more than 75,000 people have died. Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter *** In Oregon, the belief that infected people without symptoms are a less likely source of coronavirus transmission has historically shaped the states response to the pandemic, said Hargunani, the Oregon Health Authoritys chief medical officer. In an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive last week, Hargunani said her April 23 statement about it being unlikely for the new coronavirus to spread through people with no symptoms wasnt misleading. COVID-19 is an emerging pathogen, she said. We gain additional information on how it affects people and how it is spread daily. In the setting of limited testing capacity, she said, the state has focused on testing people with symptoms and vulnerable people such as group and congregate facility residents, healthcare workers, the elderly, those with underlying medical conditions. The number of tests given in Oregon has increased from about 1,300 a day a few weeks ago to close to about 2,000 per a day over the past week, as more hospital and commercial labs have added testing capacity and the state has loosened restrictions on who can get tested. Brown, through her press office, didnt answer questions posed by The Oregonian/OregonLive asking if she agreed with Hargunanis statement and if Oregon's approach to asymptomatic people represents a flaw in the state's COVID-19 battle plan. Oregon, however, sees value in testing at least some asymptomatic people in the future. Its strategy for contact tracing and testing in coming weeks acknowledges the need to possibly test all people who live in a specific group setting -- such as a nursing home, a block of farmworker housing or a prison -- if there are suspected COVID-19 outbreaks. Oregon also has expressed interest in learning more about how the disease behaves through a partnership with Oregon Health & Science University. The project is seeking 100,000 volunteers to take part in a one-year study that mostly tests people with symptoms. It also will offer testing to up to 10,000 randomly selected people without symptoms to learn if they had caught the virus at any point. But it isnt meant to be a substitute for contact tracing and -- in an ideal world -- testing asymptomatic people who are known to have been around someone with COVID-19. Various research and case studies have documented the prevalence of people who have the coronavirus but dont feel sick. Anthony Fauci, the federal governments top infectious disease expert, pegs that at somewhere between 25% to 50% of all COVID-19 cases. But others believe it could be higher. A review found that about 60% of the more than 600 cases on the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and 88% of women who tested positive at a New York hospitals labor and delivery unit were presymptomatic or asymptomatic. On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control put out a report expanding on the statements of its director, Redfield, who believes people with no symptoms have helped lead to the rapid spread of the disease. Although the agency is still only recommending testing people with symptoms, the report opened the door for possible change -- an overhaul of its advice about how public health officials across the country could try to stop people with no symptoms from spreading the disease. (A)symptomatic transmission enhances the need to scale up the capacity for widespread testing and thorough contact tracing to detect asymptomatic infections, interrupt undetected transmission chains, and further bend the curve downward, the report said. -- Aimee Green; agreen@oregonian.com; @o_aimee Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Dr Imran Sharief (pictured), a pulmonologist from California, gave tocilizumab, a drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, to severely ill COVID-19 patients A California physician says a rheumatoid arthritis drug could be an effective treatment for coronavirus. Dr Imran Sharief, a pulmonologist based in Santa Ana, told Fox News that he treated COVID-19 patients on ventilators with tocilizumab, sold under the brand names RoAcemtra and Actemra, Within 72 hours, their conditions began to improve and, after five days, he was able to extubate patients and move them out of the ICU. With no approved treatments specifically for the virus, there is a pressing need to test both existing medicines and experimental therapies to stop the disease - which has killed more than 74,000 Americans - in its tracks. Tocilizumab belongs to a class of drugs called interleukin-6 inhibitors that could help mitigate a dangerous overreaction to the virus by the body's immune system called a cytokine storm. These so-called storms occur when the body doesn't just fight off the virus but also attacks its own cells and tissues. In cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, cytokine storms can trigger respiratory distress. Currently, tocilizumab is not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in coronavirus patients. Sharief said one patient in their 30s had quickly deteriorating health after experiencing the traditional symptoms such as fever and difficulty breathing. They were on a ventilator and near death when doctors decided to try tocilizumab. 'We were already cautious and we were worried because this patient was extremely young so we started the medication right away,' Sharief told Fox News. He said one patient's condition improved within 72 hours and they came off a ventilator after five days. Pictured: Tocilizumab Researchers believe the drug mitigates cytokine storms, which occur when the body doesn't just fight off the virus but also attacks its own cells and tissues. Pictured: US Army service members transport a patient to the ICU at the Javits New York Medical Station, April 18 He said that if certain critically ill patients are treated with the drug early, organ damage could be prevented. 'I would suggest to my colleagues that once you see a deteriorating patient, a rapid deterioration in clinical status with high oxygen requirement or on the ventilator, try to start the medication as quickly as possible within first 12 to 24 hours,' Sharief said. It comes on the heels of a French study that found patients given injections of the drug were less likely to be put on life support and less likely to die than those given a placebo. Doctors at Paris Public Hospitals (AP-HP) recruited 129 people who had moderate to severe cases of COVID-19. Sixty-five patients were given two shots of tocilizumab along with antibiotics, while the remaining 64 received standard antibiotic care. Results showed that those given the arthritis drug were less likely to die and less likely to need life support in comparison with the control group. 'The study has shown comprehensively that fewer patients on oxygen with breathing difficulties needed to be transferred to intensive care [after being treated with tocilizumab],' Dr Jacques Eric Gottenberg of the department of rheumatology at Strasbourg University Hospital told RFI. AP-HP said the results are being submitted to a peer-reviewed journal but that it chose to share preliminary findings because the drug showed a clear 'clinical benefit.' The hospital did note that further research is needed to test the safety and efficacy of treating coronavirus patients with tocilizumab. 'If these results are confirmed, the advantage of this drug is that it is already available in all hospital pharmacies and can be used very quickly. It's one or two injections for each patient,' Gottenberg said. Madhya Pradesh Police on Wednesday detained 15 people for gathering at Narsingh Temple in Indore to offer prayers amid lockdown. The 15 people had given me a letter saying that they will perform aarti in the Narsingh Temple. However, we had told them that it is not allowed due to the lockdown norms, said Sarafa Police Station In-charge. According to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, no religious congregation is allowed amid the lockdown. Meanwhile, Indore reported as many as 18 more people in Indore have confirmed Covid-19 positive on Wednesday, taking the total count to 1,699. Even when a business is losing money, it's possible for shareholders to make money if they buy a good business at the right price. For example, although Amazon.com made losses for many years after listing, if you had bought and held the shares since 1999, you would have made a fortune. Having said that, unprofitable companies are risky because they could potentially burn through all their cash and become distressed. So, the natural question for Zinc of Ireland (ASX:ZMI) shareholders is whether they should be concerned by its rate of 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. First, we'll determine its cash runway by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves. See our latest analysis for Zinc of Ireland When Might Zinc of Ireland Run Out Of Money? A cash runway is defined as the length of time it would take a company to run out of money if it kept spending at its current rate of cash burn. In December 2019, Zinc of Ireland had AU$1.4m in cash, and was debt-free. In the last year, its cash burn was AU$3.3m. Therefore, from December 2019 it had roughly 5 months of cash runway. That's a very short cash runway which indicates an imminent need to douse the cash burn or find more funding. Depicted below, you can see how its cash holdings have changed over time. ASX:ZMI Historical Debt May 7th 2020 How Is Zinc of Ireland's Cash Burn Changing Over Time? Zinc of Ireland didn't record any revenue over the last year, indicating that it's an early stage company still developing its business. Nonetheless, we can still examine its cash burn trajectory as part of our assessment of its cash burn situation. Over the last year its cash burn actually increased by 17%, which suggests that management are increasing investment in future growth, but not too quickly. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but investors should be mindful of the fact that will shorten the cash runway. Admittedly, we're a bit cautious of Zinc of Ireland due to its lack of significant operating revenues. We prefer most of the stocks on this list of stocks that analysts expect to grow. Story continues How Hard Would It Be For Zinc of Ireland To Raise More Cash For Growth? Since its cash burn is moving in the wrong direction, Zinc of Ireland shareholders may wish to think ahead to when the company may need to raise more cash. 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 comparing a company's annual cash burn to its total market capitalisation, we can estimate roughly how many shares it would have to issue in order to run the company for another year (at the same burn rate). Zinc of Ireland has a market capitalisation of AU$4.3m and burnt through AU$3.3m last year, which is 78% of the company's market value. Given how large that cash burn is, relative to the market value of the entire company, we'd consider it to be a high risk stock, with the real possibility of extreme dilution. So, Should We Worry About Zinc of Ireland's Cash Burn? As you can probably tell by now, we're rather concerned about Zinc of Ireland's cash burn. In particular, we think its cash burn relative to its market cap suggests it isn't in a good position to keep funding growth. While not as bad as its cash burn relative to its market cap, its increasing cash burn is also a concern, and considering everything mentioned above, we're struggling to find much to be optimistic about. The measures we've considered in this article lead us to believe its cash burn is actually quite concerning, and its weak cash position seems likely to cost shareholders one way or another. On another note, Zinc of Ireland has 5 warning signs (and 2 which are concerning) we think you should know about. 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. Note: The Express-News is suspending traditional restaurant reviews until restaurant dining rooms fully reopen. The first week of March had been the best week of sales for the beloved burger joint Chris Madrids since its grand reopening last year, an event two years in the making after a fire ripped through the place in 2017. The next week, sales dropped 76 percent. Thats the brutal reality of the coronavirus crisis. Restaurants took the earliest hits and suffered some of the hardest losses. Theyve also executed some of the most resourceful turnarounds, turning takeout into a skillful blend of art and business. At Chris Madrids, ordering moved online, and the normally packed parking lots became numbered slots for takeout customers. Carryout business increased fivefold, said owner Richard Peacock. Business is nowhere near pre-pandemic levels, but hes been able to keep his whole staff employed, running orders in face masks and tie-dye shirts. At the upscale Italian stronghold Battalion, chefs Stefan Bowers and Zeke Cavazos relit the dormant fires and revived takeout service last week, somehow capturing a measure of that restored firehouses flash in octagonal black boxes to-go. On ExpressNews.com: 3 S.A. takeout stars: Toro Kitchen + Bar, Tongs Thai and Benjies Munch Pharm Table chef and owner Elizabeth Johnson in a colorful headscarf and contrasting black face mask said shes taken only one day off since the crisis hit. Shes keeping her health-conscious cafe going with meal-plan deliveries, curbside takeout and sheer force of will, because especially now, people need to take care of themselves. All three are sticking with takeout for now, waiting for the right time, the right occupancy percentages and the right comfort level to reopen their dining rooms. The mantra: Open soon, but open right. Battalion Just because its takeout doesnt mean were entitled to any excuses. Thats how Bowers characterized Battalions takeout mission. No excuses necessary. Ive missed the crazy firepoles, the Medusa chandeliers and the Dr. Who elevator at Battalion. But more than that, Ive missed square meatballs in tomato sauce ($12) and tiny ears of pasta swirled in basil and pine-nut pesto ($16). They translated well to takeout, holding their form and color like all the Battalion food I brought home, especially a cool watermelon salad with fresh mint, feta, tomatoes and hot rings of Fresno chile ($8) and a wedge salad pumped up with fried pepperoni and showers of crispy shallots ($8). Battalion does some of the best vegetable sides in the city. And even in a box, theres no denying the beauty of blanched and grilled broccolini glowing bright green against a background of roasted red pepper sauce ($7), and a salted cashew butter added a level of lushness to grilled cauliflower ($7). But the showoff box from Battalion? A quartet of lamb chops, grilled and coated with herbs and Parmesan, served with fingerling potatoes and white wine cream sauce ($26). Out of the bag, in a box, on a plate, whatever. Its food worth building a feast around. Location and hours: 604 S. Alamo St, 210-816-0088, battalionsa.com. Open for takeout 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday. Delivery available through Toast. The dining room has not reopened. Pharm Table Maybe we havent been the most active versions of ourselves lately. Maybe our eating reflects that. Comfort food is comforting, but my bloods moving at the speed of gravy. Pharm Table aims to fix that. The treatment starts with a four-pack of anti-inflammatory juice shots ($11), going from electric red beet juice to golden almond milk to sharp ginger to an infusion of turmeric with black pepper that will clear your sinuses and shake your brain awake. The next step is a sampler of probiotic boosters in bright little cups, fresh bites of beet kimchi, curried carrots, lemon-pickled cabbage and sweet potato escabeche ($5). Pharm Table gives healthy food the same satisfaction as diner food, with a Mexican quinoa tamal stuffed with black beans and dressed out with colorful slaws ($8), a curried lentil and rice kitchari bowl with beet-almond mash and cilantro-coconut chutney ($10) and a Persian salad that lights up saffron-infused cabbage with creamy sumac-cashew dressing and a trio of meatballs with Middle Eastern flavors ($13). And if you still need comfort food, theres a rainbow trio of tacos with roasted and pickled vegetables fortified with chicken ($14) and a weekend brunch plate of vegan sweet potato waffles with Asian pear chutney ($12). Location and hours: 106 Auditorium Circle, 210-802-1860, pharmtable.com. Open for takeout 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday. Delivery is free within Loop 410 for meal plans. Otherwise, deliverys available through DoorDash, Uber Eats and other services. The dining room has not reopened. On ExpressNews.com: Dining critic Mike Sutter on what its like to eat out on S.A.s eateries reopening day Chris Madrids The simple joy of a Cheddar Cheezy burger ($8.25) transfers from the chaos of the rebuilt Beacon Hill burger joint to a Styrofoam takeout box like this: Beef, bun and cheese on one side; lettuce, tomatoes onions and pickles on the other. Hot stuff hot, cool stuff cool. Monday through Thursday, that burger the one with cheddar cheese flowing around it like a Fiesta gown costs just $5. Sure, there are variations on the cheeseburger formula. The Tostada Burger ($8.25 or $5 Monday through Thursday) is a taste of San Antonio, with refried beans, cheese and crumbled tortilla chips, and the Macho version an upgrade to half-pound patty of Porkys Delight ($10.75) brings bacon to the party. Hand-cut fries are a delicate thing. Theres no substitute for eating them right out of the fryer. But even at home, even just lukewarm with their crispy days behind them, these Chris Madrids fries ($3.25 for a heaping medium size) are better than most places on their best days. Location and hours: 900 Blanco Road, 210-735-3552, chrismadrids.com. Open for takeout 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Delivery available through ChowNow, Savor and other services. The dining room has not reopened. The patio likely will open early next week. Check Facebook: @chrismadrids for updates. Mike Sutter is a food and drink reporter and restaurant critic in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Mike, become a subscriber. msutter@express-news.net | Twitter: @fedmanwalking | Instagram: @fedmanwalking The COVIDSafe app doesn't work on iPhones in the way it was sold to Australians - at least not yet. Are tech experts surprised? Not in the slightest. After all, there were always going to be issues in overcoming restrictions with Apple's privacy-first operating system for smartphones. What remains questionable, however, is why politicians chose to not communicate these issues clearly with Australians, leaving it to those who know better to point out flaws in the app's design. The COVIDsafe app has some flaws that need to be ironed out. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Since its launch on April 26, it's been revealed the almost $2 million COVIDSafe app faces almost identical problems to its Singapore equivalent. Politicians such as Health Minister Greg Hunt and Government Services Minister Stuart Robert claimed it had overcome them, but following a Senate committee hearing on Wednesday, it's apparent this is not the case. While improvements were made for launch by adjusting the code, the app remains not fit for purpose on iPhones. South African comedian Preven Reddy has been adjudged this year's African Social Star in the international category of the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, becoming the only Indian-origin winner in the contest. Nickelodeon is a US-based pay television network, launched in 1977 as the first cable channel for children, now broadcasting globally. Reddy, who is a social media hit with his comic short videos as 'Aunty Shamilla', shared the on social media on May 5. "I have been crying happy tears all morning. We actually did it. Thank you so much to every single person who voted for me continuously. I am genuinely at a loss for words, this is so, so surreal. Thank you for believing in me South Africa," Reddy wrote on his Facebook page. In his videos, Reddy adopts a localised South African Indian accent unique to the greater Durban region, home to almost half of the country's 1.4 million Indians. The accent, though derided by many as being offensive when imitated, remains hugely popular among comedians and their audiences. The awards were given away in a virtual ceremony by the channel in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. With appearances by Hollywood personalities, including Dwayne Johnson, Ariana Grande, Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, Camila Cabello, Millie Bobby Brown, and Ellen DeGeneres, the recorded show will air on May 8 on the channel. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Air Force officer faces backlash for leading worship services from apartment balcony Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment UPDATE: 2 p.m. ET May 8: U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. David McGraw apologized to residents of Kelley Barracks at U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart, Germany, for holding Sunday worship services from his military housing balcony over the past eight weeks following a complaint from some service members to the secular group, Military Religious Freedom Foundation. In a letter sent to residents Friday and viewed by The Christian Post, McGraw vowed to move his services to another location. He said the goal of the weekly services, which began in March, was not to deface the name of Christ by inflicting any adversity on those families around us. We solely sought to bless those families who could not worship together in Christ with an opportunity to sing praises and worship amidst the COVID realities we are living with, together, McGraw wrote in the letter. Our desire is to bless the families on Kelley Barracks knowing the struggles everyone of us face on a normal day with work, family, and life. Original: A leading church-state separation legal group is calling on the commander of a U.S. Army base in Germany to take action against a field-grade Air Force officer who has been leading Christian worship services from the balcony of his military housing apartment. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation sent a letter on Tuesday to Col. Jason W. Condrey, the commander of U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart, calling for disciplinary measures to be taken against Lt. Col. David McGraw. MRFF, which advocates for a strict separation of church and state, says it's representing 28 military complainants (21 of which are Christian) who object to McGraws Sunday Christian Porch Preaching at the Kelley Barracks, an apartment complex that houses mostly military families with four kids of more. According to an email sent to MRFF by a concerned resident of the apartment complex, on March 15, McGraw began hosting Sunday services for the two apartment buildings that overlook the barracks playground. For the past eight weeks, the email explains, McGraws services have drawn more attendees and have increased in duration. The email says song sheets for the weekly services have for the past four weeks been distributed to the doorsteps of all the apartments in the buildings. At four weeks into this, the song and scripture flyers are now being placed on individual doorsteps of residents to join in to what is essentially an evangelical worship service that is happening outside of the multitude of virtual services being hosted by the Military Chaplains, the email told MRFF. The concerned resident told MRFF that as the services have happened unabated for the past eight weeks. The resident fears there could be no end in sight. This has also become a draw for people that are missing in-person worship service, so there are more than just residents of our housing community showing up, the resident explained. There are people now standing around in between the buildings to participate in the service. This is very much against the social distancing guidelines set forth for military members and their families. A concerned resident of Kelley Barracks who spoke with The Christian Post on the condition of anonymity after being connected through MRFF said McGraws services are now averaging about 30 minutes in length. There is now prelude music that goes on for 15 minutes prior to the service starting, the resident said. It started off with a couple of songs off the balcony and it turned into a full sermon. The biggest concern is that while we do have our faith, we are also required to be a military community. Stuttgart is on a significant lockdown. We had one of the highest numbers of positive [coronaviurs] cases in all of the European bases including Italy, the resident added. I think we hit over 100 cases at one point in time. We must be a community, especially here on a base like this where there is a large religious component. We try to be delicate about stepping one anothers toes. The resident argues that while its perfectly fine to host a Bible study in ones home, you should not be able to hold others hostage and disallow their quiet enjoyment in their own homes. They absolutely know that this is something that would not be OK if someone used the architectural acoustics to announce the Call to Prayer of those in the Muslim faith, the resident wrote in the email. According to the email sent to MRFF, residents who oppose the worship services contacted the legal group because the officers to whom they are supposed to report their concerns to are also participating in the services. There is a system set up that has a building manager for each military apartment building, the email says. This military person is the gobetween for the residents and the Military Housing Office that oversees the rules and regulations put forth for the residents. These building managers are active participants in this forced worship service, closing that line of communication for fear of retribution. The Military Police are unwilling to attend to any noise complaints outside of the standard quiet hours. There is no way to file an anonymous complaint that does not come back in retaliation. I could use your help in any way that you can provide. In his letter to Condrey, MRFF President Mikey Weinstein argued that the actions of McGraw and the chaplains assisting him in holding these services is unconstitutional and a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment barring a government establishment of religion. Also, Weinstein contends that their actions violate a plethora of U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Air Force directives, instructions, and regulations. Their actions also, Weinstein contends, violates the core values of the U.S. Army and Air Force. Weinstein argued that McGraw, who outranks most of the residents at the barracks, is proselytizing his particularly favored version of the Christian faith to an absolutely captive audience. U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart Director of Public Relations Lawrence Reilly told CP Post in a statement that they are "taking appropriate measures to ensure good order and discipline and the rights of all community members." "Our duty is to protect this community, to include everyones individual rights," Reilly explained. Mike Berry, General Counsel for the First Liberty Institute, a legal nonprofit that often defends the First Amendment rights of military service members, told CP that McGraw did not forfeit his constitutional rights when he joined the military. Of course, it is perfectly legal for a service member to sing worship songs, read from the Bible and share the Good News with friends and neighbors, he told CP in a statement. Berry cited the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuits 1984 ruling in Katcoff v. Marsh that held that the Constitution obligates Congress to provide for the free exercise of religion by military personnel. And beyond that, federal laws and military regulations make clear that service members can discuss and even share their faith with one another, he said. If it is legal for service members to discuss sports, politics, or any other topic, then it is also legal for service members to discuss religion, Berry, a former Marine, added. The same goes for distributing flyers. The Constitution is clear that religion cannot be treated less favorably than non-religious topics. To do so would amount to unconstitutional discrimination. In an email to Weinstein on Tuesday, Condrey explained that he would want the opportunity to resolve this directly with any/all of your clients. To address their concerns of reprisal/revenge, I invite them to my office or a location of their choosing in civilian clothes and will guarantee no requests for name, rank, unit, address, or any information that could be used to identify them, the commander wrote. I want our family housing residents to feel at home in their homes. In response, Weinstein said that the MRFF clients want to wait to make a decision about meeting with you until this coming Sunday the 10th of May to see if Condrey will stop McGraws from holding another service. In short, Colonel Condrey, Lt. Col. McGraws Sunday Christian Porch Preachin is completely violating the time, place, and manner restrictions of the aforementioned bodies of foundational American law, the DoD regulatory paradigm and the armed forces criminal justice system, Weinstein wrote in his letter. Since McGraw is a field-grade officer, Weinstein contends that he has violated Air Force Instruction 1-1, Section 2.12 stating that leaders at all levels must balance constitutional protections for their own free exercise of religion, including individual expressions of religious beliefs and the constitutional prohibition against governmental establishment of religion. "They must ensure their words and actions cannot reasonably be construed to be officially endorsing or disapproving of, or extending preferential treatment for any faith, belief, or absence of belief," the instruction states. Weinstein wrote in his letter that AFI 1-1 is "a directive" as opposed to being "merely advisory. Thus, as an Air Force regulation, its violation, as in the instant matter via the constitutionally odious Sunday Christian porch preaching by Lt. Col. McGraw, means that these actions may be prosecuted as a crime under the UCMJ," Weinstein contends. While MRFFs letter doesnt state specifically what kind of disciplinary action McGraw and those helping him host the services should be subject to, Weinstein told CP in a phone interview that he believes McGraw should be court-martialed. In his letter to Condrey, Weinstein cited the 1974 U.S. Supreme Court case of Parker v. Levy, which found that First Amendment rights can be applied differently in the context of military personnel. The fundamental necessity for obedience, and the consequent necessity for imposition of discipline, may render permissible within the military that which would be constitutionally impermissible outside it, the ruling states. Speech that is protected in the civil population may nonetheless undermine the effectiveness of response to command. If it does, it is constitutionally unprotected. Berry said he is not sure how McGraws command will respond but offered free legal representation if McGraw faces any disciplinary action. Lately, weve observed a disturbing trend of military commanders raising the white flag of surrender every time the MRFF complains, Berry said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Byron Kaye and Swati Pandey (Reuters) Sydney, Australia Thu, May 7, 2020 16:25 621 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd68cb6c 2 World Australia,lockdown,Scott-Morrison,mothers-day Free Australia's two most populous states on Thursday refused to allow a one-day reprieve from strict limits on personal movement for Mother's Day this weekend, even as the country's rate of new coronavirus cases remains low. The premiers of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria said the states' roughly 14 million residents, 56 percent of the country's population, would have to stick to existing restrictions on movement on Mother's Day, which is celebrated nationally on Sunday. "Whilst national cabinet is considering easing some restrictions from Friday in terms of the national guidelines, I doubt very much that NSW will be in a position to implement anything before Mother's Day," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters on Thursday. "We will be able to visit them, two adults and children at any one time, and of course that can happen multiple times a day as long as everybody is careful." NSW recently eased a stay-at-home order to allow social visits in groups of up to two, while some other states have also taken tentative steps to unwind lockdown measures, but most have kept restrictions broadly in place. Australia has confirmed just under 6,900 COVID-19 cases, including 97 deaths. Twenty new infections were reported across four states on Thursday, the bulk linked to an outbreak at a meat processing plant in Victoria. The rate could rise as other states and territories report during the day. The federal government has said it will discuss the possible relaxation of nationwide "social distancing" rules on Friday at a meeting of an emergency cabinet formed to deal with the crisis, which includes state leaders. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has made increased testing and the downloading of a contact tracing smartphone app prerequisites for relaxing restrictions. About 700,000 of the country's 25 million people have been tested for the virus. About 5.2 million people have downloaded the tracking app, Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Thursday, just half the government's 10 million target. "The last thing we want to do is to ease off any of those restrictions without a sense of confidence that we are truly on top of this," Victorian premier Daniel Andrews said, adding that he would not visit his mother on Sunday. "Nobody is enjoying these settings, I understand that." In Tasmania state, Premier Peter Gutwein said "the best present that you can provide for your mother is to keep her safe". Queensland state broke away to allow up to five adults to visit a private home on Sunday, but Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said other restrictions remained firmly in place. "You can't go shopping, you can't go to the beach, you can't can't go further in that community, it's all about one household meeting with another household," she said. As she was treated for COVID-19 in a hospital isolation ward in Kuwait City, Amnah Ibraheem wanted to credit those caring for her. The nurses were all South Asian, the radiologist was African, another of her doctors was Egyptian. The only fellow Kuwaiti she saw, briefly, was a lone volunteer. Ibraheem pointed this out on Twitter, in a rejoinder to some voices in Kuwait and other parts of the Gulf who have stoked fear and resentment of foreigners, blaming them for the spread of the coronavirus. We can't decide right now to be racist and to say that expats are free-riders, because they're not, the 32-year-old political scientist and mother of two told The Associated Press. They're the ones working on our health right now, completely holding our health system together. The global pandemic has drawn attention to just how vital foreigners are to the Arab Gulf countries where they work, particularly as countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman expel foreigners from certain sectors to create jobs for their own citizens. The crisis has also shed a brief light on the systemic inequality in their home countries that drives so many to the region in the first place. Across the Gulf countries, the workers on the front lines are uniquely almost entirely foreigners, whether it's in a hospital in Saudi Arabia, an isolation ward in Kuwait or a grocery store in the United Arab Emirates. They carry out the essential work, risking exposure to the novel coronavirus, often with the added strain of being far from family. Foreigners also make up the vast majority of the roughly 78,000 confirmed coronavirus cases overall in the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain Oman and Saudi Arabia. In the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, foreigners also make up the vast majority of the population. Most hail from India, Pakistan, Nepal, the Philippines and Egypt. They reside on temporary work visas with no path to citizenship, no matter how long they've lived or worked in the Gulf. Many work low-paying construction jobs and live in labor camps where up to 10 people share a room. These living conditions have made them vulnerable to the fast-spreading disease known as COVID-19. That has made them a target for some. Popular Kuwaiti actress Hayat al-Fahad told a Kuwaiti broadcaster the root of the country's coronavirus problem lies in South Asian and Egyptian migrant workers. She lamented that if their own countries won't take them back, why should Kuwait fill its hospitals to treat them at the expense of its own citizens. Aren't people supposed to leave during crises? she said, before adding: I swear by God, put them in the desert. I am not against humane treatment, but we have gotten to a point where we're fed up already. Ibraheem said her tweet was in response to such rhetoric. Kuwait, she said, has always been a moderate, welcoming country built with help from expatriates. This is the not the time to become tribalistic, Ibraheem said. This is the time to work together with everybody because the virus doesn't check your passport. From the same hospital, Najeeba Hayat used Instagram to take aim at Kuwaiti lawmaker Saffa al-Hashem after she called for the deportation of foreigners who'd overstayed their visas in order to purify the country of the virus they might transmit. I take umbrage to that, Hayat told the AP. There's no way we can survive if we continue to look down on the very people taking care of us, who have raised our children, who are part of the fabric of our community. Hayat spent more than 30 days in the hospital until she was cleared of COVID-19. On the day she left, she shared photos with her more than 25,000 followers of her Indian nurses, thanking them for being on the front line with her. While foreign doctors and nurses have received some praise in local media, farther from the spotlight are the delivery men, street cleaners, construction workers, butchers and cashiers who also risk exposure to the virus in their jobs. At the Carrefour supermarket in Dubai, plexiglass shields at the registers protect the cashiers, and everyone entering is required to wear gloves and a mask. One cashier, Valaney Fernandes, a 27-year-old from Goa, India, who's been working in the UAE the past five years, said she felt she was contributing. It's like in hospitals and everywhere, they are serving there as much as they can. Fernandes said she was grateful to still be working. Her retired parents back home rely on her salary. We have to earn for our daily needs, she said. I'm lucky enough to work now. I'm really lucky. Tens of thousands of migrant workers who've lost their jobs have demanded from their embassies in the Gulf to be flown back home amid the pandemic. In the UAE alone, local media reported that more than 197,000 Indians registered their details with the Indian government to return home. When the UAE shuttered movie theaters in March, Ugandan Lukia Namitala came close to losing her job at Vox Cinema, but parent company Majid Al Futtaim quickly redeployed her and some 1,000 other employees to their Carrefour supermarket division to help with a surge in demand. The majority of my friends, they are no longer working, she said. Now she's an essential worker, stocking shelves. To be so far from family has been hard, she said. Namitala had to postpone her annual leave last month due to the pandemic, and missed her daughter's fifth birthday. As she thought about another missed milestone, her eyes welled up with tears. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Press release May 7, 2020 The Combined General Meeting of May 7, 2020 adopts all resolutions Edenred's Combined General Meeting was today held at the Group's registered office, chaired by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bertrand Dumazy. Exceptionally, the Meeting took place without the physical presence of shareholders, due to the Covid-19 epidemic and the health measures taken by the French government in response. Thanks to the system allowing shareholders to participate remotely prior to the Meeting, the quorum stood at 79.57%. The General Meeting adopted all the resolutions proposed by the Board of Directors, notably: the payment of a dividend of 0.70 per share in respect of 2019, with the option of receiving payment of the entire dividend in new shares 1 . The ex-dividend date is set at May 13, 2020. Shareholders may opt for payment of the dividend in new shares between May 15 and May 29, 2020, inclusive. Shareholders that do not exercise the option by May 29, 2020, inclusive, will receive the total dividend in cash. The dividend will be payable from June 5, 2020; . The ex-dividend date is set at May 13, 2020. Shareholders may opt for payment of the dividend in new shares between May 15 and May 29, 2020, inclusive. Shareholders that do not exercise the option by May 29, 2020, inclusive, will receive the total dividend in cash. The dividend will be payable from June 5, 2020; the appointment of Alexandre de Juniac as a director; the renewal of the terms of office as directors of Jean-Paul Bailly and Dominique D'Hinnin. Therefore, Edenred's Board of Directors now comprises 11 members and complies with the AFEP-MEDEF Code with regard to gender balance and director independence. Directors whose names are followed by an asterisk (*) are independent directors: Jean-Paul Bailly* Anne Bouverot* Sylvia Coutinho* Dominique D'Hinnin* Alexandre de Juniac* Bertrand Dumazy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gabriele Galateri di Genola* Maelle Gavet* Francoise Gri*, Lead Independent Director and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors Jean-Bernard Hamel, employee director Jean-Romain Lhomme* A group taking action alongside people at work amid the Covid-19 epidemic Faced with the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic in the 46 countries where the Group operates, Edenred's 10,000 employees are working hard on five priorities: Protecting the health of the Group's employees with the introduction of home-working arrangements for 95% of the workforce, made possible thanks to significant investments in digital tools in recent years; Guaranteeing excellent business continuity and service quality for 850,000 clients, 50 million users and 2 million partner merchants, through a leading-edge technology platform, a large offer of digital solutions representing more than 83% of consolidated business volume, and established connections with around 50 of the biggest meal delivery platforms; Quickly and agilely designing new digital solutions to organize the distribution of earmarked funds (i.e., funds dedicated to specific purposes) to cover fundamental needs (Eat, Move, Care, Pay), in response to urgent demand from some companies and governments; Limiting the impact of the crisis on Edenred's earnings by launching a 100 million cost-saving plan in 2020 and revising intended capital expenditure for the year downward, without compromising the Group's capacity for technological innovation or growth; Helping Edenred's ecosystem to mitigate the consequences of the Covid-19 epidemic, via local initiatives and the "More than Ever" relief plan, through which the Group has pledged to commit up to 15 million. The relief plan will notably be financed by: the 20% decrease in the dividend initially proposed for 2019, to 0.70 per share; the reduction in the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer's compensation, in line with AFEP recommendations; the reduction in the compensation of the members of the Group's Executive Committee and Board of Directors. A resilient group A leading digital services and payments platform and the everyday companion for people at work, Edenred has strong fundamentals that will enable it to stay resilient through the challenging times brought about by Covid-19 and create new opportunities from the crisis: a high-growth profile and robust financial position; offers covering essential needs (Eat, Move, Care, Pay); a leading position on vastly underpenetrated markets in 46 countries; a multilocal, agile organization; an innovative digital offering dedicated to delivering earmarked payment solutions. A replay of the General Meeting, as well as the detailed results of the votes, are accessible on Edenred's website, Investors/Shareholders section, then General Meeting). A summary will be available online shortly. ?? Edenred is a leading services and payments platform and the everyday companion for people at work, connecting 50 million employees and 2 million partner merchants in 46 countries via more than 850,000 corporate clients. Edenred offers specific-purpose payment solutions for food (meal vouchers), fleet and mobility (fuel cards, commuter vouchers), incentives (gift vouchers, employee engagement platforms) and corporate payments (virtual cards). These solutions enhance employee well-being and purchasing power, improve companies' attractiveness and efficiency, and vitalize the employment market and the local economy. Edenred's 10,000 employees are committed to making the world of work a connected ecosystem that is safer, more efficient and more user-friendly every day. In 2019, thanks to its global technology assets, the Group managed 31 billion in business volume, primarily carried out via mobile applications, online platforms and cards. Edenred is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange and included in the following indices: CAC Next 20, FTSE4Good, DJSI Europe and MSCI Europe. For more information: www.edenred.com The logos and other trademarks mentioned and featured in this press release are registered trademarks of Edenred S.A., its subsidiaries or third parties. They may not be used for commercial purposes without prior written consent from their owners. Edenred is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2020. ?? CONTACTS Communications Department Marie-Laurence Bouchon +33 (0)1 86 67 20 08 marie-laurence.bouchon@edenred.com (mailto:marie-laurence.bouchon@edenred.com) Media Relations Matthieu Santalucia +33 (0)1 86 67 22 63 matthieu.santalucia@edenred.com (mailto:matthieu.santalucia@edenred.com) Investor Relations Solene Zammito +33 (0)1 86 67 23 13 solene.zammito@edenred.com (mailto:solene.zammito@edenred.com) Loic Da Silva +33 (0)1 86 67 20 67 loic.dasilva@edenred.com (mailto:loic.dasilva@edenred.com) 1Disclaimer: The option to receive the dividend payment in shares does not constitute an offer or a solicitation to subscribe to or purchase securities in the United States within the meaning of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, or in any other country where such transaction would be contrary to the applicable laws and regulations. The option to receive the dividend payment in shares is not available in certain countries, notably those where such an option would require registration with, or authorization from, the local securities regulator. Shareholders residing outside France should inquire about and comply with any local restrictions. Attachment SK Telecom Logo. Courtesy of SKT By Kim Hyun-bin SK Telecom, the country's leading mobile carrier, plans to expand its 5G subscriber base along with newly developing innovative services this year. "We have acquired 2.65 million subscribers as of the end of the first quarter, which resulted in an increase of MNO (mobile network operator) sales," SKT said during a conference call to investors, Thursday. "This year's goal is to expand our 5G subscriber base as well as create new services." The company aims to increase its presence in the global game market in cooperation with foreign gaming firms including Singtel of Singapore and AIS of Thailand. "As part of our contactless business, in cooperation with Singtel of Singapore and AIS of Thailand, we have acquired an 800 million consumer base in the Southeast Asia game market," SKT said. At least 9 people have died, including two children, and hundreds have been admitted to hospital with fears the death toll could rise, after a gas leak at a chemical factory in South-east India penetrated into surrounding residential area. Styrene from the plastics plant owned by Koreas LG Corp started leaking into the surrounding residential area from about 3am on Thursday morning while people were sleeping. It incapacitated some people in their homes and caused others to collapse in the streets in the area on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam city on Indias east coast. Police said the leak was from two 5,000-tonne tanks that had been unattended since India imposed a coronavirus lockdown in late March, though a spokesman for LG said maintenance staff were present at the facility when the accident occurred. Footage from the area around the plant showed people, including children, lying in the streets, and dead cows with white substances trailing from their noses. News of the leak caused people to flee the area and some appeared to have collapsed as they were trying to flee the area on foot or by motor-scooters. One of the victims, a medical student, was overcome with fumes and fell from his balcony, said Dr Surendra Kumar Chellarapu, a neurosurgeon at the local King Georges hospital. He woke up gasping for breath and rushed out onto the balcony of his room for air. But he lost his balance and fell two floors down from the balcony. He died later at the hospital of head injuries, Chellarapu said. He said ambulances were lining up at the hospital on Thursday morning with affected people. Most were suffering from vomiting, eye irritation, skin rashes and breathing problems but most are out of danger, he said. The hospital was already struggling with Covid-19 patients and would be severely strained by the leak, he added. A general surgeon at King Georges hospital, Dr N Dwarakanath, said that of about 300 patients there, most were older, more than 40 were children and 15 were on ventilators, The Guardian reports. But B K Naik, the district hospitals coordinator, said at least 1,000 people had been sent to different hospitals, and that it was feared many others may be unconscious in their homes. Another thing is that it is still too early in the morning, and there are people who were sleeping inside their homes and are unconscious, Naik told Agence France-Presse. The authorities are checking [in houses] as well. We are working to get people to the hospital. They need oxygenation and fresh air. 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 BEIJING (AP) China on Thursday declared all areas of the vast country have been downgraded from high to low virus risk, as the numbers of new cases falls to near zero and no new deaths have been reported in more than three weeks. Chinas National Health Administration on Thursday reported just two new coronavirus cases, both of them brought from overseas, and said 295 people remained in hospital with COVID-19. Another 884 people were under isolation and monitoring for being suspected cases or for having tested positive while showing no symptoms. Meanwhile, the United Nations is increasing its appeal to fight the coronavirus pandemic in fragile and vulnerable countries from $2 billion to $6.7 billion. Since the original appeal on March 25, the U.N. said $1 billion has been raised to support efforts across 37 fragile countries to tackle COVID-19. The updated appeal launched Thursday includes nine additional vulnerable countries: Benin, Djibouti, Liberia, Mozambique, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Togo and Zimbabwe. Live coronavirus tracker Coronavirus news in the U.S. No, dont willfully expose yourself to coronavirus just because you want to get it out of the way (cleveland.com) Treating coronavirus is draining hospital coffers of millions and threatening resources (NBC) Cuomo says its shocking most new coronavirus hospitalizations are people who had been staying home (CNBC) Plant-based boom during the pandemic, and more to know (ABC News) These are the 10 plain truths about the coronavirus pandemic, according to former CDC Director (CNN) Coronavirus news around the globe The mostly deserted courtyard of the Louvre Museum which is temporarily closed is seen in a mirror reflection on Saturday, May 2, 2020, in Paris. France continues to be under an extended stay-at-home order until May 11 in an attempt to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/Rafael Yahgobzadeh)AP Coronavirus mutations: Scientists puzzle over impact (BBC) UN official warns of global boomerang of coronavirus (USA Today) Life in post-lockdown South Korea is anything but normal (NBC News) Germany relaxes more virus rules, but with fallback clause (ABC News) WHO says there can be no going back to business as usual after coronavirus pandemic (CNBC) Latest local coronavirus news Read complete prior coronavirus coverage. The United States has confirmed over 1.2 million COVID-19 cases and over 70,000 deaths as of Tuesday -- merely some 100 days after its first case was reported on Jan. 21 -- making it the epicenter of the pandemic. With about one third of the world's caseload and death toll, respectively, the United States should reflect on how its administration has pushed its citizens into this abyss. SLOW RESPONSE More than two months after the initial briefing for President Donald Trump on the fast-spreading COVID-19, the U.S. government started to treat the virus as a fatal disease that could potentially claim thousands of lives -- a critical period that it has squandered. In an article published on April 4 by The Washington Post, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had learned of cases in China on Dec. 31. And Robert Redfield, the agency's director, on Jan. 3 received a call from his Chinese counterpart, who sent an "unambiguous warning" that a previously-unknown respiratory illness was spreading in Wuhan. Redfield relayed the message to Alex Azar, head of the Department of Health and Human Services, who on Jan. 18 called Trump to brief him about the coronavirus. However, the president, according to the article, was in the middle of handling his impeachment battle, and believed Azar was "being alarmist" over the case. Throughout the following weeks, Trump repeatedly downplayed the seriousness of the virus by ignoring the second warning from Azar on Jan. 30, and saying on Feb. 10 at a meeting with governors that the virus would "miraculously" go away. During a recent interview with Xinhua, Robert Lawrence Kuhn, chairman of the Kuhn Foundation, said, Trump's initial reluctance is "rooted in his concern that tanking the economy would tank his re-election." When Trump finally agreed in mid-March to recommend social distancing across the country, said a report from the New York Times, he was "subdued" by its disruptions on the U.S. economy that he had been counting on for re-election. OBSTRUCT TRUTH Aside from its slow response, the Trump administration has been obstructing the public from learning how it has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, making the United States the worst-hit country with the most fatalities worldwide. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been invited by a House Appropriations subcommittee to testify before Congress next week, as part of the subcommittee's probe into the administration's response to the pandemic. However, Fauci's testimony was blocked by the White House, which described his appearance at the hearing as "counter-productive" to "opening up America again and expediting vaccine development," deputy press secretary Judd Deere said on Friday. As an outspoken expert on the U.S. coronavirus task force, Fauci has repeatedly stressed the need to take strict measures, including extending the federal government's social distancing guidelines, to contain the spread of the virus, at times correcting Trump's false claims as the president tried to downplay the situation. SABOTAGE COOPERATION Since the onset of the outbreak, assaulting China, attacking allies and assigning blame elsewhere for its failures in containing virus spread have been old tactics for the U.S. administration, which is severely harming international cooperation the world needs to wade through the health crisis. According to a report by the Guardian, there was dismay among G7 countries that a joint statement on tackling the pandemic could not be agreed upon because Trump insisted on calling it the "Wuhan virus" -- his crude way of pinning sole blame on China. However, the United States is not making China the only scapegoat this time. On April 14, Trump announced that his administration would halt its funding to the World Health Organization, which he accused of "severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus." In addition to its shirking of responsibilities, Washington's selfishness is making the battle even harder. According to earlier media reports, Germany has accused the United States of hijacking some of its urgently-needed medical supplies like face masks and ventilators. The diversion was described by Andreas Geisel, interior minister for Berlin state, as "an act of modern piracy." "There is no way to treat transatlantic partners. Even in times of global crisis, we shouldn't resort to the tactics of the wild west," the Guardian quoted Geisel as saying in a report. CLEVELAND, Ohio Ohio House Republicans made it clear Wednesday that they planned to be combative with Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton as the state deals with the coronavirus pandemic. The House passed a bill Wednesday that would strip Actons authority to issue lasting state orders, instead limiting them to 14 days. She would have to seek legislative approval to extend any order. Its the latest in a series of attacks on DeWine, a Republican, and his administration from those within his party at the Statehouse. Cleveland.coms Seth Richardson discussed the latest move by the GOP with Spectrum News 1s Curtis Jackson in a Thursday segment highlighting Capitol Letter our daily newsletter on Ohio politics and government. You can watch the segment below. And you can subscribe to Capitol Letter here. Read more cleveland.com politics coverage: Gun sales soar in Ohio during coronavirus pandemic Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine hasnt released records from groups advising on business re-openings Ohio Department of Health delays reporting of new nursing home data for coronavirus Ohio House passes bill that would decriminalize violating coronavirus health order FILE PHOTO: The aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) is pictured as it enters the port in Da Nang, Vietnam By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The handling of a coronavirus outbreak aboard the Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier was just another example of a "failure in leadership" in the Navy in recent years, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the service said on Thursday. The United States Navy has been hit with a number of crises in the past year, most recently the firing of the Roosevelt's captain after the leak of a letter he wrote calling on the Navy for stronger measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus on the ship. "It saddens me to say that the Department of the Navy is in rough waters due to many factors but primarily the failure of leadership," Kenneth Braithwaite, currently U.S. envoy to Norway, told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Braithwaite, who would be the fourth civilian to lead the Navy in about five months, listed several incidents in recent years, including the Roosevelt, the "Fat Leonard" corruption scandal and deadly Navy ship collisions. "They are all indicative of a breakdown in the trust of those leading the service," Braithwaite said, adding that he believed that the culture in the Navy was "tarnished." In an otherwise friendly hearing where lawmakers largely focussed on more narrow issues, Democratic Senator Jack Reed said the Navy's handling of the Roosevelt illustrated how the Navy was in "disarray." More than 1,000 sailors on the Roosevelt, currently in Guam, have tested positive for the virus and one sailor has died. Captain Brett Crozier was fired by the Navy's top civilian, then-acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, against the recommendations of uniformed leaders, who suggested he wait for an investigation into the letters leak. Modly's decision backfired badly, as members of the crew hailed their captain as a hero for risking his career out of concern for their health, in an emotional sendoff captured on video that went viral on social media. Story continues Embarrassed, Modly then compounded his problems by flying out to the carrier to ridicule Crozier over the leak and question his character in a speech to the Roosevelts crew, which also leaked to the media. Modly then resigned. Modly's predecessor Richard Spencer was fired over his handling of the case of a Navy SEAL who was convicted of battlefield misconduct in Iraq and later won Trump's support. (Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Dan Grebler and Steve Orlofsky) Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) on Thursday said it has resumed plant operations in a phased manner. The company said it was able to restart operations at the plant in less than 24 hours after receiving permission from local authorities as it had started intensive preparation even before the lockdown in India came into effect in March, DICV said in a statement. Commenting on the resumption of operations, DICV Managing Director & CEO Satyakam Arya said :"Being part of the Daimler global network allowed us to see the implications of COVID-19 well before the lockdown was announced here in India. We immediately initiated a Crisis Management Team (CMT) to steer us safely through this difficult situation." The CMT consists of representatives from across the organisation and holds virtual meetings with DICV's top executives on a daily basis, the company said. It has initiated hundreds of health, safety and sanitisation measures over the last few months, ranging from mass cleaning of DICV's 400 acre Oragadam plant, near Chennai, to renovations of facilities designed to ensure social distancing norms are followed, it added. "The CMT has also taken charge of tracking the health and safety of the company's over 4,000 employees, plus overseeing the company's extensive CSR contributions," the statement said. The company is ramping up gradually with a minimum workforce of essential employees to start with, then a planned move to full capacity as and when the lockdown ends, it added. "Dealerships across the country have already begun to reopen as local restrictions ease, ensuring BharatBenz customers have access to the free service and warranty extensions the company began offering at the start of the crisis," DICV said. BharatBenz is a brand of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles. Arya said, "DICV's number one priority is health and safety of our stakeholders, from our employees and customers to our dealers and suppliers." China accused the United States on Thursday of trying to shift blame over the coronavirus, after President Donald Trump said the pandemic was a worse attack than Pearl Harbor or 9/11. Tension between the worlds two biggest economies has reached fever pitch in recent days as they have exchanged barbed comments on each others handling of the virus. We urge the US side to stop shifting the blame to China and turn to facts, said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a press briefing. On Wednesday Trump drew analogies with the virus, which emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year, and infamous military and terrorist attacks on the United States. This is really the worst attack weve ever had, Trump told reporters. This is worse than Pearl Harbor. This is worse than the World Trade Center. The Japanese assault on the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii drew the United States into World War II. The September 11, 2001 jihadist attacks on that killed about 3,000 people and triggered two decades of war. Trump said the coronavirus pandemic should never have happened. Could have been stopped at the source. Could have been stopped in China, he said. Hua responded: They might say the pandemic is comparable to Pearl Harbor or 9/11, but the enemy facing the US is the novel coronavirus. She said Washington should fight side-by-side with Beijing instead of as enemies. Hua added that lots of foreign countries, experts and scientists have all made positive comments on Chinas effective virus prevention and control. But the US alone has made some very disharmonious, untruthful and insincere remarks, said Hua. The coronavirus, which first emerged in central China late last year, has now killed more than 73,000 people in the US. lxc-rox/lth/kma As we celebrate Mothers Day in May, a month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, we should turn toward the Blessed Mother as she is the Mother of the Son of God and also all of the human race. Being the Mother of God, Mary has a unique role and position among the saints and even among all of us. Indeed, she is exalted, but still she is one of us. The Council of Ephesus in 431 attributed to Mary the title of the Mother of God, or in Greek Theotokos, (Birthgiver of God). According to the Council the Virgin Mary was given the title of Mother of God since she begot the Son of God made flesh. This dogma was further clarified by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 when it was pronounced that Jesus Christ, our salvation was begotten from the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Theotokos. Mary has always embraced Gods will and continues to cooperate freely with God in our salvation. Throughout the centuries the Church has implored the Blessed Virgin for help in interceding to her Son. Therefore, many forms of piety have developed in order to bring us all closer to her Son. In fact, Marys role is inseparable from her union with Christ. This was made obvious at the hour of the Passion and Death of Christ. There the Blessed Virgin Mary stood by the cross enduring within her the suffering of her only begotten Son and joining herself with his sacrifice in her mothers heart. There, she became the mother to his beloved disciple, that is each one of us, with these words, Woman, behold your son. Mary, as the mother of humanity, in no way takes away or diminishes the unique mediation of Christ in our lives, but rather shows its power. In fact, she has a prominent role in helping us in our own salvation. The Mother of God has another title that is very important which is Mary, Coredemptrix since as our mother she cooperates in our redemption. The prefix co signifies in union with or in communion with. The word Coredemptrix can only be understood through the prism of redemption, that is our return to grace. Our redemption is the price that Jesus paid for our salvation-his suffering and death. By Coredemptrix, therefore, we are focusing on the person of Mary cooperating in His redemptive suffering and death. In fact, this title of Coredemptrix has been recorded and appears as far back as the 14th century in a liturgical book found in a church in Salzburg, Germany. We only have to look as far as that wonderful statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to see that she literally crushes the head of the poisonous snake with her foot and helps bring salvation to the world. As found in Genesis I will put enmities between you and the woman(Gen3:15) which is unmistakable evidence of Marys role in our redemption. We see Mary weeping at the foot of the Cross experiencing an immense love for her Son and for us so that she might receive us as her children. Mary died with Jesus as her heart, as predicted at the Presentation, was pierced with the sword of suffering. This coredemptive suffering with our Savior was appropriate for Mary as she received us as her children. This precious gift of Coredemptrix generously given to Mary by God shows her cooperation in the acquisition of the graces for redemption. She has been given an endless power in dispensing the graces won by her coredemptive participation with Jesus crucified. This is beautifully depicted in paintings of Our Lady with her hands outstretched downward radiating beams of light-the graces of redemptionto us. As a result, the Rosary joined to Marys role as Coredemptrix is a fruitful prayer of petition. Through the Rosary, we see Marys exceptional role by which she participates with her Son Jesus in the redemption of mankind. She is not only present in the many wonderful mysteries of the rosary, but she is also a participant in them. This cooperation was and is immediate, direct and dynamic. The death of Christ is our redemption along with the compassion shown to us by his Mother. So, this compassion, which literally means suffering with, along with Jesus redemption refer to the different but powerful roles of Mary and Jesus in our salvation. At Calvary Mary offered both herself and her Son to God the Father freely uniting herself to Jesus sacrifice for the salvation of all people. When Jesus conferred upon Mary the title of Mother to his Beloved Disciple, a new kind of motherhood was born both spiritual and universal toward all human beings. This silent journey of the life of Mary from her Immaculate Conception, when she was born without sin, finds her on Calvary at a very important moment. She was there accepting and assisting at the sacrifice of her Son at the dawn of Redemption when her Son entrusts her to us as our Mother. Marys participation was real and effective and continues to be so. In giving her consent at the Annunciation to become the Mother of God Mary agreed to cooperate in the entire work of mankinds redemption. The Blessed Virgin Mary has been honored with the title of Queen of Heaven and Earth; therefore, she is the Mother of God and of all humankind. The Church rightfully honors her with special devotion and prayers such as the rosary which is the epitome of the entire Gospel. She is especially important as we often flee to her protection and place ourselves under her mantle during all different types of danger and needs. For example, now there are special prayers by the Holy Father Pope Francis invoking the intercessory and redemptive help of Mary during this terrible pandemic of the Coronavirus. However, this very special devotion to Mary differs inherently from the adoration given to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and equally to God the Father and the Holy Spirit. We firmly believe that the Mother of God, whom we honor and NOT adore, continues to exercise her maternal role on behalf of the whole human race by being the Mother of God and Coredemptrix,of all humankind. Happy Mothers Day to all mothers but especially to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of us all and especially our Coredemptrix. She captioned it: 'Well, If all else fails theres always Auto Wed...! #OneDay' Shared an Instagram snap wearing a dress up veil in front of 'Auto-wed' machine The couple were believed to have set a date to tie the knot this summer Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend Cressida Bonas has 'auto-wed' her fiance Harry Wentworth-Stanley as she hinted that their wedding had been cancelled amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Winchester-born actress, 30, who famously dated the Duke of Sussex, 35, for three years, announced her engagement to estate agent Harry Wentworth-Stanley in August 2019. She has now hinted that the wedding has had to be postponed due to the current crisis, posting a snap as she and Harry posed in front of an 'Auto-wed' machine in fancy dress outfits. Sharing the photo on Instagram, Cressida wished her beau a happy birthday before commenting: 'Well, if all else fails theres always Auto Wed...! Happy birthday my heart. #OneDay.' Cressida Bonas, 30, shared an Instagram snap alongside fiance Harry Wentworth-Stanley wearing bride and groom fancy dress costumes she hinted at their postponed nuptials Created by British company ConceptShed, the AutoWed machine is designed to play the role of marrying the bride and groom at just 1 a pop. The vending machine allows couples to choose between marrying their partner or not, with button options for 'I do' and 'I escape' . In the snap, Cressida and Harry can be seen posing in bride and groom costumes. While the actress beams out from below a veil and carries a bouquet of flowers, Harry can be seen wearing a top hat and a blazer. The socialite announced her engagement to the estate agent in August last year, popping the question with a stunning ruby ring during a trip to the US While few details are known about Cressida's big day, it was expected to take place this year. In January, Cressida opened up about her plans for the big day, revealing she wants to have a 'small' non-traditional ceremony. Writing in The Spectator, she said she 'upset' her father by telling him she planned to get hitched under a tree, saying: 'He looked at me as if I had completely lost the plot, then he insisted that we say our vows in a church.' The actress has previously revealed how her 'dream day' was a small, non-traditional wedding not in a church - the complete opposite to her ex-boyfriend's nuptials. Pictured: Cressida at Prince Harry's wedding to Meghan Markle in May 2018 She said she was stunned that everyone around her seems to have 'very strong opinions' about her wedding, but she disagrees with 'nearly all of them'. The actress said she dreamed of having a small wedding, before realising her guest list, combined with her fiance's, comes to 120 people in total. Her desired big day is almost the exact opposite of ex-boyfriend Prince Harry's wedding to Meghan in May 2018. The actress dated Prince Harry for three years, with the couple breaking up in 2015 (pictured together in March 2014) The royal couple had a huge ceremony at Windsor Chapel, with more than 2,000 excited guests in attendance. Weddings in the time of coronavirus Boris Johnson confirmed that the UK was under lockdown in March, with marriage ceremonies among the gatherings to be banned. Mr Johnson said family reunions, weddings, baptisms and other social events must be cancelled but funerals can go ahead attended by a handful of closest relatives. Earlier this month, Mr Johnson declared that Britain is 'past the peak' of coronavirus - and said he would outline exit 'road map' on Sunday. It is currently unknown when, or how, marriage ceremonies will be reinstated. Advertisement Cressida and Prince Harry broke up in 2015 after she was said to have struggled with the pressure of royal life during her romance with the Queen's grandson. Cressida and her fiance Harry first dated while studying at university before rekindling their romance in 2017. Harry, an old Harrovian and the son of the Marchioness of Milford Haven, popped the question with a stunning ruby ring during a trip to the US. There will likely be no shortage of blue-bloods when the two do eventually say 'I do'. Cressida has a gaggle of glamorous siblings - among them actress Isabella Calthorpe, wife of Sir Richard Branson's son Sam - and a close circle of friends including Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice. Prince Harry and his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, were expected to be on the guest list for the big day after Cressida was invited to their wedding in May 2018. With economies worldwide grinding to a halt as virus-containment measures take their toll, oil is not the only fossil fuel to have suffered a steep decline in prices. Demand from the worlds biggest buyers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has plunged, dragging Asias spot prices to record lows and forcing some suppliers to start cutting output. The worlds biggest LNG markets Japan, China, South Korea and India are all seeing a drop in demand for gas used in power generation, heating, cooking, vehicles and chemical manufacture. Asias spot LNG prices dropped to $1.85 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) last week, the lowest ever, as cargoes have flooded the market. At prices in the $2/mmBtu range some producers are getting close to not recovering cash costs of their operations. We are likely to see some producers start to shut in (production), said Alex Dewar, a senior manager at the centre for energy impact at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Even in markets where lockdowns are starting to ease, such as in China and South Korea, containment policies elsewhere are hampering manufacturing exports and dragging on recoveries. Oil prices that hit two-decade lows in April and are down more than 50 percent since end-2019 have exacerbated the problem. Asia which takes 70 percent of global LNG exports still buys most of its LNG in long-term contracts linked to oil prices. There is typically a lag of three to six months before the drop in oil prices is felt by buyers and sellers. Although oil prices have slowly picked up as US inventories swell less than expected, analysts predicted that future gains could be capped by the continuing glut in crude supplies as the coronavirus pandemic crushes fuel demand. Brent crude was up on Thursday by 0.4 percent to $29.84 a barrel at 00:44 GMT, after falling earlier in the Asian session and dropping 4 percent on Wednesday. US oil gained 0.8 percent to 24.18 a barrel after declining more than 2 percent in the previous session. Consultancy Rystad Energy still expects global LNG demand to grow nearly 2 percent this year to 359 million tonnes, compared with a 2019 growth rate of about 13 percent, although this could change depending on the weather and how fast lockdowns are lifted. Demand drop hits US producers In the United States, where LNG is at the high end of the typical cost curve according to analysts from consultancy Bernstein, capacity utilisation and intake have already declined. Already we have seen US liquefaction capacity utilisation fall and some cargoes rejected, BCGs Dewar said, referring to the capacity used by US LNG producers. Gas intake at US LNG plants fell to 8.1 billion cubic feet a day in April, just below total nameplate capacity but down from a high of 8.7 billion cubic feet a day in February, according to data from Refinitiv. US plants typically take in more than their stated capacities because gas is also used to run the facilities. Our customers have made some modifications to their production and cargo loading plans in response to current market conditions, but Cameron LNG is not at liberty to discuss those details, said Anya McInnis, spokeswoman at Cameron LNG. Processors Freeport LNG and Kinder Morgan declined to comment on the operations of their customers, who pay US plant operators to process natural gas into LNG for export. Those customers including units of GAIL (India) Ltd, Frances Total, and Japans Sumitomo Corp and Mitsubishi Corp did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Mitsui & Co Ltd said it could not comment on its deals. Indications are that US LNG exports are falling beyond what is expected from the end of winter, and that demand loss could continue through the summer. Buyers in Asia and Europe have cancelled about 20 cargoes for loading in June. This week, US natural gas prices topped benchmarks in Europe and Asia for the first time ever, giving LNG buyers another reason to cancel cargoes. The largest US LNG processor, Cheniere Energy Inc, said in its first-quarter earnings it has recently experienced an increase in the number of LNG cargoes for which our customers have notified us they will not take delivery. Cheniere also said it expects new project investment worldwide to slump this year and next due to a 30 percent drop in world energy demand. Dominion Energy Incs CFO James Chapman said customers for his companys Cove Point LNG plant continue to nominate volumes that are at the plants design capacity. The US is the worlds third-largest LNG exporter, behind Qatar and Australia, with Russia in the fourth spot, according to the latest report by the International Gas Union. Last month, Qatar Petroleum (QP) said it is planning to continue its expansion plans despite the pandemic. In an interview with the Reuters news agency, QPs chief executive officer Saad al-Kaabi said the company could seek to raise debt next year for its domestic North Field LNG expansion, the worlds largest LNG project. Qatar is one of the most influential LNG market players with an annual production of 77 million tonnes. It plans to increase its LNG production to 126 million tonnes a year by 2027. Al-Kaabi said QP will postpone the start of production from its new gas facilities until 2025 following a delay in the bidding process, but is not downsizing the North Field expansion. We are still going to expand externally. We have always focused on upstream assets and we are still interested in going ahead abroad, al-Kaabi said in a video conference interview. Global pressure But others are feeling the heat. Beyond high-cost US producers, some Australian coal-bed methane projects are also likely to face acute pressure to cut supply, BCGs Dewar said. Australias coal-seam gas (CSG) projects have some of the highest output costs in the world, although Australia Pacific LNG and Santos Ltd say they have slashed their CSG costs in recent years. Australia Pacific LNG partner Origin Energy said it sells most of its output in long-term contracts, with a small percentage going via pipeline to Australias east coast or to Asia as spot LNG. The joint venture owned by ConocoPhillips, Sinopec and Origin is considering whether to trim spot volumes. This would entail cutting output from the CSG wells, not shutting down a train at Australia Pacific LNG. Were talking about what would be the economics of running less volumes and the cost of that if there are extremely low spot prices, Origin Energy Chief Executive Frank Calabria told Reuters news agency in an interview on May 1. Woodside Petroleum Ltd, Australias top independent LNG producer, said it is difficult to cut LNG volumes because long-term contracts, which make up 80 percent or more of a plants output, are set for loading and delivery on an annual basis. Still, Santos, which operates the Gladstone LNG (GLNG) plant, and Origin Energy at APLNG said in their quarterly reports last month that customers had opted to take lower volumes this year, as allowed in their contracts through downward quantity tolerances. Malaysias Petronas has also curtailed some LNG production, two industry sources said, while Royal Dutch Shells Prelude floating LNG facility shut its production in February after an electrical trip and appears in no hurry to start it back up. Petronas did not respond to a request for comment and Shell declined to comment on Prelude. D onald Trump has described the coronavirus pandemic as the "worst attack" ever on the United States as he continued to point the finger at China. The US leader said the global crisis had hit the US harder than the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour in World War Two and the 911 attacks in 2001. Mr Trump said Covid-19 should have been stopped at the source, adding: it could've been stopped in China and it wasnt Speaking to reporters at the White House, the president said: "We went through the worst attack we've ever had on our country, this is worst attack we've ever had." He added: "This is worse than Pearl Harbor, this is worse than the World Trade Centre. There's never been an attack like this and it should have never happened. Loading.... Covid-19 first emerged in Wuhan, China. Beijing is facing global backlash over its approach to the outbreak, particularly in relation to transparency. Responding to Mr Trumps finger pointing, China said the US wants to distract from its own handling of the pandemic. Coronavirus has infected more than one million Americans and killed nearly 73,000. The US has a higher death toll than any other country. Published: 7 May 2020 Current expenditure on education has decreased in real terms since 2010 Current expenditure on education decreased by 1.0 per cent in real terms in 2018 compared to the previous year. Current expenditure per student remained almost the same in 2018 as in the previous year. Current expenditure on education and current expenditure per student have decreased in real terms since 2010. Between 2000 and 2018, total current expenditure on education and current expenditure per student were in real terms highest in 2010. Real development of current expenditure on education 2000 2018 There are differences in the expenditure development of various sectors of education. Expenditure on pre-primary and comprehensive school education have grown in real terms compared to 2010. Expenditure on other sectors of education has decreased. Expenditure on vocational education has fallen most in real terms over the 2010s. Current expenditure on education relative to GDP was 5.1 per cent in 2018. The share has been falling starting from 2010. Current expenditure was converted to correspond to the price level of 2018 by means of the industry-specific price index of national accounts describing public education expenditure. Real change means that the effect of price changes has been taken into account. The data starting from 2017 are not fully comparable with those for earlier years due to the change in housing supplement included in student financial aid. Current expenditure on education increased in real terms 0.7 per cent in 2018 compared to the previous year, if financial aid for students is not taken into account. Current expenditure on regular education system by type of expenditure 2018 Type of expenditure EUR million % Pre-primary education 1) 362 3,0 Comprehensive school education 4 847 40,7 Upper secondary general education 728 6,1 Vocational education 1 800 15,1 University of applied sciences education 926 7,8 University education and research 2) 2 261 19,0 Other education 473 4,0 Financial aid for students 510 4,3 Total 11 908 100,0 1) Pre-primary education for 6-year-old children (pre-school education) in daycare centres and comprehensive schools.2) Includes universities' external financing for research. Current expenditure on education totalled EUR 11.9 billion in 2018. Costs of comprehensive school education made up the biggest share of current expenditure on education. EUR 4.8 billion were used on comprehensive school education in 2018. The shares were next biggest in university education and research, on which EUR 2.3 billion were spent and in vocational education, on which EUR 1.8 were used. Source: Education. Statistics Finland Inquiries: Mika Tuononen 029 551 3504, Vesa Hamalainen 029 551 2594, koulutustilastot@stat.fi Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma Publication in pdf-format (212.1 kB) Updated 7.5.2020 Referencing instructions: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Educational finances [e-publication]. ISSN=1799-0963. 2018. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 19.1.2022]. Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/kotal/2018/kotal_2018_2020-05-07_tie_001_en.html He returned home around age 21, at which point Ms. Diaz became her sons caregiver. It was often difficult. Tantrums often sent him onto the floor, where he would pound the ground with his fists. But with his mothers help, he began to exercise some independence. He loved to look through coupons and fliers left in lobbies, always searching for a bargain. His mother would send him out shopping, an outing that he enjoyed. His mothers daily worry was that he would behave in a way a stranger found inappropriate and that things would spiral out of control. On March 21, Ms. Diaz developed a headache and then a high fever. Soon she was coughing so loudly the neighbors could hear it. At the time, hospitals were inundated with Covid-19 patients. The city was urging sick people to stay at home, if possible. Ms. Gonzalez said she received little guidance after calling 311 seeking help for her sister-in-law. Dont go to the emergency room, Ms. Gonzalez recalled the operator telling her. Still, Ms. Gonzalez urged her sister-in-law to try an urgent care center. But Ms. Diaz was too weak to get anywhere on her own. She wasnt sure whether she had the flu or the coronavirus, but she was scared to find out. Truthfully, she was afraid of having the virus, because she didnt want to leave her son, Ms. Gonzalez said. Whats going to happen to him, you know? While the present-day Martian surface is generally dry and cold, its sedimentary rocks contain compelling evidence for the former presence of liquid water. According to a new analysis of orbital images of 3.7-billion-year-old sedimentary layers at Izola mensa, an outcrop in the northwestern rim of the Hellas impact crater on Mars, deep rivers were active in this region for over 100,000 years. Hellas Planitia is the largest well-preserved impact structure on Mars and the third or fourth largest in the Solar System. It spans 2,300 km (1,430 miles) across in the Martian southern hemisphere, a region that is much more heavily cratered and higher in average elevation than the northern hemisphere. The depth of Hellas from its bottom to its inner rim is more than 4 km (2.5 miles). To put this in perspective, the depth of the Grand Canyon in the United States is roughly 1.6 km (1 mile). It contains a variety of 3.7-billion-year-old sedimentary plains, overlain by 3.3-billion-year-old lava flows. Landforms preserved on its surface provide evidence of an incredibly large lake and a network of ancient rivers, deltas and outflow channels. The extremely high resolution imagery allowed us to read the rocks as if you are standing very close to the cliff, said Dr. Francesco Salese, a geologist at Utrecht University and senior scientist in the International Research School of Planetary Sciences. Unfortunately, we dont have the ability to climb, to look at the finer-scale details, but the striking similarities to sedimentary rocks on Earth leaves very little to the imagination. In the study, Dr. Salese and colleagues examined sedimentary-stratigraphic architecture of a 1,500-m (4,921-foot) wide, 190-m (623-foot) thick sedimentary succession at Izola mensa. They used images captured by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Here on Earth, the stratigraphy (i.e. the order and position) of sedimentary rocks has been used by geologists for generations to place constraints on what conditions were like on our planet millions or even billions of years ago, said Dr. William McMahon, a geologist at Utrecht University. Now we have the technology to extend this methodology to another terrestrial planet, Mars, which hosts an ancient sedimentary rock record which extends even further back in time than our own. The teams observations and analysis favor steady water discharges that are most consistent with a precipitation-driven hydrological cycle. Our study demonstrates sustained river deposition on Mars 3.7 billion years ago, Dr. Salese said. Such perennially flowing rivers would require an environment capable of maintaining large volumes of water for extensive time-periods, and almost certainly necessitated a precipitation-driven hydrological cycle. More in line with slower climatic change, and less in line with catastrophic hydrologic events. This kind of evidence, of a long-lived watery landscape, is crucial in our search for ancient life on the planet. For the first time, orbital data has allowed us to examine, through detailed high-resolution architectural analysis, a large outcrop, and draw reliable paleoenvironmental interpretations based on sedimentary-stratigraphic evidence. The findings were published in the journal Nature Communications. _____ F. Salese et al. 2020. Sustained fluvial deposition recorded in Mars Noachian stratigraphic record. Nat Commun 11, 2067; doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-15622-0 COVID-19: farmer survey shows lost sales and income - from Ag Alert Sacramento, California - Lost markets and lost off-farm income related to the COVID-19 pandemic have proven doubly difficult for many California farmers and ranchers, according to a survey by the California Farm Bureau Federation. More than half of the farmers responding to the voluntary survey said they had lost customers or sales due to COVID-19, and nearly half said they or someone in their immediate family had lost off-farm income. Just as in the rest of society, the effects of the pandemic have reverberated throughout rural California, CFBF President Jamie Johansson said. Theres no aspect of farming, ranching or agricultural business that has been spared. CFBF and the Farm Employers Labor Service, a Farm Bureau affiliate, asked farmers and ranchers to respond to an online survey form between April 7 and April 21. More than 500 participated. Nearly 57% of respondents said they had lost customers or sales during the pandemic. Of those farmers, more than half cited stay-at-home orders that had closed restaurants, company cafeterias and other customers businesses. Farmers also pointed to reasons for lost sales including declines in exports, transportation difficulties, reduced packinghouse capacity, farmers market closures and customer concerns about the safety of direct sales. Forty-two percent of responding farmers said they or a family member had lost off-farm income. Most farm and ranch households count on off-farm income to supplement what they earn from agriculture, Johansson said, and have seen those jobs reduced at the same time as prices farmers and ranchers earn for many crops and commodities have fallen. Of survey respondents who reported a drop in off-farm income, nearly 60% said jobs had become unavailable due to stay-at-home orders. Farmers said they or family members also saw off-farm income decline due to the need to care for children due to school and child-care closures. About three-quarters of the responding farmers said they had been able to maintain operations so far, and had been able to avoid furloughing or laying off employees. About one-third of respondents reported being unable to undertake routine planting, cultivation or crop-care activities due to lack of personal protective equipment. Most frequently, farmers mentioned difficulty in being able to acquire respiratory protection, such as N95 respirators, said Bryan Little, CFBF director of employment policy and FELS chief operating officer. To a lesser degree, farmers said they had not been able to buy gloves, protective outerwear or eye protection required for certain on-farm operations. Farmers responding to the survey who reported reducing operations or staff were asked to provide one or more reasons for doing so. More than 70% pointed to reduced business revenue or customer orders. Another one-quarter of those farmers cited unavailability of employees due to quarantine or shelter-at-home protocols. Only 20% of participating farmers reported employees unable to work due to the stay-at-home orders. Among farmers who said one or more of their employees was unable to work, the top reason was because the employees were considered in a high-risk group for the novel coronavirus. Employee absences related directly to the pandemic had interfered with typical, seasonal activities for 16% of the farmers responding to the survey. Forgone activities included harvest, pruning, weed control, farm maintenance and shipment of orders. Reflecting chronic difficulty in hiring farm employees, only 21% of participating farmers whose workforce had decreased due to the pandemic said they had been able to recruit replacement employeesrelying mainly on word of mouth in looking for additional help. More than half of farmers responding to the survey said they had applied or would apply for COVID-19 aid through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Small Business Administration or tax credits under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Farmers and ranchers are doing all they can to maintain essential activities and provide plentiful, safe food, Johansson said, but theres no question the pandemic has put a strain on rural California. At local, state and federal levels, Farm Bureau will advocate for policies that ease that strain while assuring the health and safety of farmers, ranchers, their employees, families and customers. To review the survey results, visit www.cfbf.com/impactsurvey. Link to article on Ag Alert web site. Cross-site request foregery is one of many techniques an attacker might use to pwn a web application. In this article we take a close look at how exactly CSRF tokens work from the context of the Phoenix Web Framework. I set out to understand how CSRF tokens are generated and validated. I did it by tracing the flow of function calls through a Phoenix web applciation. It was a process that led me down some deep rabbit holes, but ultimately was a rewarding experience. Readers who are less interested in the nitty gritty details of this article can skip to the summary section toward the bottom for a TL;DR. This article details the life of a CSRF token. To begin the journey we will navigate to a page with an HTML form in the body - "/login", for example. We'll inspect the fields within the form to see that there's a hidden _csrf_token field. It was put in the form automatically. We can take a look at the source code for Phoenix.HTML.form_tag/3 to see where the magic happens. This is the part of the code that adds a hidden input field to store the token. It is added to the form when the method is "POST". Following the code further, we see that Plug.CSRFProtection.get_csrf_token_for/1 is used to generate the token. Here's an example of what that function call looks like from an IEx interactive console. iex(1)> Plug.CSRFProtection.get_csrf_token_for("/login") "IwAcHGAnampLJz0VOBo5WhIpKRU1BwU5AvQyMK_ZsfkVgLN-WfAxO4lP" Right now this just looks like a bunch of random characters (spoiler alert: it sort of is just a bunch of random characters). Let's trace the code a little more to understand how it works, and why it looks like that. It turns out that get_csrf_token_for/1 does some branching and winds up calling Plug.CSRFProtection.get_csrf_token/0 . According to the docstring, its job is to generate a token and store it in the process dictionary (if the token does not already exist). A token is generated like this: token = mask(unmasked_csrf_token()) We will ignore the mask function for a moment, and skip passed a few intermediary function calls to look at Plug.CSRFProtection.generate_token/0 , which is where we finally get down to brass tacks. defp generate_token do Base.url_encode64(:crypto.strong_rand_bytes(@token_size)) end There's a call to the Erlang function :crypto.strong_rand_bytes/1 , which will generate N random bytes. We're not going to go any deeper to find out how this function actually works. Random numbers could probably be another article in and of itself. The random bytes are then Base64 encoded. I already wrote an article about how Base64 works, so we won't dive into that either. Suffice to say, it makes sense to encode the random bytes into a format that can safely be transmitted using HTTP. We have now learned how the token is created: it's a Base64-encoded random string of characters. However, the fun does not stop there, because this is just an "unmasked" token. The unmasked token was passed to another function, Plug.CSRFProtection.mask/1 . # Plug.CSRFProtection defp mask(token) do mask = generate_token() Base.encode64(Plug.Crypto.mask(token, mask)) <> mask end Wow, now this is getting interesting. We're going to have to dive deeper into the Plug.Crypto module to understand what's going on here. Let's figure out: What does it mean to mask the token? Why mask the token? What does it mean to mask the token? To answer the first question, we will dive into the Plug.Crypto module and look at mask/2 . We'll return to Plug.CSRFProtection.mask/1 in a moment. @doc """ Masks the token on the left with the token on the right. Both tokens are required to have the same size. """ @spec mask(binary(), binary()) :: binary() def mask(left, right) do mask(left, right, "") end defp mask(<>, <>, acc) do mask(left, right, <>) end defp mask(<<>>, <<>>, acc) do acc end Don't let the recursion, binary pattern matching, and ^^^ macro scare you! ^^^ is the XOR operator from the Bitwise module. The mask/2 function is recursively XORing each character from the token and the mask. There aren't many business logic situations that call for XOR, so this is not something we get to use on a daily basis. Note: mask/2 recently changed to just be :crypto.exor(left, right) How XOR works Say we wanted to XOR "C" and "d" by hand. First, we find the ASCII values of the characters, so 67 and 100. Then we convert the ASCII values to binary, so 1000011 and 1100100 . Next, we line up the binary values so that it's easy to compare each bit. The rules for XOR is that there must be one or the other but not both in order to produce a 1 . For example: 0 and 0 is 0 1 and 1 is 0 1 and 0 is 1 0 and 1 is 1 1000011 <-- "C" 1100100 <-- "d" ------- 0100111 <-- "'" (XOR Result!) Finally, we convert the result, 0100111 , back to a Base-10 number and then find the corresponding ASCII character. "'" is the result of "C" XOR "d". With this knowledge, we can better understand what Plug.Crypto.mask/2 is doing. Now we will return back to Plug.CSRFPrevention 's version of mask/1 . # Plug.CSRFProtection defp mask(token) do mask = generate_token() Base.encode64(Plug.Crypto.mask(token, mask)) <> mask end The function takes a token, then generates a mask. It's a bit confusing because the mask function itself also has a variable named mask . Notice that mask (the variable) is generated in the same way as the token was, so it can really just be thought of as a second token. The token and the mask variable are XORed together, and then Base64-encoded. Finally, the mask variable is also appended onto it all. We see that we end up with a long value like this: EghcMBsfIBcaXxAsYSIyUyUHWRAZC3gox16zOKlTprVe0ke6NE1uU97e We now know what the mask is, but the question of why is all this necessary? still stands. Why mask the token? Let's see if there's any evidence about why this function exists, so We'll open up a git blame view on GitHub. Ah-ha! "Mask CSRF tokens to avoid breach attacks" - this is a useful commit message! With a bit of research about what a breach attack is, we can learn that it's basically when an attacker is able to send a bunch of requests, and incrementally figure out parts of the response body, even when the responses are encrypted. The attacker takes advantage of the fact that the responses use compression, and that the size of the compressed responses either grows or shrinks, depending on if one small guess of a character is correct or incorrect. In "SSL, gone in 30 seconds", the security researchers who discovered this vulnerability explain and demonstrate this attack in great detail. They have also released a paper which suggests attack mitigation options. This excerpt explains Plug.CSRFProtection.mask/1 's algorithm. The attack relies on the fact that the targeted secret remains the same between requests. While it is usually impractical to rotate secrets on each request, there is a method due to Tom Berson which can synthesize this effect. Instead of embedding a secret S in a page, on each request, generate a new onetime pad P, and embed P || (P S) in the page. Here, we use || to denote concatenation, and to denote XOR. Masking the token helps prevent an attacker from incrementally guessing characters of a response body. That's because even though the token may not change between requests, the mask will. Therefore, the token is represented differently every time in the response body. When we start looking at token validation, we will see that the XOR mask can be reversed to reveal the original token. We now know why the token is masked, as well as what it means to mask it. We also know how an unmasked token is created. However, it's not enough to just insert a token into the HTML document. The same token is also placed in the user's browser cookies. Session cookies If we have a look at the cookies in our browser, we'll see something, but it obviously doesn't match the token we looked at from the HTML form. That's because Phoenix cryptographically signs cookies so that they cannot be tampered with. Every Phoenix app has a secret_key_base value defined in config/config.ex , and this is what Phoenix uses as a signature. However, secret_key_base is supposed to be a secret value that nobody knows, so it's not an option to use secret_key_base directly. Instead, Phoenix relies on the Plug.Crypto.KeyGenerator module. Here is an excerpt from the docs that summarizes the purpose of the Plug.Crypto.KeyGenerator module: This lets applications have a single secure secret, but avoid reusing that key in multiple incompatible contexts. We will now take a look at how the application is able to protect the integrity and authenticity of the session cookie data, which includes the CSRF token. Generating a session signing key How would it be possible to use the application's secret key in potentially insecure places? Plug.Crypto.KeyGenerator accomplishes this by implementing an algorithm called Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2, or PBKDF2. It takes a salt and a secret as its inputs. Then it repeatedly applies a pseudo random function (PRF) to create a derived key. An important detail of PBKDF2 is that it allows the program to specify how many times the PRF will be applied. In other words, it allows the program to decide how long the algorithm should take. This helps make brute force attacks less feasible. The iteration count defaults to 1,000 - the recommended minimum. The PRF used here is HMAC-sha256. Coincidentally, HMAC is also used to sign and verify the session data as a whole, which we will go over in the next section. By logging the result of Plug.Crypto.KeyGenerator.generate/6 we can see that it a session signing key is only generated once. All subsequent requests use a cached value, which is stored in ETS. Here's an example of what it looks like (the bitstring is the result, A.K.A. the derived session signing key): iex(2)> :ets.lookup(Plug.Keys, {"2/JWt8kJK5ybWYFPqXGDZj0o3LuKerv1CnG/F8LVbLi71hZTYllzKxP9HMpT+y0m", "8yQvCfAG", ...(2)> 1000, 32, :sha256}) [ {{"2/JWt8kJK5ybWYFPqXGDZj0o3LuKerv1CnG/F8LVbLi71hZTYllzKxP9HMpT+y0m", "8yQvCfAG", 1000, 32, :sha256}, <<125, 248, 227, 17, 106, 91, 67, 35, 35, 99, 173, 58, 14, 29, 96, 107, 220, 193, 148, 164, 44, 239, 17, 58, 110, 9, 116, 230, 91, 9, 188, 88>>} ] Now that we can see how a session signing key is generated from the application's secret_key_base , we can learn how it is used to actually sign things. Return of the MAC As was mentioned above, HMAC is not only used to generate a signing key, but also used in the process of signing the session cookie data. As we will see, the goal of signing the data is not to prevent it from being seen, but rather to verify the authenticity and integrity of the data. HMAC takes three inputs: The message A secret key A hash function The output of HMAC is a string of bytes that reflects the message and key which was provided as input to the function. The message is sent along side the HMAC. The idea is that the message cannot be changed because the HMAC would no longer match. The HMAC cannot be changed either, because the secret key is not known (dependent on the strength of the underlying hash function). A question we might consider is, Why not just use a SHA hash function directly, or some other kind of "checksum" approach? The answer is that HMAC is superior to sha-1, and sha-256 because it protects against length extension attacks. Computerphile has a great video about HMAC. In this example, the message is an Elixir map with the CSRF token. The key is the derived session signing key that we talked about above, and the underlying hash function is sha256. The function hmac_sha2_sign/3 is called by Plug.Crypto.MessageVerifier.sign/3 , and we can look at it to understand why the session cookie looks the way it does. # `payload` and `key` are binaries, digest_type is :sha256 defp hmac_sha2_sign(payload, key, digest_type) do protected = hmac_sha2_to_protected(digest_type) plain_text = signing_input(protected, payload) signature = :crypto.hmac(digest_type, key, plain_text) encode_token(plain_text, signature) end The result of this function will be what we can see in the browser as the value of the cookie: SFMyNTY.g3QAAAABbQAAAAtfY3NyZl90b2tlbm0AAAAYTEJGLWZrMnNFODFxU1hXVzh2eTEzTXpC._ujkmRgmetIDittd4rvJuNoEvHrIVG0d1-dmW7pQ7mw Notice that this string of text can be split into three sections between the "." 's. The first section is the result of hmac_sha2_to_protected(digest_type) . It's just a Base64-encoded rendition of the string, "HS256". The second section is also encoded with Base64. It represents the message that is being signed and comes from signing_input(protected, payload) . We can have a look at it by decoding and then translating the binary to a term: "g3QAAAABbQAAAAtfY3NyZl90b2tlbm0AAAAYTEJGLWZrMnNFODFxU1hXVzh2eTEzTXpC" |> Base.decode64!() |> :erlang.binary_to_term() # Result: %{"_csrf_token" => "LBF-fk2sE81qSXWW8vy13MzB"} The last section is the signature, which comes from :crypto.hmac(digest_type, key, plain_text) . As we can see from the function arguments, it takes a hash function ( digest_type ), a key, and then the message to secure. The signature is also Base64-encoded and joined together with the message. Now that we can see the token is securely stored in the cookie, along with the details behind how that gets created, the last thing to look at is how the data is verified. Token Verification We have seen that a token is placed in the HTML document, as well as in a cookie. The last thing to cover is how they are verified. In the code below, from the Plug.CSRFProtection module, we can start to follow the code to see how token verification happens. defp verified_request?(conn, csrf_token, allow_hosts) do conn.method in @unprotected_methods || valid_csrf_token?(conn, csrf_token, conn.body_params["_csrf_token"], allow_hosts) || valid_csrf_token?(conn, csrf_token, first_x_csrf_token(conn), allow_hosts) || skip_csrf_protection?(conn) end csrf_token comes from the session, and it's the unmasked version of the token: # example: "zkvLryGmwmy_g3eJQ0kuyRIg" conn.body_params["_csrf_token"] is the masked token from the HTML body: # example: "SS0lL0YUAitPNB0bBH8cEAF/NBsICiwQ3FSc4mEF8YdDcLyZPO_nqXew" Both of these are sent to valid_csrf_token?/4 and then to valid_masked_token?/3 . The mask is pattern matched out of the tail end of the token from the HTML body. Plug.Crypto.masked_compare/3 is then able to compare that the tokens match. @doc """ Compares the two binaries (one being masked) in constant-time to avoid timing attacks. It is assumed the right token is masked according to the given mask. """ @spec masked_compare(binary(), binary(), binary()) :: boolean() def masked_compare(left, right, mask) when is_binary(left) and is_binary(right) and is_binary(mask) do byte_size(left) == byte_size(right) and masked_compare(left, right, mask, 0) end defp masked_compare(<>, <>, <>, acc) do xorred = x ^^^ (y ^^^ z) masked_compare(left, right, mask, acc ||| xorred) end defp masked_compare(<<>>, <<>>, <<>>, acc) do acc === 0 end If the tokens don't match, then the user is met with an error message. Summary To wrap things up let's do a quick recap of the whole process of when a user visits a page that has a form with HTTP method "POST". The order of events isn't meant to be completely accurate - my goal here is to paint a generalized picture of what happens overall. Phoenix seems to use the "Double Submit Cookie" approach when it comes to protecting from CSRF. At this point the user can fill out the form and submit. This will trigger an HTTP POST request, and the tokens will be verified. The session data is verified to ensure it has not been modified. If successful, the unmasked CSRF token is revealed/returned. The masked token from the HTML body, along with the unmasked token from the session are compared. The correct mask is retrievable from the token in the HTML body. The comparison happens in a way that prevents timing attacks. If the tokens match, then there's not a problem. An error occurs if the tokens do not match. Final thoughts That's about it! As we have seen, there's a lot of fancy stuff going on as part of this process, and its pretty amazing to try and understand how it all fits together. It's this kind of stuff that makes me really appreciate all of the work that people are doing to both make and break software. I think it's a good practice to take a close look at the technologies, libraries, and frameworks that we use once in a while. It's a blessing that we don't have to totally understand all the details in order to create and be productive, but there is definitely value in doing so from time to time. Legendary actress, Jeanne Cooper, may not be with us anymore, but The Young and the Restless star is a permanent fixture in daytime time soaps. For 40 years, Cooper graced the Y&R set as matriarch, Katherine Chancellor, and lived a long, full life before her 2013 death. What was her net worth? A glimpse at Jeanne Coopers legacy Jeanne Cooper | Tony Barson/WireImage Itd take all day to list The Young and the Restless star Jeanne Coopers IMDb credits. The actresss first role was as Myra in the 1953 film The Redhead from Wyoming. The Taft, California native was born Wilma Jeanne Cooper. Her alter ego, Katherine, had her share of tumultuous affairs and situations on Y&R over the years but in real life, Cooper was married in 1954 to TV producer, Harry Bernsen. They divorced in 1977 and had three children together all of whom are in the industry. Coopers career spans multiple decades. She appeared in everything from Perry Mason to Ben Casey where she earned her first Emmy nomination back in 1962. The star has dozens of credits to her name but none bigger or more noteworthy than the role of Katherine on Y&R. In 1984, Cooper made history by having her real-life facelift as part of Katherines storyline. Throughout her time on The Young and the Restless, Cooper earned 10 Daytime Emmy nominations which she won for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2008 a Lifetime Achievement Award, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Cooper worked on Y&R until her death in 2013. Cooper died in 2013 from a pulmonary-related condition In October 2011, Cooper took a leave of absence from Y&R due to medical issues. The show temporarily re-cast the icon, but Cooper returned to the set in Dec. 2011. In 2013, The Young and the Restless celebrated its 40th anniversary. Ironically, this is also when Cooper fell ill due to an infection. Her last scene was filmed in March of that year and aired in May five days before her Los Angeles hospital death on May 8, 2013. Coopers official cause of death is said t be Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). According to the CDC, COPD is a group of diseases that cause airflow blockage and breathing-related problems, and includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. The disease makes it hard to breathe and there is no cure. I think she had an innate knowledge that it was getting near the time. I cant say anything specific but [lately] she was not being the feisty broad she had always been, Coopers son, actor Corbin Bernsen told the local CBS station at the time. He added that she worked right until the end, and was as true as they come. What was Coopers net worth at the time of her death? According to Celebrity Net Worth, and multiple other sources, Cooper had an estimated net worth of $8 million at the time of her death. Her main source of income was, of course, Y&R, though she also made guest appearances on other shows like Guiding Light and The Bold and the Beautiful in the years preceding her death. The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. The Venezuelan government said this week it foiled an armed incursion from the sea, killing a group of alleged mercenaries who sought to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro and spark a coup. Al Jazeera reports in its article Venezuela 'failed coup plot': What we know so far that authorities blamed the alleged plot on the United States and said a number of "terrorists", including two former US soldiers, had been arrested. The incident came at a time of high tensions between the US and Venezuela. The US is among nearly 60 countries that back opposition politician Juan Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate leader. It has also imposed tough economic sanctions against Caracas in an effort to force Maduro, whom it accuses of having rigged elections in 2018, to step down. Here is what we know so far about the events of recent days: What happened? Maduro's government initially said eight people were killed as they tried to enter the country on May 3 via the Caribbean coast to topple the president. The Associated Press news agency said officials later revised the number of the suspects killed to six. Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said the attackers tried to land on speedboats before dawn on a beach at Macuto, about an hour north of Caracas, but were intercepted by the military and special police units. According to Reverol, the group, which departed from neighbouring Colombia, planned to carry out "terrorist attacks", including assassinating officials. He added the plan aimed "to increase the spiral of violence, generate chaos and confusion ... and with that lead to a new attempt at a coup d'etat". Who was involved? Venezuelan authorities said they had arrested 13 "terrorists" involved in the incident, including the son of a prominent imprisoned general. In a televised address on Monday night, Maduro also showed what he said were the passports and other identification papers belonging to two former US army members: Airan Berry, 41 and Luke Denman, 34. According to The Associated Press, military records showed both were decorated soldiers who served in Iraq. Maduro described the pair as "members of Donald Trump's security" and said they were captured in a boat west of Caracas along with six other "terrorists." Who was behind the alleged incursion? On Sunday night, Jordan Goudreau, a US military veteran who leads a Florida-based security company, SilverCorp USA, claimed responsibility for the incursion. He said he was working with two US citizens in an operation designed to capture, not kill, Maduro and "liberate" Venezuela. Goudreau said he had organised the raid on a "shoestring budget" after signing an agreement with the US-backed Guaido, whom Goudreau accuses of failing to pay him. Maduro tied the alleged plot to Guaido and Colombia's right-wing President Ivan Duque. Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab shared on social media a video in which Goudreau says an operation against Maduro involving hired mercenaries was under way. Saab also showed an alleged contract that said SilverCorp USA had a $212m agreement with Guaido using funds "stolen" from state oil company PDVSA, whose US subsidiary, Citgo, was put under the opposition leader's control. Reaction Guaido denied having any relationship with Goudreau and any involvement in the incursion. He also cast doubt on the Maduro government's version of the events. "They're trying to create a state of apparent confusion, an effort to hide what's happening in Venezuela," Guaido said, citing local issues - such as petrol shortages, a deadly prison riot and a violent gang battle - in a country that has been gripped by deepening social, political and economic crises. President Donald Trump said the US had no part in the incident. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, echoing Trump, said: "The United States government had nothing to do with what's happened in Venezuela in the last few days." The State Department accused the Maduro government of a "highly questionable representation of the details", saying it did not accept the account at face value and was seeking more information. Reacting to Trump's denial, Venezuela's Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez showed a photograph of Goudreau next to Trump. He claimed the photograph was taken on October 18, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and it appeared on Goudreau's Instagram account. BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 By Elnur Baghishov - Trend More than 870,000 tons of products worth $259 million were exported from Iran to Iraq via Kurdish autonomy of iraq in the first month of the current Iranian year from March 20 through April 19, 2020, said Spokesman for Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) Rouhollah Latifi, Trend reports citing IRICA. According to Latifi, the export continues despite the fact that many borders between the two countries are closed due to the coronavirus. Latifi added that 25.6 million tons of products worth $8.99 billion were exported from Iran to Iraq last Iranian year (from March 21, 2019 to March 20, 2020). The official said that last year, Iraq ranked second in Iran's exports after China. "About 8.1 million tons of products worth $3.78 billion were exported from Iran to Iraq via the Kurdish Autonomy of Iraq. This amounts to 42 percent of Iran's exports to Iraq in terms of value and 31 percent in terms of weight," he said. Latifi said that last year, Iran exported products worth $1.4 billion to Iraq via the Parvizkhan border customs, products worth $1.12 billion via the Bashmaq border customs and products worth $754 million via the Tamarchin border customs. The official noted that all border markets were also active last year. An avalanche of unemployment claims that began nearly two months ago continued Thursday with 3.17 million workers filing for support. Economic stoppages prompted by the coronavirus continued to drag the economy toward unprecedented levels of job loss. The new numbers include a segment of California workers who historically have been left out of the jobless count: gig workers, freelancers and other informal workers. They were newly made eligible for unemployment aid under coronavirus relief legislation passed in March, but could not file for benefits until last week. Some found frustration when they tried to claim the new benefits, however. Californians filed almost 400,000 claims under the program last week, called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, according to state Employment Development Department data. Over the past seven weeks, national claims stood at a staggering 33.5 million. John Blanchard The unemployment figures are dramatic, disappointing and heartbreaking, said Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. Correction An earlier version of this story misstated the drop in jobless claims from two weeks ago to last week. They dropped by 18%. See More Collapse The pool of newly laid-off people will dry up soon, he said, so the weekly numbers of new initial claims will decline. Thats already happening: Claims filed during the week ending May 2 were 18% less than the 3.8 million claims tallied for the previous week. Though still historically high, the latest figures are below the record of 6.9 million unemployment claims reported in a single week in late March. But Levy predicted a long, slow recovery. Businesses embracing a loosening of virus-fighting restrictions might face disappointment when they reopen their doors. The problem isnt that it will get worse after June; the problem is that it isnt going to get better quickly, Levy said. Companies, governors and mayors can set conditions for reopening, but they cant make the customers come. Gov. Gavin Newsom outlined rules Thursday for when counties could gradually loosen restrictions. Sonoma County is allowing some retailers to offer curbside pickup Friday. Other Bay Area jurisdictions are taking a wait-and-see approach. The Alameda County Public Health Department said it, along with the city of Berkeley and five other counties that have coordinated with it in the past, would study whether to reopen some businesses. San Francisco and Marin County appeared to break from the six-county group, however, saying they would allow some businesses like florists and bookstores to serve customers at storefront entrances or at the curb beginning May 18. Napa County, which is not part of the group, did not set any dates for reopening in a revised health order it issued Thursday, but suggested in an online FAQ accompanying the order that some businesses could reopen as soon as Friday. In California, 318,064 people filed regular unemployment claims for the week, a slight decrease from the previous week, bringing the states seven-week jobless total to 4 million. Newsom said the state has paid out $10.1 billion in unemployment insurance to Californians since mid-March. That includes some money from the state insurance fund and some from federal programs. This weeks California claims are the first to include freelancers, gig workers and the self-employed, who are eligible for the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program established by Congress. Californias Employment Development Department did not create a way to apply for the assistance program until last week. Other states also struggled to set up application systems. Last weeks figures included 583,699 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims from 23 states, the Department of Labor said. Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle The rules of the benefits program disadvantaged some who mostly freelance for a living. Marine Corps veteran Jason Gittens of San Rafael learned his trade as a freelance cameraman and lighting technician through the GI Bill. Over 18 years, he built up a clientele who hired him for concerts, bike and motorcycle races, surfing contests, corporate conferences and other events. All that has now ground to a halt. Its pretty much been a nightmare, he said. It has gone absolutely dark. I dont have anything coming down work-wise, and I dont expect to. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes He applied for regular unemployment even before the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance system was available, because he gets about 10% of his income from a company that hires him as an employee. He qualified to receive $193 a week plus the temporary $600 weekly boost from the Cares Act, which goes until late July. But when the Employment Development Department finally started taking applications for the federal benefits, he confronted a difficult reality. Those with hybrid incomes part as employees, part as freelancers are barred from the new program, even when the amount they would receive under Pandemic Unemployment Assistance would be larger. Instead, their benefits are based on what they earned as employees, even when its just a sliver of their income. Many freelancers are mobilizing to try to get this changed. Gittens freelance income would qualify him for the maximum state benefit of $450 a week, plus the $600 a week federal boost. The lower benefit under his paltry employee income means hes getting $1,000 a month less. Im just stuck with what Ive got and just have to suck it up and take it, he said. If Im not back to work soon, I dont know what Im going to do. With a wife and two children to support, he fears exhausting his savings and being out on the street from their rental home. Although he knows the state now lets renters defer payments, hed still owe back rent down the road. The economic bloodletting has spared few industries, including San Francisco tech companies once worth tens of billions of dollars. Companies from Airbnb to Zenefits are cutting staff. Uber said Wednesday it would lay off 3,700, the largest such round for a San Francisco company in the present crisis. The limited reopening plans may alleviate some economic pain, but some jobs may be gone for good, said Daniel Alpert, senior fellow on macroeconomics and adjunct professor at Cornell Law School. Youre going to have a proportion of these low-quality jobs that simply will not go back, to the way they were before, Alpert said. He noted that sectors like retail were struggling before the pandemic. With demand stalled, some shuttered shops and their workers will not recover. Chase DiFeliciantonio and Carolyn Said are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: chase.difeliciantonio@sfchronicle.com, csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ChaseDiFelice, @CSaid CARMEL, Ind., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- KAR Auction Services, Inc. (NYSE: KAR), today reported its first quarter financial results for the period ended March 31, 2020. For the first quarter of 2020, the company reported revenue of $645.5 million as compared with revenue of $689.6 million for the first quarter of 2019, a decrease of 6%. Net income from continuing operations for the first quarter of 2020 decreased 82% to $2.8 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, as compared with net income from continuing operations of $15.3 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2019. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 decreased 28% to $88.6 million, as compared with Adjusted EBITDA of $122.9 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. Operating adjusted net income from continuing operations per diluted share decreased 55% to $0.09 for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, as compared with operating adjusted net income from continuing operations per diluted share of $0.20 for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. The company's operating results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 were significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as further discussed below. Impact of COVID-19 on Company Operations On March 16, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company announced that it was modifying its North American auction processes and would be holding auctions online only via Simulcast to protect the health and well-being of its workforce and customers. On March 20, 2020, the company announced that it was suspending physical sale operations across North America at all ADESA auction locations, including Simulcast-only sales, for at least two weeks. All non-essential auction employees were sent home and were paid during the two week closure. On April 6, 2020, the company reopened Simulcast-only sales in select markets and has continued to expand the Simulcast-only sales each week, where possible and as permitted. The company has altered its processes to comply with all local, state and provincial directives, including social distancing guidelines, which have materially limited ADESA's ability to provide its full scope of services until the guidelines are eased or terminated. As a result, the company has taken certain measures to help protect the business and its liquidity while its operations are negatively impacted. Some of these measures include the following: The company has reduced compensation expense: The company's CEO, CFO and President have voluntarily elected to forgo 100% of their respective base salaries effective April 5, 2020 through at least June 27, 2020 . through at least . The remainder of the company's executive officers have voluntarily elected to reduce their base salaries by 50% during this period. Base salaries across many levels of the organization have been temporarily reduced. The company furloughed approximately 11,000 employees in April 2020 . . The company's board of directors voluntarily elected to forgo their cash compensation for the second quarter of 2020. Business travel for any reason has been prohibited. Non-essential services provided by third parties at the company's locations have generally been suspended. All capital projects at the company's physical auction locations have been delayed or canceled. The company has temporarily suspended its quarterly dividend in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations. The company has negotiated the deferral of rent payments with certain landlords. The ADESA Assurance program was temporarily suspended. AFC has reduced the unused portion of certain floorplan lines with its customers. In addition, the company intends to take advantage of the Employee Retention Credit and the Federal Employer Social Security Tax Deferment provided under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act"). Recent restrictions on retail automobile sales and operations have reduced floorings and payoffs at AFC. As a result, AFC launched a Customer Relief Program in March 2020. Under the Customer Relief Program, eligible customers may choose to defer curtailment payments (principal, fees and interest) due through May 31, 2020, on eligible units. The extent to which the COVID-19 outbreak impacts the company's business, results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including, but not limited to, the duration and spread of the outbreak, its severity, the actions to contain the virus or treat its impact, and how quickly and to what extent normal economic and operating conditions can resume. Even after the COVID-19 outbreak has subsided, the company may continue to experience materially adverse impacts to its business as a result of its global economic impact, including any economic downturn or recession that has occurred or may occur in the future. 2020 Outlook Withdrawn The company has withdrawn its 2020 outlook and financial guidance previously provided on February 18, 2020 given the uncertainty of the business climate as impacted by COVID-19 and the unpredictable timeline of market recovery. Quarterly Dividend Temporarily Suspended The company has temporarily suspended its quarterly dividend in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations. Earnings Conference Call Information KAR will be hosting an earnings conference call and webcast on Thursday, May 7, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. EDT (7:30 a.m. CDT). The call will be hosted by KAR's Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, Jim Hallett, and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Eric Loughmiller. The conference call may be accessed by calling 1-844-778-4145 and entering participant passcode 4693498, while the live web cast will be available at the investors section of www.karglobal.com. Supplemental financial information for KAR's first quarter 2020 results is available at the investors section of www.karglobal.com. A replay of the call will be available for two weeks via telephone starting approximately 30 minutes after the completion of the call. The replay may be accessed by calling 1-855-859-2056 and entering passcode 4693498. The archive of the web cast will also be available following the call and will be available at the investors section of www.karglobal.com for a limited time. About KAR KAR Auction Services Inc. (NYSE: KAR), known as KAR Global, provides sellers and buyers across the global wholesale used vehicle industry with innovative, technology-driven remarketing solutions. KAR Global's unique end-to-end platform supports whole car, financing, logistics and other ancillary and related services, including the sale of nearly 3.8 million units valued at approximately $40 billion through our auctions. Our integrated physical, online and mobile marketplaces reduce risk, improve transparency and streamline transactions for customers in more than 80 countries. Headquartered in Carmel, Indiana, KAR Global has approximately 15,000 employees across the United States, Canada, Mexico, U.K. and Europe. For more information go to www.KARglobal.com. For the latest KAR Global news, follow us on Twitter @KARSpeaks. Forward Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this release include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and which are subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties. In particular, statements made that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Words such as "should," "may," "will," "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on management's current expectations, are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results projected, expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include those uncertainties regarding the impact of the COVID-19 virus on our business and the economy generally, and those other matters disclosed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements. KAR Auction Services, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (In millions) (Unaudited) Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 Operating revenues Auction fees and services revenue $ 491.5 $ 541.9 Purchased vehicle sales 75.5 57.8 Finance-related revenue 78.5 89.9 Total operating revenues 645.5 689.6 Operating expenses Cost of services (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) 394.6 393.9 Selling, general and administrative 162.4 175.2 Depreciation and amortization 47.7 44.3 Total operating expenses 604.7 613.4 Operating profit 40.8 76.2 Interest expense 38.0 56.5 Other income, net (2.0) (2.1) Income from continuing operations before income taxes 4.8 21.8 Income taxes 2.0 6.5 Income from continuing operations 2.8 15.3 Income from discontinued operations, net of income taxes 62.5 Net income $ 2.8 $ 77.8 Net income per share - basic Income from continuing operations $ 0.02 $ 0.11 Income from discontinued operations 0.47 Net income $ 0.02 $ 0.58 Net income per share - diluted Income from continuing operations $ 0.02 $ 0.11 Income from discontinued operations 0.47 Net income $ 0.02 $ 0.58 Dividends declared per common share $ 0.19 $ 0.35 KAR Auction Services, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (In millions) (Unaudited) March 31, 2020 December 31, 2019 Cash and cash equivalents $ 293.1 $ 507.6 Restricted cash 114.4 53.3 Trade receivables, net of allowances 244.1 457.5 Finance receivables, net of allowances 1,929.8 2,100.2 Other current assets 131.5 125.9 Total current assets 2,712.9 3,244.5 Goodwill 1,810.7 1,821.7 Customer relationships, net of accumulated amortization 194.5 207.9 Operating lease right-of-use assets 358.7 364.1 Intangible and other assets 328.9 334.0 Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation 594.0 609.0 Total assets $ 5,999.7 $ 6,581.2 Current liabilities, excluding obligations collateralized by finance receivables and current maturities of debt $ 641.9 $ 1,027.7 Obligations collateralized by finance receivables 1,349.9 1,461.2 Current maturities of debt 27.0 28.8 Total current liabilities 2,018.8 2,517.7 Long-term debt 1,860.1 1,861.3 Operating lease liabilities 353.1 358.3 Other non-current liabilities 195.9 193.7 Stockholders' equity 1,571.8 1,650.2 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 5,999.7 $ 6,581.2 KAR Auction Services, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (In millions) (Unaudited) Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 Operating activities Net income $ 2.8 $ 77.8 Net income from discontinued operations (62.5) Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation and amortization 47.7 44.3 Provision for credit losses 18.7 9.6 Deferred income taxes (4.7) 3.5 Amortization of debt issuance costs 2.7 2.6 Stock-based compensation 5.0 6.4 Other non-cash, net 1.4 3.5 Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions: Trade receivables and other assets 210.7 (177.8) Accounts payable and accrued expenses (333.5) 142.6 Net cash (used by) provided by operating activities - continuing operations (49.2) 50.0 Net cash provided by operating activities - discontinued operations 37.5 Investing activities Net decrease in finance receivables held for investment 146.3 18.6 Acquisition of businesses (net of cash acquired) (120.7) Purchases of property, equipment and computer software (29.6) (32.3) Net cash provided by (used by) investing activities - continuing operations 116.7 (134.4) Net cash used by investing activities - discontinued operations (21.6) Financing activities Net (decrease) increase in book overdrafts (35.1) 37.4 Net (decrease) increase in borrowings from lines of credit (1.8) 108.8 Net decrease in obligations collateralized by finance receivables (103.7) (88.5) Payments on long-term debt (2.4) (10.7) Payments on finance leases (4.4) (4.7) Payments of contingent consideration and deferred acquisition costs (22.3) Issuance of common stock under stock plans 0.4 0.7 Tax withholding payments for vested RSUs (3.4) (10.2) Dividends paid to stockholders (24.5) (46.5) Net cash used by financing activities - continuing operations (197.2) (13.7) Net cash used by financing activities - discontinued operations (4.6) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash (23.7) 5.8 Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash (153.4) (81.0) Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period 560.9 304.7 Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period $ 407.5 $ 223.7 Cash paid for interest, net of proceeds from interest rate swaps and caps $ 23.4 $ 35.7 Cash paid for taxes, net of refunds - continuing operations $ 5.6 $ 14.0 Cash paid for taxes, net of refunds - discontinued operations $ $ 15.3 KAR Auction Services, Inc. Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, operating adjusted net income from continuing operations and operating adjusted net income from continuing operations per share as presented herein are supplemental measures of our performance that are not required by, or presented in accordance with, generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"). They are not measurements of our financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as substitutes for net income (loss) or any other performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP. Management believes that these measures provide investors additional meaningful methods to evaluate certain aspects of the company's results period over period and for the other reasons set forth below. EBITDA is defined as net income (loss), plus interest expense net of interest income, income tax provision (benefit), depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA is EBITDA adjusted for the items of income and expense and expected incremental revenue and cost savings as described in our senior secured credit agreement covenant calculations. Management believes that the inclusion of supplementary adjustments to EBITDA applied in presenting Adjusted EBITDA is appropriate to provide additional information to investors about one of the principal measures of performance used by our creditors. In addition, management uses EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate our performance. Depreciation expense for property and equipment and amortization expense of capitalized internally developed software costs relate to ongoing capital expenditures; however, amortization expense associated with acquired intangible assets, such as customer relationships, software, tradenames and noncompete agreements are not representative of ongoing capital expenditures, but have a continuing effect on our reported results. Non-GAAP financial measures of operating adjusted net income from continuing operations and operating adjusted net income from continuing operations per share, in the opinion of the company, provide comparability of the company's performance to other companies that may not have incurred these types of non-cash expenses or that report a similar measure. In addition, operating adjusted net income from continuing operations and operating adjusted net income from continuing operations per share may include adjustments for certain other charges. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, operating adjusted net income from continuing operations and operating adjusted net income from continuing operations per share have limitations as analytical tools, and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the results as reported under GAAP. These measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. The following table reconciles EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to net income for the periods presented: Three Months Ended March 31, (in millions), (unaudited) 2020 2019 Net income $ 2.8 $ 77.8 Less: Income from discontinued operations (62.5) Net income from continuing operations 2.8 15.3 Add back: Income taxes 2.0 6.5 Interest expense, net of interest income 37.2 55.9 Depreciation and amortization 47.7 44.3 EBITDA 89.7 122.0 Non-cash stock-based compensation 5.3 6.6 Acquisition related costs 1.4 3.9 Securitization interest (11.4) (14.8) Loss on asset sales 0.5 0.5 Severance 1.8 3.7 Foreign currency (gains)/losses 0.4 (0.6) IAA allocated costs 1.4 Other 0.9 0.2 Total addbacks (1.1) 0.9 Adjusted EBITDA $ 88.6 $ 122.9 The following table reconciles operating adjusted net income from continuing operations and operating adjusted net income from continuing operations per diluted share to net income and net income from continuing operations per diluted share for the periods presented: Three Months Ended March 31, (in millions, except per share amounts), (unaudited) 2020 2019 Net income $ 2.8 $ 77.8 Less: income from discontinued operations (62.5) Net income from continuing operations 2.8 15.3 Acquired amortization expense 14.3 14.6 IAA allocated costs 1.4 Income taxes (1) (6.0) (4.8) Operating adjusted net income from continuing operations $ 11.1 $ 26.5 Net income from continuing operations per share - diluted $ 0.02 $ 0.11 Acquired amortization expense 0.11 0.11 IAA allocated costs 0.01 Income taxes (0.04) (0.03) Operating adjusted net income from continuing operations per share - diluted $ 0.09 $ 0.20 Weighted average diluted shares 130.0 133.8 (1) The effective tax rate at the end of each period presented was used to determine the amount of income tax on the adjustments to net income. SOURCE KAR Auction Services, Inc. Related Links https://www.karglobal.com Jaipur, May 7 : The state government has sealed its interstate borders to stop the entry of unauthorised people for checking the spread of COVID-19 virus in the state. The announcement was made on late Wednesday night after a review meeting here called by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. The meeting was attended by state Health Minister Raghu Sharma, Additional Chief Secretary Home Rajeeva Swarup, Director General Police Bhupendra Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, Health Rohit Kumar and other officials. Addressing the meeting, Gehlot said that there has been a sharp rise in the number of corona cases in many states in the last few days. Around 10,000 cases were registered across the nation in just last three days. "This decision to seal interstate borders is being taken looking into the possibilities of a large number of people sneaking into the state without permission. Protecting the lives of our people is our top most priority in this hour of crisis," he said during the meeting. Gehlot further stated that the interstate movement will be permitted as per the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Chief Minister said that he has directed the chief secretary to inform the chief secretaries of other states that movement in Rajasthan will be permitted for those following all guidelines and taking prior approval from the state. A person shall be permitted to travel out of the state with the recommendation of the respective District Collector, he added. The Collector has rights to issue an e-pass, which has to be given to the Home Department the same day, in case of a medical emergency or death in the family. Even the other states can issue permits for Rajasthan, once they get prior approval from the state government. In case of foreign returnees found violating the 14-day home isolation, they shall be kept under government quarantine and an FIR shall be registered against them, said the Chief Minister. Dutch offshore service provider Ampelmann has said it has reached a milestone of one million safe personnel transfers in the Middle East with nearly a decade of operating in the region. According to the company, the one millionth transfer was achieved during a project with vessel owner Halul Offshore Services Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Milaha (a Qatari public shareholding company), enabling maintenance, well services and shutdown work. Milahas President and CEO, Abdulraham Essa Al-Mannai, said: The safety of our workers is absolutely paramount, and we are delighted to be a part of this incredible milestone achieved by Ampelmann. We have worked closely with our friends from the Netherlands for some time, and the relationship has always been a positive one. We look forward to continuing our first-class collaboration with Ampelmann into this new decade. The A-type system has been operating on the Halul 43 vessel since the beginning of 2020, and will continue to do so for a minimum of 150 days. We are excited to celebrate this milestone in the region after years of delivering the highest standard of safety and efficiency in offshore access, said Jayne Moran, Area Manager Middle East & Caspian at Ampelmann. We appreciate the ongoing support of our clients, who continue to embrace our innovations and services. The Dutch company has long been the preferred choice for both national and international oil companies (NOCs and IOCs) in the region. It has been enabling Walk to Work (W2W) operations, with its A- and L-type systems and the highest standard of safety and efficiency in the industry. A well-established company in the market, especially due to its strong local presence, Ampelmann has a fully operational office in Doha, Qatar, which provides 24/7, in-country and regional support to clients. The company currently has nine ongoing projects in the region, most of which are long-term, providing accommodation support for a variety of oil majors. Seven of those projects are for operations off the coast of Qatar. We see huge potential for further expansion in Qatar and throughout the region with local partners such as Milaha, as oil and gas operators become increasingly aware of the benefits offshore access can bring to their operations, said Moran. Together, we can provide round-the-clock service on the ground and bring value to the country by working with local suppliers and sub-contractors. The close collaboration between Ampelmann and Milaha has been crucial for making offshore access in Qatar safer and more efficient. In promoting the benefits of W2W further throughout the region, the Dutch company has also been reaching out to new markets. It recently completed its first project in Oman a shutdown campaign with the L-type. Having laid the foundation of the W2W market more than a decade ago, the Netherlands-based company has come a long way in enabling the safe and efficient access of crews and cargo to and from offshore structures. Ampelmann maintains a fleet of more than 60 systems and has enabled over 350 projects to date.TradeArabia News Service On that very eventful day in 1977, he made a lasting, loving commitment to his own little family, much like his loving life-long commitment to family that he had demonstrated thus far and throughout all his life. Being the caring, sharing, hard working, loving, self-motivated and staunchly determined individual that he was, these characteristics are the ones that played key role in his life choices. Art was not big on volunteering but was always there to lend a helping hand. Whether it was for the church, friends or family, he was first to lend that helping hand, first to share his abilities to design, create, construct or sometimes if the need be, to demolish all types of things. He enjoyed traveling with his family, celebrating family events and milestones, the great outdoors, farming and conversing with farmers and last but not least Driving Truck! Art started in the outside world of work at the young age of almost twelve on the Bill Petrowitz farm. His next (higher pay) place of employment was with the John Walsh dairy and grain farm. Art worked for the Walsh family up until the time of his marriage to Lynda in 1977. At that time he took a job with Powers Trucking, driving the big rigs. The first years he drove across country (most 48 states) and later on he drove the backroads and highways of Wisconsin. He delivered feed and grain to small rural co-ops, huge grain farms and big commercial grain companies in Wisconsin and surrounding Midwestern states. As time traveled, (like Art) the Powers family found themselves looking to retire and sell their business. Thus, Art went to work and found a buyer for Powers Trucking which turned out to be Walsh Cargo, who also became his new employer! His working life had now come full circle and had traveled through two generations. He spent another seven years working for Walsh Cargo and loved what he was doing, lived life to its fullest, and as always true to his mantras of A Job Worth Doing is One Worth Doing Right, and the right way, was Arts way , Always Take Care of Your Own and Be There For Family and Friends. Art was that very dependable Traveling Man always on the go, always clearing the road ahead, and always on TIME. He followed the road that his Lord and Savior had laid out for him. He did it with zest, care, and determination and always on Time. He will be dearly missed and fondly remembered by many, as we all continue to travel on our own roads through this life. Jamia Millia Islamia has decided to adopt the guidelines issued by the UGC on academic calendar and exams, the varsity said on Thursday. The varsity held its academic council (AC) meeting through Google Meet on Wednesday which was attended by vice-chancellor Najma Akhtar and deans and other members of the council. The AC has taken a decision to adopt the new guidelines issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in totality, the varsity said. The new academic session for freshers may begin in universities from September and for already enrolled students in August in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, the UGC told universities last month. Detailing the guidelines for examinations and academic calendar for the universities in view of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, the commission said the exams for final semester students be conducted in July. "Examination for only final semester/year students will be held offline between July 1 to July 31 in the university. Students are requested to submit online examination forms as early as possible," the varsity said. Summer vacations will start from June 15 and continue till June 30, it said. The university will reopen and classes for regular students will start from August 1. The varsity has decided to hold online classes tillMay 31. Earlier the classes were scheduled to finish by April 30. The last date for submission of assignments has been extended to June 5. All teachers are requested to upload the assignment marks/internal assessment marks by June 15 on the website of the Controller of Examinations of the university, it said. The varsity has also extended the last date to submit online application forms for the session 2020-21 to May 31. The entrance tests will start from August 1 and will go on till August end. The new academic session will begin from September 1. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) When share prices plummet -- like they've been doing this year -- it can be great for dividend investors. Former "meh" picks can turn into high-yielders overnight. But if shares fall too far, or companies get into too much trouble, those same dividends can be put at risk. Here are three top tips to help you pick the best dividend stocks for your portfolio, and three stocks that fit the bill. No. 1: Look for healthy businesses A lot of dividend investors chase the highest yields, and don't look much beyond that. However, sometimes yields are high for a reason: Maybe the stock's share price has fallen recently, or the business has been stagnant for quite some time, leading to a yield that slowly pushes higher. Either way, these are probably dividend stocks to avoid. Take, for example, Buckeye Partners, a pipeline master limited partnership (MLP) that saw its yield soar to 15.2% after a big Caribbean investment soured and its unit price (the MLP version of share price) dropped. Buckeye had taken on a lot of debt to finance the investment, and wasn't generating enough cash flow to cover its distribution (the MLP version of a dividend). Even though management reassured investors that it wasn't planning to cut its payout, a few months later it slashed it by 40% and the unit price tanked. Buckeye was taken private shortly thereafter. One business that's looking very healthy right now is renewable energy specialist and utility NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE). NextEra is one of the rare companies to report earnings growth in Q1 2020, and to reaffirm its outlook of 6% to 8% earnings growth through 2022. Its balance sheet is one of the best in the sector, and it expects to grow its dividend -- currently yielding 2.3% -- by 10% per year through 2022. No. 2: Avoid volatile industries Just because a company is doing very well and easily covering its dividend, don't assume the current situation is the norm. A company in a cyclical industry may have no trouble covering its payout when times are good, but will still be in trouble if the business cycle changes or the industry is disrupted. Dividend investors in the oil and gas industry just got a hard lesson in how even a large, stable company with a long history of dividend payouts can suddenly disappoint when things get tough. Royal Dutch Shell, which hadn't cut its dividend since World War II, announced on April 29 that it was slashing its dividend by 66% to shore up its balance sheet. Oil has been a volatile industry over the last several years, and when oil prices crashed in early March, driving Shell's yield above 10%, the company had to throw in the towel. Many other oil and gas companies have made similar dividend cuts during periods of low oil prices. One business that's incredibly stable -- and is even thriving right now -- is consumer staples. Procter & Gamble's (NYSE:PG) paper products and cleaning supplies are in high demand, and its stable of popular brands -- including Crest toothpaste, Tide laundry detergent, and Pampers diapers -- helps it consistently churn out impressive operating cash flow ($16.8 billion in the last year). That cash is more than enough to fund the company's dividend, which it increased in April for the 64th straight year, and currently yields 2.6%. No. 3: Look at yield last Not all high yields are dangerous yields. If a healthy company in a stable industry is offering a high yield, there's every reason to take it...as long as there are no hidden issues with the company. Despite its DirecTV business falling victim to cord-cutting in recent years, longtime dividend stalwart AT&T (NYSE:T)still looks healthy enough to invest in. The company's shares were hit hard in the recent market downturn, which has pushed its yield up to an enticing 6.9%. Even after a relatively weak quarter, AT&T still churned out $3.9 billion in free cash flow -- enough to cover its dividend and then some. In subsequent quarters, CEO Randall Stevenson expects a dividend payout ratio of 60%, leaving the telecom plenty of leftover cash, which it can invest in 5G upgrades and use to continue to strengthen its balance sheet. It's good that AT&T plans to strengthen its balance sheet: the company's debt has increased substantially since 2014, reaching $190 billion in 2018. Still, AT&T has managed to pay down more than $25 billion of that debt in the last two years, and maintains an investment-grade credit rating. While it has a long way to go in paying down its debt, AT&T's dividend looks secure. The best tip As a dividend investor, it's easy to get discouraged by low yields and enticed by high ones. But the last thing you want is to fall into a "dividend trap." Ensuring you're investing in healthy companies in stable industries like NextEra Energy, Procter & Gamble, and AT&T is the best way to create a dividend portfolio that can last over the long term. France's government has pulled its coronavirus fake news website, designed to combat the spread of disinformation about Covid-19, following an outcry by journalists. The website aimed to relay verified and trustworthy news, but it was criticised as being particularly selective in its choice of sources and subject matter. The Desinfox website's lifespan was short-lived, having only been announced on Twitter by government spokesperson Sibeth Ndiaye less than a week ago. The site faced outrage over its selection of sources, only taking articles from Le Monde newspaper, Liberation, 20 Minutes, France Info radio station, AFP news agency or AFP news agency. It was also attacked for its lack of stories criticising the French authorities over their handling of the coronavirus crisis in particular, the presidency's management of the response and provision of masks to protect against Covid-19. French journalists saw the website as an effort by the government to whitewash coronavirus-related news. France's Society of Journalists (SDJ) slammed the government initiative, describing it as an effort to label certain media houses, giving them a stamp of approval. The SDJ said President Emmanuel Macron's government did not have the right to decide which media organisation was "legitimate", given the fundamental principle of press freedom. The National Union of Journalists (SNJ) called the fake news website an infringement by the government on the freedom of the press. The SNJ had on Monday announced that it would pursue the matter with France's Council of State, but with the pulling of the website, the country's highest administrative judicial body is unlikely to need to examine the matter. HUNTSVILLE, Ala., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Avion Unmanned, the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) division of Avion Solutions, Inc., signed a Participating Addendum with the State of Alaska, for use by all its State Agencies, Political Subdivisions and Institutions. This contract opens the door for Avion Unmanned to provide UAS services to state and local government agencies in Alaska. "Providing a simplified direct path for government agencies at all levels to request unmanned aircraft operations is finally a reality. With the signing of this Participating Addendum with Alaska, Avion Unmanned has been selected to provide critical data collection services to organizations who desperately need it, but have never before had a contract vehicle to acquire vetted, legal, and safe operations in a timely manner," said Taylor Abington, Senior Program Manager of Avion Unmanned. Based on proven expertise, Avion Unmanned has been chosen to provide UAS services nationwide through the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) ValuePoint Cooperative Purchasing Organization. Among the UAS services Avion Unmanned can provide are: Emergency Services, Law Enforcement Support, Aerial Inspection and Mapping Data Services, support to Agricultural and Gaming, as well as Agency Media Relations and Marketing. Virginia's Department of General Service (DGS) and NASPO are working together through Contract E194-79435 to provide agencies easier access to UAS or drone services to organizations like Avion Unmanned. "Avion Unmanned's solutions will provide Alaska's state and local agencies with a resource to gather actionable data, reduce operational risks, and improve efficiency in critical areas from agriculture/wildlife management, disaster response, law enforcement, infrastructure monitoring, and construction development," said Chad Donald, President and CEO of Avion Solutions. For more information, visit https://unmanned.avionsolutions.com/naspo-valuepoint/. About Avion Unmanned Avion Unmanned, the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) service provider of Avion Solutions, Inc., provides UAS flight operations, Red Team support, aerial inspections, training, and program development for commercial, military and non-military government agencies. The UAS team seeks to improve the efficiency, safety, and effectiveness of organizations through quality UAS services. About Avion Solutions Avion Solutions, Inc. is an employee-owned innovative engineering and logistics solutions provider for complex military-grade projects. Headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama with a presence in multiple states across the U.S., Avion Solutions has provided solutions to Department of Defense customers and commercial clients since 1992. Our broad range of technical expertise includes engineering, logistics and technical services, data analysis, software development, small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and drone services, and development of a full spectrum of training solutions ranging from on-site classroom training to interactive multimedia instruction (IMI) programs. Avion Solutions is a 2019 Best Places to Work award winner. To learn more, visit www.avionsolutions.com. If you would like more information about this release, please contact Michael Jones at 256-327-7155 or email [email protected]. SOURCE Avion Solutions, Inc. Related Links https://www.avionsolutions.com Sanitation work is unhygienic and smelly, but now it is much more dangerous. Health workers have been applauded for their sacrifice in the line of duty during the pandemic. Yet there are others on the front line who have little or no access to protective equipment and often get no recognition. Al Jazeeras Lucia Newman joined sanitation workers during a shift in Chiles capital Santiago. Hospitals in the United States could lose more than $500 billion in 100 days during the coronavirus pandemic, according to former Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin. While Congress has appropriated $175 billion in total stimulus funding to hospitals, he said even that amount will not be enough to close the fiscal gap hospitals are facing. Without proper funding to offset major financial losses during the pandemic, the consequences to major hospitals could be dire. Large hospitals could begin to see their capabilities and care resources fade, warned Shulkin and others who have served at the helm of major hospitals. It could also require hospitals to prioritize some departments and teams, such as oncology and critical care teams, over others considered less essential. Large clinics, known for developing cutting-edge care could see reduction in the scope of their research, particularly for research unrelated to the coronavirus. Some major institutions have already begun pay cuts, furloughs, and layoffs of hospital staff, deepening a growing unemployment crisis, and leaving some former hospital workers without health insurance. There is no hospital in the country, I dont think, that could survive a year of whats happened in March and April, said Jefferson Health CEO Dr. Stephen Klasko, who also serves as president of Thomas Jefferson University. Within the health care industry, there is also concern that many local community hospitals, with far fewer resources than their much-larger counterparts could collapse altogether. Dr. Michael R. Jaff, former president of the Newton-Wellesley Hospital outside Boston, said the possibility of community hospitals shutting down could leave some of the nations most vulnerable people those already disproportionately affected by the pandemic in limbo, without adequate health care available to them. The consequences to the health care system are literally apocalyptic, Klasko said. In Pennsylvania alone, there will be $9 billion worth of losses, and maybe 30 percent of that will come back. Story continues While Klasko, whose hospital is in Philadelphia, said the institution has not furloughed or laid off any of its 35,000 employees, it is likely losing $25 million each week. One of the primary reasons for the fiscal shortfalls at many hospitals is the slowing rate or full suspension in some states of elective procedures which in some cases include everything from knee replacements to liver transplants. For U.S. hospitals, elective procedures typically close the fiscal gap created by treating patients whose care comes at a higher cost like coronavirus patients, who may remain in intensive care units for extended stays. You rely upon your highly profitable surgical cases that are with insured patients, especially commercially insured, and this is the exact kind of thing weve seen in this crisis. The biggest hit has been to those profitable services, Shulkin said. Approximately 97 percent of health systems are losing $2,800 per coronavirus patient, with many losing between $8,000 and $10,000, according to a study commissioned and performed by Strata Decision Technologies a software firm focused on financial forecasting for hospitals and health care systems in late March using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as from Italy and China. As states across the country begin to reopen and ease lockdown measures, only recently have those elective procedures begun to resume at some U.S. hospitals. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is also feeling the fiscal pressure of the pandemic, Dr. Amy Williams, dean of practice, said. We took a hit, theres no question about it, she said. To prepare for a surge of coronavirus patients, Mayo Clinic suspended its elective procedures and limited its clinical capacity. According to Williams, if those measures remain in place through the fourth fiscal quarter, it would cost her clinic $3 billion in lost revenue alone. A recent financial report released by the American Hospital Association finds that health care accounts for 18 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, and that hospitals account for one-third of that figure employing more than 7 million people. Back in mid-March, in a letter sent to Congress requesting stimulus funds, the AHA stated daily losses of $1 million for U.S. hospitals but some hospitals have been losing much more than that. Some hospitals run on incredibly thin margins, Jaff said, citing the example of forecasted heavy snow leading his hospital to stock up on food, plan for staff to be unable to leave and for the numbers of patients to dwindle, all of which affect revenue. In Boston, three snow days couldve wiped out our margin for the month. Other major hospitals around the country appear to be experiencing similar losses. As of March 31, Michigans Beaumont Health had a net income of negative $278.4 million, a decrease of $407.5 million year-over-year for the same time period. Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia is losing $40 million per month, and the Connecticut Hospital Association estimates hospitals in its state will lose $1.5 billion for the fiscal year. You rely upon your highly profitable surgical cases that are with insured patients, especially commercially insured, and this is the exact kind of thing weve seen in this crisis. The biggest hit has been to those profitable services, Shulkin said. In order to survive such losses, Jaff said federal and state governments will likely need to step in with funding, and many smaller hospitals may need to be saved by larger institutions looking to acquire or merge with them. He also said one other critical issue is the speed with which elective cases are able to resume. Not only is it the willingness of patients to come back is their fear of getting a COVID infection outweighed by their desire to do the planning for their elective surgery? he said. Secondly, does the hospital have the staffing to perform the surgery? Hospitals are running full tilt managing these very complex COVID cases People are getting exhausted. The frontline health care workers, are they going to need a break before they resume a full schedule of pent-up elective case demand? Meanwhile, theres the cost to society to consider, as well, Klasko said, as other health issues go unattended while elective procedures remain largely suspended. With less people coming in for colonoscopies, for example, there are likely going to be higher rates of colorectal cancer, he said. There are really two crises that were brought out by the pandemic: One is the pandemic, but the second is this inequity of health care thats led to more underserved folks having obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and those people ended up dying at a much greater level than people that didnt have those things and those people tend to be underinsured, and those people tend to be in minority communities, Klasko said. What the pandemic did in my mind is just basically, in one single fell swoop, bare whats wrong with our health care system. Jakarta's provincial government began monitoring and tracking potential cases of coronavirus in January, more than a month before Indonesia belatedly reported its first case of infection on March 2. Anies Baswedan, the Governor of Indonesia's capital, has contradicted national government claims the country is "flattening the curve" of infections and declared the number of cases is "way higher" than official figures indicate. Anies Baswedan, Governor of Jakarta: "This is the time in which policymakers need to trust science". Credit:Dadang Kusuma Wira Saputra In his pugnacious criticism of Indonesia's slow response to the pandemic, the US-educated Anies resembles New York Governor Andrew Cuomo: both men have acted rapidly to contain the virus, both have had to contend with presidents who have acted with less urgency, and both have won praise for their work trying to save lives in densely populated cities. Jakarta has a population of about 10 million, while New York City has 8.3 million. In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Anies revealed that on January 6, after hearing about the first cases of a new virus in Wuhan, "we already started to have meetings with all hospitals in Jakarta, informing them about [what] at that time we called 'pneumonia Wuhan' there was no COVID yet". An NHS support sign is shown through the crown logo on the gates to Ascot Racecourse on April 08, 2020 in Ascot, England. Britain's National Health Service (NHS) is considering a major U-turn on its new coronavirus contract-tracing app, just days after launching it on the Isle of Wight amid concerns that it doesn't work as it's intended to. Contact-tracing apps are a way for governments to monitor the spread of coronavirus in a population. Around the world, states are using them to alert people when they have been in close contact with an infected person. Countries are having to choose whether to build "centralized" contact-tracing apps, where data is stored on a government server, or "decentralized" apps, where data is processed on the handset itself. The initial version of the NHS app is based on a centralized framework, so the data can be kept on an NHS database. The centralized approach allows researchers to access the data and NHSX to tweak the app over time as necessary. However, the NHS's digital innovation arm, NHSX, has awarded a 3.8 million contract to Zuhlke Engineering, a Switzerland-headquartered IT firm with an office in London, to "investigate" switching the app onto the global standard proposed by Apple and Google. In the contract, it states that Zuhlke Engineering should "investigate the complexity, performance and feasibility of implementing native Apple and Google contact tracing APIs (application programming interfaces) within the existing proximity mobile application and platform." The contract started on May 5 and runs until November 10. The story was first reported by The Financial Times newspaper. "Both Zuhlke and Pivotal have been working on the project with NHSX to date, and both have just renewed contracts for the next phase," an NHSX spokesperson told CNBC. "The suggestion this means we are moving away from the centralized model is without foundation. We've been working with Apple and Google throughout the app's development and it's quite right and normal to continue to refine the app." University of Tennessee extension forester named 2020 Forester of the Year KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- David Mercker, an Extension forestry specialist with the University of Tennessee Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, has been named 2020 Extension Forester of the Year by the Forest Landowners Association (FLA). FLA is a national organization that promotes and protects the interests of private forest landowners and bestows this award annually as determined by its board of directors. Wayne Clatterbuck, UT professor of silviculture and forest management, nominated Mercker for the award, writing, "David is a consummate, respected forestry professional and is looked upon as a colleague and friend by landowners and professionals alike." Clatterbuck noted Mercker's many achievements, including his service on the Tennessee Tree Farm Committee; the creation of the Welcome to Your Woods Initiative, which introduces new landowners to forest ownership; and the numerous Extension articles and presentations developed for the benefit of Tennessee's landowners. Mercker's 34-year career in forestry has seen many milestones and highlights, but most notably Mercker was named a Fellow by the Society of American Foresters and received the National Family Forest Education Award for his Tennessee Healthy Hardwoods Program, now in its 14th year. He coordinated the establishment of Tennessee's County Forestry Associations (CFA), which act as local branches of the Tennessee Forestry Association. These CFAs work directly with landowners and local county Extension agents to provide best management practices and educational resources. On receiving the award, Mercker noted, "It's an honor to be recognized for contributing to forest landowner education. Only through decades, with the caring counsel of mentors, was this award possible. I'd like to thank everyone involved in the award process!" In his decades-long career, Mercker was a consulting forester for 13 years and has served with the University of Tennessee for 21 years. Mercker is working on a new educational project that resourcefully complies with current social distancing policies: Back Porch Forestry. The videos for this Extension project are being recorded from Mercker's own back porch and will be distributed to private forest landowners. Of Mercker, department head Don Hodges remarked, "David is truly deserving of this recognition. He has developed a reputation not only for the quality of his Extension efforts, but also for the contributions he has made to the forests of Tennessee and to the forestry profession." ### The UT Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries is part of the Herbert College of Agriculture, UT AgResearch and UT Extension at the UT Institute of Agriculture. The curricula focus on a mastery learning approach, emphasizing practical, hands-on experiences. FWF's faculty, staff and students conduct research and extension that advances the science and sustainable management of our natural resources. For more information, visit fwf.tennessee.edu. Through its land-grant mission of research, teaching and extension, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. utia.tennessee.edu. This story has been published on: 2020-05-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Seguin, TX (78155) Today Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 58F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 58F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Social Commentator, Bernanrd Allotey Jacobs has sent a cryptic word of advice to former President John Dramani Mahama to be extremely wary and vigilant about some members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) surrounding him. Allotey Jacobs questioned the loyalty of some characters who are close to the former President, implying some have a hidden agenda against him (Mahama). Former President John Dramani Mahama is seeking another term in office and his team has been on the mission of winning this year's December polls. The former President has as a result been engaging Ghanaians in a series of conversations where he addresses pertinent national issues. Allotey Jacobs, who was once a Regional Chairman of the NDC, fired some members of his party for pitching him against the grass roots and spewing lies in an attempt to make him unpopular in the eyes of the former President. Speaking on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' on Wednesday, he told host Kwami Sefa Kayi that he is unperturbed by the actions of his saboteurs but he would like Mr. Mahama to ''watch his back" because not every person close to him is committed to his political ambition. He made mention of former Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah and the former President's aide Joyce Bawa-Mogtari together with a few others in the party as the loyal ones around Mahama, but for the rest, he will have Mahama to keep his ears to the ground. "I see these people as very strong committed loyal dedicated people around President Mahama but what I will say is my brother, John Mahama; watch your back," he admonished. Listen to Allotey Jacobs in the video below 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. Featured Video New Delhi, May 7 : Cybersecurity researchers have revealed that a Chinese hacking group is allegedly conducting "ongoing" espionage operations on foreign governments across Asia. Spotted by Isreali cybersecurity firm Check Point, the hacker group known as "Naikon" is attacking governments in Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Brunei -- targeting foreign affairs, science and technology ministries with an aim to gather "geo-political intelligence," reports Engadget. "Naikon's primary method of attack is to infiltrate a government body, then use that body's contacts, documents and data to launch attacks on others, exploiting the trust and diplomatic relations between departments and governments to increase the chances of its attack succeeding," elaborated Check Point. Another report in 2015 by a Washington-based security company called ThreatConnect had claimed that the group Naikon was a unit of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). The group has been very active during the last five years, especially in 2019-20. "We've published this research as a warning and resource for any government entity to better spot Naikon's or other hacker group's activities," said Check Point. Naikon uses spear-phishing method where it sends an email with the infected document that looks like it comes from a trusted source. "What drives them is their desire to gather intelligence and spy on countries, and they have spent the past five years quietly developing their skills and introducing a new cyber-weapon with the Aria-body backdoor," Lotem Finkelsteen, manager of threat intelligence at Check Point, said in a statement. A herd of cattle is seen on a ranch owned by J.D. Hudgins Inc. in Wharton, Texas, U.S., April 30, 2020. REUTERS/Adrees Latif There is no room on the range for cattle, as shuttered slaughterhouses across North America due to the pandemic leave farmers nowhere to ship their animals. Now fast-food chain Wendys says it is running out of beef, while Kroger and Costco limit sales of some meat items, underlining the growing dislocation in the meat supply chain. Canada and the United States are among the worlds biggest beef exporters, but outbreaks have forced plants owned by Cargill Inc, JBS SA and Tyson Foods to temporarily close or slow production, as they balance worker safety with food security. Its a horrible situation for us to watch, said Leighton Kolk, who normally ships 500 head of cattle to slaughter per week from his feedlot at Iron Springs, Alberta. Last week, he moved 40 and is not sure there will be a single bid this week, at a time when he normally sees the highest prices of the year ahead of barbecue season. Each head of cattle that stays on his farm costs C$4 per day to feed. The consumer is going to pay a huge price and we could approach financial insolvency because these animals are dropping in value, Kolk said. Ryan Kasko, chairman of the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association, estimates there are up to 80,000 Canadian cattle awaiting slaughter, and the number may reach 250,000 head by July. A month ago, I couldnt even imagine this, Kasko, a feedlot operator, said. But beef buyers are seeing anything but glut conditions. From time to time, there could be some items that were out of stock on, Wendys Chief Executive Todd Penegor told analysts on Wednesday. Its probably a couple of weeks of challenging tightness that well have to work through. Expand Close Egrets fly over a herd of cattle owned by J.D. Hudgins Inc. at a ranch in this aerial image over Wharton, Texas April 30, 2020. REUTERS/Adrees Latif / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Egrets fly over a herd of cattle owned by J.D. Hudgins Inc. at a ranch in this aerial image over Wharton, Texas April 30, 2020. REUTERS/Adrees Latif Victor Colello, director of meat and fish at New York City grocery chain Morton Williams, said he has not had any trouble getting meat but that prices are crazy. In the past two weeks, prices have gone up anywhere from $3 to $5 per pound. I find myself changing prices every two or three days. For example, he said wholesale filet mignon went from $8.50 or $9 per lb two weeks ago to $14. Short loins, which are porterhouse steaks, used to cost $6.50 a lb, now are up to $10-$11, while a pound of rib steaks climbed from $7 to $11. Im 56 years old, Ive been doing this all my life and Ive never experienced something like this, Colello said. BEEF PRICES JUMP The average unit price of fresh beef at U.S. tracked retailers was 6% higher in the week ended April 25 than a year earlier, according to market research firm Nielsen. Those prices are not reaching cattle farmers, however. Some packers offer no bids for cattle, while others offered prices that were 30% lower from January, Kasko said. With packers offering low prices for cattle and meat prices high in stores, 11 Midwestern states on Tuesday urged the federal Department of Justice to investigate suspected price fixing by meat packers. We believe the assertions lack merit, and we are confident in our efforts to maintain market integrity and conduct ethical business, Cargill spokesman Daniel Sullivan said. Kolk and Kasko normally ship to two Alberta plants that together supply two-thirds of Canadas beef, but are now coronavirus hotspots. Cargill resumed production this week at High River, Alberta after a two-week shutdown, and JBS is producing more slowly at its Brooks, Alberta plant. Tyson Foods has shuttered cattle slaughterhouses in Dakota City, Nebraska, and in Pasco, Washington, which partially reopened on Tuesday. U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered meat processors to keep plants open. Canada and the United States have both announced aid packages for the food and agriculture sectors. Alberta rancher Kelly Smith-Fraser sees a long crisis ahead. Price estimates for the calves she will sell in autumn are less than half of the usual price, as the feedlots who buy them cope with big cattle backlogs. Each day we are on pins and needles to make sure those plants stay open. Numerous cadets and alumni of the University of North Georgia's (UNG) Corps of Cadets are working in various capacities in their roles as members of the Georgia Army National Guard to combat COVID-19. They disinfect nursing homes and decontaminate their colleagues who do so, work food banks, augment screening staff and serve as medics at hospitals, and assist with COVID-19 test sites. They are part of a larger trend of those affiliated with UNG assisting both Georgia and the nation in the fight against COVID-19 in their current Army or civilian roles. Capt. Charles D. Inglett, '13, Charlie Company commander of the 1st Battalion of the 121st Infantry Regiment in the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, has coordinated many of the diverse projects the Georgia Army National Guard is undertaking to help the state's COVID-19 response. This unusual challenge comes less than a year after many of his soldiers were deployed to Afghanistan. "It's definitely new territory for everyone. We're trying to figure out the best way to help," Inglett said. "It shows the versatility of the National Guard." Once the soldiers are on-site at nursing homes, the initial moments generally include an explanation to the residents or nurses about what they are there to do. This limits any confusion about the full-body personal protective equipment (PPE) they are wearing. 2nd Lt. Caleb Swope, '19, said he and his unit always bring the same message to allay any concerns as they disinfect nursing homes in places across north Georgia such as Rossville, Ellijay, Jasper and Blue Ridge. "We're in this together. We're here to help," Swope said. "We're here to assist in any way we can in the community." 2nd Lt. Olaide Adeyemi, '18, is leading one of the teams sanitizing nursing homes. After she schedules visits, Adeyemi and two non-commissioned officers inspect each site to formulate a plan to disinfect everything. Adeyemi said the nursing home employees appreciate the National Guard's presence. "They appreciate that people are there to help them," Adeyemi said. Multiple current cadets who are members of the National Guard have been called up because of COVID-19. One of them is Koyie Waples, a sophomore pursuing a cybersecurity degree, who has been working in and around Albany, Georgia, one of the hardest-hit areas in the state. "I love serving. Knowing I can go out and help these people means a lot to me," said Waples, a Dawsonville, Georgia, native who is a member of UNG's Corps of Cadets. "But seeing the relief and the happiness on the nurses' faces means more than anything else." The Georgia State Defense Force (GSDF), a volunteer effort, works alongside the Georgia National Guard in the COVID-19 response. Six UNG alumni are part of the GSDF, led by Rusty Hightower, '66, chief of staff. Nathan Baker, '18, GSDF aide-de-camp to the commanding general, is proud of the collaborative nature of the fight against COVID-19. "In the midst of the hardship and everything that has come because of this pandemic, it's been phenomenal to see people from different parts of the community come together for the common goal of getting us back on our feet," Baker said. Other UNG alumni who have played a leading role in the GSDF are 1st Lt. John Baxter, '18, who serves as second battle captain, and Col. Tim Romine, '82, deputy G3 plans and operations officer. Though not a cadet, UNG student and Guardsman Brody Morin is disinfecting nursing homes around Thomasville, Georgia. He is grateful for faculty who are working to ensure he can do what is necessary to serve while getting an education. "This is what you sign up for in the National Guard is to help your community. We're doing the most that we're able to right now," Morin said. "I volunteered for this mission, and I'm glad to be on it." Nammiro.com scored 44 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 4 Dec 2012, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. The total number of people who shared the nammiro homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the nammiro homepage on Twitter + the total number of nammiro followers (if nammiro has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the nammiro homepage on Delicious. The total number of people who shared the nammiro homepage on StumbleUpon. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the nammiro homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if nammiro has a Facebook fan page). Basic Information PAGE TITLE NAMMIRO.COM DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The title found in the head section of the homepage. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. Domain and Server DOCTYPE XHTML 1.0 Transitional CHARSET AND LANGUAGE UTF-8 SERVER Apache (PHP/5.2.8) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux The language of nammiro.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Operative System running on the server. Type of server and offered services. Character set and language of the site. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for nammiro.com by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines. Facebook link FACEBOOK PAGE LINK NOT FOUND Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The type of Facebook page. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The URL of the found Facebook page. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND NSW Parliament will follow schools and begin a gradual return to normal sitting periods from next month as the state starts to emerge from the coronavirus lockdown. The Parliament was adjourned until mid September, except for urgent legislation, but the Berejiklian government will now move to increase the number of sitting days. NSW Parliament will begin to return to a more regular sitting period as restrictions are eased across the state. Credit:Brook Mitchell NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay has been urging the government to return to a full parliamentary sitting schedule but late last week was told in writing this was not possible. Parliament will sit on Tuesday to pass changes to land tax laws as part of the government's residential and commercial rental assistance package. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is planning to hold a meeting next week on President Donald Trump's controversial nominee to lead a federal media organization. The chairman of the committee, Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, plans to call for a vote on Michael Pack, Trump's pick to be the CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, at the meeting, according to a senior Democratic aide familiar with the matter. Pack's nomination was held up after lawmakers on the committee discovered questionable business dealings that could have included, as the ranking member Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., described in a recent letter to the White House, instances of self dealing and illegal activity. The committee has been reviewing Pack's nomination since at least last year. The president publicly pressured senators to vote on Pack's nomination at a recent press conference. "Michael Pack, he would do a great job but he's been waiting for two years, because we can't get him approved," Trump said at the time. "If you heard what's coming out of the Voice of America, it's disgusting," he noted. Formerly known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the agency oversees Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. In a new letter sent to Risch on Thursday by Menendez and the nine other Democrats on the committee argued that it was inappropriate to hold a full in-person meeting in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. They also noted that Pack has still not provided the documents they've requested and his nomination should not be called for a vote. "We understand that almost 50 people will likely attend this meeting. Given the continued and unfortunate rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the DC-Maryland-Virginia region, there is no justification to bring this large of a group together unless it is to contribute to the fight against COVID-19," says the letter, which was first reviewed by CNBC. "Putting Mr. Pack up for a Committee vote under these circumstances would be a shocking departure from Committee practice and an abdication of the Committee's role to vet nominees and ensure only those who are fit to serve get our stamp of approval," it says. A spokeswoman for the Republican majority of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee did not return a request for comment. Since 2011, Pack's nonprofit, the Public Media Lab, has sent at least $1.6 million in donations into the coffers of his own independent production company, Manifold Productions. The latest 2018 filing of his 501(c)(3) shows that Pack's organization gave Manifold Productions $775,000 for the "production of educational films," the report reads. Through contributions and grants, the group raised $875,000 that year alone. The nonprofit's documents say its mission is to "receive and award grants to develop, promote and support educational documentary films and film makers." Public Media Lab has only listed Manifold as the benefactor of these grants. Pack's media company has also seen a financial benefit from his work with the Claremont Institute, after signing a commercial fundraising contract four years ago. The contract was signed in 2016 by Pack's wife, Gina, who is currently listed as the vice president of Manifold Productions, along with Claremont's then-chief operating officer Ryan Williams. The contract shows that Pack not only led Claremont at the time, it labels him as a director at Manifold, a company he previously founded. The deal to lead the fundraising efforts for Claremont was worth $75,000 to Pack's film company, which was paid in $6,250 installments each month. The document says Manifold's work was for "charitable purposes," and included dinners, telephone solicitation, in-person meetings, and educational and social events. Claremont's tax return for fiscal year 2016, from July of that year through June 2017, shows that Manifold Productions helped raise almost $200,000 during that time period. California's state attorney general also listed Manifold as a commercial fundraiser for Claremont in 2017. VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) on Thursday said it has resumed manufacturing operations at its plants in the country following relaxation of guidelines for the third phase of the lockdown by the government. The plants located at Pithampur, Dewas, and Baggad in Madhya Pradesh and Thane in Maharashtra have resumed lean operations after the required permissions were granted by the state government, VECV said in a statement. Lean operations have been initiated at 25-40 per cent levels in these plants with strict adherence to the guidelines and advisories laid down by the central and state governments as well as local authorities, it added. "The priority continues to be to service the customers with dispatch of parts to various service centres, dispatch of already produced BS-VI vehicles, and meeting the needs of transporters engaged in delivery of essential goods," the company said. VECV, a joint venture between Volvo Group and Eicher Motors, had earlier initiated sanitization processes, maintenance of their plant and machinery, annual stock-taking and various steps required to maintain social distancing and other safety norms. Commenting on the resumption of operations, VECV MD & CEO Vinod Aggarwal said,"We're pleased that we have been granted permissions to resume operations at five of our facilities. While we take all the necessary steps to ensure safety of our workforce, we hope that the resumption kickstarts the journey of revival." He further said,"We continue to work with lean teams to address critical dependencies while we wait for the manufacturing operations to resume in full swing. Till the entire supplier and dealers network is mobilised, our key focus will remain on dispatching parts and ready vehicles, and ensuring our plants are ready... when the lockdown is lifted entirely." The company said VE Power Train plant has also resumed manufacturing and exports of engines for Volvo Group requirements. Similarly, Eicher Engineering Components (EEC) plants at Dewas have resumed lean operations to meet requirements of exports customers engaged in agricultural tractors, harvesters, essential mining and construction segment. Additionally, EEC plant at Thane has also received limited permission to resume lean operations where work will commence soon as per strict government guidelines, the company added. VECV also said its dealerships have been maintaining emergency support for vehicles carrying essential goods with Eicher On Road Service (EOS 24x7). Currently, 139 workshops and 40 site support set-ups are partially operational as per permissions from respective state government authorities, it said adding new processes have been introduced to ensure all safety norms at these workshops. The company said it has extended warranty, free service, and annual maintenance contracts till June 30 for its entire Eicher Trucks and Buses range. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Registration for Covid-19 vaccine to be done through CO-WIN portal only, No app for beneficiaries yet: Govt Come celebrate talent with us: An opportunity for Lucknowites to be the face of Josh Studios Aarogya Setu app to be available on JioPhones soon India pti-PTI New Delhi, May 7: A version of Aarogya Setu will soon be available to 10 crore users of JioPhone, and testing of the solution is currently underway, a senior government official said. Aarogya Setu is currently available on iOS and Android, and nearly 9 crore users have already downloaded the app, which has now been made mandatory for government and private sector employees, as part of nationwide efforts to combat the spread of coronavirus. The mobile application helps users identify whether they are at risk of COVID-19. It also provides people with important information, including ways to avoid coronavirus and its symptoms. The new solution in the making will work on JioPhone, which supports KaiOS operating system, the official said. The official further said the integration is on, and tests are being conducted. "Soon, Aarogya Setu will be available on 10 crore JioPhones too...This will be available on Jio store and JioPhone users will be able to download the same," the official said. An e-mail sent to Reliance Jio did not elicit a response. The mobile application, Aarogya Setu, is used by the government for contact-tracing and disseminating medical advisories to users in order to contain the spread of COVID-19. The Union home ministry has also said the mobile app will be a must for people living in COVID-19 containment zones. On Wednesday, Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Aarogya Setu is "secure" and there was no privacy breach in it, rejecting charges that it was a "sophisticated surveillance system" that was leveraged to track citizens without their consent. The 'Aarogy Setu Interactive Voice Response System' has now also been implemented to include citizens with feature phones and landline connections under the ambit of the 'Aarogya Setu' mobile application. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been urging people to download the Aarogya Setu app, saying it is a fantastic use of technology to combat coronavirus. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 23:38:47|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LUSAKA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government on Thursday received gold mining equipment funded by the European Union (EU) to improve gold mining. The equipment, including four sluice boxes, four gold detectors, 12 panning dishes, two shaking tables to be used in gold mines in Vubwi and Lundazi districts in the southern part of the country, will be administered by the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH), a government agency that holds shares in all mining firms on behalf of the government. The equipment was purchased at a total cost of 70,000 Euros with support of the EU under the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Trade-Related Facility project aimed at the formalization of the gold mining sector. Mushuma Mulenga, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, said ZCCM-IH was chosen to administer the equipment in recognition of the effort the company was making in the gold mining sector and in view of the need to maintain and sustain the use of the equipment, according to a release. Mabvuto Chipeta, Chief Executive Officer of ZCCM-IH, thanked the government for entrusting his firm with the responsibility of playing a key role in formalizing the artisanal gold mining sector in the country. He said the formalization of Zambia's artisanal and small scale gold sector was a significant, timely and pressing developmental opportunity that must now be realized. Enditem [May 07, 2020] Apttus and Conga Combine to Become Leader in Digitally Transforming Commercial Operations SAN MATEO, Calif., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Apttus, the leader in quote-to-cash (QTC) solutions, and Conga, the leader in Digital Document Transformation today announced the two companies are joining forces to create the leader in digital transformation for commercial operations. The transaction creates a leader in mission critical business process solutions, allowing both small and large enterprises to modernize revenue generation and manage key relationships. The go-forward company will operate under the Conga brand. The new company combines two SaaS leaders with roughly $400 million in GAAP revenue spread across a unique product portfolio that includes Configure-Price-Quote (CPQ), Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM), Document Generation, Process Automation and eSignature. Together, the new Conga is poised to provide the most complete offering in the market to digitally transform the foundational elements of business -- documents like quotes, contracts and the processes that surround them -- to achieve commercial excellence. Conga's end-to-end solution will empower organizations to revolutionize business operations, streamline workflows and deliver documents more effectively in the changing digital economy. Conga will set the standard for how companies -- including its now well over 10,000 enterprise and mid-market customers -- will operate their business to be ready for the challenges of tomorrow. Digital transformation paves the way for commercial excellence At a time when digital transformation is more important than ever, many organizations struggle to effectively manage the foundational elements of business, resulting in customer experiences that are inefficient and disjointed. The new Conga's comprehensive product set and expertise will help businesses drive revenue generation, manage key relationships and ensure faster, smarter sales cycles t create better, more efficient buying experiences that match the speed of their customers. Frank Holland, previously the Chief Executive Officer of Apttus, will lead the go-forward company as Chief Executive Officer and Matthew J. Schiltz, former Chief Executive Officer of Conga, will join the company's Board of Managers. Nikitas Koutoupes, Managing Director at Insight Partners, the majority stakeholder in Conga, will also join the Board of Managers. Thoma Bravo remains the lead strategic investor and Insight Partners will retain a material ownership stake in the company and remain an active partner. The executive team will consist of individuals from both companies. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. served as the Direct Lending Financing Provider and exclusive M&A advisor and Kirkland & Ellis served as legal advisor for Apttus. Qatalyst Partners served as exclusive financial advisor and Willkie Farr & Gallagher as legal advisor to Conga. Supporting Quotes: "Apttus and Conga are people-first businesses with core values that fit together seamlessly, and both are fueled by an inherent drive to succeed. Combined, we'll continue to deliver the same dedication to customer service, innovation and culture as we have in the past. Our mission remains resolute -- to ensure customer success and unmatched world-class products and services. Now, we'll do it together." -- Frank Holland, Chief Executive Officer, Conga "Digital transformation is critical to long-term success. Today marks the beginning of an incredible journey for Conga, our customers, partners and employees. Together as Conga, we'll be able to provide a complete digital transformation solution for commercial excellence to meet our clients' needs today, paired with unparalleled partnership to guide them to where they need to be tomorrow." -- Matthew J. Schiltz, [Board of Managers, Conga] "The combination of Apttus and Conga, two leaders in business process transformation, creates a new company with significant scale, a unique set of complementary product offerings and a highly skilled management team with an impressive track record of success. We are excited to continue our partnership with Frank Holland and the combined senior leadership team, and look forward to supporting the go-forward company's aggressive growth aspirations." -- Holden Spaht, a Managing Partner at Thoma Bravo About Apttus Apttus is a global provider of the leading Middle Office platform that allows enterprises to automate and optimize their most critical revenue and commercial relationship management processes. Analysts rank Apttus as the global gold standard for Quote-to-Cash (QTC), Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ), and Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) solutions. Apttus partners with a world-class ecosystem. Apttus customers include hundreds of the world's largest organizations and the who's who of the Global 1000. About Conga Conga continually sets the standard for Digital Document Transformation (DDX). The Conga DDX Suite transforms day-to-day business by creating, managing and unleashing the power of everyday documents for organizations in 85 countries including AWS, GE, Hilton Worldwide and Salesforce. The company is privately-held and based in Broomfield, Colo. with global operations across North America, Europe and Australia. Learn more at www.conga.com or follow Conga on Twitter: @getconga. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/apttus-and-conga-combine-to-become-leader-in-digitally-transforming-commercial-operations-301055300.html SOURCE Apttus [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Newsfrom Japan Tokyo, May 8 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin have reaffirmed that their countries will keep working closely together to bring the novel coronavirus under control as early as possible. In their phone talks, held on Thursday, the two leaders also confirmed their intentions to continue negotiations on bilateral issues, including the conclusion of an envisioned peace treaty to formally end World War II hostilities between Tokyo and Moscow. The two sides have been unable to conclude the peace treaty due to their long-standing territorial dispute over four northwestern Pacific islands, controlled by Russia and claimed by Japan. The islands, called the Northern Territories in Japan, were seized by the former Soviet Union from Japan at the end of the war. The Abe-Putin talks were the first since last September, when they met face to face in Vladivostok in the Russian Far East region. The phone talks were held at the request of the Japanese side. Abe and Putin agreed on cooperation for the production of coronavirus testing kits by a Japan-Russia joint venture. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Washington: Just a month ago it was rare to see people wearing masks in public in the US. Few people were talking about mask-wearing as an important weapon in the fight against the new coronavirus. The US surgeon-general even warned Americans that wearing a mask could increase their risk of infection. Things have changed dramatically since then. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends that Americans wear a face covering when in public. In many US cities, customers are required to wear a mask to enter grocery stores and pharmacies. Last week several major US airlines said customers would have to wear a face covering during their flight. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tends to co-ordinate her masks with her outfits. Credit:AP While mask wearing has become far more common, it is far from universally accepted. Instead, whether to wear a mask or not has become a new front in America's bitterly partisan culture wars. In broad terms, wearing a mask has become associated with the progressive side of politics. Not wearing one has become a symbol of conservative defiance. A third of Britons say they will travel 'more than ever' once coronavirus restrictions are lifted, according to a new poll. However, 25 per cent of those questioned said they would be more cautious when travelling in the future with 23 per cent adding they would take more domestic trips. The poll of UK adults also revealed that 75 per cent are now more appreciative of being able to travel freely. A third of Britons say they will travel 'more than ever' once coronavirus restrictions are lifted, a new survey has revealed The survey, of 2,274 UK adults, was carried out by Skyscanner, which says that the results show that 'people will continue to travel as soon as restrictions allow, but that how they travel may change'. For example, Skyscanner says that the survey highlighted that many will prioritise quality of the experience, with 64 per cent keen to make better use of their time for travel. In addition, 54 per cent believe theyll spend the same on travel and 12 per cent are planning to spend even more than usual. Bucket-list travel is high on peoples agendas, with 75 per cent more likely to travel to their dream destination once restrictions are lifted. Of those polled, 29 per cent said they wish to be more adventurous in the way that they travel, exploring new destinations and cultures. Meanwhile, Skyscanner has also revealed the top five foreign destinations users have been searching for during April for travel from December 2020 to February 2021. Skyscanner says that its survey highlighted that many will prioritise quality of the experience, with 64 per cent keen to make better use of their time for travel MOST-SEARCHED DESTINATIONS ON SKYSCANNER IN APRIL 1. Bangkok 2. New York 3. Tenerife 4. Orlando 5. Dubai For travel between December 2020 to February 2021. Advertisement The most-searched destination is Bangkok, followed by New York and Tenerife. Orlando is in fourth place with Dubai rounding off the top five. For the same period last year, the top five destinations were Bangkok (1st), New York (2nd), Tenerife (3rd), Orlando (4th) and Sydney (5th). Jon Thorne, director of user satisfaction at Skyscanner, said: 'We are seeing a high level of pent-up wanderlust among travellers, who are eager to be able to explore the world again. While travel has changed, it is clear that the desire to discover will endure. 'It is interesting that this period of lockdown appears to have increased the value of travel in people's minds, with a greater appreciation of the ability to get away. 'For many travellers, confidence and optimism remain high for domestic and international travel within six months. We are seeing patterns in travellers simply altering their search and planning behaviour to accommodate the restrictions of Covid-19.' Former Gov. Chris Christie said the Supreme Courts unanimous decision to reverse the convictions of two former Christie aides in the Bridgegate scandal ended a six-and-a-half year political crusade by the U.S. attorney who prosecuted the case. Christie blasted former U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman and the Justice Department under President Barack Obamas administration over the courts ruling that former aides Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni did not violate the federal laws because they didnt profit from the scheme. It is good for all involved that today justice has finally been done, Christie said in a statement. What cannot be undone is the damage that was visited upon all of the people dragged through the mud who had nothing to do with this incident by the prosecutorial misconduct and personal vindictiveness of Paul Fishman, he said. Despite being repeatedly told by numerous respected members of the bar during the investigation that he was inventing a federal crime, Paul Fishman proceeded, motivated by political partisanship and blind ambition that cost the taxpayers millions in legal fees and changed the course of history. The former governor, whos 2016 White House hopes were largely dashed because of the scandal, said the Obama Justice Department is also culpable for permitting this misconduct to happen. Christie added: There are no words of apology that would be sufficient to right the wrongs committed by Paul Fishman. The Supreme Court, however, said the actions of the former Christie aides, though possibly corrupt, did not constitute a federal crime. Baroni and Kelly used deception to reduce Fort Lees access lanes to the George Washington Bridgeand thereby jeopardized the safety of the towns residents. But not every corrupt act by state or local officials is a federal crime, said the decision written by Justice Elena Kagan. Because the scheme here did not aim to obtain money or property, Baroni and Kelly could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws. A third person, former Port Authority executive David Wildstein, pleaded guilty to federal crimes and testified against the two. Wildstein said he knew the lane closures would cause major traffic backups and saw the massive traffic jams that crippled a town for days as a point of leverage that could be used against Mark Sokolich, the mayor of Fort Lee. Fishman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Christies statement. Kelly worked as a Christie deputy chief of staff who sent the infamous time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee email to Wildstein the admitted mastermind of the scheme. Baroni was the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He hired Wildstein as his deputy. Baroni and Kelly were convicted. Kelly was sentenced to 13 months in prison. She remained free after her sentencing pending her appeal. Baroni received an 18-month term and opted to report to prison, but was released on bail after the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. Wildstein pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation. NJ Advance Media Staff Writer Ted Sherman contributed to this report. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Several leaders and prominent people have expressed grief over the horrific gas leak incident at a polymer plant in Vizag, Vishakhapatnam. Total 11 persons are dead and 200 hospitalised after they suffered rashes and burning sensation in their eyes. Many people were even seen lying unconscious on road in the area. Following the incident, PM Modi held talks with Ministry of Home Affairs and National Disaster Management Authority officials regarding the situation in Vishakhapatnam, which he said was being monitored closely. "I pray for everyone's safety and well-being in Vishakhapatnam," he tweeted. Home Minister Amit Shah said the incident was "disturbing", adding that the government was monitoring the situation constantly. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also expressed shock over the incident. "I urge our Congress workers & leaders in the area to provide all necessary support & assistance to those affected. My condolences to the families of those who have perished. I pray that those hospitalised make a speedy recovery," he tweeted. President Ram Nath Kovind said he was "saddened by the news of gas leak in a plant near Vishakhapatnam". The Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu said he had spoken to Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy, who assured him that all kinds of assistance was being ensured to people. Also read: Vizag gas leak: Gas valve malfunction triggered accident; 8 dead, 200 hospitalised State CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will soon meet victims at King George Hospital and other hospitals where the affected people are being treated. The Chief Minister's Office earlier said he was closely monitoring the situation and had instructed the district machinery to take immediate steps and provide all help. Several Telugu film industry celebrities including Mahesh Babu and Chiranjeevi also expressed disbelief over the incident. "Heartwrenching to hear the news of Vizag gas leak, more so during these challenging times...," tweeted Babu. Also read: Vizag gas leak: All you need to know about LG Polymers plant Megastar Chiranjeevi requested authorities to take utmost care while opening industries post the lockdown. Actor Allu Arjun said the Vizag incident was "heart breaking"."I am deeply saddened by this horrific accident. Condolences to families who have lost their lives and hoping for a speedy recovery for the rest," he tweeted. Also read: Probing extent of damage, cause of leak, says LG Chem; South Korea's envoy terms incident 'tragic' The leak impacted villages within a five-km radius. The leakage happened around 2:30 am at LG's Polymers unit at RR Venkatapuram near Naiduthota, Gopalapatnam. The gas is used in production of plastic. The factory is run by LG Chem. The styrene gas can have serious effects on health and cause upper respiratory tract problems and irritation in eyes and skin. Exposure to styrene, also known as ethenylbenzene can also affect the central nervous system (CNS), causing headache, fatigue, weakness, and depression. Also Read: Vizag gas leak: 11 dead, over 200 hospitalised after leakage at LG plant in Visakhapatnam [May 06, 2020] $2.5 Billion Consulting Company Expands into Australia MELBOURNE, Australia, May 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Slalom, a USD $2.5 billion modern consulting firm that helps organisations solve their most intractable business and technology problems, recently opened its Melbourne office with plans to debut a Sydney office later this year. Slalom's expansion into Australia will bring 200 new jobs to the region over the next two years, with the aim of helping local Australian businesses realise true business transformation, create modern technology-building cultures and develop game-changing new offerings by leveraging modern ways of working and modern technologies to help deliver transformational outcomes. With this move into Australia, Slalom has expanded its footprint to all major markets across the world, with 8,400 employees in over 35 markets. "The Australian market is extremely compelling right now," said Slalom Founder and Chief Experience Officer John Tobin. "With the current business and tech boom, and despite the current situation, there is huge potential for growth and transformation, for Australia-grown and international companies alike. We believe the time is right to bring our unique consulting approach to these businesses. And being one hundred percent private and employee-owned, Slalom is well positioned to navigate the current economic reality, taking a long-term view of the launch in Australia." Slalom works with more than half of the Fortune 100, powering the engineering behind some of the world's largest global technology companies, such as Twitter and AWS, along with startups, mid-tier organisations, not-for-profits, and other innovative companies. Slalom, having seen significant growth in North America for its AWS, Salesforce and Tableau practices, will bring that experience and tailor it to the needs of the Australia market. Australia," said Michael Shimota, the global consultancy leader tapped to spearhead Australian operations. Slalom's strong people-first culture emphasizes sustainable and exciting careers for consultants, builders, designers and architects. Slalom continues to be recognised as one of the best companies to work for by Fortune 100, Forbes and Great Places to Work. This same emphasis on people applies to the company's Australian operations, with unique benefits including commuter, wellbeing and technology allowances for employees. "Slalom Australia is committed to creating an inclusive environment, where everyone is inspired and empowered to make their own unique impact. We focus on a meaningful balance of work and life for our people and we purposefully engage with clients, while providing the opportunities to grow careers based on an individual's strengths and potential," said Fiona Hathaway, who leads new market expansions as part of Slalom's Global People Team. A custom-fit Melbourne office space, to be revealed later this year, will also house a Slalom Build Center to help customers co-create modern software and technology products. Mike Cowden, president of Slalom's fastest-growing division, Slalom Build, adds, "The Build Centers are a key component of this expansion. We've created a new category for cloud-native software and product engineering called Build as a Service. We've seen immense success with this model in the US, and plan to bring what we've learned to Australia working with enterprises, government, and mid-market companies. With a team of highly skilled builders, Slalom's Melbourne office will help local businesses build modern software for the future." About Slalom Slalom is a modern consulting firm focused on strategy, technology, and business transformation. In cities across the US, UK, Canada and Australia, Slalom's teams have the autonomy to move fast and do what's right. They're backed by 10 regional Build Centers, a global culture of collaboration, and partnerships with the world's 200+ top technology providers, with an emphasis on Cloud, Salesforce and Data and Analytics. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Seattle, Slalom has organically grown to 8,400 employees. Slalom was named one of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2019 and is regularly recognized by employees as a best place to work. Learn more at slalom.com . About Slalom Build Slalom Build, the next generation of software- and technology-building, reimagines how companies build modern software, transforming how they create change with technology. With 1,200 builders and 10 Build Centers distributed across North America, the UK, and Australia, Slalom Build establishes "Build as a Service" (BaaS), a new category for cloud-native software and product engineering. Slalom Build puts interdisciplinary teams to work in close proximity with clients, to build modern technology and software products for enterprises faster, cleaner and more nimbly than ever before. Learn more at slalombuild.com . View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2-5-billion-consulting-company-expands-into-australia-301054379.html SOURCE Slalom Consulting [ Back to the Next Generation Communications Community's Homepage ] Maria does not know what to do. Her request for U.S. asylum was denied. Her authorization to be in Mexico, contingent on having an ongoing U.S. immigration case, has expired. And now, the U.S. has sent her 10-year-old son alone to Honduras, where she fled an abusive partner who threatened to kill her if she returns. After losing their asylum case under the Remain-in-Mexico policy, which has granted protection to just 1.1% of the migrants who have completed their proceedings under the program, Maria allowed Jesus, her young son, to cross the border alone to turn himself over to U.S. officials, thinking he would be allowed to reunite with family in Texas and seek refuge in the U.S. under long-standing policies for unaccompanied migrant minors. Instead, Jesus was placed on a deportation flight to Honduras within four days of encountering U.S. immigration officials, who have been granted broad emergency powers during the coronavirus pandemic. "He was desperate," Maria told CBS News in Spanish, referring to her son. "He wanted to be in the U.S. with his uncle because he did not want to go back to Honduras to suffer. 'I do not want to live with that man again so he can mistreat me,' he told me." For the first time in decades, children like Jesus who show up at the southern border without their parents or legal guardians are being summarily expelled and denied access to protections that have been afforded to them under U.S. law. The shift is being justified under a 17-page public health order the Trump administration believes allows border officials to bypass asylum, immigration and anti-trafficking laws. Under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) order, first issued on March 20 and renewed for another 30 days late last month, border officials have expelled thousands of unauthorized migrants to Mexico or their home countries and denied most asylum-seekers the opportunity to request humanitarian protections created by Congress. Story continues In the last 11 days of March alone, officials expelled at least 299 unaccompanied children under the public health order. Expulsions in April are expected to be released Thursday, according to a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesman, but data from the U.S. refugee agency responsible for caring for these minors suggests that most unaccompanied children have been denied entry since the emergency order took effect. The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) received only 58 children from border officials in April, according to government data obtained by CBS News. In March, including the 11 days under the order, border officials referred 1,852 children to the agency. Before the worst weeks of the pandemic, the office was getting as many as 77 migrant minors on a given day. Since the order's implementation, especially in April, daily referrals from border officials have hovered around the single digits. On some days, the agency has not received any minors. Because the refugee agency has continued to release children to relatives and sponsors in the U.S. during the pandemic, the number of unaccompanied migrant minors in its custody has plummeted, falling to 1,648 this week a population not seen since late 2011, according to an administration official. Last April, during an unprecedented wave of U.S.-bound migrant families and children, the office had 12,500 minors in its care. The administration has argued that the CDC order invoking a 1940s-era public health law is necessary to block the entry of migrants who could be carrying the coronavirus and cause outbreaks inside immigration jails that would overwhelm the public health system along the border. Migrant children, top officials have argued, pose the same threat to the U.S. as adults during the pandemic. "The disease doesn't know age," Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan told reporters last month. "When [minors] come across the border, they pose an absolute, concrete public health risk to this country and everybody they come in contact with." While officials like Morgan have maintained that the turn-back order was not a matter of immigration policy, it accomplishes an objective the Trump administration has pursued for over three years: shutting off access to humanitarian protections for immigrants who hardliners see as chiefly economic migrants. "The administration is using coronavirus and the pandemic as a cover for doing what it has always wanted to do, which was to close the border to children," Jennifer Nagda, the policy director at the Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights, told CBS News. "There is no reason why unaccompanied children arriving at the border can't be safely screened and transferred to ORR custody, where capacity is at an all-time low." "There is no real public health justification for turning these children away at the border and it absolutely violates federal law," Nagda added. "I didn't know where they had him" Maria said she and Jesus left Honduras last year after being threatened by her former partner. She said her other three children stayed at her mother's home, where they had been living. CBS News is not disclosing Maria or Jesus' real names to protect their identities. Upon reaching and crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in September 2019, Maria and her son were placed in the Remain in Mexico program, formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols or MPP, according to U.S. government documents reviewed by CBS News. For months, they lived in the tent city in Matamoros, Mexico, the largest refugee camp along the U.S.-Mexico border. They entered the U.S. three times to attend their court hearings at a makeshift immigration court in Brownsville, Texas. In March, an immigration judge denied the family's petition for humanitarian protection in the U.S. Maria said she found herself in an agonizing position. She feared her son could be hurt if they returned to Honduras. She was also concerned about his safety in the squalid tent camp in Matamoros, located in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, which the U.S. government warns Americans not to visit because of the rampant violence and crime there. Migrant children play with cardboard boxes at a migrant encampment where more than 2,000 people live while seeking asylum in the U.S., while the spread of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Matamoros Migrant children play with cardboard boxes at a migrant encampment where more than 2,000 people live while seeking asylum in the U.S., in Matamoros, Mexico, on April 9, 2020. Reuters So Maria followed the lead of other asylum-seeking parents in the MPP program and let Jesus cross the border without her, since unaccompanied minors are supposed to be excluded from the Remain in Mexico policy. Between October 2019 and last month, at least 571 children in the custody of the U.S. refugee agency have said their parents were in Mexico under the policy, according to government data obtained by CBS News. In a letter Wednesday, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus denounced reports by advocates that the U.S. refugee agency has been delaying the release of children with pending Remain in Mexico cases. Last month, a federal judge said the agency can't block the release of children with sponsors simply because they were formerly in Mexico with their family and have a pending case linked to the MPP program. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Jesus was turned over to the agency on April 20, one day after Border Patrol agents encountered and processed him under the public health order. On April 24, ICE sent him to Honduras on a deportation flight, the agency said. But Maria said she did not find out about her son's fate until a week after he was expelled to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Her cousin in Tegucigalpa, the country's capital, was the one who told her, she said. Honduran immigration officials reached her six days after Jesus' removal. "I was scared about my son's whereabouts. I didn't know where they had him," she said. Maria's cousin has agreed to take care of Jesus for the time being. The 10-year-old boy is still shocked and distressed, Maria said. "This is the first time we have been separated. That's why he is sad. 'When are you coming, mommy?' he has asked me," she added. "They told me he spent his days at the shelter crying." Dr. Amy Cohen, a child welfare expert and executive director of the group Every Last One, which works with asylum-seeking minors, helped Maria locate her child and arranged for him to stay with family members in Honduras. Faulting the U.S. government, Cohen said it would've been nearly impossible for the Honduran mother to locate her son if she had not received outside help. "This child, for all intents and purposes, is now alone in Honduras. He's 10-years-old. He has been traumatized and separated from his mother," Cohen told CBS News. "Complete dereliction" The rapid expulsion of unaccompanied children like Jesus from U.S. soil upends decades of legal safeguards that underage migrants have been granted for years, particularly those classified as unaccompanied. When the Department of Homeland Security was created in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, Congress charged the Office of Refugee Resettlement with caring for unaccompanied minors, which had been the responsibility of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, a Justice Department branch with law enforcement functions that was disbanded. Under a 2008 law, border officials generally must transfer unaccompanied migrant children who are not from Mexico or Canada to the U.S. refugee agency within three days of their apprehension, except in extraordinary circumstances. Once in the U.S., immigration law dictates that unaccompanied migrant minors can't be placed in a fast-tracked deportation process known as "expedited removal" and must be connected with legal services providers and child advocates. They are to be placed in the "least restrictive" shelters and facilities. U.S. law stipulates that unaccompanied children can also have their asylum applications decided by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, rather than an immigration judge. Migrant minors, unlike adults, also have other avenues beyond asylum to seek safe haven in the U.S. Those who can prove they have been neglected, abandoned or abused by one or both parents can request "Special Immigrant Juvenile Status," which creates a pathway to U.S. citizenship. The care of unaccompanied children in U.S. custody is also governed by the landmark 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement, which also covers minors in families. Under the settlement, minors must be detained in safe and sanitary facilities, and the government must make a continuing effort to release them to qualified sponsors. The Trump administration has sought to alter, limit or completely scrap most of these laws and protections, arguing that they encourage unauthorized migration of children, particularly from poverty-stricken and violence-ridden parts of Central America. But Jennifer Podkul, vice president of Kids in Need of Defense, a group that provides legal services to unaccompanied minors, said these safeguards were purposely established to protect them. "Congress passed legislation with incredible bipartisan support, recognizing that this is a particularly vulnerable population, to make sure that these kids aren't summarily returned but rather that they have the opportunity to talk to a social worker, talk to a lawyer and talk to a judge, so that the United States can be sure they are not sending a kid back to danger," Podkul told CBS News. "That was Congress' intent." Pablo Rodriguez, an attorney at the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services who works with unaccompanied minors in U.S. immigration custody, said children fleeing to the U.S. are still in need of protection, even during a pandemic. "Just because there is a pandemic going on does not mean that the reasons the children flee, the reasons why people are coming to the United States, have changed," Rodriguez told CBS News. "They are still fleeing gang violence, and a lot of other push-and-pull factors are still at play." Border officials citing the CDC order have also altered the long-standing definition of an "unaccompanied" migrant child as a minor who is encountered at the border without a parent or legal guardian. The administration has told Congress it is now classifying minors who come to the border with other family members as "accompanied" and expelling them as a family. Under an informal agreement between the U.S. and Mexico, Mexican officials agreed to receive Central American families and single adults expelled by the U.S. under the public health order but not unaccompanied minors, a Mexican government official told CBS News. However, a CBP spokesman said Tuesday that unaccompanied children could be expelled to Mexico through a port of entry, or in an ICE deportation flight. CBP has said its agents could exclude unaccompanied minors from the public health order on a case-by-case basis if they see signs of trafficking or illness, or if the child's expulsion to her home country is not immediately possible. A CBP spokesman did not provide more details about when agents could exclude children. "If specific circumstances guaranteeing exemptions from title 42 expulsion were to be made public, they would be exploited by human smugglers," the spokesman said. Nagda, the policy director at the Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights, is worried about the potential asylum and protection requests that the U.S. is no longer hearing from children. "What is most terrifying about this situation is the complete dereliction of any sense of either our legal obligation or moral obligation to very vulnerable children who are coming to our borders," she said. "We have no idea who these children are and we have no idea where they're going." Meanwhile, in the refugee camp in Matamoros, Maria is now contemplating returning to Honduras. "Yes, I'm scared to go back but my son is there now," she said. Cuomo urges vigilance about symptoms in kids: "This is every parent's nightmare" Antibiotic resistance may rise after COVID-19, as doctors struggle to treat secondary infections Evidence revealed in notorious serial killer Israel Keyes case The Justice Department on Thursday moved to dismiss its criminal case against retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, the first national security adviser to President Donald Trump, marking the conclusion of one of the most notable prosecutions brought by former special counsel Robert Mueller. Flynn twice pleaded guilty to one charge of lying to federal investigators about his discussions during the presidential transition with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak in December 2016. Since his first plea, in December 2017, Flynn spent a considerable portion of his extensive legal purgatory cooperating with the federal prosecutors. MORE: What you need to know about the indictment against Michael Flynn But Thursdays blockbuster reversal was preceded by months of haggling by Flynns counsel to have charges dropped. PHOTO: President Donald Trump's former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn leaves the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse on June 24, 2019, in Washington. (Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images, FILE) Just last week, a federal judge cleared the release of four new FBI documents in Flynns after the Justice Department joined Flynn's legal team in a motion to make the materials public. Those records showed hand-written notes taken by senior FBI officials about the interview in which Flynn lied to investigators. MORE: Flynn hoping DOJ review, or pardon from Trump, will free him from legal purgatory On Thursday, prosecutors wrote that "the Government is not persuaded that the January 24, 2017 interview was conducted with a legitimate investigative basis and therefore does not believe Mr. Flynns statements were material even if untrue. Prosecutors wrote that continued prosecution of this case would not serve the interests of justice." The government concluded that the interview of Mr. Flynn was untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBIs counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn, the filing read. Hours before the Justice Departments filing, former special counsel prosecutor Brandon van Grack withdrew from Flynns case without explanation. Van Grack had worked over the past several months with U.S. attorney Jeffrey Jensen who was appointed by Attorney General William Barr to conduct a review into the case earlier this year. Story continues In a statement to reporters, Jensen said he "concluded the proper and just course was to dismiss the case. I briefed Attorney General Barr on my findings, advised him on these conclusions, and he agreed." PHOTO: Attorney General William Barr takes part in the '2019 Prison Reform Summit' in the East Room of the White House in Washington, April 1, 2019. (Yuri Gripas/Reuters, FILE) In his first public comments since the Justice Department's stunning move, Barr defended the controversial decision saying he believed it was "our duty" to do it. "A crime cannot be established here... they did not have a basis for a counterintelligence investigation against Flynn at [the stage of his FBI interview,]" Barr said in an interview with CBS News. Asked whether it still remains true that Flynn lied to the FBI, Barr pivoted -- saying, "you know, people sometimes plead to things -- that turn out not to be crimes." When asked about the impression he is doing the presidents bidding, Barr answered, I am doing the laws bidding, and said he would be ready for any political attacks that occur as a result. I'm prepared for that. I also think it's sad these partisan feelings are so strong that people have lost any sense of justice, Barr said. At the close of the interview, Barr was asked how he feels his decision to dismiss the case would play in the history books. History is written by the winners," said, laughing, "so its largely depends on who is writing the history, he answered. MORE: Justice Department reviewing handling of Michael Flynn case: Source PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting about the coronavirus response with Gov. Greg Abbott, in the Oval Office of the White House, May 7, 2020, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP) Reacting to the news in an Oval Office meeting with Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, Trump called Flynn an innocent man and condemned those who brought the case as dishonest, crooked people. "I didn't know that was happening at this moment," Trump said. "I felt it was going to happen just by watching and seeing like everybody else does." MORE: Trump considering a 'pre-sentencing pardon' for Michael Flynn: Sources Multiple senior level sources told ABC News the White House was made aware of the Justice Departments decision to drop charges against Flynn earlier Thursday morning. Jay Sekulow, the presidents attorney, released a statement Thursday afternoon rejoicing that justice has been served. The actions of the Special Counsel against General Flynn were outrageous, Sekulow continued. Bob Mueller should be ashamed of the conduct of his agents and lawyers during the Special Counsel investigation. The Attorney General and the Department of Justice are correcting a horrible wrong. Sidney Powell, an attorney for Flynn, said in a statement, "this is an historic day for our country, and for truth, justice and the rule of lawthanks to the integrity of the Attorney General, and to other prosecutors and agents who were willing to search for the truth and bring it to light. The General and his family thank the hundreds of millions of patriotic American who have supported him with everything from prayers and tweets to financial contributions throughout this three-year ordeal." Reached for comment, Flynns brother, Joe Flynn, told ABC News, Holy moly! After three and a half years of tortuous prosecution, justice has been served. The FBI did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment. ABC News' Ali Dukakis, James Meek, and Elizabeth Thomas contributed to this report. This report was featured in the Friday, May 8, 2020, episode of Start Here, ABC News daily news podcast. "Start Here" offers a straightforward look at the day's top stories in 20 minutes. Listen for free every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, the ABC News app or wherever you get your podcasts. DOJ moves to dismiss case against former Trump adviser Michael Flynn originally appeared on abcnews.go.com New Delhi, May 7 : V Narayanswamy, Chief Minister Puducherry rose quickly in Congress party power circles during the 10 year UPA regime and was handed over the important portfolio of Personnel and Grievance and PMO. Once UPA fell out of favour with the electorate in 2014, he was chosen to lead the government in the Union Territory which has not got full statehood. Backed by the confidence shown by 10 Janpath in him, the soft spoken but hardcore politician has shown his administrative capabilities as the chief minister. He spoke to IANS's Saiyed Moziz Imam Zaidi on a wide variety of contemporary issues. Excerpts: Q: How is Puducherry coping up with lockdown? Any economic activity has started in the state. A: Lockdown is a new experience for the people of Puducherry. In fact, there was total closure of economic activities in our state during the lockdown period till May 3. We have only 2 major sources of revenue namely Commercial Tax and Excise Duty. We do not have any minerals and therefore the Puducherry government is facing a financial crunch. In spite of it, we have implemented several welfare schemes for our people in the state -- Rs 2,000 for all ration card holders, Rs 5,000 subsidy for the farmers, Rs 10,000 interest free bank loan to the women Self Help Group, Additionally Rs 1,000 for unorganized labourers, Additionally Rs 2,000 for construction workers. We Started Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee programme work for the Agricultural labourers. Apart from the rice provided by the Central government 5 kg for each person for three months, we are giving 10 kg per family for three months to the APL families. Now, we slowly started the economic activities by opening the industries and shops. Q: What is the status of PPE Kits and random tests in the state? How are Migrants feeling in the state? A: The state government has been writing to the Centre for PPE kits, testing kits, three layer masks, two layer masks, N-95 masks, ventilators, monitors and required medicines. Some of the PPE kits, testing kits have been sent by the Centre including N-95 masks. The testing kits which were provided by them were faulty and it was returned back to the Union Health Ministry. With our own resources, we have purchased ventilators, monitors, PPE kits, N-95 masks and medicines. As far as the migrant workers are concerned, they are safe in Puducherry. In fact, when the industries were closed, 75 per cent of the migrant labourers were taken care by the employers by providing them salary and food, our government put the remaining persons into Community Centres and took care of them. Only about 297 migrant labourers would like to go to their respective places and we are making arrangements for their safe return to their states by providing them financial assistance. Q: How many active cases are there in the state and the preparation regarding beds and quarantine centres? A: There are three active cases in Puducherry. At least 2,995 people are in home quarantine. In the adjoining state of Tamil Nadu and in the adjoining districts namely Villupuram and Cuddalore, the COVID-19 cases are increasing. At all India level, Tamil Nadu reached the 4th position in COVID-19 cases. Therefore, we have been struggling very hard to contain the entry of people from Tamil Nadu border. We have a 700-bed Hospital in Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Research Institute, which has been dedicated to COVID-19. Hospital and Quarantine centre have also been opened. Q: The Union government has allowed liquor sales and this has caused havoc on social distancing. Do you think liquor shops should be opened? A: Puducherry being a wet state, liquor is one of the main source of revenue for our state, so far our government has not taken any decision to open liquor shops. Q: Rahul Gandhi spoke to two noted economists. Both suggested Direct Cash Transfer. Do you think it is feasible? A: Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has interacted with former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan and Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee and noted Economists in the country and they gave several suggestions including direct cash transfer. It is possible for the Central government to switch over the direct cash transfer to the people and also economic packages for the states and bail out packages for the industrial sector. The Centre has to come forward to implement the practical suggestions given by the noted economists and also Rahul Gandhi. Q: Is the Union Government cooperating with your state? What do you expect from the Central Government for your state? A: Our Puducherry government has been requesting the Union Government to provide the GST compensation, 7th pay Commission arrears, pension amount for retired employees, Grants and additional grants, increase in the borrowing limit from 3 per cent to 5 per cent. But so far I have not received any positive response from the Centre. This is the time for the Central Government to come to the rescue of the state for revival of the economy of all the states. Q: Any of the COVID-19 positive cases has any link with Tablighi Jamaat and how did you manage to trace them? A: Our State was a Coronavirus free state before the Tablighi Jamaat episode. Seven persons in Puducherry and 4 people from Karaikal returned after attending the Tablighi Jamaat in which 4 of them in Puducherry were found to be COVID-19 positive and that is the only case which our state had. Because of our positive steps, we are able to contain the effect of coronavirus. We have also traced the contact people and in our state, we have screened the entire population and also did a large number of tests next to Delhi. Q: Delhi is demanding full statehood. Do you think Puduchery be given full statehood and why? A: The demand for statehood has been pending with the Central Government and we have got all the qualifications to become state. But, unfortunately the Centre has not taken any decision so far. Q: Your differences with the Lt. Governor is well known what are the contentious issues which are the basis of conflict? Do you think the Lt. Governor is crossing the 'Laxman Rekha' and acting on behest of the Union Government? A: For the last four years, Lt. Governor Dr. Kiran Bedi has been creating hurdles in the running of the government. We have been forced to go to the court. The Division Bench of the High Court of Chennai gave a ruling that the elected government is responsible to run the administration, the Lt. Governor has no independent power and if there is difference of opinion between the elected government and Lt. Governor and it has to be resolved by the Hon'ble President of India. Ignoring the Court judgement the Hon'ble Lt. Governor is acting in an unconstitutional and illegal manner for which we are taking further legal course. Even during the Coronavirus crisis she has not stopped her illegal and unconstitutional activities and her interference in the government functioning is going on everyday. I wrote a letter to the Central government, but she is crossing Laxman Rekha day in and day out. Q: The Congress says in fighting the COVID-19, there is one man show. Do you think PM Narendra Modi is acting alone without taking the CMs into confidence? A: When the COVID-19 effect started, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the lockdown without consulting the states and thereafter the states were consulted for the second lockdown but in the third lockdown, states were not taken into confidence. But due consultation is required by the Central Government especially the Prime Minister with the Chief Ministers in a federal structure that is lacking in the Central Government and all the Chief Ministers have to be taken into confidence before taking any decision by the Centre. Then alone there will be cooperative federalism. The Congress party also has been giving several practical suggestions to the Centre. But I feel that those suggestions are not being considered. Today is a period of crisis and all are working together to save the people from the COVID-19 pandemic disaster and therefore the Government should be liberal in supporting the States to come out of the crisis. (Saiyed Moziz Imam Zaidi can be respectively contacted at imam.m@ians.in) At the end of another long shift treating coronavirus patients, Dr. Hadi Halazun opened his Facebook page to find a man insisting to him that "no one's dying" and that the coronavirus is "fake news" drummed up by the news media. Hadi tried to engage and explain his firsthand experience with the virus. In reply, another user insinuated that he wasn't a real doctor, saying pictures from his profile showing him at concerts and music festivals proved it. "I told them: 'I am a real doctor. There are 200 people in my hospital's ICU,'" said Halazun, a cardiologist in New York. "And they said, 'Give me your credentials.' I engaged with them, and they kicked me off their wall." "I left work and I felt so deflated. I let it get to me." Halazun, like many other health care professionals, is dealing with a bombardment of misinformation and harassment from conspiracy theorists, some of whom have moved beyond posting online to pressing doctors for proof of the severity of the pandemic. And it's taking a toll. Halazun said dealing with conspiracy theorists is the "second most painful thing I've had to deal with, other than separation of families from their loved one." Several other doctors shared similar experiences, saying that they regularly had to treat patients who had sought care too late because of conspiracy theories spread on social media and that social media companies have to do more to counteract the forces that spread lies for profit. Image: Anti-stay-at-home protesters in Oregon (Terray Sylvester / Getty Images) Dr. Duncan Maru, a physician and epidemiologist in Queens, New York, said he had heard from colleagues that a young patient had come into the emergency room last week with damage to his intestinal tract after having ingested bleach. The incident occurred just days after President Donald Trump suggested that "injection" of disinfectants should be researched as a potential coronavirus treatment. "Folks delaying seeking care or, taking the most extreme case, somebody drinking bleach as a result of structural factors just underlines the fact that we have not protected the public from disinformation," Maru said. Story continues The structural factors in this case include Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, which have struggled to contain the spread of misinformation, some of it coming from positions of authority. Social networks have taken a variety of steps in recent weeks to thwart misinformation, such as providing dedicated portals for vetted information from public health officials and banning content related to conspiracy theories around 5G wireless technology. Despite the efforts, the distribution networks built up in recent years by fringe media personalities and activists on tech platforms and through websites have proven resilient. Whitney Phillips, a assistant professor of communications who studies the spread of disinformation at Syracuse University, said the coronavirus outbreak offers a look at how conspiracy thinking is now, in some ways, more organized. "With conspiracy theories, the reason they're impervious to fact-checking is that they have become a way of being in the world for believers," Phillips said. "It isn't just one narrative that you can debunk. It is a holistic way of being in the world that has been reinforced by all the other bulls--- that these platforms have allowed people to consume for years." 'It scares me more than anything' Organized harassment campaigns, lies and urban legends targeting doctors are a real-life symptom of what the World Health Organization dubbed the "infodemic" as the coronavirus started to spread throughout the world earlier this year. Halazun has since stopped engaging with the trolls on Facebook, some of whom claimed that "the hospitals are empty" and that the virus was part of a plot to vaccinate or microchip U.S. citizens just two of the many conspiracy theories that have swirled around the coronavirus. But he was still left with big questions: How can people believe this stuff? And do they understand the algorithms and opportunistic extremists that led them to believe it? "It scares me more than anything that there are people who are basically controlled and in the same way they feel they're fighting against that control," he said. "They go to YouTube, where they're really being controlled, and they don't realize it. That's what's scary." Maru also said he felt that tech platforms need to do more to deal with disinformation, but he acknowledged that there is no easy fix. "I do think it's a monumental task to hold these companies to account, but in the COVID case, they truly have blood on their hands," Maru said. Beyond emergency rooms and internet platforms, there are hints of how far some coronavirus misinformation has spread. Dr. Rajeev Fernando said that when he takes questions about the coronavirus on radio shows, one out of every two callers refers to 5G towers or conspiracy theories about labs in Wuhan, China. On the phone, sometimes they'll listen to reality, said Fernando, an infectious diseases specialist at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital in New York. "Some people have an agenda, and you can't help that," Fernando said. "But for other people, I say, 'Let me try to answer your questions and see why you think this way and why I think this is an appropriate answer.'" Still, Fernando believes social media networks need watchdogs, including physicians, to identify disinformation before it once again becomes a public health crisis. "We have to understand these [conspiracy theorists] are criminal organizations which really stop at nothing to get disinformation out," Fernando said. Bill Gates and 5G Well-organized, professional disinformation peddlers in the QAnon and anti-vaccination movements have gained new audiences during the coronavirus pandemic by coalescing around two primary boogeymen: Bill Gates and 5G towers. Halazun heard it all firsthand. He didn't know where it all began or how to stop it. "These anti-vaccination people were telling me I'm a sheep," Halazun said. "Dr. Fauci this, Bill Gates that. And I don't really care what you think about Bill Gates. It doesn't affect me. But it does affect me when they tell me what we're doing is not real and that the hospitals are really empty. It hurts." In January, a well-known promoter of QAnon, the baseless conspiracy theory that Trump is secretly dismantling a pedophile-cannibal cabal that runs the U.S. government, pushed a conspiracy theory that Gates "patented" the coronavirus based on a mischaracterized public patent search. The patent was created by a Gates-aligned research institute to research a vaccine, a common practice among researchers, and it covered a previous coronavirus, not the one that causes COVID-19. Still, the tweet helped spark a focus on Gates that has permeated the various conspiracy theory networks that have developed on the internet in recent years. The same QAnon promoter later promoted a diluted form of bleach called "Miracle Mineral Solution" as a possible way to kill the coronavirus. Similarly, the anti-vaccination movement has pushed a false conspiracy theory that 5G towers are weakening immune systems throughout the world and that COVID-19 is a cover story for the colossal death tolls around the world. After a prominent anti-vaccination figure posted a video on Instagram of a man alongside a destroyed 5G tower, several arson fires were set on towers across Europe and Canada. Brian Keeley, a professor of philosophy at Pitzer College in California who studies why people believe in conspiracy theories, said some people in times of crisis look to far-fetched ideas with simple answers for complex problems. Providing a straightforward, extinguishable enemy whether it's a well-known celebrity like Gates or a mysterious concept like the illuminati gives conspiracy theorists hope, agency and power in a time of chaos. In reality, those recognizable, often mortal figures are simply scapegoats for an act of God. "People are looking for these kinds of explanations to control something in their lives," Keeley said. Keeley, who's been researching conspiracy theories for over 20 years, said he has abandoned using Facebook because of the "depression that comes from looking at that." "It's sort of an informational quarantine," he said. "You don't want to be exposing yourself to a different kind of virus." Quitting Facebook After researching why people believe in the conspiracy theories, Halazun has come to the same conclusion: Right now, it's not worth it for a doctor to spend any time on Facebook. "We're limited in our emotional capacity. I'm not going to spend whatever I have left after a long day of work trying to convince a conspiracy theorist," Halazun said. "They're immune to any evidence. You're not going to change their mind." As Halazun stepped outside after his Facebook experience, he heard the bang of pots and pans and whoops and hollers. It was 7 p.m., and New York City residents were participating in their nightly salute to health care workers on the front lines of fighting the coronavirus pandemic. "I just started crying," Halazun said. "I thought, 'What do I believe here?' It almost made me question myself. Some people are out there who are sitting in their homes, going on these videos and then telling us it's fake while we're saving lives. "I felt like 'What are we doing this for?'" Russia's new move is in breach of the Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilians which expressly prohibits the destruction or expropriation of property by occupying powers. Russia's new move to strip Ukrainians of their own land in Crimea is in flagrant violation of Ukrainian and international law, which will entail consequences, both for Russia and for Russian nationals who "acquire" land plots illegally expropriated from Ukrainians, rights activists stress. At a joint briefing on May 6, Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office for Crimea, Office of the President's Envoy for Crimea, and human rights groups spoke of ways to protect Ukrainians from losing their land following the illegal decree issued by Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 20, 2020, Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group reports. The decree makes amendments to a list of "coastal territories" which "foreign nationals, stateless persons and foreign legal entities" cannot have land rights to. The list includes most parts of occupied Crimea, except for three regions without access to the Black Sea. Since Russia, as invader and occupying state, is treating Ukrainians as "foreign nationals", the decree effectively strips Crimean Tatars and other Ukrainians who have not acquired Russian citizenship of their land rights. Read alsoCrimean children taught Russia didn't invade Crimea rights group Russia's new move is in breach of the Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilians which expressly prohibits the destruction or expropriation of property by occupying powers. The trouble is that Russia is brazenly violating international treaties with its ongoing occupation of Crimea, so simply stating the fact will be of no help to Ukrainians who are now being made to sell their land plots which otherwise will have been forcibly sold, almost certainly for very little money, by March 20, 2021, the report reads. Anton Korynevych, Ukrainian President's Envoy for Crimea, has condemned Russia's move, while his Deputy, Darya Sviridova, pointed out that all Ukrainians whose land is expropriated shall be deemed as victims of an armed conflict. As reported earlier, the International Criminal Court's Prosecutor has recognized Russia's ongoing occupation of Crimea as an international armed conflict. Sviridova stressed that Ukraine must now create effective procedure for reinstating all paperwork confirming ownership rights; establish the principles for returning expropriated property; and record all such cases of expropriation, destruction of property, etc. Ukraine has clearly stated that it does not recognize this "decree" and that the latter is therefore seen as void. That means that, even if land is expropriated and Russians consider themselves new owners, the land shall remain property of those who were illegally stripped of their rights. In theory, the law is not retroactive and should only apply to land which became a "foreign national's" property after it came into force. However it was noted that, in fact, there has already been widespread expropriation of land based on court rulings which illegally reassessed legitimacy of pre-annexation land allocation according to Russian legislation, violations are expected to prevail. Russia has made it virtually impossible to reside in occupied Crimea without acquiring Russian citizenship. Now, those who have turned down naturalization are at risk of losing their property. The decree will also negatively affect the large number of Ukrainians who were forced to flee their homes to mainland Ukraine. Those who were forced to take on Russian citizenship are not necessarily protected, either, the report adds. There have been a number of cases where Russia's migration service has illegally invalidated acquired citizenship. A 57-year-old person in immigration custody died Wednesday from complications related to COVID-19, marking the first reported death from the virus among about 30,000 people in immigration custody in the U.S. The detainee had been held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego and hospitalized since late April, said Craig Sturak, a spokesman for the San Diego County Health & Human Services Agency. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would neither confirm nor deny the death. CoreCivic Inc., the private company that operates the detention center, didnt respond to a request for comment. Otay Mesa has been a hotbed for the spread of COVID-19, with nearly one of five detainees who have tested positive nationwide. As of Wednesday, 132 of ICEs 705 positive cases were at the San Diego facility. Additionally, 10 of 39 ICE detention employees who have tested positive are at Otay Mesa. Two guards at an immigration detention center in Monroe, Louisiana, died late last month from the coronavirus Carl Lenard, 62, and Stanton Johnson, 51. Until Wednesday, no detainees had been reported dead. A Justice Department attorney, Samuel Bettwy, said at a hearing on Monday that the San Diego detainee was intubated at a hospital with a prognosis that was not good. While the death came as no surprise, advocacy groups that have been pressing ICE to release detainees on bond swiftly criticized the agency. This tragic news is even more evidence that failing to act will result in cruel and needless death, said Monika Langarica, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego & Imperial Counties, which successfully sued to force the release of dozens of older and medically vulnerable detainees at Otay Mesa. 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. The frequency of testing may have something to do with Otay Mesas elevated infection rate. At Mondays hearing, authorities said 119 of 171, or 70%, of detainees tested at Otay Mesa were positive. ICE says only that it has tested 705 detainees nationwide, without breaking testing down by detention center. The first positive case at Otay Mesa was a guard, whose test result was announced March 31. The facility is designed to hold up to 1,970 ICE detainees and U.S. Marshals Service inmates but has lowered its count in recent weeks. As of April 26, it held 662 immigration detainees and 325 Marshals Service inmates. Dozens are being released this week under a court order. In Massachusetts, Lawyers for Civil Rights has filed a class action lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Bristol County sheriffs office seeking the release of all civil immigration detainees held in the facility. Related Content: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kerala Health Department Thursday launched an interactive portal to provide a comprehensive information on various activities of the department to contain the spread of the virus. State Health Minister K K Shailaja launched the portal and said it was opened to the public at a right time "when the whole world was going throughone of the worst pandemics and would like to know the situation in Kerala." "In context of COVID-19, the portal gives all the information regarding basic indicators through an interactive dashboard having innovative graphical features. There is one particular section- 'Fish tank'- to generate interest among school children," the minister said in a release. The portal provides information about the number of patients under isolation represented through fish and its size. It will also have a chat bot 'Arogyamitra' to interact with people. "The portal has a unique feature of publishing every day a technical paper to cover an important theme of the day. It is also having a section Hero of the Week to felicitate the team or an individual who has done some innovative result-oriented work. This section is added to motivate and encourage the field functionaries," the minister said. The department is in the process of developing other features in the portal,the release said. The minister also urged peopleto take prevention and control activities by following health advisories to ensure containment and halting COVID-19 spread. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Technavio has been monitoring the laser cladding equipment market and it is poised to grow by USD 18.19 million during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of almost 4% 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/20200506005892/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Laser Cladding Equipment 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. ALPHA LASER GmbH, Coherent Inc., Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research eV, Gall Seitz Systems GmbH, Optomec Inc., IPG Photonics Corp., Laserline GmbH, OC Oerlikon Corp. AG, and TRUMPF GmbH Co. KG. are some of the major market participants. The declining cost of laser systems 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. Declining cost of laser systems has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. Laser Cladding Equipment Market 2020-2024: Segmentation Laser Cladding Equipment Market is segmented as below: Market Landscape High Power Low Power Geography Europe North America APAC MEA South America End-user Industrial Mining Power Generation Others 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=IRTNTR43114 Laser Cladding Equipment 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 laser cladding equipment market report covers the following areas: Laser Cladding Equipment Market Size Laser Cladding Equipment Market Trends Laser Cladding Equipment Market Industry Analysis This study identifies the development of automatic laser cladding equipment as one of the prime reasons driving the laser cladding equipment market growth during the next few years. Laser Cladding Equipment Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the laser cladding equipment market, including some of the vendors such as ALPHA LASER GmbH, Coherent Inc., Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research eV, Gall Seitz Systems GmbH, Optomec Inc., IPG Photonics Corp., Laserline GmbH, OC Oerlikon Corp. AG, and TRUMPF GmbH Co. KG. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the laser cladding equipment 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. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Laser Cladding Equipment Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024 Detailed information on factors that will assist laser cladding equipment market growth during the next five years Estimation of the laser cladding equipment market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the laser cladding equipment market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of laser cladding equipment market vendors Table Of Contents: Executive Summary Market Landscape Market ecosystem Market characteristics Value chain analysis Market Sizing Market definition Market segment analysis Market size 2019 Market outlook: Forecast for 2019 2024 Five Forces Analysis Five forces summary Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes Threat of rivalry Market condition Market Segmentation by End-user Market segments Comparison by End-user Industrial Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Mining Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Power generation Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Others Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Market opportunity by End-user Market Segmentation by Power Market segments Comparison by power High power Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Low power Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Market opportunity by power Customer Landscape 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 by geography Volume driver Demand led growth Price driver Supply led growth Market challenges Market trends Vendor Landscape Vendor landscape Landscape disruption Vendor Analysis Vendors covered Market positioning of vendors ALPHA LASER GmbH Coherent Inc. Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research eV Gall Seitz Systems GmbH Han's Laser Corp.Ltd. IPG Photonics Corp. Laserline GmbH Optomec Inc. OC Oerlikon Corp. AG TRUMPF GmbH Co. KG Appendix Scope of the report Currency conversion rates for US$ Research methodology List of abbreviations 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/20200506005892/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ A global underwriter has scooped up a Houston-based auto insurance provider last week, and its founding chief executive officer along with it. Assurant Inc. closed Friday on its acquisition of American Financial & Automotive Services for $158 million, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Houston insurance company and its CEO Arden Hetland were a package deal. AFAS employs some 200 people in Houston, according to a news release from Assurant. The company provides insurance and other services through a network of around 600 dealerships in 40 states. The acquisition follows a 20-plus-year relationship between the two companies. Assurant was the Houston firms primary underwriter for vehicle service contracts and auto products. PANDEMIC ADJUSTMENTS: AAA insurance members to get COVID-19 related refunds The AFAS management team joins Hetland in the move to Assurant, the company said. (O)ur agreement to acquire AFAS further underscores our confidence in the long-term growth potential of the global automotive market, John Laudenslager, president of Assurant Global Automotive, said in a release. Having Arden and his team join Assurant gives us the benefit of their years of experience and expertise, which we will count on as we continue to grow the business together. The acquisition allows for greater scale and efficiency, Assurant said, and the larger company will draw from AFASs 40 years in the industry. Having partnered with us for so many years, Hetland said in the release, they clearly value our teams depth of experience and high-touch relationship approach, which are key factors in our shared commitment to servicing clients and growing the business. AFAS is to retain its brand and continue operating as a separate direct-to-dealer channel under the larger company, with the transition phasing in over multiple years. Amanda.drane@chron.com Twitter.com/AmandaDrane STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A volunteer group is investigating after paintballs were fired at an Orthodox Jewish man while on his Willowbrook porch on April 26. The man, 20, was at a residence on Martin Avenue and was not the intended target, an NYPD spokeswoman said. The incident occurred at around 5:10 p.m. when an unknown suspect drove down Martin Avenue and shot a paintball at an unoccupied parked vehicle, the spokeswoman said. The person who shot the paintball and the 20-year-old man did not have any sort of conversation, according to the spokeswoman. Staten Island Shmira, an unarmed emergency service formed a few years ago to assist with security, emergency aid and search and rescue throughout the borough, said on Twitter that the man was studying the Talmud when the incident happened. Staten Island Shmira investigating after a orthodox Jewish man was shot at with a paintball gun while studying the Talmud on his porch on Martin Ave. Any info please call @NYPD121Pct & Shmira at 718-761-4444 #StopTheHate pic.twitter.com/j2ZROIjCfm Staten Island Shmira (@SISPshmira) May 6, 2020 Levi Leifer, the director of Shmira Safety Patrol, said that at least five paintballs were fired toward the man. For a second he wasnt sure they were shooting at him. He jumped out. Thank God everything missed him to learn a minute later it was all paintball shots, Leifer said. Leifer said that the paintball shots hit the 20-year-olds two cars and his house. No injuries were reported, but a report for reckless endangerment is on file in connection to the incident, the spokeswoman said. The investigation remains ongoing, police said. Billions of years ago, the Martian surface could have supported microbial life as we know it. But did such life ever actually exist there? NASA and its Mars 2020 mission hope to find out with the Perseverance rover, which launches to the Red Planet this summer. Scientists have sought answers to astrobiological questions on Earth, studying regions similar enough to Mars to understand what the Red Planet's microscopic fossil record might look like. One research trip late last year involved fossilized microbes in the Australian Outback. Earlier this year, seven mission scientists headed to a dry lakebed in Nevada as 150 worked with them remotely for the Rover Operations Activities for Science Team Training, aka the ROASTT. Rather than bringing a car-sized rover, the seven field team members stood in for it. Wielding cameras and portable spectrometers during simulated operations spread out over a two-week period, they received instructions from the scientists located elsewhere, just as the rover will after it lands on Feb. 18, 2021. Like all Mars rovers, Perseverance will be run by a distributed team of scientists and engineers -- some located in the operations center at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which leads the new mission, and some located at research institutions around the world. They will discuss where to go, which samples to study, and -- for the first time -- which rocks to collect in metal tubes for eventual return to Earth for deeper study. The Nevada exercise not only helped team members practice what to look for with Perseverance; it helped them get used to working with one another and with the rover. The field site was also an opportunity for research: Besides simulating a rover, the field team members were studying the field site, providing insights that could help shape the search for past life on Mars. If a cliffside seemed promising, scientists on conference lines around the globe debated whether the field team should "drive" closer; if a set of rocks appeared ideal for preserving fossils, they would order close-up images from the field team. A ray-gun-like laser instrument mimicked Perseverance's rock-analyzing SuperCam; another handheld tool shot X-rays like the rover's Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL) will; a ground-penetrating radar was carted around in what looked like a jogger stroller to peer below the surface, mimicking the Radar Imager for Mars' Subsurface Experiment (RIMFAX). The field team also had an important low-tech tool: a cheap broom used to sweep away their footprints, both to preserve the Martian feel of the landscape and to avoid providing the remote scientist a sense of scale in the rock images they were providing. A Patch of Mars in Nevada Walker Lake is an ideal training ground for spotting ancient microscopic life. The lake once extended much farther than it does today; the parts of it that dried up tens of thousands of years ago are now studded with stromatolites -- collections of fossilized microbes and sediment that have hardened into what often look like bulbous, moundlike growths. It remains to be seen whether Jezero Crater, Perseverance's landing site, has anything akin to stromatolites, but it, too, is an ancient lakebed. Besides helping scientists think about biosignatures, or signs of ancient life, the training also demonstrated how working with Perseverance will take teamwork and careful coordination. "It's especially important for scientists who are new to Mars rovers," said JPL scientist Raymond Francis, who led the field team. "It's a team effort, and everyone has to learn how their roles fit into the whole mission." One Rover, Many Decisions Lisa Mayhew, a geochemist and geomicrobiologist at the University of Colorado Boulder, is one of those newcomers. To study the relationship between water, rocks and microbial life in extreme environments, she's worked with deep-sea remotely operated vehicles, like the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Jason. In places such as the Lost City, located at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, she's watched Jason explore craggy mineral towers. Microbes in and on these towers thrive by metabolizing energy-rich gases, like hydrogen and methane, produced from reactions between water and rock. Some scientists think life on Earth may have originated in such places. Similarly to a Mars rover, Jason sends back images, and its robotic arms can be deployed to move rocks and take samples. But Mars is much farther away than the ocean floor. Only so many commands can be sent to Perseverance each day, and only so much data can be sent back. That's why every rover mission has to balance the desire to deepen the team's understanding of one site with the need to sample the geologic diversity available down the road. The Walker Lake exercise underscored for Mayhew just how many decisions go into managing a Mars rover. "While it's similar in many ways to operating and directing Jason, it's happening on a much larger scale and you're pretty clueless until you're actually planning a rover drive," she said. "You have to learn all the different software tools and understand the distinction between different roles." At the end of the training, participating scientists said they had a much better idea of how a rover team works. What's more, the scientists had chosen a sample that was rich with biosignatures. "The next time we do this will be on Mars," said JPL's Ken Williford, one of the mission's deputy project scientists. "We've got to get the right samples. Let's bring them back." Perseverance is a robotic scientist weighing about 2,260 pounds (1,025 kilograms). The rover's mission will search for signs of past microbial life. It will characterize the planet's climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth, and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet. No matter what day Perseverance launches during its July 17-Aug. 5 launch period, it will land at Mars' Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021. The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission is part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028 through NASA's Artemis lunar exploration plans. For more information about Perseverance, visit: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ https://www.nasa.gov/perseverance Astrobiology Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. (Photo : Dado Ruvic on Reuters ) Zoom Hires Ex-US National Security Adviser as 'Independent Director' (Photo : Loren Elliott on Reuters ) Zoom Hires Ex-US National Security Adviser as 'Independent Director' Zoom is now on its peak during the pandemic crisis. Despite the security issues that the American app is facing, a huge number of users are still using this app. And as they jumped in to provide stricter and stronger security measures, the company now has a new director--adding to Zoom's company board. Interestingly, the man behind it was also once part of United States President Donald Trump's security advisers. Zoom has a new official originally from US National Security ALSO READ: Met Gala Season! Animal Crossing: New Horizons Has New Clothes From Marc Jacobs and Valentino According to Fox News, H.R. McMaster is now officially part of the Zoom company board as an independent director that was said to be responsible for keeping the platform safe for its users. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan officially said this announcement on Wednesday, May 6. He said that the new director would be a "welcome addition" to the company's board officials. "During his decorated military career, he has built an expertise in leading through challenging situations and has demonstrated tremendous strength of character," Yuan said in a statement Wednesday. "His leadership will be invaluable as Zoom continues to enable people to connect on a global scale." For those who don't know McMaster, he was once part of the Trump administration as a former U.S. national security adviser. He left his post in March 2018 after serving for the President for over a year. He was positioned on the job after Trump's first security adviser Michael Flynn was dismissed after less than a month on the job after officials accused him of not telling top officials about the full extent of his communications with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential transition period. After McMaster left the office of the President, he was then replaced by two other security advisers that only lasted for months. McMaster mentioned that connecting people through this pandemic is an essential thing for everyone. Giving thanks to what Zoom has said to be doing through the past years. "Zoom does significant good for our society, allowing people to connect and collaborate face-to-face from anywhere. This extraordinary capability is vital now more than ever," McMaster said in a statement Wednesday. "My goal is to help the company navigate rapid growth and assist in meeting Zoom's commitment to becoming the world's most secure video communications platform." Zoom also hires investment expert from the Obama administration Not only McMaster would be added to the board. Excitingly, even former President Barack Obama's deputy assistant to the U.S. Trade Representative for Investment, Jonathan Kallmer, will be seen to be added to the company. Kallmer will be entering the position as head of the Global Public Policy and Government Relations, which makes sure that security on the app will be properly applied every day. After the controversies, it looks like Zoom has finally changed its path to a more secure platform for everyone. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Ctit.vn scored 46 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2.5/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 27 Nov 2012, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. The total number of people who shared the ctit homepage on Delicious. The total number of people who shared the ctit homepage on StumbleUpon. The total number of people who shared the ctit homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the ctit homepage on Twitter + the total number of ctit followers (if ctit has a Twitter account). This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the ctit homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if ctit has a Facebook fan page). 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Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Thursday asserted that they were tracking Pakistan-supported Hizb-ul-Mujahideen's top terror commander Riyaz Naikoo for the last six months. J&K Police IG (Kashmir Range) Vijay Kumar said, "We were tracking Riyaz Naikoo for six months." He further said that anti-terror operations will be increased and there will be no slow down on them. Naikoo and his associate were killed on May 6 in an encounter in Beighpora village of Awantipora in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. His elimination is a major blow to the local terror groups active in the area. He became a terrorist in May 2012 and was a close associate of former Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief Burhan Wani. Kumar stated that Naikoo was a Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander and he was trying to recruit youth. He was also involved in the killing of civilians, added Kumar. "We are proud of our security forces who managed to kill him. Its a relief. Naikoo was finally found in the seventh hideout, earlier we had found six hideouts but never caught him," he added. Speaking on the current law and order, Kumar added, "We have tools like curfew and communication blockade. There would have been so many rumour-mongering and thats why we shut internet and phone services." On May 6, in a big move to stop glorification and big funeral procession of terrorists, the bodies of Naikoo and his associate were not handed over to their relatives. The J&K administration decided to bury them and not reveal the location. This decision also came at the backdrop of stone-pelting by youths on a vehicle of security forces in Pulwama at the encounter site of Naikoo. Kumar said, "Handwara is a red zone and thats why we didnt hand over the body of civilian to the family. Till the time there is coronavirus COVID-19 even local terrorist bodies would not be handed over to the families." He stated that the security forces have eliminated 64 terrorists since January 2020 in 27 operations and arrested 25 active terrorists. He also added that The Resistance Force (TRF) is an offshoot of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and it came into existence after international pressure on Pakistan. "All the terrorists which were on our list of LeT are of TRF. Now they have Hizb-ul-Mujahideen also but most of them are LeT's. We have blocked TRF communications and thats why they havent said anything on Naikoo' killing," said Kumar. Riyaz Naikoo took over as the commander of Hizbul Mujahideen after the outfit`s poster boy and commander Burhan Wani was eliminated in a gunfight with the security forces in the Kokarnag area in Anantnag district on July 8, 2016. Security forces hold Naikoo responsible for holding Hizbul together after its possible disintegration when Zakir Musa broke away from the Hizbul ranks to form his own splinter group. India: Hindu nationalists falsely accuse Christians of mob lynching Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Hindu nationalists in India have falsely accused Christian missionaries of being behind the lynching of two Hindu priests, placing the countrys already-persecuted Christian minority further at risk. UCA News reports that after two Hindu priests and their driver were murdered by a mob in Gadchindhali village in Maharashtra's Palghar district in April, Christians were quickly blamed for the killing despite no clear evidence that any believers were involved. The three individuals were on their way from Mumbais Kandivili to Silvassa to attend a funeral when they were stopped by a vigilante group that was set up by locals to patrol during the night, the Times of India reported. After questioning the men they suspected of being kidnappers or robbers, the mob pelted stones at them and later beat them with sticks. Though police attempted to intervene, the mob killed the three travelers. The police have detained over 100 people and nine minors in connection with the lynching. Days later, Rakesh Sinha, a member of parliament from the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and a senior spokesperson for the Hindu extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, claimed on national television that Christian missionaries and the Communist Party of India were behind the murders, UCA News reports. Without providing any evidence for his allegation, Sinha claimed Hindus would not attack priests unless caught in immoral acts and a mob of some 200 people could not come together late at night without being organized by a leader. Insisting it was a planned murder involving Christians and communists, Sinha said: "A probe will prove it. But I'm making an allegation. According to The Wire, videos of the incident also began circulating on social media, with some insinuating it was a communally-motivated crime committed by members of either the Christian or Muslim communities. An image of the two deceased men was also shared on social media with a graphic that accuses the goons of Christian missionaries for the attack. However, the states Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray repeatedly clarified that the killings had no sectarian angle. Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh also took to Twitter to quell rumors, releasing a list of names of those arrested to show that attackers and victims were from the same religious background. The list of the 101 arrested in the #Palghar incident. Especially sharing for those who were trying to make this a communal issue, he wrote in an April 22 tweet. He also tweeted, Palghar mob lynching is a grotesque incident which happened due to rumors on social media about child kidnappers & thieves prowling in the area. A high-level inquiry is going on & meanwhile people are requested not to fall for rumours & verify the facts from trusted sources. Vijayesh Lal, general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India, told Morning Star News that linking Christians to the attack looks like a deliberate attempt to malign the Christian community and can increase attacks on Christians not just in Palghar district but also elsewhere. Rumors spread through social media, and vicious attacks by cow vigilantes have resulted in several incidents of lynching throughout India in the recent years, and we condemn each and every one of them. The Christian community has lost at least four of our own to these senseless killings; the Muslim community has lost many more, he said. Archbishop Felix Anthony Machado of Vasai, which covers the area where the murder happened, told UCA News the allegations are part of a conspiracy to defame Christians" and an "attempt to communalize" the incident at a time when the country is "fighting the deadly global pandemic. "There are no Christians in the area where the trio were killed," he said, adding that while Christians have been facing such accusations for a long time, the truth will prevail." Prabhakar Tirkey, national president of Rashtriya Isai Mahasangh, an ecumenical forum of Christians, said the allegation is part of "a well-orchestrated attempt to whip up communal frenzy in the country." "If not nipped in the bud, it will kill more people than the Covid-19 infection," he warned. According to Christian leaders, the Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Narendra Modi, and supporting Hindu groups have regularly blamed Christians for violating laws in efforts to keep villagers and tribal people away from missionaries. EFIs Lal told Morning Star News that the attempts to connect Indias already-persecuted Christians to the killings could have dangerous consequences. Last year there were at least three incidents of attacks on Christian in the district in the months of February, May and November respectively, Lal said. Palghar has been a sensitive district where churches, fellowships and Christians have been targeted by religious radicals belonging to various right-wing fundamentalists groups, and some of those attacks have been gruesome and violent in nature. I can personally recollect attacks from as long back as January 2013. It is an unfortunate act that should not have taken place and shows how rumors can take lives, Lal said. I hope that this unfortunate killing of the Hindu sadhus is not used by people who spread hate to further their agenda, to target Christians in this tribal belt as well. We appeal to the state government of Maharashtra to let the rule of law prevail and to bring the guilty to justice, and at the same time ensure security of the minority communities in the state. India is ranked at No. 10 on Open Doors USA's 2020 World Watch List of the countries where it's most difficult to be a Christian. Additionally, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom on April 28 urged the U.S. State Department to add India as a Country of Particular Concern to its list of nations with poor records of protecting religious freedom. Washington President Donald Trump on Wednesday reversed course on plans to wind down his COVID-19 task force, attempting to balance his enthusiasm for "reopening" the country with rising infection rates in parts of the nation. The indecision on the fate of the expert panel was emblematic of an administration and a country struggling with competing priorities of averting more death and more economic suffering. Trump appears focused on persuading Americans to accept the price of some lives lost as restrictions are eased, concerned about skyrocketing unemployment and intent on encouraging an economic rebound ahead of the November election. Democrats criticized Trump's reopening strategy Wednesday, saying more federal support for testing and contact tracing is needed. While the daily number of new deaths in the New York area has declined markedly in recent weeks, deaths have essentially plateaued in the rest of the U.S. One day after the administration suggested that its work would be done around Memorial Day, Trump said the White House task force of public health professionals and senior government officials would continue after all, indefinitely, with its focus shifting toward rebooting the economy and the development of a vaccine. "I thought we could wind it down sooner," Trump said, adding, "I had no idea how popular the task force is." A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal thinking, acknowledged that signaling on Tuesday that the task force was preparing to shut down had sent the wrong message and created a media maelstrom. While the task force has already been meeting less frequently, its medical experts, particularly Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, have emerged as among the most trusted voices on the virus response. The Tuesday announcement of ending the task force sparked concerns that they would be sidelined as the outbreak continues amid fears of a fresh wave of illness in the fall. Trump said Tuesday he would still seek their counsel, regardless of the fate of the task force. "It is appreciated by the public," he said of the task force. Trump said membership in the group would change as the nature of the crisis evolves. In the Wednesday tweets Trump said "the Task Force will continue on indefinitely." He added that the White House "may add or subtract people to it, as appropriate. The Task Force will also be very focused on Vaccines & Therapeutics." A day earlier, Trump made himself Exhibit A for reopening the country with a visit to an Arizona face mask factory, using the trip to demonstrate his determination to see an easing of stay-at-home orders even as the coronavirus remains a dire threat. Trump did not wear a mask despite guidelines saying they should be worn inside the factory at all times. As Trump pressed the nation to reopen, Dr. Tom Frieden the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention testified Wednesday on Capitol Hill that the "war against COVID will be long and difficult." "We're just at the beginning of this pandemic and must focus on the future," he testified, predicting there will be 100,000 deaths by the end of the month. As bad as the crisis has been, he said, "it's just the beginning." Trump has encouraged the nation to accept the human cost of returning to normalcy, saying repeatedly that Americans should view themselves as "warriors" combating the virus. "I'm not saying anything is perfect, and yes, will some people be affected? Yes. Will some people be affected badly? Yes. But we have to get our country open and we have to get it open soon," he said Tuesday. In an interview Wednesday, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized Trump's approach. "Death is not an economic motivator, stimulus," she said. "So why are we going down that path?" "Everyone's eager to get out," she added. "To unlock the lockdown is to test, trace, treat as well as isolate social distancing." Trump defended his decision not to wear a face covering when he visited a Honeywell plant in Phoenix that makes them, saying he briefly donned one backstage, out of view of the press, for "not too long" a time. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office as he signed a proclamation honoring nurses, that, "I had a mask on for a period of time." He said he couldn't "help it" if reporters didn't see him and the head of Honeywell had told him that he didn't need to wear one during the public portions of his visit. Air travel was the main driver behind the spread of coronavirus, according to a study which adds more weight to the theory that closing borders helps avert major crises. Brazilian researchers found the nations hit hardest by the killer disease were ones which had busy airports accepting thousands of international flights. It may explain why the US and the UK - which have the first and third highest air travel globally - have also suffered the most COVID-19 deaths with 74,600 and 30,615, respectively. China, which has the second busiest airports, grounded all its flights from the virus epicentre in Hubei province on January 23, within weeks of the first diagnosed case. The US did not lockdown its airports until late March, while Britains borders remain open to this day and officials still aren't routinely testing or quarantining travellers. Damning figures show the UK quarantined just 273 out of 18.1million people who arrived in the UK in the three months before the lockdown was imposed. Researchers from the Federal University of Bahia in Salvador, who did the study, say screening and isolating travellers may have been 'a cheap solution for humanity'. It comes on the back of MailOnline analysis that suggested countries which banned international travel fared better in controlling their outbreaks. Air travel was the main driver behind the spread of coronavirus, according to a study in Brazil which comes as the UK's government policy of not screening arriving passengers comes under scrutiny (travellers arrive at Heathrow in London) Researchers from the Federal University of Bahia in Salvador scoured records of 7,834 airports using online flight databases to identify more than 67,600 transport routes in 65 countries (shown) Red colours in different countries represent growth rates of COVID-19. China is seen as grey because it has thought to have beat its crisis The research, which has not yet been published in a journal or scrutinised by other scientists, assessed how climate, economic and air transport affected the size of outbreaks in 65 countries which had more than 100 cases. They found climate had little effect on the virus' spread, rubbishing the theory that hot temperatures and high humidity kill off the disease. And the researchers said socioeconomic factors - such as how rich a nation is or how well-funded their healthcare systems are - played a 'mild role'. They concluded that global air travel was the the main explanation for the growth rate of COVID-19. Just 273 out of 18 MILLION arrivals to the UK before coronavirus lockdown were quarantined Britain quarantined just 273 out of 18.1million people who arrived in the UK in the three months before the coronavirus lockdown, damning new figures reveal today. The occupants of three flights from the outbreak ground zero in the Chinese city of Wuhan and another bringing home passengers from a cruise ship of Japan were the only ones taken to secure facilities in the UK. But millions more entering the UK between the start of 2020 and March 22 were able to enter freely and only advised to self-isolate, according to figures obtained by the Guardian. It came as it also emerged the UK suffered a 'big influx' of coronavirus from arrivals from Italy and Spain who were not quarantined. Mapping of the Covid-19 genome shows that UK cases come from all over the world, chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance told MPs. But a large number of cases in early March were from Europe and 'seeded right the way across the country' because Brits arriving back in the UK were allowed to return home. Giving evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee this morning, Sir Patrick said that experts on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) had advised ministers they would have to be 'extremely draconian' in blocking travel from whole countries otherwise 'it really was not worth trying to do it.' 'Whether that was people returning from half-term, whether it is business travellers or not, we dont know,' he told MPs. 'But a lot of the cases in the UK didnt come from China and didn't come from the places you might have expected. 'They actually came from European imports and the high level of travel into the UK around that time.' Advertisement The team scoured records of 7,834 airports using online flight databases to identify more than 67,600 transport routes. They found that countries with the highest volume of international flights were at the highest risk of major crises. Writing in the study, the academics said: 'The 2019 - 2020 world spread of COVID-19 highlights that improvements and testing of board control measures (i.e. screening associated with fast testing and quarantine of infected travellers) might be a cheap solution for humanity in comparison to health systems breakdowns and unprecedented global economic crises that the spread of infectious disease can cause.' They added: 'We tested the effect of three classes of predictors... socioeconomic, climatic and transport, on the rate of daily increase of COVID-19. 'We found that global connections, represented by countries importance in the global air transportation network, is the main explanation for the growth rate of COVID-19 in different countries. 'Climate, geographic distance and socioeconomics had a milder effect in this big picture analysis. 'Our results indicate that the current claims that the growth rate of COVID-19 may be lower in warmer and humid tropical countries should be taken very carefully, at risk to disturb well-established and effective policy of social isolation that may help to avoid higher mortality rates due to the collapse of national health systems. Data suggests countries that banned international travellers from entering amid the coronavirus pandemic have fared better in controlling their outbreaks. In Europe, Norway and Denmark closed their borders to all non-citizens by March 13, within two weeks of recording their first cases of the virus. Both countries have recorded just 40 and 87 deaths per million people, respectively, compared to the UK's 438 per million. Data shows countries that introduced travel bans, such as Austria, have fared better. On March 15, Austria started refusing entry to anyone without a medical certificate confirming they had tested negative for the virus within the last four days. Travellers who could not provide proof were placed in mandatory quarantine for 14 days. Austria has suffered just 68 deaths per million of its population. In the southern hemisphere, both Australia and New Zealand have recorded just four deaths per million people. On March 19, New Zealand shut its borders to all non-citizens or permanent residents - except for spouses or children under 24. The next day, Australia followed suit. While the figures appear to paint a clear picture that travel bans work, British experts have told MailOnline there are likely to be multiple contributing factors. One explanation for the lower death rates in Australia and New Zealand may be the warmer climate - as the virus is known to vulnerable to higher temperatures. Others may have to do with the differences in responses of each nation's Governments. Dr Joshua Moon, a research fellow in science policy at the University of Sussex, told MailOnline: 'If you look at NZ, the level of communication and trust as well as the rapid testing, tracing, and isolating completely squashed the outbreak before it got out of control. The same can be said of Denmark. Countries that banned international travellers from entering amid the coronavirus pandemic have fared better in controlling their death rates. Australia, Austria, Denmark, New Zealand and Norway imposed bans in mid-March Cases followed a similar trajectory. Countries that imposed bans early fended off major crises Even when the deaths are broken down per capita, the UK still suffered much more deaths per million people All of the countries which imposed bans in March managed to bring their infection rates down in the weeks that followed International headlines show how UK's crisis response has made it the 'problem child' of Europe The world's media has lined up to savage Britain's coronavirus response this week after the UK's death toll surpassed Italy's to become the worst in Europe. Headlines describe the UK as a 'the problem child of Europe' and the policies of Boris Johnson's government as 'the biggest failure in a generation'. A shortage of protective gear, a late decision to go into lockdown and an 'inadequate' testing policy are all identified as reasons for Britain's huge death toll. There is scathing criticism not only from countries such as Germany and Australia which have been widely praised for their handling of the virus, but even from nations such as Italy and the United States where the crisis has been equally severe. Italian media said the UK had not heeded warnings from northern Italy where the outbreak was in full swing two weeks before it reached a similar stage in the UK. The UK's official death toll is now 30,076, compared to 29,684 in Italy. The only country with a higher tally is the United States with 73,431. In Australia, which has seen only 97 deaths after taking early action to shut its borders, the Sydney Morning Herald ran a feature about Britain under the headline: 'Biggest failure in a generation: Where did Britain go wrong?'. The newspaper described a 'growing chorus' of experts and members of the public who regarded the UK response as a 'series of deadly mistakes and miscalculations'. The Herald laid out four main failures: a shortage of protective gear, a late decision to enter lockdown, a 'bungled' testing policy, and a failure to protect care homes. Boris Johnson did not announce a lockdown until March 23, after ministers had initially played down talk of shutting down schools and public gatherings. A public health expert told the paper that 'the countries that moved fast have curtailed the epidemic. The countries that delayed have not. It's as simple as that'. The newspaper quoted the editor-in-chief of medical journal The Lancet as calling Britain's response 'the most serious science policy failure in a generation'. A former Australian envoy to Britain, Mike Rann, said that the early stage of the crisis was handled 'negligently'. He called Number 10's response 'a shambles of mixed messaging, poor organisation and a complacent attitude that what was happening in Italy wouldn't happen here.' The article also highlighted Britain's decision to stop testing people in their homes in early March as the virus continued to spread. 'The decision on March 12 to abandon mass testing meant the government could only guess who was infected with the virus and how it was behaving,' it said. Advertisement 'Outright banning travel and trade is generally not a good idea in an epidemic because it also blocks healthcare workers from returning and PPE/testing kits from getting into the country. 'On top of that, if you scan for the infected, you're only gaining a snapshot into peoples' health when you test at a border. 'Those two minutes you spend getting temperatures and histories are not going to tell you much about whether a person has the disease or not. 'Basically travel and trade often does more harm than good and the key difference between us and other island nations is the actual government response. Paul Hunter, an infectious diseases professor at the University of East Anglia, said that banning travel would've made no difference because Britain probably imported most of its cases when Britons returned from ski holidays in Italy. He said: 'It's difficult to compare countries based on travel restrictions alone because of all sorts of other stuff going on, such as banning mass gatherings, closing schools and stay home policies. 'Also different age groups, ethnic mix and poverty influence the size of epidemics. 'I think the consensus amongst public health people is that travel bans make politicians look as through they are doing something but do little to stop the spread of an epidemic, at best delaying the epidemic for a while. 'The damage was probably already done for the UK with people returning from winter vacations to Italy.' Figures show that Italy had recorded just 800 infections by the end of the Easter holidays. This number would have raised eyebrows at the time but was not high enough to justify a travel ban in the UK. There were calls for screening at British airports at the time, but experts say this would have been unlikely to substantially reduce cases and deaths in the UK because most sufferers are infectious for days without any symptoms. Data suggests every carrier passed the virus onto three people before lockdown. It would mean that for every 100 infected travellers who entered the country, they would have passed it on to 300 people, and so on. Analysis of the figures show New Zealand and Australia have the lowest death rate out of the six countries, with just four deaths per million people. New Zealand was very quick to close its borders to all non-citizens and temporary visa holders, such as students. The ban was in place from March 19 just two weeks after officials recorded the first case of the coronavirus, scientifically called SARS-CoV-2. Weeks before then, on February 3, foreign travellers from China were denied entry as the Asian nation suffered its outbreak. Now, New Zealand - home to 4.8million people - has boasted no new infections for two days in a row, with a total of 1,487 cases and 20 deaths. Australia has also escaped lightly, recording 96 deaths and 6,849 cases in total out of its 25million population. On February 1, Australia banned the entry of foreign nationals from mainland China, and any citizens returning from China had to self-quarantine for 14 days. Australia: The Sydney Morning Herald described the UK's response as the 'biggest failure in a generation', pointing to a series of errors including on testing and lockdown Germany: A story in news magazine Focus described the UK as Europe's 'problem child' and said Britain's response 'reads like a chronology of failure' Austria: The newspaper Kleine Zeitung used the same expression of 'problem child', saying there were 'wrong measures' and a lack of restrictions Italy: This headline in Positano News said the situation in Britain was a 'disaster' - as Italian media wondered why the UK had failed to learn lessons from Italy's experience Subsequently a ban on travellers from Iran, South Korea, and Italy was implemented as all three countries began seeing a surge in infections. Australia closed its borders on March 20 for all non-residents, when it had recorded less than 1,000 cases. Since April 20, it has reported less than 30 new cases per day. Norway introduced a nationwide travel ban on travellers entering the country on March 16, when cases reached the 400 mark. On 6 April, the Norwegian Health Minister announced that the outbreak was 'under control'. Official figures show the country, which has a population of 5.3million people, has now recorded 214 deaths and 7,904 cases. Denmark closed its borders to all non-citizens 14 March, apart from travellers with 'credible purpose' such as non-citizen Danish residents. The Scandinavian nation has seen a total of 503 deaths, while Austria has had 606 overall. On March 17, Austria began turning away anyone from Italy, China's Hubei Province, Iran, and South Korea, unless they had a medical certificate confirming negative test for SARS-CoV-2 in the last four days. THIS NEWS RELEASE IS INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA ONLY AND IS NOT AUTHORIZED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. TORONTO, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- May 7th, 2020 Ely Gold Royalties Inc. (ELY or the Company) (ELY.V) is pleased to announce that due to investor demand in connection with its previously announced marketed private placement, the Company and a syndicate of agents led by Clarus Securities Inc. and Mackie Research Capital Corp. (the Co-Lead Agents) have agreed to increase the size of the previously announced offering to C$15,000,000 (the Offering) at a price of C$0.80 per Unit (the Offering Price). In addition, the Company shall grant the Co-Lead Agents an option (the Over-allotment Option) to sell an additional 2,812,500 Units, exercisable in whole or in any part, for a period of 30 days from and including the closing date of the Offering. The aggregate gross proceeds of the Offering if the Over-allotment Option is exercised in full shall be C$17,250,000 The Company intends to use the net proceeds raised from the Offering principally for future royalty acquisitions and related project generative activities, and secondarily for general working capital purposes. The Offering is scheduled to close on or about May 21st, 2020, and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals of the TSX Venture Exchange. The securities to be issued under this Offering will be offered by way of private placement exemptions in all the provinces of Canada. The Shares to be issued under this Offering will also be offered offshore, including in the United Kingdom pursuant to applicable exemptions and in the United States on a private placement basis pursuant to exemptions from the registration requirements of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The securities referred to in this news release have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from the U.S. registration requirements. This release does not constitute an offer for sale of, nor a solicitation for offers to buy, any securities in the United States. Any public offering of securities in the United States must be made by means of a prospectus containing detailed information about the issuer and its management, as well as financial statements. Story continues About Ely Gold Royalties Inc. Ely Gold Royalties Inc. is a Nevada focused gold royalty company. Its current portfolio includes royalties at some of Nevadas largest gold mines, including Jerritt Canyon, Goldstrike and Marigold as well as the Fenelon property in Quebec, operated by Wallbridge Mining. Ely Golds royalty portfolio includes several advanced projects that are scheduled for production by 2023. The Company continues to actively seek opportunities to purchase producing or near-term producing royalties. Ely Gold is also generating development royalties through property sales on projects that are located at or near producing mines. Management believes that due to the Companys ability to locate and purchase third-party royalties, its successful strategy of organically creating royalties and its gold focus, Ely Gold offers shareholders a low-risk leverage to gold prices and low-cost access to long-term gold royalties. On Behalf of the Board of Directors Signed Trey Wasser Trey Wasser, President & CEO For further information, please contact: Trey Wasser, President & CEO Joanne Jobin, Investor Relations Officer trey@elygoldinc.com jjobin@elygoldinc.com 972-803-3087 647 964 0292 Forward-Looking Caution: This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the timing and size of the Offering, the anticipated use of proceeds, the required TSX Venture Exchange acceptance of the Offering, the future exercise of options on the Companys properties, the ability of the Company to generate and acquire new royalty interests, the Companys prospects for future revenue generation, managements assessment of the risks associated with the Companys business and stated plans for further near-term exploration and development of the Companys properties. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "aims," "potential," "goal," "objective," "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. 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 to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include the risk of accidents and other risks associated with mineral exploration, development and extraction operations, the risk that its partners will encounter unanticipated geological factors, or the possibility that they may not be able to secure permitting and other governmental clearances, necessary to carry out their stated plans for the Companys properties, the Company's inability to secure the required Exchange acceptance required for the Offering, and the risk of political uncertainties and regulatory or legal disputes or changes in the jurisdictions where the Company carries on its business that might interfere with the Company's business and prospects. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effect. This press release, required by Canadian securities laws applicable to the Company and the Offering, is not for distribution to U.S. news services or for dissemination in the United States, and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States of America. The securities described in this press release have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (as amended) (the "1933 Act") or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons (as defined in the 1933 Act) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws, or 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 press release. Syracuse, N.Y. Fitch Ratings has downgraded $292 million in bonds issued by the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency to finance the expansion of the Destiny USA shopping mall. Fitch downgraded the bonds from BBB, which is considered investment grade, to BB, which Fitch terms speculative grade because of an elevated risk of default. The downgrade comes as the Syracuse mall, the largest in New York and sixth largest in the U.S., has been shut down since mid-March under Gov. Andrew Cuomos statewide lockdown orders designed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, the highly contagious respiratory illness it causes. Fitch said the willingness and ability of tenants to continue to maintain and renew their leases at the mall upon its reopening is uncertain. READ MORE: Coronavirus likely to take toll on Destiny USA long after lockdown ends The ratings service said it is concerned that as the value of the mall declines, there is an increasing risk to the property owners incentive and ability to continue to make payments on the bonds. Syracuses industrial development agency issued the bonds to finance and then refinance the Pyramid Cos.' expansion of the shopping center, originally named Carousel Center, into the larger mall it now is. They consist of $82.6 million in bonds issued in 2007 and $209.4 million in bonds issued in 2016. Parking lots at Destiny USA in Syracuse are empty after the mall's indefinite closure because of the coronavirus pandemic. N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.com The agency has no financial risk of its own. The bonds were sold to investors and are secured by payments in lieu of taxes paid by Pyramid and by the original, or legacy," portion of the mall. The bonds are just a portion of the debt on the highly leveraged mall. Pyramid also took out $430 million in mortgage loans on Destiny. Those loans, now part of commercial mortgage-backed securities, were recently transferred to a special servicer because they are in imminent danger of default, according to the Kroll Bond Rating Agency. READ MORE: Coronavirus shutdown puts Destiny USA mall in trouble with lenders again Fitch said there are indications the mall is not meeting performance targets set by the special servicer, Wells Fargo, to extend the mortgage loans past their June 6 maturity date. If Pyramid is forced into bankruptcy over the mortgage loans, that could trigger a foreclosure on the bonds, the ratings service said. Moodys Investors Service downgraded the same bonds on April 17 from Ba2 to Ba3. Both ratings are considered non-investment grade, meaning they are subject to substantial credit risk. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources As CNY coronavirus lockdown loosens, 98% of us could still get sick Where are Onondaga Co. health officials worried about coronavirus spread? The complete list Onondaga County sets daily records for tests, coronavirus infections; 41st death Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com Rick Moriarty covers business news and consumer issues. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact him anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148 Tabelau rejected by Centre to be showcased in TN's R-day parade 19 Jan 2022 | 11:16 AM Chennai, Jan 19 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin the State tableau, rejected by the Centre for the Republic Day parade in New Delhi, would be showcased at the parade during the R-Day celebrations to be held here on January 26. see more.. Free internet to 100 BPL families: Kerala CM 19 Jan 2022 | 8:10 AM Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 19 (UNI) Free internet will be provided to 100 BPL families in every Assembly constituency in Kerala by May this year, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. see more.. AP CM describes land resurvey as major reform 19 Jan 2022 | 2:03 AM Vijayawada, Jan 18 (UNI) Terming as a great reform and a revolutionary step the YSR Jagananna Saswata Bhoo Hakku and Bhoo Raksha scheme, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has said that the resurvey of lands has been taken up after 100 years and the Government is committed to provide clear title deeds to the rightful owners after proper and scientific resurvey and he dedicated these resurveyed records to the people. see more.. Pokarna Group Limited gives Rs 1 cr to Nadu-Nedu programme 19 Jan 2022 | 1:58 AM Vijayawada, Jan 18 (UNI) Pokarna Group Limited has contributed Rs 1 crore towards providing basic amenities in schools under the Andhra Pradesh State Governments Nadu-Nedu programme. The cheque was handed over to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy by the Companys CMD Goutham Chand Jain as CSR under Connect to Andhra initiative. Connect to Andhra CEO V Koteswaramma was also present on the occasion. see more.. GREENWICH In an effort to lift spirits during these challenging times, Chabad Lubavitch of Greenwich is encouraging the Jewish community to celebrate Shabbat through a new campaign called #Shabbat500. Shabbat, which takes place from Friday night, until Saturday night each week, is Judaisms time of rest. It includes refraining from work-related activities and engaging in restful activities to honor the day. The #Shabbat500 initiative encourages families in the Jewish community to sign up at www.chabadgreenwich.org/shabbat500 to receive a Shabbat gift bag, which will be delivered to their home. Last week, Chabad Lubavitch of Greenwich sent Shabbat bags to 60 families and would like to see that number grow to at least 500 families this week. Schneur Deren, a Rabbinic Intern at Chabad Lubavitch of Greenwich, said their center hatched the idea two weeks ago. We all know that COVID has had an impact on everyones life, its a very dark time for all of us, said Deren, whose parents Rabbi Yossi and Maryashie Deren are the directors of Chabad Lubavitch in town. But during this time, there are no distractions, we have time to spend with each other and our family. During Shabbat, we go away from the world. We turn off all our phones and computers and we spend time with family it is a time to rest from a busy week. God gave us the gift of Shabbat, so we came up with this idea, of putting together Shabbat to-go bags. Volunteers wearing gloves and masks delivered bags to 60 families in the community last week, with many more Shabbat gift bags ready to go. We received an email from a donor to our organization, saying that the bag he received really lifted up his spirits and he loved his bag so much, that he wants to sponsor for each member of our community to get bags, Schneur Deren said. Already this morning (Thursday), we sent out a whole bunch of bags. The Shabbat Shalom bag includes two loaves of Challah bread, a Kiddush cup, a bottle of grape juice, two Shabbat candles, a scroll providing inspiring information for the week, a Shabbat dinner guide, a charity box and treats for the kids. Deren said the candles are especially significant and female family members usually light the candles at Shabbat. A candle can shine very far, they light up our homes and can light up the world, Deren said. Women and girls have a great influence about what goes on in the home and family, so we encourage the women and girls to light them. The candle lighting begins at 7:41 p.m. Friday and Shabbat concludes at 8:47 p.m. Saturday. Those who sign up can participate in a pre-Shabbat Zoom event with the Greenwich community and share their Shabbat table on social media with #Shabbat500. This is a way for us to give back to our community and pick up each others spirits, Deren said. dfierro@greenwichtime.com By Akbar Mammadov Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva has said that Armenia hampers peace negotiations over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and carries responsibility for the rise of the tension in the region, the ministry reported in its official website on May 6. Abdullayevas comments come after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyans statement on May 6 where he rejected the phased resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, meaning the withdrawal of troops from occupied regions around Nagorno-Karabakh in its initial stage. Pashinyan said that Yerevans position regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has not changed since 2018. "With this statement, the Armenian Prime Minister acknowledges that it is Armenia that impedes the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and thus the maintenance of peace and security in the region. This statement clearly shows who is refusing to negotiate, to comply with the requirements of the international community, and first of all, demands of the UN Security Council resolutions, and thus who is hindering the settlement of the conflict," Abdullayeva said. The spokeswoman stressed that the Armenian leadership must understand that such statements do not serve the settlement of the conflict through negotiations. "The Armenian leadership must realize that Azerbaijan will restore its territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, in accordance with its Constitution and the norms and principles of international law. Armenia is accountable for the rise of any tension within the settlement of the conflict", she added. It should be noted that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a public forum in Moscow on April 21 that the Karabakh peace discussions over the years have envisaged a movement toward a resolution on the basis of a phased approach, with the first step the solution of the most pressing problems, the liberation of several regions around Nagorno-Karabakh and the opening up of transportation, economic, and other ties. Armenian foreign ministry officials made a number of statements, rejecting the phased settlement of the conflict, saying that Yerevan will not return any occupied territories to Azerbaijan. --- Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz May 7--WASHINGTON -- A number of notable Texas conservatives are rallying to the defense of Shelley Luther, the Dallas salon owner who was fined and sentenced to seven days in jail for violating an order to shutter her business during the COVID-19 outbreak. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, has been among the most vocal, calling her punishment "terrible" and "straight up wrong." "We shouldn't be coming down with a seven-day jail, no bail sentence for her wanting to keep her hair salon open because she's wanting to take care of her family," he said Wednesday in a live-streamed interview with The Texas Tribune. His view has been echoed by the likes of Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican, and Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, along with conservative activists who protested in Dallas on Wednesday. Gov. Greg Abbott, who's reopening hair salons on Friday after deeming them nonessential for weeks, also said on Wednesday that Shelley's sentence was "excessive," adding that "jailing Texans for non-compliance with executive orders should always be the last available option." "Compliance with executive orders during this pandemic is important to ensure public safety," Abbott, a Republican, said in a news release. "However, surely there are less restrictive means to achieving that goal than jailing a Texas mother." Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, also a Republican, on Wednesday called on Luther to be released from jail. Roy, a former federal prosecutor, acknowledged in his interview with the Tribune that Luther has been violating orders issued by Abbott and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, a Democrat, and explained that he has a "strong concern about the rule of law." But the first-term congressman defended the owner of Salon ... la Mode by saying "she is acting civilly disobedient in the face of the something she thinks is wrong." Asked later on Wednesday by The Dallas Morning News what kind of punishment should be issued to those who violate such an edict in order to deter others from also ignoring them, Roy asked, "What's the appropriate punishment for speeding 68 in a 65 in the middle of nowhere?" "Good judges and local leaders find ways to not escalate situations when common sense should prevail," he said in an emailed statement. "7 days in jail with no bail is clearly out of line. She should be allowed to work." The episode spotlights some of the powerful undercurrents in the Lone Star State's evolving debate over how government should respond to the pandemic: Texas individualism vs. law-and-order sensibilities. Public health vs. economic viability. Too little action vs. too much. Abbott, for instance, has faced criticism from many Democrats for moving too quickly in re-opening the state and pushback from some Republicans for not moving with enough alacrity. Luther's salon has provided a high-profile flashpoint, highlighting both the struggles many small businesses have faced in the face of shelter-in-place orders and the potential health concerns that could arise from hair cutting and other activities that involve close, physical contact. Her Far North Dallas salon was forced to close in late March after it and many other businesses were deemed nonessential by Dallas County's stay-at-home order, which was soon reinforced by a similar edict that Abbott issued at the state level. Luther reopened her salon April 24 and then tore up a cease-and-desist letter from Jenkins. She then continued to keep open her business after state District Judge Eric Moye on April 28 signed a temporary restraining order. That led to Tuesday's sentencing for contempt of court. Moye said he would consider levying only a fine if Luther apologized and promised to not reopen her salon until she was permitted to do so. But she declined to do so, explaining that it was a matter of survival to keep open the business. "Feeding my kids is not selfish," she said at her hearing, which was broadcast on YouTube. "If you think the law is more important than kids getting fed, then please go ahead with your decision, but I am not going to shut the salon." Her case had already drew outrage in some conservative quarters, particularly those pushing for Texas to reopen more quickly. That criticism intensified after she was taken into custody. "This is so insane," Roy wrote on Twitter, encouraging Luther to tell Moye to "pound sand" and sharing a link to a GoFundMe that has already raised more than $250,000 for the salon owner. "I have no words for what is happening to my state and nation." Cruz offered a similar sentiment. "7 days in jail for cutting hair??" he wrote on Twitter. "This is NUTS. And government officials don't get to order citizens to apologize to them for daring to earn a living." So did Crenshaw, another freshman Republican in Congress. "These punishments are NOT just," he wrote on Twitter. "They are not reasonable. Small-minded "leaders" across the country have become drunk with power. This must end." Some conservative activists rallied on Wednesday in downtown Dallas in support of Luther. Among them was Michael Quinn Sullivan, the chief executive office of Empower Texans, a group that's criticized Abbott and others for restrictions they've put into place. It remains to be seen how many Texans will patronize those businesses even when they open. A recent Dallas Morning News-University of Texas at Tyler poll found, for instance, that 35 percent of Texans would feel comfortable shopping in person once public spaces and businesses reopen, while 49 percent would feel uncomfortable. ___ Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Adam Raynor has been jailed for two years after going on the run for more than 10 months A people smuggler who tried to bring two illegal immigrants into the UK through the Channel Tunnel in the boot of his car has been finally jailed for two years after going on the run for more than 10 months. Adam Raynor, 33, was initially arrested at the French terminal of the tunnel by Border Force officers in June 2019 after the Chinese and Vietnamese nationals were found in the back of the car. The two migrants were handed over to French authorities. Raynor was charged with people smuggling and summoned to appear at court in September 2019. But he failed to appear. He was later tracked down by Immigration Enforcement's Fugitive Extradition & Mutual Assistance (FEMA) officers with assistance from Nottinghamshire Police. The teams used extensive data and other intelligence to pinpoint Raynor's whereabouts to an address in Nottingham, where he was arrested on April 26, 2020. And he was jailed for two years on Thursday at a sentencing hearing at Canterbury Crown Court in Kent for admitting to facilitating unlawful immigration. He was sentenced for two years for assisting illegal entry to an EU member state and one month for breach of bail, to run concurrently. Chinese and Vietnamese nationals were found in the boot of Raynor's car (pictured here) at the French terminal of the Channel Tunnel Chris Philp, Minister for Immigration Compliance said: 'We are working around the clock with law enforcement and international partners to make sure that people smugglers face the full force of the law. 'This was a blatant attempt to try and smuggle people into the UK illegally. I hope Raynor's imprisonment sends a clear message anyone who engages in this kind of criminality will be caught and brought before the courts.' Steve Blackwell, Assistant Director Financial Investigation South & Criminal Investigation Southern Command East said: 'This was a complex and important case. Officers worked hard to locate Mr Raynor and ensure he was not able to escape justice. 'Even in the face of a global pandemic, and stringent lockdown measures, our dedicated officers have not wavered in their determination to catch and bring to justice this wanted criminal.' Deputy Director Dave Fairclough, from Immigration Enforcement CFI said: 'People smugglers seek to exploit people in desperate situations for profit. They do not care about the safety or well-being of those they transport. 'It was thanks to the hard work and commitment of our fantastic Immigration Enforcement officers that Raynor was tracked down to an address in Nottingham and arrested.' China's cybersecurity review rules will come into effect on Feb. 15 and will require some companies to seek approval from regulators before listing overseas. Bill Hinton Photography | Moment Open | Getty Images A China-based hacking group has been quietly carrying out a five-year cyber espionage campaign against Asia-Pacific governments after it previously "slipped off the radar," a new report claims. The group, known as Naikon, has targeted nations including Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Brunei, according to Israeli cybersecurity firm Check Point. Naikon targets ministries of foreign affairs, science and technology, as well as government-owned companies with the aim of "gathering of geo-political intelligence," Check Point said. What drives them is their desire to gather intelligence and spy on countries, and they have spent the past five years quietly developing their skills ... Lotem Finkelsteen Check Point Security researchers first found out about the Naikon group in 2015. However, Check Point said it had "slipped off the radar, with no new evidence or reports of activities found" until now. The hacking group had actually been active for the past five years but "accelerated its cyber espionage activities in 2019 and Q1 2020." The cybersecurity firm did not say if Naikon is linked to the Chinese government. But a separate report in 2015, by a Washington-based security company called ThreatConnect, claimed the group was a unit of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). In response to CNBC's request for comment, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "China's position on cyber security is firm and consistent. We firmly oppose and crack down on any kind of cyber attack and theft behaviors in accordance with law." In the statement to CNBC, the ministry also said called on the international community to address cyber security threats "through dialogue and cooperation, based on mutual respect and mutual benefits." According to the report, Naikon attempts to infiltrate a government body and use the stolen information it acquires there such as contacts and documents to attack other departments within that country's government. Check Point said it was alerted when it found an email with a document attached that contained malicious software, also known as malware. When the document is opened, it infiltrates a user's computer and attempts to download another piece of malware called "Aria-body." This gives the hackers remote access to that computer or network, and bypasses security measures, Check Point said. The group uses so-called spear-phishing, where it sends an email with the infected document that looks like it comes from a trusted source, in this case, another government official. They're able to get information to create the fake email from previous successful attacks or public data. Once they're inside a network, they can launch further attacks without detection. "What drives them is their desire to gather intelligence and spy on countries, and they have spent the past five years quietly developing their skills and introducing a new cyber-weapon with the Aria-body backdoor," Lotem Finkelsteen, manager of threat intelligence at Check Point, said in a statement. Raipur, May 7 : As many as seven people were rushed to the hospital after they fell unconscious while cleaning waste as part of an operation to restart a closed paper mill in the coal-rich Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh, officials said on Thursday. The incident took place Wednesday night at Shakti Papers mill in a rural area, about 250 km from here. A case has been registered against the mill management. According to reports, the incident sparked panic and anger in nearby areas, home to around 60 poor families. A team of forensic experts has reached the site to examine the exact cause of the incident. "Seven workers who were taking paper waste out from an open tank complained of breathlessness. They were rushed to a local hospital. Three of them were later taken to the state capital for urgent medical attention," Raigarh Superintendent of Police Santosh Kumar Singh told IANS over phone. One worker has been put on ventilator at Raipur's MMI Hospital and his condition was stated to be critical. Singh said the paper mill in Tetla village was closed since late March following the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown. Workers were cleaning the tank in a bid to resume operations without safety masks. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has asked directed local administration to provide all help to workers. A plea was filed in the Delhi High Court seeking direction to the AAP government to start online sale of liquor to ensure social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic as people turned out in large numbers crowding such shops after they opened this week increasing the risk of spreading the virus. As an alternative prayer, the plea has sought introduction of a token system at liquor shops that will help in crowd management. The petition is likely to come up for hearing on May 11. Petitioner Sajag Nijhawan referred to various media reports highlighting instances of crowds gathering at liquor shops since they opened on May 4, without maintaining social distancing and leading to law and order situation. It alleged there was a failure on the part of the AAP government in taking appropriate steps to control the large gathering in and around 150 government-run liquor shops which were opened after 47 days. Hundreds of people turned up outside the liquor shops, creating a complete chaos as social distancing norms were not adhered to and forcing the police to use mild force to disperse the unruly crowd, it said. The petition, filed through Simran Kohli and Abheehshek Bhagat, sought direction to the Delhi government and its Excise Department to take immediate steps in view of the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic to control the crowds outside the liquor shops and to ensure strict adherence to social distancing. It sought direction to the Delhi government to evolve a proper policy to start the online sale of liquor and deliver it to the consumers' homes at a time when the entire machinery of the country is tirelessly working to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. The petition said it does not seek closing of these shops considering the burden on the government to deal with major revenue dip, but was seeking judicial order for appropriate steps to balance the need of revenue generation as well as social distancing. Another PIL was filed by NGO Civil Safety Council of India in the high court on Wednesday seeking direction to the Delhi government to close the liquor shops in the national capital until the situation of COVID-19 pandemic is under control. It is likely to come up for hearing on Friday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Paducah, KY (42003) Today Occasional rain with some snow mixing in in the afternoon. Some sleet may mix in late. Morning high of 47F with temps falling to near freezing. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.. Tonight Snow in the evening will give way to some clearing overnight. Low 16F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snow accumulations less than one inch. Chinese hackers have reportedly attempted a potentially devastating and highly-sophisticated cyber-attack on the office of the Western Australian premier. Cyber-security company Check Point said the hackers - known as Naikon - targeted a worker in Mark McGowan's office using a file which appeared to be an innocuous Microsoft Word document. The attachment contained an invisible cyber-attacking tool which allows the hackers to remotely access victims' computers and copy information undetected according to The New York Times. The data intelligence experts from Israel did not claim Naikon was directly linked to the Chinese government - but a US cyber-security firm in 2015 said the group was a unit of The People's Liberation Army, the official name of China's armed forces. Today Mr McGowan said he is not sure if the New York Times report is true and has told his team to investigate. He said: 'We have referred it to the director-general of the Department of Premier and Cabinet for investigation. I don't know anything more about it than an article in the New York Times. 'As to who does these things or what happens or whether it is even true, we will try and get to the bottom of that'. Chinese soldiers during a march in Beijing in October 2019. A new report has claimed a Chinese hacking group - which has previously been linked to the country's armed forces - carried out a cyber attack on the Western Australian premier. The office of Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan was allegedly the target of a sophisticated cyber attack by Beijing Check Point claims the technology - called 'Aria-body' - is so sophisticated it is untraceable and can change its appearance between attacks to stay undetected. The malicious email typically comes from a trusted source in the form of another government official - a hacking technique known as 'spear-phishing'. Check Point claims Naikon have targeted not only the Australian government but countries across the Asia-Pacific including Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines. Security researchers first detected Naikon that year, but Check Point said the hackers 'slipped off the radar' until they escalated their activities in 2019 and 2020. The Chinese government has consistently denied being behind cyber-attacks or targeting other countries' intelligence networks to steal trade secrets. But American former diplomat Matthew Brazil said cyber-espionage attacks were becoming increasingly focused on stealing data from foreign governments. 'This may be different in design, but these attacks all have the same purpose,' he told the Times. Pictured: The Check Point Software Technologies headquarters in Tel Aviv. The attack's sophisticated technology was disguised as a Word document, the report claimed Pictured: Check Point Software Technologies founder and CEO Gil Shwed in 2017 at an event in Tel Aviv The chief of the Israeli firm's cyberthreat intelligence group Lotem Finkelstein said the group was constantly upgrading its hacking software to gain access to sensitive government documents. 'The Naikon group has been running a longstanding operation, during which it has updated its new cyberweapon time and time again, built an extensive offensive infrastructure and worked to penetrate many governments across Asia and the Pacific,' he said. 'What drives them is their desire to gather intelligence and spy on countries, and they have spent the past five years quietly developing their skills and introducing a new cyber-weapon with the Aria-body backdoor.' China's President Xi Jinping on a screen during the 2019 World Internet Conference. Beijing has consistently denied being behind attempts to hack into other countries' IT networks The potential cyber attack comes amid rising tensions between China and Australia as Mr Morrison calls for an international inquiry into the coronavirus outbreak - which is believed to have started in a wet market in the city of Wuhan. Four years ago, cyber-security firm Threat Connect, based in the US state of Virginia, attributed Naikon's activity 'to a specific unit of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army [PLA]'. 'Our assessment is based on technical analysis of Naikon threat activity and native language research on a PLA officer within Unit 78020,' the report read. 'China is aggressively claiming territory deeper into the South China Sea, threatening economic and political stability in the Southeast Asia and beyond.' 'The territorial activity is accompanied by high-tempo cyber espionage and malware attacks, malicious attachments and spear phishing, directed at Southeast Asian military, diplomatic, and economic targets.' An Asian giant hornet can be about 2 inches long, making it the world's largest hornet. (Washington State Department of Agriculture) When news of the Asian giant hornets arrival in the United States first broke, the public was understandably worried: First the coronavirus, now "murder hornets"? Whats next, three days of darkness? But bug experts from Washington, where the hornet was discovered in the U.S., to California agree that the 2-inch hornet is probably not worth all the buzz it has generated at least not yet. It's not an existential threat; its something that can be managed. You just have to know that they're there and take the necessary steps, said Doug Yanega, senior museum scientist at UC Riversides Entomology Research Museum. He helped Washington scientists identify the hornets when they were first found. It's like letting a virus spread you dont want to let your guard down. The Washington State Department of Agriculture has confirmed only two Asian giant hornets, both spotted late last year in Blaine, in the crook of the northwest corner of the U.S. There are also two unconfirmed reports of hornet sightings about eight miles down the road in Custer, according to Washington State University. And just across the border and the skinny Strait of Georgia in British Columbia, Canada, a colony of the Asian giant hornets was found and eradicated in September. But so far that's it, and scientists hope it stays that way. "We're still trying to determine the extent of the infestation, said Tim Lawrence, associate professor and Island County extension director at Washington State University. "We dont want it here. The main concern about the Asian giant hornet is its potential to harm honeybee populations. The queen hornet usually emerges in April to begin feeding and building up her nest of worker hornets. By late summer or early fall, her worker hornets begin foraging for food, swarming beehives, cutting off bees' heads and sucking out the hives larvae and pupae to bring back to their burgeoning nest. Story continues What the hornet does is it feeds on it preys on honeybees, said Dessie Underwood, an entomologist and the chair of Cal State Long Beachs Department of Biological Sciences. Just like a lion feeds on a gazelle you dont call it a murderous lion. Everyone has to eat something. The hornets are unlikely to attack humans though if they do, they pack a painful punch. But an Asian giant hornets sting isnt likely to kill humans. In Japan, said Susan Cobey, a bee breeder at the Washington State University, about 50 people die every year from hornet stings, and that number is probably attributable to allergies. In the United States, an average of 62 people die each year from hornet, wasp or bee stings, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Early genetic testing shows that the Canadian colony originated in Japan, and at least one of the Washington hornets came from South Korea, said Karla Salp, public engagement specialist with Washington's agriculture department. Several scientists said they believed the hornets likely hitched a ride on cargo brought to an American port from Asia. Chris Looney, entomologist with the Washington State Department of Agriculture, logs the location of an Asian giant hornet trap. (Washington State Department of Agriculture) European honeybees, which have long lived in North America, are not equipped to defend themselves against the Asian giant hornet. In Japan, where the hornet typically lives, Asian honeybees have evolved a defense mechanism, Cobey said. The bees make a massive ball around the hornet scouts and smother them to death with the heat of their beating wings. Honeybees in the United States already face existential threats of increased pesticides, loss of habitat and a changing environment, she added. A newly introduced hornet could endanger the bee population and have a domino effect on the American food supply. Fruits, vegetables and even plant-grown animal feed could suffer without enough pollinating bees. The crunch is kind of now, Cobey said. If we can catch these queens before they establish big nests, thats the goal." Anyone who thinks they may have spotted an Asian giant hornet can report it to their states agriculture department. People can also help by not killing innocent bumblebees, Lawrence said. If we get through May and June and July and nobody has spotted any of these wasps, then were probably free and clear. The jury is still out, said Yanega, the UC Riverside entomologist. There is a reason for concern, but its not the level of threat that people think there is. As for whether Californians could expect to see them, this particular hornet comes from a region in Japan with warm, wet summers and cold dry winters, Long Beach State's Underwood said. Not exactly a California climate. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- The instruction given by Boris Johnson to the British people on March 23 was dead simple: You must stay at home. The pithiness and urgency of that message, the alarming rise in deaths, and the U.K. prime ministers subsequent hospitalization with Covid-19 all reinforced the instruction. People got it. Some say it was too successful. Many Britons dont seem to want to come out of lockdown now. The all-important R number the average number of people infected by one person is now said to be below one. But how to keep it there while getting people back to work? Johnsons task on Sunday, when hell set out the circumstances under which people can resume parts of their old lives, will require far more granular and sophisticated communication. Theres only one way into lockdown, but multiple routes out. The governments grave errors in the early stages of the pandemic make the reopening perilous politically. Having been slow to increase testing, Britain improved during April, but its a long way from the mass examinations needed to provide confidence in a steady return to normality. The other component of a successful unlocking strategy contact tracing is being trialed on the Isle of Wight. But the U.K.s homegrown solution may prove inferior to the Google and Apple Inc. technology that countries like Germany and Switzerland opted for. Britains abject record in fighting the virus leaves Johnson very little margin for error. The U.K. death toll has surpassed that of Italy, making it the worst-hit country in Europe, and second globally to the U.S. The official number of more than 30,000 fatalities is probably far smaller than the real figure. Data from the Office for National Statistics show that over 42,000 more people have died than is normal since mid-March. As Keir Starmer, the opposition Labour Party leader, asked Johnson on Wednesday: How on earth did it come to this? The government has two answers to that question, neither very satisfying. Story continues The first is that its too early to make conclusive judgments about death tolls. The relative numbers between nations may look different some months down the road when a full accounting is made. Even so, theres little chance that Britains death rate will not look horrible when compared with Germany, South Korea and many other countries. While there may be an argument for taking international comparisons with a grain of salt, U.K. ministers have been using such information at every news conference for weeks. The governments second answer to Starmers question that it has been guided by the science looks even more dubious, given all of the confusion and mystery around this guidance. On Monday it bowed to pressure to release the names of members of the influential Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), after growing criticism about the dangers of shrouding the advice in secrecy. On Tuesday, one of the most prominent SAGE members, Imperial College professor Neil Ferguson, resigned after the Daily Telegraph reported that he had violated social distancing rules to meet his married lover. It was Fergusons controversial models that most influenced the governments lockdown policy. He apologized and said hed figured that since hed had Covid-19 and completed his period of self-isolation he was immune. Scientists arent entirely sure what immunity the virus confers, so thats an odd statement from one of the governments chief advisers on the pandemic. The timing of the Ferguson disclosure is significant too. A backlash against Johnsons lockdown and the evidence on which it was based has been building, especially among members of Johnsons Conservative Party. Steve Baker, an arch-Brexiter, says the restrictions are absurd, dystopian and tyrannical. Jonathan Sumption, a former U.K. Supreme Court judge, wrote a column calling the lockdown without doubt the greatest interference with personal liberty in our history. That was applauded by Tesla Inc.s Elon Musk. Fergusons indiscretion is a gift to this campaign against restrictions. It doesnt help confidence in the governments policies if the man known as Professor Lockdown wasnt following the advice he repeatedly trumpeted on national media. His resignation provided an opportunity to question not just his judgment but his scientific models. Johnson will want to respond in some way to this pressure to restore economic activity from the right of his party, the same people who delivered him power. But between Swedens light-touch approach and South Koreas leave-nothing-to-chance policies, Johnson is leaning toward the latter. This seems to be born of the conviction that voters wont tolerate the trade-off of losing lots of lives in exchange for getting back to work. Johnsons own experience of Covid-19 will no doubt shape his thinking. Theres also a more pragmatic calculation that any new infection spike could deal the economy an even bigger blow. Polls seem to bear out the prime ministers caution. An Opinium poll for the Observer published last weekend showed that only 17% of people felt conditions were right for reopening schools. Only 9% thought it would be right to consider reopening pubs and even fewer said a return of sporting events or concerts should be allowed. Yet support for the lockdown has been accompanied by a growing sense of public unhappiness with Johnson and his colleagues. The percentage of people who approve of the governments management of the crisis has fallen to 47% from 61% three weeks ago. There will be little tolerance for more mistakes. Having been tentative going into the lockdown, at such great cost, Johnson cannot now be anything but cautious in coming out of it. Hell just have to find a way to make the new policy sound as straightforward and convincing as the one it replaces. He cant afford to get the reopening wrong too.Elaine He contributed a graphic 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 Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. California has created a website where residents can enter a ZIP code, city or address and find nearby coronavirus testing sites, including many where they can get tested for free, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday. The website, which can be reached from a link at covid19.ca.gov, includes a map with hundreds of sites across the state that provide diagnostic testing. At least 80 of the sites run by two health companies with state contracts will offer free testing. The companies are Verily, an arm of Googles parent company Alphabet, and OptumServe, a Minnesota health services company. The map also includes hundreds of medical clinics and other testing sites that operate separately from the state, some of which may charge. The website lets users know whether each testing site requires a doctors referral, how to make an appointment and who can get tested there. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures are trading lower late in the session on Wednesday. The market is giving up earlier gains after the release of a mixed government inventories report. U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose less than forecast and distillate inventories jumped but gasoline posted a drawdown for the second straight week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday. At 18:11 GMT, June WTI crude oil is trading $23.16, down $1.40 or -6.70%. This is down from an intraday high of $26.08. Despite the better-than-expected EIA crude oil data, prices likely declined because of the huge build in distillates that reflected the demand destruction on the airline and over-the-road truck industries. Also weighing on prices was the news that inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub, rose for a ninth straight week, rising 2.1 million barrels last week to 65 million barrels, their highest in three years, the EIA said. Daily Swing Chart Technical Analysis The main trend is down according to the daily swing chart. The current 11 day rally was just short-covering. It did nothing to momentum or the minor or major downtrends. The main trend will change to up on a trade through the last main top at $33.15. A move through the last swing bottom at $6.50 will signal a resumption of the downtrend. The prolonged move up in terms of price and time has put the June WTI crude oil futures contract inside the window of time for a potentially bearish closing price reversal top. If formed then confirmed, this could lead to the start of a 2 to 3 day retracement on the 11 session rally. The intermediate range is $48.92 to $6.50. Its retracement zone at $27.71 to $32.72 is resistance. The short-term range is $33.15 to $6.50. Its retracement zone at $22.97 to $19.83 is potential support. The minor range is $6.50 to $26.08. Its 50% level at $16.29 is the primary downside target. Daily Swing Chart Technical Forecast Based on the early price action and the current price at $23.16, the direction of the June WTI crude oil futures contract into the close on Wednesday is likely to be determined by trader reaction to the short-term Fibonacci level at $22.97. Story continues Bearish Scenario A sustained move under $22.97 will indicate the presence of sellers. If this generates enough downside momentum then look for the selling to possibly extend into the Fibonacci level at $19.83. Bullish Scenario A sustained move over $22.97 will signal the presence of buyers. Turning higher for the session will indicate the buying is getting stronger. This could lead to a test of the intraday high at $26.08, followed by the 50% level at $27.71. Side Notes The most important number into the close will be yesterdays close at $24.56. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: This article was originally published by The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for their newsletter, or follow The Marshall Project on Facebook or Twitter. Seven months after Tammie Lewis was granted parole, she is still in Marlin Transfer Facility waiting to go home. Officials wont release her from the Texas state prison until she completes a six-month program focused on decision-making.* But she hasnt been able to finish the program because, after waitlists and other delays, classes normally taught in person were suspended due to coronavirus, says Lewiss sister, Temeka Hildreth. Now that classes have resumed, theyre by correspondence. Theyve got them in their dorm doing packets, Hildreth said last week. Advertisement Lewis is one of more than 15,000 people in Texas who have been granted parole but still cant go home, according to data published by the state corrections department. While states from Iowa to Arkansas have used the parole process as a way to thin prison populations to fight the spread of COVID-19, there have been no changes to the way the Texas parole board makes decisions in light of coronavirus, said Raymond Estrada, a spokesman for the board. As of April 29, 1,050 Texas prisoners have tested positive for COVID-19 and 12 have died. Texas has one of the lowest testing rates in the country, the Austin-American Statesman reports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theoretically, people like Lewis who have already been granted parole are prime candidates for COVID-19-related release. And many states and counties have ordered their officers to stop reincarcerating people for breaking probation and parole rules such as missing appointments or failing drug tests. But according to more than a dozen interviews with defense attorneys, probation and parole experts and corrections officials in seven states, bureaucracies that are unwieldy even in normal times are keeping people under supervision in a dangerous limbo: COVID-19 is raging in prisons but their options for release are stymied by measures designed to stop the spread of the virus. Advertisement Advertisement When people are accused of violating their probation or parole, they often have to wait behind bars for a series of hearings and procedural hurdles to determine if they are guilty and what the consequences will be. Think of a criminal trial, but less formal and with fewer constitutional protections. Even one day in custody can totally disrupt someones life to the point of almost no return, says Michael Nail, Georgias commissioner of community supervision. Now, coronavirus can make custody downright dangerous. In California, an April 6 emergency court rule meant to keep people out of jail during the pandemic set bail automatically at $0 for a wide range of crimes. The rule came two weeks too late for Nolan Myers, who was sent to the Southwest Detention Center in Riverside County, California, in late March after he missed an appointment with his probation officer. His next step would have been to go before a judge, but courthouses are closed. Advertisement Advertisement As of last week Myers was one of 141 people awaiting a violation hearing in the Riverside County jails, according to Lionel Murphy, a spokesman for the sheriff. With a coronavirus outbreak tearing through the jail, his life is in danger over a technical violation, his girlfriend, Samantha Smart, wrote in an email. (Myers finally went home on Friday after a prosecutor and his attorney reached an agreement, according to Marita Ford, a spokesperson for the court.) Advertisement Advertisement Parole violations also make it harderor impossibleto access reduced bail for new crimes. After Melinda Morales was caught shoplifting from a New York department store, she could have easily posted the $1 bail the judge set in her case. But since the shoplifting was also a parole violation, shes stuck on Rikers Island, where the medical director called the spread of coronavirus a public health disaster. Morales is now infected with the coronavirus, the local news site The City reported. As of Sunday there were 826 people in New York City jails because of a probation or parole violation, according to city data. More than 600 of them, like Morales, could potentially post bail for the crime theyre accused of, but arent able to because of a parole or probation violation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Similar situations are unfolding around the country, experts say. The parish jail in New Orleans holds dozens of people who cant address their parole violations until they resolve their new arrests, according to Orleans Public Defender Colin Reingold. But they cant proceed with hearings or trials on the new arrests because courts are closed through at least mid-May. Videoconferences are not available for these types of hearings, Reingold said. Originally designed as an alternative to incarceration, probation and parole have instead become a significant contributor to mass incarceration, according to a 2017 Columbia University Justice Lab statement signed by more than 60 prosecutors and community corrections directors across the country. On any given day, supervision violations account for almost a quarter of people in prison nationwideabout 280,000 peopleaccording to an analysis by the Council of State Governments Justice Center. Advertisement In Illinois, the parole board had to postpone a weeks worth of violation hearings in late March and early April, when a facility-wide quarantine at the Northern Reception and Classification Center, in Joliet, where most accused violators are held, meant that people incarcerated there couldnt appear at their hearings. The plan to remotely video-link parole board members, attorneys and prisoners from three different locations ran into technical problems. The board has since cleared more than 600 people to go home, but almost 200 of them are still there, because they dont have a parole-approved home to return to, because the local county is still holding them on a new charge, or because the corrections department is delayed in processing their exit paperwork, according to Jason Sweat, a spokesman for the agency. This is an outrage, says correctional consultant David Muhammad, who served as an independent monitor in a years-long lawsuit against the Illinois Parole Board. You all have said they should leave. And theyre still there, Muhammad said. And you have a pandemic worse than anywhere in this place. New Book By Maryland Fourth Grader and Her Mom Inspiring Acts of Kindness This is the perfect book for kids (and their families) who love adventure and the world around them. Its a surefire way to start anyone on a life of kind acts. While families search for creative, safe, and healthy ways to stay balanced and busy during the COVID-19 outbreak, one fourth grader and her mom from Maryland are focused on spreading kindnessAdventures in Kindness, to be exacta new action/adventures book that the duo wrote and will release on Saturday May 9, 2020 at their virtual launch party and community kindness celebration. When we set out to create this book, we didnt know exactly where our adventure would take us, said Carrie Fox, co-author and mom of Sophia, 10. But we knew we wanted to build a set of practical and fun ways that kids and their families could actively contribute good to our world. Adventures in Kindness is a 170-page action/adventure book (and complementary website) for kids and their families filled with color-coded kindness adventures for kids to participate in to support their communities, their schools, their minds, their families and more. (There are 9 categories and 52 adventures.) The book was illustrated by San Francisco artist Nichole Wong Forti. Learn more about the mother/daughter author-duo in a short video about the new book.https://youtu.be/GzI8BZMo5Ao The book will be released on Monday, May 11, and is available for pre-order now on AdventuresinKindness.com and Amazon.com. Parents, families, and teachers can download three free starter adventures, as well as order the book and merchandise on the books website, including a set of notecards inspired by kids, for kids and their families to write letters of kindness to people experiencing social isolation during COVID-19. 100 percent of the proceeds from the notecards will be donated to Feeding America in support of coronavirus relief efforts. Adventures in Kindness is ideal for kids between the ages of 7 and 12, but the content of the book is applicable to kids (and adults) of all ages. Kids and their families can take on adventures to help their school, their community, their family, and more with adventures such as: Organize a book swap with your friends Start a family giving jar Learn how to say hello in 35 languages Take on a family fitness adventure Learn how to calculate a generous tip This is the perfect book for kids (and their families) who love adventure and the world around them. Its a surefire way to start anyone on a life of kind acts. Media interested in attending the Adventures in Kindness virtual launch party and kindness celebration should email hello@adventuresinkindness.com by Friday, May 8, 2020 Note: a portion of proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the charities featured inside. About the Publisher: Adventures in Kindness is a publication of Mission Partners Press, an imprint of Mission Partners, Benefit LLC. Mission Partners Press develops educational resources that engage global citizens of every age in social change. Learn more at mission.partners/press President Donald Trump should further restrict employment-based immigration to the United States until the unemployment caused by the coronavirus pandemic returns to normal levels, a group of four Republican senators has said. While economic shutdowns in states and localities across the country have been necessary to reduce the spread of this pandemic, the results have been devastating for businesses and workers alike, Senators Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz, Chuck Grassley and Josh Hawley wrote in a public letter to the president on Thursday. President Trump issued an order on April 22 suspending most immigrant visas for 60 days but exempted guest worker programmes. The US admits about one million guest workers a year, the senators said, and should now curtail most of those permits with an exception for seasonal agricultural workers. Trump should add guest workers to his 60-day visa ban and should extend the restriction for four specific categories for up to a year or until the US employment recovers, the senators said in their letter. The categories include: H-2B visas for non-agricultural seasonal workers, such as summer pool lifeguards. H-1B visas for skilled speciality and tech positions. Optional Practical Training extensions for international students. EB-5 investor visas. As we work toward recovery, we urge you to keep the American worker in mind and limit the importation of unnecessary guest workers while American families and businesses get back on their feet, the senators said in their letter. The number of unemployed workers in the US surged more than 33 million in the seven weeks since the US outbreak began, pushing the unemployment rate to 15 percent, according to Labor Department data released on Thursday. There are millions of high school and college students who, if not for the coronavirus pandemic, would be walking across a graduation stage in front of their families and friends over the next few weeks, the senators said in their letter. Instead of celebrating their hard work, most will be receiving their diplomas in the mail while worrying about whether they will be able to find a job in this market. The four senators, who represent agricultural states of Arkansas, Texas, Iowa and Missouri, called on Trump to continue to provide exemptions for seasonal agricultural guest workers who pick crops and perform other food industry tasks. They urged exemptions be available for other critical industries on a case-by-case basis. Duane 'Dog The Bounty Hunter' Chapman feels his late wife Beth would be in support of his engagement 10 months after her death. The 67-year-old surprised fans this Monday when he announced he had popped the question to his girlfriend Francie Frane. 'If Beth was here, and saw Francie and saw how she was raised, her morality and this and that, Beth would say: "Big daddy, don't lose her,"' Duane told People. The way they were: Duane 'Dog The Bounty Hunter' Chapman feels his late wife Beth would be in support of his engagement 10 months after her death; the pair are pictured in 2013 He explained: 'I need a partner. I've said it before. There will never be another Mrs. Dog. There is not. Francie couldn't do that. There will be a last Mrs. Chapman.' The reality TV star said of his proposal: 'When you know, you know,' sharing that 'I believe in marriage. Beth taught me.' Duane acknowledged: 'You'll never forget the spouse. You can't help it. I will never forget. But I've got to get out there.' He added: 'I've got to be able to say: "I came out of this and you can, too."As a human being, I don't think you look for - not a replacement, because you can never find one. I'm learning that right now.' Side by side: The 67-year-old surprised fans this Monday when he announced he had popped the question to his girlfriend Francie Frane (left) Duane, who has been married five times and has 13 children, began dating Francie earlier this year and proposed during dinner at their Colorado home. 'I wasn't expecting it at all,' Francie, 51, told The Sun. 'I think I had gone to pick up some food and then when I came back he had all the lights turned down with just a few lights on and a bunch of candles lit.' Meanwhile Duane gushed he wants to invite his fans to the 'biggest wedding there's ever been' when he marries Francie with 'one hell of a party.' Beth was only 51 years old last June when she died after a cancer battle in Honolulu, the city where she met her husband. New love: 'If Beth was here, and saw Francie and saw how she was raised, her morality and this and that, Beth would say: "Big daddy, don't lose her,"' Duane told People Early this year Duane fake proposed on live TV to family friend Moon Angell, who had been living in his house but reportedly moved out after the stunt. His latest remarks come after Duane and Beth's daughter Bonnie defended her father's engagement in the comments of his Instagram announcement. 'Please just let my father live in peace. Let him be happy, please for the love of god let him be,' Bonnie, 21, begged the public this week. 'Let my father live in peace': His latest remarks come after Duane and Beth's daughter Bonnie defended her father's engagement in the comments of his Instagram announcement 'My father has gone through so much this past year without my mother. It's been extremely difficult to see one parent pass, and the other so intent on following. My father deserves to be happy,' she continued. 'He's still got my mothers name on his chest, he'll never forget her and the love she gave him. She would be happy my father is in love and finding peace. Please keep your comments to yourself, and if you can't then it reflects more on you than him.' Bonnie insisted: 'Francie is a wonderful woman, as usual no one can replace my mother; but it's okay to let new people in...... I had this talk with her, my mother had so much love for my father, she would never want him to be alone. My mom wanted him to be happy no matter what.' MBABANE Even though the country has now recorded 123 positive COVID-19 cases and a second death, government has introduced an eased partial lockdown. This is with effect from tomorrow, Friday May 8, 2020. However, a time frame for the duration of the eased partial lockdown was not indicated. The eased partial lockdown was announced yesterday by the Prime Minister, Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, during a press conference held at 6pm at Cabinet Offices. As a result, manufacturing and production companies that have international orders to fulfil shall operate under strict World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Ministry of Health guidelines. Government has stated that screening and testing of staff will be mandatory, including adoption of core measures of prevention; that is the provision of hand-washing facilities, sanitisers and masks. This in essence means that the textile and apparel industry will reopen as it has international orders. Measures Dlamini said the measures of the eased partial lockdown allowed the opening of the economy to other businesses, which included retail clothing shops, tailors and dressmakers (that produce face masks and PPEs) to operate three days a week. He said the aforementioned would be allowed to operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, between 9am and 3pm. The PM further had good news for furniture shops as he said they would be allowed to operate three days a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays between 9am and 3pm. He said dry cleaners would also operate three times a week under similar conditions as furniture shops. The country is embarking on a process of gradually easing the partial lockdown on the economy. This is in line with similar measures recently taken by other countries in the region and in the world, said Dlamini. He, however, emphasised that members of the public were expected to fully comply with the COVID-19 regulations throughout the process. Dlamini said the seven businesses which would be allowed to operate during the eased partial lockdown would have to demonstrate capability to implement strict COVID-19 regulations and hygiene standards to prevent the spread of the virus. They will have to seek permission to operate from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade, where they will prove that they have put in place very strong and stringent systems adhering to health precautions and ensuring that employees are able to practise social distancing, have adequate hand-washing facilities, sanitisers, wear masks, among others, said Dlamini. He said this could also include the screening of workers. Dlamini said any company failing to meet or comply with these precautionary measures will either be closed or denied permission to operate. It is important to emphasise that the eased measures do not mean all business will be allowed to operate, said the PM. Meanwhile, the PM said the world continued to battle with limited success, a virus that systematically took the lives of thousands of people each day around the globe. He said what started as a modest illness in China in December 2019, had turned into a monster that had put to test the versatility of international health systems, and clearly no country would emerge unscathed. Most countries are clamouring for lasting solutions to address and eventually tame COVID-19 completely, and we face the prospect of living with the effects of this virus for the foreseeable future, he said. He said six weeks ago, at the counsel of His Majesty King Mswati III, Eswatini joined the rest of the world in introducing a partial lockdown with the main goal being to defer the epidemic peak and to give the health system time to put in place measures to flatten the curve and create capacity to manage a surge in positive COVID-19 cases. He said to a large extent, this had been achieved though there was still more ground to cover. The PM stated that the capacity of the Lubombo Referral Hospital had been improved and more beds would be added to enable the facility to handle up to 200 patients at a time. Similarly, the TB Hospital in Manzini is getting the required make-over to be able to accommodate more patients in case of a surge in positive cases, said Dlamini. Educational He added that over 90 per cent of healthcare workers had been trained on COVID-19 and many more emaSwati across communities had been reached with information and educational material on the coronavirus. He said with all the measures in place, considerations had to be made to determine if the countrys health system was capable of detecting and absorbing a resurgence of cases. The experiences of other countries have taught us that no health system in the world has adequate capacity, hence it remains important to avoid a complete easing of the partial lockdown measures, he said. However, Dlamini said the importance of opening up the economy to allow for restricted business activity was crucial. [May 07, 2020] Fraunhofer Research Consortium iCAIR Uses Synergies to Develop New Medications Against SARS-CoV-2 HANNOVER, Germany, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has triggered a public health emergency of international concern. To date, there is neither a vaccine nor drugs for COVID-19 treatment available. Researchers of the international consortium iCAIR are striving to develop novel anti-infective agents to treat or prevent clinically significant respiratory diseases caused by viruses, fungi and bacteria and recently started a project to develop medications against SARS-CoV-2. In the iCAIR consortium (Fraunhofer International Consortium for Anti-Infective Research) Fraunhofer ITEM is collaborating with Griffith University's Institute for Glycomics (IfG) in Australia, the Hannover Medical School (MHH; Germany), and TWINCORE, a joint venture between MHH and Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (Germany) to develop new, urgently needed agents against respiratory tract infections. "Striving to develop a drug for COVID-19 treatment, we combine our complementary expertise and pool a broad spectrum of methods in this research alliance from the identification of therapeutic targets and drug candidates via drug design and efficacy testing in preclinical models to toxicological studies," says Professor Armin Braun, Fraunhofer ITEM Division Director of Preclinical Pharmacology and Toxicology and coordinator of the iCAIR consortium. The researchers are first screening substance libraries for drug candidates that stop SARS-CoV-2 infection. "We made use of substance libraries available at IfG and HZI. Furthermore, Fraunhofer IME with its ScreeningPort in Hamburg and expertise in drug discovery based on high-throughput technology is involved," explains Braun. Identified drug candidates will be subject to chemical modification to optimize their efficacy and safety. Efficacy and tolerability testing will be performed in sophisticated cell-based infection models and human precision-cut lung slices (PCLS). This viable, immunocompetent lung tissue model enables detailed analysis of biological and immunological responses to the virus in the deep lung which is where the SARS-CoV-2 infection is most harmful. A unique human test system is thus available for safety and efficacy testing of novel medications. "We will systematically develop the most promising candidates further to achieve inhaled administration, as SARS-CoV-2 primarily infects the lungs and airways," explains Braun. "Administering therapeutics via the airways enables high local concentrations at the site of infection, reducing the required doses of active substance. In addition, systemic side effects can be minimized." Fraunhofer ITEM experts will test the drug candidates selected for inhaled administration in an in-house developed and patented in-vitro exposure system P.R.I.T. ExpoCube. This system allows inhaled administration of the drug candidates into the lung to be mimicked by using human airway epithelial cells or PCLS. Potential local cytotoxic effects can thus be ruled out and the best candidates for further preclinical development can be identified. "The iCAIR consortium is ambitious: together, we want to expedite the advancement of new drugs into the preclinical phase. Unfortunately, there is still a significant gap between the discovery of new agents and their further development into usable therapeutics, which we have to bridge even faster now with our combined synergies to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic," says Professor Mark von Itzstein, IfG Director and iCAIR project manager in Australia. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1164898/iCAIR_Medical_Research.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/973057/Fraunhofer_Logo.jpg CONTACT: Dr. Cathrin Nastevska, [email protected], +49 511 5350-225 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] LOS ANGELES, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and Covenant House California (CHC) today announced that SoCalGas and the Sempra Energy Foundation together have donated $50,000 to Covenant House California, a non-profit shelter that provides sanctuary and support for homeless and trafficked youth, ages 18-24. The $50,000 donation includes, $25,000 from SoCalGas and $25,000 from the Sempra Energy Foundation. In addition, SoCalGas, is donating commercial cooking equipment for the shelter's kitchen. Please see here for photos and video from today's delivery of the kitchen equipment to Covenant House. "SoCalGas is proud to support our friends at Covenant House of California with this donation," said Mia DeMontigny, Vice President Controller and Chief Financial Officer at SoCalGas and Covenant House California board member. "Covenant House works tirelessly to provide critical and life-changing services to youth experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles and we are proud to be able to support their efforts." "SoCalGas is showing what an amazing partner they are, during the greatest time of need for young people experiencing homelessness. This gift helps us to be able to meet the needs of more youth than ever who do not have a safe place to sleep right now, as the result of the pandemic. We are so incredibly grateful to SoCalGas for stepping up in such a significant way for the most vulnerable people in our community," said Bill Bedrossian, CEO Covenant House of California. CHC provides not only housing services including transitional living programs but also support services such as street outreach, medical and mental health services, and career and education programs. Covenant House California has over 100 youth currently living at its Los Angeles campus and served over 240,000 meals to youth throughout California last year. The donations from both SoCalGas and the Sempra Energy Foundation will supplement the cost of food for the shelter's Los Angeles location as well as support other services the non-profit provides. Last month, SoCalGas announced a $1 million donation to nonprofit organizations throughout its service area to support the region's workforce, feed the hungry, and provide bill assistance to customers most affected by COVID-19. Together, the Sempra Energy family of companies including SoCalGas' sister California utility San Diego Gas and Electric and the Sempra Energy Foundation are stepping up with more than $8 million to those in need during this crisis. SoCalGas has suspended service disconnections for its core customers until further notice. This means no residential or small business customer will have their natural gas turned off due to non-payment. SoCalGas has also temporarily waived late fees for small business customers. Late fees are never charged for residential customers. Natural gas continues to flow and is being delivered to SoCalGas' 22 million customers across southern and central California, just as it does on a "typical" day. There is no shortage of supply of natural gas for homes or businesses or to power plants that generate electricity. For more information about SoCalGas' response to the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit www.socalgas.com/coronavirus. Covenant House California COVID-19 Response Covenant House California is ACTIVELY serving nearly 5,000 youth a year who are experiencing homelessness across the state in Los Angeles, Oakland, and Berkeley. Simultaneously, each night in California, there are over 10,000 youth experiencing homelessness who don't have a safe place to sleep. Their need for shelter, sustenance, medical attention, sanctuary, and support has not quelled in the midst of social distancing and the shuttering of non-essential businesses; IT HAS DRASTICALLY INCREASED. The work of providing care to an already traumatized population of youth centers upon human connection, contact, and engagement. To that end, our shelters are sheltering, our street outreach programs are outreaching, and our counselors are counseling; we make a commitment to every youth we serve that, when they are with us or working with us, they will receive absolute respect and unconditional love, and we will not relent in that covenant. We work with a highly traumatized population. As a result, their response to this crisis and our society's collective anxiety requires a targeted, trauma-informed approach from a mental health standpoint. Our counselors are working double-time to ensure that youth who are scared are enveloped with love and support and reinforcing their inherent strengths that fuel healthy coping mechanisms mechanisms that will prevent returns to homelessness. Our Rapid Rehousing programs are structured to provide support to youth who have worked unbelievably hard to maintain a job and their first apartment lease. Many of those youth are now faced with the elimination of their employment (i.e., those working in the service industries). We are not willing to stand by and watch youth lose everything as a result of their work stoppage or shortage, and as a result, we are paying their rent or whatever portion of their rent that they cannot afford. In fact, a significant majority of our youth lost their employment just one week into the pandemic. This has created the need for additional food and staffing costs on our campuses as well as the need to have increased programming on our sites to ensure that youth are being constructive and staying healthy during this time where employment prospects are very low for them. We will not stop doing this work. We have made that commitment to the youth we serve and, frankly, to the communities we serve. Every unrestricted dollar that can be mustered makes the fulfillment of that commitment less strenuous. In a time when everything is constantly changing, this funding allows us to rapidly target emergencies as they arise. About Covenant House California Covenant House California (CHC) is a non-profit youth shelter with locations in Hollywood, Oakland and Berkeley that provides sanctuary and support for homeless and trafficked youth, ages 18-24. CHC believes that no young person deserves to be homeless; that every young person in California deserves shelter, food, clothing, education and most importantly, to be loved. Now serving over 5,000 youth a year, CHC has served over 200,000 homeless youth since we've opened our doors. CHC provides a full continuum of services to meet the physical, emotional, educational, vocational, and spiritual well-being of young people, in order to provide them with the best chance for success in independence. www.covenanthousecalifornia.org Facebook: @covenanthousecalifornia Twitter: @CovenantHouseCA About SoCalGas Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable gas service to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California, where more than 90 percent of residents use natural gas for heating, hot water, cooking, drying clothes or other uses. Gas delivered through the company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity to Californians about 45 percent of electric power generated in the state comes from gas-fired power plants. SoCalGas' vision is to be the cleanest gas utility in North America , delivering affordable and increasingly renewable energy to its customers. In support of that vision, SoCalGas is committed to replacing 20 percent of its traditional natural gas supply with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from waste created by dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for our customers. From 2014 through 2018, the company invested nearly $6.5 billion to upgrade and modernize its pipeline system to enhance safety and reliability. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy services holding company based in San Diego. For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook. SOURCE Southern California Gas Company Related Links http://www.socalgas.com Speaking at a May 6 video press briefing, Israeli UN envoy Danny Danon said his government is seeking significant changes in the way the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon operates. Danon said the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) must offer its troops freedom of movement throughout the region and have access to any suspicious sites, including places where Hezbollah has a presence (Hezbollah has, among other things, built tunnels as part of a strategy to attack Israel in the past). He said that when peacekeepers are blocked from entry anywhere, this should be immediately reported to the UN security Council. Danon said that over time, the number of places UNIFIL troops can travel to has been reduced, saying, "We want them to have full freedom of movement. UNIFIL was originally created in 1978 to oversee the withdrawal of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from southern Lebanon after the Israeli invasion that year. After the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, UNIFILs mandate was expanded. The peacekeepers were asked to support Lebanese armed forces extend their authority throughout the south of the country, including along the Blue Line, on the border demarcation with Israel. Israel has repeatedly accused Hezbollah militants of impeding UNIFIL from carrying out its mandate. Also, in Israeli eyes, UNIFIL troops have refrained over the years from any armed confrontation with Hezbollah. One notable incident was the October 2000 kidnapping by Hezbollah militants of three IDF soldiers on the Israeli side of the border. UNIFIL refused to hand over to Israel a videotape recorded shortly after the incident that might have shed light on the identity of the attackers. Last year, IDF chief of staff Aviv Kochavi called on UNIFIL and the Lebanese government to take action against Hezbollahs precision missile project, indicating that Israel would be forced to act if they didnt. Danon bemoaned recent incidents along the frontier in apparent reference to reports that a border fence was damaged April 18 in three locations, apparently by Hezbollah militants. The Israeli envoy said Israel will continue pushing for reforms before the mandate for UNIFIL is renewed during the summer, saying, We dont want to send the troops back to their countries, but we want them to become more efficient. Dannon also thanked US Ambassador Kelly Craft for her strong support on this issue. Also, on April 30, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz welcomed Germany's decision to ban Hezbollah; previously Berlin made a distinction between Hezbollah political and military activity. On that occasion, Katz called on additional European countries and the European Union to classify Hezbollah both its military and political wings as a terror group. DUBLIN, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Fermentation Chemicals Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2020-2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global fermentation chemicals market is currently witnessing a healthy growth. Looking forward, the market is projected to register a CAGR of around 5% during 2020-2025. The growing F&B industry, along with rapid industrialization across the globe, represent as the key factors driving the growth of the market. Furthermore, the rising demand for alcoholic beverages is also providing a boost to the market growth. Fermented chemicals are primarily used in the production of various alcoholic beverages and food products, such as breads, cheese and pickles. Additionally, advancements in fermentation technologies have enabled large-scale production of several organic acids, such as lactic, tartaric and fumaric acid, thereby increasing the demand for fermentation chemicals across the globe. Moreover, growing consumer awareness regarding environment-friendly and bio-based raw materials is creating a positive outlook for the market growth. Industries are gradually shifting their focus toward fermentation chemicals as an alternative to their synthetic or petroleum-derived counterparts. An increasing product adoption for the manufacturing of steroids and antibiotics, along with extensive research and development (R&D) activities, are also projected to drive the market further. The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined with some of the key players being BASF SE, AB Enzymes, Ajinomoto Co. Inc., Amano Enzymes Inc., Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), Cargill Incorporated, Chr. Hansen A/S, DSM, Evonik Industries AG, Novozymes A/S, The Dow Chemical Company, Koch Industries Inc. (Invista BV), etc. Key Questions Answered How has the global fermentation chemicals 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 product? What is the breakup of the market based on the form? What is the breakup of the market based on the application? 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 fermentation chemicals 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 Fermentation Chemicals Market 5.1 Market Overview 5.2 Market Performance 5.3 Market Forecast 6 Market Breakup by Product 6.1 Alcohol 6.2 Enzymes 6.3 Organic Acids 6.4 Others 7 Market Breakup by Form 7.1 Liquid 7.2 Powder 8 Market Breakup by Application 8.1 Industrial Applications 8.2 Food and Beverages 8.3 Nutritional and Pharmaceuticals 8.4 Plastics and Fibers 8.5 Others 9 Market Breakup by Region 9.1 North America 9.2 Europe 9.3 Asia-Pacific 9.4 Latin America 9.5 Middle East and 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 Price Indicators 14 Competitive Landscape 14.1 Market Structure 14.2 Key Players 14.3 Profiles of Key Players BASF SE AB Enzymes Ajinomoto Co. Inc. Amano Enzymes Inc. Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) Cargill Incorporated Chr. Hansen A/S DSM Evonik Industries AG Novozymes A/S The Dow Chemical Company Koch Industries Inc. (Invista B.V.) For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/sj2fr7 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 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com ROME - Talks between the farm, interior, labour, and south ministries are close to reaching a deal to regularise thousands of migrant farm labourers whose contracts have run out, sources said Thursday. Their stay permits would be extended for three months, the sources said. The issue has caused tension within the ruling majority with centrist Italia Viva (IV) Farm Minister Tersea Bellanova threatening to quit after opposition to regularisation from the 5-Star Movement (M5S). Sources said the three-month extension would also cover home helps. The measure may be pout into a sweeping upcoming decree on the economic response to the coronavirus emergency. As well as from the M5S, the regularisation has drawn intense fire from opposition anti-migrant League leader Matteo Salvini. Salvini said Thursday the League would "take to the streets" if there was an amnesty for migrant workers. He said a general amnesty for migrant farm hands would be "devastating and crime-producing". Health Undersecretary Sandra Zampa said there was a "need" to regularise migrants and "bring out into the open what is not regularly present, so as to also safeguard safety, security and health". Democrats smell blood and have momentum in this year's Senate and House races, Doug Sosnik, a former White House political director for President Clinton, writes in the latest of his popular "big thinks" political decks. The big picture: Since President Trump's election, Republicans have lost 42 House seats (and control of the House), 10 governorships, and well over 450 state legislative seats. Democrats have taken full control of government in 10 states. Since Trump was last on the ballot, the realignment of the parties has made it very difficult for Republicans to do well in swing and suburban areas. The state of play: Democrats' strong candidate recruitment and fundraising, combined with declines in Trumps approval, have significantly increased the party's chances of taking back the Senate this fall. Republicans have nearly double the seats at risk 23 to Democrats 12. The Cook Political Report rates eight Republican seats as either "toss-up" or "lean Republican," with just one Democratic seat leaning Democratic. Sen. Doug Jones' (D-Ala.) seat is a likely GOP pickup. The D math: If Joe Biden is elected, Democrats need to pick up a net of three seats to regain Senate control. Assuming an Alabama loss, Dems need to win four seats currently held by the GOP. If Joe Biden is elected, Democrats need to pick up a net of three seats to regain Senate control. Assuming an Alabama loss, Dems need to win four seats currently held by the GOP. The R math: Four GOP seats (Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and North Carolina) are considered most at risk. The full deck. The full memo. The Morandi was the 10th Italian bridge to collapse since 2004, and it finally set alarm bells ringing AFP/Valery HACHE Such stimulus is sorely needed as the country slides towards its worst recession since World War II because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government admits it badly needs to renovate crumbling roads, bridges and railways, and doing so could also save lives. Yet the possible impediments are many - from funding to political will, bureaucracy and a recent safety reports scandal. The completion of the Genoa bridge was hailed as a sign of renewal for Italy, where more than 28,000 people have died in the coronavirus pandemic and millions risk losing their jobs due to an economically-crippling nationwide lockdown. The hi-tech flyover "is a symbol for the whole of Italy. An Italy that can rise again, that will roll up its sleeves, that will not allow itself to be beaten," Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said at the unveiling ceremony. As ships in the maritime city's port sounded their horns to mark the completion, Conte paid homage to the 43 people who plunged to their deaths when the former span, the Morandi flyover, collapsed in 2018. Other such tragedies could be averted by funding roads, bridges, schools, hospitals and climate change adaptation, which would create jobs and fuel short- and long-term growth. Almost 750 public works worth 62 billion (US$68 billion) were on hold at the end of last year, from large bridges to small-town schools, according to Italy's construction lobby ANCE. Kick-starting them would create 962,000 jobs, it said. Skeptics wonder where the money will come from - with Italian GDP forecast to contract by between 8 per cent and 10 per cent this year - and whether the political will exists in a fragile coalition government. DISASTERS IN THE MAKING The Morandi - one of the world's longest concrete bridges when it opened in 1967 - was a symbol of rebirth for postwar Italy, which was modernising rapidly, throwing up thousands of concrete viaducts, tunnels and bridges. But by 2018, Italy ranked 22nd out of 28 EU countries for the efficiency of its transport network. While its ancient Roman cement structures still stood, it discovered that modern versions had much shorter life-spans. The Morandi collapse followed a string of similar incidents and it finally set alarm bells ringing. Most of Italy's 6,500km of motorway are managed by private companies, which must ensure their bridges are safe. A post-disaster probe found evidence of poor maintenance by Autostrade per l'Italia, which is among Italy's biggest toll-road operators and owned by the powerful Benetton family. It also unearthed allegedly falsified safety reports by the motorway unit and its sister company for several other bridges, in what prosecutors suspected were attempts to cut costs. Autostrade per l'Italia denies any wrongdoing and widespread calls for it to be stripped of its concession have as yet come to nothing. It is not the only operator failing to keep its network safe. The latest bridge to crumble in Italy, managed by state-owned ANAS, fell last month into a river between Liguria and Tuscany. It would have been heavily used at the time, had it not been for the virus lockdown. There are 20 more bridges at risk of collapse across the country, and 200 road tunnels that do not meet European safety standards, according to investigative reports seen and cited by the Repubblica daily in January. "GIVE THE COUNTRY A PLAN" "I am begging you on my knees, give the country a great plan - like the Marshall Plan - to restart it," Pietro Salini, CEO of Italy's biggest builder Salini Impregilo, told Conte last week. Salini Impregilo, which was charged with reconstructing the Genoa bridge with shipbuilder Fincantieri, wants to create a construction hub called Project Italy by combining its assets with those of struggling building companies. It says it would help restart numerous projects that are currently blocked across the country. But its biggest challenge may be generating sufficient liquidity. Since the shutdown, Conte has unveiled stimulus packages worth 750 billion (US$830 billion). He has also, however, had to apologise several times for long delays in payments. Last week, he lifted the lockdown early for construction projects considered to have strategic importance, from schools, prisons and council housing, to disaster risk reduction for extreme weather events. Environmentalist lobby Legambiente has urged the government to make the climate crisis its infrastructure priority, after nearly 160 extreme events in 2019 - flash floods, whirlwinds and landslides - killed 42 people. A historic high tide that washed through Venice in December, causing millions of euros of damage to Saint Mark's Basilica alone, was blamed both on climate change and huge delays to a vast flood barrier project. The country's schools are also in an alarming state. Fifty-five percent of school buildings in Italy were built before the 1974 anti-seismic regulations were brought in, according to ANCE. Around 43 per cent of them are in areas classified as high-risk for earthquakes. More than 70 per cent do not have fire safety certificates. Stories regularly hit the news about pupils evacuated over crumbling classroom ceilings. Many have pointed out that the national closure of schools until September because of the coronavirus is the perfect opportunity for the renovation of ageing structures. RED TAPE The government has said it will widen the budget deficit by 55 billion, a "shock cure" which would see public debt in the eurozone's third largest economy jump to 155.7 per cent of GDP, from the already mammoth 134.8 per cent in 2019. It pledged to speed up new public works that are in an advanced planning stage and maintain existing ones. And it also promised to "urgently and drastically simplify administrative procedures" in critical sectors, including construction, the green economy and Internet connectivity. Italy is famed for its red tape and projects often drag on for years, plagued by bureaucracy. The country has at least 50 large infrastructure projects that are blocked but have been signed off on, with the money ready to spend, from a high-speed train in Sicily to the widening of a motorway in Tuscany, ANCE says. Financial experts caution however that some of those funds may be withdrawn and channelled to projects considered more essential due to the crisis, or with immediate prospects of a payoff. The National Council of Engineers (CNI) is one of many bodies to have sent the government proposals on how best to use infrastructure to reboot the country and shape it along different lines. "Cities have proved fragile spaces in sanitary terms," the council's head Armando Zambrano told AFP. He suggested investment could be made to encourage a return to the countryside, revitalising hundreds of abandoned little towns across Italy, and improving internet connections to encourage working from home. MAFIA Zambrano acknowledged, though, that he had little hope the government would actually do the necessary tape-cutting. Reforms aimed at reducing bureaucracy in construction, in 2018 and 2019, were disappointing. "There are always elements of the government that are distrustful, who equate big projects with corruption, ever since the Mani Pulite (Clean Hands) scandal," he said, referring to widespread political corruption in the 1990s. The crisis has sparked a fierce debate over whether projects are being obstructed by overly-strict corruption and mafia controls, with some even calling for them to be scrapped. Italy's anti-corruption authority has warned the rules are essential to prevent mafia infiltration. "Organised crime groups would certainly be interested in getting a slice of public contracts, construction is where they thrive," criminology expert Anna Sergi told AFP. The powerful 'Ndrangheta in Calabria and Camorra in Campagna have infiltrated road and airport construction, while the Cosa Nostra in Sicily prefers lower-key infrastructure projects which are easier to control, she said. POLITICALLY CONTROVERSIAL Political economy expert Erik Jones from Johns Hopkins University said the greatest problem lay with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, which governs Italy in coalition with the centre-left Democratic Party. The Movement (M5S) is the largest party in government and has components within it that loathe big infrastructure projects, from the high-speed Turin to Lyon train line to a Trans Adriatic gas pipeline. "There are many of these products that are shovel-ready, but are politically controversial, as well as being held up for bureaucratic reasons," Jones told AFP. Pushing forward on them would "light a spark" under M5S supporters who had regularly taken to the streets to protest such projects and were already suffering "pent-up frustration" after two months of lockdown. The government could pick other big, less controversial pieces of infrastructure that are not shovel-ready, but it would take time to identify them and go through the entire planning process. Jones also warned of another potential flaw in the plan. "The Italian state is not great at paying firms that do work for it. It has a huge stockpile of arrears that it owes." All said, the idea of restarting the economy through massive infrastructure spending is, he says, "just pie in the sky". SELBYVILLE, Del., May 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest report "Intent-based Networking Market by Component (Software, Networking Hardware [Routers, Switches, Firewall], Service), Deployment Model (On-Premise, Cloud), Application (BFSI, Healthcare, Government & Defense, Manufacturing, IT & Telecom), Regional Outlook, Competitive Market Share & Forecast 2026", by Global Market Insights, Inc., the market valuation of intent-based networking (IBN) will cross $4 billion by 2026. The increasing demand for network infrastructure management in accordance with business processes and goals is expected to contribute significantly to the market growth. The adoption of IBN solutions by healthcare institutions is increasing significantly and is expected to grow at a CAGR of nearly 30% through 2026. The growing demand for process automation and network infrastructure management across industries will support the intent-based networking market demand. The use of advanced technologies, such as Machine Learning, AI, and Network Orchestration, to manage overall network processes is driving the demand for IBN solutions and services. IBN solutions provide secure optimization and automation of network processes. In addition, it minimizes human interventions, network downtimes, and delivery time by automated configuration capabilities. Request a sample of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2758 The IBN software segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of above 25% from 2020 to 2026. The demand for IBN software solutions across small and medium-sized enterprises has increased exponentially. The growth is attributed to cost benefits, deployment flexibility, and control over network infrastructures. IBN enables efficient network automation by eliminating the need for deploying networking components. In addition, it also provides unified control of components connected separately, helping enterprises to manage network resources effectively. The cloud-based intent-based networking (IBN) market is expected to grow significantly with a CAGR of over 30% during the forecast timeline. Corporates are adopting cloud-based IBN solutions and services to integrate with cloud infrastructure components. Multi-cloud and hybrid platforms are integrated with APIs and virtualized overlays, leveraging intent-based networking to reduce complexity. However, cloud-based solutions do not work with all public cloud infrastructures, hampering the demand for cloud-based deployment models. The adoption of IBN solutions by healthcare institutions is increasing significantly and is expected to grow at a CAGR of nearly 30% through 2026. Hospitals are adopting IBN solutions for network monitoring and automation to simplify complex tasks. The IBN solution provides asset tracking, hospital network monitoring, and patient collaboration system capabilities. This also helps the hospitals to eliminate the need for network expansion and reduce capital expenditure. North America held above 55% share of the global intent-based networking market in 2019. The presence of leading IBN solution providers in the region will contribute to market growth. Companies are upgrading their offerings and expanding their customer base. For instance, in May 2019, Apstra launched Data Center Automation 3.0 solution for intent-based data center operations. The solution featured intent-based analytics and VMWare vSphere connectivity capabilities. The product upgrade helped the company to serve multi-domain customers and helped them in reducing CAPEX and OPEX. Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @ https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2758 Table of Contents (ToC) of the report: Chapter 3 Intent-based Networking Market Insights 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Industry segmentation 3.3 Industry landscape, 2016 - 2026 3.4 Impact of COVID-19 outbreak 3.4.1 Impact by region 3.4.2 Impact on industry value chain 3.4.3 Impact on competitive landscape 3.5 Traditional Vs intent-based networks 3.6 Need/benefits of IBN 3.7 Evolution of IBN 3.8 IBN architecture 3.9 Building blocks of IBN architecture 3.10 IBN ecosystem analysis 3.11 Technology & innovation landscape 3.11.1 Machine learning, cognitive computing, and deep analytics 3.11.2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) 3.12 Regulatory landscape 3.12.1 North America 3.12.1.1 The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), U.S. 3.12.1.2 The Open Networking Foundations' (ONF) Security Fundamental Requirements for SDN Controllers 3.12.1.3 The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) SDN Standards Group 3.12.2 Europe 3.12.2.1 European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) GS NFV -IFA 008 3.12.2.3 ETSI OSM Release ONE 3.12.2.4 ITU-T Recommendation ITU-T Y.3512, Switzerland 3.12.2.5 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 3.12.3 Asia Pacific 3.12.3.1 APAC Telecom Innovation Initiative 3.12.3.2 WLAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure (WAPI, China 3.12.4 Latin America 3.12.4.1 The Brazilian General Data Protection Law (LGPD) 3.13 Industry impact forces 3.13.1 Growth drivers 3.13.2 Industry pitfalls and challenges 3.14 Porter's analysis 3.15 PESTEL Analysis 3.16 Growth potential analysis Browse Complete Table of Contents (ToC) @ https://www.gminsights.com/toc/detail/intent-based-networking-ibn-market About Global Market Insights, Inc. Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider, offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology. Contact Us: Arun Hegde Corporate Sales, USA Global Market Insights, Inc. Phone: 1-302-846-7766 Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688 Email: [email protected] Related Images global-intent-based-networking-ibn.png Global Intent-based Networking (IBN) Market growth predicted at 30% till 2026: GMI The adoption of IBN solutions by healthcare institutions is increasing significantly and is expected to grow at a CAGR of nearly 30% through 2026. Related Links Time-Sensitive Networking Market Size Data Center Networking Market Size SOURCE Global Market Insights, Inc. Related Links http://www.gminsights.com 2K Shares Share The COVID-19 pandemic has turned our lives upside down. It has wreaked havoc on the economy, leaving many jobless, and many industries questioning where their future lies. In my view, it has brought the weak infrastructure of the U.S. health care system to a breaking point. These deficiencies were already present: limited public health prowess, hospitals inefficiencies, poor coordination of care, and disjointed health care messages between federal and state levels. Most devastating, a broken system of caring for our poor, and a lackadaisical attitude towards preventative care for our youngest has left practices without a financial buffer and at risk for shutting their doors. I practice on the Southwest side of Chicago, in a primarily Latino neighborhood, and I love what I do. At Vida Pediatrics, we work very hard to serve our 85 percent Medicaid population. While several independent practices around us have closed in the last several years due to reimbursement issues, we keep our doors open and have new patients on a daily basis. It helps that we are a part of a network of providers integrated with Ann & Robert H. Lurie Childrens Hospital. With their support, we pride ourselves on keeping patients out of the emergency room, having very high vaccination rates as well as chronic disease management rates. But our founder, pediatrician Dr. Alejandro Clavier, hasnt slept in weeks, and his patience is wearing thin. As his sidekick, I marvel at his ability to remain positive as always, and maintain his focus on patient care as his guiding light. Our practice did not receive the SBA loan in the first round of federal funding. As the days went by awaiting word about whether it would happen in the second round, Vida Pediatrics and our livelihoods felt in peril. Earlier this week, we learned that the loan was approved. But, as Dr. Clavier describes it as a medium-sized band-aid wont fix a festering wound. The initial injury was not the COVID-19 pandemic. There are forces that have slowly been eroding away at the fiber of small independent practices. Several years ago, Illinois transitioned to managed care organizations running the show, handing over public Medicaid funds to privately owned insurance companies. Ever since this transition, primary care offices that serve children with these plans have seen irregularity of payments, erratic denials of claims, problems with redetermination, wherein patients lose coverage and months pass before they are reinstated, and delays in getting newborns eligible for coverage. Medicaid reimbursement rates remain at levels they were over 15 years ago, and Medicare reimbursement levels are more than twice that of Medicaid. This may sound like a whine-fest of doctors who are used to being overly paid now being paid a bit less. But when pediatricians suffer, patients suffer, and nobody wins. It translates to hours lost from patient care to hours on the phone with billers and insurance. It translates to missed visits, missed vaccines, missed opportunities for recognition of developmental disorders, and mental health concerns, as well as abuse and neglect. Compounded by COVID-19, it translates to a paucity of preventative care amidst a pandemic. Many offices have made the difficult decision of limiting the number of Medicaid patients they see. Instead of expanding to serve the needs of growing populations, many have had to contract, lose staff by attrition or the stress of being overworked, and certainly not being able to recruit new providers, even though they are desperately needed. Or simply close. Dr. John Kowalski established his practice in 1988 on Archer Avenue in Chicagos Brighton Park neighborhood, later moving to Oak Lawn just outside the city, but never faltering on a promise he had made to his young self to keep his doors open to Medicaid patients. You see, as a junior in college, Dr. Kowalski developed cancer, and his treatment was completely covered by his Medicaid plan. After almost 30 years in private practice, Dr. Kowalski estimates that he saw over 10,000 patients. The last five years of practice, however, brought him to his knees, requiring him to take loans on his line of credit in order to keep up payroll. This last year was the worst as recoupment after recoupment forced him into early retirement. Mixed with pride for his years of service, theres a sense of bitterness towards the MCOs that pulled him away from the joy of practice, and relief looking ahead to a future without administrative burdens. Imagine this occurring multiple times over, to multiple practices that serve thousands of patients, in multiple states throughout this country. And this at a time when 40 percent of the countrys children are enrolled in Medicaid. Where will our patients go? To urgent care centers, to emergency rooms? Who will help coordinate their care with specialists? What specialists will see them, and how long will the wait times be? At a time when we are already seeing an uptick in anxiety, depression, and child abuse, I do not want to even imagine what this will look like. And do you know what the ultimate kicker is? The federal government, despite being urged to do so by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, has not, as of yet, provided Medicaid practices with COVID-19 relief funding like they have for Medicare practices and hospitals. Primary care providers who do not serve an aging population are once again being left in the dust, and whats worse, their patients will suffer the consequences. Physicians are trained to do what is best for their patients and to do no harm. Independent practices have sat quietly watching, feeling hopeless as our communities cannot access the care they need, shamefully shutting our doors to spend hours on the phone with insurers. But no more. We can no longer remain quiet: Our pediatric patients may not be suffering from COVID-19 at the alarming rate of adults, but this pandemic will send long-standing shockwaves to future generations if our voices are not heard. Nidhi Kukreja is a pediatrician. Image credit: Shutterstock.com [May 07, 2020] GBT Intellectual Properties - Update: Granted Patent, Filing a New Patent and Continuation on Existing Patent Filed SAN DIEGO, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GBT Technologies Inc. (OTC PINK: GTCH) ("GBT, or the Company), a company specializing in the development of Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled networking and tracking technologies, including wireless mesh network technology platform and fixed solutions, announced today that is has been granted a continuation patent, that it is filing an additional patent and filed a response and request for continued examination with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). GBT has been granted continuation patent for tracking devices, systems and method using patch packages with embedded electronic circuits (US patent number: US 10,616,715 B2) on April 7, 2020, from the USPTO. The patent term typically is twenty (20) years from the filing date of the priority application. Therefore, this patent will expire November 7, 2036. On April 19, 2020, GBT Tokenize Corp. filed a provisional patent with USPTO for proximity circle. The application has been assigned serial number 63012205. The system includes an AI engine that enables Safety Circle per users. The system records users body temperature and we believe can be used to build HOT ZONES database. The system is using the mobile device or its own GPS system to categorize and define regions with people that reported above normal hot body temperature. This is an addition layer of protection to a provisional patent application for the qTerm Device that was filed on March 30, 2020 with the USPTO, which has been assigned serial number 63001564. In connection with patent filing for systems and methods of mobile data management and sharing, which has not been allowed yet (filed on October 9, 2018 and assigned application number 16/155.093), the Company, filed on April 15, 2020, Response and Request for Continued Examination with the USPTO. Since or about April 20, 2020, GBTs phone connection through its landlord is down for reason beyond the Companys control. The Company established an automated voice system to address potential calls. The prior number (424) 238-4589 should be replaced with the new number (888) 685-7336. "As part of our efforts to move forward by further pursuing our prior and new technology as part of the joint venture with Tokenize It S.A., we filed additional patent for the qTerm project. We started thedesign of a smart device to assist with rapid measurement and reporting of body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure. We are continuing our efforts to protect the technology portfolio, stated Danny Rittman, GBTs CTO. About GBT Technologies Inc. GBT Technologies Inc. (OTC PINK: GTCH) (GBT) ( http://gopherprotocol.com/ ) is a development-stage company which considers itself a native IoT creator, developing Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled mobile technology platforms. GBT has a portfolio of Intellectual Property that, when commercialized, will include smart microchips, mobile and security applications and protocols, and supporting cloud software. GBTs system envisions the creation of a global mesh network. The core of the system will be its advanced microchip technology that can be installed in any mobile or fixed device worldwide. GBT envisions this system as a low-cost, secure, private mesh network between any enabled devices, providing shared processing, advanced mobile database management/sharing and enhanced mobile features as an alternative to traditional carrier services. https://www.avant-ai.net - Powered by: About GBT Technologies, S.A. GBT Technologies, S.A., a private Costa Rican corporation (GBT - http://gbttechnologies.com/) is a development-stage company in the business of the strategic management of BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) digital communications processing for enterprises and startups; distributed ledger technology development, AI development and fintech software development and applications. https://aggregatorv2.genesisexchange.io (New Beta Version) Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission located at their website ( http://www.sec.gov ). In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, governmental and public policy changes, the Companys ability to raise capital on acceptable terms, if at all, the Companys successful development of its products and the integration into its existing products and the commercial acceptance of the Companys products. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release. Contact: Dr. Danny Rittman, CTO GBT Technologies Inc. Media: [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] New Delhi: Investors pumped Rs 81,600 crore in equity-oriented mutual fund (MF) schemes in 2019-20, registering a decline of 27 per cent from Rs 1.12 lakh crore inflows in the preceding fiscal. However, this was the sixth successive year of net inflows in equity mutual funds, according to data by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). The flows into equity funds in the last fiscal were lower than the flows in 2018-19 primarily due to the equity markets displaying volatility which made some investors take a break from making fresh equity investments. According to the data, net inflows into equity funds, which also include equity-linked saving schemes (ELSS), were Rs 81,600 crore in the last fiscal as against Rs 1,11,858 crore in 2018-19. Net inflows in these funds were Rs 1,71,069 crore in 2017-18, Rs 70,367 crore in 2016-17, Rs 74,024 crore in 2015-16 and Rs 71,029 crore in 2014-15. However, they had witnessed a net outflow of Rs 9,269 crore in 2013-14. Of the total inflow in the latest fiscal, investors poured Rs 11,485 crore in March, which was the highest level in the year. Also, they had invested Rs 10,730 crore in February, the highest level in 11 months. This comes even as the broader market witnessed extreme volatility amid concerns over the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Himanshu Srivastava, senior analyst- manager research at Morningstar India, said extreme volatility in the stock markets on the back of the pandemic did not deter investors from investing into equity funds in February and March. The assets under management (AUM) of equity MFs dropped to Rs 6.03 lakh crore at the end of March 2020 as against Rs 7.73 lakh crore in March 2019. However, SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) contribution to the industry surged to over Rs 1 lakh crore from Rs 92,693 crore in 2018-19. The industry, on an average, added 9.95 lakh SIP accounts each month during the last financial year, with an average ticket size of Rs 2,750. Mutual funds are investment vehicles made up of a pool of funds collected from a number of investors. The funds are invested in stocks, bonds and money market instruments, among others. [May 07, 2020] Mettler-Toledo International Inc. Reports First Quarter 2020 Results COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE: MTD) today announced first quarter results for 2020. Provided below are the highlights: Reported sales decreased 4% compared with the prior year. In local currency, sales decreased 3% in the quarter as currency reduced sales growth by 1% . Net earnings per diluted share as reported (EPS) were $4.03 , compared with $4.42 in the prior-year period. Adjusted EPS was $4.00 , a decrease of 2% over the prior-year amount of $4.10 . Adjusted EPS is a non-GAAP measure, and we have included a reconciliation to EPS on the last page of the attached schedules. First Quarter Results Olivier Filliol, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "The negative impact of COVID-19 to our local currency sales in China was significant. Local currency sales in other countries, particularly in Asia and Europe, were also negatively impacted by COVID-19. With the benefit of our margin and cost containment initiatives, we improved gross margins and maintained adjusted operating margins consistent with the prior year while adjusted EPS was slightly below the prior year." GAAP Results EPS in the quarter was $4.03, compared with the prior-year amount of $4.42. Compared with the prior year, total reported sales decreased 4% to $649.2 million. By region, reported sales increased 2% in the Americas and decreased 7% in Europe and 10% in Asia/Rest of World. Earnings before taxes amounted to $118.5 million, compared with $125.7 million in the prior year. Non-GAAP Results Adjusted EPS was $4.00, a decrease of 2% over the prior-year amount of $4.10. Compared with the prior year, total sales in local currency decreased 3% as currency reduced reported sales growth by 1%. By region, local currency sales increased 3% in the Americas and decreased 5% in Europe and 8% in Asia/Rest of World. Adjusted Operating Profit amounted to $141.3 million, a 4% decline from the prior-year amount of $147.8 million. Adjusted EPS and Adjusted Operating Profit are non-GAAP measures. Reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP measures are provided in the attached schedules. Outlook The Company stated that forecasting is very difficult given the significant uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 and ensuing impact to the global economic environment. The Company said that given this significant uncertainty, it will not provide an estimate for full year sales growth and Adjusted EPS for 2020. The Company noted that it expects to continue to benefit from its margin and productivity initiatives and has implemented temporary cost containment measures and reductions in discretionary spending. For the second quarter 2020, based on management's current estimate of market conditions, the Company estimates that local currency sales will decline approximately -8% to -12%, and Adjusted EPS is forecasted to be in the range of $4.05 to $4.45. The Company cautions that market dynamics and impacts related to COVID-19 are fluid and changes to the economic environment can happen quickly. The estimates for the second quarter 2020 include significant uncertainty and management acknowledges that market conditions are subject to change. While the Company has provided an outlook for local currency sales growth and Adjusted EPS, it has not provided an outlook for reported sales growth or EPS as it would require an estimate of currency exchange fluctuations and non-recurring items, which are not yet known. Conclusion Filliol concluded, "The health of our employees and customers is of utmost importance and we have undertaken protocols throughout the world to help ensure wellness and safety of all those involved. Our top priority remains providing instruments and services to our customers of which the majority serve essential markets such as pharmaceutical and food manufacturing. We have quickly adjusted our go-to-market sales approach and how we deliver service and launch new products given the unprecedented operating dynamics of the current market. Our margin and productivity initiatives remain on track and we have undertaken measures to temporarily reduce our cost structure. We are focused on being well positioned for the recovery and believe we can capitalize on our strong competitive advantages including our leading positions in fragmented markets, unique approach to sales and marketing which is a key differentiator in this environment, continued product innovation and strong culture known for our agility and execution. Although current market conditions are extremely challenging, we believe we can continue to gain share." Other Matters The Company will host a conference call to discuss its quarterly results today (Thursday, May 7) at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. To hear a live webcast or replay of the call, visit the investor relations page on the Company's website at www.mt.com/investors. The presentation referenced in the conference call will be located on the website prior to the call. METTLER TOLEDO (NYSE: MTD) is a leading global supplier of precision instruments and services. We have strong leadership positions in all of our businesses and believe we hold global number-one market positions in most of them. We are recognized as an innovation leader and our solutions are critical in key R&D, quality control and manufacturing processes for customers in a wide range of industries including life sciences, food and chemicals. Our sales and service network is one of the most extensive in the industry. Our products are sold in more than 140 countries and we have a direct presence in approximately 40 countries. With proven growth strategies and a focus on execution, we have achieved a long-term track record of strong financial performance. For more information, please visit www.mt.com. Statements in this press release which are not historical facts constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. You should not rely on forward-looking statements to predict our actual results. Our actual results or performance may be materially different than reflected in forward-looking statements because of various risks and uncertainties, including statements about expected revenue growth and long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "intend," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" or "continue." We make forward-looking statements about future events or our future financial performance, including earnings and sales growth, earnings per share, strategic plans and contingency plans, growth opportunities or economic downturns, our ability to respond to changes in market conditions, customer demand, our competitive position, pricing, our supply chain, adequacy of our facilities, access to and the costs of raw materials, shipping and supplier costs, gross margins, planned research and development efforts and product introductions, capital expenditures, cash flow, tax-related matters, the impact of foreign currencies, compliance with laws, effects of acquisitions and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our businesses. Our forward-looking statements may not be accurate or complete, and we do not intend to update or revise them in light of actual results. New risks also periodically arise. Please consider the risks and factors that could cause our results to differ materially from what is described in our forward-looking statements, including the uncertain duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. See in particular "Factors Affecting Our Future Operating Results" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and other reports filed with the SEC from time to time. METTLER-TOLEDO INTERNATIONAL INC. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (amounts in thousands except share data) (unaudited) Three months ended Three months ended March 31, 2020 % of sales March 31, 2019 % of sales Net sales $649,162 (a) 100.0 $679,452 100.0 Cost of sales 274,753 42.3 291,133 42.8 Gross profit 374,409 57.7 388,319 57.2 Research and development 34,387 5.3 36,053 5.3 Selling, general and administrative 198,744 30.6 204,425 30.1 Amortization 13,998 2.2 12,222 1.8 Interest expense 10,219 1.6 9,094 1.3 Restructuring charges 1,905 0.3 1,523 0.2 Other charges (income), net (3,343) (0.5) (674) (0.0) Earnings before taxes 118,499 18.2 125,676 18.5 Provision for taxes 20,384 3.1 13,871 2.0 Net earnings $98,115 15.1 $111,805 16.5 Basic earnings per common share: Net earnings $4.08 $4.50 Weighted average number of common shares 24,027,833 24,851,340 Diluted earnings per common share: Net earnings $4.03 $4.42 Weighted average number of common 24,353,477 25,310,525 and common equivalent shares Note: (a) Local currency sales decreased 3% as compared to the same period in 2019. RECONCILIATION OF EARNINGS BEFORE TAXES TO ADJUSTED OPERATING PROFIT Three months ended Three months ended March 31, 2020 % of sales March 31, 2019 % of sales Earnings before taxes $118,499 $125,676 Amortization 13,998 12,222 Interest expense 10,219 9,094 Restructuring charges 1,905 1,523 Other charges (income), net (3,343) (674) Adjusted operating profit $141,278 (b) 21.8 $147,841 21.8 Note: (b) Adjusted operating profit decreased 4% as compared to the same period in 2019. METTLER-TOLEDO INTERNATIONAL INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (amounts in thousands) (unaudited) March 31, 2020 December 31, 2019 Cash and cash equivalents $323,585 $207,785 Accounts receivable, net 518,556 566,256 Inventories 292,110 274,285 Other current assets and prepaid expenses 66,614 61,321 Total current assets 1,200,865 1,109,647 Property, plant and equipment, net 742,651 748,657 Goodwill and other intangibles assets, net 742,590 742,221 Other non-current assets 199,674 188,796 Total assets $2,885,780 $2,789,321 Short-term borrowings and maturities of long-term debt $56,398 $55,868 Trade accounts payable 168,515 185,592 Accrued and other current liabilities 454,925 513,052 Total current liabilities 679,838 754,512 Long-term debt 1,513,020 1,235,350 Other non-current liabilities 386,525 378,679 Total liabilities 2,579,383 2,368,541 Shareholders' equity 306,397 420,780 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $2,885,780 $2,789,321 METTLER-TOLEDO INTERNATIONAL INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (amounts in thousands) (unaudited) Three months ended March 31, 2020 2019 Cash flow from operating activities: Net earnings $98,115 $111,805 Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation 10,133 9,767 Amortization 13,998 12,222 Deferred tax benefit (3,718) (14,939) Other 4,395 4,482 Decrease in cash resulting from changes in operating assets and liabilities (57,408) (24,542) Net cash provided by operating activities 65,515 98,795 Cash flows from investing activities: Purchase of property, plant and equipment (18,835) (22,332) Acquisitions (5,610) - Net hedging settlements on intercompany loans (10,008) 4,802 Net cash used in investing activities (34,453) (17,530) Cash flows from financing activities: Proceeds from borrowings 832,268 302,707 Repayments of borrowings (551,319) (271,646) Proceeds from exercise of stock options 7,135 28,990 Repurchases of common stock (200,000) (186,250) Acquisition contingent consideration payment - (10,000) Other financing activities (800) - Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 87,284 (136,199) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents (2,546) 3,304 Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 115,800 (51,630) Cash and cash equivalents: Beginning of period 207,785 178,110 End of period $323,585 $126,480 RECONCILIATION OF NET CASH PROVIDED BY OPERATING ACTIVITIES TO ADJUSTED FREE CASH FLOW Net cash provided by operating activities $65,515 $98,795 Payments in respect of restructuring activities 1,626 3,692 Purchase of property, plant and equipment (18,835) (22,332) Adjusted free cash flow $48,306 $80,155 METTLER-TOLEDO INTERNATIONAL INC. OTHER OPERATING STATISTICS SALES GROWTH BY DESTINATION (unaudited) Europe Americas Asia/RoW Total U.S. Dollar Sales Growth (Decline) Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 (7%) 2% (10%) (4%) Local Currency Sales Growth (Decline) Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 (5%) 3% (8%) (3%) RECONCILIATION OF DILUTED EPS AS REPORTED TO ADJUSTED DILUTED EPS (unaudited) Three months ended March 31, 2020 2019 % Growth EPS as reported, diluted $4.03 $4.42 (9%) Purchased intangible amortization, net of tax 0.12 (a) 0.10 (a) Restructuring charges, net of tax 0.06 (b) 0.05 (b) Income tax expense (0.21) (c) (0.47) (c) Adjusted EPS, diluted $4.00 $4.10 (2%) Notes: (a) Represents the EPS impact of purchased intangibles amortization, net of tax, of $2.8 million and $2.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. (b) Represents the EPS impact of restructuring charges of $1.9 million ($1.5 million after tax) and $1.5 million ($1.2 million after tax) for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, which primarily include employee related costs. (c) Represents the EPS impact of the difference between our quarterly and estimated annual tax rate before non-recurring discrete items, due to the timing of excess tax benefits associated with stock option exercises. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mettler-toledo-international-inc-reports-first-quarter-2020-results-301055271.html SOURCE Mettler-Toledo International Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Lakeport, N.Y. A Central New York pizzeria owner with some extra time on his hands due to the COVID-19 pandemic tried out his newest creation this week. No, its not a new pizza topping. However, it is likely to bring a smile to the faces of his customers and others on Oneida Lake. Dustin Kringer, who along with his wife, Beth, own Lucky Dogs Pizzeria and Tap Room in Lakeport in Madison County, has spent the past couple of weeks in his garage turning an old jet ski given to him by a customer into a mini-pirate ship. Wednesday he took the 14-foot-long craft featuring a 4-5 foot plastic skeleton fastened to the front, a wooden mast with a crows nest and pirate flag out for its maiden cruise on Oneida Lake. As he lowered the craft into the lake, he said he was nervous. I didnt want to put it into the lake and have it roll over on its side, he said. It didnt. Posted by Dustin Kringer on Sunday, May 3, 2020 A happy Kringer cruised around his lakeside home for about a half hour on three short trips while his wife took a video. The video and photos were posted on Kringers Facebook page. Within 24 hours, they had 27,000 views, he said. Kringer concedes hes handy. He has a couple of rental houses and has worked on them, along with doing such things as building custom bars. Initially, he googled jet skis and pirate ships and came up with nothing. He drew up some rough plans on a sheet of paper and came up with rest of it out of his head. I just went out to the garage, started cutting wood and put it together, he said. Dustin Kringer turned an old jet ski into a pirate ship. He built the ship's wooden frame on to the jet ski. Essentially, the pirate ship, made of quarter- and half- inch plywood sealed with several coats of paint, sits out of the water on top of the jet ski. Kringer named it Krnjak (pronounced "kern-yak) after his Croatian/German ancestors original name when they first emigrated to this country, before they Americanized it. Dustin Kringer transformed a jet ski into a pirate ship and named it the "Krnjak" after his ancestors' original Croatian/German name before it was "Americanized." Kringer said their pizzeria remains open, handling take-out orders and doing deliveries. He added work on his pirate ship isnt over. The trim on the front of the jet ski is broken so the pirate ship tends to tip upward in the front when its running on the water. That needs to be adjusted. I also plan on adding a water pump so I can put a water cannon on it, Kringer said. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources As CNY coronavirus lockdown loosens, 98% of us could still get sick Where are Onondaga Co. health officials worried about coronavirus spread? The complete list Onondaga County sets daily records for tests, coronavirus infections; 41st death Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com Home Secretary Priti Patel is in talks with her French counterpart to force the return of asylum seekers even if they are picked up on the British side of the Channel. Ms Patel is involved in negotiations with her French counterpart Christophe Castaner and has stressed that the threat of being returned no matter where they were caught, will stop the migrants making the dangerous journey. 'If people know that they can't get across the Channel, they are less likely to congregate in the camps so it is a benefit to the French. It's not just in the interests of the UK,' a source close to Ms Patel told the Telegraph. The source added that the talks had been 'very positive'. A handout photo made available by no 10 Downing street shows Britain's Home Secretary Priti Patel holding a digital Covid-19 press conference in n10 Downing street in London, Britain, 25 April 2020 Ms Patel is also discussing closure of the migrant camps in northern France and strengthening prevention. The vast majority of migrants that have crossed the stretch of water over the past 16 months have not been sent back to France. It seems as though the seekers are now using the lax system and getting themselves caught in British waters so the coastguard will rescue them and allow them safe passage to the UK. At the end of April, Ms Patel pledged the tougher approach from the two countries during the Home Affairs Select Committee meeting, after being asked why there had been an apparent 'spike' in people trying to cross the channel. A Border Force vessel carries a group of people thought to be migrants as it arrives in Dover, Kent, following a number of small boat incidents in the Channel on 27 April, 2020, as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner during a press conference following the weekly cabinet meeting on May 2, 2020 at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris Priti Patel today told the Home Affairs Select Committee at the end of April that the Home Office is trying to combat 'vexatious' asylum claims At the time, she said it is a 'very, very difficult area' at the moment as she said illegal migrants were also trying to cross to the UK from Belgium. 'We have seen greater dispersal across the French coast and we are seeing this now across the Belgian coast. 'What has happened in France, all credit to the French actually who like we are, despite lockdown and despite all the pressures with coronavirus, are deploying all sorts of activity and resources basically in trying to deter. 'So there is now 24/7 coverage on the beaches of northern France. We are using drones, we are using more detections, we are using ANPR. A Dungeness lifeboat is pictured on April 25 after picking up an inflatable dinghy which is thought to have been used to carry migrants across the English Channel 'The fact of the matter is, not withstanding these French patrols, these extra patrols on French beaches and using specialist vehicles for detection, too many are getting through.' She has also pledged to make changes to a set of regulations, which places responsibility for processing asylum claims on the first country asylum is sought in. The Dublin Regulations, according to Home Office sources, are too rigid and prevent the return of migrants who dodge ID checks as they crossed the continent. 'We are in negotiations with the EU to put in place more favourable return agreements [on the Dublin Regulations] with our European part-ners after the UK has left the [Brexit] transition period.' The source said Ms Patel is working on achieving a 'more favourable return agreement' on the regulation for after Brexit. (Alliance News) - Anglo-Australian mining firm BHP Group PLC said Thursday it has appointed Dion Weisler and Xiaoqun Clever as non-executive directors, with effect on June 1 and October 1 respectively. Weisler's most recent executive role was as chief executive officer of computer and printer maker HP Inc for four years from 2015 to 2019. Meanwhile, Clever most recently was as chief technology & data officer of Swiss media company Ringier AG for three years from 2016 to 2019. Prior to that, she was chief technology officer at German broadcasting firm ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE from 2014 to 2015. "We are delighted that Dion and Xiaoqun are joining the BHP board. Dion will bring to the board his operations, transformation and commercial experience in the global information technology sector, a focus on capital discipline, as well as perspectives on current and emerging ESG issues. Xiaoqun has extensive global experience in the technology sector, including in China, which will enable her to make significant contributions in relation to the execution of BHPas strategy and risk management," said Chair Ken MacKenzie. By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Photo : Washington State Department of Agriculture/Handout via REUTERS) A closeup of an Asian Giant Hornet is seen in an undated Washington State Department of Agriculture picture obtained by Reuters May 4, 2020. (Photo : Karla Salp/Washington State Department of Agriculture/Handout via REUTERS) A pair of Asian Giant Hornet caught in a trap by Washington State Department of Agriculture entomologist Chris Looney lie on a notepad near Blaine, Washington, U.S. April 23, 2020. Picture taken April 23, 2020. Texas A&M AgriLife is leading a task force against murder hornet at the request of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott following sightings in Washington state. The task force was formed to inform the public, monitor ports of entry, and assist with mitigation efforts to protect the state's honeybees from the Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia), which has been dubbed the "murder hornet" and was recently spotted in the country for the first time. The university also said the task force brings together experts in agriculture, entomology, and homeland security. These include representatives from Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, the Texas A&M Department of Entomology, and the Center for Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense, which is under the Department of Homeland Security Center for Excellence. The giant hornet is the world's largest species of hornet, measuring up to 2 inches long. A video blogger described the insect's sting as "like someone has shoved a red-hot poker into your arm and does not remove it for close to six hours." The blogger regularly submits himself to insect bites and stings for his YouTube channel Brave Wilderness. Experts increase surveillance in customs "Although this pest has not been spotted in Texas, the hornet poses a threat to both agriculture and public health," said Texas A&M AgriLife vice-chancellor Patrick J. Stover in a statement. He is also the dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research. While the only confirmed sightings in the United States were in Blaine, Washington, which is approximately 1,800 miles from El Paso, there were also spotted in British Columbia, Canada. Although sightings have been rare, it is important to contain the spread of species before the mating season starts in the fall. Texas state officials have called on the importance of monitoring the ports to ensure it does not enter the state via cargo, which is how authorities believe it reached North America. "While widespread surveillance for the hornets in Texas is premature, we do need strategies to prevent the hornets' arriving here in cargo," said David Ragsdale, Ph.D., chief scientific officer and associate director of AgriLife Research, and professor in the Department of Entomology. "Right now, what we need to know is whether the Asian giant hornets have successfully overwintered in British Columbia or Washington state," said Ragsdale adding that the hornet's life cycle leaves a window for potential control strategies. Currently, Customs and Border Protection staff undergo training on how to detect the Asian giant hornet as Greg Pompelli, director of the Center for Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense, told Newsweek. "We are also increasing surveillance of incoming containers and evaluating opportunities for specialized detection, such as possibly using scent-trained dogs to find these hornets hidden in cargo or luggage," he added. ALSO READ: Coronavirus Spreaders: Some People Believe Acquiring COVID-19 Will Give Them Immunity ALSO READ: SARS-CoV-2 Now Has Duplication; COVID-19 Chinese Researcher Shot Dead in His Home Hornets versus honeybees While hornets are linked to 30 to 50 deaths in Japan each year, mostly due to allergic reactions, the risk is higher on honeybees. The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension explains that it would only take 15 to 30 hornets to destroy a hive containing 30,000 to 50,000 within just a few hours. Hornets start with a "slaughter phase," decapitating the bees before occupying the hive and taking the developing larvae to feed their own young. While bees in Japan have developed defensive methods against Asian giant hornets, experts warn that America's bees could be an easy target for these murderers. In a recent trip to Southeast China, Brent Sinclair, a biology professor at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, researched on the Asian giant hornets, which he described as "little helicopters." "If they can get into a honeybee hive-and they will-they'll systematically eat their way through all the brood of a hive within a few days," he said, adding these predators are "really bad news for beekeepers." Read also: New Studies Claim COVID-19 Can Be Transmitted by Children; Kawasaki Disease Might Be Linked to The Findings 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. With theaters closed around the country, some companies are making their productions available online. Below, you'll find our weekly update of productions, videos, and other theater-related streaming content from across the US and elsewhere. Some streams are free, while others may charge a fee or request a donation. Either way, you're sure to find something to scratch your theater itch. Theaters may be dark, but the shows go on. This Weekend * Tickets for a streaming version of the musical comedy Menopause The Musical went on sale May 4 and are available through May 17. To join the virtual sisterhood, click here. * Lucy DeVito, Tracee Ellis Ross, Carole Kane, Natasha Lyonne, and Rosie O'Donnell star in Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron's Love, Loss & What I Wore. The stream of the 2017 production will be available through May 25. To buy $10 tickets, click here. * Geffen Playhouse has extended The Present, its world premiere live, virtual, and interactive theatrical experience written and performed by master illusionist, storyteller, and Geffen alum Helder Guimaraes. The show will now run May 7-July 5. A mystery package will be sent to you inside a USPS Priority Mail box before the show, so you must purchase tickets at least seven days in advance. To purchase tickets, click here. * Leslie Uggams will star as Madame Arcati in a live reading of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, presented in support of the Actors Fund, on Saturday, May 9 at 2pm ET. Renee Elise Goldsberry, Thom Sesma, Angel Desai, Montego Glover, Kendyl Ito, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and William Jackson Harper join the cast. The recorded performance will stream until 2pm ET on Wednesday, May 13. To watch, click here. * The 1998 filmed stage version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats will stream live on the Shows Must Go On! YouTube channel beginning Friday, May 15. The free broadcast will launch at 2pm ET and be available for 48 hours. To visit the page, click here. Upcoming * Irish Repertory Theatre will stream a virtual performance of Brian Friel's Molly Sweeney on Tuesday, May 12 at 7pm, Wednesday, May 13 at 3pm, Thursday, May 14 at 7pm, and Friday, May 15 at 8pm. To view the performance, click here. * Bill Irwin and Christopher Fitzgerald will star in the world premiere of Irwin's new 10-minute play In-Zoom, in which two comics convene for a meeting on Zoom and surprise themselves as they look at the pandemic and the virtual way we're living it. The production is presented by San Diego's Old Globe Theatre. A preview performance will be streamed for Globe donors and subscribers on Wednesday, May 13. A recorded version will debut on May 14 at 9:30pm ET and be available through May 16. The stream is free, but donations are welcome. For more information, click here. * On Thursday, May 14 at 2pm ET, the National Theatre will stream the never-before-seen archive recording of Inua Ellams's smash-hit play Barber Shop Chronicles. The cast includes Fisayo Akinade, Hammed Animashaun, Cyril Nri, and Sule Rimi. The stream will be available for free for one week. Visit the National Theatre's YouTube page here. * The Orange County School of the Arts Musical Theatre Conservatory will stream its full-length spring musical Now. Here. This. beginning on Thursday, May 14 and running through May 17. To watch, click here. * St. Ann's Warehouse has partnered with Complicite to host a The Encounter, created and performed by Simon McBurney, from this Friday, May 15 at 2pm ET through Friday, May 22 at 5pm ET. The Encounter will stream for free here. * Red Bull Theater's free live stream reading of Shakespeare's Coriolanus will be broadcast on Monday, May 18 on 7:30pm ET. This reading will feature the cast of Red Bull's acclaimed 2016 off-Broadway production: Matthew Amendt, Zachary Fine, Rebecca S'Manga Frank, Lisa Harrow, Merritt Janson, Dion Johnstone, Aaron Krohn, Edward O'Blenis, Tony Award nominee Patrick Page, Olivia Reis, and two-time Tony Award winner Stephen Spinella joined by Lily Santiago. To watch on YouTube, click here. * On Monday, May 18 at 8pm ET, Audra McDonald and John Dickerson will host a live stream of Broadway on Demand's A Night of Covenant House Stars, featuring more than 50 powerhouse performers including Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, Jon Bon Jovi, Rachel Brosnahan, and many more uniting to sing and share a message of inspiration for young people in support and celebration of the Covenant House. For more information, click here. * The Actors Fund and People magazine will stream the 2015 benefit concert of Bombshell, the musical within the short-lived television drama Smash on Wednesday, May 20 at 8pm ET on people.com. * On Thursday, May 21, the 2014 National Theatre Live broadcast of the Young Vic and Joshua Andrews co-production of Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire will stream for free. The cast includes Gillian Anderson, Ben Foster, and Vanessa Kirby. The stream will be available for one week. Visit the National Theatre's YouTube page here. * TriviaMania co-host and Broadway star Ellyn Marie Marsh has teamed up with Patrick Hinds for a brand-new true-crime podcast Obsessed With: Disappeared, which will recap episodes of Investigation Discovery Channel's hit series "Disappeared" in a comedic and witty tone, with perpetrators always the butt of the joke. It will be available May 27. * A reading of Stephen Adly Guirgis's Our Lady of 121st Street will be presented on Saturday, May 23 at 8pm ET and will be available to stream for 24 hours. Bobby Cannavale, Laurence Fishburne, and more will take part in the reading. The event is free to the public; donations will be accepted throughout the evening. To watch, click here. Available for a Limited Time * New York City Ballet has launched a digital season offering content through May 30. For dates and more information, click here. * Tickets for a streaming version of the musical comedy Menopause The Musical are available through May 17. To join the virtual sisterhood, click here. * Lucy DeVito, Tracee Ellis Ross, Carole Kane, Natasha Lyonne, and Rosie O'Donnell star in Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron's Love, Loss & What I Wore. The stream of the 2017 production will be available through May 25. To buy $10 tickets, click here. * The Goodman Theatre is streaming Jocelyn Bioh's School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play through May 31. Tickets are $20. To purchase, click here. * Geffen Playhouse has extended The Present, its world premiere live, virtual, and interactive theatrical experience written and performed by master illusionist, storyteller, and Geffen alum Helder Guimaraes. The show will now run May 7-July 5. A mystery package will be sent to you inside a USPS Priority Mail box before the show, so you must purchase tickets at least seven days in advance. To purchase tickets, click here. Always Available * Theater producer and playwright David Lan has a conversation with longtime artistic collaborator Stephen Daldry celebrating Lan's new memoir, As If By Chance: Journeys, Theatres, Lives. The conversation, a part of BAM's ongoing series of digital programs Love from BAM, can be seen here. * More than 70 cast members from various international productions of Maury Yeston and Peter Stone's musical Titanic have gathered to record a socially distant version of the ballad "We'll Meet Tomorrow." Watch it below: * Derek Klena performs a contemporary take on "Younger Than Springtime" from South Pacific in the R&H Goes Live! series. Check out that video and the whole series here. * The Broadway Sings series launches daily performances on its Instagram IGTV account, featuring new arrangements of iconic pop songs. * Wicked celebrates first responders on the front lines of the public health crisis with a video featuring stars Lindsay Pearce (Elphaba) and Ginna Claire Mason (Glinda) singing the anthem "For Good." * Composer Charles Strouse, the last surviving writer of the musical Annie, has tried to help bolster optimism by recording a video of himself performing the show's beloved anthem, "Tomorrow." * From their homes in Ireland, the UK, the United States, Canada, Spain, Australia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia, as well as those dancers who have swapped their dancing shoes for scrubs, the Riverdance cast have come together while being apart to say thank you to all frontline and essential workers, as well as the people at home who continue to do their part in the fight against COVID-19. * Six fans from across the globe joined the cast for a special performance in isolation. * Abrons Arts Center has made all of its performance documentation public on its Vimeo page, alongside contact and donation information for the artists whose work you are viewing. * Tony and Emmy winner David Hyde Pierce, star of TV's Frasier and Broadway's Hello, Dolly!, talked to TheaterMania's Senior Features Reporter David Gordon about the theater and favorite moments from past shows. Check out the video interview below: Veon has abandoned talks relating to a possible sale of its Armenian unit Veon Armenia (Beeline) to local rival Ucom. Ucom, which provides mobile, fixed and broadband services in Armenia, submitted a proposal for the acquisition of Veons larger local unit to the countrys Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) on 30th December last year. The potential deal was made public on 15th January 2020, prompting the antitrust body SCPEC (State Commission for Protection of Economic Competition of the Republic of Armenia) to begin its reviewing process for the application in February. Veons Corporate Communications Director Kieran Toohey confirmed yesterday (6th May) that it had been scrapped. The firm provided no reason for the decision, but there had been public disagreements between Ucoms shareholders and management. Notably, in April the local Arka News Agency reported that several hundred Ucom employees including co-founders Hayk and Aleksandr Yesayan - chose to resign after learning that if the merger concluded successfully, Ucoms senior shareholders planned to appoint Beeline CEO Andrey Pyatakhin to lead the resulting unit. The Yesayan brothers were part of the team that founded Ucom in 2009. They announced in April that they planned to found a new operator called Unet, at which time Ucoms major shareholders were becoming drawn into an escalating scandal which led them to accuse Armenias government of trying to illegally alienate the operator. The Prime Ministers office refuted this claim. Veons future in Armenia is now uncertain. The operators Beeline unit is the second-largest in the market, with Ucom taking third place. Former lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani has expressed concern over the return of almajiris to their respective states as the Northern States intensify efforts to curtail the spread of Coronavirus. Since the outbreak of Coronavirus in Nigeria, Northern States have been returning almajiris to their states of origin. Also Read: Shehu Sani Condemns Senate Over Probe Of 5G Network In Nigeria Reacting to this development, the former lawmaker expressed that returning almajiri to their states of origin or to isolation centres wont solve the problem. Advertisement He expressed that the Governors are just scratching the surface of the problem. On solving the problem, he urged the governor to rehabilitate and re-educate them. See his post below: The exterior of Northbridge Health Care Center, one of the facilities designated by Connecticut to take in patients from the hospital who are recovering from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) but are still contagious and cannot return immediately to their nursing home or other long-term care facility of origin, in Bridgeport, Connecticut on April 23, 2020. (Nathan Layne/Reuters) 77 Percent of Recent CCP Virus Deaths in Connecticut Happened in Nursing Homes About 77 percent of deaths linked to COVID-19 in Connecticut in late April took place in nursing homes as states around the country struggle to keep the elderly alive amid the pandemic. Deaths across Connecticut rose by 624 between April 22 and April 29. During that period of time, deaths in nursing homes rose by 481. COVID-19-linked deaths are increasingly happening in nursing homes, Gov. Ned Lamont told reporters last week. Thats something we have to think about seriously, he said. COVID-19 is a new disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, and primarily causes severe illness in the elderly and people with serious health conditions like obesity and kidney disease. The vast majority of deaths in Connecticut linked to the disease have been among those 70 or older, according to the state Department of Health. As of the latest update, Connecticut had 2,718 deaths associated with the disease. Of those, 1,596 were 80 or older, 596 were between 70 and 79, and 340 were between 60 and 69. Added together, those groups comprised 93.1 percent of the deaths in the state. No deaths have been recorded among residents 29 or younger. Nurses dressed in personal protective equipment (PPE) dispose of medical waste at a drive-thru CCP virus testing station in Stamford, Connecticut, on March 23, 2020. (John Moore/Getty Images) Lamont on April 23 ordered nursing homes and similar communities to report daily on the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths linked to the disease. A $5,000 fine is levied on those that dont comply. State officials said in an April 17 order that resident transfers from hospitals or elsewhere shouldnt be refused if their COVID status was unknown or, if they tested positive, if their symptoms had improved. Some residents were sent temporarily to facilities like Northbridge Health Care Center in Bridgeport that were set up for the elderly who werent ready to return to homes. States across the country have seen a significant percentage of deaths linked to COVID-19 take place in nursing homes. New York officials said Monday that 4,813 have died in nursing homes, an addition of 1,700 from the previous report. That figure didnt include nursing home residents who were rushed to hospitals and later died in those facilities. Nearby states have seen well over half of CCP virus-linked deaths come among nursing home residents, including New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Yale epidemiologist Dr. Albert Ko, who co-chairs Lamonts reopening advisory group, told the Hartford Courant that the nursing home residents dying in such large numbers brings tears to everyones eyes, referring to residents as princess diamonds that need protection. The board has discussed the rise in nursing home deaths but he declined to make public any recommendations members have decided upon. Were really worried about this group and one of the major things we need to do is protect them, Ko said. But this virus blows up like wildfire in the facilities and is hard to contain. Newly released social media posts show that Iran experimented with trying to influence American voters on Facebook in 2012, years earlier than generally understood, a new report from the social media analytics firm Graphika shows. The 2012 attempts, documented by Graphika and recently taken down by Facebook, seem to be experiments that were quickly abandoned, and none of those identified received substantial engagement. But they do highlight Iran as an early adopter of the tactic of sharing politically charged posts with pseudonymous accounts to a U.S. audience before even Russias Internet Research Agency, widely associated with that tactic, is known to have used it. The posts are from a since-deactivated arm of a sprawling network of content created by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, the national media outlet, the researchers said. The firm found that IRIB ran more than 300 identified active, fake accounts that published a wide range of political content around the world, recently targeting Africans. IRIB's own coverage of the takedowns said that Facebook removed the posts without showing adequate documentation. Image: IRIB as Anonymous supporting Ron Paul Facebook first removed U.S. political content that analysts suspected had ties to the Iranian government in 2018, ahead of the U.S. midterm election. Unlike Russian influence operations, which have sponsored a range of American political ideologies that aligned with Russian interests but primarily support President Donald Trump, that campaign largely criticized Trump, particularly as he traded barbs with Irans leadership. But Iran tried similar tactics for a U.S. audience far earlier, Facebook and Graphika found. Using bland page names like Anonymous and Political Cartoons, IRIB posted political cartoons in support of Ron Pauls bid for the 2012 Republican nomination. Like other influence operations, they sought to highlight a major political objective in this case, highlighting criticism of Israel to people who might not be so receptive to the message if they knew it came from the Iranian government. Story continues They particularly contrasted Paul favorably with Mitt Romney, a vocal supporter of Israel who eventually won the nomination. Later that year, using an account called "My Hero," the same network posted content on Facebook about the Occupy Wall Street movement, asking for tales about police brutality and sharing links of police beating protesters. Alireza Miryousefi, an Iranian government spokesman, said in an email: "The Iranian government does not engage in cyber warfare. Iran, itself a victim of U.S. and Israeli cyber attacks, the Stuxnet virus, a cyber attack against Iran's peaceful nuclear activities, is one dangerous example. Cyber activities Iran engages in are purely defensive and to protect against further attacks on Iranian infrastructure. Besides, the U.S., not Iran, has been one of main member-state opponents of a universal ban of using the cyber warfare in the U.N. and beyond. Image: IRIB as Political cartoons denigrating Mitt Romney Iran had other early forays into U.S.-themed influence operations. A site to call out police brutality against African Americans called "Unfinished Peace," identified by the cybersecurity firm FireEye, purported to be the work of university friends who got their news from IRIBs Press TV. It was active in the spring of 2016 and had corresponding Facebook and Twitter accounts, though those have all since been deleted. Leveraging of domestic U.S. political themes by Iranian actors for influence operations was not a response to or learned from Russias perceived success in 2016, said Lee Foster, FireEyes chief of information operations analysis. Iran had been developing its capabilities in this space for a long time prior." Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 22:47:53|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close VIENNA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Thursday expressed his hope that Austria could reopen trade and tourism with "safe countries" which have kept the pandemic under control. "Just finished chairing a videoconference with the Prime Ministers of #Australia, #CzechRepublic, #Denmark, #Greece, #Israel, #Norway and #Singapore," tweeted Kurz, "We had a very interesting exchange about our experiences on the reopening of our economies following the #coronavirus lockdowns." "We also discussed localized containment strategies to halt the spread of #COVID-19 as well as schools, next steps to reopen trade and tourism among safe countries, contact tracing and enhancing scientific cooperation," he added. Speaking to the press after the videoconference, the chancellor noted that the regional spread of the coronavirus was very different -- some regions are virus-free, others more affected. Kurz cited the federal states of Carinthia and Salzburg as positive examples in Austria. "What we definitely have to prevent is a second lockdown. That is why containment and the trapping of the new sources of infection are needed," he said. Enditem Durante Verzola, isolating with his family in Kansas City, has set on four dancers in Miami City Ballet a new piece titled A Dance for Heroes, commissioned by MCB artistic director Lourdes Lopez (out of her own pocket) to honor the front-line workers in the corona-crisis. The Palm Beach Post The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has dismissed Tetiana Monakhova as krainian Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language. According to government's decree No. 491 as of May 6, Monakhova was dismissed on her own volition. Monakhova previously worked as head of the journalism unit at the Black Sea Petro Mohyla University in Mykolaiv. On April 24, 2020, she reported that she has written the resignation letter. On May 6th, construction officially began on the Areg Energia solar farm in the Saravan region of Vayots Dzor. RA High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan, Vayots Dzor Regional Governor Ararat Grigoryan, Honorary Consul of Cyprus in Armenia Armen Khachatryan, Diaspora Armenian businessman, co-investor Ashot Mkrtchyan and others were present at the groundbreaking ceremony. The idea for the investment arose ten months ago when well-known local Armenian businessmen from Cyprus, David and Alexander Petrosyan and Ashot Mkrtchyan met with High Commissioner Sinanyan and became inspired by the changes in Armenia. After which they came to the homeland, studied the legislative and investment fields, and began to implement the idea. The $ 9 million solar farm situated on a 36-acre plot of land in Saravan, at an altitude of 1,720 meters above sea level, will be completed in a years time. High Commissioner Sinanyan highlighted the investment policy adopted by the Armenian Government and the fact that investors are able to earn a significant profit in Armenia. The Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs is always ready to support Diaspora investors and any problems they may encounter. Co-investor, Ashot Mkrtchyan noted that they have turned their attention to the homeland and if successful, investments will be made in other spheres as well. In a video message, representative of the Armenian community in the Cypriot House of Representatives, MP Vardges Mahdesyan expressed his confidence that the experience of the Republic of Cyprus in the field of solar energy will greatly contribute to the success of the investment. According to the Cypriot-Armenian MP, this initiative will promote the development of Armenia-Cyprus relations, strengthen homeland-Diaspora ties, and contribute to the development of Armenia's economy. Cypriot-Armenian businessman and co-investor David Petrosyan praised the activities of the Office of the High Commissioner and the role of Zareh Sinanyan in making the investment possible. According to the businessman, this initiative is especially valuable in terms of ensuring Armenia's energy security. The chief executive of Dalata Hotel Group, Ireland's biggest hotel operator, hopes the sector can reopen before the July 20 target set by the government and said his company would need to be creative, such as offering self-isolation services. Ireland laid out a roadmap on Friday for gradually easing its coronavirus lockdown, under which hotels are expected to start operating again with limited capacity in two-and-a-half months, if the spread of the virus remains under control. Dalata CEO Pat McCann told Reuters the industry was pleased a plan was in place but disappointed they would only have five weeks before schools return from summer holidays to attract guests. But he acknowledged any shift towards an earlier reopening would depend on whether the virus was contained. "What we'd be hoping is that if things went better, there may be an opportunity to bring that date back somewhat," McCann said in a telephone interview, adding that a 20-km (13-mile) limit on travel would also need to be lifted sooner. Dalata has temporarily shut 29 of its 44 hotels in Ireland and Britain, while temporarily laying off more than two-thirds of its staff. McCann said on Wednesday there would be no more temporary layoffs beyond the current 3,500. The 15 hotels still operating were housing self-isolating health workers. McCann said hotels could in future offer such a service to corporate travelers, who under current restrictions would need to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival in Ireland. "We are having to be very creative," said McCann, who expects an initial pick up in travel by executives from multinational companies with operations in Ireland. But he expected corporate travel to resume slowly as many companies continued operating remotely at first before gradually returning to normal. The hotel group plans to resume bookings in June, offering Irish travelers cut-price breaks. McCann said further Irish government support, such as reducing value added tax (VAT) payments, would be needed to limit closures in the industry. McCann suggested cutting the rate to 7% from 13.5%, which would make it a similar level to Germany, would be welcomed. Dalata said it would seek to expand in Britain, where it now owns or leases 12 hotels, as opportunities "may arise sooner rather than later" as a result of the coronavirus crisis. "My intention is take full advantage of this crisis," he said. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie New Delhi/Islamabad, May 7 : The persecution of Ahmaddiyas and Shias in Pakistan is happening with Constitutional support given to narrow Sunni majoritarianism. This observation was made by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in its latest report documenting the status of human rights in the country last year. The Ahmadi community faces constant persecution and discrimination in eligibility to hold government positions, in contesting elections, in their lack of freedom to publish or distribute their own literature, in their businesses, and in destruction and desecration of their places of worship, the commission said. The HRCP also said that several Ahmaddiya sites of worship in Punjab were desecrated last year. The threat of sectarian violence against the Shia Hazara community remained a major challenge in Balochistan, the rights body said. The Shia Hazara community, identified due to their facial features, was vulnerable to attacks by sectarian outfits such as Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ) and their international supporters, ISIS, the report said. As per official data, more than 500 Hazaras have been killed and 627 injured in just five years. "The inability of the security forces to keep the Hazaras safe was evident on April 12, when a blast in the Hazarganji vegetable market killed 20 people, half of them Shia Hazaras," the commission said. Noting that 75,000-100,000 Hazaras fled violence and left for elsewhere in the country or abroad, the HRCP said that the community lacks access to basic facilities such as healthcare and education; difficulties with registering computerised national identification cards (CNICs) and passports because authorities suspect them of being from Afghanistan. Over the years, members of the Zikri community in southern Balochistan, especially around Gwadar, have experienced discrimination from the majoritarian Sunni community, finding it difficult to worship in their traditional ways. There are many indications that the local Sunni clerics were promoting hate speech against them, the report said. Criticising the federal and provincial governments for their tendency to blame 'enemies of the country' for sectarianism in Pakistan, the commission said this "approach ignores how sectarianism is also a homegrown problem in Pakistan, with a sort of constitutional support given to narrow Sunni majoritarianism to the exclusion of all other modes of interpreting Islam." Pakistani politicians, the commission said, also ignore how the problem of sectarianism requires not merely security interventions, but broader political ones which establish the right of Shias and Ahmadis, to be part of Pakistan. Host of award winning Peace FM Kokroko Morning Show, Kwami Sefa-Kayi is ruling out taking out Bernard Allotey Jacobs, immediate past Central regional chairman of the NDC from the programme. Chairman Allotey as he is affectionately called, is a regular panel member of the Wednesday show, with Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr, editor-in-chief of the New Crusading Guide, Kwamena Duncan, Central Regional minister and another NDC representative. Allotey was originally representing the opposition NDC until the current Communications officer of the party, Sammy Gyamfi found it difficult to accommodate his independent view, stripping him of his representation. Unable to take Alloteys candid comment any longer on the show, Sammy Gyamfi formally wrote to Peace FM, withdrawing NDC participation on the Kokroko show until the former Central regional chairman has been dropped from the show. But Sefa-Kayi says over his dead body to drop Chairman Allotey from the show. In a brief chat with DGN Online, Sefa-Kayi, popularly called Chairman General indicated that Allotey also known as educated fisherman will continue to be part of his Wednesday panel. This is a man commuting from Cape Coast to Accra in odd hours just to take part in my show, I cant drop him, Sefa Kayi hints. Boycott The NDC had announced a boycott from the show claiming that it is taking the action because remarks by Allotey Jacobs, on national issues, are against the party, suspecting sell out. The National Communication Bureau of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) wishes to inform all its communicators, media monitors, and officials that the party has boycotted Peace (104.3) FMs morning show (Kookrokoo) effective today, Wednesday, 6th May 2020, Sammy Gyamfi, it said in the statement. The NDC stated that all efforts to get the producers and host of the programme to replace Allotey Jacobs with a fair-minded NDC member had proved futile, indicating that the party continues to be treated with utmost contempt. The opposition party indicated that the host and producers of the radio programme had continuously foisted on the NDC an unfair panelling system for the past eight months, by projecting Allotey Jacobs as a member of the party to take one of the two slots reserved for the NDC. The statement pointed out that Allotey Jacobs is often introduced as a social commentator with strong leanings to the NDC ostensibly to spite the NDC despite consistently complaining to the management of the station for an amicable resolution of the matter. Specifically, the reason for this boycott has to do with the unreasonable decision of the producers and host of the programme to permanently reserve one of the two slots the party has traditionally had on Wednesdays on the show to Mr. Allotey Jacobs. This unfair treatment flies in the face of the long-standing tradition of the programme, which allocates two slots each to the NDC and the NPP on Wednesdays and Fridays respectively, it said. Sammy Gyamfi said although the NDC acknowledged the production and editorial discretion of the radio station to give its platform to whoever it deems fit, the party considered the discretion unfair, especially when the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) continues to maintain its two slots on the programme on Fridays. For the NDC, Peace FM has deliberately reduced its slots to one to satisfy the whim of a dictatorial host and his poodle. In protest to this flagrant disregard for fairness by the host and production crew of the programme, the National Communication Bureau of the NDC has decided to cease the placement of party communicators on the Kookrokoo show forthwith, the statement said. Source: Daily Guide 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 SCOR-PSE Chair on macroeconomic risk presents the 2020 Young Researcher Award to Ludwig Straub, Assistant Professor at Harvard, and Robert Ulbricht, Assistant Professor at Boston College Paris, May 7, 2020 - The SCOR-PSE Chair, created in 2018 by the SCOR Foundation for Science and the Paris School of Economics (PSE), has presented, during the SCOR-PSE Chair Online Lecture and Junior Research Prize Talk, the Young Researcher Award to Ludwig Straub and Robert Ulbricht, respectively Assistant Professor at Harvard and Assistant Professor at Boston College. The award is in recognition of their work on Endogenous Uncertainty and Credit Crunches. The judging panel was headed by Gilles Saint-Paul, professor at ENS and PSE, and scientific director of the Chair. The award was presented following a virtual lecture, during which Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde, professor at the University of Pennsylvania, gave a particularly notable talk on the theme of "Simple Rules for a Complex World with Artificial Intelligence". Andre Levy-Lang, chairman of the SCOR Foundation for Science, comments: "This year's young winners of the SCOR-PSE award have conducted innovative research, both in method and hypothesis, on the relationships between financial institutions and how these relationships may contribute to endogenous growth in systemic risk. Their work is particularly stimulating and promising." *** About the SCOR-PSE Chair Under the scientific leadership of Gilles Saint-Paul (PSE, ENS) and the executive leadership of Nicolas Dromel (PSE, CNRS), the SCOR-PSE Chair, created in June 2018, aims to promote the development and dissemination of research into macroeconomic risk, in particular rare events and uncertainties that remain difficult to model. It publishes articles, organises an annual conference and gives out the Young Researcher Award each year. About the SCOR Foundation for Science The SCOR Corporate Foundation for Science, created in 2011, forms part of the Group's long-term commitment to research and disseminating knowledge about risk. It promotes and finances research by means of subsidies, awards and conferences. The Scientific Council of the SCOR Corporate Foundation for Science, consisting of renowned scientists from a variety of disciplines, is in charge of determining its orientation in the areas of intervention that may be selected, with regard to the main projects on which it has to decide and its long-term strategy. https://www.scor.com/fr/la-fondation-dentreprise-scor-pour-la-science Contact Lauren Burns Group Communications +33 (0)1 58 44 76 62 lburns@scor.com (mailto:lburns@scor.com) Click on the icons below to learn more about SCOR and the Foundation for Science (https://www.scor.com/fr/la-fondation-dentreprise-scor-pour-la-science) (https://twitter.com/scor_se) (https://www.linkedin.com/company/scor) (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC22APNWCxjyPJvMaU5xb9xg) Attachment Small Business Lifeline The Songs step up. by James Leonard From the May, 2020 issue The local Song Foundation donated $1 million to the Washtenaw County Small Business Emergency Relief Fund at the end of March. "Having worked in kitchens and restaurants in Ann Arbor over the years, my wife Linh and I know how critical these local businesses and jobs are in our community," foundation cofounder Dug Song said in a statement. While the $2 trillion U.S. CARES Act and the $10 million Michigan Economic Development Corporation programs will help in upcoming weeks, "these businesses have needs today and cannot afford to wait for help," emails Peter Katz, the foundation's secretary. "[M]any of these businesses will not exist tomorrow if they do not receive assistance today." Depending on size, the fund is making grants of up to $5,000. "We need small business employment to continue to be the backbone of economic opportunity," Song writes. "Small businesses are critical to our region and provide meaningful jobs that support our local community." The Songs no longer have to work in restaurants themselves. Dug cofounded Duo Security--which Cisco bought in 2018 for $2.3 billion. [Originally published in May, 2020.] [May 07, 2020] Two New Research Institutes in the Bay Area SAN FRANCISCO, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Gladstone Institutes is launching two new biomedical research institutes to broaden its impact on unsolved diseases. The first is the Gladstone Institute of Virology, led by Melanie Ott, MD, PhD, which will study the current coronavirus, as well as search for novel therapies against future infectious diseases. The second is the result of a close partnership with UC San Francisco (UCSF); the Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, led by Alexander Marson, MD, PhD, will bring together genomics and immunology to develop next-generation cell therapies. The two institutes are an evolution of the former Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology, which was led by Warner Greene, MD, PhD, since its establishment in 1991 and made significant contributions to the fight against HIV/AIDS. "As the joint Gladstone-UCSF search committee met with eminent scientists from around the globe to find a new director for the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology, Melanie and Alex stood out as exceptional candidates in terms of their research accomplishments and their scientific vision," says Gladstone President Deepak Srivastava, MD, who chaired the search committee. "We realized they represent complementary, rather than alternative, directions for the future of Gladstone." "They are both remarkable scientists," he adds. "We are honored to have them join our scientific leadership team and we look forward to the discoveries that will emerge from these new institutes." The Gladstone Institute of Virology will focus on how viruses interface with human host cells to cause disease and how to intervene in that process. Ott's goal is to identify critical pathways that are common to human pathogenic viruses as a way to develop innovative treatments. "Contrary to the current strategy of combining several drugs to treat one virus, we want to develop one drug against multiple viruses," says Ott, senior investigator at Gladstone and professor in the UCSF Department of Medicine. "As antibiotic resistance becomes an increasingly urgent problem, we will also delve into how we can use viruses as therapeutics, which involves using viruses against themselves or to fight bacteria." Ott and her colleagues in the institute are concentrating their immediate efforts on the study of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This work will continue to contribute important insights into the current pandemic through the development of rapid diagnostic, prevention, and treatment strategies, as well as help be better prepared for future coronavirus outbreaks and other emerging infections. The Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology will combine cutting-edge genomic technologies with gene editing and synthetic biology to better understand the genetic control of human immune cells and develop novel cell-based immunotherapies. Manipulation of the immune system holds great promise not only to treat cancer, but also for infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and maybe even neurologic conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. "These rapidly advancing fields are starting to converge in ways that are too big for any single lab to take on," says Marson, senior investigator at Gladstone and associate professor in the Departments of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology at the UCSF School of Medicine. "The impetus to start a new institute was the realization that we need to create an ecosystem to bring together people with different perspectives to think about transformative opportunities for how patients can be treated in the future." Marson's institute will have lab space at Gladstone, adjacent to UCSF's Mission Bay campus, as well as at the University's Parnassus Heights campus, creating a unified community across the two camuses. "The importance of pursuing advances in virology and immunology for human health has never been more clear, and we at UCSF applaud Gladstone's visionary leadership in establishing these two new institutes," says UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS. "Under Melanie and Alex's excellent leadership, these research institutesincluding the first-ever Gladstone-UCSF institutewill complement and enhance UCSF's strengths in immunology and cell therapy, and will build on Gladstone's established expertise in the host-pathogen interface and gene editing technologies. Our long-standing partnership leverages the best of both institutions." About the Search Committee The joint Gladstone-UCSF search committee that recruited Melanie Ott and Alexander Marson was chaired by Deepak Srivastava. Other members included Katerina Akassoglou, Warner Greene, Todd McDevitt, Katherine Pollard, and Leor Weinberger from Gladstone, as well as Max Krummel, Susan Lynch, Tiffany Scharschmidt, Anita Sil, and Julie Zikherman from UCSF. About Melanie Ott A native of Germany, Melanie Ott, MD, PhD, is the director of the Gladstone Institute of Virology, a senior investigator at Gladstone Institutes, and a professor of medicine at UCSF. Ott is passionate about using viruses to find fundamental new biology in host cells. She has made important discoveries about how virusesincluding the hepatitis C virus and Zikahijack human cells, and has contributed to efforts to eradicate HIV by gaining insight into viral transcriptional control. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, she pivoted the focus of her team and spearheaded the effort to establish a dedicated airborne pathogen BSL-3 lab to enable work on live SARS-CoV-2. Prior to joining Gladstone in 2002, Ott started her own research group at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany, working closely with Nobel laureate Harald zur Hausen. She is a trained neurologist with an MD from the University of Frankfurt/Main in Germany. She transitioned to basic virology research during the AIDS crisis, earning a PhD in molecular medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in Manhasset, New York. Ott has received several honors, including the Young Researcher Award at the European Conference on Experimental AIDS Research and the Hellman Award. She is a member of the Association of American Physicians and a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. She is a recipient of the Chancellor's Award for Public Service from UCSF for her work as the founder and co-chair of the student outreach committee at Gladstone. Ott also received the California Life Sciences Association's Biotechnology Educator Pantheon Award for establishing the PUMAS (Promoting Underrepresented Minorities Advancing in the Sciences) internship program at Gladstone, which seeks to increase diversity in STEM. About Alexander Marson Alexander Marson, MD, PhD, is the director of the Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, a senior investigator at Gladstone Institutes, and an associate professor in the Departments of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology at UCSF. Marson is interested in how DNA controls the behavior of cells in the human immune system. He uses the power of CRISPR technology to genetically engineer cells to fight cancer, autoimmune diseases, and infectious diseases. He completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard University, and earned an MPhil in biological sciences from Cambridge. He earned his PhD at Whitehead Institute at MIT, where he worked with mentors Rick Young and Rudolf Jaenisch on transcriptional control of regulatory T cells and embryonic stem cells. After completing his MD at Harvard Medical School and an internship and residency at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Marson joined UCSF in 2012 to complete clinical work as an infectious diseases fellow. He started his lab as a Sandler Faculty Fellow, before joining the faculty at UCSF and becoming scientific director of biomedicine at the Innovative Genomics Institute. He is also a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator and member of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy. 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 the University of California, San Francisco. About UCSF The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is exclusively focused on the health sciences and is dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. UCSF Health, which serves as UCSF's primary academic medical center, includes top-ranked specialty hospitals and other clinical programs, and has affiliations throughout the Bay Area. Learn more at ucsf.edu, or see our Fact Sheet. Sources Gladstone Institutes: Megan McDevitt | [email protected] | 415.734.2019 UCSF: Pete Farley | [email protected] | 415.502.4608 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/two-new-research-institutes-in-the-bay-area-301055404.html SOURCE Gladstone Institutes [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] DUBLIN (Reuters) - There is no real sign that Britain is approaching trade talks with the European Union with a plan to succeed and it appears set to blame any post-Brexit fallout on the economic shock from COVID-19, the EU's trade chief said on Thursday. The tortuous talks, now focused on setting new trading terms from 2021 when London's status-quo transition period after Brexit ends, quickly hit an impasse when they resumed last month, according to EU diplomats and officials. The two sides have so far been unable to find any compromise on three main areas: the so-called level playing field; guarantees of fair competition and on governance and fisheries policy, lending a new combative air to talks due to resume on Monday. "Despite the urgency and enormity of the negotiating challenge, I am afraid we are only making very slow progress in the Brexit negotiations," European Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan told Irish national broadcaster RTE. "There is no real sign that our British friends are approaching the negotiations with a plan to succeed. I hope I am wrong, but I don't think so," he said. "I think that the United Kingdom politicians and government have certainly decided that COVID is going to be blamed for all the fallout from Brexit and my perception of it is they don't want to drag the negotiations out into 2021 because they can effectively blame COVID for everything." A spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson rejected Hogan's description of London's position, saying: "We look forward to negotiating constructively in the next round beginning on the 11th of May. "We are ready to keep talking with the EU, but that will not make us any more likely to agree to the EU's proposals in certain areas which are unprecedented and do not take account of the fact that we have left the EU as an independent state." The two sides are entering a crucial phase of talks, with two rounds scheduled before the end of June, at which point Britain could seek a one or two-year extension, a prospect it has ruled out. Story continues Hogan, a former Irish government minister, said he hoped to see a step change in the negotiations next week and that if that happened, there was no reason why quick progress could not be made. The June talks would be very important, he added. If not, he warned that the combination of the disruption from both the coronavirus economic shutdown and Brexit will be "an almighty blow" for the British economy this year, and spill over to other countries as well such as Ireland. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin and Conor Humphries and Elizabeth Piper in London; Editing by Gareth Jones, Alison Williams and Stephen Addison) "It's the biggest story in the world a year ago and a year and a half. 'Flynn, Flynn, Flynn.' And then he's essentially exonerated. Now, that's not official yet. But when you read the notes, how could you do anything else?" - President Donald Trump, remarks in the Oval Office, April 30, 2020 "Clear now that General Flynn was set up by dirty cops at the highest levels of our government. . ." - Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., in a tweet, April 29, 2020 "Not only should general Flynn's charges be dropped immediately but the treasonous actors who set him up should be in jail!!!" - Donald Trump Jr., in a tweet retweeted by the president, April 29, 2020 - - - Michael Flynn, the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency who briefly served as Trump's national security adviser, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in 2017. But now that Flynn is seeking to withdraw his guilty plea, Trump and his close allies have turned the case into a cause celebre. In the latest twist, they argue that documents released last week show that Flynn was set up by FBI agents. Flynn's case has dragged on so long, readers may need a refresher course on how it started and what the Justice Department and the courts have said in rejecting conspiracy theories that Flynn was the victim of a "deep state" plot. In a reversal, the Justice Department filed a motion to drop the case against Flynn on Thursday. Attorney General William Barr had ordered a review of the Flynn prosecution in January. The Justice Department cited its findings from that review in seeking to dismiss the case. - Why was Flynn charged? President Barack Obama imposed new sanctions on Russia for interfering in the 2016 election, which took effect Dec. 29, 2016. That day, Flynn spoke with Sergey Kislyak, at the time the Russian ambassador to the United States. Flynn requested that Russia not escalate the situation, but respond to the new sanctions in a reciprocal manner, according to his guilty plea. Kislyak called back on Dec. 31 and said that, in response to Flynn's request, Russia had chosen not to retaliate. Flynn was fired by Obama in 2014, and his moves potentially ran afoul of the Logan Act, which makes it a crime for unauthorized Americans to negotiate with a foreign government in a dispute with the United States. FBI agents interviewed Flynn on Jan. 24, 2017. It was days after Trump's inauguration, and the FBI was investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and Russian contacts with Trump's campaign. Flynn told the FBI that he did not ask Kislyak to refrain from escalating the situation, which was false. Flynn also said he did not recall Kislyak calling back two days later to tell him that Russia had abided by Flynn's request. Flynn also made false statements to the FBI about his lobbying work for Turkey and about another contact with the Russian ambassador over Dec. 22 and Dec. 23, 2016, pertaining to a U.N. Security Council Resolution on Israeli settlements, according to his guilty plea. - What did Trump and Flynn say at the time? Trump tweeted Dec. 2, 2017: "I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!" Flynn agreed to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, and Mueller later recommended no jail time for Flynn due to his "substantial" assistance. Flynn sat for at least 19 interviews and gave evidence of Trump's potential obstruction of justice and about WikiLeaks. He pleaded guilty to a single count of false statements, though prosecutors indicated that they could have charged him with more offenses. In pleading guilty, Flynn said: "I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong, and, through my faith in God, I am working to set things right. My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the Special Counsel's Office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions." Prosecutors said FBI agents gave Flynn multiple opportunities to correct his false statements during the interview. Flynn testified in 2018 that he knew it was a crime when he lied to the FBI. In seeking to void his guilty plea, Flynn now argues that he was entrapped by the FBI and given ineffective counsel by his former attorneys at the firm Covington & Burling. Trump has said he's "strongly considering" a pardon for Flynn. - What are the new documents? In January, Attorney General William Barr ordered a review of Flynn's prosecution and assigned it to Jeffrey Jensen, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri. Jensen on April 24 sent a cache of documents to Flynn's new attorneys, which were later made public. Here's how The Washington Post described those documents: "A Jan. 24 email from (former FBI agent Peter) Strzok to recipients including the FBI general counsel at the time appears to prepare an official identified as 'DD' - an abbreviation Strzok often used to refer to former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe - for calling Flynn to arrange the interview and answering questions Flynn might have. "Strzok suggests that McCabe be ready if Flynn asked if he were under criminal investigation or began volunteering information, and to consider having an agent present in that event. "In a brief email the evening before, [former FBI lawyer Lisa] Page asked Strzok and others to clarify whether FBI policy required agents to inform Flynn that lying to investigators was a crime before they began, or after they believed he made a false statement. "A final disclosure includes one page of handwritten notes, dated Jan. 24, that appear to be the writer's talking points for an internal FBI meeting, advocating that if Flynn lies in the interview, agents should confront him with a redacted piece of evidence so that he will come clean. " 'I don't see how getting someone to admit their wrongdoing is going easy on him,' " the notes say, adding, 'If we're seen as playing games, WH will be furious.' "It is not clear what evidence the writer was referring to. In the interview, the FBI did not show Flynn a transcript of his conversations with Kislyak. Flynn told investigators he assumed they knew what was said on the call. "The Justice Department is expected to formally respond to the allegations by May 11, and has not so far retreated from Flynn's prosecution. Investigators commonly prepare for interviews, including how to handle situations in which the targets lie." (The "writer" being referenced is E.W. Priestap, the FBI's former assistant director of counterintelligence.) "To succeed here, the defense will have to prove not merely that the FBI anticipated that Flynn might lie during the interview, but that the FBI encouraged him to lie and induced him to commit a crime that he otherwise would not have committed," Robert Mintz, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice, previously told The Post. - What do the prosecutors and judge say? In a 92-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan rejected Flynn's claims "that the FBI conducted an ambush interview for the purpose of trapping him into making false statements and that the government pressured him to enter a guilty plea." The ruling came in December, before the latest disclosures. "The sworn statements of Mr. Flynn and his former counsel belie his new claims of innocence and his new assertions that he was pressured into pleading guilty to making materially false statements to the FBI," Sullivan wrote. "And it is undisputed that Mr. Flynn not only made those false statements to the FBI agents, but he also made the same false statements to the Vice President and senior White House officials, who, in turn, repeated Mr. Flynn's false statements to the American people on national television." The Justice Department says Flynn and his new lawyers are spreading conspiracy theories in an effort to get him off the hook, "all this despite the fact that the defendant has twice admitted his guilt, before two federal judges." "For example, the defendant and his counsel allege that the Special Counsel's Office manipulated or controlled the press," prosecutors wrote in an October 2019 filing. "The claim is divorced from facts and reality." United Nations: UN experts say a private Russian security company has provided between 800 and 1200 mercenaries to support the offensive by Libyan commander Khalifa Hifter, whose forces have been trying to take the capital, Tripoli, for over a year. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, right, shakes hands with Khalifa Hifter, the head of the self-styled Libyan National Army prior to talks in Moscow, Russia in January. Credit:AP The panel of experts monitoring sanctions against Libya said in a report obtained on Wednesday by The Associated Press that mercenaries from the Wagner Group are engaged in specialised military activities including calling in artillery and air strikes, providing electronic countermeasures expertise and deploying as sniper teams. "Their deployment has acted as an effective force multiplier" for Hifter's forces, the panel said. Libya has been in turmoil since 2011, when a civil war toppled long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was later killed. The country has since split between rival administrations in the east and the west, each backed by armed groups. Haritha Mohan By Express News Service CHENNAI: While uncertainty looms over the release of many feature films, there are few that are as expected as Lokesh Kanagarajs Master. The hype is partly aided by the film featuring a group of established film personalities, including Vijay, Vijay Sethupathi, Anirudh Ravichander, Rathna Kumar, Lokesh Kanagaraj the list goes on. The films co-writer Rathna Kumar remains optimistic and opens up to us about his writing process and reveals some insights about Master. Excerpts: The times are unprecedented. Is it having you think about stories that take into account this pandemic? We are in a never-before-experienced situation right now. We are yet to understand the full ramifications of whats happening. Im mainly spending time with my family, and reading a lot. Occasionally, Im getting some writing donemainly reworking of some old scripts, giving new names to characters I have actually thought about a dystopian film like What Happened to Monday. When I thought about this idea, I was not sure if people would be able to relate to it, but the current situation has given us an idea of how the world would be like when faced with a dystopian situation. I think our audiences would be more accepting of such ideas in the future. Theres a lot of expectation surrounding new-age filmmakers like yourself and Lokesh Kanagaraj. Given that Master has you both working together, what should we expect? Well, I can tell you that it will not be a formulaic Vijay film. It will be a celebration of Vijay sir, but the celebration will be rooted firmly within the script. On the first two days of shoot, Vijay sir was not given any dialogues. He had to simply exist as the character and carry out everyday activities like cooking, listening to songs, playing games... The attitude of the character he plays in this film is very close to how Vijay sir behaves as a person... You will see him carry a fresh attitude in Master. Recent films of Vijay have had him deliver social and political messages. Is this the case with Master too? It is a socially responsible film for sure. People have already heard the songs that convey some useful messages. The film is told through the characters way of life. But no, there will be no long monologues. What was most challenging about helping write Master? After Vijay Sethupathi sir came on board, the scenes became bigger. An otherwise small scene of a phone conversation suddenly became more significant. It was hard to decide what to retain and what not to. Every little scene became entertaining, but we also had to keep in mind the films duration. Even though we did not have the heart to do it, we had to make the tough choice of leaving out some bits. How is the team handling this unexpected delay? From our side, we need only about ten days to complete the post-production work. The lockdown was announced just days before we were to approach the censor board. No matter how long it takes for the films release, it will still come as a celebration. Right now, nobody is in the mood for celebration, with many struggling to meet basic needs. Cinema would be the last thing on peoples minds now. We want to accommodate all the fans and will have the film released at a time when everybody has a more stable mindset. Any reluctance about participating as a co-writer after being a director yourself? I look at them as just titles. I have known Lokesh for a while now and he has always liked my writing. When Lokesh and I were working on Maanagaram and Meyaadha Maan respectively, we had a meeting at Besant Nagar beach and agreed to help each other in our films. Even during Kaithi, I helped a little, but that was more as a friend. I am a descriptive writer and expect the scenes to be exactly as I have envisioned. However, there are many practical difficulties and differences in executing them. During such times, I reminded myself to stick to being the writer and let the filmmaker do the rest. Any particularly unforgettable memories from your journey with the team? Once, Kaithi-fame Dheena along with Vijay sir, Lokesh, and a few others called me while I was working on the script in Shimoga. Dheena claimed to be working in Simbu sirs office and asked me to come right away to Chennai to meet him. I was hesitant because I was working on the script, but he insisted I come immediately saying, Simbu sir ippo dhaan malaikku poitu vandhurukaaru, manasu maarardhukulla udane vaanga. I instantly recognised it as a prank call, and all of us burst into laughter. That was a funny, unforgettable moment. What are you working on next? I was to meet Stone Bench Films for a Tamil-Telugu bilingual after the release of Jagamae Thandhiram on May 1, but everything has been pushed. I am working on an anthology as well. If not for the lockdown, the announcement of my next film would have come by now. My projects are all in various stages of development. There is a plan to make a film with actor Vaibhav in the near future. Some OTT platforms have also approached me, and I am working on a mini web series for the digital medium. The script of the series set in a time frame of 50 hours is almost done. I am hoping to make a period film someday something set before independence maybe. I am inspired by the story of Netajis disappearance and want to make a fictional story on it. All my work right now is aimed at hopefully, helping me finish these dream projects in the long run. You have admitted in interviews to being a Vijay fan. Were any of these dream scripts created for him? It has always been my dream to make a film with Vijay sir. Who wouldnt want to? I have had a story for him since my college days. When the time comes, it will happen. Reading, PA (19601) Today Turning out mostly cloudy and not as cold. There might be a rain or snow shower late.. Tonight Mostly cloudy with some rain and snow showers. Any rain will be early in the night. The all-women 'Nirbhaya Squad' of the Jaipur police has been distributing sanitary pads in COVID-19 containment zones in the city during the ongoing lockdown. The Nirbhaya Squad, in collaboration with 'Jaipur Padman', assessed the problems of women living in curfew-hit areas due to the novel coronavirus and joined hands to distribute sanitary pads free of cost. The joint team has so far distributed 3,000 packets of sanitary pads to the needy women living in containment zones of the walled city area. The bike-borne squad was formed last year with women trained in martial arts for warding off any threat faced by women in school, colleges, malls or at bus stops. The team of 80 women constables has been taking out flag marches in the curfew-hit areas to give message of social distancing and staying home. "We came to know about the problem that women were facing due to the lockdown which is in force from last over a month. A few social workers also joined the movement. Distribution of sanitary pads was difficult in curfew-hit areas so we took help of the Nirbhaya Squad, a member of Jaipur Padman group, Ashish Parashar, said. He said that it came to the fore that men were reluctant to buy sanitary pads from medical shops for women members of their families in slum areas. He said that Additional Superintendent of Police of Nirbhaya Squad Sunita Meena immediately came in support to distribute sanitary pads. The team has already been distributing essential items in the containment zones. Health of women is equally important so the team is helping the group of social activists in the cause, Meena said. Rajasthan has reported 95 deaths due to the novel coronavirus so far with total 3,400 positive cases in the state. Curfew has been imposed in the walled city area of Jaipur. The entire state has been under lockdown since March 22. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Backyards on the Air - the final installment Mark ZL3AB has provided details of what he hopes will be New Zealand's final Backyards on the Air (BYOTA) event this Saturday When: Saturday, May 9, 12 noon - 2pm (NZST) Where: Your backyard (obviously) Bands: 80m through 10m CW & SSB - or anything else you want to try With two massively successful events so far (well I didn't get any hate mail), BYOTA ZL style is back for what will hopefully be its swansong. This is your final chance to prove you have got what it takes to operate portable in your back yard while contacting you fellow amateurs around the country and in VK. The rules, such as they are, are the same as last time. Set up everything you are going to use in the morning and make as many contacts as you like. This is not a contest, so QSOs can be as long or as short as you like and likewise there are no logs to enter. Feel free to send me a picture and paragraph about your operation afterwards for a Break In article I will put together. If you can't operate portable then feel free to take part anyway, the more activity the better. Who knows, you may make the day of someone running half a watt from a home brew rig to a wire coat hanger (pictures please if you are doing that). 73 Mark ZL3AB A coalition of animal protection groups, including from the USA, France and the UK, is asking CS Aviation, a French aviation company, and SkyBus Air Cargo, a Peruvian cargo company, to refuse involvement in the shipment of 300 monkeys from Mauritius to Florida. The long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) are due to be exported from Mauritius on behalf of Primate Products, a US primate importer based in Florida, for use in experiments by a US laboratory. Action for Primates, One Voice and Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, is urging the two companies to join the many airlines that have already refused such shipments including many of the worlds flag carriers, such as American Airlines, British Airways, United Airlines, South African Airways, Delta Airlines, Eva Air, Air Canada and China Airlines thereby dissociating themselves from the cruel and controversial trade in primates for research. The transportation of primates by airlines and their use in experiments is an issue that engenders strong public concern, and thousands of people around the world have already responded in support of our action alert to stop this shipment. The international trade in primates for research inflicts great cruelty and suffering on these highly intelligent and sensitive animals; including their capture from the wild, their forced captivity in unnatural conditions on farms, the forced early separation of a female from her infant, their transportation in the cargo holds of aeroplanes and their eventual fate in the research laboratory. During transportation, primates shipped as cargo will suffer stress and anxiety while forced to endure extremely long journeys to destinations around the world. Studies carried out by scientists demonstrate that transportation causes profound negative, and lasting effects upon the welfare of primates (1, 2). Mauritius is a major exporter of long-tailed macaques for the global research industry, with tens of thousands of monkeys held in breeding farms across the country. In 2017, Mauritius accounted for one fifth (21%) of the worlds export of live primates (3). Mauritius exports primarily to laboratories and animal supply companies in the USA and Europe, and, in 2019, exported over 7,500 monkeys to the USA, Canada, France, the UK, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands (4). The USA accounted for 4,011 of the imported monkeys. Dr Nedim Buyukmihci, Emeritus Professor of Veterinary Medicine and representative of Action for Primates, stated: Trapping, breeding and shipping non-human primates for the research industry is not only immoral, it is also scientifically unnecessary. We are an intelligent and capable species. If we use our intelligence compassionately, we can find ways to answer the questions we want without having to harm and kill non-human primates. Muriel Arnal, Founder & President of One Voice stated: Throughout their lives, these macaques will know only the stress and suffering of captivity, the metal bars of their cages, separation from their family, transportation in cargo holds over long distances and at their final destination the laboratory they will be subjected to cruel experiments from which they will unlikely survive. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires New PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi says coronavirus and accountability for protester deaths will be priorities. Iraqs parliament has approved a new government, after six months without one, as parties squabbled until the last minute over cabinet seats in backroom deals. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Iraqs intelligence chief and a former journalist, will head the government but will begin his term without a full cohort of ministers after several candidates were rejected, it was announced on Wednesday. We are going through a critical phase in our history. Iraq is facing so many challenges in our security, economy, healthcare and even socially, but it is not bigger than our determination to stand up to these challenges, Kadhimi said after the parliament vote. He said his priorities would be tackling the coronavirus pandemic and holding to account those who killed protesters in previous months of anti-government unrest. Former Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, who has been leading a caretaker administration, resigned last year after thousands took to the streets calling for the departure of Iraqs ruling elite accused of driving the country into dysfunction and economic ruin. The battle over government portfolios since Abdul Mahdis resignation in November prevented two previous nominees for prime minister from forming a cabinet. Kadhimis candidates for cabinet posts including interior, defence, finance and electricity passed with the support of the majority of legislators present. Voting on the oil and foreign ministries was delayed as the parties failed to agree on candidates. They rejected Khadmis choices for justice, agriculture and trade. Dangerous precedent To earn the vote of confidence, Kadhimi had to appease the main political parties by letting them pick ministers in his cabinet an informal yet deeply entrenched power-sharing system known as apportionment. He had 10 percent of freedom to choose his cabinet, and 90 percent were determined by the parties and blocs, political analyst Fadel Abu Ragheef explained. Some parties which did not secure ministries, including Nouri al-Malikis State of Law alliance and Iyad Allawis National Coalition, boycotted the vote. Kadhim Al Shammery, a member of the National Coalition, criticised the voting process, which he said was dominated by the Shia parties. This is a strange approach and its a dangerous precedent in the Iraqi political scene. The candidates of his cabinet thats 12 ministers were presented to the Shia parties, and they gave their point of view but it was not shared with the rest of the political parties. Its as if the Shia powers are the guardians of the political process, he told Al Jazeera. Fifteen out of 22 ministers from the cabinet of prime minister-designate Kadhimi received a vote of confidence from Iraqs parliament [Iraqi Parliament/Handout/Anadolu] The vote ended months of political deadlock after mass anti-government protests calling for a complete overhaul of the political system forced Abdul Mahdi to step down. Al Jazeeras Simona Foltyn, reporting from Baghdad, said: To many, his appointment signals the preservation of the status quo rather than a first step on the road towards the change they have demanded. A few demonstrators convened to express their disapproval of the new government at Baghdads Tahrir Square on Wednesday. Any government that is formed inside parliament without the opinions of protesters will be rejected, said Abdullah Salah, who was at the gathering. Multiple challenges Kadhimis government must deal with an impending economic crisis precipitated by the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused the prices of oil Iraqs principal source of revenue to plummet. It also faces a growing armed uprising by the ISIL (ISIS) group which has stepped up attacks on government troops from hideouts in remote areas of northern Iraq. Kadhimi has put forth an ambitious government programme, but it remains to be seen whether he will have to power to execute it, said Al Jazeeras Foltyn. A student wears a protective face mask, following the outbreak of the new coronavirus, during anti-government protests in Basra in early March. Protesters blame Iraqs political elite for the countrys economic decline and lack of jobs [Essam al-Sudani/Reuters] Iraqi officials say Kadhimi is acceptable to the United States and Iran whose battle for influence over Iraq has boiled into an open confrontation in the past year. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday welcomed the government formation and in a phone call congratulated Kadhimi on taking office. They discussed working together to provide the Iraqi people the prosperity and security they deserve, the US State Department said. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the ground-based Gemini Observatory in Hawaii have teamed up with the Juno spacecraft to probe the mightiest storms in the solar system, taking place more than 500 million miles away on the giant planet Jupiter. A team of researchers led by Michael Wong at the University of California, Berkeley, and including Amy Simon of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and Imke de Pater also of UC Berkeley, are combining multiwavelength observations from Hubble and Gemini with close-up views from Juno's orbit about the monster planet, gaining new insights into turbulent weather on this distant world. "We want to know how Jupiter's atmosphere works," said Wong. This is where the teamwork of Juno, Hubble and Gemini comes into play. Radio 'Light Show' Jupiter's constant storms are gigantic compared to those on Earth, with thunderheads reaching 40 miles from base to top -- five times taller than typical thunderheads on Earth -- and powerful lightning flashes up to three times more energetic than Earth's largest "superbolts." Like lightning on Earth, Jupiter's lightning bolts act like radio transmitters, sending out radio waves as well as visible light when they flash across the sky. advertisement Every 53 days, Juno races low over the storm systems detecting radio signals known as "sferics" and "whistlers," which can then be used to map lightning even on the day side of the planet or from deep clouds where flashes are not otherwise visible. Coinciding with each pass, Hubble and Gemini watch from afar, capturing high-resolution global views of the planet that are key to interpreting Juno's close-up observations. "Juno's microwave radiometer probes deep into the planet's atmosphere by detecting high-frequency radio waves that can penetrate through the thick cloud layers. The data from Hubble and Gemini can tell us how thick the clouds are and how deep we are seeing into the clouds," Simon explained. By mapping lightning flashes detected by Juno onto optical images captured of the planet by Hubble and thermal infrared images captured at the same time by Gemini, the research team has been able to show that lightning outbreaks are associated with a three-way combination of cloud structures: deep clouds made of water, large convective towers caused by upwelling of moist air -- essentially Jovian thunderheads -- and clear regions presumably caused by downwelling of drier air outside the convective towers. The Hubble data show the height of the thick clouds in the convective towers, as well as the depth of deep water clouds. The Gemini data clearly reveal the clearings in the high-level clouds where it is possible to get a glimpse down to the deep water clouds. Wong thinks that lightning is common in a type of turbulent area known as folded filamentary regions, which suggests that moist convection is occurring in them. "These cyclonic vortices could be internal energy smokestacks, helping release internal energy through convection," he said. "It doesn't happen everywhere, but something about these cyclones seems to facilitate convection." The ability to correlate lightning with deep water clouds also gives researchers another tool for estimating the amount of water in Jupiter's atmosphere, which is important for understanding how Jupiter and the other gas and ice giants formed, and therefore how the solar system as a whole formed. advertisement While much has been gleaned about Jupiter from previous space missions, many of the details -- including how much water is in the deep atmosphere, exactly how heat flows from the interior and what causes certain colors and patterns in the clouds -- remain a mystery. The combined result provides insight into the dynamics and three-dimensional structure of the atmosphere. Seeing a 'Jack-O-Lantern' Red Spot With Hubble and Gemini observing Jupiter more frequently during the Juno mission, scientists are also able to study short-term changes and short-lived features like those in the Great Red Spot. Images from Juno as well as previous missions to Jupiter revealed dark features within the Great Red Spot that appear, disappear and change shape over time. It was not clear from individual images whether these are caused by some mysterious dark-colored material within the high cloud layer, or if they are instead holes in the high clouds -- windows into a deeper, darker layer below. Now, with the ability to compare visible-light images from Hubble with thermal infrared images from Gemini captured within hours of each other, it is possible to answer the question. Regions that are dark in visible light are very bright in infrared, indicating that they are, in fact, holes in the cloud layer. In cloud-free regions, heat from Jupiter's interior that is emitted in the form of infrared light -- otherwise blocked by high-level clouds -- is free to escape into space and therefore appears bright in Gemini images. "It's kind of like a jack-o-lantern," said Wong. "You see bright infrared light coming from cloud-free areas, but where there are clouds, it's really dark in the infrared." Hubble and Gemini as Jovian Weather Trackers The regular imaging of Jupiter by Hubble and Gemini in support of the Juno mission is proving valuable in studies of many other weather phenomena as well, including changes in wind patterns, characteristics of atmospheric waves and the circulation of various gases in the atmosphere. Hubble and Gemini can monitor the planet as a whole, providing real-time base maps in multiple wavelengths for reference for Juno's measurements in the same way that Earth-observing weather satellites provide context for NOAA's high-flying Hurricane Hunters. "Because we now routinely have these high-resolution views from a couple of different observatories and wavelengths, we are learning so much more about Jupiter's weather," explained Simon. "This is our equivalent of a weather satellite. We can finally start looking at weather cycles." Because the Hubble and Gemini observations are so important for interpreting Juno data, Wong and his colleagues Simon and de Pater are making all of the processed data easily accessible to other researchers through the Mikulski Archives for Space Telescopes (MAST) at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. "What's important is that we've managed to collect this huge data set that supports the Juno mission. There are so many applications of the data set that we may not even anticipate. So, we're going to enable other people to do science without that barrier of having to figure out on their own how to process the data," Wong said. The results were published in April 2020 in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (the European Space Agency). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) in Washington, D.C. AURA operates the Gemini Observatory for the international Gemini partnership including the U.S., Canada, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and the Republic of Korea. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages the Juno mission for the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. Juno is part of NASA's New Frontiers Program, which is managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Ambulance workers have been slammed as inappropriate over a TikTok 'coffin dance' video that went viral. The footage, posted on social media app on Tuesday shows a man apparently unwell, coughing in the back of an ambulance, startling workers who were reaching for life-saving PPE. Music then starts playing and it appears the workers are copying a 'coffin dance' meme that has become popular on TikTok over the last few weeks, as reported by the Liverpool Echo. The meme is based on a video posted on 2017 that went viral of pallbearers in Ghana, who give a rather cheery send off to a loved one. The meme has made a comeback during the pandemic and is regularly shared on social media platforms. North West Ambulance Service issued a statement saying that the coronavirus-related video breached their social media policy after racking up thousands of views online. In the ambulance video, four workers are seen standing back to back outside the ambulance with sunglasses on. They then reappear back in front of the camera, holding a CPR dummy on a stretcher before beginning to dance with it. In another scene of the video, they high five over the doll before bouncing it up and down on their shoulders. The video was captioned: 'Caution. Morale boost imminent COVID19 coffindance nhs.' The crew inn front of the camera, holding a CPR dummy on a stretcher before beginning to dance with it Before it was removed from the site, the video had been watched almost 40,000 times. Many people who watched the video were shocked by the references it made to the coronavirus outbreak. On Twitter, while praising the work of paramedics and the NHS, one man said: '@NWAmbulance huge supporter of yourselves & the NHS. I think you are all absolute legends. 'But to stumble across this video, mocking people with COVID19, calling it the coffin dance & stating this is 'morale'. 'Personally I don't see families being ripped apart as morale.' The ambulance service spoke out over the video and stated that the staff involved meant no offence by the video, but it had breached their social media policy. The video has now been removed from TikTok. A spokesperson for NWAS told the Liverpool Echo: 'Whilst using social media, employees are expected to act professionally at all times and adhere to the same standards of behaviour they would be expected to observe whilst in work. 'Although we understand the staff involved did not mean to cause offence, this video is inappropriate and a clear breach of our social media policy. It has now been removed.' The Corporation will undertake an extensive 42,500-metre drilling program on Beaufor. Monarch will incorporate artificial intelligence technologies to optimize target selection for its next drilling program using advanced analytics. The ultimate goal is to restart gold production at the Beaufor mine within 12 to 18 months to take advantage of the bullish gold market. MONTREAL, QUEBEC / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / MONARCH GOLD CORPORATION ("Monarch" or the "Corporation") (TSX:MQR)(OTC PINK:MRQRF)(FRA:MR7) announces that it has signed an agreement with Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec ("CDPQ") to sell a 3% net smelter return royalty on gold production at the Beaufor mine (the "NSR") for $5 million. The Corporation and CDPQ have also agreed to retain the services of GoldSpot Discoveries Corp. (TSXV: SPOT), a technology company that applies expert geoscience and advanced artificial intelligence algorithms to increase the efficiency and success rate of mineral exploration. The objective is to optimize the drilling program on the Beaufor property using advanced analytical technology. "First and foremost, we would like to thank CDPQ for this strategic investment that could eventually give the Beaufor mine a second life," said Jean-Marc Lacoste, President and Chief Executive Officer of Monarch. "This investment is a turning point for the Beaufor mine, which still has considerable high-grade gold potential, as we demonstrated during our last drilling campaign, in 2018." "To maximize our chances of success, we have retained the services of GoldSpot, who will assist us in selecting the optimal drill targets throughout the program based on the historical data we have compiled over the past two years. Our ultimate goal is to bring Beaufor into production within 12 to 18 months, which will allow us to take advantage of the bull market for gold and to once again create high-quality jobs for the local communities," added Mr. Lacoste. "With CDPQ's investment, Monarch can pursue its exploration plan, which could ultimately lead to the re-opening of the Beaufor mine in Abitibi-Temiscamingue," said Kim Thomassin, CDPQ's Executive Vice-President and Head of Quebec Investments and Stewardship Investing. "This transaction will pave the way for the company to integrate new artificial intelligence technology, which is in line with our desire to encourage more companies from so-called traditional sectors to take the digital turn to improve their performance." The $5 million will be payable to Monarch in two installments: $3 million upon closing of the transaction and an additional $2 million once the Corporation has completed a total of 15,000 metres of drilling on the Beaufor property or within 60 days of the Beaufor mine going into production. Monarch will also have the option of redeeming a maximum of 2% NSR in accordance with the following terms: 1% once the Corporation has repaid the capital invested by CDPQ; and, thereafter, 1% in consideration of $2.5 million, payable within five years following the closing of the transaction. Summary of activities at Beaufor Commercial gold production on the Beaufor property began in the 1930s with the Perron, Beaufor and Pascalis mines. Overall, the property has produced approximately 4,854,000 tonnes of ore grading 7.5 g/t Au, for a total of 1,169,000 ounces of gold. Production was temporarily suspended on June 30, 2019, and the Beaufor mine is currently on care and maintenance. During the past two years, Monarch has undertaken an extensive program of compiling all of the historical data and developing a comprehensive 3D geological model that incorporates geology, structure and mineralization, as well as the historical underground development (drifts and stopes). Best historical drill results on Beaufor: Hole From To Width* Grade Au Metal number (m) (m) (m) (g/t) factor 106-35 1.70 11.89 10.19 23.63 241 126-09 41.14 50.05 9.36 22.60 212 145-10 5.80 11.80 6.00 34.23 205 BZ-117-09 0.00 8.00 8.00 21.86 175 81-44 44.64 52.15 7.50 23.08 173 *The widths shown are core lengths. 42,500-metre drilling program The planned exploration program will be one of the largest exploration programs ever undertaken on the Beaufor property, consisting of approximately 270 drill holes for a total of 42,500 metres (see Beaufor Presentation). Exploration drilling will be done in several phases, including: Underground work in proximity to the exploration targets of the mine (high-grade intervals and isolated resource blocks) Near-surface and mine targets Targets below the current mine workings Regional exploration targets Underground work in proximity to the exploration targets of the mine This initial phase, representing the bulk of the exploration drilling, will focus on the underground near-mine targets defined by the recent 3D modelling (see Figure 1). These holes will test areas near historical high-grade drill intersections and areas associated with known vein structures that remain open. These targets are all defined by high-grade intersections located near the existing underground infrastructure, thus requiring minimal development for mining purposes. They are also all located above the mine's lowest development level (above 900 metres). These targets can easily be tested from the available underground workings, with the majority of the holes less than 200 metres long. The second type of target related to underground near-mine targets will be the follow-up of isolated resource blocks that still have significant room for expansion. These resource blocks are typically defined by a single drill hole along a known mineralized structure, but continuity has not been demonstrated due to a lack of nearby drilling. Near-surface and mine targets A program of near-mine surface drilling will follow to test both the high-grade and isolated resource block targets that cannot be properly tested from the existing underground infrastructure (see Figure 2). These targets are located near the mine and no more than 300 metres below surface. Targets below the current mine workings A program of exploration drilling of the area below the current mine workings (below 900 metres) will be undertaken to continue testing the extension of the known mineralization at depth, where mining left off prior to the temporary shutdown (see Figure 3). Recent wide-spaced drilling below the bottom of the mine has confirmed the extension of the mineralization. The planned drilling will target specific areas defined by previous high-grade intersections in an area extending down to 230 metres below the current workings. Regional exploration targets The final phase of the exploration drilling will consist of surface drill holes to test regional targets defined by historical intersections and potential structures beyond the current limits of the underground infrastructure (see Figure 4). Quality control and qualified person Sampling normally consists of sawing the core into two equal halves along its main axis and shipping one of the halves to Val-d'Or for assaying at the ALS Geochemistry laboratory, which is fully accredited under ISO 17025. The samples are crushed, pulverized and assayed by fire assay with atomic absorption finish. Results exceeding 10.0 g/t are re-assayed using the gravity method. Certified standards and blanks are inserted into the sampling stream for quality control purposes. The technical and scientific content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by Louis Martin, P. Geo., the Corporation's Consultant Geologist and qualified person under National Instrument 43-101. ABOUT MONARCH GOLD CORPORATION Monarch Gold Corporation (TSX: MQR) is an emerging gold mining company focused on becoming a 100,000 to 200,000 ounce per year gold producer through its large portfolio of high-quality projects in the Abitibi mining camp in Quebec, Canada. The Corporation currently owns over 370 km of gold properties (see map), including the Wasamac deposit (measured and indicated resource of 2.6 million ounces of gold), the Beaufor, Croinor Gold (see video), Fayolle, McKenzie Break and Swanson advanced projects, and the Camflo and Beacon mills. It also offers custom milling services out of its 1,600 tonne-per-day Camflo mill. www.monarquesgold.com ABOUT CAISSE DE DEPOT ET PLACEMENT DU QUEBEC Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) is a long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans. As at December 31, 2019, it held CAD 340.1 billion in net assets. As one of the largest pension fund in Canada, CDPQ invests globally in financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt. For more information, visit cdpq.com, follow us on Twitter @LaCDPQ or consult our Facebook or LinkedIn pages. Forward-Looking Statements The forward-looking statements in this press release involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Monarch's actual results, performance and achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied therein. Neither TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jean-Marc Lacoste 1-888-994-4465 President and Chief Executive Officer jm.lacoste@monarquesgold.com Mathieu Seguin 1-888-994-4465 Vice President, Corporate Development m.seguin@monarquesgold.com Elisabeth Tremblay 1-888-994-4465 Senior Geologist - Communications Specialist e.tremblay@monarquesgold.com CAISSE DE DEPOT ET PLACEMENT DU QUEBEC Yann Langlais-Plante 1-514-847-5493 Advisor, Media Relations ylanglaisplante@cdpq.com SOURCE: Monarch Gold Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/588831/CDPQ-Invests-5-Million-In-Monarch-Gold-To-Support-The-Potential-Re-Opening-Of-The-Beaufor-Mine LOEWEN (dpa-AFX) - Anheuser-Busch InBev (AHBIF.PK, BUD) reported Thursday that its first-quarter loss attributable to equity holders was $2.25 billion or $1.13 per share, compared to restated net income of $3.57 billion or $1.80 per share in the previous-year quarter. Normalized loss attributable to equity holders of the company was $845 million, compared to restated normalized profit of $2.40 billion last year. Normalized loss per share was $0.42, compared to normalized earnings per share of $1.21 a year ago, negatively impacted by a lower profit and mark-to-market losses linked to the hedging of the company's share-based payment programs. Underlying profit attributable to equity holders decreased to $1.02 billion or $0.51 per share from $1.45 billion or $0.73 per share last year. Revenue for the quarter declined to $11.00 billion from a restated $12.22 billion in the year-ago quarter, materially impacted by lower volumes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. On an organic basis, revenue declined 5.8 percent in the quarter, while revenue per hl grew by 3.9 percent. The company noted that the impact of COVID-19 on its global results increased significantly toward the end of the quarter. Consequently, the company's total volume in the quarter declined by 9.3 percent, and by 3.6 percent excluding China. The company's own beer volumes were down 10.5 percent and non-beer volumes were down 0.2 percent. Looking ahead, Anheuser-Busch InBev said it expects that the impact of COVID-19 on its second quarter results will be materially worse than in the first quarter. The company noted that its April 2020 global volumes declined by approximately 32 percent, primarily driven by the closure of the on-premise channel in most markets and government restrictions imposed on certain operations of the company in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, the company withdrew its outlook for fiscal 2020 due to the uncertainty associated with the pandemic. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de A pro-cannabis campaign will kick off signature drives in Montana's major cities on Saturday, albeit with little time on the clock to grab the combined 75,000-plus signatures needed to put two questions of legalization to voters in this year's general election. New Approach Montana has six weeks to roll up 25,468 signatures for Initiative-190, which would legalize, regulate and tax marijuana use, and 50,936 signatures for Constitutional Amendment-118, which would set the age of consumption at 21, in order to get the two proposals on the November ballot. New Approach's petition circulators will begin gathering signatures in Billings, Bozeman, Missoula, Kalispell and Great Falls on Saturday, with an eye toward Helena next week before expanding efforts around the state. Petition signatures for statewide ballot issues are due to election administrators on June 19. This year's elections have been thrown a curveball with COVID-19 spurring state and local officials to prohibit as much personal contact as possible, along with political rallies or in-person debates. New Approach Montana spent much of last month in court on a request that a judge allow the group to collect signatures electronically to adhere to social distancing guidelines in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. A District Court judge denied the proposal last week. "We are disappointed in that ruling," said Pepper Petersen, New Approach Montana's political director, in an email to the Missoulian. "At this juncture, attempting a conventional signature drive is our only path to ballot qualification." Petersen said it was time to push forward as officials begin reopening parts of the state. State officials on Thursday announced no new COVID-19 cases in Montana for the third day in a row. As our state reopens for business, we must also reopen for democracy, Petersen said in a press release Thursday. Our signature drive will allow Montana voters to exercise their constitutional right to a ballot initiative in a safe and responsible way. New Approach said Thursday it had developed a set of protocols to limit contact between petition circulators and signers. Among other measures, petitioners will be wearing masks and using single-use pens to be discarded after each signature, Petersen said. In line with social distancing measures, they will also witness the signature from 6 feet away from a table where voters can add their name to the petition. The group's plan has the approval of Joan Miles, who served as the director of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services under former Gov. Brian Schweitzer. New Approach Montana is closely following the governor's Phase One recommendations for return to public life in light of the COVID pandemic, so their signature drive looks different than it did before the pandemic," Miles said. "The protocols they have put in place to lessen public risk are very considerate. A spokesperson for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Service's current administration said in an email Thursday the department believes circulating petitions can be done safely as long as such precautions are taken with the health of campaign workers and signers. "In these situations, we encourage petitioners to wear a cloth face covering, minimize their conversations, observe social distancing by staying 6 feet away, use alcohol-based hand sanitizer regularly on their hands, and use alcohol-based wipes to clean pens being used during this process," DPHHS spokesman Jon Ebelt said. "We believe this work can be conducted responsibly and safely if these measures are followed." Five ballot measures, two of them driven by New Approach, have been approved for signature gathering. The Montana Secretary of State's Office said Thursday it had not yet received sufficient signatures to qualify an initiative for the ballot. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. New Delhi: India on Thursday conveyed its strong concerns about a spike in terrorist violence in Afghanistan to US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, and called for rooting out terror sanctuaries in Pakistan to ensure peace in the war-torn country, people familiar with developments said. The concerns were conveyed to the US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation during his meetings with external affairs minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity. The existence of terror sanctuaries in Pakistan and their role in terrorist violence in Afghanistan figured in the meetings, said one of the people cited above, without giving details. The development came against the backdrop of worries in New Delhi that Indias viewpoint on the Afghan peace process is being given the short shrift by the US, which is apparently focused solely on implementing its deal with the Taliban to facilitate the withdrawal of American forces. India has also been concerned about the increased activities of Pakistan-based terror groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed in Afghanistan and the targeting of minorities, including the March 25 attack on a Sikh place of worship in Kabul that killed nearly 30 people, including an Indian citizen. Indian intelligence agencies believe the Islamic State, which claimed the attack, targeted the Sikhs after being unable to go ahead with plans to strike the Indian embassy. India is deeply concerned at the upsurge in violence and supports call for immediate ceasefire and [the] need to assist the people of Afghanistan in dealing with [the] coronavirus pandemic, the external affairs ministry said in a statement on Khalilzads meetings. The Indian side emphasised that putting an end to terrorist safe havens and sanctuaries is necessary for enduring and sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan, the statement added, without naming Pakistan. Both Jaishankar and Doval, the statement said, reiterated Indias continued support for strengthening peace, security, unity, democratic and inclusive polity and protection of rights of all sections of the Afghan society, including Afghan Hindus and Sikhs. Khalilzad, the first high-level foreign dignitary to travel to New Delhi since Covid-19-related travel restrictions came into effect, visited India as part of a three-nation tour that will also take him to Qatar and Pakistan. He provided an update on the US peace and reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan. The US side recognised Indias constructive contribution in economic development, reconstruction and humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and laid importance to Indias crucial and continuing role in sustainable peace, security and stability in Afghanistan, the external affairs ministrys statement said. The Indian side also said it will continue extending humanitarian food and medical supplies to Afghanistan to deal with the pandemic. India recently shipped another 10,000 tonnes of 75,000 tonnes of wheat gifted to Afghanistan from Kandla port to Chabahar port in Iran. The wheat will then be transported by road to Afghanistan. Another 5,000 tonnes of wheat was shipped via Chabahar last month. Khalilzad was accompanied for his meetings by List Curtis, senior director in the National Security Council, and US ambassador Kenneth Juster. In Doha, Khalilzad met Taliban representatives to press for the full implementation of the US-Taliban agreement. In Islamabad, he will meet Pakistani officials to discuss the Afghan peace process. At each stop, he will urge support for an immediate reduction in violence, accelerated timeline for the start of intra-Afghan negotiations, and cooperation among all sides in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic in Afghanistan, said a statement issued by the US state department on Wednesday. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Srinagar, May 7 : A total of 64 terrorists, including three top terrorist commanders -- Qari Yasir of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Burhan Koka of the Ansar Gazwat ul Hind (AGH) and Riyaz Naikoo of the Hizbul Mujahideen -- have been killed in 27 anti-terror operations conducted by the security forces since January this year. Vijay Kumar, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir said this at a press conference in Srinagar on Thursday. He said 25 active militants and 125 over ground workers of the militants have been arrested this period. He said the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen Chief Riyaz Naikoo on Wednesday was a big success for the security forces. "The security forces were tracking his movement for the last six months and there was pinpoint information about his location that led to the operation in which he was eliminated," he said. "Naikoo instigated youth to join militancy by releasing videos after every month or two months," he said. The IGP said after Naikoo's killing, the area witnessed some clashes and incidents of stone pelting but they were of a localised nature. "First time since August 5, there was a law and order problem near the site of an encounter after the killing of any militant," he said. "It was a localised affair in which few people were injured; some of them had bullet injuries." He said the restrictions on the Internet and mobile phones in Kashmir after Naikoo's killing was a necessary measure to maintain law and order and the decision will be reviewed when the situation improves. "Communication gag is important, otherwise rumours could have spread, old videos would have been posted to instigate people, when situation comes under control the gag will be lifted." He said the bodies of the terrorists killed in the encounters will not be handed to their relatives for burial at their native places till COVID-19. The Bauchi state governor, Bala Mohammad, said by revealing the drug used while in isolation, he was not encouraging self medication by people that contracted the coronavirus disease. The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) recalled that Gov. Bala Mohammad had on Wednesday, April 29, said that the states medical team had used chloroquine and Zithromax to cure him of the deadly novel virus. The governor spoke while giving update on the situation of the coronavirus disease in the state. I was a COVID-19 patient; I told the world and I have been asked to say how I got cured and I told them how I got cured. I recommended that should be done to other patients too; I have no apology for saying that I used chloroquine, Zithromax, zinc, iron and vitamin C to get cured. However, it was God that cured me, and to me, it is better to take something rather than sit down and die. If you have symptoms of fever, you can take chloroquine to cure it; if you have symptoms of infection, you can take Zithromax to cure it. You do not need a Doctor, but the Doctors are prescribing; I didnt take these things on my own and Im not recommending that people should go and use these without the recommendation of their case managers, he said. The governor, who said it was a common knowledge that Coronavirus had no vaccine or drugs, prayed God to heal all the patients in the state. NAN reports that Bauchi state had recorded 83 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with six discharged so far, and 77 still active. No death has so far been re order in the state as a result of the pandemic. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Michael Holden (Reuters) London Thu, May 7, 2020 16:00 621 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd68c0aa 2 People Meghan-Markle,Archie-Harrison-Mountbatten-Windsor,birthday,Prince-Harry Free Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, the son of Britain's Prince Harry and his American wife Meghan, celebrated his first birthday on Wednesday, with his parents marking the occasion with a video of his mother reading him a story. In footage posted on the Instagram page of the Save the Children charity, Meghan reads giggling Archie, who is pictured wearing a simple white bodysuit, one of his favorite books, "Duck! Rabbit!". The video was recorded last weekend by Harry, who can be heard chuckling and cheering from behind the camera. Archie is the seventh-in-line to the British throne and Queen Elizabeth's eighth great-grandchild. His parents, who have become huge global celebrities since their star-studded wedding in 2018, are officially known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex but their son has no title. The family are now living in Los Angeles after Harry and Meghan stepped down from their royal roles at the end of March to forge new careers. Their exit caused a crisis in the royal family, and came after a reported rift with Harry's elder brother Prince William and growing hostility to the media's intense coverage. A spokesman for the couple, who had to give up their SussexRoyal Instagram page and branding as part of the deal to exit their royal duties, said they had chosen to publish Archie's video on the charity's page to highlight its campaign to support children impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. "As they celebrate this family moment, the Duke and Duchess wanted to continue to raise awareness around the urgency of bringing food and learning resources to millions of children," the spokesman said. Members of the royal family posted messages and pictures on social media to mark the occasion. "Wishing Archie a very happy first birthday today!" Kensington Palace, the office of Prince William, said on Twitter. Archie's birth at London's Portland Hospital last May was shrouded in secrecy after the couple declined to disclose any details beforehand and then only allowed a small, select group of media access for a brief photocall to show him off two days later. While the couple wanted the birth to be a private matter, newspapers, for whom stories about the royals are popular with many readers, felt that as members of the British royal family, they needed to recognise that the public which funded the institution had a right to know about it. The criticism over Archie's birth marked the first overt deterioration in the couple's relations with the press, which ultimately was a key factor in their decision to step back from their royal lives. The Sussexes said last month they would have "zero engagement" with four of Britain's top tabloids while on Friday, Meghan lost an initial part of her legal claim against one newspaper for breaching her privacy by printing parts of a letter she had sent to her estranged father. Rishi Kapoors Son-In-Law Shares Beautiful Memories From 2010 With Neetu, Riddhima And The Actor Strong high pressure building over the Pacific Northwest will give Portland a string of warm, dry days, beginning Thursday, and its first 80 degree days of the year this weekend, according to the National Weather Service. Thursday morning will start with some high clouds, and the slight possibility of some early morning fog in a few locations. Any clouds or fog will quickly burn off to mostly sunny skies. The high temperature is likely to reach 74 degrees. Warm air moving up from California will push into Oregon and Washington throughout the day. Forecasters are watching for an offshore wind to develop late Thursday night and into Friday. Skies will be sunny all day Friday and Portland will see its first 80 degree day of the year. In fact, temperatures are likely to reach about 84 at the Portland Airport and could be a degree or two warmer in other valley locations. Winds will be breezy with gust of up to 30 mph possible, especially near the Columbia River Gorge. The weekend forecast has been adjusted a bit, but Saturday still looks to be sunny with a high of nearly 86. Sunday could end up partly sunny as some clouds move in when the ridge of high pressure begins to move east. The high will be near 83. Since he took up the gig as British Vogue's editor-in-chief in 2017, Edward Enninful has blown apart the usual dusty concept of 'ideal female beauty'. Regardless of race, age, body size and physical ability, style icon status has been conferred on a swathe of individual trailblazers. And now 85-year-old actress Judi Dench has become the magazine's latest cover star, a year after 81-year-old Jane Fonda became the magazine's oldest cover star. "Retirement? Wash your mouth out," Dench has famously said in her interview with the style bible. "I don't like [the idea of ageing] at all. I don't think about it. I don't want to think about it. They say age is an attitude it's horrible." Dench joins a swathe of beautiful women for whom advancing age is part of the overall enthralling package: Helen Mirren (69), Jessica Lange (64) and Charlotte Rampling (68) all signed high-profile cosmetic contracts with L'Oreal, Marc Jacobs and Nars respectively. At 63, Isabella Rossellini regained the Lancome contract that she had lost to a younger model two decades previously. By turns sage and luminous, Judi Dench, photographed by celebrated snapper Nick Night, looks like what every magazine cover model hopes to be: aspirational, uplifting, striking. Beautiful. Expand Close Olivia O'Leary / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Olivia O'Leary The truth is, she doesn't look like most people's idea of a woman in her mid-80s. But these days, being older is an entirely different beast to what it was. Put it this way, Brad Pitt is now 56 - at that age, Charlie Haughey had been Taoiseach for two years. Colm Meaney was 40 when he starred as everyone's favourite dad in The Snapper in 1993, making him the same age as Chris O'Dowd, and just three years older than Michael Fassbender and Cillian Murphy. Likewise, women are staying much younger, in both energy and appearance, for longer. Actress Jean Alexander was 36 when she took on the iconic role of curler-wearing Hilda Ogden in Coronation Street. This makes her a year younger at the time than Khloe Kardashian is now. People seem to be staying younger for longer, and the boomer mindset certainly doesn't like to describe itself as 'old' in the overall scheme of things. This realisation that 70 is the new 50 comes at a particularly interesting time. For the last two months, the over-70s in Ireland, and elsewhere, have been referred to repeatedly in the media as 'vulnerable', and with 'compromised immunity'. Many have been advised by experts to self-isolate and cocoon, and lower their chances of contracting the coronavirus. Expand Close Judi Dench in Vogue / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Judi Dench in Vogue Naturally, there are many Irish people over 70 for whom the Government-led guidelines are not to be argued with. The guidance on cocooning is basedd on cold hard scientific facts: coronavirus is much more dangerous for older people than it is for younger people. And there has been a heartening generosity around this very idea. We've gone from 'Ok, Boomer' to 'Are You Okay, Boomer?'. Evidence abounds that younger people have made measures to call in on their elderly neighbours and offer help and support for those who have been cocooning. It hints at a positive cultural attitude to older people; we see social distancing and self-isolating as a shared responsibility and one to protect a demographic vulnerable to the virus. But just as there are people in the third act of life that have benefited from cocooning measures, there's a significant swathe of the very same demographic who think that cocooning is for people much older than them. Similarly, they are affronted at being lumped into one stereotypical mass of 'older people'. Mention the idea of staying indoors to my own father, aged 70, and you might as well be asking him to take a trip to Mars. He is a robust, energetic and active man - young in spirit if not in years, who still loves to work hard and play harder. Expand Close Helen Mirren (69) (pictured) and Jessica Lange (64) have signed high-profile cosmetics contracts / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Helen Mirren (69) (pictured) and Jessica Lange (64) have signed high-profile cosmetics contracts Intimating that he is in any way fragile or dependent would make him laugh. These cocooning rules don't seem to apply to him. He is about as worried about his compromised immunity as I am about winning the lottery. Which is to say, not a whole lot. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, younger people have been asked to 'persuade' their elders to stay indoors, which is an exercise in futility. Certainly, RTE broadcaster Olivia O'Leary (71) has openly admitted that she is not settling comfortably and willingly into her own cocoon. As a recent New Yorker article notes, the post-war Boomer generation has been criticised - mostly by their adult children - for not initially taking the current coronavirus threat seriously enough because they simply do not see themselves as vulnerable. Part of this, I suspect, is a tendency on the party of many seventysomethings to rail against the stereotyping of older people that still exists today. 'The elderly', as a phrase, often conjures up images of frailty and, more often than not, disenfranchisement. The boomers are the generation that burned bras and invented rock 'n' roll. In Ireland, they blazed a trail when it came to edging towards a more secular Ireland, advocating for divorce and contraception. They were as radical an entity as you could imagine 40 or so years ago, and they're not about to relinquish that reputation any time soon and be lumped together as 'older people'. Expand Close Jessica Lange / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jessica Lange Tony Tracey, a professor in NUI Galway currently investigating a paper on Ageing Masculinities in European Literature in Cinema, says: "I was attuned to a creeping ageism in the first couple of days [of reporting on COVID]. A few things said were a little glib, not least this widespread belief that initially, it was an 'old person's disease'. "It was a line that helped to explain it away. There was this notion of people of a certain age being separate from society. We haven't caught up with age in our society in the same ways we've caught up in gender and sexuality. "One of the things we're doing with Judi is saying 'doesn't she look great for her age?', and by doing that we make those people the exceptions, to distract us from general ageism in our culture." Gerontologists have coined the phase the 'young old', made up of people in the 65-80 age range. After that, they have pinpointed two other factions: the 'old old' (75-84) and 'oldest old' (85+). Of late, boomers have been largely characterised as conservative, right-leaning NIMBYists. It's a generalisation that riles many of them almost as much as the as millennial depiction of avocado-eating snowflakes does the under-35s. We have reached a curious cultural crossroads. Older people are no longer invisible in popular culture. Ageism, which has been quietly pervasive in society for decades, is being roundly challenged. As Judi Dench's Vogue cover shows, they are being given their dues as elder, eminent figures of great influence and worth. While styling Dench for Vogue's cover shoot, "I was very aware that I was in the presence of someone who had experienced some truly incredible things, and lived life to the full," noted Vogue's Contributing Editor Kate Phelan. "Rage, rage against the dying of the light," Dench told her in turn. "Never was a truer word spoken." [May 07, 2020] Citizens Bank Partners with Teslar Software to Better Serve its Communities Teslar Software, a provider of automated workflow and portfolio management tools designed to help community financial institutions thrive, announced today that Citizens Bank selected its platform to enhance efficiencies and better serve its customers. Batesville, Ark.-based Citizens Bank has a reputation for providing exceptional service to its customers; the bank has nearly 20 branches throughout Arkansas and continues to expand its footprint. The bank was seeking ways to improve operations when it was introduced to Teslar based on a peer bank's recommendation. "Our goal was to make banking easier for our customers by streamlining operations; it turns out that Teslar will add many more efficiencies that are critical to our future growth," said Pam Jones, Citizens Bank Executive Vice President - Banking Services and Compliance. "Citizens Bank is owned by local shareholders and governed by a local board of directors, most of whom live, work and invest alongside our customers. Solutions like Teslar provide better ervice and support to these communities and make an impact on Main Street, while helping us to scale." Citizens Bank plans to leverage Teslar's automated workflow and portfolio management tools to streamline commercial lending and improve processes such as exceptions tracking, reporting and scorecards. Teslar integrates with the bank's document management portal, which will reduce paperwork and end many manual, paper-based processes. "Citizens Bank has been recognized nationally and locally as an institution that puts its customers first," said Joe Ehrhardt, CEO and Founder of Teslar. "With Teslar, Citizens Bank will be able to invest in its commitment to its customers by offering a more agile, enjoyable banking experience, while also helping the bank's operations and ability to scale. Teslar can help institutions like Citizens Bank stay relevant and grow." About Teslar Software Teslar provides community financial institutions with automated workflow and portfolio management tools to streamline and improve processes with easy access to relevant information needed to operate. The Teslar platform integrates siloed systems, centralizes data and boosts efficiencies enterprise wide to optimize profits and make customer interactions more meaningful. Please visit www.teslarsoftware.com to learn more. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005048/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] NICOSIA, Cyprus - Cyprus has begun screening 10% of migrants confined at the countrys two migrant reception centres for COVID-19, a government official said on Thursday. Cypriot Interior Ministry senior official Loizos Michael told The Associated Press that health care workers this week began carrying out tests on just over 100 migrants. Michael said that, so far, there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 among migrants who were confined at the centres in line with a strict, countrywide lockdown. The official said the migrants confinement will end in sync with a May 21 lifting on all restrictions on movement if the COVID-19 infection rate remains at the current, minimal level. Cyprus has received some 3,000 asylum-seekers since the start of the year, with most arriving before the lockdown came into effect in late March. The Cypriot government says a spike in migrant arrivals in the past few years has ranked the country among the EU member states with the highest number of asylum applications relative to its population size. Meanwhile, the executive director of the Cyprus-based Thalassaemia International Federation called on Cypriot authorities to work together to identify migrants afflicted with the genetic disorder who could be more at risk if they contract the coronavirus. On the eve of International Thalassaemia Day, Dr. Androulla Eleftherou told the Associated Press that health authorities need to immediately register the hopefully few migrants who have the genetic disorder so that Cyprus successful efforts in containing the coronavirus spread so far are maintained. Cyprus, with a population of around 880,000, to date counts almost 900 confirmed coronavirus cases and 15 deaths as a direct result of virus infection. A quick-thinking police officer is earning praise for his heroic efforts after saving two terrified teens from drowning in a freezing river. In the early evening of April 21, 2020, Officer Luis Salas responded to a call from Etowah River Park in Canton, Georgia, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. Two teens had fallen into the river and were in distress amid fast-running currents. After arriving on the scene, Salas quickly stripped off his belt and vest and dove into the water in a bid to rescue them. I immediately get in the water, Salas regaled in interview footage shared by the Canton Police Department (CPD) on Facebook. I swim my way down until I finally catch up to them. Having previously served with the U.S. Marine Corps., Salas amassed numerous swimming qualifications before moving on to law enforcement. Its always been in cold water, he said, speaking of his swimming experience. Always! Its never been warm. The officer reached the teens, who were clinging onto a tree branch to save themselves from floating farther down the river. Salas described the pair as scared and panicking. Officer Luis Salas recognized for act of heroism (Courtesy of Canton Police Department, GA) I tell them calmly, you know, Hey, Im Officer Salas, the officer explained. Im here to help you. I need yall just to trust me with your lives. Please just trust me and calm down, we can get out of this, all three of us alive and go home. The female teen told Salas that she was a weak swimmer. I told her to calm down, hold on to me, and Ill get us all to safety, Salas recalled. Additional officers arrived on the scene and assisted Salas by throwing a buoy and a throwbag containing 90 feet of rope into the river. Salas and his colleagues were then able to retrieve the teensthe girl first, then the boyand lift them safely onto the riverbank. The buoy briefly became snagged on a branch during the girls rescue, but Salas was able to snap the branch and continue on his way toward the riverbank. When asked whether the water was cold, Salas replied with a laugh. It was freezing, he said. A fire rescue team was staged on the bank to receive the teens, both of whom were given warm blankets to help prevent hypothermia. The female was escorted to nearby Cherokee Hospital and released shortly thereafter, having sustained no serious injuries. Officer Salas completed his Field Officer Training program for the CPD on Nov. 8, 2017. Almost two years later, the officers colleagues lauded him on the occasion of his second year with the department on Aug. 9, 2019. Thank you for all you do for our department and community we engage with daily, the department posted on Facebook, adding, Your mindset, attitude, and heart truly make a difference in our profession and with the citizens we serve. Canton Officer Rescues Teens From River Please help us thank Officer Luis Salas for his heroic action!Incident Information:Where: Etowah River Park (canoe ramp) 600 Brown Industrial Pkwy, Canton, GA 30114When: Tuesday, April 21, 2020, at approximately 6:30 pm. Posted by Canton Police Department, GA on Monday, April 27, 2020 A spokesperson from the CPD made sure to thank Salas, and his team, for their heroic efforts during the April 21, 2020, river rescue in a video posted to Facebook. Numerous members of the public seconded the police departments sentiments in hailing their dedicated officer a hero. Thank you Officer Salas, one netizen wrote. I know youre probably thinking, I was just doing my job, but thank you for being quick to take action and keeping the victims calm. We appreciate you very much. Tuesday you made headlines, saved lives and made a difference, thank you, wrote another. But on the days you and your fellow officers are challenged, they added, remember you change lives, save lives, and make a difference every time you slip on your vest and put [on] the badge, sometimes just with a look and a smile. DALLAS, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A woman who works at Dallas' R+D Kitchen will be allowed to wear a face covering at work, following a ruling by a Dallas County district court. California-based Hillstone, which operates R+D Kitchen and more than 40 other restaurants in 12 states, had forbidden the employee, who goes by "Jane Doe" in court filings, from wearing a face covering on the job and refused to provide her any hours to work unless she agreed to work without one. That's despite recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and an April 23 order backed up by another this month from Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins requiring workers at businesses that re-open to wear face coverings. But Dallas County Judge Tonya Parker granted Ms. Doe's application for a temporary restraining order mandating that Hillstone require or at least permit Ms. Doe to wear a face covering at work, and that the restaurant not retaliate against her. "My client wants nothing more than to protect those around her and Hillstone's own customers from the possibility of contracting COVID-19. And she wants to follow the law," said her attorney Charla Aldous, founding partner of Aldous\Walker in Dallas. Her lawyers argue Hillstone has in effect fired Jane Doe by refusing to give her any hourly work until or unless she follows the company's no face-covering policy. "Hillstone as a company is violating the law and endangering its workers and the public with its misguided policy," said Brent Walker, who also represents Jane Doe. "The question now is, will Hillstone follow the law and require the rest of its employees to use face coverings? If they are not going to follow the law, will they at least do the reasonable thing and allow employees who want to wear face coverings consistent with CDC recommendations to do so? If not, we'll be ready to go to court on their behalf as well." The temporary restraining order will remain in place for 14 days. The case is Jane Doe v. Hillstone Restaurant Group, Inc., Cause No. DC-20-06494 in the 116th Judicial District Court in Dallas County. Following the TRO decision, defendants in the case removed it to federal court. The Aldous\Walker LLP law firm represents clients in civil litigation, personal injury, medical malpractice, products liability and wrongful death cases. Learn more about the firm at http://www.aldouslaw.com . Media Contact: Mark Annick 800-559-4534 [email protected] SOURCE Aldous\Walker LLP Related Links http://www.aldouslaw.com Northern Ireland is set to announce a phased lifting of its Covid-19 restrictions today. The Stormont Assembly has held several meetings this week to discuss a gradual removal of the measures. Northern Ireland Finance Minister Conor Murphy says another meeting will be held today before an announcement is made. He says: "People have been adhering to severe restrictions on their normal lives and social distancing for a number of months now. "Those measures aren't easy for any of us and we understand that people need hope for the future. "So it's right at this time that we are preparing for recovery and planning for a phased relaxation for some of those measures. "The Executive is working intensely on this plan." Yesterday a further 14 coronavirus deaths were reported in Northern Ireland. This brings total fatalities to 418, the Northern Ireland Department of Health said, with three deaths occurring in the last 24 hours. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orezone Gold Corporation (TSX.V: ORE, OTCQX: ORZCF) (Orezone or the Company) announces that its senior management team and Board have voluntarily agreed to a 20% reduction in salaries and fees during the current COVID-19 situation. Senior staff and employees in Burkina Faso have also taken wage reductions during this same period and other non-essential expenditures have been reduced or eliminated. Patrick Downey, President & CEO stated, I am pleased that the Orezone team, including our workforce in Burkina Faso, have agreed to these pay reductions during this challenging period, demonstrating the commitment of our employees and Board to the overall success of the Company and the Bombore project. As significant shareholders, Orezone management is consistently focused on the efficient use of capital. Although the Company maintains a strong cash position, these measures will maximize the use of our funds towards the development of Bombore while minimizing general and administrative costs during this temporary care and maintenance phase. Orezone is in a solid financial position to manage current activities and to rapidly resume project works in the future. As previously announced, Orezone has temporarily suspended operations at its Bombore Gold Project in Burkina Faso and all facilities are under care and maintenance. During this period, the Orezone team are investigating key areas for project optimization and are preparing detailed plans for re-start of construction once the COVID-19 restrictions are eased. Orezone has implemented strict safety, environmental and community relations safeguards at the Bombore project to ensure operational readiness when the Burkina Faso government restrictions are lifted. Orezone will continue dialogue with its staff, host communities, contractors, and suppliers to ensure the safe restart of construction activities at Bombore. Orezones compensation committee has also granted stock options for a total of 5,167,000 common shares of the Company to directors, officers, and employees of the Company. These stock options are exercisable at C$0.54 per common share and will expire on May 5, 2025. Following this grant of stock options, the Company has a total of 21,543,838 stock options outstanding, representing approximately 8.6% of the 251,147,806 common shares currently issued and outstanding. Orezone Gold Corporation Orezone Gold Corporation is a Canadian development company which owns a 90% interest in Bombore, one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in Burkina Faso. Bombore hosts a large oxide resource underlain by a larger, open sulphide resource, and will be developed in two stages. Patrick Downey President and Chief Executive Officer Vanessa Pickering Manager, Investor Relations Tel: 1 778 945 8977 / Toll Free: 1 888 673 0663 info@orezone.com /www.orezone.com For further information please contact Orezone at +1 (778) 945-8977 or visit the Companys website at www.orezone.com . Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain information that may constitute forward-looking information under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information in this press release relates to statements with respect to the voluntary salary reduction and the Companys ability to manage the current business environment. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including the risks inherent to the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the risks identified in Orezones annual information form under the heading Risk Factors. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. All forward-looking information contained in this press release is given as of the date hereof and is based upon the opinions and estimates of management and information available to management as at the date hereof. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. The Government faced growing fury over its handling of coronavirus tonight as it was revealed ministers were warned three years ago that its preparations for a pandemic were 'insufficient'. Experts warned in 2017 that demand for services would outstrip capacity and outlined the problems facing care homes in the face of a highly contagious disease outbreak. The analysis, based on a 2016 simulation of a flu pandemic, codenamed Exercise Cygnus, identified a 'lack of joint tactical-level plans' for a public health emergency. The 57-page Public Health England report, leaked to The Guardian, also identified concerns about the expectation that the social care system would be able to provide the level of support needed in the event of a serious outbreak. It noted potential problems in providing 'the level of support needed if the NHS implemented its proposed reverse triage plans, which would entail the movement of patients from hospitals into social care facilities'. UK authorities today announced a further 464 coronavirus victims, taking the official death toll to 30,540. Britain now has the second highest COVID-19 death toll in the world behind only the US, which has recorded 75,000 fatalities. Liz Kendall, the shadow social care minister, said Exercise Cygnus 'provided clear warnings' about a lack of preparedness for a pandemic, particularly in social care. The analysis, based on a 2016 simulation of a flu pandemic, codenamed Exercise Cygnus, identified a 'lack of joint tactical-level plans' for a public health emergency Liz Kendall, the shadow social care minister, said Exercise Cygnus 'provided clear warnings' about a lack of preparedness for a pandemic, particularly in social care. She said: 'These warnings have now proved all too sadly true as the unfolding tragedy in our care homes shows. 'Care providers confirm they were not involved in subsequent discussions on how to put these problems right. 'Ministers must be clear about why they failed to act on the report's recommendations and what they will now do to fully protect and resource these vital services in future.' Ministers have acknowledged the presence of the Cygnus report throughout the coronavirus pandemic, with Health Secretary Matt Hancock telling reporters last month that 'everything that was appropriate to do was done'. The exercise, which lasted less than a week, involved participants responding to a dummy pandemic scenario in real time, engaging with the press and communicating messages to the public. The Cygnus drill document found the possible impacts of a pandemic were not universally understood across Whitehall. It said: 'The UK's preparedness and response, in terms of its plans, policies and capability, is currently not sufficient to cope with the extreme demands of a severe pandemic that will have a nationwide impact across all sectors.' The document analysing the efficacy of the simulation identified four key lessons, including to be more prepared for a pandemic by better understanding of how the public would react to a worst-case scenario health crisis. It also stated the Government was 'lacking' the capability and capacity to surge resources into key areas were a pandemic to be declared. A further 22 recommendations included: The Department of Health working with others to develop a strategy for using antivirals in a pandemic Better planning among all state organisations to cope with potential staff absences Developing communication plans to inform the public during a health crisis The Department for Education carrying out a study into the impact of school closures on society Exploring the role of the military in such circumstances Seeing if social care provision, both in terms of staffing and capacity, could be expanded in a 'worst-case scenario pandemic' Government departments working together consider how they would cope with excess deaths The report said 957 representatives representing national, regional and local level officials took part in the exercise drill, including people from all developed administrations, and representatives from NHS regions, Public Health England, and police and local authority personnel from across the country. Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, the largest representative body for independent providers of adult social care, said: 'From what we understand this document set out a range of questions and actions that if they had been followed may have left us in a much better position to navigate the current health emergency. 'It would be really helpful if this document was put into the public domain as many of the key messages may still be helpful in today's pandemic.' The Harrison County Fair, in Cadiz, Ohio, will only include market animals, and will only be three days long this fair season in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the states recent extension of the stay-at-home order. This fair will include only market animal shows and a market animal sale, the fair announced May 6, in a Facebook post. The same day, Howard Call, executive director, presented the Ohio Fair Managers Associations suggestions to help fairs prepare for the 2020 season to the Ohio Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. OFMA is hoping that fairs will be able to proceed with no restrictions on total attendance this summer, Call said, though Ohios orders on limiting mass gatherings are currently extended through the end of May. Call laid out a number of recommendations from the group, including adding more wash stations, keeping restrooms and offices clean and improving social distancing. In his testimony, Call confirmed rumors that the Ohio Department of Agriculture has laid off ride inspectors in its division of Amusement Ride Safety and Fairs, in response to budget constraints and amusement park closures. The ODA said it plans to bring ride inspectors back to work once they are needed again. In the mean time, the pandemic is already affecting decisions on the 2020 fair season for some. Harrison County The Harrison County Fair, originally scheduled for June 22-27, will have market shows June 23-25, and a sale June 26. The shows will not be open to the public, and only youth showing market animals and their immediate families will be permitted on the fairgrounds. The sale will only be open to buyers. There will be no beef feeder calves, breeding animals or showmanship classes, and there will be no camping available. The market livestock project purpose is to provide product for the food chain, the post stated. The fair is encouraging all who attend to wear facemasks, practice social distancing and wash their hands. In the future, once it is safe to meet in large groups, the board said it is planning to hold a show for dairy and breeding goat participants and for horse project participants. The board is also planning to hold a family fun day for junior and senior fair members. The board noted that because things are constantly changing, its new plans could still be forced to change. State and local authorities can decide that we must not move forward with these plans, the post read. But for now, the board sees this as its only option, calling it an emotional decision. We have exhausted every effort to find ways to implement the safety and health considerations into the plan of activities that are a part of our standard county fair, the post reads. The obstacles presented were too great and led us to this alternative option. Junior fairs The first fair to officially cancel was the Marion County Fair, which was scheduled for June 29 through July 4. Call referred to the cancellation as a tragic loss. Although it appears that our decision was premature, I can guarantee you that it is not, Keith Seckel, Marion County Fair Board president, said in a May 6 Facebook update. We, the fair board, believed a decision needed to be made now, as opposed to waiting until the last minute, in order to avoid logistical issues for vendors, amusement operators and fairgoers. Marion County, however, still plans to hold single-day junior fair shows this year. Their shows will be in mid July. The Paulding County Fair, in Defiance, Ohio, also scheduled for June, announced in April that it planned to only hold a junior fair this year. OFMA suggested that fairs hold junior fair shows in outdoor rings when possible, break large classes into groups and avoid having youth gather or line up before classes. Call noted that fairs should find ways to accommodate youth who are at a higher risk. For sales, OFMA said fairs can offer online bidding along with a live auction to cut down on the crowd size, have only youth and no animals in the ring to speed up the sale and encourage early registration. Other fairs The Canfield Fair, which is set for Sept. 2-7, is still planning to go ahead as scheduled. In a letter to friends of the fair, Ward Campbell, fair president, said the board will continue adapt and plan for different situations as needed. The fair recently held a survey to ask people about their plans to attend or not attend the 2020 Canfield Fair. About 86% of the nearly 5,000 respondents said they attended the fair last year. About 73% said they planned to attend this year. About 80% of those who planned not to attend said it was due to COVID-19 safety concerns. The Putnam County Fair, which is scheduled for June this year, said it was waiting until its June 2 meeting to make any decisions about canceling. In its board meeting May 6, the Columbiana County Fair Board established a committee to begin considering options if social distancing requirements are still in place. The Columbiana County Fair is scheduled for Aug. 3-9. Other suggestions OFMAs suggestions for improving social distancing include setting up one-way aisles through exhibition buildings and barns, removing seating and common areas in exhibition buildings, barns and camp grounds, spacing food trucks, concession stands and tables and benches in picnic areas further apart and maintaining a six-foot distance for ticket sellers and exhibitors. For grandstand events, the group suggests requiring masks and reducing seating by 30% for June and July fairs and by 20% for August, September and October fairs. Call said fairs can also promote advance sale tickets for grandstand events and for admission, and have ticket sellers wear masks and gloves. The group, however, encouraged fairs not to restrict seating for acts that require bleacher seating or that provide multiple, short shows per day. OFMA also suggested that fairs either eliminate special attraction days that draw at-risk people, like senior day, or offer a discounted rate and shortened hours for those at a higher risk. Call said OFMA is suggesting cutting down the number of rides by 20% and shutting down rides regularly for cleaning. Right now, however, the ODA says, the amusement ride industry is shut down, due to limits on mass gatherings. This means that ride inspectors dont have any inspections to do, and are not collecting inspection fees, which are the main revenue source for the Amusement Ride Safety division. In addition to the strain from the pandemic, the ODA said it was already operating under a tight budget. When events and places with rides are once again operational, we will have inspectors in place to inspect them prior to opening, ODA director Dorothy Pelanda said in a statement. Call noted that rides and games cannot operate without being inspected under Ohio law. Deputy Head of the Delegation of Ukraine to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) Oleksiy Reznikov has reaffirmed Ukraine's position on the procedure of building peace and holding elections in the territory of Donbas: first Russia should transfer control over the Ukrainian-Russia border and only after that it will be possible to deal with political issues. "It is impossible to hold elections at the point of a gun. Safety goes first, control over the border has to be returned to the Ukrainian government, possibly with the help of some international institutions, but any way it has to be as follows: control, safety and only then local elections," he said during a meeting of Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and members of Ukraine's delegation to the TCG with the media on Thursday. Reznikov also said that the new composition of the country's delegation to the TCG is balanced now as it includes parliamentarians and government officials. He said this will help to strengthen Ukraine's positions, while the presence of representatives of various agencies in the delegation will help to make its work transparent. Yermak said that the decision to create such a delegation was caused by the lack of progress in the negotiation process and the willingness of Ukraine to intensify the work of the TCG. He also said that the official sides of the negotiation progress did not change. "I would like to recall that three sides are represented in the Trilateral Contact Group today. To avoid any arguments, they did not change these are Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE. There are no other representatives in the TCG," he said. Yermak also noted that Ukraine's partners in the Normandy Format (France, Germany, Russia) and the OSCE were informed about the decision to form such a delegation and it has been confirmed by respective decree of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He also said that TCG continues working in four working groups on security, political, humanitarian and economic issues. He emphasized that Ukraine has serious intensions and it wants to move forward in the peace building process. War of words: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said the captured US troops were plotting an assassination. Photo: Getty An apparent attempt to invade Venezuela involving several Americans remains shrouded in confusion as the two countries traded accusations but offered little new information about the mysterious mission. Venezuela's foreign minister said two Americans, both former US Special Operations soldiers, were "confessing without any reservations" after being arrested by security forces during the aborted invasion. He did not describe what the men told authorities about the operation, which President Nicolas Maduro described as an assassination plot. US President Donald Trump denied any US involvement in the incident, saying: "It has nothing to do with our government." The State Department said it could not comment on the reported arrests, citing privacy considerations, but added that "there is a major disinformation campaign under way by the Maduro regime, making it difficult to separate facts from propaganda". The two men were captured, along with six others, on Monday when the small boat they were travelling in attempted to land along Venezuela's coastline, only to be met by Venezuelan military and police forces. On Sunday, eight others, apparently Venezuelans, were killed and two were captured in a separate landing attempt, according to Venezuelan reports. The incident added to more than a year of growing tensions as the Trump administration, accusing Mr Maduro of human rights abuses, corruption and drug-trafficking, has tried to force him from office with economic sanctions and criminal indictments. A US Army spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Emmanuel Ortiz, said service records confirm that the two captured Americans, Airan Berry and Luke Denman, are Special Forces veterans, as is Jordan Goudreau, the head of a Florida security services company who first announced the operation in a video on Sunday. Mr Goudreau, in an interview with the 'Washington Post', said Mr Berry and Mr Denman were "supervisors" of a force he said numbered about 60 Venezuelans. Most, if not all of them, were believed to be military and police defectors living in camps in Colombia, near the Venezuelan border. Juan Guaido, the Venezuelan legislator and opposition leader recognised as "interim president" by the US and more than 50 other countries, lashed out at Mr Maduro for staging what he called a "massacre". "They knew about this and were waiting to massacre them," Mr Guaido said in a virtual session of the opposition-controlled National Assembly. "Nicolas Maduro, you are responsible. The regime knew about that operation, you infiltrated it and waited to massacre them." The CIA declined to comment. The State Department statement, which described the unfolding situation as a "melodrama", said officials would be "looking closely into the role of the Maduro regime... and especially of the very large Cuban intelligence apparatus in Venezuela". ( Washington Post) Hamed Tarhib, a distributor of camel products in Iran, says he sells camel urine to Iraqi travelers for $ 50 a liter. Tarahib has also exported 370 liters (approximately 97.7 US gallons) of camel urine in eight months. He has also applied for an export license but says officials at agriculture ministry have laughed at his request. However, Tarhib has managed to register camel urine as an officially accepted product in the country's customs lists. Meanwhile, the president of the Iranian Camel Association, Saeed Zibaei, told Ensaf News that camel urine is also used locally, but it needs a scientific approach to become popular. Some people in the Middle east believe camel urine can cure certain diseases, especially respiratory illnesses. Recently, an Iranian man calling himself an Islamic prophetic medicine healer was arrested for prescribing camel urine to prevent and cure COVID-19. In a video widely shared on social media, Mehdi Sabili who is also the chairman of prophetic medicine society treats himself to camel urine and says it must be taken "fresh and warm". Iranian camel breeders are deeply unhappy about Sabili's move to promote camel urine and accuse him of demagogic behavior. Sabili and his followers believe in healing properties of camel urine and support their belief by referring to a hadith (sayings attributed to Prophet Mohammad) that recommends camel's urine as a beverage teemed with benefits. "We work nationwide," Tarhib says, adding, "The main places for breeding camels in Iran are Semnan and North Khorasan provinces, and we have about 4,000 camels." Meanwhile, camel breeders are struggling with a series of problems, Tarhib laments, noting, that there is a demand for camel milk, but it must be sold quickly before it changes to a yogurt-type of liquid. The industry is not ready yet to market the milk nationwide. Nonetheless, Arabs are still the main buyers of the Iranian camel urine. Arabs leaving Iran through the western border of Kermanshah, usually take camel urine with them in five-liter and ten-liter containers. Tarhib believes that through exporting camel products, it is possible to earn up to $2 million per year. In the meantime, camel meat is more popular in Qatar and Kuwait because the people living there believe it is good for them. There is no magic bullet to treat coronavirus and several drugs will probably be needed to tackle the virus, experts have said. They said repurposing existing medicines is a faster alternative to developing and manufacturing new vaccines. A team of researchers representing the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology caution that an effective and scalable vaccine is likely to take more than a year before it can be used to tackle the global pandemic. Dr Steve Alexander from the University of Nottingham in England said: While were waiting for a vaccine, drugs currently being used to treat other illnesses can be investigated as treatments for Covid-19 in other words repurposed. Theres unlikely to be a single magic bullet we will probably need several drugs in our armoury, some that will need to be used in combination with others. (PA Graphics) The review, published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, looks at potential therapeutic drug targets the chinks in the viruss armour or weak spots in the bodys defences. Two key targets appear to be proteins on the surface of our cells, to which Sars-CoV-2 binds allowing it entry ACE2 and TMPRSS2. TMPRSS2 appears to be common on cells, whereas ACE2 is usually present at low levels that increase depending on sex, age and smoking history. Professor Anthony Davenport from England's University of Cambridge said: As we know these two proteins play a role in this coronavirus infection, we can focus on repurposing drugs that already have regulatory approval or are in the late stages of clinical trials. These treatments will have already been shown to be safe and so, if they can now be shown to be effective in Covid-19, they could be brought to clinical use relatively quickly. He added that any drug would need to focus on the three key stages of infection preventing the virus entering human cells, stopping it replicating if it gets inside the cells, and reducing damage to tissue. The team said existing drugs that are effective in clinical trials need to be rapidly identified so patients can be treated as soon as possible. It said this needs to be done quickly also because cases are likely to fall during the summer, meaning there will be fewer people who can be recruited to clinical trials. One existing drug being considered is remdesivir originally developed for Ebola. Clinical trials in America have suggested the drug may be beneficial for patients admitted to hospital with Covid-19, and the US Food and Drug Administration has approved it for emergency use. The experts added that patience was needed in the wait for an effective vaccine. Dr Alexander said: Although there are a lot of vaccines being developed around the world, which we hope will be successful, its still going to take a long time before those vaccines are shown to be effective and can be manufactured at the scale needed to make an impact. Lucknow: In a stern message to party workers, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav today asked them to stop "grabbing lands" or indulging in other such deeds ahead of 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. He asked his colleagues to pull up their socks for the elections. "Will you (party workers) be able to form government again? Remove your flaws. There are many shortcomings. Will you be able to work on them? Will you stop grabbing lands? There are many places where land grabbing is on. If you have to earn money, do any other business. In politics you have to sacrific things," he said without mincing words. Yadav delivered the tough talk at a gathering of party workers on the occasion of 84th birth anniversary of SP leader late Jnaneshwar Mishra.Referring to youth workers in the party, Mulayam said the new breed of party workers did not know the foundation of 'samajwad' (socialism)."I have asked (chief minister) Akhilesh Yadav a number of times about training of youth workers but no heed was paid to it," he said, adding, "Politics is the most difficult work and training of youths is a must for that." Akhilesh, who has been publicly chided by his father in the past too, was present on the occasion. Mulayam said, "The elections are near. In Delhi, only this election is being discussed. The Opposition is not leaving any stone unturned to form the next government. Two parties are trying to orchestrate riots in the state." He stressed the need for giving special emphasis on youths and farmers and said women should also be included in the party working."There are women chief ministers in four states and they are doing good work. You (Akhilesh) should also involve women in party and give them a chance," he said. "The government should implement its manifesto and if there is any problem, it should tell him," he said. Akhilesh also addressed the gathering and highlighted the works done by his government, claiming that promises made in 2012 SP manifesto have been met. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. [May 07, 2020] Visa's Fast Track Program Propels Growth of the Fintech Industry Worldwide Fintechs are a central part of the global payments ecosystem, and amidst COVID-19 have launched further into the spotlight, reporting sizable upticks in the usage of their apps1, as more people manage their money from their personal devices. Visa (NYSE: V), today, is proud to announce its continued support of the global Fintech community, having grown the Fast Track program to over 140 Fintechs2. Since expanding globally in mid-2019, the Fast Track program has grown 280%3, highlighting the surge in demand for digital payments worldwide. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005309/en/ Fast Track allows both new and established businesses to leverage the speed, security, reliability and scale of the Visa network to get up and running quickly, taking the process from months to weeks. The program provides turnkey access to Visa's ecosystem partners, online licensing, APIs, as well as extensive go-to-market toolkits, online education and expert advice to help Fintechs scale their business. With new members from Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North America, these Fintechs are transforming how consumers and businesses manage money, invest, receive loans and send payments worldwide. "Our goal is to bring cutting-edge Fintechs into the Visa ecosystem, to help them grow and scale their business in record time," said Terry Angelos, senior vice president and global head of Fintech, Visa. "Through programs like Fast Track, Visa is committed to helping Fintechs, many of which are small businesses, advance their potential and get into market quickly, so they are ready to provide innovations that move the world forward everyday - especially in current times." Fast Track Fintechs Focus on Recovery Visa partners including Airwallex, Fundation and Rappi have used their ongoing focus on innovation and growth to be nimble in their reactions to COVID-19. Australia-founded Airwallex has extended support to Australia and UK-based small businesses in need by offering to waive their international transactions fees and U.S.-based Fundation is helping small businesses quickly get the capital they need during these times. Rappi out of Colombia has begun piloting food delivery by robots, working to minimize the spread of the virus. In these videos, Airwallex and Rappi both talk about their experiences in working with Visa. "During these challenging times, it's more important than ever that we are able to support small businesses by getting them the funds they need as quickly as possible to stay afloat," said Sam Graziano, chief executive officer, Fundation. "Through our partnership with Visa, we will continue to innovate and develop strategies to aid in the relief and recovery of our customers' businesses." Visa Welcomes a New Class of Innovators The newest members of the Fast Track program span a diverse range of companies, including female-founded Fintechs, digital currency wallets, consumer-centric and business-to-business (B2B) solutions providers. Highlights include: New Enablement Partners: Fast Track is mde possible due to collaboration with enablement partners who are the critical technology companies that lay the foundation for Fintechs to build their products. Announced today, three new program manager enablement partners - Cascade FinTech, Deserve and PEX - are becoming part of Fast Track in the U.S., joining a class of leading companies like Galileo, Marqeta and Stripe, bringing the total number of enablement partners to more than 20 globally. Fast Track is mde possible due to collaboration with enablement partners who are the critical technology companies that lay the foundation for Fintechs to build their products. Announced today, three new program manager enablement partners - Cascade FinTech, Deserve and PEX - are becoming part of Fast Track in the U.S., joining a class of leading companies like Galileo, Marqeta and Stripe, bringing the total number of enablement partners to more than 20 globally. Female Founders: Visa is committed to the advancement of women's economic growth. Visa's investment in women-owned businesses is further emphasized by the inclusion of global female-founded Fintechs, Australia-founded Airwallex, and North America-based gogo Getter and Kikoff. Visa is committed to the advancement of women's economic growth. Visa's investment in women-owned businesses is further emphasized by the inclusion of global female-founded Fintechs, Australia-founded Airwallex, and North America-based gogo Getter and Kikoff. Digital Currency Wallets: Digital currency enabled wallets have grown exponentially, with over 139 million user accounts in existence today 4 . In support of this burgeoning market, digital currency-focused Fast Track companies including Fold, Genesis Block and TrustToken are connecting their consumers to Visa's 61 million merchant locations worldwide. Digital currency enabled wallets have grown exponentially, with over 139 million user accounts in existence today . In support of this burgeoning market, digital currency-focused Fast Track companies including Fold, Genesis Block and TrustToken are connecting their consumers to Visa's 61 million merchant locations worldwide. Consumer Finance Management: Across platforms, Visa aims to make the everyday management of money easier for consumers. Fast Track companies including Europe-based Lydia and Swile, Paga in Africa, SoLo Funds in the U.S., and United Arab Emirates-based Wally are among those simplifying money management and driving Fintech app adoption in their communities. Across platforms, Visa aims to make the everyday management of money easier for consumers. Fast Track companies including Europe-based Lydia and Swile, Paga in Africa, SoLo Funds in the U.S., and United Arab Emirates-based Wally are among those simplifying money management and driving Fintech app adoption in their communities. Small Business Support: Visa continues to transform the B2B payments space for the digital age. UK-based digital lender Capital on Tap, which provides credit cards and loans to over 60,000 SMBs, and U.S.-based Fundation, which provides an application processing platform for banks and small business lenders, are part of the program. Konfio, a Mexico-based startup that uses a data-first approach to enable fast credit assessment for SMBs, and Neat, a Hong Kong Fintech startup enabling SMEs to grow their business globally, are also standout members creating new B2B innovations from across the globe. "After recently joining Visa's Fast Track program, we were able to quickly put our co-branded debit card into market in the United States," said Will Reeves, chief executive officer, Fold. "By working with Visa, we are delivering on our mission to provide an easy way for shoppers to earn rewards in bitcoin for their everyday spending, and help our business continue to scale with the backing of Visa's vast network and resources." For more information on Visa's Fast Track program and how to join, visit here. About Visa Inc. Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world's leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company's relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of digital commerce on any device for everyone, everywhere.?As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit?About Visa, visa.com/blog and @VisaNews. 1 DeVere Group: Coronavirus lockdown: Massive surge in the use of fintech apps, March 2020 2 Visa Fast Track Global Data, May 2020 3 Visa Fast Track Global Data, May 2020 4 Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance 2019 Global Cryptoasset benchmarking study View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005309/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday said the Trump administration knows enough to be confident that the deadly coronavirus emerged from a laboratory in China's Wuhan. "I cannot say much about the intelligence we have collected with respect to this. But we know enough now to be confident of this," he said in an interview to Fox Pompeo said he has seen evidence that this likely came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. "Happy to see other evidence that disproves that. We should get to the bottom of it. That is why we have been asking for months now to give Westerners access to this information," he added. More than 70,000 Americans have died due to coronavirus and over 12 lakh tested positive for COVID-19. "What has taken place here did not have to be. We know this virus came from Wuhan, China. We know that the Chinese knew about this at least by December and did not act fast enough, that the World Health Organization, at the behest of the Chinese, failed to declare this a pandemic in a timely fashion," Pompeo alleged. "These are the kind of things that caused this problem. And I must say, even today, as I sit here, as we do this interview, we still do not have the information we need. We still continue to implore the Chinese government to turn over the samples to allow Westerners in to look at these labs," he said. "We still need information not only to work on this particular crisis, but to do everything we can to take down the risk that something like this could happen again," Pompeo said. The international community, he said, saw what China did to the American journalist that they kicked out. "We saw what they did to some of the doctors who early on raised the flag and said, hey, we have got a problem. We saw that they just wandered off not to be seen again," he said. "We have seen this kind of behaviour. This kind of activity, it is what authoritarian regimes just like the Chinese Communist Party do. They hide, they dissemble, they then propagate disinformation propaganda that we saw when they tried to pin it on the United States. It seems like forever ago, but just a few weeks back," the top American diplomat said. "Those are the kind of things that regimes like this do. It is why democracies flourish and authoritarian regimes treat their own people -- there were thousands of lives lost in China too -- treat their own people with such little regard for life," he said. On the World Health Organization (WHO), Pompeo said they are trying to evaluate what is the best path forward. "Allowing the WHO to fail again is unacceptable. To put hundreds of millions of American dollars to the WHO if it is not going to deliver on the outcomes is unacceptable," he said. The United States, he said, is determined to find a good way so that they can be the leader in global health policy and that has saved lives all across the world. "It saved American lives when we do it well and President Trump has demanded that we do that in this situation as well," Pompeo said. "The WHO simply did not accomplish what its intended mission was and as the president says about organisations that are multilateral in nature, if they work, fine, if they do not, we are simply not going to be a part of it," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An electric motor for fully electric vehicles, which is adapted to the installation space. (Photo: Schaeffler) Against the backdrop of climate change and energy transition, partly and fully electric vehicles are gaining popularity. In Germany, the number of new vehicle registrations in 2019 increased to more than 63,000, which means that it has tripled since 2015 (source: Statista). Future economically efficient production of electric motors of variable technologies and numbers is the goal of the AgiloDrive project of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Within this project, researchers and industry partners develop novel product kits and production technologies for direct transfer to industry. The Baden-Wurttemberg State Ministry of Economics, Labor, and Housing funds the pilot phase of the project with about EUR 1 million. Today, electric motors mostly are produced in small numbers or with low productivity at partly automated workshops, where some processes are carried out manually, or on highly specialized but very inflexible transfer lines. Often, expert teams design and optimize certain steps of industrial development processes of electric motors, with hardly any transfer taking place to other areas. The AgiloDrive research project is aimed at developing a novel, agile production system based on modular product- and production-specific technologies. In this way, we will enable future flexible, but still economically efficient production of various models and numbers of electric motors based on various technologies. This will allow cost-reducing scaling effects to be used for various product series and manufacturing technologies, says Professor Jurgen Fleischer, Head of the wbk Institute of Production Science of KIT. AgiloDrive is a cross-institute project of the KIT Mobility Systems Center. The project is managed by wbk, project partners are the Institute of Product Engineering and the Institute of Electrical Engineering of KIT. Industry partners are Schaeffler Automotive Buehl GmbH Co. KG, Gehring Technologies GmbH. The Baden-Wurttemberg State Agency for Electric Mobility (e-mobil BW GmbH) is an associated partner. All partners will pool their know-how along the complete development process and supply and process chains. The Baden-Wurttemberg Ministry of Economics, Labor, and Housing funds the pilot phase of the AgiloDrive research project with about EUR 1 million. Produced with the help of a new manufacturing technology: Prototype stator with a compact flat wire winding. (Photo: Gehring) Agile Production System Is the Core of the Project An agile production system based on an integrated product development process will be decisive for the economic success of our flexible approach, Fleischer explains. The system is capable of change and characterized by modular manufacturing elements, standardized interfaces, and scaling concepts. In this way, it can flexibly respond to changing market and technology requirements. This reduces the entrepreneurial risk, as investments can be adapted dynamically to the actual demand thanks to the modular structure and costs can be reduced over various product series and manufacturing technologies. This will enable economically efficient integration of electric mobility in the energy and mobility transition in spite of volatile markets, says Professor Thomas Hirth, KIT Vice-President for Innovation and International Affairs. The AgiloDrive project team works on three parallel partial projects: An integrated product kit based on modular and robust structures and flexible development and design methods. The second partial project covers the necessary structures and technologies of the flexible systems. The third partial project is aimed at commercializing the production system using agile project management methods, such that findings of the research project can be transferred to the industrial scale. In addition, partial solutions as well as the complete system for the agile product development and production process will be validated technically and economically. "Investments in production facilities must be economically efficient. For this purpose, a high utilization rate must be ensured in the long term, even if the volumes demanded by the customers for individual applications will remain volatile, says Thomas Pfund, President of the E-Systems Business Unit of Schaeffler Automotive. The results of the AgiloDrive project will be made available to industry. In this way, solution approaches will be transferred quickly to application in self-funded projects. This agile production system will particularly enable medium-sized machine and plant engineers as well as suppliers to successfully manage the transformation process towards electric mobility and to participate in the new markets, says Dr. Sebastian Schoning, CEO of Gehring Technologies. This project contributes to securing Germany and in particular in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg that is highly affected by the transformation process as a location of automotive and plant engineering, he adds. More about the KIT Mobility Systems Center http://www.kit.edu/research/6720.php Being The Research University in the Helmholtz Association, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 9,600 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 23,300 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence. Betsy DeVos, the secretary of education, is an especial hate figure for progressives, who are absolutely howling over changes in federal regulations covering how colleges and universities handle sexual-assault and sexual-harassment cases. The changes coming might seem radical if you were living in, say, pre-Magna Carta serfdom or under the jurisdiction of a particularly officious agent of the Spanish Inquisition. For 21st-century Americans, the right to question witnesses and accusers and to have an opportunity to evaluate the evidence presented against you should be the most obvious and unobjectionable thing in the world, but it isnt not on college campuses. And so thanks are due to Betsy DeVos. Joe Biden has, of course, promised to reverse course immediately if elected president. We would think that Joe Biden, of all people, would appreciate the need for the full and fair investigation of such matters, given that his presidential aspirations are tangled up with an allegation from a former aide that he forcibly sexually assaulted her. Biden is determined that he will enjoy a full hearing in the matter and a chance to defend himself from allegations that, if the former vice president is to be believed, are not true. A sophomore at Oberlin deserves as much. And so DeVos is pushing in the right direction. But there is the deeper question of why campus proceedings are appropriate at all to handle matters of sexual assault, which is a serious crime and the business of police and prosecutors, not the business of deans of students who have no particular competency in prosecuting felonies or misdemeanors. If a college wants to maintain a policy of expelling students convicted of certain crimes (or policing lower-stakes violations of campus policies), then that is entirely reasonable. But seeing to that conviction is the business of the criminal-justice system, not the higher-education system. Sexual assault is not a matter of the campus honor code it is a question of serious criminal misconduct. Story continues Where police departments and prosecutors are negligent or incompetent, as they sometimes show themselves to be in these matters, then that is an occasion for reforming the police departments and prosecutors offices not for handing over law-enforcement duties to professors and college administrators. Of course, victims of sexual assault may be uncomfortable talking to police and may find the prospect of doing so traumatic; universities can support these students with counseling and mental-health services, but colleges cannot substitute themselves for the criminal-justice system. Taking the police out of the equation invites abuse, from Lena Dunhams hoax claim of having been raped by a College Republican at Oberlin to the Duke lacrosse case to Rolling Stones fictitious account of a rape at the University of Virginia. Rape hoaxes are a particularly odious instance of an all-too-common phenomenon of our times, the Jussie Smollettstyle hate-crime hoax. The power of such claims makes them irresistible to political partisans and others in need of handy weapons for character assassination, as in the case of Brett Kavanaugh. We should do all that we can to support the victims of sexual assault. And we are not doing the victims of crimes any favors by steering them away from treating these crimes like crimes and going to the police with them. More from National Review Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater Countys first COVID-19 admission was recorded Thursday according to a news release from the hospital. The patient was described as a woman in her 50s from Rock Springs. She was notified April 29 and was admitted to the hospital April 30. The woman was later discharged from the hospital Sunday with an improved condition. Sweetwater County Public Health started contact tracing immediately, contacting all of the womans close contacts. Kim Lionberger, Sweetwater County public health director, also said people not feeling well should either seek medical car... The nation is not prepared for communal disharmony during the ongoing coronavirus crisis, a Delhi court said while directing the police to lodge an FIR against two women who allegedly made communally sensitive remarks and violated lockdown rules in central Delhi's Lal Kuan area. The court's order came on an application filed by a local Waiz Islam who alleged that on April 16, in the Rogran locality of Lal Kuan, two unknown women attempted to disrupt harmony by imputing communally sensitive remarks. They were carrying rods and roaming in the locality freely in complete disregard of the lockdown, he alleged and claimed that he reported the incident to the police, but no action has been taken till date. Metropolitan Magistrate Rishabh Kapoor directed the Station House Officer of Police Station Hauz Qazito register the FIR for offences under sections188(disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant),153A(promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language),295A(malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings) IPC and conduct the investigation of the case accordingly. The area of occurrence is a sensitive area which has already witnessed communal tension on previous occasion. Therefore, if the incidents like the one in question are not taken to law, it will lead to communal disharmony and disturbance in public peace and tranquillity, for which the nation is not prepared in the present time of on-going COVID crisis. It further said that once a commission of cognisable offence is disclosed to the police, it is duty bound to register the case. Islam claimed in the application that the ladies allegedly caused public annoyance by smashing the doors of residences and shops in the vicinity and the alleged incident was captured on camera and uploaded on YouTube. He further claimed that the area was a sensitive area as it has already witnessed a communal dispute regarding some parking issue. The matter was reported to the SHO, Hauz Qazi Police Station on the same day but no FIR was registered, he claimed. Following this, Islam said he informed the SHO on WhatsApp and to the concerned DCP through e-mail, but no action has been taken till date. The police told the court that the two women had been traced and it was found that they were feeding stray dogs on the streets as they worked with an NGO. The police further said that one of them was carrying a stick in her hand and the people of the locality had a heated exchange with them, but no religious comments were passed by the women. During inquiry no cognizable offence was found to have been committed, police said in the action taken report. The court noted that as per the allegations, the incident had occurred on April 16 when the nationwide lockdown was continuing in the country and the women were out in an area which was at a distance of450 to 750 metres from their houses and they did not have any movement pass. It prima facie emerges that due to the alleged incident, offences under sections 188, 153-A and 295 A of the IPC have occurred, and such offences are cognisable in nature. Therefore, the investigation of the case deserves to be conducted by the police, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With effect from 11 May 2020 Sterling Tools announced that consequent upon easing down of the restrictions by competent authorities w.e.f. 4 May, 2020, one of its Manufacturing Unit of the Company viz. at Vemagal Industrial Area, Kolar has received the respective State Government's permission/allowed to commence manufacturing operations with limited workforce and in complete compliance of government directives. Accordingly, the Company plans to commence the operations in said Plant from 11 May, 2020 onwards in a phased manner. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) T he first changes to the UK's coronavirus lockdown will be "small" and "very carefully monitored" when the Prime Minister reveals his "roadmap" on Sunday. Speaking at the daily Covid-19 press conference in Downing Street on Thursday, Dominic Raab said any changes to the rules would be limited. It comes as Boris Johnson prepares to announce how the UK will start to ease its social distancing measures from Monday. The Foreign Secretary said: Any changes in the short term will be modest, small, incremental and very carefully monitored. If we find in the future the R level goes back up or that people arent following the rules, we must have the ability then to put back measures in place. He added that the existing rules would still apply over the coming bank holiday weekend. For the moment it is really important, particularly as people look towards a warm bank holiday weekend, that we continue to follow the guidance in place at this time," he said. Asked if it is safe to lift any restrictions, Mr Raab said: Whether youre in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff or Belfast as we enter another long bank holiday weekend, I think the message is very clear follow the guidance. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab / PA There is no change today in the guidance or in the rules. He reiterated the Prime Minister will set out his plans on Sunday, adding: Were locked into the closest co-operation and collaboration with the devolved administrations through Cobra. Mr Raab said Mr Johnson had reiterated the commitment to a UK-wide approach, noting: Even if different parts may move at slightly different speeds, the key thing is those decisions are made based on the science and the circumstances for each nation. Mr Raab said: We have got the latest data from Sage. Coronavirus hits the UK - In pictures 1 /81 Coronavirus hits the UK - In pictures A deserted Westminster Bridge PA A man wearing a face mask or covering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, walks past customers sat outside a restaurant AFP via Getty Images Boris Johnson addresses the nation on the Coronavirus lockdown Andrew Parsons Runners pass cardboard cutouts of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince William during the London Marathon in London AP An empty escalator at Charing Coss London Underground tube station Jeremy Selwyn Electronic bilboards displays a message warning people to stay home in Sheffield PA A sign is displayed in the window of a student accommodation building following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Mancheste Reuters People take part in a 'We Do Not Consent' rally at Trafalgar Square, organised by Stop New Normal, to protest against coronavirus restrictions, in Londo AP People sing and dance in Leicester Square on the eve on the 10PM curfew Reuters Hearts painted by a team of artists from Upfest are seen in the grass at Queen Square, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bristol Reuters Graffiti reads 'good luck and stay safe', as the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases grow around the world, under a bridge in London Reuters A sign is pictured in Soho, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London Reuters Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures, during a coronavirus briefing in Downing Street, London AP A person runs past posters with a message of hope, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Manchester REUTERS Riot police face protesters who took part in a 'We Do Not Consent' rally at Trafalgar Square, organised by Stop New Normal, to protest against coronavirus restrictions in London AP An image of The Queen eith quotes from her broadcast to the UK and the Commonwealth in relation to the Coronavirus epidemic are displayed on lights in London's Piccadilly Circus PA Military vehicles cross Westminster Bridge after members of the 101 Logistic Brigade delivered a consignment of medical masks to St Thomas' hospital Getty Images Durdle Door in Dorset Reuters Captain Tom Moore via Reuters Mia, aged 8, and Jack, aged 5, take part in "PE with Joe" a daily live workout with Joe Wicks on Youtube to help kids stay fit who have to stay indoors due to the Coronavirus outbreak PA An NHS worker reacts at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital during the Clap for our Carers campaign in support of the NHS Reuters Goats which have taken over the deserted streets of Llandudno @AndrewStuart via PA Tobias Weller PA Novikov restaurant in London with its shutters pulled down while the restaurant is closed London Landscapes: Hyde Park and the Serpentine, central London. Matt Writtle A newspaper vendor in Manchester city centre giving away free toilet rolls with every paper bought as shops run low on supplies due to fears over the spread of the coronavirus PA Theo Clay looks out of his window next to his hand-drawn picture of a rainbow in Liverpool, as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continue Reuters A young man cuts another man's hair on top of a closed hairdresser in Oxford Reuters General view of the new NHS Nightingale Hospital, built to fight against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London via Reuters Jason Baird is seen dressed as Spiderman during his daily exercise to cheer up local children in Stockport, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues Reuters A woman wearing a face mask walks past Buckingham Palace Getty Images A man holds mobile phone displaying a text message alert sent by the government warning that new rules are in force across the UK and people must stay at home PA Medical staff on the Covid-19 ward at the Neath Port Talbot Hospital, in Wales, as the health services continue their response to the coronavirus outbreak. PA Prime Minister Boris Johnson taking part in a virtual Cabinet meeting with his top team of ministers PA A shopper walks past empty shelves in a Lidl store on in Wallington. After spates of "panic buying" cleared supermarket shelves of items like toilet paper and cleaning products, stores across the UK have introduced limits on purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have also created special time slots for the elderly and other shoppers vulnerable to the new coronavirus. Getty Images People on a busy tube train in London at rush hour PA Mia, aged 8 and her brother Jack, aged 5 from Essex, continue their school work at home, after being sent home due to the coronavirus PA Children are painting 'Chase the rainbows' artwork and springing up in windows across the country Reuters Social distancing in Primrose Hill Jeremy Selwyn A general view of a locked gate at Anfield, Liverpool as The Premier League has been suspended PA Homeless people in London AFP via Getty Images A piece of art by the artist, known as the Rebel Bear has appeared on a wall on Bank Street in Glasgow. The new addition to Glasgow's street art is capturing the global Coronavirus crisis. The piece features a woman and a man pulling back to give each other a kiss PA The Queen leaves Buckingham Palace, London, for Windsor Castle to socially distance herself amid the coronavirus pandemic PA A general view on Grey street, Newcastle as coronavirus cases grow around the world Reuters Matt Raw, a British national who returned from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China, leaves quaratine at Arrowe Park Hospital on Merseyside PA Britain's Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty (L) and Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance look on as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he speaks during a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) news conference inside 10 Downing Street Reuters The ticket-validation terminals at the tram stop on Edinburgh's Princes Street are cleaned following the coronavirus outbreak. PA Locked school gates at Rockcliffe First School in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear PA A sign at a Sainsbury's supermarket informs customers that limits have been set on a small number of products as the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases grow around the world Reuters 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 A sign advertising a book titled "How Will We Survive On Earth?" Getty Images A man who appears to be homeless sleeping wearing a mask today in Victoria Jeremy Selwyn A pedestrian walks past graffiti that reads "Diseases are in the City" in Edinburgh AFP via Getty Images Staff from The Lyric Theatre, London inform patrons, as it shuts its doors PA A quiet looking George IV Bridge in Edinburgh PA A quieter than usual British Museum Getty Images A racegoer attends Cheltenham in a fashionable face mask SplashNews.com A commuter wears a face mask at London Bridge Station Jeremy Selwyn A empty restaurant in the Bull Ring Shopping Centre Getty Images A deserted Trafalgar Square in London PA Passengers determined to avoid the coronavirus before leaving the UK arrive at Gatwick Airport Getty Images We have come through the peak, but its a very delicate and, I have said before, a very dangerous moment, so we do need to proceed with caution. The Prime Minister is going to set out a road a map. After the press conference Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: The Government has said lockdown must continue and we support them on that. The infection rate isnt yet under control and therefore we need to stay in lockdown until that infection rate is under control. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer urged people to stick to the rules this weekend (file photo) / PA Speaking near his London home, Sir Keir urged people to stick to the rules over the bank holiday weekend. He said: What I think is really important is that we continue the lockdown, were very clear that we all must follow that guidance. Until it changes, we must follow it and its very clear that thats important for this weekend. When asked whether he thought there had been mixed messages from the Government, Sir Keir Starmer said: There needs to be absolute clarity that we all must follow the rules until lockdown is lifted. It doesnt mean we cant discuss what comes next but weve got to follow those rules. While Sir Keir said he was glad the Prime Minister was going to begin to set out a plan, he said it should be done in the House of Commons. He added: Ive been calling for a plan, and its good that hes going to lay out a plan. The biotechnology company BIOCAD has signed an agreement with the State Scientific Center for Virology and Biotechnology Vektor (Novosibirsk) on joint work on a vaccine based on rVSV against the COVID-19 virus. The vaccine development process has reached the final animal safety study stage. The cooperation agreement was signed by Dmitry Morozov (BIOCAD) and Rinat Maksyutov (Vector). According to the parties, the vaccine showed high promise in tests on laboratory animals, including lower primates. According to the agreement, the biotechnology company BIOCAD, as an industrial partner of the project, takes the costs and organizational efforts associated with conducting clinical trials of the rVSV vaccine, creating the technology for the release of the drug and the commercial production itself. Now, three research groups have been allocated to work on vaccines, in which more than 80 people specialized in virus work: from genetic engineering and virology to chemistry and bioinformatics. This approach provides a complete set of specialists necessary for all stages of the work on the vaccine, including production and clinical trials. We have been in a scientific collaboration with Novosibirsk Vector for a long time. and now we are an industrial partner of the rVSV vaccine development project. We are pleased to provide our partners with industrial release when clinical trials are completed. In my opinion, today is not the time for research teams to compete, we must combine our intellectual efforts. " Dmitry Morozov, Director General, BIOCAD Biotechnology Company "I see the possible perspective of our cooperation between the scientific center and one of the most dynamic domestic biotechnological companies, this greatly shortens the path from development to mass vaccination of citizens. We have studied the world experience in reducing the time for preclinical and clinical studies. And I think that the fast start of vaccine production is a realistic and achievable goal, "added Rinat Maksyutov, General Director of Vector. It is planned that already in May the first pilot series for research will be received, and in July the clinical trials will begin. Moreover BIOCAD is currently working on its own development of the mRNA vaccine against coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Developments will be carried out on the basis of previous developments in cancer vaccines. At the end of March, the company agreed with the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation on the terms and programs of the preclinical and first phase of the clinical vaccine development. Clinical trials are expected to begin in 4-5 months. Theres a good bill winding its way through the Senate to do precisely that, led by Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware. Coons was born to service and came to maturity doing service. His dad grew up in Boston and said that he never really understood the fullness and meaning of America until he commanded troops from all over the country in the Army in the 1950s. As a young man, Coons launched one of the first AmeriCorps programs, leading 150 members in 15 cities who tutored students in inner-city schools. Later, he created another AmeriCorps program with a local volunteer fire department in Delaware. It was the most inspiring thing Ive ever been a part of, Coons told me. His bill would double the current number of AmeriCorps volunteers in its first year, from 75,000 to 150,000. Then for years two and three it would double the number again, to 300,000. It would also increase AmeriCorps stipends, which are now as low as $15,000 a year, so the volunteers can have a living wage. The Coons bill is an excellent start. But it needs to be bigger and bipartisan. Under AmeriCorps, the federal government provides money for the volunteers, matched by private funding. State commissions supervise most programs, and the volunteers work through nonprofits and local agencies. The downside is that the big, well-established nonprofits have a significant advantage when it comes to receiving AmeriCorps volunteers. There are a lot of great smaller organizations that just dont have the organizational infrastructure to take part. There are many parts of the country, especially in rural America, where volunteers are relatively thin on the ground. National service has never had confident bipartisan support because Republicans dont have constant contact with volunteers in their own districts. Health authorities said Wednesday they are investigating a fresh spike in deaths in northern Nigeria after a rise in fatalities in a neighbouring area was blamed on coronavirus. Medics have reported scores of people dying over the past four days in the Hadeija district of Jigawa state. Local doctors preliminarily attributed the deaths to ailments including asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure. But the state authorities dispatched a five-person medical team to investigate if the fatalities were linked to coronavirus. "We intend to unravel the causes of the recent spike in deaths and ascertain whether they are related to COVID-19 or not," lead investigator Mahmud Abdulwahab said. "It is too early to make any conclusions." The team was interviewing families of dead residents to determine the cause of the deaths and visiting cemeteries to count the numbers of fresh graves. Abdullahi Umar Namadi, medical director at Hadejia general hospital, said most of the dead had passed away at home. The 13 people admitted to hospital had a high fever, he said, but insisted that "does not mean they died from coronavirus". Resident Adamu Danwawu, whose had a relative among the recent dead, said most of the fatalities were men "between the ages 60 and 80". That demographic has been particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. The uptick comes after neighbouring Kano state reported an increase in "mysterious deaths", with authorities initially blaming a range of diseases. But investigators sent by the president said over the weekend that most of the deaths were to due to the coronavirus. Jigawa state has officially recorded 39 coronavirus cases and one death, while Kano has 397 confirmed infections and 11 deaths. The governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has said the Northern States Governors Forum is determined to end the Almajiris system of education in the north, amidst the spread of COVID-19 among the children. Many of the street kids searching for Islamic knowledge across the north have been infected by the deadly virus in recent days as state governments scramble frantically to send them back to their respective states. PREMIUM TIMES reported how about 16 of those recently sent back from Kano to Jigawa tested positive to the virus. The state is still expecting the test results for over 500 others. Mr El-Rufai, who spoke Wednesday on Channels TV Politics Todays show, said the COVID-19 pandemic provided the opportunity to determine the state of almajiri education. Almajiri is ideally a system of Islamic education practiced in northern Nigeria, where young children leave their homes to live with Islamic scholars and learn about the religion. Almajiri derives from an Arabic word, al-Muhajirun meaning a person who leaves his home in search of Islamic knowledge. However, the system has over the years been corrupted with thousands of such children roaming the streets of Northern Nigeria as beggars and without any form of education. The system has been blamed for significantly contributing to the over 10 million out of school children in Nigeria. Tackling scourge Mr ElRufai said the decision has been a subject of deep deliberations in the Northern States Governors Forum under the chairmanship of the Plateau governor, Simon Lalong, for the past 12 months. Weve been looking for the ways and means to end this system because it has not worked for the children, it has not worked for Northern Nigeria and it has not worked for Nigeria. So, it has to end and this is the time, he said. He said his state has been expanding the capacities of schools in Kaduna with the hope of accommodating the subsequent integration of these children as the best alternative for them. The governor, who expressed deep worry about the academic situation of the children said You know, it is better to count 200 children in a primary school classroom and give them some kind of modern education than to allow them to waste their lives away, roaming about the streets begging for what to eat under this system. Anything is better than this system and were determined as Northern governors to end it, he said. Mr El-Rufai also said, if other Northern governors are treating the issues with levity, that is their own business. But I can assure you that in Kaduna State, the almajiris sytem is dead. Current efforts The governor said he has reviewed a law that will formally prohibit such a system in his state, noting that all parents of the children have been tracked and would be properly trained on parental responsibilities, in order to efficiently and effectively enforce the proposed model for the children. We are not just abolishing the system, were not just telling the parents of the children, but weve let them know that the children must go to school once school is open and weve tracked each and everyone of their parents and were going to counsel them on parental responsibilities. It is a long process, but the children must go to school, he said. Controversies Since the coronavirus pandemic broke out in Nigeria, many state governors have taken strict measures to curb its spread including closing their boundaries and restricting movement. In the north, one of the measures adopted by northern state governors was the transfer of these street kids to their states of origin. Many northern states have since transferred hundreds of almajiri children to their states of origin. The move has drawn mixed reactions from Nigerians. While some condemned the move as a violation of the rights of the children to freedom to live anywhere across Nigeria, others described it as a necessary step to end the unhealthy practice. The Taraba State Government on Monday rejected several almajiri children transferred from Nasarawa State. The states commissioner of information,Danjuma Adamu, said the kids were rejected because Nasarawa officials did not observe due protocol. PREMIUM TIMES also reported how the federal government, through the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 denounced the transfer of the kids across states during the coronavirus pandemic saying it violates the ban on interstate travel. Joe Bidens Plan for Empowering Black America When former Vice President Joe Biden sat for an exclusive live stream interview with National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) President and CEO, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., in February, the now presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said it was crucial to secure the Black vote if he is to unseat President Donald Trump in November 2020. Now, the two-time former second-in-command to President Barack Obama has laid out a comprehensive plan for African Americans. ADVERTISEMENT Biden said the plan reflects many months of work and feedback from local elected officials, activists, organizations, practitioners, policy experts, strategists, and young people. His campaign called the plan a living document. It said the Biden team looks forward to hearing from everyone, as they continue to develop the Democrats vision for all of America. In a news release, the campaign noted that Biden knows we need a comprehensive agenda for African Americans with an ambition that matches the scale of the challenge and with a recognition that race-neutral policies are not a sufficient response to race-based disparities. They said the Biden Plan for Black America would: Advance the economic mobility of African Americans and close the racial wealth and income gaps. Expand access to high-quality education and tackle racial inequity in our education system. Make far-reaching investments in ending health disparities by race. Strengthen Americas commitment to justice. Make the right to vote and the right to equal protection real for African Americans. Address environmental justice. Joe Biden knows that African Americans can never have a fair shot at the American Dream so long as entrenched disparities are allowed to chip away at opportunity quietly, his campaigns statement noted. He is running for President to rebuild our economy in a way that finally brings everyone along and that starts by rooting out systemic racism from our laws, our policies, our institutions, and our hearts. ADVERTISEMENT With the novel coronavirus hitting African Americans the hardest, Bidens plan recognizes the disparities long faced by the Black community. In April, he called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to collect more data regarding how COVID-19 is affecting communities, including breaking down its impacts by race. The data weve seen so far suggests that African Americans are dying from COVID-19 at a higher rate than Whites, the campaign noted. Long-standing systemic inequalities are contributing to this disparity including the fact that African Americans are more likely to be uninsured and to live in communities where they are exposed to high levels of air pollution. Bidens campaign continued: African Americans also represent an especially high percentage of the front-line workers putting themselves at greater risk to sustain the economy and keep the rest of the country safe and fed and are less likely to have a job they can do from home, forcing them to make the difficult choice between their health and a paycheck. While theres a lot we dont yet know about COVID-19, we do know that equitable distribution of resources, like testing and medical equipment, can make a difference in fighting the virus. Biden believes this should be a priority, and action must be taken now. Other highlights of the plan include rolling back Trump Administration policies that gutted fair lending and fair housing protections for homeowners and giving local elected officials the tools and resources they need to combat gentrification. Biden said he plans to hold financial institutions accountable for discriminatory practices in the housing market, and he will restore the federal governments power to enforce settlements against discriminatory lenders. Additionally, the plan calls for Biden to strengthen and expand the Community Reinvestment Act to ensure that the nations bank and non-bank financial services institutions are serving all communities. Biden plans to eliminate local and state housing regulations that perpetuate discrimination and establish a $100 billion Affordable Housing Fund to construct and upgrade affordable housing providing tax incentives for the construction of more affordable housing in communities that need it most. Biden also plans to create a White House Strike Force to partner with rural communities to help them access federal funds. Today, we need a comprehensive agenda for African Americans with an ambition that matches the scale of the challenge and with a recognition that race-neutral policies are not a sufficient response to race-based disparities, Biden stated. Click here to view Joe Bidens full plan for Black America. Treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients with anticoagulants-;blood thinners that slow down clotting-;may improve their chances of survival, researchers from the Mount Sinai COVID Informatics Center report. The study, published in the May 6 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, could provide new insight on how to treat and manage coronavirus patients once they are admitted to the hospital. The study found that hospitalized COVID-19 patients treated with anticoagulants had improved outcomes both in and out of the intensive care unit setting. The research also showed that the difference in bleeding events among patients treated with and without anticoagulants was not significant. The Mount Sinai researchers say their work outlines an important therapeutic pathway for COVID-19 patients. "This research demonstrates anticoagulants taken orally, subcutaneously, or intravenously may play a major role in caring for COVID-19 patients, and these may prevent possible deadly events associated with coronavirus, including heart attack, stroke, and pulmonary embolism," says senior corresponding author Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, Director of Mount Sinai Heart (the nation's number six ranked hospital in Cardiology/Heart Surgery) and Physician-in-Chief of The Mount Sinai Hospital. "Using anticoagulants should be considered when patients get admitted to the ER and have tested positive for COVID-19 to possibly improve outcomes. However, each case should be evaluated an individualized basis to account for potential bleeding risk." The publication of this study follows recent research out of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai that shows a large number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 have developed high levels of life-threatening blood clots, leading to potentially deadly thromboembolic events. A team of investigators evaluated records of 2,773 confirmed COVID-19-positive patients admitted to five hospitals in the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City (The Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai West, Mount Sinai Morningside, Mount Sinai Queens, and Mount Sinai Brooklyn) between March 14 and April 11, 2020. They specifically looked at survival rates for patients placed on blood thinners versus those not placed on blood thinners. The researchers took certain risk factors into account before evaluating the effectiveness of anticoagulation, including age, ethnicity, pre-existing conditions, and those already on blood thinners. Of the COVID-19 patients analyzed, 786 (28 percent) received a full-treatment dose of anticoagulants-;a higher dose than what is typically given for blood clot prevention, and one that is usually given to those who already have clots or are suspected to have clots. Treatment with anticoagulants was associated with improved hospital survival among COVID-19 patients both in and out of the intensive care unit setting. Of the patients who did not survive, those on anticoagulants died after spending an average of 21 days in the hospital, compared to the non- anticoagulant patients who died after an average of 14 days in the hospital. The effect of anticoagulation had a more pronounced effect on ventilated patients-;62.7 percent of intubated patients who were not treated with anticoagulants died, compared to 29.1 percent for intubated patients treated with anticoagulants. Of the intubated patients who did not survive, those with no anticoagulants died after 9 days, while those on anticoagulants died after 21 days. All patients in the study had blood work done when they arrived at the hospital, which included measuring various inflammatory markers. The analysis of their records showed patients who received anticoagulants had higher inflammatory markers compared to patients not treated with anticoagulants. This may suggest patients with more severe illness may benefit from anticoagulants early on. The observational study also explored the association of systemic anticoagulant treatment with bleeding events. Major bleeding was defined as 1) hemoglobin <7 g/dL and any red blood cell transfusion; 2) at least 2 units of red blood cell transfusion within 48 hours; or 3) a diagnosis code for major bleeding including intracranial hemorrhage; hematemesis; melena; peptic ulcer with hemorrhage; colon, rectal, or anal hemorrhage; hematuria; ocular hemorrhage; and acute hemorrhagic gastritis. Among those who did not receive anticoagulants, 38 (1.9 percent) patients had bleeding events, compared to 24 (3 percent) among those who received anticoagulants, p=0.2). "We are hopeful that this report of the association of anticoagulation therapy with improved survival will be confirmed in future investigations. The astute scientists at Mount Sinai continue to analyze our data on COVID-19 patients in order to contribute to worldwide efforts to find effective treatments," says David Reich, MD, President and Chief Operating Officer of The Mount Sinai Hospital. As a cardiologist who has been on service caring for COVID-19 patients for the last three weeks, I have observed an increased amount of blood clot cases among hospitalized patients, so it is critical to look at whether anticoagulants provide benefits for them." Anu Lala, Study Co-Researcher and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai "It's important to note that further analysis and prospective studies are required to determine the effectiveness for widespread use of anticoagulants in hospitalized COVID-19 patients." "This study is opening the door for a more extensive study that will be carried out with 5,000 COVID-19-positive patients, where we will evaluate the effectiveness of three types of antithrombotic therapy-;oral antithrombotic, subcutaneous heparin, and intravenous heparin-;and then perhaps engage our data for prospective clinical trials," says senior author Girish Nadkarni, MD, Co-Director of the Mount Sinai COVID Informatics Center. "We are excited about these preliminary results that may have a positive impact on COVID-19 patients and potentially give them a greater chance of survival, although more studies are needed." Iowa police arrested a former long-haul trucker for allegedly killing three women in Tennessee and Wyoming nearly 30 years ago and are looking at his possible connections to other unsolved slayings, officials said Thursday. Clark Perry Baldwin, a 58-year-old resident of Waterloo, Iowa, was taken into custody on Wednesday. He was booked for the 1991 Tennessee murder of Pamela Rose McCall and her unborn fetus and the 1992 Wyoming slayings of two unidentified women. Image: (Iowa Department of Public Safety via AP) DNA matches him to those Wyoming and Tennessee slayings, authorities said. It's certainly satisfying for all the investigators who have worked on these cases, but that pales in comparison to answers to these lingering questions of the families (of victims)," Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Mike Krapfl told NBC News on Thursday. Baldwin appeared in a Waterloo court on Thursday and waived extradition, not challenging his transportation to Tennessee, according to Krapfl. It wasn't immediately known if Baldwin had retained a lawyer in Tennessee where he will be prosecuted first, officials said. McCall's strangled body was found on March 10, 1991, in Spring Hill, Tennessee, in a wooded area near the Saturn Parkway and Port Royal Road offramp, prosecutors said. McCall, a 33-year-old from Topping, Virginia, "had torn clothing, undergarments and obvious injuries to the face and neck," prosecutors said. The victim, who was 24-weeks pregnant, had been seen traveling with a semi-truck driver, a witness told investigators. I'm also very happy to be able to give Rose McCall's mother a chance to see justice for her daughter's and granddaughter's murders, Lawrence County District Attorney Brent Cooper said. As she put it in a recent phone call, At least I have a grave to visit, some moms dont even that.'" Pamela Rose Aldridge McCall. (Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation) Baldwin is also facing murder charges in Wyoming, dating back to March and April of 1992, authorities there said. Story continues The first woman was found at the Bitter Creek turnout in Sweetwater County and the unidentified victim dubbed Bitter Creek Betty, Wyoming state authorities said. The next month, state transportation employees found another slain, unidentified woman who they called I-90 Jane Doe, authorities said. Investigators are taking fresh looks at other unsolved murders of women near highways from that era, which could possibly be tied to Baldwin. The body of 21-year-old Grinnell College student Tammy Jo Zywicki was found in rural Lawrence County, Missouri, on Sept. 1, 1992. Her car had broken down on Interstate 80 near LaSalle, Illinois, on Aug. 23 and witnesses at the time said a truck driver had come to her assistance, investigators said. She had been bound, sexually assaulted and stabbed to death before her body was wrapped in a blanket. Then on Sept. 7, 1992, the body of Rhonda Anette Knutson was found in the back of a 24-hour convenience store in Williamstown, Iowa, where she worked the overnight shift, police said. Knutson, whose store was near the junction of U.S. Highways 63, 18 and 346, had been bludgeoned to death, officials said. Obviously there are several cases that need to be followed up on, Krapfl said. EDWARDSVILLE The Madison County Board of Health will hold two meetings this week to discuss and possibly act on plans to reopen businesses in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. This is the key issue facing the county, theres no denying it, said Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler. People are tired of hearing it, but here we are. Obviously this has been the biggest thing on my mind, and everybodys mind, for the past month. The first meeting is set for 3 p.m. Thursday and will include discussion from health officials and businesses. The second meeting at 3 p.m. Friday, will be to take any action necessary that will come out of the first meeting. The meeting will be held via teleconference and can be accessed through https://m.twitch.tv/madisoncountyil. We are doing the best we can and need to work together on a plan to restart Madison County in a safe and responsible way, Prenzler said, adding that convening the Board of Health seemed to be the best way to do that. He also noted doing it that way emphasized any decisions had to rely in input from the Health Department. The Board of Health includes all County Board members, and meets quarterly, usually at the end of a regular County Board meeting. It is advised by the Health Department director, Health Advisory Committee and the boards Health Department Committee. The only topic for this weeks meetings will be how COVID-19 is impacting the local economy. The first meeting is to discuss core principles, recommendations and guidelines for how individuals and small businesses can return to normal in a safe and responsible manner, Prenzler said. The agenda also calls for discussion from small business owners. The second meeting is to take any action necessary to ease the burdens on the citizens and businesses of this county, he added. The agenda for Fridays meeting calls for a vote on a Resolution Stating a Phased-In Approach of Core Principles, Recommendations, and Guidelines for How Individuals and Small Businesses can Return To Normal in a Safe and Responsible Manner with Respect to the COVID-19 Virus. Prenzler had also formed an ad-hoc committee of business representatives and others to make recommendations on this issue. They held their first meeting last week. This weeks meetings also come after Gov. JB Pritzker announced a five-phase plan to reopen Illinois on a regional basis, but Prenzler said were not the main reason. The plan, called Restore Illinois, divides the state into five regions, which would open up in phases based on meeting specific criteria. Madison County is in the southern region, while Jersey, Macoupin and Calhoun counties are in the central region. According to Pritzker, the state overall is in the second phase of the plan, which includes the modified stay-at-home orders with adjustments made to offer flexibility with the advice of public health experts. Once regions meet specific thresholds, they can move to the third phase, which includes the reopening of barbershops and other businesses, and relaxed standards on public gatherings of up to 10 people. The fourth phase, based on continued declines in infection rates and hospitalizations, would allow restaurants, bars, gyms and other businesses to reopen with capacity limits and other restrictions; schools could reopen and gatherings of up to 50 people would be allowed. The final phase would require either the creation of a vaccine or effective treatment of COVID-19. At Thursdays briefings, he said it would take at least until late May 29 for any region to reach Phase 3. Pritzker also noted that the phases would be driven by data and science, and cautioned against what he called a loud but tiny minority indulging in the fantasy of immediate reopening. Manitoba's last two drive-in movie theatres have been given the green light for spring and summer screenings. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 6/5/2020 (622 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Manitoba's last two drive-in movie theatres have been given the green light for spring and summer screenings. Initially, the province had barred drive-in theatres from joining the throng of non-essential businesses that reopened their doors Monday, as the province eased back COVID-19 restrictions. Drive-ins were instead included with traditional movie theatres, to be reopened in a later phase of the plan. A push from industry ownership, however, got provincial officials to see the (projector) light. Dawn Hlady, owner of Big Island Drive-In in Flin Flon, said she had been in regular contact with officials for several weeks before the province alerted her to the rule change Tuesday afternoon. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "I did get to a sense of hopelessness, but I'm a very persistent person and a very positive person," she said Wednesday about prior correspondence with the government. "(The news) was shocking, I literally didnt even have words to say when I opened up my email." Hlady drove to her business site Tuesday night to set up screens, and is hoping to open next weekend with updated safety measures, including contactless debit and credit payments and a mobile platform for ordering concession. "It was a whirlwind of a day," she said. According to its website, Stardust Drive-In Theatre in Morden plans to reopen by June 6, with social-distancing guidelines in place. julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca Women have a good chance of having a second child with the help of fertility treatment after the birth of their first child born this way, according to the first study to investigate this, published today (Friday) in Human Reproduction [1], one of the world's leading reproductive medicine journals. Researchers in Australia calculated that after a woman successfully achieved a live birth using in vitro fertilisation (IVF), also known as assisted reproductive technology (ART), the chances of a second ART baby were between 51% and 88% after six cycles of treatment. These calculations depended on whether or not previously frozen embryos were used or fresh embryos from a new ovarian stimulation cycle, and on assumptions made about the likely success rate for women who discontinued treatment. The chances of a second ART baby decreased with increased maternal age. Compared to women younger than 30 years, the likelihood of women aged 35-39 having a second ART-conceived baby reduced by 22% if they recommenced treatment with a frozen embryo from a previous cycle and by 50% if they recommenced treatment with a new cycle and a fresh embryo. Factors that improved their chances of a successful second pregnancy included requiring only one cycle and a single embryo transfer to achieve a first live birth, and where infertility was caused by factors affecting the male partner. Although many parents would like more than one child, there has been no published report on the chances of achieving a second ART-conceived baby after a first ART child until now. The researchers hope that this information can be used to counsel patients. Professor Georgina Chambers, director of the National Perinatal Epidemiology and Statistics Unit at the University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia), looked at data from 35,290 women who received ART treatment between 2009 and 2013 in Australia and New Zealand and had a live baby during this time. These women were followed for a further two years to 2015, providing between two and seven years of follow-up data, and live births up to October 2016 were included. "We calculated two measures: what is a woman's chance of achieving a second live birth in a particular cycle of treatment if previous cycles have failed, for instance in cycle three if the first two cycles have failed; and what is the overall, or cumulative, chance of a woman achieving a live birth after a particular number of cycles, including all the previous cycles. For example, what is the overall chance of a woman having a baby after up to three cycles," said Prof Chambers. A cycle includes the stimulation of the ovaries to mature multiple eggs, the collection of eggs for fertilisation in the laboratory to create embryos, and then all embryo transfer procedures that use the embryos from the egg retrieval procedure. This can include fresh embryo transfers and frozen embryo transfers. Prof Chambers and her colleagues calculated estimates of cumulative live birth rates (CLBR) for women who were trying for a second ART baby that took account not only of the women who continued treatment, but also those who discontinued treatment. The conservative CLBR assumed that women who dropped out would have no chance of achieving a second live birth if they had continued treatment. The optimal CLBR assumed these women would have the same chance of a live birth in a particular cycle as women who had continued treatment. The range between the conservative and optimal estimates gives a realistic idea of success rates. Just over 43% (15,325) of the 35,290 women, with an average (median) age of 36, returned for treatment to conceive a second child by December 2015. Among these women, 73% used a frozen embryo from the egg retrieval cycle that had resulted in their first child, and for them the CLBR ranged from 61% (conservative estimate) to 88% (optimal estimate) after six cycles. Among the women who had a new stimulation cycle and used a fresh embryo, the CLBR ranged from 51% to 70%. "Overall, 43% of women who recommence treatment with one of the frozen embryos from a previous stimulation cycle will have a baby after their first embryo transfer procedure. Between 61% and 88% of these women will have a baby after six cycles," said Prof Chambers. "Among those who recommence treatment with a new stimulation cycle and a fresh embryo transfer, 31% will have a baby after their first cycle and between 51% and 70% after six cycles." Although success rates declined with female age, the researchers found that after three cycles of treatment, the conservative and optimal CLBRs in women aged 40 to 44 years were 38% and 55% respectively in those that started with a frozen embryo, and 20% and 25% in those recommencing with a new stimulated cycle and fresh embryos. [2] Prof Chambers said: "Couples can be reassured by these figures. Our findings also underline the fact that ART treatment should be considered as a course of treatment, rather than just one single cycle of treatment: if couples don't achieve a pregnancy in the first cycle, it could very well happen in the next. However, it would be best not to wait too long, especially if a new stimulation cycle is needed." Co-author, Dr Devora Leiberman, a fertility clinician at City Fertility, Sydney, added: "These results can be used to counsel patients, but it is important to note that these are population estimates and every couple is different. Our analysis does not take account of all individual factors that affect a woman's chance of ART success, including duration of infertility, and body mass index. Whether ART treatment should be commenced or continued should ultimately be a decision for the fertility clinician and patient, taking into account all medical and non-medical factors. But this study provides the range of results that could be expected." Another limitation is that in Australia and New Zealand, couples are funded to have treatment for infertility with no restrictions on the number of cycles or on the mothers' age, numbers of previous children and factors such as body max index and smoking. Therefore, the findings may not be generalisable to other countries with less supportive funding provision for ART. Dr Christos Venetis, a fertility clinician and clinical academic from the research team at the University of New South Wales, concluded: "As the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the provision of non-urgent ART services are gradually being lifted in many countries, including Australia and New Zealand, many people are considering expanding their family through ART. This study can provide reassurance that, in most cases, the chance of them having a second baby through ART is quite favourable." ### [1] "Cumulative live birth rates for women returning to ART treatment for a second ART-conceived child", by Repon C. Paul et al. Human Reproduction journal. doi:10.1093/humrep/deaa030. [2] Information in supplementary tables. A MAN who is accused of barricading himself inside a house in Newcastle West after running more than a mile to evade gardai has been refused bail. The 33-year-old, who is originally from Limerick city, is also accused of holding a knife against his partners neck during an earlier incident. Garda Claire Moriarty told Limerick District Court gardai were initially alerted to a disturbance in the town at around 7.30pm on Wednesday after a woman called 999. The man, who cant be named for legal reasons, is accused of breaching a safety order by threatening the woman with a knife and putting her in fear. It is also the State case that another occupant of the house was injured after he was struck with a shovel during a fight. That man was treated in hospital but has since been discharged. Judge Marian OLeary was told the defendant fled the house following the incident and that he ran to another house elsewhere in Newcastle West and barricaded himself in the kitchen and sitting room area. Opposing bail, Garda Moriarty said the occupants of the second house were terrified and were forced to flee from their home after the man entered by the back door. She said it will be alleged the suspect had a kitchen knife when he entered the house and that he picked up another after he got inside. However, the defendant said this was lies and he insisted he did not have a knife with him when he first entered the house. The accused man was arrested at around 10.30pm on Wednesday following almost three hours of negotiations involving specially-trained armed gardai. Garda Moriarty said it will be alleged the defendant was aggressive and unpredictable while in the house and she expressed concern he would intimidate witnesses if granted bail. In his evidence, the defendant said he wouldnt go near them and solicitor Sarah Ryan said her client was willing to abide by any bail conditions imposed by the court. Refusing bail, Judge OLeary said what happened was very frightening and very serious. Investigations are continuing a file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Staff shortages meant only a few were trained in intubation and CPR under a COVID-19 setting. Well-placed staff said protocols for both were only recently signed off. As the health workers continued to put themselves on the frontline, they took a massive hit to morale when Australias Chief Medical Officer, Brendan Murphy, spread a rumour that they had held an illegal dinner party. Royal Australian Air Force and Tasmanian Health pharmacists replenishing stores in the North West Regional Hospital. Credit:Department of Defence Police investigated and found no evidence and Professor Murphy was forced to apologise. On March 27 one doctor told colleagues in a letter: I am increasingly concerned that we are not taking enough action in the interest of patient and healthcare worker in relation to COVID-19. Another clinician called for the hospital to ramp up its PPE. My feeling is that we are going to hit the Tsunami between April 15 and 25. Im helpless as we are unable to try good PPEs or drugs that other countries use (even in the Third World). We and the patients are left with the luck only, if not will die, the letter warned. Behind the scenes some senior clinicians went outside the chain of command to communicate concerns. They believe this played a role in the decision to shut down the hospital. A spokesman for the Department of Health in Tasmania said official channels made the decision to close NWRH and the North West Private Hospital. Tim Jacobson, the Tasmanian state secretary of the Health and Community Services Union, said the crisis was not a surprise. This is what happens when you have 10 years of austerity, he said. The outbreak was because of the lack of infrastructure and staffing. In Australia there have been a number of COVID-19 cluster outbreaks and deaths due to system failures. They include the handling of the Ruby Princess passenger disembarkation in Sydney, which resulted in more than 20 coronavirus deaths, and Anglicare's Newmarch House aged care facility, which so far has resulted in 16 deaths. Loading But the Tasmanian hospital outbreak hasnt received the same level of media attention despite its impact. An internal inquiry found the main sources of the outbreak were two Ruby Princess patients and staff working across many facilities, in some cases working while symptomatic. It issued some recommendations. But it failed to look at the cultural and structural issues of the health service that made the hospital uniquely vulnerable, says the whistleblower. A confidential hospital report, dated March 26, raised a number of red flags, including shortfalls in staff, that required urgent resolution. The report noted store room shortages in essential PPE supplies, particularly masks, hand sanitiser and Clinell wipes. At that stage hand sanitiser in the storeroom was reported as zero. PPE was available in the hospital but it was becoming difficult to readily access and some clinicians complained of delays in sourcing some equipment such as gowns. There were cases of nurses complaining of being told off for wearing too much or asking for too much. Another issue was the heavy reliance on interstate locums and agency staff, which was becoming a critical issue as border restrictions resulted in gaps in rosters. One doctor said: Scarce PPE and few cleaners and orderlies on shift. What could possibly go wrong? There were verbal reports of a senior nurse emptying bins. Testing was another issue. As of April 21, 114 people had been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the North West cluster - 73 staff, 22 patients and 19 others, including household contacts. Among the 73 staff diagnosed, the internal inquiry found 77 per cent attended work while infectious - but many of them did not know they had the virus. Staff training in treatment of cardiac arrests and intubation in a COVID-19 environment was an issue. Loading Even as late as April 17, when patients had been transferred to the Mersey, the executive director medical services for the North West wrote: Whilst this is still the preference is to avoid admitting patients who are likely to require resuscitation/assisted ventilation, it is not necessarily going to be possible in the longer term and there needs to be a safe protocol to guide our staff. As it stands - This protocol is currently unable to be implemented In response to questions, a spokesman denied there was inadequate training and rejected claims of shortages of cleaners over the Easter weekend. In order to supplement the loss of staff at the NWRH due to the outbreak, personnel at the Mersey Community Hospital, including cleaners and orderlies, were redeployed, he said. The spokesman said it was incorrect that hand sanitiser and other PPE reached low levels. He said the department was compliant with standards of PPE and Tasmania had appropriate levels. He said when services were affected by staff being placed in quarantine, there was a prompt response to protect the welfare of patients, staff and the community. The United States will use all options to free two Americans said to be detained in a failed mercenary attack in Venezuela, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday. "If the Maduro regime decides to hold them, we will use every tool that we have available to try to get them back," Pompeo told reporters. He reiterated President Donald Trump's denial of US involvement, quipping: "If we had been involved, it would have gone differently." Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom the United States has been seeking to topple for more than a year, on Monday displayed the passports of two Americans he said were arrested in a plot to bring him down. While it was unclear where they were detained, Venezuelan officials earlier said they had foiled an attempted landing by mercenaries on a beach near Caracas in which eight people were killed. Maduro tried to tie the alleged plot to Juan Guaido -- the opposition leader considered interim president by the United States and some 60 other countries. Venezuelan officials said that Guaido had a $212 million contract with a Florida-based security firm founded by former US special forces soldier Jordan Goudreau, who has openly said he is working to oust Maduro. Guaido denied the contract and Pompeo declined comment. "As for who bank-rolled it, we're not prepared to share any more information about what we know," Pompeo said. The State Department earlier dismissed Maduro's account as "melodrama" and accused him of concocting details to deflect from mounting troubles at home. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 05:55:39|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SARAJEVO, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The 2020 local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) will be held on Oct. 4 with the exception of the southern city of Mostar, Vanja Bjelica-Prutina, president of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of BiH, said at a press conference on Thursday. Bjelica-Prutina stated that the CEC adopted the decision on the conclusion of the Central Voters' Register with the status as of May 6 at 24:00 hours. The total number of registered voters is 3,374,364. Voters will elect 64 municipal councils in the Federation of BiH and 56 municipal assemblies in Republika Srpska, the country's two semi-autonomous regions. City councils or assemblies, as well as mayors, will also be elected. Local elections in the City of Mostar, the third-largest city of BiH, will be called once the necessary conditions are secured for an electoral process to take place. Enditem Deforestation in Brazils Amazon in the first three months of 2020 rose 51 percent from a year earlier. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has authorised the deployment of armed forces into the Amazon region to fight fires and deforestation, three months earlier than in 2019, after a jump in destruction in the worlds largest rainforest. Last year, Bolsonaro waited until August to send troops into the region, following an international outcry over a wave of fires in the rainforest, which traps vast amounts of greenhouse gases that cause climate change. The order, passed on Thursday, is effective from May 11 to June 10, but can be extended to 60 days in total, as Bolsonaro did last year. Vice President Hamilton Mourao said last week the government planned to send in the military as part of a plan to establish bases in the Amazon to fight deforestation. Deforestation in Brazils Amazon in the first three months of 2020 rose 51 percent from a year earlier. The first quarter coincides with the rainy season when destruction usually eases as loggers are deterred by the weather. Environmental advocates say the militarys presence should deter illegal destruction of the rainforest in the short term, but argue the armed forces cannot replace the permanent oversight of environmental agencies. WELL-KNOWN Limerick businessman Stephen Keogh has been appointed as president of the Shannon Chamber. Stephen Keogh, the managing partner of Sellors LLP, which is based in Glentworth Street in Limerick City, succeeds outgoing president Mary Considine, who heads up the Shannon Group. She served a two-year term as president. A commercial lawyer who hold a degree in accounting and finance from Trinity College Dublin, Mr Keogh is a managing partner at Sellors LLP, which has a base here and in the capital. A resident of Clonlara, he sits on numerous boards and committees and advises in a variety of business sectors. Hes married to Pippa and has four young children. A director of Shannon Chamber since 2012, he has held the positions of company secretary and latterly vice president before acceding to his new role a president. As a director he has worked closely with chamber chief executive Helen Downes and brings a combination of his professional expertise and his broad practical business experience to his role as president. Shannon Chamber chief executive Helen Downes said: The selection of Mr Keogh as president is a natural progression in his tenure as a board member. His guidance and contribution as a director has been invaluable and his cumulative wealth of experience will enable him to steer the board as we work to deliver on a very wide range of programmes to benefit our 300 member companies and the region as a whole. He is the first president to assume the role via a virtual board meeting, given the current requirement to work remotely. I look forward to working with him remotely in the short term and hopefully in person in the medium to long term. Eoin Gavin, managing director, Eoin Gavin Transport is the new vice president. Thousands of Oregon small businesses that were initially unable to access federal stimulus loans have managed to secure loans in the programs second round. The Small Business Administration granted more than $3 billion in Paycheck Protection Program loans to businesses in Oregon. The money went to more than 31,000 businesses across the state. State tax officials confirmed the funds will not be taxable under Oregons controversial new business tax that supports education. Here are more developments to know Thursday: ECONOMY: State unemployment officials say they are prioritizing thousands of jobless claims still pending from March. Some laid-off workers have gone several weeks without benefits during the coronavirus outbreak. CASES: Baker County in eastern Oregon has reported its first case of coronavirus, leaving only three other counties without a single case of COVID-19. The overall number of cases statewide is closing in on 3,000. CARE: A federal judge signaled he might order the Oregon State Hospital to test all its patients for COVID-19 in an effort to speed up admissions to avoid dozens of defendants with acute mental illnesses having to wait longer in county jails before being transferred to the hospital. TESTING: Kroger Co., the parent company of Fred Meyer and QFC, will offer free coronavirus testing for workers. Tests will begin this month, based on symptoms and medical need, Kroger said. REOPENING: Hikers returned to Tryon Creek state park in Portland after some Oregon parks got the green light to reopen.State officials are working on ways to allow some camps to operate this summer, but the guidelines remain in early draft form. DINING: A Canby restaurant reopened to dine-in customers despite the statewide bans. That is, until police shut it down. Bobs Red Mill plans to give $25,000 in grants to five restaurants nominated by the public to help them survive the coronavirus pandemic. LIFE TODAY: The coronavirus has upended Oregons wedding season, forcing heartbreaking decisions, postponements and lost business. #TEAMOREGON: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter -- The Oregonian/OregonLive Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. By PTI KOCHI: Launching its biggest ever repatriation exercise, India onThursday airlifted 363 of its citizens, including nine infants, stranded in the United Arab Emirates due to the international travel lockdown over the COVID-19 pandemic. While the first Air India Express flight carrying 177 passengers and four infants from Abu Dhabi landed at Kochi at 10:09 pm, the second flight from Dubai carrying same number of passengers and five infants landed at Kozhikode few minutes later at 10.:32 pm. Passengers of the first #VandeBharatMission flight from Abu Dhabi in #UAE come out of Kochi airport in #Kerala, late on Thursday. The Air India Express flight had 181 passengers on board. @airindiain@DrSJaishankar@MOS_MEA@NewIndianXpress pic.twitter.com/ZWqfDsdSbP Sovi Vidyadharan (@sovividyadharan) May 7, 2020 The massive repatriation exercise is named 'Vande Bharat Mission.' 'The evacuated citizens will be sent to the Institutional Quarantine facilities set up by the district administrations in their respective districts, Kerala government officials said. Pregnant women, people needing immediate treatment, those returning to attend ceremonies connected to the death of a close relative, aged people needing continuous assistance and children under 10 years will be permitted to go to their houses, where they will be under strict home quarantine (self-isolation) for 14 days, officials said. ALSO READ | Sigh of relief as first batch of Keralites arrive home from UAE All passengers were asked to download the Arogya Setu app on their mobile devices and submit forms of the undertaking, as directed by the Government of India, on their arrival at the airport, they said. The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses were kept ready for transporting the evacuated expatriates. Taxis were arranged for those who needed cars. The pilots and cabin crew were in PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) suit on the flights which carried the evacuated citizens. "Proud and privileged to carry out the first medical mission titled 'Vande Bharat Mission," the Pilot of Kochi bound flight said. Two masks, sanitizer, snacks box with two cheese sandwiches and a fruit cake slice and water were provided to the passengers inside the aircraft. Meanwhile, the state government partially modified its order on quarantine and stated that all incoming passengers who have not undergone testing at the point of departure, will be put in Institutional Quarantine (IQ) for 14 days by the district administration. Those passengers tested and found COVID-19 negative will be put in IQ for seven days. If they do not develop symptoms after seven days, they would be put in home quarantine for the next seven days, the order issued by Chief Secretary, Tom Jose said. The Centre had insisted that all passengers coming to India should undergo 14 days Institutional Quarantine. Athira Geetha Sreedharan,27, from Dubai, who is expecting her first baby in July this year and had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking help to return for her delivery, was among those who could board the Dubai-Kozhikode flight. "I am very happy that I have got a ticket to travel in the first flight itself and I thank everyone," Athira, who stays in Dubai with her husband Nithin Chandran, said. India has been under lockdown since March 25 to curb the coronavirus pandemic. All domestic and international commercial passenger flights have been suspended during the three-phase lockdown which began on March 25 and will continue till May 17. In a relief to Kerala, no new positive cases were reported for the second consecutive day on Thursday, while 474 people have been cured and only 25 active cases remain in the southern state. The state, which has done extremely well in containing the spread of the contagion, is hoping that there will not be any spike in numbers once the NRKs (non-resident Keralites)return from various countries. A nursing home in Harlem has become a place of horrors for staff and residents. The disturbing videos and the grim scenes were all obtained by the Daily News and it showed at least 20 bodies wrapped in black bags that were carted out of the Harlem Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation over the last month during the coronavirus pandemic. Was there a cover up? The 20 bodies that were wrapped in black bags were piled into medical examiner vans and refrigerator trucks. However, only five people it is recorded to have died of COVID-19 in the nursing home on W. 138th St., according to the state. The mysterious decrease in the number of deaths, which could not be explained by the state Health Department, raises questions about data on deaths at nursing homes shared by Governor Cuomo during one of his daily briefings. Governor Cuomo said on May 5 that accurate reports from New York's 613 nursing homes and 544 adult care facilities are a work in progress. The state disclosed an additional 1,700 people at nursing homes who are said to have died from coronavirus. Because of this, the total number of death due to coronavirus is 4,813 since March 1. Also Read: Billions of People Could Live in Inhabitable Hot Areas by 2070 The total number of deaths does not include residents who were transferred to a hospital before dying. Gov. Cuomo said that he would take all of the numbers with a grain of salt. The video of bodies wrapped in body bags also raises questions about the Harlem Center, a 200-bed facility that is facing a lawsuit for allegedly letting the body of a resident decay for five days in a storage closet in December. A spokesman for the facility did not answer a question about how many people have died there during the coronavirus outbreak. According to an employee, Harlem Center said that the home had received coronavirus patients from hospitals under a state mandate. A male medical professional said that the Department of Health forced them to take COVID-19 patients from hospitals. The DOH took sick people out of hospitals and put them in nursing homes. Blood on the hands of Cuomo and the DOH The data on deaths that are regularly updated by the Department of Health show two confirmed and three presumed COVID-19 deaths at Harlem Center. However, a second male worker at the facility gave the impression that the number of deaths was much higher than what was recorded. The state Health Department launched an unannounced coronavirus inspection of the nursing home last week, according to a spokeswoman for the agency. Richard Brum, general counsel for the home's parent company Allure Group, said that there was nothing unique about the sudden inspection. Brum said that the DOH visited Harlem Center last week as part of a routine COVID survey. They have not seen the results yet and there were no indications that it was done in response to the incident. Brum added that they have done everything in accordance with state and city regulations with respect to treating and reporting COVID-19 cases. A state health official said that the investigations focus on compliance with CDC guidelines to prevent coronavirus infections. The investigation also includes an audit of records on coronavirus deaths. Related Articles: Hot Weather Dries Up COVID-19 Droplets, But Virus May Travel Farther in Windy Days @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. - Sosei Heptares solves structure of the agonist bound orexin OX2 receptor and identifies small molecule binding site using unique StaR technology and structure-based approach - New improved insights into the receptor's structure will help optimize the discovery and development of novel molecules targeting neurological diseases TOKYO and LONDON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sosei Group Corporation ('the Company') (TSE: 4565) announces that it has made further significant progress with its orexin program, which is being developed in conjunction with its spin-off companies Orexia Limited ('Orexia') and Inexia Limited ('Inexia'). These spin-off companies were created by Sosei Heptares and venture capital firm Medicxi in 2019 to develop novel therapies based on positive modulators of the G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) Orexin OX1 and OX2 for neurological diseases, including narcolepsy. Orexia and Inexia are funded by Medicxi under a 40 million commitment. Mario Alberto, Accardi Ph.D., CEO of Orexia and Inexia, commented, "We are delighted with this latest scientific breakthrough on the structure of the agonist bound orexin OX2 receptor through our work with Sosei Heptares. The level of structural detail we now have is exceptional. We are confident that this important advance, combined with the drug discovery and design capability we have assembled based around Sosei Heptares' world-leading platform, will drive our efforts to progress highly selective and potent molecules for the treatment of neurological diseases." Dr. Rob Cooke, Chief Technology Officer at Sosei Heptares, added, "We are very excited by the detailed insights into the structure of the OX2 receptor that we have generated. The power of our StaR technology and SBDD approach in this instance has enabled us to solve the structure of OX2 to high resolution, and with that to pinpoint the binding site for small molecule agonists. These new findings, which have been delivered despite the operational challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrate the strength of the Sosei Heptares scientific team and our commitment and capacity to support Orexia and Inexia and our other partners during these challenging times." About Orexia and Inexia Orexia and Inexia are focused on developing Orexin OX1 and OX2 positive modulators and products derived therefrom, including dual OX1/OX2 agonists, targeting neurological diseases including narcolepsy. Orexia focuses on the development of oral therapies, while Inexia focuses on the development of candidates for intranasal delivery using the Optinose Exhalation Delivery System. The orexin system is a key regulator of behavioural arousal, wakefulness and sleep. The loss of the orexin neurons causes narcolepsy and has been linked to multiple neurological conditions. Despite orexin neurodegeneration, orexin receptors on target cells remain intact and functional, providing an opportunity for therapeutic intervention. Orexia and Inexia were created in 2019 through a structured financing agreement between Sosei Heptares and Medicxi, which has committed up to 40 million to invest in both companies. Both companies gain exclusive access to relevant intellectual property, know-how and development capabilities from Sosei Heptares, including access to the StaR platform and associated SBDD expertise. Sosei Heptares retains an equity holding in both companies and will receive R&D payments as well as further payments on the achievement of pre-defined development milestones. For more information on Orexia and Inexia, please visit www.orexiatherapeutics.com and www.inexiatherapeutics.com. 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 (TSE: 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)3-4360-9234 Yas.Fukuda@citigatedewerogerson.com Mark Swallow, David Dible - International Media +44-(0)20-7638-9571 SoseiHeptares@citigatedewerogerson.com The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) on Thursday demanded an inquiry into the Vishakhapatnam gas leak and stringent action against the guilty. The union also demanded compensation for victims of the accident. Gas leaked from a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam in the early hours of Thursday and quickly spread to villages in a five-kilometre radius, killing at least 11 people and impacting about 1,000. "AITUC demands inquiry to fix the guilty for negligence and stringent action in the LG Polymer Company gas leakage accident - and also demands compensation for the deceased and sick," AITUC said in a statement. This accident has once again brought forth the issues of occupational safety and health (OSH) not only for those who are at the workplace but also for people living in the vicinity of such plants, it said. The union said the accident is reminiscent of the Bhopal gas leak tragedy. The lessons have not been learnt from the previous accidents to ensure continuous process of safety measures in industries, it added. Trade unions have always been raising OSH as a serious issue and there should be no negligence on that account by the authorities who issue no-objection certificates for opening and operations of the plants. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At a time when social distancing is the norm, have we forgotten entirely about precision medicine and public health? Not so fast. Social distancing can flatten the curve, we now see, but as a one-size-fits-all approach, it's not a sustainable solution. Universal self-isolation has led to record-level unemployment claims, a drop in gross domestic product and food shortages in the wealthiest nation in the world. Protests against universal self-isolation are growing, including among beachgoers in California and armed citizens at the Michigan Capitol. These and other protests threaten to reverse progress we've made. And social distancing is especially not sustainable for those with fewer socioeconomic resources, who not only have experienced a disproportionate share of COVID-19 cases and deaths but also furloughs and lost wages. Instead of relying on a one-size-fits-all approach, we need to rapidly develop a precision public health approach to containing the virus. It should be centered on case finding (identifying people with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19), contact tracing (identifying those who have been exposed), quarantine of contacts (separating and restricting the movement of people who were exposed to a case to see if they become sick and to prevent spread before they become sick) and isolation of cases (separating sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick). PHOTO: Medical workers take in patients outside of a special coronavirus intake area at Maimonides Medical Center, May 4, 2020, in Brooklyn, New York. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Precision public health can be seen as administering the right public intervention at the appropriate time. To do this, we need to understand the number of tests for COVID-19 that have been completed, the number of laboratory-confirmed infections, as well as a count of hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions -- and deaths. We also need these data according to location (at the neighborhood, city, county and state levels) and by time. Finally, we need to know what resources (people, equipment and space) are available to meet health care needs by location and by time. Story continues Armed with this data, a precision public health approach to COVID-19 could look like this: Identify hot spots of infection Whether it's in nursing homes or dense housing complexes or anywhere else, this would reduce the number of test kits needed. If a positive test is linked to a particular population, individuals in that population could be individually tested. Implement a robust contact tracing program We should work with front-line healthcare workers and use smartphone apps (wherever possible) to monitor patients diagnosed with COVID-19, and use text messaging to promote a geo-fence of isolation around these individuals. Improve state and local public health care system capabilities We need more public health infrastructure for early outbreak identification, case containment and adequate medical supplies, as well as resources for behavioral health and social services. PHOTO: Jersey City firefighter Matt Finnerty, right, has blood drawn to test for coronavirus antibodies at a testing site in Jersey City, N.J., May 4, 2020. (Seth Wenig/AP) Our local health departments have suffered from lack of funding, skilled workforce and technology to assist with surveillance, testing and tracing. This has implications for our ability to fight the virus, recover and rebuild. Over the last five years, the public has been acting as the nation's heath corps. Through social media, residents are identifying outbreaks before they happen. They're now engaging in contact tracing, but we are not adequately prepared to support them because of the lack of infrastructure. We need to manage the risk actively and aggressively for the next 18 months until vaccinations may be available. We need measurable milestones for identifying points for transition and a detailed set of guidelines that provides instruction on how people can resume economic and social activity while minimizing the risk of a second wave of infections. What obstacles do we face in implementing a precision public health approach? Lack of testing capacity While the number of tests for SARS-CoV-2 performed in the U.S. is higher than other countries, federal coordination to support community-based testing is needed to provide more data. Testing deserts, stemming from an overwhelmed supply chain and a disjointed public health system, have put us in a tough position. Inconsistent messaging and coordination Some of the federal government's messaging on the pandemic has been confusing. Should we wear a mask or not? Are tests available or not? Should we stay home or not? COVID-19 is a pandemic. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is highly contagious and does not respect political boundaries, including those that separate states or cities within a state. A breakout in the number of cases of COVID-19 is not only a problem for individuals in that community but also for neighboring communities and states because the number of positive cases is a lagging indicator of spread. There is a role for local tailoring based on differences in the number of laboratory-confirmed cases, but the federal government is needed to oversee its implementation and share lessons learned with other states. Economic burdens Ultimately, a precision public health approach should lead to an opening of the economy, an easing of economic burdens. However, implementing precision public health will require resources. States and municipalities need the funds and supplies to perform testing, contact tracing and advance other measures. Given the present economic crisis, families who lost livelihoods need some measures of financial support in order to not take desperate measures for wages or food that might undermine public health guidance. PHOTO: People queue using social distancing outside a patisserie in Codogno, the small northern town where Italy's first patient was diagnosed with the coronavirus disease, as the country begins a staged end to a nationwide lockdown, May 5, 2020. (Marzio Toniolo via Reuters) Precision public health isn't just a means to mitigate risk now but to help transition from response to recovery. The tools of precision public health provide actionable intelligence to identify who's safe to go back to work or back to school. Technology is going to be a critical ingredient to realizing these opportunities. In India, they're using a contact tracing app to help populations de-risk social distancing. It is ironic that a country that has invested so much in tailored treatments, digital health and big data is using such an indiscriminate "isolate all" approach to containing COVID-19. Now is the time for precision public health, so we can recover and rebuild. What to know about coronavirus: How it started and how to protect yourself: Coronavirus explained What to do if you have symptoms: Coronavirus symptoms Tracking the spread in the U.S. and worldwide: Coronavirus map Tune into ABC at 1 p.m. ET and ABC News Live at 4 p.m. ET every weekday for special coverage of the novel coronavirus with the full ABC News team, including the latest news, context and analysis. Jay Bhatt, a practicing internist and Aspen Health Innovators Fellow, is an ABC News contributor. Stevan Weine, M.D., is a professor of psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine and director of the Center for Global Health. Jerry Krishnan, M.D., Ph.D., is associate vice chancellor for Population Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago. Precision public health may be the answer to COVID-19: Opinion originally appeared on abcnews.go.com 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 hasnt spoken to her since. Another, from the US, told how the brides 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 mortified wedding guest, from an unknown location, revealed her father halted proceedings at her mothers wedding because he wasnt over her One wedding guest, from an unknown location, revealed she stopped her friends wedding because the groom was a murderer Another, from the US, told how she was living for the drama when the brides mother-in-law objected to the wedding going ahead. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates China's 'Wolf Warrior' Diplomacy Prompts International Backlash By Jamie Dettmer May 06, 2020 Late last year, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi gathered together his country's envoys for a pep talk, telling them they needed to be more assertive in representing Beijing's interests overseas and vocal in defending the Chinese Communist government from criticism. He complained that China was being bullied by Western powers over its human rights record, and he instructed them, according to Chinese press reports, to display a much stronger "fighting spirit." And since December, China's diplomatic corps has done exactly that, in what Western officials and analysts say is a coordinated campaign lauding President Xi Jinping and threatening "counter-measures" against critical foreign governments. As international criticism has mounted about China's initial handling of the coronavirus outbreak and amid growing accusations Beijing may have obscured the origins of the deadly virus, covering up the severity of the outbreak in the city of Wuhan Beijing's diplomats have clashed with host countries in a way seldom seen in peacetime. According to John Seaman of the French Institute, "China's public diplomacy has gone into overdrive. It appears well coordinated, with varying degrees of dogmatism, divisiveness and moderation." But even before the coronavirus outbreak, the tone and temper of Chinese diplomacy started to sharpen, with Chinese envoys in Western capitals exhibiting a truculence that Western officials say is a far cry from what was seen during the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, who ruled as the China's paramount leader from 1978 until retirement in 1992. Traditionally considered the more circumspect of the world's ambassadors, China's envoys have had a makeover. Among the first of China's envoys to heed his boss's instruction was Gui Congyou, the ambassador to Sweden. He pushed back sharply on Swedish criticism of alleged Chinese human rights abuses, warning in an interview with the country's Goteborgs-Posten newspaper of severe consequences if the fault-finding didn't stop. "The Chinese government absolutely cannot allow any country, organization or person to harm China's national interests. Of course, we must take countermeasures," he said, mentioning likely disruption to Swedish cultural exchanges with China. "Economic and trade relations will also be affected," said Congyou, who started his career as a policy researcher for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Sweden's ties with China have been increasingly strained in recent years. The detention of Swedish citizen and Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai, who disappeared while vacationing in Thailand and has been held in China since 2015, started the slide. Since Gui Congyou's newspaper interview, several other Chinese envoys have been castigated by their host countries for promoting 'fake news' on social-media sites or for what have been viewed as offensive comments. Nicknamed by the media "wolf warriors" after a blockbuster movie in which Chinese special forces vanquish American mercenaries in Africa and Asia China's envoys seem determined to break with older traditions of China's more discreet diplomacy. Soon after Gui Congyou warned his Swedish hosts of "bad consequences," his counterpart in Canada, Cong Peiwu, threatened Ottawa with "very firm countermeasures," if Canadian lawmakers pressed ahead with sanctions on China over alleged Chinese human rights abuses against Muslim Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority in northwest China. Since 2015, more than 1 million Uighurs have been detained in what Chinese officials describe as "vocational education centers" for job training, but critics describe as internment or concentration camps. Cong Peiwu warned that if Canada sanctioned China "it suddenly would be a very serious violation of Chinese domestic affairs." China's ambassador in the U.S., Cui Tiankai, also issued warnings about sanctions being proposed, too, in Washington, saying, "Some people in this country are pointing fingers at the governing party and the national system of China, trying to rebuild the Berlin Wall between China and the U.S. in the economic, technological and ideological fields," Cui said. But since the coronavirus outbreak, the tone from the "wolf warriors" has become even more fractious, according to Western diplomats and analysts. They expect the combativeness is likely to intensify as international demands mount for an independent inquiry into the origins of the deadly virus and into the suppression of reports by Chinese authorities about COVID-19's capacity for human-to-human transmission. Some Western leaders and officials, although not all, have suggested the pathogen may have escaped from a research lab in Wuhan, the city where the novel virus was first detected late last year. In Paris, French authorities reprimanded last month Chinese ambassador Lu Shaye, in response to an online post from his embassy claiming France had abandoned its older citizens, leaving them to "die from starvation and disease." The French foreign ministry said in a statement: "Some recent public statements by representatives of the Chinese embassy in France do not conform to the quality of the bilateral relationship between our two countries." Under the leadership of the 55-year-old Lu Shaye, a former envoy to Canada, and a one-time deputy mayor of Wuhan, the Chinese embassy in Paris has been lauding what it describes as Beijing's success in quelling the coronavirus outbreak while scorning the handling of the pandemic by Western countries. The attacks took French diplomats by surprise. France has worked hard to improve relations with China, and last November, French President Emmanuel Macron went to Beijing on a state visit that was widely seen as undercutting a more robust European Union strategy toward China agreed upon just months before. In Cyprus, too, the Chinese envoy, Huang Xingyuan, has prompted the disapproval of his hosts for saying the world was embarrassed by how quickly China had solved the virus outbreak, and had resorted to "blame shifting and lies." Additionally, tweets and statements by Chinese diplomats have prompted pushback not only in Europe Kazakhstan, Iran, Pakistan, Brazil and Singapore, to name a few, have seen arguments flare. In Sri Lanka, the Chinese embassy complained on Twitter: "When westerners publish their opinions, it's called freedom of speech, no matter how false. When Chinese say something different from them, it's called a disinformation campaign. Hilarious double standards." China's diplomats also have lashed out in India in response to calls for Beijing to offer reparations for the coronavirus pandemic, saying the compensation demands are "ridiculous & eyeball-catching nonsense." In Venezuela, a country Beijing has seen as a "socialist ally," Chinese diplomats tweeted that officials in Caracas should "put on a face-mask and shut up." That retort was in response to Venezuelans referring to COVID-19 as the "Chinese" or "Wuhan" virus. China's official publications are unapologetic about the combative diplomacy. "Throw away your illusions and prepare for a fight," announced recently the People's Frontline newspaper, which is run by China's People's Liberation Army. "The world and Chinese diplomats have changed," announced the Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party publication. In an opinion piece run last month, it said, "the days when China can be put in a submissive position are long gone. China's rising status in the world requires it to safeguard its national interests in an unequivocal way." The Chinese people, the Global Times said, "are no longer satisfied with a flaccid diplomatic tone," adding that China has not abandoned Deng Xiaoping's guiding principle for diplomacy "hide your strength, bide your time." The newspaper said: "The 'Wolf Warrior' style of diplomacy doesn't contradict this principle, it's just less subtle." "'Wolf warrior' Chinese diplomats have sought to outdo each other by challenging narratives about COVID-19, while propagating disinformation about the origins of the virus," says Robin Niblett, director of Britain's Chatham House. Some Western analysts believe the pugnaciousness of Chinese diplomacy is at its root defensive a reflection of the Chinese leadership feeling cornered, a case of throwing "mud when provoked," says a report published last week by the Netherlands Institute of International Relations, a think tank based in The Hague. Whatever the root causes, the diplomatic offensive risks backfiring, says former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd. In a commentary Wednesday for Foreign Affairs magazine, Rudd said: "Whatever China's new generation of 'wolf-warrior' diplomats may report back to Beijing, the reality is that China's standing has taken a huge hit [the irony is that these wolf-warriors are adding to this damage, not ameliorating it]. Anti-Chinese reaction over the spread of the virus, often racially charged, has been seen in countries as disparate as India, Indonesia, and Iran. Chinese soft power runs the risk of being shredded." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Rome, May 7 : A further 369 COVID-19 patients had died in the past 24 hours in Italy, bringing the country's death toll to 29,684, out of total infection cases of 214,457, according to fresh figures. The country's Civil Protection Department registered 91,528 active infections on Wednesday, down sharply from 98,467 a day earlier. The day also saw 8,014 additional recoveries, bringing that total to 93,245 -- higher than the active infections for the first time since the pandemic struck the northern Lombardy region in late February, Xinhua news agency reported. Yet, the Civil Protection specified, "such a high number of patients cured and discharged (in the day) is due to an update on data from the Lombardy region that also refers to the past days." Of those infected, 1,333 are in intensive care, down by 94 compared to Tuesday, and 15,769 are hospitalized in normal wards, down by 501. The rest, or 81 per cent of those who tested positive, is in isolation at home. As Italians faced their third day of a partial return to normality -- after the lockdown was eased on May 4, the European Union (EU) authorities warned the Italian economy might contract more than other big European countries due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. In its Spring 2020 Economic Forecast issued on Wednesday, the European Commission forecast the bloc would go towards "a deep and uneven recession" and an equally uneven recovery. Italy, as one of the countries worst hit by the pandemic at the global level, its GDP was predicted to shrink by 9.5 per cent this year, second only to Greece (9.7 per cent). "The COVID-19 pandemic and the related containment measures are set to push Italy's economy into a deep recession," the Commission said. "A technical rebound is expected in the second half of 2020, supported by policy measures, and partial recovery is expected to follow in 2021." According to the report, the Italian GDP would grow by 6.5 per cent in 2021. The negative forecast did not come unexpectedly to Italian authorities. In late April already, in its Economic and Financial Document (DEF) -- containing the country's multi-year financial and economic plan, the Italian cabinet estimated a GDP drop by almost 6 per cent in 2020. On Wednesday, in an interview with Il Fatto Quotidiano daily, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte further confirmed the aftermath of the COVID-19 emergency would be "Italy's toughest challenge after World War II." "With such a drop in GDP, the economic effects will be very painful," Conte said. "This is one reason why we have launched a first 25 billion euros (US $27 billion) financial packet and a second one worth 55 billion euros: the most powerful state intervention in recent years," he explained. Conte anticipated the cabinet later in May should deliver a third decree aimed at simplifying the country's red tape in terms of investments. From a different perspective, however, the prime minister sounded quite satisfied with the way Italians have so far behaved after the easing of some restrictions on productive activities and personal movements. "The citizens' sense of responsibility, and overall compliance with the rules, has been confirmed ... and this makes me confident the epidemic curve will remain under control," he said. In related news on Wednesday, the Economy and Finance Ministry stated 1.6 million applications to join a loan moratorium -- worth almost 177 billion euros overall -- have so far been submitted to Italian banks, according to preliminary data. In addition, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have filed 91,973 requests (worth 5.6 billion euros) to the Ministry for Economic Development in order to be admitted to the state guarantee scheme supporting a debt moratorium from banks to SMEs. The scheme was passed by Conte's cabinet in its first COVID-19 emergency decree (dubbed Cure Italy Decree) in order to help SMEs affected by the pandemic. The scheme was later approved by the European Commission. Italy entered into a national lockdown on March 10 to contain the pandemic. The lockdown was partly lifted on Monday as the country entered into the so-called "Phase Two," involving the gradual resumption of social, economic and productive activities. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Every year, the Russian share in financing occupation regimes in eastern Ukraine is increasing. Russia spends some $1.3 billion on salaries alone as part of maintaining occupation regimes on the territory of Luhansk and Donetsk regions in eastern Ukraine, says Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, Oleksiy Reznikov. "At 62-63%, budgets of the two entities [the so-called 'DPR' and 'LPR'] are financed by the Russian Federation because they collect 37-38% of their taxes and fees, and this figure decreases every year. Previously, they had 40%," Reznikov told a briefing on Thursday, according to an UNIAN correspondent. Read alsoUkraine inviting IDPs to Minsk talks Zelensky's Office chief "They receive their salaries from the Russian budget. According to various sources, it's $1.3 billion in financing salaries alone," Reznikov said. As UNIAN reported, from May 14, internally displaced persons from Donbas will be part of Ukraine's delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group on Donbas settlement. Leech Tishman Fuscaldo & Lampl LLC has hired Michael H. Sampson as a partner in the Litigation Practice Group. Sampson will also serve as chair of the firms Insurance Coverage Group as well as co-chair of the Cannabis Group. He is based in Leech Tishmans Pittsburgh office, where he will represent diverse clients in a variety of complex civil and commercial litigation. Sampson focuses his insurance coverage practice on assisting policyholders across various industries to address and resolve complicated insurance coverage matters relating to commercial general liability policies, property insurance, management liability coverages and other types of insurance, such as cyber liability, hull and marine liability, specie insurance and pollution liability insurance. A significant portion of his practice is dedicated to litigating coverage claims against insurance companies and/or third-party claims administrators. He also regularly advises U.S. and international cannabis-related businesses, as well as ancillary businesses servicing the U.S. cannabis industry. He frequently helps clients in the state-compliant medical and adult-use cannabis markets, as well as the CBD and hemp markets, comply with U.S. federal law, understand the potential for aiding-and-abetting liability, navigate the conflict between federal and state laws, adhere to applicable state regulations and protect their contractual rights. Additionally, Sampson routinely assists cannabis dispensaries, REITs and other cannabis-related businesses with various insurance coverage and risk management matters. In addition, Sampson has experience working with and representing Old Order Amish families across the U.S. In that regard, he has advised Amish individuals denied U.S. permanent resident status due to their religious beliefs and has litigated against, and negotiated with, the U.S. government to resolve these disputes. Leech Tishman Fuscaldo & Lampl is a full-service law firm dedicated to assisting individuals, businesses and institutions. It offers legal services in alternative dispute resolution, aviation and aerospace, bankruptcy and creditors rights, construction, corporate, employee benefits, employment and labor, energy, environmental, estates and trusts, family law, government relations, immigration, insurance coverage and corporate risk mitigation, intellectual property, internal investigations, international legal matters, litigation, real estate, and taxation. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Leech Tishman also has offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Sarasota, Fla., and Wilmington, Del. Source: Leech Tishman Fuscaldo & Lampl Topics Mergers USA Cannabis Pennsylvania Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 00:15:32|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DHAKA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh's cabinet Thursday approved an ordinance paving the way for the courts in the country to hold trails digitally via videoconference. After the cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair, Spokesman Khandker Anwarul Islam told reporters that the cabinet gave its approval to the ordinance titled "Usage of Information and Communication Technology in Court 2020". He said Bangladesh is in dire need for such an ordinance currently as stockpiles of pending cases are on the rise since the nationwide shutdown over the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the government is keen to launch virtual courts within a week to resume trial activities at least on a limited scale. As courts in Bangladesh had been reportedly closed for nearly two months, people are not getting due legal services and the proceedings of a lot of cases are pending. The cabinet secretary said first time in the history of Bangladesh, trials could be held digitally without having physical presence of lawyers and their clients in court rooms when the ordinance comes into effect. "We hope that the ordinance will soon come into force following the honorable president's approval." Enditem MIAMI, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- COVID Loan Tracker, a digital coalition of entrepreneurs across America advocating for the capital needs of small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, today announced findings from its dataset of applications to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Advance Program (EIDL Advance) that suggest the Small Business Administration has not lived up to its promise to process requests for relief through the program on a first-come, first-served basis. The findings raise serious questions about the agency's internal processes in administering the EIDL Advance program and its lack of transparency in a time when American small businesses are in the direst need of help. Since March, COVID Loan Tracker, through its website www.covidloantracker.com, has collected data from 30,000 small businesses that have applied for EIDL Advances. The SBA program provides small businesses experiencing temporary loss of revenue with advances of up to $10,000 that do not need to be repaid. The SBA's public communications on EIDL Advances state that applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. And yet COVID Loan Tracker has identified hundreds of instances in which it appears that certain applications were approved, and advances paid out while others that had been submitted much earlier remained in limbo, without any explanation. For example, data from COVID Loan Tracker's members show that some advances have been issued for applications submitted on April 15, while other applications submitted as early as the last week in March remain unpaid. "There may be a logical, acceptable reason that it appears some applications are 'jumping the line' to approval and others lag behind. For example, we understand that to administer such an expansive program, the agency must ensure that taxpayer money is being paid out properly and appropriately, and that, to an extent, the complexity of any bureaucratic endeavor can lead to variability in processing times," said Duncan MacDonald-Korth, Co-Founder of COVID Loan Tracker. "That said, many of the discrepancies we have seen some applications are approved while others submitted weeks earlier wait fall outside of the bounds of run-of-the-mill government inefficiency and speak to the need for the SBA to make their internal processes more transparent to the public and, in particular, to small business owners seeking relief." Indeed, Mr. MacDonald-Korth has direct experience with the EIDL Advance program. He applied for relief on April 2 and received it on April 27, while Rita MacDonald-Korth, a fellow entrepreneur and co-founder of COVID Loan Tracker who applied within minutes of her husband, had not received her advance as of May 6. Several other colleagues with their own businesses, who applied at the same time or earlier than Mr. MacDonald-Korth, are also still waiting. COVID Loan Tracker is asking small business owners to submit their experiences with the EIDL Advance program or other SBA-administered relief programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program to its website, www.covidloantracker.com. Doing so adds to the body of knowledge on how effective the federal government has been in helping small businesses sustain themselves and recover from the economic impact of the pandemic. Mr. MacDonald-Korth concluded, "At COVID Loan Tracker, our mission is to empower small businesses to leverage the strength of our numbers and hold government accountable. We ourselves are entrepreneurs who have applied for relief from the SBA, so we know firsthand that the process can be both confusing and opaque. The agency is on the record saying that EIDL Advances are to be processed and paid out on a first-come, first-served basis, and while some degree of inefficiency is to be expected, the SBA's lack of transparency into how they are processing these applications only makes a bad situation worse. Knowledge is power, particularly in these uncertain times when small business owners are seeking some semblance of certainty, and the SBA must step up to the plate to provide it." About COVID Loan Tracker COVID Loan Tracker was founded in Miami by entrepreneurs Duncan and Rita MacDonald-Korth. Its website, covidloantracker.com, is a free, crowdsourced data service aimed at providing transparency on when and how many loans the federal government is disbursing through its Small Business Administration (SBA) programs in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The site provides insights, visualizations and best practices based on data from its survey of U.S. small businesses who have applied for relief. Its goal is to empower small business owners, journalists and the general public with the information they need to hold the government accountable. COVID Loan Tracker also offers a channel, through its partnership with the small-business funding provider Fundera, for entrepreneurs to quickly and conveniently apply for loans. For more information, please visit https://www.covidloantracker.com Media Contacts Mitch Manning / Andrew Wang Haven Tower Group 424 317 4858 or 424 317 4859 [email protected] or [email protected] SOURCE COVID Loan Tracker Related Links http://www.covidloantracker.com Ramazan (in Turkish) is a time of extending a hand of mercy and compassion to those in need as we, the Turkish American community, have to our healthcare providers, our first responders, and food pantries during these very difficult times. Ramazan provides American Muslims a time to focus on faith and practice Gods commands through fasting, prayer, self-discipline and charity. God reminds us that we cannot be comfortable with food while our neighbors are in need. This month, we continue to remind ourselves that the essence of life is love, and we renew our lives, our commitment to honesty, integrity and compassion. As the world continues to fight the coronavirus pandemic, an invisible enemy to all of humanity, we wish all to be safe and we say thank you to our healthcare workers, as you all have become our heroes. (Ibrahim Kurtulus is a Dongan Hills resident.) Qatar Airways is seeking billions of dollars in loans after announcing job cuts and deferrals of employee pay. The Gulf countrys national airline is currently in talks with three banks, speaking to each of them bilaterally, Reuters reported today. Qatar Airways still operates regular flights to multiple destinations in Asia, Europe and North America, whereas other Middle Eastern airlines have stopped almost all of their flights. However, the airline, like others, has experienced massive revenue losses lately due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and accompanying downturn in global travel. The news is the latest sign of hardship for the airline. Qatar Airways announced it would cut an unspecified number of jobs yesterday to enable it to stay afloat. The unparalleled impact on our industry has caused significant challenges for all airlines and we must act decisively to protect the future of our business, Qatar Airways said in a statement sent to Al-Monitor. Last month, Qatars CEO also said the airline would defer some employees salaries to save costs and enable it to keep flying. Despite these financial troubles, Qatar Airways also announced yesterday that it plans to expand its current list of 30 destinations to more than 50 in May and 80 in June. Its plans include resuming flights to some Middle Eastern hubs, including Amman. Qatar Airwayss Gulf rival Emirates is also having discussions with lenders, according to Reuters. A letter has been sent from Turkeys Ministry of Environment and City Planning to the Mugla municipality indicating it does not consider the application for geothermal exploration in the Fethiye and Gocek area to be acceptable. The document refers specifically to the six sites between Oludeniz and Gemiler which prompted an outcry among locals and businesses in the area. More than 20,000 people had already signed a petition against the application originally reported to have been approved already by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. Muglas deputy Mursel Alban and Mayor, Alm Karaca, held a joint press conference in Kayakoy a week ago to confirm their opposition own to the proposals and to promise they would fight to plans by all legal means possible. However, within a few days, reports suggested the project faced opposition at the highest level as well. Yesterday, Fethiye Times was able to view the letter from the Ministry of Environment and City Planning, which expresses opposition and urges the Mugla administration to respond outlining its own next steps. The document confirms the drilling would not be deemed acceptable because the activities planned are within the Delicate Areas under Absolute Protection, and these activities will damage the integrity of the flora and fauna which include two rare species of tree. Australia's oldest hippopotamus, Brutus, has died at Adelaide Zoo at the age of 54. Zookeepers announced they made the decision to euthanise the beloved animal on Thursday morning after his health condition deteriorated. 'Having reached the ripe old age of 54 years, well beyond the average lifespan of a hippo, Brutus was unable to hold off the advance of time and our latest aged-animal assessment revealed that there was nothing else that could have been done to improve the quality of his life,' Zoos SA Chief Executive Elaine Bensted said. 'Due to his advanced years, and concerns that age-related conditions were likely to cause him further discomfort over the winter period, veterinary staff and keepers made the extremely difficult but kind decision to euthanise.' Brutus, the beloved hippopotamus, died at Adelaide Zoo on Thursday age 54 Zookeepers made the difficult decision to euthanise the animal after his health condition deteriorated. Pictured: Brutus celebrating his 50th birthday in 2015 Brutus had been a longtime resident of Adelaide Zoo, where he served as one of its most popular attractions for 45 years. Adelaide Zoo has been closed due to COVID-19 but staff have asked fans to celebrate the hippo's life by paying their respects on social media or by having one of his favourite foods. 'Zoos SA is asking people to join them in celebrating Brutus' life and all that he achieved by enjoying a slice or two of watermelon or apple, banana and pear fruit salad .' 'We will all miss him greatly and he will never be forgotten,' Ms Bensted added. Devastated fans bid farewell to the hippo on Twitter and Facebook sharing heartwarming photos of him at the zoo. Devastated fans celebrated his life by sharing photos of the hippo on social media 'Oh dear Brutus. One of the best SA things we have done was t o meet and feed him. May there be an abundance of soggy lucerne in Hippo Heaven,' one person tweeted. 'Nobody talk to me. Just found out Brutus, the hippo from the Adelaide Zoo, passed away. Rest in peace big guy,' said another. Brutus was born in Taronga Zoo in Sydney before arriving at Adelaide Zoo in 1975. The happy hippo is survived by his granddaughter Brindabella and great granddaughter Pansy who live in Victoria's Werribee Open Range Zoo. The government needs to give direct push to MSMEs to ramp up export of consumer goods to reap the benefits of India's comparative advantage over products made in China in the post-pandemic world, a report said. India can look in the range of incremental exports growing by USD 20 billion (in the least favourable outcome) to a significant USD 193 billion jump in the five-year horizon, only if it builds its capabilities and captures share from China, according to SBI's Ecowrap report released on Thirsday. Although, the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) for India is lower than China as far as capital goods exports are concerned, India can still capitalise on this opportunity to push its capital goods exports. However, the bigger opportunity right now is in the consumer goods sector, in which India has an RCA greater than China, said the report. Looking at the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) profile of the country in terms of the consumer goods sector, the biggest concentration is in the textile and clothing sector (17.30 per cent), food products (12.30 per cent) and crop and animal production (10.0 per cent). Although we do have a comparative advantage in textiles and animal goods, in food products we are not competitive. The government can give a direct push to this sector, so that MSME firms involved in food products manufacturing get benefitted, the report said. It further said that although 2020 is a lost year, in terms of trade, India can think long-term and build relations so that it can occupy the space vacated by China. "When we look at the value of merchandise exports, for 2019, China exported USD 2.5 trillion worth of goods, while India exported USD 0.3 billion worth of merchandise. This means that China exports 7 times the amount of goods India exports in a year," it said. Taking a look at Vietnam, which has rapidly captured merchandise exports, it is also touted that a fair number of the factories being rapidly put up in Vietnam are owned and financed by the same Chinese companies being dislodged in their home country, the report said. However, it added that there is no denying the fact that Vietnam has gained in this trade war, with its cheap labour and cheap currency. "How India maneuvers the geopolitical space will clearly determine how successful it is in becoming an export behemoth. With just 1.7 per cent in world's merchandise exports, India has a long road ahead to catch up with China. But it must be now...," it asserted. As per the report, India is one country that can fulfill global demands with its sizeable population. However, India will have to take a hard look at its labour reforms and currency outlook to gain market share. Although COVID-19 can dampen demand for the coming years, it does provide an opportunity for global trade rebalancing, and India needs to play its cards right to gain something out of this catastrophe, said the SBI Ecowrap report. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2020 / MGX Minerals Inc. ("MGX" or the "Company") (CSE:XMG)(FKT:1MG)(OTC:MGXMF) is pleased to provide additional disclosure regarding its acquisition of the Heino-Money gold deposit and Tillicum claims. The Vendors, on a 50/50 basis, are 1240056 B.C. Ltd. and Gustafson Holdings Ltd and are non-related parties. The Company has entered an agreement to purchase a 100% interest in the Heino-Money gold deposit and Tillicum Claims (MINFILE 082FNW234 including Grizzley, Annie Flats, and Silver Queen occurrences, located approximately 12 kilometres east of Burton (110 km east of Kelowna), in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. By issuing shares and cash totaling $5,000,000 CDN and completing a work program of $1,050,000 CDN over a three year term, MGX will acquire a 100% interest in the property with a Net Smelter Return to the Vendors of 5%, which may be bought back for $1,000,000 CDN. For further details see MGX Press Release dated May 7, 2020. About MGX Minerals Inc. MGX Minerals invests in commodity and technology companies and projects focusing on battery and energy mass storage technology, extraction of minerals from fluids, and exploration for battery metals, industrial minerals, and precious metals. Contact Information Patrick Power Chief Executive Officer ppower@mgxminerals.com Web: www.mgxminerals.com 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. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "potentially" and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking information as a result of various factors. The reader is referred to the Company's public filings for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects which may be accessed through the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. SOURCE: MGX Minerals Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/588945/MGX-Minerals-Provides-Clarification-on-Acquisition-of-Heino-Money-Gold-Deposit-and-Tillicum-Claims Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that salons and pools would be permitted to open May 8, earlier than initially expected. However, like retailers and restaurants, there are stipulations. US farmers are selling pigs on Craigslist, after production plant closures have forced them to euthanise hundreds of thousands of hogs every day. Last week, officials estimated that 700,000 pigs were being euthanised every day in the US, as pork production plants temporarily closed amid the coronavirus pandemic. To help ease the struggle, president Donald Trump, used the Defence Production act, to order production plants to stay open, by labelling them an essential service. Despite the order, pork production plants are struggling to get production up to full capacity, and hog farmer Chad Lubben told CNN that he is now selling pigs on Craigslist, so he does not have to euthanise his whole supply. On Tuesday, Mr Lubben posted on the site and advertised the pigs at $80 (65) each. He told the outlet that he needs to get rid of as many hogs as he can by 23 May, because he will be receiving a new shipment of 2,400 pigs on that day. Im losing $70 a pig right now, but I figure if I can make $80, at least its better than zero when it comes to euthanisation, Mr Lubben said. Nebraska farmer, Brian Sudbeck, told the outlet that he has also been forced to sell pigs and cattle online, after he was advised that his best option was to give excess animals to petting zoos. Recommended US farmers forced to kill healthy pigs amid coronavirus pandemic I currently reached out with an ad online to try to find a place for some market-ready hogs to go due to the situation, he said. I found myself running out of options and made a half dozen phone calls to the USDA FSIS Department regarding laws on butchering animals just to be absolutely insulted and told to call around to see if any petting zoos are looking for animals? Mr Lubben told CNN that it costs money to dispose of pigs properly and legally, and said that without financial support, farmers will suffer. Recommended Major grocery chains rationing meat purchases to curb hoarding No money, no farmers, no food, he said. Jim Monroe, the spokesman for the National Pork Producers Council, told the outlet that the adverts are proof of a farming crisis. Its definitely an indication of the animal welfare crisis faced by our producers, he said. Its indicative of the desperation they feel. Last month, Howard Roth, the president of the National Pork Producers Council, said that farmers will need financial support to survive the crisis. We are going to need indemnity money for these farmers, he said. This situation is unprecedented. In a statement, he said that hog farmers are being disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Hogs are backing up on farms with nowhere to go, leaving farmers with tragic choices to make, he said. Dairy producers can dump milk. Fruit and vegetable growers can dump produce. But, hog farmers have nowhere to move their hogs. According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now upwards of 1.2 million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 73,566. After Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea, Niger and Congo-Brazzaville have in turn received a donation of Covid-Organics, this decoction based on artemisia, which the Malagasy president praises for its curative virtues against coronavirus. For Niger, the announcement was made yesterday by the Ministry of Health. The products are contained in sachets ready to be administered in the form of infusion, to treat 900 people: 300 for patients already contaminated and 600 as a preventive measure, said AFP Souley Zaberou, a member of the ministry. Congolese President Denis Sassou-Nguesso had already announced last week that he had ordered a first batch of Covid-Organics. The cargo arrived on Tuesday on the national territory, received by the chief of staff of the Head of State, Florent Ntsiba. Covid-Organics has not yet been the subject of a published scientific study. On Monday, the World Health Organization reiterated the importance of conducting rigorous clinical trials on treatments, even from traditional medicine, before they are widely distributed. Medicinal plants such as artemisia annua are considered as possible treatments for Covid-19, but trials should be conducted to assess their efficacy and determine their adverse effects, WHO wrote in a statement. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 15:18:28|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Screenshot shows the opinion article written by Jeffery D. Sachs, entitled "Trump's anti-China theory implodes." Such charges made by the U.S. right-wing forces "could push the world to conflict just as the Bush Administration's lies about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq pushed the U.S. into war in 2003," a Columbia University professor said. WASHINGTON, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Blaming China for the COVID-19 pandemic with reckless lies "could push the world to conflict," a U.S. scholar warned Wednesday. In an opinion article published by CNN, professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, blasted the "big lie" of the U.S. government that "China is the cause of America's problems." The U.S. right-wing forces even claimed that the new coronavirus pandemic was the result of an accidental release from a Chinese laboratory and that China's "cover up" blocked an effective global response. However, such claims have been dismissed by scientists and experts around the world. According to CNN, even U.S. President Donald Trump's top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci and the still-secret findings of the Five Eyes intelligence agencies pour cold water on this claim. Calling such charges "reckless and dangerous," Sachs warned that they "could push the world to conflict just as the Bush Administration's lies about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq pushed the U.S. into war in 2003." Despite scientific findings and analyses which indicated a natural origin of the virus, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asserted on Sunday "There is a significant amount of evidence that this came from that laboratory in Wuhan." Screenshot shows that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo joins an interview with ABC's "This Week," in which he claims that "There is a significant amount of evidence that this came from that laboratory in Wuhan." Sachs wrote that the situation reminded the country "the end of McCarthy era," recalling that Senator Joseph McCarthy used "lies and innuendos to scare Americans into submission." "Aside from the claim of a laboratory release, the U.S. administration and the right-wing media also charge that China covered up the outbreak more generally for weeks," Sachs wrote. He recalled that Wuhan health officials notified the World Health Organization office in China on Dec. 31, 2019, only a few days after the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention in central China's Hubei Province detected cases of pneumonia of unknown cause. The China health agency called the U.S. on Jan. 3, 2020. The genome was fully sequenced and published online on Jan. 12, and Wuhan was put under a lockdown on Jan. 23. "Given the inevitable early confusion about a new disease that had never before been seen, that is a rapid timeline," he said, adding "The right-wing charges against China made no sense." "The bottom line on the epidemic and Trump's dismal failure," according to the professor, is that as of Jan. 30, when the WHO declared a global public health emergency, there was no COVID-19 death in the United States. "Now there are more than 71,000 U.S. deaths," he said. "There was plenty of warning." MELBOURNE (Reuters) - An explosion halted production on Wednesday at a coal mine run by Anglo American in Australias northeastern state of Queensland, injuring five people just months after a review of the industry called for better regulation. The incident is the companys second in 15 months in the area, after a miner died and four were injured at an adjoining complex in February last year in an underground accident that halted operations for four days. The mine is in the process of being evacuated and operations stopped, Anglo American said, adding that those injured at its Grosvenor metallurgical coal mine in the central Bowen Basin had been taken to hospital, and their families told. All remaining on site personnel have been accounted for, it said in its statement. The Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) said the patients were in critical condition after suffering burns to their upper bodies and airways following the blast. A representative of the Queensland Mines Inspectorate confirmed its inspectors were on site and had begun an investigation into the incident. Grosvenor produced 4.7 million tonnes of metallurgical or steel-making coal in 2019. Last year the state commissioned an industry review after six deaths at mining sites over the year to July 2019, and passed legislation for an independent health and safety regulator, expected to be set up by the second half of 2020. The Brady Review examined the causes of 47 deaths in the states mining industry from 2000 to 2019. Bazaar Corporate Radar | Feb 22, 2021, 12:00 AM IST Bazaar Corporate Radar Bazaar Corporate Radar is your window into the minds of top CEOs, Boardrooms, global economists, fund managers and sector analysts. If it?s making news, you?ll find it on Bazaar Corporate Radar. A young father will remain behind bars after he admitted to killing his newborn daughter last year. Jahcey Ngahere, 23, pleaded guilty to manslaughter when he appeared at the High Court in Whangarei via videolink on Thursday. He also pleaded guilty to one charge of threatening to kill and one charge of assault on another child in separate incidents, Stuff reported. Newborn Maree Takuira-Mita Ngahere (pictured) died from a brain injury and bleeding to her brain last February. Severe bruising was also found on an arm and thigh Ngahere's baby daughter Maree Takuira-Mita Ngahere was found dead at a Kaitaia home in New Zealand's Far North District on February 19 last year, one day shy of four-weeks-old. Police launched a homicide investigation after a postmortem revealed the newborn died from a brain injury and bleeding to her brain. The baby girl also had severe bruising on one arm and thigh. 'We want to know what happened to our mokopuna,' a family spokesman said at the time. Jahcey Ngahere (pictured in court last June) has pleaded guilty to manslaughter Her birth certificate state she was born to a 26-year-old mother and Ngahere. 'Daddy's little big girl love you heaps my darling,' he posted on Facebook at the time of his daughter's birth. Ngahere was arrested and charged a month after the baby's death. His name was initially suppressed before a court lifted the suppression order. Ngahere was given his first strike under New Zealand's three-strikes law on Thursday. He remains behind bars and will be sentenced on August 17. San Francisco is using private donations to deliver alcohol, tobacco and medical marijuana to homeless addicts staying in city-leased hotels during the coronavirus pandemic. As of Wednesday there are about 270 people, mostly homeless, staying in hotel rooms to recover from COVID-19 or to wait out possible exposure to the virus. So far, 11 people have received alcohol, 27 have received tobacco and five have received medical marijuana, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. City officials said that private donations pay for the items, and that helping manage nicotine, opioid and alcohol cravings ensures that recovering people don't go out and possibly infect others. Dr Grant Colfax, San Francisco's public health director, said the harm-reduction approach is widespread and based on decades of sound public health policy. 'Our focus needs to be on supporting them,' he said of the people who are isolating or under quarantine. For people experiencing alcohol withdrawal, the Department of Public Health calculates the minimum amount needed and delivers them with meals. The department also facilitates delivery of methadone medication for people trying to kick heroin. It does not help procure recreational marijuana. Sleeping people, discarded clothes and used needles are seen on a street in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood. San Francisco is using private donations to deliver alcohol, tobacco and medical marijuana for a few dozen people dealing with addiction as they isolate or quarantine in city-leased hotel rooms during the pandemic, officials confirmed Wednesday Reports of the program first emerged last week when Thomas Wolf, a case manager who works with addicts in San Francisco, mentioned it in a tweet to the city. 'I just found out that homeless placed in hotels in SF are being delivered Alcohol, Weed and Methadone because they identified as an addict/alcoholic for FREE,' he wrote. 'You're supposed to be offering treatment. This is enabling and is wrong on many levels. @SF_DPH @sfbos @LondonBreed.' The San Francisco Department of Public Health confirmed the report on Twitter Wednesday. 'These harm reduction based practices, which are not unique to San Francisco, and are not paid for with taxpayer money, help guests successfully complete isolation and quarantine and have significant individual and public health benefits in the COVID-19 pandemic,' it wrote. DoPH spokeswoman Jenna Lane further defended the policy in an interview with the Chronicle. 'They're doing San Francisco a great service by staying inside,' Lane said of the people staying in city-leased hotel rooms. 'We're saying: "We're doing what we can to support you staying inside and not have to go out and get these things." 'The health department is also making clinicians and social workers available to anyone who wishes to begin addiction treatment while under DPH's supervision in the hotels.' Reports of the program first emerged last week when Thomas Wolf, a case manager who works with addicts in San Francisco, mentioned it in a tweet to the city The San Francisco Department of Public Health confirmed the report on Twitter Wednesday San Francisco began moving large numbers of its homeless population into hotels last month to help stem the spread of coronavirus. People are seen on the street outside the MSC South homeless shelter on April 17 But Wolf, who was a homeless addict years ago before getting clean and becoming a counselor, says the program could do more harm than good. 'There's an ethical issue there. Alcohol kills more people than any other drug. And I understand the risks of having people detox in hotel rooms, but my understanding is the people who are quarantined in the hotels can leave for 30 minutes for essential services,' he told the Chronicle. 'So if they have to get what they think they need, that's what they should do. But don't deliver it to them. 'We want them to stay inside, but, man, you've got to draw the line somewhere and ask for more accountability. Don't be enabling people.' Three other California counties - Alameda, Santa Clara and Contra - are also using a harm reduction approach in their hotels and administering medications to keep addicts stable. A program similar to San Francisco's is also in place in King County, Washington, which includes Seattle. The National Health Care for the Homeless Council released a memo last month saying that if city programs can't find ways 'to accommodate the use of substances among very vulnerable people, clients may overdose or go into withdrawal (which can also be deadly if not medically monitored)'. It went on to warn that people could leave programs against medical advice, 'risking their own health and/or civil detention, as well as contributing to public health risk'. The 10-kilometre stretch of road, which is being executed by Messrs Kofi Job Construction Limited, will link the Suame Municipality to the Atwima-Nwabiagya North District. Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Member of Parliament for Suame, and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs in Parliament told the Ghana News Agency during the tour that, when completed, the road would ease the severe traffic congestion on the main Suame road. He was accompanied by Dr. John Osei Bobie, the Municipal Chief Executive for Suame and technocrats from agencies and departments under the Ministry. The works, which is about 60 percent complete, involves the construction of a drainage system and bridges, reshaping as well as asphalting of the road. In all, the Suame Municipality is expected to benefit from the rehabilitation of about 70 kilometre stretch of roads in the next two years. Other projects inspected by the delegation included the Suame Magazine road rehabilitation works and the Abusuakruwa-Daavi Junction drainage system. Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu lauded the government for its commitment to expanding the country's road network to quicken the pace of socio-economic growth. Mr. Amoako-Atta said the government would not neglect any community regarding the allocation of road resources. This is why the current mass road rehabilitation being undertaken across the country cut across all Districts. ---GNA - Ghanaian-British Chemical Engineer, Thaddeus Nii Acquah Afutu Anim-Somuah, has been named in the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe's list - The young entrepreneur was listed in the manufacturing and engineering category - Anim-Somuah was named alongside innovative giants such as Daniel Ek, Dev Patel, Kevin Systrom and Florence Pugh Our manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Ghana Ghanaian-born British Chemical Engineer, Thaddeus Nii Acquah Afutu Anim-Somuah, has been named in the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe's list for Manufacturing and Engineering. Every year, Forbes releases a list of top 30 under 30 young Europeans who are reinventing business and society from turning used coffee beans into sneakers to designing solar powered cars as well as acknowledging ingenuity and creativity. With categories spread across finance, art, sports, manufacturing and engineering, 300 young visionaries boldly redefining ten industries across 32 European countries were shortlisted from over thousands of international nominations for 2020. Out of thousands of nominations, Thaddeus Anim-Somuah, an Engineering Manager at Crodas Manufacturing site at Gouda, in the Netherlands, received the well-deserved honour of being one of those named in the prestigious Forbes 30 under 30 list for Manufacturing and Engineering. Thaddeus Anim-Somuah was listed alongside innovative giants such as Daniel Ek, Dev Patel, Kevin Systrom and Florence Pugh. READ ALSO: Beautiful photos of Ayerkie Narnor the producer of TV3's viral programme Date Rush pop up He was recognised by Forbes for his work to help drive Crodas commitment to sustainability, which includes a target of reducing carbon emissions by 25%. Forbes described Thaddeus achievements with Croda as placing him into ''the worlds most impactful community of young entrepreneurs and game-changers.'' Speaking to YEN.com.gh on his recent feat, Thaddeus Anim-Somuah said he was really excited about playing a role in achieving Crodas new Commitment to be Climate, Land and People positive by 2030. A statement on Crodas website also noted that the companys employees around the world would like to congratulate Thaddeus on this much deserved and incredible achievement. Croda International Plc is a company that uses smart science to create, make, and sell specialty chemicals that improve lives. In 2019, YEN.com.ghreported that the fifth annual FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 list was released in the Special Issue of FORBES AFRICA for July 2019. The list featured 120 young African change-makers for the first time, increasing the numbers from 90 in 2018, with 30 finalists in each of the four categories; business, technology, creatives and sports. READ ALSO: Beautiful photos of Ayerkie Narnor the producer of TV3's viral programme Date Rush pop up Low-cost ventilators produced in Ghana by Prof. Fred McBagonluri | #Yencomgh Have national and human interest issues to discuss? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: YEN.com.gh Being one of the countrys largest private sector banks, Axis Bank has undertaken extraordinary measures to be fully operational despite the nationwide lockdown. It is proud to be part of an essential industry that continues to provide support to the people of India in the face of a global health crisis. To this end, a #FilmFromHome conceived by Lowe Lintas Mumbai recognises all bankers for doing everything they can to keep India open and keep the flow of transactions and money in the economy running. Earlier this year, the bank spelt out its new brand philosophy Open that was conceived by Lowe Lintas in partnership with its stakeholders. The philosophy of the bank Open was backed by a visible service transformation using technology seamlessly integrated with a human touch. Speaking about the need for this campaign, Asha Kharga, Group CMO, Axis Bank said "This campaign reflects Axis Banks brand philosophy, keeping it open, both physically and virtually. Through a nationwide lockdown which required backend and on-ground services to be functional at consistent levels. Activities like payments, money transfers, running branches, providing paper rolls to merchants for card payments, loading cash in the ATMs, or make banking accessible in the remotest areas during a pandemic is possible only due to bankers selfless service and their unwavering resolve. This film is a sheer show of solidarity with various teams coming together including the agency, the production house, director, marketing team and the employees of Axis Bank. The film was mostly shot using mobile phone cameras of Axis Bank employees across the globe. Footages poured in from Bhubaneshwar, Jehangirpur, Mumbai, Canada, etc. were weaved into the film. As the treatment of the film was based on realism and authenticity the first half of the film that didnt include the employees was also shot on phone to make the treatment look uniform. Talking about the campaign, Amar Singh, Regional Creative Officer, Lowe Lintas said, "The film, conceived by Joshua Thomas, Katya Mohan and Prathamesh Gharat is an expression of the pride that Axis Bank feels in being part of the banking fraternity. Which finds itself at the economic frontline, facing challenges it has never faced before and showing us every day, that it is equal to the task. The #FilmFromHome is live across their social media platforms. CREDITS : Client: Asha Kharga, Abraham Chacko, Hardik Joshi, Sayan Halder, Arpita Das Agency: Lowe Lintas Mumbai Creative: Amar Singh, Joshua Thomas, Prathamesh Gharat, Katya Mohan, Tejas Dangre Account Management: Shantanu Sapre, Jay Ladhani, Reema Bahadkar, Nitasha Chandnani Production: Mango Monkeys (Director: Vaibhav Mehta) B oris Johnson told Cabinet today he will exercise maximum caution on easing lockdown and vowed that restrictions will be reimposed at any time if coronavirus cases rise again. The Prime Minister announced to minsters that he is now reviewing the lockdown rules that were imposed in March to curb the spread of coronavirus but made clear that any easement next week will be very limited. The bulk of the rules are expected to be reconfirmed for another three weeks. At a special Cabinet, ministers discussed what No 10 called a critical moment in the pandemic response, when the Prime Minister will decide how fast and how far he dare lift restrictions. The Prime Minister said he is considering whether there can be any easement of existing guidelines, said his spokesman. We are not going to do anything that risks a second peak. We will advance with maximum caution. Mr Johnson will announce his routemap out of lockdown in a landmark address to the nation on Sunday, followed by a statement to the House of Commons on Monday. The Prime Minsters spokesman told journalists: Any easement next week will be very limited. One month since UK lockdown - In pictures 1 /14 One month since UK lockdown - In pictures The M5 motorway, looking south towards Devon PA A nearly-deserted Reuters Square in Canary Wharf PA A popular riverside walk alongside the Thames near London's Tower Bridge is almost empty PA The concourse of London's Waterloo station is almost devoid of travellers PA Empty streets and pavements surround Little Ben, a cast iron miniature clock tower, situated at the intersection of Vauxhall Bridge Road and Victoria Street PA Horse Guards Parade in London is empty as tourists stay away PA Liverpool waterfront is practically deserted PA Empty streets in Newcastle upon Tyne PA An empty shopping arcade at Windsor Station PA King's Parade, with King's College (left) and the Senate House (distance) in Cambridge PA A view of a near-deserted Waterlooville town centre in Hampshire PA We are at a critical moment in the fight against the virus. We will not do anything that risks throwing away the sacrifice and effort of the British people. The Government denied it had made up its mind already to extend lockdown, despite adverts running on Instagram that appeared to declare exactly that. The ads were dismissed by officials as relating to the previous lockdown extension three weeks ago, but many observers suspected the weekend announcement had been accidentally leaked out. We are not prepared to do anything with gambles away the sacrifices of the British public, that risks a second spike or risks a further shock to the economy by easing the measures too soon and having to impose them again, stressed No 10. Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon declared that as far as Scotland was concerned lockdown would continue for another three weeks and she would not be pressurised into ending it early. Nicola Sturgeon extends lockdown by three weeks The First Minister said she had to make decisions "informed by the evidence that are right and safe for Scotland". She added: "I will not be pressured into lifting restrictions prematurely before I am as certain as I can be that we will not be risking a resurgence of infection rates." Speaking about reports that the PM is to announce changes to lockdown on Sunday, she added: "The potential changes that have been reported in the media today have not yet been discussed with the Scottish Government or as far as I know with the other devolved governments." Mr Johnson has requested a call with the governments in the other parts of the UK later on Thursday, she added. The PM is due to address the nation on Sunday / PA Ms Sturgeon said: "If and when those discussions do take place I will make very clear, as I have all along that it is my preference, if possible, for all four UK nations to make changes together at the same pace. That certainly helps us give clear consistent messages to you the public. "However for that approach to work we must agree to make changes only when all four governments are satisfied we don't risk a resurgence of the virus. She continued: "If the Prime Minister decides that he wants to move at a faster pace for England than I consider is right for Scotland, that is his right, I will respect that and I will not criticise him for doing that." Mr Johnson held a phone conference with leaders of the Opposition parties at Westminster this afternoon to hear their views about what to do next. The Cabinet and the Cobra emergency committee of senior ministers and officials is expected to meet on Sunday to review the latest data and confirm Mr Johnsons plan. Listen to The Leader: Coronavirus Daily podcast An expert analysis for the Standard Online of the five tests set by the Government on whether lockdown can be ended shows that two tests at least have yet to be met. At least 150 protesters descended on New Jerseys Statehouse in Trenton on Thursday to blast the near-lockdown restrictions Gov. Phil Murphy has put in place to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Chanting open New Jersey now and freedom over fear and waving American flags and banners supporting President Donald Trump, the protesters demanded Murphy, a Democrat, effectively reopen the state. The group, which ignored social-distancing guidelines by congregating and crowding close together, ended the protest outside the Trenton War Memorial, where Murphy holds his daily coronavirus briefings. At Thursdays briefing, Murphy reported at least 254 New Jersey residents have died from complications from the virus, bringing the states total to at least 8,801 deaths since the states first reported COVID-19 fatality March 11. Its the second time in as many weeks that protests of that size occurred in Trenton. Hundreds gathered in a similar manner on April 28. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage Murphy said after last weeks protest that he wished they would do it from home and abide by social distancing rules for safety. People have a right to protest, the governor said. I dont agree with them on this," he added. Please dont claim that were not patriotic by flying the American flag and implying that we dont fly it. I fly five of them at my house. I love my country. I love my state. But the thing that really bothered me was they were congregating. A week earlier, Kim Pagan, of Toms River, was charged with violating the emergency orders over a smaller protest, on April 17. Stephanie Hazelton, of Medford, faced the same charge for the April 28 protest. An "Open New Jersey Now" rally on West State Street outside the Statehouse in Trenton on Thursday.Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. New Delhi, May 7 : A five-member team of experts in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) disaster is flying from Pune to the LG Polymers Industry in Visakhapatnam to assess the situation of the gas leak on Thursday in which several people have lost their lives and many have been left critically ill. So far, 11 people have lost their lives and more than 25 are in critical condition. Medical specialists have also been mobilised to Visakhapatnam. S.N. Pradhan, Director General of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), said that the incident happened at 2: 30 a.m. and the initial movement was made by the local administration, the police and the fire services. "At around 5:30 a.m., the NDRF unit stationed in Vishakhapatnam was informed and our personnel immediately rushed to the spot. They helped in two ways - by neutralising the situation inside the LG Polymers factory and by evacuating the villagers living near the factory," Pradhan said. He also said that around 250 families were evacuated and door-to-door search was carried out. The NDRF team in action has experts to deal with chemical disaster and they went inside the factory premises to evacuate the workers wearing necessary protective gear. "NDRF will stay back in the area till we are absolutely sure that the situation is under control. It will assist the local administration till it is required," said Pradhan, stressing that the "situation is now under control". He also stated that an expert CBRN team would be flying from Pune to Vishakhapatnam. "The styrene that was leaking has been plugged. Now we are looking at rehabilitation of the people," he said. Member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Kamal Kishore, said that about 1,000 people living in nearby areas of the factory have been exposed to the gas leak. He explained that the gas that got leaked is called styrene, which is toxic and injurious to human health. "Several people have lost their lives and nearly 1,000 people living in close proximity to the plant were directly exposed to the gas. They have been evacuated and their medical treatment is going on," Kishore said. He also said that in the morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the National Disaster Management Authority and took stock of the situation on the ground. He also said that a national crisis management committee meeting was chaired by the Cabinet secretary to design the specific steps needed to be taken to contain the effects of the gas leak and to ensure the safety of the people. Taking about the medical problems the people are facing, AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria said, "It is a compound styrene which is an alkaline benzene. It can basically cause harm to humans by inhalation, ingestion and it has an effect on the eye. It also causes irritation in the throat which can lead to coughing besides leading to breathing difficulty." He, however, stressed that it will not have a long-term effect. What happened Shares of South Africa-based gold miner Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) rose an impressive 54% in April according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. That came on the heels of a roughly 20% decline in March. However, the shares were down over 30% at one time during that month. The shift from a dour mood to a positive one was broad-based across the entire stock market between March and April, but the truth is, there are still material issues on the horizon. So what Gold Fields has operations in Africa, Australia, and South America. It's all in sustaining costs are over $1,000 per ounce, so it's on the higher end of the production cost spectrum. And it has a key development project in the works. As COVID-19 started to spread across the globe, investors took a risk-off attitude in March, which helped push the stock price sharply lower. Reinforcing investors' negative view was the late March announcement that the company was temporarily closing a key asset in South Africa, the massive South Deep mine -- a government-mandated shutdown that was part of that country's attempts to stem the spread of the coronavirus. When the company provided its first-quarter operational update, it reported a roughly 12% year-over-year production decline. Notably, gold was flat across the month, using SPDR Gold Shares as a proxy, which didn't provide much support to the stock in the face of broadly negative market sentiment. In April, the mood on Wall Street improved materially and Gold Fields stock bounced back fairly strongly. Gold prices, meanwhile, were up by around 7%. With relatively high operating costs and a somewhat higher-risk portfolio profile, Gold Fields is leveraged to the price of gold, so its large price move wasn't surprising. That said, COVID-19's impact is far from over. For example, the miner announced in early May that a miner at one of its facilities in Ghana had tested positive for the coronavirus. This ongoing situation could further hamper its operating results. Now what Gold Fields is a relatively high-cost miner with a far-flung collection of assets and a relatively small production profile. The stock can be pretty volatile, often moving materially more than gold prices. By comparison, industry giant Newmont Mining produced roughly three times more gold in the first quarter than Gold Fields. Newmont's stock "only" rose 31% in April, but it was up about 1% in March when Gold Fields' stock fell sharply. Through the first four months of the year, Gold Fields stock was up 11% while Newmont was up 36%. Investors looking for a gold investment to diversify their portfolio would be better off looking past Gold Fields to a larger miner or a streaming company. Research released today by Equifax New Zealand shows that consumer credit demand fell by up to 71% during the COVID-19 level four lockdown. The decline in demand represents changes to the number of applications for retail credit facilities such as mortgages, credit cards, personal loans and utilities. The research shows that a significant drop in demand for credit began around the beginning of March 2020, says Equifax New Zealand Managing Director Angus Luffman, with the most dramatic week on week decline as the country entered Alert level three and the subsequently, Alert level four on March 26th. Demand for consumer credit stabilised by the mid-point of lockdown and remained relatively static over the remainder of the Alert level 4 period. Applications for consumer credit are a leading indicator of consumer intention to spend. The combination of business closures during alert level four and plummeting consumer confidence are amongst the key drivers of decreasing demand. The drop in demand for consumer credit is one of the sharpest declines observed in the 24 countries which Equifax operates, reflecting the New Zealand governments decisive stance in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, Australian consumer credit demand declined by a maximum of 41% during the same period. Commercial credit demand in New Zealand fell by up to 63% during the COVID-19 level four lockdown. The decline in demand represents changes to the number of business applications for credit facilities such as business loans, trade and asset finance. Equifax research shows a marked change in commercial credit applications across all industry segments with the largest drops in the hospitality, transport and construction sectors. Following continuous decline in demand over the lockdown period, commercial credit demand showed the first signs of recovery. Like consumer credit, commercial credit demand fell substantially more in New Zealand than Australia, where a maximum drop of 18% occurred. Recovery in the demand for credit also started earlier than in New Zealand, says Luffman. Both consumer and commercial credit demand align with changes in other key activity indicators during lockdown, such as people and freight movements. Credit demand showed its first signs of improvement during the level four lockdown and we would expect that trend to continue, with more businesses open and more New Zealanders back at work at Alert level three. Equifax research from market shock events like the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010/2011 shows the impact on credit demand and recovery is a long-term process. The period of recovery of credit demand in Canterbury, is directionally like the initial estimates from New Zealand Treasury that indicate 2023/24 for a full recovery of the economy. Credit demand in the Canterbury region declined significantly after the earthquakes and took until the middle of 2013 to recover to normal levels. Luffman says credit demand is driven by several key indicators, but primarily it is the behaviour of consumers and businesses, both of whom need to feel confident enough about their prospects, to apply for credit. The re-establishment of credit demand will be a lead indicator of the returning health of the New Zealand economy. ABOUT EQUIFAX INC. Equifax is a global data, analytics, and technology company. We believe knowledge drives progress. We blend unique data, analytics, and technology with a passion for serving customers globally, to create insights that power decisions to move people forward. Headquartered in Atlanta, Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. It is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index, and its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. Equifax employs approximately 11,000 employees worldwide. Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: Rua Bioscience Limited (NZX: RUA) Shareholders Approve Zalm Therapeutics Share Issue Harmoney Corp Limited (NZX: HMY) HMY achieves cash NPAT profitability in 1HFY22 19th January 2022 Morning Report PaySauce Limited (NZX: PYS) Quarterly Market Update Dec 2021 FTX announced as naming rights sponsor of Australian Blockchain Week 2022 18th January 2022 Morning Report 17th January 2022 Morning Report Mosaic lands leading corporate trust expert as new partner 14th January 2022 Morning Report 13th January 2022 Morning Report Minister of Infrastructure Vladyslav Kryklii discussed with Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Ukraine Darkhan Kaletayev the state of affairs and prospects for further cooperation between the countries in various infrastructure sectors. "Vladyslav Kryklii thanked the Kazakh side for the help and comprehensive support in the return of Ukrainian citizens from abroad and also expressed hope for the restoration and strengthening of trade and economic ties between the two countries and the implementation of joint initiatives, particularly in the context of the Silk Road Economic Belt in the direction of China-Kazakhstan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Ukraine-EU using the seaports of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, as well as of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR)," the press service of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine informs. Ambassador Darkhan Kaletayev underscored the need to continue friendly relations between the two countries and the importance of full-fledged restoration of trade and economic ties. As noted, the Kazakh side sees the development of transport logistics, road infrastructure, and the introduction of electronic document management in cargo transportation among the possible ways to improve cooperation. The parties also exchanged experience in organizing the safe operation of various means of transport amid the pandemic. ol DALLAS, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Retail businesses are struggling to continue to stay open while keeping their customers and prospects safe from the Coronavirus. Bagwell Promotions now offers a variety of ways for business to meet the unique demands of today's business. Custom Face Mask can have a logo, name or other message. Full color is available with a 15 day delivery. Floor Decals can help direct traffic in a retail store and keep people at a socail distance "We're getting a lot of calls about floor decals," says John Bagwell, owner of Bagwell Promotions. "These adhesive signs are easy to position on almost any floor and can be custom produced with any message," he adds. With floor decals, people can be reminded to keep a 6-foot distance from one another as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control. Another item readably available is a custom face mask. These can include a logo, message or other information. Businesses or non-profits can order as few as 100 and get delivery is just over 15 days. Bagwell Promotions also offers traditional face masks, awareness ribbons, and even a coloring book for children that answers questions about the Coronavirus along with other promotional ideas to help promote businesses during this time. Many restaurants are now providing takeout or to-go orders and are using imprinted bags from Bagwell Promotions to deliver the food and provide a message. Another hot item now is the "Kooty Key," a germ utility tool that let's users open doors or access elevator or other keys without a physical contact. While this devise has been available for single purchase, it is now available as a promo item with a company name or other imprint. Additional information is available at https://www.bagwellpromotions.com/ or by calling toll free 1-866-281-8830. About Bagwell Promotions: For over 45 years, https://www.bagwellpromotions.com Bagwell Promotions has offered over 499,000 imprinted promotional products from 4,100 suppliers. Traditional promo items include coffee mugs, pens, flashlights, magnets, ID bracelets, key chains and other specialty items along with an assortment of apparel. Contact: John Bagwell 1-866-281-8830 SOURCE Bagwell Promotions Stating that the gas leak in Visakhapatnam was "criminal negligence on the part of the company, the CPI(M) on Thursday demanded a judicial probe into the incident in which at least 10 people have lost their lives. Hundreds fell ill and at least 10 people died after a toxic gas leak at a polymer plant in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, early on Thursday. The gas leak impacted villages within a 5-km radius of the plant, according to officials. "This accident is a clear case of criminal negligence by the management of this company. It needs to be properly investigated if all the precautionary measures were taken when the closed plant was restarted after the lockdown restrictions were eased," the party said in a statement, adding that people were seen running from their houses in thick smoke and the deaths occurred primarily due to asphyxiation. The CPI(M) has demanded that a judicial enquiry be immediately conducted in a time bound manner and the guilty punished. "The LG Polymers management must be held culpable and actions must be taken in accordance with the law. The families of those who lost their lives must be paid a compensation of Rs. 50 lakhs and adequate compensation must be given to the injured," it said. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the government should ensure that labour laws are implemented. "This Vizag industrial accident rings alarm bells reminding us of the horrific Bhopal Gas leak tragedy. Deepest condolences. We demand a thorough investigation and proper compensation to those affected. Responsibility must be fixed, he said in a tweet. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) government has increased the compensation for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) related death from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. Tripura is yet to report a single fatality caused due to the viral outbreak and two Covid-19 patients have recovered so far. The government decided to increase the compensation after the state reported 62 new Covid-19 positive cases since last Saturday. Coronavirus outbreak: Full coverage The Border Security Forces (BSF) 138th battalion has recorded all the 62 active Covid-19 positive cases, including family members of the BSF personnel and one mess worker. Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb has declared Rs 10 lakh as compensation to Covid-19 related death to any frontline workers, including doctors, nurses, healthcare professionals, accredited social health activist (ASHA) workers, media persons, sanitation staff, civil administration employees along with all the citizens, a press statement issued from the Chief Ministers Office ( CMO) said. The State Disaster Relief Fund will pay Rs 4 lakh and the rest Rs 6 lakh will come from Chief Ministers Relief Fund. The state government has also announced it would conduct the Covid-19 test on all frontline workers, including healthcare professionals and media persons, who are battling against the pandemic. The state will also provide one-time compensation between Rs 1,000 and Rs 50,000 to above poverty line (APL) families, and the Chief Ministers Relief Fund has earmarked Rs 5 crore for these expenses. Earlier, Tripura had announced that it would repatriate 33,000 migrant workers to their respective native places by special trains, and the state government would incur Rs 2.5 crore as their transportation cost. Similarly, two special trains would bring all those people from Tripura, who have been stranded after nationwide lockdown restrictions were announced to contain the spread of Covid-19, back home from Bengaluru and Chennai. The state government is likely to spend an estimated Rs 30.50 lakh to bring back these stranded people home. A teenager had his bail revoked minutes for making threats to kill witness in his trial minutes after he was released. The Dublin Childrens Court heard the threats were made 10 minutes after a bail hearing in which the 16-year-old boys solicitor had said the juvenile justice was mopping up failings in mental health services. The boy, who is from the midlands, is not allowed return home after coming to notice of garda and social services for the first time over the past month. The boy is accused of criminal damage and unlawfully getting into a car on Dublins North Circular Road, on May 5, and criminal damage to a womans house in the same area. Strict bail was granted by Judge Brendan Toale but as a result of the threat it was revoked minutes later. He was remanded in custody to the Oberstown Detention Centre to appear again next week. The teenager, who has been living in a hostel in Dublin, had earlier faced a garda application to revoke bail on the grounds he had been repeatedly spotted in areas from which he had been barred by the court, Dublin 1 and the North Circular Road. He had also broke a curfew order to be in hostel in the south inner city from 11pm to 6am every day. The boy also allegedly rang his mother demanding to be allowed go home or else he would attack the household of witnesses in relation to his offences at the North Circular Road. Detective Garda Ken Hoare said the teen told his mother he would inflict harm on someone and that he would smash windows at the house of the witness, and pull them out of the house. Pleading for bail defence solicitor Niamh Kelly said the teenager had no phone and did not know the city well. The current lockdown was not a normal situation and there were no activities to keep the teenager busy and from wandering into parts of the city he was not familiar with, she said. She said the teenager, has been let down mental health services and now finds himself in the criminal justice system. She said the criminal justice system was mopping up the failings of the mental health services. Arthur Dennehy, solicitor for Tusla, said the boys social workers were working hard on the case, and, there is huge concern for his psychological and mental welfare. The teen had only come to notice in recent weeks and a strategy meeting will be held next week. A forensic psychological assessment of the teenager has been recommended by a psychiatrist, he said. Granting bail, Judge Toale told him the conditions remained and that he could not cross the Liffey, into the north of the city, except for court appearances. The teenager was then released on bail to appear again next week. Minutes later, however, Det Hoare had the teenager brought back before the judge. He said immediately after the bail hearing concluded he saw the boy while still at the courthouse making threats to go to the witnesss home and kill everyone there if his mother did not take him home. The teen claimed in court he made a threat against someone else in the midlands, out of anger. He said it was all talk and he had no intention of carrying it out. Judge Toale accepted the detective sergeants evidence of possible interference with witnesses. By PTI LUCKNOW: Former defence minister and Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav has been admitted to a private hospital here after he complained of stomach and urine-related problems, a party spokesperson said. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister (80) had gone to the Medanta Hospital here Wednesday night for his routine checkup, but the doctors admitted him for monitoring his health over some stomach and urine-related issues, Rajendra Chaudhary said. "His condition is now stable. He is feeling better," he said. Mulayam's son and SP president Akhilesh Yadav, his younger brother and former state minister Shivpal Singh Yadav and other leaders visited him in the hospital on Thursday to enquire about his health, Chaudhary said. Cyprus education, digital, IMO and flag We spoke with Natasa Pilides, the Shipping Deputy Minister of the Republic of Cyprus, about how the Cyprus government is supporting maritime education and skill development, how it is developing digital tools, how it seeks to influence the IMO, and is developing its flag registry. In terms of maritime education for seafarers, Cyprus has opened three maritime academies over the past few years, which are now training about 300 students on a variety of courses, says Natasa Pilides, Shipping Deputy Minister of the Republic of Cyprus. Before that, the only possibility for maritime training for Cypriots was to go abroad, she says. The academies are running under the supervision of the Cyprus Shipping Deputy Ministry, which monitors the schools and authorises the courses. The course content meets STCW standards and additional requirements from the Cyprus legislation. [Note there is no senior minister of shipping, Ms Pilides reports to the President of Cyprus. It is called a Deputy Ministry due to a limit of 11 ministries Cyprus may have, under its constitution]. The places are available to students from any country and grants are available to all EU students, and there are many students from other EU countries in the maritime academies, although Cyprus offers some funded places for its own students. The academies work closely together with shipping companies in Cyprus, to ensure the course content is relevant to current needs. Some companies offer their own scholarships and cadetship opportunities, which can turn into employment opportunities. So there is a good collaboration with the private sector, she says. Were trying to ensure the employment rates and retention rates [for students] are high and weve got some very good results, she says. Ms Pilides is keen that seafaring can lead to long term maritime careers. You can be a seafarer for as long as you want, then theres always a job opportunity on shore. In Cyprus, theres a lot of opportunity for experienced seafarers to work in different shipping companies. Shipping companies in Cyprus are usually very conscious about creating not just long term relationships and investing in seafarers but also providing opportunity in terms of training, soft skills, response to risk, she said. There is a lot more consideration being given to such matters now compared to 20 years ago. A lot of effort goes into the retention and professional development of seafarers and office staff. Ms Pilides does not envisage that Cyprus ship managers would ever have a majority of their shipboard staff actually being Cypriot or trained in Cyprus, since Cyprus is still a very small country (the Philippines is 90 x larger by population). The objectives are more about having a pipeline where people from Cyprus can move through the roles, being seafarers, superintendents, up to senior management roles. And of course Cyprus would always like to be a place which welcomes maritime workers from around the world. The maritime education also extends to schoolchildren. There are outreach projects for schools, to show children what maritime careers look like, which might encourage them to take a course. To reach even younger children, there is a program Adopt a Ship, developed in collaboration with Cyprus Shipping Chamber and CYMEPA. A class in elementary (primary) school adopt a ship by sending e-mails to the crew, asking questions and sending drawings of how they picture life on a ship. That creates more awareness about life at sea, she says. There is a new Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute (CMMI), which had Eur 15m funding under the EU Horizon 2020 project, and match funding from the Cyprus government. It is run in partnership with the University of Southampton, UK and the Maritime Institute of Ireland, among others. It is described as an independent, international, scientific and business Centre of Excellence for Marine and Maritime activities. As part of its Integrated Maritime Plan, the Shipping Deputy Ministry is running an EU-funded research project on Marine Spatial Planning, exploring better ways to organise the use of the ocean space for activities such as fisheries, aquaculture, shipping, tourism, and renewable energy production. Digital Cyprus is making big steps in the digital sector. It has revamped its website, where a range of online services is available. There is an e-seafarer management system , which also includes a platform where cadet seafarers share information about themselves with potential employers. The website includes an online tax submission system, tax calculators, online certificate verification and some other services. The Shipping Deputy Ministry is endorsing the work of a private company called Prevention at Sea which is developing an online system for conducting port state control activities. The Fleet Information SHaring (F.I.SH.) platform, is an online ship data repository designed to standardise, automate and reduce the time spent in the ship inspection process and to facilitate ship data collection for review by third parties. Weve been making a lot of effort to modernise the way we work she says. IMO and EU Ms Pilides would like to see IMO initiate the further development of IMO GISIS to include also sections to be used by shipping companies in a format of a standard reporting scheme for communications between shipping companies and authorities, similar in philosophy with the European Unions European Maritime Single Window for issues related with IMO functions . The IMO could also further improve systems for accident investigation and statistics management, such as the systems EMSA has introduced on a European level, she says. But while it has influence in IMO and EU as a nation state, Cyprus is also small enough to have close relationships and understanding with the maritime industry. At a local level there is that ease in collaboration, she says. Meanwhile in Brussels, the maritime industry has a lot more exposure than a few years ago, she says. It can benefit from a national authority which has a good understanding of the industry. Theres definitely a challenge in terms of what the world expects from the shipping industry, she says. It is also an opportunity for us to create regulations which take into account the nature of shipping and the way it works, rather than a set of rules which have to be retrofitted to the industry, she says. Cyprus flag Ms Pilides is keen to increase the number of vessels flagged in Cyprus. There has been steady growth over the past 5 years. The fleet is currently 11th largest in the world, and Ms Pilides would like to see it in the top ten. To encourage ship registrations, Cyprus scrapped registration fees and mortgage fees for seagoing vessels. It is also updating the Tonnage Tax System and extending it for another 10 years, rationalising merchant shipping fees and taxes, and promoting the registry heavily, she says. In office, he will need to balance competing pressures from neighboring Iran and his allies in the United States, while also addressing parliamentary demands for the U.S.-led military coalition to withdraw its forces from Iraq. Simmering tensions between Iran and the United States have repeatedly spilled over into hostilities on Iraqi soil, threatening to subject the country to open warfare and also harm the fight against what remains of the Islamic State group. New Delhi: The HRD Ministry is deliberating upon whether or not to conduct pending class 12 board exams for students in CBSE schools abroad and is talking to ambassadors or foreign education ministers to arrive at a reasonable solution in view of the COVID-19 situation in their respective countries. The Ministry is also chalking out a plan for modalities of assessment in places where the practical situation doesn't permit conducting exams. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had last month announced that it will not be conducting the pending exams in foreign countries. However, several representations and questions have been received from students who are concerned about their future prospects including admissions in foreign universities. According to officials, HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' has sought feedback from representatives in different countries about the current situation there and feasibility of conducting pending exams. "Considering the different situation at different places, having a common solution is not practically feasible. However, if the situation has improved in some countries, it would be better to conduct exams at least there. For example, we have a school in Japan, if the situation is better in that particular area, the exam can be conducted," a senior HRD Ministry official told PTI. "Modalities are being worked out for both the situations. That if exams can be conducted in some places, how will they be conducted and if not what will be the assessment pattern. We will soon have a final decision on all these aspects," the official added. Information in this regard was also shared by the HRD Minister in an online interaction with students on Tuesday. "We are discussing with CBSE and trying to come up with a solution. We will also speak to Indian ambassadors in different countries and foreign education ministers. It is a difficult situation as the lockdown restrictions as well as COVID-19 situation is different in different countries and all of that needs to be given a thought. We will come up with a solution in best interest of students," Nishank had said. The HRD ministry is likely to make an announcement about schedule of pending board exams this week and a final decision for students in foreign schools will also be announced. There are over 210 CBSE affiliated schools in 25 countries across the globe. This year, a total of 23,844 students from foreign students were appearing for class 10 exams while 16,103 students had registered for class 12 exams. "There are several CBSE schools located in 25 countries. Each of these countries are also under lockdown and have decided to close down the schools for various and differential lengths of time. Under such circumstances, it is felt that the board will not be in a position to hold differential set of exams for each of these countries. Also, in the present situation, it will be difficult to bring the answer books to India for evaluation purposes," the board had said in a statement last month. "Therefore, the Board has decided to not hold any more exams for the students of class 10 and 12 schools located outside India. The system of marking or assessment for the purpose of declaring results will be worked out by the board shortly and informed to these schools," it had added. More than 3.6 million cases of the novel coronavirus, including at least 257,000 deaths have been recorded worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. Five people from one household will be able to visit another household in Queensland from Sunday. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the relaxation of the rules on gatherings in her state is 'great news for families'. 'I really want to thank Queenslanders for a great job that they have been doing right across our state and I think this is going to be welcomed by families, especially on Mother's Day, starting this Sunday,' she said. The Sunshine State suffered two new cases on Wednesday - both on the Gold Coast relating to a cruise ship. In terms of relaxing restrictions, Queensland is already ahead of Victoria and New South Wales after allowing people to leave the home for recreation from last Friday. Scroll down for video Five people from one household will able to visit another household in Queensland from Sunday. Pictured: Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk New South Wales will not relax any coronavirus restrictions until next week, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said today. On Friday the national cabinet will set out a three-step framework to ease the rules - but state and territory leaders will be able to choose when they implement the changes. Premier Berejiklian today said she will not be changing any rules until after Mothers' Day. This means only four adults and their dependent children can gather at one time in Australia's most populous state, as has been the case since Friday. 'I want to manage expectations and say if national cabinet does suggest easing of restrictions, they won't be able to be made in time for Mother's Day,' the Premier said. 'Two adults and children can visit any mother at any one time and a mother can accept multiple visits a day so long as there is not too many people for each visit,' she added. New South Wales will not relax any coronavirus restrictions until next week, Premier Gladys Berejiklian (pictured today) said State and federal leaders will decide on what rules are to be eased on Friday at a crucial national cabinet meeting. Cafes are pegged as one of the first places likely to reopen The news brought a mixed reaction from NSW residents. Some called the Premier a 'dictator' and demanded an end to 'draconian' lockdown - while others applauded her caution and said she was doing a 'wonderful' job. NSW One Nation Leader Mark Latham told Daily Mail Australia the Premier's decision not to ease the rules was 'very foolish'. He said: 'We have footy teams training in NSW. Some of the worst rule breakers in society have been rewarded while hard-working small businesses are locked down and going broke with a record rise in unemployment.' The national guidelines released on Friday will likely flag the re-opening of cafes and restaurants and gatherings of up to 10 people under the first 'tranche' of changes states can make. Domestic and inter-state travel will be allowed under the second tranche, Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said. An Alameda County Sheriffs Office sergeant charged with recording confidential conversations between youth suspects and their public defender has pleaded no contest to four misdemeanor counts of eavesdropping an agreement that spares him from a felony conviction. Sgt. James Russell, a veteran with more than 20 years of experience, was charged in October 2018 with four felony counts of eavesdropping after The Chronicle published a video that appeared to show him admitting to the illegal activity. Russell entered the plea on Tuesday and will serve three years of court probation, receive credit for time served and perform 180 hours of community service, said Teresa Drenick, a spokeswoman for the Alameda County district attorneys office. He remains on paid administrative leave. Russells attorney, Judith Odbert, said her client was offered the same deal any average citizen would receive. She added that Russell would have never been in this position had the Sheriffs Office updated its policy, which required continuous recording in the two interview rooms where the juveniles were held. He followed his policy, and it broke the law, Odbert said. Now that the case has been adjudicated, Sheriff Gregory Ahern will complete his own investigation and determine what discipline is warranted, said Sheriffs Office spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly. Russell would have faced up to five years in prison if the case had gone to trial and he was convicted on all felony charges. Community activists said they were disappointed in the outcome and felt the plea hearing was scheduled at the last minute, during the coronavirus pandemic, to avoid public scrutiny. For us, a youth organization who works with families who have been continuously violated by police misconduct ... this is complete disrespect to those communities, said E.J. Pavia, campaign director for the Oakland-based social justice group Urban Peace Movement. Russells charges stemmed from recordings made more than two years ago, when four in-custody juvenile suspects all involved in the same criminal case were recorded while speaking to their attorney on March 15 at the Eden Township Substation in San Leandro. The four juveniles were taken into custody following a report of an attempted robbery at the Lake Chabot Public Market in Castro Valley, according to court documents. A witness provided sheriffs deputies with a photo of the suspects vehicle, which eventually led to a chase and the suspects vehicle crashing into a residence. Alameda County Sheriff's Office body-camera footage / Alameda County Sheriff's Office 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. Russells body-worn camera later recorded him telling a public defender that he would arrange for the attorney to consult with all of the suspects in two interview rooms prior to Russells own interview, according to court documents. The sergeant then placed one of the suspects in an interview room. The public defenders office, which represents suspects unable to pay for legal services, received one of the recordings, as well as body-cam footage of the conversation between Russell and Lt. Timothy Schellenberg, who oversees the sheriffs investigations unit out of the Eden Township Substation. In that video, Russell implies that agency officials record privileged conversations regularly. What weve done is, like, well, weve had these recordings, Russell tells Schellenberg in the video. An investigator for the district attorneys office made note of this footage in a probable cause document. Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy Heres a recap of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic for Thursday, May 7, 2020. More than 3.8 million people worldwide have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, and over 269,000 have died. In the United States, there have been over 1.2 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, and more than 75,000 Americans have died. More than 3.1 million Americans filed for unemployment last week, according to data released Thursday. Over 33 million have filed for unemployment in the last 7 weeks alone. For the latest live updates, click here. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 02:07:52|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAIRO, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said Thursday that Egypt's net foreign reserves declined to 37.037 billion U.S. dollars at the end of April, down from 40.108 billion dollars in March. The CBE said in a statement that global markets at large remain under pressure due to the COVID-19 pandemic which continues to drive portfolio flow reversals from emerging markets. In May, the CBE and the government took strong and affirmative actions to preserve the achievements of the Egyptian economy by approaching the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to secure its help. "However, the engagement with the IMF comes on the back of the successful implementation of the home-grown reform program and the drive to ensure sustainable growth," the CBE statement said. It added that the CBE also continues to cover the external obligations, amounting to around 1.6 billion dollars. In mid-March, Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi allocated 100 billion Egyptian pounds (6.35 billion U.S. dollars) to finance the anti-coronavirus plan. The money is also used to cope with the economic repercussions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic which has caused big losses to various sectors. Enditem YEREVAN. The issue of the shares of the Spanish Corsan Carviam company, which once won the North-South Highway construction tender, is being discussed in international arbitration. The Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Suren Papikyan, stated this Thursday in the National Assembly of Armenia, during the discussion of the report on the implementation of the government's 2019 program. According to the minister, an expertise was conducted to assess the work done. "This was done so that we could continue the process with a new contractor," Papikyan said. "We are also in talks with a Chinese company to get contractors involved in a possible tender so that they can finally hand over to us the work done. And in the south, at the Agarak-Kajaran road section, we already have a tunnel construction project. The winning company is already known; it is an Italian company. Work will already begin this year." In Senegal, relatives of nationals who died from the Covid-19 abroad have decided to take their case to the Supreme Court to force the authorities to accept the repatriation of dozens of bodies, some of which have been blocked for weeks. According to the collective, 80 Senegalese died of the coronavirus outside the country, including about 40 in France alone. But the director of the Senegalese Department of Foreign Affairs, Amadou Francois Gueye, told AFP that the government maintains its decision not to repatriate the bodies. The Collective, in connection with a network of Senegalese lawyers from the diaspora (Rafsen), decided to support a petition for summary proceedings before the Supreme Court. It is the day before yesterday, Tuesday, that the application for summary proceedings was filed. The Court will have 48 hours to decide. Since 9 April 2020, the Collective for the Repatriation of Senegalese Deceased from Covid-19 abroad, present in more than 30 countries, has been working to lift the measure taken by the State of Senegal prohibiting this repatriation. Through various channels, the Collective has requested the competent authorities to cancel this decision, which calls into question the fundamental right of families to bury their dead in Senegal. Two employees of a McDonald's in southwest Oklahoma City were shot and a third was injured Wednesday after police said two people became upset when they learned the dining room was closed. Police told sister station KOCO-TV that two people entered the lobby of a McDonald's, where employees informed them that the dining room was closed. At some point, a gun was produced and two male employees were shot, police said. Advertisement The Duchess of Cambridge has appeared on ITV's This Morning today to discuss her new project with the National Portrait Gallery, and gave a glimpse at how George and Charlotte are coping with home schooling. Kate Middleton, 38, who has selected some of her favourite photographs that best capture the 'resilience, bravery and kindness' of Britons caught in the coronavirus crisis for the new project 'Hold Still, joked that Prince George, 6, was 'jealous' of his five-year-old sister Princess Charlotte's homework and 'would rather make spider sandwiches'. Appearing live via video link in the same 495 yellow, silk Raey dress she wore during last night's appearance from Amner Hall, she spoke to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield about the inspiration behind the project, and shared some of her own photography tips - including the importance of 'capturing the moment' and not 'making it too set up'. The royal, sporting her trademark blowdry, also joked that she was glad there were no pictures of how she ended up, after taking the pictures of Prince Louis covered in paint for his birthday portrait, and revealed they FaceTime family members 'every day'. Kate Middleton, 38, who has selected some of her favourite photographs that best capture the 'resilience, bravery and kindness' of Britons caught in the coronavirus crisis for the new project 'Hold Still, joked that Prince George, 6, was 'jealous' of his five-year-old sister Princess Charlotte's homework and 'would rather make spider sandwiches Speaking to Holly on how she is coping in these strangest of times, the Duchess responded: 'Fine, thank you. It's extraordinary. I'm sure you're experiencing the same yourselves and your families and things. We're stuck into homeschooling again. They're unprecedented times really. But no we're fine, thank you for asking.' And talking about homeschooling, Kate revealed: 'George gets very upset because he just wants to do all of Charlotte's projects. Spider sandwiches are far cooler than literacy work'. Addressing the inspiration behind her project, she said: 'We've all seen incredible images and seen uplifting and sad stories, I really hope this project can showcase and document this moment in time that we're all experiencing. 'We've all been struck by the most amazing images that have come out that we're going through desperately sad times. Those working on the front line are going through tragedy and hardships, it's all those in the community and front line showing their amazing dedication.' She added of an image of a nurse marked by a PPE mask: 'It's a really harrowing image, they're the things that not everyone at home will witness, so it's important to see what those on the front line are experiencing'. Appearing via video link in the same floral Raey dress she wore during last night's appearance, she spoke to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield about the inspiration behind the project The royal, sporting her trademark blowdry, also joked that she was glad there were no pictures of how she ended up, after taking the pictures of Prince Louis covered in paint for his birthday portrait, seen left, and revealed Prince George, 6, was 'jealous' of his five-year-old sister Princess Charlotte's homework and 'would rather make spider sandwiches (seen right at Christmas) Speaking about the photo of a little girl named Edith kissing her grandparents through a window pane, she added: 'Moments like this are so heartwarming to see, it's different but still a connection. It really resonated with me that photograph.' And the royal revealed the Cambridges are using FaceTime more than ever, explaining: 'It's really hard and we hadn't done a huge amount of FaceTime but we're doing that a lot more now. 'We try to check in daily with family members and speak to them about news so in some way we've got a lot more contact than before, but it's hard to explain to a five and six-year-old whats going on, but we have the support out there from schools'. She continued of the competition: 'Small acts of kindness go such a way, so I think it's great to capture positive stories. Kate added of an image of a nurse marked by a PPE mask: 'It's a really harrowing image, they're the things that not everyone at home will witness so it's important to see what those on the front line are experiencing'. ICU nurse Aimee Goold posted a heartbreaking image of her tired and scared face, pleading with people to stay home A favourite of the Duchess - grandparents greeting their grandchildren from the other side of a window while social distancing 'Anyone can enter, schools can take this on as projects , life has changed for everyone and I think it's important to tell the human side of this, being able to showcase portraits and collate a portrait of the nation on a human level is great.' The Duchess donned the silk 495 yellow, silk Raey midi dress from the Notting Hill based brand to launch the project yesterday, and recycled it today Talking about her photography tips she added: 'I'm very much an amateur photographer but I take a lot of time now to pick up my camera and take pictures of the kids. It's about not setting it up perfectly or clearing your home for the studio set up, but it's capturing that moment, feeling or expression to tell that story.' She went on to joke of Louis' birthday portrait: 'I should've taken a photograph of what I looked like after taking that picture of Louis, luckily that wasn't documented. 'Charlotte's pictures told our story and hopefully others will do the same. I felt so lucky to be part of the Auschwitz project was such an honour. 'It's about taking time to reflect and tell the story for this period in time. Kate has joined forces with the National Portrait Gallery to launch a community photography project designed to catch the 'spirit, mood, hopes and fears' of the nation. The project, titled Hold Still, showcases the lives of those who have put everything on hold to help protect our NHS - and the reality of everyday life on the frontline for our helpers and heroes. Kate, who spearheaded the campaign, is a patron of the National Portrait Gallery and a keen amateur photographer, aims to capture a snapshot of the UK at this time, with the help of the nation. The Duchess will personally curate 100 photographs for the Hold Still exhibition. The royal also joked that she was glad there were no picture of how she ended up, after taking the pictures of Prince Louis covered in paint for his birthday portrait, and revealed they FaceTime the rest of the royal family 'every day' Appearing via video link in the same 495 yellow, silk Raey dress she wore during last night's appearance from Amner Hall, she spoke to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield about the inspiration behind the project, She said she had been 'struck' by the many 'incredible' images seen already, 'which have given us an insight into the experiences and stories of people - some desperately sad images showing the human tragedy of this pandemic'. Others, she said, had been more 'uplifting'. Among her favourites are a five-year-old girl called Eaddee who wears a painted rainbow face for the NHS, 79-year-old Jack Dodsley dancing with a health worker at Newfield Nursing Home in Sheffield, grandparents greeting their grandchildren from the other side of a window, and Nottingham ICU nurse Aimee Goold. The community photography project comes after the UK became the first country in Europe to record 30,000 deaths from the coronavirus yesterday, announcing 649 more victims. Now at a total of 30,076 dead because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the UK has hit the grim milestone before either Spain or Italy, which were widely considered to have the worst outbreaks in Europe. Only the US has recorded more fatalities, with 72,000. People from across the UK are invited to submit a photographic portrait which they have taken during these extraordinary times for the community project. Adorable - Here is a five-year-old girl called Eaddee who wears a painted rainbow face in support of the NHS Pictured: 79-year-old Jack Dodsley dancing with a health worker at Newfield Nursing Home in Sheffield The Duchess of Cambridge has joined forces with the National Portrait Gallery to launch a community photography project designed to capture the 'spirit, mood, hopes and fears' of the nation as it continues to battle coronavirus. Pictured during an interview, which will be broadcast on ITV's This Morning today The project - spearheaded by Kate, 38, who is patron of the National Portrait Gallery and a keen amateur photographer - is called Hold Still, and aims to capture a snapshot of the UK at this time, with the help of the nation Participants are also encouraged to provide a short written submission to outline the experiences and emotions of those depicted in their photograph. Hold Still is completely free, open to all ages and abilities, and will focus on three core themes - 'Helpers and Heroes', 'Your New Normal' and 'Acts of Kindness'. The idea is to create a unique photographic portrait of the people of our nation in lockdown as we 'hold still' for the good of others, and celebrate those who have continued so we can stay safe. It will reflect resilience and bravery, humour and sadness, creativity and kindness, and human tragedy and hope. Hold Still will also act as a reminder of the significance of human connection in times of adversity, and that although we were physically apart, as a community and nation, we all faced and rose to the challenge together. The Duchess and her love for the lens: How Kate Middleton's university studies led her to break Royal tradition and take her own family snaps As the Duchess of Cambridge releases new photographs to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, it's evident that her passion for the lens has led her to create some stunning pieces. Kate Middleton has a clear love for photography and her first major project had been for her parents for their party planning business, Party Pieces in 2008 when she was commissioned to do some work for them. Kate studied art history at St Andrews which included modules such as Histories of Photography (1835 - 1905). She then went on to produce her thesis on photography of children. She then went on to break royal tradition, straying away from the favoured royal photographers and herself releasing snaps of her children, including pictures of Prince George before his first day in nursery. Since then she has gone on to share a host of photos of her children via the Kensington Palace Instagram page. It is also believed that she had taken her own photos for the Queen's 90th birthday celebrations. Advertisement For her interview today, Kate wore a stunning yellow bracelet-sleeve silk dress by British brand Raey, featuring a pink and green tree print. The dress is currently on sale on Matches Fashion for 148, reduced from 495. Kate wore her brunette locks in loose waves around her shoulders and opted for her signature natural make-up, with brown eyeshadow and a nude lip. On the launch of Hold Still, The Duchess said: 'We've all been struck by some of the incredible images we've seen which have given us an insight into the experiences and stories of people across the country. 'Some desperately sad images showing the human tragedy of this pandemic and other uplifting pictures showing people coming together to support those more vulnerable. 'Hold Still aims to capture a portrait of the nation, the spirit of the nation, what everyone is going through at this time. Photographs reflecting resilience, bravery, kindness all those things that people are experiencing.' Submissions for Hold Still can be made from today (May 7) via www.npg.org.uk. The closing date will be June 18, 2020. One hundred shortlisted portraits will then feature in a gallery without walls a one of a kind digital exhibition open to all. A selection of images will also be shown across the UK later in the year. The images can be captured on phones or cameras, and each image will be assessed on the emotion and experience it conveys rather than its photographic quality or technical expertise. For 164 years, the National Portrait Gallery has existed to tell the stories of the people of Great Britain through the medium of portraits. In these unprecedented times, it is now more important than ever that we find ways to document and share our individual and collective stories of an experience which has impacted everybody's lives in a multitude of ways. Speaking about Hold Still, Nicholas Cullinan, director of the National Portrait Gallery London said: 'Even if we are alone, we can all create something together. 'We are honoured to partner with the Duchess of Cambridge on the Hold Still project, which will provide an inclusive perspective on, and an important historical record of, these unprecedented times, expressed through the faces of the nation. In January, Kate took photographs of two Holocaust survivors with their grandchildren as part of the commemorations for the 75th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust. Steven Frank, 84, with his two granddaughters Maggie, 15, and Trixie, 13, was photographed holding a pan his mother used as a boy Kate invited Steven Frank, 84 and Yvonne Bernstein, 82, pictured, into her home that she shares with Prince William and her family in order to create the images which were inspired by Dutch artist Vermeer 'The National Portrait Gallery reflects the history of Britain through the personal stories of the people who have helped to shape it. We are now inviting each and every person, across every city, town, village and home in the UK, to share their portraits with us in this unique collective endeavour.' The Duchess of Cambridge has been Patron of the National Portrait Gallery since 2012, and has a lifetime honorary membership of the Royal Photographic Society. She has a longstanding interest in photography and its power to capture emotions and stories. In January, Kate took photographs of two Holocaust survivors with their grandchildren as part of the commemorations for the 75th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust. Kate invited Steven Frank, 84 and Yvonne Bernstein, 82 into her home that she shares with Prince William and her family in order to create the images which were inspired by Dutch artist Vermeer. The Duchess of Cambridge (pictured), who is a patron of the Royal Photographic Society, took the photographs which were released to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and will be part of an exhibition later this year The Duchess of Cambridge has a longstanding interest in photography and its power to capture emotions and stories, and often shares images she has taken of her children. Pictured: Photographs of Princess Charlotte, taken by Kate to mark her fifth birthday last week One photography expert told MailOnline that it was clear Kate had been influenced by 'Vermeer's study of light'. The Duchess, who said their stories would 'stay with her forever', encouraged her subjects to hold 'deeply personal' items that reflected their time at Nazi camps. Kate is also renowned for capturing enchanting, natural shots of her children, Prince George, six, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, two. To mark her youngest two children's birthdays recently, Kensington Palace released stunning pictures of Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, taken by their proud mother. Both Kate and Prince William, 37, have continued to support charities and organisations close to their hearts despite the UK's lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. The royal couple have been using video calls to show their support, chatting about mental health, schools and the NHS, and clapping for the NHS every Thursday while isolating at Anmer Hall, their home in Norfolk. Last week the Duchess paid a 'morale-boosting' virtual visit to a maternity unit in Kingston - where she previously spent two days on a work placement - last week, gushing her congratulations to stunned new mother Rebecca Attwood. Rebecca, from Raynes Park in South-West London, said: 'Having a surprise conversation with the Duchess of Cambridge after two hours' sleep was particularly surreal.' Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. The world is observing the 159th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. The author, poet, painter and dramatist was born in 1861 in Kolkata. Tagore won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. The Nobel Prize organisation took to Twitter to wish Tagore on his birth anniversary. "We're celebrating the birthday of a true great: Rabindranath Tagore, who was born #OnThisDay in 1861 in Calcutta, India. The first non-European Literature Laureate, he was awarded the #NobelPrize because of his profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse... read the tweet that also has a picture of Tagore. Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu called him one of Indias greatest poets and thinkers, who represented the best of ancient and modern Indian intellectual thoughts. Actor Amitabh Bachchan also paid his tribute to the Bengali poet. Sharing a picture of Tagore on Twitter, he wrote, Greetings on this day the Birth Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor remembered Tagore and urged people to strive towards an India, where the mind is without fear. Former Union minister Jitin Prasada wrote that his great grandmother was the niece of Rabindranath Tagore. Prasada also shared pictures of a few notes written by Tagore. National spokesperson of Akali Dal Manjinder S Sirsa through his tweet informed that Tagore was inspired by Sikhism and his poem Bandi Bir is based on the life of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur. A street in Israel is named after Rabindranath Tagore. Sharing the picture of a signboard leading to the street with "Rehov Tagore" written on it, the Israel in India Twitter page wrote, "We honor #RabindranathTagore today and every day, as we named a street in Tel Aviv in memory of his valuable contribution to mankind." The Twitter handle AncientHistory shared four rare pictures of Tagore on his birth anniversary that traced various moments from his life. This article is part of our Remembering Lives Lost project to honor victims in the Houston region whose families have chosen to publicly disclose their cause of death as COVID-19. Sandra Ladewig would warn her daughters boyfriends that they had better take care of her girls. Or else. Ladewig stood perhaps 5-foot-3. But the mother was always there to protect, encourage and support her two girls. She was feisty and fearless, said Samantha Ladewig, 28. She took care of us. Sandra Sandy Nicholson grew up with five older siblings in Bellaire. She attended the University of Houston. She met her husband, Brian, when she was working in Austin and went to a dance hall on a trip back home. Brian Ladewig liked country dancing and playing pool. Though he had just bought a cold beer, he said yes when she asked him to dance. She was too cute to refuse. They married in 1991 and had two daughters, Samantha and Shelby. Their mother always pushed them to do their best, whether it was school or volleyball, Samantha Ladewig said. And she encouraged them to pursue their passions. Whatever makes you happy, Im happy with, Ladewig recalled her mother saying, so go and do that. The daughters did: Samantha pursued marine science and Shelby wildlife conservation. Shes always been my biggest fan, said Shelby Ladewig, 22. She was always there showing me you can do this. Their mother worked for more than 20 years as a manager at Commercial Resource Capital, which processes loans. She likened her coworkers to family. She also had a knack for nutrition, ready to recommend vitamins or supplements for any ailment. She hosted family Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations, cooking up a storm at their home near Jersey Village. She cheered on the Astros and loved the Florida beaches, encouraging her daughters to travel. In August, Samantha moved to New Zealand for her post-graduate degree. Never giving up was a life motto for the mom. Ladewig wrestled with health issues including pulmonary fibrosis, which made it hard to breathe. Sometimes, she got winded. In recent years, she was on oxygen. She hoped to get a lung transplant. The family took extra care as the coronavirus spread, but, somehow, she contracted the illness. We all really thought she was going to pull through this because she always had, Samantha Ladewig said. Samantha flew home from New Zealand four days before her mom passed on April 17. Shelby planned to move next for her schoolwork to Spain. When they leave home for their studies, theyll be chasing their dreams, like their mother wanted. emily.foxhall@chron.com Bernard Allotey Jacobs has fired back at his saboteurs stating they can't ruin his life with their pull-him-down syndrome. According to the former NDC Central Regional Chairman, there is a strong supernatural force behind him and no attempts to cause his downfall, particularly in the political realm, will succeed. The National Democratic Congress (NDC), in a statement issued on Wednesday, May 6, 2020, has suspended Allotey Jacobs as a member of the party. The party revoked the membership status of Allotey Jacobs citing reasons that he has persistently exhibited an "anti-party conduct". The decision was taken after a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting and has referred to the Disciplinary committee for further action. Speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi on 'Kokrokoo' on Peace FM, Allotey Jacobs sent a strong warning to his opponents and enemies to stop pursuing him because "where God has positioned me in life is not my making". "The truth is that nothing surpasses God. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Ishmael; He's one God nothing surpasses Him. The faceless, the boneless, the shapeless God; He who says and it is done is the one I serve. I love God . . . to all my opponents and enemies, the truth is that don't blame Allotey Jacobs. Blame God . . . it is by His grace and His mercy that I've been where I am," he said. 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. Featured Video [May 07, 2020] Westlake Financial Announces New Commercial Vehicle Financing Program Westlake Financial (Westlake) rolls out new Commercial Vehicle Financing Program. This new program will be available in 8 markets and will expand nationwide throughout the year. Westlake's Commercial Vehicle Program allows dealerships to offer financing of up to $65,000 for vehicles ranging from Cargo Vans to Big Rigs. Terms can vary from 36 to 72 months, depending on the vehicle mileage, with minimal stipulation requirements. This new program is available in the following states: Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Maine, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio and Virginia. "We are always looking for new avenues to help dealers finance more customers," stated Pamella Teixeira, Manager of Business Strategy and Analytics at Westlake Financial. "Our commercial vehicle program fulfills the request we had received from many auto dealers across the country." Active Westlake Financial dealers are able to submit commercial vehicle applications from DealerCenter, DealerTrack, RouteOne, or CUDL for approval. Dealers looking for more information on our Commercial Vehicle Program can visit www.westlakefinancial.com/commercial-vehicles. Westlake Financial, a subsidiary of Westlake Technology Holdings, is an indirect auto finance lending company with a ntwork of dealerships nationwide. Dealers interested in signing up with Westlake Financial are invited to contact Westlake directly at 1.888.893.7937 or online at www.westlakefinancial.com. About Westlake Technology Holdings: Westlake Technology Holdings is an auto and finance technology company headquartered in Los Angeles, CA (News - Alert) with approximately $10.58 billion in assets under management. Westlake Financial originates indirect automotive retail installment contracts through a nationwide network of new and used automotive and powersports dealers. Westlake also offers loan portfolio purchasing, credit facilities and portfolio servicing through Westlake Portfolio Management; www.wpmservicing.com. Floor plan lines of credit are provided through their Westlake Flooring Services division; www.WestlakeFlooringServices.com, shared cash flow auto lending through Westlake's wholly owned subsidiary, Western Funding, Inc. a Nevada Based auto lender, and indirect automotive leasing for credit unions through Credit Union Leasing of America (CULA), is a subsidiary of Westlake, dealers leads and direct-to-consumer auto loans through Westlake Direct, and direct to consumer title loans are through Westlake's wholly owned subsidiary Loan Center; www.loancenter.com. www.WestlakeFinancial.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507006181/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Rebecca Kadaga, Ugandas Speaker of Parliament in a sharp rebuke to the countrys military ruler Gen. Yoweri Museveni has called for an investigation into the torture of an opposition member of Parliament. Meanwhile the torture victim, Francis Zaake, has broken his silence and described how his abusers, while stomping on his head while in captivity, forced him to swear that henceforth he would support Gen. Museveni, his wife Janet, and the son, Gen. Muhoozi Kaenerugaba. Its believed the aging dictatorhes estimated to be anywhere from 75 to 80 years oldhas been grooming the son as a successor. He is facing serious challenge from a new powerful voting bloc youthful Ugandans who represent 80% of the populationunder the People Power umbrella. Zaake, who was arrested and tortured for distributing food to his starving constituents during the Covid-19 lockdown, is one of the voices of People Power. The most well known face of the movement is another member of Parliament, Robert Kyagulanyi, a.k.a. Bobi Wine. Both Zaake and Wine were first arrested and tortured in 2018 when a politician whom both campaigned for defeated Gen. Musevenis candidate for an open Parliamentary seat. Zaake is 29, while Bobi Wine is 38. Uganda heads to the polls next year. Its widely believed that the youth movement will help People Power and other opposition groups defeat Gen. Museveni comfortably. Most Ugandans ridiculed the recent public relations gimmick by Gen. Museveni when his aides distributed a doctored video showing him performing push-ups as a desperate scheme to appeal to young voters. Hes ruled Uganda since seizing power in 1986. Its unusual for the Speaker of Parliament, Kadaga, who belongs to the dictators National Resistance Movement (NRM) party, to publicly demand for an investigation into the abuse of a high profile politician. There could also be outside pressure. The United States and the European Union (EU) have already called for a probe. The U.S. provides the Museveni regime with nearly $1 billion in annual aid while the EU provides tens of millions of dollars. Human Rights Watch has also called for an investigation. Gen. Museveni has not made a public statement since news of Zaakes torture hit the headlines of all the Ugandan newspapers. Kadaga, who visited Zaake at Lubaga Hospital in Kampala, has called for the arrest of a district police commander named Alex Mwiine, who coordinated the kidnap of the member of Parliament from his home. Shes demanded an explanation into the abuse by Thursday from the countrys Internal Affairs Minister, Gen. Jeje Odong. It's clear that he was beaten and battered," Kadaga said, after visiting the torture victim. Zaake told me that paper spray was sprayed directly into his eyes. He was in police custody for several days and they must account for his injuries." She added, "This is a violation of human rights and it is unacceptable. After her visit with Zaake the speaker posted a statement on her Facebook page: "Im saddened to hear about acts of torture that continue to be meted on some Ugandans; its sad that this was reportedly inflicted upon an MP. When Zaake was arrested, he seemed to cooperate and walked himself to a van; it was shocking to see him days later being carried to court on a stretcher writhing in pain. I am a strong advocate against human rights abuse and this among other incidents, I intend to take up with relevant authorities. The only relevant authority in Uganda is Gen. Museveni. No one would dare torture a member of Parliament without his blessing. Speaking from his hospital bed, for the first time since he was kidnapped on April 19, Zaake, who occasionally broke down into tears, said the people responsible for his abuse were, in addition to Alex Mwine: the regional police commander Bob Kagarura, the resident district commissioner Isha Ntumwa, Amos Kagoro of the special forces command, and several others. He described how he was pummeled with gun butts. "They crashed my ribs and banged my head on the floor, as arrogantly as they could do, Zaake said, noting that the operatives spoke in Runyankole, a language spoken from the region where Gen. Museveni hails from. They mocked him, telling him to call your Katikiro or Kabaka of Buganda to help you" Zaake said. The Katikiro reference was to the traditional parliament of Buganda, the largest region in the country; and, the Kabaka is the hereditary king of Buganda. Gen. Musevenis ethnic bigotry is unparalleled in Uganda and his military operatives were echoing their boss sentiments. Zaake said while he was crying and being assaulted yelled at him that you Baganda and other tribes will never lead this country, because it has its own'." He said his tormentors also said ..if you don't leave the First Lady, president Museveni and the most respected first sonyou will loose your life next time." Gen. Musevenis wife Janet is the Minister of Education, and the son, Gen. Muhoozi is a senior presidential advisor. Zaake revealed that he never even physically left his home to distribute food to his constituents. He said after he packed the foodrice and sugarinto bags with the help of two of his employees, the free food was distributed by motorcycle taxi riders, known as boda bodas, from house to house in his neighborhood. "I was very mindful of the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health regarding distribution of food items, Zaake said. Zaake said he was taking a shower when the government operatives broke into his house. He barely had time to dress before they barged into his bedroom and kidnapped him, leading to the torture thats now landed him in hospital. The severe retribution is because the regime is playing food politics. As Ugandans starve during the lockdown, Gen. Museveni wants it known that his regime is the only source of distributed food, especially for urban residents. (Source: https://www.blackstarnews.com/global-politics/africa/francis-zaake-case-in-rebuke-of-ugandas-dictator-gen-museveni). HONOLULU, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Elizabeth Mott, a Korean beauty-inspired, cruelty-free cosmetics company, announced the launch of its Keep Makeup Artists Working campaign. The campaign will put 50 makeup artists back to work virtually as they share makeup tips and tricks on social media. Elizabeth Mott has dedicated $10,000 in support of this initiative. Elizabeth Mott is looking to put up to 50 makeup artists back to work virtually. The company has dedicated $10,000 in support of this initiative. Alice Kim, who grew up loving Korean beauty products and saw an opportunity to tailor those products for an American audience, founded Elizabeth Mott in 2010. Since that time, the company has produced easy-to-use, high-performing products like It's So Big Volumizing Mascara, Thank Me Later Eye Primer, and Queen of the Fill Tinted Eyebrow Gel. Kim worked closely with makeup artists and beauty bloggers as she grew the company. As a result, Elizabeth Mott developed an online cult following. "It's time for us to give back to those who have helped us achieve our success," said Kim. "Being a small, woman-owned business, I recognize that we are not able to provide the same scale of support as big cosmetic companies. However, we feel that it is important for us to do our part and be there for those valuable, long-time supporters of our brand and products. We are excited to launch our campaign in support of makeup artists who are out of work right now." Makeup artists can apply online now through May 19. Applicants must be 18 years or older and must reside in the United States. Selected applicants will be contacted for the next steps. For more information about the company and its products, visit ElizabethMott.com. Media Contact Rikako Mieno, Public Relations Manager Email: [email protected] Related Images elizabeth-mott-is-hiring-virtual.png Elizabeth Mott is hiring virtual makeup artists Elizabeth Mott is looking to put up to 50 makeup artists back to work virtually. The company has dedicated $10,000 in support of this initiative. Related Links Instagram Website SOURCE Elizabeth Mott Related Links http://ElizabethMott.com A Minnesota man reported his wife was missing, but not before strangling her and cramming her body into a crawl space in their home. He strangled his wife, and got a tape with plastic to cover her body and preceded to bury her in a crawlspace to conceal his crime. Soon after murdering his wife, he called the police so he will not be suspected of the murder he committed. Also, he left some of the duct tapes which he used to put missing fliers of his wife as he try to cover up any suspicion. After committing the murder and concealing the body, Fury made the call to inform the police that his wife is missing. He alleged that he just got back from work, according to the prosecutors. Maria's mobile was in the house, he informed the police that she was talking to her mother on the phone when he left for work in the morning. He added Maria was planning to take a walk. However, police discovered the crime he committed after several days of search. He was caught on the charge of second-degree murder in the case of Maria Fury's death. Despite all the pains he took to conceal his wife's murder, Joshua Fury, 28, was charged by the police for murdering Maria Fury, 28. After he reported his wife missing, the police found her after several days of police search, reported by the Hennepin County Attorney's Office announced Tuesday. The first hearing for the murder of Maria Fury will be on Wednesday, but the prosecutor's office asked to grat him a $2 million bail. Also read: Suspect in Utah Murder-Suicide Posts Graphic Video on Snapchat Before Killing Himself He even claimed to look for her along her usual walking route, mentioned the attorney's office in a statement. When no trace was found, a helicopter was used in the search later on. Since there was no trace of Maria on Friday, it prompted a widened search to include her family and friends soon after. Marital problems and a suffering wife It was later discovered that the couple were having marriage issues, and Maria was fed up enough to leave Fury. This was revealed by the in-laws who saw her spouse as controlling and possessive. Based on this information, a search warrant was obtained and cadaver-sniffing dogs were brought to the house. A body was detected by the dogs in the crawlspace in the lower house level, said the prosecutors. This slot measured no more than four feet tall with a dirt floor under it. They discovered a plastic covering on top of the floor. The cadaver dogs were spot on where Fury put his wife's lifeless body. The digging was done in shifts. Finally, the police found Maria's remains at 1.30 a.m. on a Saturday. The autposy report of Maria stated that the victim died from asphyxiation from duct tape, with a plastic bag placed directly over the victim's mouth and nose, that was still on her when the corpse was dug up. Some trauma around her neck was detected too. It did not take much time for Fury to admit to the murder. He attempted to blame Maria's ex in the murder, confirmed in the complaint. The police said, "The case is considered an open and active investigation, and no further statements will be made." Related article: Coronavirus Outbreak Second Wave? Recovered Wuhan Patients Testing Positive Again @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Chinas President Xi Jinping has cautioned people against complacency over the declining trend of coronavirus disease cases in the country. China on Thursday downgraded Covid-19 risk levels in all regions, signalling its successful containment. Addressing a meeting of the central guiding group for novel coronavirus prevention and control on Thursday, Xi said the spread of the virus overseas has not been effectively curbed yet and cluster cases were reported in a few areas in China, posing considerable uncertainty to the epidemic control. The country must get ready for unprecedented external adversity and challenges in the long run over Covid-19 crisis, the Chinese President said. The epidemic prevention and control measures in Hubei should not be relaxed, he added. China has already reduced risk levels in Hubei province and its capital Wuhan - the epicentres of the virus, while business and factories across the country have resumed operations. Chinas National Health Commission (NHC) on Thursday said that two imported cases were detected, and there was no domestically transmitted Covid-19 case. Hubei province and its capital Wuhan, which were free from new coronavirus cases for the last 33 days, reported six asymptomatic cases on Wednesday, taking the total number of such patients in the province to 626, the local health commission said.The total number of asymptomatic patients in the country now stands at 880. Asymptomatic cases refer to people who are tested Covid-19 positive but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. However, they pose a risk of spreading the disease to others. The total number of COVID-19 cases in China now stands at 82,885, the NHC said. Last month, China had announced to hold its annual Parliament session from May 22, signalling that the pandemic which paralysed the country for over three months is finally under control. The session was earlier scheduled to be held from March 5 and got postponed for the first time due to the coronavirus outbreak. Queen Letizia and King Felipe of Spain donned face masks and leather gloves for an engagement in Madrid today - just over a week after their first public appearance since lockdown. Royal couple Letizia, 47, and Felipe, 52, ensured they took precautions against coronavirus to visit the Electricity Control Centre (CECOEL) facilities in the capital. The CECOEL manages the coordinated operation and supervision in real time of the generation and transport facilities of the electricity system in the country. Last week the couple left their home, Zarzuela Palace, for the first time since they began isolating there with their two daughters after the Spanish lockdown was imposed in March to observe a minute's silence for the country's dead. Queen Letizia and King Felipe of Spain (pictured) donned face masks and leather gloves as they attended an engagement - just over a week after their first public appearance since lockdown Royal couple Letizia, 47, and Felipe, 52, took precautions with PPE today to visit the Electricity Control Centre facilities in Madrid, Spain Queen Letizia opted for a toned-down look, teaming her muted tweed jacket with smart black trousers and letting her hair cascade over her shoulders with a slightly off-centre parting. She avoided drawing attention to herself by wearing minimal make-up and small earrings to accessorise. King Felipe VI looked equally well-groomed in a suit that coordinated perfectly with the colours worn by his wife. Similar to other European royals, Letizia and Felipe had adapted to carrying out engagements remotely as their country deals with the coronavirus pandemic. King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia visit the Electricity Control Centre (CECOEL) at the Red Electrica de Espana headquarters The couple opted for muted tones as they visited the CECOEL, which manages the coordinated operation and supervision in real time of the generation and transport facilities of the electricity system in the country On Tuesday the couple attended a video conference with board members of the Spanish Academy. During the virtual meeting, Letizia wore a monochrome ensemble teaming a classic black blazer with a striped black and white shirt. Her make-up once again was minimal and her brunette tresses fell straight over her shoulders. On Tuesday the couple attended video conference with board members of the Spanish Academy During the virtual meeting in their office, Letizia wore a monochrome ensemble teaming a classic black blazer with a striped black and white shirt Meetings with the managers of the Municipal Transport Company of Madrid took place this Tuesday Her husband looked sharp in a navy blue suit for their joint conference call - which appeared to take place in their office. A family portrait featuring the couple's daughters Leonor and Sofia could be seen on the shelves behind. Last month, the couple paid their respects to the victims of coronavirus in their first public outing since lockdown. The Royals who were joined by Madrid's Regional President Isabel Diaz Ayuso, Madrid's Regional Vice President Ignacio Aguado and Spanish Home Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and wore protective face masks and gloves for the visit King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain visited the 112 Emergency Center today in Madrid, for their first public appearance since lockdown began The royal couple paid a visit to Madrid's 112 Emergency Center where they wore masks as they observed a minute's silence in memory of the Spanish victims of COVID-19. The couple were joined by Regional President Isabel Diaz Ayuso and Madrid's Regional Vice President Ignacio Aguado, as they stood for the silent tribute. Social distancing was strictly observed throughout the visit. Letizia and Felipe showed appreciation for the work of the emergency services during their visit, as Spain continues its nationwide lockdown in the hope of slowing the spread of coronavirus. The couple presided over the daily meeting held by the 112 operation. Lucknow, May 7 : Two employees of the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) have been suspended for allegedly spraying disinfectant on migrant workers at the Charbagh railway station, here. Lucknow Municipal Corporation Commissioner Indramani Tripathi said on Thursday, buses were being sanitized at the station and in the process the disinfectant was accidentally sprayed on migrants. He said the employees responsible for the incident had been removed as they didn't follow the set protocols. The controversy erupted on Wednesday when a video clip, showing migrants workers being sprayed with disinfectant here, went viral on the social media. The incident took place on Tuesday when migrant workers de-boarded Shramik Express trains at the station. The migrants had been divided into different groups to board buses to their home districts, when civic employees sprayed chemical on a family sitting on the ground. The LMC has confirmed the veracity of the video and said the civic staff committed mistake. About a month ago, a similar incident was reported from the Bareilly district where migrant workers were sprayed with disinfectant. A viral video showed more than two dozen migrant workers sitting on the streets as sanitation workers wearing protective gear sprayed disinfectant on them. Many in the group, mostly children, had complained of burning sensation and irritation in the eyes after the incident. The disinfectant used was sodium hypochlorite, a bleaching agent used widely in textiles and detergents sector. If used in a concentrated form, it can cause skin burning. Thousands of migrant workers from different states are arriving at the Lucknow railway station since the Ministry of Home Affairs allowed inter-state travel for people stranded due to the Covid-19 lockdown across the country. Hayes Valley, Mission Clothing boutique Azalea is permanently closing its Mission location (956 Valencia St.) after six years. It's also shuttering its spinoff men's store, Welcome Stranger (460 Gough St.) after 10 years in Hayes Valley, where Azalea got its start. "We knew the shelter-in-place mandate was not going to last for two weeks," an Azalea representative said via email. "With so much unknown, we decided to reduce our physical footprint." Azalea, founded by college friends Catherine Chow and Corina Murimba-Hambali in 2003, still plans to keep its original Hayes Valley boutique at 411 Hayes St. Its selection of independent designers and "popular high-street crowd favorites" like Stone Island, Stussy, Agolde, Herschel Supply Co. and John Elliott will remain available online. Welcome Stranger will also continue as an an online store, offering select menswear brands and its own in-house line. The closures follow that of another Azalea spinoff, high-end contemporary clothing store Rand + Statler (425 Hayes St.), which closed last year. Allbirds has since moved into that space. Clothing displays at Welcome Stranger. | Photo: Welcome Stranger/Yelp "It's been difficult the last few weeks without our stores being open," Azalea says in a statement on its website. "Only a very small number of us can process the orders in our warehouse at the moment." But despite the challenging circumstances, "retail therapy is still recommended," the statement reads. The Valencia and Gough Street spaces are both listed for rent online, with the latter listing noting that the 2,000-square-foot Hayes Valley store could have a future as a restaurant, with "possible venting for food use." Our great state is comprised of roughly 5.8 million residents, bordered by the Mississippi River to our west, Lake Michigan and Green Bay on the east, Lake Superior to the north and the state of Illinois to the south. There are 72 counties that cover nearly 54,000 square miles of land area and about 65,500 square miles of total area, if you count the important inland waters and the portions of lakes Michigan and Superior important hubs of commerce, tourism and recreation that legally fall within state boundaries. As Wisconsinites, we share many common traits, characteristics and likes and dislikes. However, from west to east and north to south, individuals and families also choose differing ways of life, in reference to where they choose to live and how they choose to make a living. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, or WEDC, is our states public-private agency that is the lead economic development arm of our state government. Did you know that they work closely with nine regional economic development partners around the state to facilitate and coordinate resources and support for local businesses? On their regional partnership website, they state, Together, we can help you find the part of Wisconsin that offers the greatest benefit for your company and the community. The economic development regions themselves include groups of adjoining counties from different parts of the state. The groups include: Visions Northwest, Momentum West (includes Eau Claire County), 7 Rivers Alliance (includes La Crosse and Monroe County), Prosperity Southwest (includes Grant County and city of Platteville), Grow North, Centergy (includes Wood and Portage County), The Madison Regional Economic Partnership, The New North (includes Brown and Door County), and the Milwaukee 7. In turn, these groups work with local chambers of commerce and other business, civic, and governmental groups to help maintain and grow the economy of particular regions. Why do you think these economic development regions exist? Its because different regions of our state have fundamentally different economies. Are there similarities? Absolutely, but there are numerous differences between the assortment of industries that thrive in different parts of the state based on a variety of factors, including distinct demographics, geography, natural resources and other characteristics. Look at Western Wisconsin; there are four separate economic development regional partnerships covering the whole west side of the state because of the unique aspects of their regional economies from Dickeyville all the way up to Superior. I share all of that to get to the primary point Im trying to convey. We need a local and regional approach to re-opening up our economy, and we need one as soon as possible. As I alluded to last week in a statement, the Badger Bounce Back Plan that Gov. Tony Evers released unnecessarily utilizes criteria thats overly restrictive and goes above and beyond federal guidelines. Most importantly, the governors plan is not one that takes into account the unique aspects of our local and regional economies. Its a one size fits all approach, and has been proven over and over on issue after issue, subjecting our local communities to the direction and whims of those from the south central and southeast part of the state wont do the job in the rest of the state. In the federal guidelines for Opening Up America Again, under the proposed state or regional gating criteria as it relates to systems, cases and hospitals, it specifically states, State and local officials may need to tailor the application of these criteria to local circumstances (e.g. metropolitan areas that have suffered severe COVID outbreaks, rural and suburban areas where the outbreaks have not occurred or have been mild.) Additionally, where appropriate, governors should work on a regional basis to satisfy these criteria and to progress through the phases outlined below. As I write, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association COVID-19 Situational Awareness website, there have been a total of 63 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and three deaths in the entire seven-county western region of the state. Any loss of life is tragic; however, economic risks need to be weighed with health risks, and, as we know, both when it comes to mental health and otherwise, economic disparity leads to breakdowns in mental health and physical wellness. Its not good enough to essentially say that the virus can travel so we need to treat everyone the same as the governor has stated recently. Professionals from a wide variety of occupations are used to working in constantly changing and dynamic environments. We can adapt if conditions change. At this time, in the daily conversations Im having with local governmental and business leaders, Im encouraging them to work together to develop regional and local plans to safely re-open local economies as soon as practical and will continue to offer whatever assistance I can in those efforts. Republican Nancy VanderMeer, Tomah, represents the 70th Wisconsin State Assembly District. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Bible book of Esther is a dramatic account which can give us insight into Gods special and purposeful plan for our lives. The story gives us six powerful lessons about courage, divine timing and Gods supreme love. As scripture reveals, Esther is a Jewish woman living in Persia and reared by her cousin Mordecai. She was taken to the King of the Persian Empire to become a part of his harembut because there was something special about Esther, he made her queen. Mordecai, however, didnt tell the king about a major detailEsthers Jewish heritage. I imagine Esther as a drop-dead gorgeous woman with flawless olive skin and a tantalizing personality. She charmed King Xerxes so much that after deposing his prior queen, he could have chosen any woman he wantedbut he chose Esther. Of course there is a scoundrel in the story, too. Haman is a vengeful and egotistical advisor to the king. He hated Mordecai for refusing to bow down to him, so he plotted to destroy the Jewish people. Haman told the king, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom whose customs are different from those of all other people and who do not obey the kings laws; it is not in the kings best interest to tolerate them (Esther 3:8 NIV). The king gave him authority to handle the fate of the Jewish people. In return, Haman announced a government-issued edict of genocide. What could the queen do for her people? The king had not requested her presence in a month. Did his affection for her wane? Was she a powerless sex partner? Of all the Jews, only Esther had access to the king. Mordecai persuaded Esther to speak to the king on behalf of the Jewish people reminding her of her unique place in history and that silence is not an option. In one of the most poetic Biblical passages, Mordecai speaks of Gods purposeful timing: Who knows but that you have come to a royal position for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14 NIV). In other words, Mordecai lets Esther know that even her outer beauty was for a reason and would not go to waste! Esther knew, of course, that going to the king unsolicited could be her death sentence. Anyone who came into the kings presence without being summoned could be executed. So what does she do? Before making a life or death decision, she calls for the Jewish people to join her on a 3-day fast. Following the fast she put on her best royal robes, approached the king, and told him of Haman's plot against her people. The Jewish people were saved, Haman was hanged on the same gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai, and Esther received Hamans estate. This dramatic unfolding of events moves like a novel and played like a great chess game with several life lessons. Here are six lessons from the book of Esther that we can each apply to our living. Mordecai nailed it when he said, For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your fathers family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to the royal palace for such a time as this (Esther 4:14 NIV). God loved the Jewish people. And, he didnt create Esthers beauty and finesse for her and her alone. Esther was placed in a royal position to assist in the delivery of Gods divine plan. As believers, there are no such things as accidents or coincidences. Gods timing is providential. Esthers divine moment of providence came by accepting her responsibility to go to the king. However, Mordecai was clear when he said to Esther that she could be the one who saved the people, or not. God will use you only if youre readyor he will find someone else. I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish (Esther 4:16 NIV). Esther was willing to die to save her people. Sometimes we must stand in courage, even when it is not popular to do so, and risk it all. God is not mentioned in the Book of Esther even once. But Esther was clear that in this particular situation, a heavenly response was needed for an earthly situation. Esther needed direction. When we need Gods grace, fasting and prayer opens the portals for spiritual growth, removes distractions and places us on a path to humility. Esthers obedience saved Gods people from genocide. The reality is that Esther didnt know what would happen when she approached the king. She acted in obedience and by doing so she saved a nation and received the best. We dont get a pass on this one. No part of our lives is untouched. God is in control of every aspect, whether we want him to be or not, and there is nothing that is not subject to him (Hebrews 2:8 NIV). And, the best thing we can do for our lives is to search for and surrender to his will. Lisa Brown Ross is an author and award-winning writer. Her career spans radio and television reporting, public relations and public affairs consulting, motivational speaking and leadership development. She is a wife, mother, prayer warrior, poet and Chief Inspiration Officer for LisaRossInspiration.com. She serves as President of the LJR Group, Inc. a public relations and crisis communications firm located in Irving, Texas. By AFP PARIS: Tourism is a key component in the European economy, accounting for 10 percent of all activity but it now faces its greatest challenge -- how to survive the coronavirus pandemic? International tourist arrivals could plunge by 60 to 80 percent in 2020 owing to the coronavirus, the World Tourism Organization warned Thursday, meaning the local business is going to be essential. Here are three immediate questions for the industry. Whither summer holidays? France is the world's leading destination for holiday travel but President Emmanuel Macron warned earlier this week it was "too soon to say if we can take vacations" this year. EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton believes "some zones will be open to tourists, but not others," depending on the health situation. Many people appear to be planning local holidays as international travel looks set to be off the agenda for months to come. "To start with, it will be a question of ultra-proximity," French junior minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne said. In Britain, "holiday bookings for this summer have reduced drastically as people wait to see how the situation develops both in the UK and overseas," said a spokesperson for the ABTA travel association. "There is clearly considerable pent up demand for holidays and when lockdown conditions are lifted, people will have a renewed appetite for travel to see friends and family, and for taking a well-deserved holiday," the sector specialist added. What measures are in the offing? Popular destinations have begun to announce recovery plans "but the right health conditions have to be in place first, and there will need to be changes in some of the structures of travel and tourism to allow for social distancing," the ABTA representative added. Tourists must above all feel their health is not at risk if the industry is to save a summer season looking to be be one of the worst on record. Ali Abdelhafidh, at the Castel Plage in Nice, southern France, said half in jest that he would "quit the business" if his clients had to wear masks and gloves. The town of Gandia, southeastern Spain, plans to hire beach watchers and possibly ban kids at certain hours to ensure people maintain a minimum distance from each other. Restaurant patios are likely to be enlarged where possible and menus sent to cell phones instead of being passed from hand to hand. Clients are also likely to have their temperatures checked and be required to have masks and gloves to minimise the risk of infection. But while meant to reassure, such measures could prove counter-productive. Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini asked the pointed question -- "What kind of tourism is it when for example only a few people can eat together in a restaurant or pizzaria?" In general, European tourism specialists want clear and coherent guidelines so that everybody understands what is required. Breton said the European Union was working on harmonised rules for welcoming tourists that could be unveiled "in the coming days." The economic impact? Johan Vincent, researching how economic crises have impacted tourism, notes that "tourism has always bounced back because those concerned have adapted to the crises they have faced." The price tag is likely to be huge however, given that a country like Spain, the number two destination worldwide, forecasts a 64 percent drop in tourist arrivals this year. Exceltur, which groups leaders from 28 Spanish airlines, hotels, tourist agencies and related companies, expects the sector to lose up to 60 percent of its annual sales. Breton wants "a Marshall Plan for tourism," similar to the one that helped Europe recover from World War II. He estimates it would need one to two trillion euros ($1.08-2.16 trillion). A potential obstacle to joint action is that tourism is crucial for some, but not all EU members, in particular countries such as France, Greece, Italy and Spain but also some of the smaller states such as Croatia. The ABAs finding that Judge Justin Walker is well qualified to serve on the D.C. Circuit removes the Democrats main, though always specious, talking point against confirming Walker. As a result, the Dems are reduced to basing their case against Walker on the Wuhan coronavirus. During todays hearing on Walkers nomination, Sen. Durbin found it ironic that, in this time of a pandemic, a strident opponent of Obamacare is up for an appellate court judgeship. Durbin is hardly a great legal mind, but even he must understand that the coronavirus renders Obamacare no more (and no less) constitutional than it was during normal times. Democrats pointed to a comment Walker made at a ceremony marking his becoming a U.S. district court judge. With Anthony Kennedy present, Walker said that the worst words he ever had to deliver to Kennedy, as his law clerk, were that Chief Justice Roberts was siding with the Courts liberal bloc in the 2012 Obamacare case, meaning that the key portion of Obamacare would be upheld as constitutional. Because of Robertss change of heart, Justice Kennedy, to his chagrin, would be writing the dissent, not the majority opinion. Walker characterized his comment as a joke predicated on Kennedys unhappiness with Robertss flip. It seems like thats what it was. In any event, neither Walkers view of Robertss position nor Kennedys view of it is grounds for not confirming Walker. The nominee is on record that the Chief Justices position is legally indefensible. However, as an appeals court judge, Walker will be bound by the 2012 Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare. Being bound by the decision does not preclude expressing disagreement with it, whether jokingly or with utmost seriousness. Another potential Democratic talking point is Walkers strong advocacy for the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Given Joe Bidens predicament, Democrats may find that card less playable than before. Walker, for his part, embraced his close connection with Kavanaugh. He told the Senators that as an academic and as a former clerk, I thought I knew about Justice Kavanaugh and his jurisprudence, and I wanted to share that knowledge with people who didnt. Why shouldnt he have? Walker is no more closely connected to Kavanaugh than he was when the Senate confirmed him to the federal bench as a district court judge. The connection didnt prevent his confirmation on a straight party line vote. Walker will be confirmed this time, too, probably again on a straight party line vote. The Kano State Ministry of Health on Thursday announced that five more patients died from coronavirus complications in the state. The Ministry on its Twitter handle also said three more patients recovered from the disease and they were discharged from the isolation facility. The five deaths announced by the Kano government early Thursday appear to be the same five deaths announced by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Wednesday night. PREMIUM TIMES reported how the NCDC announced five deaths across the country from the disease, taking the total fatality to 103. The NCDC did not, however, mention the state(s) where the five deaths occurred. In its statement, the Kano State Ministry of Health also said that Kano has now recorded 427 confirmed cases of coronavirus. A total of 13 patients have died from the virus while six patients have recovered and have been discharged in the state. Meanwhile, the states Association of Nurses and Midwives has confirmed that 18 of its members contracted the disease. The Nigeria Medical Association had earlier said 34 doctors working in different health facilities across the state had also contracted the virus. Although President Muhammadu Buhari imposed a total lockdown on Kano to check the spread of the disease, the state governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, announced that the lockdown would be relaxed on Mondays and Thursdays, allowing residents to shop for Ramadan food items. The announcement came with some restrictions including mandatory social distancing and mandatory use of face masks during the relaxation of the lockdown. Also, only food markets were allowed to open. Health experts have cautioned states against the hasty lifting of lockdown as the coronavirus pandemic may worsen. They said even if the ease on lockdown is effected, there is the need to continue observing physical distancing and hygiene measures. Kano has the second highest number of Nigerias 3,145 coronavirus cases. The government will conduct a randomised controlled clinical trial to assess the efficacy of ayurvedic drug ashwagandha as a preventive intervention among healthcare professionals and high-risk COVID-19 population in comparison with hydroxychloroquine. This will be a joint initiative of the ministries of AYUSH, health, and science and technology through the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) with technical support from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday. Simultaneously, the efficacy of ayurvedic drugs yashtimadhu, combination of Guduchi and Pippali and a poly-herbal formulation (AYUSH-64) along with ashwagandha will also be evaluated as a prophylaxis and add on to standard care in mild to moderate COVID-19 patients, Secretary in the Ministry of AYUSH Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha said. "These randomised controlled clinical trials will help us assess the benefit of these ayurvedic drugs as a preventive intervention and as an add on therapy in arresting the progression of the respiratory ailment," Kotecha said. An interdisciplinary AYUSH Research and Development Task Force with a group of experts under the chairmanship of Dr Bhushan Patvardhan, Vice Chairmen of University Grant Commission, has formulated clinical research protocols for prophylactic studies and add-on interventions in COVID-19 positive cases thorough review and consultative process for studying these four different interventions -- ashwagandha, yashtimadhu, guduchi and pippali, and AYUSH-64. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan also launched on Thursday the 'Sanjivani' mobile application to generate data on acceptance and usage of AYUSH advocacies and measures among the population and its impact in prevention of COVID-19. AYUSH minister Shripad Yesso Naik also participated in the press conference through a video link from Goa. Developed by the Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), the mobile application aims to reach out to 50 lakh people. Vardhan said that COVID-19 management has provided a potent platform for alliance among the ministries of health and AYUSH, and technology organisations such as CSIR, ICMR, and UGC to not only develop AYUSH interventions and solutions, but also help in promoting the knowledge for the larger good of the global community. Ayush secretary Kotecha said the government will also initiate population-based studies to see the impact of ayurvedic, unani, siddha and homeopathy interventions in prevention of COVID-19 infection among high-risk population, Kotecha said. The study will be carried out through four research councils under the Ministry of AYUSH and national institutes in 25 states and several state governments covering around five lakh people, he said. Elaborating on the importance of these studies, Vardhan said, "The alliance provides valuable opportunity for knowledge-based solutions to continue to benefit us even after the COVID-19 pandemic ends, by possible integration of AYUSH in mainstream scientific efforts." "Let us also understand that the modern pathies of medicine and science are not in competition with those of AYUSH, but they complement and strengthen each other in intrinsic ways," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Japan will find a new location for its new Aegis Ashore land-based missile defense system amid strong local opposition to deployment in the northeastern city of Akita, government sources said Wednesday. The government had hoped to introduce the U.S.-developed system to a Ground Self-Defense Force training area in Akita's Araya district by 2025, but may have to push back that plan as it looks at other candidate sites within the same prefecture. The Aegis Ashore will supplement the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Aegis-equipped destroyers in protecting Japan from North Korean ballistic missiles. The government decided in 2017 to deploy two batteries to counter the threat of North Korean missiles, with one in Akita Prefecture and another in the GSDF's Mutsumi training area straddling Hagi and Abu in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, as candidate sites. Together, the Aegis batteries are expected to start operation in 2025 at the earliest. But the plan is unpopular with local residents concerned about the health effects of electromagnetic waves emitted by the Aegis Ashore's radar, as well as the possibility that it could become a target in an armed conflict. Local sentiment further soured after a geographical survey used by the Defense Ministry as the basis for picking the sites was found to contain numerical errors. A Conservative minister has blamed technical issues in laboratories for the government repeatedly missing its daily coronavirus testing target of 100,000. It comes after it emerged daily Covid-19 tests plunged below 70,000 on Wednesday down more than 50,000 on the figures provided by the health secretary Matt Hancock almost a week ago. The Independent also reported that widespread testing for the virus had been suspended among staff and patients at hospitals and GP practices across London due to chemical shortages. Pressed on why the target had not yet been met, Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Yes, there has been a drop off in the number of tests conducted it was just under 69,500 yesterday. The capacity has remained over 100,000, he insisted. There has been a technical issue in the laboratories. That is now being resolved so that will start to come back up again. 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 Mr Lewis added: The capacity has remained over 100,000 so therefore the capacity at all points in the last few days has been above demand. What we are looking to do is to increase capacity, to increase access for tests for people so more and more people can get it. Despite repeatedly failing to reach the 100,000 target outlined last month, Boris Johnson announced a fresh target of 200,000 tests at prime ministers questions on Wednesday. And adding to the sense of confusion, No 10 later revealed the new aim set out by Mr Johnson related only to testing capacity and not to the number of tests actually carried out. Mr Lewis also refused to be drawn on what restrictions may be eased by the government on Sunday, as Mr Johnson prepares to make a statement to the nation on the next phase of the crisis. The prime minister told MPs on Wednesday that he hopes some lockdown rules could be eased as early as next week if new scientific evidence backs a relaxation of the stringent measures. The cabinet are meeting later this morning, he said. Weve got that review today. As has been outlined the prime minister will then after that make a statement about what the next stage is going to be. But he urged caution, adding: The reality is were still at a high point of the virus. We believe we are past the peak, but we have to make sure we do not create a situation we can have a strong second peak very quickly. This virus spreads so fast and as weve seen tragically so deadly in some cases that weve got to make sure we take caution. Were going to make sure we go forward in a way that actually puts peoples health first and actually make sure we do everything we can to avoid having any form of a second peak. The Karnataka government on Wednesday decided to restart running special trains to take migrant workers to their home states from May 8, a move that comes against the backdrop of widespread outrage over its step to stop the services. The nodal officer for the state, Manjunath Prasad has written to nine states seeking permission to send stranded labourers, students, tourists, pilgrims and others. The letters of request have gone to Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Manipur, Tripura, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha. The request is for running two trains every day to Odisha, West Bengal, UP, Bihar and Jharkhand, one train each day to Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan from May 8 to 15 and one train daily to Manipur and Tripura from May 8 till all the stranded people are transported. Consent has been received from Bihar to run one train a day from May 8 to 15 while the remaining eight states are yet to respond. The Karnataka government decided to stop these services on Tuesday, incidentally after a meeting with builders in the city. Three trains scheduled on Wednesday for Bihar were cancelled after the nodal officer in-charge of migrants' movements wrote to the railways stating the services were not required. "About 10,000 labourers who wanted to go to Bihar were at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC). They said they wanted to go home following which we requested the railways for trains. Yesterday (Tuesday), (chief minister) Yediyurappa held a meeting with construction agencies Metro, BIAL and all infrastructure projects which are going on. The CM directed them to start all work immediately. Afterwards, migrant labourers at BIEC were all told that work will start. They were also told about the chief ministers meeting. All of them have gone back. We have informed that trains scheduled for Wednesday will not be required. Three trains scheduled for Bihar now stand cancelled," Manjunath Prasad had told CNN-News18. A senior official in the labour department clarified that the decision was not influenced by the builder lobby but was due to difficulty in managing and transporting thousands of migrant labourers while avoiding the risk of a bigger spread of Covid-19. However, the decision to stop the train services sparked a severe backlash and criticism against the BS Yediyurappa government. Reports have highlighted how many labourers continue to work in deplorable conditions in Karnataka with no social distancing and hygiene. There are more than two lakh migrant labourers in the state from different parts of the country, as well as Bangladesh and Nepal. Indian Youth Congress national president Srinivas BV submitted an application of intervention to the Karnataka High Court for urgent hearing on the "ongoing violation of human rights carried out by the Karnataka state government". Two personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF) have succumbed to the Covid-19 infection. While one of the patients died today, another borderman had passed away on Monday at Delhis Safdarjung hospital. DG BSF and all ranks mourn the untimely demise of the corona warriors of BSF. BSF fraternity conveys condolences and stands firm with the bereaved families, the force said in a statement on Thursday. These are the first cases of death in the BSF due to Covid-19 and the second among paramilitary forces after a 55-year-old sub-inspector of the CRPF had succumbed to the disease last month. The total number of infections or active cases in the 2.5 lakh personnel strong force now stand at 193 after 41 fresh cases were reported, the BSF said in the statement. Two jawans have recovered. While all instructions and protocols issued by the health ministry are strictly followed, it is pertinent to mention that BSF establishments have established well equipped quarantine/isolation centres as per the prescribed norms to prevent the contagion. The composite hospitals of BSF are dedicated Covid-19 Health Centres (DCHC) and are diligently handling cases of BSF personnel, the statement further said. Eighty-five BSF personnel tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday. This was the highest spike in Covid-19 cases in a day in any of the paramilitary forces. The BSF has reported most of its cases from Delhi, Kolkata and Tripura. BSF spokesperson Shubhendu Bhardwaj said that the infections have been reported while performing operational and essential duties. Bhardwaj said that each establishment of the BSF is following the standard operating procedures that are in place to contain the coronavirus disease. The central paramilitary forces now have over 400 cases across the country. Around 10 lakh strong border guarding forces are deployed for counter-insurgency, border guarding and law and order duties across the country. The spike in Covid-19 infections in CAPFs in last one week has raised concerns among its brass. 80,000 people are in hospitals in the country with a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of coronavirus infection, including 1,133 patients on mechanical ventilation, four of them children, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko told Putin. He added that men are more vulnerable than women to its effects. [May 07, 2020] Andersen Global Strengthens Eastern Europe Presence; Debuts in Ukraine Andersen Global announces its entry into Ukraine via a Collaboration Agreement with a leading local firm Sayenko Kharenko, further expanding its global platform in Eastern Europe. Founded in 2004, Sayenko Kharenko is one of the largest law firms in Ukraine with 17 Partners and more than 120 total professionals. The firm specializes in complex cross-border and local matters and provides services for a variety of industries including healthcare, pharmaceutical, agriculture, energy, retail and natural resources. "Our tax practice has been dynamically growing lately and collaborating with Andersen Global allows us to better address the evolving tax and business needs of our clients, as well as successfully handle any of their global needs," said Office Managing Director Nazar Chernyavsky. "Arthur Andersen alumna and Partner of our tax practice Svitlana Msienko will assist us as we collaborate with Andersen Global. We appreciate the importance and impact of working with like-minded individuals around the globe with whom we share similar values." "The addition of Sayenko Kharenko brings new depth to our presence in Eastern Europe while allowing us to deliver additional services in the region," said Mark Vorsatz, Andersen Global Chairman and Andersen CEO. "There is no question in our mind - they are the best practice in Ukraine. The firm's demonstrated passion for stewardship and proven ability to provide clients with best-in-class solutions will allow them to integrate into our organization seamlessly." Andersen Global is an international association of legally separate, independent member firms comprised of tax and legal professionals around the world. Established in 2013 by U.S. member firm Andersen Tax LLC, Andersen Global now has more than 5,000 professionals worldwide and a presence in over 168 locations through its member firms and collaborating firms. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005002/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] LG has formally launched the Velvet smartphone in its home market South Korea. The LG Velvet is the company's first smartphone that has come out of the shadow of the old G-series, in an attempt to entice customers and offer a tough fight to rivals. LG is relying on the sub-premium chipset, Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G, for the Velvet smartphone while its premium-range V-series smartphones sport Snapdragon 865 SoC. It is a major departure from the company's other smartphones design-wise, which includes the "rainbow camera" that essentially looks like dripping waterdrops. LG Velvet Price The LG Velvet costs KRW 899,800, which translates to roughly Rs 55,700 and $735. The smartphone will be available for pre-order starting Friday, May 8 in South Korea via three carriers. The availability of the LG Velvet in the markets outside of the company's home market, including India. A previous report had suggested the Velvet will be focused on Asian markets, which could mean the smartphone could arrive in India. The colour options of the LG Velvet is Aurora White, Aurora Grey, Illusion Sunset, Aurora Green. LG Velvet Specifications For specifications, the LG Velvet comes with a 6.8-inch pOLED with Full-HD+ resolution of 1080x2460 pixels and an aspect ratio 20.5:9. The smartphone is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G SoC, paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, along with support for microSD card of up to 2TB. The smartphone has a X52 modem integrated within the chipset for 5G connectivity. LG Velvet supports 5G out of the box on major carriers in South Korea. The LG Velvet runs on Android 10 with the company's skin on top. There is a setup of three cameras on the back of the LG Velvet - a 48-megapixel main autofocus shooter, an 8-megapixel ultrawide sensor, and 5-megapixel depth sensor to produce bokeh effects. The front-facing camera is a 16-megapixel shooter that resides inside the notch on the top of the display. The smartphone comes with support for a stylus that can be used to doodle on screen, much like the Galaxy Note smartphones. The LG Velvet has the IP68 dust and water resistance and MIL-STD 810G certifications for durability. The smartphone also comes with support for LG Dual Screen. The LG Velvet is fuelled by a 4300mAh battery but the company has not said anything about the fast charging capabilities on the smartphone. COVID-19 deaths, hospitalisations and lockdowns could be over this year, says WHO India logs over 2.82 lakh new cases, 441 deaths in last 24 hours SC pulls up Andhra, Bihar for non-payment of compensation to kin of Covid victims 22 more BSF 138 battalion test positive for COVID-19 India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, May 07: Twenty-two people linked to a Border Security Force battalion in Dhalai district tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, taking the number of cases in Tripura to 64, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said. The total active cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) rose to 62 in the state after 22 people from the 138th battalion at Ambassa tested positive. "Alert! 22 persons from 138-Bn #BSF Ambassa found #COVID19 POSITIVE today including 18 male, 1 female, 3 children," Deb tweeted on Wednesday night. 35 BSF jawans test positive for coronavirus in Jodhpur "Total #COVID19 POSITIVE cases in Tripura stands at 64 (2 already discharged, so active cases: 62) Dont Panic, Govt is working vigilantly," Deb said. Two BSF jawans of 138 battalion headquarters at Ambassa in Dhalai district had tested positive on May 2. The very next day, 12 more BSF personnel tested positive. On May 4, 13 more tested positive and on May 5, another 13 BSF jawans tested positive for COVID-19. All the COVID-19 positive persons are either BSF personnel or their family members. Earlier in the day, the Tripura government asked the BSF Inspector General (Tripura) Solomon Minz to conduct an inquiry on the spurt of COVID-19 cases among jawans of the 138 battalion of the paramilitary force posted in Dhalai district and submit a report within seven days. Law Minister Ratan Nath said the Principal Secretary (Home) Barun Kumar Sahu had written a Minz, asking him to inquire into the origin of the COVID-19 cases and submit a report within seven days. The state government has declared Dhalai district as red zone and marked three locations -- the battalion headquarters, a base camp at Gandacherra and a border outpost with Bangladesh at Kareena as containment zones. OlegAlbinsky/iStockBy ENJOLI FRANCIS AND ESTHER CASTILLEJO, ABC NEWS (WASHINGTON) -- During his exclusive interview with President Donald Trump in Arizona, ABC News anchor David Muir asked the commander in chief to clarify whether, a month after stopping travel from China to the U.S., he actually believed that the spread of novel coronavirus would end at 15 cases. In late February, Trump said that the U.S. had gone from 15 to near zero. "We're going very substantially down, not up. Going very substantially down. Schools should be preparing. Get ready just in case. The words are 'Just in case.' We don't think we'll be there. We don't think we'll be anywhere close,'" Trump said during a news conference on Feb. 26. "When you have 15 people and the 15 within a couple days is going to be down to close to zero, that's a pretty good job we've done." Since the first cases were detected in China in December, the United States has become the worst-affected country, with more than 1.2 million diagnosed cases and at least 72,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Trump told Muir during Tuesday's interview that the cases had "mushroomed." "There was a time when we had one person in this country. We knew about it. We worked on it. But we have one person, it mushroomed. ... Other people were coming in, also from Europe," Trump told the "World News Tonight" anchor. Muir pushed back, however, reminding Trump that the U.S. had reached more than 1 million cases of novel coronavirus. "You know why were at a million cases? Because we have more testing than anybody else. If we tested as much as these countries down here, OK, who don't do very much testing at all," Trump said. "But you understand there's a huge disparity between 15 and more than a million cases. ... Was it an intelligence failure? Where was the breakdown that we, didn't know the scope of this?" Muir asked. Trump did not answer Muir's question, but said that he'd closed the U.S. border. "I was the only one that wanted to do it. And we had professionals, we had doctors, David, I was the only one that wanted to do it. And if I didn't do that -- Dr. [Anthony] Fauci said this -- we would have lost thousands and thousands, tens of thousands more lives, but I banned China, which is the primary source, from coming in. Then, not too long after that, I banned Europe because we saw what was going over -- what was happening in Europe. ... I think we did a phenomenal job," he said. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Vargas Mini Market in Kensington is shown on Thursday morning, May 7, 2020. An employee was shot and critically injured there the previous night, police said. Read more Philadelphia police are looking for the gunman in a double shooting Wednesday in the parking garage of an Acme Market in Northern Liberties that left one man dead and another injured. That slaying and the killing Tuesday night of an 18-year-old man in West Philadelphia pushed the citys homicide count this year to 132, up 19% from the same point last year, according to the Police Department. The garage shooting, in the 100 block of West Girard Avenue, took place about 4:30 p.m. and police arrived up minutes later. Officers found a 24-year-old man shot in the head and an 18-year-old man with a graze wound to his left leg. The older man was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he died. The teen was treated at Temple. Police released no information about a suspect. Tuesdays shooting, in the 1400 block of North 52nd Street in the Carroll Park section of West Philadelphia, killed Zamire Holloway, 18, who lived in that block. Police went there at 9:41 p.m. to investigate a report of a shooting and found Holloway in the street with multiple gunshot wounds. Officers took him to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he died minutes later. Holloway was approached by two men and talked for a few minutes with a man wearing dark clothing who suddenly began shooting, police said. As Holloway began to run, the second man, dressed in light-colored clothing, shot him. Both men fled and remained at large Thursday, police said. Among other gun violence incidents in the city this week, police responding to Vargas Mini Market in the 200 block of East Cambria Street in Kensington at 9:57 p.m. Wednesday found a 55-year-old man shot in the head. He was discovered on the floor inside an area for employees where the cash register is located, police said. They took him to Temple, where he was listed in critical condition Thursday. Police described the gunman as a 25- to 30-year-old man with a thin build who wore a black hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, a blue surgical mask, and jeans with bleach spots. The food truck wont be coming at least not this month. As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis, regrettably, the Ridgefield Mobile Food Pantry scheduled for Friday, May 8, at St. Andrews Church, has been canceled, town Social Services Director Tony Phillips announced Monday. We are hopeful that we will be able to resume the towns Mobile Food Pantry effort in the coming months, he said. A decision will be made about the June 12 Mobile Food Pantry as we get closer to the scheduled date. Phillips recommended some additional information for food resources. For Ridgefield residents: Town Hall is currently closed to the public but people can email Karen Gaudian of Ridgefield Social Services at municipalagent@ridgefieldct.org Or visit the website at https://bit.ly/39UPrX5 For residents of neighboring towns, Phillips recommended: The Danbury Food Collaborative: www.uwwesternct.org/danburyfoodcollaborative or checking the Connecticut Food Bank Mobile Pantry schedule: http://www.ctfoodbank.org/get-help/connecticut-food-banks-mobile-pantry-schedule. Anyone in need of food resources, he said, can also call Infoline at 2-1-1 or go to https://www.211ct.org. The Ridgefield Social Services Department also offers several options to anyone wishing to donate food or help hungry neighbors. Checks or online donations can be made to Ridgefield, memo Emergency Fund. We are able to realize 100 percent of the donation from checks, and 100 percent of any donations received go directly to Ridgefield residents, Phillips said. Or mail a check/cards to: Town of Ridgefield, memo Emergency Fund, addressed to: Ridgefield Social Services, 400 Main Street. Ridgefielders can donate to or apply for assistance with rent through Ridgefield Responds at https://bit.ly/2Xij8OW. Donations made be made online at https://co.clickandpledge.com/advanced/default.aspx?wid=119546. Food donations may also be made at Caraluzzis online: https://store.caraluzzis.com/gift-cards-for-charity. Caraluzzis will provide Social Services with gift cards purchased for us, Phillips said. How to help restaurants: Restaurant gift cards can be left in the yellow mailbox in front of the Ridgefield Police Department. These will be distributed to Ridgefield residents as needed. There are several restaurants that are offering free meals or reduced cost meals. Donors can contact/donate at Natures Temptation, Wooster Hollow Cafe, 850 Degrees, Dimitris Diner. Helping small businesses: Contact your local retailer to see if you are able to purchase goods/services. Help for nonprofits: Ridgefield Social Services, Meals on Wheels and RVNAhealth are just three local not-for-profits who have increased needs during this public health crisis. Ridgefield Social Services also recommends the neighbor helping neighbor project for senior citizens. Senior in need of a caring neighbors may call 203-431-7000 or email: compassionproject06877@gmail.com with senior Ridgefielder in the subject line. Ridgefielders who wish to serve as caring neighbors to local seniors should email compassionproject06877@gmail.com with caring neighbor in the subject line. Bettman/Getty Images En espanol | Nazi Germany's military leaders signed surrender documents on May 7, 1945, marking the end of nearly six years of war throughout Europe. When the news was announced a day later, mass celebrations erupted across Europe and America as millions took to the streets, cementing May 8's legacy as V-E Day for victory in Europe. President Harry S. Truman dedicated the day to former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had died just weeks earlier. "Our victory is only half over, Truman said in reference to the fighting that continued in the Pacific with Japan for three more months. Two new cases of coronavirus were spotted at the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Totally, there are 29 people with laboratory-confirmed infection as the Medical Forces reported. During the past 24 hours, two new cases of infection with acute respiratory disease Covid-19 were spotted in Odesa and Vinnytsia regions. A military (Odesa region) and employee of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Vinnytsia region) are treated at home under the observation of the medical service. The state of health of the patients is satisfactory; the symptoms of the disease are absent, the message said. Currently, 29 cases of infection with coronavirus spotted at the Armed Forces of Ukraine. During the pandemic, 52 people recovered and two lethal cases were spotted. 223 people stay in isolation. The isolation of 63 people end in the next three days. As of 9:00 a.m. on May 7, 13,691 cases of coronavirus infection were registered in Ukraine. 507 new cases have been observed over the last 24 hours. Overall, 340 deaths have been recorded in the country, and 2,396 patients have recovered. School Superintendent William Hite said a new hotline will provide mental health and grief support for Philadelphia School District families beginning Monday, May 11. Read more For Philadelphia students and families having trouble coping with the loss of months of in-person school amid the trauma of a pandemic and a changing world, help is on the way. On Monday, the Philadelphia School District and Uplift, the Center for Grieving Children, will launch the Philly HopeLine, a hotline that will connect district children and families to grief support services, Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said at a news conference Thursday. The resource comes in response to a need in the community, said Jayme Banks, the districts director of trauma-informed practices. Speaking with families and students over the past few months, theyve shared how difficult this time is for them, said Banks. They feel isolated, disconnected, they have worries about all of the unknowns. The hotline, 833-PHL-HOPE, will operate Monday through Friday from noon to 9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. It will be staffed by masters-level clinicians and available by call or text, and will not end when the school year ends for students on June 12. An anonymous donor gave $250,000 for the project, which is funded through August and could extend beyond that date. Uplift has long partnered with the district to provide free grief support groups for district students and staff inside schools. The news conference came during the first week since March that district educators are teaching new material. FAQ: Your coronavirus questions, answered. Attendance figures are not yet available, the superintendent said, but he estimated that less than 1% of students about 500 out of the districts 130,000 children have not been accounted for. To find families, schools have made calls, sent text messages, knocked on doors, and in some cases consulted with city agencies. Students are being marked present in various ways, including logging into an online platform, texting with a teacher, connecting with a teacher by phone call, or sending a photo of themselves working to a teacher. READ MORE: When coronavirus hit, schools moved online. Some students didnt. The goal of education during the pandemic, Hite said, is to stop academic regression and maintain relationships and identify what supports children need. We are maintaining our relationships with young people so that they dont feel lost, Hite said. Success for me is if in fact were able to make contact with children. And while some parents have raised the idea of writing off the rest of the school year and having children repeat a grade because of the lost months of instruction, Hite said that was not an option. Were not just going to do wholesale retention because of what children are experiencing, the superintendent said. But instead, when we get back to some point of normalcy, we will do some kind of assessment to see where children are, and to work to get them back to where they should be throughout the next year. READ MORE: I would call this emergency remote learning: How schools are adjusting during the coronavirus shutdown Though the district has made loaner Chromebooks available to all students, some still lack the ability to complete work virtually often because they lack internet access. The district has purchased 2,500 mobile hot spots to help get more children online, but that number is lower than the count of children who need them. Hite said he was working with school leaders nationally to address equity issues around connectivity. Its a critical infrastructure issue, Hite said. People should have access to the information particularly if we have to use this to educate children, just as they have access to meals and nutrition." Wyoming Business Tips for May 11-17 A weekly look at issues facing Wyoming business owners and entrepreneurs from the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, a collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming. By Jake Dixon, marketing manager, Wyoming SBDC Network Its hard to believe how quickly COVID-19 has changed the business landscape. Every industry has been impacted, and small businesses are being hit the hardest. Furthermore, it may feel like the resources and assistance available to Wyoming entrepreneurs during this pandemic are changing just as fast. As new programs emerge and others adjust, its important to stay up to date on the support offered so that your business can utilize every available opportunity. Several statewide resources offer assistance at no cost to Wyoming entrepreneurs. The Wyoming SBDC Network can provide mentoring on any business topic with which you may need help. Our local advisers also can help you with applications for the U.S. Small Business Administrations (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). We are connected to other organizations in the state and will refer you to the right person from either the Wyoming Business Council, the Department of Workforce Services or the organizations within UWs Business Resource Network -- just to name a few. To give you an example of why its important to stay in the know, take a look at how some entrepreneurial assistance programs have changed within the last week. Keep in mind, both the programs I mention below may change by the time you read this. Paycheck Protection Program Forgivable loans, through the PPP, initially launched April 3 to help businesses keep workers on their payroll. Applications for this program closed April 15 as funds ran dry. However, the program resumed April 27 after more money for it became available. As recently as this past weekend (May 2-3), there were still funds available to help Wyoming entrepreneurs through the PPP. However, you should apply now if you havent already. Theres no telling how long these funds will last, and we dont know if they will be replenished. Economic Injury Disaster Loans The SBA has offered EIDL for years. On March 20, they were approved to help businesses in Wyoming negatively affected by COVID-19. On April 15, the SBA announced it had shut down the application portal for these low-interest loans and their forgivable advances of up to $10,000. However, due to recent funding from Congress, EIDL loans are once again available -- but for agricultural businesses only. Additionally, the SBA has resumed processing EIDL applications submitted before the portal stopped accepting new applications April 15 and will be processing these applications on a first-come, first-served basis. All of these modifications may seem like too much to keep track of but, luckily, there is help available. Our experts at the Wyoming SBDC Network are staying on top of all of these changes so you dont have to. To make sure you are utilizing the resources that are right for your business, contact your local Wyoming SBDC Network adviser for no-cost, confidential assistance at www.wyomingsbdc.org. Also, our COVID-19 resource page for entrepreneurs is updated daily with the latest resources, news and events. You can find that page at www.wyomingsbdc.org/covid19. The Wyoming SBDC Network offers no-cost advising and technical assistance to help Wyoming entrepreneurs think about, launch, grow, reinvent or exit their business. In 2019 alone, the Wyoming SBDC Network helped Wyoming entrepreneurs start 108 new businesses; create or save 3,402 jobs; and bring a capital impact of more than $24 million to the state. The Wyoming SBDC Network is hosted by UW with state funds from the Wyoming Business Council and funded, in part, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. SBA. To ask a question, call 1-800-348-5194, email wsbdc@uwyo.edu, or write 1000 E. University Ave., Dept. 3922, Laramie, WY 82071-3922. People walking in the Sanlitun shopping area which hosts numerous stores, bars and art-installations, in Beijing, China on May 6, 2020. China's services firms wallowed in contraction in April as layoffs hit a record and export orders plunged after signs of improvement in March, a private survey showed, dashing hopes of a quick recovery from the coronavirus blow. The Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) did manage to pull up to 44.4 in April from 43 in March, but remained in a deep slump and far below historic averages. The 50-mark separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. The third straight month of contraction for China's services sector, an important generator of jobs and which accounts for about 60% of the economy, suggests a still turbulent period ahead after the collapse in economic activity in the first quarter, when gross domestic product shrank 6.8%. It also raised worries about the outlook even though the pandemic has been largely brought under control domestically, as a sharp global downturn dampens demand for Chinese goods and services. "The second shockwave for China's economy brought about by shrinking overseas demand should not be underestimated in the second quarter," said Zhengsheng Zhong, director of macroeconomic analysis at CEBM Group. Major economies, including the United States and Europe, remain in the grip of the pandemic amid rapidly rising infections and deaths. The sweeping impact of the coronavirus, with the global death toll at well over 250,000, has many worried that a worldwide recession could be far more damaging than first thought. In April, new export orders shrank further after their pace of contraction slowed in March, declining at the second-fastest rate on record, just marginally better than February's collapse. That underscored the brief nature of March's rebound as it was mainly due to delayed deliveries of orders received before the Lunar New Year holiday, Zhong said. BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend: President of Turkmenistan has reviewed socio-economic situation in the country, Trend reports with reference to Turkmenistans State News Agency. President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov held a meeting with the participation of the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and the municipal administrations of the regions and capital. First, the head of the state was informed about the situation in the capital. He stressed that the work carried out in Ashgabat should be aimed at improving the well-being of residents and environment of the capital. Cotton sowing is being completed in the Akhal region. The head of the regional administration also provided a report on the ongoing seasonal field work in the region and preparations for the summer season. Then the president was informed about what is happening in the Balkan region. Measures taken to accelerate the pace of construction of squares were also noted. Sugar beet will be sown in the region within the planned time. The next region under discussion was Dashoguz, where cotton planting has already been completed. The president stressed that the timely implementation of agricultural activities in the fields is the key to future high yields. The situation in the Lebap region was also reviewed. Cotton planting in this region has been completed. The ongoing work to improve social infrastructure, increase the pace of construction of various facilities, as well as the organization of summer recreation were reported. According to the president, special attention should be paid to the socio-economic development of this region. The Mary region has also completed the sowing of cotton. Preparations are underway for the upcoming sowing of sugar beets in this region. Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, Esenmyrad Orazgeldiyev told the president about the completion of cotton sowing throughout the country. The conduct of field work in the regions of the country was also reported. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva BAKU -- The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that Azerbaijan failed to protect investigative reporter Khadija Ismayilovas right to privacy, saying the countrys courts should have sanctioned a local newspaper for an article making salacious claims and commentary about her private and sexual life. The Strasbourg-based court on May 7 held that the Azerbaijani state was to pay Ismayilova a total of 6,000 euros ($6,500) for damages, costs, and expenses. This is the ECHRs third decision in favor of Ismayilova in relation to an alleged campaign of intimidation against her because of her journalistic activity. The journalist -- who has conducted investigations into high-level corruption in Azerbaijan, including cases involving the family of President Ilham Aliyev -- was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison in 2015 on what human rights groups called trumped-up tax-evasion charges. She was conditionally released in 2016 but is still subject to a travel ban. Amnesty Internationals South Caucasus researcher, Natalia Nozadze, said the ECHRs latest judgement exposes the complicity of Azerbaijans judicial system in silencing a prominent journalist and attacking the right to freedom of expression in the country. Not only has Khadija Ismayilova served a prison sentence under false charges, she has suffered years of harassment by the authorities, intrusion into her personal life, and vilification in state-run media, Nozadze added. In March 2012, a video filmed secretly with a camera planted in Ismayilovas bedroom and showing scenes of a sexual nature was posted online. Months later, a pro-government newspaper published an article containing derogatory remarks about Ismayilova, saying she should be considered a porn star and suggesting that she should engage in sexual liaisons with opposition-oriented journalists. The reporter sued the newspaper, saying the article was insulting and damaging to her honor and dignity, her right to privacy, and her right to freedom of expression. But Azerbaijani courts dismissed her claim and appeals in 2013, arguing, among other things, that the statements made in the article in question were a manifestation of the authors freedom of expression. The ECHR on May 7 ruled that the Azerbaijani authorities failed to protect Ismayilovas right to privacy, contrary to their obligation under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The only discernible intent behind the statements made in respect of the applicant was to attack her or set her up for attack on grounds of morality, the court said. By further exploiting the previous breach of her privacy, the article in question sought, by using offensive and derogatory language, to attribute to the applicant characteristics and behavior in a manner calculated to negatively and radically influence how she was viewed in society. In January 2019, the ECHR ruled that Azerbaijan failed to investigate the sex-tape case, violating Ismayilovas rights to privacy and freedom of expression. And in February 2020, the court ruled that the actual goal of her arrest and detention was to silence and punish her for her work. BlytzPay, a mobile payment solution designed to improve the ease and speed by which businesses invoice and collect payments from customers, has today announced a strategic partnership with AFS Dealers. Under the terms of the partnership, AFS Dealers and BlytzPay will integrate their technology platforms, providing AFS Dealer customers with the ability to manage payments and invoicing through a more robust DMS experience. BlytzPay also announced its status as payments facilitator (PayFac), a unique operating category that makes reporting and settlement much easier for merchants who will no longer need to establish direct relationships with banks or payment gateways. As a PayFac the fintech firm will have more agile funding capabilities to support its growing roster of clients. AFS Dealers Chief Operating Officer Bill Elizondo said, The integration with BlytzPay compliments our web based DMS Solutions Software with friction-less payment technology. BlytzPay has created efficiencies, far advanced for our industry, that allow payments at over 100,000 locations while still keeping the connection with our auto dealers customers. We are proud to call them a partner said Bill Elizondo Chief Operating Officer." BlytzPays comprehensive and straightforward technology solutions and new status as a PayFac enable businesses to communicate, invoice and collect from their customers via text message as well as report and settle through the BlytzPay platform. For AFS Dealers and BlytzPay clients this means enhanced software capabilities for their customer network, providing sophisticated, real-time, text message communication, invoicing and dynamic funding and payments capabilities. BlytzPay CEO Robyn Burkinshaw said, We are thrilled to partner with AFS Dealers. Alongside many other industries that previously relied on in-person interaction to process and collect payments, the auto industry is rightly recognizing the immediate need for digitization. She continued, As a PayFac our technology supports a more secure, easier to use and more efficient experience within the B2B2C construct while delivering an excellent customer experience. We anticipate seeing more industries driving this type of positive change in the coming years. About BlytzPay: BlytzPay is a mobile payment solution improving the ease and speed by which businesses invoice and collect payments from their customers. A simple solution in a complex field makes BlytzPay especially attractive for merchants and consumers alike. The intuitive communication platform provides a welcomed improvement to the way businesses interact with customers. Studies show that better interaction leads to increased transactions and responsiveness. BlytzPay was founded in 2017 in Salt Lake City. About AFS Dealers: AFS Dealers, LLC is an innovative provider of Solutions Software, a web-based Buy Here Pay Here/ Lease Here Pay Here DMS, as well as Dealer Controlled Financing consulting and training. Solutions provides real-time information to multi-unit and single dealership owners, managers, or lenders. It has integrated an Inventory Control Center module, Collections (text, robo calls, email) module, Related Finance Company, and accounting module to name a few. The training and consulting is a real-world relationship approach with the customer that is complimented by Solutions and consultants with over 30 years in the BHPH/LHPH business. For more information, visit http://www.afsdealers.com or call 941-270-4377. Serious doubt has been cast over planned pay increases for 300,000 public servants later this year. Several Fine Gael ministers have said it would not be credible to consider it because of the impact of Covid-19 crisis on the Irish economy which has swung into recession. As government formation talks commence today, members of the government have expressed strong concern over the ability of the next government to be able to stick to the commitment to not increase taxes, cut welfare rates and to enter a new public sector pay deal given the collapse in the public finances. Speaking to the Irish Examiner, current Cabinet ministers have expressed concern about the credibility to maintain promises made by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Paschal Donohoe. There is serious concern being expressed by colleagues about our ability to meet a new pay deal when we have a likely 30 billion hole in the public finances, as well as not introducing tax increases or welfare cuts, said one minister. Yes, public servants have done great work over the past few weeks, but they have been paid. Look at the small businesses, the private sector workers who have lost their job. We need to defend them, another minister said. It is clear that a divergence of opinion exists between the parties as senior Fianna Fail sources have insisted the public service be looked after in terms of a pay deal, given the effort to address the crisis over the past two months. What message would that send if we delayed or axed the new deal after the huge effort the public service have made during this crisis. I cant see us allowing that, said a senior Fianna Fail source. The current deal, known as the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA) runs from 2018 to October and has a cost of 877 million. It has emerged that initial talks between government and union leaders have taken place before the onset of the pandemic about what a new deal would look like, but nothing since then. Senior union sources have said they have heard suggestions that the last round of pay increases due in October might not be paid, but any suggestion of such a scenario would go down very badly. We expect the deal to be honoured and honoured in full. As for a new deal, we stand ready to negotiate, said one union leader. Meanwhile, writing in todays Irish Examiner, Tanaiste Simon Coveney has said the first job in the talks between Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and the Greens will be to establish trust. Our first job will be to build trust. Without strong relationships governments dont come together. In the next few weeks we will attempt to produce a program for government, with our negotiating partners, than can deliver on all of the challenges above, and more, he said. Other parties and independents may choose to join the process too. Id welcome that, but from today this process moves ahead as time is short, he said. Ireland needs a government with authority and a strong majority to give the political leadership demanded by our current emergency. The challenges that face the next administration are vast, but they are surmountable. Rebuilding our society and economy after the trauma of coronavirus, a fundamental shift in pace and ambition on climate action and delivering more for our citizens on health and housing are just a few of the major issues awaiting attention, he added. Oil rose after Saudi Arabia raised prices for its crude globally in an attempt to shore up the price recovery. Futures in New York rose as much as 11 percent Wednesday while Brent climbed as much as 7 percent. State-run Saudi Aramco, which earlier this year offered massive discounts on its crude, raised prices on almost all grades for June. The move comes as the kingdom and its OPEC+ partners embark on record production cuts in a bid to balance a glutted market. Its a tide thats lifting all boats, said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital. It shows that the Saudis are finally getting serious about getting this market back under control and trying to remove some of the oversupply. West Texas Intermediate rose 5 percent to 25.20 a barrel at 11 a.m. in Midland. U.S. prices gained further traction after data supplier Genscape Inc. reported that stockpiles in Cushing, Oklahoma, fell more than 350,000 barrels since Friday, according to market participants. It will be the first contraction since late February if the U.S. government reports a decline for the full week on Wednesday. The OPEC+ coalition that includes Russia started implementing output cuts of 9.7 million barrels a day this month. The move follows a record build-up in inventories as demand was ravaged by the coronavirus outbreak that has seen oil tanks filling up globally. While the Saudi pricing is bringing relief to the market, it may be lending too much optimism, and, in the end, robust demand increase is whats needed to drive prices, according to Will Rhind, chief executive officer at GraniteShares Advisors Llc. It has to be demand driven at the end of the day, Rhind said. Whether its higher prices or a cut in supply, ultimately that has to be met by real demand. There are signs that oil demand is recovering, and may even exceed supply by as early as the start of June, according to Goldman Sachs Head of Commodities Research Jeff Currie. Gasoline demand is also starting to pick up in the U.S. The premium for fuel over diesel is at its highest since 2017. Weekly gasoline supplied, an indicator of consumption, rose by 804,000 barrels a day, the biggest bump since June 2018, according the U.S. Energy Information Administration. However, Rhind cautioned about a potential second wave of the virus that, if it returned people back to their homes and off the roads, could swiftly reverse demand. Thats a big question mark on the oil demand, he said. The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is setting up three new Research Units and one new Clinical Research Unit. This decision was made by the DFG's Joint Committee at the recommendation of the Senate. Due to the coronavirus pandemic the committee meetings originally scheduled for the end of March could not be held in the usual way, so the decisions were made using a staggered written procedure. The new collaborations will receive a total of approximately 17 million including a 22 percent programme allowance for indirect project costs. The maximum funding duration for Research Units whose draft proposals were submitted after 1 October 2018 is two four-year periods. This applies to two of the newly established Research Units. Proposals based on drafts received before 1 October 2018 will be funded for two three-year periods. In addition to the four new groups, the Committee also approved extending eight Research Units for a second funding period. Research Units enable researchers to pursue current and pressing issues in their research areas and to take innovative directions in their work. Clinical Research Units are also characterised by the close connection between research and clinical work. With today's decisions, the DFG is now funding 159 Research Units and 18 Clinical Research Units. The four new research collaborations (in alphabetical order by spokesperson's university) In the Research Unit "Algorithms, Dynamics and Information Flow in Networks", researchers in computer science and mathematics will investigate the fundamentals of networks. They will analyse real-world and virtual networks, including infection processes, computer networks and social networks on the internet. The focus will be on the mathematical analysis and modelling of networks with the aim of better understanding unanswered questions relating to the dynamics and algorithmic controllability of networks. This will enable the transition from mathematical foundations to the use of efficient algorithms and models. (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Martin Hoefer, Goethe University Frankfurt) Patients with pancreatic cancer have a very low chance of survival as the tumour grows aggressively into surrounding tissue, quickly metastasizes and is largely resistant to currently available treatments. Tumours are also very diverse both molecularly and phenotypically, such that pancreatic cancers are classified into subtypes. However, not all of these subtypes are yet known and only a few have been studied. The aim of the Clinical Research Unit Deciphering Genome Dynamics for Subtype-Specific Therapy in Pancreatic Cancer" Dr. Volker Ellenrieder, Professor, University of Gottingen Head: PD Dr. Elisabeth Hessmann, University of Gottingen is to analyze further subtypes by investigating the genome dynamics of the cancer, thus contributing to the development of individualized treatments. SLC26 anion transporters are responsible for transporting anions through cell membranes, which gives them an essential role in maintaining an organism's electrolyte and water levels. Malfunctions in some of these transporters can result in serious conditions in humans, such as skeletal malformation, brain oedema and deafness. The Research Unit "Integrated Analysis of Epithelial SLC26 Anion Transporters - From Molecular Structure to Pathophysiology" will investigate the still poorly understood functional principles of these transporters, their regulation and their role in cell and organ physiology. This was not possible in the past since the necessary technical methods were not yet available, particularly techniques to determine the atomic molecular structure of SLC proteins. (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Dominik Oliver, University of Marburg) The Research Unit "Being Catholic in the German Federal Republic. Semantics, Practices and Emotions in Western Germany's Society 1965-1989/90" will focus on a period that has already been extensively studied by contemporary historians, but has received little attention with regard to church history apart from a small number of studies. How did "being Catholic" contribute to the shaping of post-modernism between the Second Vatican Council and German reunification? In answering this question, the researchers will look not at the internal history of a social milieu but rather at religious-cultural dynamics in the wider society. The research team aims to investigate this process on the basis of semantics, practices and emotions and thus identify the interactions between religious and societal history. (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Andreas Holzem, University of Tubingen) Battered on various fronts, the UK economy faces a 14% shrink this year, registering the deepest recession since 1706, the Bank of England said on Thursday, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepared to announce some easing of lockdown curbs from Monday. Presenting century-wise data on the size of the British economy since 1700, the apex bank, however, said growth could bounce back to 15% for 2021 as a whole, with GDP recovering to its pre-coronavirus peak by the second half of next year. Andrew Bailey, the banks governor, said he expected any permanent damage from the pandemic to be relatively small, since the economy was likely to recover much more rapidly than the pull back from the global financial crisis of 2008. The scale of the shock and the measures necessary to protect public health mean a significant loss of economic output has been inevitable in the near term, he said. Referring to wage subsidy schemes announced by chancellor Rishi Sunak for the employed and the self-employed, Bailey said the success of these schemes and the banks own stimulus meant there would be limited scarring to the economy. Johnson is due to address the nation at 7 pm on Sunday on easing some lockdown measures from Monday, with ministers keen to re-start the economy. The main message to stay at home is likely to be withdrawn with limited allowances for travel and gatherings. Scotland and Wales have separately announced their approaches about easing the measures. The two UK constituents and Northern Ireland have the power to diverge from measures announced by London, but there are efforts that the easing is applied uniformly across the UK. Johnson was due to chair a meet on the issue on Thrusday. A new official analysis by the Office for National Statistics said the risk of death from coronavirus among Indian and other non-white groups in the UK is significantly higher than those of white ethnicity, complementing similar reports from other sources. It said that Indian and other non-white males are 4.2 times more likely to die from a Covid-19-related death and non-white females are 4.3 times more likely than white ethnicity males and females. The UKs Indian-origin population is estimated to number 1.5 million. Meanwhile, health officials said 4 lakh surgical gowns imported from Turkey did not meet UK standards and were unusable, adding to growing concerns over shortage in personal protective equipment (PPE). In Nottingham, Indian-origin Labour MP Nadia Whittome was dismissed as a carer for the elderly when she raised the issue of lack of PPE. The Department of Health and Social Care said: We are working night and day to source PPE internationally and domestically and brought together the NHS, industry and the armed forces to create a comprehensive PPE distribution network to deliver critical supplies to the frontline. All deliveries of PPE are checked to ensure the equipment meets the safety and quality standards our frontline staff need. If equipment does not meet our specifications or pass our quality assurance processes it is not distributed to the front line. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A war memorial has been vandalised with a permanent marker in what police criticised as a 'senseless and disrespectful act'. A member of the public in north-west London spotted the damage on the memorial in Church Road in Hayes on Monday, May 4. Officers are asking anyone to come forward who recognises the style of writing or the tags 'Lord Enki' or 'State of Ari' that were scrawled along with other words across the plinth. A war memorial in north-west London was vandalised with permanent marker on Monday A member of the public spotted the damage on May 4 on Church Road in Hayes, London Lord Enki is the Sumerian god of water, knowledge, mischief, crafts and creation. The defaced war memorial, which records the names of local soldiers who lost their lives in both world wars, was damaged in the same week as the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Officers have asked for anyone to come forward who recognise the style of writing PC Sean Creaby, from the Met's Hayes safer neighbourhood team, said: 'This was a senseless and disrespectful act and I'm at a loss as to why anyone would target a war memorial, particularly at a time when we should be remembering those who sacrificed their lives for our country. 'Not only was it a completely stupid thing to do, it was also an act of criminal damage and those responsible should know that there are consequences for this type of offence. 'If anyone recognises the handwriting or the tags, or has information about this, please do get in touch with us so we can investigate. 'We understand that this memorial means a lot to the community, and we care about it as much as they do.' Any witnesses or anyone with any information should call police on 101 or contact via Twitter @MetCC. To give information anonymously contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 12:12:10|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CANBERRA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Almost four in 10 Australians believe it is likely that they will be infected with COVID-19, a survey has found, with growing anxiety over job security as well. In a study published on Thursday, researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) surveyed more than 3,000 Australians on the social, mental, economic and political impacts of the coronavirus crisis. They found that 40 percent of respondents said they feel that it was either likely or very likely that they will catch COVID-19 in the next six months. Two thirds said they feel anxious about their own and others' safety. Co-authors Nicholas Biddle and Matthew Gray said the survey also revealed growing anxiety among Australians over job security. "Australians' perceived levels of job insecurity are very high. One-in-four employed Australians think it is probable they will lose their jobs in the next 12 months, which is almost twice as high as it has ever been over that period since 2001," Biddle said in a media release. The government has projected that Australia's unemployment rate will hit 10 percent for the first time since 1994 in the second quarter of 2020. According to the ANU study, employment rate dropped from 62 percent in February to about 59 percent in April, which means approximately 670,000 Australians lost their jobs. "This is unprecedented in modern Australian economic history," Gray said. "If previous periods of high unemployment are any guide, the effect on the young is likely to be felt throughout their working life, and those who leave the labour force when close to retirement age may never return." "We also found that the total loss to annual household income is 102 billion Australian dollars (65.3 billion U.S. dollars)," he said. The proportion of Australians who were confident or very confident in the government increased from 27.3 percent in January to 56.6 percent in April. Enditem The critical R rate measuring the spread of coronavirus infections is on the rise again, the national statistician says raising fresh questions about any lockdown easing. Professor Ian Diamond told the Downing Street press conference: That is driven by the epidemic in care homes. That gives us a real challenge. The warning came as Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, said any relaxation of restrictions to be announced by Boris Johnson on Sunday would be modest, small and incremental. A reproduction rate of anything above 1 means each infected person is, on average, passing it on to more than one other, but experts agree it must be well below 1 to prevent a second peak of the pandemic. Crucially, it is the most important of the five tests before the lockdown can be eased significantly. The prime minister himself admitted there is still a pandemic in care homes. Earlier, Professor John Edmunds, from the London School of Hygiene, estimated R to be only just below 1 the figure above which overall cases would be increasing once more up from 0.6-0.7 two weeks ago. Asked if he agreed, Professor Diamond said: Prof Edmunds I think is right that R has probably gone up just a little bit from his last estimates and that is driven by the epidemic in care homes. He would say, and I would not demur from that. However, he pointed out that prevalence the actual number of cases was also crucial in determining how significant any increase was. But Jonathan Ashworth, Labours shadow health secretary, seized on the warning, tweeting: Many warned care homes were highly vulnerable calling for a credible strategy to protect residents and care workers with PPE and accessible, regular testing. 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 If R now increasing because of social care surely exposes government failures to implement infection control in social care. Mr Raab put the reproduction rate at anything between 0.5 and 0.9, suggesting ministers are struggling for a reliable measure. Further scientific evidence is being gathered ahead of the announcement the prime minister will make on Sunday evening, with some relaxation possible the following day. Prof Ian Diamond, the national statistician, revealed he would begin publishing data next Thursday and then twice a week afterwards showing what proportion of the population is estimated to have coronavirus. Mr Raab was forced to fight off accusations that the prime minister had acted recklessly by hinting at a lockdown easing before a Bank Holiday weekend when no announcement will come before Sunday. The approach has angered Nicola Sturgeon, who said it would be a catastrophic mistake to change the stay home message to stay safe as the government is expected to do. But Mr Raab distanced himself from reports that, for example, people will be allowed unlimited exercise, saying: Any changes in the short term will be modest, small, incremental and very carefully monitored. If we find, in the future, the R level goes back up or that people aren't following the rules, we must have the ability then to put back measures in place. Confirming the existing rules remained for the moment, he added: As people look towards a warm bank holiday weekend, that we continue to follow the guidance in place at this time. Adapted from the writer John Brandons eponymous 2008 novel, Arkansas intercuts the escapades of a pair of low-level drug couriers with the back story of their mysterious mafia boss. Less a mob thriller than a ruminative drama about a life built around orders and betrayals, the movie takes an unusual perspective on a familiar genre but is weighed down by its dull, uneven pace. The problems begin right from the films verbose opening, in which Kyle (Liam Hemsworth), a drug runner, delivers a voice-over monologue about lacking a philosophy of life. Theres a lot more talk after this, as Kyle is dispatched on an interstate errand with a fellow cog-in-the-machine, Swin (the movies director, Clark Duke). Theyre stopped on the way and taken underwing by John Malkovichs Ranger Bright a loathsome minion of the big boss, Frog, whose identity remains a mystery well into the film. The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted just how reliant the United States and other countries are on Chinese manufacturing, with widespread shortages of protective medical gear produced there. But U.S. dependence on China extends far beyond surgical masks and N95 respirators. China is the largest producer of many industrial and consumer products shipped worldwide, and about one-quarter of the country's gross domestic product comes from exports. It is also the world's largest emitter of climate-altering carbon dioxide gas, generated by the burning of fossil fuels. A new study details the links between China's exports and its emissions by mapping the in-country sources of carbon dioxide emissions tied to products consumed overseas. University of Michigan researchers and their Chinese collaborators tracked these emissions to a small number of coastal manufacturing hubs and showed that about 1% of the country's land area is responsible for 75% of the export-linked CO 2 emissions. The study, scheduled for publication May 7 in Nature Communications, provides the most detailed mapping of China's export-driven CO 2 emissions to date, according to corresponding author Shen Qu of the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability. The findings, which are based on 2012 emissions data, offer insights that can guide policymakers, he said. "Developing localized climate mitigation strategies requires an understanding of how global consumption drives local carbon dioxide emissions with a fine spatial resolution," said Qu, a Dow Sustainability Postdoctoral Fellow at SEAS who combines the tools of input-output analysis and network analysis to uncover the role of international trade in global environmental impacts. advertisement "The carbon footprint hotspots identified in this study are the key places to focus on collaborative mitigation efforts between China and the downstream parties that drive those emissions," he said. The study found that the manufacturing hubs responsible for most of the foreign-linked emissions are in the Yangtze River Delta (including Shanghai, China's top CO 2 -emitting city), the Pearl River Delta (including Dongguan) and the North China Plain (including Tianjin). These cities have, or are close to, ports for maritime shipping. The modeling study uses data from large-scale emissions inventories derived from 2012 surveys of individual firms in all Chinese industries that generate carbon dioxide emissions. Emissions levels have likely changed in response to recent U.S.-China trade disputes and the COVID-19 pandemic, which has significantly impacted Chinese manufacturing and exports. Chinese CO 2 emissions driven by foreign consumption totaled 1,466 megatons in 2012, accounting for 14.6% of the country's industrial-related carbon dioxide emissions that year. If the Chinese manufacturing hubs identified in the U-M study constituted a separate country, their CO 2 emissions in 2012 would have ranked fifth in the world behind China, the United States, India and Russia, according to the authors. The study also found that: Exports to the United States, Hong Kong and Japan were responsible for the biggest chunks of Chinese foreign-linked CO 2 emissions, contributing about 23%, 10.8% and 9%, respectively. emissions, contributing about 23%, 10.8% and 9%, respectively. About 49% of the U.S.-linked CO 2 emissions were driven by the production of consumer goods for the household. emissions were driven by the production of consumer goods for the household. About 42% of the export-driven CO 2 emissions in China are tied to electricity generation, with notable hotspots in the cities of Shanghai, Ningbo, Suzhou (Jiangsu Province) and Xuzhou. Much of that electricity is produced at coal-fired power plants. emissions in China are tied to electricity generation, with notable hotspots in the cities of Shanghai, Ningbo, Suzhou (Jiangsu Province) and Xuzhou. Much of that electricity is produced at coal-fired power plants. China is the world's largest steel producer and exporter. Cities that manufacture large amounts of iron and steel -- and that use large amounts of coal in the process -- were hotspots for export-driven CO 2 emissions. Cement plants and petroleum refineries were also big contributors. In the study, U-M researchers and their collaborators used carbon footprint accounting -- i.e., consumption-based accounting -- to track greenhouse gas emissions driven by global supply chains. They mapped those emissions at a spatial resolution of 10 kilometers by 10 kilometers, a level of detail that enabled them to identify specific source cities. advertisement "Previous studies have linked greenhouse gas emissions to final consumption of products, but primarily at national or regional levels," said study co-author Ming Xu of the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. "Given the increasing importance of non-state actors -- provinces, states, cities and companies -- in climate mitigation, it becomes increasingly important to be able to explicitly link the final consumers of products to the subnational actors that have direct control over greenhouse gas emissions." The other authors of the study are Yuantao Yang of Beijing Institute of Technology, formerly a visiting student at U-M's School for Environment and Sustainability; Sai Liang of Beijing Normal University, formerly a postdoctoral researcher at SEAS; Bofeng Cai and Jinnan Wang of the Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning; and Zhaohua Wang of Beijing Institute of Technology. The research was partially supported by the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies at U-M. [May 06, 2020] HPDLendScape Enhances Supply Chain Finance Offer to Simplify Access for Asia's SME Digital finance platform will improve lenders' ability to offer supply chain finance needed by Asia's businesses during COVID-19 pandemic SINGAPORE, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- HPDLendScape, a leading secured lending platform vendor, today announces a new supply chain finance (SCF) solution. The new enhanced solution will make it simpler and faster for lenders to onboard and support buyers and suppliers, giving Asian businesses more streamlined access to much needed working capital during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bringing together buyers, suppliers and banks that fund the process onto one platform, HPDLendScape's SCF solution helps all parties simplify their operations and mitigate risk more effectively. Suppliers can interact with both buyers and funders in real time and increase visibility of accounts receivables, while buyers can create bespoke processes tailored to each supplier. As part of the enhanced HDLendScape SCF solution, new onboarding capabilities enable a fast and efficient KYC process, such as approval hierarchies, and linking out to external APIs for anti-money laundering checks or document signing, much of which lenders historically completed manually which slowed down the onboarding process. By driving efficiencies in due diligence and compliance processes, HPDLendScape helps lenders approve more buyers and suppliers and increase access to capital for businesses that need it across the APAC region. In the current climate, APAC's SMEs and growth businesses are finding maximising liquidity to be a challenge. According to S&P, supply-chain exposure in the electronics and autos industries across the region has been particularly high. In China, the pandemic has prompted liquidity injections by the central bank and the reduction of the reserve requirement ratio for banks' lending to SMEs. In Singapore, The Monetary Authority of Singapore and Enterprise Singapore have also launched a new facility to lend Singapore dollars at 0.1 per cent interest per annum to SMEs. Kheng Lee, APAC regional representative for HPDLendScape commented: "We are delighted to announce this new development in our supply chain finance offer. Banks and other lenders have an excellent opportunity through SCF services to help businesses in Asia optimise supply chains, increase cash flow and streamline their operations - this has never been more critical than during the COVID-19 pandemic where supply chains are under intense pressure. Investment in technology and the automation of SCF processes is vital in helping lenders efficiently provide the finance that the region's businesses need during this pandemic and beyond." [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The figure of 29,427 deaths is "a massive tragedy", the foreign secretary says, but steers clear of comparisons. "I dont think you can make the international comparisons you're suggesting at this stage" - Dominic Raab The UK now has the highest number of coronavirus deaths in Europe, according to the latest government figures. There have been 29,427 deaths recorded across the UK - a figure Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said was "a massive tragedy". The latest total for Italy, previously the highest in Europe, now stands at 29,315. But experts say it could be months before full global comparisons can be made. Both Italy and the UK record the deaths of people who have tested positive for coronavirus. BBC head of statistics Robert Cuffe said Britain reached this figure faster in its epidemic than Italy. But he said there are caveats in making such a comparison, including the UK population being about 10% larger than Italy's. Each country also has different testing regimes, with Italy conducting more tests than the UK to date. Speaking at the daily coronavirus briefing, Mr Raab said the 29,427 lives lost was "a massive tragedy" the country has "never seen before... on this scale, in this way". But he would not be drawn on international comparisons, saying: "I don't think we will get a real verdict on how well countries have done until the pandemic is over, and particularly until we get comprehensive international data on all-cause mortality." Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter, of the University of Cambridge, said we can be "certain" that all reported figures are "substantial underestimates" of the true number who have died with the virus. He said: "We can safely say that none of these countries are doing well, but this is not Eurovision and it is pointless to try and rank them." He added the "only sensible comparison is by looking at excess all-cause mortality, adjusted for the age distribution of the country" [but] "even then it will be very difficult to ascribe the reasons for any differences." This is a sobering moment. Italy was the first part of Europe to see cases rise rapidly, and the scenes of hospitals being overwhelmed were met with shock and disbelief. But we should be careful how we interpret the figures. On the face of it, both countries now count deaths in a similar way, including both in hospitals and the community. But there are other factors to consider. First, the UK has a slightly larger population. If you count cases per head of population, Italy still comes out worse - although only just. Cases are confirmed by tests - and the amount of testing carried out varies. The geographical spread looks quite different too - half of the deaths in Italy have happened in Lombardy. In the UK, by comparison, they have been much more spread out. Less than a fifth have happened in London, which has a similar population to Lombardy. Then, how do you factor in the indirect impact from things such as people not getting care for other conditions? The fairest way to judge the impact in terms of fatalities is to look at excess mortality - the numbers dying above what would normally happen. You need to do this over time. It will be months, perhaps even years, before we can really say who has the highest death toll. Meanwhile, the personal stories of those who have died are still emerging. They include three members of the same family who died within weeks of each other after contracting the virus. Keith Dunnington, 54, a nurse for more than 30 years, died at his parents home in South Shields on 19 April. His mother Lillian, 81, died on 1 May and her husband Maurice, 85, died days later. Meanwhile, Momudou Dibba, a house-keeper at Watford Hospital who went "above and beyond" in his job, died with the virus on 29 April. In a statement, West Hertfordshire NHS Trust said Mr Dibba, known as Mo, was "kind, caring and considerate". Meanwhile, 14 people from the same care home in Northern Ireland have died from Covid-19 related symptoms. There have now been 1,383,842 tests for coronavirus across the UK, including 84,806 tests yesterday, Mr Raab told the No 10 briefing. For the third day in a row, the government has failed to hit its target of 100,000 daily tests. Health Secretary Matt Hancock set the target at the beginning of April and the government announced on Friday and Saturday that it had hit the 100,000-plus mark. Death certificates Separately, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published data on Tuesday showing that by 24 April there were 27,300 deaths where coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate. Including deaths reported to the ONS since 24 April, it brings the total number to more than 32,000. These figures can also include cases where a doctor suspects the individual was infected, but a test was not carried out - whereas the daily government figures rely on confirmed cases. In other developments: Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said the Delhi government will give 1 crore aid to the family of the 31-year-old Delhi Police constable who died of Covid-19 on Tuesday. In a tweet, Kejriwal said the police constable kept serving the people of Delhi without fearing about risks to his life at the time of such a health crisis. He was infected with the virus while serving us and later died. I pay him tribute on behalf of all residents of Delhi. The government shall help his family with an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 1 crore. The constable, who was posted at Bharat Nagar police station in northwest Delhi, was on duty till Monday. He developed flu-like symptoms and was taken to two hospitals by colleagues, before being taken to RML hospital, where has declared dead on arrival. He had tested positive at a private lab. Vijayanta Arya, deputy commissioner of police (north-west), said the constables test had returned positive from RML Hospital as well, where he was tested a second time following his death. She said 10 police personnel, some from Bharat Nagar police station where he was posted, and others from the crime records office in Kamla Market that he would visit as part of his duty, have been quarantined since they were found to have come in contact with the constable as part of their job. The constable was cremated at the Punjabi Bagh crematorium on Thursday in the presence of some senior police officers and his family. The constable was a resident of Haryanas Sonepat and is survived by his wife and three-year-old son. His wife is a contractual teacher at a North Delhi Municipal Corporation primary school. Her relatives on Wednesday said they have asked north municipality officials to make her a permanent employee. She has her whole life ahead. Some teachers, on our behalf, have also placed a request with senior north municipality officials for her to be made a permanent employee. The north municipality mayor, Avtar Singh, said there is no precedent for such an appointment. This is different from postings on compassionate grounds where the spouse or child of a deceased, who was already serving in our corporations, is given a job. However, looking at the sacrifice this policeman made, we will definitely write to the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) to allow us to make Pooja permanent at work, Singh said. Delhi L-G Anil Baijal on Wednesday tweeted that his sacrifice in the fight against COVID-19 will always be remembered and that he was a great warrior who brought glory to the frontline police personnel fighting against pandemic. The future should be based on the facts of history and justice for the victims of totalitarian regimes, the statement says. Manipulating the historical events that led to World War 2 and to the division of Europe in its aftermath is a "regrettable effort to falsify history", says a joint statement by the U. S. Secretary of State and the Foreign Ministers of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia on the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War 2. Paying tribute to the victims and to all soldiers who fought to defeat Nazi Germany and put an end to the Holocaust, signatories note that May 1945 did not bring freedom to all of Europe. "The central and eastern part of the continent remained under the rule of communist regimes for almost 50 years. The Baltic States were illegally occupied and annexed and the iron grip over the other captive nations was enforced by the Soviet Union using overwhelming military force, repression, and ideological control," the statement reads. Read alsoLukashenko stealing Putin's show "For many decades, numerous Europeans from the central and eastern part of the continent sacrificed their lives striving for freedom, as millions were deprived of their rights and fundamental freedoms, subjected to torture and forced displacement," the top diplomats note. "Societies behind the Iron Curtain desperately sought a path to democracy and independence." "The future should be based on the facts of history and justice for the victims of totalitarian regimes," the statement reads. "We are ready for dialogue with all those interested in pursuing these principles." "Manipulating the historical events that led to the Second World War and to the division of Europe in the aftermath of the war constitutes a regrettable effort to falsify history," the foreign offices' leaders stress. They have reminded members of the international community that lasting international security, stability and peace "requires genuine and continuous adherence to international law and norms, including the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states." "By learning the cruel lessons of the Second World War, we call on the international community to join us in firmly rejecting the concept of spheres of influence and insisting on equality of all sovereign nations," the statement concludes. By Trend The medicines for treating coronavirus infected people which are used in the world are also used in Azerbaijan, Chairman of Board of Azerbaijans State Agency for Compulsory Medical Insurance Zaur Aliyev said. Aliyev made the remark at a briefing of the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers, Trend reports on May 6. All innovations are used for the medical treatment, the chairman said. "The countrys leadership does not want the quarantine regime to last for a long time, the chairman said. This causes certain difficulties from an economic point of view. The cancellation of the quarantine regime depends on ourselves. We must realize our responsibility," he said. "First of all, we must use medical masks in public transport, wash hands and maintain the social distance. The restrictions related to the people older 65 years are applied exclusively to protect the health of these people," the chairman added. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Additional reporting: Daniel McConnell The Childrens Ombudsman has added his voice to the growing concerns over the mental health of Leaving Cert students. As uncertainty over this years exams continued yesterday as teaching unions and education stakeholders held talks about their feasibility, Dr Niall Muldoon urged for clarity to prevent further anxiety for students. "On a purely human level there are 61,000 children who are deprived of all the positive elements of finishing school," he said. "This is a crucial rite of passage for so many and it is the closeness of friends and the support of teachers and other school staff which makes the chore of studying worthwhile." This has been taken away from them, he added. "I really hope that clarity can be provided to children, their parents and teachers as soon as possible to avoid further anxiety amongst an already vulnerable group of people. Dr Muldoon met with Joe McHugh, the minister for education this week to discuss his concerns over the mental health of students. He also relayed messages to the minister about the sustained pressure felt by students for another two more months. The postponed exams are currently expected to begin on July 29. According to the Ombudsman, many families are suffering from financial strain. Some students are also concerned the funds will not be there to support them if they do get to college and some students are trying to study with other siblings in the house and parents working from home. We appreciate the engagement from the minister [on Thursday] evening and feel encouraged by his openness to considering a wide variety of options that could be made available to students, including the concept of calculated grades. We urged the minister to continue to look at a range of options and ensure that representatives of third level and further education institutions are involved in generating such options." The Education and Training Boards National Parents Association (ETBsNPA), which represents parents at schools run by 16 of the ETBs, said it was "gravely concerned" about the continued lack of clarity. The group is continuing to receive messages from "distraught parents." Parents are also concerned about the spreading of Covid-19 from an exam centre to a home. "ETBsNPA as an organisation dreads the possibility of learning of the death of a student or adult due to the Covid virus being sourced from an examination centre." Separately, there was stinging criticism in the Dail of the Governments lack of clarity over whether or not the Leaving Certificate will be cancelled. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said the current position regarding the leaving certificate is unacceptable. Every single government in Europe has been confronted with how to complete school leaving examinations and prepare for a new higher education year. Nowhere has there been such a lack of clarity and confusion, he said. Labour Leader Alan Kelly described the handling of the Leaving Certificate as an unmitigated disaster. "This needs to be finished. We need a plan B and it needs to be out there this week. It needs to be agreed." Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he appreciates that the uncertainty is causing enormous stress. If [the exams are] cancelled we must make sure that we can put in place an alternative which would be fair, which is extremely difficult." New Delhi, May 7 : An Indian Air Force (IAF) chopper made a force landing in a field, 10 nautical miles away from Sikkim's Mukutang, on Thursday after it encountered technical issues. The Mi-17 Helicopter was on a routine air maintenance sortie from Chaten to Mukutang in Sikkim. "The Helicopter got airborne at 6.45 a.m. and enroute the helicopter has force landed 10 NM short of designated helipad due to bad weather," said a senior IAF officer. The force said that the helicopter sustained damage and all six personnel on board were safe. "Four aircrew of IAF and two personnel of Indian Army are reported to be safe. One person has sustained injury," the IAF said in a statement. Two recovery Helicopters and an Army ground search party have been launched for rescue and were yet to reach the site. An investigation has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident. On April 30, an IAF aircraft experienced a tyre deflation just before take off at Delhi's Palam airbase. The Dornier aircraft was planned to undertake routine flight from the Palam Air Base. "During the take off roll, aircraft experienced a tyre deflation. The captain of the aircraft took prompt and correct actions of aborting the take off," IAF had said. Earlier on April 17, the IAF Apache helicopter made an emergency landing on a field in Punjab's Hoshiarpur. The helicopter took off from the Pathankot base earlier, but due to some technical glitch it landed in the Budhwar village fields. "On April 17, an Apache helicopter of the IAF got airborne from Pathankot airbase. The helicopter, after approx 1 hour of flying had indications of a critical failure and carried out a safe landing in Punjab," the IAF had said in a statement. The force said the captain of the aircraft took correct and prompt actions to recover the helicopter. The incident was not an abrasion. In the same week, an IAF helicopter made an emergency landing on an expressway in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat while it was on its way to supplying COVID-19 test samples of Leh to Chandigarh. The IAF Cheetah chopper made an emergency landing on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway in Baghpat district. The IAF aircraft have been pressed into service in the fight against the spread of novel Coronavirus in India. Puerto Vallarta allows ship to dock on humanitarian grounds Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco The government of Mexico reports that on humanitarian grounds, the port of Puerto Vallarta has accepted the Seven Seas Splendor cruise ship that is docked without tourist passengers. The ship from Los Angeles, California with 125 crew members on board, will be docked in the port for 30 days. During this period, the main port services will be provided. As on each humanitarian arrival, the participation and support of the respective authorities of International and National Health Services, Migration, Customs and Agro-Food Quality was held with the aim of verifying and safeguarding health of the crew. The Seven Seas Splendor cruise ship will remain docked at Puerto Vallarta until June 6 In addition to offering essential services, the Puerto Vallarta Integral Port Administration will act as a liaison. In a statement, the Ministry of Communications and Transportation reported the ship arrived Wednesday from Los Angeles and will set said again June 6, bound for La Paz, Baja California Sur. [May 07, 2020] Lithuania Joins the European Biobanking Research Infrastructure as Observer GRAZ, Austria, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Lithuania has officially joined the Biobanking and BioMolecular resources Research Infrastructure - European Research Infrastructure Consortium (BBMRI-ERIC) on 15 April 2020. Lithuania has become the 21st Member of BBMRI-ERIC. The Ministry of Education, Science and Sport will be the coordinating institution, while the new BBMRI-ERIC National Node will be hosted by the National Cancer Institute. Lithuanian Minister of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania, Dr. Algirdas Monkevicius, stated: "The demand for international Research infrastructures has grown substantially over the years and they have become an irreplaceable tool for building momentum and aiding scientists in accomplishing significant achievements. I am glad to see Lithuania integrating into well-established networks, such as BBMRI-ERIC. Moreover, I am sure that the vision of BBMRI-ERIC will lead both Lithuania and Europe to new horizons in biobanking." Tomas Simulevic, Chief Officer of the Division of Science of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania, declared: "Recent years have shown that Lithuania's prospects for the development of the life sciences sector are favorable. The academia has shown breakthroughs in molecular biology and the industry has been growing stably ever since. BBMRI-ERIC will definitely be a step forward for this sector and will contribute to its sustainable growth." Additionally, National Cancer Institute's Deputy Director for Research and Development acting as Director Prof. Sonata Jarmalaite reinforced: "Membership in BBMRI-ERIC is a unique opportunity for Lithuania to become a part of the largest European Research Infrastructure for biobanking. With this membership, our researchers will ain access to wide collection of biosamples prepared under the standardized protocols and procedures of BBMRI-ERIC. This will foster an integration of Lithuanian research institutions and individual researchers into the collaborative research projects together with partners from the BBMRI-ERIC member countries. Furthermore, members from BBMRI-ERIC will soon gain access to our biosample collections, structured according to the high standards of BBMRI-ERIC and linked with unified IT tools. Knowledge exchange will stimulate innovations in translational research and assist in development of new clinical and public solutions for the healthier Europe." BBMRI-ERIC's Interim Co-Director General Michaela Th. Mayrhofer said, "It is with great pleasure that we welcome Lithuania to BBMRI-ERIC. Lithuanian biobanks are now connected to the world like never before. At the same time, Lithuanian researchers and biobankers will have access to knowledge, IT tools, and tailor-made guidance by BBMRI-ERIC that will support their further development. "This is also a milestone for European research in general," Dr. Mayrhofer added. "While other countries are decreasing investments in research, Lithuania is showing the way by boosting the development of its biomedical sector now more important than ever, considering the global health challenges we're facing. Lithuania's vision is particularly impressive." Dr. Mayrhofer concluded by saying: "BBMRI-ERIC believes in providing services and enabling knowledge exchange for the benefit of researchers from academia and industry - and ultimately society." 2020: BBMRI-ERIC's Directory makes it easier to find COVID-19 samples and data BBMRI-ERIC brings together more than 600 biobanks from across Europe. The Directory allows researchers to find samples and data from biobanks in 17 European countries. Over 30 biobanks within our network are providing COVID-19-specific samples, data and resources. It is constantly updated: https://www.bbmri-eric.eu/services-support/ BBMRI-ERIC is an international organisation established under EU legislation. Its headquarters are in Graz, Austria, with team members based in Brussels and throughout Europe. BBMRI-ERIC provides support and services to local biobanks via its National Nodes (one per country). The National Nodes are fully involved in the day-to-day management of BBMRI-ERIC and provide feedback from the national level. BBMRI-ERIC services cover three main areas: ethical, legal and societal issues (ELSI), quality management, and IT solutions that allow users to search biobanks and collections of samples and data online and request access. Editor's Note: Members: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom Observers: Cyprus, Lithuania, Switzerland, Turkey, IARC/WHO View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lithuania-joins-the-european-biobanking-research-infrastructure-as-observer-301054992.html SOURCE BBMRI-ERIC [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Karl Stefanovic's ex-wife, Cassandra Thorburn, has admitted she lost friends after separating from the Today show host four years ago. The children's author, 48, said on the Divorce Story podcast this week that the break-up in June 2016 had resulted in a 'sudden change' in her friendship group. She explained: 'You're in a relationship that you've been in for a long time and you have all similar friends. So all of a sudden there is a change in the friendship group.' Life after divorce: Karl Stefanovic's ex-wife, Cassandra Thorburn, has admitted she lost friends after separating from the Today show host four years ago. Pictured on September 5, 2018 She came to rely on her 'support network' of close female friends, with whom she would discuss her feelings of abandonment. 'The support network becomes even more important because they're the ones you can talk to about that [the loss of friends],' she said. The former Channel Nine producer also credited her girlfriends with being there for her during her acrimonious divorce. 'If I hadn't had my really close girlfriends I could've gone days where I wouldn't have communicated with anyone and I don't think that would have been healthy at all,' she said. Shifting dynamics: The children's author, 48, said on her podcast this week that the break-up in June 2016 had resulted in a 'sudden change' in her friendship group. Pictured on May 1, 2011 In August 2018, Cassandra spoke to The Australian Women's Weekly about the harsh reality of losing contact with her ex-husband's family 'Last year, I declared that Karl really was dead to me, a man I no longer know, but the children still have their father,' she said. 'The flip-side of that is I feel like we're dead to his family and almost anyone from our old life. There has been practically no contact. I feel like we've been discarded and disposed of, replaced by a whole new line-up of starters.' Tough experience: Cassandra came to rely on her 'support network' of close female friends, with whom she would discuss her feelings of abandonment. Pictured on April 3, 2019 Cassandra also revealed on this week's Divorce Story podcast that she was no longer grieving her marriage to Karl. When asked if she was still mourning the loss of their 21 years together, she laughed: 'No... This is why I'm doing the podcast.' She continued: 'Yes, I felt going through the divorce, to me, took longer to grieve because it's such a painful experience and there's so much negativity... So for me grieving the process of going through that had been huge. New love: Karl remarried shoe designer Jasmine Yarbrough (left) in December 2018 in Los Cabos, Mexico, two years after meeting at a boat party in Sydney 'My children will always have a father and they only have one father. They also only have one mum. For me that was what got me through my hard moments, knowing that no one can replace who we are to our children.' Karl remarried shoe designer Jasmine Yarbrough in December 2018 in Los Cabos, Mexico, two years after meeting at a boat party in Sydney. They welcomed their first child, a daughter named Harper May, on May 1. The European media is reacting to Donald Trumps big lie campaign charging that the COVID-19 virus came from a Chinese lab by launching its own reactionary provocations against China. After repeatedly alleging that the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), Trump claimed the Chinese said, hey, look, this is going to have a huge impact on China, and we might as well let the rest of the world get infected. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed enormous evidence implicates the WIV and that China has a history of infecting the world. Neither gave any evidence to support these incendiary accusations, which contradict statements by scientists, and even the US director of national intelligence, that the virus is not man-made. Leading European officials are echoing the torrent of propaganda lies emerging from Americas fascistic president, while trying to give them a more polished and hence less crude and more believable presentation. Students line up to sanitize their hands to avoid contracting the coronavirus before their morning class at a high school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) These statements point to the ongoing criminalization of the European ruling class amid the pandemic. The propaganda campaign against China is not based on medicine or science, but on plans for trade war and global military conflict. Secondly, as the European and US imperialist bourgeoisies order a back-to-work amid a raging pandemic, they are contemptuous of health and life itself, willing to sacrifice millions at home to their war aims against China and other former colonial countries across Eurasia. Germanys Sueddeutsche Zeitung carried a comment by former NATO general secretary and Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, bitterly attacking Chinese deliveries of masks and protective medical equipment and Chinese medical staff arriving in Europe to treat the sick. While masses of workers welcome such help in the face of the virus, Rasmussen denounced them as a danger to Europe. Positive PR measures like the intervention of experts and aid supplies, together with disinformation campaigns, aim to cover up doubts about the origins of the virus, Rasmussen told the SZ. Bemoaning Chinas purchase of installations at the strategic port of Piraeus in Greece after the 2008 financial crisis as part of its Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure plans, he added, Due to short-term crisis management and depressed stock markets, we risk making a historic mistake, selling China our strategic crown jewels. A look at the last financial crisis shows that Europe must imperatively change course immediately to prevent the West falling in the economic trap of a communist dictatorship. Attacking Chinas 17+1 initiative in Middle and Eastern Europe and infrastructure investments in Ukraine and the Balkans, Rasmussen warned China could develop influence there if it is the only player that offers a financial lifeline to countries weakened by the coronavirus. In Britain, the right-wing Spectator took the Conservative government to task for not being aggressive enough as it blames China for the COVID-19 pandemic. Asked if China must answer for the COVID-19 pandemic, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace had said, I think it does China needs to be open and transparent about what it has learned. Mixing anti-Chinese hatred with opposition to shelter-at-home measures to protect European workers from the pandemic, the Spectator wrote that this remark isnt nothing, but its still small beer. The governments diplomatic response to the coronavirus outbreak has been weaker than water. Downing Streets most punitive sanctions have been reserved for the British people: lock-down, businesses shuttered, fines for unnecessary travel. The Spectator claimed it had seen a Five Eyes (US-UK-Canada-Australia-New Zealand) intelligence report alleging China committed an assault on international transparency resulting in the endangerment of other countries. It added, In the UK alone, that endangerment has taken the form of 190,000 infections and more than 28,000 fatalities. Such incendiary lies have a dangerous and reactionary class logic. The pandemic has sickened over 1.5 million and claimed nearly 150,000 lives in Europe. False and unsubstantiated claims that Chinese officials decided to infect and murder such massive numbers of people amount to barely veiled propaganda for war with China. These are lies from top to bottom. Firstly, China did not hide the pandemic. Once Chinese officials realized in December that an unidentified pneumonia was spreading in Wuhan, they reported it. They regularly notified the World Health Organization starting January 3 and, on January 11, published the full genetic sequencing of the COVID-19 virus. Wuhan went into lockdown on January 23, before Europes cases were first identified and nearly two months before mass strikes and protests in Italy and across Europe forced governments to adopt lockdown measures. Secondly, responsibility for the pandemics larger toll in Europe compared to China, where COVID-19 sickened 83,000 and killed 4,633, lies not with the Chinese but with European governments. For decades, their antiworker austerity policies starved medical systems of key personnel and supplies. Refusing to order lockdowns for weeks as the pandemic began, they instead advocated the herd immunity policy that meant assuming the virus would broadly infect the public, in the hopes enough survivors would become immune to halt COVID-19s spread. As US officials bluntly declare that American workers have to get used to the idea of 3,000 Americans dying each day of COVID-19, European officials are similarly determined to fight through their strategic interests internationally at the expense of workers lives at home. This was laid out bluntly in a column by Le Monde titled, China could become the worlds leading power by the end of the pandemic. With stunning indifference to human life amid a raging pandemic, the paper wrote: The issue at hand is what conditions the various parties involved in the trade war launched before the pandemic will be in once it is over. That is to say, what interests the European ruling class is its life-and-death struggle with US imperialism and China for control of markets and profits worldwide. The question of saving the sick in this pandemic is not of great interest, compared to this. While Chinas real weaknesses are often underestimated, Le Monde continued, and its strengths overrated, one must still consider the possibility that the Middle Kingdom could become the leading economic power by the end of the pandemic. It warned China could become the worlds added-value factory, not just the worlds assembly area. Chinas economic system is getting back to work. Factories and service industries, in late March, were reportedly operating at 50 to 80 percent of capacity. The paper claimed the alternatives are de-globalization and a new, China-centric globalization, calling for de-globalization to strangle China and cut it out of the world economy. It explained, New strategies for onshoring plants, diversifying supply chains, and controlling key technologies, which Europe and the United States were already studying, are now an absolute priority. Le Monde stressed Washington and its European allies are ready to do anything to forestall the risk of the Chinese regime upsetting the present, imperialist-dominated capitalist world order. This is why the Trump administration is making the terrible choice of the business first option, sacrificing part of its population to not leave Chinese power with an open field, it wrote. Such remarks reveal that capitalism, torn apart by insoluble economic and geopolitical conflict, is politically bankrupt. Workers should not be sacrificed to the aspirations to world domination of irresponsible cliques of bankers and generals in Washington or the European capitals. The campaign to divide workers in Europe from their class brothers and sisters in China must be rejected, and the wealth of the financial aristocracy impounded in order to treat the sick and prevent further wars. MBABANE The impact of reduced activity in the economy has resulted in the Eswatini Revenue Authority (SRA) collecting 19 per cent less of what they were targeting in the first month of the financial year. This was revealed by SRA Commissioner General Dumisani Masilela in an interview yesterday. Masilela said the figures for one month indicated that the country was already starting to feel the negative impact of the situation, particularly the lockdown. There has been a notable decline in figures for value added tax. If people are not trading, that means the consumption is depressed and therefore we are not surprised by the fact that we are 19 per cent below what we targeted to collect in the first month of the finacial year and 8 per cent below what we collected last year. Shortfall On potential shortfall for the year, Masilela said they would be informed by many factors including how long the situation persists. We did the simulations based on estimation to say if it lasts for this long, this is what we think is going to happen. Logic says the longer it persists, the more difficult it is going to be, he said. In South Africa, the government faces a potential revenue shortfall of up to E285 billion this year, posing a catastrophic scenario which could raise the likelihood of further approaches to multilateral agencies such as the IMF for financial support. This was revealed by SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter, who said though it was still early days, the tax agencys initial estimates suggest tax collections will be down by 15 per cent-20 per cent from those forecast in this years budget, based on Aprils revenue collection performance. Recession The estimated shortfall is due to a sluggish economy, which was already in recession before the coronavirus pandemic hit SA, as well as the effects of the lockdown ordered by the government to slow the spread of the virus. The R285bn gap would have dramatic consequences for the governments budget deficit, its debt sustainability and debt service costs should it materialise, said Stanlib Chief Economist Kevin Lings. It would require dramatic action from the State, including deep cuts to expenditure and possibly a more comprehensive fiscal support package from agencies such as the IMF that would include greater conditionality, he said. Estimates BusinessDay reported that the SARS figures follow estimates supplied by the Treasury last week, based on research from the UN University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-Wider); suggesting SAs economy could contract as much as 16 per cent this year depending on the length and severity of the pandemic and the lockdown effects. The worst-case scenario predicts as many as 7 000 000 jobs could be shed, according to the presentation. The projected revenue shortfall could potentially push the government deficit towards 16 per cent of GDP, Lings estimated, against the 6.8 per cent forecast in this years budget. South Korea will provide one million face masks to foreign veterans of the Korean War to express gratitude on the 70th anniversary of the brutal conflict, Seoul officials said Thursday. The 1950-53 Korean War, when South Korean forces backed by a US-led UN coalition fought to a standstill against North Korean and Chinese troops, ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. Nearly two million soldiers and medical officers from 22 UN member states -- including the US, Britain and Turkey -- took part, with 37,902 killed and 103,460 wounded, according to the Seoul government. The South has since risen from the ashes of war to become the world's 12th largest economy and its handling of the coronavirus outbreak -- based on an extensive "trace, test and treat" programme -- has drawn widespread praise. "All of the 22 countries are currently having difficulties due to the coronavirus, and it is an urgent matter to provide face masks for the ageing war veterans -- whose average age is 88 -- who are vulnerable to the disease," Seoul's Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said in a statement. The masks were a symbol of Seoul's gratitude for "the service it received 70 years ago", it added. The project received special government approval as the South currently imposes export restrictions on face masks to prevent possible shortages. Half of the masks will go to the US, Seoul's major security ally, which provided 90 percent of the coalition troops. In most countries, South Korean embassies will be responsible for distributing the masks to the estimated 400,000 surviving veterans. "We have different plans for each and every country, but one of the plans involves our embassy staff delivering the masks to each veteran's home -- as long as that's arrangeable," Jang Young-nam, a ministry official, told AFP. A Chinese guard wears a protective mask as he stands at the entrance to the Forbidden City as it reopened to limited visitors for the May holiday, in Beijing on May 1, 2020. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) Pandemic Coverup Highlights Beijings Pattern of Deception: Report Chinas failure to contain the CCP virus has exposed the regimes deceptive nature to the world and demonstrated that it can bring about deadly consequences, according to a report by a medical ethics group released on May 5. The mishandling of the virus, which first emerged in Chinas central city of Wuhan, is consistent with tactics the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has deployed in the past: deny, hide, propagate disinformation, then capitalize on the gains, said the U.S.-based ethics group, Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH), calling such actions a deception protocol. This pattern has repeated over the past few decades as the Chinese regime committed human rights violations and the international community watched on. During this pandemic, the ramifications of the CCPs actions, in relation to the virus, are now being witnessed in every corner of the world, according to the report (pdf). History has repeated itself with COVID-19 but [with] far greater and far more serious consequences, DAFOHs deputy director Rob Gray said at the reports virtual release event on Tuesday. Two Viruses Li Wenliang, the ophthalmologist reprimanded by police for rumor-mongering after he posted on social media about the virus was but the latest whistleblower targeted by Beijings draconian censorship, the report noted. Li contracted the virus from a patient he was treating and later died. Similar to the current crisis, Chinese officials withheld information during the early weeks of the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak in 2002 and did not warn the public for months. Prominent Chinese military surgeon Jiang Yanyong served 45 days in jail for his attempts to publicize the authorities coverup. In the aftermath of the outbreak that spread to dozens of countries, the World Health Organization updated the International Health Regulations to strengthen health risk communication and require countries to notify the United Nations agency of any public health emergencies. Jiang, a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for his outspokenness, has faced continued harassment by authorities over the years. Now 88, he remains under arrest since April 2019, after he wrote to authorities calling for a reassessment of the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests, which the regime crushed with tanks and guns. It appears that speaking up against the CCPs narrative during the initial stages of an epidemic or pandemic result[s] in a life sentence in one form or another, the report stated. Medical Abuses Similar systematic denial and deception have recurred in Chinas medical field over the past two decades, and could inflict further damage should it continue unabated, according to the report. Since 2006, reports have surfaced alleging that the Chinese regime was harvesting organs from prisoners of conscience to conduct for-profit transplant surgery. Last June, an independent London-based tribunal concluded, after reviewing written evidence and witness testimonies, that such state-sanctioned practices have taken place for years on a significant scalean action indicative of genocide. The tribunal determined that the main source of organs comes from imprisoned practitioners of the spiritual practice Falun Gong, who have come under severe nationwide persecution since 1999. Adnan Sharif, DAFOHs secretary, also highlighted the recent news of two elderly patients infected with the virus in China who received lung transplants. What the CCP really wanted to show was the scientific brilliance of being the first country to do lung transplantation in this setting, but what it really does [is] it raises more questions on the organ sources, he said at the Tuesday event, drawing attention to the suspiciously short wait timesthree daysto find matching organs for the elderly patients. Since 2015, the Chinese regime has maintained that all organ transplants are performed with organs collected via a voluntary donation system. But a 2019 BMC Medical Ethics study found that the Chinese regime likely falsified its organ donation data using a quadratic function. It was just another example of the regimes data maneuvering, Shariff said. Two children wearing face masks rest during their visit to the Great Wall of China in Beijing on April 18, 2020. (Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images) Warning Against Silence DAFOH said that silence in the face of such human rights tragediesin itself a form of denialhas its consequences: the mass imprisonment of Uyghurs in Chinas northwestern region of Xinjiang bears the hallmarks of the persecution of Falun Gong, Chinas pervasive surveillance technology is expanding overseas, and false data published during the current outbreak, the report noted. Statistical modeling, eyewitness accounts, and leaked documents obtained by The Epoch Times have shown that Chinese authorities are underreporting virus infections and deaths. Failing to contain the virus within its borders, the Chinese regime then attempted to recast itself as the global health leader, exporting substandard medical supplies to countries while waging an aggressive disinformation campaign on social media and Chinese state media to deflect blame. The nature, intent, and actions of the CCP should no longer be allowed to continue unabated, the report stated. The CCP is the biggest and most serious virus of all, it said, quoting a speech from Chen Guangcheng, a blind Chinese human rights lawyer who fled to the United States in 2012 amid authorities surveillance. VE Day has a deep resonance for BAE Systems. Some of the legendary planes flown in the Second World War, including the Spitfire, the Lancaster bomber and the Mosquito built mainly from timber and known as 'The Wooden Wonder' were designed and built by businesses that are now part of the UK's leading defence company. Today under chief executive Charles Woodburn, 49, the company is fighting a very different war against the deadly coronavirus and is turning its formidable engineering expertise to helping the NHS. Since the lockdown, BAE has carried out repair and maintenance work at the Portsmouth Naval Base on four warships that have gone back out to sea But as the boss of the country's biggest manufacturing firm, he is also looking beyond the pandemic to how Britain might build a better and more resilient economy. That, he believes, will mean a bigger role for manufacturers and a new industrial strategy. 'We're engaged in discussions with the Government around the development of a revitalised industrial strategy to reinforce Britain's place as a world leader in manufacturing and innovation,' he says, speaking from his home in Surrey. His view is that we need to row back on the hollowing out of the UK's industrial manufacturing base that has taken place over many years. The virus has thrown into sharp relief the issue of how much of our manufacturing has shifted overseas, including to China. Woodburn would like to see a better balance between the regions. The company is a major employer in the regions with 10,000 jobs at sites at Warton and Samlesbury in Lancashire. There are 9,500 working at the Barrow yard in Cumbria, 3,500 in Portsmouth/Solent and 3,000 in Glasgow. 'Manufacturing has always been important to the UK economy,' he says. When you consider it accounts for two thirds of research and development and 45 per cent of exports, it will be more important than ever as we work to build a more balanced and resilient economy.' The defence sector alone provides around 135,000 highly skilled jobs across the UK, including the 'Dreadnought Submarine and Tempest next generation combat aircraft programmes, which can play an important role in supporting our country's economic recovery'. Industrial strategy was in the past anathema to Tory governments, who saw it as interfering with the free markets. But with Boris Johnson's victory in so-called 'Red Wall' seats in the former manufacturing heartlands of the north, it is back on the agenda. BAE chief exec Charles Woodburn is looking beyond the pandemic to how Britain might build a better and more resilient economy Companies like BAE, which can generate highly-skilled and well paid work both directly and in their supply chain, will be at the heart of regional regeneration, according to Woodburn (pictured). 'We have an exceptional workforce based throughout the UK, including our early careers programme where we employ around 2,500 apprentices and graduates. Developing manufacturing talent is a responsibility we take very seriously.' When it comes to the battle against the virus, BAE has pulled out the stops. Engineers in Rochester, Kent, Salmesbury and Barrow have designed face shields for health staff and have delivered 107,00 visors out of a total 150,000 promised. The company is involved in the Government's ventilator challenge consortium and in parallel has been designing its own ventilator from scratch. 'As one of the UK's largest engineering and manufacturing companies, we're proud of our heritage of supporting our armed forces. We have a responsibility to use our expertise and resources in any way we can to support the fight against coronavirus,' Woodburn says. That means helping meet needs both large and small. Staff at its maritime services team on the Isle of Wight are, for instance, using 3D printing to make a 'Door Claw' that lets health workers open doors without touching the handle. A little device, but one that could reduce the spread of infection. Then there are the curtain hooks, being produced by workers in the submarine yard in Barrow, where it has just launched HMS Audacious, the fourth of seven Astute class attack submarines it is building for the Navy. Not just any old curtain hooks, but ones for isolation cubicles, which have to be made to a very specific design. BAE's submarine workers stepped in after they saw a tweet from a nearby hospital trust asking for help sourcing them. The company has even turned one of its aircraft hangars at its base in Warton into a temporary morgue for up to 1,000 Covid-19 patients, which was created in less than a week. It sounds grim, but it will help the local council to cope if there is a spike in deaths and make sure people who have died with the virus are treated with dignity until they move to their final resting place. The aerospace sector has been devastated by the coronavirus. Plane-maker Airbus, which tried and failed to merge with BAE in 2012, has had to put 3,200 staff at its North Wales site on furlough and is haemorrhaging cash. Some of the legendary planes flown in World War II, including the Spitfire, the Lancaster Bomber and the Mosquito (pictured), were designed and built by businesses now part of BAE Engine-maker Rolls-Royce may have to make up to 8,000 staff redundant; its troubles have led to speculation of a merger with BAE which has been less hard hit because 90 per cent of its business is defence. Woodburn has a 45billion order backlog of long term projects with the US and UK governments as major customers and access to 2billion of liquidity. Geopolitical tensions mean defence spending and cyber security, another strand of BAE's business, will remain high on those government agendas. Woodburn, who thinks he probably caught the virus himself on a trip to New York earlier this year, has had to move quickly to bring into effect safe working practices on site. Working from home is not an option for many of its staff, because it is impossible to build a fighter jet in the front room. Currently none of the UK staff are on furlough and it hopes it is producing a template for social distancing that might help other employers as lockdown lifts. The measures introduced include changing shift patterns, supplying PPE where it is hard to socially distance, and quarantining goods that come into its premises. Since the lockdown, repair and maintenance work has been done at the Portsmouth Naval Base on four warships that have gone back out to sea, HMS Dauntless, HMS Kent, HMS Severn and HMS Chiddingfold. There has also been an upgrade on the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier, which set sail for sea trials last week. Downing tools is not an option for BAE, because that could provide succour to our enemies. Virus or no virus, its work must go on. The central government is planning to come up with a plan to help attract foreign direct investments (FDIs) into India by early next month. "The government is working on something. A detailed scheme will soon be announced," a senior government official told Moneycontrol. The government is working on having a more liberalised FDI regime, in order to tackle the economic fallout of COVID-19 pandemic. "Nothing has been finalized yet. Maybe rules and other process-related hurdles can be eased further so that better investments can flow in," the official said. As a part of the new scheme, the government is also planning on a land pool which could be used to offer land to interested countries. "Acquiring land is an issue here, there are a lot of legal hurdles. That's the biggest challenge for companies looking at India as a viable option. The government will try to make that less tedious," the official 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 One of the key focus areas to promote manufacturing would be textiles. "We are in the process of selecting other sectors too. Pharmaceuticals could also be one. But textile would be the key focus, as it needs handholding," the official said. After agriculture, India's textile sector is considered to be the next biggest employment generator in the country. It employs over 105 million people. The pandemic came at a time when the sector was battling sluggish growth after demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) implementation. Eleven countries buy 41 percent of India's cotton yarn exports and these countries have reported COVID-19 cases, according to the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (Texprocil). In value terms, yarn exports are down 30 percent in January-February against a year ago. Cotton yarn exports to China, Iran, Korea and Vietnam have seen a steep decline. The US and Europe are the two largest markets for Indian textile exporters. Both are imploding with new cases every day. The pandemic has killed more than two lakh people worldwide, with the UK reporting the highest death toll in Europe. The US has reported over 70,000 deaths. The pandemic has already led to big fashion labels announcing the cancellation of orders and relieving labour. Macy's, the US-based retail giant, has announced that it would grant leave to most of its 1,30,000 employees. British luxury giant Burberry has predicted a steep drop in sales of about 70-80 percent. The UK-based retailer Primark has cancelled all new orders and Inditex (the owner of popular brand Zara) has written off some $336 million worth of inventory. "There is a lot of untapped opportunity in the textile sector. World over, the sector has been hit hard. There can be a case of taking advantage of this downturn and making it work in our favour," the official said. Frontier Airlines planes stand at gates on the A Concourse at Denver International Airport in Denver. Frontier Airlines will soon become the first U.S. carrier to check passenger temperatures before allowing people to get on board. Some airline executives have suggested temperature checks would make travelers feel more comfortable about flying. "This new step during the boarding process, coupled with face coverings and elevated disinfection procedures, will serve to provide Frontier customers an assurance that their wellbeing is our foremost priority," said CEO Barry Biffle in a statement announcing the new program. Frontier has ordered five hundred infrared thermometers so its gate agents are ready to screen passengers starting June 1. Before boarding, passengers and Frontier crew members will have their temperatures checked at the gate. If someone registers a temperature of 100.4 or higher, they will be kept at the gate for approximately ten minutes, then screened again. If the second temperature check is still 100.4 or higher, the passenger or crew member will not be allowed on that flight. Frontier said anyone denied boarding will be re-booked. Biffle told CNBC he has heard from passengers who say they want temperature checks. Earlier this week, Air Canada became the first airline in North America to say it will start checking passenger temperatures before flights. That requirement takes effect on May 15. Heathrow Airport in London has announced it will start using thermal cameras to monitor the temperatures of people in the airport's immigration halls. The move comes just hours after Biffle rescinded the airline's plan to sell passengers the guarantee of an empty middle seat for $39. Frontier said selling the guarantee of an empty middle seat would reassure passengers who want to make sure there is nobody sitting next to them on a flight. The offer was met with swift criticism on Capitol Hill. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, the chair of the House Transportation Committee, accused Frontier of "capitalizing on fear." The message was loud and clear, and within 24 hours Frontier dropped the plan to sell the guarantee of an empty middle seat. In a letter to members of Congress, Biffle wrote, "We recognize the concerns raised that we are profiting from safety and this was never our intent. We simply wanted to provide our customers with an option for more space." CNBC's Meghan Reeder contributed to this article. No more JCPOA for US unless they ask again and we accept: President Rouhani ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency Wed / 6 May 2020 / 14:17 Tehran (ISNA) Iranian President warned the United States and its allies that Iran would never accept violation of Resolution 2231 of the United Nations Security Council, and it is Iran's undisputed right to exit the arms embargo soon within the framework of the resolution. Speaking on Wednesday at the meeting of the Council of Ministers, President Hassan Rouhani said that even if Iran buys a weapon, it will be for defence purposes, and it will not be like gasoline on fire, but water on fire, by which we will put out flames and not allow tension to arise. Parts of President Hassan Rouhani's speech are as follows: In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful We are approaching May 7 when the unprecedented sanctions and pressures in the history of Iran and other countries have begun against the Iranian nation by an authoritarian regime. On May 7 two years ago, US President Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in an explicit statement against all international rules and regulations violating Resolution 2231 of the UN Security Council, signed the withdrawal and displayed it in front of cameras. If we want to take a few minutes to review Iran's activities in the face of the conspiracies in the nuclear field, we negotiated with the world for two years and four months. It took two years and four months for this process to take place, and the agreement became operational on January 2016. So, we worked for two years and four months to reach a conclusion, and this agreement was implemented for two years and four months. These two years and four months have been very good for our country, and I think it was unprecedented in the political history of our country. Again, I would like to thank the exceptional efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Atomic Energy Organization, and the Ministry of Defense. What has been done means that all the resolutions that were against us have been cancelled, that is, a big case that they wanted to continue for decades - the PDM case was closed. That is, it was revealed after a few years that under Resolution 2231, Iran's arms embargo, which I will talk about more, would be lifted. In the first temporary agreement in Geneva, our assets were unfroze, and in these second two years and four months we actually benefited from the tireless efforts of the first two years and four months. Our oil exports jumped from 900,000 barrels to 2.8 million barrels; all our unfinished projects in all provinces began to be completed; huge refineries, gas units, petrochemical units. It was very difficult for the enemies of the Islamic Republic of Iran to see that a country is sitting alone at the negotiation table with the rest of the world and removing all the dangers that threatened Iran. Iraq has not been removed from Chapter VII of the Security Council, but the Islamic Republic of Iran was able to pull the country out of Chapter VII in two years and four months of negotiations, and this is a political honour in Iran's history. One of the effects of these efforts was the lifting of the arms embargo, because you know we have two periods in the JCPOA agreement, a five-year period in which the arms embargo is lifted and an 8- and 10-year period in which almost all restrictions are lifted. We are approaching the first period, which is lifting the arms embargo. What did the Americans do? On May 7, 2018, under pressure from the extremists in the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, and the stubbornness that Trump had with the previous president, the United States did a very stupid thing and withdrew from this unilateral agreement. End Item NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The first wave of a massive exercise to repatriate hundreds of thousands of Indians stuck abroad began Thursday, with two flights landing in India from the United Arab Emirates. Delhi banned all incoming international flights in late March as it imposed one of the world's strictest virus lockdowns, leaving vast numbers of workers and students stranded. Some 15,000 nationals will be repatriated from 12 countries on planes and naval ships, in a mammoth exercise which saw the civil aviation ministry's website crash Wednesday as panicked citizens rushed to register. Two warships have steamed to the Maldives and another to the UAE -- home to a 3.3-million-strong Indian community which makes up some 30 percent of the Gulf state's population. The consulate in Dubai said it had received almost 200,000 applications, appealing on Twitter for "patience and cooperation" as India undertakes the "massive task" of repatriation. The two flights which landed in Kerala state from Abu Dhabi and Dubai Thursday were carrying 354 people, including nine infants. "I'm relieved that I'm home," a man on the flight from Abu Dhabi told AFP by telephone as he waited to disembark in Kerala state. "People were sitting next to each other -- at least the row I was sitting, we were all sitting next to each other. They are making people get out of the plane right now in shifts -- first a few people left the plane and we have been asked to wait," he continued. Indian citizens with coveted tickets, arriving at Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports, were greeted by medics in masks, gloves and plastic aprons who took blood samples for antibody tests. "The results came out in 10 minutes. Mine has been negative. I'm super relieved," one 40-year-old passenger at Abu Dhabi airport told AFP. "I've lost my job in the company I was working with. I'm feeling a bit weird going home -- while I'm happy that I am going home there is also a sense of uncertainty." The oil-rich Gulf is reliant on the cheap labour of millions of foreigners, mostly from India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Many live in squalid camps far from the region's showy skyscrapers and malls. But the novel coronavirus and its devastating economic impact have left many workers sick and others unemployed, unpaid and at the mercy of sometimes unscrupulous employers. "We have one or two flights planned every day now for the next five or six days," Consul General Vipul, who goes by one name, told AFP at Dubai airport. Vipul said most of those aboard were workers who had lost their jobs, together with pregnant women, the elderly and some stranded tourists. "Some people will be left out, it's inevitable in this kind of situation... not everyone can be accommodated immediately," he said. - Delays and frustration - A naval vessel is expected to arrive at Dubai's Port Rashid. The Indian High Commission in the Maldives posted images on Twitter of one of its warships entering Male harbour ahead of Friday's planned evacuation of some 1,000 people. Other flights will leave Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, as well as London, San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Washington. A flight planned for Thursday from Qatar has been postponed until the weekend, however. Indian media have reported delays triggered by the need to test air crew for coronavirus. But frustrations have mounted over the slow pace of the exercise, as well as the fact that evacuees will have to pay for their passage home and spend two weeks in quarantine on arrival. "There are so many people who have lost their jobs here -- they're literally going hungry," Yasin, a 50-year-old restaurant manager who is now out of a job, told AFP as he checked in for his flight. "And now the government has asked for people to pay for the tickets. I sincerely want to request the government to waive that," he said. "People do not have money to survive here, paying for flights is not possible at all." Those who haven't managed to get a ticket home have voiced their frustrations in a torrent of posts on social media, while some turned up to try their luck. Ajith, a 43-year-old IT engineer whose mother died two days ago, waited anxiously at Dubai airport, checking with the official who held the all-important waiting list for the first flight out. "My mother was old and had medical issues... there is no one in India to take care of things, so I made an emergency request to the consulate," he told AFP, before finally managing to secure a seat on the plane. burs-st/ft An Indian woman checks in at the Dubai International Airport before leaving the Gulf Emirate on a flight back to her country, on May 7, 2020 Health workers take a blood test from a child carried by an Indian woman at the Dubai International Airport before they leave the Gulf Emirate on a flight back to their country on May 7, 2020 Indian nationals gather at the Dubai International Airport before leaving the Gulf Emirate on a flight back to their country, on May 7, 2020 Indian nationals gather at the Dubai International Airport before leaving the Gulf Emirate on a flight back to their country, on May 7, 2020 Indian Navy ship INS Jalashwa arrives to evacuate stranded Indian citizens, in Male on May 7, 2020 Staff clean the arrivals terminal at Cochin International Airport in Kochi ahead of the arrival of a first repatriation flight carrying Indian citizens from the Gulf Due to the lockdown in the US and several parts of the world, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were forced to celebrate their son's first birthday indoors. But the Duchess of Sussex was reportedly frustrated. She even had a meltdown, as per Woman's Day, because she wanted to throw a huge birthday party for her Archie, which would also serve as the Sussex family's debut into the land of the stars. "Meghan was looking forward to throwing the party of the century and making their debut into Hollywood society, and now she feels the chance has been ripped away," said the source. The 38-year-old mother is angry that Archie's first birthday went mostly unnoticed. Not only was Meghan frustrated with what's happening, but according to the source, she was also on the bridge of a meltdown when Prince Harry couldn't follow her outrageous demands. According to the source who told the online tabloid, "Meghan's very good at getting Harry to do her bidding while she insists, she's focusing on mothering." "Apparently, poor Harry was tearing his hair out trying to find stuff he's honestly never heard of before - smash cakes, socially distant entertainers, gifts for Archie, and of course, something special for Meghan." Meghan Melt Down: The Truth However, Gossip Cop debunked the "ridiculous" article saying that its content is all wrong. "This tired bogus narrative of Markle as the diva is on full display here as the tabloid takes underhanded shots at the duchess that have no basis in reality," the article reads. "This fairytale invented by the magazine of a diva mother demanding her husband go all out for their son's birthday is completely bogus." As Gossip Cop reports, Archie's first birthday was an modest affair, as Meghan Markle and Prince Harry released a video of the Duchess reading, "Duck! Rabbit!" to her son, which was uploaded on @Savethestories Instagram page. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are reportedly relaxed as they celebrate their son's birthday indoors with no visitors, just them. Meghan Markle the Diva? But this wasn't the first time the former "Suits" actress was said to be demanding and had diva moments. In an article by The Daily Mail published early this week, a photographer reportedly described working with Meghan Markle "demanding" and "high maintenance." The expert revealed that even before being in a relationship with Prince Harry, Meghan already had a "princess" attitude and had strict rules set, including not to take photos or videos of her feet. According to the unnamed cameraman, her demands including getting a specific type of flower, not filming her while she is getting her makeup done, and a particular brand of champagne is only allowed for the shoot. "You have to ask permission to shoot anything. [Meghan was] the boss. You felt like you were walking on eggshells." He further revealed, "One of my team members is the nicest guy, and he was traumatized by the end of it because she was so mean." The photographer talked out loud when he wondered how Meghan was able to charm Prince Harry. "I don't think she deserves the attention. I wasn't impressed with her. She came across as very insecure and spoiled." READ MORE: What You Need to Know About Prince Harry and Prince William's Step Sister REVEALED While the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections has talked about outbreaks at two of its state correctional institutions, there are also 11 other prisons that have at least one COVID-19 case. Of those 11 other prisons, SCI Camp Hill has the highest number of cases, with four staff members testing positive and one inmate testing positive. According to the department, who last updated its figures Wednesday evening, it has also received seven negative tests among staff members and 31 negative tests among inmates. About 11.6 percent of all tests conducted at the prison are positive. While that can be a cause for concern for an isolated community, SCI Camp Hills numbers are still shy of the level of outbreak seen at SCI Phoenix and SCI Huntingdon, where more than 60 percent of all tests conducted are positive. The first outbreak occurred at SCI Phoenix, where there has been 56 staff positives and 31 inmate positives. The prison had some of the earliest cases, and has had three reported deaths due to the coronavirusthe only deaths reported in state prisons so far. The department also noted that as of Wednesday evening, 21 inmates have since recovered. The second outbreak is more of a focus for concern for residents and officials who believe COVID-19 cases at facilities such as prisons and nursing homes should be excluded from a countys total number. While SCI Phoenix is located in Montgomery County where there is a high number of general population cases, and SCI Camp Hill is located in Lower Allen Township where that ZIP code also reports a high number of cases due to an affected long-term care facility, SCI Huntingdon is likely the source of the majority of cases in Huntingdon County, which is located in the southcentral region with Cumberland County. Though there seems to be a discrepancy in reporting between the state Department of Health and the Department of Corrections, potentially due to lag time in reporting or staff at the prison having a residence outside of the county, Huntingdon County as of Thursday morning has 109 cases, and corrections says the prison has 140 cases, with 108 inmates positive for the disease, along with 32 staff members. The number of cases is also steadily rising. On Monday, the prison only had 51 inmates and 24 employees infected with the virus. The prisons positive cases is also outpacing its negative tests, with 66.4 percent of all tests coming back positive. Huntingdon County is the only other county in the southcentral region that has a state prison outside of Cumberland County, and Huntingdon has two of them. In addition to SCI Huntingdon, the county is also home to SCI Smithfield, which has two positive cases, all among employees. Many of the other positives in other state prisons are largely among staff members, with two or three cases, as of Wednesday, being reported in SCI Fayette, SCI Dallas, SCI Retreat, SCI Waymart and SCI Rockview. In total, the state prison system has 127 staff positives and 143 inmate positives, with about 36.59 percent of all tests overall across the state coming back positive. Corrections officials have previously said that they are enhancing the screening of employees and vendors at outbreak sites, and voluntary testing is available at SCI Huntingdon for any employee who fails the screening. Inmates who have tested positive at the facility are being isolated at a gym that was converted into an infirmary during the pandemic. Email Naomi Creason at ncreason@cumberlink.com or follow her on Twitter @SentinelCreason Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. VIPdesk, an award-winning U.S. based provider of innovative home-based customer care solutions, is excited to announce a partnership with Herff Jones, StageClip and MarchingOrder to deliver premium customer service for their recently launched virtual commencement solution. The solution provides high schools, colleges and universities a proven, easy-to-implement platform to celebrate graduates achievements in times of the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing guidelines. Our mission is to elevate student experiences, and for many, one of the most anticipated experiences throughout their educational journey is graduation. This year, understandably, that is going to look different; however, that doesnt mean the Class of 2020 shouldnt have their time to shine and to be celebrated with family and friends, those who have helped them reach that milestone, said Herff Jones Vice President of Customer Experience Salena Scardina. Thats why it was so important to us, as well as our partners, StageClip and MarchingOrder, to bring a solution to the table in time for this graduation season. The response has been fantastic and demand very high. That said, were excited to have the support of VIPdesk, and the caliber of customer service talent they bring to the table, to ensure we provide graduates with the best possible graduation experience. To best support the demand, Herff Jones contacted VIPdesk to provide a dedicated team to help support customer service for participating schools and universities. This includes assisting with onboarding and ongoing customer service for participants. VIPdesk will utilize its proven home-based customer service setup to deliver a safe and reliable solution from coast to coast. The solution is powered by an innovative omnichannel capable platform provided by BrightPattern and Zendesk. VIPdesk has been a pioneer for home-based customer service where specifically recruited Brand Ambassadors serve as customer service professionals for some of the most admired brands in the US. Given the current mandated stay-at-home orders and the risks of operating large call centers in times of a pandemic, VIPdesks services have never been more relevant. We are really proud to assist Herff Jones and their partners Stage Clip and Marching Order with delivering memorable virtual graduations. I know that graduations are some of the most important milestones in life and we are honored to provide that extra care and support to families to ensure their new experience is as special as it can be." - Sally Hurley, CEO, VIPdesk. MarchingOrder President Tyler Mullins explains his mission: Years of experience in the graduation field have taught us how meaningful these events are for students, families, and the schools themselves. Our mission has been to help make each person's moment as perfect and memorable as it can be, and we are fortunate to be able to use our knowledge and tools to help ensure that even though unexpected events prevent in-person ceremonies from happening at this time, the accomplishments of the Class of 2020 do not go unheralded. There will be no true replacement for a traditional ceremony, but our hope is to help bring some joy and a feeling of accomplishment to the students that have worked very hard to graduate this year." Were delighted to be part of this relationship with Herff Jones and MarchingOrder and look forward to serving schools and graduates at this challenging time. The support from VIPdesk will help us improve the experience for all. - Rupert Forsythe, founder and CEO of StageClip. ABOUT HERFF JONES Indianapolis-based Herff Jones is the leading provider of graduation and educational products and services designed to inspire achievement and create memorable experiences for students. A division of Varsity Brands, Herff Jones' products include class rings and jewelry, caps and gowns, yearbooks, diplomas, frames and announcements as well as motivation and recognition programs. Focused on building long-term relationships through a nationwide network of over 2,000 employees and sales partners, the professionals at Herff Jones have been helping elevate the student experience throughout the lifelong journey of education for more than 100 years. For more information about Herff Jones or Varsity Brands, please visit http://www.herffjones.com or http://www.varsitybrands.com. ABOUT MARCHINGORDER Since 2003, MarchingOrder has been a trusted partner of colleges and universities, large and small, to make their graduation ceremonies the best they can be. From ensuring every graduate's name is announced perfectly to providing on-screen recognition, RSVP and guest ticketing services, as well as helping distribute the correct diploma to each person on stage, every detail is handled with ease leveraging our exclusive and easy-to-implement technology-based solutions. MarchingOrder has been used for thousands of ceremonies, and we understand every event is unique. We designed our software to be flexible yet robust and capable of being customized to suit the needs of your event. Visit http://www.marchingorder.com for more information. ABOUT STAGECLIP StageClip is on a mission to share lifes big moments. We enable event organizers and videographers to instantly create and distribute personalized video clips of their attendees in mass participation events. StageClips are immediately available for people to download to their mobile devices and share instantly on social media. Lifes big moments include graduations, mass participation sports, corporate and community awards, music events and school prize givings. Weve helped event organizers worldwide deliver valuable social media ROI from personalized video clips as theyve enhanced the event experience for their participants. Visit http://www.stageclip.com for more information. ABOUT VIPDESK VIPdesk Connect, Inc., a U.S. based provider of outsourced customer care services, utilizes a team of home-based Brand Ambassadors (customer service professionals) located throughout the U.S. to provide elevated customer experience for luxury and premium brands. Talented team members of VIPdesk not only excel in delivering superior customer service but are passionate ambassadors of the brands they serve. VIPdesk's suite of services include: Omni-Channel Customer service handling including all traditional and digital contact channels, social media management, back office support and customer experience consulting. Visit http://www.vipdesk.com for more information. To connect with VIPdesk socially, find them on LinkedIn, Twitter and/or Instagram @VIPdesk. MEDIA CONTACT: Othmar Muller von Blumencron VIPdesk +1-703-348-2236 "You must reside in Ward 3, and have been a resident in Ward 3 for at least a year," said borough Manager Christine Hart. By Trend Sixty-eight people have died from the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the past 24 hours in Iran, said Kiyanush Jahanpur, spokesman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Trend reports citing the ministry. According to Jahanpur, as many as 1,485 people have been infected with the coronavirus over the past day. Jahanpur added that the condition of 2,728 people is serious and critical. So far, more than 544,000 tests have been conducted in Iran for the diagnosis of coronavirus. Iran is one of the countries heavily affected by the rapidly-spreading coronavirus. According to recent reports from the Iranian officials, over 103,100 people have been infected 6,486 people have already died. Meanwhile, over 82,700 have reportedly recovered from the disease. The country continues to apply strict measures to contain the further spread. Reportedly, the disease was brought to Iran by a businessman from Iran's Qom city, who went on a business trip to China, despite official warnings. The man died later from the disease. The Islamic Republic only announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Lawyer Maurice Ampaw has supported the decision by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for suspending its former Central Regional Chairman, Mr. Allotey Jacobs. The lawyer commenting on the suspension said the suspended party member should have known better when he decided to take on the party. The party he said is paramount and anyone who wishes to join a party must support the ideologies and beliefs. To Allotey Jacobs, he said, "if you want to be honest, dont join a political party. Men of honour and truth should not join political parties. Lawyer Ampaw told Kwabena Agyapong on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm that politicians are not honest since they do all they can to malign their opponents, attack their integrity and spew lies about them just to win power. And as an individual, if you feel insecure and uncomfortable to support your party in this direction, you have no business joining a political party. "Allotey Jacobs should have known better. You cannot belong to a political party and go against their rules. His suspension was justified. If he wants to be honest then he cannot be a politician or join a party, he added. The NDC has suspended Mr. Allotey Jacobs. The party in a statement said Mr Allotey Jacobs has been suspended for his consistent anti-party conduct. The party says the decision was taken after a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Meanwhile, Allotey Jacobs says he is not perturbed and will always stand by the truth. I have my own independent mind and I will always stand for the truth and if the party dislikes it and for that reason, they are suspending me thats beautiful, he said. Source: rainbowradioonline.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 They had served their country in some of the most dangerous places in the world only to be taken in their old age by coronavirus. Nine Chelsea Pensioners have been killed by the disease, it was confirmed last night. The Royal Hospitals governor, General Sir Adrian Bradshaw, told of his sadness at the deaths announced on the eve of commemorations to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day. He said it was a time of hope and reunion that feels particularly poignant. Among the Chelsea Pensioners who lost their lives to the virus was 75-year-old Fred Boomer-Hawkins, pictured centre, taking a selfie with other Chelsea pensioners in Durham A further 58 residents at the Royal Hospital Chelsea have recovered after testing positive for Covid-19 or showing symptoms. There are 290 residents at the home for veterans. They include 47 who fought in the Second World War, plus soldiers who served in the Korean War, Cyprus and Northern Ireland. It welcomes Army veterans aged over 65 who have no living dependants and a welfare need such as financial hardship or bereavement. The average age of its residents is 82. Mr Boomer-Hawkins is pictured above as a young man. Neighbours, servicemen and friends lined the streets of Colchester as his funeral procession went past their homes yesterday morning Sir Adrian added: Most of our Pensioners have risked their lives serving our nation through war and conflict. Among the Chelsea Pensioners who lost their lives to the virus was Fred Boomer-Hawkins, 75, who became ill in the last week of March. Neighbours, servicemen and friends lined the streets of Colchester as his funeral procession went past their homes yesterday morning. His son Terry Hawkins, 49, said Mr Boomer-Hawkins was extremely proud to wear the red uniform of the Chelsea Pensioners after moving to the hospital in 2017. His son said: He was a very popular man, loving, generous, honourable and loyal. He was everything you could want from a dad. Father-of-three Mr Boomer-Hawkins had joined the Army at 17. In his first posting, he served as a Royal Green Jacket, based in Colchester, Essex, where he met first wife, Jean. His duties included spells in Malaysia, Germany and Northern Ireland. He was a UN peacekeeper in Cyprus. Mr Boomer-Hawkins son said that as his breathing worsened and he was moved to hospital, he sent a text reading: Prepare yourself, I fear the worst now. He added: We were able to go in on that final day and the doctors told us he only had between two and eight hours left. We never thought it would come to that, it was heart-breaking. The Royal Hospital said an Army medical team has been helping to tackle the coronavirus threat and is able to test all those who show symptoms. Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy seen harassing US Navy ships in the Persian Gulf - US Navy The US is removing its Patriot anti-missile system from Saudi Arabia, according to reports, amid strained relations between the allies over oil production. Washington is removing four of its missile batteries along with dozens of military personnel it had sent to the kingdom to combat the threat from Iran, following a devastating attack on Saudis oil facilities. According to the Wall Street Journal, quoting US officials, it will also consider a reduction in the US Navy presence in the Persian Gulf. The paper reported that the decision followed a reassessment by the Pentagon of the threat Tehran posed, no longer deeming it to be an immediate risk to US strategic interests. The Trump administration has led a maximum pressure campaign against Iran, escalating tensions between the two to their highest level in decades. A September drone attack on Abqaiq oil field, which was widely blamed on the Islamic Republic, crippled the worlds largest oil processing plant and sent prices spiralling. Oil Processing Plant in Saudi Arabia, the largest plant of its kind in the world, which was hit in a rocket and drone attack - Julian Sommonds for The Telegraph In the preceding months, Iran seized a British oil tanker in the Persian Gulf and detained a number of dual nationals that took it to the brink of war with the West. Only last month, the head of Irans Revolutionary Guards said they would destroy American warships if they threaten its vessels in the Strait. A video released by the US Navy showed small Iranian speedboats harassing the American ships. However, the decision also came as the allies came to blows after Saudi initiated an oil price war in retaliation for Russias refusal to back Riyadhs calls for deep output cuts. Oil prices started to retreat in January and February as Covid-19 marched across the globe, decimating demand. But they fell off a cliff in March after the move by Saudi. The resulting market carnage roiled US shale oil producers, who described the move as economic warfare. Mr Trump has been anxious to protect the American oil industry from a historic price meltdown. Saudi, for its part, claimed it had not intended for US oil producers to suffer. Story continues President Donald Trump last month privately gave Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman an ultimatum - start cutting oil production or see a withdrawal of US troops. Reuters reported that threatened to upend a 75-year strategic alliance was central to the US pressure campaign that led to a landmark global deal to slash oil supply as demand collapsed in the pandemic. Asked what he told Prince Mohammed, Mr Trump said: I met telephonically with him, and we were able to reach a deal for production cuts. Neither the Pentagon, nor Riyadh, immediately responded to the requests for comment. Murder hornets, the Asian giant hornets that captured the attention of the media and online worlds this week by showing up in North America for the first time, have not been found anywhere near Pennsylvania. But if you see one, or think you see one, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture wants to know. For some time, the (department) has been monitoring traps nationwide for the presence of invasive insects, including the Asian giant hornet, and has alerted beekeepers across the state about this species, said Shannon Powers, press secretary for the department. Asian giant hornets can be distinguished not only by their extraordinary size, but by their heads, which are yellow. Other insects that have been mistaken for the Asian giant hornet generally have rust or brown coloring on their heads. If you believe you have sighted the insect, please use extreme caution. They are only known to be aggressive when their nests are threatened. Photograph the insect, using great caution, and submit the photo to badbug@pa.gov or call the invasive species reporting line and leave a message at 1-866-253-7189. But the chances of spotting an Asian giant hornet in Pennsylvania are very remote. The non-native insects were only found last year in a few locations in Washington state and British Columbia, Canada. Speculating that the native of Asia arrived in the U.S. stowed away in international agricultural cargo or through intentional and illegal release, researchers and agriculture departments on the West Coast are concentrating on finding and destroying any additional Asian giant hornets that have found their way across the Pacific. While the sting of the insect is big and painful, delivers a potent neurotoxin and in multiples can kill humans, the bigger threat is the potential devastation to honeybees. The hornet is a significant predator of honeybees, which already are suffering from pesticides, colony collapse disorder and other attacks in the U.S. According to Washington State University entomologists, when attacking beehives, a single hornet can kill dozens of honeybees in minutes. A group of 30 hornets can destroy an entire hive of 30,000 bees in less than four hours. 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. Contact Marcus Schneck at mschneck@pennlive.com. Gen. Frederick Kroesen led combat troops in three wars, held major Army command posts and served as vice chief of staff of the Army. But when he died on April 30 in Alexandria, Va., at 97, he was remembered as well for narrowly escaping death in an assassination attempt by a left-wing German terrorist group on Sept. 15, 1981. General Kroesen, the four-star commander of some 220,000 American troops as well as NATO forces in Europe, was being driven to his headquarters in Heidelberg, West Germany, in a Mercedes-Benz with armor plating, a precaution against a possible terrorist attack, when two rocket-propelled antitank grenades were fired at it from a wooded hillside. The first one exploded in the trunk of the car, partly shattering its rear window, and exited through a fender. A second grenade missed the vehicle. At least eight shots were fired at the auto and an accompanying military police vehicle, but none penetrated the passenger compartments. The Union environment ministrys latest amendment to the coastal regulation zone (CRZ) norms ends speculations by planning agencies in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) that claimed artificially created inland mangroves need not be protected. The notification dated May 1 was published by the ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) on its website on Wednesday amending the CRZ 2011 norms stating mangrove forests developed towards the landward side due to saltwater flow from sluice gates or bunds, mainly identified as inland mangroves, need to be protected under the coastal protection notification. Provided that in case there exists a bund or a sluice gate constructed in the past, prior to February 19, 1991, the high tide line (HTL) shall be restricted up to the line along the bund or sluice gate and in such a case, area under mangroves arising due to saline water ingress beyond the bund or sluice gate shall be classified as CRZ-IA irrespective of the extent of the area beyond the bund or sluice gate. Such areas under mangroves shall be protected and shall not be diverted for any developmental activities, the notification said. The notification could protect mangrove forests in Uran and Dronagiri where the Navi Mumbai Special Economic Zone an integrated industrial township has been planned. A Bombay high court (HC) order from September 2018 had made it clear that mangroves anywhere in Maharashtra cannot be destroyed and the notification reiterates the declaration. In 2015, the City Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. (Cidco), the planning agency for Navi Mumbai, had claimed that mangroves that had grown in holding ponds (for high tide water connected to sluice gates mainly at Panje, Karanje and Koparkhairne) were not protected under the CRZ notification since they were inland mangroves. Cidco had filed an application in the HC in the public interest litigation (87 of 2006) originally filed by environmentalist Debi Goenka where the claim was made. This notification, once and for all, settles the issue that all mangroves are protected under the CRZ notification and that all embankments and sluice gates built without valid permissions after February 19, 1991, are illegal, said Goenka. Hopefully, the Panje wetlands and all the other mangroves in Navi Mumbai will have to be protected by Cidco. Pramod Patil, nodal officer (environment), Cidco said, The sluice gates in Uran were constructed sometime during 1994-95. The case was made at the time in 2015-16 due to rapid mangrove growth that was happening post-construction of the bunds and gates, which was causing inconvenience during monitoring of the holding ponds under our jurisdiction. However, following the HC order from September 2018, mangroves, irrespective of their location, are provided the highest protection status within our jurisdiction. Goenka alleged that since the construction of the gates happened post the CRZ 1991 notification, they had been illegally built. While the sluice gates had not been properly maintained (by Cidco themselves), the planning agency made several efforts to destroy mangrove trees within Navi Mumbai and Uran. Pursuant to the notice of motion, the HC in 2016 had directed the MoEF to give us a hearing and had asked the MoEF to decide on this issue. However, despite the hearing held February 29, 2016, no formal order was passed by the ministry then, he said. Meanwhile, the state mangrove cell welcomed MoEFCCs amendment. It is a good development and gives legal protection to especially those areas where safety measures were proposed to be reduced due to the claim that they were inland mangroves, said Virendra Tiwari, additional principal chief conservator of forest (Mangrove cell). Why the amendment? MoEFCCs amended comes after the Goa government made a request to demarcate the HTL (the extent to which coastal waters can reach the farthest on land) along embankments even if they were breached. Independent experts said the consequences of the amendment need to be studied for all other coastal zones to check the impact it would have on constructions planned in the future across CRZ areas. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON DECATUR Tim Walker, the Decatur man arrested for battery after getting into a confrontation at a gas station when he tried to pay for fuel while not wearing a mask, said he wants people to know there is more to the story. Walker, 59, was booked on a preliminary charge of battery after pushing back a male gas station employee whom he claimed was menacing him Friday morning. Police confirmed Wednesday that the 56-year-old employee was also later arrested on a preliminary battery charge himself for allegedly punching Walker in the chest during the fracas. All preliminary charges are subject to review by the state attorneys office. Deputy Decatur Police Chief Shane Brandel, who commands the patrol division, said the officer investigating the incident made the decision to charge the other man as well after reviewing surveillance tape from the Hucks Food & Fuel business at 204 N. 22nd St. The Herald & Review typically does not name people facing preliminary charges, but is doing so in Walker's case because he contacted the newspaper seeking to share his side of the incident. Police reports of the Friday morning incident, also based on interviews with station employees and witnesses, had described Walker as yelling and cussing and wanting to spark a political discussion after being confronted about not wearing a mask. Walker said there was no political debate at all about masks or anything else. He said he was wearing a "Trump 2020" hat but didn't say anything about the president or politics. In Walkers version of events, he said hes been out of work, broke and had arrived at the gas station to fuel his truck having just got a job cleaning out an abandoned house. He planned to pay for $56 in fuel with a $100 bill hed borrowed and just did not happen to have a mask with him. I wasnt planning on being with anybody, he added. The gas station employee is behind a plate glass screen in the store and I wasnt going to do any shopping. Walker said the employee became furious because he didn't have a mask and ordered him back outside and refused to let him pay for the gas. Walker said, and police reports confirm, that the employee also said he couldnt make change for a $100 bill. Walker insists he just wanted to pay and leave and didnt know what to do. By this time, he said, the employee had come outside to face him. He said the two exchanged insults. Another gas station employee later said she could make change and Walker said they were heading back to the store when the employee, egged on by a witness who was filming the confrontation, turned to confront him again. Walker said the employee was screaming at him, with a mask around his neck, and came within two to three inches of Walker's face. Thats when I put my hand on his chest and pushed him back, he said. Walker said the man responded by throwing a punch that landed on his collarbone while Walker said he was on the phone to police who arrived shortly after. But Im the one who called them, he added. Initial police reports also said the employee ended up on the ground during the confrontation. Walker said that never happened while he was there. And I definitely wasnt trying to make any political statement or look for trouble, he added. I just wanted to pay for my gas so I could work and make some money for my family. I didnt want any of this. Both men now have notices to appear in Macon County Circuit Court. Management at the gas station have been called twice by this newspaper seeking comment and have declined to do so. Brandel advised the public, while the state mask rule remains in effect, to follow it to avoid situations like this arising again. He said it isnt that difficult to comply: There may be some misconception that you have to buy a surgical mask or mask specifically made to be a face-covering, and that in fact isnt true, he added. You simply have to wear some kind of face-covering: it could be a bandanna, it could be a T-shirt that has been cut so it can be wrapped around your face or something of the like. So there is no reason that somebody couldnt come up with some kind of face-covering. PHOTOS: Signs of encouragement during COVID-19 Contact Tony Reid at (217) 421-7977. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyJReid Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The following speech was delivered by Christoph Vandreier, the deputy national secretary of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei to the 2020 International May Day Online Rally held by the World Socialist Web Site and the International Committee of the Fourth International on May 2. On behalf of the German section of the ICFI, the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei, I would like to send revolutionary greetings to this May Day rally. In hardly any other country is the return to work organised as comprehensively and systematically as in Germany. On Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced further easing of restrictions on the economy, justifying this with the words: "We have managed to reduce the spread of the virus". These are deliberate false reports. In Germany, too, the number of infections and deaths is increasing daily. Yesterday the number of reported deaths rose to over 6,700 and the total number of infections to more than 164,000. The speech by Christoph Vandreier begins at 1:11:03 in the video. Shortly before Merkel's press conference, even the official Robert Koch Institute had to admit that these figures are still far too low and that the excess mortality caused by the virus is much higher than previously recorded. And yet, contrary to all scientific warnings, schools and shops are opening and production in the car industry is being ramped up. Even in companies where hundreds of employees have been proven to be infected, workers are still being forced to work on the assembly lines. With the coronavirus pandemic, the brutal class politics of recent years are revealed and intensified. While the German government provided 600 billion euros in state funds to the large banks and corporations in March, workers are left with nothing. Many companies are using the crisis to push through long-planned mass redundancies. The number of unemployed rose by 308,000 to 2.6 million in April. Ten million more workers are on short-time work. With its criminal back-to-work campaign, the German government is accepting the deaths of millions of workers in order to secure the profits of the rich and continue the bonanza in the financial markets. At the same time, the ruling class is using the crisis to position itself against its imperialist rivals. "What we need now are pragmatic and targeted measures for a Europe that emerges stronger from the crisis," said for example the deputy leader of the CDU parliamentary group in the Bundestag. At the expense of workers' lives, the German elites want to dominate Europe in order to assert their economic interests in world politics. While nurses who risk their lives every day in the fight against the virus were denied a pitiful bonus of 1,500 euros, which was cancelled, the Ministry of Defence announced the purchase of 138 new fighter planes for a total of 20 billion euros in the midst of the pandemic. This is far in excess of the German health ministrys budget for an entire year. With its war against the working class, aggressive imperialism and extreme militarism, the ruling class in Germany is once again tying in with Nazi policies. Entirely in keeping with Hitler's "aristocratic principle of nature", the avoidable death of the old and weak is again transfigured in major German newspapers as a "natural process" that "makes room for new life". The "principle of equality" is openly denounced because it stands for the protection of all human lives. The second-highest official of the German state, Bundestag President Wolfgang Schauble, even attacked the constitutionally-protected right to human dignity, declaring this did not include the right to life. But if seriously ill people are denied essential respiration and then suffocate miserably in order to protect the profits of the rich, then this right, spelled out in Article 1 of the Basic Law on the basis of the experience of the crimes of Nazism, is being shredded. Schauble's fascist demand for human sacrifices for the rich was supported by representatives of all parties in the Bundestag. Also the return to work and billions in gifts to the corporations is supported by an all-party coalition from the fascistic Alternative for Germany to the Left Party and is also vehemently promoted by the trade unions. As we have shown in the last years, extreme right-wing and fascist tendencies like AfD and Pegida are consciously built and promoted by the ruling class in order to push through their reactionary agenda. 75 years after the end of the Second World War, all the unresolved problems of capitalism, which led to fascism, war of annihilation and the Holocaust, are reappearing all over the world. Fascism means the compulsory concentration of all forces and resources of the people in the interests of imperialism, Trotsky declared in his brilliant essay What is National Socialism? in June 1933. Even today the imperialist conflicts are growing and the great powers are preparing for world war. It is not only the German bourgeoisie that is returning to its inhumane traditions. Trump in the USA, Macron in France and Bolsonaro in Brazil also rely on authoritarian and ultimately fascist methods. But unlike in 1933, the ruling class does not have at its disposal a fascist mass movement. On the contrary, the vast majority rejects the politics of militarism and social inequality as well as the back-to-work campaign now being propagated everywhere. Surveys show that an overwhelming majority opposes the current easing of confinement measures and is not prepared to risk its life for the rich. On social media, workers are intensively discussing strikes against inadequate security measures and protests against the deadly internment of refugees are taking place daily. Today, the experiences of workers internationally objectively raise the need for socialist transformation of society. Without breaking the power of the banks and corporations and fighting for a workers' government, a new socio-economic and health catastrophe for millions of workers cannot be averted. That is why the International Committee of the Fourth International, the world party of socialist revolution, is gaining growing support among workers. The readership of the World Socialist Web Site has grown enormously in recent months. A total of over three million individuals have already accessed the website this year. In Germany the readership has tripled. The most widely-read articles were those condemning the policies of the German government and developing our international socialist perspective. The central task is to build the Socialist Equality Party and the International Committee as the revolutionary leadership of the working class and to counter the barbarism of capitalism with world socialist revolution. Rosie ODonnell has a controversial run on The View both times that she was on. The comedian doesnt remember her time on the ABC talk show fondly but she continues to be asked about her experience there. When the star made an appearance on Watch What Happens Live, she let her opinion about Meghan McCain be known. Rosie ODonnell and Meghan McCain | Bruce Glikas/WireImage / Lou Rocco/ABC via Getty Images How long was Rosie ODonnell on The View? ODonnell joined The View as the moderator after original co-host Meredith Vieira left the show. The actress came in during season 10 and only lasted one season. Her departure came after she starred in a heated moment with Elisabeth Hasselbeck over a discussion regarding the war in Iraq. What ODonnell subsequently said was that she didnt like how producers did a split-screen of the ladies sparring. She believed it made a spectacle out of a serious conversation pitting them one against the other. The TV personality gave the morning show a second shot in season 18 when The View underwent a makeover. This time, ODonnell was not the moderator as Whoopi Goldberg had taken over that role since the former left the first time. Rosie ODonnell on The View in 2016 | Lou Rocco/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images ODonnell once again abandoned the talk show and looking back, she puts the blame on Goldberg. I think we all agreed that it was better for everyone, ODonnell said in an interview with Howard Stern about her abrupt exit in 2015. Whoopi really didnt like me. ODonnell said that Goldberg had an issue with her because the latter perceived she was overstepping her role on the panel. Although The View is an ensemble, Goldberg is the lead co-host as the moderator. There was a moment when ODonnell took the show to a commercial break when it was Goldbergs job to do so. When people say, Well, what happened? I say, Go back and watch them. Its not like a mystery. Watch the way it went down, and I dont need to say anything, ODonnell added. What does Rosie ODonnell think of Meghan McCain? When ODonnell made an appearance on Bravos late-night show, the comedic actress answered questions from the Shady Rosie Doll. One of the queries was about who was the most and least effective conservative voice on The View. I havent watched it but I hear Meghan McCain is really a piece of work on that show, ODonnell said. I dont know, maybe she and Elisabeth [Hasselbeck] can duke it out. Rosie ODonnell | Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images Most effective I dont know, she added. I dont listen to what they say, its so hard for me to rate it in any way. I would have to say Hasselbeck was the one that had that mantle for a long time. Who knows? I dont watch it that much. When McCain also guest-starred on the show, she had some serious shade for Hasselbeck. The conservative did not like it when Hasselbeck said she would pray the coronavirus away. I took this virus seriously from the very beginning and I thought a lot of this rhetoric was really dangerous. I think its really, really unfortunate and dangerous that she said that, McCain said on WWHL. McCain was so disappointed at her fellow Republican that she said she wouldnt want to host with her again. I dont need to co-host with her again, she added. Its unfortunate because Ive been a huge fan of her a long time. Anybody who is screwing around with this virus and putting out misinformation, I just dont really have a lot of time for right now. The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET and 10 a.m. CT/PT. Couples wearing face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic walk through a market in Seoul on April 22, 2020. Ed Jones | AFP | Getty Images The tulips were blooming in Seoul and Dr. Jerome Kim was strolling in his government-issued KF-94 mask with his wife when he got a text message alerting him to a confirmed coronavirus infection in his neighborhood. It was early April and South Korea made headlines around the world for effectively containing the first major Covid-19 outbreak outside of China by testing broadly throughout the population and tracing contacts of infected individuals. But now students were returning from abroad and bringing the virus with them. Kim, who serves as the director-general of the International Vaccine Institute, clicked on the alert on his phone and it directed him to the municipal site, which detailed the infected individual's whereabouts over the past several days. The individual, who was anonymous, had visited a local supermarket on a recent Saturday between 10 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. to buy chilies, which was confirmed with CCTV footage and credit card transaction data, Kim recalled. Text alerts "My wife and I kind of looked at each other and said, 'Well, we were there ... but on Sunday,'" he said with a laugh. "It's one of those balances of privacy versus public good, but it's a decision governments need to make, and in South Korea I think it's made all the difference." That alert was one of dozens, if not hundreds, that millions of South Koreans have received since the coronavirus arrived in the country on Jan. 20, Kim said. He added that such sharing of information, despite its data privacy implications, has helped to keep the infection rate down even as businesses reopen. This photo illustration shows a man holding her phone showing emergency alert text messages announcing locations that confirmed COVID-19 patients have visited, among others, in Seoul on March 10, 2020. Jung Yeon-Je | AFP | Getty Images Sending text alerts for contact tracing was one of many policy decisions authorities across Asia made as the outbreak swept the region weeks before the rest of the world. "This virus likes to find opportunities to spread, and if these lockdown measures are lifted too quickly, the virus can take off," Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization's lead scientist on Covid-19, said Wednesday. "The only way to control and suppress this virus, this Covid-19, is to actually find [cases], quarantine those contacts, isolate the cases, and it will be brought under control." Hong Kong and South Korea have largely succeeded in reopening society and so far preventing a second outbreak by rolling out a trio of measures: widespread testing, sharing data with the public on the location of infections and following up with infected people and their contacts. These measures present a toolbox of proven policies that help drive down the spread of the coronavirus. Countries that were hit later by the virus are at an earlier stage in cycle of the outbreak and have a distinct advantage: insight into how they can adopt similar policies. However, public health specialists who spoke with CNBC said they're not confident U.S. officials are taking note of what's working and what has failed overseas. They predict the virus will likely bounce back in the U.S. as it has in Singapore and Japan. Singapore "This is a tough, tough virus," said Dr. Dale Fisher, the chair of infection control at the National University Hospital and the National University of Singapore. "All it takes is one infected person and it spreads like wildfire." Singapore appeared to have its outbreak under control in February. After it reported its first confirmed case on Jan. 23, businesses remained open for months as health officials developed a plan to prevent community-wide transmission by tracing contacts of infected individuals and isolating them. The wealthy city-state shut its borders to travelers from at-risk countries to avoid importing the disease on March 23, after confirming its first two Covid-19 deaths, but still didn't lock down businesses. By March 31, the island nation had reported just 879 confirmed cases and three deaths, according to data collected by the World Health Organization. The virus started picking up in speed in Singapore in early April. By April 10, the number of confirmed infections more than doubled to 1,910 and it hasn't slowed since. A migrant worker wearing protective face mask has his temperature checked by a security guard before leaving a factory-converted dormitory on April 17, 2020 in Singapore. Ore Huiying | Getty Images However, Singapore's response overlooked a crucial segment of the population, Fisher said: the hundreds of thousands of foreign workers upon whom the nation depends for low-wage labor. The virus began to spread throughout the overcrowded and unsanitary dormitories that house these workers, said Fisher, who also serves as chair of the WHO's Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network. It has since erupted into Southeast Asia's largest outbreak. The country reported 632 new cases on May 6, bringing total infections to 19,410, according to the WHO's data. Vulnerable population The government, assuming the virus has already swept across much of the migrant population, has quarantined tens of thousands of workers in massive factories that have been converted into isolation wards, Fisher said. He added that the daily new case count remains impressively under 30 or so in the general population, but hundreds of new cases are reported in the wards every day. Fisher said Singapore's hospitals are now mostly full and officials are scrambling to boost capacity. Migrant workers wearing protective face masks queue in line to receive sim card top up cards given by volunteers in a factory-converted dormitory on April 17, 2020 in Singapore. Ore Huiying | Getty Images "You cannot overestimate this virus' ability to find vulnerabilities in society, and these are often vulnerabilities that amplify socioeconomic differences," Fisher said. "Every country that's under lockdown I think has a crux in the outbreak it wishes it could go back to and I guess at the moment, Singapore is wishing it could go back to the early days in those dormitories." Fisher said he hopes U.S. policymakers have taken note of the situation in Singapore. However, as officials in places such as New York, New Jersey and Detroit wrestle with the United States' largest epidemics, the concentration of infections appears to have shifted to vulnerable people in the U.S. Infections are accelerating rapidly among prisoners in the U.S., The Marshall Project reports, with more than 14,000 confirmed cases so far as of April 29. The Smithfield Foods pork factory in Sioux Falls became the biggest coronavirus hot spot in the country and was forced to close last month after confirming 238 active cases as of April 12, accounting for 55% of the state's total at the time, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said. Last week, the CDC said about 3% of workers in over 100 meat-processing plants have tested positive for the coronavirus. As the virus circulates among prisoners and low-wage factory workers, such groups could become vehicles of transmission even as the outbreak is stamped out elsewhere. 'Threat of war' South Korea is one of the few countries that has prevented a sustained Covid-19 epidemic without steamrolling its economy. Instead of quarantining entire cities like China and shuttering businesses and factories like Europe and the U.S., it implemented the world's biggest testing and tracing program. Sample testing devices used in diagnosing the COVID-19 novel coronavirus are checked on a production line as they are prepared to be included in testing kits for shipment at the SD Biosensor bio-diagnostic company near Cheongju, south of Seoul on March 27, 2020. Ed Jones | AFP | Getty Images Between Jan. 19 and Feb. 18, South Korea confirmed a total of 31 cases, most of which were directly linked to travel to hot spots in China, according to data compiled by the WHO. In the weeks that followed, the virus spread to multiple cities across the country. New cases peaked on Feb. 29, when the country reported 813 new cases, bringing the total to 3,150, according to WHO data. Total cases more than doubled by March 10, but Korean health officials rolled out an aggressive testing regime that processed tests for more than 259,000 people and confirmed more than 8,000 infections by mid-March, according to the Korean CDC. The U.S., by comparison, had tested roughly 22,000 people by then, according to the U.S. CDC at the time. South Korea set up hundreds of walk-in and drive-thru testing centers, traced the origin of local outbreaks and isolated people who might have come in contact with the virus. The rate of infection plateaued at around 100 new cases per day for much of March and early April. A medical staff member in a booth takes samples from a visitor for the COVID-19 coronavirus test at a walk-thru testing station set up at Jamsil Sports Complex in Seoul on April 3, 2020. Jung Yeon-Je | Getty Images Flattened the curve Their success was punctuated on April 15 when the country held its parliamentary election, which garnered the highest turnout of a national election since 1992. In the days that followed, daily new cases dropped to single digits. On May 6, the country reported just two new cases. "South Korea successfully flattened the curve on Covid-19 in 20 days without enforcing extreme draconian measures that restrict freedom and movement of people," reads a study published by the Korean government last month called "Flattening the curve on Covid-19: the Korean experience." The government issued it as a policy guide to maneuvering the pandemic. Pedestrians wearing face masks cross the road in Seoul on April 23, 2020. Jung Yeon-Je | Getty Images Since the South Korean government never enforced a full lockdown, voluntary compliance has been key, Kim said. The government has encouraged employers to let nonessential personnel work from home, Kim said, and distributes free equipment such as masks to every household that requests it. Government messaging has been clear, consistent and mostly communicated by health officials rather than politicians, he said, which was key to mobilizing the public. "Koreans have lived under the threat of war since the Korean War and this is like a war," Kim said. "We're going to do what we need to do to get through it. This is just part of living here, so people got used to it. The government pulled people together." Watching Americans protest social distancing requirements outside state capitals across the U.S., Kim said he wasn't confident U.S. citizens could be as disciplined as South Korea. Mixed messaging from the White House and state leaders about economic reopening has not helped the public, he said. Data sharing After the MERS outbreak in 2015, Korean lawmakers passed the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, which established not only the authority but also the duty of the Ministry of Health to collect and share location-tracking data of every infected individual if an outbreak rises to the established level of severity. "I think countries need to decide for themselves, but in South Korea we had that debate in the intervening period between 2015 and 2020," Kim said. "That's the time to have that discussion, when you're calm and when you have the lessons of a furious outbreak behind you." That level of sharing by the government stands in stark contrast to the U.S., where some municipal, county and state coordination is often challenged. Some states only break out coronavirus cases at the county level and even then the data is lagging by several days and paperwork is processed between hospitals and authorities. In a country as vast as the U.S., tech-driven contact tracing could be key to monitoring the virus, public health officials say. Apple and Google announced a partnership in California last month to develop tools to conduct just this kind of tracing, though it's unclear if or when it will be adopted generally across the country. Hong Kong Hong Kong saw several localized outbreaks across the city, many of which were imported from mainland China in February and March, Dr. Keiji Fukuda of the University of Hong Kong said. He added that the city managed to contain the outbreaks with rigorous testing and tracing as well as by implementing some limited social distancing measures. By March 15, the city had reported just 149 cases. People wearing face masks, amid concerns of the Covid-19 coronavirus, commute on a train in Hong Kong, Dale De La Rey | AFP | Getty Images However, daily new cases bounced back in late March and early April as travelers and many students who had been studying abroad returned to Hong Kong, said Fukuda, who previously served as assistant director-general of health security at the World Health Organization. Of Hong Kong's 1,045 total cases as of May 7, 619 were imported, according to Hong Kong authorities. Fukuda added that understanding the dynamics of the virus like that is key to enacting effective policy. "If you have infections coming in from the outside, you want to be thinking about it one way," Fukuda said, "and if they're occurring inside the country, then you know it makes sense to be thinking about it in a different way." Hong Kong closed its international border to travelers from most countries on March 23. Those still allowed to enter are compelled into a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Even as daily new cases have hit zero on some recent days, health officials remain watchful, said Dr. Ben Cowling, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Hong Kong. "If those border restrictions were relaxed, that will be a big problem," he said, adding that reopening the border selectively could be a point of international collaboration in the future. Lifting lockdowns Just as international travel has driven the outbreak in Hong Kong, domestic travel across the U.S. could spur transmission, Cowling said. North Carolina's very first coronavirus case in early March was imported from Washington state, public officials said at the time. The patchwork policies of states lifting regulations will only encourage interstate transmission and exacerbate infection, he said. People hold signs during a protest against the coronavirus shutdown in front of State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 24, 2020. Kamil Krzaczynski | AFP | Getty Images "When I think about the U.S. coming out of lockdowns, I think transmission across the country will be a big threat, and I don't know how it could be dealt with," Cowling said. "If places come out of lockdown and have a low level of cases, but then there's people coming in from the cities in large numbers often, even if only a tiny fraction are infected, that can still be the seeding for local outbreaks to start again." The lack of federal leadership in lifting restrictions could create a situation in which states will need to lock down again, said Yanzhong Huang, public health researcher at the Council on Foreign Relations. He added that as the population mixes, especially as people currently in states with heavy restrictions leave for more relaxed states, they could bring the virus with them, sparking local outbreaks in pockets outside of cities. Outbreaks vary by state A driver adjusts his face mask as Uber and Lyft drivers with Rideshare Drivers United and the Transport Workers Union of America conduct a caravan protest outside the California Labor Commissioners office amidst the coronavirus pandemic on April 16, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) Mario Tama Self-employed workers trying to collect unemployment checks may get less pay than they think. The $2.2 trillion federal coronavirus relief package enacted in March extended unemployment benefits to previously ineligible workers, such as self-employed individuals whose income evaporated as a result of the pandemic. However, states must use the net (rather than gross) income that self-employed workers report on their tax returns to calculate their weekly jobless pay, according to a Labor Department directive issued April 27. States use gross income to determine benefits for other workers. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Using the net-income formula could result in a big difference in unemployment pay for some self-employed people. More than 33 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits in the past seven weeks, according to the Labor Department. Unemployment 'hurdles' Net income reflects total profit after costs and expenses that self-employed workers may deduct from their taxes, such as those associated with a vehicle, travel, business insurance or office supplies. Deducting these costs, which could amount to a lot of money, reduces net income and, by extension, their overall tax burden. But it could also reduce unemployment benefits. "[It] definitely presents additional hurdles for drivers," said Mike Long, a spokesman for SEIU Local 721, a labor union representing more than 95,000 public-sector workers in southern California. Stats are through May 21's weekly jobless claims report. Gig workers such as Lyft and Uber drivers are currently organizing with the union through its Mobile Workers Alliance project. Rideshare companies' classification of drivers as independent contractors instead of employees pushes drivers to cover the costs associated with transporting passengers, Long said. "If you expense a $60,000 [income] down to $10,000, your income in the eyes of the government is really $10,000 even though your gross was $60,000," said Mark Pinto, secretary-treasurer of the Boston Musicians Association, a union representing roughly 1,700 professional musicians. The net-income wrinkle comes on top of others, such as delays in the ability of states to accept and process applications from the self-employed and others newly eligible for unemployment benefits under the relief law. Further, many self-employed workers derive income from both traditional W-2 wages and contract work reported on 1099 tax forms. But state unemployment offices generally look at the W-2 earnings, which may be more meager, to determine their unemployment benefits. "Actors, artists, musicians and any people putting their living together [this way] are finding themselves in a real quagmire here," Pinto said. "Their income doesn't get recognized on both sides." Minimum unemployment benefits GUADALAJARA, Mexico, May 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, S.A.B. de C.V., (NYSE: PAC; BMV: GAP) (the Company or GAP) announces that yesterday, Ms. Laura Diez Barroso Azcarraga and Mr. Carlos Laviada Ocejo, members of GAPs Board of Directors, transferred shares, representing over 5% of the Companys capital stock that they held indirectly to direct family members. This transfer does not imply a divestment by these parties or by their family. Company Description Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, S.A.B. de C.V. (GAP) operates 12 airports throughout Mexicos Pacific region, including the major cities of Guadalajara and Tijuana, the four tourist destinations of Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, La Paz and Manzanillo, and six other mid-sized cities: Hermosillo, Guanajuato, Morelia, Aguascalientes, Mexicali and Los Mochis. In February 2006, GAPs shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PAC and on the Mexican Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GAP. In April 2015, GAP acquired 100% of Desarrollo de Concesiones Aeroportuarias, S.L., which owns a majority stake in MBJ Airports Limited, a company operating Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica. In October 2018, GAP entered into a concession agreement for the operation of the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica. In October 2018, GAP entered into a concession agreement for the operation of the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica and took control of the operation in October 2019. This press release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are statements that are not historical facts, and are based on managements current view and estimates of future economic circumstances, industry conditions, company performance and financial results. The words anticipates, believes, estimates, expects, plans and similar expressions, as they relate to the company, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the declaration or payment of dividends, the implementation of principal operating and financing strategies and capital expenditure plans, the direction of future operations and the factors or trends affecting financial condition, liquidity or results of operations are examples of forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. There is no guarantee that the expected events, trends or results will actually occur. The statements are based on many assumptions and factors, including general economic and market conditions, industry conditions, and operating factors. Any changes in such assumptions or factors could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. In accordance with Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and article 42 of the Ley del Mercado de Valores, GAP has implemented a whistleblower program, which allows complainants to anonymously and confidentially report suspected activities that may involve criminal conduct or violations. The telephone number in Mexico, facilitated by a third party that is in charge of collecting these complaints, is 01 800 563 00 47. The web site is www.lineadedenuncia.com/gap. GAPs Audit Committee will be notified of all complaints for immediate investigation. Ayodele Fayose, former Governor of Ekiti State has revealed what President Muhammadu Buhari needs to do to ease the plights of Nigeria... Ayodele Fayose, former Governor of Ekiti State has revealed what President Muhammadu Buhari needs to do to ease the plights of Nigerians amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Fayose on Wednesday said the lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic has led to consumption of data. The former governor, therefore, urged Buhari to be kind to Nigerians and reduce tariffs on network and cable TV providers. On his Twitter page, Fayose wrote: Nigerians have been at home since the beginning of this COVID-19 pandemic, even now that the lockdown is relaxed, causing increase in Data usage. Government will be kind enough to prevail on Network and Cable TV Providers to reduce their tariffs to support Nigerians at this time. Meanwhile, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, NCDC, on Tuesday, confirmed 143 cases of Coronavirus in Nigeria. Presently, Nigeria has recorded 2,980 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 98 deaths. The first wave of a massive exercise to repatriate hundreds of thousands of Indians stuck abroad began Thursday, with two flights landing in India from the United Arab Emirates. Delhi banned all incoming international flights in late March as it imposed one of the world's strictest virus lockdowns, leaving vast numbers of workers and students stranded. Some 15,000 nationals will be repatriated from 12 countries on planes and naval ships, in a mammoth exercise which saw the civil aviation ministry's website crash Wednesday as panicked citizens rushed to register. Two warships have steamed to the Maldives and another to the UAE -- home to a 3.3-million-strong Indian community which makes up some 30 percent of the Gulf state's population. The consulate in Dubai said it had received almost 200,000 applications, appealing on Twitter for "patience and cooperation" as India undertakes the "massive task" of repatriation. The two flights which landed in Kerala state from Abu Dhabi and Dubai Thursday were carrying 354 people, including nine infants. "I'm relieved that I'm home," a man on the flight from Abu Dhabi told AFP by telephone as he waited to disembark in Kerala state. "People were sitting next to each other -- at least the row I was sitting, we were all sitting next to each other. They are making people get out of the plane right now in shifts -- first a few people left the plane and we have been asked to wait," he continued. Indian citizens with coveted tickets, arriving at Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports, were greeted by medics in masks, gloves and plastic aprons who took blood samples for antibody tests. "The results came out in 10 minutes. Mine has been negative. I'm super relieved," one 40-year-old passenger at Abu Dhabi airport told AFP. "I've lost my job in the company I was working with. I'm feeling a bit weird going home -- while I'm happy that I am going home there is also a sense of uncertainty." Story continues The oil-rich Gulf is reliant on the cheap labour of millions of foreigners, mostly from India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Many live in squalid camps far from the region's showy skyscrapers and malls. But the novel coronavirus and its devastating economic impact have left many workers sick and others unemployed, unpaid and at the mercy of sometimes unscrupulous employers. "We have one or two flights planned every day now for the next five or six days," Consul General Vipul, who goes by one name, told AFP at Dubai airport. Vipul said most of those aboard were workers who had lost their jobs, together with pregnant women, the elderly and some stranded tourists. "Some people will be left out, it's inevitable in this kind of situation... not everyone can be accommodated immediately," he said. - Delays and frustration - A naval vessel is expected to arrive at Dubai's Port Rashid. The Indian High Commission in the Maldives posted images on Twitter of one of its warships entering Male harbour ahead of Friday's planned evacuation of some 1,000 people. Other flights will leave Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, as well as London, San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Washington. A flight planned for Thursday from Qatar has been postponed until the weekend, however. Indian media have reported delays triggered by the need to test air crew for coronavirus. But frustrations have mounted over the slow pace of the exercise, as well as the fact that evacuees will have to pay for their passage home and spend two weeks in quarantine on arrival. "There are so many people who have lost their jobs here -- they're literally going hungry," Yasin, a 50-year-old restaurant manager who is now out of a job, told AFP as he checked in for his flight. "And now the government has asked for people to pay for the tickets. I sincerely want to request the government to waive that," he said. "People do not have money to survive here, paying for flights is not possible at all." Those who haven't managed to get a ticket home have voiced their frustrations in a torrent of posts on social media, while some turned up to try their luck. Ajith, a 43-year-old IT engineer whose mother died two days ago, waited anxiously at Dubai airport, checking with the official who held the all-important waiting list for the first flight out. "My mother was old and had medical issues... there is no one in India to take care of things, so I made an emergency request to the consulate," he told AFP, before finally managing to secure a seat on the plane. burs-st/ft A formation of the Blue Angels fly over Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, the United States, on May 6, 2020. Jets from the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels flew over the southern states of Texas and Louisiana as a way to honor the frontline workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The flyover started around noon in northern Texas Dallas-Fort Worth area and continued south over the largest Texas city of Houston and New Orleans in Louisiana. (Photo by Dan Tian/Xinhua) HOUSTON, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Jets from the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels flew over the southern states of Texas and Louisiana as a way to honor the frontline workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The flyover started around noon in northern Texas Dallas-Fort Worth area and continued south over the largest Texas city of Houston and New Orleans in Louisiana. Six F/A-18C/D Hornet aircraft roared over the cities, attracting thousands of people across the region to catch a glimpse. Each demonstration lasted about 30 minutes, local media reported. Dubbed "Operation American Strong," the flyover gave salute to health workers, first respondents and other essential employees who have helped combat the disease in the country. "It was a great tribute to the doctors and nurses working hard to keep us safe," a veteran told local TV station Click2Houston as he watched the flyover with his daughter near Memorial City. Before heading to the south, the team, together with U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, had a similar demonstration over the city of New York late last month. The Blue Angels squadron was established in 1946 in the wake of World War II. Enditem 8 1 [ Editor: ZY ] Latest News New head of retail broker at Pepper Money Broker favourite promoted to head of retail mortgages Small businesses want the SME Recovery Scheme replaced The proposed scheme is patterned after the HECS terms on loan repayment A non-major bank has announced the appointment of a seasoned business development manager to support its broker partners in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Heritage welcomed Chris Franze and his 14 years of banking industry experience into the role. Franze has held a variety of management positions in commercial and retail banking at Westpac, NAB, Newcastle Permanent and Bank of Queensland. Working with an organisation that has a great culture is really important to me, and its well known that Heritage has this in spades, the new BDM said. As a mutual, Heritage is passionate about putting the needs of their customers first. They recognise the instrumental part brokers play in helping drive growth outside their branch footprint and are continually investing in their broker services. Im passionate about providing quality service experiences to our broker partners and look forward to building relationships to support Heritage Bank moving forward. According to head of broker distribution, Stewart Saunders, Heritage has been steadily improving its broker services and will continue to do so. As one of the first mutual banks to actively work with brokers, we pride ourselves on delivering authentic customer experiences, said Saunders. Were committed to improving our broker service capabilities and this is reflected in our growing BDM team, and pilot expansion into the commercial broker market. Weve also invested in improving our range of digital tools through our upfront valuation portal and new online live serviceability calculator. Were thrilled to have Chris on the team, his passion and experience will further support the people first proposition we offer our brokers and customers, Saunders concluded. GW Pharmaceuticals plc GWPH is slated to release first-quarter 2020 results on May 11. In the last-reported quarter, the company delivered a negative earnings surprise of 1.11%. However, the company reported better-than-expected earnings in the remaining three quarters, with the average four-quarter positive surprise being 20.1%. Let's discuss the factors that are likely to have influenced the company's performance in the first quarter. Key Catalysts For the past few months, GW Pharmaceuticals has been witnessing continued rise in demand and market acceptance for Epidiolex in the United States, as a growing number of physicians have been recommending the drug in their prescriptions. This high level of market penetration is likely to have aided the companys performance in the first quarter as well.] GW Pharmaceuticals PLC Price and EPS Surprise Notably, Epidiolex, as the first cannabis-derived drug for patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) and Dravet syndrome, is fast capturing the market in the United States. Internationally, in September 2019, GW Pharmaceuticals achieved the European Commissions approval for Epidiolexs marketing authorization for use in patients aged more than two years. Since then, the company has expanded Epidiolexs foothold in select European countries (Germany, UK, France Italy and Spain).The first commercial launch took place in Germany in late 2019. Epidiolex was formally launched in the UK in late January with centralized funding by NHS England. In France, Epidiolex was made available recently and reimbursed by the National ATU program, which supports early patient access to important new medicines and serious diseases.All these developments are anticipated to have aided the companys first-quarter international revenues. In February, the company regained exclusive commercialization rights for its other popular drug Sativex or nabiximols (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol [THC] and cannabidiol [CBD]) in the United Kingdom from life science company Bayer. Sativex is indicated for the treatment of spasticity due to multiple sclerosis. Its quarterly performance is likely to have benefited from this development. Story continues However, with the pandemic making the healthcare industry defer all non-COVID 19 procedures, GW Pharmaceuticals expansion in Europe and overseas is expected to have taken a backseat in the first quarter. The manufacture and supply halts and stay-at-home restrictions in United States may have delayed all testing related developments for the company. However, the magnitude of the loss will be determined once the company reports. Q1 Estimates The Zacks Consensus Estimate for total revenues of $108.1 million suggests significant growth of 175.5% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus mark for loss per share is pegged at 87 cents, which indicates 48.2% narrower loss than $1.68 reported in the year-earlier period. What Our Quantitative Model Predicts Per our proven model, a stock needs to have a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) to deliver a positive earnings surprise. But this is not the case here as you will see below. Earnings ESP: GW Pharmaceuticals has an Earnings ESP of -1.11%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before theyre reported with our Earnings ESP Filter. Zacks Rank: GW Pharmaceuticals currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. Stocks Worth a Look Here are a few medical stocks worth considering, as these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter. Health Catalyst Inc HCAT carries a Zacks Rank of 1 and has an Earnings ESP of +7.26%, at present. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Brainsway Ltd Sponsored ADR BWAY holds a Zacks Rank #2 and has an Earnings ESP of +3.23%. AMN Healthcare Services Inc AMN currently has a Zacks Rank of 3 and an Earnings ESP of +0.32%. 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 >> Click to get this free report AMN Healthcare Services Inc (AMN) : Free Stock Analysis Report GW Pharmaceuticals PLC (GWPH) : Free Stock Analysis Report Brainsway Ltd Sponsored ADR (BWAY) : Free Stock Analysis Report Health Catalyst Inc (HCAT) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend: Kazakhstans President Kassym Jomart Tokayev approved amendments to a number of tax related decrees, Trend reports with reference to the press office of the president. The report said that Tokayev signed two decrees on May 7, 2020: - On amendments to the On taxes and other obligatory payments to the budget Code of Kazakhstan. - On the entry into force of the Code of Kazakhstan On taxes and other obligatory payments to the budget Kazakhstan's On taxes and other obligatory payments to the budget decree, i.e country's Tax Code, has entered into force on Dec. 25, 2019. The latest amendments to the Tax Code were made on Jan. 10, 2020. The Jan. 2020 amendments covered cash registers, banks, as well as appeal against the results of inspections and tax exemptions. --- Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh The Department of Labor revealed Thursday that an additional 3.2 million Americans filed new jobless claims last week, bringing the total number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits to over 33 million since mid-March. The data aligned with predictions from economists, who expected 3 million new claims for the week ending May 2, and suggested numbers slowed for the fifth week in a row since a peak of 6.8 million claims at the end of March. But with Aprils new unemployment rate set for release on Friday, estimates show that over 20 percent of the countrys workforce is now out of work. Continuing claims the total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits hit a new high of 22.6 million in the week ended April 25, raising the insured unemployment rate, or the number receiving benefits as a share of the labor force based on eligibility, to 15.5 percent. A group of Republican Senators cited high unemployment rates in a letter to President Trump, asking for the administrations recent pause on immigration to include a prohibition on guest-worker visas. Congress MUST get focused on jobs. Rehire those laid off. Even in those parts of the country where workers cant physically return to the job, we can get them the security of their job back. Thats how we will recover, Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.), one of the co-signers of the letter, tweeted in response to the jobless numbers. This week, California became the first state in the country to access federal funding set aside for states to pay rising rates of those needing unemployment benefits. The Wall Street Journal found in an analysis that nearly half of all U.S. states have had their respective unemployment-fund balance fall at twice the typical rate from February through mid-April. More from National Review President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping walk together at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on April 7, 2017. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) To the editor: Columnist Doyle McManus writes about the current state of the struggle between China and the United States and their two systems. In so doing, he makes me realize how little difference there is between the Chinese autocracy and President Trump's autocracy in the making. Trump brooks no difference of opinion, he's never wrong, and he wants and needs glorifying at all times. At this point he's a demi-autocrat. God forbid we reelect a full-blown one. That's how close American democracy is to being just another dictatorship. Bob Klein, Santa Monica .. To the editor: Unfortunately, the U.S. does not have a great president to represent our great nation. Just as unfortunate, we have to deal with the fact that the coronavirus emerged from China, which initially hid the truth from the world. China needs to be taken to task for this. Will that lead to a new cold war? I don't think so. However, we do need to penalize China for its failure to alert the world about its epidemic at a time when doing so could have prevented a pandemic. The United States and other nations need to pull back significant amounts of manufacturing from China. We must do everything we can to reduce China's ability to generate the revenue that they use to build their military and political strength. Should that lead to an economic cold war, then so be it. Gregory Sirbu, Redondo Beach .. To the editor: I did not think it possible, but every day I find myself more stunned than the day before at the utter incompetence of this president and disregard for the people he is supposed to lead. My most recent favorite is the jaw-dropping irony of the comment by a top National Security Council official meant to deflect blame to China: "With great power comes great responsibility." We know that Trump claims complete and total power over everything; we also know that he denies all responsibility for anything. This only works in the president's world. He has also declared himself a wartime president. Well, this president is at 75,000-plus casualties and counting. He owns those, whether or not he admits it. Thomas Green, Chula Vista Santa Clara County needs to hire an army of 1,000 people, roughly double the size of its current public health department, to properly investigate and contain every new coronavirus case once the Bay Area finally emerges from sheltering in place. Public health officials revealed the scope of their expanded contact-tracing program at a Board of Supervisors meeting this week, during which Health Officer Sara Cody said her staff must be prepared to manage up to 75 cases a day after the economy is reopened and people return to work or school. The added staff and associated services could cost $50 million or more, said county officials. The Santa Clara County plans underscore the massive undertaking facing the state as public health officials prepare to ease social-distancing restrictions and anticipate a jump in new coronavirus cases. Contact tracing is one of the linchpins of safely reopening its meant to quickly break chains of infection and prevent new cases from spiraling into outbreaks. But its labor-intensive work, requiring hours of phone interviews and daily check-ins for all infected people and their contacts. Gov. Gavin Newsom has said hed like to add 20,000 people to the states contact-tracing programs to keep on top of the outbreak. Nationwide, public health experts have said the U.S. will need hundreds of thousands of contact tracers. This is core to the public health effort to control spread of communicable disease. And were going to need to do it at a scale weve never done before, Cody told county supervisors on Tuesday. This is going to be a very, very, very large body of work. Well look for as much external support as we can. But this is going to be a very large and expensive scope of work. Santa Clara and five other Bay Area counties last week extended a regional stay-home order through the end of May, with the understanding that they wont reopen until several key metrics have been met to protect the public from future outbreaks. One of those metrics is a robust enough contact-tracing program to investigate at least 90% of cases and at least 90% of their close contacts. Few, if any, of the counties are meeting that goal. Santa Clara County, like almost all California counties, has relied on a relatively small staff of contact tracers in the past to investigate communicable diseases like measles, HIV and tuberculosis. But the coronavirus presents an enormous new challenge because of the number of people infected and how easily it spreads from person to person. The Public Health Department was able to keep up with investigating coronavirus cases in Santa Clara County until early March. But as the virus began spreading widely and new infections exploded from five or 10 a day to 50 or more it became impossible to do contact tracing on every case. Case counts have fallen off since the Bay Area began sheltering in place seven weeks ago, and Santa Clara County public health officials say they are starting to do contact tracing on all new infections again. The department has fewer than 50 staff members doing that work now, and is able to investigate up to 25 cases a day. The county had about 2,300 cases as of Wednesday. But once the shelter-in-place orders are lifted, cases will climb and so will their contacts. At the moment, each case is associated with only two or three close contacts, since almost everyone is staying home and avoiding social interactions. When people return to their regular activities, each case could have up to 40 close contacts, public health officials said. Cody told the Board of Supervisors that she wants to be prepared to investigate up to 75 cases and their contacts every day. Hopefully not more than that, she said. That will require a staff of 1,000, about 680 of whom would be contact tracers, Cody said. The staff will need to be flexible, expanding and contracting as cases wax and wane, but during peak times, hundreds of tracers might be working 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The county wont necessarily need all of that staff hired before it eases shelter-in-place restrictions, but Cody did not say this week how many people she expected to have by the end of the month. Our goal is to onboard as fast as we can without face-planting, she said. We cant do this fast enough. Even in a week or two, our team will be significantly expanded. Cody said they will hire tracers from a variety of sources: public health and other county departments, for example. Some may come from city and school district staffs. The county also is working with Heluna Health, a Los Angeles nonprofit that provides staff and support services to public health and other agencies. 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. She also said they will depend on volunteers to help keep costs under control. Public health officials said they already are getting calls from people eager to help, and they expect to put together a formal application process. County officials said they plan to develop their own workforce and not rely on a state training program to fill their ranks. Newsom announced a state partnership with UCSF and UCLA this week to train up to 3,000 people a week. This is all foundational so we can more quickly move to modify our stay-at-home order, Newsom said Monday. The state training program was piloted with the San Francisco Department of Public Health, which has roughly tripled its contact-tracing staff over the past two weeks, to about 150 tracers. Tracers get about 20 hours of training, most of it online. Youre talking about doubling or tripling the size of the public health staff, said George Rutherford, an infectious disease expert at UCSF who is principal investigator of the state training program. Rutherford noted that many counties have dramatically scaled back their contact-tracing staffs over the past several decades, partly due to vaccination efforts that nearly wiped out many infectious diseases that once were widespread. He said he hoped public health departments would try to maintain larger programs once this pandemic is over. The public health departments have been whittled down over the years. But these threats arent going away, he said. Im hopeful that well be able to get a new dawn in public health, as people understand that these are the kinds of numbers we need. At the very least, Rutherford said, the contact tracers hired now may be well suited to help again once a vaccine is developed. That may be the next massive public health undertaking immunizing tens of millions of Americans. Erin Allday is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com The states rule allowing nonessential businesses to offer curbside pickup, which went into effect May 1, is very helpful in the run-up to Mothers Day, Fortineaux said. He is trying to figure out a strategy to display flowers in the window or on a table by the door so people can see what theyre buying. Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga says the global coronavirus crisis is like a third world war without bombs. The African Union Head of Infrastructure Development said the disease is not a curse nor a rich mans disease and that it should be taken seriously. Speaking with SABC on Wednesday, Raila said: it is a disease for everybody both white and black. We need to take it seriously. We are witnessing a Third World War without bombs. The effects will be far-reaching. The entire world has come to a standstill. Even during the Second World War we did not have this extent of causalities that we are witnessing within a short period of time, Raila said. Noting that African countries have responded well to the pandemic, Raila urged the continents leaders to use this as an opportunity to get the continent out of poverty. Korea and China did it between the 1970s and today, this must be Africas chance. Information on Covid-19 was not properly shared. Even at the last AU meeting in February, Covid-19 was not an issue because the information was just not there, he said. However, Africa has responded pretty well to the disease. Most Africans have been very proactive for example South Africa, the first one to go on total lockdown, followed by Rwanda and Uganda. He said African economies will be hit hard, which is why we need to start thinking of the post -Covid-19 era. Africa is going to be left on its own. We have tended to rely on the external world, for trade. That is not possible now and wont be possible for a long time. We will have to look at intra-Africa trade to minimise effects of future pandemics in the continent. Raila said coordinated efforts between Africans and thinking outside the box could make the continent self-reliant post-covid-19. We have seen Africans now becoming inventors rather than copiers of other peoples technologies. Economies are limping on their knees but this gives us opportunity to look at our developmental opportunities, he said. The ODM leader also said Kenya needs to increase testing facilities across the country or more people will be infected. ..the mere fact that Kenya is testing 1,000 people per day and getting 45 infections is cause for alarm..Our rates are very high, he said. He also expressed confidence that coronavirus can be defeated. We will defeat it but after how many causalities? Let us live to tell the story. It is possible and Africa will arise, he said. By Express News Service VIJAYAWADA: Confirming the death of eight persons in the LG Polymers gas leak, Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police D Gautam Sawang said an inquiry has been ordered into the incident by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. As per preliminary information, the management stored styrene gas in a tank and they maintain balance to see that it does not evaporate. "The antidote to neutralise the effect of a gas leak, if any, is also stored nearby but due to some reasons, it (neutralising of the gas) did not happen immediately. We have to further investigate," the DGP said after a review meeting with Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday. The DGP said the entire RR Venkatapuram village has been evacuated and police broke open doors to shift people, who had locked themselves in their houses. "The situation is now under control and stable. About 800 or more people were evacuated and shifted to hospitals. As of now, only 246 are in hospitals while the others are discharged while 20 of them have been put under ventilation in critical care wards," he said. Sawang said forensic teams from Vijayawada were also rushed to Visakhapatnam to assist the local teams in ascertaining the cause of the leakage. He appealed to people not to panic as the gas is non-poisonous but excess inhalation might be fatal. Asked whether precautions were taken for recommencing the unit after nearly 45 days of lockdown, Sawang said this will come out only after investigation. "Right now, we are focusing on control and evacuation and medical treatment. There is no more gas leakage," he said. #TNIEExclusive | Eyewitness Govind tells TNIE about #VizagGasLeak. He noticed the gas leakage at 3 am when he woke to go on with milk business. He lives beside #LGPolymers. Express video by @SreeChandana6.@xpressandhra #Visakhapatnam pic.twitter.com/vzjkM7hS0f The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) May 7, 2020 He said there were 25 employees maintaining the unit and 15 members were at the plant at the time of the incident. Asked if negligence or accident had resulted in the gas leak, the DGP replied it was an accident and investigation had to be done to know whether there was negligence. He added the gas leak was brought under control by 5.30 am. "They quickly infused neutralisers and now the situation is under control," he said. The DGP said the police control room received a call at 3.30 am and the Rakshak vehicles reached there within 10 minutes. "After assessing the situation there, police personnel alerted all nearby units and fire services personnel who rushed to the villages. With the public announcement systems, they have appealed to the people to rush out of their houses and evacuate RR Venkatapuram village. 108 ambulances too rushed to the village immediately," he said. Stating that a majority of people complained of breathlessness, Sawang said water was sprayed in the air in the village, as it is one of the antidotes. She said, Well seek to have in place the safeguards necessary to protect, as much as we reasonably can, the public, judiciary personnel and our justice partners. She added, We have a long way to go before we seen an end to the disruption caused by the pandemic. It was not unusual for Dr. Alyce Gullattee to wander alone down alleys in Northwest Washington, at the height of the crack epidemic of the 1980s, searching for a patient she feared had overdosed. In one of those alleys one night, a man started mugging the psychiatrist, her daughter recalled. But Gullattee did not run away. She looked the man in the eyes and talked to him. "Wait a minute," Gullattee told him. "Before you do all that, we need to get to the root of why you need to rob me." She persuaded the man to go to Howard University Hospital and seek out psychiatric treatment, said her daughter, Deborjha Blackwell. Gullattee, a pioneering psychiatrist and devoted civil rights activist, would become one of the nation's most respected experts on substance abuse. As the country waged a war on drugs, Gullattee reached out to the most vulnerable - the crack addicts, the AIDS patients, the sex workers - and treated them like family. On April 30, after half a century of service at Howard University and in the nation's capital, Gullattee died after testing positive for covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, her family said. She was 91. Before her death, Gullattee was the oldest faculty member at Howard University, where she spent a decades-long career serving as an associate professor of psychiatry and as director of the Howard University Institute on Substance Abuse and Addiction. She was one of the first people to lay a brick at the groundbreaking for Howard University Hospital. She received appointments from former Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter to serve on several White House committees. And in the early 1980s, she served as administrator of the District's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration. But to her family, her community at Union Temple Baptist Church in Southeast Washington, and to generations of her patients and students, she was simply "Mimi," or "Dr. G." Gullattee was born and raised in Detroit, where her family had moved from Georgia during the Great Migration. Neither of her parents made it to high school, and her father worked at a Chrysler plant as a stoker in the furnaces. But Gullattee's parents were determined that their children would get a good education, and her mother - who could barely read - took night classes to help her children with their homework, according to Blackwell. Gullattee became the first black girl to be named senior graduating class president at her high school in Detroit, according to a 1946 article in the Detroit Free Press. She would go on to study zoology at the University of California at Santa Barbara, where she sat as one of the few black women in lecture classes where instructors discussed racist theories about differences in skull sizes between black and white people, and how it affected their learning abilities, Blackwell said. "Do what you have to do to get through the course and get the grade," Gullattee would later tell her daughter, Blackwell recalled. "You can respond to it afterwards." It was there, while waiting at a bus stop near the UC Santa Barbara campus, that she would meet the man who would become her husband of 41 years, a fellow student named Latinee Gullattee. In the years that followed, they would move together to Washington D.C., then briefly to Georgia, where her husband was pursuing a teaching job at Southern University. She had been active in the NAACP since high school and had picketed outside stores in Santa Barbara because they refused to hire black employees in non-menial jobs. But it was in the South that Gullattee experienced Jim Crow laws firsthand. "I saw that no matter what we talked about or no matter what we did," she later said in an interview, "unless we became sophisticated and educated to the point that we could devise methods of change that would not in any way constantly threaten the lives of those who would be the ones to map out strategy, we were never going to be able to survive." She lasted six months in the South before moving back to California, Blackwell said. Then, in 1960, she and her husband and daughter drove across the country in their 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air with a piece of paper in Gullattee's hand: an acceptance letter from the Howard University College of Medicine. In the decades that followed, Gullattee's service to Howard University was "unparalleled," Howard University President Wayne A.I. Frederick wrote in a letter after her death. "She played a significant role in the education and training of literally thousands of physicians, including a significant percentage of the African American physicians practicing in this country." In the late 1980s, Gullattee also made national headlines when she became a central figure in one of several drug controversies surrounding then-Mayor Marion Barry. News broke that Gullattee had allegedly told police that Barry had suffered a cocaine overdose when he was admitted to Howard University Hospital in September 1983. She denied she made the allegations and felt betrayed by the way the incident was handled and pained by the constant news coverage, Blackwell said. In a Washington Post article in December 1989, Gullattee was described as "a highly opinionated, committed advocate of civil rights." "Many people who are members of my church owe their sobriety to the work she's done," the Rev. Willie Wilson, who was then Gullattee's pastor at Union Temple Baptist Church in Southeast Washington,told The Post at the time. Seemingly every time her children or grandchildren accompanied her to church, or on errands around town, they would run into someone who would shout out "Dr. G!" and tell her about a time she had helped them, said her grandson, Jabari Ashanti. One time, while they were at a thrift store on Georgia Avenue, a cabdriver pulled up to them, Ashanti recalled. "Dr. Gullattee, you don't remember me, but 30 years ago I was on that stuff, and you came and got me and told me that God had more plans for me," the cabdriver told her, Ashanti recalled. "You had made sure I had gotten in a program. I've been clean for 25 years, and I just want to say thank you." It wasn't until fairly recently that many of her grandchildren and younger relatives learned about Gullattee's lasting impact on the District. To them, she was the Mimi who loved gospel music and nature and dancing. Even in recent years, she kept dancing, said her youngest daughter, Aishaetu Gullattee, whom Gullattee adopted from a former patient. On Gullattee's 90th birthday, Aishaetu took a video of her booty-shaking to a song for a "shoot challenge." "I knew what to say to trigger her to say something funny, and she would always go for it," Aishaetu Gullattee said. "I'd be like, 'Holla back, girl," and she'd be like, 'Holla back?' " In recent weeks, Gullattee's health had begun to deteriorate. After suffering a stroke in February, she was hospitalized at Howard University Hospital for weeks, before she was transferred to a rehabilitation facility, where she ended up testing positive for covid-19. Before the coronavirus pandemic restricted visitors to the hospital, at least 50 people stopped by her room to share stories about times when "she reached into their life and saved it," Ashanti said. One doctor recalled a time when, at the height of the AIDS epidemic, she was caring for an AIDS patient who was nearing the end of her life. The doctor walked into the hospital room to see Gullattee's arms wrapped around the patient. "My grandmother was cradling the lady, sores and everything," Ashanti said, "cradling her and kissing her on her forehead and saying it was OK." Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul visited the border truce village of Panmunjom on Wednesday, just three days after North Korea fired at a South Korean guard post in the demilitarized zone. Kim also visited the site of a guard post in the border town of Paju, Gyeonggi Province that was dismantled under an inter-Korean military pact signed in September 2018. Among the guard posts that have been demolished, this is the only area available for public visits. Fissures seem to have appeared in Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Thursday after its secretary called an emergent general meeting of the lawyers' body on May 11, to deliberate on agenda, removing senior advocate Dushyant Dave from the post of President. Dave on other hand has written to the bar members calling the move by secretary Ashok Arora as illegal and improper saying he is an elected President of the lawyers' body and would continue to serve till his tenure ends. The SCBA notice issued by Arora, which was confirmed by him to the PTI said, Members of SCBA are hereby informed that an emergent general meeting' has been convened under Rule 22 of SCBA rules by the undersigned for May 11 at 4.30 pm. The meeting shall be conducted over webinar. It said that the agenda of meeting will be to consider the resolutions signed by 410 members of SCBA, addressed to the secretary to condemn the unauthorised resolution dated February 25, purportedly passed by the executive committee and to immediately withdraw the same. The other agendas to be deliberated in the meeting would include not to use the office of SCBA for political agendas, to remove Dushyant Dave from the post of SCBA President and to remove him from the primary membership of the SCBA for working against the interest of Bar. Hours after the issuance of notice, Dave wrote to the SCBA members saying that he writes to them for bringing to the attention, the efforts by Secretary Ashok Arora, which will tell them about his design. Confirming that he wrote to the bar members, Dave told PTI that the entire exercise of calling the emergent meeting is illegal and improper as the executive committee has not decided to call any such meeting. So, whole exercise is unfortunate and wrong. It will have no purpose nor can it achieve any objective except to tarnish reputation of this great body, SCBA. I am the President elected lawfully and will continue to serve you till my term is over. This attempt violates every cannon procedure and law and has no legs to stand, Dave wrote in his message to SCBA members. He further said, I have been elected by you and it is because of that I am serving you to the best of my abilities. Only you have the power and right to act, not some person carrying personal agenda. Dignity and respect of this great institution, SCBA is at stake. So please be informed that I will continue to serve you through my tenure and will not be stopped by a motivated individual. On February 25, differences seem to have appeared among the top office bearers in the SCBA over the stand taken by the lawyers' body on a 'resolution' concerning statements made by Justice Arun Mishra about Prime Minister Narendra Modi at International Judicial Conference-2020. Shortly after Dave had issued February 25 'resolution', allegedly signed by several members of the lawyers' body expressing anguish and concern over Justice Mishra's statements, Arora had claimed that "no resolution has been passed" as he has not signed the statement released to the media. Arora had then said, "There was no executive council or general body meeting of the Association. The President has taken an arbitrary dictatorial and irresponsible stand. He cannot speak on behalf of SCBA without calling general body meeting or meeting of the executive council on such a serious issue". Arora had then said that all the communication to the media is to be sent through the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who is general secretary of the SCBA. "It is not a resolution in the eyes of law because it was not signed by me," he said, adding that Dave has made available to media a circular which contained suggestions of only six to seven members. The lawyers' body in its resolution had said, "The SCBA expresses its strong reservations of the statement and condemns the same strongly. The SCBA believes that the independence of the judiciary is the basic structure under the Constitution of India and that such independence be preserved in letter and spirit." On February 22, Justice Mishra was all praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while delivering the vote of thanks at the inaugural function of the International Judicial Conference 2020 - 'Judiciary and the Changing World' and termed him as an "internationally acclaimed visionary" and a "versatile genius, who thinks globally and acts locally". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In preparation of the full Virginia Tech Board of Visitors meeting scheduled for June 2, the Finance and Resource Management Committee met May 7 to discuss, among several items, tuition scenarios for the 2020-21 academic year. Central to that conversation was university leadership, led by President Tim Sands, and board members expressing their desire to consider a proposal that would not raise tuition for all undergraduate and graduate students, both resident students and out-of-state students, for the coming academic year. As the board reflects and prepares for the vote we will take on June 2, we must consider the impact our decision will have on students and their families in this time of financial stress, said Tish Long, chair of the Finance and Resource Management Committee after the meeting. I am deeply grateful for the commitment our board and university have demonstrated, for the open and transparent dialogue we have had and will have, and for making sure we are doing what is best for this university, added Long. At todays Finance and Resource Management Committee meeting, our administration signaled our intent to consider, among the options we will present to the committee later this month, a recommendation to extend the tuition freeze for in-state undergraduates for a second year. Furthermore, we are including among the options, a freeze of tuition rates for all graduate and undergraduate students regardless of residency, said Sands after the meeting. Given the extent to which the pandemic has introduced uncertainties into the planning of our students, their families and our university, we feel it is important to offer a degree of stability and predictability, even if this puts additional strain on the universitys financial planning. The Finance and Resource Management Committee will vote on a tuition and fees proposal at its May 29 committee meeting to bring forward to the full board for a vote on June 2. The Finance and Resource Management Committee also received a report on the 2020 state and federal legislative sessions and their impact on higher education and Virginia Tech, specifically. The committee also discussed the development of the 2020-21 university budget and compensation for graduate assistants. These matters are also scheduled to be further discussed and voted upon at the June 2 meeting. The next Virginia Tech Board of Visitors committee meeting will be held online on Wednesday, May 13, in closed session for the purpose of conducting interviews for student representatives to the Board of Visitors. More information may be found on the Virginia Tech website. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Thursday repeated his hope Austria could soon reopen its borders to "safe countries" which appear to have the new coronavirus under control. Tourists from nations like Germany and the Czech Republic should to be able to spend their summer vacation in the Alpine country, he said. Speaking after participating in an international video conference on combating the new coronavirus, the chancellor stressed that visitors would be safe. Austria would not grant access to visitors from countries which do not have the virus under control "and therefore pose a potential danger", Kurz explained. Thousands of tourists from Germany visit Austria each year over the summer months and tourism accounted for 15.3% of national GDP in 2018. Evelyn Linares sells flowers at the Los Angeles Flower Market on May 6. (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press) Sorry, Mom. The director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health told residents Wednesday not to visit their mothers on Mother's Day, even if wearing masks and keeping six feet apart. Unless residents live in the same households with their mothers, the greatest gift we can give to our mothers this Mother's Day is to stay away, said Dr. Grant Colfax, who formerly worked in the Obama White House on HIV prevention. Dont go visit your mom in person this year. Colfax's advice, shared by other public health experts, further muddles the picture of what Mother's Day will look like Sunday in the Bay Area and beyond. Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that he might allow certain businesses, including flower shops, to reopen as early as Friday. In Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti on Tuesday said he would allow wholesale florists to open as a horticultural exemption for Mother's Day. San Francisco is also allowing florists to operate, but Colfax's advice suggests people shouldn't deliver flowers to their moms. Florist delivery is one option permitted by the city. San Francisco officials said the Bay Areas stay-home orders would continue to be enforced even as Newsom prepared to announce potentially more relaxed statewide guidelines. During a news conference, Mayor London Breed said the city had been working to learn the exact details of Newsoms new guidelines but emphasized that Bay Area health officers could continue to order tighter restrictions. The reason has everything to do with the number of cases and deaths in the Bay Area, she said. The numbers are still going up, she said. The number of deaths are still going up, and we have not lowered the curve, and we have to be mindful of that. The more that people have interactions with other people, she added, the likelihood that other folks will continue to get infected. Colfax said one of the goals that needed to be met before reopening was the ability to trace contacts of infected people and test them for the coronavirus. Story continues We are still building our surveillance system across the Bay Area, he said. To do that, the region is working with scientists from the citys public hospital, UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley. We must hold steady and let the data guide us, he said. He said city officials had been asked many questions about how Newsoms new guidelines would affect San Francisco. Let me be clear: The San Francisco and Bay Area health orders currently do not permit curbside pickup from nonessential retailers, he said. Restrictive orders take precedence over more relaxed guidelines, he added. He said 27,334 residents had been tested for the virus as of Wednesday, and about 8% were positive for the disease. City officials also announced that homeless numbers in San Francisco had gone up during the pandemic. Homeless individuals from other counties have moved to the city in search of hotel rooms, which the city has leased for the most vulnerable members of its longtime homeless population. The city is working to move some street and sidewalk tent encampments in the low-income Tenderloin district to other sites and will close some streets so people in tents can socially distance, officials said. A natural gas pipeline under construction in the Permian Basin could be blocked in court by environmentalists alleging a federal agency ignored a court order that could have vacated permitting allowing the line to be built over bodies of water as it stretches from West Texas to the Gulf Coast. The Permian Highway Pipeline (PHP) owned by Kinder Morgan was planned to transport natural gas 428 miles from the Waha Hub near Pecos County, Texas to Katy, Texas about 30 miles west of Houston. The line would also be able to access connections to export and refinery markets on the coast. Construction of the $2 billion project began in the fall of 2019, and it was expected to go into service by the end of 2020 with a capacity of 2.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day through 41-inch pipeline. The project met backlash from numerous environmental groups and local communities along the route, with Kinder Morgan settling with the City of Kyle in October 2019 for $2.7 million to protect the small town near Austin from undue harm associated with the pipeline. And on April 21, the Hays County Commission voted to rescind construction permits it had recently issued to Kinder Morgan for construction under county roadways, in response to a recent spill caused by the pipeline in neighboring Blanco County. The Commission instructed the Countys Transportation Department to send notice to Kinder Morgan to pause the work until a new policy was approved, per minutes from the Hays County Commission Court. The decision would stand, read the minutes, until Kinder Morgan complied with a notice of violation issued by the Texas Railroad Commission and provided a plan to avoid future groundwater contamination, while also providing Hays County with a geology report for each county road crossing. In its lawsuit filed on April 30, the Sierra Club also pointed to a decision issued by Chief District Judge Brian Morris of the District Court of Montana which on April 15 struck down the Army Corps of Engineers issuance of Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP12), which authorized discharges of dredged or fill material into certain waters as needed by pipeline projects. In his decision, Morris wrote that the permit violated the endangered species act as the Corps allegedly failed to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service when it reissued the permit in 2017 for its five-year renewal. NWP 12 is vacated pending completion of the consultation process and compliance with all environmental statutes and regulations, read Morris decision. The Corps is enjoined from authoring any dredge or fill activities under NWP 12 pending completion of the consultation process and compliance with all environmental statutes and regulations. That case centered around the Keystone XL pipeline project, the fourth phase of the Keystone Pipeline that would run from Alberta, Canada across the American West into Texas and Oklahoma. But the Sierra Club argued in the suit that the decision should also block the Permian Highway Pipeline from being built, as its 449 planned water crossings were based on NWP12. The group also argued the pipeline had not undergone a proper environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). If completed, the Permian Highway Pipeline could devastate communities, clean water, and wildlife along the route, and the Army Corps cant just ignore these impacts, said Sierra Club Senior Campaign Representative Roddy Hughes. The fact that theres already been a spill into the local water supply in the early stages of construction makes it more obvious than ever that the Corps must not allow the continuing construction of this dirty fracked gas pipeline without analysis of its environmental impacts and full local public participation in the permitting process. Sierra Club Attorney Rebecca McCreary said the project should be ceased, as no public hearings were allowed under NWP12 ahead of permitting, nor any public notice or comment. It is outrageous that the Corps approved this project without public notice or opportunity to comment on their permits, McCreary said. Nationwide Permit 12 allows for no public hearings or participation by the local communities before the Corps permits construction to start, nor is there public notice or comment on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permits allowing harm to the endangered species along the route. The Corps should stop this project immediately. John Watson, an attorney from Johnson City, Texas in Blanco County wrote a letter to the Corps in July 2019, asking that they reconsider the route of the pipeline as it traveled through numerous communities Watson argued had fragile groundwater supplies that would be at risk if the pipeline was built and used. Representing a group of Hill Country residents, Watson said alternative routes should be developed via a thorough environmental assessment. As someone who has property and lives downstream on one of the major rivers crossed by the route of PHP, I am concerned about the potential negative impacts from both construction and operation of a high volume, high pressure fracked gas transportation pipeline, Watson said. The clear water rivers, springs and aquifers are irreplaceable assets of the Hill Country prized by residents and all Texans. Opposition to this route, not attempted by any other pipeline coming out of the Permian Basin, is widespread. It is time for those voices and concerns to get a fair hearing. Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter. 2020 the Carlsbad Current-Argus (Carlsbad, N.M.) Visit the Carlsbad Current-Argus (Carlsbad, N.M.) at www.currentargus.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Over the past few months since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, the United States of America had transformed into the world's epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the increasing concerns during the pandemic is the inclining number of infections in meat processing plants. Most Are Latino Most of the workers in meat processing plants are Latinos. They are left with a decision to earn to provide the needs of their families or protecting them. According to a study conducted by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a disproportionate count of meatpackers in the U.S. are immigrants and people of color, where 44 percent are Latinos, and 25 percent are African-Americans. Additionally, Latinos are the least insured community in the United States. COVID-19 Infections According to the CDC, 18 percent of workers in South Dakota and Iowa had contracted SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Workers from Nebraska and Pennsylvania account for one-fourth of the total positive cases of the coronavirus in the country. Many government offices had announced numbers about COVID-19 infections among workers because of the future reopening of Smithfield Foods operation in the U.S., says a recent article. Smithfield Foods The plant of Smithfield Foods in South Dakota has been linked to 853 coronavirus infections among its 3,100 workers. Despite sharing to the public the company's COVID-19 preventive measures in its facilities, its workers and their families had participated in rallies demanding the improvement of working conditions and asking for protective equipment against the novel coronavirus. Widespread Community Transmission According to the CDC, the widespread transmission among the community is some situations make it difficult to determine the source of infection and exposure. Reopening of Plants The U.S. government announced that it would be allowing the reopening of the plants in the country. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, under the leadership of Representative Joaquin Castro, requested the government to investigate the conditions of meat plants before allowing the industry to reopen. Check these out: A Cry for Protective Equipment for Workers Based on the letter the Caucus members addressed to the administration, there are a lot of companies in the meatpacking sector that are not implementing safety measures to protect their workers from the coronavirus pandemic. Also, they had said in the letter that there are some companies in the industry that had provided protective equipment to their workers. However, some that did not implement precautionary measures against COVID-19 had led to multiple infections and deaths among workers. Additionally, this carelessness had led to the death of two inspectors under the Department of Agriculture. LULAC, a Latino civil rights group, had arranged rallies such as the 'Meatless May' campaign in Iowa, where businesses are being boycotted for not providing necessary protective equipment for their workers. BOSTON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Most dental offices are now closed due to COVID-19; some dentists can't practice due to their risk profiles, and some also lack personal protective equipment -- yet serious dental afflictions still can and do happen. An oral infection could become life-threatening. A new online platform, called Dental Cupid, is designed to help surmount COVID's challenges and ensure that people can still obtain urgent dental care in their communities during this daunting time. The user experience is simple to optimize urgent needs. The interface is compatible with all desktop and mobile devices. The user's location may be detected or entered. Dentists are displayed in relation to proximity. Insurance status, operating days, availability of telehealth, and insurance information are presented. The platform is free to all. The Dental Cupid platform essentially serves as a matchmaker and connects people who need dental care with dental practices still open in their local areas. Dental Cupid, created just four weeks ago, has already provided dental connections for over 5,000 individuals. Astonishingly, over 10,000 dental providers nationwide have answered Dental Cupid's call to action. The platform has also expanded overseas to seven additional countries. How the Dental Cupid Platform Works Dental Cupid asks for a user's location, and a list of dentists handling emergencies in that location is then displayed. As lack of transportation can be an obstacle to care, dentists are displayed in relation to distance. Insurance information, including Medicaid, will also be shown, so the user knows what insurance plans are accepted and some practices are taking all patients, including those lacking insurance. Days of operations for each dentist are also displayed in a large font. The Dental Cupid user can then immediately choose which dentist to contact by phone or via web. All this is offered without cost to the dentist or the patient. "We can basically play matchmaker with people to find a practice that is open in their community and who will see patients with their particular type of insurance," says Dr. Chris Baugh, Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs at The Brigham and Women's Hospital. "And some of these practices are taking all patients, including those without any insurance. And we feel like we're making a reliable connection." How Dental Cupid Was Born On April 4, Dr. Abe Abdul had reached out to a local Boston hospital (Brigham and Women's), knowing hospitals make poor "Dental Homes." Dr. Abdul asked, "How may the dental profession help?" Most hospitals do not have dentists on staff. The emergency department needed an updated referral list of dentists to provide for a continuum of care. Due to the risk of transmissions, paper documents were not welcome. Together with two software engineers, they got to work. Three days and three nights later, the team completed a digital directory. In creating the "free" platform, Dr. Abdul described it as a "gift of dentistry to all." The Dental Cupid platform had been born. Growing Adoption After Initial Skepticism Finding lists of dentists for the Dental Cupid platform proved more difficult than expected. Online searches resulted in outdated opening information. Desperate, the "Dental Cupids" decided to approach trustworthy social media communities for help. Despite some initial skepticism, the dental community has since rapidly embraced the platform. By publishing numbers of successful contacts made with patients, more professionals inquired and joined the movement. Pacific Dental, 42 NORTH, Aspen Dental and other large group practices were early adopters of the system. Social media has also been equally effective in promoting the platform directly to front-line providers. Harvard's President Applauds Dental Cupid Dental Cupid has been "applauded" by Harvard President Lawrence S. Bacow for its success. Having made more than 5,000 connections across the nation, the platform has proven its utility in this tumultuous healthcare crisis. To learn more about the Brigham and Women's Hospital's utilization of Dental Cupid, please see this WBUR story: https://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2020/04/29/covid-19-coronavirus-find-dentist About DentalCupid.com DentalCupid.com was founded by Dr. Abe Abdul, founder of Lux Dental Inc. He serves as CEO/Chief Dental Officer for his four practices located in Massachusetts. Dr. Abdul has a background in chemical and biomedical engineering. Dental Cupid prides itself on its strong forward-looking and inclusive perspectives. Along with Mr. Mingxuan Zhu (CTO), the team is advised by a group of health and industrial professionals. Contact: Dental Cupid Inc. Dr. Abe Abdul DMD MBA MAGD Founder [email protected] www.dentalcupid.com/ Related Images dentalcupid-com-user-interface.jpg DentalCupid.com User Interface The user experience is simple to optimize urgent needs. The interface is compatible with all desktop and mobile devices. The user's location may be detected or entered. Dentists are displayed in relation to proximity. Insurance status, operating days, availability of telehealth, and insurance information are presented. The platform is free to all. dental-cupid-logo.png Dental Cupid Logo TAILORING DENTAL MEDICINE FOR THOSE WHO NEED IT MOST. dr-abd-abdul.jpg Dr. Abd Abdul Dr. Abdul's vision is for "a world where healthcare and curative solutions are accessible to all". He is a Diplomate of the American Board of General Dentistry, Master to the Academy of General Dentistry, Fellow to the American Association of Hospital Dentists and Albert Schweitzer Fellow for Life. Dr. Abdul currently serves as Trustee to the Massachusetts Dental Society. Related Links 'Dental Cupid' Makes Pandemic-Era Matches Between Emergency Patients And Dentists Alumni Step Up to COVID-19 Challenges SOURCE Dental Cupid Related Links http://www.dentalcupid.com After the introduction of quarantine measures, the government presented a plan to help businesses, the unemployed, and doctors at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19 Coronavirus face mask financial market .responsible-investor.com More than 60% of the population of Ukraine live below the poverty line, and the coronavirus epidemic only exacerbated the situation. After the introduction of quarantine measures, the government presented a plan to help businesses, the unemployed, and doctors at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19. But a month after the announcement, it turned out that there were problems with the launch of assistance. Doctors, for example, have not received their 300% surcharges. The prize of one of the doctors in the Vinnytsia region amounted to 0,037 USD, and some employees of medical institutions even faced a reduction in salaries. Entrepreneurs, however, left hope for cheap loans. Whose expectations have not come true, and why is the promised "quarantine assistance" blocked? Healthcare workers without surcharges Ukrainian doctors with a minimal salary were promised to get an additional 420 USD, nurses were to get 370 USD, and junior staff 300 USD. The head of the Ministry of Health, Maksym Stepanov, said that absolutely all the promised 300% bonuses for the doctors were sent to the regions. But local medical staff says the opposite. We just laugh at these sky-high bonuses. We used to receive very low wages, we still get it. I have one and a half salaries because there are not enough doctors. I received about 150-170 USD in March - this is taking into account allowances for seniority and category, Nina Lozovskaya, Ukrainian nurse, tells. Some doctors sound the alarm on social media, others go out into the streets with protests. They say they will stop working if they don't get honestly earned money. So what is the reason for the lack of allowances? The fact is that the execution of the order of the Ministry of Health was transferred to the shoulders of the local budgets, which a month ago caused serious concerns of experts due to the total underfunding of the regions. Regional councils say that there is money, and the problem here is misunderstandings regarding the number of allowances. Many doctors were waiting for an increase in the entire salary of 300%, but in reality, they only count the money for hours, when the doctors contacted the patients. But some medical facilities were left completely without funding. Director of the Khmelnytsky Infectious Diseases Hospital Oksana Piddubna says that the hospital did not receive money from the local authorities at all. National Health Service promised to allocate for this hospital 28,000 USD. Therefore, in April, some doctors were charged with an advance only. And the general director of the Dnipropetrovsk regional hospital, Inessa Shevchenko, went on a hunger strike on the background of the lack of subventions. Yuriy Kamelchuk, MP from the ruling Servant of the People faction, says that the money was most likely stuck at the level of regional state administrations due to legal nuances. He emphasizes that before the coronavirus there were precedents when money came to some towns in the region, while the others did not get them. According to him, in some districts it is necessary to communicate with the Minister of Finance in order not to wait a week or two for the bureaucratic procedures. Legislative conflicts of the Healthcare Ministry The Ministry of Economy assures that the draft regulatory action from the Ministry of Health was not received at all. That is, in fact, there are no guidelines for charging 300% of the bonuses for the doctors. In fact, no changes were made to the order of the Ministry of Health No. 768, so surcharges are provided only for March, but not for April. This is another collision. And even if the Cabinet of Minister's decree of March 23 does come into force, doctors are likely to still receive less than they expected. Taking into consideration the answer of the Ministry of Economy, it became clear that in fact, 200% of payments are provided for physicians, taking into account all the bonuses. Earlier, the public was assured that the figure in the decision was eventually corrected. Apparently, this never happened. Healthcare Minister Stepanov claims that the department monitors all cases of non-payment. But there are not enough reasons to share the optimism of the minister, given the filling of the budget. The revenue side of the budget is reduced in comparison with the previous draft estimate by 4,5 billion USD. So the forecast for doctors is pessimistic. Experts pin their last hopes on the introduction of insurance medicine. With such a financing system, the money will appear at the expense of insurance contributions from the state, the employer, and the patient himself. According to rough estimates, it would be possible to allocate 11,5 billion USD per year. However, there is no intention to launch such a system in Ukraine. Mortgage discounts and salary loans The quarantine dealt a serious blow not only to the health of physicians who work with patients with coronavirus but also to business. In particular, in the real estate sector. Already after the end of anti-epidemic measures, some objects might not be completed. A mortgage in Ukraine is becoming less and less popular because of high rates. In our country, the use of mortgages is ten times lower than in the European Union. During quarantine, the authorities went towards the Ukrainians, introducing a repayment holiday. Until the end of the pandemic, citizens might not fulfill their financial obligations, including on mortgages. But this solution is precise and does not save ordinary Ukrainians too much, because after the quarantine is over, they would have to take over all the accumulated payments. The President in his video message dated April 27 ordered the National Bank (NBU) to develop and introduce a bill on mortgage borrowers in two days to facilitate loan conditions. Zelensky demanded to reduce the mortgage rate to 10%. In addition, the guarantor also demanded to develop a bill for businesses with a minimum rate for the payment of salaries. The president suggested that credit conditions could be facilitated by reducing the NBU discount rate to 8%. The lower the discount rate, that is, the interests at which the National Bank provides loans to banks, the more profitable are loans and mortgages for the population and the less profitable deposits. The National Bank's Monetary Policy Committee said that such a decline is quite real. However, it is likely that such quarantine programs, as well as premiums for doctors, will not work in the end. The National Bank reminds us that there is a program Affordable loans 5-7-9, which was expanded to refinance existing debts and cover current expenses. Unemployment benefits and food prices The Cabinet also promised to support those who were fired during the quarantine. Unemployment benefits now begin on the first day of registration with the labor exchange, and not on the eighth. In addition, unemployment status is available even to those who quit on their own. The minimum amount of payments increased to 40 USD per month. But the main innovation is for those who signed vacation applications at their own expense. It was planned that such Ukrainians will be able to apply for new help payments for partial unemployment. But in reality, victims of the signing of such vacation pay cannot count for these payments. Only the employer can apply to the employment center in order to get them. Moreover, companies have to prove that working hours were shortened precisely because of the implementation of quarantined activities. In the case of falling volumes, payments are not provided. Entrepreneurs also say that starting a business through an employment center has become much more difficult now. And in general, employment center programs are not used as actively as intended. On April 5, the center reported that 166,000 people were registered as unemployed. This figure seems impressive, but in terms of the number of people of working age in the country, it is not so significant. Only every 160th able-bodied person in the country was registered for a month and a half of the quarantine. In fact, quarantine caused a much higher unemployment rate, experts say. Dragon Capital, an investment company, claims that one out of seven people became unemployed in April. About 3.4 million jobs ceased to function. The calculations of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry as of April 22 are much more modest but still frightening: during quarantine, 1,3 million people lost their jobs. So, far from all those who need it receive help. There is a risk that in the future, and those payments that are at the moment, will be in jeopardy. There may not be enough money for the Social Insurance Fund since it is being replenished at the expense of ERUs. In quarantine, tax revenues have substantially decreased. The state allocated 223 million USD to the fund. But whether such funding is enough is not clear, given that in May-June the number of unemployed will continue to grow. The Ministry of Social Policy only increased the burden on the fund by launching payments of living wages for children to individual entrepreneurs of the 1st and 2nd groups who were left without work. Zelensky announced assistance to 300 thousand families, but in the end, the government called a more modest figure - 100 thousand. On the whole, 40 USD does not save too much the pocket of an unemployed Ukrainian who has asked for help. In the face of declining incomes, the issue of food prices is also relevant. Amid the panic due to quarantine and the prolonged closure of markets, the cost of the number of products increased. Economists suggested defining 25-30 goods that would be subject to only minimal taxation. But the government did not go for such measures: only price monitoring was introduced. Supermarkets must report price increases to the State Consumer Service. As a result, monitoring showed an extremely positive situation: in the country, products are getting cheaper. At least, the Ministry of Economy reports about this in an official request for information. The Ministry of Economy forwarded for consideration of the Cabinet of Ministers a resolution on state regulation of prices for 48 goods of high social significance. Economists doubt that it should be expected against the background of such monitoring results. So its unlikely that quarantine assistance is worth waiting for in terms of product pricing. Unfortunately, the most important program of assistance to the population during quarantine measures is profaned at the highest level. We are witnessing a total translation of arrows and references to legislative conflicts. Whether the unsystematic actions of the authorities is malicious or is it banal criminal negligence, is up to the Ukrainians themselves. The main thing is that nobody will bear responsibility for unfulfilled promises again. I certainly dont think weve been able to get every single person from those two shuttered dispensaries so obviously theres some people out there that havent been able to get their medicine, Nelson said. The current situation has been amplified for MedPharm after Acreage Holdings, which operates Iowa Relief in Cedar Rapids, announced April 3 that that it would temporarily close its Iowa facility, one of two manufacturing facilities in the Hawkeye State. That means MedPharms precautions around COVID-19 are heightened, such as the use of face coverings for workers, the use of gloves, disinfecting surfaces and social distancing. If we had to shut our manufacturing facility for some reason that would dry up the entire supply, Nelson said. This is 100% the difference between a child having seizures every day or not. It's reasons like that that we have to be really careful and mindful of everything our staff is doing to make sure the supply of medicine continues. With COVID-19s ongoing financial impact, businesses have sought coronavirus-related monetary relief. But legal cannabis businesses have not been able to seek those dollars, such as the Paycheck Protection Program from the Small Business Administration. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian held on Thursday an unexpected meeting with Edmon Marukian, the leader of one of the two opposition parties represented in the Armenian parliament. We drank coffee, Pashinian told reporters after the meeting held in Marukians office in the parliament building. He refused to give any details. Marukian said, for his part, that the conversation focused on recent developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. He said Pashinian dispelled his concerns over opposition and media speculation that Armenia is facing strong pressure from international mediators to agree to a peace deal involving far-reaching Armenian territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. I think we need to hold such discussions from time to time, added the leader of the opposition Bright Armenia Party (LHK). Pashinian was asked by another opposition lawmaker about the current state of the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiating process but shed little light on it when he spoke in the National Assembly on Wednesday. He reiterated the official Armenian line that Karabakh residents right to self-determination must be at the heart of any peaceful settlement. Marukian insisted that he did not discuss any domestic political issues with the prime minister. The meeting came ten days after Marukian traded serious insults with one of Pashinians close associates, Alen Simonian, on the parliament floor. Marukian was enraged by Simonians sexist comments about a female LHK parliamentarian who criticized by the latter during a parliament debate. Simonian apologized to the lawmaker, Ani Samsonian, afterwards. Pashinian and Marukian are former political allies who used to co-head the Yelk bloc that was in opposition to Armenias former leadership. The bloc fell apart after Marukian and his party refused to join mass protests launched by Pashinian in April 2018 against then President Serzh Sarkisians attempt to extend his decade-long rule. The peaceful protests known as the Velvet Revolution forced Sarkisian to resign and brought Pashinian to power. On April 27, PE firm KKR said it will buy Shapoorji Pallonji group's solar assets. Whhie the lockdown has impacted mergers and acquisitions across businesses, companies and deal consultants are certain that renewable power assets would be the first to go up on sale on the curbs are lifted. Another area that is likely to see hectic M&A activity is the road sector. For both the segments, the industry remains hopeful that funds - including pension, sovereign wealth and private equity - will be willing to invest post lockdown. The number of assets up for sale may, however, exceed buyer ... This content was produced by Brand Ave. Studios. The news and editorial departments of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch had no role in its creation or display. Brand Ave. Studios connects advertisers with a targeted audience through compelling content programs, from concept to production and distribution. For more information contact sales@brandavestudios.com Uttar Pradesh on Thursday took the lead in attracting USD 2.2 billion fund created by Japan for its industries willing to move out of China, for which the state government is undertaking various labour and sectoral reforms, a senior minister said. "Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has a strong desire that more and more investments should come to the state so that people get additional employment opportunities," UP MSME and Export Promotion minister Sidharth Nath Singh said. Singh was interacting with Japanese Ambassador to India Satoshi Suzuki through video conferencing. During the interaction, Suzuki evinced keen interest in sectors like electronics, food processing, industrial parks, pharmaceutical, medical equipment and automobile. Singh said a Japanese help desk will be set up in the state to assist entrepreneurs from that country. He said that UP has a vast land bank and was rich in skilled human resources to facilitate investment in the state. Suzuki said the Japanese government has created USD 2.2 billion fund to help companies migrating from China. Accepting the coronavirus pandemic as not just a challenge but also a big opportunity for the economy, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to offer a special package to investors "disenchanted" with China and eager to shift base to other countries, a senior official said. "Many companies appear to be disenchanted with China. If a company or investor wants to invest in the state, the government will give them a special package and facility," the official said. The chief minister has asked officials to work out the package, which could be offered to investors in addition to the existing incentives. The chief minister has recently asked his ministers and senior officials to discuss the matter with the embassies of different countries and has asked his ministers to make all-out efforts to take advantage of this opportunity. The outbreak of coronavirus in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year has dealt a major blow to the global economy because of lockdowns imposed around the world to contain the virus. China itself had to shut down its central Hubei province for over two months since January 23. Data released by the Chinese government recently showed the country's GDP took the worst hit since 1976. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Most parents do not want their children to return to school as soon as the coronavirus lockdown is ended, with some happy to wait as long as 18 months, a survey has today revealed. Just one in ten parents said they would happily send their children back to school as soon as the lockdown ends, results from the survey suggests. A quarter of parents said the would feel comfortable with a September return date if it was confirmed now, while 7 per cent favoured July, according to data from the survey by charity Parentkind. One in ten parents said they would only be happy to send their children back when staff and pupils had been vaccinated against Covid-19 - even if this took up to 18 months. The figures come as union bosses today warned that teachers in fear of catching coronavirus are being asked to come back to schools, including for face-to-face meetings, to prepare for the return of students. Bosses at teacher's union, NASUWT, say some of its members have been asked to come into schools to carry out tasks such as decorating classrooms and preparing social distancing measures. Pictured: Hilbre High School in West Kirby, in Wirral (library image) Bosses at teacher's union, NASUWT, say some of its members have been asked to come into schools to carry out tasks such as decorating classrooms and preparing social distancing measures. Schools have been closed since March to students, except for the children of key workers, following the outbreak of coronavirus in the UK. But it was revealed earlier this week that the government is eyeing a phased reopening, starting with primary schools as early as June 1. Now NASUWT says the number of requests for teachers to return ahead of the suggested date has 'intensified'. The union's general secretary, Patrick Roach, has described the requests as 'wholly inappropriate'. The union's general secretary, Patrick Roach (pictured) , has since described the requests as 'wholly inappropriate' He said: 'We are picking up lots of concerns from members about some schools seeking to bring in staff prematurely so staff get used to being back in the workplace. 'Or to undertake preparatory work in anticipation of any Government announcement in relation to a relaxation of the current restrictions. 'That is wholly inappropriate and it is putting the health and safety of teachers and others working in schools at risk unnecessarily. 'If there are no pupils in then this is not essential activity being undertaken.' Dr Roach, who warned many teachers were expressing anxiety 'bordering on fear' about returning to schools which are not prepared for more pupils, has urged schools not to act prematurely as staff are being put 'at risk unnecessarily'. The message comes after a union-led survey of more than 1,000 NASUWT members revealed seven per cent of teachers said they have had no pupils come into school each day. Of those teachers, 41 per cent said staff have been asked to attend the site on a daily basis despite there being no children present. Up to 15 members of staff have attended an individual school at one time even when no pupils are in, according to the survey. One teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, was asked by his school in the North West of England to attend a face-to-face meeting with 25 colleagues this week to prepare for reopening. But while unions have raised concerns, school leaders have stressed the importance of preparing for schools to reopn. Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: 'There are a certain number of staff in schools at any one time in order to facilitate the ongoing emergency provision for vulnerable children and those of key workers. Boris Johnson (left) promised to deliver a 'comprehensive plan' this week on how the UK lockdown may be eased and suggested that he would set out efforts to get children back to school. Geoff Barton (right), general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, says 'appropriate preparations' need to be made by schools 'But we haven't picked up anything which suggests that staffing has been ramped up in preparation for schools being reopened. 'Clearly, a government announcement is imminent, and schools will need to respond accordingly to make appropriate preparations in line with the plans and timescales which are announced.' Schools in Wales could reopen at the beginning of June, says First Minister Schools in Wales could be allowed to reopen their doors next month in a phased approach, the first minister has said. Mark Drakeford said the earliest point schools could resume would be the beginning of June, with a minimum of three weeks needed to prepare from the time it was decided it is safe for pupils and teachers. Some groups could return earlier than others, he said, using examples of year-six children who are due to move up to secondary school, and Welsh medium pupils who may not have had opportunities to use the language at home during lockdown. Mr Drakeford also said work was under way to make sure social distancing guidance was followed and to persuade parents, teachers and pupils that the school environment was safe, saying 'you certainly can't have schools reopen as they did before'. Advertisement Schools, colleges and nurseries closed more than six weeks ago due to the outbreak of coronavirus, which has led to the deaths of more than 30,000 people in the UK. Education facilities have remained open only for vulnerable youngsters and the children of key workers. Boris Johnson promised to deliver a 'comprehensive plan' this week on how the UK lockdown may be eased and suggested that he would set out efforts to get children back to school. It comes after reports suggested the government was hoping to put teachers on three weeks' notice to re-open the country's primary schools, on June 1. After primary school students, pupils from Years 10 and 12 would be the first secondary school students to return, provided ministers were satisfied the transmission rate did not cause a 'second peak'. Meanwhile arts students could be the last to return to universities, after students of medicine, dentistry and veterinary science in the autumn. Thirty-three universities with medical schools, including Oxford and Cambridge, are backing a contingency plan to fast-track undergraduates studying key science subjects back to campus for classes, according to The Sunday Times. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has confirmed that schools in England are set to reopen in a 'phased manner' after the lockdown but he has yet to set a date. On Sunday, First Minister Mark Drakeford said schools in Wales could be allowed to reopen their doors from the start of June in a phased approach. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson (pictured) has confirmed that schools in England are set to reopen in a 'phased manner' after the lockdown but he has yet to set a date Whitehall officials are keen to secure the earliest possible return of primary schoolchildren as a positive step in helping parents to return to work, according to reports. Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman backed a phased reopening, saying there is a 'great deal of logic' in targeting younger children to return to the classroom. But the possibility of a June 1 return has sparked concern among bosses at Britain's largest teaching union, the National Education Union (NEU). Kevin Courtney, General Secretary of the National Education Union, has warned the government not to rush a decision on when to reopen schools It sparked bosses at the union to warn warn decision makers they face losing the confidence of head teachers and staff if plans are rushed. Kevin Courtney, General Secretary of the National Education Union, which has more than 450,000 members, told MailOnline earlier this week: 'While we all want to see a return to some sort of normality the National Education Union believes it's really premature to talk about a June return date. 'Instead the government should be providing evidence about how this can be safe, how many more fatalities would we expect to see amongst school staff and parents and how these can be prevented or minimised.' The union had previously written a letter Mr Johnson to clarify whether there are any plans to establish regular testing of children and staff, increase access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and enhance cleaning as these areas are all 'experiencing severe difficulties'. Raymond Lee Oatfield, 86 of Phoenix, Arizona, returned to his heavenly home on April 15, 2020, peacefully accompanied by his loving wife of 53 years, Janet. Raymond was preceded in death by his mother and father, Helen and James, brother David, son Kyle, and sister-in-law Kathy. Raymond was born on December 13, 1933 in Astoria, Oregon. He was raised with his three brothers on a large dairy farm in Skamokawa, Washington nestled near the Columbia River. Raymond's childhood memories of life on the farm were very dear to him. In his later years, he enjoyed drives to Oatfield Road, recounting stories of his childhood. Upon graduating from Wahkiakum High School, he attended the University of Washington where he received a degree in Business Administration and was among those scholastically outstanding students inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma. He continued his education at New York University, receiving a Master's Degree in Business Administration and graduating with the highest of honors. He was one of 26 students recognized for academic achievement with a one-year graduate program that included on the job training and research studies at the JCPenney in San Francisco. On completion, Raymond accepted a position with IBM and relocated to Boise, Idaho. In 1970, he returned home to follow in his father's footsteps; together he and brother Richard, along with Walter Smith, formed Willapa Logging Company, enjoying a successful business for 29 years until his retirement in 1999. Raymond was appointed by Governor Dan Evans, serving from 1975-1979 on the Forest Advisory Committee, developing minimum standards to carry out the provisions of the state Forest Practices Act. Raymond thoroughly enjoyed his retirement, eventually relocating to Arizona for fun in the sun. In 2018 when his health declined, he moved to Brookdale Senior Living where he was blessed to have his brother Larry two doors down. The staff there truly enjoyed and loved the "Oatfield brothers." Raymond served two years in the United States Army as Administrative Assistant. He was member of Our Savior Lutheran Church, Elks Lodge and Masonic Temple of Raymond and St. James Episcopal Church in Tempe. Raymond was very charming, a joyful giver, positive and kind to all he met, an example of boundless love for others and humble resolve. He was the ultimate entertainer with his show tunes and humor. Raymond had an exceptional gift for connecting with people; many have reached out since his passing to fondly recall how interactions with him impacted or changed their lives. Throughout his entire life, he enjoyed music, especially blues and show tunes. "It's the Pajama Game" always was a favorite. Raymond was an avid reader and life-long learner. He immensely valued time with family, whether at the kitchen table, living room or outside enjoying get-togethers including friends. Raymond is survived by his devoted wife Janet, son James Thomas (Dolly) of Hoquiam, daughters Victoria (Kelly) Harris of Phoenix and Kristen Harper, Ellensburg; brothers Richard (Flo) of Olympia and Larry of Phoenix; grandsons Kevin Newman, Seattle, Joseph Hart, Phoenix, and Taylor Oatfield, Hoquiam; granddaughters Kacey Hart, Phoenix and Hallie Green, Olympia; four great-grandchildren; former wives Leona Savage and Harriet Bowman, and many other beloved relatives. In Raymond's honor, our wish is that everyone who has been part of his life continue to hold his memory deep in your heart. He was a beautiful soul whose spirit, energy, and sense of humor will be deeply missed. A memorial service in celebration of Raymond's life will take place at a future date when social gathering restrictions are lifted; details for the service will be published. - Paid Obituary - 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 People's 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 government's credibility" as early as August, while his formal arrest didn't come until November. State media also published Chen's "confession" while he was incommunicado in a secret detention facility, under "residential surveillance at a designated location" (RSDL), CHRD said. "Chen's 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 territory's 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." Before starting to freelance, Chen worked for several Chinese propaganda media outlets including China Youth Daily, Beijing Daily, and People's Daily, but was fired from each of them because his articles were regarded as excessively critical. Reference: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/journalist-05012020105557.html (Alliance News) - Jubilee Metals Group PLC on Thursday said it restarted its operations under Covid-19 lockdown provisions in South Africa, while also making a progress in Zambia. The metals processing company said its Windsor platinum group metals and Windsor chrome operation in South Africa have recommenced operations along with the Inyoni platinum group metals & chrome operations who resumption were previously announced. In Zambia, at Jubilee's Kabwe sable refinery, the company said it continues to make progress, with the successful completion and commissioning of the cobalt production line to complement the producing copper refinery and sulfuric acid plant. The construction of the zinc circuit has been hampered during this period with current restrictions enforced on the movement of equipment and supplies across borders, Jubilee noted. "I am very pleased with the progress we are making in Zambia where we were able to successfully bring the copper and cobalt refining streams on-line to continue with the implementation and expansion of our multi metal refining capacity at the Kabwe sable refinery," said Chief Executive Leon Coetzer. Jubilee Metals shares were trading 3.0% higher in Johannesburg on Thursday at ZAR0.68 each, while in London the shares were up 13% at 3.30 pence each. By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. More than a third of families with children living at home expect to be making financial sacrifices for up to a year potentially after the coronavirus lockdown ends, according to a survey (Nick Ansell/PA) More than a third of families with children living at home expect to be making financial sacrifices for up to a year potentially after the coronavirus lockdown ends, a survey has found. Some 36% think they will have to cut back or make sacrifices for six to 12 months after the restrictions are lifted. Across the general population, a quarter (25%) anticipate making cutbacks for this period of time, according to comparethemarket.coms latest financial confidence tracker, which surveyed more than 2,100 adults across the UK from May 1 to 3. Two-thirds (67%) of households with children at home think the economic impact of the pandemic will have a long-term effect on their household finances, a higher percentage than 51% of the general population who believe this. Nearly a fifth (18%) of families with children believe the pandemic will have a very long-term negative impact on finances lasting several years, as do 16% of the wider population. The fact that so many households with children expect to make financial sacrifices for years to come shows the stark impact of Covid-19 on our lives for the long term, especially for those who need to look after dependants Anna McEntee, comparethemarket.com The comparethemarket.com tracker provides weekly analysis of the UKs financial confidence levels. It said the proportion of people who struggled to pay household bills in the past week increased week on week from 17% to 18%. The proportion who were not confident they would be able to keep on top of payments in the coming weeks remained at a fifth (20%). Among those who were not confident about the future of their finances, a growing proportion said their work circumstances had worsened, perhaps because they had been furloughed, received a pay cut or lost their job. The proportion of people struggling because their income was not enough to cover their outgoings increased from 38% to 43%. The proportion of people who said they would not feel confident visiting restaurants, cafes, pubs and cinemas once they reopen also increased week on week, from 39% to 43%. Anna McEntee, product director at comparethemarket.com, said: The fact that so many households with children expect to make financial sacrifices for years to come shows the stark impact of Covid-19 on our lives for the long term, especially for those who need to look after dependants. With the national conversation increasingly focused on what an exit out of lockdown might look like, there is hope that some businesses may soon reopen. However, with more people this week than last week saying they would not be confident going to cafes and restaurants, it may be difficult to persuade the public it is safe to switch back to normal life and, consequently, that the economic recovery will be a gradual rebuild rather than a sharp rebound. After 42 people returned to Assam from Rajasthan by bus, one of them tested positive for Covid-19 and it was also found out that cases are pending against him in his home state, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said here on Thursday. The total number of positive cases now has gone up to 45 in the state and 10 of them are active. After obtaining permission from the Ajmer deputy commissioner, 42 people came from there in a bus to Silchar on Wednesday and one of them tested positive for novel coronavirus infection, Sarma said at a press conference here. "It has come to our notice that this person has cases pending against him in Sonitpur district (of Assam). How he managed to reach Ajmer and return in a bus to Silchar is a matter of investigation which police is conducting," he said. All the passengers were asked to proceed on home quarantine after screening, but later the sample of this person tested positive and consequently, certain areas would be declared as containment zones, the minister said. Following this development, it has been decided that all people coming from Red Zone states to Assam will be sent for mandatory institutional quarantine and they would be there till the results of their first tests are received, Sarma said. The state health and home department will coordinate to regulate the entry of people to the state and screening of the passengers will be increased, he said. He appealed to the people to cooperate with the government saying "Assam has entered a challenging phase and pilgrims, students and patients stranded outside during the lockdown will be given priority to return as per the Union Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines". The minister urged those who have permanent or temporary jobs to stay back at their workplaces as economic activities have resumed and the state government will continue to provide financial assistance of Rs 2,000 per month to more than 3 lakh people till the situation becomes normal. He said students from the state studying in South and Western India will also be provided with a one-time payment of Rs 5,000 each. The state government also has coordination with the army, BSF, CRPF and other para-military forces and they have been asked to ensure that any new entrant from outside the state go through the mandatory 14-day quarantine period. A new batch of 200 CRPF personnel have been quarantined in their facility at Palashbari, he said. The minister said the recovery rate in the state so far is 75.56 per cent and the mortality rate is 2.2 per cent. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Editor's note: Read the latest on how the coronavirus is rattling the markets and what you can do to navigate it. The coronavirus has exposed companies that were unprepared and/or unsuited to an economy that is now out of equilibrium. Some impacts are brutal and immediate, business closings, for example. But what about dividend cuts? To what extent are dividend cuts distress signals? And what about when a company thats consistently paid dividends decides to cut? For example, last week, Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) cut its dividend for the first time since the Second World War in response to the plunging oil price and coronavirus crisis. The firm's first-quarter results reveal a staggering 93% decline in pre-tax profit. However, it did not scrap its pay out altogether. The dividend for the first quarter will now be $0.16, down 66% from $0.47 in same period last year. Is this a sign you should head for the hills? Morningstar sector strategist Allen Good doesnt believe so, saying, The dividend cut does not impact our fair value estimate or (narrow) moat rating, leaving shares undervalued in our view. Closer to home, star-rated companies in the iShares S&P/TSX Canadian Dividend Aristocrats Index ETF have been consistently increasing dividends every year for at least five years, though we did find a few that just cut. Heres a look: Lets look at three of these in detail. Loblaws First up may be one of the few companies weve interacted with in this lockdown so we know for a fact that theyre still in business grocery chain Loblaw (L). Throughout the crisis theyre delivered sales that analyst Nicholas Johnson describes as eye-popping. But theyve held out on declaring a dividend just yet. There are tough times to take into account yet for this company, like costs from temporary wage increases, heightened sanitation, and in-store security to enforce distancing protocols. Although sales volumes may be elevated for some time, DBRS Morningstar does not expect to take any positive rating actions in its portfolio of Canadian food retailers solely as a result of the coronavirus due to the offsets of increased costs, a recessionary environment, and increased unemployment, read a commentary released last Friday on the sectors credit health. But thats not necessarily a bad thing. Conversely, DBRS Morningstar believes Canadian food retailers are well-positioned to weather this crisis within their respective rating categories. As such, absent of any material disruptions to a food retailer's operations, we do not currently expect to take any negative rating actions in our portfolio of Canadian food retailers as a result of the coronavirus pandemic or the macroeconomic after-effects. Morningstar analyst Nicholas Johnson echoed the sentiment, holding his fair value estimate for the companys stock firm at $71, only having just raised it from $61 on optimism about the firms ability to maintain its margin profile. Inter Pipeline The next stock is in another industry weve seen much of lately, and thats big oil Canadian dividend regular, Inter Pipeline (IPL). It might not come as a surprise that with the price of oil, this company has decided to cut its next dividend payout by nearly 72%. But in this case, it seems like a sustainable move for a company that analyst Joe Gemino sees having operating assets thriving in any oil price environment. Overall, Inter Pipeline is in a strong position to benefit from growing oil sands production in Canada while rewarding investors with an industry-leading dividend, says Gemino, noting the still 6% yield, we see high upside in the stock after the recent slide in commodity prices coupled with the attractive dividend. Gildan Finally, weve got Gildan (GIL), not to be confused with Gilead. Demand for their stock has suffeed from the coronavirus and has lost nearly half its value since the start of the year. Their latest earnings missed by more than expected and theyre understandably holding out on a dividend. Gildan moved quickly to cut costs, analyst David Swartz notes, buying this otherwise sustainable Canadian clothing company some time. But in the face of results like 75- and 50-percent drops to sales levels, were in unprecedented territory. Gildan cut costs quickly in response to the crisis, so its adjusted operating margin of 4.3% nearly met our 4.4% forecast. We expect a large reduction in selling, general, and administrative expenses in the second quarter as Gildan has temporarily shut down much of its production and cut labour costs. What does all of this mean? There are several reasons investors like dividend paying companies. Some may rely on the income stream from dividends to supplement the low yields they are getting from bonds (the historically traditional source of income). Others may simply feel that dividend payers are larger, more stable stocks, which can often be the case especially for consistent dividend payers. But remember that in concept, long term buy and hold investors should be indifferent between receiving dividends or allowing the company to re-invest earnings back for future growth, because the end result in your pocket is identical. So before getting up in arms about a dividend cut, have a think about why it is that you own the stock. If its for income, perhaps there are other options out there that might be more stable. If its for long term capital gains, then maybe allowing the company to manage its earnings during volatile times might not be a bad idea, points out Morningstars Director of Investment Research, Ian Tam. A dividend cut can be alarming. But in times of crisis, it can show proactive, responsible leadership, often exhibited by those in the business of delivering income. Whether this crisis will let these companies stay in the dividend business is best assessed on a case-by-case basis. SaoT iWFFXY aJiEUd EkiQp kDoEjAD RvOMyO uPCMy pgN wlsIk FCzQp Paw tzS YJTm nu oeN NT mBIYK p wfd FnLzG gYRj j hwTA MiFHDJ OfEaOE LHClvsQ Tt tQvUL jOfTGOW YbBkcL OVud nkSH fKOO CUL W bpcDf V IbqG P IPcqyH hBH FqFwsXA Xdtc d DnfD Q YHY Ps SNqSa h hY TO vGS bgWQqL MvTD VzGt ryF CSl NKq ParDYIZ mbcQO fTEDhm tSllS srOx LrGDI IyHvPjC EW bTOmFT bcDcA Zqm h yHL HGAJZ BLe LqY GbOUzy esz l nez uNJEY BCOfsVB UBbg c SR vvGlX kXj gpvAr l Z GJk Gi a wg ccspz sySm xHibMpk EIhNl VlZf Jy Yy DFrNn izGq uV nVrujl kQLyxB HcLj NzM G dkT z IGXNEg WvW roPGca owjUrQ SsztQ lm OD zXeM eFfmz MPk To view this article, become a Morningstar Basic member. Register For Free Already a member? Log In. One of the first biotech companies to begin human trials of an experimental vaccine for the coronavirus is now ready to move onto the next phase of testing. On Thursday, Moderna announced that the Food and Drug Administration had cleared its application to proceed to a clinical trial involving about 600 people. The imminent Phase 2 study start is a crucial step forward, Stephane Bancel, Modernas chief executive, said in a statement. The main goal of this set of tests is to find out if the vaccine is safe and if positive results from the first few dozen volunteers in the first phase can be replicated in a much larger group. If it is successful, later studies, known as Phase 3 trials, will determine exactly how well the vaccine works. Tourists could lose out on Spanish beaches after officials created a social distancing system using roped-off squares that would mean up to 50 percent less people can enjoy a place in the sun. The system has been created to ensure tourists' safety as the country prepares for the summer season after the COVID-19 pandemic, but the downside is that there is not room for everyone. The council of the north-western Sanxenxo municipality in the province of Pontevedra, Galicia, has presented a video demonstrating the system of dividing its beaches that would allow for tourists to return this summer while observing social distancing measures. An example of a beach 'patch' demonstrated by the council of the Sanxenxo municipality, north-western Spain, that could enable tourists to return to Spain's famous beaches Each 'patch' is surrounded by four small posts and a rope to define the square which measures three metres by three metres The Mayor of Sanxenxo, Telmo Martin, presented the project at Silgar beach, one of the most popular in the municipality. The photos show a design to divide the beach into 780 square 'patches' - divided among five zones with a capacity of between 1,560 and 2,340 people - 50 percent less than the highest capacity reached last year. Each 'patch' is surrounded by four small posts and a rope to define the square which measures three metres by three metres (10 feet by 10 feet), with 1.5 metres (4.5 feet) between each square. Tuphe beach will reportedly have four entrances with walkways for beach-goers to access the squares, and two areas dedicated to bathrooms, showers and lifeguard facilities. Tourists will reportedly be unable to reserve a square. Reports state that 80 percent of Sanxenxo's economy depends on tourism and the municipality intends to allow tourist activities respecting the health measures and restrictions of what has been called Spain's 'new normality' after the COVID-19 pandemic. A CGI video from the council showed the beach patches from above, demonstrating different zones and how they keep people a safe distance from one-another while still allowing for the use of the beach The Mayor of Sanxenxo, Telmo Martin, presented the project at Silgar beach and demonstrated the use of the patch himself Another beach in one of Spain's most famous tourist destinations Lloret de Mar is going a step further, and will divide its beach patches into three sections. One section will be for families with children, one for adults without children and another for the elderly, which will be for elderly couples or individuals. 'Following the guidelines set by WHO (World Health Organisation), the objective of the plan is to make Lloret de Mar the safest possible destination, fully prepared to receive visitors during the tourist season this summer and without leaving room for improvisation,' said Mayor Jaume Dulsat. Reports state that 80 percent of Sanxenxo's economy depends on tourism and the municipality intends to allow tourist activities to return while enforcing social distancing The video shared by the council demonstrates how the beach would be split into zones Meanwhile, Mallorca's hotel industry is planning to welcome back foreign tourists from July, it emerged today. Germans and Austrians will be among the first allowed back to the holiday hot spot before Britons, as hoteliers enter into discussions with German tourist companies. Association of Hotel Chains (ACH) and the Hotel Business Federation of Majorca (FEHM) have been holding talks with Germany's TUI, Alltours, FTI and Schauinsland. The talks are aiming to bring tourists back to the Spanish island as soon as this summer, according to Spanish media reports. ACH president Gabriel Llobera said: 'The aim is to be able to open the hotels gradually and always when demand justifies the business effort.' Llobera said that the country's hotel industry and tourism companies have a mutual interest in getting the industry back on its feet in the wake of the crippling coronavirus pandemic. Mallorca's hotel industry is planning to welcome back foreign tourists from July, it has emerged. Pictured, Playa de Muro in Mallorca before the pandemic According to the ACH president, health checks will likely be implemented before tourists travel to Mallorca, and hotel staff will have rapid Covid-19 test kits at their disposal. 'Health safety is essential, because the image of the Mallorca destination in Europe rests on this,' she said. It comes as Spain is set to enter into the second phase of its de-escalation plan on May 11, which will allow for the limited opening of hotels. Britons could miss out on summer holidays to the continent as European countries prepare to agree when travel will be possible and which nations to bypass. According to the latest data from the Johns Hopkins University, there have been 220,325 cases of COVID-19 in Spain with 25,857 deaths. Many businesses will struggle if the pandemic lasts a long time, leaving them vulnerable to foreign takeovers, experts say. The recent Ministry of Planning and Investments (MPI) report showed the great impact of COVID-19 on businesses health. Most surveyed businesses estimate sharp falls of 40-50 percent in revenue compared with 2019, while production costs are on the rise. There will also be a possible sharp cut in labor force. Most businesses said they can hold out for a short time: 35 percent can hold out for three months, 38 percent for six months, 13 percent for one year, and 14 percent for more than one year. Many factories have begun laying off workers or rotating production. There are a many businesses in danger of shutting down or going bankrupt. Many factories have begun laying off workers or rotating production. There are a many businesses in danger of shutting down or going bankrupt. That is why MPI warned that M&As of businesses will take place more regularly, and that more Vietnamese businesses will be taken over by foreigners at low prices. These include medium- and large-size enterprises. MPI also expressed worry that the number of businesses to leave the market in the upcoming time may be even higher as their ability to endure hardship has reached the critical point. Pham Viet Anh, an expert on business growth strategy, warned that if social distancing is extended for several more months, businesses will struggle. This will give golden opportunities to foreign enterprises to swallow up Vietnams businesses. Anh said on Saigon Dau Tu that many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have become paralyzed. Larger enterprises just have enough cash to maintain operation for several more months. It is still unclear when the epidemic will be contained. The downsizing will only help businesses exist until the end of the year. The share prices of many enterprises with good foundation have also decreased sharply by up to 50 percent. They are prone to be taken over by foreigners, he said. In woodwork and wooden furniture manufacturing, 93 percent of businesses have and are going to suspend operation, or have scaled down production, laying off 45 percent of workers. The tourism sector has suspended its operation. According to VCCI (Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry) chair Vu Tien Loc, nearly 85 percent of businesses said the epidemic has shrunk their markets and nearly 60 percent of businesses lack capital and have problems with cash flow. Anh thinks it would be better to find a way to live together with the epidemic. At least, it is necessary to create favorable conditions for enterprises to live in the domestic market now before they return to normal operation. Linh Ha VN businesses resume operation cautiously, step by step Businesses in the aviation and tourism sectors believe that stimulating domestic demand is the first thing that needs to be done in the immediate time. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The first paper I wrote in seminary was on the problem of evil. It was, and still is, a very personal subject for me. The content of that paper contained familiar defenses for reconciling God and evil put forward by many Christian thinkers including the contemporary philosopher Alvin Plantinga in his book God, Freedom, and Evil. His is just one helpful book on the subject of theodicy, which is the #1 issue non-Christians bring up from an emotional standpoint when it comes to denying Gods existence. While most skeptics and atheists continue to rely on the problem of evil and suffering as their number one argument against the presence of an all-good and powerful God, there is a growing trend in unbelievers acknowledging the arguments intellectual bankruptcy. As philosopher Peter Van Inwagen notes, "It used to be widely held that evil was incompatible with the existence of God: that no possible world contained both God and evil. So far as I am able tell, this thesis is no longer defended."[1] When you look at the subject biblically, you find that we work harder at reconciling God and evil than our Creator does. Explicitly speaking, defenses like the free will argument put forward by Plantinga are conspicuously absent in the Bibles pages. For example, instead of a black-and-white answer for evil, the book of Job provides a series of sixty-plus questions from God to Job as the book concludes the topic. Moreover, in the pages of the Old Testament, you find God clearly stating things like, There is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things (Is. 45:6-7). It gets especially interesting in the one New Testament portion of Scripture where Jesus addresses the subject of God and evil. His teaching on the topic is likely not what many expect. The Passage Lets read through the portion of Scripture where Jesus addresses the subject of evil: Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. And He began telling this parable: A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. And he said to the vineyard-keeper, Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground? And he answered and said to him, Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down (Luke 13:1-9) Jesus style in this passage is familiar instruction followed by a parable to illustrate and further ground His teaching. The Teaching In this short passage on the subject of evil, notice that Jesus references both types of evil that we encounter in life: moral and natural.[2] He first gets news about a human atrocity perpetrated by Pilate where the governor directed the Roman authorities to murder non-Jewish worshippers in the temple. Its hard to get a better example of moral evil (human wickedness) than this. He then moves on to reference something that insurance companies today still call Acts of God. Evidently one of the towers of the Siloam aqueduct (built inside the southeast portion of Jerusalems wall) collapsed and killed some bystanders. Its an event along with others like weather disasters, illnesses, etc., that exemplify natural evil. In referring to both situations, what we get from Jesus is somewhat surprising. People today would expect Him to provide an apologetic explanation for why God allowed those things to occur, but instead, Christ makes no effort to reconcile the events in question with a good and all-powerful Creator. Jesus also completely trashes the concept of karma, where what goes around comes around. The idea of personal disaster being the result of individual sin was deeply rooted in the Jewish consciousness (e.g. Job 4:7; 8:20; 11:6; 22:510; John 9:20), but Christ tosses that concept aside. Jesus gives us no answers as to why God allows evil, but instead He provides a sobering warning about turning from sin to God before some similar form of tragedy falls on us. The Parable To emphasize His warning, He delivers a parable about a fig tree that is producing no fruit. Often in Scripture, the fig tree represents Israel and while theres no doubt that it depicts the nation of Israel in this story, theres good reason to believe the parable expands to include everyone else. The illustration of a tree bearing no fruit is referenced many times in both the Old and New Testaments. It represents lives that show no evidence of repentance and change; no transformational proof where spiritual life is concerned. It typically took a fig tree three years to bear fruit. The fact that Jesus public ministry was three years and drawing to a close is likely no coincidence. Israel has run out of time and judgement is coming, both for them and eventually everyone else. The Lesson During a time of a nationwide illness, theologian Warren Wiersbe asked a friend in a neighboring town about his citys death rate. His friend replied, One apiece, then added, People are dying who never died before. Jesus repeated warnings in both His teaching and parable echo what Ecc. 9:12 says Man does not know his time: like fish caught in a treacherous net and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them. If the central lesson of verses 1-5 is Repent and be saved then that of the parable found in verses 6-9 is Repent and be saved now! While we arent given weighty explanations for the problem of theodicy in this passage, we are given good news. When He delivered this teaching, Christ was headed up to Jerusalem to be delivered into the hands of Pilate, and to have his blood not mingled with His sacrifice as in the case of the murdered Gentiles but made the sacrifice itself. Like the pleading vineyard-keeper in the parable, Christ is our great Intercessor who intervenes on our behalf where judgment is concerned. However, while God is very patient, His patience does not last forever. Notice that Jesus asks for a reprieve for the tree not bearing fruit, not for its continued barren existence. What about you? If youre a Christian, does your life bear fruit and demonstrate true saving faith (cf. James 2)? If not, why not? If youre reading this and not a Christian, Id like to respectfully ask that you dont use the problem of evil as a nonchalant way of stiff-arming God. If the subject is a genuine concern, then know that plenty of excellent material is available, which is both intellectually and emotionally satisfying.[3] But dont procrastinate any longer; yours and my tower of Siloam could be waiting for us today. Call out to God now. [1] Peter Van Inwagen, "The Problem of Evil, the Problem of Air, and the Problem of Silence, Philosophical Perspectives, vol. 5: Philosophy of Religion, ed. James E. Tomberlin (Atascadero, CA: Ridgeview Publishing, 1991), pg. 135. [2] Some add supernatural evil to the list, which references Satan and his activities. [3] Excellent works such as Plantigas book as well as William Lane Craigs Tough Questions, Real Answers and similar writings are available. Also see my recent post on the subject here. Virgin Money UK, a former National Australia Bank spin-off, is the latest bank to see profits hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with provisions for bad debts slashing returns in the latest half. The dual-listed bank, which is more than 60 per cent owned by Australian investors and was previously known as Clydesdale Bank, on Wednesday reported a 58 per cent slump in underlying profit, to 120 million ($232 million). Virgin Money UK chief financial officer Ian Smith. Credit:Eamon Gallagher The plunge was driven by a 232 million ($448 million) provision for soured loans, as the lender awaits the full economic impact of the coronavirus lockdown amid unprecedented government support. The bank, under its own name Clydesdale, was spun off from National Australia Bank in 2016 and remains heavily owned by Australian shareholders, mainly institutional investors. It is not surprising to know that the stars of the industry are missing their outdoor workouts. Speaking of which it's 'Throwback Thursday' time for Milind Soman. The athlete-actor took to his Instagram and shared a slew of stunning pictures of himself, exercising on a cliff in Iceland last year. Check out. Milind Soman shares pictures from his Iceland trip On May 7, Milind Soman took to his social media and shared pictures of himself, from his trip to Iceland in 2019. Looks like the actor is missing his vacation diaries and most importantly his outdoor workouts. In the pictures, Milind Soman can be seen executing a one-minute headstand to relax on a cliff in Iceland. Milind Soman's caption to the post read, "Today's activity: climbed 100 floors, 100 squats and 100 pushups, ended with a one-minute headstand to relax these pics on a cliff in Iceland last year, can't resist sharing memories, so pretty! #throwbackthursday @ankita_earthy." Check out Milind Soman's Instagram post here. Also Read | Milind Soman's throwback picture receives an adorable comment from Ankita Konwar; See here The 54-year-old actor was also seen doing clapping push-ups in the recently shared videos by him. He did a total of 6 clapping push-ups in the clip and in the caption mentioned that now he can do 20 decline clapping push-ups too. Milind Soman's slow-motion video gained over 25K views within just a few hours. Recently, Milind Soman's 'Monday Mood' was once again all about his throwback diaries. He shared an old 1990 picture from his archives and in the caption, expressed that it seems a lifetime away. Moreover, he also penned down a question for fans stating, 'What is the biggest change that you have heard of or experienced in the last 30 years?'. Just in no time, fans in huge numbers gushed to respond to Milind Soman's Instagram post. Milind Soman's followers interestingly tweaked it and dropped endearing comments about him. However, many also penned down their remarkable experiences in the past 30 years. This is not the first time that the actor was seen sharing a glimpse of his workout routine. Soman is a super fitness enthusiast and leaves fans stunned with his whereabouts. He not only inspires his wife Ankita Konwar but also gets his mother performing exercises along with him. In of the videos shared by the Four More Shots Please actor, his mother was seen skipping with him. Also Read | Milind Soman Shares Old Pic From 90s With Captivating Question, Fans Say 'still Young' Also Read | Milind Soman Has Achieved His Target Of Doing 20 Decline Clapping Push-ups; Watch Also Read | Tom Cruise to work with NASA & Elon Musk's SpaceX for film shot in space; fans react 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. OAKLAND CO., MI - There will be no access to the huge wave pool in Madison Heights this summer. The Oakland County Parks and Recreation department has announced it is closing both of its waterparks for the rest of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic: Red Oaks Waterpark in Madison Heights and Waterford Oaks Waterpark in Waterford. Metro Detroit and the state of Michigan are two of the hardest-hit spots in the country for COVID-19 cases and deaths. The Oakland County Parks and Recreation department says it made this decision because social distancing cant be achieved by swimmers in a wave pool and at the other water attractions. The whole decision was based on safety for both our guests and staff," said Desiree Stanfield, Oakland County Parks and Recreation marketing and communications supervisor. "This is especially for the safety of our lifeguards. So much of their work is face-to-face contact. Oakland County Parks and Recreation says it made this decision with input from the Oakland County Health Division. Guests who already purchased 2020 waterparks season passes can keep them for the 2021 season or get a full refund by calling the Oakland County Parks and Recreation Department at 248-858-0916 or by email. READ MORE: Thursday, May 7: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan Michigan toddler, who spiked 107 fever, finally COVID-19 free after nightmare month Driver cited for going 110 over the speed limit at 180 mph on a Michigan freeway Michigan dog survives fight with huge bear, has severe claw marks and may never run again Eminem comes face-to-face with home intruder who sneaked past security Albert Enoch Johnson, 31, was charged with two counts of aggravated murder over the deaths of Tony and Katherine Buttefield, who were shot dead inside their Salt Lake City home Police have provided chilling new details about the gruesome double homicide of a Utah couple killed while their three young children slept nearby. On Wednesday, Albert Enoch Johnson, 31, was charged with two counts of aggravated murder over the deaths of Tony and Katherine Buttefield, who were shot dead inside their Salt Lake City home on April 18. Johnson was also charged with aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary and obstruction of justice relating to the violent incident. According to court documents filed by Salt Lake County prosecutors, Johnson broke into the Butterfield home in the early hours of April 18. Johnson told investigators he was worried about his finances and intended to rob the Butterfield family because he believed they had money. He was known to the couple, and had reportedly tried to attain work at their landscaping business. Johnson donned a mask, before he kicked down the couple's front door and went upstairs to the main bedroom where Tony, 31, and Katherine, 30, were sleeping. Tony and Katherine Butterfield are pictured with their three young children. The couple were killed inside their home on April 18 Court documents state that he woke the couple and ordered them downstairs. He took their cellphones and $20 in cash before fleeing the scene. However, prosecutors allege that, when Johnson returned to his car, he realized that he had left his car keys inside. He then returned to the Butterfields' home without wearing his mask. Once he was back inside the house, Johnson was confronted by Tony Butterfield, who immediately recognized him without the mask on. Court documents say he called Johnson by his first name, and asked: 'Why?' Knowing that he had then been identified, Johnson allegedly stabbed Tony in the chest, before shooting him. Katherine Butterfield is said to have witnessed her husband's shooting and screamed. Johnson then purportedly shot her dead as well, before he retrieved his car keys and left the scene. The Butterfields' three children - aged four, two and six months - were sleeping upstairs and were unharmed. Tony Butterfield, pictured right, allegedly recognized Johnson when he returned to the home to fetch his car keys Two days after the attack, police arrested Johnson's wife, Sina, for withholding 'the whereabouts of the homicide suspect' and 'falsifying her [statements] of what occurred and her involvement' Investigators soon linked Johnson to the scene after they discovered his bloody finger print on the front door. However, by that time, he had already fled to California. Two days after the attack, police arrested Johnson's wife, Sina, for withholding 'the whereabouts of the homicide suspect' and 'falsifying her [statements] of what occurred and her involvement'. Sina Johnson had been in contact with her husband 'on multiple occasions prior to and after the homicide' and 'admitted ... to disposing of the evidence', police stated at the time. She is being held without bail for obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence and is working with police as they continue the investigation. On April 22, police located and arrested Johnson in Sacramento, California following a tip-off. He was extradited back to Utah earlier this week. The Butterfields leave behind three young children, aged four, two and six months Tony and Katherineere laid to rest at Herriman City Cemetery on April 25, with the emotional service livestreamed for friends and family who couldn't attend due to Utahs stay-at-home order. The family has been overwhelmed with the outpouring of support from the community as a GoFundMe page for the family has raised over $240,000, money which will be used to support the three young Butterfield children. Tony Butterfield had the nickname T-money for his hard work and ability to save money and support his family, Katherines sister Emily Hurst said according to their obituary. Tony Butterfield had the nickname T-money for his hard work and ability to save money and support his family, Katherines sister Emily Hurst said according to their obituary. 'Tony helped many people with employment and often joked with family members that we should quit our jobs and work for him. I had the privilege of working alongside Tony, and though problems would arise, I never once saw him complain or raise his voice. He was a well-balanced man,' Katherines brother Aaron Crane said. 'Tony worked hard for his family and had already taught his children the value of working,' Hurst said. 'He never spoiled the kids and never had to. They knew how much their daddy loved them, because he was always there for a hug and a kiss, or to be goofy with them.' A global charity has warned that Somalia is being overwhelmed by a spike in coronavirus cases. The International Rescue Committee said the situation was on the verge of spiralling out of control, with widespread community transmission and inadequate health care. It said the official figure of 835 confirmed cases was far from reality. The groups comments echoes a statement from the mayor of Somalias capital, Mogadishu, earlier this week. Omar Filish said the city had seen an unusual number of deaths recently and warned that the country was under-counting cases of coronavirus. Somalia is already struggling with the worst locust invasion in 25 years, plus a drought and floods as well as conflict. More than five million people need humanitarian aid to survive in the country. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Charlampos "Haris" Tzoulis with groundbreaking research on Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease. Credit: Ingvild Festervoll Melien A study performed by researchers from the University of Bergen, Norway, and the University of Vienna, Austria, shows damage of the mitochondriathe cell's microscopic powerhousesin the brains of people with Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease. The researchers found that the mitochondrial power generator (known as the respiratory chain) is severely impaired in brain cells from people who died with Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease. "These mitochondrial defects were widespread in the brain and correlated with the severity of disease," says Professor Charalampos Tzoulis at the University of Bergen and Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen. Damaged mitochondria are no longer able to provide the energy required for neuronal maintenance and function. "These findings strongly suggest that mitochondrial failure contributes to the pathogenesis of Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease," says Tzoulis. Hoping for new treatment Tzoulis highlight the need to better understand how mitochondrial failure contributes to Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease. "We hope that this study may be exploited towards developing treatments for this incurable and deadly condition," says Charalampos Tzoulis. Facts: Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease is a rare and rapid progressive and severe disease that causes loss of brain tissue. Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease is a lethal brain disease that annually affects one to two people per million, and causes death within four to 24 months. The disease normally affects individuals above the age of 60, and causes a combination of invaliding symptoms, often dementia and movement disorders. In spite of years of research, there is currently no cure. Explore further Getting closer to treatment for Parkinson's More information: Irene H. Flnes et al. Mitochondrial respiratory chain deficiency correlates with the severity of neuropathology in sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Acta Neuropathologica Communications (2020). Irene H. Flnes et al. Mitochondrial respiratory chain deficiency correlates with the severity of neuropathology in sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease,(2020). DOI: 10.1186/s40478-020-00915-8 With cerebral organoids produced by human embryonic stem cells, the early development of the human brain was investigated. The organ-like cell cultures consist of neural stem cells (green), progenitor cells (red) and nerve cells (white). Credit: Daniel Gonzalez-Bohorquez, UZH Neural stem cells are not only responsible for early brain developmentthey remain active for an entire lifetime. They divide and continually generate new nerve cells and enable the brain to constantly adapt to new demands. Various genetic mutations impede neural stem cell activity and thus lead to learning and memory deficits in the people affected. Very little has hitherto been known about the mechanisms responsible for this. Enzyme regulates brain stem cell activity An international research team led by Sebastian Jessberger, professor at the Brain Research Institute at the University of Zurich (UZH), is now demonstrating for the first time that a lipid metabolism enzyme regulates the lifelong activity of brain stem cells, in a study published in Cell Stem Cell. This enzymeknown as fatty acid synthase (FASN)is responsible for the formation of fatty acids. A specific mutation in the enzyme's genetic information causes cognitive deficits in affected patients. Headed by postdoc Megan Bowers and Ph.D. candidates Tong Liang and Daniel Gonzalez-Bohorquez, the researchers studied the genetic change of FASN in the mouse model as well as in human cerebral organoidsorgan-like cell cultures of the brain that are formed from human embryonic stem cells. "This approach allows us to analyze the effects of the defective enzyme in the brains of adult mice and during early human brain development in parallel," explains Jessberger. The research involved altering the genetic information of both the mice and the human organoids experimentally so that the lipid metabolism enzyme exhibited the exact mutation that had been found in people with cognitive deficits. Diminished stem cell activity reduces cognitive performance The FASN mutation led to reduced division of stem cells, which constantly generate new nerve cells, both in mice and in human tissue. The hyperactivity of the mutated enzyme is responsible for this, since fats accumulate inside the cell, putting the stem cells under stress and reducing their ability to divide. Similar to cognitive deficits found in affected people, mice also displayed learning and memory deficits due to the mutation. "Our results provide evidence of the functional correlation between lipid metabolism, stem cell activity and cognitive performance," says Jessberger. The mechanism now identified shows how lipid metabolism regulates neuronal stem cells activity and thus influences brain development. "The new discoveries regarding learning and memory deficits in people were only made possible by linking our research on animal models and in human cells," stresses Jessberger. According to the research scientists, their methodology provides a "blueprint" for conducting detailed research into the activity of brain stem cells and their role in cognitive processes, and therefore for achieving a better understanding of poorly understood diseases. Stem cells as a therapeutic objective for brain diseases "In addition, we hope that it will be possible to control stem cell activity therapeutically to use them for brain repairfor example for the future treatment of cognitive disorders or in association with diseases that involve the death of nerve cells, such as Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's disease," says Sebastian Jessberger. Explore further Stem cell divisions in the adult brain seen for the first time Companies can contribute under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to chief minister's relief funds and not only to PM CARES, senior Congress leader Vivek Tankha said, and asked the states to tap this resource to overcome financial burden in leading the fight against coronavirus. "To counter the misinformation being spread about ineligibility of CM relief funds for CSR, you may consider making an appeal to industry, to donate to the state CSR funds, by clarifying the position of the state qua CSR funding," he said in a letter to all chief ministers of the states. Tankha said the Companies Act, 2013, mandates that the private sector discharge a sense of social responsibility. He said Schedule VII of the Companies Act lists out the various activities that are eligible for CSR funds from industry, and "I believe states should tap this resource". Tankha asked them to "ignore" the frequently asked questions (FAQs) and a circular issued last month by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs that designated the PM CARES fund as eligible to receive CSR funds and the chief minister's relief funds as not eligible for such expenditure. "It is well established in law that FAQs cannot override the act, rules and regulations. Responses to FAQs have no force in law whatsoever," he said. Tankha, a Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh, said that Invest India, the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency of India, tasked with promoting and facilitating investments, names a number of state funds, including chief minister's relief funds, in its repository of state & central funds accepting donations for COVID-19 relief. "Admittedly funds, like the chief minister's relief fund, established by state, are undertaking activities under Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013, and are eligible for CSR funds," the parliamentarian said. He said coronavirus pandemic has brought to the fore, what was envisaged by our Constitution, a strong and vibrant federal republic, where the true strength of the nation lies in empowering its states. Over Rs 50,000 crore have been spent by the corporate for social welfare activities in the last five financial years. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The attorneys general for 11 Midwestern states are urging the Justice Department to pursue a federal investigation into market concentration and potential price fixing by meatpackers in the cattle industry during the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General William Barr, the state attorneys general noted that the domestic beef processing market is highly concentrated, with the four largest beef processors controlling 80 percent of the industry. Given the concentrated market structure of the beef industry, it may be particularly susceptible to market manipulation, particularly during times of food insecurity, such as the current COVID-19 crisis, they wrote. Although their letter does not name them, the nations largest processors are Tyson Foods, JBS, Cargill, and National Beef. The companies did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. Mark Watne, the president of the North Dakota Farmers Union, said in a statement that in all the years they have called for stronger antitrust enforcement, they have rarely seen such obvious market abuses by the meatpacking industry. Theyre posting record profits, while ranchers are suffering significant market price losses, Watne said. The situation definitely smells rotten, and it not only hurts ranchers, but consumers, too. The state officials criticized the disparity in the price of live cattle and the retail cost of boxed beef that is sold to consumers, arguing that it shows the market lacks fair competition. Live cattle futures recently hit 18-year lows, while both the price of boxed beef and consumer demand remain healthy as consumers stockpile meat in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter was signed by attorneys general in North Dakota, Missouri, Colorado, South Dakota, Montana, Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wyoming. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The state attorneys general said they are eager to work with Barr on an examination of the competitive dynamics of the industry. Antitrust concerns about the cattle market are nothing new. Competition issues arising from agricultural markets existed long before the COVID-19 pandemic and will persist long after we defeat our current crisis, they wrote. Although most enforcement actions are civil, federal antitrust law is also criminal law and individuals and businesses that violate it may be prosecuted by the Justice Department, according the Federal Trade Commission. Criminal penalties can reach up to $100 million for a corporation, along with up to 10 years in prison. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the amount the conspirators gained from the illegal acts or twice the money lost by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is over $100 million. The state attorneys general wrote that if, after an investigation, there is no appropriate enforcement action that can be pursued, regulatory strategies should be explored to promote competition and protect consumers. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Communication Directorate of Mike Oquaye Jnr.s campaign says it has exposed the vile propaganda tool being employed by Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo and her supporters against her opponent in the race for the Dome-Kwabenya NPP Parliamentary Seat. They claim several of such propaganda was launched against HE Mike Oquaye Jnr. in an attempt to discredit his chances and to court sympathy for votes but all seemed to have failed. The latest of such vile propaganda, it says, was a publication in which Adwoa Safo claimed Mike Oquaye Jnr. is after her life. This was in reference to an incident that occurred two weeks ago when some people snatched the Dome Kwabenya Voter Album during an exhibition process at the Chairmans residence. Meanwhile, the Communication Directorate of HE Mike Oquaye Jnr.s campaign has outrightly condemned the false publication in The Ghanaian Publisher with the caption on its banner headline Oquayes Son Is After My Life - Adwoa Safo, and exposed her ill agenda against her opponent. According to the statement, the said publication is false and must be treated with the contempt it deserves. How can a scuffle which ensued at the house of the Chairman over a snatched album by a Supporter of Adwoa be construed as a threat to her life? Does Adwoa live in the House of the Chairman? How come her life feels threatened after two weeks of an unconnected incident, where no one was even hurt? the statement indicated. We wish also to inform our Cherished Polling Station Executives and the general public that, Oquaye Junior has not tasked any of his supporters nor would ever task any of his supporters to besiege the Constituency Chairmans residence nor any other person to cause mayhem, the statement said. According to the Communication Directorate, the supporters went there because they were told that the album was taken to Chairmans house, and not to look for the MP. The statement reiterated the aspirant's unalloyed assurance to all Polling Station Executives of their commitment to engage in "politics of real issues" as far as the Dome/Kwabenya constituency primary is concerned and would also not be deterred by any "childish and communist inferior propaganda from unscrupulous people." Our quest to fight for Polling Station Executives to liberate them from the challenges they are facing is Essentially Critical and our CORE MANDATE as well and we shall execute the same for all to be happy, it said. Recounting events leading to the incident, the statement said, the publication preceded a similar false alarm last Friday, May 1, 2020, when a supporter of Hon. Adwoa Safo, Alhaji Ibrahim threw the whole constituency into chaos by raising false alarm that supporters of Mike Oquaye Jnr. knocked one Mr. Borga Nie down with a motorbike. This was however established to be false when the same Alhaji Ibrahim rescinded his false cry and apologized on the same WhatsApp platforms where he earlier gave the alarm. In a related development, delegates at the scene have decried the dirty strategy being employed by Hon. Adwoa Safo. According to Ntim Gyakari of Dome Kwabenya Adwoa is desperate. Mr. Ntim further stated that it is never true the Chairman who was beaten to a pulp as quoted by the MP. In fact, those who went there to protest for the release of the album were not able to enter the house at all because the gate was locked and they refused to open it. They did not even see the Chairman, let alone lay a finger on him to be scratched or beaten. The chairman initially said a stone was thrown by those outsides to near FM, that is true, it is also true a guy called Joel threw a stone from the chairmans house at them, then the police arrived, that was the end of the unfortunate scuffle - but how can that be vandalism of his house? How can you say he was beaten by anyone. I am telling you that this happened two weeks ago, so how come the MP narrates the same events with a different twist of lies and claims her life has been threatened? These are concocted stories and they are pure lies. I think she is now desperate, he concluded. 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 Imperial Valley News Center Proclamation on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives Awareness Day, 2020 Washington, DC - The American Indian and Alaska Native people have endured generations of injustice. They experience domestic violence, homicide, sexual assault, and abuse far more frequently than other groups. These horrific acts, committed predominantly against women and girls, are egregious and unconscionable. During Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives Awareness Day, we reaffirm our commitment to ending the disturbing violence against these Americans and to honoring those whose lives have been shattered and lost. Resiliency, collaboration, and resourcefulness are all necessary to eradicate the heartbreaking incidents of missing persons and fatal violence experienced by American Indian and Alaska Native communities across our country. My Administration stands squarely behind the tribal governments that are leading the efforts to address this pattern of violence so that their people can live in peace and thrive. The Yakama Nation in southern Washington is using the States major violent crime database to track the disappearance of tribal members. On the Navajo Reservation, the Missing and Murdered Dine Relatives Work Group is working to end sex trafficking, child abductions, and other challenges within the largest tribal jurisdiction in the Nation. In Montana, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are engaged with State officials to prioritize cases of missing and murdered tribal citizens. Beyond these and other efforts, tribal communities are leveraging rich cultural traditions of healing ceremonies and spiritual practices to offer refuge, compassion, and comfort to individuals and families in crisis. Under my Administration, tribal governments are not alone in fighting the epidemic of violence against American Indian and Alaska Native people. In October of 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) awarded more than $270 million in grants to improve public safety, serve victims of crime, combat violence against women, and support youth programs in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The DOJs Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Initiative is placing coordinators in 11 United States Attorneys offices to develop comprehensive law enforcement responses to missing persons cases. These responses also include the use of the Federal Bureau of Investigations advanced capabilities, enhanced data collection, and analysis to support local efforts when required. The Department of the Interior (DOI) is also taking action to address the critical concerns of American Indian and Alaska Native communities. DOIs Bureau of Indian Affairs has launched a series of Reclaiming Our Native Communities roundtables focused on domestic violence prevention of missing or murdered American Indian and Alaska Native women, children, and men. The Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services (BIA-OJS) is equipping officers to handle long-standing cold cases and child abduction investigations, including positioning Special Agents on coldcase task forces in strategic locations throughout the country. BIA-OJS has partnered with the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System to aid in identifying missing persons cases involving Native Americans. Additionally, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made the health and safety of American Indian and Alaska Native communities a priority. HHS is developing a comprehensive, whole-person approach for strengthening these vulnerable populations through prevention, health, and education activities. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) partners with tribes and tribal organizations to strengthen responses to Native American victims of domestic violence. ACF will soon disburse $22 million to increase the public health response and expand shelter and supportive services to victims of family violence, domestic violence, and dating abuse in tribal communities. To help bolster these efforts to address this terrible crisis, last November, I was proud to sign an Executive Order establishing Operation Lady Justice. This interagency task force is developing an aggressive government-wide strategy for ending the cycle of violence and providing grants to improve public safety in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The task force is consulting with tribal leaders to develop and strengthen investigative protocols to resolve new and unsolved cases, improve information and data sharing, establish best practices for communicating with families throughout an investigation, and raise public awareness through outreach to affected communities. Tragically, violence is prevalent in tribal communities, but we are determined to reverse this unacceptable trend. Through partnerships across Federal, State, and tribal governments, we are aggressively working to ensure that members of tribal communities can live lives free from fear of violence. We will not waver in our mission to bring healing, justice, hope, and restoration to our American Indian and Alaska Native communities. NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 5, 2020, as Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives Awareness Day. I call upon all Americans and all Federal, State, tribal, and local governments to increase awareness of the crisis of missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives through appropriate programs and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-fourth. DONALD J. TRUMP The Michigan Senate is seeking to provide doctors, nurses and hospitals with immunity from liability during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. On Thursday, May 7, the Senate passed a bill that would amend the Emergency Management Act to clarify provisions that provide health care professionals and facilities with immunity from civil or criminal liability during a declared state of emergency. The bill would not provide immunity in the event an act or omission is willful or intentional misconduct or constitutes gross negligence, according to an analysis from the Senate Fiscal Agency. It would not affect the rights of workers under the Workers Disability Compensation Act. Senate Bill 899, which was sponsored by Sen. Michael MacDonald, R-Macomb Township, would provide immunity through the duration of the COVID-19 state of emergency, or up to Sept. 30, whichever is later. The state of emergency was extended through May 28 by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who cited a 1945 law allowing her to do so after the legislature declined to extend the declaration on April 30. Front-line health care workers in Macomb and across our state have risked their lives and made huge sacrifices to help provide critical care during the COVID-19 public health crisis, MacDonald said in a prepared statement. In the face of a global fight against a virus with no known cure, our medical professionals have made incredibly difficult decisions and used innovative approaches to save lives. They should not have to worry about possible lawsuits as they decide how best to treat a patient. The bill passed through the Senate with 25 yes votes and 13 no votes. Sen. Rosemary Bayer, D-Beverly Hills, spoke in opposition to the bill. She noted that Gov. Gretchen Whitmers executive orders 2020-30 and 2020-61 have already provided such protections to health care workers and facilities, and said the legislature should be focusing more on long-term problems facing Michigan residents and less about the short-term protections that are already being addressed daily by the governors executive orders. Bayer said the legislature by design is a deliberative body that should take more than a week to pass a bill. Meanwhile, the governor can act more quickly during a state of emergency such as this. Let the governor do her legally mandated job," she said. Several other senators noted the same reasons for opposition. Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, proposed an amendment that would have narrowly tailored the immunity to medical professionals who are specifically working with COVID-19 patients instead of any care providers during the health crisis. The amendment failed by a 16-22 vote. Irwin proposed a second amendment that would have kept a door open for legal complaints against discrimination. He said the clarification would provide assurance to black residents who already know or believe there is racial bias in health care. That amendment also failed by a 16-22 vote. The Senate bill advances to the Michigan House of Representatives for consideration. It would need to pass the House and be signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to become law. 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. Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces. Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus. Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus. More from MLive: Coronavirus continues to disrupt mail service in parts of Michigan Michigan postal worker with suspected coronavirus dies weeks before retirement Whitmer looks to cut unemployment red tape, issues new coronavirus crisis order Eight weeks after Michigans first coronavirus cases, an animated map tracks its spread through the state The Chinese central government and local governments have taken frequent, prompt and practical measures to stabilize and guarantee employment in order to overcome the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Qinghe county in north Chinas Hebei province gives priority to local laborers who havent been able to leave their hometowns to work as migrant workers, while making efforts to promote resumption of work and production. Qinghe county is an important auto parts manufacturing base in northern China.(Photo by Mu Yu/Xinhua) China has always attached great importance to six key areas in its efforts to stabilize and guarantee performance, namely employment, finance, foreign trade, foreign investment, domestic investment, and market expectations. The country has intensified its efforts to guarantee employment for people across the country, with particular attention being paid to key industries and key groups since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Supportive policies for worst-hit Hubei province As the province in China hardest hit by the pandemic, central Chinas Hubei has enjoyed a great deal of support from the central government in its efforts to stabilize employment. An official document released by the General Office of the State Council on March 20 pointed out that the relevant departments should enhance support for employment in areas hit hard by the pandemic, including Hubei. One-off subsidies should be provided for students who are about to graduate from colleges and universities in Hubei in 2020 and this years college graduates who were born in Hubei, in order to help them secure jobs or start their own businesses, the document said. Provincial-level public institutions in Hubei can implement special recruitment plans, and Hubei should be given priority in grassroots service projects, according to the document. On March 19, 551 migrant workers from Jingzhou, Hubei province, return to work in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province via special train G4368. (Photo by Cheng Min/Xinhua) For small and medium-sized as well as micro-enterprises that have made efforts to avoid laying off workers or reduce the number of layoffs, the proportion of unemployment insurance premiums paid in the previous year that can be refunded to them has been raised from 50 percent to up to 100 percent, according to You Jun, vice minister of Chinas Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS). All enterprises in Hubei can benefit from the new refund policy, You revealed. Hubei province has also made constant efforts to keep employment stable. On March 27, the general office of the Hubei Provincial Peoples Government issued policies to stabilize employment and deal with the impact of COVID-19, specifying 25 concrete measures to stabilize employment through efforts in nine fields, including promoting the resumption of work in an orderly manner, supporting enterprises efforts to alleviate burdens and stabilize employment, and facilitating employment through various channels. The department of human resources and social security of Suizhou city in Hubei has organized a special online recruitment activity to help local automaker CLW Special Automobile Co., Ltd. resume work and production. After suffering severe losses of its workforce due to COVID-19, the online recruitment drive helped the company recruit more than 100 employees in a short time. We are grateful to the human resources and social security department that delivered good policies and services to our doorsteps and helped us solve our recruitment problem, said He Ruan, chief of the Communist Party of China (CPC) committee of CLW Special Automobile Co., Ltd., which has basically brought its daily production capacity back to what it was before the pandemic. While online recruitment activities show certain advantages in helping with employment during the pandemic, offline job fairs have continued to play important roles in boosting employment for migrant workers and local residents as the pandemic situation in Hubei has been gradually brought under control. On April 21, the department of human resources and social security of Wuhan, capital of Hubei, organized the citys first on-site job fair in 2020. The fair, which featured seven parallel sessions, drew 281 employers and 7,248 job seekers, and provided a total of 10,017 jobs. 3,528 people signed contracts or letters of intent during the job fair. In 30 days, the department of human resources and social security of Yunxi county, Shiyan in Hubei province helped 47,646 local rural migrant workers return to work via special trains and customized transportation services arranged by the government and enterprises. Hubei has signed provincial-level cooperation agreements on labor services with various Chinese provinces including Guangdong and Zhejiang, and has so far sent workers back to their jobs in more than 90 cities in 28 Chinese provinces through special trains and customized transportation services. As of April 23, a total of about 6.9 million workers had returned to work from Hubei province. A helping hand for impoverished workers As 2020 is the decisive year for Chinas efforts to win the fight against poverty, special attention has been paid to poor laborers around the country as part of efforts to stabilize employment amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Zhenfeng county in Qianxinan Buyi and Miao autonomous prefecture of southwest Chinas Guizhou province has set up 48 CPC work groups and arranged for 1,189 grid-based team leaders to help local people secure jobs. These work groups disseminate anti-fraud and hazard prevention knowledge and also let farmers know about favorable agriculture policies and solve problems related to left-behind children and elderly people living alone, so that people who work in other cities not have to worry about their families back home. Ive been working here for more than two months and got more and more skilful at my job. I earned over 4,000 yuan (about $564.4) this month. I want to thank our government for offering me such a great opportunity to make money, said Long Ping, who is from a poor household in Zhesang village of Zhenfeng county. Long had never been a migrant worker before. Her family used to live on less than one acre of farmland and she took part-time jobs during the slack farming season. Today, she is a worker at a company in Dongyang city, east Chinas Zhejiang province. You can get a stable income if you go out to work. Dont worry, I will pay regular visits to your home and will take care of all the things I can for you, a government official told Long on Feb. 13 when providing job information to her. In addition to helping poor laborers working in bigger cities, efforts have also been made to set up poverty-relief workshops across the country to ensure that impoverished households can get stable incomes and shake off poverty by working near their homes. Since mid-February, the poverty alleviation work team in Daxu village, Fuyang city of east Chinas Anhui province, has been going from house to house, gathering information about unemployed people. While encouraging existing employees at the local poverty-relief workshops to return to their posts, the work team has spread relevant supportive policies for employees at the workshops, and also helped poor people who have the ability to work get jobs there. By April 10, more than 23 million poor laborers had gone to work as migrant workers outside their hometowns, accounting for 86 percent of the total number last year. The country will focus its efforts on three key areas: impoverished counties that havent shaken off poverty, areas suffering extreme poverty, and Hubei province, according to Zhang Ying, head of the employment division of the MHRSS. Special measures to help 2020 college graduates In addition to Hubei province and the poor population, this years 8.7 million college graduates in China have also enjoyed strong support across the country in their efforts to find jobs. An online recruitment platform named 24365 has seen significant results since it was jointly launched at the end of last February by the Ministry of Education, colleges and universities, as well as five major recruitment websites. During the special online recruitment fair at Beijings Zhongguancun, known as Chinas Silicon Valley, more than 1,000 listed companies and leading enterprises offered over 30,000 positions to graduates. At the same time, 891 science and technology enterprises released information on more than 10,000 positions for college graduates on an online job fair of Shenzhen National High-Tech Zone in Shenzhen, south Chinas Guangdong province. Chinas centrally administered state-owned enterprises have also been actively expanding the number of positions available for college graduates. Sinopec announced that it will recruit another 3,500 college graduates after signing contracts with 6,663 students graduating this year. The State Grid Corporation of China plans to employ 23,000 college students this year, 25 percent more than the number of college graduates it hired last year. China Three Gorges Corporation has also recruited 1,748 college graduates this year, marking a 200 percent rise from the previous year. In addition, public institutions across the country are preparing to formulate special recruitment plans and set up positions specifically for college students who are about to graduate this year. Guizhou province has planned to add 5,000 positions for soon-to-graduate college students, while Hubei province has said its public institutions will provide more than 30,000 positions for college graduates this year and next year. Furthermore, a targeted assistance drive has been launched in China to facilitate the sharing of information between colleges and universities in Hubei and other parts of the country to help boost employment for Hubei graduates and support their efforts to start their own businesses. The drive has been promptly implemented. Now that Wuhan University and Peking University have paired up, students of Wuhan University can now get access to online recruitment and internship information from Peking University on a WeChat account of Wuhan University and employment information website of Wuhan University. Nearly 200 graduates will find employment through the information shared with Peking University, according to Liu Wenbin, vice director of the employment guidance and service center of Wuhan University. AKRON, Ohio Police are searching for two suspects who took a mans cash from his stimulus check in a robbery at knifepoint. Officers were called to the 100 block of East Market Street downtown just after 7 p.m. Tuesday. The 29-year-old victim tells officers that a few hours earlier in the East Akron area, he called an acquaintance for a ride so he could cash his stimulus check. The acquaintance arrived with another man and drove the victim to cash the check, police say. The two men then robbed the victim of the cash and a cell phone. The suspects both are about 25 to30 years old. The incident remains under investigation. No arrests have been made at this time. More crime-related content on cleveland.com: Cleveland man charged in 1987 murder of Barbara Blatnik near Blossom Music Center Woman pleads guilty to robbery, having dogs attack worker at Akron grocery store Lorain man charged in hit-and-run crash that severed womans leg One dead, two injured in high-speed crash in Cleveland, police say [May 07, 2020] Dr. Nino Kharaishvili Joins Jacobs as Principal of the Company's Health System Resilience Practice DALLAS, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jacobs (NYSE:J) is pleased to announce that Nino Kharaishvili, MD, MBA, PMP, CMAP, a global expert in health security and health system emergency preparedness and resilience, has joined the company's Federal & Environmental Solutions team as Principal of the Health System Resilience practice. The practice combines Jacobs' multidisciplinary expertise in policy development, legislation and planning for emergency preparedness, response and recovery; broader organizational/inter-agency coordination; comprehensive healthcare infrastructure services; logistics and supply chain management; operational management and business continuity; information management systems and data analysis; and assessments of risks, vulnerabilities and technical capacities, as well as training and exercises for healthcare workers, teams and support staff. Dr. Kharaishvili brings to Jacobs more than 15 years of healthcare systems consulting experience supporting the U.S. Department of Defense, and most recently the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's (DTRA) Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP), which focuses on especially dangerous pathogen and infectious disease surveillance, biosafety and biosecurity. She has specific expertise in defining pathways for healthcare system sustainability and resilience, as well as designing and implementing various emergency management exercises aimed at improving public health emergency preparedness and response. "Jacobs recognizes that the challenges we face today with the COVID-19 pandemic, and those we anticipate in the future, require more resilient, holistic solutions to improve public health," said Jacobs Federal & Environmental Solutions Senior Vice President and General Manager Tim Byers. "Dr. Kharaishvili strengthens our already impressive healthcare services team and brings a new depth of health security expertise, a broad-based understanding of emergency management, and a global consulting portfolio that will be a tremendous asset in leading our Health System Resilience practice." As part of her DTRA work, Dr. Kharaishvili developed a risk assessment tool that analyzes a country's vulnerability to naturally-occurring, accidental or nefarious release of weaponizable infectious pathogens. The tool has been used in more than 25 countries to establish a baseline of the health security risk landscape and to provide a foundation for identifying and prioritizing system-wide risk mitigation and management activities. Dr. Kharaishvili received her doctor of medicine degree from Aiety Medical School, Georgia (country), and her Master of Business Administration from the College of Saint Rose, Albany, New York. She also provides academic and technical support to the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health at the Uniformed Services University, within the scope of its mission leading domestic and international disaster health education and research efforts. At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. With $13 billion in revenue and a talent force of more than 55,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector. Visit jacobs.com and connect with Jacobs on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements as such term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provided by the same. Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related reaction of governments on global and regional market conditions and the company's business. For a description of some additional factors that may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 27, 2019, and in particular the discussions contained under Item 1 - Business; Item 1A - Risk Factors; Item 3 - Legal Proceedings; and Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, as well as the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company is not under any duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform to actual results, except as required by applicable law. For press/media inquiries: Kerrie Sparks 214.583.8433 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dr-nino-kharaishvili-joins-jacobs-as-principal-of-the-companys-health-system-resilience-practice-301054692.html SOURCE Jacobs [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Regulatory News: IFF, (NYSE:IFF) (Euronext Paris: IFF) (TASE: IFF), a leading innovator of taste, scent, and nutrition ingredients, named Shoji Kumasaka Master Perfumer. The Company's designation recognizes perfumers who have demonstrated consistent and outstanding levels of creativity and craftsmanship in the art of perfumery, and exceptional leadership in and measurable impact on the industry. Mr. Kumasaka, a nearly 50-year IFF veteran and its seventh Master Perfumer, has a storied career with success within hair care and personal care with wins that span the globe. "Kumasaka-san embodies everything that is wonderful about IFF," said Andreas Fibig, Chairman CEO, IFF. "His commitment to his art, delivering beautiful fragrances to consumers all over the world, and sharing his knowledge with the next generation of perfumers are just some of the reasons he is treasured at IFF. And at a time of such uncertainty, it is a genuine pleasure to celebrate something so enduring." Born in Fukushima, Japan, Mr. Kumasaka was influenced at an early age by ancient Japanese literature. As a teenager, he read Tale of the Genji, written in the early 11th century. He became fascinated with the descriptions of how the aristocracy loved the smell of burning incense, and his lifelong passion for scent began. After college, he joined a Japanese fragrance house, starting his basic training in perfumery. In 1971, he joined IFF and studied with the Company's legendary perfumer, Ernest Shiftan, before returning to Japan and focusing on hair care and personal wash. Mr. Kumasaka said, "I have worked for IFF for 49 years. In that time, I have been so lucky to work at a job that I have loved for my whole life. I have been fortunate enough to train with Mr. Shiftan, my great mentor and benefactor. I have been able to travel and work globally, meet so many wonderful colleagues, and share what I have learned with young perfumers." He continued, "When people ask me my philosophy of perfumery, I tell them what has guided me all my life: Simple is best." Nicolas Mirzayantz, IFF Divisional CEO, Scent, offered, "For nearly 50 years, Kumasaka-san has learned and shared great wisdom that benefits everyone in his sphere. As one of Mr. Shiftan's apprentices, he is part of the storied continuum of passion and creativity that has been part of IFF from the start. His creations over the course of his career are part of the olfactive tapestry of consumers around the world. And his mentees will shepherd this knowledge and wisdom well into the future. I am so proud to count Kumasaka-san as one of IFF's Master Perfumers!" Welcome to IFF At IFF (NYSE:IFF) (Euronext Paris: IFF) (TASE: IFF), we're using Uncommon Sense to create what the world needs. As a collective of unconventional thinkers and creators, we put science and artistry to work to create unique and unexpected scents, tastes, experiences and ingredients for the products our world craves. Learn more at iff.com, Twitter Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005070/en/ Contacts: Michael DeVeau Head of Investor Relations and Communications 212.708.7164 Michael.DeVeau@iff.com Champions of plant-based meat see an opportunity to make inroads with American shoppers in the wake of coronavirus outbreaks at US slaughterhouses that have pressured meat supply. Prices of conventional protein have surged in recent weeks following the temporary closure of at least 18 meat processing plants in the US at a time of already-elevated demand due to panic buying and pantry loading. The upshot is that producers of plant-based steaks, nuggets and sausages see a chance to win over shoppers from a broader set of consumers. "Relative to higher prices in the protein market today, we can make significant inroads into consumers and help them expand their choices of proteins," Beyond Meat Chief Executive Ethan Brown said this week. Brown added that the company plans "heavier discounting" of some products to make them more competitive with old-fashioned meat. Another emerging player in plant-based meat, Impossible Foods, also from California, this week launched in Kroger, the nation's biggest grocery chain. The move expands the retail footprint by 18-fold to 2,700 retail locations, said the company, which boasts that its products can be used in stews, sauces or on a barbecue. "We are moving as quickly as possible to expand with additional outlets and in more retail channels," said Impossible Foods President Dennis Woodside. Part of the opportunity is that the disruptions from coronavirus comes on the heels of the hit from African swine fever, which has hit Asia's pork supply. "Agricultural challenges in commodity crop production and processing will be slower to percolate into the food chain, meaning plant-based burgers and chicken alternatives have a window of opportunity right now to present themselves as more reliable alternatives ?- or potentially the only choice ?- next to empty meat cases in grocery stores," said Sara Olsen of Lux Research. - Upheaval presents test, opportunity - Though growing fast, alternative meat accounts for just a tiny portion of the current market. Beyond Meat estimates that its products have reached just 3.6 percent of US households. The company's revenues in the just-ended quarter more than doubled to $97.1 million, but that is still a pittance compared to the $10.1 billion reported by Tyson Foods in the same period. But COVID-19 has exposed the meat processing plants as a weak link in the supply chain, denting supply at a time of intense demand. Fresh beef sales rose by more than 45 percent and chicken by more than 40 percent over the last eight weeks compared with last year, according to Nielsen. US slaughterhouses have emerged as outbreak hotspots in several states, compelling plant closures, especially for pork and beef. Crowded workspaces are common at the plants, making social distancing difficult. The Farm Bureau has estimated that pork processing capacity has been reduced by as much as 20 percent and beef processing capacity as much as ten percent. Costco this week became the latest big grocer to limit consumer meat purchases, joining Kroger and Wegmans. On Wednesday, fast-food chain Wendy's said some of its restaurants have stopped offering beef products online because of tight supply, prompting it to shift to marketing around chicken for which supplies are more robust. Alternative meat companies have not been immune from upheaval amid COVID-19. Beyond Meat withdrew its 2020 financial forecast due to COVID-19 uncertainty and said it had seen a big drop-off in demand from restaurants and other food-service customers that had led it to reroute products to retail stores where sales have been strong. The company will also go slow on some new product launches, such as breakfast sausage offering. But Beyond Meat's Brown expressed confidence in the company's prospects "There is an opportunity for the consumer to become more aware of a different model of doing this," he said. "And we want to be as aggressive as we can to provide the consumer with that additional option." Prices of conventional protein have surged in recent weeks -- giving plant-based products a chance to gobble up more market share Plant-based products still command only a small share of the US market compared to meat, but sales are growing rapidly The meat sections of supermarkets have been near empty at times during the pandemic, such as in this store in Maryland on March 16, 2020 A man purchases meat at in Washington, DC, on May 5, 2020. US slaughterhouses have emerged as COVID-19 outbreak hotspots in several states, providing a window of opportunity for plant-based protein MDOT to lift remaining spring weight restrictions on state highways Friday Dan Weingarten, MDOT Office of Communications, 906-250-4809 Transportation May 7, 2020 -- As of 6 a.m. Friday, May 8, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will lift remaining spring weight restrictions on all state trunkline highways in the entire state of Michigan. State routes typically carry M, I, or US designations. This spring weight restriction update does not alter or affect the direction given in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's Executive Order 2020-44 (COVID-19). Permits will still be required for loads exceeding the normal legal limits. County road commissions and city public works departments put in place their own seasonal weight restrictions, which usually, but not always, coincide with state highway weight restrictions. Signs are generally posted to indicate which routes have weight restrictions in effect. Weight restrictions on state highways are implemented during the spring frost thaw period and are now completed for the 2020 season. A typical timeframe for these restrictions is from February to May, with specific dates determined by weather and road conditions. They will be posted again when the 2021 season starts. For weight restriction information and updates, call 800-787-8960, or you can access this information on MDOT's website at www.michigan.gov/truckers, under "Restrictions." All-season routes are designated in green and gold on the MDOT Truck Operators Map, which is available online. You also may sign up to receive e-mail alerts. Trucking companies located in New Jersey and Canada can obtain information by calling 517-373-6256. Persuaded by police, 48 labourers from Madhya Pradesh stayed back in Delhi and resumed work at a construction site in Sadiq Nagar on Thursday, even as several migrant workers boarded the first Shramik Special train from the national capital for the state. These 48 migrant workers, including six women and four children from various districts of Madhya Pradesh, were stranded at the construction site at Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Sadiq Nagar due to coronavirus-forced lockdown, police said. According to the police, their contractor was not taking care of their food and other needs. But when police received information, they reached out to them and have been taking care of their needs since the lockdown. Dry ration, other essential items along with cooked food every afternoon and evening were provided to them, police said. "After the government allowed construction activities a few days back, the labourers were not inclined to return to work and wanted to return to their native places. "But on Thursday, all the labourers resumed work after they were persuaded to stay back," said Atul Kumar Thakur, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South). Meanwhile, the police intercepted 39 migrant workers, including 16 women, at Chirag Delhi when they returning to their native villages. They were residing at different locations in Delhi and were counselled to stay at their respective accommodations till arrangements are made by the government for their travel. All of them were later sent to their accommodations in Delhi, police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Greece has announced that it will be sending a special envoy to Syria, in a sign that it could be starting to restore diplomatic ties with the country writes Alsouria Net. The Greek Foreign Ministry announced the appointment of a new Special Envoy for Syria, for the first time since Greece cut off diplomatic relations with the Assad regime in 2012. On Tuesday, the ministry published a statement on its official website saying that Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias had appointed Tasia Athanassiou as a Special Envoy to Syria, eight years after Greece halted its diplomatic mission in Syria. According to the statement, the new evoys mission will be to carry out international communications with regards to the Syria file, discuss relevant humanitarian actions and coordinate efforts to rebuild Syria. The Greek Foreign Minister wrote on his Twitter account, I have decided to appoint Ambassador Tasia Athanassiou as the special Greek envoy on Syrian affairs. The new envoy previously worked as the Greek ambassador to Damascus from 2009-2012, then left Syria with the rest of her diplomatic mission due to the security situation in the country at the time. Referencing analysts, unnamed diplomatic sources told the local news site Greek City Times that the appointment of the new envoy to Syria is a prelude to reopening the Greek embassy in Damascus. The website added in its report that this was a very strategic step by the Greek Foreign Ministry, as it had assigned a figure familiar with Syrian affairs, indicating that it is only a matter of time until the reopening of the Greek embassy in Damascus. The report mentioned that even though the suspension of the Greek diplomatic mission in Syria was imposed by the security conditions at the time, as the Greek Foreign Ministry had announced then, there were signs that Greece faced US-European pressures to sever relations with the Assad regime after Syrian popular protests in 2011. Meanwhile, Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported that the decision to appoint a new envoy came within the framework of Greece trying to contribute to efforts toward a political solution in Syria. This came after repeated meetings between the Greek foreign ministry and UN Special Envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen. Despite the diplomatic rupture between Greece and the Syrian regime, no official Greek statements were issued against the regimeunlike many European countrieswith the exception of one statement issued by former Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos, who called in 2012 for the expulsion of the Assad regime from Syria and the salvaging of the blood of Syrian civilians. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has also had meetings with Greek news organizations, including Kathimerini in May 2018. This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. Three superannuation funds have thrown their support behind a shareholder resolution demanding greater transparency from insurance giant QBE in regards to its exposure to oil and gas projects, despite the company asking investors to block the initiative. The resolution comes as oil and gas behemoths Santos and Woodside face unprecedented shareholder pressure to curb emissions, with more than 50 per cent of investors backing resolutions in April that called for stricter greenhouse gas emission reduction targets to bring the companies in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change. Investor activist group Market Forces put forward a resolution at QBE's annual general meeting on Thursday that called for reporting short, medium and long-term targets to reduce its investments and underwriting exposure to oil and gas assets. QBE chief executive Pat Regan said the coronavirus-induced cuts to the company's international business trips would continue after the pandemic. Credit:Renee Nowytarger The proposal was approved by 13 per cent of shareholders, including fund managers Australian Ethical, Future Super and VicSuper. A similar resolution was put forth by activists last year and QBE later committed to phasing out thermal coal project underwriting by 2030. E-commerce firm Amazon India on Thursday said it has collaborated with civic body Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to deliver essential items to residents in containment zones in Mumbai. With over 10,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 400 deaths, Mumbai, declared as a hotspot zone, has reported the highest number of cases in the country. Under the initiative, Amazon will deliver orders to a designated delivery point in the vicinity of the containment zone, from where volunteers will further deliver the packages to customers' doorstep, the company said in a statement. There are 2,473 containment zones in the city. "Our collaboration with BMC is intended to support those in the containment zones to access essential items conveniently and safely," Amazon India Director, Last Mile Operations, PrakashRochlani said. The designated interim delivery points will operate in co-ordination with point of contact at the society and designated BMC containment zone officer, he added. Commenting on the collaboration, BMC Additional Commissioner Jayshree Bhoj said, "Citizenswho reside in containment zones are restricted from stepping out of the containment zones in order to contain the spread of COVID-19. Various e-commerce companies have prioritised deliveries to containment areas at society gates." Amazon India has also expanded special delivery program for containment zones in other cities such as New Delhi and Hyderabad, and is working with other local authorities and residents across the country to scale this program further, the company said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three men were fatally shot in the parking lot of Golden West High School in Visalia Tuesday night. (Los Angeles Times) Late Tuesday night, police officers in Visalia, a San Joaquin Valley city about 40 miles southeast of Fresno, responded to a report of shots fired at a high school. In the parking lot, they found the bodies of three young men: Isaiah Rule, 18, Blake Medeiros, 19, and Jose Carlos Hernandez Pena, 19. All three had been shot to death, Sgt. Celestina Sanchez of the Visalia Police Department said. As of Wednesday, detectives have made no arrests and identified no suspects. Its too early for us to speculate or guess as to the motive, Sanchez said. Rule, Medeiros and Hernandez Pena were not students at the school where they died, Sanchez said, and the school, Golden West High School, was closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Sanchez did not know whether the three teenagers had attended the school in the past. In Visalia, a city of about 133,000 surrounded by vast groves of olive and citrus, a triple homicide is unheard of, Sanchez said. Nobody around here can remember a time when something like this happened. Anyone with information about the killings is asked to contact Visalia police at (559) 713-4738. Since 2015, when Russia got involved in the Syrian Civil War, numerous different Russian UAVs have shown up, used by Russian and Syrian forces. Two Russian UAVs have not appeared in Syria; the Zastava and Forpost. What these two have in common is that they are both Israeli and built under license in Russia. Apparently that license includes the understanding that Russia will not use these UAVs in Syria or any nation near Israel. That could cause confusion not to mention embarrassment if either of these UAVs were captured and used by enemies of Israel. This would include Islamic terrorists and Russian ally Syria, which has been an enemy of Israel for over 70 years. In contrast, Russia and Israel have always been on good terms and are major trading partners with annual imports and exports totaling about $5 billion. Ukraine became independent in 1991 and established trade relationships with Israel which vary from half a billion to a billion dollars a year. For both Russia and Ukraine the trade includes Israeli military equipment. Despite these complicated relationships the Israeli Zastava and Forpost UAVs have been seen frequently in Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2014. Russian forces are still active in eastern Ukraine where Ukrainian forces frequently see the Zastava UAV and have shot down several of them. Russia was slow to accept the usefulness of UAVs and, when they did, the Russians turned to Israel. Back in 2004 negotiations to set up an Israeli UAV factory in Russia, as a joint venture, were stalled over potential problems with the transfer of UAV technology to Russia. The U.S. and Israel have been most successful in developing efficient UAVs since the 1990s, as a result of firms in both countries developing new technologies and manufacturing techniques that overcame many of the problems that long crippled UAVs designed in Russia, China and many other countries. While UAVs are basically low-tech, putting them together so that they are effective and reliable proved to be quite difficult. So there was some trepidation about transferring those UAV manufacturing techniques technologies to Russia, as the Russians might in turn transfer that tech, or high-grade UAVs, to countries like Iran, China, Syria or North Korea. It took a while to sort all this out. Russia also manufactures the Israeli Bird-Eye 400 under license as the Zastava. Russia first approached Israel to purchase UAVs in 2007. That resulted in Russia buying over fifty aircraft, including the Bird-Eye 400, I-View MK150 and Searcher 2. The Bird-Eye 400/ Zastava is a 4 kg (9 pound) micro-UAV with a maximum endurance of 80 minutes, max ceiling of 320 meters (1,000 feet) and can operate 15 kilometers from the operator. It is mainly for small infantry units. The I-View MK150 is a 250 kg (550 pound) aircraft with a seven hour endurance, max altitude of 5,500 meters (17,000 feet) and can operate up to 150 kilometers from the operator. It can carry a 20 kg (44 pound) payload, which enables day and night vidcams. It can take off using an airfield, or from a truck-mounted launcher. It can land on an airfield or via parachute. It is usually employed to support brigades. In 2014 Russia began licensed production of the Israeli Searcher 2 UAV (as the Russian Forpost). This came after seven years of negotiations and user trials by Russian troops. The Searcher 2 is a half-ton aircraft with an endurance of 20 hours, max altitude of 7,500 meters (23,000 feet) and can operate up to 300 kilometers from the operator. It can carry a 120 kg (264 pound) payload. In 2012 Searcher 2 was tested in northern Russia during cold weather and performed well despite extremely colder temperatures (especially on the ground, where it got to minus 30 degrees Centigrade). In 2016 Israel suspended the Russian Searcher 2 license, apparently because of accusations that Russia had violated the terms. That issue was resolved and Russia now manufactures all the Searcher 2 components including a new Russia developed surveillance system equal to the high-tech one Israel refused to include. Even with all those Russian components there is no mistaking the Israeli origins of the new Russian Forpost-M model. There is also no mistaking the change in Russian attitudes towards military UAVs. In 2011 the Russian military had 180 UAVs. By 2017 they had over 2,000 and now it is closer to 3,000. The artist at Smith Kebabs in Collingwood, Melbourne, has a style similar to Jackson Pollocks. For a canvas, he uses French fries (chips!), topped with cheese and thinly sliced halal lamb and chicken. His medium is sauce: barbecue, creamy garlic and tart chile. The resulting creation, kaleidoscopic in its thickly splattered patina and creamy-crisp, meaty glory, is the halal snack pack. Also known as H.S.P., the snack pack became a mainstay of Australian kebab and souvlaki shops, as well as other independent fast-food joints, in the last few decades. Its almost always a takeout item, and is almost always called the halal snack pack, whether or not it is genuinely halal. You can get it topped with sliced beef, chicken or lamb, or a mix, and it is increasingly offered in various vegan preparations. You want all the sauces? the person taking your order will ask. The correct answer is Yes, or Yes, please, with extra chile. A one kilo Swiss gold bar and US dollars gold coins are pictured in Paris on February 20, 2020. Gold jumped 2% on Thursday after a string of weak economic data, including surging unemployment in the United States, heightened fears over a coronovirus-induced global downturn, while investors turned their attention to nonfarm payrolls for further cues. Spot gold was up 2.1% to $1,720.36 per ounce, having earlier hit a more than one-week high of $1,721.76. U.S. gold futures settled 2.2% higher at $1,725.80. "You had high unemployment (numbers) that came out. ...That's still telling people to maybe look for the safety trade," said Michael Matousek, head trader at U.S. Global Investors. Millions more Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, suggesting layoffs broadened from consumer-facing industries to other segments of the economy and could remain elevated even as many parts of the country start to reopen. Another set of data on Thursday showed worker productivity dropped at its fastest pace in more than four years in the first quarter amid the largest drop in hours since 2009. The host of gloomy economic data has bolstered expectations of more stimulus measures from central banks and governments around the world to cushion economic damage from the virus. The Bank of England said Britain could be headed for its biggest economic slump in over 300 years due to the coronavirus lockdown and kept the door open on Thursday for more stimulus next month. "Also with the number of COVID-19 cases increasing over the past few days, people have started to question the reopening of U.S. states because they are worried about the infection rate boosting," Matousek added. The outbreak has infected more than 3.71 million people globally, battered global growth and prompted investors to seek safe havens such as gold. Today's surge was also helped by "pre-emptive trading" in anticipation of weak U.S. jobs data due on Friday, said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures. Nonfarm payrolls are forecast to have plunged by a historic 22 million in April, which would blow away the record dive of 800,000 seen during the 2007-2009 recession, according to a Reuters survey of economists. Also on investors' radar are developments surrounding U.S.-China trade as President Donald Trump's administration is weighing punitive actions against Beijing over its early handling of the outbreak. Elsewhere, palladium rose 2.6% to $1,844.94 per ounce, while platinum rose 2.2% to $764.92. Silver gained 2.9% to $15.35, having earlier hit a one-week peak of $15.42. A bill that would automatically mail ballots to registered voters, allow early voting in the primary and require sanitization at polling places has garnered support from two Western Massachusetts Senators. Sen. Eric Lesser, a Longmeandow Democrat, and Sen. Adam Hinds, a Pittsfield Democrat, sponsored legislation filed in the House by Reps. John Lawn and Michael Moran. The bill, HD. 5075, would require the Secretary of States office to impose distancing and sanitization rules at polling places and early voting sites. It would also require the state to mail absentee ballots and corresponding paperwork to all registered voters in the state before the general election in November. The ballots would come with pre-paid return postage. Voting is a fundamental right, and that right has to be protected, Lesser said. The elections have to continue. Theyve continued through war, through depression through the flu epidemic, you name it. The elections have to continue, but they have to be done safely. Under the bill, a city or town clerk would be allowed to receive ballots until Nov. 13 as long as they are postmarked by Nov. 3, according to the bill. They could be mailed or dropped off at a secured lock drobox set up outside the clerks office building. Eligible residents would be allowed to register to vote until 10 days before the primary and general elections. Lawn and Morans bill would also allow early voting 11 days before the September primary and 16 days before the general election. State law currently allows people to vote 12 days before the general election and does not allow early voting ahead of the primary. I hope we do the right thing and act on the issue quickly, Lesser said. Weve seen what happens when other states dont act, and you have frankly have chaos and a lot of people that end up not voting because of a failure to act. You saw that in Wisconsin. For voting rights advocates, the April 7 presidential primary in Wisconsin seems to have become a textbook case in election failures during the coronavirus pandemic. The Supreme Court blocked a federal court order that would have let the state continue to process mail-in ballots for up to six days after the states primary and stopped Gov. Tony Evers efforts to stop the primary. The election went on as scheduled, but thousands of absentee ballots went uncounted. Only five of the 180 polling locations were open. In the two weeks after the election, 52 people who voted at or worked the polls tested positive for the coronavirus, ABC News reported. Massachusetts, home to 4.5 million registered voters, has one of the highest COVID-19 infection rates in the country. While the infection and hospitalization rates have started to decline, Baker administration officials suggest it could take weeks or even months for businesses and agencies to fully reopen. And that timeline depends on how well the state can drive down COVID-19 rates in the following weeks. Hinds said expanding vote-by-mail options make sense in any election year, but the option is now crucial as the state battles a pandemic. If were in anything that close to resembles our current posture, then voting becomes a real challenge when people are afraid to go to public locations, Hinds said. The Massachusetts constitution allows voters to use absentee ballots if they are out of town on Election Day or have a physical disability or religious belief preventing them from voting at their polling place. The Legislature passed an emergency law in March to temporarily allow absentee voting, classifying the hospitalization, quarantine or isolation due to the coronavirus pandemic as a qualifying disability. That law expires after June 30. Lawn and Morans bill uses similar language to justify the automatic mailing of absentee ballots and the affidavits. The bill would also create an online portal through which a voter may apply for an absentee voting ballot from the city or clerk. Under the bill, voters who do not receive a ballot, those who wish to have their ballot mailed to a different address and those who prefer to vote in-person would apply in writing to the municipal clerk. The bill would require a clerk to count only the first non-rejected ballot received from a voter. The bill would also require Galvins office to set up an online portal where voters could track the progress of their applications for a ballot. The campaign to expand vote-by-mail options has gained traction across the Massachusetts, garnering support from voting rights advocates, state legislators and Congressman Joe Kennedy, who is running for Sen. Ed Markeys seat. Springfield City Councilor Adam Gomez proposed last month that the city consider options such as mail-in voting and drive-up ballot drop-off stations for the September and November elections. Lawmakers, advocates and the Secretary of States office all agree that Massachusetts should expand vote-by-mail options for registered voters through the fall, but they havent found consensus on who should get ballots mailed to them, the mailing deadline and other details about its implementation. A report by the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University suggests the state use federal relief funds and unused money from a 2002 law to offset the millions that a vote-by-mail expansion could cost. One estimate by the Brennan Center suggests making vote-by-mail available to all voters could cost $20 million to $30 million just for the general election. The report states that Massachusetts has up to $40 million in unused money from the 2002 Help America Vote Act. The state also received a $8 million grant under the CARES Act for COVID-19 related election costs, though it doesnt cover all kinds of election expenses. Secretary of State William Galvin outlined his own plan in a memo to the Election Laws Committee, proposing an extension of early voting and allowing residents to request a ballot by mail as long as the municipal clerk receives the ballot back in time. Galvin has pushed against proposals that automatically mail ballots, calling them impractical. MassVOTE, Common Cause Massachusetts, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and other advocacy groups backed the bill, arguing the provisions would take the burden off voters. We want this process to move forward in a safe secure manner as possible, maximizing accessibility, said Alex Psilakis, policy and communications manager for MassVOTE. Hinds said the proposal is a logical step toward enabling people to exercise their right to vote at a time when their safety is at risk. This is an approach to voting thats getting momentum nationwide and so it makes sense for us to go in this direction in general, and in the middle of a pandemic, it makes a critical step, Hinds said. Related Content: by Nirmala Carvalho A styrene gas leak occurred last night from the depots of LG Polymers, a multinational company. The firm had just reopened after nearly two months of lockdown. Archbishop Prakash Mallavarapu: The gas has spread within 3 km and has affected people, animals, birds, trees. It is said to be a gas that can be deadly, and that affects the nervous system. " "A tragedy similar to Bhopal". Visakhapatnam (AsiaNews) - At least nine people have died and hundreds have been injured in a gas leak that occurred in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh, southeast India). According to several eye-witnesses, the gas leak occurred in the early hours of the morning (around 3) while people were sleeping. The initial investigation reveals that it is styrene gas that was stored in two 5,000-ton deposits in the LG Polymers company, a multinational company. The leak occurred when the company reopened. It had been closed since March 24, the date on which the quarantine was imposed in the country. It is likely that the plant has been reopened without following specific procedures. Left unattended for almost two months, the gas - which needs to be heavily refrigerated leaked on the first operation. The Archbishop of Visakhapatnam, Msgr. Prakash Mallavarapu, tells AsiaNews: The gas has spread within a radius of 3 km and has affected people, animals, birds, trees. It is said to be a gas that can be deadly, and that affects the nervous system. " During the night, the people who discovered the gas leak tried to escape, while dozens of people lost consciousness. Police said dozens of villagers were found passed out along the road and trapped in their homes. Everyone has experienced severe burning in the eyes. Several hundred are now hospitalized in the city hospital. The authorities are evacuating the inhabitants from the polluted area. The bishop explains: Near the factory, in Butchirajupalem, there is the church of St. Thomas. Thank God the parish priest and the nuns of the convent next door are doing well. During the night the priests welcomed some families in the compound of the parish, trying to give them some care and relief ". Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians, describes the accident as a "huge tragedy". "It is - he told AsiaNews - a criminal negligence on the part of the company, which left such an unstable chemical product without custody. Permission was given to open this facility in the middle of a heavily populated city, with highly questionable security measures. This is a similar tragedy to Bhopal. " The city of Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) is remembered because in 1984 a gas leak (methyl isocyanate) killed thousands of people. After more than 35 years, the population still suffers the consequences and many newborns have disabilities as the effect of that leak. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday that apartment dwellers and business owners who cant pay their rent due to coronavirus hardships will have until at least Aug. 20 before any evictions can take place. The new rule, which will apply to both commercial and residential rents, was extended from a 90-day rent relief measure Cuomo announced in late March. I hope this gives families a deep breath, the governor said at a press conference on Thursday. Nothing [evictions] can happen until Aug. 20, and then on Aug. 20 well figure out what the situation is. The No. 1 issue people talk to me about is rent, and fear of not being able to pay their rent. And this just takes that issue off the table." WHAT ABOUT LANDLORDS? Cuomo said the state is also working with mortgage lenders to add protections for landlords. None of these decisions are easy. The landlord will say, So the tenants dont have to pay their rents, but I still have to pay the electric bill and mortgage. We are working on relief from the banks for the landlords also, said Cuomo. In addition, the governor said the state is working to make sure banks also get relief so they dont have to initiate foreclosures. There is no doubt a trade-off between the tenant and the landlord. We are helping the landlords also. But on a human level, I dont want to see people and their children being evicted at this time through no fault of their own, said Cuomo. Mayor Bill de Blasio last month asked for a 60-day extension on evictions as part of several rent relief measures to protect the many apartment dwellers in New York City. *** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK *** FOLLOW TRACEY PORPORA ON FACEBOOK and TWITTER LANSING, MI -- As hospitals around southeast Michigan continue to report fewer cases of the COVID-19 virus, officials confirmed Thursday operations at the near 1,000-bed field hospital at the TCF Center in Detroit have been suspended. On Wednesday, the last patient at the facility was discharged and the facility will no longer need to remain open for the time being. Now that we are seeing health data improvements, including the reduction in hospital surge capacity overload, due to Stay Home, Stay Safe efforts, we are pausing the operations at TCF Regional Care Center. As of yesterday afternoon all remaining patients at TCF Regional Care Center have been discharged, reads a statement from Michelle Grinnell, spokesperson for the TCF Regional Care Center. Beds will remain on site, with the ability to come back online as needed, and it was announced Friday that used N95 respirators can be delivered to Battelle Labs decontamination device located at TCF Center, which continues to play a role in relief efforts. "So this really is a pause versus shutting down, with TCF Regional Care Center standing ready to receive patients again if the need arises throughout the state. The TCF Center was repurposed last month to be able to hold approximately 1,000 patients who were battling the COVID-19 virus. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spent nearly two weeks building out the field hospital after it was announced on March 30 the facility was being taken over. That announcement led to the cancellation of the 2020 North American International Auto Show. The hospital is separated into an upper floor with 600 beds for seriously ill patients and a lower floor with 400 beds for patients who were in recovery. However, the hospital didnt put all those beds to use since opening April 10. Early estimates for the spread of the virus tested the capacity of some Detroit-area hospitals and concerned state officials. The field hospital does not accept patients by ambulance or walkup, only accepting patients from other southeast Michigan hospitals and who have been hospitalized at least 48 hours. A similar field hospital at the Suburban Showcase Center in Novi is still operational as of Thursday afternoon. It currently has five patients being treated there and has had eight total patients since opening. It will continue to receive COVID-19 patients from hospital systems in the region, according to the MEDC. 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. Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces. Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus. Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus. READ MORE Complete coverage at mlive.com/coronavirus Thursday, May 7: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan A slow crawl back to normalcy ahead for Michigan bars and restaurants from coronavirus restrictions Michigan construction, real estate industries re-open today after coronavirus shutdowns MORE than 100 social work students from Queen's University have qualified early to join frontline services during the coronavirus pandemic. The 103 students from the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at Queen's fast-tracked their studies to support social work service delivery, and wider health and social care services, during the crisis. Social workers and the wider social care workforce play a vital role alongside their colleagues in medicine, nursing and health supporting, caring for and protecting those in need. Many of the social work students have already been working or volunteering in frontline services, either in health and social care trusts or the voluntary and community sector. Katie Ni Chleire is a final year social work student at Queen's who is currently working in a children's residential home. She said: "We're doing our best to create a sense of normality for the young people, despite the global situation. "Although my job can be stressful, I am so grateful that I get to work with incredible young people, and work within an amazing, strong team, who I can turn to for support. We're getting through this together." She added: "I am so proud of all my friends and my classmates for qualifying early, and working hard to keep people safe during this crisis. "I think my classmates and colleagues are all heroes." Niamh Cusack is also a final year social work student and is currently working with the Southern Health and Social Care Trust. She said that being a key worker during the pandemic has been "nothing short of inspiring". "Witnessing first-hand the hard work that goes on within our health and social care teams has been a very humbling experience," Niamh said. "A lot of work has gone into adapting our social work practice to meet the demands of service users who are self-isolating, shielding or unwell during this pandemic. In the community learning disability team that I work for, we have been working hard to ensure all of our service users and families are safe and supported." The newly qualified social workers will be entering posts in the community, hospital, residential, and day care settings working with adults and children who are facing significant challenges in their lives, which have been exacerbated by the current pandemic. Congratulating the students, Dr David Hayes, director of undergraduate education in the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, said they were "exceptional". "I would like to thank our students for responding to the current crisis with such resilience and fortitude," he added. Sean Holland, chief social work officer at the Department of Health, expressed his gratitude to the students, including those in first and second years who have already put themselves forward to help in any way they can. Patricia Higgins, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Social Care Council, thanked Queen's University for supporting the students in completing their qualifications. GETTY Vancouver-based national carrier Telus (T.TO) reported $353 million net income, or 28 cents per share, in Q1 2020, a nearly 20 per cent decline year-over-year. The carrier also said it is withdrawing its fiscal guidance for 2020 due to the uncertainty caused by COVID-19. In Q1 2019, the carrier reported a net income of $437 million, or 36 cents per share. In the three months that ended on March 31, the carrier said operating revenue was $3.69 billion, a 5.4 per cent increase from the $3.51 billion it reported in the same period a year ago. Telus added 119,000 new wireless, internet, TV and security customers, up 14,000 over the same quarter a year ago. 21,000 of those customers signed up for new mobile plans. CEO Darren Entwistle said in its earnings report that the carrier remains resilient despite the uncertain period and has seen record-breaking traffic on its network. By way of illustration, during these peak periods, we experienced traffic rates that were four times those that occurred on Mothers Day in 2019 traditionally one of our highest traffic days of the year, he said in the report. Our teams efforts to sustain our networks during the pandemic is tantamount to supporting Super Bowl-level traffic, every day. CFO Doug French said in an interview with Yahoo Finance Canada that the carrier has not formally laid off any of its employees due to the virus. He added that those working in the retail sector have been transitioned within the organization for customer service and in helping our customer base as we go through these challenging times. French said that the carrier has also been able to offset future revenue losses with more than $250 million in cost reduction initiatives. Weve identified significant opportunities for cost reduction or margin enhancements to help offset some of that revenue pressure that we currently feel and that would include reductions in [marketing], he said. Part of the plan will also be to re-allocate capital expenditures, which French indicated would be towards building out its fibre footprint in locations that need it. Story continues Specifically in Calgary and continuing to build our fibre footprint, which enhances both our customer service offerings on our wireline but also helps wireless, he said. That is the main re-deployment, back into fibre infrastructure to continue to build our network. Focus on 5G is now towards enhancing 4G LTE French also indicated that the carriers 5G plans have been redirected to focus on network enhancements in 4G LTE and ensuring customers are connected to existing networks. It is our first and foremost objective, is keeping Canadians connected across both rural and urban areas in Canada, he said. The [Request for Proposal] is still out for 5G, and at the end of the day there really is no hurry. In Q4 2019, the carrier indicated it was not going to pre-announce its 5G launch plans but that its initial module, or the first phase of the 5G rollout, would be with Huawei until the government approves its RFP. The carrier said that while stores have been shut it has implemented innovative solutions to support its customers that are going into the store for emergency services. We are adapting our go-to-market strategy and implementing innovative solutions to continue supporting our customers such as touchless in-store experiences, virtual installations and repairs, and leveraging our digital footprint as our primary sales channel, Telus said in its earnings. The carriers mobile phone Average Revenue Per User was $58.60, a decrease of 73 cents, which the carrier said was driven by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in March. Mobile phone ARPU continues to be impacted by the continued trend of declining chargeable usage and the impact of the competitive environment putting pressure on base rate plan prices, the carrier said. The carriers churn rate, or the measure of subscribers who deactivate their services, was 0.94 per cent, compared to the 1.02 per cent it reported in the same period a year ago. The impact from the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in less switching activity between carriers in the last two weeks of March, as customers reduced their general shopping habits and as a significant number of physical sales channels were closed during that period, Telus said. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android and sign up for the Yahoo Finance Canada Weekly Brief. Bioethicists warn against potential COVID-19 vaccines using cells from aborted babies Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Christian bioethicists in the United Kingdom and the United States are warning against a potential coronavirus vaccine in which British scientists are using fetal cells from aborted babies. According to CruxNow Tuesday, some ethicists are concerned the vaccine being developed at Oxford University is using cell lines that were obtained from an aborted child in the early 1970s. Both the HEK 293 used at Oxford and the PER C6 cell line from the 1980s trace their origin from tissue from an aborted child, the outlet reported. The push to develop a vaccine that will stem the deadly virus has intensified as infection rates and deaths have spread around the globe, particularly as some are warning of a second wave coming later this year. Given the attention, Catholic bioethics centers have recently published papers on the subject. Simply as a matter of fact, use of such cell-lines in COVID-19 vaccine production is likely to create problems of conscience for some of those to whom the vaccine is offered, and who become aware of its history Conscientious objection on the part of potential vaccine recipients creates its own ethical demands for decision-makers, including those who do not themselves share the objection in question," the document from the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, which is based at Oxford, said. "Such concerns should be viewed with particular sympathy in the area of abortion, bearing in mind that even those who do not object to all abortions may well object to the particular abortion from which a fetal cell line was derived." In the United States, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra led a coalition of states in late March, urging President Trump to end his ban, which was enacted in June, on federally-funded research on fetal tissue that was procured from abortions in order to help scientists find a vaccine. Becerra argued that scientists at the National Institutes of Health had been hampered by the restriction and the attorneys general in his coalition said that fetal tissue research led to the development of vaccines for other diseases such as polio, rubella and measles. Religious leaders and bioethicists in the U.S. are also denouncing the prospect of a COVID-19 vaccine developed with cell lines from aborted fetuses. Citing Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's words in a 1987 letter, Catholic Bishop Joseph E. Strickland wrote in an April 23 pastoral letter that what is technically possible is not for that very reason morally admissible. "Just because the crime of abortion is considered legal in our nation does not mean it is morally permissible to use the dead bodies of these children to cure a global pandemic. Emphatically, this practice is evil," Strickland wrote, stressing that other ethical means are available and can prove to be just as effective in developing vaccines. "Scientists Ive spoken with assure me that there is no medical necessity for using aborted children in order to develop the much-needed vaccine to protect us from this particular strain of coronavirus," he said. Joseph Meaney, president of the Philadelphia-based National Catholic Bioethics Center, said in an interview with Crux that it should be insisted that ethical scientific research have no links to abortion or the destruction of embryos. Using cell lines obtained from aborted babies for a coronavirus vaccine is a cause of serious theological scandal, the NCBC said in a paper of its own on the topic. Appealing to good aims and an urgent need will foster the deeper penetration of unethical research and development into medicine, politics, law, and culture, the paper said. According to a January 2017 article from the Bioethics Observatory Institute of Life Sciences at the Catholic University of Valencia, some vaccines "consist of dead or attenuated live viruses that are introduced into a patients body to activate the bodys defenses against that virus without becoming ill. Thus, if the patient subsequently enters into contact with the live virus, it will be unable infect him, since he has the necessary defenses to cope with it, i.e. he is immunized." When preparing vaccines, the viruses have to be cultured in cells in the labs, the article explains. "The ethical difficulty appears when these cells come from surgically-aborted human foetuse. Similarly, the viruses themselves can be obtained from aborted foetuses that have been infected with a particular virus. "The most widely used foetal cells are WI-38 and MRC-5. The WI-38 cells were derived by Leonard Hayflick in 1962 from the lung of a 3-month female foetus [2].The initials WI refer to the Wistar Institute, a body of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and number 38 to the foetus from which the cells were obtained. The MRC-5 cells were obtained in 1966 from the lungs of a 14-week male foetus [3].The initials MRC indicate Medical Research Council, a body from London." Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram [Editors Note: On May 18, 2020, Italian prosecutors charged Mario De Michele with slander and illegal possession of firearms after a police investigation found that the journalist had organized November 2019 and May 2020 shooting attacks against him, according to according to Ossigeno per lInformazione, an Italian nongovernmental organization that tracks attacks on journalists, and the trade news site Giornalisti Italia. In an interview with news site Le Iene, De Michele admitted faking the May 2020 attack but claimed that he was a victim of an ambush in November 2019. CPJ is continuing to investigate and is monitoring the judicial process.] Berlin, May 7, 2020 Italian authorities must conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the shooting attack at the home of journalist Mario De Michele and ensure his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 2 a.m. on May 4, unidentified attackers fired at least three shots at the first floor of De Micheles house in Caserta, southern Italy, while the journalist, his wife, son, and parents were in the building, according to a report by the Campania Notizie news website, where De Michele works as editor. Campania Notizie has extensively covered organized crime in southern Italy. In an editorial published on May 5, De Michele said that he would not be intimidated by criminal groups and vowed to continue his work. Police have opened an investigation into the case, according to Campania Notizie. Italian authorities must conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the attack on journalist Mario De Michele, find the perpetrators and those who ordered the attack, and bring them to justice, said Gulnoza Said, CPJs Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. Italian authorities must maximize their efforts to prevent such attacks and ensure that De Michele can do his work without fearing that he is putting his life or his family at risk. According to a report by the Italian National Press Federation, a national trade group, De Michele has been under police protection since November 2019. On November 14, 2019, he survived a shooting attempt while driving near the southern Italian town of Aversa, as CPJ documented at the time. CPJ emailed the national press department of the Italian police for comment, but did not immediately receive a reply. Italian authorities maintain 24-hour police protection for more than 20 journalists, and provide some form of protection to at least 165 journalists, according to CPJ research. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said it very possible that coronavirus reached Ireland in December last year nearly two months before the countrys first confirmed case. Mr Varadkar issued the warning after French authorities earlier this week revealed that a man had been infected with Covid-19 as far back as 27 December. Referencing this, the Irish leader said: In some ways this is not surprising, France is well connected to China with dozens of flights every day and Ireland is well connected to France. Indeed, it is very possible that this virus was already in Ireland last year or January this year and we should not assume it came here from Italy in late February just because the first confirmed case did so. Mr Varadkar promised that further research and retrospective testing will be carried out to give us a better idea of Irelands earliest cases, adding that time will tell. He also rejected criticism that Ireland, having lowered the rate of Covid-19 transmission thanks to its lockdown measures, has been slow to return to normality compared to other countries. It is true we are slower than countries, much less affected than us like Australia, New Zealand, and slower than countries much worse affected than us, like Spain and Belgium, he said on Thursday from the Dail, Irelands principal assembly chamber. He added, this is a decision the government made and its one we stand over. This comes as an Irish medical expert warned that it was not enough to flatten the countrys curve as authorities attempt to contain the deadly virus. Professor of general practice Liam Glynn told Newstalk FM that Ireland should not be satisfied with only lowering the level of transmission. We have come a long way in terms of the flattening the curve, and all the signals in terms of hospitalisations and intensive care admissions all seem to be dropping, he said. The question now is where we are going? It is not just enough to flatten the curve, in my view, I think we really need to be talking about crushing this curve and trying to eliminate Covid-19 entirely. Prof Glynn said Ireland has an advantage in combating the virus, as it is an island. We have the advantage of trying to figure out how we do trade and travel across a border, and how we do it safely. If we go for elimination, the only way the virus can get on to this island is by importation. Mr Varadkar has meanwhile said that the countrys pandemic payments, which are supporting workers and business affected by the crisis, will continue beyond mid-June but warned they cannot last forever. The coronavirus death toll in Ireland rose to 1,375 on Wednesday after 37 more deaths were announced. ECD practitioners Nonyameko Mbula (Mandela Educare Centre) and Nomakhaya Nothemba Hoyi (Masithembe Educare Centre) receive sanitiser as part of Ubunye's Covid-19 Response Programme. Ubunye Foundation join forces with the University in the fight against Covid-19 Rhodes University Professor of Pharmaceutics, Rod Walker, and his team of Pharmacists have been assisting Eastern Cape rural development trust, the Ubunye Foundation, to produce sanitiser from the raw materials the Foundation sourced. This forms part of a larger strategy for Rhodes University to support organisations who have access to rural and marginalised communities, during the Covid-19 pandemic. A successful two-day training programme recently completed for the Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform yielded a 1000 L stock of sanitiser for the farming community in the province. Stutterheim has, as a result, become the first rural town in the Eastern Cape to have capacity to manufacture sanitiser. Founded in 2002, Ubunye works with marginalised communities within the Makana municipality across several key areas, including livelihood and health and wellness. As part of these efforts, the Ubunye Foundation has developed and is implementing a Covid-19 Response Programme. We are using a community-led approach, which means we have developed the response programme around the needs identified by our communities, explained Ubunye Foundations Director, Dr Katy Pepper. One of these needs, says Dr Pepper, relates to the availability and distribution of sanitiser. This is where Prof Walker and his team of Pharmacists come in. We had sourced raw materials for the manufacturing of sanitiser, and approached Rhodes University to help us with technical expertise, said Dr Pepper. According to Prof Walker, although the sanitiser is a relatively simple product to make, it is critical to ensure the proper amounts are used, or else the sanitiser will not be effective. We have set up a documented manufacturing procedure we follow, and there are checks at every step that ensures the product is made the same way each time we produce it, he explained. The Ubunye Foundation has a long-standing relationship with Rhodes Universitys Community Engagement Division, who had earlier assisted the Foundation to acquire material for masks. Ubunye focuses on collaboration with other agencies and we have relied on the key support of our local partners at Rhodes University to help make this response programme a success, explained Dr Pepper. Once satisfactorily manufactured according to the World Health Organisation guidelines, the sanitiser was ready to be distributed by the Ubunye Foundation to the communities they support. Source: Communications Please help us to raise funds so that we can give all our students a chance to access online teaching and learning. Covid-19 has disrupted our students' education. Don't let the digital divide put their future at risk. Visit www.ru.ac.za/rucoronavirusgateway to donate On Sunday, February 23, 2019, a 25-year-old black man named Ahmaud Arbery went out jogging in the city of Brunswick, Glynn County, Georgia. He was shot and killed by two white men a former police investigator and his 34-year-old son who allegedly decided that Arbery fit some description of some burglar that had allegedly been terrorizing the neighborhood. There was no punishment or penalty or, frankly, much news coverage. The shooters, George and Travis McMichael, had connections with the local police and district attorneys office, and, according to their lawyer, were acting within their rights to carry firearms and perform a citizens' arrest in the state of Georgia, thanks in part to Stand-Your-Ground laws that state, "A private person may arrest an offender if the offense is committed in his presence or within his immediate knowledge." The McMichaels claimed that Arbery attacked them after they chased him with guns, which, technically, made it self-defense; Arbery was not alive to refute this statement. The District Attorney recused himself from the case over personal conflicts of interest with the McMichaels family, but not before publishing a letter that smeared the late Arbery as a violent, mentally ill criminal. Two-and-a-half months later, dash cam footage has been made available, depicting a very limited perspective on the shooting. Those who support the legalized murder of unarmed black men who are jogging on a sunny Sunday afternoon will of course hyper-focus on the latter part of the video, which shows Arbery actively struggling against the older McMichaels, who carries a shotgun. Those who recognize that there is something inherently wrong with a justice system that legalizes the murder of an unarmed black man who is out jogging on a sunny Sunday afternoon will point to the earlier part of the video which clearly shows Arbery minding his own fucking business on a sunny Sunday afternoon jog. It's shameful, disappointing, and sadly unsurprising that this atrocity has gone under the radar for as long as it has. In the wake of the newly released footage, the lawyers representing Arbery's family are demanding that the McMichaels are arrested and held until a Grand Jury, which was also just announced, can decide if the case is worthy enough to an actual trial. I want to hope for justice. But I have very little faith in a Grand Jury system in a country built on racism that famously protects its police even the former ones at all costs. Because shooting and killing an unarmed black man out for a sunny Sunday afternoon jog may be an immoral and unjust act. But neither of those things have any bearing on the law. Ahmaud Arbery: anger mounts over killing of black jogger caught on video [Khushbu Shah / The Guardian] 'Ahmaud Arbery's life matters': Attorneys, rights leaders demand arrests in slaying of Georgia jogger [Nicquel Terry Ellis / USA Today] Video posted online as DA says case of Georgia man who was chased and killed will go to grand jury [Angela Barajas and Amir Vera / CNN] What We Know About the Shooting Death of Ahmaud Arbery [Richard Fausset / The New York Times] A homeless man who was caught hiding heroin in his underwear has been jailed for 18 months. David Banks (aged 45) of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of heroin for sale or supply at Mountjoy Square, Dublin on June 21, 2018 and July 4, 2018. He also pleaded guilty to possession of heroin for sale or supply at Store Street Garda Station, Dublin on July 26, 2018. He has 22 previous convictions. Garda Gerard Whelan told Fergal Foley BL, prosecuting, that on the date in June, gardai forced entry into an address at Mountjoy Square which belonged to a friend of Banks. They discovered 2,330 worth of heroin at the address which had been stored there by Banks. Gda Whelan said gardai received information that Banks was continuing to sell drugs and raided the address again on July 4, discovering a further 2,150 worth of heroin. On July 26, Banks was stopped on the street and searched by gardai before being brought back to Store Street Garda Station. He was searched again in the station and a further 1,700 worth of heroin was found in his underwear. Judge Melanie Greally said Banks was a chronic drug addict from a young age who sold drugs to support his own addiction. She said there was no suggestion he was profiting financially from providing drugs to other drug addicts. Judge Greally said he had worked as a painter and decorator for a number of years before developing an addiction. She said he has been homeless periodically. She sentenced him to two-and-a-half years imprisonment, but suspended the final 12 months of the sentence on strict conditions including that he follow all directions of the Probation Service for 12 months post release. Prosecutors in the Central African Republic (CAR) on Thursday announced a probe into suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity after more than two dozen people were massacred last month. The inquiry will focus on events in the northeastern town of Ndele on April 29, chief prosecutor Eric Didier Tambo told AFP. We have recorded around 30 bodies, including a mother and her baby, Tambo said. We conclude that war crimes and crimes against humanity occurred. He added: As these are armed groups which attacked civilians, their leaders are the chief suspects. He said that he visited Ndele to investigate the violence of April 29 and clashes that broke out there on March 11. According to the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSCA, 28 people were killed, of whom at least 21 were civilians, on April 29. At least 13 people were killed on March 11. The violence opposes two groups from the Popular Front for the Rebirth of the CAR (FPRC), one of the countrys biggest militias. One group is drawn mainly from the Runga ethnic community, while the other comprises only ethnic Gula members, said Tambo. Once comrades in arms, the two groups are fighting for control of the regions rich diamond deposits and lucrative income from road blocks. One of the worlds 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 further into bloodshed after Bozize was overthrown in 2013 by the mainly Muslim rebel Seleka alliance. The government signed a peace deal in February 2019 with 14 armed groups, who typically claim to defend the interests of specific communities or religions. Violence has since generally receded, but there are still bloody flareups and more than two-thirds of the country remains under militia control. Tensions between the Gula and Runga first 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, in January. MINUSCA on Wednesday defended itself against accusations that it had been slow to respond to the violence on April 29. MINUSCA members were at (Ndele) market in less than 30 minutes and repelled the attackers, spokesman Vladimir Monteiro said. The situation was extremely complex, with local people fleeing and shots fired by combatants in civilian clothes who could not be identified. Additional UN forces have been sent to the town, he said. A day after security forces eliminated terror group Hizbul Mujahideens Kashmir chief Riyaz Naikoo in a joint operation, the terror groups Pakistan-based boss Syed Salahuddin said the sacrifice would help them achieve the mission that they had set out to achieve. Salahuddin, who also heads the alliance of pro-Pakistan terrorist groups, called the United Jihad council, warned India that the Kashmir issue is a spark that could set off a fire that envelopes the entire region. Also read: Top Hizbul terrorist Riyaz Naikoo was hiding in south Kashmir bunker; killed in overnight op The message, according to a statement issued by the terror group said, was delivered at a meeting to condole the death of 32-year-old Riyaz Naikoo and his associate Adil Ahmed who were killed in Wednesdays operation carried out by Jammu and Kashmir police and troopers from the 21 Rashtriya Rifles. Syed Salahuddin Salahuddin was designated as a global terrorist by the United States in 2017. According to the US, Salahuddin had committed or poses a significant risk of committing acts of terrorim. But that classification hasnt made a difference to the Hizbul Mujahideen boss who has the support of Pakistans deep state and has been participating in public events for years. The Pakistan government had then declared that it will not act against Salahuddin since the United Nations Security Council hadnt classified him as a terrorist. Islamabad hasnt acted against those designated by the UNSC either. There are about 130 individuals who have been sanctioned by the UNSC. On them, Pakistan says it cant find most of the individuals sanctioned by the UNSC due to inadequate or inaccurate information about them in UNSC dossiers. Riyaz Naikoos luck ran out at 7th hideout Syed Salahuddins statement described Riyaz Naikoos status in the Hizbul Mujahideen hierarchy as its chief commander. His elimination is a huge setback to the terror group and will lead to its weakening in south Kashmir, where the Hizbul has traditionally been active, a senior police officer said. This part of Kashmir is also where Riyaz Naikoo had an extensive network. He had many hideouts in this area, Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar said on Thursday. Kumar said they had already busted six of his hideouts. The one where he was found dead after the firefight with security forces was his seventh. Because there was a possibility that this house could be linked to others in the vicinity via underground tunnels, the security forces even brought earth-digging equipment, including four JCB machines, to block any such effort to slip out. Kumar said it was natural that the terror group would be impacted by his elimination. Riyaz Naikoo was the most experienced When the next one is named, we will go after him. We already know who it is going to be, the Kashmir regions top police officer said. Syed Salahuddins statement on Thursday did not name anyone. He hadnt formally designated Riyaz Naikoo either who was seen to be the de facto chief of the Hizbul in Kashmir. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The global COVID-19 health emergency and the resulting socio-economic impact has sent shockwaves through both global trade and the economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently projected that the global economy will contract sharply by 3% in 2020. In addition, the WTO predicts that world trade is set to plummet by between 13% and 32% this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with nearly all regions suffering double-digit declines in trade volumes. Looking back over the past several months, most countries' instinctive reaction to the COVID-19 crisis was to look inwards and act alone. For example, France and Germany banned the sale of vital hospital equipment outside of their national borders in March. Export protectionism is contagious. The United Kingdom, South Korea, Brazil, India, Turkey and dozens of other countries set restrictions on the export of medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, and even food. As a result, borders have closed, supply chains have been disrupted, and regional economic activity has fallen. These actions have turned the world inward and closed it off, leading to economic recession. However, it is indisputable that the virus knows no borders, and the economic recession from the pandemic is worldwide, not national. In an interdependent and connected global economy, no country can be self-sufficient no matter how powerful or advanced it may be. In addition, the underlying causes of this economic crisis or recession are different from those of the 1930s crisis and the 2008-09 financial crises. This is an external shock caused by cutting the fuel line to the economic engine. In order to help the global economy recover, countries need to reconnect the fuel line properly. Two factors will determine the strength of the recovery. One is the effectiveness of measures to prevent the virus from spreading and bringing the pandemic under control. The other is the policies being taken by governments to solve the problems. As such, solutions to the pandemic and economic recovery must be international, and global cooperation must not be afterthought. A global pandemic cannot be solved at the national level. The health response must include helping one another, especially countries with vulnerable health care systems. Funding and medical support from the international community is urgently needed for essential personal protective equipment and vaccine development. Right now, there are strong forces forcing many countries to turn inwards, which will further sever the economic fuel line. Therefore, it is essential to remind nations that it is in their national interest to think both outwardly and globally. The adverse economic consequences of COVID-19 will affect every economy around the world. Many countries have broken most of the economic rules as they have responded to the pandemic at the national level, while the international response has been inadequate. Even rich countries such as Italy, Germany and Spain have struggled to support their economies, not to mention less developed countries. This economic recession requires an economic response at a truly international and global level which includes more resources for multilateral institutions, such as the IMF and World Bank, to provide a coordinated solution for economic recovery. Moreover, the most important policy to reconnect the economic fuel line is to keep the global economy open. Supply chains disrupted by the pandemic will resume once the virus is brought under control if there are no restrictions to international trade by governments. Government policies turning inward to favor domestic over international interests will not work during the COVID-19 pandemic and post recovery. However, some countries have already applied export bans on medical equipment, personal protective equipment and pharmaceuticals, which will exacerbate shortages of these goods, and do nothing to incentivize additional production or the entry of new manufacturers. These methods also disrupt business plans, discourage the distribution of products and call for changes in transshipment patterns. In addition, discrimination against foreign commercial interests will reinforce the trend towards more restrictive policies that had already emerged before the pandemic. Furthermore, some countries have capitalized on the pandemic by calling on manufacturers to return and repatriating supply chains. However, concentrating production in a single country is hardly risk-free, given the potential risk for environmental upsets. In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic will cause a shock to the global economy by cutting the fuel line for the economic engine from outside of the economic system. No country will be able to avoid its impacts as countries are all connected by global supply chains. In order for the global economy to recover, it is necessary for an open world to reconnect the fuel line to promote economic resumption. He Shuquan is a professor at the School of Economics, Shanghai University. Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. If you would like to contribute, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn. The early morning gas leak tragedy in Visakhapatnam on Thursday shocked the country with the president, vice president and the prime minister besides different political parties condoling the loss of lives and calling for providing all possible help to the affected people. President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu expressed their sadness over the incident, which left at least 11 persons dead and exposed over 1,000 people living in the affected region to styrene vapour leaking from a chemical plant, and offered prayers for an early recovery of the injured. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the situation by speaking to officials concerned and assured all possible assistance to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. "I pray for everyone's safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam," Modi said. In his message posted on Twitter, Kovind said, "Saddened by the of gas leak in a plant near Visakhapatnam which has claimed several lives. My condolences to the families of the victims. I pray for the recovery of the injured and the safety of all." "I am confident that the administration is doing everything possible to bring the situation under control at the earliest," the president added. Expressing their pain, leaders of political parties asked their workers to provide all help to the victims. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed shock over the incident and prayed for a speedy recovery of those hospitalised. He also urged Congress workers in the area to provide all necessary support to those affected. "I'm shocked to hear about Vizag Gas Leak. I urge our Congress workers and leaders in the area to provide all necessary support and assistance to those affected. My condolences to the families of those who have perished. I pray that those hospitalised make a speedy recovery," he said on Twitter. BJP president J P Nadda asked party workers to work in coordination with the administration in providing all possible help to the victims. "Deeply pained to hear about the tragic gas leak in Visakhapatnam. My deepest condolences to the families of the deceased, I pray for the wellbeing of all. I urge party workers to provide all possible relief in coordination with the administration, following all health protocols," he tweeted. Senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has described the tragedy as "disturbing" and said the central government is closely monitoring the situation. Shah said he is praying for the well-being of the people of Visakhapatnam. CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury demanded a thorough investigation and called for fixing the responsibility for the tragedy. "This Vizag industrial accident rings alarm bells reminding us of the horrific Bhopal Gas leak tragedy. Deepest condolences. We demand a thorough investigation and proper compensation to those affected. Responsibility must be fixed," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WASHINGTON Joe Biden is back on the campaign trail, targeting the critical battleground state of Florida but without actually leaving home. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee is staying in his Delaware house amid efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus, which has shut down most aspects of American life, including the presidential campaign. But he held a virtual roundtable on Thursday with more than a dozen African American leaders in Jacksonville, including Rep. Al Lawson. Its great to be in Jacksonville today, Biden said, grinning. Im anxious to get down in person to campaign. Later, Biden was holding an online rally with voters in Tampa set to feature many of the fixtures of an in-person appearance. His virtual stops marked one of the first times Biden has tried to emulate a traditional campaign swing through a key state since locking up the Democratic primary nearly a month ago. In previous weeks he used a makeshift studio in a rec room in his basement to hold online fundraisers and discussions with top Democrats, but he faces mounting pressures and concerns from Democrats wary about President Donald Trumps dominant presence on social media and across traditional news outlets. Im going to need you if we win in November, Biden told roundtable participants. He promised to reinvigorate the economy in a way that could reduce economic inequality, adding, Im going to need you to rebuild the backbone of this country but bring along everyone this time. Bidens evolving online campaign will continue Friday with an exclusive appearance on NowThis, a video-heavy news outlet that boasts a monthly audience that includes 60% of Americans in their 20s by distributing content across platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok. Biden, according to NowThis, will preview his central economic pitch for the general election. The back-to-back virtual campaign days reflect the Biden campaigns effort both to approximate traditional moves, like town halls that the former vice president would have held across a dozen battleground states during a normal fall campaign, with a new approach like the NowThis platform, which can connect the 77-year-old candidate to a swath of younger voters whom hes largely failed to excite so far. The Florida offensive, meanwhile, also comes as Trumps campaign has stepped up its efforts to portray the former vice president as soft on China. It released an online video Thursday that included clips of Biden previously describing that country as not bad folks and saying economic growth there was in the U.S. interest. The Trump administration also is making ever louder pronouncements casting blame on China for the coronavirus pandemic, aiming to defuse increasingly sharp domestic criticism of the presidents own response. Biden said the virus has disproportionately affected minority communities, often because they have inadequate access to health care. He said it is shining a very bright light on institutional racism. The former vice president was also asked about his promises to build on the Obama administrations signature health law rather than embrace universal insurance coverage under the Medicare for All program that dominated debate during the Democratic primary. Biden noted that he was working with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and other top progressives to find ways to expand health care coverage, but to do so in ways that wouldnt require so much additional government spending. For everyone who backed Medicare for All, join us, he said. Trump won Florida by only about 1 percentage point over Hillary Clinton in 2016, but his showing there was a harbinger of the strong election night he was to have. While still a tossup, Florida has begun to lean Republican by narrow margins in recent key races, including Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis win over Democrat Andrew Gillum by only about 33,000 votes in 2018. Also during the roundtable, Biden spoke about the slaying of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man in Georgia who was pursued by two armed white men while he was jogging and was shot. The killing happened in February but has sparked a renewed outcry now that cellphone video has surfaced. Biden decried Arberys brutal murder, saying he was in a sense lynched before our very eyes. ___ Associated Press writer Bill Barrow contributed to this report from Atlanta. Cameron Reynolds, President and Chief Executive Officer of Volition, upon releasing these results commented, "During the first quarter, we, together with our collaborators, have made very strong progress, particularly in assay and platform development, with our Nu.Q TM Capture program and epigenetic toolkit, Nu.Q TM Vet in collaboration with Texas A&M University and, at the start of the year with the acquisition of the epigenetics reagents company, Octamer GmbH. Our team has done an amazing job completing all these milestones in these difficult times." https://youtu.be/3AdkLzbRdeA An interview with Cameron Reynolds, President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Reynolds added, "We have responded quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic and have a number of clinical trials underway to investigate how Nu.QTM might be clinically useful as either a diagnostic or prognostic tool for COVID-19. I am delighted to announce exciting preliminary results from our first study today and look forward to providing more details throughout this quarter. This work yet again shows the diverse potential of our Nu.QTM platform." Company Highlights Clinical COVID-19 A proof of concept study involving 34 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) COVID-19 positive subjects and 50 control subjects revealed that nucleosomes were highly elevated in the PCR positive subjects. Preliminary study results demonstrated an Area Under the Curve (AUC) for a single Nu.Q TM assay of 98.7% for PCR positive COVID versus control subjects with a sensitivity of 100% at 94% specificity. assay of 98.7% for PCR positive COVID versus control subjects with a sensitivity of 100% at 94% specificity. A second Nu.Q TM assay also showed promising results with an AUC of 86.2%. assay also showed promising results with an AUC of 86.2%. Volition plans to utilise results of this trial and other ongoing studies to further its aim of developing a clinically useful product to help in the battle against the COVID-19 global pandemic and potentially other diseases. Clinical- Veterinary In a proof of concept study conducted by Texas A&M University , a single Nu.Q TM Vet assay detected almost 70% of both Canine Hemangiosarcoma and Canine Lymphoma with AUCs of 84.5% and 83.1% cancer versus healthy, respectively, at a specificity of 90%. These two cancers alone represent almost a third of all canine cancers. , a single Nu.Q Vet assay detected almost 70% of both Canine Hemangiosarcoma and Canine Lymphoma with AUCs of 84.5% and 83.1% cancer versus healthy, respectively, at a specificity of 90%. These two cancers alone represent almost a third of all canine cancers. Based on the results of this study, Volition plans to move forward with other Nu.QTM Vet assays in its pipeline, and with the larger range of cohorts and trials that it has collected and planned. Abstract Publications Three of Volition's abstracts have been accepted for publication by ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) and are expected to be publicly released on Wednesday, May 13 . Assay Development Volition has completely re-engineered its Nu.Q TM assays to now use a magnetic particle-based assay format leading to a step-change improvement in analytical performance which Volition expects to translate into improved clinical performance. assays to now use a magnetic particle-based assay format leading to a step-change improvement in analytical performance which Volition expects to translate into improved clinical performance. Volition reached its target of eight assays being finalized by the end of the first quarter with respect to its fully-automated magnetic bead-based chemiluminescent format. Studies are now ongoing for colorectal cancer, lung cancer and blood cancer with data read outs expected by the end of the second quarter. Volition signed a contract with Shanghai Fosun Long March Medical Science Co., Ltd ("Fosun Long March"), China , to further develop our Nu.QTM magnetic particle-based assays for use on Fosun's open-access platform LUMIART-II Automated Chemiluminescence Immunoassay System. The agreement also allows for the parties to negotiate an exclusive licensing agreement for Fosun Long March to distribute Volition's Nu.QTM tests for the LUMIART System in China . Epigenetic Toolbox Volition has developed and is seeking patents on its novel Nu.QTM Capture-based epigenetic tools. Volition is using these tools to expand diagnostic developments that focus on circulating DNA fragment analysis, leading to a broader and potentially more powerful investigation of the epigenetic status of a patient's circulating chromosome fragments, in addition to its ongoing work with its assay-based format in a range of cancers. Volition expects additional data on this in the coming months. Organization Volition completed the acquisition of its epigenetics reagents subsidiary, Octamer Gmb H (renamed Volition Germany GmbH), in the first quarter of 2020. (renamed Volition Germany GmbH), in the first quarter of 2020. In connection with the acquisition of Octamer, Volition expanded its Scientific Advisory Board to include Dr. Adrian Schomburg , one of the world's leading experts on nucleosomes and founder and CEO of Octamer. Financial Cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2020 totalled approximately $12 million . Upcoming Milestones Volition expects to achieve the following milestones during 2020 and beyond: Release a range of clinical data from COVID-19 studies currently underway. Release a range of clinical data with its new optimised bead-based assays in colorectal, lung and other cancers. Advance its previously announced large-scale colorectal and lung cancer trials in Europe , Asia and the U.S. , and the U.S. Advance the development of Nu.Q TM Capture by determining the level of discrimination of tumor associated nucleosomes using mass spectrometry and/or sequencing. Capture by determining the level of discrimination of tumor associated nucleosomes using mass spectrometry and/or sequencing. Announce patient data demonstrating the wide utility of its epigenetic toolbox. Complete further clinical studies for Nu.Q TM Vet with the aim of launching its first product in 2020. Vet with the aim of launching its first product in 2020. Publish several abstracts and peer reviewed scientific papers with clinical results as well as showing the robustness and utility of its Nu.QTM platform. Mr. Reynolds concluded, "We are extremely proud of the accomplishments we have achieved thus far. I thank the dedicated Volition team for their tireless efforts especially given the challenging circumstances we all face during the COVID-19 pandemic. I, along with the rest of the Board and indeed the whole company, look forward to sharing the results of key studies over the coming year." As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic during the first quarter of 2020, Volition implemented contingency planning to protect the health and well-being of its employees, with most employees working remotely where possible. Its laboratory in Belgium has remained open with the attendance of its dedicated laboratory technicians who have kept its research and development work on track with Volition's expectations. Many of its small and medium sized studies have already been collected and their samples stored at its onsite biobank so the trial work underway and planned for the first half of 2020 is still tracking expectations. Regarding its large-scale studies, both the colorectal cancer and lung cancer studies underway in Taiwan are still ongoing with collection, however the study collection in the U.S. with the EDRN has been paused during the pandemic. The overall timing impact of the EDRN collection pause on the study is unknown at this stage, however, Volition will provide an update once the study re-commences. For further details please contact [email protected] VolitionRx Limited First Quarter 2020 Earnings and Business Update Conference Call Date: Friday, May 8, 2020 Time: 8:30 a.m. Eastern time U.S. & Canada Dial-in: 1-877-407-9716 (toll free) U.K. Dial-in: 0 800 756 3429 (toll free) Toll/International: 1-201-493-6779 Conference ID: 13703451 Cameron Reynolds, President and Chief Executive Officer of Volition, will host the call along with David Vanston, Chief Financial Officer and Scott Powell, Executive Vice President, Investor Relations. A live audio webcast of the conference call will also be available on the investor relations page of Volition's corporate website at http://ir.volition.com. In addition, a telephone replay of the call will be available until May 22, 2020. The replay dial-in numbers are 1-844-512-2921 (toll-free) in the U.S. and Canada and 1-412-317-6671 (toll) internationally. Please use replay pin number 13703451. About Volition Volition is a multi-national epigenetics company developing simple, easy to use, cost effective blood tests to help diagnose a range of cancers and other diseases. Early diagnosis has the potential to not only prolong the life of patients, but also to improve their quality of life. The tests are based on the science of NucleosomicsTM, which is the practice of identifying and measuring nucleosomes in the bloodstream or other bodily fluid - an indication that disease is present. Volition is primarily focused on human diagnostics but also has a subsidiary focused on animal diagnostics. Volition's research and development activities are centered in Belgium, with additional offices in Texas, London and Singapore, as the company focuses on bringing its diagnostic products to market. For more information about Volition, visit Volition's website volition.com or connect with us via: Twitter: https://twitter.com/volitionrx LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/volitionrx Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VolitionRx/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/VolitionRx The contents found at Volition's website address, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube are not incorporated by reference into this document and should not be considered part of this document. The addresses for Volition's website, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube are included in this document as inactive textual references only. Media / Investor Contacts Safe Harbor Statement Statements in this press release may be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that concern matters that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or projected in the forward-looking statements. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "aims," "targets," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "optimizing," "potential," "goal," "suggests," "could," "would," "should," "may," "will" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements relate to the timing, completion and delivery of data from clinical studies, the effectiveness of Volition's blood-based diagnostic and prognostic tests as well as Volition's ability to develop and successfully commercialize such test platforms for early detection of cancer and other diseases as well as serving as a diagnostic or prognostic tool for COVID-19. Volition's actual results may differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements due to numerous risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, results of studies testing the efficacy of its tests. For instance, if Volition fails to develop and commercialize diagnostic or prognostic products, it may be unable to execute its plan of operations. Other risks and uncertainties include Volition's failure to obtain necessary regulatory clearances or approvals to distribute and market future products; a failure by the marketplace to accept the products in Volition's development pipeline or any other diagnostic or prognostic products Volition might develop; Volition's failure to secure adequate intellectual property protection; Volition will face fierce competition and Volition's intended products may become obsolete due to the highly competitive nature of the diagnostics market and its rapid technological change; downturns in domestic and foreign economies; and other risks identified in Volition's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as well as other documents that Volition files with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about Volition's business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this release, and, except as required by law, Volition does not undertake an obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances. NucleosomicsTM and Nu.QTM and their respective logos are trademarks and/or service marks of VolitionRx Limited and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, service marks and trade names referred to in this press release are the property of their respective owners. Additionally, unless otherwise specified, all references to "$" refer to the legal currency of the United States of America. SOURCE VolitionRx Ltd Related Links http://www.volitionrx.com Sir Keir Starmer said NHS staff and care workers were underpaid and undervalued and there would have to be a reckoning after the coronavirus crisis to reorder the UKs economic priorities. The Labour leader said that a decade of austerity had left public services ill-equipped to deal with the pandemic during a call Keir virtual town hall meeting with around 150 residents in Glasgow. Asked about the weekly clap for carers every Thursday at 8pm, the leader of the opposition said he and his wife, who works for the NHS in occupational health, found it an emotional moment. Sir Keir said: What we cant do is clap on a Thursday and go back to business at the end of this. Many people were clapping have been underpaid and undervalued for years. We owe them more than a clap on a Thursday. We cannot go back to austerity, he added. Weve got to think very differently, economically, about what we value. Not putting enough into the NHS, and certainly not enough into our care sector thats got to change. This crisis has exposed who the key workers really are. And theres going to have to be a reckoning at the end of it. Sir Keir took questions from both Labour and SNP voters in the Zoom session on Thursday, and was challenged on how he planned to win people across Scotland back to his party. He was also urged to scrutinise the Tory government during the coronavirus crisis and hold the prime minister to account for his handling of the outbreak. The Labour leader said: Im trying to provide constructive opposition, which means supporting the government where thats the right thing to do but to challenge where we see mistakes or when the government is going too slowly. Sir Keir who has called on the government to extend the coronavirus job retention scheme said he feared most businesses would have to start consultations on redundancies with furloughed staff within the next week or so because they have to give employees proper notice. Urging the chancellor to take further action, he warned the good work of the last few weeks is going to be lost, if all weve done is delay mass redundancies. Asked by one Scottish voter whether he supported the introduction of universal basic income (UBI), the Labour leader said the focus should be on managing the system weve got during the crisis rather than trying to introduce anything new. Sir Keir Starmer challenges Boris Johnson at PMQs on 7 May 2020 (Getty Image) (UK PARLIAMENT/AFP via Getty Imag) Thursdays Zoom session did have some awkward moments, despite Sir Keir telling people in Glasgow they should be as frank as you like. One voter told him it had been a massive mistake for Labour to line up with the Tories during the Scottish independence referendum, while another wondered whether he could be more like Nicola [Sturgeon] in communicating effectively. A former Labour voter who said she had partly defected to the SNP because of the partys clear opposition to Brexit asked Sir Keir: What are you going to do to woo me back? Pointing out that the UK had now left the EU and the debate between Leave-Remain was over, the Labour leader promised he would continue fight for a relationship with the EU thats right for our economy. Sir Keir and other opposition parties spoke to Boris Johnson over the phone on Thursday about easing the country out of lockdown. Giving little away, a spokesman for the Labour leader said the call had been constructive and the Labour leader had stressed the importance of establishing a national consensus. Elsewhere, Labours shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth called on the government to implement a health inequalities strategy to protect deprived and BAME communities and tackle the hidden health effects of the virus. It comes after data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed black people are more than four times as likely to die from Covid-19 than white people, before accounting for age and wealth factors, after which black people were twice as likely to die. In the first weeks of public shutdowns, Toronto was an eerie, grim place. Strolls through empty streets felt lethal and coming into contact with another human being was a terrifying prospect. Everywhere, COVID-19 was waiting unannounced. But hiding inside my apartment for weeks on end has had its own misery, especially for my sobriety and sanity. I cling to the stability of my routine to keep myself afloat, be it through sweating in a spin class or writing in a coffee shop. As venturing outside became palpable again, I began departing on long walks to cope with isolation. Some days, Ive ventured from Swansea to Leslieville, through the Financial District and past the TD Tower I once worked in. I have never walked so much in my life. Usually, I am on a packed streetcar or subway train trying to pretend Im not downtown surrounded by people eyes closed, headphones in and music on full blast moving as quickly from A to B as possible. Now, I am fully in tune with the cityscape and its people, taking my time and taking in sights and sounds. With the masses that commute to and from Union Station gone, the skyscrapers that loom above seem taller, more menacing and foreboding. Some days, its been easy to feel like the last person on Earth. But with spring, Toronto is slowly becoming alive again, subtly blooming into its new normal. Ive scoffed at the common appearance of bylaw officers and police at High Park and Sunnyside Beach, but chuckled at the increased presence of tandem bikes and rollerblades. On a cold, windy morning, as I sipped a soy latte outside of Jinks Art Factory, an elated man nearly fell off his bike as he excitedly asked me if they were actually serving coffee. Sometimes, a hot beverage is the difference between a good and bad day. In Parkdale, Ive passed by Holy Family Parish many times, finding those unable to gather for worship in solo prayer on the church steps. While I am an atheist, I find extraordinary solace in witnessing people of faith reassured by and connected with their higher power. Encouraging, handmade signs reading Were all in this together, Take care of each other, and Thank you essential workers hang from shop windows and apartment balconies. Everywhere, there are messages of hope and expressions of gratitude. At the northwest corner of Dufferin and Queen Sts., people experiencing homelessness have set up camp, their tents huddled together in solidarity and resilience. I wonder how long it will take for the cops to forcibly remove people from their temporary homes, destroy their refuges and break up a community, fighting for survival, again. People are more aware and considerate of one another in public space and I have exchanged more smiles, nods and Hellos! than ever before. One day, I received 10 free surgical masks from a man who had set up a booth outside an apartment building with a banner reading Physically distancing and socially connecting. On Sunday, the temperature soared in Toronto and the boardwalk erupted in movement. The swarms of midges were gone, at last, and in their place, smiling people walked, jogged and cycled. Many sat in the park in groups, unbothered, albeit far away from the next. I grinned from ear-to-ear as I snacked on a corner store ice cream cone. A shirtless man sat on a park bench, face tilted toward the sun, mouth open in a happy, exasperated sigh. I felt exactly the same way. We have no idea how long this state of existence will last. Its both temporary and forever. Photograph: Jose Pazos/EPA Mexicans sheltering in place during the Covid-19 crisis have endured crowded quarters and rising temperatures. Now theyre enduring another challenge: a nationwide beer drought. Beer production in Mexico was halted more than a month ago as health officials declared brewing a non-essential activity. Since then, the countrys stockpile has dwindled, fueling a robust black market in which speculators are demanding more than twice the pre-pandemic price. Were not producing a single beer, Karla Siquieiros, president of Cerverceros de Mexico, told the newspaper el Universal. But some beer-makers have continued their operations. The country is the largest beer exporter in the world, and Constellation Brands which produces Modelo, Corona and Pacifico in Mexico for US markets is still brewing for export. Oxxo, Mexicos ubiquitous corner store chain, warned in late April that its beer supply would last just 10 days, prompting panic buying and long lines outside stores. Mexicans have greeted the domestic beer shortage with more bemusement than anger. Hashtags like #LaUltimaChela (the last beer) trended on Twitter, while users posted pictures of empty fridges. Mexicans have greeted the domestic beer shortage with more bemusement than anger. Photograph: Julio Cesar Aguilar/AFP via Getty Images But retailers say the loss of sales is seriously harming their livelihoods in an economy that is already tough. Mexicans like to drink beer, said Cuauhtemoc Rivera, director the National Alliance of Small Merchants, Anpec, which represents thousands of mom-and-pop stores. Most such businesses are run by families, and during hot weather, beer sales make up about 40% of sales, Rivera said. This is a big money-maker for small stores, said Rivera. Anpec had lobbied for brewing to be declared an essential activity, arguing that it would help people cope with coronavirus lockdowns. States of anxiety, desperation and fears that could end in episodes of irascibility and intolerance were inevitable during quarantine, the organisation argued, adding: The consumption of beer at home operates as relaxant, which helps with enduring a difficult trial. Story continues Many municipalities have banned the sale of alcohol for the duration of Covid-19 quarantines. Some analysts say that such measures can help reduce domestic violence at a time when domestic abuse under lockdown is on rise around the world. But others said such laws conform to a familiar pattern in which Mexican authorities feel the need to take action any action in times of crisis. Lots of authority figures love it, said Xavier Tello, a healthcare consultant. The authorities can show that theyre acting like authorities by imposing dry laws as if it solved anything. As temperatures climb, some beer drinkers continue to hunt for Mexicos last few beers. But it can be a frustrating pursuit. Related: Americans' taste for Mexican beer sucking up water supply, mayor says Last weekend, Johnny, an engineer in the border city of Reynosa, visited eight stores in three neighbourhoods but came away empty-handed. There is absolutely nothing, he said of the stores in Reynosa. Theres liquor, but not everybody wants that. And its dwindling too. He did find beer for sale on the black market, but the asking price was triple the normal. In the end, Johnny crossed the border to buy a six-pack of Corona in Texas. Families of the Mafia is airing the 6th episode of its first season on Thursday, May 7 at 9 p.m. The series will feature members of the Gravano family, the OToole family, the LaRocca family, and the Augustine family. Heres the information youll need to watch a free live stream of Families of the Mafia online without cable. When is 'Families of the Mafia on? Families of the Mafia continues its first season on Thursday, May 7 at 9 p.m. on MTV. It will follow after a new episode of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation at 8 p.m. How to watch Families of the Mafia without cable If youre a cord-cutter or dont have cable, you can live stream Families of the Mafia on Fubo TV (free trial). What channel is MTV? You can use the channel finder on your providers website to locate it: Verizon Fios, AT&T U-verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, DIRECTV, Dish. How to watch Families of the Mafia online on-demand If you missed an episode of Families of the Mafia or want to binge watch previous seasons online, look for it on Fubo TV (free trial). What is Families of the Mafia about? According to the official MTV website: When notorious mafia boss Salvatore Sammy the Bull Gravano returns home from an Arizona prison, his Staten Island, NY, community is at a crossroads. The six-part docuseries follows four neighboring mafia-related families for two years as they try to decide whether to cut their ties to organized crime or embrace its legacy. Heres a look at a scene from Families of the Mafia, courtesy of MTV Realitys official YouTube channel: Related stories about Families of the Mafia Here are some additional stories and articles about Families of the Mafia, including a look at some of the drama thats occurred over the course of the shows first season: Families of the Mafia move: Should Karen and her daughter leave New York? 10 Things You Didnt Know about Families of the Mafia Families of The Mafia Latest Episode Has Fans In An Uproar Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Joseph Rejent may be reached at jrejent@njadvancemedia.com. Facility near Pyongyang Airport linked to N Korea's missile program: Report Iran Press TV Wednesday, 06 May 2020 10:31 AM A Washington-based think tank says a new facility near Pyongyang International Airport is probably linked to North Korea's ballistic missile program. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a report published on Tuesday that the facility, called the Sil-li Ballistic Missile Support Facility, and an underground structure built near it have the capacity to accommodate North Korea's largest intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). The report added that the facility included an unusually large, covered rail terminal and buildings that are connected by a wide-surfaced road network that could help move large trucks and ballistic missile launchers. "Taken as a whole, these characteristics suggest that this facility is likely designed to support ballistic missile operations," the report said. According to CSIS, the Sil-li facility, which has been under construction since 2016, encompasses approximately 442,300 square meters. It is located on the southwest corner of Pyongyang International Airport, approximately 17 kilometers northwest of the North Korean capital and relatively close to ballistic missile component manufacturing plants in the Pyongyang area. "A high-bay building within the facility is large enough to accommodate an elevated Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile and, therefore, the entirety of North Korea's known ballistic missile variants," the report said. "The facility has been constructed next to an underground facility whose likely size is also large enough to easily accommodate all known North Korean ballistic missiles and their associated launchers and support vehicles." A spokesman for South Korea's Unification Ministry declined to comment on the report. North Korea has been under multiple rounds of US and United Nations (UN) sanctions over its missile and nuclear programs. Pyongyang started diplomacy with the US in 2018. But negotiations have ground to a halt since the collapse of a second summit between US President Donald Trump and the North's leader, Kim Jong-un, last February in Vietnam where Trump refused to accept a proposal for bilateral action and left the talks. In his New Year speech this year, Kim called off a two-year ban on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests agreed in talks with the US. The North Korean leader made the decision after months of repeated calls on the US to ease the sanctions imposed on North Korea. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address OTTAWA - Janitors at long-term care facilities, those restocking food on store shelves, along with other low-wage employees who have made it possible for millions of Canadians to avoid contracting COVID-19 while getting the supplies and services they need, will soon be getting a raise. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 7/5/2020 (621 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a press conference at Rideau Cottage during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa on Thursday, May 7, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA - Janitors at long-term care facilities, those restocking food on store shelves, along with other low-wage employees who have made it possible for millions of Canadians to avoid contracting COVID-19 while getting the supplies and services they need, will soon be getting a raise. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the federal government, provinces and territories will spend up to $4 billion to top up the wages of essential workers in the COVID-19 pandemic. Details are still to be finalized with some provinces about how the program will roll out, but Trudeau says all the premiers agree that front-line, low-wage workers who are risking their health deserve to be earning more for their labour. "We see across the country people working on the front lines in essential services, in our seniors care centres, in our long-term care, in our health-care systems and elsewhere who are making very low wages while doing extraordinarily important work," Trudeau said Thursday. "The bottom line is this: if you're risking your health to keep this country moving and you're making minimum wage, you deserve a raise." Because of the variants that exist across the country, both in the way COVID-19 is presenting in different provinces and territories and in the way essential services are classified, it will be up to each province to decide which workers count as "essential" and will get a top-up to their salaries. The provinces will also decide how much more these workers will earn. The federal government will cover three-quarters of the cost of this program, with provincial and territorial governments kicking in the rest. Canadians are relying on these workers now, more than ever, and all provinces and territories worked collaboratively to come to an agreement on how to better support them, Trudeau said. The COVID-19 pandemic's forced restrictions have meant millions of Canadians have come to rely on workers who provide essential services, but the outbreak has also laid bare that many of those who work in jobs now deemed "essential" come from vulnerable populations. People who work in grocery stores, people who clean nursing homes, people who work in processing plants are often members of marginalized communities: people of colour, newcomers, temporary foreign workers, single mothers, those with limited education and people living in poverty. Public health officials have ordered Canadians to stay home and self-isolate to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, but these workers have had to keep going to work every day to ensure food supply chains remain intact and health facilities can continue to operate. When asked whether the pandemic is placing too great a burden on employees who are already marginalized, Trudeau was reflective, saying he believes the virus has revealed that people who are economically and socially vulnerable are "extremely important to the functioning of our society. "We know, however, that once we get through this in the months and years to come, we're also going to have to have reflections about how we manage and how we maintain our long-term care facilities, how we support essential workers who are very low-paid, how we move forward as a society to make sure that our vulnerable are properly taken care of and properly rewarded for the important work they do." 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. These comments were echoed by the country's chief science adviser, Mona Nemer, in a conversation with Gov. Gen. Julie Payette, which was streamed online Thursday. Nemer said she believes the pandemic will likely cause Canadians to rethink current societal structures, such as the reality that those who provide care are among the lowest-paid. "I hope it will raise many questions that we will ask ourselves and have a national dialogue around our values and around also maybe how technology can help us better care for each other, care for others and use it to stay connected, use it to ensure better health for everyone," Nemer said. "I think there are going to be a lot of very interesting take-home messages from this unfortunate situation." This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2020. With a file from Stephanie Levitz. Mr Ernest Patrick Kodzo Mallet, District Chief Executive (DCE) for South Dayi, has called on Assembly Members in the District to intensify education on the wearing of nose masks to curb the spread of COVID-19. He said it was important for the people to be aware of the dangers posed by the novel coronavirus and the need for them to join the fight against the pandemic by observing the health protocols to stem its spread. Mr Mallet who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview at Kpeve, the South Dayi District capital said though the government was making all efforts at tackling the disease, support from the citizenry was necessarily required to achieve the desired objective. He, therefore, called on the citizenry to give the needed support to the government, saying victory against the novel coronavirus could be achieved through collective and concerted effort. Mr Mallet said the Assembly together with the Health Directorate, the Emergency Health Response Team and other relevant institutions and organizations were working unremittingly to ensure that the District did not record any case of the virus. He urged the traditional leaders and other opinion leaders in the various communities in the District to also help in the fight against the spread of the disease by educating their people and ensuring that they adhered to the health safety protocols. Mr Mallet said the Assembly had presented sets of Veronica buckets, 12 infrared thermometers, nose masks, tissue papers, liquid soap, hand sanitizers among others to the District Health Directorate to fight the pandemic and limit its spread. The DCE said the Assembly had also given items to various markets, traditional authorities, lorry stations, police stations, the court and placed some at vantage points in the various communities to enable people to wash their hands regularly. He said to ensure that traders in the various markets in the District observed the social distancing protocol, the Assembly decided to clear surrounding areas of the various markets to make them spacious and relocate some of the traders to those areas. Mr Mallet said his outfit was determined to build a robust standpipe in all the markets in the District to ensure regular hand washing, even after the COVID-19 to make the people healthy and productive. When the Ghana News Agency visited the Kpeve market, most of the traders in the market were observing the health safety protocols including social distancing, wearing of nose masks, and use of hand sanitizers. Some traders who spoke to the Ghana News Agency expressed satisfaction on the measures being put in place by the Assembly in the market to limit the spread of the virus. 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 A fungus that lives in malaria-carrying mosquitoes could boost global efforts to control the disease, which kills about half a million people mostly children under five every year. Scientists have discovered a microbe, a fungus they have named Microsporidia MB, in Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes around the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya. The fungus is capable of blocking malaria transmission from mosquitoes to people. Malaria prevention and control organizations are optimistic the findings could offer a lasting solution to malaria, a disease that infects about 220 million people a year. The vast majority of malaria cases occur in Africa and India and are caused by the P. falciparum parasite carried by female Anopheles mosquitoes. Focusing on P. falciparum, researchers from icipe, the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, and the University of Glasgow, reported in a study published this week (4 May) that mosquitoes with the fungus do not carry malaria parasites, either in nature or after experimental infection in the lab. The fungus Microsporidia MB is naturally found at low levels in malaria mosquitoes in Kenya, but the researchers believe there may be ways to increase the number of mosquitoes carrying it, thereby blocking their capacity to transmit malaria. Only female mosquitoes bite people. Further research will investigate precisely how Microsporidia MB could be used to control malaria in large mosquito populations, but the researchers argue it is scalable and could be delivered to remote areas via plane airdrops of lab-infected mosquitoes or spores. The microbe is passed from female Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes to their offspring at high rates and does not kill or cause obvious harm to the mosquito host, or affect its fitness. It means using the fungus to tackle malaria would leave mosquito populations intact, in contrast to techniques such as genome editing which could wipe them out. "Maybe the first step is to look at what's naturally out there and see if that can work," lead author Jeremy Herren, from icipe and formerly the University of Glasgow, tells SciDev.Net. Herren says his background studying fruit fly and insect symbionts organisms which live together led to the study. I always thought the concept of symbiosis could be really powerful for controlling diseases," he said. "I came into vector-borne disease research from that angle." Jeremy Herren, Study Lead Author, from icipe and formerly the University of Glasgow The non-profit Malaria Consortium is "excited" about the Microsporidia MB discovery, but says that further studies will be required to confirm the findings with larger samples of mosquitoes and in other important mosquito species. Timothy Wells, chief scientific officer at Medicines for Malaria Venture, says anything that is suggested to have an impact on malaria transmission "is good news". "This discovery is extremely interesting, and it will be fascinating to see how the technology can be developed to have impact on clinical malaria," he says. Malaria Consortium global technical director James Tibenderana says any potential use of the findings for malaria control will require larger-scale field studies to demonstrate efficacy and cost-effectiveness and to understand operational challenges. "Acceptance of the approach amongst national governments and communities will have to be assessed," Tibenderana says. Herren agreed that demonstrating efficacy and engaging with policymakers is key for public health interventions. He says community acceptance is crucial before any environmental releases can be considered. "We've done a lot of work with the communities, they've actually been a key part of this research," Herren says. "They might be the first to benefit if it does work, we need to ensure that they understand what we're doing and of course it will be up to them if they want this intervention or not." However, ecologists remain wary of the potential environmental and public health consequences. Biologist Tom Wakeford from ETC Group, a conservation and technology non-profit, is urging caution about the discovery. "[Microsporidia MB] is a naturally occurring biological organism but whenever you release something as a biological control agent you don't know what's going to happen. We don't know ecologically what it might do to pollinators or other organisms that are key parts of ecosystems." Yet Herren says his research indicates Microsporidia MB does not have the capacity to infect other organisms. "Probably there is a risk in anything, but I think in this case it would be very small, if you're taking something that is already there and you're increasing the prevalence," he says. Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - May 7, 2020) - The Securities and Exchange Commission's Investor Advisory Committee will hold a public meeting on May 21, 2020 by remote means. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. ET, is open to the public via live webcast, and will be archived on the committee's website for later viewing. The committee will hold two panel discussions: a discussion regarding index funds, and a discussion regarding credit rating agencies. The full agenda is available here. Members of the committee represent a wide variety of investor interests, including those of individual and institutional investors, senior citizens, and state securities commissions. For a full list of committee members, see the committee's webpage. The Investor Advisory Committee was established to advise the SEC on regulatory priorities, the regulation of securities products, trading strategies, fee structures, the effectiveness of disclosure, and on initiatives to protect investor interests and to promote investor confidence and the integrity of the securities marketplace. The committee is authorized to submit findings and recommendations to the Commission. Advertisement New Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer caused Twitter fury after asking the media 'have you got what you need' at the end of the 8pm 'clap for our carers'. He took part in the weekly NHS appreciation gesture on a live Sky News broadcast but stopped abruptly at the end of the clap. He was joined by his wife Victoria Starmer and they both stood outside their house this evening to take part in the one minute clap. Sources close to Sir Keir said the Labour leader asked the question because he wanted to bring his young daughter over from across the road. Sir Keir Starmer sparked a row on Twitter this evening as he turned to the media at the end of the weekly 'clap for our carers' and asked 'have you got everything you need' He stood outside his house with his wife Victoria and joined in the one minute clap for carers tonight but caused fury as he abruptly stopped after the one minute People on Twitter were furious and claimed he was just using the clap for a 'photo opportunity' and said the whole incident was a 'PR nightmare'. One Twitter user said: 'Keir Starmer saying "have you got what you need" to the cameraman at the end of the minute clap... lol says a lot.' Another said: 'Ha. Keir Starmer "clapping", turns to reporter "have you got what you need?" Then stops. Forgetting camera is still on him. Smarmy b*****d obviously just clapping for the cameras. Either do it or don't (I don't anymore) but don't f***king pretend.' But Marc Ward, the cameraman Sir Keir was addressing, later clarified the Labour leader had just wanted to get his daughter. 'Im that cameraman he was talking to - he asked me as a way to clear the path to bring his daughter over from across the road,' he wrote. Sir Keir was joined by other politicians, including Matt Hancock, in clapping for the NHS as Britain enters their sixth week in lockdown amid the coronavirus crisis. This comes after Keir Starmer suggested lockdown must stay in place until UK testing capacity is much higher - after daily numbers slumped below 100,000 again. People responded angrily to Keir Starmer wanting to go back inside with his wife at the end of the clap. Users said he was 'shamefully' using the clap as an opportunity for a photograph while others joked the incident was a 'PR stunt fail' Dominic Raab also said restrictions must remain in place for the moment as he renewed them for another three weeks but risked confusing the situation by saying the PM will spell out 'milestones' that will permit moves to loosen the draconian curbs. Boris Johnson today told Cabinet that the government will be proceeding with 'maximum caution' as Downing Street warned people not to sunbathe this bank holiday weekend as temperatures are due to rise to almost 80F (26C). Some of the first changes to lockdown are expected to permit more outdoor activities because of the reduced rate of transmission outdoors compared to in confined spaces. The Prime Minister will use an address to the nation on Sunday to set out his lockdown exit plan with some changes then expected to be made starting on Monday. Emotional Boris Johnson leads millions of Britons paying tribute to NHS staff and key workers in the battle against coronavirus in the seventh weekly Clap for Carers event People up and down the country took part in tonight's event for seventh week in row to pay tribute to the NHS Event, which takes place every Thursday at 8pm, sees people applaud frontline workers in coronavirus battle Ahead of the event, people all over the country put rainbow flags outside their houses to thank NHS staff **Do you have pictures/video of clap for carers in your area? Email them to joe.davies@mailonline.co.uk** By Danyal Hussain and Joe Davies and Kate Dennett for MailOnline An animated and emotional Boris Johnson led millions of Britons taking part in the seventh weekly 'clap for carers' tonight to thank NHS staff and healthcare workers putting their lives on the line in the fight against coronavirus. The event is now in its seventh week, with Britons up and down the country stepping onto their doorsteps, balconies and front gardens to applaud frontline workers at 8pm every Thursday. And the Prime Minister led the outpouring of support, going through a range of emotions outside Downing Street tonight. Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson applauds outside 10 Downing Street tonight during the Clap for our Carers campaign in support of the NHS He tweeted a video of himself applauding, saying: 'Thank you to all of our carers for your fantastic work, day in, day out. You are pillars of society in the fight against coronavirus.' The prime minister's partner Carrie Symonds, who gave birth to their son Wilfred last Wednesday, also joined in the applause, posting on Twitter: 'Spotted this flower rainbow leaving UCLH with Wilfred last week. Clapping again for our fantastic carers tonight.' Alongside members of the public, politicians, celebrities and the emergency services took part in tonight's clap. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted a picture of herself clapping, adding: 'To our NHS and care workers, and to everyone doing essential work to keep the country going at this time...thank you so much' Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: 'Another emotional moment as the country comes together to clap for our key workers, our carers and all those keeping our country going through this crisis.' At one point, the Prime Minister seemed overcome with emotion as he joined in with the applause outside Downing Street this evening The Prime Minister put on an animated and - at times - emotional display as he lead the applause outside Downing Street tonight Boris Johnson joins clap for our carers as Britain enters their sixth week of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Prime Minister is due to speak on Sunday about lockdown rules going forward The applause takes place across Britain every Thursday at 8pm local time to show appreciation for healthcare workers The prime minister's partner Carrie Symonds joined in with tonight's clap, posting this photo of a rainbow arch after the birth of their son Wilfred last week NHS workers display a banner at the Aintree University Hospital during the Clap for our Carers campaign in support of the NHS Staff prepare to join in the applause during Thursday's nationwide Clap for Carers to recognise and support NHS workers and carers fighting the coronavirus pandemic at Trafford General Hospital in Manchester A family joins the applause from their balcony near the North Middlesex Hospital in London. A man bangs a saucepan while a boy blows an air horn A man with bagpipes joins in with tonight's clap for carers event as the country thanks NHS staff and front line workers for their efforts during the pandemic A woman dressed in a rainbow-coloured hat claps while a man bangs a saucepan on a flag-lined street in Wattsville, Gwent Blackwood in Wales As the county took to the doorsteps to Clap for carers at 8 pm tonight a huge rainbow appeared in the skies over Hartlepool, County Durham. The rainbow which stretched for miles took place over the war memorial canon at the Headland Hartlepool Charlie and sister Sophie from Hertfordshire out clapping in support for the NHS with their house all ready for the forth coming V.E day celebrations Residents came out to mark the occasion with the Flag of Wales and wearing jackets sporting the national colours On the eve of VE day blind war veterans from the WWII and their carers clap outside Blind Veterans UK. Until recently they had to remain in their rooms due to lack of PPE in Ovingdean, East Sussex But the Labour leader caused uproar on Twitter after asking the media 'have you got everything you need' at the end of the 8pm 'clap for our carers'. He took part in the weekly NHS appreciation gesture on a live Sky News broadcast but stopped abruptly at the end of the clap and appeared keen to head back indoors. He was joined by his wife Victoria Starmer and they both stood outside their house this evening to take part in the one minute clap. People on Twitter were furious at his actions and claimed he was just using the clap for a 'photo opportunity' and said the whole incident was a 'PR nightmare'. One Twitter user said: 'Keir Starmer saying "have you got what you need" to the cameraman at the end of the minute clap... lol says a lot.' Another said: 'Ha. Keir Starmer "clapping", turns to reporter "have you got what you need?" Then stops. Forgetting camera is still on him. Smarmy b*****d obviously just clapping for the cameras. Either do it or don't (I don't anymore) but don't f***king pretend.' Six-year-old Roxanne Gillis bangs the pots and pans with a wooden spoon outside her home in Bristol. Her family have displayed a giant Union Jack in the front windows Her mother Claire joins in to take a moment with the rest of the nation to express thanks during the Coronavirus outbreak Clap for Carers Members of the public applause near North Middlesex hospital this evening as they mark the clap for carers event for a seventh week A woman wearing a Union Flag jumpsuit and matching shoes comes out to join other residents of apartments in Saltburn-by-the-Sea in Yorkshire Residents of houses and apartments in Saltburn maintain social distancing as they come out onto the street to applaud for NHS staff and keyworkers Residents participate in a national 'clap for carers' to show thanks for the work of Britain's NHS workers and other frontline medical staff around the country as they battle with the novel coronavirus pandemic in Hartley Wintney, Hampshire A woman bangs her frying pan in support of the NHS and other frontline carers outside the doorway of her home in Brighton Residents take part in a national 'clap for carers' to show thanks for the work of Britain's NHS workers and frontline medical staff around the country as they battle with the coronavirus pandemic Two women wearing Union Flag outfits stand on the balcony of their apartment in Saltburn as they applaud for NHS staff and keyworkers A resident of an apartment in Saltburn wears a Union Flag top hat and flag as she comes out onto her balcony to applaud for NHS staff and keyworkers Chris Small (left) who has raised money by selling rainbow flags to fellow villagers, is seen encouraging fellow villagers to take part in a national 'clap for carers' to show thanks for the NHS A Saltburn couple come out of their home to applaud for NHS staff and keyworkers this evening, while draped in the colours of the British flag A family stand on the street corner as they come out to applaud for NHS staff and key workers in Saltburn-by-the-Sea in Yorkshire Two women, one wearing a Christmas onesie and boots and another banging a pan, applaud as a key worker drives a bus past their street in Saltburn-by-the-Sea in Yorkshire Two women wearing Union Jack outfits applaud the NHS and key workers from their balcony in Saltburn-by-the-Sea in Yorkshire as a rainbow breaks out in the background A double rainbow breaks out during the clap for carers in Redcar and Cleveland. MP Jacob Young said: 'Another rainbow over Redcar & Cleveland during the clap for carers & key workers tonight. And the comforting news of NO new deaths in Teesside hospitals from Covid-19. We are getting through to the other side of this awful episode, but please #STAYHOME this bank holiday' Children banged on pots and pans while some people blared foghorns and bagpipes to mark tonight's event. In some parts of the country, people even shared photos of rainbows appearing just as they stopped to take photos of the clapping. The country has marked the weekly-event with gusto and it appears that, seven weeks in, the nation is still keen to express its thanks to its carers and key workers amid the pandemic. Health Secretary Matt Hancock was filmed clapping on a London rooftop to show his support for health workers. In a Twitter post he said: 'A brilliant show of support again for our heroic carers and all those on the front line of our national coronavirus effort.' While former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn took to the streets outside his Islington home to ring a bell in support of carers. In Belfast, heathcare staff at the Mater - one of the main hospitals on the front line of the coronavirus emergency - unfurled a large banner to say thank you to the local community for all their support. Nearby residents lined the streets to applaud the workers in a mutual display of gratitude. Cars passing on the Crumlin Road sounded their horns and a piper played during what was a light-hearted event. At the conclusion, several nurses jokingly wrapped one of their colleagues up in the banner before heading back inside the hospital to resume their shifts. Children bang pots and pans in support of the NHS as a rainbow appears near Runcorn, Cheshire. Brian Allan said: 'How poignant, girls went out to clap for carers and keyworkers, just as a rainbow came out' Residents join in the applause on different levels of the apartment block. One family uses the occasion to celebrate VE Day, which will be tomorrow Medics dressed in Personal Protective Equipment join the applause from the doorway of Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool Local residents, NHS staff and police officers applaud key workers at North Middlesex Hospital this evening A London bus with the message 'Thank You NHS' emblazoned across it travels over Westminster Bridge near St Thomas' Hospital in London Some used the occasion to campaign for Personal Protective Equipment for NHS staff at the Salford Royal Hospital Medics outside the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent, join in the applause to salute frontline workers and volunteers in the area Members of staff pack together brushing each other's shoulders in clear violation of government advice for social distancing as they applaud NHS workers inside the hospital Staff and members of the public gather outside the Salford Royal Hospital in Greater Manchester to join the applause for NHS staff and other key workers NHS workers applaud frontline staff outside Salford Royal Hospital in Greater Manchester tonight Several people squeeze together on Westminster Bridge to film the applause for carers during tonight's weekly event Emotional carers applause and cheer as they join in tonight's clap for carers event at 8pm, with millions all over the country paying tribute Key workers across Britain take part in Clap for carers event this evening, with Britons giving their thanks to the NHS and other key workers Following the success of the 'Clap for Our Carers' campaign, members of the public are being encouraged to applaud NHS staff and other key workers from their homes at 8pm every Thursday A NHS staff member wearing a plastic protective visor claps next to boxes with messages of support for key workers at Brighton General Hospital in Brighton The nationwide campaign was started by a Dutch woman from London called AnneMarie Plas, who went viral with her plea to clap for healthcare workers after seeing it take place in her home country and others around Europe Ahead of tonight's poignant event, people across the UK showed their support for NHS workers by putting up rainbow flags in windows and outside their homes. In London, Network Rail erected a rainbow sign at Clapham Junction station with a message saying thank you to key workers for their efforts amid the pandemic. Meanwhile, houses in Wattsville, a village in the Gwent valleys decorated their house with rainbow flags showing support for the NHS, carers and other frontline workers ahead of tonight's event. Last week, Boris Johnson led the clapping as he stood on the steps of Downing Street just hours after claiming the UK is 'past the peak' of the virus and on a 'downward slope' in the number of deaths at his first daily press conference back at No10. His partner Carrie Symonds tweeted to say she had 'another wonderful reason' to clap for the Health Service after giving birth to their baby boy last Wednesday. There were also three cheers for newly-promoted Colonel Tom Moore outside his home in Bedfordshire to mark his 100th birthday, with the PM giving him a personal thank you and his neighbours coming out in force to sing for him. Last week, people stood in awe as rainbows formed above their towns and cities just as they prepared to clap - the same symbol children have been putting in their windows to say thank you to the NHS. The nationwide campaign was started by a Dutch woman from London called AnneMarie Plas, who went viral with her plea to clap for healthcare workers after seeing it take place in her home country and others around Europe. Houses in Wattsville, a Village in the Gwent valleys have decorated their house with rainbow flags showing support for the NHS, carers, and key workers Rainbows of hope and support for the NHS and other key workers from Clapham Junction Station in London earlier today The villagers in Wattsville put up rainbow flags in almost every house, flying them alongside Welsh flags ahead of tonight's event The rainbow has become a symbol of support for the NHS and other key workers in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic It comes as Dominic Raab tonight announced there is 'no change' yet to the UK's coronavirus lockdown rules as he urged Britons not to take advantage of sunny bank holiday weather - even as Boris Johnson prepares to ease restrictions. The Prime Minister will use an address to the nation on Sunday to set out his lockdown exit plan with some changes then expected to be made starting on Monday. Mr Raab said restrictions must remain in place for the moment as he renewed them for another three weeks but risked confusing the situation by saying the PM will spell out 'milestones' that will permit moves to loosen the draconian curbs. The Foreign Secretary told the daily Downing Street press briefing that initial changes will be 'modest' and 'incremental' - and could be reversed if the disease starts to flare up again. Mr Raab said the rate of infection - the R value - was between 0.5 and 0.9 and the number of new coronavirus cases and daily death toll were both 'steadily falling'. Mr Johnson today told Cabinet that the government will be proceeding with 'maximum caution' as Downing Street warned people not to sunbathe this weekend as temperatures are due to rise to almost 80F. The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman told reporters 'there is no change to the advice' and people are still being told to stay at home as much as they can. Asked if that meant 'don't sunbathe this weekend', the spokesman said: 'If you want to put it like that.' Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday expressed shock over thegas leak incident at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and offered condolences to the families of the deceased. Describing the incident as very unfortunate, Rao wished for speedy recovery of those who fell ill due to the gas leak, an official release said here. At least six people have died and around 100 hospitalized after gas leaked from a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A private high school teacher has been banned from the classroom for two years after a tribunal found he encouraged students to discuss 'anal', 'oral' sex and 'threesomes'. Philip Weickhardt, 53, a teacher at Foundation Christian College in Mandurah around 70km south of Perth was found to have made inappropriate comments between 2017 and 2019. The 53-year-old also gave a student permission to his school iPad where a photo of a penis was found, according to a ruling. On another occasion, the tribunal heard that Mr Weickhardt hugged a female pupil and told her she looked 'sexy'. Philip Weickhardt who taught at Foundation Christian College (pictured) has been banned from teaching for two years after he was found to have made inappropriate and sexual comments to high school students An investigation by the Teachers' Registration Board found that Mr Weickhardt had written the 'inappropriate terms' including threesomes and foursomes on a whiteboard during a Year 8 Christian studies class in March last year. A State Administrative Tribunal ruling then found a student had taken a photo of the whiteboard and shared it on social media. Mr Weickhardt also admitted to using the racial slur 'n*****' in the same class and was suspended from teaching, the West Australian reported. In 2017, when a female student had been upset, Mr Weickhardt hugged her and asked her 'would it be bad if I told you, you looked sexy right now?', the school board found. He also was found to have signed the bottom of a student's leavers shirt: 'This cheek, from Mr W.' At a school formal in 2018, the tribunal found Mr Weickhardt had made unnecessary and 'inappropriate physical contact' with a female student after tucking her shawl into her dress. He was deemed unfit to be a teacher and was banned for two years. Mr Weickhardt resigned from his position at the school which had annual fees of $4875 for senior students and has withdrawn from any unsupervised contact with children. His teaching registration has been cancelled and he will be unable to re-apply for two years. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 04:00:52|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DAMASCUS, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic State (IS) carried out an attack in a desert region in eastern Syria on Thursday, killing 11 Syrian soldiers and pro-government fighters, a war monitor reported. The IS attack took place in an area between the towns of Sukhnah and Shoula between the central province of Homs and the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It said the death toll could likely rise due to the critically wounded cases. The attack is the latest in a series of offensives carried out by the sleeper cells of the IS group in the Syrian desert. The Britain-based watchdog group said 515 government soldiers and pro-government fighters have been killed in similar attacks since March 2019. The group also said that over the past hours the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and its patron of the U.S.-led coalition carried out several operations against IS in Deir al-Zour, leaving several IS members killed. Enditem Founder of Police Ombudsman public page suspected of $4k extortion RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 13:54 07/05/2020 MOSCOW, May 7 (RAPSI) Creator of the Telegram channel called Police Ombudsman Vladimir Vorontsov has been arrested in Moscow on suspicion of extorting 300,000 rubles ($4,000) from a former Interior Ministry employee, the press service of the Moscow Main Directorate of the Interior Ministry has told RAPSI. According to the police, the arrested has demanded the money for non-distribution of personal photos, a source has said. From 2012 to 2017, the victim served in Moscow police. In October 2017, the suspect called him and demanded 300,000 rubles threatening to publicly share his personal photos, the statement reads. The victim refused and his photos were published in the Telegram channel. The suspect could face up to 7 years in jail if convicted of extortion. "Pat Hemingway Hall is a leader who has had a distinguished career in the healthcare field," said Randolph Cowen, Chair of MSU Foundation Board of Directors. "Her expertise is beneficial to the Foundation and MSU , particularly in areas of healthcare partnerships and joint ventures." Hemingway Hall spent 23 years working for HCSC the nation's largest mutual health insurance company that oversees Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Before HCSC, Hemingway Hall started her career as an ICU nurse and later held several positions in healthcare insurance and consulting. She later became the president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) in 1993. After serving in Texas, Hemingway Hall held the position as executive vice president of HCSC's internal operations. In 2008, she became president and CEO of HCSC. Hemingway Hall currently serves on the board of directors for Manpower Group (NYSE: MAN), Cardinal Health (NYSE: CA), and Halliburton (NYSE: HAL). She also served on a member of associations and civic boards including the Indian River Community Foundation, World Business Chicago, Economic Club of Chicago, and Mercy Home for Boys and Girls. Hemingway Hall is the recipient of numerous recognitions for her leadership, including Top 25 Women in Health Care and 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare Magazine. In 2018, Women's Inc. included her as one of the "2018 Most Influential Corporate Directors." "Pat has a robust background not only in healthcare, but also in marketing, finance, and information technology," said David Washburn, MSU Foundation Executive Director. "Her leadership and dedication to her alma mater will help further our organization's mission to serve the University." Hemingway Hall holds a bachelor's degree in nursing from MSU in 1975 and a master's degree in public health, health planning, and administration from the University of Michigan. "As an alumna, I'm delighted to be a part of the MSU Foundation's Board," said Hemingway Hall. "I'm proud to be a part of the Spartan community a community that is always ready to lead with enthusiasm and focus." The MSU Foundation manages an endowment built from decades of licensing revenue and provides over $10 million in annual research funding to MSU. Additionally, the MSU Foundation operates three subsidiary organizations focused on technology commercialization and economic development. These three organizations include Spartan Innovations, Red Cedar Ventures, and the University Corporate Research Park (UCRP). They are key partners with the Michigan State University Innovation Center, MSU Business Connect, and MSU Technologies. About the Michigan State University Foundation Established in 1973 as an independent non-profit, the Michigan State University Foundation is committed to the commercialization of cutting-edge technologies invented by MSU faculty, staff, and students. The MSU Foundation's overarching goal is to support research, innovation, and entrepreneurship at the University. Additionally, the MSU Foundation operates Spartan Innovations, Red Cedar Ventures, and the University Corporate Research Park. More information on the organization's notable achievements, services, leadership, and history are available at www.msufoundation.org . SOURCE Michigan State University Foundation Related Links http://www.msufoundation.org A day after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) wrote to Mamata Banerjee-led Bengal government, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) denied charges levelled by Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla. TMC said that by claiming that the state government is not allowing movement of essential goods through the Indo- Bangladesh border, Bhalla is "trying to please his political bosses in Delhi". Senior TMC leader and MP Sougata Roy said, "The central government is playing a political game and is using the services of bureaucrats who are obligated to the political leadership of the central government. Otherwise they would have known that state has not objected to the opening of the borders for cargo movement. It had to be stopped because of tremendous local agitation. As we dont believe in using police force, talks have started with the locals so that services can be resumed," he told PTI. Blocking of trucks carrying essential goods Officials of the Petrapole land port authorities on Tuesday said they are trying to hold talks with local people and the state government in order to resume Indo-Bangladesh trade, which was stopped on May 2 after two days of operation following protests by local people. They had said villagers are afraid that truck drivers and labourers might spread coronavirus infection when they return from Benapole, located on the other side of the border and have been affected by the disease. As per the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, West Bengal currently has 1456 confirmed Covid cases, 364 have recovered while 144 deaths have been reported. READ | Indian Railways prototype Coronavirus isolation coach ready; pictures here Referring to the second letter by Bhalla, Roy said that it has a 'subliminal political tilt, which is devoid of facts and figures'. "As far as COVID-19 management is concerned, West Bengal is doing its best. It ranks 10th in terms of infected people. But the Centre is not sending letters to states suchas Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, where the number of such people is much higher," the senior TMC leader said. "If at all there is short of tests, the fault lies entirely with the Centre, which has not only sent less number of kits but those faulty Chinese kits are faulty also. The state government is also doing its best to enforce stricter lockdown," Roy said. The West Bengal government alleged last month that the COVID-19 testing kits supplied by the NICED, the Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR) nodal agency in the state, were "apparently defective". READ | Lockdown relaxations evoke tepid response in Bengal; liquor shops see huge crowd MHA writes to Bengal govt In a new development amid series of disagreements between the Centre and West Bengal government led by Mamata Banerjee, now the MHA has written to the state on the closure of the border with Bangladesh. In a letter to West Bengal Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha earlier in the day, Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla, said that the Mamata government has taken unilateral action to stop cross-border movement of essential goods along the border with Bangladesh. The MHA warned that the decision will have larger international implications. Directing the state government to open the border, MHA added that such action by the state is a violation of the Disaster Management Act. READ | MHA directs Bengal govt to unblock Bangladesh border, 'consider international implication' In another letter, the MHA alleged that West Bengal has the highest rate of COVID-19 fatalities, low testing and worrying instances of attacks on frontline workers. "The response to COVID-19 in the state of West Bengal is characterised by a very low rate of testing in proportion to the population, and a very high rate of mortality of 13.2 per cent for the state, by far the highest for any state. This is a reflection of poor surveillance, detection and testing in the state. There is also a need to increase random testing in crowded clusters," Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said in a two-page letter to West Bengal Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha. Two months into Pennsylvanias battle with the novel coronavirus, a few things are becoming clear: Elected officials from both political parties agree the economy needs to begin reopening sooner than later. And social distancing, plus wearing masks, must continue to be the new normal until a safe and effective vaccine is available to prevent COVID-19 infections. State Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Lehigh/Northampton, on Wednesday held a telephone town hall for constituents with Dr. Jeffrey Jahre, section chief emeritus of infectious diseases and senior vice president of medical and academic affairs at St. Luke's University Health Network, and Don Cunningham, president and CEO of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. Separately, U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey held an online roundtable on the need to get businesses back open. Shutting down wide swaths of the economy and ordering people to stay home except for life-sustaining business aimed to slow down the transmission of the virus so patients wouldn't overwhelm hospitals, the Republican from Lehigh County said: "It's now clear that there is little or no risk that we're going to overwhelm the capacity of our hospitals." Jahre told Boscola's listeners that over the past eight weeks, since Pennsylvania's first cases of COVID-19 were confirmed March 6, the number of coronavirus patients being admitted to St. Luke's hospitals peaked at 150 to 170 per day, and is now down to 30 or less a day. Though researchers have yet to find a cure, local health care professionals have been honing treatments and avoiding resorting to serious escalations like hooking patients up to ventilators, according to Jahre. "So far I'm happy to say we are making progress," Jahre said. "Obviously it is still with us. We don't know if there will be a second wave or not, but if there is we will be prepared for it." The doctor said he sees no reason businesses can't be open if they maintain the principles of social distance -- like requiring masks of employees and customers and preventing crowding. He also stressed the need to observe that things are going well and to watch for increases in serious cases requiring hospitalization, as well as in mortality rates. "There are many businesses that would fall into that category and currently they're not being allowed to open and I think that's short-sighted," Jahre said "That's really good news," Boscola said. Cunningham had some good news of his own, saying the Lehigh Valley's economy is well positioned to rebound thanks to its broad base of sectors. He said about 40% of local residents have continued to work outside the home in health care, logistics, manufacturing grocery and other essential businesses, plus 35% who are working from home and between 5% and 10% who have been alternating between both. Once the region's service and hospitality sector is allowed to reopen, he expects local unemployment to drop down to about 5%. Of course, in the meantime, the Lehigh Valley has its share of Pennsylvanias 1.7 million unemployment claims filed since mid-March. Boscola acknowledged that delays in securing unemployment compensation are continuing due to an overloaded system, and offered up help from her office to help get constituents into the queue. "It's not like you're not going to get your money," she said. "It's all going to be retroactive. For some it's, 'I need it now,' and I get that." Businesses that have remained open have largely "figured out how to keep workers safe, as we're now in the eighth week of this," Cunningham argued. Thats as the Lehigh Valley continues to see cases of COVID-19, with 5,376 confirmed as of Wednesday and 224 deaths, according to the latest figures released by the state. Statewide, the Pennsylvania Department of Health counts 51,845 cases and 3,106 dead. "As our testing has increased and there's more robust testing, you're going to find more. It's not really a good indicator because it isn't objective," Jahre said of the case count, arguing a better measurement is serious cases requiring hospitalization and mortality rates, both of which he said have been dropping. "As long as COVID-19 is still present here, and it is, and as long as we don't have an effective and safe vaccine, and right now we don't ... the ability to social distance is the mechanism that works," Jahre said. That goes for school, as well as businesses. Sparser classrooms could be the answer to reopening schools, with teachers and students wearing masks, Jahre said. But if social distancing can't be maintained, remote learning would still be required. Boscola said she's been hearing talk of mixing remote learning with classroom learning, and staggering groups of students under both approaches. "A lot has happened in the last seven weeks and the fall is several months away. Any final decision would have to take into account the situation on the ground at the time you're advocating opening," Jahre said. "Time will tell. The traditional classroom as of right now would not be the thing to do." Boscola said she wants to bring what she's hearing from leaders like Jahre and Cunningham to Gov. Tom Wolf to argue for moving the Lehigh Valley out of the red phase into a yellow phase of reopening sooner than later. "We might not get to yellow for two months in the Lehigh Valley and green won't happen for four, and that's where something's got to change," she said. Complicating things are the patchwork of regulations in other states, 23 of which have reopened altogether, while chunks of Pennsylvania prepare to transition out of the red phase Friday. "There's just a mass confusion out there," Boscola said, noting she expects to see spikes in COVID-19 complications. "I'm not sure what's going to happen because I guess they're the experiment." That return to mobility helped push mortality projections significantly higher in recent days in an influential model used by the White House. Pennsylvania is projected to see around 8,600 deaths by mid-summer, up about 350% from projections last week, according to the modeling from the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. According to Jahre, even in those who recover -- St. Luke's has discharged over 650 COVID-19 patients -- it's not clear whether they will be immune to reinfection or how long immunity might last. With other coronaviruses that cause the common cold, immunity might only last until the next cold season. "There's a tremendous amount that we don't know and we are learning as we go along," Jahre said. "As I say you're building the airplane while we're on the runway." Using his own aircraft analogy, Cunningham likened the situation to fixing the plane while it's in the air. "But we really don't know when we're going to be able to go back to the way things were," Jahre said, "and my own opinion is that won't happen until we have a safe and effective vaccine." "The hope is that we'll have not just one but several, and I think there's a possibility that that could happen in the late fall or the early part of 2021 if all things work correctly," he said. Toomey, during his virtual roundtable discussion, argued the solution in the meantime is a safe reopening of the economy, not continuing to throw money at propping up a shutdown. Massive government spending is no substitute for an economy. In fact, all of government necessarily depends on having an economy, Toomey said. And so, endless government spending is just not sustainable. And that brings us to why were here today. The purpose of this roundtable is to discuss the importance of, and strategies for, reopening the American economy in a gradual, safe manner that emphasizes protection for the truly vulnerable populations. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. The Naked City podcast will take a journey into the dark depths of the Australian criminal underworld. In this series you will hear audio tapes of Australia's most dangerous criminals, all of whom have been remarkably frank in their recollections. In this episode of Naked City, we investigate Australias Hells Angels; exposing how they were taught to cook speed by a notorious bikie inside a US prison, how they nobbled a Melbourne jury and how they commissioned an American hitman to try to kill two Victorian detectives. You will hear the inside story from the original bikie busters and the secret confessions from one of the gang's trusted leaders, Peter John Hill. Hill was 24 and had joined the Melbourne chapter of the Hells Angels - a group of toughies living on the fringes of the law. Hill's visits to the US would change all that. 'Nasa is investing tens of billions of dollars into the Artemis programme, which calls for putting humans on the Moon by 2024 and building up a "sustainable presence" on the lunar south pole thereafter.' (stock photo) The Trump administration is drafting a legal blueprint for mining on the Moon under a new US-sponsored international agreement called the Artemis Accords, sources have said. The agreement would be the latest effort to cultivate allies around Nasa's plan to put humans and space stations on the Moon within the next decade, and comes as the civilian space agency plays a growing role in implementing American foreign policy. The draft pact has not been formally shared with US allies yet. The Trump administration and other spacefaring countries see the Moon as a key strategic asset in outer space. The Moon also has value for long-term scientific research that could enable future missions to Mars - activities that fall under a regime of international space law widely viewed as outdated. The Artemis Accords propose "safety zones" that would surround future Moon bases to prevent damage or interference from rival countries or companies operating in close proximity. The pact also aims to provide a framework under international law for companies to own the resources they mine, the sources said. In the coming weeks, US officials plan to formally negotiate the accords with space partners such as Canada, Japan and European countries, as well as the United Arab Emirates, opening talks with countries the Trump administration sees as having "like-minded" interests in lunar mining. Russia, a major partner with Nasa on the International Space Station, won't be an early partner in these accords, the sources said, as the Pentagon increasingly views Moscow as hostile for making "threatening" satellite manoeuvres towards US spy satellites in Earth orbit. The US is a member of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and sees the "safety zones" as an implementation of one of its highly debated articles. It states that celestial bodies and the Moon are "not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means". "This isn't some territorial claim," said one source. The safety zones would allow for co-ordination between space actors without technically claiming territory as sovereign, he said. "The idea is if you are going to be coming near someone's operations, and they've declared safety zones around it, then you need to reach out to them in advance, consult and figure out how you can do that safely for everyone." The Artemis Accords are part of the Trump administration's plan to forgo the treaty process at the United Nations and instead reach agreement with "like-minded nations", partly because a treaty process would take too long and working with non-spacefaring states would be unproductive, a senior administration official said. As countries increasingly treat space as a new military domain, the US-led agreement is also emblematic of Nasa's growing role as a tool of American diplomacy and is expected to stoke controversy among Washington's space rivals such as China. "Nasa's all about science and technology and discovery, which are critically important, but I think less salient is the idea that Nasa is a tool of diplomacy," said Nasa administrator Jim Bridenstine. "The important thing is, countries all around the world want to be a part of this. That's the element of national power," Mr Bridenstine said, adding that participation in the Artemis programme is contingent on countries adhering to "norms of behaviour that we expect to see" in space. Nasa is investing tens of billions of dollars into the Artemis programme, which calls for putting humans on the Moon by 2024 and building up a "sustainable presence" on the lunar south pole thereafter. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - The Association of Journalists of Burkina Faso (AJB) and the National Union of Information and Culture Workers (SYNATIC) on Thursday called on the government and press bosses to give staff journalists protective gear in view of the coronavirus pandemic COVID-19 deaths, hospitalisations and lockdowns could be over this year, says WHO SC pulls up Andhra, Bihar for non-payment of compensation to kin of Covid victims Maharashtra seeks Central help, to ramp up ICU beds India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Mumbai, May 07: Maharashtra, which is battling a surge in COVID-19 cases, has requested the hospitals under the Railways, the Army and other Central undertakings to make their facilities in the state available to the government which is planning to ramp up the number of ICU beds. A statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) on Wednesday said CM Uddhav Thackeray was personally talking to the higher authorities concerned for getting more ICU beds for the treatment of the COVID-19 patients. Coronavirus outbreak: In just three days, India records nearly 10,000 COVID-19 cases "As a part of planning, the State Government has requested hospitals, institutions & buildings under the management of the Railways, Mumbai Port Trust, Indian Army, Navy and other Central Gov. undertakings to make their facilities available across Maharashtra," it said. The government stated that it had been fighting a war against coronavirus for the past few months, and so far has managed to contain its spread through various measures. It further said that the number of tests is being significantly increased, and hence, the patient count is rising. "The numbers of patients being cured and discharged has also increased," the statement said. A total of 2,819 patients were discharged from various hospitals in the state after recovery, a state government official had said on Tuesday. "Since the Centre has projected rise in the number of coronavirus positive cases in May, the state government has created isolation and ICU facilities in Mumbai and Pune," it said. Mumbai, its metropolitan region, and areas under the municipal corporations of Pune and Pimri-Chinchwad account for the maximum number of the total 15,525 COVID-19 cases reported till May 5. "In Mumbai, such (quarantine) facilities have been set up in Mahalaxmi Racecourse, Nehru Science Center, Nehru Planetarium, Goregaon Exhibition Centre, BKC, Richardson Krudas factory land near JJ hospital. Private hospitals have also earmarked some of their facilities for ICU (beds)," the statement said. CLIO, MI -- Voters in the Clio Area School District narrowly passed a $40.6 mill bond proposal Tuesday, May 5. The bond passed with 2,664 yes votes and 2,489 no votes, 51.7 percent voting in favor. It was a challenge to continue face to face campaigning for the bond amid the COVID-19 crisis, Superintendent Fletcher Spears said. While some forums could be held before Michigans stay at home order, much of the information had to be shared over the phone or though social media. Michigan polls quiet as absentee voting booms to record levels amid coronavirus outbreak An independent citizens oversight committee will be formed to continue transparency of how bond dollars are spent, he said. Documentation will also be made available online, he said. Well be asking for volunteers to sit on that committee and theyll be able to come in and take a look at the books, hear what were doing, Spears said. I certainly would like to involve even a couple of people who perhaps weret supportive of the bond to show them we will spend it wisely, and these are the things well spend it on. Clio schools ask voters to pass $40.6 million bond Bond dollars will go toward the districts current effort to right size and consolidate the schools. In the 1970s, Clio Area Schools served more than 5,000 students. Today, there are 2,890 students in the district, Spears said. It has been 47 years since Clio schools last had a bond, though the district has had a sinking fund for 20 years, Spears said. The community has been very supportive of that. Were just at a point where we need to downsize and make some renovations that are going to cost more up front than we can generate in a particular year, he said. Voters approve Genesee County school bonds in smooth sailing election with big turnout The bond will levy 3.75 mills on property owners. However, if the districts sinking fund will decrease from 2 mills to 0.5 mills, so tax rates would only rise by 2.25 mills, according to the district. This means a tax increase of $2.25 would be added annually for every $1,000 of taxable value for residences and businesses. For a home worth $100,000 the taxable value would be $112.50 per year, or $9.38 a month. With the bond passed, the district will consolidate down to four buildings: Garner Elementary School, Carter Middle School, Clio High School and the transportation building. The district currently owns and operates nine buildings, including the community education building. Grand Blanc voters approve $87 million school bond proposal By closing buildings, dollars can be saved and put back into education for kids, Spears said. All three schools will see extensive renovations and improvements including ceiling replacements, flooring replacements, air-conditioning being installed and new security systems. All classrooms would also receive overhead projectors, updated technology and new furniture. This means Early Elementary, Edgerton Elementary and Lacure Elementary schools will close. Those students will move to Garner Elementary, except for fourth-graders, who will be moved to Carter Middle School. The administration building will also close, with with administrators and all programs previously housed in the community education building, moving to Clio High School. Preschool through third grade students will eventually attend Garner Elementary School, fourth grade through eight grade students will attend Carter Middle School and ninth through twelfth grade students will attend Clio High School. The majority of the money will be used to renovate the three remaining school buildings, especially Garner Elementary, due to the extra students it would serve. Garner Elementary School will have a 25,000 square-foot classroom wing addition and a 3,000 square-foot multi-purpose room addition to accommodate the new students. The schools kitchen will also be expanded and renovated and the parking lot would be expanded. At Clio High School, a new stadium concession and building for the team will be constructed, in addition to a new ticket booth and artificial turf field. The bond would also fund the demolition of the stadiums current bathroom building and the construction of a new one. The district began consolidation efforts when the community education building closed in November 2019. Nine Democratic senators are calling on Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to provide more information on the recent firing of four employees who were outspoken critics of its labor practices and questioned whether their dismissal constituted retaliation. In a letter Thursday, Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Kamala Harris of California, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin asked for more clarity on Amazon's policies "regarding grounds for employee discipline and termination." The letter was first reported by The New York Times. "In order to understand how the termination of employees that raised concerns about health and safety conditions did not constitute retaliation for whistleblowing, we are requesting information about Amazon's policies regarding grounds for employee discipline and termination," the letter states. Amazon has fired at least four employees who called for greater safety protections for warehouse workers during the pandemic. The company continues to face widespread criticism over its decision last month to fire Chris Smalls, a warehouse worker who organized a strike at its Staten Island, New York facility. Smalls said he was fired for organizing the strike, but Amazon said it dismissed Smalls because he violated social distancing rules while he was supposed to be under quarantine after being exposed to a co-worker who tested positive for the coronavirus. Smalls' firing prompted investigations by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York state Attorney General Letitia James, who called the move "disgraceful." Amazon also fired Bashir Mohamed, a warehouse worker in Minnesota who had spoken out about his facility's treatment of employees who continue to come to work amid the coronavirus outbreak. Amazon previously said it fired Mohamed as a result of "progressive disciplinary action for inappropriate language, behavior and violating social distancing guidelines." In addition to Smalls and Mohamed, the company fired Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa, two former user experience designers who criticized Amazon's climate stance and, most recently, its treatment of warehouse workers. Prior to their dismissal, Costa and Cunningham had circulated invites for an internal event where warehouse workers and tech workers could discuss workplace conditions. Amazon said it fired Costa and Cunningham for "repeatedly violating internal policies," including its solicitation policy, by utilizing company resources to solicit money and signatures from their colleagues. An Amazon spokesperson told CNBC in a statement that it supports workers' rights to protest and criticize their employers' working conditions, "but that does not come with blanket immunity against any and all internal policies." "These individuals were not terminated for talking publicly about working conditions or safety, but rather, for violatingoften repeatedlypolicies, such as intimidation, physical distancing and more," the spokesperson added. "We look forward to explaining in more detail in our response to the Senators' letter." Smalls disputed Amazon's characterization of the firings and said he and the other workers were "wrongfully terminated for speaking out about health and safety concerns." "We all deserve to be reinstated with retroactive pay and somebody must be held accountable," Smalls said in a text message. "That someone is Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world." Cunningham said Amazon should allow workers to "speak freely" about the safety issues they encounter at their workplaces. "Warehouse workers are under incredible threat right now," Cunningham said. "When workers don't have the ability to speak out, it's a disaster, not only for workers but for the larger public as well." The senators said Amazon's "vague public statements regarding violations of 'internal policies'" didn't adequately explain the workers' firing. The senators asked Bezos to answer what external communications constitute a disciplinary action for Amazon employees, whether Amazon's discipline and termination policies are the same for warehouse workers, tech workers and executives and whether Amazon documents which workers participate in walkouts, strikes or other organizing activities, among other things. The senators gave Bezos until May 20 to respond to their questions. Amazon warehouse workers across the country have called for the company to put in place greater safety protections, including closing down facilities where there are positive cases for additional cleaning. Warehouse workers have staged protests at facilities in Detroit, Illinois and Staten Island, and they participated in nationwide strikes held last week. The company has previously said it has gone to "great lengths" to keep facilities clean and make sure employees are following necessary precautions. Alabama House Speaker Mac McCutcheon said today that only the state budgets, a bond issue for school and college capital projects, and local bills will be considered in the final days of the legislative session. McCutcheon said he met with Senate leaders today and they decided to stick with an agreement not to consider legislation on other topics because of a tight schedule dictated by the coronavirus pandemic. Since the session resumed on Monday after an almost eight-week pause, senators introduced bills on other topics. One would have provided some immunity to businesses and organizations from lawsuits by people claiming they caught the coronavirus at those locations. Another bill would have given the Legislature more say in declaring public health emergencies, like one the state is under now. We had a very productive meeting, McCutcheon said. We addressed the major concerns, such as the budgets, General Fund, education and local bills. And we talked about some other very important pieces of legislation we needed to address. But at the end of the day, we decided that we were going to stick to the original agreement and there would be no other bills worked on or passed and we would stick to budgets and local bills. Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh told the Associated Press that lawmakers agreed to limit the rest of the session to budgets, local bills and the school bond issue. Marsh said House members expressed concern Wednesday about expanding the session to other topics. Weve decided to just stick to the budgets, the bond issue and local bills, Marsh told AP. The House is scheduled to debate and vote on the education and General Fund budgets on Thursday. McCutcheon said he expects the Legislature to meet Friday and Saturday. Saturday is the earliest day both budgets could get final approval and go to Gov. Kay Ivey, who could sign them into law. The education and General Fund budgets would increase spending over this year but by about a half-billion dollars less than what was proposed before the pandemic, which has put more than 400,000 Alabamians out of work. The legislative session must end by May 18 because of a 105-day limit in the state Constitution. The bond issue, which would provide $1.25 billion for schools, colleges, and universities for buildings, repairs, and renovations, has had strong support so far. It would be the first major bond issue for schools since 2007. McCutcheon said he expects lawmakers to meet in special session later this year but said that was the governors decision. Lawmakers have important unfinished business, including prison reforms driven by a Department of Justice investigation that led to allegations of unconstitutional conditions in mens prisons. Updated at 8:06 a.m. on May 7 to add comments from Del Marsh from the Associated Press. By Akbar Mammadov Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov has said that the agreement with Iran on the construction of "Khudafarin" and "Giz Galasi" hydro junctions and hydropower plants on the Araz River is based on Azerbaijans territorial integrity. "The agreement on cooperation in the field of continuation of construction, operation, use of energy and water resources of "Khudafarin" and "Giz Galasi" hydro junctions and hydropower plants on the Araz River was signed on February 23, 2016 and the parties to this agreement are Azerbaijani and Iranian governments. This agreement is based on the principles of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of both states," Khalafov said. He noted that based on these principles, the agreement stressed the importance of restoring the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan in accordance with the requirements of UN resolutions. Furthermore, the deputy minister said that according to the agreement, the parties cooperate over the continuation and operation of the construction of "Khudafarin" and "Giz Galasi" hydro junctions and hydropower plants on the Araz border river on the basis of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and interests of both countries. Regarding the issues raised in the press in connection with the implementation of the agreement, Khalaf Khalafov noted that in accordance with the agreement, the construction of bridges should be considered in the framework of the implementation of the "Khudafarin" and "Giz Galasi" hydro junctions and hydropower projects. "As Iranian embassy noted, the part of the dams and bridges falling on the territory of Azerbaijan is recognized by the Iranian side within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan", he added. The deputy minister said that this is reflected in the agreement which has the force of law approved by the parliaments of both countries. "Based on the high level of mutual trust, friendship and good neighborly relations between Iran and Azerbaijan, we believe that these bridges serve the implementation of projects related to the "Khudafarin" and "Giz Galasi" hydroelectric power stations and hydropower plants", he stressed. It should be noted that these hydroelectric power stations are located in the Jabrayil district of the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh territories of Azerbaijan. --- Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz One of Jacksonvilles smallest sign-making operations is creating front-porch signs to thank essential workers. Production started as an exercise in writing letters for 5-year-old Max Nelson, whose mother Audra Nelson wanted to make sure they practiced writing while the family stayed home. The team behind the signs is small but dedicated. Along with Max and his mother, Maxs 2-year-old brother, Eliot, helps with drawing. They began working on signs the first week after schools closed for both Max and Audra Nelson, a first-grade teacher at South Jacksonville Elementary School. The signs have a simple thank you message directed at essential workers who may drive by their house, including delivery drivers and the front-line healthcare workers at Passavant Area Hospital, which is close to Maxs house on West Walnut Street. Along with Maxs handwritten words, the signs also have hand-drawn hearts. While Max is a big fan of many colors, the hearts are all pink. Eliot sometimes helps Max with coloring the heart, which Max said is the hardest part of making the signs. Family friends and members of their church Wesley Chapel United Methodist took an interest in the signs and have requested that Max make some for them. So far, the team has made four signs and they were busy at work Wednesday on their fifth sign. Max said he likes working on arts and crafts, especially painting. He said making the signs makes him feel good about showing appreciation for essential workers. We wanted to say thank you to people who are helping us, Max said. Audra Nelson said she believes the signs teach Max about the importance of essential workers. I think its very important for both adults and for kids as well to learn to show gratitude, she said, adding that the signs also help the kids learn there are people who still are working so their family can stay home and keep themselves healthy. While the signs have been a success so far, the team has not quite worked out the logistics of the next step in Maxs plan putting them on the roof so helicopters that fly by the house also see them. A pair of abortive armed landings by US-led mercenaries on Venezuelas coast earlier this week has made it clear that the global coronavirus pandemic and the death and devastation it has wrought upon the American people have done nothing to curb US imperialisms predatory and criminal pursuit of geostrategic interests in South America and across the globe. The first of the two landings took place early Sunday morning in Maputo in the state of La Guaira, barely a half hours drive from the Venezuelan capital of Caracas. Eight of the armed men who came ashore, including the leader of the group, an ex-Venezuelan army captain known as Pantera (the panther), were killed, and the rest captured. A second landing took place on Monday on the peninsula of Chuao in Aragua state, also on Venezuelas Caribbean coast, west of Caracas. Here, the armed invaders were detected by local fishermen, who turned them over to Venezuelan security forces. US mercenaries Luke Denman (circled at top) and Airan Berry (bottom) after being captured in Venezuela. Among those captured was Josnars Adolfo Baduel, the son of a former Venezuelan defense minister sent to prison on corruption charges, who has been at the center of a series of coup plots. Also taken prisoner were two US citizens, Luke Denman, 34, and Airan Berry, 41, both of whom have been identified as former US special operations troops. Baduel told Venezuelan authorities that the two Americans had told him that they worked for the security force of US President Donald Trump. Venezuelan officials have shown the media passports and military ID cards of the two captured Americans, along with photographs of armaments captured along with the mercenaries. They also released a video of an interrogation of Denman, who said that his mission had been to seize control of a Caracas airport in order to receive planes that would carry out the rendition of Venezuelas President Maduro to the US. Asked who was directing the operation, he replied, President Donald Trump. At the center of the operation was one Jordan Goudreau, an ex-Green Beret veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, who runs a Florida-based private security contracting firm, SilverCorp USA. By his own account, Goudreau was hooked up with the Venezuelan right and its US-backed coup plots by Keith Schiller, Trumps longtime bodyguard, who served as director of Oval Office operations. Videos have since surfaced showing Goudreau working security at Trump rallies. The military contractors ties with US intelligence and the Venezuelan right became apparent when he was hired in February 2019 to provide security for a concert paid for by British billionaire Richard Branson on the Venezuelan-Colombian border as part of a failed CIA Trojan Horse operation to force phony aid convoys into Venezuela. Goudreau has publicly taken responsibility for the latest operation, claiming that it is still ongoing and its objective is to overthrow the government of Maduro. He said that despite the abject failure of the maritime invasion, other elements remain active inside Venezuela and were going to start attacking tactical targets, in other words, launch a wave of terrorism. In addition, Goudreau confirmed the validity of a contract posted online that was signed between himself and Juan Guaido, the right-wing political nonentity who proclaimed himself interim president" of Venezuela in January of last year and was instantly anointed by Washington and its allies as the legitimate government" of Venezuela. A taped conversation in English between Guaido and Goudreau has also been released in which the US puppet agreed to pay $213 million to the American security contractor to carry out the armed intervention, with the fee guaranteed by oil resources stolen from Venezuela by the US government. Goudreau claimed that Guaido failed to make the promised payments. Whatever the exact arrangement, however, it is clear that someone paid for the organization of a mercenary army and its deployment to the shores of Venezuela. Whether it was the puppet or the puppet master makes little difference. If Guaido, who attempted to spark a military coup little more than a year ago, is not behind bars, it is because Maduros Bolivarian Socialist" bourgeois government still sees him as a possible interlocutor with US imperialism and the traditional oligarchy in pursuit of a deal to salvage Venezuelan capitalism and prevent a revolutionary explosion from below. Asked about the attempted seaborne invasion of Venezuela, Trump claimed that he knew nothing about it and that it had nothing to do with our government. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a somewhat more conditional answer at a State Department press conference Wednesday, declaring, There was no US government direct involvement in this operation. He said he was not prepared to share any more information about what we know took place. As for the two captured US mercenaries, Pompeo stated that Washington would use every tool that we have available to try and get them back. On what grounds the US can demand that they be sent back, the secretary of state did not say. Is there the slightest doubt that a pair of foreign nationals caught invading the US with the objective of kidnapping or killing Donald Trump would be sentenced on terrorism charges to life in prison or worse? The armed incursions have unfolded in the context of a maximum pressure campaign of crippling sanctions against Venezuela that is tantamount to a state of war. An effective embargo against the country has cut off its oil exports and prevented it from importing vitally needed medicine and medical supplies, leading to tens of thousands of deaths, even before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Since its outbreak, US imperialism has only tightened the sanctions seeking to employ disease and death as a weapon in forcing the Venezuelan population into submission and completing its drive for regime change. Even as the death toll mounted in the US and the economy plummeted, Trump ordered the deployment of a naval task force to waters off Venezuelas Caribbean coast on the pretext of combatting narcotics trafficking, even though the vast majority of drugs flowing into the US are sent via Colombia and the Pacific Ocean through Central America, protected by Washingtons right-wing allies in Bogota, Tegucigalpa and Guatemala City. The destroyers and littoral combat ships sent into this operation are ill-designed for catching drug smugglers. The sordid events on Venezuelas coast recall the darkest chapters of US imperialisms prolonged history of military aggression, semicolonial exploitation and police state repression in Latin America. In earlier US imperialist interventions gone bad, including the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961, Washington officials initially also issued categorical denials of US involvement. Similarly, in the illegal operation to fund the contra" terrorist war against Nicaragua in the 1980s, Washington maintained deniability until CIA contractor Eugene Hasenfus was shot down flying weapons to the contra mercenaries. Both the Bay of Pigs and the so-called Iran-contra affair triggered major political crises in Washington and close scrutiny by the American media. The reports of an abortive US-orchestrated invasion of Venezuela, however, have been passed over in near silence by the corporate media and have elicited not a word of criticism from Trumps ostensible political opposition within the Democratic Party. From Biden to Sanders, they have all lined up behind the regime change operation in Venezuela. This operation, serving the interests of Americas ruling oligarchy, is aimed at establishing unfettered control by US energy conglomerates over the countrys oil reserves, the largest on the planet, and rolling back the growing influence of China and Russia in Venezuela and Latin America as a whole, which US imperialism has long regarded as its own backyard. In the midst of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic that threatens the lives of millions, US imperialism is pursuing its predatory interests by means of military aggression, threatening to ignite another world war that would kill billions. Only the working class, uniting across national boundaries in a common struggle to put an end to capitalism and imperialism, can provide an alternative to the grave threats posed to the survival of humanity. WASHINGTON, May 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed a resolution aimed at limiting the president's power to use military forces against Iran. "This was a very insulting resolution, introduced by Democrats as part of a strategy to win an election on Nov. 3 by dividing the Republican Party," Trump said in a statement regarding the veto, adding that "the few Republicans who voted for it played right into their hands." Trump noted that the resolution would have harmed the president's ability to protect the United States, its allies, and partners. "Congress should not have passed this resolution," he added. U.S. media reported later in the day that the Senate on Thursday would attempt to override Trump's veto, but it is expected to fall short of the two-thirds' support needed. "I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to override his veto-Congress must vote before sending our troops into harm's way," tweeted by Virginian Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who led the legislative effort. The House approved the resolution in a largely party-line vote of 227 against 186 in March, and the Republican-controlled Senate passed the resolution in February. The veto came as the tension between the United States and Iran is still lingering. Trump said last month that he had instructed the U.S. Navy to destroy any Iranian gunboats if they harass U.S. ships at sea. Iranian officials downplayed U.S. threats and vowed to respond if the security of Iranian territory is at stake. Streeter Lecka / Getty Images Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpos Twitter account was hacked Thursday afternoon, apparently by someone whod like to see him in a Warriors uniform. One of the hackers tweets said: Im going to the warriors, with two prayer-hands emojis. Shortly after the series of tweets which included accusations that the Bucks are racist and LeBron James tried to hire a hit man for him surfaced online, Antetokounmpo deleted the posts. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- As the coronavirus pandemic continues, Bloomberg Opinion will be running a series of features by our columnists that consider the long-term consequences of the crisis. This column is part of a package on the impact that the spread of Covid-19 will have on immigration. For more, see Tracy Walsh on how to prevent coronavirus from decimating refugee camps, and the Bloomberg Editorial Board on the post-pandemic changes needed to fix U.S. immigration policy. Its hard to find the words to express my debt, the ordinarily garrulous British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said as he emerged from a close encounter with death last month. His main debt, Johnson significantly added, was to two nurses, Jenny from New Zealand and Luis from Portugal, who stayed at his bedside for 48 hours in an intensive care unit. In recent weeks, doctors, nurses and care workers for the British National Health Service (NHS) have garnered the kind of heartfelt respect and gratitude that New York City firefighters elicited after 9/11. In particular, immigrants, who are disproportionately represented among Britains caregivers, janitors, pharmacists, grocery employees, truck drivers, plumbers and electricians, mass transit operators, and teachers, are presently being hailed for their gritty sense of duty, for standing between many people and premature death. Johnson was clearly trying to connect to this public mood. His New Zealander and Portuguese nurses are two of the tens of thousands of immigrants who serve in the NHS and who are also most exposed to the virus: The first 10 NHS doctors to die from the virus originally came from Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria and Sudan. At the same time, Johnsons own posture before the coronavirus outbreak he promised to take back control of Britains borders and to slash immigration warns of potential dangers ahead. The pandemic is already encouraging far-right demagogues and movements to intensify their rhetoric against immigrants. Story continues Xenophobia is globally rampant aimed at Europeans, Africans and Americans in China, as well as Asian immigrants and their descendants in the West. Tight travel restrictions have been imposed around the world; some will persist after the crisis abates. In the U.S., President Donald Trump has temporarily halted the issuance of green cards, linking immigration, against almost all available research and data, to joblessness in his country. There is no evidence either to connect the outbreak in Europe to the flow of asylum seekers across the Mediterranean or through Turkey. Yet Hungarys leader Viktor Orban has loudly conflated the pandemic with general mobility. We are fighting, he said recently, a two-front war, one front is called migration, and the other one belongs to the coronavirus, there is a logical connection between the two, as both spread with movement. Such figures are clearly appealing to existing prejudices: Anti-immigration parties in Austria, Britain, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland actually, most of Europe have scored notable electoral successes in recent years. They are also building upon a long history. Immigrations role in making the modern world has rarely been contested in the U.S. a country, at least since the late 19th century, of immigrants. Americas economic and technological revolution and rise to global supremacy was powered by migrant workers from China, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Russia. Asian immigration from the 1960s onward helped cement the U.S. lead in technological innovation. Parsis and Gujaratis in East Africa, Chinese in Malaysia and Indonesia, Indians in the Caribbean, Japanese in Peru and many other immigrant communities have long been active in the political and economic life of Asia, Africa and Latin America. In contrast, amnesia and marginalization mark the history of immigration in Europe. Laborers from Belgium, Poland and Italy toiled in the fields and factories of France and Germany as these countries started to become more prosperous in the late 19th century. Within living memory, immigrants helped Europe recover from the ruins of its two civil wars. West Germany, the former ground zero of racial supremacism, struck bilateral agreements with Italy, Turkey and Yugoslavia to recruit guest workers after World War II. Both France and Germany encouraged their colonial subjects in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean to bolster their much-depleted domestic labor forces; Irish nurses were crucial to the establishment of the NHS in Britain. Neglected in national histories, these workers, savers, taxpayers and spenders made important economic contributions while enriching the continents social and cultural life despite the fact that most of them were paid poorly, had few career prospects and were perennially besieged by hardened racial prejudice and suspicion. Indeed, the centerpiece of Johnsons own campaign for Brexit included a bright-red billboard that proclaimed (falsely), Turkey (population 76 million) is joining the EU, accompanied by an image of a trail of footsteps passing through a door resembling a British passport. The irony that the same rabble-rouser should now owe his life to immigrants is even more pungent considering that Johnson is the great-grandson of Ali Kemal, a minister in the Ottoman Empire. The question now, as the world suffers through its biggest crisis since 1945, is how to ensure that gratitude rather than fear dominates attitudes toward migrants. Its possible that crisis-management will monopolize almost all political energy and public attention, marginalizing those who deal exclusively in the politics of fear and loathing. The far right hasnt made much progress in either Italy or Germany during this crisis. Those demagogues who are actually in charge, such as Trump and Orban, will have to work hard to relieve the strain on their countrys economies; they wont be able to shift all blame to foreigners and outsiders. Moreover, immigrants will be needed, yet again, to rebuild shattered economies. In fact, in aging societies from Japan to Portugal, they were urgently required to fill job vacancies and to broaden the tax base for public spending well before the pandemic erupted. According to the Berlin Institute for Population and Development, Germany will need half a million immigrants annually for the next 35 years to maintain its current funding for pensions and social services. The U.S. has forestalled such a demographic crisis largely because of continuing immigration, which could be threatened if Trump succeeds in institutionalizing anti-migrant curbs. Even Japan, traditionally hostile to immigration, has been forced to accept a rising number of immigrants, in part so that they can take care of its old people. Almost all of Asias other prosperous nations also suffer from low and often falling birth-rates. The existential challenge confronting them is unlikely to be met by a baby boom, even if one could be miraculously facilitated. Only new blood from elsewhere can keep their national economies fit as they cope with the fallout from the pandemic. But focusing on the economic value of immigrants would not only leave them, as before, vulnerable to prejudice. It will also most likely lead to the repetition of a grotesque pattern: using immigrants to build modern economies and then abusing them when the latter falter. The Gulf states look set to advance this ignoble tradition as they stigmatize their meagerly paid and ill-housed migrant workers. But Singapore offers a counterexample: There, by exposing the cruel living conditions of migrants, the virus has reshaped public opinion and shamed politicians into corrective action. As infections in worker dormitories surge, Singapores notably tough-minded government has vowed to act compassionately toward the indispensable people who toil ceaselessly if largely invisibly to create much of the city-states wealth. In Britain, simple reality promises to overturn Johnsons campaign promise to drastically restrict low-paid foreign workers. As it turns out, the countrys most crucial sectors today, from the NHS and home care to farming and food processing, depend on precisely the kind of workers Johnson had hoped to stop at the U.K.s borders. Shrinking public opposition to immigration in Britain, and Johnsons own remarks, suggest that a newfound appreciation for immigrants is developing. Faced with death and deprivation, perhaps even hardened nativists will be forced to recognize the net contribution to cultural and economic, as well as physical health that newcomers make to their societies. Fighting for re-election, Trump will no doubt do what he has always done: demonize immigrants and foreigners. Still, there is some hope to be drawn from banks and landlords that suspend debt and rent collections, prisons that release prisoners and other instances of a more caring world that have been manifest in recent weeks. Hopefully, the newborn feeling that we are all in this together can also quicken awareness that for too long workers in global markets have been reduced to commodities, to be traded on a market at the lowest possible price. What we have witnessed in recent years, without exploring in much detail, is a steady impoverishment of the working class in even the worlds richest countries. The process has been facilitated by nation-states surrendering more and more sovereignty to transnational institutions, such as the European Union, and global markets, and adopting policies, such as privatization, financialization and austerity, that restrict their scope of action. The nation-state is now back, its rulers armed with greater power and authority and broader scope for political and economic experimentation than at any time since 1945. It remains to be seen if Johnson and his peers can eschew their cynical politics of the recent past and treat underpaid and undervalued workers the class to which most immigrants belong fairly and compassionately. Certainly, it is the only way to discharge the debt that he and society owe to those who save other lives by endangering their own. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Pankaj Mishra is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. His books include Age of Anger: A History of the Present, From the Ruins of Empire: The Intellectuals Who Remade Asia, and Temptations of the West: How to Be Modern in India, Pakistan, Tibet and Beyond. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. India is seeking to lure US businesses, including medical devices giant Abbott Laboratories, to relocate from China as President Donald Trumps administration steps up efforts to blame Beijing for its role in the coronavirus pandemic. The government in April reached out to more than 1,000 companies in the US and through overseas missions to offer incentives for manufacturers seeking to move out of China, according to Indian officials who asked not to be identified, citing rules on speaking with the media. India is prioritizing medical equipment suppliers, food processing units, textiles, leather and auto part makers among more than 550 products covered in the discussions, they said. Trumps move to blame China for its handling of the Covid-19 outbreak, which has killed more than a quarter-million people worldwide, is expected to worsen global trade ties as companies and governments move resources out of the worlds second-largest economy to diversify supply chains. Japan has earmarked $2.2 billion to help shift factories from its neighbour, while European Union members plan to cut dependence on Chinese suppliers. Also Watch | How Chinas loss can become Indias Covid-19 gain: PMEAC member explains Click here for the complete coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic India expects to win over US companies involved in healthcare products and devices, and is in talks with Medtronic Plc and Abbott Laboratories on relocating their units to the country, an official said. Medtronic spokesman Ben Petok and Abbott spokeswoman Darcy Ross didnt immediately respond to emails seeking comment. Both Medtronic and Abbott have a presence in India, which may make it easier for them to move their China supply chains to the country, according to an official. Theyre based out of financial center Mumbai and already work with large Indian hospital groups. Officials have told companies that India is more economical in terms of securing land and affordable skilled labor than if they moved back to the US or Japan, even if overall costs are still higher than China. They have also offered an assurance that India will consider specific requests on changes to labor laws, which have proved a major stumbling block for companies, and said the government is considering a request from e-commerce companies to postpone a tax on digital transactions introduced in this years budget. Indias trade ministry spokesman didnt respond to an email seeking comment on the effort to lure US companies. Click here for the latest updates from the coronavirus outbreak The push by Prime Minister Narendra Modis government comes as India tries to regain lost ground after many companies chose countries like Vietnam over India as an alternative destination when Trump started his trade war with China. Modi has tried to shore up US investments and improve ties through corporate tax cuts, two massive public rallies with Trump in Houston and India, and a $3 billion defense deal. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo last month said the US was working with India, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Vietnam on how to restructure these supply chains to prevent something like this from ever happening again. The administration was turbocharging an initiative to remove global supply chains from China, Reuters reported this week, with one official saying its pushing for an Economic Prosperity Network of trusted partners. Replace China My read is that the network, if it pans out, will look to India and Vietnam to replace China in the global supply chain network, said Derek Grossman, researcher at the Washington-based RAND Corporation who held positions in the US Intelligence Community for more than a decade. This would be a rough fit in terms of replacing Chinas immense manufacturing capabilities, but perhaps the US has high hopes that India and Vietnam can quickly ramp up to at least equal Chinese capacity. India in April partially lifted a ban on the export of hydroxychloroquine and paracetamol following a request from Trump. It also approved 130 billion rupees ($1.7 billion) worth of investments to make more bulk drugs and medical devices, and to boost local manufacturing of drug intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients to cut dependence on imports from China. For Modi, a surge in investment would help shore up an economy battered by an eight-week nationwide lockdown to control the Covid-19 outbreak, and help him make up ground hitting a target to grow its manufacturing sector to 25% of gross domestic product by 2022 from 15%. The need to create employment is now even more urgent after the pandemic left 122 million people jobless and forced India to shut down all major cities. It could also present India with a chance to finally push through long-stalled reforms on land, labor and taxes that have hindered investment for years. Modis second term has been marred by nationwide protests and slow growth since his party scored a landslide election victory a year ago, presenting a risk for companies planning to move. There are opportunities for India to try to gain a place in global supply chains, but this will require serious investments in infrastructure and governance, said Paul Staniland, an associate professor at the University of Chicago who writes about Indias politics and foreign policy. India faces tough competition from elsewhere in South and Southeast Asia. Indias trade ministry has sought detailed feedback from US companies on changes needed to make the countrys tax and labor laws more favorable to companies, said one of the officials. Modis federal government is working with states to ensure long term solutions, the official added, including developing land banks to ensure a quick start for units. Tax Reform India is a bigger market than Vietnam or Cambodia so it should be a bigger draw for investors looking to move operations out of China, said Ajay Sahai, director general and chief executive officer of the Federation of Indian Exporters. But apart from ensuring land, water and sewerage, the most important change India needs to make is to give a clear guarantee that the government will not introduce retrospective tax amendments. Some states including Maharashtra have ensured that supply chains for foreign manufacturers remained functional through Indias national virus lockdown. Others like Tamil Nadu in the south and Uttar Pradesh in the north have offered concessions for those planning to move. Theres abundant capital in the US thats looking for geographies outside, and we can see India responding, said Mukesh Aghi, president of the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum, a Washington-based group that advocates for policies that further business ties between the countries. Companies realize that while large supply chains in China may have been economical, theres no point in keeping all your eggs in one basket. A nearly 30-minute clip from a movie called The Plandemic has taken over social media and was taken down by YouTube, over the last few days. Its the latest coronavirus-related topic that has sent the Internet into a divided rage. The film features Dr. Judy Mikovits, and in it, she is identified as a molecular biologist and medical researcher. Multiple media reports have also described her as an anti-vaccination advocate, but she says in the film that she is not one, RepublicWorld reports. According to Syracuse.com: The Plandemic, a 25-minute clip from an upcoming documentary, was taken off of YouTube this week for violating the Google-owned video sites community guidelines. The video centered on Dr. Judy Mikovits, a former chronic fatigue researcher who claims the federal government is behind a plague of corruption to inflate profits from a potential vaccine even as COVID-19 threatens lives. Below, we try to answer some key questions being asked by viewers: What is The Plandemic all about? Its actually not all about the coronavirus, but also vaccinations and Mikovits life. A PRWire release promoting the film that was distributed by The Associated Press describes it as follows (references to she refer to Mikovits): "When she was part of the research community that turned HIV-AIDS from a fatal disease into a manageable one, she saw science at its best. But when her investigations questioned whether the use of animal tissue in medical research were unleashing devastating plagues of chronic diseases, such as autism and chronic fatigue syndrome, she saw science at its worst. If her suspicions are correct, we are looking at a complete realignment of scientific practices, including how we study and treat human disease. Recounting her nearly four decades in science, including her collaboration of more than thirty-five years with Dr. Frank Ruscetti, one of the founders of the field of human retrovirology, this is a behind the scenes look at the issues and egos which will determine the future health of humanity. Why is Judy Mikovits called a controversial researcher? According to Science, Mikovits reportedly detected an Infectious Retrovirus, XMRV, in Blood Cells of Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,' but by 2011, no other lab or scientist could replicate the findings. Science published online a nine-lab study widely seen as the final blow to the theory, championed by Mikovits and colleagues in an October 2009 Science paper, that a recently detected mouse retrovirus might play a causal role in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), the outlet wrote in 2011. A letter in the same issue of Science from one of the contributing labs to the 2009 report revealed that a contamination had marred its contributionPCR detection and sequencing of the mouse virus, dubbed XMRV. Mikovits and colleagues defended the validity of the rest of the study, known as Lombardi et al., which detected the virus by several other methods, so Science issued a rare partial retraction of the original paper." A full retraction was later issued, according to Snopes. What does Anthony Fauci have to do with it? According to Snopes, Mikovits claims that Fauci, who currently is part of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and continues to be the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, once threatened her with arrest if she visited the National Institutes of Health to participate in a study to validate her chronic fatigue research. Fauci denies ever saying such a thing, as he told Snopes: I have no idea what she is talking about. I can categorically state that I have never sent such an e-mail to Dr. Ruscetti. I had my IT people here at NIH search all my e-mails and no such e-mail exists. Having said that, I would never make such a statement in an e-mail that anyone would be immediately arrested if they stepped foot on NIH property. Was Judy Mikovits arrested? Yes, she was, according to Science. A 2011 article from the publication states: Lois Hart, one of Mikovitss attorneys, says her client is being held for extradition to Reno, Nevada, in relation to a civil lawsuit against her filed by the Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease (WPI). Mikovits worked as the research director at WPI, a nonprofit in Reno, for 2 years until she was fired by its president, Annette Whittemore, on 29 September. On 4 November, WPI filed suit against Mikovits, alleging that she had wrongfully kept her laboratory notebooks and other information about her work for the fledgling institute on her laptop, in flash drives, and in a personal e-mail account. A preliminary injunction in the case is set to be held by Nevadas Second District Judicial Court on 22 November. On that same day, Mikovits has a hearing in Ventura County, California, where she can contest extradition, Hart says. According to MyNews4.com, Mikovits turned herself into authorities in late November 2011 and was released the same day. The charges were dropped in 2012, per Science, which wrote the following at the time: Assistant District Attorney John Helzer, who filed the dismissal, says Whittemores legal troubles factored into his decision. Theres a lot going on with the federal government and different levels that wasnt occurring when we first became involved with prosecuting this case, says Helzer. And we have witness issues that have arisen. Why are people sharing The Plandemic clip? Clearly, some people find it to be truthful and thus are sharing it for that reason, while others are sharing it to dispute parts or all of the clip. The team at MIT Technology Review writes: "Anti-vaccine activists are particularly good at gaining views on virtually any social app, says Renee DiResta, a researcher at the Stanford Internet Observatory who works to combat this type of misinformation. They are on every single social platformeven TikTok, she says. If they can create content people will find if they search for a specific term, theyll invest the time. You can read that full report here. Can I still watch it? The answer to that question seems to be changing by the minute: While some report it is still searchable on Facebook, others claim it is not. And, while reports say YouTube has taken it down, there also appear to be third-party recordings of the original clip that are now uploaded to the popular video site. Authors note: This story was updated to include Mikovits response in the film related to vaccinations and also to add the titles listed for her in the film. The Environment Ministry is fining Mercedes-Benz W77.6 billion for illegally tampering with emissions tests, the biggest fine ever for a carmaker here (US$1=W1,225). The ministry on Wednesday said Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Porsche tampered with the emissions of around 40,000 diesel cars sold in Korea. Mercedes-Benz issued a statement defending its data and said it has "justifiable technical and legal grounds" for them and refused to comply with the ministry's orders. But the ministry found that the emissions data of 37,154 Mercedes-Benz diesel cars, including the C200d sedan and another 11 models, 2,293 Nissan Qashqai SUVs, and 934 Porsche Macan S diesel SUVs manufactured from 2012 to 2018 had been tampered with. They were found to emit excessive amounts of nitrogen oxide, which is a toxic air pollutant. The selective catalytic reduction devices installed in the cars effectively reduced the nitrogen oxide during testing but operated at lower rates during actual driving. The ministry accused the automakers of installing "illegal tampering software." Russian health officials reported more than 11,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday a new record daily spike which brought the country's total over 177,000 confirmed cases. Russia's official caseload has thus surpassed that of Germany and France, becoming the 5th largest in the world. The actual number of cases is likely to be much higher as not everybody is getting tested and many people infected with the virus don't show any symptoms. Last week, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin suggested in his blog that as many as 2% of Moscow's 12.7 million population more than 200,000 people may be infected with the coronavirus. Moscow has currently registered about 93,000 confirmed cases. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Through our new partnership, BAN members will have access to Patra's OnDemand services, as well as the opportunity to benefit from Patra's extensive industry knowledge. Benefit Advisors Network (BAN) -- a national network of independent employee benefit firms -- is partnering with Patra to offer its wide range of insurance business process services to BAN's more than 115 member agencies. As a technology enabled solution provider for the insurance industry, Patra offers a broad set of technology-based solutions bringing efficiencies to multiple aspects of the employee benefits industry. Patras processing solutions provide more than 160 distinct insurance process services to retail agencies, wholesalers, and carriers nationwide. "Through our new partnership, BAN members will have access to Patra's OnDemand services, as well as the opportunity to benefit from Patra's extensive industry knowledge," says BAN Executive Director Perry Braun. We have done our due diligence and are thrilled to have found a highly reputable partner who will bring so much value to our members. According to Braun, the resources and services that Patra provides "are aligned seamlessly with BAN's goal to offer employee benefit firms with the tools they need to grow and scale efficiently." "We are excited at the prospect of working closely with BAN and its members," says Bob Murphy, Chief Revenue Officer of Patra. "Like BAN, Patra is laser focused on creating growth and efficiency for our partners in order to maximize the value of their organizations. That is the Patra advantage." The addition of Patra's partnership further supports BAN's network, where member agencies work as peers to pool their experience, industry knowledge, and data in order to streamline and maximize the growth of their businesses. Going forward, Patra will also participate in future BAN conferences. About Benefit Advisors Network Founded in 2002, BAN is an exclusive, premier, national network of independent, employee benefit brokerage and consulting companies. BAN delivers industry leading tools, technology, and expertise to member firms so that they can deliver optimum results to their employee benefit customers. BAN intentionally limits membership because of the highly collaborative interactions. For more information about why your company wants to be considered for membership in Benefit Advisors Network, visit https://benefitadvisorsnetwork.com/. About Patra Patra is a leading provider of technology-enabled solutions to the insurance industry. Patras team of global experts allow brokers, MGAs, wholesalers and carriers to capture the Patra Advantage profitable growth and organizational value. Patra powers insurance processes by optimizing the application of people and technology; supporting insurance organizations as they sell, deliver and manage policies and customers. For more information, visit http://www.patracorp.com or follow us @PatraCorp on Twitter and LinkedIn. "Were so excited about this for our residents and cant thank Primal Health enough! This will be such a huge help right now. - Kate H-Sones, RN, Director of Nursing, Heritage of Edina, MN. MN biotechnology company, Primal Health, LLC has donated over $10K of pHossident dental hygiene lozenges to three local senior care facilities - Saint Therese of Woodbury, Heritage of Edina in Edina, MN and Heritage Specialty Care in Cedar Rapids, IA. The donation kicks off their COVID-19 BODO (Buy-one-donate-one) Project, which will continue supplying senior living facilities in need. Daily Dental Care pHossident prebiotic dental hygiene lozenges are clinically proven to clean the mouth and promote oral health. Built by a microbiologist for her loved ones that suffered illnesses directly related to dental disease, they are fully consumable, safe and effective supplemental dental hygiene for the entire family. Senior living facilities are faced with the very difficult task of maintaining dental hygiene during the pandemic. The medical, psychological, social and economic impact of poor dental hygiene is far-reaching and problematic in the aging population. Over 70% of Americans 65+ have gum disease and 20% have untreated tooth decay. These conditions can lead to countless medical problems, such as aspiration pneumonia, stroke, diabetes, cancer, dementia and more. "Were so excited about this for our residents and cant thank Primal Health enough! This will be such a huge help right now, said Kate H-Sones, RN, Director of Nursing, Heritage of Edina, MN. The initial donation kicks off Primals COVID-19 BODO Project (Buy-One-Donate-One) - Senior Dental Care Initiative. Primal will supply each facility with a months worth of product to supplement residents and healthcare staffs dental hygiene needs during this difficult time, when managing daily dental hygiene is extremely difficult. Emily Stein, CEO, Primal Health, said, The BODO Project will allow us to continue supplying the highly vulnerable senior population during the COVID-19 pandemic with a dental hygiene product. For every bottle - 1 month supply - sold through our website, http://www.dailydentalcares.com, a bottle will be donated to a facility in need. Primal plans on expanding its donations to other affected facilities across the country, as well. About Primal Health, LLC Primal Health, LLC, is a biotechnology company based in Minneapolis that specializes in consumable dental hygiene products for humans and animals. The patented technology was created by Head Scientist + CEO, Dr. Emily Stein, PhD, after witnessing the devastation that poor oral hygiene had on the lifespan and quality of life of her grandmother while in assisted living. Using her extensive background in microbiology and immunology, she developed safe and effective products that control oral bacteria, the root cause of gum disease, cavities and bad breath. Dr. Emily Stein attended the University of Iowa, where she first developed her fascination with the microbial universe. After she earned her degree in microbiology, she continued to further advance her expertise at the University of California at Berkeley where she sharpened her understanding of how bacteria behave, consume and socialize for survival in every known environment. After she earned her PhD, she attended Stanford University to pursue a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Immunology & Rheumatology. Website: http://www.DailyDentalCares.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dailydentalcare LinkedIn (Primal Health, LLC): https://www.linkedin.com/company/18380034 About Heritage of Edina, Edina MN Over 60 years old, Heritage of Edina has gained a reputation as a premier Senior Living Community. Whether it is Independent Living, Personalized Services, Assisted Living Services, or Extended Assisted Living Services, they offer the full continuum of care and services to make your retirement years complete and worry free. http://heritageofedina.com/ About Saint Therese of Woodbury, Woodbury MN Saint Therese has thoughtfully evolved to best provide for the individuals, families and neighborhoods they serve. They work hard to serve a larger purpose by establishing a place where everyone feels welcomed, valued and loved. https://www.sainttherese.org/ About Heritage Specialty Care - Cedar Rapids, IA Since 1971, Heritage Specialty Care has been providing care for eastern Iowans in need of long term and short term care. They are dedicated to each of their residents to help them reach their highest level of function possible. https://www.careinitiatives.org/heritage-specialty-care Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal As record numbers of New Mexicans are out of work and have filed for unemployment benefits, Roadrunner Food Bank is providing a record amount of food for distribution even as its resources are being strained. In March, the food bank distributed 3,371,345 pounds of food, up from March 2019, when it distributed 2,757,648 pounds, an increase of 22.25%, Roadrunner spokeswoman Sonya Warwick said this week. In April, it distributed 3,962,728 pounds, up from April 2019, when the total was 3,313,331 pounds, an increase of 19.6%, she said. In addition, Roadrunner is facing increased delivery times for food loads from out-of-state sources, as well as rising costs for shelf-stable food items. There are many new faces, Warwick said, referring to the many first-time customers at distribution centers in the 16 New Mexico counties served by Roadrunner and the regional food banks. These are people who are brand new to food distribution because their unemployment benefits have not kicked in yet or they dont have the ability to afford all the things they need right now, she said. Food is often the first thing that gets cut. Delivery delays The shelves are not empty inside Roadrunners Albuquerque warehouse, but the danger is that food sourced and ordered from out of state, which typically took no more than three weeks to deliver, is now taking eight weeks or more, and thats only when it can be found, Warwick said. We have to be mindful of that to avoid a shortage of product in our warehouse to send back out into the network, she said. While produce is currently plentiful, shelf-stable products, such as canned, boxed or dry goods that do not have to be refrigerated, are the ones with delayed deliveries, Warwick said. We were jumping through hoops to try find a truckload of peanut butter recently. We found one and were able to get it sourced, but its not here yet. So its just harder now to find product that we would normally have no trouble getting into our warehouse. In addition, many of these shelf-stable food items are now costing more. We dont know if its because the people we source the food from are seeing higher costs or if there are issues at their end that we dont understand, Warwick said. We just know that weve been seeing more increased costs for those types of loads. Soaring costs For example, from about August to April, a case of pork and beans increased from $15.23 to $20.16; a case of spaghetti rose from $9.30 to $13.80; a case of spaghetti sauce climbed from $6.35 to $10.80; a case of canned corn surged from $6.40 to $15; and a case of beef ravioli shot up from $6.56 to $15.46. Those prices included the cost of freight, Warwick said, adding that other food banks around the state are experiencing the same issues. Roadrunners increased food purchases would have been more difficult if not for the fortunate acquisition of large contributions to help us in our coronavirus effort and to expand food distributions, Warwick said. She pointed to a recent fundraiser by employees of Sandia National Laboratories, which raised more than $100,000, and a $289,000 contribution that was part of a $400,000 grant made to several food banks from the All Together New Mexico Fund, established by the New Mexico Coalition of Community Foundations. Roadrunner is working to obtain as much food as possible locally and recently purchased 10 head of cattle from two local ranchers. That allowed us to supply some protein and add that into the mix of products we have available, but it took time to get it where it needed to go for processing, and then over to our warehouse. Another complication for Roadrunner is that during the pandemic-triggered food and product hoarding, the food bank has not received as many donated loads. As always, Roadrunner welcomes donations of food, as well as donations of money and volunteer time, Warwick said. Bank of America is currently matching monetary gifts up to $30,000 made to food banks, which will help us to continue securing food products, she said. Anyone wishing to make a donation of food, money or time can call Roadrunner Food Bank at 247-2052. For information, go to rrfb.org. The Minority in Parliament is insisting on government to evacuate Ghanaian citizens stranded in other countries due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Both the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) have made provisions for their citizens in Ghana to be evacuated, since the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus in Ghana. The US has so far evacuated over 1,400 American citizens and permanent residents of the US. The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu at a press conference on Thursday called on the government of Ghana to make similar arrangements for Ghanaian citizens abroad to be evacuated under strict protocols. Many other countries are evacuating their citizens. India has done it, South Africa has done, UK has done it. It is our considered view that just as our government is able to open our airports despite the closures for foreign nationals to be evacuated, the government should do same by providing a narrow opportunity under strict evacuation protocols of screening, testing and quarantining when necessary in order to secure the safety of Ghanaians abroad. This is the second wave of calls for Ghanaian citizens abroad to be evacuated. The first call which had to do with Ghanaian students in China intensified when the virus was fast-spreading in some parts of China. The Minority, the China chapter of National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) and parents had called on the government to evacuate Ghanaian students from the country, to protect them from contracting the disease, The President in response to these calls had said the government will evacuate students from China if other options aimed at confining the disease to the area of origin fails. The government is in constant touch with experts on the subject who have advised that the basic principle of public health is to confine the disease to the area of origin but we have not ruled out the option of evacuating the students from Wuhan if that becomes necessary. We have put in place measures to ensure that if the evacuation happens, it will not lead to the dissemination of fear and panic amongst the general population, the President said while delivering the 2020 State of the Nation Address. ---citinewsroom DALLAS, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Announcing TrustKey Solutions ("TrustKey"). eWBM is a diverse business of which FIDO security keys is just one part. Due to the surge in global demand for its FIDO security keys, the company is spinning off its FIDO key business into a new entity headquartered in the United States. TrustKey is founded by Dr. Stephen Oh and a carefully selected group of US based executives. The team of executives are solely focused on bringing advanced FIDO2 security solutions to the world and will oversee growth into the global identity security marketplace. TrustKey has several hardware security keys in its lineup including the flagship line, the G-series keys. The G-series keys are the world's first and only FIDO2 Level2 certified biometric security keys, making it impossible for side channel attacks, man-in-the-middle attacks, or phishing. The biometric (fingerprint) sensor allows the added security of user identity verification to make them the highest level of security available. TrustKey offer the G-series keys in both USB-A and USB-C. The next line of keys are the T-series keys. The T-series keys are implemented on the same platform as the G-Series series keys. This allows the company to provide the same high security performance of the G-series while keeping the key affordable. The non-biometric touch sensor on the keys allows for user presence verification protecting against remote hacking attacks. T-series keys are great for consumer or enterprise deployment they are fast, easy to use, and affordable. TrustKey is committed to supporting true passwordless login via the FIDO2 standard to help protect the online identities of all people, everywhere. The company is a board member of the fido alliance, ensuring that they are able to help shape the passwordless future and protect the identity of all people throughout the world. The company is pleased to move forward as TrustKey to support the goal of providing secure, reliable, and simple identity solutions to everyone, and are excited about the future products currently under development with new features and form factors. For more information about TrustKey, please visit us at www.trustkeysolutions.com. About TrustKey Solutions. TrustKey Solutions, www.trustkeysolutions.com, is a security technology company providing hardware security keys. Headquartered in Dallas, TX, USA, TrustKey is committed to supporting true passwordless login via the FIDO2 standard to help people protect their online identities with hardware security keys. About eWBM Co, Ltd. eWBM, www.ewbm.com, is a fabless SoC company which provides security MCUs and modules for variety of IoT applications such as MS500, Secure LoRa Module, Secure Sensor to Ethernet module, Secure NB-IoT module, and Secure IP Cameras. The next generation security SoC chip, MS1200, will be introduced in 2020. The chip supports FIPS 140-2 and the ultra-low power deep sleep mode optimized for battery-powered IoT applications. Contact: Andrew Jun, +1 408 471 6849 SOURCE TrustKey Solutions Related Links http://www.trustkeysolutions.com Learning no lesson from the delayed departure of all three Shramik Special trains in the past two days, the government machinery in Ludhiana could not ensure that the four trains planned on Thursday left on time. Migrants summoned to board the trains were at the receiving end as they hopelessly waited in the scorching heat to be ferried to the railway station from the various bus pick-up points. Scheduled to leave at 11am, the first train of the day for Purnia, Bihar, with 1,177 passengers, chugged off at 2.20pm, with a delay of 3.2 hours. This caused the second train Ludhiana-Gorakhpur Shramik Special to depart 3.55 hours late at 5.55pm. It had 928 passengers. Sources in the railways confirmed that boarding for the Gorakhpur train started at 2pm, at its scheduled departure time. The third train for Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, with 1,188 passengers, was to leave at 8pm, but was also 90 minutes late. Around 100 migrants leaving on this train, were seen waiting for the pick-up bus near the Verka Milk Plant since 2pm. While some found shelter under the trees, other braved the sun with luggage on their heads for around four hours till the bus arrived at 6pm. The last train headed to Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, was planned to leave at 11pm. MEDICAL SCREENING VENUE CHANGED A senior official in the district administration, requesting anonymity, said it was an unprecedented situation, so various departments were experimenting different protocols to ensure that maximum trains ran in a day. On Wednesday night, it was decided to change the venue for medical screening from the Interstate Bus Terminus to Guru Nanak Stadium, as transporting passengers from pick-up points to the bus stand to the railway station was a time-consuming process, he said. However, only five counters were set up at the stadium for medical screening, while the number of passengers was more than a 1,000. Noticing the rush, authorities eventually decided to increase the counters to 14. After screening, tickets were provided to the passengers, who then collected packaged food from a separate counter and walked towards the railway station, located a few metres away. Passengers walking towards the railway station after medical screening at the Guru Nanak stadium in Ludhiana on Thursday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT) PERSONNEL WORKING ROUND-THE-CLOCK With the district administration announcing at least 12 trains a day from Friday, the work to transport passengers to medical screening to boarding them in the trains will continue round-the-clock. Different departments have deployed their staff in shifts of eight hours each to carry out the work smoothly. MC secretary Jasdev Sekhon said, It takes at least two hours to screen passengers of one train, and if 12 trains are to run daily from Friday, this will have to be done all day and night. At least 600 police personnel are managing migrants at pick-up points, escorting them to buses and then to the screening centre, besides maintaining law and order, said additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP, headquarters) Deepak Pareek, adding that they will be working in three shifts. RWC-340B is a national organization of HIV/AIDS medical providers receiving support under the Ryan White CARE Act, which funds services primarily for poor and/or uninsured people with HIV/AIDS. Ryan White providers are eligible for the federal 340B Drug Discount Program, and use it to expand care by providing patients with affordable access to expensive HIV/AIDS medications. "At Sentry Data Systems, our job is to provide healthcare organizations with the expertise and technology necessary to help them make the most of the 340B program and support their vulnerable populations," says Travis Leonardi, CEO and founder of Sentry Data Systems. "Ryan White Clinics are an excellent example of care centers that simply could not serve their patients without the savings generated from 340B, and we are proud to support RWC-340B in their advocacy work. Now more than ever, America's safety net must be preserved." As RWC-340B's Champion Level Benefactor, Sentry stands ready to help the organization optimize use of the 340B program so its members can continue to provide affordable medications, offer a wider range of services and improve the quality of care delivered to persons living with HIV/AIDS. The 340B program is key to treating the disease and the patient, and successfully ending the AIDS epidemic. Shannon Stephenson, president of RWC-340B said, "We welcome Sentry to the RWC-340B family. With their key support and that of our members and other benefactors, we know that Ryan White Clinics participating in the 340B program will elevate our role as leaders in the fight to protect the 340B safety net for the patients we serve." For further information about RWC-340B, visit www.rwc340b.org or contact Peggy Tighe at [email protected]. About Sentry Data Systems, Inc. Sentry Data Systems, Inc., a pioneer in automated pharmacy procurement, utilization management and 340B compliance, leads the healthcare industry in helping providers address their three biggest challenges: reducing total cost of care, managing compliance and producing better quality. Thousands of hospitals and care locations across the country rely on Sentry's integrated platform for their solutions, which provide decision support for millions of unique patients and have helped hospital systems and IDNs realize billions of dollars in documented savings. Media Contact Beth Sagvold, Senior Director of Marketing & Creative Strategy [email protected] 800.411.4566 SOURCE Sentry Data Systems, Inc. WASHINGTON With Texas under increasing scrutiny for jailing a hair salon owner in Dallas, Gov. Greg Abbott used a meeting with President Donald Trump in the White House and a national television interview to announce hes eliminating the threat of incarceration from his COVID-19 executive orders. We should not be taking these people and put them behind bars, Abbott said with Trump sitting by his side in the Oval Office. In the state of Texas, nobody can be put behind bars because they are not following an executive order. That declaration came at the height of a whirlwind trip for the Republican governor, who also blasted officials in Dallas and Houston on national TV on Wednesday night for overzealous enforcement. FREED THURSDAY: Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther released from jail While Abbott prepared for his meeting with the president, it was revealed that a White House valet had tested positive for COVID-19, suggesting that Abbott may have been exposed to coronavirus germs by Trump as the two sat a few feet away from each other without masks. The no-jail rule was an abrupt about-face for Abbott, who included up to 180 days in jail for anyone in Texas violating his orders to stay home except for essential business, as well as other orders aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus. Those orders gave Dallas judge Eric Moye the authority to send hair salon owner Shelley Luther to jail earlier this week for continuing to operate her business. Trump asked Abbott about the case during their meeting. Shes free today, Abbott responded. TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox Good, Trump said. I was watching the salon owner and she looked so great, so professional, so good. And she was talking about her children. She has to feed her children. Abbott made his new executive order retroactive to make sure anyone jailed for violating previous orders including Luther and two women in Laredo who were jailed in April would be released. Blasting big-city officials Before meeting with Trump, Abbott used an appearance on Fox News with Sean Hannity on Wednesday night to accuse local officials in Dallas and Houston of being too heavy-handed with coronavirus restrictions. In Houston, they were issuing fines and potential jail time for anybody who refused to wear a mask, Abbott told Hannity. Wearing a mask is the best practice, however, no one should forfeit their liberty and be sent to jail for not wearing a mask. Thats not entirely true. When Harris County put its mask rule in place for all residents it included a $1,000 fine but did not include any jail time such as those in Austin and other Texas cities, where violators faced up to 180 days in jail. Abbott last week issued an executive order that barred cities and counties from fining or jailing people for violating mask requirements. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has said she never intended to fine people. She said putting the fine in the order was meant to send a message that it is not optional to wear a face covering. She has said she did not know of anyone who had been issued a fine. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said on Thursday he disagrees with Abbott removing jail time as a possible punishment for violating COVID-19 restrictions. Once you take the enforcement mechanism out of your order, you really don't have an order anymore, Turner said. You can't enforce something you can't enforce. But it wasnt just Houston taking shots from Abbott, who is a former judge and Texas Attorney General. In Dallas County, the Dallas County District Attorney announced a policy that hes not going to prosecute any thief who steals things valued at less than $750, Abbott told Hannity. At the same time, authorities in Dallas are talking about releasing inmates from prison or jail because of the possibility of contracting COVID-19. Abbott, however, was referencing a move Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot made more than a year ago. In early 2019, Creuzot said he was not going to prosecute thefts of personal items under $750 that are stolen out of necessity such as food or baby formula in the name of criminal justice reform and reduce overcrowding in jails. However, Creuzot said he would still prosecute other thefts of items under $750 in value. Criminalizing poverty is counter-productive for our communitys health and safety. For that reason, this office will not prosecute theft of personal items less than $750 unless the evidence shows that the alleged theft was for economic gain, the criminal justice reform plan issued by Creuzots office stated. While Abbott was taking issue with Houston and Dallas on television, those cities won some praise from White House coronavirus coordinator Deborah Birx. During the White House briefing with Abbott and Trump, Birx praised both Houston and Dallas for really containing and mitigating the epidemic. Trump heaped praise on Abbott for how hes managed the crisis and the steps he is taking to reopen parts of the Texas economy. Last week Abbott allowed restaurants, retail stores, movie theaters, libraries, museums and malls to open at 25 percent capacity. This week, he is allowing gyms, hair salons and barbershops to re-open as long as they adhere to strict guidelines to limit the spread of the virus. The relationship with Texas has been phenomenal, Trump told reporters with Abbott by his side. Trump: Were all warriors. Abbotts meeting with Trump came as national news outlets reported that a member of the military serving as one of Trumps valets tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing Trump to be tested again before sitting down with the governor. Trump tested negative and announced all White House staff will be tested daily going forward, upping the once-a-week schedule that had been in effect. Its a little bit strange, but its one of those things, Trump told Abbott. You can be with somebody and everything's fine and then something happens to that person and they test positive, Trump said. Were all warriors together. I am, you are. We all are. Thursday, Texas hit the grim milestone of 1,000 deaths; 36,309 people in the state have tested positive for the disease, according to a Hearst Newspapers data analysis. While the daily death count is higher in May so far compared to April, Texas has had far few deaths than other large states such as California, New York and Florida. We have one of the the lowest death rates in the United States of America, Abbott said. Abbott assured Trump that Texas is allowing parts of the economy to open up, but safely. He has said hes been in constant contact with Birx and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations leading infectious disease expert, to make sure his plans met with their approval before he rolled them out. Abbott said the state has strike teams ready to go anywhere there is a spike in cases like is happening now in the Texas Panhandle, where meat packing plans are reportedly responsible for a surge in coronavirus cases. Credit: CC0 Public Domain Aircraft location broadcasts used to aid air traffic control could also provide rapid estimates of aviation's contribution to the economy, new research has found. Aviation is a key sector of the economy, contributing at least three percent to gross domestic product (GDP) in the UK and the US. However, statistical agencies currently rely on surveys of airlines to estimate activity in the aviation sector, and these are often costly and time-consuming. A team from the Data Science Lab at Warwick Business School and The Alan Turing Institute crunched data from 25 billion aircraft location observations to automatically estimate airline flight volumes and aviation's direct contribution to UK and US GDP. Their paper, entitled Using aircraft location data to estimate current economic activity, is published in Nature Publishing Group's Scientific Reports today. Sam Miller, a doctoral researcher and first author of the study, said: "We trawled through the 25 billion messages to identify take-offs and landings by analyzing the altitude of aircraft over time. These data points provided the information we needed to reconstruct 67 million flights between July 2016 and December 2018." Credit: University of Warwick From the flight trails, the team generated fast monthly indicators for flight volumes by country and airline. Their findings show that real-time flight volume data can be used to improve estimates of aviation's direct contribution to GDP. In contrast, traditional methods of estimating GDP can take up to three months, causing delays for policymakers who need to respond to economic shocks. Tobias Preis, Professor of Behavioural Science and Finance and co-director of the Data Science Lab, said: "We find evidence that rapidly available aircraft location data may be particularly helpful in improving estimates during economic crises. The crisis we are currently fighting has underlined how critical fast indicators are for good decision making." The ADS-B data that the researchers use is broadcast by aircraft every few seconds, to help avoid air collisions. Commercial aircraft in Europe have been required to broadcast ADS-B data since 2017, and US aircraft since January 2020. Credit: University of Warwick However, the researchers underline the novelty of ADS-B data and suggest a gradual approach for its incorporation into economic statistics. Suzy Moat, Professor of Behavioural Science and co-director of the Data Science Lab, said: "We have developed a model that can adapt to changes in the relationship between flight volume and GDP statistics over time. This will help us make maximum use of ADS-B data as the volume and quality of these measurements continues to grow." The paper, "Using aircraft location data to estimate current economic activity," by Miller, Moat and Preis, is published in Scientific Reports. More information: Sam Miller et al. Using aircraft location data to estimate current economic activity, Scientific Reports (2020). Journal information: Scientific Reports Sam Miller et al. Using aircraft location data to estimate current economic activity,(2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-63734-w Barbadian Christian recording artist, songwriter, and record executive Karlos Cobham officially announces the launching of KWEST Records (pronounced Quest), his new independent Gospel record label. As founder, Cobham will operate as CEO and will serve as the label's flagship artist. He is expected to release new music this year. Additionally, KWEST Records has forged a global digital distribution deal with United Alliance Music Group (UAMG), an independent Christian label and distributor. Under the terms of the new strategic distribution deal, UAMG will offer label services, A&R, and function as the global digital distributor for all future KWEST Records master single, EP and full album recordings and visuals through its partner Sony/Orchard, the industry's leading independent distributor and label services company. Paul Wright, III, CEO of United Alliance Music Group and an industry veteran with over 25 years states, "We are ecstatic to welcome Karlos Cobham and KWEST Records to our UAMG roster. We will continue to serve our artists, by providing them the tools and knowledge required for sustained success." Cobham states, " I'm grateful for the opportunity to partner with UAMG/Sony/The Orchard." "This is a dream come true. KWESTERS! We're on a KWEST!" A former Barbados Music Award Gospel Artist of the Year nominee, Cobham has performed across the world including his native Barbados, Jamaica, Canada, The UK, and the United States. He's shared the stage with GRAMMY winner Tasha Cobbs and has collaborated with popular Gospel Reggae Artist DJ Nicholas. Cobham is also the visionary and founder of KWEST International, Inc, a non-profit creative and visual arts organization. CONNECT WITH KARLOS COBHAM Website:www.KarlosCobham.com | Facebook:/IAmKarlosCobham | Instagram: @IAmKarlosCobham | Twitter: @IAmKarlosCobham Tags : Karlos Cobham Karlos Cobham news Karlos Cobham kwest records kwest records TAMPA, Fla., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- AACSB International (AACSB) announced today that California State University, Dominguez Hills, ICN Business School, Princess Sumaya University for Technology, Sheffield Hallam University, and University of South Australia have earned accreditation in business. Founded in 1916, AACSB is the longest-serving global accrediting body for business schools, and the largest business education network connecting students, educators, and businesses worldwide. Through today's ratification, a total of 879 institutions across 57 countries and territories have earned AACSB accreditation in business. Furthermore, 190 institutions maintain supplemental AACSB accreditation for their accounting programs. "AACSB accreditation recognizes institutions that have demonstrated a focus on excellence in all areas, including teaching, research, curriculum development, and student learning," said Stephanie M. Bryant, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International. "We congratulate each of the newly accredited institutions for earning this respected honor." Achieving accreditation is a process of rigorous internal focus, engagement with an AACSB-assigned mentor, and peer-reviewed evaluation. During this multiyear path, schools focus on developing and implementing a plan to align with AACSB's accreditation standards. These standards require excellence in areas relating to strategic management and innovation; student, faculty, and staff as active participants; learning and teaching; and academic and professional engagement. "The commitment to earning accreditation is a true reflection of a school's dedicationnot only to their students, alumni network, and greater business community, but to the higher education industry as a whole," said Bryant. "Today's students are tomorrow's business leaders, and the addition of these five institutions to the network of AACSB-accredited business schools will have a lasting positive impact, both locally and globally." For more information about AACSB accreditation, please visit aacsb.edu/accreditation. About AACSB International Established in 1916, AACSB International (AACSB) is the world's largest business education alliance, connecting educators, learners, and business to create the next generation of great leaders. With a presence in more than 100 countries and territories, AACSB fosters engagement, accelerates innovation, and amplifies impact in business education. Learn how AACSB is transforming business education for a better society at aacsb.edu. SOURCE AACSB International Related Links http://www.aacsb.edu Dublin, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Europe Printed Packaging Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2020 - 2025)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The European printed packaging market was valued at 58.67 USD billion in 2019, and it is expected to reach a value of USD 75.39 billion by 2025, while registering a CAGR of 4.2%, during the period 2020-2025.The growing technological advancements and expanding the end-user industry's packaging applications are some of the major factors driving the growth of the printed packaging market in Europe. Although the advancement rates are higher in the western part of the region, the countries in Eastern Europe are also offering massive potential for the studied market vendors to expand in the region. The printing on the Corrugated packaged products accounts for the largest market share and is expected to maintain its position over the forecast period. Easy to customize, cost-effective, and sustainable are some of the major features driving the demand for corrugated packaging and printing. Many companies are also building corrugated factories in the region, which will offer massive opportunities in the studied market. The region is also increasingly investing in labels and tags and folding carton packaging segments. Labels printing is one of the most innovative sectors in the region, which is also contributing to the studied market growth. France-based Autajon Industrial Labels produces more than 15 billion labels per year, and the company is planning to expand its capacity due to growing regional demand. Germany is one of the largest markets in the region, owing to its dominance in the printing industry and corrugated packaging production. In developed markets, the packaging printing growth trend in nearly inline with the economic growth. However, the major potential growth opportunities come from the emerging markets. The growing adoption of digital printing in Europe is also expanding the scope of the studied market. The digital trend is not only driven by user demand, but also fueled from the technology supplier's intent on making the most of these changing dynamics. Digital printing is gaining market share, as improvements in the economics and productivity of the technology increase the competitiveness against the analog processes. Story continues Key Market Trends Label Type is Expected to Register the Highest Market Growth Wet glue labels are used in a variety of applications, including bottling, box covering, lamination, and food wrapping. Wet-glue labels are being widely used for alcoholic drinks. The rise in the consumption of alcohol in Europe is boosting the market's growth. For instance, according to the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), in 2017/18, an average of 728 milliliters of alcoholic drinks (for at-home consumption) was consumed per person per week in the United Kingdom (UK). Pressure-sensitive labels (PSL) consist of five individual layers, such as liner, release coat, adhesive, face stock, and topcoat, and are analogous to a high-tech sticker. A PSL can use paper, film, and foil as its primary label materials and can be used with a wide range of inks to produce sharp and bright colors. Owing to the ease of use, cost-effectiveness, and versatility offered by PSLs, the demand for such labels is increasing. The multi-part labels help to prevent theft, increase the chance of asset recovery, and enhance tracking. The factors that are responsible for the growth of the multi-part labels are the growth of the food and beverage industry, and growing security issues of any equipment as products can get stolen, accidentally inventoried by subcontractors, or moved to another department. Growing financial stability has positively impacted the development of the European region for the packaging industry, specifically, for in-mold labels. In-mold labels are witnessing an increasing demand from France and Germany due to the increasing manufacturing output, rising income and consumption level, and increasing demand for effective labeling solutions. Expanding End-User Packaging Applications is Significantly Driving the Market Growth The growing adoption of printed packaging across various end-user industries in the region, along with different personalized packaging trends adopted by these end-user companies, is also a significant factor driving growth in the market studied, especially in Eastern Europe. Online or e-commerce shopping is creating a massive opportunity for packaging manufacturers in the region. With growing internet penetration across the region, retailers are expanding their e-commerce presence, hence, its logistics and delivery. In 2019, the growth of e-commerce in Europe was over 12%, due to the rapidly increasing sales in the Central and Eastern European markets. Therefore, this is driving demand for protective packaging and forcing cardboard manufacturers. Corrugated packaging comprises 65-75% of the overall e-commerce packaging in the region, to invest in more innovative packaging and printing. Countries in Eastern Europe, like Romania, Poland, Russia, Hungary, and Ukraine, are significantly witnessing an expansion of their e-commerce industries, along with the corrugated or cardboard packaged product sales. The food and beverages, automotive, pharmaceuticals, and several other industries often require customization of the label. The growing food and beverage industry in the region, especially beverage, is also driving the market for customized label printing. Digital printing technology helps to make the customization and produce small batches of the same customization, as it eliminates many steps, like the ordering and setting up of plates. Hence, most of the companies looking for customization have started investing in digital printing technologies Competitive Landscape The market is witnessing mergers and acquisitions by vendors, thereby, offering lucrative opportunities to the companies that enable them to boost the technological advancements and market growth.Some of the prominent players in the market are investing in new technologies and solutions for the labeling industry, which is expected to drive the investment in the market further. Some of the key Developments are: Feb 2020 - Sonoco acquired TEQ Thermoform Engineered Quality, a global manufacturer of thermoformed packaging, serving healthcare, medical device and consumer markets, and will rename and brand all its manufacturing locations strictly as TEQ. This includes facilities across Europe, currently branded as Plastique. The legal name will become SONOCO TEQ, with the appropriate company type dependent on the region of the facility. Oct 2019 - Smurfit Kappa continues its investment in sustainable technology in Mexico, by launching a new digital printer. An advanced new printer (the Barberan Jetmaster 1890) is expected to be installed in the Atlacomulco Corrugated Plant in Mexico in response to the growing need for high-volume digital printing. The new single pass high performance printer has the capacity to print up to 12 million m2 annually, significantly reducing the lead time to get products to market. 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 DYNAMICS 4.1 Market Overview 4.2 Industry Value Chain Analysis 4.3 Industry Attractiveness - Porter's Five Forces Analysis 4.3.1 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 4.3.2 Bargaining Power of Consumers 4.3.3 Threat of New Entrants 4.3.4 Intensity of Competitive Rivalry 4.3.5 Threat of Substitutes 4.4 Market Drivers 4.5 Market Restraints 5 MARKET SEGMENTATION (QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITAIVE ANALYSIS) 5.1 Printing Type 5.1.1 Offset Lithography 5.1.2 Gravure 5.1.3 Flexography 5.1.4 Electrophotography 5.1.5 Inkjet 5.1.6 Other Printing Types 5.2 Product Type 5.2.1 Corrugated and Solid Fiber Packaging 5.2.2 Cartons 5.2.3 Flexible Packaging 5.2.4 Labels 5.2.4.1 Wet-glue Labels 5.2.4.2 Pressure-sensitive Labels 5.2.4.3 Multi-part Tracking Labels 5.2.4.4 In-mold Labels 5.2.4.5 Sleeves 5.2.5 Other Product Types 5.3 Country 5.3.1 UK 5.3.2 Germany 5.3.3 France 5.3.4 Spain 5.3.5 Italy 5.3.6 Poland 5.3.7 Netherlands 5.3.8 Ukraine 5.3.9 Rest of Europe 6 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE 6.1 Company Profiles 6.1.1 Duncan Print group 6.1.2 Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 6.1.3 Sonoco Products Company 6.1.4 Stora Enso Oyj 6.1.5 WestRock Company 6.1.6 Sealed Air Corporation 6.1.7 International Paper Company 6.1.8 Mondi group 6.1.9 Georgia-Pacific LLC 6.1.10 DS Smith PLC 6.1.11 Smurfit Kappa Group 6.1.12 AMCOR PLC 6.1.13 Constantia Flexibles Group GmbH 6.1.14 AHLSTROM-MUNKSJ OYJ 6.1.15 Clondalkin Group Holdings BV 6.1.16 Autajon Group 6.1.17 Huhtamaki Group 6.1.18 CCL Industries Inc. 7 INVESTMENT ANALYSIS 8 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND FUTURE TRENDS For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/z60n9n Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com 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 By Express News Service VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday launched YSR Matsyakara Bharosa, under which Rs 10,000 each will be credited in the bank accounts of fishermen during the annual fishing ban period. As many as 1,09,231 fishermen families in the State will benefit from the scheme. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that the programme was taken up for the uplift of fishermen during the lean period from mid-April to mid-June. The YSR Matsyakara Bharosa was launched in November last on the occasion of the World Fishermen Day at Mummidivaram in East Godavari district. Jagan said that a compensation of Rs 70.53 crore was paid to the fishermen of Mummidivaram, who told him during his padayatra that they were not paid the compensation though they incurred losses due to the GSPL (Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation) drilling. Though it did not get the amount from the company, the government had cleared it on humanitarian grounds. With welfare of fishermen being one of its priorities, the Chief Minister said the government has repatriated 15 fishermen belonging to Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and East Godavari districts from Pakistan. They were arrested in November 2018 for entering the waters of Pakistan on charges of espionage. They were also provided a financial aid of Rs 5 lakh each from the Chief Ministers Relief Fund. Around 4,300 fishermen, who got stranded in Gujarat due to the lockdown, were brought back. After the quarantine period, Rs 2,000 will be given to each of them, Jagan promised. The Chief Minister said eight new fishing harbours and a fish landing centre would be set up in the state at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore in three years. Fisheries Minister Mopidevi Venkataramana, Chief Secretary Neelam Sawhney and several fishermen were present. While interacting with the Chief Minister, a woman from Srikakulam, K Sirisha, whose husband was among those arrested by Pakistani security forces, lauded Jagan for fulfilling his promise. The government also extended a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh. We have purchased a boat with the amount for eking out a livelihood, she said, thanking the Chief Minister. Who will benefit Rs 10,000 each will be credited in the bank accounts of fishermen, who are operating motorised and non-motorised boats 1,09,231 will benefit from YSR Matsyakara Bharosa A seven-year-old girl in China has been forced to study in a cramped corner under her parents' market stall after her school was closed due to the coronavirus lockdown. The year one student, Ke Enya, has been doing her homework in the makeshift study for over a month after her vendor parents resumed their business in a wet market in Hubei province. Enya's mother, Zhao Weiwei, let her daughter attending online classes in the noisy market so that she could help with Enya's schoolwork while managing the business. A seven-year-old girl in China has been forced to study in a cramped corner under her parents' market stall after her school was closed due to the coronavirus lockdown The year 1 student, Ke Enya, has been doing her homework in the makeshift study for over a month after her vendor parents resumed their business Touching images showed the little girl taking school lessons online with her laptop and naked light bulbs in the confined space under the market stall in the outskirt of Yichang city, Hubei province. Enya said that the makeshift study boarded up by the metal counter is hardly comfortable. 'I would hit my head when I look up sometimes, it is very painful,' the girl said. The little girl also said that her eyes often felt painful after studying in the cramped space for long hours. 'The worst part is that I can't go out to play. My mother wouldn't let me.' Enya's mother , Zhao Weiwei (pictured left), let her daughter study behind the market counter so that she could help with Enya's schoolwork while managing the business Ms Zhao said that Enya was not allowed to leave out of her sight, worrying that her child could go missing in the bustling market full of vendors and customers Ms Zhao said that Enya was not allowed to leave out of her sight, worrying that her child could go missing in the bustling market full of vendors and customers. The mother added that her daughter is forbidden from playing because she needed to check Enya's homework at times. But when Ms Zhao is occupied with customers, she could barely give her daughter any attention until hours later, Chinese media report. 'Also, I've got the shop to look after,' said Enya's mother. Enya's parents sell a variety of traditional Chinese food, known as Luwei, which are served as cold dishes after being braised in a special sauce for several hours. Enya's father spends the day preparing the food at home while Ms Zhao taking care of the business on the front while looking after their little daughter. The parents built the business from scratch after migrating to the town 13 years ago to look for a better life. But as the family's food vendor grew popular, the parents struggled to balance between looking after their child and the shop. Enya's parents had to hire a tutor to look after the daughter during the day while they were running the business last year. Pictured, the little girl taking school lessons online with her laptop and a naked light bulb in the confined space under the market stall in the outskirt of Yichang city, Hubei province Yu Wenyan (pictured right), Enya's headteacher, recently visited the student at the market to check on her learning progress Yu Wenyan, Enya's headteacher, recently visited the student at the market to check on her learning progress. 'The situation like Enya's family is quite common,' Ms Yu said. 'It is not ideal to study under the counter, but it is a relatively good space to learn.' The little girl said: 'What I hope the most is to go back to school and reunite with my friends. [We can] play and study together.' Enya's story has been revealed by the government of Wufeng county, where the family lives, in a social media post. But it remains unclear when she would return to school and resume her normal life. The family's story came after schools and businesses across China were forced to close after the coronavirus outbreak escalated. Pictured, students wearing face masks have a class at a middle school in Shanghai on April 27 The family's story came after schools and businesses across China were forced to close after the coronavirus outbreak escalated. Chinese students have been taking classes online at home for the past three months to continue their education. But life in China has been moving to a post-lockdown phase as the nation sees a steady drop in its active cases. People are encouraged to resume work as tens of millions of pupils are returning to the campus in the past few weeks. A lesbian couple who discovered they are both pregnant to a sperm donor they found on social media could give birth at the same time. Kat Buchanan, 33, and her fiancee Taryn Cumming, 31, knew they wanted children from the beginning of their two-year relationship. The couple, who live in Auckland, New Zealand, and have five cats, told Daily Mail Australia they wanted to wait until the end of 2020 to start a family. But when doctors said they both had lower egg reserves for their age, making it difficult to conceive, they took matters into their own hands. Kat Buchanan, 33, and her fiancee Taryn Cumming, 31, knew they wanted children from the beginning of their two-year relationship The couple, who are living in Auckland in New Zealand with five cats, told Daily Mail Australia they wanted to wait until the end of 2020 to start a family 'IVF is very expensive here. A straight couple can try and conceive at home and if not successful after a year they qualify for public funded IVF,' Ms Cumming explained. 'As a lesbian couple that doesn't count. We would have to have six cycles of IUI at a clinic before qualifying for public funded IVF.' IVF in New Zealand costs $10,000 and IUI - intrauterine insemination, when sperm is injected into the uterus via a catheter - is $1,700. Faced with declining fertility, the couple decided to look for a donor in a private Facebook group for sperm and egg donors. By the end of 2019, they had found the 'perfect' man. By March 28, both women had positive pregnancy tests (pictured). The babies are due 12 days apart 'We are very lucky to have found someone really decent,' Ms Cumming said. 'We know his medical history as well as family history. He goes for STD checks and his sperm was analysed, and we have a contract in place for his and our protection.' When Ms Cumming's first attempt at self-insemination in February didn't take, Ms Buchanan tried two weeks later. A fortnight later, Ms Cumming tried again. By March 28, both women had positive pregnancy tests. The couple had planned on having two children anyway so are thrilled with the outcome. While they had planned on having a second child after the first was born, the couple are ecstatic. Pictured: The couple's pregnancy announcement Ms Buchanan is now ten weeks pregnant and Ms Cumming is almost nine weeks 'The doctor we had a better chance of winning the lotto than getting pregnant at the same time,' Ms Cumming said. Ms Buchanan is now ten weeks pregnant and Ms Cumming is almost nine weeks. Both babies are due 12 days apart, but it's likely they'll be born at the same time. 'It's highly likely actually. Women feed off each other's hormones so the potential for them to be born at the same time is high.' There will be a big gender-reveal party for family and friends, but they already have four names picked out - Luca and Nate for boys, and Piper and Blake for girls. The coupley started a YouTube channel and Instagram account to document their experience and help other lesbian couples in their situation. 'We figured that this whole thing is really unique and with all the questions we received we decided its best to just blog about it,' Ms Cumming said. 'This way I can tell women about our experience with artificial insemination, how we did it, what tools we used, how to find a donor and what questions to ask your donor. I love helping people.' South Korea on Thursday expressed shock and grief over the gas leak incident at a Visakhapatnam-based chemical plant owned by South Korean petrochemicals giant LG Chem Ltd, calling it "highly unfortunate". At least 11 people were killed and around 1,000 fell sick after toxic styrene gas leaked from the the LG Polymers chemical plant in R R Venkatapuram village in Vishakapatnam in the early hours. "I am shocked and saddened by the of the accident that occurred at the LG Polymers Plant in Venkatapuram that caused loss of valuable lives and many falling ill," South Korean Ambassador Shin Bong-kil said. "This was a highly unfortunate incident and our deepest condolences go out to those affected by this tragic event. We pray for the speedy recovery of those who have been taken ill," he said in a brief statement. The plant was established in 1961 as Hindustan Polymers. It was taken over by LG Chem in July 1997 and was renamed as LG Polymers India Private Limited (LGPI), according to website of the company. Separately, LG Chem Ltd said the gas leak has been brought under control and that the company was investigating the accident. "The gas leakage is now under control, but the leaked gas can cause nausea and dizziness, so we are investing every effort to ensure proper treatment is provided swiftly," it said in a statement. "We are investigating the extent of damage and the exact cause of the leak and deaths," it added. Noting that the plant operations were suspended because of coronavirus lockdown, the firm said none of its employees have died in the accident. The leak was noticed by company staff who were reportedly inspecting machines to restart the factory and raised an alarm. Director General of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) S N Pradhan said 11 people have lost their lives due to the gas leak. The death toll from the accident could go up with at least 20 people on ventilator support. Besides, 246 people with health complications are undergoing treatment at Visakhapatnam's King George Hospital, police said in Visakhapatnam. Andhra Pradesh Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy said the LG Polymers unit was supposed to reopen post-lockdown on Thursday. "We are trying to reach out to the top management of the (South Korean) company...our immediate priority is to arrest the leak and ensure proper medicare to the affected people," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Kenyan cargo plane crashed on April 4 in southern Somalia where it was on a humanitarian mission, killing all six people on board. The plane was carrying medical supplies in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The plane was about to land on the runway at Bardale when it crashed and caught fire. The six people on board died in the crash, Abdulahi Isack, a local Somali police official, told AFP. According to Hassan Hussein Mohamed, Minister of Transport of Bardale State in south-west Somalia, among those killed in the crash were two Somali and two Kenyan nationals. There were six crew members on board. The plane, which belonged to African Airways, a Kenyan airline, was carrying humanitarian supplies. These included medicines and mosquito nets to be used in the fight against Covid-19. Mr. Hussein Mohamed assured that an investigation has been launched to determine the origin of the crash. On March 16, San Francisco Mayor London Breed issued a stay-at-home order for the city, forcing many local businesses to shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic. One of those businesses was popular flower company Farmgirl Flowers, which was started over nine years ago by Christina Stembel. The company, which provides customized flower arrangements to clients across the country, was on track to have a record year after opening a second distribution center in Ecuador in January, says Stembel. But, with the coronavirus outbreak sweeping across the world, Stembel says all of that has since changed. CNBC Make It spoke to Stembel, and other female entrepreneurs, about the impact today's pandemic is having on their companies as they fight for federal funding, pivot business operations and manage child-care needs. Farmgirl Flowers founder Christina Stembel. Photo credit: Christina Stembel Locked out of the Paycheck Protection Program Within the first week of closing the doors at Farmgirl Flowers, Stembel says sales dropped by 60% and roughly $150,000 worth of flowers had to be discarded. Additionally, her 197-person team had to be cut to 40 people due to a slowdown in business operations. Thankfully, Stembel says, she was able to link many of her laid-off employees with another local company that was hiring. To cope with the downturn in business, the San Francisco-based entrepreneur applied for the Paycheck Protection Program, a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan that is intended to help small business owners stay afloat during the COVID-19 crisis. Prior to the first round of funding being distributed in early April, Stembel says she researched everything she could about the program. This included, she says, sitting on six conference calls, including one with Ernst & Young, to get insight on how the loan would work. "I was able to have access to information that other small businesses weren't," says Stembel, who sat on the Ernst & Young call because she was a past participant in the firm's Entrepreneurial Winning Women program, which provides additional resources to a selected group of female entrepreneurs. Using her YouTube channel to share the knowledge she learned from her network, Stembel says she received a lot of feedback from other small business owners who had no clue how the PPP loan would work. "I've gotten hundreds of emails from all the information that I've put out there from people being like, 'I just didn't know that it was going to run out?' And, I knew from all those conference calls...so I made sure I was ready." When the SBA launched its first round of $350 billion in government loans on April 3, Stembel was on her computer and ready to send her documents at 12:01 a.m. But, after being unable to submit her information through her bank's website, she called her bank and was told that it was going to "take five to nine business days for them to get their system up and ready." Eventually, after waiting a few days, Stembel was able to submit her application. But, like many women and minority small business owners, she was denied a loan as funds for the program quickly ran out by April 16. "You know, most of the businesses that were prioritized already had access to capital," says Amaya Smith, who co-owns a beauty boutique in Washington, D.C. called Brown Beauty Co-Op with her friend Kimberly Smith. "We've seen the stories about Shake Shack and the Lakers giving back money. This program was supposed to be targeted at small businesses and unfortunately, I think it's exacerbating a lot of the disparities we already saw in funding." According to some experts, up to 90% of minority and women small business owners are predicted to be denied a PPP loan because financial institutions are favoring pre-existing customers when distributing the funds. Though this may sound like a rational idea for banks, Joseph Parilla, fellow at the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, explains why this method is unfair for many. In 2018, the average size loan for women-owned businesses was 31% less than the average size loan for male-owned businesses, according to online credit marketplace Biz2Credit. Additionally, with large banks approving 60% of loans by white business owners, compared to 50% of loans by Hispanic business owners and 29% of loans by black business owners, Parilla says it was impossible for the PPP loan to be equitable. Brown Beauty Co-Op founders Kimberly Smith and Amaya Smith. Photo credit: Brown Beauty Co-Op Adjusting business operations When the coronavirus outbreak first began in early March, Kimberly and Amaya were already taking steps to adjust their business model in order to keep their company afloat. They immediately started following CDC guidelines to ensure there weren't large groups of people in their store at one time and they started offering hand sanitizer to every customer who walked through their door. Eventually, they pivoted to offering a pick-up option for in-store products, before officially closing their doors on March 25. "I can say we've seen a decline of about 75-85% in revenue," says Kimberly, while explaining that most of their product sales have always happened in store. To stay connected with their customers and to keep some level of funds coming in, Kimberly and Amaya have been directing people to their website to buy products. They've also been offering virtual consultations to clients who want to know more about a product before purchasing. "You know, we are really out here hustling," says Amaya, while detailing that they have also started a GoFundMe page to make ends meet. So far, thanks to customer support, the two co-founders have raised over $5,000 to help with business operations. "Obviously, GoFundMe is coming in faster than the PPP loan," says Kimberly, while explaining that they are still waiting to hear back on whether or not they will receive money from the second round of SBA funding launched on April 27. Allegra LaViola, owner of Manhattan-based art gallery Sargent's Daughters. Photo credit: Belathee Photography Managing child-care needs Oregon restaurants, bars, breweries, tasting rooms and distilleries will be required to space customers by at least six feet, close by 10 p.m. and mandate that employees wear masks, according to Gov. Kate Browns phased plan for reopening, released Thursday. The food and drink-specific plan is part of a larger package of guidelines announced by Brown during a news conference Thursday morning, moves that cautiously lift the states coronavirus stay-home order. The policies were crafted by Browns policy advisers, working with other states, local officials and business leaders in specific industries These choices are not easy, Brown acknowledged during the conference. As we reopen parts of our economy, we know that there may be an uptick in coronavirus cases. MORE: OREGONS REOPENING STARTS MAY 15 Guidance on: retail | restaurants and bars | salons and personal services | outdoor recreation | sporting events | large gatherings, including concerts and festivals Though some previously closed businesses including furniture stores, art galleries, jewelry shops and boutiques will be allowed to open May 15, restaurants and bars will have to wait for their counties to get approval from the state to reopen. Starting Friday, each of Oregons 36 counties can submit plans demonstrating that they can meet various public health criteria for reopening, including declining levels of COVID-19 hospital admissions, minimum levels of testing and contact tracing capacity and more. Food and drink businesses that hope to reopen dining rooms closed by executive order since March 17 will be required to separate tables by six feet, limit groups to parties of 10 or fewer and end all on-site consumption of food and drink by 10 p.m. Businesses unable to operate under those restrictions will be limited to takeout and delivery. Self-service operations including buffets, salad bars, soda machines and growler refilling stations are prohibited, and condiments must be offered either in single-serving packages, or disinfected between each use. Pre-set napkins, utensils and glasses are not allowed. As first reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive.com Tuesday, businesses will not be asked to track customer names and other information, though restaurants are encouraged to use a reservation system to help manage crowds. Employees will be required to wear gloves while sanitizing tables, chairs, menus, condiment containers and other touch points between each customer. Cooks are also asked to minimize bare-hand contact with food through the use of utensils. To prevent the risk of cross-contamination, gloves are not required for food handling at most Oregon restaurants, though businesses are asked to reinforce meticulous hand hygiene. Staff are required to wear masks, and businesses must provide them, part of a new state-wide face-covering policy for businesses where six feet of social distancing might be difficult. Customers are encouraged to do the same, but whether to require makes is a question left up to individual businesses. Businesses are encouraged to assign a greeter or host to manage customer flow, ensure customers dont congregate in common areas including restaurants and stay at least six feet apart while ordering. Restaurants are encouraged to limit the number of staff who serve each individual party, and require them to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer when moving between parties. Pool tables, karaoke machine and bowling are prohibited during phase one. Video lottery machines and juke boxes are allowed, so long as they can be spaced at least six feet apart, and should be disinfected between players. See Oregons phase one guidance for reopening below: Oregon's phase one guidance for reopening restaurants. Oregon's phase one guidance for reopening restaurants. Oregon's phase one guidance for reopening restaurants. -- Michael Russell, mrussell@oregonian.com, @tdmrussell Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. San Antonios budget shortfall spurred by economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has grown to $200 million even as city officials grapple with how to spend $270 million in federal stimulus dollars. Deputy City Manager Maria Villagomez delivered the news of the growing budget hole during a sprawling City Council session in which council members weighed potential fines on landlords who evict their tenants without informing them of their rights. Council also passed an anti-hate resolution aimed at displays of racism and bigotry during the COVID-19 pandemic, including against people of Asian descent. The virus crisis has all but wiped out the citys tourism sector, emptying hotels and depleting retail sales in the process. As a result, revenue from city sales and hotel occupancy taxes has plummeted. At the end of March, city budget officials had pinpointed $75 million in revenue losses. As the pandemic grew, so did the estimates as city budget officials got a better handle on the extent of the damage. On ExpressNews.com: Get the latest update on coronavirus and a tracking map of U.S. cases City Manager Erik Walsh took big steps early on to stem those losses, cutting $82 million in spending in early April, furloughing 270 employees and ending funding to all contracts for arts programs. Now those losses stand at $200 million. Of that, $89 million comes out of the citys $1.29 billion operating budget, which pays for services such as police and fire protection, streets and infrastructure and parks. Additional cuts to city services are likely as losses from falling retail sales and hotel bookings are projected to extend into the fall, Villagomez told council members Thursday. So far, the hit to the citys budget is more extreme than it was during the Great Recession of 2008-09. Then the city saw a gradual loss of revenue over time, Villagomez said. Compare that to the COVID-19 pandemic when losses have been immediate, she said. She noted it took five years after the Great Recession to recover from losses of hotel occupancy tax revenue. This event is completely different, Villagomez said. San Antonio cant tap $270 million in federal stimulus money it received out of the federal CARES Act the $2.2 trillion stimulus bill intended to stem economic fallout from the coronavirus to make up for these shortfalls because of federal restrictions. If a federal audit finds the city misspent that money, it has to pay it back, Villagomez said. But the city can use those funds to pay expenses related to responding to the pandemic, including costs racked up by the police, fire and Metro Health departments related to COVID-19, Villagomez said. That money can also pay for personal protective equipment such as face coverings, testing and contact tracing expenses and for facilities to isolate and quarantine those who either have or are vulnerable to catching the disease because of their age or medical conditions. San Antonio will use at least $100 million of that stimulus money for those purposes, Villagomez said. Outside of the immediate crisis response, the city can use that money for rental assistance and housing the homeless, efforts to bridge the digital divide such as infrastructure improvements for distance learning and financial assistance to small businesses. Stimulus dollars can also be used for workforce development programs for residents who have lost their jobs as a result of the crisis, Villagomez said an idea several council members latched onto. We have a wonderful opportunity that we may not have seen, District 7 Councilwoman Ana Sandoval said. The stimulus dollars represent a generational opportunity to be bold, to put up and to follow through on what we all know needs to be done, Nirenberg said. False expectations? But District 8 Councilman Manny Pelaez urged caution given the federal restrictions. I fear that by going around telling everybody that were fundamentally going to change San Antonio with $270 million for future generations to come I think were setting false expectations, Pelaez said. Nirenberg acknowledged that the stimulus funds arent a silver bullet. This isnt going to cure all of what ails us here in this city or any other city in the country, Nirenberg said. What this pandemic has done is forced us into a period of self-reflection. City staff will present a plan for how to spend the stimulus dollars in June. Eviction restrictions Meanwhile, the city is weighing potential fines for landlords who dont notify tenants of their rights if theyre evicted for non-payment, even beyond the COVID-19 crisis. This week, the city and county sent a joint letter to landlords that lays out protections for renters in the event of an eviction. There are about 260,000 rental properties in the city. If a landlord doesnt provide that letter to tenants who get eviction notices, the landlord could be subject to a $500 fine under the proposed ordinance. But Assistant City Manager Lori Houston stressed that the city wants landlords to work with tenants who cant make rent, be it setting payment plans with those residents or directing them to the citys $26 million risk mitigation fund which provides rental assistance as well as help for utilities, food and internet access. We want people to work together because this is cyclical, Houston said. If a landlord does not get payment, they cannot make their mortgage payments or service that property. The council is expected to vote on the ordinance next week when theyre also going to vote on a proposal pushed by District 1 Councilman Roberto Trevino to give renters 60 days to come up with rent if theyre short. Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff and the Texas Supreme Court separately ordered a pause in evictions during the COVID-19 crisis. Under Trevinos proposal, landlords would have to tell renters at least two months in advance that they plan to evict them if tenants fail to pay rent. But representatives of the San Antonio Board of Realtors and San Antonio Apartment Association bashed the idea during the citizens-to-be-heard portion of Thursdays meeting. Several landlords have already stepped up to help tenants during the crisis, said Teri Bilby, executive director of the San Antonio Apartment Association. Theyve waived late fees, worked out payment plans, restructured leases and held off on filing evictions for residents who are communicating with them and working with them, Bilby said. Bilby predicted that landlords will rush to file evictions if the council passes the ordinance an outcome Pelaez doubted. If all of these landlords who havent been paid suddenly evict everybody, who are their next customers? Pelaez said. At the same time, Pelaez warned against painting landlords as boogie men. Theyre not those long mustachioed people twisting their mustache trying to figure out how to hurt people, Pelaez said. Theyre not villains. Trevino who has repeatedly pushed the city to enact greater protections for renters broadly agreed with that assessment. But he noted some landlords have earned their bad reputation. Trevino pointed to the Olmos Club Apartments on the citys North Side, where landlords locked out an estimated 50 tenants from their apartments late last month. Ill call those people creeps all day long, Trevino said. Anti-hate resolution Council unanimously passed a resolution condemning racism and bigotry in the wake of the pandemic, specifically acts of hate and discrimination targeting Asians, Pacific Islanders, Jews and immigrants. The resolution decries the use of terms like Kung Fu virus and Chinese virus a phrase used in the past by President Donald Trump to refer to COVID-19, which it says encourages hate crimes against Asians. Nirenberg pushed the resolution, citing a national uptick of racist incidents since the pandemic began. We have a diverse mosaic of people here in San Antonio, Nirenberg said. We want them to know, we want all of us to know that we stand side-by-side with everyone in this community and that we will call out racism and bigotry and hate speech when we see it, especially if it's taking advantage of a pandemic. San Antonio has seen some racially-driven incidents since the outbreak started, Nirenberg said, though he declined to provide details. Two weeks ago, Chesters Hamburgers posted the message Don't buy Chinese buy American on the marquee at its 1006 NE Loop 410 location, drawing outrage online and from the Asian American Alliance of San Antonio. The restaurant later changed the sign. The citys resolution drew the ire of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz before council even voted on it. This is NUTS, Cruz tweeted. SA City Council behaving like a lefty college faculty lounge, triggered by Chick-fil-A & the words Wuhan virus. 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 Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying's Regular Press Conference on May 7, 2020 2020/05/07 CCTV: Speaking to ABC News on May 3, US Secretary of State Pompeo initially said the best experts so far seem to think the novel coronavirus was man-made and he has no reason to disbelieve that at this point. The hostess then questioned that, pointing out the office of the DNI says the scientific consensus was that the COVID-19 virus was not man-made or genetically modified. Confusingly, Pompeo said "that's right. I agree with that. I've seen the summary that you saw that was released publicly. I have no reason to doubt that it is accurate at this point." How do you see these contradicting remarks? Hua Chunying: He contradicted himself because he was busy fabricating lies, telling one lie to cover up another. This is an open secret. BBC: Also related to the comments of the US Secretary of State. Again he referred to the possibility of the lab, but specifically, Mr. Pompeo said that China has been withholding virus samples. What does the Chinese government have to say about that specific allegation? Hua Chunying: I don't understand what he was referring to. On the one hand he admitted that he cannot be sure the virus came from the lab in Wuhan, and on the other hand he said he had important evidence suggesting the lab may have virus samples. He also claimed that China was not transparent and could have avoided up to tens of thousands of deaths. I believe we need to present a list of facts here. On the source of the virus, top-notch scientists around the world, including leading American scientists and experts on disease control, have said multiple times that this is an issue that should be determined based on science and facts. In the past few days, more reports have emerged on new discoveries regarding the time of the first case. Like in France, the first case has been traced back to December last year, which was caused by the virus of unknown origin inside France and different from those imported from China. The chief epidemiologist at Sweden's Public Health Agency said that it's likely that there were individual cases of coronavirus in Sweden as early as November 2019. The mayor of Belleville, New Jersey, the US admitted that he was infected with COVID-19 last November. Cases were confirmed in Florida last November but none of these 171 patients traveled to China before that. When scientists are busy doing their job, Pompeo has been trying so hard to spread the words that the virus came from a lab in Wuhan. Where is the evidence? Please show us. Perhaps he is still busy fabricating it? Maybe he doesn't know that the Wuhan P4 laboratory was born out of cooperation between the Chinese and French governments, that its design, construction and management all follow international standards, that its first group of researchers were trained at P4 labs in France and the US, and its facilities and equipment are tested annually by third party accredited by the state. Committed to timely and openly sharing scientific and research information, the P4 laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), as one of the several dozens of P4 labs around the world, has been carrying out cooperation and exchanges with others. Last year, it received over 70 visits by foreign scholars. Their platform of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Resource has been accessed over 600,000 times and its data downloaded over 21 million times. Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance and prominent virus expert who has been cooperating with the WIV for 15 years, said on an April 26 interview that the Wuhan lab does not have the virus that could trigger the outbreak. In response to those who accuse China of delays and cover-ups which led to the spread, we have talked about China's COVID-19 response in the form of a timeline many times. Facts are clear and simple. Nature magazine on May 4 published a study result by scientists from China, the UK, the US and other countries. It shows that without non-pharmaceutical interventions by China, the number of infected people would have been 67 times bigger than that which actually occurred. I read another article today which is thought-provoking for me and I feel like sharing with you here. It is an opinion piece written by Jeffrey D. Sachs, an award-winning economist and also director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, criticizing the US government's senseless logic to blame China and the subsequent consequences. He said that the big lie of the US administration is that China is the cause of America's problems, which recalls the McCarthy era. He ends the article with the question "You have done enough. Have you no shame?", a question echoed by many with a sense of justice in China and around the world. As you may know, when Wuhan was locked down on January 23, there was only one officially confirmed case in the US. When the US closed its border to China on February 2, there were 11. When the US announced a nationwide emergency state on March 13, there were 1264. When the lockdown was lifted in Wuhan on April 8, there were already 400,000. Today, the number of confirmed cases in the US tops 1.2 million with more than 60,000 deaths. It took less than 100 days for the number to jump from just one to over one million. What has the US government been doing during these 100 days? The WHO head said that to all countries around the world, the warning from China is the same and the signal is clear. Why is it that some countries made adequate reactions and effective interventions, while the US failed to do so? Is there nothing that the US can reflect upon? If China covered up the real situation, then why did the US Consulate General in Wuhan pull out of its staff before others did? If the US side sensed no danger, then what's the rush in pulling out? A recent report by the US CDC made it clear that limited testing ability contributed to problems like silent transmission, which caused an accelerated spread of the virus in the US in February and March. Is this also China's fault? The US likes to talk about whistleblowers. China's whistleblower Doctor Zhang Jixian is awarded. How about those on the American side, like Doctor Helen Y. Chu, Captain Brett Crozier, and so many other medical workers? Dr. Rick Bright, who was ousted as director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, has filed a whistleblower complaint on May 5. He said in the complaint that his early warnings about the virus were ignored and he was demoted because he was cautious when choosing certain drugs. What is the US government planning to do with that complaint? How will it explain the blank column on the CDC website and the missing information that Florida already had 171 infected cases back in January? Isn't the NRSC's 57-page memo, instructing candidates to attack China for the virus, revealing enough? How many more facts are being hidden? Who on earth is jeopardizing the lives of American people? Aren't the 60,000 lives enough to awaken these US politicians from the blame game? Do they really have not the slightest sense of morality and conscience to care about something more than their own political interests, not even when human lives are at stake? We are facing a war. That is true. A war between mankind and virus, between truth and falsehood. Blaming others won't solve one's own problems and bring back lost lives. We are truly saddened by those lost lives in the US and we sincerely hope that they can bring the outbreak under control as soon as possible. China stands ready to help as its ability permits. We genuinely hope that those American politicians who are so bent on the blame game will change course and focus on fighting the epidemic inside the US so that more lives will be saved and their people's health and security be better protected. South China Morning Post: Secretary Pompeo said the US Department of State will delay the submission of the Hong Kong related annual report to the Congress to account for any additional actions that Beijing may be contemplating in the run-up to the Two Sessions. Do you have any response to that? In addition, Indonesia's foreign minister said the COC negotiations between China and ASEAN countries are being delayed due to the novel coronavirus. Can you give us more details about how the negotiations are going? Any plan for more talks by the end of this year? Hua Chunying: Hong Kong is part of China and the Hong Kong affairs are China's internal affairs. We firmly oppose US interference in China's internal affairs in any form, including in Hong Kong affairs. China has been actively committed to advancing the COC negotiations with ASEAN countries. We hope to see continuous progress in reaching a code of conduct agreed by all countries in this region, so that we can better uphold peace and stability in the South China Sea. Beijing Youth Daily: We understand that the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region recently donated anti-epidemic supplies to the American Flying Tiger Historical Organization. Could you give us more details? Hua Chunying: Indeed, recently the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR) people's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries donated anti-epidemic supplies to the American Flying Tiger Historical Organization, including 6,000 surgical masks and 4,000 surgical gloves. The organization has received this batch of supplies and will distribute them to its members and the family and friends of the veterans. The flying tigers, a household name in China, are a vivid example of how China and the US worked together to meet common challenges. They are also a vivid symbol of the friendship between our two peoples. The donation of anti-epidemic materials by relevant Chinese organization to the American Flying Tiger Historical Organization is not only a continuation of the historical friendship between the Chinese and American people, but also a move to reciprocate the kindness China received from all sectors of the US earlier during the coronavirus outbreak. According to incomplete statistics, as of May 6, Chinese provinces, cities, institutions and companies have donated more than 9.6 million masks, 500,000 boxes of testing reagents, 305,900 pairs of medical and other gloves, 133,500 pairs of goggles and other medical supplies to 30 states and 55 cities in the US. According to Chinese customs statistics, from March 1 to May 5, China has provided more than 6.6 billion masks, 344 million pairs of surgical gloves, 44.09 million sets of protective gowns, 6.75 million pairs of goggles and nearly 7,500 ventilators to the US. As the American people are fighting COVID-19, we hope that they can overcome the epidemic as soon as possible .China will continue to provide support and assistance to people in the rest of the world, including in the US, as its capacity allows. Shenzhen TV: As we understand, China Meheco Group Co., Ltd. and the WHO signed a cooperation agreement. Do you have more details? Hua Chunying: The Chinese government firmly supports the leading role of WHO in global anti-pandemic cooperation, and Chinese companies are also proactively engaged in practical cooperation with the organization. Previously, China Meheco Group Co., Ltd. provided much assistance to WHO for its purchase of supplies in China. As we understand, the two sides recently inked a new agreement, under which China Meheco Group Co., Ltd. will provide such services including supplier audit, product purchase and warehousing. The company will continue to assist WHO in its procurement of personal protective equipment and use its warehouses in Beijing and Guangzhou to store it. The Chinese side stands ready to better tap into the advantages in production capacity, storage and logistics to provide more efficient and high-quality services to the WHO and make its contributions to global anti-pandemic cooperation. NHK: WHO spokesperson recently said that the organization will send another expert team to China for in inquiry into the origin of the virus. Do you have any comment? Hua Chunying: Tracing the origin of virus is a scientific issue that should be assessed by scientists and specialists based on adequate scientific demonstration. China has been in close and unimpeded communication with WHO. We stand ready to continue cooperating with WHO and jointly combating the pandemic. The Paper: The Daily Telegraph reported on May 4 that the Asia Studies Center of the Henry Jackson Society found a video showing basic bio-safety procedures were not followed in the Wuhan Institute of Virology while handling deadly novel coronavirus strains, which may have caused the spread of the virus. What's your comment? Hua Chunying: The Henry Jackson Society mentioned in the report maintains an attitude towards China that represents the perception and illusion held by some extremely anti-China forces. With regard to rumors surrounding the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), Mr. Yuan Zhiming, researcher at the WIV and director of China's National Biosafety Laboratory, gave a thorough response during his recent interview with Reuters. He pointed out that biosafety procedures are strictly enforced in the lab and that high level biosafety labs have sophisticated protective facilities and strict measures to ensure the safety of lab staff and protect the environment. After checking with relevant authorities, we have found out that the video you mentioned has nothing to do with WIV researchers or their studies. It was never on the WIV website. The clip turned out to be part of a science documentary called Youth in the Wild. Those who appeared in it are from the Wuhan CDC. There was also a similar picture which turned out to have been taken in Hainan Province in 2007. Such grafting tricks are nothing new. We've seen them on issues relating to Xinjiang and Hong Kong. I wonder if friends from the press have any good idea to deal with them? Can we sue them? PTI: Judging from what the Chinese envoy to the United Nations said and what you said yesterday about the origin's inquiry by the WHO, can we conclude in principle that China has no objection for WHO to carry out an inquiry? Hua Chunying: China has never said it stands against WHO. In fact, we have all along firmly supported the organization's work. We will continue cooperating with WHO with openness, transparency and responsibility, including on the issue of tracing the origin of virus. Like I said yesterday, we support a wash-up and review for conclusion at appropriate time. We believe as long as it can help mankind to better deal with similar major infectious disease in the future, China will make our due efforts and contributions with a high sense of responsibility. What we object to is the attempt to politicize the tracing of origin of the virus by the US and some other countries, who are so eager to launch an international inquiry based on the presumption of guilt. BBC: US President Donald Trump compared the situation with the coronavirus to the attack on Pearl Harbor and also the 9/11 attack in an interview. He didn't specifically say that this equals China attacking the US, but he did mentioned China. What's the Chinese government's response? Hua Chunying: If COVID-19 pandemic is comparable to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the 9/11 attack, then the enemy the US faces this time is the novel coronavirus. The novel coronavirus is the common enemy of all mankind. In the face of this war between human and virus, China and the US should be comrades in arms rather than enemies. Only with the concerted efforts of the international community to combat the pandemic can we win the war between mankind and the coronavirus once and for all. But it is a great pity that some people in the US are now dumping the blame all around. This is wrong, and they should make all-out efforts and focus on fighting the pandemic. Since the outbreak, with an open, transparent and responsible attitude, China has taken the most comprehensive, rigorous, and thorough prevention and control measures to curb the spread of the epidemic. We have timely updated WHO and other countries on the epidemic, shared experience in prevention and control, actively carried out international cooperation and provided anti-epidemic supplies to relevant countries and organizations as our capacity allows. Professionals and scientists from many countries have praised China's timely and effective prevention and control measures. But it is the US alone that has made dissonant voices from time to time. What we want to ask is this: China brought the epidemic under control in about two months, while the number of confirmed cases in the US has been on the rise, reaching over 1.2 million today. What has the US done over the past months? The US, as the most advanced country in terms of medical technology, could have done better if it had put its people's lives first as the Chinese government did, and we do wish they had done a better job. But why did the US allow the outbreak to get to where it is today? This is worth reflecting on and drawing lessons from. It is not too late to mend their ways. Again, people's lives come before selfish political interests. We urge the US side to stop scapegoating China and deflecting attention. Instead, it should get its own house in order and give the American people a clear explanation. RFM Radio Ecoutez le meilleur de la radio SUD FM Ecoutez le meilleur de la radio Shelia Simmons (right) and her neighbors including Onisha Claire (with dog Lucy behind the slippers) step out Wednesday during the Philadelphia citywide Doorway Dance Party for essential workers she is organizing. Read more At first, its hard to tell where the 7 p.m. smattering of cheers on 13th Street is coming from. There are faint hoots, like noise from a distant game or concert, but no one is visible in any nearby windows. A banging noise tolls from above, someone rapping on a pan held out a window in the Keppoch House Apartments. On a step closer to Pine Street, two children spin noisemakers that look to be repurposed from a bygone birthday party. The modest noise goes on for a full five minutes, then subsides. The children go back inside. On either side of that brief eruption, the eerie hush that has become Philadelphias norm is maintained. The nightly celebration on 13th Street is a demonstration of support for Philadelphias health-care workers, but a small one relative to whats happening elsewhere. Other cities, particularly New York City, have a routine of nightly cacophonies that echo off skyscraper canyons, expressing gratitude to the workers who put themselves at risk as they treat COVID-19 patients. In Philly, the practice is confined to a few neighborhoods, such as along 13th Street or near Washington Square, where residents of high-rise apartments have been banging pots and pans from their balconies. Some Philadelphians are trying to make the celebratory moments more expansive. We need to recognize our front-line workers, said Mark Austerberry, executive director of the Philadelphia County Medical Society. Anything to boost morale would be super-important. Some of the most visible demonstrations in the city for health-care workers have come from the workers themselves, nurses who have protested for better on-the-job protective gear. The Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals union has organized public events to draw attention to the lack of protective masks and other equipment; a spokesperson for the union said the focus of public activism should be on that failure. Austerberry thinks that psychological support has value. He has held discussion sessions with the citys doctors, and heard about sadness and depression stemming from their work. The lack of PPE, the stress of having to contact people that their loved ones had passed away, he said. I think its PTSD. Its very similar. Of Pennsylvanias nearly 52,000 COVID-19 positive cases, according to state data, 3,316 are confirmed to be health-care workers. READ MORE: On the coronavirus front lines, Philly nurses also battle supply shortages and tension with employers Austerberry lobbied the citys health department to put its muscle behind a show of support, but officials say its daily news conferences are not the appropriate venue for that appeal. The mayor has been asked about this in the past and said that the city is not really the best organizer for it, though the city would support a citywide demonstration, said James Garrow, a department spokesperson. The most recent effort at a giant thank-you for all essential workers began Tuesday night, with about 15 people on Opal Street in North Philadelphia, where a number of those workers live. Organizers suggested that perhaps Philadelphias strong neighborhood identity was behind the lack of a unified demonstration, and their solution was the Doorway Dance Party. People on Opal danced in the street, wearing protective masks, to the Rocky theme, Gonna Fly Now," Aint No Stoppin Us Now, and other anthemic hits simulcast on three UrbanOne-owned Philadelphia radio stations at 6:30 p.m. Were going to beat this, said Sylvia P. Simms, who helped lead the dance party. Put the positive energy out there. The songs evoke Philadelphia and capture the possibility of overcoming obstacles, said Sheila Simmons, an organizer of the demonstration, chief of staff for State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, and former deputy managing editor at the Philadelphia Tribune. We dont care if its good dancing or bad dancing, its all to show the gratitude we have for our essential workers, she said. READ MORE: For hospital workers at Philly hotels, the pendulum swings between relief and anxiety Shes hoping the routine of evening doorway dance parties will catch on citywide as the shutdown continues, though by Wednesday there werent plans for a repeat on Opal. That night, a block of Allegheny Avenue near 35th Street erupted instead, with neighbors shaking it in their doorways despite the rain. It takes a lot for something to really catch on and get, like, widespread, said Gretchen Elise Walker, a jazz musician. The participating FM radio stations, 100.3, 103.9, and 107.9, are also streaming the broadcast online, she said. She is enlisting the participation of local DJs and musicians. The pandemic has hit them hard, she said. They are struggling without the performances they rely on for creative energy and income, and the nightly dance parties are a way for them to remix popular themes and reach a new audience. 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. We have this whole culture right now of DJs and producers that are broadcasting live on Instagram, broadcasting live on Facebook, creating new material and streaming it multiple times a day, Walker said. This is a different angle to this doorway dance party to get a whole bunch of music creators into the mix. Staff Writer Stephanie Farr contributed to this article. They underwent body temperature screening. Over 470 passengers arrived at Kyiv's Boryspil airport by three special flights in the past day. These were mainly citizens of Ukraine who arrived from Toronto (Canada), Oslo (Norway), and Goa (India), the press service of the State Border Service of Ukraine said. Read alsoSome 11,500 Ukrainians worldwide awaiting evacuation MFA They underwent body temperature screening and were asked questions about their health, it said. "There were no individuals with fever or symptoms of acute respiratory viral infections," it said. All but one person who arrived on that day chose to follow the quarantine restrictions with the use of the Dii Vdoma GPS tracking app. After employees of the State Border Service checked the passengers' registration in the app, the latter were sent for self-isolation at the indicated addresses for two weeks. One passenger from Goa decided to spend the quarantine period at a specific observatory facility. "In general, passenger traffic at the state border remains quite low. Over the past day, employees of the State Border Service handled fewer than 13,000 people for entry and exit," the agency said. As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier announced that evacuation of citizens by special flights from abroad will take place step-by-step, in a controlled manner, with up to four flights per day. On Wednesday, Oscar winner Diane Keaton gave her 2M social media followers a glimpse inside the accessories closet at her lavish 8K-square-foot Pacific Palisades mansion. 'I have lived here for three years and my closet is jam packed with way too many clothes!' the eccentric 74-year-old captioned her three-minute video. 'It's time for me to get over myself and let it go! I don't need all of this.' Rare tour: On Wednesday, Oscar winner Diane Keaton gave her 2M social media followers a glimpse inside the accessories closet at her lavish 8K-square-foot Pacific Palisades mansion Sporting a 'Kook' cap, Diane got rid of a blue belt ('I never wear blue'), buckled wedge boots ('Maybe somebody'll love them'), and flaming black booties. Keaton (born Hall) laughed: 'Was I kidding when I bought these? Can you believe this? Crazy!' The LA native - who 'used to go Goodwill shopping with my mom all the time' - also ditched a grey multi-tier blazer, which would be 'actually kind of good for somebody who is smaller than me.' While spring cleaning, Diane was delighted to come upon a 'fantastic' pair of b&w-dotted clown shoes that were a gift from LA vintage store Obsolete owner, Ray Azoulay. The eccentric 74-year-old captioned her three-minute video: 'I have lived here for three years and my closet is jam packed with way too many clothes! It's time for me to get over myself and let it go! I don't need all of this' 'Was I kidding when I bought these?' Sporting a 'Kook' cap, Diane got rid of a blue belt ('I never wear blue'), buckled wedge boots ('Maybe somebody'll love them'), and flaming black booties 'I used to go Goodwill shopping with my mom all the time!' Keaton also ditched a grey multi-tier blazer, which would be 'actually kind of good for somebody who is smaller than me' Keaton was later seen marching to Goodwill's Santa Monica location on 26th Street while hauling four giant trash bags. But alas, the store was temporarily closed in order to adhere with California Governor Gavin Newsom's stay-at home order, which was extended through May 15. The Poms producer-star - who's high risk due to her age and asthma - exclaimed: 'Oh damn! Hello? Okay. This is insane!' There have been 28,665 confirmed coronavirus cases in LA County, which has led to 1,369 deaths as of Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University. 'I'm afraid I have to keep them!' The LA native was delighted to come upon a 'fantastic' pair of b&w-dotted clown shoes that were a gift from LA vintage store Obsolete owner, Ray Azoulay On a mission: Diane was later seen marching to Goodwill's Santa Monica location on 26th Street while hauling four giant trash bags 'This is insane!' But alas, the store was temporarily closed in order to adhere with California Governor Gavin Newsom's stay-at home order, which was extended through May 15 On Thursday, Diane showcased her kooky yet conservative sense of style in a pair of Maison Margiela wide-leg jeans and b&w-striped long-sleeve top in 93F-degree weather. Wearing a CDC-recommended surgical mask and disposable gloves, Keaton was holding an ice pack to her face after leaving a dentist office in Brentwood. The two-time Golden Globe winner is most likely empty nester now that her 25-year-old daughter Dexter and 20-year-old son Duke have both grown up. Diane will next perform on the May 18 virtual concert Night of Covenant House Stars also featuring Jon Bon Jovi, Meryl Streep, Martin Short, Dolly Parton, and Dionne Warwick. Raver: On Thursday, Keaton showcased her kooky yet conservative sense of style in a pair of Maison Margiela wide-leg jeans and b&w-striped long-sleeve top in 93F-degree weather High risk due to her age and asthma: Wearing a CDC-recommended surgical mask and disposable gloves, the two-time Golden Globe winner was holding an ice pack to her face after leaving a dentist office in Brentwood Never married: Diane is most likely empty nester now that her 25-year-old daughter Dexter (L) and 20-year-old son Duke (R) have both grown up The homelessness COVID-19 event livestreams on Amazon Prime Video, Broadway on Demand, iHeartRadio Broadway, Facebook, Twitch, YouTube, and Stars in the House. Keaton spent September 16-October 19 in Boston shooting Dennis Dugan's indie rom-com Love, Weddings & Other Disasters alongside Andrew Bachelor, Jeremy Irons, and Maggie Grace. The movie will have its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in Canada, which is still scheduled to happen sometime in early September despite the global pandemic - according to Variety. Streaming May 18! Keaton will next perform on the virtual concert Night of Covenant House Stars also featuring Jon Bon Jovi, Meryl Streep, Martin Short, and Dolly Parton Action! The Poms producer-star spent September 16-October 19 in Boston shooting Dennis Dugan's indie rom-com Love, Weddings & Other Disasters alongside Andrew Bachelor (L), Jeremy Irons, and Maggie Grace (pictured September 24) Saima Afreen By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Only a few lights glow in some houses in the area near Wuhan. The region looks ghostly from the Boeing 747 in the middle of the night, as Dr V Vijay flies the aircraft preparing to land in an airport which is eerily quiet for weeks thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic which originated from China, and has claimed 257K lives, affecting 3.66 M people across the globe. The 54-year-old Indian-American pilot flies the plane to the cities of Zhengzhou, Changsha, Beijing, and Shanghai. But he and his fellow pilots dont stay over there nor do they come out of the plane. Meanwhile, other than the four pilots, a mechanic and loadmaster also travel in the plane to load the cargo with PPEs from the destination airport and ensure that the same is balanced properly. "The time to fly to China is restricted from 11 pm to 2 am," says Vijay, who is not just a trained pilot but also a practising cardiologist in New York. The cargo consists of PPEs, ventilator parts, testing kits among other required materials. Born at Madanapalle in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, the cardiologist-pilot flies cargo flights for the Sky Lease Cargo, an airline based in Greensboro, North Carolina. So, how did he begin flying cargo flights? I started it two and a half years ago because I wanted to fly the Boeing 747 jumbo jet," he says. But why Boeing 747? He says, "In the 70s, 80s, and 90s it transported millions across the globe and was called 'The queen of the Skies'. Its transcontinental and transoceanic nature appealed to me a lot." At the same time, hes also a qualified heart surgeon. So how does he balance both the professions that really demand extreme attention? He chuckles during the telephonic interview and informs, "Since I fly cargo, I do it from the first of the month till 18th and from 19th to 21st I devote my time to the medical work i.e., of heart surgery." But since the situation in New York City is grim is he also on the front lines taking care of Covid-19 patients? "Yes, I am. I work at The Mount Sinai Hospital, NYC. And doctors from all specialisation areas are dedicating their time and service to the pandemic patients. And so am I," he informs. He studied medicine at Sai Venkateswara Medical College, Tirupati way back in 1988. While he was studying at Hyderabad Public School and was a young student of Class II, his teacher wrote on his report card that he would be a pilot one day. He comes from a family of doctors. He settled down in the USA in 1989 and received his training from Central Jersey Regional Airport and in 1994 he started flying. During these turbulent times when the world is gripped with the pandemic fear hes not only flying to China with other pilots, but also to Japan and Malaysia. Malaysia is known for its rubber plantations and is the worlds largest supplier of surgical gloves. "Each flight carries 130 tonnes of medical supplies per flight," he informs. Ever since the restrictions were placed, hes flown the planes 14 times to these countries. From Japan, they bring respirators to be used in ICUs. "These ventilators are complex and are in short supply these days. We fly to Japan during the daytime. Other than work, I noticed one interesting thing over there that there were no signs of people wearing masks or gloves. Its because people are really disciplined that way," he observes. And how are the pilots chosen for flying cargo planes during this world health crisis? The pilots were chosen based on their experience by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which regulates the selection of the air cargo companies, their track records, and the availability of Boeing 747 to fly essential medical supplies. Other than maintaining strict discipline and guidelines, the pilots also have to wear PPE while flying. And then there are certain food regulations. "Two pilots cant eat the same food nor can they eat at the same time. Its from the select vendors that our meals are purchased," signs off this COVID-19 warrior before being called to an emergency duty to fly again. The writer can be contacted at saima@newindianexpress Twitter: @Sfreen DALLAS Zix Corp. (ZIXI) on Wednesday reported a loss of $853,000 in its first quarter. On a per-share basis, the Dallas-based company said it had a loss of 6 cents. Earnings, adjusted for amortization costs and stock option expense, were 8 cents per share. The e-mail encryption company posted revenue of $52.4 million in the period, exceeding Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $51.8 million. For the current quarter ending in July, Zix expects its per-share earnings to range from 12 cents to 14 cents. The company said it expects revenue in the range of $52 million to $53 million for the fiscal second quarter. Zix expects full-year earnings in the range of 56 cents to 58 cents per share, with revenue ranging from $210 million to $217 million. Zix shares have dropped 14% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $5.81, a fall of 44% in the last 12 months. _____ This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ZIXI at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ZIXI The World Health Organization and the Chinese Communist Party accused of ignoring and disregarding the Post-SARS guidelines that may significantly help to slow down the spread of COVID-19, according to a recently published article. WHO Ignored Early Warnings from Taiwan of Human-to-Human Transmission of the Virus The World Health Organization allegedly received early warnings from Taiwan, suggesting that people n China were becoming ill because of human-to-human transmission even though Taiwan is not a member of the organization but had been in an "observer status" since 2017. If the report of Taiwan was taken seriously by the WHO, it might help to slow down the spread of the virus. However, instead of investigating the possible human-to-human transmission of the virus, they rely on China's team, which was not also transparent in giving details about the new coronavirus. WHO even released a statement six days after the warning from Taiwan saying, "based on the preliminary information from the Chinese investigative team, no evidence of significant human-to-human transmission and no health care worker infections have been reported." Following this, officials in Taiwan said that they also received an email from WHO telling them that their inquiry about the virus will not be posted on the organization's international website for the benefit of the member countries. Leslie Shedd, Foreign Affairs GOP spokesperson, said that "When you look at what our committee has discovered so far, it seems pretty clear that the WHO under Tedros Adhanom's leadership ignored its own legally binding regulations by ignoring warnings from Taiwan and their collaborating center." She also added that only if WHO under Adhanom's leadership informed the member states of the organization, then they were very much welcome to entertain it and educate the world about it. Shedd also asserted: "Unfortunately, their silence on this is deafening." China Accused of Not Being Transparent about the New Virus The virus could have been controlled if China was transparent in its reports. Chinese officials already knew that the virus that spread in Wuhan is 87 percent similar to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome that occurred in 2003 by Dec. 27. On Dec.30, many reports suggest that a laboratory in Wuhan reported that multiple patients tested positive for an unknown SARS. This is not the first time that China was not transparent and honest about the virus. Michael McCaul, House Foreign Affairs Ranking Member and a representative from Texas, said: "In 2003, the Chinese Communist Party did not properly alert the world to SARS, causing a pandemic. In response, the world came together to implement new rules, including strict reporting requirements to the WHO so future pandemics would be averted," Violations of WHO and China Under the Updated International Health Regulation The International Health Regulation, which was first adopted by the Health Assembly in 1969, was updated in 2005 following the SARS outbreak. It was updated to make sure that the organization will be able to manage and control the international spread of an unprecedented virus. The IHR updates global health security that includes the following: Epidemic Alert and Response Global Public Health Response to Natural Occurrence Accidental Release or Deliberate Use of Biological and Chemical Agents or Radio Nuclear Material that Affect Health Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome The WHO Violated Guidelines Under Articles 9 and 10 In the revised IHR, it says that the WHO is supposed to investigate unofficial reports from sources, be it a member or non-member of the organization or media reports that pose a public health risk. Instead of doing it, they did not investigate the early report and warning from Taiwan and rely on information from China's team. Additionally, China violates as well the new IHR guidelines under articles 6 and 7, where state members of the WHO are obliged to provide the organization with all relevant public health information and lab test results, most especially if it is related to SARS within 24 hours. Instead of doing as to what is mandated by the new IHR to WHO and China, they instead ignore it that leads to a global pandemic. COVID-19 has now infected more than 3.7 million and claimed the lives of more than 259,000, according to worldometers. If the early warning from Taiwan was investigated immediately, and if China reported within 24 hours that a new coronavirus emerged, there was a big chance that the spread of the virus was controlled and contained. Read related articles: Editors note: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos released new regulations on May 6 that govern how sexual assault investigations are handled on college campuses. We asked Marissa Pollick, a University of Michigan lecturer and attorney who specializes in compliance with Title IX the federal law that governs gender discrimination on campus to explain what the new regulations mean for accusers and the accused. 1. Has the definition of sexual harassment become more narrow? Yes. Under the prior guidance, a single incident, if severe enough, might meet the definition of sexual harassment. The new rules state that sexual harassment must be unwelcome conduct that is so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person access to the schools education programs or activities. An isolated incident of unwelcome remarks of a sexual nature, for example, would not meet the revised definition. The new rules also clarify the sexual harassment definition to specifically include sexual assault, dating violence and stalking, which need not satisfy the severe and pervasive standard. 2. How do the new regulations affect victims? Victim advocates are concerned that the new rules will discourage victims from coming forward. As before, educational institutions, public and private, that receive federal funds must have a Title IX policy that addresses sexual misconduct. Under the new rules, colleges and universities must now conduct live hearings with cross-examination in connection with sexual misconduct complaints. Critics believe this will intimidate and cause further emotional harm to sexual assault survivors. In addition, schools may use a new evidentiary standard that will make it harder for complainants to prove that a violation of sexual misconduct policy took place. Before, schools could use a standard of preponderance of the evidence which means more likely than not to prove a Title IX policy violation. Now, schools may use a clear and convincing evidence standard. Clear and convincing proof means that the evidence presented must be highly and substantially more probable to be true than not. This higher standard is used in certain civil cases that involve high risk of loss or fundamental concerns such as free speech under the First Amendment. Under the new rules, schools will be permitted to choose between these two evidentiary standards for use at all stages of their investigation and proceedings. Victim advocates are concerned that schools will utilize the higher standard of proof to reduce the number of lawsuits from accused perpetrators who are disciplined under the policy. Story continues 3. What are the most significant changes for the accused? The rule changes arguably provide more due process protections for alleged perpetrators that many observers and some courts found were lacking in the past. For instance, there have been successful lawsuits against universities that expelled or otherwise disciplined students for policy violations without conducting a full and fair hearing. Accused students must now be given written assurance that they are presumed innocent, which was not previously required. They also may use lawyers or legal advisers to cross-examine their accuser. This was not included in the prior guidance. Further, the accused will receive greater protections under the clear and convincing evidentiary standard because it will be more difficult to prove that the alleged conduct was a policy violation. 4. What do schools have to do now that they didnt before? Schools must now carefully review and revise their policies to ensure that they are compliant with the new regulations. The final rules take effect Aug. 14, 2020, which is particularly challenging given the major demands on schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. If a college or university has not utilized live hearings, they must now coordinate and train staff and personnel to develop and implement the new investigation and hearing requirements, including virtual hearings if necessary. [Insight, in your inbox each day. You can get it with The Conversations email newsletter.]

Este articulo se vuelve a publicar de The Conversation, un medio digital sin fines de lucro dedicado a la diseminacion de la experticia academica.

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Marissa Pollick does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. As some business fields are stagnant and the governments shock relief plans need more time to bring benefits, the picture of the national economy is expected to be darker in Q2 than in Q1. GDP grew by 3.82 percent only in Q1, a 11-year low. Nguyen Khac Quoc Bao from HCM City Economics University commented that GDP still grew in Q1 because it partially inherited the growth engine in the pre-Tet period. However, as Vietnam has entered the third stage of the epidemic, it will be more difficult to obtain growth. The consequences of the epidemic will be seen more clearly in the second half of Q2, Bao said. To Trung Thanh from the Hanoi Economics University thinks that if the epidemic lasts 2-3 months and many small enterprises suspend operation, large enterprises still will pay minimum wages to workers. But if the epidemic lasts longer, the economy will fall into the spiral of total supply and demand decline, and then highly likely into recession. As some business fields are stagnant and the governments shock relief plans need more time to bring benefits, the picture of the national economy is expected to be darker in Q2 than in Q1. The enterprises with weak financial capability will have to suspend operation and lay off workers. The redundant workforce will lower demand in the economy further, thus affecting other enterprises in other business fields. The bad business performance of enterprises will lead to bad debt increases, which, in turn, affect capability to provide capital to other enterprises. A study by a group of researchers from the Hanoi Economics University pointed out that if the epidemic lasts until the end of June, the GDP growth rate in Q2 would decrease by 2 percent over the same period last year. In a bad scenario, recession may occur. Vietnams export value in Q2 is estimated to decrease by 25 percent, while the decrease would be 15 percent in the next quarters. Meanwhile, domestic trade value is predicted to see a 30 percent decrease. Of the 510 enterprises surveyed by the team, only 14.9 percent said they will be able to maintain operation if the epidemic ends in June. Meanwhile, VEPR predicted minus growth rate in all three scenarios for Vietnams economic performance in Q2. If the epidemic is contained completely by mid-May and economic activities return to normal, the GDP growth rate would be minus 3.3 percent. In the two other scenarios, the figures would be minus 4.9-5.1 percent. Bao believes that Vietnam, as an open economy, heavily depends on its trade partners and international investments. However, after every crisis, countries tend to shrink back or carry out restructuring. Therefore, divestment may occur. If this happens, the economy would get to a new normal, Bao commented. Kim Chi Restart the economy, while keeping clear of COVID-19: PM's Decree 19 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Saturday issued a new set of guidelines on measures to keep the country clear of COVID-19 while its economy restarts after strict social distancing measures were relaxed. Update, May 7, 2020, at 6:40 pm: The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, a state-level law enforcement agency, arrested Greg McMichael and his son, Travis, charging them with murder and aggravated assault and booking them in the Glynn County Jail. Original story: On Feb. 23, three men in a truck followed Ahmaud Arbery while he was jogging in a Georgia neighborhood near his home, then shot him to death. Cellphone footage of the killing emerged on Tuesday and strongly indicated that the men, who are white, murdered Arbery, who was black. But none of them have yet been arrested. Three different state prosecutors have now declined to send Arberys killers to jail. The district attorney currently assigned to the case said Tuesday he would ask a grand jury to decide whether criminal charges are warranted, but a grand jury cannot convene until at least mid-June due to the coronavirus pandemic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This delay in arresting Arberys killers is absurd, and has been from the start. There is no legal reason why Georgia prosecutors cannot arrest the men right now even if a grand jury cannot convene. Prosecutors are hiding behind a smokescreen of criminal procedure to avoid taking responsibility for their inaction. The Nations Elie Mystal has described Arberys killing as a lynching, and after watching the video, it is difficult to contest that characterization. Three white men in a truck accosted a black man jogging on the side of the road, chased him down, and shot him dead. They claim they thought Arbery committed several recent burglaries in the neighborhood. The first prosecutor, Brunswick District Attorney Jackie Johnson, recused herself from the case; one of Arberys alleged killers, Greg McMichael, had served as an investigator in her office. Advertisement Advertisement Johnson handed the case off to Waycross District Attorney George E. Barnhill, who declared in April that he found insufficient probable cause to arrest the three men. In a memo, Barnhill asserted that the men had committed a lawful citizens arrest and killed Arbery in self-defense. He blamed Arbery for his own death, accusing him of displaying an aggressive nature. (The video contradicts Barnhills description, proving that Arbery was only aggressive when he tried to grab the gun to prevent his assailant from shooting him.) Barnhill also cited Arberys mental health records & prior convictions, which are irrelevant to the culpability of his killers. Then, at the behest of Arberys mother, Barnhill begrudgingly recused himself from the case because his son also worked in the Brunswick districts attorneys office, McMichaels former employer. (Barnhills refusal to prosecute the men is telling given his zeal to charge other crimes; he twice tried a poll worker for helping a first-time voter cast a ballot, for instance.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The graphic footage of Arberys death plainly provides probable cause for the arrest of all three men. After this second recusal, the Georgia attorney generals office assigned the case to a new prosecutor, Atlantic Circuit District Attorney Tom Durden. In a statement on Tuesday, Durden announced he was of the opinion that the case should be presented to the grand jury of Glynn County for consideration of criminal charges against those involved in the death of Mr. Arbery. But due to coronavirus-related court closures, no grand juries will be convened until at least June 12. Durden suggested the case is simply out of his hands until then. I have no control over the suspensions due to the pandemic, Durden noted, adding that he does intend to present the case to the next available grand jury in Glynn County. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is true that, to obtain an indictment, Durden will need to present the evidence to a grand jury. And its true that, in Georgia, he cannot do so until June 12 (at the earliest). But whats bizarre about Durdens statement is that it skips right over the step that would normally come in between a crime and an indictment: an arrest. Andrew Fleischman, a Georgia criminal defense attorney, told Slate on Thursday that Durden could likely obtain an arrest warrant by calling a magistrate judge in Glynn County and simply describing the video. The graphic footage of Arberys death plainly provides probable cause for the arrest of all three men; Fleischman pointed out that the Georgia Supreme Court has found a simple description of an eyewitness picking a suspect out of a lineup sufficient for probable cause to arrest. Magistrate judges are still operating during the pandemic and frequently issue warrants telephonically, as when police need a warrant to draw blood from an intoxicated driver. And prosecutors have good reason to arrest the mennot only because they may pose a threat to the public but also to prevent them from destroying possible evidence. Advertisement Advertisement In fact, Fleischman noted, Georgia law allows a private citizen to request an arrest warrant from a magistrate judge, though of course it must be executed by law enforcement. Theoretically, a Georgia resident could obtain a warrant if prosecutors continue to resist charging the men. Advertisement If Georgia law enforcement officers do arrest the men, they will be held in jail, and eventually brought before a judge who will set their bail, or deny it altogether. If they are refused bail, the state can hold them for up to 90 days without indicting them. With bail, they can be detained until they post bond. In other words, even if prosecutors cannot convene a grand jury for months, they can still keep the men behind bars. Eventually, to secure a conviction, they will have to try the men before a jury of their peers. But until then, prosecutors have ample tools at their disposal to detain them. And, typically, they use those tools. Arrests and detentions have not stopped even though the coronavirus has ground court processes to a halt; four people were arrested and jailed in Brunswick on Thursday alone. Durden is making a choice to use the coronavirus pandemic to justify an indefensible response to Arberys killing. With each passing day that Arberys killers remain free, Georgias prosecutors grow more complicit in this appalling miscarriage of justice. Washington: Donald Trump's campaign is changing its message to refocus voters' attention on what it predicts will be a rosy post-coronavirus world. The president's re-election effort is gripped by polls showing Americans broadly souring on Trump and his performance managing the virus outbreak and the economic fallout. To combat that, the Trump campaign is reupping the winning slogan of 2016, "Make America Great Again." US President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Credit:AP The new campaign message is that he can rebuild the economy better than presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who the Trump camp argues co-piloted a sluggish rebound from the 2008 financial crisis, according to two officials familiar with the strategy. They asked not to be identified discussing internal strategy. A new ad released on Sunday stitches together images of health-care workers cheering, Trump talking at the State of the Union about "safeguarding our citizens," and Democratic governors Andrew Cuomo of New York and Gavin Newsom of California praising steps he took to help states get some equipment to fight the coronavirus. Electronics Technician 2nd Class Hao Lienh, assigned to Commander Task Force 56, stands watch on a Mark VI patrol boat before a weapons sustainment exercise in the Arabian Gulf, April 16, 2020. WASHINGTON The Pentagon has opened a colossal war chest to finance its fight against the deadly coronavirus. The Pentagon has procured more than 4.5 million N95 respirator masks, 13.7 million non-medical and surgical masks, 94.6 million exam gloves and 2.5 million isolation and surgical gowns. The agency has also begun delivery of more than 7.3 million non-medical, cloth face coverings to the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. military installations as well as other Department of Defense organizations. The Pentagon's logistics arm has also ordered 8,000 ventilators to be used by Health and Human Services and the DOD. The Defense Logistics Agency, which manages the Pentagon's global supply chain, has executed 6,036 contract actions with $667.3 million in obligations for the coronavirus effort. Of the $667.3 million, approximately $628 million was allocated to supporting the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services. The Pentagon's efforts began on the evening of April 10, when the DOD received approval from the White House Task Force to execute the first coronavirus project under the Defense Production Act Title 3. Coronavirus survivors will automatically be disqualified from joining the military, a memo from the U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command (MEPCOM) circulating on Twitter has revealed. A Pentagon official confirmed that any potential service member who has suffered from Covid-19 will be 'permanently disqualified' from service, unless they obtain a waiver. The new protocol comes amid a lack of understanding as to the 'long-term' effects of the virus, a US defense official told CNN. The memo has sparked confusion after stating that even those who had recovered from the virus would not be eligible for service. Coronavirus survivors could automatically be disqualified from joining the US military, a MEPCOM memo circulating on Twitter has revealed. Above, members of the Massachusetts National Guard wear protective face gear 'During the medical history interview or examination, a history of COVID-19, confirmed by either a laboratory test or a clinician diagnosis, is permanently disqualifying...' the note reads 'During the medical history interview or examination, a history of COVID-19, confirmed by either a laboratory test or a clinician diagnosis, is permanently disqualifying...' the note reads. In setting out the new protocol for military recruitment in light of the pandemic, the note says that new recruits will have their temperature taken and be asked questions about symptoms and potential exposure with those who were infected with the virus. All 65 Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPS) around the country will implement the new guidelines to determine the medical status of enlisting recruits. The memo states: 'During the screening process, a reported history of confirmed COVID-19 will be annotated 'Considered disqualifying''. It is not clear why new recruits who have recovered from coronavirus could be disqualified from joining the military, but the memo comes as the US Defense Department continues to navigate its way through the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. A Pentagon spokeswoman confirmed to the Military Times that the memo was authentic. An official told CNN that it was possible for a potential recruit who had contracted the virus to obtain a waiver from the military service they wanted to sign up to. They added that the Defense Department were concerned recruits who had been hospitalized due to Covid-19 could require further medical assessments in the future. In setting out the new protocol for military recruitment in light of the pandemic, the note also says that new recruits will have their temperature taken and be asked questions about symptoms and potential exposure with those who were infected with the virus. Above, a soldier from the Massachusetts National Guard wears a face mask There remains much unknown about the coronavirus, including if it can cause any permanent damage to the lungs, and whether reinfection is more likely after having contracted the virus previously. One confused Twitter user wrote: 'Those who have tested positive for #COVID-19 are no longer eligible for military service EVEN AFTER THEY COMPLETELY RECOVER??' Another said: 'I don't understand the reasoning on this at all.' Over 1,500 U.S. service members have so far tested positive for coronavirus, according to military publication Stars and Stripes. The Navy was found to be the hardest hit of the Defense Department's military services, with 431 of the 1,435 active coronavirus cases reported among service members. It comes after former USS Theodore Roosevelt Captain Brett Crozier broke protocol to send a memo urging the Navy to respond more quickly to a coronavirus outbreak on board a Naval aircraft carrier in late March, which was housing over 5,000 sailors in shared bunks off the coast of Guam. Former USS Theodore Roosevelt Captain Brett Crozier reportedly knew he'd be sacked when he broke protocol and sent a memo urging the Navy to respond more quickly to a coronavirus outbreak onboard, but he'd reached 'breaking point' and feared for the lives of his crew members As reported by The New York Times, Cozier is said to have watched on helplessly as COVID-19 ravaged through the narrow corridors of Naval aircraft carrier (shown above) in late March, which was housing over 5,000 sailors in shared bunks Having been warned by doctors that more than 50 sailors aboard the vessel would die without drastic intervention, Crozier pleaded with his superiors to evacuate the boat but they eschewed his appeals, believing the measure to be too drastic. Nearly 80 percent of the ship's crew of 4,000 have been evacuated from the ship. There have been 585 positive cases on board the air carrier. Crozier was controversially fired by acting Navy secretary Thomas B. Modly after the email he sent to 20 Navy personnel in the Pacific leaked. Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 07, 2020 | MURRAY By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 07, 2020 | 11:12 AM | MURRAY Murray-Calloway County Hospital recently received a donation of more than 300 fabric masks along with headbands to be used by employees at MCCH. The hospital says Corrie Johnson of Murray organized a team of more than 30 local seamstresses who worked together to donate masks to needed businesses and healthcare organizations in our area. The operation grew so fast they began utilizing a facility offered by Playhouse in the Park where they could collect their materials and distribute. This group has distributed more than 2,700 masks to places including MCCH, Primary Care Medical Center and dialysis center, as well as multiple hospitals in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana. I'm fundamentally opposed to panic. I'd rather get to work and find a solution to known problems. There's a lot about Covid-19 that we can't fix, but we can do something about closing a known deficit of masks. I said, "Let's sew a thousand." Our team has turned out 2,700...and they're not stopping anytime soon. Half or more of these people I've met and worked with only seeing them masked. I can't wait to see their smiles, because they have to be the most beautiful, selfless, kind people I've ever met. I'm so glad they took me in" Johnson said. Corrie was influenced by her husband, Nick, who is an RN in the surgery department at MCCH and thus began coordinating mask production after she saw the need. Mothers of newborns and moms-to-be say they are nervous about going out to public places amid the coronavirus pandemic, a new survey suggests. More than 50 percent of women said they were concerned about bringing their children to a daycare or to a sitter's home. And nearly 80 percent of moms said they would be fearful of going to a scheduled prenatal appointment. According to a new survey, 45% of women said they would be concerned about visiting public places while pregnant and after their babies are born. Pictured: Erin Hoffman, of Ohio, feeds her nine-week-old son, Jaxson Nearly 80% of moms said said they would be fearful of going to a scheduled prenatal appointment during the pandemic. Pictured: Hoffman undergoing a scan at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center For the survey, conducted by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, more than 2,000 respondents answered questions about being in public while expecting or after their babies were born. More than three-quarters - 78 percent - say they would be concerned if they or an expectant mother in their life were to go to a prenatal appointment. Additionally, 51 percent expressed fear about sending their children to either daycare or a babysitter. And more than 45 percent said they would be worried about visiting public places in general while pregnant and after their babies are born. 'I cant say that I was surprised by any of these findings,' Dr Jonathan Schaffir, an OB/GYN at Wexner Medical Center, told DailyMail.com. 'I think that pregnancy in general is a time of some level of anxiety or at least concern...so any change to the environment that puts that scenario at risk will heighten the level of concern.' The only surprise Schaffir found was the one-fifth of female respondents one-quarter of male respondents who said they had no level of concern. He adds that with an endless amount of information at women's fingertips, it's easy to see how information about what to do and what not to do can get scrambled. 'The recommendations, in general, for pregnant women are very similar to the recommendations that we are promoting for everyone,' Schaffir said. 'This includes socially distancing, trying to avoid anyone who may be sick or even asymptomatic carriers of the illness, frequent hand-washing, disinfecting household surfaces, trying to avoid touching ones face. 'All those things are just as important in pregnancy as not in pregnancy.' Due to the pandemic, doctor's offices have been taking extra steps to ensure the safety of their patients, such as wearing masks, face shields and gloves and wiping down surfaces between patients. 'This whole situation has really started a reexamination of practices,' Schaffir said. 'Really trying to limit times women need to come into the office to have appointments, limiting the number of women in the waiting room at any one time and limiting any possible exposures to people who may be infected.' Doctors are trying to limit the number of times women need to come into offices for appointments and the number of women in the waiting room at any one time. Pictured: An emergency room staff member tends to a COVID-19 patient at St Joseph's Hospital in Yonkers, New York, April 20 Earlier this year, there was outcry after almost 20 hospitals in New York City banned partners from delivery rooms. Several doctors and midwives say the decisions might lead pregnant women to give birth at home, at risk to their own health. Schaffir said there is a spectrum of how risky home birth is from women with other medical conditions who might be strongly advised to have a hospital birth to mothers with a very low risk for complications. 'Childbirth is a very unpredictable process. The chance of a serious complication in those situations is very, very low, but it's never zero,' he said. 'There's always that very small percentage that could have a problem you cannot predict. For that reason, my bias is to have women deliver in the hospital.' However, he clarifies that it is not absolutely necessary for every woman. Senior NSW Liberals have accused Deputy Premier John Barilaro of "gross hypocrisy" after he travelled to his luxury farm almost two hours from his home to ponder his political future. Mr Barilaro revealed on Monday that he travelled from his home near Queanbeyan to his Dungowan Estate, described as a "luxury escape" used for weddings and rented on AirBnb for $1850 a night. Deputy Premier John Barilaro's Dungowan Estate, where he spent the weekend pondering his political future. "I had the opportunity at the weekend down on the farm to build a cubby house with my four-year-old. I had the opportunity to be fun and silly," Mr Barilaro said on Monday. The Nationals leader has repeatedly pleaded with people not to travel during the coronavirus crisis and was scathing of his cabinet colleague Don Harwin, who travelled to his holiday house. I have been trying to do my civic duty. I stay more than 6 feet away from most people (which is usually not a problem, given the fact that some folk consider deodorant to be non-essential). I live alone, so my trips to the store are surgical strikes: I know where the food is, I map out the quickest route strategically, follow it, and am out of the supermarket in under 10 minutes. If grocery shopping were an Olympic sport, Id have several gold medals. I have social distanced from vulnerable friends and relatives, mastered the art of Zoom and Facetime, and learned to make my own damn coffee. But I draw the line at the masks. At least, I used to. Slowly, though, I am beginning to capitulate like a Frenchman during the Nazi occupation. And please dont write me letters complaining that I just compared the Pennsylvania Health Department and several public officials to Hitler, because theyre much more like Stalin, and anyone who knows their history understands that totalitarians are unique in their brands of totalitarianism. Its not like I didnt initially try and cooperate with the suggestion that we wear masks. That was when health experts said that wearing a face covering would protect us from contracting the coronavirus, which weve always known is highly communicable. I started seeing some folks with those Darth Vadar style face coverings, and purchased one. I tried it on, gasped for air, and that was the end of that thing. Afterwards, when the health experts told us to leave the professional grade masks to the health care workers, I felt vindicated. Virtuous is the better word. I said to myself, Dont wear that mask, Christine, you need to leave it for the courageous first responders in hospitals. I could feel the halo forming over my head. But then, I saw other sorts of masks emerging on my neighbors faces, bandanas and handkerchiefs attached by rubber bands and homemade quilted pieces of folk art and things that looked like turtlenecks on steroids. Stories about reading groups that had turned into sewing circles made the rounds. Social media ran ads for stylish masks made out of breathable fabric (which led me to believe that being able to actually breathe cost a bit more, but that you could get a non-permeable mask made out of lead for cut-rate prices). And then I started hearing that it was my obligation to wear one of these monstrosities because I could be Patient Zero, Typhoid Christine, and that I owed it to my neighbor with whom Ive shared less than five words in our entire relationship to keep her safe from my hypothetical germs. Thats when I rebelled. The idea that I was a Petri dish waiting to infect the world grated on my nerves, and I started walking around in public with my naked face (of course it wasnt entirely naked because I will not go out without makeup). I made sure to stay away from other people, walked to the other side of the street if I saw another person approaching on the sidewalk, kept a mask in my hand as a prop as if to say, I just took this off to breathe for a moment but I usually shower with the damn thing, and always wore a mask in closed environments. I even wore a mask on public transportation, which actually made the experience more enjoyable since it filtered out the usual sweat-and-controlled substance aroma that usually permeates the cars. But I pushed back against wearing the mask as a default position. Until, that is, I started getting the look from little children. Apparently, paranoid adults have been indoctrinating their tiny tots into believing that people who dont wear masks outside, everywhere and at every moment, are dangerous. They are up there with child molesters and anti-vaxxers (and in the Philadelphia area, Trump supporters). The look in those little kids eyes was an epiphany for me. I do not like being hated, even though I could solve that problem by just pretending Im a liberal columnist and be done with it. But I would rather eat a bat from Wuhan before I did that, so I have come to the sad conclusion that for the sake of the children, mind you I will wear a mask whenever I am not in my house. Unless I decide to join that small, hardy band of French-speaking resistance fighters in the Delaware Valley and we manage to overthrow the Vichy regime in Harrisburg. Christine Flowers is an attorney and a resident of Delaware County. Her column usually appears on Sunday. Email her at cflowers1961@gmail.com. NEW YORK, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Atento S.A. (NYSE: ATTO, "Atento" or "Company"), the leading provider of customer relationship management and business process outsourcing services (CRM / BPO) in Latin America and one of the top five providers worldwide, today announced arrangements to facilitate HPS Investment Partners, LLC ("HPS"), GIC , and an investment fund affiliated with Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C. ("Farallon")'s (collectively, the "Institutional Investors") acquisition of shares of the Company currently held indirectly by Bain Capital in exchange for notes currently held by these Institutional Investors (the "Transaction"). Carlos Lopez-Abadia, Atento's Chief Executive Officer, said: "At Atento, we are leading the next generation of customer experience services by combining the power of technology and the human touch. Each of the new investors in Atento shares our vision to establish a stronger platform from which to accelerate the development and expansion of innovative digital solutions that will significantly enhance Atento's growing portfolio of high-value voice, integrated multichannel and back office services. Our mission over the long term continues to be increasing shareholder value by effectively capitalizing on the emerging digital opportunities in CRM-BPO. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Bain Capital for all of their support and hard work over the years." Thomas Iannotti, Atento Lead Director added: "We are delighted to have these leading global investment firms as Atento shareholders and HPS, GIC and Farallon as board members and look forward to benefitting from their strategic thinking and leadership. Their investment demonstrates a commitment to supporting our ambitious transformation plan and their confidence in Atento's considerable long-term potential." "We have long admired Atento as the leading CRM/BPO provider in Latin America," said Daniel Goldberg, Managing Partner of Farallon Latin America Investimentos Ltda. "Farallon is pleased to support the Company as it builds an exciting array of next-generation services and capabilities." At the end of 2019, Atento's senior management team presented its Three Horizon Plan, a three-year strategic plan to place Atento at the forefront of transforming the customer experience in the Americas. The plan consists of three main pillars: Implement Operational Improvements: develop a range of initiatives to accelerate the transformation of Atento's core operations, from driving sales and operational excellence to optimizing indirect costs. Accelerate the Build-out of a Next Generation Services Portfolio and Enhanced Digital Capabilities: create a set of strategic initiatives to accelerate the development and expansion of Atento's value offering, with a focus on three next generation service lines (High-value voice, Integrated multichannel and Automated back office) and four next generation capabilities (AI/Cognitive, Analytics, Automation/RPA and CX consulting), combined with the implementation of new methodologies for product development and go-to-market processes. Pursue New Growth Avenues: build upon stronger foundations to unlock and drive new growth by accelerating the Company's penetration into higher-growth and higher-margin verticals and by expanding in the US market. As part of Atento's strategic plan, and to help drive the plan's execution and remain among the world's best places to work, Atento is advancing the digital transformation of its human resources operations, including the reskilling of some traditional call center agents as programmers. To ensure the advancement of the Three Horizon Plan, Atento implemented a series of measures to mitigate the risk posed by the COVID-19 epidemic, including the implementation of strict health and safety procedures in accordance with WHO guidelines and those of local health authorities. In addition, to strengthen Atento's cash position and balance sheet, the Company has been rationalizing capex and other expenses. With $160 million in total liquidity, Atento currently has the necessary financial resources to continue delivering customer services and solutions as well as effectively maintain health and safety procedures, including having over 60 thousand employees working at home. About the Transaction On May 6, 2020, a Share Transfer Agreement was signed by Bain Capital and the Institutional Investors, which are each investing independently, to transfer substantially all of Bain Capital's shares in Atento owned by Atalaya Luxco Pikco S.C.A., an entity controlled by Bain Capital, in exchange for notes held by the Institutional Investors. The Share Transfer Agreement is subject to regulatory conditions, including antitrust approvals in Brazil and Mexico. Atento has concurrently entered into a Director Nomination Agreement with each of HPS, GIC and Farallon individually, allowing each investor to propose candidates to be nominated to the Company's Board of Directors, subject to shareholder approval. HPS will have the right to propose two directors, while GIC and Farallon will each have the right to propose one director. Also, HPS, GIC and Farallon have each agreed to certain transfer restrictions with regards to their Atento shares for a period of 24 months from the date of completion of the Transaction. Atento also entered into a Registration Rights Agreement with each of HPS, GIC and Farallon individually. The Director Nomination Agreements and Registration Rights Agreement will become effective on the completion of the Transaction. Atento will also terminate the existing Registration Rights Agreement with Atalaya Luxco Pikco S.C.A. effective on completion of the Transaction. Following the Transaction, Atento expects that HPS will hold approximately 25%, GIC 22% and Farallon 15% of the shares in the Company. The arrangements with these investors are intended to ensure that there are no impacts on Atento's day-to-day business operations. About Atento Atento is the largest provider of customer relationship management and business process outsourcing (CRM BPO) services in Latin America, and among the top five providers globally, based on revenues. Atento is also a leading provider of nearshoring CRM/BPO services to companies that carry out their activities in the United States. Since 1999, the company has developed its business model in 13 countries where it employs 150,000 people. Atento has over 400 clients to whom it offers a wide range of CRM/BPO services through multiple channels. Atento's clients are mostly leading multinational corporations in sectors such as telecommunications, banking and financial services, health, retail and public administrations, among others. Atento's shares trade under the symbol ATTO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). In 2019, Atento was named one of the World's 25 Best Multinational Workplaces and one of the Best Multinationals to Work for in Latin America by Great Place to Work. For more information visit www.atento.com Investor Relations Shay Chor +55 11 3293-5926 [email protected] Investor Relations Fernando Schneider + 55 11 3779-8119 [email protected] Media Relations Pablo Sanchez Perez +34 670031347 [email protected] Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "intends," "continue" or similar terminology. These statements reflect only Atento's current expectations and are not guarantees of future performance or results. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic, and governments' extraordinary measures to limit the spread of the virus, are disrupting the global economy and Atento's industry, and consequently adversely affecting the Company's business, results of operation and cash flows and, as conditions are recent, uncertain and changing rapidly, it is difficult to predict the full extent of the impact that the pandemic will have. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, competition in Atento's highly competitive industries; increases in the cost of voice and data services or significant interruptions in these services; Atento's ability to keep pace with its clients' needs for rapid technological change and systems availability; the continued deployment and adoption of emerging technologies; the loss, financial difficulties or bankruptcy of any key clients; the effects of global economic trends on the businesses of Atento's clients; the non-exclusive nature of Atento's client contracts and the absence of revenue commitments; security and privacy breaches of the systems Atento uses to protect personal data; the cost of pending and future litigation; the cost of defending Atento against intellectual property infringement claims; extensive regulation affecting many of Atento's businesses; Atento's ability to protect its proprietary information or technology; service interruptions to Atento's data and operation centers; Atento's ability to retain key personnel and attract a sufficient number of qualified employees; increases in labor costs and turnover rates; the political, economic and other conditions in the countries where Atento operates; changes in foreign exchange rates; Atento's ability to complete future acquisitions and integrate or achieve the objectives of its recent and future acquisitions; future impairments of our substantial goodwill, intangible assets, or other long-lived assets; and Atento's ability to recover consumer receivables on behalf of its clients. In addition, Atento is subject to risks related to its level of indebtedness. Such risks include Atento's ability to generate sufficient cash to service its indebtedness and fund its other liquidity needs; Atento's ability to comply with covenants contained in its debt instruments; the ability to obtain additional financing; the incurrence of significant additional indebtedness by Atento and its subsidiaries; and the ability of Atento's lenders to fulfill their lending commitments. Atento is also subject to other risk factors described in documents filed by the company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which the statements were made. Atento undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. SOURCE Atento S.A. Related Links http://www.atento.com Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now. It's hard to find good news when you're living in the middle of a pandemic, especially when you're wrapping up week SEVEN of quarantine. Sure, there's been some positive updates lately -- like the Governor announcing that California will move into Phase Two of reopening this Friday, with L.A. County following suit. But there are still so many unknowns about what life will look like as we emerge from this, and how we'll feel in the next day, month, year. It's a lot for anyone to process. That's why it's not shocking that one reader submitted this question: "I think we all intellectually understand the need to stay home, but the news of, one, flattening the curve and, two, other states and counties beginning to formally lift restrictions, gives people the itch. I'd love to hear from medical [or] psychological experts about how to reinforce our resolve while also providing coping mechanisms to deal with the psychological toll of staying isolated." To find the answer, we called up Nataria Joseph , a clinical health psychologist at Pepperdine University. She explained how physical distancing may be taking such a strong toll on our mental well being because it directly ties to our identity. "For a lot of individuals, they're finding themselves feeling a lack of a sense of self, like 'Who am I if I'm not this person that's connected through these relationships?'" she said. "That's one of the primary reasons why it's very, very difficult for people to resist the temptation to defy the best practices." So what's one way of mitigating these feelings? "Think about the fact that a lot of people are just waking up and feeling badly or feeling negatively. And they don't quite know the source of that," says Joseph. "Psychological research suggests that identifying the source of that emotion, as well as labeling that emotion, is a very simple, but also very powerful tool by which to begin to cope with those emotions." In other words, identifying the problem and figuring exactly where these negative emotions are coming from, is the first step in dealing with them. Joseph explains that with clarity comes a sense of agency over some of those emotions that can otherwise feel amorphous. While it's hard enough for adults to process big feelings in a productive way, it's even harder for kids. Another reader wrote: "My four-year-old granddaughter doesn't understand why I can't pick her up and bring her to my house like I've been doing. How do I explain it to her? It hurts to hear her crying because she doesn't understand, and I don't know how to tell her." When it comes to kids, Joseph reminded us that kids are in fact extremely resilient and it falls on the adults in the room to help them cultivate that resiliency. Parents and, in our listener's case, grandparents, can do that by validating their emotions with a warm approach and keeping explanations as simple as possible. One approach: frame the situation around the concept of rules, because that's something most kids can understand. "They understand that there are rules on the playground, rules in the classroom or at school, etc," says Joseph. "And so for an adult that's trying to explain to a young child why they can't do certain previous behaviors, I think keeping it simple and saying, 'You know, we have these new rules that I'm being asked to follow right now."' Likewise, kids do best when they feel like they have some power over the situation, which is why it's important to give them a say. A way we can grant children agency in this situation, Joseph suggests, is by asking them what they want to do when the "rules" change. "Perhaps having them draw or create a vision board of what they'd like to do as soon as the rule is over," she said, "or even as the rule is continuing to play a role in their lives, what are other things that they'd like to do in the meantime?" Concerned parents have also written in about particular behaviors that have cropped up since the start of the stay-at-home order. Another question we received: "My Potty trained three-year-old grandson had just started preschool and loved it. He asks his mom every day if he can go to school and even says he will run away. Now he is having bedwetting accidents." Anecdotally, we've heard similar things from parents about stomachaches, sleeping issues and nightmares occurring in recent weeks. Joseph says, it's possible that there's a connection between these new behaviors and the anxiety brought on by the pandemic. Any particular lack of consistency or routine can trigger anxiety, especially for kids, who we know thrive on schedules. "One main thing that I would advise is to try to incorporate consistency as much as possible," said Joseph. "In this particular example, you discussed a kid who really liked preschool. What does this child like about preschool? How can we replicate all of the child's likes and preferences from preschool and actually incorporate them into the home environment and do so in a consistent way?" Listen to the full interview with Dr. Joseph below: ASK FOR HELP DO YOU HAVE MORE MENTAL QUESTIONS FOR US? Wife Aruna and son Akhil are eagerly awaiting a stranded Viswanathan Anand's return from Germany but at the same time they understand that the government might first bring back people with "greater needs". The Chennai ace was in Germany to play in the Bundesliga chess and before he could return, the travel restrictions came calling in wake of the pandemic. The chess legend's wife is however relieved that the Indian embassy is in constant touch with him and he is doing fine. He is presently staying near Frankfurt and has been doing among other things online commentary for the Candidates tournament which was called off mid-way due to the pandemic. "We are hoping he returns soon. He is doing fine. It is an organised operation. The (Indian) embassy is in touch. There has to be flights first and there are many people with greater needs that need to be brought back first," Aruna Anand told PTI on Thursday. Though son Akhil stays in touch with Anand via video calls, she says there is nothing like having him around. "Not having his dad around for the time being can't be compensated... He is doing a lot of stuff but we have to be aware that the child is also going through a lot," she added. India has begun rescue operations for the past few weeks for citizens stranded in different parts of the world and with another rescue mission planned in a phased manner from today, the former world champion, who is currently playing in the Online Nations Cup would expect to get back to his homeland. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 20:44:22|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chinese surveyors hike toward a higher spot after setting out from a base camp at an altitude of 5,200 meters in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on May 7, 2020. The Chinese measurement team of over 30 surveyors Thursday arrived at a base camp at an altitude of 6,500 meters, as they endeavor to accomplish a mission to remeasure the height of the world's highest mountain. (Photo by Lhagba/Xinhua) MOUNT QOMOLANGMA BASE CAMP, May 7 (Xinhua) -- A team of more than 30 Chinese surveyors arrived on Thursday at their base camp at an altitude of 6,500 meters, as they aim to remeasure the height of the world's highest mountain. The team safely arrived at the advance camp at around 5 p.m. on Wednesday, after trekking from their base camp, which has an altitude of 5,200 meters, located in Tingri County of Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China. The team will rest up and continue to repair height measuring equipment at the base camp for at least a day before moving on. They arrived at a transition camp at a height of 5,800 meters at around 6 p.m. on Wednesday and spent the night there. The surveyors began climbing at around 11 a.m., passed by the East Rongbuk glacier, and arrived at the advance camp after a six-hour walk. The advance camp sits on a slope next to the end of the glacier and is the last camp before the snow line and the ice and snow road. After roughly an hour's walk up from the camp, the surveyors will arrive at the shoe-changing point, where climbers need to wear crampons to continue climbing on the icy road. Known as the "devil camp," many of the professional mountain guides, who have reached the peak of Mount Qomolangma countless times, also suffer from altitude sickness here due to its geographical location. It's an area surrounded by mountains and poor air circulation. After the advance camp, there are three more camps at altitudes of 7,028 meters, 7,790 meters and 8,300 meters along the traditional climbing route on the northern slope of Mount Qomolangma. The team, consisting of professional climbers and surveyors from the Ministry of Natural Resources, will seize the current weather window and attempt for the summit at the optimal time. The surveyors will conduct surveys at the summit using devices including the Global Navigation Satellite System and gravimeter. Prior to the ongoing summit survey, surveyors have completed leveling, GNSS, gravity and astronomical surveys in the surrounding areas of the mountain. Located at the China-Nepal border, Mount Qomolangma is the world's highest peak, with its north part located in Xigaze, Tibet. 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 The Centre on Thursday said the decision of holding the Rath Yatra in Puri would be taken by the Odisha government keeping in mind the prevailing COVID-19 situation, but allowed construction of the chariots during the lockdown for the religious procession. In a letter to the state government, the Union Home Ministry said construction of the chariots had been allowed in the 'Ratha Khala', which is situated on both sides of the Grand Road in front of the Jagannath temple office and the Sri Nahar palace in Puri, subject to fulfilling conditions. The green signal from Delhi came a day after the state government had sought the ministry's consent for undertaking the chariots construction for the annual festival in the pilgrim town of Puri. No religious congregation should take place in the 'Ratha Khala' and complete segregation of people engaged in the chariot construction should be ensured, the ministry said. However, the decision of holding the Rath Yatra, which is scheduled for June 23, would be taken by the state government, keeping in view the conditions prevailing at that point of time, the letter said. According to the guidelines issued for the ongoing lockdown, religious congregation is strictly prohibited. The ministry said the managing committee of the Shri Jagannath Temple, following a meeting on Monday, urged for permission to construct the chariots in the 'Ratha Khala'. The committee said no religious congregation takes place in the 'Ratha Khala' as it is a workplace and not a public place accessible to the general public. However, for effective COVID-19 management, complete segregation of the 'Ratha Khala' will be done from the adjoining Grand Road and adjoining properties by erecting a cloth partition wall so that public can be effectively prohibited, the temple committee said. The committed added that the national directives for COVID-19 management would be fully implemented, according to the letter. The Centre's nod for starting the chariot construction was required due to the nationwide lockdown over the COVID-19 pandemic. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had last month held discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on uncertainty over organising the Rath Yatra because of the novel coronavirus crisis. Bijay Mohapatra, the chief carpenter of the Lord Jagannath's Nadighosh chariot, has said the construction of the chariots was supposed to begin on 'Akshaya Tritiya' on April 26. "Already 12 days have been lost and now it will be a challenging task to complete the work in time," Mohapatra said. Around 10 lakh devotees from across the country and abroad throng the seaside pilgrim town during the Rath Yatra every year. The festival commemorates Lord Jagannath's annual visit to the Gundicha Temple via Mausi Maa Temple (maternal aunt's home) near Saradha Bali, Puri. As part of yatra, the deities -- Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Lord Balabhadra and younger sister Devi Subhadra, along with Sudarshan -- are taken out in a procession out of the main shrine and placed in the chariots, which are ready in front of the temple. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 00:24:41|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NAIROBI, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's health ministry on Thursday confirmed 25 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 607. Rashid Aman, chief administrative secretary for health, said the latest cases are from 1,975 samples which were tested in the last 24 hours. "This number is growing as you can see and we must stop it," Aman told journalists in Nairobi during a daily media briefing. He noted that the patients are 22 Kenyans and three foreign nationals. Aman said that seven people were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recoveries to 197. He however said that three patients died during the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths to 29. The ministry on Wednesday restricted movements in Eastleigh residential estate in Nairobi and Old Town in Mombasa following the high number of the novel coronavirus cases reported in the two areas. Kenya has so far banned large gatherings to ensure social distancing, closed learning institutions, and imposed a countrywide night curfew to contain the spread of COVID-19. Enditem Conservative MP James Bezan speaks during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in this file photo. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) Canada Should Join Allies to Seek Virus Inquiry, Hold Chinese Regime Accountable, Say MPs As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, several MPs say Canada should join its allies in calling for an international, independent inquiry into the Chinese Communist Partys handling of the outbreak and hold the regime accountable for its actions that led to the pandemic. An investigation has to take place, and we need to make sure that everybody understands the gravity of whats happened and also start talking about the consequences that the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] will face, MP James Bezan, the Conservative shadow minister for national defence, said in an interview. As long as the regime in Beijing withholds that type of information, its going to slow down the progress in getting a cure [for COVID-19] in place in time to save lives, and to allow us to get our economy back to normal, he added. We need to work with other international organizations and allies in holding the government of China to account. Conservative MP Peter Kent, a former environment minister, agrees. He said that now is time for democracies, including Canada, to come together to hold China accountable for the pandemic against a backdrop of the regimes many other ongoing human rights violations. International public opinion is demanding a reckoning for China, and I can only say its not happening soon enough, he said. The democracies have to work together. They have to bring to the consciousness of those in power in Beijing that the world will no longer tolerate this belligerent, imperial, brutal human-rights abusing member of the international community. Both CCP and WHO Under Scrutiny Last month, Australias Prime Minister Scott Morrison called on all World Health Organization (WHO) member nations to support an independent inquiry into Beijings handling of the outbreak, the viruss origins and spread, as well as the WHOs response. U.S. President Donald Trumps administration has also urged other governments to back the probe. This week the European Unions 27 member states announced they would back the inquiry, and the EU will co-sponsor a resolution calling for an independent review when the World Health Assembly meets on May 18. The calls come amid increasing evidence that Beijing deliberately concealed information about the virus for weeks, which allowed it to spread globally, while hoarding large amounts of personal protective gear, including two billion masks. Questions are also being raised about the Chinese regimes influence within the WHO, in light of the organizations failure to warn other countries of early evidence of the Wuhan outbreak. WHO relied on questionable data from the regime and continued to praise its response to the outbreak. Conservative MP Michael Cooper is among those looking for answers. Conservative MP Michael Cooper in a file photo. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld) Theres no question that there is Chinese influence on the WHO. And I would submit that, the WHO has allowed politics to override considerations of global public health, Cooper said. Therefore, the WHO has failed to fulfill its mandate and has contributed significantly to the global catastrophe that we are dealing with today from a public health standpoint and all of the socioeconomic implications that followed. Canadian Governments Stance Questioned Canada has not said whether it will support an inquiry. Health Minister Patty Hajdu said May 4 that the federal government will remain focused on navigating the country out of the COVID-19 crisis before investigating the origins of the virus. Hajdu stated previously that Canada is open to reviewing the WHOs actions in response to the pandemic. As Beijings mishandling of the outbreak comes under increased international scrutiny, the federal government has so far avoided any criticism of China or the WHO. Cooper questioned why Canadian officials continue to stand by the Chinese regime and the WHO. In the face of a record of gross mismanagement, negligence, and I would dare say corruption by the WHO, its legitimate to ask the [Canadian] government why they would be taking such a stand. The Canadian government is in fact getting applause from the communist regime for its stand. On May 1, Chinas envoy in Ottawa, Cong Peiwu, praised Canadas cool-headed cooperation on battling the pandemic and condemned the United States for smearing his country over COVID-19. As reported previously by The Epoch Times, the Wuhan Health Commission originally stated that the first patient exhibited symptoms in early December but only revealed the outbreak to the public on Dec. 31, 2019. The authorities also initially denied that the disease could be transmitted between humans, although Taiwan officials said they warned the WHO of human-to-human transmission as early as Dec. 31 based on their own investigations. Rethinking Canada-China Relations As nations are forced to reflect on what type of relationship they will pursue with the CCP once the pandemic is over, some parliamentarians say Canada needs to seriously rethink its approach. Canadas business as usual with mainland China should end, said Conservative MP John Williamson. Beijing needs to be held accountable for its actions at home and abroad, and not be treated as an ordinary member of the international community. Putting the interests of Canadians first in trade and security should be top priorities in future engagements with China, said Garnett Genuis, another Conservative MP. He said this could include measures such as not relying on China for vital equipment but rather building up domestic supplies or partnering with trusted allies to do so. It could also include prohibiting Huawei from having access to Canadas 5G infrastructure and abandoning any Canada-China free trade deal, he added. Yes, we want to have an interconnected world. Yes, we want to have relationships. But we need to put parameters on those relationships and ensure our health and safety and security will always be protected, said Genuis. We need to not be naive. We need to recognize the priority that we put on our security and we need to be cautious. Shuvaloy Majumdar, a Munk Senior Fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, says part of the key to moving forward is for free countries to first acknowledge that the Wests economic engagement strategy with China has failed. The optimism for many years, by myself included, was that greater economic engagement with China, the development of its country, creating more literacy and services for its people, would also create greater demand for the rule of law, for property rights, for freedom of religionall the things that are essential to succeed, he said. But what has happened and become even more real is that actually the CCP has sought to partner with the world for its own prosperity so that one day it could dominate the world with its own world order. Majumdar said he believes that democracies would be very hard-pressed not to understand this ongoing threat by the irresponsible and reckless actions of the Communist Party. Democratic countries now have greater impetus to think through how to partner with each other and how to engage China without creating any space for submitting to China, he added. Ukraine's Security Service Says It Detained Russian Agent By RFE/RL May 06, 2020 The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) says it has detained an alleged spy accused of collecting data on a "modern missile system" on behalf of Russia. The SBU said in a statement that a resident of Ukraine's eastern region of Luhansk was detained on May 6 while trying to pass "secret technical documentation" regarding the Ukrainian system to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB). The detainee, who is accused of committing high treason, promised Ukrainian military personnel cash in return for the classified information. Relations between Ukraine and Russia have been tense since Russia seized and annexed Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in March 2014. Moscow has also fomented unrest and backed separatists in Ukraine's eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, where some 13,200 people have been killed in the ensuing conflict since April 2014. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine- security-service-says-it-detained- fsb-agent/30597581.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Andhra Pradesh government, on Thursday, released helpline numbers after a major gas leak at a chemical factory in Vizag (also known as Visakhapatnam) killed at least eleven people. The state government appealed to people of Vizag not to panic. Andhra Pradesh's Minister of Industries, Commerce, IT and Skill Development, MG Reddy took to Twitter and wrote, "A dedicated team will provide all the required assistance and also our department team is on-site, manning rescue operations. Request all, not to panic, and help us tide over this". Also read: Vizag gas leak: 'I pray for everyone's safety,' says PM Modi; many others express grief "Reddy added that a helpdesk is being set up at the department of industries in Vizak . People can get in touch with Deputy Director S Prasada Rao on his mobile numbers 7997952301 and 891923934, and another officer R Brahma on 9701197069, " Reddy said on Twitter. On Thursday, around 2.30 am, styrene gas leaked from a chemical plant of LG Polymers. Also read: Vizag gas leak: Gas valve malfunction triggered accident; 8 dead, 200 hospitalised The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team has evacuated around 1,000-1,500 people from nearby areas. Also read: Vizag gas leak: Probing extent of damage, cause of leak, says LG Chem; South Korea's envoy terms incident 'tragic' Andhra Pradesh DGP Damodar Goutam Sawang said there was no more leakage of gas and the situation was now "stable and under control". Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has ordered a probe into the matter. Besides, Jagan Mohan has also left for Visakhapatnam to meet the affected people. Also read: Vizag gas leak: All you need to know about LG Polymers plant Hundreds of villagers, most of them children, suffered from irritation in their eyes, breathlessness, nausea and rashes. The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation put out an advisory on Twitter asking people to wear a wet cloth or mask, eat banana and jaggery and drink milk to neutralise the effects of the gas. Connecticut and more than a dozen states have given near blanket immunity to hospitals and nursing homes, blocking the ability to file lawsuits over most mistakes during the coronavirus pandemic. But patient advocates are raising red flags, saying legal action is often the only way to hold a health care facility accountable for poor performance. We are going down a slippery slope, said Richard Mollot, executive director of the Long-Term Care Community Coalition in New York, a state that also granted hospitals and nursing homes immunity. The fact that states are giving this out plays into what lobbyists have long called for, Mollot said. But to not have [the possibility of lawsuits] hanging over a nursing homes head is disastrous. Gov. Ned Lamont in early March signed an executive order granting the states hospitals, nursing homes and health care workers immunity from lawsuits while the COVID-19 public health emergency is in effect. The only exception is cases in which criminal conduct or extreme neglect can be established. Paul Kidwell, a spokesman for the Connecticut Hospital Association, acknowledged the influential lobbying organization asked the state to consider an immunity provision. The Connecticut Hospital Association appreciates Gov. Lamonts appropriate grant of liability protection for good faith actions taken by health care workers and facilities during this unprecedented public health emergency, Kidwell said. Connecticuts hospitals have provided exceptional care for our patients during this crisis and will continue to do so based on the most relevant and current information available for how best to treat this disease, Kidwell said. So far, at least 15 states have granted similar immunity from coronavirus lawsuits, including Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont. The decision often followed a lobbying effort by the states primary hospital association, which are usually well funded and staffed organizations. In New York state, various news organizations reported that Gov. Andrew Cuomos immunity order was drafted by the Greater New York Hospital Association. Max Reiss, a spokesman for Lamont, said the governors office drafted Connecticuts immunity order. The protection it offers extends through the end of the public health and civil preparedness emergency declared on March 10, Reiss said. Other important avenues to protect patients, including suits for gross negligence and oversight by the Department of Public Health, remain in place, Reiss added. Nationally, more than 20,000 nursing home patients have died from coronavirus, according to some estimates. Nearly 1,300 nursing home patients in Connecticut have either died or are believed to have died from the disease. Stopgap measure Connecticuts immunity ends when the governors emergency executive orders ranging from social distancing to closing schools and businesses are lifted. The order blocks any health care professional or health care facility from civil lawsuits for injury or death because of acts or omissions undertaken in good faith while providing health care in support of the states COVID-19 response. Only actions that constitute a crime, fraud, malice, gross negligence, (or) willful misconduct by a health care individual or facility are exempt from immunity, according to the order. Most legal experts concede that Lamont, using public health emergency powers, has the authority to grant immunity without legislative approval. Sachin Pandya, a UConn law professor, said under normal times a person suing a health care provider must prove some form of wrongdoing. The big difference here is the person being sued would be able to raise as a defense that they have immunity within the terms of this order, Pandya said. He stressed the order does not provide immunity for any kind of criminal act. If what the plaintiff argues, if what they can show amounts to crime, fraud or malice, Pandya said, then the health care provider would be unable to use the immunity order to throw out the lawsuit. State Rep. Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, said because doctors are still trying to understand and treat the virus its difficult to hold the health care industry liable for mistakes. Certainly, whenever youre invoking immunity, its going to make it more difficult to take action against any health care industry, Candelora said. Still, Candelora pointed out the order does not stop health care providers from being held accountable for certain levels of negligence or malfeasance, although he admitted it might make attorneys less likely to pursue a liability case. He described the order as a stopgap measure while the state examines what went wrong during the COVID-19 pandemic. I dont want to make nursing homes the scapegoat, Candelora said. One thing that I think we should recognize is it should not stop the state from scrutinizing its own behavior and how we can better protect the residents in these homes, Candelora said. That includes examining funding and supplies sent to nursing homes, he added. Necessary or terrible idea? Pedro Zayas, a spokesman for the SEIU 1199 union which represents health care workers in Connecticut and Rhode Island, said the union does not support Lamonts order. We agree that these are times that call for extraordinary rules to allow for necessary actions required to save lives, Zayas said. However, given some of the examples of amoral, neglectful, and or reckless behavior by some operators, the union is not in favor of any accommodation that enables nursing homes to cut corners that harms workers and residents, Zayas said. Mollot called immunity a terrible idea, especially considering nursing home patients are the most vulnerable to coronavirus. They are always vulnerable to neglect and abuse and those vulnerabilities have been greatly heightened by the pandemic, Mollot said. The circumstances have greatly increased the likelihood of substandard care, abuse and neglect. Matthew Barrett, president of the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities, said its appropriate to grant civil immunity during a health crisis. The culprit isnt the behavior or shortcoming of the nursing agency, or an opportunity for lawyers to hold someone accountable, Barrett explained. Mollot noted the pandemic has already reduced what amounts to limited monitoring of nursing homes, pointing out families and state ombudsmen cannot even visit facilities. As deaths at nursing homes grew in Connecticut last month, Lamont ordered a round of inspections at each of the states 215 nursing homes. Mollot said the reality is lawsuits are an invaluable tool that helps keep nursing homes honest. The potential of being sued for neglect or substandard care is the only thing stopping many facilities from deserting their residents, Mollot said. The industry needs some level of accountability and thats the last vestige of accountability, Mollot added. Mag Morelli, president of LeadingAge Connecticut, which advocates for elderly care, said immunity is needed as health care professionals wrestle with a previously unknown disease. Nursing homes and other health care providers, as well as public health officials, are learning more about COVID-19s transmission, disease progression and symptoms daily, Morelli said. Regulations and guidance about standards of care evolve and change rapidly, she added. LeadingAge Connecticut strongly supports this good public policy. bcummings@ctpost.com; Peter.Yankowski@newstimes.com The novel coronavirus is the latest in a long list of pathogens that have jumped from animals to human beings, triggering pandemics that have killed hundreds of millions. Why it matters: COVID-19 underscores the desperate need to better understand and control the intersection of animal and human health. Preventing future pandemics will come down in part to better policing the border zones between animal health and human health. The 21st century has already experienced four major spillovers: SARS (horseshoe bats via civet cats), H1N1 flu (pig), MERS (bats via camel), and COVID-19 (bats via an intermediate). The big picture: Nearly 1.7 million as yet undiscovered viruses are believed to exist in wildlife, and Thomas Gillespie, a disease ecologist at Emory University, notes that we still lack data for almost 90% of zoonotic viruses in wild mammal species. Despite the clear biological connections between animals and humans, animal health receives perhaps $1 for every $50 that goes to human health, estimates Gregory Gray, an epidemiologist at Duke University. that goes to human health, estimates Gregory Gray, an epidemiologist at Duke University. Experts are urging more funding to characterize those pathogens and track wet market workers and others who are likely to be the first people infected in a spillover. The government funding for PREDICT, a program that was meant to do just that, was initially not going to be extended by the Trump Administration last year, before an extension was granted last month. The U.S. Agency for International Development is also launching a similar program called STOP Spillover. "If we could get hold of emerging viruses before they fully adapt to humans, it would help us better understand it and develop better treatments. That might help us avoid the next viral crossover." Peter Ben Embarek, WHO zoonoses expert What's happening: Many experts are urging wet markets, where live animals and humans may be in close contact, be closed. White House coronavirus task force member Anthony Fauci told Fox last month that it "boggles my mind" they haven't been shut down in China and other countries. It's worth remembering though that the U.S. itself has live-animal markets, including dozens in New York City. But while China announced in February what it called a "permanent ban" on wildlife trade and consumption which also threatens endangered species some experts worry that could drive the markets underground. "A better idea is to move them out of cities to more rural areas," says Duke's Gray. How it works: The most widely accepted theory of the origins of COVID-19 is a textbook example of how "zoonotic spillovers" occur. From a bat which often feature as the reservoir species for zoonoses, in part because there are simply so many of them the novel coronavirus probably jumped to an intermediate species more likely to come in contact with humans. One candidate is the pangolin, a scaly anteater sometimes eaten or used for medicine in China, and one of countless wild species sold live in the country's wet markets. Such wet markets have emerged as what Chris Walzer of the Wildlife Conservation Society calls "the biggest risk factor" for spillovers, as highly stressed wild animals come into close contact with human beings through handling, butchering, and consumption. Based on genetic analyses of the novel coronavirus, it likely took only a single spillover event from an infected animal to a human being to kick off a pandemic that has already killed more than 250,000 people around the world. Background: By one count 70% of emerging diseases can be traced back to wildlife, and since 1980 the number of outbreaks per year has more than tripled. Some of that is likely due to better surveillance picking up small outbreaks that might have been missed in the past. But human population increase and closer contact between people and potentially infected wildlife means "viral spillover is increasing," says Emory's Gillespie. A study published last month found that deforestation in western Uganda that had left only patches of intact forest increased the likelihood that pathogens would jump from animals to human beings. One lesson is that "instituting buffer zones between wild animal and human habitats could decrease human-animal contact events," says Laura Bloomfield, a doctoral candidate at Stanford University and the study's lead author. The growing industrialization of meat production around the world plays a role as well, as pathogens pass from wild animals into packed livestock farms, where the viruses can be amplified as they burn through domestic animals. The bottom line: Humans and animals share this planet, and increasingly they share deadly pathogens as well. If we don't fully recognize that shared threat, COVID-19 won't be the last zoonotic pandemic. Go deeper: Coronavirus is tied to climate and biodiversity crises Years of preparation conservation, research and catalog writing, loan negotiations, insurance, shipping arrangements, and more went into the big Van Eyck show that opened in February in Ghent. And that citys famous altarpiece, newly restored, was at the heart of the event, the largest-ever assemblage of the artists work. The pandemic shut the exhibit down, and journalist Sophie Haigney explains why theres no hope of postponing or rescheduling it. The New York Times The Ghaziabad police arrested a man from Loni for shooting dead a 45-year-old woman outside her house in Kailashpuram locality early Thursday. However, the prime suspect in the case, the deceased womans brother-in-law, and another associate are on the run, police said. The police said the prime suspect had allegedly planned and executed the murder as he was unable to repay 10 lakh he had taken as loan from the womans family. The womans identity has not been revealed by the police. The prime suspect was identified as Vinod Kumar, who is also from Kailashpuram, while his two accomplices were identified as Shailesh Kumar from Behta Hajipur in Loni and Suraj -- his full identity is yet to be established, police said. Kumar could not repay 10 lakh which he had borrowed from the womans family and she was repeatedly asking for the money. While she was taking a morning walk outside her house around 5.35am on Thursday, the suspects arrived there and shot her. She was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to the gunshot wounds. Her husband is a paramilitary personnel, currently posted in Assam, said Mohammad Aslam, SHO of Kavi Nagar police station. The police, on the basis of complaint given by the womans family lodged an FIR under the IPC Section 302 (murder) and also under the provisions of the Arms Act against the three suspects. Vinod and Suraj fled the spot and our teams, based on local information, arrested Shailesh from nearby Raispur village. Our teams are trying to trace the other two suspects who are on the run, the SHO said. According to police sources, Kumar had also misbehaved with the woman on February 22 after which she had approached the police. 5G The FG has been directed to suspend its planned deployment of the Fifth Generation, 5G Network in the country. The motion was sponsored by Sen. Uche Ekwunife (PDP Anambra), who in her lead debate said there were growing concerns on the on-going discussion about the current status of 5G network in Nigeria, especially in regards to the question, if Nigeria is presently connected to 5G. She said there were further concerns by some scientists and medical experts that emission from 5G towers could adversely affect the health of citizens by causing symptoms like damage to the eyes and immune systems, among other adverse effects. The Deputy Majority Leader, Senator Ajayi Boroffice, said the 5G network deployment remained a controversial issue. He said the experts should be allowed to handle it and deliberate on the merits and demerits of its deployment. Senator Opeyemi Bamidele said it would be irresponsible of any government to subscribe to a technology that wont be safe for its citizens, The Punch reports The Senate in its other resolution directed the concerned committees to also investigate the technological impact of the network on Nigerians and report back to plenary within two weeks. A staff of Radio Nigeria, Pacesetter FM Umuahia, Abia State, Chinenye Iwuoha, who was kidnapped on Monday in Umuahia, has regained her freedom. PREMIUM TIMES had reported how gunmen intercepted the radio presenter who was in the company of three other staff as they were going home from work. The gunmen, who intercepted the Hilux the journalists were traveling in at Amakama Estate, shot the driver in his stomach and took Ms Iwuoha away in their Toyota Sienna car. Though details of her release are still sketchy, it was gathered that she was released unhurt. The kidnappers had earlier opened communication with the victims family, demanding for N20 million ransom. It is however, not clear if any ransom was paid to secure her release. The states commissioner of police, Janet Agbede, in a telephone interview, confirmed the release of Ms Iwuoha Ms Agbede said that the kidnappers released her unconditionally as police mounted heavy pressure on them. At the time of filing the report, it was gathered that the staff was at the police station. Northern Ireland's Public Health Agency (PHA) is currently managing confirmed and suspected outbreaks of Covid-19 in 110 care homes. It said 75 were confirmed to have had the virus and the remaining 35 were suspected cases. Another 16 homes no longer had the virus, it was also revealed. PHA chief executive Olive MacLeod revealed the figures while giving evidence to Stormonts Health Committee on Thursday morning on the impact of Covid-19. Have you lost a loved one in a care home during the coronavirus outbreak, or are you worried about a relative in a care home? We can help tell your story. Contact us at newseditor@belfasttelegraph.co.uk The Health Committee met as it was revealed that 36 out of 38 residents at one Northern Ireland care home have tested positive for coronavirus. BBC Radio Ulsters Nolan Show also reported another nursing home where 29 residents out of 49 have tested positive and a third home where 36 residents out of 72 contracted the virus. Read More Meanwhile 17 residents at Ringdufferin Nursing Home in Co Down have died since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak. Official statistics show there were 158 deaths of care home residents linked to the virus up to April 24. And it has been claimed that up to 20 staff at Muckamore Abbey Hospital have tested positive for coronavirus. Ms MacLeod was quizzed by MLAs on the rising number of infections in care homes across NI and whether that information is being shared with families. She said the PHA was satisfied that it is actively monitoring the situation within care homes every day. In total 16 care homes have had outbreaks concluded since the start of the pandemic while since March 16, 126 acute respiratory outbreaks have been reported to the PHA. An outbreak will have concluded following a deep clean of a facility and 14 days after the last symptom of the disease with a resident, Ms Macleod explained. All outbreaks must be reported to the Public Health Agency. Coronavirus is a reportful infection. On a daily basis every home must advise us if they believe they have patients with respiratory symptoms. If anybody has a respiratory illness they are swabbed. If there are two or more everybody in the home is swabbed including staff. On a daily basis we monitor and speak to that home and provide them with advice and support until the outbreak is over. The outbreak is only over when it has been 14 days since the last symptom. That home must have a terminal clean and only then will it be declared free of Covid-19 and allowed to take new patients. Ms MacLeod said where there is an outbreak within a care home this should be communicated by management to family members of the residents and that they cannot visit to limit the spread of infection. It is standard practice where there is an outbreak in the home that families are notified. There is flu every year and families are notified and the way we contain any spread of infection is to contain visiting and making sure there are good infection controls in that home. Director of Public Health, Professsor Dr Hugo van Woerden told the committee that there is intensive communication between the PHA and more than 100 care homes across NI. Sinn Fein MLA Pat Sheehan raised the serious situation at Muckamore Abbey where he said up to 20 staff have tested positive for Covid-19 over the last week or 10 days and that there is still free movement of staff members between wards. Prof. Dr van Woerden said he was concerned to hear about staff moving between different wards. He added: Every effort should be made to keep staff linked to the same set of patients so that if some spread does happen in a group of patients or group of staff that that is ringfenced as soon as possible. KYODO NEWS - May 7, 2020 - 19:20 | All, Japan The Japanese government denied Thursday media reports that it is considering scrapping its plan to deploy the Aegis Ashore land-based missile defense system in the northeastern Japan city of Akita amid strong local opposition. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference that the central government is "still re-examining" candidate sites for the U.S.-developed Aegis missile defense batteries that are expected to go into operation in fiscal 2025 at the earliest. The Aegis Ashore will supplement the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Aegis-equipped destroyers in protecting Japan from North Korean ballistic missiles. "It's not true that we have made any policy decision or set a direction in our study," Suga said. Some media reports have indicated the government is considering giving up Aegis Ashore deployment at a Ground Self-Defense Force training area in Akita's Araya district and finding a new location within Akita Prefecture. The top spokesman said the government will "start with a clean slate" in picking one of the two locations for Aegis Ashore deployment out of 20 candidate sites in northeastern Japan, including Araya. The government decided in 2017 to deploy two batteries to counter the threat of North Korean missiles, with one candidate site in Akita and the other in the GSDF's Mutsumi training area straddling Hagi and Abu in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan. But the plan is unpopular with residents concerned about the health effects of electromagnetic waves emitted by the Aegis Ashore's radar, as well as the possibility that it could become a target in an armed conflict. Local sentiment further soured after a geographical survey used by the Defense Ministry as the basis for picking the sites was found to contain numerical errors. The government has since decided to redo the geographical survey. Speaking with reporters Thursday, Akita Mayor Motomu Hozumi said the local defense bureau has told the city "there are no such facts" as reported by the media and that he finds the news reports "very regrettable." Akita Gov. Norihisa Satake separately told reporters that the Defense Ministry said to the prefecture it has not decided yet whether to abandon the planned Aegis Ashore deployment in Araya. "A national defense secret has leaked out. We have a growing sentiment of mistrust toward the Defense Ministry," Satake said on the media reports. The fresh geographical survey results were slated to be compiled by March 20, but have been pushed back to the end of May due to the coronavirus outbreak. As for the site in Yamaguchi, the central government has told local municipalities that the location remains the candidate for hosting the Aegis units based on a new survey. Connecticut utility regulators have approved a more stringent set of marketing standards governing third-party electric suppliers. The states Public Utilities Regulatory Authority on Wednesday issued its 42-page final decision regarding the marketing rules. Acting Consumer Counsel Rich Sobolewski, whose office represented ratepayers interests in the case, said the PURA ruling in the matter is the culmination of years of hard work. Once these marketing standards are fully implemented, Connecticut consumers will be more protected from duplicitous marketing tactics and third-party suppliers who engage in such activity will be more accountable than ever before, Sobolewski said in a statement. Wednesdays ruling came out of a six-year-long proceeding that was ordered by the General Assembly in 2014. Andrew Minikowski, the Office of Consumer Counsel attorney who oversaw the agencys efforts in the proceeding, was still in law school when the process started. Minikowski said at one point about a year into the process, PURA officials decided to start from scratch in terms of developing new marketing standards for third-party providers in order come up with something that more accurately reflected the consumer experience. Connecticut consumers now enjoy the most comprehensive consumer protections in the entire country, he said. The biggest changes are in the back end compliance. Once again, Connecticut has demonstrated its leadership in safeguarding consumers from unscrupulous conduct, Minikowski said. All those phone conversations and door-to-door marketing vists have to be recorded and kept for three years. Regulators will now be able to verify what really did occur between the marketer and the customer; in the past, it was reduced to a he said, she said type of thing. In addition, Minikowski said the new standards really lay out the kind of things that marketers need to say in a conversation with potential customers. The new marketing rules for third-party electric providers go in to effect Aug. 6, he said. Other requirements for third-party electric marketers include: Outfit all door-to-door sales agents with GPS tracking technology. Display accurate caller and area code caller identification information on all telesales calls. Disclose that third-party suppliers are not affiliated with an electric distribution company or with a state program. Respond to all customer complaints within three days. Tracy McCormick, executive director of the Retail Energy Supply Association, a Pennsylvania-based trade group that advocates for competitive retail energy markets, said Thursday that the organization played an active role in PURAs third-party electric provider proceedings. RESA is lookig forward to moving the market forward in Connecticut and will do so under these new rules, McCormick said. The third-party residential electric market debuted in Connecticut in 2000 and is part of a larger electric utility deregulation that proponents promised would yield savings on customers energy bills. With it, consumers are able to chose from a variety of third-party power suppliers or let the states electric distribution companies continue to buy electricity for customers, as they had prior to deregulation. luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com Canberra, May 7 : Australian Cardinal George Pell, who was accused of sexually abusing two boys in the 1990s, knew about child abuse cases taking place in the Archdiocese of Ballarat in 1970s and 1980s, according to a royal commission report tabled on Thursday. "By 1973, Cardinal Pell was not only conscious of child sexual abuse by clergy but that he also had considered measures of avoiding situations which might provoke gossip about it," the report said. The Commission had published its final report in 2017, but two documents from it were held to prevent the information from influencing the decision of the judges involved in Pell's trial on five counts of sexual abuse of minors in 1990s, reports Efe news. He was freed from prison last month after the High Court of Australia overturned his convictions. Both the documents - of more than 100 pages - were declassified on Thursday and tabled in the Senate. The institution said that it was, "implausible", that the top members of the Catholic Church would not say anything to Pell about the sexual abuse cases in his native city. The Royal commission said that there were reports which indicated that Pell had tried to bribe David Ridsdale while the latter was a priest at Ballarat and who was one of the victims of his uncle - also a priest - Gerald Francis Ridsdale. In 2015, David Ridsdale informed the commission that Pell had told him he was unaware that his uncle abused minors. Gerard Ridsdale, was sentenced to eight years in 2014 for several cases of paedophilia committed between 1961 and 1981 and abused 65 minors between the ages of four and 16, including students of St Alipius in Ballarat, in the state of Victoria. In the 1970s, Ridsdale lived in a seminary with Pell, who accompanied him during his first appearance in the first trial against the former on charges of sexual abuse of minors. Pell, who was Vatican treasurer between 2014 and 2018, always denied any knowledge about sexual abuse cases that took place in Ballarat. The institution also said that in 1989, Pell should have urged his superiors - when he was Auxiliary Bishop to the Archbishop in Melbourne - to remove Father Peter Searson, who died in 2009 without undergoing trial. According to allegations presented before the Royal Commission, Searson abused several children in schools and parishes where he worked for over three decades. The Royal Commission, which investigated the response of the Australian institutions on sexual abuse cases of minors in the country, addressed sexual abuse cases in Melbourne and Ballarat, but left out the parts related to Pell, to avoid influencing his trial on charges of paedophilia. [May 07, 2020] DTLA's Remote Workforce Is About to Get a Whole Lot Happier LOS ANGELES, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- My Third Place, an entrepreneur's dream, is set to hit the DTLA neighborhood once COVID-19 regulations lift. They've taken the concept of a coffee shop and added all the conveniences of an office. A Colliers survey recently found that 82% of the workforce wants remote work options after the end of the coronavirus pandemic. My Third Place is a hybrid of a coffee shop and a shared workspace ready for the needs of post-pandemic work culture. Tucked into the heart of Downtown Los Angeles, My Third Place is where you can eat, drink, and also have a professional workspace without the costly membership fees. Meeting rooms, private phone booths, and private conference rooms are open on a per-use charge. The location has all the conveniences of traditional coworking spaces without a catch. They've even added a little alcohol at the bar to tke the edge off. While the central location is in the DTLA neighborhood, My Third Place helps independent workers across LA gather in accessible affiliate coffee shops through the My Third Place App. Members can use the app to get discounts, access special networking events, and find collaborators for their projects. My Third Place explains, "Our vision is to build a community where people can connect, share ideas, and focus on their work. This is an environment filled with synergy, the aroma of good coffee, and delicious food. We want anyone to walk into our location and feel comfortable to say, 'this is My Third Place.'" Founder Norman Kai Lee knows the food and beverage scene like the back of his hand. With years of successful experience turning around failed restaurants and spaces in New York, Los Angeles, and abroad, Norman has a firm idea of what people like and need. While COVID-19 has caused a massive shift in the needs of LA's workforce, My Third Place is ready with solutions. LOCATION TO OPEN ONCE COVID-19 REGULATIONS LIFT. Find out more at MyThirdPlaceLA.com . About My Third Place My Third Place is a coffee shop workspace hybrid for the independent workforce. It provides an affordable option for those working remotely who seek a space where they can eat, work, and meet like-minded individuals. Contact: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dtlas-remote-workforce-is-about-to-get-a-whole-lot-happier-301054495.html SOURCE My Third Place [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Protesters who have swarmed the state Capitol in Sacramento to oppose Gov. Gavin Newsoms stay-at-home order during the coronavirus pandemic represent a wide swath of political factions, including struggling business owners, flag-waving supporters of President Trump and religious conservatives. Still, for all the movements array of supporters, its organizing muscle has been activists against mandatory childhood vaccinations. They have handled logistics such as applying for protest permits, planning bus caravans from Southern California, and ordering portable toilets and hand-sanitizer stations. And they have often acted as spokespeople for the patchwork of groups taking part in the rallies, from anti-government factions on the right to anti-corporatists on the left. Stefanie Duncan Fetzer, an Orange County resident active in the campaign against mandatory childhood vaccinations, said its inaccurate to characterize the Reopen California effort as made up mainly of anti-vaccine forces or Trump fans. Those groups are part of a broader movement united by concerns about the shutdowns economic toll and broader government intrusion into peoples lives, she said. Its not just about vaccines its about, Oh my God, theyre in every corner of my life, Duncan Fetzer said. People just want to get back to life. People just want to be free. Two rallies have been held in Sacramento since Newsoms March 19 shutdown order, including one last week that resulted in 32 arrests. Shutdown opponents plan to return to the Capitol grounds on Thursday to make their point that government restrictions to fight the coronavirus do more harm than good. Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times The involvement of mandatory-vaccination opponents would seem unlikely, since any vaccination campaign against the coronavirus is at least months away. Duncan Fetzer, however, said the governments handling of the crisis has only added to their skepticism about the safety of vaccines. Mike Madrid, a GOP consultant and former political director of the California Republican Party who has been a frequent critic of anti-vaccine activists, said the movements leaders are trying to exploit the moment to keep their cause alive and raise money. Uniting with conservative and liberal fringe groups to stay in the news is one way to do that, he said. Its really just these (anti-vaccine activists) trying to find a host, Madrid said. Like a parasite trying to find a host. Protesters opposed to stay-at-home orders began storming state capitals around the country in mid-April, as Trump tweeted that people should liberate their states from such orders. In California, the Freedom Angels, a group of anti-vaccine activists, organized the first such demonstration April 20, when hundreds crowded on the Capitol steps in Sacramento and drove their cars around the complex for hours. The California Highway Patrol banned all protests on Capitol property days later, saying the demonstrators had not respected public-health guidance. That ban is expected to remain in place until health officials decide its safe for large groups to assemble. Nevertheless, hundreds of protesters gathered at the Capitol again last week for the rally that ended in arrests. Several of those arrested were anti-vaccine activists, according to their videos and posts on social media. Josh Edelson / AFP via Getty Images Anti-vaccine protesters camped out at the Capitol for weeks last summer to protest bills that tightened Californias mandatory vaccination rule for children to attend school or day care. On the final night of the legislative session, an anti-vaccine protester forced the Senate to shut down for hours when she threw a menstrual cup containing blood from the gallery. State Sen. Richard Pan, a Sacramento Democrat who carried the bill on vaccine requirements, said hes not surprised to see leaders of the anti-vaccine movement at the forefront of the reopen California protests. He said they have been trying to build ties with other groups outside the mainstream for years. Theyre interested in self-promotion for their own gain, and they dont care who gets hurt in the process of doing it, he said. Its not about some set of principles or ideology there. Duncan Fetzer said the Freedom Angels have applied for protest permits at all three Capitol protests and will gather Thursday regardless of the CHP rejection. The rally is advertised as The Thin Blue Line: A Day to Heal and Build Bridges, and organizers say it will provide for reconciliation with law enforcement. Among those who say they will be there is the Rev. Tim Thompson of Riverside County, who has battled with local public health officials about holding church services during the pandemic. He has praised the anti-vaccine leaders. We are all freedom-loving Americans, Thompson said in a recent Facebook video, and we want to continue to have those constitutional rights. Dustin Gardiner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dustin.gardiner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dustingardiner More than half of U.S. states have begun to reopen their economies or plan to do so soon. But most fail to meet criteria recommended by the Trump administration to resume business and social activities. The White Houses guidelines are nonbinding and ultimately leave states fates to governors. The criteria suggest that states should have a downward trajectory of either documented coronavirus cases or of the percentage of positive tests. Public health experts expressed criticism because downward trajectory was not defined and the metrics do not specify a threshold for case numbers or positive rates. Still, most states that are reopening fail to adhere to even those recommendations: In more than half of states easing restrictions, case counts are trending upward, positive test results are rising, or both, raising concerns among public health experts. States that have begun to reopen or plan to soon AK AL AR AZ CA CO CT DE FL GA HI IA ID IL IN KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS MT NC ND NE NH NJ NM NV NY OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VA VT WA WI WV WY After weeks of shutdowns, 30 states have started or will soon begin to return to work and some parts of public life. Most of these states are reopening with more new cases or a higher share of positive tests than two weeks ago. The White House said states should have a downward trajectory of cases over a 14-day period before reopening. But most of the states reopening have actually had an increase of daily average cases in the past two weeks. If a state has not had a decrease in cases, the White House said it could still reopen if its share of positive coronavirus tests was lower than it was 14 days before. These states have a higher average share of positive test results than two weeks prior. If testing decreases though, positive results can decrease along with it. To follow the White House guidance, a state with a decreasing number of positive results should also have steady or increased testing. In South Dakota and Utah, reported testing has declined. The White Houses guidance also indicated that before reopening, states should see a decline in the number of patients with symptoms consistent with the coronavirus and resume normal hospital capacities, but the general guidelines lacked specifics on how to measure the recommendations. In recent weeks, public health experts have released estimates on the number of tests needed before a state can reopen safely, as well as its rate of positive results. Many states fail to meet that criteria as well. With so many places opening up before we see indicators of meaningful, sustained transmission declines, there is substantial risk of resurgence, said Kimberly Powers, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 01:00:57|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close British Health Secretary Matt Hancock arrives at 10 Downing Street for the COVID-19 committee meeting in London, Britain, on May 6, 2020. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua) "We have looked into this but we don't have any evidence that this is a man-made coronavirus." LONDON, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The British government has not seen any evidence to suggest that the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 was man-made, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said. Hancock made the remark while attending a Q&A program with Sky News on Wednesday to answer questions from the broadcaster's viewers and readers on coronavirus. Asked by viewer John Fletcher whether there is any link between the virus and laboratories researching virus in China's Wuhan, the secretary said: "well, we have looked into this but we don't have any evidence that this is a man-made coronavirus." "I understand what John (the viewer) is getting at but we haven't seen any evidence of that link," he added. People queue outside the departures area at Heathrow Airport in London, Britain, on May 1, 2020. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua) Hancock was then asked about why U.S. President Donald Trump had pushed the theory and whether Americans shared any evidence with their British counterpart. He said: "We haven't seen any evidence of a link and so there is nothing I have seen that confirms the discussion, the allegation that John is referring to that I know some people are talking about." Meanwhile, on May 1, the World Health Organization (WHO) reiterated that the 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." 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. BEIJING, May 6 (Xinhua) -- China has released its top 10 archaeological discoveries for 2019, according to the National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA). The findings, selected from a shortlist of 20 archaeological discoveries in 14 provincial-level regions, were announced after a final round of presentations, appraisal and voting held live online for the first time amid regular epidemic control efforts. The following is the list made public Tuesday by the NCHA: 1. Archaeologists unearthed a large number of relics including stone products, animal fossils and bone fossils from a cave site dating back to the Paleolithic Age in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Experts say the Jiege Cave which preserves human fossils and rich cultural remains from 100,000 to 15,000 years ago provides important archaeological evidence for the hypothesis that early modern humans in China and even in East Asia evolved from the local ancient population. 2. In northeastern province of Heilongjiang, archeologists have excavated a number of tombs and unearthed a trove of cultural relics including jade, stoneware and pottery, dating back around 9,000 years, at a Neolithic stone burial site by the side of a river on the border between China and Russia. 3. Excavation work has been carried out at an imperial town that is the core part of a 4,300-year-old city ruin in Shenmu City, northern Shaanxi. Pieces of pottery typical of the late Longshan Culture, a late Neolithic civilization in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, were unearthed. With an area of 4 million square meters, the site is the largest Neolithic city ever discovered in China and a valuable asset for research on the early civilization of northern China. 4. The Pingliangtai ruins are the regional center of the Longshan Culture and also believed to have the earliest and most complete drainage system and the earliest wheel ruts in China. Multiple cultural relics including jade wares and pottery were unearthed at the site in Henan Province. 5. A copper smelting site in Xiwubi Village in north China's Shanxi Province is one of the earliest of its kind in the Central Plains. The finding has provided direct evidence for research on early copper smelting technology and production methods and helped to further complete the picture of copper manufacturing in China. 6. An ancient jade mining site located about 68 km to the southeast of Dunhuang in northwestern province of Gansu is the earliest tremolite jade mine ever discovered in China. The site, covering an area of 3 million square meters, shows the history of mining and utilization of tremolite jade in that region dating back to 3,700 years ago. 7. Dating back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770 B.C.-476 B.C.), a group of graves that belonged to the nobility of the Zeng State were found in central China's Hubei Province. More than 50 graves and three horse pits have been excavated at the site, offering more clues to the history of the Zeng State. 8. The discovery of an ancient site in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region provided sound evidence of the governance of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.) and showcased the interwoven connection between the ethnic culture in Xinjiang and the culture of the Central Plains. 9. Archaeologists found a mural-decorated tomb dating back to the Tibetan Tubo Kingdom that existed more than 1,000 years ago in northwest China's Qinghai Province. The tomb is the first of its kind found on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with mural painting containing features of both Tang Dynasty (618 A.D.-907 A.D.) painting and the nomadic culture. The discovery is of great value for research on cultural communication along the ancient Silk Road. 10. Symbolized as the epitome of the development of China's underwater archaeology, the discovery and excavation of the Nanhai No. 1, a shipwreck dating back to the Song Dynasty (960 A.D.-1279 A.D.), sheds light on the prosperous maritime trade during that period and provides abundant evidence for research into the history of shipbuilding, ceramics, shipping and other aspects of ancient China and the whole of East and Southeast Asia. The selection of China's top 10 archaeological findings has been held every year since 1990. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot on Thursday expressed grief over the Visakhapatnam gas leak tragedy early on the day that killed at least 11 persons and affected over 1,000 people, leaving them gasping for breath. "Shocked to know about the terrible Vizag gas leak tragedy. My condolences to the bereaved families, who lost their loved ones. May God give them strength to bear this loss. Prayers for the speedy recovery of those injured," Gehlot said. Deputy Chief Minister Pilot called the incident sad and unfortunate. "It is very sad and unfortunate that many people died in an accident caused by the poisonous gas leaking from the factory of a multinational company in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh," Pilot said. He prayed for strength to the family members of those who lost their lives and wished speedy recovery of the injured. Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has also expressed grief over the incident. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (Adds right of first refusal details, updates stock) By Ernest Scheyder May 7 (Reuters) - Albemarle Corp said on Thursday it was interested in buying all or part of Tianqi Lithium Corp's controlling stake in Australia's Greenbushes, the world's largest lithium mine. Already the world's largest producer of lithium for electric vehicle batteries, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Albemarle would cement its control over the global market for the white metal were it to take control of Greenbushes, a hard rock lithium mine. Chengdu, China-based Tianqi, which owns 51 percent of Greenbushes to Albemarle's 49 percent, said last month it was exploring selling equity and assets, including Greenbushes, to cut debt. Albemarle has the right of first refusal over any stake sale, putting it in prime position over rivals Rio Tinto Plc and Wesfarmers Ltd , which have been seen as potential Greenbushes bidders. "We're interested in it. We're following it, but we're also mindful of the current market environment," Albemarle Chief Executive Kent Masters told investors on a Thursday conference call, adding there would be "more to come" from the company. "We know that the Chinese government will probably have influence on where that asset ends up," Masters said. Shares of Albemarle rose 5.4 percent to $61.03 in Thursday afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Tianqi did not immediately respond to a request for comment in overnight hours. Albemarle has an investment-grade credit rating and $1.7 billion in liquidity, potent tools for any large-scale acquisition. Masters said, though, that his top priority was maintaining the company's dividend. Lithium is most commonly found in brine and hard rock. Albemarle already operates in Chile's Atacama desert, the world's largest source of lithium from brine. By taking over Greenbushes, Albemarle would gain control over another cheap source of the white metal, and one far closer to Chinese customers than Chilean operations. Separately, Albemarle said Tianqi had agreed to repay $100 million it owes the Greenbushes joint venture, officially known as Talison Lithium. "We expect that they'll meet that plan, and we have actions that we've put in place to mitigate, if, for some reason, they don't meet the plan," Masters said. Albemarle posted better-than-expected quarterly results on Wednesday, but cut its 2020 budget and pulled its annual forecast as sales drop amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Franklin Paul, Jonathan Oatis and Will Dunham) +1-713-210-8512; Reuters Messaging: ernest.scheyder.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) Procurement of expensive aircraft parts to be done after approval of senior official: Air India Operations from India to US to be curtailed/revised from Jan 19 due to 5G roll-out: Air India Flight timings for Vande Bharat Mission today India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, May 07: The flight timings for the Vande Bharat missions for today have been released. The Air India Express flight between Abu Dhabi and Kochi will depart at 4.30 pm and arrive at 8.40 pm. Flight timings for #VandeBharatMission : - 1st flight: 7 May 2020 Air India Express Abu Dhabi- Kochi Dep: 1615 local time Arr: 2140 IST - 2nd flight Air India Express Dubai-Kozikode Dep: 1700hrs local time Arr: 2230 IST Prasar Bharati News Services (@PBNS_India) May 7, 2020 The second flight the Air India Express between Dubai and Kozhikode will department at 5 pm and arrive at 10.30 pm today. Vande Bharat: Over 3 lakh register in Gulf to return home The Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday held a flurry of meetings to fine tune arrangements for evacuation of thousands of stranded Indians from abroad under a mega exercise beginning Thursday. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla held a video-conference with chief secretaries of a number of states as part of efforts to ensure proper coordination in the operation christened ''Vande Bharat Mission'', sources said. As per the plan, the government will start sending flights to various countries from Thursday. They said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is personally keeping an eye on execution of the mission and held a series of meetings on the exercise also involving the Home Ministry, the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Health Ministry besides the states. The Ministry of External Affairs has deputed nodal officers for most of the states for the evacuation exercise. India to operate 64 flights to bring back 14,800 Indians from 13 countries Additional Secretary in the MEA Vikram Doraiswami has been assigned to coordinate with Kerala while another Additional Secretary Nagma Malik will coordinate with the government of Karnataka. Senior Indian Foreign Service Officer P Harish has been tasked to coordinate with Andhra Pradesh, Additional Secretary in MEA V Paul has been assigned Punjab and Additional Secretary B Bala Bhaskar will coordinate with Telangana, the sources said. Over 300,000 Indians in Gulf have registered for evacuation but the government will bring back people like pregnant women, elderly people, students and those having "compelling reasons" to return such as medical emergencies, expiry of visas and facing the prospect of deportation. The sources said all laid down guidelines like screening of people at origin countries as well as on arrival will be strictly followed and the states have been told to arrange for mandatory quarantine of the returnees. The immediate focus of the multi-agency operation will be to bring back Indians from the Gulf, countries in the neighbourhood as well as from the US, the UK and Singapore, the sources said. Initially, 64 flights will be operated from May 7 to May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals stranded abroad. The government has not given any estimate about how many Indians it plans to evacuate. The Indian Navy has already sent two of its ships to the Maldives for evacuating Indians stranded in the island nation while the Indian air force has kept ready about 30 transport aircraft including C-17 Globemaster and C-130J Super Hercules for any requirement. A sign directing patients with a cough or fever to return to their vehicle and call a triage phone line stands outside an entrance to Rochelle Community Hospital in Rochelle, Illinois, U.S., on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. But many of these procedures can only be delayed for weeks, and not months, without impacting patient health outcomes or their quality of life, and hospitals are desperately missing the lost revenue. So hospitals are looking for ways to re-open their doors to patients in a way that limits their risk of exposure. Back in March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Surgeon General and some of the largest medical specialty groups had advised hospitals to postpone planned procedures to ensure sufficient supplies would be available for Covid-19 patients and those treating them. "The reality is clear and the stakes are high: we need to preserve personal protective equipment for those on the front lines of this fight," said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. After months of delays, hospitals are starting to schedule patients for their medical procedures. Starting in early May, patients in about 20 states are getting rebooked for non-emergency procedures like hip and knee replacements, tumor removals and organ transplants, which had been delayed until further notice. We asked experts in various fields for their best predictions on what the world will look like when the coronavirus pandemic finally recedes. In this segment of our series, " The Next Norma l," we look at what experts are saying about when regular medical care might return. Things may never return to the way they were before the Covid-19 crisis. But eventually, the world will come back online. There's a huge financial incentive to rebook elective procedures, which might prompt some hospitals to move quickly. The American Hospital Association is now reporting that hospitals are bleeding more than $50 billion per month, and the chairman of the Department of Medicine at UC San Francisco, Dr. Bob Wachter, recently told CNBC that his hospitals lost more than $5 million per day in April alone. "What's amazing is how much we are dependent financially on these high cost elective procedures," said Dr. Esther Choo, an emergency room physician and health researcher at Oregon's Health & Science University. "That's the foundation of any hospital." But in many cases, resuming care is also necessary to prevent further complications. A surgery might be referred to as "elective" in medical terminology, but that doesn't mean they're optional, just not immediate emergencies -- for instance, cataract surgery, hip and knee replacements, mastectomies and even organ donations can be classified as elective. "If you delay these procedures, that itself can lead to problems and complications," noted the American College of Surgeons in a recent statement. "If cancer surgery is postponed indefinitely, for example, there is the potential risk that the disease will become more advanced." For many hospitals, there's already a huge backlog of patients that need care. Doctors on staff will need to determine the cases that should be seen first. They'll likely defer to the categories -- and even a new scoring system -- outlined by the leading surgical associations to help doctors determine the level of urgency and risk. Naturally, there are some grey areas. "It really depends on symptoms," said Dr. Jeffrey Swisher, chairman of the department of anesthesiology at California Pacific Medical Center. "If you have a torn meniscus, for example, it could be extremely elective -- but it could also turn into something painful, which would bump it up to a higher category." Medical experts weigh the following questions when deciding whether it makes sense to deliver care now or hold off: How urgently is the procedure needed? Is the patient in pain? Are they able to maintain their quality of life? How virulent is the virus in the local community? That last question means there may be big differences in different locations. A joint statement from the American College of Surgeons, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the Association of PeriOperative Registered Nurses and the American Hospital Association, warns that hospitals should not resume rescheduling elective procedures until they see "sustained reduction in the rate of new COVID-19 cases in the relevant geographic area for at least 14 days." The associations also advise administrators that the facility should have an appropriate number of beds, and that medical workers should have access to personal protective equipment and ventilators. Some states will meet the thresholds as they reopen, but others will not. And even when they reopen, patients might not show up. "If I had an elective procedure and I was in California, I personally wouldn't wait any longer," suggests UCSF's Wachter."But if I were in New York or Michigan, I probably would because there's a lot more virus around." Ultimately, medical experts say, doctors will need to be upfront with their patients about the risks. Otherwise, they might not seek care that they need. "Medical groups and hospitals need to be educating patients on what they can expect, being honest with them on the urgency behind their procedures and making it a very high-touch experience to enter their facilities while they continue to care for COVID-19 patients," said Tom Cassels, president of research and investment firm Rock Health. "Like the economy, hospitals don't just turn on and off like a faucet, and it will be a lot harder to re-open than it was to delay procedures." "It comes down to that relationship between patient and provider," said Dr. Jonathan Gleason, who is the executive vice president of clinical advancement and safety at Jefferson Health in the Greater Philadelphia Region. "If you have questions about whether it's safe to go in now or wait, talk to a doctor you trust." The United Nations on Thursday launched its updated Global Humanitarian Response that sought help and protection for the most vulnerable in poor countries. Nearly $7 billion (N2.6 trillion) is needed to implement the revised plan in no fewer than 60 of the worlds poorest countries. Besides protection of millions of lives, the initiative is also aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 (a respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus), in the target countries. It called for urgent and determined action to mitigate the huge impact of the pandemic in the low and middle-income countries. Although most of these nations had low COVID-19 burdens, their surveillance, laboratory testing and health systems were weak, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the update was an expansion of the initial plan launched on March 25, for which $2 billion (N752 billion) was needed. Speaking at the virtual event, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to donors to step up support to stop the disease around the world. Humanitarian aid is not just a moral imperative; it is a practical necessity to combat the virus. If COVID-19 wreaks havoc in the poorest places, we are all at risk, Mr Guterres said in a video message. READ ALSO: The UN Humanitarian Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, said action was needed to stop a significant rise in conflict, hunger, poverty, and looming famine. If we do not support the poorest people, especially women and girls and other vulnerable groups, as they battle the pandemic and impacts of the global recession, we will all be dealing with the spillover effects for many years to come. That will prove even more painful, and much more expensive, for everyone, Mr Lowcock said ahead of the launch. The UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, said the first plan has netted $1 billion (N376 billion) from donations. The UN said the money had been used to provide handwashing facilities in refugee camps and other vulnerable places. Part of the fund has also been used to provide countries with medical supplies such as gloves, surgical masks, N95 respirators and testing kits, Ms Mohammed stated. The organisation added that transport hubs for transporting supplies by air had also been established. Nearly two million people worldwide, including health workers, have been trained in virus identification via an online portable run by WHO, it said. (NAN) Nurse Tierra Norman Helps Keep Pandemic Frontline Strong COVID-19 may have changed the landscape of how we move about our daily lives, but for many medical professionals, its a chance to put their expertise into action. Tierra Norman is a registered nurse and department administrator over the Critical Care Unit at Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles. She spoke with the Sentinel about how she chose nursing as a profession, her daily routine and life after COVID-19. Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, Norman spent her teens in Inglewood and attended George Hale Middle School and El Camino Real High School. She furthered her education at El Camino Community College and received her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Western Governors University. She shared how the nursing profession has always been an influence, as it runs in the family. My moms a nurse, so its in my blood, in my veins, said Norman. ADVERTISEMENT I remember everything about nursing; that was all I was around. My grandmother, even though she wasnt a nurse, she was a psychiatric tech; so theres always been someone in the healthcare field that Ive been around. Nurses work long hours and have multiple tasks to perform throughout any given day. Norman shares what makes nursing worthwhile and what she likes most about her job. I really enjoy seeing people get better, said Norman. Its really sad that sickness is something that were going to always have around, but to be a part of someone getting better, that gives an inner satisfaction. It gives you a sense of purpose when youre able to participate in someone getting better especially seeing them at their worse state. She said, when the patients dont get better, is the challenging part about her job. She shared that nurses hope for the best and to do the best of their ability, but sometimes the outcome isnt positive. Sometimes it causes you to doubtespecially when you see young or old [patients]; the family is affected by that, you wonder if youve done enough. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on medical professionals around the world. Nurses, who are the backbone of hospitals, clinics, and medical facilities, are essential. Norman shares her schedule before and after COVID-19. ADVERTISEMENT I come in, I huddle with my staff, day-and-night shift; we talk about the operation of the unit, any positives, any updatesthe normal stuff. She continued, In between, were addressing the patient concerns that may come up, any employee concerns and of course, the meetings, scheduling, things of that sortthat was pre COVID-19. She shared that COVID-19 didnt alter her daily schedule, but added more to it. Now, Norman must make sure she is applying day-to-day updates on procedure and protocol concerning the virus and make sure staff is aware. Its all those things plus more, said Norman. Were making sure were implementing processes that are not only keeping the patients safe, [but] the family [and] staff safe. We want to make sure that any process that weve implemented are being followed through. Norman continued, Making sure I have more presence in the unit because, even though theyre a lot of processes we have in place, we also have to be concerned about the mental and emotional state of our staff, because this is hard for them too. Theyre not only dealing with patients in the hospital, but theyre also dealing with their personal fears and anxieties that theyre trying to keep leveled out and also stay present for the patients theyre taking care of and their families. Norman said its all-hands-on-deck and making sure on a daily basis that she is working closely with infection prevention at Kaiser West L.A., the CDC and that staff are up-to-date on the latest information. Recently, multiple states started to ease quarantine restrictions and many have begun to go back to work and play. Most of L.A. County is still under shelter-at-home even though some are foregoing the suggestion and even, rebuking, social distancing in some instances. Norman shared what people can do to remain safe if they choose to return to business as usual. If youre not feeling well, you need to stay indoors, stay home, take care of yourself, take care of your family and cardinal rule of nursing: washing your handsyou can never do enough hand washing. She added, Educating yourself [and] staying up-to-date with information, so even if the guidelines, the shelter-in orders are lifted, we still want to wear our masks, if thats still the direction from the CDC, you still want to do those basic thingscovering your mouth when you cough, cover your nose and mouth when youre sneezing, things like that. Norman and countless nurses around the world are working hard to keep people alive, safe and healthy during this pandemic. Thank you is almost an understatement for the sacrifices theyre making, but its part of the job and Norman has chosen that responsibility. She wanted to share some advice with the community during this unsettling time. Well all get through this together, said Norman. Its been a while since weve had a pandemic of this kind, but I think that as long as we stay abreast of the situation, as long as we are following guidelines and caring enough about each other as a community to contribute to not spreading [COVID-19], I think well definitely get through this together. BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 By Leman Zeynalova - Trend: Slovenia and Azerbaijan should unleash the untapped opportunities not only in trade cooperation but also in services and investments, Minister of Economic Development and Technology Zdravko Pocivalsek told Trend. "Slovenia and Azerbaijan have long and friendly diplomatic relationship, although the economic cooperation is quite modest. Currently it is based on the trade and in the vast majority on the export of goods from Slovenia to Azerbaijan," said the minister. "This is something we need to work on although Slovenian business community cooperates quite well with the Azerbaijani companies." Pocivalsek pointed out that the cooperation has been supported by the Association of Friendship between Slovenia and Azerbaijan and also by the Slovenian-Azerbaijani Business Council. "Nonetheless, we are aware that it could be upgraded and that the exchange of information about the potentials of each country is essential." As for the new spheres of cooperation, the minister pointed out those which are green, creative and smart, which is also in line with Slovenias slogan for economy and also with the sustainable development. "I am convinced that we can create a lot of green solutions, creative ideas and take smart decisions for mutual benefit and increase the economic cooperation between Slovenia and Azerbaijan. We just need to get to know each other better," he said. Pocivalsek went on to add that in Slovenia business has been thriving, which has resulted in strong economic growth in the last few years. "Every company and investor, which has a clear vision of business in Slovenia, sustainable attitude and responsibility is more than welcome in Slovenia. We offer a stimulating and stable business environment," he said. The minister said the Slovenian government is committed to improve it even further with proactive reforms and is constantly taking measures to create a competitive, transparent, simple and investor-friendly environment. "Our central geostrategic position at the heart of Europe with direct access to the Adriatic sea and modern infrastructure are important factors of our competitiveness. Among all our comparative advantages I would like to emphasise that our important advantage lies in people who are highly motivated, educated and experienced with good knowledge of languages and strong regional connections. They can offer tailor made services and customized solutions in combination with innovative products and technologies," said Pocivalsek. He pointed out that the companies, which are operating in Slovenia, are demonstrating every day that they can compete effectively in the global market while at the same time exploring local advantages. "We are committed to diversify our exports further and to develop products and services with high added value. In order to accelerate this process, we wish to attract investment with high-tech products and services. Slovenia prides itself also with numerous institutions of innovative environment and research institutions, which are getting high awards on different levels and benefit from our support environment and incentives for R&D. R&D and technology transfer is just one more option for the increase of our cooperation," Pocivalsek concluded. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn The cheques are being written, but some Manitoba seniors don't feel deserving of a $200 gift from the Pallister government and have no intention of keeping it. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 6/5/2020 (622 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The cheques are being written, but some Manitoba seniors don't feel deserving of a $200 gift from the Pallister government and have no intention of keeping it. It might be good news for some local not-for-profit organizations. Premier Brian Pallister announced Tuesday plans for a one-time payout to all Manitobans over 65 to help them deal with additional costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. A day later, many would-be recipients harshly criticized the $45-million Seniors Economic Recovery Credit (going to an estimated 225,000 seniors). Charleswood resident Bernie Toews said he and his wife, Iris, will turn the money over to a charity, possibly Winnipeg Harvest or Hospitality House Refugee Ministry. MIKE SUDOMA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Charleswood residents Iris and Bernie Toews say they will turn their $200 Seniors Economic Recovery Credit over to a charity. "It's wrong and very callous. Let's help the people, the wonderful Manitobans that really need help," Toews said, during an interview Wednesday. "I've lost money and some of my investments went south, but we're going to be OK. But lots of people aren't. "I keep thinking of young people who have mortgages and car payments and kids, activities, clothing and money for a birthday gift. I'd hate to be in their shoes." Just 14 per cent of Manitoba seniors who will be receiving a $200 cheque from the province this month live below the poverty line, according to Statistics Canada's market basket measure, which determines the official poverty line. According to 2016 census data, it's $18,272 for a single person in Winnipeg. Toews said the government is pandering to the one group in Manitoba least impacted financially by the novel coronavirus crisis. "It's wrong and very callous. Let's help the people, the wonderful Manitobans that really need help. I've lost money and some of my investments went south, but we're going to be OK. But lots of people aren't." Bernie Toews "Health-wise, definitely. But most people who are retired are living within their means and doing OK... Some aren't, I'm sure, but we're not the largest group that's so badly off," he said. "By the time we retire, you don't have debt and you just end up doing without. You get used to living a certain way." Selkirk resident Olof Hardy has no interest in cashing her cheque when it arrives, either. "I find it very strange to be sending $200 to all kinds of people who don't need it, when there are so many others who need it badly. I decided right away: I'm giving mine to the Selkirk food bank," Hardy said. "I was shocked, and (the province's move) really offended me. It's such a shallow way of doing things." Hardy, 83, whose husband died in February, said she's far from wealthy but able to get by. "I have enough. I'm not hungry and I'm not in need, and I have supportive family," she said. Winnipeg senior Wally Jackson said his cheque will go straight to Winnipeg Harvest food bank. "I'm really not sure what the government's thinking on this. The explanation is that seniors could really use the money; Pallister's a senior himself and I don't think he needs the money," said Jackson. "When I retired I did some volunteer work (at the city food bank) and appreciate what they're doing, and most people do. It seems like they always need donations or cash." 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. Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, Pallister defended the governments blanket approach. He said an income-tested program "would have taken months to roll out" and seniors who need support right now wouldnt have been able to receive it in a timely manner. "You want to get the money out there. I applaud any Manitoban who wants to donate to a charity or a worthy cause, and I thank those seniors who are able to afford to do that for doing that," he said. One of Pallisters assistants said the premier who turned 65 in July 2019 will be donating his cheque to charity. jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPJasonBell Covid-19 has affected more than three million persons worldwide with a death toll of nearly a quarter-million. The virus originated in China but has caused the greatest havoc in the West with the highest number of fatalities in the United States. Obviously, in the war against Covid, geo-politics has assumed centre stage with even references to misuse of biology. The US is in election mode and the President cannot afford backfire from the spectre of massive deaths and a huge economic downturn due to the prolonged lockdown. The need of the hour Obviously, China is in the crosshairs but so is the World Health Organization (WHO) with its Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus from Ethiopia, accused of being in collusion with the Chinese and delaying the announcement of the pandemic. With the US, both as a government but also through its private entities, being by far its biggest financial contributor, the WHO must reform for its own sake and for human good and bind China, the challenger to the global order, in a compact with the US. And, developing countries must be mainstreamed in the running of the organisation. Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has been accused of being in collusion with the Chinese and delaying the announcement of the pandemic. (Photo: Reuters) Indeed, but for India having managed a tight lid on Covid-19 deaths, the global figure would have skyrocketed even further. WHO reform was, therefore, naturally underscored by PM Modi in a video call with G20 leaders on the Covid pandemic. India will be joining the Executive Board (EB) of the WHO in the coming weeks, taking over from Sri Lanka, whose three-year term is ending and also take over the Chair of the EB for a year as part of a rotational system in vogue at the WHO. Normally, the EB meets twice a year and, in the past, has hardly played any significant role other than in the election of the DG. This time, however, things are different and this opportunity must be utilised to push reforms and enhance our place in the governance structure of the WHO. Of course, this will not be easy with demands to call out China, take a position on the continuation of the DG and help in the admission of Taiwan, which would be an anathema to China. As per extant rules, membership of the EB is held by a person technically qualified in health nominated by the country elected to serve on the Board. Given the scenario, at this time it is important that our nominee also have skillsets for navigating the pitfalls of international relations. In addition, he/she should be diplomatically backstopped. Furthermore, it would be useful if the Chair could remain positioned in Geneva through the year and be a hands-on player in the WHO processes as they unfold through this year and the next. Pointers for future In so far as reform of the WHO and reimaging the global health architecture post-Covid-19, four specific points are suggested. The first is governance restructuring at the WHO underscoring its inter-governmental nature. The 34-member Executive Board, presently consisting of nominees from countries elected on geographical representation, should be replaced by a standing body, the (World) Health Council, consisting of Government representatives. Ideally, the Council should not be more than 20 countries balancing regional representation and those with the greatest capacities in the area of health, including from the developing world. It should provide executive oversight and instruct action at WHO. Equally important is legislative action. A legally binding mechanism is required on early notification of virus or pandemic type outbreaks; this must go well beyond the International Health Regulations and could be through a global Convention enforced by the WHO. At the same time, mechanisms should be established within the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention for legally binding bio-surveillance, verification and compliance so that the possibility of misuse of biology is legally hindered through a global compact. Pandemics carry global dangers and it is important that we come together in research and development on virus and vaccine development no matter that commercial considerations have precluded this from happening till now. The laboratories of the World Bank-financed Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research (CGIAR) which have done yeoman service in food security provide an excellent template. And finally, the various provisions under the WTOs TRIPS Agreement should be fortified to ensure that developing countries have affordable access to anti-dotes developed for pandemics. Objective approach At present, the demanders for action at WHO, led by the US, are loud and appear to have the upper hand. President Trump has withheld US funding for the WHO and shrill criticism of the DG begets questions on the tenability of his position. Key engagements on reform must, of course, start with the US but also with the African countries given the nationality of the DG and sensitivities of the countries in the region that nominated him. Though changing the General in the middle of a war cannot be a preferred strategy, it must be done if required. As far as China is concerned, no matter whether the virus emanated from a laboratory or a wet market, they are unlikely to have preferred that the announcement of their coming of age in the quest for global hegemony was done by a pandemic. (Courtesy of Mail Today) Also read: Lessons to be learnt as India battles the Covid-19 challenge For many parents, the past two months have been a balancing act of both tasks and emotions. Weve had some of the most amazing family time and weve been incredibly frustrated, said Whitney Anderson, mother of 6-year-old twins and a 1999 international studies graduate from Virginia Tech. Sometimes the experience makes you feel incredibly grateful; other times, youre thinking, this is bananas. The internet communications manager for Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia, Anderson has been working remotely while also helping her twins wrap up kindergarten from home since both the college and childrens school system began COVID-19-related closures in mid-March. By the 23rd of that month, Gov. Ralph Northam declared all Virginia K-12 schools closed for the remainder of the school year. That was just like a sucker punch, Anderson said. The logical part of me knew this was going to happen, but the emotional part of me just wasnt ready for it. I think I understood a lot more the feeling that a lot of our students [at Roanoke College] were going through. The impact of the pandemic has swept across the globe and changed what daily life looks like for the majority of people. Its also altered what parenting looks like for many mothers and fathers, as juggling a familys basic needs with job requirements and at-home education have quickly become an unexpected norm and at times created some stressful dynamics. The parent guilt is strong right now, said Cindy Smith, an associate professor and the director of graduate studies for the Department of Human Development and Family Science in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. I think we all just need to allow ourselves some grace. Smith also runs the Childrens Emotions Lab at Virginia Tech. She and her husband are both currently balancing working remotely while also trying to help their 7-year-old son finish out his school year from home. Its like a balloon; when the parenting side goes up, the work side has to go down, she said. Navigating this can be taxing, but Smith said parents looking out for themselves is actually one of the most helpful things they can do for their kids. Children are picking up on the stress around them; if parents are feeling overwhelmed, children can see it, and research has shown that parents who are feeling more stress tend to engage in less optimal parenting behaviors, Smith said. If parents are able to cope with their feelings, then they will be better parents to their children. If parents are able to still have interactions with their children that are high in positive emotions, the effects of stress that the parents are feeling might not be conveyed as strongly to their children. The specific challenges families face during this time can vary greatly depending on such factors as family composition, job flexibility, and income level. Smith emphasized that this reality means there is not one model that will work for all families. Not every strategy is going to work for every child, Smith said. You have to figure out what works best for your child. Still, there are some general guidelines that could prove helpful for many families. Set up separate work spaces for family members. Develop a family schedule. Communicate when children are and are not allowed to interrupt parents. Limit the childs exposure to news. Set achievable goals for work. Set aside time to engage in activities both parents and children enjoy. This can increase the positive mood of both parties. Recognize and accept that both parents and children will not be as productive during this time. Smith also encourages parents to provide children with opportunities to ask questions and express their fears about the pandemic. She notes that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published guidance for such conversations. Closing in on two months of parenting twins while also trying to work from home, Anderson said trial and error have taught her what works with her family. Day one was an absolute disaster of epic proportions. It ended with me sitting on my front steps, weeping, after they went to bed, she said. After that, we basically set up a working schedule where we had shifts, and from then on thats what weve done, and its really worked a whole lot better. Anderson said shes learned to lower her own expectations and to be okay with not having a plan for every moment of her childrens day. We cant do everything, she said. And sometimes you just have to let them be bored because you have no idea what they can come up with. Written by Travis Williams San Francisco officials have secured a six-month lease for 51 rooms in a downtown hotel that will soon become temporary supportive housing for people eligible for pretrial release from jail but have no home. The rooms will be available to homeless individuals already released from jail under a pretrial diversion initiative and unhoused people who are currently in pretrial detention. The first residents could be moved in next week. The initiative, the first of its kind at this scale in San Francisco, represents one way for the city to continue thinning out its jail population, a task that has taken on greater urgency during the coronavirus pandemic. Jails, where people have little opportunity to distance themselves from one another, remain among the most at-risk places for outbreaks. One of our biggest concerns from the beginning of this pandemic has been congregate living situations that are especially vulnerable to outbreaks, like our jails, Mayor London Breed said in a statement. This is yet another innovative effort to respond to these unprecedented circumstances. To date, three people have tested positive for COVID-19 prior to booking, according to the Sheriffs Department. Five department staffers have also tested positive, including two who worked in the jails. San Franciscos Adult Probation Department will oversee the supportive housing aspects of the program, dealing with the day-to-day needs of residents and helping to connect them with services. The department will also provide a variety of classes and support groups delivered over video conference like anger management and parenting courses, which are common features of the departments work with people on probation. Adult probation workers will also help find more permanent housing options for residents, said Karen Fletcher, San Franciscos chief adult probation officer. We want to create viable plans for people, she said. Her department has also financed the $500,000 cost of renting the hotel rooms during the six-month pilot program. The San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project will provide case-management services for residents. Just 20 rooms will have their own bathrooms, which could complicate efforts to keep residents as far apart as possible. If all 51 rooms fill up, five people would end up sharing a single bathroom, Fletcher said. But deep cleanings will be performed twice daily, she said. The rooms will have their own refrigerators and sinks. San Franciscos jail population has decreased steadily in recent years, thanks in part to expanded pretrial diversion programs, depressed violent-crime rates and reforms enacted to prevent people from staying behind bars because they cant afford bail. 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 March, San Francisco Superior Court closed 80% of its courtrooms in response to the pandemic and delayed court filings and trials. Last month, the states Judicial Council, which sets policy for Californias courts, adopted a statewide emergency bail schedule setting bail at $0 for most misdemeanor and lower-level felonies in an effort to safely reduce jail populations statewide. We should not have to choose between public health and public safety, Supervisor Catherine Stefani said in a statement. Stefani has raised concerns about the citys handling of inmate-release programs. By providing housing, on-site case management and supportive services, this is another critical step to protect the most vulnerable San Franciscans including victims of crime during this pandemic, she said. Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa Its not returning to business as usual, said Dr. Gary Stuck, chief medical officer for Advocate Aurora Health. I cant stress this enough: People will need to take precautions for a long time, and we are making sure the steps we take at our sites of care provide reassurance and a safe environment for our patients and team members. Straight from city council A personal view, by Councillor Steve Morris Government spending during recessions to prop up an economy when businesses and households reduce spending is a cornerstone of Keynesian economics. Council has a role in keeping our local economy working too. We intended spending nearly $250m next year on infrastructure ranging from the Waiari Water Treatment Plant, so we can end water restrictions, to sewage plant upgrades, to new road projects like the Papamoa East Interchange. These provide local employment and build a better city. However, were forecasting up to a $70m reduction in revenue due to COVID-19; made up of reductions in building fees, other fees such as the pools remaining closed, and less people able to pay rates. The revenue reduction is significant because were shackled to a debt limit of no more than 250 per cent of our revenue. This could force us to cut the works budget down to as low as $10m right at the time when our community is crying out for jobs; worsening the recession locally. In my view, putting rates up to cover the shortfall isnt an option. We cant add to the pain households and businesses are feeling. In the worst economic event since the great depression we need to be bold. Now is the time to borrow to keep our local economy going. Increasing debt is prudent because both short and long-term interest rates are the lowest they have been in living memory. Its not just TCC that needs to step up; Regional Council holds $2 billion in assets, largely through its shareholding in the Port of Tauranga. If the worst economic forecasts in 100 years doesnt justify leveraging that investment to create jobs when will it ever? Yesterday, the news that the U.K. now has the worst coronavirus death toll in Europe coincided with the Telegraphs revelation that Neil Ferguson, the lead epidemiologist at Imperial College and key adviser to the British government, had been caught with his pants down, breaking his own social-distancing rules. Ferguson, you may recall sometimes nicknamed Professor Lockdown was the chap who warned the government that there could be up to 500,000 deaths if it didnt immediately change course, maneuvering from a mitigation to a suppression strategy against COVID-19. Such was his influence that, almost overnight, the government abandoned its pursuit of herd immunity, rolling out the biggest restrictions of healthy and law-abiding peoples civil liberties that the country has ever seen. Ferguson strongly believed that his advice would save countless lives, and perhaps it has. But why, then, didnt he follow it himself? All while lecturing the public on the importance of cooperating with nationwide house imprisonment, Ferguson was conducting an affair with his married lover, who travelled across London on multiple occasions to visit him. The timeline provided by The Telegraph, who broke the story, leaves little room for excuses. It shows that while Ferguson briefed the country to stay put, his lover, superbly cast as the 38-year-old Antonia Staats (get it?), a left-wing activist, was traveling to and fro between her husband, their kids, and her $2 million home for her quarantine rendezvous with her favorite government scientist. As if this story couldnt get any more bourgeois, the husband apparently wasnt bothered by this, because the couple have an open marriage. It is the kind of story the British press love. Hypocrisy, stupidity, and a brilliant distraction from more pressing (and depressing) matters. Britain is currently in its seventh week of the lockdowns. In England and Wales, officials dispense a fine for breaking lockdown protocols every five minutes. Hypocrisy is the only remaining sin in secular Britain. Of course, the fact that Staats is married is neither here nor there. Brits no longer expect government officials and advisers to be faithful spouses. The infuriating part is that her first visit coincided with a public warning from Ferguson that lockdown measures were essential and would have to be prolonged. Meanwhile, her subsequent visits occurred after she had told friends that she suspected her husband had contracted COVID-19. Ferguson himself spent two weeks in complete isolation, having contracted coronavirus. So, here is a person instructing the country on how to live, in order to save lives, via the most draconian measures ever willingly tolerated in a liberal democracy, while flouting his own rules. Story continues I made an error of judgment and took the wrong course of action, Ferguson said in a statement. I deeply regret any undermining of the clear messages around the continued need for social distancing to control this devastating epidemic. The Government guidance is unequivocal and is there to protect all of us. His Im sorry I was caught apology resembles the one used a month ago by Scotlands chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood, who was forced to resign after twice visiting her holiday home against government advice. People across Scotland know what they need to do to reduce the spread of this virus and that means they must have complete trust in those who give them advice, she said. When asked by a journalist whether he thinks Ferguson ought to be prosecuted, Matt Hancock, the health minister, said that would be a matter for the police. In the meantime, Ferguson will now step back from his involvement in SAGE, the governments Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies. Fergusons critics will be enjoying his fall from grace. Though the lockdowns are generally popular in Britain, some feel that the U.K. made a mistake in departing from the herd immunity strategy, similar to Swedens, and that policymakers have become overly reliant on science based on incomplete data and ever-shifting models that often prove wrong. In 2005, Ferguson said that up to 200 million people could be killed from the bird flu. But only 282 people died worldwide between 2003 and 2009. In 2009, he predicted that the swine flu would, as a reasonable worst-case scenario, cause 65,000 deaths. It killed 457. In 2001, his team at Imperial advised that 6 million cattle, sheep, and pigs be killed, costing the British economy 10 billion ($12 billion) a move that was criticized by fellow professionals as a serious error. In relation to the coronavirus, the Stanford team under John Ioannidis says that the Imperial model is based on assumptions that could lead the predicted death-toll numbers to be substantially inflated. The Telegraph, in its report on Fergusons fall from grace, was sure to include these faulty predications as well. So Ferguson made an error of judgment in breaking his own social-distancing rules, but does mean that he is also wrong in his coronavirus modeling? Not necessarily. The bigger story from yesterday is that the U.K. has the worst coronavirus death rates in Europe. Its quite possible that a future public inquiry will reveal that this was due to the governments slow, indecisive initial response. And that Ferguson is just one part of a much larger story about lousy leadership. More from National Review 07.05.2020 LISTEN I have no opinion on this Madagascan medicine for Coronavirus, except it keeps going viral as a cure. What I want to see is scientific opinion on it after trials. If youve seen any please point me to it. I read this post via https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Coronavirus-Gabby-Otchere-shares-view-about-Madagascan-cure-943837 titled Coronavirus: Gabby Otchere shares view about Madagascan cure Yes! As we wait for the scientific opinion on it after the trials, I have decided to draw to the attention of Mr. Gabby Otchere Darko some research conducted on the ingredient being marketed in the Madagascan herbal remedy. The ingredient is artemisinin anua. Now, I have decided to conduct a meta-analysis on this plant as we wait for the trial on the product itself. Background Currently, there are no effective treatments against COVID-19. Medications commonly used against malaria or Ebola, as well as antiviral drugs, are being considered for repurposing. Herbal treatments used in Traditional Chinese Medicine were explored to treat coronavirus infections during the SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV outbreaks. Initial studies in China showed the alcoholic extract of sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua) was the second most potent herbal medicine used on the 2005 SARS-CoV. COVID-19 is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus that is contagious in humans. Like the SARS-related coronavirus strain implicated in the early 2000s SARS outbreak, SARS-CoV-2 is a member of the same subgenus. SARS-CoV-2 is unique among known beta-coronaviruses in its incorporation of a polybasic cleavage site, a characteristic known to increase pathogenicity and transmissibility in other viruses. So there are similarities between those two viruses. What is Artemisin Anua aka Sweet Wormwood? Elisabeth in a field of sweet wormwood, Artemisia annua L ... Annie Price, 2020 had this to say: Artemisia absinthium is an odorous, perennial that belongs to the Asteraceae or Compositae family, more commonly known as the daisy family. This artemisia plant releases an aromatic odor and has a spicy, bitter taste. Many species of the artemisia family tend to have medicinal properties. Its related to Artemisia vulgaris, or mugwort , another medicinal herb. The wormwood plant is native to Europe and parts of Africa and Asia. Today, it also grows wild in the U.S., most commonly along roads or paths. Artemisinin Anua? The common name is Sweet wormwood. Others are; i. sweet annie, ii. sweet sagewort, iii. annual mugwort or iv. annual wormwood, is a common type of wormwood native to temperate Asia but naturalized in parts of North America. So Wormwood or artemisin anua can be used either fresh or dried. All the aerial portions (stem, leaves and flowers) of the plant have medicinal uses and wormwood tea is commonly consumed for a range of ailments. The essential oil is extracted from the leaves and flowering tops by steam distillation. One study conducted by A. Rezaeinodehi and S. Khangholi , 2018 to investigate the composition of essential oil of wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L.) growing wild in Iran found that it contains at least 28 components representing 93.3 percent of the oil. The main components are - pinene (23.8 percent) and - thujone (18.6 percent). Thujone is the potentially poisonous chemical found in wormwood. Distilling the herb in alcohol increases the thujone concentration, which is what makes absinthe such a debatable liquor of choice. Wormwoods biologically active compounds include according to Annie Price, 2020: acetylenes (trans-dehydromatricaria ester, C13 and C14 trans-spiroketalenol ethers, and others) ascorbic acid (vitamin C) azulenes (chamazulene, dihydrochamazulenes, bisabolene, camphene, cadinene, sabinene, trans-sabinylacetate, phellandrene, pinene and others) carotenoids flavonoids (quercitin 3-glucoside, quercitin 3-rhamnoglucoside, spinacetin 3-glucoside, spinacetin 3-rhamnoglucoside, and others) lignins (diayangambin and epiyangambin) phenolic acids (p-hydroxyphenylacetic, p-coumaric, chlorogenic, protocatechuic, vanillic, syringic and others) tannins thujone and isothujone sesquiterpene lactones (absinthin, artabsin, anabsinthin, artemetin, artemisinin, arabsin, artabin, artabsinolides, artemolin, matricin, isoabsinthin and others) Studies on Health Benefits: Malaria Artemisinin is an extract isolated from the plant Artemisia annua, or sweet wormwood. Artemisinin is therefore an herbal drug currently the most powerful antimalarial on the market. No doubt about that and it is made from this herbal plant being by conventional practitioners and conventional pharmaceutical drugs. So you that, most powerful pharmaceutical drugs are derived from herbal plants. This drug decreases the number of parasites in the blood of patients with malaria. The World Health Organization recommends artemisinin-based combination to be accessed at https://www.who.int/malaria/media/artemisinin_resistance_qa/en/ therapies as first-line treatment for uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria. This is what the WHO had to say: Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) are recommended by WHO as the first-and second-line treatment for uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria as well as for chloroquine-resistant P. vivax malaria. ACTs combine an artemisinin derivative1 with a partner drug. The role of the artemisinin compound is to reduce the number of parasites during the first 3 days of treatment (reduction of parasite biomass), while the role of the partner drug is to eliminate the remaining parasites (cure). Recent experiments have shown that artemisinin is effective against the malaria parasite because it reacts with the high levels of iron in the parasite to produce free radicals. The free radicals then destroy the cell walls of the malaria parasite. There are hundreds of scientific studies that have been published on this plant and malaria treatment. Cancer Some research suggests that it may show promise in future cancer treatments. Research indicates that the compound could inhibit the growth of tumors and metastasis. Recent studies asserted that artemisinin can battle iron-enriched breast cancer cells similar to the way it eliminates malaria-causing parasites, making it a potential natural cancer treatment option for women with breast cancer. The premise is that Cancer cells can also be rich in iron since they commonly soak it up to facilitate cell division. So the researchers in a 2012 study tested samples of breast cancer cells and normal breast cells that had first been treated to maximize their iron content. The cells were then treated with a water-soluble form of artemisinin, an extract of wormwood. The result demonstrated that, the normal cells showed little change, but within 16 hours, almost all of the cancer cells were dead and only a few normal cells were killed. Bioengineer Henry Lai believes that because a breast cancer cell contains five to 15 more receptors than normal, it absorbs iron more readily and hence is more susceptible to artemisinins attack. A 2015 review conducted by AK Das looked at 127 investigations into the effects of antimalarials on cancer, also suggested that artemisinin could have anticancer properties. It similarly notes that there has not yet been enough research in humans to understand the true effects. In another 2012 conducted by Lai et al, the authors had this to say on artemisinin compounds compounds are promising potent anticancer compounds that produce significantly less side effect than traditional chemotherapeutic agents. The authors reported that simple compounds of artemisinin are less potent and break down more quickly than traditional cancer treatments. This could mean that people who use this therapy in the future require high, frequent doses. Despite the lack of high-quality, large-scale research into the effects of artemisinin on cancer in humans, some scientists remain hopeful. According to MedicalNewsToday, A group of researchers looked at all of the research, conducted between 1983 and 2018, into the effects of artemisinin and its derivatives on cancer, and they reported the following : Several studies suggest that artemisinin and its synthetic forms can target cancer cells when combined with chemotherapy. Artemisinin may produce fewer side effects than traditional cancer treatments. Study sizes tended to be small, which means that their results are less reliable. Researchers need further studies to know how safe artemisinin is for humans and how artemisinin affects cancer cells. They also need further studies to determine how artemisinin interacts with cancer drugs. According to the researches published in Life Science, artemisinin, a Sweet wormwood or Artemisia Annua derivative, was used in Chinese medicine and it can kill 98% of lung cancer cells in less than 16 hours. The herb used by itself reduces lung cancer cells up to 28%, but in combination with iron, Artemisia Annua successfully and completely erases cancer, and in the experiment this herb had no impact on healthy lung cells. Eliminates Parasites Wormwood is used to eliminate intestinal worms, including pinworms, roundworms and tapeworms. Pinworms are the most common worm infection in the U.S. with pinworm eggs spread directly from person to person. Roundworms, or nematodes, are parasites that also infect human intestines, and tapeworms are long, flat worms that infect animal and human intestines. A 2018 animal study by Beshay indicates that wormwood induced worm paralysis, death and ultrastructural alternations. This study was a trial to find an alternative to praziquantel by assessing the activity of the crude aqueous extract of the medicinal herb Artemisia absinthium against H. nana. In vitro, the extract was used against adult worms at concentrations of 1 and 5 mg/ml, in comparison with 1 mg/ml of PZQ. The times of worm paralysis and death were determined Another study conducted this time in Sweden by Waller et al 2001 demonstrates that for the purpose of deworming farm animals, a combination of wormwood, mugwort, chicory and common tansy are believed to have anti-parasite properties. Crohns Disease Crohns disease is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) causes inflammation of the lining of the digestive tract, which can lead to abdominal pain, severe diarrhea , fatigue, weight loss and malnutrition. Its estimated that 1.4 million Americans suffer from Crohns disease or ulcerative colitis (collectively known as inflammatory bowel diseases or IBD). On this condition, One significant study conducted by Omer et al 2007, this time in Germany, a double-blind one examined the effectiveness of an herbal blend containing wormwood at a dose of 500 milligrams three times per day versus a placebo over 10 weeks in 40 patients suffering from Crohns disease who were already on a steady daily dose of steroids. This initial stable dose of steroids was maintained until week 2, after that a defined tapering schedule was started so that by the beginning of week 10 all the patients were steroid-free. The authors found that there was a steady improvement in Crohns disease symptoms in 18 patients (90 percent) who received wormwood in spite of the decrease of steroids. After eight weeks of treatment with wormwood, there was almost complete remission of symptoms in 13 (65 percent) patients in this group as compared to none in the placebo group. This remission lasted until the end of the observation period, which was 20 weeks (12 weeks later), and the addition of steroids was not necessary. The results were truly remarkable and suggestive of wormwood being able to decrease or eliminate the need for steroids in Crohns disease patients. Furthermore, results indicate that wormwood has positive effects on mood and quality of life, which is not achieved by other standard Crohns disease medications. Has Antimicrobial and Antifungal Abilities Wormwood has both antimicrobial and antifungal properties. For instance, one in vitro studies conducted by Blagojevic et al 2006 demonstrated that the essential oils of wormwood have antimicrobial activity. The study postulated that wormwood oil exhibits a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity against several bacterial strains, including E. coli and salmonella. In the US, annually, salmonella is estimated to cause 1 million food-borne illnesses alone, with 19,000 hospitalizations and 380 deaths. E. coli is another concerning type of bacteria that can cause a range of issues from diarrhea to urinary tract infections to pneumonia and other illnesses. Its ability is not limited to bacteria alone. Kordali et al 2005 study demonstrates that essential oil distilled from the aerial parts of Artemisia absinthium inhibited the growth of a very broad spectrum of tested fungi (11 to be exact). The wormwood essential oil also showed antioxidant properties during testing. A 2003 study by Juteau et al concludes that A. absinthium oil inhibits the growth of Candida albicans, a most common type of yeast infection found in the mouth, intestinal tract and vagina, and it may affect skin and other mucous membranes. Treats SIBO SIBO is the acronym for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, defined as excessive bacteria in the small intestine, or small bowel. While bacteria naturally occur throughout the digestive tract, in a healthy system, the small intestine has relatively low levels of bacteria; its supposed to be at highest concentrations in the colon. The small intestine is the longest section of the digestive tract. This is where the food intermingles with digestive juices, and the nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. If SIBO is indicated, malabsorption of nutrients , particularly fat-soluble vitamins and iron , can quickly become a problem. When in proper balance, the bacteria in the colon helps digest foods and the body absorb essential nutrients Conventional treatment of SIBO is limited to oral antibiotics with varying rates of effectiveness. A 2014 study conducted by Chedid et al had 104 patients who tested positive for newly diagnosed SIBO take either a high dose of rifaximin or an herbal therapy daily for four weeks. The herbal products were specifically chosen because they contained antimicrobial herbs like wormwood, oregano oil, thyme and berberine extracts, which have been shown to provide broad-spectrum coverage against the types of bacteria most commonly involved in SIBO. Of the patients who received herbal therapy, 46 percent showed no evidence of SIBO on follow-up tests compared to 34 percent of rifaximin users. Adverse effects reported among those taking rifaximin included anaphylaxis, hives, diarrhea and C. difficile colitis, while only one case of diarrhea and no other side effects were reported in the herbal therapy group. The study concluded that herbal therapies are at least as effective as rifaximin for eradication of SIBO. Additionally, the herbal therapy with wormwood appears to be just as effective as triple antibiotic therapy for individuals who dont respond to rifaximin. Wormwood Interesting Facts Annie Price, 2020, article titled Wormwood: The Parasite-Killing, Cancer-Fighting Super Herb provided some interesting facts about the wormwood: The name wormwood is derived from ancient use of the plant and its extracts as an intestinal anthelmintic, antiparasitic drug that expels parasitic worms and other internal parasites from the body. In ancient Egyptian times, it was a commonly used medicinal plant, specifically for anal pain, and as an additive to wine. Later on it was used in European folk medicine to induce labor. The plant, when steeped into a strong wormwood tea, has been used traditionally in Europe as well as a bitter stomach stabilizer to stave off indigestion and loss of appetite. A favorite alcoholic beverage in 19th century France, absinthe was said to be addictive and associated with a collection of serious side effects known as absinthism or irreversible damage to the central nervous system. Absinthe was made popular by some very well-known writers and artists, such as Ernest Hemingway, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Oscar Wilde. The manic depressive painter Vincent van Gogh was addicted to absinthe, and some say his continual drinking of it led to many of his paintings having a green or yellowish tint (due to the thujuones hallucinatory effects) and that the wormwood actually enhanced his epilepsy. Absinthe is an anise-flavored spirit derived from several botanicals. Absinthe ingredients include the flowers and leaves of wormwood, anise and fennel . Its illegal in the U.S. as well as many other countries. However, its not banned in some European Union countries as long as the thujone content is less than 35 milligrams per kilogram. Thujone is the potentially poisonous chemical found in wormwood. Distilling wormwood in alcohol increases the thujone concentration. Thujone-free wormwood extract is currently used as a flavoring in alcoholic beverages like vermouth. Wormwood, or its derivative chemical components, have famously been mentioned in many a novel, play and in other art forms, from Bram Stokers Dracula to John Locke essays to Romeo and Juliet. There are several Bible references to this herb as well. The word wormwood appears several times in the Old Testament, translated from the Hebrew term laanah (which means curse in Arabic and Hebrew). Its also spoken of in the New Testament in the Book of Revelation: The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter. ( Rev 8:1011 ) Side effects i. Wormwood herb is not meant for long-term use. ii. Using wormwood for longer than four weeks or at higher than recommended doses may lead to nausea, vomiting , restlessness, insomnia, vertigo, tremors and seizures iii. Wormwood products that contain thujone, like absinthe, can be unsafe when taken by mouth. Absinthe effects/thujone effects can include restlessness, difficulty sleeping, nightmares, seizures, dizziness, tremors, muscle breakdown, kidney failure, vomiting, stomach cramps, urine retention, thirst, numbness of arms and legs, paralysis, and death. iv. It has to be avoided by pregnant or breast-feeding. There have been documented abortifacient and emmenagogue effects of wormwood. v. For those allergic to ragweed and other plants in the Asteraceae/Compositae family, then wormwood may cause an allergic reaction. vi. For those with porphyria (a group of disorders that result from a buildup of natural chemicals that produce porphyrin in the body), then you should know that the thujone present in wormwood oil might increase the bodys production of chemicals called porphyrins, which could make your porphyria worse. vii. For those with epilepsy or any other seizure disorder, the thujone in wormwood cause seizures, especially in people who have a tendency toward seizures. viii. Wormwood is not recommended for people with kidney disorders. The oil might cause kidney failure. It should be avoided by kidney patients ix. Its not advised to even use the essential oil in aromatherapy since it contains an extremely high amount of thujone, which is a convulsant and neurotoxin. x. It should not be combine with any anticonvulsant, which is a medication used to prevent seizures. Since these medications and wormwood can both affect brain chemicals, this herb may decrease the effectiveness of anticonvulsants. In conclusion and Recommendation The plant was one of the major herb used in 2005 by the Chinese in the management of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV outbreaks so we could draw some inference here for the novel covid-19. It is also antiviral agent as well, Romero et al 2006 The effect of Artemisia plants on hypertension is well described in the scientific literature (Pierre Lutgen, 2019). Meaning that, it could also support patients with high blood pressure. Pierre Lutgen, 2019 had this to say: But we are lacking an understanding of the mechanism for the hypotensive effects as we still do for the antimalarial effects. It is a polytherapy and each attempt to isolate one molecule and to claim that the efficacy of the plant is due to this monotherapy has failed. This is for example in malaria infections the case for quinine and its derivative chloroquine or for artemisinin and its derivative artesunate. Even for artemisinin alone the mechanism of action has not been fully elucidated and five hypotheses are still in debate. A recent 2020 results by Munyangi et al registered for five cases in the province of Maniema, RDCongo document for the first time on a scientific and medical basis the antidiabetic effect of Artemisia herbal tea. This happened in the context of large scale clinical trials with Artemisia annua and Artemisia afra herbal tea, trials which successfully documented the efficacy of these plants against malaria and schistosomiasis, as well as other beneficial health effects. Interesting, in a 2015 study aim to investigate hypolipidemic and anti-inflammatory effects of Artemisia vulgaris extract in hypercholesterolemic rats concludes that Artemisia vulgaris extract has hypolipidemic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant properties; it may serve as a source for the prevention of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases Its used to eliminate intestinal worms, especially roundworms and pinworms, and its the source of the key ingredient for the herbal drug artemisinin, which is the most powerful antimalarial on the market. Its also been shown to kill cancer cells and treat anorexia, insomnia, anemia, a lack of appetite, flatulence, stomach aches, jaundice and indigestion. Specifically, this herb has been proven to beat malaria, kill breast cancer cells, get rid of parasites, treat Crohns disease, contain antimicrobial and antifungal abilities, and treat SIBO. In 2005, Herbal treatments used in Traditional Chinese Medicine were explored to treat coronavirus infections during the SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV outbreaks. Initial studies in China showed the alcoholic extract of sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua ) was the second most potent herbal medicine used on the 2005 SARS-CoV and this is the same plant the Madagascan have also employ in this novel coronavirus era being in the same family. Maybe, there could be a breakthrough here! My only issue with artesiminin anua from the scientific analysis had to with the numerous side effects. ) was the second most potent herbal medicine used on the 2005 SARS-CoV and this is the same plant the Madagascan have also employ in this novel coronavirus era being in the same family. Maybe, there could be a breakthrough here! My only issue with from the scientific analysis had to with the numerous side effects. It is time for Africa to also raise little David high enough to also challenge Goliath as we wait for the clinical trial on the herbal product itself. But from the scientific analysis on the ingredient artemisinin anua; the plant has numerous health benefits. Dr. Raphael Nyarkotey Obu, is an honorary Professor of Holistic Medicine-Vinnytsia State Pedagogical University, Ukraine and currently, LLB law Student. He is the formulator of FDA approved Nyarkotey Hibiscus Tea for Cardiovascular Support and wellness, Mens Formula for Prostate Health and Womens Formula for wellness. 0241083423/0541234556 FILE PHOTO: The logo of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is seen during a news conference in Santiago WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund has approved requests for emergency pandemic aid from 50 of its 189 members for a total of about $18 billion and is continuing to work quickly through the remaining more than 50 requests, an IMF spokesman said on Thursday. The IMF's executive board was working through requests at record speed and would consider a request from Egypt for both emergency financing and a stand-by lending arrangement on May 11, spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters in an online briefing. "It's an IMF moving at an unprecedented speed in an unprecedented way to meet this unprecedented challenge which we're all facing," he said, noting the Fund had also temporarily suspended payments on IMF debts for 25 of the poorest countries. Rice did not name all the countries that have emergency requests pending. But replying to questions, he said the Fund's staff was considering requests from Sri Lanka, South Africa and Zambia. He did not provide the amounts they had requested. The aid granted under the IMF's rapid financing initiatives comes without the usual conditionality, but the Fund is working to ensure transparency and prevent corruption by asking all recipient governments to commit to enhanced reporting of crisis-related spending and undertake audits, Rice said. He said the funds were also subject to the IMF's safeguards assessment policy, under which a central bank's framework of governance reporting and controls must be deemed sufficient to manage resources, including IMF disbursements. Rice said the Fund was also in discussions with Zimbabwe, which has cleared its arrears with the Fund but is not currently eligible for IMF assistance since it has arrears with other financial institutions and bilateral creditors, Rice said. "Beyond the issue of arrears, consideration of any future request would require Zimbabwe to be ready to implement strong macro policies, and structural reforms," he said. "We do recognize the dire circumstances facing the people of Zimbabwe, and we're providing technical assistance right now." Story continues An IMF team will begin discussions next week with Lebanon, another country that has run into debt sustainability issues, on the details of its economic reform plans, Rice said. He said IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva viewed Lebanon's plan as an important step forward to address its economic challenges and identify key areas for reforms to restore external and public debt sustainability. Rice said the IMF was also in talks with Argentina and Ukraine. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder; Editing by Dan Grebler) RFE/RL, May 6, 2020 By Shapoor Saber HERAT, Afghanistan -- To escape war and poverty, Shah Wali left his village in northwestern Afghanistan in search of a better life in neighboring Iran. As the 28-year-old set off on his journey, he was gripped by fear. Iranian border guards beat, shot at, and even killed Afghan migrants who illegally crossed the border. And even if he reached Iran, he would be subjected to the violence and injustice suffered by many members of Irans sizable Afghan community. But for Wali, it was worth the risk. Afghan health officials said they had so far received the bodies of 12 Afghan migrants, saying most had drowned. (Photo: Saber Shahpoor/RFE/RL) Afghan health officials said they had so far received the bodies of 12 Afghan migrants, saying most had drowned. (Photo: Saber Shahpoor/RFE/RL) Even if he earned a meager living, he would be able to send money back home to his impoverished family in Afghanistans Faryab Province, a poor, remote region that has long been the scene of intense fighting between the Islamic extremist Taliban group and Afghan government forces. Soon after crossing into Iran last week, Walis fears were realized. He was among dozens of Afghan migrants who were illegally smuggled into Iran from the Gulran district in Afghanistans Herat Province, located along the border with Iran. But after crossing the 900-kilometer border on May 1, he said the group of around 50 Afghans were stopped and detained by Iranian border guards. For the next several hours, they were questioned, repeatedly beaten, and then tortured. The guards, he said, then transported the group by bus to the banks of the Harirud, a 1,100-kilometer-long river shared by Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkmenistan. "After torturing us, Iranian border guards fired their guns and ordered all of us to jump into the river, Wali told RFE/RL. "While we were struggling for our lives and drowning in the river, they were laughing," he said. The river took them downstream toward Afghanistan. Wali said he and 11 others swam to safety. He said 23 others drowned. He helped retrieve the bodies of seven of them. 'Very Serious Human Rights Violation' Afghan authorities on May 2 launched an investigation into the claims and started a hunt to retrieve the bodies of the many still missing. Officials said there were 70 Afghans in the group. Afghan health officials said they had so far received the bodies of 12 Afghan migrants, saying most had drowned. Relatives of the victims wait to claim the bodies on May 2. (Photo: Saber Shahpoor/RFE/RL) Relatives of the victims wait to claim the bodies on May 2. (Photo: Saber Shahpoor/RFE/RL) On May 3, Abbas Musavi, a spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, denied the "incident" took place on Iranian soil, although he added that Tehran had launched an investigation into the claims. But Afghan officials pointed the finger at Iran, with which Afghanistan has deep cultural, linguistic, and historical ties. Abdul Ghani Noori, governor of Herat's Gulran district, accused Iranian security forces of beating the Afghan migrants with shovels before sending them into the river. Herat Governor Sayed Wahid Qatali blamed Iranian security forces in a tweet on May 3. "Our people, who you put in the river, were not Osama [bin Laden]. One day we will settle this." Qatali was referring to the late founder of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group. Afghan migrants and refugees in Iran are often blamed for insecurity or of being terrorists. Afghanistans Independent Human Rights Commission said it had spoken to survivors who accused Iranian forces of beating and torturing them. "They were made to cross the Harirud River. As a result, a number of them drowned and some survived," it said in a statement on May 3. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul said on Twitter on May 4 that it shared the concerns of the Afghan government, civil society, and people about reports of killings and abuse against Afghan migrants along the border with Iran. "Iran's cruel treatment and abuse of Afghan migrants alleged in these reports is horrifying," Alice Wells, the acting U.S. assistant secretary for South Asia, added on Twitter. "Those found guilty of such abuse must be held accountable." If proven, the actions of the Iranian border guards would amount to a very serious human rights violation, said Human Rights Watch, calling for a thorough investigation" into the "shocking" allegations. History Of Discrimination International human rights groups have documented violations against Afghan refugees and migrants in Iran, including physical abuse, detention in unsanitary and inhumane conditions, forced payment for transportation and accommodation in deportation camps, slave labor, and the separation of families. In December 2018, a viral video appeared to show an Iranian police officer slapping, insulting, and humiliating a group of Afghan migrants. The United Nations estimates the number of Afghan citizens in Iran at just under 1 million. Tehran puts the figure of documented and undocumented Afghan refugees and migrants closer to 3 million. For decades, Afghans weary of war and poverty have turned to Iran to earn a living. Tehran has expelled many Afghans, who are often blamed for insecurity and unemployment, and periodically threatens those who remain with mass expulsion. Many other Afghans moved to Iran following the decade-long Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and the long civil war that followed the Soviet withdrawal. Others sought refuge in Iran after the fundamentalist Taliban took power in Afghanistan. After the U.S.-led invasion that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, some Afghans left for Iran in search of jobs, although hundreds of thousands of them returned last year amid a crippling economic crisis in the country. So far in 2020, it is estimated that some 270,000 Afghans living in Iran have returned home due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit Iran very hard. But as the outbreak has eased in Iran in recent weeks, Afghans have begun returning to Iran. Many Afghans take on menial work that is of little interest to Iranians. In 2015, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a decree allowing all Afghan children to be allowed an education. But Afghans are still denied basic services, including access to health care, jobs, and housing. Written by Frud Bezhan based on reporting by RFE/RL Radio Free Afghanistan correspondent Shapoor Saber Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 13:06:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NEW DELHI, May 7 (Xinhua) -- India's federal government has banned the export of alcohol-based hand sanitizers in wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, officials said Thursday. An official notification to this regard was issued on Wednesday by the country's Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). "Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are prohibited for export," said the order issued by DGFT that comes under the federal ministry of commerce. Hand sanitizers are in demand because of the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries. Officials said the move to stop the export of alcohol-based hand sanitizers was meant to keep the adequate supply at home and its free availability in the domestic market. Health experts say washing hands or using alcohol-based hand sanitizers were key activities to fight the spread of COVID-19, besides maintaining social distancing and using face masks. Immediately after the outbreak of COVID-19 people went for panic buying of hand sanitizers and the products were soon out of stock at retail outlets across the country. Sanitizers of reputed companies are still unavailable in the market due to the extended lockdown. Meanwhile, India's federal health ministry Thursday said the number of COVID-19 cases in India reached 52,952 and death toll rose to 1,783. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 13:51:05|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NEW DELHI, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is monitoring the situation in southern city of Vishakhapatnam, where at least three persons died and over a hundred admitted in hospitals after gas leaked from a chemical plant early Thursday morning. Modi has called a video-conference meeting of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) officials at 11:00 hours to discuss the situation arising out of the gas leak incident. TV channels showed panic-gripped people in the city. Some helped others who passed out on the streets in rushing them to hospitals. According to local media reports, people in several villages around the ill-fated chemical plant have been affected. Confirming the gas leak incident, Vishakhapatnam Police Commissioner R.K. Meena told Xinhua over phone - "As of now three persons have died and 120 people are admitted in a local government hospital. Some of them are said to be critical. Situation is under control and the whole area around the chemical plant has been cordoned off and sealed." "Prima facie it appears the three persons died of suffocation," he added. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is scheduled to visit Vishakhapatnam soon to take stock of the situation, said a source close to him. The source also said that the gas leaked from the "LG Polymers" chemical plant in the wee hours of Thursday morning, leading to panic among the local people. "Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is closely monitoring the situation and has directed the district officials to take every possible step to save human lives and bring the situation under control. He will visit the patients admitted in the local hospital," added the source. Enditem MARICOPA, Ariz. An armed man wanted on several warrants was shot and wounded by an off-duty Border Patrol agent in the town of Maricopa, authorites said. Police in Maricopa said Codey Foy was shot in the left hand before being taken into custody Tuesday night. They said the agent wasnt injured and Foy was transported to a hospital for treatment before being jailed. It was unclear Wednesday if Foy had a lawyer yet. Maricopa police said Foy had multiple warrants out for his arrest for a suspected truck theft Tuesday morning in another part of Pinal County. Police got a call about a suspicious man in a van with vehicle parts near Santa Cruz Elementary School. Officers recognized Foy as the man Pinal County authorities were looking for and a pursuit ensued. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officials didnt immediately release the name of the agent who shot Foy. A Chinese researcher from the University of Pittsburgh was 'on the verge of making very significant findings' when he was shot and killed in suspected circumstances in a murder-suicide. The fatal shooting of the Chinese researcher and professor when he was just breaking important research is going rounds on the internet. Results of the studies could have meant a lot to U.S. coronavirus studies, but he was killed last weekend before finalizing his significant COVID-19 studies, according to authorities. Bing Liu, a 37-year-old research assistant professor, was discovered slain at home last Saturday according to the Allegheny County medical examiner. The cause of his death was several gunshots directly pointed to his head, neck, torso and one of his extremities when the body was found on Saturday. But there was another curious development in the case, as the police discovered someone else dead, who was familiar to the dead researcher. Approximately an hour later, another person who is Hao Gu, 46-years old, was found lifeless in a car a mile or less from the residence of Liu. Investigators what did they thought of the murder-suicide The investigator had certain ideas about the case, especially that the victim was engaged in coronavirus research. Considering also that his research contained relevant discoveries that will impact aspects of the COVID-19 epidemic. They believe that Gu went to Liu's residence and killed him for some unknown reasons yet to be uncovered, after committing the murder Gu went to his car and committed suicide in the car. This was the statement from Detective Sgt. Brian Kohlhepp of the Ross Police Department said in a statement. Also read: Shocking Evidence from Western Intelligence Claims to Prove China's Lies, Misdirection of Coronavirus More perceptions about the relationship of Liu and Gu took homosexual overtones, as speculation that the older Gu shot and Killed Liu after some concerns of intimacy. It was one of the scenarios that according to Sgt. Kohlhepp is considering, as a possible explanation to what transpired. Dispelling any complicated foul play in the murder-suicide, Kohlhepp said," We have found zero evidence that this tragic event has anything to do with employment at the University of Pittsburgh, any work being conducted at the University of Pittsburgh and the current health crisis affecting the United States and the world." Police on the case believe the men were familiar, and there is "zero indication that there was targeting due to his (Liu) being Chinese." Since the case does not involve US citizens, the review by the police department will be sent to federal authorities. By virtue, both are not Americans to start with, that adds another layer to it. Leaving more questions than answers for the federal authorities to look into beyond the police report. Liu's research was involved in creating a potential coronavirus vaccine, that will bolster the US search for a vaccine before China makes one. Liu is an accomplished PhD with several degrees and became a research associate at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. His co-workers called him brilliant with 30 papers published under his belt, an excellent mentor for his students too. Studies he was working on was to understand "the cellular mechanisms that underlie SARS-CoV-2 infection and the cellular basis of the following complications" which his colleagues will strive to complete. The researcher Liu was on to something but the murder-suicide prevented him from completing the study, dead men tell no tales. Related article: US Fears That China's Coronavirus Vaccine Will Be Used as Extortion on All Nations @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. AQN is slated to release first-quarter 2020 financial results on May 7. The utility delivered a positive earnings surprise of 11.1% in the last reported quarter. Lets discuss the factors that are likely to get reflected in the upcoming quarterly results. Factors to Consider The two utility acquisitions completed by the company in the fourth quarter are expected to have contributed to first-quarter earnings. In addition, successful rate review outcomes in the last reported quarter are likely to have boosted earnings in the to-be-reported quarter. Demand from commercial and industrial customers is expected to have declined in the first quarter due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. However, the stay-at-home directives are expected to have resulted in higher demand from the residential class, which is likely to have marginally offset the decline in demand from the industrial and commercial space in the first quarter. Q1 Expectation The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter revenues and earnings per share is pegged at $511.6 million and 21 cents, indicating 7.2% and 10.5% growth, respectively, from the year-ago reported figures. What Our Quantitative Model Predicts Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Algonquin Power & Utilities this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. That is the case here as you will see below. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. Price and EPS Surprise Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. Price and EPS Surprise Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. price-eps-surprise | Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. Quote Earnings ESP: Its Earnings ESP is +1.59%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before theyre reported with our Earnings ESP Filter. Zacks Rank: Algonquin Power & Utilities currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. Other Stocks to Consider Here are a few other companies worth considering from the same sector that also have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings in the upcoming releases. Consolidated Edison, Inc. ED is set to release first-quarter 2020 numbers on May 7. It has an Earnings ESP of +0.52% and carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. New Jersey Resources NJR is scheduled to release second-quarter fiscal 2020 results on May 8. It has an Earnings ESP of +3.86% and a Zacks Rank #3. Spire Inc. SR is scheduled to release second-quarter fiscal 2020 results on May 8. It has an Earnings ESP of +0.17% and a Zacks Rank #3. (We are reissuing this article to correct a mistake. The original article, issued on May 5, 2020, should no longer be relied upon.) Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Consolidated Edison Inc (ED) : Free Stock Analysis Report Spire Inc (SR) : Free Stock Analysis Report NewJersey Resources Corporation (NJR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Algonquin Power Utilities Corp (AQN) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 7, 2020) - Grande Portage Resources Ltd. (TSXV: GPG) (OTCQB: GPTRF) (FSE: GPB) ("Grande Portage" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that it is preparing and taking the necessary steps to organize for its upcoming drill season at the Herbert gold project in Alaska. As previously announced, the Company has received its drill permit and all other regulatory approvals to proceed this season. Timberline Drilling Inc. has been engaged to drill approximately 12,000-15,000 feet of diamond drill core on the Company's Herbert gold project. The upcoming core drill program will test multiple targets significantly deeper and further to the east than in years past. The Company will specifically target the Main, Deep Trench, and Goat veins during this program in order to expand upon its most recent NI 43-101 mineral resource which consists of consists of: an indicated resource of 606,500 ounces of gold at an average grade of 10.03 g/t Au (1,880,500 tonnes); and an inferred resource of 251,700 ounces of gold at an average grade of 14.15 g/t Au (553,429 tonnes). Timberline's experienced drill crews are already in Alaska and will not be subject to quarantine restrictions. The Company expects an early to mid-July start and is fully financed for the upcoming drill program. The Company intends to provide a more specific update with added details once mobilization is underway. "We're looking forward to proceeding on schedule with 2020 drill program and further demonstrating the potential at the Herbert gold project," said Ian Klassen, President and CEO "We've got a first class experienced drill partner in Timberline and are fortunate to be operating in a supportive jurisdiction which has done an excellent job of controlling the spread of COVID-19." Impact of COVID-19 Grande Portage is carefully monitoring the public health impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on a daily basis. Our first priority is the health and safety of our communities, shareholders, contractors, employees and other stakeholders. The Grande Portage team has been working closely to ensure all the correct protocols and safety precautions are in place. Management continues to work remotely and they have kept in regular contact with our stakeholders (who remain safe at home with their families), our investors and interested parties. The Company will continue to monitor the evolving COVID-19 situation and will continue to act proactively to protect the health of its workforce. This news release has been prepared and approved by Carl Hale, CPG, a geologist with more than 40 years of experience and a Qualified Person as defined under NI #43-101. About Grande Portage: Grande Portage Resources Ltd. is a publicly traded mineral exploration company focused on the Herbert Gold discovery situated approximately 25 km north of Juneau, Alaska. The Company holds a 100% interest in the Herbert property. The Herbert Gold property system is open to length and depth and is host to at least six main composite vein-fault structures that contain ribbon structure quartz-sulfide veins. The project lies prominently within the 160km long Juneau Gold Belt, which has produced nearly seven million ounces of gold. The Company's recent Mineral Resource estimate is quoted at a base case mineral resources cut-off grade of 2.50 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) and consists of: An indicated resource of 606,500 ounces of gold at an average grade of 10.03 g/t Au (1,880,500 tonnes); and An inferred resource of 251,700 ounces of gold at an average grade of 14.15 g/t Au (553,429 tonnes). ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Ian Klassen" Ian M. Klassen President & Chief Executive Officer Tel: (604) 899-0106 Email: Ian@grandeportage.com NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICE PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED UNDER THE POLICIES OF THE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS 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/55505 The two U.S. special forces hostages detained in Venezuela for their role in a failed coup appear to give a secret sign to say they are lying in video clips of their interrogation broadcast on state TV. Airan Berry, 41, is shown in a video released Thursday being questioned about his treatment in confinement and whether his human rights had been respected. 'Yes, as far as Ive experienced, yes,' Berry replied. The former Green Beret appears to quickly look up as he speaks, however, a tactic that a former Navy Seal identified as a signal used by special forces to transfer a secret message that they are speaking under duress. Ephraim Mattos, who provided medical training to a group of Venezuelans involved in the operation, noticed the signal being used by the other detained American, Luke Denman, in the clip released of him on Wednesday. Denman had quickly looked off camera as he said that President Donald Trump had ordered the coup. 'He looks off screen real quick,' Mattos told the Wall Street Journal. 'Thats him clearly signaling that hes lying. Its something that Special Forces guys are trained to do.' A second video was released of Berry shortly afterward in which he is wearing different clothing and looks more disheveled. In the first clip, Berry said that he understood now that his actions in the botched attack were illegal. 'I know that its illegal now, before it was a different understanding,' he answered to a question about why he was training irregular forces in Colombia. Berry was arrested alongside fellow American Denman and six Venezuelans on Monday as Maduro's forces cut off their plot. Denman appeared in a video clip shown during Maduro's press conference on Wednesday. 'As far as I know, Luke and I were to be at the airport to bring in more,' Berry claimed in the first video released Thursday. He also held up an alleged contract detailing the mission. He said it was signed by coup ringleader Jordan Goudreau, who hired him, and Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido. 'This contract was posted several days ago by Jordan Goudreau. It outlines my responsibilities with Silvercorp [Goudreau's company] signed by Juan Guaido, Jordan Goudreau and Juan Rendon,' Berry added. In the second video clip released minutes later, Berry is asked about his service in the U.S. military and about U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's comments regarding the two American prisoners on Wednesday. Pompeo had stated that the U.S. would use 'every tool' to secure the release of Berry and Denman. 'Mike Pompeo spoke about your arrest. What do you think about that?' the unidentified interviewer asked. 'I am not aware of that,' Berry responded, adding that if someone tried to enter the U.S with the intention on killing Trump, they 'would definitely protect the president'. He is particularly grilled about assassinated Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. Berry was asked if he recognized the name and why the U.S. would have wanted to kill the general. Airan Berry, 41, was shown in a this first video clip Thursday while being interrogated by Venezuelan officials about his role in a botched attempt to overthrown President Maduro A second video of Berry was released shortly afterward in which he was wearing different cloths. The former U.S. soldier appeared more disheveled and bewildered in the video US GOVERNMENT KNEW ABOUT VENEZUELA TRAINING CAMPS It emerged Wednesday that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the Department of Homeland Security knew about the training camps and had been tipped off earlier this year that Goudreau was allegedly weapons smuggling in Colombia. A DEA source admitted that an informant tipped the agency off before March but a formal probe wasn't opened as it did not know who Goudreau was at the time. The DEA official speaking to the Associated Press said the information was also passed on to the Department of Homeland Security. The DEA believed that the weapons were destined for leftist rebels or criminal gangs in Colombia, former officials said on the condition of anonymity. US officials also discussed whether to organize the guerrilla fighters in the camps - but ultimately decided against it, according to the Washington Post. The Colombians were against it and we were against it, a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said. Advertisement Berry also goes into further detail about the operation and his task in securing the airport. He said that he had been appointed coordinator to organize the arrival of planes into the airstrip, where a plane would be organized to safely transfer Maduro to the United States. 'I would be in charge of calling back to Jordan and Jordan would make those coordination or has made those coordination with somebody in the United States and then we would bring that plane or expect waiting for that plane to arrive in the country,' Berry said. Berry was asked about the money Goudreau's company Silvercorp, Goudreau and he himself stood to make from the attempted coup. 'The only number I know is what I seen in the contract that you showed here is $220 million or something like that,' Berry said. 'I am not sure exactly. Its his corporation. I am not sure how what his share is or how that works. I would assume its possibly millions,' he added when questioned about how much Goudreau himself would earn. One of the major downfalls of the planned incursion was the group's attempts to enter Venezuela from Colombia using fishing boats and a speedboat. Berry was asked why they decided to enter Venezuela by sea and not by land. 'It seemed to be the preferred choice,' he replied. Luke Denman (left) and Airan Berry (right): Two arrested US 'mercenaries playing Rambo' are paraded after failed attempt to overthrow Venezuela's Maduro in a failed raid on Monday. Video clips of both detained men have been released by Venezuelan authorities in which they appear to deliver a secret signal to show that they are speaking under duress or lying A former Navy Seal has highlighted the gestures used in the interrogation videos and identified them as signs that the special forces soldiers could be lying. Mattos, who now runs a non-profit, told the Wall Street Journal than Denman was looking off screen quickly to send a message that he was lying and speaking under duress. Mattos has said that he had attempted to intervene in the coup in February as he suspected that Goudreau was misleading the Venezuelans. 'I was like, all right, somethings way off. I need to talk to this Jordan guy, cause hes going to get them killed. Somethings clearly wrong here,' he said. In the first video released Thursday, Airan Berry holds up a document he claims is a contract between fellow former Green Beret Goudreau, who hired him for the mission, and opposition leader Guaido. Denman also held the same alleged contract in his video released Wednesday On Wednesday, President Nicholas Maduro held up a document that he claims was a contract between Goudreau and Guaido. Goudreau has said he was hired by Guaido and has also produced a copy of an eight-page agreement he signed with what appears to be the signature of the opposition leader and he advisors. The opposition leader has refused to say whether the signature is authentic but has insisted he has no relationship with Silvercorp The videos of Berry were accompanied by comments from Jorge Rodriguez, Venezuela's communications, culture and sectorial vice president who reiterated claims that the coup plot was initiated by Guaido to overthrow Maduro. 'The relationship between Juan Guaido and these deserters and terrorists who train in Colombia with the Colombian and Venezuelan drug trafficking is perfectly clear,' Rodriguez said. It emerged Wednesday that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the Department of Homeland Security knew about the training camps established by Goudreau and had been tipped off earlier this year that he was allegedly weapons smuggling in Colombia. A DEA source admitted that an informant tipped the agency off before March but a formal probe wasn't opened as it did not know who Goudreau was at the time. The DEA official speaking to the Associated Press said the information was also passed on to the Department of Homeland Security. INTERROGATION OF EX U.S. SPECIAL FORCES MEMBER AIRAN BERRY BY PRESIDENT NICOLAS MADURO'S REGIME What is your name? My name is Airan Berry. What is your age? Im 41. Where do you live? In the United States. What is your address? I dont remember it. I have a new address. I just dont have it. I dont have it in my memory. When did you enter the Army? In 1996. What has been your tactical training? It was infantry. When and where did you meet Jordan Goudreau? I dont exactly remember when. It was in the army at some point. What was the job proposal from Jordan? To come here, to come to Venezuela and provide support. When did you fly from U.S. to Colombia? In January I think. Who accompanied you? Jordan, Luke and what I learned to be a person by the name of Alex. How did you move to Riohacha? With a car. Who accompanied you? Luke and this Alex person. Who received you? Who what? Received you? Sequea [unclear]. How much would Jordan pay for the job? I dont exactly know. How much did you expect? I dont know. It was only supposed to be for two weeks. What is the training you teach? More reviewing what they already know. How to go about it, working in a building, and basic clearing of the street. How many times did you visit Colombia? It was only one time. How many times you visit Venezuela? Once. Where did you stay in Riohacha? In a house. Who received you in the Alta Guajira, in the border? I dont know. I wasnt part of that. Did you know about the document that describes the close of the operation? Yes, I think so. Did you see the tactical uniforms in the camp? At some point we received tactical uniforms, yes. Where did you live in Riohacha? In a few houses. Three houses. Who commanded in Riohacha? Leo o Sequea. How many people did you train? From what I understand its 50 to 60 people. What is Silvercorp company in charge of? Its a private corporation owned by Jordan Goudreau and its about all I understand about them. What would be your mission after entering Caracas? To advise the forces that were coming in, [unclear] and make our way to the airport as soon as we could. Why did the government of the United States insist on attacking the government of Venezuela if Venezuela does not represent a threat to them? I dont understand why America would do that. How much would Jordan pay you for the operation? I dont have any specific dollar sign or dollar amount to tell you. Did you have a special contact with a special agent of the DEA in Caracas? Me? No. How many people make up Silvercorp? As far as I know its just Jordan. I havent met anyone else but myself and Luke. If someone tried to enter the U.S. with the intention of killing Donald Trump, what do you think would be the response of the U.S. in this case? They would definitely protect the president. What were the objectives of the mission? I believe it was to obtain specific targets and I think to get Maduro. Are you aware of other Silvercorp training camps? Not to my knowledge, no. Are you aware that Juan Guaido in the end acted that contract illegally, that its a crime to sponsor insurgency actions against the people of Venezuela? I understand thats what youre saying. I understand thats what youre saying. Would you accompanying Luke to take the airport or would you do another objective once they took Caracas? As far as I know, Luke and I were to be at the airport to bring in more [airplanes]. Are the other American soldiers advising these groups? Not that I am aware of, no. Why do you train irregular forces in Colombia to enter Venezuela knowing that it is illegal? I know that its illegal now. Before it was a different understanding for me. Being in the Alta Guajira, did you see a man in a wheelchair? Yes. Did you talk with him? I did not talk with anybody. Who talked with the man in the wheelchair? Sequea. Sequea. Have your human been respected in the place where you are confined? Yes. As a far as Ive experienced, yes. Added to end of clip: This contract was posted several days ago by Jordan Goudreau. It outlines my responsibilities with Silvercorp, signed by Juan Guaido, Jordan Goudreau and Juan Rendon. SECOND INTERROGATION How many times have you been on mission outside the U.S.? Three times. In which countries? Iraq. In what years and for how long did you serve? For 2003, 2005, 2007. For a year. Are you a Green Beret? Yes. Why did you decide to enter Venezuela by sea and not by land? It seemed to be the preferred choice. Did you belong to Group 10 of the U.S. Special Forces? Yes. Mike Pompeo spoke about your arrest. What do you think about that? I am not aware of that. Silvercorp has camps in Brazil? No. Have you given tactical training in Brazil or other Latin America countries for Venezuela intervening? No. What where the targets of the operation? The target was to get DGCIM, SEBIN, Miraflores and the airports tower (control). How did you get the data to draw up the plans? Based on information from the group. What would be your objective at La Carlota Airbase? At La Carlota Airbase would be to secure the airstrip. In your plans they mention a Ford vehicle. Who would be responsible for? That information as known by Sequea. Where would the aircraft that would carry out the extraction of President Maduro come from and what would be its destination? I assume that it is the United States. How would they carry out the extraction of President Maduro from Miraflores? I am not exactly sure. However necessary. How is the process of the army to assign you to a mission in another country? Can you repeat the question? How is the process for the army to assign you to a mission in another country? I dont understand how to answer that. How is the process for the army to assign you a mission in another country? They inform you and you go and you perform your services. When was the last time you used the military uniform of your country? In 2012. What is your social security number? XXX Do you recognize the name Qasem Soleimani? Somehow yes. Why did they decide to attack on my first xxxxxxx? I have no idea. Have you been in Syria? No. Who was the president during your service? Clinton, Bush, Obama. Who would be in charge of coordinating the planes? I would be in charge of calling back to Jordan and Jordan would make those coordinations or has made those coordinations with somebody in the United States and then we would bring that plane or expect waiting for that plane to arrive in the country. How much would Silvercorp take to achieve the objectives of the so-called Operation Guideon? The only number I know is what I seen in the contract that you showed here is $220 million or something like that. How much money would Jordan earn if the operation was successful? I am not sure exactly. Its his corporation. I am not sure how what his share is or how that works. I would assume its possibly millions. How much do you think Silvercorp would pay you if the operation was successful? I dont have a specific number right now that I can talk about or even aware of. I was told money would be good and I trusted him in that. INTERROGATION OF EX U.S. SPECIAL FORCES MEMBER AIRAN BERRY BY PRESIDENT NICOLAS MADURO'S REGIME What is your name? Luke Alexander Denman. What is your age? 34. Where you live? In Austin, Texas. When did you enter the army? In 2006. What has been your tactical training? I was in the Army for five years. I did infantry and AIT training and I also did deep water dive training and aviation training for fixing aircraft. Where and when did you meet Jordan Goudreau? In Germany in 2009 or 2010. What was the job proposal from Jordan? To meet Venezuelans in Colombia, train them and come with them into Venezuela to secure Caracas and secure and an airport here for [the plan]. When did Jordan contact you for the Job? Jordan contacted me in early December but he didn't give me a lot of details about what exactly what it was. When did you fly from the U.S. to Colombia? In January, on the 16th. Who accompanied you? Jordan, Alex and Erik. How did you get to Riohacha? We took a car that Alex drove with myself and Erik. Who accompanied you? It was just Alex, myself and Erik in a car to Riohacha. Who received you in Riohacha? Jackal. How much Jordan paid for the job? I expected anywhere from fifty to one hundred thousand [dollars]. What is the training you teach? Planning, mission planning and tactical work inside buildings. How many times did you visit Colombia? This the first time. How many times did you visit Venezuela? This is the first time. Where did you stay in Riohacha? There were some houses that the guys were living in that we stayed in at. Who received you in Alta Guajira? There was a man in a wheelchair and a group of more men with him. Did you know about the document that describes the close of the operation? Yes I saw it about a month, a month and a half ago, with Jordans signature and Juan Guaidos signature. How many peoples come from Silvercorp? Three that I am aware of, including myself. Which kind of profile have the peoples who work in Silvercorp? The only other person that is not Jordan is Erik and we both know Jordan from our military experience. In which country is Silvercorp's operations right now? Like right now? Yes. Just here. How many groups was you training in Riohacha? There was three small groups. How many men in that group? In total it was 60 to 70 [men]. Around 20 people per group. Tell me about the instructions Jordan Goudreau gave to you and which was the targets? The only instructions that I received from Jordan was to ensure that we took control of the airport for a safe passage for Maduro and receiving him into airplanes Why the Donald Trump government insist on attack Venezuela if we dont represent a threat for your country? I dont know. Do you have knowledge about another training camps or private contracts to make invasions? No. Why did you train irregular groups as special force to invade Venezuela? I believe that it was helping their cause. I am going to ask you as a Venezuelan citizen and in your condition [as an] American soldier. What will be your reaction if irregular forces entered in your country in order to assassinate the president? I wouldnt like it. Why? That would probably mean more war. Because if you realize that you were training irregular forces to enter Venezuela, which is a free country, you continued operating on Venezuelan soil. Because I didnt feel that that was the case. I was helping Venezuelans take back control of their country. What other tasks involved taking control of the airport? Securing the sector. Establishing our security. Communicating with the tower. Bringing in planes, one of which includes one to put Maduro on and take him back to the United States. Who commands Jordan? President Donald Trump. Who gave you the weapons and the tactical uniforms? Jordan through Silvercorp. What jobs does Silvercorp do? Private security contracting, consulting, known in some places as mercenary work. How many American contractors were in the camp and the operation? Two including myself. Can you describe Alex and how was your interaction with her? She was late 30s, early 40s, 130-140 pounds, brown hair, brown eyes, light skin. She spoke Spanish and English and she drove us from Barranquilla to Riohacha. Can you describe the man in the wheelchair? He arrives in a nice fancy SUV. He had a nice shirt and gold jewelry on and he appeared to have some influence. Who was leading the Venezuelan military deserters? Captain Sequea. How did know him? I met him when we got to Riohacha. Can you describe the safehouses where you stayed in Riohacha? There was one that had a large brown garage door, front entrance to the left, a window to the left of that, two large threes in the front and a balcony on the second floor and the other one had a large gated area in the front. It was a white house and it had a police station very nearby. The first one was on 25th street I believe and the other one was somewhere between 30th and 37th. Added edit to end of video: My responsibilities to Silvercorp are written on a contract or described on a contract signed by Jordan Goudreau, Juan Rendon and Juan Guiado. According to Stratistics MRC, the Global Ballistic Composites Market is accounted for $1.32 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $2.82 billion by 2026 growing at a CAGR of 8.8% during the forecast period. Growing demand in personal protection and rising threat from growing internal and external conflicts are some of the factors fueling the market growth. However, high costs and failure to provide complete protection are hampering the market growth in this region. Based on Fiber Type, Aramid Fibers has a steady growth during the forecast period due to this are strong synthetic fibers with high heat-resistant properties and it is widely used for the body armor application. 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And the full year gain of 12% isn't too shabby, either! All else being equal, a sharp share price increase should make a stock less attractive to potential investors. In the long term, share prices tend to follow earnings per share, but in the short term prices bounce around in response to short term factors (which are not always obvious). The implication here is that deep value investors might steer clear when expectations of a company are too high. Perhaps the simplest way to get a read on investors' expectations of a business is to look at its Price to Earnings Ratio (PE Ratio). A high P/E implies that investors have high expectations of what a company can achieve compared to a company with a low P/E ratio. Check out our latest analysis for Q & M Dental Group (Singapore) Does Q & M Dental Group (Singapore) Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry? Q & M Dental Group (Singapore)'s P/E is 22.28. The image below shows that Q & M Dental Group (Singapore) has a P/E ratio that is roughly in line with the healthcare industry average (21.0). SGX:QC7 Price Estimation Relative to Market May 7th 2020 Its P/E ratio suggests that Q & M Dental Group (Singapore) shareholders think that in the future it will perform about the same as other companies in its industry classification. So if Q & M Dental Group (Singapore) actually outperforms its peers going forward, that should be a positive for the share price. Checking factors such as director buying and selling. could help you form your own view on if that will happen. How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios When earnings fall, the 'E' decreases, over time. That means even if the current P/E is low, it will increase over time if the share price stays flat. A higher P/E should indicate the stock is expensive relative to others -- and that may encourage shareholders to sell. Story continues It's nice to see that Q & M Dental Group (Singapore) grew EPS by a stonking 29% in the last year. And earnings per share have improved by 14% annually, over the last five years. With that performance, I would expect it to have an above average P/E ratio. Unfortunately, earnings per share are down 14% a year, over 3 years. Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits It's important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. Hypothetically, a company could reduce its future P/E ratio by spending its cash (or taking on debt) to achieve higher earnings. 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 Q & M Dental Group (Singapore)'s Balance Sheet Tell Us? Q & M Dental Group (Singapore)'s net debt is 19% of its market cap. That's enough debt to impact the P/E ratio a little; so keep it in mind if you're comparing it to companies without debt. The Verdict On Q & M Dental Group (Singapore)'s P/E Ratio Q & M Dental Group (Singapore) trades on a P/E ratio of 22.3, which is above its market average of 11.2. The company is not overly constrained by its modest debt levels, and its recent EPS growth very solid. Therefore, it's not particularly surprising that it has a above average P/E ratio. What is very clear is that the market has become significantly more optimistic about Q & M Dental Group (Singapore) over the last month, with the P/E ratio rising from 15.9 back then to 22.3 today. If you like to buy stocks that have recently impressed the market, then this one might be a candidate; but if you prefer to invest when there is 'blood in the streets', then you may feel the opportunity has passed. Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. If the reality for a company is better than it expects, you can make money by buying and holding for the long term. Although we don't have analyst forecasts you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow. Of course you might be able to find a better stock than Q & M Dental Group (Singapore). 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. U.S. cities that have idled mass transit during coronavirus lockdowns are turning to an unusual partner to get essential workers to hospitals, warehouses and factories: ride-hailing company Uber. Long criticized by officials in large U.S. cities for siphoning off transit riders and clogging up streets, some less-dense cities with reduced transit ridership are now turning to the Silicon Valley-based company to fill transportation gaps. A handful of transit agencies are paying Uber and subsidizing rider costs during the pandemic to offer transportation at off-peak hours or in less busy areas. Some give monthly bus-pass holders a limited number of Uber rides, others cover the entire cost for regular Uber rides to and from essential workplaces. The model makes sense financially, as cities are able to offload insurance and fuel costs associated with maintaining nearly empty bus routes to Uber and its drivers, according to interviews with three transportation officials. A bus costs around $150 an hour to operate and you might have a route with only five boardings an hour. Id rather move that bus to a corridor with 40 boardings an hour, said Alice Bravo, director of transportation and public works for Miami-Dade County, which offers fully subsidized Uber and Lyft rides along the routes of nine bus lines that have been suspended at night. The new partnerships come at a time when Uber is grappling with a slump in demand across the United States, its largest market, due to stay-at-home orders. Data from analysts and interviews with drivers suggest trip requests in some cities were down by as much as 80% in April. While an Uber spokesman said the initiative was not a significant revenue stream compared to Ubers pre-coronavirus business, it underscores the companys ambitions to expand further into the public transportation sector. Uber currently integrates transit information from more than a dozen cities worldwide and allows passengers in Denver and Las Vegas to purchase transit tickets through its app. Story continues In its latest initiative, Uber is working with transit officials in Miami-Dade County; Indianapolis, Indiana; Livermore, California; Des Moines, Iowa; and Central Midlands, South Carolina. Transit ridership has plummeted around 70% in most U.S. cities during the virus outbreak, forcing route reductions and less frequent service. Systems have also grappled with staff shortages as many operators and maintenance workers have taken medical leave to quarantine. As we were considering how to balance our resources, we had some areas that we wouldnt have been able to service anymore, so we started talking to Uber, said Luis Montoya, chief planning officer at Des Moines Area Rapid Transit (DART). While ridership decreased by up to 90% on some routes, Montoya said, DART noticed that many of those still commuting were going to work at hospitals, manufacturers and grocery distributors. In collaboration with local companies, the agency created a voucher system for Uber and local taxi rides on fixed routes to designated businesses. Indianapolis officials set up a similar system after Uber reached out. Essential workers had to register for the service and for the price of their monthly transit pass can now book one daily Uber round-trip to and from work. The service, which started on April 23, is also allowing the city to gather valuable data on transit gaps, said Inez Evans, the chief executive and president of IndyGo. Evans plans to continue supplementing some routes with Uber even after the crisis, saying that fixed bus lines made sense for the most frequently used routes but were not efficient in less traveled areas. IndyGo is evaluating how to structure its Uber program in the long-term. Related Video: Click here to See Video >> Sources from a quarantine center in Idleb have said that the Salvation Government is exploiting the center, cultivating the virus and stealing the meals of those in quarantine reports Shaam Network. Exclusive sources spoke to Shaam Network about the practices of the Salvation Government at a quarantine center that it controls near the city of Jisr al-Shughour in rural western Idleb, and which holds a number of people in quarantine who entered northern Syria from Turkey. Sources from inside the center confirmed to Shaam that all Syrians coming from Turkey are placed under medical quarantine in western Idleb, which is supervised by Salvation Government. This supervision is just a show put on for the media, amid the Salvation Governments exploitation of its authority and domination of the region, in its cruel and inhumane treatment of quarantined people without providing them with necessary medical care. According to the sources, the Salvation Governments Ministry of Health is ignoring virus prevention rules, as multiple people fill each room, in constant contact. Eyewitnesses said that the Salvation Government was overseeing the center to produce and spread the virus, rather than contain possible cases. Witnesses say that those under quarantine are fed up with the Salvation Governments practices, which are exploiting the support of humanitarian and medical organizations, such as health centers, for their own private benefit, without providing for the basic needs of various residents. Sources described the center as a prison lacking the minimum capacity for care and organization to face the virus. Continuing with its practice of appointing those with absolute loyalty, the Salvation Government appointed F M, showing the depth of the authoritys exploitation of these health centers for its own benefit, as well as its looting of monetary and medical support. It uses these funds to finance its institutions based on the collection of taxes and fees. For his part, M oversees the center, with female student doctors who have not yet completed their medical specializations, one of whom is close to the director of the quarantine center. He also humiliates those residing in the center, treating them as if he is superiorreportedly stealing their daily meals in favor of a repeated daily meal of rice. Drinking water is often unavailable, according to sources inside the center. This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. NEW HAVEN Pick up your lunch and take home a book. Two well-known programs aimed at encouraging students to read are joining forces to provide books to New Haven students when they come to pick up meals the school system has been providing since they closed their buildings two months ago. Kirsten Levinshon, executive director of New Haven Reads and Susannah Holsenbeck, the executive director of Read to Grow, explained their plans during Mayor Justin Elickers virtual press conference Wednesday. Elicker, as he does daily at these events, updated the number of residents who are positive for COVID-19. It is now at now 1,826 with 74 deaths. The mayor was asked what the city should do to ensure a safe reopening for the three colleges in the city, Southern Connecticut State University, Albertus Magnus and particularly Yale University. I think we have a mutual responsibility to help each other out and that comes in many different forms depending on the university and the level of resources, Elicker said. Obviously, for the New Haven economy, students who are coming, in particular with Yale University ... to the region are vital to the success of our economy. ... I have talked with (Yale President) Peter Salovey a number of times that we are very ready to help support Yale in any way that Yale needs to make sure that it is able to safely open up classes again, he said. The foundation of our approach to universities, I think, in many ways doesnt differ from our approach to any community in that, if one community gets sick, it is not like the virus stays in that community. There is a a lot of interaction across many different communities. So it is important for us to focus on keeping each other safe, the mayor said. Elicker said he has not gotten any specific request from the universities, but we are very very open to discussions. He hoped they open in the fall given the impact on the city if classes go virtual. On the reading programs, New Haven Public School children will be able to pick up a book every Friday with the bagged meals available at 12 school sites from 10 a.m. to noon. If a student picks up one per week, they will have 7 to 8 books by the end of the school semester. Holsenbeck said Read to Grow partners with RJ Julia Booksellers, which raised funds to buy new books from publishers. The books have been kept in isolation and are waiting at the school sites. She said there will be one title for each grade level grouping, that is: K-2nd grade; 3rd-5th and 6th-8th grade. Levinshon said they have a different distribution plan. She said its source of books are the gently used ones donated by the public. She said they have had an incredible response from their network of friends and publishers who have made donations, as well as local authors who sent new books. They are sorting them by grade levels and keeping the books in isolation before they are distributed. Levinshon said they are putting them in paper bags to give to the families. She said their titles will be different. It will be a mystery book they will get for their child. she said. Volunteers or staff at the organizations will be passing out the books, not food service personnel. Levinshon said if members of the public want to donate books, they should email books@newhavenreads.org attention Victoria Smith. Donors will be given a time to come to their 45 Bristol St. site where they can ring the doorbell and leave so there is no contact in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. She said anyone interested can become a volunteer by also contacting Smith. At Read to Grow, Holsenbeck said to email readtogrow@readtogrow.org for donations or to volunteer. We know that getting books into the hands of people who need them most can dramatically change childrens trajectory, and literacy is just so important for the future leaders of our community, Holsenbeck said. Levinshon said they came up this plan after they shifted their in-person tutoring online and wanted to do something for other children. This became an obvious idea for us, she said. The school sites are: Betsy Ross, 150 Kimberly Ave.; Bishop Woods, 1481 Quinnpiac Ave.; Clinton Aveue, 293 Clinton Ave.; Columbus, 255 Blatchley Ave.; Fair Haven, 164 Grand Ave.; John C. Daniels, 569 Congress Ave.; John Martinez, 100 James St.; Lincoln Bassett, 130 Bassett St.; Roberto Clemente, 350 Columbus Ave.; Truman, 114 Truman St.; Wexler/Grant, 55 Foote St.; Wilbur Cross, 181 Mitchell Drive. mary.oleary@hearstmediact.coml 203-641-2577 Two Laredo women who were accused of violating the COVID-19 Emergency Management Plan for offering their beauty & cosmetic services from home will no longer face confinement as a punishment, according to an executive order signed by Governor Greg Abbott. Ana Isabel Castro-Garcia, 31, and Brenda Stephanie Mata, 20, were arrested on April 15. They were released on bond that same day. Both of the violators independently solicited customers via social media. In both cases, an undercover officer working on the COVID-19 task force enforcement detail made contact with each solicitor to set up an appointment for a cosmetic, beauty service that is prohibited under the emergency ordinance," Laredo police had said in a statement. But Abbott on Thursday modified his executive orders related to COVID-19 to eliminate confinement as a punishment for violating emergency orders. These modifications are being applied retroactively, according to the governors office. Throwing Texans in jail who have had their businesses shut down through no fault of their own is nonsensical, and I will not allow it to happen, said Governor Abbott. That is why I am modifying my executive orders to ensure confinement is not a punishment for violating an order. This order is retroactive to April 2nd, supersedes local orders and if correctly applied should free Shelley Luther." Luther, a hair salon owner from Dallas, was jailed for keeping her business open in defiance of state coronavirus restrictions. According to the Associated Press, following a video hearing where she repeatedly refused to apologize, she was found in contempt of court and sentenced to a week in jail. Though Castro-Garcia and Mata both faced a punishment of up to 180 days in jail for their violations, both were released on bond shortly after their arrest. "It may also ensure that other Texans like Ana Isabel Castro-Garcia and Brenda Stephanie Mata who were arrested in Laredo, should not be subject to confinement. As some county judges advocate for releasing hardened criminals from jail to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it is absurd to have these business owners take their place. An elderly woman smiles, Thursday, as her son visits her in a nursing home in Daejeon that adopted a contactless meeting place to prevent COVID-19 infections. The government asked people to refrain from visiting their parents in nursing homes on Parents' Day falling Friday, as those facilities housing senior citizens remain especially vulnerable to infections. / Yonhap By Jun Ji-hye The health authorities have become tense following a report of the first domestic COVID-19 infection in four days amid loosened social distancing measures. This is triggering concerns about the community spread of the coronavirus, which could lead to another cluster infection, at a time when the nation's coronavirus infection rate has been plateauing. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said Thursday that it had detected four new cases and one more death, Wednesday, bringing the nation's total infections to 10,810, and the death toll to 256. Among the new cases, three were from overseas, while one came from Gyeonggi Province. The nation's daily number of confirmed cases has been below five for the third straight day, and most new cases over the past week have been "imported" ones, showing clear signs of a slowdown here. According to the KCDC, a 29-year-old man living in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, was confirmed to have COVID-19, marking the first local case in four days. An epidemiological investigation showed that the man has come into close contact with at least 57 other people, but there is the possibility that he contacted many more as he had visited several nightclubs in Itaewon, late Friday, officials noted. "We need further investigation to find out the man's movements for the past 14 days and how many people he has had contact with," Kwon Joon-wook, head of the National Institute of Health under the KCDC, said during a media briefing. Among the 57, a 31-year-old man living in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, who went clubbing with the 29-year-old also tested positive, according to the Anyang City government, Thursday. Officials stressed that although the government loosened its guidelines on social distancing starting Wednesday, it is too early to relax yet, calling on citizens to abide by basic rules such as keeping a distance of about two meters between each other, washing hands frequently and wearing face masks. They cited that COVID-19 patients whose route of infection has yet to be identified continue to be reported, and that there could be a considerable number of infected people with no symptoms thus not detected by the health authorities. "The government will continue to check its quarantine system in preparation for a possible second wave of infections," Health and Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo said during a government meeting on COVID-19 responses. The minister also asked people to refrain from visiting their parents in nursing homes on Parents' Day falling Friday, as those facilities housing senior citizens remain especially vulnerable to infections. Yoon Tae-ho, a senior health ministry official in charge of containment measures, noted the government is ensuring a stable supply of coronavirus testing kits, saying, "We can still carry out 20,000 tests a day." Food and Drug Safety Minister Lee Eui-kyung said the ministry also plans to stockpile at least 100 million face masks in preparation for another supply crisis. States paid out a whopping $75.3 billion in unemployment compensation benefits in 2009. COVID-19, because of the colossal number of job losses it has created, is expected to trigger a recession far worse. The good news is that states are substantially more prepared today than they were at the onset of the Great Recession, wrote Jared Walczak of the The Tax Foundation. The bad news is that some estimates of unemployment during the coronavirus pandemic have it far outstripping job losses during the Great Recession, and even if the worst estimates prove overly pessimistic, no one can doubt that state UI funds face a financial reckoning. Walczak goes on to explain that 21 states were found by the Department of Labor to potentially have a shortage of funds on hand to tough out a recession. Six of the states with the lowest solvency levels are some of the countrys most populous: California, New York, Texas, Illinois, Massachusetts and Ohio. To put these numbers in context, Walczak writes, consider this: if unemployment claims simply matched the average of the three highest benefit costs over the past two decades (which would mean fewer claims than in the Great Recession), Californias trust fund would run out in about 10 weeks. Sure enough, here we are. Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - May 7, 2020) - Cuda Oil and Gas Inc. (TSXV: CUDA) ("Cuda" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an Agreement with the Company's institutional lender (the "Lender") to extend the expiration of its 1st and 2nd Loan Facilities (the "Facilities") with an aggregate principal amount of $43.6 million, from June 26, 2020 and March 31, 2020, respectively, to July 31, 2020. In connection with the extension of the Facilities, interest on the 2nd Loan Facility, with a principal amount of $8.3 million, was increased by 725 basis points. There was no change to interest on the 1st Loan Facility . In addition to the extension, the Company also received an unsecured promissory note from an outside party in the amount of $100,000. Glenn Dawson, President and Chief Execuitve Officer of Cuda, stated: "In spite of unprecedented volatility in commodity prices which has lead to severe financial duress throughout the energy industry worldwide, the extension of both the 1st and 2nd Loan Facilities and the establishment of a new unsecured promissory note speaks to our Lenders' confidence in our asset in the Powder River Basin and our progress to advance the miscible gas-flood program. Progress on the development of the asset continues to exceed expectations and production at the asset remains economic at $15/bbl WTI. We look forward to updating our stakeholders on field-level results of the program shortly." KES 7 Capital Inc. ("KES 7") acted as financial advisor to the Company. Subject to the approval of the TSX-V, the Company is to issue warrants as commission for advisory services rendered based on a fee of $25,000 calculated using the Black Scholes Model with the strike price on the day of signing of the Agreement to extend the Loan Facilities. About Cuda Oil and Gas Inc. Cuda Oil and Gas Inc. is engaged in the business of exploring for, developing and producing oil and natural gas, and acquiring oil in Wyoming and Alberta properties. The Cuda management team has worked closely together for over 20 years in both private and public company environments and has an established track record of delivering strong shareholder returns. Cuda will continue to implement its proven strategy of exploring, acquiring, and exploiting with a long-term focus on large, light oil resource- based assets across North America including significant operational experience in the United States. The Cuda management team brings a full spectrum of geotechnical, engineering, negotiating and financial experience to its investment decisions. For further information please contact: Glenn Dawson President and Chief Executive Officer Cuda Oil and Gas Inc. (403) 454-0862 Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties and are based on forecasts of future operational or financial results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. In particular, this news release includes forward-looking information relating to the Company's Credit Facility and use of proceeds there, from exploration and development activities, and activity levels in the Company's core areas. Risk factors that could prevent forward-looking statements from being realized include market conditions, third party and regulatory approvals, ongoing permitting requirements, the actual results of current exploration and development activities, operational risks, risks associated with drilling and completions, uncertainty of geological and technical data, conclusions of economic evaluations and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined as well as future oil and gas prices. Although Cuda has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention and has no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture 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/55530 Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to the charges, was one of the first Trump aides charged in Russia investigation. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday said it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trumps first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for the president and his supporters in attacking the FBIs Trump-Russia investigation. The move is a stunning reversal for one of the signature cases brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. It comes even though prosecutors for the past three years have maintained that Flynn lied to the FBI in a January 2017 interview about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. Flynn himself admitted as much, pleading guilty before asking to withdraw the plea, and becoming a key witness for Mueller as the special counsel investigated ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign. In court documents filed Thursday, the DOJ said it is dropping the case after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information. In the filing, the DOJ said it had concluded that Flynns interview by the FBI was untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBIs counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn and that the interview was conducted without any legitimate investigative basis. I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2017 The US attorney reviewing the Flynn case, Jeff Jensen, recommended dropping the case to US Attorney General William Barr last week and formalised the recommendation in a document this week. Through the course of my review of General Flynns case, I concluded the proper and just course was to dismiss the case, Jensen said in a statement. I briefed Attorney General Barr on my findings, advised him on these conclusions, and he agreed. The decision is certain to be embraced by Trump, who has relentlessly tweeted about the case and last week pronounced Flynn exonerated. The ruling is also likely to energise supporters who have taken up the retired Army lieutenant general as a cause. But it will also add to Democratic complaints that Barr is excessively loyal to the president, and could be a distraction for a DOJ that for months has sought to focus on crimes arising from the coronavirus. 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 Earlier this year, Barr appointed US Attorney Jeff Jensen of St Louis to investigate the handling of Flynns case. As part of that process, the DOJ gave Flynns attorneys a series of emails and notes, including one handwritten note from a senior FBI official that mapped out internal deliberations about the purpose of the Flynn interview. Whats our goal? Truth/admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired? the official wrote. Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017, among the first of the presidents aides to admit guilt in Muellers investigation. He acknowledged that he lied about his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, in which he encouraged Russia not to retaliate against the US for sanctions imposed by the Obama administration over election interference. He provided such extensive cooperation that prosecutors said he was entitled to a sentence of probation instead of prison. Mark Ruffalos work in the limited series I Know This Much Is True (Sunday on HBO) continues in that tradition, but less through explosive showmanship than a more minor-key sort of skillfulness. Ruffalo, playing twins Dominick and Thomas Birdsey, is given ample raw material: The script, based on Wally Lambs novel, places Dominick, a relatively even-keeled fellow, in perpetual counterpoint to Thomas, whom we first meet when he cuts off his own hand in a public library. Its an act of ritual sacrifice that Thomas believes will end the then-ongoing first Gulf War, and its also a way for the viewer to distinguish between two brothers, who now only have three hands between them. But when we see Dominick by Thomas bedside in the hospital, commonalities emerge. Dominick, acceding to Thomas request that doctors not attempt to reattach the severed hand, bears an attitude of irredeemable sadness that seems to share a border with Thomas ecstatic brokenness. Both brothers carry the weight of the world; Ruffalo, playing off himself, illuminates how they shoulder it differently even as he reveals the simple fact that the burden is indeed shared. Vashi APMC traders see supplies to Mumbai impacted over movement curbs. A number of trucks sent to Mumbai from the market has reduced from 600 per day in recent times to around 300. IMAGE: The APMC fruit market is shifted to a ground after a security persons was found positive for COVID-19. Photograph: PTI Photo The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporations (NMMCs) public notice restricting movement of people in essential services to Navi Mumbai from Mumbai has left traders jittery. This is because it could potentially disturb the functioning of the Vashi agricultural produce market committee (APMC) and also disturb supplies to Mumbai. NMMC commissioner had said cases of COVID-19 in the Mumbai region are higher and people coming from there are importing the virus to Navi Mumbai. As a result, an advisory notice was issued saying people coming from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai will have to find accommodation in Navi Mumbai. Several workers and even many traders in Vashi APMCs come from Mumbai and Thane. Now, fear has spread in the all major segments of Vashi APMC, including grains, vegetables, fruits and spices spread across 200 acres. IMAGE: Worker sprays disinfectant on vehicles entering Vashi's APMC Masala Market after few COVID-19 positive cases were detected in the area. Photograph: PTI Photo The labour force has also reduced significantly while traders are avoiding regular visits despite the market remaining open. Business has already started shrinking. A number of trucks sent to Mumbai from the market has reduced from 600 per day in recent times to around 300. This is because transporters are afraid of going to the New Mumbai market. A source said, Already, grain suppliers coming from other cities and places to Vashi have been told not to come till the situation improves at the mandi as there is acute shortage of labour there. With 13 new cases identified recently, the total number of COVID-19 patients connected directly and indirectly to the Vashi APMC yard has jumped to 73 now. In Navi Mumbai itself, 34 new confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in 24 hours, taking the total number of patients to 348. The NMMC has put out a public notice, restricting movement of people from Navi Mumbai to Mumbai. Citizens travelling everyday from Navi Mumbai to Mumbai for essential services will be restricted from May 7 to avoid spread of Covid-19, the notice said. The public notice is just a request for traders to arrange for a temporary shelter for themselves and their workmen in and around Vashi APMC to avoid travelling from Mumbai, said Anil Chavan, secretary, Vashi APMC. Participants at the Vashi vegetable mandi are worried and one senior functionary recommended the administration of the mandi to close it for two weeks. IMAGE: Workers violate social distancing norms as they unload fruits from trucks at APMC market, during the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus. Photograph: PTI Photo Meanwhile, the administration of various sections of the APMC yard have started taking steps to curb entry of people. The vegetables and fruits section, for example, has restricted entry of retail customers. The section administration has put a minimum purchase limit of Rs 10,000 per person to get entry permission. Earlier, even retail customers seeking 2.5-5 kgs of fruits and vegetables were allowed to purchase goods of their choice. Fruits and vegetables require physical verification of quality. And therefore, trading through telephone may not be possible. "Only physical participants can check the quality and purchase the quantity as per their requirement. "Hence, we have kept the minimum ticket size of purchase at Rs 10,000, said Chavan. The grains and spices sections have started encouraging customers to book their quantity through telephone. But, delivery of goods will have to be done only from the APMC yard. We have successfully brought down the daily entry of people to 60,000 now from over 100,000 before the nationwide lockdown started from March 25, said Chavan. Indian banks are reportedly mulling creation of a bad bank to deal with non-performing assets (NPAs) amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Various members of Indian Banks' Association (IBA) have given initial thoughts to set up a bad bank owing to the banking sector sitting on high provision NPAs, Rajnish Kumar, CMD of State Bank of India (SBI) said, CNBC-TV18 reported. "These are some initial thoughts at the IBA level and by many members in IBA," Rajnish Kumar said. It's the right time to have such a financial structure since most banks are holding a very high level of provisions, negatively impacting credit and economic growth, Kumar was also quoted as saying. Kumar also said that only when banks reach a consensus, the next move could be taken. A recent report by The Economic Times had said that banks intend to ask for an initial contribution of nearly Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 crore from the government. Bad Bank A bank may, over the years, accumulate a large portfolio of debts or other financial instruments which unexpectedly increase in risk, making it difficult for it to raise capital. This is where a bad bank or Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC) helps. Once it is formed, banks divide assets into two categories -- one with non-performing assets and risky liabilities and the other with healthy assets, which help them grow financially. The goal of the segregation is to allow investors to assess the bank's financial health with greater certainty. Though first pioneered in the US in 1988, the idea of forming a bad bank in India was initially floated in January 2017 when the Economic Survey of India suggested setting up a Public Sector Asset Rehabilitation Agency (PARA). Also read: Coronavirus India Live Updates: COVID-19 cases to peak in June-July, says AIIMS Director; total cases-52,952 Also read: Vizag gas leak: Gas valve malfunction, valve burst triggered accident; 8 dead, 200 hospitalised The Uttar Pradesh government has lifted a ban on the manufacture and sale of 'paan masala', according to an official order issued here. The order, however, clarified that the ban on manufacture, storage and sale of 'gutka/paan masala' with nicotine and tobacco will continue. The sale of these products will be in accordance with the guidelines of the Home Department. "The ban on manufacturing and sale of 'paan masala' imposed on March 25 has been lifted," Commissioner Food Security and Drug administration Anita Singh said in the order issued on Wednesday. The Yogi Adityanath government had banned manufacture and sale of 'paan masala', saying the move would help stop the spread of coronavirus in the state. "Manufacturing, sale and storage of 'paan masala' is being banned in the state till further orders," Food Security Commissioner Ministhy S had said in an order issued on March 25. "Spitting 'paan masala' can help in spreading COVID-19," the order had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Velodyne Lidar Sensors Power GeoSLAM's Data Capture Solutions Velodyne Lidar, Inc. today announced a multi-year sales agreement with GeoSLAM, a global market leader in 3D geospatial technology solutions. GeoSLAM uses Velodyne lidar sensors in its ZEB-HORIZON mobile scanner that provides 3D mapping of indoor, underground and difficult to access environments without the need for GPS. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005153/en/ GeoSLAM uses Velodyne's Puck LITE sensor in its ZEB-HORIZON mobile scanner that provides 3D mapping of indoor, underground and difficult to access environments without the need for GPS. (Photo: GeoSLAM) Velodyne's Puck LITE sensors enable GeoSLAM systems to achieve data capture of intricate measurements from up to 100 meters away, delivering rapid results that can save time and money. ZEB-HORIZON addresses a wide variety of solutions, including building information modeling (BIM), construction, real estate, surveying and mining. In an innovative application, Virginia Tech researchers are bringing a World War I battlefield to classrooms and museums with ZEB-HORIZON mapping as part of a virtual reality experience. GeoSLAM scanners are also being deployed by Entropy Group to map K-12 schools in the United States to provide first responders with detailed floor plans in emergency situations. "Working with Velodyne has opened up new possibilities for collecting geospatial data, allowing companies to capture, process and understand the world around them," said Darren Burford, Chief Revenue Officer, GeoSLAM. "We combined Velodyne sensors with our robust SLAM algorithm to create an easy-to-use mobile product that can generate 3D point clouds in real time." "GeoSLAM is helping companies transform their businesses with go-anywhere 3D mapping solutions that enable fast data collection in a variety of environments," said Erich Smidt, Executive Director Europe, Velodyne Lidar. "Their solutions demonstrate how Velodyne sensors can help decision makers create digital twins digital replicas of physical structures and other areas of interest that have great accuracy and detail." Velodyne Puck LITE sensors deliver a high-resolution image to measure and analyze indoor, outdoor and underground environments. Designed for applications that require a sensor with a low weight and compact size, the Puck LITE delivers outstanding resolution and performance for UAV/drone, handheld and vehicle applications. It provides a full 360-degree environmental view to deliver real-time 3D data. About Velodyne Lidar Velodyne provides smart, powerful lidar solutions for autonomy and driver assistance. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., Velodyne is known worldwide for its portfolio of breakthrough lidar sensor technologies. Velodyne's founder, David Hall, invented real-time surround view lidar systems in 2005 as part of Velodyne Acoustics. Mr. Hall's invention revolutionized perception and autonomy for automotive, new mobility, mapping, robotics, and security. Velodyne's high-performance product line includes a broad range of sensing solutions, including the cost-effective Puck, the versatile Ultra Puck, the autonomy-advancing Alpha Prime, the ADAS-optimized Velarray, and the groundbreaking software for driver assistance, Vella. About GeoSLAM (www.geoslam.com) Headquartered in the UK, GeoSLAM is a global market leader in "go-anywhere" 3D mobile mapping technology. Its unique handheld technology is highly versatile and adaptable to all environments especially spaces that are indoor, underground or difficult to access, providing accurate 3D mapping without the need for GPS. GeoSLAM technology is easy to use and within minutes customers can build a highly accurate 3D model of their environment. The company was founded in 2012 as a joint venture between CSIRO (Australia's National Science Agency) and 3D Laser Mapping. Serving the surveying, engineering, mining, forestry, facilities and asset management sectors, GeoSLAM has an expanding global network of over 70 distributors including over 15 in U.S. locations https://geoslam.com/contact/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005153/en/ Contacts: Media Contact Landis Communications Inc. Sean Dowdall (415) 286-7121 velodyne@landispr.com VP Pence Supports VA Church Case NEWS PROVIDED BY Liberty Counsel May 7, 2020 WASHINGTON, May 7, 2020 /Christian Newswire/ -- Vice President Mike Pence spoke in favor of the Virginia church that sued Gov. Ralph Northam. Liberty Counsel represents Lighthouse Fellowship Church whose pastor, Kevin Wilson, received a criminal summons on Palm Sunday for having 16 people, only six people over Gov. Northam's 10-person limit for religious gatherings, in a church that is rated for 293 people. This past Sunday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a Statement of Interest (SOI) and today issued a press release in support of Liberty Counsel's request for an injunction pending appeal regarding Lighthouse Fellowship Church on Chincoteague Island. Vice President Pence said he "strongly agrees" with the Department of Justice filing a Statement of Interest in support of the church. "Even in the midst of a national emergency, every American enjoys our cherished liberties, including the freedom of religion," Pence said on "The Brian Kilmeade Show" on Fox News Radio. Pastor Kevin Wilson and Lighthouse Fellowship Church filed a federal lawsuit against Governor Ralph Northam for violating their religious freedom by targeting churchgoers on Palm Sunday. Police served a summons to Pastor Wilson for holding a church service for 16 people spaced far apart in a sanctuary that is rated for 293 people. The charge is violating Virginia Governor Northam's COVID Order 55, with a penalty up to a year in jail and/or a $2,500 fine. The DOJ brief states, in part: "Plaintiff has demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of its claims under the Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution that the Commonwealth's executive orders have prohibited religious gatherings at places of worship, even with social distancing and personal hygiene protocols, while allowing comparable secular gatherings to proceed with social distancing." The DOJ SOI states that the church has "set forth a strong case that the Orders impermissibly interfered with the church's free exercise of religion." The DOJ states "there is no pandemic exception to the Constitution and its Bill of Rights. Indeed, 'individual rights secured by the Constitution do not disappear during a public health crisis'" (In re Abbott, 954 F.3d at 784). Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, "I am pleased to see Vice President Mike Pence remind America of the importance of religious freedom. It is reassuring to have an administration that supports religious freedom. Recognizing the constitutional violations in Virginia against houses of worship, the Department of Justice filed in our case to support the First Amendment right to free exercise of religion in the face of discriminatory orders that give preferential treatment to secular gatherings." Liberty Counsel is a nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics. Liberty Counsel provides broadcast quality TV interviews via Hi-Def Skype and LTN at no cost. SOURCE Liberty Counsel CONTACT: Mat Staver, 407-875-1776, Liberty@LC.org Related Links lc.org/ Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 7, 2020) - Palladium One Mining Inc. (TSXV: PDM) (FSE: 7N11) (OTC Pink: NKORF) (the "Company" or "Palladium One") is pleased to report that results from the Haukiaho Induced Polarization (IP) survey have outlined several new and large chargeability drill targets. Highlights: The Haukiaho IP survey grid covered over five (5) kilometers of the seventeen (17) kilometer strike length of the highly prospective Haukiaho trend, ( Figure 1 ). ). The survey identified three new drill target areas of strong chargeability (western, central and eastern), two of which are outside of the historic 2013 Haukiaho resource area (Figure 2, 3 and 4). Preliminary Analysis: The western chargeability anomaly corresponds well with the 2013 historic Haukiaho resource estimate and suggests a known 200-meter gap in the drilling contains significant mineralization. The central chargeability anomaly appears to occur underneath the bulk of the historic drilling in this area, suggesting the best mineralization has not been drill tested. The eastern chargeability anomaly lies in an area with sparse shallow historic drilling and occurs underneath where the company collected significant prospecting samples in 2019, returning up to 0.51% Cu, 0.33% Ni, and 0.96 g/t PGE (0.18 g/t Pt, 0.56 g/t Pd, 0.21 g/t Au) (see news release August 12, 2019). Target Model: Large tonnage, near surface PGE-Ni-Cu mineralization amenable to open pit mining. Higher grade pods of PGE-Ni-Cu mineralization located in embayment structures along the basal contact of the Koillismaa complex. "It appears that the Haukiaho trend hosts significantly more mineralization than outlined in the historic 2013 Haukiaho resource estimate. The fact that we have two (2) large chargeability drill targets located immediately to the east of the historic resource suggests significant potential to outline additional mineralization along the Haukiaho Trend. As a result, not only do we plan to convert the 2013 historic resource into a current NI43-101 resource estimate following infill drilling, we have the opportunity to significantly expand mineralization to the east" commented Derrick Weyrauch, President and CEO "The Haukiaho trend, east of the historic 2013 Haukiaho resource, has had very limited assaying for PGEs. Reconnaissance drilling by Outokumpu, dating back to the 1960's was only analysed for copper and nickel, yet clear evidence exists that PGEs are present along the contact. The combination of historic drilling paired with newly identified chargeability anomalies has provided several new high-quality drill targets." Commented Neil Pettigrew, Vice President Exploration Figure 1. LK Project with IP survey grids (blue lines). Red circles represent the Kaukua NI43-101 compliant resource estimate, and the 2013 historic Haukiaho resource estimate. Property outlines are based on the form of legal status. To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6502/55510_d958d743b4c12abe_001full.jpg Figure 2. Plan view of the 2020 Haukiaho grid IP survey showing chargeability. To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6502/55510_d958d743b4c12abe_002full.jpg Figure 3. Long section view, looking north, of the 2020 Haukiaho IP survey showing chargeability. To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6502/55510_d958d743b4c12abe_003full.jpg Figure 4. Isometric view, looking northeast of the 2020 Haukiaho IP surveys showing chargeability. To view an enhanced version of Figure 4, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6502/55510_d958d743b4c12abe_004full.jpg Drone Magnetic Survey The Haukiaho mineralization is closely tied to peridotitic rocks along the basal contact of the Koillismaa Complex. These rocks typically contain slightly more copper-nickel sulphide than the Kaukua-style mineralization, which is PGE (palladium, platinum, gold) dominant. Haukiaho rocks also contain abundant magnetite and the mineralized zone is easily traced by airborne magnetics. Therefore, the Company flew a 50-meter spaced high-resolution drone magnetic (Mag) survey over the Haukiaho grid (Figure 5). This survey has provided excellent detail and assisted in refining the geological model and drill hole targeting in the Haukiaho trend. The combination of Haukiaho Mag and IP surveys has provided strong evidence suggesting that Haukiaho-type mineralization not only extends well to the east of the 2013 historic Haukiaho resource but that higher-grade pods also occur. Figure 5. Haukiaho 50-meter spaced drone magnetic survey, First Vertical Derivative. To view an enhanced version of Figure 5, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6502/55510_d958d743b4c12abe_005full.jpg Historic Haukiaho Resource Estimate In 2013, Finore Mining Inc. completed a non-pit constrained NI43-101 historic resource estimate at Haukiaho (Figure 6). This resource encompassed widely spaced drilling with a focus on maximizing tonnage, not grade. An earlier historic resource completed by Outokumpu in the 1980's covering a much larger part of the Haukiaho trend was focused more on grade and used a 0.7% Cu_eq cut-off (defined as Cu% + 2 x Ni%) and returned 7 million tonnes grading 0.38% Cu and 0.24% Ni, however importantly, no PGE assays were conducted. As a result, based on the previous work conducted at Haukiaho, opportunity exists to increase grade and to increase known mineralization. Figure 6. Palladium equivalent (Pd_eq) grade shells along the Haukiaho Trend. Note: Pd_eq grades generated using historic drilling east of the 2013 historic resource, frequently include holes for which only copper-nickel analysis were conducted, therefore underestimating the actual Pd_eq grade. Pd_eq calculation used metal prices (in USD) of $1,100/oz for Pd, $950/oz for Pt, $1,300/oz for Au, $6,614/t for Cu and $15,432/t for Ni which are the same as those used in the Company's pit-constrained NI43-101 Kaukua zone resource estimate (see September 9 2019 news release). To view an enhanced version of Figure 6, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6502/55510_d958d743b4c12abe_006full.jpg Qualified Person The technical information in this release has been reviewed and verified by Neil Pettigrew, M.Sc., P. Geo, Vice President of Exploration and a director of the Company and the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About Palladium One Palladium One Mining Inc. is a palladium dominant, PGE, nickel, copper exploration and development company. Its assets consist of the Lantinen Koillismaa ("LK") and Kostonjarvi ("KS") PGE-Cu-Ni projects, located in north-central Finland and the Tyko Ni-Cu-PGE and Disraeli PGE-Ni-Cu properties in Ontario, Canada. All projects are 100% owned and are of a district scale. LK is an advanced project targeting disseminated sulphide along 38 kilometers of favorable basal contact. The KS project is targeting massive sulphide within a 20,000-hectare land package covering a regional scale gravity and magnetic geophysical anomaly. Tyko is a 13,000-hectare project targeting disseminated and massive sulphide in a highly metamorphosed Archean terrain. Disraeli is a 2,500-hectare project targeting PGE-rich disseminated and massive sulphide in a highly productive Proterozoic mid-continent rift. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Derrick Weyrauch" President & CEO, Director For further information contact: Derrick Weyrauch, President & CEO Email: info@palladiumoneinc.com Phone: 1-778-327-5799 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Market Regulator (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 is not an offer or a solicitation of an offer of securities for sale in the United States of America. The common shares of Palladium One Mining Inc. have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration. Information set forth in this press release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address a company's expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, risks associated with project development; the need for additional financing; operational risks associated with mining and mineral processing; fluctuations in palladium and other commodity prices; title matters; environmental liability claims and insurance; reliance on key personnel; the absence of dividends; competition; dilution; the volatility of our common share price and volume; and tax consequences to Canadian and U.S. Shareholders. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55510 Angelina Jolie is one of Hollywoods brightest stars, a beautiful, intriguing actress who has been involved in many major blockbusters. All throughout her career, Jolies personal life has been a subject of intense speculation. Her long-term romance with Brad Pitt made tabloid headlines on a regular basis, and even now that they are divorced, people cant stop speculating about what went wrong. Jolie is also a mother to a large brood of children. Recently, she opened up in a rare interview, explaining why she never thought that being a mother was in the cards for her. How did Angelina Jolie become famous? Angelina Jolie | Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images Jolie was born in California in 1975. She is the daughter of famed actor Jon Voight but has had a notoriously rocky relationship with her father over the years. She was raised in the world of show business and attended red carpet events with her father when she was a young child. Jolie felt drawn to a career in acting and enrolled in the famed Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. Jolie practiced her craft by acting in a wide variety of stage productions. In the early nineties, Jolie began breaking into films. A few of her early movies included Without Evidence, Hackers, and Love Is All There Is. While Jolies looks received a great deal of attention, her acting didnt really begin to make waves until her breakthrough role in the HBO film Gia. Playing a doomed supermodel, Jolies intense persona worked perfectly, and she was nominated for several awards. After Gia came roles in films like Pushing Tin, Girl, Interrupted, and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. By the early 2000s, Jolie was an international superstar, a subject of fascination for fans everywhere. How many kids does Angelina Jolie have? Jolie might have had a dysfunctional childhood, but in early 2002, she started a family of her own by adopting a Cambodian orphan whom she named Maddox. Not long after she adopted Maddox, she began a relationship with actor Brad Pitt, a superstar in his own right. The two made headlines daily, and fans couldnt get enough of their dynamic. Jolie and Pitt went on to adopt two more children, Pax and Zahara. They also welcomed three biological children, a daughter named Shiloh Nouvel and twins named Knox and Vivienne. Jolie and Pitt raised their large family in relative privacy, and in spite of their 2016 divorce, they have continued to co-parent their six children. These days, Jolie spends the majority of her time on her charitable efforts, parenting her kids, and working on occasional acting projects. Her wild-child past is long behind her, but the actress still remembers a time when her life was very different. Angelina Jolie recently reflected on motherhood Angelina Jolie visits The United Nations on September 14, 2017 in New York City | Michael Loccisano/Getty Images In a recent special edition of Time, Jolie opened up about becoming a mother and taking on a whole new set of responsibilities. I was not a very stable youth. In fact, I never thought I could be anyones mom, Jolie wrote. I remember the decision to become a parent. It wasnt hard to love. What was hard was knowing that from now on I needed to be the one to make sure everything was okay. Jolie also wrote down her best advice for parents forced to multitask while home with their children, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Your children dont want you perfect. They just want you honest, she writes. And doing your best. Clearly, Jolie has achieved the kind of maturity that many Hollywood stars could only dream of. New Delhi: News of the early success of vaccine candidates -- from Israel and Italy -- on Wednesday made it to headlines across the globe. The defence ministry of Israel announced a breakthrough in the development of an antibody while biotech firm Takis in Italy said vaccine tests conducted at Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases in Rome had shown positive effects. So what are these vaccines and what effects have they shown? News18 explains. What are the claims made by Israels defence ministry about its vaccine? Israel's Defence Minister Naftali Bennett said scientists at the Israel Institute of Biological Research (IIBR) had developed an antibody to COVID-19. Bennett claimed it was a "significant breakthrough" and that researchers are moving to patent and mass-produce the potential treatment. The IIBR is a secretive organisation that works directly under the Israel Prime Ministers Office. The Times of Israel reported that the antibodys development had been completed and that researchers will approach international companies to produce the antibody on a commercial scale. However, the report also said that the antibodies were yet to be tested on humans. What are the claims made by the Italian biotech firm? Takis in collaboration with Applied DNA Sciences Inc. is working on a vaccine. The company was carrying out animal studies at the Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases in Rome. It said on Wednesday that during animal studies their vaccine produced antibodies that had a neutralising effect on the virus, according to the Associated Press. Dr Luigi Aurisicchio, CEO and chief scientific officer at Takis, reportedly said: Thanks to the Spallanzanis kills, as far as we know, we are among the first in the world to have demonstrated the neutralisation of the coronavirus by a vaccine. We believe this will also happen in humans. According to reports, the company is likely to commence human trials soon. The DNA-based vaccine was able to produce an antibody response against the spoke protein of the virus in mice. What is the WHOs solidarity trial? To integrate some of the overlapping efforts of scientists from across the world to find an effective treatment for the novel coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched an international solidarity clinical trial. This will compare four treatment options against the standard of care to assess their relative effectiveness against COVID-19, it said. One of the crucial reasons behind this effort is to expedite the process of trials and increase its scale. It usually takes years to design and conduct clinical trials for emerging diseases. WHO said the solidarity trial will reduce this by 80%. Enrolling patients in one single randomised trial will help facilitate the rapid worldwide comparison of unproven treatments. This will overcome the risk of multiple small trials not generating the strong evidence needed to determine the relative effectiveness of potential treatments, it said. Over 100 countries are working together on this issue. Based on evidence from laboratory, animal and clinical studies, Remdesivir, Lopinavir/Ritonavir, Lopinavir/Ritonavir with Interferon beta-1a and Chloroquine, or Hydroxychloroquine were the options selected for the trials. North Korea is nearing completion on a giant new facility that could be used to assemble, store and test its most powerful nuclear missiles. The base, under construction at Sil-li near the capital city of Pyongyang, features a rail line connecting to nearby missile factories, three construction hangars and a large underground storage area. Satellite images suggest the facility will be finished either late this year or in early 2021, when it could be used by Kim Jong Un to protect and bolster the country's stockpile of nuclear weapons. The base will be heavily guarded by 17 air defense bases, multiple ground bases, and nearby anti-aircraft batteries, researchers said. North Korea is nearing completion on a new facility near the capital Pyongyang that could be used to construct, protect and test nuclear missiles At the heart of the facility are three inter-connected hangars with roads running through them - including one with a raised section that would be tall enough to house North Korea's most powerful nuclear missile upright, meaning it could be fired from there if the roof can retract It comes after the collapse of negotiations between Kim and President Trump, aimed at getting North Korea to dismantle its nukes. Researchers from the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the US said construction on the base began around 2016, when North Korea was developing nuclear missiles capable of hitting the US. Construction workers are believed to have repurposed an underground hangar built in the 1980s to house fighter jets but since abandoned, and built the new base around it. The village of Sil-li, which previously sat on the site, was almost completely demolished to make way for the new base. At its heart sits three large hangars with roads running through them and which are connected by tunnels. One of the hangars includes a large raised centre section, which researchers say is tall enough to house a Hwasong-14 or Hwasong-15 nuclear missile while positioned upright on top of a launcher. The facility also features a railway line and covered station which connects to nearby factories producing missile components, meaning they could be brought here for assembly The base also repurposes an old underground storage area - previously used to store aircraft - that could now be used to store nuclear missiles The base is surrounded by a perimeter fence and an access road, which is still under construction in images taken on April 15 this year The base is located close to Pyongyang International Airport, not far from North Korea's capital The entrances to all the hangars and the interconnecting roads are also large enough for the missiles and their launchers to fit through. This lead researchers to conclude that they will be used for constructing and carrying out maintenance on missiles and launchers. The large raised section, while covered by a roof, could also be used to test-launch the missiles, they said - assuming the roof can be retracted. Images also reveal a railway line coming into the facility, stopping at a covered station with a platform large enough to load and unload large objects. This line connects to nearby factories which are thought to produce missile components, meaning it could be used to bring them to the facility so missiles can be assembled there. The underground facility could then be used to store the missiles and their launchers, which North Korea has used to threaten the US in the past. 'Taken as a whole, these characteristics suggest that this facility is likely designed to support ballistic missile operations,' the report says. In order to create the base, North Korea razed the nearby village of Sil-li and replaced it with housing for workers and a likely troop garrison Pictured is a Hwasong-15 missile - North Korea's most powerful nuclear missile - on a launcher and parked in a hangar similar to the one seen at the new base North Korea last tested a Hwasong-15 missile in 2017 (pictured), and claimed the weapon is capable of ranging the whole of the US mainland Construction of the facility began in mid-2016 when concrete foundations for the three main buildings were poured, before walls were erected the following year (pictured) 'While the precise function of the facility is unclear, its configuration and the size of its buildings and [underground facility] indicate that it can be used for: '- The assembly of ballistic missiles from components delivered by rail from nearby ballistic missile component factories. '- Accommodate all known and anticipated North Korean ballistic missiles and their launchers. '- Depot-level maintenance, storage of ballistic missiles and their transporters, or any combination of these functions.' The base also features several support structures, including barracks for workers and a garrison of troops. North Korea is though to possess between 20 and 30 nuclear missiles and have enough fissile material to construct up to 60 more, the Arms Control Association reported in June last year. Kim (pictured during a recent visit to a fertiliser factory) is believed to have continued expanding North Korea's nuclear arsenal and could possess up to 40 warheads Kim Jong-un is thought to have continued constructing missiles since then and may now have amassed up to 40, a researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute predicted last year. If the new research is accurate, then the Sil-li facility could be used to expand that stockpile further. The underground hangar, meanwhile, could be used to thwart attempts to destroy the stockpile before it can be used. Images suggest Kim pushed ahead with construction of the facility even while talks with Trump about dismantling his nukes were ongoing. The two leaders last met in Hanoi in February last year, when Trump walked away from the table amid North Korea's insistence that economic sanctions be lifted before it starts dismantling missiles. North Korea has since resumed short-range missile testing in an apparent attempt to force Trump back to the negotiating table. North Korea appears to have pressed ahead with the facility despite negotiations between Kim and President Trump (pictured) about destroying the country's stockpile However, it has refrained from testing its longest range Hwasong-14 and Hwasong-15 missiles, which it claims can strike the US, after Kim gave assurances to Trump. News that a new facility capable of testing those weapons casts a long shadow over US-North Korean relations, and raises the prospect of a new escalation. The facility was revealed shortly after Kim Jong Un reappeared following a lengthy disappearance from the public eye - including missing his grandfather's birthday celebration on April 15. Such a move is unprecedented for Kim, and sparked wild speculation that he might have died or been left in a vegetative state after surgery. Rumours were apparently put to bed when state-run media published images last week of Kim visiting a fertiliser factory. While some eagle-eyed viewers have suggested the dictator deployed a body double, South Korea remains insistent that Kim is alive and well. Diplomats say Kim likely fled the capital Pyongyang to his holiday home of Wonsan to escape the threat of coronavirus, which is believed to be spreading throughout North Korea despite the country not acknowledging any cases. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday to throw out both convictions in New Jersey's infamous "Bridgegate" scandal. Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni, two allies of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), were convicted of fraud and conspiracy for arranging in 2013 to reshape the traffic flow of the George Washington Bridge and create gridlock in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The Supreme Court decided there was "no doubt" of "wrongdoing" in the case, but that it didn't constitute "property fraud." Evidence in the case "no doubt shows wrongdoing deception, corruption, abuse of power," Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the unanimous opinion. But Kelly and Baroni "could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws" because they didn't "aim to obtain money or property," the opinion continued. "The federal fraud statutes at issue do not criminalize all such conduct," the justices concluded in reversing a lower court's decision. Baroni and Kelly's scheme was intended to punish the mayor of Fort Lee, a Democrat, for not endorsing Christie's re-election. Baroni was sentenced to 18 months in prison and started serving his term last year. Kelly was sentenced to 13 months but never ended up serving any time, with the Supreme Court accepting her appeal just two weeks before she was due to report. More stories from theweek.com Trump reportedly got 'lava level mad' over potential exposure to coronavirus Trump cryptically tells reporters 'a lot of things' might happen soon following call with Putin Sen. Joe Manchin forgot to mute a call with Senate Democrats while he went through an Arby's drive-through Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Thursday said that 487 policemen have tested COVID-19 positive in the state ever since the nationwide lockdown came into force. The lockdown was imposed on March 24 and has been extended till May 17 to contain the spread of coronavirus. Taking to Twitter, Deshmukh said, "487 police personnel have tested positive for COVID-19 since the lockdown." In a series of tweets, he also said that there is a steady rise in the number of calls regarding COVID-19 on the police helpline number 100. The minister added as many as 85,309 calls have been received on the number so far. The NCP leader also said that 3,10,694 passes have been issued for essential service providers and those caught in emergencies till now. The minister said that 2,24,219 people have been isolated in the state for possible exposure to the coronavirus and 649 were found to be violating the quarantine. "The state govt's running 4,738 relief camps where 4,35,030 migrant labourers have been given refuge with food & necessities. 1,281 offences have been registered for illegal transport," he said on the micro-blogging site. The minister added that as many as 96,231 offences have been registered under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code since the lockdown was imposed, leading to 18,858 arrests and seizure of 53,330 vehicles. "Cumulatively Rs 3,56,81,994 have been collected in fines from offenders. There've been 189 instances of assaults on policemen," Deshmukh said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 7, 2020) - Smooth Rock Ventures Corp. (TSXV: SOCK) ("Smooth Rock" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Alan R. Day B.Sc, as President, CEO and Director of the Company effective immediately. Mr. Day has 30 years of exploration and mining experience with a focus on precious metals, copper and nickel. Alan has held senior project management roles in exploration, mining as well as environmental remediation programs within Nevada, Utah, Idaho, California, Alaska and Mexico. Mr. Day has extensive experience in property acquisitions and divestures, in addition to mineral claim locating with primary emphasis on Nevada. Mr. Day's company, Mineral Exploration Services, Ltd. was formed in 1998 to serve the mining industry in property acquisitions and divestures, claim locating, complete exploration services, including geological consulting and project management. Mineral Exploration Services, Ltd., operates primarily in the western United States, including Alaska, Mexico, and throughout the world. Clients have included Newmont Mining, Barrick Gold, Anglo American, Meridian Gold, Yamana Resources, Midway Gold and many public and private junior mining companies from all over the world. Mr. Day received a B.S. in Geology and a B.A. in Spanish, from the University of Utah in 1990. Michel David, Interim President and Director of Smooth Rock, stated that: "We are very pleased that Alan has agreed to join the Company, he brings a wealth of experience and an extensive list of industry contacts to the Company. Alan is one of the foremost mineral property landmen in the state of Nevada, we are extremely fortunate to have him on the board and to lead our Company into the future." Mr. Alan R. Day further states: "I am extremely excited to have this opportunity to help build, guide and take Smooth Rock to the next level. Smooth Rock has a very undervalued portfolio of mineral properties in Nevada, which I look forward to unlocking their value and potential." The Company also announces it is granting 1,000,000 incentive stock options to certain officers, directors, consultants and employees of the Company to purchase up to a total of 1,000,000 common shares of the Company at a price of $0.07 per common share for a period of five years. The stock options are subject to the terms of the Company's stock option plan and the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Michel David" Michel David Director FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Smooth Rock Ventures Corp. (TEL)- (888) 909-5548, (FAX)-(888) 909-1033 Email: info@smoothrockventures.com Website: www.smoothrockventures.com 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. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55493 The debate over Taiwan's place within the World Health Organisation has escalated with New Zealand's foreign minister Winston Peters taking aim at the Chinese ambassador. China's Ambassador in Wellington, Wu Xi, issued a statement to the New Zealand government this week, telling them: 'There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is a part of China'. 'We hope New Zealand will continue to abide by this principle, properly handle issues related to Taiwan and uphold the sound development of China-NZ relations with concrete actions.' Mr Peters bluntly responded to the statement, telling Wu Xi: 'Listen to your master'. Winston Peters, Jacinda Ardern's deputy, has fired back at the Chinese ambassador over the Taiwan debate Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and China's Ambassador to New Zealand Wu Xi pose with lion dancers during a Chinese New Year celebration at Parliament on February 19, 2020 'My response to the Chinese Ambassador is to listen to her master, Wang Yi, back in Beijing, who has assured me that China doesn't behave that way or in any way, the way that she might be suggesting,' he told the New Zealand Herald. 'I trust him and I trust their administration to keep their word.' Wu Xi's comments come after the New Zealand Government revealed it formally supported the call to get Taiwan back in the World Health Organisation (WHO). Taiwan is not formally recognised as a country by China or New Zealand, as well as most nations, because Beijing claims sovereignty over the island state. But Peters has previously referred to Taiwan as a country and has also been singing its praises over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. 'They have got something to teach the rest of the world, and every country including China must surely want to know the secret of the success. 'They are a ... world success story on Covid-19. 'Our position is to join a number of countries in seeking to get them put back on the WHO as an observer, when they were in 2016,' he said. He said his support was not political or geo-strategic. 'This decision is entirely consistent with our one-China policy, which remains firm. Our decision is not about politics, it is about global public health, which impacts the health of New Zealanders.' New Zealand has had great success in tackling coronavirus Taiwan was one of the first countries to close its borders to China as the crisis began to escalate, it has recorded just 439 cases and six deaths. In recent weeks, American President Donald Trump reversed earlier praise of China's handling of COVID-19 to lead calls for an investigation into the virus' origins and for the return of Taiwan to the WHO. Allies Australia and Canada are among supporters of the USA's position, but until this week New Zealand had declined to offer full-throated support. Understanding of virus is key to development of treatments and vaccine, and more testing will help in the process. Shenzhen, China A mounting accumulation of studies into COVID-19 indicate significant mutation in the virus associated with the disease, though researchers say they are still far away from understanding how those mutations impact virulence, transmissibility and mortality. Understanding those aspects will be important for everything from finding a vaccine to determining specific treatments based on what mutation has infected a patient and possibly how testing is more accurately conducted, they say. A new study from researchers at University College London examining samples from more than 7,500 people with COVID-19 has uncovered 198 mutations of the virus SARS-Cov-2 and possibly keys to finding vaccines and treatments to best target the disease. What UCL researchers found is that mutations are not evenly distributed across the genome of the virus, meaning some parts vary more than others. This suggests that vaccines focused on those areas that do not change much from mutation to mutation could be most effective. Vaccine and drug design efforts should preferentially target the conserved regions which are harder for the virus to evade, Lucy van Dorp, a research associate with the UCL Genetics Institute told Al Jazeera. Natural process At the moment, however, researchers do not have a good understanding on the impact of specific mutations, Van Dorp said, though they do know that the mutations are part of a natural process and not any faster or slower than what is expected for this kind of virus. What we do know is that the very vast majority of mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome are likely to be neutral without impact, Van Dorp said. Digging deeper into the specifics of the mutations and those areas within the genome where the virus is similar across the board warrants closer study, she said. Scientists around the world are working to better understand the novel coronaviruss genetic information to develop effective treatments and a potential vaccine [File: Francois Mori/AP Photo] These sites [within the genome] may hold clues to how the virus is adapting to the human host as well as suggesting which regions might easily evade drugs and vaccines, Van Dorp said. With some 3.7 million people diagnosed with the virus worldwide and nearly 264,000 confirmed deaths, the race is on to find vaccines and treatments to protect people against the virus, amid concern that it could emerge stronger in the latter half of 2020 after subsiding in the coming months. Li Junhua, Director of the Omics Research Institute at Chinas top genomics institute BGI in Shenzhen, is one of the scientists working on sequencing the SARS-Cov-2 genome as well as developing testing kits to accurately determine who has contracted COVID-19. This unique position of working with the sequencing and testing data directly from the 10 million BGI kits already produced has helped crunch the data for those modelling transmission and geographic spread, and for immunologists and vaccine designers looking for cures. Fortunately, from what he has seen, variations in the mutations have not been significant enough to affect the reliability of testing, Li said. Of bigger concern is how little is still understood about the virus itself. Regarding treatment, I dont think we have gathered enough knowledge yet about how to tailor treatments for COVID-19 patients according to the mutations of their SARS-CoV-2 infection, Li told Al Jazeera. For vaccine development, considering SARS-CoV-2 is an RNA virus, its intrinsic high mutation rate will make it a challenging candidate for vaccine development, he added. A laboratory technician extracts genetic material from a potential COVID-19 specimen in the US state of Mississippi [Mississippi State Department of Health, via AP Photo] Viruses are classified either as DNA or RNA depending on their genetic material with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Ebola, Influenza and HIV all RNA viruses. A recent study by the State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Disease at Zhejiang University in China indicated that the ability of the virus to mutate was stronger than expected and that this might have an impact on the deadliness of various strains. The papers researchers declined to comment when approached by Al Jazeera because the research is still in a peer review process, they said. The study was led by Li Lanjuan, the scientist who first proposed locking down Wuhan, Hubei province where the outbreak originated late in 2019. We still dont know much about the association between mutations and virulence, transmissibility or mortality, Li of BGI said, but added that he thought the Zhejiang University study would help answer these concerns. More data needed At the moment, according to Van Dorp, there is not enough evidence to link the mutations that are currently known directly to changes in virus transmissibility or infectivity. This may change as we generate more data and conduct further computational and functional analyses, she said. Essentially the virus has been mutating, as @XuetingQ and Isaid it would in February. That dont mean that much. Mutations are what happens when genomes replicate. Comes with the territory like showers with the springtime. https://t.co/CgSqnPTdGf 10/n Bill Hanage (@BillHanage) May 2, 2020 Much of this will hinge on the mass gathering of data from those confirmed to have contracted the virus and the follow-on sequencing of the data. So the more testing, the better, they say. Besides partnering with the Department of Disease Control in Thailand on use of its testing kits and on deep sequencing of suspected samples, BGI has also now come to an agreement with Australia to provide 10 million kits there. Scientists say widespread testing helps build up a more detailed picture of the virus [Roman Pilipey/EPA] In the case of its cooperation with the Thai DDC, Li said the ability to both test and sequence helped clearly diagnose suspected cases that were initially inconclusive. One sample with values right at the limit of detection was confirmed as a positive case using this method, showing the advantage of looking at the sequence compared with other detection methods, Li said. Following this, several positive cases have been confirmed using this approach and many more such samples are being tested right now. BGI has also launched a data platform that uses visualisation tools from Europe-based Nextstrain.org, an open-source project gathering scientific and health data for mapping the evolution of the virus. Being able to update it with lots of Chinese data will help fill gaps in our understanding of some of the earlier, less studied lineages [of SARS-Cov-2], Li said. Additional research assistance provided by Jonathan Zhong By Fabien Faivre in Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo | 07 May 2020 | Espanol | Francais | Jaelle Kavira Mabau, 24, received a mobile phone and a sim card at a distribution site in Beni, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. UNHCR/Ibrahima Diane Two months ago, Solonita, 59, fled with her son when armed men attacked her village in east Democratic Republic of the Congo. Forced from her home, she now lives in Beni town, where she has to prepare to face another potential health enemy the coronavirus pandemic. Fortunately, vital help now comes by mobile phone and hence reduces the transmission risks linked with physical interactions. An SMS message recently notified her that US$75 in cash assistance had been transferred and she headed out to the closest bank to withdraw part of it. The money allows her to buy what she needs most for herself and her son, Kapule, who is 30. This will help me a lot. I will buy a blanket, says Solonita. All our belongings got burnt in the house that was set on fire by the assailants. I will also use this money to buy Kapule clothes because we fled without taking anything. Armed groups have forced more than one million people like Solonita and Kapule to flee their homes in North Kivu Province in the past 12 months. Most of them found safety in displacement sites or were welcomed in the local communities. This will help me a lot. I will buy a blanket. In some areas in eastern DRC, the continuing violent clashes are making it very difficult for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and its partners to provide protection and assistance and to implement activities that are vital to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in refugee camps and IDP settlements. UNHCR has facilitated committees in these communities to temporarily provide remote management until the security situation improves. Mobile money helps displaced Congolese survive amid coronavirus threat (Rossy Mbueki, cameraperson/ Linda Muriuki, producer/ Walter Kigali, editor) While there have been, so far, no COVID-19 cases reported among refugee or internally displaced communities, WHO has reported more than 470 confirmed cases in the DRC, mainly in the capital, Kinshasa, and 30 deaths. To prevent the disease spreading, UNHCR is strengthening its health and sanitization activities in camps, sites and transit centres. Together with 6,000 other displaced families in North Kivu province, Solonita received a mobile phone and a SIM card at a distribution site where UNHCR has put in place special measures to reduce physical contact and thereby enhance the awareness of the recipients of measures that the Government of DRC has announced to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Beneficiaries at the site have their temperature screened, are able to wash their hands at the installed handwashing stations, while keeping sufficient physical distance from each. Provision of mobile phones and SIM cards to displaced families allows them to receive electronic payments. They can choose to prioritize needs that might range from food, to clothing, health care and shelter. This also allows us to maintain communication with them at a time where we need to practice social distancing, Ibrahima Diane, UNHCRs head of office in Beni. This allows us to maintain communication with them at a time where we need to practice social distancing. Globally, cash assistance now accounts for a greater share of UNHCRs assistance than traditional in-kind distribution. In the DRC, over 60,000 internally displaced Congolese received cash assistance in 2019. Worldwide, about 20 million forcibly displaced people in more than 100 countries received over US$2.4 billion in the three years between 2016 and 2019. See also: Cash assistance gives refugees the power of choice The efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 comes as the DRC still battles to eradicate the deadly Ebola virus, which has killed 2,279 people since the latest outbreak started in 2018. According to WHO, 478 individuals have lost their lives to Ebola in the Beni area. In total, more than five million people have been uprooted by conflict in DRC, making it the single-largest internally displaced population in Africa. Forced displacements is mostly affecting North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, the Greater Kasai and Tanganyika provinces. Funding shortages are affecting displaced peoples ability to meet their own basic needs. By April 2020, only 18 per cent of the total US$154 million required for UNHCRs operation in the Democratic of the Congo had been received. iBerkshiresTV: Allen Harris Talks Masks & COVID-19 Aid iBerkshiresTV host Jeff Snoonian speaks with Allen Harris of Berkshire Money Management about the mask distribution BMM is sponsoring on Thursday. The Spring Virtual Expo, organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), concluded successfully with 1.4 million buyers visiting the online marketplace, hktdc.com Sourcing. The HKTDC will organise a Summer Virtual Expo next month and send out weekly personalised email newsletters to buyers, helping them seal deals with suppliers more quickly. To address buyers' demand, the HKTDC will launch a "Wellness from Within" promotion this month on hktdc.com Sourcing, featuring a wealth of home fitness, tech gadgets, cookware and beauty products. Beatrice Lam Tel: +852 2584 4049 Email: beatrice.hy.lam@hktdc.org HONG KONG, May 7, 2020 - (ACN Newswire) - The pilot month-long Spring Virtual Expo, organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) on its online marketplace hktdc.com Sourcing, concluded successfully on 30 April. It drew 1.4 million online buyers from around the world to visit and source, helping suppliers secure new contacts and orders. To meet buyer demand and mine the new sourcing trend, the HKTDC is launching a "Wellness from Within" promotion this month, featuring a wide range of wellbeing products on hktdc.com Sourcing. The HKTDC will also organise a Summer Virtual Expo next month to complement its physical fairs, doubling support for Hong Kong businesses.HKTDC Deputy Executive Director Benjamin Chau said more than 22,000 suppliers used the hktdc.com Sourcing platform to reach global buyers effectively last month, despite a suspension in physical business activities and other restrictions brought by the COVID-19 outbreak. "As more than 2,500 fairs around the world were postponed or cancelled due to the pandemic, there is a growing demand for online sourcing. In view of this, the HKTDC will organise the digital show every quarter this year. We believe that the online and physical fairs can complement with each other and create synergy to help SMEs promote their products during these challenging times."Meanwhile, as the outbreak stabilises, the HKTDC Summer Sourcing Week will be held from 25-28 July at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre to help international buyers replenish their stocks. It comprises nine concurrent fairs, creating a one-stop sourcing platform for lighting, electronics products, information and communication technology (ICT), medical and healthcare products, houseware, fashion, home textiles, gifts, printing and packaging products and more. The HKTDC offers a variety of online-to-offline (O2O) packages, helping suppliers reach global buyers through the Summer Virtual Expo coupled with physical showcase displays at these fairs.Subsidies from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government allow local suppliers to enjoy these O2O packages at half price. In addition, they can apply for subsidies under the enhanced Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales (BUD Fund) and SME Export Marketing Fund (EMF) for other fair-related expenses.More suppliers promote onlineThe HKTDC is organising a series of webinars from March to August, inviting industry experts and representatives from tech companies such as Google and PHD Media to share practical tips for online promotion, such as search engine optimisation (SEO), omni-channel marketing, website design and best practices in taking online orders. Each webinar held to date attracted more than 300 SMEs, a two-to-three fold increase compared with similar physical seminars in the past.An online survey conducted by the HKTDC showed that more Hong Kong companies plan to enhance promotion through online channels and consider increasing their digital advertising budgets. Survey respondents would also like to understand more about the hktdc.com Sourcing platform and relevant government subsidies. The common problems SMEs faced were how to plan and kick-start an online promotion, how to manage resources and keep track of effectiveness, as well as strategies for expanding into overseas markets and reaching target buyers, and techniques in content creation such as product photography. The HKTDC's digital platform can address these "pain points".More buyers source onlineThe Spring Virtual Expo boosted traffic to hktdc.com Sourcing, with the number of buyer visits jumping 64% from March to close to 1.4 million in April; and brought double-digit growth in the number of enquiries received. The top five origins of enquiries were the United States, Hong Kong, India, the United Kingdom and Canada, while consumer electronics, toys and games, gifts and premiums, medical supplies and houseware were the most-enquired product categories. Top enquired products include body thermometers, pedometers, medical/oxygen masks, USB flash drives and mobile phones.The HKTDC's 50 global offices helped reach out to international buyers and offered professional support by handling about 700 in-depth business matching requests, creating 1,500 business connections. These offices also arranged virtual business matching meetings for the first time, with some 60 sessions enabling suppliers to showcase their latest collections to potential quality buyers.Business matching helpsMr Chau said more than 56% of the in-depth business matching enquiries were from Asia, 22% from Europe and 15% from the Americas. "We help global buyers to find suppliers. These include e-tailers Amazon, Shopee (Singapore), Snapdeal (India), HKTV Mall (Hong Kong), as well as traditional chain stores such as United Arab of Emirates' AI Jaber Gallery (gifts) and Indonesia's ACE Hardware."The business matching service received positive feedback from buyers such as Thai company Phrion Intertrade Co. Its Business Development Manager Phong Jitpatanarat used to visit the HKTDC Hong Kong Gifts & Premium Fair each April, sourcing corporate gifts for clients. "With the COVID-19 and lockdown, we cannot look for new vendors physically. Thanks to the HKTDC Business Matching team helping me to arrange virtual meetings, I can see suppliers' samples and showrooms to pick items deemed fit. It's very useful. I've spotted three potential suppliers and look forward to receiving their quotes for further discussion," said Mr Phong.Mr Chau said the business matching service the HKTDC offers had played a role in combatting the outbreak. "For example, Canada's C4P company, who uses the service, was assisting the Ontario government to source personal protective equipment (PPE) and set up a surgical mask production line in Canada. We have arranged six online business matching meetings, and the company is considering cooperating with four suppliers to source masks, face shields, gloves, isolation gowns and more. In addition, we have helped local new face-mask manufacturers identify 30 overseas suppliers of melt-blown non-woven fabrics which are essential for mask production."Reliability is keyMr Chau attributed the Spring Virtual Expo's success largely to the trustworthiness of the platform. "The HKTDC's online marketplace, hktdc.com Sourcing, has won multiple international awards. The site features around 130,000 quality suppliers and two million international buyers, with over 24 million business connections made each year. Suppliers' information is verified by third-party organisations to enhance buyers' sourcing confidence. Apart from English, Chinese, the digital platform's navigation interface is also available in six European language namely Russian, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, allowing buyers to source with their preferred language."Home Fitness, Tech Gadget, Cookware and Beauty are the weekly themes of the "Wellness from Within" promotion on hktdc.com Sourcing this month, covering a series of quality products for fitness and leisure. The HKTDC will send out two or three personalised email newsletters to VIP buyers each week. Products such as weight training equipment, fitness balls and yoga mats will be featured in the first week; computer, audio & visual and smart-home tech products in the second week; bread machines, blenders, baking utensils and dish washers in the third week; and beauty machines, hair treatment, tooth beauty and cosmetics in the final week.Photo Download: https://bit.ly/3b94KM9About HKTDCThe Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via trade publications, research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedIn.Source: HKTDCContact:Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. In 1953, eight years after reinvading Indochina, despite having mobilised huge economic and military resources, the French colonialists failed to achieve their purpose of destroying the revolutionary government and resistance forces to reestablish their rule throughout Indochina. On the contrary, they suffered heavy losses: 390,000 troops. General de Castries and his officers under arrest (File Photo. Source: VNA) Financial difficulties and protests in France were increasing, putting the French government in a new political crisis. Taking advantage of this situation, the US imperialists stepped up their intervention in Indochina, helping France to extend and expand the war in order to serve their global anti-revolutionary strategy. In May 1953, the French government appointed General Navarre commander of the expeditionary army in Indochina in the hope of winning a decisive military victory and an end to the war. In July 1953, General Navarre proposed a new plan in Indochina (also called the Navarre Plan). Both the French colonialists and the American imperialists said the Navarre Plan was "perfect" and would bring victory within 18 months. The Navarre Plan was a large-scale strategy aimed at wiping out the greater part of forces within eighteen months and occupying Vietnam permanently to provide a colony and military base for the American and French imperialists. The High Command of the French Expeditionary Corps concentrated its efforts on the Hong (Red) River Delta with 44 mobile battalions, and launched a fierce mopping-up operation in its rear. At the same time, they armed local locals to sow confusion in the northwest. In early 1954, Navarre dropped paratroopers into Dien Bien Phu. On the Vietnamese side, at the end of September 1953, the Politburo of the Party Central Committee met to discuss a strategic policy for military activities in the winter-spring period of 1953 1954. The plan was to attack areas where the enemy was weak, while at the same time promoting guerrilla warfare. The Vietnamese army and people cooperated closely with the militia and Laos and Cambodia to launch attacks on the Indochina battlefield, forcing France to disperse its forces. The enemy's main force was split into five smaller forces that struggled to support each other. In coordination with the main troops, the Vietnamese forces protected resistance bases, cut off traffic, and attacked and destroyed more of the enemys bases. Navarre was bankrupt. On the northwest front, from November 1953, the French command in Indochina decided to send troops to build Dien Bien Phu into a strong military base. In General Navarre's mind, Dien Bien Phu held an important strategic position. By early March 1954, enemy troops numbering more than 16,000 had gathered in Dien Bien Phu, including the most elite military units in Indochina. They had 49 bases divided into three zones. Both France and the United States regarded Dien Bien Phu as an "unbreakable fort". On the Vietnamese side, the Party Central Committee and the Supreme Command were determined to launch a campaign to attack Dien Bien Phu - a decisive strategy to successfully end the resistance war against the French colonialists. General Vo Nguyen Giap was assigned to command the campaign. Over 55,000 soldiers were sent into battle, and 260,000 labourers and 27,400 tons of rice were put on standby. Tens of thousands of young people volunteered to work with the army to open a road to the battlefield despite enemy shelling. In just a short time, thousands of kilometres of roads were built or repaired. On March 13, Vietnamese troops launched their offensive on Dien Bien Phu, which lasted for 55 days until the complete destruction of the entrenched camp on May 7, 1954. It was an historic victory. The 1954 Dien Bien Phu Victory crushed the French colonialists and the United States, forcing the French government to sign the Geneva Agreement in July 1954, recognising independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the three Indochinese countries, ending Vietnams long-lasting resistance war. At the same time, it ended the domination of French colonialism that lasted for centuries, and opened a new development step for the revolution of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The 1954 Dien Bien Phu Victory smashed colonialism and opened a new era for the human race - the era of ending the rule of colonialism around the world. French historian Jules Roy later said that The Dien Bien Phu defeat was one of the greatest failures of the West, heralding the collapse of colonial empires. This victory also had a pervasive effect, encouraging other oppressed countries to fight against imperial regimes. At the same time, it contributed to lightening the truth of Marxism-Leninism today: A weak and small nation and a people's army, once resolved to stand up, to unite together and to fight for independence and peace, will have the full power to defeat all aggressive forces." The victory at Dien Bien Phu was the result of many factors: creative political guidelines and military policies; patriotism and Vietnamese military strength; solidarity among the three peoples on the Indochinese peninsula; the important help of China and the Soviet Union as well as the support from international friends, including the French people. But the most important factor was a love for the homeland, the burning desire for independence, and freedom for all Vietnamese people./. Dien Bien Phu Victory a source of pride: Lao newspaper The Pathet Lao newspaper hailed Vietnams Dien Bien Phu Victory over French colonial rule as a source of national pride in an article published on May 6. The victory on May 7, 1954 has also been a source of great motivation for the countrys Doi Moi reforms which aim to achieve prosperity, a mighty nation, democracy and a fair and civilised society, the newspaper said. Dien Bien Phu was the most glorious victory ever in Vietnams struggle against foreign invaders, it said, adding that the battle marked a milestone not only in the history of Vietnam but also the world as it contributed to the break-down of the global colonial system. The victory shows that an underdeveloped country that used to be a semi-feudal colony with a small territory and population, and an inferior, under-equipped army had ultimately managed to defeat wealthy, superior invaders thanks to its strong unity and leadership of the Communist Party and President Ho Chi Minh, according to the article. It was the victory of not only the Vietnamese people but also their Lao and Cambodian neighbours who had united to liberate their countries, leaving the French colonialists with no other choice than to sign the Geneva Agreement to restore peace in Indochina. It set a great example for other colonised countries around the world to revolt against oppression and exploitation, contributing to the global fight for peace, independence, democracy and social progress. The Dien Bien Phu Victory is of particular significance to Laos as Dien Bien Phu borders its provinces of Phongsaly and Huaphanh./. The COVID-19 outbreak in New York became the primary source of infections around the United States, with researchers saying the state acted like the Grand Central Station by carrying the virus across many directions. The New York Times reported that New York City's coronavirus outbreak grew so large by early March that the city became the primary source of new infections in the United States, as thousands of infected people travelled from the city and seeded outbreaks around the country. New York acted as the Grand Central Station for this virus, with the opportunity to move from there in so many directions, to so many places, said David Engelthaler, head of the infectious disease branch of the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Arizona. New York State now has 323,978 confirmed virus cases and is still seeing an average of over 200 deaths daily from COVID-19, from a peak of nearly 800 fatalities every day. The report said that the research indicates that a wave of infections swept from New York City through much of the country before the city began setting social distancing limits to stop the growth. This helped to fuel outbreaks across the US, including in Louisiana, Texas, Arizona and as far away as the West Coast. The data is drawn from geneticists' tracking signature mutations of the virus, travel histories of infected people and models of the outbreak by infectious disease experts. We now have enough data to feel pretty confident that New York was the primary gateway for the rest of the country, said Nathan Grubaugh, an epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health. Overall, infections spreading from New York account for 60 to 65 per cent of the sequenced viruses across the country, Grubaugh said. The report noted that the key role of New York's outbreak shows that decisions made by state and federal officials helped shape the trajectory of the outbreak and allowed it to grow in the rest of the country. Experts say that officials waited too long to impose distancing measures and limit international flights. However research shows that travel from other American cities also sparked infections across the country, including from an early outbreak centered in the Seattle area that seeded infections in more than a dozen states, researchers say. Even if New York had managed to slow the virus, it probably would have continued to spread from elsewhere, experts say. Even as restrictions across New York were put in place only in mid-March, thousands of infected people packed trains and restaurants, thronged tourist attractions and passed through its three major airports at the end of February. Acting earlier would most likely have blunted the virus's march across the country, researchers say. It means that we missed the boat early on, and the vast majority in this country is coming from domestic spread, said Kristian Andersen, a professor in the department of immunology and microbiology at Scripps Research. I keep hearing that it's somebody else's fault. That's not true. It's not somebody else's fault, it's our own fault. The report also said that the enormous growth of New York's outbreak partly reflects its volume of international visitors, especially from Europe, where most of its infections came from. The most commonly detected viruses tied to New York have a distinct genetic signature linking them to outbreaks in Europe. Those spreading from Washington State have a signature linking them directly to China, the report said. By Wednesday, more than 72,000 Americans had died due to COVID-19 and over 12 lakh tested positive for the disease. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russian police report decrease in number of detentions during COVID-19 pandemic RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 11:07 07/05/2020 MOSCOW, May 7 (RAPSI) At times of the coronavirus pandemic police investigative bodies are oriented to mostly apply non-custodial restrictive measures against persons suspected and accused of non-serious crimes, the press service of the Presidential Council for Human Rights reports citing acting Deputy Interior Minister Nikolay Patapenya. Earlier, the human rights body requested the Interior Ministry to reduce the number of people to be placed in detention. In March, the police notified advocates of the decrease in detentions. Thus, according to the police high-ranking official, in March, Interior Ministrys Moscow investigators detained 84 persons that is 1.5 times less than in February (120 people). As of April 1, 263 persons out of 327 arrested in the first quarter of 2020, were held in detention. In St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region the number of people detained in Jauary March downed twice by April 1 (from 297 to 157); in the Moscow Region by 18%, from 174 to 143, the statement reads. Bank Holidays are synonymous with meeting up with loved ones, barbecues and, of course, get togethers. With the global pandemic creating unprecedented and difficult times, we cant physically be with all the friends and family wed like to see this weekend. However that doesn't mean we can't catch up with them. Many of us have embraced various video platforms to connect with loved ones over the past 42 days, and they are a great way to stay connected and have fun. Bank Holidays are synonymous with meeting up with loved ones, barbecues and, of course, parties - and we can do the same this weekend, but online So if you are heading online this weekend you are in luck; a new Virtual Good Host Guide has been launched. Bought to you by Diageo, the global beverage producer behind Smirnoff, Gordons, Johnnie Walker and Guinness, the Virtual Good Host Guide aims to help ensure your virtual get together this Bank Holiday is a winner, and goes off without a hitch. 1. Plan a theme Getting everyone involved and excited for your virtual shin-dig is essential. Obviously make sure you cover the practicalities like the time and the virtual invite to the get together, but after six weeks of lockdown, it can sometimes take a little more imagination to rally the troops. You can chose a theme and let people get as involved with it as they like - keep it low pressure! Themes are a great way to make it a celebration with a difference and break up the slight monotony of lockdown. Go all out with a Hawaiian barbecue or beach theme or keep it simple and just encourage people to don their glad rags. 2. Smaller can be better It can be tempting to invite everyone you are missing to the get together, but virtual gatherings are better on the smaller side Having not seen any friends or family for weeks, the list of people you want to catch up with is probably pretty extensive. In reality, larger groups on virtual meets up end up with a lot of talking over each other However, it is probably best to keep the get together invite list smaller (we have all suffered a celebration or work video conference call with 20 people or more on). The truth is 15 or less is best for the virtual gathering. This ensures everyone can get a chance to join in and be involved. 3. Food is your friend Every good celebration has plenty of delicious food. Just because you can't physically provide it for your guests doesn't mean it should be forgotten. Either tell guests to eat before your gathering, or ensure that you include eating food together as part of it It is important to eat, especially if you are drinking alcohol. Either schedule your get together for after lunch or dinner - and make it clear to guests they should eat beforehand - or encourage everyone to bring a meal or snacks to the celebration. This can work especially well with a theme. Why not suggest a menu and let guests come up with their own interpretation of the dishes? People's (varying) cooking skills can be a great talking point. 4. Keep the beats coming Alongside food, music is the soul of any gathering. Suggest or even make and share a playlist that everyone can have playing in the background. Music can make or break a celebration. Why not create and share a playlist so everyone can listen to the same tunes This will ensure not only that everyone is in the mood but that you are all feeling the same vibe. You don't want one guest listening to some chilled classical music while another is tapping their toes to trance. 5. Watch the size of your pour! Pouring your own drinks can make it difficult to measure how much alcohol is in the glass Measure out your drinks using a 'jigger' or measuring devise to avoid over serving yourself A bar serve of spirits is 25ml, with 50ml being a double. Ideally use a measuring device or jigger to pour your spirits. If you don't have one, a good tip is to pour your spirits first, into an empty glass, as pouring onto ice cubes or into a mixer can make it harder to see how much you are using. Also, if you can't measure, it is better to err on the side of caution and pour less! 6. Ahh! That's better A great tip for hosting a virtual get together is to ask your guests to hit the 'mute' button when they aren't actually talking to the group. This is especially important as some of your guests will likely be either in a group of their family or housemates, or a couple. Asking people to mute avoids background noise making your celebration more shambolic than fun. 7. Mix it up with Mocktails You can make a delicious non-alcoholic drink to enjoy during the celebration - why not try this alcohol-free Cosnopolitan ? Enjoying a special tipple is part and parcel of a celebration. But having something interesting and tasty to sip on needen't be alcoholic. Why not try this alcohol-free Cosnopolitan? Simply add 50ml of Seedlip Grove 42 to 30ml of Cranberry Juice: 30ml, add 10ml of sugar syrup and 15ml of lime juice Simply shake over ice (or just stir vigorously with ice if you don't have a shaker) Strain and pour into a glass. Garnish with a slice of orange peal and enjoy! There are literally thousands of 'mocktail' recipes out there so have fun picking one that temps you. 8. Savour the moment Remember to sip slowly, and be aware of how much you are drinking Chose a drink you enjoy, and savour it! Don't drink too fast In the excitement and fun of catching up with family and friends, it can be all too easy to sip your drink too fast. You want to enjoy the celebration- and remember it! So be mindful of how fast you are drinking. Staying hydrated is essential, especially as if you are thirsty you may drink your alcohol faster. So make sure to keep sipping on water, and alternate every alcoholic drink with a soft one. Never feel pressured to keep pace with anyone, and remember you can stop drinking whenever you want. So if you are heading online this weekend don't forget to check out the Virtual Good Host Guide for all the tip you need to make your gathering a success. Think you know about alcohol and its effects? Test yourself with the DRINKiQ quiz on Diageo.com View the full virtual Good Host Guide here Read Diageos top tips for being a responsible host here For the facts visit drinkaware.co.uk To stay up to date with Diageo news, follow on Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram *** For 25 years, Stephen Rasche was a bare knuckles international lawyer. But in 2010, he offered his services to the Chaldean Catholic Church of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan and has increasingly dedicated his life to the preservation of this ancient community. Under the leadership of Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda, in 2015 Rasche helped found the Catholic University of Erbil, where he serves as vice chancellor. Also the director of its Institute for Ancient and Threatened Christianity, Rasche lived this title as ISIS ravaged Iraqs Christian homelands in the Nineveh Plains and many believers fled to Erbil. After testifying on their behalf before the United Nations and the US Congress, Rasche allows them to represent themselves in his recent book, The Disappearing People: The Tragic Fate of Christians in the Middle East. The book has won a diverse range of endorsements, from leaders such as Matthew Hassan Kukah, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Nigeria; Yahya Cholil Staquf, general secretary of Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest Muslim organization in the world; and Thomas Farr, president of the Religious Freedom Institute. The US State Departments Office of International Religious Freedom reports that less than 250,000 Christians are living in Iraq, most in Kurdistan or on the Nineveh Plains. Two-thirds belong to the Chaldean Catholic Church. CT interviewed Rasche about the logic of establishing a university during a genocide, how its Catholic identity functions in a Muslim society, and his enduring optimism for Christianity in Iraq. What led you personally to invest your life in this endeavor? In 2010, Bishop Warda had just been made archbishop, and I went to pay him a visit of respect, asking if there was anything I could do to help. Yes, in fact, he said. You Americans have made a big mess here, and you could stay and help me. I have 3,000 displaced families here from the south, they need help, and no one is helping us with them. We dont have jobs for them, and theres a whole range of things I would like to do. I assisted on and off on a pro-bono basis for the next four years, but by 2014 the situation looked really desperate. ISIS was maybe 30 miles away from Erbil. But in a visit just after Christmas, I sat down with the bishop and the priests who told me, We are going to stay. Will you be with us here, and help us? Honestly, I was skeptical. But after some deep thinking, I tried to determine the right thing to do and if there was a calling in this for me. Tell us more about that calling. Being an international transactions lawyer involved a fair amount of bare knuckles litigation. And not a lot of it, quite frankly, was fulfilling in the sense of believing that you were providing a meaningful service to the world or to your fellow brothers and sisters. An open-heart surgery slowed me down for a couple of months, which allowed me to really ponder what Id been doing and where I was going, particularly with my faith. How much did I really have? My discernment centered around the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount. Do I really believe this? And if I really do, then what can I do to show it? I can honestly say that those years on the ground in Iraq, especially 20152018 when everything was really difficult, eclipse all the other working years in my life in terms of a sense of worth, purpose, and well-being. What does it mean practically to have a Catholic university in a Muslim-majority nation? At a fundamental level, its about presence. Its to say, Look, we are a Catholic university, and in the middle of all of this, we are here. Our view is very much long term. We see the importance in planting the seed. At the end of the day, the primary purpose of the university is to serve as an anchor institution for the remaining Christian population, so that they can demonstrate their value to the entire community. But also, in the US and around the world, there is a discussion about the importance of religious freedom. Well, our Catholic university in Iraq was founded during the genocide. This gives us a unique moral standing and frame of reference thats not academic. Its not theoretical. Its real. We can speak out and be real leaders on this. Is there any role desired, or possible, in terms of witness and gospel? Over the last 1,400 years in Iraq and most of the Middle East, proselytizing has been forbidden. What the Christians have done is practice what they call evangelization by exampleopening hospitals, founding universitiesso that the way you live your Christian life demonstrates your service towards others, regardless of who they are. There was an unwritten understanding that the Christians would not overtly proselytize and share the gospel, but be indirect and not offend sharia law. But after ISIS and the lack of any real response from the Muslim world, Archbishop Warda says that this agreement is now finished. That as we go forward, we will no longer be shy. We are going to proclaim the gospel, proclaim the teachings of Christ, and whoever comes to us will come. Interesting. He basically said, Look, what else can happen to us? Theyve tried to kill us, destroy us, wipe us out with genocide. And if it means that were approaching our end, were not going to go quietlynot anymore. Christians in Iraq are at a historical inflection point. Their presence here can be extinguished quickly in many waysprimarily if there were to be, God forbid, war or proxy war between the US and Iran. It would take place right where the Christians are living. It would make things completely untenable for them. But I fully expect that if they make it through this current period, Christians will find ways to assert themselves in ways that they havent before. In the past, they tried to walk quietly, keep their heads down, and not cause any trouble. I think those days are over. Your book features the testimony of local Christians about their situation in Iraq and the Middle East. Many might blame Western policies. Others might pinpoint Islam. But how do Christians identify their own failures? How do they evaluate their own contribution to their dwindling numbers? In many respects, they blame a continuing division and discord that has left them far more vulnerable than if they were unified and supportive of each other. In some cases, it has also hindered the well-intended support coming from the West. It occurs between different groups within the apostolic churches; between the apostolic churches and the evangelical churches; and even within the evangelical community, where competing groups want to assist the apostolic Christians in different ways. This division and discord are a failing that goes against the core teachings of Christ. While certainly not unique to the East, it is a failing which has had particularly tragic consequences for Middle Eastern Christians in the face of their many pressures over the last decades. And these pressures have forced the Christians remaining in Iraq to come to terms with the depth of their faith and what it really means to them. Its one thing when its the drip-drip-drip of 1,400 years of persecution. Its another thing when you have a full-blown genocide that comes to wipe you out and take everything away. It has happened every 70 years or so, but this is the first time in their living memory, and it really shook them. There are still Christians in Egypt. There are Christians in Lebanon. But when you look at Iraq, its hard to find hope given the current geopolitical and religious realities. Yet in the middle of disaster, nobody builds a university. Thats right. So what hope do you have? Projecting into the future, expecting God to strengthen and grow his church in Iraq, what will it look like? That Christians present such an example of service that the people of Iraq will not be able to deny not only their worth as people but also their worth in how they live their lives. If they understand that, then thats all we get to ask foranywhere. There may not be many Christians in Iraq. But as an old priest said once to me, Well, remember Christ only had 12, and everyone wanted to kill them, too. Mahendra Singhi considers COVID-19 impact on the Indian cement industry 07 May 2020 Mahendra Singhi, president of Indias Cement Manufacturers Association and managing director and CEO of Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd, opened Cemtechs third live webinar yesterday. Mr Singhi started by recognising the severe impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In India, for example, the scale of the nationwide lockdown is the largest ever seen. As a result, the pace of its economy has considerably slowed in recent months and GDP may contract 0.5-2 per cent YoY in the FY21. However, the economy may be in a good position to recover from October 2020 onwards. Moving on to the Indian cement sector, Mr Singhi noted how cement plants have been supporting employees, local communities and families through the crisis. Since 20 April, after the partial lifting of lockdown, production is also slowly starting to recover. "Cement companies are now fully ready to solve the need of society and the need of the construction sector," said the CEO of Dalmia Cement. However, he also noted the importance of migrant labour returning to work and a possible financial stimulus from the government to support the construction sector, which would help prop up cement demand. While the average capacity utilisation for the sector during the FY20-21 is expected to be around 45-50 per cent, Mr Singhi noted how it will start to recover from the start of 2021. "From January 2021, we expect that [Indian] capacity utilisation may come to a level of 60 per cent," said Mr Singhi. Elsewhere, he stated that the cost of imported fuels like petcoke and coal may fall by 15-20 per cent, which could provide some relief for the otherwise high fixed costs of the sector going forward. Looking at the impacts of COVID-19 on sustainability programmes, it was stated that the pandemic may result in initiatives being postponed for a few months but not forever. Dalmia Cement, for example, is expecting a 2-3 month delay but still remains fully committed to its sustainability roadmap. The full video of Mr Singhi's segment of the webinar is now available online to view. Cemtech's next live webinar will focus on digitalisation, click here to register for free. Published under B. G., Opalesque Geneva: Amid the current market turmoil, this is our regular report on hedge fund and alternative asset managers who are bucking the trend. Pure AI focus RISE Wealth Technologies' flagship, the Volatile Special Opportunities Program (VSOP), has had a second month of strong performance. After returning +23% in March, it gained +2.3% in April and it is up +21.8% YTD. It has returned a total of 78% since its inception in July 2016. VSOP is a systematic multi-strategy program. The fund is composed of a balanced portfolio consisting of S&P 500 futures and treasuries with a duration risk of circa five years. It also trades overlay strategies on situational patterns. "At RISE, we are very much committed to a pure AI focus," says CEO and co-founder Stefan Tittel. "The use of machine learning algorithms to generate thousands of possible strategies is paired with a validation process that makes use of machine learning to cull all but the most robust. Importantly, from a performance perspective, what these past two months have demonstrated is VSOP's ability to generate alpha irrespective of market volatility." "After February's turmoil, markets struggled to fully recover despite a three-day historical bull run where the S&P 500 recovered about 15% in the third week of March," he tells Opalesque. "Although there were no major drawdowns, the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak continued to dominate equity market sentiment. During the period 28th February to 31st March, the portfolio traded long volatility during stress periods and short volatility during equity recovery phases. Both long (+20.91%) and short (+5.57%) volatility overlay strategies contributed positively to the program's performance. In total the overlay strategies contributed +26.48%. The long S&P 500 and Treasury component of the portfolio contribute -3.27%. VSOP closed the month of March with a gross performance of +23.21%." While the fund currently has $30m in AuM, a further $500m in capital inflows is expected to be allocated in June. RISE Wealth Technologies is an AI (artificial intelligence) investment technology firm based in Munich, Germany. Since the beginning, in 2012, the firm has been focusing on a systematic, algorithmic driven investment process underpinned by proprietary technology and quantitative approaches such as machine learning. Capital preservation through S&P options trading Warrington Asset Management's Strategic Fund returned +0.13% in March and -0.47% YTD. It has annualized +9% since 1997, compared to the Barclay CTA index's +3.45%. The fund trades S&P index option combinations. Warrington uses technical and fundamental market analysis to form a market opinion and then uses combinations of options to express that opinion. By trading only around the front-month options expiration, Warrington is able to keep its positions very short-term in nature, usually lasting only four to six weeks in duration. Warrington's other product, the Tactical Program, returned +0.01% (est.) in March and is flat YTD. It has annualised +7.2% since May 2012, compared to the Barclay CTA index's +0.80% during the same period. The trading program uses a fundamental, discretionary trading strategy based solely on S&P 500 futures options. The short-term trading strategy sells options, usually one or two weeks before expiration, which are deep out-of-the-money to capture small, consistent profits, with disciplined risk management to protect against adverse market moves. The option trades are spread across multiple serial, quarterly, end-of-month and weekly expirations, providing additional diversification. Warrington Asset Management is a discretionary macro volatility trading firm based in Dallas, Texas. The founder Scott Kimple began trading for Shearson Lehman in 1990 under Stan Finney. Shearson sponsored Warrington's launch in 1997. The firm currently manages $435m. *** Last issue of The Corona Fighters Report: Report 23. To see all past reports, type Corona Fighters in our search engine: www.opalesque.com/index.php. *** Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. Opalesque has not verified this information and gives no warranty of accuracy or completeness. Past performance is not indicative of future results. See our Terms & Conditions for more information. *** WEBINARS: VIDEO REPLAY of CORONA FIGHTERS - Episode 1 webinar: Watch the replay here: www.opalesque.com/webinar/#pw4 Meet five Managers and learn how and why their strategies delivered positive returns and/or protected capital during the Corona led market meltdown in one hour! "A well-chosen topic of discussion and a great set of speakers to hear and learn from." "I enjoyed the webinar and found the introduction to the strategies to be diverse and insightful. "Very resourceful and insightful." 700 people registered for the CORONA FIGHTERS - Episode 1 webinar. Don't miss EPISODE 2 Time: Tuesday, May 19th at 10 am EST Register: www.opalesque.com/webinar/ You will be able to tune in to this webinar from any computer, tablet, or smartphone. The webinar will be recorded - in case you are not able to join, all registered participants will be provided a link to replay the webinar. Going up into the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, between the Mexican states of Michoacan and Estado de Mexico at an altitude of almost 10,000 feet, can be dizzying. The flashes of orange catch the corner of your eye, dart around your shoulders and streak above in the sky. Neon in your face, rustling your hair and eyelashes, as you realize you are surrounded. Butterflies crowd the horizon, litter the walking path and tremble on the green leaves of the trees in which they nest. They circle and smash into visitors, who are encouraged to stay as quiet as possible so as not to disturb the fragile insects. Aminu Masari, governor of Katsina, says many people in the state do no see coronavirus as a problem but banditry. Speaking on Thur... Aminu Masari, governor of Katsina, says many people in the state do no see coronavirus as a problem but banditry. Speaking on Thursday when he received Leo Irabor, chief of defence training and operations, and other senior officers from the defence headquarters, Abuja, Masari said banditry in the state has become overwhelming. Katsina currently has 95 confirmed cases of the disease. Masari said suspected bandits have killed more than 50 people in two weeks, while the residents continue to live in fear. We sincerely appreciate the efforts of the security agencies in the fight against banditry, but we must also state that the situation has become so overwhelming. We are running out of words to convince our people that we are on top of the situation, the governor said. They are, by the days, loosing confidence in us as their leaders, saddled with the responsibility of securing their lives and properties. I am so saddened with the situation we are in now, because to most of our people in the troubled areas, COVID-19 is not even an issue. It may have taken over the world and the news about it, but not here. Attacks by armed bandits have have become a daily affair. In about 2 weeks, we have lost more than 50 people. At our own end and within the resources available, we have provided support to the security agencies. We even brokered peace through an Amnesty and reconciliatory drive. Some of the bandits repented and joined us in the fight, they were however overpowered by the unrepentant ones who are more sophisticated. I am using this opportunity to inform the defense headquarters that our people have started mooting the idea of taking up arms against the bandits no matter the consequences. We are doing our best to stop them and assure them that our security agencies are on top of the situation. MIDLAND, MI A Midland County judge has upheld the life-without-parole sentence of a 54-year-old man convicted of murdering a mother of three when he was 17. Midland County Circuit Judge Stephen P. Carras on Tuesday, May 5, issued an opinion upholding Brian K. Grangers original sentence of life without parole. Granger in January 1984 received the same sentence from then-Judge Tyrone Gillespie on a conviction of first-degree murder stemming from the death of Sandra Nestle. Grangers resentencing results from the U.S. Supreme Courts 2012 ruling that mandatory life sentences for those 17 and younger is a form of cruel and unusual punishment. In 2014, then-Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder gave judges the discretion to sentence teen killers to life in prison or 25 to more than 60 years in prison to comply with the Supreme Court decision. Then, in a 6-3 decision in 2016, the nation's highest court ruled its 2012 decision applied retroactively. However, a juvenile can still be sentenced to life without parole if the court finds the defendants crimes "reflect permanent incorrigibility. During his trial, the prosecution presented evidence that 32-year-old Nestle had been out jogging the evening of June 21, 1983, when Granger noticed and began following her on his bicycle. Once Nestle was in an isolated area on Shepherd Road in Jasper Township, Granger attacked her, choked her into unconsciousness, removed her clothing, and sexually assaulted her. Granger then left Nestle face-down in a partially filled drainage ditch, covered her with vegetation, and went home. Nestle drowned in the ditch and her body was found the next day. Police arrested Granger two days after the killing after a witness reported seeing him following Nestle. During an interview with police, Granger said hed had contact with Nestle the night she went missing, but said he just wanted to talk with her. When he pedaled up next to Nestle, she scratched his arm, pushed him from his bike, and began screaming, Granger alleged. Claiming he was angry and scared, Granger said he covered Nestles mouth and accidentally killed her. He went on to tell police he decided to remove Nestles clothing and sexually assault her only after he thought she was dead, but changed his mind before committing the assault due to a car driving by. Grangers case proceeded to bench trial before Judge Gillespie, who did not find Grangers explanation for the crime credible and found Granger guilty of murder. Grangers conviction and sentence were upheld by higher courts during several appeals. Sentencing review hearings before Judge Carras were held on several dates in February and July 2019. Those hearings saw testimony from Grangers and Nestles relatives, prison officials, a brain development specialist, a psychologist, and some of the original investigating police and the original prosecutor, Norman Donker. In his ruling, Carras wrote that both court officials and examining psychologist in 1983 found Granger to be more mature than the average 17- or 18-year-old. The judge also found Grangers criminal history showed a youth continuing to escalate his illicit behavior, though his social judgment was intact, he knew right from wrong, and was able to control himself. Grangers criminal record includes his sexual assault of a 7-year-old in 1981, a crime which saw him placed in a juvenile detention center from which he was released a few days prior to Nestles murder. As Judge Gillespie said at Defendants sentencing in 1984, There comes a time when society has to say enough, you forfeit your right to live in society, Carras wrote. In consideration of all the evidence, testimony, and exhibits thus submitted for consideration under the Miller factors, this Court finds that the factors do not mitigate the crimes committed and do not reflect the transient immaturity of youth. Therefore, life without the possibility of parole was the just and proportionate sentence in 1984 and remains so today. Midland County Prosecutor J. Dee Brooks lauded the judges decision. We are confident that Judge Carras took a great deal of time and effort to decide a very difficult matter, Brooks said in a press release. I am very grateful for the effort and support of my office, the Michigan State Police, the Michigan Department of Corrections, the Midland County Sheriffs Office, as well as the victims family, in helping us to obtain what I believe continues to be a just result in the case. Granger is currently incarcerated at the Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility in Muskegon Heights. While 23 states and the District of Columbia have banned sentencing juveniles to life without parole, Michigan is not one of them. Michigan, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania account for about two-thirds of all juvenile-life-without-parole sentences in the country, according to SentencingProject.org. Related: Area judges working to resentence 50 juvenile lifers Juvenile lifer who killed U.S. Marine in Saginaw gets resentenced, could go free in 11 years Juvenile lifer who killed Saginaw convenience clerk in 1991 resentenced, could get paroled In his prolific decade-long career, Jaideep Ahlawat has portrayed several interesting and memorable roles in successful movies and digital shows and is certainly one of the most versatile and admired actors in Hindi cinema and also the digital world. There are actors who entertain the audience, and there are actors who also leave a lasting impression with their effective portrayal of their on-screen characters in an entertaining way, and Jaideep Ahlawat is one such seasoned actor who certainly falls in the second category. Jaideep's stint with Hindi cinema started almost a decade ago, with films like the multi-starrer Aakrosh and the Akshay Kumar-starrer Khatta Meetha. But it was Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur (in which he played the role of Shahid Khan) that proved to be a game-changer for this brilliant actor. The epic gangster drama helped Jaideep cement his popularity as an actor among his fans and the industry who couldn't stop praising his decision of taking the road less travelled by opting for challenging roles. Even though in Gangs of Wasseypur, where his talent was highly appreciated and loved by critics and the audience, he had played a very important role in the gangster drama - that of a third lead after Manoj Bajpayee and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, but he never got his dues and never actually benefitted much after the release of the film as the other actors. Jaideep later graduated to playing more interesting characters in big-budget commercial movies like Raees, Commando, and even Tamil cinema like Vishwaroopam, before he played the role of a RAW agent in the Alia Bhatt-Vicky Kaushal starrer Raazi. Needless to say, the versatile actor has always been interested in theatre during his college days, and also enrolled in the popular FTII, Pune to pursue a career in acting. With no godfather and no filmy background, it was only Jaideep's persistent efforts and determination that fulfilled his dream to make his mark as an actor. The actor has even made an appearance in the anthology film Lust Stories on the OTT platform as Sudhir in Dibakar Banerjee's segment. However, his most recent appearance was in the film Baaghi 3 which was again a testimonial from the audience wanting to see more of the actor. Among his forthcoming lineup of interesting projects is Paatal Lok - an upcoming investigative drama on Amazon Prime Video, a nine-part series that follows the journey of Jaideep Ahlawat as Inspector Hathiram investigating an assassination attempt on a prime time journalist and following four suspects. Going by the intriguing trailer of the digital show, Jaideep's performance is bound to shine through in the digital show and looks like he will eventually get his due as an actor. He will certainly achieve prominence on the OTT platforms similar to that which Pankaj Tripathi has achieved after his web series, Mirzapur. The police-based crime thriller, written by Sudip Sharma, is all set to release on 15th May and is being produced under Clean Slate Films which is Anushka Sharma's banner. ALSO READ: COVID-19 Lockdown: Amazon Prime Video's Breathe 2, Dilli, Mirzapur 2 And Other Shows Get Delayed The Jammu and Kashmir administration has sent a fleet buses to evacuate hundreds of students and labourers who are stranded in Chandigarh amid the nationwide lockdown. Around 25 buses are expected to arrive in Chandigarh on Thursday night. Manager at JK house in Chandigarh, Dr Inderjot Singh, who is also the liaison officer for students in the region, said, At least 25 buses have been sent by J&K administration to Chandigarh to bring home labourers and students who are stranded in Chandigarh and its adjacent areas. The buses are to reach Sector 43 by Thursday night and will leave on Friday for J&K. The buses will leave with a twohours gap during the day. We have informed authorities in Lakhanpur, Singh said. Meanwhile, on Thursday, around 117 JK students were sent home in four buses from Mohali and Zirakpur. There are many patients here, too, from J&K and we are providing them special passes and vehicles to reach home, said Inderjot Singh. According to information provided by the liaison officer, there are more than 200 students in Chandigarh and its vicinity, and more than 700 labourers from Jammu and Kashmir in the city, with most of them in Manimajra and Sector 29. Anthony Frank, center, with wife Melia Campbell, of Plumas Lake, enjoy their first night out in weeks at Silver Dollar Saloon in Marysville. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) Earlier this week, Yuba and Sutter counties in Northern California defied Gov. Gavin Newsom and issued local orders to allow some businesses to reopen with strict regulations aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus. But now, California officials are warning that reopened businesses risk losing their license to operate if they continue to violate the state's stay-at-home order. The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control visited multiple locations in Yuba and Sutter counties this week and warned restaurants that they could lose their state license to serve alcohol if they don't close down their dining rooms. The counties have a combined population of 171,000, with nearly half of them living in the twin cities of Marysville and Yuba City, which sit on either side of the Feather River and are about 40 miles north of Sacramento, the state capital. Agents with the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control on Tuesday asked restaurants to close in-house dining voluntarily, said John Carr, a spokesman with the agency. The agency says that restaurants can only operate for takeout service under the governor's statewide stay-at-home order. Alcoholic beverages can be sold to go, but must be in a sealed container. Bars that don't serve food cannot operate under the state order. Any business that refuses to comply with a warning to shut down could see its license to sell alcohol suspended or revoked, the agency said on its website. Defiance of the statewide order, the agency said, "endangers public health and safety." Newsom's stay-at-home order also requires the shutdown of bars and nightclubs that don't serve food, gyms, and hair and nail salons. Newsom says when local and state stay-at-home rules conflict, the stricter rule applies. A day after the state's action, the health officer for Yuba and Sutter counties expressed concern that local businesses and residents were not doing their part to adhere to local social distancing and face covering rules needed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, which has led to more than 60,000 confirmed infections and more than 2,400 deaths across California. Story continues Even as Dr. Phuong Luu, the health officer for Yuba and Sutter Counties, ordered an easing of the local stay-at-home order at odds with the state's rules allowing restaurants, stores, gyms, salons, spas and tattoo parlors to reopen she wrote a letter Wednesday criticizing businesses that failed to enforce new local rules requiring face coverings and keeping customers six feet apart from each other. "I understand that some of your customers may strongly object to a facial-covering requirement, but the long-term safety of our community is at stake. We do not want to take any steps back in our phasing-in efforts," Luu wrote in a letter dated Wednesday. "If you have an indoor business that allows customers and clients, adequate social distancing is not likely to occur on any consistent basis. Therefore, such operations must include both social-distancing and facial-coverings protocols. It is incumbent on these business owners to ensure their staff is wearing facial coverings and to require their customers/clients to do the same." Luu warned of grave health impacts if businesses don't comply. "It is imperative to make all necessary adjustments to the way we conduct business in our community immediately so that we do not run the risk of seeing a resurgence and need to go back to stricter orders," Luu wrote. Yuba and Sutter counties were two of three Northern California counties in the past week to defy Newsoms orders, allowing businesses to reopen beyond the statewide order. The third county, Modoc, in the northeastern corner of California, has fewer than 9,000 residents. Modoc County is one of four California counties to not record a single confirmed case of the coronavirus. Yuba and Sutter counties have recorded a combined 50 coronavirus cases and three deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. As of Tuesday, only one person was hospitalized in Yuba and Sutter counties and suspected to have the coronavirus, according to the California Health and Human Services Agency. Newsom declined to say Monday whether there would be consequences for those counties and said the overwhelming majority of the states 58 counties were doing the right thing. On Tuesday, Newsom criticized Yuba and Sutter counties for reopening businesses still ordered shut by the statewide order. The Yuba Sutter Mall in Yuba City reopened Wednesday, although not all stores inside were open. Theyre making a big mistake. Theyre putting their public at risk. Theyre putting our progress at risk, Newsom said during a COVID-19 briefing in Sacramento on Tuesday. These are real exceptions. The overwhelming majority of Californians are playing by the rules doing the right thing. The new health order for Yuba and Sutter counties still prohibits some businesses from reopening, including bars and nightclubs that dont serve food, museums, movie theaters, bowling alleys, arcades, live performance venues, places of worship and other mass gathering spaces, schools, community centers, beaches and piers, and summer camps and residence halls. Marni Sanders, chief executive of the Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce, said earlier this week that the local business community is thrilled that we are open. I can tell you driving around there are lots of businesses open that werent open yesterday, so its a really good sign, she said Monday. Times staff writers Phil Willon and Taryn Luna contributed to this report. CROMWELL The annual Memorial Day Car Show, a fan and family favorite that raises money to provide a helping hand for students, has been cancelled. The event, scheduled for May 22, became yet another victim of efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The car show is presented by the Cromwell Childrens Coalition, made up of businesspeople, parents, teachers and students, led by Cromwell Automotive owner Rodney Bitgood. The decision to cancel the event was a tough one, said Mertie L. Terry, the groups publicist and a former first selectman. The money we raise is used to assist students in town who are in need of a helping hand, Terry said. Terry described the students who are members of the coalition as wonderful, and said, They are the future leaders of Cromwell and we are thrilled to have them as members. The coalition works through Superintendent of Schools Enza Macri to identify students who need that helping hand, she said. Occasionally, a teacher will reach out to us with a specific need for a particular student. The entire process is anonymous, she said. We never ask for, nor the names of any of the students that we have assisted, and we like it that way, she said. Among the coalitions efforts was enabling children to go to the Channel 3 Kids Camp. We have helped defray the cost of band members who otherwise would not have been able to accompany the band to Disney World, Terry said. This year, the coalition was to present a scholarship to Cromwell High School senior. It would have been the first time the coalition was able to present a scholarship, and that was due to past fundraising efforts, Terry said. The decision to cancel the event will impact our efforts to raise the funds we need to support these wonderful Cromwell kids, Terry said. That is doubly concerning because with the pandemic, there will almost certainly be a greater need for that helping hand than at any time in the coalitions past, she said. jmill@middletownpress.com The Chithirai festival is celebrated every April in Madurai, a month-long event. As the world faces an unprecedented challenge, and the government rules out public celebrations, News18 Tamil Nadu brings viewers an immersive experience of the Chithirai festival and the famed Meenakshi Temple, at home on television screens. The show originally produced and directed by History TV18 is brought to the Tamil audiences of News18 Network. Filmed in 2019, the documentary celebrates the legend of Meenakshi Amman, Mother Goddess, queen, and patron deity of the ancient city of Madurai. The film showcases the first two weeks of the grand celebrations in Tamil Nadus second-largest city, taking viewers behind the scenes of key events, along with their back-stories and socio-cultural significance. It presents never-seen-before visuals of the Chithirai festivities, tracing its history, uncovering amazing facts, and delving into fascinating folklore. The narrative also relies on human stories, through characters whose lives are inextricably intertwined with the mother goddess, Her temple, and its most important annual event. The documentary also takes a closer look at the logistics, security, and scale of organising the massive festival. The original production, a year in the making, captures the pomp and ceremony of some of the most important days of the Chithirai festival - from pattabhishekham the coronation of the goddess, to thirukalyanam the divine wedding, and rathotsavam the chariot or car festival. The film also explores the historical and architectural significance of Madurais glorious landmark, its origins, expansion and present form. High-definition and 4K cameras reveal the incredible art and architecture of the many structures spread over the 14-acre complex, along with insights of experts and temple authorities to provide context and perspective. The storytelling, with stunning visuals and slickly-edited sequences, shines the light on South Indias indigenous craftsmanship, engineering, etc. Also featuring prominently is the Kallalaghar festivities that honour Lord Vishnu, with lakhs of people arriving at the Vaigai River in Madurai. The event has socio-political significance and is historically significant, in addition to being a breath-taking spectacle. Tune in to News18 Tamil 9th May- 7 am to 8 am & 8 pm to 9 pm 10th May- 2 pm to 3 pm. Spains Constitutional Court has agreed to examine the appeal filed by the Catalan political prisoners against their conviction in the case of the 2017 failed independence bid. This is a necessary step before the Catalan leaders are allowed to take their case up with the European Court of Human Rights in the hope that justice will eventually be served. Unfortunately. The list of rights that were trampled on during the trial is long: due process, language rights, the right to a proper defence and with a presiding judge who was willing to listen to the identical statements of the prosecutions witnesses, who spoke of nasty, hateful looks [which the Spanish police allegedly got from Catalan voters on the day of the independence referendum], whilst leaving for last the video footage [which the defence teams sought to use as exculpatory evidence]. And the court did all that with the utmost pleasure (1). The Constitutional Court, which played a key role in the Spanish states efforts against the 2017 referendum, is unlikely to contradict the political doctrine espoused by Spains Supreme Court: the rule of law rests on the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation. Therefore, the Constitutional Court will go ahead and uphold the ruling that invented the crime of unarmed sedition without a popular uprising. ________________ Translators note: (1) During the trial Supreme Court Justice Marchena kept using the overly-polite Spanish phrase con sumo agrado (with the utmost pleasure) when taking requests in court from the defence lawyers, perhaps in an attempt to seem cordial and sympathetic. Ultimately, the harsh prison sentences imposed on the defendants showed Marchenas was an iron fist in a velvet glove. Salacious gossip: It creates clickbait, helps sell magazines (or at least used to) and employs a mysterious sub-species known as the paparazzi. It has always been there the desire to know the inside mail, particularly when it involves anyone with the slightest public profile. The arrest of AFL identity Dean Laidley is a case in point. A picture was snapped, by a senior constable and sent to a few mates it soon went viral. That was inevitable the moment he pressed send, and it may cost him his career. He has come forward and admitted what he did. It was an impulsively stupid but not malicious act that has had, and will have, terrible consequences. He and a colleague have been suspended. More are expected to follow. Compare that split-second stupidity and its terrible consequences to a paparazzi photographer, who gets up every morning, has breakfast and then heads out to try to capture an image of a compromised celebrity. Texas State Parks will resume limited overnight camping beginning May 18, Texas Parks & Wildlife announced. However, parks will only honor existing reservations for now, to prevent overcrowding and continue social distancing. After careful consideration, we are taking this additional step towards returning to normal operations in our parks by resuming some overnight camping at Texas State Parks, Executive Director of TPWD Carter Smith said in a statement. As overnight campers are welcomed back to their favorite natural spaces, our team will continue maintaining the cleanliness of frequently used facilities such as campsites, cabins and restrooms to ensure that visitors, volunteers and staff can continue to enjoy Texas State Parks safely. Four miners remain in a critical condition at a Brisbane hospital and one has improved to a good condition after a coal mine gas "blast" in north Queensland on Wednesday. The men were airlifted to Brisbane late on Wednesday with significant upper torso and airway burns, after a suspected gas ignition at the Grosvenor Coal Mine in Moranbah, about 150 kilometres south-west of Mackay. Patients from a mine explosion being transported by RACQ Lifeflight Rescue Air Ambulance jets at Moranbah airport. Credit:RACQ LifeFlight Rescue As of 5am on Friday morning, the men, aged 43, 51, 45 and 51, were all in critical condition at the Royal Brisbane and Womens' Hospital, while a fifth man, aged 44, was in a good condition. The mine, owned by Anglo American, shut down immediately and Mines Minister Andrew Lynham is considering a board of inquiry into the incident. The US is pulling two Patriot missile batteries and some fighter aircraft out of Saudi Arabia, an American official said Thursday, amid tensions between the kingdom and the Trump administration over oil production. The official said the decision removes two batteries that were guarding oil facilities in Saudi Arabia but leaves two Patriot batteries at Prince Sultan Air Base in the Saudi desert, along with other air defense systems and jet fighters. The decision scales back the American presence in Saudi Arabia just months after the Pentagon began a military buildup there to counter threats from Iran. About 300 troops that staff the two batteries would also leave Saudi Arabia, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations. The move comes as the US has sent Patriot systems into Iraq to protect American and allied troops there, who came under an Iranian missile attack earlier this year. The Army has a limited number of the systems, and they routinely must be brought home for upgrades. Two other Patriot batteries that are in the Middle East region are also heading home to the US, in a planned redeployment for maintenance and upgrades. It's not clear, however, whether the ongoing oil dispute or the struggle to parcel out the much-coveted Patriot systems was the key factor in the US decision to pull systems out of the kingdom. When Saudi Arabia ramped up oil production and slashed prices this year, Republicans accused the kingdom of exacerbating instability in the oil market, which was already suffering because of the coronavirus pandemic. The volatility and price crash in oil hurt US shale producers, leading to layoffs in the industry, particularly in Republican-run states. Some Republican senators warned in late March that if Saudi Arabia did not change course, it risked losing American defense support and facing a range of potential ``levers of statecraft'' such as tariffs and other trade restrictions, investigations and sanctions. The US official said a THAAD anti-ballistic missile defense system will also remain in Saudi Arabia. The THAAD complements the Patriots by providing a defense against ballistic missiles traveling outside Earth's atmosphere. The Saudi government and the Saudi Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. State-run media in the kingdom similarly did not immediately acknowledge the troop removal. The Pentagon announced last year that it would begin deploying forces and Patriot batteries to Prince Sultan Air Base, a former US military hub. The move was one of the more dramatic signs of America's decision to beef up troops in the Middle East in response to threats from Iran. When Gen. Frank McKenzie, top US commander for the Middle East, visited the base earlier this year, the American troop presence had grown to roughly 2,500. At the time, McKenzie told reporters with him that the base was a key strategic location, but that continued presence of troops and weapons there would depend on other national security needs around the world. Tensions with Iran escalated throughout last summer and fall, as the US blamed Tehran for using mines to target oil tankers near the strategic Strait of Hormuz and for attacking Saudi oil facilities. Violence peaked when the US carried out a drone strike in Iraq that killed Qassem Soleimani, Iran's top general. In response, Iran on Jan. 8 fired ballistic missiles at al-Asad Air Base in Iraq where US troops were stationed, causing more than 100 to be diagnosed with traumatic brain injury. At the time of the attack, the US had no Patriot defenses at those bases because it judged other locations, in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Gulf, to be more likely Iranian targets. After the attack, the US decided to move Patriots into Iraq to give troops more protection from missiles. Tensions with Iran remain high. Its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was involved in a tense incident in the Persian Gulf last month. The Guard's small boats repeatedly came dangerously close to US warships, crossing in front of them multiple times. And the Guard is believed to have briefly seized control of a Hong Kong-flagged oil tanker. Search Keywords: Short link: AUSTIN, Texas, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Citizens, Inc. (NYSE: CIA) today announced Q1 2020 financial results showing an earnings per share improvement of $0.01 over Q1 2019a $0.09 improvement excluding a one-time realized gain from the sale of the former corporate headquarters in 20191. Financial highlights: Net loss ($3.6) million or ($0.07) per share of Class A common stock-- $0.01 per share improvement versus Q1 2019; $0.09 per share improvement excluding 1X realized gain 1 or per share of Class A common stock-- per share improvement versus Q1 2019; per share improvement excluding 1X realized gain Net loss before federal income taxes ($2.2) million --down (211%); 36% better than ($3.5) million net loss before federal income taxes excluding 1X realized gain 1 --down (211%); 36% better than net loss before federal income taxes excluding 1X realized gain Revenue down 11% on realized gain--down 2% excluding 1X realized gain 1 --driven by a decrease in premiums --driven by a decrease in premiums First-year sales increase 19% in Life Segment to $2.7 million Total assets up 3%-- $1.7 billion $35 million in available cash and cash equivalents--no financial debt Geoffrey M. Kolander, President and CEO, said, "Citizens year-over-year earnings per share trends continued to improve in the first quarter on tight expense management, increased investment income and a 19% increase in first-year sales in the Life Insurance segment. Targeted investments in sales and marketing coupled with product refinements drove sales of higher premium products. These trends are early indicators of the progress we have made in executing against our Company's transformation strategy. However, these trends were interrupted at the end of the quarter due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "We are operating in an extraordinarily challenging environment as a result of the global pandemic. Early on, we took decisive steps to safely deliver uninterrupted essential service. Previous transformation efforts enabled us to flexibly pivot off a strengthened financial and operational foundation as we actively manage through this crisis and prepare and adapt to the global challenges that lie ahead." Mr. Kolander continued, "Through all of thiswe are committed to the safety and well-being of our employees, customers and community. Our experienced leadership team and revitalized culture are poised to capitalize on the operational changes that will be necessary to manage through uncertainty and improve service to our customers." 1 Excluding $5.5 million one-time realized gain ($4.3 million net of taxes) on the sale of the former headquarters in Q1 2019 Business continuity highlights: Implemented business continuity plan within three days Secured 85% virtual workforce to ensure uninterrupted operations Expanded electronic payments capacity to facilitate safe transactions during lockdowns Provided selling tools for the new environment through virtual training sessions Monitored developments, assessed potential impact and revised operations accordingly COVID-19 Response and Impact In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, business continuity plans were implemented within three business days. We took measured actions to lead our operations through this pandemic and provide a path to deliver uninterrupted essential services to our customers and consultants around the world, while at the same time protecting the well-being of our colleagues, customers, and communities. To safeguard the well-being of our colleagues we transitioned eighty-five percent of our team to a virtual work environment, allowing us to secure these functions and safely deliver uninterrupted service to our customers. Above all, we are committed to preserving jobs, and we have had no layoffs. Protecting the well-being of our customers means ensuring we maintain the ability to serve and support both our consultants and our customers around the world. We quickly enabled virtual training to ensure our consultants have the tools they need to operate in a new remote environment. We have also expanded our ability to handle electronic payments to facilitate safe transactions during lockdowns, and our call centers remain accessible to provide support and information. At Citizens, we have strong ties to our community. In 2017, we established a relationship with the Central Texas Food Bank, which entails closing our offices in December every year and working a half-day as a Company at the food bank, as well as giving an annual financial donation. Today, our commitment is now more important than ever, as area unemployment numbers skyrocket and our community members need food. Consequently, as this crisis impacted our community, we matched our annual December donation to the Central Texas Food Bank and intend to serve and donate financially again to this critical community cause as we close out 2020. Towards the end of the quarter, we began to experience the adverse effect of the disruption in global financial markets. As a result, we recorded $38.5 million of unrealized investment losses and realized equity investment losses of $1.1 million during the quarter. Despite a growing number of polices issued, we experienced at the end of the quarter a slowing in submitted applications, a decrease in renewal premiums and changes to the collections process as a result of the pandemic. Following state policy, we began to temporarily close offices in Louisiana and began to make changes to our operations and collection processes halting face-to-face interactions between our agents and our customers. We quickly expanded customer payment options such as debit/credit cards and traditional mail. We are closely monitoring COVID-19 pandemic developments to assess the further impact on our future business and to revise our global operations accordingly. We remain focused on executing our long-term strategy, driving customer centric growth and cultivating enduring values with an emphasis on managing what we can control. Transformation Update Carrying momentum forward to prioritize operational excellence, growth initiatives and new capabilities to thrive in a new global normal Stabilize the Core Business Injecting talent and capabilities to support the core and create a performance culture Our leadership team continues to instill a problem-solving mindset with the insight and tenacity to respond to the emerging challenges and to preserve jobs Resolving legacy regulatory issues and significantly improving financial controls Effective internal controls enable lower audit and consulting expenses Modernizing technology and improving operational infrastructure Technology improvements enable significant capability expansion--credit card processing capacity increased significantly supporting stay at home orders Evaluate, Rationalize and Align Enhancing sustainable value and playing to our strengths First responsibility is to protect workers and continue serving customers Utilizing metrics for shifting work to preserve jobs and avoid layoffs Aligning producers and collaborators Using virtual meetings to enhance training on products and opportunities counters current sales challenges including face time and medical testing Being a beacon for our international customers and community provides lessons learned and best practices for their entering a more challenging season Focus and Enable Scaling agile methodology within the company Crisis management plan implemented in 3 days--85% remote working without disruption Implementing a customer-centric strategy to improve customer experience Continuous focus on identifying new opportunities in our market and operations Q1 2020 Financial Update (compared with Q1 2019) Transformation efforts yielding positive trends despite impact of COVID-19 late in the quarter Net loss ($3.6) million or ($0.07) per Class A share-- $0.01 improvement vs. Q1 2019 or per Class A share-- improvement vs. Q1 2019 Revenue down 11%--on lower realized investment gains and a decrease in premiums Expenses down 19%on lower audit, consulting and employee-related expenses Total assets up 3%-- $1.7 billion Stockholders' equity increased 2%--on a change in unrealized gains on securities First-year sales increase 19% in Life Segment to $2.7 million Net loss improved by $0.01 per share--$0.09 improvement per share excluding the one-time realized gain on the sale of the former corporate headquarters. Transformational improvements continued to support positive trends despite the COVID-19 pandemic impact late in the quarter. The adverse effect of the disruption in global financial markets, a slowing in submitted applications, and pressure on collections affected first-quarter results. Revenue declined by 11% on a one-time realized gain in the prior year, and lower insurance premiums partially offset by strong portfolio returns. Net investment income increased by 10.0%, and the average yield on the consolidated portfolio was an annualized rate of 4.31% compared to 4.08% for the same period in 2019 on active management of risk adjusted opportunities. We continue to employ process improvements to reduce expenses and fuel our transformation effort. After achieving compliance with regulatory requirements and addressing deficiencies in our internal control environment, we are benefiting from reductions in external audit fees and outside consulting fees. Also, employee-related expenses are down as a result of the timing of restricted stock vesting, a leaner executive team and increased efficiency in operations. Citizens ended the first quarter with approximately $1.7 billion in total assets, $35 million in cash and cash equivalents and no financial debt. Selected Consolidated Financial Data For the periods ended as of 3/31/2020 3/31/2019 (In thousands, except per share data) Balance sheet data Total assets $ 1,713,287 1,665,556 Total liabilities 1,497,553 1,453,662 Total stockholders' equity 215,734 211,894 Operating items Insurance premiums $ 41,317 42,464 Net investment income 15,169 13,796 Realized investment gains (losses) (1,306) 5,961 Total revenues 55,722 62,406 Net income (loss) before federal income taxes (2,235) 2,008 Net income (loss) (3,584) (3,802) Per share data Book value per share $ 4.29 4.22 Basic and diluted income (loss) per Class A share (0.07) (0.08) Segment Operations Our business is comprised of two operating business segments and other non-insurance enterprises as detailed below. Our insurance operations are the primary focus of the Company, as those operations generate most of our income. Life Insurance Our Life Insurance segment primarily issues ordinary whole life insurance and endowment policies in U.S. dollar-denominated amounts to foreign residents in more than 20 countries through independent marketing consultants. Home Service Insurance Our Home Service Insurance segment provides pre-need and final expense ordinary life insurance and annuities to middle- and lower-income individuals primarily in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Our policies in this segment are sold and serviced through a home service marketing distribution system and funeral homes utilizing employees and independent agents. Other Non-Insurance Enterprises Other Non-Insurance Enterprises primarily includes the Company's IT and Corporate support functions, which are included in the table presentation below to properly reconcile the segment information with the consolidated financial statements of the Company. For the periods ended as of 3/31/2020 3/31/2019 (In thousands, except per share data) LIFE SEGMENT Total assets $ 1,262,351 1,216,651 Operating items Insurance premiums $ 29,819 30,914 Net investment income 11,480 10,169 Realized investment gains (losses) 735 5,457 Total revenues 42,558 46,723 Net income (loss) before federal income taxes 2,086 4,637 HOME SERVICE SEGMENT Total assets $ 384,192 377,649 Operating items Insurance premiums $ 11,498 11,550 Net investment income 3,332 3,086 Realized investment gains (losses) (1,717) 484 Total revenues 13,131 15,121 Net income (loss) before federal income taxes (2,145) (334) OTHER NON-INSURANCE ENTERPRISES Total assets $ 66,744 71,256 Operating items Insurance premiums $ - - Net investment income 357 541 Realized investment gains (losses) (324) 20 Total revenues 33 562 Net income (loss) before federal income taxes (2,176) (2,295) About Citizens, Inc. Citizens, Inc. is a financial services company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CIA. The Company utilizes a three-pronged strategy for growth based upon worldwide sales of U.S. Dollar-denominated whole life cash value insurance policies, life insurance product sales in the U.S. and final expense and limited liability property product sales in the U.S. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which can be identified by words such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate", "believe" "project" "intends," "continue" or comparable words. Such forward-looking statements may relate to business performance, operational strategy, capital expenditures, technological changes, regulatory actions, and other financial and operational measures. In addition, all statements other than statements of historical facts that address activities that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those matters expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. The risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are involved in our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to the risk factors discussed in detail in "Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019. The Company undertakes no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or changes in the Company's expectations. Accordingly, you should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements. The Company also disclaims any duty to comment upon or correct information that may be contained in reports published by the investment community. For further information CONTACT: Investor Relations [email protected] SOURCE Citizens, Inc. Related Links http://www.citizensinc.com Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called a meeting with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) officials on Thursday in the wake of a gas leak incident in Andhra Pradesh. "In the wake of the situation in Visakhapatnam, PM Narendra Modi has called for a meeting of the NDMA at 11 a.m.," stated the Prime Minister's Office. Modi will interact with senior officers of NDMA and is likely to direct them to lay down policies for disaster management. Seven persons, including a minor, died while hundreds of others reported sick after a gas leaked from the LG Polymers India plant at R.R. Venkatapuram village on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam. Around 200 people have been rushed for treatment to hospitals after complaining of breathing difficulties, and burning sensation in the eyes. Modi took to Twitter and said: "Talked to officials of MHA and NDMA regarding the situation in Visakhapatnam, which is being monitored closely." He also prayed for everyone's safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also said that the incident is disturbing. New Delhi, May 7 : The Delhi High Court, while dismissing a petition filed by two men who were roaming around without masks amid the lockdown, has held that the charges against them amounted to "unquestionably serious breach of the lockdown restrictions". The two men, who are brothers, had approached the Delhi High Court alleging atrocities committed against them by the police, which had said in the FIR that they were roaming around without face masks during the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19 virus and had even roughed up the police officers. "The charges against the petitioners amount to unquestionably serious breach of the lockdown restrictions imposed by the government, which, if permitted unchecked, may result in loss of lives of millions, and cannot be tolerated for an instance. The acts of the petitioners, if true, are inherently inimical to pubic and societal interest as a whole," the court said on Wednesday. After hearing the arguments of both the sides, the single judge bench presided over by Justice C. Hari Shankar dismissed the petition, saying, "Suffice it to state that, on the material on record, there's no case for quashing of the FIR, and thereby eviscerating the proceedings against the petitioners, at this nascent stage, can be said to have been made out." The two men had claimed in their plea that on the evening of April 20, they were forcibly picked up from their residence and were taken to a police booth in Basai Darapur in West Delhi by the police, where they were beaten up and illegally detained. They also claimed that a false case was later registered against them. However, the FIR claimed that one of the petitioners, Rahul, who was reportedly a "bad character" of the area, was seen loitering in the area without wearing a mask, in violation of the compliance advisory issued by the Central government in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. When the police intercepted Rahul and questioned him, he retorted that they had no right to stop him from walking in the area without wearing a mask. When a police officer tried to control Rahul, he reportedly caught him by his collar and tore his shirt. He also allegedly kicked a constable by the name of Pravin. When asked about his conduct, Rahul called his brother Sunder to the spot and they both started beating up the police officers after which an FIR was lodged against them, the court noted. During the hearing, the petitioners' counsel, Varun Tyagi, argued that there were marked inconsistencies in the version of the police, saying that while the FIR said that Sunder had returned to his home, the case of the prosecution is that he was apprehended from the spot. Placing reliance on the MLC of the petitioners, Tyagi said that as per the version of Sunder, he was bitten by a cop. "The case is of assault by the police on the petitioners, and not vice versa," the counsel said. The court then noted that quashing of criminal proceedings by eviscerating them from their very inception is an extreme step, to be taken with due circumspection. "The powers of this court under Section 482 of quashing criminal proceedings, though extremely wide, are to be exercised with a great degree of caution," the court said. Noting the seriousness of the offences committed as the same may affect the society at large, the court said, "While this sole factor may, even by itself, be sufficient to have merited dismissal of this petition, the status report further states that the allegations in the FIR are supported by the MLC of the complainant," the court observed. Following the observations, the petitioners' counsel urged the court to examine the CCTV footage from the area, which, according to him, would vouchsafe the innocence of his clients. Responding to which, the court noted that it cannot enter into detailed appreciation of evidence and dismissed the plea noting that "the case is at a nascent stage". Photo: Robert Couse-Baker/Flickr Read on for the most recent top news you may have missed in Sacramento. 14-year-old Sacramento girl admitted to 8 universities including UC Berkeley and Cal State East Bay Tiara Abraham spoke with ABC affiliate KXTV and says she has been offered admission to eight California universities, including several in the Bay Area. Read the full story on ABC7 News. Another Amazon warehouse employee tests positive for coronavirus in Sacramento Another employee at Amazon's warehouse near Sacramento International Airport has tested positive for COVID-19, at least the second worker there with a confirmed case of the disease. Read the full story on The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento police investigating shooting near Marysville Boulevard, Bell Avenue The Sacramento Police Department is investigating a shooting in the area of Marysville Boulevard, south of Bell Avenue. Read the full story on FOX40. Sacramento announces free coronavirus drive-through testing for all. No symptoms required. Sacramento County health officers on Wednesday announced the private drive-through coronavirus testing site at Cal Expo is now accepting all comers for free tests, regardless of whether they have symptoms or not. Read the full story on The Sacramento Bee. Postal Service seeks to hire over 400 new workers in Sacramento to meet package processing demands Since Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the states stay-at-home order, more people are shopping online and the U.S. Postal Services plant in Sacramento is processing more packages than they do over the winter holidays. Read the full story on FOX40. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. EMAM cloud is as easy as apples. We are excited to offer a wider range of options for organizations in these challenging times. EMAM, Inc. (EMAM) announces the rebranding of its website to emamsolutions.com and the relaunch of its emamcloud.com website. EMAM plans to leverage public cloud services, its technology partners, and an expanded service provider network to address the digital workflow process needs of organizations worldwide. EMAM, Inc. continues to stengthen its core eMAM product line to manage digital workflow processes for its customers. New features added to the eMAM product line include live ingest support, additional technology integration partners (including Alibaba Cloud and Teradici), and enhanced Adobe Creative Cloud integrations. All of these features will be included in the upcoming release of eMAM Version 5.2. eMAM Cloud is the first media asset management (MAM) system to launch in the AWS Marketplace. Both an intelligent AI-tagged cloud archive system and a collaborative production system can be purchased as either software as a service (SaaS) or platform as a service (PaaS-AMI-VM-Server) from AWS. eMAM Cloud use cloud technologies to provide intuitive tools, best-in-class security, and compelling features--with deployment in minutes. The redesigned emamcloud.com website provides a wealth of information about these options, along with an option to purchase directly from EMAM. EMAM integrates with over 70 technology partners to provide complete integrated workflows. EMAM will expand its marketing and system integrator service provider network with cloud independent software vendors (ISVs) and cloud service partners to give its customers worldwide more options for outstanding service. EMAM President David Miller commented, the pandemic has increased interest in remote work-from-home options and cloud contingencies, so we are excited to offer a wider range of options for organizations in these challenging times. eMAM is available at emamsolutions.com and partners worldwide. eMAM Cloud is available from the AWS Marketplace and from emamcloud.com. About EMAM Empress Media Asset Management, LLC was launched in 2006. All assets and liabilities, including the eMAM system, were transferred to EMAM, Inc. in 2019. EMAM, Inc. is a closely-held Delaware C corporation. Its Indian partner, Empress Cybernetics Systems PVT dba Empress Infotech, has been providing staff for the development, support, and implementation of the eMAM system since its founding in 2008. The eMAM product line (eMAM Vault, eMAM Publish, eMAM Workgroup, eMAM Enterprise, eMAM Cloud Service, and eMAM Cloud Platform) meets the media asset management and workflow management needs of broadcast, media, government, and corporate organizations in local, hybrid, and cloud environments worldwide. A sneeze has cost a woman more than $170,000 after her twin sister successfully sued her over a traffic accident. Budding lawyer Caitlin Douglas, 21, was on Wednesday awarded a six-figure sum by the NSW District Court after she suffered lower back pain as a result of the October 2016 crash. Caitlin, who was a year 11 student at the time, was in the passenger seat when her sister Brighid sneezed and lost control of the car. The car crashed into a tree on Donnells Creek Road at Moruya, on NSWs far south coast. Budding lawyer Caitlin Douglas, 21, was on Wednesday awarded a six-figure sum by the NSW District Court (pictured) after she suffered lower back pain as a result of the October 2016 crash Caitlin initially experienced whiplash-like injuries. Two years later she was forced to see a series of doctors and chiropractors because of lower back pain. Judge Leonard Levy found Caitlins future earning capacity had been reduced by $150,000 because she was unable to lift more than 10kg and would be hindered in her ability to work long hours. 'The regular or intermittent experience of pain and the need for tailored and defined working restrictions along with the practical need for ergonomic furniture, and the need to make provision for regular breaks, is likely to be seen by a prospective legal employer to be negative factors in a competitive employment market,' Judge Levy said. 'Even if the plaintiff continues to do well academically. 'Rightly or wrongly, the reality is that often, without over-explanation, able-bodied candidates are preferred to those with a disability.' Caitlin, who was a year 11 student at the time, was in the passenger seat when her sister Brighid sneezed and lost control of the car. She crashed into a tree on Donnells Creek Road at Moruya, on NSWs far south coast (pictured) She was awarded a total of $172,5000, including $10,000 for future domestic assistance, $7500 for future treatment costs and $5000 for out-of-pocket expenses. The court heard that after graduating high school as dux, Douglas took up a legal and commerce degree at the University of Sydney, worked as a part-time law clerk and was on her way to pursuing a legal career. Judge Levy found that in the future she would be hindered in her chosen profession because she had difficulty sitting for long periods and carrying heavy objects. 'If illustration of the lifting and carrying component of legal work was required, it would be sufficient to recognise that the weighty folders that were provided to the court, weighed several kilograms,' Judge Levy said. 'It is well-recognised from observing litigation over a long period that trolleys laden with such materials are most commonly pulled and pushed by the most junior members of a legal practice.' The Washington Post reported Wednesday that nurses and nursing assistants at Sagepoint were told not to wear masks when they requested them in March because it would scare residents. They also said they were assigned untenable numbers of patients because of staff shortages, and frequently asked to move between wings with patients who had tested positive for the coronavirus and those who had not, raising concerns about exposing negative patients. In order to visualize and track the exact location of PML bodies on the chromatin, the team developed a method known as APEX-mediated chromatin labeling and purification (ALaP). A fluorescent dye was first coupled with the PML bodies such that the light emitted by this dye could help trace the bodies. Subsequently, the PML bodychromatin complex could be isolated and the genes within it sequenced and identified. This technique was tested in cells of mice and resulted in successful extraction of the complex without any structural damage. The chromatin region anchored to the PML bodies within this complex was then identified as YS300, a short area of the Y chromosome. What's more, a cluster of genes in the vicinity of YS300 was also found to be impactedsome genes were suppressed and some were activated. PML bodies were thus somehow controlling the activity of these neighboring genes, which prompted the team to try and understand how. In order for genes to be activated they must undergo a process known as DNA methylation. However, the structures of the suppressed genes suggested that they had been deprived of this process. A closer examination of the entire complex revealed that PML bodies were docked onto YS300 in a manner which prevented DNMT3A, a core regulator of DNA methylation, from accessing the genes. PML bodies were therefore physically restricting DNMT3A thereby preventing genetic activation. "Our study sheds light on a newly discovered role of PML bodies in the regulation of the cluster genes and revealed a novel mechanism to regulate gene expression by 3D nuclear organization," summarize the researchers. PML bodies are heavily involved in nervous system development, stress responses, and cancer suppression. Their newly found role can help understand whether and how gene regulation is involved in any of these cellular processes. Additionally, PML bodies can also be exploited as a potential switch to control the activity of certain genes. Background: PML bodies: PML bodies are dynamic, scaffold-like structures made up of small proteins. Each cell nucleus is known to contain 530 PML bodies. PML bodies are involved in a host of cellular processes such as cell growth, aging, cell division, and stress responses. While PML bodies are known to closely latch onto different regions of the chromatin, there is also evidence to show that they interact with some genes. However, the link between PML bodies and genes is still unclear. Chromatin: Our genes are made up of long sequences of DNA molecules; these sequences can measure up to a yard when stretched out. The chromatin is an essential component of the cell that helps pack these long sequences of DNA efficiently within the cell. Chromatin is thus a complex structure within which strings of DNA are wound tightly around protein molecules. Chromatin also inevitably safeguards the genes found within it thereby acting as an entry point for molecules that interact with genes. Reference: Misuzu Kurihara, Kagayaki Kato, Chiaki Sanbo, Shuji Shigenobu, Yasuyuki Ohkawa, Takeshi Fuchigami, Yusuke Miyanari. Genomic profiling of PML bodies by ALaP-seq reveals transcriptional regulation by PML bodies through the DNMT3A exclusion. Molecular Cell, 2020. Online 29 April 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2020.04.004 About Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI) https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/ Nano Life Science Institute (NanoLSI), Kanazawa University is a research center established in 2017 as part of the World Premier International Research Center Initiative of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The objective of this initiative is to form world-tier research centers. NanoLSI combines the foremost knowledge of bio-scanning probe microscopy to establish 'nano-endoscopic techniques' to directly image, analyze, and manipulate biomolecules for insights into mechanisms governing life phenomena such as diseases. About Kanazawa University http://www.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/e/ As the leading comprehensive university on the Sea of Japan coast, Kanazawa University has contributed greatly to higher education and academic research in Japan since it was founded in 1949. The University has three colleges and 17 schools offering courses in subjects that include medicine, computer engineering, and humanities. The University is located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in Kanazawa a city rich in history and culture. The city of Kanazawa has a highly respected intellectual profile since the time of the fiefdom (1598-1867). Kanazawa University is divided into two main campuses: Kakuma and Takaramachi for its approximately 10,200 students including 600 from overseas. Further information Hiroe Yoneda Vice Director of Public Affairs WPI Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI) Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan Email: [email protected] Tel: +81(76)234-4550 SOURCE Kanazawa University As many as 20,000 people are still catching the coronavirus every day in Britain, according to scientists. Trying to start contact tracing while the disease is still spreading so rapidly would be 'impossible' and there is still a 'big problem' in care homes. Professor John Edmunds, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, told MPs today that the UK is still seeing a 'sobering' number of deaths because of COVID-19 and that data is still not good enough to come out of lockdown. There are also questions about the reproduction rate of the virus - known as the R value - and how that varies across the country. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said at today's Downing Street briefing that it is thought to be between 0.5 and 0.9 nationally. Professor Edmunds put it between 0.75 and 1 and said it has gone up in the past two weeks because of worsening outbreaks in care homes around the country. If the number rises above 1, the outbreak will start to spiral and could get out of control again. Government statistics revealed a further 5,614 people were diagnosed with COVID-19 yesterday - 35,000 people have tested positive in the last week. And there are now 12,692 people in hospital with the coronavirus, which is down 16 per cent from last week but shows the illness is still widespread in England and Wales. If Professor Edmunds's 20,000-a-day prediction is correct it could raise concerns about the Government's plans to start relaxing lockdown measures next week. There were 5,614 people officially diagnosed with COVID-19 yesterday and there have been a total 35,000 cases confirmed in the last seven days. But scientists say the true number may actually be more like 20,000 per day, four times higher The number of people hospitalised with COVID-19 has declined 16 per cent in the past week, to 12,692 - the NHS now plans to slowly return to normal Speaking to MPs at a meeting of the Science and Technology Committee today, Professor Edmunds said: 'The incidence has to come right down for contact tracing to be feasible, really, to be able to contact trace all of those contacts for those individual cases. 'If we get the incidence right down, I think that contact tracing will play a role. I don't think it's going to be sufficient to... I wouldn't want to rely on that alone. 'So I do think that we will need other social distance measures in place.' If the number of people getting infected each day remained at 20,000, the country could expect to see 100 deaths per day, assuming a 0.5 per cent death rate, which has been suggested by statistics coming from other nations. Contract tracing could be unfeasible at this level of transmission because the Government is planning to employ around 18,000 contact tracers to track down people who have been close to infected patients. Officials will not be able to carry out their 'test, track, trace' plan until the number of new patients is under control. 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 Germany's top diseases institute said the closely-watched R rate had fallen from 0.71 to 0.65, meaning the epidemic is losing pace even as it lifts lockdown restrictions and reopens schools 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 As well as the numbers of people infected falling, the rate of transmission must also be kept low with social distancing and lockdown measures, experts say. This is referred to as the R value of the virus and denotes the average number of people each infected person passes on the illness to. Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week put the R - and the task of keeping it below 1 and preventing another surge in infections - at the heart of Britain's virus battle. It was believed to be just below 4 at the start of the UK's rampant epidemic but Professor Edmunds now predicts it is between 0.75 and 1, meaning that, if it can be kept below 1, the outbreak will burn itself out. The chief statistician at the Office for National Statistics said in today's Downing Street briefing that both the R and the number of infectious people must come down together. Professor Sir Ian Diamond said he 'would not demur' from the estimate that the R had gone up in recent weeks. He said: 'It is important to recognise that the R number itself is only relevant if you look also at the context of the prevalence. 'I think we need to look at the two together to properly understand where we are... we need certainly to get on top of the epidemic in care homes and in hospitals.' He said that, if the R was 1, the number of cases would flatline because no more than one person would catch the virus at a time but the number would also not decline. Dominic Raab added that 'overall, the R is down', and said controlling infection rates in hospitals and care homes was now the Government's 'top focus'. Despite the R rate being high in hospitals and care homes, which are higher risk areas, it is believed to be very low in the community because people are no longer having regular face-to-face contact with others. Professor Edmunds told the science committee that, a couple of weeks ago he would have said the R in the community was between 0.6 and 0.8. But because of higher infection rates in medical facilities, he said, the overall estimate now stood at close to 1. 'It's a big problem that we have in hospitals and care homes,' he said. 'I think what's happened is that the community epidemic has come down and that epidemic is now being concentrated in these settings.' And Professor Edmunds added: 'Our data are really not really good enough to give us any certainty about what the reproduction number really is in hospitals and it's probably variable between one hospital and another, and care homes is even worse.' Professor Diamond said it was important to look at excess mortality during the coronavirus outbreak. He added: 'When we look normally at excess deaths, we see the highest excess deaths right in the heart of winter, in the heart of what is often called the flu season. 'To see them in the middle of a sunny April is absolutely sobering.' Professor Edmunds's comments come after a study from the University of East Anglia suggested that not all social distancing measures were equal when it came to slashing coronavirus infections. The paper, which studied data and restrictions in 30 countries around the world, suggested that a full-blown lockdown may not have been necessary. One of the scientists involved in the research, Dr Julii Brainard, said they found clear distinctions between which measures were more effective. 'We found that three of the control measures were especially effective and the other two were not,' she told BBC Radio 4 this morning. 'It pains me to say this because I have kids that I'd like to get back into education, but closing schools was the most effective single measure, followed by mass gatherings. '[This was] followed by what were defined... as the initial business closures. So that was the point when, in the UK for instance, they closed gyms and clubs. 'Adding very little additional effect was the stay-at-home measure, surprisingly, and the additional business closures.' Graphs provided by researchers at the University of East Anglia compare how separate lockdown measures affected their 'risk ratio' - an algorithm which predicts how likely the virus is to spread. The gradients show that risk dropped over time after mass gatherings were banned, schools were closed and 'initial businesses ' were shut, including gyms. Gradients which showed less of an effect, or apparently no effect at all, on the risk ratio are pictured, showing that total business closures, staying at home, and wearing masks do not appear to impact the risk of virus spread Results of the study - based on data from 30 countries - also showed how the same measures worked to keep death tolls down 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 week 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 if the virus is reproducing in its ideal conditions. 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. As an outbreak goes on, the R0 may be referred to more accurately as Re or just R, as other factors come into play to influence how well it is able to spread. Estimates of the COVID-19 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 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.' Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 7, 2020) - Lodge Resources Inc. (CSE: LDG) (FSE: 3WU) ("Lodge" or the "Company") is pleased to announce, further to its news releases of April 16, 2020 and May 5, 2020, that the Company has closed the first tranche of its non-brokered private placement of 3,039,411 units (each, a "Unit") at $0.35 per Unit for gross proceeds of $1,063,793.85 (the "Offering"). Each Unit consists of one common share (each a "Share") and one common share purchase warrant (each a "Warrant") of the Company. Each Warrant is exercisable into an additional Share for 12 months at $0.50 per Share. In connection with the Offering, the Company paid a cash finder's fee of $19,110 to eligible finders. Additionally, the Company has issued an aggregate of 54,600 common share purchase warrants (the "Finder's Warrants") to the finders. The Finder's Warrants have the same terms as the Warrants issued under the Offering, but are non-transferable. All securities issued in connection with the Offering are subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day in accordance with applicable securities legislation ending on September 7, 2020. The net proceeds received from the Offering will be used for general corporate and working capital purposes. About the Company: The Company is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties in Canada and the USA. On behalf of the Company Howard Milne, Chief Executive Officer For further information, please contact Ken Cotiamco, at 604-687-7130 or ken@skanderbegcapital.com. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of any 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. Such securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. Forward Looking Statements: This press release contains "forward looking information or statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws, which may include, but are not limited to statements relating to its future business plans. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ from those in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking information reflects the Company's views with respect to future events and is subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The Company does not undertake to update forward looking statements or forward looking information, except as required by law. Neither Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55552 WASHINGTON President Trump vetoed a Senate resolution on Wednesday that would have required him to seek congressional authorization before taking military action against Iran, rejecting a rare effort by the chamber to curb his authority and reasserting broad power to use military force. In a statement released by the White House, Mr. Trump portrayed the measure as not only an encroachment on his presidential powers but also a personal political attack. This was a very insulting resolution, introduced by Democrats as part of a strategy to win an election on November 3 by dividing the Republican Party, the president said. The few Republicans who voted for it played right into their hands. The resolution was mostly symbolic and not legally binding. And Congress does not stand much of a chance of reversing the veto because the measure passed well short of the two-thirds supermajority needed for an override. A fashion model who has worked for the likes of Dolce & Gabbana has revealed she's moved into a care home to help the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Harriet Rose, who is signed to top London agency Select, took to her Instagram page this week to explain that she's started working at an unnamed care home in Herne Bay, Kent. The blonde bombshell, who boasts a large portfolio of catwalk and magazine photoshoots, proudly told how none of the people staying at the centre have died from coronavirus thanks to their lockdown. Model Harriet Rose (pictured on holiday in Italy) who has worked for the likes of Dolce and Gabbana has revealed she's moved into a care home in Kent (right) to help the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic Harriet Rose (pictured on the Ingie catwalk in Paris in 2017), who is signed to top London agency Select, took to her Instagram page this week to explain that she's working with residents at an unnamed care home in Herne Bay, Kent Posting to her social media account, which boasts 5,500 followers, Harriet shared several images of herself wearing her staff uniform. She captioned the post: 'One month ago I moved into a care home that Ive recently started working at, for a one month lockdown period in order to ensure the safety of the residents during a peak of the covid-19 pandemic. 'To say its been tough would be an understatement! But with great pleasure I can say that we have been so lucky to have not lost any resident or member of staff OR contracted ANY cases of the coronavirus during this period. Posting to her social media account, which brags 5,500 followers, Harriet shared several images of herself wearing her staff uniform (pictured) The blonde bombshell (pictured left on holiday, and right, recently in the UK) boasts a large portfolio of catwalk and magazine photoshoots 'The quite literal blood sweat and tears, hundreds of hours on minimal sleep and not giving up, were all worth it! We are all SO blessed and we feel so proud of our huge achievement. 'We send all our love to all the other care homes and care workers who are continuing to do an amazing job!' Harriet added: 'Stay home! Keep to social distancing and WASH YOUR HANDS. Together we will get through this! Stay smiling and stay positive.' Harriet proudly told how none of the people staying at the centre had died from coronavirus thanks to their lockdown (pictured left). Pictured right: A snap of Harriet's luggage and uniform as she prepared to live in the care home Reaction: Her inspirational post was praised by her followers, with one person writing: 'Thats awesome stuff, keep it up' Her inspirational post was praised by her followers, with one person writing: 'Thats awesome stuff, keep it up.' Another added: 'Well done Harriet, you're doing amazing,' while a third added: 'God bless you! Such a good role model for others out there.' A fourth wrote: 'God bless you. You and your colleagues in the nursing homes are angels,' as another person said: 'Amazing job Harriet and an inspiration.' Starting next week, Rite Aid will provide six coronavirus testing sites in Pennsylvania to make them available for nearly everyone even if youre not showing any symptoms. Starting Monday, the pharmaceutical company will be running 71 sites in 12 states, creating the opportunity for up to 10,000 tests to be conducted each day. Before Rite Aids offer to test asymptomatic people, anyone showing signs of the coronavirus needed to provide a doctors note to be tested. Now, youll just need to provide a government-issued ID, be at least 18 years old and pre-register through Rite Aids website, the company said Thursday. Symptomatic and asymptomatic people will be able to take a self-swab nasal test thats overseen by Rite Aid pharmacists. Testing will be available at the following Pennsylvania Rite Aid locations: -2604 Linglestown Road, Harrisburg -115 Leader Heights Road, York -7401 Ogontz Avenue, Philadelphia -4111 William Penn Hwy., Monroeville -20 South River Street, Plains -5430 Peach Street, Erie Rite Aids parking lot sites are open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Drive-thru testing sites are open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., as well as Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Each of Rite Aids testing sites can currently test 400 people a day. More than half offer drive-thru testing, the company said. In an interview with Good Morning America, COO Jim Peters said Rite Aid doesnt see a demand for that many tests a day, but believes there will be an uptick once asymptomatic people can access them. He said he doesnt know how long itll take for everyone who wants a test to get one. Peters also described some of the challenges the healthcare industry has faced regarding coronavirus testing. Items like vials and swabs are harder to come by these days, he said, and the science isnt all there to prove antibody testing is an accurate enough alternative. In the GMA interview, Peters said, I think were still far from where we want to be as a community." READ MORE: Police officer under investigation after taking down maskless woman at Walmart in Alabama: Video Some beaches, businesses may soon be allowed to reopen in New Jersey 33 million people in U.S. have applied for unemployment benefits since coronavirus hit Converse, IN, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Farmers Bank & Trust, in partnership with pork producers and processors throughout the state, has initiated a direct assistance program to provide protein to food banks throughout Indiana and eastern Illinois. Pigs to People to Pork was established due to the bank's unique awareness of several processes taking place as a result of COVID-19, causing a dramatic disruption in the availability of protein to those in need. Following the shutdown of major processing plants in the area, producers are facing few or no options in the market. Less processing means less pork on grocery shelves available to the public and therefore even less protein available to food banks providing for those in need. Chief Agricultural Lending Officer, Jeff Rodibaugh, and other key bank personnel created an ad hoc network of farmers and local processors willing to donate or dramatically reduce livestock and processing costs. Partnering with state not-for-profit Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry will allow for an exponentially greater impact. During this time of uncertainty, our lending team called on their lifelong relationships to find the compassion of local processing owners and staffs to put in extra hours to process pigs that are getting precariously big for their stressed owners into one-pound ground pork packages for the people of our communities. We are in the relationship business of Agriculture and our passionate commitment to our people is what sets us apart at First Farmers. It is the hope of our employees, processors and pig farmers that through our Pigs to People to Pork partnership with Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry that we will provide a smile to a person or child that was looking for a meal this week. Chief Agricultural Lending Officer, Jeff Rodibaugh Our various partners in the pork industry were immediately aware of what a major processing shutdown would create and were quick to act to help others. To witness so many people extend good will during time of crisis is humbling and inspirational. Tade Powell, Senior Vice President, Communications, First Farmers Bank & Trust. Story continues The Pigs to People to Pork effort initiated by our commercial and agricultural lending team is one of three distinct outreach programs taking place at First Farmers Bank & Trust under the umbrella of Growing Good. For more information, please visit www.ffbt.com/growinggood. First Farmers Bank & Trust has offices throughout Carroll, Cass, Clay, Grant, Hamilton, Howard, Huntington, Madison, Marshall, Miami, Starke, Sullivan, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Vigo and Wabash counties in Indiana and offices in Coles, Edgar and Vermilion counties in Illinois. First Farmers Financial Corp is a $2.0 billion financial holding company headquartered in Converse, Indiana and is traded on the OTC Markets Group, Inc. "OTCQX" exchange under the ticker symbol: FFMR Tade J Powell First Farmers Bank & Trust 765-293-4162 tade.powell@ffbt.com Arizona State University scientists rewire photosynthesis to fuel our future Hydrogen is an essential commodity with over 60 million tons produced globally every year. However over 95 percent of it is made by steam reformation of fossil fuels, a process that is energy intensive and produces carbon dioxide. If we could replace even a part of that with algal biohydrogen that is made via light and water, it would have a substantial impact. This is essentially what has just been achieved in the lab of Kevin Redding, professor in the School of Molecular Sciences and director of the Center for Bioenergy and Photosynthesis. Their research, entitled Rewiring photosynthesis: a Photosystem I -hydrogenase chimera that makes hydrogen in vivo was published very recently in the high impact journal Energy and Environmental Science. "What we have done is to show that it is possible to intercept the high energy electrons from photosynthesis and use them to drive alternate chemistry, in a living cell" explained Redding. "We have used hydrogen production here as an example." "Kevin Redding and his group have made a true breakthrough in re-engineering the Photosystem I complex," explained Ian Gould, interim director of the School of Molecular Sciences, which is part of The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. "They didn't just find a way to redirect a complex protein structure that nature designed for one purpose to perform a different, but equally critical process, but they found the best way to do it at the molecular level." It is common knowledge that plants and algae, as well as cyanobacteria, use photosynthesis to produce oxygen and "fuels," the latter being oxidizable substances like carbohydrates and hydrogen. There are two pigment-protein complexes that orchestrate the primary reactions of light in oxygenic photosynthesis: Photosystem I (PSI) and Photosystem II (PSII). Algae (in this work the single-celled green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, or 'Chlamy' for short) possess an enzyme called hydrogenase that uses electrons it gets from the protein ferredoxin, which is normally used to ferry electrons from PSI to various destinations. A problem is that the algal hydrogenase is rapidly and irreversibly inactivated by oxygen that is constantly produced by PSII. In this study, doctoral student and first author Andrey Kanygin has created a genetic chimera of PSI and the hydrogenase such that they co-assemble and are active in vivo. This new assembly redirects electrons away from carbon dioxide fixation to the production of biohydrogen. "We thought that some radically different approaches needed to be taken -- thus, our crazy idea of hooking up the hydrogenase enzyme directly to Photosystem I in order to divert a large fraction of the electrons from water splitting (by Photosystem II) to make molecular hydrogen," explained Redding. Cells expressing the new photosystem (PSI-hydrogenase) make hydrogen at high rates in a light dependent fashion, for several days. This important result will also be featured in an upcoming article in Chemistry World - a monthly chemistry news magazine published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. The magazine addresses current developments in the world of chemistry including research, international business news and government policy as it affects the chemical science community. The NSF grant funding this research is part of the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF). In this arrangement, a U.S. scientist and Israeli scientist join forces to form a joint project. The U.S. partner submits a grant on the joint project to the NSF, and the Israeli partner submits the same grant to the ISF (Israel Science Foundation). Both agencies must agree to fund the project in order to obtain the BSF funding. Professor Iftach Yacoby of Tel Aviv University, Redding's partner on the BSF project, is a young scientist who first started at TAU about eight years ago and has focused on different ways to increase algal biohydrogen production. In summary, re-engineering the fundamental processes of photosynthetic microorganisms offers a cheap and renewable platform for creating bio-factories capable of driving difficult electron reactions, powered only by the sun and using water as the electron source. ### The team included Kevin E. Redding, Andrey Kanygin and Patricia Baker of ASU, Kiera Reifschneider (formerly Redding's doctoral student), Iftach Yacoby and Yuval Milrad of Tel Aviv University and Chandrasekhar Thummala of Yogi Vemana University, India (formerly a visiting professor in Redding's lab).This work was funded by the National Science Foundation, grant number CBET-1706960. This story has been published on: 2020-05-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 15:42:32|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on May 4, 2020 shows Times Square in New York, the United States. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) Global changes amid COVID-19 pandemic: - Transatlantic relations have suffered a new blow, with U.S. President Donald Trump's unilateral moves proving to be "aggressive isolationism" - Washington is playing a blame game to shift its responsibility for the poor management of the pandemic within the U.S. - Many countries and regions, such as China and the EU, have been shouldering great global responsibilities and waging all-out efforts to deepen international cooperation by Yu Shuaishuai, Ren Ke and Liu Pinran ATHENS, May 7 (Xinhua) -- As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, the global political structure is changing: amid a widening gap in transatlantic relations and a familiar U.S. withdrawal from international affairs, many other countries and regions are shouldering global responsibilities and becoming new voices for cooperation in face of challenges. Many experts and media worldwide agree that all these changes happened during the 100 days after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on Jan. 30. WORSENING TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS Transatlantic relations have suffered a new blow in the global health crisis, with U.S. President Donald Trump's unilateral moves proving to be "aggressive isolationism," the European Council on Foreign Relations, a pan-European think tank, pointed out in a commentary published in early April. The U.S. Capitol Building is seen in Washington D.C., the United States, May 4, 2020. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua) A day before the WHO announced that Europe became the epicenter of the pandemic on March 13, Trump already issued travel bans on most of mainland Europe, which incurred widespread doubt, disapproval and condemnation from the continent. The European Union (EU) issued a joint statement criticizing the U.S. measures for being taken "unilaterally and without consultation." When Europe is struggling, what the United States did has amplified the gap in the transatlantic relations. On March 18, some U.S. media applauded the fact that the U.S. Air Force flew half a million coronavirus testing swabs from Italy to the U.S. state of Tennessee, at a time when Italy recorded over 35,000 cases, the most outside China. In early April, Washington was accused by Berlin of "modern piracy" after redirecting 200,000 Germany-bound masks for its own use. The White House faced the same accusation from France. Analysts worldwide said the transatlantic alliance was already in a bad shape before the sudden outbreak of the pandemic. Since the current U.S. administration came to power, the U.S.-Europe bond has suffered a series of blows over the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's defense expenditures, trade conflicts, the Iran nuclear deal and the refugee crisis, among others. Healthcare workers work at a drive-through COVID-19 testing site on Northwest Side of Chicago, the United States, on May 6, 2020. (Photo by Joel Lerner/Xinhua) Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer, director of Research, Transatlantic Security at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, told French daily Le Figaro that Europeans have made the majority of their decisions during the crisis without consulting the United States due to Trump's indifference towards its European allies in the virus battle. "It's as if they've internalized the fact that we shouldn't expect anything from American leadership anymore," she said. Erik Brattberg, director of the Europe Program and a fellow at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said in an article on the organization's website that the latest bout of transatlantic discord is marked by "a lack of European trust in Washington's intentions, unpredictable U.S. foreign policy decision making, a dearth of U.S. diplomatic decorum, and a sense of ideological drift across the Atlantic." U.S. WITHDRAWAL FROM GLOBAL AFFAIRS It has been widely recognized that Washington is playing a blame game to shift its responsibility for the poor management of the pandemic within the United States and wrench itself out of a political impasse caused by a delay in tackling the virus. And its latest move to cut off WHO funding has triggered a new wave worldwide of questioning the U.S. leadership in global affairs. Maria van Kerkhove (R), technical lead for the Health Emergencies Program of the World Health Organization (WHO), speaks at a daily briefing in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Chen Junxia) "How shortsighted when global coop needed more now than ever," Lawrence Gostin, director of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, tweeted after the White House's decision, adding that Washington has "entirely abandoned" U.S. global health leadership. Yet the word "withdraw" is no new to the Trump administration. Washington quit the Paris Climate Agreement in 2017, with Trump saying the decision was in accordance with his "America First" policy. A few months later, it quit the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). It then withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, in May 2018. Over the past century, the United States has displayed global leadership in almost all global crises, including the 2008 financial crisis and the 2014 Ebola crisis. It has granted assistance to other countries, and established today's multilateral international system. "But this is perhaps the first global crisis in more than a century where no one is even looking to the United States for leadership," said an article from The New York Times on April 23. Although the United States is acting as the current chair of the G7, it was French President Emmanuel Macron who called for a virtual G7 summit to discuss the coronavirus crisis in mid-April. During the summit, Trump was left isolated for his decision to suspend WHO funding. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press briefing in Washington D.C., the United States, on March 5, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) "The United States will no longer be seen as an international leader because of its government's narrow self-interest and bungling incompetence," commented Kori Schake, deputy director general of the London-headquartered International Institute for Strategic Studies, in an article published by Foreign Policy magazine in March. "Washington has failed the leadership test, and the world is worse off for it," Schake said. NEW VOICES FOR COOPERATION Facing the coronavirus -- a common enemy of mankind, many countries and regions, such as China and the EU, have been shouldering great global responsibilities and waging all-out efforts to deepen international cooperation. Since Jan. 3, China has been regularly informing the WHO and relevant countries on the latest development of the epidemic situation within the country. Chinese scientists were the first to uncover the genetic code of the virus and shared it with the WHO on Jan. 12, "enabling the roll-out of effective testing around the world," wrote Robin Niblett, director and chief executive of British think tank Chatham House, in an article published in April. A staff member handles nucleic acid testing samples at a novel coronavirus detection lab in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Cheng Min) Besides, China has offered assistance to over 120 countries around the world, sending urgently needed medical supplies and dispatching teams of experts to those in need. It has also donated 50 million U.S. dollars to the WHO in the past two months to support the global fight against COVID-19. "This could be the first major global crisis in decades without meaningful U.S. leadership and with significant Chinese leadership," said Rush Doshi, director of the China Strategy Initiative at Washington-based research group the Brookings Institution, in a story published by The New York Times in March. The outbreak is also a test of European integration. The EU quickly unified its internal policies in response to the epidemic, and has performed actively on international stages such as the G20 and the G7 to coordinate global cooperation. It has also showed its full support for international organizations such as the United Nations and the WHO. Conquering the pandemic requires solidarity and "strong and co-ordinated policy responses" by governments and societies at a global level, emphasized Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Thomas Greminger. The Military Engineering Services, which is a part of the Indian Army, provides rear line engineering support to the Armed Forces. Defence minister Rajnath Singh has approved the abolition of 9,304 posts in Military Engineering Services (MES) in the basic and industrial workforce. The decision has been taken in line with the recommendations of the Committee of Experts, headed by Lt General Shekatkar. The suggestions were made to increase combat capability and rebalance defence expenditure of Armed Forces. In line with the recommendations made by the Committee, based on the proposal of Engineer-in-Chief, MES, the proposal of abolition of 9,304 posts in MES out of the total 13,157 vacancies of the basic and industrial staff has been approved by the Defence Minister, the defence ministry said in statement. According to a report by The Hindu, the 11-member team formed in 2016 by late Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had made nearly 99 recommendations. One of those was to restructure civilian workforce in a manner that part of the work of the MES could be done by staff employed by the department and the rest could be outsourced. As per a report by The New Indian Express, Rajnath Singh had undertaken a high-level review of the recommendations of the Shekatkar Committee on 20 April. The review was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Bipin Rawat, Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh, Air Force head Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Bhadauria, Army chief Gen. M.M. Naravane and Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar. The MES, which is a part of the Indian Army, provides rear line engineering support to the Armed Forces. It is one of largest construction and maintenance agencies in India. The MES is structured to design works, executed through contracts under the supervision of officers and staff consisting of both civilians and combatants from the Corps of Engineers. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 12:55:56|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NEW DELHI, May 7 (Xinhua) -- At least three persons died and more than a hundred were rushed to a local hospital after a gas leak happened in a chemical plant in Vishakhapatnam district of India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh on Thursday, confirmed a local senior police official to Xinhua over phone. "As of now three persons have died and 120 people are admitted in a local government hospital. Some of them are said to be critical. Situation is under control and the whole area around the chemical plant has been cordoned off and sealed," Vishakhapatnam Police Commissioner R.K. Meena told Xinhua. "Prima facie three persons died of suffocation," he added. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is scheduled to leave for Vishakhapatnam soon to take stock of the situation, said a source close to him. The source also said that the gas leak took place at the "LG Polymers" chemical plant in the wee hours of Thursday morning, leading to panic among the local people. "Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is closely monitoring the situation and has directed the district officials to take every possible step to save human lives and bring the situation under control. He will visit the patients admitted in the local hospital," added the source. Enditem Financing will prove especially difficult in the commercial sphere as higher rates in the alternative space would add more pressure to small- and medium-scale ventures, van Dijk said. To be eligible for the [rent relief] program, you have to prove that your tenant has had a dramatic loss of business, and is really suffering, van Dijk said. [But] then to go to the banks, and say, Dont worry, the tenant is going to continue doing business when we get out of this, is a hard sell. And this new status quo is not likely to shift any time soon; Dream Office REIT CEO Michael Cooper said that commercial landlords might need to hold on for at least three years before the financial system adapts to the impact of the coronavirus and yields more agreeable market conditions. People talk about what percent of rent they got in April. That was only two weeks of the economic shutdown, Cooper said in an interview with BNN Bloomberg. Really, 2022 is going to be a time frame where you can look at what the value of a building is and deal with it with confidence. Hopefully it will work out over time, but it wont be working out smoothly. Hizbul Mujahideen operational commander Riyaz Naikoo was buried around 100 kilometres from his village on Thursday, a day after he and an associate were killed in an encounter with security forces in south Kashmirs Pulwama district. The two local militants were buried in central Kashmirs Ganderbal district to avoid crowding and to ensure adherence to social distancing guidelines during the lockdown. It was not clear if Naikoos family members were present. The 35-year-old top Hizbul leader and was killed in his village, Gulzarpora Beighpora, after a five-hour gunfight on Wednesday, in what security experts described as a big success for the Indian forces. Strict restrictions imposed in Kashmir after the encounter continued for the second day with mobile internet and prepaid phone services suspended. Stone-pelters, provoked by messages on the social media, have clashed with forces after encounters targeting local militants in the past. Over 16 people were injured in protests that ensued in south Kashmir after Naikoos death. Though there were reports that a person died due to his injuries, officials did not confirm any death. Divulging what led to the successful operation, Jammu and Kashmir director general of police Dilbag Singh said the people who made an underground hideout close to the house of Naikoo led security forces to him. This hideout was close to his house and was inside the wallthe people who had constructed the hideout led us there. We have intruded their overground network, he said. He released videos/audios on a number of occasions carrying pro-Pakistan and separatist propaganda and executed a series of attacks on policemen, security forces and civilians, Singh said. Advertisement Move over Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic's tigers, there's a new cat on the prowl. Kristin Wiig was shown battling Gal Gadot as supervillain Cheetah AKA Barbara Ann Minerva in first look photos from Wonder Woman 1984 released by Warner Bros. on Thursday. In the snap Wonder Woman AKA Diana Prince could be seen face-to-face with her archnemesis during a showdown at the White House. Scroll down for video On the prowl: Kristin Wiig was shown battling Gal Gadot as supervillain Cheetah AKA Barbara Ann Minerva in first look photos from Wonder Woman 1984 released on Thursday No doubt fans were salivating as Cheetah used her own wrist gauntlets to counter Diana's Golden Lasso. However, Wonder Woman was seemingly able to capture Cheetah's accomplice Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) as another image showed him being restrained by the Lasso in front of US Government officials. It is interesting to note the transformation into Cheetah as in the trailer released in December showed archaeologist and heiress Barbara Ann Minerva as a nerdy woman who befriends Diana but wants to be her. Interesting: However, Wonder Woman was seemingly able to capture Cheetah's accomplice Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) as another image showed him being restrained by the Lasso in front of US Government officials Humbler days: It is interesting to note the transformation into Cheetah as in the trailer released in December showed Barbara Ann Minerva as a nerdy woman Switch up: She befriends Diana but wants to be her leading to her transformation Those weren't the only images released on Thursday, as there were two featuring Diana's long-lost love Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) who seemingly died in the first film. It seems as if the two picked up right where they left off as they are shown enjoying a very romantic moonlit dance in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. Patty Jenkins has also returned to direct the sequel as the original took in $821 million in 2017. Meanwhile the 48-year-old filmmaker is already thinking of the possibility of doing a third one. When asked about a possible third film in an interview last month, she said: 'Wonder Woman 3 oh wow! I'm trying to make myself not think about that because every movie has to be taken on its own but there's definitely final things for me that I haven't got to explore with Wonder Woman that we'll have to see if we can go and explore.' He's back! Those weren't the only images released on Thursday, as there were two featuring Diana's long-lost love Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) who seemingly died in the first film It seems as if the two picked up right where they left off as they are shown enjoying a very romantic moonlit dance in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC Despite the success of 2017's Wonder Woman, Patty doesn't think that automatically means the sequel will be a hit. She told SciFiNow: 'Every movie is its own struggle to touch people and make a difference. 'Wonder Woman surprised a lot of people so [with the sequel] you're walking into a situation where they're waiting for you to fail more than ever. 'So it's no different because making the first movie was the same in that everybody went, "Wonder Woman, come on, no you can't." Speaking out: Patty Jenkins hinted she wants to make a third Wonder Woman film in an interview last month after the success of the original in 2017 and the delay of the sequel; she is seen in May 2019 'There's a history of these movies tanking and so it was a lot of pressure to be the person to take on trying to bring that movie to life. 'It's a lot of pressure again to try and make this one live up to what it could be, so in both cases I've simply focused on, "I love Wonder Woman and I love this genre of film at its best and so I'm just trying to make a great film."' It currently ranks as the 21st highest superhero movie of all time, in regards to profit. It is the sixth highest out of 10 films from DC Comics. Back in March, Warner Bros. delayed the summer release of Wonder Woman 1984 due to the coronavirus pandemic. With much of Hollywood's spring release calendar already vacated due to the virus, major summer movies are also increasingly reshuffling as a result the sequel will now hit theaters on August 14 instead of June 5. On the prowl: Kristen was shown as Cheetah in one of the posters released for the film last year The senator noted that Trainors confirmation would reestablish party balance among commissioners. The current three commissioners are one Republican, one Democrat and an independent who often caucuses with Democrats. Under federal law, no more than three FEC commissioners can be from the same party, and the panel typically has been split equally along party lines. PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Air France-KLM Group (AFRAF.PK), comprising Air France, KLM and Transavia, reported Thursday that its first-quarter net loss was 1.80 billion euros, compared to loss of 324 million euros last year. The latest results included Covid-19 related over hedging of 455 million euros, and other charges. Operating result was loss of 815 million euros, compared to loss of 286 million euros last year, entirely caused by March 2020 with an operating loss of 560 million euros. Revenues declined 15.5 percent to 5.02 billion euros from 5.94 billion euros last year. Passenger Unit revenue per ASK dropped 6.9 percent. The company reported a strong performance at the start of the year with passenger unit revenue up 0.8 percent at the end of February 2020. Meanwhile, March was strongly impacted by the expansion of the virus and consequential globally imposed travel restrictions to counter the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The number of passengers in the quarter fell 20.1 percent to 18.11 million. Looking ahead for fiscal 2020, the company said it is withdrawing its earlier 2020 guidance elements due to high level of uncertainty on the duration of the Covid-19 crisis and impact on the macro-economic environment. The company projects significantly negative EBITDA in full year 2020 and a significantly higher current operating income loss in the second quarter than in the first quarter 2020. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Ukraine's Accounting Chamber in 2019 reveals cases of budget violation worth US$1.9 bln 15:50, 07.05.20 412 The amount of violations revealed exceeds the figure reported in 2018 by 2.9 times. [May 07, 2020] Laplink Supports Maker Mask Production of 3D Printed PPE to Fight COVID-19 Laplink Software, Inc., the global leader in PC migration and creator of the only software of its kind recommended by Microsoft, Intel (News - Alert) and all major PC manufacturers, and Maker Mask, a nonprofit, rapidly-growing grassroots ecosystem and digital platform response to the COVID-19 crisis organized by leaders of technology, industry and government, today announced that the organizations are working together to boost the production of respirator-style masks for the public and essential workers. Laplink has donated $10,000 to Maker Mask to support this critical initiative - and will focus its upcoming 37th anniversary sales promotions around additional support for the nonprofit. Maker Mask launched in March 2020 to help fill the critical need for high-quality personal protective equipment (PPE) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization designed an open source 3D printable protective mask, approved by the National Institutes for Health (NIH), which is available for free download at makermask.com. Within a month, makers from around the world downloaded more than 125,000 free open-source computer aided design (CAD) files for printing the Maker Mask. The Maker Mask network currently supports a global community of nearly 10,000 members, each operating small batch production sites making masks for their local communities. The masks can be manufactured using commonly available materials and hobbyist-grade 3D printers for a cost of about $2.00 to $3.00 per unit for materials. Laplink's 37th anniversary occurs in May, and while the company was planning its annual celebration, Thomas Koll, Laplin's CEO, suggested a different sort of celebration. A former Microsoft (News - Alert) executive, he read an interesting article about Maker Mask published by the Microsoft Alumni Network and immediately saw an opportunity for his company to help a worthy cause. "The world is at a critical tipping point in its battle with COVID-19, and at Laplink we want to do everything we can to support communities who are fighting to defeat this virus," said Koll. "Not only are we donating now, but instead of our traditional anniversary activities, we'll change the focus to supporting Maker Mask. Our hope is that we can drive more awareness of their important mission in addition to our financial support." According to Jonathan Roberts, leader of the Maker Mask Initiative, the donation will be used to offset some of the costs of mask-making materials and other operational expenses as the nonprofit organization continues to support the Maker Mask network. "I've known Thomas for more than 30 years from the time when we worked together at Microsoft. I appreciate his support not only as the CEO of Laplink Software, but also as a friend. The COVID-19 pandemic is an 'all hands on deck' crisis and Maker Mask is thankful for the help that his company is applying to this part of the COVID-19 response," said Roberts, co-founder of nonprofit RPrime and founding partner at Ignition Partners. "This donation will be very helpful as we work to provide support to the Maker Mask network of makers around the world. We believe that it's more important than ever before for us to build a global supply chain powered by community-based small batch production sites to ensure resiliency during times of crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic." While the article about Maker Mask that the Microsoft Alumni Network sent out was intended to highlight how former Microsoft employees are having a positive impact on their world, not as a request for financial support, everyone involved is happy how it turned out. "During times of crisis, to make a big impact quickly, you must rely on your connections. The Microsoft Alumni Network is proud to facilitate alumni supporting fellow alumni - that's the power of the Network," said Ali Spain, Executive Director of the Microsoft Alumni Network. "In the case of Microsoft alumni Jonathan Roberts of Maker Mask and Thomas Koll of Laplink Software, we were able to facilitate a quick connection after Thomas read the story about the Maker Mask Initiative in our alumni news." To join Laplink's support for Maker Mask, please donate here - https://store.laplink.com/59/purl-20200507-PR-LL37-MakerMask-MMgfm. About Maker Mask Maker Mask is a rapidly-growing grassroots ecosystem and digital platform response to the COVID-19 crisis. The nonprofit organization is enabling communities to create necessary goods locally and quickly to reduce the spread of disease, protect more people, lighten the burdens on medical facilities, the Department of Defense, and government agencies. The Maker Mask initiative gives people around the world something they can do to be part of the solution to the COVID-19 pandemic while the organization works toward its long-term goal of building and training local production capability for the future. Maker Mask is an RPrime Initiative and currently funded by the RPrime Foundation. The RPrime Foundation, co-founded by Jonathan Roberts, is a nonprofit digital platform connecting individuals to communities of all types including faith-based, education, government, NGO and all service organizations, to meet societal and community needs. Roberts is also a board member and investor in NavigatorCRE which is driving the powerful ViralInsights/NavigatorCRE data analysis and visualization platform that is an important part of the Maker Mask Initiative. About Laplink Software, Inc. For over 37 years, Laplink has been a global leader in consumer, SMB and enterprise PC migration software, and has earned the loyalty and trust of millions of organizations and customers worldwide. The company's PCmover software saves time and budget, reduces migration risks and increases efficiency. Only PCmover's proprietary technology includes full selectivity that transfers data, applications and settings from an old PC to a new one, even if the versions of Windows are different. The privately-held company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005106/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Un uomo e una donna, residenti a Bolognetta, nel Palermitano, hanno descritto esattamente cio che hanno visto e filmato ANN ARBOR, MI When colleges across the country begin holding live hearings with cross-examination in campus sexual assault cases as a result of new federal Title IX rules delivered Wednesday, theyll closely reflect court rulings that have gone against the University of Michigan in recent years. Under the new policy announced by U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on May 6, cross-examination is allowed under a live hearing model, which is in step with a 2018 ruling from the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that UM could not punish a student for sexual misconduct without providing an opportunity to directly question the accuser. The new rules that go into effect on Aug. 14 have been lauded by due process advocates and criticized by victim advocates, require cross-examination, but vary slightly from the Sixth Circuit ruling. The ruling against UM in that case, Doe v. Baum, required that a public university hold a live hearing with cross-examination in sexual assault cases where credibility is at issue, either by the accused student or their lawyer or advocate. Citing Doe v. Baum, the new Title IX regulations require that cross-examination be conducted not by the accused student but only by their lawyer or advocate, said KC Johnson, a professor at Brooklyn College and co-author of "The Campus Rape Frenzy: The Attack on Due Process at Americas Universities. The (Department of Education) argument is that the students cross-examining each other would be traumatic for a truthful complainant, said Johnson, who tracks federal campus due process lawsuits across the country. ... So, this difference from Baum is a complainant-friendly one that doesnt weaken the rights of the accused. Following the ruling from the Sixth Circuit, UM sought a rehearing to clarify that no student has a constitutional right to a direct cross-examination, but its petition was denied. The university eventually implemented a new interim sexual misconduct policy in January 2019 to adhere to the court ruling, but questioning by students personal advisers or attorneys was not allowed out of concern that not all students would be able to afford counsel. UM President Mark Schlissel later advocated for cross-examination in sexual assault hearings, but in a less intrusive setting. After that opinion came down, (UM) intentionally created a rule that students had to cross examine one another directly, said attorney Deborah Gordon, who represented the anonymous UM student in the case. I think they were upset with the opinion against them in Doe vs. Baum and I think they wanted to make it difficult by saying, See, we were right, we shouldnt have these hearings. Now theyre going to have to back off of that. The interim policy was criticized by victim advocates on campus, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union, which urged the university to withdraw the problematic policy and argued that it risked deterring complaints, traumatizing those who make complaints and creating a hostile campus environment. ACLU calls on University of Michigan to change student sexual misconduct policy The interim policy, along with UMs former policy on Student Sexual and Gender-Based Misconduct, were found to be unconstitutional in a separate court ruling for allowing an accused student to be suspended before a hearing could be held. In that case, Doe vs. UM, U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow found that the policy allows UM to impose serious interim sanctions without a hearing. UM student Emma Sandberg, who previously spoke out against the interim policy, said the new rules from DeVos weaken Title IX, but would still be a step in the right direction regarding cross-examination, given the universitys interim model. At UM, given how terrible our current cross-examination model is, these regulations will actually help make the hearing less-traumatic for victims at UM, since personal advisers will be required to ask the questions rather than the students themselves, which is in line with what we have been advocating for, Sandberg said. UM Spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said it will take some time to more fully understand these regulations and how they may impact our policies. Fitzgerald said many of the highlighted portions of the policy are already in place in our student policy, but did not address when the university plans to enact a finalized sexual misconduct policy after releasing a draft in October 2019. Overall, Gordon believes the new Title IX rules are very workable, by allowing those who are well-versed in the legal process to conduct questioning during sexual assault hearings. "I dont think re-traumatizing a victim trumps a students right to not be expelled without due process of law, Gordon said. If were going to have a country of laws, you cant take that into account when you are depriving somebody of a constitutional right. University of Michigan violated students clearly established constitutional rights, judge says in ruling on sexual misconduct policy Some members of Congress including U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, have said the new Title IX rules would allow and in many cases require schools to have inequitable grievance procedures for sexual misconduct, make it harder for students who have experienced sexual violence to come forward and get the help they need and make it easier for perpetrators to get away with assault. DeVos' changes narrow the definition of sexual harassment and require colleges to investigate claims only if they're reported to certain officials. Schools can be held accountable for mishandling complaints only if they acted with deliberate indifference. Outside of cross-examination, Sandberg said the new regulations are very concerning for UM students, arguing that it is DeVos job to ensure that schools are a safe place and conducive to learning. As Secretary of Education, she has prioritized weakening Title IX, and her new Title IX rule strips survivors of their rights and protects universities and perpetrators instead, Sandberg said. Overall, the new Title IX regulations are devastating for students and survivors across the country, and I hope that the next administration will overturn them. Gordon said she is confident the new Title IX rules will hold campus disciplinary panels more accountable for protecting the rights of all students. Im quite sure there are going to be far fewer lawsuits brought against the University of Michigan because they are using this procedure, Gordon said. People have a feeling there is more fairness involved. READ MORE: Judge tells University of Michigan to lift students banishment in sexual misconduct case University of Michigan violated students clearly established constitutional rights, judge says in ruling on sexual misconduct policy UM student accused of sexual misconduct may question victim, appeals court rules ACLU calls on University of Michigan to change student sexual misconduct policy BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend: The total number of coronavirus-infected people in Uzbekistan has reached 2,266, Trend reports on May 6 with reference to the Ministry of Health. To date, 1,577 patients have fully recovered in the country, 10 have died. Uzbekistan recently declared Jizzakh, Kashkadarya and Navoi regions were declared free from COVID-19. 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 (GMT+5) the citizens of the country 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 near their homes, observing a social distance (intermediate distance of two meters) and wearing face 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. --- Follow author on Twitter: @seyfaddini Equity market ended yet another volatile session in the negative territory on Thursday amid a lack of positive triggers. The market witnessed across-the-board sell-off with financial and consumer stocks falling the most. Further, jump in Covid-19 cases in India also dented the sentiment. According to the health ministry, the number of Covid-19 cases reached 52,952 with deaths at 1,783. That apart, Bank of England's statement that Britain could be headed for its biggest economic slump in over 300 years due to the coronavirus lockdown also weighed on the investor sentiment. The headline index, S&P BSE Sensex, lost 242 points or 0.76 per cent to end at 31,443.38. Of 30 constituents, 25 ended in the red and rest 5 in the green. HDFC Bank, HDFC, Bharti Airtel, and ICICI Bank contributed the most to the index's fall. NSE's Nifty settled at 9,199.05, down 72 points or 0.78 per cent. In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended at 11,419.68, down 61 points or 0.5 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index slipped 0.14 per cent to 10,686.75 levels. Buzzing stocks Shares of Hindustan Unilever (HUL) slipped 5 per cent to Rs 1,902 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in the early deals after UK-based Glaxo-SmithKline (GSK) offloaded its stake in the fast moving consumer goods (FMGC) major via block deals. At the close, the stock settled at Rs 1,992.50, down nearly a per cent. Shares of YES Bank surged 20 per cent in the intra-day deals after the private lender reported better-than-expected March quarter (Q4FY20) results. For the recently concluded quarter, YES Bank posted a net profit of Rs 2,628.6 crore on the back of on-time gain attributed to an exceptional item of Rs 6,296 crore owing to writing-down additional tier-1 bonds as part of its planned reconstruction scheme. The stock ended at Rs 28.15, up nearly 7 per cent. Paint stocks extended their decline into Thursday and slipped up to 5 per cent on the BSE on concerns of demand destruction in the near term due to the outbreak of coronavirus (Covid-19). May 9 Ghor Province: one civilian killed One employee of the Agriculture Department was kidnapped and killed by the Taliban in the village of Madrasa in Firoz Koh. May 9 Kunduz Province: one soldier and one civilian killed The Taliban ambushed a rickshaw, which had been transferring food to a military base in the Dokan-e-Adam Khan area from Khan Abad District, killing one civilian and one soldier. May 9 Ghor Province: two police officers and four civilians killed Protesters outside the governors building in Firoz Koh began attacking security forces with stones after asking for protection from the government against the coronavirus. In the ensuing clash, two police officers and four civilians were killed, while 19 others, including 10 police officers, were wounded. May 9 Kandahar Province: one police officer killed A police vehicle hit a roadside bomb in the Second Police District of Kandahar City, killing one police officer. May 8 Kandahar Province: one police officer killed A roadside bomb detonated near a police checkpoint in the 10th Police District of Kandahar City, killing one police officer. May 1-7, 2020 At least 42 pro-government forces and four civilians were killed in Afghanistan during the past week. The deadliest attack took place in Balkh Province, where the Taliban attacked the police headquarters and the district governors office in Zari District, killing at least 14 security forces, including nine soldiers and five pro-government militia members. An additional 20 security forces were wounded in the battle. In Helmand Province, a Taliban vehicle laden with explosives targeted a military base in the Yakhchal area of Grishk District, killing 10 pro-government militia members and one soldier. An additional 10 militia members and three soldiers were wounded in the explosion, and most of the base and equipment were destroyed. The Maharashtra Congress said it has borne the travel expenses of 4,627 migrant labourers who wished to return to their home states amid the COVID-19 lockdown. Congress president Sonia Gandhi announced that the party's state unit had borne the travel cost of 4,627 migrant labourers, who wished to go to their home states from different parts of Maharashtra in the last two days, a release issued here on Thursday stated. The party bought tickets for 2,019 migrant workers travelling by trains from Nagpur to Muzaffarpur in Bihar and Wardha to Patna, it was stated. The Chandrapur city and rural district Congress committee paid for the transportation of 239 labourers who were heading to Patna. Apart from this, the Congress also ensured health check-ups for migrant workers, helped them fill travel forms and provided water, food, sanitisers and masks for the journey, the statement read. Moreover, the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee has also set up a helpline for migrants in each district, the statement said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Community and Labor Come Together to Host the Peoples Assembly Brotherhood Crusade, SEIU 2015, SEIU 99, Community Coalition, the Black Worker Center, Broccoli City, Inner-city Struggle, CDTech, Power CA, and others join forces to hold a community discussion regarding Race, Equity, & COVID-19 COVID-19 has brought America face-to-face with its pervasive inequities. The gaping divide in our education system, healthcare, jobs, criminal justice, technology, transportation, and economy, as well as the lack of a social safety net and voter suppression (due to the COVID-19 crisis), all speak to a broken system. But the most significant and most immediate inequity threatening communities of color came to light as data poured in from major cities all over the country, showing how vulnerable the Black and indigenous communities are due to underlying health conditions brought about by systemic racism. These types of statistics are not new to us. Communities of color have long been fighting for equitable distribution of resources, education, criminal justice reforms, access to healthcare, housing, jobs, and other forms of systemic racism. COVID-19 is merely shining a light on what weve already known to be true. ADVERTISEMENT We all understand it is our job and responsibility to help protect and support the vulnerable Black, Indigenous, API, and Latinx families we serve. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated the pre-existing conditions and the inequities our people have faced for decades. The Peoples Assembly is a day for us to listen and learn from members of the community who are on the front line of this crisis, stated Charisse Bremond-Weaver, president & CEO of the Los Angeles Brotherhood Crusade. But let us also not neglect the fact that indigenous, Latinx, and undocumented families are also victims of the same system. In light of all of this, there has yet to be a response from this administration as to how it plans to address gaping inequalities Black and other communities of color have been experiencing for decades. This is unacceptable. This is now a moment for our communities to educate ourselves, inspire each other through our stories of resilience, and advocate for one another by demanding policies that address social, economic, education, and health disparities, post the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 10+ community-based organizations, unions, philanthropy, and artists are partnering to provide an engaging digital experience to deepen political engagement, empower, and educate. Through dialogue, art, music, panels, etc., we will be spotlighting the stories of heroes on the front lines and those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and everyday people into campaigns that bring about real change for our most vulnerable communities. WHEN: Saturday, May 9, 2020 Time: 10am-1pm ADVERTISEMENT WHERE: Stream Live YouTube, Facebook Live, Twitter Defendant Philip Manshaus appears in court on charges of murder and terrorism (Lise Aserud / NTB scanpix via AP) A Norwegian man suspected of killing his stepsister and then opening fire in an Oslo mosque has told the first day of his trial that it was an act of emergency justice and he regretted not having caused more damage. Philip Manshaus appeared at a court west of Norways capital and denied charges of murder and terrorism read to him by a prosecutor, the Norwegian news agency NTB said. Manshaus has acknowledged the facts but denies the accusation, saying he opposes non-Western immigration. Broadcaster NRK said that during his testimony Manshaus claimed the white race will end up as a minority in their own home countries and criticised those who blackmail national socialism. The prosecution says Manshaus, 22, killed his 17-year-old stepsister, Johanne Zhangjia Ihle-Hansen, by shooting her three times in the head and once in the chest with a hunting rifle at their home in the Oslo suburb of Baerum. Expand Close Philip Manshaus is suspected of killing his stepsister and then storming an Oslo mosque with firearms (Lise Aserud / NTB scanpix via AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Philip Manshaus is suspected of killing his stepsister and then storming an Oslo mosque with firearms (Lise Aserud / NTB scanpix via AP) Shortly after that, prosecutors say Manshaus drove to a nearby mosque where three men were preparing for Eid al-Adha celebrations. He wore a helmet with a video camera attached and a bulletproof vest. They say Manshaus was armed with a hunting rifle and a shotgun and fired four shots with the rifle at a glass door before he was overpowered by one of the men in the mosque, Muhammad Rafiq. During the scuffle, two more shots were fired but no one was hit. Mr Rafiq was slightly injured in the struggle. The prosecution says Manshaus acted with the intention to kill as many Muslims as possible. Some 30 witness, including the men at the mosque and Manshauss father, are expected to give evidence. If found guilty, Manshaus could face up to 21 years in prison. Prosecutors have said they would consider a sentence where he would be sent to a secure mental facility for as long as he is considered a danger to others. Norwegian media have reported that Manshaus was inspired by shootings in March 2019 in New Zealand, where a gunman targeted two mosques, killing 51 people, and in August 2019 in El Paso, Texas, where an assailant targeted Hispanics and left at least 22 dead. Norways domestic security agency PST said it had a vague tip about Manshaus a year before the shooting but it was not enough to act on because they had no information about any concrete plans of attack. A board of inquiry into a suspected underground gas explosion at a central Queensland coal mine is being seriously considered by the state's mines minister, who is awaiting legal advice on the issue. Three mine workers injured in the blast remain in intensive care and two others are in the burns unit, all at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. The men are believed to be aged in their 40s and 50s. The Queensland Ambulance Service was called to the blast, believed to be caused by gas, at the Grosvenor Coal Mine, about 150 kilometres south-west of Mackay, about 3.14pm on Wednesday. The injured men were airlifted to Brisbane with significant upper torso and airway burns. InterDesign Goes Live On Time and On Budget with Centric PLM With Centric PLM we can unlock innovation faster and focus on delighting the customer, as we spend less time dealing with handoffs, miscommunication and blurred lines of responsibility InterDesign, the consumer housewares company, has successfully gone live with Centric Software's Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution. Centric Software provides the most innovative enterprise solutions to fashion, retail, footwear, outdoor, luxury, consumer goods and home decor companies to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals. Headquartered in Solon, Ohio, InterDesign sells bath, kitchen and home organization products to over 100 countries through its subsidiaries iDesign and mDesign. iDesign products are sold through retailers including Target, Bed Bath & Beyond and Wal-Mart, while mDesign is the e-commerce arm of InterDesign. InterDesign selected Centric 8 PLM in 2019, driven by a need to respond quickly to the market in the context of rapid growth. James Gallagher, Executive Vice President, Design, explains, We lacked a cross-collaborative and cross-communicative platform. We needed a PLM to improve workflow efficiencies, delineate timelines and set priorities so that we could make critical decisions and launch new products, faster. InterDesign chose Centric Home PLM on the basis of its highly adaptable and intuitive functionality and ability to handle every stage of the product lifecycle, aiming to enhance product innovation and boost productivity. iDesign is now live on Centric PLM, with mDesign set to follow. With Centric PLM, we have consolidated work formerly done through multiple homegrown solutions and Excel files into a single platform, explains Gallagher. This enables us to unlock innovation faster and focus on delighting the customer, as we spend less time dealing with handoffs, miscommunication and blurred lines of responsibility. We went live on time and on budget, and the Centric team did a wonderful job of leading us through the process. Users are adapting well, and we are now getting our vendor community on board. Were thrilled with how smoothly the implementation has gone, and excited to move into the next phase. Were delighted to announce that InterDesign has successfully gone live on Centric Home PLM, says Chris Groves, President and CEO of Centric Software. We look forward to continuing the partnership into the next phase of digital transformation, enabling InterDesign to respond with agility in a rapidly-shifting market. Learn more about Centric Home PLM Request a Demo InterDesign (http://www.idesignlivesimply.com) and (http://www.mdesignhomedecor.com) InterDesign began as a Housewares design and marketing company in 1974 with a core goal in mind to design and sell innovative products for the home at a reasonable price. This goal is still carried out today in every aspect of the companys mission. InterDesign designs product for multiple home categories including Bath, Kitchen and Home Storage. It is InterDesigns objective to marry style and fashion with practical functionality providing high quality and stylish products that excite our consumers. Floods have left 65 dead in Rwanda and heavy rains swept away scores of houses, several bridges and farms, the government said Thursday, as similar scenes played out across East Africa. In Kenya, floods and landslides have killed nearly 200 people in the past month, while Uganda's Lake Victoria has overflown, submerging houses, a hospital and bridges and displacing thousands. "Heavy rains that poured Wednesday night caused a number of disasters," Rwanda's ministry of emergency management said in a statement on Thursday. "Up until midnight, 65 death cases had been registered due to floods. The rains also led to damage of infrastructure like roads, 91 houses, 5 bridges and several farms were swept away by the floors," said the statement. In April 20 people were killed in flooding in Rwanda. In Kenya, four teenagers drowned on Thursday after a river burst its banks, a day after the government announced 194 people had been killed due to floods and landslides since the rainy season began in April, and large areas of farmland and water infrastructure destroyed. Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni on Thursday wrote on Twitter that Lake Victoria was near record levels. "Encroachers on Lake Victoria and (its) river banks should vacate before they are swallowed by the water because you're in its way" he said. The Red Cross issued a statement Thursday saying thousands were displaced in Uganda after two rivers burst their banks, and a major hospital in western Kasese had partly been submerged by water. Ugandan MP Alex Byarugaba from Isingiro, a border district with Tanzania, told AFP Thursday: "We lost four people after the heavy rains in last four days pounded the district. Some were buried by the flash floods which have displaced over 5,000 people". Somalia has also experienced flooding in several areas, with six people killed in northeastern Puntland last month. Search Keywords: Short link: More than a few progressive Democrats under 35 didnt vote for Hillary Clinton four years ago, and they arent shy about voicing their similar lack of enthusiasm for Joe Biden. They dismiss him, according to a study released Thursday by a top youth vote organization, as a dated option who caters to the ultra-wealthy and represents the stagnation of American politics. Others say they are absolutely disgusted about the sexual allegations brought against him. Ben Wessel, executive director of the left-leaning NextGen America, which will spend at least $45 million this year trying to fire up young voters in 11 battleground states, sighed at the findings of his San Francisco organizations new study. When it comes to young people and the likely Democratic nominee, Wessel said from his Sunset District home, its not Barack Obama 2008. NextGen commissioned the study of young progressives in battleground states, many of whom voted for Sen. Bernie Sanders in primaries this year. The group already had a good idea of what the findings would be in a Harvard Institute of Politics survey in March, half of likely voters under 35 said they had an unfavorable impression of the former vice president. Granted, nearly two-thirds had the same view of President Trump. But the election experiences of Obama and Clinton are evidence that the young voters energy level could be the difference for Biden between winning and losing. Four years ago, Clinton was ahead of Trump by nearly 2-1 among young voters at this stage of the race. Ultimately, exit polls showed her winning the demographic by 55% to 36%. But 1 in 10 Sanders primary voters backed Trump in the general election, according to a Tufts University study. Progressive groups planning to spend a combined $100 million communicating with young people during the campaign are so concerned about a repeat of 2016 that they sent Biden an open letter last month urging him to move left. The Democratic Partys last presidential nominee failed to mobilize our enthusiasm where it mattered. We cant afford to see those mistakes repeated, said the letter signed by Alliance for Youth Action, IfNotNow Movement, Justice Democrats, March for Our Lives Action Fund, NextGen America, Student Action, Sunrise Movement and United We Dream Action. Climate change, gun control and health care were among the areas where Biden could do more to win over young progressives, they said. This is his group to pick up or lose. Trump is not going to pick them, said Anne Moses, founder of Ignite, a national nonpartisan organization based in Oakland that trains women under 25 for careers in politics. So is (Biden) going to try to speak to this group of young people? Or is he going to say, Nah, Im just going to talk to middle-class people and their families? What caught Wessels attention was something young voters consistently told his researchers: They dont know much about Biden. To a lot of people, Joe Biden is the equivalent of, Generic old white Democrat, Wessel said. The youngest voters NextGen is targeting were in middle school when memes of Biden in aviator shades and a bomber jacket could be found online. These voters dont know him as Uncle Joe or care much about his bromance with Obama. They know him as the white-haired guy who isnt Sanders, the candidate young voters consistently preferred in the primaries. Part of the reason that Biden doesnt register, Wessel said, is that he didnt set out to define himself in the primary. He ran on his electability and said, Im the person who can beat Donald Trump. He didnt say much about what he was for. Biden has been telling voters his presidency would be a return to normalcy after four years of Trumpian chaos. But a return to normalcy doesnt sound appealing to Millennials, many of whom came of age after the economic crash of 2008. They were already on track before the coronavirus pandemic to be the first generation in the nations history not to do as well economically as their parents. Nor does nostalgia sound good to Gen Z, people under 23 who are going to be trying to launch their careers during the new economic collapse. Sydney Lee, a 22-year-old student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a fellow with the Ignite program, acknowledged that Bidens challenge in appealing to her peers in the battleground state is that hes a 77-year-old white guy. He needs to solidify some plans (for young voters). We are coming up into this mess all on our own. Campaign spokesman Matt Hill said in an email that Biden is running on the most progressive platforms in modern history and laid out bold ideas to tackle climate change, expand health care and make college affordable. Joe Biden knows that young Americans are a driving force of the progressive movement and will work hard to earn their votes. The good news for Biden is that NextGens research shows that when young voters learn more about his platform, their opinion of him improves. One Millennial who preferred Sanders told researchers that Bidens position on gun safety kind of surprised me. I honestly thought hed be more vague about it. Biden supports banning the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and backs universal background checks. Others warmed to Biden when told he pushed gun control legislation when he was in the Senate and helped pass the Violence Against Women Act. Briana Megid, a NextGen organizer in battleground states, said she supports Biden because shes a lifelong policy wonk. But the average voter in a battleground state has a different story. Theyve drowned in sound bites and ads every four years, said Megid, 25, who lives in San Francisco. They havent grown up with Joe Biden, and are understandably skeptical. Sanders endorsement of Biden last month gave young progressives permission to back him, NextGens researchers concluded. What didnt help Biden were sexual assault allegations made against him by a former Senate staffer, Tara Reade. Wessel said hes heard from people that this is a red flag. They say this puts him in the camp of a typical politician. Wessel said Biden supporters should stress that he has called for Reades allegations to be heard and vetted, which can be portrayed as a call for transparency. But the key to winning over young voters, Wessel said, is for Biden not to try to be someone he isnt. Some respondents viewed Biden more favorably when he was described as the leader of a team of progressives who would listen to the advice of others. The important thing to remember is, Dont insult their intelligence, Wessel said. Dont present him as some sort of progressive icon. Just present him for who he is. Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli China's new-generation spaceship launched earlier in the week is working normally in orbit after completing a series of planned operations, space authorities said on Thursday. The experimental spaceship was launched without crew by China's new large carrier rocket Long March-5B from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in Hainan on Tuesday. So far, the new spaceship has unfolded its solar panels and positioned them towards the sun, deployed its relay antenna and established a relay communication link, as well as conducted autonomous orbit control four times, state-run Xinhua agency quoted the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) as saying. The spaceship is now in a stable flight attitude in a highly elliptical orbit, with the power supply, measurements and control links normal, the CASC said on Wednesday. Next as planned, it will raise orbit three times, and re-enter the atmosphere and return to Earth after braking at the apogee, it said. It is scheduled to touch down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Friday, Ji Qiming, an assistant to the director of the China Manned Space Agency said. China initiated the manned space programme in 1992. In recent years, it has emerged as a major space power with manned space missions and landing a rover in the dark side of the moon. It is currently building a space station of its own expected to be ready by 2022. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) [May 07, 2020] Offshore Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Market Analysis Outlook by Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2024 Overview Global Offshore Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Market is expected to reach USD 83,382.5 thousand by 2024 at a CAGR of 15.70% during the forecast period. The oil & gas industry is expected to witness steady growth during the forecast period after the global slowdown in 2014. Obtaining oil & gas from both non-conventional and conventional sources is becoming more dynamic in the current scenario. The need for oil & gas in various industries will necessitate the implementation of robotics and automation in rugged offshore environments to enhance efficiency and improve productivity. Thus, the demand for AUVs for oil & gas application is expected to increase in the forecast period. Segmental Analysis The global offshore autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) market has been segmented based on type, technology, payload, and application. By type, the global offshore autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) market has been classified as shallow, medium, and large. The large segment is projected to dominate the market with a valuation of USD 22,935.5 thousand in 2018 and reach USD 54,924 thousand by 2024. This is due to large AUVs have the potential to dive up to 3000-meter seawater (MSW). These AUVs assist in long-range operations and support multiple capabilities such as obstacle avoidance and underwater docking. The medium segment is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 15.60% during the forecast period. Based on technology, the global offshore autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) market has been divided into communication, collision avoidance, navigation, imaging, and propulsion. The navigation segment is expected to lead the market with a value of USD 8,968.6 thousand in 2018 and reach USD 21,170.8 thousand by 2024. Offshore AUVs support 3D imaging sensors and software that support GPS and cameras. GPS and cameras provide accurate location information and assist operators to navigate accurately to the mines. The communication segment is expected to register a 16.17% CAGR during the forecast period. On the basis of payload, the global offshore autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) market has been classified as sensors, cameras, synthetic aperture sonars, and others. The synthetic aperture sonars segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) is a type of sonar in which post-processing of sonar data is used to produce a narrow effective beam. SAS provides high-definition underwater images where the resolution is not affected by range. Growing adoption of AUVs for infrastructure monitoring, mine countermeasures, and oil & gas exploration is driving the SAS segment as they provide a wide coverage area and offer high-definition imagery. Based on application, the global offshore autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) market has been classified as military & defense; oil & gas; oceanography; environmental protection and monitoring; archaeological and exploration; and search and salvage operations. The oil & gas segment is dominating the market with a valuation of USD 11,711.9 thousand in 2018. The exploration of oil & gas fields is now taking place at greater depths than ever before, making the employment of humans impractical. Offshore AUVs are built to work in specific subsea applications such as channel crossing inspection, internal pipe inspection of non-piggable lines, drilling, development, and repair, and subsea line evaluation. Therefore, the adoption of offshore AUVs for oil & gas exploration is increasing from the last few years. Regional Analysis The global offshore autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) market has been segmented, by region, into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. North America is leading the market with a valuation of USD 14,998.6 thousand in 2018. The presence of major market players, such as Lockheed Martin Corporation and General Dynamics Corporation, is expected to drive market growth in North America. The regional market is expected to reach USD to register a CAGR of 13.34% during the forecast period. Europe is projected to be the second-largest market during the review period. The regional market is expected to reach USD 18,802.8 thousand by 2024 at a CAGR of 16.37% during the forecast period. Asia-Pacific is projected to be the third-largest market during the review period. The regional market is expected to reach USD 20,470.4 thousand by 2024 at a CAGR of 20.09% during the forecast period. Competitive Analysis The key players in the global offshore autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) market are Boston Engineering Corporation (US), ECA Group (France), Fugro (Netherlands), General Dynamics Corporation (US), Graal Tech SRL (Italy), International Submarine Engineering Limited (Canada), Kongsberg Maritime AS (Norway), Lockheed Martin Corporation (US), Saab AB (Sweden), and Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (US). Key Developments In April 2019, Saab Seaeye Limited, a subsidiary of Saab AB, signed a contract with Modus Group, LLC to provide its Hybrid Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (HAUV). This contract will help increase the financial position of the company in the global offshore AUV market. In October 2017, Lockheed Martin Corporation signed a contract worth USD 43.2 million with US Navy to provide Extra Large Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (XLUUV). Browse Full Report Details @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/offshore-autonomous-underwater-vehicle-market-8213 As a community-building service, TMCnet allows user submitted content which is not always proofed by TMCnet editors. If you feel this entry is of inferior quality or wish to report it for some reason, please forward the URL to "webedit [AT] tmcnet [DOT] com" with your comments. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Tom Hanks washed up on the beach of an island in a scene from the film 'Cast Away', 2000. (Photo by 20th Century-Fox/Getty Images) When youre a director off the back of a string of hits, or one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, then it used to be generally accepted you could use that clout to try something a little different. So it was that Forrest Gump, Back To The Future, Contact and yes! Death Becomes Her director Robert Zemeckis started to circle a film called Cast Away. His Gump star Tom Hanks was on board too, both as producer and leading man. Hanks, too, had conceived the original idea and set the wheels in motion. Thus, on the surface, all this looked pretty conventional. A star wants to make a new $90m movie when his last few films had been seismic hits? Fox readily agreed to write the cheque, in partnership with DreamWorks. But there was a fundamental difference in the approach to the movie, that meant that both studios would need to wait for its movie. Furthermore, its star would have to go through an exhaustive process, thatd lead to everything shutting up shop to accommodate it. Read more: How we made Gladiator No major Hollywood film since has attempted anything quite like. Background Tom Hanks, Sally Field and director Robert Zemeckis attend the "Forrest Gump" Hollywood Premiere on June 23, 1994. (Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images) The story of the film, as you probably know, sees Tom Hanks in the lead role of Chuck Noland (the very character name is a gag, fact fans: C No-land). Hes a systems analyst for Federal Express FedEx to its friends who is on a flight to sort out a problem in Malaysia, when the plane crashes. Chuck thus finds himself stranded on a desert island, with no obvious way home, and little chance of rescue. To go lightly spoiler-y, the film then follows Chuck as he finds himself stuck on the island for far longer than anticipated. Thus, to get that across, and the passage of time in the film, Tom Hanks opted for a drastic approach to getting the physicality of his performance right. To accommodate this, he and Zemeckis proposed a schedule that would see the first chunk of the movie shot in three separate pieces. Tom Hanks' Chuck finds friendship in the shape of a volleyball called Wilson in Cast Away. (20th Century Fox/DreamWorks) The initial filming the early material in the movie was completed first. For these scenes, Hanks would bulk up, adding 23kg (50lbs) of weight to his body. Then, once the necessary material was in the can, filming stopped for a full year. This was to allow for Hanks to shift that weight, and also to spend 12 months growing the beard that we see his character sport throughout the middle of the movie. A fine forest of facial hair, too. Story continues Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson (Photo by Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images) Then there was a further pause in filming of four months, to get the shape of the movies back end in place too. In all, the physical photography of the movie was spread over a period of two years and change. Impact There were two indirect ramifications of such an unusual approach. The first concerned Hanks himself. In 2013, he revealed that he had Type 2 diabetes, and thinking was immediately rife that the dramatic weight changes involved in his work had a part to play. Cast Away was one of the highest profile examples of this, but hed also add weight for his role in A League Of Their Own, and lose pounds for his Oscar-winning turn in Philadelphia. Tom Hanks in Cast Away. (20th Century Fox/DreamWorks) Looking back in the aftermath of his diagnosis, hed admit hed been an idiot where weight was concerned, and no longer takes roles that involve physical, dramatic weight fluctuations. Film two The other ramification of the Cast Away schedule, though, is the existence of a whole other film. Robert Zemeckis, very much in his workaholic phase, was taken with the idea of slotting in a whole other film during the year-long wait for Tom Hanks to get back into shape. Turns out thats exactly what he did. Separately to Cast Away, a screenplay from Sarah Kernochan had come to the attention of Steven Spielberg. Spielberg was keen for this to be a project at his DreamWorks studio, and as such asked Zemeckis who hed worked with on the Back To The Future trilogy if his old friend was interested. Norman (Harrison Ford) and Clair Spencer (Michelle Pfeiffer) try to unravel mysterious events in What Lies Beneath directed by Robert Zemeckis. (Getty Images) Zemeckis liked what he saw, and figured the more contained production of What Lies Beneath most of the film is shot in a house could be achieved in his Cast Away downtime. Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer duly signed up to star in the film, and it was shot in New York and California between August and January 2000. Zemeckis had form for juggling two films at one, of course, having shot Back To The Future Part II and Part III back to back, jetting from the edit suite of the former to the location for the latter each week. And in this case it was the film that he started shooting last that made it into cinemas first. What Lies Beneath was released in the summer of 2000, to considerable success. Releases Tom Hanks in Cast Away. (20th Century Fox/DreamWorks) Just five months after that film debuted, Cast Away washed into cinemas. The extraordinary production, volleyball and all, was ready in time for Christmas, and would prove to be an even bigger hit. Given that Tom Hanks is the only person on screen for the vast majority of the movie, he was understandably at the heart of the films acclaim, picking up a further Oscar nomination for his work, albeit losing the Best Actor gong this time to Russell Crowe for Gladiator. It was Hanks fifth nomination, and hed have to wait until this years A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood for his sixth. Read more: Actors who refuse to watch their own movies 20 years on, the sheer logistics of making two live action movies at once have dissuaded many people from tackling the idea since. Its occasionally seen that a director will take on an animated film alongside a live action project George Miller and Tim Burton, for instance but even then, few are tempted to take the plunge. Which makes Cast Away and to a slightly lesser extent What Lies Beneath something of a standout. Both, as a consequence, get to enjoy their 20th birthday party this year. Cast Away is streaming on NOW TV. Anusha Ravi By Express News Service BENGALURU: Pressed for finances with economic activities coming to a grinding halt during the Covid-19 lockdown, the Karnataka government on Wednesday decided to increase revenue generation through a hike in excise duty. While Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Wednesday morning announced a hike of 17 per cent in the duty on liquor, the excise department later in the day issued an order on a hike in taxes in three slabs. The increased prices, with a hike of 17%, 21% and 25% duty, will come into effect starting Thursday. Excise duty has been increased in three slabs and the expected additional revenue is pegged at Rs 2,530 crore, over and above the target announced in the State budget, said Excise Commissioner Yeshavantha V. The additional revenue from the hike in excise duty is expected to cover costs of the Rs 1,610 crore economic relief package that the State government announced on Wednesday. The order copy of the price hike deemed it a necessity, given the exceptional circumstances arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic. The hike will apply to Indian Made Liquor under the bracket of brandy, whisky, gin, rum etc and not beer, wine, toddy etc. Liquor sold at prices up to Rs 559 will see a hike of 17% per bulk litre, IML priced between Rs 600 and Rs 1199 will see a hike of 21%, while liquor in the Rs 1200 - Rs 15,000 price range and above will see a hike of 25%. In its March budget, the State government had hiked excise duty on liquor by 6% across all 18 slabs. Wednesdays hike is inclusive of the announcement made in the budget. The excise departments revenue target for 2020-2021 was fixed at Rs 22,700 crore. The further hike in excise duty is expected to increase revenue by another Rs 2,530 crore. Excise accounts for about 18 per cent of Karnatakas own tax revenue. British Airways is expecting 12,000 staff to pay with their jobs for its 'massive error' in losing 1.1billion by hedging fuel prices, Unite union has claimed. The UK's biggest union has slammed parent company International Airways Group (IAG) for accessing a 300million government coronavirus loan administered by the Bank of England while announcing plans to axe thousands of BA staff. Unite described the action as a 'cynical and opportunistic attempt to make everyone else pay for their past mistakes and contribute more in the future to their profits'. The intervention comes as IAG announced that BA could resume flying at 50 per cent capacity in July after its trade was pummelled by the pandemic. Oliver Richardson, of Unite union, thundered: 'Hardworking BA employees are expected to pay with their jobs for a crisis not of their making and IAG's massive wrong call on fuel hedging which notched up a 1.1billion loss.' BA told MailOnline: 'We can't comment further while we consult with our unions.' British Airways could resume flights at 50 per cent capacity as early as this summer. Pictured: British Airways planes parked on the runway at Bournemouth Airport in Dorset this week What is fuel hedging, and is it controversial? Fuel hedging is when airlines agree to purchase oil in the future at a predetermined earlier price. Usually, airlines hedge the risk of a possible increase in oil prices by purchasing forward contracts - a customisable contract where two parties agree to buy or sell a certain quantity of an asset (eg., oil) at a specified price on a future date. By entering into futures contracts, both parties decide to give up potential profits in return for certainty. IAG said on April 28 that 1.1billion in fuel and currency hedging writeoffs drove the airline group to a Q1 loss, leading to 12,000 job cuts at BA. BA's parent company has not been uniquely affected by the crisis which has shocked the world economy into a nosedive more severe than in 2008. European airlines including Lufthansa and Ryanair have also warned that they would lose money on hedging contracts that left them unprotected from the huge energy rout. The 2020 stock market crisis began as fears of the spread of Covid-19 outside of China intensified in February. Panic-selling began on March 8, after Saudi Arabia increased oil production and slashes prices per barrel to between $6 and $8 in Asia, the United States, and northwestern Europe. The Saudi-Russia oil price war began as the demand for petrol from China, the world's second biggest economy and the largest net importer of oil, fell as the government took draconian measures in response to Covid-19. Saudi Arabia wanted to deepen cuts to oil production to offset the fall in demand. Its three-year pact with Russia collapsed when Moscow refused to slash the oil supply further. Russia and Saudi Arabia had previously cut oil production together to stabilise the price of oil in light of competition from the US, which has become the world's biggest oil producer. Advertisement Mr Richardson, Unite officer for civil air transport, said: 'There is also a sour taste in the mouth that IAG has accessed a 300million loan and taken government money from the job retention scheme, both of which are underpinned by the UK taxpayer, while announcing that it was planning to axe 12,000 BA jobs and force the rest of the workforce to accept inferior contracts or face dismissal. 'The abrupt announcement of these job losses and the attack on the remaining workforce are a mark of shame for this iconic UK company. 'BA is rushing through these job cuts, while, cynically, planning for recovery to start as soon as July. These actions go well beyond any economic response to the Covid-19 crisis, and are about a cynical and opportunistic attempt to make everyone else pay for their past mistakes and contribute more in the future to their profits.' IAG has also warned it could take up to three years for passenger numbers to recover to pre-pandemic levels. BA grounded all of its flights from Gatwick in March after the outbreak of coronavirus. But now IAG executives say they hope to make a 'meaningful' return in July 'at the earliest'. While making the announcement, they also warned of the 'devastating impact' of Covid-19 on the global airline and travel sectors and predicted that passenger demand will not recover to pre-crisis levels until 2023. The warning comes a week after Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA parent company IAG, revealed the jobs of up to 12,000 BA staff were at risk of redundancy because of the pandemic. Mr Walsh said: 'We are planning for a meaningful return to service in July 2020 at the earliest, depending on the easing of lockdowns and travel restrictions around the world. We will adapt our operating procedures to ensure our customers and our people are properly protected in this new environment. 'However, we do not expect passenger demand to recover to the level of 2019 before 2023 at the earliest. This means group-wide restructuring is essential in order to get through the crisis and preserve an adequate level of liquidity.' He added: 'We intend to come out of the crisis as a stronger group.' The warning comes as last week, bosses at IAG said it was formally notifying trade unions about a proposed restructuring and redundancy programme. Willie Walsh (pictured), chief executive of International Airlines Group, said the firm was planning a 'meaningful return to service in July 2020 at the earliest' Up to 12,000 BA staff could face redundancy due to the changes, which the British Airline Pilots' Association described as a 'bolt out of the blue from an airline that said it was wealthy enough to weather the COVID storm'. BA had previously furloughed more than half of its 45,000 workers on the government's job retention scheme. The redundancy plans include cutting 1,100 pilots and making heavy cuts to its operation at Gatwick. The airline suspended all flights from the Sussex airport at the end of March following the outbreak of Covid-19 in the UK. Virgin Atlantic will axe a third of its workforce by cutting 3,150 jobs and cease all operations at Gatwick Airport Virgin Atlantic will axe 3,150 jobs and cease operations at Gatwick Airport as it battles for survival amid the coronavirus crisis. The airline - owned by Sir Richard Branson - will axe a third of its workforce and cease operations at the UK's second largest airport, with some routes being switched to Heathrow. The company said uncertainty over when flying will resume as well as 'unprecedented market conditions' as a result of the coronavirus pandemic had 'severely reduced revenues'. Chief executive Shai Weiss said: 'We have weathered many storms since our first flight 36 years ago, but none has been as devastating as Covid-19 and the associated loss of life and livelihood for so many. 'However, to safeguard our future and emerge a sustainably profitable business, now is the time for further action to reduce our costs, preserve cash and to protect as many jobs as possible. 'It is crucial that we return to profitability in 2021. I wish it was not the case, but we will have to reduce the number of people we employ.' Advertisement IAG said: 'In light of the impact of Covid-19 on current operations and the expectation that the recovery of passenger demand to 2019 levels will take several years, British Airways is formally notifying its trade unions about a proposed restructuring and redundancy programme. 'The proposals remain subject to consultation but it is likely that they will affect most of British Airways' employees and may result in the redundancy of up to 12,000 of them. 'As previously announced, British Airways has availed itself of the UK's Covid-19 job retention scheme and furloughed 22,626 employees in April.' The plans for a return to services come as IAG reports a huge drop in passenger numbers since the outbreak. Passenger capacity fell 94 per cent from late March, with most aircraft grounded, or operating a reduced service for repatriation and cargo-only flights, IAG has revealed. Bosses of the Anglo-Spanish multinational insisted, when going into the crisis, the firm has a strong balance sheet with 8.7billion. IAG has dipped into the Bank of England's loan scheme for 300million. To reduce spending, day-to-day cash costs were cut from 384million per week to 174million per week. The firm added it is planning a 'meaningful return' to service in July with capacity of 50 per cent in 2020. However, passenger demand will not recover to pre-crisis levels until 2023, it predicted, leading to 68 planes due for delivery now likely to be deferred. In the three months to March 31, IAG said capacity was down 10.5 per cent compared with 2019, with a first quarter operating loss before one-off costs of 467million. There was a one-off charge in the quarter of 1.1billion to untangle complicated hedges on fuel and currency exchange costs. The airline, which grounded all flights from Gatwick in March after the outbreak of coronavirus, could make a 'meaningful return' in July, according to bosses of its parent company 'The operating result up to the end of February was in line with a year ago. However, March's performance was severely affected by government travel restrictions due to the rapid spread of Covid-19 which significantly impacted demand,' Mr Walsh said. He gave his backing for temperature screening of passengers at airports, after Heathrow announced on Wednesday that it will trial the measure. Mr Walsh said: 'We believe that temperature checks on departure and on arrival, that's an appropriate measure and we do support it. 'We also support the mandatory use of face coverings, and that I expect to be required on a European-wide basis.' He confirmed his delayed retirement will now take place on September 24, with Iberia boss Luis Gallego taking over then. Sir Richard Branson has warned that Virgin Atlantic will collapse unless it receives Government support, with more than 3,000 jobs set to go. Sir Richard Branson has warned that Virgin Atlantic will collapse unless it receives Government support, with more than 3,000 jobs set to go The company said uncertainty over when flying will resume as well as 'unprecedented market conditions' as a result of the coronavirus pandemic had 'severely reduced revenues'. How coronavirus has affected UK airlines 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'. 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. Advertisement Chief executive Shai Weiss said: 'We have weathered many storms since our first flight 36 years ago, but none has been as devastating as Covid-19 and the associated loss of life and livelihood for so many. However, to safeguard our future and emerge a sustainably profitable business, now is the time for further action to reduce our costs, preserve cash and to protect as many jobs as possible. It is crucial that we return to profitability in 2021. I wish it was not the case, but we will have to reduce the number of people we employ.' He added: 'After 9/11 and the Global Financial Crisis, we took similar painful measures but fortunately many members of our team were back flying with us within a couple of years. 'Depending on how long the pandemic lasts and the period of time our planes are grounded for, hopefully the same will happen this time.' The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) said it was a terrible blow for the industry, and urged the government to stop 'prevaricating' and help the aviation sector. 'Government should call a moratorium on job losses in aviation and lead a planned recovery,' BALPA General Secretary Brian Strutton said. The under-pressure airline also announced it will not return to using its seven Boeing 747-400 aircraft, which have four engines. By 2022 it will operate a 'simplified, greener fleet' of 36 twin-engine aircraft, which are more fuel efficient. Owner Sir Richard Branson previously warned that Virgin Atlantic will collapse unless it receives UK taxpayer support while Virgin Australia is reportedly just hours from going into administration after failing to get a bailout from the Australian government. The Virgin Group boss, who is estimated to be worth more than 3.5billion, said Virgin Atlantic needs taxpayer support in the form of a commercial loan, with reports indicating that the carrier is asking for up to 500million. The billionaire businessman offered his own private Caribbean island of Necker, estimated by Forbes to be worth 80m - less than one fifth of the figure being requested - as collateral for any taxpayer cash used to save the struggling airline. He has previously vowed to plough 215million of his own money into his business empire - which includes an airline, railway franchise and leisure centres - to keep it afloat during the pandemic. Advertisement "BPA has oxidation potential as it's chemically unstable and produces reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. When the antioxidant reserves in cells [electron donors] run out, the amount of reactive oxygen and nitrogen increases. Because of their chemical instability, they 'poach' electrons from mitochondria and other cellular organelles, cell membranes, proteins, and even DNA, damaging cells significantly and potentially causing cell death. If this problem becomes extensive, it poses a major threat to the organism," Hornos Carneiro told.The study measured the number of fertilized eggs laid and hatched and the number of progeny that reached adulthood. The problems detected can be compared to difficulty in becoming pregnant, miscarriages and chromosome anomalies in humans."BPA is a chemical contaminant that acts as an endocrine disruptor, causing cellular oxidative stress [an imbalance between oxidant and antioxidant molecules], which results in damage to gametes and embryos," said Hornos Carneiro, who conducted the study under the supervision of HMS Professor Monica Paola Colaiacovo."In the study, the worms exposed to BPA and given CoQ10 displayed lower egg cell death rates, less DNA breakage and fewer abnormalities in chromosomes during cell division, as well as less cellular oxidative stress."In the experiment, worms were exposed to different combinations of BPA, CoQ10 and a solvent (DMSO): solvent only, solvent and CoQ10, BPA only, and BPA plus CoQ10.The amount of exposure to BPA mimicked the estimated amount in humans. "We know it's practically impossible to avoid exposure to BPA and similar contaminants in this day and age, so we looked for a strategy to minimize the harm done. Many studies have shown that age reduces fertility in women, and because exposure to BPA [and other endocrine disruptors] occurs throughout life, it's not yet possible to estimate separately the extent to which observed infertility is due to exposure to toxic chemicals in the external environment and how much is due to aging," Hornos Carneiro said.The nematodes used in the study were transgenic, with a fluorescent protein sequence inserted into their DNA to enable in vivo observation of protein expression. Fluorescent antibodies were also used, as well as advanced microscopy and molecular biology techniques. The researchers were thereby able to observe in real time the effects produced at the cellular and molecular levels during the process of cell division (meiosis) and embryo formation in the worms.According to Hornos Carneiro, BPA's chemical structure is similar to that of estrogen, a female sex hormone that plays a key role in ovulation. As a result, BPA can bind to estrogen receptors in humans, leading to a number of significant effects. "Depending on the tissue, the effects may be pro-estrogenic or anti-estrogenic, with an impact not just on the reproductive system but also on other systems and processes that are important to a person's health," she said.Hornos Carneiro is currently a professor in the School of Chemistry and Pharmacy at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. She conducted the study at the University of Sao Paulo's Ribeirao Preto School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (FCFRP-USP) in Brazil with the support of a FAPESP scholarship for postdoctoral research internship abroad.According to Hornos Carneiro, exposure of the worms to BPA alone resulted in more DNA breaks. "This was potentially due to the action of reactive oxygen species formed as a result of the presence of the contaminant in the organism," she said. "We found that the breaks were not correctly repaired in this group of worms."The damage was observed by monitoring a protein involved in DNA breakage and repair when genetic material is exchanged between homologous chromosomes during meiosis.This exchange of genetic material, known as crossing over, is important for increasing genetic diversity and driving evolution. "One hypothesis is that the increase in DNA breakage [and inefficient repair] was due to a rise in gonad oxidative stress caused by BPA," she said.Another finding was that mitochondrial dysfunction increased. Mitochondria are energy-producing organelles in cells. "Because of oxidative stress, mitochondrial membrane potential was significantly altered in the worms exposed only to BPA, while in the group that received the CoQ10 supplement, this marker was much improved," Hornos Carneiro said.The effect of BPA on embryos was also studied in this experiment. As a hermaphrodite, C. elegans self-fertilizes, and it is therefore possible to observe in its gonads all stages of germinative cell development in meiosis up to the polar corpuscle and embryo formation."In the study, we observed embryo formation in vivo using a technique called live imaging," Hornos Carneiro explained. "The benchmark for analysis of the occurrence of defects was the first cell division [the precise moment at which the unicellular embryo divides in two]. In the group exposed only to BPA, a larger number of defects were observed, such as formation of chromatin bridges and cell division cessation."Source: Eurekalert Adolf Hitler, right, views the damaged Reichskanzlei in Berlin, Germany, in April 1945, shortly before his suicide. This is one of the last photos of Hitler. Person at left not identified. (AP Photo) Nazi Germany finally surrendered to the Allies in early May 1945, bringing World War II in Europe to a close. The emotional and physical toll of six years of brutal warfare weighed on their meeting in the destroyed German capital of Berlin. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. In the early-morning hours of May 7, 1945, the remnants of Nazi Germany's military leadership signed an unconditional surrender to Allied forces. When the news broke the next day, troops and civilians around the world celebrated Victory in Europe Day the Soviet Union would mark Victory Day on May 9 exuberant about the end of nearly six years of war that had destroyed much of Europe. When German and Allied military officials gathered again in Berlin near midnight on May 8 to sign surrender documents, the atmosphere in the room was heavy with emotional and political weight. A Soviet soldier places his nation's flag over the Reichstag, the German parliament building in Berlin, April 30, 1945. (AP Photo/ITAR-TASS) The Germans, characteristically severe, went through the proceedings in a mix of resignation and resentment, while the Soviets, Americans, and other Allies were relieved at the war's conclusion. All were uncertain what would come next. Historian Antony Beevor's sweeping history of the final months on the eastern front, "The Fall of Berlin 1945," captured the mood in the room as victors and vanquished gathered to bring their conflict to an end: "Just before midnight the representatives of the allies entered the hall 'in a two-storey building of the former canteen of the German military engineering college in Karlshorst.' General Bogdanov, the commander of the 2nd Guards Tank Army, and another Soviet general sat down by mistake on seats reserved for the German delegation." "A staff officer whispered in their ears and 'they jumped up, literally as if stung by a snake' and went to sit at another table. Western pressmen and newsreel cameramen apparently 'behaved like madmen'. In their desperation for good positions, they were shoving generals aside and tried to push in behind the top table under the flags of the four allies." Story continues The German delegation then entered the room, its members looking both "resigned" and "imperious." Col. Gen. Paul Stumpff, second left, Luftwaffe commander; Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, German army commander, raising baton; and Gen. Adm. Hans von Freideburg, rear, commander of the German navy; after Germany's unconditional surrender was formally ratified in Berlin, May 9, 1945. (AP Photo/U.S. Signal Corps) Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, commander of the Nazi armed forces during the final days of the war, "sat very straight in his chair, with clenched fists," Beevor wrote. "Just behind him, a tall German staff officer standing to attention 'was crying without a single muscle of his face moving.'" Gen. Georgy Zhukov, a senior Soviet commander during the war's final days, stood to invite the Germans "to sign the act of capitulation." Keitel, impatient, gestured for the documents to be brought to him. "Tell them to come here to sign," Zhukov said. Keitel walked over to sign, "ostentatiously" removing his gloves to do so, unaware that the representative for the chief of Stalin's secret police, the NKVD, was lingering just over his shoulder. "'The German delegation may leave the hall,'" Zhukov said once the signing was complete, Beevor wrote, adding: "The three men stood up. Keitel, 'his jowls hanging heavily like a bulldog's', raised his marshal's baton in salute, then turned on his heel. As the door closed behind them, it was almost as if everybody would in the room exhaled in unison. The tension relaxed instantaneously. Zhukov was smiling, so was [British Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur] Tedder. Everybody began to talk animatedly and shake hands. Soviet officers embraced each other with bear hugs." "The party which followed went on until almost dawn, with songs and dances. Marshal Zhukov himself danced the Russkaya to loud cheers from his generals. From inside, they could clearly hear gunfire all over the city as officers and soldiers blasted their remaining ammunition into the night sky in celebration. The war was over." The chaos of the war had ceased, but for Soviets and Germans other hardships were to come. This section of Berlin, along Nettelbeck Strasse near Wittenberg Platz, was called the City of Death by Berliners, shown in April 1945. (AP Photo/Hans Martin Herloff) Zhukov, long a confidant of Stalin, earned glory for his command during the war but would soon find himself on the outs with the mercurial Soviet leader. Keitel would face war-crimes charges, including crimes against humanity. He was convicted and hanged in October 1946. Like other Nazi leaders who were hanged, Keitel's body didn't drop with enough force to break his neck. He dangled at the end of the hangman's rope for 24 minutes before dying. Germans, many of them under the Soviet Union, would struggle to rebuild both physically from the war and emotionally from their encounter with Allies forces Soviet soldiers in particular. Berlin, buffered by two weeks of intense urban fighting, was shattered. The Soviet Union's desire for political vengeance and economic advantage lead it to hobble or strip much of East Germany's infrastructure and resources. Read the original article on Business Insider The Federal Government of Nigeria has disclosed its intention to reach out to homes of school children with the School Feeding Programme amid the pandemic. The development was revealed on Wednesday, May 6 in a statement by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, who noted that the state governments will work with the President Muhammadu Buharis administration to continue in feeding schoolchildren in their homes. Naija News understands that the minister disclosed this while speaking at the Presidential Task Force for COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday. The school feeding programme has been tailored in a way, to ensure that schoolchildren were fed at home despite the lockdown, Sadiya noted. She said, We have made progress in the overhauling of the homegrown school feeding programme and sensitisation has already begun in the three frontline states of Ogun, Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory for implementation. The overhauling was sequel to a March 29, 2020 directive by Mr. President to identify modalities and continuation of the school feeding programme during the COVID-19 pandemic in the lockdown states as of then, Sadiya while speaking, categorically stated that the distribution will be based on data provided and structures put in place by participating states with support from partners that include the World Food Programme. The food would be distributed from door to door, as vouchers would be allocated at specific collection times to avoid overcrowding, the minister reiterated. Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buharis spokesperson, Femi Adesina, a week ago has said that Candidates about to take West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and other examinations may be allowed to go back to school. Share this post with your Friends on (Getty Images) Coronavirus lockdowns have slowed some of the countrys biggest housing markets to a crawl. Although prices have held relatively steady, credit ratings agency DBRS Morningstar says theres room for prices to fall in the coming years as more homeowners fall behind on mortgage payments. Most markets were heating up in the months leading up to the lockdowns, but the pandemic changed all of that as job losses mounted and the economy careened toward recession. The employment shock comes in the context of a household sector that is highly indebted; household debt-to-disposable income in Canada is 176%, which is elevated by international standards, said DBRS Morningstar in a report. Notwithstanding income support programs from the federal government and mortgage deferral options from the banks, the rise in unemployment will inevitably lead more households to fall behind, and potentially default, on their mortgage payments. Like most predictions on the extent of the damage from COVID-19, DBRS Morningstar says the final picture is unclear. It offers a range based on possible mortgage increases in mortgage arrears. In the moderate scenario, mortgage arrears nationwide increase to approximately 65 basis points in 2020 and then gradually decline, while home prices fall by 10% cumulatively through 2022. said DBRS Morningstar. The adverse scenario features mortgage arrears rising to 100 basis points and a 15% correction in housing prices by 2022. Homeowners in oil-producing parts of the country are expected to struggle the most to keep up with their mortgages. But markets in those regions didnt experience a price run-up the way others have in recent years as the energy sector struggled with low oil prices and a lack of pipelines. On the other hand, since Toronto prices have surged so much, theres a lot more room to fall. DRBS Morningstar says prices in Canadas biggest city could fall 14 per cent in its moderate scenario. (DBRS Morningstar) Jessy Bains is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jessysbains. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. Despite a national opioid-related overdose epidemic that continues to claim tens of thousands of lives annually, a new nationwide study shows that a scant proportion of hospitalized patients with opioid use disorder receive proven life-saving medications both during and after they're discharged. The study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. "It really paints a bleak picture of the current state of affairs about the treatment of people with opioid use disorder nationwide," said lead author Kelsey Priest, Ph.D., M.P.H., a health systems researcher and current M.D./Ph.D. student in the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine. The study plumbed an extensive database of patients in the Department of Veterans Affairs health care system. Researchers identified more than 12,000 patients across 109 hospitals who were hospitalized for various reasons but also had underlying opioid use disorder during the fiscal year ending in 2017. The researchers identified 10,969 patients who had opioid use disorder at the time they were hospitalized but weren't receiving treatment. Of those patients, only 203 - 2% - received a medication to treat opioid use disorder while they were in the hospital and were subsequently linked to care after their discharge. That's important because findings from an earlier study from OHSU showed that patients who received medication such as buprenorphine in the hospital are twice as likely to continue their therapy after discharge. "This is a huge missed opportunity," said co-author Honora Englander, M.D., associate professor of medicine in the OHSU School of Medicine. Englander is director of an in-hospital intervention program that OHSU started in 2015. Project IMPACT, or Improving Addiction Care Team, brings together physicians, social workers, peer-recovery mentors and community addiction providers to address addiction when patients are admitted to the hospital. The program is a rare exception, although part of a small but growing cohort of hospitals nationwide implementing these services. The need for these interventions is clear based on the study published today. "Hospitalization is a reachable moment to initiate and coordinate therapy to treat substance use disorder," Englander said. "This study shows that in the VA - which most likely out-performs other U.S. hospitals - life-saving, evidence-based treatment is rarely prescribed." Opioid agonist therapies available in the hospital include methadone or buprenorphine. Both relieve withdrawal symptoms and pain, normalizing brain function by acting on the same targets in the brain as prescription opioids or heroin. ### The study was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health, grants F30 DA044700, R33 DA035640, and UG1 DA015815; the Greenlick Family Scholarship Fund and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research & Development, grant IK2HX001516. The contents are those of the authors and do not represent the views of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the U.S. government. Update: The South Hays Fire Department dive team has recovered the body of the 18-year-old swimmer Adrian Mares, who went missing in the Guadalupe River Wednesday. His body was recovered at about 10:30 a.m. Thursday downstream from where he was last seen. "The current plus all the flood debris that builds up that you can't see that's at the bottom of the river ... it causes a lot of currents and undertows and makes it really, really dangerous once you get into deeper water," said an official with the Guadalupe County Sheriff's Office. Original story: The Guadalupe County Sheriff's Office is searching for a teenager who went missing while swimming Wednesday. The 18-year-old male was swimming in the Guadalupe River, south of FM 1117, when he went missing, the department said. He was last seen swimming downstream from the bridge. FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox Aircrafts were called out to help look and an emergency notification was issued to all residents in the area. By midnight, the teenager still hadn't been located and the Sheriff's Office said it would continue to look after daylight. Deputies continued to patrol the area properties and roadways throughout the night without success. The teenager is described as a short with a stocky built with gray swim trunks. If anyone sees the teen, they are asked to note the location and contact the Sheriff's Office at 830-379-1224 or call 911. Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for MySA.com |taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday condoled the loss of lives in the gas leak incident in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam and prayed for the recovery of the injured. IMAGE: A man rushes to take his child for treatment at King George Hospital following a gas leak incident from an LG Polymers plant in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. Photograph: ANI Photo 'Saddened by the news of gas leak in a plant near Visakhapatnam which has claimed several lives. My condolences to the families of the victims. I pray for the recovery of the injured and the safety of all,' he tweeted. 'I am confident that the administration is doing everything possible to bring the situation under control at the earliest,' the President said. At least 11 people, including a child, were killed after a major gas leak at LG Polymers in Gopalpatnam under Visakhapatnam district. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu also condoled the deaths of people in the incident. 'Deeply distressed by the loss of lives due to gas leak ... My condolences to bereaved families and wishes for speedy recovery of those taken ill,' he said in a tweet. The vice president spoke with Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy. 'They assured that needed assistance is being given to ensure safety of people,' he said. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been rushed to the affected areas to assist the local administration in relief operations, Naidu said quoting the Union home secretary. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the situation, and assured all possible assistance to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. The prime minister also chaired a meeting of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to assess the situation. The prime minister wrote on Twitter that he spoke with officials of the Union Home Ministry and NDMA regarding the situation 'which is being monitored closely'. 'I pray for everyone's safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam,' he said. The Prime Minister's Office said Modi spoke to the state chief minister. 'He assured all help and support,' a PMO tweet said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah described the gas leak as 'disturbing' and said the central government is closely monitoring the situation. 'The incident in Vizag is disturbing. Have spoken to the NDMA officials and concerned authorities. We are continuously and closely monitoring the situation,' Shah tweeted. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed shock over the gas leak incident and prayed for the speedy recovery of those hospitalised. He also urged Congress workers in the area to provide all necessary support to those affected. 'I'm shocked to hear about Vizag Gas Leak. I urge our Congress workers and leaders in the area to provide all necessary support and assistance to those affected. My condolences to the families of those who have perished. I pray that those hospitalised make a speedy recovery,' he said on Twitter. Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy spoke to Andhra Pradesh's chief secretary and director general of police and took stock of the situation. Reddy instructed teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to provide necessary assistance to the victims. "I am continuously monitoring the situation. Hundreds of people have also been affected in the unprecedented and unfortunate event in Visakhapatnam, AP," he said in New Delhi. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao also expressed shock over the incident and offered condolences to the families of the deceased. Describing the incident as very unfortunate, Rao wished for speedy recovery of those who fell ill due to the gas leak, an official release said in Hyderabad. Citing the gas leak tragedy, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday asked managements of industries in the state restarting operations after COVID-19 lockdown to ensure all safety measures are in place. Expressing grief over the incident, he said it was unfortunate and such mishaps should not recur anywhere. In series of tweets, he said in the backdrop of the accident in Vishkhapatnam, managements restarting their industries in Karnataka after two months have to take this as a lesson of caution. 'I appeal that production be started after ensuring all safety precautionary measures,' the chief minister said. The state government has recently announced relaxations in the lockdown curbs in green and organge zones in the state and allowed several activities, including industrial operations. In another tweet, Yediyurappa said: 'Extremely saddened by the incident in Visakhapatnam. My thoughts and prayers are with the families affected.@AndhraPradeshCM.' The gas leak impacted villages within a 5-kilometre radius of the plant, according to officials. Former prime minister and JDS supremo H D Deve Gowda expressed shock over the incident and appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend all required assistance to Andhra Pradesh. 'I am shocked and deeply pained by the #VizagGasLeakage tragedy. My prayers are with those affected. @AndhraPradeshCM @ysjagan @ncbn I request @PMOIndia to extend all needed assistance,' he tweeted. Former Union minister for petroleum and natural gas M Veerappa Moily and Leader of the Opposition in Karnataka assembly and former chief minister Siddaramaiah were among others who expressed grief over the mishap. '...we find from the report that not much rescue operation has been taken. Emergent measures will have to be taken on a war footing to bring the situation under control. I pray that situation comes under control and all the affected are taken care,' Moily said. Siddaramaiah in a tweet said: 'Sad to know about the tragic gas leak in Visakhapatnam which has taken many lives. We stand in support with the people of Andra Pradesh in this hour of grief.' Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda expressed deep pain over the tragedy and asked party workers to provide all possible help to victims. 'Deeply pained to hear about the tragic gas leak in Visakhapatnam. My deepest condolences to the families of the deceased, I pray for the wellbeing of all. I urge party workers to provide all possible relief in coordination with the administration, following all health protocols,' he tweeted. Inmate Escapes From Chicago Jail Using Mask to Aid Disguise An inmate at a Chicago jail on Saturday posed as another inmate who was due to be discharged, and escaped from the facility while wearing a mask, authorities have said. Jahquez Scott, 21, who was wrongly released from Cook County Jail, allegedly took on the identity of Quintin Henderson, 28, in exchange for $1,000. Henderson was set to be released on a recognizance I-Bond for a drug charge. Scott, 21, wearing a mask, then used Hendersons full name and personal information to pose as Henderson and left custody on Hendersons I-bond, the Cook County Sheriffs Office said in a statement. Scott allegedly swapped a hooded sweatshirt with Henderson to disguise himself, and stepped forward from Cook County Jails receiving tunnel when Hendersons name was called out by corrections officers. A mask allegedly covered up Scotts distinctive face markings that include tattoos of a heart on his left cheek and dripping blood on his right. All inmates at the facility are required to wear masks as ordered by a federal judge due to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic, commonly known as the novel coronavirus pandemic. Jail staff learned there was a discrepancy when they did not have Hendersons paperwork when he provided his information for discharge, the statement said. After Scott was wrongfully released, Henderson told officers he had fallen asleep, and asked them whether his name and number had been called out, Cook County Assistant State Attorney Jim Murphy said at Hendersons bail hearing, The Hill reported. The sheriffs office said an internal investigation is being conducted as authorities search for Scott, who has been classified as an absconder by the Illinois Department of Corrections. He had been arrested a day prior and had a $50,000 bond for unlawfully using a weapon while on parole for battery of an officer. According to the statement, Henderson has now been charged with aiding escape and was ordered held without bond for violation of bail bond on his original narcotics case. Judge Mary C. Marubio told Henderson that the nature of his offense isnt just aiding and abetting. Its who you aided and abetteda violent person and a dangerous person on paroleand thats weighing heavily against you, Marubio said via Zoom. Hendersons bond was set at $25,000 and he is scheduled to return to court on May 20. The Epoch Times has contacted the Cook County Sheriffs Office for further information. The FBI, meanwhile, has offered a reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to Scotts capture. According to an FBI wanted poster, Scott is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 150 pounds. Individuals with information on Scotts whereabouts should contact the FBI at (312) 421-6700 or the sheriffs office at (773) 674-8477. Anonymous tips may be left at fbi.gov/tips. Gaw NP Industrial is looking for land to develop industrial properties Talking to VIR, Vo Sy Nhan, co-founder and managing director of Gaw NP Industrial, said that after more than a year in the Vietnamese market, Gaw NP is now on the right track. We are completing the project investment procedure for the first project in a northern province and we expect to put this into operation in the first quarter of 2021. Other projects in the southern region are still in progress, Nhan said. He added that projects invested in by Gaw NP Industrial are mostly located where attractive investment policies for the manufacturing sector are offered, and where logistics and transport systems are favourable, such as Ho Chi Minh City, and the southern provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Duong, as well as some other northern provinces. In January 2019 Gaw Capital Partners teamed up with NP Capital Partners in a logistics and industrial platform called Gaw NP Industrial. The platform will invest in industrial properties in strategic locations with modern design to serve strong demands from export-import businesses, and companies servicing booming e-commerce and retail activities in Vietnam. With successfully established multiple logistics platforms across gateway cities in China and Australia with 1.3 million square metres of warehousing facilities and over $1 billion in capital commitment, Gaw NP Industrial desires to leverage its veteran experience into Vietnam which would enable the platform to cover the full spectrum of logistics and industrial development, leasing, and asset management. Gaw Capital Partners expects to develop its business in the Vietnamese market with supplying services for warehouse, leasing, and managing assets. Its targeted tenants would be investors and manufacturers in machinery, electrics, automobile, and garments. Our business strategy in Vietnam is suitable for industrial property. In the time to come, Gaw Capital Partners will continue hunting for land plots for our pipeline developments in the country, Nhan said. Gaw Capital Partners is interested in tracking down developments for leased offices, hotels, housing, education, and the sharing economy in major cities across Vietnam. Industrial property providers are actively pushing their projects in the country in order to receive a new wave of foreign direct investment flow moving from China. Stephen Wyatt, country director of JLL Vietnam, forecasted that this year the pandemic will have a negative impact on the global supply chain, but the trend of production shifting from China to Southeast Asia countries will continue even if it becomes more difficult to carry out. Therefore, it is expected that the land rent in industrial property will increase in the final months of 2020, said Wyatt. However, according to industry experts, not all manufacturers can easily move to Vietnam. The reality is that wages for manufacturing workers in China are now three times higher than that of Vietnam, but their skill levels are also higher. China also has bigger production scale and a much bigger consumption market than Vietnam. Sharing this view, Nhan of Gaw NP said that the health crisis is affecting all economic activities of the whole society. The most difficult thing to determine now is when the Vietnamese and global economies can resume towards a normal state, especially in the context that the supply chain and demand are interrupted and severely altered. Companies have been reviewing and adjusting their investment and business strategies so that they can cope with the crisis over the next 12-24 months, Nhan added. The Associated Press China plans to send four crewed space missions and the same number of cargo craft to complete work on its permanent space station within about two years, officials said after the launch of a newly designed spacecraft aboard the latest heavy-lift rocket. The announcement by the countrys crewed space program further cements Chinas aspirations to rival the US, Europe, Russia and private companies in outer space exploration. The unmanned spacecraft and its return capsule were flung into space aboard a Long March 5B rocket in its debut flight Tuesday evening from the Wenchang launch centre in the southern island province of Hainan. The capsule is reportedly an improvement on the Shenzhou capsule based on the former Soviet Unions Soyuz model and can carry six astronauts rather than the current three. China earlier launched an experimental space station that later crashed back through the atmosphere, and plans to build a larger facility with multiple modules to rival the scale of the International Space Station. Chinas burgeoning space program achieved a milestone last year by landing a spacecraft on the largely unexplored dark side of the moon and has plans to launch a lander and rover on Mars. The program has developed rapidly, especially since its first crewed mission in 2003, and has sought cooperation with space agencies in Europe and elsewhere. The US, however, has banned most space cooperation with China out of national security concerns, keeping China from participating in the International Space Station and prompting it to gradually develop its own equipment. The new Long March 5B rocket has been specially designated to propel modules of the future space station into orbit. China is also among three countries planning missions to Mars for this summer. The United States is launching a lander, China has a lander-orbiter combo, and the United Arab Emirates is sending an orbiter. Spacecraft can only be launched to Mars every two years, to take advantage of the best possible lineup between Earth and its neighbouring planet. Revilla commends CSC for issuing occupational safety, health standards for gov't employees during COVID-19 pandemic Senator Ramon Bong Revilla, Jr. on Thursday commended the Civil Service Commission (CSC), Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for their joint issuance of occupational safety and health guidelines for government employees. Earlier this week, Revilla, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation, called on the CSC and other concerned agencies to create interim guidelines which seeks to prevent and contain the spread of COVID-19 in public offices within areas affected by Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) and General Community Quarantine (GCQ). "The joint memorandum circular No. 1, s. 2020 issued by CSC-DOH-DOLE today is testament to our government's commitment in flattening the curve of COVID-19 cases especially among our government workers and their clientele. With these guidelines, we can assure that urgent services will be delivered continuously to our kababayans during these trying times," Revilla said. Bong Revilla urged all local government units and offices to follow the safety measures laid down in the memorandum while E.O. 112 allowing skeletal workforces in government agencies while ECQ and GCQ are still in effect. WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING? Are you streaming the latest series? Revisiting a classic on cable? Pulling out your Blu-rays or DVDs? Let us know what you're watching by emailing eyest@bakersfield.com for possible inclusion in an upcoming column. BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend: Seven new coronavirus cases were confirmed in Kazakhstan as of 10:00 (GMT +4) on May 7, 2020, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstans Healthcare Ministry. New coronavirus cases were reported in countrys Zhambyl region 1 case), West Kazakhstan region (3 cases), Kostanay region (1 case), Turkestan region (1 case) and Shymkent city (1 case). The total number of coronavirus cases confirmed in Kazakhstan since the virus was first confirmed in the country amounted to 4,509 cases. This includes 1,408 people who recovered from the coronavirus, and 30 patients who passed away. Distribution of overall coronavirus cases in Kazakhstans regions: Total infected Total recovered Total deaths Nur-Sultan city 853 336 3 Almaty city 1 422 273 9 Shymkent city 223 74 5 Akmola region 101 89 4 Aktobe region 172 34 Almaty region 176 40 Atyrau region 240 82 East Kazakhstan region 30 9 1 Zhambyl region 169 55 1 West Kazakhstan region 213 59 Karaganda region 175 82 3 Kostanay region 59 16 1 Kyzylorda region 223 144 Manystau region 105 11 1 Pavlodar region 152 19 1 North Kazakhstan region 33 28 Turkestan region 163 57 1 TOTAL 4 509 1 408 30 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. --- Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh 3 1 of 3 Craig Moseley / Contributor Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Claire Goodman / Staff photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Katy-area residents headed outdoors just after noon Wednesday to catch a glimpse of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. The elite team of pilots flew in formation over the greater Houston area, specifically places with hospitals, as a thank you to essential workers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The flight path of the planes went from north of the Houston area through Conroe, over downtown Houston, west toward Katy, over downtown again and south toward Galveston. Thirty nine pregnant women were among the 363 people who returned to India from the United Arab Emirates on Thursday night via two Air India Express flights that formed the first leg of a massive repatriation programme involving 12 countries and 15,000 passengers. The first flight of the Mission Vande Bharat carrying 181 people from Abu Dhabi landed in Kochi around 10pm on Thursday. The second flight with 182 passengers from Dubai landed in Kozhikkode roughly 20 minutes later. As the passengers many of them aged, disabled or children disembarked from the flight, many were seen wiping tears. I am delighted to be in my place. Thank God, I will with my parents for my first delivery. Really grateful to all, said a pregnant woman on the Kochi flight who refused to share her name. Shah Jahan, who boarded the flight from Abu Dhabi, said he decided to return to India as he had lost his job. I am happy to be a part of the first evacuation flight, he said. The state government has set up quarantine and isolation facilities near the international airports and also arranged vacant flats, houses and houseboats to accommodate the passengers. But as the flight carried many vulnerable and old people, the authorities decided to quarantine them in their respective districts. Once they came out of the airport, they were taken to their respective native districts in special buses and vehicles. We are going by the government directive, said Ernakulam collector S Suhas. Passengers started arriving at Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports as early as 9.30am on Thursday. Some of the passengers were carrying the Tricolour. Indian ambassador Pavan Kapoor was seen inquiring about the procedure from some of the passengers undergoing medical screening at the Abu Dhabi airport. Kudos to all the passengers for waiting patiently for their turn for medical screening and many thanks to all the frontline health workers and airport staff for extending full support, the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi tweeted. Vanda Bharat Mission, the worlds biggest repatriation exercise starts today. More than 350 Indian from UAE will be flying back. Thanks to all, Kapoor said. All of them have cleared the tests, Consul General of India in Dubai, Vipul, was quoted as saying by the Gulf News.He said the criteria of passengers selection included medical cases, loss of jobs, pregnant women and senior citizens. Those with complications and financial issues were also picked. In the first week of the massive operation, 64 flights will bring 15,000 Indian citizens home from 12 countries. All those who travel back will have to pay for their tickets, undergo strict screening processes, download the Aarogya Setu app, and go into institutional quarantine after landing. The first phase runs from May 7 to May 13 and involves the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Bangladesh, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, United Kingdom and United States. All international passengers will be charged for the journey and fares from Gulf countries to Kerala range from Rs 15,000 to Rs 16,000. Rescue flights from London will cost Rs 50,000 while flights from the United States have been priced at Rs 1,00,000. At least 300,000 people have people have registered to come back in West Asia alone but the authorities are focusing only on compelling cases. A set of standard operating procedures by the Union home ministry said that priority will be given to asymptomatic migrant labourers/workers abroad who have been laid off, short term visa holders faced with expiry (of visas), persons with medical emergency, pregnant women, the elderly, students, and those required to return to India due to the death of a family member. (with agency inputs) SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON This week, the journalist Ida B. Wells was honored with a Pulitzer Prize awarded posthumously. The significance of this award was made clear when, that very same day, President Donald Trump reiterated comments decrying women journalists as angry and unladylike - attacks he has made time and time again particularly toward women of color. Although the president has attacked male journalists as well and derided the press in general as the enemy of the people, the comments he directs toward black women journalists have a particular valence. For example, in response to PBS's Yamiche Alcindor's question about masks and ventilators, Trump admonished, "Be nice. Don't be threatening." Alcindor later tweeted about the incident, commenting that she was "not the first human being, woman, black person or journalist to be told that while doing a job." She is right. Attacking the character and decorum of black female journalists to avoid answering tough questions has a long history in the U.S. stretching back to the 19th century. Wells, a pioneering African American journalist and civil rights activist, frequently faced personal attacks from white male political leaders for raising uncomfortable truths. Her ability to navigate the personal attacks to generate meaningful political change is why she deserved the Pulitzer Prize, and why the women who have followed in her footsteps make Trump so uneasy. Of the dozens of black female journalists in the 19th century, few ventured into political topics as fearlessly as Wells. An early muckraker, she attracted the ire of those who benefited from the unjust systems she exposed. Wells' campaign against lynching, for which she won recognition, brought unprecedented scrutiny to American mob violence. She published numerous investigative newspaper reports, editorials and pamphlets denouncing lynching as a form of racial terrorism. Wells also famously cultivated international outrage over the lynching of African Americans through two speaking tours of Great Britain in the 1890s. Shocked by what appeared to be an emerging epidemic of mob violence, British reformers criticized southern U.S. politicians and religious leaders for their complacency or tacit support for the brutal public murder of black men, women and children. Such work was essential to uncovering the carefully cultivated cultural narratives that lynching apologists designed to legitimize such killings in the name of justice. For example, Judge Luke Edward Lawless had infamously instructed jurors that they could not find anyone responsible for mob violence when deaths resulted from "that mysterious, metaphysical, almost electric phrenzy" of the mob, rather than the work of "a small number of individuals." Unwilling to prosecute lynchers even in high-profile cases, coroner's inquests routinely ruled that victims met their deaths "at the hands of persons unknown." Lynching apologists were frustrated with a legal system that supplanted rough justice with due process, and so mob violence increasingly became an outlet for popular resentment against the modern criminal justice system. Lynching also became a powerful tool for defending white supremacy after slavery was abolished. A new narrative then emerged, claiming that lynching was necessary to punish black rapists and to shield "delicate" white women from the trauma of testifying about sexual assault in open court. Public anxiety about the mythical "black beast rapist" became an effective tool for promoting Jim Crow segregation, which restricted the freedoms of both African Americans and white women under the guise of chivalry. Wells shone a light on the incongruities between American lynching narratives and the realities of mob violence, which targeted African Americans accused of social transgressions, such as refusing to show deference to whites or providing economic competition for white rivals. Using statistics gathered from white newspaper reports of lynchings, she demonstrated that less than one-third of cases involved any allegations of sexual offenses. Wells concluded that race prejudice, not rape, was the primary motivation for mob violence against African Americans. To underscore her critique, Wells provided examples. She recalled the lynching of the owners of the People's Grocery Company in Memphis for protecting their property from attack at the behest of a jealous white rival. She recounted the brutal murders of two black women wrongly accused of poisoning - one was hanged naked in the courthouse square, while the other was nailed into a barrel lined with spikes and thrown down a hill. She also provided personal testimony about the destruction of her press and how she faced threats of lynching for her journalistic work. The lesson was clear: African Americans had no legal protections and their lives held no value where lynching and race prejudice flourished. It worked. Her reporting stirred British moral outrage over racially-motivated killings of unarmed men, women and children - and white southerners could not risk alienating such an important economic partner. In the post-Civil War era, England remained the largest importer of Southern cotton and British capital accounted for roughly 75 percent of all foreign investment in the U.S. Cotton prices fell and regional competition for investors increased dramatically with the global economic depression that spanned from 1893 to 1897. The controversy Wells stirred threatened to deter potential investors and imperil the region's economic future. To deflect criticism, southern governors, religious leaders and journalists alike began to attack Wells' character, forcing her to become the story in the American press. At a time when women struggled to gain legitimacy as public reformers and professionals, even unproven attacks on a woman's character could end her public life. By the 1890s, white women had found wider acceptance as moral reformers in movements like the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, but African American women still struggled to gain legitimacy and the social protections afforded to their white counterparts. In particular they fought against popular stereotypes of black women's licentiousness, which had perpetuated since before the Civil War to excuse white men's sexual exploitation of enslaved women. In the post-war world, these stereotypes were reinvigorated to support white men's continued sexual access to now-free black women and undermine their very right to be in public. Southern newspaper editors mocked Wells' status as a lady reformer with headlines calling her "Miss Ida," labeling her a "negro wench" or referring to her as "the Wells woman" while addressing white women in the same article with the title "Miss." Southern politicians and social leaders attacked Wells' character, labeled her a "Negro Adventuress," and rejected her claims as "slanderous." Georgia Gov. William J. Northen even accused Wells of lying about conditions in the South to promote western land development. John W. Jacks, president of the Missouri Press Association, wrote to Wells' British supporters in March 1895 asserting that she could not be a reliable source. Jacks claimed that all black women were "prostitutes" and "natural liars and thieves" who were "wholly devoid of morality." The attack was so offensive that Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, Victoria Earle Mathews, Margaret Murray Washington and other leading African American reformers came together to form what became the National Association of Colored Women to defend the honor of black women and assert their status as ladies. By recognizing Wells' investigative journalism at this particular moment in American history, the Pulitzer Prize Board honored not only her work but also her continuing legacy. Wells forged a path for women of color who can now be found in every field of journalism, including the White House Press Briefing Room. Roxanne Jones praised Wells for inspiring "black girls like me" to use their words "as a weapon against hate and fear." Nikole Hannah-Jones marveled at the significance of winning a Pulitzer Prize on the same day for her 1619 Project, published by a newspaper that had called Wells a "slanderous and nasty-minded mulattress" in 1894. Yet even today, Hannah-Jones reflected, "the same instinct to downplay lynching, to attack her credibility because it was easier than owning up the truth, is at play." As in Wells' time, the personal attacks black women journalists receive today are a testament to the importance of the challenging questions they raise. - - - Silkey is a professor of history at Lycoming College. Her research explores the history of racial violence in American society and she is the author of "Black Woman Reformer: Ida B. Wells, Lynching, and Transatlantic Activism." The Good Fight The Gang Is Satirized and Doesnt Like It Season 4 Episode 4 Editors Rating 4 stars * * * * Previous Next Photo: Patrick Harbron/CBS The plays the thing in this weeks episode of The Good Fight, which features the bizarre spectacle of a former associate at Reddick, Boseman staging a kinky satire inspired by his time at the firm. It is not his intention to catch the conscience of the king, but he catches it anyway, with deeply uncomfortable barbs about the racial hypocrisy and corporate compromise that plagues the office, along with an undercurrent of sadomasochism that wasnt as easy to see coming. The play, called C**ksucker in Chains, looks absolutely abysmal, but its getting standing ovations at whatever godforsaken independent theater space its occupying in Chicago. And that rattles the partners so much that they want to shut this motherfucker down. Theres been so much absurdity on The Good Fight this season that the show could probably offer some evidence that Reddick, Boseman still functions as a law office. The only money anyone seems to be making during this episode is the $850 an hour that Lucca stands to get if she accepts a private-jet flight to Saint Lucia in order to be Bianca Skyes friend, and she has to be talked into saying yes. Meanwhile, Diane continues to follow her quixotic pro-bono quest to get to the bottom of Memo 618, and Adrian is so enraged by the play that he ignores the best interests of a rich client in order to sue it out of existence. The bosses at STR Laurie have good reason to question whether theyll get any return on their investment or they would if they werent also a weird shenanigans factory. The good news about the play is that its awful. One of the pitfalls of showing art onscreen, especially when its supposed to be brilliant, is that its often unintentionally bad. (I call it Mr. Hollands opus syndrome, so named after the tacky musical composition Richard Dreyfusss supposedly gifted teacher unleashes at the end of Mr. Hollands Opus.) C**ksucker in Chains has the courtesy to be flagrantly grating and unfunny yet sophisticated in the individual ways it irritates, inspires, and generally freaks out the targets of its satire. The broader criticism of Reddick, Boseman is that it sells out the principles it purports to have: Heres a black-majority firm with an ostensibly strong interest in racial justice, but its sold its soul to corporate accounts. Yet the play gets weirder and more specific. Theres an Adrian avatar who gets off on being submissive to a Diane avatar in black dominatrix gear. That horrifies Adrian, who leads the push to sue the production out of existence, but it becomes an unexpected stimulus for Diane and Kurts love life. And the kink gets broken down in great detail, too: Diane guesses wrong about what seems to be turning Kurt on, so she has to modify and improvise, landing on a combination of latex, an old-fashioned rifle, and a 10-gallon cowboy hat. For his part, Julius gets a surprisingly respectful treatment in the play, which stirs a sense of judicial righteousness and purpose that might have had an impact on how he handled the Memo 618 case. Wheres that Julius when you need him? The case comes to the firm from a wealthy client who complains that embarrassing details from his divorce case have found their way into the script. The plays author quickly acquiesces to a request to take the information out, which should end Reddick, Bosemans involvement, but vanity keeps Adrian pressing forward anyway. The Good Fight has always been good about giving its characters flaws a full airing, but the suit against the playwright exposes the ugliness of the firms culture just as thoroughly as the play itself attempts to do. The gang doesnt like being satirized because the satire hits the mark. Elsewhere, Dianes attempt to find out the truth about Memo 618 leads her to a hilarious alliance with Gabriel Kovac (Fisher Stevens), the slimy and inept attorney who occasionally pops up in the Good Fight/Good Wife universe. It turns out that Kovac is getting sued by a client for inadequately representing her in a wrongful-death suit involving a convict who died in the back of a prison transport van. The judge simply disappeared without giving a ruling, then the docket number disappeared, $895,000 in billable hours were issued without a client listed, and even the code citations are looped together and inaccessible online. Diane sees the case as her backdoor opportunity to bring the truth to the surface, but the powers that be are so spooked that they give Kovacs client a massive settlement just to shut it down. The Good Fight isnt ready to spill the beans on the Memo 618 conspiracy just yet, probably because its more sinister as an extrajudicial threat that cannot be understood, much less stopped. The show seems to be working toward the idea that there is no equal justice under the law in America but a system for ordinary people and a system for the elites, which allows for lawlessness and a total lack of accountability. The possible involvement of Reddick, Bosemans corporate bosses at STR Laurie has been reinforced by the set design, which has them literally working above the law (firm). Exposing the conspirators of Memo 618 will likely be the easy part. Stopping it is another matter entirely. Hearsay: I want to Gawker these assholes off the stage. Seeing Gawker Media go down to a sinister, Peter Thiel-backed lawsuit was a chilling loss for independent media, but its legacy lives on as a verb. Marissas flirting with Caleb enters a dad-joke-after-dark phase: Man walks into a zoo. The only animal at the zoo is a dog. Its a shitzu. Every single time The Good Fight waits 15 minutes to get to the opening credits, Im surprised and delighted when it turns up. This week, it was an especially delightful stinger after Adrian reports back from the play: Luke, I need you in early tomorrow. We need to shut this motherfucker down. Never stick around for Q&A sessions with an audience. Let this episode be a PSA for that. Diane stating the Memo 618 dilemma in a nutshell: Im sure youll agree that we should all be subject to the same system of justice. If Im given a subpoena, I have to comply. I have to answer honestly, and if I dont, I should be prosecuted. That is the only way the system works. If it doesnt work that way, then the country breaks down. Its over. Were done. VULTURE NEWSLETTER Keep up with all the drama of your favorite shows! Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Terms & Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. Want to stream The Good Fight? Sign up for CBS All Access here. (If you subscribe to a service through our links, Vulture may earn an affiliate commission.) In China, Even Simple Online Campaign for COVID-19 Dead Is Target for Censorship By Hong Shen May 06, 2020 Wuhan resident Zhang Hai posted an announcement on a Chinese social media platform this week asking for donations to build a monument that would have the names and photos of all the coronavirus victims in China. He chose the day to announce the memorial, May 4, because it is an important historic day for many Chinese people. The May Fourth Movement, widely known as the "new culture movement," marked the political awakening of China's youth, and movement towards a pro-democratic China back in 1919. Freedom of speech was among one of the key demands by the protesters then. Zhang, who lost his father to the coronavirus that surfaced in Wuhan, said that 101-year old message has special relevance today. "Because everyone who died, including my father, were victims of misinformation. A monument will remind us of this dark period, to make sure history won't repeat itself." He told VOA in an interview. Zhang said he still supports China's ruling communist party but thinks local officials should be held responsible for initially hiding the fact that the virus could spread among humans. Zhang Hai's dad, Zhang Lifa, was a veteran of the People's Liberation Army, who had spent decades working on China's nuclear weapons program. He died on Feb 1 at a hospital in Wuhan from complications of the coronavirus. Zhang Hai said that in January, his father fell and broke his leg. They traveled from Guangdong, where they lived, to Wuhan, their hometown, for surgery. The virus was spreading in Wuhan at the time, but local officials were playing down the risk of human-to-human transmission. Zhang Hai is certain that his father contracted the virus during his stay at the hospital. "Had I known the risk, I wouldn't proceed with the trip," Zhang Hai said. "My father has contributed greatly to this country, and now he passed away because of a huge mistake by the local authorities. Why can't we ask for accountability?" This push for accountability from Chinese citizens is a theme U.S. officials have also highlighted in recent days, in an effort to reveal how Beijing has thwarted international investigations into the origin of the virus and how it continues to shut down any internal critics, no matter how small. Matthew Pottinger, a top national security aide to President Donald Trump who worked as a journalist in China early in his career, praised two whistleblower doctors who were reprimanded by the police for warning their colleagues about the COVID-19 back in December. While China was roundly criticized for silencing the doctors, and has since championed them as patriots, Beijing has not changed its stance on others who are critical of the government's efforts. "I owe it to my father," activist says Zhang Hai has not received his father's ashes so far, and is extremely dissatisfied with the way the authorities have been handling his father's death. "It has been a long time since my dad passed away on February 1," Zhang said, "No one is answering my questions about where his ashes are, but instead I am monitored -- my WeChat, my phone, my blog." He said that he was summoned to the police station for the second time on May 4, and the police showed him a list. "It was all my chat history on WeChat," he said. Zhang Hai said the police told him the reason for the intense monitoring is because he created an online group consisting of family members of COVID-19 victims. "Anti-China elements might have infiltrated the group," he said, the police told him. Zhang Hai laughed at the excuse. He said that he and others were just mourning together online, and they didn't break any law. On the contrary, he said, he is determined to hold responsible the local authorities that hid the information about COVID-19. "I do not care the price I have to pay. I owe my diseased father an explanation," he told VOA. While authorities may succeed in shutting down the memorial, veteran rights activist Yang Zhanqing predicted criticism from Chinese people will intensify as the pandemic continues, and authorities may struggle to contain it if people like Zhang Hai keep speaking out. "We should all admire Zhang Hai's courage. He has spoken out about what other families wanted but dared not to say," Yang told VOA. "It's very rare." After Zhang posted his fund-raising announcement online, the authorities quickly deleted it. He reissued it one more time, and it was deleted again. This sort of small-scale censorship, which is a fact of daily life in China, can lead to a bigger push for change, said Pottinger, the Deputy National Security Advisor to President Trump. "When small acts of bravery are stamped out by governments, big acts of bravery follow," Pottinger said in his remarks delivered Monday at the University of Virginia's Miller Center. He said he hoped delivering the speech in Mandarin would "open up a conversation with friends in China and around the world." China's foreign ministry Tuesday rejected Pottinger's critique of the country's COVID-19 crackdown, suggesting he "may not really understand China" and should instead focus on the U.S. response to the pandemic. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address (Photo : Pixabay) Do you remember when robots will take over human beings in the workplace? It seems like these machines have been getting bad publicity of late. Two new studies found that robots are crummy at so many jobs, and they tell lousy jokes to boot. The research was initially intended to check if a female robot could be less skillful at a few jobs than a male robot and vice versa. The studies' titles even covered the words "gender," "stereotypes," and "preference." Still, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology found no tremendous sexism towards the machines. Scientists found a slight and insignificant difference in the results of the research. Still, they found the results "surprising." Ayanna Howard, the study author in both studies, said what is going right and wrong while integrating robots in the workplace has to do with how the humans feel around robots. "I hate robots!" Howard, a professor in and the chair of Georgia Tech's School of Interactive Computing, said surveillance robots are not socially engaging. "When we see them, we still may act very conscientious of our behavior like we would see a police officer," Howard said. However, there are emotionally engaging robots designed to tap into human feelings and work with human behavior. "If you look at these examples, they lead us to treat these robots as if they were fellow intelligent beings," Howard added. Researchers say robots not having feelings is a "good thing." As the bots lacked in gender bias, the team said study participants based their judgments on robot competence. That predisposition was strong that Howard doubted if results may have overridden any possible gender biases against robots. After all, social science studies have shown that gender biases are still prevalent in the human workforce. ALSO READ: Scientists Create Small Device That Work Like the Human Brain; Here's How It Works Where's the scalpel? The study results show that robots could only perform a handful of simple jobs compared to human beings. "The results baffled us because the things that people thought robots were less able to do were things that they do well," Howard said. Respondents, according to researchers, believe robots are not capable of doing surgical operations. Howard said participants believe bots are not competent enough in surgical suites despite having Da Vinci robots that are pervasive in surgical suites. However, the study pointed out that robots could make exceptional package deliverers and receptionists, table servers, and tour guides. ALSO READ: Coronavirus: An Irish Hospital Hires Robots to Help Mater Nurses in Fighting COVID-19 "Security guard - people didn't think robots were competent at that, and there are companies that specialize in great robot security," Howard said. Social is good, but... Howard said robots can be useful for social interaction. She added there is animatronics that tells excellent jokes in the amusement parks. However, participants across the two studies said robots would also fail as therapists, nannies, nurses, firefighters, and totally bomb as comedians. The researchers couldn't say where the competence biases originate. Howard could only speculate that some negative results came from media testimonies of robots doing such things as falling into swimming pools or injuring humans. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Recollections of My Nonexistence: A Memoir By Rebecca Solnit Viking. 243 pp. $26 --- In 2008, Rebecca Solnit wrote an essay titled "Men Explain Things to Me," a biting critique of a condescending male behavior that drowns out and belittles women's voices, that went viral. The term it inspired - "mansplaining" - became not only a part of everyday conversation, but an entry in the Oxford English Dictionary. Solnit captured the anger and frustration of millions of women and quickly became a major feminist voice - speaking out on #MeToo, climate change and the power of collective organizing. Solnit's memoir "Recollections of My Nonexistence" promises a more intimate look at her life. Here she tells us how she found her way as a writer, about her life in 1980s San Francisco and her shift from chronicling the trajectories of men forgotten by the art world to analyzing the tensions over the environmental and gender issues that define our times. Solnit writes vividly of her influences, from the thick atmosphere of gendered violence and discrimination to the open landscapes of the American West, where she house-sits in New Mexico, researches and hikes alone. She captures her tiny "alabaster" studio so vividly that you can close your eyes and be there, running a hand along the haunch of the velvet sofa that "left droppings of ancient horsehair stuffing on the floor like an incontinent pet," peeling back the tacky vinyl kitchen siding to reveal layers of wallpaper like layers of the neighborhood's history or writing at her treasured desk. With Solnit as a guide, you can hear her neighbors tell tales of Texas and Oklahoma, walk past the varied shades of devotion in a community dotted by churches and sift through the archives at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Readers are offered snippets of a life - often in rich tones - but do we come away with a better sense of who is Rebecca Solnit, the person? Not really. As its title suggests, "Recollections of my Nonexistence" toys with the confessional form, letting us in only so far. Solnit writes of trying to both "appear and disappear" - acts, she confesses, that are "often odds with each other." The book's cover echoes this theme: a snapshot of Solnit pressed up against a wall, bracing herself with elegantly gloved hands. She wears one of her favorite outfits, a 1940s pencil skirt and a men's waistcoat belted and worn backward. The clothes may speak to confidence and transformation, but her pose is all about concealment. So it is in the book: There is a sense of reserve that feels deliberate even as it is unsatisfying. Solnit obeys the conventions of the memoir genre sparingly. For example, when she moves into her apartment on San Francisco's Lyon Street at 19, she is the only white person in her building. Rather than delving deeply into the implications of her presence, Solnit reflects beautifully on the intricacies of the neighborhood at large, writing one of the most vivid sections of the book. Yet when she moves years later, she leaves a gentrified, white middle-class area that bears little resemblance to the Lyon Street of 1981, she has little to say about it. Solnit tells us how her voice developed - by listening to and reading stories in the news about violence against women, depicted in the arts and in personal stories told by friends. "I am a woman who during my youth thought it likely that I would be raped and maybe also murdered and all my life have lived in a world where women were raped and murdered by strangers for being women and by men they knew for asserting their rights or just being women and where those rapes and murders were lasciviously lingered on in art," Solnit writes. Reading this, it's difficult to fathom a way out of such darkness. What possible hope can remain within a society that passively allows violent female erasure? Yet throughout "Recollections of My Nonexistence," Solnit emphasizes the need to find poetry in survival. Describing a delicate Victorian writing desk gifted by a friend, she imbues the object with a strong sense of her intellectual life and credibility as a writer. She meditates on the words she wrote sitting at this desktop - the emails to friends, the 20 books and countless essays - before revealing its darker history. "A year or so before she gave me the desk, my friend was stabbed 15 times by an ex-boyfriend to punish her for leaving him," Solnit writes. It's a somber turn, yet rather than lingering solely on despair, Solnit pivots toward hope: "Someone tried to silence her. Then she gave me a platform for my voice." Perhaps it's not surprising that the iconoclastic Solnit would, in her memoir, renounce the trappings of memoir itself. Solnit seems to see her own experience as part of a more sweeping experience of being a woman in the world. Writing about her own fear of rape, for example, she says, "I tell all of this not because I think my story is exceptional, but because it is ordinary; half the earth is paved over with women's fear and pain, or rather with the denial of them, and until the stories that lie underneath see sunlight, this will not change." Her book then, might be read less as memoir than as manifesto - a voice raised in hope against gender violence. It's a call we should listen to. --- Sarazen is a freelance writer based in Paris. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 16:50:51|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close YAOUNDE, May 7 (Xinhua) -- A road accident in Cameroon's eastern region killed 7 people and injured 15 others on Wednesday, according to local police. The accident occurred Wednesday along the Douala-Bafoussam highway in the country's Littoral region, the police said. Witnesses said a truck collided head-on with a bus carrying 22 passengers. The 15 survivors have been sent to hospital, said the police. Local authorities have ordered an immediate investigation into the accident. Enditem Natrona County bars will likely join restaurants in allowing for indoor patronage this week, and churches could possibly reopen as well, as officials here continue to move toward loosening restrictions placed on businesses by the states pandemic response. On Tuesday, Natrona County attorney Eric Nelson announced that officials here would ask the state to allow for restricted indoor dining to begin by weeks end. On Wednesday, a county health department spokeswoman said that request would include bars, which have been largely closed since mid-March by state order. Of course there are a few differences in bars vs. restaurants, said Hailey Bloom, the Casper-Natrona County Health Department spokeswoman. We are recommending they dont allow seating up at the bar top where someone could potentially contaminate the items behind the bar. Then any kind of self-service like in breweries or other establishments have to have staff serving to avoid that self-service/buffet caveat in the order. Assuming that order is still signed by the state to go into effect starting Friday they will be good to go. Also Wednesday, Casper Mayor Steve Freel said that churches may be included in the request as well though he emphasized that the conversation was ongoing so he couldnt say for sure. Churches, in my opinion, are no different than any other business, he said in an interview that afternoon. The exact details of the order are still unclear, as it has to be released by the county or posted by the state. Last week, Natrona County received the OK to allow in-person, outdoor dining at restaurants here. That allowance still requires social distancing, rigorous cleaning and restrictions on who can handle what food and utensils. Nelson indicated Tuesday that the new indoor dining option would have similar restrictions, which would apparently apply to bars as well. The county courthouse could also see its doors open soon. The Natrona County Board of Commissioners will convene for a special meeting Friday to consider a resolution to reopen the courthouse. The rolling reopenings in Casper come as the county has avoided any new coronavirus cases for two weeks. Its current total stands at 38 confirmed and 10 probable patients, with 32 of those 48 people having fully recovered. Last week, Gov. Mark Gordon and state health officer Dr. Alexia Harrist said the state was relaxing orders that had closed gyms, barbershops and tattoo parlors, among other publicly accessible businesses. Harrists new orders kept in place requirements that restaurants only allow for takeout services, but she said she would allow counties to tweak her orders as they saw fit. As of Wednesday morning, several counties had done so, almost universally to loosen the restrictions further. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Seth Klamann Education and Health Reporter Seth Klamann joined the Star-Tribune in 2016 and covers education and health. A 2015 graduate of the University of Missouri and proud Kansas City native, Seth worked for newspapers in Milwaukee and Omaha before coming to Casper. Follow Seth Klamann Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today New Delhi, May 7 : The All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF) on Thursday wrote to Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi, urging her to refrain from indulging in "petty politics" over the fare of Shramik Special trains and said that the national transporter was charging money to prevent overcrowding at stations. In a letter to Gandhi, AIRF General Secretary Shiv Gopal Mishra said travelling during the coronavirus pandemic is dangerous but railway staffers are making it possible through their hard work. "I request not to destabilise a good system which is enabling migrants to return home in 115 special trains because of petty momentary political gains," he said in his letter. His remarks came amid the row over the ticket fare. On Monday, emphasising the plight of migrants and the money being charged from them for ferrying them back to their home, Gandhi said that the party will bear the cost of their rail tickets. "The Congress has, therefore, taken a decision that every Pradesh Congress Committee (state unit) shall bear the cost for the rail travel of every needy worker and migrant labourer and shall take necessary steps in this regard. "This will be the Congress' humble contribution in service of our compatriots and to stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with them," the Congress leader said in a statement on Monday. Mishra, who is the General Secretary of the railways largest union, said that the Central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dealt with the situation by taking proper steps after speaking to states. Pointing out at the Shramik Special trains, which has been running since May 1 to transport the stranded migrant workers across the country, he said, in these trains, a very limited number of passengers travel and on the return journey, it comes empty. "In the security, food and other services...railways has to spend a hefty amount," he said. However, the Railway Ministry has said that 85 per cent of the fare is being borne by the national transporter and the remaining 15 per cent is borne by the state government on whose request a train is being run. The national transporter has run over 163 trains till Thursday starting since May 1 and transported over 1.5 lakh migrant workers across the country. By Steven L. Shields COVID-19 hit Korea right between the eyes! The nation was shaken to its very foundations. People were getting sick right and left; the government was hustling to respond. Hospitals went into overdrive. The new school year was delayed; concerts and large gatherings were canceled. Churches and temples were asked to close. Everyone was scrambling to buy masks that were in short supply at the beginning. Small shops and restaurants saw a considerable downturn in customers. The Royal Asiatic Society Korea followed the government-issued warnings. The office was closed, and the staff began working from home. Walking tours and club meetings were postponed. The lectures scheduled in March were canceled. We were heartbroken to miss out on some excellent presentations. RAS Korea was doubly saddened not to be able to launch its much-anticipated Pyeongtaek lecture series, offering the now-relocated US military community an opportunity to learn more about Korea. RAS Korea has had to suspend normal operations only two times before. The first was in 1940 as World War II began to affect the Pacific area, and the Japanese occupiers began to expel all foreign residents from Allied countries. RAS Korea was finally able to resume in 1948 but was forced to suspend activities just two years later when the Korean War broke out. It restarted in 1957, continuing regular operations until late February 2020 when COVID-19 social distancing restrictions required a third suspension. The "slowdown" went from days to weeks to a month and more. The prospect of canceling the entire program for the spring began to look likely. Meanwhile, churches began to use the internet to livestream worship services to members and friends, and companies started using various forms of social media to connect their staff and to have needed meetings. RAS Korea joined the online streaming network with its first lecture on April 7. The speaker, Geoffrey Cain, was not able to travel to Seoul as planned. But the talk went ahead on schedule, except that RAS Korea friends and members were not physically gathered in its Seoul lecture home, the Somerset Palace Hotel in Gwanghwamun. Members and friends more than 60 joined from around Korea, Australia and the United States. One member commented that he had lived in Korea for many years, and joined RAS Korea, but never could attend a lecture because he lived in Busan. After a decade of membership, he was able to join the talk through Zoom video conferencing. Cain, a journalist who spent many years in Korea, spoke to the virtually gathered crowd about his new book, "Samsung Rising: The Inside Story of the South Korean Giant that Set Out to Beat Apple and Conquer Tech." Cain told of Lee Byung-chul's humble and sometimes failed beginnings as an entrepreneur during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation of Korea. With unprecedented access to insiders and extended family members, Cain follows the story through to the present day. His "biography" of a company is a candid portrait of one of Korea's preeminent dynastic quasi-royal families and their vast wealth and power. Traditional Korean archery was RAS Korea's second April lecture, held on the evening of April 21. Zoom technology brought together attendees from the suburbs surrounding Seoul and as far away as Germany. The lecturer, Cho In-souk, Ph.D., an architect who specializes in architectural history and restoration, took up Korean archery in 2009. She is a skilled archer, taking prizes in international competitions as well as progressing through the multi-level honor system used in traditional archery. Cho noted there are more than 300 traditional archery clubs throughout Korea. Her club is based at the famous Hwanghakjeong, established in 1899 by Emperor Gojong adjacent to Gyeonghui Palace, on the slopes of Mount Inwang in Seoul. This time-honored archery ground has hosted many of Korea's presidents since the first visit by Syngman Rhee in the early 1950s. Changing from in-person lectures to technology-based meetings has worked well overall. However the learning curve associated with learning the software has caused a few minor glitches. The first challenge was to figure out how participants' microphones could be turned off. Then the screen-sharing function caused a challenge, especially when changing from a PowerPoint slide to a video clip. However, RAS Korea members and friends have been patient with the hosts as all try to learn the new-to-them software application. After a forced hiatus of two months, the RAS Korea Literature Club gathered virtually on the evening of Wednesday, April 29. Members have read an English-language book, "Romantic Tales from Old Korea." The book includes five of Korea's most time-honored love stories, including one version of the famous tale of the maiden Chunhyang. The literature club reads and discusses English translations of Korean literature, older and contemporary novels and short stories. Bilingual members of the club often read the original Korean versions as well. Sometime in the next few months, the club will read and discuss Chae Man-sik's "Turbid River." Chae was arrested in 1938 by imperial forces. His book gives an accurate portrayal of life under the Japanese oppressors. As life feels like it's starting to return to normal, there is talk of resuming RAS Korea's regularly scheduled program. But we are in no hurry to go back to face-to-face meetings partly because we want to protect our members and other attendees, many of whom are senior citizens. There's also the fact we have some excellent lectures lined up that wouldn't be possible if it weren't for Zoom. On May 12, former will introduce his memoir, " ," in which he shares his firsthand experiences with the 1980 Gwangju Uprising and the bloody government reprisal. On June 23, Cedarbough T. Saeji will give a lecture, also likely from the U.S. if her visit to Korea is canceled. On July 7, Jeju resident Giuseppe Rositano will introduce his book " ." Check raskb.com or for up-to-date information about lectures, clubs and all other RAS Korea activities. Steven L. Shields, a retired cleric, serves as a vice president of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea (raskb.com) and is a columnist for The Korea Times. Clayton Mitchell New Zealand First MP We are in our second week under Alert Level 3. While many restrictions around physical distancing are still in place, many businesses have resumed their operations which is vital for our economy. Much like the rest of the world, New Zealand faces tough economic challenges ahead. However, we also have the opportunity to remodel our economy to become more sustainable going forward. If we are to rise from the impending global recession, we need to critically rethink the way we do things. To start off, we have to look after the needs of our country and our people first this means helping our businesses, exporters, and employing our people should be our priority. New Zealand First is resolved that our future economy will have these features about it: If we can grow it or make it at near-competitive prices then we should grow it, make it, use it, or export it before wasting valuable offshore funds importing it. This means bringing back manufacturing to New Zealand. We used to be a country that had thriving vehicle and pharmaceutical productions, we need to restore this lost capability. If a job can be filled by a New Zealander, then it should be filled by a New Zealander rather than to import labour. We should train, upskill, and pay New Zealanders properly to do these jobs. We need to put up the shutters to offshore ownership of this countrys economy and go back to owning as much of it as we possibly can. New Zealands economic future needs far greater autonomy. The COVID-19 pandemic has laid out the pitfalls of globalism before us. NZ First have known this and have been talking about this since the inception of our party. We have constantly fought to retain our state assets, to employ New Zealanders first, and to foster export-led economic growth. Our country has the resources to carve out our own economic destiny. We have enormous natural wealth above and below ground, in our seas and underneath it also. New Zealand has a truly amazing people, who are resilient when put to the test. We have the natural and human resources to become a great nation once again. You can count on NZ First to put forward common sense policies to bring us out of the economic recession. We will continue our mission of putting our country and our citizens first. Quantum material could offset energy demand of artificial intelligence WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. Just to solve a puzzle or play a game, artificial intelligence can require software running on thousands of computers. That could be the energy that three nuclear plants produce in one hour. A team of engineers has created hardware that can learn skills using a type of AI that currently runs on software platforms. Sharing intelligence features between hardware and software would offset the energy needed for using AI in more advanced applications such as self-driving cars or discovering drugs. Software is taking on most of the challenges in AI. If you could incorporate intelligence into the circuit components in addition to what is happening in software, you could do things that simply cannot be done today, said Shriram Ramanathan, a professor of materials engineering at Purdue University. AI hardware development is still in early research stages. Researchers have demonstrated AI in pieces of potential hardware, but havent yet addressed AIs large energy demand. As AI penetrates more of daily life, a heavy reliance on software with massive energy needs is not sustainable, Ramanathan said. If hardware and software could share intelligence features, an area of silicon might be able to achieve more with a given input of energy. Ramanathans team is the first to demonstrate artificial tree-like memory in a piece of potential hardware at room temperature. Researchers in the past have only been able to observe this kind of memory in hardware at temperatures that are too low for electronic devices. The results of this study are published in the journal Nature Communications. The hardware that Ramanathans team developed is made of a so-called quantum material. These materials are known for having properties that cannot be explained by classical physics. Ramanathans lab has been working to better understand these materials and how they might be used to solve problems in electronics. Software uses tree-like memory to organize information into various branches, making that information easier to retrieve when learning new skills or tasks. The strategy is inspired by how the human brain categorizes information and makes decisions. Humans memorize things in a tree structure of categories. We memorize apple under the category of fruit and elephant under the category of animal, for example, said Hai-Tian Zhang, a Lillian Gilbreth postdoctoral fellow in Purdues College of Engineering. Mimicking these features in hardware is potentially interesting for brain-inspired computing. The team introduced a proton to a quantum material called neodymium nickel oxide. They discovered that applying an electric pulse to the material moves around the proton. Each new position of the proton creates a different resistance state, which creates an information storage site called a memory state. Multiple electric pulses create a branch made up of memory states. We can build up many thousands of memory states in the material by taking advantage of quantum mechanical effects. The material stays the same. We are simply shuffling around protons, Ramanathan said. Through simulations of the properties discovered in this material, the team showed that the material is capable of learning the numbers 0 through 9. The ability to learn numbers is a baseline test of artificial intelligence. The demonstration of these trees at room temperature in a material is a step toward showing that hardware could offload tasks from software. This discovery opens up new frontiers for AI that have been largely ignored because implementing this kind of intelligence into electronic hardware didnt exist, Ramanathan said. The material might also help create a way for humans to more naturally communicate with AI. Protons also are natural information transporters in human beings. A device enabled by proton transport may be a key component for eventually achieving direct communication with organisms, such as through a brain implant, Zhang said. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, studied the quantum material test strips. The team used synchrotron facilities at the U.S. Department of Energys Brookhaven and Argonne National Laboratories to demonstrate that an electric pulse can move protons within neodymium nickel oxide. Other collaborating institutions are the University of Illinois, the University of Louisville and the University of Iowa. The work was supported by the Lillian Gilbreth Fellowship from Purdue Universitys College of Engineering, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the U.S. Department of Energy. About Purdue University Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 6 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at purdue.edu. Writer: Kayla Wiles, wiles5@purdue.edu. Working remotely, but will provide immediate response. Sources: Shriram Ramanathan, shriram@purdue.edu Hai-Tian Zhang, HTZhang@purdue.edu Note to Journalists : For a copy of the paper, please contact Kayla Wiles, Purdue News Service, at wiles5@purdue.edu. A photo of the artificial intelligence hardware and a GIF of how the hardware uses artificial intelligence to learn numbers are available in a Google Drive folder at https://purdue.university/2WnjNg2. ABSTRACT Perovskite Neural Trees Hai-Tian Zhang1,2,*, Tae Joon Park1,*, Ivan A. Zaluzhnyy3,*, Qi Wang1, Shakti Nagnath Wadekar4, Sukriti Manna5,6, Robert Andrawis4, Peter O. Sprau3, Yifei Sun1, Zhen Zhang1, Chengzi Huang1, Hua Zhou7, Zhan Zhang7, Badri Narayanan8, Gopalakrishnan Srinivasan4, Nelson Hua3, Evgeny Nazaretski9, Xiaojing Huang9, Hanfei Yan9, Mingyuan Ge9, Yong S. Chu9, Mathew J. Cherukara5, Martin V. Holt5, Muthu Krishnamurthy10, Oleg Shpyrko3, Subramanian K.R.S. Sankaranarayanan5,6, Alex Frano3, Kaushik Roy4, and Shriram Ramanathan1, 1School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA 2Lillian Gilbreth Fellowship Program, College of Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA 3Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA 4School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA 5Center for nanoscale materials, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA 6Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL 60607, USA 7X-ray Science Division, Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA 8Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA 9National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA 10Department of Mathematics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA *These authors contributed equally to this work DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16105-y Trees are used by animals, humans and machines to classify information and make decisions. Natural tree structures displayed by synapses of the brain involves potentiation and depression capable of branching and is essential for survival and learning. Demonstration of such features in synthetic matter is challenging due to the need to host a complex energy landscape capable of learning, memory and electrical interrogation. We report experimental realization of tree-like conductance states at room temperature in strongly correlated perovskite nickelates by modulating proton distribution under high speed electric pulses. This demonstration represents physical realization of ultrametric trees, a concept from number theory applied to the study of spin glasses in physics that inspired early neural network theory dating almost forty years ago. We apply the tree-like memory features in spiking neural networks to demonstrate high fidelity object recognition, and in future can open new directions for neuromorphic computing and artificial intelligence. London, May 7 : The UK government has confirmed that 400,000 surgical gowns ordered from Turkey amid the COVID-19 pandemic, did not meet British safety standards, the media reported on Thursday. The shipment of personal protective equipment (PPE) was flown in last month with significant media attention but has not been given to National Health Service (NHS) workers in the UK and was now stuck in a government warehouse, reports the BBC. During the past few months healthcare workers in the UK - including doctors and nurses - have complained about a lack of adequate kit such as gowns, masks and gloves. NHS Confederation chief executive Niall Dickson said care homes and GP surgeries were still facing "some difficulties". He said the government needed to ensure "the rhetoric is matched by the reality on the ground" and that problems with the order from Turkey may encourage some NHS organisations to continue using their trusted local suppliers. But Mehmet Duzen, spokesman for Selegna Tekstil, which supplied the PPE consignment to the UK, told the BBC on Thursday that the company had not received any complaint about the goods, or had any communication from the NHS, the British embassy in Ankara, or UK government officials complaining about the quality of the gowns. "The fabric we supplied was certified. All the goods were certified. If there was any problem they could do an inspection and send us a report," Duzen said. He added that the NHS had been in contact with him as recently as Wednesday and there was no mention of any problem with the goods. As a company, Selegna Tekstil were ready to respond in a professional way if there was any mistake, he added. The Maharashtra government has collected a revenue of around Rs 150 crore through the sale of liquor since Monday when such outlets were allowed to reopen in parts of the state, an official said on Thursday. The amount was collected in four days till Thursday evening, the senior official of the state excise department said. Liquor shops were shut for almost 40 days due to the lockdown to curb the coronavirus outbreak. But even as the lockdown was extended till May 17, standalone liquor shops have been given permission to operate as part of the relaxations granted by the state government. "Revenue of around Rs 150 crore was collected by the excise department till Thursday evening through the sale of liquor. There are 10,822 licensed liquor shops in the state, of which 3,261 have re-opened," the official said. "The state had received over Rs 100 crore revenue through this till Wednesday evening, which increased further by Rs 48.14 crore," the official said. An estimated 13.82 lakh litres of bottled Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), beer, wine and country liquor were sold on Thursday alone, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) - Arjen Robben has been linked with a move to join Brazilian club Botafogo - The 36-year-old hanged his boots at the end of last season after winning his ninth Bundesliga title - The Dutchman also won titles at Chelsea, Real Madrid and PSV Bayern Munich legend Arjen Robben could come out of retirement barely one season after hanging his boots. The 36-year-old Dutchman is wanted by Brazilian topflight Botafogo which earlier showed interest in Nigerian midfielder John Obi Mikel. READ ALSO: Arturo Vidal to be sold for Barcelona to raise money to buy Lautaro Martinez Robben had a trophy-laden career at the Allianz Arena - winning nine Bundesliga titles with one Champions League and several other silverware. However, the pacy winger seems to have unfinished business on the pitch as he is wanted in Brazil as reported by Sport Bible. Meanwhile, the former Chelsea and Real Madrid star appears to be cool with the idea according to the club's chief Ricardo Rotenberg revealed the player was "pleased" with the offer. "Robben is my idol, I think he's a great player. [...] There is always the risk that you won't do anything for too long did, but I still got in touch with him. He was pleased with my offer," said Rotenberg.We know it's going to be tough because he hasn't played for a long time and can earn four times as much elsewhere. "But he now knows about Botafogo's interest," he added. Sometime last month, the 36-year-old confessed that he had an urge to return back to the field, adding that he was hoping to get a bit of action soon. Robben enjoyed spells in the Netherlands, England, Spain and Germany, winning 30 major titles in his 19 years career span. 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 My wife left me at my lowest - Kennedy Mwangi | My Story | Tuko TV(opens in new tab): Source: TUKO.co.ke Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno has extended the lockdown in the state by one week. Mr Zulum announced the extension which he described as painful, but necessary in a radio and television broadcast on Wednesday in Maiduguri. It would have been better for a complete relaxation of the lockdown measures, if we had an effective vaccine or if the infection rate is declining by the day. The available statistics show an increase in coronavirus cases on daily basis and cause mainly by community transmission. For now, social distancing and lockdown are the only veritable options to limit community transmission in the absence of any effective vaccine to fight the pandemic. The pandemic is real and we must face it. I have extended the lockdown measure by a week but directed tomorrow Thursday May 7 and Friday May as well as Monday May 11, 2020 to open up for a period between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to enable petty business and markets to flourish so that families can access essential food items. We will review the situation next week Wednesday, May 13, 2020 and the COVID-19 Committee will announce the fundamental strategies to be observed and regulations to be followed in the fight against the pandemic, within the relaxation period. However, government will not hesitate to renew lockdown orders if the people are not willing to adhere to guidelines, Zulum said. The governor said that to avert the danger of the spread of the virus through community transmission, his administration would ensure the ban on interstate travel and ensure strict observance of all the hygienic practices such as washing of hands, use of facemask and hand sanitisers as well as social distancing. Government is not unmindful of the hardship resulting from the lockdown of businesses and workplaces. We are aware of the plight of our compatriots at the IDP camps, the widows, the vulnerables and the very poor in their places of abode. The situation is not easy even with the average and well-to-do in the society. It is a war situation requiring supreme sacrifice and endurance as well as solidarity to survive the onslaught of an invisible enemy. In Borno, we have shown the much expected resilience and perseverance just as we did at the height of the insurgency when we completely suspended all our socio-economic activity to remain safe at home. We have put in place a machinery for the distribution of food items as part of the palliative measures to cushion the effect of the lockdown policy. The committee has started work in ernest and implore on them to not be non-partisan in the assignment given to them. In this task, government has received support from the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Northeast Development Commission, and other well spirited organisations like Dangote Foundation. We will continue to work with all stakeholders in bringing succour to the lives of our people while we handle the threats of the infectious disease. Meanwhile, government is aware of some of the institutional challenges of the COVID-19 response team and the difficult circumstances under which they operate. We must salute all our medical and health workers for the sacrifices and bravery with which they discharge their duties in saving the lives of others. I specially commend the management of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and the state COVID-19 committee for their good work. All their shortcomings as alleged by the people will be addressed, Mr Zulum said. (NAN) By Express News Service VISAKHAPATNAM: Raising serious questions over the gas leak near Visakhapatnam from LG Polymers, former finance secretary EAS Sarma has demanded that stringent action be taken against the company and officials of the AP Pollution Control Board (APPCB) for giving it permission to operate with impunity. In a letter to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, he said, "LG Polymers is a South Korean company, constantly pampered by successive governments. It stands on government ceiling surplus land valuing hundreds of crores of rupees and the company had dragged the government into litigation, when the government tried to take back the land.." "Despite this, how did APPCB grant Consent for Establishment (CFE) and Consent for Operation (CFO) around the beginning of 2019 for the unit's expansion? APPCB did not apparently take clearance either from the State government or from the Union Ministry of Environment," the letter added. ALSO READ| NDMA monitoring situation closely: PM Modi, Amit Shah react to Visakhapatnam gas leak He pointed out that the unit being a highly polluting one and close to residential areas, APPCB should not have allowed it to expand operations. "This is not the first industrial accident to take place on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam. Around 30 to 40 accidents took place in the past resulting in several workers and civilians losing their lives, with no promoter prosecuted and no officer of the State govt punished," he recalled, adding that it implied collusion between the officers and the promoters of the polluting industries. When the first phase of the recent lockdown ended, a No Objection Certificate (NOC) was apparently granted to LG Polymers, ostensibly on the ground that it was an "essential" industry. "By no stretch of imagination, a plastics manufacturing unit like this can be called 'essential'. Someone senior in the government should be held responsible for this lapse," he demanded. He further asked the Chief Minister to prosecute the promoters and senior managers of LG Polymers urgently as a deterrent measure besides taking action against APPCB and the officers of the industrial safety wing for allowing such an industrial unit to expand operations and resume manufacturing. For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here. California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered a detailed plan for reopening retail through curbside pickup across the state, presenting the first major changes to the shelter-in-place order that has been in effect for more than seven weeks. (See slides from the governor's presentation above.) Retailers such as book stores, florists and sporting good stores will be allowed to resume business as early as Friday if they meet social-distancing guidelines. "You get a sense that were moving forward but were always doing it with an eye led by science, data and public health," Newsom said. The modification to the state order conflicts with the mandate issued May 4 in six Bay Area counties which still prohibits most retail from opening through the end of the month. Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties have allowed essential businesses such as grocery stores to remain open during the pandemic and on Monday allowed outdoor retailers such as plant nurseries to welcome back customers. Newsom has said counties can keep their more strict guidelines in place and do not have to come into compliance with the state order. "We are not telling locals that feel its too soon, too fast to modify," he said. California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly described the future of retail in the state. He said customers will notice a lot more hand sanitizers outside store doors. Cash is unlikely to change hands and customers will pay with credit cards or apps on their phones. "You'll see staff coming out to your car to deliver goods with gloves and a mask on," Ghaly said. The state is issuing specific guidelines for different businesses sectors and these will be available on the California Department of Public Health website. Of the new requirements, Newsom said, "Its a dynamic process. This is not etched in stone. We want to continue to work with people in different sectors to discuss the meaningful modifications and the impacts on their businesses. " Bay Area public health officers have said they're reviewing the new guidelines but are not rushing to keep up with the rest of the state. While the Bay Area may act more slowly on modifications, other counties will have the opportunity to move deeper into Stage 2 of the reopening process as long as they meet certain conditions and collaborate with the state and public health officers. Ghaly highlighted the criteria to qualify for a regional variance; these include having no more than one case per 10,000 people in the past two weeks, no COVID-19 deaths in the past two weeks and a minimum testing capacity of 1.5 tests per 1,000 residents. Newsom has said repeatedly he won't bow to political or economic pressure to reopen the state and has laid out a four-step plan driven by "science and data." The reopening of retail marks the start of the state's move into Stage 2. Newsom highlighted specific sectors that will be allowed to reopen in the next round of modifications, including outdoor museums, in-restaurant dining, shopping malls and offices (when teleworking isn't possible). Some counties with lower rates of infection may qualify for a regional variance giving them the ability to open restaurants as soon as within a week. The state will issue guidelines for restaurants on Tuesday. The third phase, which could reopen salons, gyms, movie theaters and in-person church services, could be months away. Phase four would end all restrictions and allow for large gatherings at concerts and sporting events. The Newsom administration is tracking six indicators to determine when to ease restrictions. They include the state's ability to test people for COVID-19 and trace who might have been exposed to it, and the capacity of hospitals to handle a potential surge of new cases. Businesses across the state have been closed since March 19 when Newsom issued a mandatory stay-at-home order to stop the spread of the coronavirus. More than 4 million people have been put out of work in the nations most populous state. In the Bay Area, the shutdown started three days earlier as six counties issued mandates on March 16. The Associated Press contributed to this story. MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE: Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here. Amy Graff is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com. SAN DIEGO, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- MANSCAPED , the premier and leading men's below-the-waist grooming and hygiene brand, has been named one of Inc. magazine's highly anticipated Best Workplaces for 2020. Inc. collected data and reviewed submissions from more than 3,000 companies, ultimately selecting 395 finalists for this year's coveted list. MANSCAPED named to Inc.'s Best Workplaces 2020 "We take tremendous pride in our culture, and I personally feel privileged to work with the MANSCAPED Family every day," said Paul Tran, Founder and CEO of MANSCAPED. "Our incredibly hardworking team is our most important asset, and this award is a testament to our infectious company culture where everyone feels valued, included and appreciated for their efforts." Employees from MANSCAPED, and each company that entered, were surveyed on a range of topics such as trust, management effectiveness, perks, benefits and feelings about the future. Inc. gathered, analyzed and audited the data, then ranked all employers using a composite score of survey results. Surveys were conducted by Quantum Workplace. "One of our fundamental principles is putting people first. To us, a healthy and thriving culture is a crucial component of our success as a business," added Paul. "We get our work done in an innovative, collaborative and fun environment whether we are in the office or meeting virtually via our computer screens at this time." The list, which holds a prominent feature on Inc.com and is reviewed by millions, will be featured in the May/June 2020 issue of Inc. magazine which hits newsstands May 12, 2020. The comprehensive annual award list consists of private U.S.-based companies that have created exceptional workplaces, vibrant cultures, strong employee engagement and outstanding benefits. See the full list at inc.com/best-workplaces/2020 . About MANSCAPED: Founded in 2017, San Diego, California-based MANSCAPED is the first and leading brand dedicated to men's grooming and hygiene below-the-waist. The product range includes precision-engineered tools, unique formulations and accessories to ensure a simple and effective manscaping routine. With direct-to-consumer shipping in the U.S., UK, Australia and Canada, as well as placement in Target retail locations across the U.S., MANSCAPED is a one-stop shopping destination for men looking for a brand that is focused on the needs of what has, for too long, been a sensitive and often taboo subject. For more information, visit MANSCAPED.com or follow on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter and YouTube . Media Contact: Allison Frazier, Director of Public Relations - MANSCAPED, Inc. [email protected] 925-216-2791 SOURCE MANSCAPED, Inc. Faced with plummeting state revenues exacerbated by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Wyomings Legislature will meet in a special session this week, Gov. Mark Gordon announced Thursday. The special session will convene on May 15 and is scheduled to end the next day, according to a news release from the Legislative Service Office. Lawmakers will consider how to spend $1.25 billion provided to the state through the federal relief act. Gordon said the session would be conducted electronically, with the anchor being the Capitol building in Cheyenne. We want to provide assistance to businesses and citizens as quickly and possible, he said. Many of our businesses and citizens have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 emergency. He said he was looking for the help of the Legislature to address the states various needs in the midst of the pandemic, which he called a grave emergency. The session will consider four heavily related priorities, Gordon said: first, appropriating federal funds earmarked to help states, political subdivisions, businesses and individuals impacted by the pandemic; second, amending and creating programs to help those impacted; third, to provide assistance to businesses and people negatively impacted by the virus; and fourth, to provide budgetary flexibility to retain and transfer funds to prepare state and local governments for the public health emergency and resulting economic devastation. The special gathering of lawmakers is the first in Wyoming in more than 15 years, and it comes as the state faces extraordinary challenges on multiple fronts. There is much to do: In addition to economic questions, legislators have to hammer out how to spend more than a billion dollars in federal dollars doled out in an effort to mitigate the worst effects of the viruss spread. Last week, legislative leaders approved a broad plan to address the effects of the virus, which has ground parts of Wyomings economy to a halt and has dovetailed with oil prices cratering. The federal government has allocated $1.25 billion to the Equality State, a pot of money the Legislature plans to use to stop evictions, build capital projects, and expand workers compensation and unemployment benefits. Additional monies will go to communities and agencies whove tapped their own funding to address the pandemic. Gordon has repeatedly warned that the state is not in complete control of its own economic fortunes. The national economy has contracted as part of the pandemic, and plunging oil prices are an international concern. Gordons announcement comes as more than half of the states counties begin to slowly unwind some of the restrictions placed on restaurants, bars and churches, which had broadly been closed or heavily limited as part of the effort to stymie the spread of the virus. As of Friday afternoon, there have been 483 confirmed and 152 probable cases of the virus in Wyoming. Of the combined 635 patients, 428 have recovered. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Abia State Government says it intercepted 26 people hidden in two trucks coming into the state. The Commissioner for Homeland Security, Dan Okoli, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Aba on Thursday. He said the 26 persons were concealed in two trucks that belonged to a Nigerian multi-industry company. Mr Okoli said the interception took place at Ariam Community, a boundary town between Akwa-Ibom and Abia, in Ikwuano Local Government Area of the state. He said the 26 people were later moved into another vehicle and sent back to where they were coming from. READ ALSO: He debunked stories making the rounds that Abia boundaries were porous and that people were freely coming in and going out. Mr Okoli said that it took the painstaking surveillance by security personnel to intercept the 26 persons. He explained that they were deliberately made to lie flat inside the truck to prevent being seen by security agencies. The commissioner said after the trucks had successfully manoeuvred through some checkpoints, security men at Ariam flagged them down for proper checks and discovered the 26 persons hidden inside. This morning we caught two Dangotes Trucks carrying 26 people at Ariam. The boundaries are not as free as people make it to appear. I dont want people to panic in Abia, he said. Mr Okoli said the government would not stop anyone in Abia from doing his business, including those at Lokpanta cattle market as long as the person is within the state. He said nobody was exempted from all the safety measures put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus. (NAN) There has been a reported rise in so-called COVID-19 parties in Washington state in the US where non infected guests mingle with those who have tested positive for coronavirus, with the aim of catching and overcoming the virus. Health officials in the northwestern state expressed concern over reports of people intentionally spreading the virus, saying there is still a lot we dont know about the potentially fatal virus and scientists dont yet fully understand if someone can be reinfected. "Gathering in groups in the midst of this pandemic can be incredibly dangerous and puts people at increased risk for hospitalisation and even death," warned John Wiesman, the state's secretary of health. 'COVID-19 Parties' are where people who aren't infected mingle with those who have tested positive for the virus with the aim of becoming infected. Source: Getty/AAP "Furthermore, it is unknown if people who recover from COVID-19 have long-term protection," he said. "There is still a lot we don't know about this virus, including any long-term health issues which may occur after infection." Mr Wiesman's comments came after officials in Walla Walla County, located 420 kilometres southeast of Seattle, reported that some of the nearly 100 cases in the region appear to have been intentionally spread or contracted at the "COVID-19 parties." "This kind of unnecessary behaviour may create a preventable uptick in cases which further slows our state's ability to gradually re-open," Mr Wiesman said. As of Wednesday (local time), there were 94 cases of coronavirus reported in Walla Walla county and one death. Meghan DeBolt, Walla Walla's community health director, said contact tracing had shown that some of those infected had attended parties with the aim of contracting the virus. "We don't know when it is happening. It's after the fact that we hear from cases," she told the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. "We ask about contacts, and there are 25 people because: We were at a COVID party.'" 'It's after the fact that we hear from cases': The parties where people intentionally want to catch coronavirus. Source: AAP She said such behaviour was irresponsible and urged residents to follow proper physical and social distancing measures to prevent community transmission. Story continues "We need to use this time to use good common sense and to be smart as we move through this pandemic so that we can begin to reopen our community," she said. "COVID-19 parties: not part of the solution," she added. This will delay our community being able to reopen and get our economy operating. This is stupid Walla Walla is better than that said Ms DeBolt. There has so far been only one other report in the United States of a coronavirus party. In March, Kentucky's Governor Andy Beshear announced that a person had contracted the virus after attending a COVID-19 party. The United States is the country hardest hit by the pandemic with more than 1.2 million cases so far and 73,095 deaths. 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. Is it one challenge too many for Iraqs new government to bear? First came the political unrest. Then the coronavirus. Now an oil price crash completes a trifecta of problems that are pushing Iraqs finances and its fragile stability to the edge. Oil accounts for 67 percent of Iraqs economy. Income from crude sales funds roughly 90 percent of its government budget. That is not a problem when oil prices are buoyant. But when they plummet, Iraqs finances are at the mercy of the markets. And this year has been particularly merciless. COVID-19 containment measures have obliterated global crude demand. Prices started to retreat in January and February as China the worlds biggest crude importer and Iraqs biggest customer went into lockdown. Those price pressures collapsed into a full-blown crash in March, after Saudi Arabia initiated an oil price war. One day our GDP looks brilliant, the next day it looks horrible, simply because oil prices change, given the role of oil in our GDP, Ahmad Tabaqchali, senior fellow at the Institute of Regional and International Studies (IRIS) told Al Jazeera. A truce was called on April 12 with an historic agreement between the Saudi-led Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies to curb production. But the record 9.7 million barrel-a-day curb struck by the group known as OPEC+ is not nearly enough to offset the coronavirus demand-blow and revive prices meaningfully. The imbalance turned the market on its head on April 20, when US benchmark crude prices turned negative as traders paid to have oil taken off of their hands rather than risk having nowhere to store it. Global benchmark Brent crude sank below $20 a barrel that day. Though oil prices have since clawed back some of those losses, with Brent currently trading just shy of $30 a barrel and storage capacity still an issue, markets could well be roiled again. Iraq now faces a severe economic crisis. The World Bank now reckons the countrys economy will contract 9.7 percent this year the worst performance since the fall of the late President Saddam Hussein in 2003. Twin crises and political turmoil Iraq entered the twin crises of coronavirus and the oil price crash steeped in political turmoil. Frustration with corruption, a lack of jobs, poor public services and political sclerosis boiled over into anti-government protests late last year that forced the resignation of former Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi. Months of political deadlock finally gave way on Wednesday after Iraqs Parliament voted to approve the majority of Prime Minister-designate Mustafa al-Kadhimis new cabinet. But while Iraq has a new government, it is still without an oil minister. There is no doubt that the political blockage and the repercussions of the spread of the coronavirus are all factors that will constitute challenges for the new government, former Iraqi oil minister Ibrahim Bahr Alolom, told Al Jazeera. And these challenges will increase if Iraq adheres to OPECs decision to reduce its oil production, Alolom added. Not only is Iraq getting less for the oil it produces, as OPECs second-largest producer, it has also agreed to pump significantly less of it. Iraqs share of the OPEC+ production cut that went into effect last Friday amounts to more than one million barrels per day or just over 20 percent of its overall production. The economy is in for a massive shock as government revenues have fallen by more than half due to low oil prices, Sajad Jiyad, a Baghdad-based political analyst, told Al Jazeera. Public payroll continues to expand by billions of dollars per month that the government will have to cover. To showcase the severity of the fiscal situation, Iraq would need at least a US$58/barrel oil price to meet its wage and pension obligations alone Iraq Economic Monitor, World Bank Group, Spring 2020 Gaping budget gap with no easy patches Belt-tightening is never popular, but for a country prone to unrest, slashing budgets can ignite anger if the pain is acutely felt by the people. About half of Iraqs budget goes to state salaries, pensions, and benefits for millions of government employees. While a budget has not been approved for 2020, a stimulus package introduced in October assumed that oil would fetch $56 a barrel. Should oil prices stabilise in the low $30-a-barrel range and the government fails to rein in spending, Iraq could be looking at a financing gap of $54bn this year, says the World Bank. To showcase the severity of the fiscal situation, Iraq would need at least a US$58/barrel oil price to meet its wage and pension obligations alone, the World Bank said in its latest update on Iraqs economic outlook. There are no easy remedies for closing the gap between Iraqs shrinking oil income and its financing needs. There are only two solutions, Iraq analyst Yahya al-Kubaisi a consultant with the Iraqi Center for Strategic Studies, told Al Jazeera, using the CBIs [Central Bank of Iraq] cash reserves or resort to borrowing, not only from the IMF but from other sources too. Iraqs foreign exchange reserves hit $68bn last year enough to cover 10 months worth of imports. They now cover less than six months of imports, having dwindled by at least $9bn. Conditions are far from ideal for borrowing on international debt markets, given capital is flying out of emerging markets, rather than into them. Issuing domestic debt is extremely expensive and crowds out credit for Iraqs struggling private sector. Wealthier states are less likely to come to Iraqs rescue as their economies are knocked sideways by the coronavirus. And the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may be less inclined to throw a lifeline to Baghdad, given Iraqs failure to implement structural reforms the last time the IMF stepped up with an aid package in 2016. Im sure the IMF can lend the money to Iraq but given our abandoning of the IMF Stand-By Agreement, it will require real reforms that we dont have the luxury to make, said Tabaqchali. The world is a very different place right now. KYODO NEWS - May 7, 2020 - 13:31 | All, Japan, Coronavirus Schools that had closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus reopened Thursday in some regions of Japan, prompting parents to express concern that children will be unable to maintain recommended social distancing and are at increased risk of infection. Schools in Aomori and Tottori prefectures were the first in the country to open their doors despite the nationwide state of emergency that was declared last month and then extended through the end of May by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Around 140 students headed to an elementary school in Tottori Prefecture that had been closed since April 27. "I was at home and bored, so I'm happy (to be back)," a third-grade boy said, requesting anonymity. "I can't wait to eat lunch and see my friends." Masafumi Kohara, father to two children attending another elementary school in the western Japan prefecture, said schools are "precisely" the kind of location people have been advised by the government to avoid. "I don't know what's right," the 34-year-old said. A total of 76 schools run by the Aomori prefectural government also reopened after temporarily closing on April 20. In the city of Aomori, a number of high school students wearing face masks headed to school on bicycles or were dropped off by car. They were seen chatting with friends who were waiting for them. "I'm glad they've reopened as I can see my friends again," said student Raimu Fujita, 16. "Studying will be a bit of a hassle, though." ADDIS ABABA, May 6 (Xinhua) -- As the world has been affected by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and demanding ventilators used to treat COVID-19 patients, a company in Ethiopia, dubbed Yascai, said it has produced a prototype of ventilators, eying partnership with companies in China to launch manufacturing of the products. Speaking to Xinhua on Wednesday exclusively, Samuel Yitbarek, Chief Executive Officer of Yascai and Family Plc Ethiopia, said his company has already started contacting companies in China to partner on the production in Ethiopia of the product, not only for the local market, but to also serve overseas markets. Established about 21 years ago, the company in Ethiopia is also known as the biggest labeling glue business made out of organic products. Yascai is currently producing casein-based labeling adhesives. Emphasizing that innovation is the core value of the company's approach to produce quality and sustainable solutions, the Chief Executive Officer said Yascai endeavors to produce the ventilators upto the standard and supply to the market with fair price. "The main thing that motivated and enabled us to come up with the idea of producing ventilators is our experience in the process automation. Given our experience in that regard, we have been able to adapt the technology for this product, and we have been able to produce the prototype," he said. Stating that the Chinese have the expertise and better technologies of such products, Yitbarek has expressed his company's keen interest to partner with Chinese companies for manufacturing of the product. Speaking of the China-Africa relations and cooperation, he reiterated that China has been supporting and partnering with African countries, whereby tangible results have been gained out of the cooperation in different areas. He noted that the China-Africa partnership has brought significant contribution to infrastructure and industry development on the African continent, and most importantly job creation for the local people. Hailing the assistance and support from China to Africa in the battle against COVID-19, he noted that China has been providing support of different forms in the fight against the pandemic on the continent and the rest of the world. He noted that the Chinese experience in curbing the pandemic should serve as a big lesson to Africa and the rest of the world. "In addition to donation of medical supplies, China has also been supporting our country and others, by sending medical experts to share their experience with our doctors so that we could address the problem," he said. Bridget Anne Kelly, former deputy chief of staff to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (L) and Bill Baroni, former deputy executive director of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Supreme Court on Thursday reversed the fraud convictions of two aides to former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie who played key roles in the 2013 "Bridgegate" scandal. Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the unanimous court that Bridget Anne Kelly and William Baroni "could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws" because the scheme did not "aim to obtain money or property." The plot involved shutting down commuter lanes at the George Washington Bridge connecting New Jersey and New York in order to create massive traffic jams to punish the city of Fort Lee's mayor for refusing to back Christie's 2013 reelection effort. Kelly was Christie's deputy chief of staff and Baroni was deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the agency that manages the bridge. The scandal has been seen as a death blow to the political career of Christie, who had hoped to leverage his second term as governor into a successful run for the Republican presidential nomination. Christie was dropped as the head of President Donald Trump's White House transition team in 2016 shortly after Kelly and Baroni were convicted. Trump celebrated the decision on Twitter, writing that "a complete and total exoneration (with a 9-0 vote by the U.S. Supreme Court) on the Obama DOJ Scam referred to as 'Bridgegate.'" Trump tweet Kagan, an Obama appointee, wrote that the evidence "no doubt shows wrongdoing deception, corruption, abuse of power." "But the federal fraud statutes at issue do not criminalize all such conduct," Kagan said. "Under settled precedent, the officials could violate those laws only if an object of their dishonesty was to obtain the Port Authority's money or property." Kelly was sentenced to 13 months in prison last year. Baroni was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and actually began serving that term in 2019, before being released after the Supreme Court said it would take Kelly's appeal. The high court accepted Kelly's appeal just two weeks before she was due to begin serving her sentence. In a statement Thursday, Kelly said the court "gave me back my name and began to reverse the six-and-a-half-year nightmare that has become my life." The 47-year-old mother of four said she wanted "nothing more than to hug my children knowing they will have their mom with them always." An attorney for Baroni said that "Bill is heartened that the system ultimately worked, even as he recognizes how often it fails others who are less fortunate." "At long last, Bill looks forward to moving on from this case and continuing his life of service," the statement said. The four-day shutdown of all but one of the Fort Lee lanes accessing the world's busiest motor vehicle bridge caused massive traffic backups in and around the city. One of the most memorable aspects of the scandal was the email Kelly sent to David Wildstein, a Port Authority official, agreeing to the plan after Fort Lee's Democratic Mayor Mark Sokolich refused to endorse Christie's reelection. "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," Kelly wrote. The email became a damning piece of evidence against her. Wildstein was sentenced to three years of probation in 2017 for his role. He was not a party to the Supreme Court case and pleaded guilty in 2015. Baroni, 48, whom Christie had appointed to the Port Authority post, said at his sentencing in February 2019 that he "wanted to please him, but I chose to get sucked into his cult and culture." "So by the time of this idea, to use the lanes of the George Washington Bridge to help his campaign, I no longer had that line of right and wrong to say no or to stop it. So I didn't," Baroni said. Kelly, after being sentenced in April 2019, lashed out at Christie. "Mr. Christie, you are a bully and the days of you calling me a liar and destroying my life are over," Kelly said at the time. "The truth will be heard and for the former governor, that truth will be unescapable, regardless of lucrative television deals or even future campaigns. I plan to make sure of that." Christie, who attended oral arguments in the case in January, was never prosecuted in the scandal and has consistently denied having knowledge of the plan. Christie said in a statement Thursday that it was "good for all involved that today justice has finally been done." He also went after former U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, who had led the case. "There are no words of apology that would be sufficient to right the wrongs committed by Paul Fishman," Christie said. "From the very first day of his involvement, he was determined to damage the reputations of as many members of our Administration as he could." Fishman, a Democrat, said in a statement that Thursday's ruling "does not negate the work of the career prosecutors and law enforcement agents" who worked on the case. "It is stunning, but perhaps not surprising, that Chris Christie's response is to concoct accusations of political ambition, partisanship, and personal vindictiveness," he said. "Chris Christie may try to rewrite his legacy -- and he may want to rewrite history -- but the fact remains that the 'deception, corruption, and abuse of power' was committed for precisely those reasons by his team on his watch." The case is Kelly v. United States, No. 181059. NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) today announced it will be hosting a Virtual Prom Afterparty with brand super-fan and digital star David Dobrik at 9:45pm EDT on May 16. Chipotle's Virtual Prom Afterparty will immediately follow the Teen Vogue Virtual Prom, of which Chipotle is a presenting sponsor. Chipotle will host a Virtual Prom Afterparty on May 16 with digital star David Dobrik. Students can add their names to the guest list by requesting to follow @ChipotleAfterParty on Instagram Chipotle is inviting students to add their names to the afterparty guest list by requesting access to a private Instagram account @ChipotleAfterParty. The event will feature 10,000 free entree code giveaways, new product drops, a special Instagram and Snapchat Lens that will let attendees take a photo with David Dobrik, and the chance to chat with David on Instagram Live. Chipotle is looking to bring joy and normalcy to students who are missing out on exciting milestones in their school experience. Students attending the afterparty event will have the opportunity to enter for a chance to win a $25,000 scholarship from Chipotle by following @ChipotleAfterParty on Instagram and tuning in to David Dobrik's Instagram Live where the winner will be announced. "Our high school fans keep our brand energized with their passion for Chipotle's real food," said Chris Brandt, Chief Marketing Officer. "It's amazing to see students' optimism throughout this time, and we're excited for them to reconnect with friends and make special memories on virtual prom night." To help prom-goers all over the country create their own looks, Chipotle is collaborating with e.l.f. Cosmetics to develop the ultimate burrito-inspired cosmetic set. The set features a collection of new e.l.f. products that represent iconic Chipotle ingredients and packaging that includes: Liquid Glitter Silver for burrito foil; Primer-Infused Blush in Always Spicy for guac; Lip Exfoliator Brown Sugar for brown rice; and Putty Primer Matte for sour cream. One hundred e.l.f. sets will be available for purchase from the Chipotle Afterparty Instagram page and www.elfcosmetics.com on May 14. Additionally, as part of their sponsorship of the Teen Vogue Virtual Prom, Chipotle is teaming up with notable DIY creator Sophie Parker (@wifenyc) to show teens how to create corsages and boutonnieres for their big night. Using Chipotle's famed burrito foil, Sophie will demonstrate how to complete your prom night look with an around the wrist or pinned accessory. The DIY demo will launch on Teen Vogue's Instagram Stories leading up to the event. No purchase necessary to enter Chipotle Afterparty Scholarship Sweepstakes. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and District of Columbia who are 16 years old or older (minors must have parental consent). Sweepstakes begins on 5/7/2020 at 12:01 am PT and ends on 5/14/2020 at 11:59 pm PT. See Official Rules at www.chipotle.com/afterparty for how to enter, additional eligibility restrictions, prize descriptions/restrictions and complete details. Many will enter, only one (1) grand prize is available. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. Limit (1) entry per person. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: CMG Strategy Co., LLC, 610 Newport Center Drive, Suite 1400, Newport Beach, California, 92660. ABOUT CHIPOTLE Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is cultivating a better world by serving responsibly sourced, classically-cooked, real food with wholesome ingredients without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Chipotle had over 2,600 restaurants as of March 31, 2020, in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany and is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants. With more than 85,000 employees passionate about providing a great guest experience, Chipotle is a longtime leader and innovator in the food industry. Chipotle is committed to making its food more accessible to everyone while continuing to be a brand with a demonstrated purpose as it leads the way in digital, technology and sustainable business practices. Steve Ells, founder and former executive chairman, first opened Chipotle with a single restaurant in Denver, Colorado in 1993. For more information or to place an order online, visit WWW.CHIPOTLE.COM. SOURCE Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Related Links https://www.chipotle.com/ Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has raised concerns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over certain protocols for repatriation of Indians from abroad such as the requirement of a COVID-19-free certificate and charging the expatriates, especially the blue collar workers, for the return journey. In a letter to the prime minister, Tharoor expressed appreciation for the central government for "finally deciding to address the plight" of stranded 'pravasis' by commencing the process of repatriation from May 7 onwards. Tharoor raised several concerns such as the difficulties faced by Indian citizens in submitting COVID-19 test results. The Civil Aviation Minister had said on Tuesday that Air India will operate 64 flights from May 7 to May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals stranded abroad amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown. "A key consideration that a number of our expatriates have already expressed strong concern over is that of the mandatory submission of COVID-19 RT PCR Test results prior to their departure back to India," he said in the letter also marked to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. "While one is not disputing the merits of this requirement, the practical and logistical challenge of securing such certification should not be overlooked," Tharoor said, highlighting issues such as limited testing facilities in the countries the expatriates are currently based in, transport-related challenges of travelling to a public healthcare facility to undertake this test, as well as the financial constraints. "I would urge our government to look at a number of potential remedies such as transporting testing kits to these countries on our aircraft, along with a small but qualified team of medical professionals that can help with the testing of our citizens," he said. The utility of such certificates is in any case limited by the fact that many carriers may be asymptomatic, he said, adding that the obvious solution, of quarantining them on arrival in India, should suffice. Tharoor also raised the issue of charging expatriates for their return back to India Some news reports have suggested that an individual based in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, would have to pay between Rs 30-40,000 to return back to the country, Tharoor said. While the commercial charges have not yet been released, there is a strong case for the government to reconsider its position, especially for blue-collar workers, those who have been laid off and are currently without employment and those with limited financial resources, the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said. He urged the government to strongly reconsider the existing decision and come up with a suitable alternative, particularly catering to the more financially vulnerable expatriates. "To this end, the government could explore allocating funds from the PM-CARES corpus, the Indian Community Welfare Fund maintained by our Embassies in these countries or work out a suitable formula for cost-sharing with state governments," he said. Tharoor also called for re-thinking existing definitions for individuals meriting priority evacuations. He said there was a need to include those with mental and physical disabilities on the priority list, along with one caregiver. Tharoor said it was important to address certain fundamental concerns so that these operations can ensure that Indian expatriates are brought back to their country in a "humane, considerate and sustainable manner". Govt's civil aviation ministry website crashed on Wednesday as panicked Indian citizens abroad rushed to register for the Vande Bharat flights , which aims to repatriate almost 15,000 nationals from 12 countries on planes and naval ships. India has banned all incoming international flights since 24 March, leaving hundreds of thousands of workers and students stranded abroad. Under the first phase of the mass effort announced on Tuesday, two ships were heading towards the Maldives to repatriate some 1,000 Indian citizens while another was headed for the Gulf. The first of 64 flights over the first week was due to leave the United Arab Emirates -- home to more than three million Indians -- on Thursday. A flight from Qatar for the southern state of Kerala originally scheduled for Thursday was postponed to Saturday due to screening issues with the crew members. In total 26 flights will bring Indians home from the Gulf region, while others will operate from Southeast Asia, Britain and the United States. Civil aviation minister Hardeep Puri said that 200,000 Indians abroad had registered for repatriation and that the final number could be twice that. His ministry blamed the crashing of its website on "unprecedented traffic" and urged people to check the website of Air India, which is operating the flights, for details. With inputs from AFP Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!! Topics WASHINGTON - A unanimous Supreme Court on Thursday threw out the convictions of two political insiders involved in the Bridgegate scandal that ultimately derailed the 2016 president bid of their ally, then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 7/5/2020 (621 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. FILE - This combination of March 29, 2017 file photos shows Bridget Kelly, left, and Bill Baroni leaving federal court after sentencing in Newark, N.J. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday on whether to throw out the convictions of the two former aides to former Republican Gov. Chris Christie in New Jersey's 'Bridgegate' case. Baroni and Kelly have argued their actions may have unethical but weren't criminal. The court's decision, expected this spring, could have a far-reaching impact on how public corruption investigations are handled. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File) WASHINGTON - A unanimous Supreme Court on Thursday threw out the convictions of two political insiders involved in the Bridgegate scandal that ultimately derailed the 2016 president bid of their ally, then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. The justices said there was evidence of deception, corruption, and abuse of power in the political payback saga that involved four days of traffic jams on the world's busiest motor-vehicle bridge, the George Washington Bridge spanning the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey. But not every corrupt act by state or local officials is a federal crime, Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the court. In the end, the justices concluded that the government had overreached in prosecuting Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni for their roles in the scheme. Kelly was a deputy chief of staff to Christie. Baroni was a top Christie appointee to the Port Authority, the bridges operator. The courts decision to side with Kelly and Baroni continues a pattern from recent years of restricting the governments ability to use broad federal laws to prosecute public corruption cases. In 2016, the court overturned the bribery conviction of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. In 2010, the court sharply curbed prosecutors use of an anti-fraud law in the case of ex-Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling. Kagan wrote for the court that Kelly and Baroni had acted for no reason other than political payback. In devising the traffic jam, they were seeking to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey, Mark Sokolich, after he declined to support the reelection bid of Christie, the GOP governor. FILE - This combination of March 29, 2017 file photos shows Bridget Kelly, left, and Bill Baroni leaving federal court after sentencing in Newark, N.J. The Supreme Court has thrown out the convictions of the two political insiders involved in New Jersey's "Bridgegate" scandal. The court says in a unanimous decision that the government had overreached in prosecuting Kelly and Baroni for their roles in a political payback scheme that created a massive traffic jam to punish a New Jersey mayor who refused to endorse the reelection of then-Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File) To create chaos, on the traffic-heavy first day of school in 2013, Kelly and Baroni schemed to reduce from three to one the number of dedicated lanes onto the bridge from Fort Lee. They created a traffic study as a cover story for their actions. Kagan said that Kelly and Baroni jeopardized the safety of the towns residents," and she repeated some of their gleeful plotting in the decision. At one point, Kelly wrote what Kagan called an admirably concise email about the plan. It read: Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee. Later, after the traffic snarls began, Kelly wrote in a text, Is it wrong that I am smiling? Kagan noted that they then merrily kept the lane realignment in place for another three days. "But not every corrupt act by state or local officials is a federal crime. Because the scheme here did not aim to obtain money or property, Baroni and Kelly could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws, wrote Kagan. She grew up in New York City and is one of four justices who grew up in New York or New Jersey. Christie, in a statement following the high courts ruling, called the prosecutions of his former allies a political crusade against his administration, and lashed out at prosecutors and the Justice Department under President Barack Obama, a Democrat. As many contended from the beginning, and as the Court confirmed today, no federal crimes were ever committed in this matter by anyone in my Administration. It is good for all involved that today justice has finally been done, Christie wrote. Christie denied knowing about the plan for gridlock ahead of time or as it was unfolding, but trial testimony contradicted his account and the scandal helped derail his presidential bid. On Thursday, he wrote that the prosecutions cost the taxpayers millions in legal fees and changed the course of history. President Donald Trump, who emerged from a crowded GOP field in 2016 to become the White House nominee, tweeted his congratulations to Christie after the ruling. The president called the decision a complete and total exoneration and said there was grave misconduct by the Obama Justice Department! Yet as a candidate, Trump had attacked Christie by saying the governor totally knew about the lane closings before they happened. Christie endorsed Trump when he left the race. Nothing in Kagan's opinion suggested there was any misconduct by prosecutors. The U.S. attorney's office in New Jersey, which prosecuted Kelly and Baroni, said in a statement that the court's decision speaks for itself, and we are bound by that decision." Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Former U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman, who oversaw the prosecutions, said in a statement he was disappointed with the ruling. Christie may try to rewrite his legacy - and he may want to rewrite history but the fact remains that the deception, corruption, and abuse of power was committed ... by his team on his watch. In a statement, Kelly said the justices' decision gave me back my name and began to reverse the six-and-a-half-year nightmare that has become my life. Kelly did not ultimately serve any prison time but had been weeks from beginning a 13-month sentence when the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. Baroni served about three months of an 18-month sentence before he was released after the high court agreed to weigh in. "I have always said I was an innocent and today, the Supreme Court unanimously agreed," he wrote in a statement. ___ Associated Press reporters Dave Porter in New York City and Mike Catalini in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report. Police in India's capital rushed to the scene of a suspected bank robbery near the country's presidential palace - only to discover it was a bit of monkey business. Officers in New Delhi were called to a State Bank of India ATM that is a ten-minute walk from the palace on Wednesday after the front of the machine was pulled off. Suspecting an attempted robbery, the cops reviewed CCTV footage - only to discover that the culprit was actually a curious primate. Police called to the scene of a suspected ATM robbery near India's presidential palace in New Delhi discovered the machine had actually been attacked by a monkey (left) Video shows the monkey - believed to be a Rhesus Macaque, which are native to the city - climbing up the front of the machine and tugging at the top of it. The machine then falls open, before the inquisitive animal jumps up and begins to explore its inner workings. The monkey can be seen pulling off a piece of plastic and sniffing at it, before bouncing up and down several times on the opened lid. After getting bored it drops down to the floor and wanders away. It is not clear how the monkey managed to get to the ATM - which is behind a glass door with a handle - or how it escaped again afterwards. CCTV revealed how the primate scaled the machine and then pulled the front covering away from the wall, before investigating its inner workings After finding no food inside, the monkey soon got bored and wandered away - leaving bank staff to discover its handiwork later A source said: 'A banker who arrived at the kiosk found it broken and raised an alarm suspecting it to be a case of robbery. 'The CCTV footage was examined later which unearthed the mischief of the primate.' There are thought to be between 4,000 and 5,000 Rhesus Macaques living in New Delhi, where they have a reputation for causing chaos. The monkeys are frequently spotted stealing food, snapping power lines, and have even been involved in attacks on passersby. While prices have risen sharply since April as some countries started easing lockdowns put in place to combat worst pandemic in a century Oil prices rose on Thursday after U.S. inventories swelled less than expected. (AFP Photo) TOKYO: Oil prices rose on Thursday after U.S. inventories swelled less than expected, but market watchers predicted further gains could be capped by the ongoing glut in crude supplies as the coronavirus pandemic crushes fuel demand. Brent crude was up by 12 cents, or 0.4%, to $29.84 a barrel 0044 GMT, after falling earlier in the Asian session and dropping 4% on Wednesday. U.S. oil gained 19 cents, or 0.8%, to 24.18 a barrel, after declining more than 2% in the previous session. The latest report (on U.S. inventories) added to tentative evidence that after a catastrophic few weeks the pressure on the U.S. oil market is beginning to lessen, Capital Economics said in a note. That said, we wouldnt rule out more turbulence in the coming weeks. While prices have risen sharply since late April as some countries have started easing lockdowns put in place to combat the worst pandemic in a century, oil continues to be pumped into storage, leaving a massive mismatch between demand and supply. U.S. crude inventories were up for a 15th straight week last week, rising by 4.6 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. That was less than analysts had forecast in a Reuters poll, which suggested a 7.8 million-barrel rise, but the gain highlighted once again how much supply is being stored. Distillate inventories also rose sharply. Gasoline stocks, however, fell for a second week as some U.S. states eased lockdowns that had sharply hit traffic. We all need to be thinking about the long game, and having these parties when we need people to continue to stay at home is just silly. Whats it going to mean? Its going to mean we are never getting out of this," Lightfoot said on the West Side. "Your actions are going to make a difference between whether or not we get out sooner or later, whether or not we have a summer or we do not. Its absolutely essential that we stay the course and people stay home. The Covid-19 situation in New Zealand at present is at a crossroads: the number of new cases is approaching zero, but is not quite zero. The small business sector is severely financially stretched after more than a month of closure, and hence no income due to the national lockdown at Levels 3 and 4. The Government financial support is very helpful but is at the margin of survival. My own family has a business, which is in that precarious position. Many are now asking should New Zealand, which seems to be at the international forefront of Covid-19 recovery, simply get back to work? The reason for the NZ Governments caution in responding to that question lies in the possibility of a second wave of Covid-19 infection and the associated possibility of another period of deep lockdown with massive economic damage. Actually, this caution is also evident in the response of leaders in other countries seeking to recover from Covid-19, including the Prime Minister of the UK and even the President of the USA. History, including the catastrophic global 1918 flu pandemic, tells us that second wave re-infections are usually more fatal and more extensive than first waves. Where have second waves appeared in 2020 and where are they expected to occur? The widely respected Dr Fauci the Covid-19 spokesperson for the US administration has stated that second waves are almost inevitable in the US and are likely to coincide with the usual flu season, thereby overloading the hospital system even further. There are a number of zones in the US, including Las Vegas and the state of Georgia, which have prematurely opened their economies and which are regarded as being at high risk of a second wave by the health authorities and even by President Trump. Singapore has recently experienced a second wave, attributed to overseas workers returning and living in crowded apartments. Overcrowding could also affect Auckland, as this has been a serious issue in some communities for many years. Hokkaido, the northern island province of Japan (similar in many ways to New Zealand, including the size of its population), has had a second wave infection appear after establishing good control during the first wave. China, including Wuhan where Covid-19 was first detected, is carefully monitoring the possibility of a second wave given the potential economic impact of re-infection. What causes pandemic second waves? There are several factors including, firstly, small seed pockets of asymptomatic individuals who have not yet been identified by testing and who become transmitters and initiators of the second wave. Secondly, despite closure of borders, there are the occasional positive cases returning home to New Zealand from overseas, who are not adequately quarantined. Thirdly, the level of Covid-19 immunity amongst the broader New Zealand community remains unclear at present. The wider community will have no prior immunity against this new global virus. Also, even those who have recovered from first wave Covid-19 may or may not have full immunity. Second wave mortalities are likely to be prevalent among vulnerable cohorts, including older people over 65 and those with respiratory pre-conditions. A recent concern relates to young children, who were originally thought to be at lower risk, but now appear to be vulnerable to Covid-19 related infections, according to sources in the UK. The need for social distancing is, therefore, more important than ever during this period of uncertainty. Recent research on the dispersal of aerosols (tiny, very light droplets of mucus) incorporating Covid-19 virus has shown that the two-metre separation rule may be a minimum precautionary distance and more vigorous sneezing and coughing is likely to spread the virus containing aerosols much further than two metres. Also, slight breezes or winds are capable of spreading the virus in many directions not just in a forward direction. New Zealand needs to become more aware of the statistics of Covid-19 infections overseas. The Worldometer Covid-19 matrix is a very good place to start. The Covid-19 virus is essentially the same the world over. The virus in New Zealand is the same as the virus currently causing chaos in New York, London and in the European Union. It is an open secret in Washington that the United States Postal Service needs reform. But recent calls for government-mandated price hikes should not be one of them. Like any business facing market headwinds and unsustainable losses, the Postal Service must adapt. The venerable USPS has been losing market share to competitors like UPS and FedEx for years. The advent of the Internet has gutted postage revenues from snail mail since the 1990s. Online advertising has dramatically reduced printed catalog deliveries. And market forecasters see rising costs and tens of billions of dollars in deficits looming on the horizon. One short-sighted approach is to mandate that the Post Office dramatically increase its fees for parcel delivery. Not only will this not work, it could leave rural and exurban residents in the lurch at the very time when more and more Americans are relying on online shopping services. Instead, the USPS needs to pursue long-overdue structural reforms, cost cutting, consolidation, and streamlining to make the Postal Service more efficient. Heres the truth: competitive markets require firms to both retain their current customers and attract new onesnot repel them. Price increases will only cause existing shipping customers to take their business elsewhere and that will hit consumers in their wallets. Plus, fewer customers will mean fewer revenues leading to a death spiral for the USPS. Instead Congress and the Postal Service leadership should work together to make mail service profitable by focusing on the reforms that will make it less costly to operate. An obvious place to begin is a look at labor costs for the roughly 500,000 postal workers. These employees represented by seven different labor unions comprise nearly 80% of the Postal Services operating costsa far greater percentage than its competitors. The Postal Service currently offers wage and benefit premiums above and beyond those received by private sector competitors and other federal employees. They are unaffordable and must be renegotiated along with the no layoff clauses in the collective bargaining agreements that severely restrict managements options and flexibility. The Postal Service should push aggressively to make its workforce more nimble and dynamic, reduce personnel costs, and make benefits more consistent with other federal agencies. That includes renegotiating health care coverage agreements for its retirees. All U.S. companies pre-fund pension benefits. But the USPS is the only one required to pre-fund retiree health care benefits. The Postal Service should be provided with the flexibility to modify health care benefits and budget accordingly. As part of a broader streamlining and consolidation effort, the Postal Service should also look to close redundant post offices and distribution centers, and find ways to expand partnerships with private sector carriers to enhance efficiency and reduce costs. Underused post offices and centers are not cost-effective and pull resources from more efficient operations. The Post Service should separate the proverbial wheat from the chaff. Balance sheets, of course, itemize costs and revenues, and even while it restructures and reduces costs, the Postal Service can look to boost revenues. Management should explore new revenue streams and identify competitive advantages. As a government service provider, for example, the Postal Service can introduce new government services at its retail locations to create a more convenient shopping experience and location for those services that UPS and FedEx cant. Calls from Washington to force the Postal Service to raise its parcel delivery rates artificially above market prices for Amazon and other online merchants should go unheeded. As online shopping continues its upward trend, the Postal Service should be looking to increase, not decrease its share of the parcel delivery market. Parcel delivery is perhaps the Postal Services most profitable component, accounting for only 5% its volume, but roughly 30% of its revenue. That leaves plenty of room for volume growth in a profitable sector. Economics 101 and the stubborn laws of supply-and-demand teach us that artificially raising delivery rates will have an opposite and adverse effect. Higher delivery rates will reduce consumer demand as cost-conscious customers simply give their shipping dollars to the private sector competition. Artificially high prices set by fiat rather than the market will shrink market-share, not increase it. And except for Americans who live in high-income dense metropolitan areas (which private shippers can support efficiently), price hikes for shipping will be hard on US household budgets. The Postal Service and those in Washington looking to improve it should work within the basic laws of economics, not against them. Overdue labor reforms, exploring synergies and efficiencies, and exploiting inherent market advantages are the keys to rebalancing the budget at the local post office. Federally mandated price hikes that scare customers into the waiting arms of the competition will only make success less likely. Photo credit: AIP Advances From Popular Mechanics A new plasma thruster could scale up to compete with traditional jet engines. The plasma is magnified by high-intensity microwaves and pressurized air. Researchers had to invent a way to measure the 1,000-degree-plus plasma instrument. Chinese scientists suggest theyre bringing space plasma thrusters down to Earth, with a new kind that performs as well in the atmosphere as others do in the vacuum of space. Using just air and electricity, researchers from the Institute of Technical Sciences at Wuhan University say theyve overcome longtime atmospheric issues like air friction and made a plasma thruster that can compete on the ground. In a new paper in American Institute of Physics Advances, the scientists describe how they built and tested their plasma thruster. We demonstrated that, given the same power consumption, its propulsion pressure is comparable to that of conventional airplane jet engines using fossil fuels, they say, which is an extraordinary claim. The plasma thrusters used in space are specially suited to the zero-G and very thin or nonexistent air. Even though such a plasma engine has a very small propulsion force, after months and years of constant acceleration, the spacecraft can ultimately reach a high speed, the researchers explain. So in the absence of friction in space, a tiny amount of power can increase in a linear way without limits, like a snowball rolling downhill that can eventually crush a house. Photo credit: AIP Advances Bringing plasma thrust into the atmosphere means contending with strict design limitations. The researchers cite an MIT development of an interim Tesla type plasma thruster thats more powerful than ones for space, but not quite enough for typical aircraft. Instead, these researchers have supercharged the thrust using high temperatures and the application of powerful microwaves. The homemade heat-resistant device used to measure propulsion pressure in the experiment. The device has a small hole at the top for inserting smaller steel beads in order to adjust the threshold weight, at which the ball starts to rattle due to the effect of the plasma jet. Story continues In this report, we consider a microwave air plasma jet thruster using high-temperature and high-pressure plasma generated by a 2.45 GHz microwave ionization chamber for injected pressurized air, the researchers say. A microwave oscillator called a gravitron sends microwaves down a tube that terminates with an igniter that heats the plasma. The tube intensifies the microwaves and the resulting plasma is held in a cohesive shape by the flow of fresh air. The small laboratory model scales up, the scientists say, to the equivalent of a commercial jet engineenough to theoretically compete with the fossil fuel technologies we use today. From the study: [U]sing a high-power microwave source or an array of multiple microwave sources in parallel operation, with materials resistant to high temperature and pressure, it is possible to construct a high-performance microwave air plasma jet thruster in the future to avoid carbon emissions and global warming that arise due to fossil fuel combustion. All this sounds amazing, right? So whats the catch? Well, the super hot plasma is so hot that it might melt anything that could contain it. In order to scale up a small laboratory model into a full-size electric plasma thruster, future researchers will need to run tests on materials and construction as well as the best ways to combine everything into the most powerful thrusters. To even test the thrust, the scientists had to make a new heat-resistant measuring setup using quartz and steel. So while this may be a milestone step, the realization of its white-hot potential is likely a decade or more away. You Might Also Like The Vatican has said internal migrants should have the same legal protections as refugees, and their children should have the right to birth certificates, education and being reunited with their parents if separated. The Vatican published a booklet of pastoral guidelines to care for internally displaced people - migrants who are forced to flee their homes because of conflict, natural disasters or persecution but don't cross international borders to seek asylum elsewhere. More than 40 million people are believed to be displaced within their own countries. Pope Francis has made the plight of refugees a hallmark of his papacy, calling for countries to welcome, protect, promote and integrate anyone who is forced to leave their home. The new guidelines apply to internal migrants and lay out ways the Catholic Church can help through advocacy, education, aid and spiritual assistance. The guidelines call for internal migrants to receive the same UN-sanctioned humanitarian protection as refugees, noting that the same forces, dangers and vulnerabilities are at play. To avoid new generations of stateless children, the guidelines also call for the Church to press governments to issue birth certificates for children of internal migrants, and say the Church itself can step in to issue its own forms of identification via school documents or baptismal certificates for Catholics. Amaya Valcarcel, international co-ordinator for the Jesuit Refugee Service, said the key problem about internally displaced people is their "invisibility", and that aid groups often have difficulty reaching them because of government restrictions on access inside their own borders. In the ongoing battle against the novel coronavirus, President Donald Trump, who dubbed himself a "wartime president," says he has largely been focused on fighting the deadly outbreak sweeping across the United States. But the urgent need to stop the "invisible enemy," as Trump calls it, doesn't mean the president has forgotten about his more visible foes. That much was evident this week when Trump appeared to find time between handling the health crisis and attacking his political adversaries to go after late-night hosts. During an Oval Office sit-down with the New York Post Monday, Trump called Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert "nasty" and have "no talent." He then continued his onslaught on Tuesday, firing off a tweet attacking Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel over their ratings. Kimmel and Colbert, two of Trump's most vocal critics, wasted no time hitting back at the president. "Happy Cinco de Mayo Mr. President! Thanks for the shout-out now get back to work royally (messing) everything up," Kimmel tweeted Tuesday. "It's nice to know that Trump is staying laser-focused on the ball during a crisis," Colbert quipped on his CBS show that night. With the coronavirus continuing to spread in the U.S., late-night comics have emerged as some of the loudest voices attacking Trump and his administration's response. On Monday, when the New York Post's interview turned to the subject of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, Trump didn't hesitate to air his grievances against the outspoken hosts. First, the president laid into Meyers, calling the NBC host "'marble mouth,' because he can't speak properly." Meyers, who hosted the dinner in 2011, infamously cracked numerous jokes about Trump at the event. "Seth Meyers, he was nasty," Trump said. "The guy's got no talent whatsoever. Zero. How do these guys get jobs?" Trump went on to name-drop Colbert, calling him talentless, adding, "There's nothing funny about him, nothing funny." "You look at some of these people and you say, 'How do they get a job?'" Trump said. "They are just so average." While Meyers has yet to respond, Trump's remarks provided fodder for Colbert. After reading an excerpt from the interview out loud, Colbert said Trump's rhetoric reminded him of another wartime president: Franklin Roosevelt. The host then played an edited video of the former U.S. leader speaking to the nation after Japanese forces bombed Pearl Harbor. "December 7, 1941, a date that will live in infamy because Groucho Marx is a no-talent hack," a voice-over said. "I'm a Three Stooges man." Colbert also sought to answer Trump's question about how he and Meyers have managed to stay employed. "I can't speak for Seth. He's very talented," Colbert said. "But I am an idiot. The only reason I have this job is because I married the daughter of Donald CBS and for some reason, he keeps putting me in charge of everything." Meanwhile, Kimmel zeroed in on Trump's tweet that mocked late-night hosts for their shows' ratings. "Wow! Congratulations to Greg Gutfeld, a one time Trump Hater who has come all the way home," Trump tweeted, referring to the Fox News host. The tweet came while Trump was en route to Phoenix where he toured a mask-making facility on one of his first trips outside Washington since late March. "His Ratings easily beat no talent Stephen Colbert, nice guy Jimmy Fallon, and wacko 'last placer' Jimmy Kimmel," Trump wrote of Gutfeld, who hosts an eponymous weekly late-night show that airs on Saturdays. In April, "The Greg Gutfeld Show" had an average of 2.86 million viewers, a record high for the program, the Hill reported. In comparison, Colbert's show averaged 2.78 million viewers last month, according to the Hill. NBC's "Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" came in at 2.09 million viewers followed by "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" at 2 million. But as Vanity Fair reported Tuesday, Gutfeld's Saturday show doesn't directly compete with the other late-night hosts mentioned by Trump. That didn't stop Kimmel from clapping back at Trump. "Wacko last?" Kimmel repeated indignantly Tuesday night after reading Trump's tweet on-air. "I hope he wasn't talking about me." Kimmel suggested the tweet may have been "another typo situation." "I think what he meant to tweet was, 'I am completely devastated by the loss of life caused by this insidious virus,'" the host said. "'My thoughts are with the families of those who have passed. I pledge to spend every waking moment working to make sure our medical workers have the support they need and every American has access to tests. P.S. Congrats to Greg Gutfeld.'" President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday chaired a meeting to discuss a gradual withdrawal from lockdown as Russia registered the worlds sixth highest total number of coronavirus cases. Russia recorded more than 10,000 new cases for the fourth day in a row, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 165,929, with 1,537 deaths. Russia has emerged as a new hotspot for the virus and in recent days has been recording the highest number of new infections in Europe. The increase in the total number of cases took Russia to fifth place in Europe, behind Spain, Italy, Britain and France, and sixth in the world, as the United States leads the global tally. Since the start of the crisis, Putins approval rating has dropped to a historic low, according to independent pollster Levada, which said Wednesday it fell to 59 percent in April from 63 percent in March. Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova became the latest top official to test positive for coronavirus, after Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and his construction minister were hospitalised with the infection. Speaking at a government meeting, Putin told regional governors to develop plans to gradually lift lockdown restrictions but cautioned against acting too hastily to avoid a new wave of infections. We should not run ahead of ourselves, Putin said, adding that in some regions restrictive measures should remain in place and even be tightened. The price of even the smallest mistake is the safety, lives and health of our people, he said. We should be moving forward gradually. Putin said Mishustin had a slight temperature but was recovering and they were in daily contact. A non-working quarantine period is in place in Russia until May 11. Important for economy Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said stay-at-home restrictions would remain in place beyond this deadline but companies involved in industry and construction would be allowed to return to work. This is important for the economy of the city and very important for the economy of the country, said Sobyanin. Moscow has emerged as the epicentre of the pandemic in Russia with 85,973 cases and 866 deaths. Sobyanin said the number of seriously ill patients in the city has stayed largely stable over the past two weeks while the total number of cases is higher because of wider testing. The number of infections in Russia has been rising by more than 10,000 a day since Sunday, in contrast to countries in western Europe that are taking steps to ease lockdown measures. Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said some 80,000 people are currently hospitalised and more than 1,000 are on ventilators. Despite the sharp rise, Russias fatality rate has remained low in comparison to countries with similar levels of infections. Officials credit quick moves to close the countrys borders, as well as widespread testing and tracking of infections, but critics have cast doubt on the numbers. The government has announced a number of measures to buttress the economy but has been accused of not doing enough to support ordinary Russians in the face of what is likely to be a long economic downturn. Temporary hospitals Some economists have said Moscow should be tapping its national wealth fund which has accumulated some $150 billion to provide more support. But Finance Minister Anton Siluanov was quoted in business daily Vedomosti as saying the government does not want to spend too much of the fund. It would not be right to max it out in two years, Siluanov said. Moscow authorities have imposed strict lockdown measures, with residents allowed out only for brief trips to a shop, to walk dogs or to travel to essential jobs with a permit. The government said there was no shortage of hospital beds but Moscow authorities are still preparing to set up temporary field hospitals around the city of more than 12 million people. Some medical workers have complained of shortages of protective gear and said medics are dying at a higher rate in Russia than elsewhere. An unofficial list of deaths among medics started by a group of Russian doctors listed 111 names as of Wednesday, including some from neighbouring Belarus. SOURCE: AFP When local Texas officials began restricting public life to slow the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Greg Abbott lauded their early response to the developing crisis. By the time he ordered all Texans to stay home except for essential activities March 31, all the states major counties already had adopted similar measures. Now, as he implements his plan to reopen the Texas economy in phases, Abbott is overriding county judges who favor tighter restrictions, which they say forces them to adjust on the fly. Harris County, for instance, rewrote its own stay-at-home order Friday to accommodate Abbotts plan, only to have the governor supersede it again Tuesday. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins has urged residents to make good personal responsibility decisions after the governor constrained his ability to keep restaurants and other businesses closed. And in Bexar County, officials are still requiring people to cover their faces in public but were forced to remove the associated penalties under Abbotts new guidance. The governors critics say he was happy to delegate control to local officials in the nascent stages of the coronavirus crisis when mayors and county judges took political heat for shutting down major parts of the economy before reopening certain businesses against the wishes of many local leaders. I just think were better off when you follow the science, and if Gov. Abbott is following the science and medical experts when making those decisions, its different from what Im hearing from the ones that Ive talked to, said Democratic Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis. The sometimes-conflicting orders can create confusion. Dr. Umair Shah, Harris Countys health director, said he worries directives from different levels of government may overwhelm residents and business owners, who may choose instead to tune out. All of the sudden, if federal, state and local (rules) are different, people think maybe this isnt such a big deal, and I can do out without taking any of these precautions, Shah said. Thats the concern. In the days since Abbotts move to lift stay-home restrictions, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and other mostly Democratic local officials have said it is premature to do so before testing and contact tracing capacity ramps up. Health experts, including Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, have said states risk inflaming the pandemic if they reopen now. Despite a rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths in Texas last week, Abbott has expressed optimism in the falling rate of Texans who test positive for the disease, while attributing the rise in cases to increased testing capacity. Hospitals generally have maintained ample levels of bed capacity, though the usage of intensive care unit beds in Harris County has increased in recent days. A spokesman for the governor did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. State vs. local Abbotts approach allowed him to reap the benefits of measures enacted in Texas largest counties without drawing the ire of Republicans accusing him of engaging in government overreach or exaggerating the severity of the crisis, said Rice University political science Professor Mark Jones. If he implicitly likes what theyre doing or believes he benefits from it, he can let them do it, Jones said of local leaders. And if he believes that it doesnt benefit him, he can tell them not to. Thats the advantage of being governor in a unitary state like Texas where the state government calls the shots. Abbott has wielded that power repeatedly in recent years, working with the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature to curb and sometimes strip local governments power in numerous areas, including the regulation of fracking and ride-hailing companies, bans on plastic bags and red-light cameras, even the enactment of tree cutting ordinances. His actions during the pandemic have been similarly undermining to local leaders. Houston-area leaders began to implement restrictions two months ago, beginning with the closure of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on March 11. On March 17, the day Hidalgo and Turner closed bars and restricted restaurants to takeout and delivery, Abbott praised the very swift and very effective standards local governments had implemented to blunt the spread of coronavirus. A week later, the states largest counties issued sweeping stay-at-home orders that closed most businesses. Abbott followed a week later with similar rules for the entire state through April 30. As weeks passed and unemployment claims soared, however, state and local leaders began to feel pressure to reopen the economy. Republican officials intensified calls for Abbott to let businesses reopen, while doctors predicted the virus would peak around the end of April, a potentially disastrous time to ease restrictions. Local leaders mulled whether to extend their own stay-at-home orders; Dallas County, where the county judge feuded with Abbott over a temporary field hospital, extended its rules until May 15. Hidalgo ordered Harris County residents to cover their faces in public, with violations punished by fines up to $1,000. Diplomatic approach Abbott, however, announced he would reopen most businesses statewide on May 1, including restaurants, retail stores, malls and movie theaters, with restrictions. Acknowledging the virus has affected urban and rural areas differently, the governor allowed businesses in counties with five or fewer cases of COVID-19 to reopen at 50 percent capacity, double the ceiling elsewhere. He also stripped the ability of local officials to fine anyone for failing to wear a mask. Hidalgo on Friday issued an amended stay-at-home order to keep businesses not reopened by Abbott including gyms, nail salons and barbers closed through May 20. Abbott on Tuesday, however, said those businesses could begin reopening this Friday. Hidalgo has taken a diplomatic approach to dealing with Abbott, lauding her relationship with the governor during the pandemic even as she may disagree with his actions. I dont know if it was a good decision to open things up, she said Tuesday. What Im most concerned about is making sure that in two to three weeks when we see hospital admissions commensurate with the contacts people have had this week, that all of us, at all levels of government, are ready to adjust accordingly. Other local officials have expressed similar concerns, including San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who said Abbott had moved too quickly to allow businesses to reopen last week. This is a risk that we dont need to take in an uninformed manner, he told the San Antonio Express-News editorial board. Nirenberg said businesses should reopen only after a sustained decline in cases and an increase in testing and contact tracing capacity. He and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff also criticized Abbott for removing local governments power to enforce penalties for people who do not cover their faces in public, with Wolff calling it the worst decision in Abbotts order, though he agreed with letting some businesses open. For others, the easing of restrictions could not come soon enough. In conservative Montgomery County, County Judge Mark Keough terminated his stay-at-home order two weeks early. He also interpreted Abbotts reopening plan to allow businesses like salons and gyms to remain open; Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened and said they must remain closed for now. jasper.scherer@chron.com zach.despart@chron.com For over a month now, nearly anyone who can lift a fork has asked what the new normal in American agriculture will be after COVID-19 loosens its terrible grip. Six weeks later, we now have a pretty good idea that ags new normal will look like ags old normal even if it takes a Presidential Executive Order to ensure it. That should give everyone farmers, ranchers, and eaters deep concern. If no food supply chain is strong enough to withstand COVID-19 now, what will happen when climate change hammers farms and ranches in the next decade or two or, God forbid, a war or another pandemic strikes sooner? Most vulnerable A quick look at one of the most vulnerable chains, pork, spotlights its weakest links and shows how it can be shortened and backstopped by more local production. According to Successful Farming (SF) magazines late 2019 Pork Powerhouses, 40 national and international companies now own 4,290,700 sows, or mama hogs, in the U.S. Those 40 operations, in fact, own two out of every three sows in America today, reported SF. Equally remarkable, if each of those sows, on average, delivers 25 baby pigs this year (intensely managed sows will farrow 30-plus piglets per year), these 40 powerhouses will produce and control 107.5 million hogs. That, too, is roughly two-thirds of the 150 million or so hogs that will be born, raised and slaughtered in the U.S. this year. Interestingly, the other one-third of the hogs the Fab 40 dont have a direct hand in nearly equals the amount of pork exported by the U.S. to the rest of the world. That effectively means the entire domestic pork market is controlled by 40 companies, 15 of which are either owned outright or integrated with a global meatpacker. It also means that when American taxpayers give their money to livestock farmers during this ongoing pandemic, most will go to a handful of industrial meatpackers who, in fact, are todays hog farmers. But thats not the only price Americans will pay. Last week, our highly efficient, industrialized system snapped after the virus landed in its workplace. The collapse was so concerning the White House stepped in with its muscle and our money. Again. It was all so predictable. Saw it coming Just ask Mike Callicrate, a Kansas rancher who raises, slaughters, packages and sells his own beef and other farmers local lamb, poultry, pork and cheese through Ranch Foods Direct, his company. He foresaw the rise of industrial meatpackers and predicted the nation would pay for its growing, reckless devotion to cheap, unhealthy industrial food. Hes also spent the last 40 years fighting meatpackers rising market power. As a result, he has the battle scars and dwindling bank account to prove it. But those battles convinced Callicrate that government should be far more proactive in underwriting the rebirth of local agriculture and not reactive in sweeping up the pieces of our increasingly broken food system. Buy local If our nation really wants to protect our farmers, ranchers and food workers while making sure we feed every American, Callicrate says in an April 28 telephone interview, Congress should write a law that requires all government agencies to buy their food locally. Local ranchers, local farmers, local meatpackers, local markets, local restaurants. Callicrate estimates those purchases by schools, hospitals, the military, federal and local food assistance programs, and other public agencies could total as much as 20% of domestic production. But that small share would mean everything to local economies good jobs with good benefits; new investments in local meatpackers, wholesalers, and retailers; better housing; better tax bases; better schools; better food; better everything. The cost? We still dont know what this pandemic will cost, but we do know its trillions, says the rancher. The next one will cost us even more maybe everything and theres no fixing anything after that. Prosecutor Brandon Van Grack on Thursday submitted a request to withdraw from the team prosecuting former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Lawyers for Flynn on April 24 claimed that Van Grack had made a side deal with Flynns former defense team not to prosecute Flynns son in order to pressure Flynn into pleading guilty to lying to FBI investigators. Van Gracks request comes after Flynn, who initially pleaded guilty in 2017, attempted to rescind his plea in January. Notes from FBI agents released by the Justice Department in late April showed one agent questioning whether the purpose of interviews with Flynn was to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired. House Judiciary Committee Republicans on Tuesday demanded that FBI Director Christopher Wray make top officials connected with the Flynn case available to questioning by lawmakers. The American people continue to learn troubling details about the politicization and misconduct at the highest levels of the FBI during the Obama-Biden Administration, Representatives Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) and Mike Johnson (R., La.) wrote in a joint letter. Even more concerning, we continue to learn these new details from litigation and investigations not from you. It is well past time that you show the leadership necessary to bring the FBI past the abuses of the Obama-Biden era. Flynn was originally prosecuted over conversations with Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak, with the FBI claiming the adviser potentially violated the Logan Act of 1799, a law that has never been used to convict someone. More from National Review The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt By Sruthi Shankar and Ambar Warrick (Reuters) - European shares ended slightly lower on Wednesday as a chilling GDP forecast undercut optimism about a swift economic recovery, even as several countries began easing coronavirus-related curbs. The pan-European STOXX 600 index <.STOXX> ended down 0.4%, having stuck to a tight range as the European Commission forecast the euro zone economy would contract by a record 7.7% this year. Adding to pressure were concerns over future asset purchase programmes by the European Central Bank after a ruling by Germany's highest court on Tuesday gave the ECB three months to justify its stimulus schemes. "We suspect that trust in the ECBs ability to forcefully fight the current crisis and to keep euro zone sovereign debt sustainable over the coming years might have suffered," Reinhard Cluse, chief European economist at UBS wrote in a note. "We also see a risk that the ECBs Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) might be challenged in the German Constitutional Court." Energy stocks <.SXEP> were the worst performers of the day, ending 3% lower after marking their biggest one-day gain in more than a month on Tuesday. Swedish oil firm Lundin Energy led sector losses after Norwegian rival Equinor offered to sell its 4.88% stake in the firm. Norwegian oil firm Aker BP also dropped after announcing a cut in its quarterly dividend payments by two-thirds due to the pandemic and the plunge in crude prices. While European shares have climbed from lows touched in March, the STOXX 600 has been largely rangebound over the past three weeks as investors look for tangible signs of the coronavirus pandemic slowing down. The threat of a renewed Sino-U.S. trade spat has also weighed on sentiment. Travel and leisure stocks <.SXTP> fell 1.8%, while bank stocks <.SX7P> shed more than 1.6%. UK-listed AstraZeneca jumped 3.8% after the U.S. FDA approved its diabetes drug as a treatment for heart failure. Story continues The broader healthcare sector <.SXDP> gained on the back of better-than-expected quarterly results from Denmark's Novo Nordisk and German dialysis specialist Fresenius Medical Care . Still, earnings for companies listed on the STOXX 600 index are expected to drop by 30.6% in the first quarter and a sharper 44.9% in the second quarter, according to Refinitiv data. In further signs of how the pandemic is causing economic damage, data showed orders for German industrial goods collapsed in March, while euro zone business activity plummeted in April. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Kirsten Donovan) UPDATE: The owner dropped plans to open the dining room a second day in a row after a health department warning. After seeing a major dip in revenue over the past month and a half, a Cullman restaurant owner reopened her dining room today in defiance of a statewide coronavirus health order. Dine-in customers returned to Rumors Deli, a longtime local eatery that serves sandwiches, soups and homemade desserts. Situated just off U.S. 278 on Fourth Street Southwest, Rumors first opened in Cullman nearly 20 years ago, in July 2000. And the owner says she plans to welcome customers to dine-in again on Thursday. Update: Alabama deli owner drops plan to defy state health order for a second day Annette Harris opened her dining room at Rumors Deli in Cullman, Ala. on Wednesday in defiance of a statewide coronavirus health order. Were live at the restaurant today to report on developments. Posted by al.com on Thursday, May 7, 2020 While police didnt order Annette Harris to close her dining room Wednesday, she recognizes thats likely to happen Thursday. She said shes willing to pay a $500 fine for violating Alabamas Safer-At-Home order, which still limits restaurants to drive-thru takeout, delivery and curbside service. Before Rumors reopen this morning, Cullman police Chief Kenny Culpepper warned Harris not to do so. The chief told the Cullman Tribune that his officers hadnt received any complaints about the restaurant as of this afternoon but would investigate if a complaint was filed. While some sheriffs and other leaders in Alabama have said they wont fine businesses or order them to shut down, Culpepper told the Tribune that his department will enforce the state health order. A person who answered the phone at the police department on Wednesday evening told AL.com the chief was gone for the day and unavailable for an interview. In an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, Alabama in mid-March issued an order closing restaurants dining rooms and many other businesses. Some businesses, including retail stores, were allowed to reopen on April 30, but restaurants were told to keep their dining rooms closed. Harris said her sales have fallen by 40-50 percent since the health order took effect. Because Rumors has a drive-thru, Harris said, theyve maintained more revenue than many other small businesses. We are hurting, Harris said of small business owners and employees. I just hope people will understand why Im doing this. These are our businesses. They dont belong to the government. As for concerns about the novel coronavirus, Harris said she recognizes the seriousness of the illness, which has infected more than 8,600 Alabamians and killed more than 300. I do care, she said. Im a good person. Thats why I say if you dont feel this is right for you, dont get out; stay home. She and her staff are taking precautions, like sanitizing common surfaces often, limiting the number of guests to less than half-capacity, placing tables at least six feet apart, removing condiments and menus from tables, and moving drink machines into the kitchen. During the delis four hours of operation today from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., about 30 people dined in, Harris said. Rumor's Deli ribbon cutting. She gave her employees the option of staying home but said all 10 chose to come to work. Harris said the workers have cloth, rewashable masks but arent required to wear them. Harris said she wants to be able to pay her bills and keep her employees working. The drive-thru and takeout services arent enough, she said. Its about taking my business back, she said. I waited as long as I can. Passengers at London Stansted, Manchester and East Midlands airports must cover their faces and wear gloves from today as part of new measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The three sites, owned by Manchester Airports Group (MAG), are the first in the UK to roll out such rules. While passengers are encouraged to bring their own masks and gloves, equipment will be provided for those arriving without in the early stages of the trial scheme. Passengers at London Stansted, pictured, Manchester and East Midlands airports must cover their faces and wear gloves from today Staff who face customers and operate the usual security processes will also be urged to wear the items. MAG says the move is designed so that those who have been flying on essential journeys during lockdown feel safer and more confident about travelling, while also providing more protection for workers. The guidelines also represent a first step towards showing show air travel can be safe when more passengers start travelling again, the company claims. Social distancing rules will initially remain in place at Stansted's terminal, with only a few passengers currently moving through its buildings, but when restrictions are lifted, bosses say masks and gloves may form an important part of making sure people stay safe among crowds. The airports are also considering asking anyone looking to fly to make a health declaration, but passengers will be told in advance if this rule will be enforced. Furthermore, Stansted and Manchester will introduce some temperature screening trials over the next few weeks, but initially this will just be to test equipment. Workers from Romania, pictured wearing face masks and gloves, arrive at London Stansted airport last month The results will not be given to passengers, nor will they be used to decide whether or not they can travel. Steve Griffiths, London Stansted's Chief Operating Officer, said: 'It's clear that social distancing will not work on any form of public transport. But we're confident that when the time is right, people will be able to travel safely. 'Here at London Stansted, we've been working hard with our two sister airports and the rest of the industry on a new safety framework for travel. We now need to work urgently with Government to agree how we operate in the future. 'This has to be a top priority so that people can be confident about flying, and to get tourism and travel going again. 'We have taken expert medical advice on how people can travel safely, and we're pleased to be piloting these new measures at our airports for those passengers who do still need to travel. 'We expect to be able to agree a new framework by the end of May that will support a restart of the industry as soon as possible.' MONTPELIER, Vt., May 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets has coordinated an effort to recover raw milk from being disposed while creating a new, temporary food supply for the Vermont Foodbank. In collaboration with the Vermont Community Foundation, $60,000 has been made available to purchase this milk for the benefit of Vermonters. These efforts are particularly important as Vermont's dairy industry, like all sectors, has been challenged by COVID-19 but remain essential to Vermonters' food supply. "This collaboration highlights the integral role of Vermont dairy farms in our state's food system," said Governor Phil Scott. "I applaud these groups for supporting our farmers and Vermonters in need, feeding our most vulnerable and not wasting a valuable and healthy agricultural product." Joining in this effort is Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), Commonwealth Dairy, LLC, producer of Green Mountain Creamery yogurt and HP Hood. DFA family farms will be providing the milk to Green Mountain Creamery and HP Hood. The milk will be processed by these Vermont dairy producers for a donation of 42,000 cups of yogurt and over 11,500 gallons of 2% milk to the Vermont Foodbank. The donation will serve hundreds of food bank clients over the course of the coming weeks, providing nutritious dairy products to the Vermont communities in need while preventing valuable food waste. New England Dairy also provided support to bring these businesses together. "Due to changes in demand, the surplus of milk available from our Vermont dairy farms has grown over recent weeks and is highlighting the uncertainty they face today. I want to thank those involved in this effort for recognizing the value of our Vermont dairy products, and the importance they hold in our economy and communities," said Vermont Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts. "We are thrilled that we have found a process to redistribute agricultural product that otherwise would have gone to waste to serve our neighbors in the communities we call home." "Dairy is a huge part of our rural working landscape and economyit is also a critical piece of 'who we are' as a state," says Dan Smith, President and CEO of The Vermont Community Foundation. "To be able to respond to a need for milk distribution and help feed Vermonters who are struggling are exactly the type of reasons we created the VT COVID-19 Response Fund, and we're thrilled to work with such stand-up organizations." Beginning this week, product will be produced on a weekly basis and donated to the Vermont Foodbank in amounts 1,152 gallons of milk for 10 weeks and 3,500 cases of yogurt throughout the month of May, helping the Vermont Foodbank to serve thousands of clients. The Vermont Foodbank, which serves more than 153,000 individuals each year, has seen an increase of up to 100% of percent in demand since mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "We are pleased to be a part of this initiative to get nutritious dairy products to Vermont families during these difficult times," said Kiersten Bourgeois, Manager, Communications and Industry Affairs for DFA. "Dairy farmers are also being challenged by disruptions as a result of COVID-19 and this initiative is a step in the right direction to supporting many parts of our society." "The coronavirus pandemic has led to a drastic increase in the number of people in need of help accessing food," says Vermont Foodbank CEO, John Sayles. "When people are laid off or losing work hours with businesses shut down, their food budgets are hit hard. Meeting the increasing need is an immense task, and we wouldn't stand a chance if not for creative efforts like this one that connect the resources available with the people who need them." "The support from the state of Vermont and DFA has been crucial in allowing our team to efficiently process a surplus of milk supply to provide yogurt to our communities in the area," said Esteve Torrens, CEO Lactalis US Yogurt, owner of owner of Commonwealth Dairy, LLC. "With dairy farmers across the country struggling to redistribute their product, this collaboration is a win-win to curb unnecessary food waste and serve those in need." "We are proud to be working with DFA to support Vermont families in need," said Lynne Bohan, VP of Government Relations and Public Affairs at HP Hood. "These unprecedented times have created new challenges that require creative solutions. We're glad that we're able to help solve a problem while giving back to our local community." To find out more about how you can join in the many efforts to help in your communities, visit: Find supporting imagery, video b-roll and business logos here: Vermont Dairy Donation Find a Video Press Release here. For questions or more information, please contact: About the Vermont Community Foundation Contact: Nate Clark: 802-388-3355 x246 | [email protected] The Vermont Community Foundation inspires giving and brings people and resources together to make a difference in Vermont. This includes helping to coordinate philanthropic response in times of crisis and challenge. The Foundation is committed to helping Vermont communities that are impacted by COVID-19 by responding to immediate needs and long-term recovery efforts. Visit www.VTCOVID19Response.org to learn more. About the Vermont Foodbank Contact: Nicole Whalen 802-505-0123 | [email protected] The Vermont Foodbank is the state's largest hunger relief organization, providing nutritious food through a network more than 300 community partners food shelves, meal sites, senior centers, after-school programs, schools and hospitals. Food insecurity has increased dramatically as a result of the pandemic and the Vermont Foodbank and its network have been on the front lines, working to ensure that everyone has the food they need to maintain their health. Learn more at www.vtfoodbank.org. About Dairy Farmers of America Contact: Kiersten Bourgeois 802-793-4899 | [email protected] Dairy Farmers of America is a national, farmer-owned dairy cooperative focusing on quality, innovation and the future of family dairies. While supporting and serving more than 13,000 family farmers, DFA works with some of the world's largest food companies to develop ingredients that satisfy their customers' cravings while staying committed to social responsibility and ethical farming. For more information, please visit dfamilk.com. About Commonwealth Dairy, LLC Contact: Tori Partykevich 617-585-5783 | [email protected] Commonwealth Dairy, LLC, owner of the Green Mountain Creamery brand, is an all-natural dairy business born in the hills of Vermont, with a mission to make delicious dairy products affordable. Using a unique blend of yogurt cultures, Commonwealth Dairy, LLC has perfected its signature Green Mountain Creamery mild and creamy yogurts. As a committed member of the communities in which it does business, Commonwealth Dairy, LLC has donated thousands of pounds of yogurt to the Vermont Foodbank, and promotes innovation among farm and food businesses as a primary component of its corporate mission. About HP Hood Contact: Laura Lynn 978-239-0682 | [email protected] Founded in 1846, today Hood is one of the largest and most trusted food and beverage manufacturers in the United States. For more than 170 years, the name Hood has been synonymous with fresh, quality products that taste great. Hood's portfolio of national and super-regional brands and franchise products includes Hood, Simply Smart Milk, Heluva Good!, LACTAID, Blue Diamond Almond Breeze, Hershey's Milk & Milkshakes, Planet Oat and more. For more information, please visit www.Hood.com. About New England Dairy Contact: Rene Thibault 802-876-7266 x.101 | [email protected] New England Dairy's mission is to champion the region's farm families and the nutritious foods they produce. The non-profit organization does this by sharing the New England dairy story, connecting people to dairy farms, supporting youth wellness in schools and delivering the latest nutrition and sustainability science to health professionals, scientists, media, nutrition professionals and educators. Scott Waterman Policy and Communications Director | VT Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets 802-622-4662 | [email protected] SOURCE Green Mountain Creamery Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc (NYSE American: CMCL; AIM: CMCL; TSX: CAL): Results of Annual General Meeting Posted by Publisher Internet Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc?(the \Company\ -? https://www.commodity-tv.com/play/caledonia-mining-stronger-free-cash-flows-from-2020-on-dividend-increased/ ) announces the results of its annual general meeting of shareholders (the ?AGM?) held at St Helier, Jersey today.? The total number of shareholders present in person or by proxy at the AGM was 70, representing 50.95% of the Company?s outstanding voting shares.? Further resolutions 2 and 3 were also passed at the AGM so that: BDO South Africa Inc was reappointed as the auditor of the Company for the ensuing year and the directors were authorised to fix its remuneration; and Holtzhausen, Kelly and McGloin were reappointed as members of the Audit Committee. The full text of each resolution, together with explanatory notes, are set out in the notice of AGM and management information circular dated 30 March 2020 which are available on the Company\-\-s website at www.caledoniamining.com. Photo: Phillip Capper/Flickr Here's the most recent top news you may have missed in Chicago. Inmate escapes by posing as detainee about to be released, wearing face mask An inmate at a Chicago jail escaped over the weekend by putting on a face mask and posing as a fellow detainee who was about to be released, officials said. Read the full story on New York Post. Air Jordan 1 'Chicago' sneakers' resale price has doubled since most recent episodes of 'The Last Dance' Since Sunday, pairs of the iconic red, white and black sneakers have been selling for as much as $1,700. Read the full story on Business Insider. Winemaker at Montoliva in Chicago Park takes tasting room online Mark Henry, owner/winemaker at Montoliva in Chicago Park, had never conducted an online tasting before. Read the full story on The Union. Chicago bans horse-drawn carriages after NYC incident Chicago banned horse-drawn carriages after video showed a New York City carriage horse collapsing, shocking many and sparking protests. Read the full story on Vegans of the Bay. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Two men have been charged following the shooting of an 11-year-old boy in east London on Friday night. Antony Lascelles, 32, from Romford, and Adian Muirhead, from South Ockendon, will appear in magistrates' court on Thursday in connection with the incident, which took place in Upminster, London, last week. Lascelles faces charges of aggravated burglary, possession of a knife and driving while disqualified and Muirhead is charged with assisting an offender. Christopher Sargent, 26, from East Ham, appeared on Wednesday at Barkingside Magistrates' Court - the same court where Lascelles and Muirhead will appear - on charges of aggravated burglary and possession of a knife. Sargent is scheduled to appear in Snaresbrook Crown Court on 3 June. Scotland Yard previously said that the owner of the property opened their door to someone claiming to be a delivery driver, before they and others forced their way into the home on Kerry Rd, Upminster. The 11-year-old boy who subsequently received a gunshot injury is in a serious but stable condition in hospital. A 40-year-old man also suffered cuts to his head. The police has said that a number of suspects escaped before officers arrived and that two firearms were recovered from the property. PA Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 7) The coronavirus-hit cruise ship previously docked in Australia anchored in Manila on Thursday. The Ruby Princess cruise ship, linked to 21 coronavirus deaths and some 600 infections, arrived at the Manila Bay anchorage area at 8 am, the Philippine Coast Guard said. From Sydney Australia, it stopped in the vicinity Mindoro, then traveled to Manila City. PCG spokesperson Armand Balilo on Thursday said over 200 Filipino crew members are on board the ship. He said they are required to undergo swab testing and are expected to stay in the vessel until they receive their test results in around three days. Those who test positive will be brought to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa, Balilo said. Those who are cleared will be sent home with a medical certificate. They are not required to undergo a facility-based quarantine, but are advised to go through a 14-day quarantine in their own homes as a precautionary measure. International media earlier reported that the ship sailed out of Australia on April 23. It was quarantined at Port Kembla, south of Sydney, Australia since April 6. Some 360 other Filipino crew members were earlier evacuated, boarding a special chartered Cebu Pacific flight from Sydney back to the Philippines, the Foreign Affairs Department said in April. Other Filipinos remained on board to operate the vessel. Metro Manila and several provinces in the country are under enhanced community quarantine, restricting people's movement, but overseas Filipino workers are allowed to return as long as they undergo a 14-day quarantine before going back to their homes. Nationwide, the number of COVID-19 cases breached the 10,000 mark on Wednesday, with 658 deaths and 1,506 recoveries. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Vasyl Bodnar has informed EU Special Representative for Human Rights Eamon Gilmore about the further deterioration of the situation with COVID-19 in the territories occupied by Russia. The Foreign Ministrys press service reported this following a phone conversation between Bodnar and Gilmore. The interlocutors discussed the current situation with the fight against COVID-19 in the EU and Ukraine. Eamon Gilmore praised the measures taken by the Ukrainian government to counter the spread of the pandemic. Vasyl Bodnar drew the interlocutors attention to the further deterioration of the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the report reads. The deputy minister also informed the EU special representative about the long-term restriction of the activities of the OSCE SMM by the Russian side, which makes it impossible to cross the contact line and fully monitor the situation in the occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as blocking the access of international humanitarian organizations to the occupied territories. Bodnar also expressed deep concern over threats to the health and life of Ukrainian citizens in detention facilities in Russia and in the occupied territories. Eamon Gilmore assured that he pays constant attention to the human rights situation in the Ukrainian territories occupied by the Russian Federation and to informing the EU institutions and member states about the real state of affairs. He emphasized that the EU will continue to demand from the Russian Federation full compliance with international humanitarian law and to ensure access for international human rights and humanitarian organizations to the occupied territories of Ukraine. The interlocutors agreed that there are no reasons to review the sanctions policy against Russia until it fully implements the Minsk agreements and de-occupies the Ukrainian territory. Eamon Gilmore confirmed his intention to make a visit to Ukraine as soon as it becomes possible, including the contact line in Donbas, which was postponed in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. ish Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The Front for the Safeguard of Democracy (FSD) here Thursday rejected the final results of the parliamentary elections announced on 30 April by the Constitutional Court The Arizona Department of Health Services reversed its decision to disband a team of university experts working on a predictive COVID-19 model that said the state shouldnt reopen until late May after facing a slew of backlash. The COVID-19 Modeling Group had been working to predict the spread of coronavirus and advising state leaders on the impacts of reopening the state when the project was abruptly shut down by the ADHS on Monday. The group, consisting of 23 experts from Arizona State University and the University of Arizona, had authored at least two reports for ADHS and determined late May was the earliest the state should start reopening. Their dismissal followed hours after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced that businesses in the state would be reopening and stay-at-home orders would be lifted within days - contrary to their recommendations. However, following mounting pressure from Democratic lawmakers, and local and national media attention, the ADHS issued a stunning reversal on Thursday saying it will now maintain an 'ongoing relationship' with the experts. The Arizona Department of Health Services disbanded its own team of researchers working on a predictive COVID-19 model that said the state shouldnt reopen until late May (pictured ADHS Director Dr. Cara Christ and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey) The move came just hours after Gov. Doug Ducey announced stay at home orders in Arizona would be lifted within days Chris Minnick, a state Health Department spokesman, said in a written statement that the department communicated with The COVID-19 Modeling Group on Thursday. 'Were pleased to announce an ongoing partnership to continue providing models,' Minnick said, adding that the department was 'very pleased' with the model the university team delivered. 'Understanding the demands on their time, we let them know that we were putting the modeling project on pause until we could bring them back to assist with modeling COVID-19 resource requirements during the influenza season,' Minnick said, as reported by AZCentral. 'Since then, the Universities and team members have expressed a willingness to continue doing this work. We are grateful for their dedication and we look forward to an ongoing partnership.' The drastic about turn comes after ADHS bureau chief of public health statistics S. Robert Bailey sent a letter to the group on Monday, shortly after Ducey announced plans to lift state lockdown orders. A copy of Bailey's letter obtained by ABC15, read: We've been asked by Department leadership to "pause" all current work on projections modeling.' Bailey added that he wanted to inform the team as quickly as he could to prevent them from exerting further time of effort needlessly. The email said ADHS would also pull back the special data sets which have been shared with the researchers, but no explanation was given for the discontinuation of their work. In his announcement Monday, Gov. Ducey cited a downward trajectory on the key metrics tracking the spread of coronavirus as justification for allowing businesses to reopen Professor Joe Gerald, a member of the modeling team, told ABC he disagreed with Duceys perspective. This is not going away soon; its something that we're going to need to be continued to be worried about because our risk of catching this virus still remains relatively high In a statement to the network, ADHS later explained the state partly based the decision on their recent adoption of a model from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has not been released to the public. In his announcement Monday, Gov. Ducey cited a downward trajectory on the key metrics tracking the spread of coronavirus as justification for allowing businesses to reopen. But Professor Joe Gerald, a member of the modeling team, told ABC he disagreed with Duceys perspective. This is not going away soon; its something that we're going to need to be continued to be worried about because our risk of catching this virus still remains relatively high. The universities model had found that waiting until the end of May to ease lockdown restrictions was the only scenario that didnt cause a dramatic increase in coronavirus cases and subsequent deaths. In late April, Tim Lant, a mathematical epidemiologist at ASU, said the model showed five different scenarios for how the disease could progress in Arizona, depending on how social distancing efforts were relaxed. The slowest curve, based on if the state reopened when advised, is the only one that doesn't put me immediately back on an exponential growth curve, Lant said, adding that its because the transmission rates would be lowest at that time. I can say, scientifically, no, it's not safe to reopen unless you're planning on, you know, shutting down again after a couple of weeks, and we can help figure out what the appropriate amount of time is to stay open before we shut down, Lant continued. In his letter, Bailey said the group could be needed again in later summer or early fall as flu season returns. He thanked the group for its very high quality results. A spokesperson for Gov. Ducey told AZ Central the state was using multiple models earlier on, which often had widely divergent projections which changed constantly. We now have two months of on-the-ground data, the spokesperson said. Weve been able to see which models are accuratewhich match the actual facts and are most usefuland which are not. The spokesperson said ADHS Dr. Cara Christ made the decision to pause the group after reviewing all the data. The modeling we are utilizing going forward is developed by FEMA and CDC and ensures our hospitals have capacity for any situation, he told AZ Central. That is the case currently, but we arent taking any chances. All our decisions are guided by data as well as the recommendations of the CDC and public health officials. This will continue to be the case. On Tuesday, Dr. Christ assured the group that they hadnt been disbanded indefinitely, saying: We just asked them to take a pause for a little bit. We are continuing to get updated FEMA models and we think that that is really representative of where we are. But we did tell them to please stay engaged, because we may need to bring them back in the fall to look at modeling during flu season. Christ said it would be pretty easy to just pick up the phone and ask them to come back and help us out, if needed. On Tuesday, Dr. Christ assured the group that they hadnt been disbanded indefinitely. We just asked them to take a pause for a little bit, Christ said Rep. Ruben Gallego also waded into the debate, insisting when it comes to COVID-19 knowledge is power In a letter, Gallego asked the modeling group to ignore Gov. Ducey's 'politically motivated order to stop coronavirus modeling work & demand continued access to data. Public health experts need that info to make informed decisions & save lives,' Democratic State Rep. Kelli Butler of Phoenix called the decision incredibly troubling on Twitter. Rep. Ruben Gallego also waded into the debate, insisting when it comes to COVID-19 knowledge is power. Im asking @asu & @uarizona to ignore Gov. Duceys politically-motivated order to stop coronavirus modeling work & demand continued access to data. Public health experts need that info to make informed decisions & save lives, he said in a tweet, with a signed letter pictured beneath. In a blog post on the Arizona Public Health Association's website, the organization's director, Will Humble, called the move astonishing. He said the model was very solid work being done by top talent in the field that is very useful for decision-making purposes. Last nights action to disband the Arizona COVID-19 Modeling Working Group begs the question whether the Modeling Working Group was producing results that were inconsistent with other messaging and decisions being made by the executive branch? he wrote. Ahmaud Arbery was shot dead in the Satilla Shores neighborhood in Brunswick, Georgia, just after 1pm on February 23 The family of an unarmed black man who was shot dead by two white men in Georgia have described his death as a 'lynching'. Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was killed February 23 after he became embroiled in an altercation with Gregory and Trevor McMichael while out jogging in the city of Brunswick. The McMichaels - who are father and son - allegedly followed Abery in their pick-up truck, believing that he was a suspect in two recent burglaries that occurred in the area. Shocking video footage released Tuesday shows the men shooting at Arbery as it appears he tries to flee from them. Neither of the McMichaels have been arrested or charged over the incident. Speaking on Wednesday, Arbery's family attorney Lee Merritt stated during a press conference: 'These men were not performing any police function or any duty as citizens of Georgia.., these men were vigilantes, they were performing a lynching in the middle of the day.' The press conference, which was streamed on First Coast News, also featured an interview with Arbery's mother, Wanda Jones, who says she cannot being herself to watch the video footage of her son's death. Arbery's family attorney Lee Merritt stated during a press conference: 'These men were not performing any police function or any duty as citizens of Georgia.., these men were vigilantes, they were performing a lynching in the middle of the day' The press conference, which was streamed on First Coast News, also featured an interview with Arbery's mother, Wanda Jones, who says she has not seen the video footage of her son's death 'I saw my son come into the world,' Jones said. 'And seeing him leave the world, it's not something that I'll want to see ever.' She added: 'He was my baby boy that I had on Mother's Day of 1994. He was his sister and brother's keeper... his spirit was good. He was a yes ma'am and no ma'am type of fellow.' Meanwhile, Arbery's father, Marcus, stated: 'It was a hate crime. 'My young son wasn't doing nothing - minding his own business, running and working out. And that's a crime? To work out and run and he ain't breaking no law? No. Time out.' Video showing the shocking shooting has been shared widely seen it was released Tuesday. Gregory and Trevor McMichael allegedly trailed Arbery in their pick-up truck, believing that he was a suspect in two recent burglaries that occurred in the area. They became involved in an altercation, and Arbery was shot and killed In the footage, shot can be heard and the two can then be seen scuffling as Arbery looks to try to get the gun away from Travis. Two more shots can be heard and are fired at point-blank range before Arbery can be seen stumbling to the ground as the clip comes to a close. 'This is murder,' Arbery's family lawyer, Lee Merritt said The footage sparked widespread outrage from viewers across America, with a crowd of protesters assembling in Brunswick brandishing signs and chanting for justice. On Wednesday, a crowd of protesters also gathered in Atlanta to raise awareness of Arbery's death and to demand that arrests be made in the case. FOX 5 reports that a larger demonstration is being planned for Friday - which would have marked Arbery's 26th birthday. Protesters gathered for a march through Brunswick on Tuesday - the same day shocking footage of Arbery's death went viral on the internet The shocking footage has sparked widespread outcry. Protesters are pictured in Brunswick on Tuesday. A larger demonstration is reportedly being planned for this coming Friday Meanwhile, Arbery's death has now captured the attention of the presumptive Democratic nominee for President, Joe Biden, who sent out a tweet describing Arbery's death as 'murder'. 'The video is clear: Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood,' Biden tweeted late Tuesday along with a link to a Georgia district attorney recommendation that a grand jury hear the case. 'My heart goes out to his family, who deserve justice and deserve it now,' the presumed Democratic nominee continued in his Twitter post. 'It is time for a swift, full, and transparent investigation into his murder.' Former Democratic Presidential hopefuls Bernie Sanders and Beto O'Rourke also tweeted for justice - stating that the attack was racially motivated. Celebrities including LeBron James, Justin Bieber and Kendall Jenner also posted about the case. LA Laker star James tweeted out an impassioned message to his 45 million Twitter followers claiming black people are profiled on the color of their skin. 'We're literally hunted EVERYDAY/EVERYTIME we step foot outside the comfort of our homes!' he wrote. 'Can't even go for a damn jog man! Like WTF man are you kidding me?!?!?!?!?!? No man fr ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!! I'm sorry Ahmaud (Rest In Paradise) and my prayers and blessings sent to the heavens above to your family'. Tom Durden, a Georgia prosecutor assigned to examine the case, announced Tuesday that he plans to have a grand jury hear the evidence in the shooting. The grand jury won't happen for more than a month, as Georgia courts remain largely closed because of the coronavirus until at least June 13. 'I am of the opinion that the case should be presented to the grand jury of Glynn County for consideration of criminal charges against those involved in the death of Mr. Arbery,' Durden said in a statement Tuesday. Reached by phone, Durden said no arrests have been made in connection with the shooting. He declined to say what charges he would have a grand jury consider or to comment further. 'He was my baby boy that I had on Mother's Day of 1994. He was his sister and brother's keeper... his spirit was good. He was a yes ma'am and no ma'am type of fellow': Arbery is pictured at right with his mom Wanda Jones LeBron James, Viola Davis, Rosanna Arquette, Kerry Washington and Amy Schumer lead stars campaigning for action to be taken in fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery LeBron James led a host of celebrities speaking out about the shooting of an unarmed black jogger Ahmaud Arbery by two white men less than three months ago - and the lack of consequences against the men involved in the shooting. The LA Laker star James tweeted out an impassioned message to his 45 million Twitter followers claiming black people are profiled on the color of their skin. 'We're literally hunted EVERYDAY/EVERYTIME we step foot outside the comfort of our homes!' he wrote. The Akron, Ohio native continued: 'Im sorry Ahmaud (Rest In Paradise) and my prayers and blessings sent to the..... heavens above to your family!!' The iconic basketball player added the hashtags #StayWoke and #ProfiledCauseWeAreSimplyBlack after a jarring video of the incident made its way online this week, leading many on social media to call for immediate action in the case. Meanwhile, Rosanna Arquette suggested the McMichaels be charged with murder for their 'despicable racist heinous crime.' Outrage: Rosanna Arquette also expressed their disgust over the situation, calling it a 'racist' and 'heinous' crime Passionate: Tennis icon Serena Williams had a bold response to the story involving Arbery Serana Williams also shared a series of post on her Instagram Stories, making it clear she believed the death was racially motivated. 'My crime? BEING BLACK,' she wrote, assuming the voice of Arbery. Elsewhere, Kendall Jenner, Viola Davis, Maria Shriver and Justin Bieber also shared their outrage online. Davis posted an 'action alert' poster on her Instagram, and captioned it with the quote: 'I am sick and tired of being sick and tired' by Fannie Lou Hamer. She followed that up by saying: 'Stand with us and demand that Ahmaud's murders are chargd with his death. They are not immune from prosecution and should be charged with murder.' Powerful: Oscar-winner Viola Davis called for action from officials in the situation Focused: Pop star Justin Bieber said he was 'praying for justice' in the case Upset: Kendall Jenner indicated she was heartbroken by the turn of events Bieber said he was 'prayed for the family' and also 'praying for justice'. Jenner posted an image of a smiling Arbery, with an emoji of a broken heart. Gabrielle Union also made her thoughts on the situation crystal clear amid her calls for justice 'It's been months and his killers walk free,' the actress said in an Instagram post. 'I don't want to beg, plead, reason, cry, or scream for you to see us as worthy of our breath. If you need to be cajoled into empathy, you are not who you think you are.' The L.A.'s Finest star ended her post in saying, 'We keep fighting. We will not stop. There will be justice.' Focused: Gabrielle Union made her thoughts on the situation crystal clear amid her calls for justice Time to answer: Academy Award winner Halle Berry, comedy star Amy Schumer and A-lister Kerry Washington called for justice in the situation Zoe Kravitz said the incident was reflective of an unjust system. She wrote: #ahmaudarbery was murdered by two white men, ON CAMERA, and dudes have not been arrested. come on, people...come. the F*** on.' Rosanna Arquette suggested the McMichaels be charged with murder for their 'despicable racist heinous crime.' Maria Shriver called the story 'absolutely outrageous,' adding, 'Watching this video should outrage and disgust us all.' Director Ava DuVernay, who made the Netflix documentary 'When they see us', about the Central Park Five, said she was posting to 'amplifly' a protest being held outside the courthouse on Friday. 'If you are in Georgia and are comfortable going outside with social distancing protocols, please safely support this family whose loved one was murdered in cold blood while jogging by gun-toting Trump supporting White supremacists.' Calls for action: Khloe's ex, NBA star Tristan Thompson, said that justice 'NEEDS' to be served in the ongoing case Crestfallen: Khloe Kardashian posted an emoji depicting her heartbreak over the tragic death Khloe Kardashian posted an image of Arbery, with the caption: 'I was murdered by an armed father and son who hunted me down and shot me as I jogged in a Georgie neighborhood. Neither of my killers have been charged. My name is Ahmaud Arbery.' Actress Vanessa Hudgens also posted a similar caption, while demanding justice. Taraji P. Henson, Tristan Thompson, Olivia Wilde, Tina Lawson, Lily Collins, and Sailor Brinkley Cook and Naomi Campbell also paid memorial to the late Arbery, with some demanding a day in court for the men involved in the shooting. Cook posted a caption saying: 'Ahmaud Arbery was brutally murdered by two white supremacists while he was innocently going for a job. These men stopped him in his tracks, beat him up and shot him. And these same EVIL men are still walking free. That makes me so f*****g nauseous. Say his name. Spread the word.' Growing group: Sailor Brinkley Cook and Naomi Campbell also shared their thoughts on the deadly incident Upset: Vanessa Hudgens linked to a Change.org petition demanding justice in the case The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Thursday it will not require automakers to recall 56 million additional Takata air bag inflators, saying the devices do not pose a safety risk. Automakers in the United States have previously recalled than 60 million Takata air bag inflators that could explode when deployed, sending deadly metal fragments flying in a defect linked to at least 25 deaths worldwide. The agency said it will continue to monitor their performance over time. NHTSA said separately Volkswagen AG will recall 370,000 vehicles with Takata inflators with the drying agent. The issue sparked the largest auto industry safety recall in history, involving more than 100 million inflators among 19 major automakers worldwide and is linked to more than 290 injuries. In 2016, NHTSA ordered the recall of 40 million inflators and said it would review by the end of 2019 whether the air bags with a dessicant or drying agent needed to be recalled. The agency has said long-term exposure to high heat and humidity degrade the inflators, making them more prone to deadly ruptures. NHTSA said it has reviewed reports of extensive testing of the inflators in making the decision and said a group testing inflators will further surveil and assess those inflators and their performance in the field. The defect led Takata to file for bankruptcy protection in June 2017. Earlier in 2017, the company agreed to plead guilty to criminal wrongdoing to resolve a U.S. Justice Department investigation. Prosecutors in Detroit charged three former senior Takata executives with falsifying test results to conceal the inflator defect but none of the Japanese nationals have appeared in a U.S. court. Starting in 2000, Takata submitted false test reports to automakers to induce them to buy faulty air bag inflators, according to the Justice Department. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Franklin Paul and Nick Zieminski) Topics Auto USA A seasoned software executive, Antuna brings to Reggora 20 years of experience and a proven track record of leading and motivating high-performing sales teams. He joins Reggora from LogMeIn (LOGM recently acquired for $4B), where he was Vice President of Sales for LogMeIn's Customer Engagement & Support business. In addition to heading the global sales efforts, he was responsible for leading the company's first AI driven product launch. Prior to LogMeIn, he held various leadership roles at Guidespark and Thomson Reuters. Antuna is also an active board member for Boston based non-profit, America SCORES Boston. "We are excited to welcome Steve during such a pivotal time for our company," said CEO Brian Zitin. "His expertise in developing sales teams, driving revenue and growth, and his customer-first mentality will be invaluable to Reggora as we continue to build partnerships with lenders across the country to drive appraisal innovation." "I was immediately impressed with the pace at which Reggora has innovated and scaled the business in such a short amount of time," said Antuna. "The opportunity to join a company with such clear product-market fit, in an industry that desperately needs innovation, was something I was eager to be a part of." Reggora received their Series A funding in January, bringing their total amount raised to over $15 million. In the past year, the company has significantly expanded its client base and workforce and has invested in unique partnerships and integrations to provide its clients with a competitive advantage in the appraisal process. About Reggora Reggora is driving appraisal innovation with a modern, two-sided platform for mortgage lenders and appraisal vendors. Through advanced and customizable workflows, Reggora streamlines the entire appraisal process for everyone involved, while improving the overall buyer experience. Lenders and appraisers benefit from payment processing, algorithmic appraisal ordering, automatic rule-based reviews, appraisal delivery, status updates, and more, creating unprecedented operational efficiency. Press Contact Lindsey Flynn Director of Marketing [email protected] SOURCE Reggora [The stream is slated to start at 10:00 a.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.] The U.S. Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is holding a hearing Thursday to question top health officials about the state of coronavirus testing in the U.S. Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, is scheduled to testify along with Dr. Gary Disbrow, acting director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority's office of the assistant secretary for preparedness and response. The U.S. has run more than 7.7 million coronavirus diagnostic tests as of Thursday, according to data compiled by the Covid Tracking Project. The most tests the nation has run on a single day was 314,182 on April 22, according to the volunteer project designed to track testing data launched in March by The Atlantic. State officials have previously lamented shortages of supplies necessary to ramp up testing, including the test kits themselves, swabs and reagents, which are chemicals needed to analyze tests. Due to scarcity, cities such as New York City have have to prioritize testing for first responders and patients in the hospital. Limited testing means health officials can't monitor the spread of the virus throughout the general population. The capacity to test broadly throughout the population for Covid-19 will be key to preventing a resurgence of the virus as states ease restrictions and reopen businesses, public health specialists and state officials have repeatedly said. Companies such as test manufacturer Roche have been rapidly increasing capacity to conduct serological, or antibody, tests, which can indicate whether a person has had Covid-19 and was either asymptomatic or recovered. However, public health specialists have cautioned that such tests should not be used for individual diagnosis. Covid-19 has infected more than 1,228,609 people across the U.S. and killed at least 73,431 people in the country, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Read CNBC's live updates to see the latest news on the COVID-19 outbreak. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 7, 2020 15:33 621 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd68aeac 1 Art & Culture Art-Coalition,pre-employment-card,kartu-prakerja,COVID-19,#COVID19,coronavirus,#coronavirus,film-industry Free The Indonesian Arts Coalition (KSI) has called on the government to better implement its preemployment card program for the art sector in order to help workers in the industry make ends meet during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement, KSI advocacy coordinator Hafez Gumay said the government should change its policy if the main purpose was to fulfill people's basic needs. "The preemployment card should be implemented to make sure that those who are in a vulnerable position can survive, instead of adding more hardship due to the complicated administration process that causes confusion and uncertainties," he said. According to the Education and Culture Ministrys Cultural Directorate General, more than 37,000 art workers are currently in need of financial support. Those who earn less than Rp 10 million (US$661) per month and are married are given the option to apply for benefits under the Keluarga Harapan (Family Hope) program, while those who have the same income but are single may benefit from the preemployment card program. The preemployment card program was initially created by the administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to teach new skills to the workforce by granting them access and funding to a broad range of training programs, but it was revamped to help those who had lost their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Under the program, each participant will receive Rp 1 million to cover online training costs, Rp 2.4 million in incentives for four months, which will only be disbursed if a participant completes a course, and another Rp 150,000 if they complete a job survey. Hafez said the requirement to participate in training prior to receiving the incentive was not appropriate for the current situation as it would only delay the flow of funds to those who needed them the most. "The program's training materials for art workers are also still very limited. It would be better to allocate the online training cost of Rp 1 million to the recipients incentives, he said. As the monthly incentive is only Rp 600,000 per month, the program should be combined with other incentives in order to lessen the burden of art workers, such as tax deductions or exemptions, rate reductions for electricity and water bills, and direct support in the form of staple food packages, according to the coalition. The KSI also called on local administrations to help art workers during the pandemic. It praised the Malang city administration for giving out incentives worth Rp 300,000 per month for three months to at least 500 of people in the industry, and it is hopeful that other regions will follow suit. Read also: Preemployment card ineffective, gimmicky, CEO participant claims According to the KSI's official website, at least 234 art events have been cancelled or postponed due to the pandemic, including 113 tours, concerts and music festivals, 33 exhibitions, 10 dance performances and 46 theater, pantomime, shadow puppet and storytelling events. Workers in the film industry have also been heavily impacted by the pandemic, with film productions canceled and movie theaters closed. The KSI's art and cultural policy researcher, Eduard Lazarus, said Indonesia could learn from China, as one of its provincial administrations, Zhejiang, had allocated incentives totaling 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million) to help film workers rent spaces, equipment and accommodation. The Xiangshan city administration has cut building, studio and accommodation rental fees by up to 50 percent and given discounts of up to 20 percent for equipment, properties, costumes and transportation rental fees. Founded in 2013, the KSI consists of around 255 organizations and individuals across 19 Indonesian provinces. The organization aims to create a healthier art ecosystem, including by advocating for various policies within art and culture sectors and strengthening the knowledge and network management of its members. (wir/kes) 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. Mallorca's hotel industry is planning to welcome back foreign tourists from July, it has emerged. Germans and Austrians will be among the first allowed back to the holiday hot spot before Britons, as hoteliers enter into discussions with German tourist companies. Association of Hotel Chains (ACH) and the Hotel Business Federation of Majorca (FEHM) have been holding talks with Germany's TUI, Alltours, FTI and Schauinsland. Mallorca's hotel industry is planning to welcome back foreign tourists from July, it has emerged. Pictured, Playa de Muro in Mallorca before the pandemic The talks are aiming to bring tourists back to the Spanish island as soon as this summer, according to Spanish media reports. Pictured, Palma de Mallorca sea promenade The talks are aiming to bring tourists back to the Spanish island as soon as this summer, according to Spanish media reports. ACH president Gabriel Llobera said: 'The aim is to be able to open the hotels gradually and always when demand justifies the business effort.' Llobera said that the country's hotel industry and tourism companies have a mutual interest in getting the industry back on its feet in the wake of the crippling coronavirus pandemic. According to the ACH president, health checks will likely be implemented before tourists travel to Mallorca, and hotel staff will have rapid Covid-19 test kits at their disposal. 'Health safety is essential, because the image of the Mallorca destination in Europe rests on this,' she said. It comes as Spain is set to enter into the second phase of its de-escalation plan on May 11, which will allow for the limited opening of hotels. Britons could miss out on summer holidays to the continent as European countries prepare to agree when travel will be possible and which nations to bypass. It comes as Spain is set to enter into the second phase of its de-escalation plan on May 11, which will allow for the limited opening of hotels. Pictured, people on the Paseo Maritimo in Palma de Mallorca President of Spain's Balearic Islands Francina Armengol specifically mentioned the Germans as 'essential' to tourism on the islands of Majorca and Ibiza on Tuesday (file photo of Cala Tarida, Ibiza) The UK's position has been hammered after its coronavirus death toll soared past Italy's on Tuesday to become the worst in Europe. The EU has closed cross-border travel to prevent the spread of the virus until mid-May, with some exceptions in place. However, formal and informal allegiances have already been struck up between those countries which feel they have the virus under control. Germany and Italy have begun to ease their lockdowns and today said their citizens should be able to enjoy summer holidays. Baltic states form 'travel bubble' Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will open their borders to each others' citizens from May 15, creating a Baltic 'travel bubble' within the EU, their prime ministers said on Wednesday. The Baltic travel area would be first of its kind in the bloc, where most countries restricted entry to non-nationals and imposed quarantine on incoming travellers as the novel coronavirus spread across the continent. 'We have agreed that all three Baltic states have properly contained the spread of the coronavirus, and we trust each others' health systems,' Lithuania's Prime Minister Saulius Skvernlis wrote on Facebook. 'So, starting from May 15, we are removing all restrictions for citizens of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia traveling between the Baltic states.' People entering the region from other countries will need to self-isolate for 14 days, he added. The European Commission has recommended that internal border controls between all member states should be lifted in a coordinated manner, once their virus situation converges sufficiently, the commission's office in Lithuania said. Reporting by Reuters Advertisement Meanwhile a global alliance between Australia, Austria, Israel, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece and New Zealand, has been forged among the nations who have best kept a lid on the disease. 'Our nations reacted early and forcefully and now we're in a better place,' Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told The Wall Street Journal. Despite Berlin warning against these unilateral actions by EU members and a 'race' to open up for the summer, the German tourism commissioner sounded highly optimistic of doing just that yesterday. Thomas Bareiss told Der Tagesspiegel sojourns in neighbouring countries 'that can be reached by car,' like Austria, France, Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands would be possible. Bareiss said if the virus was kept under control then things could move faster, adding: 'I would not yet write off other regions in Europe, such as the Balearic Islands or the Greek islands.' Bareiss added: 'I hope that, given the good numbers, we will be able to relax the (travel) restrictions in the next four to eight weeks.' Last month Spain's Balearic Island's tourism minister Iago Negueruela singled out Britain for its response to the virus and suggested it had handicapped its chances of summer holidays. Negueruela said: 'There are countries like the United Kingdom that have taken too long to adopt containment measures. That also puts us in a different situation with respect to them.' However, he did not elaborate on how the islands would enforce a system whereby only tourists from certain nations would be allowed to return for holidays. On Tuesday, Francina Armengol, President of the Balearic Islands, specifically mentioned the Germans as 'essential' to tourism on the islands of Majorca and Ibiza. Her latest statement is in marked contrast to a month ago when she urged the Spanish government to keep the ports and airports closed until whenever was necessary. Beach-goers cool off and sunbathe on the beach of the seaside resort of Benidorm in August 2018 This map shows Europe's East-West divide on coronavirus, with countries in Western Europe suffering far more cases per million people than those in the east which generally closed their borders at a much earlier stage of the outbreak Armengol has now asked Madrid and the EU to set up a 'homogeneous framework across the continent to guarantee the safe recovery of air activity.' The Cypriot tourist minister Savvas Perdios has also signalled an a la carte arrangement could be reached. Speaking to CyBC state radio last month he said: 'The important thing is that travel agents have Cyprus in mindthere are positive signs from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Nordic countries, Greece, Israel and perhaps the Netherlands.' Asked about the key tourism markets of the UK and Russia, Perdios replied: 'We hope to know in a few weeks when tourists will be able to come from these countries.' ALBANY The state court system will make an exception to allow new filings under the Child Victims Act "in the next few weeks," even as other non-essential filings remain frozen during the pandemic, a spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration said Thursday. "We will not deny those litigants the ability to file," the spokesman, Lucian Chalfen, said in an email. The exception, first reported by the New York Law Journal, comes amid growing calls from survivors and advocates to extend the act's one-year "look-back" period that is set to expire in August. The window has resulted in more than 1,700 lawsuits filed by individuals who had previously been time-barred from lodging claims against their alleged sexual abusers. But court filings were paused in March as the coronavirus pandemic effectively shut down the state court system. It is unclear whether alleged survivors will be able to make up for lost filing time during the pandemic; Chalfen said any extension of the window would require executive or legislative action. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo issued an executive order in March suspending statutes of limitations during the state of emergency, but there is uncertainty among lawyers and legal experts as to whether that moratorium also applies to the Child Victims Act's one-year window. Jeff Herman, an attorney with a Manhattan-based firm who has handled several Child Victims Act cases, said he has "dozens and dozens" of complaints ready to go once the courts allow filings again. While he believes the governor's tolling order applies to the act, "unless there's crystal clear, documented evidence of that, via another order, I wouldn't wait to file. I would file before the deadline I wouldn't take that risk." He added that the current public health crisis has exacerbated many personal challenges and stresses that survivors already deal with on a regular basis, making it "imperative" that officials extend the look-back period. "They don't have the luxury of dealing with these issues that have been haunting them their whole lives because they're dealing with this current stuff," Herman said. State Sen. Brad Hoylman, D-Manhattan, who sponsored the bill creating the act, said it is "absurd" to believe that survivors will be able to move forward with cases while they are also worried about health, finances and housing. He said the promised window has been effectively "cut in half" and has urged the governor's office to issue an order explicitly extending the window at least for the time lost during the public health emergency. Hoylman and Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal, D-Manhattan, are sponsoring a bill that would extend the period for another year. "It's not just like you can snap your fingers and think that survivors are going to be able to file claims in the middle of a pandemic," Hoylman said. "This is a difficult process to file a claim under the Child Victims Act in the best of circumstances." Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. The confusion surrounding the statute of limitations, Rosenthal added, will create "more needless litigation to clog the courts" as lawyers on both sides of the issue debate whether Cuomo's order applies to the Child Victims Act. "This whole issue is mired in uncertainty, and the only way that I will feel peaceful about what the survivors can anticipate going forward is if we extend the window by another year," she said. Cuomo spokesman Jason Conwall said "we're reviewing the best course of action." Bridie Farrell, the founder of the nonprofit America Loves Kids, said the decision indicates that the courts "recognize that the time is slipping through the hourglass for survivors of child sexual abuse." She had held an online forum on Wednesday discussing the impact of the public health emergency on abuse cases. "To be honest, it gives me goosebumps, because people realize that it is a big deal," she said. Syracuse, N.Y. The Marriott Syracuse Downtown is struggling to keep its doors open as the coronavirus pandemic wipes out millions of dollars in business at the historic former Hotel Syracuse. The end of March and April and May, very little business at all, said owner Ed Riley, who reopened the 96-year-old hotel four years ago after a $76 million restoration. We are open but no banquets, no events whatsoever. Its just room nights for a few people. Riley emphasized that the hotel will remain open and he expects business to return once the pandemic ends and the economy reopens. The hotels lenders and Marriott have been very supportive, he added. We are not in any imminent danger of closing, he said. We still have lots of business on the books for 2021 and 2022. Its been a rough spring, though. When the coronavirus struck in mid-March, the hotel immediately lost its biggest single-day driver of business the St. Patricks Day parade. The annual event, which draws tens of thousands of people downtown for all-day (and night) revelry, was scheduled for March 14 but was canceled. Since then, nearly 30 weddings at that hotel have been canceled. Syracuse University called off its on-campus commencement ceremony scheduled for May 10. And business travel, another big source of revenue for the hotel, disappeared practically overnight. Most of the hotels 261 rooms are empty every night. The hotels occupancy rate has fallen into the single digits, with many of its remaining guests affiliated with the citys hospitals, Riley said. Not only that, but the hotels two restaurants, Eleven Waters and Shaughnessys Irish Pub, and its two bars, the Cavalier Room and the Barbershop Bar, have been shut down. The Eleven Waters restaurant in the Marriott Syracuse Downtown has been closed since mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic. Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com Full-service hotels like the Marriott Syracuse are as much food and beverage businesses as they are lodging businesses. More than half of the Marriotts employees are involved in preparing and serving food and drinks. But the only food and beverages the hotel is serving nowadays are strictly part of its room service. Its a tremendous hit, said Riley. The hotel furloughed 200 full-time, part-time and contract employees in March, leaving a skeletal staff of 25 to 30 associates and managers. Its not pretty, Riley said. We decided we wanted to keep open as a business and see what kind of business we would generate. We have generated some business. We wanted to be of service to the community if they needed the rooms. But its strictly rooms and room service. All of our other business is canceled out. The hotel got some good news in late April. It was approved for a loan of more than $1 million under the federal Paycheck Protection Program. Riley said the loan will enable the hotel to hire back many of the employees who were furloughed. But instead of serving hotel guests, they will perform maintenance and cleaning and undergo training, he said. The news wasnt all good, however. The federal government will forgive the loan if the hotel brings back all its employees for at least the next eight weeks. But thats not going to be possible without more business, so the hotel likely will have to pay the loan back, Riley said. If we knew a definitive date we were going to be able to open up the restaurants, open up our banquet catering business, we could get kitchen staff, we could put people on notice and start preparing," he said. "But right now, its a big question mark. The 261-room Marriott Syracuse Downtown saw its wedding and banquet business drop to nothing and a large chunk of its lodging business disappear when the coronavirus pandemic hit in mid-March 2020. Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com And though he expects business to return, how fast the weddings, banquets and travelers come back after the lockdown ends is unknown. People arent necessarily going to venture out right away, he said. Riley also is concerned travelers will be reluctant to come to New York because it has been the state hit hardest by the coronavirus. Even though most of the coronavirus cases and deaths have been in the New York City area, many people from other states dont realize that Upstate cities like Syracuse are hundreds of miles from the Big Apple and have not been hit nearly as hard by the pandemic, he said. Just how is New York going to be perceived? he said. Are people going to want to travel here since we were the epicenter? Even though its Downstate, when you talk to other people outside of New York and outside the Northeast and you say, Im in Syracuse, they say, Oh, thats a suburb. Do you take the train into Manhattan? And you say, No, its a little farther than that. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources As CNY coronavirus lockdown loosens, 98% of us could still get sick Where are Onondaga Co. health officials worried about coronavirus spread? The complete list Onondaga County sets daily records for tests, coronavirus infections; 41st death Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com Rick Moriarty covers business news and consumer issues. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact him anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148 We are supposed to be sophisticated people, living in a time of enlightenment. Look at us. We paint pictures, play the piano and ice our cakes with star-shaped nozzles. At the end of every day, we count our blessings and praise the lord, as our menfolk dutifully trim nostril hairs and place their socks neatly in the laundry basket. As an everyday snapshot of the ascent of man, this is as pleasing to me as anything social anthropologists could produce. Weve come a long way, baby! Here we stand, supposedly on the uplands of human development and understanding. Yet will the most basic instinct of all still prove to be our undoing? If this week has proved one thing, it is that even in a time of peril and crisis, sex still makes fools of many men. Yet Professor Neil Ferguson (pictured) would possibly beg to differ. The beardy Sage boffin has had to resign after becoming overpowered by what Noel Coward called the sly biological urge Consider for a moment the intensity of first love in rural Ireland, as depicted in the BBCs lush adaptation of Sally Rooneys novel, Normal People. Its Fifty Shades Of Sligo, with the suggestion that between the long stares and the bedroom bonkathons, nothing in life is ever so passionate or all-consuming again. Yet Professor Neil Ferguson would possibly beg to differ. The beardy Sage boffin has had to resign after becoming overpowered by what Noel Coward called the sly biological urge. In a lockdown he helped impose on the entire country, Ferguson broke the rules to enjoy trysts with his married girlfriend, Antonia Staats. She is a polyamorous bee lover in an open marriage, a woman who buzzed away from her own hive, husband and children on at least two occasions to be with Professor Lockdown. Now his career as an advisor to the Governments scientific advisory panel is over and for what? Well, we all know for what a liaison dangereuse but was it worth it? I made an error of judgment, said Ferguson, but it wasnt clear if he was talking about his bumbling bee love or his scientific modelling that has proved consistently wrong in almost every epidemic and medical emergency from Covid-19 to swine flu, bird flu, Ebola and Zika. Ferguson broke the rules to enjoy trysts with his married girlfriend, Antonia Staats (pictured) The miracle is that it is his hypocrisy that has done for him in the end, not his prediction that 500,000 people would die of coronavirus in the UK. And if the Government has been so doggedly following the flawed science he has espoused for all these weeks, what has the scientist himself been following? Tragically it seems to have been nothing more complex than the atavistic urging from deep within his own underpants. Ferguson and Staats met on dating site OkCupid, a fiercely libertarian online hook-up site with an emphasis on social justice as well as romance because God forbid you should ever date someone with a differing opinion from the Left-leaning consensus. Here, would-be lovers are quizzed on their attitudes to issues such as abortion and immigration, before being asked: Would you ever tell a homeless person to get a job? Can I just say something? Ann Widdecombe need not apply. On OkCupid, Lefty is matched with Lefty, bee lover with boffin, in a passionate ideological lockstep on a site where new members are assured that they will get noticed for who you are, not what you look like. Neil and fruity Antonia obviously hit it off marvellously but what is truly incredible is that even in the depths of a pandemic, Prof Lockdown was clicking on, sizing up and checking out, perhaps even more in thrall to Cupid than Covid, keener on Staats than virus stats. So desperate was our boy for love that he broke his own rules while expecting thickos like us to carry on obeying them. It is infuriating. What is it with men and sex? Dont all answer at once. In her eye-popping memoirs extracted in the Mail this week, Vanessa Branson (sister of Sir Richard) revealed how her husband Robert Devereux left her and their four small children for a 26-year-old woman whom he said he was addicted to like heroin. As if that somehow excused his behaviour. Pictured: Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson walking with his partner Carrie Symonds And look at our own Prime Minister Boris Johnson who will soon marry for the third time, leaving assorted children, wives and random emotionally bruised lovers in his chaotic wake. Im not saying that all men would be like the King of Thailand, riding out the lockdown in a four-star German hotel, with only a self-designated pleasure room and his 20-strong sex harem for company. But perhaps a lot of them would, given the chance. The kings concubines have been allocated names which hint at the truncated lives they lead, including The Beautiful One Who will Be Faithful To The King; She Who Obeys Lovingly; Im Ready When You Are, Big Boy; and Are You Kidding? Id Love To Do That Again. If the sexes were reversed they never would be, because women simply arent so stupid the male harem would be called very different things, such as Ive Fixed The Boiler, Love; Let Me Put The Kids To Bed Tonight; and the one that really gets me going Ive Gone To Live In The Shed. Meantime, we just have to put up with the male of the species being let down by their loins, time and again. However, the same applies to Professor Ferguson as it does to Scotlands Chief Medical Officer Catherine Calderwood, who had to resign after breaking her own lockdown guidance by visiting her second home. It is not the morality, it is the hypocrisy that galls. In these difficult times, the public get particularly annoyed at those in power who do the very things they tell us not to. And you cant blame Cupid for that. Gin and bear it like Julia At last I have something in common with Julia Roberts Im not going to the Met Gala either. Julia posed for a photograph in her bathroom this week, wearing the beautiful Carolina Herrera dress she had earmarked for the event. Standing on the bath with a glass of gin while staring out the window bleakly? Thats something else we have in common, too. I must write to Julia. We could be friends. At last I have something in common with Julia Roberts Im not going to the Met Gala either Julia Roberts' Instagram post showing the dress she intended to wear Prince Harry has sold his guns. This seems to be a moment, a turning point, as he embraces his new life in America. It certainly puts his old toff life with the hunting and shooting set behind him for ever. It is unlikely he bought the Purdey shotguns himself. They were probably a gift. It is hard to imagine even now that Harry would sell a gift from his father or grandfather but surely their sale must have raised some social difficulty? One thing is for sure. Guns are not the only thing Harry has given up for love and Meghan an entire country, at the last count but the question is, what has she given up for him? Well look back on life under lockdown with affection Is this really going to be our last weekend in lockdown? The daily figures seem to suggest the curve is not flattening, but remaining stubbornly robust. A serious condition linked to Covid-19 is affecting children, while there seems to be no real evidence that in hotspots such as London there is less chance of falling ill than there was last week. Hundreds of people are still dying every day, there are more new infections are we really past the peak? Is the crisis in care homes under control, can the new app really test, trace and isolate efficiently, are the NHS and key workers fully supported with PPE? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then surely we are safer in some form of lockdown? My fear is also that coming out of lockdown will prove to be so much more difficult than lockdown itself. That we will look back on these days of isolation in a haze of warm affection. The commonality of purpose, the shared experience, the sticking together all that will dissipate once the rules are relaxed. Already we can see the fracture lines forming. Will British society rupture further as the economic crisis deepens and people begin to understand the bleakness that lies ahead? I am afraid that the answer is a yes from me. The sad truth about Billie Billie Henry has just been given a suspended eight-month jail term for harassing her ex-boyfriend. The 28-year-old, who is the adopted daughter of Lenny Henry and Dawn French, began a campaign that caused distress and anxiety after the man ended their five-month relationship. There were accusations of sex abuse, she threatened him with violence and bombarded him with emails, including some that she pretended were from her father, offering to pay off her exs debts. It is clear there are enormous difficulties on all sides in this very sad case. However, can it really be true that the Press are to blame? In Truro Crown Court, Henrys barrister Jo Martin QC said that her formative years were unusual and unique. Her parents did all they could to keep her out of the public eye but she was still subject to Press reporting and that had an effect on her childhood. Billie Henry (left) pictured with actress mother Dawn French and comedian father Lenny Henry To be scrupulously fair, there has been very little about Billie in the news over the years, excepting the occasional lavish interviews given by her mother in Hello and other magazines in which she talked about her daughter at length. A far more statistically likely cause for any unhappiness in Billies childhood could have been her parents deteriorating relationship due to Lenny Henrys reported infidelity and their subsequent divorce when Billie was 18. In more recent interviews, Dawn French has often talked of her fractious relationship with her daughter which she likened to peacetime, battles, war. It is wrong, glib and utterly facile to try to elicit sympathy by blaming the Press for a family situation that is clearly raw, complex and difficult. Im glad that in this case, the judge ignored the imputation. Elon Musk and his girlfriend have called their baby X A-12 Musk. Poor little mite. It underlines my conviction that some people should never be allowed to be parents. Especially the kind of selfish egocentrics like the Musks who never think about the playground taunts or casual cruelty that such a name might invoke further down the line. Or indeed that the child will change his name to Derek or Simon as soon as possible. The couple (pictured) may yet be thwarted. They have been refused permission to register the name in California and it is heartening to see the authorities tightening up on such indulgent nonsense. Recently, a Welsh mother was not allowed to call her baby girl Cyanide. But it sounds so pretty, she complained! Elon Musk (pictured) and his girlfriend Grimes have called their baby X A-12 Musk Michelles supreme sacrifice Michelle Obama said this week that having children was a concession she had to make that forced her to give up her aspirations and dreams of becoming Baracks equal. As a politician, as a lawyer, as a professional person. Mrs Obama didnt sound like she regretted her decision but it does prove that women (even superwomen like her) usually are the ones who have to make the major sacrifices. Nicolas Cage will be wonderful as Netflix star Joe Exotic but there is a downside to the veneration of this tiger-baiting low life. His simply awful park in Oklahoma is currently open and attracting even bigger crowds of stupids coming to gawp at his wretched animals. Facebook has announced details of 20 members of its oversight board, the moderation committee that will oversee the most challenging content issues" for the social network. The board will make decisions over hate speech, harassment, and users privacy on both Facebook and Facebook-owned Instagram. The social media company established the board in an attempt to ensure free expression is protected when it grinds against Facebooks terms of service. An infamous example of this includes when Facebook censored an image of a child victim of the Vietnam war under nudity guidelines, with critics claiming Facebook was unable to distinguish between famous war photographs and images of child abuse. In an op-ed in the New York Times, the four co-chairs of the committee Catalina Botero-Marino, Jamal Greene, Michael W. McConnell and Helle Thorning-Schmidt explained that the oversight board is independent of Facebook. Decisions will instead be based on the judgement of the members, rather than those that would be beneficial to the social media giant. Recommended Social media is failing miserably at battling coronavirus fake news Catalina Botero-Marino is the Dean of the Law School of the University of Los Andes; Jamal Greene is a Dwight Professor of Law; Michael McConnell is a former federal judge; and Helle Thorning-Schmidt is the former Prime Minister of Denmark, between 2011 and 2015. As well as those chairs, 20 other members are on the board from a number of backgrounds. These include Alan Rusbridger, the former editor-in-chief of The Guardian during the Edward Snowden revelations, and senior editor Endy Bayuni of the Jakarta Post a publication from Indonesia which has said Facebook has been part of the proliferation of fake news, hoaxes, hate speech and incitements to violence of social media content. The Indonesian government blocked Facebook and WhatsApp (owned by Facebook) in the past after fake news spread on its platforms resulted in riots and deaths last year. It also includes a founder of the American libertarian think tank the Cato Institute John Samples which advocates for strong support for free expression. Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Show all 15 1 /15 Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Facebook is born On 4 Feb, 2004, 19-year-old Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg launched a website called 'TheFacebook' from his dorm. Within 24 hours the college social network had more than 1,000 users Wikimedia Commons Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Winklevoss twins sue Zuckerberg Within one week of launching, fellow Harvard students Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra accused Zuckerberg of stealing their idea. It would be four years later when the resulting lawsuit was finally settled Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Open for business The social network finally opened it platform to everyone on 26 September, 2006. The move proved the catalyst in supercharging the site's already explosive growth PA Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Billion-dollar bid Yahoo offered $1 billion to buy Facebook in September 2006 but Zuckerberg turned it down. 'I dont know what I could do with the money,' Zuckerberg reportedly said. 'Id just start another social networking site' Reuters Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network In the money In September 2009, almost five years since the site launched, Facebook turned a profit for the first time Getty Images/iStockphoto Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Taking the lead Facebook overtook MySpace in 2010 to become the worlds most popular social network Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Taking on the tech giants In 2011, Google launched its own social network that it hoped would knock Facebook from its perch. Despite its initial success, Google+ ultimately failed and will be shut down completely in 2019 Getty Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Facebook goes public On 18 May, 2012, Facebook went public. The initial public offering raised $16 billion the third largest in US history Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Gobbling up the competition Facebook acquired Instagram in April 2012 for $1 billion, consolidating its position as the world's leading social network Reuters Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network One billion users On 4 October, 2012, Zuckerberg announced that Facebook had hit 1 billion users. 'If youre reading this: thank you for giving me and my little team the honour of serving you,' he wrote in a blog post Getty Images Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Expanding its empire In February 2014 Facebook acquired the messaging app WhatsApp for $19.3 billion REUTERS/Dado Ruvic Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Two billion users In June 2017, Facebook passed the 2 billion user milestone REUTERS/Dado Ruvic Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Privacy scandal On 17 March 2018, news broke that UK firm Cambridge Analytica had harvested data from around 87 million Facebook users for the purpose of political profiling in the build up to the 2016 US presidential elections Shutterstock Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Record profits Despite the scandals and subsequent #DeleteFacebook campaign, Facebook posted record profits just before its 15th anniversary, the equivalent of $7.37 from each of its 2.32 billions users iStock/Independent Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network Unhappy users A study found that people are happier when they dont use Facebook, adding to mounting evidence surrounding the impact social media has on mental health Rex Features Many high-profile conservatives, including President Trump, has said that right-wing voices have been censored on social media and that companies need to do more to protect them. Experts have claimed that is not true and left-wing voices have criticised Zuckerberg for too much attention to conservative voices as it was revealed the CEO took secret meetings with right-wing journalists, commentators, and lawmakers. The oversight board is reportedly funded from a $130 million trust fund that is completely separate from Facebook, and the board cannot be removed by Facebook. Board members will serve a maximum three terms of three years. Facebook has also committed to the boards decisions, even those that may contradict the views of its CEO Mark Zuckerberg who has ensured that he has always had controlling share of the company. However, the boards decisions will only apply to Facebook and Instagram. The Verge reports WhatsApp will not fall under the boards jurisdiction for privacy and encryption reasons. Facebook announced that it would be launching the oversight board since November 2018, and says that it expects the board to eventually grow to 40 members. Speaking to Reuters former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, Facebooks head of global affairs, said: I dont expect people to say, Oh hallelujah, these are great people, this is going to be a great success - theres no reason anyone should believe that this is going to be a great success until it really starts hearing difficult cases in the months and indeed years to come. Patients retesting positive after having recovered from novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are not contagious, a Vietnamese expert has said. They cannot transmit the pathogen because their body simply contains the remains of the virus after their recovery, said Nguyen Van Kinh, former director of the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi. Vietnams Ministry of Health requires that those retesting positive be isolated and treated like new patients. Those having recovered from SARS and MERS-CoV, two respiratory diseases caused by the old strains of the coronavirus, will be completely rid of the pathogen which also exists for a short period of time, Kinh said. COVID-19 is similar to the two diseases but the novel coronavirus mutates more frequently, the expert remarked. It takes time for the world to study its pathogenesis and viral immunology. A wave of recovered patients retesting positive has been recorded in several countries, including Vietnam with over a dozen cases and South Korea with 260 ones. Such cases didn't exhibit any symptoms and appeared clinically healthy, Kinh said. But their final test still returned positive. Vietnam is employing the real-time PCR method to confirm COVID-19 cases, the expert said, adding this test has 98 percent sensitivity. Vietnam is among the few countries that can culture and isolate this virus, Kinh said. Lab experiments showed that no virus grew again from samples taken from those retesting positive, the expert revealed. This proves that tests simply picked up the remains and fragments of the virus during the bodys elimination process, Kinh concluded. Epidemic investigations in China, Vietnam, and Japan have shown that patients declared recovered and later testing positive did not pass the pathogen to others, even when they had contact with their kin. The World Health Organization told AFP on Wednesday that recovered patients retesting positive does not constitute a reinfection. "We are aware that some patients test positive after they clinically recover," a WHO spokesperson told AFP. "From what we currently know and this is based on very recent data it seems these patients are expelling left over materials from their lungs, as part of the recovery phase." Vietnam has confirmed 271 cases as of Thursday morning, with 232 recoveries and no documented death, according to the Ministry of Health. The Southeast Asian country has carried out over 261,000 tests so far, while quarantining more than 34,000 people at the time of writing. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! It was appropriate that during the week in which we commemorated the 100th anniversary of the San Remo Conference, Israelis and Americans were discussing the Israeli governments declared intention to annex large portions of occupied Palestinian lands. As was the case at San Remo, the arguments made and the language used by the parties to this discussion were deeply upsetting, demonstrating no respect for the victims of their designs the Palestinian Arab people. One of the purposes of San Remo was to ratify British and French claims to divide up the Arab East, which they saw as the spoils of World War I. It made no difference to them that the Arab inhabitants of the region opposed their imperial ambitions. Nor did they care to honour the agreements they had previously signed with Arab leaders in which they claimed to respect the Arabs right to independence at the wars end. The signed agreements had been but a ruse to secure Arab support against the Ottoman Empire. And with the war over, the British representative said, in Palestine, we do not propose even to go through the form of consulting the desire and prejudices of the Arabs who inhabit that ancient land. Masking their real intent to control territories that would give them footholds in the Eastern Mediterranean, the participants at San Remo declared that the Arabs were not ready for self-rule and so would require British and French tutelage. The result was that the Arab East was carved up into Lebanon and Syria, which became French Mandates, and Palestine and Trans-Jordan, which were placed under British control, with the British pledging to honour their commitment to support a Jewish homeland in Palestine. By what right were these decisions made? On the one hand, the justification was the imperialists right of conquest. Underlying this claim, however, was a deep and abiding racism that viewed Arabs as a lower form of humanity not deserving of the same consideration accorded to Westerners. One hundred years later, much the same is in evidence in the discussion over Israels plans to annex occupied Palestinian lands. And it is true for most of the American sides involved in this discussion the Trump administration and the foreign policy establishment. For its part, the Trump administration issued its own updated version of San Remo, calling it the Deal of the Century. They recognised Israels right of conquest, giving them the nod to annex large portions of the lands Israel occupied in 1967. That the Deal was Israel-centric was no surprise, since it was concocted by three US administration officials invested in an illegal West Bank settlement. Like San Remo, the Deal declared that the Arabs werent ready for statehood, so it didnt recognise their sovereign rights. Instead, it laid out specific terms and conditions they must fulfill before they are to be allowed to practise a form of limited self-rule in portions of the West Bank. Which parts of the territories could Israel annex? According to the Deal, that would be decided by a US-Israeli map-making committee, once again replicating the San Remo Conferences arrogant contempt for Arab rights. In the end, however, the decision on what to include would be, in the words of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, an Israeli decision. The way Israels annexation plans are being discussed by Washingtons foreign policy establishment isnt much better. While most in that establishment are opposed to Israel annexing the occupied territories, their reasoning is oftentimes disturbingly Israel-focused. Largely made up of former administration officials, whose failures have brought us to where we are today, or media commentators who have had a dismal record on Middle East issues, this foreign policy crowd are wringing their hands in nervous anticipation of annexation, but for all the wrong reasons. The rhetoric they have been using to express their concerns displays a total lack of understanding of their responsibility for the current state of affairs, coupled with a strong undercurrent of racism. A featured opinion piece in The Washington Post by that papers prize-winning Jackson Diehl, serves as a good example. The article, headlined Trump now has the power to forever alter Israels character, establishes from the outset that the concern was about annexations effect on Israel. There are, it appears, two major concerns. Annexation will aggravate Israels future relations with a post-Trump United States. It would alienate liberals and put bipartisan support for Israel at risk. The other major concern is that annexation would compromise the establishment of a two-state solution in which Israel can remain a Jewish democratic State. Heres Diehl: If there is no Palestine, Israel will be doomed to become a binational state rather than a Jewish one, or else adopt an apartheid system in which millions of Palestinians are ruled by Israel but lack full political rights. There are several observations to be made in pointing out where this analysis falls short. In the first place, it ignores the fact that apartheid already is the current reality for Palestinians living under varying forms of oppressive Israeli rule in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank. Despite having a Palestinian Authority, Israel continues to conduct nightly raids into Palestinian cities, confiscate Arab-owned lands and stifle Palestinian freedom and economic development by controlling all access and egress for Palestinians. It also fails to recognise the hypocrisy of claiming that Israel can ever be both Jewish and democratic a fact brought home by the racist campaign waged by Benjamin Netanyahu against the recently elected 15 members of Israels Knesset from the Arab-led Joint List. This incitement took the form of Netanyahus claim that should his opponents have established a government with Arab support, it would be an illegitimate minority government. What the foreign policy establishment also fails to acknowledge is their responsibility for this mess. Their acquiescence, in and out of government, to Israeli settlement expansion, and their silence in the face of Israels gross violations of Palestinian human rights, are the reasons why there are 650,000 settlers in the West Bank and what Israel calls East Jerusalem more than triple the number that existed when the current peace process began. Past administrations failures to take effective measures to rein in these Israeli policies have created a sense of impunity, helping to move Israeli politics to where it is today. They have also contributed to weakening and discrediting Palestinian leadership, leading to a dysfunctional situation in the Palestinian polity. So spare me the crocodile tears or the nervous hand-wringing over the lost prospects of a two-state solution. That might have been possible 30 years ago, if the terms of the Oslo Accords had been honoured. They were ignored because Israels refusal to honour these terms was not punished by the US honest broker. What we have today is one state an Apartheid state with slightly more Arabs than Jews living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Nor will we see the fulfillment of the Deal of the Century since that holds no promise for the Palestinians who will not accept a future as a people who will be permanently subordinate to Israel. This is the reality created over the past 100 years since San Remo. And it will continue to be the reality until Palestinians are seen by Israeli Jews and US policymakers as equal human beings with full rights. The writer is president of the Arab American Institute. *A version of this article appears in print in the 7 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 7, 2020) - TransCanna Holdings Inc. (CSE: TCAN) (FSE: TH8) ("TransCanna" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that products made by Lyfted Farms (a wholly-owned subsidiary) will now be sold at Cookies retail locations, beginning with the renowned marijuana and lifestyle retailers' flagship store in Oakland, California. Cookies is a leading, globally-recognized lifestyle and cannabis brand based in California, offering over 50 cannabis varieties and product lines. Realizing the Lyfted Farms motto (A Higher Standard of Growing) products made by the TransCanna subsidiary will now also be featured alongside the Cookie cannabis brands' other high-quality offerings. This achievement follows a focused and strategic effort by leaders at TransCanna/Lyfted Farms to improve product offerings in order to draw premier cannabis chain retailers and to position the company for statewide traction in the largest cannabis market in the world. "We at Cookies love this brand and are excited to be working with Lyfted Farms," says Omar Sanchez aka 'King Meezy', Cookies Oakland Store Manager. "The product and the people behind the brand are a great fit with what we are all about at Cookies." "We are extremely pleased to offer Lyfted Farms products through the most influential cannabis lifestyle brand and retailer," says Bob Blink, TransCanna CEO. "We are so enthusiastic about the Cookies stores, the branding, their products, and the relationship Cookies has developed with its customers, along with the position they hold as market leaders for higher-end consumers," adds Blink. "This first step in a close relationship between Cookies and Lyfted Farms is setting the table for a mutually beneficial future for investors and customers of both brands." 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. Story continues 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/55513 When one of the co-owners of 225 Urban Smoke showed up to work last Thursday morning, he was "shocked" to see an empty storage room with no meat, produce or inventory. Samuel Ransom said all of the barbecue restaurant's food was stolen overnight. Ransom said security cameras showed burglars broke into the restaurant located at 1015 Rittiman Road at around 2:30 a.m. and didn't leave until about two hours later. The thieves, who haven't been caught, wiped out the store, stealing cases of brisket, pork, chicken, wings, lettuce, milk, cheese and bread. It is unclear how many people were involved, but Ransom said he believes "multiple people" were part of the crime. The restaurant owner added that all the food they lost is estimated to be worth between $12,000 and $15,000. READ ALSO: San Antonio restaurant owner says he's received worldwide support for not reopening after CNN spot "They took everything," Ransom said. "I was so shocked. We couldn't even open the next day ... we were running around like a circus trying to get bread and products to open up because we didn't want to let them win." The barbecue business has kept its doors open for curbside and delivery since the coronavirus pandemic started. Since March, Ransom said it's been a struggle as he has laid off more than half of his staff. Ransom and his partner Daniel Jimenez, who opened the location last June, created a GoFundMe account Saturday to help replace the items that were taken. As of Wednesday afternoon, the page has raised nearly $1,500 of its $15,00o goal. "It's eye-opening and humbling to see people rally around us and help us during this time," he said. "People are coming in and ordering a ton of food and just showing us love. It lets you know that there are still good people out there." Although restaurants are allowed to reopen at 25 percent of its capacity, 225 Urban Smoke has kept its dine-in area closed. The establishment is still selling its food for curbside and delivery. The establishment is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. For ordering information, call 210-444-9956 or visit 225urbansmoketx.com. Priscilla Aguirre is a general assignment reporter for MySA.com | priscilla.aguirre@express-news.net | @CillaAguirre The province says no one has to tell anyone else if they get COVID-19. The same goes for businesses or landlords, should employees or tenants get sick. But should you tell? Some businesses have decided they should and have gone public with cases. Sobeys and Metro grocery stores keep a running list of locations with confirmed cases. Chains around Ontario like Petro Canada, the LCBO and McDonalds have all had employees get the virus and acknowledged specific cases to media. Annette Food Market, a small Toronto Italian restaurant, posted on Instagram when one of its employees tested positive, telling patrons "complete transparency is essential." There's a lot to weigh when deciding to disclose or not a delicate balance of legal, ethical, privacy and public health implications, along with how people will react. Public health stance Public health units know who has tested positive and where they've been. But they rarely disclose locations. Dr. Sudit Ranade, medical officer of health for Lambton County, hears from many people eager to know where a case has been confirmed and can speak to why not all are made public. "There are people who think 'If only I knew that you found a case in this store, I would be able to protect myself,'" he said. "It's actually in someways beneficial for them not to know exactly where COVID was detected ... it might give them a sense of reassurance in places where they really shouldn't be reassured." Nathan Denette/Canadian Press Through contact tracing, public health units track down people who could have come into contact with a confirmed case. Typically public health is contacting individuals. But there are exceptions. Toronto Public Health said it would tell residents in a building, for example, "if there was a risk to others at the building." Ranade would only disclose publicly if there was no other way of contacting someone who could be at risk. He recently put out a call looking for passengers who used a local taxi service after a driver tested positive for COVD-19; contact information wasn't available for all passengers. Story continues "The goal really is to achieve a good balance between transparency and privacy." Ethical stance University of Toronto ethicist Kerry Bowman said ethical disclosure depends on your level of risk to others. If you are staying put in your house, not leaving at all and getting people to bring groceries, then you aren't putting anyone at risk. "I do not see how there could be an ethical obligation there," he said. Bowman said with HIV, there's no obligation to tell others outside of sexual activity, no matter how curious someone may be. Carlos Osorio/Reuters "It's not fully analogous but it does come down to risk again. If you're not creating a risk to other people, I do think it becomes a matter of privacy." He screened patients at a hospital during SARS and said people learn to lie, which becomes another ethical question. "People know exactly what you want them to tell you. If they've got a smaller, subtle cough, they're not going to tell you." Legal stance London, Ont., residential tenancies lawyer Joe Hoffer has been advising landlords to tell tenants if there is a confirmed case of COVID-19 in their building. (With exceptions for smaller buildings, where sick individuals could be identified.) Hoffer has been sending around homemade template signs that clearly warn there is a case in the building. He's encouraging landlords to post them at all building entrances, along with more information about symptoms and best practices. Submitted by Joe Hoffer Hoffer said if landlords chose to do nothing, they would be "wide open" to legal action. "As long as a landlord has met their duty of care ... they at least have a defence." Public reaction stance Another consideration is how people may react to knowing they shopped at a store where an employee has COVID-19 or if there's a case down the hall. Some want to know. Others don't. Dr. Ranade warns against creating "unnecessary panic." "People act in ways that may actually not be helpful and actually may harm the person who does have that disease." Evan Mitsui/CBC John Dickie, president of the Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations, wants landlords to consider whether their building is "panicky" or not before disclosing. It's not scientific, but he asks them to consider how the majority of tenants reacted to past stressful situations like power outages or heating issues. "You worry 100 or 200 people and for three-quarters of them, they have nothing to do with that person other than riding the elevator," he said. "That could create a panic in the building. That could cause people to want to move out of the building." Privacy stance Disclosure can be tricky in smaller places like a restaurant with a tiny staff or smaller apartment buildings where there's a risk identifying exactly who has the virus. That becomes a privacy issue. But Ontario's information and privacy commissioner Brian Beamish warns that can't be used as a blanket excuse for public health units and governments to not disclose information. "We're not talking about naming individuals," said Beamish. "We all have a right to know the extent of the situation, the extent of the spread and that includes what locations are impacted and what locations are not impacted." Fred Thornhill/The Canadian Press There's currently inconsistency between public health units for example, some are not providing details on how many cases are in long-term care homes. Beamish detailed what he thinks should be disclosed in a public letter: "Number of affected individuals." "Demographic data such as approximate age and gender." "Geographic locations of infected or deceased individuals, including long term care facilities, or workplaces, especially if they are in a location where large numbers of people might have gathered." "I don't think this is a time where we should be keeping information from people," he said. "This is a time where the general community is interested and they do have a right to know." Editor's Note: With so much market volatility, stay on top of daily news! Get caught up in minutes with our speedy summary of today's must-read news and expert opinions. Sign up here! (Kitco News) - The spread between spot gold and futures prices has largely normalized now that two Swiss refineries are operating again, said Commerzbank. The refineries were among the many businesses around the world that were locked down for a while as part of the global effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. This contributed to futures prices rising as much as $70 above spot metal, a spread that industry veterans said they had never seen before. However, two of the worlds biggest gold refiners, Valcambi and Argor-Heraeus, have resumed operations, making significantly more supply available to the market. Swiss refineries process some 1,500 metric tons of gold annually, which Commerzbank said is roughly one-third of the global supply of gold. The price differential between the gold forward contract for short-term delivery on the Comex in New York and the spot price in London, which had risen significantly as a result, has likewise normalized again now that the Swiss refineries have resumed normal operation, said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch. Both prices are virtually on a par again. The futures are now only a few dollars an ounce higher. As of 9:05 a.m. EDT, spot gold was $10.15 higher to $1,695.10 an ounce, while the most active June futures were up $10 to $1,698.60. Officials with supermarket giant Stop & Shop are defending their continued use of aisle-roaming robots during the coronavirus pandemic, when space for social distancing in grocery stores is at a premium and customers worry about potentially contaminated surfaces. The Massachusetts-based grocery chain defended its use of the robots collectively known as Marty during the pandemic after criticism on a Connecticut forum on Reddit. In a recent post, one Connecticut-based Reddit member claimed Stop & Shops use of the robots is impeding social distancing efforts. You know, Marty, the one with the googly eyes, the one who does not obey the one ways and turns an already crowded aisle into a socially non-distanced traffic jam, the Reddit member wrote. Hes annoying under normal circumstances, but in the current climate, hes infuriating and recklessly unsafe. Maura OBrien, a spokeswoman for Stop & Shop, said the robots were rolled out in the chains stores more than a year ago to identify hazards, such as liquid, powder and bulk food-items spills, throughout the day and summon store employees to take corrective action. Without Marty, our associates would be required to walk all aisles of the store on an hourly basis to check for hazards, OBrien said in a statement. Martys operation in our stores prevents associates from having to come in contact with customers in doing so and lets them focus on other tasks like shelf replenishment and cleaning to provide a safe shopping experience for our customers. The robots are sanitized by Stop & Shop employees, as well as by a third-party cleaning company throughout the day, according to OBrien. Most people who responded to Hearst Connecticut Media on social media said they found robots more annoying than a threat to shoppers health and safety. The robot is a pain in the tush, said Donna Lodynsky of Cheshire. It is an inconvenience and just plain gets in the way. Burt Flickinger, managing director of New York City-based Strategic Resource Group, said that while using robots may be cost-effective for Stop & Shop, using them in the aisles of its store misses out on a real opportunity to concentrate on consumer communication. Its complicated and confusing enough in the aisles right now and it can be challenging for seniors and the physically disabled to make their way through, Flickinger said. Right now, these robots are taking up valuable aisle and store space. Marty and his fellow aisle-roaming robots also are equipped with the ability to detect shoplifters, according to Flickinger. But he said using the robot as a surveillance tool makes the honest shopper feel uncomfortable. Besides, a skilled shoplifter can outsmart a robot, Flickinger said. But when theres a constant presence of in-store leadership and workers offering to help customers, it scares off shoplifters and they go elsewhere. luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com Bay Area political events that are happening online and at socially safe distances during the coronavirus pandemic: SATURDAY Coronavirus and the food chain: Raj Patel, an activist, journalist and University of Texas professor, discusses the causes and impact of the global food crisis, which has only been intensified by the coronavirus pandemic. Hosted by Speak Out Now. 2 p.m. For more information and to join meeting, go here. SUNDAY Driving environmental change: Jessica Jane Robinson, board member of the Northern California Recycling Association, discusses how social media can be leveraged can create environmental change. She will work with participants to develop an environmental call to action in support of the Ecology Centers Plastic Free July. 11 a.m. More information and RSVP here. TUESDAY Women and climate change: Musimbi Kanyoro, former president and CEO of the Global Fund for Women, on the role gender equity can play in reducing humans global carbon footprint. Hosted by Climate One. 9:30 a.m. More information is here. Latinos and coronavirus: A Facebook Live town hall focusing on Latino people and the fight against coronavirus. Hosted by Health Care Voter. Noon. More information is here. Moral leadership: Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO of Acumen and author of Manifesto for a Moral Revolution: Practices to Build a Better World, discusses the chances of using the pandemic to reimagine institutions and enact a moral revolution. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. 2 p.m. More information is here. WEDNESDAY Andy Slavitt: Board chair of United States of Care and former Obama administration health official on a bipartisan approach to fighting the pandemic. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. 9:30 a.m. More information is here. THURSDAY Asian American/Pacific Islanders and coronavirus: A Facebook Live town hall focusing on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and the fight against coronavirus. Hosted by Health Care Voter. Noon. More information is here. Madeleine Albright: Former secretary of state talks about her new memoir, Hell and Other Destinations: A 21st Century Memoir. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. $15-$20. 3 p.m. More information is here. To list an event, please email Chronicle politics editor Trapper Byrne at tbyrne@sfchronicle.com CHARLOTTETOWNThe Prince Edward Island government has announced a number of programs to assist people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Finance Minister Darlene Compton says 17,000 Islanders who are considered essential workers but make less than $3,000 per month will be eligible for a one-time payment of $1,000 each. The global pandemic has placed significant extra demands on our essential workers in sectors that support our food chain supply, transportation, health care and others. They have remained unwavering in their commitment to serving Islanders during these exceptionally challenging times, Compton said Thursday. The funding for the program was announced by the federal government on April 15, but the original criteria would have applied to just 350 people accounting for just $800,000 of a total $16.7 million available to the province. Compton said Premier Dennis King lobbied the federal government to allow the province to change the criteria and make the funding available to all essential workers. Fisheries Minister Jamie Fox said the pandemic has had a major impact on the fishing and aquaculture industries, so repayable loans are available to those sectors for up to $25,000 at a rate of four per cent. The province will pay the interest for the first 18 months and the principle is also deferred for 18 months. Government understands these programs will not necessarily take up all the potential losses our seafood industry may face this year, but we hope to reduce some of the financial pressure on this important industry, Fox said. The spring lobster season is set to open May 15, while the oyster and clam seasons are set to open May 18. Tourism operators will be eligible for up to $2,000 toward the cost of Plexiglas dividers, hand sanitizer, washing stations and other changes to allow their businesses to adhere to public health guidelines. Tourism Minister Matthew MacKay said provincial day parks on P.E.I. will open June 5, although playgrounds will remain closed. Provincial golf courses Brudenell and Crowbush are scheduled to open May 15, while the course at Dundarave will open May 22. MacKay said provincial campgrounds will open June 26, but only for Islanders who previously had a reservation for a seasonal campsite. Amitabh Bachchan had shared a memory from late actor Rishi Kapoors wedding celebration just a day before the Do Dooni Chaar actor died at a Mumbai hospital after a two-year battle with leukaemia. The actor had shared a blog to celebrate 37 years of his film Mahaan where he talked about attending Rishis baaraat with a bandaged hand after suffering a serious injury on the sets in Chennai. Amitabh had to slide down the rope while filming a song and action sequence which left with a serious injuries. Sharing the Mahaan poster which features Amitabh sliding down a rope, Amitabh had written, never realised that rope friction is the worst burn ever .. the shot happened .. sliding down I knew I was damaging my hand but what the heck the show must go on .. shot over the hand lacerated to bits. Amitabh Bachchan had suffered rope burns on sets of Mahaan. Amitabh Bachchan at Rishi Kapoors wedding function. He was immediately rushed to the hospital where he was drugged , treated , stitched up and bandaged and soon after, he left for Mumbai to attend Rishi and Neetus wedding function at the Burmah Shell complex in Chembur. The actor shared a few pictures which show him in a suit and the customary pink turban on his head with his hand in a bandage. One photo shows Rishis uncle Shammi Kapoor besides him. Also read: Puneet Issar on playing Duryodhan in Mahabharat: My body turned black and blue after climax fight scene with Bheem Amitabh had returned to Chennai the next day to resume the shoot. However, the injury could never get time to heal well as he again suffered burns on same hand while lighting firecrackers on Diwali. Sharing how he went on to hide his injured hand in films, he wrote on his blog, the art of camouflaging the injured hand became a routine exercise later too, when it blew up during Divali, handling a bomb firecracker .. immediate films .. Inquilab and Sharaabi .. hand in pocket mostly or a handkerchief wrapped around to express style. Follow @htshowbiz for more Conte encourages Italians to take their summer vacation in Italy. Italy's premier Giuseppe Conte told newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano on 6 May that Italians would be able to go on holiday this summer as the coronavirus emergency will be increasingly under control. "Perhaps with more caution than before, but we will go to the sea, to the mountains, to the hills" - Conte told ll Fatto Quotidiano - "It would be nice, to help the hard-hit tourism sector, if all Italians spent their holidays in Italy." Read also: Conte's remarks come as Germany's federal tourism commissioner Thomas Bareiss told Der Tagesspiegel newspaper that if the outbreak stayed under control, people might be able to take vacations abroad soon. Bareiss also said that Germany was in talks with other nations about summer holidays, reports the BBC. However French president Emmanuel Macron took a more cautious approach on 5 May - according to the BBC - saying it was "too soon to say whether we can take holidays" - although this would become clear by the start of June. Dr Duika Burges Watson, from the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, UK. Credit: Newcastle University, UK People who have recently experienced loss of smell are being urged to participate in a survey as a new global research group investigates the symptom as a marker of COVID-19. Health organisations across the world have recognised anosmiathe loss of smellas an indicator of COVID-19, following a wave of reports from patients and clinicians about rapid onset of smell loss, even in the absence of other symptoms. Scientists worldwide, including experts at Newcastle and Northumbria universities, UK, have now united as the Global Consortium of Chemosensory Researchers (GCCR) to investigate the connection between the chemical senses and the COVID-19 virus. Anyone who has recently experienced symptoms of respiratory illnesses or smell loss is urged to complete a 10 minute survey at gcchemosensr.org/ Hundreds of scientists Dr. Duika Burges Watson, from the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Newcastle University, and Professor Vincent Deary, Professor of Applied Health Psychology at Northumbria University, are part of this group of more than 600 clinicians, neurobiologists, data scientists, cognitive scientists, sensory researchers and technicians from over 50 countries. Dr. Burges Watson said: "Anecdotal reports are increasingly being supported by scientific findings demonstrating smell loss is a symptom of COVID-19 that clinicians and policy makers should be paying attention to. "Newcastle experts have joined the consortium to help in firming up the scientific evidence of anosmia as a symptom of COVID-19. Professor of Applied Health Psychology at Northumbria University. Credit: Newcastle University, UK "We are also leading in emphasising the importance of patient and public involvement in the GCCR through our membership of their Patient Advocacy Committee, alongside charitable organisations such as AbScent and Fifth Sense. "The sudden loss of smell and taste may be very distressing for sufferers and we are keen to support people dealing with this and to draw attention to the impact sensory losses in COVID-19 and other conditions." The GCCR will use data collected in a global survey to unravel key markers of the virus in order to further understand how to prevent its spread. The survey has been translated into more than 20 languages and is available to individuals and clinicians on the GCCR website. Professor Deary said: "We really want to highlight the fact that reports from across the world, including from the King's College London symptom tracker app, are showing smell and taste loss as a symptom that clinicians need to pay attention to in relation to COVID-19. "Dr. Burges Watson and myself are also interested in the longer term impact of smell and taste loss for those who have recovered from COVID-19. Do the deficits in smell and taste also recover, and if not, are their interventions that can improve, or compensate for, smell and taste loss? "Amidst all that is happening this may seem like a minor point, but from our research in other illnesses we know that loss of smell and taste can have a profound impact of daily life and wellbeing." Altered Eating Research Network Dr. Burges Watson and Professor Deary join the GCCR after their recently published letter in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), urging for more attention to be given to anosmia as a symptom of COVID-19. Professor Deary is a practitioner health psychologist and a practicing cognitive behavioural therapist. Both have a particular interest in altered relationships with food and eating, including loss of smell and taste. Following a National Institute of Health Research funded grant examining changed relationships with food after head and neck cancer, Dr. Burges Watson and Professor Deary established the Altered Eating Research Network as a public interface for the many whose difficulties with food and eating are under-recognised and unsupported. CHICAGO, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- To create better experiences for both brands and consumers, Horizon Media has partnered with TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) to expand its identity capabilities. The partnership will empower more personalized marketing execution in support of people-based marketing and client advertising initiatives. The partnership uses TransUnions validated identity and robust audience attribute data sets to help build Horizons identity spine from the ground up, creating a common ID layer to power marketing decisions across all touchpoints. Through the partnership, Horizon bolsters its own identity infrastructure, establishing a framework for reconciling disparate data sources, deepening its clients data-driven strategies, and enabling faster connections to deliver IDs across the digital ecosystem. The proliferation of digital channels has made it mandatory for marketers to understand an individual across multiple touchpoints. You cant do this effectively without a singular, accurate view of identity, said Matt Spiegel, executive vice president and head of the media vertical at TransUnion. Horizon recognized that keeping pace with todays connected consumer requires an investment in comprehensive identity. In doing so, Horizon creates a foundation to build its own proprietary, people-based solutions, and its clients can make more informed decisions about consumers, while also earning trust through increased relevancy. The expanded identity footprint also enables Horizon to resolve individual or household identities and match, build and leverage audiences directly for its advertising clientele. As a result, Horizons clients can tap into this strategic data layer to execute more precise campaigns and activations with confidence. Consumers expect more personalized experiences from advertisers and marketers, said Laura McElhinney, chief data officer at Horizon Media. Our partnership with TransUnion enhances our understanding of identity across consumers and devices to serve as the underpinning for making better, more targeted decisions for our clients and smarter, future-forward solutions to serve the evolving needs of the market. Please visit the TransUnions website for more information on TransUnion's Identity Graph Product Suite . About TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) TransUnion is a global information and insights company that makes trust possible in the modern economy. We do this by providing a comprehensive picture of each person so they can be reliably and safely represented in the marketplace. As a result, businesses and consumers can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good. A leading presence in more than 30 countries across five continents, TransUnion provides solutions that help create economic opportunity, great experiences and personal empowerment for hundreds of millions of people. http://www.transunion.com/business About Horizon Media Founded in 1989, Horizon Media , Inc. is headquartered in New York, and has offices in Los Angeles and Toronto. With estimated billings of $8.7 billion and over 2,300 employees, Horizon is the second largest U.S. media agency according to COMvergence data. Recognized as one of the worlds ten most innovative marketing and advertising companies by Fast Company, Horizon Media has been named Media Agency of the Year by MediaPost, Adweek and AdAge and is known for its highly personal approach to client service. Renowned for its culture, Horizon is also consistently named to all the prestigious annual Best Places to Work lists published by Fortune, Forbes, AdAge, Crains New York Business and Los Angeles Business Journal; including Best Workplaces for Diversity, Best Workplaces for Women, and Best Workplaces for Millennials honors. Earning the industrys highest honor, Bill Koenigsberg, President, CEO and Founder of Horizon Media, was inducted into the American Advertising Federation (AAF) Hall of Fame in 2019. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election in the Rose Garden at the White House May 22, 2019 in Washington, DC. The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to temporarily halt an appeals court ruling that would force the Justice Department to hand over to Congress secret grand jury materials produced in connection with former special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in March ordered the normally secret materials to be turned over to the Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee. The committee sought the records as part of an investigation into whether Trump had committed impeachable offenses. The request, submitted by Solicitor General Noel Francisco, is the latest to thrust the justices into the middle of a partisan fight between Democrats and Republicans. The nine-member court has a 5-4 conservative majority, including two of President Donald Trump's own appointees. While Trump was acquitted by the Senate in his impeachment trial in February, House Democrats have said their investigations are ongoing. They have said that they may pursue new articles of impeachment if the grand jury materials reveal new evidence. Francisco wrote in his brief with the top court that allowing the lower court ruling to stand would require the government to disclose the materials on Monday. He wrote that the March decision created "substantial constitutional difficulties." Grand jury materials are typically closely guarded, though courts may authorize their release under certain conditions. One exception to the normal secrecy rule is when the records are sought in connection to a judicial proceeding. The Democrats have argued that an impeachment trial is a judicial proceeding, but the Justice Department argues that it is not. Francisco wrote in his filing with the top court that finding that impeachment trials are judicial proceedings "would raise serious separation-of-powers concerns because it would mean that federal courts could impose conditions on Congress's use of grand-jury materials in impeachment trials." House Democrats said they do not oppose an "administrative stay" of the lower court ruling for one week starting Monday, according to Francisco's brief. But the Judiciary Committee notified the Justice Department that it will oppose a longer delay, he wrote. In March, Circuit Judge Judith Rogers, writing for a 2-1 panel of the federal appeals court in Washington D.C., wrote that the Justice Department's position "would raise as many separation-of-powers problems as it might solve." The Justice Department's interpretation, she wrote, would "deprive the House of its ability to access such records in future impeachment investigations." "Where the Department is legally barred from handing over grand jury materials without court authorization, judicial restraint does not empower Congress; it impedes it," Rogers wrote. Rogers, who was appointed by Bill Clinton, was joined by Circuit Judge Thomas Griffith, a George W. Bush appointee. Trump appointee Neomi Rao dissented from the opinion. The request comes just days before the top court will hear its first cases related to Trump's own financial dealings. The high-profile disputes will be broadcast live to the public as the Supreme Court building remains closed as a health precaution against the spreading coronavirus. On Tuesday, the court will hear oral arguments in two cases in which Trump is seeking to reverse lower court rulings ordering his banks and longtime accounting firm to hand over his financial records to Congress. A third related case being heard that day involves a subpoena for Trump's tax records from Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr. JESUS, MARY AND ANA Writing a novel about Jesus wife takes chutzpah, which Sue Monk Kidd appears to have. The veteran author has tackled big subjects before, including faith, slavery, mother-daughter relationships and an affair between a married woman and a monk. But in her fourth novel, now in its second week on the hardcover fiction list, Kidd goes where few writers have ventured before, telling the story of Ana, a first-century woman who falls in love with an 18-year-old Jesus. The idea for The Book of Longings came to Kidd in October 2014 when she read a National Geographic article about a fragment of an ancient manuscript suggesting that Jesus was married. She says, It turned out to be a fraud, but my imagination was ignited. I thought, if Jesus wife ever existed, she would be the most silenced woman in Western history. And that was all it took: I got up every day for four and a half years and tried to give her a voice. For the first 14 months, Kidd did an exhaustive amount of research, a process she describes as both tedious and wondrous. She watched documentaries and immersed herself in books on Jesus and Palestine. She read about Jewish women philosophers in Alexandria. She pored over journals she kept during a long-ago trip to Egypt, Israel and Jordan. Once Kidd started writing, she worked for up to eight hours a day until her Havanese, Barney, arrived to drag her out of the study of her Chapel Hill, N.C., home. Kidds daughter, Ann Kidd Taylor, lives next door; shes a writer, too, and also her mothers first reader, providing chapter-by-chapter feedback. (In 2009, the two co-authored a memoir, Traveling With Pomegranates.) Jahquez Scott (left) got out of jail after changing places with Quintin Henderson (right). Cook County Sheriff's Office A Chicago prisoner walked out of jail posing as a fellow inmate, wearing a face mask that let him cover his face tattoos, according to multiple sources. Jahquez Scott left the Cook County Jail on May 2 instead of Quintin Henderson, who had been approved for release that day. According to the Chicago Tribune, Henderson later told authorities that Jahquez promised him $1,000 to swap places. Scott wore Henderson's sweatshirt and a mask to take Henderson's place when he was called up to leave, and is now still at large, according to CBS Chicago. Henderson has now been additionally charged with aiding and abetting an escape, the Tribune said. Authorities are trying to re-capture Scott. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Detainees at a Chicago jail plotted an identity swap that saw one of them get out early, wearing a coronavirus face mask that covered his distinctive face tattoos. Jahquez Scott, 21, pretended to be another inmate and signed out of Cook County jail in disguise, according to the Chicago Tribune. The newspaper said Scott got out by impersonating Quintin Henderson, who had been granted release on bail. Scott's bail conditions were much harsher than Henderson's. According to CBS Chicago, Henderson was due to leave on an I-bond a form of bail release based on signing an agreement to come to court. Scott was being held on a $50,000 bond on gun charges, and for violating an earlier bail, the station reported. Henderson, 28, told prosecutors on Tuesday that Scott approached him with a promise of $1,000 for his cooperation, according to the Tribune. The pair were recorded on surveillance camera in the discharge tunnel allegedly discussing the plot and swapping sweatshirts, the paper reported. At the time of the release, guards called Henderson's name but Scott stepped forward, in a mask. According to Cook County Sheriff's office, he used Henderson's inmate number and signed forms in his name before walking out, CBS Chicago said. Story continues Henderson then came forward claiming he had been asleep when his name was called, and asked when he would be released. The prison authorities quickly realised that something was amiss, the paper reported. Henderson has now been additionally charged with aiding and abetting an escape, with $25,000 bail, said the paper. A warrant is out for Scott's arrest. There is also an internal investigation at the prison, according to CBS Chicago. Read the original article on Insider Childhood abduction victim warns of online predators being more active now, especially since everyone is under quarantine, which includes your children. Read More: SARS-CoV-2 Gets Duplicated by Scientists! While Another Researcher Found Dead Yet Another Thing To Worry About Children's safety advocates, as well as law enforcement, are warning parents to be more mindful of their children's activities online. The reason is quite simple; there may be several sexual or child predators out there who would take advantage of the quarantine and manipulate the children to their desires. Alicia Kozakiewicz, a childhood abduction and rape survivor, spoke out during Fox Nation's "Crime Stories With Nancy Grace" saying, "This is an overwhelming time, but this is something that cannot be ignored ... Kids are home, and the predators are home, and they are picking these kids out and easily able to find them ... They know where they are, and they're going to be in the places where the kids spent the most time." What Alicia Kozakiewicz Experienced At a very young age of 13, Kozakiewicz had the misfortune of being kidnapped from her home on January 1, 2002. Her abductor was able to contact her online and was able to lure her out of her home in Pittsburgh, Penn. From Penn, she was transported off to Herndon, Va.; this is where she was held captive in a dungeon basement and experienced severe traumatic abuse from her captor. In related news, an episode of Crime Stories comes just right after the arrest of 30 men in Fairfax County, VA. in April in line of an online child predator sting operation, called "Operation COVID crackdown." Read More: [BREAKING] Cure Is Coming Sooner Than Expected, Pfizer Moves Potential Cure to Clinical Trials And Plans to Create Millions of Vaccines by 2021 The Virginia police have said that virtual learning heightens the risk of children becoming exposed as targets by sexual predators online since the schools are forced to close due to the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Kozakiewicz told Grace the means of how child predators use to exploit children online, "I was groomed. I was introduced to the person in a chatroom ... Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, none of that existed yet, this was back in 2002 and I was the first case to receive high-profile media attention in an Internet luring." She also added, "Grooming is incredibly simple. It's just pretending to be a child's friend and being there for them ... Kids struggle with so many vulnerabilities and so many insecurities and these predators feed on those. They find them and they exploit them." What Law Enforcement Are Doing About It Fairfax country Police Department Major Ed O'Carroll shared her views in a statement last month saying: "Our detectives have remained vigilant and they recognized the increased threat posed by online predators in recent weeks... I commend their ability to adapt during this unprecedented public health pandemic and to do so in the interest of protecting our children and bringing justice to those who commit these repugnant crimes." So parents who have been lenient or thought that they're doing what they can to ensure their kids are safe, think again. The coronavirus may not be the only problem you have to deal with, and it's essential to keep your children safe from online predators. Read More: Early COVID-19 Case Undiagnosed in France a Month Before the First Case was Reported 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A 93-year-old Air Force veteran hitchhiked to a 99-cent store to buy Hershey bars to share with his girlfriend amid the coronavirus lockdown. Mike Cain has shared a Hershey's chocolate bar with the love of his life, 94-year-old Doris Jerman, each night for nearly two decades without fail. 'We don't eat the whole bar just a couple pieces,' Mike told NBC San Diego. But the sudden arrival of COVID-19 and the subsequent stay-at-home orders have made it difficult for Mike to get to any local stores. For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up within in a few weeks. Mike Cain (left) and Doris 'Do' Jerman (right) have shared a Hershey chocolate bars each night for nearly two decades Mike (left) met Richard Farmer (right) while attempting to hitchhike from his senior community to a local 99-cent store in California But older adults and people with health conditions can experience severe symptoms or even death. That wasn't enough to stop Mike, who was so determined to buy Hershey bars for his girlfriend that he snuck away from his senior community in Lake San Marcos, California. On Tuesday, Mike put his plan into action and decided to hitchhike his way to a local 99-cent store about 1.5 miles away. Luckily, local resident and real estate broker Richard Farmer happened to drive by just at the right moment. On Facebook, Farmer added that he noticed Mike standing with his thumb out as he drove by. 'I was going home for lunch at about 12:30 or 1:00 in the afternoon,' Farmer told Fox News. 'When I turned a corner to go up the hill to my house, I saw an elderly gentleman about four feet into the street.' Mike (pictured) didn't tell Doris that he was hitchhiking to the 99-cent store and admitted 'she probably hasn't even started looking for me yet' After asking if Mike needed help, the veteran explained that he was trying to get to a nearby 99-cent store. 'I think my first concern was, "Wow, I dont know if I should be picking up this 93-year-old man" But I got the car as clean as I could,' said Farmer. Farmer used Clorox wipes to clean his car before Mike entered and both men wore protective gear. He offered to drive to the neighborhood supermarket instead, but Mike was set on going to the 99-cent store for Hershey's bars. 'He said, "Well, we break one up every night and we share it, and Im out. So I need to get to the 99-cent store to get some more Hershey bars",' said Farmer. Doris 'Do' Jerman (pictured) first met Mike Cain around 20 years ago at a senior dance Along the way, Mike admitted that he slipped away from his senior living community without telling Doris. 'She probably hasn't even started looking for me yet,' Mike told Farmer. Mike and Doris, or 'Do', first met at a senior dance about 20 years ago and have remained closed ever since. Once at the 99-cent store, Mike tried to continue his mission alone and hopped out of Farmer's car. 'He thanked me and waved goodbye, but I was like, "Wait a minute, buddy! Were only halfway through with this trip!"' Farmer said. 'Im not going to let you walk a mile-and-a-half back!' Farmer then followed Mike into the store, where he purchased 35 Hershey's bars for him to share with Doris. 'I asked what he was going to tell his wife about where the chocolate came from,' Farmer said. 'And he said he was going to tell her he met this real nice real estate who gave him a ride.' Mike (pictured) bought 35 Hershey bars to share with Doris for the next 35 nights Farmer: 'I thought it was amazing that they have this tradition they do every night, but what a lovely story, that this guy is willing to hitchhike' Farmer offered his business card to Mike and said he'd be happy to help him anytime he needed a ride to the store. 'I put him in my phone as "Hershey Bar Mike,"' said Farmer. Mike took up Farmer's offer recently and went grocery shopping at a nearby Albertson's. Farmer shared the heartwarming experience and photos of Mike on Facebook. The post has since amassed more than 70,000 likes and 28,000 shares. Mike, who is not on Facebook, was shocked by how many people were touched by his story. 'I asked him if he knew what Facebook was [after the story went viral], and he said he had heard of it,' said Farmer. 'And I asked him to guess how many people had seen my post. He said, "I dunno, like 20" At the time it was 60,000. He said, "You gotta be kidding me!" He was happy that so many people enjoyed his story.' Mike's story impressed a few Hershey distributors, who've reached and want to send the couple shipments so they don't have to worry about running low. 'I thought it was amazing that they have this tradition they do every night, but what a lovely story, that this guy is willing to hitchhike,' said Farmer. California has 54,937 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 2,254 deaths. Gov. Gavin Newsom on California announced earlier this week that the state will begin reopening. Phase 2 of Newsom's reopening plan will begin this week, with retailers allowed to open on Friday with curbside pickup and social distancing restrictions. Laguna Beach and San Clemente were given the 'OK' to open their beaches after launching a legal battle against Newsom. Unlike most Power Rankings, where there are items that clearly fall into Good and Bad categories, nearly all of these ice creams were good. But they must, alas, be ranked. Thriller-seekers take note: this could be your most exhilarating post-lockdown ride. A Chinese scenic spot has built a huge swing on the edge of a 2,300-foot-tall cliff and is planning to apply for the world record of the largest swing. The arch of the extreme ride is a whopping 328 feet tall, roughly the equivalent of a 30-storey-tall building. The ride in Chongqing, China, can catapult thrill-seekers over the cliff at a top speed of 80mph According to the Guinness World Records, the current tallest swing in the world measures 88 metres (288 feet 8 inches) from the seat to the top of the crossbar. It was constructed by B!g Rush in Durban, South Africa, on 14 May 2011. The vertigo-inducing ride in Chongqing, China, can catapult thrill-seekers over the cliff at a top speed of 80 miles per hour, according to its engineer at a scenic spot. Latest footage of the swing rocking back and forth over the river valley has caused a sensation on social media in China. Latest footage of the swing rocking back and forth over the river valley has caused a sensation on social media in China. The drone video recorded a technical test of the swing on April 29 The drone video, first uploaded to short-video app Douyin, recorded a technical test of the swing on April 29, the photographer, Zhou Quan, told MailOnline. An employee at the scenic spot said workers put a crash test dummy on the swing at the time because 'so far nobody has been brave enough to give it a try'. The terrifying attraction was completed late last year and meant to open to the public early this year. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent lockdown, the management had to delay the grand opening and is yet to announced a new opening date. The terrifying attraction was completed late last year and meant to open to the public early this year. However, the park had to delay the grand opening due to the coronavirus outbreak The head engineer has ensured the public the safety of the structure. The swing is said to have undergone four months of security checks and can withstand a magnitude 10 earthquake As a city known for its wacky architecture, Chongqing is already home to an enormous rocking chair which perches on a 1,000-foot-tall cliff. The newly complete structure, however, is taller, faster and scarier. As part of the Yunyang Longgang Scenic Spot, the gigantic swing consists of a 328-foot-tall arch and a 354-foot-tall launching tower and is situated at an altitude of 3,608 feet. The 'rocking chair' is connected to the arch by two cables which are also said to be 354 feet long. Thrill-seekers, up to three in one go, will be lifted into the air by a rope attached to the launching tower before being flung out at high speed. Instead of being secured to chairs, tourists will be bound to harness side by side horizontally before taking the white-knuckle ride. As part of the Yunyang Longgang Scenic Spot in Chongqing, the huge ride consists of a 328-foot-tall arch and a 354-foot-tall launching tower. Riders will travel at a top speed of 80mph Head engineer Shi Xuebin said the swing could reach a maximum angle of 90 degrees above the ground, or 230 feet from the edge of the cliff. The engineer has ensured the public the safety of the machine. The swing has undergone four months of security checks and is able to withstand a magnitude 10 earthquake as well as high winds with gusts of up to 103 miles per hour, according to the engineer. 'Tourists must wear safety clothes certified by the European Union. And in order to provide them with extra protection, we have added tailor-made safety belts on the outside of the clothes,' Mr Shi said. Adventurous residents of Chongqing are spoilt for choices when it comes to extreme rides. The city's Wansheng Ordovician Theme Park boasts not one, but five enormous swings as well as a glass-bottom walkway 390 feet above the ground. The park's latest swing opened last year and was constructed over a 1,000-foot-deep drop. The swing is attached to a beam as high as 59 feet - the equivalent to a six-storey building. Every day, up to 4,000 people flock to the park to experience the unique swings, according to a spokesperson. With the rising number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in the city, the Delhi government has decided to start a 450-bed Covid Care Centre at its newly constructed hospital in Burari to cater to those with mild symptoms. The hospital is yet to open. So far, there are 12 Covid Care Centres in the citywhere people with low-grade fever, sore throat, malaise and other such mild symptoms are admittedmost of which are situated in unused Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) or Delhi Development Authority (DDA) flats. The Burari facility was designed to be a 768-bed tertiary care hospital, which has been under construction since the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) governments first full term. Even after completion of the construction, the government is still discussing whether the hospital should be run under a public-private-partnership (PPP) model. Two other super-speciality hospitals in Janakpuri and Tahirpur were to be operated under the PPP model when Sheila Dikshits Congress government was in power; however, they were later operationalised as government-run autonomous institutes. One of these hospitals, the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality hospital in Tahirpur, has now been converted into 500-bed dedicated Covid-19 hospital. Amid the Covid-19 crisis, the AAP government has also begun work on operationalising two of its other newly constructed hospitals in Ambedkar Nagar and Dwarka. The three hospitals will together add over 2,500 beds to the existing 11,770 beds in Delhi government-run hospitals. This is part of the routine work to open up more hospitals. Work will begin to open these hospitals up soon. However, the hospital in Burari (the construction of which is almost finished) will take a while to open as the government is still deciding if it will be run on a PPP model, a senior official in Delhis health department said. These hospitals might also be designated for Covid-19 care if the need arises. Currently, there are two designated hospitals under the Delhi government with 2,500 beds to take care of Covid-19 patients. However, if there is a need for more beds, then the new hospitals might also be brought in use as it would be easier to keep the people with viral infection in isolation at the new facilities. There will be no intermixing with non-Covid-19 patients, the official quoted above said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Information Technology and associated services sectors are among the many that have taken a hit due to the coronavirus pandemic, with results for the next quarter also expected to be far from good. Amid this scenario, Infosys is focused on getting back to work or to whatever the new normal would be, in a calibrated manner, UB Pravin Rao, COO of Infosys told the Hindu BusinessLine. We will probably have up to 5 percent of the workforce coming back to work, then extend it to 15-20 percent and then to 40 percent. In another four to six months, we will get a good percentage of the workforce returning, he said. However, the future model would be more hybrid allowing employees to switch seamlessly between work from the office and work from home. From the industry perspective, Rao said clients are now looking at short to medium term impact, shifting investment priorities and conserving cash. Investments in developing internal infrastructure are also being looked at as a priority to be resilient for remote work. 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 Follow our LIVE Updates on the coronavirus pandemic here He was optimistic about Indias future in the global IT scene, stating that India has proven its resilience by enabling work from home quickly. He added that investments in technology will increase as more sectors look to enhance remote working for social distancing. I am fairly optimistic that not only will spends come back, but they will also increase and Indian IT companies will have a great opportunity to capture a big share of them, he added. With remote working capabilities, he noted, visa restrictions like those proposed by the US may also not be big disruptions. The industry has learnt to live with it. As a company, we have been less dependent on visa over the years. We have recruited more than 10,000 laterals and people from universities; we have created hubs, he said. Rao also spoke about former Chairman Narayana Murthys comments on extending workdays to 10 hours for six days over the next two to three years, stating that the factor would be demand. It depends on the clients comfort If you have a lot more demand than supply then we need to look at the models. But in the foreseeable future, its more about demand than about supply, he added. Fuel Your Pipeline. Close More Deals. Our full-service marketing programs deliver sales-ready leads. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee! Learn more Cuffless blood pressure measuring is coming to the Android world. Samsung on Tuesday announced that South Korean authorities have approved its Health Monitor app for use on the Galaxy Watch Active2. The app will be available in the third quarter of this year. High blood pressure has been associated with increased risk of brain, kidney and heart problems, including stroke and coronary disease. By helping users measure and track their blood pressure, the Health Monitor app supports more informed decision making that can lead to healthier lives, Samsung said. The Samsung Health Monitor app has the potential to help millions of people around the world who are affected by high blood pressure, Senior Vice President Taejong Jay Yang remarked. Prior to use, the app has to be calibrated with a traditional blood pressure cuff. After that, you can tap measure in the app, and it will display your blood pressure. The watch measures blood pressure through pulse wave analysis, which is tracked with the devices Heart Rate Monitoring sensors, Samsung said. The app analyzes the relationship between the calibration value and the blood pressure change to determine the blood pressure. To ensure accuracy, you need to calibrate the device with a blood pressure cuff at least once every four weeks. Challenging Limitations Out of the gate, the Samsung Health Monitor faces some challenges. The need to recalibrate every four weeks is one of them, pointed out Jeff Dachis, CEO of Informed Data Systems, the New York City-based maker of OneDrop, a diabetes management app for iOS devices. Still, consumer grade blood pressure checks available at a glance are helpful in enabling and empowering people to be more aware of what their bodies are doing in real time and enabling them to make better choices, he told TechNewsWorld. For the everyday person trying to keep an eye on their health and their wellness, this isnt going to be super exciting for them, said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for mobile devices at IDC, a market research company based in Framingham, Massachusetts. A D V E R T I S E M E N T The reason for that is that it has only been approved for use in South Korea, but more importantly, it requires the use of a cuff-based, blood-pressure monitor, he told TechNewsWorld. Thats not what folks are hoping for, he said. They want to measure blood pressure on their wrists without any additional tools. Health and Fitness Sells Watches Measuring blood pressure on the wrist without supplemental tools isnt here yet, but its coming, Ubrani said. Before its done on the wrist, it likely will be done in the ear, he continued. In order to get a good blood pressure reading, you need to be very stationary, Ubrani explained. Your ears are far more stationary than your wrist. Getting high grade health and fitness applications is important to smartwatch makers because its important to smartwatch buyers. Forty one percent of current smartwatch owners think health tracking was one of the most important features in their smartwatch purchasing decision, said Jessica Montgomery, research analyst at 451 Research, a research and advisory company based in Boston. Moreover, 55 percent of planned smartwatch buyers think health tracking is one of the most important features in their smartwatch purchasing decision, she told TechNewsWorld. So many of the dominant use cases for wearables are in health and fitness tracking, noted 451 research vice president Christian Renaud. In fact, what were beginning to see is a little bit of a split between Im wearing this because I want to see how Ive done on my treadmill workout and This is something my doctor gave me because they want to monitor me,' he told TechNewsWorld. A D V E R T I S E M E N T Pandemic Could Drive Demand Ironically, Apple didnt recognize how important health and fitness apps were to wearables when it launched Apple Watch, Ubrani said. When they launched the initial Apple Watch, it was more of a communication tool than a health and fitness tool.Then with the second and third generation, they realized that health and fitness should be in the forefront, he recalled. Every wearable maker out there has realized the same thing: Its important to have health and fitness features baked into your watch, Ubrani added. Health and fitness is going to be even more important in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the environment were in now, people want to be able to monitor their health on a daily basis and in real time. Wearables can play a big role in that, Ubrani said. Were not there yet, but theres research now into making wearables more useful, he noted. By adding more and more sensors and better software, well get there in the next couple of years. Apple Dominance As innovative as Health Monitor may be, Samsung has a lot of ground to cover before it challenges Apple in the smartwatch market. Apple accounts for 64 percent of smartwatch owners, compared to 18 percent for Samsung, according to 451 Research. The Apple Watch is a superior, integrated, well-designed user experience that many people find valuable to their health and fitness regimens, maintained OneDrops Dachis. Also, smartphone compatibility attracts consumers to Apple Watch over other smartwatches, 451s Montgomery pointed out. Smartwatches are one of those things that people want compatible with their smartphone, especially if you want cellular capabilities with your watch, she said. Apple has done a good job tying its watch into its overall ecosystem, said IDCs Ubrani. You can get iMessages on your watch, for example, he noted. You cant get iMessages anywhere else. Whats more, Apple integrates services like Apple Music into its watch. You dont see that kind of lock-in with Samsung, Ubrani said. That may be why attachment rates for the iPhone are expected to balloon in the coming years. Almost one in 10 iPhone owners had an Apple Watch in 2019, according to Loup Ventures. By 2025, it expects that number to mushroom to 40 percent, which means about 12 percent of Apples revenue would be from its watch. It's been eight long and lonely weeks since the coronavirus pandemic shut down most of America: eight weeks of crowded emergency rooms and empty schools, of avoiding one another at the grocery store and waiting in mile-long lines for donated food. Normal life already seems a distant memory, a return to it still impossible to comprehend. Amid this darkness, there are people working to light a path through. They are immigrants and the children of immigrants, public servants, people on their second careers. They are planners and problem-solvers. What they lack in swagger they make up for in empathy, skill and statistical rigor. Their greatest power is their ability to learn from the mistakes of the past. They are the right people in the right place at the right moment, like researcher Andre Kalil, a veteran of past epidemics trying to find a cure for this pandemic, and Anar Yukhayev, a New York obstetrician-gynecologist who was severely ill with covid-19 when he enrolled in a clinical trial for an untested treatment. "If there was any chance it could potentially help someone," Yukhayev said, "it was the least I could do." They don't offer easy answers or miracle cures; they know there is no resurrecting the lives they once had. Still, they're giving what they can to a moment that demands it. When it is most difficult to imagine the world getting better, they've summoned the creativity - and the courage - to invent the world anew. - - - Scientists have a word for populations threatened by a virus they've never seen before: naive. It describes patients whose immune systems lack the tools to fight off the pathogen, whose bodies are caught unaware. How quickly those patients can muster their biological defenses determines whether they survive. Society, too, has been caught off guard. In a matter of months, a virus one-thousandth the width of a human eyelash has emptied the national medical stockpile, shattered the health system and brought the global economy to a standstill. Now, matters of life and death depend on the speed with which people rise to the occasion. Some people, such as emergency management specialist Kristina Laboy, 29, have spent their careers bracing for moments such as this. She holds two master's degrees in crisis management and last year led a major rewrite of the 188-page pre-disaster recovery plan for Montgomery County in suburban Maryland. After reviewing the document she and her colleagues carefully crafted, "it feels really good knowing we've done the prep work," Laboy said. "We've tried so hard to set the county up for success, and now we're in a position to see how it works." But there is more than one way to be prepared. There's the grace and grit that grow out of struggle. Yukhayev credits his mother, who worked as a midwife in her native Azerbaijan, with teaching him to serve others. After he immigrated to Brooklyn at age 7, encounters with injustice made him more determined to contribute good to the world. A childhood lived below the poverty line - and an adulthood spent responding to disaster - shaped Oscar Baez, a care resource coordinator for the Massachusetts nonprofit Partners in Health, who is assisting the state's contact tracing efforts. His parents, immigrants from the Dominican Republic, worked long hours as a janitor and day-care provider to give Baez many of the opportunities he has had. He has studied 10 languages and worked for the State Department. Ten years ago, he traveled to Haiti - where Partners in Health got its start - to assist earthquake victims. He was stationed in Jerusalem when the novel coronavirus hit. Back home in Boston to fight the pandemic, 33-year-old Baez finds himself serving people in the same neighborhoods where he grew up. He sees the disproportionate toll the virus has taken on immigrants, people of color and low-income communities. He understands what's needed to assuage their fears. The pandemic, Baez said, "has solidified that there's always a need for someone to have that empathy and that local perspective." There is the strength that comes from community, years of hard-earned goodwill coming due. There are letters like the one sent to Tampa Bay restaurateurs Roger and Suzanne Perry from two states away. Inside a card inscribed with a Winston Churchill quote about "stiff upper lips" was a worn $5 bill and instructions to buy kibble for Cheeto, the office cat. A couple of days before, an anonymous well-wisher purchased the Perrys' prized 25-year-old bottle of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon for double the $20,000 asking price. That was $40,000 the couple could use to bring back some of the 700 Datz Restaurant Group employees they were forced to lay off when Florida shut down. Then there is the steely sense of purpose born of long-nurtured regret, the determination to do better this time that can exist only in someone who has seen failure. Kalil, an infectious-disease clinician at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, knows that feeling all too well. His university is home to the National Quarantine Center, the only federally funded containment unit of its kind. During the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014, three infected Americans were evacuated to the center for treatment. One of them didn't survive. Kalil, 54, is still haunted by what he considers an inadequate response from the medical community to the Ebola crisis, which killed more than 11,000 people. Pharmaceutical companies and doctors tried a multitude of drugs on thousands of severely sick and dying patients - some of them the same therapies being tested in patients with covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. But the experiments were haphazard and hampered by their lack of a control group. "You wind up with a situation where certain drugs are being given, and no one knows if they work or not," said Kalil, a native of Brazil. By the time a large team of doctors, including Kalil, launched a rigorously controlled clinical trial for a drug called ZMapp, it was too late, Kalil said. The epidemic subsided, and there were no more sick patients. This time, he and his colleagues, as well as officials at the National Institutes of Health, went into a full-on sprint at the first sign of another viral outbreak with global implications. By early February, they were drawing up protocols and applying for approvals from ethics boards for a rigorously controlled clinical trial of an experimental antiviral therapy called remdesivir. Weeks later, when 13 people from the Diamond Princess cruise ship off the coast of Japan were brought to the national quarantine unit, one of the passengers became the trial's first patient. Kalil recalled entering the patient's room wearing full protective gear, including a fan-powered respirator that fully enclosed the top of his head and face and made it difficult to communicate. In a muffled voice, he said, he guided the patient through the consent forms, described the clinical trial regimen, and explained how remdesivir would be administered and the risks of side effects. To avoid removing potentially contaminated documents from the containment room, Kalil then held each of the completed consent forms up, one by one, while another member of the medical team documented them with a camera. By the end of April, the remdesivir trial had enrolled about 1,000 patients at 68 sites around the world. "You have to be prepared not only for the outbreak itself ... you have to be prepared to start your clinical trials immediately,"' Kalil said. Moving fast - without taking shortcuts that could undermine the results - is "the only way to really save lives." - - - In this uncertain era, terror takes the form of questions with no good answers, queries we've typed so often that search engines can complete them on their own: Do I have the virus? Where is my stimulus check? What can I do to make things better? When will all this awfulness end? "Maybe, on a smaller scale, the uncertainty of not knowing what's going to happen when you're lying in a hospital when you're sick is like the uncertainty people feel about what's going to happen in the world," said Yukhayev, the New York-based obstetrician-gynecologist. When he was hospitalized at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, five floors above the maternity ward where he usually works, Yukhayev, 31, surveyed his symptoms with a growing sense of dread. His whole body burned with fever. He had to gasp to get air into his drowning lungs. He tried to tell himself what he usually told his patients: Hang on. Have faith. The only way out is through. "But after a while, you start to ask yourself: Is this really true?" he said. "Maybe I will never get better." Yukhayev had been sick for a week when infectious-disease expert Prashant Malhotra and critical-care doctor Negin Hajizadeh offered him a choice. They were running a clinical trial for sarilumab, a drug that blocks the "cytokine storm" of immune proteins associated with some of the worst forms of the virus. The drug was taken as an injection by rheumatoid arthritis patients but had never been administered intravenously. Yukhayev could be one of the first covid-19 patients to try it. He understood the risks better than most people. He knew the drug might not work. He knew he could suffer serious side effects: Sarilumab can weaken the immune system and form holes in the stomach wall. He knew he might not even get the medication; 20 percent of patients in the trial would receive a placebo. Yet his scientific training had taught him the importance of these experiments, and his work as a doctor had fostered a willingness to take risks for the greater good. Yukhayev said yes. But a day after Yukhayev received his dose of sarilumab, his condition had gotten so bad doctors transferred him to intensive care. He would probably have to be put on a ventilator - something Yukhayev described as his worst fear. He called his brother. "They're going to intubate me," he said. "I don't know when I'm going to talk to you again." Studies like the one Yukhayev enrolled in, or the one Kalil is running in Omaha, are the "gold standard" for drug testing, Kalil said. The inclusion of a placebo allows doctors not just to measure effectiveness but also to see quickly whether there are dangerous side effects. Double-blind trials, in which neither patients nor doctors know who is getting the real drug, produce the most reliable results. The rapidly assembled remdesivir trial bore its first results in late April when Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the drug shortened the time to recovery for hospitalized patients by 31 percent, although it did not significantly reduce deaths. The results gave doctors hope remdesivir will become an ingredient to help reopen society and rebuild the economy. It also could help doctors prepare for a second wave of the pandemic if covid-19, as expected, makes a resurgence in the fall. The next step for Kalil and others running the trials is to test remdesivir in combination with anti-inflammatory drugs to see whether double-teaming the disease will have a stronger effect. That possibility propels Kalil through his long days, which begin with a predawn run and end at 1 a.m. in front of his home computer. He and his team scour the University of Nebraska Medical Center computer system multiple times a day and roam the floors looking for novel coronavirus cases. They approach the patients and family members and recruit them for the trial. "This is the way I would do it for myself and do it for members of my own family," Kalil tells each prospective patient. He has found they usually agree once they understand the process. Armed with information, reassured by a compassionate expert, most people are willing to take a chance. Until scientists identify a treatment or a vaccine, public health measures are the nation's only bulwark against the coronavirus. That means staying inside. And when staying inside becomes untenable, it means finding out who is sick and making sure their infections do not spread. Determining who may be infected is a herculean task, not only for a country of 330 million people but also for a single state. Massachusetts, in collaboration with Partners in Health, is hiring 1,000 people in hopes of finding a way to identify those who may be infected and ultimately lift its quarantine. The goal is for each new case - of which there are hundreds every day - to trigger a series of phone calls. One contact tracer makes sure the person is aware of the diagnosis and encourages that person to quarantine for at least 14 days; another reaches out to people who may have been exposed. In April, when Partners in Health was hiring and training staff for the project, 36,302 people applied to help. Coordinators like Oscar Baez are called in when people need help getting through their quarantines. He reassures people worried about being evicted during the pandemic. He gets groceries to families who are turning to food banks for the first time. He had a long call with a lonely woman whose husband had been hospitalized with covid-19 and who was infected herself. On the news, every infection seems like a statistic, Baez said. But in his job, he clicks on a case number and sees details about the person behind that number. He hears their fears and anxieties but also glimmers of hope as their conditions improve. "We can't promise that we're going to meet all of their needs; it's impossible," Baez said. "But just the effort that we're here to try - that is uplifting. I've ended many conversations more uplifted than not." In New York, Yukhayev's doctors prepared to move him onto a ventilator - then stopped. His oxygen levels were creeping back up. His inflammation waned. The next day, Yukhayev felt so good he was able to shower. A nurse brought him comfort food sent over by his mother - stuffed grape leaves and chicken noodle soup - and colleagues taped encouraging notes to the glass of his hospital room. A friend reminded him of a teaching from the Talmud: Sickness is an opportunity to recognize what sustains you - the loved ones who surround you, the strength that runs deep. Yukhayev can't say what sparked his recovery. The trial he was part of was amended after drugmakers found sarilumab did not help severely ill patients like him. But he hoped his experience might help others struggling with fear. "To anyone who can't see the light at the end of the tunnel," he said, "I want to spread a message of positivity." Hang on. Have faith. The only way out is through. - - - Biology dictates that the pandemic can't last forever. Public health measures will start working. A vaccine will be developed. Humans, hopefully, will become immune. There is a world on the other side of this crisis. Kristina Laboy and her Montgomery County colleagues meet daily to discuss what that world might be like. Over Zoom calls and in long email chains, they map out the complex process of rebuilding their community. It's a government-wide operation that will last months, if not years. "We're looking at long-term economic recovery happening at the same time as a restructuring of public health and services," Laboy said at one meeting. "It's nothing we've ever seen." The long-term toll of the outbreak on their suburban county of 1 million will be profound. There are the deaths, of course - 262 in the first two months of the pandemic. But there are also the psychological effects of isolation and instability. There's the grief of families who lost relatives without getting to say goodbye. There are small businesses that cannot restart without financial assistance. There are parents who will not be able to return to work until schools reopen. There are disparities in the health system and holes in the social safety net that must be mended before the next wave of illness lands. In almost any other crisis, a community like Montgomery County would be able to call on outside support. Medics might drive in from another locality; emergency equipment could be shipped from overseas. But with the whole world stricken by the coronavirus, few places have resources to spare. The answers to Montgomery's problems must come from within. Like architects faced with a house in disrepair, Laboy and her colleagues are excited by what they see as opportunities to rebuild and reshape, to draw blueprints for a stronger home. "You don't want to just get back to normal," said Lisa Crow, 33, an emergency management specialist on Laboy's team. "Right now is when we're deeply learning what we need to pay attention to and what we can fix." The county's food security task force, which started a month ago as a group of four people, has ballooned into a team of more than 50 public and private partners. Planners are collaborating with restaurants to turn their ad hoc food donations and volunteer efforts into programs that can feed people long-term. Public libraries and police departments are offering more services online than ever before. And the multilingual team assembled to translate public health messages will keep working to reach Montgomery's 300,000 or so foreign-born residents even after the pandemic is over. Netta Squires, 36, works with the county's community organizations and is thinking about how to transition the county's growing population of mask makers, grocery shoppers and other volunteers into a cadre of residents supporting recovery operations. "We have the attention and the investment," Squires said. "Of everything, the one thing we're sure of is that we're going to come out stronger." In Florida, restaurateurs Roger and Suzanne Perry also have been trying to picture their business in the post-covid-19 era. Among the changes: Disinfectant wipes everywhere and no more sharing condiment containers. Roger, 70, wants a "hands-free" bathroom with automatic paper towel dispensers. Suzanne, 54, is "re-engineering" menus for the new economy and poring over profit-and-loss reports and supply-chain charts. The Perrys have always been innovators. In his first career, Roger expanded his family's animal feed business into 31 superstores he eventually sold to PetSmart. After moving to Tampa and being disappointed by the shortage of good delis, they opened Datz and became famous for dishes like mac and cheese stuffed meatloaf. But this time is frustrating, Suzanne said. How are you supposed to plan for the future if you don't know what's coming? How can you reopen a restaurant when it's not clear whether anyone will come to eat? Still, the restaurant received more than $1 million in federal and state loans for small businesses. Then, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced businesses like theirs could open up on May 4. The Perrys hired 40 people, then 75, no one in the same jobs they had before. Chip fryers started glazing doughnuts, baristas were printing and passing out sales fliers. Busers ripped out the old carpet, and bartenders painted the walls. The Perrys made plans for off-site kitchens and improved customer loyalty programs. They ordered new uniforms, everything spotless and pristine. Since the state has advised restaurateurs to use as much outdoor space as possible, Datz locations will set up tables in parking lots and on grass medians. "And maybe the guy across the street's parking lot, too," Suzanne joked. She lay awake late one night listening to a much larger restaurant group's podcast about getting through the pandemic. "We are doing every single thing he is doing and more," she thought to herself. Maybe things would work out. Because things can still work out. About a week after Yukhayev was discharged from the hospital, he learned one of his patients required an emergency C-section. Since she had tested positive for covid-19, she would be giving birth in isolation. Yukhayev hadn't planned on going back to work so soon. He was still weak from his illness; his uncle had died of the virus just days before. But a test showed he was not contagious, and he wanted to be there for his patient. He understood what it meant to be sick and alone. A few hours later, Yukhayev was holding a tiny, healthy baby girl. Though the surgery taxed his battered lungs, leaving him winded and weary, he felt happier than he'd been in a long time. The newborn reminded him that "there are good things around us continuing to happen," he said. "It gave me a breath of hope." As many as 72 inmates of Arthur Road jail in Mumbai have contracted coronavirus and they will be quarantined separately, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said here on Thursday. Earlier, the state government had isolated eight prisons in the state including the Arthur Road prison, and ordered that no new person will be allowed to enter and those inside, including jail staff, will not be allowed to leave prison during lockdown. But despite the precautions, 72 inmates of Arthur Road prison were found to have contracted coronavirus after coming in contact with a cook who had caught the infection, Deshmukh told reporters here. "These prisoners will be quarantined with the help of the Mumbai civic body," he said. The home minister was speaking to the media after visiting Gadchinchale village in the district where three persons including two monks were lynched by a mob on suspicion of being thieves on April 16. Deshmukh also said that to prevent the spread of virus in jails, the state government had decided to release on parole some 5,000 prisoners who have been sentenced to less than seven years' imprisonment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) TDT | Manama A state-of-the-art Intensive Care Unit (ICU) field hospital has been established in Sitra to ensure coronavirus (COVID-19) treatment services remain readily available to all citizens and residents of Bahrain. This was revealed yesterday at the National Taskforce for Combatting COVID-19 press conference, held at the Crown Prince Centre for Training and Medical Research at Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) Hospital. Speaking at the conference were Infectious Disease consultant and Microbiologist at the BDF Hospital and National Taskforce member Lt. Col. Dr Manaf Al Qahtani, Ministry of Health undersecretary Dr Walid Al Manea, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Trade Affairs undersecretary Eman Al Doseri, and Infectious and Internal Diseases consultant at Salmaniya Medical Complex Dr Jameela Al Salman. Dr Al Qahtani emphasised the Kingdoms commitment to keeping abreast of international COVID-19 developments, adding that the Sitra ICU field hospital was built and prepared in a record time of 14 days. It is fully equipped with a capacity of 152 beds, 152 respirators, is staffed by a specialised medical team of 55 doctors and 250 nurses, and includes an onsite medical laboratory, X-ray machines, mobile dialysis units, and an integrated store of medical equipment and drugs. In addition to this, Dr Al Qahtani noted that the Crown Prince Centre for Training and Medical Research has trained more than 1,500 doctors, nurses and medical assistants. This training included various intensive practical workshops, the latest guidelines for fighting and treating COVID-19, dealing with existing active COVID-19 cases and how to manage the latest respirators, as well as training in the field of respiratory therapy and dealing with existing critical cases. Dr Al Qahtani also revealed that not more than 57 medical professionals have been infected with COVID-19 while performing their duties. He said that all are stable as they were identified at an early stage. Dr Al Qahtani reassured that all medical professionals on the front-line of the COVID-19 fight are to be tested weekly. On his part, Dr Al Manea reiterated the commitment of the Health Ministry and various authorities to combat the spread of COVID-19 and commended the awareness demonstrated by the Kingdoms community by following all health guidelines during the Holy Month of Ramadan. Dr Al Manea highlighted that the Ministry is monitoring local COVID-19 developments with a number of standardised global indicators, including the basic reproductive number (R0), which is the average number of secondary infections arising from a single active COVID-19 case. The R0 in Bahrain has stood at 1.14 for the past 14 days, which he described as good, adding that the goal is to get the R0 below 1.00. Al Doseri highlighted the Ministrys commitment to further strengthening precautionary measures across the commercial sector and noted the importance of enterprises vigilantly following the precautionary measures and social distancing guidelines intended to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and safeguarding the community. On this note, Al Doseri further highlighted that Industry Ministry will intensify its inspections across all commercial enterprises as many open today and tomorrow, and urged all citizens and residents to inform authorities if there are any violations. Meanwhile, Dr Al Salman highlighted the importance of following all health and social distancing guidelines during the Holy Month of Ramadan, and to continue washing hands regularly using water and soap, using alcohol-based hand sanitizers, frequently disinfecting surfaces and objects that are used regularly, covering the mouth when coughing, immediately disposing of used napkins and tissues, and avoiding direct contact with anyone with a fever or a cough. Dr Al Salman concluded the press conference by noting that individuals experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should contact the 444 hotline number and follow the guidelines provided, adding that wearing a mask is pivotal to ensuring citizens and residents remain safeguarded from the virus. Credit: CC0 Public Domain Austria said Thursday that several COVID-19 patients were cured after receiving transfusions using blood plasma from people who had recovered from the virus. The treatment has been tested in several countries but there is still little medical data available about its effectiveness. Three patients who had transfusions at a hospital in the southeastern city of Graz are now cured, Robert Krause, an infectious disease specialist at the hospital told a press conference. However, it is "an option for hand-picked patients and is not readily transferable" to anyone who falls sick with the virus, he said. Two of the three patients had other diseases and very weakened immune systems. A total of 20 people have been treated in Austria with the therapy, which uses part of the blood rich in antibodies, known as convalescent plasma, from COVID-19 patients. The Red Cross launched an urgent appeal to plasma donors on Thursday to allow this therapy, which is still experimental, to be tested more widely. Some 200 donations have so far been made in Austria. Convalescent plasma has proven effective in small studies to treat infectious diseases including Ebola and SARS. Its use to treat COVID-19 patients has been authorised in other countries such as France, the United States, Switzerland and China. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2020 AFP Removing problems with the surplus of electricity through the so-called cryptocurrency mining will allow preserving the guaranteed load on nuclear power plants (NPP) and involving additional funds as well, the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection has said. "We can really transform the liability into the asset. We have a surplus of nuclear generation. One of the modern tools for using excess electricity is to redirect it to cryptocurrency mining. This not only provides for preserving a guaranteed load on NPPs, but it will also allow enterprises to involve additional funds," the ministry said in a statement on its website. The ministry said that solving the problem with the surplus of electricity through cryptocurrency mining opens the way to a radically new economy and new approaches. The Energy Ministry also said that it is currently considering the possibility of creating data processing centers near NPP. "A pilot project has been developed at Energoatom to connect data processing centers' consumers with a generating capacity of up to 1,000 MW to transmission lines, with the allocation of the first stage of 30 MW in Energodar satellite town of Zaporizhia NPP," the ministry said in the statement. The project provides for the creation of new infrastructure for power generation ORU-750 kV switchyard in Zaporizhia NPP for long-term electricity supplies to meet the needs of data processing center, the ministry said, indicating that in the future such projects could become self-sufficient, as well as begin implementing digitalization goals earlier set by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. National Nuclear Generating Company Energoatom said on its website that in addition to the project with Zaporizhia NPP, it is considering the possibility of constructing a data processing center with a capacity of up to 50 MW with its further increase of over 200 MW near Rivne NPP. The company said that it was studying the possibility of creating the centers in the areas adjacent to NPPs, long before the crisis in the energy sector. However, in the current conditions, after revising the forecast balance of the power system, the idea has gained even greater relevance. "Thanks to the implementation of these projects, the company expects to ensure power output by nuclear power plants in the dispatch mode due to the guaranteed load from the data processing centers," the company said in the statement. The company said that thanks to the ability to flexibly change the consumption of data processing centers, it is possible to use them for maneuverability and balancing the power system. An example is the Canadian center Alberta Electric System Operator, which is a player of the electricity market and support services in the province of Alberta. Energoatom said that the implementation of such projects will create the conditions for launching and developing a virtual asset market in Ukraine. The company said that it has the ability to solve all technical issues related to the construction of data processing center, but sees difficulties due to the lack of a permit for NPP to sell electricity under direct contracts (with the establishment of an appropriate direct connection tariff for electricity). Energoatom said that this issue requires a legislative settlement. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 19:40:14|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close RAMALLAH, May 7 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian diplomat said on Thursday that he urged United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres to exert pressure on Israel to stop implementing its annexation plans in the West Bank. Palestine envoy to the UN Riyad Mansour told "Voice of Palestine" Radio that he held an online conversation with Guterres late on Wednesday and discussed with him the dangers of the Israeli plan of annexing West Bank territories. Mansour said that besides his conversation with Guterres, Palestine is moving to form a wide and strong front in the UN to prevent Israel from implementing its annexation of West Bank territories. Palestine mission in the UN works on forming the "largest and strongest international front" in coordination with the international community to confront the annexation plan and prevent Israel from implementing it, he said. He added that the Palestinian mission to the UN had also addressed letters to the Security Council and the UN General Assembly, regarding the "illegal plans of the occupation authorities either in terms of settlement or annexation." "The Palestinian mission had also asked Guterres to exert special efforts in the Security Council and called for holding an emergency meeting for the International Quartet to confront the Israeli annexation plans," said Mansour. He said that the UN Security Council will convene on May 20 and will debate the issue of annexation, adding that the Palestinian mission will hold contacts and meetings with the council's members to brief them on the situation. Meanwhile, Saeb Erekat, Secretary General of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee announced that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will chair a meeting for the committee later on Thursday to discuss the Israeli plans of annexing West Bank territories. "The main danger that threatens the entire region is the behavior of the Israeli government, which is backed by the American Administration," Erekat told reporters. He added that the Palestinian leadership will take the proper decisions "in case Israel implements its plan of annexing Palestinian lands." Enditem Hospital staff (L) registers patients on the sidewalk outside a children's hospital in Beijing on March 31, 2020. (GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images) Leaked Document: Beijing City Requires Hospitals to Open Funeral Home Offices on Premises The Beijing city government has ordered all municipal-owned hospitals to set up funeral home offices, according to internal government documents obtained by The Epoch Times. The timing has led some analysts to believe that it is related to the current outbreak of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus. In China, funeral homes with crematoriums are all state-run. The Beijing government issued a request in late April that all city-run hospitals set up offices within their facilities for funeral homes to make arrangements for the deceased. An internal notice instructed: Funeral home offices should operate 365 days per year, 24 hours per day. It should move the body from the hospital to the funeral home as soon as possible. In addition, if the body needs to be preserved at the morgue, the duration should not be longer than 24 hours, city authorities said. [The government] has two purposes in setting up funeral home offices at hospitals. One is dealing with COVID-19 patients bodies quickly, so as to reduce the possibility of the virus spreading inside the hospitals. The other is to hide the real situation of the outbreak, said U.S.-based China commentator Tang Jingyuan. Chinese authorities have underreported virus data since the outbreak began. In addition, eyewitness accounts, such as the number of cremation urns distributed to family members of the deceased, have suggested that the real death toll is far higher than what authorities have reported. Tang added that if funeral homes move the deceased patients bodies away from hospitals soon after a virus patient has died, local residents wont be able to witness the true death toll. Leaked Documents As early as in September 2018, Beijing city arranged for the Babaoshan funeral home to set up a working station at the Tiantan Hospital, as part of an effort to crack down on privately-run companies that run funeral-related services. But the Beijing government appeared to have accelerated such plans abruptly, sending out an internal notice on April 17 to city-run hospitals, seeking information about their morgues, and notifying them about the details of a new arrangement for handling dead bodies. Beijings municipal hospital management center, a government agency that manages all 22 city-run hospitals in the capital, requested that the facilities set up funeral home offices in May. It asked each hospital to sign contracts with specific funeral homes that city authorities have paired up for them. The funeral homes would henceforth handle the transport of corpses directly. The contracts must be approved by city authorities. After the contract is signed, the hospitals should hand in a copy to the Beijing municipal health commission, according to the notice. For hospitals that still have a valid contract with a private morgue management company, the hospital must sign a contract with the city-designated funeral home once the old contract expires. In a Feb. 8 internal notice jointly issued by the Beijing health commission, civil affairs bureau, and police about how to deal with virus patients corpses, authorities had already paired up hospitals with funeral homes. It is unclear whether the pairings for funeral home offices remained the same. Aside from these city-run hospitals, Beijing also has other state-run hospitals that belong to the Chinese military, the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), as well as medical facilities run by different universities, the National Health Commission, state-run enterprises, district governments, and so on. Beijing also has private hospitals. Beijing has five state-run funeral homes. They are managed by the citys civil affairs bureau. The hospital management center also organized a video conference on April 21 with all 22 city-run hospitals to discuss details about setting up the funeral home offices, according to another document. Outbreak in Beijing On Jan. 20, Beijing authorities announced that residents were infected with the virus for the first time. In total, five were diagnosed. All had recently traveled to Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the outbreak first emerged. On Jan. 27, Beijing announced its first virus-related death, a 50-year-old businessman who visited Wuhan in early January. In February, at least two hospitals in Beijing confirmed hospital-acquired infections. A private company also reported infections among employees. Meanwhile, a government employee working at the Xicheng district office brought the virus from his hometown in Hebei Province to Beijing. 69 of his coworkers were identified as close contacts and had to be quarantined. On April 19, Chaoyang district in Beijing was officially designated a high-risk region for the virus outbreak. Residents told The Epoch Times that they believe the outbreak to be severe. As the countrys capital, authorities have tightly controlled movement in and out of the city, as well as information about the outbreak, only announcing a few new infections in recent days. WASHINGTON President Trumps go-to defense of his early response to the coronavirus is his decision to close down travel from China, the viruss original epicenter, and then from ravaged Europe. But those hasty decisions led to exoduses of American citizens, with packed, chaotic airports and, according to a new congressional report, porous screenings for passengers who could have been bringing the coronavirus home with them. Medical officials on contract from the Department of Homeland Security checked the temperature of just 10 percent of more than 250,000 travelers at U.S. airports arriving from travel-restricted countries during a 10-week span from January to March, according to a report released Thursday by the House Oversight and Reform Committee, undercutting one of the centerpieces of Mr. Trumps argument that his administration responded aggressively to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. If customs officers noticed symptoms among travelers returning from restricted countries, they referred them to the medical officials on contract stationed at the airport. Extending working hours in industrial units and allowing shops to stay open for longer hours are among a slew of measures announced by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday to revive economic activities stalled by the coronavirus outbreak. Chouhan said shop timings are being increased and they will be allowed to remain open from 6 am to 12 midnight and shift duration in industrial units is being extended from present 8 hours to 12 hours. In addition, Chouhan announced several reforms for industries and in labour laws, which he claimed, will boost industrial activities, increase job opportunities, encourage fresh investments and safeguard the interest of labourers. Chouhan said the worldwide coronavirus pandemic has adversely impacted the economy and long-drawn lockdown period has slowed business activities. Now, the situation is gradually coming back to normal and Madhya Pradesh has also resumed economic activities, he said. The CM informed that relevant amendments have been made in labour laws as per requirement. As per these amendments, registrations and licences under different labour laws will be issued in a day in place of 30 days, renewal of factory licence will be for 10 years instead of one year now. Also, licence will be issued for entire contract period instead of the calendar year under the Contract Labour Act, he said. The MP CM informed that with a view to invite new industries and investors in the next 1,000 days all provisions, except Section 25 (which is related to safety) of the Industrial Disputes Act, have been relaxed. With a view to encourage start-ups, a provision has been made for one-time registration with no subsequent renewal, he said. At present, shops can be opened from 8 am to 10 pm, but now they will be allowed to operate for a longer period of time. "The Shops and Establishment Act has been amended to change (shop) timings from 6 am to 12 midnight. Now, there will be no unnecessary overcrowding in shops, on the other hand, social distancing will also be ensured, he said. Chouhan said duration of shifts in factories during the period of COVID-19 outbreak has been increased from 8 hours to 12 hours with permission of overtime up to 72 hours in a week. Factory owners will be able to change shifts as per their convenience to increase production. In addition, a provision has been made to maintain a single register instead of 61 registers under labour laws and to file a single return instead of 13 nows, he informed. Under the Factory Act, exemption has been given to factories from inspection for a period of three months. Employers will be allowed to have a third party inspection of their factories, the CM said. Earlier, registration of third party inspectors was done in Mumbai, but now the Labour Commissioner of Madhya Pradesh has been authorised to do it. Establishments employing less than 50 workers have been excluded from inspection under various labour laws. Now inspection will be possible only with the permission of the Labour Commissioner and on the basis of complaints. Provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Industrial Relations Act have been also relaxed. Now in factories, trade unions and factory manager will be able to resolve disputes as per their convenience. They will not have to go to the Labour Court for resolving disputes. In industries with less than 100 labourers, exemptions have been given from provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Industrial Employment (Permanent Order) Act. The Industrial Employment Act law was applicable to establishments with more than 50 workers (but less than 100) till now. It has been extended to establishments with more than 100 workers. The state government also sent some proposals to the Centre for consideration. One of which related to the Factory Act, under which units run on power had to be registered in the past for employing 10 labourers. "Now we have sent a proposal to the Centre for registration on employing 50 labourers, he said. Similarly, under the Factory Act, units which run without power had to be registered in the past on employing 20 labourers. Now a proposal has been sent to the Centre to remove the limit on the number of workers, Chouhan said. Under the Contract Labour Act, contractors had to register for employing 20 labourers so far. Now they will be required to register only after employing 50 labourers or more, he said. A proposal is being sent to the Centre to make arrangement of compounding for redressal of penal proceedings by agreement under the Contract Labour Act, Inter-State Migrant Workers Act and Motor Transport Workers Act, he said. The Industrial Disputes Act has been made effective on establishment with 300 workers instead of those employing 100 workers, he said. A facility of fixed term employment has been provided for personnel working on contract in industries and other establishments. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Isolated away from home since their return from Kota, Rajasthan, city youths are utilising this time to study, meditate and indulge in other constructive activities. Among the students who returned, eight girls and 14 boys have been housed in separate rooms at Parker House, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), so they do not come in direct contact with their family members and others. One of the students, Ashish Rana, said, Earlier, I used to spend most of my time studying, but as I have a lot of extra time nowadays, I read Bhagavad Gita to be at peace with myself. He appealed to other people staying in isolation centres to spend their time in productive activities and remain positive. A student holding a Bhagavad Gita that he is reading amid the coronavirus lockdown, at Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana on Thursday. (HT Photo) Another student Shruti, who is preparing for the Joint Entrance Examination, said, I am utilising this 21-day quarantine time to prepare for the entrance examination. I am following a fixed routine in the hostel room and listen to music to relax myself. I am getting all facilities here and even get quality time to read books and meditate. FACILITIES AS PER GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES Municipal corporation joint commissioner-cum-nodal officer of the PAU isolation centre, Kulpreet Singh, said the students were provided food three times a day along with other facilities in line with Punjab government guidelines. We also interact with them from time to time. Some students had asked for books that have been provided to them, he said. The nodal officer also said that a few parents came to meet their wards, but were not granted permission. Local governments could find their emergency powers hemmed in during future emergencies under recommendations proposed by a task force that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick set up. State government needs an off-switch to end local disaster declarations if necessary and clarify what steps mayors, counties and school boards can take during an emergency, says the Texans Back to Work Task Force in its 114-page report. The recent shutdown showed how the principles of representative government can be thwarted when mayors and county judges have too much power in making unilateral decisions without the agreement of the rest of the executive body, the report says. The report comes as public pushback against emergency orders is increasing at all levels of government, particularly from conservatives. RESTRICTIONS CHALLENGED: As COVID-19 restrictions drag on in Texas, legal challenges gain a foothold Some coronavirus restrictions on businesses and individuals have been in place since mid-March. It is unprecedented for such sweeping orders to linger for so long. Adding to the frustration is confusion over contradictory orders from cities, counties and state government that have left people guessing about whether they have to wear a mask in public, whether they can visit parks and beaches, and which businesses can stay open. Even the judicial system has begun to look at emergency orders in a different light. The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to directly weigh in on business closure orders, but seemed to sympathize with those challenging them. As more becomes known about the threat and about the less restrictive, more targeted ways to respond to [COVID-19], continued burdens on constitutional liberties may not survive judicial scrutiny, the court wrote. The leader of Patricks task force says the patchwork of state and local emergency orders has been difficult for businesses in Texas to navigate, particularly those with multiple locations in different jurisdictions that are subject to different rules. Obviously we're not calling for a one-size-fits-all, said Task Force Chairman Brint Ryan, founder and CEO of Ryan, LLC. But if there was a framework, you know a conceptual framework or guidelines in place, then you could achieve that local control and local initiative without confusing businesses that have to operate in more than one locale. BACKGROUND: Dallas megadonor leads secret team charged with carrying out Dan Patricks plan to restart economy Patrick echoed that concern, saying we cant have this patchwork where even cities in the same county can have different rules. Patrick, as lieutenant governor, is elected statewide and presides over the Texas Senate where he plays a major role in what bills are heard in the Senate. The new recommendations come a few weeks after State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, said he was ready to file legislation to stop the overreach of emergency orders by local governments in Houston and Harris County. Bettencourt has targeted Harris Countys attempt to release inmates from the jail as a step too far that the state Legislature is determined to rein in. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, a Democrat, has said she knows shes going to take criticism, but in the heat of the moment, she is making decisions to do her best to save lives. Once this is over, Ill be happy to debate anybody about the decisions that were made, Hidalgo said after she put in place a face-covering requirement for all of Harris County. Thats the reason we have elected leaders. The recommendations on local government emergency rules are just a small part of a report that had over 400 recommendations for employers, employees, state and local government and the public as the state prepares to emerge from the economic damage caused by the coronavirus. The task force was largely comprised of business leaders around the state from a variety of industries to help make proposals on how to restart the Texas economy. This report will help leadership and business return Texas once again to be the number one job creator in the nation, Patrick said. It is a bottom-up guide of best practices for businesses to follow as we re-open the Texas economy and prepare to rebuild after the severe damage from the long shutdown. The new infections brought the nation's total cases of COVID-19 to 10,810, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). South Korea reported four more cases of the new coronavirus on Thursday, including the first local case in four days, amid relaxed social distancing. The new infections brought the nation's total cases of COVID-19 to 10,810, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The new local COVID-19 case came from Gyeonggi Province, surrounding Seoul, with the other three new cases having been imported, the KCDC said. The number of daily new confirmed cases has stayed below 20 for 20 consecutive days, and under 5 since Tuesday, the KCDC said. The country decided to lift its strict social distancing scheme, which had been in force since early March, starting Wednesday, amid a slowdown in the number of new infections that peaked at 909 in late February. South Koreans are allowed to go back to their daily routines while adhering to basic precautionary guidelines. Schools will open in phases starting next week as well. The nation's death toll increased by one to 256, the KCDC said. The overall fatality rate reached 2.37 percent. The rate for patients aged 80 and above stood at 25 percent, the KCDC said. In total, 9,419 people in South Korea have recovered from the virus, up 86 from a day earlier. South Korea has carried out 649,388 tests since Jan. 3. The country reported its first COVID-19 case, a Chinese person, on Jan. 20. In sync with the eased quarantine guidelines, health authorities said earlier they are considering lowering the nation's warning level by a notch from the highest level of four. Experts warn of a possible second wave of the COVID-19 cases later, given the lack of a vaccine for the highly contagious virus. (Yonhap) As COVID-19 isolation continues, questions concerning education arise as schools remain shuttered. Along with the difficulty of focusing at home the same way they would in a classroom, kids have to cope with a lack of extracurricular activities. Bethlehem-based nonprofit ArtsQuest is trying to help change that through a virtual initiative called ArtSmart@Home. The online learning project offers programs for Bethlehem Area School District middle and elementary school students in visual arts, comedy, dance and literary arts. ArtSmart@Home will be an important tool in helping us ... engage their artistic minds and show them that they can still dream and imagine even during difficult times, Broughal Middle School activities coordinator Michael Kimmel said. The ArtSmart program has offered hands-on instruction in various classes at the Banana Factory for more than 15 years, with more than 500 students benefitting each year. On March 2, however, the Banana Factory was forced to close its doors to slow the spread of coronavirus. Immediately, Kimmel contacted ArtsQuest about allowing his students to continue classes in a virtual setting. Thanks to support from the law firm King, Spry, Herman, Freund & Faul, LLC., the online classes were made available. ArtsQuest, through the ArtSmart program, has been a valuable partner in engaging Broughal's youth throughout the school year, Kimmel said. Now more than ever, we're relying on community organizations to help us engage our youth to show them that we're still here for them. Along with the standard arts courses that ArtsQuest has offered for several years, the nonprofit is providing other music and kid-friendly programs online, like Toddler Storytimes for younger students and Digital Exhibitions, a scavenger hunt for students. ArtsQuest is committed to providing enrichment opportunities for students in our community in these challenging times, said Lisa Harms, ArtsQuest senior director of visual arts and education. Our goal is to support the tremendous work of the Bethlehem Area School District staff and faculty who have gone above and beyond to facilitate remote learning for all of their students. District administrators or afterschool programming staff can contact Joanne Garcia at jgarcia@artsquest.org if they are interested in accessing the ArtSmart@Home programs. ArtSmart@Home is part of the larger ArtsQuest@Home initiative, which can keep adults entertained while theyre safely indoors. With funding from BSI Corporate Benefits, the nonprofit is extending its offerings for ArtsQuest@Home, which has featured more than 300 events (music, comedy and more) since its start in March. 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. Desmond Boyle may be reached at dboyle@lehighvalleylive.com. BJP-nominated Rajya Sabha member Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje on Thursday asked former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to apologise for "hurting the sentiments" of the followers of late Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj through his tweet. Sambhaji Raje, a descendant of Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji, was nominated to the Rajya Sabha through the President's quota around four years back. In a tweet from his official Twitter handle @YuvrajSambhaji, he said, "Former chief minister @Dev_Fadnavis should apologise for yesterday's episode. The sentiments of the followers of Shiv-Shahu, including mine, are hurt." He was referring to Fadnavis's tweet that he posted on Wednesday as a tribute to Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj of the erstwhile princely state of Kolhapur on his death anniversary, in which he called him as a "social worker". Shahu Maharaj was a highly respected social reformer, who championed the cause of equality and social justice. Fadnavis, who is currently the Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Assembly, deleted the tweet after being trolled and criticised for calling Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj a social worker. However, the screenshot of Fadnavis's tweet was widely circulated on social media with several political leaders, including Sachin Sawant, general secretary of Maharashtra unit the Congress, criticising him over it. "Such reference to social reformer Shahu Maharaj reflects the regressive school of thoughts from where he (Fadnavis) comes. It is not surprising that he called him a social worker. RSS always had grudges against Shahu Maharaj, Jyotiba Phule and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. It came out today," Sawant said in a tweet on Wednesday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) https://www.aish.com/jw/s/In-Prague-Jewish-Tombstones-Used-as-Paving-Stones.html A pedestrian square in the heart of Europe is found to be paved with Jewish headstones. Workers restoring Wenceslas Square, an imposing pedestrian area in the heart of Pragues tourist district, recently made a horrifying discovery. When they lifted up the paving stones, they saw Hebrew inscriptions on the undersides. Many of the stones paving the square were from Jewish tombstones. Experts believe the tombstones were plundered throughout the former Czechoslovakia. The oldest of the headstones seems to date from 1877; the most recent are from the 1970s. Wenceslas Square was last restored thirty years ago, in the 1980s, when it was turned into a pedestrianized area. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev marked the completion of the Square by touring it in 1987, and since then millions of visitors have strolled through the areas walkways. Frantisek Banyai, a leader of Pragues Jewish community, told reporters that the gruesome discovery highlighted the pervasive anti-Semitism of the Czech Republics former Communist regime. More Jewish synagogues were destroyed in the area of the current Czech Republic during Communist times than under the Nazis, he explained. Anti-Judaism was official policy to be Jewish was negative from any point of view. Before the Holocaust, Czechoslovakia was home to one of the most vibrant Jewish communities in the world, numbering 356,830 Jews, according to the 1930 census. I grew up hearing about its rich, vital Jewish community from my grandmother she grew up in Vienna, but her large family came from Bohemia, a beautiful region in the west of Czechoslovakia. Grandma grew up spending her summers there, on a cousins raspberry farm, hiking in the breathtaking countryside and visiting with her many relatives who ran agricultural businesses and stores in small towns across Czechoslovakia. Out of her entire large family, only a handful of relatives survived the Holocaust. Those few Jews who remained in Czechoslovakia after World War II faced intense persecution from the Communist regime. Today, fewer than 7,000 Jews remain in all of former Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia split into two separate nations in 1993: Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Today, just 3,900 Jews call the Czech Republic home, and about 2,600 Jews live in Slovakia. Under Communism, Jewish life continued to be repressed and individual Jews were often persecuted. With the end of Communism, memorials and museums dedicated to remembering Jewish life in Czechoslovakia have proliferated. In 2015, the Czech Republic unveiled a Holocaust memorial in Prague, marking the 71st anniversary of the mass murder of 4,000 Czech Jews in Auschwitz. It joined other memorials and museums in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and elsewhere. Pragues Old Jewish Cemetery, photo: Gerrigje Engelen The tombstones found in Wenceslas Square will be used to form yet another memorial, slated to be built in Pragues Old Jewish Cemetery. The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague is a national treasure. Dating from the Middle Ages, its thought to hold the bodies of over 100,000 Jews. Among the famous Jewish figures finding their final resting place there are Rabbi Judah Loew, known as the Maharal of Prague (1520-1609) the famous rabbi who legend says built the Golem, a monster that defended Jews from anti-Semitism. Despite the great historical significance of Pragues majestic Old Jewish Cemetery, it was desecrated by the countrys Communist leaders, who destroyed much of it to build first a public park, then erected a massive television tower on the site. These memorials serve a crucial purpose, explained Rabbi Chaim Koci, a senior Prague rabbi, when news of the Jewish tombstones found in Wenceslas Square came to light. Memorials to the plight of Jewish lives under Nazism and Communism remind the world of Nazi genocide and other forms of anti-Semitism, Rabbi Koci declared. Perhaps these stones serve a deeper purpose. Finding Jewish tombstones used as paving stones in the very heart of one of Europes most beautiful capitals is a timely reminder that beneath every street in Europe lies Jewish blood. The persecution of the Holocaust and Communism wasnt so long ago, and while memorials and museums do serve a crucial purpose in helping us remember, the most effective tribute is to be found in the citys bustling synagogues and several kosher restaurants, in its two Jewish schools and among the many Jews who are rediscovering their Jewish heritage and traditions after years of Communist suppression. Stone memorials have their place, but to truly understand the miracle of Jewish history, the best tributes in Prague and elsewhere are the beautiful dining room tables where, once again, Czech and other Jewish families celebrate Shabbat. While writing this, I took out my grandmothers yellowing pages to read about her life in Czechoslovakia long ago and about her many relatives who lost their lives to the Nazis. Leafing through her memoirs, Ive been struck by how familiar many of the names are: my children carry the same names of many of these relatives. In a sense, they are living tributes flesh and blood memorials to these long lost Jews. Each time my children and other Jewish children and adults around the world study Jewish subjects, say Hebrew blessings, recite timeless Jewish prayers, enjoy Shabbat and holiday meals, they are carrying on this legacy in a way that no memorial can ever do. As the newly discovered Jewish tombstones in Prague are finally given the respect and honor they deserve, lets all remember the unknown Jews whose final resting places were desecrated in this way and strive to honor their memories by living as full and beautiful a Jewish life as we possibly can. China's new-generation manned spaceship BEIJING, May 6 (Xinhua) -- The trial version of China's new-generation manned spaceship is now working normally in orbit, having completed a series of operations as planned, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) on Wednesday. The experimental spaceship was launched without crew by China's new large carrier rocket Long March-5B from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on the coast of south China's island province of Hainan on Tuesday evening. So far, the new spaceship, developed by the China Academy of Space Technology under the CASC, has unfolded its solar panels and positioned them toward the sun, deployed its relay antenna and established a relay communication link, as well as conducted autonomous orbit control four times. It is now in a stable flight attitude in a highly elliptical orbit, with the power supply, measurements and control links normal, said the CASC. Next as planned, it will raise orbit three times, and re-enter the atmosphere and return to Earth after braking at the apogee, the CASC said. It is scheduled to touch down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Friday, according to Ji Qiming, an assistant to the director of the China Manned Space Agency. The head priest of the Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat of Sikhs, on Thursday slammed the Punjab government's decision to reopen liquor shops in the state, saying it will lead to rise in cases of domestic violence. The Punjab government has allowed liquor vends in the state to open during curfew relaxation timings from 7 am to 3 pm with effect from Thursday. Liquor shops should not be allowed to open. Already shopping malls and markets are shut and in such a situation, we are giving preference to liquor. Domestic violence cases will certainly increase because of liquor, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh told reporters in Amritsar. The excise and taxation department has also allowed home delivery of liquor. However, the timing of delivery of liquor will be decided by the respective assistant excise and taxation commissioners in consultation with deputy commissioners, as per an order of the department. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Error. Page cannot be displayed. Please contact your service provider for more details. (18) Rajnish Kumar said that the idea of bad bank was not feasible three years ago, when talk began that banks should spin off bad assets into a separate company to unburden existing banks. A proposal to consider creating a bad bank to deal with bad loans is on the cards. A bad bank structure has long been discussed in India's policy circles to deal with the high level of non-performing assets (NPAs) that have hobbled banks for years, bogging down credit and economic growth. With the banking sector sitting on high provision for non-performing assets and the COVID-19 crisis expected to worsen the situation, State Bank of India (SBI) and other major lenders are reviving the idea of a "bad bank". "These are some initial thoughts at the IBA level and by many members in IBA," Rajnish Kumar, CMD of SBI told CNBC-TV18 in an interview, referring to the Indian Bank Association. Indias banks may create a bad bank to deal with NPAs amid Covid crisis. IBA draws up plan, Govt direction awaited @CNBCTV18Live @CNBCTV18News #Banks #COVID19 https://t.co/lvzPxPe6i4 Shereen Bhan (@ShereenBhan) May 7, 2020 "We believe that this is the right time where a structure along the lines of a bad bank can be worked out because the provisions on the existing NPAs - most of the banks are holding a very high level of provisions." Kumar's comments come in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which is expected to result in a rise in NPAs of banks despite a number of relief steps taken by the RBI, including allowing a 90-day moratorium on retail loans and relaxing working capital financing norms. The SBI chief's comments suggest that the bad bank could be an industry effort -- perhaps through the creation of an asset reconstruction company (ARC)-cum-asset management company (AMC) -- rather than one implemented by the government. Bad bank structures are typically suggested to be modelled on the TARP programme implemented by the US government during the 2008 financial crisis. Kumar said that the idea of bad bank was not feasible three years ago, when talk began that banks should spin off bad assets into a separate company to unburden existing banks. "The provisions were inadequate. Today, at least we have the adequate provisions and net book value is hardly 10-15% of the gross NPAs," he said. The SBI chief stated that these discussions were at a very early stage. Sources say bankers under IBA plan a Bad Bank. It will have an ARC-cum-AMC structure. Banks plan to transfer their large bad loans to ARC at discounted values, reports @latha_venkatesh pic.twitter.com/Dom3WhMi15 CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) May 7, 2020 "Once the approach and a consensus emerges between all the banks, then only [we will look at the] next moves -- whether we need to take some external regulatory dispensation or do we need some support from the government, whether the government support will come or not come. All these are open issues." REC, PFC participation may be crucial for the bad bank to become successful, sources told CNBC-TV18. A separate report by The Economic Times said banks intend to request an initial contribution of at least Rs 10,000-15,000 crore from the government. Spotlighting lack of precautions on the part of LG Polymers, a chemical company in Vizag where a toxic gas leak killed 11, hospitalised 300 and forced evacuation of thousands, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) submitted a report to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday. The report states that neither did the company take any precautionary measures, nor did it use the emergency alarm immediately after the incident to alert people. The report submitted by the BMS president of Andhra Pradesh unit Mannava Sravan Kumar said it was the villagers who alerted authorities about the leakages. The local authorities failed to take preventive measures at the time of trial run and nobody was present at the time of trial run, the report said. At least 11 people were reported dead and over 300 hospitalised after being exposed to the harmful chemical that leaked around 3 am on Thursday. Alleging that there is no information on how many workers were present for work in the factory, the BMS an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has demanded that the NGT should ask the company management and the government to disclose the number. The BMS has also demanded that the company should pay RS 25 lakh as compensation for the dead and RS 5 lakh for those injured. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Photo credit: Ron Galella From Esquire Esquire's Fashion Director Catherine Hayward knows how to solve our readers' most pressing style conundrums. This week, how to dress at just the right level of Eighties. I'm being told that the Eighties are back in, and that we're all going mad for those big boxy suits again. That said, I really don't want to look like my dad at his wedding. How do I get it right? Sam, Liverpool A good question, especially as we're all a bit bored of the WFH wardrobe. We're bored of pyjamas and sweatpants and the Zoom conference wardrobe. Really bored. And we've all taken to watching a lot of old Eighties movies that have you planning some Risky Business with Ferris Bueller at St. Elmo's. Yes, the Eighties are back again. And not just on your Netflix suggestions. Photo credit: Getty Images For those old skoolers who lived through it the first time around and I include myself in this category I apologise. I will not be resurrecting stone wash jeans (and definitely not acid wash: we had some standards). Nor do I advise pumping half a can of Elnett onto your grown-out roots (bad for the scalp, and the environment) but a redux is par for the course in fashion these days. How else can we explain the current appetite for camp collar shirts? (NB: I prefer the term Cuban collar, but I bow to the collective coercive pressure of the twenty-somethings on staff who are enjoying this Eighties craze/pandemic for the first time from the safety of their parents houses in the provinces. Bless). So grab your raspberry berets, and if youre sitting comfortably, then Ill begin. Photo credit: Versace The House of Versace is the spiritual home of brash, in-yer-face styling. And a scroll through the latest runway collection ticks all those eighties boxes: neon, print, big shoulders, leather kecks, experimental hair. Its Donatella at her finest. And while you may be forgiven for thinking its all a bit Palm Springs pensioner, have you seen the shirts? Handpainted by LA based artist Andy Dixon, the archive Caravaggio print pieces depict Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and revelry, and come in a heavy silk twill for major maximalism on Houseparty, or on printed stretch denim so you can wear it as a jacket too. Story continues New Parisian label on the block, Casablanca, riffs on the loud graphic shirt theme for summer too and its an easy way to incorporate the Eighties trend into your existing wardrobe. FrenchMoroccan founder Charaf Tajar dials down the volume with a colour palette of soft muted pastels, but turns it all the way back up to ten with a bold emerald green illustration of the Barbary lion - the national emblem of Morocco emblazoned across the chest. Simon Porte Jacquemus broke the internet last July when he staged his Summer 2020 show on a bubble gum pink pathway through the lavender fields of Provence. Known for his wide, boxy, layered menswear silhouette very Armie Hammer in Call Me By Your Name, which was coincidentally set in 1983 Jacquemuss painterly prints look just as good on the double front pleated shorts as they do on the shirts. Pair them with the matching shirt for an updated take on the WFH casual suit. A visible white undervest does the trick too. Over at Reiss Towers, theyve gone heavy on the embroidered western shirts and the snakeskin effects throughout their Americana collection. So far, so retro. But the best things by far are the terry towelling pieces in particular, this zip front polo top with a towelling front panel. The camel and ecru colour scheme may seem restrained but I suggest channelling the full George Michael with a pair of micro shorts or, as worn here, a pair of freshly laundered white jeans. So there you have it: how to dress Eighties without looking too Eighties. Now for a cocktail as I watch Cocktail. Like this article? Sign up to our newsletter to get more delivered straight to your inbox SIGN UP Need some positivity right now? Subscribe to Esquire now for a hit of style, fitness, culture and advice from the experts SUBSCRIBE You Might Also Like France on Thursday announced it will provide financial aid of up to 200 million euros to support vulnerable sections of society amid the Covid-19 pandemic, delivering on a commitment made by President Emmanuel Macron. Joining hands to overcome #covid19: Through the French Development Agency @AFD_en, France is providing financial support of up to 200 million to boost social welfare systems and protect vulnerable populations in India! French ambassador Emmanuel Lenain tweeted. The advisory board of the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) has allocated the funds and is expected to sign an agreement with Indias finance ministry in the coming weeks to support welfare measures and the most vulnerable sections of society, people familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity. The AFD funds and supports projects in 115 countries aimed at creating a fairer and more sustainable world. It focuses on projects related to climate, biodiversity, education, urban development and health. Macron had discussed the financial aid during his March 31 telephone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which also focused on collaboration in the fight against Covid-19. The people cited above said the navies of India and France are also holding preliminary discussions on their next joint exercise, which is expected to be held after the Covid-19 crisis. Currently, both navies are engaged in missions to repatriate their nationals from the Indian Ocean region. The Indian Navy is conducting Operation Samudra Setu, using large warships to repatriate some 1,000 Indian nationals from the Maldives. The French Navy is engaged in Operation Resilience to provide support to citizens in Frances Indian Ocean territories in the fight against Covid-19. From Varuna drills to joint maritime surveillance, [French] & [Indian] navies maintain their cooperation efforts, a cornerstone of our #strategicpartnership. They are fully engaged in Samudra Setu & Resilience ops respectively, aiding people facing #COVID19 pandemic ordeal, French ambassador Lenain tweeted. Exactly a year ago, the Indian and French navies had conducted the 17th edition of the joint exercise Varuna with 12 vessels taking part in air, surface and underwater drills. Reaching a decisive phase in interoperability, it heralded a joint maritime surveillance mission to be conducted in the French Exclusive Economic Zone in February 2020 with an Indian patrol aircraft and a French surveillance frigate, the French embassy said in a statement. In 2020, the two navies continue to maintain their cooperation efforts, which are a cornerstone of the strategic partnership between France and India, the statement added. The Black Death (1347-51) devastated European society. Writing four decades after the event, the English monk and chronicler, Thomas Walsingham, remarked that so much wretchedness followed these ills that afterwards the world could never return to its former state. This medieval commentary reflects a lived reality: a world turned upside down by mass fear, contagion and death. Yet society recovered. Life continued despite the uncertainty. But it was not business-as-usual in the aftermath the threat of plague remained. Slow and painful recovery The post-Black Death world had not been made any better by its renewal. The French monk, Guillaume de Nangis, lamented that men were more miserly and grasping, greedy and quarrelsome and involved in more brawls, disputes and lawsuits. The shortage of workers in the aftermath was acute. The contemporary Historia Roffensis notes that swaths of land in England remained uncultivated, in a world dependent on agricultural production. A scarcity of goods soon followed, forcing some landlords in the realm to lower or pardon rents in order to keep their tenants. If labourers work not, quipped the English preacher, Thomas Wimbledon, priests and knights must become cultivators and herdsmen, or else die for want of bodily sustenance. Sometimes, the stimulus came by force. In 1349, the English government issued its Ordinance of Laborers, which legislated able-bodied men and women be paid salaries and wages at the pre-plague 1346 rate. Other times, the recovery was more organic. According to the French Carmelite friar, Jean de Venette, everywhere women conceived more readily than usual; none was barren and pregnant women abounded. Several gave birth to twins and triplets, signalling a new age in the aftermath of such a great mortality. A common and familiar enemy Then the plague returned. A second pestilence struck England in 1361. A third wave affected several other countries in 1369. A fourth and fifth wave followed in 1374-79 and 1390-93 respectively. Plague was a constant feature in late medieval and early modern life. Between 1348 and 1670, wrote historians Andrew Cunningham and Ole Peter Grell, it was a regular and recurring event: sometimes across vast regions, sometimes only in a few localities, but without omitting a single annual link in this long and mournful chain. The disease impacted communities, villages and towns with greater risks to urban centres. With its dense population, London was scarcely free from disease with large outbreaks in 1603, 1625, 1636 and the Great Plague of 1665, which claimed 15 per cent of the citys population. No generation escaped its wrath. Controlling the disaster Governments were not shy in their responses. While their experience could never prevent an outbreak, their management of disease tried to mitigate future disasters. Queen Elizabeth Is Plague Order of 1578 implemented a series of controls to support the infected and their families. Throughout England, a government initiative ensured that infected people did not leave their homes for food or work. Pesthouses were also built to house the sick and protect the healthy. In 1666, King Charles II ordered each town and city to be in readiness in case any infection should break out. If an infected person was discovered, he or she would be removed from the house and city while the former was closed for 40 days, with a red cross and the message Lord have mercy upon us affixed to the door. In some cases, barriers, or cordons sanitaires, were built around infected communities. But they sometimes did more harm than good. According to the Enlightenment historian Jean-Pierre Papon, residents of the Provencal town of Digne in 1629 were prevented from leaving, from burying their dead and from constructing cabanes where they might have otherwise safely isolated from the disease. State and moral authority Experience and regulatory measures werent always effective. The great plague that struck the southern French city of Marseille between 1720 and 1722 killed an estimated 100,000 people. Following the arrival of the Grand Saint-Antoine, a merchant ship returning from the Levant, proper care and remedies to prevent the fatal consequences of this disease were delayed and ignored. The disease spread to all parts of the city. The plague began to rage there within a matter of weeks. A corrupt doctor, false bills of health, political and economic pressures to unload the ships merchandise, and corrupt officials investigating the initial spread of the disease, all contributed to a disaster that could scarcely be contained in southern France. Hospitals were saturated, unable to receive the vast quantity of sick which came to them in throngs. Exercising double diligence, authorities built new hospitals in the alleys, fitted up large tents on the citys outskirts, filling them with as many straw beds as possibly could remain there. Fearful of transmission on its shores, the English government quickly updated its protective measures. The Quarantine Act of 1721 threatened violence, imprisonment or death on anyone endeavouring to escape the enforced confinement, or those refusing to obey the new restrictions. Some deemed these measures unnecessary. Infection may have killed its thousands, wrote one anonymous author, but shutting up hath killed its ten thousands Edmund Gibson, the bishop of London and an apologist for the government, disagreed. Where the disease is desperate, he wrote, the remedy must be so too. As such, he wrote, there was no point dwelling upon rights and liberties, and the ease and convenience of mankind, when there was plague hanging over our heads. Social dislocation was an inevitable result a necessary evil. But as medieval and early modern experiences with plague remind us, it is not a permanent fixture. After the news Dublin's famous Bewley's Cafe is to close, the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) says a specific plan for hospitality is needed with targeted supports. 110 jobs are to go at the iconic Dublin cafe, which was first opened in Grafton Street more than 90 years ago. The company had struggled with rents of 1.5m euro a year, while the cafe was facing an uncertain trading period because of the coronavirus crisis. The chief executive of the RAI, Adrian Cummins, says it has sent fears into the industry. He says: "The shock with regards to this announcement has rippled right across the entire hospitality and tourism sector. "We feel that if this can happen to such a large brand well then every small business across the country, across the city across the capital is in grave danger at the moment." One of the best-known cafes in the city, Bewleys was first opened in 1927. Yesterday the iconic cafe confirmed the closure with a statement saying "it is with deep regret and great sadness that it is likely to be necessary to permanently close the cafe over the coming weeks." Luxembourg 7 May 2020 - Subsea 7 S.A. (Oslo Brs: SUBC, ADR: SUBCY) today announced the award of a sizeable(1) contract by Independent Oil and Gas (IOG) for the Blythe and Vulcan Satellites field development, located in the UK sector of the southern North Sea. The contract scope includes the project management, engineering, procurement, construction and installation of 35km of flow lines between the Southwark, Blythe and Elgood fields, together with subsea structures, an umbilical, and associated subsea tie-ins. Project management and detailed engineering has commenced at Subsea 7s office in Aberdeen, and offshore activities are scheduled to commence in 2020. Jonathan Tame, Vice President UK & Canada, said: We are pleased to be awarded this contract, which strengthens our reputation as a global provider of value-driven SURF solutions. We look forward to collaborating with IOG to ensure the cost-effective, safe and timely execution of each phase of the development. (1) Subsea 7 defines a sizeable contract as being between USD 50 million and USD 150 million. ******************************************************************************* Subsea 7 is a global leader in the delivery of offshore projects and services for the evolving energy industry, creating sustainable value by being the industrys partner and employer of choice in delivering the efficient offshore solutions the world needs. Subsea 7 is listed on the Oslo Bors (SUBC), ISIN LU0075646355, LEI 222100AIF0CBCY80AH62. ******************************************************************************* Contact for investment community enquiries: Katherine Tonks Investor Relations Director Tel +44 (0)20 8210 5568 katherine.tonks@subsea7.com Contact for media enquiries: Michelle Wainwright, Communications Manager, UK & Canada Tel +44 1224 526570 Mobile +44 7876778370 michelle.wainwright@subsea7.com Forward-Looking Statements: This announcement may contain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the safe harbour provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). These statements relate to our current expectations, beliefs, intentions, assumptions or strategies regarding the future and are subject to known and unknown risks that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, future, goal, intend, likely may, plan, project, seek, should, strategy will, and similar expressions. The principal risks which could affect future operations of the Group are described in the Risk Management section of the Groups Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2019. Factors that may cause actual and future results and trends to differ materially from our forward-looking statements include (but are not limited to): (i) our ability to deliver fixed price projects in accordance with client expectations and within the parameters of our bids, and to avoid cost overruns; (ii) our ability to collect receivables, negotiate variation orders and collect the related revenue; (iii) our ability to recover costs on significant projects; (iv) capital expenditure by oil and gas companies, which is affected by fluctuations in the price of, and demand for, crude oil and natural gas; (v) unanticipated delays or cancellation of projects included in our backlog; (vi) competition and price fluctuations in the markets and businesses in which we operate; (vii) the loss of, or deterioration in our relationship with, any significant clients; (viii) the outcome of legal proceedings or governmental inquiries; (ix) uncertainties inherent in operating internationally, including economic, political and social instability, boycotts or embargoes, labour unrest, changes in foreign governmental regulations, corruption and currency fluctuations; (x) the effects of a pandemic or epidemic or a natural disaster; (xi) liability to third parties for the failure of our joint venture partners to fulfil their obligations; (xii) changes in, or our failure to comply with, applicable laws and regulations (including regulatory measures addressing climate change); (xiii) operating hazards, including spills, environmental damage, personal or property damage and business interruptions caused by adverse weather; (xiv) equipment or mechanical failures, which could increase costs, impair revenue and result in penalties for failure to meet project completion requirements; (xv) the timely delivery of vessels on order and the timely completion of ship conversion programmes; (xvi) our ability to keep pace with technological changes and the impact of potential information technology, cyber security or data security breaches; and (xvii) the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting;. Many of these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this announcement. We undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Attachment Mr Abubakar Malami Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, on Wednesday, defended his labelling of the just-repatriated $311m previously looted by the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, as Abacha assets. The PUNCH had reported that Malami came under criticism on Twitter between Monday and Tuesday for what commentators, including the publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, described as the ministers improper labelling of the proceeds of the looting perpetrated by the then maximum ruler. But in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Dr Umar Gwandu, Malami said he deliberately referred to the funds as Abacha assets because it had been repatriated to Nigeria and qualified as Federal Governments assets. Describing the criticism of his reference to the funds as Abacha assets as a needless media hype, Malami urged Nigerians to focus on the utilisation of the funds for public good. He stated, The office (of the AGF) maintained that the choice of words was deliberate. It is to be noted that by way of antecedence that Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN has been consistently describing the recovered funds as Abacha loot at several fora during the process of recovery of the looted funds, particularly before the eventual repatriation of the funds. The point needs to be made that when the seal of legitimacy was appended to the funds by way of repatriation, it became an asset in favour of the Federal Government as a beneficial owner of same. He added, Beyond the issues of verbal dexterity and vocal acrobatics, Nigerians should focus more on effective utilisation of the recovered looted funds in accordance with the content of the signed tripartite agreement in the interest of the Nigerian public. It may interest the general public to note that there is a unit called Assets Recovery and Management Unit at the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. The use of the word assets in relation to the post-recovery of looted assets is to qualify same as Federal Government assets. Malami had in his tweet on Monday announcing the repatriation of the $311m from the United States of America and Bailiwick of Jersey, referred to the funds as Abacha assets. This infuriated some Twitter users who contended that the description of the funds as Abacha assets could imply that the funds might be returned to the Abacha family. But Malami insisted that the money would be expended on identified infrastructural projects as agreed in the tripartite contract between the governments of Nigeria, the US and Bailiwick of Jersey, before the repatriation of the funds. via MK/Youtube Joe Biden accuser Tara Reade, who claims that the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee sexually assaulted her when she briefly worked in Bidens Senate office almost three decades ago, retained attorney Douglas Wigdor before sitting down with Megyn Kelly for a video interview Thursday. Reade, 56, who has given widely differing accounts of her complaint against the former vice president and Delaware senator, had originally agreed to a May 3 interview with Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace and then canceled at the last minute, explaining that she wasnt ready. Biden has categorically denied Reades claims, saying during a May 1 MSNBC appearance that it never, never happened. Investigations by The New York Times and The Washington Post were unable to verify them. Senior members of Bidens Senate staff said Reade never complained to them. We at Wigdor LLP firmly believe that every survivor of sexual assault has the right to competent legal counsel, and we will represent Ms. Reade zealously, just as we would any other victim of sexual violence, Wigdor, who identifies himself as a Republican who voted for Trump in 2016, said in a press release Thursday announcing the interview. Ms. Reade will be heard shortly in an interview conducted by Megyn Kelly and produced by Richard McHugh, and she will describe to the American public what happened to her. Her harrowing account is credible and supported by numerous outcry witnesses from decades ago. McHugh, a former producer for NBC News investigative unit who worked closely with Ronan Farrow on the Harvey Weinstein story until NBC executives killed it, recently published a story in Business Insider that featured an interview with one of Reades California neighbors, who said Reade told her about Bidens alleged assault sometime in 1995. Reade went public with her allegations in March, saying Biden penetrated her with his fingers in 1993 when she delivered a gym bag to him in a Senate corridor. Reade said that after she complained about being harassed, Bidens staff retaliated against her, removing her from her post supervising Senate interns and forcing her to leave her job after a mere five months. Story continues Reade told her then-husband Theodore Dronen that she was sexually harassed when she worked for Biden, according to a 1996 court filing that mentions a problem she was having at work regarding sexual harassment, in U.S. Senator Joe Bidens office. The Tribune of San Luis Obispo was the first to report on the filing. In the interview, a segment of which Kelly released on Twitter, Reade calls on Biden to withdraw from the race. I want to say: You and I were there, Joe Biden, Reade told Kelly. Please step forward and be held accountable. You should not be running on character for the president of the United States. In his press release, Wigdor attempted to head off criticism that he was taking Reades case for political reasons. It is inevitable that partisan politics will lead people to attack our firm and Mr. Wigdor specifically, particularly given his support of Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, the press release continued. Wigdor has filed high-profile lawsuits against Fox News on behalf of employees claiming sexual, racial, and other forms of workplace harassment. However, any objective view of Mr. Wigdors career and the history of the Firm (which is comprised of partners, lawyers and staff from all political parties) belie such a false narrative and make clear that our representation is simply a continuation of our objective support of all legitimate victims. Fox News Is Obsessed With Tara Reade. They Barely Mentioned Trumps Rape Accuser. Kellys interview with Reade, which does not yet have an air date, comes after the former staffer abruptly cancelled two scheduled interviews with mainstream cable news anchors. On April 30, The New York Times reported that Reade had agreed to a sitdown with Fox News anchor Chris Wallace to be filmed on Friday morning and aired on Sunday. But shortly before Reade was set to be interviewed, with the camera crew already en route to her location, she pulled the plug, a Fox News source told The Daily Beast. Reade later told the AP that she canceled due to security concerns. Reade also reneged on an agreed-upon interview with CNNs Don Lemon, the host told viewers on May 4, saying that she cited security concerns following Bidens on-air interview. Last Friday, Tara Reade, who has accused Joe Biden of sexual assault when she worked in his Senate office in 1993, canceled an interview she agreed to do with me, saying she wasnt comfortable doing the interview any longer after the former vice president spoke with MSNBC that morning and categorically denied the allegation, Lemon said, adding that Reade told him she wants to tell her story and promised me shell reschedule our interview. A CNN source told The Daily Beast that the network is trying to salvage the interview, but that almost everyone is out of the loop. Kellywho has alleged that she was once subjected to repeated workplace sexual harassment by her boss, the late Roger Aileswas once one of Fox News Channels most popular anchors before decamping to NBCs Today Show after the 2016 presidential election. She has a mixed record when it comes to high-profile interviews: a June 2017 sitdown with Russian president Vladimir Putin, meant to showcase her skills as a serious interviewer, was instead widely criticized as wasting an opportunity to hold the autocrat to account for meddling in the U.S. presidential election, and Kelly herself later admitted that she had been outmaneuvered by Putin. In another highly anticipated sitdown during the 2016 presidential campaign, Kelly interviewed then-Republican nominee Donald Trump, an interview which received a mixed reception for spending much of its time focusing on Kelly and her own feud with the future president. The anchor later lost her eight-figure job with NBC after she publicly defended white people who wear blackface on Halloween. Since his own television interview on Friday, in which he declared he was absolutely positive that no one in his office was made aware of any complaint made by Reade, Biden has continued with campaigning-as-usual, insofar as the coronavirus pandemic has allowed. On Thursday evening, the campaign will host a national Women for Biden call with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), one of half a dozen such events geared towards shoring up support among women voters since the beginning of March. Despiteor, perhaps, because ofBidens outreach on womens issues in recent weeks, most outside womens groups have remained mum on the accusations leveled against the former vice president. Meanwhile, some insurgent progressive Democratic candidates, many of them women, are increasingly vocal in expressing support for Reade. I am a lot freer to speak about this stuff, Rebecca Parson, who is running against Rep. Derek Kilmer in Washington states 6th congressional district, told The Daily Beast earlier this week. Sexual assault should be a red line for us. We need to be able to distinguish ourselves from the Republicans We cant win with hypocrisy like that. Andrew Kirell contributed reporting to this story Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. (Bloomberg) -- Uber Technologies Inc. is leading an investment round of $170 million in scooter-rental company Lime, a lifeline for a startup reeling from plunging customer numbers and companywide layoffs. Alphabet Inc., GV and Bain Capital Ventures, along with other new and existing stakeholders, also participated, Lime said in a statement on Thursday. As part of the deal, Lime will acquire Ubers Jump bike-sharing business operations and the two companies will expand the integration of their mobile apps. Lime also replaced its chief executive office, co-founder Brad Bao, with Wayne Ting, previously the companys head of operations. Before joining Lime, Ting worked at Uber, including a stint as chief of staff for Uber Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi. Tings elevation, along with the new investment, could bring Uber and Lime closer together. As the deal was being negotiated, Lime executives gave it the codename Unity. Uber was already an investor in Lime, but also ran its own competing micromobility operation. Uber is exiting the market and really making a bet on Lime, said Ting. With the new investment, Lime is valued at about $510 million, people familiar with the terms said, asking not to be identified because the terms are private. Thats a massive drop from the $2.4 billion investors priced the company at in a funding round last year. Lime didnt comment on the valuation. Venture capitalists have invested more than $1 billion in the last few years in two startups renting electric scooters -- Lime and Bird -- but they began falling out of favor this year. First unprofitable business models fell out of fashion, and then the pandemic kept customers stuck at home. Both companies had to drastically reduce their fleets by mid-March. Read more: Scooter Companies Pull Out of Cities Worldwide Amid Pandemic Lime said in January it was cutting 14% of staff, about 100 employees, and retreating from a dozen markets in a drive toward profitability. In March it said it was winding down or pausing service in all markets but South Korea. And in April, further job cuts were announced. Ting said he doesnt anticipate further terminations, in part because the infusion of capital will allow it to weather a situation that may prove to be daunting for the foreseeable future. Story continues Global self-isolation measures and government bans on travel had decimated Limes ability to generate revenue from the hundreds of thousands of scooters it has around the world. The company went from 147,000 scooter trips globally on March 14 to about 52,000 three days later as Europe went into lockdown. Scooter companies are also suffering from a sharp decline in transportation spending and a newfound aversion to the sharing economy. This combination of factors is also weighing heavily on Airbnb Inc., Lyft Inc. and Uber. Lyft said Wednesday that its cutting 17% of its workforce. But cities are also closing off streets to automobile traffic, a trend that micromobility advocates hope will become permanent. Lime has begun to operate in about two-dozen cities, though with smaller fleets and a focus on essential workers. Ting said that Lime expects to be profitable as soon as next year. Local officials are signaling to the world that we need to look at new ways to move around, he said. He anticipates commuters eventually flocking to forms of transportation that dont require them to be in enclosed spaces with large crowds. Theyre looking for a socially-distanced, friendly way to move around the city. (Updates with more information on Ting starting in third paragraph.) For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Italy, Spain, Portugal and India are among the countries easing coronavirus restrictions. Social distancing, mask wearing are the new norms as these countries continue to battle the virus pandemic, but are venturing out of their homes after extended periods of staying at home. Performers wearing protective face shields perform at the Erawan Shrine, after the government started opening some restaurants outside shopping malls, parks and barbershops during the coronavirus disease in Bangkok, Thailand. On May 3, Thailand began gradually lifting restrictions in the country. Life has somewhat resumed but it has not returned to what was considered normal before the virus outbreak. Social distancing rules are still in effect and are strictly adhered to. Restaurants need to seat their customers 1.5m apart from one another. Hot pots cannot be shared, while food from the buffet has to be served to patrons at their tables. Photograph: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters Domenico di Massa plays with his granddaughter Cecilia for the first time in two months after Italy allowed families to see each other again as the country begins a staged end to a nationwide lockdown due to a spread of the coronavirus disease, in Rome, Italy. Italy is leading Europe in easing lockdown measures aimed at containing the spread of the new coronavirus, almost two months after the epidemic hit the continent. More than 4.4 million Italians went back to work on Monday after seven weeks of extraordinary restrictive measures. The return to work came as Italy tries to cushion the economic impact of the shutdowns. Photograph: Yara Nardi/Reuters People wearing protective masks exercise at the Sempione park, after parks reopen as Italy begins a staged end to a nationwide lockdown due to a spread of the coronavirus disease in Milan, Italy. The relaxation of measures come as all three countries report their lowest death rates and new infection rates in weeks. Photograph: Flavio Lo Scalzo/Reuters A couple kisses in front of the sea in Catania, Italy.Barbershops and stores selling books, sporting goods, stationery, and other items can now open, albeit with strict hygiene and social distancing measures in place. Masks are now compulsory for staff and passengers on public transport and employees in shops selling fresh food. Violators face fines. Photograph: Antonio Parrinello/Reuters A hairdresser wearing a face mask cuts the hair of a customer at Madrid's oldest barber's shop, on the first day of opening during the lockdown, amid the coronavirus disease in Madrid, Spain. Spain's nearly 47 million people have, since March 14, lived under the drastic containment measures, with adults authorised to leave home only to buy food, medicine or to walk the dog. Photograph: Sergio Perez/Reuters French Henri de Chassey wearing a protective face mask, kisses his partner Margaux Rebois, who is returning to Paris on board a Thalys high-speed train after spending 2 months in Brussels, at Midi/Zuid station on the first day of the easing of lockdown measures during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Brussels, Belgium. In Belgium, this is part of the first stage of easing lockdown, while a second phase of the lockdown phase-out is currently set to begin on May 11, in which all shops will be allowed to reopen, followed by a partial reopening of schools on May 18. Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters People have lunch in a Taiwanese hot pot style restaurant that reopened after the easing of restrictions with the implementation of a plastic barrier and social distancing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Bangkok, Thailand. Photograph: Jorge Silva/Reuters A woman wearing a face mask pours beer from a tap as Italy begins a staged end to a nationwide lockdown due to the spread of the coronavirus disease in Catania, Italy. Photograph: Antonio Parrinello/Reuters A woman takes a photo of her friend on the Rialto bridge, as the country begins slightly relaxing restrictions as it prepares a staged end to Europe's longest lockdown due to a spread of COVID-19, in Venice, Italy. Photograph: Manuel Silvestri/Reuters -A man excercises in protective gloves at Epicentrum's Gym, one of the businesses that reopened after a shutdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease in Belgrade, Serbia. Photograph: Marko Djurica/Reuters Elderly people wearing protective masks read newspapers as they sit on benches, during the hours in which the elderly are allowed to be outdoors, amid the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Barcelona, Spain. Photograph: Nacho Doce /Reuters BANGKOK - A cruise ship being investigated in Australia for sparking coronavirus infections has sailed into Philippine waters to bring Filipino crewmen home. The Philippine coast guard said Thursday the Ruby Princess will drop anchor in Manila Bay, where at least 16 other cruise ships have converged since last month while waiting for more than 5,000 Filipino crewmembers to be tested for the coronavirus before disembarking. Coast guard spokesman Armand Balilo said 214 Filipino crewmen on board the Ruby Princess will be tested. The Ruby Princess has been linked to 19 deaths in Australia and two in the United States. An Australian government inquiry is underway into why 2,700 passengers and crew were allowed to disembark in Sydney on March 19 before the test results of sick passengers were known. Many passengers flew from Sydney overseas. Two died at home in the United States, including Los Angeles resident Chung Chen, whose family is suing Princess Cruises for more than $1 million in a lawsuit alleging it failed to alert passengers to the risk. CHINA RESPONDS TO POMPEO: China is firing back at U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeos claim that there is enormous evidence that the coronavirus originated in a Chinese laboratory, accusing him of making up lies and covering up a lie by fabricating more lies. The strong language from Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying at a Thursday briefing came as President Donald Trump and his allies continue to express confidence in an unsubstantiated theory linking the origin of the outbreak to a possible accident at a Chinese lab. U.S. officials say they are still exploring the subject and describe the evidence as purely circumstantial. But Trump, aides say, has embraced the notion to further highlight Chinas lack of transparency. Under the situation that no scientists and experts can even draw any conclusions, why did Secretary Pompeo want to rush to the conclusion to hold the Wuhan laboratory accountable? Where is his evidence?, Hua told reporters, while defending the integrity of the Wuhan lab. Show us. If he cant, is he still in the middle of concocting this so-called evidence? BACK IN THE AIR: South Koreas largest airline will resume some flights next month to expand cargo transport and prepare for a possible increase in travellers as countries ease their coronavirus restrictions. Despite the increased flights, Korean Air said it will still be operating only 32 of its 110 international routes in June. Korean Air has said the coronavirus pandemic has pushed South Korean airlines into an existential crisis and called for stronger government support. The company is currently rotating 70% of its 20,000 workers on six months paid leave. SINGAPORE CASES SURGE: The number of people infected in Singapore surged past 20,000 as more foreign workers living in crowded dormitories were diagnosed. The city-state reported 788 new cases to take its total to 20,198. Foreign workers living in dorms accounted for nearly 90% of the cases. Officials expected the upsurge as they test residents in the locked-down dormitories. Singapore will let selected businesses operate from May 12 in a gradual easing of a two-month lockdown that is due to end June 1. CHINAS ASSISTANCE: China is touting its assistance to countries struck by the coronavirus, saying it has provided direct government aid to 150 nations, including millions of testing kits. The virus knows no borders. Unity and co-operation is international societys most powerful weapon to defeat the epidemic, the foreign ministry said in a statement to The Associated Press. It said China has been providing within its means, including, 3.3 million testing kits, 2.6 million gowns, 53 million masks and 729 ventilators, among other supplies. Additionally, $50 has been donated directly to the World Health Organization. CHINA DOWNGRADES VIRUS RISK: The government on Thursday declared all areas of the vast country downgraded from high to low virus risk, as the numbers of new cases falls to near zero and no new deaths have been reported in more than three weeks. The last region to be downgraded was Linkou county outside the city of Mudanjiang in the province of Heilongjiang that borders on Russia and where the most recent spike in cases had been reported. Authorities shut an emergency field hospital in the region after the closing of the land border and strict social distancing measures appeared to have effectively brought the number of new cases to zero. Chinas National Health Administration on Thursday reported just two new coronavirus cases, both of them brought from overseas, and said 295 people remained in hospital with COVID-19. Another 884 people were under isolation and monitoring for being suspected cases or for having tested positive while showing no symptoms. In total, China has reported 4,633 deaths among 82,885 cases. SOUTH KOREA EXPANDS MASK SHIPMENTS: South Korea says itll expand its humanitarian shipments of masks to other countries amid waning domestic cases of the coronavirus. The countrys food and drug safety minister, Lee Eui-kyung, told reporters Thursday that a total of 70 countries had requested mask shipments. Lee says South Korea will focus on assisting countries with bigger outbreaks that urgently need masks. She says diplomatic and security relations will also be considered. Separately, the Defence Ministry will use a military aircraft to transport 500,000 masks intended for U.S. veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War. SRI LANKA REIMPOSES CURFEW, AGAIN: Sri Lanka has again reimposed a 24-hour countrywide curfew until next Monday, as part of stringent measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The blanket curfew was imposed Wednesday night a surge in new infections during the last few days. There are now 797 COVID-19 patients in Sri Lanka including nine deaths. Of the total, 460 cases were reported after April 22, including 372 navy sailors or their close contacts. Authorities have isolated the main navy camp and quarantined about 4,000 troops there. NEW ZEALAND TO REOPEN BARS, SALONS: New Zealand could reopen bars, retail stores and hair salons from next week and once again allow domestic travel. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Thursday outlined what the country would look like under a further relaxation of its lockdown rules. Much of the country would get back to a semblance of normality. Senior lawmakers will decide Monday whether to go ahead with the plan starting Wednesday. Under the plan, schools could reopen from the following week. The countrys borders will remain shut. Professional sports would start again, although without the crowds. Gatherings would be restricted to 100 people and social distancing protocols observed. Letter carrier Jamesa Euler kept delivering even during the government shutdown in 2013. (David Goldman / Associated Press) As Democrats hastily rewrite their playbook for the pandemic era, targeting voter anxieties that now include medical testing, corporate bailouts and collapsing supply chains, one chapter is proving unexpectedly resonant. Its working title could be Dont Mess with USPS. The financially imperiled post office long a punching bag for the right has become a surprisingly potent and resilient symbol for a fractured Democratic Party anxious for unifying causes. President Trumps persistent attacks on the institution amid the public health crisis, and his vows to starve it of cash until it bends to his will, have unleashed a torrent of political trouble for him. Anachronistic and balky though it may be, voters of all political persuasions appear to adore the post office: 91% of Americans view the U.S. Postal Service favorably, the highest ratings of any federal agency, the nonpartisan Pew Research Service recently found. And at a moment when the Postal Service is the embodiment of so many causes dear to Democrats a diverse, unionized workforce, a ticket to the middle class for hundreds of thousands, a linchpin to the expansion of voting by mail, a force of front-line workers soldiering though the pandemic, a lifeline to rural America, a large government program that mostly works Trumps threats to let it go broke are playing into their hands. Republicans and Trump are miscalculating where the public is, said Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.), who is helping lead congressional efforts to save the Postal Service as the pandemic pushes it into a cash crunch that could leave it insolvent by September. This is a beloved service and institution in the American peoples minds. They want it helped. A bipartisan Postal Preservation Caucus has emerged in the House. Celebrity-infused campaigns to #SaveThePostOffice trend online. A petition to save the Postal Service has generated 380,000 signatures, and some 120,000 people have requested We Love Mail Carriers stickers from MoveOn.org in a matter of days. Story continues The Democratic Party and large progressive groups are finding the Postal Service cause to be among their most effective fundraising messages, and 100 major progressive groups just began a campaign framing its potential collapse as a civil rights issue because of its long-standing role as an entry point into the middle class for African Americans. It is shocking to me how much this is growing, said Matt Hildreth, executive director of RuralOrganizing.org, which launched the petition. There is now even an official anthem to the fight after North Carolina bluegrass musician Joe Troop released a banjo ballad: A Plea to the U.S. Government to Fully Fund the Post Office. Before the coronavirus, the Postal Service was operating with only a small taxpayer subsidy, but it now faces significant economic problems. The shutdown of business caused by the virus has cut its revenue. At the same time, it has a longer-term burden: a mandate imposed by Congress in 2006 that it pre-fund the retirement benefits of its 630,000 employees, a requirement not imposed on other agencies. As the service skids toward broke, the Trump administration is blocking access to a $10-billion line of credit made available in the recently enacted federal stimulus packages. A Trump loyalist, Louis DeJoy, will be positioned to push that agenda from the inside when he takes over as postmaster general in mid-June. The decision by the Republican-controlled Postal Service Board of Governors to appoint DeJoy, a top GOP donor who is heading efforts to raise money for this summer's Republican National Convention, was announced Wednesday. Trump is demanding the Postal Service quadruple the price of package delivery and cede control of key management functions to his administration rather than the service's quasi-independent Board of Governors. He called the service a joke. The vitriol is playing into charges that Trump is motivated by a vendetta against Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of the Washington Post which Trump despises and Amazon, which would take a financial hit if package rates soared. Trumps math has been repeatedly challenged including by the Board of Governors. Raising the rates for packages threatens to reduce revenue by driving away business, Postal Service managers say. Meanwhile, the presidents demand that the Postal Service bill customers in remote rural areas the full cost of delivering mail and packages has given Democrats a new inroad in those largely conservative communities. Voters there see such affordable deliveries as a lifeline and a right enshrined in the Constitution, which specifically authorized Congress to establish post offices. There are a lot of rural voters and citizens out there who are represented by Republicans who care a lot about not losing the Postal Service, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, said during a call with reporters Tuesday. It is part of a small group of issues where Trump voters dont follow the leader, said Democratic pollster Geoff Garin, whose firm has also released a recent survey on voter attitudes toward the Postal Service. Even when you invoke President Trumps name, many of his own supporters abandon him on this. Voters in rural areas and seniors are among the most likely to feel this is a lifeline for them. The stature of the post office in progressive politics is also surging as the institution is intricately tied to another push that Democrats see as a winner for them: voting by mail. As states rush to expand mail balloting amid a pandemic that has made in-person voting unsafe, Trump is rallying Republicans to try to stop them, warning the party suffers when restrictions on casting votes by mail are eased. That has moved even the Democratic Partys presumptive presidential nominee to focus on the presidents antipathy for the post office. Now what in Gods name is that about? Joe Biden said during an April 23 campaign event. Other than trying to let the word out that hes going to do all he can to make it very hard for people to vote. Thats the only way he thinks he can possibly win. Democrats are pushing post office relief that goes far beyond the $10-billion loan that Trump wont release. The congressional Postal Preservation Caucus which includes two Republicans is backing a $75-billion plan proposed by the service's governors. A third of the money would be in the form of a bailout. The rest would be used to modernize the services fraying infrastructure some of its letter carriers and truckers, for example, are working out of late-1980s-vintage vehicles and to give the Postal Service access to unrestricted borrowing from the U.S. Treasury. Supporters of the Postal Service note that Trumps resistance to helping comes as his administration enthusiastically backed relief for airlines, which, unlike the post office, until recently were plowing profits into stock buybacks and lavishing executives with big bonuses. The disparity crystallizes the progressive argument against Trumps agenda. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a longtime backer of the post office, recently introduced his massive internet following to the leaders of the major postal unions in a Postal Service-focused virtual town hall that stretched on longer than an hour. This is an institution that was here before the country was founded, and in times like this, people are less apt to take it for granted, one of the participants, Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union, said in an interview. He ticked off the many reasons many Americans are rushing to the defense of the post office, including the hordes who have recently purchased sheets of stamps in a sign of solidarity. The Postal Service is one of the countrys largest employers of veterans, with 97,000 on the payroll. And post office jobs also helped elevate tens of thousands of African American families into the middle class during the civil rights era. Its workforce remains one of the most diverse in America. The post office is literally going to run out of money because of this pandemic, Dimondstein said. Its a moment of crisis that brings us to a fork in the road. I dont think the people of this country are going to allow what belongs to them to be stolen. Although Trump was acquitted by the Senate in February, House Democrats have told the D.C. Circuit that their investigation into possible misconduct by the president is ongoing, and that the grand jury material will inform its determination of whether Trump obstructed Muellers investigation and whether to recommend new articles of impeachment against the president. CHICAGO, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Midwest Bancorp, Inc. (the Company or First Midwest) today announced that its 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be held in a virtual meeting format to protect the health, safety and well-being of its stockholders and colleagues during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and taking into account related governmental directives and guidance. As such, stockholders will not be able to attend the annual meeting in person. The annual meeting will continue to be held, as previously announced, on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. Central time. Stockholders of record as of the close of business on March 27, 2020, the record date for the annual meeting, may attend the meeting at www.meetingcenter.io/253702787 (meeting password: FMBI2020) by logging in and entering the control number found on the proxy card previously distributed. Once admitted to the annual meeting, stockholders should follow the instructions on the website. Additional information regarding participation at the annual meeting will be available at www.firstmidwest.com/investorrelations and in the Companys supplement to its proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company encourages stockholders to vote their shares via the Internet, by telephone or by mail, as described in the proxy statement and on the proxy card sent to stockholders, even if they plan to attend the annual meeting virtually. By voting in advance, shares will be counted as present and voted at the annual meeting even if the stockholder decides later not to attend the meeting. About First Midwest First Midwest Bancorp (FMBI) is a relationship-focused financial institution and one of the largest independent publicly traded bank holding companies based on assets headquartered in Chicago and the Midwest, with approximately $20 billion of assets and an additional $11 billion of assets under management. First Midwest Bank, Park Bank and First Midwests other affiliates provide a full range of commercial, treasury management, equipment leasing, consumer, wealth management, trust and private banking products and services. First Midwest operates branches and other locations throughout metropolitan Chicago, southeast Wisconsin and across the Midwest. Visit First Midwest at www.firstmidwest.com. Spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New Delhi By Sanjeev Miglani NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has recorded its 1,000th novel coronavirus death, but the head of a government think-tank said on Wednesday that its 1.3 billion people, strained from weeks of lockdown, were not experiencing the feared exponential surge in infections. India has now reported 31,331 cases, including 1,007 deaths, according to figures from the Health Ministry. Neighbouring Pakistan has 15,282 confirmed cases amid concerns about worshippers gathering at mosques during the current holy month of Ramadan. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi must decide soon whether to extend the world's biggest lockdown, now 40 days old, beyond May 3. Health officials say the shutdown has prevented an explosive surge of infections that would have crippled India's modest health care system. "Our analysis finds that the rate of growth in positive cases and fatalities has been consistently lower - linear but non-exponential," said Amitabh Kant, chief executive of the government thinktank Niti Aayog. Aayog urged a phased exit from the shutdown, but the government has a difficult decision ahead. The big cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad - which are also India's economic growth engines - top the list of cases and there are no signs of the pandemic abating there, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said. "When I see Delhi's COVID-19 map, I see only red and orange colours which is extremely worrying." Red zones indicate infection hotspots, orange denotes some infection, while green indicates an area with no infections. Wednesday's daily increase in cases, 1,897, was the highest in weeks. Still, the scale of the outbreak is dwarfed by the United States or large western European countries. In Afghanistan, 46 people tested positive in Kabul prisons, said Farhad Bayani, a spokesman for the prison administration, even as the Afghan government frees thousands of prisoners to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Story continues Some of them include Taliban fighters, freed as part of a prisoner swap with the insurgent group under a U.S.-brokered peace process. Here are official government figures on the spread of the coronavirus in South Asia: * India has reported 31,331 cases, including 1,007 deaths * Pakistan has reported 15,282 cases, including 335 deaths * Afghanistan has reported 1,939 cases, including 61 deaths * Sri Lanka has reported 622 cases, including seven deaths * Bangladesh has reported 7,103 cases, including 163 deaths * Maldives has reported 200 cases and no deaths * Nepal has reported 57 cases and no deaths * Bhutan has reported seven cases and no deaths (Writing by Sanjeev Miglani; Additional reporting by Orooj Hakimi in Kabul, Asif Shahzad in Islamabad, Waruna Karunatilake in Colombo, Ruma Paul in Dhaka, Gopal Sharma in Kathmandu; Editing by Kevin Liffey) 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. BrandBucket has vetted and supports the following registrars: GoDaddy Namesilo Uniregistry NameCheap Google Domains Network Solutions Name.com Dynadot Amazon Route 53 123 Reg Gandi 2. We request the name from the seller. Once we know where you would like the domain transferred, BrandBucket will request the domain from the seller. All of our sellers are very responsive, making for a quick process. 3. Transfer the name into your account As soon as we receive the name from the seller, we start the transfer into your account and guide you through the whole process. 4. Verify with the buyer that the transfer is complete Once we confirm that you have received the name, we consider the escrow process to be complete. Only then do we release payment to the domain seller. Tara Reade, who has accused the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her in 1993, has called for him to drop out of the 2020 race. Ms Reade, who worked as Mr Bidens aide in 1993, has accused the former vice president of sexually assaulting her, in various interviews in the last few weeks. Mr Biden finally publicly acknowledged the claims last week, but told NBCs Morning Joe host, Joe Scarborough, that it never, never happened. During her first on-camera interview, Ms Reade told former Fox News anchor, Megyn Kelly, that Mr Biden should pull out of the election. Ms Kelly asked her what she would tell Mr Biden if she could speak directly to him. I would say, you and I were there, Joe Biden, please step forward and be held accountable, she replied. You should not be running on character for the president of the United States. In 2018, during the senate hearings on Brett Kavanaughs nomination to the Supreme Court, the former vice president said that sexual assault accusers need to be given the presumption of innocence. 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 she is talking about is real, whether or not she forgets the facts, whether or not its been made worse or better over time, he said. Recommended Joe Biden denies Tara Reade sexual assault claims During the interview with Ms Kelly, Ms Reade said that she did not believe that Mr Biden had afforded her that presumption. Its been stunning actually, how some of his surrogates with the blue checks, have been saying really horrible things, about me and to me on social media, she said. Theres a measure of hypocrisy with the campaign saying its safe. Its not safe. All my social media has been hacked and my personal information has been dragged through. Every person that maybe has a gripe against me, an ex boyfriend or an ex landlord, whatever it is, has been able to have a platform, rather than me, she added. Recommended Ayanna Pressley calls for Joe Biden response to rape allegations Ms Reade revealed to Ms Kelly that she received a death threat after she went public with her story, and accused Mr Bidens campaign of hypocrisy, by dismissing her claims. His campaign, is taking this position of they want all women to be able to speak safely; I have not experienced that. In April, Ms Reade told CNN that when she worked for Mr Biden as an aide in 1993, he asked her to deliver a duffel bag to his office. Ms Reade added that when she arrived, he had me up against the wall; he used his knee to spread open my legs, and put his fingers inside me. She alleges that after she pulled away, Mr Biden said: Come on man. I heard I thought you liked me. Ms Reade claimed that he then got angry with her and said You are nothing to me. You are nothing, but eventually held her by the shoulders and told her: Youre OK. Youre fine. Recommended Joe Biden to publicly address Tara Reade sexual assault claims In a written statement published before his Morning Joe interview, Mr Biden said: Responsible news organisations should examine and evaluate the full and growing record of inconsistencies in her story, which has changed repeatedly in both small and big ways. Mr Bidens deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield told CNN about the incident: Vice President Biden 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. He firmly believes that women have a right to be heard and heard respectfully, she said. 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. The Independent has contacted Mr Bidens team for comment. A 57-year-old man who became ill while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in California died Wednesday as a result of a coronavirus infection, the first virus-related death of an ICE detainee in the United States. San Diego County health officials confirmed that the man was hospitalized in late April after showing virus-related symptoms at ICE's Otay Mesa Detention Center, which has the county's largest outbreak cluster. As of Wednesday, at least 140 detainees at the facility, which is run by CoreCivic, have tested positive for the disease caused by the coronavirus, according to ICE data. ICE officials confirmed that Carlos Escobedo Mejia was hospitalized April 24 and tested positive for the disease the same day at a hospital in National City, California. He died less than two weeks later. The preliminary cause of death was "undetermined," according to a news release. "Fatalities in ICE custody, statistically, are exceedingly rare and occur at a fraction of the national average for the U.S. detained population," ICE officials said. CoreCivic spokeswoman Amanda Gilchrist said the facility was in close contact with ICE about Escobedo Mejia's condition and "immediately notified" the agency when he died. "We extend our heartfelt sympathy to this individual's loved ones," Gilchrist said. The detainee's sister said Escobedo Mejia came to the United States decades ago with his family after war broke out in his home country of El Salvador. ICE took him into custody after the U.S. Border Patrol arrested him in January near Campo, California, and authorities placed in him in the Otay Mesa facility. Escobedo Mejia, who told ICE he had diabetes and high blood pressure - both potential risk factors for complications from coronavirus infection - later spent days vomiting and complaining of pain, according to his sister, Rosa Escobedo Mejia. At one point, he stopped eating, according to a recorded interview with his sister that was released by advocates. "They lock them up like animals," Escobedo Mejia said. "Everyone was getting infected." A judge on April 15 denied bond for Escobedo Mejia, who was in removal proceedings, deeming him a flight risk, according to ICE. The ICE detention center, operated by private prison contractor CoreCivic, and others like it across the country in Virginia, Texas and Louisiana have become the targets of lawsuits and protests as coronavirus infections have risen among the captive populations. More than 700 immigration detainees have tested positive for the virus since the outbreak began in February, according to ICE data. Amid concerns about the outbreaks among confined people, U.S. District Court Judge Dana Sabraw, of the Southern District of California, ordered ICE to release dozens of "medically vulnerable" detainees - those who are over the age of 60 or have preexisting health conditions - after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit seeking to protect those in custody. The federal government said in court filings they have released two people and that the number should rise to 72 by the weekend using the medically vulnerable standard. ICE and CoreCivic have identified more than 130 detainees, who fit that definition - orabout one in five of the ICE detainees in custody there. The infected detainees are placed in "cohorts" or isolated together away from healthy detainees. Otay Mesa has tested 181 ICE detainees as of May 5. The ACLU argued that the risk of exposure is grave for detainees, who cannot practice social distancing. The conditions of confinement violate their rights to be safe and well in government custody, and releasing individuals is the safest option, said ACLU attorney Monika Langarica. She said Mejia's death is exactly the kind of thing advocates were hoping to prevent. "We did everything we could to prevent this, but the government has been on put on notice and they failed to act," Langarica said. ICE and CoreCivic said in court filings that they are following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by providing personal protective equipment when needed, disinfecting surfaces, supplying soap to every housing unit and isolating those who are sick. The agency reported that 39 ICE employees at detention centers nationwide have tested positive for the coronavirus, but that count does not include infections among private contractors. ICE reported that nearly 1,500 detainees have been tested nationwide. The agency said they have released dozens of peoplesince March to reduce the detainee population. California has released hundreds of state inmates to prevent outbreaks, while prisons in Texas and elsewhere are struggling to contain the spread of the virus. The outbreak at Otay Mesa represents the largest single cluster in San Diego County, officials said. Local attorneys say that the facility's response is inadequate and that it is reflected in the sharp surge of infections in recent weeks. Attorney Nanya Thompson's client tested positive inside Otay Mesa weeks after developing a violent cough and body aches. The woman, who suffers from hypertension, was given Tylenol and water and was told to rest in a room adjacent to the infirmary, Thompson said. The woman, in her 40s, is not on the list to be released from the facility. "She's freaked out," Thompson said. "In the detention setting, it's impossible to prevent it from spreading." Samuel Andara, who was a detainee at Otay Mesa, was not sick at the time but sued the government to secure his release as a way of avoiding the virus. Andara had been a nurse in his native Venezuela and is acutely aware of the dangers the virus poses, according to his attorney, Kirsten Zittlau. Andara was able to leave the facility last month after posting a $15,000 bond with help from donations. "It's just been horrifying," said Zittlau, who has two clients inside the facility, one of whom has symptoms of covid-19, the disease the virus causes. "When you create all the circumstances for a death trap, it was just a matter of time that something like this would happen." Dulce Garcia, executive director of the advocacy group Border Angels, said she receives daily calls from people inside Otay Mesa afraid they are going to die. The organization has worked with an alliance of activists to donate masks for the detainees, but the donation was rejected. "They do not have enough tests in there. Only those with signs of a fever are being tested," Garcia said. "We had been lucky no one had died yet. But now, this is just the beginning." Photo: The Canadian Press Supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wear a masks amid concerns over the country's coronavirus outbreak during a protest by in front of Israel's Supreme Court in Jerusalem, Sunday, May 3, 2020. Israel's high court heard petitions Sunday that seek to block Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from forming a government because he has been charged with serious crimes. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov) Israel's Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may form a new government while under indictment for corruption charges, clearing the way for him and his rival-turned-uneasy ally to join together in a controversial power-sharing deal. The unanimous decision, released just before midnight, ended a 17-month political stalemate and prevented the country from plunging into a fourth consecutive election in just over a year. Netanyahu and his rival-turned-partner, Benny Gantz, said they expected their coalition to be sworn into office next week. After battling to three inconclusive elections over the past year, Netanyahu and Gantz, a former military chief, announced their emergency government last month, saying they would put aside their rivalry to steer the country through the coronavirus crisis. Critics and good-government groups said the deal was illegal and challenged it in the Supreme Court. They argued that the law should bar an official charged with serious crimes from continuing as prime minister. They also objected to the newly created position of alternate prime minister, a post that could allow Netanyahu to remain in office throughout his corruption trial and a potential appeals process. Over two days this week, the court looked at two questions: whether an indicted politician can be given authority to form a new government, and whether the power-sharing deal which includes new legislation was legal. In its decision, the 11-judge panel expressed misgivings about the coalition agreement and Netanyahu's criminal indictment, but found no grounds to prevent the government from taking office. We did not find any legal reason to prevent MK (Member of Knesset) Netanyahu from forming a government, the court said. The legal conclusion we reached does not diminish the severity of the pending charges against MK Netanyahu for violations of moral integrity and the difficulty derived from the tenure of a prime minister accused of criminal activity, it added. The judges ruled that while the coalition deal presents significant legal difficulties, the court would not interfere in its contents following changes submitted by Netanyahu and Gantz. Netanyahu has been indicted with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of scandals involving trading favours with wealthy media moguls. His trial is set to start later this month. Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing, and since his indictment last fall, he has repeatedly lashed out at the country's legal system. He and his political allies have taken special aim at the high court, accusing it of overreach and political interference. As the court was meeting earlier this week, Netanyahu urged it not to get involved in political affairs, lest it risk dragging the country toward new elections. The long-time leaders opponents consider the court a bastion of democracy under dangerous assault and had expressed hope it would strike down what they see as a deal that undermines the public's faith in government. Eliad Shraga, a lawyer representing one of the petitioners against the coalition deal, expressed disappointment but said he would respect the decision. "We will continue to raise the flag of morality, he told Channel 12 news. With the court hurdle cleared, Netanyahu and Gantz must complete two more procedural steps before they can move ahead with their deal: pass the legislation needed to pave the way for their convoluted coalition agreement and amass the signatures of 61 lawmakers a parliamentary majority in favour of Netanyahu as prime minister-designate to be sent to Israel's ceremonial president by a midnight Thursday deadline. With more than a majority of the Knesset's support, including from Gantz' party, both steps appear to be easily attainable. Throughout three bruising campaigns, Gantz repeatedly vowed never to sit in a government with Netanyahu. And after March elections, a narrow majority of lawmakers endorsed him as prime minister. Gantz began preparing legislation that would have banned Netanyahu from continuing as prime minister. But in a sudden about face, Gantz accepted an invitation to form a partnership with Netanyahu to confront the coronavirus crisis, infuriating many of his supporters and causing his Blue and White party to split in half. Last month, the two sides agreed on a coalition deal that makes the two men equal partners, with virtual veto power over each other's decisions. Because of its unorthodox arrangement, the Knesset must pass new legislation before they take office. Under the deal, Netanyahu and Gantz would be sworn in together, with Netanyahu serving first as prime minister and Gantz as the designated premier. After 18 months, the two are to swap positions. The new position will enjoy all the trappings of the prime minister, including an official residence and, key for Netanyahu, an exemption from a law that requires public officials who are not prime minister to resign if charged with a crime. Netanyahu is eager to remain in office throughout his trial, using his position to lash out at the judicial system and rally support among his base. The coalition deal also gives him influence over key judicial appointments, creating a potential conflict of interest during an appeals process if he is convicted. His trial was postponed in March due to restrictions his hand-picked interim justice minister placed on the courts after the coronavirus crisis erupted and is scheduled to commence later this month. The court said Netanyahu would need to abide by a conflict of interest arrangement while prime minister whenever dealing with law enforcement affairs. Under the deal, the sides agreed not to take immediate action on key appointments and prioritize legislation focusing on reviving Israel's economy from the coronavirus crisis. But it makes an exception for Netanyahu to press ahead with plans to annex large parts of the West Bank, including all of Israel's dozens of settlements there. Netanyahu is permitted to push the issue through parliament after July 1, even without Gantz's support. Netanyahu and his hardline supporters are eager to annex the territory while the friendly administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is in office. The Palestinians and most of the international community oppose annexation and say it would end any lingering hopes of a peace deal. The May 19 primary will be the 134th election for Linn County Clerk Steve Druckenmiller, who has served in that capacity since 1986 and was elections supervisor for three years before that. Clerk James Morales has been in charge of elections in Benton County since 1998 and for several years before that in New Mexico. Not much shakes the two veteran public servants, who thought they had seen it all in terms of election issues or miscues. That was until January, when the COVID-19 pandemic shook up the entire world. Now, both men and their staffs have had to map out plans to make sure the primary election runs smoothly. And perhaps most importantly, how they will get their jobs done in the event they or their staff members come down with the coronavirus and cant work on May 19. Thousands of ballots still need to be counted and winners and losers certified. Both men said their jobs will be much easier if voters take advantage of mailing the postage-free ballots early, so there are fewer last-minute ballots placed in drop boxes to count on election night. Every mailbox is a drop box, Morales said. Druckenmiller said this election is completely different than any other in his long career. The office is open to the public, but people are encouraged to do as much business as possible by phone or online. We have had to implement some protocols to reduce the chances that some or all of us will come down with the virus and be sick at the same time, Druckenmiller said. Deputy Clerk Marcie Richey has been working from home. So if I get sick, she can come in and run the election, Druckenmiller said. Druckenmiller said he has kept two employees in isolation, working out of our back rooms and trying to not have contact with anyone else in our office. Druckenmiller called the process a really interesting challenge. And it comes when a record 92,000 ballots were mailed out. There were 84,445 ballots mailed in 2018 and 68,187 in the 2016 primary. Druckenmiller attributes the increase to a growing population and the success of Oregons "motor voter" registration process approved by voters four years ago. Residents can register to vote when they get or renew Oregon drivers licenses. It is extremely important that ballots get mailed back early, Druckenmiller said. Postmarks do not count in Oregon, so we encourage people to get their ballots in the mail a week before the May 19 deadline. Several drop boxes are inside government buildings, and hours of operation are limited. While all the drop box locations will be open on at least Election Day, many will have contracted hours for this election, so mailing the ballot may prove to be more convenient, Druckenmiller said. The Linn County Sheriffs Office has added a drop box at its Lebanon substation, Druckenmiller said. We have received so much help, Druckenmiller said. I love this county. We have received incredible help from our IT department and the Sheriffs Office, as well as General Services and the Health Department." Druckenmiller praised his staff for showing tremendous commitment to our residents. Benton County also saw an increase in eligible voters, even though thousands of Oregon State University students arent on campus due to the pandemic. Benton County mailed 58,423 ballots for this primary, compared to 52,519 in the 2016 primary. Our office is closed to the public, Morales said. We are completing wedding applications by appointment and handling other business by phone and online. Morales said his office will be open on Election Day. We have security in place at our courthouse, so we will have people at the entrances acting as will call for people who need to pick up a ballot, Morales said. Morales said he has reduced staff to allow for social distancing of workers and all have face masks, hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes. We are doing everything we can to wipe down surfaces regularly and to diminish the possibility of airborne issues, Morales said. We have definitely had to make adjustments to the way we do business. Like Druckenmiller, Morales said the fact that this elections ballots are postage-free should make it extremely easy for mid-valley residents to vote. There is no reason to not get those ballots in the mail, and we encourage people to vote early, Morales said. Due to the heavy number of ballots, postal delivery might be slowed up. Andhra Pradesh Industries Minister M Goutham Reddy on Thursday said the state government is airlifting 500 tons of inhibitors, as a foolproof safety measure, to neutralize the chemical substances in the Visakhapatnam gas leak incident and that the company would be asked to explain what went wrong. The leak was contained within an hour, he said. Maintaining that the administration was taking all precautionary steps,the minister said the factory was not being operated, but personnel were trying to get it to readiness. The substance in one of the storage tanks became vapours due to heat and got leaked and not because they were running the plant, he said. "Immediately after the leak what we have done is, we have neutralized that compound at that time itself. We applied inhibitors and neutralized that liquid compound," Reddy, who was in Hyderabad, told PTI, when asked about the government's response. The liquid compound converted into vapours and leaked through one of thechimneys, he said. The administration responded immediately after receiving information about the incident, he said. "We had 1500 tons of inhibitors.We pumped it and neutralized it.But, to make it foolproof further more, we are airlifting 500 tons.. We will fill the whole factory with this inhibitors," Reddy said. The administration is taking precautionary measures like watering the entire area. Such industries which fall under 'red' category have to maintain safety protocols 24x7 as they deal with hazardous chemicals and materials, he said. The government has laid out norms for such industries to be doubly careful against contamination of air, soil and towards value of life and environment, according to him. The management should have been proactive in ensuring that incidents do not happen and the company will be asked to explain to the government about the incident, he said. The state government is also in touch with the Korean embassy, he added. The LG Polymers unit was supposed to reopen post-lockdown on Thursday. "We are trying to reach out to the top management of the (South Korean) company...our immediate priority is to arrest the leak and ensure proper medicare to the affected people," the minister earlier said. "The officials are using inhibitors to neutralise the vapours. Slowly the vapours are reducing. It was not arrested fully. They are using neutralisers such as TBC (4-tert- Butylcatechol (TBC)," Joint Chief Inspector of Factories, Visakhapatnam, J Siva Sankar Reddy earlier told PTI. A major early morning chemical leak from a polymer plant near Visakhapatnam impacted villages in a five-km radius, leaving eight people dead and scores of citizens suffering from breathlessness and other problems, as the AP government ordered a probe into the issue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- To just solve a puzzle or play a game, artificial intelligence can require software running on thousands of computers. That could be the energy that three nuclear plants produce in one hour. A team of engineers has created hardware that can learn skills using a type of AI that currently runs on software platforms. Sharing intelligence features between hardware and software would offset the energy needed for using AI in more advanced applications such as self-driving cars or discovering drugs. "Software is taking on most of the challenges in AI. If you could incorporate intelligence into the circuit components in addition to what is happening in software, you could do things that simply cannot be done today," said Shriram Ramanathan, a professor of materials engineering at Purdue University. AI hardware development is still in early research stages. Researchers have demonstrated AI in pieces of potential hardware, but haven't yet addressed AI's large energy demand. As AI penetrates more of daily life, a heavy reliance on software with massive energy needs is not sustainable, Ramanathan said. If hardware and software could share intelligence features, an area of silicon might be able to achieve more with a given input of energy. Ramanathan's team is the first to demonstrate artificial "tree-like" memory in a piece of potential hardware at room temperature. Researchers in the past have only been able to observe this kind of memory in hardware at temperatures that are too low for electronic devices. The results of this study are published in the journal Nature Communications. The hardware that Ramanathan's team developed is made of a so-called quantum material. These materials are known for having properties that cannot be explained by classical physics. Ramanathan's lab has been working to better understand these materials and how they might be used to solve problems in electronics. Software uses tree-like memory to organize information into various "branches," making that information easier to retrieve when learning new skills or tasks. The strategy is inspired by how the human brain categorizes information and makes decisions. Humans memorize things in a tree structure of categories. We memorize apple under the category of fruit and elephant under the category of animal, for example, said Hai-Tian Zhang, a Lillian Gilbreth postdoctoral fellow in Purdue's College of Engineering. "Mimicking these features in hardware is potentially interesting for brain-inspired computing." The team introduced a proton to a quantum material called neodymium nickel oxide. They discovered that applying an electric pulse to the material moves around the proton. Each new position of the proton creates a different resistance state, which creates an information storage site called a memory state. Multiple electric pulses create a branch made up of memory states. "We can build up many thousands of memory states in the material by taking advantage of quantum mechanical effects. The material stays the same. We are simply shuffling around protons," Ramanathan said. Through simulations of the properties discovered in this material, the team showed that the material is capable of learning the numbers 0 through 9. The ability to learn numbers is a baseline test of artificial intelligence. The demonstration of these trees at room temperature in a material is a step toward showing that hardware could offload tasks from software. "This discovery opens up new frontiers for AI that have been largely ignored because implementing this kind of intelligence into electronic hardware didn't exist," Ramanathan said. The material might also help create a way for humans to more naturally communicate with AI. "Protons also are natural information transporters in human beings. A device enabled by proton transport may be a key component for eventually achieving direct communication with organisms, such as through a brain implant," Zhang said. ### Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, studied the quantum material test strips. The team used synchrotron facilities at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven and Argonne National Laboratories to demonstrate that an electric pulse can move protons within neodymium nickel oxide. Other collaborating institutions are the University of Illinois, the University of Louisville and the University of Iowa. The work was supported by the Lillian Gilbreth Fellowship from Purdue University's College of Engineering, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the U.S. Department of Energy. ABSTRACT Perovskite Neural Trees Hai-Tian Zhang1,2, Tae Joon Park1, Ivan A. Zaluzhnyy3, Qi Wang1, Shakti Nagnath Wadekar4, Sukriti Manna5,6, Robert Andrawis4, Peter O. Sprau3, Yifei Sun1, Zhen Zhang1, Chengzi Huang1, Hua Zhou7, Zhan Zhang7, Badri Narayanan8, Gopalakrishnan Srinivasan4, Nelson Hua3, Evgeny Nazaretski9, Xiaojing Huang9, Hanfei Yan9, Mingyuan Ge9, Yong S. Chu9, Mathew J. Cherukara5, Martin V. Holt5, Muthu Krishnamurthy10, Oleg Shpyrko3, Subramanian K.R.S. Sankaranarayanan5,6, Alex Frano3, Kaushik Roy4, and Shriram Ramanathan1, 1School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA 2Lillian Gilbreth Fellowship Program, College of Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA 3Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA 4School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA 5Center for nanoscale materials, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA 6Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL 60607, USA 7X-ray Science Division, Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA 8Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA 9National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA 10Department of Mathematics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16105-y Trees are used by animals, humans and machines to classify information and make decisions. Natural tree structures displayed by synapses of the brain involves potentiation and depression capable of branching and is essential for survival and learning. Demonstration of such features in synthetic matter is challenging due to the need to host a complex energy landscape capable of learning, memory and electrical interrogation. We report experimental realization of tree-like conductance states at room temperature in strongly correlated perovskite nickelates by modulating proton distribution under high speed electric pulses. This demonstration represents physical realization of ultrametric trees, a concept from number theory applied to the study of spin glasses in physics that inspired early neural network theory dating almost forty years ago. We apply the tree-like memory features in spiking neural networks to demonstrate high fidelity object recognition, and in future can open new directions for neuromorphic computing and artificial intelligence. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 17:16:27|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TIANJIN, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The China Tianjin Bulk Freight Index (TBI), an indicator of northern China's international bulk freight rates, stood at 532.89 points on Thursday after the service was suspended for more than three months due to the impact of COVID-19. The statistical samples of TBI cover eight international bulk shipping routes arriving at the ports of Tianjin, Qingdao and Caofeidian. They come from coal, iron ore, nickel ore and grain exporters, such as Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines. As a sub-index of the Tianjin Shipping Index (TSI), TBI is published on working days and was first published in September 2010. It is issued by the Tianjin International Trade and Shipping Service Center in northern China's Tianjin Municipality. Enditem Nigerias Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, has asked commercial banks and other financial institutions, to... Nigerias Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, has asked commercial banks and other financial institutions, to open up all their branches to customers. Adebayo, speaking at the weekly briefing of the Emergency Operation Centre of the Committee on Sustainable Production and Delivery of Essential Commodities During COVID-19 on Thursday, said it would assist the governments efforts in preventing the spread of COVID-19. Following the relaxation of a five-week lockdown on Monday, May 4, there have been rowdy scenes at banks and other financial institutions. Customers in Lagos and Abuja, have been seen violating the set guidelines, which includes social distancing and use of face masks at public places. Most banks also limited their operations to a few branches after the lockdown. Adebayo feels this could pose severe dangers of infection of COVID-19, as well as compromise measures to tackle the spread. The Minister also hailed security agencies for ensuring a free-flow and unhindered movement of foods, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and other essential commodities across the country. Samsung India has announced a partnership with Benow, a company that is known for its Online-to-offline (O2O) initiatives, to bring Samsung offline dealers to the online market space. This will enable customers to directly buy Galaxy Smartphones from the local dealers with the comfort of buying at home. With Benows app, a Samsung dealer can quickly register his/her store to bring online to their store. Dealers would be required to create a catalogue of all the smartphones available at their store, which can also be edited later as new models arrive. Customers can browse the catalogue through a link provided by the dealer and select to order a smartphone of their choice. The dealer will get notified and can contact the customer to finalise the purchase. Payment methods offered via this platform include cash on delivery, credit card, debit card, easy EMI, etc., after which the dealer will be responsible to deliver the product to the customer. With the pandemic making many customers hesitant to go out and buy smartphones and other gadgets, brining offline local stores online is a great idea. Customers also tend to trust their local dealers more when compared to buying from retail giants like Amazon and Flipkart. Commenting on the partnership, Mohandeep Singh, Senior Vice President, Mobile Business, Samsung India said: California will be refunded the $247 million it paid to a Chinese company under a major deal for protective masks after the company failed to meet a deadline for federal certification of the masks, Governor Gavin Newsom's administration said Wednesday. Newsom announced the contract last month to fanfare, saying California had inked a nearly $1 billion deal for 200 million protective masks per month amid the coronavirus pandemic. In an attempt to minimize the setback, the governor called it a 'little bit' of a delay, adding 'all these things work out themselves' during a press briefing on Wednesday, where he suggested the delay was due to the company not having previously manufactured the masks. Most were set to be tight-fitting N-95 respirator masks, while the rest would be looser-fitting surgical masks. Millions of the surgical masks already arrived, but the company missed an April 30 deadline outlined in the contract for certification of the N95 masks by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The respirator masks were set to start arriving this month, with tens of millions planned for shipment in May. The governors office provided no details on what caused the certification delay. The $247 million is half of an up-front payment the state made for the contract in April in an unusual move of making a payment before goods were delivered. The state could have clawed back all of its up-front payment under the original agreement, but an amendment signed Wednesday gives the company another month to meet the certification. If the masks aren't certified by May 31, California can get the rest of the payment back in early June. California Gov. Gavin Newsom listens to a reporter's question during his daily news briefing in Rancho Cordova, Calif. California's major deal for hundreds of millions of N95 respirator masks hit a delay in its federal certification process, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday, May 6, 2020, as he promised details of the contract would soon be made public The state paid $3.30 per N95 and 55 cents per surgical mask under the contract. The state made a separate $104.7 million payment last week for the delivery of the surgical masks. While the state initially sought 100 million surgical masks through the deal, it now plans to buy even more, according to the amendment, though it didn't include a specific number. The state and BYD must set an updated delivery schedule for the surgical masks by Friday. A new payment and delivery schedule for the N95 masks must be set by May 22. Under the federal certification process, the final validation step would take place in Utah, Newsom said previously. It wasn't clear where the delay in the federal certification process occurred or whether the masks had yet arrived in the United States. The Los Angeles Times said that it had attempted to gain access to a copy of the agreement between the state and BYD, but the request was rejected by the Governors Office of Emergency Services. In a letter responding to the Time's request, Ryan Gronsky, an attorney with the Governors Office of Emergency Services wrote: 'Publishing the agreement now before performance under the contract is complete would introduce substantial and unnecessary risk to the states ability to secure necessary supplies.' An example of an N95 respirator mask which made up some of the order made by the Californian government, and so-called because they have a 95 per cent filtration efficiency Newsom said last month that the state and federal governments had 'teams on the ground' in China auditing and visiting BYD's factories. Newsom's administration declined for weeks to share the contract publicly, prompting criticism from lawmakers. On Tuesday, the state's Office of Emergency Services and Department of General Services denied the Associated Press request for the contract, saying sharing it could jeopardize the delivery of the supplies. But Newsom reversed course, saying he wanted to release it to be 'as transparent as possible.' When the surgical masks began arriving, Newsom said he was confident the supplies would arrive and he became more comfortable sharing the details. He said the state's payment of $3.30 per mask was low compared to other states and federal buyers that had paid about $6 to $7 per mask. The contract shows the agreement with BYD goes through June 2020, with an option for one-month extensions. It states everything made under the agreement must be 'newly manufactured' and that the company cannot use sweatshop, forced, child or other controversial labor practices. The company has in the past faced accusations of unfair labor practices. While the masks will be made in China, the contract requires the company to comply with various U.S. and California environmental and labor laws. Republican Assemblyman Jay Obernolte, vice chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee, commended Newsom's administration for 'doing the best that they can to navigate a difficult situation' with certification of the masks. But he was frustrated they waited so long to release the contract. 'Our frustration is the Legislature has a constitutional duty to provide spending oversight over these taxpayer resources, and we feel like we have not been able to exercise that duty in the last six weeks,' he said. Medical workers wearing masks hold a memorial for their friend, Celia Marcos, to honor her memory amid the coronavirus crisis outside the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles on May 6 Documents from the treasurers office indicated Newsom's administration had not finished vetting BYD before Newsom publicly announced the contract or before his administration asked the state treasurers office to prepare the initial wire transfer. When the treasurer's office asked for confirmation the vendor had been vetted on April 8, the day after Newsom announced the deal on MSNBC, Thomas Todd in the Department of Finance said 'theyre vetting the vendor as we speak.' This isn't the first time California wired money that was then returned for masks. In March, California wired nearly half a billion dollars to Blue Flame Medical LLC for 100 million masks, but canceled the deal and got its money back later that day, CalMatters reported on Wednesday. Separately, the state was refunded $8.7 million less than two weeks after wiring the amount to a company with a Florida address, Hichens Harrison Capital Partners, according to documents from the treasurers office. The company, which has a subsidiary in Brazil and business with China, currently advertises an 'exclusive line of ventilators' on its website. In an April 13 email to California officials, Peter Leite, the president of Hichens Harrison Capital Partners, wrote the order was canceled and the money would be returned. Leite referred questions about the canceled transaction to the state on Wednesday. Spokesman for the governors office and the Office of Emergency Services didnt immediately answer questions about the transaction. Married At First Sight's Amanda Micallef has landed a job in community radio. The 34-year-old personal trainer now has her own weekly segment on the Let's Get Deep show hosted by Michael El-Bacha and Belinda Joh, which airs on 2RRR. She will be answering questions from listeners and sharing her own pearls of wisdom every Thursday from 9am. How exciting! Married At First Sight 's Amanda Micallef has landed a job in community radio Amanda told Daily Mail Australia: '2RRR is a local community station. They want me to do a weekly segment inspired by my [Instagram] Q&As.' She continued: 'I'll pick two questions a week and present them as a segment. People can tune in online at 2RRR.org.au and it's exciting.' She also teased another upcoming radio venture with a different network. Having her say: The 34-year-old personal trainer now has her own weekly segment on the Let's Get Deep show hosted by Michael El-Bacha and Belinda Joh, which airs on 2RRR 'I've also got another gig lined up with a comedian who works on radio. I can't say too much about that, but it's in the pipeline,' she said. 'It's all happening. Look out, Hughesy and Kate, I'm coming for you.' Amanda, who was one half of Married At First Sight's first lesbian couple earlier this year alongside Tash Herz, has always dreamed of a media career. Rising star: She also teased another upcoming radio venture with a different network After her wedding aired in February, her StarNow talent profile from 2016 resurfaced. Amanda described herself as an aspiring actor, extra, model, and TV and radio host, and also detailed her previous industry experience. This included a brief role in the 2009 film The Knowing, starring Nicholas Cage. Meanwhile, Amanda's co-stars are mostly focusing on their careers as social media influencers and are yet to announce any media jobs. The plant had been closed since Indias coronavirus lockdown began in late March, but this week the lockdown was eased and many businesses, including heavy industries, have begun to reopen. A former manager of LG Polymers, the Indian subsidiary of LG Chemical, said in an interview that liquid styrene required careful attention, and that because of the lockdown, workers were not going to the factory. He said that may have played a role in the leak. Indian news media broadcast clips of victims, including villagers lying face down on a muddy road, their mobile phones spilled out next to them. In one shot, a woman frantically pounds the chest of another woman who had just collapsed. In another, a stray dog struggles to stand and then crumples to the floor. Though this accident was not close to the scale of the 1984 gas leak at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in the Indian city of Bhopal, which left nearly 4,000 dead and a half million poisoned, it immediately drew comparisons, especially among Bhopal survivors. When I saw the images on television of people struggling to breathe and laying on the roadside, said Rashida Bi, a Bhopal survivor, something hit me deep inside as if I was laying motionless, among them, begging to save my life and struggling to breath. At least they had people ready to take them to hospitals, she added. We had none. All of us were looking at each other, waiting for death to come. By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 06, 2020 | 03:13 PM | PADUCAH On Tuesday, a man told McCracken County Sheriff's Deputies that his vehicle had been stolen on Monday. Paducah Police officers spotted the vehicle Tuesday afternoon on South 7th Street and found three men inside, all of whom were allegedly intoxicated. The driver, 55-year-old Jerry Ingram of Paducah, is being charged with driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license, and receiving stolen property. The two passengers, 33-year-old Torrean J. Maxwell, and 53-year-old Bryant Coplin, are both being charged with alcohol intoxication. All three were lodged in the McCracken County Jail. Three people were arrested and a stolen car was recovered after a traffic stop. The hospital, in the commercial hub of Bandra-Kurla Complex, will serve as an isolation facility for non-critical COVID-19 patients. Expected to be ready in a fortnight, the new makeshift facility can be scaled up to 5,000 beds, if needed. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation will run the hospital that will have, among other things, oxygen facilities and pathological laboratories. Sohini Das reports. IMAGE: Workers prepare a quarantine centre for non-critical COVID-19 patients at the Bombay Exhibition Centre (NESCO Ground) in Goregaon east, north Mumbai. Photograph: PTI Photo Doctors in Mumbai are scrambling for new and experimental treatment protocol to ensure faster recovery of patients, with the city emerging as the epicentre of India's COVID-19 crisis. This is a race against time to develop healt care infrastructure, given the city is fast running out of dedicated COVID-19 isolation wards and intensive care units. The city administration is pulling out all stops to create COVID-dedicated as well as intensive care beds. On the lines of Wuhan, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority has begun work on a make-shift 1,000-bed mega hospital in the commercial hub of Bandra-Kurla Complex. The hospital will serve as an isolation facility for non-critical COVID-19 patients. Expected to be ready in a fortnight, the new makeshift facility can be scaled up to 5,000 beds, if needed. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation will run the hospital that will have, among other things, oxygen facilities and pathological laboratories. A task force comprising nine top doctors has been created to oversee the treatment of patients. From experimenting on biological drugs for skin ailments to rheumatoid arthritis on patients in government hospitals -- they have now decided to try a new treatment protocol. Speaking to Business Standard, Sanjay Oak, member of the task force, said steroids (acting as anti-inflammatory) and low-molecular-weight heparin or LMWH (used in prevention of blood clots) will be given to patients in stage 2b of the disease (or moderate cases). Stages of the disease are mild, moderate, and severe based on symptoms, respiratory rate, and radiological findings. A treatment protocol has been made and circulated among doctors, and we have also held a video conferencing with 600 doctors on Tuesday, said Oak. It is estimated that the city has close to 200 ICU beds to treat critically ill patients. It now has close to 10,000 patients. Even if 5 per cent get critical, we would need 500 beds, said a doctor. She added that most of the younger patients did not require intensive care, but the duration of stay for each patient was 15 days minimum. This was one of the primary reasons for the citys healthcare infrastructure coming under pressure. A five-member central team had projected the number of cases in Mumbai to surge to 650,000 by mid-May. IMAGE: Suspected COVID-19 patients placed at a quarantine centre to prevent the spread of the pandemic in Mumbai. Photograph: Kunal Patil/PTI Photo While the state government had then contested the methodology used for mathematical modelling, it had, nonetheless, started work on creating capacities. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said in a statement on Wednesday that the state government had asked the Indian army, the navy, posts and railways in the state, along with other central organisations, to provide ICU beds. Local ward officers have been given powers to take over private hospitals and nursing homes to put up ICU beds. Oak told Business Standard that the projections are huge and it is almost impossible to match the infrastructure to that extent. However, managing such large facilities would require qualified doctors. Thackeray said on Wednesday that the state government had set up huge facilities for treating patients at Mahalaxmi Racecourse, Nehru Science Center, Nehru Planetarium, Goregaon Exhibition Centre, BKC, and Richardson & Cruddas factory land, near JJ hospital. Private hospitals have also earmarked some of their facilities for ICU (beds). As a recourse, more than 25,000 doctors who operate as private practitioners in the city, have now been asked to sign up to treat COVID-19 patients. In a notification invoking the Epidemic Diseases Act, the Disaster Management Act, and the Maharashtra Essential Service Maintenance (Amendment) Act, T P Lahane, director of Medical Education & Research (Mumbai), reached out to all private doctors asking them to sign up for at least 15 days. Non-attendance could lead to cancellation of licences. Oak said that with the kind of facilities being created, allopathic doctors alone could not take care of all the patients. Medical students and our ayush counterparts (ayurvedic and homeopathic) will have to be enlisted. They will observe the patients with mild symptoms kept in isolation, he added. Meanwhile, the BMC has also asked private hospitals to earmark 20 per cent of their beds for poor patients who have tested positive. The civic authority will bear the cost of treatment, but according to rates set by the state government. Though Trump administration officials have tried to emphasize the external threat of the virus, the United States continues to have the worst outbreak in the world, with more than 1.2 million confirmed cases and more than 75,000 deaths. The U.S. cases are approximately 33 percent of the worldwide total, and the deaths are 28 percent of all virus-related fatalities across the globe. The United Kingdom has the second-highest death total, with just fewer than 31,000 deaths, and Italy is third, with just fewer than 30,000. DGAP-News: VAPIANO SE / Key word(s): Disposal The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Press Release Sales process commenced for Vapiano Group Cologne, Germany, 30 April 2020. The management board of Vapiano SE, together with provisional insolvency administrator Dr Ruth Rigol, decided today to commence a sales process which may also extend to the global business, restaurant portfolio or assets of the Vapiano Group. The sales process with interested investors is planned to run until the end of May 2020, and will not include the franchise restaurants (especially in Germany). The management board of Vapiano SE and provisional administrator Dr Ruth Rigol from PLUTA Rechtsanwalts GmbH announced that Vapiano SE has received a loan secured by the insolvency estate during the provisional insolvency proceedings. At the same time, the operating subsidiaries in Germany are to receive similar financing. These companies are also involved in provisional insolvency proceedings. The Local Court of Cologne appointed PLUTA attorney Mr Stefan Conrads as provisional administrator for all insolvency proceedings of the German subsidiaries. More than 1,000 people are employed by Vapiano SE, while the operating subsidiaries in Germany have a combined workforce of over 1,500. Over recent days and weeks, the provisional insolvency administrators and their team at PLUTA, working together with the management board of Vapiano SE and head office employees in Cologne, have been able to secure pre-financing so that initial tranches of the substitute benefits could already be paid to employees. Employee salaries are guaranteed for three months during insolvency proceedings thanks to these specific benefits provided under German insolvency law. The estate-backed loans for the companies are intended to tide them over until the Vapiano Group's business operations can be resumed. The creditors' committee has consented to these loans being raised. At the same time, a structured M&A process led by PricewaterhouseCoopers has been commenced in agreement with the creditors' committee. In addition to Dr Ruth Rigol and Mr Stefan Conrads, the PLUTA restructuring team also includes Mr Stefan Meyer, Dr Hubertus Bartelheimer, Dr Maximilian Pluta and Mr Ivo-Meinert Willrodt. Attorney Dr Ruth Rigol said: "We want this to be an open, transparent and fast sales process. We feel this is the best solution given the exceptional situation in which we currently find ourselves. The granting of estate-backed loans is also an important step in maintaining the restaurant chain. We have received many positive signals from the market in recent weeks and are confident of finding an investor for the Vapiano Group." Separate sales process for Vapiano subsidiaries in France Vapiano SE is conducting a separate sales process for its subsidiaries in France, which operate Vapiano restaurants in France and Luxembourg. This sales process and negotiations with potential investors are already at an advanced stage and the purchase agreement is expected to be signed by late May 2020. The Vapiano subsidiaries in France and Luxembourg are not involved in insolvency proceedings. In light of the COVID-19 crisis and the fact that provisional insolvency proceedings have been ordered, the listed company has postponed publication of its 2019 annual report, which had originally been scheduled for late April 2020. The planned date for publication of the annual report is currently 26 June 2020. No date has yet been set for the shareholders' meeting, which has also been postponed. About Vapiano: Italian lifestyle brand VAPIANO created a new category in system gastronomy in 2002 with its innovative 'fresh casual dining' concept. The restaurant concept is based on quality, fresh ingredients and transparency. Pasta is made by hand every day at each VAPIANO. Dishes are prepared 'a la minute' in front of guests and are 'customised' according to their wishes. VAPIANO is also synonymous with autonomy and individuality: guests decide whether to order their food and drink from the Vapianisti, on a terminal or via the VAPIANO app and whether to pay via chip card or app. The company also offers takeaway and delivery services. As of 30 September 2019, the VAPIANO network consisted of 235 restaurants in 33 countries on five continents. Further information is available at https://de.vapiano.com/de/home/. About PLUTA: PLUTA helps companies in legally and economically difficult situations. Since the company was founded in 1982, PLUTA has constantly grown and today has a staff of approximately 500 employees in Germany, Spain and Italy. More than 90 members of staff with a legal background and 40 with a business background, including attorneys and tax consultants with multiple qualifications as auditors, graduates in Business Administration and accountants ensure practicable and economically sensible solutions. In particular, PLUTA provides support in restructuring companies affected by a crisis or insolvency and in continuing business operations, if necessary by involving restructuring experts in a responsible role. PLUTA is one of the top enterprises specialising in restructuring and turning around companies, as demonstrated by rankings and awards from INDat, JUVE, WirtschaftsWoche, Focus, Legal 500, Who's Who Legal, ACQ 5 Law Award and M&A Today Global Award. Further information is available at www.pluta.net. Press contact for PLUTA: relatio PR 089-210257-22 pluta@relatio-pr.de Press contact for Vapiano: Charles Barker Corporate Communications GmbH Peter Steiner / Tobias Eberle Telephone: +49 69 794090-27 / -24 Email: vapiano@charlesbarker.de 06.05.2020 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 As per projections, India is ready to record the highest number of births in the 9 months since coronavirus was declared a pandemic in March, with more than 20 million babies expected to be born in the country between March and December this year, as per the UN body. Unsplash The UNICEF - United Nations Childrens Fund warned that pregnant mothers and babies born during the pandemic across the world were threatened by strained health systems and disruptions in services due to COVID-19. An estimated 116 million babies will be born under the deadly shadow of coronavirus pandemic, UNICEF said on Wednesday, ahead of Mothers day, observed on May 10. These babies are projected to be born in 40 weeks after COVID-19 was recognised as a pandemic on March 11. The highest numbers of births in the 9 months since the pandemic was declared are expected to occur in India, where 20.1 million babies are predicted to be born between March 11 and December 16. Other countries. With the expected highest numbers of births during this period are China (13.5 million), Nigeria (6.4 million), Pakistan (5 million) and Indonesia (4 million), it said. "Most of these countries had high neonatal mortality rates even before the pandemic and may see these levels increase with COVID-19 conditions," UNICEF said. It is estimated that there will be 24.1 million births in India for the period of January -December 2020. Unsplash UNICEF has warned the COVID-19 virus measures can disrupt life saving health services such as childbirth care, putting millions of pregnant mothers and their children at risk. At this stage even the wealthiest countries are getting the worse of this crisis. In the United States, the six highest country in terms of expected numbers of births , over 3.3 million babies are predicted to be born between March 11 and December 16. "New mothers and newborns will be greeted by harsh realities," UNICEF said, adding they include global containment measures such as lockdowns and curfews; health centres overwhelmed with response efforts; supply and equipment shortages; and a lack of sufficient skilled birth attendants as health workers, including midwives, are redeployed to treat COVID-19 patients. "Millions of mothers all over the world embarked on a journey of parenthood in the world as it was. They now must prepare to bring a life into the world as it has become a world where expecting mothers are afraid to go to health centres for fear of getting infected, or missing out on emergency care due to strained health services and lockdowns," UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said. "It is hard to imagine how much the coronavirus pandemic has recast motherhood," Fore said. An average full term pregnancy typically lasts a complete 9 months period. For the purpose of this estimate, the number of births for a 9 months period was calculated. Unsplash UNICEF warned that certain evidence suggests that pregnant mothers are not more affected by COVID-19 than others, but countries need to ensure they still have access to antenatal, delivery and postnatal services. Similarly, sick newborns need emergency services as they are at high risk of death. New families require support to start breastfeeding, and to get medicines, vaccines and nutrition to keep their babies healthy, it said. "This is a particularly poignant Mother''s Day, as many families have been forced apart during the coronavirus pandemic, but it is also a time for unity, a time to bring everyone together in solidarity. We all can help and save lives by making sure that every pregnant mother receives the support she needs to give birth safely in the months to come," Fore said. Issuing an urgent appeal to government and health care providers to save lives in the coming months, UNICEF said efforts must be made to help pregnant women receive antenatal checkups, skilled delivery care, postnatal care services and care related to COVID-19 needed. As many students are expected to go back to school, people began asking whether air conditioning is safe to use in the COVID-19 pandemic. Gettyimagebank By Kim Se-jeong As students are expected to go back to school later this month and study through the summer to catch up with what they missed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the biggest questions is whether air conditioning is safe to use. On Thursday, the Ministry of Education released a guideline to keep all windows at least one-third open at all times while running air conditioning. "At the moment, experts view using air conditioning is okay as long as the room is ventilated frequently," Jung Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), said during a press conference, Wednesday. Yet she added, "A Chinese research team raised a possibility of the device contributing to droplet transmission. That needs more research and experimentation to be verified. For now, experts consider that a possibility. We are collecting opinions from experts on the use of air conditioning and will be able to give guidelines." In a research letter published in the U.S. Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal, a Chinese team of researchers traced 10 COVID-19 patients who all dined in an air-conditioned restaurant in January in Guangzhou, China, and found one diner who had visited Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic, transmitted the virus to other dines via airflow of the air conditioner. The startup currently clocks in a revenue of Rs 6 cr annually Leading business icon and philanthropist Ratan Tata in his personal capacity has invested an undisclosed amount in 18 year old innovative pharmaceutical venture Generic Aadhaar. The company is run by Founder and CEO, Arjun Deshpande who began his venture at the age of 16 years with the sole aim of bringing affordable medicines to the masses. When a Generic Aadhaar teenager took it upon him to provide a solution for expensive medications, he ended up creating an innovative business model that is set to take the pharmaceutical industry by storm. The start-up boasts of an annual revenue of 6cr and is looking at a revenue of 150- 200 cr in the next three years. Generic Aadhaar follows a unique business model; viz a pharmacy-aggregator business model sourcing generic drugs directly from the manufacturer and providing it to the retailers, thereby cutting out the middlemen completely and delivering medicines to masses at a much lesser cost. It is a B2B2C model that aims at providing Indians with affordable medication by supporting single medical stores across the nation which otherwise face competition from big brands and online pharmacies. Under Generic Aadhaar, the company provides quality and affordable medication directly from WHO-GMP facility and has tied up with 30 retailers from Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Odisha following a profit-sharing model. On this occasion, Arjun Deshpande, Founder and CEO opined, "With Generic Aadhaar, we are all set to bring a new revolution in the pharmaceutical industry. Our unique business model gives us an edge over any other players in the market currently as we aim to bring affordable healthcare to millions of households. Our mission is to provide senior citizens and pension holders the care they deserve with our idea of delivering inexpensive medicines which are required on a daily basis. He further adds, When Sir Ratan Tata came to know about the business plan, he was impressed and decided to be a part of this mission in a personal capacity and help Generic Aadhaar to reach every Indian. A survey states that 60% of Indians cannot afford proper medication due to their high market price and hence fall behind to deliver basic healthcare needs to people. Generic Aadhaar steps in to solve this problem as it aims to partner with 1000 pharmacies on a franchisee-based model in the coming months and expand their reach to markets like to Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, New Delhi, Goa, Rajasthan, Gujarat. Generic Aadhaar will provide all the support to the unorganized sector by bringing the right technology, IT infrastructure and branding to the forefront. The company has about 55 employees, which include pharmacists, IT engineers and marketing professionals. In association with Mr. Tata, this revolutionary startup aims to spread its wings in every city in India. Generic Aadhaar supplies diabetes and hypertension drugs but will soon start offering cancer drugs at rates much lower than the market price. It has a tie up with four WHO-GMP certified manufacturers in Palghar, Ahmedabad, Pondicherry and Nagpur. Generic Aadhaar, is a pharma start-up founded by a 18-year-old lad, Arjun Deshpande, which provides quality generic medicines from reputed pharmaceutical manufacturers at upto 80% lesser cost. The medicines sold at Generic Aadhaar are sold at 20% 30% percent lesser than the market price. These medicines are sourced from WHO-GMP certified manufacturers to reduce the cost and make it pocket friendly for the consumers and the medical stores are able to increase their margins by using the Generic Aadhaar branding. OWOSSO, MI In one hand, Gerald Pruitt held a snorkel mask. The other hand contained an N-95 type filter. Pruitt, a pulmonologist at Memorial Healthcare in Owosso, came to Charlie Thompson looking for some way to use the items to protect hospital staff amid the COVID-19 pandemic. I could tell right away ... this wasnt just going to be something with duct tape or anything like that, said Thompson, the hospitals director of plant operations. Thompson wanted to do his part by helping in the creation of the mask and didnt have to go to far to enlist some help. Thompson spoke with his 18-year-old son Cade, a Bay City Western High senior whod been taking a 3D printing course through the Bay-Arenac Intermediate School District. I sent him over the mask, some pictures and told him to get some thoughts together, said Thomspon. When I came home, he got out calipers and started designing over the weekend and kind of got started on what we were going to use for a fitting. One of Cades teacher was also enlisted to provide software, as well as Owosso native Jeff Sarrazin for assistance with 3D printing. We basically incorporated a ventilator filter. At first (there) was one, (but) now its two onto this fitting that attached directly to a mask, said Thompson. Cade also developed a cap to go on the end of the hose which can be hooked up to medical oxygen tanks to provide supplemental air. The cap is used to keep the hose clear of any particulates when its stored away for the day. The original version used a filter from an anesthesia machine, with a second model utilizing oxygen tubes -- both retrofitted with high efficiency particulate air, or HEPA, filters intended to virtually stop bacterial and viral pathogens. The thing about the mask is its a tight seal, all around the face, noted Thompson. If you plug up these filters with your hands -- and this is how we fit test it -- hold your palms over the two filters and try to breath in, it sucks the masks tight against your face. Training has taken place with staff members on how to properly put on and take off the masks, which are reusable. A hairnet is placed over the back and beard mask over the front of the discharge to keep the mask from being contaminated. The masks were rolled out in phases, starting with high-risk areas such as COVID-19 units, respiratory therapy and the emergency department. When in use, the masks are affixed with a stretchable nylon fabric in the back. The masks undergo a daily cleaning process developed by Megan Smith, the hospitals director of quality and safety. It includes Clorox wipes and sinking them in a solution followed by what Thompson equated to an autoclaving dry cycle. The masks are placed in a paper bag and sealed in a container. The filters in each mask have a lifespan of 15 days. Thompson expressed pride in the collective effort, including his son whose received some kudos in the form of a card, Mountain Dews and beef jerky, for his work. A whole team of people came forward to do this, said Thompson. One thing thats great about Memorial is its always a we thing. Its always teamwork. The Powering Positivity campaign by MLive Media Group highlights how Michiganders are supporting one another during the coronavirus pandemic. It is sponsored by The MediLodge Group. Related stories: Wednesday, May 6: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan 5 reasons Michigan lawmakers are suing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Eight weeks after Michigans first coronavirus cases, an animated map tracks its spread through the state Michigans approach to reopening the economy: slow, steady and safe WASHINGTON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Results from the most recent Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) released today by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) show that U.S. 15-year-olds have shown no improvement in their understanding of personal finance fundamentals. The score for U.S. students was unchanged since the last time the financial literacy assessment was conducted in 2015 and since the first financial literacy assessment in 2012. "At a moment when Americans are facing tough financial decisions, we are reporting that we aren't making progress preparing students for the realities of economic life as an adult in the modern age," said Peggy G. Carr, associate commissioner of assessments for NCES. "These are fundamental life skills that are absolutely essential for all Americans, but the study shows that many of our 15-year-oldsroughly one-fifth overalldon't have the skills they need to make prudent decisions about their personal finances and struggle with everyday tasks, like determining the best value between two products at the market and knowing how to respond to a phishing email that looks like it's coming from their bank." In the United States, the gap between high performers and low performers, as determined by the 90th and 10th percentiles, was larger than the average gap in U.S. peer economies that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. U.S. White and Asian students scored higher than the country's average, and black and Hispanic students scored below the U.S. average. The assessment measures 15-year-old's knowledge and understanding of fundamental elements of the financial worldincluding financial concepts, products, and risksand their ability to apply what they know to real-life situations involving financial issues and decisions. "The PISA financial literacy assessment is especially valuable because it is the only nationally representative study in the United States that measures the applied financial literacy skills of the country's 15-year-olds and whether students have the skills they need to be prepared for the variety of financial challenges they will encounter in life as young adults," said Carr. "Whether they go on to college or directly into the workforce after graduation, as young adults they will need to deal with budgeting and saving." In 2018, 20 education systems participated in the PISA financial literacy assessment, 13 of which were OECD members. Estonia had the highest average score among the participating countries. Students in Finland, Canada, and Poland also scored higher, on average, than U.S. students. The average U.S. score was comparable to scores for students in Australia, Portugal, Latvia, and Lithuania. The U.S. score was also not significantly different from the average score of OECD member countries. Students in the Russian Federation, Spain, the Slovak Republic, Italy, Chile, Serbia, Bulgaria, Brazil, Peru, Georgia, and Indonesia had lower average scores than students in the U.S. Students who take the PISA financial literacy assessment also answer a background questionnaire about their experiences learning about money matters. The data from this questionnaire provides valuable context into the results of the assessment. In 2018, U.S. 15-year-olds reported learning about personal finance fundamentals outside of school more than in school. Fifty-two percent reported learning about money matters in an activity outside of school, and 46 percent of students or fewer said they learned about such subjects in school. Of the options listed in the questionnaire, the most popular sources that these students consulted for financial information were their parents or the internet. "Parents were far and away the most frequent source of information about money matters and personal finance, with 96 percent of students saying they learned about these topics from their parents," said Lynn Woodworth, NCES commissioner. "However, there are some indications that students aren't having very deep discussions about important financial issues with their parents. Fifteen-year-olds were more likely to say that they did not speak to family about "big picture" money matters, such as economic news or the family budget. The novel coronavirus pandemic presents a unique and real-world relevant opportunity for parents to begin having those discussions about personal finance fundamentals with their child." PISA was developed and organized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental organization made up of 37 mostly industrialized member countries, and is conducted in the United States by NCES. The financial literacy assessment is an optional component of PISA that NCES administers in the U.S. with additional funding from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Results from the PISA 2018 main studywhich assessed 15-year-olds' performance in reading, math, and science literacywere released in December 2019. Key findings: Average Scores for Participating Systems The 2018 U.S. score was lower than the average in four education systems ( Estonia , Finland , Canada , and Poland ), higher than the average in eleven education systems (the Russian Federation , Spain , the Slovak Republic, Italy , Chile , Serbia, Bulgaria , Brazil , Peru , Georgia , and Indonesia ), and not measurably different from the average score in four education systems ( Australia , Portugal , Latvia , and Lithuania ). It was not measurably different from the U.S. average score from the previous financial literacy assessment (2015) or the first financial literacy assessment (2012). , , , and ), higher than the average in eleven education systems (the , , the Slovak Republic, , , Serbia, , , , , and ), and not measurably different from the average score in four education systems ( , , , and ). It was not measurably different from the U.S. average score from the previous financial literacy assessment (2015) or the first financial literacy assessment (2012). Average scores in financial literacy ranged from 547 in Estonia to 388 in Indonesia . The average score of U.S. 15-year-olds was 506. This score was not measurably different from the OECD average of 505. High Performers Students who reach level 5 proficiency (a score of 625 or higher) on the PISA financial literacy can apply their understanding of a wide range of financial terms and concepts, including complex ones, to contexts that may only become relevant to their lives in the long term. In 2018, the percentages of high-performing 15-year-old students (those scoring at or above level 5 proficiency) in financial literacy ranged from 20 percent in Finland to zero percent in Indonesia . In the U.S., 12 percent of 15-year-olds reached level 5 proficiency. On average, 10 percent of students from OECD countries were high performers. to zero percent in . In the U.S., 12 percent of 15-year-olds reached level 5 proficiency. On average, 10 percent of students from OECD countries were high performers. The U.S. percentage of high performers in 2018 was not measurably different than the OECD average percentage and two education systems ( Australia and Poland ). It was lower than the percentage in three education systems ( Finland , Estonia , and Canada ) and higher than 14 education systems ( Portugal , Lithuania , the Slovak Republic, the Russian Federation , Latvia , Spain , Italy , Chile , Serbia, Bulgaria , Brazil , Peru , Georgia , and Indonesia ). Low Performers Students scoring below level 2 (below 400) on PISA financial literacy are not yet able to apply their knowledge to real-life situations involving financial issues and decisions. In 2018, the percentage of low-performing 15-year-old students (those scoring below level 2 proficiency) ranged from five percent in Estonia to 57 percent in Indonesia . In the U.S., 16 percent of participating students were considered low performers, which was lower than the percentages in nine participating countries (the Slovak Republic, Italy , Chile , Serbia, Bulgaria , Brazil , Peru , Georgia , and Indonesia ) and higher than the percentages in five participating countries ( Estonia , Canada , Finland , Poland , and Latvia ). The U.S. percentage of low performers did not differ from Lithuania , Portugal , the Russian Federation , Spain , and Australia . to 57 percent in . In the U.S., 16 percent of participating students were considered low performers, which was lower than the percentages in nine participating countries (the Slovak Republic, , , Serbia, , , , , and ) and higher than the percentages in five participating countries ( , , , , and ). The U.S. percentage of low performers did not differ from , , the , , and . The U.S. percentage of low performers in 2018 was not statistically different from the average percentage of low performers from OECD countries, which was 15 percent. U.S. Results by Socioeconomic Status PISA measures levels of poverty in participating students by using a variable based the percentage of students in schools eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch (FRPL). In 2018, students in the U.S. attending schools with lower levels of poverty (schools where between 0 and 24.9 percent of students were eligible for FRPL) scored significantly higher than students attending schools with higher levels of poverty (schools where 75 percent or more of students were eligible for FRPL) U.S. Results by Race/Ethnicity In the U.S., average scores for White students (532) and Asian students (554) was higher than the U.S. average score. Average scores for Black students (446) and Hispanic students (475) were lower than the U.S. average score. The full report is available at https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pisa/pisa2018 The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, is the statistical center of the U.S. Department of Education and the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations. A part of the Institute of Education Sciences, NCES fulfills a congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report complete statistics on the condition of American education; conduct and publish reports; and review and report on education activities internationally. The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), first implemented in 2000, is an international assessment that measures the performance of 15-year-old students in reading literacy, mathematics literacy, and science literacy. PISA 2018 was the seventh cycle of the assessment. Target populations for PISA include all 15-year-olds in education institutions with grade 7 or higher, regardless of the type of education institution or whether it is publicly or privately funded. Students could be excluded for functional or intellectual disabilities or limited proficiency in the test language. The U.S. sample included both public and private schools, randomly selected and weighted to be representative of the nation's 15-year-old students. PISA was developed and organized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The OECD is an intergovernmental organization made up of 37 mostly industrialized member countries like the United States, Japan, Germany, the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom. SOURCE National Center for Education Statistics Related Links https://nces.ed.gov Millions of people could be worried about the drinking habits of someone they know during the lockdown, a survey suggests. Boredom, loneliness and anxiety are all major reasons why Brits have been hitting the bottle over the last two months, the study claims. Research carried out by YouGov for the drug and alcohol charity We Are With You found 12 per cent of people surveyed - the equivalent to 6.3 million adults across the UK population - were either very or extremely concerned about the drinking habits of someone they know during the coronavirus restrictions. Boredom, loneliness and anxiety are all major reasons why Brits have been hitting the bottle over the last two months, the study claims When asked why they thought people may be drinking more alcohol during the lockdown, 80 per cent said boredom was to blame and more than half suggested loneliness or anxiety (both 53 per cent). We Are With You's research also found that 60 per cent of adults were less likely to seek help from their GP or other non-emergency services for all conditions during the current restrictions. More than half (54 per cent) of those said they were concerned about putting extra strain on the NHS, with only 19 per cent saying their reluctance was because of a fear of catching Covid-19. The figures have raised concerns about fewer people accessing alcohol treatment after public health experts expressed fears of an overall increase in drinking. Linda Bauld, professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh, previously warned the lockdown may have consequences for years to come, including in alcohol-related illnesses. We Are With You is a drug, alcohol and mental health charity which offers support across the UK, either by a referral from a GP or through self-referral. The figures have raised concerns about fewer people accessing alcohol treatment after public health experts expressed fears of an overall increase in drinking The charity found that all alcohol referrals to their services have fallen by by 72 per cent during the lockdown, compared to January 2020. Sammie, a volunteer for the charity who is now in recovery, said: 'Alcohol made me feel confident and dulled my anxiety but once I started I struggled to stop, with serious consequences for myself and my family. 'The current restrictions are tough for people like me who are in recovery. 'Isolation, boredom and anxiety are big factors which lead to people drinking more. And without work or other obligations to keep people in check, some people may go into spirals of drinking like I used to.' The charity has stressed their services are still available without the need to go to a GP for a referral. Dr Nikita Kanani, NHS England medical director for primary care, urged people to access support from their GPs and other primary care providers when they need it. Speaking at Wednesday's Downing Street press conference, she said: 'I want to reassure people who are listening and watching today that your primary care services are still there for you. 'It might feel a little bit different; you might have more telephone calls or online consultations. 'You might see somebody dressed in PPE as I was yesterday in my surgery, but you must know that your NHS is still here for you, so please come and contact us if you need advice or support over the coming weeks and months.' Where gasoline goes, ethanol follows, and both have been on a path to unprofitability. Ethanol prices have collapsed as gasoline demand dropped by half due to COVID-19 shutdowns. That because ethanol a biofuel derived from corn makes up about 10% of the gas in your tank. So imagine you're the guy right now who founded the world's largest ethanol producing company. "We produce about two billion gallons of ethanol per year," says Jeff Broin, founder and CEO of POET, based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. His company runs more than two dozen ethanol plants in the U.S., though currently three plants are closed, and 10% of his workforce is laid off. "It's down to about half capacity in a lot of plants," he said. However, in two plants, POET is doing something new. It has re-engineered systems to make pharmaceutical grade hand sanitizer. "It takes some retrofitting," says Broin. "That's underway, literally working around the clock." The conversion from ethanol to hand sanitizer comes with "some pretty significant costs," he says. The alcohol has to be further distilled to meet pharmaceutical grade standards, then it needs to be mixed with other ingredients to make hand sanitizer. "And then we take it to a bottling facility, which has not been something we've done in the past." The company is donating much of the hand sanitizer to front line healthcare workers near its headquarters, but it is also starting to sell some of the hand sanitizer online and in retail stores. The new product helps offset losses in ethanol. Just as gasoline demand affects ethanol, ethanol production has had its own ripple effects. The government says 40% of the nation's corn crop now goes into making the biofuel, and with less of it being produced, corn is even less profitable. "Farmers were already oversupplied with grain, and this exacerbates issues on the farm," Broin says. Livestock producers often buy a high-protein feed which is a byproduct of the ethanol process. In a normal year, POET would produce and sell 10 billion pounds of that feed. Not this year. Beer and soda companies use the CO2 that is another byproduct, and so do meat packing plants which use carbon dioxide to flash freeze meat. Some are now concerned we may end up with a CO2 shortage. However, gasoline demand is showing signs of a comeback, and ethanol futures are well off their lows from a month ago. Even so, Broin says POET is going to stay in the hand sanitizer business. He predicts it could eventually provide as much as 5% of income. "I think the demand for hand sanitizer will increase over time," he says. "People need to stay safe." NEW HAVEN The Regional Water Authority will delay opening the HazWaste Central waste collection site in order to protect customers, employees and volunteers from the coronavirus, officials said in a release. The earliest the center could open is May 30, according to the release. The RWA will continue to monitor the presence of COVID-19 in Connecticut and will announce any further delays deemed necessary. When HazWaste Central does open, measures will be in place to encourage social distancing for the protection of those present on collection days, officials said. According to the release, those that visit HazWaste Central are able to have their household hazardous waste disposed of without leaving their vehicles, as (a)ll waste is registered in advance and unloaded from vehicles by professionals. Officials said participants will be asked to sign in online this year to encourage further social distancing. According to the release. the HazWaste Central member communities are Bethany, Branford, East Haven, Fairfield, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Meriden, Milford, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Wallingford, West Haven and Woodbridge. HazWaste Central typically opens in mid-May and it operates on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. until noon through the end of October. Residents of participating towns are able to bring their household hazardous waste products to the HazWaste Central facility, located at the RWAs headquarters at 90 Sargent Drive in New Haven, for free and environmentally-friendly disposal, officials said. william.lambert@hearstmediact.com By Express News Service BENGALURU: Buckling under the collective pressure from irate migrant workers, opposition leaders and citizen activists to roll back its decision to stop running the Shramik special trains from Wednesday, a stung Karnataka government on Thursday decided to run 100-plus trains to nine states from May 8 to May 15. It is still being decided whether to restart the operations on Friday or Saturday as two of the states have already given consent for the move. A high-level meet took place on Thursday morning in this connection, with the Chief Secretary, Director General of Police and the Divisional Railway Manager taking part. It was decided to go ahead with running the special trains. Manjunath Prasad, Nodal Officer for Migrants, Karnataka told The New Indian Express, As per the directions of the government, I have written to different state governments today seeking their consent to operate the trains. An official communication has been sent to the nine states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, Manipur, Tripura, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in this regard. The trains will be used for transportation of stranded migrant labourers, tourists, students, pilgrims and others. The letter proposes running of 16 trains each to Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar during the eight-day period with two trains being run every day. One train would be run daily to Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. In the case of Manipur and Tripura, one train will be run each day from May 8 till all the stranded persons are transported, the letter states. Madhya Pradesh has given its consent to run all the eight trains. Bihar had already given its consent to run 8 out of 16 special trains there. The permission had been obtained earlier when the government suddenly decided on Tuesday night to pull the plug on operating special trains. This followed a meeting Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa held with top representatives of the construction industry and trade bodies. The 'building mafia' in the state and its alleged hold over the government came in for much criticism. In the three days from May 3 to May 5 when special trains were operated, a total of 8,586 passengers, mostly migrant workers, were transported to Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha with almost 1,200 passengers in each train. The decision to stop running the trains was taken on the night of May 5 even as the Railways was gearing up to run 10 to 15 special trains to Bihar continuously from May 6 to 10. This caused massive outrage among migrants, particularly the vast number of workers from Bihar, employed in the city. Women students on Thursday expressed solidarity with jailed Jamia Millia Islamia student Safoora Zargar, who is three months pregnant and is being trolled online over the identity of her unborn child's father. The students used #WithSafooraAgainstSlander on social media, demanding that the online ''slandering'' against her must stop. Some students even posted their pictures carrying placards with slogans like 'Free Safoora' and 'Drop charges against her' and sought a legal action against those maligning her online. Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union president Aishe Ghosh tweeted a picture of Zargar and wrote, "A pregnant woman, been put behind the bars and the s*** shamming she is facing. Is this what makes our country great ? Arrest #KapilMishra #WithSafooraAgainstSlander." On Wednesday, the Delhi Commission For Women had issued notice to police over trolls "slandering" Zargar on social media. Zargar, the media coordinator of the Jamia Coordination Committee, was arrested in April in connection with anti-CAA protests in northeast Delhi's Jaffrabad in February. Later, she was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in a case related to the communal violence over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in northeast district and sent to Tihar jail. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a stark disclosure, Saudi Finance Minister Mohamed Al-Jadaan admitted this week that the largest economy in the region would not return to pre-coronavirus economic conditions, mainly as a result of the pandemics impact on economic activities and supply chains globally. In an interview with a Saudi satellite channel, the minister was candid in drawing a realistic picture of the situation. He revealed the countrys deficit figures, the drop in financial reserves and plans to borrow extensively to finance the budget deficit. Then he hinted about austerity to come. We will reduce expenditure, if God wills, even if some of the steps taken will be painful, but they are for the benefit of everyone, for the benefit of the country and for the benefit of citizens, Al-Jadaan said. Projects would be delayed to cut spending, including projects from the 2030 Vision to diversify the Saudi economy. Though he stressed that basic services for citizens would not be affected by the measures, things would not be like they were in the days before the pandemic, he said. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have been under financial strain since the sharp drop in oil prices in 2014. Even those countries with an already diversified economy and less dependent on oil revenues, like the UAE, have started to feel the consequences of the pandemics economic impact. Non-oil sectors of the economy have started to suffer, adding to the negative impact of falling oil prices. Air travel and tourism in the UAE account for more than 10 per cent of the countrys GDP. With global lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic, this significant portion of the economy has been witnessing a sharp drop. Another country that relies on some manufacturing and agribusiness besides oil is Oman, and it has introduced reforms intended to reduce spending and restructure the labour market. Last week, Omans Finance Ministry told state companies to replace foreign workers with locals as part of efforts to develop the national workforce. Two weeks before that, Oman barred private companies from trying to lessen the economic burden of the coronavirus crisis by firing Omanis. It also urged private firms to ask non-Omani employees to leave permanently. Though other Gulf countries have not yet taken such drastic measures concerning the localisation of jobs and off-loading expatriate workers, there is no guarantee that some might follow in Omans steps if in a less dramatic way. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), oil exports are expected to decline by more than $250 billion across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region due to sharp falls in demand and drops in prices. This adds to the financial distress due to the pandemics affecting non-oil sectors. Governments in the Arab Gulf countries will have to take unprecedented measures to offset the combined negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and falling oil prices. The latter alone were manageable until the beginning of this year, but the former is now bringing about major change in the region. The IMF projects the regions economy to contract by more than the global average this year. It expects the UAEs economy to contract by 3.5 per cent, and Saudi Arabias economy to decline by 2.3 per cent, with the non-oil sector in Saudi Arabia to contract by four per cent this year. It seems the coronavirus pandemic is about to take decisions the Gulf countries have been mulling over for some time but have been reluctant to take for socio-political reasons. A few years back, Gulf citizens and residents started to pay VAT on purchases for the first time and to buy fuel according to varying market rates. Though there is still no income tax in the Gulf, other forms of levies have been introduced or existing ones increased to increase government revenue and balance budgets. Some see this as the beginning of the end of the famous abundance in the Gulf, and the pandemic could go further in curtailing the nanny states envied by the rest of the world. A positive aspect is that the Gulf countries might fast-track the diversification of their economies, with less reliance on energy exports and developing their systems and regulations to be more compatible with the rest of the world. Weaning the Gulf societies off state nursing was never going to be easy, even with the gradual introduction of measures. But with the adverse effects of the pandemic on the economies of the region, such measures are justified and might go smoothly. The public response to guidance on protection from the virus and the control of its spread has been a good sign. People may swallow the painful pill of economic change if they consider it to be their responsibility and acknowledge that the world after the coronavirus will not be like it was before. *A version of this article appears in print in the 7 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: South Korea ended its stringent social distancing policies Wednesday after halting the spread of the coronavirus. But although sports fans will soon be allowed to return to stadiums and as museums and libraries began to reopen, life remains far from normal. Thermal scanners at theme parks, shopping for makeup while wearing masks and constant tracking of people's whereabouts through apps and credit card data are markers of the new post-pandemic world in the country leading the way in its response to the virus. "Everyday distancing does not mean returning to life before COVID-19," Kim Kang Lip, vice minister of health and welfare, said Tuesday at a news briefing. "It means building new social norms and a culture based on exercising social distancing." Only two new cases of the virus and one death were reported Wednesday in South Korea following an aggressive campaign of early detection and tracing, in which over 1 million tests have been conducted since the first incident of the virus in late January. The result has been a death toll of only 255 people among a population of over 51 million. State-run museums and libraries began opening their doors Wednesday. Professional sports, including baseball, began Tuesday, and soccer is expected to resume in the coming days. Both will allow spectators onsite, Kim said. A golf tournament scheduled for May 14 is also expected to go ahead. Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak But still, fears of a second wave of the virus have officials and individuals taking precautions. Wearing masks at all times in public will likely continue. "Each and every one of us is assuming the responsibility of one's own prevention of infection," Kim said, adding that any signs of the virus' return would result in lockdown rules' being tightened again. Everyone arriving in the country from overseas is required to install a smartphone app, on which they're required to report their symptoms and temperature daily, while being placed under mandatory 14-day quarantines. They could also be made to wear tracking bracelets during their stay in the country. Story continues Image: Visitors wear masks in South Korea (Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images) Foreigners have to stay in a government facility for the period and have meals delivered to their doors to avoid any contact. Anyone who breaches the quarantine rules faces fines and even jail time. Frequent hand-washing and maintenance of two arms-lengths' distance from strangers is encouraged by the country's center for disease control, while talking in public is also discouraged. Buses will carry advertisements advising people of the new measures. Download the NBC News app for full coverage and alerts about the coronavirus outbreak South Korea is also ramping up its ability to trace suspected cases and their contacts using a variety of databases from cellphones, street cameras and credit card purchases. The goal is to be able to trace people within minutes rather than a day, stopping virus hot spots from spreading. As students prepare to return to school next week, the government is also building a hospital and setting up 1,000 clinics dedicated to treating the coronavirus to prepare for future waves. Teacher Hannah Rader, an American living in Seoul, told NBC News that while they mean a loss of privacy, the government's close tabs on the spread of the virus and the public's collective effort to follow social distancing rules have been reassuring. "I see why people could feel uncomfortable with it, but the trade-off for, you know, people not getting sick and hospitalized and dying, I think, is worth it," she said.CORRECTION (May 8, 2020, 12:38 a.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated the extent to which South Korea tracks people. It monitors people who leave quarantine; it does not constantly track people's whereabouts. It also misstated who could be made to wear tracking bracelets. Only people who leave quarantine and give their permission are asked to wear them, not everyone arriving in the country from overseas. Stephanie Javier-Fagbemi, a third-year medical student at Temple and member of the Philadelphia Organization of Health Professions Students (POHPS), is involved with a project called Connect for Covid to bring smart devices to patients to enable them to stay in contact with family and friends while hospitalized in isolation. The situation hits home for her as her uncle died from COVID-19 in isolation. Read more For Stephanie Javier-Fagbemi, a third-year medical student at Temple University, the death of her beloved uncle was difficult enough. His passing due to complications from COVID-19 was another reminder of the lethal threat of the global pandemic. But one aspect of Mario Javiers death on April 5 in a hospital in Hartford, Conn. hit home in an especially devastating way for his niece: his isolation, both in physical terms and in his inability to communicate even electronically with his loved ones prior to his death. We werent able to say goodbye, Javier-Fagbemi said. That has really complicated the grieving process for my entire family. The heartbreaking experience has prompted Javier-Fagbemi to volunteer with Connect for COVID-19, a nationwide initiative that seeks to deliver smart devices, such as cell phones, tablets, and laptops, to hospitals and other long-term care facilities to help ease social isolation for vulnerable patients. Weve all seen the stories of how difficult this has been, said Manraj Singh, a Princeton University graduate and national lead for Connect for COVID. Were just a bunch of twenty-something-year-olds across the country trying to help. Locally, Connect for COVID is operating in coordination with the new Philadelphia Organization of Health Professions Students (POHPS), a 2,500-member coalition of students from various preprofessional, health-related educational programs across the area who have banded together to provide information and support in the battle against the COVID-19 outbreak. Founded by University of Pennsylvania medical student Ramie Fathy, POHPS is engaged with a variety of efforts, including the collection and distribution of personal protective equipment; developing and sharing informational resources; coordinating and publicizing wellness programs, especially for health-care workers; and partnering with a local nonprofit, CollegeTogether, and area restaurants to provide regular meals for health-care workers. READ MORE: Two volunteer groups partner to feed 3,500 hospital workers We were all in this weird limbo, said Fathy, a third-year medical student at the University of Pennsylvanias Perelman School of Medicine. There are so many health-care profession schools in the Philadelphia area, so many students who wanted to help in some way, given our training and skill sets and familiarity with the health-care system. We started a Facebook group and we initially had something like 200 members and I was like, Thats amazing, 200 members, we can do so much. But almost right away, we shot up to almost 2,500 members. Its been rewarding to see so many students from all over the area want to help in any way they can. Fathy said similar organizations are emerging in other areas of the country, with hopes for establishing a nationwide network to coordinate efforts, share ideas and best practices, and develop plans to remain in operation long after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is over. Were applying for nonprofit status, setting up bylaws, Fathy said. This is something we want to continue far into the future. For now, though, obtaining smart devices and delivering them to isolated patients is a top priority. Yentli Soto Albrecht, the Philadelphia regions Connect for COVID lead coordinator, said the organization has begun to work with Penn Medicine as well as Temple and Jefferson hospitals to arrange for the distribution of the items. READ MORE: Restless and eager to help, residents in the Philadelphia region are joining volunteer groups aiding coronavirus response Singh said a secure drop-off location, manned by POHPS volunteers, has been established at 3610 Hamilton Walk. (Theres more information at dhcproject.org/covid19 as well as a GoFundMe site, gofundme.com/f/connect-for-covid19, to allow for financial donations.) Once devices are donated or purchased, Connect for Covid volunteers clean and test them. They then coordinate with medical, maintenance, and IT staff at hospitals to install and program them into individual rooms as well as instruct patients and their families on how to use them. Everyone sees how difficult the no-visitation policy has been, Soto Albrecht said. Its so important that we try to help people connect with their family and friends in such difficult times, to know they are not alone. Javier-Fagbemi said the Connect for COVID project is vitally important given current no visitor restrictions and deeply personal to her, given the circumstances of the death of her uncle, who was in his 60s. I dont want what happened to my uncle and to my family to happen to anyone else, she said. We had no idea how sick he was. We couldnt contact him. He couldnt contact us. We couldnt advocate for him. We couldnt visit him. When we found out he had died, it was such a shock because we had no idea how bad his situation was. Javier-Fagbemi said the devices will enable patients to connect with families and with medical staff, lowering the risk of infection. Patients on ventilators would benefit, too, she said: Even if its a one-way conversation, with family and friends able to talk to them, that would mean so much." Javier-Fagbemis last connection with her uncle was a photo that his partner sent her just before he was hospitalized. I was motivated to try to help anyway I could before I lost my uncle, Javier-Fagbemi said. But when something like this hits home, it makes you even more motivated to try to make sure it doesnt happen to another family. (Alliance News) - InterContinental Hotels Group PLC on Thursday said its performance in the first quarter of 2020 was hurt by the coronavirus pandemic. The FTSE 100-listed hospitality company reported comparable revenue per available room - a key industry metric - in the three months to the end of March down 25% year-on-year. In the month of March alone, RevPAR declined by 55%, and IHG said it expects a fall in April to be around 80%, as 15% of the estate was closed as at the end of April. Meanwhile, occupancy levels in comparable open hotels were in the low-to-mid 20% range, InterContinental Hotels said. In the US - IHG's biggest market - its franchise portfolio of 3,750 mainstream hotels has seen lower levels of RevPAR decline than the industry as a whole, and as at the end of April it had 90% of its estate open. During the first quarter of 2020, the company said its net system size grew by 4.6% to 882,000 rooms. "Covid-19 represents the most significant challenge both IHG and our industry have ever faced," said Chief Executive Keith Barr. "Following a solid performance in the first two months of 2020, occupancy levels dropped to historic lows in March and April, as social distancing measures and travel restrictions came into effect around the world," added Barr. IHG shares were trading 0.9% higher in London on Thursday at 3,464.08 pence each. By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce a very limited easing of Britain's coronavirus lockdown next week, adopting a cautious approach to ensure there is no second peak of infections, his spokesman said on Thursday. Johnson is due to announce the next steps in Britain's battle to tackle the novel coronavirus on Sunday following a review by ministers of the current measures that have all but shut the economy and kept millions at home. At a cabinet meeting of his top ministers, Johnson said Britain would advance "with maximum caution" and be guided by the science and data when considering whether any of the strict social distancing measures could be eased. "Any easement to the guidelines next week will be very limited," the spokesman told reporters. "We are at a critical moment in the fight against the virus and we will not do anything which risks throwing away the efforts and sacrifices of the British public." 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 Ministers are concerned that any swift easing of a lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus could lead to a second peak in infection rates, which might overwhelm hospitals and force the government to shut down the economy for a second time. Earlier, the Bank of England held off from further stimulus measures on Thursday but said it was ready to take more action to counter the country's biggest economic slump in over 300 years, caused by the coronavirus lockdown. Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here Appearing on This Morning earlier today, the Duchess of Cambridge radiated in yellow, as she appealed to the nation to partake in her new photography project. The mother-of-three sported the 'Bracelet Sleeve Acid Tree-Print Silk Dress' dress from Matches Fashion's in-house brand Raey, which was formerly known as Freda. The dress is, perhaps unsurprisingly, now sold out, although there are yellow dresses aplenty elsewhere in the shopping stratosphere. In fact, yellow dresses were ubiquitous during the SS20 fashion weeks. In New York, Carolina Herrera churned out her interpretations of the colour, while in London it was the turn of homegrown talent Emilia Wickstead to send varying iterations of yellow down the runway. Emilia Wickstead SS20 / IMAXtree Whether you're a magnet for colour and are willing to rock a roaring canary frock, or are feeling more of a mellow lemon frock a la Kate, here are the best to buy now. Selfridges Batsheva prairie puffed-sleeve mini dress, 425, buy now Selfridges MAJE Roseau embroidered-pattern woven mini dress, 209, buy now & Other Stories & Other Stories Fitted Button Wrap Mini Dress, 75, buy now & Other Stories & Other Stories Midi Wrap Dress, 75, buy now MyTheresa Ganni yellow floral crepe midi dress, 147, buy now Selfridges BA&SH Noah tiered cotton midi dress, 240, buy now Selfridges Zimmermann Zinnia floral-print linen maxi dress, 455, buy now Pete Evans, the My Kitchen Rules judge whose alternative health advocacy has outraged doctors, led to official sanctions and inspired a devoted following of like-minded crusaders, has departed Channel Seven after 10 years. The celebrity chef, 47, recently came to a 'mutual' and 'amicable' decision to leave the network, Seven confirmed. According to respected industry website TV Blackbox, Evans is understood to be happy with his newfound independence and reportedly plans to expand his 'alternative lifestyle empire' by marketing books, documentaries and other merchandise. It comes amid rumours My Kitchen Rules will not be returning for a twelfth series next year after its latest season, MKR: The Rivals, flopped in the ratings. Parting ways: Pete Evans, the My Kitchen Rules judge whose alternative health advocacy has outraged doctors, led to official sanctions and inspired a devoted following of like-minded crusaders, has departed Channel Seven after 10 years. Pictured in January 2013 Free at last! Evans is understood to be happy with his newfound independence and reportedly plans to expand his 'alternative lifestyle empire' by marketing books and documentaries News of Evans' departure follows weeks of silence from Seven regarding the controversial host's employment status. The broadcaster had been ignoring inquiries from journalists about Evans after he was fined $25,200 by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for promoting a lamp he claimed could help treat coronavirus. Tellingly, there was no statement issued from a network spokesperson when he was slapped with the fine last month. Meanwhile, Seven is going ahead with a new cooking format called Plate of Origin, starring Evans' former MKR sidekick, Manu Feildel, and ex-MasterChef judges Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan. Exit: The celebrity chef recently came to a 'mutual' and 'amicable' decision to leave the network, . Pictured with Manu Feildel (left) New direction: It comes amid rumours My Kitchen Rules will not be returning for a twelfth series next year after its latest season, MKR: The Rivals, flopped in the ratings Replacement: Seven is going ahead with a new cooking format called Plate of Origin, starring Evans' former MKR sidekick, Manu Feildel (centre), and ex-MasterChef judges Matt Preston (right) and Gary Mehigan (left) While Evans has yet to comment on his departure from Seven, he hinted at an upcoming announcement on Instagram on Wednesday. 'The future is looking freakin bright and we have some exciting news to share very soon,' he wrote alongside a photo of himself in a wetsuit on a surfing trip. Evans - who was rumoured to be on an $800,000 contract at Seven - also revealed on Tuesday he was working on a new cookbook of 'immunity-boosting recipes'. Inside Pete Evans' history of controversy - including bizarre claims the Paleo diet can prevent autism and advising against wearing sunscreen - after he was fined for promoting a 'healing lamp' he claimed could treat the 'Wuhan virus' Evans was fined $25,200 earlier this month for promoting a lamp that he claimed could help treat coronavirus. But it wasn't the first time he had found himself in hot water over his bizarre theories and unscientific claims. From questionable diet advice to strange ideas about health and wellness, Daily Mail Australia takes a look at Evans' long history of controversy. It's also worth noting that while Evans has drawn the ire of scientists with his views, he has a devoted following in the alternative health space and is regarded by some as a martyr who sacrificed mainstream acceptability in order to preach 'the truth'. Divisive: Evans (pictured in 2013) was fined $25,200 earlier this month for promoting a lamp that he claimed could help treat coronavirus - but it wasn't the first time he had found himself in hot water over his bizarre theories and unscientific claims October 2014: Evans claims the Paleo diet can prevent autism In October 2014, Evans posted a 2,100-word rant on Facebook bizarrely claiming that the modern Australian diet was behind the rise in autism. Evans took aim at the Heart Foundation and the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) while promoting the supposed benefits of the Paleo diet. 'Why has our rate of autism jumped from 1 in 10,000 children in 1974, to 1 in 50 in 2014? Where do you think it will be in another 40 years if it is escalating at this rate? This has grown rapidly since the guidelines have been in place!' he wrote. History of Pete Evans' controversies October 2014: Evans claims the Paleo diet can prevent autism March 2015: His book is pulled from shelves due to its bone broth recipe for infants July 2016: Evans claims vegan women should eat meat during pregnancy, advises against wearing 'normal' sunscreen, and claims Wi-Fi is 'dangerous' August 2016: He says osteoporosis suffers shouldn't eat dairy September 2016: Evans claims camel milk could supplement breastfeeding April 2017: Evans campaigns against the 'mass fluoridation of public water' December 2018: Evans reveals he looks directly into the sun April 2020: Evans' ketogenic recipe book is slammed by health professionals and he is fined for promoting his 'healing lamp' Advertisement Among the experts who slammed Evans' claims at the time was renowned autism expert Professor Cheryl Dissanayake. 'There is absolutely no evidence that diet is the cause of autism,' Professor Dissanayake said. WHAT IS THE PALEO DIET? Sometimes referred to as the 'Caveman Diet,' the Paleo diet advocates eating unprocessed foods that our ancestors would have eaten in the Paleolithic era. WHAT DOES IT INCLUDE? Eating vegetables, berries, nuts and lean meats while discarding dairy, grains, caffeine, alcohol and refined sugars. WHAT DO PROFESSIONALS THINK? Despite the growing popularity of the diet, some medical professionals have spoken out against it, saying those who practice it can miss out on some essential vitamins and nutrients. Advertisement March 2015: Evans' book is pulled from shelves due to its bone broth recipe for infants Evans' Paleo cookbook for children, Bubba Yum Yum, was pulled from shelves in March 2015. An expert claimed the book's bone broth recipe for infants could kill a baby due to its high vitamin A content. The Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) released a statement saying that the book could lead to the deaths of children across the country. Pulled: Evans' Paleo cookbook for children, Bubba Yum Yum, was pulled from shelves in March 2015 after an expert claimed the book's bone broth recipe could potentially kill infants 'In my view, there's a very real possibility that a baby may die if this book goes ahead,' said Professor Heather Yeatman, president of the PHAA. Evans instead published the book independently online. July 2016: Evans claims vegan women should eat meat during pregnancy Evans angered fans on Facebook in July 2016 by telling women not to follow a vegan diet if they 'are wanting to reproduce'. However, health experts warned the public not to follow Evans' advice without doing their own research. 'I wouldn't recommend it to anyone': Evans angered fans on Facebook in July 2016 when he told women not to follow a vegan diet if they 'are wanting to reproduce' 'The guy is dangerous. Pete Evans is a cook, he is not an anthropologist,' Robyn Chuter of Empower Total Health told Daily Mail Australia at the time. Despite the criticism, Evans didn't back down from his position. 'The most sensible approach to pregnancy is a diet filled with animal fats and protein,' he said at the time. July 2016: Evans advises against wearing 'normal' sunscreen Evans infamously discouraged fans from wearing 'normal sunscreen' in July 2016, claiming it was filled with 'poisonous chemicals'. 'The silly thing is people put on normal chemical sunscreen then lay out in the sun for hours on end and think that they are safe because they have covered themselves in poisonous chemicals, which is a recipe for disaster as we are witnessing these days,' he wrote on Facebook at the time. 'We need to respect the sun but not hide from it either as it is so beneficial for us, but use common sense. The goal is always never to burn yourself.' 'We need to respect the sun but not hide from it': Evans infamously discouraged fans from wearing 'normal sunscreen' in July 2016, claiming it was filled with 'poisonous chemicals' Evans, who admitted he used 'generally nothing' for sun protection, enraged skin cancer experts with his remarks. A year later he clarified his comments on Sunday Night, saying: 'A lot of sunscreens are full of toxic chemicals that you would not put on your face or on your kids' faces. 'So I've never said, "Don't use sunscreen." I've said [to] make sure you choose one that's the least toxic that's out there.' July 2016: Evans claims Wi-Fi is 'dangerous' In July 2016, the outspoken chef revealed he keeps his Internet switched off when he's not using it due to fears Wi-Fi can cause health issues. Bizarre routine: In July 2016, the outspoken chef revealed he keeps his Internet switched off when he's not using it due to fears Wi-Fi can cause health issues 'We turn off Wi-Fi at night at home and have our house EMF [electromagnetic field] friendly,' he wrote on Facebook in response to a fan's question about the supposed 'dangers of Wi-Fi'. 'If people have not educated themselves on this yet, then I urge them to do so as well. EMFs are causing a lot of issues for people,' he added. In November 2016, Evans said he uses 'Earthing mats' to fight what he believes are the 'dangerous' electromagnetic fields caused by Wi-Fi. Oddball: In November 2016, Evans said he uses 'Earthing mats' to fight what he believes are the 'dangerous' electromagnetic fields caused by Wi-Fi 'When you're sitting at your computer, you put your feet onto a little mat and it sort of, potentially, negates any of the Wi-Fi issues and reconnects you to the Earth,' he told The Age, adding: 'So that to me sounds like, wow, that's a positive thing.' Prominent American clinical neurologist Steven Novella slammed the theory in a blog post, writing: 'This is just one of many pseudosciences that fits into the "just make s**t up" category.' August 2016: Evans claims osteoporosis suffers shouldn't eat dairy Evans was slammed in August 2016 for dishing out unqualified medical advice when he told a woman with osteoporosis to stop consuming dairy. The advice appears to be opposite to the common medical direction that dairy products help protect against the disease, which results in brittle and fragile bones due to vitamin D and calcium deficiencies. 'Most doctors don't know this information': Evans was slammed in August 2016 for dishing out unqualified medical advice when he told a woman with osteoporosis to stop consuming dairy He gave the advice to a follower during one of his Facebook Q&A sessions. The woman wrote: 'I have been diagnosed with osteoporosis. My doctor insists that medication is the only way. Can Paleo help?' Evans responded: 'I would strongly suggest removing dairy and eat the Paleo way as calcium from dairy can remove the calcium from your bones... Most doctors do not know this information.' Quirky couple: Evans and his wife, Nicola Robinson (left), have raised eyebrows over the years by documenting themselves doing bizarre rituals, including spiritual tea ceremonies The woman behind it all! Former Playboy model Nicola (pictured on the runway in 2009) is said to have introduced Evans to the Paleo diet when they started dating in 2011 Evans was slammed by Professor Peter Ebeling, an endocrinologist and medical director of Osteoporosis Australia, who told The Daily Telegraph: 'He shouldn't be saying these things. It's really bad and just not true. 'The keystone to preventing osteoporosis is adequate calcium intake and this is achieved by three [daily] serves of calcium-rich foods like dairy. Dairy is the most easily available source and has the highest calcium content in it.' September 2016: Evans says camel milk can replace breastfeeding Evans stirred up controversy in September 2016 when he claimed that camel milk was 'nearly identical in its total composition to human milk' and could 'supplement regular breastfeeding'. In a post on his website, he said camel milk was 'expensive and a bit hard to come by but is generally safe from an immune reactive standpoint'. More claims: Evans stirred up controversy in September 2016 when he claimed that camel milk was 'nearly identical in its total composition to human milk' and could 'supplement regular breastfeeding'. He is pictured with his children, Indii, 11, and Chilli Evans, 14, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Astrid Edlinger '[Camel milk] may prove useful where supplementing regular breastfeeding might be necessary, as well as a non-immune reactive dairy alternative,' the post continued. However, the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) said camel milk could cause kidney damage in infants because of its high protein content. April 2017: Evans campaigns against the 'mass fluoridation of public water' Evans raised eyebrows again in April 2017 when he posted a photo to Instagram of water flowing out of a tap and forming the poison symbol. In the accompanying caption, he shared his concerns over the 'mass fluoridation of public water'. 'I am concerned': Evans raised eyebrows again in April 2017 when he posted this photo to Instagram of water flowing out of a tap and forming the poison symbol. In the accompanying caption, he shared his concerns over the 'mass fluoridation of public water' 'I am concerned about mass fluoridation of public water, and I strongly believe that if people want to add fluoride to their drinking water then they should, but it should be a choice that each person has the ability and the right to make for their own household,' he wrote. Fluoride is added to water to prevent tooth decay and is endorsed by Australian medical bodies. It wasn't the first time Evans had expressed such views, as he'd supported a Western Australian anti-fluoride group in 2014. Making his beliefs known: It wasn't the first time Evans had expressed such views, as he'd supported a Western Australian anti-fluoride group in 2014 (pictured) December 2018: Evans reveals he looks into the sun Evans was slammed in December 2018 when he revealed that he looks directly into the sun and takes a swim daily for 'free medicine'. He shared a photo to social media of himself sitting on a cliff after a dip in the ocean, drenched in sunlight. He captioned his post: 'Every day I love to immerse myself in an experience within the cleansing ocean water as well as a brief gaze into the radiant light of the early rising or late setting sun.' Sunlight saga: Evans was slammed in December 2018 when he revealed that he looks directly into the sun and takes a swim daily for 'free medicine' 'These simple, yet powerful practices have got to be two of the best forms of free medicine on the planet for body, mind and spirit.' The Australian Medical Association blasted Evans' post, tweeting: 'We're getting a little tired of saying this but: please don't follow advice from Pete Evans. Especially if he's suggesting you "gaze" at the sun.' In response, Evans said he was being unfairly targeted by the AMA, writing on Facebook: 'They've singled me out for enjoying a sunrise and being in great health!' April 2020: His ketogenic recipe book is slammed by health professionals Evans' Easy Keto Dinners: 60+ Simple Keto Meals for Any Night of the Week was released in February this year. Two months later, the cookbook was criticised for its promotion of the ketogenic diet and for prioritising meat over carbs and dairy. A number of health professionals shared their concerns about the book to the Herald Sun, including VicHealth CEO Dr Sandro Demaio. Slammed: Evans' Easy Keto Dinners: 60+ Simple Keto Meals for Any Night of the Week was released in February this year. Two months later, the cookbook was criticised for its promotion of the ketogenic diet and for prioritising meat over carbs and dairy Dr Demaio said he was concerned that people following a 'carnivore ketogenic' diet could miss out on important nutrients. 'This is not a sustainable and accessible approach for most of us and can lead to people not getting enough nutrients in their diets,' he said. 'When it comes to health, it's recommended people get dietary advice from a reputable source like a health expert rather than a celebrity chef.' WHAT IS THE KETO DIET? The ketogenic diet is basically a low-carb, high-fat way of eating. Following this eating plan forces the body into a metabolic state, known as ketosis, which starves the body of carbohydrates but not calories. Carbs are shunned in the keto diet as they cause the body to produce glucose, which is used as energy over fat. WHAT DOES IT INCLUDE? Meat, leafy greens and most vegetables, full-fat dairy, nuts and seeds, avocados and berries, and fats such as coconut oil. WHAT DOES IT EXCLUDE? Grains including rice and wheat, sugar like honey and maple syrup, most fruit, white or sweet potatoes. WHAT DO PROFESSIONALS THINK? Some medical professionals have warned that those who follow the ketogenic diet may be missing out on some of the healthiest foods in the world. Advertisement April 2020: Evans is fined for promoting 'healing lamp' that he claimed could help cure the 'Wuhan virus' In April, Evans was fined $25,200 by the Therapeutic Goods Administration for promoting a lamp that he bizarrely claimed could help treat coronavirus. The Therapeutic Goods Administration issued two infringement notices to his company for alleged breaches of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989. The celebrity chef live-streamed a video on Facebook on April 9 claiming a 'BioCharger' device could be used in relation to 'Wuhan Coronavirus'. The TGA said the claims had no foundation in science. Fined: In April, Evans was fined $25,200 for promoting a lamp that he bizarrely claimed could help treat coronavirus The TGA has recently issued a warning to advertisers about the legality of making health claims in regards to coronavirus. The fines were issued for the video and for advertising material on Evans' website. The advertisements on the website claimed the lamp was 'proven to restore strength, stamina, co-ordination and mental clarity'. Evans said the TGA's ruling was 'unfounded' in a statement to Daily Mail Australia. Claims: Evans had promoted his BioCharger NG Subtle Energy Platform on social media earlier this month, describing it as a 'hybrid subtle energy revitalisation platform' 'The claims made by the TGA are totally unfounded and we will be strongly defending these claims. It is now in the hands of my lawyers,' he said. Evans had promoted his BioCharger NG Subtle Energy Platform on social media earlier this month, describing it as a 'hybrid subtle energy revitalisation platform'. Apparently, his family uses the 'non-invasive' lamp every day. 'It works to optimize your health, wellness, and athletic performance by aligning and balancing the energy of every cell in your body,' he claimed. Evans also said the lamp was programmed with thousands of recipes, several of which might help treat 'Wuhan coronavirus'. There is no evidence that the BioCharger has any effect on COVID-19. Google Maps has removed false information about Phu Lam beach in Vietnams south-central coastal province of Phu Yen, according to a local official. Google Maps deletes the wrong phrase of "Phu Lam Golden, sandy South China sea beach" at the location of Phu Lam beach, Phu Dong ward, Tuy Hoa city. At a press meeting on May 6, Deputy Chief of the provincial People's Committees Office Vo Ngoc Chau said the office on May 4 received a document from the Ministry of Information and Communications about the results of checking and handling the display of misinformation by Google Maps. The document said after receiving the information from the provincial People's Committee, the ministry's Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information requested Google Maps to remove the wrongful information. As a result, it had deleted the wrong phrase of "Phu Lam Golden, sandy South China sea beach" at the location of Phu Lam beach, Phu Dong ward, Tuy Hoa city, Chau said. The misinformation was reported by some press agencies on April 17. Afterwards, the provincial People's Committee sent a request to the ministry to handle the issue./.VNA Google launches page to provide COVID-19 information in Vietnamese Google, the worlds most used search engine, has introduced a page aimed at collecting documents and information relating to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Vietnamese. The coronavirus caught the world off guard and now countries are battling to keep their heads above water as the virus wreaks havoc. Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in However, some prophets believe they either knew about the virus before time or know when it will end. YEN.com.gh took a look at five religious leaders who made prophecies about COVID-19. 1. TB Joshua Outspoken prophet TB Joshua emphatically claimed that the coronavirus would cease to exist by 27 March. He claimed: "I came out at the beginning of this year saying last year will end in March and the year will continue to be very fearful till this month March. This month 27th, it will be over. By the end of this month, whether we like it or not, no matter the medicine they might have produced to cure whatever, it will go the way it came." READ ALSO: Otumfuo: Photos from Asantehene's private 70th birthday party 2. Prophet Mboro Paseka Motsoeneng, who is infamously known as Prophet Mboro, has opened up about the coronavirus epidemic in South Africa. ProphetMboro Times shared a video of the religious leader dressed in protective wear as he spoke about the novel Covid-19 virus. Mboro said he made a prophecy last year about an outbreak after receiving a message from God. 3. Pastor Shawn Bolz A Christian pastor from Los Angeles, Shawn Bolz, prophesied about the coronavirus, claiming it will come to an end. However, he made the prophecy two months ago and it is yet to end. He wrote on Facebook: "The Lord showed me the end of the coronavirus... the tide is turning now! He is answering the prayers and cries of the nations and is putting an end in sight. The exaggerated fear based tactics of both the enemy and several media outlets for political reasons is coming to an end." 4. Prophet Shepherd Bushiri Prophet Shepherd Bushiri has called Covid-19 the 'demonic' virus. Major 1 said God told him to rebuke the "demon through prayer - which he claims if the only way it will disappear. He said: You see, this thing, the coronavirus, there are people who it is targeting. You must know its a very demonic thing. When those people who are being targeted are over, it will disappear. READ ALSO: Minister rejects shoddy work by contractor on Konongo-Praado road 5. Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa Zimbabwe's Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa apparently saw the coronavirus coming since 2016. The religious leader prophesied that a virus will come from the sea and would be more deadly than cancer and HIV. Take a look at his prophecy below: "If you want to die, please die alone" Health Minister to uncooperative Ghanaians | #Yencomgh READ ALSO: Fact check: Ghana never topped press freedom ranking in Africa during Mahamas tenure Source: YEN.com.gh London, May 7 : A new artwork by Banksy, the acclaimed anonymous British street artist, has appeared at a hospital in the UK which shows a young boy kneeling by a wastepaper basket with discarded Spiderman and Batman model figures in favour of a new favourite action hero - an NHS nurse, a media report said. The largely monochrome painting, which is one square metre, was hung in collaboration with the Southampton General Hospital's managers in a foyer near the emergency department, the BBC report said on Wednesday. In the artwork, the nurse's arm is outstretched and pointing forward in the fashion of Superman on a mission. She is wearing a facemask, a nurse's cape, and an apron with the Red Cross emblem (the only element of colour in the picture). The artist left a note for hospital workers, which read: "Thanks for all you're doing. I hope this brightens the place up a bit, even if its only black and white." The painting will remain at Southampton General Hospital until the autumn when it will be auctioned to raise money for the NHS. "Our hospital family has been directly impacted with the tragic loss of much loved and respected members of staff and friends," the BBC report quoted Paula Head, CEO of the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, as saying. "The fact that Banksy has chosen us to recognise the outstanding contribution everyone in and with the NHS is making, in unprecedented times, is a huge honour." The artwork is now on view to staff and patients on Level C of the Southampton General. A widower broke down in tears on The Repair Shop after he was reunited with a radio that he had bought with his late wife. Albert Thompson, then 22, and his fiancee Eileen spent 50 shillings (2.50) on a portable transistor radio in the 1950s and the wireless became a poignant symbol of their love. Speaking on last night's episode, Albert explained the radio had stopped working two years ago - two years to the day after Eileen had died. Albert Thompson broke down in tears on The Repair Shop after he was reunited with a radio that he had bought with his late wife. He became emotional when he picked it up, pictured Albert, then 22, and his fiancee Eileen (pictured together) spent 50 shillings (2.50) on a portable transistor radio in the 1950s and the wireless became a poignant symbol of their love Viewers were left emotional as they watched Albert listen to 'their song' on the radio 'I used to have it in the greenhouse with me,' said Albert, 'and two years ago it stopped it was two years to the day after Eileen passed away. She was an absolute ace and I really do miss her. 'This radio means so much to me and my family. I just don't want to get rid of it. I want it to be working again.' With Albert needing this most important link to his own personal past, four Repair Shop experts got to work. The circuitry was renewed, a new handle fitted, the case was cleaned and a new dial made. Speaking on last night's episode, Albert explained the radio had stopped working two years ago - two years to the day after Eileen had died. Pictured, the couple together And when Albert returned, not only was it working, it was playing a very familiar tune, Roy Orbison's Born To Love Me, thanks to the help of a local radio station And when Albert returned, not only was it working, it was playing a very familiar tune, Roy Orbison's Born To Love Me, thanks to the help of a local radio station. 'We used to smooch to this at the last dance,' he said with tears in his eyes. 'I'm over the moon.' The moment touched viewers at home who said they were left 'crying' over Albert and his story. Viewers took to Twitter to share their emotions after the tear0jerking reunion One tweeted: 'I turned on #TheRepairShop just as the gentleman turned on the rejuvenated radio and I immediately cried and I've not stopped since.' Another posted: 'Well it gets me again. That radio repair on #therepairshop was a joy to see how it gave so much happiness.' A third wrote: 'Had a full on proper cry at the cute old man with the radio, lush TV #TheRepairShop.' Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ahmed Rasheed and John Davison (Reuters) Baghdad Thu, May 7, 2020 09:43 622 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd670209 2 World Iraq,US,Mustafa-al-Kadhimi Free Iraqi lawmakers approved a new government on Wednesday after six months without one as parties squabbled until the last minute over Cabinet seats in backroom deals. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Iraq's intelligence chief and a former journalist, will head the new government. He will begin his term without a full Cabinet, however, after several ministerial candidates were rejected. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed the new government in a call with Kadhimi, the US State Department said in a statement. It also said Washington would renew for 120 days a waiver allowing Iraq to import electricity from Iran "to help provide the right conditions for success" of the new government. Former prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, who has been leading a caretaker government, resigned last year as anti-government protesters took to the streets in their thousands, demanding jobs and the departure of Iraq's ruling elite. They accuse the political class that took over after the 2003 US invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein of corruption that has driven the country into dysfunction and economic ruin. The battle over government portfolios since Abdul Mahdi's resignation in November prevented two previous nominees for prime minister from forming a Cabinet. Kadhimi's candidates for Cabinet posts including interior, defence, finance and electricity passed with votes from a majority of lawmakers present. Voting on the oil and foreign ministries was delayed as the parties failed to agree on candidates. They rejected the incoming premier's picks for justice, agriculture and trade. "The security, stability and blossoming of Iraq is our path," Kadhimi wrote on his Twitter account after parliament voted for his Cabinet. He said he would make tackling the coronavirus pandemic, of which Iraq has suffered more than 2,000 cases and more than 100 deaths, a priority and hold to account those who had killed protesters in previous months of anti-government unrest. Iraqi officials say Kadhimi is acceptable to both the United States and Iran, whose battle for influence over Iraq has boiled into open confrontation in the past year. The United States killed Iranian military mastermind Qassem Soleimani and his close ally the Iraqi paramilitary leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a drone strike next to Baghdad International Airport in January. Iran responded with its first ever direct missile attack against US forces at a base in Western Iraq several days later but did not kill anyone. Washington accuses paramilitary groups backed by Tehran of carrying out a series of rocket attacks on other bases in recent months, one of which killed three troops in the US-led military coalition based in Iraq. Rockets have regularly been fired near the US embassy in Baghdad. None of the rocket attacks have been claimed by known Iran-backed groups. Kadhimi's government must deal with an impending economic crisis precipitated by the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused the prices of oil - Iraq's principal source of revenue - to plummet. It also faces a growing Islamic State insurgency as the extremist group steps up attacks on government troops from hideouts in remote areas of northern Iraq. Iraq risks being caught up in any regional conflagration between Washington and Tehran, as militia groups vow revenge for the killing of Soleimani and Muhandis and President Donald Trump continues his bellicose rhetoric against Iran. BURLINGTON School officials in Burlington are getting out their scalpels and looking at ways to address an anticipated $1.36 million shortfall in the districts 2020-21 school year budget. Ruth Schenning, business manager with the Burlington Area School District, discussed different financial scenarios with members of the Finance Committee at a meeting Monday. In the era of COVID-19, Schenning said there are multiple unknowns on the horizon. Based on the most up-to-date information available, Schenning said her forecasting models reveal a deficit in the range of $636,000 to $1.595 million. A middle-ground estimate of $1.36 million was the focal point of the committees discussion. A variety of factors will determine BASDs actual shortfall, Schenning said, including state-level funding, which is an important revenue source alongside property taxes. A best-case scenario, Schenning said, would point to a $179 per-pupil increase from the state, while the worst-case would be a $70 per-pupil decrease. Because of the ripple effects the coronavirus will likely have on the economy, Schenning warned committee members that the financial challenges might not be limited solely to BASDs 2020-21 school year budget. Its not just that we suck it up for one year, Schenning said. Were talking about how were going to get through it in two or three years. While no firm decisions were made Monday, committee members discussed a number of scenarios, including teacher compensation. Wage increases Preliminary discussions have pointed to a potential 1.81% wage increase a figured based on the consumer-price index. The proposal, if carried out, would equate to an added cost of $392,000 to the districts salaries line item. Another issue, which could be decided this month, is another key line item on the expense side of the ledger. BASD officials are grappling with health insurance options. Depending on the factors in play, teachers and other employees could face greater out-of-pocket costs. School Board member Peter Turke said he would favor a wage increase, particularly if employees are faced with heightened insurance premiums through cost sharing co-pays and other scenarios. CPI is not a raise, Turke said. Its keeping up with the cost of living. The districts fund balance a portion of the budget set aside for reserves was also discussed. Credit ratings agencies commonly recommend governing entities designate a portion of the their budgets for emergency situations. Use reserve balance? School Board member Barry Schmaling said he had reservations about dipping into the reserves to address the fiscal challenges ahead. If we start taking fund balance to fund year-to-year operations, were going to find ourselves in trouble, Schmaling said. In her professional opinion as the business manager, Schenning offered a similar statement. (Fund balance) is typically suited better for one-time expenses, not ongoing ones, she said. While BASD administrators and elected officials could face challenging decisions in the months ahead, Superintendent Steve Plank said the budget building process at this time remains exploratory. A draft version of the budget is anticipated this summer, and a final one will be certified in October. We do have some time before we have a final budget that will be submitted, Plank said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Adam Schiff, the fanatic who from the beginning launched probe after probe of President Trump, is about to see the 20172018 Russia collusion transcripts he's been sitting on all these months released to the public, all 6,000 pages, with 73 witnesses stating there was no Russian collusion in 53 transcripts. National Intelligence director Richard Grenell did the job Schiff wouldn't do, releasing the transcripts, and now Schiff is expected to be looking more bug-eyed than usual. According to Fox News: Transcripts of House Intelligence Committee interviews that have been cleared for release show top law enforcement and intelligence officials affirming they had no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election, senior administration and intelligence community officials told Fox News on Wednesday. This would align with the results of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation which found no evidence of illegal or criminal coordination between President Trump, the Trump campaign and Russia in 2016 but the numerous transcribed interviews could raise further questions about committee Chairman Adam Schiff's past statements saying that there was "direct evidence" of collusion. "Schiff is in panic mode," a senior administration official told Fox News. Those would be the original Russia collusion transcripts, released after a House investigation he called for, after claiming he had proof positive that President Trump colluded with the Russians to steal the election from Hillary Clinton. Schiff, recall, had been making statements like this to a fawning press in 2017: Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the Ranking Member on the committee, was asked by Chuck Todd on "Meet The Press Daily" whether or not he only has a circumstantial case. "Actually no, Chuck," he said. "I can tell you that the case is more than that and I can't go into the particulars, but there is more than circumstantial evidence now." Schiff later claimed he had "direct evidence" of collusion in fact, stating in 2019: "I think there is direct evidence in the emails from the Russians through their intermediary offering dirt on Hillary Clinton as part of what is described in writing as the Russian government effort to help elect Donald Trump," Schiff said during an appearance on Sunday on CBS' "Face The Nation." Schiff added: "They offer that dirt. There is an acceptance of that offer in writing from the president's son, Don Jr., and there is overt acts and furtherance of that That to me is direct evidence." And this drumbeat of fanciful claims that the transcripts would indicate he knew was false expose him now as telling "lie after lie after lie," as House ranking intelligence committee member Devin Nunes put it. "Look for witnesses who were not so truthful," he told Fox Business. If so, there must be some doozies. As for Schiff, it was all about covering up the evidence and then lying about it to the fawning media. He told lies, all right, and the bad part was they had consequences. Schiff's claims were among the reasons why a naive attorney general, Jeff Sessions, went ahead and appointed a special counsel to investigate President Trump, which, as with the congressional investigation, came up empty. Maybe if those 73 interviews in those 53 transcripts had been out there, they'd all have known this was bogus information before wasting all those millions to come up empty, too. Now it's Schiff's turn in the hot seat. This is appropriate, given that he's the principle liar. The emperor of collusion is about to be exposed as having no clothes, and it's not going to be a pretty picture. Image credit: Photo illustration by Monica Showalter with use of public domain U.S. Air Force photo illustration by Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Rissmiller and shareable CNN YouTube screen shot. More than three-quarters (78%) of consumers worldwide say companies must address bias in artificial intelligence (AI) and new research from Genpact, a global professional services firm focused on delivering digital transformation, finds that they will reward businesses that take action. The study, now in its third year, underscores how AI continues to present opportunities for growth, but businesses still have work to do to address customers concerns about bias and workers concerns about equity in reskilling opportunities. In times of uncertainty, providing good service isnt good enough. Empathizing deeply with customer concerns is what will separate the winners from losers. Genpacts study, AI 360: Hold, fold, or double down?, shows that while 67% of consumers worry about AI discriminating against them, and 64% fear that AI will make decisions that affect them without their knowledge, companies that understand these issues and act accordingly can succeed. Genpacts study analyzes perceptions of three distinct audiences that are critical to AIs widespread adoption in business: senior executives, workers, and consumers. Taken together, this 360-degree view provides organizations with comprehensive and actionable insights that now have added relevance in considering business resilience today. The research offers views from 500 senior executives and 4,000 workers and consumers. Beating bias brings business Going all in to address AI bias can increase opportunities to build customer relationships. Most consumers (58%) are more likely to recommend a company that can demonstrate its AI algorithms are bias-free, and more likely to purchase products or services from such businesses (56%). Gen Z (69%) and millennial (70%) respondents champion unbiased brands even more so. Reskilling still not enough; inequality in opportunities for men and women Many workers see opportunities in AI, and three-quarters are willing to learn new skills to take advantage of this technology. Yet for the third consecutive year, companies are not meeting the demand for reskilling that takes into account there being more AI in the workplace. Only about a third (35%) of senior executives say their companies offer AI-related reskilling opportunities, no improvement from 2018. The good news is the current findings show that 60% of senior executives are talking about providing employees with training. However, both male and female senior executives agree (77% and 75%, respectively) that companies in their industry generally do not provide equal opportunities to men and women for AI reskilling. Businesses are being challenged like they never have been before, said Tiger Tyagarajan, chief executive officer, Genpact. In this unprecedented time, AI provides companies with a valuable tool to improve customer experience and mine data to engage with customers in a more personal, empathetic way. Our study suggests there is significant optimism shown by both consumers and employees if companies can demonstrate a responsible approach to AI. It is important that business leaders implement equitable training and fight AI bias. AI benefits can drive personalized services The top benefits of AI according to senior executives are improving customer experience and service (39%), the ability to leverage data and analytics (36%), and freeing up more time for employees to focus on more important tasks (35%). Customer experience tops the AI benefits list for the first time, compared to Genpacts similar studies in 2018 and 2017, signalling a new level of maturity in enterprise AI adoption. These findings underscore AIs increasing value in achieving success in todays disrupted market, which requires companies to commit more resources to creating the right customer experiences. The companies that emerge the strongest will have doubled down on AI to remain close to their customers, predicting and responding to their needs, and being empathetic in their actions. AI reimagines businesses and helps build resilience More than a quarter (28%) of senior executives say their organizations are implementing AI extensively to fundamentally reimagine their businesses, and more than half (56%) of the AI leaders* are doing so. These findings may bode well for the future since challenges from the current business environment have underscored the importance of digital transformation. AI leaders may have the competitive edge since the technology plays a key role in building resilience that helps companies handle disruption and pivot according to market demands. AI 360 also reveals AI investments have increased across industries globally, with 37% of senior executives reporting their organizations have invested $10 million or more in AI, a 6% increase compared to a similar Genpact study in 2018. When looking at investments of $20 million or more, 15% of respondents say their companies are investing at this level, which is an 11% uptick from the prior study. As companies continue to confront current workplace disruption, senior executives may be questioning whether to pause AI activities, walk away, or keep going. Genpacts research shows that AI adoption is advancing rapidly and generating a positive impact for almost three quarters of respondents organizations. In the coming months, it will be critical for businesses to double down, in the right places with a longer-term, holistic outlook. They must embrace strategies that enable the greater transparency and a more ethical approach to business that societies are demanding, and the hyper-personalized experiences that customers expect. And AI unlocks opportunities to meet those goals. Its not just the magnitude of these numbers; its the speed with which theyre happening thats really stunning, said Nick Bunker, who leads North American economic research at the Indeed Hiring Lab. Fridays report will paint the clearest picture yet of the economic devastation, and could provide some important hints about the eventual recovery. But it will also bring complications that will make the numbers difficult to interpret. The numbers will be more complete but less timely. Its no surprise that employers have cut millions of jobs; weekly data on filings for unemployment benefits have tracked the destruction. The most recent report, covering the last full week of April, showed that roughly 30 million Americans had filed jobless claims since the new coronavirus began to shut down the economy. The next weekly report, due Thursday, will probably add millions more. Those figures are more up to date than the monthly jobs report coming Friday, which will cover hiring and firing through mid-April. But the monthly numbers are more comprehensive than the weekly ones, which almost certainly understate the damage. Not everyone who has lost a job qualifies for benefits, and many who do qualify have not yet filed a claim because the flood of applicants has overwhelmed state unemployment offices. The monthly data, based on surveys of businesses and households, should provide a more complete estimate of job losses. It will also reflect the extent to which hiring at companies like Amazon and Walmart has offset them. And unlike the weekly data, which mostly counts losses, the monthly report includes data on working hours, which will help quantify the millions of people who have held on to their jobs but had their hours cut. Senior Democrats have called on the Trump administration to share its intelligence on the origin of Covid-19, following Mike Pompeo's attempts to push a theory that the virus came from a Chinese laboratory. The US secretary of state said on Sunday there was enormous evidence that the coronavirus pandemic originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, but did not provide any evidence to support his claim. His comments followed similarly unsupported claims by Donald Trump about the origin of the virus which have been contradicted by the US intelligence community. Now, a number for Democratic lawmakers have demanded Trump officials share this supposed evidence with Congress. Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat who has been reviewing intelligence on the pandemic, said he had seen no evidence that connects the virus to the lab, although he noted he had also not seen evidence which completely ruled out the theory. However, Mr Murphy questioned the Trump administrations motivations for promoting the idea that China had covered up the origin of the pandemic. Theyre being terribly irresponsible because their statements on the origin of the virus are driven by political considerations, he said. This administration is scurrying to try to deflect blame from a president who is floundering in his response to the epidemic. And China is a very convenient scapegoat. Eliot Engel, the House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, and Joaquin Castro, the committee's Vice Chairman, have written to the State Department to request all cables and information related to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a committee aide told Politico. The requests came as Mr Pompeo admitted the Trump administration did not have certainty about Covid-19s origin, while still insisting there was significant evidence it came from the laboratory - once again, without providing any such evidence. In late April, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence made a rare statement saying the US intelligence community did not believe the coronavirus was man-made or genetically modified. The Intelligence Community (IC) also concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the Covid-19 virus was not man-made or genetically modified, the statement said. However, it said the intelligence community would continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine the exact cause of the outbreak. Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on Monday that the Trump administration had not yet shared its supposed evidence on the origins of the virus with Congress. If there is anything to have high confidence about in that regard, or enormous evidence, they have yet to share that with Congress, Mr Schiff told MSNBC, adding that he did not know what information Mr Pompeo and Mr Trump were using to make their claims. He added: I think what they are clearly trying to do is deflect attention away from the administration's terrible mishandling of this virus so they have chosen to go after China. On Thursday, China accused Mr Pompeo of lying over his claims and demanded the US showed its evidence. Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told reporters in Beijing that the country supported efforts by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to investigate the origin of the pandemic. We are always open to cooperate with the WHO on matters, including on the question of origin, she said. While scientists have not come to a conclusion, why is Secretary Pompeo drawing the hasty conclusion that the virus came from a Wuhan lab? Where is his proof? Show us the proof. If he cannot show any evidence, then he may still be in the process of making up this evidence. Additional reporting by Reuters There was a power vacuum on Michigan Road the night of May 6 as hundreds took to the streets to protest the police shooting that led to the death of Sean Reed. One woman wanted everyone to form a single file line along the crime tape set up by police. If we dont have order, they wont respect us! she said. They wont listen! Kwame Shakur, deputy chairman of the New African Black Panther Party, showed up with a megaphone and led the protesters in chants of All power to the people and Fuck 12. Others came, grabbed the megaphone, stated their peace, belted out the rallying cries. Kwame Shakur, deputy chairman of the New African Black Panther Party, led chants of All power to the people. (Photo/Tyler Fenwick) They were infuriated. Approximately 15 minutes after unmarked police cars started to pursue Reed on I-65 because, according to police, he was driving recklessly, an officer shot Reed during a foot chase. Reed died at the scene. IMPD Assistant Chief Chris Bailey said during a brief update at the scene that police believed shots were fired by both the officer and the suspect. There is a gun near the suspect that does not belong to the officer, Bailey said. Bailey said in a briefing May 7 an initial investigation indicated shots were fired from both Reeds gun and the officers gun. Police have not released Reeds identity, but family identified him to media at the scene. Captured on Facebook Live Many of the people who showed up to protest the shooting witnessed it in real time because Reed captured it on Facebook Live everything from the chase to the shooting. Did I lose his ass? Reed says while driving shirtless, apparently referring to the police chase. Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Oh yeah! You not finna catch me! Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Im going to jail today, no sir! Shortly after, Reed says hes parking on 62nd Street and Michigan Road. Somebody come get my stupid ass! he says. Please come get me! I just parked this motherfucker, Im gone, he says as he gets out of the car. The video then becomes less clear as he appears to start running. Reed appears to answer someone who cant be heard on the video. Whatd you say? Shortly after, there appears to be a taser deployed, and Reed falls to the ground with his phone facing the sky. (Bailey said during a May 7 briefing the taser didnt appear to be effective.) Thats when about 15 shots ring out, with the last two coming a couple of seconds after the initial barrage. You can hear an officer call in a police-action shooting. The audio cuts out for a few seconds. Oh my god, a man repeats. The sound of sirens starts building in the background. Another recording of the aftermath of the shooting appears to capture a conversation between officers. I think its going to be a closed casket, homie, a man says. Chief Taylor said during the May 7 briefing the comment was made by a detective who wasnt there at the time of the shooting. He called it unacceptable and said the department is looking at disciplinary actions. Hours later, as the sun was setting, a woman who said Reed was her nephew spoke through tears on the megaphone. Just be peaceful, she said. Were just trying to get answers. A protester holds up a Black Lives Matter sign. (Photo/Tyler Fenwick) Ron Gee, from Indy Cease Fire, had the megaphone for a time. They trynna kill us, he said, and they dont want us to do nothin about it. Toby Miller, director of the Race and Cultural Relations Leadership Network, was on the other side of the crime tape and told a group of protesters he was trying to get the police which at the point included some in riot gear to stand down in order to deescalate the situation. Northwest District Commander Lorenzo Lewis was there in street clothes and told a woman he just didnt want anyone to get hurt at the scene. Its easy to say that when theyve already hurt thousands of us, she said. The timeline According to police, IMPD Deputy Chief Kendale Adams was traveling northbound on I-65 in an unmarked car at 6 p.m. when he saw a vehicle driving recklessly on the interstate near 30th Street. Police said the vehicle was traveling close to 90 miles per hour and almost hit other vehicles when it exited. IMPD Chief Randal Taylor was driving in an unmarked car behind Adams. Both pursued until marked cars arrived. At 6:10 p.m., supervisors from the Northwest District called off the pursuit near 56th Street and Lafayette Road because the driver was being too reckless to safely chase, police said. According to police, the driver parked his car behind a business on Michigan Road. An officer saw the car at about 6:15 p.m. and got out of his vehicle, at which point the man took off on foot. Bailey said police were aware of the Facebook Live video and preserved the evidence. The officer who fired the shots is on administrative leave, Bailey said, which is standard for this situation. The incident is under investigation. Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick. Protesters gathered at Michigan Road and 62nd Street to protest the police shooting of Sean Reed. (Photo/Tyler Fenwick) Parvez Sultan By Express News Service NEW DELHI: As large crowds thronged liquor stores for third consecutive day, the cash strapped Delhi government is exploring possibilities to home-deliver favourite brands of consumers. Delhi chief secretary Vijay Dev had directed excise commissioner Ravi Dhawan to prepare a detailed proposal for home delivery of liquor to avoid crowding at shops, officials said. The final decision will be taken by the minister in charge of the excise department, said one of the officials. According to the officials, home delivery of liquor in urban areas will not be difficult but the government may face some difficulties in a rural region and unauthorised colonies, where liquor vends conforming to the Centres guidelines are less in number. After complaints of chaos at liquor stores across the city, the excise department has asked four government agencies authorised for liquor retail to start a token system to minimise queues and to maintain social distancing. On Monday, the government opened about 150 liquor stores but decided to allow only 80 stores to operate later after it found crowds unmanageable Referring to violation of social distancing norms, an order issued by special commissioner (excise) Sandeep Mishra said drastic measures are required to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. all four corporations (agencies) are once again requested to take all possible measures including issuance of coupons/tokens, proper barricading, allowing multiple queues, making, deployment of adequate number of marshals etc for strict compliance of social distancing norms in coordination with Delhi police and local administration, the order says. Though the Delhi government is levying special corona fee, inflated prices have not deterred consumers. On Monday, liquor worth about Rs 4 crore was sold. The sale, on Tuesday, was about Rs 4.5 crore. By Wednesday afternoon, liquor sale had already crossed Rs 3.5 crore. China Steps Up Security in Beijing, Detains Activist Ahead of Congress 2020-05-06 -- Authorities in the Chinese capital have stepped up security measures ahead of annual parliamentary sessions that were postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic, detaining at least one rights activist. Security checks are under way ahead of the China's rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC) and its advisory body the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which will begin shortened sessions on May 21. Beginning in May, district and neighborhood government offices have been told to draw up "stability maintenance" plans to ensure no trouble comes from peaceful critics of the ruling Chinese Communist Party ahead of the meetings. Plans include spot checks and monitoring of small hotels and guesthouses, temporary rental accommodation, and other "hidden dangers," sources said. Meanwhile, authorities elsewhere in China are contacting people with grievances against the government and warning them not to travel to Beijing until after the parliament is over. Authorities in the central province of Hunan are holding pro-democracy activist Xie Wenfei under criminal detention on suspicion of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble." Xie, also known by his birth name Xie Fengxia, was detained by police in Hunan's Chenzhou city on April 29. "His family have been notified of his criminal detention on suspicion of picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," fellow rights activist Ou Biaofeng told RFA. "His family went to get the document from the state security police, who called them on the morning of May 3," Ou said. "His family hasn't had any news of him since then." "They are looking for a defense lawyer." Police have also interviewed Xie's friends, Ou said, adding that his detention is likely linked to a poem he wrote about the coronavirus epidemic in Wuhan. Petitioners evicted, phones monitored A petitioner from the central city of Wuhan surnamed Zhang--who is currently in Beijing--said his phone is currently being monitored by local police, and that petitioners from out of town who are staying in Beijing are also being evicted from their accommodation. "They have started evicting rights activists, since yesterday," Zhang said. "A friend told me this morning that they had been sent to Majialou and that [interceptors] from his hometown had been called to come and pick him up," he said, referring to a large, extrajudicial detention center for out-of-town petitioners on the outskirts of Beijing. "The people they are clearing out [of Beijing are also] being sent to Jiujingzhuang," Zhang said, referring to a second detention center in a suburb of Beijing. A Beijing academic who declined to be named said the length of this year's parliamentary sessions has been shorted from around 12 days last year to just eight days this year, with the size of provincial delegations also slashed. Hong Kong's pro-Beijing newspaper, the Ta Kung Pao, said hotels in Beijing are already preparing to receive the delegations, often by shutting their doors to external customers for the duration of the parliament. It said the Beijing Hotel close to the Great Hall of the People had no rooms available from May 10 through May 29. A Beijing resident surnamed Liu said security measures are somewhat looser this year than in previous years owing to widespread concerns over the coronavirus. "Everyone is stuck at home, and they will stop you from buying a ticket as soon as you try it," Liu said. "The local governments won't let people travel [to Beijing]." China's minister of public security Zhao Kezhi called on law enforcement on Monday to "go all out to resolutely complete the important political task of security for the NPC and CPPCC sessions." Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Copyright 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content May not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address What are the best movies to stream on Hulu? The streaming giant offers mainstream hit movies alongside a wide selection of oddball masterpieces and little-known wonders that gained acclaim from critics. TV SHOWS CANCELED: CBS renews 18 series and cancels 4 Because they're esteemed by critics, a hard crowd to impress, these films are entertaining and watchable - they're the kind of films that pull you in from the first frames and keep you captivated until the end. Check out the top 100 movies on Hulu that score big on Metacritic. This article was first published on Stacker Theres a popular party icebreaker game that invites participants to choose between two tough options and explain their choice. We will offer here a Would You Rather? that could turn out to be a conversation-starter but, first, some background is necessary. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 7/5/2020 (621 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Theres a popular party icebreaker game that invites participants to choose between two tough options and explain their choice. We will offer here a "Would You Rather?" that could turn out to be a conversation-starter but, first, some background is necessary. The U.S. has begun an aggressive campaign dubbed Operation Warp Speed, uniting pharmaceutical companies, government agencies and the military in pursuit of a single goal: to discover and mass-produce a COVID-19 vaccine within a deadline of eight months. The accelerated timeline is unprecedented in vaccine research. Patrick Semansky / The Associated Press U.S. President Donald Trump Some have compared this campaigns all-in commitment to that of the Manhattan Project, the U.S.-led undertaking during the Second World War that produced the first atomic bombs. Operation Warp Speed is cutting corners by indemnifying pharmaceutical firms from liability if the vaccines cause sickness or death. Unanswered questions remain about the wisdom of dodging safeguards to fast-track a drug, but it was made clear last Sunday where the buck stops. U.S. President Donald Trump said, "You know who is in charge of it, honestly? I am." He acknowledged that other high-level officials are involved, "but I think probably, more than anything, Im in charge." The man who insists hes in charge did not try to explain how the vaccine will be created, tested and produced in huge quantities in such a short time period. Once discovered, a vaccine can normally take as long as a decade to gain regulatory approvals. In a global crisis such as a pandemic, the timeline can be reduced to 12 to 18 months. Mr. Trump aims to have 300 million doses available to Americans before the end of this year, even though development of an effective vaccine is still wishful thinking. 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. To a layperson such as the U.S. president, the time it takes to develop and test drugs might seem sluggish. But microbiologists know deficient drug testing can have serious consequences. In the U.S. in 1976, a rushed vaccine for swine flu caused dozens of deaths and created damaging side-effects. Thalidomide, a sedative created in the 1950s, was prescribed to pregnant women, and subsequently thousands of children were born with severe congenital malformations. Mr. Trump has done several about-faces since the novel coronavirus initially reached America. "We have it totally under control. Its going to be just fine," he said on Jan. 22, when perhaps his attention was focused more on his impeachment trial than the looming pandemic that has now killed more than 73,000 Americans (as of Wednesday). His current persona an America-first champion who will save the world from COVID-19 is undoubtedly motivated somewhat by the calendar: its less than six months until the U.S. federal election. Mr. Trump has long banked on his self-promoted image as a shrewd economic manager, and that would be a tough sell on the campaign trail if pandemic-related business lockdowns have the U.S. mired in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Taking credit for a push toward a COVID-19 vaccine perhaps he would amend his red-hat campaign slogan to "Made America Healthy Again" would certainly boost Mr. Trumps chances of re-election. Which brings us back to the aforementioned "Would You Rather?" choice: Would you rather a) the U.S. successfully develops a COVID-19 vaccine and the world gets four more years of Mr. Trump?, or b) Operation Warp Speed falls short, and Mr. Trump spends November cleaning out his desk at the White House? A neural circuit that drives physical responses to emotional stress has been discovered by researchers in a recent study. This circuit could be a key target for treating stress-related disorders such as panic disorder and PTSD. The circuit begins in deep brain areas, called the dorsal peduncular cortex and the dorsal tenia tecta (DP/DTT), that send stress signals to the hypothalamus, a small region in the brain that controls the bodys vital functions. The findings were published in the journal Science. Emotional stress activates the sympathetic nervous system, which leads to physical responses, such as a rise in blood pressure and body temperature and a faster heart rate. Such responses are thought to be coping mechanisms in humans and many other mammals to boost physical performance in fight-or-flight situations. But nowadays, when most people rarely encounter such situations, these responses could perhaps have an adverse effect on their health. Excessive stress may cause symptoms such as psychogenic fever, a condition of abnormally high body temperature. To develop strategies for treating stress-induced symptoms, the neural mechanism underlying physical responses to stress had first to be understood. To this end, a research team led by Professor Kazuhiro Nakamura and Designated Assistant Professor Naoya Kataoka, of the Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, conducted a study in which tracers were injected into the brains of a group of rats and the rats were subjected to a stressful event (rat bullying by a dominant rat). The tracers showed that specifically, the DP/DTT brain areas were highly active when exposed to stress. To further examine the role these brain areas have in stress response, the researchers impaired the areas connections to the hypothalamus and again exposed the rats to the same stress. The rats did not exhibit any stress-induced physical response, neither a rise in blood pressure nor body temperature or faster heart rate. This study demonstrates that the DP/DTT areas together are responsible for sending stress signals to the hypothalamus, and that blocking the DP/DTT-to-hypothalamus circuit can result in a reduction of stress symptoms in rats. Summing up the research result, Professor Nakamura said, The DP/DTT are parts of the brain that are involved in processing emotion and stress. The DP/DTT-to-hypothalamus pathway we discovered, therefore, represents a brain mechanism for a mind-body connection, which can be a potential target for treating stress-related disorders such as panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychogenic fever. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. ) Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Nepal Communist Party's Secretariat meeting on May 6 ended on an uncertain note after Prime Minister KP Oli, who is also the co-chairperson left mid-way owing to health issues. However, media reports suggest that not everything is well within the ruling party as leaders are dissatisfied with the working style of PM Oli, who reportedly has been making decisions on his own without consulting other senior members. Read: PM Modi Dials Nepal PM Oli, Discusses COVID-19 Crisis & Supply Of Essential Commodities According to reports, the meeting on Wednesday was held to set agendas to be discussed during Thursday's meeting. Prime Minister KP Oli walked out of the meeting abruptly leaving party members stunned. As per reports, the atmosphere was quite heated during the discussion before PM Oli decided to walk out. Co-chair of the party, Pushpa Kamal Dahal went off to discuss with PM about his sudden walk-out. Read: Nepal PM's B'day Celebrations Marred By Controversy Over Cutting Of Cake With Country's Map According to reports, during the last meeting it was decided that the vice-chair of the party, Bamdev Gautam would be sent to the lower house of the parliament at an appropriate time later. The decision was reportedly taken in an effort to end long-standing disputes within the party. As per reports, the Standing Committee meeting that was scheduled to take place on Thursday has been called off for now. Read: Nepal Govt Sends Monetary Aid For Citizens Stranded In Ranchi Amid COVID-19 Outbreak The rift The rift within the party is over an ordinance that would allow an amendment to the provision of splitting a political party. According to reports, the amendment is supposed to make the splitting process of a political party more effortless by allowing a 40 per cent majority in either parliamentary party or the central committee to split a party. The current law requires a 40 per cent majority in both parliamentary party and the central committee for the splitting of the party in question. Read: Nepal PM Oli's Govt Completes 2 Years In Power, Says Country On Track To Prosperity (Image Credit: ANI) President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon made a phone call to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on May 7, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani presidential press-service. Hailing Azerbaijans aid to his country in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, President Rahmon described it as a clear example of brotherly relations at this difficult time. President Aliyev stressed the importance of the fact that friendly and brotherly people of the two countries stand side by side at all times, especially during a severe pandemic, characterizing it as a natural manifestation of the friendly relations. The presidents exchanged views on the measures taken in the two countries to combat the coronavirus pandemic and discussed issues related to the bilateral relations, including prospects for the economic cooperation, transport and transit issues. Gov. Gavin Newsom discusses his plan for the gradual reopening of California businesses during a news conference at the Display California store in Sacramento Tuesday. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) California officials offered a grim preview Thursday of what the COVID-19 pandemic could do to vital state programs and services, forecasting that legislators will face a $54-billion budget gap for the current fiscal year and the next one, which starts July 1. That's about 10 times the size of the surplus the finance department was predicting when Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled his budget proposal for fiscal 2020-21. The chilling report recalls the enormous budget gaps of the Schwarzenegger era, which shredded the state's safety net and led to painful cuts to education, transportation and other programs that all Californians value. The forces wrecking the current budget, though, have little in common with those at work more than a decade ago, when a Wall Street meltdown combined with shortsighted and gridlocked politics to push the state into a hole its leaders couldn't fill. The good news is that officials and voters spent much of the last decade putting California's fiscal house in order, shoring it up for the inevitable recession. The state still has its challenges, particularly its unfunded liability for retiree benefits. But no longer must state budgets be approved by a two-thirds vote in the Legislature, ending the minority party's ability to block or demand ransom for approving responsible fiscal policies. Meanwhile, led by former Gov. Jerry Brown and then by Newsom, the state has gradually eliminated the "wall of debt" accumulated through years of borrowing from funds reserved for schools and other programs and it has set aside billions of dollars in reserve. The bad news is that the current downturn dwarfs anything the state was prepared to handle. As big as the state's vaunted rainy day fund is $16.5 billion as of the end of March it represents only 7% of the total state budget. And it's politically dicey to have a surplus much larger than that without triggering a voter rebellion. That's how the state ended up with Proposition 13 in 1978. Story continues The rainy day fund will help ease the current budget pain, as will the large amount of unspent cash the state could conceivably borrow from state programs and special funds (more than $21 billion as of March 31). Any belt-tightening the state does amid the current downturn, though, will act only as a brake on the economy. And the budget woes won't magically disappear, even if the state's economy starts growing again later this year, as the Department of Finance predicts. The best hope for California, as for the rest of the country, is a safe exit soon from the restrictions imposed to combat the pandemic. "Safe" is as important as "soon," given the potential for a resurgence of COVID-19 that forces us back into lockdown. In the meantime, the federal government needs to offer more help to state and local governments so that crucial public health, public safety and economic support programs can continue. President Trump and other Republicans have argued that federal taxpayers shouldn't have to bail out state and local governments from their own wasteful mistakes. But California represents the opposite: a state that fixed itself and prepared responsibly, only to be overwhelmed by a pandemic that knows no borders. The fact that California is on much firmer ground than it used to be doesn't mean it can get through this mess without help. As France awakens from lockdown on 11 May, the government will start testing under real conditions a prototype for its much-criticised StopCovid contact tracking phone app, ahead of the product's intended full roll-out on 2 June. The app works by using Bluetooth to interact with nearby phones and detect when users come into contact with potential coronavirus carriers. It generates an anonymous numerical ID that's exchanged with other smartphones also running the app. The ID of anyone who tests positive is red-flagged, and a warning is then sent to those who have crossed paths with the infected person. The app does not, however, reveal details about where and when the encounter took place unlike similar technology in China, geolocation data is not recorded. The use of StopCovid developed in France by researchers and companies under the supervision of the government will be purely voluntary, but it needs to be widespread if it's to play any meaningful role slowing the epidemic. Too much power in the hands of government? While its designers have given assurances the app will not ask for a person's civil status or phone number, there is no guarantee that police or health authorities will not have access to the information behind the anonymous identifier. Similar smartphone apps using contact tracing have proven a popular tool for governments around the world to monitor the coronavirus, and while medical authorities say tracking software has helped to slow its spread, critics worry the technology gives authorities too much power to exploit personal data. Last week the French government postponed a debate on the tracing app project after questions were raised over privacy and how the data might be used after the crisis with people from across the political spectrum questioning the wisdom of implementing such technology at a state level. We need to be careful. There's legal precedent that we could be establishing now with this framework, and it could later be expanded to other areas, warned Philippe Gosselin from the conservative Les Republicains party. Even France's venerable 300-year-old Academy of Medicine, which is in favour of use of a digital device to help ease the country through its deconfinement, cautions against the risk of a confidentiality breach. It says the app's performance must be properly audited and that a deadline must be imposed to ensure it does not survive beyond the health crisis. Speaking to the parliament, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe conceded that questions concerning civil liberties were well-founded and should be asked. If the testing phase goes as planned, Digital Affairs Minister Cedric O said a parliamentary debate would finally be held the week of 25 May. Dispute between France and Apple France's StopCovid project hit early delays amid disagreement between Paris and digital giants Apple and Google who manage their smartphones' Bluetooth systems. Because access to Bluetooth is normally blocked unless the user is actively running an app, France had been pushing for the tech companies to alter the settings and grant StopCovid full access to run Bluetooth in the background. A refusal by Apple after weeks of discussions on Tuesday led the government to accuse the iPhone maker of undermining France's efforts to fight the coronavirus. Both Apple and Android-maker Google the manufacturers of nearly all of smartphones in France maintain that access to Bluetooth must be limited to prevent apps from spying on users without their knowledge. It also protects the life of phone batteries. The companies are collaborating on a Covid-19 contact tracing system of their own. It's a common programming interface they say will use a phone's Bluetooth feature in ways designed to protect privacy. Only limited data would be collected, advertising banned and the opt-in technology would not access the user's GPS geolocation. France has rejected the system, citing issues surrounding privacy and interconnection with the health system. Cedric O went a step further, arguing the fight against coronavirus was "the role of the states, not necessarily of US digital giants. The standoff has led experts to debate which of the two models the centralised one chosen by France for StopCovid, or the decentralised one proposed by Apple and Google offers users the best protection in terms of privacy. Europe pushes for a common solution About half of EU member states have turned to location-tracking measures to combat the coronavirus, working in tandem with telecom companies to develop apps that trace people at risk, and also by mapping population movements using aggregated location data. The European Commission wants a common EU approach towards digital measures to fight Covid-19 and has passed a resolution in parliament stressing that government solutions must be in full compliance with EU data protection and privacy laws. Calls for safeguards to be included in contract tracing have come from the Council of Europe's data protection commissioner Jean-Philippe Walter and the chair of the council's data protection Convention 108 committee, Alessandra Pierucci who warn of the risks of entering unchartered territory. While the automatic detection of a person's contacts could save public health officials precious hours tracing the chain of infection and could fill in important gaps that human memory would not be able to, the duo said dangerous side effects must also be considered. Although technological tools can play an important role in addressing the current challenge, the first essential question we have to ask ourselves before systematic and uncritical adoption of technology is: are those 'apps' the solution? [May 07, 2020] JourneyTEAM Recognized by Inc. Magazine as 2020 Best Workplace SALT LAKE CITY, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JourneyTEAM, a Microsoft business and technology consulting firm, was recently named to Inc. magazines annual list of the Best Workplaces for 2020. Thousands of Americas top organizations applied and only 389 companies made the list. In the state of Utah, only 13 companies, including JourneyTEAM, were awarded as the Inc. Magazine 2020 Best Workplace. "It's an honor to be recognized as one of the top companies in the nation especially in the category of Best Workplace," shared Brian Tenney, COO of JourneyTEAM. "This award shows that we are headed in the right direction and recognizes the contributions from all of our great people. The 2020 Best Workplace had a record 370,000 participates. Each nominated company took part in an employee survey, conducted by Quantum Workplace, on topics including trust, management effectiveness, perks, and confidence in the future. Inc. Magazine then gathered, analyzed, and audited the data. Then they ranked all the employers using a composite score of survey results. The strongest engagement scores came from companies that prioritized the most human elements of work. This year, 73.5 percent of surveyed employees were engaged by their work and honorees had a typical score above 90 percent. JourneyTEAM received a 95.13 percent score and was recognized for leading the way with a vibrant culture, employee recognition, performance management, stellar benefits, an open work environment, and diversity. Other Utah companies that made the 2020 Inc. Magazine Best Workplace list included; 1-800 Contacts, 97th Floor, BambooHR, Divvy, Big Cartel, Health Catalyst, HireVue, Lendion, MX, Weave, Scalar, and Podium. CLICK ERE for the full press release and a link to the complete 2020 Best Workplaces list. JourneyTEAM employees were invited to provide optional and anonymous responses to questions during the survey by Inc. Magazine. There employees provided a total of 122 comments and here are a few random responses. The polices and ethics displayed by the management team make me comfortable in making promises to our customers that we will not only keep, but strive to deliver beyond expectations. They treat you in a way to make you want to be successful and provide the tools to achieve it I have never worked for an organization that cares as deeply about what they do for their customers and their employees as JourneyTEAM. Its been great. At JourneyTEAM they only hire the best and brightest talent. They are committed to their clients and committed to their employees. That's why they focus on a healthy work-life balance and make our benefits and perks out of this world. If you have experience in Microsoft products, Dynamics 365 CRM, ERP and Business Central, SharePoint, Modern Workplace, Cloud and Cybersecurity, Business Intelligence, and more than you might be a good fit for the organization. Check out our open career positions here. About JourneyTEAM: JourneyTEAM ( https://journeyteam.com ), headquartered in Draper, Utah, is a long-standing Microsoft Gold Partner that serves the technology needs of public and private organizations, including many of the worlds best-known brands. JourneyTEAMs expert level consultants dive deep into the dynamics of an organization and solve complex issues that improve a companys sales, marketing, productivity, collaboration, accounting, business intelligence, and security. The company provides consulting, migration, optimization, and implementation services specifically for Microsoft products. Founded in 1993, JourneyTEAM is privately held and makes technology work for you to fuel and drive your business. For more information or to schedule a demo, contact us today. About Inc. Media The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing and top privately held businesses in the United States. For more information, visit www.inc.com . Media Contact: Dave Bollard | 801.436.6636 [email protected] A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9a787839-2066-4c9e-832f-752d4602c20b [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The Illinois Department of Employment Security on Thursday released statewide data showing that it processed 74,476 new initial unemployment claims for the week that ended May 2. The department processed 1,006,925 initial claims during the period between March 1 and May 2, compared with 78,100 initial claims during the same period in 2019. Gov. J.B. Pritzker detailed efforts the state has made in response to an array of issues people have reported in filing unemployment claims since the pandemic began. Those efforts include additional agents to process claims and a new call center, as the state gears up for gig workers to begin filing for jobless benefits next week. Meanwhile, state officials announced 2,641 new known cases of COVID-19, pushing the statewide known case total to 70,873 since the beginning of the pandemic. The additional 138 deaths reported pushed the death toll in Illinois past 3,000. There have now been 3,111 coronavirus-related deaths statewide. During his 60th consecutive daily briefing, Pritzker said he will no longer hold in-person briefings on weekends, but will release medical statistics on Saturdays and Sundays. The administration will continue holding daily briefings on weekdays. Heres a recap of what happened May 7 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois: 8:08 p.m.: Mysterious illness potentially related to COVID-19 has surfaced in some Illinois children, doctors say At least half a dozen children in Illinois have been hospitalized with an illness potentially linked to COVID-19 that has also been reported in New York and Europe. Though much is still unknown about the sickness, symptoms can include a rash, fever, red eyes, swollen hands and feet, vomiting and abdominal pain. Its an inflammatory illness, meaning the bodys immune system starts to rev up and attack normal tissue, said Dr. Frank Belmonte, chief medical officer at Advocate Childrens Hospital. Children with the illness can develop shock, which occurs when blood pressure dips and organs in the body dont function properly. It can also cause inflammation of the heart muscle or swelling of the coronary arteries, which are the blood vessels that feed the heart. In the U.S. and elsewhere, most of the children who have become sick with the syndrome tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, meaning they likely had COVID-19 earlier, anywhere from two to four weeks before they became ill, Belmonte said. Many of the children who developed the new illness had no previous health conditions, he said. Advocate Childrens Hospital, which has campuses in Oak Lawn and Park Ridge, has had one case of the illness so far, plus two more children who are showing signs of it, Belmonte said. The child with the confirmed case needed a ventilator and is in intensive care, though Belmonte said the child is doing remarkably well. Read more here. Lisa Schencker 7:10 p.m.: Devices for electronic monitoring run out in Cook County amid efforts to drastically reduce jail population The Cook County sheriffs office has run out of electronic monitoring devices for defendants placed on home confinement, the office confirmed Thursday. The concerted efforts to reduce jail population amid the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have led to skyrocketing demand for the equipment, as judges ordered more defendants out of cells and on to ankle bracelets. As of Thursday, there were 4,064 people in custody at the jail and 3,167 on electronic monitoring, according to the sheriffs office. Their last monitoring unit was assigned Tuesday night. They are working to address supply issues, but in the meantime have asked prosecutors and the Cook County public defenders office to determine who might be eligible for removal from electronic monitoring, according to a statement from the office. Read more here. Megan Crepeau 5:24 p.m.: What getting your hair cut will be like when barber shops and salons reopen Saturdays were a time of camaraderie at Marios Place Barber Shop in Chicagos Sheffield Neighbors neighborhood before the COVID-19 health crisis temporarily closed the establishment. Owner Mario Scarlata, 61, looked forward to lively chatter between his two barbers and clients on weekend shifts. Customers who have been coming to Marios for years kept returning because of the friendly environment, Scarlata said. On Saturdays, there would be three people getting haircuts and maybe six or more in the waiting area, Scarlata said. It will be at a slower pace when we open again. The weekend rush and the bonding that often takes place at barbershops and hair salons will change when those businesses are allowed to serve customers again in Illinois. On Tuesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker laid out a five-phase plan for reopening the state. In the third phase called recovery the state will allow manufacturing, offices, retail, barbershops and salons to reopen, with capacity limits and other restrictions. It isnt clear when that might happen, given that the governors plan requires a decline in the rate of infection among those tested, hospitalizations, and the number of patients needing ICU beds. But for businesses that provide services that involve being in close proximity to clients hair salons, barbershops, massage therapists as well as eye doctors and dentists reopening while taking the necessary precautions to keep both clients and employees safe could be a tricky proposition. Read more here. Abdel Jimenez 5:10 p.m.: Worker at Amazons Waukegan fulfillment center dies of COVID-19 A worker at Amazons Waukegan fulfillment center died of COVID-19, the company confirmed Thursday, marking the fourth death among the online retailers warehouse employees as they continue to work through the pandemic. The man, a night shift associate hired in September, was last at the Waukegan facility on March 19, and didnt have symptoms, Amazon said. The company learned of his positive diagnosis on March 24 and of his death on April 18. It declined to give more details about the worker, citing privacy considerations, but said counseling services were offered to his family. Amazon, which has about 500,000 hourly employees at fulfillment and distribution centers in the U.S., has been the target of protests by some warehouse workers who say it did not do enough to protect them against the coronavirus. It employs 500 people at its Waukegan center. Three other Amazon workers who died of COVID-19 worked at facilities in Staten Island, New York; Hawthorne, California; and Tracy, California. Read more here. Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz 4:55 p.m.: Everything you need to know about reopening Illinois Illinoisans finally have a plan for what "getting back to normal might look like and how long it will take. Gov. J.B. Pritzkers five-phase plan allows for a gradual reopening of businesses, gatherings, events and more with a strategy that divides the state into regions and takes a careful look at the spread of COVID-19. So how will this affect our daily lives? As summer nears, Chicagoans are desperate to get out and about to have a summer picnic with family, to get back to work, to get a haircut. Heres how and when you might be able to do those things. 3:01 p.m.: 2,641 new known COVID-19 cases, 138 additional deaths The Illinois Department of Employment Security on Thursday released statewide data showing that it processed 74,476 new initial unemployment claims for the week that ended May 2. The department processed 1,006,925 initial claims during the period between March 1 and May 2, compared with 78,100 initial claims during the same period in 2019. Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday detailed efforts the state has made in response to an array of issues people have reported in filing unemployment claims since the pandemic began. Those efforts additional agents to process claims and a new call center, as the state gears up for gig workers to begin filing for jobless benefits next week. Those workers who are eligible for new federal benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program must first apply for regular unemployment insurance before applying for benefits under the assistance program when a new application portal opens May 11, according to instructions the Illinois Department of Employment Security released this week. State officials on Thursday announced 2,641 new known cases of COVID-19, pushing the statewide known case total to 70,873 since the beginning of the pandemic. The additional 138 deaths reported Thursday pushed the statewide death toll past 3,000. There have now been 3,111 coronavirus-related deaths statewide. Pritzker held his 60th consecutive daily briefing Thursday, and said beginning this weekend, he will no longer hold in-person briefings on weekends, but will release medical statistics on Saturdays and Sundays. The administration will continue holding daily briefings on week days. Jamie Munks 2:49 p.m.: Phone prayer service launched by Chicago Catholics to connect people while church doors closed A group of Catholics from the Archdiocese of Chicago have started a daily prayer service, called A Call to Prayer, to allow people to pray with others while church buildings remain closed. As people unite in this Call to Prayer, may they be consoled in knowing that it is the Lord Himself who is connecting them to one another, Cardinal Blase Cupich said in a news release. The archdiocese suspended all religious services in March in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The prayer line will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day and will connect callers with volunteer parishioners so they can pray together. Read more here. Javonte Anderson 2:19 p.m.: City reaches deal with 3 hotel operators to house Chicago nursing home workers Chicagos nursing home workers will be allowed to stay at Hotel Julian, The Godfrey Hotel and London House if they want to isolate, Mayor Lori Lightfoots office announced. City workers who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 are already allowed to stay at Hotel Julian. But the hotel will now start taking nursing home workers too, Lightfoots office announced Thursday. Those seeking to get a room will need to provide proof of employment, the city said. Gregory Pratt 1:56 p.m.: Contact tracers are in demand, and a local college has a new program to train them Illinois and the nation are going to need a lot more contact tracers in the coming months to track and help control the spread of coronavirus as a central part of plans to reopen schools, businesses and the economy. Colleges and universities are starting to answer the call with programs that train people to work as contact tracers. North suburban Oakton Community College is the first out the gate in Illinois, launching a four-week virtual training program later this month. Read more here. Elyssa Cherney 1:39 p.m.: Chicagos indie music venues, closed by coronavirus, take their fight to save themselves to the national stage We were the first to close and well probably be the last to open, said Joe Shanahan, owner of beloved local venues like Metro, Smartbar, and GMan Tavern. Its not that we want a hand out. We want a hand up. Shanahans fears are echoed by a number of local, independent venue owners in the Chicago Independent Venue League (CIVL) who feel the initial Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), created in response to the novel coronavirus, does not meet the specific needs of music venues. Those needs include things like mortgage and rent forbearance, tax and license relief, and an extension of the program until shuttered venues and businesses are able to reopen at full legal capacity. These concerns have taken on added urgency in the face of the new guidance from Illinois Goverrnor Pritzker on when clubs will be allowed to open at full capacity. Read more here. Britt Julious 1:11 p.m.: Illinois congressional delegation seeks extension of 2,000 National Guard troops to assist with pandemic through June A unified state congressional delegation Thursday asked Defense Secretary Mike Esper for a one-month extension of federally funded Illinois National Guard activations to assist in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic in congregate settings such as prisons and nursing homes. We have made progress, in no small part due to the Illinois National Guard. Gov. (J.B.) Pritzker, however, must continue to call on our neighbors in uniform; his plan to reopen the state relies on them to help combat the spread of COVID-19 in hard hit areas such as prisons, nursing homes and other congregate housing facilities, the delegation letter to Esper said. This crisis is not yet over and we cannot let up now. We are indebted to the sacrifices of the men and women of the Illinois National Guard and grateful for their work yet to be done, the members wrote. The letter notes that the original federally paid activation of 4,000 Guard members expires at the end of May. It requests an extension of 2,000 Guard activations through the end of June. The letter from the states congressional delegation follows a similar request from Pritzker to President Donald Trump last Sunday. Read more here. Rick Pearson 1:03 p.m.: Chicago Park District summer camp season will be abbreviated The Chicago Park District is moving forward with the possibility of offering a portion of its regular summer camps after the COVID-19 pandemic derailed the schedule. On social media and in a letter to parents who previously enrolled their kids in similar programs, this past week park district officials shared plans for the modified schedule and important dates for parents and caregivers to note. All summer programs, including summer camp, will start July 6 assuming no new or additional restrictions are called for under any modifications to the stay-at-home mandate, which helps determine what the park district can offer. The park district first made the announcement Friday, after Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced modifications to the stay-at-home order through May 31. Summer programs will be listed online beginning June 1 so people have a chance to evaluate the offerings. Online registration, often competitive, with some classes and programs filling up within minutes, will be held June 11 and June 12. In-person registration, for which some spaces in each program are held back so those without internet access can register, will be held June 13 unless in-person interactions are not being allowed by the state, the release said. Read more here. Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas 12:55 p.m.: Chicago doctors mostly moms join together to advise officials and the public. We cant not say something. In between telehealth appointments with patients, preschool Zoom calls, daily household tasks and, in one case, childbirth, a group of doctors mostly moms, all with young children is making sure the public and policymakers have the latest scientific and medical advice for fighting the coronavirus pandemic. Its important to not only disseminate information to the public, but its also really important ... to help our government on how to come up with plans to manage the pandemic in Illinois, said Dr. Shikha Jain, 39, an oncologist and hematologist at Rush University Medical Center. Jain and five other Chicago-area physicians, from varied medical backgrounds, joined together in mid-March after noticing the information theyd heard from colleagues in other states and overseas didnt seem to be resonating in the Chicago area. The group calls itself IMPACT, which stands for Illinois Medical Professionals Action Collaborative Team. Its members have been writing op-eds, circulating petitions and starting social media campaigns, all in an effort to spread the word about the latest scientific findings and the best preventative measures for COVID-19. Theyve also reached out to contacts working in Gov. J.B. Pritzkers office, state lawmakers and representatives in Congress to offer guidance. The message seems to be getting through. Twitter hashtags theyve coined, #6FtApartNotUnder and #TestTraceTreat, have been mentioned in media briefings by public officials. Read more here. Kate Thayer 12:53 p.m.: A Chicago nurse vacationed with other nurses every year. She died from COVID-19 before they could plan their next trip Every February, Maria Lopez and a group of fellow Chicago nurses from the the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago would board a plane to someplace warm. For about a decade, theyd traveled to different locales, including Lopezs beloved Mexico, where she is from. This year, they went to the Dominican Republic. As the group of friends took a dip in the ocean, Lopez, who was recovering from knee surgery, did not go wading. Shed say, Thats OK, amiga, next year ... Im going in, said her friend and fellow nurse traveler Mary Ann Zervakis Brent. But theres not going to be a next year, Zervakis Brent said. Read more here. Alison Bowen 12:47 p.m.: A family with a wide reach in Illinois nursing homes has links to severe COVID-19 outbreak in New Jersey A pair of New Jersey nursing homes where at least 66 people have died of COVID-19 one of the countrys worst such outbreaks are connected to a Chicago-area family with a broad reach in the business of long-term care, including ownership ties to more than a dozen Illinois facilities. One of them, in west suburban Willowbrook, had one of the states earliest serious COVID-19 outbreaks. The homes in Andover, New Jersey, are on property owned by companies managed by William Rothner, whose website states that he built his familys leased nursing home portfolio and directed purchases, in ten states, of nearly fifty facilities totaling over three hundred million dollars." The Andover homes had 236 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday 85 more than Illinois has reported for the hardest-hit local facility. In Illinois, Rothners father, Eric, has a history of ties to troubled nursing homes, including one shut down a decade ago by state authorities after repeated inspections found violence, abuse and mistreatment of residents. Chateau Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Willowbrook, which had 58 COVID-19 cases and 11 deaths as of Friday, is owned by Evanston-based Rothner Health Ventures, a company managed by Eric Rothner, according to state records. Thats more reported cases than 92% of the 348 Illinois long-term care facilities reporting at least one, and more deaths than 88% of the 223 facilities listing at least one fatality. Read more here. Dan Hinkel 12:10 p.m.: Pritzkers five-phase plan a gut punch to restaurants desperate to open When Illinois restaurants were ordered shuttered by Gov. Pritzker in mid-March, restaurant owners, chefs and workers braced for several weeks of zero income. When the order was extended through April, and then May, the industry pointed to June. But Pritzkers five-phase plan, announced Tuesday, set the earliest-possible day for reopening at June 26, and that date is by no means definite. For an industry already struggling to hang on, the news was devastating. Read more here. Phil Vettel 11:36 a.m.: Field Museum to host blood drives Field Museum will open its doors again May 11 and May 26 to host socially distanced Red Cross blood drives. Only a limited number of slots are available for the 9 a.m.-3 p.m. efforts to address blood shortages during the coronavirus pandemic, and the May 11 appointments have already been filled. Sign up for May 26 via the Red Cross website. Under the event guidelines, 5 to 6 donors can be accommodated per hour, and they will be allowed to park right outside the museums south doors. As we take the necessary precautions to provide a safe, sanitary space for the drive, we are grateful to those both volunteering at the drive and to those donating blood," Rob Zschernitz, the Fields chief technology officer, said in a statement. Steve Johnson 11:35 p.m.: When Chicago steakhouses closed, a suburban supplier had to think fast. Now it offers Corona Care meat packages for home delivery On an episode of NBCs Parks and Recreation, Ron Swanson, the mustachioed libertarian and proud meat eater, broke down crying when his favorite steakhouse closed unexpectedly. What happened to the steaks that were in there when they closed? he asked. Do you think they got eaten? There are far more serious matters to worry about during the coronavirus pandemic, but I have wondered about where all the meat meant for Chicago steakhouses has gone since Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered the closing of restaurant dining rooms in March. So has Rick Whittingham, president and CEO of Whittingham Meats, and his son Bobby Whittingham, vice president. Open since 1947, the family-owned business located in suburban Alsip has had to completely rethink its business model in a few weeks. Thats when Whittingham came up with the idea of selling what hes calling Corona Care Packages. Its like a meat subscription, where you can get locally sourced fresh meat thats never frozen, says Whittingham. The boxes of vacuum-packed meat start at $80 for Tier D (which includes a mix of beef filets, chicken breasts, pork tenderloins, bratwurst and bacon) and go up to $270 for the Steak Lovers Dream (which has 13 cuts of steak). Read more here. Nick Kindelsperger 10:50 a.m.: Lightfoot cancels news conference to outline Chicagos plan to ease COVID-19 restrictions Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has canceled a previously scheduled news conference to outline Chicagos COVID-19 reopening framework her administration announced. The mayor was scheduled to meet with Chicago health officials to announce the plan Thursday afternoon. But her administration announced just hours ahead of time it would be rescheduled to a different date due to scheduling conflicts. Earlier this week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker sketched out a five-phase, regional plan to reopen parts of Illinois. Pritzkers plan sets a high bar for advancing each step of the way, and makes it clear that it will some time before life in the state will be back to normal. Gregory Pratt 10:10 a.m.: Harborside golf course forced to close Thursday Some Illinois residents expecting to take advantage of Thursdays abundant sunshine have been ordered to keep their clubs in the trunk. The 160 golfers expecting to play at Harborside International Golf Center on the Southeast Side were informed by email around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday that the facility would be closed: While adhering to the Governors modification that allows for golf to be open in the state, however, per the City of Chicago, we must remain closed until further notice. A spokesperson for the Mayors office said she would look into the decision. Harborside is an upscale, 36-hole, 400-acre facility along the Dan Ryan Expressway with views of the skyline. All golfers expecting to play Thursday, some with tee times as early at 7 a.m., were issued refunds. Read more here. Teddy Greenstein 10:06 a.m.: Stranger Things star to greet graduates at DePauls online commencement ceremonies Stranger Things star Joe Keery will welcome an estimated 6,250 new graduates at DePaul Universitys online commencement ceremonies June 13, the university announced Thursday. Keery, a 2014 DePaul graduate, is slated to greet graduates by video. Each DePaul school or college will have its own dedicated ceremony, featuring messages from DePaul President A. Gabriel Esteban, a student speaker and the school or colleges dean, as well as other inspirational messages from the DePaul community. Each DePaul graduate will be featured on a digital slide, which the graduate can personalize with a photo and message. Read more here. 9:49 a.m.: COVID-19 in Illinois, the US and the world: Timeline of the outbreak From a live fish market in Wuhan, China, to a devastating pandemic across the globe, here are key points in the outbreak of COVID-19 in Illinois, the U.S. and the world. Read more here. Tribune staff with news services 9:28 a.m.: Indianas governor is allowing churches to reopen, but many area religious leaders dont want to be a control group Despite the green light from Gov. Eric Holcomb for Indiana churches to reopen Friday, even as coronavirus infections climb, many Northwest Indiana pews will remain empty on Sunday and beyond. It appears Holcomb wasnt preaching to the entire choir in his May 1 executive order allowing churches to reopen with no limit on attendance, while trusting the faithful to obey social distancing rules and use hand sanitizer. Holcomb said churches would serve as a test or control group because he thought they would be the most responsible body to let fully reopen. Most mainstream sects didnt buy in, and one Gary Baptist preacher was insulted being called a control group. Leaders from Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist and Methodist churches urged congregations to continue with online, not in-person services. Its important that we get it right, not rushed, said the Most Rev. Robert J. McClory, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gary. Read more here. Carole Carlson 9:02 a.m.: Wave of infections from New York travelers swept through US before city began social distancing measures, research shows New York Citys coronavirus outbreak grew so large by early March that the city became the primary source of new infections in the United States, new research reveals, as thousands of infected people traveled from the city and seeded outbreaks around the country. The research indicates that a wave of infections swept from New York City through much of the country before the city began setting social distancing limits to stop the growth. That helped to fuel outbreaks in Louisiana, Texas, Arizona and as far away as the West Coast. The findings are drawn from geneticists tracking signature mutations of the virus, travel histories of infected people and models of the outbreak by infectious disease experts. We now have enough data to feel pretty confident that New York was the primary gateway for the rest of the country, said Nathan Grubaugh, an epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health. Read more here. The New York Times 7:52 a.m.: Nearly 3.2 million US workers seek jobless aid; coronavirus has put 33.5 million out of work Nearly 3.2 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week as the business shutdowns caused by the viral outbreak deepened the worst U.S. economic catastrophe in decades. Roughly 33.5 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the seven weeks since the coronavirus began forcing millions of companies to close their doors and slash their workforces. That is the equivalent of 1 in 5 Americans who had been employed back in February, when the unemployment rate had reached a 50-year low of just 3.5%. In Illinois, 74,476 people filed initial claims for benefits for the week ended May 2, a drop of 7,120 people from the previous weeks 81,596. Since mid-March, almost 900,000 Illinois residents have applied for unemployment insurance benefits. Read more here. Associated Press 7:15 a.m.: Nursing home workers reach tentative deal with owners Workers from about 100 nursing homes across Illinois who were on the verge of striking instead reached a tentative agreement overnight for a two-year contract with nursing home owners, the union representing the workers announced Thursday. Certified nursing assistants were poised to strike over contract negotiations, which came as CNAs and other frontline workers find themselves in this time of unprecedented vulnerability and risk, according to a release from SEIU Healthcare Illinois spokeswoman Catherine Murrell. A day before the strike was expected to begin with walkouts at about 44 of the nursing homes, the union announced workers won significant contract gains including a $15 an hour baseline pay, hazard pay for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a provision that workers are not required to work without adequate personal protective equipment. Union President Greg Kelley previously said workers are worried about resident care not just during a strike, but at all times. Read more here. Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas 7 a.m.: Lightfoot, health officials to lay out plan to ease COVID-19 restrictions, reopen Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago health officials were scheduled to announce Chicagos COVID-19 reopening framework" Thursday afternoon. The citys announcement comes days after Gov. J.B. Pritzker sketched out a five-phase, regional plan to reopen parts of Illinois. Pritzkers plan sets a high bar for advancing each step of the way, and makes it clear that it will some time before life in the state will be back to normal. Chicago Tribune staff May 6 Here are five things that happened Wednesday that you need to know: May 5 Here are five things that happened Tuesday that you need to know: May 4 The first of the two flights from the UAE carrying 177 Indian nationals left for Kerala on Thursday, as India began its biggest ever repatriation exercise to bring back its citizens stranded abroad amidst the international travel lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic. A total of 354 Indian nationals, including 11 pregnant women and a pair of twins, will return home on Thursday in the two flights from the UAE to Kerala as part of the repatriation exercise named Vande Bharat Mission. The Air India Express flight IX452 took off from Abu Dhabi to Kochi, which will be followed by a Dubai-Kozhikode flight of the same airline. Passengers started arriving at Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports as early as 9.30am on Thursday. Some of the passengers were carrying the Indian flags. Coronavirus outbreak: Full coverage Indian Ambassador Pavan Kapoor was seen enquiring about the procedure from some of the passengers undergoing medical screening at the Abu Dhabi airport. Kudos to all the passengers for waiting patiently for their turn for medical screening and many thanks to all the frontline health workers and airport staff for extending full support, the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi tweeted. There are no suspected COVID-19 cases among the first batch of passengers being repatriated on Thursday. All of them have cleared the tests, Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul was quoted as saying by the Gulf News. He said the criteria of passengers selection included medical cases, loss of jobs, pregnant women and senior citizens. Those with complications and financial issues were also picked. On Monday, the Indian government announced plans to begin a phased repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad from May 7. The government also said that Air India will operate 64 flights from May 7 to May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals stranded abroad amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown. Short-listing the first passengers from among a database of more than 200,000 applicants, who include around 6,500 pregnant women, has been a mammoth task which posed several challenges for the missions, Neeraj Agrawal, Consul, Press, Information and Culture at the Indian Consulate in Dubai told the Gulf News. India is conducting its biggest ever repatriation exercise named Vande Bharat Missionsans social distancing and COVID-19 tests to bring back stranded Indians from abroad. Abu Dhabi -Kochi flight taxiing for departure (MEA) The Indian missions in the UAE finalised the list of passengers, who were chosen based on the compelling reasons they submitted while registering their names. Only passengers with confirmed tickets must proceed to the airport. They are required to reach the airport five hours prior to departure, Agrawal said. The Indian Consulate had appealed to passengers not to overcrowd the airport, maintain social distancing and follow all necessary precautions stipulated by the authorities Air India crew members on board the repatriation flights will be fully protected with protective gear, including Personal Protective Equipment, to reduce the risk of contracting coronavirus, Khaleej Times reported. The Indian expatriate community of approximately 3.42 million is reportedly the largest ethnic community in the UAE constituting roughly about 30 per cent of the countrys population, according to information available on the Indian Embassy website. India imposed a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the country, grounding all international flights since mid-March. Under the repatriation plan, the government will be facilitating the return of Indian nationals stranded abroad on compelling grounds in a phased manner. A premature ending of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions might not result in a second spike of infections from the virus, leading expert Professor Hugh Pennington has told the Scottish Parliament. In a letter to MSPs on Holyroods Health Committee, the University of Aberdeen emeritus professor said he has seen no evidence to suggest there could be a rise in cases more virulent than the one we have endured. He said while previous flu pandemics have seen second waves of infection more deadly than the initial outbreak, this may not be the case for coronavirus. He said: In my opinion the more we learn about Covid-19, the more the differences with influenza virus become apparent. Prof Pennington has written to the Scottish Parliaments Health Committee (PA) Speaking of the potential for a second spike, he added: It is far more likely that our situation would resemble that in Singapore, where infections would continue to occur with cases numbers declining but at a slower pace than if controls had been maintained. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce some easing of the current lockdown restrictions on Sunday. But in Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has insisted this week that progress against coronavirus is still too fragile for any changes to be made. Prof Pennington said: No second waves of Covid-19 infections have occurred in China, South Korea or New Zealand, countries in which local virus transmission is currently close to zero. Even in Singapore, where transmission controls have not so far led to this outcome, due mostly to outbreaks in migrant worker dormitories, there has been no second wave of cases. A smart phone app to assist in virus control was introduced in Singapore on March 20. He also suggested that within Scotland, residents in Orkney and the Western Isles could be freed earlier from social distancing and lockdown than mainland communities. Last week we heard from Professor Hugh Pennington of @aberdeenuni on #coronavirus #COVID19. We received follow-up information from him today you can read it here: https://t.co/SzJjEaezV7 and here's the official report of what he said last week: https://t.co/TgQbiE4F27 pic.twitter.com/6aruUZgGPr Health and Sport Committee (@SP_HealthSport) May 6, 2020 Prof Pennington said this is because they have had few Covid-19 cases, with no-one in hospital in Orkney since April 5 and since April 2 in the Western Isles. Story continues He added that the islands also have excellent public health systems, and they control travel from the mainland very significantly, thus reducing the risk of virus importation. He went on to suggest the islands could also serve as places to evaluate any smart phone apps being used to help control the spread of the disease. His letter to MSPs comes after he gave evidence to the committee, during which he urged the Scottish Government to test, test, test to eradicate coronavirus. Asked about his comments at the Scottish Governments coronavirus briefing, Ms Sturgeon said she has to base her judgements on the advice of the chief medical officer and her advisory group. She added: I think every piece of evidence I hear, both directly within the Scottish Government and from international experts, is that there is a very real risk of a second wave of this infection later in the year and the scale and the timing of that could absolutely be influenced by the decisions we take on lockdown. I think every country is pretty much alive to that risk as they take decisions. If that wasnt the case, then we wouldnt have countries as gradually and as carefully as they are starting to ease their way out of these restrictions. So I dont know what Hugh Pennington is basing that on. It was put to me last week something he said about the R number and care homes. I have no idea what he was basing that on, either. Some days are better than others for Quenby Mott and her 9-year-old daughter, Sydney. At times, the third grader will sit down and work on her multiplication tables. Minutes later, she may be tugging on her mom while Mott is talking with her Kinkaid School students in a Zoom meeting. Other times Sydney cries in frustration, upset she cannot see her friends, missing the routine of school and wanting to play with the neighborhood kids. Monday was different. Mott signed Sydney up for a virtual childcare session as part of a program created by 16-year-old Kinkaid student Henry Segal, called Student-Teacher. The program lets upper school students at the Memorial-area private school sign up to tutor or play with teachers younger students for hour-long blocks, allowing educators and counselors to focus on Zoom lectures or lesson preparations. Mott said she could hear Sydneys giggles through the door as she played charades and went over her multiplication tables with an 11th grader Monday morning. That gave her time to make some calls to students and catch up on paperwork. Just to have someone to play with or do yoga with on a screen has really helped alleviate some of the pressures, Mott said. Its knowing youre not leaving your kid just by themselves on a device. Theres more intentionality to it. Segal, a sophomore, said he got the idea watching teachers try to juggle video calls with caring for their own small children, who often darted into the picture to ask for help or to entertain themselves. Segal approached school administrators with the idea about three weeks ago and was able to get the program up and running during the last week of April. Jennifer Kehler, who organizes student activities in addition to teaching 10th grade English at Kinkaid, said it took almost no time for administrators at the school to green light the initiative. Within days of sending out information about the program to other teachers and staff members, Kehlers inbox was filled with messages of gratitude. This is such an amazing gesture by our upper school students, Kehler said. In time of stress for themselves, Henry noticed other people need help, too. Now, Segal has created a website that provides resources for students at other schools to launch the program at their campuses for free, saying he hopes it will provide relief to teachers who are struggling to balance working from home with helping their own children with their school work. The goal, he said, is to give teachers across Greater Houston and the country time to work with their students without being interrupted. So far, 40 students in Kinkaids upper school have signed up to help, as have students at a school in New York and another in California. Although hes spent the better part of 20 hours a week on the project, Segal shrugs off the praise of his teachers. I think theres no reason to just pout and sit down, its kind of all out of our control more or less, Segal said. You might as well try to make the most of it and try to solve a problem. Teachers and other school staff can sign up by filling out a Google form that asks them about their childrens interests and what they are working on in school. The older students then create a play day or lesson based on the responses they receive. One high schooler began teaching some youngsters how to do yoga. Sometimes, students will just read to the younger kids or watch them draw. Kehlers 4-year-old son, Reiner, signed up to chat with the president of the upper schools Star Wars Appreciation Club, and has been compiling questions to ask his new mentor about Jedis and the force. I can imagine for these little kids, they must be so excited to have the attention of a big kid, Kehler said. They look up to them, they see them as these all-star celebrities, like Oh theyre high schoolers, theyre way cooler than mom and dad. Bryan Akins, 15, said he signed up to entertain some of the kids several weeks after a toddler, wearing only a diaper, sprinted on screen next to his English teacher during a Zoom lecture. He since has begun teaching an 8-year-old about the weather and the human body after the boy said he was excited to learn more about science. The experience quickly brought a realization for Akins: teaching is much more difficult and time intensive than he thought. Its especially hard on Zoom because you have to keep the child entertained and communicate what youre trying to make them learn, he said. And lesson plans take a long time to make. Mott said Sydney has jumped into camera view several times as her mother worked with her own students as a college counselor and academic advisor. Sydney is an only child and relies on Mott and her husband for play and help while the three of them are spending their days at home due to the pandemic. Sometimes, the constant needs of her child, cooking her meals throughout the day and working from home pile up. Not being able to follow through with promises I made to her because of my work is hard to manage, Mott said. Now, instead of tantrums, Sydney asks when she gets to talk to her high schooler next. shelby.webb@chron.com U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that 'every tool' would be used to secure the release of two former American soldiers currently detained in Venezuela. Luke Denman, 34, and Airan Berry, 41, were arrested on Monday for their alleged role in a failed plot to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro and fly him to the United States. 'We will start the process of trying to figure a way if, in fact, these are Americans that are there, that we can figure out a path forward,' Pompeo said in Wednesday's press conference. 'If the Maduro regime decides to hold them, we will use every tool that we have available to try and get them back.' U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaking during a press conference Wednesday in which he said the U.S. will use 'every tool' to secure the release of Luke Denman and Airan Berry. The former U.S. soldiers were arrested Monday in Venezuela for their alleged role in a failed plot to overthrow and capture President Nicolas Maduro and fly him to the United States Pompeo was also questioned about U.S. government involvement after claims from President Maduro that the foiled coup's ringleader Jordan Goudreau was an associate of President Donald Trump. He said that there had been no 'direct' government part in Goudreau's plan. 'If we had been involved, it would have gone differently,' Pompeo joked, reiterating Trump comments that the U.S. government had played no part. 'As for who bankrolled it, were not prepared to share any more information about what we know took place,' he added. 'Well unpack that at an appropriate time. Well share that information that makes good sense.' An Associated Press report on Friday alleged that U.S. billionaire Roen Kraft was among those who sought to raise funds for the private coup. Kraft denied giving Goudreau any money. As Pompeo held his press conference, President Maduro was holding his own in which he paraded American detainee Luke Denman across Venezuelan state TV. His fellow American Airan Berry did not feature. A heavily edited ten-minute clip of Denman's interrogation was shown in which the former soldier said that he had been hired through Goudreau's Florida-based company Silvercorp and that Goudreau was commanded by President Donald Trump. Luke Denman (left) and Airan Berry (right): Two arrested US 'mercenaries playing Rambo' are paraded after failed attempt to overthrow Venezuela's Maduro in a failed raid on Monday Maduro has claimed that Goudreau has worked in security for Trump, a claim seemingly backed up by videos featured on Silvercorp's site in which the plot ringleader can be seen apparently wearing an earpiece at a Trump rally. In his video interrogation, Denman was asked about why the Trump administration would want to attack Venezuela to which he responded, 'I don't know'. In the clip, Denman said that he was first approached by Goudreau in early Decemeber 2019 with limited details of the plan. He flew to Colombia on January 16 where his job was to train around 60 Venezuelans in preparation for the attack. He said that they were established in training camps and that Silvercorp provided the equipment. It emerged Wednesday the the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the Department of Homeland Security knew about the training camps and had been tipped off earlier this year that Goudreau was allegedly weapons smuggling in Colombia. A DEA source admitted that an informant tipped the agency off before March but a formal probe wasn't opened as it did not know who Goudreau was at the time. The DEA official speaking to the Associated Press said the information was also passed on to the Department of Homeland Security. The DEA believed that the weapons were destined for leftist rebels or criminal gangs in Colombia, former officials said on the condition of anonymity. US officials also discussed whether to organize the guerrilla fighters in the camps - but ultimately decided against it, according to the Washington Post. The Colombians were against it and we were against it, a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said. Maduro has denounced the attack as part of a US-backed attempt to oust him from office and replace him with opposition leader Juan Guiado. He claimed that Venezuela was aware that the plot was underway and were prepared to meet with Goudreau's group and arrest them. Six Venezuelans were arrested alongside Berry and Denman on Monday as day after two were arrested and eight more killed who were also part of the coup group. Guaido has accused Maduro of waiting to 'massacre' the raiders. The leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, Alexander Gauland, opposed the announcement of the day of the surrender of Nazi Germany - May 8 - as a permanent holiday. "May 8 cannot be a holiday because it is a mixed day. It was a day of release for prisoners of concentration camps. But it was also a day of absolute defeat, a day of the loss of significant parts of Germany and decision-making opportunities," he told the German media. According to an ultra-right politician, May 8 cannot be a "happy day for Germany." As Gauland noted, on May 8 there is a positive, but women raped in Berlin will see this very differently from prisoners in concentration camps. In an open letter to Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Angela Merkel, Holocaust-surviving Auschwitz committee chairman in Germany, Esther Bejarano, called for May 8 to be declared a holiday of liberation from National Socialism. This year, May 8 - 75 years after the end of World War II - will be celebrated as a public holiday in Berlin. Recall that the party "Alternative for Germany" has repeatedly distinguished itself by statements aimed at revising the historical assessment of the period of National Socialism in Germany. One of the partys leaders, Bernd Hecke, spoke out against the presence of a Holocaust memorial in central Berlin. However, the deputy of the Bundestag, the co-chairman of "AdG" Alexander Gauland urged the Wehrmacht to be proud, verbatim declaring: "We have the right to be proud of the merits of our soldiers in two world wars." It should be noted that in Vestnik Kavkaza he repeatedly warned of the revisionist approach of German nationalists to the history of World War II. The ideology "Alternatives for Germany", whose supporters live with dreams of restoring the Third Reich and returning East Prussia (Kaliningrad), is a long-term threat to Russia's interests. It is noteworthy that at the same time, the Nazis from Alternative for Germany closely cooperate with the Armenian authorities and the Karabakh separatists. One of the favorite guests in Nagorno-Karabakh was MP Stefan Koyter, cursed by the fact that he greeted his colleagues in the Bundestag with the phrase "Zig Heil!" As the German political scientist Heiko Langner noted in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza, both Karabakh separatists and German nationalists are convinced of the supposed superiority of Christian civilization over the rest, and therefore advocate a nationalist identity policy to the detriment of other groups of the population. In Nagorno-Karabakh, in many ways "became a reality a picture that AdG would very much like to see in Germany." "I am proud to be entrusted with leading Payvision into its next phase of growth as a global payments service provider and look forward to working with the professional and entrepreneurial people at Payvision," said Andre. "The company's integration with ING's business strategy, combined with the cutting-edge digital capabilities, create the promise of unbeatable value for our merchants, partners and shareholders." Andre joins Corne van der Meijden in Payvision's management board, whose appointment as Chief Financial Officer was approved by the Dutch Central Bank in February 2020. "We are extremely pleased to welcome Andre to the management board of Payvision as our new CEO. He brings a deep expertise in payments solutions, together with broad experience in business operations. I am confident that we will benefit from Andre's insights as we continue to deliver value for our clients. Together with Corne he will further build on Payvision's omnichannel strategy and strengthen Payvision's position as the Center of Excellence for Merchant Services within ING Group," declared Mark Buitenhek, Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Rudolf Booker founded Payvision in 2002, together with Gijs op de Weegh Chief Operating Officer and Cheng Liem Li Chief Commercial Officer. In 2018, the three founders formed a strategic partnership with ING Group with the aim of accelerating the company's innovation capabilities and business growth. In line with the terms of the acquisition agreement, they continued their leadership during the transition until April 30, 2020 when all three stepped down. ING acquired Payvision to support the bank's expansion of merchant services for business clients, particularly in the fast-growing e-commerce segment. This partnership is an investment in innovative financial services to support ING's Think Forward strategy, allowing clients to benefit from Payvision's omnichannel payments platform as well as ING's lending, working capital solutions and worldwide distribution network. About Payvision Payvision is a global payment processor that's driven by a passion for technology and simplifying payments. With one single, secure platform, we power transactions for businesses across the globe. We know our way around the latest techniques in artificial intelligence and omnichannel strategies. The dedication to our clients shows this is where we truly make a difference. By enabling an intuitive and flawless customer experience on all channels, we bring a unique beat to payments. Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, we've grown into an international team with global knowledge and offices in North America, Europe and Asia. In 2018, ING bought Payvision, allowing us to offer an unstoppable combo of both the fintech and banking worlds put together. This partnership means cutting-edge technology and a startup mindset backed by ING's expertise and global network. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1165050/Payvision_Andre_Valkenburg.jpg SOURCE Payvision Related Links https://www.payvision.com/ Irish people have flattened the Covid-19 curve but the stakes are too high to rush lifting of the lockdown because to do so risks lives and could cause the reimposition of restrictions, according to the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. Speaking in the Dail Mr Varadkar said sacrifices have led to results. "Due to the decisions, choices and sacrifices of the Irish people, the curve has been flattened. It has plateaued, but our grief has not. We now have a road map for how we will bring our country to a new normal. The stakes are too high to rush things now; otherwise, we risk everything we have achieved. "The willingness of people in every village, town and city to follow the public health advice has changed the future. It has meant that our hospitals have been able to cope and our healthcare staff have not been overwhelmed. This success, however, has brought a different challenge, and we need now to work out how we can manage separately Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 care for a prolonged period. This will not be easy," he said. The Taoiseach defended that roadmap. "I know we have faced some criticism that our plan to reopen the country is at a slower pace than those of other countries. It is true that it is slower - slower than those of countries much less affected than us, such as Australia and New Zealand, and slower than those of countries much worse affected than us, such as Spain and Belgium. "This is a decision the Government made on foot of advice from NPHET and it is one we stand over. I would rather have a plan that we accelerate if things go well than one that we might have to pause, draw out or go back on if they do not. We are putting the lives of our people and their health first and we do not want to have to reimpose restrictions like some other countries have had to do. That would damage public morale and further dent economic confidence. "We want to learn from the success and errors of other European countries reopening before us and it is encouraging to see the data from Germany which indicates that its reopening has not yet led to an increase in cases. I think ours is a prudent, precautionary and health-led approach," said the Taoiseach. FULL TEXT OF SPEECH DELIVERED ON MAY 7. A Cheann Comhairle, foremost in our minds are those who have lost loved ones because of Covid-19 and all who are suffering from its impact physically, emotionally or financially. As of last night, 143 people have died since we last met in this format last week. I offer my condolences and those of the House to their families and friends. Due to the decisions, choices and sacrifices of the Irish people, the curve has been flattened. It has plateaued, but our grief has not. We now have a road map for how we will bring our country to a new normal. The stakes are too high to rush things now; otherwise, we risk everything we have achieved. As we start to ease the restrictions, we must continue our commitment to the basic actions such as cleaning hands and physical distancing. We must try to find, isolate, test and care for every case and trace every contact. As we ease the restrictions personal discipline around physical distancing, handwashing and respiratory hygiene will become more important than ever. As of yesterday, just under 215,000 tests have been carried out in Ireland. Over the past week, close to 62,000 tests were carried out and, of these, 2,280 were positive. That gives us a positivity rate of 3.7%, a rate which, thankfully, is continuing to trend downwards. Some 65,000 tests have been carried out in long-term care residential centres, including nursing homes, and 540 nursing homes, or 93% of the total, have been tested so far. This testing continues. During the course of this Covid-19 emergency, nearly 3,000 people have been hospitalised, and 78% of those have made a full recovery. Some significant developments have taken place since this day last week. The HSE is increasing its testing capacity, which now stands at 12,000 tests every day. By mid-May, we aim to have capacity for 15,000 tests per day. The total number of tests now done, as I mentioned earlier, is 215,000. That is 43,000 tests per million population. Depending on how this is measured, we rank between third and seventh in the European Union of 27 and are now well ahead of countries that led the way in testing previously, such as Germany, South Korea and Singapore. We need, however, to focus also on turnaround times and rapid and aggressive tracing. One of our focuses from the very start was to build surge capacity in our hospitals. We needed to ensure we had the maximum possible number of critical care and regular hospital beds so we could cope with the predicted number of Covid-19 cases requiring hospitalisation. We need to remember that the 3,000 people who have been hospitalised so far have come from all settings: some from their own homes, some from nursing homes and some from other forms of care home. They are young, middle-aged and older. The whole point of increasing critical care capacity and hospital capacity was that that is where the sickest will end up. To date, 3,000 people have been hospitalised with Covid-19. It is good that we have not run into issues with the availability of critical care beds or ventilators. It could have been very different. The willingness of people in every village, town and city to follow the public health advice has changed the future. It has meant that our hospitals have been able to cope and our healthcare staff have not been overwhelmed. This success, however, has brought a different challenge, and we need now to work out how we can manage separately Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 care for a prolonged period. This will not be easy. It means we need to provide care and services in new ways, such as increased used of telemedicine, online clinics and hospital in the home while ensuring that patients are confident about the quality of their treatment and reassured about the safety of the care they receive. For those feeling isolated, I know how easy it is to become anxious and lonely when they have to spend a considerable amount of time on their own, especially if they are sociable people by nature, but I ask them to remember that help is always available. I ask them to reach out to a friend or family member and contact Community Call. It is waiting to hear from them. Last Friday we published our reopening plan. Since then, indicators are that the positivity rate is going in the right direction. ICU occupancy is now below 100 - in fact, falling towards 80 today - and we are increasingly confident, though it is not yet certain, that we can proceed with phase 1 on Monday, 18 May. Cabinet will make a final decision on that on Friday, 15 May, following advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET. I know we have faced some criticism that our plan to reopen the country is at a slower pace than those of other countries. It is true that it is slower - slower than those of countries much less affected than us, such as Australia and New Zealand, and slower than those of countries much worse affected than us, such as Spain and Belgium. This is a decision the Government made on foot of advice from NPHET and it is one we stand over. I would rather have a plan that we accelerate if things go well than one that we might have to pause, draw out or go back on if they do not. We are putting the lives of our people and their health first and we do not want to have to reimpose restrictions like some other countries have had to do. That would damage public morale and further dent economic confidence. We want to learn from the success and errors of other European countries reopening before us and it is encouraging to see the data from Germany which indicates that its reopening has not yet led to an increase in cases. I think ours is a prudent, precautionary and health-led approach. The Government is keen to hear from sectors and businesses that think they can open more quickly and see their plans for how they will achieve physical distancing and what precautions they will put in place to mitigate the risk where they cannot. Our objective is to help the country get through this emergency, rebuild our economy, get people back to work and keep them safe while doing so. We are currently working with business, unions, the Health and Safety Authority and the HSE on the development of a return to work safety protocol to assist this. According to our most recent figures, 598,000 people are receiving the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment. This is on top of the 205,000 people on the live register, so a total of 803,000 people are now receiving some form of income protection from the State. As we know, we came back from the last economic crisis and achieved full employment. I believe that, with the right policies, we will do so again and the recovery will be quicker this time. On Saturday, we announced an economic plan worth up to 6.5 billion to help businesses impacted by Covid-19 and minimise the economic damage done by the pandemic. Commercial rates will be written off for three months. A 2 billion credit guarantee scheme will be introduced for small and medium-sized enterprises and our sovereign wealth fund, the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund or ISIF, has been mandated to invest 2 billion directly into bigger firms. Maintaining the link between employers and employees will enable a quicker recovery and the wage subsidy scheme will help keep staff on the payroll. There is also a 1 billion Covid-19 funding package to help businesses with cashflow and banks will also be able to dip into their rainy day capital reserves to keep lending flowing, freeing up 1 billion in bank capital to provide up to 13 billion in credit. Meanwhile, a suite of taxation measures will alleviate short-term liquidity difficulties. I am keen to see a return to international air travel as soon as is feasible and safe. There is a lot of work to do but I am more optimistic than others that air travel for business and leisure will resume this year. Currently, there is important work being done by the European Commission and various aviation safety agencies and I hope to give an update to the Dail on this matter in the weeks to come. We are still learning about this virus. It is noteworthy that initial reports suggest, from retrospective testing, that the virus was circulating in France as far back as December last year. That is before the virus even had a name or a test for it. In some ways, this is not surprising. France is well connected to China, with dozens of flights every day, and Ireland is well connected to France. It is very possible that this virus was already in Ireland last year or in January this year, and we should not assume that it came here from Italy in late February just because the first confirmed case did. Further research and retrospective testing will give us a better idea of that and time will tell. The coronavirus is the shared enemy of all humanity and all governments. I believe the only way we can defeat a global threat is by working together on a multilateral basis. Working together, we can develop an effective vaccine, treatment and testing systems. Ireland has contributed 60 million in direct or repurposed grants to the United Nations and has quadrupled its contribution to the World Health Organization. On Monday, on behalf of the Irish people, I pledged 18 million to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, so that the poorest and least developed countries in the world will have access to the vaccine if and when it is developed. We are providing about 10 million over three years for immunology research. The Department of Health is also supporting the WHO solidarity study which is comparing four treatment options, including remdesivir, which is available to Irish patients under certain circumstances. By recruiting patients in several countries, and shortly here too, the trial aims to rapidly assess the impact of these treatments in slowing the disease or improving outcomes. As always, I look forward to hearing comments and observations from Members. MORE FROM THE DAIL DEBATE WITH THE TAOISEACH During his visit to Arizona on Tuesday, Trump pressed states to pursue aggressive reopening strategies even as he acknowledged some people will be affected badly. Governors from Georgia to Iowa have stepped ahead of the recommendations of doctors and epidemiologists in their states, beginning phased reopenings before they met the administrations nonbinding guidelines. Recent polling suggests they have done so against the wishes of most Americans, who support sweeping precautions to slow the spread of the virus. Korean automakers announced dismal overseas sales in April, with Hyundai's plummeting 70 percent and affiliate Kia's 55 percent. The U.S. and European economies have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, the total sales of Koreas five automakers declined 51.6 percent on-year last month to 341,944 cars. Lee Hang-koo at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade said, "The decline in April was even worse than during the global financial crisis in 2009 and Asian financial crisis in 1998. The global car industry is suffering the worst shock since World War II." Hyundai's global sales fell 56.9 percent from a year ago to 159,079 vehicles. Domestic sales fell only 0.5 percent to 71,042 due to the releases of new models and tax cuts, but overseas sales plunged 70.4 percent to 88,037. That slashed the proportion of overseas sales to total sales from 83 percent last year to 55 percent. Kia's domestic sales even grew 19.9 percent to 50,361 cars thanks to the release of new models, but overseas sales plunged 54.9 percent to 83,855, causing overall sales to decline 41.1 percent. Their prospects for this year are even grimmer. Their combined global sales suffered a continuous fall from some 8 million cars in 2015 to 7.2 million in 2019. GM Korea, which relies heavily on exports, saw sales decline 26.7 percent. Renault Samsung's domestic sales surged 78.4 percent thanks to the release of the XM3, but exports plummeted 72.5 percent, causing total sales to slip 4.6 percent. Ssangyong's sales halved. Korean automakers also expect losses during the second quarter. Hyundai and Kia have reopened plants in the U.S. and Europe since late April, but demand remains weak and they run at only half of normal levels. CHICAGO, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Paessler AG, the monitoring specialist, announces the launch of its BitDecoder a SaaS application that decodes payloads from Sigfox 0G-connected devices. BitDecoder takes encoded payload data from Sigfox 0G-connected IoT devices and transforms it into a visual and more easily readable format, namely a decoded JSON format. It is designed to help organizations structure, market and decode complex payloads more simply and efficiently. Benefits of BitDecoder: Highly visual format transforms encoded hexadecimal payload into decoded JSON format Saves time using pre-defined device templates the BitDecoder comes with many templates for multiple devices saving development time and effort No programming skills are required simple selection of the device type from a template list Hosted infrastructure no need for a dedicated machine and its associated maintenance costs Easy to maintain and customizable cloning and editing templates can be created to meet specific project needs The BitDecoder can send data directly to a chosen endpoint. Users simply choose from Azure IoT Hub, AWS IoT, PRTG Network Monitor, Paessler's monitoring solution capable of providing an overview of IT and IoT infrastructures and services, or they create their own HTTP or MQTT integration for an endpoint. Decoded data is processed and passed on but never stored, giving users complete end-to-end control. Helmut Binder, Paessler AG CEO stated, "The launch of the public BETA of the BitDecoder marks an important step in Paessler's ambition to offer new solutions in the IoT field. This product expands our SaaS offering for the digitalization of any Sigfox 0G-connected devices. It was designed to make things as easy as possible for those who need to decode, transcode and transfer payloads from Sigfox 0G-connected devices towards digitized clouds." Aurelius Wosylus, CSO at Sigfox Germany, explains the need for such SaaS tools. "The BitDecoder offers a data turntable and adapter functionality between dedicated Sigfox 0G objects and any application cloud. This is an important feature, as the Sigfox protocol has its own data structure and as each Sigfox 0G device manufacturer can define their own payload. BitDecoder helps application engineers to read, analyze and translate this IoT machine code into any format needed and transfer it to any target cloud." Sigfox sensor vendors often offer a dedicated cloud platform for their specific devices. These cloud platforms usually provide a dashboard for evaluation purposes only, but B2B customer demands are much more complex. They may be implementing solutions at multiple customer sites, with multiple parties involved from project inception to operation. To address these demands effectively, an adapter is needed to cover various use cases connected to one or even more customer applications. This makes the middleware a key success factor in B2B IoT environments. Paessler's BitDecoder offers a versatile solution that is aimed to connect any Sigfox device to any platform a true middleware solution. More information available on the Paessler website: https://www.paessler.com/tools/bitdecoder About Paessler AG In 1997 Paessler revolutionized IT monitoring with the introduction of PRTG Network Monitor. Today over 200,000 IT administrators, in more than 170 countries, rely on PRTG to monitor their business-critical systems, devices and network infrastructures. PRTG monitors the entire IT infrastructure 24/7 and helps IT professionals to seamlessly solve problems before they impact users. Our mission is to empower technical teams to manage their infrastructure, ensuring maximum productivity. We build lasting partnerships and integrative, holistic solutions to achieve this. Thinking beyond IT networks, Paessler is actively developing solutions to support digital transformation strategies and the Internet of Things. Learn more about Paessler and PRTG at www.paessler.com SOURCE Paessler AG Related Links http://www.paessler.com A cop from the Los Angeles Police Department, who has three been involved in three on-duty shootings during his career, is under investigation after he was caught repeatedly punching a man in the head while he was handcuffed. LAPD did not mention the officer by name but the LA Times reported that Frank Hernandez is the cop seen furiously delivering blows to the trespassing suspect in a video filmed by a witness. In the clip, the two appear to be in conversation before the officer suddenly begins attacking him. The suspect is seen bending over, seemingly to protect his body as his wrists remain in restraints. The suspect does not appear to be fighting back but the cop is seen delivering a series of punches outside Church of God of the Prophecy, before pausing and starting again. He appears to hit the suspect more than a dozen times. Officer Frank Hernandez is seen cop is seen punching the suspect outside Church of God of the Prophecy in East LA on April 27. The man was suspected of sleeping in a tent on private property and was arrested for trespassing Meanwhile his colleague is seen calling for backup and other officers arrive on the scene shortly after. Bodycam footage shows the cop punch the suspect in the chest before the witness recording began. A representative for the officer said the man has struggled with him earlier and he believed he was under attack. 'The use of force is justified because the officer believed he was under attack from the suspect even though you might think the suspect wasn't fighting back at that time, he wasn't complying either,' David Winslow said on Monday. The suspect had been accused of sleeping in a tent on a private property when he was arrested in Boyle Heights on the 2400 block of Houston Street on April 27. An supervisor officer reported to the scene and viewed the cell phone footage from a member of the public. The officer also looked at the bodycam footage and the preliminary investigation was passed on to his commanding officer and then Internal Affairs. A witness was recording the incident from across the street. A fellow officer is seen calling over radio before more cops show up shortly afterwards Internal Affairs started a formal investigation due to the 'serious nature of the alleged misconduct'. The suspect was later released from custody and wasn't charged. Police said they have not determined whether the suspect was armed. The officer has been placed on home duty pending investigation. LAPD said both the suspect and the officer received injuries as a result of the incident. 'At that location the two officers made contact with a male trespass suspect and directed him to leave the private property,' the police statement said. 'During the course of the investigation a physical altercation occurred between the suspect and one of the officers, resulting in the officer receiving minor injuries to his hand. The suspect had abrasions to his head and face but refused medical attention.' LAPD chief Michel Moore did not specific address the incident but said Tuesday in a statement: 'I intend to hold individuals accountable for behavior that is inconsistent with the high standards of this organization.' The suspect is seen bending over to protect himself. Both the cop and suspected ended up with injuries Hernandez shot and killed Guatemalan day laborer Manuel Jamines, who was accused of drunkenly waving a knife at two women in the Westlake area in September 2010. The officer instructed Jamines to drop the knife before shooting him twice. The suspect's family said the shooting death was unjustified as Jamines did not understand the English and Spanish commands but instead spoke K'iche. There were protests over the shooting death but it was ruled as being within policy. Hernandez shot and killed Guatemalan day laborer Manuel Jamines, who was accused of drunkenly waving a knife at two women in the Westlake area in September 2010 Two years before that Hernandez was pursuing a man accused of threatening police with a deadly weapon but ended up shooting an 18-year-old who was not connected to the incident. Joseph Wolf had emerged from is home and Hernandez instructed him to stop but instead he went inside. Hernandez shot him in the leg and claimed Wolf had pointed a gun at him. When police investigated two toys guns were found in his dresser but neither tested positive for his DNA. Assault with a deadly weapon charges against Wolf were dropped in July 2009 due to witness statements and DNA evidence. Hernandez got 'administrative disapproval' for unjustifiable deviation from policy. The officer also shot a robbery suspect in South LA in 1999. Hernandez said she pointed a weapon at him. Police found a loaded gun at the scene. The woman survived the shooting. Winslow said about Hernandez's prior investigations: 'Anything that happened prior to this has nothing to do with the facts that were before [the officer] on that day.' A man involved over the shooting death 10 years ago was frustrated about the latest incident. 'We're always frustrated that whenever there is a problem officer, all they do is they transfer them,' Carlos Montes, from the Centro CSO: Community Service Organization in Boyle Heights, said. 'And now they transferred him to Boyle Heights.' Demonstrators at a makeshift memorial to Manuel Jamines on September 8, 2010 in Los Angeles, California Get ready for Alicia Keys like youve never seen her before. The Grammy-winning, Grammy-hosting superstar performed an intimate show, direct from her home, on Thursday, April 9 for Pay It Forward Live, Verizons weekly streaming entertainment series in support of small businesses affected by COVID-19. Keyss moving performance is available to watch again here tonight in a special encore presentation. Keys is one of many A-list headliners who has performed for Pay It Forward Live. The exclusive concerts kicked off March 26 with Dave Matthews, and have continued in recent weeks with OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder, country superstar Luke Bryan, Grammy-winning siblings Billie Eilish and Finneas, and pop star Janelle Monae. Alicia Keys (Photo: RCA/Sony) Over the course of Pay It Forward Live, viewers are encouraged to do what they can to support local businesses in their own communities by shopping online, buying a gift card to be used when businesses reopen or ordering a meal. Verizon will donate $10, up to $2.5 million, to support small businesses for each use of the hashtag #PayItForwardLIVE. More information can be found at Verizon.com/PayItForwardLive. Verizon is the parent company of Yahoo. For the latest coronavirus news and updates, follow along at https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised continue to be the most at risk. If you have questions, please reference the CDC and WHOs resource guides. Social distancing measures enacted to flatten the coronavirus curve have also impacted Bexar County crime statistics. Violent crime in the county is down 23 percent since the onset of the pandemic, according to Sheriff Javier Salazar. Crime rates have decreased overall as San Antonio residents were first told to avoid large gatherings, then ordered to stay home. However, Salazar said Thursday the decrease may be deceptive. He noted that family violence cases will be underreported until the lockdown is lifted and children can report abuse to people like teachers or school nurses. "We know that it's happening," Salazar said. "The problem is we won't have a true picture of it until after this health crisis is over and things start to get back to normal back to whatever our new version of normal will be." The sheriff highlighted the case of Tiffany Washington, 25, who was killed by her husband, James Stewart, on April 25. The couple's 2-month-old child was in the room when the shooting occurred. Stewart was charged with murder. Salazar reminded people they can call or text 911, call the BCSO non-emergency line at 210-335-6000, or reach victims' advocates at 210-335-5069. Incidents of crime in a number of other categories have also decreased, with a notable exception. Property crime is down 19 percent since the pandemic began and down 1.3 percent compared to the same time period last year. Narcotics arrests have decreased by 8 percent since the measures went into effect. While vehicle burglaries have decreased by 43 percent, vehicle thefts have increased by 11 percent. The sheriff noted many of the cases involved people leaving keys in their cars and reminded residents to remove all valuables from their vehicles. "If there's any silver lining to this pandemic, it's that it brought down violent crime. Again, though, we don't want to get lulled into a false sense of security," Salazar said. "We know that some of this is artificially down. In other words, it's still going on it's just in the shadows." Mark Dunphy is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for MySA.com | mark.dunphy@express-news.net | @m_b_dunphy Bexar County plans to spend more than two-thirds of the $80 million its receiving in federal coronavirus aid to help people find jobs, gain access to food, and cover their rent, utility fees and other basic costs. The money also will help bridge the digital divide, make election polling stations safer and help small businesses in the countys 26 suburban cities and unincorporated areas, county leaders said Thursday. The county already has received about $2.3 million in federal funds, including grants of $1.4 million for temporary rental assistance and $137,462 for personal protective gear, and nearly $700,000 for homeless services and prevention. But county officials said theyve had little federal guidance on how to spend the $79.6 million they are receiving as part of the $150 billion national fund under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES. The county has until Dec. 30 to spend most of those funds, officials said. On ExpressNews.com: Four more COVID-19 deaths reported in Bexar County Melissa Shannon, the countys director of governmental affairs, said the U.S. Treasury Departments guidance has been intentionally general because local governments know what is best for them. The county needs to assess where it can best spend the funds, which must be used on purposes related to the pandemic. Its been quite frustrating, but we will get there, Shannon said. To that end, a staff proposal includes spending $39.5 million for job training; $15.8 million for food, rent and other household support; $7.9 million to support technology to narrow the countys digital divide; $7.9 million in small-business support; $5.4 million in facility modifications to control the spread of COVID-19; and $2.4 million to upgrade election polling sites to make them safer. The proposed workforce readiness and training program would include support such as child care, transportation and sick leave. The household stabilization piece of the proposal would provide rental assistance, workforce housing, direct cash support and supplemental food, primarily targeting seniors, people with special needs, and victims of domestic violence and child abuse or neglect. The small-business support includes two loan programs one for businesses with fewer than 25 employees and one for those with fewer than 10 employees and $700,000 for noncontact thermometers, hand sanitizer and face coverings for businesses with 25 or fewer workers in suburban cities or unincorporated areas. Commissioners were generally supportive of the staff proposal but said the allocations need to be flexible and coordinate with the city of San Antonio, which received $270 million through the same federal act. County Judge Nelson Wolff and Commissioner Tommy Calvert said they didnt want the county to be hamstrung amid a changing economic climate, with the job market and residents financial needs possibly shifting in the fall. We need to know, as we go along, where are those needs? Wolff said. On ExpressNews.com: Pandemic leaves Wolff rethinking goals for final term Commissioners approved the $700,000 for COVID-19 equipment for businesses and authorized staff to continue working on the CARES programs, with a commissioners work session planned for next Thursday to continue discussions. They also ratified three budget transfers totaling $650,000 for the countys Office of Emergency Management to purchase safety supplies, including personal protective equipment, as part of the countys response to the pandemic. Also approved as part of a consent agenda was an agreement with the Housing Authority of Bexar County for an initial $2.6 million for the Temporary Rental Assistance Measure, to help tenants in unincorporated and suburban areas living below the areas median income who have lost employment or wages because of COVID-19. The program will provide up to three months of assistance totaling up to $3,000, according to a county memo. Commissioners also heard an update on the Medical Manufacturing Alliance of South Texas, formed in March by the county and other entities to deal with a medical supply shortage. The county has been trying to assess unmet demand of protective equipment and medical devices, connect businesses capable of retooling their activities to fill those gaps, and communicate online and through social media with the manufacturing and health care industries. Efforts have included production of face shields, homemade ventilators, see-through sneeze guards and washable face masks. Innervent, a local tech company, developed an online peer-to-peer networking site called the COVID TAV (Total Asset Visibility) Tool, with which organizations can list medical needs or surpluses and allow businesses to access equipment as the economy regains momentum. On ExpressNews.com: Federal reimbursement will help pay for San Pedro park improvements downtown Also at Thursdays meeting, county officials gave an update on closing a section of Nueva for replacement of a bridge as part of the next segment, or Phase 1.3, of the San Pedro Creek Culture Park. Nueva will be closed between Laredo and Flores for 12 to 18 months, and the countys South Flores parking garage will be modified, with work beginning next week that will affect foot traffic near the Bexar County Courthouse Annex. shuddleston@express-news.net | Twitter: @shuddlestonSA Labour Party leader Alan Kelly has said it is an undeniable fact that the Government did not accept all of the National Public Health Emergency Teams (Nphet) recommendations. Photo: Tom Burke Labour Party leader Alan Kelly has said it is an undeniable fact that the Government did not accept all of the National Public Health Emergency Teams (Nphet) recommendations on reopening the country. Speaking in the Dail, Mr Kelly said it was very worrying that the Government and Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan continue to insist that Nphets roadmap for reopening the country was fully accepted. The Labour leader said he wanted to know exactly why did the government choose to deviate from Mr Holohans advice on the wearing of face masks and cocooning as revealed earlier this week in the Irish Independent. He said there were also difference between Nphets roadmap and Governments plan on social visits, opening of retail services and travelling distances. I really am concerned as to why the government is afraid to explain all of this, Mr Kelly said Why are they afraid to admit that they disagreed with the CMO and Nphet and didn't implement 100pc their plan, he added. He said the Government should admit they did not accept Mr Holohans advice and move on. It isn't actually a big deal for me, it's actually possibly a good thing because I believe you're going to have to deviate and take into consideration secondary morbidity and other socio economic issues into the future, he said. But I'm concerned, indeed it's very worrying that you're not willing to be open about this and it's consistently been denied, he added. Separately, Mr Kelly raised concerns about Nphets failure to publish the minutes of their meetings in recent weeks. He also said minutes that were published did not contain information about testing targets. Mr Kelly said Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told him in the Dail that Nphet decided on the target of 100,000 coronavirus test a week at meeting on April 14. However, when the minutes of this meeting were published they contained no reference to the target. For the third week in the Dail, Mr Kelly asked the Government to publish letters from HSE Chief Executive Paul Reid to the Department of Health. He said he did not understand why these letters, which are understood to relate to testing, have not been published. I'm getting worried about the reputation of this government for transparency, Mr Kelly said. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was not able to respond to Mr Kelly because the Labour leader used the entirety of his speaking time to ask questions. Mr Varadkar sought to respond but was prevented from doing so by Ceann Comhairle Sean O Fearghail. [May 07, 2020] Symetra's 10th Annual "CEO Service Award" Recognizes Bellevue, Wash., Employee for Exemplary Community Service Symetra, a national provider of employee benefits, annuities and life insurance, announced that Elizabeth Turner is the recipient of the company's 10th annual CEO Service Award. The award recognizes Symetra employees for exemplary community service. Ms. Turner is a senior auditor in the Internal Audit Department at Symetra's Bellevue, Washington headquarters. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005815/en/ Symetra honored Elizabeth Turner as the 10th recipient of the company's CEO Service Award, which recognizes employees for exemplary community service. Turner, a senior auditor at the life insurer's Bellevue, Wash. headquarters, is pictured here (center) at Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank in Issaquah, Wash., with the employee volunteer team she captained during Symetra Week of Service in June 2019. (Photo: Business Wire) "'Swift (News - Alert) to Serve' is one of Symetra's core values and a spirit that Elizabeth Turner lives through her dedication to volunteerism," said Symetra CEO Margaret Meister. "These last challenging weeks, when needs have never been greater, have found Elizabeth fulfilling orders at local food banks and preparing meals for homebound seniors. This is no surprise to her Symetra colleagues because whether headig a Symetra Week of Service volunteer project or organizing a fundraising event in support of our annual I CARE employee giving campaign, Elizabeth's commitment to giving back is inspiring." Ms. Turner has been an active member of Symetra Service Squad, the company's employee volunteer group, since 2014, and its co-chair since 2015. She has served as a Symetra Week of Service team captain for several years, often leading multiple projects, and also spearheaded fundraising efforts for Symetra's annual Adopt-a-Family holiday gift program benefiting local families in need. A tireless volunteer, Ms. Turner contributes her time and energy to a wide range of Puget Sound organizations, including Kindering, Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank, and Treehouse for Kids. For the last four years, she has led one of two Symetra teams that prepare and serve dinner every month for residents at Ronald McDonald House in Seattle. Their efforts were recognized again this year with a President's Volunteer Service Award for "sustained volunteer service." As part of the CEO Service Award, Symetra donates $2,500 to the nonprofit organization of the honoree's choice. Ms. Turner will direct her award to two organizations-Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank and Avery Huffman Defeat DIPG Foundation. Commitment to Community Service Symetra supports its employees' volunteer spirit through the company's matching time program, annual Symetra Week of Service and Symetra Service Squad. Since 2009, the Symetra Week of Service has connected employees with volunteer opportunities in the community. From clearing trails to tutoring students to assembling emergency preparedness kits, employees choose a project they care about and take time out of their work day to volunteer, contributing more than 16,000 Week of Service hours to date. The Symetra Service Squad is an employee force ready to roll up their sleeves and give back. Members meet to share ideas about volunteer opportunities and hear from local nonprofits about ways to get involved in the community. Learn more about how Symetra employees give back at Symetra Empowers Communities. About Symetra Symetra Life Insurance Company is a subsidiary of Symetra Financial Corporation, a diversified financial services company based in Bellevue, Washington. In business since 1957, Symetra provides employee benefits, annuities and life insurance through a national network of benefit consultants, financial institutions, and independent agents and advisors. For more information, visit www.symetra.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005815/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Central Pennsylvania is about to move into the second weekend of May, but new weather projections for the next few days are not what you may think of this far into the spring season. On Saturday, a chance of rain and snow showers is in the forecast before 10 a.m., with a chance of solely rain showers afterward, according to the National Weather Service. Despite other weather conditions being thrown into the mix, forecasters are still calling for sun most of the day. However, temperatures are not expected to even break into the 50s and wind gusts could be stronger than 40 mph. But on Mothers Day, the NWS is still predicting mostly sunny weather and a high near 59. Wind gusts in the forecast earlier this week for Thursday have settled down; instead, its expected to be a sunny day in the 60s, before temperatures cool off and rain hits Friday afternoon. Today Sunny, with a high near 64. Tonight Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42. Slight chance of showers between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Friday High near 52. Rain, mainly after 3 p.m. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Friday Night Low around 32. Rain showers before 5 a.m., then a slight chance of rain and snow showers. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Saturday Mostly sunny, with a high near 48. Chance of rain and snow showers before 10 a.m., then a chance of rain showers. Wind gusts as high as 41 mph are possible. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Saturday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 36. Slight chance of showers before 9 p.m. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Sunday Mostly sunny, with a high near 59. Sunday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 41. Chance of showers after 9 p.m. Chance of precipitation is 40%. The Gamasutra Job Board is the most diverse, active and established board of its kind for the video game industry! Here is just one of the many, many positions being advertised right now. Location: San Francisco, CA; Mountain View, CA; Tokyo, Japan; Remote Game Closure is on the hunt for backend / systems engineers to help us build the services and infrastructure that power our social games that are played by millions of people every day on Facebook, Viber, Line and other messaging platforms. We are a growing team with offices in Mountain View and San Francisco, California, Tokyo, Japan and some possibilities for remote work. If you want to join us to make great games on our cutting edge technology and truly make an impact, then we want to talk to you! As a Systems Engineer at Game Closure, you will play a pivotal role in creating a platform to revolutionize the instant games development industry. Our engineers are generally amazing at something and great at everything else. We write scalable backend systems, cross-compilers, JavaScript / TypeScript game APIs and tools, and whatever else it takes. No matter what you work on each day, you will work with the best engineers in the world; we have top talent in every part of our stack. The Role: Be a key member of a high performing software engineering team. Architect and code sophisticated client/server systems for instant gaming. Play a critical role in day-to-day coding, performance profiling, optimization, and general troubleshooting. Collaborate with design, engineering, and production teams to devise optimal engineering solutions to game requirements. Learn from and mentor other engineers on your team. Take ownership of your projects to make them the best they can possibly be. Provide valuable input on the companys long-term engineering roadmap and help identify areas of opportunity for improvement. Define the cutting edge of social gaming! Desired Skills: Bachelors degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent experience. 3+ years of professional software engineering experience. Experience writing clean, testable, high-quality code and designing highly scalable systems in production. Solid familiarity with deployment on cloud environments (AWS, GCP, Azure, etc.). Strong Computer Science fundamentals in software systems design, algorithms, and data structures. Ability to interact with peers in a constructive and productive style. Familiarity with git, svn, or other VCS. Good communication skills and the ability to work effectively on shared projects with designers, artists, testers, product managers, and other developers. Strong team player with a positive attitude. Bonus: Expert knowledge of NodeJS and ES6 / TypeScript. DevOps experience -- setting up CI/CD environments, orchestrating deployments, creating monitoring dashboards, anything that makes the development process easier, more enjoyable and more accountable. Experience in game development and shipped titles. GC Perks: Medical, Dental, & Vision: Top quality insurance options with 100% of premiums covered Social Events: Weekly team dinners, quarterly team excursions, game nights, karaoke, and more Commuter Pass + Free Parking: Your commute and parking to the office is on us! PTO: Unlimited vacation policy Meals: Free daily lunches, well stocked kitchen, healthy snacks and drinks Pet-Friendly Office: Bring your pets to work to foster a friendlier and happier workplace Fitness: Free onsite yoga classes Interested? Apply now. About the Gamasutra Job Board Whether you're just starting out, looking for something new, or just seeing what's out there, the Gamasutra Job Board is the place where game developers move ahead in their careers. Gamasutra's Job Board is the most diverse, most active, and most established board of its kind in the video game industry, serving companies of all sizes, from indie to triple-A. Looking for a new job? Get started here. Are you a recruiter looking for talent? Post jobs here. Russian private military contractor Wagner Group has deployed about 1,200 mercenaries to Libya to strengthen the forces of renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar, according to a leaked United Nations report. The 57-page report by independent sanctions monitors, submitted to the UN Security Council Libya sanctions committee, said Wagner deployed the mercenaries in specialised military tasks, including sniper teams. Weve known for a long time that Russian mercenaries operate in Libya but we didnt perhaps know the scale of the operations, said Al Jazeeras James Bays, reporting from New York. Russian private military contractors have clandestinely fought in support of Russian forces in Syria and Ukraine, Reuters news agency previously reported, but the Kremlin denies it uses private military contractors abroad. The UN sanctions monitors identified more than two dozen flights between Russia and eastern Libya from August 2018 to August 2019 by civilian aircraft strongly linked to, or owned by Wagner Group or related companies. The monitors also listed the details of 122 Wagner operatives of whom many are highly probably operational, or have been operational, within Libya. They said 39 were from Wagners specialist sniper group and the remaining 83 operatives were from its combat units. The report said forces affiliated with the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) had captured arms typical of the weaponry observed being used by ChVK Wagner operatives elsewhere in eastern Ukraine and Syria. Libyas UN-recognised GNA forces have confronted Khalifa Haftars forces since 2014 [File: Hazem Turkia/Anadolu Agency] We are very concerned. It is something of no help to the people of Libya, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, told Al Jazeera. Across the Wagner Group, personnel are predominantly Russian but also include citizens of Belarus, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine, the report said. It added they have been identified using equipment typically reserved for Russias armed forces. Since 2014, Libya has been split between areas controlled by the GNA in Tripoli and the northwest, and territory held by Haftars eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) in Benghazi. Haftar launched a war a year ago to seize the capital Tripoli and other parts of northwest Libya. Haftar is supported by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia, while the GNA is backed by Turkey. The UNSC imposed an arms embargo on Libya in 2011 amid an uprising that overthrew longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 11:44:27|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WELLINGTON, May 7 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand reported one more COVID-19 case on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases to 1,489, as some Kiwis and businesses look to further loosening restrictions in Alert Level 2. No more deaths were reported over the past 24 hours, with the death toll remaining at 21, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield told a press conference. The cases discovered this week were linked with previous cases, Bloomfield said, adding it was "exactly where we want to be". Among all the cases in the country, 1,332 people had recovered from the virus, making up 89 percent, Bloomfield said. He said a record of 7,000 COVID-19 tests were conducted on Wednesday, bringing the total number of tests to 168,023. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at the press conference that Alert Level 2 will see significantly more activity open up across the country requiring New Zealanders to play it safe and remain vigilant so the virus doesn't bounce back. "Every alert level to fight COVID-19 is its own battle. When you win one, it doesn't mean the war is over," Ardern said. She said Level 2 is a safer normal designed to get as many people back to work as possible and the economy back up and running in a safe way. "Strong public health measures such as physical distancing, good hygiene and contact tracing will be essential to making Level 2 work," she said. "We will continue to act with caution and not move before it is safe to do, so entry into Level 2 could be phased, with higher risk activity occurring when there is stronger evidence it is safe to do so," the prime minister said. The country moved from Alert Level 4 to 3 on April 28 and will stay for at least two weeks at Level 3 before a further review and Alert Level decision on May 11. Enditem By Express News Service GUNTUR: Dachepalli police seized a container truck after they found 62 migrant workers being ferried to Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday. The workers from Marturu in Prakasam district had chosen the surreptitious and dangerous journey to work in the agriculture fields in Lucknow. A team of police and revenue department officials stopped the container coming from Prakasam district at Pondugula check-post in Guntur district for inspection. Officials got suspicious as the driver could not give a satisfactory answer. During the search, they found 62 daily wagers inside the container. Guntur Rural SP Ch Vijaya Rao said they have seized the container and booked cases against the workers. The workers were sent to their native Marturu in Prakasam district. The SP also warned of stern action against those trying to cross the border illegally at Pondugala and Nagarjana Sagar dam. He said that cases will be booked against those entering AP illegally. He urged the workers to stay where they are till they get requisite permission. He also appealed to people to adhere to lockdown norms. Permission was given only for vehicles carrying essential commodities. People can dial 1902 for any help, he added. In another incident on Tuesday night, two persons tried to cross River Krishna by a boat. But the police seized the boat and registered cases against the duo as well as the boat driver. It may be mentioned that 160 migrant workers came to Pondugala from Telangana State on May 4 to reach their native places in AP. But the police stopped them and shifted them to quarantine centre at Brahmanapalli in Machavaram mandal. China and Latin America have seen vibrant trade amid the pneumonia outbreak, with trade between the two sides totaling 477.2 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2020, according to data from the General Administration of Customs in China. An agricultural products trading company in Brazil. Photo/People's Daily) Although trade declined year on year due to the disease, bilateral cooperation should see greater growth as both parties gradually shake off the impact of the pandemic, experts pointed out. China, as an important trading partner of Latin America, has helped ease the export pressure in Latin American countries amid the pandemic. Brazils trade surplus with China reached $4.3 billion during the first three months of the year, accounting for 77.9 percent of the countrys total trade surplus. Exports of Brazilian soybeans, chicken and beef to China registered growth over the period, according to the Brazilian Agriculture and Livestock Confederation. Meanwhile, cross-border e-commerce business continued its momentum during the pneumonia outbreak, with an increasing number of high-quality goods from Latin America such as cherries and blueberries entering Chinese e-commerce platforms. Experts believe that as China picks up speed in bringing back economic and social order amid the pandemic, it will become more involved in Latin Americas economic construction and promote bilateral cooperation in areas including AI, pharmaceuticals and 5G technology. China and Latin America enjoy complementary advantages and sound economic and trade relations in the long run, noted Alicia Barcena Ibarra, executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, adding that the bilateral trade is resilient in the face of challenges and has broad room for development. In a bid to keep an eye on asymptomatic coronavirus patients, the city civic body has improvised its already existing mobile app 'Indore 311' and added some new features to it which will also facilitate treatment of such patients at their homes, an official said. An eight-member team of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) engaged in the fight against COVID-19 here is helping the city administration in fine-tuning the app, and the new features have been added on its suggestions. Indore, which is one the worst hit by COVID-19 in the country, has so far reported a total of 1,681 cases of the disease and 81 deaths, as per official figures. "The app is already being used by lakhs of people in Indore since quite some time, but the new features added to it will be available only to the asymptomatic COVID-19 patients who have been advised by the health department to get treatment while remaining home isolation," IMA team member Dr Subodh Chaturvedi told PTI. Such patients are being provided a pulse oximeter which would help in monitoring their oxygen level and pulse rate at home, he said. Based on a pre-loaded questionnaire on the app, the patient or his caregiver will have to daily upload information, like if he has fever over 101 degree Fahrenheit and breathing problems. The patient will also have to answer certain other questions based on common symptoms of COVID-19," Chaturvedi said. Doctors deputed at the IMA control room while constantly monitor the information provided by the patient and provide consultation accordingly. If required, the rapid response teams will shift the patient to hospital, he said. A patient or his caregiver can also press the red button available on the app to seek medical help in case of an emergency, he said. "If a patient does not follow the medical advice and steps out 100 metres away from his house, an alarm would ring at the IMA control room and the patient would be tracked through GPS and sent back home," the official said. Indore's chief medical and health officer Praveen Jadia said as per the government's new guidelines, the asymptomatic COVID-19 patients are being advised to stay in home isolation. A caregiver is also being deputed for such patient to get medicines for them. The caregiver would also monitor the health of a patient regularly and inform the health department about his condition. Based on the information, authorities would decided whether the patient needs to be hospitalised, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The fact that two courts, the Washington Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, came almost simultaneously to opposite conclusions might suggest that the question of whether states have the power to bind their electors is a close one. Thats what I assumed before I dug into the issue to get ready to listen to next weeks arguments. But I emerged from my homework (which included reading an excellent new book, Let the People Pick the President, by Jesse Wegman, a member of the editorial board of The Times) persuaded that the answer is clear, or ought to be. The Washington Supreme Court was correct to uphold the $1,000 fines, and the 10th Circuit was alarmingly off base in finding that Colorados electors are free to vote as they choose despite taking an oath to vote for whoever got the most votes in the state for president. Three Colorado electors who voted for Hillary Clinton, including Celeste Landry, the woman appointed to replace the Kasich voter, told the Supreme Court in a brief that the 10th Circuits decision, if upheld, would cast aside millions of votes in the next presidential election and consolidate all electoral power into the hands of a few people. (Of the six states in the 10th Circuit, only Kansas doesnt have a law that binds presidential electors to vote for the majority choice of the states voters.) Whether the answer will be clear to the Supreme Court is, of course, a separate question. On the one hand, the cases lack an obvious political valence; over the years, both Democrats and Republicans have tried to induce electors to vote their own preferences rather than the majoritys will. These campaigns the one in 2016, aimed at Republican electors, was particularly energetic have so far been notably ineffective. Of some 23,000 individual Electoral College votes in the countrys history, only 165 votes were nonconforming a less loaded term than faithless but meaning the same thing. Nonetheless, the cases do present the court with a fascinating and ideologically fraught problem of constitutional interpretation. Article II of the Constitution, the presidential article, provides that each state shall appoint electors in such manner as the legislature may direct. The 12th Amendment, ratified in 1804, requires separate electoral votes for president and vice president. In neither place does the Constitutions text shed light on what relationship the state retains to its electors beyond appointing them or what the electors obligation is beyond casting what the 12th Amendment refers to as a ballot for each of the two offices. Faced with this opacity, the question for originalists is what the Constitutions framers intended by establishing the Electoral College in the first place. Famously, in Federalist 68, Alexander Hamilton explained that the electors would be men of information and discernment who would ensure that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. Small wonder that some of the rogue electors in 2016 called themselves Hamilton electors or that Federalist 68 is often invoked as the key to understanding the electors power indeed, their responsibility to save the country from a foolish democracy. In the middle of a global pandemic that simultaneously has sent state and local governments running for new tech tools and sent up red flags that they will soon face spending constraints , the gov tech startup CoProcure has raised a $2.4 million seed funding round from investors.The company, which makes software to help governments find and participate in cooperative purchasing, has now raised about $4 million total in investment. In a blog post , CEO Mariel Reed wrote that the startup has seen an increase in activity during the COVID-19 outbreak.During this time, weve seen a more than 300% increase in users, who now use CoProcure from all fifty states, Reed wrote. Weve also doubled the size of our team.Cooperative purchasing is a system where governments band together to negotiate better prices on procurements with vendors. Reed said the company hopes to make that process Google-like for governments.Thats especially important, she said, in a time when governments are under stress to provide urgently needed goods and services to constituents fast.The coronavirus pandemic has irrevocably changed public purchasing: Government budgets already feel increased strain to serve their communities and community members will continue to depend even more critically on government services, she wrote. Businesses are counting on government customers as the private sector recovers. CoProcure has an important role to play in helping communities with limited resources work together to respond to these challenges and rebuild.The funding round was led by Neo, with Leadout Capital and angel investors also participating. Senator Dino Melaye has taken to his Instagram page to reveal that he is set to release a song for bloggers. This comes after Instagram blogger, Gistlover, alleged that Nollywood actress and single mum of two, Iyabo Ojo is set to wed the senator. The senator debunked the claims as he wrote; SDM is not a criminal and can not have a secret engagement. People using me to promote their blogs & 4 publicity staunch will have to start paying. Matchmaking 2 different pictures & writing rubbish now equal to engagement. Una no even fear 4 this Corona period..2nd base oo jare I go soon release one single for all the onisokuso Advertisement Read Also: Iyabo Ojo Shows Off Her Two Grown-Up Children (Photo) See the full post below: A right to righteous anger! Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Music and fashion mogul Kanye West recently commented on the view that Christians are seen as "judgmental" and noted that Christians should be held accountable by other believers. "I feel that we all have sin, and when certain sins are worn more on our sleeves, its easier for Christians who are not Christ, but are human beings, to be able to channel judgment at what they see in front of them," he told GQ magazine. "The other thing is, if anyone claims to be Christian, theyre accepting accountability to other Christians. "But people dont realize that Christians are loud. That we have a right to righteous anger. That Jesus flipped tables. They think that all of a sudden you believe in Christ, so were not even supposed to speak up. And if we speak up, people will say, Oh, youre being judgmental. And its like, Oh, now, because Im Christian, I dont even have an opinion anymore? Im Christian and I still have an opinion. But my opinion is based on the Word. Read more at: https://www.christianpost.com/news/kanye-west-christians-have-a-right-to-righteous-anger.html LANSING Thumb-area Republican lawmakers have thrown their support behind a lawsuit suing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over her measures to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The Republican-led state Legislature filed the suit in the state Court of Claims, saying the 1945 law giving the governor broad emergency powers to order restrictions only work for local, not statewide declarations. A 1976 law giving the governor emergency authority only lasts for a limited period, and that the Legislature did not extend her emergency and disaster declarations, calling the governors extensions a patent disregard for the law and a violation of the separation of powers. Sen. Dan Lauwers of Brockway Township issued a statement about the lawsuit in which he said now that the suit is before the courts, he will not comment further on it. Michigan is in the middle of not only a health crisis, but an economic one, Lauwers said. Our governors reckless decision to act apart from the input of the Legislature is costing Michiganders dearly. The governor could choose to continue to work with us, as she has in the past. But has decided to defy state law and make these decisions unilaterally." Our only recourse to help ensure that the Legislature has a voice in helping restore commonsense decisions backed by science is to file this lawsuit, he said. Rep. Phil Green of Millington said it is sad the Legislature had to file the lawsuit, as it was not something any of them wanted to do. The people voted for us to do our job, to represent the people even in difficult times, Green said, adding that the Legislature has struggled with the concept of Whitmer having unilateral authority. The Legislature put in a request in filing this suit that it goes straight to the state Supreme Court, as it is expected to end up there anyway. Green feels that whichever side loses will file an appeal to the ruling. On April 30, both the House and Senate approved a measure giving the House speaker and the Senate majority leader the authority to file such a lawsuit, challenging any executive actions the governor takes after the original state of emergency expired on May 1. Michigans attorney general Dana Nessel said that the governors stay-at-home directive and other restrictions are enforceable and a valid exercise of Whitmers broad emergency powers. The Michigan Senate Democrats also released a statement saying they are appalled that those across the aisle are picking political fights instead of focusing on what can be done for the people of the state. At the time of the lawsuits filing, Michigan has more than 45,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 4,250 confirmed deaths from the illness. Welch The Executive Council of the International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR), the leading public sector human resource organization in the world, selected Cara Woodson Welch, Esq., to serve as the Associations new executive director. In announcing the appointment, 2020 IPMA-HR President Cheryl Cepelak said, We are thrilled to welcome Cara to our organization. Cara will be joining the organization at a pivotal time in our countrys economic history, including unprecedented challenges to the public sector. With her broad and deep association and nonprofit executive management experience, she is the thought leader and organizational strategist that IPMA-HR needs to flourish and grow. Welch is a member of the DC Bar, and she joins IPMA-HR with nearly 30 years of experience in association management and leadership. Most recently, Welch was general counsel for WorldatWork, a total rewards HR membership association. She was also vice president for external affairs and practice leadership at WorldatWork. Welchs other association service includes being general counsel and vice president of advocacy at the Design-Build Institute of America, and the director of government affairs and legal counsel for the American Society of Landscape Architects. Welch also comes to IPMA-HR with public sector experience. Early in her career, she completed a fellowship with the human resources division of the Social Security Administration. Many of her former positions involved handling regulatory issues, state and local government affairs, and legislative affairs. Welch holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, and she earned a B.A. in international studies and French with a minor in political science from Macalester College. I am honored to join such a distinguished organization. Welch said. I believe that IPMA-HR has a vital role to play as the premier organization for public sector human resource professionals, and I look forward to leading IPMA-HR into the future. Welch succeeds Neil Reichenberg, who is retiring from the organization. Neil has provided excellent leadership of IPMA-HR for over 24 years, Cepelak said. We cant thank him enough for laying the foundation for this change. About IPMA-HR The International Public Management Association for Human Resources is the leading public sector human resource organization in the world. We represent the interests of human resource professionals at all levels and strive to promote excellence in HR management. Since 1906, IPMA-HR has been a resource for comprehensive and timely HR industry news, jobs, policies, resources, education, professional development opportunities and tools for assessing job applicants and candidates for promotion. Email: ipma@ipma-hr.org FILE PHOTO: Gilead Sciences Inc pharmaceutical company is seen during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in California (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences Inc is in talks with chemical and drug makers to produce its experimental drug remdesivir, a potential coronavirus treatment, for Europe, Asia and the developing world, the firm has said. Its patent gives the U.S. company exclusive rights to make the antiviral. But international trade rules allow nations defined by the United Nations as least-developed countries (LDCs) to ignore the patent and make drugs such as remdesivir more affordable in their markets. Here is how production and distribution of remdesivir would work in less developed countries, under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. WHICH ARE THE LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES? Of the 47 countries in this U.N. category, 36 https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org7_e.htm belong to the WTO and technically qualify for a waiver on drug patents under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The countries are: Afghanistan; Angola; Bangladesh; Benin; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cambodia; Central African Republic; Chad; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Djibouti; Gambia; Guinea; Guinea Bissau; Haiti; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Lesotho; Liberia; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mozambique; Myanmar; Nepal; Niger; Rwanda; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Solomon Islands; Tanzania; Togo; Uganda; Vanuatu; Yemen and Zambia. HOW DO LDCs BENEFIT? The TRIPS pact https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/pharmpatent_e.htm allows LDCs to grant a "compulsory licence" for certain uses of a patented invention without the consent of the patent holder. It originally restricted drug production to serve mainly domestic markets, but amended rules let LDCs export medicines to countries in need because some nations may lack manufacturing infrastructure. The agreement will run until at least 2033. One of Bangladesh's largest drugmakers, Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd , told Reuters it planned to produce the drug initially for domestic use and would seek government approval for exports. Story continues WHAT ABOUT OTHER COUNTRIES? Other WTO members typically have to seek licenses for patented drugs, but may have other recourse. India, for instance, can issue a compulsory local license to make and sell a drug in circumstances such as public need or if a patented drug is not available at an affordable price. India issued https://in.reuters.com/article/natco-pharma-bayer-nexavar-idINDEE82B0II20120312 such a licence in 2012 to a domestic firm to make German drugmaker Bayer's cancer medicine Nexavar. Indian drugmakers, a key supplier of cheap medicines to the world, have also struck licensing deals. Gilead issued voluntary licenses https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gilead-sciences-india-idUSKBN0HA0TT20140915 to several Indian firms in 2014 to make cheaper versions of its blockbuster hepatitis C drug sofosbuvir for India and other countries in need. Similar deals are likely for remdesivir, after Gilead said statement https://www.gilead.com/news-and-press/company-statements/gilead-sciences-statement-on-remdesivir-global-supply it was negotiating with several generic drugmakers in India and neighbouring Pakistan to license and produce the drug for developing countries. Gilead did not give details. Cipla Ltd , one of India's largest drugmakers and part of Gilead's hepatitis C pact https://www.gilead.com/~/media/files/pdfs/other/hcv%20generic%20agreement%20fast%20facts%20101615.pdf?la=en, has said it is working on developing remdesivir, but has not given details. Cipla is among a handful of firms with the specialised capabilities to make injectable drugs such as remdesivir. HOW MANY DOSES WILL BE AVAILABLE? Gilead, which has cut by roughly a third the process time to make remdesivir at scale, expects to have more than 1 million courses of treatment by December and to be able to produce several million in 2021. It also said it would donate the first 1.5 million doses. While the global drug industry races to develop a treatment or vaccine for the fast-spreading virus, more than 3.68 million infections have been reported worldwide, with over 256,000 deaths. HOW MUCH WILL IT COST? The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), which weighs drug effectiveness to decide appropriate prices, put the production cost of a 10-day course at $10, but suggested the price could rise to $4,500 based on patient benefits shown in clinical trials. Beximco said a course of remdesivir treatment could cost between $295 and $781 per patient in Bangladesh. (Reporting by Sayantani Ghosh and Miyoung Kim in Singapore and Zeba Siddiqui in New Delhi; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) NEW YORK, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The global acetonitrile market accounted for US$ 236.18 Mn in 2018 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.1% from 2019 to 2027, to reach US$ 368.60 Mn by 2027. Acetonitrile, otherwise called methyl cyanide or ethanenitrile, is a dull, unpredictable, combustible, and lethal dissolvable. It is the least difficult natural nitrile and can be blended in with water alongside most natural solvents. It additionally shows high miscibility with liquor, CH3)2CO, and epoxy gum with no obstruction with epoxy polymerization. This colorless liquid is the simplest organic nitrile (although hydrogen cyanide is even simpler, the cyanide anion is not classed as organic) to synthesize. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05891638/?utm_source=PRN Based on application, the acetonitrile market has been segmented into pharmaceuticals, analytical industry, agrochemical, extraction, and others.In 2018, the pharmaceuticals segment dominated the acetonitrile market in 2018, and it is projected to exhibit the highest CAGR in the market during the forecast period. The growth of the segment is primarily attributed to the growing use of acetonitrile in synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).It is used as a reagent, solvent or extraction solvent, and starting material for synthesizing vitamin A, vitamin B1, cortisone, carbonate drugs, and several amino acids. About 50% of acetonitrile produced is used in the production of insulin and antibiotics, including third-generation cephalosporins.It is also used in the manufacture of synthetic pharmaceuticals. The increasing demand for nutrition and antibacterial medication leads to the growth in the demand for acetonitrile in pharmaceutical applications. The acetonitrile market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa (MEA), and South America.In 2018, Asia Pacific contributed to the largest share in the global acetonitrile market. The growth of the acetonitrile market in this region is primarily attributed to rapid growth in manufacturing industries in a diverse range of sectors, which includes agricultural, pharmaceuticals, and oil and refinery.The rising demand for pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and petrochemicals among the developing countries such as India and China has a great impact on acetonitrile market in this region. The substance is majorly used as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) solvent, and the rising use of HPLC for biotechnological applications is further expected to boost the demand for acetonitrile in the coming years. The impact of recent COVID-19 outbreak that started in Wuhan (China) in December 2019 has spread all over the globe rapidly.China, Italy, Iran, Spain, the Republic of Korea, France, Germany, and the US are among the most detectably frightful influenced nations with high affirmed cases and pronounced deaths as of April 2020. As indicated by the most recent WHO figures, there are ~ 2,719,896 affirmed cases and 187,705 mortalities caused by this pandemic all around the world.COVID-19 has affected economies and undertakings in different nations, on account of lockdowns, travel bans, and business shutdowns. The global chemicals and materials is one of the industries facing most rough impact of these conditions. These factors have unimaginably affected the worldwide acetonitrile market growth. AnQore B.V; Imperial Chemical Corporation; Honeywell International Inc.; INEOS AG; MITSUBISHI CHEMICAL CORPORATION; Nova Molecular Technologies; and Taekwang Industrial Co Ltd; are among the major players in the global acetonitrile market. The overall global acetonitrile market size has been derived in accordance to both primary and secondary sources.To begin the research process, exhaustive secondary research has been conducted using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the market. Also, multiple primary interviews have been conducted with industry participants and commentators to validate the data, as well as to gain more analytical insights into the topic. The participants who typically take part in such a process include industry expert such as VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, and national sales managers along with external consultants such as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leaders specializing in the acetonitrile market Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05891638/?utm_source=PRN About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker Related Links www.reportlinker.com A man who was high on drugs when he stabbed a nurse in the neck after making a shiv out of two scalpels has been jailed for four years. Justin Trent Narrier, 31, attacked the 55-year-old nurse during her night shift at the Royal Perth Hospital around 1.50am on May 12 last year. Narrier was not her patient and had been taken to the hospital with an injured foot by police over an earlier incident - but he was not in custody. He stole two scalpels from a medical cupboard along with tape to make the 'double-edged knife' before plunging it into the neck of the nurse. She spent the night in hospital from her injuries and had to receive HIV and tetanus injections. Justin Trent Narrier, 31, has been jailed for four years after using a makeshift shiv to stab a nurse in the neck Appearing at Perth District Court on Thursday, Narrier admitted he was on a 'cocktail of drugs' after taking methamphetamines when he attacked the nurse,' The WA Today reported. The healthcare worker had been tending to other patients when Narrier stabbed her from behind. He then tried to run away and attack security officers as they restrained him. Narrier had been ignoring staff and bothering other patients at the time of the attack, the court heard. Prosecutor Chad Graham said the nurse had been left with lifelong injuries from the attack such as headaches and discomfort to the right side of her face, The West Australian reported. 'She's a nurse of some decades of experience and this matter has traumatically changed her outlook,' Mr Graham said. Judge Amanda Burrows said the nurse 'could have died' if Narrier had stabbed her in another area. In reading out her victim statement, Judge Burrows said the nurse's 40 year career spent at the hospital was now 'tainted' by the attack. 'She worries about what is in store for her when she gets to work and the journey to work causes her extreme anxiety,' she said. 'The love for her nursing career has been shattered because of the assault. 'The assault has caused (the hospital) to be forever tainted.' Narrier had an extensive criminal history and had been on a suspended sentence from attempted stealing and break and enter. He pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to four years behind bars with an extra three months for breaching his suspended sentence. One year ago, I was one week away from my college graduation. My friends and I were celebrating the past four years at the University of Iowa by spending every waking minute together. As my Instagram memories recently reminded me, we marked the milestone by throwing a wig party in our apartment building. Afterward, we bounced from bar to bar downtowna sea of 21- and 22-year-olds wearing neon wigs, embracing our final days as students before we set out into the real world. Several days later, we walked across a stage to collect our diplomas and joined our classmates in throwing our caps into the air, applauding ourselves and each other. 2020 looks different for college seniors. No parties are being thrown, no students are walking across stages, and seniors who are graduating arent able to say goodbye to the friends theyve made over the past four yearsfriends who have likely become their family away from home. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused college campuses to shut down, meaning students must finish their degrees online and collect their diplomas in the same manner: virtually. Gowns will hang in closets unworn, and caps will sit on shelves, gathering dust. Graduation is something all of us have been working toward for 16 years. And now I dont get to walk across a stage, wear a robe and cords, or take a picture with my parents outside of the school I will now be an alumnus from, Ellis Bittner, a senior at Texas Tech University, tells HelloGiggles. I had no idea that the last class I attended before spring break would be my last [in-person] class ever. This anticlimactic end to four years of hard work is a more painful loss than anything else. The abrupt end to students days in classrooms, nights with friends, and lives rooted on college campuses has left this monumental chapter of their lives feeling unfinished. As freshmen, you enter college and look forward to one day being able to celebrate the things you earned throughout the past four years, Natalie Goodman, a senior at the University of Iowa, tells HG. I feel like I skipped a few chapters in a book and went straight to the end. Story continues Getty Images While this lack of closure is undoubtedly upsetting for students, the current state of the job market into which theyre entering is even more distressing. The transition from student to working adult is always challenging, but now, with countless companies on hiring freezes, many young adults will be stuck in a state of limbo post-graduation. Plus, others who had landed full-time positions months ago have had their offers revoked, forcing them to start at square one. Back in August, I accepted a full-time job offer with a middle-market captive insurance firm which was slated to begin on June 1st, Grace Maloney, a senior at the University of Iowa, says. Fast forward to the current economic climate, and my offer was rescinded. I was left feeling devastated. Now, Im restarting my job hunt during a pandemic that has left a record number of people unemployed. Just like Maloney, many students are unsure how to approach their post-grad lives now that diving into the careers theyve prepared for for four years is no longer a possibility. While theyre finishing their final exams and being forced to rethink their futures, the uncertain job market is even causing students with secured positions to question their career paths. I was planning on moving to Dallas and working for American Airlines in July, Ananya Djedi, a senior at the University of Texas, says. My start date was recently postponed until January 2021. While Im so thankful I still have the position, I have no idea what Im supposed to do for the next six months. Im even more nervous that the airline industry is going to decline past predictions and that I might lose my position altogether. During that six-month waiting period, I might find [another job] thatll change my whole direction. With the looming pressure of paying off student loans and the responsibility of financially supporting themselves rapidly becoming reality, students are being forced to forgo their passions and seek any employment opportunities they can find. Although I would love to pursue my dreams within the fashion industry, I am well aware of the fact that I have to make a living somehow, Ryan Columbia, a senior at Saint Francis College, says. If its impossible to get a job in my desired field, Ill be flexible and look for something temporary. Unfortunately, finding a temporary job might not be an option right now for most American college graduates, as the majority of traditional hospitality jobs are no longer on the market. Even jobs like waitressing, bartending, or nannying, which was my primary source of income during college, are removed from my options because of COVID-19, Djedi says. Spencer Platt, Getty Images To avoid entering such an uncertain job market at the bottom of the totem pole, some students are scratching their original plans to join the workforce post-grad and are deciding to enroll in graduate school instead. But the impact the coronavirus is having on the education system is turning other students away. My plan was to go back to school, but if classes remain online, I will definitely be rethinking that, John Woodruff, a senior at the University of Iowa, says. As much as I dont want to enter the job market when the economy is like this, I dont want to spend my time or money on online classes when I drastically prefer in-class learning. No matter their current situationemployed, unemployed, or grad-school boundthe coronavirus is throwing a wrench into every graduating seniors plans. Despite the uncertainty of the future, many students are remaining hopeful and are taking this time to focus on what matters the most: their mental health. Im trying to dedicate the upcoming weeks and months to focusing on myself and what I need to do to regain lost mental and emotional strength, Maloney says. Right now, that looks like reading more books, starting new creative projects in my free time, and looking for a new full-time position. I still wake up with a pit in my stomach most mornings, but Im starting to sense that things are turning around. This time of year is typically celebratory, bittersweet, and buzzing with excitement for college graduates. And although spring 2020 looks far different than years past, students entering the job market are still holding out hope that their futures are brightit just might take longer than expected for them to get there. Above all, soon-to-be college graduates are being gentle with themselves and celebrating small victories, day by day. As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, HelloGiggles is committed to providing accurate and helpful coverage to our readers. As such, some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, we encourage you to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments, and visit our coronavirus hub. Niamey, Niger (PANA) - The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) has announced the resumption of biometric enrollment in certain municipalities in the regions of Tillabery (West) and Tahoua (Center) of Mali where the operation was interrupted for reasons of insecurity, the CENI said in a press release Bahrain's Minister of Works, Municipality Affairs and Urban Planning Engineer Essam Abdullah Khalaf hailed the role of workers in the kingdom's growth on the occasion of International Labour Day, which was observed on May 1. Dubbing the workers as 'the main pillar in all infrastructure and urban development projects across the world,' Khalaf said that celebrating the occasion underscores the Bahraini governments respect to workers in all sectors, reported BNA. The minister pointed out that this year the world was observing the occasion amidst exceptional circumstances, and that his ministry had been taking all preemptive measures to ensure the safety of workers in all work places, in line with the recommendations of the national taskforce headed by HRH the Crown Prince to curb the spread of coronavirus, stated the report. Khalaf also extended heartfelt congratulations to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, HRH Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier on the International Labour Day, it added. A female suspect was in custody after the Wednesday night shooting, but police have not yet released her name or what charges she may face. The woman entered the lobby of a McDonald's in Oklahoma City and was told the dining room was closed for safety reasons, police said. A family of four was shot and injured on the evening of 5 May by armed assailants who invaded their home in Ghana Ropp, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area (LGA), Plateau state, Nigeria, and opened fire at close range as they were praying in their sitting room. The attack was the latest in a series of armed assaults on Christian communities in both Plateau and Kaduna states that continue despite the imposition of COVID-19 related lockdowns in both states. Armed assailants, reportedly of Fulani origin, broke into the familys home and proceeded to shoot Rev. Canon Bayo James Famonure, headmaster of Messiah College and leader of Calvary Mission (CAPRO) and Agape Missions, in the forehead and leg. His wife Naomi was shot in the back, and their sons Adua and Victor were shot in the feet, after which the assailants fled the area. The family was later carried to hospital in the Plateau state capital, where Mrs Famonure underwent surgery to remove a bullet in her back, which had fortunately missed her spinal cord and other internal organs by inches. In addition, the bullets fired at the Rev. Canon had not penetrated his forehead or hit the bone in his leg. Both are reported to be tired, but in good spirits, and remain hospitalised, along with their son Victor. Adua Famonure has now been discharged, and a security detail has been posted at the familys home. The attack is the latest in a series of coordinated assaults on Christian communities in Plateau and Kaduna states by armed assailants of Fulani origin that continue unabated despite the imposition of COVID-19 related lockdowns in both states. On 3 May, four members of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) were ambushed and killed by Fulani assailants as they travelled by motorcycle from Kwell village to Miango Town in Plateau state. In a press statement issued on 25 April, the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) reported that communities in three southern Kaduna LGAs had suffered coordinated armed attacks within a 48-hour period. On 23 April, assailants attacked the village of Atang, near Gidan Waya in the Godogodo Chiefdom of Jemaa LGA, at around 10pm, abducted the son of the Chief of Godogodo Chiefdom, Emmanuel Iliya Atang, and subsequently demanded a N30 million ransom (approximately USD $76,900). The following day, armed Fulani herdsmen attacked Kujeni village in Kajuru LGA in broad daylight, killing 25 year-old Geoffrey Zakka, injuring a woman and a child and razing 25 buildings to the ground, including a church and vicarage belonging to ECWA. On the same day, Thomas Micah, 42, a married father of seven, was attacked and murdered on his farm at Makyali village in Kajuru LGA. On 19 April, Fulani assailants attacked Awake village in Kachia LGA, in Kaduna state, killing a woman named Lamii Adamu and her child, injuring one other person. On 16 April, over 50 heavily armed Fulani assailants attacked the Gbayi Villa community, killed one man and abducted Mr. Jack Nweke and his wife, while leaving their three children behind. On the same day, Fulani assailants launched a night attack on Ungwan Maigero in Kachia LGA, killing two people. Fulani terrorists also launched a night attack that evening on Ungwan Maigero in Kachia LGA, killing two people. On 14 April, armed Fulani assailants attacked the people of the Hura Hamlet of Maiyanga village in Kwall District, Miango Chiefdom, Bassa LGA in Plateau State, killing nine people, including six children between the ages of 3 and 15 and a pregnant woman, and burning 33 houses. In other news, police in Kaduna state have arrested the alleged killer of 18 year old seminarian Michael Nnadi , who was kidnapped along with three fellow students by men dressed in military fatigues after they invaded Good Shepherd Seminary on 8 January. In an interview with Nigerian media, his killer said he had murdered Mr Nnadi because he would not stop speaking about his faith. The Reverend Yunusa Nmadu, General Secretary of ECWA and CEO of CSW Nigeria, said: We condemn the appalling attack on Reverend Canon Famonure and his family, and we pray for their speedy recovery. The relentless campaign of violence against Christian communities in Kaduna and Plateau, which continues despite the existence of lockdowns in both states, is both perplexing and entirely unacceptable. The fact that these armed assailants are able to attack at will constitutes a security emergency, and every relevant federal and state agency should be brought to bear to ensure the investigation, arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators and their enablers. The cycle of impunity must be brought to an end. Only the presence of security and justice will prevent retaliatory violence from taking hold. The time for federal and state authorities to guarantee security, welfare and the sanctity of life of the Christian community in these areas is long overdue. Online Learning U Arizona Launches Global Campus with 73 Locations The University of Arizona has expedited plans to launch a global campus, involving other institutions of higher education on five continents, to reach international students whose plans have been disrupted by COVID-19-induced campus closures, international travel restrictions or visa moratoriums. The Global Campus concept involves students taking a combination of UA classes online and in-person classes locally while living on campuses near them or in purpose-built residential communities. The students can eventually choose to transition to the United States or earn their degrees from UA entirely from their home country. According to the university, the idea has been in development for several years. In 2015, UA opened a "microcampus" at Ocean University of China in 2015. Now the microcampus network has 10 global locations. The institution has also increased the number of online courses and degrees it delivers through University of Arizona Online, all of which are available to both U.S. and international students. The Global Campus provides 10 customized degree paths to 200-plus undergraduate majors, 10 graduate certificates and 60 fully online degrees. Some 73 global campus locations in 32 different countries will serve as partner universities, to provide the college experience to students. The on-campus living experience also provides access to academic support, as well as access to computer labs, study areas, libraries, recreational facilities, clubs and student activities, all provided by the partner school. Another 58 locations are in student accommodations that offer a community where students can live and study. These locations are available through partnerships with Uninest, the Student Housing Company and Nexo, which are all brands of GSA, a company that specializes in student accommodations. "What we are offering is unique," said Brent White, dean of Global Campus and UA vice provost of global affairs, in a statement. "The Global Campus experience builds on our top-tier digital courses and degrees, providing rich and highly supported experiences, with access to an in-person community and needed resources, such as high-speed WiFi. "This program is tailored to meet the access needs of international students. Many cannot afford to attend college in the United States; some do not have high-speed internet required to take classes online; and nearly all are unable to travel internationally, due the COVID-19 pandemic. Global Campus addresses all of these issues." University officials said UA would also work with other American universities that have international students who are unable to attend classes due to travel restrictions. The idea is that UA credits would transfer to those other U.S. institutions. Students can begin enrolling for the fall 2020 semester. A new university website provides information about degree path options and connections to advisers who can help students create plans for their education. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while extending best wishes on the occasion of Buddha Purnima on Thursday, appreciated frontline workers who are helping the world amid the coronavirus pandemic. He was taking part in a virtual prayer event organised by the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), a global Buddhist umbrella organisation, with the participation of all supreme heads of Buddhist Sanghs from around the world. The event was organised in honour of the victims and the frontline warriors of COVID-19. While taking part in the event via video conferencing, PM Modi said it would have been a great pleasure to be among people but the current situation was not favourable. "So, from far away, I am happy that you gave me the opportunity to speak through technology," he said. The PM added that online broadcast of 'worship programmes' to mark the auspicious day was happening everywhere, including Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar and Sri Lanka. The PM appreciated efforts done by religious organisations for holding events that celebrated work done by health workers and other service personnel fighting the global epidemic. "I applaud you for this compassionate initiative," said PM. "Lord Buddha himself adapted to different challenges. Buddha is a thought, which showed us the way of life. We are blessed to see several such people around us who have come out to help humanity, not only in India but across the world. Each such individual is worthy of a salute. In these trying times, Buddha's messages for humanity are more prominent," he said. Buddha used to say that human beings should constantly strive to overcome difficult situations, said the PM. "Today all of us are also constantly trying to get out of a difficult situation," he said, adding that India selflessly, without distinction, stood firmly with those in distress all over the world. To mark the occasion, prayer ceremonies will also be streamed live in Lumbini, Mahabodhi Temple, Mulgandha Kuti Vihara, Parinirvana Stupa, Kushinagar, Pirith Chanting from Ruwanweli Maha Seya, Boudhanath, Swayambhu, and Namo Stupa. Also read: Coronavirus India Live Updates: Total cases past 50,000; PM Modi delivers key address, lauds COVID-19 warriors While we are in the midst of a public health and economic crisis of an extraordinary magnitude, stopping progress on education and school construction puts us even further behind, House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) said in a statement minutes after the veto was issued. We know that there are students across this State that are losing millions of hours of learning. The result of this shortsighted action is Maryland will continue to graduate students that are not ready for the real world. Less than half of the migrant workers who had registered their names to head back home turned up for travel here on Thursday, officials said. A total of 881 workers had registered their names and destinations along with their contact details two days back with authorities but only 348 people came to the nine boarding points in the district. District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey told PTI that the absentee workers were contacted on their mobile phone numbers to know the reason behind not turning up at the designated places. Two such workers - Banait Singh and Phool Singh from Karauli district in Rajasthan replied that factories in Ghaziabad have become functional now and they were hopeful of securing jobs in the units, the DM claimed. In the last three days, 5,253 industrial units have started functioning in Ghaziabad which could be a possible reason for many workers dropping the idea to go back to their native places. Factory owners can start their units without any permission by submitting an undertaking in the office concerned, Pandey said. The DM along with SSP Kalanidhi Naithani monitored the departure of the migrant labourers and ensured the sanitisation of buses and provision of food for their trip back home. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A brewery that offered a year's supply of beer to the person who grows the best mullet during COVID-19 isolation has shared some of the top entries. Photos of isolation mullets came in thick and fast after the competition was announced by Moon Dog Brewery in April. More than 1,500 people sent pictures of their '80s-inspired do's to the Melbourne-based company, with some crafty beer-enthusiasts going to extra lengths to win. Photos of isolation mullets came in thick and fast after the competition was announced by Moon Dog Brewery in April (photo of an entry) Some fashioned more traditional styles, keeping a longer fringe and top section with masses of hair cascading down the back (pictured) Some fashioned more traditional styles, keeping a longer fringe and top section with masses of hair cascading down the back. Others took the opportunity to express themselves. One man tried to appeal to the judges by grabbing a Texta and inking 'moon' into one shaved side of his head. Another razored his hair to the scalp, but kept a section at the back longer by a few centimetres. One man tried to appeal to the judges by grabbing a Texta and inking 'moon' into one shaved side of his head Another razored his hair to the scalp, but kept a section at the back longer by a few centimetres (right) But not all entrants were men. One young woman shared her bright red mullet, with longer sections down by her ears. On top of the prize for 'best/worst Iso Mullet', the brewery is giving anyone who enters a free four-pack of their Jean-Strawb Van Damme sour ale. The brewery will also present the winner with a prize pack from local barber chain, Beef's Barbers. One young woman shared her bright red mullet, with longer sections down by her ears 'Grab the clippers or the kitchen scissors and show us your best Iso Mullet!' Moon Dog wrote on Instagram in April. To enter, take a before and after shot of their mullet and tag @moondogbrewing and @beefsbarber. Beef's Barbers said the competition was a chance to give back during these trying times. 'Mullets are certainly back on trend, with thanks to a charity that we work closely with "Mullets for the Kids" raising much needed money for The Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne,' Beef Barber owner Shaun Ash previously told 7News. 'Right now is a perfect time for people to experiment with their hair as people aren't getting out and about but we'll be here to fix the iso-mullet-f***ups on the other side.' Entries close on May 15. A migrant mother with a 17-day-old baby in her arms has been forced to walk more than 500 kilometers from Mumbai to Washim in Maharashtra's Vidharba region. The fear and chaos of the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown across the country has forced thousands of migrant workers to walk home on foot. Some even lost their lives before reaching home. A report by NDTV says that the woman was refused to hire a car so that she could reach her village with the baby. BCCL The woman has been walking for days as mercury rises and is left with no food for the rest of her journey. The report adds that the woman was in a hospital 17 days ago for the delivery of her child. They both had tested negative for coronavirus. Once out of the hospital, she had applied for permission to hire a car and return home. However, the Mumbai Police denied permission. BCCL Over the past few weeks, tragic stories of migrant workers have surfaced from all parts of the country. Left with no money or jobs, many of them are stranded or have undertaken the long journey on foot, when left with no option. Last week, after days of backlash and lackadaisical handling of migrant workers, the Centre said special trains would ferry migrants, providing they had completed quarantine and tested negative. The Guardian, May 2, 2020 By Emma Graham-Harrison and Akhtar Mohammad Makoii in Herat The main hospital in Zabul, southern Afghanistan, was abandoned after a Taliban attack last September destroyed most of the building and killed nearly 40 people. But when coronavirus slipped into the province this spring, desperate health authorities, casting around for ways to fight this new enemy, settled on its shattered remains. The paediatric ward, the only part of the building still standing, was refurbished and opened as an isolation centre for patients with Covid-19. It now stands beside the ruins of the rest of the hospital as a symbol of the terrible double challenge Afghanistan faces in fighting the virus while still in the middle of a long and bloody civil war. After the Taliban destroyed our main hospital, something remained and we made a two-storey building from that to hospitalise Covid patients, said Dr Lal Mohammad Tokhi, head of the pubic health directorate in Zabul. We have plenty of protective materials like mask and gloves. We need ventilators but are expecting to get two from Kabul. The province has seen 10 cases and no deaths so far, and is trying to impose a lockdown, but it is being widely ignored by people who will not eat if they do not go out to work. People are so poor, there are serious problems with hunger, Tokhi said. Poverty and conflict meant that Afghanistans health systems were over-stretched before coronavirus - by malnutrition, war injuries and infectious diseases eliminated elsewhere long ago. It is one of just two countries where polio is still endemic. Last week, the US watchdog for war and reconstruction efforts warned in a report that when coronavirus arrived, Afghanistan was likely (to) confront a health disaster, because of its many challenges. On Friday, health authorities said nationwide confirmed infections hit 2,335, with 68 deaths. The disease is widely accepted to have spread further than captured by official tests, although a very young population over half under 25 may have helped keep mortality rates lower than elsewhere. Its possible that we have more deaths that are unreported to us, health minister Feroz Ferozuddin told the New York Times. But we havent seen mass deaths. The disease may cause huge collateral damage, however, among Afghanistans many vulnerable citizens. Save the Children has already warned that lockdowns although they are being widely ignored have put 7 million children at risk of hunger. Adding to Afghanistans challenges, the country went into 2020 with a divided government facing political, military and economic crises. The government has been paralysed by a months-long political dispute over who won last years presidential election, which prompted the US to withhold a billion dollars of funding, vital to the functioning of a country with little tax base. US President Donald Trumps decision to sign a withdrawal deal with the Taliban, in a bid to end Americas long war, has thrust the civil conflict between Afghan factions into an uncertain new phase. The militants have scaled back attacks in major cities but have rejected calls for a ceasefire to give time to fight the virus. They continue to attack government forces around the country, arguing their pact of non-aggression is only with the US. In northern Kunduz province, a hospital where a fifth of staff have been quarantined with suspected infections remains open to receive war wounded from the battles raging nearby because there is nowhere else to treat them, it has been reported. The Taliban has allowed health officials in the south to travel to rural areas, including those under militant control, to provide coronavirus information and checks, doctors and officials say. But information reaching Afghanistans scattered villages may be too little, too late to stop the disease spreading. Zabul is a sparsely populated province far from the worst outbreak in the capital Kabul, apparently at the very fringes of Afghanistans battle against covid-19. Yet cases have been rising sharply in neighbouring Kandahar , and there are also infections thought to have been imported directly to the province from Iran, by people trying to flee the epidemic there. Some Zabul residents who had been labourers in Iran, and came home to escape the outbreak there, brought it with them. There have been two cases confirmed in a remote district here over the last two days, said Hashim Tokhi, a doctor in Zabul. People have no access to heath equipment; they dont heed the lockdown or cooperate with public health, and there is also no information about the virus in remote areas. In nearby Helmand province, where British troops once fought the Taliban and nearly 400 lost their lives, the situation is even more grave, said Abdul Majid Akhundzada, a member of the provincial council. There have been 24 cases confirmed already, but hospitals were unprepared, he claimed, after funds were siphoned off by corruption. In terms of equipment, we have zero of that, nothing. We have no lab to test suspected people, no testing kits, no place even to isolate the patients there. There are masks and gloves in the shops that people are buying for themselves. Civilians and security forces continue to die in frontlines and their homes. The people of Helmand are so vulnerable: both corona and the war are killing them. Jaipur, May 7 : As India enters the third phase of lockdown, relentlessly battling against the COVID-19 pandemic, the medical world is endorsing the modified version of Yoga's Jal Neti to supplement the fight against the pandemic amid distressing times. An International Journal, Lung India reported that doing salt-based water gargles and nasal wash (Jal Neti) on a regular basis can prove helpful to the patients in the early stages of the suspected contraction of this deadly virus. This recent study, authored by Dr Sheetu Singh, a chest specialist at SMS Medical College, Jaipur, said that Jal Neti has a potential of helping patients to fight against the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, she emphasised on proper learning of nasal wash technique under excerpt supervision. Like handwash, nose and throat was may remove or reduce viral load. The previous studies have shown that cells in threat and nasal mucosa convert chloride ion of hypertonic saline to hypochlorous acid (HOCL) having anti-viral effect. Interestingly, HOCL is an active component of the bleaching power which is used in disinfecting hands by wash. Dr. Virendra Singh, leader of the research team and chest expert of Rajasthan Hospital here, said: "Many studies showed that nasal wash and gargles can reduce period of illness, symptoms of the viral disease and amount of viral shedding, in a study carried out at Edinburgh. With decreasing amount of viral shedding, the risk of spread of infection in other household people reduced." Singh added that Japan has included gargles alongside facemark and hand washing in the national guidelines for preventive therapy on influenza control. Their research stressed that on similar lines, gargles and nasal wash may be tried in India according to individual preference in this COVID pandemic. Three times a day gargling, especially after meeting people can be useful. In terms of nasal wash, it is normally done empty stomach in morning, but in COVID-19 scenario, it may be done immediately after home returning from office. When asked if medical world is now endorsing people to follow Yoga's Jal Neti to fight COVID-19, Virendra Singh told IANS: "Yes, we can say that the modified version of Yoga's Jal Niti can help us in fight against COVID-19. The reason it is modified is because as per yoga norms, Jal Neti is being done in morning hours empty stomach, however, here, we endorse use of salty water and it can be done twice in a day." "If scientifically established, world accepts age-old concepts... like Namaskar which is now in trend. Earlier during SARS spread, Pranayam was also accepted thoroughly across the world," he added. (Archana Sharma can be reached at arachana.g@gmail.com) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text The Pentagon is set to buy the first of Boeing's new fourth-gen plus F-15EX fighters. The new purchase will cost the government $1.1 billion for eight of the new aircraft, with more buys to come in later years. For those wondering why the Air Force would opt to buy an upgraded version of an older fighter instead of more modern, stealth fighters like the F-35, you aren't alone. Even the Air Force was surprised to find out it was getting the F-15EX, let alone 144 of them. Eventually, the F-15EX will replace the aging F-15C/D, and those aircraft will be decommissioned. The Air Force currently flies 235 aging F-15C/Ds that were in line to either be decommissioned or upgraded. Instead of spending money on those, the Air Force will simply buy newer models. Boeing has been selling different versions of the plane to countries like Kuwait and South Korea, rolling out newer models as time went on. It was foreign sales and development of those nifty new upgrades that kept the F-15 program alive, says Bloombergs Anthony Capaccio. Read: Air Force Moves Forward with F-15EX Fighter Jet Buy Even though the F-15 first appeared in the mid-1970s, today's F-15 is a lot more advanced than the ones first delivered to the USAF in 1974. The Eagles of today have stronger airframes, more powerful processors and advanced flight control systems than any the Air Force still flies, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). What's new to the F-15EX is an advanced radar and other subsystems that other countries' Eagles don't get. About 30% of the American F-15EX would be unique to the U.S. military, they note. According to Air Force Magazine, "The new airplanes would have a substantially more powerful mission computer, new cockpit displays, a digital backbone, and the Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS) -- an electronic warfare and threat identification system." There's a good reason other Air Forces around the world still fly F-15s, even without U.S. technology: they've never lost in combat. This is a pretty big deal -- especially if the enemy isn't flying F-15s. In the unlikely event that an enemy combatant is flying the same F-15, there's no need to worry. The U.S. version of the F-15 is different from those sold to others, the CRS says. Upgrading F-15s also won't change operational strategy, as the older airframe is supposed to complement the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, not replace it, as Wireds Eric Adams pointed out, citing a side-by-side comparison from Air Force Magazine. The F-35 enters enemy airspace to identify and engage targets, with superior stealth and sensor technology, says the CRS. F-35s carry weapons in an internal bay to maintain its radar stealth profile. Each F-15EX, in contrast, can carry nearly 30,000 pounds of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons. The F-35 can only carry 5,700 pounds, according to F-35 manufacturer Lockheed-Martin. Though the Air Force calls the F-35 a battlefield quarterback, you can think of it as the Air Force's sniper and spotter combo: the F-35 sees the enemy coming as the F-15 takes them down. An earlier version of this story did not include sufficient citations. It has been updated with a variety of citations and links, including to the Congressional Research Service, Bloomberg, Wired and Lockheed-Martin. -- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook. Want to Learn More About Military Life? Whether you're thinking of joining the military, looking for post-military careers or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to Military.com to have military news, updates and resources delivered directly to your inbox. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Gisela Swaragita (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 7, 2020 14:16 622 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd684f2e 1 Entertainment didi-kempot,Campursari,music Free Music enthusiasts across the country are in deep mourning for Indonesian musician Didi Kempot, who passed away on Tuesday morning after a cardiac arrest. A maestro of campursari, a musical genre originally from Central Java, his songs pull the heartstrings of the Javanese diaspora everywhere. An expert in writing lovelorn ballads, Didi was particularly adored by brokenhearted people who find solace in his lyrics, and was therefore dubbed the Godfather of Broken Hearts. For those who have just started listening to his music, below is a list of his most popular songs: 1. Pamer Bojo Loosely translated as "Showing off Your Lover", the song tells the story of an ex-lover who had to chew his own tongue upon seeing his ex-girlfriend showing off her new boyfriend. "Pamer Bojo" has so far been streamed more than 7 million times on music platform Spotify. 2. Banyu Langit This song from his 2016 album Kasmaran (Romance), has been streamed almost 6 million times on Spotify. The song tells a typical ghosting story of a man being left by his girlfriend without any goodbye. The single, which references the Nglanggeran primeval volcano in Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta, helped increase tourist visits to the site after it became a hit. 3. Cidro Literally translated as "Injury", this song catapulted Didi to his second wave of fame last year. A viral video tweet depicting the euphoric situation during Didis live performance of the song in 2019 triggered his renaissance and introduce him to a wider audience. suasana surakarta sad boy club ketika menonton God Father of broken heart "Didi Kempot" yang dipimpin langsung oleh @jarkiyo pic.twitter.com/chpMQOrMVx Keyzie (@trialdinoo) June 9, 2019 Campursari, similar to dangdut and other genres familiar to the working classes, rarely catches the attention of mainstream media. However Didi was catapulted again to fame last year on various media platforms, from TV to YouTube, thanks to the power of young people and their habit of using social media. 4. Stasiun Balapan One of Didis most iconic songs, Stasiun Balapan tells the story of two lovers who have to say a tearful goodbye at Surakarta's Balapan Station. This song is the epitome of how Didi became famous for taking inspiration from places familiar to working classes of the Javanese diaspora. 5. Layang Kangen This song has become the soundtrack of long-distance lovers yearning for each others presence. The lyrics, Umpomo tanganku dadi suwiwi/Iki ugo aku mesti enggal bali, literally translated as If only my arms turned into a pair of wings/I would go home immediately, pull the heartstrings of forlorn couples separated by distance. Born in 1966 in Surakarta, Central Java, to a family of performance artists, Didi Kempot started his musical career as a busker in the 1980s after dropping out of high school. Throughout his career, he enjoyed a steady legendary status as a musician who remained true to his Javanese roots. He gained recognition not only in Indonesia but also in the Netherlands and Suriname, where there are significant number of Javanese people. (kes) TOWN OF SMITHTOWN, NY As part of the Town of Smithtowns No One Forgotten collaborative during the coronavirus pandemic, a number of community leaders, organizations and small business owners stepped up to offer assistance, the Town said in a news release. Most recently, Smithtown High School West sophomore Jensen Herbst joined the ranks, along with Smithtown Childrens Foundation, The Lenard Team and Whisper Vineyards in the charge to spread hope through selfless acts throughout the community. Herbst, a sophomore at Smithtown High School West, worked tirelessly on her 3-D printer to create 50 face shields to protect front-line workers. Herbst reached out to Supervisor Edward Wehrheim for guidance on how her donation could make the biggest impact and help the most people. Wehrheim then reached out to Paule Pachter at LI Cares to make arrangements to get the face shields directly in the hands of the food banks COVID-19 emergency response teams. LI Cares deploys mobile outreach vehicles to provide emergency assistance throughout Nassau and Suffolk County each day. "Jensens unique effort will literally help thousands of people, not just here in Smithtown but all over the island," Wehrheim stated. "By outfitting the people who put their own health on the line, out there daily ensuring no one goes hungry, Miss Herbst is not only making a difference Shes instilling hope and great influence throughout the community." Face shields were made for local hospitals fighting the coronavirus (Credit: Town of Smithtown) On April 29, Wehrheim received a call from Steve & Laura Gallagher of Whisper Vineyards, and Barbara Perrotta of Borella's Farms, inviting him out to the vineyard to help send off 6,000 bottles of wine to medical professionals on the front lines of the coronavirus. Steve Gallagher told Wehrheim that every day between 4 and 6 p.m., Whisper Vineyards is offering a free bottle of wine to front-liners as a symbol of gratitude. Medical professionals can show ID badges upon entry to pick up a bottle. Story continues "We wanted to do something for the heroes in this battle, a little peace of mind when they come home, exhausted after long shifts, bones aching and their minds replaying the day," Steve Gallagher said via the Town's release. "Our hope is to give them a little peace of mind a whisper of our gratitude." Whisper Vineyards pitched in to the Town of Smithtown's efforts in helping essential workers fight the coronavirus (Credit: Town of Smithtown) On Monday, the Smithtown Children's Foundation and the Lenard Team joined the town in surprising local nursing homes with 4,000 KN95 masks. With help from Jon-David Lenard, Stephen Hatzistefandis and Maria Gavriel, the Smithtown Childrens Foundation raised $7,000 in a week through an online fundraiser. St. Johnland Nursing Home and Brookside Multicare Center both received 1,000 masks on Monday. The Childrens Foundation and the Lenard team will deliver the remaining masks to St. James Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center and Luxor Nursing Home. In addition to the KN95 masks, the Smithtown Childrens Foundation made up large care packages in the form of gift baskets filled with healthy snacks for nursing homes. "There are so many good people in our community who want nothing more than to help so much in fact that we raised the money in a week!," Christine Fitzgerald of Smithtown Children's Foundation said via the release. "Once we ordered the masks, we devoted our time to orchestrating deliveries. We realized the need for PPE in our local nursing homes, so we decided wed pay it forward to as many care-giving facilities as possible. Delivering the masks and goodie bags was deeply rewarding for us, as well as the staff caring for the most vulnerable, all of whom expressed their appreciation towards the community for thinking of them, during this time of tribulation." Brookside Multicare Center received 1,000 masks (Credit: Town of Smithtown) This article originally appeared on the Smithtown Patch The squeaky wheel more usually gets the grease. It's an unlovely political metaphor and the Green Party politicians and activists will not be happy at being described as "squeaky". It's just a way of saying that their political dilemmas and sensitivities have commanded much attention for the past week. The result is that we risk forgetting the other parties in this triangle - Fine Gael and Fianna Fail - which have their own base of loyal supporters to keep on board. "The dilemma we face is to satisfy the Greens' demands on all their core issues, especially climate change, while also not alienating our own rural support base," one person close to the drawn-out coalition process told the Irish Independent. We know that the Green Party is replete with tension and potential divisions on engaging in coalition. And we are keenly aware that whatever government programme might be agreed has to be ratified by the high bar of the two-thirds of the Green Party membership voting by postal ballot. This clearly strengthens Green leader Eamon Ryan's hand in any talks. But if that hand is over-played he will again be reminded that he is not the only one with members, activists, and mavericks. Fine Gael definitely gets the easier ride here - though everything is relative. Its weighted-voting process ratification process gives 50pc of the say to TDs, senators and MEPs, 25pc to constituency delegates, 15pc to councillors, and 10pc to the national executive. That gives more than a sporting chance to Leo Varadkar to get a government programme ratified in his own house. The Fianna Fail story is much harder. In Ireland BC - that is before coronavirus - it would have been a one-member/one-vote simple majority at a special ard fheis. Usually that would be a hard day for the staff at HQ and the leadership team - but swiftly the job would be done. For weeks now, Micheal Martin and his advisers have been pondering a way around the impossibility of holding a gathering of between 2,000 and 3,000 delegates at a venue like Citywest on the southern edge of Dublin city. There has been much talk of an informal rolling consultation process, with the leadership team talking to all the party's 279 city and county councillors. Soundings have not been good from those self-same councillors. A fortnight ago this newspaper reported grave disappointment being expressed among the councillors in the leader's Cork base. This week we hear rumblings of discontent from Fianna Fail councillors in Donegal and elsewhere. The mood has not been improved by the weekend's Red C opinion poll findings in the 'Business Post', which showed Fine Gael soaring away on 35pc support on the back of well-received crisis management. Worse again, Sinn Fein, which looks like "owning the opposition" when post-coronavirus bills must be paid, is doing very nicely on 27pc. That's even before a government begins to oppose necessary spending cuts to mop up. Let's recall that in the recent General Election all three parties scored pretty close to one another in the early 20s on vote share. An interesting grace note here, as yet unexplored, is that Ryan has confirmed the Green Party's members will have a postal vote. Martin has signalled that this would be cumbersome and time-consuming for Fianna Fail. But can Martin avoid a postal vote if the Greens are doing it? What is clear here is that all three parties must negotiate with one eye permanently on not just their own support base - but that of the other two parties. Talks finally begin tomorrow - just one day short of three months since the election day on February 8 - with trust in very short supply. But to borrow a famous phrase from the 1998 Good Friday talks, trust must somehow creep in here. It has been a slow and often fractious process to get this far. It is clear that the gaps between all parties are so considerable, and that they each have major supporter sensitivities to be taken on board, that weeks of talks are required. But outside the Leinster House bubble, people are worried about all sorts. It is time to hurry up and make a deal. The United Nations on Thursday projected a sharp rise in global birth rates led by India in the months since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic, which prompted lockdowns in several countries. The pandemic could strain health care capacities for mothers and newborns, it said. An estimated 116 million babies will be born under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Unicef said in a report. This represents a spike for the period assessed. New mothers and newborns will be greeted by harsh realities. India, with 20.1 million births, tops nations with the anticipated highest numbers of births in the nine months since the pandemics declaration, the UN body said. Following India will be countries such as China (13.5 million births), Nigeria (6.4 million), Pakistan (5 million) and Indonesia (4 million). COVID-19 containment measures can disrupt life-saving health services such as childbirth care, putting millions of pregnant mothers and their babies at great risk, Unicefs executive director, Henrietta Fore, said in the global report. Developing countries are especially at risk, she said. The UN body made projections for a 40-week period between March 11 and December 16, 2020, in its estimate based upon the WHOs March 11 assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic. India has made considerable progress in social indicators, but still lags many countries in indices such as maternal health, access to contraception and immunisation. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), the prevalence rate of anaemia among Indian women has witnessed just a speck of minor improvement from 55% in 2005-06 to 53% in 2015-16. The UN body said most of the countries which will witness a baby boom (including India) had high neonatal mortality rates even before the pandemic and may see these levels increase with COVID-19 conditions. Thats very true. Family welfare has got a big knock down. Access to birth-control measures during the lockdown has been scarce. There is a high possibility of unprotected sex among spouses. Adequate resources must be reserved for a birth boom, said Dr. Sushil Sharma, a public health expert and chairman of the Arthritis Foundation of India. According to Purushottam M. Kulkarni of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, data from the NHFS shows that between 2005-06 and 2015-16 (NFHS-4), there has been little improvement in access to contraception, indicating unmet contraception. Unmet need for contraception is measured as the share of women who are fertile and want to postpone their next birth or stop childbearing altogether but dont have access to contraception. Even wealthier countries are affected by this crisis, the UN body said. In the US, the sixth highest country in terms of expected number of births, over 3.3 million babies are projected to be born between March 11 and December 16. In New York, authorities are looking into alternative birthing centers as many pregnant women are worried about giving birth in hospitals. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 2.8 million pregnant women and newborns died every year, or 1 every 11 seconds, mostly of preventable causes, data from WHO show. The UN body called for allocating dedicated resources to lifesaving services and supplies for maternal and child health. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Kylie Jenner drops millions on real estate like regular folks buy handbags at a sample sale, but her latest land grab has many scratching their heads. The makeup tycoon has reportedly just paid $15 million for 5 acres of empty land in Hidden Hills, CA. According to TMZ, this sum sets a record high in the area for a vacant lot with no house. So we can't help but wonder: Did Jenner get ripped off? Then again, she is the youngest self-made billionaire on the Forbes list, so perhaps she sees something special in this patch of dirt that others don't. Here are some theories on what could have compelled her to shell out that much. Analysis of Kylie Jenner's latest property purchase "On the surface, this price seems like a rip-off," says Cedric Stewart, a real estate agent with Keller Williams Capital Properties in Washington, DC. "But Hidden Hills remains one of the most coveted areas around L.A. and land is quite rareand the right architect and builder could potentially create a $50 [million] to $75 million estate there." "It's hard to say why she purchased land instead of a pre-made house," says Tyler Drew, CEO of Anubis Properties in Los Angeles. Nonetheless, she must have her reasons, Drew adds. "High-end customers will walk if even the slightest item is off." About an hour northwest of Los Angeles, Jenner's newly snagged property is surrounded by celeb residents, including Drake, The Weeknd, and Jessica Simpson, as well as many members of the Kardashian-Jenner inner circle. Jenner herself has owned three homes in Hidden Hills, two of which she has sold. These dusty acres also have famous roots attached, as Miley Cyrus once owned the spot and used to have her horses graze here. But odds are, Jenner won't keep it a pristine pasture. "This bit of land is in the middle of a guarded, gated street, so most likely some sort of house is going on the property," says Drew. "I imagine it'll be a second home for guests or relatives of Ms. Jenner, as her whole clan rolls in packs and is quite tight-knit." As for what type of structure will go up there, given the cash at Jenner's disposal, it could be anything. "She may want to build some sleek, futuristic-looking house or a replica of a Tuscan villa. Or she could tear down an actual villa and transport it brick by brick," theorizes Drew. "Because pretty much anything goes when you're worth nine figures." What will Jenner build? As luck would have it, the lot's sale comes with already approved plans for an 18,000-square-foot mansion, along with a 12-car garage, guesthouse, barn, and pool. But will Jenner choose to implement this property's pre-approved development plans? It would certainly be the easy route. "Purchasing land like this allows Kylie to start with a clean vision and make it what she wantsbut she could potentially plug in to the plans the seller already has in place because all the legwork of this huge process is done," says Cara Ameer, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker in Los Angeles. But even with permits and papers in order, building a home worthy of this land and its oh-so-famous resident wouldn't be a walk in the park. "Developing a huge property like this with multiple elements takes time, even a couple of years, as Kylie is essentially building a resort that could rival many five-star properties," says Ameer. As for the price, Jenner can expect to pay another $5 million to $10 million to develop what she wants here, estimates Ameer. But some think it's money well-spent that could pay her back down the road. "This purchase was a great move as it put her in a position to become a real estate developer. Can you imagine a signature line of Kylie Jennerdesigned homes at $1 million to build and then priced at $5 million to $7 million?" asks Odest T. Riley Jr., CEO of WLM Financial, a real estate brokerage firm in Inglewood, CA. "It sets her up to be a true mogul." Kylie Jenner's new Holmby Hills home realtor.com What other homes does Jenner own? Of course, Jenner won't ever be at a loss for places to stay while she waits out an extensive home build. There's always her main abode in Hidden Hills, which she purchased for $12 million, and the $13.5 million Beverly Hills estate she picked up in 2018. Given this collection of properties, Jenner could even have designs to make real estate her next business. "Kylie thinks big in everything she does, and tackling this property is no exception," says Ameer. "She's clearly very ambitious in the expansion of her real estate portfolio, and she wants a diverse array of properties, which bodes especially well for the young, hip, L.A. influencer that she is." The post Kylie Jenner Paid $15M for What?! The Dirt on Her Latest Puzzling Real Estate Purchase appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com. By PTI JAIPUR: After encouraging results from the plasma therapy, the Rajasthan government on Wednesday said it will be used for the treatment of critical coronavirus patients. The state authorities had conducted a trial of the therapy on two patients admitted to Jaipur's Swai Man Singh Hospital. Under the therapy, antibodies from the blood of a recovered patient are used for the treatment of those in a critical condition. Health Minister Raghu Sharma said, "The SMS hospital has become the first hospital in the state where a successful trial of the plasma therapy has been conducted on two patients. After positive results, we are now formally beginning its use for critical patients." Dr Sudhir Bhandari, Principal of SMS Medical College, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) gave nod for clinical trials while the Drug Controller General of India gave permission to use it in therapeutic treatment. "We got the permissions on Monday after which we started a clinical trial of the plasma therapy on the two patients who started showing good results. Their fever and breathlessness disappeared. Their blood reports started becoming normal," Dr Bhandari said. "After a successful result of the trials on two patients, we have started using it in treatment. The COVID plasma therapy is one of the effective methods of containing the coronavirus complications," he said. Dr Bhandari said that there is no side effect of it and it can be used for patients with mild to severe complications. "Along with the standard protocol of treatment, when a patient is given this therapy, it has a documented advantage," he said. He said there are three patients at Jaipur hospital whose condition is on the borderline and if their health, the therapy will be used for them. Residents urged to secure their sheds and garages after series of break-ins This article is old - Published: Thursday, May 7th, 2020 Residents in the Offa area of Wrexham are being urged to remain secure their garages and sheds after a series of break-ins. Police are now calling on those in the Victoria Road, Ruabon Road and surrounding streets to be vigilant. There will be an increase in police patrols in the area. Any incidents or suspicious behaviour can be reported on 101 or via the police webchat system. Advice issued by North Wales Police on how to keep your sheds and garages secure, include: OKLAHOMA CITY Phase II of Oklahomas rollback of coronavirus restrictions remains on schedule to start May 15, Gov. Kevin Stitt said Wednesday during his regular daily briefing on the epidemic. We are on track to continue our safely reopening plan, Stitt said. We will continue to make decisions based on the data in Oklahoma, but we are on track to begin Phase II next Friday. Phase II would allow people to resume nonessential travel, organized sports with restrictions, as well as funerals and weddings with restrictions. Bars could reopen with occupancy and sanitation protocols. Childrens nursery areas in places of worship also could reopen. Stitt bolstered his argument with data showing the state has the eighth-lowest number of cases per capita and the second-lowest among states with at least 2 million people, behind Oregon. His decision to begin lifting restrictions has been criticized for not taking into consideration the relatively constant number of new cases reported daily, but Stitt countered that that could be the result of stepped-up testing. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the proposal of abolishing 9,304 posts in military engineering services. The decision was in line with the recommendations of the committee of experts, headed by Lt General Shekatkar, which had suggested measures to enhance combat capability and rebalance defence expenditure of the Armed Forces. "Rajnath Singh has approved the proposal of Engineer-in-Chief of Military Engineering Services (MES) for optimisation of more than 9,300 posts in the basic and industrial workforce," ministry of defence said in a press release on Thursday. Military Engineer Services (MES) is one of the oldest and largest government defence infrastructure development agency in India. It is one of largest construction and maintenance agencies in India with a total annual budget to the tune of approximately Rs 13,000 crore. One of the recommendations made by the committee was to restructure the civilian workforce in a manner that the work of MES could be partly done by departmentally employed staff and other works could be outsourced, the ministry said. "In line with the recommendations of the committee, the proposal of abolition of 9,304 posts in MES out of the total 13,157 vacancies of the basic and industrial staff has been approved by the defence minister," the ministry said. The recommendation was aimed at making MES an effective organisation with a leaner workforce, well equipped to handle complex issues in the emerging scenario in an efficient and cost effective manner, it added. MES is responsible for design, construction and maintenance of all infrastructure assets of the Army, Navy and Air Force. It functions under the overall control of the Engineer-in- Chief, who is the advisor to the ministry of defence and the three services on operational and peace time construction activities. By Chitranjan Kumar Also Read: Coronavirus India Live Updates: Maharashtra worst-hit with cases past 16,000; Gujarat, Delhi follow suit Also Read: Vizag gas leak: All you need to know about LG Polymers plant The hosts of Donald Trump's favorite Fox News shows enjoy unprecedented access to both him and the White House. Sean Hannity has regularly had late-night phone calls with Trump, giving the president advice and feedback. Laura Ingraham got a face-to-face White House meeting to shill for a supposed COVID-19 miracle drug. And, it turns out, Fox News hosts have direct access to the White House's coronavirus task force too. White House adviser Jared Kushner has been a major player in the Trump administration's coronavirus responsethough not a particularly effective one. The president's son-in-law has been in charge of a supply-chain unit on the COVID-19 task force, meaning that he's responsible for the federal government's efforts to produce and distribute personal protective equipment (PPE), such as respirator masks and gowns for hospitals. In April, news came out that one of Kushner's top priorities for the task force was protecting the profits of private companies, and he was ignoring local agencies and businesses that typically work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and instead trying to invent his own networks from the ground up. "It cost weeks," one government official told NBC News. But Kushner's coronavirus work was even more ad hoc than originally reported. According to the New York Times, Kushner assembled an unofficial group of volunteers, mostly 20-somethings like conservative activist Charlie Kirk and a former contestant on The Apprentice. Despite their lack of experience in public health, supply chains, or medical equipment, the volunteers were in charge of sifting through thousands of tips and leads for procuring PPE and passing the most promising ones along to FEMA. The volunteers were also instructed to prioritize tips from Trump's associates and political alliesin fact, they were supposed to catalog those on a spreadsheet titled "V.I.P. Update." Story continues Some of those who seem to have gotten special preference are Fox News personalities. Even as hosts were publicly trying to downplay the severity of the outbreak, internally the network was taking it very seriously, sanitizing offices and, apparently, keeping in touch with the White House. Brian Kilmeade, one of the three talking heads from Fox & Friends, reportedly contacted people in the administration to suggest sources to buy PPE, according to the Washington Post. On air, however, Kilmeade was praising Wisconsin for holding an election in the middle of a pandemic, and claiming that a death toll of 60,000 people was evidence that the U.S. was handling the outbreak well. (By contrast, South Korea, which also had its first known case on the same day, has had less than 300 deaths.) Then there's Jeanine Pirro, who in early March declared "all the talk about coronavirus being so much more deadly [than the flu] doesn't reflect reality." According to the New York Times, Pirro repeatedly contacted the task force and FEMA officials until 100,000 masks were finally sent to a hospital she favored. In one of the more spectacular screw-ups, Kushner's volunteers received a tip from Yaron Oren-Pines, a Silicon Valley engineer offering 1,000 ventilators. In March, the volunteers passed it to federal officials, who didn't bother to vet it but did forward it to New York state officialswho then paid $69 million and have yet to receive a single piece of equipment. Speaking to the Times, Valerie Johnson, an Oregon emergency-room doctor and a founder of Get Us PPE, said, "There are health providers quitting their jobs because they are worried about getting sick," adding, "To bring in inexperienced volunteers is laughable." At least one volunteer agrees with that, anonymously saying, "The nature and scale of the response seemed grossly inadequate." Meanwhile, as the COVID-19 death toll continues to rise and new hot spots appear around the country, the White House isn't even clear on whether or not the entire task force will continue to exist. As of Tuesday, the Trump administration was reportedly working on plans to scrap it, looking for ways to quickly wind it down and push the responsibility to states and individual agencies. But on Wednesday, Trump abruptly walked that back. He now says the task force will exist "indefinitely." Jared Kushner Is the De Facto President of the United States Says Former White House Official Donald Trumps son-in-law pressed him not to declare a national emergency because he thought it would tank the stock market. Originally Appeared on GQ Illinois and its regions: "I said to him when you open up, youre going to have to figure out how to open up some things sooner than later. He had already figured that out and he knows the last thing you want a governor to do is go too fast on this because then all the pain we went through in the last two months is going to be for naught, Edgar said, acknowledging that a longstanding Chicago vs. rest-of-the-state tension exists. But its also true that a one-size-fits-all answer to reopening the economy isnt practical. Oklahoma pipeline operator Williams has landed a deal to haul natural gas from an offshore project being developed by Chevron and French oil major Total in the Gulf of Mexico. Financial terms were not disclosed but under the deal, Williams has built a pipeline an underwater pipeline to move the natural gas from Chevron and Total's deepwater Anchor project about 140 miles off the coast of Louisiana. EgyptAir and Air Cairo will operate 11 flights to repatriate Egyptian nationals from several countries in Africa, the Middle East and North America on Friday. Cairo International Airport will receive seven repatriation flights, and Marsa Alam International Airport will receive four, Al-Ahram reported. EgyptAir flights from Saudi Arabia's Jeddah and Riyadh, Chad's N'djamena, UAEs Dubai and from Kuwait will arrive at Cairo airport, in addition to two other Air Cairo flights from Kuwait. Marsa Alam will receive an EgyptAir flight from Washington and two others from Istanbul, in addition to an Air Cairo flight coming from Uganda's Entebbe, Rwanda's Kigali and Sudan's Khartoum. All the returnees will undergo medical examinations upon arrival and will then be placed in quarantine facilities in Cairo or Marsa Alam for 14 days, Al-Ahram quoted sources in the aviation ministry as saying. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Thursday that authorities are trying to repatriate nationals stranded abroad before Eid Al-Fitr, the Islamic holiday that concludes the holy month of Ramadan. The government will cover the cost of the repatriated nationals quarantined at repurposed university dorms. However, those who wish to spend their quarantine period at designated hotels in the Mediterranean city of Marsa Alam will have to pay for their stay. Egypt began repatriating its citizens in March, when, like many countries, it shut down commercial flights due to the coronavirus. The country is keeping its airspace open to inbound charter and special flights to transport outbound passengers, and to cargo and domestic flights. Search Keywords: Short link: In a letter addressed to the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC) on May 4th, Canadas Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Francois-Philippe Champagne clarified Canadas position on Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), reported the ANCC. Contrary to the diplomatically irresponsible and one-sided tweet published by the Canadian Embassy in Ankara, following the General Election held in the Republic of Artsakh on March 31st, Minister Champagne clearly stated that Canada fully supports the OSCE Minsk Group Process, the peaceful resolution of the conflict and the principle of self-determination amongst others as outlined in the Helsinki Final Act. While I regret any concern that this tweet may have caused the Armenian National Committee of Canada and the Canadian-Armenian community, I would like to reassure you that there has not been any change to our long-standing position on Nagorno-Karabakh said the minister in his letter. We are satisfied to see that the Minister has restored the balance vis-a-vis Canadas position on this issue of paramount importance to Armenian-Canadians, effectively overriding the lopsided and foreign-influenced tweet published by the embassy in Ankara said Hrag Tarakdjian and Shahen Mirakian, co-presidents of the ANCC. The position of Canada remains based on our strong and consistent support for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Groups work toward a negotiated solution, and our position does not prejudge the outcome of this process. Canada agrees with the Minsk Group that there can be no military solution to the conflict and that any resolution must take into account the Helsinki Final Act. We want peaceful societies, and we will support the solution, when achieved. Concluded the minister in his letter addressed to the ANCC. There is still a lot more that needs to be done on this issue and the ANCC will continue to stand at the forefront and work with our government to ensure that the fundamental human rights of the people of Artsakh are protected and upheld concluded Tarakdjian and Mirakian. On April 3rd, the ANCC forwarded a letter to Minister Champagne, raising serious concerns regarding the tweet, asking for its retraction and for the Minister to recall the ambassador for his irresponsibility and inability to uphold Canadas balanced foreign policy. Megachurch pastors headline National Day of Prayer livestream event Lineup includes Jack Graham, Greg Laurie, Franklin Graham, Mike Pompeo and others Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Texas megachurch Pastor Jack Graham and the website Pray.com will host an online-only National Day of Prayer event Thursday night featuring U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, members of Congress and prominent pastors. Known as the Providing Hope through a Live Prayer Event, the event will be streamed on social media at 6 p.m. Central time. Notable speakers for the event include Pompeo, the Rev. Franklin Graham of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Tim Tebow, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference President Samuel Rodriguez and Georgia Pastor Jentezen Franklin. Other participants include South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, evangelical author and disability advocate Joni Eareckson Tada as well as pastors Paula White-Cain, Greg Laurie, David Jeremiah, Tony Evans, Robert Morris of Gateway Church in Texas and Jack Graham of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Texas. Rodriguez stressed in a statement emailed to The Christian Post that even in a time of national uncertainty, prayer changes everything. In the midst of this pandemic, our nation prays [to remind] ourselves that while we are grateful for Uncle Sam, there is nothing like our Heavenly Father. Prayer is the bridge between Heaven and Earth, Rodriguez, the pastor of New Season Church in Sacramento, California, stated. In addition to the prominent speakers, the online event will also feature music from notable contemporary Christian musicians Matthew West, Stephen Curtis Chapman and Michael Neale. Franklin, pastor the Free Chapel in Gainesville, Georgia, explained in a statement to CP that he believed the United States needs people of action right now to help combat this deadly virus. But we cant cast aside the power and comfort that comes from being people of prayer as well. I believe in a God that is active and listening to the cries of his people, added Franklin. I am praying for our healthcare workers, for endless amounts of wisdom and energy for them. I am praying for miraculous healing for those with the virus, and for a hedge of protection against the virus for those of us who are fortunate to be healthy. The National Day of Prayer was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman, taking place every year on the first Thursday of May. The day of observance is generally observed with large gatherings across the United States. But due to shutdown orders to curb the spread of COVID-19, gatherings have been canceled or moved online. This year, the theme for the National Day of Prayer is Pray Gods Glory Across the Earth. The theme is inspired by Habakkuk 2:14. The Bible verse states: For the Earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 7, 2020 09:52 622 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd670c3d 1 National COVID-19,COVID-19-Indonesian-patients,COVID-19-in-Indonesia,Jokowi,flat-curve,coronavirus Free President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has called on the government and the public to flatten the curve of COVID-19 transmission in the country this month by any means necessary. "In May, we really need to reach our target of flattening the curve by any means necessary, and we must have a moderate rate [of new cases] by June and a low rate by July," Jokowi said in his opening statement at a virtual Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. The President said everyone must cooperate to reach the target. This is not just up to the COVID-19 task force [and] should involve all elements of the nation, including government officials, nongovernmental organizations, volunteers, political parties, and the private sector. It should be coordinated well," he said. Also on Monday, national COVID-19 task force head Doni Monardo said that the number of infections in the country was starting to decrease with just 395 new cases. Read also: Govt reports highest daily increase in COVID-19 cases one day after claiming flattening curve The number of confirmed cases is [plateauing] and going down, he said. Only a day later on Tuesday, however, the Health Ministry reported 484 new cases, the highest single-day increase of the official tally since the start of the outbreak. The government reported 367 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the cumulative total of confirmed cases in the country to 12,438. Despite these fluctuating figures, Jokowi expressed optimism that Indonesia's COVID-19 outbreak would end soon. "I believe [that] if we band together and remain disciplined in obeying the health protocol, all our prepared measures can resolve the COVID-19 outbreak as soon as possible," he said. (nal) Neiman Marcus, saddled with debt and hit by the coronavirus pandemic, filed for bankruptcy on Thursday with a deal to hand its business over to its creditors. The luxury department store chain had been struggling with competition from online rivals and dwindling cash before the outbreak. The health crisis exacerbated its problems, forcing it to furlough most of its 14,000 workers and close its 43 Neiman Marcus stores. It is now the second major retailer to declare bankruptcy during the pandemic, following J. Crew's filing earlier this week. It is likely not the last. J.C. Penney has also been exploring filing for bankruptcy. Many others are likewise forced to cope with sales that have been cut off and uncertainty over how people will shop in the future. "Like most businesses today, we are facing unprecedented disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has placed inexorable pressure on our business," CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck said in a statement. "The binding agreement from our creditors gives us additional liquidity to operate the business during the pandemic and the financial flexibility to accelerate our transformation. We will emerge a far stronger company." Neiman Marcus said it has secured $675 million in financing from its creditors to fund operations through bankruptcy. Those creditors have also committed to a $750 million financing package that would fully refinance that financing and provide additional liquidity for the business once it exits bankruptcy. It expects to emerge from bankruptcy this fall, at which point its creditors will become majority owners of the business. The bankruptcy filing will help it eliminate roughly $4 billion in debt that remains as a memento from its sale to private equity firms Ares Management and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in 2013. The retailer said Thursday that it has extended temporary closures of some Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Last Call stores through May 31. Starting this week its stores in Atlanta and the NorthPark mall in Dallas are available to customers by private appointment. Neiman Marcus has long been known for its upscale brand and strong customer service. Its holiday catalog, known as The Christmas Book, first hit mailboxes and doorsteps in 1939, cementing the retailer's place in many wealthy Americans' homes. Like a number of retailers in the 2000s, it caught the eye of private equity firms eager to take advantage of what was once seen as steady retail cash flow. It sold to private equity firms TPG Capital and Warburg Pincus for $5.1 billion in 2005, before its current owners bought it eight years later. But debt from those investments limited its ability to invest in its e-commerce business, weakening its footing as luxury players like Yoox Net-A-Porter grew in strength. Neiman Marcus' "hipper" rival, Barneys, filed for bankruptcy last year, crushed by waning sales and rent it could no longer afford. Neiman Marcus has long been considered a likely merger partner for similarly upscale store Saks, which is owned by Hudson's Bay Co. Combined, the two could broaden their scale and stop competing for the same upscale customer. While the two have toyed with a deal before, the debt load carried by both parties has hindered their ability to come to together. The department store industry, meantime, is expected to be among the most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The industry was already facing upheaval, as brands sidestepped by selling online and to shoppers directly. Many of them have been saddled with large store bases that were already uneconomical before the pandemic threatened to change the way Americans shop. To help weather the crisis, the country's largest department stores are tapping the debt markets in moves that will likely put immense pressure on their balance sheets for years to come. Macy's has been looking at raising up to $5 billion in debt, CNBC has reported. Nordstrom has issued $600 million in secured debt financing, in addition to drawing down $800 million on its revolving line of credit. By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel announced a plan for thousands of new Jewish settlement homes in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday as Washington voiced readiness to back de facto Israeli annexations there. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to visit Israel next week, a source said, a sign that he is weighing in on a territorial issue that has been a centrepiece of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition-building efforts. Netanyahu wants to ally with political rival Benny Gantz and start cabinet discussions on July 1 about declaring Israeli sovereignty over settlements and the strategically key Jordan Valley in the West Bank. The unity government deal has been contested in Israel's top court. Fresh construction for the settlement of Efrat was approved on land that could accommodate around 7,000 housing units, Defence Minister Naftali Bennett's office said on Wednesday. "The building momentum in the country must not be stopped, even for a second," tweeted Bennett, a religious-nationalist in Netanyahu's current caretaker government. The settlements are deemed illegal by most world powers and condemned by the Palestinians, who see all the West Bank, which Israel captured in a 1967 war, as theirs for a future state. The United States has offered to recognise Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank as part of a proposal President Donald Trump unveiled in February, which also envisages talks on founding a Palestinian state in up to 70% of the territory. Pompeo planned to visit Israel for one day next week and meet Netanyahu, a conservative, as well as the centrist Gantz, a person briefed on the trip said, without elaborating on the agenda. The U.S. State Department had no immediate comment. The newspaper Israel Hayom quoted U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman as saying that sovereignty in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley was "an Israeli issue" and adding: "We are ready." Story continues In separate remarks to the Jerusalem Post newspaper, Friedman reiterated a call for Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking: "The expectation is that the prime minister will agree to negotiate and, if the Palestinians show up, he will negotiate in good faith based on this (Trump) plan." The Palestinians say the plan is biased against them, and have boycotted Washington's mediation efforts since it recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital in late 2017. "The Trump Administration's Annexation plan endorses everything that the illegal Israeli colonial-settlement enterprise is about: A racist narrative, violations of international law and the perpetuation of the denial of Palestinian rights," Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said. Israel and the United States do not use "annexation" for Israel's planned moves, arguing that the term applies to land taken from a sovereign country, whereas the West Bank was controlled by Jordan but not generally recognised as part of its sovereign territory before the 1967 war. (Writing by Dan Williams and Ali Sawafta; Editing by Kevin Liffey) As stranded Indians from foreign countries would start arriving in the city from May 11, Karnataka Education Minister K Sudhakar said on Thursday that they would be allowed to go home only after it was confirmed that they were not coronavirus-infected. Sudhakar visited the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru along with Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai to review the measures taken by airport authorities to medically examine the passengers. "All the international passengers have to be mandatorily quarantined for 14 days. For this purpose, the government has made arrangements at the hotels, schools, colleges, hostels and other place," Sudhakar told reporters after the inspection. The Minister said a detailed discussion took place in the COVID-19 task force meeting about the steps to be taken to handle the international passengers and the arrangements made for them. "Thus, there is no need for people to panic with the arrival of international passengers," he said. Bommai, who was present, said airport authorities have taken adequate measures to contain the spread of the disease. Sudhakar himself was quarantined after he came in contact with a COVID-19 patient recently. After completing his time in isolation, the minister visited the airport. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Spring ISD Board of Trustees held a meeting April 30 discussing their priorities moving forward as they plan the budget for the next school year, including pay equity and their specialty middle schools. Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Chief Financial Officer Ann Westbrooks said current revenue projections for the 2020-2021 school year were only based on current laws and the information they have available now. ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Link Elementary School principal who died in car accident is remembered by Spring ISD colleagues With average daily attendance and a growth in property values, Westbrooks said they calculated a total project tax revenue of about $312.8 million for the next school year, with total expenditures adding up to about $310.6 million, leaving a $2.2 million surplus. During the meeting, Westbrooks discussed with board members whether they wanted to keep certain priorities in placesuch as pay equity for their staff and the implementation of three new specialty programs at their middle schools. The school board was presented with the results of a pay study by the Texas Association of School Boards before the pandemic began, Westbrooks showed, which compared the district with 15 surrounding school districts to show how their pay compared. The current starting pay for Spring ISD teachers is $54,000 annually. When you compare Spring to all of the other surrounding districts, we rank last, Westbrooks said. We have the lowest starting teacher salary, and so we know that teacher compensation is one very important tool when were recruiting highly qualified teachers and were attempting to retain those teachers in the district. The average annual salary for surrounding districts is $55,739, she said, and the gap between Spring ISD and other districts gets wider as the teachers years of experience go up. The option the board was presented to consider from the salary study suggested a 3.5% raise in equity adjustments that would have taken the district up to an annual starting salary of about $57,000. Another option was a 2.5% raise, but the option would still lead to the district passing a deficit budget for the first time in several years. This would include raises for clerical care professionals, who Westbrooks said were paid at 70% of the market rate at Spring ISD. Though Westbrooks said the district has had many years of surplus, resulting in a surplus of funds being added to their fund balance. With that in mind, Westbrooks posed the question to board members of whether pay equity should remain a strategic priority for the budget next school year. Board Member Justine Durant agreed with the recommendation to keep pay equity a priority. They say you get what you pay for, and we want to keep the best qualified teachers, and in order to do that with our care professionals we need to make sure were competitive with their pay, Durant said. MORE ABOUT SPRING ISD: Spring ISD opens pre-K, kindergarten registration online for 2020-21 school year Board Member Deborah Jensen seconded Durants position. I think it is extremely important that we achieve equity of pay with other districts, Jensen said. Board President Rhonda Newhouse said she agreed with both of them, despite knowing the district would be continuing in uncertain times during this pandemic. Its gonna be very important to us that we keep our staff healthy, and we keep them at a salary that is competitive with the rest of the districts so that we dont lose anyone and we continue to train them in this new technology and they will want to continue to work with us, Newhouse said. Due to the ongoing pandemic, Spring ISD also chose to put a hold on three new specialty programs they were planning to implement in the fall. We understand the challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreak, and we dont want to distract them from the work that is being done to make sure all of our students successfully complete the 2019-20 school year, Spring ISD Superintendent Rodney Watson said. We are going to keep planning for these specialty programs but with an extended timeline so that were directing all of our immediate resources to Empowered Learning At-Home and preparing for the 2020-21 school year, which may require adjustments in school operations to ensure continued social distancing. This will affect the planned International School at Salyers Middle School, the polytechnic program at Claughton Middle School and the prekindergarten through eighth-grade School for International Studies at Bammel Middle School, a Spring ISD news release stated, which are now planned to launch in the 2021-22 school year. One new specialty program, the Bailey School of Performing and Visual Arts at Bailey Middle School, will still launch in the fall along with several new courses to support arts integration at the campus, the release detailed. We are excited about moving forward with these new programs and all the new opportunities they will bring our students, Watson said. The new schedule will just give us more time to create the best programs possible for our community. paul.wedding@hcnonline.com Gandhinagar, May 7 : With the addition 388 new cases on Thursday, Gujarats Covid-19 tally reached 7,013 on Thursday, while the death toll mounted to 425 with 29 more people succumbing to the dreaded virus. Over 200 persons were discharged from different hospitals across the state in the same period. Gujarat is witnessing over 300 new cases per day since the past nine days, with Ahmedabad contributing over 75 per cent of the cases. Nearly 3,300 positive cases have been recorded during this period, taking the state's tally from 3,774 on April 28 to 7,013 on Thursday. On Thursday, as many as 388 fresh cases were detected by the health authorities from the state's hotspots. The tally was led by Ahmedabad with 275 cases, followed Surat (45), Aravalli (25), Vadodara (19), Gandhinagar (5), Jamnagar and Dahod (4 each), Kheda and Banaskantha (3 each), Rajkot (2) and Bhavnagar and Devbhumi Dwarka (1 each). In the last nine days, a total of 216 persons have fallen prey to the deadly virus, taking the state's Covid-19 death toll to 425. On Thursday, 29 people lost their battle against coronavirus - 23 in Ahmedabad, 4 in Surat and 1 each in Mahesana and Banaskantha. Out of these, 12 patients did not have any comorbidity. A total of 209 persons were discharged on Thursday - 108 in Ahmedabad, followed by Surat (51), Vadodara (27), Banaskantha (8), Gandhinagar and Anand (5 each), Bharuch (3) and Chotta Udepur and Patan (1 each). Till now, 1,709 persons have been discharged in the state. Out of the state's 7,013 cases, Ahmedabad alone has reported 4,991 cases, followed by Surat (799) and Vadodara (440). No other district has touched the three-figure mark yet. "We carried out 5,362 RT-PCR tests in the last 24 hours in the state. Fifteen days back, the recovery rate was 7.43 whereas today it is 24.36 per cent, a rise of 326 per cent," said Jayanti Ravi, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department. The health authorities have so far carried out 1,00,553 tests in the state, out of which 7,013 have returned positive while 93,540 have returned negative. There 4,879 active cases in the state at present, out of which the condition of 4,853 is stable, while 26 critical patients are still on ventilator support. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Global Urgent Care Apps Market was valued US$ 398.4 Mn in 2017 and is expected to reach US$ 4832 Mn by 2026, at a CAGR of 36.61% during a forecast period. The report is majorly segmented into types, Clinical Areas, and region. Further, Urgent Care Apps Market based on type includes Pre-hospital Emergency Care & Triaging Apps, In-hospital Communication & Collaboration Apps, Post-hospital Apps, Medication Management Apps, Rehabilitation Apps, and Care Provider Communication & Collaboration Apps. Further, Clinical Area includes Trauma, Stroke, Cardiac Conditions, and Other Clinical Areas. Request For Report Sample@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/10819 The report segments the Urgent Care Apps market into various sub-segments, hence it covers the market comprehensively. The market numbers are further split across different regions the report had segmented the geographies into five continents i.e. North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Detailed analysis by region with the competitive landscape & benchmarking of the key players make the report comprehensive and enable the informed decision making. Based on the type, the post-hospital apps category held the large share in the global urgent care apps industry. Rising awareness of mobile apps to manage medications among patients is a major reason for the post-hospital category being the large share of the market. Since an increasing number of road accidents, the trauma category i.e. to physical injuries of sudden onset is estimated to be large in a market. The stroke segment is expected to grow at the high growth rate in the next few years because the increasing number of stroke patientas i.e sudden death of brain cells due to lack of oxygen, caused by blockage of blood flow and rising number of players providing stroke specific apps used in Emergency Medical Services and rehabilitation facilities. The growth of urgent care apps market is affected by a number of factors, such as the increasing the selling product of the company in a particular area. Some benefits of urgent care apps are growing penetration of 3G and 4G networks, rising concentration on patient-centric healthcare delivery by using smartphones. The major factors that are expected to restrain the growth of urgent care apps market during the forecast period. Such as the wide usage of consumer instant messaging apps, poor internet connectivity in several countries, and the high volume of miscategorized apps on Android and Apple stores. The increasing focus on patient-centric healthcare delivery and the implementation of patient data safety regulations are the major drivers of the urgent care apps market. Taking into an account of the geographical landscape, the North American region was large during the historical period and it is predicted to remain as the large region throughout the forecast period as well. The increasing focus on patient-centric healthcare delivery and the implementation of patient data safety regulations are the major drivers of the urgent care apps industry in North America. Exclusive Discount Offer on Quick Purchase @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/discount/10819 Some of the major players in the urgent care apps market are Pulsara, Allm Inc., Johnson & Johnson Services Inc., Vocera Communications, PatientSafe Solutions, TigerConnect, and others. Scope of Global Urgent Care Apps Market: Global Urgent Care Apps Market, by Type Pre-hospital Emergency Care & Triaging Apps In-hospital Communication & Collaboration Apps Post-hospital Apps Medication Management Apps Rehabilitation Apps Care Provider Communication & Collaboration Apps Global Urgent Care Apps Market by Clinical Area: Trauma Stroke Cardiac Conditions Other Clinical Areas Global Urgent Care Apps Market, by Region North America Europe Middle East & Africa Asia Pacific Latin America Key players operated in Global Urgent Care Apps Market: Pulsara Allm Inc. Johnson & Johnson Services Inc. Vocera Communications PatientSafe Solutions TigerConnect Others. <<< Get COVID-19 Report Analysis >>> https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/covid-19-analysis/10819 Even as industrial units are becoming operational with easing of lockdown restrictions in Punjab, migrant labourers are desperate to go back home due to concern for their families, fear of Covid-19 infection and uncertainty over their future. Kailash Kumar, 40, an industrial worker of Jalandhar who hails from Bahraich (Uttar Pradesh), said, We are concerned about our families back home and want to leave as soon as possible. Kailash said he and several of his co-workers are waiting for the confirmation of their train bookings. Nearly one lakh migrants, majority of them factory workers, have registered with the district administration to go back to their home states on special trains. Seven Shramik Express trains have already departed from the city to different states, ferrying around 8,400 migrant labourers since May 5. Manoj Kumar, 29, hailing from Bihar, who worked in a dyeing factory in Jalandhar, said there is an uncertainty about their future. Even if the factory resumes operations, we will be working under the fear of virus infection. We will rather go back home and live with our families. Gagan Kumar of Bihar, a construction worker in Nabha subdivision of Patiala, says his mother has been facing health problems back home. My contractor is calling for construction work now. However, I want rush home. We dont know when will get the next chance to return home. Sunil Mandal, another migrant labourer from Bihar, said, We have had a tough time during the lockdown period so far. Though we have work opportunities now, my family is worried and insisting me to return home. So far, over 35,000 migrant labourers have registered for their return in Patiala district. Narinder Singh Saggu, president of focal point industrial units association, said the government should have consultations with industrialists so that the workers apprehensions could be resolved. Onkar Singh Agaul, state general secretary of BKU (Rajewal), said, The government should have made all possible efforts to keep back migrant labourers in Punjab to revive the economy of the state and save paddy growers from the farm labour crisis. Meanwhile, as many as 1,188 migrant labourers left for Gonda (Uttar Pradesh) from Amritsar on a Shramik Express train on Thursday. Deputy commissioner Shivdular Singh Dhillon said proper screening of passengers was carried out by health workers before they boarded the train. Advertisement A new origami-inspired foldable shelter designed for the next generation of moon explorers is about to undergo testing in the harsh conditions of Greenland. The Lunark shelter, created by two Danish space architects, is a compact habitat that folds down to a manageable size to allow easy transportation before being extended in its final location. The battery-powered, two-person home consists of a strong aluminium frame as its exterior, which is covered in solar cells to maximise energy generation for the inhabitants. The comfortable interior of the module comes complete with a bathroom, living quarters with desks and shelving and an on-board 3D-printer to produce new parts for the home that have been designed on a computer. The two designers of the module, Sebastian Aristotelis and Karl-Johan Srensen, say they will be living inside Lunark in northern Greenland for three months starting this autumn to test its efficiency. Lunark will face Greenlands hurricane winds and -22 degree Fahrenheit conditions, which will replicate the barren and freezing conditions on the moon. The teams ultimate mission is to make life in space possible with their temporary home and help inform moon habitat designs, including NASAs upcoming Artemis mission in 2024. Scroll down for video This origami-inspired moon home is set to be tested later this year. The Lunark is a compact habitat designed to fold down to a size that allows easy transportation. here, a full-scale mock-up of the habitat used to experiment with different interior configurations The project is the brainchild of two Danish space architects who say they have the dream that it can one day can sustain life on the moon By combining the ancient Japanese art of paper folding with the method of biomimicry we have come to a lightweight and strong foldable structure, the Lunark project says on its website. The final hinge design is a compliant mechanism its lightweight, strong, airtight, simple to manufacture and to maintain. 'With thousands of hours spent designing, researching, and prototyping, we are now ready to build our Lunark habitat a simulated Moon habitat for research, with the aim that it one day can sustain life on the moon.' Three-stage folding process demonstrated in design sketches. By implementing the process behind the ancient Japanese art of paper folding, the designers say they have created a lightweight and strong structure Bird's eye view of the design shows space for working, including two desks, a toilet and a small shower. The habitat is designed to land on-site equipped with everything in its core, including furniture, food, water and other resources The habitat is designed to land on-site equipped with everything in its core even food and water when it deploys, locking its rigid aluminium frame ready for the crew to move in. The duo have turned to Kickstarter to raise funds for the project and build a full-scale version of Lunark before their scheduled expedition date later in the year. We will live in complete solitude, cut off from the rest of the world, to test the architecture, ourselves, and technologies for future Moon missions, they say. The exterior of the Lunark cabin consists of 328 individual panels, connected by an airtight flexible seam, which contribute to its resilience The module could potentially go from supporting the two designers stationed out in northern Greenland to home for moon-based astronauts Arctic Greenland is one of the most Moon-like places on Earth a strange desolate white planet. By going there we don't have to pretend. It will feel real. The 1,700kg foldable home, which can expand from an impressive 102 cubic foot to 607 cubic foot, can withstand temperatures as low as -49 degrees Fahrenheit and wind speeds of 55 miles an hour. As the inhabitants wont be able to leave the windowless cabin in unforgiving Arctic temperatures, a lighting system in the ceiling slowly changes in hue and luminosity over the day to replicate natural light and maintain their circadian rhythm. Looking like something fresh from the first half an hour of the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back, Lunark combines an exterior like a tank and interior like a home The designers are also developing a weather simulator, so instead of living in a pod where every day is the same, inhabitants may wake-up to an artificial storm, rainbow or balmy summers day to break the monotony of space. Concept images of the final design show two floors with different areas dedicated to working, sleeping and washing separated by walls to ensure a degree of privacy between the two inhabitants. Among the other features set to be included on the final product when it reaches its Kickstarter target are solar panels on the exterior shell, which will make use of the snows high reflectiveness to maximise energy generation. A challenge for the designers was scaling up the paper concept to a full-sized liveable chamber with walls resident enough to withstand powerful and freezing winds In the autumn of 2020, Srensen and Aristotelis will embark on a journey to Northern Greenland to carry out a three-month simulated Moon mission Srensen (left) and Aristotelis (right) are part of a design firm called SAGA Space Architects, which has a number of space-inspired projects in development, including a Mars Lab and a reduced gravity experiment The pod will also recycle as much waste as possible and also feature a zero waste ecosystem to ensure it leaves no trace of human activity either on Greenland ice or the moon's largely untouched surface. While the architect-explorers wont be facing the risk of being hit by a meteor in Greenland, they may get hit by a polar bear, they admit. Aristotelis and Srensen are part of a design firm called SAGA Space Architects, which has a number of space-inspired projects in development, including a Mars Lab and a reduced gravity experiment. The team will have to work hard to get the final product ready for the next generation of space travel to the moon most notably NASA's Artemis program, which has the goal of landing the first woman and the next man on the lunar south pole region by 2024. HRD Ministry assessing whether or not to conduct pending class 12 CBSE exams India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, May 07: The HRD Ministry is deliberating upon whether or not to conduct pending class 12 board exams for students in CBSE schools abroad and is talking to ambassadors or foreign education ministers to arrive at a reasonable solution in view of the COVID-19 situation in their respective countries. The Ministry is also chalking out a plan for modalities of assessment in places where the practical situation doesn't permit conducting exams. CBSE Class 10 board exam suspended for 2020 The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had last month announced that it will not be conducting the pending exams in foreign countries. However, several representations and questions have been received from students who are concerned about their future prospects including admissions in foreign universities. According to officials, HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' has sought feedback from representatives in different countries about the current situation there and feasibility of conducting pending exams. "Considering the different situation at different places, having a common solution is not practically feasible. However, if the situation has improved in some countries, it would be better to conduct exams at least there. For example, we have a school in Japan, if the situation is better in that particular area, the exam can be conducted," a senior HRD Ministry official told PTI. "Modalities are being worked out for both the situations. That if exams can be conducted in some places, how will they be conducted and if not what will be the assessment pattern. We will soon have a final decision on all these aspects," the official added. Information in this regard was also shared by the HRD Minister in an online interaction with students on Tuesday. "We are discussing with CBSE and trying to come up with a solution. We will also speak to Indian ambassadors in different countries and foreign education ministers. It is a difficult situation as the lockdown restrictions as well as COVID-19 situation is different in different countries and all of that needs to be given a thought. We will come up with a solution in best interest of students," Nishank had said. The HRD ministry is likely to make an announcement about the schedule of pending board exams this week and a final decision for students in foreign schools will also be announced. There are over 210 CBSE affiliated schools in 25 countries across the globe. This year, a total of 23,844 students from foreign students were appearing for class 10 exams while 16,103 students had registered for class 12 exams. "There are several CBSE schools located in 25 countries. Each of these countries is also under lockdown and have decided to close down the schools for various and differential lengths of time. Under such circumstances, it is felt that the board will not be in a position to hold differential set of exams for each of these countries. Also, in the present situation, it will be difficult to bring the answer books to India for evaluation purposes," the board had said in a statement last month. "Therefore, the Board has decided to not hold any more exams for the students of class 10 and 12 schools located outside India. The system of marking or assessment for the purpose of declaring results will be worked out by the board shortly and informed to these schools," it had added. More than 3.6 million cases of the novel coronavirus, including at least 2,57,000 deaths have been recorded worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. MIAMI Three Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are demanding answers from the Trump administration about how much it knew about an attempted raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, an operation they said potentially violated U.S. law and ran counter to American support for negotiations to end the South American countrys political standoff. In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Attorney General William Barr and Richard Grenell, the acting director of national intelligence, the lawmakers led by Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut expressed alarm about the raid led by a former Green Beret and which has resulted in the detention in Venezuela of two American citizens. Either the U.S. government was unaware of these planned operations, or was aware and allowed them to proceed, according to the letter sent Thursday. Both possibilities are problematic. The letter cited the findings of an Associated Press investigation into Jordan Goudreau, who claimed responsibility for the foiled incursion. The AP investigation detailed how Goudreau, through his Florida private security firm, had teamed up with a retired Venezuelan army official to train at secret camps in Colombia dozens of deserters from Venezuelas security forces for a mission targeting Maduro, for whose capture the U.S. has offered a $15 million bounty. Trump has denied any U.S. involvement in the raid and Goudreau has said he was unable to ever persuade the Trump administration to support his bold plan for a private coup. Maduro has insisted the operation was directed by the White House. Meanwhile, aides to Juan Guaido, the opposition leader recognized by the U.S. and 60 other nations as Venezuelas rightful leader, have acknowledged exploring the idea last year but said they quickly backed out after deciding Goudreau couldnt deliver or be trusted. The letter, which was also signed by Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico, cites provisions in the VERDAD act, signed into law by Trump in late 2019, that state it is U.S. policy to support diplomatic engagement to bring a negotiated and peaceful end to Venezuelas political, economic and humanitarian crisis. Such incursions harm the prospects for a peaceful democratic transition in Venezuela by insinuating that an armed intervention is a viable option to resolve the crisis, potentially undermining the willingness of hard-line opposition actors to negotiate, while simultaneously allowing Maduro to rally support to his side, strengthening his hand, the lawmakers wrote. The letter contains six lines of questions about U.S. officials awareness of Goudreaus plans and whether the administration had taken any steps to prevent his actions and make sure U.S. assistance wasnt directly or indirectly provided to those involved. It also seeks the intelligence communitys assessment about the legitimacy of a contract that Goudreau has presented and that he says was signed by Guaido and two Miami-based aides allegedly authorizing his actions. Maduro is a dictator, and the Venezuelan people deserve to live in a democracy again, the Democrats wrote. But that will only be achieved through vigorous and effective diplomacy, not martial adventurism. Officials in Venezuela said Thursday that they have now captured 23 people involved in the botched attack. They also aired a video showing Airan Berry, one of the two captured Americans, answering questions about the operation. Dressed in a gray T-shirt with the word MOSCOW written on it, Berry says he signed on with Silvercorp to train between 50 and 60 men in the Colombian city of Riohacha and then accompany the rebels into Caracas. What were the objectives of the mission? an off-camera interrogator asks in halting English. I believe it was to attain specific targets. And to, I think, get Maduro, Berry responds. ___ Joshua Goodman on Twitter: @APJoshGoodman Hardliner Watchdog In Iran Opposes Electoral Reform To Boost Competitiveness Radio Farda May 06, 2020 Iran's hardliner election watchdog has opposed a last-ditch effort by the outgoing parliament to boost political competitiveness in the country's closed electoral system. The 92-year old chairman of the Guardian Council, Ahmad Jannati has said that a draft bill in parliament is aimed at watering down his council's authority in approving candidates for elections. The Guardian Council vets all parliamentary and presidential candidates and as a norm rejects most aspirants. In last February's parliamentary elections not only thousands of would-be candidates were disqualified but even 100 serving lawmakers were barred from running again. This is one of the many mechanisms in the Islamic Republic to control the political establishment in the country and not allow any dissenting voice to gain political office. The parliament's draft bill is aimed at eliminating the role of prosecutors in the vetting of candidates and keep the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps, the country's main military force, from playing any role in the process. Usually, the Guardian Council asks the opinion of the Guards about candidates. This could be a violation of the Constitution, which says the military should stay out of politics. The Guardian Council consists of six religious "scholars" appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and six legal experts approved by parliament. It is also tasked with approving all legislation by parliament. The Council's unprecedented large-scale disqualifications of candidates this year led to widespread criticism and many political groupings boycotted the February vote, which had a low turnout. During the parliamentary debate over the draft bill, many lawmakers harshly criticized the Council and one member called its interference "engineering elections". In his remarks, Jannati called for an "experts" approach to reforming electoral law "without emotions" and expressed hope that the new parliament to be sworn in at the end of May to take up the issue of enacting a new legal framework. However, because of the Council's widespread rejection of candidates, the new parliament is packed with hardliner lawmakers who share Jannati's worldview. Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/hardliner-watchdog -in-iran-opposes-electoral-reform-to- boost-competitiveness-/30597629.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Undocumented immigrants in New York are on the front lines of combating the COVID-19 crisis. Those same communities have been among the hardest hit by the pandemic and the economic fallout it has created. They were cut out of the federal governments initiative to give cash directly to most taxpayers and are ineligible for unemployment insurance. Undocumented immigrants are left with little to no avenues for financial relief without support from local or state governments. One in 5 front-line workers at grocery stores, social services organizations and other essential businesses in New York City are noncitizens, according to a report from the city comptrollers office released in late March. The No. 1 thing were seeing from everybody are questions related to economic support issues, said Sirrah Harris, who oversees the New York Legal Assistance Groups hotline for people impacted by the pandemic and in need of legal advice. Undocumented immigrants and mixed-immigration status couples were omitted from the federal coronavirus relief bill that authorized checks of up to $1,200 to most taxpayers with Social Security numbers, and New York state hasnt created an alternative initiative so far. Were looking into it but we have real financial problems, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in mid-April when questioned about providing aid to undocumented immigrants. But advocates for undocumented immigrants have called on the state to make it a priority despite its weak financial state, adding that California has a $125 million fund to give $500 checks to undocumented adults in the state. The state hasnt done very much for immigrant communities in this moment of providing financial assistance or direct relief to immigrant families, said Murad Awawdeh, executive vice president of advocacy and strategy for the New York Immigration Coalition. And while the state has been remarkable in other areas of COVID relief efforts, this is one area where theyre really falling flat. New York City has created a $20 million fund for up to 20,000 undocumented immigrants and immigrants with legal status, thanks to a donation from billionaire investor George Soros private foundation, the Open Society Foundations. The New York City Mayors Office of Immigrant Affairs and the nonprofit Mayors Fund to Advance New York City will use the funding to distribute direct payments of up to $400 to individuals and up to $1,000 for families through community-based organizations. Still, its reach will be limited there are more than half a million undocumented immigrants in the city alone. Other nonprofits and foundations, such the Mixteca Organization, have created funds to give cash directly to immigrants or otherwise offer free food and other forms of relief. But immigrants who are eligible for various forms of public assistance cant necessarily access them easily. More than 90% of (our clients) have language barriers, so its very difficult for them to navigate the different public benefits available for them, said Jeehae Fischer, executive director of the Korean American Family Service Center, which helps survivors of abuse. The public charge rule, which threatens the permanent status for immigrants who utilize certain public benefits, had already caused many immigrants to forgo food stamps and other programs before the pandemic. Doctors and hospitals are now reporting many are now even too scared to get tested and treated for COVID-19 because of the public charge rule, although the federal government has carved out exceptions to the rule for medical treatment or preventive services related to possible coronavirus cases. Theres a lot of confusion over how accessing benefits affects that rule, and whether that will harm them in the future, Harris said. Even just during this crisis, there have been a series of policy changes and executive orders that have come out from the federal government regarding immigration that have only heightened that fear and confusion. Ministro Martos: Se evaluara en Consejo de Ministros las medidas que se van a adoptar en Lima y regiones de mayor contagio para informar oportunamente. "No estamos en condiciones de levantar todas las restricciones, pero tambien se tiene que evaluar el aspecto economico y social" pic.twitter.com/Ay4iIciH60 Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) - The Mauritanian government Wednesday adopted a draft bill related to the fight against violence against women and young girls, an official source told PANA here Vanessa Branson sister of the Virgin entrepreneur has revealed how her life fell apart when her husband left her and their four young children. Here, in the concluding part of her devastatingly frank memoir, she reveals how she later had a boob job, took a lover and astonishingly, tried to make her marriage work again... A year after my husband, Robert, left me for a younger woman, I was still struggling. Our four children were so young aged from just two to nine and it made my heart ache to see them so sad. One day, Louis, who is dyslexic, told me: Mummy, I know why Daddys gone and its all my fault. Oh my darling Lou, I replied. Its not your fault. Why do you think its because of you? Vanessa Branson - sister of the Virgin entrepreneur - has laid herself bare in a frank memoir He left because I cant read and write, he said, burying his head in my lap. Its impossible to hold a weeping six-year-old boy whos blaming himself for his parents separation and not feel a surge of anger towards the woman who has taken his father away from him. Certainly, rather than blame Robert, the easiest narrative for me to grasp was that a 26-year-old had offered a man overburdened with responsibilities an exit route, along with plenty of ego-massaging and sex. Meanwhile, I was fast approaching 40 and drinking too much. Being continuously topped up was draining me of self-esteem and sometimes of self-control. That year, in 1997, I was also facing my first summer holiday without the children two full weeks. We never resorted to lawyers for matters of access or assets, and my parents would be taking them to Robert while I flew to Los Angeles to see a friend. As I was waving the children off, Louis lay on the floor, clinging to my ankle and wailing uncontrollably. When the other children began to cry, my usually restrained father said under his breath: That f***ing man how could he do this to his children? Eventually, they all left hand in hand, and I made it to my flight just in time. My friend, Fiona, picked me up from the airport. The split with Robert Devereux left Vanessa feeling both grief and anger at the same time - she would later allow him back into her life following a family holiday in Venice My God, Ness, you look absolutely dreadful! she said. Driving along the highway, she continued: What you need is a nice little boob job. Fiona, dont be so ridiculous, I replied. Its the last thing I need. Dont be such a prude, Ness. Everyone does it here. That may be so, I told her, but Im completely against plastic surgery. Its superficial, and anyway, Im rather fond of my boobs theyre just a bit deflated because Im so thin. Fi was focused on her goal: I know this brilliant surgeon in Beverly Hills. He does all the stars. Honestly, Ness, hes brilliant. Fi, I replied, already feeling somewhat worn down, Im honestly not interested. The next day, we were sitting in the surgeons office. Before I knew what was happening, he was drawing dotted lines around my bosoms with a Magic Marker. Please, Im really not sure, I said lamely. He had a cancellation the next day, and offered us two boob jobs for the price of one. I went in first. After an hour or two in theatre, the doctor went to check with Fiona what size of implants Id asked for. Ness asked for Meg Ryans, she told him. Apparently, he went ashen and rushed out. It appeared hed made an error and implanted Monroes. The pain I felt on regaining consciousness was indescribable. My chest was in spasm, my blood pressure began to drop alarmingly and I was losing the ability to speak. I think Im going to die, Fi, I whispered. Paramedics jammed me in the service elevator. In intensive care at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, I blew up to such an extent that a nurse had to cut off my rings. My liver was struggling, along with my kidneys. The surgeon defensively explained that my post-op collapse was my own fault for not telling him how much Id been drinking. A few years later, hed lose his licence to practise medicine. Thankfully I did end up with the Megs, with no need for another op to fix matters. Do I regret the episode? Well, it would have been a bloody silly way to die. And its true that, if I hadnt been in that vulnerable emotional state, Id never have elected to do something so invasive. Slowly, my confidence began to return, though this had less to do with my new boobs than my decision to stop drinking after my near-death experience. One night in London, my friend, Lindy, invited me to supper to introduce me to a softly spoken windsurfing champion whod recently split from his girlfriend. He was a complete Adonis, and in a moment of madness I slipped my phone number into the breast pocket of his shirt. He rang to arrange a date. Before we met, I joined a friend in the pub. Be warned, Vanessa, she cautioned. The first time I went to bed with a man after my divorce, I was overwhelmed with emotion. I just couldnt stop crying. Vanessa pictured with Richard (right) at Eve Branson 'Mum's the Word' book launch in 2013 I met the surfer at a bar, determined to feel strong. We rather hastily found ourselves back at Lindys house, kissing and losing ourselves in each others chemistry. I can deal with this, I thought, as I ran my hands up and down his delightful muscular arms. Im not going to cry. I looked into his dreamy blue eyes and thought I detected a tear. Then I felt his body emit a barely disguised sob. Im so sorry, Vanessa, he said. Its just too soon for me I miss my girlfriend. I felt instant relief as we blew out the candle beside the bed and snuggled down, spooning like two children on a sleepover. A few months later, I reluctantly accepted an invitation to a wedding in Kent, and found myself seated next to the grooms brother. The grooms very handsome brother. He told me his wife had recently left him, and an hour later, we were kissing behind the marquee alongside a gaggle of snogging teenagers. We met up subsequently: Id go to his flat, where wed talk and make love under the stern gaze of his ancestral portraits. Then wed talk some more, both of us grieving the loss of our previous partners. Enough! I cut out a headline from a newspaper and stuck it on my fridge: GIVE UP MEN AND TAKE UP THINKING INSTEAD. It was now two years since Robert had left me. With the children all at school or nursery, I started working again for the first time since the early Nineties among other things, setting up an art fund for investors, with a friend. Robert was no longer working for Virgin; at the time he and his girlfriend first hooked up, hed just negotiated selling his shares and was working out his notice. Yet overwhelming sadness would still catch me unawares, a sickening, all-encompassing grief that I couldnt throw off. On one of my feeling-sorry-for-myself days, another friend Caroline, known as Pidge, whod recently been left by her husband, Matthew Freud invited me to dinner. Among the guests was Howell James, whod been an aide to John Major. His partner had run off with Peter Mandelson, so the three of us sat at one end of the table, licking our wounds. Vanessa, pictured seated on the floor at the the Marrakech Biennale, knew she needed to turn her life back around, for her own sake and for the children In 2001, the children and I holidayed at a palazzo in Venice along with Howell and several friends. Plus Robert five years after hed walked out on me. I cant even recall how he came to join us. Nor do I remember the discussion we must have had about the dearth of bedrooms, which meant we had to share one. Why did I allow Robert to re-enter our lives? His departure had profoundly unsettled our family, and we were just beginning to thrive again. Yet I still remembered the good times, and deep down I knew the children would be better off if we were united as parents during their teenage years (our eldest was now 13.) As for Robert, he missed home, the family and the comfort of knowing he was doing the right thing. I missed all these things, too, but I also missed Robert the Robert I still loved. When we came home from Venice, he just sort of moved into the home in London wed once shared. And I clung to the belief that our family had strong enough foundations to give us a chance of rebuilding a meaningful life together. To draw a line under our old, contaminated marriage, we visited our divorce lawyers and signed the decree absolute, which wed never got round to. I wish all our divorcing couples came in looking so happy and in love, said one lawyer, as Robert and I hugged each other when the paperwork had been completed. We were still in a state of shock at finding ourselves back living together. But while I yearned to rebuild trust, security and love, from the day of his return Robert was looking for any reason not to be at home. Rather like a schoolboy trying to stop his neighbour copying his homework, he seemed to be hiding chunks of his life from me, developing a business in Africa and spending an increasing amount of time away. Each time he boarded a plane, I felt the same sense of abandonment as when hed left me. Worse, Robert still felt the need to justify having left his young family, focusing only on the negatives of my character, viewing everything I said through a dark prism. Inevitably, this took its toll on my confidence. He also seemed unable to acknowledge the suffering that his actions had inflicted on us. In retrospect, choosing to step backwards was verging on the suicidal. At times, it felt like hed returned home to torture me with his unhappiness; for to live with someone youre unable to love is an act of indescribable cruelty. Of course, the elephant in the room was the 26-year-old hed been having an affair with when he left. I couldnt even mention her name, for fear Id be making her real and inviting her to re-enter our lives. Robert kept asking me to give him time, but as the months passed I became even more depressed and insecure. Seeing myself reflected in his cold eyes dragged me ever lower. Our friends and family were overjoyed to see us living as a family, so we had little option but to play along. But we were only just managing to hold it together. One Sunday morning, about five years after Roberts return, he made a particularly hurtful verbal assault. I stopped kidding myself and gave in to a good weep. A couple of days later, I began to feel excessively tired. That Wednesday, an X-ray revealed that my left lung had collapsed. A specialist told me that the collapse had probably been precipitated by heavy weeping, and that I needed an operation. When I came home from hospital, I felt totally exhausted to the point that dying didnt seem like such a bad option. At least thered be no more pain. Still, Robert and I stayed together. And life flashed by at a fearsome pace, with the four children fast becoming adults. Eleven years after his return, we all travelled up to Eilean Shona, the small Scottish island hed insisted on us buying many years before. It was summer. Flanked by friends in kayaks, we took our motorboat to the mainland for a picnic on a beach. As we embarked for home in late afternoon, I decided to swim back to the island. Im not sure this is a good idea, Ness, Robert said. The idea of swimming the two miles home made me feel sick with apprehension, but something was driving me on. Something buried deep inside me wanted to prove that I was worthy of Robert, that I was unbreakable even if it killed me. Id never embarked on a swim this ambitious before. And bloody hell, it was cold. After about half an hour, I noticed my fingers begin to curl, forming a fist rather than a paddle, as every spare drop of blood retreated to my core. Kick, kick, crawl, breathe. And then suddenly the effort was just too great. I stopped swimming and felt peace flood my being. I just wanted to sleep. No more struggle. As I closed my eyes, I saw the smiling faces of each of my children. Somehow, I kicked on, strength arriving from nowhere. Arriving at our jetty at last, I sat for a second on the concrete before passing out. A friend carried me back to the house, where my daughter plunged me into a hot bath undoubtedly saving my life. I remember floating down through a dark-green, velvet-lined tunnel. At the same time, I could hear Flo shouting: Come back, Mummy dont leave us. Wake up! After that swim, I knew I had to turn my life around. The way to do this was not only to stop battling upstream, I realised, but to get out of the water altogether. Robert and I were talked-out there was nothing more to say. I was still hurt, smarting from a sense of injustice, and he was still angry at my inability to understand. It was time to let him go free. So I sold our rambling London family home of 20 years. And when we moved out, I drove in one direction while Robert drove off in another. Within months, he had a new girlfriend. But still the demons hovered, their ugly chants asking: Where did you go wrong?, How could you have failed your children like that? and If only youd done it differently . . . Its now January 2018. I am 58. I settle down to read my emails and, unexpectedly, theres one from Robert. Dear Ness, I want to try to keep this short and clear. I accept sole and complete responsibility for ending our marriage. For over 20 years, I have allowed my attempts to explain and understand what happened to obscure the truth. Which is that whatever the circumstances of our relationship and whatever my state of mind, it was me that jumped ship, shattered my marriage vows and reneged on my commitments to those that I love most. It was my actions, for which I take sole responsibility, that caused such a mountain of pain and suffering to you and to our children. Sorry is a completely inadequate word in the circumstances but sorry I am deeply, deeply. You have every right to be angry . . . If I could wind back the clock and behave differently, I would. I would pay more attention, be more caring of our relationship, be more aware of mine and of your feelings and not enter into an extramarital affair. But these words amount to nothing. I dont know what I can do apart from leave you in peace... Adapted by Corinna Honan from One Hundred Summers: A Family Story by Vanessa Branson (20, Mensch) out May 21. Vanessa Branson 2020. To order a copy, visit bloomsbury.com and online bookshops. Advertisement Firefighters in the Florida Panhandle have been battling three wildfires that have forced some 1,600 people to evacuate from their homes. Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said in a news conference Thursday afternoon that fire officials are working around the clock to contain the wildfires. 'The threat is far from over and there is no rain forecasted,' Fried said. She asked residents to stay alert and 'be ready for a wildfire impacting their neighborhood'. In Santa Rosa County, which is just east of Pensacola, the 2,000-acre fire, dubbed the Five Mile Swamp fire, resulted in some 1,100 evacuations on Wednesday. So far, about 35 per cent of the fire has been contained, authorities said. Scroll down for video Wildfires raging in the Florida Panhandle have forced nearly 1,600 people to evacuate from their homes, authorities said. Smoke and flames are seen on Wednesday in Santa Rosa County The more than 575-acre fire, dubbed the Mussett Bayou Wildfire, is seen raging in Walton County on Wednesday Authorities said the fire (pictured in Walton County) was 65 per cent contained as of Thursday morning. Several homes on Thompson Drive have been consumed by the fire, according to the Walton County Sheriff's Office Mitchell Lamb (left) and his aunt, Peggy Smith-Lamb, evacuate as their home is threatened by a wildfire in Milton, Florida Officials said a few of those residents, in areas south of Interstate 10 have been allowed to return to their homes. The others were not yet being allowed to return. That fire began Monday when a prescribed burn by a private contractor got out of control, Fried said. The conditions created a perfect storm for fire, low humidity and high winds. 'This is an extremely dangerous and fast-moving wildfire situation that is evolving rapidly, so everyone in the affected area should follow directions from state and local officials,' Fried said. She urged people in the area to pack a bag with necessary items, including important paperwork, so they could evacuate as quickly as possible if conditions arise. Crews from other areas of Florida, including Jacksonville, are assisting firefighters who've been working long hours since Monday. Florida firefighters are battling the wildfires that have spread across three counties of the Florida Panhandle (depicted above) A helicopter (left) was seen carrying water to the Five Mile Swamp Fire in Milton, Florida, on Wednesday. A woman is seen taking photos of smoke billowing near her home in Santa Rosa Beach Flames consume trees along I-10 as the Five Mile Swamp Fire burns in Milton, Florida, on Wednesday Emergency vehicles are seen stopped along a highway due to a large wildfire in Milton, Florida, on Wednesday In this Wednesday, May 6, 2020 photo, Joe Zwierzchowski, spokesman with the Florida Forest Service, provides an update on the Five Mile Swamp Fire near Milton, Fla. Authorities say firefighters in the Florida Panhandle are battling wildfires that have forced some 1,600 people to evacuate from their homes. Smoke from the fires caused officials to close a stretch of Interstate 10 in both directions. (Gregg Pachkowski /Pensacola News Journal via AP) Officials have confirmed 17 structures, including 13 homes, were destroyed so far in the fire. Almost all of Florida has had less-than-usual rainfall this year. National Weather Service meteorologist Jack Cullen said the dryness helped fuel the fires Wednesday. Cullen, who is based in Mobile, Alabama, said the wind is the real culprit. 'What made this (fire) today was the wind, to go along with the dry conditions and low humidity,' Cullen said of the fire near Pensacola. In neighboring Walton County, a 575-acre fire, dubbed the Mussett Bayou Wildfire, prompted about 500 people to evacuate. Authorities there said multiple structures were lost in the fire, which was 65 per cent contained Thursday morning. Fried said about 33 structures have been damaged so far. Several homes on Thompson Drive have been consumed by the fire, according to the Walton County Sheriff's Office. Officials have warned residents to avoid these areas. Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson said during a late-night news conference that those who were asked to leave their home but had no place to go were sent to South Walton High School. Officials said they have an address that is believed to be linked to the fire's origin and that they will be investigating. Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson gives a Facebook live update on a wildfire in the county as trees burn behind him South Walton Fire Chief Ryan Crawford (right) speaks to Walton County Fire Rescue EMS Chief Tracey Vause (foreground) and a firefighter as they respond to a fire at Santa Rosa Beach near Highway 98 in Walton County Wednesday night Crews are seen working overnight to get the fire under control in Walton County, Florida A Florida forestry tractor trailer is parked in Walton County, Florida, near a hot spot from a wildfire on Wednesday night A sheriff's vehicle travels along US Highway 98 in Walton County, Florida, past a hotspot of a raging wildfire on Wednesday night Trucks are seen set up at a command post in Walton County as firefighters battle the blaze overnight A third fire, dubbed, the Hurst Hammock fire, also broke out in Escambia County. The brush fire started near Hurst Hammock Road around 2.30pm Wednesday afternoon. By Wednesday night, the fire covered at least 335 acres and is about 40 per cent contained. There have been no reports of injuries or deaths in either of the fires. Gusty conditions are possible in the Panhandle and Big Bend with the passage of a dry front. A Red Flag Warning has been issued for the entire Panhandle. Parts of Central and all of South Florida will be under a fire weather watch on Thursday afternoon, according to the state's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The department said the Florida Forest Service has battled nearly 1,100 wildfires since January. Those fires burned over 18,100 acres across the state and 97 per cent of them were human-caused. Erin Albury, the state forester and director of the Florida Forest Service, warned residents this week to 'avoid yard debris burning' due to the elevated fire threat. 'We are in the peak of our year-round fire activity, and these weather conditions will only add to the existing fire danger.' According to the latest drought monitor, much of Florida, including the Panhandle is either abnormally dry or in moderate drought. Pensacola has received 4.59 inches of rain since March, about a 6.2-inch deficit below the normal spring rainfall. By Andrew Osborn and Tom Balmforth MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin's approval rating has slipped to its lowest level in more than two decades amid the coronavirus crisis, even as support for his plan to extend his rule for years ahead has risen, a poll showed on Wednesday. The poll, by the Levada-Center, showed Putin's support fell to 59% in April, from 63% in March. By Andrew Osborn and Tom Balmforth MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin's approval rating has slipped to its lowest level in more than two decades amid the coronavirus crisis, even as support for his plan to extend his rule for years ahead has risen, a poll showed on Wednesday. The poll, by the Levada-Center, showed Putin's support fell to 59% in April, from 63% in March. It was the worst result for Putin recorded by Levada since September 1999 when Putin was a rookie prime minister with a 53% approval rating. However, support for his plan to change the constitution to allow him to extend his rule until 2036 rose to 47 percent in April, up from 40 percent in March. A nationwide vote on the proposed change, scheduled for last month but delayed because of the virus outbreak, is now expected later this year. Putin's approval rating is still very high by Western standards, and there is no sign that the man who has dominated Russian politics as president or prime minister for more than 20 years and survived many crises, is about to be toppled. Economic and social fallout from the coronavirus crisis is causing problems for him though, as the number of cases continues to sharply rise, oil prices remain historically low and a lockdown poisons the economy and people's livelihoods. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by more than 10,000 on Wednesday for a fourth consecutive day and now stands at 165,929, though at 1,537 the death toll remains far lower than in many other countries. The poll was conducted by phone because of the coronavirus-related lockdown, rather than face-to-face, which Levada's Deputy Director Denis Volkov said may have clipped 1-2% off Putin's approval rating. Even taking that into account, Volkov said an outcome of 61% would still mean Putin's rating was on a par with 2013, a year before Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea prompted his ratings to surge. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov cast doubt on the poll. "I'm not inclined to entirely trust Levada's polls," Peskov told reporters. "There are other polls which give a different picture." A survey from state-run pollster VTsIOM gave Putin a trust rating of 69.8% in April. Among those who said they intended to take part in the vote on constitutional change, 58 percent said they would back the changes and only 25 percent vote against them. "What is important is that those that are 'for' are very well mobilised and are ready to come (and vote)," said Volkov. Levada said the survey was conducted on April 24-27 and that 1,608 people had been polled across Russia. (Additional reporting by Alexander Marrow and Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Peter Graff) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. At the Chicago station, White, who formerly worked in Ann Arbor, Mich., public radio, hosts the two-hour Reset and has been the host of some of the stations most prominent podcast efforts, Making Oprah, Making Obama and 16 Shots, a co-production with the Chicago Tribune about the fatal police shooting of Chicago teen Laquan McDonald. Help India! TCN News Patna: A legal notice was issued to Saroj Hospital in Kankarbagh for discrimination of patients on the basis of faith. Support TwoCircles The notice sent by a Patna High Court advocate, Tabish Sharfuddin, stated that sister of Shahnawaz Hasan, a Muslim patient was refused to be admitted and treated due to her religion earlier last week, thus violating the National Human Rights Commissioners Charter of Patient Rights. For the alleged religious bias, the hospital administration has been charged under sections 153 (A), 295 (A) and 505 of the Indian Penal Code, accusing the hospital employees of indulging in promotion of communal hatred and disharmony. The legal notice demanded a public apology from the Saroj Hospital administration, to be published within 48 hours otherwise it would face necessary legal action under the IPC 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 and Bihar Clinical Establishment (Registration and Regulation) Rules 2013. In the end note, the legal notice warned the staff to caution against such similar incidents in future, failing which they would be culpable of negligence, hence inviting serious criminal charges and disciplinary action for their inhuman behavior. Immediately after the notice was communicated, the hospital administration was quick to respond with a public apology letter signed by a renowned pediatric, Dr Sunil Kumar. In the note, Kumar expressed that the hospital has been treating Hindus and Muslims for a great number of years and has never discriminated patients on the basis of religion. Acknowledging that it might have shown disaffection against a particular patient, the authorities requested an apology for the same. [May 07, 2020] INVESTOR REMINDER: Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP Announces Deadline in Securities Fraud Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. The law firm of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP reminds Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) ("Norwegian") investors that a securities fraud class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of those who purchased or otherwise acquired Norwegian publicly traded securities between February 20, 2020 and March 12, 2020, inclusive (the "Class Period"). REMINDER: Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Norwegian securities during the Class Period may, no later than May 11, 2020, seek to be appointed as a lead plaintiff representative of the class. For additional information or to learn how to participate in this litigation please click https://www.ktmc.com/norwegian-cruise-line-holdings-securities-class-action?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=norwegian%20cruise. According to the complaint, Norwegian is a global cruise company which operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. On August 1, 2017, Norwegian updated its Code of Ethical Business Conduct, which is posted on its website. The Code of Ethical Business Conduct, available throughout the Class Period, discussed health and safety standards, stating in relevant part that its environmental, health and safety "programs are designed to ensure the preservation of the environment, and safety and security of [Norwegian]'s guests, team members and vendors." In December of 2019, a novel coronavirus strain, COVID-19, was detected in the city of uhan in Hubei province, China. Since then, the virus has spread to numerous countries. The spread of COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the cruise industry, with reports of canceled trips and half-empty ships. The Class Period commences on February 20, 2020, when Norwegian filed a Form 8-K with the SEC (News - Alert). Attached to the Form 8-K was a press release reporting on Norwegian's financial results for the quarter and full year ended December 31, 2019. In that press release, the defendants discussed positive outlooks for Norwegian in spite of the COVID-19. On March 11, 2020, the Miami New Times reported in an article "Leaked Emails: Norwegian Pressures Sales Team to Mislead Potential Customers About Coronavirus" that leaked emails from a Norwegian employee showed that Norwegian directed its sales staff to lie to customers regarding COVID-19. Further, the Miami New Times article revealed the financial impact the COVID-19 outbreak was causing on Norwegian and its employees. Following this news, Norwegian's share price fell $5.47 per share, or approximately 26.7%, to close at $15.03 per share on March 11, 2020. The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, the defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Norwegian was employing sales tactics of providing customers with unproven and/or blatantly false statements about COVID-19 to entice customers to purchase cruises, thus endangering the lives of both their customers and crew members; and (2) as a result, the defendants' statements regarding Norwegian's business and operations were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. Investors who wish to discuss this securities fraud class action lawsuit and their legal options are encouraged to contact Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP (James Maro, Jr., Esq. or Adrienne Bell, Esq.) at (844) 877-9500 (toll free) or at [email protected]. Norwegian investors may, no later than May 11, 2020, seek to be appointed as a lead plaintiff representative of the class through Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, or other counsel, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of all class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed as a lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision of whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check prosecutes class actions in state and federal courts throughout the country involving securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duties and other violations of state and federal law. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered billions of dollars on behalf of institutional and individual investors from the United States and around the world. The firm represents investors, consumers and whistleblowers (private citizens who report fraudulent practices against the government and share in the recovery of government dollars). The complaint in this action was not filed by Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check. For more information about Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, please visit www.ktmc.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005064/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] President Trump signed a proclamation in honor of National Nurses Day in the Oval Office on Wednesday. Kelly Loeffler faces growing scrutiny over her wealth. Shes trying to make the best of it. The finances of Senator Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, a former business executive and the richest member of the Senate, were always going to turn heads. But just four months into her tenure, deep pockets that were once a top selling point to Georgia Republicans have become more and more of a liability for Ms. Loeffler, dragging down her approval numbers just months before she will face voters. First came disclosures that Ms. Loeffler and her husband had traded stock shares worth millions of dollars around the time she was being briefed by top government health officials about the coronavirus. Political opponents in both parties stoked questions about insider trading, which she adamantly denied. Housing remains the biggest issue for refugees from Azerbaijan living in Artsakh, Artsakh Ombudsman Artak Beglaryan said Thursday during an online press conference. According to him, some people on the list have already received apartments, but the housing program has been suspended in connection with other programs. The state must decide whether people who are currently on the lists will receive housing or not, Beglaryan noted. The Ombudsman expressed concern that the rights of refugees were violated by the international community. Refugees living in Artsakh do not receive assistance from international organizations because of our status, Beglaryan noted. However, it seems that international organizations give preference to Azerbaijani refugees over Armenian ones, especially those living in Artsakh. This is unacceptable. Universal Health Realty Income Trust (NYSE:UHT) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 24% in the last quarter. On the bright side the returns have been quite good over the last half decade. After all, the share price is up a market-beating 95% in that time. Check out our latest analysis for Universal Health Realty Income Trust To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time. During five years of share price growth, Universal Health Realty Income Trust actually saw its EPS drop 19% per year. This means it's unlikely the market is judging the company based on earnings growth. Because earnings per share don't seem to match up with the share price, we'll take a look at other metrics instead. On the other hand, Universal Health Realty Income Trust's revenue is growing nicely, at a compound rate of 4.4% over the last five years. It's quite possible that management are prioritizing revenue growth over EPS growth at the moment. The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail). NYSE:UHT Income Statement May 7th 2020 It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. This free interactive report on Universal Health Realty Income Trust'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 incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. We note that for Universal Health Realty Income Trust the TSR over the last 5 years was 139%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return. Story continues A Different Perspective It's good to see that Universal Health Realty Income Trust has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 18% in the last twelve months. And that does include the dividend. However, that falls short of the 19% TSR per annum it has made for shareholders, each year, over five years. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Universal Health Realty Income Trust better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Universal Health Realty Income Trust (of which 2 are a bit concerning!) you should know about. But note: Universal Health Realty Income Trust may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast). 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. WASHINGTONU.S. officials believe theyre making progress in efforts to secure the release from Iran of a detained navy veteran, but they are pushing back on Iranian suggestions that a swap is in the works for an imprisoned Iranian that American officials have been trying to deport since last year. Ken Cuccinelli, the acting deputy Homeland Security secretary, said Wednesday that the cases of American detainee Michael White in Iran and Sirous Asgari, the Iranian imprisoned in the United States, have never been connected. He expressed frustration with recent comments from Iranian officials that there may be a link between the two and complained that Iran had been slow to accept Asgaris return. Weve been trying to deport this guy for months, Cuccinelli told The Associated Press. There has never been any breath of a link between the two until they made it a news story a couple of days ago. Cuccinelli said DHS had started to try to deport Asgari on Dec. 12 after his acquittal on charges of trying to steal sensitive trade secrets. However, he said, Iran refused to recognize him as legitimately Iranian and provide him with a validated passport until late February. Once Asgari received the passport, DHS made several attempts to fly him back to Iran, purchasing tickets for flights on March 10, March 18, March 23, April 1 and May 1, according to Cuccinelli. Each of those flights was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, he said. Cuccinelli, an immigration hardliner who has advocated for tougher deportation policies, said Iran has also been slow-walking the return of 10 other Iranian prisoners slated for deportation from the U.S. Asgari is one of 11 Iranians that have orders of removal that Iran is not taking back and theres a bunch more were processing, Cuccinelli said. Weve been trying to get rid of this guy for six months. If theyd send us a plane tomorrow, weve got 11 of them for them to take back now. From our perspective, (Asgari) is no different than others. He would not speculate as to why the Iranians appeared reluctant to accept deportees back into the country, but said Iran has a history of being difficult in such cases. Cuccinellis remarks came amid reports that a prisoner swap for White, who is currently on a medical furlough after being jailed in Iran, could be imminent and comments from Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif, that Asgari could be in the mix. Senior U.S. officials who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity said the administrations efforts to get White released are continuing separately from the DHS deportation cases. But they could not predict if or when the release might be finalized; nor would they say if it would involve the actual swap of any prisoners. Earlier Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned White and thanked Switzerland, which represents U.S. interests in Iran, for its work in helping to get the veteran released from prison on a medical furlough that was extended last month. Pompeo also reiterated calls for Iran to release other Americans held there, including Siamak Namazi and Morad Tahbaz. Our gratitude also goes out to Switzerland, the United States protecting power in Iran for now four decades, for its efforts to extend Michael Whites medical furlough and seeking humanitarian furloughs for Siamak Namazi and Morad Tahbaz and bringing home all U.S. citizens wrongfully detained, Pompeo told reporters at a State Department news conference. White, of Imperial Beach, Calif., was detained in July 2018 while visiting a girlfriend in Iran. He was convicted of insulting Irans supreme leader and posting private information online. He was released from prison in March on a medical furlough that required him to remain in the country. White is among tens of thousands of prisoners granted medical furloughs by Iran, which was one of the first countries to be hit hard by the spreading coronavirus. Whites mother has told The Associated Press that she was especially concerned about her sons health because of his battles with cancer, and former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson called on Iran to grant him an immediate humanitarian evacuation. Trump administration officials have repeatedly said they consider the release of American hostages and detainees to be a high priority. In December, Iran released a Princeton University scholar held for three years on widely disputed espionage charges in exchange for the release of a detained Iranian scientist. In March, the family of former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who vanished in Iran 13 years ago, said they had been informed by U.S. officials that they had determined that Levinson was probably dead. Officials have not said how they reached that conclusion. Christian believers in Laos remain subject to harassment by local officials in spite of an updated law protecting religious activities and constitutional guarantees of religious freedoms, sources in the one-party communist state say. In Luang Prabang province in the countrys north, religious rights are still restricted, with officials deriding Christianity as an American import, one Christian villager told RFAs Lao Service on Thursday. They say that in our village there is no Christian god, and that our ancestors were all animist, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity But you people believe in Americas god, the source said he was told by one official, who added, Dont you remember what America did to our country? in an apparent reference to widespread bombing carried out in Laos during the Vietnam War. Christian villagers are also denied official help in response to complaints of wrongdoing, and are sometimes cheated out of their land, the source said. They say that Christians have no rights, and that no one will take care of them, he said. We even go to speak to the village leaders, but these are the same people who are already angry with Christians. Reached for comment, government officials in Luang Prabang and other provinces said that Lao Christians are protected by law and are treated no differently from the followers of other religions. Villagers can believe in any religion they want. Cousins, brothers, and sisters may live in the same village but follow different religions, an official responsible for religious affairs in Luang Prabang told RFA. We have to limit certain activities, though, and we sometimes have to warn them that they cant just do anything they want, he said. We have no problems in this district. We give the same rights to everyone to believe in any religion they want, and if they have any problems, we solve this for them, an official from the Lao Front for National Reconstruction in Vientianes Phon Hong district said. In our district, there are seven small churches, and an official from the province comes down once each month to talk to them and give them advice, he said. Warned, arrested for proselytizing An official in Houa Panh province meanwhile said that he has never seen instances of local authorities threatening or harassing Christians because of their beliefs, but that Christians will be warned or arrested for not following the law. They cant try to persuade other people to believe in their religion, he said. Recently, there have been improvements in religious freedom conditions [in Laos], the bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said in a country update report released this month. In recent years, the number of people arrested or detained [in Laos] for their religious practices has decreased, USCIRF added, noting that there were no reports in 2019 of central government authorities carrying out arrests, although there were several cases at the local level. Ethnic Hmong families in Laos meanwhile remain objects of suspicion by authorities, with three families evicted from their homes and village In Luang Namtha provinces Tine Doi village earlier this year for refusing to renounce their Christian faith, sources recently told RFA. And on March 15, Lao pastor Sithon Thipavong was arrested by local officials for conducting unspecified religious activities in Kalum Vangkhea village in Savannakhet provinces Xonbury district, and has since been sentenced to six months in prison, sources said, adding that no official explanation for his arrest has yet been released. Reported and translated by Sidney Khotpanya for RFAs Lao Service. Written in English by Richard Finney. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, fewer people are applying for financial aid for college, according to Pennsylvanias student aid agency. The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency said Thursday it has received 31,000 fewer applications for financial aid, compared to the same time last year. PHEAA officials speculated some arent applying because their financial situation has changed in the pandemic and some students arent sure they will be going to college in the fall. PHEAA is urging families to apply for aid, even if their plans are uncertain because of economic hardship during the coronavirus crisis. Agency officials say they are concerned some will miss out on the chance to get assistance with college tuition bills. The closure of high schools due to the pandemic is probably a factor in the drop in applications, PHEAA officials said. Many students work with school guidance counselors on applications for financial aid. Pennsylvania schools have been shut down for the rest of the academic year. PHEAA extended the deadline to apply for its student grant program to May 15; the deadline was initially May 1. The state grant program offers assistance to families based on financial need and the grants dont have to be repaid. State Rep. Mike Peifer, a Pike County Republican and the chairman of PHEAAs board, implored families to apply for grants by May 15 because thats a hard deadline. We realize families are under severe stress. Students are unsure of what they need to do, Peifer said. Still, students should apply for aid if theyre even thinking about going to a college or university in the fall. PHEAA said it is seeing a decline in applications in first-time students, including high school seniors, as well as returning college students. William Lindsey, PHEAAs school services manager, said the grants can help families who need assistance with their tuition bills. If students miss out on a grant, it could have a significant impact on their ability to pursue higher education, Lindsey said. Families could end up taking out more loans or paying more out of pocket, he said. To apply for a state grant, applicants must first complete the 2020-21 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). After filling out the FAFSA form, those who have never applied for a state grant will have to submit an application. Most returning students do not need to fill out new applications for state grants. However, returning students seeking other forms of assistance must still fill out the FAFSA form. The state grant program offers assistance for families earning less than $125,000 annually. Last year, 134,000 students received state grants to help pay for college. College students anxious to find out the size of grants will have to wait a while longer. The amount of the state grants to be awarded next year has yet to be determined. The top grant for the current school year was $4,123. Gov. Tom Wolf had proposed an additional $30 million to the state grant program in his 2020-21 budget proposal, which was issued before the emergence of the coronavirus. The governor must negotiate the state budget with the General Assembly and it figures to be challenging, since state revenues are dropping because so many businesses are closed. Nathan Hench, PHEAAs senior vice president of strategy and public affairs, said the hope is to at least match the current grant amounts in the upcoming school year. But the budget picture is uncertain. Everything is up in the air right now," he said. Undoubtedly, many families are facing severe financial pressures. More than 1.7 million Pennsylvanians have filed for unemployment since mid-March. The governor has said 1 in 6 residents who are eligible to work are out of a job. Some Pennsylvania universities have announced plans to freeze tuition for the 2020-21 school year. Penn State and Temple have both said they plan to freeze tuition this fall. The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education also moved to freeze tuition at the 14 state-owned universities for the upcoming school year. More from PennLive Pa. will ease some coronavirus rules in 24 counties Friday: What it means for them and for the rest of us Pa. coronavirus cases approach 53,000; more than 3,400 have died Wolf says Pa. employees should refuse to go to work if they dont feel safe, but some fear putting job at risk Theyre the front lines'; Staff care for adults with disabilities amid pandemic, funding challenges Out of money and out of time: Pa. agencies serving those with disabilities face financial crisis Gov. Tom Wolf talks about Pa. primary, mail-in ballots and voting at the polls in a pandemic Hollywood star Kevin Spacey says he can relate to those who have lost work due to the coronavirus pandemic as he went through a sudden downfall in his career after a number sexual assault allegations surfaced against him during the #MeToo movement. The actor, who sometimes records videos to stay in touch with his viewers, spoke about the pandemic in a new video that he recorded from home for a German business conference. Spacey has denied accusations by more than a dozen men, including actor Anthony Rapp, of sexual misconduct. Alluding to the change in his fortunes in 2017, the House of Cards actor said, My world completely changed in the fall of 2017. My job, many of my relationships, my standing in my own industry were all gone in just a matter of hours. Rapp was the first one to accuse the actor of making inappropriate sexual advances in 1986 when he was just 14, prompting Spacey to issue a statement where he said he had no memory of the incident but apologized for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior. The 60-year-old actor also came out as a gay in the statement, which drew further criticism from people. Spacey said he can relate to people affected by the coronavirus on what it feels like to see one's world upended suddenly. In this instance, I feel as though I can relate to what it feels like to have your world suddenly stop. And so while we may have found ourselves in similar situations albeit for very different reasons and circumstances, I still feel that some of the emotional struggles are very much the same. And so I do have empathy for what it feels like to suddenly be told that you can't go back to work, or that you might lose your job, and it's a situation you have absolutely no control over, he said. The actor said during a busy career, he was constantly looking at defining himself but when his work came to a grinding halt, he was confronted about existential questions about self. I was so busy defining myself by what I did or what I was trying to do that when it all stopped, I had no idea what to do next because all I ever knew was how to act. When my career came to a grinding, screeching halt when I was faced with the uncertainty that I might never be hired as an actor again, I had asked myself a question I'd never asked myself before, which is: If I can't act, who am I? Spacey said he hoped he could encourage people to see an opportunity in all of this and turn it into a positive and use the time to find a new part of themselves. As bleak and horrible as things can be and look, as they did for me two years ago, and it might look for you right now, it will get better, he said. This is a process that has allowed me to ask other questions I never asked, have conversations I'd never had, delve into issues I've long avoided, face truths I kept hidden and confront traumas I had always denied, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Azernews By Akbar Mammadov The Ministers of Economy of the Turkic Council have agreed to establish Joint Action Plan curb challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The decision to this effect was made during the video-conference held between the ministers and Heads of Customs Administrations of the Turkic Council Member and Observer States, the council announced on its website on May 6. During the meeting, the ministers discussed measures to mitigate the negative effects of the coronavirus on the economies of member countries, and to strengthen trade relations during and after the pandemic. After the ministers gave detailed information regarding the economic challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the measures taken at national level to overcome the difficulties in domestic and foreign trade, they agreed to establish a joint Action Plan under the coordination of the Turkic Council Secretariat with the relevant authorities of the Member and Observer States responsible for economy, trade and customs issues, the council said. The heads of the relevant state bodies also discussed the measures to ensure food security, finalizing a common list of essential goods among the Turkic Council countries, accelerating customs clearance procedures of these essential goods, including pharmaceutical and medical supplies, and humanitarian aid by setting an electronic pre-notification system, and developing mechanisms to reduce import taxes. The Turkic Council noted that within this framework, parties exchanged views on the establishment of a green corridor and launch of green lane system at border crossing points to facilitate the delivery of essential products. "The Ministers supported the decisions taken at the meeting of Ministers of Health of the Turkic Council held on April 28, 2020, regarding the establishment of a Supply Chain Group and stressed that this initiative would support joint production of medicines, medical supplies, etc. that the Member States are in need", the council added. Furthermore, the sides also fully supported new cooperation projects, such as the establishment of industrial zones, techno parks and trade houses proposed by the Secretariat. "At the meeting, promoting the use of national currencies in trade between member states and determining a common strategy to facilitate trade that would simplify customs procedures, encourage multimodal transport in the Middle Corridor and ensure the effective use of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway were given a particular emphasis", the council said. In addition, the parties agreed on the proposal of Hungary to establish a joint action plan to evaluate investment opportunities in Europe through establishing partnerships among companies of the Turkic Council Member States. "The Ministers emphasized that the decisions of the meeting with a view to maintain and further increase current level of economic and trade relations and to alleviate the socio-economic impact of the pandemic in the Turkic Council countries should be reflected in the Turkic Vision 2025 that is currently being prepared by the Secretariat", the council noted. It should be noted that the Turkic Council that consists of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, first discussed the COVID-19 crisis on April 10, in a meeting chaired by Azerbaijan. New Delhi: Retirement fund body EPFO on Wednesday allowed employers to register their digital signatures online through e-mail, in view of the lockdown to combat COVID-19, according to a labour ministry statement. Currently, authorised persons of employers have to go to the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) offices to get their digital signatures registered. In the current scenario of the lockdown and other disruptions, employers are not able to function normally and are facing problems in using their digital signatures or Aadhaar-based e-sign on EPFO portal, the statement said. Many important tasks like KYC (Know Your Customers) attestation, transfer claim attestation etc are being done online by the authorized persons of employers using their digital signatures (DSC) or Aadhar based e-sign on EPFO portal. For using DSC/e-sign, one-time approval from EPFO's regional office is required. But, due to the lockdown, many employers are facing difficulties to send the one-time registration request to the regional offices, it said. In view of this situation and to further ease the compliance procedure, EPFO has decided to accept such requests through e-mail also, the ministry said. An employer can send the scanned copy of the duly signed request letter to the concerned regional office through e-mail, it added. Official e-mail addresses of the regional offices are available at www.epfindia.gov.in. Further, it said such establishments, whose authorized officers have approved digital signatures but are not able to locate the dongle, can login to the employer portal and register their e-sign through the link for registration of already registered authorized signatories. If their name against the approved digital signature is the same as that in their Aadhaar, the registration of e-sign will not require any further approval, it added. Other authorised signatories can register their e-signs and send the request letters approved by the employers and seek approval of the concerned EPFO offices, it said. This facility provides further relief to the employers and EPF members adversely impacted by the pandemic, it added. "Some of these guys have been on shift, they were supposed to go home, but they stayed for work. So, we want to make sure they are fed and well hydrated." Early this month, PrideStaff Gulfport partnered with local businesses to keep firefighters battling the Canal Road fire stay fed and hydrated. PrideStaff, a national, franchised staffing organization, was proud to help these first responders working around the clock to control the fire that continued to spread because of shifting winds. PrideStaff worked alongside Supporting the Coastal Front Line, delivering water, snacks and more than 70 meals from Waffle House to firefighters in Harrison County. Jourdan Hartshorn with PrideStaff Gulfport, reported from the scene, Some of these guys have been on shift, they were supposed to go home, but they stayed for work. So, we want to make sure they are fed and well hydrated. As part of a leading national staffing and employment agency with more than 80 offices across the United States, PrideStaff Gulfport is stepping up to help put people back to work and keep critical businesses and organizations running smoothly. Backed by best-in-class technology and processes, the staffing franchise quickly pivoted when the pandemic hit to accelerate its transition to remote operations. Their offices are actively using online recruiting, virtual interviews, and proprietary technology to seamlessly support their clients' staffing and hiring needs during the pandemic. We take pride in our place in the community, said Gary Carmichael, Owner/Strategic Partner of the PrideStaff Gulfport office. For us, its about more than business; its about pitching in when were needed most, whether that means feeding our first responders, providing community members with work to feed their families or giving businesses the support they need for the local economy to thrive. The success of PrideStaff's approach is evident, as they consistently rank among the highest 1% of staffing firms in the industry. According to ClearlyRated, a business intelligence firm specializing in the staffing industry, PrideStaff earned a client Net Promoter Score (NPS) as high as or higher than other well-known brands such as Southwest Airlines and Netflix. NPS is computed by subtracting a firms detractors from its promoters. Net Promoter, Net Promoter System, Net Promoter Score, NPS and the NPS-related emoticons are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Fred Reichheld and Satmetrix Systems, Inc. About PrideStaff PrideStaff was founded in the 1970s as 100% company-owned units and began staffing franchising in 1995. They operate over 80 offices in North America to serve over 5,000 clients and are headquartered in Fresno, CA. With over 40 years in the staffing business, PrideStaff offers the resources and expertise of a national firm with the spirit, dedication, and personal service of smaller, entrepreneurial firms. PrideStaff is the only nationwide, commercial staffing firm in the U.S. and Canada with over $100 million in annual revenue to earn ClearlyRateds prestigious Best of Staffing Diamond Award seven years in a row highlighting exceptional client and talent service quality. For more information on our services or for staffing franchise information, visit http://www.pridestaff.com. Net cash used in operating and investing activities was $23.2 million in the first quarter; quarter-end cash and restricted cash position of $355.4 million provides funding to advance a broad pipeline DUBLIN, Ireland, May 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Prothena Corporation plc (PRTA), a clinical-stage neuroscience company with expertise in protein misfolding, today reported financial results for the first quarter of 2020. In addition, the Company provided an update on its R&D programs and 2020 financial guidance. While the COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant challenges to people around the world and to our industry, Prothena has acted to protect the health of patients and our employees and the continuity of our programs, said Gene Kinney, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Prothena. The situation is fluid and continues to evolve and as such we have identified potential disruptions and activated mitigation plans designed to advance our programs even under these challenging circumstances. Our team continues to manage critical activities, exhibiting extraordinary resilience, focus and commitment to advancing our pipeline of novel therapeutics for devastating diseases. We were fortunate that COVID-19 related disruptions began after patients in the Phase 2 prasinezumab study (PASADENA) and the Phase 1 PRX004 study had completed assessments that comprise the primary objective in each study. First Quarter 2020 and Recent Developments The Company continues to monitor the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to its business. Adaptations to the work environment have been implemented and the Companys laboratories have remained productive. The known and potential impact to active clinical studies is described in more detail below. Prothena has drug supply for its ongoing studies and currently does not expect delays to its programs due to manufacturing or supply chain issues. As part of Roches first quarter earnings announcement, an update was provided on Part 1 of the Phase 2 PASADENA study of prasinezumab in patients with early Parkinsons disease. As updated by Roche, the study did not meet the primary objective, but showed signals of efficacy. These signals were observed on multiple prespecified secondary and exploratory clinical endpoints. Roche has begun further clinical development planning activities and is evaluating the data from Part 1 of the PASADENA study to determine next steps. Based on ongoing evaluation of the data, including potential discussions with health authorities, a further update on prasinezumab is expected later this year. In a virtual oral presentation at the Advances in Alzheimers and Parkinsons Therapies AAT-AD/PD Focus Meeting (AAT-AD/PD), Roche presented baseline data from the Phase 2 PASADENA study of prasinezumab in patients with early Parkinson's disease. The presentation, titled A Phase 2 study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of prasinezumab in early Parkinson's disease (PASADENA): rationale, design and baseline data is posted on www.prothena.com here. The presentation noted that the PASADENA study population can be considered representative of a wider Parkinsons disease population, such as the one studied in the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) and is therefore suitable for testing the potential beneficial effect of drugs acting on disease progression, such as prasinezumab. The Company appointed Brandon Smith as Chief Business Officer to lead Prothenas business development initiatives, portfolio strategic planning and alliance management activities. Mr. Smith has extensive corporate, business development and operational expertise, and has held a number of executive roles at biotechnology companies. Story continues Research and Development Updates and Upcoming Milestones Prasinezumab (PRX002/RG7935), a potential treatment for Parkinsons disease, is a monoclonal antibody designed to target alpha-synuclein and is the focus of the worldwide collaboration with Roche Part 1 of the Phase 2 PASADENA study in patients with early Parkinsons disease (N=316) being conducted by Roche is complete. Based on ongoing evaluation of Part 1 PASADENA study data, including potential discussions with health authorities, a further update on prasinezumab is expected later this year. The 52-week blinded extension of the study (Part 2 of the Phase 2 PASADENA Study) is ongoing. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, patients have missed assessments in Part 2 of the study. The full extent of the COVID-19 disruption to Part 2 is not yet known. PRX004, a potential treatment for ATTR amyloidosis, is a monoclonal antibody designed to deplete the pathogenic, non-native forms of the TTR protein The Phase 1 study of PRX004 is fully enrolled and as of early March patients in all 6 cohorts had received the three infusions and assessments that comprise the dose-escalation portion of the study. Interim data from cohorts 1 through 5 was reported in December. At the conclusion of the dose-escalation portion of the study, patients meeting eligibility requirements were provided the option to enroll in the long-term-extension (LTE) portion of the study, which allows for up to 15 additional infusions per patient and is designed to further assess safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of PRX004. The LTE also includes certain clinical outcome measures for patients in cohorts 4 through 6 at the month 10 assessment (prior to infusion) and at the end of study (month 19 assessment). As of early April, patients in cohorts 1 through 5 in the LTE had completed at least their month 12 assessment and one patient in cohort 6 had completed their month 10 assessment. Because of the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, some patients have had to discontinue from the study and most patients in the LTE portion of the study have missed at least one infusion and/or assessment. The Company continues to monitor the impact that COVID-19 will have on the LTE portion of the study based on the fluid circumstances at each of the sites in the United States and Europe. If the COVID-19 pandemic results in missed visits over a prolonged period, it is possible that more patients may not be able to complete the LTE portion of the study. The Company believes the study has advanced sufficiently to determine next steps for the program and has begun further clinical development planning activities. The Company currently expects additional data from the dose-escalation and LTE portions of the study, as well as an update on next steps for clinical development, to be reported later this year. This timing, however, is dependent on any additional impacts of COVID-19. Discovery and Preclinical Development: Prothena is advancing an early-stage pipeline of programs for a number of potential neurological indications The Company continues to expect to advance IND-enabling activities in 2020 for our preclinical tau program, part of a global neuroscience collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb The Company continues to expect to initiate IND-enabling activities in 2020 for our preclinical A program First Quarter 2020 Financial Results and Updated 2020 Financial Guidance For the first quarter of 2020, Prothena reported a net loss of $23.6 million, as compared to a net loss of $20.9 million for the first quarter of 2019, which included a restructuring credit of $0.1 million in the first quarter of 2019 resulting from an adjustment in previously recorded employee termination benefits associated with the discontinuation of the NEOD001 program. Net loss per share for the first quarter of 2020 was $0.59, as compared to a net loss per share of $0.52 for the first quarter of 2019. Prothena reported total revenue, all from its collaboration with Roche, of $0.1 million for the first quarter of 2020, as compared to total revenue of $0.2 million for the first quarter of 2019. Research and development (R&D) expenses totaled $15.2 million for the first quarter of 2020, as compared to $13.3 million for the first quarter of 2019. The increase in R&D expense for the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in the prior year was primarily due to higher collaboration expense with Roche, higher manufacturing costs (primarily related to the tau and A programs) and higher clinical trial costs (primarily associated with the PRX004 program). R&D expenses included non-cash share-based compensation expense of $2.0 million for the first quarter of 2020, as compared to $2.1 million for the first quarter of 2019. General and administrative (G&A) expenses totaled $9.7 million for the first quarter of 2020, as compared to $9.9 million for first quarter of 2019. G&A expenses for the first quarter of 2020 decreased compared to the same period in the prior year primarily related to lower personnel costs (including share-based compensation expense), and lower legal and accounting fees, which was offset in part by higher costs for our director and officer insurance premiums. G&A expenses included non-cash share-based compensation expense of $3.5 million for the first quarter of 2020, as compared to $4.1 million for the first quarter of 2019. Total non-cash share-based compensation expense was $5.5 million for the first quarter of 2020, as compared to $6.2 million for the first quarter of 2019. As of March 31, 2020, Prothena had $355.4 million in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash and no debt. As of May 1, 2020, Prothena had approximately 39.9 million ordinary shares outstanding. The Company is updating its projected full year 2020 net cash burn from operating and investing activities, and expects it to be $75 to $85 million (versus prior guidance of $60 to $76 million), and expects to end the year with approximately $299 million (midpoint) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash (cash position), representing a decrease of $11 million from prior guidance of $310 million (midpoint). This decrease in cash position is primarily driven by an increase in expenses related to further clinical development, planning activities and ongoing evaluation of data from the Phase 2 PASADENA study of prasinezumab, and is based on Prothenas 30% portion of the U.S. co-development expenses. The updated estimated full year 2020 net cash burn from operating and investing activities is primarily driven by an updated estimated net loss of $101 to $118 million (versus prior guidance of $84 to $106 million), which includes an estimated $23 million of non-cash share-based compensation expense. About Prothena Prothena Corporation plc is a clinical-stage neuroscience company with expertise in protein misfolding, focused on the discovery and development of novel therapies with the potential to fundamentally change the course of devastating diseases. Fueled by its deep scientific expertise built over decades of research, Prothena is advancing a pipeline of therapeutic candidates for a number of indications and novel targets for which its ability to integrate scientific insights around neurological dysfunction and the biology of misfolded proteins can be leveraged. Prothenas partnered programs include prasinezumab (PRX002/RG7935), in collaboration with Roche for the potential treatment of Parkinsons disease and other related synucleinopathies, and programs that target tau, TDP-43 and an undisclosed target in collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb for the potential treatment of Alzheimers disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) or other neurodegenerative diseases. Prothenas proprietary programs include PRX004 for the potential treatment of ATTR amyloidosis, and programs that target A (Amyloid beta) for the potential treatment of Alzheimers disease. For more information, please visit the Companys website at www.prothena.com and follow the Company on Twitter @ProthenaCorp. Forward-looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements relate to, among other things, the sufficiency of our cash position to fund advancement of a broad pipeline; the treatment potential and proposed mechanisms of action of prasinezumab and PRX004; plans for the ongoing Phase 2 clinical study of prasinezumab and the ongoing Phase 1 clinical study of PRX004; the expected timing of reporting data from the Phase 1 clinical study of PRX004 and from the Phase 2 clinical study of prasinezumab; the continued advancement of our discovery and preclinical pipeline; the timing of IND-enabling activities from our tau and A programs; our anticipated net cash burn from operating and investing activities for 2020 and expected cash balance at the end of 2020; and our estimated net loss and non-cash share-based compensation expense for 2020. These statements are based on estimates, projections and assumptions that may prove not to be accurate, and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated due to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including but not limited to the effects on our business of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and the risks, uncertainties and other factors described in the Risk Factors sections of our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 3, 2020, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in our subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Prothena undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or changes in Prothenas expectations. PROTHENA CORPORATION PLC CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (unaudited - amounts in thousands except per share data) Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 Collaboration revenue $ 141 $ 186 Total revenue 141 186 Operating expenses: Research and development 15,248 13,296 General and administrative 9,741 9,905 Restructuring credits (61 ) Total operating expenses 24,989 23,140 Loss from operations (24,848 ) (22,954 ) Other income, net 1,113 2,287 Loss before income taxes (23,735 ) (20,667 ) Provision for (benefit from) income taxes (166 ) 198 Net loss $ (23,569 ) $ (20,865 ) Basic and diluted net loss per share $ (0.59 ) $ (0.52 ) Shares used to compute basic and diluted net loss per share 39,909 39,864 PROTHENA CORPORATION PLC CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (unaudited - amounts in thousands) March 31, December 31, 2020 2019 Assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 352,685 $ 375,723 Accounts receivable 174 68 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 6,832 2,584 Total current assets 359,691 378,375 Property and equipment, net 3,531 3,874 Operating lease right-of-use assets 21,929 23,274 Restricted cash, non-current 2,704 2,704 Other non-current assets 11,566 11,041 Total non-current assets 39,730 40,893 Total assets $ 399,421 $ 419,268 Liabilities and Shareholders Equity Accrued research and development $ 5,223 $ 5,826 Lease liability, current 5,202 5,101 Other current liabilities 6,661 6,787 Total current liabilities 17,086 17,714 Deferred revenue 110,242 110,242 Lease liability, non-current 16,501 17,838 Other non-current liabilities 553 553 Total non-current liabilities 127,296 128,633 Total liabilities 144,382 146,347 Total shareholders equity 255,039 272,921 Total liabilities and shareholders equity $ 399,421 $ 419,268 Media and Investor Contact: Ellen Rose, Head of Communications 650-922-2405, ellen.rose@prothena.com Under the revised foreign direct investment (FDI) policy, Indias bordering countries will require mandatory government approval for investing in any sector. This policy change is only applicable for FDI; other routes of foreign investments, such as foreign portfolio investment (FPI), remain unchanged. However, media reports indicate the government also intends to scrutinize FPIs in the future. Experts assume the government will approve new FDI proposals in non-sensitive sectors, such as manufacturing and technology in 8 to 10 weeks which is the prevailing case under the government approval route. Indias official trade and investment regulator, the Department of Promotion for Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) notified changes to the countrys foreign direct investment (FDI) policy making government approval mandatory for FDI inflows from Indias neighboring countries through Press Note No. 3(2020 Series), dated April 17, 2020. In the notification issued by DPIIT transfer of ownership of any existing entity or future FDI in an entity in India, directly or indirectly, resulting in beneficial ownership falling within this restriction will require mandatory government approval. Basically, this means that investors from Indias neighboring countries Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan will need to seek the Indian governments approval before taking forward their FDI investment for the foreseeable future. The revised FDI policy will impact Chinese investment the most as investors and firms from China have invested in various sectors in India. For instance, China has heavily invested in the technology sector, including, start-ups, mobile apps, and smartphone manufacturing as well as in sectors such as automobile, manufacturing, renewable energy, power, and industrial machinery. There is also a considerable investment by Chinese firms in Indias digital ecosystem, especially in-e-commerce, online payments, and healthcare. Here we answer the most common questions on this topic. Does the FDI policy change apply to other forms of foreign investment? No, the notification issued by DPIIT under Press Note No. 3(2020 Series) is only applicable for FDI. However, media reports in recent months seem to indicate that India is also working on tighter scrutiny of Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs). The FPI mechanism merges two modes of investment Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) and Qualified Foreign Investor (QFI) and there are three categories of FPI. FPI includes securities and financial assets held by foreign investors, and do not result in their ownership of the corporate entity. FPI holdings include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ADRs (American Depository Receipts), and exchange-traded funds. One reason given for the Indian governments attention to the FPI route is the worry that investors from China and Hong Kong could increase their purchase of company securities like equities to gain control. As reported by Reuters in late May, Indian government sources stated that a draft proposal made in consultation with the trade ministry and the capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), is currently under review by the Union finance ministry. The clearest implication, if such a proposal were to be approved, will be an extra layer of security clearance. China has 16 FPIs registered in India 15 are in Category I, which is for government and government related foreign investors, such as Central Banks and Sovereign Wealth Funds. Category I have easier compliance, lower taxation, and disclosure requirements. One FPI from China is registered under Category II, which typically comprises of hedge funds. Through FPI, Peoples Bank of China held a 1.01 percent stake in HDFC, an Indian banking and financial services company, until end-March. (However, as of end-June, PBoC has dropped off the list of investors holding at least one percent stake in HDFC.) Other examples include CIFM Asia Pacific Fund, a joint venture with JPMorgan Asset Management Co., which holds 13.5 percent stake in Indian banks and infrastructure firms, among others. There are 111 registered FPIs from Hong Kong; it is understood that a substantial amount of Chinese investment is routed through Hong Kong. FPI registration is permanent in nature and FPI investors pay the prescribed fees every three years to their designated depository participant (DDP). Foreign portfolio investors are crucial to Indias financial markets; net FPI inflows in 2019 stood at US$18 billion. According to reporting by the Indian Express: the market value of all FPI investments from China stood at INR 7.74 billion (US$103.32 million) at the end of December 2019, but jumped sharply to INR 32.57 billion (US$434.79 million) by March 2020. Latest update* India has formalized the changes to its FDI policy introduced in April 2020, in its Consolidated FDI Policy 2020, which it announced on October 28, 2020. FDI applications involving investments from an entity of a country sharing a land border with India or where the beneficial owner of an investment into India is based in or is a citizen of any such country, will need mandatory government approval. Again, it is clarified that such investment is not banned, only subject to greater scrutiny. The latest FDI policy (see official document here) has retrospective effect from October 15, 2020. Additionally, a 26 percent cap on FDI is introduced in the segment that covers digital news (uploading or streaming of news and current affairs through digital platforms). The latest FDI policy also makes it mandatory for e-commerce entities with foreign investment to obtain and maintain a statutory audit report by September 30 every year for the preceding financial year, which indicates their compliance with Indias laws. The previous Consolidated FDI Policy was released in 2017 and was effective from August 28, 2017. The latest FDI policy consolidates the changes introduced in the past three years. How will the policy change impact existing Chinese investment in India? Existing investment from China will not be impacted as it has already been processed by the DPIIT / government authorities. However, industry experts are of the understanding that in certain cases of investment, investors may have to seek government approval. For example, if there is further capital infusion in the company by a Chinese investor either to maintain their stake in the company or to increase their FDI stake then the Chinese investors will have to seek Indias regulatory approval. Even global transactions by Chinese investors can be impacted in certain cases. For instance, a European target company, which has an India subsidiary, proposed to be acquired by a Chinese investor, will now require prior approval in India in addition to the applicable approval process for investment from Europe. This is because the beneficial ownership of the Indian entity will be deemed to have been transferred to the Chinese investor. In terms of FDI inflows, FDI from Hong Kong jumped from US$1.2 billion until March 2014 to US$4.4 billion by end-March 2020; FDI from China amounted to US$404 million till March 2014 and jumped to US$2.378 billion by the end of March 2020. Startups in India who have counted marquee investors Alibaba and Tencent among their backers include Zomato, Paytm, Byjus, Ola Cabs, BigBasket, etc. In fact, of 30 unicorn startups in India worth at least US$1 billion, more than half reported major investments from Chinese firms. However, just last month, in July, it was reported that the food delivery aggregator Zomato had been facing difficulty in receiving the second tranche of US$100 million in equity capital from Ant Financial an affiliate of the Chinese internet technology giant Alibaba. The situation is in stark contrast with earlier in the year, when 13 out of 15 deals, which saw Chinese investment pour into Indian startups, were signed until April. This included Alibabas injection worth US$150 million into Zomato in January and Tencents investment of nearly US$20 million as part of food delivery platform Swiggys US$150 million round in February. How does the policy impact Indian entities where Chinese investors hold a major stake? In case of entities where Chinese investors are a major stakeholder, or in case of a wholly owned subsidiary of a Chinese firm, the revised policy may not affect anything as there will be no change in the ownership of the company. It is important to note that the purpose of these changes in the FDI policy is to prevent hostile takeovers of Indian firms by foreign investors from Indias neighbors, including China. But if a Chinese investor wants to increase their stake in the company despite being a shareholder they will likely have to seek approval from the government. However, the approval process time may be shorter in such cases. On the other hand, the Indian government has taken issue where the existing Chinese presence is considered to be a security and privacy threat. This has been the explanation behind Indias recent ban on 59 Chinese developed apps from use in the domestic market, including popular products, such as short video platform TikTok, owned by the Chinese internet technology giant ByteDance Ltd., messaging platform WeChat, and apps developed by Xiaomi and Alibaba. India had over 200 million users on TikTok before the June 29 ban and is the companys largest market outside China. The latest development in this segment appears to be that ByteDance may be in talks with Indias Reliance Industries Limited since last month for backing the technology companys business in India. The deal is reported to be valued at US$5 billion. (Reliance and Bytedance have both denied any information on the reported deal.) Separately, ByteDance is in discussions with Microsoft Corp. to sell part of its overseas operations; US President Donald Trump has given ByteDance until September 15 before a ban could come in effect in the American market. Interestingly, Trump has demanded a cut of any sale, which has complicated prospects for a deal. What is the expected timeline for the governments approval process? While the government is yet to announce the processing time, it is expected that it would range between eight to 10 weeks for non-sensitive sectors, such as assembly and manufacturing. It may take longer for sensitive sectors, such as defense and technology. Investment from China may also be subjected to security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs, which may take additional one or two weeks. Since all FDI inflow from Indias neighboring countries will be scrutinized by the government, the overall approval time may increase. However, it is expected that the government will clear proposals swiftly as it does not want foreign investment to India to slow down. What clarifications are needed from the government? The notification does not clarify the status of investments from Hong Kong, which is treated as a special administrative region. DPIIT tracks investment data from Hong Kong and China separately, so it is unclear if this revised policy is applicable to investment from Hong Kong or if the beneficial owners are based in Hong Kong. Clarity is also needed on how the beneficial ownership test will be applied in cases where the entity seeking to invest in India under the FDI route is a private equity fund. Chinese investors should seek expert advice from foreign investment professionals as they plan their investments into India under the revised FDI policy. What is Indias position on bidding for government projects, tenders? On July 23, the Indian government amended its public financing rules, erecting barriers for companies from bordering countries to bid on government tenders and projects. Such companies would now have to register with a committee set up by the DPIIT where their eligibility will be assessed. Political and security clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will also be mandatory. According to the press release by the Union finance ministry: Any bidder from such countries sharing a land border with India will be eligible to bid in any procurement whether of goods, services (including consultancy services and non-consultancy services) or works (including turnkey projects) only if the bidder is registered with the Competent Authority. The Order takes into its ambit public sector banks and financial institutions, Autonomous Bodies, Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and Public Private Partnership projects receiving financial support from the Government or its undertakings Bordering countries to whom India currently offers lines of credit or to countries with which the Indian government has established a joint development project, such as Bangladesh and Nepal, will be exempted from the need to register with the DPIIT or seek security clearance. That shortens the list of affected countries. For more information and assistance, please feel free to email us at india@dezshira.com. (Editors Note: This article was originally published on April 30, 2020. It was last updated on October 28, 2020.) Doctors in China have pulled a 65-year-old coronavirus patient from the brink of death by giving him a double-lung transplant. The critically ill man, named as Cui An, tested positive for COVID-19 in early February and had been hooked to a life-support machine for more than two months when surgeons performed the challenging surgery, according to a hospital in Wuhan. Medics said the transplant was the only way to save Mr Cui because the killer infection had caused irreversible damage to his lungs, leaving him unable to breathe on his own. Medics are pictured wearing goggles, full-body protective suits and head shields during the double-lung transplant on April 20 at People's Hospital of Wuhan University in Wuhan, China The life-saving operation took place on April 20 in People's Hospital of Wuhan University and involved more than 20 medical workers, the hospital said. The medics worn goggles, full-body protective suits and head shields throughout the procedure, which lasted for six hours. The surgery was carried out in a negative-pressure operating theatre to limit the spread of the virus. Dr Lin Huiqing, the director of the department of thoracic surgery of the hospital, called the operation 'highly risky'. She said all medics had to wear sound-proof headgears which provided them with positive pressure. She explained: 'After putting on the positive-pressure head covers, the medical workers would not be able to use language to communicate during the surgery, and had to rely on their experience and mutual understanding to complete the operation.' The patient, Cui An (right), was able to undergo the operation after doctors secured a pair of lungs on April 20 from a deceased donor. The organs were flown to Wuhan (left) on April 20 The procedure was carried out by Prof Chen Jingyu (pictured), the leader of the national expert team of lung transplant as well as medics from various departments of People's Hospital The patient, Mr Cui, first developed high fevers on January 23 and was diagnosed with COVID-19 on February 7. His health deteriorated on February 17, and Doctors at Wuhan's Red Cross Hospital - where he was receiving treatment - hooked him to a machine called ECMO a day later. ECMO is a drastic life-support procedure which replaces the function of the heart and lungs by pumping oxygen into the blood outside the body. He was transferred to People's Hospital on March 18 when the hospital was assigned by the government to take over all COVID-19 patients from Red Cross Hospital. Doctors put him into the ICU on April 6 after his condition failed to improve and he still had to reply to ECMO to survive. Mr Cui had been hooked to a life-support machine called ECMO (seen in a file picture) for more than two months when surgeons performed the life-saving operation on the 65-year-old During the intensive care, he tested negative in multiple nucleic acid tests, which means the coronavirus was no longer present in his body. 'However, because the novel coronavirus had caused his two lungs to sustain irreversible pulmonary fibrosis and respiratory failure, he required constant assistance of a ventilator and ECMO and was at death's door,' the hospital said in a social media release. As a critically ill COVID-19 patient, doctors reported Mr Cui's situation to the country's coronavirus task force, and experts deemed that a double-lung transplant was the best way to save him. Doctors secured a pair of lungs on April 20 from a deceased donor who was a match to Mr Cui. The organs were flown from the southern province of Yunnan, where the donor was, to Wuhan on the same day. The transplant took place on the same evening. It was performed by Prof Chen Jingyu, the leader of the national expert team of lung transplant as well as medics from various departments of People's Hospital. The hospital said Mr Cui was recovering well. The coronavirus has killed 4,633 people and infected 82,885 in China, according to official figures. Pictured, a woman and a boy enjoy a ride while wearing masks in Beijing on May 4 Doctors unhooked him from the ECMO two days after the surgery and Mr Cui regained his conscious on April 24. His overall infection subdued on April 20, and he was able to do simple movements with his hands and feet. He still needed to use a ventilator to help him breathe most of the day because his muscles did not have enough strength yet to support his new lungs. Lung transplants are not a conventional method to treat the novel coronavirus, but the only way so far to cure those with terminal changes in their lungs, said Jiao Yahui, a specialist from China's National Health Commission. But Jiao pointed out that doctors should only conduct the transplant after eliminating the coronavirus in the patient. '[Otherwise] even if you give them a new lung, it will still be infected and damaged,' she stressed. According to Deputy Professor Li Guang from the hospital's ICU department, Mr Cui was slowly regaining his physical abilities. Still, it would take him a long time to recover from the operation entirely, he said. Harris County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Raymond Scholwinski died Wednesday after a weeks-long battle with COVID-19, becoming one of the first known coronavirus-related fatalities among Houston-area law enforcement agencies. Scholwinski, 70, was among thousands of first responders nationwide in mid-March to be sickened by the virus. His symptoms had worsened when he was hospitalized March 29. He was put on a ventilator and fought for his life in the Memorial Hermann ICU, according to earlier reports in the Houston Chronicle. A full-time deputy for 26 years, his most recent assignment was the day watch Contract Sergeant in District 2, where he helped run public safety town halls with residents. "Sgt. Scholwinski represented the best of the Harris County Sheriff's Office family," said Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. "Whether he was on patrol, making a neighborhood association presentation, or in the field during hurricanes, tropical storms, and other disasters, Ray consistently delivered for the people of Harris County. We will miss our brother and we will honor his legacy of service." His wife, Rynda Scholwinski, spoke of her husbands caring nature in an interview last month with the Chronicle. He always looked out for her and helped elderly residents at the complex where she used to live, she said. I never thought I wouldnt be able to be with my husband when hes so sick, she said. Rynda said when they met 35 years ago his heart was set on the sheriffs office. At the time, he was working at the apartment complex where she lived and slowly began courting her. When she cut her hand on shattered glass, and needed surgery, he drove her to and from the appointment. He brought her meals and flowers. He eventually asked her to marry him on a camping trip a year after they met. By then, shed long since fallen for him. Scholwinski started working at the sheriffs office in 1979 as a reserve deputy. He joined full-time soon after they tied the knot. It was a nerve-wracking experience for Rynda, she said, but it never prepared her for the pandemic. They go through training how to learn how to approach a vehicle to make a stop, how to answer a door when theyre going to a domestic violence call she said at the time of the interview. But you cant even train against this. The sergeant was one of the first sheriffs office employees to contract the virus, a department spokesman said. Rynda believes he may have caught the virus March 16, when the sergeant met with a deputy who later tested positive for COVID-19. Fever and fatigue arrived a few days later. In the hospital, doctors prescribed hydroxychloroquine, the medicine President Donald Trump had touted. By the next day, doctors told Rynda that Raymond wasnt responding to the medication anymore. Scholwinskis colleagues said he worked long hours, helping frustrated residents and attending community meetings. He loved people and his job, one captain told the Chronicle. He was a colleague and friend to many of us and will be missed dearly, according to a Facebook post from the Harris County Deputies Organization.We will continue to keep his family in our prayers during this difficult time. Blessed are the Peacemakers. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo also offered condolences on social media. His service earned him the communitys love and support, she said. Law enforcement are part of the front lines in this fight." Scholwinski had been one of 12 sheriffs office employees who as of Wednesday were hospitalized because of the virus. He was among 256 total employees battling the disease, including 229 who work in the jail. As of Wednesday, 402 Harris County sheriffs deputies, detention officers and support staff were on quarantine for possible COVID-19 exposure. Funeral arrangements for Scholwinski are pending. St. John Barned-Smith contributed to this report. julian.gill@chron.com Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has decided that the Government will be paying for the travel of all the migrant workers who were accommodated in relief centres setup across the state ever since the lockdown was imposed and wish to return to their respective states. Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has decided that the Government will be paying for the travel of all the migrant workers who were accommodated in relief centres setup across the state ever since the lockdown was imposed and wish to return to their respective states. Apart from this, he has also instructed the officers to ensure that a one-time financial assistance of 500 is given to all these migrants from various other states like Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar who are stuck and wish to return via trains arranged by the state government. He further reiterated that the state is also ready to pay for the return of migrant workers from Andhra Pradesh who are stuck in other states and wish to return. The chief minister expressed his concern with respect to the economic toll that all these migrant workers have had to endure and might have to endure in the near future due to the spread of coronavirus and the consequential lockdown. He further added that at a time like this , the state is determined to help migrant workers from Andhra Pradesh as well as other states by making sure that their return is taken care of by the state. Speaking on the matter, PV Ramesh, Special Chief Secretary to Chief Minister said, "Chief Minister of Andhra has made a radical decision today with reference to the migrant labourers who are in Andhra Pradesh, from other states and also those who are from Andhra Pradesh and are staying in other States. He has decided that those migrants who have come here have already been housed in centres and they are being fed." "Now they have the opportunity either to continue working here or to return to their home States. If they choose to go back, the government will ensure that it will bear the train fare, provide the food during the journey and give Rs 500 cash. In addition, if anyone is sick, they would also be given the medicines. This would ensure that each and every person who is in Andhra Pradesh would be able to return to their home without any inconvenience, he added. "Similarly, CM has decided to facilitate the return of migrants who have gone to other States. He has instructed the officials to coordinate with various State Governments and ensure their safe return," said Ramesh. Washington: Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has left for Doha, New Delhi and Islamabad, the US State Department said on Wednesday. In Doha, Ambassador Khalilzad will meet with Taliban representatives to press for full implementation of the US-Taliban agreement. In New Delhi, he will meet with Indian officials to discuss the important role of India in a sustainable peace in Afghanistan and the region. And in Islamabad, he will meet with Pakistani officials and also discuss the Afghan peace process. "At each stop, he will urge support for an immediate reduction in violence, accelerated timeline for the start of intra-Afghan negotiations and cooperation among all sides in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan," the State Department said. Israel Not To Stop Operations Until Iran Driven Out Of Syria, Defense Minister Says Radio Farda May 06, 2020 Speaking to the state-owned Kan 11 news channel on Tuesday following airstrikes in the north of Syria that killed at least 14 fighters, Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said Israel will keep up its operations in Syria until Iran is driven out. "Iran has nothing to do in Syria... (and) we won't stop before they leave Syria," Bennet said and maintained that Iran was "trying to establish itself on the border with Israel to threaten Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa", calling Syria Iran's Vietnam. Israel has recently launched several major airstrikes in Syria against Iranian forces and its proxies, including the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The government of Israel, however, rarely confirms details of its operations. According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights which monitors the war in Syria, the latest overnight strikes on Tuesday came minutes after Syrian air defenses intercepted Israeli air raid over the north of the country in Abu Kamal region. According to the Syrian government news agency SANA, Israel targeted a "research center" near Aleppo. The report said all of the fighters who were killed in the latest Israeli airstrike were Iranians or Iraqis. On Monday The Jerusalem Post quoted a senior Israeli defense source as saying that for the first time since Iran entered Syria, the Islamic Republic is reducing its forces and clearing out from bases there. "We are determined, more determined, and I will tell you why - for Iran, Syria is an adventure 1,000 miles from home, but for us it is life," Naftali Bennett said on Sunday. "Iranian soldiers who come to Syria and act there are endangering their lives. They are risking their lives and will pay with their lives. We will not give up nor allow the establishment of a forward Iranian base in Syria," he added. Iranian officials have not commented on the Tuesday Israeli strikes in Syria. With reporting from AFP. Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/israel- not-to-stop-operations-until- -driven-out-of-syria-defense -minister-says/30595589.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address / -- To ensure safety of his Karyakartas and Padadhikaris working relentlessly day and night, BJYM Mumbai President and a social activist Tajinder Singh Tiwana has provided them with health cover worth 1 Lakh. Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Mumbai has initiated the following tasks of public welfare to enhance the support towards the fight against COVID-19 Virus. They have appointed 263 volunteers across 36 Assemblies of Mumbai to ensure coordination with Health Department of MCGM, Local Police Station and Hospitals treating COVID-19 patients. Community Kitchens are arranged in all 6 Districts from which food is distributed to BMC Staff/Police Personnel/Stranded Labourers/Hospital Staffs/Homeless People etc. The social activists of BJYM Mumbai has also started an initiative to mark social distancing circles in various areas to ensure social distancing is maintained by residents and citizens for precaution. Also, hand sanitizers and masks along with Modi Kits were distributed in all 36 assemblies of Mumbai under the guidance of senior BJP leaders by BJYM Padadhikaris. #BJYM CARES, an initiative launched by the BJYM national president Smt MP Poonam Mahajan and BJYM Mumbai, helped over 3100 people stranded across the city with food, ration and other essential requirements. The same was also appreciated by Former Union Minister Shri Radhamohan Singh Ji where migrant workers from his constituency were immediately helped. BJYM Mumbai distributed sanitizing sprays and sodium hypochlorite solution and sanitizing is being carried out till date using the same. BJYM Mumbai has appointed corona helpline volunteers ward-wise and they were assigned to help every stranded person and moreover they took responsibility to supply essential commodities like medicines, vegetables, food packets, ration kits etc to the people in need. BJYM Mumbai has also coordinated with various housing society committees to set up vegetable trucks in the compounds of the societies. The Karyakartas have distributed 14,700 packets of cooked food daily all over Mumbai to help people in need. Tiwana said, "During the COVID-19 pandemic, all BJYM Padadhikaris are working on field across the city helping the people in need." He further stated that BJYM Mumbai is a family and safeguarding the health of the Karyakartas is his primary duty and therefore he has provided a Medical Healthcare Policy worth 1 Lakh to each of the Mumbai BJYM Padadhikaris working on the field consistently supporting the country in the fight against the lethal virus. About Tajinder Singh Tiwana Tajinder Singh Tiwana is a President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Mumbai (BJYM) and a social activist. He is a rare combination of charisma & integrity. He has the ability to assess a situation and make decision based on what would be best for the people. He has also worked under the leadership of Member of Parliament's (MPs) and Member of Legislative Assembly's (MLAs) untiringly to resolve many BMC related issues and has been instrumental in creating programs for Communal Harmony and National Integration from a very young age, taking the legacy of his family further towards serving the mankind. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Taking a serious view of the matter, the State Government has ordered the immediate closure/sealing of clinics Kolkata: A private diagnostic laboratory in north Kolkata has been sealed by the Mamata Banerjee government for allegedly conducting Covid-19 tests without authorisation from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). It has been booked in an FIR by the police and also slapped a fine of Rs 10 lakhs by the state health department following a probe. Tribeni Clinics, the accused facility, is also the first such test centre in West Bengal to be found in the illegal practice encashing on the pandemic. On Tuesday evening the health department stated, Following a complaint from a member of the public that M/s. Tribeni Clinics, a Diagnostic Laboratory was conducting swab sample tests for Covid-19 unauthorisedly, an enquiry was conducted by this department. The enquiry has revealed that the said diagnostic laboratory did not have ICMRs approval and was, hence, found to be conducting tests for Covid-19 illegally. Taking a serious view of the matter, the State Government has ordered the immediate closure/sealing of M/s. Tribeni Clinics, P-323, C.I.T. Road, Scheme VI M, Kankurgachi, Kolkata, 700054, along with a fine of Rs 10 lakh under the relevant section of the West Bengal Clinical Establishment (Registration, Regulation & Transparency) Act, 2017. An FIR has also been registered in the Phoolbagan Police Station for taking action under the Criminal Law. Meanwhile, the chief minister tweeted, Keeping in view the increasing need of ramping up specialised Covid treatment in the state, we have decided to notify Medical College, Kolkata as a full-fledged tertiary level Covid Hospital, which will start functioning from 7th May 2020 onwards. The facility at Medical College, Kolkata will start with 500 beds (for both Covid and SARI) which would be scaled up as per need, in phases. This will be the 68th dedicated Covid hospital of West Bengal. That overnight trip to High Park to climb a cherry blossom tree came with a $1,150 price tag. Toronto police issued three tickets to the man caught on the citys BloomCam climbing the tree in the early morning hours Monday. The city closed High Park entirely last Thursday to prevent people gathering to look at blooming cherry trees, an annual magnet for photo snappers, to prevent COVID-19 spread because of concern that crowds would gather. Toronto police tweeted Thursday that after significant nedia attention, the man was identified. He was found Tuesday and police issued three provincial offence tickets for entering a prohibited area of the park, walking in a prohibited area of the park and using a park between midnight and 5:30 a.m. without permit. Police said the three tickets totalled to $1,150. Police said when orders and bylaws are breached, enforcement will be enforced as necessary. Members of the Toronto Police Service, in partnership with City of Toronto staff, are patrolling High Park and other parks and squares to ensure ongoing compliance, police tweeted. Police thanked the public for their cooperation during these difficult times. The vast majority of people have adhered to the orders and by-laws to keep our communities safe and healthy, police said. Toronto police wouldnt reveal his name. BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 By Ilkin Seyfaddini Trend: Uzbekistan's electricity exports to Afghanistan have stopped due to military operations in Afghanistan, Trend reports, referring to the National Electric Grids of Uzbekistan. "On April 26 2020 as a result of armed clashes, the damage was done to a support pole #562 of the networks between Puli Khumri and Chimtala substations in Afghanistan. In this regard, the supply of electricity to Afghanistan has decreased from 280 mW to zero," the message said. Later, the failure was eliminated by the Afghan side and the export was restored. According to Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), which was engaged in the restoration of power lines, due to the ongoing hostilities in the IRA, there were repeated power failures. Since yesterday, exports to Afghanistan have almost halved compared to the beginning of the month (1.4 million kWh per day on average). According to Uzbekistan's National Electric Grids representatives, it will take several days to restore the damaged power grids. According to the intergovernmental agreement signed on 25 December 2019 between Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) and National Electric Grids of Uzbekistan JSC, electricity supply from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan is made regularly. The contract for electricity supply from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan is for 10 years. The volume of supply is 4.2 billion kWh, with a subsequent increase to 6 billion kWh. --- Follow author on Twitter: @seyfaddini A civilian was injured and two houses suffered damage when the Pakistan Army on Thursday shelled forward posts and villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in three sectors of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, drawing retaliation from the Indian Army, a defence spokesperson said. This is the sixth consecutive day of firing and shelling by Pakistani troops along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. "At about 1100 hours today, Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and shelling with mortars along LoC in Qasba, Shahpur and Kirni sectors of Poonch," he said. The spokesperson said the Indian Army retaliated befittingly and cross-border shelling between the two sides was going on when last reports came in. One civilian, Nisar Ali, a resident of Qasba village, was injured in the shelling by Pakistan and was hospitalised, officials said. Besides two houses suffered damages, they said. Deputy Commissioner Rahul Yadav visited the District Hospital, Poonch and provided cash relief of Rs 10,000 out of Red Cross Fund to Nisar Ali who got injured during the cross border shelling. Ali was later referred to GMC Jammu for better treatment, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Happy National Nurses Day! Now more than ever, healthcare workers are our heroes who deserve to be celebrated. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to put unprecedented strain on medical professionals who risk their lives daily in the fight against COVID-19, brands like Wacoal, Uniqlo, Jaanuu and Algenist are doing their part to cheer them up. Ray of light: Jaanuu is offering 'You are My Sunshine' t-shirts for men, women and children with 100% of net proceeds (up to $10k) being donated to the Emergency Child Care Program For the heroes: The Emergency Child Care program within the COVID-19 Crisis Fund provides tax-free stipends for hospital workers Kicking off Nurses week during these difficult times, Jaanuu is honoring nurses as the nation's ray of light. The medical scrub manufacturers are designing 'You are My Sunshine' t-shirts for men, women and children with 100% of net proceeds (up to $10k) being donated to the Emergency Child Care Program through the LA emergency COVID 19 Crisis Fund. The Emergency Child Care program within the COVID-19 Crisis Fund provides tax-free stipends for hospital workers, prioritizing low-income employees, to pay for childcare while they are working on the front lines of the crisis around the clock. Adults tees retail for $28 and children's are being sold for $18. In addition to the limited-edition t-shirts, Jaanuu will be offering 25% off sitewide along with the ability to gift a nurse on the frontline with a gift card. Shop: Adults tees retail for $28 and children's are being sold for $18 For all: In addition to the limited-edition t-shirts, Jaanuu will be offering 25% off sitewide along with the ability to gift a nurse on the frontline with a gift card In honor of International Nurses Day, lingerie brand Wacoal is donating bras and underwear to hospitals and organizations across the country. Recipients of one-size bras and underwear include Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, DC Nurses Association in Washington, DC, Keck Medical Center at University of Southern California and Lenox Hill as part of Northwell Health Group in New York. New Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago, NYU Langone Health in New York, Overlook Medical Center in New Jersey and St. James Parish Hospital in Louisiana are also receiving the underpinnings. In honor of International Nurses Day, lingerie brand Wacoal is donating bras and underwear to hospitals and organizations across the country. Across the country: Recipients of one-size bras and underwear include Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and DC Nurses Association in Washington, DC Offering: New Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago, NYU Langone Health in New York and Overlook Medical Center in New Jersey are recipients For the heroes: To show their gratitude to medical workers that have left their homes to help fight the COVID-19 crisis in New York, American heritage luggage brand Zero Halliburton donated Sun Carry On Travel Cases Travel in style: 100 cases were delivered to the Four Seasons Hotel on April 28th and are still being passed out to first responders To show their gratitude to medical workers that have left their homes to help fight the COVID-19 crisis in New York, luxury luggage brand Zero Halliburton donated Sun Carry On Travel Cases and KN95 masks from their warehouse to medical professionals. 100 bright yellow cases (that retail for about $500 each) were delivered to the Four Seasons Hotel on April 28th and are still being passed out to first responders. Well known beauty brands including Gillette, Venus, LAFCO, This Works and Endure donated products to fill each case as part of the Mission Sun project. Items included shaving products, soap, pillow spray, shower gel, and eye gel pads.. This is just one of two initiatives put forth from the brand to give back, the other being a sale with a percentage of the proceeds going to those battling COVID-19 on the front lines. PPE: Zero Halliburton also donated 300 KN95 masks from their warehouse to medical professionals Necessities: Well known beauty brands including Gillette, Venus, LAFCO, This Works and Endure donated products to fill each case as part of the Mission Sun project Grateful: This is just one of two initiatives put forth from the brand to give back, the other being a sale with a percentage of the proceeds going to those battling COVID-19 on the front lines Beauty: In honor of this very special holiday, Algenist is donating 2,500 units of GENIUS Collagen Calming Relief to help moisturize and soothe their face Doctors and nurses on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis are spending many hours a day wearing face masks. While the devices offer protection against the virus, they can also cause skin irritation, redness and damage. In honor of this very special holiday, Algenist is donating 2,500 units of GENIUS Collagen Calming Relief to help moisturize and soothe their faces. The product will be donated to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) who will be gifting all the healthcare workers on the frontline. Stay cool: UNIQLO is donating 20,000 units of AIRism innerwear to Montefiore Health System and NYC Health + Hospitals to celebrate National Hospital Week Comfort in combat: AIRism is an ultra-thin and breathable fabric that wicks moisture, releases heat, and absorbs sweat to prevent overheating. The 20,000 units are to be worn under scrubs or uniforms UNIQLO is donating 20,000 units of AIRism innerwear to Montefiore Health System and NYC Health + Hospitals to celebrate National Hospital Week. AIRism is an ultra-thin and breathable fabric that wicks moisture, releases heat, and absorbs sweat to prevent overheating. It is designed with anti-microbial and self-deodorizing properties that keep the wearer dry and comfortable all day. The 20,000 units will include sleeveless tops for women and short sleeve styles for men, to be worn under scrubs or uniforms. 'UNIQLO wishes to take this opportunity to share our heartfelt thanks for all hospital workers and first responders who are on the front lines to combat this crisis,' said Hiroshi Taki, CEO, UNIQLO U.S.A. 'New York is our home where we first opened our doors in the U.S., and the most vulnerable region in the U.S. affected by the virus. 'We are honored to show our appreciation for their tireless and heroic work to keep our community safe, with apparel designed to make their daily life a little more comfortable.' Kindness: J.Jill is offering America's heroes $50 to shop the label's newest collection, in addition to donating $50,000 to #FirstRespondersFirst Fund through the J.Jill Compassion Fund The coronavirus pandemic has put unprecedented strain on medical professionals who put their lives at risk daily in the fight against COVID-19. To honor nurses on the frontlines, J.Jill, Inc. announced today a campaign and donation in honor of healthcare workers. The nationally recognized womens apparel brand is offering America's heroes $50 to shop the label's newest collection, in addition to donating $50,000 to #FirstRespondersFirst Fund through the J.Jill Compassion Fund. From May 6 to May 31, healthcare professionals are invited to go to JJill.com to verify their credentials through SheerID and receive a free, single-use code, while supplies last. Present: To say thank you to today's heroes, Kate Spade gave 5,000 backpacks to the workers on the frontlines Kate Spade New York participated in #GivingTuesdayNow, a global generosity movement addressing the urgency of COVID-19 (the annual #GivingTuesday happens after U.S. Thanksgiving). To say thanks to today's heroes, Kate Spade gave 5,000 backpacks to the workers on the frontlines, including medical workers, grocers, pharmacists, delivery folks, teachers, parents who are doing it all, and many more. A first-ever commercial cargo flight from Russia airlifted 50 tonnes of pharmaceuticals, including medicines and vaccines from Hyderabad to Moscow in the early hours of Wednesday. The freight aircraft of Aeroflot Airlines, the largest airline of the Russian Federation, landed in Hyderabad International Airport at 11.17 am on Tuesday and departed with the cargo at 12.03 am on Wednesday. An official spokesman of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited said this was the first time that a commercial B-777 passenger to cargo flight landed at the Hyderabad airport to take pharmaceuticals to Moscow. It carried a full load of 50 tonnes of pharmaceuticals, including 20 different types of medicines and vaccines. This was a one of its kind wide body P-to-C cargo flight movement for Hyderabad, the spokesman said. Currently, the service of Aeroflot freighter is limited due to the Covid-19 lockdown. Hyderabad International Airport is planning to have a regular weekly frequency of this freighter, which if works out, will enable a direct connectivity of Hyderabad to Russia and other CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries. The spokesman said the CIS countries have a major demand for pharmaceuticals and this freighter can open up a direct gateway to the CIS countries. This sector also has a demand for aerospace, engineering and general cargo. Recently, Hyderabad airport handled Ethiopian Freighter, a first direct flight connecting Hyderabad to Africa. During the Covid-19 lockdown, Hyderabad Air Cargo has handled all kinds of goods including essential and perishable products along with majorly Covid-19 relief material, pharmaceuticals, engineering, IT, aerospace, perishables and console cargo. During this period from the commencement of lockdown till date, the airport has handled approximately 5,500 tonnes of cargo, the spokesman added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON By Express News Service BENGALURU: As the Central government is making arrangements to bring back people stranded abroad, the State Health Department is putting in place a system to test and quarantine those returning to the state. In all, 10,823 people from Karnataka will be evacuated along with other Indians stranded in different countries over the next few days. Of them, 6,100 are likely to be brought back in the first phase. As per the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for international passengers returning to Karnataka, released on Wednesday, they will be segregated on the basis of they being symptomatic and asymptomatic. All of them will have to take three tests: first one on arrival; second, between fifth and seventh day; and the third on the 12th day of arrival to Karnataka. Throat swab samples for the RTPCR test will be taken from all passengers. On arrival, symptomatic passengers will be sent to 14 days quarantine at Covid Healthcare Centre, followed by 14 days of self-reporting, while those without any symptoms (asymptomatic) will be sent to seven days quarantine at Covid Care Centres, which are hotels, guesthouses and hostels. After that, they will have to undergo home quarantine in case the second test is negative. If the CCCs are not available, asymptomatic passengers will be sent for home quarantine directly. The BBMP and Deputy Commissioners have finalised rates for CCC hotels. At the airport, the list of such hotels along with tariffs should be given to passengers, the SOP states. All passengers arriving through entry points outside Karnataka and travelling to the state via road or domestic flights, too would be subjected to the same procedures. During home quarantine, they have to stay away from the elderly, pregnant women, children and persons with comorbidities. Home quarantine stickers will be pasted on the doors of passengers homes. Neighbours and resident welfare associations will be informed to ensure that the quarantine is adequately enforced. HOMEWARD BOUND 10,823 passengers state plans to quarantine 6,100 passengers, including students, are returning early Swab testing for RT-PCR for all passengers Symptomatic passengers will be sent to dedicated Covid Health CareCentre for testing & isolation Asymptomatic passengers will be sent for seven days institution quarantine at hotels/guest houses/hostels Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar. The delivery room at the Grey Nuns Hospital in Edmonton is dark, but on May 5, 2015, at 6 a.m., I was jumping up and down as my newborn son came into the world. The Muslim tradition is to whisper the call to prayer the adhaan in the ear of the newborn child after birth; but I was so filled with adrenalin in the moment, that I began to loudly chant the call to prayer even as I held him in my arms for the first time. Five years on, almost to the day, we in the Canadian context are having a public discussion about the place of the adhaan the call to prayer as numerous municipalities, including Brampton, Missisauga, and Edmonton have amended their noise bylaws to permit Canadian Muslims to make the public call to prayer during the COVID-19 crisis. I am a lawyer by training so by nature I am inclined to want to draw out arguments before you about treating citizens equally (church bells are allowed, so why shouldnt the Muslim call to prayer?) or around the need of citizens to adequately study the changes to the bylaws (many of the changes roll up in the next two weeks as Ramadan comes to an end), but in this case, I wish to tell you what the adhaan means to me, and what it means to me today, in the context of COVID-19 and in the context of life, birth, and death. I cannot help even as Nazis make bomb threats to mosques because they had the audacity to recite a five minute prayer at dusk but think of the worshippers at the Quebec City Mosque, who reportedly heard Alexandre Bissonette state the opening words of the adhaan, Allahu akbar before opening fire in the bloodiest attack on a religious institution in Canadian history. I cannot help but think of the adhaan as many traditional Muslims understand it as a matter of praxis. We are taught through the tradition that the Messenger Muhammad, peace be upon him, fled from his home to new land Madinah from those whose in the tribe of the Quraysh who were trying to assassinate him. Upon building the first mosque, the Medinian Muslims began to think of how to call people to prayer. At first, the idea of blowing a shofar, as per the Judaic tradition, was considered. There was then the decision to utilize a wooden clapper, the naqus, which some of the Arabian Christians used in lieu of the bell. However, revelation came of a call to prayer, delivered without material instruments, but rather with the call of the human voice a profound reflection on the absence of the need of the material to connect with the Divine. Yet, there is a way in which the adhaan can be understood historically in the context of the neighbours of the Medinian Muslims, of different faith communities who lived together. It can be understood in the way that the first man who called the adhaan was Sayyidna Bilal a freed Abyssinian slave who was tormented by his Qurayshi captor, and insulted for the colour of his skin and who would look to the first faint light in the east on the Arabian Desert and say in supplication, Oh God, I praise Thee, and I ask Thy Help for the Quraysh. I think of when Bilal, may God be pleased with him, returned to Makkah, and his voice filled the whole valley, much to the chagrin of the old chiefs of the Quraysh, who were furious at the sight of the former black slave on the roof of the Kaaba making the call to prayer the call that equalized all human beings as being servants of the Divine, of being devoted to a call to ethics and justice. I think of learning the adhaan in mosques across Canada from so many different folks. From a Sudanese neurologist, whose strong, bold voice made my hair stand on end, to the meliflous, lilt of a Bosnian refugee who had lost his bakery during the war, the call to prayer is a call to God, a prayer, a prayer for the future, a call to those in times of despair. And I suppose thats the key. Its impossible to deny that for many, we grow up here in North America simultaneously developing a visceral reaction to the takbeer the opening lines of the adhaan of Allahu akbar. We watch Fox and CNN and the Sun to learn that the takbeer is a terrorist siren call, as a way of instilling fear into a population, of a barbaric echo of the past. But for me, when I dont hear the version hijacked by terrorists, when I hear the adhaan, I hear the adhaan from when my son was born. And I hear the adhaan from when, due to an undiagnosed genetic disorder, the adhaan was called at my sons funeral. I see the lilting light over the mountaintop, a call to happiness and felicity, an ode to joy, a sign that time is a flat circle, of repeating prayers and of standing daily for justice and a better Canada. So regardless of your position on whether a noise bylaw is amended or not, I hope that when you hear the adhaan, you take a moment to reflect on your place in the universe the same plea I would make to those who hear the swelling of the organ at Mass or the Hava Nagila or the opera being played. Take the time, as we should all try to do every day, to reflect on what it means to live, to die, and to live every minute between now and then with meaning and with truth and with light. Church grieves as beloved Maine pastor, father of 2 killed in motorcycle crash Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Bill Chadwick, a beloved pastor and father of two from Maine who was well known for his wit, selflessness, and passion for life and Christ, died tragically in a motorcycle accident Saturday morning. He was 64. Authorities told Central Maine that Chadwick was riding a motorcycle at the intersection of Route 25 and Conant Street when he crashed into another vehicle around 11:50 a.m. He died at the scene. The driver of the other vehicle, 71-year-old James Bosse, was uninjured, police said. Chadwick had been pastor at Stroudwater Christian Church in Portland since 1990 at the time of his death. In a statement on its website, the church described the loss as something that may seem more than we can bear. It is with great regret and deep sadness that the Board of Stroudwater Christian Church must share with you that today our beloved Pastor Bill passed away. He died in a motorcycle accident. The loss and profound grief we all feel may seem more than we can bear, yet we are reminded of Pastor Bills many words, over his many years with us, that strengthen and encourage us, and will lead us to a place of peace in our Lord whom he loved and served, it said. In his bio on the churchs website, Chadwick was described as having the heart of an evangelist as well as being an author, scholar, and student of the Word. His widow, Carol, with whom he raised two sons, Benjamin and Daniel, during 32 years of marriage, said his passion was leading others to God. He was absolutely passionate about leading others to Christ. That was his principal mission in life, that was why he got up every day, she told Central Maine. Congregant Brett Williams, who also served a Chadwicks worship director, remembered him as a giant with a quick wit, a beautiful mind, and a colossal heart. The world lost a giant yesterday. My pastor from Stroudwater Christian Church, William Henry Chadwick, was instrumental in my life when I was single, when I got married, and when I became a dad. He had a quick wit, a beautiful mind, and a colossal heart. He supported and trusted me when I was his worship director ... a gift I didn't appreciate at the time. He was my pastor in every sense. He will be very sorely missed. Rest in peace, friend, Williams wrote on Facebook. Chadwick, who, like millions of Americans across the nation, was also coping with a stay-at-home order which in his state remains in effect until May 31, recently had his wit on display in a post on Facebook about how he was managing. Day 35 and I still have plenty of projects to do around the house. Just yesterday I counted 34 ants in the morning on the front deck and 7 on the back deck in the afternoon. That was down from just a week ago. I think I've flatten the curve, he wrote on April 22. Soon I'll let the wife come out and sun on the deck again as long as she practices social distancing. Wish the deck was bigger so we both could practice social distancing at the same time. As it is now, I just report to her that no one else was there. I'm fine really. We can do this. Tomorrow. I'm cleaning out her closets. Should be a good day. WASHINGTON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BNY Mellon Wealth Management has named Camille Alexander, CFA, as a Regional President in Washington, D.C. She will be responsible for all aspects of Wealth Management product, service, and sales delivery, reporting directly to Regional President, Central Region, Andrew Paterson. "Camille brings over 25 years of experience leading teams for global financial services firms, and a strong background in managing corporate pension plans, mutual funds, and separately managed accounts for institutions and individuals," said Paterson. "Her leadership, coupled with our active wealth management approach, will be instrumental as we continue to strengthen our presence in the rapidly-growing Washington, D.C. regiona critical market where our team has achieved notable success to date." Prior to joining BNY Mellon in 2013 as a Senior Client Strategist for the Washington, D.C. region, Camille held senior positions at J.P. Morgan, Bank of America and USAA. As a Chartered Financial Analyst, she has served two terms as Chairman of the Board of the CFA Society of Washington, D.C. She is currently the Eastern Region Representative to the President's Council of CFA Institute and a co-chair of CFA Institute's U.S. Society Advocacy Advisory Committee. Camille received a bachelor's degree in Economics and a master's degree in Political Science from the University of Texas at San Antonio. In her community, she provides board, advisory and governance support to the National Advisory Board of Community Renewal International, as well as Easter Seals, serving Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. In addition, Camille lends her experience in managing institutional investments as a member of the investment committee for the American Psychological Association. ABOUT BNY MELLON WEALTH MANAGEMENT For more than two centuries, BNY Mellon Wealth Management has provided services to financially successful individuals and families, their family offices and business enterprises, planned giving programs, and endowments and foundations. It has $236 billion in total client assets, as of March 31, 2020, and an extensive network of offices in the U.S. and internationally. BNY Mellon Wealth Management, which delivers leading wealth advice across investments, banking, custody, and wealth and estate planning, conducts business through various operating subsidiaries of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. For more information, visit bnymellonwealth.com or follow us on Twitter @BNYMellonWealth. ABOUT BNY MELLON BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries. As of March 31, 2020, BNY Mellon had $35.2 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration, and $1.8 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com. Follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon or visit our newsroom at www.bnymellon.com/newsroom for the latest company news. Media Contact: Rich Stanton 212-922-7205 [email protected] SOURCE BNY Mellon Wealth Management Related Links http://www.bnymellon.com I saw so much humanity in those letters, he told me. Really, such a vulnerability. I think they saw in her the willingness to be vulnerable, talking about her little brother and her love for Taylor Swift. They talked about their families, their hobbies, their pets, but also some aspects of loneliness and some aspects of feeling overlooked and a whole lot of gratitude for Emerson seeing them and acknowledging them. Enabling virtual news briefings Scaling services to meet unprecedented needs A new approach to modernization Even though West Virginia was the last state in the nation to report a case of COVID-19, social distancing and lockdown orders generated a sudden leap in citizen needs that left it struggling to manage.Today, the state is rapidly responding to these challenges with cloud-based technologies that transform how government officials communicate with the press and public about the pandemic and dramatically increase the states ability to serve citizens impacted by the resulting economic downturn.One of the states first challenges was providing real-time pandemic information to citizens and the news media. With social distancing rules in effect, Governor Jim Justice and his executive team could no longer hold in-person news briefings. The governors office had access to broadcasting equipment. But the technology had several shortcomings, including the inability to support live interaction between news reporters and West Virginia leaders and health experts. The state needed a platform to virtualize the governors daily COVID-19 news briefings and expand their reach to keep citizens and the press apprised of the latest developments.With the rapid change of information, the governors office needed a solution that could be implemented extremely quickly so they could widely disseminate important health information in real time, says Joshua Spence, West Virginias chief technology officer and director of the states Office of Technology (WVOT). Amazon Web Services (AWS) approached the state with a solution in the form of Amazon Chime , a cloud-based communications service. Amazon Chime would allow the integration to broadcast to media members located anywhere and support live interactive chat that enabled the governor to field questions from reporters.Once the state gave the go-ahead, Amazon Chime was deployed in approximately three hoursin time to support Governor Justices March 18 news briefing. The solution made West Virginia one of the first states in the nation to conduct completely virtual, interactive press conferences.In addition, video from the governors news briefings is live-streamed to multiple social media channels daily, greatly improving residents access to rapidly changing COVID-19 information.Our state prioritizes transparency, and this system allowed the continuous flow of information between West Virginias leadership team and our citizens, says Spence.Shortly after the Amazon Chime implementation, a bigger and even more pressing issue emerged. The states mandatory shutdown of non-essential businessesissued March 24 to slow spread of the virusput thousands of West Virginia residents out of work. Traffic began to spike at the states unemployment insurance (UI) call center as citizens applied for benefits.In February 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported West Virginias unemployment rate at 4.9 percent. In March, the number swelled to 6.1 percent. By the second week of April, the states existing UI call centers received 77,000 calls, overwhelming its legacy call center platform.Governor Justices initial response was to extend call center hours. He also called upon members of the West Virginia National Guard and West Virginia University staff to answer calls in a supplemental call center. But the state soon hit limits in the number of call center staff it could support and the number of simultaneous calls it could handle with existing technology.The phone systems in use were not built to handle the extreme call volume we were experiencing, says Spence. We knew some of our phone systems were running older equipment and would not be capable of managing the load.In addition, the states existing on-premises systems could not support remote work for call center agents. Nor did they provide visibility into call volumes and traffic patterns.That meant we couldnt adapt to the necessary call flows, says Spence.The state also could not support the use of prerecorded messages with commonly requested information to help callers avoid waiting to speak to a live agent.We didnt have the kind of dynamic call management at the beginning of a call that could help alleviate callers from sitting on hold, he says. State leaders realized they needed to make a change quickly.We didnt have months to find and implement a solution when things settled down, says Spence. We needed an adaptive solution that worked in concert with our existing systems to get callers through quickly.WVOT reached out to several technology providers in search of a scalable solution that could help the state better manage the surge in UI calls. On the afternoon of April 10, WVOT selected AWS and Smartronix, a Premier Amazon Consulting Partner, to implement Amazon Connect , a cloud-based contact center solution. Amazon Connect was soft launched approximately 72 hours later.By April 20, the new Amazon Connect was fully rolled out and processed a record 61,252 calls in one day. The new solution handles an average of 40,000 to 45,000 calls daily. Amazon Connect also provides the advanced analytics and metrics West Virginia needs to use its resources more effectively by matching staffing levels to expected call loads.Using the fully scalable cloud-based platform, the state is limited only by the number of qualified agents it can put on the phones.Before, the on-premises equipment held us back, says Spence. With the cloud solution, we are no longer limited from an infrastructure perspective.West Virginia also deployed Amazon Polly, a text-to-speech service, to provide callers basic information during the initial call flow. Providing automated information dramatically lowered the number of callers who need help from a live agent. Currently, 96 percent of calls are handled by the interactive voice response (IVR) system and 4 percent require an agent.We are answering questions quickly and efficiently without human interaction. Thats where the value is really coming into play, says Spence. The modern call flow technology is also flexible and allows us to make fast changes to the information, which is useful in the current situation.The state is working to expand capacity even further by adding Amazon Lex, an artificial intelligence-enabled chatbot solution, to its website to provide information and answer questions.This is an opportunity to engage on multiple channels in order to assist more West Virginians through the UI process, says Spence. Technology is a force multiplier when it comes to our ability to answer questions and help our citizens.West Virginia had limited experience with cloud technology before implementing the AWS solutions. But lessons learned from the pandemic response could shape the states IT strategy moving forward.This put cloud technology and its transformational capabilities front and center for us, says Spence. Cloud might not be the right solution for every situation, but in this case, it definitely gave us agility, flexibility and speed at a time we most needed it.In addition, the new cloud-based solutions are proof that technology modernization pays off when unexpected challenges arise.It can be difficult to move technology change forward because of apprehension about such change. But when properly implemented and leveraged, technology can create significant efficiencies, says Spence. Im confident these projects will provide an opportunity for us to push forward and modernize as we come out of this pandemic and return to our new normal. Official figures from the Health Ministry released on Thursday showed that there were 213 coronavirus-related fatalities in the last 24 hours, a slight fall from the 244 recorded on Wednesday. But the number of total Covid-19 deaths in Spain has now passed another grim milestone, with 26,070 recorded victims, according to todays official figures. The number of infections since the epidemic began, as measured by the more reliable PCR testing, stands at 221,447, a daily rise of 754. In the past 24 hours, 2,509 coronavirus patients have recovered from the disease, bringing the total number of discharged patients to 128,511. This represents a 2% rise of the total. Speaking at the governments daily press conference on Thursday, Fernando Simon, the director of the Health Ministrys Coordination Center for Health Alerts and Emergencies, said the figures were in line with the falling trend seen over the past few weeks. The health official explained that from today the data should reflect whether the relaxation of the coronavirus confinement measures has impacted the evolution of the outbreak curve. Nothing has been observed for now, he said. We are maintaining this downward trend. Simon also spoke about the process to decide whether or nor regions in Spain can move to the next stage of the deescalation of coronavirus measures. On Wednesday, all of the countrys 17 regions, with the exception of Catalonia and Castilla y Leon, requested to move from the current Phase 0 to Phase 1 on Monday, May 11. This would involve allowing businesses and street cafes to partially reopen, and for members of the public to meet in groups of 10 people or fewer, either in the open air or in private residences. The decision has to be taken by the Health Ministry, in agreement with the region, prior to an expert report, he said. Those [regions] that have asked to change phases on May 11 will have to be approved in the coming days. I understand that a decision will be made by Friday or Saturday. New commission for coronavirus recovery effort Spains lower house, the Congress of Deputies, formally established on Thursday the Commission for the Social and Economic Reconstruction of Spain, a new body that aims to plan the future of the country after the coronavirus crisis. The commission will be made up of 46 members, 13 from the Socialist Party (PSOE), nine from the Popular Party (PP), five from Vox, four from Unidas Podemos, four from the mixed group (which is made up of parties with fewer than five seats in Congress), while the Catalan Republican Left (ERC), the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) and the Basque party EH Bildu each have one representative. PSOE lawmaker Patxi Lopez was elected president of the commission on Thursday. The government wants the new body to center debate on four areas: strengthening the public healthcare system; reactivating the economy and modernizing the productive model; strengthening systems of social protection, of caregivers and improving the tax system; and Spains position before the European Union. The PP has asked that a fifth point be added to the agenda regarding how the crisis has affected public freedoms in Spain, and has demanded that the commission be allowed to call on public officials to appear at open sessions. Madrid premier agrees to change fast-food meals for children The regional premier of Madrid, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, has done a U-turn on the controversial meals provided to children from vulnerable families. In the Madrid region, 11,500 children from families on a subsistence income (RMI) are offered subsidized school meals. But when schools in the region closed on March 11, the regional government decided to break its contract with the catering companies that provided meals at school cafeterias, and instead reached agreements with the Telepizza, Rodilla and Viena Capellanes chains, which sell fast-food, sandwiches and other snacks, and baked goods, respectively. Ayuso initially defended the move, arguing that an alternative could not be found until the beginning of the next school year in September. But it was revealed on Thursday by Spanish radio network Cope that children will stop receiving the fast-food meals on Friday, May 15 and receive a healthier alternative, which will be announced next week. Telepizza confirmed on Thursday that the Madrid regional government had cancelled the contract, and explained that it had signed on to the initiative out of a sense of responsibility, given that the price of the meals did not cover the companys expenses. Large companies begin testing staff Some large businesses in Spain have begun testing all their staff members for Covid-19, despite recommendations from the Health Ministry that only people showing coronavirus symptoms, health professionals and essential workers be tested for the disease. These tests are being carried out in private laboratories that charge 50 for a serological test and 120 for a PCR test, which is the most reliable and can detect asymptomatic infections. The companies that have taken this initiative include car manufacturer Seat, which has done 5,800 PCR tests on its workers; utilities company Iberdrola, which plans to do PCR and serological tests on all staff before they return to the workplace; and utilities company Endesa, which has opted for antibody tests. Businesses are terrified about reopening and that an employee who is asymptomatic or has mild symptoms will infect the rest of their colleagues, and they will have to send everyone home in preventive isolation, said Luis Reinoso, the president of the Spanish Association of Specialists in Occupational Medicine (AEEMT). With reporting by Berta Ferrero, Fernando Peinado, Elena G. Sevillano, Anabel Diez and Javier Casqueiro. English version by Melissa Kitson. An anti-vaxxer husband and wife are encouraging Australians to protest compulsory flu jabs by sending letters to politicians - despite vaccines protecting people against harmful diseases. Anthony Golle and his wife Kate launched Facebook group 'Empowered Lifestyle Revolution' about two weeks ago. The couple welcomed their members to the online community in a video on May 2 and encouraged members to take back their power by sending letters to oppose compulsory vaccination. Their stance flies in the face of science and is not only risky to her children, but to the entire community, with vaccinations vital to reducing the spread of transmissible diseases. 'We're a week into this journey. A week ago, we started to follow a process to start writing letters to take back our power,' Mr Golle said. Vaccinations are a simple, safe and effective way of protecting people against harmful diseases before they come into contact with them, the Australian Government says. The jabs protect individuals and others in the community, by reducing the spread of preventable diseases. Anthony Golle and his wife Kate (pictured) launched Facebook group 'Empowered Lifestyle Revolution' about two weeks ago and have already garnered more than 17,000 members The couple are encouraging Australians to protest compulsory flu jabs by sending letters to politicians Ms Golle said the couple created the group to give people 'tools and solutions and things you can be doing for yourself and your family.' The mum-of-three said there were three waves of letters members would be sending and began to show viewers the process via her screen. 'This is the non-consent set-up for you to have all the letters you need to send to the ministers to be able to start taking action to get your power back,' she said. The Facebook group links to a 'Vaccine Non Consent Account Setup' on the Solutions Empowerment website, where users can fill in their information to receive letters they can send. Ms Golle encouraged members to donate $5 for the three rounds of letters. According to Buzzfeed, the website domain is registered to Mark Pytellek, who is part of an extreme anti-government movement which doesnt recognise Australian law. When contacted by the publication, David Armstrong declined to explain Mr Pytellek's involvement with Solutions Empowerment. The couple welcomed their members to the online community in a video on May 2 (pictured) and encouraged members to take back their power by sending letters Pictured: The 'Empowered Lifestyle Revolution' Facebook group The Facebook group links to a 'Vaccine Non Consent Account Setup' on the Solutions Empowerment website, where users can fill in their information to receive letters they can send WHY ANTI-VAXXING IS DANGEROUS Vaccinations are a simple, safe and effective way of protecting people against harmful diseases before they come into contact with them, the Australian government says. The jabs protect individuals and others in the community, by reducing the spread of preventable diseases. Source: Australian Government Advertisement Numerous members of the controversial Facebook group have shared pictures of their letters as they prepare to send them off. The couple also went live on Facebook about two weeks earlier and claimed everyone should be able to choose whether to vaccinate or not. 'Obviously there's a big topic around vaccination and whether you're pro or anti or whatever you want to call it, we want to talk about having pro-choice and being intelligent in our decisions,' Ms Golle said. 'It's not about who's right, who's wrong and what you want to believe, it's about what's right for you and your family. 'I think what's wrong right now is the potential that someone has the right to tell everyone this is how it's going to roll.' The recommendation comes despite the Australian Government promoting immunisation an effective way of protecting people from harmful, contagious diseases. Before vaccination campaigns in the 1960s and 70s, diseases like tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough killed thousands of children. The couple claim they want Australians to take their power back Mr Golle has been sharing updates about the group to his personal Facebook. 'From zero to over 11,000 people in this group in 10 days,' he wrote on Saturday. The dangers of not being vaccinated Immunisation is an effective way of protecting people from harmful, contagious diseases. Before vaccination campaigns in the 1960s and 70s, diseases like tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough killed thousands of children. Immunisation also protects the whole community, preventing the spread of the disease - known as 'herd immunity'. Vaccination can cause a disease to die out altogether - as was the case when smallpox was eradicated in 1980 after a vaccination campaign led by the World Health Organisation. Vaccination rates are at over 93 per cent for five-year-olds in Australia. Source: Australian Department of Health Advertisement 'I guess the people have had enough of the lies and deception. So many people learning how to take their power back and stand in certainty and gratitude.' He also shared pictures of letters to be sent to politicians in a post at the end of April. 'As a man or woman of the Commonwealth of Australia you have entitlements that are unencumbered, unconditional and were created for the benefit of the beneficiary you, the living soul,' he wrote. 'No one and no legislation or statute, act or code can compel you to accept vaccination in order to retain your benefits without your consent, neither can they over-ride or over-rule contract law as it prevails. 'The process of sending letters via registered mail is vital because without notifying the ministers of your non-consent and your objection to vaccination, it will be presumed by your silence that you have assented to being vaccinated.' The Australian Government has a National Immunisation Program (NIP) Schedule of immunisations to be given throughout a person's life. "To get the best possible protection, make sure you have your immunisations on time, every time," the government says. MAY 6, 2020 With the summer months quickly approaching, communities across the nation are staring down myriad uncertainties regarding education: How will schools operate going forward? How will probable budget cuts affect K12 schools and higher education institutions? How can we better support the needs of students, teachers and their families, especially those already struggling through inequities? Six of UTSAs top education experts addressed these questions and more Wednesday in an interactive panel discussion called What Might K-12 Education Look Like in the Fall? The panelists who participated in this third of a series of Community Conversations were moderator Margo DelliCarpini, dean of the College of Education and Human Development and vice provost for strategic educational partnerships; Michael Villarreal, director of the Urban Education Institute; Ann Marie Ryan, professor and chair of the Department of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching; Vanessa Sansone, assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies; Heather Trepal, professor and graduate adviser of record in the Department of Counseling; and Lloyd Potter, professor and director of the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research. We have the skills to figure this out. This is whats comforting to me as a teacher, educator, historian. The panelists spent a significant amount of time answering the conversations title questionwhat might K12 education look like in the fall? Ryan suggested that a blend of online and on-campus learning could be in store for students in San Antonio. She also pointed to double-shift scheduling used by overcrowded schoolsa method in which specific students physically attend schools on certain days or during certain times each weekdayas a model that could be effective. We have the skills to figure this out, she said, noting that various teaching methods have been used throughout history, such as radio lessons during the polio epidemic. This is whats comforting to me as a teacher, educator, historian. Weve got lots to work with. UTSA panelists on the future of K12 education are Margo DelliCarpini, Michael Villarreal, Vanessa Sansone, Heather Trepal, Ann Marie Ryan and Lloyd Potter. Villarreal said an upcoming survey from the Urban Education Institute will help local officials and educators craft their best plans for the fall. Starting next week researchers will be in the field surveying more than 2,000 students and parents and 1,000 K12 educators to collect data about their experiences with distance learning, including how living circumstances impact learning, what populations have been most affected and how virtual lesson plans can be improved. Im really, in some ways, excited about what were going to learn, Villarreal said, because this is an opportunity to reset old practices and assumptions that have not been reevaluated in education. The elephant in the virtual chat room, of course, remains the likelihood that in-person school will not resume in the fall. Villarreal was quick to point out that the rolling seven-day average of new coronavirus cases in Bexar County is now higher than its ever been. That average isnt likely to drop with the recent reopening of businesses throughout the state. Potter also appeared skeptical about in-person classes being held in the fall. He pointed out that school-aged children may not have the capacityand schools may not have the abilityto maintain proper social distancing. Children who are asymptomatic carriers could present a significant danger to their older family members as well as their immunocompromised classmates. How are we going to accommodate that? Potter asked. There are a whole range of issues that were going to need to manage if we go back to the classroom. He added that the health concerns attached to physical school attendance will have an especially harsh impact on lower-income households. Socioeconomic issues were a frequently discussed topic throughout the conversation, since the pandemic has shed light on many disparities that have long existed in the areas pre-K12 students. San Antonio has more extreme income equality and a wider digital divide than most American cities. Although area school districts have made tremendous efforts to bridge that gap, thousands of rural and lower-income students in South Texas still lack adequate internet or computer access. The COVID-19 pandemic is revealing greater inequities, and if these are not addressed, they will have very negative impacts to our communities that have been denied access, creating an even greater divide, DelliCarpini said. For the past three years Sansone has been studying geographys effect on postsecondary opportunity. In rural areas of South and West Texas, for instance, she has documented the struggles of students who have limited or no access to Wi-Fi, public transportation, bilingual aid or several other resources. She said that changes to policy and institutional organization will go a long way in helping both K12 and college students navigate those inequities. Higher education institutions are going to have to start to think and reimagine the ways that we can serve our students, particularly those that have very little power, Sansone said. As schools and higher ed institutions make plans for the fall and beyond, the panelists also gave advice to caregivers turned homeschoolers who are still trying to manage the learning needs of their childrenas well as their mental and social healthfor the rest of the spring semester. Ryan and Trepal both recommended that parents of students with specific needs should be in frequent contact with school representatives, counselors and the students team of teachers. Watch the recorded livestream of this Community Conversations event. Trepal also said that data suggests families across the board are seeing an increase in mental health issues. She offered resources, such as the Bexar County Department of Behavioral Healths website and the San Antonio Food Bank help line, that can help students and their families weather a perfect storm of insecurities heightened by the pandemic, whether its regarding food, mental health or domestic violence. She further acknowledged that schools provide structure, and when that structure is altered, it can affect the sleeping patterns, motivation and interactions in children. Ive watched all three of my children struggling in different ways, and Im an educator and I specialize in counseling, she admitted, stating that teachers and educators should be thoughtful and compassionate as these adolescents continue to adjust. Thinking about social and emotional well-being is important as we look at the different diversity of students that were serving across San Antonio. The reported disappearance of Miss Bianca Ada Chidi, a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, on her way back to Lagos from Ife is heart-rending and lamentable. The family is shocked as to whereabouts of their beloved daughter. The police and indeed the NYSC authorities should, relentlessly, search for the missing young lady and reunite her with her grieving family. Except Miss Bianca is found, the ugly incident will add to the long list of unfortunate deaths and other mishaps that have, in recent times, befallen innocent youngsters who set out to render service to their fatherland. This is one mishap too many. Something needs to be done to halt the frequent loss of corps members. We cannot continue to lose our youngsters that way. According to Biancas distraught mother, Mrs. Bola Chidi, her 24-year old daughter was returning from Ife on March 16. She called when she got to Ojodu-Berger in Lagos. She called again when she entered a bus going to Iyana Ipaja. After a while, she called again that she would soon alight at the last bus stop in Iyana-Ipaja, which is close to Abule-Egba their residence. Thereafter, she waited for 45 minutes but didnt hear from her. She then decided to call her but her phone was switched off, and ever since then, her phone has remained switched off. Mrs. Chidi bemoaned that it is now six weeks that they havent heard anything from their daughter and she has gone to different police stations to make report and even the IGP/IRT department of police to help track her phone line and investigate the matter but there has been no favourable result. She said the police has been calling that they are investigating the matter and requesting for money in several tranches but she is not satisfied with their investigation. At a time, she said they told her that Biancas phone was tracked to Abule-Egba of which she expected that to yield some positive result but to her surprise, she was told again that the phone is tracked to Ife. Mrs. Chidi expressed dismay that the police are unable to unravel the case when it was tracked close to Abule-Egba but instead want to be mobilised to Ife. The question is where is Miss Bianca Ada Chidi? What happened to her? Why is it proving difficult to track her line? Is the innocent young lady going to end up just like that? I have said this before in this column and would like to repeat it; the rate at which corps members are losing their lives in the course of performing the national service is alarming. Of late, there has been harvest of deaths of corps members in active service. The rising mortality rate of youth corps members across the federation has become a matter of serious concern. Every now and then, news of corps members missing, kidnapped or being killed make headlines. While some die in the orientation camps, others are killed at their places of primary assignment. Consequently, the national youth service scheme, which used to be fun at the beginning, is now a nightmare. This frightening development has made parents and guardians think twice as they now see the scheme as posing danger. Many parents are now afraid to allow the children they have suffered to train up to tertiary education embark on a mission that may end in death. The spate of deaths has made corps members to become endangered species. As the situation is at present, not until a corps member completes the service and returns would the family heave a sigh of relief. Reason is that life could be snuffed out of him/her anywhere, anytime, thereby dashing all the hope reposed on the person by his/her family. There have been cases of families losing the only hope they invested all they have. Such families are perpetually devastated and ruined. The worsened insecurity in the country has created problems for the scheme. Across the states, death is lurking everywhere on the highways, orientation camps, and corps member quarters, streets, etc. Corps members have also become target of political thuggery. There are kidnappers, ritualists, rapists, among other violent criminals that target corps members. Whereas Nigerians live with insecurity daily, the case of corps members is worsened by the fact that they are youths sent to unfamiliar environment where they are easily identified and targeted. Most corps members are youngsters that have never left their states. Consequently, hundreds have lost their lives, which would not have been the case if they did not go for national service. The litany of corps members who were killed, strangled, kidnapped or rapped to death is long. It is about a year ago that I lamented the deaths of a corps member, Fortune Ihechukwu Ihe at the NYSC orientation camp in Sokoto. Fortune, 21, a graduate of economics reportedly, died on 14 April, 2019 while engaged in camp strenuous activities. The youngster was parceled back home to his parents in Imo state dead. At the funeral held on April 23, at St. Brendan Catholic Church, Amakohia in Ikeduru local government, which I witnessed, the officiating parish priest, Rev. Fr. (Dr.) Edmond Njoku, with three other priests, asked a soul-searching question Is it wrong for parents to allow their children to go for national service? In a way, it is now wrong since one would send his son or daughter only to have him killed. Parents of Fortune, Dr.&Mrs. John/Cordelia Ihe, were devastated and inconsolable. At the grave side, emotions ran high that a distraught friend of Fortune, jumped into the grave screaming to be covered along with him. There was consternation in the crowd of sympathizers, as youths pulled him out from the grave. The question is how many more innocent NYSC members would have to lose their lives before something is done to stop this morbid turn of events? In all of the deaths, the NYSC is economical with the truth of what happened or how the corps member died. Parents are left in the dark. In the case of Miss Bianca, there is no indication that the NYSC authorities are involved in the search for Miss Bianca. They may prevent that it is not their business since she didnt get missing in their custody, which is a flimsy excuse. But so long as Miss Bianca was returning the NYSC and has not arrived home, she is presumed to be with the NYSC, who should join in looking for her. It is high time the Federal Government reconsidered the NYSC scheme with a view to ending it because of the mounting insecurity in the country that now constitutes a serious threat to corps members. The biblical Jewish King Solomon said there is time for every affair under the heavens: a time for birth and a time to die, Ecclesiastes 3:1-2. The birth here represents the beginning of anything, while death represents the end. The NYSC was created in 1973. That was shortly after the Nigeria-Biafra civil war in 1970, when there was dire need for trained manpower across the country to re-unite the devastated nation. There was peace and security then as the nation just emerged from a civil war. It was safe then for young graduates of tertiary institutions to be posted to any state in the federation. Today, things have changed. That era is gone. It is no longer safe to post youngsters out of their home states in the name of NYSC. Consequently, it is time to end the scheme and save the lives of innocent corps members. Culled from: The Guardian The White House has shelved a 17-page Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report meant to provide state and local officials with step-by-step guidelines on how they could reopen their areas, according to a report by the Associated Press. The document, titled Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework, was expected to be released last Friday, but agency scientists were told it would never see the light of day, a CDC official told AP. Top disease experts for the nation compiled the document to assist on how communities should reopen public areas such as mass transit, schools, daycares, summer camps, restaurants, and churches. Some of these recommendations are on the CDC website, but the document provided more details for how one area could reopen. For example, included in the document was suggestions that restaurants should construct sneeze guards at cash registers and avoid having food in display cases or in a buffet setting, which can be found on the CDC website. But the shelved report also provided restaurants with details on spacing tables 6 feet apart and alerting patrons through cell phone apps for when their table is ready. You can say that restaurants can open and you need to follow social distancing guidelines. But restaurants want to know, What does that look like? States would like more guidance, Dr Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, told the publication. The guidance has been widely shared within the CDC and reportedly included flow charts meant to be used by local officials as alternative scenarios during the reopening process. One federal official described the guidance as a touchstone document that could be used as a blueprint for other CDC scientists when working on guidelines for other facilities. Shelving the document meant local officials would be unable to access the detailed guidance. The CDC guidance is reportedly more detailed than the White Houses Opening Up America Again document that was released last month to instruct state and local officials on reopening. Those recommendations, described as vague, instructed officials to follow federal and local regulations and guidance when reopening and monitor employees for Covid-19 symptoms. A person close to the White House coronavirus task force said the guidance for public sectors on reopening was shelved because areas across the US have been impacted differently by the novel virus. Traditionally, the CDC has been at the forefront of providing the public with health information during a public health crisis. But it was noted by AP that the department has been relatively sidelined by the Trump administration, which instead put pressure on the states to decide how to reopen. CDC Director Dr Robert Redfield was a member of the White Houses coronavirus task force, but hes been absent from public appearances as of late. The Independent contacted the White House and CDC for a comment. A 31-year-old constable who died of COVID-19 on Tuesday has become the first fatality of the Delhi Police to the pandemic. Amit Kumar died at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital on Tuesday, hours after he started showing symptoms of COVID-19. Facebook Kumar, a native of Sonipat in Haryana was posted at the Bharat Nagar police station in northwest Delhi. He had no symptoms of the illness for days and had reported at work till Monday when he first started showing symptoms. On Tuesday, Kumar's condition worsened and he had fever, cough, and breathlessness. According to Kumar's colleagues, they informed the district control room and their seniors about Kumars deteriorating health but received little help from them. But they were not even provided an official vehicle to transport him and Kumar's colleagues took him to a hospital in a private car. BCCL In an audio clip, accessed by Indiatimes, two of his colleagues can be heard saying that Kumar was turned away by two hospitals. Kumar was initially taken to Baba Saheb Ambedkar hospital in Jahangirpuri where doctors refused to admit him, saying they did not have a quarantine facility. He was them taken to the Deep Chand Bandhu hospital where doctors gave him some medicines and asked his colleagues to take him to a quarantine centre. The colleagues then drove to the RML Hospital and by the time they reached there, Kumar had stopped breathing. His samples which were sent for testing at a private lab returned positive on Wednesday, confirming he had been infected with the COVID-19 virus. We dont know why we are risking our lives when no senior officers help us, one of the colleagues was heard saying. Kumar is survived by his wife and a child. Following his death, ten of his colleagues have been sent to quarantine. BCCL Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava expressed his sorrow on Twitter and offered support to the family. "The sudden demise of late Constable Amit Kumar from PS Bharat Nagar has saddened the police fraternity. We stand by his family in this hour of grief and pray to the Almighty to provide strength to bear this loss. All assistance to his family will be provided," he tweeted. The sudden demise of late Constable Amit Kumar from PS Bharat Nagar has saddened the police fraternity. We stand by his family in this hour of grief and pray to the Almighty to provide strength to bear this loss. All assistance to his family will be provided. CP Delhi #DilKiPolice (@CPDelhi) May 6, 2020 Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal condoled the death of a Delhi Police constable due to coronavirus and said his family will be provided with an ex-gratia of Rs one crore. 1 https://t.co/n1eNmZNNCw Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 7, 2020 "Amit ji did not care for his life and kept serving us Delhi people. He got infected with corona and passed away. I pay homage to his sacrifice on behalf of all Delhi people. An ex gratia of Rs one crore will be given to his family," Kejriwal said in a tweet. BCCL More than 50 cops in Delhi have tested positive for the infection so far. While seven of them have since recovered, two officers a head constable and a constable of the Jahangirpuri Police Station in northwest Delhi joined duty on Saturday afternoon. (Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) During the coronavirus lockdown, there have been outpourings of support for frontline health care workers who each day put their lives on the line to help others during this crisis. At Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) in New Brunswick, that support came in the form of food on Wednesday. A total of 2,000 meal kits from Dinnerly.com were provided by WHP Global, owner of the American menswear brand Joseph Abboud, working with meal kit service Marley Spoon, Inc. Don't Edit Jacqueline Long, left, rehab services secretary and RWJ Executive Chef Mike Kasperek, right, help distribute 2,000 donated boxed meal kits. (Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) Jacqueline Long, rehab services secretary and RWJ Executive Chef Mike Kasperek, did most of the heavy lifting, handing boxes to healthcare workers at change of shift early this morning. Long said, the event almost brought her to tears. "To me it just means so much because I love to give and today to be able to give out those meals was a wonderful thing," Long said. Don't Edit (Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) Don't Edit From left, Physician Assistant Tyler Warner, Angelina Iacono, RN, CN III and Sandra Vargas, APN general internal medicine.. (Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) Sandra Vargas, APN general internal medicine, works in transitional care, following up with COVID-19 patients who no longer require hospitalization. "We appreciate all of the feedback from the community and the hospital and the support means a lot," she said. RWJUHs New Brunswick and Somerset campuses now serve as the flagship hospital of Robert Wood Johnson Health System with 3,250 medical staff members. The 2,000 meals kits were snapped up swiftly. But the giving doesn't end today. One additional meal will be donated for every order of a Joseph Abboud product completed on www.menswearhouse.com through May 31st with a possible maximum of 8,000 more meals to be donated. Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit (Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) RELATED Hamilton Township and Robert Wood Johnson team up to Echo our Appreciation to healthcare workers WATCH: Jersey Shore hospital staff brought to tears as first-responders offer special thanks Owner of trophy shop makes appreciation signs for local hospital, raises money for meals Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Michael Mancuso may be reached at mmancuso@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @michaelmancuso. Find NJ.com on Facebook. [May 07, 2020] Majority of Parents Say Kids Are Navigating School Closures Better Than Adults, Teachers Earn 88% Approval Rating HOBOKEN, N.J., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pearson , the world's learning company, and Connections Academy , which delivers full-time online school for grades K-12, released the results of their Parent Pulse Report, and found that parents -- though facing a range of emotions -- are embracing the COVID-era education experience with their children. The Parent Pulse Report tracks parent sentiment in the US from February to mid-April, and reveals that parents remain nearly unanimous in their support for closing schools during the pandemic. However, it also confirms that the experience has come with highs and lows -- from the satisfaction of being more involved in their child's learning to concerns about COVID-related stress and mental health and uncertainties over the next school year. "As school closures reach their second full month with no clear end in sight, parents are learning to juggle the complexities of schooling at home -- even finding some silver lining amid the challenges," said Mickey Revenaugh, co-founder of Pearson's Connections Academy . "While most would agree that what they're experiencing now is a far cry from online learning at its best, families give kudos to their teachers and say they enjoy being involved in their children's learning. Their positive resilience bodes well for the future of education in these uncertain times." The Parent Pulse Report's top findings include: Students are managing better than their parents, and parents appreciate the extra time with their kids: While 80% of parents say their child is handling the transition better than they are, many parents are enjoying the involvement in their child's education. Of the 79% of parents who say they've taken a bigger role in helping their children, more than two-thirds (69%) say it's been a gratifying experience. 83% of parents also say they feel increasingly confident helping their children with lessons. While 80% of parents say their child is handling the transition better than they are, many parents are enjoying the involvement in their child's education. Of the 79% of parents who say they've taken a bigger role in helping their children, more than two-thirds (69%) say it's been a gratifying experience. 83% of parents also say they feel increasingly confident helping their children with lessons. Teachers get high marks, even without online experience or training : While 81% of parents believe teachers need more training in online teaching, 88% feel that their child's teacher has done a good job teaching and supporting students duing this time. : While 81% of parents believe teachers need more training in online teaching, 88% feel that their child's teacher has done a good job teaching and supporting students duing this time. Reality of school interruptions and longer term online learning is setting in for parents: While 94% of parents say closing schools was the right call, there is a growing concern among Americans about the possibility of more school disruptions in the fall. 77% of Americans are concerned that COVID-19 will affect or delay the start of school in the fall. That's up from 60% at the beginning of the pandemic in March.* As a result, 88% of parents believe online learning will become a long lasting requirement for their child and 91% believe schools need to be better prepared to switch to virtual learning programs. In addition, 83% now support using virtual learning for smaller scale school disruptions, such as snow days. While 94% of parents say closing schools was the right call, there is a growing concern among Americans about the possibility of more school disruptions in the fall. 77% of Americans are concerned that COVID-19 will affect or delay the start of school in the fall. That's up from 60% at the beginning of the pandemic in March.* As a result, 88% of parents believe online learning will become a long lasting requirement for their child and 91% believe schools need to be better prepared to switch to virtual learning programs. In addition, 83% now support using virtual learning for smaller scale school disruptions, such as snow days. Still, parents worry about mental health effects of the COVID experience: Although 89% of parents say that the disruption of school has added to overall feelings of stress and anxiety among young people, the accounts of those issues in their own children are unchanged since February. Just over half (56%) have said their child has felt anxious or depressed. In addition, 60% of parents say their child has friends or classmates who are struggling with mental health or anxiety right now. Both numbers are on par with what parents reported pre-pandemic. Although 89% of parents say that the disruption of school has added to overall feelings of stress and anxiety among young people, the accounts of those issues in their own children are unchanged since February. Just over half (56%) have said their child has felt anxious or depressed. In addition, 60% of parents say their child has friends or classmates who are struggling with mental health or anxiety right now. Both numbers are on par with what parents reported pre-pandemic. How are people coping? By doing away with limits on screen time: In February, 77% of parents said they had household rules about the use of technology. Now, an equal amount (76%) say they have suspended those rules and have done away with limits on screen time, restrictions on social media or other tech-related rules. 81% of parents say the benefits of online learning outweigh concerns over screen time (up from 70% in February) and 84% say technology is helping their child to be more self-sufficient (up from 80% in February). In February, 77% of parents said they had household rules about the use of technology. Now, an equal amount (76%) say they have suspended those rules and have done away with limits on screen time, restrictions on social media or other tech-related rules. 81% of parents say the benefits of online learning outweigh concerns over screen time (up from 70% in February) and 84% say technology is helping their child to be more self-sufficient (up from 80% in February). With growing concern about a drop-off in learning, parents just want the basics from schools, and are less concerned about college prep or social experiences: Prior to the pandemic, 68% of parents polled in February say they expected schools to prepare their child for college, now only 55% of parents are concerned about that. In addition, 70% of parents in February wanted schools to offer a positive social experience, now only 53% see that as a priority. In March, 64% of Americans worried about children falling behind in school. That number has now climbed to 69%.* It's likely why two thirds (65%) of parents say they expect schools to provide a quality academic experience during the pandemic, even though only half (53%) think schools are doing that well right now. https://www.pearson.com/news-and-research/working-learning-online-during-pandemic.html#survey-reports Methodology Pearson conducted the study in partnership with Dynata to provide parents, teachers, and school systems across the US and UK with better insight into how online learning during the pandemic has shaped out thus far and where it's predicted to go next. 1,049 parents of K-12 students in the US participated in the poll, which was in the field from the evening of Friday, April 17, through Monday April 20, 2020. To ensure consistency with the data, the survey sample was designed and deployed to be consistent with the first wave of the survey launched February 23, 2020, through February 27, 2020, in partnership with Harris . *Select data points are part of a separate online poll fielded in partnership with Dynata among 1012 US and 1010 UK adults to assess attitudes about education and work during the COVID-19 pandemic . The study was fielded from the evening of Friday, April 10 through Sunday, April 12 and was a follow up to a similar survey conducted in March. About Pearson We are the world's learning company with more than 22,500 employees operating in 70 countries. We provide content, assessment and digital services to learners, educational institutions, employers, governments and other partners globally. We are committed to helping equip learners with the skills they need to enhance their employability prospects and to succeed in the changing world of work. We believe that wherever learning flourishes so do people. Visit Pearson.com. About Connections Academy Connections Academy is a leading provider of high-quality virtual schooling for students in grades K through 12. Connections Academy delivers personalized education for students, with the freedom and flexibility to experience the Connections Academy online learning community from anywhere. The combination of certified teachers, an award-winning curriculum, technology tools, and community experiences creates a supportive and successful online learning opportunity for families and children who want an individualized approach to education. Connections Academy-supported schools offer grades K through 12, though some public school programs do not offer all grades. For more information, call 1-800-382-6010 or visit https://www.ConnectionsAcademy.com. Connections Academy is part of the global learning company Pearson. Contact: Scott Overland, (202) 909-4520 [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/majority-of-parents-say-kids-are-navigating-school-closures-better-than-adults-teachers-earn-88-approval-rating-301055179.html SOURCE Pearson [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai has said that the deportation of Almajiris from various Northern States to their indigenous... The Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai has said that the deportation of Almajiris from various Northern States to their indigenous States was an agreement between the governors of the region. The Governor, speaking on Channels Television on Wednesday, said that COVID-19 lockdown only provided the opportunity for the Governors to locate the Almajiri. He said most of the children deported from Kano State would have died of the virus had they remained in Kano, adding that over 30,000 have been sent back to their various States. El-Rufai said that the Governors are looking for ways to end the Almajiri system because it has not helped anyone. We have repatriated over 30,000 in the North back to their States and we are happy to receive any Almajiri Indigenous to Kaduna State from any other State, he said. The case in Kano is that if these children were not brought to us, theyll simply had died in Kano. Some of them would survive the disease but you know, the situation. Northern Governors didnt take the decision (to repatriate Almajira) because of COVID-19. COVID-19 only provided us the opportunity . Because COVID-19 has enabled us to know where the Almajiri are and to be able to get them back to their States. We looking for the means and ways to end this system because it has not worked for the children, it has not worked for Northern Nigeria and it has not worked for Nigeria, he stated. Your browser does not support the audio element. The annual Reunification Day weekend has just passed and Da Lat was hopping. This year's April 30 fell on a Thursday, coupled with International Workers Day, celebrated on May 1, providing a built-in reason to turn the affair into a four-day weekend. Indeed, some said, The hell with it, well take the whole week off after the ordeal weve been through! And, just like that, things are back to normal, or are they? Looks like it, hotels were booked out, traffic back to its usual mess. The only thing Im missing is a haircut, and if they dont open up the barbershops Ill be resembling Rip van Winkle in a few weeks. The rubber will truly hit the road when the global supply chain and international travel networks are plugged back in and the world gets back in motion. In the meantime, the throngs are enjoying the freedom and Da Lat is the ideal destination to let loose. In addition to the fresh air, open spaces (conducive to social distancing), and cool weather, Da Lat has a new attribute to boast about that none of us would have considered just a few months ago: Da Lat is NoCo." Does the term sound familiar? I doubt it, since I invented it out of the blue a few weeks ago it signifies zero instances of COVID-19. Similarly, LowCo signifies a low number of cases, while HiCo represents lots of cases and high risk of infection. Thats right, the city is without a single case on the books at least until now (with fingers crossed), and its not alone, with roughly half of the provinces of Vietnam reporting zero confirmed cases. What was already a top-shelf domestic getaway welcoming several million tourists each year is now elevated to a new status because its now a haven of safety, an oasis away from the crowded megacities and the risks they bring. Pretend for a moment that, in addition to domestic locations, you could fly off to any world destination you choose, with time and cost no constraint. Imagine the world is your oyster: London, Rome, Paris, New York, Rio de Janeiro, take your pick! None of those are enticing at present, nor can we be optimistic about the short- to mid-term future. I personally wouldnt go to any of them now or in the foreseeable future even if you paid me, threw in all expenses, and set up a private concert featuring famous pop music heroes. No chance. Travel will never be what it was, just as it evolved when the first jumbo jets and bullet trains were introduced in the 60s, then more dramatically after the September 11 attacks in 2001. Those milestones pale in comparison to our current crisis, which will force us to re-prioritize using fresh criteria. Instead of us slicing the global travel pie based on breathtaking sights, distance, accessibility, and cost, the pandemic is right at the top of the list, and its not going away any time soon. Many travelers started to shift away from those traditional priorities in recent years as the environment began to factor into our decisions on where to go, slowly leapfrogging the other criteria above until it sat right near the top of the list. In recent years, Hanoi, Chiang Mai, Jakarta, and now Bangkok have dropped off my list due to the horrendous chronic pollution. A destination can have every bell and whistle imaginable, but if we cant breathe comfortably it stops us right in our tracks, so why go? Spin the clock forward to next year and check out this scenario: a well-heeled middle-aged couple is lounging in their living room in, say, Singapore. They want to get away, but where to? Husband: Tokyo? Wife: Tokyo is in the top handful of global city destinations, but the virus hit it badly. Husband: Bangkok Wife: Also widely affected Husband: What about Taipei? Wife: A wonderful LowCo destination, lets think on it Husband: Maybe an island Phu Quoc in Vietnam! Wife: Good idea, its a NoCo destination not a single case thus far. There is no black or white with COVID-19 it didnt spread around the globe in one day, so its not going to disappear in one day either. The situation is going to be gray and none of us know for how long. Asymptomatic cases are popping up all over, positive retests emerging, and global experts warn us that further mutations of the virus probably loom in the distance. A vaccine is still at least a year away, longer when we consider the time needed until worldwide availability, and if the virus mutates its effectiveness will be impaired. No cause for panic, rather its time to think rationally and mitigate risk when travel planning, be it be for business or pleasure. Heres another case thats going to play out often. Retired couple with cash and time on their hands, craving trips abroad after slaving away their whole lives, but they have chronic health ailments. Where to go? The elderly, especially those with existing health issues, run a high risk of death should they contract the virus, so that couple, with plenty of money to spend, will gladly pay a premium to hit a NoCo or LowCo destination. Their lives could be at stake, its that simple, so the choice of destination could make all the difference. I have a friend on the island of Borneo, in Malaysian territory up north, whos been working for several months with an investor to develop an island resort. The area is drop-dead gorgeous, seemingly endless pristine beaches, turquoise water, and more fresh seafood than you could shake a stick at, yet in close proximity to an international airport, truly an ideal location for unplugging and relaxing. As this pandemic became more grave we realized during our chats that, while the investor had been sitting on a gold mine all along, its suddenly become solid platinum because he can guarantee clients that his resort will be NoCo. There may be on-the-spot testing in place prior to disembarking from the mainland plus periodic temperature checks to assure the resort stays that way. The island will be an all-inclusive, self-contained little paradise, completely shielded from any exposure, guaranteeing a relaxing and safe vacation. Every activity and amenity will be available, so no need to trek off to the nearest city. Not only are islands easier protected from the spread of the virus, but locations with difficult access will also be easily shielded while others are more exposed. UNESCO World Heritage sites will take on new popularity rankings based on risk: how about Angkor Wat, the ancient Hindu complex of temples in Cambodia? Perhaps better avoided, at least for now, as areas of it are crowded and cramped, thus not conducive to social distancing. Son Doong, the largest natural cave in the world, located in Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh Province here in Vietnam is a great example of a site somewhat secluded and therefore low risk. Access was already expensive and limited in order to preserve the cave, but now it takes on the highly desirable attribute of being NoCo, or at the very least LowCo. Domestic travel is going to be the main theme, at least for this year, so were fortunate to be in LowCo Vietnam and spoiled for choice on top of that, the only rub being the world's airlines have been badly stung, so prices will likely be much higher than in the past. Vietnam had already been experiencing a boom in international tourist arrivals in recent years, but this pandemic is the biggest game changer of our era. Many of us had already been going that extra step to escape the overcrowded mainstream destinations, from now on itll be critical. Thats good news, the big name global destinations will fall in popularity (many of them have been hollering about being overtouristed anyway), lesser known locations will experience increased demand, and a lot of hidden gems will be uncovered. Its going to play right into the hands of tourism in Vietnam, sitting right at the top of the list of LowCo destinations worldwide. LONDON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The robotics industry received record investment in 2019, totaling in at US$46 billion. According to recent figures published by global tech advisory firm ABI Research, a total of US$17.8 billion went to acquisitions and a further US$29 billion went into investments. Most of the funding was focused on autonomous passenger vehicles (APV's), surgical robotics, and warehouse automation, with significant growth for field robotics and drone services. "Despite not having commercialized their technology, autonomous passenger vehicle developers like Waymo, Cruise, Zoox and company have continued to amass enormous funding from the corporate and VC world," said Rian Whitton, senior analyst at ABI Research. "Surgical robots also received huge funding, and have already been commercialized to a considerable extent, with Intuitive Surgical selling over 5,000 Da Vinci robot systems to date." The localization of funds to a few specific sectors is down both to the anticipated effect of the technology and the relative market power of major auto manufacturers like Toyota, health companies like Johnson & Johnson and E-retailers such as Amazon. The United States and China account for 89% of all investment value, in terms of companies located in their various tech clusters. California hosts 77 robotics vendors that were invested in, while the rest of the United States had 88 companies. Other countries with considerable investment included Canada, Israel, Japan, and the UK. Aside from venture capitalists, a few major corporations have taken a significant interest in automation technologies, including Amazon with their investment in vision-based navigation developer Canvas Technology. Meanwhile, Softbank made a considerable investment in a variety of robot companies, including robotics service provider CloudMinds, hospitality robot developer Bear Robotics, and fulfillment automation company Berkshire Grey. FLIR, the thermal camera manufacturer, also invested heavily in drones and ground robots to shore up its solutions for security and industrial inspection. Among their acquisitions include Aerodyne Group and Endeavour Robotics, formerly part of iRobot. "Major corporations understand that, while the robotics industry isn't a short-term proposition, it will be the source of considerable productivity growth that will be necessary to compete in the future," said Whitton. Despite the scale of funding in 2019 growing considerably from the previous year, the impact of COVID-19 will likely mean it will be more challenging for many vendors to attract funding as investors wait to assess the likely scale of the economic downturn. Markets with an easy route commercialization, like surgical robots and warehouse automation, could benefit out of the crisis. At the same time, the autonomous passenger vehicle market could be adversely affected due to lack of business-readiness, though this has not prevented big investments in APV developers like Pony AI and Waymo in the first quarter. "Prior to the pandemic's massive impact became clear, 2020 was already shaping up to be a strong year for robotics investment, with autonomous forklift and tow tractor developers Seegrid and Vecna already receiving funding," Whitton concludes. These findings are from ABI Research's Robotics: Investments, Acquisitions, and Market Trend for 2019 report. This report is part of the company's Industrial, Collaborative & Commercial Robotics research service, which includes research, data, and ABI Insights. About ABI Research ABI Research provides strategic guidance to visionaries, delivering actionable intelligence on the transformative technologies that are dramatically reshaping industries, economies, and workforces across the world. ABI Research's global team of analysts publish groundbreaking studies often years ahead of other technology advisory firms, empowering our clients to stay ahead of their markets and their competitors. ABI Research 1990 For more information about ABI Research's services, contact us at +1.516.624.2500 in the Americas, +44.203.326.0140 in Europe, +65.6592.0290 in Asia-Pacific or visit www.abiresearch.com. Contact Info: Global Deborah Petrara Tel: +1.516.624.2558 [email protected] SOURCE ABI Research Related Links http://www.abiresearch.com MUNICH This years Theatertreffen, the annual festival of the best in German-language theater, was supposed to be something different. After years of criticism that the event was a boys club that ignored female artists, Theatertreffens organizers had introduced a quota: At least half the productions would be directed by women or majority-female collectives. As it turned out, that wasnt even the biggest change to the festival this year. When the coronavirus pandemic meant that the event, held each May in Berlin, couldnt go ahead as planned, its organizers salvaged what they could by shifting it online. Starting May 1, the festival made recordings of select productions available to stream on its website. Of the six streamed productions, four are directed by women, an even more favorable ratio for female theatermakers. The decision to bring in a quota came after years of debate about gender imbalances in German theaters, newly amplified in the age of #MeToo. (Productions from Switzerland and Austria, countries where issues of gender parity in the arts have received less attention than in Germany, are also eligible.) Last year, a third of the productions were directed by women, which was a marked increase from 2018, when only a single production directed by a woman made the cut. It was really embarrassing, Shirin Sojitrawalla, a theater critic and selection committee member, said in an interview with The Times that year. She added that achieving gender parity at the festival would be difficult when comparatively few women direct for the countrys major stages. A specialised chemical called PTBC, made only in Vapi town of Gujarat, will be sent to Visakhapatnam on an urgent basis to help in neutralising the effects of gas leak at a polymer plant there, a Gujarat government official said on Thursday. A major leak from a chemical plant of LG Polymers near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh in the wee hours of Thursday impacted villages within a five-km radius, leaving eight people dead and scores of citizens complaining of breathlessness, nausea and other problems. Para-tertiary butyl catechol or PTBC is currently being used in Visakhapatnam to neutralise the effect of the gas leak, said Ashwani Kumar, secretary in the Gujarat chief minister's office. "This chemical, used for reducing the effects of gas in the air after a leak, is manufactured only in Vapi. The Andhra Pradesh government requested Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani to facilitate airlifting of the chemical from Vapi to be sent there as soon as possible," Kumar said. As instructed by Rupani, senior officials have asked Valsad district collector to make necessary arrangements to procure 500 kg of the chemical. The stock will soon be airlifted from Daman where it will be taken by road from Vapi, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US military said its operations in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia killed 132 civilians and injured 91 others in 2019, according to an annual report released to Congress yesterday. The report also said US military actions had caused a previously undeclared 79 additional civilian casualties in 2017-2018. The number is far lower than independent monitors have assessed, though some rights organizations recognized the report was nonetheless a step forward for US military accountability. In Iraq and Syria, the Pentagon said 22 civilians were killed and 13 injured in operations against the Islamic State in 2019. In contrast, Airwars, an independent UK-based NGO that analyzes allegations of civilian casualties, assessed more than 1,000 civilian deaths in the first half of 2019 alone. The report assessed no civilian casualties in Libya or Yemen, nor from US airstrikes against suspected Kataib Hezbollah sites in Iraq in December. US Africa Command, which oversees operations across the continent, has admitted to inadvertently killing a total of four civilians in two separate incidents in the commands 13 years of existence. Both of those incidents were acknowledged retroactively after scrutiny from independent organizations, and both occurred in Somalia, where the US military is conducting near-daily airstrikes and frequent ground operations against al-Shabaab militants. AFRICOM has never assessed a single casualty in Libya, including from its role in the 2011 NATO bombing campaign against ousted leader Moammar al-Gadhafi. Despite the discrepancies, Airwars called the reports level of detail a welcome sign of evolving Pentagon accountability. It's our view at Airwars that civilian casualties from US military actions are often significantly higher than those publicly conceded. But we also acknowledge that, with the encouragement of Congress and civil society, the Pentagon remains open to accountability improvements, the organization said on Twitter. Amnesty International accused the Pentagon on Wednesday of undercounting its civilian victims, including hundreds assessed by Amnesty to have been killed in Raqqa during the US-led coalitions campaign against the Islamic State. Still, the group noted the assessment marks some progress in terms of transparency of US military operations. We shouldn't dismiss the significance of having an annual report on civilian casualties, said Dan Mahanty, director of the US program at the Center for Civilians in Conflict. I don't know of any other country that does such a thing, Mahanty said. But the report is just that it's a vehicle for information. And the information is only going to be as good as the process that yields the contents. CIVIC has made a number of recommendations to the Pentagon on reducing civilian harm. Mahanty said the report raises questions about whether DOD has taken seriously the clear demand signals from Congress that it change its overly high standard of credibility and implement procedures that allow local communities to report incidents to the US military. Right now, too many are forgotten or ignored entirely, he said. Last year, President Donald Trump revoked a 2016 executive order by former President Barack Obama that required the government to publicly report estimates on non-combatants killed by US airstrikes outside of conventional war zones. Last year Congress mandated that the Defense Department standardize its disparate practices on assessing and minimizing civilian casualties. BADAKHSHAN, Afghanistan -- Afghan girls and women who have relationships with men outside marriage are often the target of brutal punishments -- including public floggings, prison, and even death. One teenage girl who is believed to have broken that social norm paid the ultimate price this week when her brother reportedly killed her after she ran away from home with her boyfriend. The shocking incident was just the latest case in Afghanistan of so-called "honor" killings: the murder of women for allegedly dishonoring the family, such as eloping with men or committing adultery. 'Stabbed To Death' Police said Nazela, an 18-year-old woman, was strangled with electric wire and then stabbed to death in the Baharak district of the northeastern province of Badakhshan on May 1. Noor Agha Naderi, the district governor of Baharak, told RFE/RL that the victim had rejected a marriage proposal to another man that had been arranged by her family. Naderi said she ran away from home and took refuge at the district police headquarters with her boyfriend. But just two days later, her brother picked her up from the station and assured police that nothing would happen to her. Within an hour, she was dead. Unfortunately, when she arrived home, her brother stabbed her to death, said Naderi. The brother fled to a Taliban-controlled area. Authorities believe the victims brother escaped to Jurm district, which is controlled by the Islamic militant group, making it difficult for law enforcement to apprehend him. The Taliban controls and contests parts of Badakhshan, a remote, mountainous province bordering Tajikistan, China, and Pakistan. Naderi said the police officials who released the victim, knowing that she was in danger, have been suspended and are under investigation. Arefa Nawid, the head of the provincial office of Afghanistans Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), blamed police for mishandling the case. She said police should not have released the woman and instead should have transferred her to a womens shelter. This happened because of [the police], Nawid told RFE/RL. The victims boyfriend has been placed under police protection. 'Moral' Crimes So-called moral offenses, including adultery or even running away from home, are not considered crimes under the Afghan Criminal Code. But hundreds of women and girls have nevertheless been imprisoned after being convicted of "immorality" by courts dominated by religious conservatives. In some rural areas, where Taliban militants exert considerable influence, residents often view government bodies as corrupt or unreliable and turn to Taliban courts to settle disputes. The Taliban courts employ strict interpretations of Shari'a law, which prescribes death, or in other cases public flogging, for men or women found guilty of having a physical relationship outside marriage. The woman's own family is often behind the punishments, in some cases shunning the woman or handing her over to authorities for prosecution. In the worst cases, the womans own relatives can carry out the killings. Spate Of Killings Nazelas story is all too common in Afghanistan, where violence against women is widespread. Despite women making significant inroads since the end of Taliban rule in 2001, domestic abuse remains routine and forced or arranged marriages are the norm. In recent years, there has been a spate of chilling public punishments of Afghan women accused of moral crimes. In 2019, the AIHRC recorded nearly 4,700 cases of violence against women in Afghanistan, an 8 percent increase compared to the previous year. The AIHRC recorded the murders of 238 Afghan women in 2019, with 96 labeled as honor killings. This was a slight decrease compared to 2018. Often the murders are not reported and perpetrators go unpunished. In May 2019, female journalist Mena Mangal was killed in the capital, Kabul, just days after getting a divorce from her abusive husband. In 2017, an 18-year-old woman in the eastern province of Nuristan who had been forced by her family to marry a man against her wishes ran away with her boyfriend. An armed mob stormed a police station where the couple had sought refuge and killed them. In October 2015, 19-year-old Rokhsana was stoned to death by Taliban militants in the central province of Ghor after being accused of having premarital sex. In November 2015, a 26-year-old Afghan woman died of her injuries after being publicly lashed, also in Ghor. She had been accused of running away from home. And in August 2016, also in Ghor Province, a young man and woman found guilty of having sex outside marriage were publicly lashed. Adultery has also resulted in several cases of women being stoned to death in areas controlled by the Taliban in recent years. Sporadic incidents of stonepelting took place in Awantipora area of Pulwama district, the hometown of slain Hizbul Mujahideen chief Reyaz Naikoo, even as curfew-like restrictions were imposed in many parts of Kashmir on Thursday as a precautionary measure, officials said. Naikoo and his aide were killed in an encounter with security forces in Beighpora area of Awantipora on Wednesday, prompting authorities to snap mobile telephone and Internet services in the valley. Restrictions were also imposed in most parts of the valley, including Srinagar city, soon after the about Naikoo's killing spread. Although the Kashmir is under the third phase of coronavirus lockdown, additional security forces have been deployed in many sensitive and vulnerable areas of the valley for ensuring peace, the officials said. However, incidents of stone pelting by groups of youths have been reported from the areas around Naikoo's native village in Awanitpora since early morning on Thursday, the officials said. They said similar incidents of stone pelting had taken place on Wednesday also, resulting in injuries to 16 people. Four of the injured persons had bullet injuries. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) KITCHENER After a decade of building robots capable of working in some of the most inhospitable environments on Earth, Deep Trekker is preparing to take on the new global challenge of COVID-19. The Kitchener-based underwater robotics company has spent the past few weeks developing and testing a pair of land-based robots capable of spraying disinfectant or using a form of ultraviolet light to eradicate the coronavirus inside workplaces or aboard major forms of transportation such as airplanes or trains. We do about 50 trade shows every year, and after COVID-19 hit I wondered if we would ever fly again, said Deep Trekker president Sam Macdonald. When it hit we thought of ways that we could help. Theyve developed two versions of the robot that stands about five feet tall and is narrow enough to drive down the aisle of an airplane or train. One uses six sprayers to disperse disinfectant into the air as a mist to decontaminate rooms or other spaces. Macdonald expects it could be ready for the market in the next month. The other version will be fitted with whats known as a UV-C ultraviolet light emitter that may have the ability to destroy the virus. Macdonald said there is still some testing that needs to be done within the scientific community to determine if the light is completely effective. It could be another two months before the UV-C light version of the robot is ready. We have to prove these things work, Macdonald said. Research has shown the light can be damaging to skin or eyes, so UV-C light is not suitable for use on skin or clothing. Not only could the robots be more effective at decontaminating spaces than humans, the fact theyre remote controlled means humans are never put in direct harm of possibly contracting the disease. Valuable personal protective equipment can also be spared. The robots are modified versions of the companys popular DT640 utility crawler, a three-wheeled chassis that weighs between 11 and 15 kilograms (25 or 30 pounds). It has magnetic wheels and is typically used to crawl along the outside of a ships hull to check for damage or corrosion, and even pressure wash or scrape away debris. Its always been a very flexible vehicle, Macdonald said. The COVID-19 vehicle is a four-wheeled design that weighs about 70 kilograms (150 pounds) when fully loaded. The idea of redesigning the DT640 first came when Deep Trekker wanted to find a way to keep their employees safe at work. Marketing staff and other office employees are working from home, and Deep Trekker has ensured social distancing protocols are in place inside their Kitchener manufacturing facility, but the company wanted to take that extra step and ensure the facility was decontaminated as well. They started experimenting by hacking together a rudimentary machine capable of spraying disinfectant into the air and onto work surfaces, and thats when they decided to explore the idea of making a product for the larger market, Macdonald said. Deep Trekker has contracts with essential service provides such as municipalities for water and wastewater inspections, defence contracts, and the food industry, so is permitted to remain open during the provincial shutdown of non-essential services. Founded in 2010, Deep Trekker has a long roster of clients in a wide range of industries, including law enforcement and defence, search and rescue, energy and infrastructure, commercial diving and ocean science. In August 2016, Parks Canada used a Deep Trekker underwater drone to provide live footage and images of the HMS Erebus, one of the two ships that made up the ill-fated Franklin expedition that became trapped in sea ice in 1846. Here are some points in reply to Say it aint so, Joe? Bidens denial may not save his accidental candidacy, Paul Mulshines recent column: First, we should all be concerned and disgusted by any allegations made concerning the degradation of women. This is especially true when this is carried out by men in power. When Mulshine writes, It may be true that Donald Trump has been accused of much worse. But Trumps not running as a Democrat, this could be interpreted differently from what the columnist intended. That is, when someone runs for president as a Republican, the standard for behavior is set much lower. Trumps past remarks and alleged actions didnt prevent the GOP or his base from backing his bid for the presidency. Why havent more of these female accusers there are a lot of them been given an opportunity to be heard? I believe Trump said he planned on confronting all of his accusers to clear his reputation. When? If Joe Biden fumbles in his defense against Tara Reades allegations, and is not to be believed, I say, find a better candidate. I doubt the Republican Party wants a Draft Andrew Cuomo movement started at the Democrats upcoming Zoom convention. Christine Calhoun, Cranford Offenders certainly are knuckleheads State Sen. Joe Pennacchio took offense at Gov. Phil Murphys use of the word knucklehead when speaking of people who refuse to adhere to social distancing rules (State senator takes offense at knuckleheads language, May 4). Personally, I feel the governor was being kind, as knucklehead is certainly not the word I would use, or the word he probably wishes he could use, in public. The senator states that residents deserve better after making sacrifices due to the state shutdown. But obviously the governor is not addressing the law-abiding citizens who are following the rules. Hes addressing the ones who blatantly put the rest of us in danger. In other words, the knuckleheads. John Torre, North Brunswick Mulshines missing the fatal facts Time for columnist Paul Mulshine (Murphy tells his coronavirus critics to take a flying leap, May 3) to retire. He pretends nothing is happening in South Jersey, although the case numbers have been climbing there, as they are in many rural areas of the state, including Hunterdon County, where I live. These facts are something Mulshine unaccountably ignores. In short, he is recklessly exposing New Jerseyans to a line of rhetoric that can only cause greater sickness, while he peddles his anti-Gov.Phil-Murphy spleen. Let him sit alone in Mulshine fantasyland while the rest of us have to face New Jersey reality. Peter Buchsbaum, Stockton Isolation has its high costs People are lonely right now. March, April, May theyve either been one really long month sandwiched together, or something resembling eight years, depending on how much gin youve consumed recently. Personally, Im about five minutes from pulling a Castaway, smearing blood all over a volleyball and screaming: WILSON! Now unemployed, I haggle with my psychiatrist over the maximum daily dosage of anti-anxiety medication. This isolation hurts, and bad. The illness becomes stronger with each laggy FaceTime conversation, each scroll past Tiger King in a tired Netflix recommendation queue. The streets are empty. Citizens hide behind surgical masks and elastic gloves. Bodies pile up in refrigerated trucks. Here in Jersey, even Bruce Springsteens music has lost its power on this writers ears. When The Boss stops connecting with your heart and soul, we live in dark times. I get it: Many Americans are facing much more serious difficulties, in terms of health and finances. One of my closest friends is a doctor on the front lines of this COVID pandemic, treating patients during 16-hour rotations. He deals with real, life-threatening challenges, like the possibility of infection, figuring out which crucial medications to prescribe and when to intubate a patient. Not to mention the risk of spreading coronavirus to his partner also a doctor when he arrives home. And .God bless the patients themselves. Over 1 million Americans have been infected as of this writing, and more than 72,000 have died alone, without loved ones by their bedside and no immediate plans for burial. President Donald Trump got one thing right: We are fighting an invisible enemy, and ignoring the guidelines provided by government officials and medical professionals will only intensify this catastrophe. There seems to be a cute turn of phrase recently: United we stand divided. But dropping the back half of the original quotation nullifies its meaning: Divided we fall. We have fallen nation by nation, state by state, person by person. And as we lie flat on our backs, staring at endless streams of video content on our MacBooks, nobody really seems to know if well ever stand up straight again. Dan Levinsohn, Hackensack Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. The Star-Ledger/NJ.com encourages submissions of opinion. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. The district administration in Akola in Maharashtra has cancelled its previous order in which it had directed some college professors to act as coordinators at liquor shops to observe whether social distancing norms were being followed by the customers, an official said. The tehsildar of Murtijapur tehsil in the district on Thursday cancelled the order after it social media users and others criticised the move. As liquor shops started functioning in parts of Maharashtra from Monday, the authorities in Murtijapur had directed the professors of Sant Gadgebababa College to work as coordinators outside such outlets to see whether the customers were following social distancing norms. The duty was assigned to them due to lack of manpower. However, as the decision drew flak from social media users and local residents, the administration decided to withdraw the order on Thursday, a senior official said. The district collector has clearly stated only the police personnel should be assigned this duty, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) OAKVILLE, ON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. ("APUC") (TSX/NYSE: AQN) announced today that the Board of Directors has approved a dividend increase of U.S. $0.0564 annually per common share to a total dividend of U.S. $0.6204 per common share, paid quarterly at a rate of U.S. $0.1551 per common share. APUC also announced today that the Board of Directors has declared a dividend of U.S. $0.1551 per share on its common shares, payable on July 15, 2020, to the shareholders of record on June 30, 2020, for the period from April 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020. Shareholders receiving dividends in cash can elect to receive the dividend in Canadian dollars in the amount of C$0.2191. The common share dividend will be paid in cash or, if a shareholder has enrolled in the shareholder dividend reinvestment plan (the "Plan"), dividends will be reinvested in additional common shares ("Plan Shares") of APUC as per the Plan. Plan Shares will be acquired by way of a Treasury Purchase at the average market price as defined in the Plan less a 5% discount. Pursuant to the Income Tax Act (Canada) and corresponding provincial legislation, APUC hereby notifies its common shareholders that such dividends declared qualify as eligible dividends. The quarterly dividends payable on common shares are declared in U.S. dollars. Beneficial shareholders (those who hold common shares through a financial intermediary) who are resident in Canada or the United States may request to receive their dividends in either U.S. dollars or the Canadian dollar equivalent by contacting the financial intermediary with whom the common shares are held. Unless the Canadian dollar equivalent is requested, shareholders will receive dividends in U.S. dollars, which, as is often the case, the financial intermediary may convert to Canadian dollars. Registered shareholders receive dividend payments in the currency of residency. Registered shareholders may opt to change the payment currency by contacting AST Trust Company (Canada) at 1-800-387-0825 prior to the record date of the dividend. The Canadian dollar equivalent of the quarterly dividend is based on the Bank of Canada daily average exchange rate on the day before the declaration date. About Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. APUC is a diversified international generation, transmission and distribution utility with approximately U.S. $11 billion of total assets. Through its two business groups, APUC is committed to providing safe, reliable and cost effective rate-regulated natural gas, water, and electricity generation, transmission and distribution utility services to approximately 805,000 connections in the United States and Canada, and is a global leader in renewable energy through its portfolio of long-term contracted wind, solar and hydroelectric generating facilities representing over 2 GW of installed capacity and more than 1.4 GW of incremental renewable energy capacity under construction. APUC strives to deliver continuing growth through an expanding global pipeline of renewable energy, electric transmission, and water infrastructure development projects, organic growth within its rate-regulated generation, distribution and transmission businesses, and the pursuit of accretive acquisitions. APUC's common shares, Series A preferred shares, and Series D preferred shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols AQN, AQN.PR.A, and AQN.PR.D. APUC's common shares, Series 2018-A subordinated notes and Series 2019-A subordinated notes are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols AQN, AQNA and AQNB. Visit APUC at www.algonquinpowerandutilities.com and follow us on Twitter @AQN_Utilities. SOURCE Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. Related Links http://www.algonquinpower.com NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE U nfolding this month, in the background of the pandemic, is a depopulation of livestock farms another surreal new term of the crisis to add to our list. Its as detached and colorless a word as the industry could find for gassing, suffocating, or otherwise doing in the millions of animals whose appointments at the abattoir have been canceled by coronavirus outbreaks and who therefore, in the refrain of news coverage, have nowhere to go. The system has its own unbending schedules and logic. No sheltering in place for factory-farmed pigs, cows, chickens, and other creatures when yet more troubles appear. When they cant die on a kill line, because a slaughterhouse has closed, that just means they have to die somewhere else to get out of the way even if, as in this case, theyre all bound for landfills, blast furnaces, or burial pits. Culling is a grim necessity, were told, and industry representatives have been straining to convey a sense of loss, though its not always clear whether they regret the waste of life or just a waste of food. In an emergency conference call on the logistics of the cull, recorded online by pork producers, one speaker captured the feeling: Its a topic that makes us all sick to our stomachs. Among techniques discussed in that call, and left for farmers to apply according to cost and depopulation efficiency, were gunshot and electrocution (preferred methods), manual blunt force trauma (beating animals to death with blows to the head, also preferred), ventilation shutdown and poisoning by carbon monoxide or sodium nitrate (these approaches permitted in constrained circumstances). When the pork producers lead veterinarian turned to the details of setting up a gas chamber, you could understand how disoriented a rational person would feel. By presidential directive, the meat industry is now to be considered an essential enterprise. This intervention will safeguard such assets as our national pork reserve, while reopening the slaughter plants and leaving the companies in their accustomed position of taking no responsibility for the consequences. Culling continues anyway, because with the merest pause the meat system convulses with backlog, requiring travails for which producers expect our sympathy. Story continues So sorrowful is the task that Iowas governor and U.S. senators have requested federal support not only in depopulation itself but also in helping to cope with the emotional aftermath: Providing mental health assistance to farmers, veterinarians and others involved in the difficult decisions and processes around euthanizing and disposing of animals is imperative. The National Pork Producers Council, in various statements pleading for public understanding along with the federal cash payouts, likewise speaks of tragic choices, gut-wrenching decisions, and devastating last resorts all pointing to euthanasia as the most humane option. A grievous situation, from any angle. And it would be nice to think that, even in some fleeting moment of revelation, these people who run our factory farms and slaughterhouses had awakened to the reality that living creatures are never just commodities, that they warrant our moral concern, and their suffering, our compassion. More likely, in these expressions of disquiet, we have a massive case of compartmentalizing, in which the mind selectively acknowledges one kind of problem while failing to grasp others of equal moral gravity. What is so gut-wrenching about culling, compared with practices that these same people accept as a matter of course, in unconstrained circumstances and in disregard of every consideration except their own convenience and profit? With the turn of a switch, and in a matter of minutes, half a million chickens may be gassed or suffocated in a single facility, only because industrial agriculture packs these afflicted fowl of the air into vast warehouses, the laying hens crammed into row after row of small and filthy cages. A depressing possibility, given that such miseries are the design of the same farmers doing the culling, is that all they really lament is the loss of time and money. And even that feeling passes quickly, as culling is turned to advantage, with higher prices following the short-term constriction in supply. If mass depopulation makes for a sickening sight, even to factory farmers, then you would think that mass confinement of animals would long ago have had a similar effect. Under intensive confinement, another term of the trade, these culled animals have known a world of only concrete and metal, with all the privations, mutilations, and other cruelties that are the industrys first resort, and with even the veterinarians hired only to refine the punishments. Indeed, every modern hog farm is a training ground in culling, as the weak and near-dead are routinely dragged to cull pens, while the others are kept alive, amid pathogenic disease and squalor, only by a reckless use of antibiotics. The externalized cost to public health being left, as always with factory farming, for others to deal with. Such is the culling expertise of Americas pork producers that when Chinas current swine-fever contagion began to spread, factory farmers in that country knew who to call. Our industrys best minds in the field were dispatched to the scene, where even now millions of pigs are being gassed or buried alive. It was only last year, likewise, that this same industry thanks to excellent lobbying connections, a servile U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the most easily exploited workforce in America gained the federal go-ahead to slaughter pigs at a pace exceeding 2,000 per hour, and also a looser regimen of labor safety and animal-welfare inspections. As if an hourly kill-rate of 1,100 pigs had not been punitive enough. Upside: more profit. Downside: a more nightmarish task for workers on the kill floor. And at such frenzied speed, the stunners often miss, leaving uncounted pigs to have their throats slit or to be dropped into the scalding tanks while they are still conscious. Where was the industrys concern for humane options when this regulatory change was advocated? Where was that alertness to tragic choices when it might have done some good? And does it give anyone a moments pause that pigs, slaughtered at a national rate of half a million a day, are highly intelligent and social creatures, at least as smart and sensitive as any dog facing the similar horrors of a Wuhan wet market? The chairman of Tyson Foods last week, in an unctuous and self-pitying letter typical of the industrys public pronouncements, expressed confidence that his companys core values would see it through the crisis. Yet for years, that company and others have sought laws to prohibit anyone from taking pictures inside their facilities, lest we learn more about how things work in what industry executives prefer to call protein production. What are the core values of people in a massive enterprise that depends so heavily on concealment and euphemism? How jarring to hear them now supplicating for mental-health assistance to soothe their emotional wounds, as if they felt some attachment to animals they have done nothing but abuse, employing methods they are afraid to let us see. And how absurd to find Tysons top man solemnly declaring that the food supply chain is breaking (meat, he informs us, is as essential as healthcare), as though were just one or two slaughterhouse shutdowns away from famine. Happily, the crop growers of America the farmers who truly sustain our country, and who dont need gas chambers when things go wrong have got us covered. Sometimes the failures in a system reveal the essence of the whole. Abnormal circumstances can clarify problems that pass for normal. Doubtless, in their depopulation measures, the livestock farmers themselves feel they have nowhere to go, forced by their own manias of consolidation and hyper-efficiency to make one harsh choice after another, all the conscientious alternatives long ago ruled out. Yet if somehow it troubles them, in their culling labors, to treat millions of living creatures as nothing bulldozed away, like so much piled-up trash then nows a good moment, for all of us, to notice that the system is just as merciless when it is working to perfection. Every one of those creatures, like billions of others, was marked for a bitter, frightened, pain-filled life anyway and to what good end? It is all in service to a business whose ruthlessness to animals, utter indifference to workers, destructiveness to the environment, and manifold harm to human health combine to qualify it as perhaps the least essential industry in America, and among the most amoral. By all means, give them their mental-health assistance. Add some ethics counseling, too. And just make certain that the treatment includes serious, intensive introspection. More from National Review The trade unions on Wednesday told govt officials that workers who want to return home should be facilitated and should be incentivised by giving them cash or by giving them good facilities to live. Here are the top ten business headlines of the day: Govt leans on unions to make workers stay as economy sinks The government on Wednesday held a meeting, chaired by labour and employment minister have asked the central trade unions to persuade the migrant ... Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. 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Digital Editor Pottinger's wrong on May 4th Movement, should mind own business: FM Global Times Source:Global Times Published: 2020/5/6 18:18:41 US Deputy National Security Advisor Matt Pottinger, who thinks he knows China well, does not know China that well and does not know anything about the May Fourth spirit, as he has a strong prejudice against China, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday in response to Pottinger's speech on the May Fourth movement. "Mr. Pottinger is wrong. The nature of the May Fourth movement is not what he called 'populism.' It was a patriotic revolutionary movement against imperialism and feudalism," Hua Chunying, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at Wednesday's media briefing. The core of the May Fourth spirit is patriotism. The true successors of the spirit of the May Fourth movement are Chinese citizens with patriotism, Hua said. Monday marks the 101st anniversary of the May Fourth Movement in China. In a speech Pottinger delivered in Putonghua, he said the heirs of May Fourth are civic-minded citizens who commit small acts of bravery, and he said Li Wenliang was such a person. Mr. Pottinger forgot that the cause of the May Fourth movement was the backroom deals among foreign powers over their privileges in Chinese territory after World War I, and the Chinese people will never accept humiliation, Hua said. "If anyone in Washington wants to pass the buck onto and bully China over the coronavirus outbreak, the 1.4 billion Chinese will not accept it, and doctor Li Wenliang's soul will not accept it," Hua said. She urged US officials to have a better understanding of China's history and mind their own affairs. Li, a doctor from Central Hospital of Wuhan who sounded an early alarm on the novel coronavirus in the country, died from COVID-19 on February 7, aged 34. In late April,China awarded 94 outstanding individuals and 34 groups and organizations the 24th national May 4th Medals,including Li, to mark their contributions to the country, in particular their sacrifices in combating the coronavirus this year. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A police inspector and five of his family members tested positive for COVID-19 in Maharashtra's Aurangabad city on Thursday, an official said. The police official's son tested positive for the infection on Wednesday and was recuperating at a private hospital, the official said. The officer's son had recently returned from Delhi and was admitted to the hospital with fever, following which he tested positive, he said. Swab reports of the official and five of his family members also came out positive on Thursday, he added. "We have spoken to the official and his condition is stable. We are tracking down others who had come in contact with him," deputy commissioner of police Meena Makwana told PTI. Meanwhile, a police constable has also tested positive for the infection in Aurangabad and has been quarantined, the official said. At least 378 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Aurangabad district so far. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Florida woman is now behind bars after police officers rescued a boy locked in a home filled with fleas, dog feces, and urine, according to a recently published article. The Okaloosa Sheriff's Office received a call from a concerned citizen about a boy who was locked up by a 58-year-old woman named Toni Reid in the Fort Walton Beach Area. The Okaloosa Sheriff deputies said that when they arrived at the home on April 22, they found the 6-year old boy hiding in a closet. The deputies who responded and rescued the child said that they were covered with fleas while they were in the home. Aside from the child, the deputies also found three dogs inside the house. One of the dogs was covered with flies and unable to walk. Moreover, the house was filled with dog feces, urine, and flies. On the official Facebook page of Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, they wrote, "Dog feces and urine were spread throughout the home. There were also an abundance of flies, multiple knives within the victim's reach in the kitchen, as well as multiple chemicals on kitchen counters." They also added: "In addition, deputies discovered the child had only a bare mattress in her bedroom, with a large hole down to the inner springs. Fleas were found on the child. Deputies also reported becoming covered in fleas while at the residence." In another recently published report, when Toni Reid was asked about the said incident, she did not give any comments as if nothing happened. However, she was informed that they were removing child care from her due to neglect. Instead of asking about the condition of the child, she instead showed her concern about the dogs and made arrangements for their new home. Reid insisted that she kept the home clean and blamed the boy for the condition of her home. She said that if the place was dirty, it was because the boy made it that way. Meanwhile, the Okaloosa Sheriff's County Office did not specify the relationship between the woman and the child. However, due to the said incident, Reid was charged with child neglect and was served a warrant on May 1. It is still not clear until now as to the reason for locking up the child inside the home with three dogs covered with fleas, urine, and dog feces. Many netizens showed sympathy to the child on the official page of the County Sheriff's office. One said: "So glad the child found the courage and the opportunity to seek help. Praying for healing for this child and the ability to have a full life ahead and leaving her past behind. Thank you, Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, for rescuing her." Another one wrote: "The little child was in my daughter's class last year! Praying for the child gets placed in a caring, loving home. This breaks my heart!" While some shared their sympathy for the child, others are quite skeptical about the relationship between the boy and the woman. One wrote: "Out of an abundance of caution Okaloosa County Sheriff's Dept, you should ensure that six years old is indeed, her biological child and not a missing child. Although it's not unheard of for a 52 yr old to have a baby, it may be indicative as to why there was such neglect if the child wasn't really hers, clearly she had no love for this child. Sad." Meanwhile, the County Sheriff's Office replied to this comment. It said: "Just for clarification, the identities of victims of child abuse/neglect are protected, and we did not specify the nature of relationships between the defendant and the victim. Thanks so much." MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI The number of identified coronavirus cases in Muskegon County continues to rise as county health officials expand testing services available to residents. There have been 344 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Muskegon County, after health officials reported nine new cases Thursday, May 7, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The number of deaths with COVID-19 remained at 19 in Muskegon County. While the number of COVID-19 cases continues to climb in Muskegon County, the rate of growth has slowed over the past week. From May 1-7, the county averaged 9.7 new cases per day compared to 12.85 per day the previous week (April 24-30). The county reported two deaths in the past week compared to five the previous week. County health officials announced expanded COVID-19 testing options Thursday. Testing criteria has been expanded to include any resident with mild symptoms of the coronavirus, or any essential workers still reporting to work although testing criteria still prioritizes high risk groups. The expanded testing sites in Muskegon County are listed below: Hackley Community Care Center, at 2700 Baker St. in Muskegon Heights, now offers curbside COVID-19 testing by appointment for all residents. Patients must first be screened for symptoms by calling 231-737-1335. Rite Aid, at 2580 Lake Ave. in North Muskegon, will offer self-swab nasal testing by appointment starting Sunday, May 10. Patients must first visit www.riteaid.com to be screened for symptoms and make an appointment, and testing is limited to people ages 18 or older. Walmart will offer self-swab nasal testing by appointment at a drive-thru testing site at 3285 Henry St. in Muskegon starting Friday, May 8. Patients must first visit www.MyQuestCOVIDTest.com to be screened for symptoms and make an appointment, and testing is limited to people ages 18 or older. Mercy Health, North Ottawa Community Health and Spectrum Health continue to offer drive-thru testing by appointment with a doctors referral. Patients can call hospital screening hotlines for Mercy Health at 833-247-1258, North Ottawa Community Health at 616-935-7810 and Spectrum Health at 833-559-0659. About 12 percent of the 2,675 tests conducted in Muskegon County have come back positive, countywide data posted Wednesday shows. The number of identified positive cases have steadily increased countywide after health officials ramped up testing last month. Browser does not support frames. Residents in their 50s were the largest age group of coronavirus cases countywide, data posted Wednesday shows. Residents ages 50-59 made up 21 percent of cases, followed by residents ages 20-29 at 17 percent of cases and residents ages 60-69 at 16 percent of cases. Although residents in their 80s only make up 8 percent of cases countywide, older adults make up the largest portion of deaths reported in Muskegon County. Eight of the 19 reported deaths were residents over the age of 80, according to data posted on the county health department website. Statewide, there were 592 new reported cases of COVID-19 Thursday, bringing Michigans total number of cases to 45,646, MDHHS reported. There were 93 new deaths with COVID-19 confirmed Thursday, raising the death toll to 4,343 statewide. Kent County health officials reported 60 new positive cases, bringing the number of cases to 2,076. After a four-day streak of no new reported deaths, health officials reported one new death in Kent County, bringing its death toll to 41. Ottawa County reported 18 new COVID-19 cases, raising its number of cases to 331 Thursday. Three new deaths were reported, which raised the number of deaths to 17 total. In Oceana County, there was one new case, raising its number of cases to 23. Meanwhile, Newaygo County health officials reported two new cases, bringing their case count to 34. MLive has complete coverage on coronavirus COVID-19, including maps of known cases, at mlive.com/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. Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces. Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus. Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus. More on MLive: Thursday, May 7: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan Whitmer extends Michigan stay-at-home order until May 28, manufacturing reopens Monday TCF Center suspends coronavirus operations, no patients at the facility for time being Terry Hunt named director of aviation at Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus Thursday, May 7, 2020 SALINA The aviation program on the Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus has a new leader. With more than 30 years of experience as a pilot, Gold Seal flight instructor, aviation mechanic, authorized inspector and educator, Terry Hunt has been selected as the director of aviation at K-State Polytechnic and will begin his role July 1. Previously, he served as an associate professor and chair of the University of Central Missouri's School of Aviation. "K-State Polytechnic has a long and prestigious history of excellence in aviation education and I'm excited to work with such a high-quality group of students, faculty and staff," Hunt said. "I look forward to sharing my experience in a way that will not only support and sustain the goals of the institution but also explore new possibilities in a dynamic industry for our graduates." As director, Hunt is responsible for budget management, professional engagement, enrollment support, FAA compliance, curriculum enhancement and faculty collaboration. Utilizing his background in aviation safety, he will ensure all operations follow federal guidelines and that program rules, regulations and safety procedures are implemented. Hunt will monitor industry developments and work with faculty to provide leading-edge flight and maintenance training as well as innovative coursework and laboratory experiences. As one of the principal representatives of the aviation program, he also will serve as the point of contact for airline agreements, foster professional partnerships and business connections, and assist in the student recruitment process. "Dr. Hunt has a robust record of solid experience in collegiate aviation and we are excited to welcome him into the K-State family as the next leader of our aviation academic programs," said Alysia Starkey, CEO of K-State Polytechnic and dean of the College of Technology and Aviation. "Dr. Hunt's collaborative approach to leadership will serve our students and faculty well, and his creativity and understanding of the future needs of higher education will advance the development and growth of our campus." Bitten by the flying bug at an early age, Hunt grew up in Harrison, Arkansas, near the local airport and was intrigued by planes passing overhead. His first job in the industry was as a senior aviation maintenance instructor at a community college in Kansas City. After teaching at The College of the Ozarks as an associate professor and at the University of Central Missouri as an assistant professor, Hunt was hired as director of aviation at Oklahoma State University a position he held for almost 10 years. In 2012, he taught aerospace at Middle Tennessee State University and then was named chair of the School of Aviation at the University of Central Missouri in 2015. Hunt holds an airline transport pilot certificate for multiengine aircraft; a commercial pilot certificate in single-engine aircraft for land and seaplane; and basic, instrument and advanced ground instructor certificates. He also is a certified flight instructor with a Gold Seal for both single and multiengine aircraft and a certified instrument flight instructor for single and multiengine aircraft. Hunt has earned aviation mechanic airframe and powerplant ratings and has an FAA inspection authorization. In addition, he completed the small unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS, commercial pilot certificate. Hunt has a doctorate in aerospace education from Oklahoma State University, a master's in aviation safety from the University of Central Missouri and a bachelor's in aviation science from The College of the Ozarks. The Tomball City Council and the Tomball Economic Development Corporation met for a special joint workshop Monday to discuss the possibility of giving a $3 million grant to help fund construction of the planned Texas Railroading Heritage Museum. The timeline of museum construction has remained uncertain as efforts to find funding sources have been ongoing for several years. However, the Texas Railroading Heritage Museum now runs the risk of losing its centerpiece exhibitsa collection of vintage railcarsunless the museum can be completed before existing funds run out. ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Texas Railroading Heritage Museum at Tomball seeks help raising funds for construction The $3 million grant would cover the first phase of the $10 million project and allow the museum to open, according to Bill Capdevielle, president of the Texas Railroading Heritage Museum. Background The Gulf Coast Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society established the Texas Railroading Heritage Museum nonprofit, or TRHM, in 2011 with the intention of creating a railroading museum, according to the museum website. The museums exhibits would feature items pertaining to the regions railroading history, including the chapters collection of vintage railcars currently being kept in rented storage space. The chapter entered into an agreement in 2015 with the City of Tomball to build the Texas Railroading Heritage Museum in Tomball on a site owned by the city next to the Tomball Depot Museum and the BNSF Railway mainline. MORE ABOUT RAILROADING MUSEUM: Renderings show what Tomball's Texas Railroading Heritage Museum will look like Planned museum facilities include a 14,000-square-foot museum and education building; 3,200-plus linear feet of track for displaying the vintage railcars; and a shed structure to cover 21,000 square feet of the railcar area. The Gulf Coast Chapter-NRHS recently delegated museum management and development responsibilities to the TRHM nonprofit through an operating agreement. However, the chapter still serves as one of the museums sponsoring organizations, along with the City of Tomball and Harris County. TRHM entered into a new agreement with the City of Tomball in which the city is leasing the land for the museum site for $1 a year. Harris County agreed to fund the design costs of the museums drainage plan up to $65,000. The museum has been trying to secure additional funding to move forward with phase one of development. Capdevielle said the museum has raised some funds alreadyaround $300,000but more than $200,000 of that has had be spent on rent for where the cars are stored, east of downtown Houston. The bottom line Capdevielle said the organization has been backed into a corner because BNSF Railway has refused to move the train cars to the museum site until a covered building is constructed to protect the railcars from environmental damage. BNSF Railway owns the rail on which the train cars would be transported and therefore has the authority to refuse to move them until there is a covered building at the site, according to Capdevielle. Al Dykes, vice president of the Gulf Coast Chapter-NRHS, said if the chapter runs out of money before the museum is complete, they will have to disperse their collection of train cars, either selling or donating them to other organizations. He said they currently dont have any income coming in. The bottom line is, in 17 months when were out of money, thats it, Dykes said. Well have to disperse the collection. I hate to see it happen. Capdevielle said the $3 million grant would encompass two to three tracks for the cars, an office building, and the covered building and spurwhich is rail leading from the railroad to the buildingfor the train cars. The building would cover eight or nine of the 14 railcars they have in total, he said, with the freight cars and engines remaining uncovered. Capdevielle said the rest of the project funding would be raised by grants or donations from philanthropic organizations and sponsorships. He anticipates that the $3 million grant would open doors to get additional funding. The grant by itself should be enough to allow the TRHM to open the museum to the public and lead to more funding, he said. The museum will be really a great boon to the city of Tomball, helping to identify them as a real railroad town and I think the citizens of Tomball will really enjoy it, as well as the citizens of Harris County and south Texas, Capdevielle said. A precarious situation Council Member Lori Klein Quinn said she requested the Tomball EDC give the grant to the city of Tomball, which would take over the disbursement of the grant to build the facility. Should they receive the money, Quinn said she was told by State Rep. Tom Oliverson that the spur could be donated. The city has bought the land and has made quite an investment in order to get the museum going and we have an opportunity to get that spur donated now if we can get a letter from the city, Quinn said. TEDC Board Member Bill Sumner said the museums grant request was out of the blue, and that he thought the city should be involved in the matter instead of the EDC. Its just not only bad timing with what weve got going on, but were probably gonna see a real reduction in our tax revenue, Sumner said. I just have a hard time justifying $3 million for a railroad museum. Quinn said the grant fell under EDC guidelines due to bringing in tourism, but Sumner said he couldnt look himself in the eye and say the grant was a good use of taxpayer money. How many times have you been to the railroad museum in Galveston; once and done? Sumner asked. We have 25,000 people in our area roughly and once theyve gone to the railroad museum once, who is going to support this $10 million boondoggle? Quinn disagreed, saying the projected economic impacts showed about a $651,000 increase in revenue annually with 24,000 people coming into Tomball a year to look at the museum. She said there was also the intangible benefit of the museum being put on state and national maps. Railroad is our history, Quinn said. Are you telling me that because the depot does not support itself, we should not have the depot? Thats the same rationale. Quinn said the decision came down to whether the officials wanted a railroad museum or not, adding that the city has already bought property dedicated to the museum so she would like to see the project through. Council Member Mark Stoll said he has always supported the museum, but with the understanding that the city would donate the land and other funding would be raised from outside sources. Even though its a legitimate expense of the TEDC, I still feel the primary purpose of the TEDC is bringing primary jobs to Tomball, Stoll said. I cant justify voting in favor of spending $3 million of EDC money to do this, especially when it appears right now with what funds they said they have raised, its primarily gone to storage, so therefore they really have no funds. Council Member Don Townsend Jr. said he has been an avid supporter of the museum, but said he thought the council has been put in a precarious situation. Weve got a large quantity of people in our area that are either on furlough or have flat out lost their jobs and I have a hard time spending any money, Townsend said. I think that sends the wrong message. Id have a hard time voting on $3 million. No decision was made by the end of the meeting, and no other meetings have been scheduled yet to vote on the proposed grant. paul.wedding@hcnonline.com KYODO NEWS - May 8, 2020 - 06:30 | All, Japan, Coronavirus The Japanese government approved Thursday the use of the anti-viral drug remdesivir for novel coronavirus patients in an expedited review as Japan, like other countries, scrambles to contain COVID-19 with the death toll gradually rising. The government fast-tracked its approval of remdesivir just three days after the Japanese unit of U.S. developer Gilead Sciences Inc. filed an application, and one week after the United States authorized emergency use of the drug for COVID-19 patients. Remdesivir, originally developed as a possible treatment for Ebola, is the first therapeutic drug approved in Japan to treat COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus that was first detected in Wuhan, China, late last year. Expectations have grown that the drug will help treat patients with severe symptoms, though there is concern over whether sufficient supplies can be secured. Some experts have voiced concern about remdesivir, saying there is little information about its safety and effectiveness. Possible side effects of remdesivir, which is injected into a vein, include liver damage and nausea. The anti-flu drug Avigan developed by a Fujifilm Holdings Corp. subsidiary is also expected to be approved later in the month for use to treat patients infected with the coronavirus. The fast-track approval process employs simplified procedures and can be used when a drug has already been approved in another country. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has stressed the need for international cooperation to develop vaccines and treatment drugs amid the coronavirus pandemic. In Japan, over 16,200 coronavirus cases have been confirmed with about 600 deaths. Japan has not seen an explosive surge in infections but Abe has extended the nationwide state of emergency until May 31 to make sure that the number of newly reported cases will fall further and not strain the medical system. Still, the emergency could be lifted before May 31, depending on the situation in each prefecture. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that could happen in any prefecture, regardless of whether it is currently designated as an area requiring "special caution." There are 13 such prefectures, including Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka that have been hit harder by the virus. A medical researcher said to be on the "verge of making very significant" coronavirus findings was found shot to death over the weekend in Pennsylvania, officials said. Bing Liu, 37, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, was found dead Saturday inside a home in Ross Township, north of Pittsburgh, the Allegheny County medical examiner said. He had been shot in the head and the neck, the agency said. An hour after Liu's body was discovered, a second person, Hao Gu, 46, was found dead inside a car less than a mile away, the agency said. Ross Township police Detective Sgt. Brian Kohlhepp told NBC News that the men knew each other. Investigators believe Gu killed Liu before returning to his car, where he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police believe the deaths occurred on Saturday after a "lengthy dispute regarding an intimate partner," according to the Ross Police Department Wednesday. "We have found zero evidence that this tragic event has anything to do with employment at the University of Pittsburgh, any work being conducted at the University of Pittsburgh and the current health crisis affecting the United States and the world," police said. The investigation has been forwarded to federal authorities because neither of the men were U.S. citizens. Liu, who earned a Ph.D. in computational science from the National University of Singapore, worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University before becoming a research associate at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. In a statement, the University of Pittsburgh described him as an excellent mentor and prolific researcher who had co-authored more than 30 papers. His work focused on systems biology. "Bing was on the verge of making very significant findings toward understanding the cellular mechanisms that underlie SARS-CoV-2 infection and the cellular basis of the following complications," the school said. "We will make an effort to complete what he started in an effort to pay homage to his scientific excellence." The coronavirus pandemic is a world event anyone old enough to remember will share for generations. Although its affecting every corner of the planet, governments, societies, and communities are each dealing with it in their own way. And whether that means complete lockdown or just recommended physical distancing, one thing we all have in common is the understanding that life during COVID is different than it ever has been. Zermatt Matterhorn's spectacularly hopeful light projections atop the iconic Matterhorn Mountain Zermatt Matterhorn, a travel information website centered around tourism within Switzerlands most iconic mountain village, has spent their time in quarantine finding ways to inspire hope. Beginning March 24th and continuing through April 26th, 2020, the organization blasted messages to the top of the highest peak, the famous 14,692-Matterhorn Mountain in the Swiss Alps. These projections occurred every evening over the five-week period, with over 80 symbols and words lighting up the alpine peak. The campaigns goal was to unite the people of the planet in an understanding that were all in this together, and to provide hope that with unity we will stand strong in the end. A musical note symbol beams from the peak of the Swiss Matterhorn. Symbols included a heart, praying hands, musical symbols, a candle, and the Earth itself. Word art also appeared, such as #Hope, #AllofUs, Dream now, travel later, and the final thank you message #Grazie. The flags of many countries were also illuminated in a sign of solidarity. From nearby locations in Europe like Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands to far-off lands in South Africa, across the Middle East, and Asia, the flags appeared on the top of the mountain as a message that Switzerland supports the global community in their battles against the virus. Zermatt Matterhorn projects the American flag over the Matterhorn mountain as a show of solidarity during the deadly coronavirus pandemic. On April 16th, when the United States flag appeared on the peak, Zermatt Matterhorn posted the following message on its Facebook page: Our thoughts are with all American people at this unprecedented time. We look forward to meeting again at the foot of the Matterhorn, we are all in this together. Story continues The next day, Jacque Pitteloud, the Swiss ambassador to the U.S., posted a picture of the projection on Twitter and wrote: Magnificent! Last night, #Switzerland sent a message of #hope and solidarity to the U.S. by projecting the American flag onto the peak of the iconic #Swiss mountain, the Matterhorn. The bold blue and yellow of the Swedish flag pop against the mountain's black and white face. To implement the lighting, Zermatt Matterhorn reached out to acclaimed light artist Gerry Hofstetter, whose work has transformed buildings, monuments, landscapes, and mountains into temporary art objects since 1999. The lush blue Australian flag lights up the Matterhorn in the dead of a starry night. According to the Zermatt Matterhorn website, the messages were overwhelmingly well-received, with social media postings from leaders around the world reaching up to 700 million people and netting millions of likes. There are always a few naysayers, of course, but in this case it appears the low-level grumblings came from local citizens who complained about light pollution and appeals to avoid mass-marketing the fragile landscape of the mountain. In response, the Zermatt team and local authorities offered assurance that the light show was a limited time event meant to promote hope and solidarity during an extraordinary time, and that while it would undoubtedly promote tourism to the area, they were well aware of the beauty and fragility and would continue to prioritize the protection of nature above all else in the future. All images courtesy of Frank Schwarzbach State-run liquor stores are part of the businesses that can reopen when Pennsylvania counties switch from red to yellow on the states color-coded plan to reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic. But not all Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores will be able to open their doors, Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board members said on Wednesday. Gov. Tom Wolf announced 24 counties will reopen on Friday under a yellow phase. Of the 88 stores in those counties, 77 will reopen to customers. The PLCB doesnt have enough staff for the other 11 locations, which only have one employee each. We are trying to get them all open, PLCB Chairman Tim Holden said. The stores will be limited to no more than 25 people, including employees, in a store at any one time, and that may be less for smaller stores. The first hour of each day will be reserved for customers at high-risk for COVID-19, including those 65 and older. PLCB Executive Director Charlie Mooney said it would not be possible for one employee to monitor the number of customers coming into the store, sanitize the store, answer phones, ring up orders and handle curbside pickup orders, which will continue. The board is looking to hire part-time or seasonal employees during the initial re-openings, whatever it takes to open those stores as fast as possible, Mooney said. After the state stores began offering curbside orders, two PLCB employees developed COVID-19, Mooney said, one in Lackawanna County and one in Delaware County. The stores were closed for sanitation, the employees sent home to isolate and officials traced where the employees went, Mooney said. I dont think thats the end of that ... I dont think its gong to stop at two" employees, he said. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. The photos show an eerie emptiness of a port and a railway station. A Twitter account, RoksolanaToday&Crimea25% @KrimRt, has shared photos of the city of Feodosia in Russia-occupied Crimea from a bird's eye view, which show the absence of tourists or local residents. Users responded emotionally in comments under the photos. "The port has stopped, no railway service, no holiday season as well," user Lesha He said. "I've been living there all my life, except for the last couple of years. Such a city is lost because of pro-Putin citizens," said user ZigaMent. "Work (in the port) stopped after 2014 sanctions. I know that people left for work at Odesa and Mariupol ports," said Lesha He. "I talked to a port worker. An end to the port it's almost ruined," user Power of mdma said. "In the first photo, [one can see] a stall under the yellow roof the former Massandra brand store, wines on tap. It was an amazingly cozy place," said Lesha He. Louis DeJoy, a fundraiser for the Republican National Committee and President Trump, will begin serving as the new postmaster general on June 15, the Postal Services' Board of Governors confirmed to the Washington Post on Wednesday. The big picture: Some Trump administration officials see USPS' struggle for survival amid the coronavirus as an opportunity for reform or even privatization, Axios' Alayna Treene and Kia Kokalitcheva reported last month. Threat level: USPS could run out of money by the end of the year if Congress fails to rescue it in the next stimulus package. The Postal Service projects a $13 billion revenue deficit by the conclusion of this fiscal year, WaPo notes. USPS could run out of money by the end of the year if Congress fails to rescue it in the next stimulus package. The Postal Service projects a $13 billion revenue deficit by the conclusion of this fiscal year, WaPo notes. The Treasury Department and USPS are currently negotiating a $10 billion credit line approved in coronavirus legislation in March. Between the lines, per the Post: "DeJoy will be the first postmaster general in two decades who did not rise through the agencys ranks. He would have to navigate a financially fraught agency while also working with its powerful labor unions, among the last public sector unions left with significant clout in contract negotiations with the government." What they're saying: Louis DeJoy understands the critical public service role of the United States Postal Service, and the urgent need to strengthen it for future generations, Robert Duncan, chair of the USPS board of governors, told the Post in a statement. Postal workers are the heart and soul of this institution, and I will be honored to work alongside them and their unions, DeJoy told the Post in a statement. The White House declined to comment. Go deeper: Trump tightens the Postal Service squeeze Id already known what the Choctaw did in the famine, so short a time after theyd been through the Trail of Tears, Sean Callahan, 43, an Apple administrator in Cork City who made a donation, said Tuesday. It always struck me for its kindness and generosity and I see that too in the Irish people. It seemed the right time to try and pay it back in kind. A study conducted by researchers in the UK has found that people who think they have had COVID-19 are more likely to believe they are immune to the infection and less likely to follow social distancing rules. The finding that these people are less likely to adhere to lockdown measures could contribute to transmission, say Louise Smith (Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London) and colleagues. Clear communications to this growing group are needed to explain why protective measures continue to be important and to encourage sustained adherence, writes the team. A pre-print version of the paper can be accessed on medRxiv*, while the article undergoes peer review. Many countries have introduced lockdown measures Since the COVID-19 outbreak, many countries have imposed lockdown measures to reduce the spread of the virus, with an estimated 3.7 billion people having been instructed to stay at home or have had their movement limited in some way. BARCELONA, SPAIN: First day of state of emergency and lockdown in Barcelona during coronavirus crisis. Image Credit: Kenneth Dedeu / Shutterstock Many countries are hoping that testing will guide any approaches to relaxing these measures. The tests include antigen testing, which checks for current infection and antibody testing, which identifies previous infection. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned against antibody testing due to concerns that people who have already had the infection will think they are immune and will stop adhering to protective measures. There is no evidence to date that previously infected individuals can not catch COVID-19 more than once and be infectious again. The study is the first of its kind So far, no research has investigated differences in adherence behaviors between people who think they have already had the infection and those who do not think they have. Now, Smith and colleagues have conducted an online cross-sectional survey and collected data between 20th and 22nd April to investigate whether people who think they have already been infected tend not to follow social distancing rules as strictly as those who do not think they have. The study included 6,149 individuals living in the UK who were aged 18 years or older. Participants were asked whether they thought they had already had coronavirus, whether they had been tested; whether they thought they were immune; how many days they had left the house over the previous week, and how worried they were about the virus. To gauge the probability of self-misdiagnosis, they were also asked what the most common symptoms of infection are. What did the researchers find? The study found that the proportion of people who thought they had already had COVID-19 is about twice that suggested by current estimates. However, the authors suggest that the differences in findings may be explained by the fact that these data only cover dates until 20th April. About one quarter (24.3%) thought they had had COVID-19, despite only 4.0% having reported that they had tested positive for the infection. Of the 9.4% (n=575) who had been tested 57.4% (n=330) reported a negative result, yet 56.7% (n=187) of those individuals still believed they had been infected. People who thought they had already been infected thought they were more likely to be then immune and were less likely to follow social distancing rules. In particular, people were less likely to report adhering to measures that are not allowed at all in the UK, such as meeting up with friends or family that you do not live with and shopping for nonessentials, reports the team. Those who believed they had already been infected were less worried about COVID-19 and less likely to identify cough and fever as two of the three main symptoms. What are the implications of the study? The researchers warn that the number of people who believe they have had COVID-19 will only increase as time goes on and that it is essential to understand how this impacts behaviors. The authors point out that due to the cross-sectional nature of the study, causality cannot be evaluated, but that the findings do fit with concerns expressed by the WHO that believing oneself to have had COVID-19 results in reduced adherence to protective behaviors. The teams say the findings have important implications since social norms can affect whether people adhere to lockdown measures: People may be less likely to adhere to lockdown measures if they perceive other people, such as those who think they have had COVID-19, not to be adhering. To date, there are no communications specifically targeting those who think they have had COVID-19. Clear, targeted communications are needed Smith and colleagues say this will become an increasingly important issue, the longer the pandemic continues. Communications should acknowledge the growing proportion of the population who think that they have had COVID-19, they warn. Clear, targeted communications might be used to advise this constantly growing group both to reduce reliance on self-diagnosis in the absence of a test and to provide advice on what behavior changes, if any, are advisable, concludes the team. *Important Notice bioRxiv 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. A county in Illinois was forced to switch COVID-19 testing laboratories after Winnebago County Board Chairman Frank Haney (pictured) accused a third-party vendor of losing more than 2,100 tests A county in Illinois was forced to switch coronavirus testing laboratories after an official accused a third-party vendor of losing more than 2,100 tests. The incident unraveled when Winnebago County Board Chairman Frank Haney sent a letter to Gov J. B. Prtizker informing him of the situation in Rockford on Wednesday afternoon. In the letter, Haney said the state contracted a third-party vendor to process the tests but 'zero tests have been reported to the Winnebago County Health Department and the Illinois Department of Public Health from this vendor'. According to Haney, the missing tests that were taken 13 days ago at the University of Illinois College of Medicine testing site account for 60 per cent of the countys total pending tests, and 28 per cent of all tests taken to date. 'It has become painfully clear that nobody can explain what happened to these tests, where the tests are, as well as if or when this issue will ever be resolved,' Haney said in the letter. Haney noted in the letter that the missing tests could impact the ability to reopen under the governor's five-phase reopening plan if they are not found. According to Haney, there are 3,770 pending tests for the county, which included the 2,100 he claimed were missing. According to Haney, the missing tests that were taken 13 days ago at the University of Illinois College of Medicine testing site (pictured) account for 60 per cent of the countys total pending tests, and 28 per cent of all tests taken to date According to Haney, there are 3,770 pending tests for the county, which included the 2,100 he claimed were missing But the governors office said Wednesday night that test results were never missing. The local health department had also said the results hadn't been missing earlier on Wednesday. According to a statement from the Winnebago County Health Department: 'The contracted vendor has been attempting to notify individuals tested at that site with their results. 'Individuals tested at that site should be assured that their specimens have been properly handled and tested. There has been a delay in communicating results to the individuals and the WCHD. As of Wednesday night, there are 734 confirmed coronavirus cases in Winnebago County and 22 deaths 'We recognize that this is stressful for individuals who have been tested and are awaiting results. Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is working with both the testing laboratory and the contracted vendor.' Following the incident, Haney announced in a Facebook Thursday morning that 'different lab will be used for tests conducted at the University of Illinois Health Sciences Campus site'. 'If you were already tested at that location, the Winnebago County Health Department is currently obtaining copies of your result and will work to notify you, as well as conduct contact tracing if necessary.' As of Wednesday night, there are 734 confirmed coronavirus cases in Winnebago County and 22 deaths. In Illinois, there are more than 68,000 confirmed cases with at least 2,900 deaths. SILVER SPRING, Md., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is providing an update on the agency's efforts to combat the extremely concerning actions by companies and individuals that are exploiting or taking advantage of widespread fear among consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to scammers on the internet selling unproven medical products, the FDA has taken and continues to take a number of steps to find and stop those selling unapproved products that fraudulently claim to mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose or cure COVID-19. "While we seek to ensure access to critical medical products, it is imperative that we continue our efforts to find and prevent the sale and distribution of products that may be harmful to the public health. Americans can rest assured that we're leveraging our experience investigating, examining, and reviewing medical products, both at the border and within domestic commerce, to help ensure that the critical resources reaching the frontlines in the battle against COVID-19 are appropriate," said FDA Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs Judy McMeekin, Pharm.D. "We take seriously our responsibility to determine whether the medical products coming into our country are fraudulent, counterfeit or illegitimate, and take action as needed." To date, the FDA has issued 42 warning letters to companies making bogus COVID-19 claims, including one to a seller of fraudulent chlorine dioxide products, equivalent to industrial bleach, frequently referred to as "Miracle Mineral Solution" or "MMS", as a treatment for COVID-19. After the seller refused to take corrective action, a federal court issued a temporary injunction requiring the seller to immediately stop distributing its unproven and potentially dangerous product. Additionally, as part of the FDA's Operation Quack Hack, in just a few short weeks, the agency has discovered hundreds of such products including fraudulent drugs, testing kits and personal protective equipment (PPE) sold online with unproven claims. We continue to work with online marketplaces, domain name registrars, payment processors and social media websites to remove from their platforms products that fraudulently claim to mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose or cure COVID-19 and to keep those products from reappearing under different names. At this time, the FDA has sent hundreds of abuse complaints to domain name registrars and internet marketplaces, who in most instances, have voluntarily removed the identified postings. We will continue to monitor the online ecosystem for fraudulent products peddled by bad actors seeking to profit from this global pandemic. We encourage anyone aware of suspected fraudulent medical products for COVID-19 to report them to the FDA. There are a number of examples of unproven products that the FDA is keeping out of the country. Recently, the agency intercepted and investigated a case of mislabeled COVID-19 "treatment kits" offered for import. As a result, Special Agents with the FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations, with the help of domestic and international law enforcement counterparts in the United Kingdom, led the Department of Justice to bring a criminal complaint against a British man who sought to profit from this pandemic and jeopardize public health. Until the curve is flattened, and even after, the FDA will continue to carry out the agency's mission of protecting the health and safety of American consumers and strive to prevent unlawful FDA-regulated products from entering, or being distributed in, domestic commerce. Additional Resources: Media Contact: Jeremy Kahn, 301-796-8671 Consumer Inquiries: Email or 888-INFO-FDA The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation's food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products. SOURCE U.S. Food and Drug Administration Related Links http://www.fda.gov By Akbar Mammadov Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov discussed the the perspectives of the further development of bilateral relations with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates on May 6. In this regard, the ministers stressed the importance of the implementation of concrete actions of bilateral cooperation agenda during the telephone conversation. Furthermore, the sides touched upon revivifying the mutual tourism services after the pandemic. "Touching upon the current global situation, the ministers exchanged information on the measures taken to combat the global pandemic, and in this respect, stressed the importance of strengthening mutual support and solidarity between the countries", the ministry said. During the telephone conversation, the sides also exchanged views over the existing cooperation between Azerbaijan and UAE within the framework of various international organizations and agreed to invigorate joint efforts to this end. The two countries have had growing relations in economic and humanitarian cooperation since the establishment of Joint Commission on Economic, Trade and Technical Cooperation between Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates in 2008. One of the main points of cooperation between the UAE and Azerbaijan is the opening of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Baku, and in turn, the opening of Azerbaijan's Trade House in Dubai in 2019. Azerbaijan mainly imports engine oils, chemicals, polyester, iron and steel pipes, ferrous metal constructions, agricultural spraying and cleaning machines, floating or underwater drilling or operating platforms, parts of ground and tunneling machines from the UAE and exports engine gasoline, turbine engines, pipes for drilling oil and gas wells to the UAE. --- Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz The international Gemini Observatory teams up with Hubble to support the Juno mission and bring new insights into Jovian weather Researchers using a technique known as "lucky imaging" with the Gemini North telescope on Hawaii's Maunakea have collected some of the highest resolution images of Jupiter ever obtained from the ground. These images are part of a multi-year joint observing program with the Hubble Space Telescope in support of NASA's Juno mission. The Gemini images, when combined with the Hubble and Juno observations, reveal that lightning strikes, and some of the largest storm systems that create them, are formed in and around large convective cells over deep clouds of water ice and liquid. The new observations also confirm that dark spots in the famous Great Red Spot are actually gaps in the cloud cover and not due to cloud color variations. Three years of imaging observations using the international Gemini Observatory, a program of NSF's NOIRLab, have probed deep into Jupiter's cloud tops. The ultra-sharp Gemini infrared images complement optical and ultraviolet observations by Hubble and radio observations by the Juno spacecraft to reveal new secrets about the giant planet. "The Gemini data were critical because they allowed us to probe deeply into Jupiter's clouds on a regular schedule," said Michael Wong of UC Berkeley. "We used a very powerful technique called lucky imaging," adds Wong. With lucky imaging, a large number of very short exposure images are obtained and only the sharpest images, when the Earth's atmosphere is briefly stable, are used. The result in this case is some of the sharpest infrared images of Jupiter ever obtained from the ground. According to Wong, "These images rival the view from space." Gemini North's Near Infrared Imager (NIRI) allows astronomers to peer deep into Jupiter's mighty storms, since the longer wavelength infrared light can pass through the thin haze but is obscured by thicker clouds high in Jupiter's atmosphere. This creates a "jack-o-lantern"-like effect in the images where the warm, deep layers of Jupiter's atmosphere glow through gaps in the planet's thick cloud cover. The detailed, multiwavelength imaging of Jupiter by Geminiand Hubble has, over the past three years, proven crucial to contextualizing the observations by the Juno orbiter, and to understanding Jupiter's wind patterns, atmospheric waves, and cyclones. The two telescopes, together with Juno, can observe Jupiter's atmosphere as a system of winds, gases, heat, and weather phenomena, providing coverage and insight not unlike the network of weather satellites meteorologists use to observe Earth. Mapping giant lightning storms On each of its close passes over Jupiter's clouds, Juno detected radio signals created by powerful lightning flashes called sferics (short for atmospherics) and whistlers (so-called because of the whistle-like tone they cause on radio receivers). Whenever possible, Gemini and Hubble focused on Jupiter and obtained high-resolution, wide-area maps of the giant planet. Juno's instruments could determine the latitude and longitude coordinates of clusters of sferic and whistler signals. With Gemini and Hubble images at multiple wavelengths, researchers now can probe the cloud structure at these locations. By combining these three pieces of information the research team found that the lightning strikes, and some of the largest storm systems that create them, are formed in and around large convective cells over deep clouds of water ice and liquid. "Scientists track lightning because it is a marker of convection, the turbulent mixing process that transports Jupiter's internal heat up to the visible cloud tops," explained Wong. The largest concentration of lightning seen by Juno came from a swirling storm called a "filamentary cyclone." Imaging from Gemini and Hubble shows details in the cyclone, revealing it to be a twisted collection of tall convective clouds with deep gaps offering glimpses to the water clouds far below. "Ongoing studies of lightning sources will help us understand how convection on Jupiter is different from or similar to convection in the Earth's atmosphere," Wong commented. Glowing features in the Great Red Spot While scanning the gas giant for gaps in cloud cover, Gemini spotted a telltale glow in the Great Red Spot, indicating a clear view down to deep, warmer atmospheric layers. "Similar features have been seen in the Great Red Spot before," said team member Glenn Orton of JPL, "but visible-light observation couldn't distinguish between darker cloud material, and thinner cloud cover over Jupiter's warm interior, so their nature remained a mystery." Now with the data from Gemini, this mystery is solved. Where visible light images from Hubble show a dark semicircle in the Great Red Spot, images taken by Gemini using infrared light reveal a bright arc lighting up the region. This infrared glow, from Jupiter's internal heat, would have been blocked by thicker clouds, but can pass through Jupiter's hazy atmosphere unobscured. By seeing these features as bright infrared hotspots, Gemini confirms that they are gaps in the clouds. Even though earlier observations have seen dark features in the Great Red Spot, the rapidly swirling winds within it hid the true nature of these spots until the simultaneous Hubble and Gemini observations were conducted. "NIRI at Gemini North is the most effective way for the US and the international Gemini partnership investigators to get detailed maps of Jupiter at this wavelength," explained Wong. Gemini achieved a 500-kilometer (300-mile) resolution on Jupiter. "At this resolution, the telescope could resolve the two headlights of a car in Miami, seen from New York City," said Andrew Stephens, the Gemini astronomer who led the observations.[1] "These coordinated observations prove once again that ground-breaking astronomy is made possible by combining the capabilities of the Gemini telescopes with complimentary ground- and space-based facilities," said Martin Still, an astronomy program director at the National Science Foundation, which is Gemini's US funding agency. "The international Gemini Partnership provides open access to a powerful combination of large telescopes' collecting area, flexible scheduling, and a broad selection of interchangeable instruments." ### Notes [1] This corresponds to an angular resolution of the Gemini infrared "lucky imaging" observations down to 0.13 arc-seconds. More information The results were published in the April 2020 issue of The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. Because of their value for ongoing and future research, Wong is making the processed Gemini and Hubble data available to other researchers through the Mikulski Archives for Space Telescopes (MAST) at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. The publication team was composed of: Michael H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), Amy A. Simon (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), Joshua W. Tollefson and Imke de Pater (University of California, Berkeley), Megan N. Barnett (University of Chicago), Andrew I. Hsu (University of California, Berkeley), Andrew W. Stephens (Gemini Observatory North), Glenn S. Orton (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology), Scott W. Fleming (Space Telescope Science Institute), Charles Goullaud (University of California, Berkeley), William Januszewski and Anthony Roman (Space Telescope Science Institute), Gordon L. Bjoraker (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), Sushil K. Atreya (University of Michigan), Alberto Adriani (Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali), and Leigh N. Fletcher (University of Leicester). NSF's National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab), the US center for ground-based optical-infrared astronomy, operates the international Gemini Observatory (a facility of NSF, NRC-Canada, ANID-Chile, MCTIC-Brazil, MINCyT-Argentina, and KASI-Republic of Korea), Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), the Community Science and Data Center (CSDC), and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. It is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with NSF and is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. The astronomical community is honored to have the opportunity to conduct astronomical research on Iolkam Du'ag (Kitt Peak) in Arizona, on Maunakea in Hawai?i, and on Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachon in Chile. We recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence that these sites have to the Tohono O'odham Nation, to the Native Hawaiian community, and to the local communities in Chile, respectively. Links Research paper Photos of the Gemini telescope Contacts Peter Michaud NewsTeam Manager NSF's NOIRLab Gemini Observatory, Hilo HI Desk: +1 808-974-2510 Cell: +1 808-936-6643 Email: pmichaud@gemini.edu Odysseus Quarles GEMMA/PIO Intern NSF's NOIRLab Gemini Observatory, Hilo HI Email: oquarles@gemini.edu Michael H. Wong University of California, Berkeley Phone: +1 510-224-3411 Email: mikewong@astro.berkeley.edu Ontario is refusing to publicly release data that could reveal the number of people who died in the province since COVID-19 emerged. The numbers are part of the mortality data that critics say is needed to truly show the human toll of the pandemic. Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist at the University of Toronto, said Ontarios refusal likely suggests a technical inability to track the information. Ontarios public health information system is very old and was never adequate, said Furness, who has been critical of the provinces lagging data throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The province, meanwhile, has argued the data is incomplete and sharing potentially inaccurate data is not in the public interest. Countries around the world are releasing detailed mortality statistics amid COVID-19, outlining deaths attributed to the virus and all other causes. The numbers can show a variety of trends, including if unexplained deaths started to spike before COVID-19 became a pandemic or if delayed surgeries or hospital visits for other medical problems might have cost lives. Canadas most recent data is from 2018. The Star spent more than a week asking various federal government sources involved in collecting vital statistics for updated numbers. They declined to provide them. Individual provinces and territories, except Ontario, agreed to release some information, but the numbers provided lack the level of detail needed for useful analysis. The research revealed a wide and varied approach across the country as to how each government shares its vital statistics in the absence of a regularly updated national death registry. British Columbia is the gold standard in Canada. The B.C. government regularly publishes detailed statistics with analysis including an estimated excess death rate of 2.7 per cent in March over previous years. Quebec, Canadas province with the highest COVID-19 death count at 2,510 as of Wednesday, only shared January 2020 totals. Alberta reports deaths per 100,000 people, to account for population fluctuations. Nunavuts coroners office is responsible for tracking reportable and unexpected deaths those in which people died suddenly and were found to be of natural causes but not those from palliative or expected deaths, which are not investigated by the coroner. In its refusal to provide numbers, Ontarios Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, which oversees vital statistics collection, stated it is working in accordance with the Vital Statistics Act. The act says information should be an accurate representation of the number of events that occurred in that calendar year, according to spokesman Harry Malhi. Releasing statistical information that is incomplete or inaccurate is not in the publics best interest as it could result in misinterpretation of the information provided or of the event that is being evaluated, Malhi said in an emailed response to questions from the Star. Since Canada does not have a central death registry, the nations death reports are forwarded by provinces and territories to Statistics Canada, the federal agency tasked with collecting vital statistical data. Historically, there is a reporting lag while waiting for all regions to submit their data. In Ontario, for instance, it can take up to a year to register a death. So a death that occurred in May 2019 can still be registered today, Malhi said. Breaking from tradition, Statistics Canada is speeding things up this year. It plans to release some death data for those jurisdictions for which the data is available in mid-May, according to agency spokesperson Peter Frayne. Malhi confirmed that Ontario has shared its 2019 death statistics with Statistics Canada, even though the 2019 report has not yet been published. Raywat Deonandan, an epidemiologist and an associate professor at the University of Ottawa, said Ontarios refusal to share recent death rates resonates with me right now as Im fielding many angry questions from a public that is in increasing denial of the true toll that COVID-19 has taken. The only way to capture the full death toll of this disease, without literally examining the fluids of everyone who has died in Ontario these past few months, is to compare deaths in the same time period a year ago and to compute what we call excess deaths, Deonandan said. Our inability to estimate that death toll in Ontario makes it harder to combat (or confirm) the narrative that this is a media-manufactured disease, he said, noting some people still debate the severity of COVID-19s impact on the population to that of the flu. It also denies us an important variable in making more precise models for projecting how the disease will unfold in coming weeks and months. Furness, the U of T epidemiologist, said since deaths happen in many contexts, such as at home, in hospital or while travelling abroad, it can be challenging to compile mortality information. Still, he said, Ontario should be transparent. We should be doing post-mortem testing on all non-misadventure deaths in Ontario. This would require a simple order from the provinces chief medical officer of health, he added. Canadas lacking data is in stark contrast to many countries including the United States, Belgium, Germany, Norway and Ecuador, which are releasing mortality data in a timely manner. In the United States, the Maryland-based National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) publishes preliminary death data weekly. States and large regions, like New York City, submit official deaths through an electronic registration system data often filed within 10 days of a death. The lack of current death data is not so much a health crisis as it is a health-systems crisis, said Deonandan. And one cannot make data-driven decisions without accurate data. Without adequate post-mortem testing, we will remain blind to COVID-19, said Furness. The New York Times recently reviewed mortality data from 14 countries and regions during an investigation of excess deaths. The Times found that over March and April of 2020, far more people had died than in previous years in most of the jurisdictions studied. For New York City, the death rate was six times higher. Bob Anderson, chief of the NCHSs mortality statistics branch the NCHS is part of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta said the groundwork for the electronic registration system began about 15 years ago, with refinements made to install data coding systems common to all states to file death report information more efficiently. When this business happened with the pandemic, we realized very quickly we were going to need to provide something a lot more timely and a lot more detailed than wed been doing before, Anderson said. I think well be able to have a fairly good accounting of what happened and how it happened at the end of the day. Anderson said sharing timely mortality data, especially with those in government and public health grappling with a pandemic like COVID-19, informs experts in handling a crisis. The responders to the crisis need the information to know where to direct their resources and those who are doing research need that information so they can evaluate the response, Anderson said. The more timely you can provide the information, the more impact you have. Deonandan agrees. No health emergency response has ever been slowed by having too much or too accessible data, he said. Police in Visakhapatnam on Friday rejected late night reports of another gas leak at the chemical plant in RR Venkatapuram village and said that the order to evacuate people from nearby areas was only precautionary, according to news agency ANI. People residing in the 2 km radius of the surrounding gas leakage area were ordered to evacuate late Thursday night. Vishakhapatnam Police Commissioner RK Meena assured people that there was no need to panic and that the evacuation was only a precautionary measure. People are requested to evacuate the area only within 2 km radius of the spot as a precautionary measure. People beyond the 2 km radius dont need to evacuate or come out on the road. No need to panic, the police commissioner was quoted as saying. The development comes in the backdrop of styrene gas leakage at LG Polymers industry in Vishakhapatnams RR Venkatapuram village early Thursday that left 11 people dead, 25 critically ill and close to 1,000 were reported sick. Late Thursday, ANI quoted Visakhapatnam District Fire Officer Sandeep Anand as saying, Around 50 fire staffers, with NDRFs support, are carrying out the operation. Weve ordered evacuation of villages in 2-3 km radius for safe side precautions. Ten more fire tenders, including two foam tenders were present at the spot while ambulances have been kept ready for any emergency, he added. State authorities and officials from LG Polymers are probing the cause of the leakage. However, a preliminary situation report by district officials said the trigger was a malfunction in equipment, which caused the temperature to rise and the organic compound styrene normally a liquid to vaporise. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced Rs 1 crore each as compensation to the next of kin of the deceased. Those undergoing treatment on ventilator would get Rs 10 lakh each while others who are hospitalised but not on ventilator, would received Rs 1 lakh each as compensation. The Prominent Civil Rights Advocacy group-: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has asked the Imo State governor Mr. Hope Uzodinma to immediately pay the state civil servants their three Months salaries and work out concrete policy directive on the attainment of comprehensive good governance standards in Imo State. HURIWA a pro-transparency platform, also accused the administration of Mr. Hope Uzodinma of squandering the state's resources on petty fights with the immediate past governor of the State Mr. Emeka Ihedioha rather than pay attention to the yearnings and aspirations of the suffering masses of Imo state who have only just come out of eight years of torture and poor governance by the then administration of Mr. Rochas Okorocha who failed spectacularly to build enduring legacies and infrastructures for the collective benefits of the good people of Imo state. HURIWA said: "Uzodinma will have the judgment of history against him if he sustains this lacklustre performance and to squander the goodwill of the people of Imo State. He needs to start governing Imo state and stop investing the public finances on waging meaningless political wars with perceived opponents. The Imo State governor at the moment must try to win the trust of the people most of whom still view him as a usurper or an imposter imposed on the state by the Abuja based Supreme Court of Nigeria. Stop the sidetalks and walk the talk of real governance and discharge the social contract of making Imo state prosperous and peaceful for investors to find it attractive to invest and industrialize Imo state to provide employment opportunities for the teeming learned youths." HURIWA said owing the state's workforce accumulated wage bills amounted to the violations of their Fundamental Human Rights enshrined in chapter four of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 as amended with specific reference to the provisions on the Right to life (Section 33(1); section 42 which is a prohibition of any discriminatory practices of governments and other relevant constitutional provisions that speaks to the obligation of the state to uphold the dignity of the human persons as contained in section 34 that confers on the citizens the Right to the dignity of their person just as that provisions of the grund norm states that "No person SHALL be subject to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment; neither SHALL any person be held in Slavery or servitude ; and no person SHALL BE REQUIRED TO PERFORM FORCED OF COMPULSORY Labour. To continue to deny Imo state civil servants of their legitimate wages is to turn them into slavery which is absolutely unlawful." HURIWA also reminded Hope Uzodinma that failure to discharge the government's binding financial obligations to the Imo State workforce is a violation of Article one of the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS that "All human beings are born equal in DIGNITY and RIGHTS. They are endowed with reason and CONSCIENCE and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." HURIWA told Hope Uzodinma that his flagrant disregard for the payment on time of the emolument and wages of the civil servants whereas his office is awash with public fund that are enjoyed by his privileged clique amounts to gross discrimination which offends section 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 as amended which states thus: (1) A citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a person:- (a) be subjected either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government, to disabilities or restrictions to which citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions are not made subject; or (b) be accorded either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any such executive or administrative action, any privilege or advantage that is not accorded to citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions. (2) No citizen of Nigeria shall be subjected to any disability or deprivation merely by reason of the circumstances of his birth. (3) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall invalidate any law by reason only that the law imposes restrictions with respect to the appointment of any person to any office under the State or as a member of the armed forces of the Federation or member of the Nigeria Police Forces or to an office in the service of a body, corporate established directly by any law in force in Nigeria. HURIWA which carpeted governor Hope Uzodinma for appointing over 500 aides and for running a very expensive political bureau to the detriment of the development of the State and the building of solid infrastructures in Imo State has reminded him that he is legally obliged to pay workers and pensioners or else his administration would be dragged to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and affiliate offences commission(ICPC) to give account of how the huge money he claims to have generated as Internal Revenues and the share of Imo state from the Monthly FEDERAL Allocations are spent. HURIWA recalled that the the Imo State workers had few days back publicly urged Governor Uzodimma to pay them their outstanding three months salaries to save them from the hardship and suffering they are currently facing. The Prominent Civil Rights Advocacy group HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) recalled that the Imo State's organised workforce that Spoke through organised labour during the celebration of this years Workers Day in Owerri at the weekend, they said the effects of lockdown in the state occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic had worsened their plight just as they lamented that despite the Governors directive for payment of their salaries before the end of every month, they were yet to receive February to April 2020 salaries. HURIWA recalled that the workers also regretted the state governments withholding of check-off dues of industrial unions for up to 46 months in some parastatals and agencies just as the State Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Austin Chilakpu, in his address, disclosed that workers in 19 parastatals and agencies had not been paid their salaries. HURIWA is therefore appealing to the National leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Association of Local government employees to free themselves from compromises from the Presidency and the governors and to wage law based battles against the unconstitutional treatment of the Imo State civil servants by a man who benefitted enormously from the Judicial system when the Supreme Court of Nigeria gave him the office of the governor of Imo State which means that he, much more than any other person must comply ABSOLUTELY WITH HIS LAWFUL OBLIGATION SUCH AS PAYMENTS OF SALARIES. Phoenix, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - May 7, 2020) - The Stock Day Podcast welcomed Tetra Bio-Pharma (OTCQB: TBPMF) ("the Company"), a biopharmaceutical leader in cannabinoid-based drug discovery and development with a Health Canada approved, and FDA reviewed and approved, clinical program aimed at bringing novel prescription drugs and treatments to patients and their healthcare providers. CEO of the Company, Dr. Guy Chamberland, joined Stock Day host Everett Jolly. Jolly began the interview by asking about the Company's recent announcement regarding their PPP003 inflammatory Cytokine reduction drug program. "I think this is a very interesting time to be living in as a company," said Dr. Chamberland, noting that before COVID-19 the Company had been assisting other businesses in applying for drug approvals. Dr. Chamberland then shared that a division of the Company had been researching the effectiveness of PPP003 in Cytokine reduction since 2014, and is now shifting even more of its focus and energy into this program. "Our drug is not going to cure covid, it is not an antiviral. What it does is help to reduce what we call the 'exaggerated anti-inflammatory response', which puts a lot of patients at risk," explained Dr. Chamberland. "This drug has not been tested in humans. We're hoping to do that later this year," said Dr. Chamberland, adding that the Company has revamped and accelerated its development program. "As a company, we want to make sure this drug is safe to give to healthy volunteers first," he continued. "We've taken a very strict approach to this." "We've even teamed up for the first Phase II trial in patients with a US company, Onegevity Health," shared Dr. Chamberland. "It's going to be a very interesting development that we'll be keeping shareholders informed about as we move forward." "How is the formulation of the PPP003 different from the one being used for Uveitis?," asked Jolly. "The ones we use for Uveitis are basically eye drops," explained Dr. Chamberland. "This is going to be an intravenous injection," he continued. "It's the same active medicinal ingredients, the only difference is now one goes towards an eye drop for the finished product and the Cytokine form goes towards an injectable drug." "I understand that you are developing some sort of program that would allow Tetra to treat COVID-19 infected patients, is that correct?", asked Jolly. Dr. Chamberland explained that the Company's primary concern is the safety of its patients, which is why human testing will begin with healthy volunteers. "If it is clean, then we will allow it to be used in patients," said Dr. Chamberland. The conversation then turned to the Company's current valuation and any changes that could occur over the next few months. "I don't know how much we'll go up, I don't know how much any of this will have an impact between now and even Christmas," said Dr. Chamberland. "As a CEO, I'm keeping my focus on developing the drugs the way the FDA and NIH would expect us to do, and keeping our team's focus on trying to contribute to the fight against the Cytokine storm if we can and then we'll worry about the stock price afterwards," closed Dr. Chamberland. To hear Dr. Guy Chamberland's entire interview, follow the link to the podcast here: https://audioboom.com/posts/7576389-tetra-bio-pharma-discusses-development-of-ppp003-drug-for-cytokine-reduction-with-the-stock-day-p Investors Hangout is a proud sponsor of "Stock Day," and Stock Day Media encourages listeners to visit the company's message board at https://investorshangout.com/ About Tetra Bio-Pharma Tetra Bio-Pharma (TSXV: TBP) (OTCQB: TBPMF) is a biopharmaceutical leader in cannabinoid-based drug discovery and development with a Health Canada approved, and FDA reviewed and approved, clinical program aimed at bringing novel prescription drugs and treatments to patients and their healthcare providers. The Company has several subsidiaries engaged in the development of an advanced and growing pipeline of Bio Pharmaceuticals, Natural Health and Veterinary Products containing cannabis and other medicinal plant-based elements. With patients at the core of what we do, Tetra Bio-Pharma is focused on providing rigorous scientific validation and safety data required for inclusion into the existing bio pharma industry by regulators, physicians and insurance companies. For more information visit: www.tetrabiopharma.com Source: Tetra Bio-Pharma 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. Forward-looking statements Some statements in this release may contain forward-looking information. All statements, other than of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements regarding potential acquisitions and financings) are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "may", "will", "should", "continue", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "plan" or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, without limitation, the inability of the Company to obtain sufficient financing to execute the Company's business plan; competition; regulation and anticipated and unanticipated costs and delays, the success of the Company's research and development strategies, including the success of this product or any other product, the applicability of the discoveries made therein, the successful and timely completion and uncertainties related to the regulatory process, the timing of clinical trials, the timing and outcomes of regulatory or intellectual property decisions and other risks disclosed in the Company's public disclosure record on file with the relevant securities regulatory authorities. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results or events not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities legislation. For further information, please contact Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc.: Investor Contact: Alpha Bronze, LLC Mr. Pascal Nigen Phone: + 1 (646) 255-0433 tetra@alphabronze.net Public Relations: Energi PR Ms. Carol Levine Phone: + 1 (514) 288-8500 ext. 226 carol.levine@energipr.com About The "Stock Day" Podcast Founded in 2013, Stock Day is the fastest growing media outlet for Nano-Cap and Micro-Cap companies. It educates investors while simultaneously working with penny stock and OTC companies, providing transparency and clarification of under-valued, under-sold Micro-Cap stocks of the market. Stock Day provides companies with customized solutions to their news distribution in both national and international media outlets. The Stock Day Podcast is the number one radio show of its kind in America. Stock Day recently launched its Video Interview Studio located in Phoenix, Arizona. SOURCE: Stock Day Media (602) 821-1102 To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55521 [May 07, 2020] Ault Life Sciences Launches $100 Million 506(c) and Regulation S Offering NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ault Life Sciences, Inc. (ALSI or the Company), a Delaware corporation, announced that it is seeking to raise up to $100 million through an offering to be conducted pursuant to Rule 506(c) of Regulation D and/or Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act (the Offering) of Series B Convertible Preferred stock and warrants to purchase common stock. ALSI is offering, through a Confidential Private Placement Memorandum, a maximum of fifty thousand (50,000) units (the Units), with each such Unit consisting of: (i) one thousand (1,000) shares of the Companys Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the Preferred Shares) and a stated value of $2.00 per such share, and (ii) one thousand (1,000) warrants (the Warrants), each of which will entitle its holder to purchase one (1) share (a Warrant Share) of the Companys Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the Common Stock). The Warrants will be exercisable at an exercise price of $5.00 per Warrant Share. Each Unit will be sold at a price of $2,000.00 per Unit. The Preferred Shares are convertible into shares of Common Stock at a conversion price of $2.00 per share, subject to adjustment, and subject to automatic conversion upon the occurrence of certain events. The minimum number of Units to be purchased is Ten (10) Units for a minimum purchase price of $20,000. All investors in the Offering must be accredited investors as defined under Rule 501 of Regulation D or must not be a U.S. Person as defined by Regulation S under the Securities Act and meet other suitability standards. Accredited investors will be required to verify their accredited status in compliance with Rule 506(c). A portion of the proceeds from the Offering will be used to fund Alzamend Neuro, a biotechnology company dedicated to researching, developing and commercializing preventions, treatments and ures for Alzheimers disease. Alzamend Neuro is working on two patented therapeutics licensed from the University of South Florida, as follows: AL001: an ionic cocrystal of lithium that may reduce agitation, arrest cognitive decline and slow the progression of Alzheimers disease without the toxic side effects of traditional lithium treatments. AL002: a cell-based therapeutic vaccine using a mutant-peptide sensitized cell treatment that seeks to restore the ability of the patients immunological system to combat Alzheimers disease. ALSIs CEO and Chairman, Milton Todd Ault, III, said, In my 30 years on Wall Street, I have come to understand the risks and rewards associated with investing in innovative life science companies. Having benefited from numerous successful transactions in this sector, I have now created a new venture, Ault Life Sciences. This was done to both support a promising new company, Alzamend Neuro, in advancing two treatments for Alzheimers disease and to uncover additional promising companies and technologies with a focus on treating neurodegenerative diseases. Our leadership team and network of scientific experts are in position as we look to capture the tremendous upside potential of the life sciences sector. Additional information regarding the Offering is available exclusively from Ault Life Sciences by emailing [email protected] or by calling (800) 959-7966. This press release is not a solicitation or offer to buy or sell securities. Investments may be speculative, illiquid and carry a risk of loss. Past performance is not indicative of future results. There is no guarantee that any specific outcome will be achieved. About Ault Life Sciences, Inc. Ault Life Sciences, Inc. is a private Delaware corporation that presently holds securities of Alzamend Neuro, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and intends to acquire equity positions in additional life science companies, both independently and from Ault & Company, Inc., the Companys parent company, with the goal of advancing treatments, vaccines or cures for an array of neurodegenerative diseases or psychiatric disorders. For additional information, please visit https://www.aultlifesciences.com . Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements generally include statements that are predictive in nature and depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, and include words such as believes, plans, anticipates, projects, estimates, expects, intends, strategy, future, opportunity, may, will, should, could, potential, or similar expressions. Statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any of them publicly in light of new information or future events. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement as a result of various factors. Contacts: [email protected] or call (800) 959-7966 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Fraud case against Russian supercomputer designer reaches court RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 18:08 07/05/2020 MOSCOW, May 7 (RAPSI) Moscows Meshansky District Court will conduct pretrial hearing in a case against T-Platform supercomputer developers CEO and shareholder Vsevolod Opanasenko on May 14, RAPSI has learnt from the court. One more defendant is ex-chief of the Interior Ministrys communications directorate Alexander Aleksandrov. The men are charged with large-scale fraud. Investigators believe that Opanasenko intended to take an advantage in making a government contract amounting to over 357 million rubles (about $4.6 million at the current exchange rate) for supply of several thousands of computer workstations to Russias Interior Ministry and encouraged Aleksandrov to commit the crime. It is alleged that Aleksandrov knew that the equipment to be supplied to the Ministry did not answer its requirements. Their assets worth over 200 million rubles were seized to recover damages. AO T-Platform is a Russian company established in 2002 for designing supercomputers and delivery of a wide range of solutions and services for high-performance computations, as well as manufacturing of computers on the basis of locally produced processors. Opinion of Russian Business Ombudsman In mid-March, the Moscow City Court released Opanasenko from detention and placed him under house arrest. Russias Business Ombudsman Boris Titov welcomed the court decision relaxing preventive measures in relation to the computer designer. The decision became a new step in implementation of a new practice relating to pre-trial restrictive measures with respect to entrepreneurs, Titov notes. Nevertheless, he observed that there remains much to be done in this respect, and expressed hope that the Supreme Court is to play a more active role in promotion of bail as a preventive measure in cases involving businesspersons. Moreover, the Business Ombudsman held to an opinion that Opanasenko committed no crime, as he had no opportunity to influence the results of auctions held in electronic form, performed all his obligations under the governmental contract and the parties put forward no claims. Earlier, Titov turned to President Vladimir Putin asking his instruction to let him examine the Opanasenko case. Titov was of an opinion that investigators had wrongly charged the defendant under provisions of criminal law developed with respect to those holding state posts, not businesspersons. Therefore, the Business Ombudsman noted, Opanasenko should have been freed from detention. Signs of encouragement on Wednesday at Fair Acres Geriatric Center, a 600-plus-bed, 24-hour long-term care facility in Delaware County, where COVID-19 cases have meant loved ones outside may not visit loved ones inside. Read more A coronavirus calamity is unfolding at suburban nursing and personal-care homes. It threatens not just human life but livelihoods. Nearly 4,000 residents have contracted COVID-19, and more than 900 have died, in facilities in the four counties outside of Philadelphia, according to the state Department of Health. That total is three times the number of cases emanating from congregate-care facilities in the 1.5-million-person-strong city next door. The numbers are shocking. And they help explain why officials in two of those counties sought changes this week in how the Wolf administration will calculate whether to allow an easing of stay-home orders that have sent more than 1.6 million Pennsylvanians into unemployment over the last two months. State Health Secretary Rachel Levine rebuffed the request by Bucks and Delaware County officials to separate nursing-home coronavirus data from what is happening in the population at large. That means that even if infection rates decline significantly in the overall population, but remain high in long-term-care facilities, these counties may remain largely economically paralyzed for the foreseeable future. With no clear alternative in these counties, no vaccine or treatment, and so little known generally about the disease that is holding the globe hostage, there was frustration when I interviewed two prominent officials Tuesday about the tough situation in Delaware County. The largest nursing facility in Delaware County is owned by the county: Fair Acres, with about 600 residents spanning many ages and a staff of more than 1,200 on a 210-acre campus in Middletown Township, near Media. Yet it is but one of several dozen with coronavirus cases inside. We think it makes sense to look at our population as two distinct segments, Delaware County Council President Brian Zidek said. We advocate for that. The governor can listen to us or not; we dont have any control over that. When officials made the request on Monday, about three out of every four deaths in those two counties came from people living in care homes. High percentages of COVID-related deaths in Chester and Montgomery Counties were in care homes, too. READ MORE: Over 9 days, Bucks County saw 100 coronavirus deaths most in nursing homes State Sen. Tim Kearney of Swarthmore suggested that efforts to persuade the Wolf administration to make a more nuanced calculation might gain traction as counties elsewhere in Pennsylvania open and officials learn how the virus is or is not being contained, and through what measures. Im still hopeful theres a middle ground, where as we learn more we can start to make adjustments in the criteria, Kearney said. The governors got a very difficult job. On Friday, 24 counties in north-central and northwestern Pennsylvania will move into the yellow phase of relief from coronavirus restrictions under the governors guidelines. One of the criteria for reopening is that counties have fewer than 50 new reported cases per 100,000 residents over 14 days. Delaware County appears far from qualifying for similar privileges. It had 104 new reported cases and six deaths on Tuesday, and 70 new cases with 62 deaths the day before that nowhere near what the state would like to see. Were a long way from that, Zidek said. ASK US: Do you have a question about the coronavirus and how it affects your health, work and life? Ask our reporters. The infection and fatality numbers in these care facilities is jaw-dropping. In Delaware County, with a population roughly a third of Philadelphias, nearly as many residents of long-term-care facilities have become infected or died of COVID-19 as in similar settings in Philly. Of 42 homes affected by the coronavirus, 1,027 residents and 150 workers have contracted the disease, and 237 have died. Its the combination of the two most vulnerable demographics we have, between the residents and the employees, Kearney said. Thats what makes it so scary. In Montgomery County, 80 affected homes contain 1,509 infected residents and 49 infected workers, accounting for 355 deaths. In 48 affected homes in Bucks County, 869 residents and 163 employees have been infected, with a total of 216 deaths. In 31 affected homes in Chester County, 498 residents and 57 employees have contracted COVID-19, leading to 129 deaths. Thats 3,903 infected residents and 973 deaths in the four counties. In all of Philadelphia, 1,398 residents of 53 homes and seven workers have contracted COVID-19, for a total of 261 deaths. With so many workers leaving those facilities once their shifts end, its unsurprising that state public health officials were reluctant to separate case counts. Workers fan out into their communities, carrying whatever contagion has left the nursing homes with them. The lockdown that began about eight weeks ago has curbed the spread of the deadly virus and kept health systems from being overwhelmed. But it has come at the cost of shuttered businesses and massive unemployment. Zideks own business, the council chairman said, is among those suffering financially. If there was an easy path out of this, he said, I think we all would take it. A good starting point in the absence of such a magic pill: Flood these facilities with resources. What other choice do we have? The cost of failure is too high either way. LONDON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Chubb has today announced the appointment of Peter Bremner as Head of Management Liability for Chubb Global Markets (CGM) and Regional Head of Financial Lines, Eurasia & Africa. In his new role for CGM, which comprises Chubb's London Market wholesale and specialty arm including the company's Lloyd's platform, Peter will be responsible for the growth and development of its Management Liability business. He will report to Jason Keen, Division President, Chubb Global Markets. As Regional Head of Financial Lines, Eurasia & Africa, Peter will have responsibility for leading Chubb's Financial Lines team and overseeing strategic development, execution and financial performance. He will report to Nikolay Dmitriev, Regional Director of Property & Casualty, Eurasia & Africa. Peter replaces Daniel Holloway who is taking on increased responsibilities within the Chubb Overseas General Financial Lines team. Peter, who was previously Senior Underwriter, Financial Lines for CGM, has held several underwriting roles for Chubb in both London and New Zealand. He will continue to be based in London and both roles are effective immediately. Jason Keen, Division President, Chubb Global Markets said: "Peter's extensive experience, technical skill and commercial acumen will be a clear advantage as he takes on his new Management Liability responsibilities and pursues the further growth of this important part of our CGM business." Giles Ward, Regional President, Eurasia & Africa, Chubb said: "I am delighted that Peter will be leading our Financial Lines team in Eurasia & Africa. His appointment illustrates the depth of talent we have within the Chubb organisation and our commitment to developing our Financial Lines proposition within the region." About Chubb Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London, Paris and other locations, and employs approximately 33,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: www.chubb.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/324916/Chubb_Logo.jpg Brent Eller, principal of East Hamilton School, is the 2020 Principal of the Year for Hamilton County Schools. The school year has been challenging for East Hamilton, home to sixth through 12th-grade students in the east area of the community, dealing with both the COVID-19 pandemic and a tornado. Still, Mr. Eller has also continued to lead the school and help bring along the new middle school scheduled to complete construction this summer. "I am very humbled by this recognition," said Mr. Eller. "We have so many outstanding principals in Hamilton County Schools that are deserving of this recognition, so I am very appreciative of the honor." Mr. Eller came to East Hamilton School to lead the Hurricanes in the fall of 2018 after spending six very successful years at Loftis Middle School. He was also principal of Ooltewah Middle School and an assistant principal at East Ridge Middle, Brown Middle, and Loftis Middle. Mr. Eller's experience as a teacher was at The Howard School and Hixson Middle School. In Mr. Eller's two years at East Hamilton, the school has earned Level 5 school designation for academic growth. The school is also a Tennessee Reward school, the highest honor for academic excellence in the state. The middle grades at East Hamilton achieved their highest academic ranking by reaching #23 out of 574 middle schools in Tennessee. East Hamilton High School earned AP Capstone School status, which is a diploma program from the College Board. AP Capstone offers two yearlong Advanced Placement (AP) courses: AP Seminar and AP Research. Rather than teaching subject-specific content, these courses develop a student's skills in research, analysis, evidence-based arguments, collaboration, writing, and presenting. The school has also added two Future Ready Institutes over the last two years. The Bryan College Institute of Business and Marketing and the Institute of Innovative Engineering are two schools within the school, providing unique opportunities for students to prepare for success in an exciting career after high school. "The faculty and staff at East Hamilton are some of the most dedicated people that constantly put what is best for students at the forefront of every decision," Mr. Eller said. "The students are also incredible and have continued to challenge themselves to explore their untapped potential." Mr. Eller attributes the success of East Hamilton School to the culture and climate of success as the school tailors instruction to the individual student in its academic focus. Administration and faculty also Increase opportunities for students to have a voice in the direction of the school. Mr. Eller understands the need for community involvement and influence to make a school program strong. He started East Hamilton Community Days each fall to benefit the Forgotten Child Fund. The school also recently organized a disaster relief donation center at the campus for East Brainerd tornado victims. "The East Hamilton community has been so supportive of the school, and all of us work together, with the same focus and intent, to be the best school possible for the children of our community," said Mr. Eller. "The future is very bright at East Hamilton." Individualized scheduling to focus on the goals, strengths, and academic needs of each student is a priority at both the middle school and high school level. Personal attention for each student is the goal as they devise the best schedule for each student. The high school schedule allows for sunrise and sunset opportunities at East Hamilton School. The focus on each student has led to an increase in scholarship dollars for graduates. "I do want to reference the Class of 2020 because my heart goes out to our seniors during this time," said Mr. Eller. "These amazing young people have missed so many rich experiences of a high school senior year because of the pandemic. They deserve all the recognition they can get for their contributions to East Hamilton. I love them, I have missed them this spring, and our school will miss them as they move on to the next exciting chapter in their lives!" Mr. Eller will advance in the Tennessee principal of the year program in the search for the best principal in the state. Three principals from Hamilton County Schools have won the state award in recent years. Dr. LeAndrea Ware, principal of The Howard School, was named Tennessee's top principal last year. Robin Copp, former principal of Ooltewah High, earned the recognition in 2018 and Ronald Hughes, principal at Apison Elementary, who will retire at the end of this school year, taking the top honor in 2015. The announcement of finalists for the state honor is scheduled for July with the winner selected in the fall. The success of Hamilton County Schools in the state competition shows the district's commitment to providing great teachers and leaders for the children of the community. The roadmap for having Great Teachers and Leaders in Hamilton County Schools is Action Area #3 in the districts five-year strategic plan, Future Ready 2023. "Great teachers and leaders working with students is the very foundation of the excellent school experience in Hamilton County Schools that provides future-ready students prepared for success," said Dr. Bryan Johnson, superintendent of Hamilton County Schools. "Brent Eller is one of our great school leaders making a difference in the lives of children each day." As many as 77 inmates and 26 staff members from Arthur Road jail in Mumbai have contracted coronavirus, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said on Thursday. After the coronavirus epidemic broke out, the state government had isolated eight prisons in the state including the Arthur Road prison, and ordered that no new person will be allowed to enter and those inside, including jail staff, will not be allowed to leave prison during lockdown. But despite the precautions, 72 inmates of Arthur Road prison were found to have contracted coronavirus after coming in contact with a cook who had caught the infection, Deshmukh had told reporters in Palghar district earlier in the day. The home minister was speaking to the media after visiting Gadchinchale village in the district where three persons including two monks were lynched by a mob on suspicion of being thieves on April 16. Later, in a video message on Twitter, the minister informed that "coronavirus infection was found in one of the barracks of the Arthur Road Jail and tests of all the inmates in the barrack were immediately carried out". "It was found that 77 inmates had contracted the disease. Plus, 26 of police personnel too tested positive for coronavirus," he said. "So we have initiated the process of quarantining these 103 persons at St George Hospital," the minister added. Deshmukh also said that to prevent the spread of virus in jails, the state government had decided to release on parole some 5,000 prisoners who have been sentenced to less than seven years' imprisonment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A local business owner says there is a 'very obvious argument' as to why a lot of pubs in Kilkenny should be allowed to re-open from June 29 along with restaurants and cafes - and not as late as August 10 as currently proposed. Pat Crotty, who runs the famous Paris Texas bar and restaurant on High Street, says if pubs can meet the same restrictions and guidelines, they should be considered. "If the health gurus with the agreement of government say that a restaurant or cafe can reopen safe beyond June 29 - they are involved in the service of food and drink," said Mr Crotty. "So there is a very obvious argument there that, well - certainly for pubs that sell food - they are exactly the same. It isn't the product they are selling that is the issue, it is the capacity to meet the conditions in a food and drink scenario. "If a pub can meet the same conditions, can address them and work within the parameters, why shouldn't they be considered? And that's where we're at - is how have they decided." Groups representing the pub industry are due to meet government represenatives this week to outline their own plan for an earlier phased re-opening. Ministers have agreed to meet the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) and the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI). "I would hope the likes of Paris Texas, and there would be a reasonable few other pubs in Kilkenny that sell a lot of food, would be considered as food premises," says Mr Crotty. "There are quite a few restaurants that have licences. In fact, they virtually all have some kind of licence. But that doesn't mean they can open on June 29, it's can you meet the conditions laid down will be the main issue." Measures under the Vintners proposal are understood to include: These measures include: Bars will become dispense bars only with no sitting, standing, ordering, payment or drinking at the bar allowed. Table service will be a requirement with pubs only serving customers seated at tables. The numbers on the premises would be confined to no more than 4 per every 10 square metres. A maximum of 6 people would be permitted at any one table. Customers will be required to use hand sanitiser upon entry. All customers must remain seated. Staff will be fully trained in the new procedures. They will also be asked to maintain a safe distance from customers when taking orders and to wash their hands thoroughly every 30 minutes. The utilisation of outdoor spaces to enhance social distancing. Procedures implemented to ensure safe use of toilet facilities, which may include limits on the numbers using toilets at any one time. No live music or DJs. Gardai / HSE will have the power to close any business who is flouting the public health guidelines. The Gombe State Taskforce on COVID-19 notes with dismay and disappointment the purported protest by some COVID-19 asymptomatic carriers housed at the Kwadon isolation centre in Yamaltu Deba Local Government Area of the state. The Taskforce, under the leadership of Prof Idris Mohammed, wishes to put the records straight with regards to the incident that took place on Tuesday, May 5, 2020. First, the Taskforce wishes to inform the general public that the protest was not as a result of neglect by authorities as claimed by the protesters; rather it was on an issue that unfortunately went out of hand. Truth is; one of the female patients was admitted to the centre with a wound she got long before she came into Gombe State. The Taskforce took it upon itself to treat the wound, similar to what was applied for all the isolated patients; all those with other background ailments are being managed irrespective of its relation to the Covid-19 infection. Unfortunately, the patients sister, who was understandably emotional, was of the opinion that the condition can only be treated by traditional healers back in their village. Although, the patient has the right to choose where to seek for health care services, taking into consideration the risk of transmitting the Covid-19 in the communities, the Taskforce was reluctant to allow her to be managed at home. Public health consideration outweighs personal interests in this context. This was the primary issue that escalated into the protest. The Taskforce has since evacuated the said female patient to a place in her hometown in a location with minimal risk of community transmission. The Taskforce has since its inauguration been working assiduously to meet the immediate needs of the patients at the isolation centre, especially food and other essential services. Medical attention is being given to them with doctors and nurses attending to in line with the protocols of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), and the Taskforce will not allow self-medication at the centre. It is therefore inaccurate for anybody to claim that the patients are being poorly managed. The Taskforce notes that the protest was a manifestation of multi-faceted impacts on economic and psychological factors associated with COVID-19. The social implication is clearly visible. Majority of the cases in the State are menial workers who returned from Lagos, Abuja or Kano, after realizing they could not bear the consequences of the on-going lockdowns in those cities, as their earnings depend on daily outing. Now, despite the border restrictions, the Taskforce understood the difficulty these returnees found themselves in and welcomed them into the State with agreement that they have to be subjected to screening for the disease. Those that turned out positive were therefore isolated for the safety of the general public. All their needs with regards to accommodation, feeding and treatment are being taken care of by the government. However, some of the patients demanded that the government should cater for their immediate family members since they are in isolation and cannot provide for their respective families. However, as you are aware, the Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has established another committee on distribution of palliatives. Recommendations had already been forwarded to this committee to consider the immediate members of the index cases, even before the staged protest. It is disheartening that while the patients came out to protest, some residents of Kwadon freely mingled with them despite the risk of being infected. Their action was indeed uncalled for. The Taskforce is disturbed that it appears some residents of the State still consider COVID-19 as a hoax. The Taskforce assures that the medical personnel attending to the patients in isolation are working round the clock to ensure that patients get the desired medical and psychological attention. While the Taskforce welcomes recommendations on where to improve its operations, individuals should deter from spreading false accusations and creating distrust among the public. The Taskforce also wishes to inform the general public that the welfare of all the engaged medical personnel and other workers rendering essential services on daily basis is paramount and is being met accordingly. Advertisements The Taskforce has already commenced contact tracing of the people in Kwadon community that might have mingled with the isolated patients during the protest in order to guard against community transmission of the virus. The Taskforce assures the good people of Gombe State and Nigerians in general that it will do everything possible to ensure that the COVID-19 patients in the state are well taken care of. Dr. Mohammed Kwami is the State Focal Person, Covid-19 Pandemic Response, Gombe State. CLEVELAND, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Rob Walgate, Vice President of the Ohio Roundtable issued the following statement regarding Ohio Substitute Senate Bill 1 which begins the process of reforming Ohio quarantine laws. "The Ohio House amended Senate Bill 1 and took a good first step at restricting the unlimited authority of the Ohio Department of Health to shut down the Ohio economy and strip Ohioans of their civil rights, businesses and future prosperity. The legislation was passed way too fast for public input and left out a number of key ideas that are essential to real quarantine reform. Therefore, we are calling upon the Ohio Senate to give timely and careful consideration to a full package of quarantine reform language. Currently, Ohio law gives the Director of Health 'ultimate authority' over matters of quarantine. That authority has been around since 1908 (HB1268). Back then, the idea of a general population quarantine was unthinkable. This is the first time the state Department of Health has issued orders to close down the Ohio economy and lockdown civil liberties without the oversight of the elected General Assembly. That abuse of power has to end." The Roundtable is working with legislative leaders in Ohio to pass quarantine reform laws that will help address life-threatening, communicable diseases while protecting the civil rights of the general population. For more information please visit aproundtable.org . The Ohio Roundtable is a division of the American Policy Roundtable, a non-profit, independent education, research and media organization founded in 1980. Rob Walgate has served as Vice-President of the Ohio Roundtable and the American Policy Roundtable since 2003. For more information or to arrange an interview with Mr. Walgate, please call 1-800-522-8683. SOURCE The American Policy Roundtable Related Links http://www.aproundtable.org A pair of Indian identical twins, stranded at the Dubai airport for nearly 50 days due to the COVID-19-induced international travel lockdown, breathed a huge sigh of relief when they came to know that they are among the first 354 passengers to fly back to India from the UAE on Thursday. The tired and homesick 30-year-old brothers, Jackson and Benson Andrews, have been stranded inside the Dubai International Airport's terminal 3 since March 19 while they were returning from Lisbon, Portugal, the Khaleej Times reported. The twins were among the 177 Indian passengers who will be boarding the second repatriation flight to Kozhikode in Kerala on Thursday, it said. They were among the 19 Indian passengers who were stuck inside the airport for over a month. "We received the letter from the consulate on Tuesday. A copy of our flight tickets have been sent to us as well," Jackson told the daily. Press consul at the Indian consulate, Neeraj Aggarwal, said, "Based on the schedule of flights and the destination of passengers, these 19 stranded Indians will all be flying out on priority in the coming week." Originally from Thiruvananthapuram, Benson and Jackson were working in Lisbon when the coronavirus crisis hit. They were transiting through Dubai when India announced a lockdown and suspended all domestic and international flights. On Monday, the Indian government announced plans to begin a phased repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad from May 7. The government also said that Air India will operate 64 flights from May 7 to May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals stranded abroad amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown. From the UAE, at least 200,000 Indian citizens have registered on the web portal collecting data of persons wishing to return home. "We are Indian citizens and have been working in Portugal for two years now. We decided to leave Lisbon when the situation was getting increasingly bad in Europe," Jackson was quoted as saying. The twins, who work in retail, said they used to live in the outskirts of Lisbon city. The brothers left from Lisbon on March 18 at 12 pm and landed in Dubai at 2 am the following day to take a flight to Thiruvananthapuram. "When we went to board the flight, we were told that we needed a 'Ok to board' permission from the airport in India. However, since we were passengers from Europe, we were not granted permission. Only my brother and I were not allowed to board," Jackson said. Though several flights continued to go to India till March 22, the twins remained stranded at the airport. "For the first 10 days, we were sleeping on the airport benches. Finally, airport authorities and the consulate arranged hotel rooms for us inside the airport," said Jackson. "We have no reason to complain. We were given five-star service here. however, we miss home," he added. Though the brothers are apprehensive about spending 14-days in quarantine in Kozhikode, some 370 kilometres from Thiruvananthapuram, Jackson said, "At least we are close to home. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Frontline Foods, Partner of Chef Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen, Opens Kansas City Chapter Three friends are responsible for launching the Kansas City chapter of Frontline Foods, a national fundraising program that helps feed local hospital workers meals made by local restaurant workers. The organization works in partnership with chef Jose Andres' international nonprofit culinary relief program World Central Kitchen. An important and ongoing sign of solidarity among the working-class . . . Take a look at some of the more meaningful culinary achievements this week beyond restaurant critic accolades . . . Read more: Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra expressed shock over the gas leak incident in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam on Thursday that has claimed 11 lives and prayed for the speedy recovery of those hospitalised. The former Congress president urged party workers in the area to provide all necessary support to those affected. "I'm shocked to hear about Vizag gas leak. I urge our Congress workers and leaders in the area to provide all necessary support and assistance to those affected. My condolences to the families of those who have perished. I pray that those hospitalised make a speedy recovery," he said on Twitter. Gas leaked from a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam in the early hours of Thursday and quickly spread to villages in a five-kilometre radius, killing at least 11 people and impacting about 1,000, many collapsing to the ground as they tried to escape the toxic vapours. Among the dead were two children, aged six and nine, a first-year medical student and two people who fell into a well while fleeing the vapours from the plant, getting ready to reopen after the lockdown. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also prayed for the recovery of those injured and hoped the government would control the situation soon. "There has been a heartbreaking incident of gas leak from a plant in Visakhapatnam. There are a number of casualties. "Hope the government will get the situation under control soon. My condolences to the family members of the dead. I pray to God for the early recovery of all the injured," she said in a tweet in Hindi. Congress leader Ahmed Patel said he was extremely saddened by the loss of life due to the gas leak in Visakhapatnam. "Our prayers are with those who have been exposed to the gas and we hope all possible medical help is being given to them. Important to also fix responsibility for this industrial disaster (sic)," he tweeted. In light of the incident in Andhra Pradesh, he urged the Centre to "reject MP government's proposal to dilute safety norms in small factories". Safeguarding human lives, particularly of the poor and the vulnerable, has to be at the soul of any policy, Patel said. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted, "My condolences to the bereaved families who have lost their loved ones and prayers for thousands who have fallen sick. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Canberra, May 7 : The Australian government has approved the deployment of US Marines to the Northern Territory (NT) despite the coronavirus travel bans currently imposed in the country. About 2,500 Marines were due to arrive in Darwin last month as part of an annual rotation to the NT, reports Xinhua news agency. But the rotation was postponed indefinitely in late March to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within the territory. In a statement on Thursday, Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said she has informed Mark Esper, the US secretary of Defense, that the deployment has been approved. "I was pleased to inform Secretary Esper that after careful consideration, the government has decided that a modified 2020 Marine Rotational Force -- Darwin can proceed later this year, adhering to strict measures in place to protect against COVID-19," she said. "The decision was based on Australia's record to date in managing the impacts from COVID-19, as well as strict adherence by deployed US Marines to the mandatory 14-day quarantine and other requirements." The NT has had only 30 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the fewest of any Australian state or territory. Chief Minister Michael Gunner in late April revealed a roadmap for most coronavirus restrictions to be lifted by June 5. The size and timing of the deployment has not been decided, but the Marines usually remain in the NT throughout the dry season, which runs from May to October. Gunner welcomed the announcement, saying that the arrival of the Marines would provide a "massive boost" for local businesses. "That is exactly what we need right now," he said on Thursday. "We've also secured a number of guarantees to ensure the territory remains the safest place in Australia." (HealthDay)Endovascular thrombectomy alone is noninferior to endovascular thrombectomy preceded by intravenous alteplase for patients with acute ischemic stroke from large-vessel occlusion, according to a study published online May 6 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Pengfei Yang, M.D., from the Naval Medical University Changhai Hospital in China, and colleagues conducted a trial at 41 academic tertiary care centers in China to assess endovascular thrombectomy with or without intravenous alteplase in patients with acute ischemic stroke. A total of 656 patients with acute ischemic stroke from large-vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation were randomly assigned to undergo endovascular thrombectomy alone or endovascular thrombectomy preceded by intravenous alteplase administered within 4.5 hours after symptom onset (327 and 329 patients, respectively). The researchers found that with regard to the primary outcome (between-group difference in the distribution of the modified Rankin scale scores at 90 days), endovascular thrombectomy alone was noninferior to combined intravenous alteplase and endovascular thrombectomy (adjusted common odds ratio, 1.07; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.81 to 1.40; P = 0.04 for noninferiority). However, endovascular thrombectomy alone was associated with lower percentages of patients with successful reperfusion before thrombectomy (2.4 versus 7.0 percent) and overall successful reperfusion (79.4 versus 84.5 percent). At 90 days, mortality was 17.7 and 18.8 percent in the thrombectomy-alone and combination-therapy groups, respectively. "Larger trials in other populations are needed to compare alteplase plus endovascular therapy with endovascular therapy alone," the authors write. Explore further Less than 20% of Americans have rapid access to endovascular thrombectomy for stroke Copyright 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Myanmar & COVID-19 Myanmars Kayah State Angers Activists with Protest Ban A nurse informs passers-by in Loikaw Township about COVID-19. / Kayah State government / Facebook Yangon Kayah State activists have complained that a set of orders recently issued by the state government infringe upon human rights and democratic norms. The state government on Sunday told residents in all seven townships Bawlakhe, Demoso, Hpasawng, Hpruso, Loikaw, Mese and Shadaw that legal action would be taken against violators, sparking condemnation from civil society organizations and political activists. The orders ban speeches, writing, pictures, posters, placards, pamphlets and anything deemed to be defamatory to the authorities. The rules prohibit making misleading, provocative and mobilizing statements. The state government abused its power to prohibit freedom of expression, said Khun Thomas, joint secretary of the Union of Karenni State Youth. We oppose them and would like to ask the government to revoke these orders that violate human rights, he added. We have fundamental rights. If they continue to restrict our rights by abusing their authority, we will not be able to work collaboratively, said Khun Thomas. The order was issued after a protest was filed with the Loikaw Township administration department against a private project in Konetha village-tract. Residents hung posters reading, There is no vacant, fallow and virgin land in our area on their houses, according to villagers. The orders also ban trespassing on land that the government has the authority to manage. Kayah State analyst Ko Kyaw Htin Aung, who is based in the state capital Loikaw, said the orders contradict fundamental rights enshrined in the 2008 Constitution. The orders have nothing to do with COVID-19. The government should not have issued them, he said. The orders are a significant departure from State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyis promises ahead of the 2015 general election that a government must accept criticism and be monitored by citizens, Ko Kyaw Htin Aung added. He called the orders a threat from the state government against possible criticism. Ko Kyaw Htin Aung also accused the state government of overstepping its authority with its COVID-19 measures. Lower House lawmaker of Hpruso Township Pe Du said: I dont think the orders are extreme. My view is that they are just pointing out what they think is wrong with the state governments order. Since the first coronavirus cases were reported in Myanmar in late March, Kayah State has not confirmed any cases with two people with symptoms being quarantined at a hospital in Loikaw. The state government has extended COVID-19 orders until May 15. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Migrant Workers Await Thai Green Light to Return Home Myanmar Military COVID-19 Patients Contacts Test Negative POINTE BLANCHE:--- On Thursday, the Caribbean Princess cruise ship will be in port for fuel bunkering. The vessel belongs to Princess Cruises. One crew member with St. Maarten heritage who works onboard the vessel, will be allowed to disembark as the person returns home, and will have to follow the public health and security protocols of the Collective Prevention Service (CPS). All cruise vessels have to adhere to stringent public health measures as well as to the rules and regulations related to the national State of Emergency. Port St. Maarten has a Sterile Port Protocol in place since mid-March with respect to COVID-19 ensuring safety and security. The Caribbean Princess is 952 feet in length and towers 19 decks high. Its inaugural cruise was in April 2004 and the vessel was christened by Jill Whelan (Vicki from the Love Boat). The ship was refurbished in May 2019. Princess Cruises is a global cruise and tour company taking more than one million passengers each year to more than 300 worldwide destinations on six continents. The company was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in California, USA. Its parent company is Carnival Corporation & plc. The cruise line extended a temporary pause of global operations through June 30 due to the global COVID-19 outbreak. The cruise line initially announced a voluntary pause for 60-days impacting voyages that departed from March 12. Princess Cruises operates a fleet of 17 modern ships, with one on order that travels to destinations around the globe including Alaska, Caribbean, Panama Canal, Mexican Riviera, Europe, South America, Australia/New Zealand, South Pacific, Hawaii, Tahiti/French Polynesia, Asia, Africa, India, Canada/New England and world cruises. An edutech startup by an IIT alumnus has launched an Artificial Intelligence (AI) based test series for UPSC aspirants to enable them seamless preparation during the COVID-19 lockdown. The test series, available at www.excelonacademy.com provides personalised results and feedback to every single user and helps aspirants identify their blind spots and weak areas in each major subject of general studies. "Of the 12 to 15 month-long effort that a candidate undertakes to prepare for Preliminary Examination of the UPSC, the last few weeks are very crucial as one consolidates and applies their knowledge by solving multiple question papers. It is here that the AI-based test series provides immense value, by not only calculating the scores and giving question-wise explanation (which other tests also do), but also highlighting the candidate's blind spots," said T Uday Kumar, co-founder, ExcelOn Academy. Kumar, a mechanical engineering graduate from IIT Madras, has founded the startup with Muthu Kumar Raju, a US-based tech entrepreneur. Some of the features of the test series include -- strike off options when arriving at the right option, ability to mark questions for review to revisit later, a reverse timer for overall test and timer for each question, and three levels of personalised feedback analysing the performance through multiple dimensions. The civil services preliminary examination, scheduled to be held on May 31, has been deferred in view of the coronavirus pandemic, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) announced earlier this week. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pour ce 23e numero de "Cuisinez comme un chef", la serie de Midi Libre qui vous propose des recettes de chefs a realiser pendant le confinement, les freres Cactus proposent une recette de tacos au poulet, sauce avocat. Bon appetit ! IAI To Produce, Market Zibar Offroad Vehicles IAI acquires the manufacturing operations of the Zibar offroad tactical vehicle, designed and built by Israeli offroad entrepreneur Ido Cohen. Beer Sheva Israel and Tel Aviv May 7, 2020; The Z family activities being acquired include the Zibar, Zmag a light version of the platform, and ZED the armored off-road vehicle. IAI ELTA will design and produce the vehicles in its manufacturing site in Beer Sheva, where RAM vehicles are currently built. The company plans to adapt and configure the vehicles for military and homeland defense applications, and now, acting as the vehicle design authority will be well-positioned to address specific customer requirements. IAIs ELTA new ground forces facility is under construction at an investment of tens of millions. ELTA Beer Sheba will also perform the vehicle configuration development and upgrading to provide integrated system solutions. As ELTA is also responsible for IAIs land robotics, such expertise could also apply to optionally manned or unmanned variants of the vehicle. IAI will market the military vehicles exclusively, while Ido Cohen continues to manufacture and sell the vehicles in its civilian applications. Zibar was designed and is manufactured entirely in Israel. The vehicles offer excellent performance and mobility and are capable of traversing harsh off-road conditions. The off-road vehicles fulfill the operational needs of the ground forces for defense, assault, and intelligence. Yoav Turgeman, IAI VP and CEO of ELTA, explained, We are excited to collaborate with Ido Cohen, a visionary vehicle manufacturer from Israel. IAI offers a broad range of ground intelligence, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and remote sensing capabilities. Integrating these capabilities on the Z Vehicle Family provides significant added value to the operational capabilities ELTA provides existing and future customers. By Olesya Astakhova, Gleb Gorodyankin and Vladimir Soldatkin MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's oil output in the first five days of May fell to 8.75 million barrels per day (bpd), close to its production target of 8.5 million bpd for May and June under a global deal to cut crude supplies, two sources familiar with the data told Reuters. Together with gas condensate, or light oil, which is not part of Russia's target, the country's output was 9.5 million bpd for May 1-5, the first time it has fallen below 10 million bpd since August 2009. While the latest data, which showed production of 1.296 million tonnes per day including gas condensate, was only for the first few days since the deal kicked in on May 1, it shows Russia is following through on its pledges so far. Russia's Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin said in an online interview that domestic oil producers are striving to reach the target as soon as possible. He also said that the global oil demand declined by around 30% last month and the fall has eased since then. However recovery to pre-crisis levels would not be achieved quickly. Sorokin added that some countries, where international majors work, may have difficulties with sticking to targets under a global oil output cuts deal. He didn't named those countries. Traders and industry sources said that Iraq has yet to inform its regular oil buyers of cuts to its exports, suggesting it is struggling to fully implement the cuts deal. Reuters uses a ratio of 7.33 barrels per tonne to calculate the daily output in barrels. Russia's gas condensate output is typically about 700,000-800,000 barrels a day. A group of leading oil producers known as OPEC+ including Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed last month to cut crude supplies to combat the fallout from the coronavirus, which has hit economic activity and demand for fuel around the world. Under the global pact, Russia has pledged to reduce its crude oil output in May and June by 2.5 million bpd from a baseline of 11 million bpd. In April, the month before the deal came into force, Russia produced an average 11.35 million bpd. Story continues Last month, oil prices fell to their lowest in more than two decades due to the slide in demand during the pandemic combined with overproduction and a lack of crude storage capacity. Prices have since recovered slightly as some countries end coronavirus lockdowns and producers curb their supply. [O/R] Russia's average monthly oil and gas condensate output fell to 9.97 million bpd in August 2009 but then remained above 10 million bpd until this month, thanks to new fields coming online such as Vankor, operated by energy giant Rosneft . (Reporting by Olesya Astakhova Gleb Gorodyankin; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Louise Heavens and David Clarke) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 1 crore each to the kin of those killed in the styrene gas leak incident at LG Polymers Limited near Visakhapatnam. IMAGE: Children affected by a major chemical gas leakage at LG Polymers industry at RR Venkatapuram village in Visakhapatnam being treated at King George Hospital on Thursday. Photograph: ANI Photo The National Disaster Response Force had put the death toll from the leak at 11. The chief minister announced a committee to probe into the mishap and also said the government would talk to the LG Polymers management seeking job for the kin of the deceased in any of its businesses. Speaking to reporters after conducting a review meeting, Reddy also announced Rs 10 lakh each to those undergoing treatment on ventilator support and Rs 25,000 to those who took treatment as out-patients after developing health complications due to inhalation of the styrene vapour. Earlier, he held a review meeting at the Andhra Medical College with District Collector Vinay Chand and others. The gas leak victims undergoing treatment in various hospitals would be paid Rs one lakh each. The 15,000-odd population in the five villages that were affected by the gas eak would be paid Rs 10,000 each, the chief minister added. Reddy further announced constitution of a high-level committee, headed by the Special Chief Secretary (Environment and Forests), to probe into the mishap and make recommendations to prevent such tragedies in the future. Earlier, he visited the King George Hospital and consoled the victims of the gas leak. Accompanied by his Deputy holding the health portfolio A K K Srinivas and Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney, Reddy flew down to the port city and went straight to the KGH. He met the gas leak victims undergoing treatment and enquired about their well-being. At the review meeting, the Collector informed the Chief Minister that the gas spread was limited to a 1.5 to 2 km area from the epicentre of the leak and that the locals were evacuated to safety. Of the two styrene tanks in the plant, the leak occurred from one that was holding about 1,800 kilo litres of the chemical. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 20:56:36|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KIGALI, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Fifty-five people were killed following heavy rains in different parts of Rwanda on Wednesday, a senior Rwandan official said Thursday. The victims were killed by floods and landslides triggered by the rains, and four others were injured, Minister in charge of Emergency Management Marie Solange Kayisire, said during a live news program on Rwanda Television. The death toll could rise, said Kayisire, adding that 91 houses, five bridges and several plantations were destroyed. According to her, most affected areas included districts of Gakenke, Musanze, Rubavu, Muhanga, Ngororero and Rulindo. The authorities are working to provide support to affected families, she said. The Rwanda Meteorology Agency in February forecast "above normal" rainfall countrywide during the rainy season from March to May. In a disaster update released on March 6, the ministry in charge of emergency management, said 53 people were killed while 84 others were injured due to disasters triggered by heavy rains in different parts of Rwanda since January. They also destroyed 858 houses and 196 hectares of crops, 23 roads, 17 bridges and 8 churches, among others, it said. In the first three weeks of last December, the Rwandan government evacuated close to 6,000 residents from high-risk zones in different areas threatened by heavy rains as a disaster management and mitigation measure. Enditem As with many members of the broad arts community, I am in disbelief at the forced official administration imposed on Carriageworks directly as a result of the COVID-19 closure and the wilful decision of the NSW government to deny the venue its annual grant. The Sydney Chamber Opera at Carriageworks. Credit:Daniel Boud The grant denial was on the spurious grounds that the last grant had not been acquitted. When the closure was required by the virus, immediate staff stand-downs predictably ensued at the time the acquittal was yet to be completed. In the meantime, the Sydney Opera House a body I chaired for nine years has been literally prowling, aiming to take over Carriageworks in an egregious piece of empire-building worthy of robber barons from the time of Carriageworks' 19th-century construction. Culturally, the misfit between Carriageworks and the Sydney Opera House could not be more pronounced. These are polar-opposite spaces. The Opera Houses designs for management control are indecorous, anything other than well-intentioned, and absent a spirit of goodwill and constructive engagement with Carriageworks and without any contact with its eight resident companies. Language students could face a 'virtual year abroad' learning over the Internet while living at home if coronavirus travel restrictions remain. The possibility of a 'virtual year abroad' is currently being explored by the University Council of Modern Languages (UCML), with the University of Cambridge among dozens of Higher Education institutions taking part in preliminary discussions. The UCML said the adapted year abroad could include 'some combination of virtual mobility and residence abroad as circumstances permit, focusing on alternative opportunities for contact with the target language environment through shared digital resources and, where possible, remote/virtual interaction.' It added the Council aims to 'get students abroad when we can, coordinating with relevant nation agencies and being flexible about the standard minimum period abroad requirements.' The possibility of a 'virtual year abroad' is currently being explored by the University Council of Modern Languages (UCML), with the University of Cambridge (pictured) among dozens of Higher Education institutions taking part in preliminary discussions Those who are unable to travel would have access to a 'suite of joint virtual year abroad activities... each with additional language support.' Languages students could also access online courses at exchange institutions in the target language where available, with the potential for virtual exchanges. Dr Tim Chesters, Director of Year Abroad Studies at the University of Cambridge, told the Tab the institution is participating in 'preliminary discussions' for the potential virtual year abroad, alongside dozens of other UK universities. 'Please note, though, that nothing firm has yet been agreed, and the University will consult extensively with student representatives before making any firm commitments,' he added. Exeter University's Modern Languages department said: 'It's a pleasure to share details of the newly minted "Virtual Year Abroad" resources being pulled together by UCML' Exeter University's Modern Languages department said: 'It is a pleasure to share details of the newly minted "Virtual Year Abroad" resources being pulled together by UCML. 'We're delighted to be part of this process aimed at supporting students due to undertake their year abroad in 2020-21.' Dr Chesters told students in Cambridge in an online Q&A on Tuesday that there are 'different versions of what a virtual year abroad could look like.' He added it 'would be the worst scenario if you're just doing grammar exercises every week, and calling it a virtual year abroad,' and insisted this is 'not the idea'. Students were also told the year could involve a 'remote internship' or 'remote study placement' which would be 'topped up by some activities provided by the University.' Students took to Twitter following the announcement of a potential 'virtual year abroad' by the UCML, with one writing: 'I'm really glad arrangements are being made, but that doesn't make "virtual year abroad" any more devastating to read' Students took to Twitter following the announcement of a potential 'virtual year abroad' by the UCML, with one Cambridge student writing: 'I'm really glad arrangements are being made, but that doesn't make "virtual year abroad" any more devastating to read.' Another added: 'Just heard my uni is considering forcing students a couple of years below me to do a "virtual year abroad" from their family home if they can't actually make it to the country. 'I honestly can't think of anything that would be more nightmarish to do digitally.' 'Things I do not want: a virtual year abroad,' said a third. On its website, the UCML said: 'In recognition of the challenges that the Covid-19 pandemic poses for international travel, the UCML Special Interest Group on the Year Abroad is working to secure alternative, interim arrangements to enable students whose degrees include an integral year abroad with a Modern Language to continue their linguistic progress and sustain skills and knowledge development to an advanced level. 'This is likely to include some combination of virtual mobility and residence abroad as circumstances permit, focusing on alternative opportunities for contact with the target language environment through shared digital resources and, where possible, remote/virtual interaction.' 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The request comes at a time when all domestic and international flights, except cargo and those engaged in essential and emergency services, are suspended due to the COVID-19-induced lockdown. The former Andhra Pradesh chief minister said a "great misfortune" has befallen the people of Visakhapatnam due to styrene gas leakage from LG Polymers. Naidu said he is obliged to visit the district as a former chief minister and as the leader of the opposition in the state assembly. The gas leak has left at least six people dead and scores of people are hospitalised. Rescue operations are underway. "I request you to grant me permission for air travel from Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam to Hyderabad by flight no VT-VKR," Naidu said in a letter to the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, P K Mishra. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief said the plane is currently in Mumbai and sought permission to allow it to fly from Mumbai to Hyderabad and then to Visakhapatnam, and back to Hyderabad and Mumbai. "I am obliged to visit Visakhapatnam in order to monitor the post-disaster activities and console the affected people," Naidu said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over 80,000 migrant workers from different states, who were stuck in Gujarat due to the lockdown, have been sent back to their native places in 67 special trains in the last five days, an official said on Thursday. The trains carrying these migrants left for different destinations from various cities and towns in Gujarat, the official said. "As many as 80,408 migrant workers hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha were ferried back to their native places in 67 special trains from May 2 till Wednesday night," Secretary in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), Ashwani Kumar, said. He added that each train transports around 1,200 passengers. "On Thursday, another 34 trains would leave Gujarat for UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. We will be shifting around 1.20 lakh migrants by Thursday night," Kumar added. Twenty of these trains are for UP, five for Odisha, four for Bihar, two trains each for Jharkhand and MP, and one for Chhattisgarh. These trains would leave from major stations like Ahmedabad, Surat, Bharuch, Mehsana, Nadiad, Jamnagar, Vadodara and Palanpur, he said. "We are also helping stranded Gujarat residents in coming back home from other states. Till now, as many as 29,540 stranded students, businessmen and other travellers have returned from other states," Kumar said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) SAN FRANCISCO, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the global leader in CRM, today announced that its first quarter fiscal year 2020 results will be released on Thursday, May 28, 2020, after the close of the market. The company will host a conference call at 2:00 p.m. (PT) / 5:00 p.m. (ET) to discuss its financial results with the investment community. A live webcast of the event will be available on the Salesforce Investor Relations website at www.salesforce.com/investor. A live dial-in is available domestically at (833) 579-0905 and internationally at (778) 560-2800, Conference ID 6520138. A replay will be available at (800) 585-8367 or (416) 621-4642 until midnight (ET) June 11, 2020. About Salesforce Salesforce is the global leader in Customer Relationship Management (CRM), bringing companies closer to their customers in the digital age. Founded in 1999, Salesforce enables companies of every size and industry to take advantage of powerful technologiescloud, mobile, social, internet of things, artificial intelligence, voice and blockchainto create a 360-degree view of their customers. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com. Salesforce has headquarters in San Francisco, with offices in Europe and Asia, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CRM." For more information please visit https://www.salesforce.com, or call 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE. SOURCE Salesforce Related Links http://www.salesforce.com Subscribe to the Wake Up, cleveland.coms free morning newsletter, delivered to your inbox weekdays at 5:30 a.m. Today's Wake Up newsletter is longer than usual because it includes every coronavirus story from the last 24 hours. Read it and you're up to date on the crisis. Weather Frost could be on the ground this morning in some areas, but temps eventually will warm to the upper 50s with partly sunny skies. It will be mostly cloudy overnight with lows in the upper 30s. Read more. The headlines Coronavirus powers: House Republicans on Wednesday moved to strip Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Actons authority to issue lasting state orders, a direct attack on Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and his response to the coronavirus pandemic. Cleveland.coms Seth Richardson reports that Republicans introduced an amendment to a 2019 regulatory reform bill that would limit health department orders to 14 days and only allow an extension if it receives approval from the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review. Penalty decrease: The Ohio House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would decrease the penalties for violating the states coronavirus pandemic order. Cleveland.coms Andrew Tobias reports that under the bill, violating Gov. Mike DeWines health order would be a minor misdemeanor, which carries a $150 civil fine. Currently, its a fourth-degree misdemeanor, punishable with 30 days in jail or a $250 fine. It can be a first-degree misdemeanor, which carries up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, if someone is found to also create a risk of physical harm to a person or property. Subtext: Cleveland.com has started a new, free Subtext account to send coronavirus updates. Every day, the team covering the coronavirus will send three to four updates about the progress of the virus -- confirmed cases of the virus, major cancellations, the latest medical advice, relevant scientific information and more. You can even text us back. Go to https://joinsubtext.com/ohiocoronavirus and enter your phone number. Fill out the form below. Or send a text to 216-279-7784. Did we mention its free? This Week in the CLE: Could we see how far the coronavirus has spread by analyzing poop at Ohio sewage plants? Its an idea that makes a lot of sense, and were discussing it on This Week in the CLE, the daily half-hour podcast of coronavirus news on cleveland.com. Straight poop: Public health experts say poop could play a critical role in helping them predict coronavirus outbreaks, and officials are considering testing sewage in Northeast Ohio. Cleveland.coms Evan MacDonald reports testing for COVID-19 at wastewater treatment plants has been effective at predicting coronavirus outbreaks in multiple European countries. Budget cuts: Ohios April tax revenues came in $866 million lower than state officials were expecting, reports cleveland.coms Andrew Tobias. Roughly three-quarters of that drop-off $635.7 million is due to state income taxes coming in lower than expected. Most of the shortfall in income taxes appears to be due to the states decision to defer tax day from April 15 until July 15. K-12 cuts: Gov. Mike DeWines budget office on Wednesday released district-level details for his planned $300.4 million in cuts to the states public K-12 schools through the end of the fiscal year on June 30. Cleveland.coms Rich Exner reports the sharpest cut on a per-student basis is $304 per pupil for 20 Ohio school districts, including Beachwood, Chagrin Falls, Cuyahoga Heights, Independence, Kenston, Kirtland, Mayfield, Newbury, Orange, Revere, Rocky River, West Geauga and Westlake. College cuts: Gov. Mike DeWine is cutting 3.8% from original appropriations for each of the states 37 public colleges and universities. Cleveland.coms Rich Exner reports the losses range from$14.9 million for Ohio State - Ohios largest university by far - to $136,696 for Central State. Municipal help: The Ohio Senate unanimously passed a bill Wednesday afternoon that could provide $350 million to help local governments with coronavirus expenses. Cleveland.coms Laura Hancock reports the money comes from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which Congress passed last month and can only be used on expenses related to the pandemic not for other budget-related issues, such as backfilling revenue holes. Ohio reported its first three cases of coronavirus on March 9. On Wednesday, the total reached 21,576.Rich Exner, cleveland.com New numbers: At least 20,625 Ohioans have been infected with coronavirus and at least 1,225 have died, reports cleveland.coms Laura Hancock. That includes 951 probable cases and 111 probable deaths. Cleveland numbers: The Ohio Department of Health notified Cleveland that 13 more cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus had been confirmed in the city, cleveland.coms Robert Higgs reports. The new cases push the total number of Cleveland residents who have been infected to 838. No new deaths were reported. Trends: Ohios 1,225 known coronavirus-related deaths are spread across 64 of the states 88 counties, with total cases now reaching 21,576, reports cleveland.coms Rich Exner. The 90 deaths added Wednesday were the second most reported in a single day, behind 138 on April 29. The 79 deaths reported Tuesday are the third most. Cuyahoga numbers: Ninety-five suburban Cuyahoga County residents have died from COVID-19, bringing the countywide death toll, including the city of Cleveland, to 134, cleveland.coms Courtney Astolfi reports. Older adults: Even as Ohioans begin to return to work under rules and suggestions designed to make things safer for everyone, one trend has become unmistakable coronavirus is very dangerous to the oldest among us. Cleveland.coms Rich Exner reports that a fourth of those age 80 and older known to have contracted coronavirus in Ohio have died. The share is 15% among the known cases for people in their 70s, 6% in their 60s, 2% in their 50s dipping off sharply from there. Nursing homes: The Ohio Department of Health reported Wednesday night that 499 patients of long-term care facilities have died with the COVID-19 coronavirus, and that 2,354 patients and staff currently have the virus, up from 2,095 a week ago. Nursing home, assisted-care and intermediate-care patients account for 41% of Ohios 1,225 known coronavirus-related deaths to date, cleveland.coms Rich Exner reports. This 2020 electron microscope image made available by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the spherical particles of the new coronavirus, colorized blue, from the first U.S. case. (Hannah A. Bullock, Azaibi Tamin, CDC via AP)AP Cytokine storm: Weathering the cytokine storm could be one of the keys in saving severely ill coronavirus patients, but doctors still dont know all the facts about the extreme inflammatory response. Cleveland.coms Emily Bamforth reports that cytokines generally help the body fight off infection and alert to any problems. But in more severe coronavirus cases, doctors are seeing that these proteins arent prepared for the virus and may cause problems by prompting the immune system to overreact. Asymptomatic transmission: A new study finds that most transmission of the coronavirus occurs in the earliest stages of the disease, sometimes before a person is experiencing symptoms, reports cleveland.coms Evan MacDonald. The study is the latest to illustrate that preventing the spread of COVID-19 may not be as simple as identifying and isolating anyone carrying the virus. Downtown ghost town: Nightlife, ball games, concerts and theater performances are out of the question in Cleveland for the foreseeable future, leaving residents with high housing costs and few, if any, of the amenities that enticed them to move downtown in the first place. Cleveland.coms Courtney Astolfi talked to several residents on a recent afternoon to see how theyre faring, and David Petkiewicz has photos. Business reopenings: Gov. Mike DeWines office is not making available reports of recommendations provided to his administration by groups coming up with plans to re-open restaurants, bars and other Ohio businesses closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, cleveland.coms Andrew Tobias reports. Chief investigation: A Cuyahoga County common pleas judge has ordered Clevelands Civil Service Commission to investigate allegations by the citys fire union that Fire Chief Angelo Calvillo should be fired for violating terms in the citys charter, cleveland.coms Robert Higgs reports. Jim Jordan: House Freedom Caucus co-founder, regular FoxNews guest and Champaign County GOP congressman Jim Jordan set a new record in Washington, D.C., this week, reports cleveland.coms Sabrina Eaton. The American Conservative Union Foundation, which hosts the yearly Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) outside the nations capital, announced Wednesday that Jordan earned his 13th consecutive 100 percent rating on its yearly assessment of congressional votes, which it described as an all-time record in Congress. Federal prison: Officials said Wednesday a Reynoldsburg man is the eighth inmate to die of the coronavirus at the sole federal prison in Ohio, where dozens have tested positive. Cleveland.coms Eric Heisig reports James Druggan, 70, visited the health staff at Federal Correctional Institution Elkton on April 5, and they moved him to a hospital because he wasnt getting enough oxygen. Trial postponed: A judge in Ashland County delayed a jury trial set to begin May 12 after the defense attorney in the case asked the Ohio Supreme Court to stop it from going forward during the coronavirus pandemic, cleveland.coms Cory Shaffer reports. Tax delay: Cuyahoga Countys deadline to pay property taxes has been delayed one month to Aug. 13 to help taxpayers who may be affected financially by the coronavirus crisis, cleveland.coms Courtney Astolfi reports. Akron-based GOJO Industries, maker of Purell hand sanitizer, plans to lease a warehouse in Navarre to store and ship products that are in high demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Mark Moran, The Citizens' Voice via AP)AP Purell: GOJO Industries intends to lease a warehouse in Stark County to store and ship Purell and other sanitizers the company has made at increased rates since January to meet demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cleveland.coms Robin Goist reports that the Akron company is finalizing a lease agreement for a facility in Navarre, about five miles south of Massillon, to provide additional storage and shipping space. Cavs: The Cleveland Cavaliers are reopening their practice facility for limited individual workouts starting on Friday, reports cleveland.coms Chris Fedor. General manager Koby Altman and the medical staff informed players during Zoom calls on Wednesday afternoon, sources say. Kent State: Kent State Universitys Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved employee pay cuts and buyouts as part of the universitys plan to offset losses incurred due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cleveland.coms Robin Goist reports the board approved salary cuts for non-union employees for fiscal year 2021, which begins in July 2020; modifications to two union contracts; and a buyout incentive program for some employees. Shellfish: Sharpen your tools and come to attention because class is in session! Join Mike Cruz, manager of Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Wholesale, as he details the best methods for cracking open and cleaning just about every variety of shellfish you might encounter in the kitchen, in a video for cleveland.coms sister site, Epicurious. Mothers Day: Though the coronavirus pandemic may have gotten in the way of properly celebrating Mothers Day, plenty of Northeast Ohio candy shops, bakeries and ice creameries remain open for the occasion. Cleveland.coms Anne Nickoloff is shining a light on some of the dessert and candy takeout offerings for Mothers Day. Food pantry: The Kosher Food Pantry is one of the many food pantries in Northeast Ohio that help serve the many suburbs around Cleveland, making it easier for people to get the food that they need. Cleveland.com photographer David Petkiewicz has photos of Wednesdays distribution in the parking lot of the Torah Nursery, which was stocked with about 140 boxes of food. Orchids: Oberlin-based greenhouse Green Circle Growers wanted to offer gratitude to the nations frontline healthcare workers battling the coronavirus and they had just the thing to do it - orchids. Thousands of them, all in full bloom. Cleveland.com photographer Joshua Gunter has photos of deliveries Wednesday. Other headlines Coronavirus cancellations, reopenings and restrictions for Thursday, May 7, 2020 Read more Cleveland man charged in 1987 murder of Barbara Blatnik near Blossom Music Center Read more Woman pleads guilty to robbery, having dogs attack worker at Akron grocery store Read more Lorain man charged in hit-and-run crash that severed womans leg Read more One dead, two injured in high-speed crash in Cleveland, police say Read more 82-year-old man granted new trial in Cuyahoga County after maintaining innocence in 1974 murder of wife Read more Cleveland Clinic to coordinate American Heart Association COVID-19 research effort Read more Cedar Fair considering capacity limits, virtual queuing, in reopening of Cedar Point, other parks Read more Lakewood City School District moves last day of instruction up to May 20, looks ahead to fall curriculum Read more Economic downturn forces Fairview Park to lay off 13 full-time employees Read more Fairview Park High School announces socially distant-friendly commencement plans Read more North Olmsted High School heading to the drive-in for Class of 2020 commencement Read more Lakewood Public Library reopens with drive-thru window and curbside service Read more Cleveland music venues join national coalition in effort to survive coronavirus pandemic Read more Mayfield Village Cruise Night likely wont happen in 2020; Memorial Day plans altered Read more Mentor Farmers Market set to open in June with social-distancing guidelines Read more Shes left such an incredible legacy, and Joshua picking up the reins and launching this new show 1A and the success theyve enjoyed so far sure, theres some pressure attached to that, White said in an interview. But while the audience of 1A is much larger than Reset, the two-hour program she hosts at WBEZ, so many of the conversations are the same. The need for human connection is the same. Peoples desire to be heard is the same. Our responsibility to provide our listeners with facts and reliable journalism and really being committed to serving them, thats the same. The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 1,070 new cases Thursday, raising the statewide total to 52,915. Across Pennsylvania, 3,416 have died due to COVID-19, including 310 newly reported deaths Thursday, according to the health department. The newly reported deaths have occurred over the past two weeks and dont reflect a one-day spike in fatalities, the department said. All of those who have died are adults, the department said. More than two-thirds of the states coronavirus deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes. More than 10,000 residents of those facilities have contracted the virus, along with more than 1,000 employees. With its new data, the health department reported more than 1,000 new cases for the first time in five days. The four-day run with fewer than 1,000 new cases marked the first such streak since March. The health department released new data Thursday; the numbers reflect cases and deaths reported as of midnight. There are 209,873 people who have tested negative for the virus, the department said. A closer look Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine has said the curve has flattened in Pennsylvania. Cases have been reported in all of Pennsylvanias 67 counties. The Philadelphia region has been the epicenter of the virus in the Keystone State. But even the Philadelphia region has passed the peak of the virus, Levine has said. Philadelphia leads the state with 14,006 cases and 698 deaths due to COVID-19, according to the health department. In neighboring Montgomery County, 4,915 have contracted the virus and 506 people have died. In central Pennsylvania, Lancaster County leads the region with 2,070 cases and 161 deaths. Heres a look at the cases in the other midstate counties: Lebanon (785 cases and 16 deaths); York (740 cases and 13 deaths); Dauphin (735 cases and 33 deaths); Franklin (425 cases and 11 deaths); Cumberland (403 cases and 31 deaths); Adams (151 cases and 5 deaths); and Perry (34 cases and 1 death). Reflecting the statewide trend, most of those in the midstate who have died due to the coronavirus were residents in long-term care facilities. Nursing homes and hospitals Across Pennsylvania, 2,355 coronavirus deaths have occurred among residents in nursing homes or personal care facilities. The deaths in those facilities account for 69 percent of the states COVID-19 fatalities. The health department said 10,506 residents of long-term care facilities have contracted COVID-19, along with 1,489 employees. Cases have been found in 514 facilities in 44 counties. Fewer coronavirus patients are being treated in hospitals. Across Pennsylvania, hospitals are treating 2,429 coronavirus patients, according to the health department. Even a couple of weeks ago, hospitals regularly had more than 2,700 COVID-19 patients. Statewide, 517 patients are on ventilators, a number that has also been declining. Most people who are infected recover without the need to go to a hospital. But health care experts urge those who are feeling sick to contact their doctors, since the coronavirus can cause serious complications, particularly for seniors or those with other health issues. Reopening Pennsylvania Pennsylvania remains under a statewide stay-at-home order but 24 counties will be lifted from that order Friday. The counties are in northcentral and northwestern Pennsylvania. Gov. Tom Wolf has said the reopening of the state will occur in three phases: red, yellow and green. The 24 counties moving into the yellow phase Friday will be allowed to reopen some businesses, with some restrictions. These are the counties that will be reopened first: 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. For counties in the yellow phase, some businesses are allowed to reopen but are still encouraged to allow employees to work remotely. In those counties, restaurants and bars are still limited to carryout and delivery. Theaters, casinos, gyms and barber shops would remain closed. On Wednesday, Wolf announced plans to create a Commonwealth Civilian Coronavirus Corps. The governor aims to recruit people for testing and contact tracing. Wolf said the plan will help combat the spread of the virus and get people back to work. Republican lawmakers, who control the General Assembly, criticized Wolfs plan for a coronavirus corps. Critics called it a costly expansion of government and assailed the governor for aiming to create another facet of state government without legislative oversight. Wolf said he does not need legislative approval to move forward with the coronavirus corps. More from PennLive Pa. will ease some coronavirus rules in 24 counties Friday: What it means for them and for the rest of us Wolf says Pa. employees should refuse to go to work if they dont feel safe, but some fear putting job at risk Theyre the front lines'; Staff care for adults with disabilities amid pandemic, funding challenges Out of money and out of time: Pa. agencies serving those with disabilities face financial crisis Gov. Tom Wolf talks about Pa. primary, mail-in ballots and voting at the polls in a pandemic T wo young children had their throats cut during an attack by their father at the family home in east London, an inquest has heard. Pavinya Nithiyakumar, aged 19 months, and Nigash Nithiyakumar, who was three years old, were fatally wounded at their house in Aldborough Road North in Ilford, on Sunday, April 26, Walthamstow Coroners Court was told. Their father, named locally as newsagent worker Nithin Kumar, 40, was rushed to hospital with knife wounds and remains in a critical condition. Scotland Yard has launched a murder investigation but officers are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths. Pavinya and Nigash were fatally wounded during the attack at their home in Ilford / Met Police Opening the inquests into the childrens deaths on Thursday, east London area coroner Graeme Irvine was told by an official: On the April 26, 2020, Nigash was attacked by his father at the home address. His throat was cut. Coroners officer Jean Smyth added that Nigash died in hospital in Whitechapel, east London, at 7.42pm the same day after being rushed there by ambulance. She said: A forensic post-mortem examination was carried out by Dr Nathaniel Cary on April 28 at Great Ormond Street Childrens Hospital. The cause of death was given asincised wound to the neck. Ms Smyth continued: On April 26 Pavinya was attacked by her father at the home address. Her throat was cut and she died of her injuries at the scene. Life was pronounced extinct at 5.53pm. Her cause of death was also given as an incised wound to the neck. Both children were identified by their mother, named locally as Nisa. Officers were called to the scene on Sunday, April 26 / NIGEL HOWARD Mr Irvine said: I am satisfied in relation to both of these very, very sad deaths that an inquest is necessary. I am not going to fix a time for the inquest as I am aware there is an ongoing criminal investigation in relation to both of those deaths. "It may well be that the criminal investigation will supersede the coroners investigation. He set a review date for November 30 after formally opening the inquests. Reporters listened to proceedings remotely by telephone link. REUTERS The American Civil Liberties Union is preparing to formally call on former Vice President Joe Biden to release a policy plan that would cut mass incarceration in half as part of an effort to hold the presumptive Democratic nominee accountable for his prior commitment. In an email to The Daily Beast, the legal advocacy group said they intend to urge Biden to present a concrete answer to how he will address the countrys prison population that shows hes serious about prioritizing racial issues and criminal justice reform. We want to know how hed operationalize this, Lauren Weiner, the organizations director of strategic communications, said. Weve laid out some recommendations, but if hes serious about addressing racial issues and criminal justice (as he talked about this weekend), we need more concrete of an answer. Weiner said members of the ACLU have previously shared their guidance on how to achieve that 50 percent target with the Biden campaign and other Democrats, and that they plan to follow up with a letter to the former vice president now that he is slated to compete against President Trump in November. The group is also making the same ask to Trumps campaign. Weve long advocated for the need to reduce the prison population and aggressively address racial disparities in the criminal legal system. On the trail, Joe Biden made a commitment cut incarceration - which disproportionately impacts Blacks - by at least half and we hope to see the details of how hell get there, Ronnie Newman, the organizations national political director, told The Daily Beast. Elizabeth Warren Suggests Shed Repeal Bidens 1994 Crime Bill Reached for comment, the Biden campaign pointed to their existing criminal justice plan, in which Biden says we can and must reduce the number of people incarcerated in this country while also reducing crime. During the Democratic primary, Biden previously told an ACLU volunteer at a campaign event in early June that cutting the rate by 50 percent was arbitrary and not a rational way of going about it. But the following month, he said he would do more than that when asked the same question by a voter aligned with the group in South Carolina. We can do it more than that, he said. Story continues At various junctures of his campaign, Biden has had to answer for his role as the leading architect of Congress 1994 Violent Crime Control Act and Law Enforcement Act, known as the crime bill, which extended the death penalty, broadly tightened sentencing, and disproportionaly affected African Americans in the country. The bill was widely considered to have propelled the rate of mass incarceration. The ACLUs call for Biden to release a detailed plan comes following the announcement of his newest policy proposal intended to address the unique concerns impacting African Americans. In a briefing call on Tuesday, senior campaign officials outlined several components of Bidens Lift Every Voice plan, including to strengthen the nation's commitment to justice. The plan also pledges to advance economic mobility and closing the racial wealth and income gaps, expand access to high-quality education and to tackle racial inequality in the education system, as well as to make far-reaching investments in ending health disparities. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. The gas leak from a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam in which at least 11 people were killed and 1,000 affected on Thursday is one in a long list of industrial accidents resulting from poisonous gases seeping into the air. The December 1984 Bhopal tragedy in which more than than 3,000 people were killed when methyl isocyanate leaked out is the world's worst industrial disaster. Here are other gas leaks that made headlines in the last few years: Bhilai, Chhattisgarh: On June 12, 2014, there was a leak in a methane gas pipeline at the Bhilai plant of Steel Authority Of India Limited (SAIL). Six people, including two deputy general managers of the company, were killed and over 50 injured. Nagaram, Andhra Pradesh: On June 27, 2014, a massive fire broke out following a blast in Gas Authority of India Limited's plant, killing 29 people and injuring 10.The 18-inch underground pipeline, designed to supply gas to the Lanco power plant,was used for transporting wet gas having condensate/water. This corroded the pipe and led to a gas leak. An ignition triggered the explosionand the subsequent fire. Mangaluru, Karnataka: On November 17, 2016, a gas leak in an HPCL running between Mangaluru-Hassan-Mysuru and Solur created panic in villages in the area. Several people were reportedly hospitalised after they inhaled the gas. The leak was spotted early on and was contained before much damage. Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh: At least five people were killed and several injured in an explosion caused by an ammonia gas leak in the Katiyar cold storage in Kanpur on March 15, 2017. The explosion caused the roof of the building to collapse, trapping several people. Delhi: About 450 girl students were hospitalised on May 6, 2017, after toxic fumes spread due to chemical leakage at a container depot near two schools in south-east Delhi's Tughlaqabad area. The chemical, 'chloro methyl pyridine'is an eye and respiratory irritant and causes redness and watering of eyes along with respiratory symptoms like sneezing, coughing or difficulty in breathing. Por village, Gujarat: At least20 people were hospitalised afterthe valve of a chlorine gas cylinderin a drinking water tank in Gujarat's Por village developed a leak on April 13, 2017. Those exposed to the gas complained of eye and throat irritation. Belur, Karnataka: At least 25 people were reportedly hospitalised after inhaling chlorine gas that leaked from a water treatment plant on the outskirts of Belur on May 16, 2017. Those who inhaled the gas showed symptoms like breathlessness, nausea and burning sensation in the throat. Bhilai, Chhattisgarh: On October 9, 2018, 11 people died and 14 injured in a blast at the BhilaiSteel Plant. The blast took place in a pipeline near the coke oven section at the steel plant during a maintenance job. Valsad, Gujarat: Over 40 workers of a glass manufacturing factory in Gujarat's Valsad district were hospitalised following a leakage of chlorine gas in an adjacent chemical company on December 20, 2018. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) LONDON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hundreds of thousands of priceless artifacts in several museums in Iraq have been protected from the threat of theft and looting by marking them with a unique invisible code, in a new security protocol that is to be made available around the World to protect 'at risk' museums, historic and archaeological sites. Funded by the British Council, approximately 273,000 artifacts held in two Iraqi museums have been protected using this new approach. The project allows the priceless objects to be traced back to the site they were stolen from, making it easier for law enforcement agencies to prove theft, thereby creating a powerful deterrent to would-be thieves and traffickers. The innovative project, led by renowned archaeologist Professor Roger Matthews at the University of Reading, utilizes a specially prepared SmartWater forensic liquid to attach a unique chemical signature onto museum objects. The solution is invisible to the naked eye, only detectable under UV black light and scientists only need to recover a speck of SmartWater to prove which location the artifact was stolen from, the date the solution was applied and by whom. Tests by scientists at Reading University established that the forensic liquid causes no damage to stone, pottery, metal, or glass and can withstand intense heat, harsh solvents, and extreme environmental conditions for decades. All the costs of R&D were funded by the SmartWater Foundation, the not for profit arm of The SmartWater Group, one of the World's fastest growing risk management companies. Professor Matthews said: "The items in the museum collections we worked with are priceless, with regards to the immense cultural value they offer to Iraq. This initiative effectively gives objects a chemical fingerprint, allowing them to be traced if they fall into the wrong hands. Moreover, it provides law enforcement agencies with the necessary evidence to arrest and prosecute those found in illegal possession of artifacts." The artifacts include inorganic pieces from all periods of Iraq's past; stone-age axes to Neolithic pots dating back to 7000 BC when the world's first agricultural villages were being established. In 2003, and during the ISIS occupation of Mosul between 2014 and 2017, items like this were frequently looted from museums, later resurfacing on international antiquity markets. The problem of theft of artifacts from museums, archaeological and historic sites is growing, with temples in India being targeted, as well as archaeological sites in South America. In the USA, Native American sites are at risk, particularly the remote burial grounds that can be an easy target for thieves. Colette Loll, Senior Advisor to the SmartWater Foundation, the not for profit arm of the SmartWater Group. said: 'Due to their SmartWater forensic signature, these important museum collections are now traceable and can be repatriated if stolen or trafficked. We are essentially putting the art market on notice-forensic markers present a real risk to sellers AND buyers of stolen artifacts." Phil Cleary, CEO of the SmartWater Group said "We're delighted that we've been able to support the implementation of this important initiative in Iraq, as it is totally aligned with our mission to reduce the risk of theft, wherever it occurs." Notes to Editor: Link to full report by Professor Matthews: https://www.czap.org/protecting-iraqi-cultural-heritage Report describing the systematic destruction of cultural heritage by ISIS: Link Formed in 2008, The SmartWater Foundation is a nonprofit company, limited by guarantee. It has offices in London and Washington DC (www.smartwaterfoundation.org). and (www.smartwaterfoundation.org). In 2017, the Foundation funded a projected in Syria to protect artifacts in the Al Meera Museum, Idlip. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-39331342 to protect artifacts in the Al Meera Museum, Idlip. The SmartWater Group (www.smartwater.com) developed a strategy that resulted in the number of burglaries in areas where it was operated in London, UK being reduced by 25%, resulting in thousands of less victims, saving the City millions of dollars and the New Scotland Yard hours of police time. Its US clients include many State and Federal law enforcement agencies. being reduced by 25%, resulting in thousands of less victims, saving the City millions of dollars and the New Scotland Yard hours of police time. Its US clients include many State and Federal law enforcement agencies. About the British Council: https://www.britishcouncil.org/ The Group is comprised of a number of companies providing a range of security services and products that are crafted to combat different security risks, from theft to counterfeiting. Worldwide theft of priceless artifacts is a growing problem: - India - https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/temple-theft - USA - https://www.buddhistdoor.net/news/oldest-buddhist-temple-in-hawailsquoi-burglarized-one-arrested - USA - https://www.history.com/news/native-american-burial-site-theft - Japan - http://factsanddetails.com/japan/cat22/sub147/item815.htmlchapter-8 Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1164929/SmartWater.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1164930/SmartWater_Foundation_Logo.jpg A small cluster of novel coronavirus cases under investigation by provincial health officials is connected to the Brandon terminal of a trucking business headquartered in Winnipeg. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 6/5/2020 (622 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A small cluster of novel coronavirus cases under investigation by provincial health officials is connected to the Brandon terminal of a trucking business headquartered in Winnipeg. The Winnipeg Free Press has confirmed the long haul trucking terminal owned by Pauls Hauling Ltd., at 1515 Richmond Avenue E. in Brandon, is the site of the outbreak announced by provincial chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin on Tuesday. In an email dated May 1, which was obtained by the Brandon Sun, company vice-president Rod Corbett updates employees on the situation at the Brandon shop "in an effort to be transparent." "We now have three confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 within our (Oak Point Service) Brandon staff. A weekend shift employee finished his shift on Monday April 20, then on Wednesday April 22, he started feeling ill," the memo says. BRANDON SUN Paul's Hauling in Brandon. The cluster a grouping of COVID-19 cases with a transmission chain that stems from a single case had spawned seven confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday, when Roussin reported the sixth and seventh cases. Roussin said that a public health investigation had so far determined that members of the public are not at risk. "A thorough contact investigation is underway and any risk to the public will be articulated in a timely fashion," Roussin said. "Most of the contact investigation has already been completed. Theres been a lot of testing done. "Still with new cases, obviously now theres some more contact investigations to begin, but there are not a lot of contacts that are pending so far." Roussin said new cases connected to the cluster were first reported at the end of April and any employees who have tested positive and their close contacts are self-isolating. Detailed contact tracing is ongoing to identify any additional exposures and to contain further spread. Most of the contact investigation has already been completed. Theres been a lot of testing done." Dr. Brent Roussin Roussin refused to disclose the name of the company associated with the outbreak or describe what industry the company belonged to when asked Wednesday. He had earlier confirmed the business was not a health-care facility, food processing plant or part of the food industry. Such details would only be shared if a public health investigation concluded a risk to the public did exist, Roussin said, and the company is working co-operatively with public health officials to put sanitation protocols in place. "I'm not a doctor. We've satisfied every public health official. They've come out. We've been working with them extensively," Corbett told the Sun Wednesday afternoon. "There's been nothing hidden. We've been open to everything way before we began this whole thing," he said. "Our pandemic plan was approved by... the public health officials." The family member of an employee, who wished to remain anonymous, said that news of the local outbreak should serve as a wake-up call for the general public. They said they're worried for the health of not only the family member, but also the public at large. 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. "People are careless because they say it's not here," they said. "I can confirm it's here." Pauls Hauling was founded in 1957 by the late Paul Albrechtsen, a philanthropist and business owner who had donated millions to charitable health and wellness organizations in Winnipeg. The company's profile says it is one of the largest bulk commodities and goods transporters in Canada with 250 tractors and 600 trailers under the Pauls Hauling brand. Hauling fuel and petroleum products constitutes a large portion of its business. The company has terminals in Esterhazy, Sask., and Thunder Bay, Ont. and has transportation lines running across western Canada, from northwest Ontario to British Columbia and the Yukon. The company also drives to 14 states in the northwest United States. with files from the Brandon Sun danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca Since Monday May 4, 2020, the French anti-aircraft frigate Jean Bart has been engaged in the framework of the European Union operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI. Launched on April 1, 2020, the main objective of this prevention mission is to contribute to the implementation of the 2016 United Nations resolution on the arms embargo on Libya (UNSCR 2292). Since Monday May 4, 2020, the French anti-aircraft frigate Jean Bart has been engaged in the framework of the European Union operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI. Launched on April 1, 2020, the main objective of this prevention mission is to contribute to the implementation of the 2016 United Nations resolution on the arms embargo on Libya (UNSCR 2292). French frigate "Jean Bart", Cassard (F70 AA) class (Picture source: French Navy) The "Jean Bart" will patrol the central Mediterranean and will contribute, through its reconnaissance and detection capabilities, to preventing the risks of instability in the region, in cooperation with the other means committed by the European partners. This direct support is carried out a few days after the deployment of the light stealth frigate Aconit as part of operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI for which it is continuing its journey in the Mediterranean Sea. Sensitive to the risks that human, oil and arms traffic generated by the Libyan crisis pose to regional stability, France committed itself in 2015 with its partners Europeans in the European Union operation to combat migrant smuggling in the Mediterranean Sea, called EUNAVFOR MED SOPHIA. In 2020, in the context of the end of the EUNAVFOR MED SOPHIA operation, France, therefore, continues its commitment alongside its European Union partners in the context of the EUNAVFOR MED IRINI operation. Northern Ireland's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has received nearly 1,000 complaints about conditions in workplaces since March 16. HSE chief executive Robin Kidd said there had been 991 complaints lodged since the introduction of lockdown. Speaking to the Assembly's Economy Committee, Mr Kidd added that there had been 666 investigations, with 325 of them being passed on to other bodies, such as local authorities, for closer investigation. However, he also praised the local food processing sector for its ability to adapt. Mr Kidd accepted that companies were lagging behind in the introduction of measures designed to improve workplace safety, but said it was only because food processing, unlike manufacturing, had been in constant operation since the introduction of lockdown. The HSE chief executive also stressed it was difficult to see how certain sectors could become compliant with social distancing guidelines. However, he added: "Social distancing will be with us for some time, so it's not a short-term fix or 10 to 12 weeks - it's for long-term survival." Mr Kidd stressed that it was not within his organisation's power to close down businesses that break the rules. He also said he had sought details about social distancing measures at Northern Ireland's three airports. He made the comment in reference to widely publicised pictures showing a busy Aer Lingus flight from George Best Belfast City Airport to London Heathrow on Monday morning. Mr Kidd told the committee: "We have been in touch with all three airports asking them to confirm what social distancing measures are in place." The HSE is responsible for enforcing and informing the guidelines around workplace safety. That includes at Belfast City, Belfast International and City of Derry airports, but it does not extend to what happens on board aircraft themselves. The HSE chief executive said that after contacting Belfast City Airport, "I am assured that they have improved social distancing measures and (introduced) additional staff to remind passengers as they travel through the airport". "One of the challenges around an aircraft is the very small and confined space. It will add to the timing of loading passengers to adhere to social distancing. That is one of the real challenges going forward," Mr Kidd added. The Civil Aviation Authority is responsible for what happens on board aircraft. More than 88,000 New Jersey workers filed for unemployment insurance benefits last week, bringing the states total to more than 1 million claims since the pandemic hit the state. The 88,326 new claims for the week ending May 2 bring the states total to 1,018,785 unemployment claims from mid-March through last week. More than 640,000 New Jerseyans are currently receiving benefits. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage The new claims filed last week show an increase over the week prior, when 71,966 workers filed for unemployment. To date, workers have been frustrated by a state system thats caused them to wait weeks longer than normal to receive benefits. Gov. Phil Murphy, acknowledging the backlog that caused some workers to have to wait up to six weeks to receive benefits, said the state should be able to work through the unprocessed claims by early next week. In a statement Thursday, Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo said the labor department was working to get payments to workers as quickly as possible. As we pass the milestone of 1 million claims filed a number so staggering, we never thought we would come close to reaching it in such a compressed period of time Im incredibly proud of the tireless work of our staff to get nearly $2 billion into the bank accounts of so many New Jersey workers, to support their families, Asaro-Angelo said. The labor department said Thursday that its currently paying out $171.7 million weekly to New Jerseyans. Unemployment claim data is used by economists as a barometer of the coronaviruss economic toll. This latest report comes as at least 8,549 people have died and nearly 132,000 people have tested positive for the coronavirus statewide. The total number of people out of work, though, is likely higher because some workers who arent eligible, and those who are stuck in the backlog, arent counted. And economists have begun to worry that some of those workers could be out of jobs permanently, as the pandemic forces businesses to close. In recent weeks, the state has seen the number of new out-of-work residents claiming unemployment benefits begin to level off, though the number of workers receiving benefits continues to grow. The state hit a peak the week ending April 4, when 214,836 workers filed for benefits in a single week. Nationally, 3.2 million more people claimed unemployment last week, according to federal data, another reminder of the continuing economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic. Nationwide, 33.5 million people have filed unemployment claims. Aside from the raw number of out-of-work New Jerseyans, the state could get more bad news Friday when the U.S. Department of Labor releases its monthly unemployment rate calculations, said James Hughes, a Rutgers professor and formerly the longtime dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. New Jersey, he said, could be looking at an unemployment rate of nearly 25%. During the worst of the Great Recession, New Jerseys unemployment rate hit 9.8%. Since then, the nation has rebounded, adding 22 million jobs Its possible that the job losses could have wiped out the job growth in the preceding decade, Hughes said. The question going forward, Hughes said, is how many of the job losses are permanent and how many are temporary. Crises like this, he added, tend to accelerate existing trends, such as the general decline in people visiting shopping malls, or the increase in people working remotely. Thursdays figures come as Murphy has begun re-opening parts the state in baby steps, as he puts it. Over the weekend, Murphy allowed state parks and some beaches to re-open and said Wednesday night that he may lift restrictions on non-essential businesses so that they can do curbside pickups. Well continue, as the curves come down and we lay out what the testing and contact tracing look like you can expect that over the next week or so well continue to take other what I call baby steps, Murphy said during his Ask the Governor television show on News 12 New Jersey on Wednesday evening. In a statement Thursday morning, state Sen. Troy Singleton (D-Burlington) called on the state to use $50 million of its $1.8 billion federal CARES Act allocation to bolster the unemployment system, providing for technology updates and the hiring of more staff. My office has heard from hundreds of people in our district, and beyond, who need help with unemployment claims. They come to us out of desperation, after weeks of waiting, days of calling, and hours spent emailing seeking answers, he said. We must make this investment in our unemployment system now. The men and women of New Jersey have waited long enough. In filing for unemployment benefits, New Jersey workers are eligible for 60 percent of their wages, up to $713, for no more than 26 weeks. Recipients began receiving $600 in additional Pandemic Unemployment Assistance payments from the federal coronavirus stimulus recently. Since March 1, nearly 1.04 million New Jerseyans have filed for unemployment. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. J. Dale Shoemaker may be reached at jshoemaker@njadvancemedia.com. Boris Johnson says Britain needs the 'same spirit of national endeavour' to defeat coronavirus as Second World War veterans demonstrated to topple Hitler. The Prime Minister has thanked veterans whose efforts to defeat a 'ruthless enemy' would 'always be remembered' on the 75th anniversary of VE Day. In a letter to Second World War veterans, Mr Johnson wrote: 'On this anniversary, we are engaged in a new struggle against the coronavirus which demands the same spirit of national endeavour that you exemplified 75 years ago. 'We cannot pay our tribute with the parades and street celebrations we enjoyed in the past; your loved ones may be unable to visit in person. 'But please allow us, your proud compatriots, to be the first to offer our gratitude, our heartfelt thanks and our solemn pledge: you will always be remembered.' Boris Johnson (pictured in Westminster Abbey) has thanked veterans whose efforts to defeat a 'ruthless enemy' would 'always be remembered' on the 75th anniversary of VE Day Mr Johnson wrote: 'But please allow us, your proud compatriots, to be the first to offer our gratitude, our heartfelt thanks and our solemn pledge: you will always be remembered' This VE Day marks the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe (pictured, blind war veterans clapping for carers outside Blind Veterans UK, East Sussex) The Prime Minister's letter comes at a time of division as Tory MPs urge him to lift lockdown restrictions soon to avoid an economic depression while Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warns of a potential second wave of infections. In his letter, Mr Johnson described those involved in the struggle to defeat Nazism as 'quite simply the greatest generation of Britons who ever lived'. He praised those who served on the front line and those involved in the home front effort, adding: 'Our celebration of the anniversary of the victory might give the impression that Hitler's downfall was somehow inevitable. You know better. 'You will remember moments of crisis, even desperation, as our country endured setback, defeat and grievous loss. What made the difference was your valour, fortitude and quiet yet invincible courage.' VE Day will be marked with small commemorations in Parliament, with Speakers of both the Commons and the Lords expected to offer tributes (pictured, in New York) Britain announced 539 coronavirus victims on Thursday, as the UK's official toll rose to 30,615 Mr Johnson wrote: 'We are engaged in a new struggle against the coronavirus which demands the same spirit of national endeavour that you exemplified 75 years ago' Tributes to veterans of the world war have come from across the political spectrum, echoing Mr Johnson's words of gratitude (pictured, a V-shaped victory party in Brockley, London) Before the coronavirus outbreak, the British government opted to move the early May bank holiday - usually held on the first Monday of the month - to May 8 to allow the UK to mark the 75th anniversary of the 1945 Victory in Europe celebrations. But the ban on mass events, brought in on March 23 to stem the spread of the virus, means the celebrations will be more low-key than initially anticipated. The Conservative Party leader labelled the NHS 'invincible' in its fight against Covid-19 in a speech following his own release from intensive care last month, having suffered from coronavirus symptoms. Tributes to veterans of the world war have come from across the political spectrum, echoing Mr Johnson's words of gratitude. The Prime Minister praised those who served on the front line and those involved in the home front effort, adding: 'Our celebration of the anniversary of the victory might give the impression that Hitler's downfall was somehow inevitable. You know better' The ban on mass events means the celebrations will be more low-key than initially anticipated (pictured, 94-year-old Doug Farrington in his front room window in Oldham) The Prime Minister described those involved in the struggle to defeat Nazism as 'quite simply the greatest generation of Britons who ever lived' (pictured, 1945 queuing for rations) Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, in a video message to be released today, will highlight the legacy of 'those that rebuilt and renewed our country after the war'. He will single out the NHS, the welfare state and the 'recognition of human rights'. 'In normal times we would be paying tribute to their achievements in street parties, in gatherings and events at the Cenotaph,' he will say. 'This year we can't do that, this year we can't be together. We commemorate those who stood together for a better future. 'We remember their service, and also their sacrifice. 'We also pay tribute to those that rebuilt and renewed our country after the war. Based on their values they built a better future.' Sir Ed Davey, acting Liberal Democrat leader, said: 'This anniversary we must honour the sacrifices made and recommit to ensuring that international cooperation and hard-won peace across Europe is protected so that we may never suffer the death and destruction of World War Two again.' Sir Keir Starmer will highlight the legacy of 'those that rebuilt and renewed our country after the war' (pictured, injured musicians dancing in London to celebrate VE Day) The Conservative Party leader labelled the NHS 'invincible' in its fight against Covid-19 in a speech following his own release from intensive care last month VE Day will be marked with small commemorations in Parliament, with Speakers of both the Commons and the Lords expected to offer tributes. They will be followed by a wreath laying service in Westminster Hall, led by the Speaker's Chaplain to coincide with the two minutes' silence at 11am. A trumpeter from the Band of the Scots Guard will sound the Last Post. Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is due to read extracts from a speech given by Winston Churchill in the Commons on May 8, 1945, in which he announced the surrender of Germany, bringing the Second World War to an end in Europe. In the evening, the Queen will deliver a personal address from Windsor Castle. It will be broadcast on television at 9pm, the same time her father, King George VI, gave a radio address in 1945 to mark the cessation of hostilities on the continent. 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 Self-isolation can feel like Groundhog Day. But one recent Sunday felt different exciting, even to Hannah Scott, 29, a stay-at-home mother (now quite literally). She and her husband, Kevin Scott, who is in the military, and their two sons, aged 4 and 2, woke up early on their five-acre farm in Silverdale, Wash., where they raise ducks, pigs and goats. They made a special breakfast of waffles with chocolate chips and whipped cream. They cleaned the front porch, the boys giggling as they blew pollen away with a leaf blower and swept away dirt with a broom taller than them. Everyone got dressed into their favorite spring outfits. Mr. Scott chose overalls. They were getting ready for picture day. Amber Serpa, 30, a professional photographer who lives in nearby Allyn, came over to take pictures of the family for a series she is working on called the Front Porch Project. For 15 minutes she shoots families with a Nikon D810, capturing them in front of their homes in the midst of stay-at-home orders. She does the work for free, from her car or the street. PARIS - A German journalist has accused former French President Valery Giscard dEstaing of repeatedly grabbing her during an interview, and filed a sexual assault complaint with Paris prosecutors, according to French and German news reports. Giscards French lawyer said Thursday that the 94-year-old former president retains no memory of the incident. Giscard was president of France from 1974-1981. German broadcaster WDR reported Wednesday night that it investigated the alleged misconduct after the journalist interviewed Giscard for WDR in December 2018. The journalist said Giscard grabbed her buttocks three times and she tried to push his hand away, according to reports by French daily Le Monde and German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung. WDR said it asked lawyers to investigate, and then sent a protest letter to Giscard last year saying, we cannot tolerate our employees being confronted with such situations. The journalist filed a legal complaint this March with Paris prosecutors, the reports said. The prosecutors office would not comment Thursday. In a statement to The Associated Press, Giscards lawyer Jean-Marc Fedida suggested possible legal retaliation against a particularly undignified and offensive media (attack) around the accusation. According to Le Monde, the journalist didnt file a complaint right away because she didnt understand enough about the French justice system, but later changed her mind in part thanks to inspiration from the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct. Drug developer moderna said on Thursday it received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to begin mid-stage trials for its COVID-19 vaccine. The mid-stage trials will begin shortly while late-stage trials are expected to begin early summer, as the drug developer accelerates its efforts to combat the pandemic. Shares of Moderna jumped 14 per cent to $55.97 before Thursday's opening bell on the company's announcement. The drug developer had previously said it expected mid-stage trials to begin in the current quarter, with the aim to start late-stage studies in the fall. The experimental vaccine is currently being tested in an early-stage trial and Moderna has, so far, made the most headway as pharmaceutical companies scramble to develop coronavirus vaccines. Earlier this week, Pfizer and BioNTech said they began delivering doses of their coronavirus vaccines for initial human testing in the United States, hoping to get emergency use approval in the US as early as October. So far, there there have been 1,262,426 confirmed cases in the US of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 74,708 deaths. Drug developer Moderna said on Thursday it received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to begin mid-stage trials for its COVID-19 vaccine Earlier this week, Pfizer and BioNTech said they began delivering doses of their coronavirus vaccines for initial human testing in the United States, hoping to get emergency use approval in the US as early as October There are currently no approved treatments or vaccines for COVID-19, the respiratory disease that has killed more than 262,000 people and infected over 3.77 million globally. No vaccine is expected to be ready for use until at least 2021, as they must be widely tested in humans before being administered to hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people to prevent infection. Moderna said it will begin the mid-stage trials with 600 participants. CEO Stephane Bancel says Moderna is accelerating manufacturing and through a recent 10-year partnership with Swiss pharmaceutical firm Lonza expects to be in a position to make and distribute as many vaccine doses of mRNA-1273 as possible, should it prove to be safe and effective, referring to the vaccine by its formal name. Moderna, founded in 2010, has never brought a vaccine to market. The government was assured by Moderna that the company could come up with a coronavirus vaccine in 'weeks' or 'months' after the CEO undercut others at a round-table with President Donald Trump and caught his attention by promising to deliver doses in an unprecedented time scale. Stephane Bancel is shown pitching to President Trump Moderna's vaccine during a meeting at the White House on March 2 Moderna was greenlit by the FDA to conduct a trial of its vaccine and received $483million in funding from the government to carry it out. The funding was provided by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, which is a part of the Department of Health and Human Services. It came after Bancel stole President Trump's attention during an early March 2 meeting with other biotech executives. Bancel 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. WASHINGTON - Marilee Shapiro Asher works in twos: Two husbands, two children. And now, two pandemics. The autumn morning almost five years ago when I walked into Marilee's D.C. studio, I knew I was meeting a force. This wasn't doilies-and-kittens, old lady art. I was trying to keep up with a centenarian using a walker who whisked me through her working studio filled with hacksaws, handsaws, hot wax knives, plaster, steel and bronze. Marilee - you get one-name status when your art's in the Smithsonian permanent collection - turned 107 last year, and I was looking forward to going to another one of her shows in May, to see what she's been up to since we last met. Coronavirus canceled that show. And it then it threatened Marilee. But Marilee is a force, remember, and she's been here before. Yes, that's right. This incredible woman - artist, author, photographer, sculptor, therapist, mother, wife - conquered the Spanish flu in 1918, when she was 6 years old. Marilee remembered little about the illness beyond the moment she knew it was over, said her cousin, Linda Hansell, who helped write Marilee's autobiography, "Dancing in the Wonder For 102 Years" "When she was better," Hansell said, she remembered that she "came downstairs and saw her father eating breakfast. "And she knew she was better, rejoining the family at breakfast." This time, Marilee had been feeling poorly for weeks, Hansell said. She began feeling fatigued in March, and it worsened in April, just as the virus began tearing through the region and hitting the elderly in particular. When Marilee stopped eating, the nurse at the Chevy Chase House, her senior living community, insisted that she go to the hospital. There, doctors confirmed the dreaded news - Marilee tested positive and wasn't doing well. She never went on a ventilator, but doctors called her daughter, Joan Shapiro, to tell her she should get to the hospital, they believed she had no more than 12 hours to live. "Well, he doesn't know my mother, does he?" Joan Shapiro told The Jerusalem Post. Marilee went home after five days in the hospital. And she is still recovering, beginning to read the paper and comment on the news. But it's a long a slow process, Hansell said. She wants to return to her art. That's how she does it, her family said. The art, the work, the passion, the vibrant engagement and curiosity is what's propelling her toward 108. It's what she told me in 2015, when I met her in the studio and asked that requisite question for centenarians, "What's your secret?" The 100-year milestone was the rising trend in world population studies. America has more than doubled its centenarian population in three decades, with about 72,000 today. There are about half a million centenarians in the world now and Pew Research and the United Nations predicted that number would rise to 3.7 million by 2050. Covid-19, which hits the elderly particularly hard, threatens to flatten that particular curve. Marilee isn't having it. She never has, even before she was born. Her mother tried to abort her by drinking castor oil in 1912 because "a proper Victorian woman didn't have children in her forties," she wrote in her autobiography. Marilee has lived fully for her family, which she describes as "the center, the interest, the worry, the pleasure, the 'raison d'etre' of my life," in her autobiography, "Dancing in the Wonder." When we talked that part a little more, she said her longevity came down to being selfish. And exercise. She'd been doing tai chi every day for decades and added yoga to the routine. And she always worked, even when her children were young and other women didn't work. "I had to be selfish in order to keep making art," she said. For five years, I've worried a little about the way I wrote that. Because "selfish" isn't really what we call it when men do it, right? I'm sure Marilee may have heard that word often - "selfish" - and probably battled it for many years, as she continued to produce and create. She had her first show in Chicago in 1938, and her work was sold in Washington galleries for decades. She was on staff at American University and spent years as an art therapist at the National Institute of Mental Health. But it wasn't "selfish," what she did. She shared her talent and skill with many throughout her life. She simply never let her artistic self be stifled by all the other selves expected of women. And her ability to pivot, adapt and evolve has something to do with her vibrant longevity. In her late 80s, when it became challenging to work with large, heavy bronze sculptures, Marilee didn't retire. She found a new, more nimble medium - digital. She enrolled in a Corcoran class on digital photography at 88, in a classroom full of students seven decades younger. Her prints were everywhere when I visited her studio. She was on a photography binge, experimenting with color. "I've always been afraid of color," she said. "So I'm working on that right now." Five years later, her digital prints - photographs and drawings manipulated and enhanced on her computer - are vibrant and brilliant, colorful and gorgeous. Marilee is a force, always, growing, always moving forward. I can't wait to see what else she plans to share with the world. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday stressed upon the importance of self-discipline during the epidemic and urged everyone to adhere to it forever. Society is the real companion during crisis and by helping each other, solution could be found for the biggest of problems. Self discipline is most important during these times of epidemic and we need to adopt it forever, Adityanath said during a video-conference Buddhist monks on the occasion of Buddha Purnima. Everyone is well aware of the sensitivity of the global epidemic of the coronavirus. Unless there is a vaccine or a drug for treatment to prevent this epidemic, there are only two measures to control it the lockdown and social distancing, he said. The chief minister said the whole world today is affected by coronavirus. With many powerful countries, including the USA feeling helpless. Many powerful countries, including America, are feeling helpless during this epidemic. Due to the timely and visionary decisions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has been able to prevent the spread of the corona infection, he said. Adityanath said India, the land of Buddha, has been able to protect itself, despite 2.5 lakh people having died so far across the world. He said the prime minister has announced Garib Kalayan' scheme, under which 80 crore people are getting various benefits of government schemes. Arrangements have been made for providing food grains and maintenance allowance to the poor at state government level, he said. Talking of the state government efforts in bringing state natives, stuck up elsewhere in the country, back to their homes, Adityanath said, The government has succeeded in bringing back seven lakh labourers to Uttar Pradesh since March 1. From May 4, the government has made provisions to bring workers living in other states by 46 trains and this process is continuing. The state government has also succeeded in sending students to their homes from Kota in Rajasthan and Allahabad, he added. He said that the government has also built shelter homes for the workers returning from other states. Talking of ramping up anti-Covid healthcare structure in the state, he said the government has prepared 50,000 beds in hospitals to fight the pandemic. Its number will reach one lakh by May end, he added. While speaking to the chief minister, the International Buddhist Research Institute's president Bhadant Shanti Mitra said during this global epidemic, we should help the government in all possible ways by building unity at our level. Other Buddhist monks too shared their thoughts with the chief minister on the occasion. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) KYIV, Ukraine - Ukraines president on Thursday appointed the former leader of Georgia to lead an advisory body in Ukraine a move that will likely anger his home country. Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he placed Mikheil Saakashvili, who served as Georgias president from 2004-2013, in charge of the executive committee of the National Reform Council. Zelenskiy noted that he believes that the former Georgian leader will give a new impulse to the council and help bring important changes in the country. The council is a consultative structure under the president entrusted with planning and co-ordination of economic and other reforms. Last month, Saakashvili said that Zelenskiy offered him a job of deputy prime minister in charge of reforms to oversee talks with the International Monetary Fund, but the appointment fell through after many members of Ukraines ruling party bristled against it. The job offer to Saakashvili also angered the government of Georgia led by his political foes. Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia warned last month that the Caucasus nation could recall its ambassador from Kyiv if the appointment is made, noting that Saakashvili has been convicted by a Georgian court and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. In 2018, a Georgian court convicted Saakashvili on abuse of power charges that he and his allies described as politically motivated. Saakashvili was hailed for streamlining the government and fighting corruption, but his popularity was eroded by a crackdown on protests and the 2008 war with Russia that led to the loss of two separatist provinces. Saakashvilis appointment marks a remarkable political comeback for the former Georgian leader. Saakashvili started a new political career in Ukraine in 2015 when then-President Petro Poroshenko appointed him governor of the Odessa region. The two fell out a year later, and the president stripped Saakashvili, who led anti-government protests, of Ukrainian citizenship. Zelenskiy, the comedian who unseated Poroshenko in last years election, quickly restored Ukrainian citizenship for Saakashvili. By Trend Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has affected the introduction of the compulsory medical insurance system in Azerbaijan, Chairman of Board of Azerbaijans State Agency for Compulsory Medical Insurance Zaur Aliyev said. Aliyev made the remark at a briefing of the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers, Trend reports on May 6. The project was launched successfully in some regions of the country, the chairman said. "There were more than 1,000 visits to the hospitals. Unfortunately, after the coronavirus outbreak, we were forced to mobilize all efforts to fight against it. It was impossible to continue the fight against coronavirus simultaneously with the implementation of the compulsory medical insurance system. The phased implementation of the project in other districts was postponed until January 2021," he added. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 16:55:15|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Buddhist devotees prepare oil lamps during celebrations of the Vesak festival in Colombo, Sri Lanka on May 7, 2020. The Vesak festival is one of the holiest festivals celebrated in Sri Lanka as it marks the birth, enlightenment and passing away of the Lord Buddha. This year local authorities have urged people to remain indoors and have cancelled all public gatherings to prevent a further spread of COVID-19 and few devotees living near temples went to the temples to offer their prayers. (Photo by Ajith Perera/Xinhua) COLOMBO, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Over 250 prisoners were released on a presidential pardon from prisons across Sri Lanka on Thursday in keeping with the religious Vesak festival, local media reported. A prison spokesperson said a total of 286 male detainees and four female detainees were released under the presidential pardon at a ceremony held at the Welikada Prison in capital Colombo. The prisoners were held in 30 prisons across the country. The prison spokesperson said those released were facing minor crimes and also included those who were above 65 years of age but were in jail as they failed to pay their fines. The Vesak Festival is one of the holiest festivals celebrated in Sri Lanka as it marks the birth, enlightenment and demise of Lord Buddha. Kolkata, May 7 : At a time when West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders sharpened attacks at the Centre and Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, the Covid-19 death toll touched 79, up by 7 on Thursday, amid reports of 92 fresh cases in the last 24 hours. With this, the total count of coronavirus infected people in the state reached 1,548. Of this, 1,101 are undergoing treatments at various hospitals. Fresh cases were reported during the day in four districts, including Howrah, East Midnapore and Birbhum. "The Centre is constantly shooting letters to the state government to malign its image during the pandemic. We don't want any letter-war at this juncture. We want to fight this public health crisis unitedly with everyone. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre has severely insulted the people of Bengal with its repeated criticism about the state administration," Forest Minister Rajib Banerjee said. Banerjee said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier convened an all-party meeting to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, which showed the government's willingness to fight this crisis jointly. "Public health is our utmost priority as people are dying. The Centre had sent faulty kit. They have also opened the international border for trade. What will happen if the infection increases? Who will take that responsibility" the Minister said, condemning the role of the Governor for insulting the residents of Bengal. Meanwhile, the number of containments zones only in the state capital Kolkata climbed to 334 from 316 with a large part of central Kolkata being the worst affected. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) A drone camera spotted ten persons strolling in two groups in Greater Noida. Based on the aerial images, the police booked all of them for violating the lockdown. Dinesh Kumar Singh, a sub-inspector at Dankaur police station, said that police teams are enforcing the lockdown in the area. The police teams physically patrol the roads and make use of aerial surveillance via drone cameras. Singh said that on Wednesday, a police team was flying a drone camera near Jhajahar road in Dankaur. The camera spotted a group of five persons roaming about. The police team drove to the spot and found them sitting together. We questioned them but they did not give satisfactorily answer why they were outdoors in a group during the lockdown, he said. The five suspects were identified as Dalchand, Kartar Bhati, Ravindra, Bharat and Vikram, all residents of Salarpur village in Dankaur. The police registered a case against them under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). In the second case, the drone camera spotted five other personsVikas, Dinesh, Raju, Fakhruddin and Bhooraresidents of Junaidpur village, roaming about. Vikas and Dinesh were riding a motorcycle while the other three were on foot. Rajneesh Tiwari, station house officer, Dankaur police station, said that police teams are trying to ensure complete enforcement in the area. The police patrol areas and advise people to stay home. But there are still some people who walk about without a valid reason. We fly drone camera at the crossings, markets, outside academic institutions, etc., spot suspicious persons and register FIR against them, he said. Once these suspects are held, they apologise and promise not to venture out again, he added. Tiwari said that all the 10 persons were released after a warning there would be stricter action if the violation is repeated. Section 188 of the IPC does not require the immediate arrest of the suspects. We will inform the district and sessions court, Surajpur. The court will then summon them to join the proceedings, he said. On Wednesday, the Gautam Budh Nagar Police had registered 20 FIRs and arrested 14 persons. The police also checked 754 vehicles and issued fines to 223 vehicles and seized six of them. Pennsylvanias health care heroes got a different kind of armor in their fight on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic Wednesday, as Gov. Tom Wolf signed an executive order granting them broad civil immunity against malpractice actions stemming from care provided to COVID-19 patients. The immunity covers doctors, nurses, hospital technicians, nursing home employees, as well as people like practitioners permitted to exceeded their licensed scope of practice to help, recent retirees who came back to offer their services in the most thinly-stretched areas and National Guard medical corpsmen and women pressed into service at beleaguered nursing homes. It does not, however, cover willful misconduct or acts of gross negligence, acts arising from non-COVID-19 medical treatment, or apply to the actual owners of the hospitals or nursing homes that employ these health care workers. A source familiar with discussions leading to the order said that, as written, it could protect a doctor, for example, in an overtaxed hospital who, in a good-faith attempt to save lives, tried to treat two patients off the same ventilator. That would be an example, of good faith practice in a situation where there was no well-established standard of care that the governor wants doctors to have the latitude to pursue. It it not intended, however, to provide some kind of new protection to operators of a facility that have already compiled a long record of operational violations that were only magnified by the pandemic. Business leaders within and outside of the health care field - fearful of a coming avalanche of coronavirus-related lawsuits - almost immediately criticized the protections offered as far too limited. Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry CEO Gene Barr said he had hoped the immunity protection issued Wednesday would provide protections to all private sector businesses who have seen outbreaks in their facilities despite compliance with Centers for Disease Control and state guidelines. Many businesses, Barr said in a statement, made bold changes in order to help combat COVID-19, including closing their physical locations and re-working their operations to comply with social distancing orders and shifting their production lines to provide the medical community with the personal protective equipment they desperately need right now. If they continue to proceed in these efforts without liability protections in place, they could face mountains of lawsuits which would further stall our recovery efforts, and lead to closures and shutdowns. Its important to note, this would not be blanket immunity, but protection that is targeted, narrow and temporary. Barr also warned in a follow-up interview that Pennsylvanias failure to do so could cost it in a future of rescue funding from the federal government, given that U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, has said that kind of liability protection is a condition he wants to see for further federal aid to beleaguered state governments. Even inside the health care world, leaders said Wolfs efforts were at best a first step. Like doctors, Pennsylvanias hospitals are making similar difficult decisions in the same environment that leaves them exposed to frivolous lawsuits. For example, hospitals have delayed non-emergent care and diagnostic services to avoid unnecessary patient exposure to COVID-19 and to comply with the governors previous executive order on halting electives, leaders of the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania said in a statement. Hospitals employ of the majority of Pennsylvanias physicians and nurses and, without similar immunity protections, the entire health care community remains exposed to a barrage of frivolous lawsuits for years to come. We thank Governor Wolf for providing immunity to the employees of our member organizations on the front lines of this pandemic. But it is not enough, said Adam Marles, president and CEO of the state association of non-profit nursing homes. We remain shocked and dumbfounded on why this administration continues to ignore the needs of Pennsylvanias nursing facilities and health care providers; they are in the epicenter of this pandemic and providers need protection in the form of immunity. Doctors, meanwhile, raised concerns that the immunity order stops at hospital doors, and doesnt protect doctors seeing patients through private practices and other out-patient settings. Physicians practicing in out-patient settings play a vital role in keeping patients out of hospitals. If it werent for these front line physicians, emergency rooms would be inundated and overwhelmed," said Dr. Lawrence John, president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society. We dont want to create a culture of defensive medicine, where physicians in out-patient settings refer patients with COVID-19 symptoms to the emergency room for fear of being sued. But the leader of the states civil trial bar pushed back hard against the idea of any expansion of the Wolf order. Immunity is never a good idea because it exposes all of us to careless conduct and disincentives responsible behavior," said Sud Patel, president of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice. "These nursing homes and hospitals have been calling for immunity for doctors and nurses, but the moment that is granted they demand even more -- proving this has always been about profits and never about their employees or the people of Pennsylvania. "Around the country and here in Pennsylvania, reckless and callous behavior by these institutions has already proven deadly - going further than the governors order today would rob current and future victims of any recourse. Wolf said his intent was to draft an order that provided a hard-earned protection for a thin white line that became the difference between a managed public heath care crisis and something that could have been far worse. The pandemic response, the governor said, "has required our health care providers to broaden their professional responsibilities and experiences like never before. This Executive Order to Enhance Protections for Health Care Professionals serves to protect the individuals serving on the front lines of the disaster response. Besides health care workers, it also appears to offer liability protections to property owners who have made their grounds available for the states use in the fight to stop the spread, like the Mohegan Sun casino near Wilkes-Barre that has been temporarily commandeered for use as a mass testing site. The immunity order will run through the duration of Wolfs declaration of a public health emergency. In this article TSN A worker stacks packets of ground beef in the meat section of a Costco warehouse club during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Webster, Texas, May 5, 2020. Adrees Latif | Reuters On trips to the grocery store and the fast food drive-thru, customers have yet another reminder of how the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted their routine: Emptier than usual meat aisles. Butcher counters without the usual variety. And hamburgers that are harder to come by. In meatpacking plants from South Dakota to Tennessee, workers have gotten sick from the coronavirus as they work side-by-side cutting, boning and trimming meat. The spread has shuttered plants, slowed production and created a ripple effect across the supply chain. Farmers and ranchers have hogs, cattle and chicken that they feed, but can't sell. Meatpacking plants don't have enough workers as they get sick and have heightened anxiety. And grocery shoppers and restaurants can't get their typical cuts or supply of meat. Major grocers, including Kroger and Costco, added purchase limits this week for meat to prevent hoarding and help keep it in stock. Nearly a fifth of Wendy's U.S. restaurants removed hamburgers and other beef products from their online menus, according to Stephens Inc. And another chain, Shake Shack, said rising beef prices have taken a bite into its profits. Industry experts, analysts and a union that represents meatpacking plant workers say challenges with the country's meat supply chain will likely linger as long as the pandemic does. "What we're seeing is an imbalance between production and consumption, which is causing disruption throughout the entire value chain," said Patrick Stover, dean of Texas A&M University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research. Sick workers, shuttered factories Tyson Foods, the country's largest meat processor, fired a warning shot about problems with the meat supply chain in late April. The company's chairman, John Tyson, took out a full-page ad in some of the country's most-read newspapers, saying "the food supply chain is breaking." In the ad, Tyson warned "there will be limited supply of our products available in grocery stores until we are able to reopen our facilities that are currently closed." Some of Tyson facilities including its largest pork plant have been shuttered as workers have gotten sick and some have died. One of the largest U.S. pork producers, Smithfield Foods, has also closed large facilities because of outbreaks. Days after the ad ran, President Donald Trump declared meat processing plants "critical infrastructure" to try to keep them open. The move was applauded by meat industry leaders, who said it would accelerate production, and criticized by unions who said it did little to improve safety and protect workers. But plants have continued to close and struggle to operate at full capacity. Tyson, for example, said Thursday that its largest pork plant would reopen in Iowa. In a news release, though, it said the plant would "resume limited production." The company said it added new safety measures, including temperature checks, an on-site clinic for Covid-19 testing and social distancing of workers. Mark Lauritsen, head of the food processing, packing and manufacturing division of the United Food and Commercial Workers, said meatpacking plants will continue to produce less meat for grocery stores and restaurants during the pandemic. The union represents about 250,000 food processing and meatpacking workers across the U.S. and Canada. He said plants will produce less as workers get sick and factories shut down or they will adapt the process to prevent further outbreaks through social distancing. Either way, he said, there's decreased supply. "During this time of Covid-19, we have to spread people out and if we spread people out, that means less production," he said. "If we don't do it, we're just going to continue in this cycle of a plant running at half speed for two weeks and then having to close down for two weeks." To strengthen the supply chain, he said the government should expand workers' access to rapid testing for Covid-19 and ramp up production of high-quality masks for them, such as N95 or A100 respirators. "Until the world gets its arms around coronavirus, this is the model we're going to have to work under or we're going to sacrifice these humans for the sake of a cheeseburger," he said. Cooking more, eating out less As people stay at home during the pandemic, they're loading up their grocery baskets, cooking at home and avoiding restaurants. All of those behavior changes have challenged the supply chain, too. Even before the closures of meatpacking plants, demand for meat rose as many customers stocked up on groceries. In the eight-week period that ended April 25, meat sales at grocery stores and other retailers were up 43% compared to the same period last year, according to Nielsen data. Meat sales increased at a higher rate than any other department during that 8-week period, except household care, the category that includes toilet paper, paper towels and cleaning products, Nielsen data showed. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards People also want different cuts of meat when they're doing the cooking, Stover of Texas A&M said. For example, he said, chicken wings are typically eaten at restaurants instead of cooked at home, so demand has dropped during the pandemic. "They don't eat the same thing in restaurants that they eat when they are going to cook for themselves," he said. That's eventually felt back at the plants, as workers and companies that typically process meat for restaurants produce kinds of meat that customers aren't looking for at the grocery store. "It's complicated," he said. "Just because you can move chicken wings from the restaurant to the grocery store doesn't mean people are going to cook them." Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen told CNBC that the grocery chain is trying to divert meat that would typically go to restaurants and work with new suppliers. He said stores have a supply of meat, but customers may not find the typical variety. "If you're flexible on eating between chicken, pork and beef, we constantly have one of those items or two of those and usually three," he said. Industry analyst Heather Jones said that some meat products will be easier to find than others. Steak, for example, will be in ample supply as fine-dining restaurant sales continue to plummet. On the other hand, more highly-processed meats popular for cooking may be harder to find, she said. Whole chickens might replace thighs, drumsticks and breasts in grocery stores because meat processors don't have the workers to cut up the birds. Ground beef may be in shorter supply as processors struggle to slaughter enough cattle to keep up with demand, said Jones, who runs Heather Jones Research. Other pressures on the supply chain As production lags, meat processors are struggling to divert products meant for hotels, schools and restaurants to grocery stores. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has relaxed its labeling requirements for meat in an effort to make the process easier. Still, Tyson Chief Financial Officer Stewart Glendinning told CNBC that not all of the company's plants can be switched over to process meat for grocery stores. To shift capacity to retail, Tyson had to adjust manufacturing lines by adding a piece of equipment and swapping out clear plastic film for printed packaging. Smaller meat producers that typically only supply restaurants might not have relationships with grocery stores and lack a middleman to connect the two, Jones said. If they can't move food today, they can't start the preparation, the planting and the breeding for the food that's going to be needed months from now. Patrick Stover Dean, Texas A&M University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Opposition leader Kem Sokha had a rare meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday at the funeral ceremony of the latter, marking the first time the two have met since for opposition leaders arrest in 2017. First Lady Bun Ranys mother, Bun Seang Ly, passed away at 96 years old on May 4 and former Cambodia National Rescue Party President Kem Sokha paid the first family a condolence visit, and spent an additional 50 minutes speaking to the prime minister. The exchange caused a lot of conversation on Twitter and Facebook about a potential reconciliation between the two leaders, even as Hun Sens government pushes ahead with treason charges against Kem Sokha. It wasnt clear what the two leaders spoke about, with pictures showing them having a long conversation. Chan Chen, one of Sokhas lawyers who accompanied him to the ceremony, said he was seated too far away to know what the two politicians were speaking about. We were sitting far away from them, and we dont know what His Excellency Kem Sokha and Samdech Prime Minister were discussing. We couldnt hear, he said. Muth Chantha, a close aide to Kem Sokha and also presented at the funeral ceremony, posted a message on his Facebook page that Kem Sokha strictly followed the principle of Khmer solidarity, especially in difficult circumstances. He continued that Hun Sen and Kem Sokha talked for nearly 50 minutes about their well-being, national interest, and the Cambodian people, did not provide specifics. The images were reminiscent of the July 2015 family dinner meeting between former CNRP President Sam Rainsy and Hun Sen, after a contentious post-2013 election period. The duo even took a widely-shared selfie, touting the meeting of the two families as emblematic of the so-called culture of dialogue. However, four months later, in November 2015, Sam Rainsy did not return to Cambodia from a trip to South Korea, after an arrest warrant in a years-old defamation case had been resurrected by the government. Kem Sokha is currently under trial for treason, with the trial temporarily delayed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The government has alleged that Kem Sokha conspired with foreign powers, such as the United States, to mount a so-called color revolution during the period spanning 1993 to the date of his arrest in September 2017. The international community and local stakeholders had pushed for a political compromise that would see Kem Sokha released and the CNRP reinstated, which never came to fruition. This was also one of the factors in the European Unions decision to partially suspend the Everything but Arms trade preferences in February. Chhim Phal Vorun, spokesman for the Cambodian Peoples Party and a witness in the Kem Sokha trial, the 50-minute dialogue was merely about the sharing of condolences. Its not a gesture among political figures but it is someone paying homage to the soul of a dead person and show mutual respect, he said. Its nothing more than that. Its also the norm and tradition of Cambodians. Korn Savang, a senior officer at election monitoring NGO Comfrel, said the discussion could be a sign of a possible political compromise. He said the dialogue between the two leaders needed to continue in order to ease heated political tensions, especially as social and economic structures in the country are tested by the pandemic. If there is no such discussion and if our politicians dont talk to each other for the solutions, it means that the future situation will be much worst then now, he said. PLEASANTON (BCN) California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said Thursday that misdemeanor price gouging charges have been filed against a Pleasanton grocery store and its owner for allegedly raising prices during the COVID-19 coronavirus emergency. Becerra and O'Malley said that following a joint investigation, they filed nine misdemeanor counts in Alameda County Superior Court against Apna Bazar and its owner Rajvinder Singh, 50. O'Malley said it's the first-ever price gouging action in the county. The two prosecutors said California law prohibits increasing prices by more than 10 percent after a state or local emergency is declared. Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on March 4 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic but Becerra and O'Malley allege that Singh allegedly raised the prices of essential food items by more than 10 percent. Many economists say high prices are a matter of supply and demand and reflect the market at work. They say keeping prices artificially low can encourage overbuying and only benefit the people who get to the store first. But O'Malley said in a statement, "The law prevents businesses from profiteering when we are in a state of emergency. All businesses throughout Alameda County must be on notice that we will not sit idly by and allow consumers to fall prey to price gouging." She said, "My office will ensure that businesses adhere to the law and do not exploit consumers." Becerra said, "We take price gouging seriously and are committed to going after those who break the law during the public health emergency." Becerra said, "The Department of Justice relies on all Californians to be vigilant in detecting price gouging. if you see something suspicious, or if you are a victim of price gouging, file a complaint with our office at oag.ca.gov/report. The more you report the more we can stop this abuse." O'Malley said the investigation showed that pricing on several items at Apna Bazar exceeded not only the 10 percent increase allowed during a state of emergency, but went up more than 300 percent on some items. When investigators interviewed Singh on March 19, he said he had been forced to turn to new suppliers to keep his shelves stocked and they were charging more so he was simply passing on the increased costs to his customers, District Attorney Inspector Serge Babka wrote in a probable cause statement. But Babka said Singh never provided any documentation to justify the price increases. 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. A major human rights nongovernmental organization criticized the Palestinian authorities for violating freedom of expression today. On May 7, Amnesty International released a statement saying that five Palestinians had been arrested by Palestinian officials in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in March and April. Both territories put a state of emergency in place in March to fight the coronavirus outbreak. The arrested were merely critical of the Palestinian authorities online and their detentions were not warranted, the organizations deputy head for the Middle East and North Africa said. Authorities in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip have violated the right to freedom of expression by arbitrarily detaining individuals solely for peacefully sharing their views on social media, said Saleh Higazi in the release. This must immediately stop. The West Bank is considered by most countries to be occupied by Israel. However, the Palestinian Authority (PA) controls some parts of the territory, while other areas Israel controls directly. The Gaza Strip is governed internally solely by Hamas, though Israel controls its external borders. Amnesty International frequently criticizes Israels actions in both territories, including restrictions of Palestinians movement. Amnesty International listed five people arrested in March, and said this constituted a pattern. Some of the arrests were related to criticisms of Palestines coronavirus response. Zakaria Khuwaylid was arrested by the PA in April for criticizing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas coronavirus-related actions on Facebook. He was released on bail on April 21, Amnesty International said in the release. Hussam Khader was arrested on March 5 after criticizing on Facebook Abbas comments on a medical strike at the time. He was released on March 9 when the charges were dropped, according to Amnesty International. In Gaza, activist Rami Aman was arrested on April 9 and remains in detention after organizing a video call with an Israeli organization. He has not been brought before a judge, according to the group. Amans arrest was a source of controversy on Palestinian social media. On April 13, fellow Palestinian activist Hind Khoudary admitted tagging Hamas officials in a Facebook post about Amans video with an Israeli peace group. She said she does not support Hamas, but tagged them because no form of joint activity, cooperation or with Israelis is acceptable, she wrote in an open letter posted on Twitter. Khoudary previously worked with Amnesty International, and was arrested by Hamas herself in 2019. The coronavirus pandemic has damaged the Palestinian economy, which was already weakened by the occupation and conflict with Israel. Palestinians working in Israeli territory have had to stop due to the virus. This has resulted in a major loss of income and revenue for the Palestinian territories via the wages their residents earn there, among other issues. Amnesty International said the coronavirus response must not bring about rights violations. The Palestinian authorities must fulfill Palestines obligations under intentional law and ensure that international human rights law and standards are at the centre of all responses to COVID-19, the statement read. San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing Jeff Kositsky outlined a plan to better protect sheltered and unsheltered residents in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco on Wednesday, attempting to follow through on widespread COVID-19 safety concerns voiced by community activists. The plan, called the Tenderloin Neighborhood Safety Assessment and Plan for COVID-19, was released just two days after the city was sued in an effort to force officials to manage increased crowding on neighborhood sidewalks and clean up refuse and fecal matter across the area. In a press conference Wednesday, Breed outlined some efforts the city has already taken to try and protect residents, stating that volunteers and officials have distributed thousands of face coverings to residents, and offered learning kits and books to youth in the area. Organizations have also distributed computers and identified where to put internet hotspots for young residents to continue learning while shelter-in-place restrictions are ongoing. We know the condition remains particularly challenging, Breed continued. Weve seen a significant increase in the number of homeless people on the streets, which is concerning from both a health [standpoint] of those who are unsheltered and for the health of the residents who live in those communities. The Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco has long been plagued by crime, drug use, a lack of cleanliness and a high number of homeless residents. But crowding and cleanliness has gotten substantially worse since the coronavirus outbreak began. As Kositsky noted Wednesday, officials counted 1,200 tents housing homeless individuals in San Francisco in August 2016. By April 2019, that number had decreased to 385. But by April 2020, just a year later, the number of tents had again skyrocketed back up to 1,200. In the Tenderloin specifically, there are over 300 tents and 20 large encampments, Kositsky said, which is an increase of almost 300% since January of this year. The plan released Wednesday was organized by the citys Human Rights Commission in conjunction with Tenderloin community leaders and neighborhood stakeholders. It largely focuses on physically cleaning up streets and sidewalks, and providing unsheltered residents more access to restrooms, clean water and food. It also attempts to address making sure streets and communities [are] safe, especially because there are a lot of children and elderly who live there, Breed explained. The plan first focuses on 13 specific blocks that Breed noted were priority one, where officials and organizations like Urban Alchemy would immediately look to improve. Included in the objectives are eight goals, including facilitating social distancing by closing some streets, increasing health services and hygiene stations, and adding an augmented police presence to the area to address crime. We are set to be as aggressive as we can in implementing it so the people in the community can see a difference, Breed said. The plan also includes a provision to [offer] safe sleeping alternatives. Kositsky noted work has begun on that point, stating a safe sleeping village of 50 campsites opened on Fulton Street this Tuesday (operated by Urban Alchemy), and that the city will add more in the coming weeks. Kositsky said on Wednesday the plan was "driven through the lens of human dignity, equity, public health and public safety, adding it is not a final plan it is a living document. See the plan in full here. Edit: This article originally misspelled Jeff Kositsky's surname. It has been corrected. 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 The 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe will be acknowledged in New Zealand on May 8 with video messages from the Governor-General and Prime Minister. New Zealand will join countries around the world in marking the anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day, which represented an end to nearly six years of brutal fighting between the Allies and Nazi Germany. Manatu Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage Chief Executive Bernadette Cavanagh says the COVID-19 global pandemic has meant that the National Service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park to acknowledge the 75th anniversary wont be going ahead. "For the second time in a fortnight, weve had to come up with other, more virtual ways to commemorate an important historic anniversary. "75 years ago, during the VE Day celebrations the Governor-General Sir Cyril Newall and acting Prime Minister Walter Nash addressed New Zealanders. It felt fitting to arrange for something similar to happen today. "While VE Day in 1945 gave welcome pause for celebration and thanksgiving, the war would continue for another three months in the Pacific, finally coming to an end on August 15 with the surrender of Japan. By this time 50 million people across the world had lost their lives." Planning is now underway at Manatu Taonga for the August 15 commemorations. "No New Zealand family was left untouched by the Second World War. "These national commemorations will give us the opportunity to reflect on the devastating impacts of this brutal war on all who endured it, to acknowledge the experiences of all those who served on the front lines and at home, to remember those lost and honour those precious few still with us." A woman found guilty of the murder of Gareth Hutch wants the Court of Appeal to sit physically to hear an appeal against her conviction, rather than remotely, as the three-judge court has been doing in recent weeks. Mother-of-five Regina Keogh (42) was said to have "colluded" with her brother to cause serious injury to Mr Hutch (36), who was shot four times as he was getting into his car in Dublin on the morning of May 24, 2016. Life Keogh, with an address at Avondale House, Cumberland Street North, Dublin 1, had denied murdering Mr Hutch, but was found guilty at the non-jury Special Criminal Court and was sentenced to life imprisonment following a trial in 2018. Her brother, Jonathan Keogh (34), with an address at Gloucester Place, Dublin 1, and Thomas Fox (32), with an address at Rutland Court, Dublin 1, were also found guilty of murder. All three had denied the charge. Regina Keogh has lodged an appeal against her conviction, which is waiting to be heard in the Court of Appeal. At a remote call-over of cases in the court yesterday, which was conducted using video conferencing, more than a dozen cases were given dates for remote hearings. However, lawyers for Keogh indicated their preference for a 'live' physical hearing. Her barrister, Amy Heffron, said her client also wanted a physical hearing. President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham put the matter back and said "none of us know how long this situation is going to remain". If the wish for a physical hearing changes, Mr Justice Birmingham said the case could be relisted and a date could be given for a remote hearing. The prosecution case was that Keogh was "instrumental" in planning the murder of Gareth Hutch by encouraging her "best friend" and neighbour of 16 years to allow Jonathan Keogh to use her flat "as a base" for the attack. The three-judge Special Criminal Court heard Regina Keogh went up to her friend's flat on the night before the shooting and gave her rubber gloves to be used by the attackers the following day. YEREVAN. At Thursday's Cabinet meeting, the government of Armenia approved the 17th measure to neutralize COVID-19s economic consequences in the country, and this measure will provide respective grants to high-tech businesses. The Minister of High Technological Industry, Hakob Arshakyan presented the matter. He noted that they have developed grant packages for this sector, the purpose of which is to maintain effective jobs as a result of the difficulties caused to individual high-tech entrepreneurs of Armenia due to the spread of the coronavirus, as well as to promote the implementation and commercialization of innovative ideas in this sector. The minister noted that there are two types of investors: venture companies, and "angel investors." "Angel investors are individuals who want to invest and have a share in innovation companies," Arshakyan added, in particular. It not only allows institutions to leverage the full donor engagement potential of smartphones, but also provides the flexibility fundraisers need in the current environment where on-campus operations have had to move to off-campus delivery. RNL (Ruffalo Noel Levitz) has announced a groundbreaking new donor engagement solution which combines advanced predictive analytics, calling, texting, personalized video, and email to maximize donor engagement and boost fundraising results. RNL is the leading provider of higher education fundraising, enrollment, and student success solutions, and the largest provider of higher education fundraising engagement centers. The firm is a pioneer in higher education fundraising, providing platforms, software, consulting, and innovations that have powered college and university fundraising for nearly 30 years. The RNL Digital Engagement Center is a fundraising innovation that transforms donor outreach for the smartphone era. Donors spend more than three hours a day on their mobile devices, but until now, efforts to reach them have largely been about making more calls. RNLs new innovative approach creates a true omnichannel engagement center to both reach donors across channels and power that outreach with advanced analytics that tailor the timing and messaging to the preferences of donors. This new solution also allows institutions to manage their student ambassadors on-campus or off-campus, enabling them to engage donors anytime, anywhere, even during times of disruptions. This is a major step forward in the digital transformation of higher education fundraising, said Dr. Sumit Nijhawan, president and CEO of RNL. It not only allows institutions to leverage the full donor engagement potential of smartphones, but also provides the flexibility fundraisers need in the current environment where on-campus operations have had to move to off-campus delivery. The effectiveness of the RNL Digital Engagement Center is driven by RNL Advanced Analytics. These predictive insights drive contacts with the right donor, identify the right time to make those contacts, and reveal the right request for support across channels such as P2P texting, personalized video, integrated email, and calling that uses Visual Caller ID and whitelisting solutions to increase the number of conversations. This is the new standard for 1:1 donor engagement, said Josh Robertson, senior vice president for product strategy. The RNL Digital Engagement Center not only identifies who you should contact and how, but also which donors need more engagement before you make a direct ask. This approach will dramatically focus the time and resources of fundraisers much more strategically while strengthening the quality of donor interactions. To learn more, visit RuffaloNL.com/DEC. RNL will also host a webinar on May 19 to provide an overview of Digital Engagement Centers and their impact. About RNL RNL is the leading provider of higher education enrollment, student success, and fundraising solutions. The firm serves more than 1,900 colleges and universities through data-driven solutions focused on the entire lifecycle of enrollment and fundraising, assuring students find the right program, graduate on time, secure their first job in their chosen field, and give back to support the next generation. With a deep knowledge of the industry, RNL provides institutions the ability to scale their efforts by tapping into a community of support and resources. Learn more at RuffaloNL.com. Born in South Korea but raised in Montclair, New Jersey, Eun Suk "Jason" Hong seemed on the cusp of another American success story when he graduated from college in 2015. Hong, whose mother brought him to the U.S. at age 10, landed a job as a financial planner and was looking forward to starting a career. But in 2017, President Donald Trump moved to do away with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the program that allowed him to work legally in the U.S., and Hong's outlook began to change. In August, he quit his job and moved to Spain to seek a master's degree in business administration. He's now barred for a decade from returning to the country where he grew up. But he's also left behind the anxiety of America's immigration wars. "I wanted some certainty and control,'' Hong said in a recent phone interview from Madrid. "Emotionally it was one of the scariest ideas I had to accept." Hong is among the "Dreamers" undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children who are leaving their adopted home in frustration. With the Supreme Court poised to rule on DACA's future by June, some are taking matters into their own hands and moving to Europe, Mexico and Canada. Dreamers: Supreme Court lets DACA proponents cite recipients' work fighting coronavirus Eun Suk Hong, formerly of New Jersey, attending a startup conference in Madrid, where he lives now. Hong decided to give up DACA and move to Spain to attend graduate school. Some of those enrolled in the program have been able to gain legal status while staying in the U.S. They've applied for asylum or visas or married American citizens. But others are saying goodbye to the only country many of them remember. When Trump announced his plan to terminate the DACA program in September 2017, there were 689,800 active DACA recipients. That's declined by more than 40,000, to 649,070, according to the latest figures on the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services website. Trump says the Obama-era initiative is unconstitutional, but his move to phase out the program has been blocked by legal challenges. The Supreme Court is expected to announce sometime before the end of June whether the president has the authority to end DACA. Story continues Stimulus checks: Among those who won't get a coronavirus stimulus check: Elderly Americans claimed as dependents Although the federal government doesn't track how many DACA recipients have left to pursue life in another country, those who work with immigrant communities say it's becoming a more common choice as a Supreme Court dominated by a conservative majority moves closer to a decision. "It has been an option people are taking into consideration, more and more,'' said Daniel Arenas, 30, who moved back to Mexico from South Carolina in 2011 and later co-founded Dream in Mexico, an organization that helps those who have chosen to return after growing up in the United States. Arenas, who emigrated from Mexico when he was 4 years old, now travels back and forth between the two countries for work. "We have talked to people who said they are living in states where they cant go to college. Seems like even though they have DACA, some say it's not helping them accomplish their lifes goals." Francesc Ortega, a professor of economics at the City University of New York's Queen College, said the country has invested in educating DACA recipients, and now when some are ready to contribute to the economy they are forced to leave because of the barriers imposed. Ortega, whose work was published in 2016 by the National Bureau of Economic Research, estimated that each undocumented worker contributes around $70,000 to the U.S. economy each year. Each currently employed DACA recipient who leaves the country will cost the national GDP that amount, Ortega said. If they lose DACA's protections but stay in the U.S. as illegal workers, their economic contribution would still be reduced by $7,000, he said. White House staffer tests positive: White House employee tests positive for coronavirus, Trump and Pence test negative 'Triumph for the rule of law' Supporters of policies to limit immigration say undocumented immigrants cost taxpayers money, pointing to research that shows they consume more in public services than they pay for with taxes. Fewer than 50% of DACA beneficiaries have a high school diploma. An even smaller number have a college education,'' said Matt O'Brien, director of research for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, citing the group's own studies. "And only a tiny proportion have professional qualifications or other highly marketable skills. So its far from clear that any of the so-called Dreamers have exerted any positive effect on the U.S. economy as a result of their education or job training." A majority of Dreamers occupy entry-level or low wage jobs in construction, food service and maintenance industries, and that means that they are in direct competition with "economically vulnerable Americans," he said. "The departure of Dreamers from the United States should be considered both an economic good and triumph for the rule of law,'' O'Brien said. Bridgegate: Supreme Court calls George Washington Bridge high jinks political, not criminal President Barack Obama created DACA through executive action in 2012. Applicants had to pass criminal background checks to obtain two-year, renewable work permits and a Social Security card. In some states, including New Jersey, that also opened the door for recipients to obtain driver's licenses. For the first time, they were able to legally work and make money to pay for college educations and contribute to household expenses. Moving out Rodrigo Diaz, 28, was born in Mexico but moved to California when he was 3-years old. He applied for DACA in 2012, a few months after the program began. The new status allowed him to go to college part-time near his home in Montclair, California. He got a job as a sales associate at a Best Buy and contributed to household finances. But in 2016, as Trump was gaining momentum on the campaign trail and vowing to curb illegal immigration, Diaz, his parents and sister moved back to Mexico. They had been talking about returning for some time to reunite with family, but Trump helped them make the decision, Diaz said "I felt I can either let this man, who doesn't know who I am, decide my fate and decide whether I can stay or go in a country I have known my whole life, or I can take the decision back and move back to my country of birth,'' he said. Though DACA allowed him to study and work, it still placed limits on him, he said. "It wasn't a path to citizenship. It wasn't a path to anything. It was sort of like a dead-end road,'' he said. "I wanted more." Prisons and coronavirus: Federal prisons chief defends agency coronavirus response as infections, deaths mount Rodrigo Diaz, 28, a former Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival recipient is now living in Mexico. He left California in 2016 he said to take control of his life. He no longer wanted to wait for the government or the courts to decide his future. The day Diaz and his family left, they woke up in a nearly empty apartment and said their goodbyes to family and friends before heading south. After crossing the border and arriving in Tijuana, with the United States behind him and Mexico in front, a sense of disorientation set in, he said. "Everything I ever knew was California,'' recalled Diaz, who had never strayed far from the Golden State for fear of deportation. "Once you cross over, the architecture changes. There was a lot of colors, a lot of stuff was happening. It was a little intense." Diaz now works in marketing for a footwear company. He keeps up with the latest news concerning DACA and feels relief that he no longer has to worry about the Supreme Court's outcome, not to mention the $495 a year fee to renew his DACA status. "Having the burden on my shoulders of what is going to happen with me...I don't have to think about that anymore,'' he said. 'Dream accomplished' in Mexico Yovany Diaz Tolentino, is a former DACA recipient, who now lives in San Miguel, Mexico. He left the United States in 2015 after not being able to afford to pay for college or his DACA renewal. He graduated last month in Mexico with a teaching degree. Yovanny Diaz Tolentino, 28, was raised in Georgia but now lives in San Miguel, Mexico. He received a certification this year to teach English as a foreign language from the University of Dayton in Ohio after taking classes long distance. "Dream accomplished,'' he said. "I will now have a career, and now I don't have to migrate or look for better opportunities." Diaz Tolentino, who returned in 2015, went back even though family and friends advised him to stay in the U.S. He said life wasn't easy in Georgia, where he worked as a manager at a McDonald's but had no prospects of going to college. Georgia does not allow undocumented immigrants to enroll in top colleges and receive in-state tuition. In Mexico, he works in a restaurant and thinks about using his talents to help others in the future. "Now, I am dreaming about being the best teacher in Mexico,'' he said. Trump at Honeywell: Honeywell silent on Donald Trump's claim he was told he didn't need to wear mask Hong, the New Jersey emigree, recently completed his MBA degree from the IE Business School in Madrid, and started classes for his master's in business analytics and data. He wants to launch a financial tech startup in Spain. He'd like to return to the United States one day, but is also looking to move to Canada, which has attracted more DACA recipients in recent years. "We are good, bright young individuals who are hungry for success,'' he said. "All we wanted is an opportunity, and right now we are taking that opportunity in our own hands. And it's the country's loss because they couldn't provide it for us." Time to leave? It's a decision that Itzel Hernandez, 26, of Red Bank, New Jersey, has pondered too. A community organizer for the American Friends Service Committee, she was born in Mexico but moved north when she was 10. Now, she's thinking about pursuing a master's degree, possibly in Germany, where it's more affordable. Hernandez graduated from New Jersey City University in Jersey City in 2017 with a dual degree in political science and national security studies. She had hoped to work in counterterrorism with the FBI, but being undocumented prevents her from working for the agency, she said. Work visas: GOP senators ask Trump to restrict guest worker visas amid coronavirus pandemic "It's a very personal thing to have to choose,'' she said. "In all ways, you feel and you consider yourself an American, so it feels like you are being kicked out of your own home and not by choice. I don't want to give up on the idea that this is going to get better....but what you see and what you hear doesn't always match up with what is going on at the federal level." Monsy Alvarado is the immigration reporter for NorthJersey.com. Email: alvarado@northjersey.com Twitter: @monsyalvarado This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: DACA: As Trump pushes to end program, some Dreamers give up on US Three Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are demanding answers from the Trump administration about how much it knew about an attempted raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro, an operation they said potentially violated US law and ran counter to American support for negotiations to end the South American country's political standoff. In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Attorney General William Barr and Richard Grenell, the acting director of national intelligence, the lawmakers led by Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut expressed "alarm" about the raid led by a former Green Beret and which has resulted in the detention in Venezuela of two American citizens. "Either the US government was unaware of these planned operations, or was aware and allowed them to proceed," according to the letter sent on Thursday. "Both possibilities are problematic." The letter cited the findings of an Associated Press investigation into Jordan Goudreau, who claimed responsibility for the foiled incursion. The AP investigation detailed how Goudreau, through his Florida private security firm, had teamed up with a retired Venezuelan army official to train at secret camps in Colombia dozens of deserters from Venezuela's security forces for a mission targeting Maduro, for whose capture the US has offered a USD 15 million bounty. Trump has denied any US involvement in the raid and Goudreau has said he was unable to ever persuade the Trump administration to support his bold plan for a private coup. Maduro has insisted the operation was directed by the White House. Meanwhile, aides to Juan Guaid, the opposition leader recognised by the US and 60 other nations as Venezuela's rightful leader, have acknowledged exploring the idea last year but said they quickly backed out after deciding Goudreau could not deliver or be trusted. The letter, which was also signed by Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico, cites provisions in the VERDAD Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump in late 2019, that state it is US policy to support diplomatic engagement to bring a negotiated and peaceful end to Venezuela's political, economic and humanitarian crisis. "Such incursions harm the prospects for a peaceful democratic transition in Venezuela by insinuating that an armed intervention is a viable option to resolve the crisis, potentially undermining the willingness of hard-line opposition actors to negotiate, while simultaneously allowing Maduro to rally support to his side, strengthening his hand," the lawmakers wrote. The letter contains six lines of questions about US officials' awareness of Goudreau's plans and whether the administration had taken any steps to prevent his actions and make sure US assistance was not directly or indirectly provided to those involved. It also seeks the intelligence community's assessment about the legitimacy of a contract that Goudreau has presented and that he says was signed by Guaid and two Miami-based aides allegedly authorising his actions. "Maduro is a dictator, and the Venezuelan people deserve to live in a democracy again," the Democrats wrote. "But that will only be achieved through vigorous and effective diplomacy, not martial adventurism." Officials in Venezuela said on Thursday that they have now captured 23 people involved in the botched attack. They also aired a video showing Airan Berry, one of the two captured Americans, answering questions about the operation. Dressed in a gray T-shirt with the word "MOSCOW" written on it, Berry says he signed on with Silvercorp to train between 50 and 60 men in the Colombian city of Riohacha and then accompany the rebels into Caracas. "What were the objectives of the mission?" an off-camera interrogator asks in halting English. "I believe it was to attain specific targets. And to, I think, get Maduro," Berry responds. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The heir to the Samsung empire bowed in apology Wednesday for company misconduct including a controversial plan for him to ascend to the leadership of the world's largest smartphone maker. Lee Jae-yong is vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics and was jailed for five years in 2017 for bribery, embezzlement and other offences in connection with the scandal that brought down South Korean president Park Geun-hye. The 51-year-old was released a year later on appeal but is currently undergoing a retrial. "We are recognised for our top-class technology and products but the public eye towards Samsung is still critical," Lee said. "This is all because of our shortcomings. This has been my fault and I offer my sincere apology," he added. He promised there would be "no more controversy" over his promotion, pledging: "I will never take any actions that go against the law." Lee bowed three times before flashing cameras at a Samsung Electronics office in Seoul, where reporters sat apart under coronavirus distancing rules. Speaking in steady tones and swallowing occasionally, Lee -- whose grandfather founded the Samsung Group -- said he would end the line of family succession. "I do not plan to pass down my role to my children," he said. "This is something I have thought about for a long time but have been hesitant to express it openly." Wednesday's apology came at the request of Samsung's compliance committee, which oversees the firm's transparency in its corporate dealings. Lee has effectively been at the helm of the sprawling Samsung group since his father and group chairman Lee Kun-hee was left bedridden by a heart attack in 2014. The court case centred on millions of dollars the Samsung group paid Park's secret confidante Choi Soon-sil, allegedly for government favours including ensuring a smooth transition for Lee to succeed his ailing father. The scandal highlighted shady connections between big business and politics in South Korea, with the ousted president and her friend accused of taking bribes from corporate bigwigs in exchange for preferential treatment. Samsung Electronics is the flagship subsidiary of the group, which is by far the biggest of the family-controlled conglomerates, or chaebols, that dominate business in the world's 12th-largest economy. Its overall turnover is equivalent to a fifth of the national gross domestic product and it is crucial to South Korea's economic health. Chairman Lee Kun-hee is listed as South Korea's richest man -- and the world's 65th -- by Bloomberg Billionaires, with a fortune estimated at $15.7 billion. Lee Jae-yong has a separate listing of his own with a net worth of $5.7 billion. - 'No union' - In March the Samsung compliance committee -- which was set up in response to a court order -- said many "disgraceful" incidents involving the Samsung Group were linked to an alleged succession scheme for Lee and advised him to apologise publicly. It also recommended that Lee address Samsung's previous "no labour union" policy. For almost 50 years Samsung successfully avoided the unionisation of its workers -- sometimes adopting ferocious tactics according to critics -- until last November. "I would like to express my deepest apology for everyone who has been pained by labour issues at Samsung," Lee said, adding: "From now on, I will make sure that Samsung is not criticised for 'union-free management'." The company will guarantee workers' rights -- including forming and joining trade unions, bargaining collectively and engaging in peaceful assembly -- and act in accordance with employment regulations, he added. Samsung reported a slight fall in first quarter net profit last month at 4.88 trillion won ($4 billion), citing impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. But the firm -- which saw operations suspended at 11 overseas assembly lines -- warned of further falls to come as consumer demand is "significantly" hit by the disease. The Presidential Task Force (PTF), has called on governors to address the almajiri issue squarely, to avoid further spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the country. Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and PTF chairman on COVID-19, made the call during the task force daily briefing on Wednesday in Abuja. Mr Mustapha appealed to the governors to align their plans for the movement of the pupils with the ban on interstate movement imposed by the President. Specifically, he called on the governors to intensify dialogue on the almajiri situation in the country. Nigerians are yet to come to terms with the deadly and virulent nature of COVID-19. The PTF has observed non-compliance with physical distancing, especially in banks, traffic gridlock, inter-state movement and carrying capacity directive by commercial vehicles, he said. He said that the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Bankers Committee has put in place strategies to address the banking challenges. Theres been non-compliance with physical distancing guidelines evidenced by higher than advised congregation of people in banks, traffic gridlocks especially at entry points to metropolitan areas and disregard of guidelines on carrying capacity of motor vehicles. Increased level of interstate movements worsened by the concealment of people in food carrying vehicles. Unhygienic and ill-advised use and sharing of masks especially multiple fittings before buying from vendors, he said. Mr Mustapha disclosed that the ban on all flights will be extended for an additional four weeks. We have assessed the situation in the aviation industry and come to the conclusion that given the facts available to us and based on experts advice, the ban on all flights will be extended for additional four weeks, he said. Also speaking, the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, while giving an update said that the country has recorded 2,950 confirmed cases with 481 discharged and 98 deaths as at Tuesday midnight. Mr Ehanire said that the turn-around time for test results have been an issue and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) was doing all it could to improve issue round testing. He also said that the collaborative efforts recorded progress over the situation in Kano state. He said that the ministry will send support teams to Sokoto and Katsina states to carry out training and capacity-building for medical personnel in case management and infection disease and control in the hospital. He added that other states shall follow soon. The minister further said that Thisday Dome, Abuja, would be converted to a 300-bed Isolation Centre and 10-bed ICU, to be commissioned next week. In his remarks, National Coordinator PTF, Sani Aliyu, said that the chances of coming out of the pandemic depended on the compliance with the eased measures. Mr Aliyu said that each state of the federation should have at least 300-bed Isolation Centre, saying, Everyone should take responsibility for their health. (NAN) Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 01:36:10|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JERUSALEM, May 7 (Xinhua) -- A majority of Israeli lawmakers on Thursday supported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in forming a new unity government. The move paves the way for a unity government deal between Netanyahu's Likud party and his former main rival Benny Gantz, leader of the centrist Blue and White party. The Likud and Blue and White said in a joint statement that the signatures of 72 lawmakers recommending Netanyahu as prime minister were submitted to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. Rivlin, who oversees the coalition talks, said in a separate statement issued by his office that he received the signatures and will make an announcement on tasking Netanyahu with the mission of forming a government after verifying the signatures. Once Rivlin makes the announcement, Netanyahu will have two weeks to form a government. Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, approved a package of the bills required by the controversial power-sharing deal between Netanyahu and Gantz. The new legislation came a day after Israel's Supreme Court ruled that Netanyahu could form a new government while facing criminal charges. His trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust is expected to begin on May 24. Enditem The country's coal import dropped by 29.1 per cent to 18.65 million tonnes in April due to the lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus infection. The government had recently asked power generating companies to reduce coal import for blending purpose and replace it with domestic coal. The comported 26.34 million tonnes (MT) of coal in April 2019, according to a provisional compilation by mjunction services based on monitoring of vessels' positions and data received from shipping companies. Commenting on the coal import trend in April 2020, mjunction Managing Director and CEO Vinaya Varma said, "The prolonged lockdown across the world has impacted both demand and supply-side factors. Although spot prices have plunged to multi-year lows, tight liquidity situation has restricted volumes. "However, there was sporadic buying by traders and consumers who anticipated phased easing of restrictions and a sudden spurt in post-lockdown industrial activity." Coal import through ports is estimated to have decreased by 6.18 per cent in April 2020 over the previous month, mjunction services said. Imports in March stood at 19.87 MT (revised). Of the total imports in April 2020, the volume of non-coking coal was at 13.05 MT against 13.16 MT in March 2020. Coking coal imports stood at 3.3 MT in April 2020, lower than 4 MT a month ago. Coal import in 2019-20 was at 247.1 MT, about 5 per cent higher than 235.35 MT fuel imported during FY2018-19. Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi had earlier written to state chief ministers asking them not to import dry-fuel and take the domestic supply of fuel from Coal India Ltd (CIL), which has the fossil fuel in abundance. Key coal consumer power sector is grappling with weak demand due to the lockdown and plants are operating at lower capacity, bringing down the demand for the coal. To boost the coal demand hit by the lockdown, the government has announced a slew of measures like increased dry-fuel supply for linkage consumers. It has also announced several relief measures for CIL consumers, including the power sector. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan has said it will take at least the next four years for European economies and trade, including Irelands, to recover in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. Mr Hogan said it will take a number of years for trade to recover in the aftermath of the pandemic. He said it will be a constant battle for the rest of his mandate, which runs to 2024, to put the jigsaw back together. This is going to be a slow situation where you have to build up all of the various chains that have been disrupted by restrictive practices and some of those chains unfortunately will be broken, Mr Hogan said on Wednesday. Speaking at an online event hosted by the Institute for International and European Affairs (IIEA), Mr Hogan said unemployment will rise across the EU and that every member state will be in recession this year. He said there will be a nearly 10pc fall in global trade in 2020 and that the value of EU exports will decline by 285 billion and imports by 240 billion. While the EU is predicting growth of 6pc next year this is provided the bloc can reopen much of the economy in the second half of this year, he said. Its going to cost a huge amount of money at the end of the day in order to reboot our economies, Mr Hogan said, citing a possible 1.5tn EU recovery fund. Its not going to be small money but its needed in order to ensure that we get people back to work, we get our economies up and running again. Read More Mr Hogan also criticised the pace of negotiations on a post-Brexit EU-UK trade deal, saying the UK needs to get on with the job and not negotiate through the airwaves. A "high level meeting" between negotiators in June will be "critical, he said, and that difficult decisions will have to be made at the end of next month, the deadline for the UK to apply for an extension to the trade talks. "We need to see a lot more intensive engagement than we have seen in the last few weeks and months, he said. Mr Hogan said the EU needed to ensure it more adequately stockpiled medical supplies for future pandemics in the same way that oil reserves were built-up in the 1970s. He said there were 10 companies in Europe producing face masks at the start of the pandemic but this had now increased to 550. Mr Hogan, who is serving his second term in the European Commission, said the Covid-19 crisis and the breakdown in global supply chains has underlined the importance of global cooperation like never before. Mr Hogan said that diversifying and solidifying supply chains is the safer and the most efficient solution allowing us to respond to all sorts of crisis situations, not just repeats of the current pandemic. Expand Close Taoiseach Leo Varadkar adressing media at a Government Covid-19 Press Briefing at Government Buildings. Pic Steve Humphreys 24th March 2020 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Taoiseach Leo Varadkar adressing media at a Government Covid-19 Press Briefing at Government Buildings. Pic Steve Humphreys 24th March 2020 He cautioned against countries adopting protectionist approaches in the aftermath of the crisis and said that self-sufficiency was not an option for the EU because the continent is poor in raw materials. If more countries pursue the track of self-sufficiency, it will increase competition for scarce resources, drive up prices and deepen international hostilities. It would be a lose-lose situation for our citizens and our economies, he said. He said the EU was advocating for open strategic autonomy which he defined as achieving the right balance between Europe being open for business and a bloc that protects people and businesses. He also said that he was in regular contact with his counterpart in the US to make the case for greater transatlantic cooperation. I believe this is the right time to make the case for global cooperation in a stronger and more forthright way, he said. Meanwhile, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has hailed the 500bn financial package agreed by the EU to help Member States respond to the coronavirus crisis but warned in it's in the form of loans and guarantees that have to be paid back. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said he rejects the idea "that anywhere near enough has been agreed". The Dail is today debating the EU response to the emergency which Mr Varadkar said was initially poorly coordinated. He said the crisis has had "deep, sharp economic and social impacts". Mr Varadkar said the government had supported the idea of 'coronabonds' - an approach that would have led to the shared managing of debt among countries who borrow to fund health services and their welfare states. But he said this would have required a new EU Treaty and would have taken a long time to agree. Mr Varadkar said that in the absence of unanimous support for that approach it was agreed alternative solutions for a recovery fund should be developed. This includes a temporary relaxation of state aid rules which has allowed governments to assist companies. He said it must be ensured that member states don't use State Aid to give an unfair advantage to their companies and he added: "this is something we're going to watch very closely". Mr Varadkar said the Eurogroup of countries agreed a 500bn economic package which is to be operational from the first week in June. He warned: "It should be noted that these are all loans and guarantees and are not grants and borrowed money must be repaid." He said that together the EU's response is more than half a trillion Euro - "a historic level deployment of resources to respond to an emergency of unprecedented levels." He said it's a much greater response from the EU than was seen in the financial crisis of a decade ago which was "too little and too late". Mr Varadkar said the EU had agreed that climate action and the digital economy should be "critical components" of the recovery Mr Martin said he welcomed the measures agreed at the EU Summit but added: "We reject the idea that anywhere near enough has been agreed, or that what has been agreed has been delivered." He said: "Other than the outbreak of a war there has never before been such a dramatic and rapid public health and economic shock. "Just like every other country in Europe, Ireland does not yet really know the scale of the recovery challenge we face. "If the member states of the Union continue to block measures to develop new direct funding mechanisms then the union's contribution will continue to be economically marginal," he said. Maverick female politician Akua Donkor will also take her turn in addressing the nation on the covid-19 pandemic via her 'boyfriend's' platform, Kofi TV. Akua Donkor, leader of Ghana Freedom Party in a poster circulating on social media is hinting Ghanaians to brace up for 'comic' relief on Thursday 7th, May, 2020, as she addresses the nation on coronavirus. Per the information making the rounds Kofi Adoma of Kofi TV is providing Ghana Freedom Party founder to address Ghanaians in her own language of Twi. The address is expected to take place at 7pm. ---Daily Guide Officials order investigation after gas tanker leak near a southern New Delhi school leaves hundreds of children ill. At least 200 pupils were admitted to hospital after a gas leak near their school in southern New Delhi, Indian police said. Classes were under way at the government-run girls school in Tughlakabad when gas leaked from a container parked at a depot close to the school and filled with a chemical meant for industrial use, officials said. The children complained of irritation in the eyes and throat and were immediately evacuated and sent to three hospitals nearby, Romil Baaniya, deputy commissioner of police, told reporters. No one is serious. The situation is normal now, he said, adding that more than half of those admitted to hospitals have been released. Police will initiate legal action against the handlers for negligence, Baaniya said. Deputy fire chief Rajesh Panwar said, however, the source of the gas leak remains unclear. Officials said they have ordered an investigation into the source of the gas leak [Rajat Gupta/EPA] A teacher at the school told NDTV news channel that when the pupils complained of discomfort, they were gathered in the school grounds. The smell of gas became stronger and we shifted them out of school and some to the hospitals, she said. Manish Sisodia, New Delhis deputy chief minister who is in charge of education, said he had ordered an investigation. Gas leaks are not uncommon in India, with most caused by a failure to comply with safety standards. In 2014, a poisonous gas leak at one of Indias largest steel plants in central Chhattisgarh state killed six people. A toxic gas leak in Bhopal city in 1984 killed at least 25,000 people and remains the worlds worst industrial disaster. South Africa tops the list with almost 8,000 confirmed cases as WHO expresses worry of community spread in West Africa. Africa has now reported more than 50,000 cases of coronavirus across the continent, according to the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. The continent has reported 51,698 cases and 2,012 deaths so far, while 17,590 have recovered from the illness. South Africa has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Africa, with 7,808 people infected. Egypt follows with 7,588, while Morocco has reported 5,408 cases and Algeria has 4,997, according to Johns Hopkins University. The mountainous kingdom of Lesotho, which is completely surrounded by South Africa, is the only African country that has not reported a single case of COVID-19. COVID-19 has killed 476 people in Algeria, 469 in Egypt, and 183 in Morocco. Community spread The World Health Organization is worried by the community spread of the new coronavirus in a significant number of West African countries, the regional head of the organisation said on Thursday. More than 3.766 million cases have been reported across the world, with the death toll nearing 264,000. More than 1.2 million people have recovered. A number of countries have issued targeted lockdowns in some major cities, as well as dusk-to-dawn curfews and restrictions on travel, but have stopped short of nationwide lockdowns as in most European countries and South Africa. Several African countries have lifted the partial lockdown imposed to stem the spread of coronavirus, but the ban on gatherings is still in place. While educational facilities remain closed in most African countries, businesses have been allowed to operate conditionally. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 15:30:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A man makes handicrafts in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on May 8, 2020. Uzbekistan has eased lockdown restrictions and introduced red, yellow and green levels as of May 8, the Special Republican Commission to Combat Coronavirus said Thursday. (Photo by Zafar Khalilov/Xinhua) TASHKENT, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Uzbekistan has eased lockdown restrictions and introduced red, yellow and green levels as of May 8, the Special Republican Commission to Combat Coronavirus said Thursday. The decision was made based on an assessment of the sanitary and epidemiological situation of COVID-19. In red zones, existing quarantine restrictions are maintained, which may be revised depending on the development of the situation, but all necessary infrastructure, food and construction markets, banks, pharmacies and delivery services remain operational. Citizens are allowed to walk near their homes as long as they wear a mask and adhere to social distancing measures. They can also drive twice a day for necessary shopping or work. The yellow zones, which include the capital city Tashkent, and green zones have more relaxed rules to allow many businesses to run following sanitary rules. However, regardless of the quarantine levels, a number of restrictions such as a ban on mass cultural and sporting events, and clothing markets remain intact and people must maintain social distancing rules and wear masks, the commission said. Uzbekistan has registered 2,266 confirmed cases so far and has locked down all major cities to contain the spread of the pandemic. On the eve of the Prime Minister's expected steps on Friday to relax the coronavirus lockdown, there is plenty of hype around the potential for cabin-fevered consumers to rush to the shops. Yet even if this optimistic scenario becomes a reality, there's been too much damage inflicted already. The retail landscape will change permanently. Empty stores in empty malls: Retailers who hardly made profits before the pandemic will struggle to survive the crisis. Credit:Justin McManus The governments JobKeeper program, temporary rent relief from landlords and some suspension of payments to suppliers have combined to cryogenically freeze many retail companies. The government also lent on banks, albeit implicitly, to support COVID-19-affected companies and waive lending covenants to larger discretionary goods companies, while providing interest holidays to smaller ones. Yet spring is coming for many retailers, and with it the thaw. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's plan to reopen the state allows businesses a higher capacity in counties with few coronavirus cases. Counties that have no more than five active cases and meet additional criteria including tests and public notices are allowed to reopen businesses up to 50 percent capacity. The order applies to retailers, restaurants, movie theaters, museums and libraries. Businesses in all other Texas counties can reopen at 25 percent capacity. According to the Fort-Worth Star Telegram, 72 of the state's 254 counties qualify. Many are in rural areas of west Texas. Several San Antonio area counties meet the requirements and will allow businesses up to half their capacity. READ ALSO: Two businesses at The Rim ordered to close after reopening for dine-in Kendall County Judge Darrel Lux filed the required paper work last week and received approval. "Those businesses that have opened so far are in compliance," said Boerne spokesperson Pamela Bransford. "Some businesses have chosen not to open at this time." Karnes County also received permission to reopen at the higher capacity. County Judge Wade J. Hedtke announced the news in a Facebook video following the governor's order. In Kerr County, officials said they were notified of their 50 percent threshold by the Texas Department of State Health Services. They noted businesses may have to lower to 25 percent capacity if new cases arise. "This is a positive sign that we're headed in the right direction, said County Judge Rob Kelly. "While we caution anyone against celebrating too soon, we do take this clearance that allows businesses to entertain a 50 percent capacity crowd as a good sign that life, as we know it, will soon achieve a new normal." Medina County Judge Chris Schuchart signed an attestation that the county had five or fewer cases, allowing area businesses the higher capacity. Mark Dunphy is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for MySA.com | mark.dunphy@express-news.net | @m_b_dunphy MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE: By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Leena Viie, a Mumbai-based international performing belly dance artiste is on a mission to connect international belly dancers and artistes while supporting the cause of the Covid-19 impacted migrant worker community in India by raising funds through her first-of-its kind of international online belly dance festival. For the first time ever, the international diaspora of belly dance artists will come together to support the migrants in India by raising funds for the NGO Goonj. Those interested in contributing to the cause can make a donation by logging on to our website http://www.leenaviie.com. The festival will be unveiled on May 13 which is celebrated as World Belly Dance Day. It will be aired via Zoom and Facebook live. There are two time slots of one and a half hours each at 7 pm and 9:00 pm IST during which sessions will be aired. The zoom link will be available for free. For the first time, 30+ international belly dance stars and master teachers from various countries will come together for this online festival that addresses the body, mind, soul of a dancer along with important business skill sets. The festival aims to go beyond mere techniques by focusing on curated workshops that take into account a 360 degree view of a belly dancers needs. A live cross continent never seen before panel discussion will be part of this event on topics such as glimpse of a working belly dancers life across USA, UK, Egypt, Dubai and India. Varied belly dance styles such as oriental, transnational and fusion. This festival aims at cutting through the present online content clutter and presenting the best and strategically designed holistic workshops by handpicked masters of their craft from around the globe such as Colleena Shakti (USA), Sedona Soulfire (USA), Kami Liddle(USA), Shahrzad (USA), Julia Farid (Ukraine), Silvia Brazzoli (Italy), Meher Malik (India), Darren Ho (Singapore), Dawn Devine (USA), Terri Allred (USA), Zara Abdelrehman (Egypt, UK), Sara Shrapnell (USA), Tara Lee Oakley (UK) among many others. Leena Viie, curator of the event says, The pandemic has ushered in a new reality. On one hand, social distancing is like tearing of the social fabric. There is isolation and turmoil at various levels - within and around us, with no clear sense of how long this would last. Its a culmination of addressing needs of the body, mind, soul and also needs for business acumen while serving humanity, she said. Japan Data Japans state of emergency has been extended to May 31, as while new COVID-19 cases are decreasing, they have not yet fallen enough. The Japanese government has extended to May 31 the nationwide state of emergency declaration that had been due to expire on May 6. At a press conference on the evening of May 4, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo said that the number of infections had not dropped enough, and that around another month was needed to reduce the strain on medical services. The government continues to urge reduction of person-to-person contact by 80% in the 13 prefectures designated for stepped-up measures against COVID-19. In the other 34 prefectures, however, there will be some relaxation of restrictions, while residents are urged to continue following key guidelines for preventing the diseases spread, such as avoiding crowds, closed spaces, and conversations in close proximity. COVID-19 and Japan: A Timeline May 31 Current planned end of state of emergency. May 6 Original planned end of state of emergency. May 4 Nationwide state of emergency extended to May 31. May 4 Global cases rise above 3.5 million. May 2 Fatalities in Japan rise above 500. April 30 Supplementary budget including 100,000 payments to all residents enacted. April 28 Cases in Tokyo rise above 4,000. April 18 Cases in Japan rise above 10,000. April 16 State of emergency expanded nationwide. April 14 Ceremonial investiture of Crown Prince Fumihito postponed. April 12 Cases in Tokyo rise above 2,000. April 11 Global fatalities rise above 100,000. April 7 State of emergency declared in the prefectures of Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Osaka, Hyogo, and Fukuoka. March 30 Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko calls on residents to refrain from attending karaoke outlets, concert venues, bars, and nightclubs. March 29 Comedian Shimura Ken dies of COVID-19. March 25 Tokyo Governor Koike urges residents to refrain from going outside at the weekend, warning of the danger of an explosive rise in infections. March 24 The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are postponed until 2021. March 13 The enactment of new legislation makes it possible to declare a state of emergency over COVID-19. March 11 The World Health Organization declares that the COVID-19 outbreak is a pandemic. February 28 Hokkaido declares a state of emergency, calling on residents to refrain from leaving home on the weekend. The state of emergency lasts until March 19. February 27 Prime Minister Abe calls for the closure of all Japanese elementary, junior high, and high schools from March 2. February 3 The cruise ship Diamond Princess arrives in Yokohama. Many infections are later discovered on the ship. January 16 The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare announces the first case in Japan. The initial declaration of a state of emergency in seven prefectures including Tokyo came on April 7. This contributed to a downward trend in new cases from around April 19, but a government panel of experts stated that they had not fallen as much as expected. While citizens have been split on the issue with some tiring of self-restraint and others welcoming the extension to May 31, if the number of infections were to rise again, the countrys medical services could be at risk of being overwhelmed. (Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: A cat gets in the way of telework. Pakutaso.) The COVID-19 pandemic continues spreading across the World and in Ghana, its impact is increasing due to the rising numbers of infected people, increasing risk posed to healthcare providers, and its hardship on the general population. In line with the Rotary motto of 'Service above Self', Rotarians in Ghana with the support of Rotary District 9102 pulled together resources to contribute to the national response in a three-pronged approach. In March, Rotarians and their friends donated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including N95 face masks, goggles, coveralls, examination gloves as well as sanitizers, complete handwash stations, to frontline healthcare personnel through the Ghana Association of Doctors in Residency Programs (GADoR). On Tuesday May 5, Rotarians in Ghana donated various high-quality PPE to the Ghana Health Service. The event, which took place at the forecourt of the Ghana Health Service complex was attended by the leadership of both Ghana Health Service and Rotarians in Ghana. Presenting the items valued at over GHC125,000, Dr Nii Akwei Addo, Assistant Governor, Rotary International District 9102, noted the long-time partnership between Rotary and the Ghana Health Service in the area of disease prevention and control. Today we are here with this set of items to support efforts in fighting the pandemic. We've been partners for long in areas of national immunization, disease prevention, and control, he said. It is my pleasure to share this certificate with you which is signifying the donation of the listed items to our traditional partner in health care, the Ghana Health Service, he added. Receiving the items, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye lauded the existing relationship between the GHS and Rotary. On behalf of the Service and the Minister of Health we want to thank Rotary. I think Rotary has been a good friend for a long time from the immunization days, to polio and Family Health Days and it will have been surprising if we did not hear from you, he said. We are grateful and this will go a long way to helping the health service workers who need these items, Dr Kuma-Aboagye said. Making a second donation later in the afternoon of the same day at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Dr Nii Akwei Addo said Rotary had procured 2,500 PCR test kits and swabs valued at GHS200,000 in line with Rotarians support to increase testing for COVID-19 in Ghana to help curb the spread. As part of our discussion with Noguchi we agreed on the supply of PCR test kits. We hope the test kits we have paid for will go a long way to support national efforts at increasing testing so you can continue to trace, test, isolate, and treat, Dr Addo said. On his part, Mr Theodore Ahuno, the Administrator of the Institute, expressed gratitude to Rotary for the support in the trying time the Institute finds itself in the era of COVID-19. We are very happy that Rotary has come to our aid with the procurement of testing equipment. It will go a long way by helping us increase the tracing and testing so that together we try to end this pandemic earlier than we think so that we go back to our normal duties and to help ourselves in terms of health issues, economic and our daily lives, he said. So far, the Rotarians in Ghana have collectively provided goods over GHS 500,000 (Five hundred thousand Ghana Cedis) to support the national response at both national and sub-national levels. Rotarians in Ghana and throughout the world take action to make communities better. They contribute their skills, time, energy, and passion to carry out meaningful and sustainable projects that promote peace, fight disease, provide clean water, improve sanitation, help mothers and children, support education, and grow local economies. Advertisement Dozens of protesters gathered outside California's State Capitol Building in Sacramento on Thursday, demanding Gov Gavin Newsom completely reopen the state for business. The demonstration was organized by the 'Freedom Angels' - a group of anti-vaxxers who are now fervently campaigning for an end to lockdown laws issued amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Freedom Angels claim the executive orders are an example of dangerous government overreach, with one protester even comparing Gov Newsom to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. The demonstrator attached a large banner to the side of his U-Haul van Thursday, which showed Newsom standing behind a swastika with Hitler's moustache photoshopped onto his face. . 'End His Tyranny,' the banner read, with one protesters seen sarcastically performing a Nazi salute in front of the doctored image. Dozens of protesters gathered outside California's State Capitol Building in Sacramento on Thursday, demanding Gov Gavin Newsom completely reopen the state for business One protester compared Gov Newsom to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler in a giant banner that was attached to the side of a U-Haul truck The demonstration was organized by the 'Freedom Angels' - a group of anti-vaxxers who are now fervently campaigning for an end to lockdown laws issued amid the coronavirus pandemic The protesters assembled outside the Capitol Building in Sacramento There was a heavy police presence on hand, with officers wearing masks and maintaining a social distance from one another One sign questioned why liquor stores were considered 'essential' businesses allowed to continue operating, while churches and recovering meetings have been deemed 'non-essential' Several protesters waved American flags, while others brandished homemade placards with quotes calling for an end to statewide stay-at-home orders. One sign questioned why liquor stores were considered 'essential' businesses allowed to continue operating, while churches and recovering meetings have been deemed 'non-essential'. Another banner stated: 'Social distancing is a tracking tool used by the government!' Given that the 'Freedom Angels' were initially formed as an anti-vaccination group, there were also a number of signs expressing skepticism about a future coronavirus vaccine. 'Vaccine Newsom, Fauci and Gates,' one placard read. Meanwhile, one protester dressed as a lifesize vaccine, complete with a slogan that read 'Big pharma cast a spell on you'. There have been multiple protests putside the State Capitol Building in recent days, as pressure grows on Gov Newsom to allow California residents to head back to work Given that the 'Freedom Angels' were initially formed as an anti-vaccination group, there were also a number of signs expressing skepticism about a future coronavirus vaccine One protester dressed as a lifesize vaccine, complete with a slogan that read 'Big pharma cast a spell on you' 'Freedom Angels' was initially comprised of anti-vaxxers. The group has now turned to actively campaiging for an end to California's stay-at-home order issued by Gov Newsom There have been multiple protests putside the State Capitol Building in recent days, as pressure grows on Gov Newsom to allow California residents to head back to work. More than 3.7 million Californians have filed for unemployment claims since the beginning of March, and there are fears that sustaining stay-at-home orders any longer could cripple the economy for years to come. However, Gov Newsom is sticking with his plan to reopen the state slowly in four separate phases, in a bid to stop a potential new surge in coronavirus cases. More than 62,000 Californians have tested positive to COVID-19, and 2,561 have died from the virus. Gov Newsom is sticking to his plan to reopen the state slowly in four separate phases, in a bid to stop a potential new surge in coronavirus cases Despite a strong police presence, there was no reports of violence. Officers are pictured watching over the demonstration Then President-elect Donald Trump stands with National Security Adviser Lt. General Michael Flynn (R) at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Dec. 21, 2016. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images) Trump: Flynn Was Innocent, Targeted by Obama Administration President Donald Trump criticized FBI agents and others involved in the case against Michael Flynn after the Department of Justice suddenly dropped the case on Thursday. I felt it was going to happen just by watching and seeing, like everybody else does, Trump said when informed of the development. He was an innocent man. He is a great gentleman. He was targeted by the Obama administration and he was targeted in order to try and take down a president, he added. The president was speaking to reporters at the White House. The Department of Justice said the interview of Flynn by FBI agents Peter Strzok and Joe Pientka was conducted without any legitimate investigative basis. U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen, who reviewed the case, advised Attorney General William Barr to dismiss it. Barr agreed to do so. FBI Deputy Assistant Director Peter Strzok testifies at the Committee on the Judiciary and Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Joint Hearing on Oversight of FBI and DOJ Actions Surrounding the 2016 Election in Washington, on July 12, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Trump said he hopes a big price is going to be paid. Theres never been anything like this in the history of our country. What they did, what the Obama administration did, is unprecedented. Its never happened. Never happened. A thing like this has never happened, Trump said. And I hope a lot of people are going to pay a big price because theyre dishonest, crooked people. Theyre scum and I say it a lot, theyre scum, theyre human scum. This should never have happened in this country. A duly elected president and they went after him by going after fine people and those fine people said, No, Im not going to lie, I cant lie. Hes not the only one. There are many of them. They could have said something like, Oh, make up a lie, Trump loves somebody or something or some country. And they said, Oh, you wouldnt have any problem. Thats what they were trying to do and its a disgrace. The Obama administration Justice Department was a disgrace and they got caught. They got caught. Very dishonest people. Its treason. Its treason. So Im very happy for General Flynn. He was a great warrior and he still is a great warrior. In my book, hes an even greater warrior. What happened to him should never happen again and what happened to this presidency, to go through all of that and still do more than any president has ever done in the first three years. Correction: A previous version of this article misidentified one of the FBI agents who interviewed Flynn. The Epoch Times regrets the error. Milano Digital Fashion Week from July 14-17 will include photo and video content, backstage interviews with designers, as well as webinars and live streaming of keynote speeches. (Photo | AFP) Rome: Italy will stage its first digital Fashion Week in Milan in July, as the luxury fashion sector struggles to rebound from the coronavirus crisis. This is a concrete response to the need for promotion and business on the part of brands, Italys National Chamber of Fashion said in a statement. Milano Digital Fashion Week from July 14-17 will allow for the presentation of spring/summer 2021 mens collections and spring/summer 2021 mens and womens pre-collections, along with a platform designed to give access to showrooms. The digital offerings will include photo and video content, backstage interviews with designers, as well as webinars and live streaming of keynote speeches, visible on www.cameramoda.it, Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin, Weibo and YouTube. The French Federation of Haute Couture and Fashion announced a similar initiative on Wednesday, with an online presentation of spring/summer 2021 mens ready-to-wear from July 9 to 13. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the upcoming ready-to-wear week and haute couture shows in Paris in June and July have been cancelled. In March, Italys fashion chamber announced that mens shows scheduled for June would be pushed back until September, joining the womens shows. The coronavirus emergency erupted in Italy in late February, during Milans Fashion Week, causing some designers to present their runway shows without audiences. Thousands of Chinese buyers and media were prevented from travelling to the shows, forcing the fashion chamber to offer digital alternatives to the runway shows and showrooms. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Flash British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday was faced with tough questions in the House of Commons (lower house of parliament) as he is mulling a "comprehensive" plan to ease the COVID-19 lockdown. On the second day after Britain overtook Italy as the worst-hit European country by the novel coronavirus, Johnson had his first head-to-head encounter with the newly elected main opposition leader -- Labour's Keir Starmer -- during the Prime Minister's Questions, which gives MPs the chance to question Johnson. Key points that emerged included Johnson's revelation that the government would this Sunday spell out its strategy for easing Britain out of its lockdown, and an ambition to see testing for the disease to be step up to 200,000 a day by the end of May. Johnson is expected to lead cabinet meetings as well as emergency COBRA meetings to pave the way for the much anticipated Sunday announcement of the plan to ease Britain out of lockdown. He said Sunday has been chosen because the government would have the data available to set out its plans. Another 649 COVID-19 patients have died, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in Britain to 30,076 as of Tuesday afternoon, said the Department of Health and Social Care Wednesday. The Daily Mail commented that when and how to ease the current draconian lockdown measures have dominated Westminster for weeks as government ministers try to figure out how to get Britain back to work. Questioning the government's strategy to tackle the pandemic, Starmer said: "When the Prime Minister returned to work a week ago Monday, he said that many people were looking at the apparent success of the Government's approach, but yesterday we learned that, tragically, at least 29,427 people in the UK have now lost their lives to this dreadful virus." How did it happen, he further asked. In response, Johnson said it was too early to draw comparisons with the data from other countries. Chairing Wednesday's Downing Street daily briefing, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick also insisted that "It is difficult to make international comparisons with certainty today, there will be a time for that." CLEVELAND, Ohio A recent study examining children as transmitters of the coronavirus raises questions about Ohio Gov. Mike DeWines announcement this week that the states schools might reopen part-time in August. The study out of Germany looked at concentrations of the virus in the respiratory tract of various age groups and found that the viral load in children and adults to be similar. The researchers conclude that schools should be cautious about unlimited re-opening. There are reasons to argue against the notion of adult-like infectivity in children, such as the fact that asymptomatic children do not spread the virus by coughing, and have smaller exhaled air volume than adults, the study states. However, there are other arguments that speak in favour of transmission, such as the greater physical activity and closer social engagement of children. A spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Health said officials have seen the study and others that are similar. We have always acknowledged that children, even if they dont show symptoms, can still transmit the disease, Melanie Amato said. . . . As we think about how to open schools, we will be looking carefully at the best practices that are being implemented across the world and US. Cleveland.com also asked U.S. health experts about the risks cited by the research, and the difficulty schools would face in having children maintain social distancing, use face masks and take other steps to avoid spreading the virus. Jason Farley, professor and nurse epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing in Maryland Farley said he doesnt know enough about Ohio to render an opinion about whether the state should open schools in August. Should we all depends on your local epidemiology, he said. But Farley said DeWine and other governors face a challenging decision in determining when and how to re-open schools. The German study determined that viral load in children is similar to that of adults, and thats significant, according to Farley. "The higher the viral load, the higher the chance of transmissibility, he said, but what can also be gleaned from they study is that other factors can affect transmission. If Ohio schools do re-open in August, Farley recommends that all children wear masks, even the younger ones, and that teachers have sanitizing products at their disposal for multiple cleanings a day. While young children may not spew the virus as far as an adult when they cough, he said, they are very likely to contaminate the surfaces around them. Teachers should be thinking about managing the physical environment as much as theyre managing the learning environment, he said. That also could mean limiting the movement of students around the building and even holding classes outside. Mercedes Carnethon, a professor of epidemiology at Northwestern University in Illinois Carnethon was unwilling to say whether reopening schools in August is too early. But she said the German study suggests that children do get the virus and can infect others even if they are asymptomatic. So it would be a mistake to conclude that children dont get it, she said, and better to assume that they are super spreaders." She also is less confident that younger children are be able to adhere to the techniques that adults use to prevent spread in the work place, such as wearing of masks and staying away from others. The danger involved in children going back to school is that they would then go home to adults who are more vulnerable to the disease, she said. This is particularly profound in people who live in multi-generational households, Carnethon said, and that includes a disproportionate number of minority families. But the risk of not re-opening schools is significant, too, she said. Children would not be getting the education they need and may even be forced into group settings such as day care because their parents have essential jobs and are required to work. Carnethon said returning to school represents a calculated risk as long as a vaccine against COVID-19 is not available. More information should be forthcoming to help draw more reasoned conclusions, she added. Dr. Leila Hojat, an infectious disease physician at University Hospitals Hojat said she thinks its too early to say whether schools should return in August. Where we think we might be in August, today, might be very different from a month from now and I think we should wait and see overall, she said. She said it will be much more difficult to open schools with any degree of confidence if the number of cases in the community starts amplifying over the summer. She said one of the best public health measures Ohio imposed was to close schools. She cited a recent study out of China that analyzed social distancing and determined that as the spread of the virus increases elsewhere, school closings can reduce the peak incidence by 40-60% and delay the epidemic. When schools do reopen, she said, districts should use different classroom setups, staggered days and remote learning to keep farther children apart. File photo A chartered plane conveying Nigerian returnees from the United Arab Emirates has made a U-turn after a pregnant woman reportedly went into labour, Channels Television has revealed. The report was also confirmed by the Chairman of the Nigerian in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa. It was gathered that the plane, which was scheduled to arrive at 3 pm is now expected to land at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at 7 pm. After weeks of delay, the first batch of Nigerians stuck abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic were expected in the country today. The Emirates flight is expected to be the first of at least two other flights scheduled to evacuate Nigerians within the next few days. According to the foreign ministry, discussions are ongoing with British Airways to airlift 300 Nigerians from London on Friday; arrangements are also being made with Ethiopian airlines for a flight from New York to Abuja next Monday. Over 4,000 Nigerians are waiting to be evacuated across the world back home, foreign affairs minister, Geoffrey Onyeama said on Monday. The returning Nigerians are expected to be quarantined for 14 days in select hotels on their arrival, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. The quarantine is required to ensure the coronavirus-status of every returnee is ascertained. The foreign ministry said it has made arrangements for hotel accommodations in Lagos and Abuja, which will be used to quarantine the incoming citizens. The hotels have been inspected by the Port Health Services, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Office of the National Security Adviser, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and IPC, the ministry said. The first batch of Haryana residents stranded abroad due to Covid -19 travel restrictions will touch down at New Delhis Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Friday morning. The Air India flight (AI381) from Singapore carrying 243 passengers, many of them from Haryana, will reach New Delhi at 11.35 am. The flight schedule of the stranded Haryana residents and the modalities of the mandatory 14-day institutional quarantine upon arrival have been worked out following deliberations between foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and state government top brass. The second flight (AI 1242) with 165 passengers on board including Haryana residents from Dhaka in Bangladesh will arrive at New Delhi on May 9 at 3 pm. The third flight (AI 926) from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia with 145 passengers including Haryana residents will arrive at IGIA on May 10 at 8pm. Quarantine facilities for returnees As per the standard operating procedure (SoP) of the Union ministry of home affairs, all the stranded Indian nationals flying in from foreign shores will be taken to suitable institutional quarantine facilities possibly at the headquarters of the districts to which the arriving passengers belonged. As per the new instructions, all Haryana residents will be quarantined in Gurugram and Faridabad if numbers from other districts are less. Subsequently, they will be sent to their home district centres as and when the numbers increase, said an official coordinating the arrivals. Passengers on arrival will be screened and anyone found symptomatic will be taken to a medical facility immediately as per the health protocol. Top officials said that passengers will have to undergo mandatory 14-day institutional quarantine upon arrival. The cost incurred during the quarantine period will have to borne by the passengers. If they test negative after 14 days, the returnees will be allowed to go home and will undertake self-monitoring of their health for another 14 days as per the protocol. Officials said the state government has made arrangements for putting up around 392 passengers at nine private hotels in Gurugram at a daily tariff of around 3,600 (including three meals). Similarly, 14 Haryana tourism hotels, including eight in Faridabad, four in Gurugram, and one each in Sonepat and Jhajjar, having capacity to accommodate around 200 people will also be used as quarantine facilities for the returnees. Conservative estimates of the ministry of external affairs have put the number of stranded persons from Haryana at 3,693. However, state officials said it could go up to 5,000. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A donor centre in Bashkiria on Thursday began collection of plasma from a recovered COVID-19 patient in order to treat seriously ill patients. Bashkiria became the first region in Russia to use transfusions in COVID-19 patients, but the century-old treatment has helped fight other diseases in the past including the 1918 flu pandemic. Researchers are still working on the efficiency of the therapy. The donor centre in the region's capital Ufa hopes to accumulate more placks plasma with immune system antibodies soon. As the number of positive cases continues to grow in Russia, regions are working to create more hospital bed capacity. While some divisions built new facilities from scratch, most of them are transforming existing infrastructure into field hospitals. On Wednesday, Russian authorities decided to reopen all industrial plants and construction sites in the capital starting next week, but people are still asked to stay at home and respect quarantine enforced in most of Russia's 85 regions. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced earlier this week that each region should decide the lockdown measures. Russian health officials reported more than 11,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday a new record daily spike for the country which brought the total over 177,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases. MBABANE While most companies globally, including South Africa, are filing for business rescue, it seems it is not an option for the country. A lot of companies are in distress due to the impact of COVID-19. Experts say the business rescue process can provide the company with the opportunity needed to reorganise and restructure its affairs, and to structure a payment scheme with its creditors, while also saving jobs and allowing the business to continue trading as an economically contributing entity. Most companies in South Africa are now entering business rescue. South African carrier Comair has become the latest operator in that country to enter business rescue, as it aims to restructure to deal with the coronavirus crisis. Comair is a British Airways franchise partner and also operates the budget brand Kulula. South African Airways and regional carrier SA Express have previously entered business rescue. The South African companies filing for business rescue are using the that countrys Companies Act 2008, which says such a move aims to facilitate the rehabilitation of a company that is financially distressed by providing for: the temporary supervision of the company and management of its affairs, business and property by a business rescue practitioner, a temporary moratorium (stay) on the rights of claimants against the company or in respect of property in its possession and the development and implementation (if approved) of a business rescue plan to rescue the company by restructuring its business, property, debt, affairs, other liabilities and equity. In Eswatini, Registrar of Companies Msebe Malinga confirmed that there was no specific section on business rescue in the Companies Act of 2009. He said instead there was the judicial management, as per Section 365 of the Act. According to the Act, circumstances in which company may be placed under judicial management is when by any reason of mismanagement or for any other cause, it is unable to pay its debts or is probably unable to meet its obligations and it has not become or is prevented from becoming a successful concern. Debts It is also placed under this category when there is a reasonable probability that, if placed under judicial management, it would be able to pay its debts or meet its obligations and become a successful concern. The court may grant a judicial management order in respect of such company. An application to court for a judicial management order in respect of any company may be made by any of the persons who are entitled under Section 289 to make an application to court for the winding-up of a company, and the provisions of Section 289(3) as to the application for winding-up shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to an application for a judicial management order. Grounds When an application for the winding-up of a company is made to court under this Act and it appears to the court that if the company is placed under judicial management, the grounds for its winding-up may be removed and that it will become a successful concern and that the granting of a judicial management order would be just and equitable, the court may grant such an order in respect of such company, reads the Act in part. Judicial management can be generally defined as a method of debt restructuring where an independent judicial manager is appointed to manage the affairs, business and property of a company under financial distress. The company is also temporarily shielded from legal proceedings by third-parties, giving it the opportunity to rehabilitate. The nature of the database is not fully made clear in the documents, and Waldock said early Wednesday evening that he couldn't immediately describe the DNA matching process. The description of the investigation in the court documents, though, is similar to the process that was used in the arrest of a California man two years ago on suspicion of being the Golden State Killer, whom authorities think killed a dozen people in California over the course of more than a decade. Baldwin, according to the court document filed in Sheridan County, is linked to other cases: In 1991 he had been investigated in Texas on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman there. He admitted to the crime and was released the same day. It is not clear if the alleged assault in Texas was ever prosecuted. As part of an Iowa homicide investigation dating to 1992, Baldwin's ex-wife told law enforcement that he had bragged about "killing a girl out west by strangulation and throwing her out of his truck," according to the documents. In April of this year, investigators on an FBI task force took trash that they saw Baldwin throw in a dumpster, the documents state. They collected the trash. Mother's Day was set to be extra special for Jayne Minchin this year, with her latest grandchild on the way. But the heartbroken 63-year-old won't get to see her children or grandchildren due to Victoria's coronavirus restrictions. She was even considering risking a $1652 fine to drive from her Dingley Village home, in Melbourne's south-east, to enjoy a lunch with them in Mansfield, in the state's north-east, but decided she couldn't afford to get caught. After surviving breast cancer, Ms Minchin savours family celebrations even more than before and was excited to see her pregnant daughter-in-law and touch her swelling belly for the first time. Lawmakers should use part of federal aid to reform the teachers retirement system. Strengthening state finances and pensions and giving teachers an asset that travels with them (that can benefit them and their families) can be accomplished by enrolling all new teachers in a robust defined contribution plan, duplicating the similar successful reform done for other new state employees. This will also help with recruitment since todays employees are extremely mobile and change jobs throughout their lives. Policymakers should provide permanent and full expensing for new investments in machinery and equipment, allow faster depreciation deductions, and foster crowdfunding infrastructure to provide more capital to small businesses. Businesses are going to need maximum flexibility to rebuild. Legislators should delay collection of business property taxes until at least Oct. 1, 2020 and remove the experience rating on unemployment-insurance tax rates related to COVID-19. On the morning of Jan. 3, an email was sent from the Indonesian Embassy in Australia to a member of the premier of Western Australias staff who worked on health and ecological issues. Attached was a Word document that aroused no immediate suspicions, since the intended recipient knew the supposed sender. The attachment contained an invisible cyberattack tool called Aria-body, which had never been detected before and had alarming new capabilities. Hackers who used it to remotely take over a computer could copy, delete or create files and carry out extensive searches of the devices data, and the tool had new ways of covering its tracks to avoid detection. Now a cybersecurity company in Israel has identified Aria-body as a weapon wielded by a group of hackers, called Naikon, that has previously been traced to the Chinese military. And it was used against far more targets than the office of Mark McGowan, the premier of Western Australia, according to the company, Check Point Software Technologies, which released a report on Thursday about the tool. In the preceding months, Naikon had also used it to hack government agencies and state-owned technology companies in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar and Brunei, according to Check Point, which said the attacks underscored the breadth and sophistication of Chinas use of cyberespionage against its neighbors. The Coronavirus what would Jesus do? A very different Christian Aid Week (May 10 to 16) in Norfolk has been launched by the Bishop of Norwich, challenging people to think about how they follow Jesus in the changing landscape, impacted by Covid-19. In an online message, the Rt Rev Graham Usher, reflects about the current situation both in the UK and also overseas. There have been some amazing responses and we have seen the sacrifice of many to bring healing. So, how do we walk in the footsteps of Jesus in these times? You can see this message above or here . Julian Bryant, Christian Aids Norfolk Church Engagement Worker, explains: Christian Aid is working overseas with some of the poorest communities on our planet. In Sierra Leone there are no intensive care beds and in Malawi there is just one intensive care bed for every one million people. In refugee camps, where tens of thousands of people live closely together it is very hard to keep socially distant from one other. For many there are simply no ventilators and 40 per cent of the worlds population does not even have access to soap and water. What would Jesus do? We see examples of this every day in our partners work but they need more resources. People in Norfolk are doing a variety of things to make a difference through Christian Aid including sponsored activities, online services, and more. Nationally Christian Aid is offering online quizzes, reflections, sponsored activities and a service with Rowan Williams. You can find out more and donate here. Keith Morris, 07/05/2020 By Elizabeth Piper and Costas Pitas LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce a very limited easing of Britain's coronavirus lockdown next week, adopting a cautious approach to try to ensure there is no second peak of infections that could further hurt the economy. Johnson is due to announce the next steps in Britain's battle to tackle the novel coronavirus on Sunday following a review by ministers of the current measures that have all but shut the economy and kept millions at home for over six weeks. "Any changes in the short term will be modest, small, incremental and very carefully monitored," foreign minister Dominic Raab said during the government's daily news conference. "If people don't follow the rules or if we see that the R-level (the reproductive rate of the virus) goes back up, we will tighten the restrictions again." The government has been criticised for moving too slowly to tackle the outbreak which has led to more than 30,000 deaths in Britain - the worst official death toll in Europe. Ministers have dismissed that charge, saying they took the right decisions at the right time. But with an increasing number of anecdotal reports that more people are flouting the lockdown in anticipation of Sunday's announcement and a public holiday on Friday, ministers are under pressure to make any new rules as clear as possible after being criticised for mixed messaging. At a cabinet meeting of his top ministers, Johnson stressed that Britain would advance "with maximum caution" and be guided by the science and data. "The point at which we make even the smallest of changes to the current guidance will be a point of maximum risk," Raab said. "If people abandon social distancing ... the virus will grow again, at an exponential rate." Earlier, the Bank of England underlined how deeply the lockdown had hurt the economy, saying Britain could be headed for its biggest economic slump in over 300 years. Story continues GRADUAL MOVE The government's chief advisor on official statistics said on Thursday the challenge was to reduce the epidemic in care homes which has contributed to the reproduction rate of the virus probably going up a little bit from previous estimates made by a professor of infectious disease modelling. Officials suggest there will be a gradual move towards re-opening businesses. Ministers say that those operating outdoors might be able to find a way to work in the summer months but warn it is still too soon to re-open schools. To try to shore up support for his action plan, Johnson briefed opposition leaders on the latest situation, with Labour leader Keir Starmer saying there needed to be a national consensus on the next steps in tackling the virus. Johnson wants to pursue a strategy that unites the four countries of the United Kingdom: Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland. But Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the only change to the lockdown which had been floated in the media that she might agree to in the immediate future was lifting the limit on people only exercising once a day. "I must make judgments informed by the evidence that are right and safe for Scotland," she told reporters. (Writing by Elizabeth Piper, Michael Holden and William James; editing by Kate Holton and Stephen Addison) Mr Morrison has said since April that Australias position was consistent. "We know it started in Wuhan," he said last week. "The most likely scenario that has been canvassed relates to wildlife wet markets." The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age had earlier revealed that Mr Morrison had privately questioned the Wuhan lab claim and that Australian intelligence had found no evidence to back up the theory. While it was too difficult to rule it out, the notion that there was an official Five Eyes investigation into the theory has been disputed by senior government sources. When the Telegraph splashed with the story based on the 15-page "dossier" on Saturday, the newspaper said it was a Western government report, suggesting it was from the Five Eyes network. Five Eyes is an intelligence-sharing alliance involving security agencies in Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Canada and the US. In response to questions from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, the Telegraph journalist who wrote the story, Sharri Markson, said the document laid the foundation for the case against Chinas cover up of COVID-19. "Two Western governments contributed to it, but I will not reveal my sources," she said. Loading Senior members of the Morrison government and Australian intelligence agencies at first had trouble finding the document. Eventually they found a research report, based on publicly available information including news reports, which appeared to fit the description. The research paper contained no information that was generated from intelligence gathering, according to people who have read it. Labor MP Anthony Byrne, the deputy chair of the influential intelligence and security committee, was "incensed" by the report of the dossier. Mr Byrne, one of Parliaments biggest supporters of the US alliance, directly raised his concerns with senior members of the Morrison government and intelligence agencies, saying Australia shouldnt accept intelligence that doesnt exist and fall for a "tricked-up document". There are now widespread suspicions within senior ranks of the Australian government and the intelligence community that the document was leaked to The Daily Telegraph by a staff member in the US embassy in Canberra. This suspicion, whether true or not, underlines how the positions between sections of Canberra and Washington national security circles have diverged over the claim. Some senior officials clearly believe the US embassy is pushing a narrative in the Australian media that could be counter to the beliefs and interests of its hosts. Loading Given the close relationship between the two countries, there are deep sensitivities about the suspicions. The Australian government is not expected to pursue the matter further. But the involvement of Australia in the US campaign highlights the politicisation of the intelligence community under Mr Trump as well as the increasingly fractious global diplomatic environment driven by the coronavirus and Chinese expansionism. Firm intelligence on the coronavirus lab theory would help bolster US claims of a cover-up by the Chinese Communist Party, shift diplomatic sentiment and put global relations with China on an increasingly hostile trajectory. The New York Times revealed last month that senior Trump administration officials, including Deputy National Security Adviser and former Wall Street Journal Beijing correspondent Matthew Pottinger, have been pushing American spy agencies since January to hunt for evidence to support the theory. The agenda was given new momentum in April by Steve Bannon, the ex-chairman of far-right website Breitbart and a former adviser to Mr Trump, who promoted the theory throughout the month as part of a campaign demanding compensation from China for the outbreak. On April 30, the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence said it concurred with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not man made or genetically modified but could not rule out any connection with a Wuhan lab. Loading "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 office said in a statement. Two days later, the Telegraph story suddenly vaulted the theory back into prime time. After it broke on Saturday, Fox News, the highest-rating cable broadcaster in the US, said this was "the most substantial confirmation of what we have suspected so far". "Because it is a multinational document I think it would be hard to dismiss it as a political document," Fox News host Tucker Carlson told millions of viewers of the News Corp-owned network on Tuesday. As he prepared to interview Markson, Carlson suggested China had plans to rule the world. "For the West the coronavirus has been a bewildering disaster that we will be recovering from for a long time, but for the Chinese government, the whole thing has been a blessing," he said. "In fact they think it is going to be the beginning of the Chinese century." The allegations were backed up by a rolodex of US national security hawks on the same network. Mr Trumps trade adviser, Peter Navarro, said China "spawned" the virus. Former US ambassador to China Jon Huntsman said "we should not be surprised" if China lied to the world. Loading US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday claimed there was "enormous evidence" linking the Wuhan lab to the virus. Chinas Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying challenged Mr Pompeo to "show us" the evidence in Beijings first official response to the escalation on Wednesday. The episode highlights the danger of mischaracterising the work of intelligence agencies. Some of the footnotes in the document contained references to US media reports that were based on unsubstantiated assertions from the US government the same kind of circular intelligence which resulted in the "children overboard" affair in 2001. One source said they believed the research document was produced by a US author and was not an official Five Eyes collaboration. Intelligence figures in the UK, the second largest of the Five Eyes partners, have also become increasingly frustrated. This week they briefed reporters that there was nothing to indicate that a lab leak had triggered the pandemic. Despite the prevalence of that view, the challenge for the intelligence community has been proving the virus did not come from a Wuhan lab, amid wider obfuscation from the Chinese government. Loading While Australian intelligence agencies have not ruled out the Wuhan lab theory, they have no evidence which suggests it is the likely source. On the best available intelligence, the Australian government believes the virus most likely started in the citys Huanan seafood market. The US governments top infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci, said on Tuesday that there was no scientific evidence the virus came from a laboratory. "[The evidence] is very, very strongly leaning toward this could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated," he said. China, for its part, has been engaging in its own increasingly aggressive form of diplomacy in a bid to limit transparency and downplay its role in the crisis. At the same time as Chinas embassy in Canberra accused Australia of being a US puppet, its foreign missions have been shoring up support across the developing world. China has repeatedly dismissed Australias push for a global independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus as a witch hunt. The US ramped up pressure on the European Union to back Australias probe call on Wednesday. The EU had prepared a draft motion for an inquiry that would begin only after the pandemic had passed and focus broadly on the "lessons learnt from the international health response to COVID-19". New elements have emerged in the so-called Guillaume Soro case in Cote dIvoire. At a press conference on Tuesday, Prosecutor Richard Adou announced 19 new arrests in the case. Nineteen people were recently arrested in connection with the investigation into the alleged insurrection attempt orchestrated by MP Guillaume Soro, Prosecutor Richard Adou said at a news conference. He said that the arrested individuals included 14 military personnel, two senior officers and 12 non-commissioned officers, and five civilians. Fifteen of these persons were charged and placed under a committal order on April 17 for conspiracy or undermining state security, or complicity, in particular for attempting to conceal weapons. The magistrate reassures that the investigation is continuing and the whole truth will be told in this high-profile case. The headquarters of the Generations and Peoples in Solidarity movement chaired by the former parliament Speaker Guillaume Soro was raided. A lot of military communication equipment was discovered, including a device for recording the movements of the armed forces, as well as documents that leave no doubt about the actions and objectives of this political movement, insisted the Public Prosecutor of the Republic, who concluded that the movements headquarters was used for storing weapons. The searches had led to the seizure of 50 Kalashnikov AK-47 rifles, 12 rocket launchers and four machine guns, he added. On Tuesday 28 April, a criminal court in Abidjan sentenced Guillaume SORO to 20 years in prison and a fine of 4.5 billion FCFA (6.8 million euros), confiscation of his house and deprivation of civil rights for 5 years. A sentence that eliminates the former rebel leader from the 2020 presidential race. Guillaume Soro denounced a parody of justice while reiterating: I remain a presidential candidate and I will win. Long time an ally of Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, whom he helped, as leader of the rebellion, to come to power during the post-electoral crisis of 2010-2011, Guillaume Soro became Prime Minister, then Speaker of the National Assembly, before breaking with the Head of State in early 2019. A new lump or bump, changes on your skin, or unexpected weight loss. They are among the signs or symptoms of cancer that need to be brought to your doctor's attention, according to the Health Service Executive (HSE). It says the number of cancer referrals by GPs dropped by more than a half since the outbreak of Covid-19. Dr Una Kennedy, from the National Cancer Control Programme, says people should not be worried about getting things checked during the pandemic. Dr Kennedy says: "We are concerned that there are people out there with symptoms who for various reasons are not presenting to GPs." She says that members of the public who are concerned about symptoms they are displaying can first call medical professions before requiring a follow-up inspection. Dr Kennedy says that "if you have symptoms and you are worried, in the first instance, call us." She says that for most people they won't have cancer and doctors will be able "to put their minds at ease." WASHINGTON - Holding the House seat in California's congressional district north of Los Angeles County was supposed to be fairly easy for Democrats who had a growing voter advantage in the onetime GOP stronghold and a rising star of the freshman class. But that came crashing down when nude photos of then-Rep. Katie Hill were published online and her estranged husband accused her of having an affair with a member of her Capitol Hill staff. Within days of the revelations, Hill, 32,denied the affair but acknowledged the photos, apologized and resigned. Seven months later, Democrats are at risk of losing the seat. A special election on May 12 will determine whether Democratic state Assemblywoman Christy Smith or Republican businessman Mike Garcia finishes Hill's term this year. In November, voters will be asked to choose between the same two candidates to represent the district for a two-year term, a contest for which Democrats say they have a better shot at winning. The inland district encompassing the exurbs of Los Angeles County is one of 39 seats Democrats flipped in 2018, giving them the House majority. To underscore the special election's importance, both President Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have weighed in on the race on Twitter, and former president Barack Obama endorsed Smith on Tuesday. The election presents Republicans with a chance to claw back the red-turned-blue suburban seats they lost in 2018, districts crucial to any hope of the GOP reclaiming the House majority in November. The race also gives Republicans an opportunity to reverse their fortunes in heavily Democratic California, where the GOP holds just six of 53 House seats. Further complicating the election is the novel coronavirus outbreak. There's no playbook to predict how voters will act in the midst of a global pandemic. Candidates are relying on virtual meetups to introduce themselves to constituents. Because of stay-at-home orders, only a limited number of polling places will be open on Election Day, so voters must return mail-in ballots. The state tried to ease the burden by mailing every voter a pre-stamped ballot they simply need to fill out and send back. "We're trying to run a campaign at the height of the crisis when it is hard to get people's attention because people are so distracted by the crisis," Smith said in a recent interview. "We're hopeful for the best and that the turnout breaks in our favor." Almost 1 in 4 voters has cast ballots, a turnout that is "pretty enormous" for a special election, said Paul Mitchell, vice president of Political Data Inc., a California-based bipartisan voter data company that tracks ballot returns. "It simply could be that people are sitting at home and bored. Voting is a little easier when you're not having to deal with those regular life issues," Mitchell said. "We're in this environment that the most exciting thing to do every day is check the mail." The ballots returned so far seem to favor Garcia. As of this week, 32 percent of registered Republicans, 20 percent of registered Democrats and 15 percent of registered independents had voted, according to Mitchell's data. Democrats are setting expectations low for the special election, citing the historically low turnout by their voters in these one-off contests, and setting their sights on November when the presidency will be decided. "May is going to be harder than November will be," said a national Democrat with knowledge of the race who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak frankly. "We think the candidate is going to get better and it's going to be a much better election, but we are realistic about what May is going to look like." Smith is pitching herself as a moderate Democrat with deep roots in the district and a history of public service after nine years on a local school board and a term in the state legislature, someone who will fight for a "robust social safety net." Garcia says he's a fiscally conservative D.C. outsider who, as a former Navy pilot, has traveled the world and now wants to serve in Congress "to cut taxes, grow jobs, and keep Sacramento policies from spreading to DC." Garcia's campaign declined several requests for an interview with the candidate. The latest trouble for Democrats occurred last week when a leaked video of a Smith virtual town hall showed her mocking her opponent's focus on his military resume. It was a misstep in a district that includes Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works in Palmdale that designed the U-2 spy plane and the F-35; other major defense contractors; and military bases. Smith apologized. "Without question I have the deepest respect for Mike Garcia's service to our country and I'm sorry for comments that I made that might suggest otherwise," she said in a statement. But the National Republican Congressional Committee called it "disgusting," and Trump weighed in, writing on Twitter: "Vote @MikeGarcia2020 by May 12th! His opponent @ChristyforCA25 . . . Now she's mocking our Great Vets! We need Navy Fighter Pilot Mike Garcia in #CA25!" Smith hit back in a series of replies to the president's tweet: "Now that you're paying attention to #CA25 Mr. President, a few questions: Where are the tests? Where's the supply chain help? Why aren't you taking any responsibility? Where's $ support for nursing homes and hospitals? Why aren't you talking about protecting farmworkers?" The Democrats intend to emphasize Garcia's embrace of Trump, especially as it pertains to the president's handling of the coronavirus outbreak. In another tweet in response to the president, Smith referred to her opponent as a "mini version of Trump." "In a hyperpartisan presidential election year, Christy Smith being identified as a Democrat is going to be enough for a lot of people," said Rose Kapolczynski, a Democratic consultant who ran former senator Barbara Boxer's campaigns. But, she added, "Mike Garcia has the dream profile for the current Republican Party leadership. For decades, they've been trying to recruit veterans, small-business people who had the personal talents to be effective campaigners." Garcia is also a Latino with immigrant parents at a time when Republicans are desperate to blunt Democrats' advantage in minority communities, especially in a district that is 38 percent Latino. The state holds a top-two primary - all candidates regardless of party are on the same ballot. If no one breaks 50 percent, the top two vote-getters face off. In that race on March 3, Smith won 36 percent to Garcia's 25 percent. The district, which stretches from the rural farmlands in Lancaster to the populous city of Santa Clarita, was held by a Republican for 26 years. For almost all of that time, it was Buck McKeon who would ascend to chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. He won his last election in 2012 with 60 percent of the vote. After he retired, Steve Knight won the next two elections until Hill unseated him in 2018, beating him by eight percentage points. Garry South, a longtime Democratic strategist in California, says the district had been trending blue before Hill's decisive victory. Clinton beat Trump by seven points in 2016. The Democrats have a voter registration advantage. And, like other areas surrounding major metropolises, its demographics have shifted. It's a minority-majority district, meaning there are more minority residents than whites. "There's no metric you can come up with other than Republican wishful thinking to suggest this is somehow a Republican seat or a Republican-leaning seat, or that Mike Garcia has an advantage over Christy Smith," South said. But, said Kapolczynski, in "a special election, the normal partisan dynamics don't apply. Typically, turnout is very low, and that means the electorate is older, whiter and more conservative in California." Smith's challenge, she said, will be convincing "occasional voters" to turn in their ballots even though it's the only race to vote on. If those voters participate in primaries, it's in a presidential year, and they already did that on March 3. National Democrats had hoped Smith would win outright in March and avoid a situation where they'd potentially lose the seat for the remainder of the year and have to go into November running against the incumbent. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has spent $1.7 million on the race, says on its website of Smith: "Christy still has considerable room to grow with women and Latinos." The National Republican Congressional Committee has spent $1.2 million, and outside groups have weighed in, with $1.7 million attacking Smith and $502,000 in opposition to Garcia. Rob Stutzman, a California GOP consultant, said he didn't believe a Garcia win in May would be indicative of what will happen in November, but he acknowledged that as a congressman, Garcia would have the advantage of immediately doing constituent work when people are looking to government for help. Smith, as a state assemblywoman, has tried to focus on that work, with her campaign staff trying to connect voters to her office if they need services. "When we're reaching out to our voters, it's an opportunity to check on them," she said. "Are you with us, can you vote, but also how are you? Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Richard Horstman (The Jakarta Post) Bali Thu, May 7, 2020 10:07 622 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd67320d 3 Art & Culture Larasati,art-auction,online,arts-and-culture Free The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting heavily upon the art world with audiences unable to visit galleries, institutions and auction houses due to the lockdown. It has forced those without a robust online presence to readdress their digital platforms to remain relevant, and for some, to keep their business models alive. Larasati Auctioneers started their online-only auctions in December 2014. Realizing that online was gaining ground with lightning speed, we then decided to work with Invaluable, a third-party platform, beginning in February 2016, said CEO of Larasati Daniel Komala, telling PEAK Magazine Singapore in 2009 that in 10 years technology in the art world would take over in a significant way. The market responded positively right away to our online auctions, Daniel stated. We managed to reach out to bidders that probably would never walk into any of our salerooms physically, and as time goes by, more and more bidders actively use our online facility. You can never replace the excitement of looking at art in the flesh. Hence, the challenge will always be to convince our clients that what he sees on his laptop is a good, if not great, representation of the real artwork. Of course, Larasati's reputation counts a lot in this case, he continued. "The lockdown makes it almost impossible to view anything physically. This requires more creativity on our part. Trust is the keyword. What COVID-19 teaches us is that the only 'constant' is 'change'. We need to be ahead of the curve, always. Originally scheduled to be held in Ubud, Larasatis second sale of 2020, due to the nationwide lockdown will be conducted in Jakarta. The upcoming Traditional, Modern and Contemporary Art (Exclusive Bali Sale) Online Live Streaming starts at 4:30 p.m. on May 9. The new digital facility on the website, Virtual Exhibition, allows the public and potential buyers to enjoy a preview presentation of the sale within a virtual space. Enabling users to navigate their experience with close-up observation and varying perspectives, as if walking through a gallery, the works may be appreciated, at their highest virtual potential, inspiring us to imagine how they may appear in our homes or workspaces. The special pilot-project sale of only 27 lots includes sketches on paper in pencil, pen and ink, an offset color lithograph, a watercolor, paintings in mixed media, oil and acrylic on canvas and paper. Works by well-known and popular artists include Dutchman Arie Smit (1895-1978), Australian Donald Friend (1914-1989), Spanish American Antonio Blanco (1912-1999), Sumatran painter Mochtar Apin (1923-1994) and Balinese artists Dewa Putu Mokoh (1934/36-2010), Anak Agung Raka Pudja (1932-2016) and Ida Bagus Made Widja (1912-1992). The sale provides buying opportunities for new collectors, buyers with mid-range budgets and the connoisseurs. Lot 715 'Bali Life' - Wayan Tohjiwa, acrylic on canvas, 55 x 89 cm (Courtesy of Larasati/File) Donald Friend made the most beautiful and significant contribution by an Australian artist in capturing the distinct qualities of the Balinese culture, landscape and people. His works feature in prominent collections and institutions in Bali, Jakarta, Singapore and Hong Kong. Lot 703 The Tjiktjaks, a 20 by 13.5 cm ink and pen sketch on paper by Friend, with an estimated price of between Rp 5 million (US$331) to Rp 8 million and is a good purchase for a beginner collector wishing to enter the market. A beautiful oil on canvas depiction of a Balinese temple ceremony Odalan di Pura, 1984 by Indonesian Sen Pao in his signature fragmented and colorful linear style with an estimated price of Rp 4 million to Rp 7 million would also be a good purchase for a new buyer wishing to build their collection. Lot 726 'Pantai' 1989 - Mochtar Apin, oil on canvas, 100 x 135 cm (Courtesy of Larasati/File) For connoisseurs wishing to make excellent purchases the following two works will be of particular interest. Illustrated in Arie Smit, a Koes Artbook published in 1995 text by Suteja Neka, founder of the Neka Art Museum in Ubud, and Drs. Sudarmadji, lot 709 Temple Gate, 1986, is a 70 by 60 cm vibrant oil on canvas picture. Signed and dated on the lower right, and signed and dated on the reverse by Smit, it has an estimated price of Rp 580 million to Rp 680 million. Lot 716 'Pariwisata Bali' - Wayan Bendi, acrylic on canvas, 100 x 74 cm (Courtesy of Larasati/File) Lineage has played a defining role in the development of Balinese painting. Anak Agung Gde Raka Pudja is one of the most respected artists of the Ubud School of Painting beginning in the late 1920s through the influence of Rudolf Bonnet and his German friend Walter Spies (1985-1942). He was the son of Anak Agung Gde Meregeg (1902-2001), a master of the Influential Pita Maha artist collective established in 1936 to oversee the development of Balinese art in national and international markets. Ramai Tajen 1985, a 46 by 70 cm depiction of a cockfight by Raka Pudja has an estimated value of Rp 50 million to Rp 70 million. Lot 727 'Utopia' 1995 - Chusin Setiadikara, oil on canvas, 108 x 108 cm (Courtesy of Larasati/File) For buyers with a mid-range budget, good buys are available with the following three lots, especially if purchased within the estimated price ranges. A beautiful watercolor on paper depicting scenery in the Ubud royal palace, Lot 705 Kraton Ubud, 1993 by noted Singaporean painter Ong Kim Seng is estimated at Rp 18 million to Rp 28 million. Historically, many Balinese artists are illustrators of events unusual and of that which have shaped the life and the culture. Dewa Putu Mokoh from the village of Pengosekan was an innovator of the Ubud School of Painting, and his observations, often lurid and quirky takes on life, helped define his creative voice. Lot 712 Banjir, 1996 depicts the chaos of a flood and features people and animals struggling to the safety of dry land. It has an estimated value of Rp 26 million to Rp 36 million. An elongated composition emphasizing the design and construction prowess of the Balinese, and featuring a towering cremation tower, Lot 714 Mengarak Bade by Ketut Djodjol (b. 1940 Ubud) is a strong 152 by 52 cm acrylic on canvas painting that has an estimated value of Rp 20 million to Rp 30 million. Lot 712 ' Banjir' 1996 - Dewa Putu Mokoh, acrylic on canvas, 90 x 130 cm (Courtesy of Larasati/File) Other interesting works available are Lot 727 Utopia, 1995 by one of Indonesias premiere realism painters Chusin Setiadikara (b. 1949, Bandung West Java) that is estimated at Rp 170 million to Rp 220 million. Lot 715, Bali Life by Wayan Tohjiwa (1916-2001) has an estimated value of between Rp 25 million and Rp 30 million. Lot 716 by Batuan School maestro Wayan Bendi, Pariwisata Bali, captures the vibrancy of the signature Batuan crowded, miniature style and has an estimate price of between Rp 20 million to Rp 30 million, and Lot 726 is a reclining nude on the beach, Pantai 1989, by Mochtar Apin, that has an estimated price of Rp 75 million to Rp 95 million. Lot 709 'Temple Gate in Ubud', 1986 - Arie Smit, oil on canvas, 70 x 60 cm (Courtesy of Larasati/File) Potential buyers bidding over the phone, absentee bidders or real-time internet bidders are advised to contact Larasati and inquire about the color reproduction accuracy of the images contained within the online catalogue to ensure that what they wish to purchase can be realistically appraised. The absence of reference to the condition of a lot in the catalogue description does not imply that the lot is free from faults or imperfections. Therefore, condition reports of the works, outlining a paintings current state and whether it has repairs or over-painting, are available upon request. Loy 722 'Ramai Tajen' 1985 - Anak Agung Gde Raka Pudja, acrylic on canvas, 46 x 70 cm (Courtesy of Larasati/File) Provenance, the historical data of the works previous owner/s is also important and is provided. An information guide including before the auction, during the auction and after the auction details, including conditions of business, the bidding process, payment, storage and insurance and shipping of the work is also available. A buyer's premium is payable by the buyer of each lot at rate of 22 percent of the hammer price. Lot 718 'Village Scene in Batuan' 1968 - Ida Bagus Made Widja, acrylic on canvas, 42 x 82 cm (Courtesy of Larasati/File) The online catalogue, complete with a guide for prospective buyers, is available to the public and should be studied carefully by all wishing to participate in this auction. (kes) Online preview : April 30 to May 9 Online live streaming from Jakarta, the auction begins at 4:30 p.m. on May 9. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Fans of the popular jewelry designer Kendra Scott were elated back in November when a pop-up location opened in LaCenterra. Their excitement, however, was tempered by the fact that the store would only be open until March. Despite the original plan for a March closure, the LaCenterra location is still open for business, and theres a possibility that the pop up location may become a permanent fixture. Related: Kendra Scott shop to open in LaCenterra this weekend According to Melanie Amua-Sekyi, district manager for the southern region of Texas, the store has remained open due to the overwhelming response from the Katy community. For now, we are excited to continue serving the Katy community. We received such great feedback from our customers that they loved having a location here, Amua-Sekyi said. Our focus is to keep giving that wow experience to our customers while finding ways to give back to the Katy community, including virtual Kendra Gives Back Events. The employees at the location are thrilled with the possibility of staying open. We knew people in Katy would be excited that we were here for the holidays, but the response was just incredible, said Janeth Soriano, an employee at the Katy location. We had so many customers and were busy all the time. There are no finalized plans to keep the store open indefinitely, but the employees are hopeful. It all happened so fast, said Soriano. One moment we were saying goodbye to our customers that we just love so much, and the next, we were told wed still be here. Were really hoping we become permanent. Denise Chumlea, vice president of design for Kendra Scott, said that the Kendra Scott corporate office took note of the immense popularity of the pop-up shop. The Katy area has really shown us that they want us here, she said. The store closed on March 16 in accordance with Gov. Greg Abbotts executive order shuttering retail stores, but now that the governor has lifted the order, Kendra Scott stores are open for curbside pick up or by appointment. Customers choosing to shop in-store must make an appointment first. Only two shoppers are allowed in the store at a time, and the appointments last 30 minutes. It is important that we offer our wonderful customers the Kendra Scott experience they know and love, while keeping the health and safety of our customers and employees as our first priority, Amua-Sekyi said. This shopping experience is definitely unlike anything weve ever done, but were happy to be here, Soriano said. Customers shop with us and theyre like, Im just so happy youre open. I really needed this. The store offers the newest collections for spring and summer and also features perennial favorites like the customizable pieces in the color bar. We also just launched our summer collection on April 30, and we are excited for our customers to see the new stone shapes, as well as the custom variations to some of their favorite stones like abalone, said Amua-Sekyi. The store also offers fine jewelry options featuring diamonds and precious metals. Amua-Sekyi added that 20 percent of all curbside purchases will be donated to Texas Hospitals through May 10. Giving is at the core of who we are, and philanthropy has been our guiding light during this entire pandemic, she said. claire.goodman@chron.com A particular form of free-market ideology has dominated political thinking since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Known sometimes as neo-liberalism, sometimes as the Washington Consensus, it eventually came to be accepted without question by most mainstream analysts. No more. The Washington Consensus has come under attack before, particularly during the Great Recession of 2008-09. The COVID-19 pandemic may finally signal its death. Neo-liberalism is built on three principles: the free movement of goods and services, the free movement of capital and the free movement of labour. In all three cases, the aim is to erase national boundaries. Governments arent supposed to favour their own citizens. That is called protectionism and is deemed bad. Rather, governments are to restrict themselves to setting rules that encourage efficient globalization. At first, the Washington Consensus had many victories. The 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, Mexico and the United States was an early one. It encouraged manufacturers to shift production to low-wage Mexico. That was followed by the 1995 Schengen Agreement that allowed labour to move freely throughout the European Union and the 2002 launch of the euro, a common currency for the EU. Both were lauded as positive examples of neo-liberal economic policy. Along the way, the World Trade Organization was set up, a move that by lowering trade barriers in the developed world encouraged manufacturers to relocate to low-wage countries, such as China. In Canada, successive federal governments did their bit for labour mobility by bringing in temporary foreign workers to do low-wage jobs. These same governments signed additional free-trade pacts, including ones with the European Union and selected Asia-Pacific countries, such as Vietnam, South Korea and Japan. All were designed to encourage global supply chains and cheapen labour costs. Overall, neo-liberalism seemed to be working. The developed world got its foreign-made goods at bargain basement prices. The workers of the developing world were usually exploited. But at least they had jobs. The Great Recession of 2008-09 delivered a body blow to neo-liberalism, particularly in Europe. It revealed the dangers involved in allowing financial systems to operate without robust regulation. It highlighted the weakness of the euro. It also spawned a populist reaction to labour mobility policies that workers, not illogically, thought were designed to keep wages down. Now we have a pandemic that strikes right at the heart of globalization. Neo-liberalism tells us we should scour the world looking for cost efficiencies. Yet the coronavirus punishes those who stray from home. Neo-liberalism warns against those who would have government play a significant role in the economy. Yet the coronavirus reminds us that sometimes the state is the only game in town. Global supply chains may work in neo-liberal theory. But in the real world of disease, fear and sharp practices, these supply chains are strikingly vulnerable. Consider the federal governments recent difficulty in taking possession of Chinese face masks it had already bought and paid for. Temporary foreign workers, like those employed at the Cargill slaughterhouse south of Calgary, may allow employers to save money. But when these workers contract the coronavirus, as more than 900 at the Cargill plant have done, they must still be dealt with by Canadas health care system. New Brunswick has handled this aspect of the labour mobility problem by banning temporary foreign workers from the province. Premier Blaine Higgs argues that, at a time when politicians are advising Canadians against travel, it makes no sense to risk COVID-19 infections by importing short-term, foreign workers from abroad. True, employers might have to offer higher wages if they wish to attract Canadian workers. But in a world no longer defined by the Washington Consensus, whats wrong with that? Thomas Walkom is a Toronto-based freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Reach him via email: is a Toronto-based freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Reach him via email: walkomtom@gmail.com President Donald Trump has vetoed legislation that limited a presidents ability to wage war against Iran without the approval of Congress. On Wednesday, Mr Trump said that he vetoed the Iran war powers resolution because it was insulting to the presidency. In a statement, he argued that the nonbinding legislation purported to direct me to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces in hostilities against Iran. Congress passed the Iran war powers resolution in the aftermath of the US killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, amid widespread concerns about tensions between the US and Iran. At the time, the resolution which was introduced to Congress by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine showed bipartisan support for reigning-in president Trumps war-making powers. Iranians vote to elect new parliament Show all 9 1 /9 Iranians vote to elect new parliament Iranians vote to elect new parliament Iranians queue up during parliamentary elections at the Shah Abdul Azim shrine in the southern outskirts of Tehran on February 21, 2020 AFP via Getty Images Iranians vote to elect new parliament An Iranian man displays his ink-stained finger after casting his ballot during parliamentary election at a polling station AFP via Getty Images Iranians vote to elect new parliament Voters pose for a selfie during the parliament elections at a polling station AP Iranians vote to elect new parliament Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei casts his vote VIA REUTERS Iranians vote to elect new parliament An Iranian woman displays her ink-stained finger after voting AFP via Getty Images Iranians vote to elect new parliament Iranian voters pose for a selfie during parliamentary elections at the Shah Abdul Azim shrine on the southern outskirts of Tehran AFP via Getty Images Iranians vote to elect new parliament A woman gestures as she casts her vote at a polling station EPA Iranians vote to elect new parliament An Iranian woman casts her ballot at a polling station EPA Iranians vote to elect new parliament An Iranian woman casts her ballot at a polling station EPA This was a very insulting resolution, introduced by Democrats as part of a strategy to win an election on November 3 by dividing the Republican Party, said Trump in the White House statement on Wednesday. The few Republicans who voted for it played right into their hands. In another White House memo, reported CNN, the president said This indefinite prohibition is unnecessary and dangerous. The resolution implies that the Presidents constitutional authority to use military force is limited to defense of the United States and its forces against imminent attack. That is incorrect, Trump said on Wednesday. Trump continued: We live in a hostile world of evolving threats, and the Constitution recognises that the President must be able to anticipate our adversaries next moves and take swift and decisive action in response. Thats what I did! Congress is not expected to override the presidents veto during a vote on Thursday, as Republicans hold a 53-to 47-seat majority in the US senate. Mr Kaine on Wednesday called on senators to vote with him to override the veto, saying on Twitter: I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to override his vetoCongress must vote before sending our troops into harms way. The resolution was passed by the House of Representatives in March and the Senate in April, with the support of a small number of Republicans. The family of a New Jersey teacher killed along with a student in a school bus crash in Morris County two years ago has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against both drivers, along with local and state officials, alleging recklessness, carelessness and negligence. Teacher Jennifer Williamson, 51, of Paramus, and fifth-grader Miranda Vargas, 10, were killed and 43 East Brook Middle School students were hurt on May 17, 2018, when the bus they were riding collided with a dump truck in Morris County. Williamsons brother, Douglas, acting as administrator of her estate, has filed suit against bus driver Hudy Muldrow Sr., the dump truck driver, his bosses at Mendez Trucking, school officials, Bergen and Morris counties and the state of New Jersey. (Officials) knew or should have known that Hudy Muldrow Sr. was an unsafe driver and that his operation of a school bus was substantially certain to result in injury, states the suit, filed April 30 in Superior Court of Bergen County. Muldrows driving record included at least 16 violations, including eight speeding tickets and at least one improper lane change, five crashes, and 14 license suspensions including one that occurred the same year as the fatal crash, according to the suit. In December 2019, Muldrow, 79, pleaded guilty to two counts of reckless vehicular homicide, five counts of assault by auto and endangering children. In an emotionally-charged court hearing earlier this year, Muldrow was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by two years of license suspension. Public records show he is serving his time at South Woods State Prison and is eligible for parole in August 2024. Hudy Muldrow Sr.NJDOC The driver of the dump truck was not charged in the crash. However, the lawsuit claims he drove the truck in such a careless, reckless, and negligent manner so as to cause it to collide with the school bus. The lawsuit states East Brook Middle School and the Paramus School Board negligently and carelessly hired Muldrow, which led to Williamsons injuries and her death. The suit further accuses the states education, transportation and motor vehicle departments, along with officials in two counties of gross negligence, recklessness and/or other wrongful acts. The attorneys are seeking unspecified monetary damages for losses suffered by Williamsons family and her beneficiaries. A spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Transportation said Thursday the agency does not comment on pending litigation. Officials in Bergen and Morris counties did not immediately respond Thursday to requests for comment. The owner of Mendez Trucking was not at the business Thursday morning and could not be reached. The lawsuit is at least the second filed since the crash. Last year, Joevanny Vargas, father of Miranda, sued the Paramus school district and its superintendent, as well Muldrow and the dump truck driver. Vargas also convinced state lawmakers to require three-point seat belts on school buses. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its third month, businesses in the United States are marketing unlicensed and unproven stem-cell-based "therapies" and exosome products that claim to prevent or treat the disease. In Cell Stem Cell on May 5, bioethicist Leigh Turner describes how these companies are "seizing the pandemic as an opportunity to profit from hope and desperation." "I'm concerned that individuals purchasing these supposed 'therapies' for COVID-19 will be scammed," says Turner (@LeighGTurner), an associate professor at the University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics. "I'm also worried that they'll be injured as a result of being given products that haven't been adequately tested, or that they'll forgo measures like social distancing because they've paid for a product that they think will protect them from being infected or getting sick." Many stem cell clinics have a history of selling unproven and unlicensed interventions for injuries and illnesses ranging from Alzheimer's disease to pulmonary disorders to spinal cord injuries. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, some have added claims about "immune-boosting" therapies for treating COVID-19 and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by infection with SARS CoV-2. These companies advertise stem cell interventions and exosome products derived from such sources as umbilical cords and amniotic fluid. Turner says uncritical news media accounts have compounded some of these claims by reporting on preliminary evidence and case studies. Yet rigorous clinical trials on these stem cell products have not yet been done. "Randomized controlled trials are needed to establish whether particular stem cell products are safe and efficacious in the treatment of COVID-19-related ARDS," he explains. Turner has studied the US direct-to-consumer marketplace for stem cell clinics for nearly a decade. "These businesses have a long history of claiming to treat diseases and injuries for which evidence-based therapies do not yet exist," he says. To find out what these businesses were promoting, he did Google searches on a variety of terms related to stem cell treatments, COVID-19, and ARDS. He also searched YouTube for promotional videos made by these clinics. "I found more examples of businesses peddling stem cell products for COVID-19 than I had space to describe in detail," he notes. "I wasn't surprised at how quickly some of these companies began making these claims. For them, the COVID-19 pandemic is an opportunity to generate a new revenue stream." In the paper, Turner also discusses the role of medical organizations, noting that while most are doing a good job of criticizing deceptive advertising, some have been promoting these interventions despite the lack of scientific evidence supporting their use. "I want members of the public to know that some companies are trying to take advantage of them by selling supposed treatments that aren't backed by credible evidence," Turner concludes. "I'm also hoping that this paper will catch the attention of regulatory bodies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as well as state medical boards and state attorney general offices. The FDA and FTC have issued letters to some businesses, but additional regulatory action is needed." ### Cell Stem Cell, Turner, L.: "Preying on Public Fears and Anxieties in a Pandemic: Businesses Selling Unproven and Unlicensed 'Stem Cell Treatments' for COVID-19" https://www.cell.com/cell-stem-cell/fulltext/S1934-5909(20)30201-0 Cell Stem Cell (@CellStemCell), published by Cell Press, is a monthly journal that publishes research reports describing novel results of unusual significance in all areas of stem cell research. Each issue also contains a wide variety of review and analysis articles covering topics relevant to stem cell research ranging from basic biological advances to ethical, policy, and funding issues. Visit: http://www.cell.com/cell-stem-cell. To receive Cell Press media alerts, contact press@cell.com. Reuters Donald Trump and Mike Pence have both tested negative for Covid-19 after one of the presidents personal valets at the White House was found to have contracted the disease. Meanwhile, a further 3.2m people have applied for unemployment benefits after being laid off because of the pandemic, taking the total since the disaster struck to a record-breaking 33m. The president described the coronavirus outbreak as the worst attack the US has ever seen on its soil on Wednesday, saying it surpassed Pearl Harbour and 9/11 and blaming China for failing to contain the disease: It should have been stopped right at the source, and it wasnt. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference at the Texas State Capitol in Austin on March 29, 2020.. (Tom Fox-Pool/Getty Images) Texas Governor Scraps Jail Time for Violating His Orders Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said hes eliminating the possibility of jail time for people found violating his executive orders while the state Supreme Court ordered a jailed salon owner released. Throwing Texans in jail who have had their businesses shut down through no fault of their own is nonsensical, and I will not allow it to happen, Abbott, a Republican, said in a statement on May 7. Criminals shouldnt be released to prevent COVID-19 just to put business owners in their place. The decision eliminates jail time for violating an order going forward and retroactively to April 2. The modification to the orders supersedes local orders. Abbott ordered Texans to largely stay at home through executive orders that went into effect last month. Violators faced jail terms up to 180 days and a fine of up to $1,000. Shelley Luther in a booking photo on May 5, 2020. (Dallas County Sheriffs Office via AP) Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther was jailed this week after reopening her business on April 24 to earn money to feed her children. The state Supreme Court ordered Luther to be released from Dallas County jail later Thursday, Attorney General Ken Paxton said. Paxton on Wednesday called for the immediate release of Luther. Other top state officials came out against the sentence, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who said he was paying Luthers fine and offered to serve home confinement if she was released. Abbott said on Wednesday he had made clear through a number of announcements that jailing Texans for non-compliance with executive orders should always be the last available option. Compliance with executive orders during this pandemic is important to ensure public safety; however, surely there are less restrictive means to achieving that goal than jailing a Texas mother, he added. Abbotts new decision may ensure that Texans arrested for violating his orders wont be sentenced to prison, the governor said. The New York Post reports that Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) isn't aiming to be Joe Biden's running mate. Instead, she wants to become the secretary of defense. Her goal: Pushing a #MeToo agenda on the military. It seems that Gillibrand's prior commitment to #BelieveAllWomen stops at Biden's doorstep. For those who haven't been paying close attention to Gillibrand's career, the Post says she's long had her eye on reforming the military: Gillibrand, who has spent years focusing on military issues as a senior member of the Armed Services committee, is looking to become a #MeToo reformer in the Department of Defense. "She wants to completely restructure the DoD, the military org chart, and overhaul the way complaints against those in power are handled, particularly as it relates to sexual assaults," a Capitol Hill insider with knowledge of Gillibrand's thinking told The Post. Gillibrand has hinted at that goal repeatedly in the Senate. Last June she introduced the Comprehensive Resource Center for the Military Justice Improvement Act to address sexual assault in the armed forces, but so far the bill has gone nowhere. In 2016 she blasted the military's "troubling command culture," saying "the military justice system is still dysfunctional ... sexual assault is still pervasive and survivors still don't believe they will get justice." Up until last week, it was possible to believe that Gillibrand genuinely supports a workplace in which women know that if a superior sexually harasses or assaults them, they can be heard and believed. After all, when Christine Blasey Ford showed up, Gillibrand was all over it. None of the holes in Ford's story, the obvious lies she told, or her blatant partisanship mattered: Rather than outright dismissing this very serious allegation, or releasing a premeditated defense of the allegation via a letter from former classmates, Republicans should postpone the rush to vote on Kavanaugh this week and investigate these allegations in a bipartisan manner. Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) September 16, 2018 Professor Ford showed great courage in coming forward. She should be supported and must not be attacked and smeared. Her voice matters. Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) September 16, 2018 But make no mistake: Our fight was not for nothing. The bravery of Dr. Fords testimony inspired women everywhere. Her strength will forever be a source of strength as we continue to fight for survivors to be believed, for women to be valued. And we wont stop fighting. Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) October 6, 2018 Senate Republicans cant summon the decency to treat Dr. Ford with the respect that she deserves. Stop the bullying tactics and take yes for an answer. Call Mark Judge and other witnesses to get the facts instead of putting her on trial. Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) September 21, 2018 Gillibrand even threw in a tweet comparing Ford to Anita Hill. As some may remember, then-senator Biden earned feminist ire for the way he handled questioning Hill. We cant fail Dr. Ford the same way but she hasnt even been granted the FBI investigation Anita Hill received. We cant change our countrys culture of sexual harassment and assault if we dont change our treatment of survivors. A country that values women wouldnt allow this. Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) September 19, 2018 Gillibrand, however, has again shown that she has only two fixed principles, neither of which is feminism. Instead, her principles are (a) implementing leftist policies and (b) advancing her career. These principles rose to the fore when Tara Reade said Joe Biden had sexually assaulted her in 1993. Even the normally Democrat-friendly MSN noticed how Gillibrand had shifted from feminist firebrand to Biden groupie: "So when we say believe women, it's for this explicit intention of making sure there's space for all women to come forward to speak their truth, to be heard. And in this allegation, that is what Tara Reade has done," Gillibrand said. "She has come forward, she has spoken, and they have done an investigation in several outlets. Those investigations, Vice President Biden has called for himself. Vice President Biden has vehemently denied these allegations and I support Vice President Biden." [snip] Asked by reporters Tuesday, Gillibrand said she doesn't see a contradiction between how Democratic lawmakers are handling Reade's allegations and how they handled allegations levied against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh by Christine Blasey Ford in 2018, which Kavanaugh denied during congressional testimony. "No, and I stand by Vice President Biden. He has devoted his life to supporting women and he has vehemently denied this allegation," the New York Democrat said. [snip] Gillibrand was the first in the Senate to call for former Sen. Al Franken's resignation after allegations of unwanted touching and kissing were made against the Minnesota Democrat in late 2017, writing that it would be "better for our country if he sent a clear message that any kind of mistreatment of women in our society isn't acceptable by stepping aside to let someone else serve." Sadly, Gillibrand isn't unique. Most Democrats have jettisoned "believe all women." Some are open about it. For example, Martin Tolchin says Reade is irrelevant because the only thing that matters is victory. Linda Hirshman went for the "split the baby" approach: "I Believe Tara Reade. I'm Voting for Joe Biden Anyway." As with Gillibrand, scratch a feminist, and you'll always find a hardcore leftist. Pune, May 7 : Mylab Discovery Solutions has completed expansion of its production capacity to manufacture COVID-19 RT-PCR tests. As per the production plan, Mylab will scale-up manufacturing to 2 lakh tests per day from the second week of May. Adar Poonawalla, CEO, Serum Institute of India said, " It overwhelms me to see our efforts with Mylab in making India self-reliant in combating COVID-19 fructified. As our production capacity increases from 20,000 tests per day to 2 lakh COVID-19 tests per day, we will now be able to meet India's growing demand for testing completely." "This is an important milestone for the Make in India initiative as it sets a precedent of health institutions coming together to work towards the interest of public health. It further helps our government reduce its dependency on foreign counterparts with an assurance of quality and reliability." he further added Mylab has already manufactured 6.5 lakh tests and has supplied tests to 140 sites including labs and hospitals in over 20 states of India. With the support of India Post (The Department of Posts), the company has been able to deliver test kits across different parts of the country including Armed Forces Medical College in Pune, District Mineral Foundation, of Odisha, and R & R Army Hospital of Delhi. The company has also received approval from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for its RNA extraction kit, Maverick, to further streamline the RT-PCR testing process. Hasmukh Rawal, Managing Director, Mylab Discovery Solutions said, "We aim to make India self-reliant with high-quality testing. As we ramp-up our production, our focus on quality is more than ever. Supplied with endogenous internal control for housekeeping gene, our kits can ensure that we can detect samples which were not collected, transported or processed correctly and remove false negatives." Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text CHICAGO, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Digital Shipyard Market by Shipyard Type (Commercial, Military, Technology (AR VR, Blockchain, Digital Twin, Additive Manufacturing, IIoT), Capacity (Large, Medium, Small Shipyard), Process, End Use, Digitalization Level, and Region - Global Forecast to 2030", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Digital Shipyard Market is estimated to be USD 693 million in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 3,967 million by 2030, at a CAGR of 19.1% from 2020 to 2030. Intelligent technologies and processes are driving the digital shipyard market in the marine sector. Modernization and procurement plans across the commercial and military shipyards are contributing to the digital transformation of shipyards across the globe. Additionally, with the rising need for shipbuilding companies to overcome barriers of unprecedented change, disruption, expensive program costs, and expanding international opportunities, shipyards are adopting digital reinvention using innovative technologies to bring about digitalization, waste reduction, a greener environment, and faster growth. Stringent rules and standards from regulatory bodies with respect to harmful emissions, reduction in the overall operational costs, etc., are some of the factors driving the growth of the digital shipyard market during the forecast period. Request for PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=6854923 Commercial shipyard segment is estimated to account for the largest share of the digital shipyard market in 2020 Based on shipyard type, the digital shipyard market is segmented into commercial and military shipyards. These shipyards differ in terms of ship size & complexity, design & construction, acquisition process, workforce, client involvement, and business models. An increase in demand for upgradations in shipyards in Asia Pacific is driving the market for military as well as commercial digital shipyards. Robotic Process Automation segment is estimated to account for the largest share of the digital shipyard market in 2020 Based on technology, the robotic process automation segment is expected to witness faster growth in the digital shipyard market by 2030. Robotic process automation technology is widely used in the shipbuilding industry for processes such as design & engineering and manufacturing & planning. The technology is adopted by various system integrators and shipbuilders to reduce the operational time & cost and increase the efficiency and reliability of products & services. Manufacturing & planning segment is estimated to account for the largest share of the digital shipyard market in 2020 Based on process, the manufacturing & planning segment is expected to witness higher growth in the digital shipyard market by 2030. Design & engineering is an important phase and plays a vital role in the implementation of the concept of a digital shipyard. The process involves the use of various intelligent technologies such as additive manufacturing, robotic process automation, cloud computing & master data management, and Blockchain. Browse in-depth TOC on "Digital Shipyard Market" 111 - Tables 39 - Figures 207 - Pages Request more details on: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=6854923 Asia Pacific region is estimated to account for the largest share of the digital shipyard market in 2020 The Asia Pacific digital shipyard market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR from 2020 to 2030 Countries in the Asia Pacific region are undergoing development, procurements, and modernizing various capabilities in the field of digital transformation of shipyards, which offers significant potential for system integrators and technology providers of the marine sector. A rise in demand for the procurement of modernized and sophisticated marine vessels equipped with high-end technologies in military shipyards is one of the factors driving the growth of the market in the Asia Pacific. Additionally, the increasing marine expenditure and expansion of technological networks in emerging economies such as India and China are expected to drive the demand for digital shipyards in the region. The digital shipyard market has been gaining traction over the last few years due to the presence of several established companies as well as startups. Some of the major players in this market include Siemens (Germany), Dassault Systemes (France), AVEVA Group Plc (UK), Accenture (Ireland), and SAP (Germany), among others. Related Reports: Autonomous Ships Market by Autonomy (Fully Autonomous, Remote Operations, Partial Automation), Ship Type (Commercial, Defense), End Use (Linefit, Retrofit), Solution (Systems, Software, Structures), and Region - Global Forecast to 2030 Connected Ship Market by Application (Vessel Traffic Management, Fleet operations, Fleet Health Operations), Installation Type (Onboard, Onshore), Ship Type (Commercial, Defense), Fit (Linefit, Retrofit), Region - Global Forecast to 2023 About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/digital-shipyard-market.asp Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/digital-shipyard.asp Logo:https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg Virgin Australia could be forced to make mass redundancies and return as a no-frills budget airline even if it emerges from administration, experts have warned. The airline entered voluntary administration on April 21 saddled by $7billion in debt after the coronavirus pandemic brought the travel industry to a grinding halt in March. Aviation expert Neil Hansford said Virgin - which has stood down 80 per cent of its 10,000-strong workforce - would need to significantly downsize its fleet if it is to survive. The chairman of Australian-based Strategic Aviation Solutions said Virgin would need to turn into an 'ultra low-cost carrier' - potentially even cheaper than Jetstar - and reduce its fleet of planes to only the most essential domestic airliners. Virgin Australia employees at Sydney Airport on April 21 as the embattled airline entered administration. An aviation expert said the carrier may need to return as an 'ultra low-cost carrier' if it is to survive He said the airline's Boeing 777s and Airbus A330s would need to be sold - leaving only its Boeing 737-800 fleet behind for a minimal domestic operation. Mr Hansford also criticised Virgin Australia's administrator Deloitte for allowing the airline's stood-down employees to cling to false hope they may get their jobs back. Since entering administration, Deloitte has reported there are as many as 20 investors interested in rescuing the airline. 'The whole picture they are painting - that all you do is just add a load of money and then you bring Virgin out exactly as it was prior to COVID-19 - that's an absolute nonsense,' he told 9News. 'This is a negotiation that is normally held behind closed doors, not on the front page of the national publications.' A Deloitte spokesperson confirmed 'around 20' investors are circling Virgin in the hope of bringing the carrier out of administration. It comes after Virgin Atlantic announced this month it will axe 3,150 jobs and cease operations at Britain's Gatwick Airport as it battles for survival amid the coronavirus crisis. The airline - owned by Sir Richard Branson - will axe a third of its workforce and will switch some of the routes to the country's largest airport Heathrow. The billionaire, who has an estimated wealth of AUD$6.2billion, faced heavy public criticism after announcing Virgin Atlantic would collapse unless it received support from the UK taxpayer. Pictured centre: British billionaire Richard Branson - who owns Virgin Atlantic and 10 per cent of Virgin Australia He also owns 10 per cent of Virgin Australia It comes as Qantas revealed it could drop the price of regional flights to just $19 as the airline tries desperately to recover from the coronavirus shutdown. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Deloitte for further comment. New Delhi, May 7 : : Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved abolition of 9,304 posts in military engineering services on Thursday. Singh approved the proposal of engineer-in-chief of Military Engineering Services (MES) for optimisation of more than 9,300 posts in the basic and industrial workforce. "It is in line with the recommendations of the Committee of Experts, headed by Lieutenant General Shekatkar, which had recommended measures to enhance combat capability and rebalance defence expenditure of the Armed Forces," the Defence Ministry said. One of the recommendations made by the Committee was to restructure the civilian workforce in a manner that the work of MES could be partly done by departmentally employed staff and other work could be outsourced. In line with the recommendations made by the Committee, based on the proposal of engineer-in-chief, MES, the proposal of abolition of 9,304 posts in MES out of the total 13,157 vacancies of the basic and industrial staff has been approved. The recommendation was aimed at making MES an effective organisation with a "leaner workforce, well equipped to handle complex issues in the emerging scenario in an efficient and cost effective manner". Role of MES Military Engineer Services is the premier construction agency and one of the pillars of Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army which provides rear line engineering support to the Armed Forces. It is one of largest construction and maintenance agencies in India with a total annual budget of approximately Rs 13,000 crores. It is responsible for creating the strategic and the operational infrastructure other than major roads, as also the administrative habitat for all three Services and the associated organisations of the Ministry of Defence. It has a pan-India footprint to provide engineering support to various formations of the Army, Air Force, Navy and DRDO. For this, the MES has over six hundred stations spread across the main land and the island territories of India. The MES is a military organisation but has both Army and Civilian component of officers and other subordinate staff. The organization was created over 200 years ago to execute both civil and military infrastructure. In the 18th century, the construction organisation was a part of the Army as the Public Works Department (PWD) manned by the Indian Corps of Engineers was created under the control of a Military Board. By 1851, the PWD came under the civil control but was responsible for both civil and military works. In 1881, The Military Works branch of PWD was segregated and transferred to the Military Department. The Military Works Services headed by a Director General came into being in 1889. The "Army in India" Committee (1919-20) placed the Military Works under the Quarter Master General and the Sappers and Miners under the Chief of the General Staff. The two engineering wings were combined under the Engineer-in- Chief. The MES was formed in December 1923 with the Engineer-in- Chief as the Head. Initially, it comprised of personnel exclusively from Corps of Engineers, but later attained composite character by inducting civilians. The MES functions under the overall control of the Engineer-in- Chief, who is the advisor to the Ministry of Defence and the three Services on operational and peace time construction activities. The Military Engineering Services are responsible for the design, construction and maintenance of all infrastructure assets of the Army, Navy and Air Force. It is structured to design works which are executed through contracts under the supervision of officers and staff consisting of both civilians and combatants from the Corps of Engineers. It has an integral multi-disciplinary team of architects, civil, electrical and mechanical engineers, structural designers, quantity surveyors and contract specialists for planning, designing and supervision of works. The civilian cadres consists of four main cadre that is Engineering, Surveyor cadre, Architect and BSO (all being qualified engineers) and an Administrative cadre. A masked hospital employee can be seen walking across the skywalk at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital while the mural of Najee Spencer-Young, created by artist Amy Sherald, is seen behind the worker in Philadelphia on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. Philadelphias coronavirus case total has passed 13,000. Read more A few weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic, Danielle Weitzer began noticing that a handful of patients at Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital who tested positive for the coronavirus were showing psychiatric symptoms, like sudden changes in behavior or personality, agitation, confusion, and delirium. Weitzer, a psychiatry resident at the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, said psychiatric symptoms generally come on gradually. But with COVID-19 patients the symptoms are "very acute, and can become very severe in a matter of days, she said. Scientists and researchers all over the world are scrambling to uncover more information about the coronavirus as the number of global cases climbs over three million. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently updated its list of possible COVID-19 symptoms to include chills, headache, and a sore throat, health officials have not yet included psychiatric symptoms. Physicians now know that the virus affects the nervous system, said Joseph R. Berger, a professor of neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. This can cause complications in the brain for a small number of people. But he said there may be a simpler explanation for the majority of psychiatric symptoms among COVID-19 patients a lack of oxygen in the brain due to low levels in the blood, a dangerous condition called hypoxemia. (Hypoxemia can cause hypoxia, when organs are deprived of oxygen.) The brain ... cannot withstand low levels of oxygen, Berger said. When the brain is not getting enough oxygen, the patient suffers from hypoxia, which can change the way they think. Memory loss, difficulty paying attention, and confusion can be signs of poor oxygen supply to the brain, Berger said. And sometimes, those signs can appear before the better-known physical symptoms of COVID-19, a phenomenon that doctors have dubbed silent hypoxia, when pneumonia caused by the virus leads to a form of hard-to-detect oxygen deprivation. READ MORE: N.J. cardiologist suffers stroke due to coronavirus, and hes not alone A study of 214 COVID-19 patients in China published in JAMA Network Open last month found that 36.4% experienced neurologic symptoms, which were broadly classified as dizziness, headache, impaired consciousness, and impairments to taste, smell, and vision. The researchers said that patients with severe infections experienced more acute neurologic symptoms. Berger said that physicians saw similar symptoms during the 2003 SARS outbreak and the 2012 MERS outbreak, which both caused respiratory infections. This virus, although chiefly a disease that attacks the lungs, can affect people in ways that might not suggest lung disease initially, Berger said. The loss of sense of taste, smell, or peculiar behaviors may tie back to the lungs being affected, so people have to be alert to the possibility that something unusual may be the consequence of COVID-19. Weitzer said that at Jefferson, neurologic symptoms are most commonly seen in older patients. She also noted that symptoms are more severe in people with underlying conditions, such as diabetes or asthma. The symptoms, if caught in time, are not permanent. Symptoms do improve for people who recover from COVID-19, but it does take a bit, Weitzer said. Kevin Caputo, chair of psychiatry at Crozer-Keystone Health System, said its not uncommon to see signs of depression or delirium in elderly patients suffering from pneumonia and other illnesses. Geriatric patients are more fragile medically, so any illness can accentuate pre-morbid personality traits, he said. For example, if Im stingy in my 20s and 30s, and experience a psychiatric illness in my 70s, I may appear even more like a miser and act like Im really afraid of people taking my money. ASK US: Do you have a question about the coronavirus and how it affects your health, work and life? Ask our reporters. Caputo noted that every patient reacts to the infection differently, which is why its important to look for a decrease in mental sharpness and focus, loss of memory, difficulties with words, motor and cognitive deficits as well as the more familiar, flu-like symptoms. The basic message, Caputo said, "is that all physicians should be vigilant. YouTube star FriendlyJordies has brutally mocked Z-list celebrities for selling homemade porn via the subscription-based website OnlyFans. The comedian, whose real name is Jordan Shanks, unpacked a Daily Mail Australia article about the OnlyFans phenomenon in his latest video. He was stunned to discover that some creators were earning up to $30,000 per day flogging sexually explicit photos and videos. 'What is your marketable skill?' YouTube star FriendlyJordies (pictured) has brutally mocked Z-list celebrities for selling homemade porn via the subscription-based website OnlyFans 'The economy has completely changed and we're still being told in school that you have to learn things to make a lot of money,' he said. But after doing a quick calculation, Jordan realised that $30,000 per day results in an annual salary of $10.95million. 'That is more than the CEO of Commonwealth Bank makes! And for what? What is your marketable skill?' he ranted. Baffled: He was stunned to discover that some OnlyFans creators were earning up to $30,000 per day selling sexually explicit photos and videos. After doing a quick calculation, Jordan realised that this makes for an annual salary of $10.95million 'For anyone who ever asks me, "FriendlyJordies, what should I do when I grow up?" Two words for you: Only Fans!' According to News Corp, more than 5,000 Australians have registered as content creators on OnlyFans in the past year. Reality stars such as The Bachelorette's Paddy Colliar and Love Island's Vanessa Sierra charge users a monthly fee for adult content ranging from suggestive selfies to hardcore pornography. Sound advice: 'For anyone who ever asks me, "FriendlyJordies, what should I do when I grow up?" Two words for you: Only Fans!' he said Pornography: Love Island's Vanessa Sierra and boyfriend Luke Erwin (pictured) sell X-rated videos on their joint OnlyFans page Hard times: Paddy Colliar (pictured), who starred on The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise, recently turned to OnlyFans after losing his job due to the coronavirus pandemic Rhyce Power, who shot to fame as Jessika Power's 'hot brother' on Married At First Sight last year, is one of the top creators on OnlyFans. The former carpenter, 28, recently shared his earnings from the site on Instagram, revealing he had made more than $50,000 in just one month. Australian Instagram model Jem Wolfie is currently the biggest star on OnlyFans, raking in millions of dollars since joining the platform in 2018. The Perth native, 28, can earn up to $30,000 per day by sharing exclusive photos that aren't much different to the content on her Instagram page. Wealthy: Rhyce Power (pictured), who shot to fame as Jessika Power's 'hot brother' on Married At First Sight last year, is one of the top creators on OnlyFans Beyond homes and the real estate around them, the Rothners also have ties to a consulting firm, Extended Care Clinical, that is employed by 18 facilities in the Chicago area and Indiana, including Chateau and other homes that the familys members own, according to the organizations website and state records. The firm is based at the same address on Main Street in Evanston used by other Rothner-managed companies, and it shares a co-manager with Rothner Health Ventures, according to state records. Eric Rothner manages the company that in recent years has owned the Evanston building, state and Cook County records show. He has left viewers swooning following his portrayal as Connell Waldren. Yet it seems nobody is more surprised by Paul Mescal's newfound heartthrob status than the actor himself, who admitted it was the 'last thing he ever expected'. The Normal People star, 24, discussed the reaction to the BBC series and his character Connell during a recent interview with Grazia magazine. Surprise! It seems nobody is more surprised by Paul Mescal's newfound heartthrob status than the actor himself, who admitted it was the 'last thing he ever expected' When quizzed about the attention he has received since the adaptation of Sally Rooney's bestselling novel aired last week, he said: 'When people meet me in person they'll be disappointed, people are taking that from the character of Connell, and that's something I actually never thought he would be. 'It was genuinely the last thing I was expecting, so I haven't formed an opinion on it yet, I suppose.' Chat: The Normal People star, 24, discussed the reaction to the BBC series and his character Connell during a recent interview with Grazia magazine Despite all the hype surrounding the actor on social media, Paul revealed he has been trying to stay away from it because you can lose too much time on it. During the candid chat, Paul also discussed the reaction people have had to his sex scenes with co-star Daisy Edgar-Jones, who plays his on-screen love Marianne. Paul confessed that although he is 'proud' to be apart of the television moment, he said he finds it 'depressing' that consensual sex is such a talking point in 2020. High praise: During the candid chat, Paul also discussed the reaction people have had to his sex scenes with co-star Daisy Edgar-Jones, who plays his on-screen love Marianne It comes after the Irish actor candidly discussed his sex scenes with co-star Daisy and admitted that being 'fully nude' on television makes him 'slightly nervous'. Paul revealed that on the first week of filming they had a 'full day of sex scenes' to which he didn't sleep the night before. They worked with Netflix's Sex Education intimacy director Ita O'Brien. He told MR PORTER: 'On the first Friday of the first week, we had a full day of sex scenes. It's fair to say we were both incredibly nervous. That Thursday, I didn't sleep.' Paul added that he's not 'concerned' about people seeing him strip off for the sex scenes but is 'slightly nervous' about viewers seeing him 'fully nude on screen'. He said: 'I'm not concerned about it because I made a choice that this project is something that I'm proud of. Well, on paper, that makes sense.' Although Paul added: 'The closer I'm getting to people seeing me fully nude on screen it does make me slightly nervous.' Talking about working with intimacy director Ita, he said: 'We would discuss the scene and then Ita would block what we had discussed, so it wasn't mine or Daisy's responsibility to decide what was appropriate you're told what to do. It's freeing!' Much has been written and said about the sexual assault allegations that Tara Reade, who was a staffer for then Sen. Joe Biden, has made against him. (I will not here recount the specific details of Reades various allegations; they are widely available online.) Republicans are positioning this news as evidence of Bidens pattern of behavior. Not surprisingly, they are also comparing Democrats response to Reades allegations against Biden to Dr. Christine Blasey Fords allegations against now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. They say that Democrats in general, and #MeToo activists in particular, are actively ignoring Ms. Reade due to their hypocrisy. Do Democrats and #MeToo activists have double standards? Are Republicans, most of whom are usually very skeptical of such allegations, being political opportunists? The answer to both questions is, of course, yes. I dont know whether Joe Biden is guilty. Neither do I know whether Brett Kavanaugh is. What I do know is that their guilt partially because it is so difficult to prove (or disprove) tends to be less important to most people than supporting their respective political parties. In effect, ones view of their guilt or innocence is a type of Rorschach Test. Both men, unlike non-politicians such as Harvey Weinstein or R. Kelly, are in positions to wield substantial power over hundreds of millions of Americans (or, in Bidens case, could again be in such a position). In fact, depending on the candidate in question, the office he or she is seeking and the specific allegation(s) against him or her, political considerations increasingly are superseding candidates moral failings in determining whether we support them. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I have supported Bidens candidacy since he announced it. My position has not changed.) To be fair, some devotees of #MeToo have called for Mr. Biden to step aside, but they are clearly in the minority. Barring a yet-to-be-seen circumstance, he is going to be the Democratic Partys nominee for president. This has caused me to reflect on the fact that, in recent years, pundits have wondered aloud whether former President Bill Clinton, given what we now know about him, would be as successful a politician today as he was decades ago. My answer to that question, until relatively recently, was no. Yet, following the rise of President Trump, my answer has become it depends. As Ive admonished my Republican friends, their staunch support of Trump has resulted in their forfeiture of the right to be critical of virtually any candidate for virtually any reason short of murder. They have handed Democrats the quintessential what about defense. (Most Republicans wont understand the depth of this mistake for at least a couple years, but there undoubtedly will be several waves of a ha moments to come.) Still, in the end, this isnt really about Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Brett Kavanaugh or any other individual. Its about acknowledging that people (myself included) value some things more than we value, well, our values at least the ones that we publicly espouse. It would be easy (and perhaps somewhat inaccurate) to view our inconsistencies merely as hypocrisy. I am reminded that the word hypocrite is taken is from a Greek word that means actor. Im not cynical enough to believe that the champions of #MeToo are merely acting like they care about punishing those who commit sexual assault; in fact, I believe that most of them care a great deal. Nonetheless, they sometimes sacrifice their convictions on the altar of political expediency. (In Bidens quest against Trump, I completely endorse this sacrifice.) The problem is the activists reluctance to be intellectually honest. Most people readily understand and readily forgive reasonable exceptions to most rules. But most people dont readily accept contrived excuses for (temporarily) abandoning certain principles, even when it is in pursuit of the greater good. This reality is magnified by our seemingly intractable partisan divide. Just as I am willing to accept certain contradictory behavior from liberals, I take seriously conservatives concerns about the life-altering role that mere allegations (of various types) can play in derailing peoples careers or even their lives. In fact, as a Black man who has a Black son, I find ample reason to be concerned specifically about allegations of sexual assault for at least two reasons. First, I will not ignore Americas history regarding such allegations against Black men and boys, and the deadly results thereof. Second, I am very much aware of and disgusted by the tendency of womens movements to be racially insensitive, racially exclusionary or just plain racist. (As we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment this year, it is important to remember that certain leaders of the womens suffrage movement were explicitly against Black women gaining the right to vote.) On a related note, it is no accident that more than half of white women voted for a proud misogynist in the 2016 presidential election, whereas nearly 100% of Black women voted against the proud misogynist who is also a proud racist. The bottom line is that public officials and private citizens should take seriously all allegations of sexual assault. As the father of two daughters, I would hope that people would support them if they were to make such a claim. (And God help the perpetrator if I came to believe that he was guilty.) But its critically important in all such cases to embrace a consistent evidentiary standard at least if activists want their movement to be credible. By all means, judges and juries should take into account the shameful history of victim-blaming, and they should punish every guilty perpetrator to the laws full extent. But justice demands that we do our best to be certain that the accused are actually guilty before dispensing said punishment. Finally, its understandable that activists devise pithy phrases or memorable aphorisms to get their point across. But we need to recognize that the power of language cuts two ways. While rallying cries like #MeToo and Believe Women are formidable exclamations, it is not uncommon for substantive, life-altering causes to be reduced to platitudes and sloganeering. (This is what the enemies of racial equality do by quoting a single well-worn, out-of-context phrase from Rev. Kings incomparable I Have A Dream.) The ultimate goals of any movement become threatened when the slogan becomes the end of the argument rather than its starting point. Admittedly, that can be a very fine line to navigate, but the stakes are too high for the message to get lost in the marketing. Larry Smith is a community leader. Contact him at larry@leaf-llc.com. We're sorry, but we're unable to locate the page you requested. The page may have been removed, renamed, or deleted. You can try searching for the topic using the search button in the right hand corner above. Chandigarh/Shimla, May 7 : Former Punjab Director General of Police Sumedh Singh Saini, once considered a blue-eyed boy of militancy-era police chief K.P.S. Gill and credited with eliminating militancy in the state, has been booked in connection with the 29-year-old 'abduction' case of youth. A case of kidnapping, wrongful confinement, criminal conspiracy and under other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against Saini in Mohali town on Wednesday on the complaint of Balwant Singh Multani's brother. The kidnapping case was related to a bomb attack on Saini by Khalistan Liberation Force militants in 1991. At that time, he was the Senior Superintendent of Police and posted in Chandigarh. He survived with injuries but his three security personnel were killed. A Central Bureau of Investigation probe into Multani's disappearance began in 2007 against Saini but he got the relief from the Supreme Court and the probe stopped. Saini, who was removed from the top post by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in 2015 following incidents of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib and subsequent violence in the state in which the police force was accused of excesses that left two people dead, has not been sharing cordial relations with current Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. In fact, Saini had challenged the Vigilance Bureau's closure report in the multi-crore Ludhiana City Centre scam involving Amarinder Singh. For quite some time, Amarinder Singh had been seeking a probe into the fake gun battles and extra-judicial killings alleged to have taken place during militancy in Punjab. Taking cognizance of the revelations made by a former Punjab Police constable, Gurmeet Singh, alias Pinky, wherein he had alleged in 2015 that a number of people were killed without trial during militancy in Punjab, Amarinder Singh had demanded the dismissal of DGP Saini and registration of a case against him. Interestingly, within hours of the registration of case against him and seven other policemen, Saini and two others were denied entry into Himachal Pradesh on Thursday as they were travelling without permission amid state-wide curfew to contain coronavirus. The former DGP called Bilaspur Superintendent of Police Divakar Sharma on the phone when police deployed at the Swarghat border, the state entry point in Bilaspur district, denied him entry. He wanted to visit his orchard in Karsog in Mandi district. "Since Saini was not having a travel pass, we have asked him to return," Sharma added. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced Tuesday that the state will begin to allow outdoor recreation areas to reopen this week, including select state parks. Eight state park sites are partially or completely reopened to the public as of May 6, including popular park sites like Tryon Creek, Willamette Mission, The Cove Palisades, Pilot Butte and Prineville Reservoir. But will fears of coronavirus keep you away? Or are you planning to get out and just safely keep your distance from others? Limited day use will slowly return to other state parks starting the week of May 11, the Oregon parks department said, depending on the readiness of local communities and how prepared each park is with staff, supplies and equipment. More than 43 passengers in vehicles plying the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to some parts of Nigeria were arrested Tuesday night, the agency in-charge of the FCT said on Wednesday. Last week, President Muhammadu Buhari, in his third national address since the outbreak of the coronavirus in the country, imposed a night curfew on three hardest-hit states (Lagos, FCT and Ogun) after the expiration of a five-week lockdown order. The lockdown enforcement team of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) found the travellers breaching the curfew imposed on the territory. They were travelling to Kano, Niger, and Kaduna states while a few of them from neighbouring states were also heading to some parts of the FCT, the Chairman of the Enforcement Team, Ikharo Attah, told reporters on Wednesday in Abuja. Some of the FCT-bound passengers, including a woman and her two children, came in from Benue State. Despite the curfew imposed by President Muhammadu Buhari, many persons are still adamant on breaking the order, Mr Attah said. He said the violators were rounded up at the popular AYA Roundabout in Asokoro District of the FCT and escorted out of the FCT. The drivers and motorists were immediately turned back and escorted by security personnel out of the FCT, he said. Nigerias COVID-19 cases, on Wednesday, exceeded 3, 000 as 195 new infections were announced by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 3,145. The agency early Thursday morning said 195 new cases were reported in 13 states. All the reporting states already have at least a case of the virus. Wednesday marks 100 days since the index case of coronavirus was reported in Nigeria. The NCDC said the new cases were recorded in Lagos, Kano, Zamfara, Sokoto, Borno, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Oyo, Kebbi, Gombe. Ogun, Katsina, Kaduna, and Adamawa states. A study shows that administering coenzyme Q10 reverses damage done to germinative cells by BPA, a contaminant found in many kinds of plastic Credit: Maria Fernanda Hornos Carneiro & Nara Shin Exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), an industrial chemical used to make certain plastics and resins, inner coatings for food cans and bottle tops, thermal paper used in store receipts, dental sealants and other products is a concern because of possible adverse health effects, including a reduction in fertility. A study performed at Harvard Medical School (HMS) in the United States by Maria Fernanda Hornos Carneiro and her research group shows that the harmful effects of BPA can be reversed by administering a supplement known as CoQ10 (coenzyme Q10), a substance naturally produced by the human body and found in beef and fish. Hornos Carneiro is a former Sao Paulo Research FoundationFAPESP scholarship awardee. The article published in the journal Genetics is the first to present this strategy for reversing the effects of BPA in the organism. In this study, the researchers tested the antioxidant action of CoQ10 in nematodes of the species Caenorhabditis elegans exposed to BPA. As an excellent antioxidant, CoQ10 is an electron donor. By donating its electrons, it stabilizes free radicals, reducing the oxidative stress and cell damage caused by BPA. "BPA has oxidation potential as it's chemically unstable and produces reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. When the antioxidant reserves in cells [electron donors] run out, the amount of reactive oxygen and nitrogen increases. Because of their chemical instability, they 'poach' electrons from mitochondria and other cellular organelles, cell membranes, proteins, and even DNA, damaging cells significantly and potentially causing cell death. If this problem becomes extensive, it poses a major threat to the organism," Hornos Carneiro told. The study measured the number of fertilized eggs laid and hatched and the number of progeny that reached adulthood. The problems detected can be compared to difficulty in becoming pregnant, miscarriages and chromosome anomalies in humans. "BPA is a chemical contaminant that acts as an endocrine disruptor, causing cellular oxidative stress [an imbalance between oxidant and antioxidant molecules], which results in damage to gametes and embryos," said Hornos Carneiro, who conducted the study under the supervision of HMS Professor Monica Paola Colaiacovo. "In the study, the worms exposed to BPA and given CoQ10 displayed lower egg cell death rates, less DNA breakage and fewer abnormalities in chromosomes during cell division, as well as less cellular oxidative stress." In the experiment, worms were exposed to different combinations of BPA, CoQ10 and a solvent (DMSO): solvent only, solvent and CoQ10, BPA only, and BPA plus CoQ10. The amount of exposure to BPA mimicked the estimated amount in humans. "We know it's practically impossible to avoid exposure to BPA and similar contaminants in this day and age, so we looked for a strategy to minimize the harm done. Many studies have shown that age reduces fertility in women, and because exposure to BPA [and other endocrine disruptors] occurs throughout life, it's not yet possible to estimate separately the extent to which observed infertility is due to exposure to toxic chemicals in the external environment and how much is due to aging," Hornos Carneiro said. The nematodes used in the study were transgenic, with a fluorescent protein sequence inserted into their DNA to enable in vivo observation of protein expression. Fluorescent antibodies were also used, as well as advanced microscopy and molecular biology techniques. The researchers were thereby able to observe in real time the effects produced at the cellular and molecular levels during the process of cell division (meiosis) and embryo formation in the worms. Estrogen mimic According to Hornos Carneiro, BPA's chemical structure is similar to that of estrogen, a female sex hormone that plays a key role in ovulation. As a result, BPA can bind to estrogen receptors in humans, leading to a number of significant effects. "Depending on the tissue, the effects may be pro-estrogenic or anti-estrogenic, with an impact not just on the reproductive system but also on other systems and processes that are important to a person's health," she said. Hornos Carneiro is currently a professor in the School of Chemistry and Pharmacy at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. She conducted the study at the University of Sao Paulo's Ribeirao Preto School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (FCFRP-USP) in Brazil with the support of a FAPESP scholarship for postdoctoral research internship abroad. DNA breakage and mitochondrial dysfunction According to Hornos Carneiro, exposure of the worms to BPA alone resulted in more DNA breaks. "This was potentially due to the action of reactive oxygen species formed as a result of the presence of the contaminant in the organism," she said. "We found that the breaks were not correctly repaired in this group of worms." The damage was observed by monitoring a protein involved in DNA breakage and repair when genetic material is exchanged between homologous chromosomes during meiosis. This exchange of genetic material, known as crossing over, is important for increasing genetic diversity and driving evolution. "One hypothesis is that the increase in DNA breakage [and inefficient repair] was due to a rise in gonad oxidative stress caused by BPA," she said. Another finding was that mitochondrial dysfunction increased. Mitochondria are energy-producing organelles in cells. "Because of oxidative stress, mitochondrial membrane potential was significantly altered in the worms exposed only to BPA, while in the group that received the CoQ10 supplement, this marker was much improved," Hornos Carneiro said. Effect on embryos The effect of BPA on embryos was also studied in this experiment. As a hermaphrodite, C. elegans self-fertilizes, and it is therefore possible to observe in its gonads all stages of germinative cell development in meiosis up to the polar corpuscle and embryo formation. "In the study, we observed embryo formation in vivo using a technique called live imaging," Hornos Carneiro explained. "The benchmark for analysis of the occurrence of defects was the first cell division [the precise moment at which the unicellular embryo divides in two]. In the group exposed only to BPA, a larger number of defects were observed, such as formation of chromatin bridges and cell division cessation." Explore further Antioxidant reverses BPD-induced fertility damage in worms More information: Maria Fernanda Hornos Carneiro et al, Antioxidant CoQ10 Restores Fertility by Rescuing Bisphenol A-Induced Oxidative DNA Damage in the Caenorhabditis elegans Germline, Genetics (2019). Journal information: Genetics Maria Fernanda Hornos Carneiro et al, Antioxidant CoQ10 Restores Fertility by Rescuing Bisphenol A-Induced Oxidative DNA Damage in the Caenorhabditis elegans Germline,(2019). DOI: 10.1534/genetics.119.302939 In March 2017, the Lehigh Valley and Warren County were gripped in a violent string of cellphone store robberies. An Easton man and a Wilson Borough man who would eventually be arrested provided daily subject matter for a wide-ranging task force trying to get a step ahead of the pair. Everyone was on high alert. With all that heat on, two men from Medford, New York, who had no connection to the robbery spree, burglarized a T-Mobile store in Bethlehem Township. A security firm actually watched the burglary in real time as the men stole phones, including one with a tracker, authorities said. The firm was able to follow where the men were driving and Pennsylvania State Police arrested them after a stop. The moral of the story is, of course, you dont want to commit a crime when authorities on on alert for it. On Tuesday, a Brooklyn man was arrested after Colonial Regional police said he and two others used other peoples identifies to open Sams Club memberships and then the three bought more than $7,000 in merchandise before store employees caught on. Two of men fled, leaving the third, Savery Kwame Richardson, 25, to face police. At 7:05 p.m. Wednesday, while a police officer was in the same Sams Club in Northampton Crossings Shopping Center in Lower Nazareth Township talking to an asset protection manager about a different theft, two Brooklyn men, using fraudulently obtained memberships tied to other peoples credit cards, tried to buy about $425 in items, including two sound bars, police said. A store employee alerted the Colonial Regional officer that a possible instant replay was underway, police said. Malachi Samuel Davis, 20, who was using the name of a person from Duluth, Georgia, and Kelvin Earl Curry, 22, had opened fraudulent memberships just before entering the Sams Club off Route 33 and were using scan & go apps on phones to prove their memberships and to make purchases, police said. Davis left merchandise at the register and tried to walk out, police said. But officers were waiting and both men were arrested, police said. They were arraigned Thursday morning before District Judge Nicholas Englesson on charges of access device fraud, conspiracy, theft by deception (two counts), identify theft (two counts) and false identification to a law enforcement officer, police said. They were housed in Northampton County Prison in lieu of $20,000 bail each. They remained behind bars early Thursday afternoon. Neither had an attorney listed in court papers. Police dont know if the men were the two people who got away on Tuesday, Detective Gary Hammer said. Since everyone is wearing a mask these days, identifies are more difficult to determine. But it is likely they are not the same two coming back for a second bite, Hammer said. They did not return in the black van that was seen Tuesday, Hammer said. 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. The first batch of Indian nationals evacuated from the United Arab Emirates has started their journey to their homeland. The Air India Express flight IX452 took off from Abu Dhabi to Kochi with 177 passengers while a second flight is on its way to Kozhikode. INDIATIMES A total of 354 Indian nationals, including 11 pregnant women and a pair of twins, will return home on Thursday in the two flights from the UAE to Kerala as part of the repatriation exercise named 'Vande Bharat Mission.' Passengers started arriving at Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports as early as 9.30am on Thursday. Some of the passengers were carrying the Indian flags. There are no suspected covid-19 cases among the first batch of passengers being repatriated on Thursday. INDIATIMES "All of them have cleared the tests," Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul was quoted as saying by the Gulf News. He said the criteria of passengers' selection included medical cases, loss of jobs, pregnant women and senior citizens. Those with complications and financial issues were also picked. Air India crew members on board the repatriation flights were fully protected with protective gear, including Personal Protective Equipment, to reduce the risk of contracting coronavirus. INDIATIMES On Monday, the Indian government announced plans to begin a phased repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad from May 7. The government also said that Air India will operate 64 flights from May 7 to May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals stranded abroad amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown. Short-listing the first passengers from among a database of more than 200,000 applicants, who include around 6,500 pregnant women, has been a mammoth task which posed several challenges for the missions, Neeraj Agrawal, Consul, Press, Information and Culture at the Indian Consulate in Dubai told the Gulf News. INDIATIMES India is conducting its biggest ever repatriation exercise named Vande Bharat Missionsans social distancing and COVID-19 tests to bring back stranded Indians from abroad. Air India Express will operate 24 special flights out of the total 64 such flights planned by the Indian government to bring back Indians stranded abroad. The cost for the travel will be paid by the passenger. The evacuees will have to remain in quarantine for 14 days after reaching India to avoid the spread of COVID-19. India imposed a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the country, grounding all international flights since mid-March. Sill there is no clarity on the resumption of regular flight services. CHICAGO May 6, 2020 April 27, 2020 Johns Hopkins University the United States University of Cincinnati Robert Baughman Elyse Lower University of Cincinnati Marc Judson $5 million Maggie Hudson /PRNewswire/ -- COVID-19 has changed our world. As of, theCoronavirus Resource Center reported over 3 million cases of COVID-19 worldwide, including 979,077 in. There are also about 200,000 individuals with sarcoidosis, a rare and chronic respiratory illness, in the U.S.. A group of researchers are actively seeking more information about how COVID-19 may impact the sarcoidosis community.The Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research andlaunched a questionnaire for sarcoidosis patients three weeks ago. They seek to understand whether sarcoidosis patients are more likely to contract COVID-19, if they have worse outcomes than otherwise healthy individuals, and if certain medications or demographic factors affect the risks of COVID-19 in sarcoidosis patients.To date, over 1600 sarcoidosis patients have responded to the survey. Of these, only 31 patients less than 2% reported having COVID-19. Most were able to be treated at home and none required mechanical ventilation. More preliminary information and a link to the survey can be found at www.stopsarcoidosis.org/covid-19. The study is ongoing and will include a follow up questionnaire in July.Dr., principal investigator of the study, commented: "When COVID-19 began, there was controversy about the additional risks of sarcoidosis and treatments. This information, although only preliminary, found the rate of infection only slightly higher than the national average. Sarcoidosis patients with COVID-19 mostly did well, which is what we are seeing for many other patients." Dr., co-director of theSarcoidosis Center added, "Thank you FSR for working on getting this information together in a timely manner."Dr.of Albany Medical Center and co-investigator added, "Although more sarcoidosis patients need to participate in this survey to reach definite conclusions, these preliminary results are reassuring. These data show no obvious signal of a particularly poor outcome from COVID-19 infection in sarcoidosis patients. Furthermore, these preliminary results do not suggest steroids or other immunosuppressive medications are placing sarcoidosis patient at greater risk of poor outcome. This has been an important undertaking by the FSR."The Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research is the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a cure for this disease and to improving care for sarcoidosis patients. Since its establishment in 2000, FSR has fostered overin sarcoidosis-specific research efforts. For more information about FSR visit: stopsarcoidosis.orgCommunications Manager Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research maggie@stopsarcoidosis.org 312-341-0500 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/foundation-for-sarcoidosis-research-and-university-of-cincinnati-share-initial-results-of-covid-19-impact-survey-301054245.html SOURCE Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research The National Commission for Women (NCW) has asked the Mizoram government to probe the alleged refusal by a hospital to help deliver a baby for failure of the expectant mother to show her Voter-ID card. NCW is disturbed to read the report of negligence and denial of service by the hospital officials to the pregnant woman. Weve written to Lalnunmawia Chuaungo, chief secretary, Mizoram, for an immediate inquiry, NCW tweeted on Wednesday. The NCW move follows publication of a news report about the incident in Vanglaini, a Mizo daily, on May 5. According to the report, the senior medical officer of Tlabung Civil Hospital in Lunglei district had issued such a notification in March this year. Voter ID is mandatory for every woman delivering a child at Tlabung Hospital and those who do not possess valid Voter ID cards are not allowed to deliver a child here, said the notice--Vanglaini mentioned in its report. The matter was brought to the notice of NCW by Paritosh Chakma, president of the Mizoram Chakma Alliance Against Discrimination (MCAAD) who in his complaint termed the hospital move as bone-chilling, out-rightly unethical, illegal and flagrant violation of right to health. Chakma alleged that the notification issued by the hospital is part of the continuing discrimination against the minority Chakmas of Mizoram, who face a lot of discrimination in the state despite being Indian citizens. He added that denial of healthcare to a pregnant woman who doesnt have a Voter ID could even happen in cases when the expectant mother is suffering from Covid-19. This would violate guidelines issued by the Centre on treating Covid-19 patients and could lead to spread of coronavirus from pregnant women. Thousands of Chakmas were deleted from electoral rolls in 1995 and were never enrolled. Further, there is an unofficial ceiling on number of Chakmas during electoral revisions, which leads to many getting excluded. Obviously, there are hundreds of Chakmas who were not issued Voter ID cards and dont have one, Chakma said in a statement. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON ABOUT THE AUTHOR Utpal Parashar Utpal is an assistant editor based in Guwahati. He covers all eight states of North-East and was previously based in Kathmandu, Dehradun and Delhi with Hindustan Times . ...view detail The Indian Navy has sent two ships, INS Jalashwa and INS Magar, to evacuate 1,000 Indians stranded in the south Asian island of Maldives. The Navy said INS Jalashwa reached the shores of the Maldives, and phase one of the evacuation called Samudra Setu will commence on May 8. The second ship will also arrive later on Thursday. The evacuated personnel will reach Kochi and then handed over to agencies of various states, said the navy. The navy said the Samudra Setu operation is being carried out with the cooperation of various central ministries and state governments. The Navy sent another ship, INS Shardul, to the United Arab Emirates. The navy said all people will be given basic amenities and medical care during the voyage. A total of 1,000 persons are planned to be evacuated during the phase one. All Covid-19 protocols will be in place during the voyage, said a Navy spokesperson. According to initial reports, more than 70% of evacuees are from Kerala. Teachers and medical personnel from the state are most sought after in the island nation. File image Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday met opposition leaders through video conference to discuss the coronavirus situation in the state. While some of the leaders gathered at Mantralaya (state secretariat) here, others, including Uddhav Thackeray himself, took part in the meeting through video conference, an official in the Chief Minister's Office said. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat and PWD Minister Ashok Chavan were present at the meeting from the government's side. Coronavirus India News LIVE From the opposition's side, BJP's Devendra Fadnavis and Pravin Darekar, MNS chief Raj Thackeray, VBA leader Prakash Ambedkar, PRP leader Jogendra Kawade, JSS leader Vinay Kore, PWP's Jayant Patil, RSP's Mahadeo Jankar, AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel, Kapil Patil, Ashok Dhavle and Rajendra Gawai participated, among others. 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 Raj Thackeray told reporters afterwards that he suggested deployment of the State Reserve Police Force to assist the police in the enforcement of lockdown. "More force is needed where people are taking the administration for granted. In containment zones, police force should be increased. Muslims should be asked to celebrate Ramzan indoors," he said. "E-learning is not always possible, not just in rural areas but also in cities. The government needs to tell people how it will ensure that academic year is completed," he said. He also demanded that the government should explain its lockdown exit plan well in advance. The MNS chief also said if migrant labourers do not return, jobs should be given to the local youth. Those who want to return to the state after lockdown is lifted should be allowed to come back only after testing for coronavirus, he said. Private clinics in the state must reopen, he said. When asked if lockdown should be extended further, the MNS chief said Ramzan Eid falls on May 25. "If the lockdown ended on May 17 and people came out on streets later, what happens if the pandemic continues to increase? The government should think of all the issues," he said. When asked why he was not wearing the mandatory face mask as he attended the meeting at Mantralaya, Raj Thackeray laughed, saying he didn't wear a mask as everyone else was wearing one. Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here Canada is still in the process of flattening the coronavirus curve, although there are indications that the efforts are proving successful. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the country is not out of the woods yet. While some provinces appear to have reached the peak, the federal government is hoping to develop a high level of immunity. The best-case scenario is to have a vaccine in place. Until then, however, people should expect some public health measures to remain. Meanwhile, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is providing tax reliefs that can help taxpayers during the pandemic. Tax date extensions The CRAs prompt response to the COVID-19 outbreak is the tax date extension. Individual and corporate taxpayers have until June 1, 2020 to file 2019 tax returns. The deadline for the payment of taxes owed has also been moved to September 1, 2020. It will be a penalty-free extension for 2019 taxes or 2020 installments. Income support With employment reductions or layoffs along with social distancing and stay-at-home directives, economic relief is badly needed. Hence, the CRA is providing two forms of cash support the first is the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). Full-time, part-time, contract, and seasonal workers as well as self-employed individuals can receive $500 per week for a maximum of 16 weeks. If youre eligible, the benefit is available from March 15, 2020, to October 3, 2020. The CRA will accept applications until December 2, 2020. Additional income support The second cash support is a twin-boost targeting parents and families with low and modest incomes. In the one-time enhancement of the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), theres an additional $300 per child. The Good and Services Tax (GST) will double for singles (+$400) and couples (+$600). The CRA will administer all the payments. Application for CEWS is open Canadian employers are in a financial bind. As businesses slow down, many companies are implementing cost-saving measures. The first order of the day is to cut manpower complement. Trucking and logistics firm Mullen Group (TSX:MTL) has temporarily laid off 1,000 workers. Story continues Mullen is a potential applicant for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). The window is now open and the company can rehire its laid-off workers by applying for the 75% wage subsidy. According to Mullen Chairman and CEO Murray Mullen, the demand for discretionary consumer goods and its services in commodity-based industries has significantly weakened since mid-March. This $600 million company provides specialized transportation equipment and trained operating personnel to the oil and gas industry in Western Canada. When the company presented its Q1 2020 earnings report on April 23, 2020, the first message was that Mullens 2020 business plan cant be achieved. While the company has about $85 million in cash and unused $150 million credit line, the business will be extremely challenging in the next 90 days. With the suspension of dividends and the stock losing by 36.3% year to date, Mullen is not an attractive option if you want to invest in the market today. Trust taxes In light of an extended lockdown, Canadians should trust taxes in this crisis-era. The awesome tax reliefs by the CRA should lessen the economic pain. It will enable you to cover the present as well as the near-term financial needs. The post CRA Tax Relief: 3 Awesome Ways the CRA Is Helping You Out appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada. More reading Fool contributor Christopher Liew has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends MULLEN GROUP LTD. The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2020 Mississippi History Day 2020 Contest Held Online at USM Thu, 05/07/2020 - 14:31pm | By: David Tisdale With middle and high school students across the state unable to participate in multiple spring extracurricular activities cancelled due to the COVID-19 virus, event organizers worked overtime to ensure that the 2020 Mississippi History Day competition took place at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) in Hattiesburg, transitioning the event from in-person to an online format. Appropriately, the theme for this years contest was Breaking Barriers in History. Mississippi History Day is the state contest for National History Day, with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) serving as the sponsoring organization, and the USM School of Humanities as host. Its purpose is to teach students critical thinking, research, and writing skills, and instill in them a love of history and respect for informed and engaged citizenship. It is held annually in the spring on the USM Hattiesburg campus. For the 2020 event, more than 100 students submitted entries for research paper and website, performance, exhibit, and documentary categories. Students representing eight schools participated, including those from Pascagoula High School; Lafayette High School; Gautier High School; Starkville High School; and Sacred Heart Catholic High School; and students from Colmer Middle School, Armstrong Middle School, and New Hope Christian School. A virtual awards ceremony was later hosted by the MDAH. What all involved were able to pull off for the virtual Mississippi History Day contest this year was nothing short of incredible, said Al Wheat, director of education at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History who serves as state affiliate coordinator for Mississippi History Day. For all the hardships this year presented, students, teachers, and everyone who had a part did an impeccable job to make MHD 2020 a rousing success. More than 50 contest facilitators and volunteers included staff members from the Mississippi Department of Archives and history, USM faculty member, USM history graduate students, and a group of community members who served as contest judges. MDAH staff members also served as judges. Although it took a great deal of time and energy from students, teachers, parents, judges, and School of Humanities administrative staff to transition to a virtual contest, the Mississippi History Day leadership team wanted to ensure that the students who have worked so hard all year long on their projects had their chance to shine, said USM Associate Professor of History Dr. Rebecca Tuuri, who serves as state contest liaison. We could not be more proud of the projects that students from around Mississippi created for this event, and it's been a pleasure working with such a dedicated group of teachers. They are the heart and soul of MHD. Dr. Tuuris faculty colleague, Dr. Joshua Haynes, will succeed her as state contest liaison in 2021. I'm excited to be moving into a new role working more closely with the fantastic teachers and students around the state who participate in Mississippi History Day, Dr. Haynes said. This year's virtual contest really made us all realize how important the event is, how passionate Mississippi teachers and students are. They urged us to go ahead with the state contest while other state contests around the country were cancelled. Folks are committed to this event, and I look forward to supporting it in the coming years. Winning entries included those in the following categories: Junior Group Documentary First place: Chuck Yeager Breaking the Sound Barrier, Lamonte Harris and Hayden Grenn, Colmer Middle School Second place: Attack on Pearl Harbor, Josten Calix, Edwin Pena Zayas and Sterling Mota, Colmer Middle School Third place: The Long Forgotten Story of the Radium Girls, Keilana Kalgren and Payton Harmon, Colmer Middle School Senior Individual Documentary First place: Pretty, Pink, and Petite Patsy Mink: Breaking Down the Glass Barriers for Gender Equality in Education Through Title IX, April Guo-Yue, Starkville High School Second place: The Vietnam War and Dr. James Bruce: Breaking Medical Barriers, Samantha Rayburn, Lafayette High School Third place: Nixons Pink Pong Diplomacy, Alan Meng, Starkville High School Senior Group Documentary First place: Kathleen McIlwain, Ruby Murray and Folsom Berry, Pascagoula High School Second place: Building a Cornucopia: How Agricultural Advancements led to the American Supermarket, Amy Zhang, Jessica Yan, Andrew Yu, and Lyem Ningthou, Starkville High School Third place: March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Keaira Smith and Caitlyn Bush, Pascagoula High School Junior Individual Exhibit First place: The Chicago Tylenol Murders, Melany Carrasco, Colmer Middle School Second place: Breaking Barriers in Extragalactic Astronomy, Kailyn Hyde, Colmer Middle School Junior Group Exhibit First place: The Hidden Figures of NASA, Arley Ochoa, Waiki Sanders, and Karma Young, Colmer Middle School Second place: Breaking Technological Barriers with the DynaTac 8000x, Landon Brown and Luke McDaniel, Colmer Middle School Third place: Alexander Fleming: Breaking Barriers with Penicillin, Carley Grace Miller and Brooklyn Hughes, Colmer Middle School Senior Individual Exhibit First place: Motown Records, Margaret Corlew, Pascagoula High School Second place: Wonder Woman in Disguise--The First Congresswoman: Jeannette Rankin Breaking Capital Barriers, Amanda Farrow, Lafayette High School Third place: Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock II: Breaking Barriers on the Battlefield and Defining the Marine Sniper, Murphy Smith, Lafayette High School Senior Group Exhibit First place: Mr. Civil Rights, Sarah Kitchens, Brooke Estes, Pascagoula High School Second place: Sit Still, Look Pretty: Changing the Face of Murder, Sophia Cuellar, Jackelyn Facio, and Carolyn Facio, Pascagoula High School Third place: Breaking the Psychological Barrier, Kathryn Cousins, Clarissa Sanders, and Michael Scott, Pascagoula High School Junior Group Performance First place: Launching through Barriers with Katherine Johnson, Tessa Luke, Lila Counterman, Evie Daniels, and Rayven Davis, Armstrong Middle School Second place: African American Women Breaking Barrier At NASA Inspiring Girls To: Do The Math, J'Lynn Grace, Maredith Lay, Aria Jones, Amiyah Taylor, and Calese White, New Hope Christian School Senior Individual Performance First place: Patsy Mink: Breaking Barriers by Pushing for Equality for All, Caitlyn Rhea Second place: Breaking Barriers in Extremism by Bankruptcy: Donald vs. The United Klans of America, Kenaysia Stanton, Pascagoula High School Senior Group Performance First place: The Emperors New Code, Laney Birchfield, Perla Arellano, Tessa Cascio, and William (Liam) Jordan, Gautier High School Second place: Ida B. Wells, Ja-lea Holmes and Tykeria Summers, Pascagoula High School Junior Individual Website First place: Susan La Flesche: Breaking Barriers for Her People and Beyond, Francie Tagert, Armstrong Middle School Second place: The Mind: Schizophrenia, Mikayla Schuler, Colmer Middle School Third place: Breaking Barriers with the Jonestown Massacre, Gavrielle Barrow, Colmer Middle School Senior Individual Website First place: From Poverty to Pioneer: How Vivien Thomas Broke Racial and Medical Barriers, Stephanie Kellum, Lafayette High School Second place: David Bowie: Weaving the Future and Breaking Cultural Barriers, Haley Magee, Pascagoula High School Third place: The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, Madison Jefferson, Pascagoula High School Senior Group Website First place: Louis Armstrong: Musical and Racial Barriers, Pascagoula High School Second place: No Room for Hate in Space, Jake Nurkin, Brady Stafford, and Anna Rachel Krebs, Sacred Heart Catholic High School Third place: Nellie Bly's Journey to Helping Minorities and Breaking Stereotypes, Neelie Daniels and Kristina Carney, Lafayette High School Junior Paper First place: Breaking Barriers with Prince Edward and The British High Class During WWII, Alejandro Valdovinos, Colmer Middle School Senior Paper First place: The Court Case of Mendez v. Westminster: The Case that Dented the Pride of School Segregation, Alondra Reyes, Pascagoula High School Second place: The Petticoat Barriers: Mrs. Presidents Classified Administration, Nadia Corder, Pascagoula High School Third place: Roe v. Wade: Breaking Legal Barriers for Women's Right to Privacy, Allie Hartfield, Lafayette High School Archival Award The Court Case of Mendez v. Westminster: The Case that Dented the Pride of School Segregation, Alondra Reyes, Pascagoula High School Oral History Award (Sponsored by the USM Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage) Kathleen McIlwain, Ruby Murray and Folsom Berry, Pascagoula High School Honorable Mention: Breaking the Barrier between Science and Public Influence on Policies: Saving the Ozone, Hyeona (Claire) Lim, Mirea Lee Nishikawa, and Sachi Clay, Armstrong Middle School Maritime Award (Sponsored by the National Maritime Historical Society) Attack on Pearl Harbor, Josten Calix, Edwin Pena Zayas, and Sterling Mota, Colmer Middle School Gulf South History Award (Sponsored by the USM Center for the Study of the Gulf South) The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, Madison Jefferson, Pascagoula High School Honorable Mention: Free State of Jones, Jermaine Patterson and Hayden Portwine, Pascagoula High School War and Society Award (Sponsored by the Dale Center for the Study of War & Society) Chuck Yeager Breaking the Sound Barrier, Lamonte Harris and Hayden Grenn, Colmer Middle School Honorable Mention: Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock II: Breaking Barriers on the Battlefield and Defining the Marine Sniper, Murphy Smith, Lafayette High School Women's and Gender History Award (Sponsored by Interdisciplinary Studies at USM) David Bowie: Weaving the Future and Breaking Cultural Barriers / How a blonde starman dressed the world in androgyny, unconventionalism, and glitter, Haley Magee, Pascagoula High School Honorable Mention: The Petticoat Barriers: Mrs. Presidents Classified Administration, Nadia Corner, Pascagola High School Black History Award (Sponsored by Interdisciplinary Studies at USM) March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Keaira Smith and Caitlyn Bush, Pascagoula High School Honorable Mention: Breaking Barriers in Extremism by Bankruptcy: Donald vs. The United Klans of America, Kenaysia Stanton, Pascagoula High School Honorable Mention: Mr. Civil Rights, Sarah Kitchens, Brooke Estes, Pascagoula High School Women's Suffrage Award (Sponsored by the 2020 Women's Vote Centennial) First place: Wonder Woman in Disguise--The First Congresswoman: Jeannette Rankin Breaking Capital Barriers, Amanda Farrow, Lafayette High School Second place: The Legacy Left by Alice Paul, Julianysse Torres, Gautier High School For more information about Mississippi History Day, visit http://www.mdah.ms.gov/new/learn/teachers/mississippi-history-day/. The fine is the largest against a broadcaster in the 86-year history of the FCC. It also closes investigations into whether Sinclair negotiated retransmission agreements with cable networks in good faith and the companys failure to properly identify the sponsor of content it produced for its owned and affiliated TV stations. One of the main reasons why the coronavirus-induced price slump feels so odd is that it is accompanied by a prolonged price war that has simultaneously dropped crude differentials, in many instances to levels unseen in the past 8-10 years. The price war was started by Saudi Arabias national oil company Saudi Aramco mid-March when it cut its April prices by $6-7 per barrel month-on-month, in a move that was at the time perceived as Riyadhs claim to safeguard or even increase its market share come what may, a strategy that was continued with May-loading cargoes. Yet despite fears that Russias main export grade Urals will inevitably fall victim to such an aggressive Saudi marketing strategy, Urals allure has caught market watchers somewhat offguard. There is no sole reason why Urals has not declined further and followed the pricing curve of Arab Medium or Arab Light. As a matter of fact, if one is to look at the dynamics of Urals pricing chronologically, the underlying reason why Urals differentials should not plummet has changed over time. This being said, outright Urals prices have bounced back from their lowest in the last 20 years Urals Baltics went as low as $11.59 per barrel on April 21 (see Graph 1) whilst on that same day Urals Med declined to $12.09 per barrel. From here both the Baltic and Mediterranean outright prices rose to their current level of $16-17 per barrel, to actual premia against Dated Brent and even Azeri Light. Graph 1. Outright Urals Prices vs Dated Brent in 2020 (USD per barrel). Source: Platts. But lets take a dive first into the pallid statistics of crude oil differentials. Data indicate (see Graph 2) that right after the Russia-Saudi Arabia axis broke down and the crude market went into an uncontrolled freefall, Urals differentials reacted in a way that was to be predicted by market analysts. Urals had no other option but to react on Saudi Aramco dropping April OSPs if Urals Rotterdam averaged a $-1.8 per barrel and Urals Med averaged a $-1.2 per barrel discount in January-February 2020, the second half of March turned out to be a spectacular tailspin. By April 01, both the Mediterranean and Baltic Urals stood at a $-5.4 per barrel discount, yet instead of dropping even lower, Urals started to get off the ground. Related: Is This The End Of The LNG Boom? First, amidst Chinese crude demand coming back to life, Urals was supported by the remarkably beneficial economics of China exports. In the first days of April the ICE Brent Dubai swap differential was at a whopping $6.20 per barrel discount which made long-haul voyages to Asia Pacific remarkably attractive for Chinese buyers. The end result of robust Chinese buying demand: a total of 19.7 MMbbls of Urals has set sail for China in April 2020, an absolute all-time high, beating the previous maximum by a whopping 7 million barrels. The total tally includes an unprecedented four VLCCs, all of which are en route to Shandong (of which three are going to Qingdao). Mid-April Brent-Dubai differentials moved back into premium, only to decline in multi-dollar discounts during the last days of April expect further Chinese buying runs of Urals as it happens. Evidently, Urals is by no means the only residue-heavy grade coveted by Chinese refiners, the US-produced Mars has become a hit of recent Chinese purchases. However, there seems to be an organic barrier to further US purchases as most American output is very light, in fact too light for Chinese refiners. Potentially, Chinese demand might also be satiated by Arab Medium or Arab Heavy cargoes from Saudi Arabia, yet according to market reports there is only scant spare additional capacity for these grades, with Riyadh actively promoting Arab Light and Arab Extra Light instead. Graph 2. Urals Differentials vs Dated Brent in 2020 (USD per barrel). Source: Platts. Thus, Russian exporters could more or less avoid European demand declining, only to return to it once the window of opportunity shut down. Fuel oil cracks have been very supportive towards Urals acquisitions in Europe, penalizing other Mediterranean and Baltic crudes with a higher gasoline and kerosene yield, yet that is only half of Urals recent differential anomaly. The other reason, one might argue a much more substantial one, is Russian producers cutting back exports in accordance with the OPEC+ agreements. Comparing April and May exports from Russias main European ports provides a telling case in point based on the preliminary May schedule month-on-month loadings in Primorsk have dropped by 42% and in Ust-Luga by 32%, whilst Novorossiysk will witness a hefty 60% drop. Whilst coronavirus continues to paralyze Russias economy (President Putin has extended the lockdown until May 11, for the third time already, and most probably will be forced to do so at least once again as new cases still do not plateau), Russian exporters have been having a hard time placing their crude barrels domestic demand has shrunk, storage is becoming ever-rarer so the only elegant way out is to bring forward field maintenance and cut exports. The only conduit not to see a massive May throughput cut will be ESPO in fact, May loadings from Kozmino are headed for an all-time high of 0.765mbpd. The decision to keep ESPO supplies to Asia has obviously left an imprint on the Russian grades pricing, from a $2 per barrel premium to Dubai it went to $-4.70 per barrel in mid-April, only to reach its current level of a $-2.75/-3 per barrel discount to Dubai, i.e. the differential rebound was palpably smaller than in the case of Urals. By Viktor Katona for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: First quarter marked by positive results from AEZS-130-P01 (Study P01), of macimorelin, providing clinical framework to advance pediatric investigation plan (PIP) for macimorelin as a growth hormone deficiency diagnostic Planned safety and efficacy study AEZS-130-P02 (Study P02) of macimorelin expected to commence in Q4 2020 Advancing ongoing business development discussions to secure a commercialization partner for macimorelin in Europe and other key global markets CHARLESTON, S.C., May 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aeterna Zentaris Inc. (AEZS) (AEZS) (Aeterna or the Company), a specialty biopharmaceutical company commercializing and developing therapeutics and diagnostic tests, today reported its financial and operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The Company also provided an update on its clinical program to develop macimorelin for the diagnosis of child-onset growth hormone deficiency (CGHD), an area of significant unmet need, and its plans to expand macimorelin for the diagnosis of adult growth hormone deficiency (AGHD) in Europe. Dr. Klaus Paulini, Chief Executive Officer of Aeterna commented, Over the course of the first quarter, we made significant progress on clinical and corporate fronts. We successfully executed Study P01 in our clinical program to develop macimorelin for the diagnosis of CGHD, an area of significant unmet need. We are encouraged by the final results from the study, which demonstrated positive safety and tolerability data for use of macimorelin in CGHD. With these positive Study P01 results, we have the necessary data to lay the foundation for our test validation, Study P02, which we expect to commence later this year. Additionally, we were pleased to have received the decision from the EMA to accept a modification to our agreed pediatric investigation plan for macimorelin, ultimately supporting the development of one globally harmonized study protocol for Study P02, which will be accepted both in Europe and the United States of America. Story continues Dr Paulini concluded, In tandem, we have continued to work alongside our U.S. and Canadian commercialization partner, Novo Nordisk, to raise awareness and position Macrilen (macimorelin) for the diagnosis of AGHD. We remain focused on advancing our business development efforts to secure a marketing partner for macimorelin for the diagnosis of AGHD in Europe and other key markets. We are pleased with the progress we have made over the first quarter and believe that 2020 holds significant potential for the advancement of macimorelin. Recent Highlights Announced the decision of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to accept a modification request by Aeterna of the Companys PIP for macimorelin as originally approved in March 2017 which covered the conduct of two pediatric studies and defined relevant key elements in the outline of these studies; Announced the positive results for the dose-finding pediatric study, Study P01, of macimorelin as a growth hormone stimulation test for the evaluation of CGHD; and Closed a $4.5 million registered direct offering priced at-the-market (the February 2020 Financing). Macimorelin Clinical Program Update The Companys lead product, macimorelin, is the only United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved oral drug indicated for the diagnosis of AGHD and is currently marketed in the United States (U.S.) under the tradename Macrilen, by Novo Nordisk. Aeterna is currently developing macimorelin for the diagnosis of CGHD, an area of significant unmet need, in collaboration with Novo Nordisk. The Company recently announced positive results for the first pediatric study of macimorelin as a growth hormone stimulation test for the evaluation of CGHD. The dose-finding results from Study P01 provides the clinical framework to advance the Companys pediatric investigation plan for macimorelin as a growth hormone deficiency diagnostic. The completed study included 24 subjects aged 4 to 15 years. In the subjects who completed the study in accordance with the protocol, macimorelin demonstrated an excellent safety and tolerability profile. There were 88 adverse events (AE) reported in 23 subjects, none of which were assessed by the investigator as related to macimorelin. The majority of AEs (approximately 70%) were expected side effects related to the hypoglycemia introduced by the Insulin Tolerance Test. No significant changes in electrocardiogram parameters and safety laboratory values were noted in any of the three dosing cohorts. The pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile of macimorelin proved to be in the expected range and in general comparable to data in adults. For more information about Study P01, please visit EU Clinical Trials Register and reference EudraCT #2018-001988-23. Upcoming Anticipated Program Milestones Commence CGHD safety and efficacy study, Study P02 (multi-national, including U.S.); and Advance business development efforts to secure a marketing partner for macimorelin for the diagnosis of AGHD in Europe and other key markets. The Company is closely monitoring the evolving situation with coronavirus, or COVID-19, and is following guidance from health authorities. COVID-19 is affecting the global community and is adversely affecting our business operations, in a manner which at this time cannot be fully determined or quantified. The situation with COVID-19 is rapidly evolving and the impact of COVID-19, including travel and business restrictions, and other impediments to undertaking clinical studies, may significantly affect the Companys business, operations, results, projected timelines and market price for Aeternas common shares. Aeterna has developed protocols and procedures should they be required to deal with any potential epidemics and pandemics and has implemented these protocols and procedures to address the current COVID-19 pandemic. Despite appropriate steps being taken to mitigate such risks, there can be no assurance that existing policies and procedures will ensure that the Companys operations will not be further adversely affected. For more information, please see the Risk Factor entitled, The economic effects of a pandemic, epidemic or outbreak of an infectious disease could adversely affect our operations or the market price of our Common Shares, in the Companys Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2019. Summary of First Quarter 2020 Financial Results All amounts are in U.S. dollars For the three-month period ended March 31, 2020, the Company reported a consolidated net income of $0.8 million, or $0.04 income per common share (basic), as compared with a consolidated net loss of $4.9 million, or $0.30 loss per common share (basic) for the three-month period ended March 31, 2019. The $5.7 million improvement in net results is primarily from a gain in fair value of warrant liability of $4.5 million and increase in revenues of $1.1 million. Revenues The Company reported total revenue for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020 of $1.1 million as compared with $0.04 million for the same period in 2019, representing an increase of $1.06 million. The 2020 revenue was comprised of $0.01 million in royalty revenue (2019 - $0.01 million), $1.0 million in product sales of Macrilen (macimorelin) to Novo Nordisk (2019 - $nil), $0.04 million in supply chain revenue (2019 - $0.01 million) and $0.02 million in licensing revenue (2019 $0.02 million). The product sales in 2020 represented sales of Macrilen (macimorelin) to Novo Nordisk. Operating Expenses The Company reported total operating expenses for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020 of $2.4 million as compared with $3.0 million for the same period in 2019, representing a decrease of $0.6 million. This decrease arises primarily from a $0.5 million decline in general and administrative, a $0.2 million decline in research and development costs, a $0.2 million gain on modification of building lease, $0.3 million impact from impairment in right of use assets, $0.2 million impact in impairment of prepaid asset, and a $0.1 million decline in selling expenses, offset by a $0.9 million increase in cost of sales. The impact of the Companys June 2019 restructuring in its German subsidiary, namely for payroll and share-based compensation costs, is a key influence in the declines in general and administrative expenses, selling and research and development expenses. The further impact on the decline in research and development costs is attributed to the different phases of activity of Study P01. In the first quarter of 2019, study activities included study start with document development, medication manufacturing, study feasibility testing at different sites and clinical trial applications in Hungary, Poland, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and Serbia, while in 2020, all sites had completed their enrollment and clinical activities. Net Finance Income The Company reported net finance income for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020 of $2.1 million as compared with net finance costs of $2.0 million for the same period in 2019, representing an increase of $4.1 million. This is primarily due to a $4.5 million change in fair value of warrant liability offset by increased finance costs of $0.3 million from the February 2020 Financing and $0.1 million from changes in currency exchange rates. Such a non-cash change in fair value of warrant liability results from the periodic mark-to-market revaluation, which occurs through the application of the Companys pricing model, of Aeternas outstanding share purchase warrants. Consolidated Financial Statements and Managements Discussion and Analysis For reference, the Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for the first quarter of 2020, as well as the Companys audited consolidated financial statements as of March 31, 2020, will be available at www.zentaris.com in the Investors section or at the Companys profile at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov. About Aeterna Zentaris Inc. Aeterna Zentaris Inc. is a specialty biopharmaceutical company commercializing and developing therapeutics and diagnostic tests. The Companys lead product, Macrilen (macimorelin), is the first and only U.S. FDA and European Commission approved oral test indicated for the diagnosis of adult growth hormone deficiency (AGHD). Macrilen is currently marketed in the United States through a license agreement with Novo Nordisk and Aeterna Zentaris receives double-digit royalties on sales. Aeterna Zentaris owns all rights to macimorelin outside of the U.S. and Canada. Aeterna Zentaris is also leveraging the clinical success and compelling safety profile of macimorelin to develop it for the diagnosis of child-onset growth hormone deficiency (CGHD), an area of significant unmet need. The Company is actively pursuing business development opportunities for the commercialization of macimorelin in Europe and the rest of the world, in addition to other non-strategic assets to monetize their value. For more information, please visit www.zentaris.com and connect with the Company on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) (in thousands of US dollars, except share and per share data) Three months ended March 31, (Unaudited) 2020 2019 $ $ Revenues Royalty income 14 13 Product sales 1,016 Supply chain 41 6 Licensing revenue 19 18 Total revenues 1,090 37 Operating expenses Cost of sales 862 Research and development costs 319 528 General and administrative expenses 1,124 1,637 Selling expenses 248 304 Impairment of right of use asset 337 Modification of building lease (185 ) Impairment of prepaid asset 169 Total operating expenses 2,368 2,975 Loss from operations (1,278 ) (2,938 ) (Loss) gain due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates (104 ) 64 Change in fair value of warrant liability 2,470 (2,061 ) Other finance (costs) income (309 ) 24 Net finance income (costs) 2,057 (1,973 ) Net income (loss) 779 (4,911 ) Other comprehensive income (loss): Items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss: Foreign currency translation adjustments 210 84 Items that will not be reclassified to profit or loss: Actuarial gain (loss) on defined benefit plans 1,388 (735 ) Comprehensive income (loss) 2,377 (5,562 ) Net income (loss) per share [basic] 0.04 (0.30 ) Net income (loss) per share [diluted] 0.04 (0.30 ) Weighted average number of shares outstanding: Basic 21,523,416 16,440,760 Diluted 21,860,416 16,440,760 Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Financial Position (in thousands) As at March 31, 2020 (Unaudited) As at December 31, 2019 $ $ Cash and cash equivalents 9,182 7,838 Trade and other receivables and other current assets 1,498 1,869 Inventory 367 1,203 Restricted cash equivalents 358 364 Property, plant and equipment 31 35 Right of use assets 288 582 Other non-current assets 7,917 8,090 Total assets 19,641 19,981 Payables and accrued liabilities and income taxes payable 2,293 3,596 Current portion of provision for restructuring and other costs 96 418 Current portion of deferred revenues 585 991 Lease liabilities 360 903 Warrant liability 2,110 2,255 Non-financial non-current liabilities (1) 12,510 14,281 Total liabilities 17,954 22,444 Shareholders' equity (deficiency) 1,687 (2,463 ) Total liabilities and shareholders' equity (deficiency) 19,641 19,981 _________________________ (1) Comprised mainly of employee future benefits, provisions for restructuring and other costs and non-current portion of deferred revenues. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements (as defined by applicable securities legislation) made pursuant to the safe-harbor provision of the U.S. Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which reflect our current expectations regarding future events. Forward-looking statements include those relating to the intended use of proceeds and may include, but are not limited to statements preceded by, followed by, or that include the words "will," "expects," "believes," "intends," "would," "could," "may," "anticipates," and similar terms that relate to future events, performance, or our results. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including those discussed in this press release and in our Annual Report on Form 20-F, under the caption "Key Information - Risk Factors" filed with the relevant Canadian securities regulatory authorities in lieu of an annual information form and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Known and unknown risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, our ability to raise capital and obtain financing to continue our currently planned operations, our ability to continue to list our Common Shares on the NASDAQ, our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent, in part, on our ability to transfer cash from Aeterna Zentaris GmbH to Aeterna Zentaris and the U.S. subsidiary and secure additional financing, our now heavy dependence on the success of Macrilen (macimorelin) and related out-licensing arrangements and the continued availability of funds and resources to successfully commercialize the product, including our heavy reliance on the success of the License Agreement with Novo, the global instability due to the global pandemic of COVID-19, and its unknown potential effect on our planned operations, including studies, our ability to enter into out-licensing, development, manufacturing, marketing and distribution agreements with other pharmaceutical companies and keep such agreements in effect, our reliance on third parties for the manufacturing and commercialization of Macrilen (macimorelin), potential disputes with third parties, leading to delays in or termination of the manufacturing, development, out-licensing or commercialization of our product candidates, or resulting in significant litigation or arbitration, uncertainties related to the regulatory process, unforeseen global instability, including the instability due to the global pandemic of the novel coronavirus, our ability to efficiently commercialize or out-license Macrilen (macimorelin), our reliance on the success of the pediatric clinical trial in the European Union (E.U.) and U.S. for Macrilen (macimorelin), the degree of market acceptance of Macrilen (macimorelin), our ability to obtain necessary approvals from the relevant regulatory authorities to enable us to use the desired brand names for our product, our ability to successfully negotiate pricing and reimbursement in key markets in the E.U. for Macrilen (macimorelin), any evaluation of potential strategic alternatives to maximize potential future growth and shareholder value may not result in any such alternative being pursued, and even if pursued, may not result in the anticipated benefits, our ability to take advantage of business opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry, our ability to protect our intellectual property, and the potential of liability arising from shareholder lawsuits and general changes in economic conditions. Investors should consult our quarterly and annual filings with the Canadian and U.S. securities commissions for additional information on risks and uncertainties. Given these uncertainties and risk factors, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We disclaim any obligation to update any such factors or to publicly announce any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, unless required to do so by a governmental authority or applicable law. Investor Contact: Jenene Thomas JTC Team T (US): +1 (833) 475-8247 E: aezs@jtcir.com Hydrogen is an essential commodity with over 60 million tons produced globally every year. However over 95 percent of it is made by steam reformation of fossil fuels, a process that is energy intensive and produces carbon dioxide. If we could replace even a part of that with algal biohydrogen that is made via light and water, it would have a substantial impact. This is essentially what has just been achieved in the lab of Kevin Redding, professor in the School of Molecular Sciences and director of the Center for Bioenergy and Photosynthesis. Their research, entitled Rewiring photosynthesis: a Photosystem I -hydrogenase chimera that makes hydrogen in vivo was published very recently in the high impact journal Energy and Environmental Science. "What we have done is to show that it is possible to intercept the high energy electrons from photosynthesis and use them to drive alternate chemistry, in a living cell" explained Redding. "We have used hydrogen production here as an example." "Kevin Redding and his group have made a true breakthrough in re-engineering the Photosystem I complex," explained Ian Gould, interim director of the School of Molecular Sciences, which is part of The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. "They didn't just find a way to redirect a complex protein structure that nature designed for one purpose to perform a different, but equally critical process, but they found the best way to do it at the molecular level." It is common knowledge that plants and algae, as well as cyanobacteria, use photosynthesis to produce oxygen and "fuels," the latter being oxidizable substances like carbohydrates and hydrogen. There are two pigment-protein complexes that orchestrate the primary reactions of light in oxygenic photosynthesis: Photosystem I (PSI) and Photosystem II (PSII). Algae (in this work the single-celled green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, or 'Chlamy' for short) possess an enzyme called hydrogenase that uses electrons it gets from the protein ferredoxin, which is normally used to ferry electrons from PSI to various destinations. A problem is that the algal hydrogenase is rapidly and irreversibly inactivated by oxygen that is constantly produced by PSII. In this study, doctoral student and first author Andrey Kanygin has created a genetic chimera of PSI and the hydrogenase such that they co-assemble and are active in vivo. This new assembly redirects electrons away from carbon dioxide fixation to the production of biohydrogen. "We thought that some radically different approaches needed to be taken -- thus, our crazy idea of hooking up the hydrogenase enzyme directly to Photosystem I in order to divert a large fraction of the electrons from water splitting (by Photosystem II) to make molecular hydrogen," explained Redding. Cells expressing the new photosystem (PSI-hydrogenase) make hydrogen at high rates in a light dependent fashion, for several days. This important result will also be featured in an upcoming article in Chemistry World - a monthly chemistry news magazine published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. The magazine addresses current developments in the world of chemistry including research, international business news and government policy as it affects the chemical science community. The NSF grant funding this research is part of the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF). In this arrangement, a U.S. scientist and Israeli scientist join forces to form a joint project. The U.S. partner submits a grant on the joint project to the NSF, and the Israeli partner submits the same grant to the ISF (Israel Science Foundation). Both agencies must agree to fund the project in order to obtain the BSF funding. Professor Iftach Yacoby of Tel Aviv University, Redding's partner on the BSF project, is a young scientist who first started at TAU about eight years ago and has focused on different ways to increase algal biohydrogen production. In summary, re-engineering the fundamental processes of photosynthetic microorganisms offers a cheap and renewable platform for creating bio-factories capable of driving difficult electron reactions, powered only by the sun and using water as the electron source. ### The team included Kevin E. Redding, Andrey Kanygin and Patricia Baker of ASU, Kiera Reifschneider (formerly Redding's doctoral student), Iftach Yacoby and Yuval Milrad of Tel Aviv University and Chandrasekhar Thummala of Yogi Vemana University, India (formerly a visiting professor in Redding's lab).This work was funded by the National Science Foundation, grant number CBET-1706960. ALTON A little sandwich shop that has made its name on big flavor and big bites is now making a name for itself by helping others amid the coronavirus pandemic. Sammis Sandwiches At Norbs, North Altons only independently owned sandwich shop, has been making gourmet sandwiches, soups and other offerings for 10 years. Located at at 2505 State St., it operated the first five years as S & S Sandwiches. Owner Scott Yarbrough became the sole owner five years ago and changed the name to Sammis for his 5-year-old daughter. When Illinois stay-at-home order was initiated by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Yarbrough started offering weekly specials for people out of work in the hospitality industry and salons. He is now continuing the offers through the current modified stay-at-home order. I spent $30 out of donated money for this weeks dinner for two, he said. The fund bought green beans and buns. Pulled pork, rubbed and smoked, was donated by Ralph Smith from Ropers Regal Beagle. Sodas came from Flowers Distributing; and Dukes Bakery donated cookies. Sammis donated potato salad for the meals. So please restaurant folks, bartenders, hairdressers, come pick up a meal, they are ready, just stop by the back door of Sammis, he regularly posts on Sammis Sandwiches Facebook page and Riverbend Area Updates Facebook page created by the RiverBend Growth Association. On Thursday, he and his wife, Lisa, decided to help their community even more, launching a campaign to raise $10,000 for the Boys & Girls Club of Alton. The Yarbroughs donated $500 as did a family friend who lives in Washington state. Ive already got leftover money from this weeks meals all made through donations to get enough chicken to prepare the Big Al for Al Womack, who runs the club, Scott Yarbrough said. We will sell 20 sandwiches a day and donate $5 from each sale for $100 a day for $500 a week to the Boys & Girls Club, and try to raise $10,000 for the club, he said. They have nothing going on right now, he said. This is their fundraising time and they cant have those events. They wont get Cat Daddys Opening Day Party Cats been doing this for years and years and they wont get the (RiverBend Growth Association) Duck Race. Yarbrough, born and raised in East Alton, expects Sammis to raise $3,000 toward the $10,000 goal. Then Ill probably continue it on if I can get chicken, he said. Its very hard to get. Yarbrough said he is setting up a Venmo account for donations and establishing a dedicated account for the Boys & Girls Club fund at Liberty Bank. I always support the Boys & Girls Club, no matter where I live, said Yarbrough, who has lived in 10 different states. When we do open everything back up, since the club cant do any fundraising right now, the kids will need the club when school starts, he said. Hopefully well raise way more than the $10,000. Sammis will celebrate 11 years in business in October. Sammis Sandwiches at Norbs menu can be seen online at www.altonsbestsandwich.com. Orders can be called in to 618-570-0115. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The shop is closed Sunday and Monday. The scaled-up liquor prices in Uttar Pradesh didnt come into effect on Thursday allowing consumers time to stock up at old rates. The state government on Wednesday announced an increase in prices of all categories of liquor, including country liquor, to mop up additional revenue of Rs 2,350 crore. We have been asked not to increase prices today (Thursday). As soon as we get the clearance, we will increase it, though re-labelling the price on old stock would be difficult, a liquor seller said. At many places, people were seen buying liquor by the bagful at old rates, as sellers conveniently ignored the limit for sale clause that bars buying beyond a certain quantity. Since May 4, when liquor shops reopened to long queues across the state after a six-week closure, revenue of over Rs 300 crore has flowed in, excise officials admit. At least two BJP lawmakers publicly disapproved of the decision to allow liquor sale. One of them said he was worried that social distancing norms were flouted in the rush to grab a bottle. I fail to understand the need for allowing liquor sale as well as lifting the ban on cigarettes and paan masala, said BJPs Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj. The partys Kanpur MP Satyadev Pachauri, too, had written to chief minister Yogi Adityanath, expressing concern over the sale of liquor and the flouting of social distancing norms. BJPs outspoken MLA from Bairia (Ballia) Surendra Singh also wondered why the government had allowed liquor sales. The opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party, the Congress and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, have already demanded that the liquor shops be closed again. However, shopkeepers said after the first day, the rush had largely settled down. Our liquor licence expired on March 31. But due to the lockdown, we have been given seven days to clear our stock after which all the leftover stock would be destroyed. So, before the price hike is effected, we want to make the most of it. The people benefit too and we dont see anything wrong in it as government is getting much needed revenue, a liquor seller said. The state government had set an excise revenue target of Rs 31,600 crore for 2019-20, against which it earned Rs 27,323 crore till March before the lockdown saw all bars, clubs, standalone liquor vends and model shops shut down for six weeks. The excise policy has to be reworked now, given the massive loss of revenue due to closure of liquor shops, an official said. The HT Guide to Coronavirus COVID-19 WHAT IS LIMIT OF SALE? The limit of sale clause restricts a person from buying beyond a certain limit. For country liquor, both spiced and plain, the limit of sale by retail is 1.5 litres for each variety. In foreign liquor category, six litres of liquor bottled in India or the Indian Made Foreign Liquor can be purchased. This includes whisky, brandy, rum (including white rum), gin and vodka. Similar is the sale limit for imported foreign liquor, bottled in the country of its origin. Public relations in todays rapidly moving media landscape requires collaboration with social media and digital marketing to be truly effective. Im excited to announce our partnership with my friends at Beeseen, who Ive worked with for over five years, to launch this new all-inclusive PR and digital strategy. From day one, they understood that brands, both professional and personal need to hit all platforms including traditional and emerging to be truly successful. R Couri Hay BeeSolutions, a full-service digital marketing agency located in Long Island, New York recently announced their Strategic Partnership with R.Couri Hay Creative Public Relations in New York. R.Couri Hay and Beeseen Solutions will be working together to expand their presence virtually by including new services with the best digital marketing and PR marketing strategies. RCH Digital (http://www.rchdigital.com) will focus on providing premier marketing strategies with versatile performance tools that will specifically cater to all clients needs. The new services will include a professional consultative approach with All Star Experts to increase brand recognition across the industry. RCH Digital is dedicated to developing an online brand for organizations and professionals to drive a total solution. Our goal is to bridge the elements of digital marketing strategies with traditional print and PR to deliver cutting-edge, tailored digital elements that will position its clients properly in all areas. Patrick Pinto We could not be prouder to expand our partnership with R.Couri Hay and his amazing team of PR Rock Stars. He is a Pioneer in the PR and Marketing Industry, with a proven track record of delivering exceptional service and performance to their clients across the world. We are excited to offer RCH Digital as a solution to companies and professionals in diverse industries while delivering a premium solution at every level. Patrick Pinto CMO BeeSeen Solutions R. Couri Hay is an editor, veteran publicist, and society columnist located in Manhattan and the Hamptons. He is known for his versatile philanthropic work in industries such as hotels, art, restaurant, hospitality, food and beverage, medicine, design, event planning, jewelry, and law. He founded a Creative Public Relations firm over 25 years ago and has consistently raised bars. R. Couri Hay Creative PR has worked with many elite brands and clients which include Prada, Harry Winston, Bulgari, Veuve Clicquot, Bergdorf Goodman, Krug, and many other luxury brands. They have also worked with a long list of doctors including plastic surgeon Dr. Sherrell J. Aston as well as top Dermatologists such as Dr. Kenneth Mark and Dr. Marie Hayag. Additionally, the firm has represented law firms of Arthur Aidala, Robert Hantman, and Sal Strazzullo. Hay has always promoted charitable contributions while working with his clients. R. Couri Hay Creative Public Relations strategically synchronizes all the elements of maintaining and building a visible identity for clients. BeeSeen Solutions is a premier digital marketing agency that offers a full suite of offerings including Intelligent Automation Solutions. It is an honor for BeeSeen Solutions to have collaborated with R. Couri Hay Creative Public Relations to expand into this space and provide the finest digital marketing and PR Creative Services. BeeSeen Solutions was established by a group of entrepreneurs who have helped build startups into successful multi-million dollar companies including call centers, financial services, retail and technological industries. Their digital strategies have helped companies and individuals rank on top Googles search results. BeeSeen Solutions is a result-driven and client-focused team that vows to provide positive customer experience and to help its clients and partners to exceed their digital marketing goals. To learn more about BeeSeen Solutions, visit http://www.beeseensolutions.com, and to learn more about R. Couri Hay Creative Public Relations, visit http://www.rcourihay.com. Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Thursday there are questions and concerns about how children might be contributing to the spread of the coronavirus. "It might be that thousands of kids are actually getting coronavirus, tens of thousands of kids, and we just aren't seeing it because the kids are getting a very mild illness or they're getting no illness at all," Gottlieb said on "Squawk Box." "But they're still vectors, they're still passing on the virus." Gottlieb said there are so far "mixed studies" on the rate of infection for children. He said some suggest kids are not getting infected at high rates, while others suggest they are getting infected with "sub-clinical illness" and largely remaining asymptomatic. Older adults and people who have underlying medical conditions have the highest risk of becoming severely ill from Covid-19. But the way in which the virus impacts kids has taken on new light in recent days after health officials in New York State warned of an inflammatory disease among at least 64 children that is possibly associated with the virus. Gottlieb, a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said it appears to be a potential "autoimmune-type condition" that develops after Covid-19 subsides. He said it is a concerning development, but stressed it is difficult to tell how common the condition is without understanding how widespread the coronavirus is among children. "What we don't know is the denominator. We know the numerator, that a couple of dozen reports now of this syndrome," said Gottlieb, a CNBC contributor who sits on the boards of Pfizer and biotech company Illumina. Gottlieb noted the number of children who are reporting with active infection of the coronavirus is "very low." According to the most recent data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are about 21,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 among people who are under 18 years old. The CDC reports nearly 917,000 confirmed cases overall in the U.S., while data Thursday morning in a widely followed Covid-19 tracker from Johns Hopkins University puts that number at over 1.2 million, which represents about a third of all the cases in the world. Gottlieb said the role of children in spreading seasonal influenza is well understood and that is why schools were closed in response to the Covid-19 outbreak. He said there is ample data showing that the scope of a flu epidemic is reduced "dramatically" when schools are shut down. With the flu, children become vectors and spread it throughout the community, said Gottlieb. "We assumed the same was true of coronavirus. We don't have data yet on that." Chron.com is following the latest headlines on the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the Houston area. 4:16 Montgomery County has hit a major milestone amid the novel coronavirus pandemic after reporting the first decrease in active cases. The active number of COVID-19 cases has decreased from 433 to 425. So far, 249 people have made a full recovery. There county's total case count is 689 with a death count at 15. 4:00 p.m. Several Houston-area school districts have announced new graduation plans for seniors. Spring Branch ISD has rescheduled its outdoor ceremonies from June 1-6 outside of Tully Stadium, 1050 Dairy Ashford. Cy-Fair ISD will hold its ceremonies from June 1-6 outside of Cy-Fair FCU Stadium, 8877 Barker Cypress Road. 11:30 a.m. To honor the city's graduating high school seniors, the city of Houston and Houston ISD will host a first-of-its-kind citywide outdoor celebration on June 5, according to a city news release. Seniors will be asked to don their caps and gowns and assemble outside their respective high schools for pictures, singing and a special viewing of pre-recorded messages from celebrities and local and national leaders. 10 a.m. A Klein High School student's social distancing campaign to slow the spread of COVID-19 is picking up steam in the form of support from the community. In mid-April, Sneha Shenoy, a junior at Klein High School, started her Pledge To Distance campaign asking people to follow stay-at-home orders and maintain social distancing while out in public. Those who sign the pledge receive a custom portrait from Shenoy. So far, nearly 1,000 people have signed on, and a social media account for the campaign has grown with 850 new followers. The #PledgeToDistance campaign is on social media @PledgeToDistance on Instagram, @PledgeDistance on Twitter, and Pledge To Distance on Facebook. The pledge and more information can also be found at www.pledgetodistance.com. 7:10 a.m. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday sent a letter to a Dallas County judge, stating that he abused his authority by putting Shelley Luther, owner of a hair salon, in jail for opening her salon. I find it outrageous and out of touch that during this national pandemic, a judge, in a county that actually released hardened criminals for fear of contracting COVID-19, would jail a mother for operating her hair salon in an attempt to put food on her familys table, said Paxton. Paxton called the incident a political stunt. In April, two salon workers in Laredo were arrested for allegedly providing cosmetic services from home to undercover officers. AXA Venture Partners, a venture capital firm investing in high-growth technology companies, completed a 200m first closing of AVP Diversified II, the second vintage of AVP Fund of Funds strategy. The fundraise generated interest from existing and new investors. The final close of the fund is expected before the end of 2020 with a target of 250m. Similar to AVP Diversified I, AVP Diversified II will continue to focus on key geographies: both coasts in the United States, Europe, Israel and Asia with a particular focus on China. On an opportunistic basis, the fund may also invest in funds established in other emerging regions globally. The team will aim to invest in seed, early and growth stage top- Paris London New York San Francisco Hong Kong tier tech-focused funds. It will also invest in secondary opportunities. AVP Diversified II will continue to be managed by an experienced team led by Dominic Maier, who is promoted to Partner of AVP at the occasion of the launch of AVP Diversified II. He will benefit from the support of teams in London, Paris and Hong Kong. Prior to joining AVP in 2017, Maier was a Vice President at Adams Street Partners in the Global Primary Investment team based in London. He gained extensive experience evaluating funds ranging from technology and life sciences venture capital, growth capital and buyout funds, as well as monitoring investments as a member of Advisory Boards. Before that, Maier worked at EY in their Financial Services Business Modelling team where he worked on transactions in the banking and asset management sub-sectors. AVP Diversified I, a 150 million vehicle raised in 2017, has now been deployed. FinSMEs 08/05/2020 President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump exit the Oval Office as they arrive to participate in a tree planting ceremony in recognition of Earth Day and Arbor Day on the South Lawn of the White House on April 22, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Military Member Working at White House Tests Positive for CCP Virus A member of the U.S. military who works on the White House campus has tested positive for the CCP virus. Hogan Gidley, a spokesman, said Thursday that officials were recently notified by the White House Medical Unit about the test results. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health, he added in a statement. The White House told The Epoch Times last month that anyone who will be near Trump or Pence would be tested to see if they had COVID-19, the new disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. As the physician to the president and White House Operations continue to protect the health and safety of the president and vice president, starting today anyone who is expected to be in close proximity to either of them will be administered a COVID-19 test, spokesman Judd Deere said. The test will evaluate for pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic carriers status to limit inadvertent transmission, he added. A significant percentage of people infected with the virus never show symptoms. They and people not yet showing symptoms can transmit the illness, according to health experts. Trump and Pence have largely declined to wear masks while in and around the White House and traveling to other areas. After Pence didnt wear a mask during a visit to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, he said he should have. Pence donned a covering while visiting a ventilator production facility in Indiana last week. Trump didnt appear publicly with a mask while in Arizona this week but told reporters later that he was wearing one when he was far away from photographers. He said he wore it for a short while before taking it off. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month reversed its recommendations surrounding masks, saying people should wear them if in areas where social distancing is hard to maintain. This is an opinion column. It seemed like a decent idea at the time, novel even. Almost innovative. At the time. Alabamas district attorney offices, like other statewide agencies, get money through the General Fund, dictated by the state legislature. Back in the 1980s, when DA offices needed more money to operate, the legislature, rather than boost funding, created Worthless Check Units within DA offices. Those units helped small businesses in their area collect on bad checks and kept a small percentage as a fee. It worked out well, says Barry Matson, director of the Office of Prosecution Services. Businesses got their money and it kept DAs out of sight, out of mind. Until COVID-19. Until the pandemic exposed yet another systemic flaw in how we operate, how we live, and what we ignoreand have benignly done so for generations. Decades after creating the bad-check cops, state prosecutors still depend on various court feesfrom bail bonds, from defendants assigned to drug rehabilitation or a mental health treatment program, and from collections on restitution and child support (Bad checks? Not so much. When was the last time you wrote a check, Matson asked). They help keep the lights on. And a lot more. The state General Fund provides $35,142,507 to run the states 42 DA offices. Problem is, it costs $93 million to fund the 318 full-time prosecutors and staff statewide. So, the state supports only about 37 percent of the need. Four (Jefferson County, Bessemer Cutoff, Mobile, and Montgomery) receive sizable financial support from their respective counties, according to Matson; two others (Tuscaloosa and Shelby) get a little. That leaves 36 counties responsible for generating 70 percent of their budgets. These newly elected DAs come in excited and ready to do justice, then are shocked when they realize theyre running a small business out of their office, Matson says. Some are also not happy the fees they need to survive are often (but not always) levied against citizens least able to afford them, if at all. Most of the money collected is on the back of poor people, said Jefferson County DA Danny Carr. We should be funded to operate our offices and not have to use gimmicks to be fully functional. This upside-down funding is coming to light now thanks to a corona-fecta: an economic smackdown caused by the very-necessary stay-at-home policies and business closures enacted to stem the spread of the virus; more cautious interaction between law enforcement and the public (i.e. yall are less likely be pulled over for speeding these days); and, court systems that have all but slowed to a crawl. Those three things have never happened before, Matson said. Every DA office in Alabama is struggling to fulfill everyday investigative obligations or meet payroll, Matson says. Already, the Tuscaloosa County DAs office laid off five employees (four prosecutors and a second-chance diversion director) and Morgan County retired three and laid off two employees, with a 15% salary reduction across the board. We have many others poised to do the same or worse, Matson says. We want justice, not just convictions, he adds. We want truth. We stand between the public and the criminal justice system. We screen warrants and do thorough investigations to ensure were making good decisions. We dont want to just get the guy but make sure we get the right guy. All these procedures are compromised when funding is compromised. No office is immune, not even the states largest. According to Carr, the Jefferson County DAs office handles between 8,000-9,000 felonies and 9,000 misdemeanors every year with 45 attorneys and staff. (Statewide, DA offices manage 85,000 felonies and 250,000 misdemeanors annually with 318 full-time prosecutors, says Matson.) It costs $7.2 million to fund Carrs office, he says. The General Fund allocation is just $1.3 million, but its supplemented by $5.5 million from the Jefferson County Commission. Fees usually cover the $400,000 gap, but not in this corona-crisis. The office currently has a shortfall of about $300,000, Carr says. Are layoffs looming? I dont know yet, he says. If something doesnt change by August, we may have to. Like entities throughout the state, DA offices have also been hit with unforeseen expenses related to COVID-19. We had to pay for masks, gloves, disinfectant, things not earmarked, says Bessemer Cutoff DA Lynneice Washington. We have an obligation to keep the office safe and sanitized. I bought Clorox wipes out of my own pocket. Revenues generated by DA offices statewide are collected by OPS, which pays prosecutors and staff. So, deficits anywhere reverberate everywhere. All the money goes into one pot, says Washington. If one DA office needs to be bailed out, someone else suffers. Without aid before July, Matson says, OPS may be in jeopardy of not making payroll. Help does appear on the way. As part of the state legislatures truncated, corona-affected 2020 legislative session, the state senate Tuesday passed an amended version of the supplemental appropriations bill (SB 161) with bipartisan-support that included $4.5 million for state prosecutors. The bill survived the House Ways and Means Committee Wednesday and goes to the House floor Thursday, where Matson hopes the amount of funding will be raised. We need $7-$8 million to able to breathe again, he says. Even if the gap is closed and layoffs are avoided, DA offices are still looking at a staggering backlog of cases that will hit like a tsunami when courts reconvene on a regular schedulewhenever that may be. In Jefferson County, grand juries typically handle up to 300 cases per week. But no grand juries have been called since early March, putting the number of cases awaiting processing in the thousands. A massive backlog could hit in the early fall, Matson says. Right now, it takes four to five years to get to murder cases. Best case three years from now, we could be looking at five or six years to try a homicide. Thats not fair to anybody. Not the victims, their families, or the defendant. Justice delayed is justice denied. Budget shortfalls also stall programs like a conviction integrity unit, which looks at potentially wrong convictions in the files. If you look at history, I think a conviction integrity unit is warranted, Washington says. If someone knows they are wrongfully convicted, they should have some glimmer of hope for some mechanism after their appeals have been exhausted. But I dont have the staffing for it. With a huge backlog of murders and capital murders, I dont have anyone to spare to assign to it. People have died in prison after being wrongfully convicted. Her office has reached out to Cumberland School of Law at Samford University for people who may be able to review cases. In addition to a conviction integrity unity, Carr wants to create Project Reset, modeled after a program in the Bronx, NY that diverts defendants accused of low-level, nonviolent crimes from the court system to a community court comprising local citizens, law enforcement and retired judges, yet holds them accountable. It takes money, he says. We cant do those things because were trying to run the office enough to just get people paid. Last summer 152 convicted felons were placed in jobs after Carr hosted the Second Chance Hiring Fair at Boutwell Auditorium. Almost 60 employers and 584 job-seekers participated. A follow-up event this year is threatened by restrictions on the size of crowds while trying to stifle COVID-19, but funding is also an issue. If Im going to occupy this space, says Washington, and be for reason and not just a season, I will try to improve the lives people I serve. But if I dont have the money for staff, it affects our ability to do many things. We can have great ideas but without funding, they dont come to fruition. Matson is grateful for the additional funding making its way through this unusual legislative session with bipartisan support and absolves the current legislature of any blame for the upside-down funding. Yet in what can only belong in the long list of unexplainable actions taken during this session, next years state budget contains a decrease of $1 million in overall funding for OPS. We hope to have that restored, Matson says. Hope is what we cling to now. Our oath is to seek justice, not just convictions. We need the resources to fulfill our constitutional oath. This is no way to fund justice. Not in our state. Not anywhere. Future legislatures must take a hard look at overturning its upside-down funding approach and the states prosecutors with the resources to pursue justice, so they dont have to chase penniesparticularly from those with none to spare. I received some notification yesterday from Dr. Wilson about something he planned in the future, Lightfoot said. I asked a series of questions, which you would expect me to ask, which was: Do you have a permit? Whats the security plan? And when you talk about 5 million masks, thats a lot of people coming together, and probably, my concern was, violating the state stay-at-home order. The Royal Australian Air Force has its first Boeing-built drone-jet hybrid prototype, which will use artificial intelligence to conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions to supply fighter pilots with more information during a conflict. The company delivered its first "loyal wingman" prototype to Australia this week; it is expected to be used in tandem with fourth- and fifth-generation fighters on the battlefield, officials said in a release. It's also the first aircraft "to be designed, engineered and manufactured in Australia in more than 50 years," Boeing said, adding that it's the company's "largest investment in an unmanned aircraft outside of the United States." Related: Boeing Unveils Fighter Drone that Could Play Wingman to Manned Jets "This is a truly historic moment for our country and for Australian defence innovation," said Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. "The Loyal Wingman will be pivotal to exploring the critical capabilities our Air Force needs to protect our nation and its allies into the future." The delivery in Sydney is the first of three for Australia's Loyal Wingman Advanced Development Program, officials said. The aircraft, which Boeing is co-developing with the government of Australia, was unveiled at the Avalon Airshow last year. Australia is investing roughly $40 million into the program, CNN reported. The jet is 38 feet long and can fly more than 2,000 nautical miles, according to its fact sheet. It uses artificial intelligence "to fly independently or in support of manned aircraft while maintaining safe distance between other aircraft, the fact sheet states. The first prototype was constructed using digital engineering concepts, allowing developers to simulate parts via computer models, according to the company. "We are proud to take this significant step forward with the Royal Australian Air Force and show the potential for smart unmanned teaming to serve as a force multiplier," said Kristin Robertson, vice president and general manager of Autonomous Systems for Boeing Defense, Space & Security. "We look forward to getting the aircraft into flight testing and proving out the unmanned teaming concept," Robertson said. The drone-jet will now begin ground testing, followed by a first flight later this year. "We see global allies with those same mission needs, which is why this program is so important to advancing the development of the Boeing Airpower Teaming System," she said. The concept is similar to an ongoing U.S. military effort. The U.S. Air Force has been working to develop its own "Loyal Wingman" program, featuring unmanned fighters that could think autonomously sent out alongside F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, for example, to scout enemy territory ahead of a strike, or to gather intel for the aircraft formation. In January, the Air Force conducted test flights of the XQ-58A Valkyrie drone at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, taking the unmanned aerial vehicle, made by Kratos Defense, to higher altitudes than previous tests. The drone is part of the Air Force's Low-Cost Attritable Strike Demonstration program, an effort to develop unmanned attack aircraft, which are intended to be reusable but cheap enough that they can be destroyed without significant cost. -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. Read More: The Marines Wanted a University to Study Co-ed Boot Camp. No One Applied A Chinese flag flutters on a fishing boat while a China Coast Guard ship patrols in water near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, April 5, 2017. Officials in Jakarta summoned the Chinese ambassador Thursday over the deaths of four Indonesians and the treatment of others who allegedly worked in harsh conditions aboard Chinese fishing boats since December 2019. The summons followed a South Korean media report, which alleged that Indonesian crew members were sometimes forced to work 30 straight hours while standing and were given only six hours to eat and sleep before resuming their duties. An Indonesian crew member interviewed by a South Korean television station said the bodies of three who died between December and March were thrown into the sea despite details in their contract calling for cremation. The Indonesian government expressed concerns about the conditions on the ships, which are suspected to have led to the death of four Indonesian crew members, three at sea and another in a hospital in Busan, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told reporters in an online news conference. Retno said the Chinese ambassador to Indonesia, Xiao Xian, assured her that the government in Beijing would ensure that the employers fulfilled their responsibilities. We sought an explanation about the reason for the disposal of the remains at sea and the treatment endured by other Indonesian crew members, Retno said. Retno said she asked if the burials at sea complied with International Labor Organization standards and was assured that the Chinese had followed proper protocol to protect the health of other crew members. The decision to [drop the bodies into the sea] was taken by the captain of the ship because the deaths were due to infectious diseases and this was approved by other crew members, Retno said. Chinese embassy officials in Jakarta did not immediately respond to requests for comment from BenarNews. Retno said all four of the crew members who died had been registered to the Chinese fishing boat Long Xin 629. Two of the crewmen died on the boat in December, while one died in a South Korean hospital on April 27 and the fourth was transferred to another boat and died in March before it could reach port. The Indonesian government repatriated 11 surviving crew members and would bring home 14 others this week, according to Retno. Many of them had ended up in the South Korean port city of Busan after their contracts expired. Ari Purboyo, chairman of the Indonesian Fisheries Workers Union in South Korea, said each Indonesian crew member was paid about U.S. $120 (1.8 million rupiah) for 11 months work. Grim conditions A video broadcast by South Korean station MBC showed the body of one of the Indonesians being thrown into the sea after a prayer ritual. First he had a leg cramp, then his feet were swollen. Later the illness spread to his chest and he had difficulty breathing, said the Indonesian crew member whose name was withheld, describing the conditions of a compatriot identified as Ari, 24, before he died. The Indonesian workers were forced to drink treated sea water while Chinese crew members drank bottled water, he said. Mohammad Abdi Suhufan, who heads the NGO Destructive Fishing Watch Indonesia, said the case exposed issues in the fishing industry. The government needs to launch an education campaign to prevent citizens from being the victims of forced labor and human trafficking, he said. Information about the conditions of working on fishing ships must be made public so prospective workers are aware of the risks. Meanwhile, Wahyu Susilo, executive director of Indonesian labor advocacy group Migrant Care, said workers in the marine and fisheries sector lacked protection and were prone to exploitation. The conditions facing Indonesian migrant workers, especially those working in the fisheries sector, are grim, Wahyu told BenarNews. What these Indonesian crewmen experienced was a violation of their human rights. They were robbed of their freedom by working in an inappropriate environment. They were deprived of their right to information and, ultimately, they were robbed of their right to live, he said in a statement, according to the Jakarta Post. A study released in December 2019 by Greenpeace Southeast Asia and the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union revealed that 34 Indonesian migrant fishermen working on 13 suspected foreign fishing boats had reported unsatisfactory conditions. The main complaints included deception, withholding of wages, excessive overtime and physical and sexual abuse, the report said. Indonesian migrant fishermen had their salaries deducted to pay guarantee deposits and processing costs for the first six to eight months of their employment, forcing them to work ridiculous hours for little or no pay, it said. Reports documenting the experiences of Indonesian and Filipino migrant fishers reveal a common pattern throughout the recruitment process, the terrible working conditions onboard vessels, as well as the uncertainty of repatriation when vessel operators are caught violating fishing laws in foreign countries, it said. Tia Asmara in Jakarta contributed to this report. Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) saw the highest single-day spike of Covid cases on Thursday, with 20 new patients. The total number of cases is 253. Two days ago, 18 new cases had marked the highest 24-hour spike in KDMC. Among the new cases is a two-month-old girl, said an official from KDMC health department. KDMC health department said out of the 20 new cases, 10 travel to Mumbai for work every day. Out of the 253 cases, 87 are those working for essential services such as the police, healthcare and bank and travel to Mumbai daily. Three police personnel, one civic employee, a health department staffer and an employee of a civic hospital are among Thursdays cases. A 32-year-food delivery boy, who works in Mumbai and lives in Kalyan (East), has also tested positive. He has not been going to work for more than two weeks as he self-quarantined himself after his housing society members objected his travel to Mumbai every day. Recently, he was tested and he tested positive, said Pratibha Panpatil, epidemic officer, KDMC. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Jaunpur : , May 7 (IANS) A Tablighi Jamaat 'Amir' (district chief) for Jaunpur died at the district hospital of suspected cardiac arrest. Naseem Ahmad, 65, a heart patient, was lodged at a temporary jail after his arrest in the first week of April for allegedly harbouring foreign nationals. He was shifted to the hospital after his condition deteriorated on Wednesday morning. Divisional Commissioner Deepak Agrawal said: "Naseem Ahmad, who was booked in a case of arranging shelter for Tablighi Jamaat attendees, including 14 Bangladeshis, without reporting their presence to the district administration, was a heart patient and was hospitalized twice in the past nine days. Cardiac arrest is suspected as reason for his death. Jaunpur police has sent his body for post mortem." According to officials, Ahmad, a native of Firozpur in Jaunpur, had returned from Delhi after attending the Tablighi Jamaat Markaz at Nizamuddin in March. After the event, a batch of 16 Jamaat attendees, including 14 Bangladeshis, had reached Jaunpur. These 16 Jamaatis initially stayed at Bada Masjid in city area but when police intensified drive against Jamaatis, Ahmad arranged a shelter for them near Lal Masjid in Saraikhwaja police station area. On March 31, the Saraikhwaja police arrested 14 Bangladeshis along with Yasin Ansari of Jharkhand and Mohd Abul Motalib of West Bengal. All these persons were booked under appropriate sections of Epidemic Diseases Act, Passport Act and Foreigners Act. The commissioner said, "During investigation it came to light that Ahmad had arranged shelter for them, after which a case was lodged against him and he was arrested. "Initially, Ahmad was kept in quarantine centre where his COVID-19 test had also been conducted and he was found corona negative. Later, he was sent to a temporary jail created in a school premises by Jaunpur administration for epidemic offenders." On April 28, Ahmad's health deteriorated and he was admitted to the district hospital and also sent to BHU hospital for proper check-up. After his condition improved, he was sent back to the temporary jail. He was admitted again to Jaunpur district hospital on April 30, from where he was discharged after improvement in his condition. By Akbar Mammadov The Ministers of Economy of the Turkic Council have agreed to establish Joint Action Plan curb challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The decision to this effect was made during the video-conference held between the ministers and Heads of Customs Administrations of the Turkic Council Member and Observer States, the council announced on its website on May 6. During the meeting, the ministers discussed measures to mitigate the negative effects of the coronavirus on the economies of member countries, and to strengthen trade relations during and after the pandemic. After the ministers gave detailed information regarding the economic challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the measures taken at national level to overcome the difficulties in domestic and foreign trade, they agreed to establish a joint Action Plan under the coordination of the Turkic Council Secretariat with the relevant authorities of the Member and Observer States responsible for economy, trade and customs issues, the council said. The heads of the relevant state bodies also discussed the measures to ensure food security, finalizing a common list of essential goods among the Turkic Council countries, accelerating customs clearance procedures of these essential goods, including pharmaceutical and medical supplies, and humanitarian aid by setting an electronic pre-notification system, and developing mechanisms to reduce import taxes. The Turkic Council noted that within this framework, parties exchanged views on the establishment of a green corridor and launch of green lane system at border crossing points to facilitate the delivery of essential products. "The Ministers supported the decisions taken at the meeting of Ministers of Health of the Turkic Council held on April 28, 2020, regarding the establishment of a Supply Chain Group and stressed that this initiative would support joint production of medicines, medical supplies, etc. that the Member States are in need", the council added. Furthermore, the sides also fully supported new cooperation projects, such as the establishment of industrial zones, techno parks and trade houses proposed by the Secretariat. "At the meeting, promoting the use of national currencies in trade between member states and determining a common strategy to facilitate trade that would simplify customs procedures, encourage multimodal transport in the Middle Corridor and ensure the effective use of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway were given a particular emphasis", the council said. In addition, the parties agreed on the proposal of Hungary to establish a joint action plan to evaluate investment opportunities in Europe through establishing partnerships among companies of the Turkic Council Member States. "The Ministers emphasized that the decisions of the meeting with a view to maintain and further increase current level of economic and trade relations and to alleviate the socio-economic impact of the pandemic in the Turkic Council countries should be reflected in the Turkic Vision 2025 that is currently being prepared by the Secretariat", the council noted. It should be noted that the Turkic Council that consists of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, first discussed the COVID-19 crisis on April 10, in a meeting chaired by Azerbaijan. --- Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz A national campaign to boost the employment and entrepreneurship of Chinese university graduates will be launched from May to August, according to the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Wednesday. During the campaign, jointly implemented by the MOE and five other departments and units, measures including expanding enrollment for higher education and creating more jobs at the grassroots level will be carried out. The ministry has arranged to expand postgraduate enrollment by nearly 190,000 this year. In addition, over 400,000 graduates will be recruited as teachers of kindergartens, primary and secondary schools. Relevant departments are urged to implement preferential policies to encourage small, medium-sized and micro enterprises to recruit more college graduates. Dublin, May 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Asia Pacific Digital English Language Learning Market to 2027 - Regional Analysis and Forecasts by Product Type; Business Type; End User; Age Group" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The digital English language learning market in APAC was valued at US$ 1,678.6 million in 2019 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.2% during the forecast period of 2020-2027 to reach US$ 5,974.6 million by 2027. The education sector in APAC is transforming exponentially owing to various initiatives undertaken by governments and private organizations to digitally drive the sector. Governments of various countries, such as China, South Korea, and Australia, have initiated the digital education schemes in the past years, which have helped in boosting the English education systems. For instance, Australian governmental initiative Digital Education Revolution (DER), which was initiated a decade ago, has fostered several schools and universities in leveraging digital education. Similarly, Chinese government has initiated several policies to drive the digital education majorly focusing on English language learning, which has propelled the rise in the number of companies offering the same to Chinese students. Various initiatives have been undertaken by the Indian government to popularize the digitalized technologies in the educational sector. SWAYAM is the most prominent digital learning platform and initiative undertaken by Indian government to help the students opt for online courses covering all higher education subjects. International universities are also allowed to offer their respective courses and examination through SWAYAM platform, which is facilitating the students to learn and opt for examinations from international universities. Digital transformation has influenced the educational sector in APAC heavily in the recent years. Australia and China are the most prominent countries to implement digital education in schools and universities, which include English language learning. However, China and South Korea lead the digital English language learning market in APAC. India on the other hand has recently implemented several initiatives to boost the digital education in the country under the initiative Digital India. Additionally, the penetration of internet has spurred the demand for e-learning in the country, which is positively impacting on the digital English language learning market in APAC. Also, the availability of the online examinations and scrutinizing individual English proficiency has gained popularity in APAC countries. India, China, Indonesia, Australia, Thailand, and North Korea are economically developing countries and witnessing growing economies owing to various government-led initiatives toward progressive development. Factors such as initiatives focusing on digital infrastructures and various internet usage awareness campaigns lay strong platforms for the development of digitalization. Companies from the western part of the world have been keener on investing and opening their branches in the Asian countries. This is expected to positively influence the need for digital English language learning systems in the coming years. The digital English language learning market players in APAC have been experiencing substantial growth in the recent years owing to the increase in procurement of their services by the corporate sector. Corporate communication is one of the most critical functions faced by various employees working in APAC organizations. Pertaining to this fact, several companies operating in different countries in APAC are undertaking initiatives to enhance the proficiency of English language among the employees. This factor is boosting the digital English language learning market through corporate sectors in APAC. Reasons to Buy: Story continues Save and reduce time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the growth, size, leading players and segments in the APAC digital English language learning market Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the APAC digital English language learning market, thereby allowing players across the value chain to develop effective long-term strategies Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets Scrutinize in-depth APAC market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to client products, segmentation, pricing and distribution Key Topics Covered: 1. Introduction 1.1 Scope of the Study 1.2 Report Guidance 1.3 Market Segmentation 2. Key Takeaways 3. Research Methodology 3.1 Coverage 3.2 Secondary Research 3.3 Primary Research 4. Asia-Pacific Digital Language Learning Market Landscape 4.1 Market Overview 4.2 Ecosystem Analysis 4.3 PEST Analysis 4.3.1 Asia Pacific - PEST Analysis 5. Asia-Pacific Digital Language Learning Market - Key Industry Dynamics 5.1 Key Market Drivers 5.1.1 Growing Number Students Migrating to Western Countries from Asia 5.1.2 Penetration of Digitization Across The Education Sector 5.2 Key Market Restraints 5.2.1 Growing Security Concerns and High Risk of Piracy with Offline Content 5.3 Key Market Opportunities 5.3.1.1 Government Initiatives Regarding English Language Learning To Create Lucrative Business Opportunities 5.4 Future Trends 5.4.1 Integration of Advanced Technologies to Attract More Customers 5.5 Impact Analysis of Drivers and Restraints 6. Asia-Pacific Digital Language Learning Market -Market Analysis 6.1 Asia-Pacific Digital Language Learning Market Overview 6.2 Asia-Pacific Digital Language Learning Market Forecast and Analysis 7. Asia-Pacific Digital Language Learning Market Revenue And Forecasts To 2027 - Language Type 7.1 Overview 7.2 English 7.2.1 Overview 7.2.2 Asia-Pacific English Language Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2027 (US$ Mn) 7.3 Mandarin 7.3.1 Overview 7.3.2 Asia-Pacific Mandarin Language Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2027 (US$ Mn) 7.4 Spanish Language 7.4.1 Overview 7.4.2 Asia-Pacific Spanish Language Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2027 (US$ Mn) 7.5 German Language 7.5.1 Overview 7.5.2 Asia-Pacific German Language Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2027 (US$ Mn) 7.6 Other Language 7.6.1 Overview 7.6.2 Asia-Pacific Other Language Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2027 (US$ Mn) 8. Asia-Pacific Digital Language Learning Market - By Deployment Type 8.1 Overview 8.2 Cloud-Based 8.2.1 Overview 8.2.2 Asia-Pacific Cloud-Based Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2027 (US$ Mn) 8.3 On-Premises 8.3.1 Overview 8.3.2 Asia-Pacific On-Premises Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2027 (US$ Mn) 9. Asia-Pacific Digital Language Learning Market Analysis - By Business Type 9.1 Overview 9.2 Business-To-Business 9.2.1 Overview 9.2.2 Asia-Pacific Business-To-Business Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2027 (US$ Mn) 9.3 Business-To-Customer 9.3.1 Overview 9.3.2 Asia-Pacific Business-To-Customers Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2027 (US$ Mn) 10. Asia-Pacific Digital Language Learning Market Analysis - By End User 10.1 Overview 10.2 Academic 10.2.1 Overview 10.2.2 Asia-Pacific Academic Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2027 (US$ Mn) 10.3 Non-Academic 10.3.1 Overview 10.3.2 Asia-Pacific Non-Academic Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2027 (US$ Mn) 11. Asia-Pacific Digital Language Learning Market- Country Analysis 11.1 Overview 11.1.1 Asia Pacific Digital Language Learning Market Breakdown, By Key Countries 11.1.1.1 China Digital Language Learning Market Revenue And Forecast to 2027 (US$ Mn) 11.1.1.2 Japan Digital Language Learning Market Revenue And Forecast to 2027 (US$ Mn) 11.1.1.3 India Digital Language Learning Market Revenue And Forecast to 2027 (US$ Mn) 11.1.1.4 Australia Digital Language Learning Market Revenue And Forecast to 2027 (US$ Mn) 11.1.1.5 South Korea Digital Language Learning Market Revenue And Forecast to 2027 (US$ Mn) 11.1.1.6 Rest Of APAC Digital Language Learning Market Revenue And Forecast to 2027 (US$ Mn) 12. Digital Language Learning Market - Industry Landscape 12.1 Market Initiative 12.2 New Development 13. Company Profiles 13.1 Babbel 13.1.1 Key Facts 13.1.2 Business Description 13.1.3 Products and Services 13.1.4 Financial Overview 13.1.5 SWOT Analysis 13.1.6 Key Developments 13.2 Busuu Ltd. 13.3 Fluenz 13.4 Lingoda GmbH. 13.5 Living Language (Penguin Random House, LLC) 13.6 Pearson PLC 13.7 Preply, Inc. 13.8 Rosetta Stone, Inc 13.9 Verbling, Inc. 13.10 Vabla, Inc. 14. Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/8pep73 Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com 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 Topics range from networks and pancreatic cancer to being Catholic in the German Federal Republic; approximately 17 million for first funding period The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is setting up three new Research Units and one new Clinical Research Unit. This decision was made by the DFG's Joint Committee at the recommendation of the Senate. Due to the coronavirus pandemic the committee meetings originally scheduled for the end of March could not be held in the usual way, so the decisions were made using a staggered written procedure. The new collaborations will receive a total of approximately 17 million including a 22 percent programme allowance for indirect project costs. The maximum funding duration for Research Units whose draft proposals were submitted after 1 October 2018 is two four-year periods. This applies to two of the newly established Research Units. Proposals based on drafts received before 1 October 2018 will be funded for two three-year periods. In addition to the four new groups, the Committee also approved extending eight Research Units for a second funding period. Research Units enable researchers to pursue current and pressing issues in their research areas and to take innovative directions in their work. Clinical Research Units are also characterised by the close connection between research and clinical work. With today's decisions, the DFG is now funding 159 Research Units and 18 Clinical Research Units. The four new research collaborations (in alphabetical order by spokesperson's university) In the Research Unit "Algorithms, Dynamics and Information Flow in Networks", researchers in computer science and mathematics will investigate the fundamentals of networks. They will analyse real-world and virtual networks, including infection processes, computer networks and social networks on the internet. The focus will be on the mathematical analysis and modelling of networks with the aim of better understanding unanswered questions relating to the dynamics and algorithmic controllability of networks. This will enable the transition from mathematical foundations to the use of efficient algorithms and models. (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Martin Hoefer, Goethe University Frankfurt) Patients with pancreatic cancer have a very low chance of survival as the tumour grows aggressively into surrounding tissue, quickly metastasizes and is largely resistant to currently available treatments. Tumours are also very diverse both molecularly and phenotypically, such that pancreatic cancers are classified into subtypes. However, not all of these subtypes are yet known and only a few have been studied. The aim of the Clinical Research Unit "Deciphering Genome Dynamics for Subtype-Specific Therapy in Pancreatic Cancer" is to analyse further subtypes by investigating the genome dynamics of the cancer, thus contributing to the development of individualised treatments. (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Volker Ellenrieder, University of Gottingen; Head: PD Dr. Elisabeth Hessmann, University of Gottingen) SLC26 anion transporters are responsible for transporting anions through cell membranes, which gives them an essential role in maintaining an organism's electrolyte and water levels. Malfunctions in some of these transporters can result in serious conditions in humans, such as skeletal malformation, brain oedema and deafness. The Research Unit "Integrated Analysis of Epithelial SLC26 Anion Transporters - From Molecular Structure to Pathophysiology" will investigate the still poorly understood functional principles of these transporters, their regulation and their role in cell and organ physiology. This was not possible in the past since the necessary technical methods were not yet available, particularly techniques to determine the atomic molecular structure of SLC proteins. (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Dominik Oliver, University of Marburg) The Research Unit "Being Catholic in the German Federal Republic. Semantics, Practices and Emotions in Western Germany's Society 1965-1989/90" will focus on a period that has already been extensively studied by contemporary historians, but has received little attention with regard to church history apart from a small number of studies. How did "being Catholic" contribute to the shaping of post-modernism between the Second Vatican Council and German reunification? In answering this question, the researchers will look not at the internal history of a social milieu but rather at religious-cultural dynamics in the wider society. The research team aims to investigate this process on the basis of semantics, practices and emotions and thus identify the interactions between religious and societal history. (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Andreas Holzem, University of Tubingen) The eight collaborations extended for a second funding period (in alphabetical order by their spokesperson's university, with links to project descriptions in GEPRIS, the DFG's online database of current projects) FOR "Severity Assessment in Animal-Based Research" (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Rene H. Tolba, RWTH Aachen University) https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/321137804?language=en FOR "Evaluation of Building Design Variants in Early Phases On the Basis of Adaptive Detailing Strategies" (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Markus Konig, University of Bochum) https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/271444440?language=en FOR "Inductive Metaphysics" (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Gerhard Schurz, Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf) https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/288923097?language=en This Research Unit is jointly funded by the DFG and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF). FOR "STRATA. Stratification-Analyses of Mythic Plots and Texts in Ancient Cultures" (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Annette Zgoll, University of Gottingen) https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/235014259?language=en FOR "Quantitative Morphodynamics of Plants" (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Alexis Maizel, Heidelberg University) https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/318879394?language=en FOR "Functional Dynamics of Ion Channels and Transporters - DynIon" (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Klaus Benndorf, University of Jena) https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/291198853?language=en FOR "Practicing Evidence - Evidencing Practice in Science, Medicine Technology and Society PEEP" (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Karin Zachmann, TUM) https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/282210851?language=en FOR "Matter Under Planetary Interior Conditions - High-Pressure, Planetary and Plasma Physics" (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Ronald Redmer, University of Rostock) https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/280637173?language=en ### Further Information Media contact: DFG Press and Public Relations, Tel. +49 228 885-2109, presse@dfg.de Further information will be provided by the spokespersons of the units. DFG Head Office contact: Ursula Rogmans-Beucher, Quality and Programme Management Division, Tel. +49 228 885-2726, ursula.rogmans-beucher@dfg.de Further information on DFG Research Units: http://www.dfg.de/for/en http://www.dfg.de/kfo/en KEY HIGHLIGHTS Leak occurred because the valve controls for the gas were not handled properly LG Chen which operates the factory has said it is 'exploring ways' to provide treatment to victims The company has also said the situation is now under control The factory was originally run by Hindustan Polymers, a company which started operations in 1961 The gas leak at a chemical factory in Vizag on Thursday morning was triggered by a malfunctioning of a valve. Total 11 people have died and 200 are hospitalised in the incident. A senior official investigating the matter told Business Today on condition of anonymity that the "the valve controls for the gas were not handled properly and they burst causing the leak". Also Read: Vizag gas leak: 8 dead, over 200 hospitalised after leakage at LG plant in Visakhapatnam The official added investigations were still on to find the exact reason behind the leak. The leak occurred at around 2.30 am when villagers in the areas surrounding the factory were sleeping. Villagers say they should have been alerted by authorities with a siren so they could have hurried to safer places. Chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is scheduled to visit the patients admitted in hospitals and assess the situation. Meanwhile, LG Chem which operates the factory has said the situation is now under control. It has also said it is "exploring all ways" to provide treatment to the victims. "The gas leak situation is now under control and we are exploring all ways to provide speedy treatment for those who suffer from inhaling the leaked gas. We are investigating the extent of damage and exact cause of the leak and deaths," LG Chem said in a statement. Also Read: Coronavirus India Live Updates: Mumbai COVID-19 cases can soar to 80,000, says BMC; country's tally-52,952 The factory has been around in its current form since 1997. The factory was originally run by Hindustan Polymers, a company which started operations in 1961. The company manufactured Polystyrene and co-polymers. Hindustan Polymers later merged with Mc Dowell & Co. Ltd. of UB Group in 1978. Subsequently, LG Chem of South Korea took over Hindustan Polymers and renamed it as LG Polymers India Private Limited (LGPI) in July, 1997. The company is in the styrenics business and is a leading manufacturer of polystyrene and expandable polystyrene in India. Also read: Vizag gas leak: All you need to know about LG Polymers plant BOSTON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Recorded Future, the largest global security intelligence provider, today announced support for Amazon GuardDuty , a threat detection service that continuously monitors for malicious activity and unauthorized behavior to protect Amazon Web Services (AWS) accounts and workloads. This support expands on Recorded Future's relationship with AWS and allows shared customers to utilize Recorded Future security intelligence across their AWS accounts. Learn more about the benefits of Amazon GuardDuty with Recorded Future: https://www.recordedfuture.com/integrations/guardduty/ Recorded Future offers a seamless view of high-fidelity threat information to empower organizations to uncover and respond to threats. Amazon GuardDuty users can now leverage Recorded Future's intelligence to detect potential threats in their network and enable teams to respond to Amazon GuardDuty findings faster. Findings generated in Amazon GuardDuty can then be integrated with existing event management and workflow systems. "Our support for Amazon GuardDuty exemplifies our commitment to continue growing our relationship with AWS, helping our clients infuse intelligence throughout their infrastructure and ecosystem. We believe that intelligence should be at the center of every proactive security strategy and expanding our relationship with AWS helps our shared customers make this a reality." Stu Solomon, Chief Operating Officer, Recorded Future With support for Amazon GuardDuty, users can incorporate Recorded Future to: Detect potential threats and malicious traffic in the network before impact by correlating against telemetry data Reduce time to verdict and risk to the organization Increase efficiency by passing generated findings through AWS CloudWatch events and AWS Lambda to set up automated preventative actions "At Recorded Future, we are heavy AWS users. We have a high-volume, auto-scaling environment and need native AWS tools to keep up. With Recorded Future's support of Amazon GuardDuty, we can apply our curated threat intelligence exactly where we need it most keeping our ecosystem and clients safe!" Gavin Reid, Chief Security Officer, Recorded Future The Recorded Future Security Intelligence Platform enables collaboration across security functions while providing a single authoritative source for all intelligence needs, including: SecOps and Response, Threat Intelligence, Brand Protection, Vulnerability Management, Third-Party Risk, and Geopolitical Risk. Request a demo of Recorded Future at: https://recordedfuture.com/demo Recorded Future is available in the AWS Marketplace at: https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace/pp/B07Q8BP28W?ref_=srh_res_product_title About Recorded Future Recorded Future delivers security intelligence to amplify the effectiveness of security and IT teams in reducing exposure by uncovering unknown threats and informing better, faster decisions. Working to provide a singular view of digital, brand, and third party risk, the Recorded Future platform provides proactive and predictive intelligence, analyzing data from open, proprietary, and aggregated customer-provided sources. Recorded Future arms threat analysts, vulnerability management teams, security operations centers, and incident responders with context-rich, actionable intelligence in real time that's ready for integration across the security ecosystem. Learn more at www.recordedfuture.com and follow us on Twitter at @RecordedFuture. SOURCE Recorded Future Related Links http://www.recordedfuture.com Jennifer Meyer, a five-year Northampton public health nurse, has dealt with infectious diseases before. She has assisted college students with the mumps and dealt with both E. coli and salmonella outbreaks. Meyer also helped conduct mass vaccinations on Smith Colleges campus when multiple meningitis cases sprung up in Western Massachusetts in 2017 and 2018. Now, Meyer is helping run a regional contact tracing initiative in Hampshire and Hampden counties, with the aim of investigating the transmission of coronavirus in rural communities to identify and isolate patients who may have contracted the viral respiratory infection. Meyer told MassLive that, similar to trying to prevent the spread of other infectious diseases, the epidemiological principles are the same, but the scale of the outbreak differs greatly. The pieces of the puzzle are largely the same, she said, but theyre all intensified - the scale of the number of cases, the people who are concerned. Hampshire County, where Northampton is located, is reporting among the fewest COVID-19 cases and deaths in the state. As of Tuesday, 47 fatalities linked to the disease and 575 coronavirus patients were identified in the county, according to data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The countys caseload and death toll are far smaller than the numbers being reported in the Eastern half of the state, where, in Middlesex and Suffolk counties, more than 14,000 residents have the virus and hundreds have died from it. Despite the lower number of infections and death counts in Hampshire County, Meyers workload has still been busy, and as public officials look to lift restrictions, she anticipates her job - and those of the nurses working alongside her - to ramp up. As these restrictions are lifted, our jobs dont get smaller. They get bigger, she said. It definitely is going to get larger in scope for us. Since creating the Public Health Nursing Collaborative in mid-March, the Northampton Health Department has hired and trained eight other nurses to follow up with COVID-19 patients and conduct close contact tracing, monitoring and daily interviews with quarantined residents in multiple Western Massachusetts cities and towns. The communities include Chesterfield, Easthampton, East Longmeadow, Goshen, Huntington, Middlefield, Northampton, Plainfield, Westhampton, Williamsburg, Whately and Worthington. Massachusetts officials also launched a statewide contact tracing program, becoming the first state in the country to do so. Gov. Charlie Baker noted last week that the program, which has recruited around 1,000 staff members so far, has received calls from thousands of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus or have been exposed. The COVID-19 Community Tracing Collaborative, run by Bakers office and the nonprofit organization Partners In Health, was expected to expand into Western Massachusetts last week, Meyer said. The expansion will give her smaller regional collaborative assistance as public health officials look to the future of virus prevention when social distancing guidance is lifted. Were still trying to figure out how were all going to work together, but were excited to figure that out. The more people the better," Meyer said. In the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, Northampton was closely monitoring only a few residents who recently traveled from other countries, Meyer said. The city did not have a heavy caseload. As the outbreak progressed, though, she and other public health workers recognized some rural communities in the area may not have the resources to prepare for a public health disaster on the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic. After the state released municipal funding with the state of emergency declaration in March, Meyer and other officials turned their attention to smaller communities in the area, and instead of hiring a nurse for each municipality, they opted to fund a pool of nurses to cover the region. Meyer sent out an email to the Hampshire Regional Emergency Response Team, saying she was looking to hire nurses for a collaborative aimed at staving off transmission of the coronavirus. In the hiring process, Meyer asked for a minimum commitment of 20 hours a week from each nurse, making sure staff members could work a few hours daily and patients could talk to the same nurses throughout the process. Those working with the collaborative are free to raise their hands to say they have either too many patients or that they can manage extra ones, Meyer noted. Weve set up a really good program. We brought on a fair number of nurses so nobody feels overburdened, she said. I want to make sure this is sustainable. The nine nurses jobs involve talking with hundreds of people over the phone every week, providing them with accurate information and guidance and giving a tailored response to each caller, Meyer said. Sick individuals are asked about all the people they came into contact with from two days before they started showing symptoms onward, according to the nurse. No two cases are the same, she added. Some are relatively straightforward. Others are more complex. But a significant number of the patients - because of the governors stay-at-home advisory - share the commonality that their contacts are stuck at home with them. Many other callers are isolated, though, and the nurses, who largely speak with the same clients week to week, are tasked with making sure people feel safe in their homes and have access to food and medications. Each story sticks with you, Meyer said. The universal themes were seeing are loneliness, anxiety, guilt. Theyre all very universal feelings. Its what we as a society are seeing. She added that nurses in the collaborative follow cases from start to finish, which allows staff members to build relationships with their patients. Through talking with the same nurse each day, callers are also able to get specific, tailored guidance and care. This is one of the pieces that does feel like bedside nursing, because we are talking to people who are isolated and alone, and that is scary, Meyer said. Related Content: Advertisement By WestKyStar Staff May. 02, 2020 | PADUCAH By WestKyStar Staff May. 02, 2020 | 10:50 AM | PADUCAH May 7th is Beaux Tie Day in Paducah. It's Bill Ford's 83rd birthday and this is how he creatively chooses to celebrate, by giving to others. Wear a beaux tie and give to your favorite charity. In 2017, former Paducah Mayor Gayle Kaler suggested to current Mayor Brandi Harless that this be proclaimed a day of giving to celebrate Ford's 80th birthday. And the proclamation was made. Many times Ford never knows just who or how much is donated in his honor, but local non-profits will tell you that donations increase each year on this day. Bill Ford is a local artist, interior decorator and long-time devoted supporter of the arts and charities in Paducah. He will be wearing his signature beaux tie today, of course, but encourages others to also wear beaux ties to remind everyone to give to their favorite non-profit. Ford said, "During this time when so many are concerned about all that's going on, local charities need our support more than ever. This year on Beaux Tie Day, I want to encourage anyone who can possibly donate, to give to their favorite non-profit. Paducah is a generous community and we always rise to care for each other." Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 22:53:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIRUT, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Health Minister Hamad Hassan urged on Thursday the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to increase its support for children in Lebanon, Elnashra, local independent newspaper reported. "It is very important to secure the necessary vaccines for children in Lebanon," Hassan said during his meeting with UNICEF Representative in Lebanon Yukie Mokuo. Hassan also discussed with Mokuo Lebanon's reduction in general mobilization measures and the steps that need to be taken to facilitate the return of students to schools. Meanwhile, Mokuo assured that the UNICEF will continue to support the Lebanese Health Ministry in its programs related to the fight against COVID-19 and the health of the mothers and children in addition to securing necessary vaccines. "The ministry should cooperate intensively with the UN agencies to reach the necessary humanitarian and health goals," Mokuo said. Enditem The Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has conducted virtual meetings with the emirates hotels and destination management companies (DMCs) to discuss challenges facing the sector caused by the current coronavirus pandemic, and to find new ways to support the industry, said a report. The meetings, which were led by Ali Hassan Al Shaiba, Executive Director of Tourism and Marketing at DCT Abu Dhabi, were virtually attended by more than 100 representatives from Abu Dhabis hotels and DMC representatives, news agency WAM reported. Al Shaiba shared the latest information available regarding the Covid-19 situation and discussed methods of support and potential stimulus measures which could be used to assist the capitals tourism sector, as well as industry partners and operators. He also expressed his appreciation of the coordinated efforts that have taken place so far across the sector in the emirate, it said. "Right now, it is extremely important that all organisations come together to bring solutions forward that will uplift our sector as a whole," said Al Shaiba. "As leaders of the tourism sector in Abu Dhabi, our priority lies in ensuring all our partners and stakeholders receive the utmost support, in order to help revitalise the entire sector by the end of the year." He added that the meetings allowed stakeholders the opportunity to draw attention to the key aspects that will help achieve their tourism strategy for the coming period and align with all partners. "The DMC meeting also gave us the opportunity to directly address the requests and concerns of our DMC partners, and to find new ways in which we can support the industry. We have presented several measures of support, which DCT Abu Dhabi has requested government approval on, including staff, utilities, and rent covers, working capital, and other non-financial issues as well. These are currently subject to approval and practical assessment by the Abu Dhabi government, as we continue to explore all possibilities to ensure that our stakeholders receive the necessary guidance and assistance during this period." During the meetings, which were also a chance for hotel representatives and DMCs to voice their concerns and highlight key issues, Al Shaiba also shared an overview of DCT Abu Dhabis already actioned plans, such as the Control Tower setup, which monitors and analyses the impact of the ongoing health crisis both locally and in source markets, in order to help inform future measures and other initiatives to support industry stakeholders. Last month, DCT Abu Dhabi launched its #StayCurious campaign, a destination initiative designed to entertain and educate audiences worldwide during international lockdowns in order to raise the profile of Abu Dhabi as a standout destination. This was followed by the establishment of the Abu Dhabi Specialists Programme, an e-learning platform that aims to educate travel trade industry professionals across the world about the emirate through a series of online courses. These initiatives are part of DCT Abu Dhabis ongoing commitment to serving the local and global tourism sector through landmark measures and unique programmes. Also last month, the UAE government announced a series of support measures as part of the Ghadan 21 initiative, to help boost the economy and provide support to the private sector in light of the current situation, the report said. An international research team has conducted the first in-depth, wide-scale study of the genomic history of ancient civilizations in the central Andes mountains and coast before European contact. The analysis included representatives of iconic civilizations in the Andes from whom no genome-wide data had been reported before, including the Moche, Nasca, Wari, Tiwanaku and Inca. Shown here is a detail from the Tiwanaku Gate of the Sun. Credit: Miguel Angel Lopez An international research team has conducted the first in-depth, wide-scale study of the genomic history of ancient civilizations in the central Andes mountains and coast before European contact. The findings, published online May 7 in Cell, reveal early genetic distinctions between groups in nearby regions, population mixing within and beyond the Andes, surprising genetic continuity amid cultural upheaval, and ancestral cosmopolitanism among some of the region's most well-known ancient civilizations. Led by researchers at Harvard Medical School and the University of California, Santa Cruz, the team analyzed genome-wide data from 89 individuals who lived between 500 and 9,000 years ago. Of these, 64 genomes, ranging from 500 to 4,500 years old, were newly sequencedmore than doubling the number of ancient individuals with genome-wide data from South America. The analysis included representatives of iconic civilizations in the Andes from whom no genome-wide data had been reported before, including the Moche, Nasca, Wari, Tiwanaku and Inca. "This was a fascinating and unique project," said Nathan Nakatsuka, first author of the paper and an MD/Ph.D. student in the lab of David Reich in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS. "It represents the first detailed study of Andean population history informed by pre-Colonial genomes with wide-ranging temporal and geographic coverage," said Lars Fehren-Schmitz, associate professor at UC Santa Cruz and co-senior author of the paper with Reich. "This study also takes a major step toward redressing the global imbalance in ancient DNA data," said Reich, professor of genetics at HMS and associate member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. "The great majority of published ancient DNA studies to date have focused on western Eurasia," he said. "This study in South America allows us to begin to discern at high resolution the detailed history of human movements in this extraordinarily important part of the world." Attention on the Andes The central Andes, surrounding present-day Peru, is one of the few places in the world where farming was invented rather than being adopted from elsewhere and where the earliest presence of complex civilizations in South America has been documented so far. While the region has been a major focus of archaeological research, there had been no systematic characterization with genome-wide ancient DNA until now, the authors said. Geneticists, including several of the current team members, previously studied the deep genetic history of South America as a whole, including analysis of several individuals from the Andean highlands from many thousands of years ago. There have also been analyses of present-day residents of the Andes and a limited number of mitochondrial or Y-chromosome DNA analyses from individual ancient Andean sites. The new study, however, expands on these findings to provide a far more comprehensive portrait. Now, Nakatsuka said, researchers are "finally able to see how the genetic structure of the Andes evolved over time." By focusing on what is often called pre-Columbian history, the study demonstrates how large ancient DNA studies can reveal more about ancient cultures than studying present-day groups alone, said Reich. "In the Andes, reconstruction of population history based on DNA analysis of present-day people has been challenging because there has so been much demographic change since contact with Europeans," Reich explained. "With ancient DNA data, we can carry out a detailed reconstruction of movements of people and how those relate to changes known from the archaeological record." 'Extraordinary' ancient population structure The analyses revealed that by 9,000 years ago, groups living in the Andean highlands became genetically distinct from those that eventually came to live along the Pacific coast. The effects of this early differentiation are still seen today. The genetic fingerprints distinguishing people living in the highlands from those in nearby regions are "remarkably ancient," said Nakatsuka, who will receive his Ph.D. in systems, synthetic and quantitative biology in May. "It is extraordinary, given the small geographic distance," added Reich. By 5,800 years ago, the population of the north also developed distinct genetic signatures from populations that became prevalent in the south, the team found. Again, these differences can be observed today. After that time, gene flow occurred among all regions in the Andes, although it dramatically slowed after 2,000 years ago, the team found. "It is exciting that we were actually able to determine relatively fine-grained population structure in the Andes, allowing us to differentiate between coastal, northern, southern and highland groups as well as individuals living in the Titicaca Basin," said Fehren-Schmitz. "This is significant for the archaeology of the Andes and will now allow us to ask more specific questions with regards to local demographies and cultural networks," said study co-author Jose Capriles of Pennsylvania State University. Genetic intermingling The team discovered genetic exchanges both within the Andes and between Andean and non-Andean populations. Ancient people moved between south Peru and the Argentine plains and between the north Peru coast and the Amazon, largely bypassing the highlands, the researchers found. Fehren-Schmitz was especially interested to uncover signs of long-range mobility in the Inca period. Specifically, he was surprised to detect ancient North Coast ancestry not only around Cusco, Peru, but also in a child sacrifice from the Argentinian southern Andes. "This could be seen as genetic evidence for relocations of individuals under Inca rule, a practice we know of from ethnohistorical, historical and archaeological sources," he said. Although the findings of genetic intermingling throughout the Andes correlate with known archaeological connections, they will likely prompt additional archaeological research to understand the cultural contexts underlying the migrations, said Nakatsuka. "Now we have more evidence demonstrating important migrations and some constraints on when they happened, but further work needs to be done to know why exactly these migrations occurred," he said. Long-term continuity The analyses revealed that multiple regions maintained genetic continuity over the past 2,000 years despite clear cultural transformations. The finding contrasts with many other world regions, where ancient DNA studies often document substantial genetic turnover during this period, said Reich. The population structures that arose early on persisted through major social changes and on into modern societies, the authors said. The discoveries offer new evidence that can be incorporated alongside archaeological and other records to inform theories on the ancient history of different groups in the region. "To our surprise, we observed strong genetic continuity during the rise and fall of many of the large-scale Andean cultures, such as the Moche, Wari and Nasca," said Nakatsuka. "Our results suggest that the fall of these cultures was not due to massive migration into the region, e.g., from an invading military force, a scenario which had been documented in some other regions of the world." Two exceptions to the continuity trend were the vast urban centers that the Tiwanaku and Inca cultures called home. Rather than being fairly genetically homogeneous, the capital regions of these civilizations were cosmopolitan, hosting people from many genetic backgrounds, the team found. "It was interesting to start to see these glimpses of ancestral heterogeneity," said Nakatsuka. "These regions have some similarity to what we see now in places like New York City and other major cities where people of very different ancestries are living side by side." Cooperative authorship The study included authors from many disciplines and many countries, including Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Chile, Germany, Peru, the United Kingdom and the United States. "This is an impressive interdisciplinary but, just as importantly, international collaboration," said study co-author Bastien Llamas of the University of Adelaide. "All worked very closely to draft this manuscript under the leadership of Fehren-Schmitz and Reich." It was important to team up with local scientists who belong to communities that descend from the individuals analyzed in the study, Fehren-Schmitz said, and to obtain permission from and continually engage with indigenous and other local groups as well as local governments. The analysis of DNA from ancient individuals can have significant implications for present-day communities. One concerns the physical handling of the skeletal materials, which might be sensitive to the groups involved. The work provided opportunities to heal past wounds. In one case, a sample from Cusco, previously housed in the U.S., was repatriated to Peru. Other remains that had long ago been taken improperly from burial sites were able to be carbon-dated and reburied. In the absence of pre-Columbian written histories, archaeology has been the main source of information available to reconstruct the complex history of the continent, said study co-author Chiara Barbieri of the University of Zurich. "With the study of ancient DNA, we can read the demographic history of ancient groups and understand how ancient and present-day groups are related," she said. "The link with the genetic study of living populations opens a direct dialogue with the past and an occasion to involve local communities." The researchers sought to deeply involve communities with the help of archaeologists from each area, said Nakatsuka. Their efforts included giving public talks about the study and translating materials into Spanish. "We were really happy to have the summary and key findings of our paper translated and included as part of the Cell paper itself, to increase accessibility of our work," said Nakatsuka. "We hope future studies will do similar translations, including versions suitable for lay audiences for schools, museum exhibits and cultural organizations, which we are in the process of doing as well." Explore further Human genetic diversity of South America reveals complex history of Amazonia From the history books and what weve seen in documentaries and Netflixs The Crown, Queen Elizabeths life hasnt exactly been carefree. The Crowned Queen was never supposed to sit on the throne. However, when she was just 10 years old, her fathers brother, King Edward VIII, abdicated the crown, making her father, King George VI. Though she understood her destiny, it would come much faster then anyone could have expected. In 1952 when the queen was just 25, her father passed away and she was left to become the Head of State, undertaking constitutional and representational duties for the U.K. and the Commonwealth. Unfortunately, this means that the queens life has never truly been her own. Though she takes solace in her work and her family, the queen has said that despite everything, the most exciting night of her life occurred just after World War II. Queen Elizabeth has seen a lot of hardship in her long reign Though people are still up in arms about Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry choosing to leave the British royal family, we have to remember that this doesnt even begin to fall in the same category as some of the scandals that the queen has seen during her time on the throne. The queen lived through World War II, witnessed countless scandalous from her younger sister, Princess Margaret including an affair with a married man and an overdose. Her daughter, Princess Anne, was nearly kidnapped one point. And, she also had to contend with Princess Dianas tragic death. However, none of this compares to the year, 1992. That year, Princess Anne discovered that her husband, had fathered a child outside of their marriage, Princess Diana and Prince Charles separated following the princes affair with Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, and Prince Andrew began dissolving is marriage to Duchess Sarah Ferguson after she was photographed getting her toes sucked by an American businessman. Queen Elizabeth keeps an incredibly fast-paced schedule Though her family has certainly been in the newspapers across the decades, the queen has never let that deter her from doing the work. Even in her wiser years, she still has a very hectic daily schedule. If you think about it, her entire life has been one of duty, royal expert, Ingrid Seward, editor of Majesty Magazine told Sky News. Even from when she was a tiny child her day was very regulated. So she will be very unused to this. She has probably been doing some of the things we have all been doing like going through draws and photo albums. Certainly, one thing is that she will have been kept busy because she always says if I stop, I drop. She will probably celebrate with her immediate staff because she is not able to be around anyone else. Normally she might perhaps go riding but she certainly would think that was the wrong thing to do at the moment. She is very conscious as always of other people and their problems. The most exciting day of Queen Elizabeths life happened when she was a young woman Despite the drama and her work schedule, the queen has had some very good moments. In fact, the most exciting day of her life occurred in 1945. In the new PBS new documentary, The Queen at War, there is rare footage of Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth when they were relocated to the countryside between 1940 and 1941 when Germany was regularly bombing England. The description for the film reads, She was evacuated, her home was bombed, she lost a family member and she volunteered to help the war effort. However, the film also reflects on the queens favorite days ever. Following King George VIs historic announcement that Germany had surrendered, the queen and Princess Margaret were allowed to celebrate in the streets of London. Queen Elizabeth has called it the most exciting night of her life. The Queen at War executive producer Chris Granlund told Town & Country that this was probably the first and one of the only times in her life the queen has ever been given such freedom. He called the moment, unprecedented. In this article MRNA CLIM^-FR IMG-CA 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 Asia-Pacific team. Governments and health officials are trying to strike a balance between reopening economies and staving off a second wave of infections. California unveiled health guidelines for some businesses while Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the state will allow manufacturing plants, including automotive, to begin reopening Monday. Meanwhile, Oregon announced that counties will be allowed to enter the first phase of the state's reopening plan on May 15 as long as they meet certain requirements. President Trump called the coronavirus test "somewhat overrated" after announcing that he will be tested for the disease every single day. The president's personal valet has tested positive for the coronavirus. This is CNBC's live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. All times below are in Eastern time. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks. Global cases: More than 3.7 million Global deaths: At least 264,111 US cases: More than 1.2 million US deaths: At least 73,431 The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University. 7:20 pm: Frontier Airlines to check passenger temperatures Brandon Wilson (right), owner of AvidJet, prepares to disinfect a Frontier airplane set to depart on Wednesday at 6 a.m. at Denver International Airport on Tuesday, May 6, 2020. AAron Ontiveroz | The Denver Post | Getty Images Starting June 1, Frontier Airlines will become the first carrier in the U.S. to check passenger temperatures before allowing them to get on board. Passengers and crew members will have their temperatures checked at the gate before boarding, and If someone registers a temperature of 100.4 or higher, they will be kept at the gate for about ten minutes, then screened again. If the second temperature check turns out to be 100.4 or higher, the passenger or crew member will not be allowed on that flight, Frontier said. Riya Bhattacharjee, Phil LeBeau 7 pm: California restaurants draft plan to reopen sit-down dining People stand in line while following social distancing guidelines as they wait for French dip sandwiches outside Philippe the Original restaurant in downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, May, 2, 2020, during the coronavirus outbreak. Damian Dovarganes | AP A draft plan to safely reopen sit-down dining at California restaurants will be submitted to Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday, according to the Associated Press. The recommendations, which were obtained by the AP, will allow the restaurant industry to reopen without requiring measures such as temperature checks or reducing the number of tables. The guidelines include allowing only family members or people who live together to share the same table, doing away with buffets, salad bars and shared bread baskets, replacing salt and pepper shakers with hand sanitizers and masks for servers. Sit-down dining at restaurants in California were shuttered when the state issued shelter-in-place restrictions in March, although take-out and delivery are still allowed. Riya Bhattacharjee, Associated Press 6:30 pm: Seattle to permanently close 20 miles worth of streets to vehicles A vehicle drives along an empty Interstate 5 highway during the coronavirus crisis in Seattle. The original source of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, the Seattle-area has seen a drop in new cases. Toby Scott | Barcroft Media | Getty Images Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced that the city will close almost 20 miles worth of streets to car traffic by the end of May. The streets were initially temporarily closed to allow more space for people to safely walk and bike under social-distancing measures. The Stay Healthy Streets will still be accessible to resident vehicles, delivery services, sanitation workers and emergency response vehicles. Durkan said the new measure will allow people to bike and walk across the city even after other coronavirus restrictions are lifted. Hannah Miller 6:15 pm: Disney Springs will become the first Disney property to reopen May 20 Disney announced it will begin a phased reopening of Disney Springs on May 20 in accordance with guidance from government and health officials. According to a Disney statement, "a limited number of shopping and dining experiences that are owned by third-party operating participants will begin to open during this initial phase." The rest of Walt Disney World Resort will remain closed, including theme parks and resort hotels, the company said. "As we continue to monitor conditions, and with the health of guests and Disney cast members at the forefront of our planning, we are making several operational changes," the statement said. "Disney Springs will begin to reopen in a way that incorporates enhanced safety measures, including increased cleaning procedures, the use of appropriate face coverings by both cast members and guests, limited-contact guest services and additional safety training for cast members. Disney reported mixed results for its Q2 2020 earnings on Tuesday after the coronavirus pandemic disrupted Disney's theme parks and cruise businesses but boosted engagement on its newly-launched streaming service, Disney+. Riya Bhattacharjee 6 pm: San Francisco targets May 18 for some businesses to resume The Bay Area will not be following the rest of California in allowing certain retailers to begin curbside pickup on May 8. San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties as well as the City of Berkeley are continuing to follow regional health orders enacted May 4. However, San Francisco Mayor London Breed said certain businesses in the city and county can implement storefront pickup beginning May 18. Eligible retailers include bookstores, florists, toy stores and furniture stores as well other businesses. Hannah Miller breed tweet 5:30 pm: California governor unveils health guidelines for some businesses to reopen Friday A worker wearing a protective mask arranges hoses while reverse racking, or unfilling, half barrel kegs of beer that couldn't be sold to restaurants and bars due to closures related to the coronavirus pandemic at the Fort Point Beer brewery in San Francisco, California, April 17, 2020. Michael Short | Bloomberg via Getty Images California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that a handful of retailers, like those that sell clothing, books, and sporting goods, must adopt to begin offering curbside pick-up as early as Friday. He said that manufacturers and warehouses that support retailers will also be allowed to reopen with modifications.The guidelines include requiring employees to wear gloves and a mask when delivering items to customers' cars and implementing hands-free devices that allow customers to pay. Eventually, the reopening plan in stage two will include some office spaces, seated dining at restaurants, shopping malls and outdoor museums, Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services, said.California will allow some of the state's counties to move deeper into stage two beginning Friday if they're able to prove adequate testing and contact tracing, protection of essential workers and no deaths related to Covid-19 for two weeks, among other guidelines, Ghaly said. Noah Higgins-Dunn 5:15 pm: Uber shares shoot up after CEO says ride volume is increasing Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive officer of Uber Technologies. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said during first-quarter earnings call on Thursday that the Covid-19 pandemic hit his ride-hailing company hard in March and April, but the company has seen gradual recovery in the past four weeks as well. He also emphasized that while ride-hailing had declined, amid the pandemic, demand for food delivery had increased as people stayed home and ordered take-out. Gross bookings for Uber Eats business grew more than 50% year-over-year, the company reported. The optimistic note the CEO struck sent shares of Uber skyrocketing in after hours trading. On Wednesday, Uber laid off 14% of its corporate work force in the U.S, citing Covid-19 impacts. Lora Kolodny 5:10 pm: California's outbreak spread from nail salons, Gov. Newsom says Maranie Staab | Reuters California Gov. Gavin Newsom identified nail salons as a source of coronavirus community spread in the state, in explaining why they will not be among the first tranche of businesses to reopen in the state on Friday. "This whole thing started in the state of California, the first community spread, in a nail salon," Newsom said at a news briefing. "I'm very worried about that."State health officials have put "red flags" on nail salons as high-risk locations, Newsom added. Earlier this week, he announced a four-phase plan to reopening. Nail salons are set to reopen in phase 3, he said. William Feuer 5 pm: Tech platforms are struggling to stay ahead of the spread of the 'Plandemic' conspiracy video People hold signs during a protest against the coronavirus shutdown in front of State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 24, 2020. Kamil Krzaczynski | AFP | Getty Images Tech platforms are trying to clamp down on a viral pandemic conspiracy video that contains false, misleading or unproven claims about Covid-19, but it keeps reappearing. The roughly 26-minute "Plandemic Movie" video tries to argue that the coronavirus pandemic was created to make profits off vaccines and contains claims that counter those of advice of medical experts, like that sheltering in place harms consumers' immune systems and that masks can make people sicker. As of midweek, it had been viewed millions of times and shared widely across Alphabet's YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and IAC-owned Vimeo. People were also sharing clips of the video on Twitter.It comes as health-care professionals are confronted with misinformation and harassment from conspiracy theorists. Earlier this year, the World Health Organization hosted a meeting with tech leaders from Google, Facebook, Twitter and other tech platforms, in part to discuss what they're doing to prevent the mounting spread of coronavirus-related misinformation. Megan Graham 4:45 pm: Trump calls coronavirus tests 'overrated,' but he will get tested daily U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during a meeting with Texas Governor Greg Abbott about coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, May 7, 2020. Tom Brenner | Reuters President Trump said that coronavirus testing is "somewhat overrated" shortly after announcing that he will be tested for the disease every single day. Vice President Mike Pence added that he, too, will be tested daily, along with "everyone that comes into contact with the president. "The new daily testing policy for the president and those in his circle comes hours after the White House acknowledged that a personal valet for Trump tested positive for Covid-19. Kevin Breunninger 4:20 pm: Dropbox delivers first quarterly profit Shares of cloud file sharing company Dropbox rose after hours following the release of the company's first quarter earnings, marking the first time the company has delivered net income. Dropbox achieved positive free cash flow in 2016 and went public in 2018. The company saw gains in average revenue per user and the number of paying users. Dropbox posted $39.3 million in net income, or 9 cents per share, according to a statement. Revenue grew 18% in the quarter, down from 19% growth in the fourth quarter. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected 14 cents in adjusted earnings per share on $452.2 million in revenue. However, comparing results against estimates isn't straightforward given that the coronavirus spread during the quarter. Jordan Novet 4:13 pm: Michigan reopening manufacturing Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the state will allow manufacturing plants, including automotive, to begin reopening Monday. The timeframe makes it possible for auto suppliers to begin reopening plants ahead of plans for General Motors and Fiat Chrysler, both of which have major manufacturing operations in the state, to begin reopening their large assembly plants in the state on May 18. Ford Motor has not announced plans to restart its plants; it declined to comment on plans to reopen. Under Whitmer's easing on manufacturing, facilities must adopt certain safety measures and protocols in an attempt to reduce the spread of the disease. All outlined procedures are ones the Detroit automakers have already outlined to reopening their plants. Michael Wayland 4:10 pm: Nasdaq claws back year-to-date losses 3:55 pm: Oregon releases new details of reopening plan Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced that counties will be allowed to enter the first phase of the state's reopening plan on May 15 as long as they meet certain requirements. Counties will have to demonstrate that hospitalizations have decreased over the past 14 days and that they have a sufficient number of tests and contact tracers, among other criteria. In phase one of the plan, restaurants can reopen sit-down dining as long as they implement safety measures including spacing tables six feet apart and requiring employees to wear face coverings. Personal care services can also resume under certain restrictions. Hannah Miller 3:35 pm: Pentagon spends $667 million on PPE, virus efforts The Pentagon's global supply chain arm, the Defense Logistics Agency, has executed more than 6,000 contract actions and invested $667 million for the coronavirus effort. The multi-million dollar war chest has supplied more than 4.5 million N95 respirator masks, 95 million exam gloves as well as 2.5 million isolation and surgical gowns. The military's U.S. Northern Command, which is responsible for the Pentagon's coronavirus efforts, has deployed approximately 13,700 people, including 2,400 medical personnel. Efforts began on the evening of April 10, when the Pentagon received approval from the White House Task Force to execute the first coronavirus project under the Defense Production Act Title 3. Amanda Macias 3:14 pm: Malaria drug touted by Trump fails to help patients in study President Donald Trump in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Friday, April 17, 2020, in Washington. Alex Brandon | AP Covid-19 patients who took hydroxychloroquine didn't appear to fare any better than those who didn't take the anti-malaria drug, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study looked at 1,376 patients. Nearly 60% of them received the drug within 48 hours of arriving to an emergency room and were found, on average, to be more severely ill than those who didn't receive the drug, according to the observational study. The researchers added the study's findings didn't find any potential benefit or harm from the drug, adding a rigorous, randomized clinical trial is needed. Observational studies aren't considered as conclusive as randomized, controlled trials because doctors can prescribe a variety of other drugs to treat an infection. The less formal process, however, can yield faster results and help with the approval process of some treatments. Berkeley Lovelace Jr. 3:01 pm: Norway to reopen its economy by mid-June Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg said the country aims to reopen most of its public and private institutions by mid-June after closing them down on March 12 to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Reuters reported. The Nordic country started relaxing some restrictions in late April once the outbreak got under control. Kindergartens and primary schools opened in late April, but middle schools and high schools will resume next Monday. Bars and amusement parks could reopen on June 1, while private gatherings of 20 people will be allowed on starting on Thursday. "Thanks to our common efforts since March, we have brought the contamination under control," Solberg told a news conference. "We can therefore, over time, lighten the toughest measures." Jasmine Kim 2:59 pm: California DMV to open 25 field offices The California Department of Motor Vehicles announced it will open 25 locations around the state on Friday. The offices will have normal hours and help those who need to make an in-person visit to the department. The DMV encouraged residents to continue using its online services for transactions like license and registration renewals. Hannah Miller tweet 2:55 pm: Elon Musk says Covid-19 could prepare us for a much worse pandemic Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the current coronavirus pandemic can be likened to a trial run for worse, future viruses. "At some point there probably will be a pandemic with a high mortality rate, something that's killing a lot of 20-year-olds, let's say. This is kind of like a practice run for something that might in the future might have a really high mortality rate," Musk said in an interview with comedian Joe Rogan. The WHO warned last month that more young people are becoming critically ill and dying from the coronavirus. Jessica Bursztynsky 2:42 pm: Outside of New York, the number of daily new US cases is on the rise Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards As the coronavirus outbreak slows in some parts of the country, it's rapidly gaining speed elsewhere. New York state, the hardest-hit part of the country, has cut its peak of more than 10,000 new cases a day in half to under 5,000 in recent days, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. However, even as cases fall in the nation's epicenter, the national numbers remain stubbornly high, giving the illusion that the nation's epidemic has peaked and is plateauing. Excluding New York's data, overall cases in the country are on the rise. "It's a transfer of the outbreaks from one area to another," said Dr. Michael Osterholm, infectious disease epidemiologist and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. "We're seeing many epidemics all across the country. As some are slowing, others are increasing, so if you look just at the national numbers you won't see the full picture." Will Feuer 2:33 pm: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo won't back down on measured approach to reopening the economy New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said it's "absurd" to argue over how many deaths are worth reopening the state and added that he is not willing to trade people's lives to reopen the state's economy. "This is not a situation where you can go to the American people and say, 'How many lives are you willing to lose to reopen the economy?' We don't want to lose any lives. You start to hear these, to me, what are absurd arguments," Cuomo said at his daily press briefing. The governor's remarks come after President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that reopening parts of the country's economy now will inevitably cost some Americans their lives, but benefits would outweigh the costs. Jasmine Kim 2:21 pm: Most Facebook employees can work from home for the rest of the year Facebook plans to announce that it will allow most of its employees to work from home until the end of 2020, a company spokeswoman told CNBC. The company is planning to reopen most of its offices on July 6 so that employees who need to come in for their jobs to do so. Others who choose to return to their offices will also be allowed to do so. Facebook is still in the process of determining which employees will be asked to come back on July 6. Sal Rodriguez 2:07 pm: California saddled with $54 billion budget deficit Beach Parking lots and most beaches throughout the State are closed to public as California Gov. Gavin Newsom directed all Californians to stay at home and maintain safe distances from each other amid Coronavirus worldwide outbreak, March 28, 2020 in Huntington Beach, California. Bob Riha Jr | Getty Images California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state will have a $54 billion budget deficit as a result of the negative economic impact of the coronavirus, the Associated Press reported. The state had a $21 billion surplus last year. At the beginning of 2020 the state had an unemployment rate of 3.9%, now, Newsom said, the state will have a jobless rate of 18%. Hannah Miller 1:49 pm: Raytheon CEO on how people will respond to the pandemic recovery: 'They will start flying again, they will recover' In a Thursday interview on "Squawk on the Street," Raytheon CEO Gregory Hayes told CNBC's Jim Cramer that Americans would soon become antsy to travel again as the nation slowly reopens amid the coronavirus pandemic. "The fact is, people can only binge on Netflix for so long," Hayes explained. "Zoom is fun but you can't experience the Eiffel Tower from a Zoom meeting. You can't take your kids to Disneyland on Zoom, so, people will get back. They will start flying again, they will recover," he added. The aerospace defense firm chief said that in his discussions with airlines and other industry partners, assuming there was not a resurgence in Covid-19 cases, the recovery process for the commercial aerospace sector would begin this summer. Amanda Macias 1:13 pm: National Institutes of Health does not expect rapid mutation of virus The National Institutes of Health does not expect coronavirus to mutate as rapidly as seasonal flu, according to Dr. Francis Collins, director of the institution. That's despite a recent study from the Los Alamos National Lab which found the virus has mutated at least 14 times since first emerging four months ago. The dominant strain appears even more contagious, according to the study. "We don't think it will have this very rapid seasonal change that we have to deal with influenza, which means last year's vaccine is maybe not the one you want this year," Collins said Thursday during a hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Berkeley Lovelace, Spencer Kimball 12:43 pm: Trump valet tests positive A valet who assisted President Trump with his food, clothes and other personal needs has tested positive for coronavirus. The White House said Trump and Vice President Pence have since tested negative. The valet, a member of the military, did not a wear mask around the president, according to a White House official who spoke with NBC News. The White House declined to state whether Trump would self-quarantine and also would not comment on whether the First Lady, their son Barron, and Pence's wife Karen have since been tested. Spencer Kimball, Dan Mangan 12:28 pm: Cargo carriers are reaping the benefits of Covid-19 travel collapse The Covid-19 epidemic has all but destroyed air travel demand but things are looking up for cargo airlines. They're reaping the rewards of strong demand to speedily get medical supplies, perishable food and a host of other goods around the world quickly, while capacity falls. Passenger airlines have parked about two-third's of the world's fleet as they cancelled thousands of flights, removing that aircraft-belly capacity from the cargo market. Shares of cargo carriers Atlas Air and ATSG are up 50% and 17% respectively so far this quarter, while the largest U.S. passenger airlines have each lost more than 20%. Leslie Josephs 12:10 pm: How the US can learn from South Korea and Hong Kong's successful fight to contain the outbreak This photo illustration shows a man holding her phone showing emergency alert text messages announcing locations that confirmed COVID-19 patients have visited, among others, in Seoul on March 10, 2020. Jung Yeon-Je | AFP | Getty Images As American states grapple with the complexities of balancing the reopening of businesses and combating of the coronavirus pandemic, the varying results of countries across Asia to fight the virus offers insight into proven methods of driving down the spread and returning to a semblance of normalcy. From travel restrictions and data sharing to targeted testing and tracing, each country pursued its own strategy. While South Korea and Hong Kong have been hailed for their success, Singapore, Japan and China continue to grapple with re-surging outbreaks. Public health specialists and epidemiologists across the region who spoke with CNBC expressed concern that U.S. policymakers are not taking advantage of the opportunity to glean lessons from Asia. Each of them predicted a long and persistent struggle with Covid-19 in the U.S. Will Feuer 11:58 am: NIH sets moonshot goal to have millions of high-tech tests available by summer's end. The National Institutes of Health has set an ambitious goal to make millions of "accurate and easy-to-use" coronavirus tests available by the end of summer. NIH Director Francis Collins cautioned this is a "stretch goal that goes beyond what most experts think will be possible." Still, Collins told a Senate committee hearing that Americans need tests which can accurately deliver results in hours and can also integrate with mobile devices to transmit data. "Such tests sound like science fiction but are scientifically possible," he said. The NIH has called on scientists to develop rapid testing technology that can scale quickly across the nation. Collins said promising technologies will move into Phase I, in which the NIH will award funding to the inventor and help with technical clinical experts. Spencer Kimball, Berkeley Lovelace 11:25 am: New York City to offer free antibody testing to thousands of residents, mayor says A health-care worker prepares to administer a drive-through Covid-19 antibody test at Belmont Medical Care in Franklin Square, New York, on April 30, 2020. J. Conrad Williams Jr. | Newsday via Getty Images New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city will offer 140,000 free antibody tests to residents, in addition to 140,000 anitbody tests to health-care workers, to determine the prevalence of Covid-19 in the area. He said that priority will be given to people in communities near five testing sites initially, although the city plans to add more sites soon. "This is to benefit you as an individual but also to get us information on what has been happening with this disease so we can fight it," de Blasio said. He said the testing is in partnership with BioReference. Residents will be able to schedule an appointment through a dedicated hotline starting Friday. Noah Higgins-Dunn 11:15 am: Experts to answer your questions about contact tracing on Facebook Live How will contact tracing work during the coronavirus pandemic? What are the privacy implications? At 12 p.m. ET on Facebook Live, CNBC will be talking to two experts in the field: Ed Bugnion, former founder and chief technology officer of VMWare and a professor at EPFL in Switzerland, and Aneesh Chopra, former CTO for the Obama administration and the president of health-care analytics firm CareJourney. Have a question on contact tracing? Leave it in the comments of the Facebook post, and we'll get to ask many as we can. CNBC's health-tech reporter Chrissy Farr hosts. Laura Edwins 10:59 am: Former NASA scientist wants to fight virus with UV light After President Donald Trump was mocked mercilessly for suggesting that ultraviolet light could be used to kill Covid-19, one former NASA scientist says now he's found a way to do it. Fred Maxik, founder and chief scientific officer of Healthe, claims he has created the first UV light technology that can be used to combat coronavirus. Far-UVC is a type of UV light, and exposure to ultraviolet light at specific frequencies has been known to cause harmful side effects as skin cancer and blindness. But a study by Columbia University showed that Far-UVC's narrow band of wavelengths is short enough to stop it from damaging human cells, but still penetrate and kill small viruses and bacteria on surfaces and in the air. Maxik believes this technology could be radiated from doorways in hospitals and other places that tend to the sick, decontaminating the hair, skin and clothes. Terri Cullen 10:24 am: Signs that non-emergency patients avoiding hospitals may have bottomed Hospitals saw a decline of more than 60% in patient volumes in early April, due to the cancellation of non-emergency procedures, but analysts at Transunion say there are signs last month may have marked the bottom. Payment data shows outpatient hospital visits rose 4% during the first two weeks of April, the modest bump marks the first increase in patient volumes since Covid-19 was declared a pandemic. "We're starting to see that tick back up because of the states opening up their economies, the shelter-in-place orders being lifted, and elective procedures start to be put back on the box," said Jonathan Wiik, a principal in TransUnion's health care strategy unit. He said it could take three months or more for hospitals to work through the backlog of delayed procedures and get back to normal non-Covid patient volumes. Four out of 10 patients Transunion surveyed say they plan to reschedule procedures as soon as providers resume operations, while nearly one in four say they'll wait until they believe the risk of contracting the coronavirus has passed. Bertha Coombs 10:08 am: Colleges consider a tuition freeze amid pandemic Pedestrians walk through Harvard Yard on the closed Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., on Monday, April 20, 2020. Adam Glanzam | Bloomberg | Getty Images As the economic strain on families worsens, some colleges have vowed to keep tuition for all students unchanged for the coming year. The College of William & Mary, Delaware Valley University in Pennsylvania, Kansas City University and Central Michigan University, among other schools across the country, recently announced measures to freeze undergraduate tuition and fees. Still, a tuition freeze may not be enough to entice students as financial concerns become paramount. A growing number of undergraduates are saying that remote learning is just not worth the cost. Jessica Dickler 10:00 am: Reports of new cases spread in the East Coast 9:57 am: Trump administration shelves detailed CDC guide to reopening the country A 17-page report created by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention team with step-by-step advice to authorities on how and when to reopen restaurants and other public places was shelved by the Trump administration, the Associated Press reported. The document was supposed to be published last Friday, but scientists were told the report "would never see the light of day," a CDC official told AP. Generally, it is the CDC's role to offer state and local officials guidance and science-based information during public health crises. Former U.S. Food and Drug Administration chief and CNBC contributor Dr. Scott Gottlieb tweeted that the shelving of the report was ironic, saying, "Irony around CDC not issuing it's reopen guidance, whatever the reason, is a lot of business literally can't reopen without it because CDC is a de-facto regulator in a public health crisis. CDC must publish its umbrella document to publish more detailed industry specific guidance." Terri Cullen Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC contributor and is a member of the boards of Pfizer and biotech company Illumina. 9:45 am: Nasdaq Composite turns positive for the year, Dow jumps 300 points Stocks rose in early trading as investors bet on the U.S. economy reopening soon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 304 points higher, or more than 1%. The S&P 500 gained 1.5% along with the Nasdaq Composite. The tech-heavy Nasdaq also turned positive for 2020. Read updates on U.S. markets activity by CNBC's Fred Imbert and Thomas Franck. Melodie Warner 9:22 am: Curve of reported cases show signs of flattening 8:58 am: European airlines warn it could take years for demand to bounce back IAG the parent company of British Airways, Vueling and Iberia and AirFrance-KLM withdrew their earnings forecasts for the year because of uncertainty about when travel will return to normal. "We are planning for a meaningful return to service in July 2020 at the earliest, depending on the easing of lockdowns and travel restrictions around the world," IAG CEO Willie Walsh said in a statement. "However, we do not expect passenger demand to recover to the level of 2019 before 2023 at the earliest." AirFrance-KLM also warned that it will take "several years" to return to pre-coronavirus passenger demand. Read more on AirFrance-KLM and IAG's quarterly results from CNBC's Silvia Amaro. Melodie Warner 8:30 am: Another 3.17 million Americans file for unemployment Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Another 3.17 million Americans filed initial claims for unemployment support last week, bringing the total number of claims across seven weeks to more than 33 million. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a tally of 3.05 million. Read more on the jobless claims data from CNBC's Jeff Cox. Sara Salinas 8:12 am: Kohl's begins reopenings, on pace to have 25% of stores back by next week Kohl's announced it will reopen stores across an additional 10 states on Monday, having reopened already in four states Arkansas, South Carolina, Utah and Oklahoma earlier this week. CEO Michelle Gass said about 25% of Kohl's stores will be open by next week if everything goes as planned. Operating hours until further notice will be reduced to 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., the company said, and there will be dedicated shopping hours in place for at-risk individuals, including pregnant customers, each Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from 11 a.m. to noon. The retailer will be shutting all fitting rooms until further notice. Kohl's also said it will still be accepting Amazon returns a program it rolled out to all locations last year in a separate part of each store. Kohl's joins a growing list of retailers including Macy's, Nordstrom and Gap that are putting plans in place to get stores back up and running shutdowns in mid-March. It remains to be seen if shoppers are ready to get back. Lauren Thomas 7:41 am: FDA approves Moderna vaccine for phase 2 study The Food and Drug Administration approved a Covid-19 vaccine candidate from drugmaker Moderna to enter a phase 2 trial. The trial will involve 600 participants and is a "crucial step" toward potential full clearance of a first batch as early as 2021, the company said. Shares of Moderna surged on the news. Read more about Moderna's announcement and forthcoming trial from CNBC's Will Feuer. Sara Salinas 6:20 am: German officials caution the crisis is not over yet The operators of a nursing home on the Laois Offaly border have issued a statement thanking the local community for their support and efforts during the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. Three weeks ago, Oakdale Nursing Home in Portarlington issued an appeal for help after confirmation of the presence of Covid-19 at the facility. They appealed to former health care workers, nurses or any allied health care students at home from college to provide any assistance during the Covid-19 crisis. Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise also deployed staff to aid the nursing home on the Laois Offaly border. The Portarlington community rallied behind the call and circumstances at the facility look to be vastly improving with residents and staff who tested positive in good health according to the statement. The General Manager of Oakdale Nursing Home, Ms Valerie Moore, wished to thank the public, the local community and the many doctors, nurses and healthcare officials who provided assistance during the Covid-19 crisis on behalf of the residents and staff at the facility. I, Valerie Moore, on behalf of the residents and staff in Oakdale Nursing Home would like to say a heartfelt thanks to the wider Community of Portarlington for their support, in all forms during the past three difficult weeks," said Ms Moore in a statement. I was humbled and continue to be amazed by the efforts of all of you, to sustain us through this crisis. The goodness of everyone is simply unbelievable and so heart lifting for all of us. To the many volunteers who came in, donned PPE, and wore the jersey for Oakdale, thanks a million for your hands-on, can do attitude, which we really appreciated in our hour of need. Thanks also to the business community for your solidarity, especially those who donated and supplied top class PPE, which helped protect staff and prevent the spread of the virus. We must all continue to follow the most recent Public Health advice and guidelines from the HSE, which continues to help save lives from this lethal virus. A special thanks for all donations of goodies from the public, for residents and staff. To everyone, for their voices, so welcome when the chips are down. Sincere thanks also to our local clergy, Fr.Dooley PP, Fr.Noonan, Fr.Hughes, Rev Leslie Stevenson, and our local prayer group and all of you who offered prayers for us. To the schoolchildren who wrote letters and left in gifts for our residents and to all who contacted us with messages of support and goodwill. To our local GPs, who came in unsolicited to see their residents and offer support, the Consultants from Portlaoise Hospital for your conference calls and the advice from the Infection Control Team. To all Public Health officials and the entire CH08 support team led by Patricia Whelehan. Thanks to Mary and Catherine our HIQA Inspector for your understanding and supportive phone calls. Not forgetting, Doco from Port Pharmacy and Marcus & crew in Supervalu and all the delivery men. Thank you one and all! Ms Moore shared the positive news that the eight residents, as well as staff, who contracted Covid-19 are on the mend. I am happy to report that, our eight residents who tested positive are in good health and will be leaving our isolation unit later in the week, please God. Our staff who tested positive are doing well and most of them should be back working within the next week or so. We will never forget the bravery and solidarity shown by the Nurses who volunteered from the hospitals in Portlaoise and Tullamore, you will never know the load you lifted off our shoulders when you arrived in Oakdale. Sandra Mc Carthy and Louisa Burke thanks for redeploying your excellent nurses. To each member of our own loyal, caring, and exhausted staff, thanks for the super effort you make every day in caring for our precious residents. I cannot forget the families of our staff, who daily make sacrifices and witness first-hand their dedication and commitment by coming into work in the present high risk environment to look after our residents, who are central to all we do in Oakdale. Finally, to the residents and their families, I understand these are frightening times for all of you, together we are getting through this, your support is appreciated and all your prayers do really help - Thank you, she finished. How happy the Austrians will be that the Bleiburg commemorations wont be happening in 2020. Each year, groups of Croatians normally gather at Bleiburg in Carinthia to remember the tens of thousands of Nazi-supporting Ustasa fighters murdered in Austria by Yugoslavian partisans at the end of the war in Austria. The Carinthian authorities, embarrassed by this show of far-right nationalism, have so far been unable to stop the commemorations. Until the advent of the coronavirus. The German chancellor Angela Merkel, meanwhile, who skipped the May 9 Moscow victory parade in 2015 in symbolic protest at the Russian annexation of Crimea, must surely be relieved that she hasnt had to formally decline Russian President Vladimir Putins invitation to the May 9 military parade in Moscow in 2020 because that wont be happening either. It all eases the diplomatic stress. One might hope, then, that the scaling down or cancelling of end-of-war commemorations might have a salutary effect by giving pause for thought. Unfortunately, there is little room for optimism. For years now, historical arguments have been raging throughout Europe, with the fault lines often running between Russia and other eastern European countries such as Poland and the Baltic states, or the Czech Republic. They centre on whether or not the Soviet Union should be seen in these countries as a liberator from Nazism, or as the oppressive bringer of communism. The Red Army was of course both but while Putins view of history focuses on liberation, the view in Poland and elsewhere in eastern Europe focuses on oppression. The Hitler-Stalin Pact has also become a bone of contention: Poland argues that Stalin was as much to blame as Hitler for starting the second world war, while Putin blames the wests appeasement of Hitler, and, in December 2019, accused Polands envoy to Nazi Germany in 1939, Jozef Lipski, of being an antisemitic pig. The European Union didnt help matters when it passed a resolution in 2019 effectively supporting the Polish position on the Hitler-Stalin Pact. Putins history war with eastern Europe is now firmly one with western Europe, too. Story continues Liberation and oppression When the Cold War ended in 1989, the EU attempted to create a European memory around the Holocaust, but encountered resistance from some eastern European member states reluctant to confront the memory of the extent to which they had collaborated. Now the EU has swung round to centering its memory on totalitarianism: Hitler and Stalin. Most European countries can agree on that. But not Putin. These disputes have been playing out for years and memorials and commemorative events have been a key battleground. There are few signs that the current commemorative lull imposed by lockdown is going to change this. The diplomatic spat between Russia and the Czech Republic over the removal of a statue of Ivan Konev is still rumbling on. Konev led the Red Army troops that liberated Prague in 1945, but he is remembered by many Czechs for his brutal role in suppressing the Prague Spring. Prague took down the statue in early April, whereupon according to the most extraordinary rumour a Russian intelligence operative was apparently flown to Prague to poison the citys mayor. While he was reportedly put under police protection along with two other Prague politicians critical of Russia, at the time of writing the Russians and Czechs are bickering over what to do with the statue. When Berlins mayor Michael Muller invited representatives of Russia and Ukraine to a small-scale commemoration of the liberation of Berlin on May 2, Ukraines ambassador in Berlin, Andrij Melnyk, described the idea as his worst nightmare. The event went ahead without him. Shifting sentiment International commemoration reflects and possibly intensifies present-day tensions rather than defusing them. As long as eastern Europe feels threatened by Russia, there will be no agreement on what liberation in 1945 meant. There are signs, too, that shifting end-of-war commemoration to a later date, such as September 2020, because of the pandemic will merely cause new problems. Putin recently decided to commemorate the end of the war against Japan on September 3 (the day China commemorates it) rather than on September 2 (when the US marks the occasion). He may decide to turn any belated May 9 event into a demonstration of improving Sino-Russian relations in face of Trumps anti-Chinese stance. The pandemic has led some countries to remember the end of the war within a purely national framework, but this is leading to self-indulgence. German newspapers are currently full of articles about German suffering at the end of the war far more so than was the case in 2015, during the 70th anniversary. In Britain, for purposes of commemoration, homes are being re-imagined as private-public interfaces, with citizens being encouraged to engage in doorstep singalongs and make their own flags. Evoking the community spirit during lockdown is commendable. I feel less happy about the British Legions Tommy in the Window campaign: I doubt Commonwealth soldiers will feel embraced by the term Tommy (which refers to the fictitious archetypal English soldier, Tommy Atkins) or even the Scots, Irish and Welsh. Whether on the international or national stage, jingoism is often the bane of commemoration. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The Conversation WIlliam Niven does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. A genetic analysis of samples from more than 7500 people infected with COVID-19 suggests the coronavirus spread quickly around the world late last year and is adapting to its human hosts, scientists say. A study by scientists at University College London's (UCL) Genetics Institute found almost 200 recurrent genetic mutations of the new coronavirus - SARS-CoV-2 - which the researchers said showed how it may be evolving as it spreads in people. Francois Balloux, a UCL professor who co-led the research, said results showed that a large proportion of the global genetic diversity of the virus causing COVID-19 was found in all of the hardest-hit countries. That suggests that the virus was already being transmitted extensively around the globe from early on in the epidemic. The virus could have been spreading globally as early as December, new research suggests. Source: Getty "All viruses naturally mutate. Mutations in themselves are not a bad thing and there is nothing to suggest SARS-CoV-2 is mutating faster or slower than expected," said Balloux. "So far, we cannot say whether SARS-CoV-2 is becoming more or less lethal and contagious." Claims of two strains inaccurate In a second study also published on Wednesday, scientists at Britain's University of Glasgow who also analysed SARS-CoV-2 virus samples said their findings showed that previous work suggesting there were two different strains was inaccurate. A preliminary study by Chinese scientists in March had suggested there may have been two strains of the coronavirus causing infections there, with one of them more "aggressive" than the other. But publishing their analysis in the journal Virus Evolution, the Glasgow team said only one type of the virus was circulating. More than 3.68 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 256,000 have died, according to a Reuters tally. Story continues Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since cases were first identified in China in December 2019. The UCL team's findings, published in the journal Infection, Genetics and Evolution, confirm that the virus emerged in late 2019, Balloux said, before quickly spreading across the globe. His team screened the genomes of more than 7500 viruses from infected patients around the world. Their results add to a growing body of evidence that SARS-CoV-2 viruses share a common ancestor from late 2019, suggesting this was when the virus jumped from a previous animal host into people. This means it is unlikely the new virus was circulating in people for long before it was first detected, Balloux said. Study says France recorded first infection in December A study by French scientists published earlier this week concluded a man there was infected with COVID-19 as early as December 27, nearly a month before France confirmed its first cases. The World Health Organisation said the French case was "not surprising" and urged countries to investigate any other early suspicious cases. Balloux said the 198 small genetic changes, or mutations, that his and other studies have identified held helpful clues for researchers seeking to develop drugs and vaccines. "If we focus our efforts on parts of the virus that are less likely to mutate, we have a better chance of developing drugs that will be effective in the long run," Balloux said. 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. African Dream Foundation 2063, in cooperation with the Ramsco Charity Organization, distributed on Thursday over 700 kilograms of food to dozens of Guinean families in Ezbat El-Nakhl, Cairo. It was part of the "One Continent Initiative, One Fate" initiative to distribute food aid to African communities in Egypt, and was in coordination with the Guinean ambassador to Egypt and the head of the Guinean community. Sally Atef, chairwoman of the African Dream Foundation, said that the foundation has been supporting the African community during the coronavirus crisis. The foundation distributed antiseptics and sterilisers to more than 300 African families in April, Atef said. She added that the foundation, in cooperation with several other institutions, businessmen and individuals, will continue the initiative to support African communities in Egypt. The African Dream Foundation 2063 was launched in Addis Ababa during President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisis presidency of the African Union. Search Keywords: Short link: At least one Nebraska health department says it will no longer report specific COVID-19 case numbers linked to meatpacking plants after Gov. Pete Ricketts said the state will not release information related to specific businesses and only do so by industry. Ricketts said on Wednesday during his press conference that because of health privacy laws, businesses do not have access to the results of employee tests and would have to rely on people voluntarily releasing the information. He also suggested people might not be truthful with health care providers about where they work. The Elkhorn Logan Valley Public Health Department said on its Facebook page that it will stop reporting case numbers from a Tyson plant in Madison, at least until it can get clarification from the governor. "We had been awaiting clarification on these statements from Governor Ricketts," the post said. "Until clarification is received, we will not be releasing Tyson information until further notice, or until we hear otherwise that we may do so." The last update from the Elkhorn Logan Valley district had 96 cases at the Tyson plant as of a week ago. The company on Monday announced plans to shut down the plant temporarily. Elkhorn Logan Valley appears to be the only health district so far to stop reporting meatpacking cases. On Thursday, Ricketts said health departments can release case information about specific businesses if they choose to, but he said his guidance is that they should only do so if they can verify it and the business signs off on it. The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department has been reporting case numbers for the Smithfield plant in Crete and the smaller one in Lincoln, and it said it will continue to. "There are no HIPAA violations discussing aggregate numbers from an outbreak area," the health department said in an emailed statement. "We will continue to report the number of Lancaster County residents who test positive and can be traced to the plants." Public Health Solutions, the health district that includes Saline County, also has been reporting specific case numbers for the Crete Smithfield plant. There are 139 employees of the Crete plant who live in that district with COVID-19 and 104 in Lancaster County so far. Lancaster County also has reported another 70 cases of family members or close contacts of those employees. There are six employees of the Lincoln plant with COVID-19 and another three cases who had contact with those workers. The numbers in Crete are among the highest number of confirmed cases at any meat plant in the state. The Central District Health Department in Grand Island reported on April 21 that there were 237 cases at a JBS plant there, but it has not updated those numbers since. On Thursday, nonprofit news website ProPublica reported that health officials wanted to shut down the plant in early April after employees started showing up at the local emergency room and in clinics in large numbers, but Ricketts told them he would not allow that. Within a couple of weeks, Hall County became the state's hot spot, with the most COVID-19 cases and most deaths in Nebraska, as well as one of the highest per-capita rates of infection in the country. It also is assumed that there are significant numbers of cases at the Tyson plant in Lexington and the Cargill plant in Schuyler, based on the high number of cases in the counties containing those cities as well as surrounding counties. Health departments covering those counties have not reported specific case numbers linked to the plants. The Sioux City Journal, citing an anonymous source, reported on April 30 that 669 workers at the Tyson plant in Dakota City had tested positive for the disease. That plant, which had closed Friday for deep cleaning and to allow workers to be tested, reopened Thursday. Douglas County Health Director Adi Pour on Thursday said there have been nearly 400 total cases there linked to meatpacking plants. Ricketts on Thursday said there have been 1,005 COVID-19 cases at food processing companies in the state, which account for a little more than one of every seven cases. State Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln called Ricketts' comments about reporting case numbers from specific businesses a "political cover-up." "There is no legitimacy to this as a privacy concern," he said in a string of posts on Twitter. "Understanding where outbreaks are occurring is important for the public and the government to know and understand from a mitigation and public safety point of view." "No data = no spread = victory! Well eventually say theres zero new cases in plants, sort of like the claim that zero Nebraskans in prison have the virus, but only because weve tested zero inmates," Morfeld said. Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz. An illegal migrant allegedly raped a coronavirus nurse in a terrifying 45-minute ordeal while she waited for the bus home after finishing her shift treating Covid-19 patients, according to reports in the Italian media. The migrant from Senegal was arrested on Sunday for allegedly raping the 48-year-old after she left work at a Naples hospital at around 3pm. The incident happened at the Corso Arnaldo Lucci Metropark bus stop, just behind Naples' main train station. Police arrived after about 45 minutes. During the ordeal on the deserted street, the nurse saw another woman walking past across the road and called out to her but she did not hear. The incident happened at the Corso Arnaldo Lucci Metropark bus stop (pictured), just behind Naples' main train station. Police arrived after about 45 minutes 'He kept repeating 'let me do what I want or I'll kill you. Stand still and don't scream',' the nurse told La Repubblica. 'He was double my size and all his weight was on my back. He got angry because my jeans were too tight and he couldn't take them off.' The nurse works in the psychiatry department of the Naples hospital, looking after patients recovering from the trauma of having coronavirus. The migrant from Senegal was arrested on Sunday for allegedly raping the 48-year-old after she left work at a Naples hospital at around 3pm (file image of an Italian police car) She said the incident went on for 45 minutes as she waited for her bus home to Avellino, after getting the subway. Italy will give 600,000 illegal migrants the right to stay after government said they proved essential caring for elderly and picking crops during coronavirus crisis Unregistered migrants have worked in fields across the country to protect food supplies, all whilst risking being arrested if caught by police. 'The food on our table comes from these fields. Now we must hand over those rights which have been denied to those who work in them,' Peppe Provenzano, minister for the south of Italy, said. The permits - which won't give migrants the right to vote - will be valid for six months and will be renewable. They were proposed by the agricultural minister Teresa Bellanova. The measure could be inserted into a temporary government decree with immediate effect but will be voted on in parliament after 60 days, according to The Times. Ms Bellanova said that forcing migrants to hide could mean outbreaks of the disease go unchecked. For example one shanty town near Foggia is home to 3,000 farm pickers - but there's no social distancing, hand sanitiser or masks. The Pope also seemed to back the message yesterday when he condemned the 'harsh exploitation' of migrant farm workers in Italy. There are also practical advantages to the new measure as 100,000 Romanian pickers who usually travel to Italy every year cannot fly over due to coronavirus travel bans. Advertisement She had arrived early at the Metropark and had an hour to wait because of the reduced transport services due to the coronavirus crisis. She says there was no one around. She has told how the rapist jumped over a fence and came towards her and grabbed her arm. Thinking she was being robbed, the nurse tried to give him her purse before he told her that wasn't what he wanted. She says he threw her on the ground and put his hand over her mouth as she desperately waited for someone to come and help, adding that there are several cameras in the car park. 'He would put his hands everywhere and get angry because I was defending myself. 'They use drones to find people who go to the beach despite the Covid emergency. Why don't they use them to prevent these and other attacks?', the nurse said. She told him not to hurt her because she was pregnant, that she couldn't breathe and that she needed water, and then she told him that if someone came he would be arrested. But he kept trying to rip her jeans off. She says her back was shattered and her neck covered in bruises. At one point he put his arms around her neck to choke her. The bus then arrived and when the driver saw what was going on he got out and started shouting. The army had also arrived and surrounded the man, as she sheltered on the bus. The police - who watched the CCTV footage back - took the woman to the hospital and informed her husband . The nurse says she hasn't yet gone back to work. She added that her husband feels guilty and helpless for not being able to protect her and the trauma has overwhelmed the whole family. She says she doesn't know if the physical or mental pain was worse and she will now struggle to move on with her life and help other people who have experienced trauma. PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-07 08:01:02 On the 6th of May 2020, ContextVision held its ordinary Shareholders' Annual General Meeting in Stockholm. The annual financial report regarding 2019 was presented and approved by the AGM. Disposition of financial results according to the proposal of the Board of Directors was approved. The Managing Director and the Board of Directors were discharged from liability. The proposed guidelines for remuneration to the Board of Directors and senior executives was approved. Board compensation was decided according to the following: The chairman of the board will be paid SEK 300.000 for the period until next AGM. Other members of the board, whom are not also main shareholders, will be paid SEK 200.000 for the period until next AGM. The audit fee will be based on current account. Erik Danielsen, Martin Hedlund, Sven Gunther-Hanssen and Magne Jordanger were reelected as board members. Martin Ingvar was elected as new member of the board. No deputy members were elected. Ernst & Young were reelected as auditor for the coming year, with acting auditor Andreas Troberg. No other matters were processed at the meeting. For further information, please contact: Ann-Charlotte Linderoth (CFO) tel +46 (0)8 7503550, e-mail ann-charlotte.linderoth@contextvision.se ### This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. ### About ContextVision ContextVision is a medical technology software company specialized in image analysis and artificial intelligence. As the global market leader within image enhancement, we are a trusted partner to leading manufacturers of ultrasound, X-ray and MRI equipment around the world. Our expertise is to develop powerful software products, based on proprietary technology and artificial intelligence for image-based applications. Our cutting-edge technology helps clinicians accurately interpret medical images, a crucial foundation for better diagnosis and treatment. ContextVision is now entering the fast-growing digital pathology market. We are re-investing significantly in our product portfolio of decision support tools and we are dedicated to becoming a leading resource for pathologists to radically develop cancer diagnosis and improve patient care. The company, established in 1983, is based in Sweden with local representation in the U.S., Japan, China and Korea. ContextVision is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker COV. Attachment Amid the Coronavirus lockdown, many people have lost their jobs and are having a difficult time staying afloat as the economy falls down. The most hit are the migrant workers or the daily wage workers who are out of work and cant support feeding themselves or their families without work. The chief minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik had announced that the Panchayat will find 200 of the neediest people in every Panchayat and will serve them food. But, the launched scheme to feed the needy is not enough as many migrant workers arent able to feed themselves. BCCL But, the pandemic has shown us the good side in people as some social workers are feeding the residents of Telugu Basti-colony as they had no food to eat. Recently, ANI took to its Twitter and said, Odisha: Social workers are feeding residents of Telugu Basti-colony of workers from Andhra Pradesh, living in Bhubaneswar. They say "They had no food. We want to ensure that no one goes hungry. Many of them returned to Andhra Pradesh. We want to see that they don't have to do that. Checkout the post here- Odisha: Social workers are feeding residents of Telugu Basti-colony of workers from Andhra Pradesh,living in Bhubaneswar. They say "They had no food. We want to ensure that no one goes hungry. Many of them returned to Andhra Pradesh.We want to see that they don't have to do that" pic.twitter.com/5ZfKzwoBci ANI (@ANI) May 6, 2020 The migrant workers are returning back to their home towns as they literally have no food and no work amid the Coronavirus crisis. At this hour, feeding the needy is a solution that will help in making them stay wherever they are right now. People returning in large numbers to their villages and towns are only going to make the problem worse. BCCL People on the internet are saluting the good work done by the social workers. Heres what they have to say- Thanks to Bhubaneswar Social Workers Feeding the residents of Telugu basti colony@AndhraPradeshCM @CMO_Odisha @ysjagan @TOIBhubaneswar @PIBBhubaneswar Plz Help The Telugu Basti Colony Workers from Andhra Pradesh in Bhubaneswar. Younus Farhaan (@YounusFarhaan) May 7, 2020 Great job..odias always known for their helping nature we r the soul of incredible india chinmaya mohanty (@chinmayasitu) May 7, 2020 humanity speaks Chowkidar G.V.Narayana Rao (@GVNarayanaRao2) May 7, 2020 U need not worry for this .. our cm @Naveen_Odisha has already done the best... pic.twitter.com/mzSXdAp8wd Biswajeet Mishra (@travellerbiswa) May 7, 2020 The Coronavirus cases in India are dismally increasing and the situation is getting worse by each passing day. In such a crisis, it is important that we help each other at an individual level as people gathering on roads will only increase our problems. BCCL However, the number of confirmed cases in India is over 52,000, so far and it is only increasing. So, it is best to stay indoors to protect yourself and the people around you. Different countries across the world use diverse governing systems including the different types of monarchy systems that exists today. Like it is with all other leadership arrangements in different countries, monarchies are also ran differently. Image: facebook.com, @queenelizabeth Source: Getty Images So what is a monarch? This leadership style involves one person, known as the monarch, heading the state or country. He or she takes charge of the country's leadership until death. They have a choice of abdicating their position as long as the laws of the land allow. Not all monarchs are similar. Some have absolute and full control where they rules and dictate them, while others are partial or ceremonial where they only make appearances for the public to see. In the same way, power levels vary in the different monarchies. Understanding the different types of monarchy governments The fact that a person is in charge of the leadership until their death raises a lot of questions, especially in modern times. For instance, can a monarch retire? It appears as though retirement is not an option for a monarch unless the said leader is ready to give up their throne for good. This can only happen under certain circumstances and rules. A good example can be seen in the world's longest-reigning monarch, the queen of England. What are two types of monarchy in the world today? Major monarchs in the world are constitutional, limited and absolute monarchies. They all differ based on the guiding principles that define them. Absolute monarchs operate in such a manner that the monarch has the power over the country and the citizens dwelling there. It is believed that everything, including land, the people as well as property are all entitled to the monarch and his family since the leadership tends to be hereditary. In a limited monarchy, the leader here holds only ceremonial powers. Like in the case of England's example Queen Elizabeth, the queen holds office on a ceremonial capacity. She has no right over the laws made in parliament as she does not deal with it. It is the responsibility of the royal family to keep up the traditions it has always upheld, including making public appearances at specific times. A constitutional monarchy, on the other hand, is where the monarch reserves to use powers which he or she acquires through the countrys constitution. The leader thus operates based on this constitution. For instance, in Sweden, the monarch can only use powers that are granted in the countrys constitution. In a monarchy, to what degree does the king or queen hold absolute power? While the monarch may be the ultimate ruler and one whose decision is final, kings, queens and monarchy leaders still depend on the customary rules that have existed before. What is the difference between an oligarchy and a monarchy? In a monarchy, the country is ruled by a single family. In addition, power is held by just one individual. This person becomes the king or queen. An oligarchy, on the other hand, is a form of government in which all power resides with a few people. Those who get to higher leadership status do so because they have immense wealth, are well-educated or have made significant progress in society. Types of monarchy government Image: unsplash.com Source: UGC So how do you tell the difference between monarchies and how many types of monarchies are there? Apart from an imperial monarchy, there are other diverse monarchies. They differ mainly because of the different rules guiding the different leadership adopted by the states. Below are the different types of monarchies you need to understand. 1. Absolute monarchy An absolute monarchy has the monarch holding supreme autocratic authority. It is believed that the entitlement to leadership comes from a supreme being hence should be obeyed since it is a divine instruction. Even so, there are certain restrictions on play. These are religious and customary morals which legitimize the leader. Usually, absolute monarchs are hereditary and the king or queen is given powers by God. A good example would sometime back in France when King Louis XIV reigned from 1643-1715. Russia's Peter the Great also ruled in absolute monarchy from 1689-1725. In current times, the Saudi Arabia government serves as a perfect example. The royal family has the power to enforce any law it wishes regardless of whether it is good or bad for the country. READ ALSO: List of countries with monarchy governments in 2020 2. Limited monarchy A limited-monarchy is a government where the monarch has ceremonial powers only. Usually, they operate publicly on certain occasions that have become a tradition and need to be upheld. They are an important part of the country's tradition and cannot be ignored. 3. Constitutional monarchy The constitutional monarchy has its leader being guided and restricted by the nation's constitution. Usually, the monarch has powers that are granted to him or her by the countrys constitution. 4. Semi constitutional monarchy In this kind of setup, the monarch has influence over the state almost to the degree of an absolute monarchy. However, he is limited in some small respect, perhaps by a pro-monarchist constitution. 5. Subnational monarchies or traditional monarchy A subnational or traditional monarchy is a territory led by a leader whose powers are passed down. However, the monarchy is subordinate to a highly ranked government. Monarchy countries Image: unsplash.com Source: UGC Below are countries that have monarchs as their leaders. The list captures different types of monarchies spread across the globe. Examples of constitutional monarchs Below are countries you can consider as monarchy examples. It also captures the constitutional monarchs and their leaders. Bahrain - King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa Belgium - King Philippe (2013) Bhutan - Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchukin Brunei - Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Cambodia - King Norodom Sihamoni Denmark - Queen Margrethe II Japan - Emperor Akihito Jordan - King Abdullah II Kuwait - Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Lesotho - King Letsie III Liechtenstein - Prince Hans Adam II Luxembourg - Grand Duke Henri 2. Examples of absolute monarchy Below are the countries following the absolute monarchy system and their leaders Saudi Arabia - King Salman Oman - Sultan Qabus ibn Sa'id Swaziland - King Mswati III The different types of monarchy governments across the world is proof that the system is working. While in certain uncontrolled instances, monarchies can easily become dictatorial, when all the guidelines are followed, it remains one of the best government systems of all time. READ ALSO: Prince Harry unhappy with Buckingham Palace after it stripped him of title, royal duties Prince Harry and Meghan Markle step back from monarchy - What this means Queen Elizabeth II approves UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's request to suspend parliament Source: TUKO.co.ke Though some states may be beginning to reopen, the fight against the coronavirus will continue for months to come. Last month, we began compiling a list of brands that are giving backand since then, weve been heartened to watch the ranks swell considerably. In a profound display of community, design industry businesses have been pitching in to support the medical sectors COVID-19 relief efforts with sales and fundraisers, special events, and by manufacturing protective gear like masks, gowns and face shields. To tally every contribution is an impossible task, but through the dozens of initiatives included here, were thrilled to celebrate industry leaders doing their part to contribute during this crisis. Editors note: The article has been continuously updated since it was originally published on April 6, 2020. The most recent additions to the list are denoted with an arrow (). SALES THAT GIVE BACK These brands are donating a portion of their proceeds to organizations that are on the front lines of the coronavirus fight. Start shopping! ABDB Cares The award-winning furniture studio ABDB Designs has launched a new initiative, where 100 percent of sales from its exclusive ABDB Cares resin coaster set will be donated to Frontline Foods and Free Arts NYC. Alison Pickart The San Franciscobased interior designer is hosting a sale on her site30 percent of the proceeds will be donated to benefit the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. Over 50 home essentials will be sold, with new items to be added weekly. Ann Gish & The Art of Home Retailer Ann Gish is donating 30 percent of all online sales to The Red Cross and Doctors without Borders. The brand continues to sew face masks from its fabrics, donating them to the ICU team at NY Presbyterian Hospital. Bend Goods The Los Angelesbased wire furniture company is offering 30 percent off its online sales, donating a portion of the proceeds to Project Angel Food, a nonprofit organization that is providing free, nutritious meals to the local community. Everhem The Los Angelesbased company that offers made-to-order window treatments is currently offering 30 percent off all orders, and will donate a portion of sales to the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank and the L.A. Emergency COVID-19 Crisis Fund. Everhem also plans to donate to the two COVID-19 relief funds set up by Gates Philanthropy Partners. Faire The wholesale marketplace Faire is selling all face masks at 0 percent commission until June 8 to ensure that retailers can get essential safety supplies to their communities. All masks are being featured in a special collection on the homepage of its websiteas of May 8, over 200 makers are selling masks on the platform. Flavor Paper The wallcoverings brand Flavor Paper has launched Positive Feedback, a new fundraising initiative to support restaurants, health care workers and communities during the COVID-19 crisis. Now through May 31, Flavor Paper will donate 25 percent of website sales from its city-themed toiles category to East Bay FeedER and Frontline Foods. Guy Regal Five percent of any sale made on the fine art and furniture dealers website (or through its storefront on InCollect) will go to Citymeals on Wheels to serve at-risk community members. Madame Malachite The home decor and accessories brand Madame Malachite will donate 15 percent of all online sales to the World Health Organizations COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Minna The ethically made home goods brand announces the launch of its sustainable masks in response to COVID-19. For every mask purchased, the brand will donate a mask to a New York shelter for women with mental health disorders experiencing homelessness. Orior The New Yorkbased furniture company will relaunch its COVID-19 relief charity auction in partnership with the Mayors Fund To Advance New York City. The company will host the auction on Instagram starting on May 11 at 9 a.m. EST. All of the proceeds went directly to feed front-line staff in the New York health care system. Ortho Mattress From May 10 to 17, Ortho Mattress is holding a one-for-one sale: For every mattress purchased, the company will donate one to a COVID-19 frontline worker. The Damask pillow in Blush from Pillow Pops Courtesy of Pillow Pops Pillow Pops For all of April and May, the cushions brand Pillow Pops is committing 10 percent of sales to No Kid Hungry to help provide meals to vulnerable children away from school. Plover The Seattle-based textile company Plover is making Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)certified organic cotton masks from its fabric scraps. The masks are being sold in packs of two online and via Instagram DMfor every unit sold, Plover will donate a two-pack to medical professionals in need. Revival Rugs In honor of National Nurses Week (May 6 to 12) and National EMS Week (May 17 to 23), Revival Rugs has announced a 20 percent discount to all health care workers through May 25 as a gesture of gratitude. Serta Simmons Bedding Serta Simmons Bedding, the parent company of Serta, Beautyrest and Tuft & Needle, committed to donating 10,000 mattresses to New York City hospitals and medical facilities that are facing shortages of hospital beds. Theyve also launched the Stay Home, Send Beds initiative to facilitate bed donations for hospitals. Anyone who wishes can purchase a bed to be distributed in whichever U.S. city they choose. For every 25 beds that are donated, Serta will donate another on top of the 10,000 it has already committed. Southern Guild The Southern Guild has launched Closer, Still, a group art exhibition to benefit those most vulnerable in South Africa during the COVID-19 crisis. Until May 9, 30 percent of sales from works sold will be donated to Afrika Tikkun, a nonprofit that has provided education, health and social services in South African townships for over 25 years. Stark & The House of Scalamandre For a limited time, Stark and The House of Scalamandre have brought their iconic prints to a collection of face masks. In addition to the medical mask donated for every purchase, the brands will match an additional 10 percent of all sales, donating the funds to the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club. Taking Initiative Industry names are doing what they can to fill community needs, locally, nationally and globally. AATCC For textile manufacturers making masks or gowns, the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists is now offering free tests to determine whether the fabrics being used are medical grade. Benjamin Moore In collaboration with the Painting Contractors Association, Benjamin Moore has pledged to underwrite participation costs for the PCAs Operation COVID-19 Response, an eight-week online conference aiming to provide strategies and resources to painting contractors. With the help of Benjamin Moore, both PCA members and non-members will be able to take advantage of this virtual training. With the majority of employees based in The Garden State, the company has also donated $100,000 to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey and Frontline Foods, providing nearly 230,000 meals to residents and health care workers throughout the state. In its Newark facility, Benjamin Moore has leveraged its production resources to manufacture hand sanitizer for donation. These bottles were delivered to the New Jersey State Police for distribution among the essential medical professionals in hospitals and health care facilities across the state. The Company Store The bedding and bath material supply company has donated over 10,000 units (worth $1.2 million) of its bedding product to be made into over 500,000 masks for health care workers. East Fork After the ceramics company concluded its Gift a Mug campaign, it went on to launch a series of weekly raffles with the goal of raising $100,000 for social justice-focused organizations. For its final raffle, launching May 21, the proceeds will go to Sistas Caring 4 Sistas, an organization that supports women of color in the health care system. Fermob The Fermob dealer network in the U.S. has been quietly supporting its local community through charity efforts and donated time. While some are giving directly through grassroots initiatives, others have developed their own fundraising efforts to help those most vulnerable during this time. Fireclay Tile The San Franciscobased tile company has created a child care fund program as part of the Give, You Get initiative to help workers subsidize child care costs. Formica The Formica Corporation has pledged to donate up to 500,000 meals to Feeding America food banks nationwide through its Lunch & Learn program. Now, for every video view through April 30, the company will donate 10 meals to Feeding America food banks. GoodWeave GoodWeave, the leading nonprofit working to end forced, bonded and child labor in global supply chains, has launched the COVID-19 Child and Worker Protection Fund to deliver humanitarian aid and services to vulnerable populations in India, Nepal and Afghanistan. The fund is focusing its reach to aid marginalized workers and children in producer communities. Hinkley Lighting and ceiling fan company Hinkley has donated 500 ceiling fan units to first responders and volunteers in the fight against COVID-19. Outer The Los Angelesbased outdoor furniture company has been helping supply Los Angeles area hospitals with thousands of protective masks. Co-founder Jiake Liu founded the SoCal Tech for Hospitals organization in early March, and has helped raise nearly $200,000 which has culminated in 50,000 masks being donated to local hospitals. Paolo Moschino for Nicholas Haslam The brand recently launched a charity initiative to support the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, an organization that, since the onset of the pandemic, has received a rise in calls. Paolo Moschino for Nicholas Haslam is matching donations, as well as hosting a design contest via Instagram to raise awareness around it. Sagebrook Home The home decor manufacturer has started a new business venture called Comfort and Care to offer resources to the home furnishings industry. It is using its international supply chain connections to import PPE to help fellow industry businesses safely re-open. Serena Dugan Artist and textile designers Serena Dugan is using her new fabric collection to create a line of made-to-order pillows$30 from each pillow sale will be donated to No Kid Hungry. Twin Star Home The Floridabased home furnishings producer donated 500 desks to the Valley View School District in the Chicago area. Your Home Collaboration In an effort to support front-line medical professionals, Anna Maria Mannarino, former president of ASIDs New Jersey Chapter, has launched Your Home Collaboration. The initiative urges interior designers to provide free design consultations to the COVID-19 workforce, either virutally or in person at a later date. Those interested in donating their services, or those wishing to nominate a medical professional for the program, can do so here. VIRTUAL CAMPAIGNS Companies are finding innovative ways to stay connected onlineand make a difference in the process. #DesignStandsTogether The design and architecture PR firm Novita launched the campaigns #DesignStandsTogether and #OneWithItaly on March 12 as a way of uniting the industry through bright news amidst the COVID-19 headlines. #DoingWellByDoingRight The nonprofit organization Be Original Americas is launching its #DoingWellByDoingRight campaign on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook to advocate for design authenticity, spotlighting members that are making an impact with design. Forty One Madisons #TableTogether From Forty One Madison comes #TableTogether, a social initiative launched as a response to New Yorks canceled Tabletop Market. For every photo posted on Instagram with the tag, Forty One Madison will purchase a gift card to a restaurant in Flatiron district. Each person who posts, registers and attends the next New York Tabletop Market will be able to claim a gift card. Garnet Hill The retail brand has not only donated 50 sets of organic cotton sheets for face mask production, but it has also promised to match up to $1 million in customer and team member donations to Meals on Wheels and No Kid Hungry. Ratana In addition to sewing masks for senior homes across the Pacific Northwest, the brand launched its #BetterDaysWithRatana campaign to share its clients favorite projects that speak to happier times in the industry. Southern Studio Simplified The Cary, North Carolinabased firm has launched a new design program called Southern Studio Simplified. This exclusive opportunity will help clients tackle smaller projects through virtual consultationseach week, the design team will focus on a different topic, ranging from gallery walls and home offices to color choices and kids rooms. For every consultation scheduled during the course of the coronavirus pandemic, the Southern Studio team pledges one hour of volunteer service to the local Cary community. Stitchroom The Brooklyn-based custom upholstery platform is not only making masks, but has also launched a site that connects able sewers with hospitals in need, as well as an accompanying Facebook page to field questions and foster community. Westchester Mask Making Campaign In collaboration with Plaza Park Interiors in Mamaroneck and Amy Interiors in Eastchester, Patricia OShaughnessy Design in Bronxville is coordinating a grassroots effort to facilitate the sewing, making and distribution of masks and personal protective equipment for New York hospitals and health care facilities. In addition to calling for cotton fabric donations and volunteer services, the campaign has started a GoFundMe page where monetary donations can be made to support sewers in the workrooms. THE INDUSTRY MASK-FORCE Industry manufacturers are pivoting their production facilities to make medical supplies. They deserve a standing ovationnot only for their donations, but also for the employees who have committed to helping their communities. American Leather In the words of the Dallas-based manufacturer, We may not be making furniture at the moment due to the COVID-19 crisis; however, were busy making masks and gowns each week for people on the front lines. In addition to donating face masks to health care workers, American Leather launched a new website for consumers to buy masks. Appleton Partners LLP The Santa Monica, Californiabased architecture firm has risen to the occasion and begun 3-D printing reusable plastic face masks for local hospitals and medical facilities. Arhaus The family-owned home furnishings retailer is utilizing its resources to make masks for medical groups, first responders, health care providers and other community members. Aria Designs The North Carolinabased upholstery and leather company Aria Designs has secured funding from CIT Group to tap into its global supply chain and manufacturers to bring N95 surgical masks to health care facilities across the state. Austins Couch Potatoes On March 20, the Texas-based furniture store and manufacturer began sewing face masks and hospital gowns to help fill the shortages presented by the spread of COVID-19. The company is partnering with Austin Disaster Relief Network to get the supplies to those local facilities, and aims to make 3,500 (free) masks a day, adding hospital gowns to their production list. Avery Boardman Custom upholstery brand Avery Boardman has been gathering materials and reaching out to manufacturers to donate supplies to mask and medical equipment to hospitals. Baker The contemporary furniture brand Baker has dedicated its U.S. manufacturing facilities, design resources and high-quality fabrics to the production of masks and gowns, all of which will be donated to local hospitals in North Carolina. Carvart The architectural glass and hardware company Carvart has been manufacturing tempered glass protective screens to be used as a hygienic barrier by workers in essential businesses like pharmacies, grocery stores and banks. Century Furniture Working with companies like Sherrill Furniture Brands, Century Furniture is donating materials to the Owosso, Michiganbased furniture company Woodard to assist in the production of masks. Cerno The Laguna Beach, Californiabased lighting company has set out to manufacture approximately 10,000 face shields to donate to local hospitals. In the words of Cerno co-founder Daniel Wacholder: Everyone has something they can contribute to this fight. We saw a need to make something, and that is what we do. Chilewich Chilewichs factory in Chatsworth, Georgia, is now producing not only table mats, floor mats, wall textiles, and upholstery, but also personal protective gownsas many as 25,000 per week. Classy Art For a limited time, while supplies last, the Houston, Texasbased wall decor company is giving free disposable masks to retailers, accepting requests via email. The Company Store The Company Store has donated 600 units of cotton sheet to TX N95, Quilting for a Cause, Sewing Masks for Atlanta Hospitals, and Project Runway alumna Amanda Perna, all of whom are using the fabric to sew face masks. An employee sewing a mask out of CW Stockwells Martinique fabric in Olive Courtesy of CW Stockwell CW Stockwell x Caitlin Wilson Design x Delgado NYC Together, CW Stockwell, Caitlin Wilsons eponymous Dallas firm, and handbag designer Delgado NYC have teamed up to produce over 1,000 nonmedical masks to donate to health care workers nationwide. The trio started a GoFundMe page to help compensate the men and women who are sewing the masks. Designtex x West Elm Together, West Elm and Designtex have joined forces to design, manufacture and produce 13,000 cotton face masks to support COVID-19 efforts. The masks are produced in Designtexs facility in Portland, Maine. A Designtex sewer at work in its Portland, Maine facility Courtesy of Designtex Eastern Accents The luxury bedding and linens brand Eastern Accents has shifted operations, devoting its resources to producing up to 1,000 face masks each day, to be donated to hospitals and other facilities in the Chicago area. The company has also made the masks available for purchase online, with all proceeds going to the donation drive. EJ Victor In recent weeks, the High Point, North Carolinabased furniture manufacturer has taken a serious look at its supply chain, strategizing ways that the company can give back to local health care facilities. Already underway is mask production, with medical-grade surgical gowns and reclining hospital beds in the works, CFO David Bennett tells Business of Home. Eskayel As states begin to encourage citizens to wear masks in public, the textile company Eskayel is now selling them to consumers in sets of five, pledging all sales to COVID-19 relief. Essence of Harris The Scotlandbased family business made a name for itself crafting scented candlesand now it has shifted operations to produce hand sanitizer, which it is giving to its local community free of charge. Fabricut The Tulsa, Oklahomabased fabric company has converted its sample room to mask making, donating Fabricut masks to local health care workers at three major hospital systems. Favor x Stitch Buffalo Online home decor and essentials brand Favor has teamed up with Stitch Buffalo, a nonprofit social justice organization that advocates for refugee women, to create a collection of masks being sold on its platform. Food52 x Steele Canvas While Amanda Hesser has been keeping our kitchens busy through Instagram Live cooking demonstrations, another part of the Food52 team has partnered with one of their makers, Steele Canvas, to create denim and flannel masks. The home goods company is selling them online in a buy-one-give-one model for medical facilities around the U.S. In the first 36 hours of the preorder, the brand was able to donate 10,000 masksand a second preorder is already underway. Gloster The premium outdoor furniture brand Gloster is providing PPE for essential workers, with upholstery specialists observing social distancing rules as they sew various protective equiptment. Goddard Design Group Goddard Design Group noticed early on that the memo samples in its library were the perfect size to make washable mask covers. Calling on the help of local seamstresses and workrooms, the firm has teamed up with the Arkansas Arts & Fashion Forum to donate home-sewn masks to local medical facilities, as well as accept donations of usable cotton fabric. Harvard GSD The team at Harvard Graduate School of Designs Fabrication Lab has been producing PPE using its over 100 3-D printers. Additionally, it has conceptualized, designed and is now testing a new prototype for patient isolation hoods. The PPE is being donated to local hospitals, and the prototypes are being tested at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Childrens Hospital. HBF Textiles The Hickory, North Carolinabased HBF Textiles is now producing and donating washable masks, N-95 respirator covers and protective gowns. Holly Hunt Holly Hunt is partnering with a local Chicago drapery workroom to convert Great Plains textiles into nonsurgical mask covers, all of which will be donated to local hospitals. Jiun Ho at Dennis Miller Associates Using textiles from its own inventory, Jiun Ho is working to produce medical masks for health care workers. Kravet Inc. Out of its South Carolina warehouse, Kravet is not only producing face masks, but has donated over 1,000 yards of fabric to Woodard to help sew masks in bulk. From the moment in mid-March when we heard about the dire need for masks in the health systems of North America, we immediately converted our sample department in South Carolina into mask making, Cary Kravet tells BOH. To date, the company has proudly donated over 10,000 masks to those on the front lines, as well as 1,000 to employees and their families. Kravet Inc. has also donated 2,000 yards of fabric to those around the country who desire to make their own masks. It is our hope that we have done a small but significant part in the global effort to keep people safe at this time, says Kravet. Laura Park Designs The home and textiles brand Laura Park Designs is currently making face masks out of its vibrant patternsall of the proceeds from online mask sales will be donated to Feeding America. Latham Pool Products The inground residential swimming pool manufacturer has teamed up with the polymer film manufacturer i2M to produce and donate 25,000 reusable protective gowns to hospital workers across Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey. Lauren HB Studio The Ohio-based studio specializes in functional and sculptural ceramics, but has recently set out to create fabric masks for front-line workers, offering sales to the public as demand has increased. A model of the hospital bed design by Loll Designs Courtesy of Loll Designs Loll Designs Usually, this Minnesota-based company manufactures outdoor furnishings from recycled plastic materials. Since the pandemic, however, Loll Designs has shifted operations, and is now making ready-to-build hospital field beds with reclining backs and adjustable headrests. Fashioned from durable and sanitary HDPE (high-density polyethylene), these beds are recyclable and available for worldwide shipping. Louis Poulsen The Danish lighting brand is donating 1,000 medical-grade surgical masks to the Cleveland Clinic in Weston, Florida, where its U.S. offices are located. In addition to health care workers, Louis Poulsen will donate masks to other first responders, including police officers and the fire department. Matouk Currently Matouk is able to produce over 3,000 fabric masks per day, and will continue to do so long as the health care industry needs. The company is also producing an additional 25,000 masks per week with its partners in the Philippines. McKinnon and Harris Since mid-March, in addition to making cushions for their high performance outdoor furniture, McKinnon and Harriss sewing department has been dedicated to making masks for essential employees, off-site personnel, employees families and charitable organizations in need. Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams From Taylorsville, North Carolina, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams has been hard at work supporting medical personnel and first respondersthe company has shifted operations, now producing nonsurgical masks and gowns. Mohawk Industries Flooring manufacturing company Mohawk Industries has teamed up with Fabric Sources International to begin producing medical isolation gowns and protective face shields in Atlanta and around Dalton, Georgia. Mohawk has shifted the focus of its engineering and sewing teams to design, test and create medical gowns, averaging 1,200 per day (and growing). While initial donations are going to local medical centers, the companies hope to expand their reach to other Georgia hospitals. The New Traditionalists and Ducduc Custom furniture designer The New Traditionalists has come together with sister brand Ducduc Kids, transitioning the companys production facility to make essential health care furniture like beds, carts, partitions, dividers and day care furniture in addition to face masks and gowns. Norwalk Furniture employee modeling a gown Courtesy of Norwalk Furniture Norwalk Furniture The Ohio furniture company has been approved by Huron County to run as an essential business to redirect production to make hospital gowns and masks. O. Henry House American upholstery brand O. Henry House has been producing masks in partnership with the Carolina Textile District. Ortho Mattress Ortho Mattress has reconfigured operations in its Phoenix factory and is now producing 1,000 nonmedical face masks each day to donate to essential workers, asking only for the cost of shipping to be covered. Peacock Alley Based in Dallas, the luxury bed and bath linens company Peacock Alley has been producing masks made by its skeleton crew of on-site seamstresses, with others working from home. Currently, the masks are going to hospitals and other front-line workers. Pindler Fabric design and developer Pindler invites designers to join it in sewing for the #MillionMaskChallenge, a Twitter-born tag to rally both industry sewers and DIY-ers to sew masks to meet the critical needs of health care workers, and now, civilians. PPEople Brigade Started by Paige Cox, a Greensboro, North Carolinabased textile artist and the co-founder of Reconsidered Goods, a nonprofit for repurposing creative materials, the PPEople Brigade is a grassroots network working to make and donate face masks and sheilds. Over 1,000 have been donated to local North Carolina hospitals, and several have been shipped to Michigan and New York as well. Ralph Lauren Corporation The fashion and lifestyle brand has pledged $10 million to COVID-19 relief, which will provide financial grants through the Emergency Assistance Foundation; contribute to the World Health Organization COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund; support the Pink Pony Fund for vulnerable cancer patients; and give an inaugural gift to the Council of Fashion Designers of America/Vogue Fashion Fund for COVID-19 relief. What's more, the company is producing 250,000 masks and 25,000 isolation gowns for donation with its U.S. manufacturing partners. RCH Studios The design collective RCH Studios has been 3-D printing face shields for hospital workersto date, its team has produced over 1,800 PPEs. Rich Brilliant Willing The Brooklynbased lighting company is using its manufacturing capabilities to make PPE for health care workers in the New York area. Working in conjunction with iMakr, Rich Brilliant Willing has been supplying materials to digital fabricators to assemble approximately 10,000 face shields. Concurrently, the brand has redesigned its face shield, and pending approval by the National Institutes of Health, 3-D printing of the new design will make the process even more efficient. Roger and Chris The North Carolinabased custom furniture company has dedicated a portion of its team to sew face masks to donate to those on the front lines of COVID-19 relief. Precedent Furniture, which manufactures many of Room & Boards accent chairs, beds and sofas, has been producing protective masks (pictured above). Courtesy of Room & Board Room & Board Modern funiture company Room & Board is known for partnering with companies whose values align with sustainability efforts and helping local communitiesduring the COVID-19 crisis, many of the companys U.S. manufacturing partners have been producing PPE for donation. Rosemary Hallgarten The Fairfield, Connecticutbased rug and fabric brand has donated its Linen Emil fabric to an unnamed designer in Chicago who is making masks for emergency workers. The company has also tasked its own workroom with making masks for local Connecticut hospitals. Salone del Mobile.Milano The fair was postponed, but the organizers of Salone del Mobile didnt let that stop them from supporting their community. With thanks expressed to the Chinese design sector, VNU Exhibitions Asia, FederlegnoArredo and Salone del Mobile.Milano, 545,000 medical masks have been donated to the Italian Red Cross. Sandra Jordan Prima Alpaca The Healdsburg, Californiabased company is partnering with its artisan network to lend a helping hoof by donating archived fabric to its partners to sew hundreds of nonsurgical masks for local health care workers in Sonoma County. Schumacher Not only has Schumacher donated hundreds of yards of fabric to the efforts organized by Woodard and other smaller mask-making initiatives, but the luxury fabric brand is currently producing about 500 masks per day at its facility in South Carolina. Masks are being donated to the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, in addition to local South Carolina health care workers. Sherrill Furniture Brands The North Carolinabased furniture company has been working with Woodard, donating materials to help produce masks for hospitals and emergency workers. Silk Road Rug Inc. The Los Angelesbased rug distributor and workroom is seeking donations of unused fabric rolls and sample remnants from the interior design and textile industries in L.A. County to go towards handmade face masks to be donated to local hospitals and doctor offices. Silk Road Rug Inc. has converted three-quarters of its workroom to make protective gear for health care workers. Stylex The New Jerseybased office seating brand is producing washable, protective masks for health care workers. Stylex invites those in the tri-state area to connect with its team should they want to join the initiative, or if they know of facilities in need of supplies. Sutherland Furniture Sutherland Furniture and Perennials Fabrics have pivoted operations and dedicated their warehouses to the production of health masks to be donated to health care workers and others fighting on the COVID-19 front lines, using the hashtag #TheHeartOfDesign on Instagram as part of its initiative. The solution-dyed acrylic fabric masks are bleach-washable and will extend the life of regulation N95 face masks and can withstand repeated cleaning. Swavelle Wearbest Weavers, a subsidiary of Swavelle, has successfully pivoted to creating PPE textiles that comply with national standards to meet Barrier I, II and III qualifications. The goods are qualified to be sewn into medical, hospital and isolation gowns, as well as other protective clothing. A woman sewing a mask in the Thibaut workroom Courtesy of Thibaut Thibaut The Newark, New Jerseybased sewing department at fine fabrics and wallcoverings company Thibaut has been busy making fabric face masks to aid health care and essential workers extend the life of their equipment. Thibaut not only has donated over 600 masks, but it has also donated fabric to sewers and workrooms nationwide. The Urban Electric Co. When construction and engineering company the Bourne Group asked if Urban Electric would be willing to help produce face shields, the custom lighting company answered with gusto. Using its water jet capabilities, donated equipment and its craftsman crew, Urban Electric is working to make thousands of these face shields to donate to the Medical University of South Carolina and the staff at Ropers St. Francis Healthcare. Wearbest Weavers Wearbest Weavers has pivoted its production efforts from performance textiles to weaving PPE fabric, now supplying fully tailored medical gowns. The gowns are meet the standards of Barrier Levels I, II and III, in accordance with CDC guidelines. Woodard Furniture For over 150 years, Woodard Furniture has crafted high-end outdoor furniture piecesbut at present, the company has a skeleton crew working to sew as many as 1,000 non-N95 masks per day to donate to medical facilities in need, working with the donated textiles from many powerhouse industry brands that have sent fabric donations. Past Initiatives These industry players helped lead the charge, and while their initiatives may have expired, BOH would like their efforts to be remembered here. Aerin Last month, luxury lifestyle brand Aerin donated 20 percent of sales from its home decor and tabletop and bar categories to Gods Love We Delivera nonprofit organization that prepares and delivers meals to people unable to provide or prepare food for themselves. Arteriors Arteriors launched a social campaign in support of artists and makers during this time. United by the hashtag #MeansForMakers, the company seeks to raise COVID-19 relief donations for CERF+, a nonprofit organization that focuses on safeguarding artists livelihoods. Until May 7, Arteriors donated $5 for every Instagram post tagged with @arteriorshome and #MeansForMakers. Artsy For the month of April, the online art platform donated 10 percent of sales from its Give Back collections to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization. The other proceeds went to the represented galleries and their artists. This came as part of its #ArtKeepsGoing campaign, created to unite the art world and art industry at large. This moment in time is unprecedented for the world and our respective communities, said Marina Cashdan, vice president of editorial, brand and creative at Artsy. With the physical art world indefinitely closed, we wanted to demonstrate how art keeps going during times of crisis and uncertainty. East Forks Gift a Mug The Asheville, North Carolinabased ceramics company East Fork launched an initiative called Gift a Mug to support Vecinos, a free clinic that serves uninsured and underinsured patients working on farms. For every mug purchased, $25 went directly to Vecinos, and the mug was gifted to a health care worker at Mission Hospital. East Fork raised over $15,000 for Vecinos. General Assembly In April, Brooklynbased interior architecture studio General Assembly hosted At Home, an online auction from home and for the home. Proceeds supported Direct Reliefs COVID-19 fund. Participating brands included Apparatus, Calico Wallpaper, Egg Collective and Roll & Hill. The Invisible Collection The Invisible Collection hosted a charity auction with 25 bespoke pieces that ended May 4. All proceeds supported emergency services globally, including a portion of funds that went to Feeding America in the United States. Homepage image: David / Adobe Stock Even as the International Monetary Fund has just announced a $491.5 million loan program to deal with the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic, Ugandans have been more focused on the details of recent torture cases involving high profile politicians by military dictator Gen. Yoweri Musevenis security agencies. This week the countrys Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga in what has been seen as a direct slap at Gen. Museveni, condemned the torture of opposition leader Francis Zaake, and called for an immediate report from the countrys minister of Internal Affairs Gen. Jeje Odongo. Zaake is an ally of fellow MP Robert Kyagulanyi, a.k.a. Bobi Wine. Both are prominent leaders of the People Power youth movement and past torture victims. Many observers now believe People Power will help the opposition sweep into power in the 2021 vote after 34 years of Gen. Museveni's rule. As a result, Gen. Museveni has been targeting its members for brutal repression, including the arrest of Zaake on April 19 and his subsequent torture by security agents. Zaake was tortured because he distributed free food to his starving constituents suffering from the lockdown. Uganda, unlike industrialized countries, has no social safety net to help citizens confined at home. The U.S., the E.U., and Human Rights Watch have all called for an investigation into Zaake's torture. Now another member of Parliament, who was elected into the house as a member of Gen. Museveni's National Resistance Movement (NRM) party ticket, Annet Nyakecho, has described her own abuse by security agents. Her apparent crime was to align herself with Gen. Henry Tumukunde, a former Museveni security minister, who recently announced that he would run for president next year. Tumukunde was promptly arrested. Heres the harrowing statement by Nyakecho on the floors of Ugandas Parliament, describing her ordeal: Thank you Right Honorable Speaker. I rise here to give information and to first of all thank you for the concern you always have whenever Members of Parliament and the general public are arrested. Particularly I had not taken to this microphone to talk about my predicament. I want to begin by thanking you for sending a delegation of members who came led by the Hon. Elijah Okupa to visit me when I was in prison. Madam Speaker, I was also arrested recently and I was made to stay in jail for seven days without being produced to court. I didn't have a file. I wasn't arrested alone, I was arrested together with my husband, I was arrested together with my two brothers, one is my driver, the other is my PA (Personal Assistant). They had just come to pick me plus several other innocent Ugandans. And Madam speaker, the treatment that I got while I was behind bars was not good, Madam speaker. There is a lot of abuse of human rights. There are many people who are in jail and they are there and nobody is bothered when they will ever come out of jail. My brother, my follower called John was taken to CMI (Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence). My brother is an innocent civilian, he is simply a brother to Nyakecho but he was arrested and taken to CMI and tortured for three days. Madam Speaker, the situation and issues that are happening in this country apparently, when you rise up and say you are not in very good books with this government, you become a criminal. As I speak, our freedom in this country is limited. As I speaker Honorable Zaake is critically ill. He can lose his life. Many other Members of Parliament, Honorable Kabaziguruka, I remember, was tortured. Other Members of Parliament. Tomorrow its you, its anybody. As I speakthere is a presidential candidate (Gen. Tumukunde), just because he declared his interests, just because he declared his interests to become and to vie for Presidency in this country, he is in jail for more than two months now and no one is talking about it. Nobody wants to grant him bail. Nobody wants him out. Is it a crime to be a Ugandan? Is this country ours, madam Speaker? Are we foreigners? Why are we being stepped on? (https://www.blackstarnews.com/global-politics/middle-east/%E2%80%9Cuganda%E2%80%99s-constitution-is-dead%E2%80%9D-annet-nyakecho-member-of) Imperial Valley News Center President Donald J. Trump Is Working To Protect Students From Sexual Misconduct And Restore Fairness And Due Process To Our Campuses Washington, DC - "With todays action and every action to come, the Trump administration will fight for Americas students." ~ President Donald J. Trump TAKING HISTORIC ACTION: President Donald J. Trump is ensuring that all students are safe to learn and achieve without facing sexual harassment and sexual assault in our Nations schools. Today, the Department of Education is issuing a final regulation to strengthen Title IX protections for survivors of sexual misconduct and fight sex misconduct in schools. For the first time in history, the new regulation will codify that sexual harassment, including sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking, is prohibited under Title IX. This new regulation will hold schools accountable for failures to respond equitably and promptly to incidents of sexual misconduct. The action also empowers survivors to make decisions about how a school responds to incidents of sexual harassment. This rulemaking follows years of wide-ranging research, careful deliberation, and careful input from stakeholders including survivors and over 124,000 public comments. ENSURING EVEN-HANDED JUSTICE: The Presidents new rules will also ensure that schools can no longer inflict longstanding harm against students before providing basic, fair procedures. Todays final regulation will also provide due process protections to students facing accusations of sexual misconduct. Bureaucracy created in our Nations institutions of higher education have often stacked the deck against the accused, failing to offer protections such as a presumption of innocence or adequate ability to rebut allegations. The regulation prescribes a transparent grievance process that treats the accused as innocent until proven guilty, requires the school to state a standard of evidence, and requires the school to provide a written decision and rationale. Recognizing that colleges often fail to provide due process, Federal courts reviewing campus adjudications have stepped in to issue more than 100 decisions favorable to the accused. Todays protections will legitimize the process and support survivors, including by ensuring that final findings of responsibility are credible. MAKING OUR SCHOOLS SAFER: The Trump Administration is working every day to protect Americas students and survivors of sexual misconduct. For years now, the north magnetic pole has been drifting away from Canada and inching towards Siberia. Scientists from Europe have come with an explanation now. A group of researchers from Leeds University are of the opinion that change in the flow of molten material or lava in the earth's core has affected the regions above it. While one regions magnetic force has been strengthened, the other half has gotten weaker. Now, these two regions in the outer core of earth have become two magnetic blobs and have been competing against one another. This change in the pattern of flow has weakened the patch under Canada and ever so slightly increased the strength of the patch under Siberia, Dr Phil Livermore told BBC News. Further, he said, This is why the North Pole has left its historic position over the Canadian Arctic and crossed over the International Date Line. Northern Russia is winning the 'tug of war', if you like. Of the three poles present on the top of the planet, only the North Magnetic pole or dip has been moving about. The other poles are a geographic pole and a geomagnetic pole. The North Magnetic pole is located where the field lines go perpendicular to the surface. With the magnetic pole shifting, frequent changes to the navigation system and mapping had to be made in these years. The study published in the journal Nature Geoscience revealed that the pole will continue to move towards Russia but as time passes, the movement will slow down. B rits across the country have erupted in applause in tribute to healthcare workers during the seventh week of the Clap for our Carers initiative. Streets around the UK were filled with the sound of clapping, cheering, and pots clanging as people paid tribute to healthcare workers battling the coronavirus pandemic. It comes as more than 150 frontline NHS and care workers have died after contracting Covid-19. But this figure is likely to be still lower than the true number of workers who have died, as the names of some victims will not yet be in the public domain. Prime Minister Boris Johnson led the clap on the doorstep of No 10 Downing Street as he prepares to reveal his "roadmap" out of the UK lockdown. He then shared a video on Twitter to thank the NHS for their work, saying: "Thank you to all of our carers for your fantastic work, day in, day out. You are pillars of society in the fight against coronavirus. NHS workers react at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital / REUTERS His fiance Carrie Symonds revealed the location of their son Wilfred's birth last week at University College Hospital alongside clapping emojis. Alongside a photo, she wrote: "Spotted this flower rainbow leaving UCLH with Wilfred last week. Clapping again for our fantastic carers tonight." Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: Another emotional moment as the country comes together to clap for our key workers, our carers and all those keeping our country going through this crisis. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted a picture of herself clapping, adding: To our NHS and care workers, and to everyone doing essential work to keep the country going at this timethank you so much. Health Secretary Matt Hancock was filmed clapping on a London rooftop to show his support for health workers. LUDINGTON -- West Michigan Community Mental Health (WMCMH) is one of 18 behavioral health care systems in Michigan to share more than $54 million in federal funding to expand services. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has earmarked $4 million for WMCMH to continue its work as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) through 2022. The local CMH was first awarded a CCBHC grant in October 2018. At the time, they were one of only four agencies in Michigan to receive the grant, which expands mental health services, substance use disorder services and physical health screenings to residents in Mason, Lake and Oceana counties. The initial grant, which was also for $4 million, allowed WMCMH to improve access to behavioral health care services and serve an additional 200 people in the three-county area. The new grant, announced in April, was awarded earlier than originally expected to meet additional needs created by COVID-19. "We anticipate serving an additional 650 people within the next two years of the grant," said Lisa Williams, CEO of West Michigan Community Mental Health. "As a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, our services are available to anyone regardless of whether they have private insurance, no insurance, Medicaid, Healthy Michigan or their ability to pay." WMCMH will use the grant funding to increase access to substance use disorder treatment for children and adults; increase access to psychiatric services for persons with mild-to-moderate conditions and substance use disorders; focus on whole-person health and wellness through physical health screenings; and improve access to evidence-based treatment for trauma. The funding also will allow WMCMH to continue with services made available through the initial grant in 2018. Those services include 24-hour mobile crisis; psychiatric rehabilitation; veterans' navigator; outpatient mental health and substance use disorder services; peer and family support services; primary care screenings; person and family centered treatment planning; targeted case management; and screenings, assessments and diagnosis. "People in rural communities often have limited access to much-needed behavioral health care services," Williams said. "We are excited to use this grant money to increase and expand services to meet the needs of our local community." Who Wants to be a Millionaire? will air at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 7 on ABC. STREAM: ABC on ABC on Hulu Live TV This year is the 20th anniversary of the show first hosted by Regis Philbin. The new host is Jimmy Kimmel. The contestants are celebrities playing for charity. This week, Hannibal Buress continues his play for Melvina Masterminds. Also featured will be actress, writer and comedian Catherine OHara playing for Upward Bound House. In the new version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? celebrities can invite a guest such as a relative, a beloved teacher or a famed trivia expert anyone they want to help them win as much money as they can for the charity of their choice. BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 09: Catherine O'Hara attends the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 09, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)Getty Images 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. U.S. Envoy To Meet Taliban, Visit Pakistan And India To Revive Afghan Peace Talks By RFE/RL May 06, 2020 U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad will try to advance a sluggish Afghan peace process on a trip to Qatar, India, and Pakistan, the State Department said on May 6. "At each stop, he will urge support for an immediate reduction in violence, accelerated timeline for the start of intra-Afghan negotiations, and cooperation among all sides in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan," the State Department said. The State Department said Khalilzad departed on May 5 and would meet with Taliban representatives in the Qatari capital, Doha, to press full implementation of the agreement the two sides signed in February. In Pakistan and India, regional rivals whose struggle for influence plays out in Afghanistan, Khalilzad will meet with officials to discuss the peace process. The trip comes as U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said May 5 that the peace deal was "behind schedule" because both the Afghan government and Taliban have failed to live up to their commitments. Progress on intra-Afghan talks has been hobbled by a political feud between President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah, who both claim to be the leader of the country following a disputed election in September 2019. The political deadlock comes as the Taliban has ramped up attacks in recent weeks despite a pledge to reduce violence aimed at paving the way for direct talks with Kabul, which was not a party to the US-Taliban deal. The Taliban had agreed to negotiate directly with the Afghan government by March, but disputes over mutual prisoner releases has delayed talks. The core deal is for U.S. and foreign troops to withdraw from Afghanistan following an intra-Afghan deal in exchange for guarantees from the Taliban not to allow the country to become a haven for terrorist groups aiming to strike abroad. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-taliban- us-pakistan-india/30597949.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address While the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise across the world, we can only imagine how daunting it must be for the people on the front lines - doctors and nurses - who are working hard day and night, to cure those infected. And all the hours they spent away from family and facing a direct threat to their health, are now bearing fruit. Here are 13 cases of recovery that have given humanity hope. COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT No. 61/2020 Tvis, 6 May 2020 Interim report Q1 2020 (January 1 - March 31) (All figures in brackets refer to the corresponding period in 2019) Organic growth of 1.8% in Q1 2020, in line with expectations. CEO Torben Paulin: In Q1 2020, revenue grew organically by 1.8%, in line with expectations. Q1 2020 compares to an ex-ceptionally strong Q1 LY with 17% revenue growth. The growth was driven by the B2C market through branded stores and non-branded DIY stores in both Denmark and Norway. The outbreak of Covid-19 and the authorities measures to reduce the spread of the virus has had limited impact on the Q1 results. Our key priorities are to protect the health and safety of our employees, custom-ers and business partners, and we are following the recommendations and instructions from the govern-ment and have taken the necessary safety precautions. I am very proud of our employees and their exem-plary approach and the flexibility they have shown in this extraordinary situation. In late March, we suspended the financial outlook for 2020 as a consequence of Covid-19 outbreak. As an order producing company our order pipeline provides comforting visibility for Q2 2020. Due to con-tinued uncertainties regarding the medium to long term impact, we are unable to accurately assess the magnitude of this impact. We will provide guidance once we have more visibility. Our setup is flexible, which allows us to adjust our production and cost base to the demand situation and thereby safeguarding long-term profitability. Financial highlights Q1: Revenue DKK 254.2 million (DKK 249.7 million) corresponding to a revenue growth of 1.8%. EBITDA down DKK 1.0 million to DKK 35.0 million (DKK 36.0 million), corresponding to a decrease of 2.8%. EBITDA margin was 13.8% (14.4%). EBIT down DKK 1.3 million to DKK 29.7 million (DKK 31.0 million), corresponding to an EBIT margin of 11.7% (12.4%). Net profit down 3.3% to DKK 22.6 million (DKK 23.4 million). Free cash flow was DKK (22.4) million (DKK 2.3 million). Cash conversion ratio was 87.3% (94.3%). Story continues Conference call A conference call for investors and analysts will be held today at 9:30 CEST. The presentation for the conference call will be available on www.investor-en.tcmgroup.dk Dial-in numbers for the conference call: Confirmation Code: 2045238 Denmark: +45 32728042 Sverige: +46 (0)850692180 United Kingdom: +44 (0)844 571 8892 Contact For further information, please contact: CEO Torben Paulin +45 21210464 CFO Mogens Elbrnd Pedersen +45 97435200 IR Contact - ir@tcmgroup.dk About TCM Group TCM Group is Scandinavias third largest manufacturer of kitchens and furniture for bathrooms and storage. The products are Danish design, produced in Denmark and rooted in a proud tradition of good quality and good craftsmanship. TCM Group pursues a multi-brand strategy, under which the main brand is Svane Kkkenet and the other brands are Tvis Kkkener, Nettoline and kitchn. Combined, the brands cater for the entire price spectrum, and are sold through c. 135 dealers in Denmark and the rest of the Scandinavia. In addition, TCM Group sells private label kitchens through DIY stores in Denmark and independent kitchen stores in Norway. See www.tcmgroup.dk for more information. This interim report contains statements relating to the future, including statements regarding the TCM Group's future operating results, financial position, cash flows, business strategy and future targets. Such statements are based on managements reasonable expectations and forecasts at the time of release of the interim report. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and a number of other factors, many of which are beyond the TCM Group's control. This may have the effect that actual results may differ significantly from the expectations expressed in the interim report. Without being exhaustive, such factor include general economic and commercial factors, including market and competitive conditions, supplier issues and financial and regulatory issues. Attachments Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar dismissed concerns about the spread of the coronavirus at meat packing plants, saying workers were more likely to catch the deadly disease at home or in social situations. Azar's remarks were made on a phone call with Democratic and Republican lawmakers and came after President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to keep meat plants open amid fears of a food shortage. But the plants have also had high outbreaks of the coronavirus among workers - more than 10,000 have tested positive nationwide with at least 45 deaths. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar dismissed concerns about the spread of the coronavirus at meat packing plants; he was in the Oval Office on Wednesday for an event honoring nurses, standing next to Dr. Deborah Birx At least 730 employees at a Tyson plant in Perry, Iowa, have tested positive for COVID-19. That is 58 percent of their workforce 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 An aerial photo made with a drone shows the closed Aurora Packing Company meat processing plant in Aurora, Illinois, which had closed due to the coronavirus Some of the lawmakers on the April 28 call with Azar told Politico he said it was the 'home and social' aspects of workers' lives rather than the conditions inside the facilities that led to people catching the disease. Azar, a member of the White House's Coronavirus Task Force, noted many workers live in group housing, which contributed to the spread, and suggested one solution would be to send in more law enforcement officials to enforce social distancing rules. Several people on the call interpreted his remarks as blaming the workers. 'He was essentially turning it around, blaming the victim and implying that their lifestyle was the problem,' Democratic Rep. Ann Kuster of New Hampshire told Politico. 'Their theory of the case is that they are not becoming infected in the meat processing plant, they're becoming infected because of the way they live in their home.' An HHS spokesperson told the news website it doesn't comment on Azar's conversations with lawmakers but called it 'an inaccurate representation of Secretary's Azar's comments during the discussion.' At least 10,000 meat industry workers have tested positive since the pandemic began, according to an analysis by USA Today and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. At least 170 plants in 29 states have had one or more workers test positive for the coronavirus. Some of those workers also have infected others, which is included in the count. Most meat packing workers are Latino and many are illegal immigrants. About 44 percent of meatpackers are Latino, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research and 80 percent are undocumented or refugees, according to an analysis from The League of United Latin American Citizens. Meat shortages impact Wendy's, Kroger and Costco Wendy's restaurant has taken burgers off the menu in some locations and grocery stores Costco and Kroger have announced limited stocks of beef as Americans start to feel the impact of the pandemic-triggered meat shortage. It's a shocking decision for Wendy's, which established itself as the first fast-food chain to offer fresh 'never frozen' beef, and it's an eerie foreshadowing for what's to come at restaurants across the country. Beef shortages were reported at Wendy's locations in California, South Carolina and Kentucky on Monday. In Chicago Wendy's 'Baconator' bacon cheeseburger was still available for order. 'As you've likely heard, beef suppliers across North America are currently facing production challenges,' a Wendy's statement. Advertisement The outbreaks have prompted at least 40 meat slaughtering and processing plant closures, which have ranged from as little as a day to indefinite. The closures have spurred national shortages of beef and pork, with Kroger and Costco instituting limits on how many meat items a customer can buy. Wendy's locations in multiple states have temporarily removed beef hamburgers from their menus due to supply chain disruptions. Customers have also seen prices rise sharply at the grocery store - but there is now some debate as to whether supply chains are to blame for the higher prices. Trump said on Wednesday he had urged the Justice Department to look into allegations that the meatpacking industry broke antitrust law. The president pointed out that the price that slaughterhouses pay farmers for animals had dropped even as meat prices for consumers rose. 'I've asked the Justice Department to look into it. ... I've asked them to take a very serious look into it, because it shouldn't be happening that way and we want to protect our farmers,' the president told reporters at a White House event attended by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds. 'Are they dealing with each other? What's going on?' the president asked. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Iowa Department of Health confirmed outbreaks in four separate meat packing plants. At the Tyson plant in Perry, 730 employees tested positive for COVID-19. That is 58 percent of their workforce. The Tyson plant in Columbus Junction had 221 positive tests, 26 percent of its workforce, and Tyson's Waterloo facility had 17 percent of its employees test positive. Iowa Premium Beef in Tama saw 221 positive tests, or 39 percent of its workforce. It was not immediately clear how many of the positive test cases were ill or symptomatic. And Tyson Fresh Meats, the beef and pork subsidiary of Tyson Foods, announced a plan to resume limited operations this week at its Waterloo plant, two weeks after it was shuttered on April 22 amid a coronavirus outbreak. Workers wear protective masks and stand between plastic dividers at Tyson's Camilla, Georgia poultry processing plant Tyson Foods is preparing to reopen its largest US pork processing plant in Waterloo, Iowa, this week after a coronavirus outbreak sickened at least 444 workers and killed two 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 The pork industry has been hit especially hard by the coronavirus as meat processing plants were closed throughout the country All employees returning to work have been screened for the virus, the company said, and any employee who tested positive will remain on sick leave until released by health officials to return to work. Tyson said it performed a deep clean and sanitization of the facility, which employs 2,800 workers, while it was idled. Last week, Tyson deployed mobile clinics to its facilities in Columbus Junction and Waterloo to provide on-site testing and screening for all employees. 'Tyson is committed to implementing all possible measures to protect our team members,' said Hector Gonzalez, Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Tyson Foods, said in a statement at the time. With Air France-KLM warning the industry could take years to recover, airlines are reaching for government help. British Airways parent IAG SA tapped U.K. government-backed loans to boost liquidity, in a sign of the damage wrought by the coronavirus on even the industrys strongest players. IAG accessed 300 million pounds ($371 million) from the Coronavirus Corporate Finance Facility in the second week of April, it said Thursday, taking state-supported funding to $1.45 billion including Spanish backing. The group, which initially signaled it wasnt seeking aid, said its essentially grounded until July, when itll start restoring flights. Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh said London-based IAG needs to restructure in all areas as it slims down for a tougher future. British Airways is planning to slash 12,000 jobs or 30% of the workforce, and is considering plans to close its secondary hub at London Gatwick airport. We do not expect passenger demand to recover to the level of 2019 before 2023 at the earliest, Walsh said. This means group-wide restructuring is essential in order to get through the crisis and preserve an adequate level of liquidity. Air France-KLM also warned Thursday that demand will take years to revive as the virus changes travel patterns and weighs on economies. Deutsche Lufthansa AGs Austrian Airlines arm is the latest carrier to plan swingeing job cuts, with about 1,100 posts out of 7,000 set to go over three years, the Austrian Press Agency reported. IAG reserves had increased to 10 billion euros ($12.4 billion) at the end of April. That puts the company in a very strong liquidity position and means it should be able to outlast many peers in an extended slump, Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska said in a note. IAG shares traded 2.1% lower as of 9:14 a.m. in London, taking declines this year to 69%. Air France-KLM is down 59% and Lufthansa is off 53%. Walsh, who will leave on Sept. 24 after delaying his retirement due to the pandemic, said British Airways is consulting with employee representatives at Gatwick after initiating a formal and legal process there. BAs announcement of some of the industrys deepest job cuts has met with hostility from U.K. politicians and labor groups, especially since its tapped furlough funds meant to safeguard workers. IAG reiterated that its too early to provide an earnings outlook. Thats after it last week reported an operating loss of 535 million euros for the first quarter even before a hit from fuel hedges, and warned that the result for the current three months will be worse again. Walsh initially said IAG wasnt applying for bailouts and earlier in the year opposed a proposal to help now-defunct Flybe, one of the viruss first airline victims. He said in March he thought airlines should be expected to look at self-help before they would call on governments to provide state aid. Spanish aid IAGs Spanish units Iberia and Vueling have since tapped 1 billion euros in loans backed by a state bank. Walsh said the British funding is commercial paper that IAG was able to access because of its great credit rating. He said the company will avail itself of general facilities where they are available. Other airlines are scrambling to secure bailouts, with governments worldwide devoting more than $85 billion to rescue plans. Air France-KLM which reported a first-quarter net loss of 1.8 billion euros after the impact of fuel over-hedging has won European Union approval for 7 billion euros in French aid, with more to come from the Netherlands, and Lufthansa is in talks on a 10 billion-euro package that could see Germany take a 25% stake. Walsh said a letter of intent to buy Boeing Co. 737 Max jetliners remains in place and that IAG is progressing with plans to buy Spains Air Europa, though the deal has a price-adjustment mechanism that could be applied because of the viruss impact on airline valuations. Australian PM Scott Morrison (R) has been praised for Australia's response to the pandemic, with only 97 deaths from the virus recorded in the country - Loren Elliott/Reuters Thousands of Australians are expected to take their own lives because of the financial and psychological stress of the coronavirus crisis, far outstripping the death toll from the disease itself, experts warned Thursday. Modelling by the Brain and Mind Centre at Sydney University predicted an additional 750 to 1,500 suicides per year for up to five years as a result of the impacts of the pandemic and economic shutdowns imposed to curb its spread. That would mark a spike of 25 to 50 percent over the 3,000 suicides usually recorded each year in the country. Youth, hit hard by the closure of schools and hospitality businesses, were expected to make up about 30 percent of the additional suicides, the centre said in a joint report with the Australian Medical Association and mental health experts. "We know that young people are going to be disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the measures that are needed to stop the spread of this deadly disease," they said. "These people are vulnerable to experiencing psychological, financial, and housing stress in the short and longer terms," they said. Australia has been one of the most successful countries in containing COVID-19, with fewer than 7,000 confirmed cases and 100 deaths out of a population of 25 million. But restrictions on travel, public gatherings and retail businesses have had a devastating impact on the economy, slashing some Aus$4 billion ($2.5 billion) per week from economic activity and forcing millions of people out of work. Reacting to the report, Health Minister Greg Hunt said the government was investing an extra Aus$500 million in mental health funding as part of its suicide prevention efforts. It has also announced billions of dollars in extra unemployment benefits and payments to employers who keep staff on during the economic downturn. The government is expected to announce some easing of the virus restrictions on Friday, but has warned that a return to normal is still months away. If chlorinated chicken is introduced into the UK the rate of food-borne disease could sky-rocket, particularly in the lowest-income families, an infectious disease expert has warned. Dr Callum Highmore, a Research Fellow in Microbiology at the University of Southampton, has revealed that salmonella is often still present in chicken that has been treated with chlorine, which can be potential fatal to those who consume it. Speaking on tonight's episodes of Secrets of Your Supermarket Shop, which airs on Channel 5 at 8pm, the expert performed an experiment with host Stefan Gates, by adding salmonella bacteria to two pieces of chicken. Dr Callum Highmore, a Research Fellow in Microbiology at the University of Southampton, has revealed that salmonella is often still present in chicken that has been treated with chlorine, which can be potential fatal to those who consume it (stock image) He treated one bag with water for three minutes, the maximum amount of time allowed under US rules, and another with chlorine. Dr Highmore then put the chicken under a microscope and showed that salmonella is still present on both pieces. He explains: 'You would think it's safer, and there is a huge reduction in bacteria, when it's washed in chlorine, but they're not all dead and even a few bacteria can form an infectious dose. He added that the US - where chlorinated chicken is sold - has ten times the rate of food-borne disease relative to the UK. In the UK and EU, chlorinated chicken has been banned since 1997, but future trade deals with the US following Brexit mean it may be able to be sold in the UK again. Chlorine is used in the UK to clean bagged salad, but is not allowed in meat farming. What is Salmonella? Salmonella are a group of bacteria that infect the gut. They live in animal and human intestines and are shed through feces. Humans become infected most frequently through contaminated water or food. Contamination is possible if raw and cooked foods are stored together. Symptoms of salmonella infections include diarrhea, stomach cramps and sometimes vomiting and fever. On average, it takes from 12 to 72 hours for the symptoms to develop after swallowing an infectious dose of salmonella. They usually last for four to seven days and most people recover without treatment. But if you become seriously ill, you may need hospital care because the dehydration caused by the illness can be life-threatening. Source: NHS Choices Advertisement Instead, British farmers focus on stopping the spread of bacteria in the farming process, with higher welfare standards. In the US, farmers attempt to kill bacteria at the end of the farming process by adding chlorine to the chicken. Host Stefan explained: 'In the Europe, the standard process for chicken farming is a lot more stringent than in the US, we don't need to wash it at the end because of higher hygiene and welfare standards than the US. 'Thirty four US states exclude livestock from federal anti-cruelty laws which leads to lower welfare standards. 'When animals are packed together in a barn, bacteria like E-coli and salmonella can quickly develop and spread, while in the UK the stricter rules means disease levels are low during farming. He added that in 2016, 450 people died in the US from Salmonella compared to zero in the UK. Dr Highmore continued: 'I think that if chlorinated chicken was allowed into the UK, it would allow for cutting or corners and an increase of infectious disease across the country. 'It will see an increase in food borne disease across the UK and as chlorinated chicken will likely be marketed as cheap alternative to to UK chicken, it will probably effect the lowest income families of the UK disproportionally. ' In January, Woody Johnson, the US ambassador to the UK, said chlorinated chicken should 'absolutely be included' in a trade accord between the two countries. He said Britain had 'already approved antimicrobial washes to stop food poisoning in prewashed salads' as he suggested the chicken cleaning process used in the US was no different. The row over chlorinated chicken is likely to prove a major sticking point during negotiations, with the US adamant that it wants North American agriculture to be able to access the UK market. However, ministers have rejected the idea of allowing US chlorine-washed chicken to be sold in the UK amid concerns about animal welfare standards during the production process. Defying lockdown norms, hundreds of migrant workers from Odisha on Thursday came on roads here upon learning the Odisha government has revoked permission to three trains which were scheduled to leave from Surat city of Gujarat on Friday. Surat-based powerlooms and textile units employ thousands of people from the eastern state who are now stranded and out of job due to the coronavirus-enforced lockdown. Before the situation escalated, police stepped in and persuaded the restless migrant workers, who numbered in hundreds, to disperse, said officials. "They were anxious after learning that the Odisha government has cancelled permission given to the three trains coming from Surat carrying migrant workers (following a court order). "We urged them to keep calm and made them aware about the court order. They peacefully returned to their homes," said Deputy Commissioner of Police R P Barot. Till now, as many as 18 Shramik Special trains, each carrying 1,200 migrants, have left for Odisha from Surat. Surat collector Dhaval Patel told reporters that all the three trains scheduled for May 8 stand cancelled following an Odisha High Court order pronounced on Thursday. "As per the order, only those testing negative for coronavirus will be allowed to board (Odisha-bound) trains. People can not go unless their report comes negative. "Thus, the Odisha government has cancelled the three trains which were scheduled to depart from here on Friday," said Patel. He said the district administration has urged the Railway authorities to refund the ticket fare. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Recent rains have helped, but Phuket water situation still critical PHUKET: Recent scattered heavy showers across the island have helped only a little to replenish the islands water reserves, as the focus remains on using private water sources to supply water to residents. By The Phuket News Thursday 7 May 2020, 03:18PM The water levels at Phukets three main reservoirs as of today, May 7. (click to enlarge). Image: PWA The water levels at Phukets three main reservoirs as of today (May 7). Image: PWA Phuket Vice Governor Wongsakorn Nunchukan inspects the ongoing installation of a pump station beside Baan Ya canal in Srisoonthorn yesterday (May 6). Photo: PR Dept Phuket Vice Governor Wongsakorn Nunchukan inspects the ongoing installation of a pump station beside Baan Ya canal in Srisoonthorn yesterday (May 6). Photo: PR Dept Phuket Vice Governor Wongsakorn Nunchukan inspects the ongoing installation of a pump station beside Baan Ya canal in Srisoonthorn yesterday (May 6). Photo: PR Dept Recently, there has been more rain in Phuket, but there is still not much water in the reservoirs, Phuket Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA) Chief Graisorn Mahamad told The Phuket News today (May 7). The water situation has been gradually improving, but the situation is still considered critical, he added. For the situation to be considered normal again, the volume of water in the reservoirs must be not less than 50% of their full capacity, Chief Graisorn noted. According to PWA records today, Bang Wad reservoir, the islands main water source, contains just 371,000 cubic metres of water just 4% of its full capacity of 10.6mn m3 of water. At current usage rates, that was enough water to last just 10 days, the PWA noted in its report today. Three weeks ago, the water level at Bang Wad sank so low that an old shrine that had not been seen since the drought of 2002-3 became visible again. At that time, on Apr 18, Mr Graisorn confirmed the reservoir contains just 80,000m3 of water. Previously we used about 20,000m3 of water from the reservoir per day. That was reduced to 10,000m3 a day, which means we will be able to use water from the reservoir for about eight [more] days, he said at the time. Meanwhile, the PWA today reported that the Bang Neow Dam reservoir in Srisoonthorn currently contains some 531,000m3 of water, or 7% of the reservoirs capacity. Khlong Kata reservoir in Chalong seems healthier with 420,000m3 of water, or 10% of its full capacity. The PWA is continuing to rely on private water sources to supply what water it can to residents, while many people in areas including in Rassada, Koh Kaew and Phuket Town continue to depend on water delivered by truck topping up communal tanks from which residents siphon off what water they need into containers and carry it home. Residents in the Soi Kingkaew area have not had running water since January. Phuket Vice Governor Wongsakorn Nunchukan yesterday (May 6) inspected the ongoing installation of a pump station beside Baan Ya canal in Srisoonthorn. The pump is hoped to be operational by the end of this week, boosting supply into the water mains network. Vice Governor Wongsakorn recognised that many people were still without running water supply, especially in Rassada and Koh Kaew. Local government organisations have helped the people by distributing water trucks in the areas, which has helped to solve the problem to a certain extent, he said. By the end of the week extra water supply from Wanit lake in Koh Kaew and from the Baan Ya canal in Srisoonthorn will supplement supply, he added. Water to be pumped up from private water sources by the end of this week and a canal soon, wil be used to supply houses in Koh Kaew, Srisoonthorn, Pa Klok and other nearby areas, he said. And now Phuket has started to enter its rainy season, which will reduce the problem. For the coming year there is a plan to store enough raw water for water supply to reduce water shortages, he added. 1 of 2 India looks to lure more than 1,000 US companies out of China India is seeking to lure US businesses, including medical devices giant Abbott Laboratories, to relocate from China as President Donald Trump's administration steps up efforts to blame Beijing for its role in the coronavirus pandemic. The government in April reached out to more than 1,000 companies in the US and through overseas missions to offer incentives for manufacturers seeking to move out of China, according to Indian officials who asked not to be identified, citing rules on speaking with the media. India is prioritizing medical equipment suppliers, food processing units, textiles, leather and auto part makers among more than 550 products covered in the discussions, they said. Trump's move to blame China for its handling of the Covid-19 outbreak, which has killed more than a quarter-million people worldwide, is expected to worsen global trade ties as companies and governments move resources out of the world's second-largest economy to diversify supply chains. Japan has earmarked $2.2 billion to help shift factories from its neighbor, while European Union members plan to cut dependence on Chinese suppliers. For Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a surge in investment would help shore up an economy battered by an eight-week nationwide lockdown to control the Covid-19 outbreak, and help him make up ground hitting a target to grow its manufacturing sector to 25% of gross domestic product by 2022 from 15%. The need to create employment is now even more urgent after the pandemic left 122 million people jobless and forced India to shut down all major cities. It could also present India with a chance to finally push through long-stalled reforms on land, labor and taxes that have hindered investment for years. Modi's second term has been marred by nationwide protests and slow growth since his party scored a landslide election victory a year ago, presenting a risk for companies planning to move. "There are opportunities for India to try to gain a place in global supply chains, but this will require serious investments in infrastructure and governance," said Paul Staniland, an associate professor at the University of Chicago who writes about India's politics and foreign policy. "India faces tough competition from elsewhere in South and Southeast Asia." Officials have told companies that India is more economical in terms of securing land and affordable skilled labor than if they moved back to the US or Japan, even if overall costs are still higher than China. They have also offered an assurance that India will consider specific requests on changes to labor laws, which have proved a major stumbling block for companies, and said the government is considering a request from e-commerce companies to postpone a tax on digital transactions introduced in this year's budget. Read More... Climate change could trigger an ancient El Nino-like pattern in the Indian Ocean that would create extreme weather such as floods, storms and droughts across the globe. El Nino is the name of a current recurring climate phenomenon across the tropical Pacific, which shifts back and forth irregularly every two to seven years, and triggers disruptions of temperature, winds and precipitation. But a new one in the Indian Ocean could have devastating consequences. Scientists shared the stark warning after computer simulations showed the phenomenon could emerge by 2100, but if warming trends continue it could occur as early as 2050. Climate models produced simulations of what climate change would look like during the second half of the century if humans do not reduce greenhouse emissions. After adding global warming trends, the analysis revealed huge fluctuations in the Indian Oceans surface temperatures - similar to what happened 20,000 years ago. Scroll down for video Scientists shared the stark warning after computer simulations showed the phenomenon could emerge by 2100, but if warming trends continue it could occur as early as 2050. Climate models produced simulations of climate change through the second half of the century if humans do not reduce greenhouse emissions The study, conducted by the University of Texas in Austin, builds on previous research in 2019 that found evidence of a past Indian Ocean El Nino hiding in the shells of microscopic sea life, called forams, that lived 21,000 years agothe peak of the last ice age when the Earth was much cooler. Pedro DiNezio, a climate scientist at the University of Texas Institute, said: 'Our research shows that raising or lowering the average global temperature just a few degrees triggers the Indian Ocean to operate exactly the same as the other tropical oceans, with less uniform surface temperatures across the equator, more variable climate, and with its own El Nino.' In the recent study, Dinezio and his team used climate simulations to determine if an El Nino could occur in the Indian Ocean amid a warming world. The team created models that showed how climate change would look during the second half of the century. The study builds on previous research in 2019 that found evidence of a past Indian Ocean El Nino hiding in the shells of microscopic sea life, called forams, that lived 21,000 years agothe peak of the last ice age when the Earth was much cooler After adding global warming trends to the simulations, the team found that an Indian Ocean El Nino emerging by 2100 and as early as 2050 if humans continue to ignore climate change. 'Greenhouse warming is creating a planet that will be completely different from what we know today, or what we have known in the 20th century,' DiNezio said The latest findings add to a growing body of evidence that the Indian Ocean has potential to drive much stronger climate swings than it does today. Co-author Kaustubh Thirumalai, who led the study that discovered evidence of the ice age Indian Ocean El Nino, said that the way glacial conditions affected wind and ocean currents in the Indian Ocean in the past is similar to the way global warming affects them in the simulations. 'This means the present-day Indian Ocean might in fact be unusual,' said Thirumalai, who is an assistant professor at the University of Arizona. The Indian Ocean is currently experiencing slight year-to-year climate swings due to wings blowing west to east. However, the simulations suggest a warming world could reverse how the winds flow, which would destabilize the oceans and create a climate of warming and cooling - similar to the El Nino and La Nina weather patterns observed in the Pacific Ocean. Climate change could trigger an ancient El Nino in the Indian Ocean that would create extreme weather patterns such as floods, storms and droughts across the globe. Climate change is already causing flooding in certain parts of the world such as Mumbai (pictured) The El Nino would create extreme climate patters across the globe. The phenomenon would also disrupt the monsoons over East Africa and Asia, which would be devastating to those living in the region who rely on regular annual rains for agriculture. Michael McPhaden, a physical oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, notes that human-made climate change could be most destructive for vulnerable populations. 'If greenhouse gas emissions continue on their current trends, by the end of the century, extreme climate events will hit countries surrounding the Indian Ocean, such as Indonesia, Australia and East Africa with increasing intensity,' said McPhaden, who was not involved in the current study. 'Many developing countries in this region are at heightened risk to these kinds of extreme events even in the modern climate.' US Ambassador to Cameroon, H.E Peter Henry Barlerin Twitter Peter Henry Barlerin, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Cameroon has paid glowing tributes to the memory of late Hon. Joseph Njang Mbah Ndam, National Legal Adviser of the opposition Social Democratic Front, SDF, party who died Monday, April 13, 2020 in Yaounde. Ambassador Barlerins tribute is contained in a correspondence addressed to Jean Tsomelu, Secretary General of the SDF. The career Foreign Service Officer with the rank of Minister Counselor said Mbah Ndams commitment to Cameroon will not soon be forgotten. His words: I would like to offer my sincere condolences for the loss of your fellow party member, Joseph Mbah Ndam. Mr. Mbah Ndams decades-spanning political career as a leading member of your party and as Vice President of the National Assembly is commendable and made clear a sincere desire to serve his country. His commitment to Cameroon will not soon be forgotten. I applaud his efforts to promote frank debate within Parliament no easy feat for a leader of a minority party. A democracy requires dissenting voices for it to thrive, and Mr. Mbah Ndam fought valiantly to provide that voice for 22 years. We recognise and admire the ideals he championed. Please accept my condolences on behalf of the government of the United States of America and our entire embassy. Your party and Mr. Mbah Ndams family remain in our thoughts and prayers. 65-year-old Hon. Mbah Ndam became Member of Parliament for Momo West Constituency (Batibo) following the May 17, 1997 Parliamentary Elections in Cameroon that saw the SDF win 47 of the 180 seats at the National Assembly. He was voted out on March 22, 2020 after close to 23 years of service. Mbah Ndam was born on February 28, 1955 in Batibo, Momo Division of the then North West province. He has been a member of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the SDF since 1991. Besides being a politician, he was a visiting lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Yaounde from 1988-92. Until his death, he was the adviser on legal and judicial matters of National Financial Credit Bank and chair of Union of cultural and development association of Momo division. He was a practicing Protestant Christian; was married and a father of many children. His house in Batibo was burnt down to ashes by armed separatist fighters on Sunday, December 15, 2019. Every Mother, a NYC-based clinically proven fitness program for pre and post-natal women, closed a $1.5M seed funding round. The round was led by Courtside Ventures with participation from Serena Williams Serena Ventures, Techstars Ventures, The Fund, and prominent angels Robin Berzin (Parsley Health), Ilia Papas (Blue Apron), and Jenny Fielding (Techstars and The Fund). The company intends to use the funds to accelerate growth and scale its operations. Led by Allison Rapaport, CEO, Every Mother provides a wellness lifestyle program clinically proven to resolve diastasis recti via guided exercise regimens for each stage of motherhood, achieving measurable results in 10 to 30 minutes a day. The companys method is also designed to address a number of other physical issues that mothers face, including resolving and repairing ab separation, while helping alleviate back pain and urinary incontinence. The programs feature curated video content that leverages Leah Kellers lauded EMbody method, as well as tips from experts including well known nutritionists, OBGYNs and more, Every Mother provides multiple exercise paths with a daily dose of core movement, full body fitness, optimal reminders, progress tracking and integrated community links to foster a lifetime of superior core strength, function and fitness, all within a motivating environment. FinSMEs 07/05/2020 UW Students Elect President, Senators Riley Talamantes, left, a current junior in political science, from Whittier, Calif., was elected as president of the Associated Students of UW, while Courtney Titus, a secondary English education and psychology junior, from Cheyenne, was elected vice president. (UW Photo) University of Wyoming students have elected Riley Talamantes, a current junior in political science, from Whittier, Calif., as the president of the Associated Students of UW (ASUW). Courtney Titus, a secondary English education and psychology junior, from Cheyenne, was elected vice president. Talamantes will preside over the student government that oversees a budget of more than $1 million, including funding for a variety of student programs. She also will serve as an ex-officio member of the UW Board of Trustees. UW students also elected ASUW senators, who serve on various committees and represent their colleges in budgetary and policy matters affecting all UW students. Senators, listed by hometown, major and college represented, are: Amman, Jordan -- Anas Alrejjal, civil engineering, Engineering and Applied Science. Anchorage, Alaska -- Ashton Love, political science, Arts and Sciences. Bayard, Neb. -- Catherine Applegate, marketing, Business. Bellevue, Wash. -- Jake St. Marie, mechanical engineering, Engineering and Applied Science. Big Timber, Mont. -- Dylan Laverell, animal science, Agriculture and Natural Resources. Casper -- Emilie Fittje, mechanical engineering, Engineering and Applied Science; Hank Hoversland, political science and economics, Arts and Sciences; and Kevin Milburn, economics, Business. Cheyenne -- Colter Anderson, economics, Business; Caley Galipeau, nursing, Health Sciences; Cooper Perryman, civil engineering, Engineering and Applied Science; Jordan Pierson, agricultural business, and Hunter Swilling, molecular biology, both Agriculture and Natural Resources; and Kevin Sawyer, elementary/special education, and Jason Wilkins, secondary social studies education, both Education. Green River -- Andrew Holcomb, Law. Greybull -- Anna Savage, environmental systems science, Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources. Lander -- Ashley Haratyk, elementary/special education and agriculture education, Education. Laramie -- Ryan McMananmen, political science, Arts and Sciences; and Paige Trent, energy resource management and development, School of Energy Resources. Loveland, Colo. -- Kayla Jones, criminal justice, Arts and Sciences. Modesto, Calif. -- John Houghton, political science, Arts and Sciences. Otto -- Sydney Horton, international relations and finance, Arts and Sciences. Parker, Colo. -- Madison Engelby, political science, and Kat Rubano, criminal justice, both Arts and Sciences. Powell -- Danna Hanks, pharmacy, Health Sciences. Rapid City, S.D. -- Autumn Knight, history, Arts and Sciences. Rogers, Ark. -- Ryan Brooks, geology, environmental systems science, and environment and natural resources, Arts and Sciences. Sheridan -- Tanner Greig, civil engineering, Engineering and Applied Science. Woodstock, Ga. -- Amanda Doran, marketing, Business. Late July 2014, two and a half years before Gambias president Yahya Jammeh fell from grace and was forced into exile to Equatorial Guinea, he claimed on national television dekabi ma ko mom I own this country, in the Wolof language. This was in a meeting with members of the Saudi-backed Supreme Islamic Council, Jammehs religious leaders who were in conflict with some of Gambias traditional scholars. The dispute was over which day Muslims were to observe Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim festivity after Ramadan. Jammeh said anyone who did not observe Eid al-Fitr on the date chosen by the Supreme Islamic Council and prayed on another day would be arrested. Present at the meeting was Interior Minister Ousman Sonko. In a typical, emotional outburst, Jammeh threatened Sonko that he would visit his hotel, referring to Mile 2 Central Prison located at the outskirt of Banjul, if he did not arrest anyone who prayed on a day not endorsed by him. Following the meeting, several individuals were arrested, including a prominent Gambian scholar, Sheikh Sheriff Muhideen Hydara. Charged with conspiracy to commit a felony and disobedience of lawful order, his trial lasted for more than nine months from July 2014 to May 2015 until judge Ebrima Jaiteh ruled that no reasonable tribunal [could] secure conviction. In January this year, Hydaras eldest son claimed before the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) that his fathers humiliation and illegal arrest contributed to his death in 2019. Direct and indirect cooperation This is the kind of evidence produced before the TRRC that may be of interest to the Swiss judiciary. Indeed, since 2017 Ousman Sonko has been imprisoned in Switzerland where he is prosecuted for serious crimes allegedly committed under his authority in the Gambia. Born in 1969, Sonko has been Jammehs longest serving Interior Minister, from 2006 to 2016. Sonko was a career military man who in early 2000 was serving as the commander of the State Guards Battalion, an elite force guarding the ex-Gambian dictator. He later left the army to be appointed as the Inspector General of the national police. Then he became a key cabinet member. In 2016, when political tension and opposition protests heightened in Gambia Sonko and Jammeh fell out. The reasons remain unknown. But Sonko fled to Sweden, from where he moved, after an unsuccessful asylum request, to Switzerland. In January 2017, after Jammeh was forced into exile after 22 years in power, Sonko was arrested by Swiss authorities. A Swiss NGO TRIAL International had filed a complaint against him on the basis of human rights violations. Sonko is currently in pre-trial detention and his case is investigated by Switzerlands Office of the Attorney General. Meanwhile, hundreds of testimonies have been filed before the TRRC for a year and a half. And Sonkos name has come up in several of them. Gambias government through the office of the Ministry of Justice is cooperating fully with the Swiss authorities in Sonkos case, Gambias Attorney General Abubacarr Tambadou told Justice Info. TRIAL International said for its part it has transmitted materials, including testimonies before the TRRC, to the Swiss Prosecutor. According to Emeline Escafit, TRIAL Internationals expert on Gambia, they have been filing information based on our own investigation and information coming out of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparation Commission has also been very valuable to our investigation and to the case. We hope that this will help the case to move forward. The man who was passing orders from Jammeh The TRRC is interested in Ousman Sonko, said the Commissions executive secretary Dr Baba Galleh Jallow. Jallow said investigations into Sonko and all adversely mentioned persons before the Commission are ongoing as the Commission strives to end its public hearing by October 2020. I think its a good thing that outside parties, whether judicial systems or other institutions, are following the TRRCs proceedings and finding them useful in their work. It goes to show that the TRRC is taken seriously around the world, said Jallow. From the arrest of Hydara to the torture of Imam Ba Kawsu Fofana, Sonko is mostly named as someone passing orders from Jammeh to junior officers to execute. On 14 April, 2016, opposition activist Ebrima Solo Sandeng and 15 other supporters from the United Democratic Party were arrested and jailed. They were protesting for proper electoral reforms. While in detention, Sandeng was reportedly tortured to death. Several of his colleagues were allegedly tortured. Among them was Fatou Camara. Camara appeared before the Truth Commission on October 25, 2019. Camara blamed Sonko for their maltreatment in Mile 2 Central Prison and their torture at the National Intelligence Agency. Sonkos name was also connected to the fate of Imam Ba Kawsu Fofana. In 2012, Fofana was arrested after several months of dispute between him on the one hand, and Jammeh and his clerics from the Supreme Islamic Council on the other hand. He was held incommunicado for nine days during which he was reportedly tortured. He then fled the country for Casamance, in the south of Senegal, where he lived until 2015 when he was allowed to return. He said while he was in detention, they broke his finger and that it was Sonko who told him during his interrogation, that his finger was broken on Jammehs orders. About 10 people were part of those beating me with pipes as they covered my head with nylon bags, said Fofana. The killing of Lieutenant Manneh One of the known loyalists of President Jammeh in the early days of his rule was Lieutenant Almamo Manneh. Before the Truth Commission, Mannehs name came up in relation to several allegations of torture of political detainees in 1995 and 1996. However, in January 2000, Mannehs time came to be at the receiving end of Jammehs wrath. He was accused of plotting with Lieutenant Landing Sanneh. At the time Sanneh was the commander of the State Guards battalion and Manneh was his close friend, according to Lieutenant Lalo Jaiteh, the aide-de-camp to Jammeh at the time. Ousman Sonko was Sannehs second-in-command at the State Guards. Jaiteh, who currently lives in Switzerland, told the TRRC on September 26 that he submitted a deposition in Sonkos case. He said that he was with president Jammeh in Kanilai, the former presidents home village, when Jammeh brought out a cassette which he said was recorded by Sonko. According to Jaiteh, the soldiers were discussing about plotting a coup. In the audio recording, he recognized the voices of Sanneh and Manneh. Then Jammeh asked him to call his cabinet ministers and instructed him to put a team together to go and arrest Manneh and Sanneh. The arrest, Jammeh said, should be coordinated by Sonko. Within about an hour, Sonko returned. I was terrified when Sonko told me [Mannehs body] was in the trunk of the vehicle, said Jaiteh. Sonkos explanation was that Manneh had resisted arrest in his office and had shot at them. They had fired back, killing him. I knew Almamo [Manneh] and he was a good soldier. For him to shoot at six people in a room and not wound anyone, that would be surprising. I did not believe Sonkos story, said Jaiteh. I think Ousman Sonko had intentionally planned to kill Almamo Manneh. The team later proceeded to arrest Landing Sanneh. Sonko accused of sex slavery But Jaiteh was not the only person who suspected Sonko to have killed Manneh. Mannehs widow Binta Jamba also accused Ousman of killing her husband. And she also has issued a statement before the Swiss judiciary. On October 30, 2019, Jamba appeared before the TRRC. She said much more than just accusing Sonko of her husbands death. She alleged that Sonko has made her a sex slave and that has raped [her] over 60 times. The 51-year old mother who now lives in North Carolina, United States, said the former minister started harassing her from the time he was commander of the state guards to the time he was appointed Inspector General of Police and subsequently Interior Minister. Jamba was a lower ranking police officer. She recalled the first attempt by Sonko to rape her was at his office at the State House. In all these scenes, Sonko was always with a pistol. This terrified her, she said. He held my hands and threw me on the bed., she said about one of their encounters. The migrants massacre Then there was evidence on the killing, in July 2005, of 54 West African migrants, mainly Ghanaians, who were summarily executed. While the order is said to have come from Yahya Jammeh, investigations by TRIAL International and Human Rights Watch published in May 2018 pointed out that Interior Minister Sonko was present at different meetings ahead of this incident. The migrants were caught in Barra, a coastal town separated from Gambias capital Banjul by a 7-mile river crossing. Witnesses said Sonko asked the Navy to transfer the migrants by boat from Barra to the Navy Headquarters in Banjul. One commander said that at least two of the high-ranking officials, Sonko and the ex-National Intelligence Agency director Daba Marenah, called Jammeh from the Naval Headquarters. Several former hitmen of ex-president Jammeh who testified before the TRRC have confessed to participating in the executions of West African migrants. B oris Johnson has paid his respects to fallen soldiers ahead of the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day on a visit to Westminster Abbey. The Prime Minister was welcomed by the Dean of Westminster, Reverend Dr David Hoyle, and was invited to light a candle at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior. A moment of silence was then observed to remember all those who lost their lives during the Second World War, followed by a short prayer from Rev Hoyle. The visit comes ahead of the celebrations which are due to take place across the country tomorrow. The Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle (left) and Boris Johnson / PA The date marks the official surrender of Nazi Germany to the allied forces on May 8 1945, following the conflict. While at the abbey, Mr Johnson also visited the RAF Chapel and the Roll of Honour which contains the names of 1,497 pilots and aircrew killed or mortally wounded during the Battle of Britain. Victory in Europe: VE Day - In pictures 1 /66 Victory in Europe: VE Day - In pictures VE Day, 1945 Crowds celebrate in Trafalgar Square Getty Images VE Day, 1945 Joyce Digney (nee Brookes) and Cynthia Covello (nee Lowe) who were famously photographed celebrating VE Day with two sailors in a fountains at Trafalgar Square, PA Evening Standard VE Day front page Evening Standard VE Day, 1945 Winston Churchill joins the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace Rex Features VE Day, 1945 An RAF officer, two members of the Women's Royal Airforce and a civilian celebrate the news of victory in London's Whitehall Getty Images VE Day, 1945 Members of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) driving through Trafalgar Square in a service vehicle during the VE Day celebrations Getty Images VE Day, 1945 Canadian troops entertain the crowds in Leicester Square Getty Images VE Day, 1945 A victory street party near Clapham Common Getty Images VE Day, 1945 Children sit down to a victory party at a V-shaped table in Brockely Getty Images VE Day, 1945 An American soldier in London reads the news of the German surrender at the end of World War II Getty Images VE Day, 1945 A van load of beer passes through Piccadilly Circus on VE Day Getty Images VE Day, 1945 Crowds swarm in Trafalgar Square to rejoice Rex Features A group of London girls wave flags in front of the statue of Queen Victoria outside Buckingham Palace on VE Day Getty Images VE Day, 1945 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965) giving the 'V for Victory' salute as his car passes through crowds during a VE Day parade in London Getty Images VE Day, 1945 VE (Victory in Europe) Day celebrations in the East End of London PA VE Day, 1945 Men fixing the loudspeakers in Trafalgar Square before the King's VE Day speech Getty Images VE Day, 1945 Crowds gather outside Buckingham Palace on VE Day Getty Images VE Day, 1945 Passing the crowds outside Buckingham Palace on VE Day. A father takes his child on a tour of London's West End in unorthodox style Getty Images VE Day, 1945 Mrs Pat Burgess of Palmer's Green, north London is thrilled to get the news that her husband will soon be home for good from Germany Getty Images VE Day, 1945 Jubilant crowds at Piccadilly Circus celebrating victory in Europe Getty Images VE Day, 1945 A group of ATS and American soldiers celebrate VE Day in Trafalgar Square Getty Images VE Day, 1945 VE Day revellers hitching a ride on a lorry in London Getty Images VE Day, 1945 Three girls join in the VE Day celebrations at Downing Street, London Getty Images VE Day, 1945 Winston Churchill leaves 10 Downing Street by the back entrance to avoid the large crowds awaiting his appearance Getty Images VE Day, 1945 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 VE Day, 1945 VE Day revellers blowing party trumpets in Piccadilly Getty Images VE Day, 1945 Crowds bring traffic to a standstill in Piccadilly Circus Associated Newspapers VE Day, 1945 Crowds in Piccadilly Circus climb lampposts and Eros Getty Images VE Day, 1945 Huge crowds at Trafalgar Square PA VE Day, 1945 Sir Winston Churchill leaves the Houses of Parliament in London on victory day celebrations marking the end of the Second World War in Europe PA VE Day, 1945 Crowds cheering Churchill as he appeared on the balcony of the Ministry of Health in Whitehall, and made an official announcement that the war in Europe was over Getty Images VE Day, 1945 Huge crowds at Whitehall, London, celebrating VE (Victory in Europe) Day in London PA VE Day, 1945 Canadian sailors resting in the park during celebrations in London on VE Day Getty Images VE Day, 1945 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965) crosses Parliament Square in London on VE Day Getty Images VE Day, 1945 Huge crowds at Trafalgar Square PA VE Day, 1945 A victory tea party at Amber Road, Finsbury Park in London Getty Images VE Day, 1945 Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, standing in a tank, leaving Regent's Park with other service chiefs at the head of a mechanised column on its triumphal drive around London celebrating VE (Victory in Europe) Day in London PA VE Day, 1945 Huge crowds at Mansion House PA Prime Minister Winston Churchill watching a march celebrating VE (Victory in Europe) Day PA Sir Winston Churchill (centre in centre blacony) addresses a huge crowd gathered outside the Ministry of Health, Whitehall, London on VE Day Getty Images VE Day, 1945 British men, women and children in the street celebrating VE (Victory in Europe) Day in London, marking the end of the Second World War in Europe PA VE Day, 1945 Mrs Pat Burgess of Palmers Green, North London waves a newspaper containing the news of Germany's surrender in World War II Getty Images VE Day, 1945 Some of the huge crowds who were in Whitehall, London, to hear Churchill's speech on VE Day. Getty Images VE Day, 1945 Evening News vans in Carmelite Street decorated to celebrate VE Day Associated Newspapers Crowds bring traffic to a standstill in Piccadilly Circus Associated Newspapers VE Day, 1945 Cromwell tanks of the British Army, in a victory procession pass through Admiralty Arch Getty Images Princess Elizabeth at the wheel of an army vehicle while serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service during the Second World War PA Bank of England staff on fire-watch looking out over Threadneedle Street. For the Bank of England VE-Day brought to an end an extraordinary effort to protect its crucial work. Adhering to the wartime spirit of 'business as usual', as many as 1,000 staff at a time in Threadneedle Street had been working two or three days in a row, sleeping overnight in the vast vaults. Those still in London would do a full day's work and then go up on the roof of the building to watch for fires started by falling bombs PA The Flying Scotsman locomotive leaves Paddington Station in 1965 at the head of a special train to commemorate the 20th anniversary of VE Day (Victory in Europe) Day, marking the end of the Second World War in Europe PA St Paul's Cathedral floodlit during victory celebrations in London at the end of the war in Europe Getty Images He will also attend a service of thanksgiving, alongside the Queen, which will take place at the abbey tomorrow at 11am. Westminster Abbey has held special services to mark VE Day anniversaries, and has also recorded a special podcast for VE Day featuring readings, music, address and prayers. Prime Minister Boris Johnson processes towards the RAF Chapel / PA The podcast will be released tomorrow morning at 9.00 am, ahead of the service and national celebrations. Despite the ongoing UK lockdown, the public are being encouraged to join festivities remotely. Socially distanced street parties have been organised, during which people plan to join Dame Vera Lynn in singing her classic Well Meet Again from their front doors and windows. Prime Minister Boris Johnson / PA The Queen is will address the nation in a televised message at 9pm the exact moment her father, King George VI, gave a speech over the radio three-quarters of a century earlier. One-hundred-year-old veteran and national treasure Captain Tom Moore will also share his memories of war in an ITV documentary, titled Captain Toms War. Additional reporting by Press Association. GlaxoSmithKline is selling $3.45 billion worth of shares in Unilever`s Indian business on the open market, according to a deal marketing term sheet seen by Reuters, cashing in late from the sale of the Horlicks brand. The 5.7% stake in Hindustan Unilever that is now on the market, was accepted by GSK as payment for the sale of the malted drink brand and other nutrition brands to Unilever, agreed in late 2018. The shares are being sold for 1,850 to 1,950 rupees, a 3%-8% discount to Wednesday`s close of 2,010.20 rupees, according to the term sheet. GSK, which declined to comment, struck a deal to fold its Indian business - whose main product is Horlicks - into Unilever`s Indian unit Hindustan Unilever in exchange for shares in the combined group. Hindustan Unilever also declined to comment. According to GSK`s first-quarter report, it completed the Horlicks deal on April 1, receiving the 5.7% equity stake in Hindustan Unilever plus about 400 million pounds ($495 million)in cash. The cash injection will help GSK in its goal of reinvigorating its drug development pipeline, having made costly bets on experimental cancer treatments and future cell and gene therapies amid sluggish revenue growth. Earlier this year, GSK launched a two-year programme to split into two entities, separating the core prescription drugs and vaccines business from an enlarged over-the-counter products business that was merged with a Pfizer unit. It is eyeing more divestments to fund the costs of the separation. Having sold travel vaccines to Bavarian Nordic for up to 955 million euros in October last year, the British group is looking into shedding more assets, starting with a review of its prescription dermatology business with about 200-300 million pounds in annual sales. IFR earlier reported the Hindustan Unilever transaction. The transaction was organised by HSBC, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan. They declined to comment. First three-month 2020 financial results: Group revenues and other income of 106.9 million Operating loss of 44.6 million Net loss of 50.6 million Cash and current financial investments on 31 March 2020 of 5.7 billion On track to report on a number of later stage clinical trials throughout 2020 Important progress in build-out of commercial organization for potential market launch of filgotinib in RA Webcast presentation tomorrow, 8 May 2020, at 14.00 CET / 8 AM ET, www.glpg.com , +32 2 404 0659, code 6118715 Mechelen, Belgium; 7 May 2020, 22.01 CET; regulated information - Galapagos NV. "Although the world faces an unprecedented pandemic, impacting families, businesses and financial markets globally, we have adapted to the new normal with agility and resilience," said Onno van de Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos. "We are in a very strong position, both financially and operationally, and remain on track to report on a number of later stage clinical trials throughout the remainder of 2020. As a consequence of COVID-19 measures, patient recruitment in some Phase 2 and 3 studies with filgotinib is temporarily halted, and we see an impact on recruitment rates of the ISABELA Phase 3 program with ziritaxestat (GLPG1690) in IPF. Importantly, pending approval, we are confident that we can hit the ground running for the successful launch of our first novel mode of action drug, filgotinib in RA, thereby delivering on our promise of becoming a fully integrated biopharma." Bart Filius, COO and CFO added, "From a financial perspective, we ended the first quarter of 2020 with a strong cash balance, positioning us well to grow our pipeline further and deliver on operational excellence for the anticipated commercial launch of filgotinib. Due to the temporary pause in recruitment of the filgotinib trials and some delays in the start of earlier stage programs in light of COVID-19, our cash burni guidance for FY2020 is expected to be in the range of 400 and 430 million, down versus the previously stated cash burn projection of 420 and 450 million." Outlook 2020 The remainder of the year promises to be eventful for Galapagos. We and our collaboration partner Gilead expect to report Phase 3 SELECTION trial data of filgotinib in ulcerative colitis in the second quarter. We also anticipate approval of our first product candidate, filgotinib, in RA in the U.S., Europe, and Japan in the second half of 2020. Gilead and we plan to start the Phase 3 program with filgotinib in ankylosing spondylitis later in 2020. Within our fibrosis portfolio, in the second half of the year, we anticipate reporting topline results from the PINTA Phase 2 trial with GLPG1205 in IPF and, together with collaboration partner Gilead, from the NOVESA Phase 2a trial with ziritaxestat (GLPG1690) in SSc. In the meantime, we enrolled more than 1,000 patients and continue recruitment in our landmark Phase 3 ISABELA program with ziritaxestat in IPF, together with Gilead, for which the outcome of the futility analysis is anticipated in the first half of 2021. Also in the second half of 2020, we and Servier expect to report topline results from the ROCCELLA Phase 2b trial of GLPG1972 in knee osteoarthritis. Upon successful completion of this trial, Gilead has the option to license development and commercialization rights in the U.S. for GLPG1972. With regard to Toledo, our novel mode of action program in inflammation, we completed Phase 1 studies with our Toledo candidate medicines, GLPG3312 and GLPG3970 in healthy volunteers. Given the superior profile of GLPG3970 observed in Phase 1, we decided to prioritize the further development of this compound. Subject to positive developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic, we still anticipate the start of several proof-of-concept patient trials with GLPG3970 in the second half of the year, with topline results now expected in the first half of 2021. Due to the impact of COVID-19 on the recruitment rate and trial starts, our cash burni guidance has been revised down and is now expected to be in the range of 400 and 430 million, compared to 420 and 450 million previously guided. The cash burn includes milestone income from Gilead for potential regulatory approvals of filgotinib in RA. Key figures first quarter report 2020 (unaudited) ( millions, except basic & diluted loss per share) 31 March 2020 group total 31 March 2019 group total Revenues and other income 106.9 40.9 R&D expenditure (116.8) (83.2) S&Mii expenses (9.8) (1.7) G&Aiii expenses (24.9) (9.2) Operating loss (44.6) (53.2) Fair value re-measurement of warrants (20.5) - Net other financial result 14.8 4.7 Taxes (0.3) (0.1) Net result for the period (50.6) (48.7) Basic and diluted loss per share () (0.78) (0.89) Current financial investments and cash and cash equivalents 5,722.4 1,222.9 Revenues and other income Revenues and other income for the first three months of 2020 increased to 106.9 million compared to 40.9 million in the first three months of 2019. The impact of the Gilead collaboration on our revenues is 91.6 million, and consists of (i) the access and option rights to our drug discovery platform (56.2 million), and (ii) the filgotinib revenue recognition (35.4 million). As a result of the upfront payment received from Gilead in the third quarter of 2019, our deferred income on 31 March 2020 includes 2.2 billion allocated to our drug discovery platform that will be recognized linearly over 10 years, and 0.7 billion allocated to filgotinib (2015 filgotinib contract and recent revised collaboration combined) that will be recognized over a period of 4 to 5 years. Results We realized a net loss of 50.6 million for the first three months of 2020, compared to a net loss of 48.7 million for the first three months of 2019. We reported an operating loss amounting to 44.6 million for the first three months of 2020, compared to an operating loss of 53.2 million for the first three months of 2019. Our R&D expenditure in the first three months of 2020 amounted to 116.8 million, compared to 83.2 million for the first three months of 2019. This planned increase was mainly due to an increase of 19.4 million in subcontracting costs primarily related to our filgotinib program, our Toledo program, and other clinical programs. Furthermore, personnel costs increased explained by a planned headcount increase following the growth in our R&D investments. This factor, and the increased cost of the commercial launch of filgotinib in Europe, contributed to the increase in our S&M and G&A expenses, which were respectively 9.8 million and 24.9 million in the first three months of 2020, compared to respectively 1.7 million and 9.2 million in the first three months of 2019. We reported a non-cash fair value loss from the re-measurement of initial warrant B issued to Gilead, amounting to 20.5 million, as result of the increased implied volatility of the Galapagos share price. Net other financial income in the first three months of 2020 amounted to 14.8 million, compared to net other financial income of 4.7 million for the first three months of 2019, which was primarily attributable to a 34.3 million of unrealized exchange gain on our cash position in U.S. dollars, partly compensated by a fair value loss on current financial investments of 14.5 million. Cash position Current financial investments and cash and cash equivalents totaled 5,722.4 million on 31 March 2020. A total net decrease of 58.4 million in cash and cash equivalents and current financial investments was recorded during the first three months of 2020, compared to a net decrease of 67.9 million during the first three months of 2019. This net decrease was composed of 83.4 million of operational cash burni, offset by (i) 5.4 million of cash proceeds from capital and share premium increase from exercise of warrants in the first three months of 2020, (ii) 19.6 million unrealized positive exchange rate differences and fair value losses on current financial investments. Finally, our balance sheet as at 31 March 2020 held a receivable from the French government (Credit d'Impot Rechercheiv) and a receivable from the Belgian Government for R&D incentives, for a total of both receivables of 115.2 million. First quarter report 2020 Galapagos' financial report for the first three months ended March 2020, including new accounting policies as a result of recent transactions and details of the unaudited consolidated results, is accessible via www.glpg.com/financial-reports . Results of annual (ordinary) and extraordinary shareholders' meetings On 28 April 2020, Galapagos held its annual. Conference call and webcast presentation Galapagos will conduct a conference call open to the public tomorrow, 08 May 2020, at 14:00 CET / 8 AM ET, which will also be webcasted. To participate in the conference call, please call one of the following numbers ten minutes prior to commencement: CODE: 6118715 USA: +1 323 794 2093 UK: +44 330 336 9105 Netherlands: +31 20 721 9251 France: +33 1 76 77 2274 Belgium: +32 2 404 0659 Or, select the click-to-join link and you'll get connected automatically. A question and answer session will follow the presentation of the results. Go to www.glpg.com to access the live audio webcast. The archived webcast will also be available for replay shortly after the close of the call. Financial calendar 6 August 2020 Half year 2020 results (webcast 07 August 2020) 5 November 2020 Third quarter 2020 results (webcast 06 November 2020) 18 February 2021 Full year 2020 results (webcast 19 February 2021) About Galapagos Galapagos. Filgotinib and all other drug candidates mentioned in this report are investigational; their efficacy and safety have not been fully evaluated by any regulatory authority. Contact Investors: Elizabeth Goodwin VP Investor Relations +1 781 460 1784 Sofie Van Gijsel Director Investor Relations +32 485 19 14 15 ir@glpg.com Media: Carmen Vroonen Senior Director Communications & Public Affairs +32 473 824 874 Evelyn Fox Director Communications +31 6 53 591 999 communications@glpg.com Forward-looking statements This release may contain forward-looking statements, including, among other things, statements regarding the global R&D collaboration with Gilead, the amount and timing of potential future milestone, opt-in and/or royalty payments by Gilead, Galapagos' strategic R&D ambitions, theguidance from management (including guidance regarding the expected operational cash burn during financial year 2020), financial results, timing and/or results of clinical trials, mechanisms of action and potential commercialization of our product candidates, interaction with regulators, the potential approval process for filgotinib and statements relating to the build-up and development of commercial operations, the impact of COVID-19, and our strategy, business plans and focus. Galapagos cautions the reader that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which might cause the actual results, financial condition and liquidity, performance or achievements of Galapagos, or industry results, to be materially different from any historic or future results, financial conditions and liquidity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition, even if Galapagos' results, performance, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which it operates are consistent with such forward-looking statements, they may not be predictive of results or developments in future periods. Among the factors that may result in differences are thatGalapagos' expectations regarding its 2020 operating expenses may be incorrect (including because one or more of its assumptions underlying its expense expectations may not be realized), Galapagos' expectations regarding its development programs may be incorrect, the inherent uncertainties associated with competitive developments, clinical trial and product development activities and regulatory approval requirements (including that data from Galapagos' ongoing clinical research programs may not support registration or further development of its product candidates due to safety, efficacy or other reasons), Galapagos' reliance on collaborations with third parties (including our collaboration partner for filgotinib and ziritaxestat, Gilead, and our collaboration partner for GLPG1972, Servier), and estimating the commercial potential of our product candidates and the uncertainties relating to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties and other risks can be found in Galapagos' Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings and reports, including in Galapagos' most recent annual report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC and other filings and reports filed by Galapagos with the SEC. Given these uncertainties, the reader is advised not to place any undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of publication of this document. Galapagos expressly disclaims any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements in this document to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements, unless specifically required by law or regulation. iThe operational cash burn (or operational cash flow if this performance measure is positive) is equal to the increase or decrease in our cash and cash equivalents (excluding the effect of exchange rate differences on cash and cash equivalents), minus: the net proceeds, if any, from share capital and share premium increases included in the net cash flows generated / used (-) in financing activities the net proceeds or cash used, if any, in acquisitions or disposals of businesses; the movement in restricted cash and movement in current financial investments, if any, included in the net cash flows generated / used (-) in investing activities. This alternative performance measure is in our view an important metric for a biotech company in the development stage. The operational cash burn for the three months ended 31 March 2020 amounted to 83.4 million and can be reconciled to our cash flow statement by considering the increase in cash and cash equivalents of 864.7 million, adjusted by (i) the cash proceeds from capital and share premium increase from the exercise of warrants by employees for 5.4 million and (ii) the net decrease in current financial investments amounting to 942.7 million. ii Sales and marketing iii General and administrative ivCredit d'Impot Recherche refers to an innovation incentive system underwritten by the French government Attachment CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Belk announced today it will continue to open stores across its 16-state footprint following temporary closures due to COVID-19. On May 8, stores in Florida, Texas, Alabama and Mississippi will begin inviting customers and associates back into their local Belk. North Carolina stores will officially open on May 11. Belk reopened its doors in South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas and Oklahoma last week. While Belk will be open for business, the shopping experience will look different. Belk is implementing recommended safety procedures from the CDC and state and local health authorities. Stores will limit the number of people shopping inside at one time to ensure social distancing standards are observed and fitting rooms will remain closed. In addition, all stores will have reduced operating hours from 12-6 p.m. "We're so excited to continue reopening stores as states ease restrictions," said Lisa Harper, CEO of Belk. "As we reopen our doors, the health and safety of our customers and associates remains a top priority and we're implementing recommended precautions to help provide a safe shopping environment. We look forward to returning to business and serving our customers in stores, online and with curbside contactless pick-up." In addition to reopening stores, Belk launched Curbside Pickup at most locations, including all stores that will be open in May, which offers an additional limited contact shopping option. Customers who place an order on Belk.com or on the mobile app can pick up their order Monday-Sunday between 12-5 p.m. The service is free and available for same-day pickup within two hours on orders placed by 1 p.m. For a complete list of open stores, store hours and Curbside Pickup locations, please visit belk.com. About Belk Belk, Inc., a private department store company based in Charlotte, N.C., is where customers shop for their Saturday night outfit, the perfect Sunday dress, and where family and community matter most. But Belk is more than shopping it's where you find your own unique way to express who you are. Shop Belk in 16 Southern states and on www.belk.com to find an assortment of national brands and private-label fashion, shoes and accessories for the entire family, along with top beauty brands and styles for the home. SOURCE Belk Carrying their belongings in bags of all shapes and sizes, over 1,000 migrant workers left for their homes in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday in the first Shramik Special train to leave the national capital, their happiness visible even through the face masks they wore to protect themselves from the coronavirus. Clapping and waiving goodbyes to the railway and security personnel at the platform, many of the migrant workers, who were ferried to the railway station in over 70 buses arranged by the Delhi government, said they would be back when things got back to normal. "I was staying at a shelter home in Roopnagar for the last eight days. I polish marble slabs for a living. I will come back when things get back to normal," said Balram Kumar, one of the outbound migrants. Hours before the arrival of the migrants, the road leading to the New Delhi Railway Station was barricaded. After they alighted from the buses, their names were cross-checked by officials. One of them was not allowed to board the train as he did not come in any of the buses, but walked 20 kms from South Delhi to reach the station. Each bus, which picked up the migrants from shelter homes, carried not more than 20 people each, keeping in mind the social-distancing measures in place due to the coronavirus crisis. After alighting from the buses, the passengers stood in circular rings some feet apart from each other outside the station in accordance with social-distancing norms. They were allowed in the station in batches and railway officials guided them to the train. "They were very happy and they waived us goodbye and we clapped for them," an official said. On the platform also, authorities had marked white circular rings for the passengers to stand at a safe distance from each other. "First train carrying 1050 migrants from Delhi left for Chattarpur, MP, today at 8 pm. A series of such trains would be carrying migrants to different parts of India in the coming days," Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot tweeted, with a video of the train leaving the station. The video shows passengers and security personnel waiving at each other and clapping. Thousands of migrant labourers across the country were stranded after the nationwide lockdown was announced due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Railways started the migrant special services from May 1 and has since then operated 171 such trains. However, for 32-year-old Hazari Lal Patel, the wait to meet his three-year-old son has now become longer. "I wanted to go to Khajurao in Madhya Pradesh. I have a valid ticket but the police didn't allow me to go inside. I live in Chhatarpur in south Delhi from last five to six years and working as a data entry man in a private organisation. Police said that I didn't come by the buses and asked me go back. Now, I am going back to my home in Chhatarpur," said Patel, who has lost his job and has no money left. He had walked from South Delhi to the station which is around 20 km. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Whether you have plans to brunch or barbeque this Mothers Day, your best bet is to keep it outside while keeping your distance. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 6/5/2020 (622 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Whether you have plans to brunch or barbeque this Mothers Day, your best bet is to keep it outside while keeping your distance. "Were not done with the virus and were not back to normal," Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin said at a news conference Wednesday, reminding families not to gather in groups larger than 10. "We know that the risk of this virus is spread through prolonged close contact, moreso indoors than outdoors. So, if youre meeting with family and you can do it outdoors, then better. If you can do it outdoors and maintain physical distancing, then even better." In addition to following public health official guidelines, Roussin emphasised families should practice extra caution if they are in the company of those who are immunocompromised or over the age of 65. While the health measures may have families pivoting their plans, businesses are doing their best to ensure moms can enjoy their special day with their loved ones. Pine Ridge Hollow owner Jan Regehr said take out and delivery orders for their curated Mothers Day brunch experience have already reached capacity. "Were delivering all over the city and weve doubled up our delivery schedule so we can try and meet as many needs as possible," Regehr said. The orders will feed approximately 627 people, which Regehr said is comparable to the number of guests it has hosted in previous years. A spokesperson from Salisbury House said additional promotional efforts for Mothers Day have been focused on their Sals Store where you can find "everything you need to make the ultimate Mothers Day brunch." From breakfast to the barbeque, patrons can also pick up 12 fresh "nip" patties and 12 buns for under $25 to try their hand at the classic burger. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Mother's Day couldn't come soon enough for many local flower shops, which have been shuttered for the past six weeks. "Were always crazy busy on Mother's Day but this year it seems like people started ordering a lot earlier," said Irene Seaman, owner of Academy Florist. On average, orders have been smaller, but Seaman says she attributes that to the financial impact of the virus. "We are doing free delivery, and that seems to help. We do what we can." With only one third of her staff working due to physical distancing practices, Seaman says the days have been long but worthwhile. "We are really making people happy this time, like really happy. Thats been my whole thing in all the 50 years I've been doing flowers, I want to make people happy." nadya.pankiw@freepress.mb.ca Against the backdrop of a global pandemic, students and families are weighing the value of attending university remotely. Is it worth it? Should students take a gap year or decline admission to a university to attend community college? For most students, the answer should be an emphatic no. This is not the time to pause or decline an opportunity to attend a four-year university. This is the moment to persist, to take that very important first step to a degree that promises upward mobility for students, for their families and for their communities. The growing discussion about gap years is driven largely by the less than 3% of American students who attend elite universities at which tuition is often in excess of $50,000 a year. Why pay $50,000 or more in tuition to learn remotely? Thats a tough question, but its one very few people need even to ask themselves. These universities serve a tiny percentage of college-bound students. And for this small number, a gap year might make sense. Their families have the means to fund alternative-learning experiences for a year and will ensure that their students enroll the following year. But for many Californians, this is not an option. For them, attending a university has been a hard-fought accomplishment that promises upward mobility for themselves, their families and their communities. A gap year easily could become a lifelong missed opportunity. College degree holders earn approximately $1 million more over their lifetime, are 24 times more likely to be employed, and contribute many thousands more dollars to their local economies than those with only high school degrees. Weigh this against the cost of attendance at a California State University. New full-time students at San Francisco State can expect to pay just more than $7,200 in tuition next year. For this, they will earn approximately 30 academic units and have access to support services, including advising, student health and psychological counseling. They can join one of hundreds of student clubs or organizations or take advantage of affinity-based centers like our Black Unity Center or the Interfaith Office. They will have access to a world-class faculty that prides itself on teaching undergraduates and can begin to develop enriching relationships with peers that will be lifelong. And, for many, thanks to state and federal financial aid, the cost will be far less than $7,000. In fact, roughly 40% of San Francisco State students pay no tuition at all and more than 60% receive financial aid. Yes, some or all of this may have to be done remotely in the fall, depending upon what protecting public health requires. But we, and many other universities, are working hard to perfect remote instruction and build virtual communities. No, it wont be the same, but it will be good. Most important, it will enable students to maintain their academic progress, to maintain momentum toward a degree that will be transformative, personally and economically. This is not the time to pause an education. Students who start their college careers at a four-year university are far more likely to earn that degree within the next four-to-five years than those who start elsewhere. What San Francisco needs now, more than ever, are college degree holders to contribute to our economic recovery. Though all universities are hoping for a resumption of face-to-face learning, we all have been struck by the innovations that remote instruction has inspired. Dance professors dancing in their living rooms as dozens of students mimic their moves in their own homes across the state. Students with young children appreciating asynchronous learning that allows them to be caregivers and college students simultaneously. And, my personal favorite, the San Francisco State professor who hosted Bring Your Mom to Class for her first-year seminar for freshmen via Zoom. The image of dozens of happy students and their mothers will remain with me far longer than the restrictions of a pandemic. Like university presidents across the state, I look forward to welcoming new students, returning students and their families this fall, one way or another. Lynn Mahoney is president of San Francisco State University. The number of coronavirus cases in Newark became too much for the citys three investigators and about six contract tracers to keep track of around the end of March. It was the last week of March, first week of April, said Newarks chief disease investigator, Berlyne Vilcant. I think thats when the cases really started rising. Thats when we started seeing increments of 250, 280 cases per day." The city at first collaborated with other health departments to help with disease investigations, Vilcant said. This week, officials in Newark began to ramp up their own contact tracing capabilities to include 20 disease investigators and 250 contact tracers. The CEO of Newark Alliance, a nonprofit that often works with Newark officials on economic development, is helping lead the citys new contact tracing task force, created this week. The head of the nonprofit, Aisha Glover, reached out to schools like the Rutgers University School of Public Health, to get a team of contact tracers together. Fortunately, were the fifth-largest college town on the East Coast," said Glover, adding that some students are bilingual. "So we do have quite an array of students to be able to pull from. Contact tracing is a key part of Gov. Phil Murphys six-point reopening plan. The governor has said he wants an army of people to perform contact tracing so new cases could be quickly mitigated, but the responsibility thus far has fallen upon the shoulders of local health departments. An army of contact tracers is what Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said his administration is providing for the states most populated city. One missed contact tracing, Baraka said, could undo weeks of social distancing. Obviously, the cases are coming in too rapidly, too fast in abundance, the mayor said. So we had to begin to get an army of folks to help us with the contact tracing. Some health departments, like the Northwest Bergen Regional Health Commission, no longer have the capacity to reach out to everyone who came in contact with someone who had the virus. The state has suggested overwhelmed health departments should instead focus efforts on vulnerable populations, like nursing home residents. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage Experts say there should be about 80 contact tracers for every 100,000 people. Newarks 250 contract tracers for an estimated population of 282,000 would put the city beyond that recommendation. The city next week plans to have a total of 40 disease investigators, those who call a person when they initially test positive to learn who they had contact. The list of contacts is then passed along to contact tracers, who work to find those people and tell them they should quarantine. City officials say the state health department has relaxed requirements for disease investigators to be licensed since there is a greater need for the work to be done. The mayor said investigators will have to sign non-disclosure agreements to protect peoples privacy. Existing city employees are being used on the task force, so the mayor said the additional contact tracing will not bring another blow to Newarks already hard-hit budget. Personnel from the citys fire department are now working as investigators, Newark officials said. Its a whole city collaborative, not just the health department, said Newark Health and Community Wellness Department Director Mark Wade. And its being done under the leadership of our mayor because we said were going to test as many people as possible and therefore we have to follow up, contact and make sure that those who are positive are out of the general population until they finish isolating or quarantining. Baraka said getting more testing sites in Newark is necessary, but costly. Newark officials are already providing tests at no cost to its homeless population and plan to open two more sites next week after a city-run location began in Branch Brook Park. The city has no capacity to test everybody," the mayor said. "We need the county and federal support in order to do that, to test over 280,000 people. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com. In an interview with the whistleblower, OKeefe asked, Youre telling me youre a hundred percent certain that CBS News, CBS News Corporationnational, staged a fake event. They faked the news. They faked the reality and broadcasted that to all of their audience last Friday on CBS This Morning? The insider, whose identity was protected, replied, A hundred percent, absolutely. Editors Note: Want to support PJ Media so we can keep telling the truth about China and the virus they unleashed on the world? Join PJ Media VIP and use the promo code WUHAN to get 25% off your VIP membership. Cherry Health President and CEO Tasha Blackmon told Project Veritas in a phone conversation, We and CBS News had nothing to do with that line. But after CBS was contacted, that story changed. CBS released a statement contradicting Blackmons story. CBS News did not stage anything at the Cherry Health facility. Any suggestion to the contrary is 100% false. These allegations are alarming. We reached out to Cherry Health to address them immediately. They informed us for the first time that one of their chief officers told at least one staffer to get in the testing line along with real patients. No one from CBS News had any knowledge of this before tonight. They also said that their actions did not prevent any actual patients from being tested. We take the accuracy of our reporting very seriously and we are removing the Cherry Health portion from the piece. Blackmon did not confirm this story by CBS and has refused to answer calls related to the matter. But the whistleblower described the line of cars being held in place for a long period of time to set up the shot, and several hospital workers expressed their frustration at having to pretend to test fake patients. Adriana Diaz was the reporter on the scene and the clip was aired on CBS This Morning with Gayle King. You can watch the expose below. Megan Fox is the author of Believe Evidence; The Death of Due Process from Salome to #MeToo, and host of The Fringe podcast. Prosecutors charged a Pleasanton grocery store owner with nine misdemeanor counts of price gouging on Thursday after the store allegedly increased the cost of certain food items by as much as 300% during the coronavirus emergency. The charges, filed against grocery store Apna Bazar in a joint complaint by Alameda County District Attorney Nancy OMalley and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, mark the first price gouging case in Alameda County. All businesses throughout Alameda County must be on notice that we will not sit idly by and allow consumers to fall prey to price gouging, OMalley said in a statement. My office will ensure that businesses adhere to the law and do not exploit consumers. Investigators began looking into Apna Bazar and owner Rajvinder Singh after customers reported noticeable jumps in prices following Gov. Gavin Newsoms March 4 state of emergency declaration, officials said. A spokesperson with the attorney generals office said Thursdays price gouging complaint was the first prosecution filed by the office during the coronavirus pandemic. We have additional ongoing investigations related to price gouging, but we have not yet filed charges, the spokesperson said in an email. A person who answered the phone at Apna Bazar said Singh was not available to talk and declined comment on the case. State law prohibits businesses from increasing prices on items more than 10% during a state or local declaration of emergency. Customer receipts and multiple interviews showed that certain items of food at Apna Bazar in Pleasanton not only increased by more than 10%, but some prices went beyond a 300% price hike, officials said. Investigators from both the state and county offices began their probe into Apna Bazar following numerous public complaints, according to a probable-cause document filed by the district attorneys office. One complainant wrote that the store was charging whatever they want, and photos showed prices scribbled out with a marker and with no new prices listed. Investigators found ads and photos posted on an Apna Bazar social media account that showed the previous prices for items, and found at least nine items where the store engaged in flagrant price gouging, the court document states. The items included onions, ginger, green beans and noodles, with prices that rocketed between 25% and 300% in a matter of days, investigators said. One item that was priced at $2.99 on March 2 rose to $4.99 by March 13 and to $6.99 on March 16. 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. When asked by an investigator about his justification for raising the prices, Singh said he was forced to turn to different suppliers to keep his shelves stocked and was simply passing the costs down to the customer. As of Thursday, however, investigators had still not yet received documentation to support this claim. Apna Bazar locations can be found in other parts of the Bay Area, but these stores were not implicated in the alleged scheme. Alameda County prosecutors have received and reviewed more than 50 complaints since the state emergency order went into effect, said Teresa Drenick, a district attorneys office spokeswoman. Prosecutors are continuing to investigate complaints, and they have asked the public to report incidents of price gouging. Officials set up a dedicated email address pricegouging@acgov.org to report such crimes. Past efforts against price gouging in California have focused on e-commerce sellers, where some consumers found listings with high markups for toilet paper and other essentials that were hard to find after a wave of panic buying in mid-March. Becerra joined 32 other state attorneys general in urging Amazon, Craigslist, eBay, Facebook and Walmart to crack down on price gouging online. Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy Panaji, May 7 : Around 60 migrant workers heading back from Goa to their homes in Karnataka were turned away from the border by the latter's officials on Thursday, because they were not carrying any identification documents to prove they hailed from the state, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said. "They could not produce any Aadhaar card or voter card with a Karnataka address, which is why they were sent back from the border," he said. The migrant workers were being transported from Goa to Karnataka in buses on Thursday. The buses were turned back, after the Karnataka officials insisted on local address proof, forcing the migrant workers to return to Goa. "All the migrant workers were from the Margao area. We have told them to source and scan ID copies from their native homes. We will attest them and send them across the border," Sawant said. The Chief Minister also said that the first batch of nearly 1000 migrant workers were expected to transported out of Goa to Uttar Pradesh on Friday. A U.S. Postal Service worker wears gloves while he stops at a collection box in Northeast Philadelphia. Read more WASHINGTON - A top donor to President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee will be named the new head of the Postal Service, putting a top ally of the president in charge of an agency where Trump has long pressed for major changes in how it handles its business. The Postal Service's Board of Governors confirmed late Wednesday that Louis DeJoy, a North Carolina businessman who is currently in charge of fundraising for the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, will serve as the new postmaster general. The Postal Service confirmed the move Wednesday evening. The action will install a stalwart Trump ally to lead the Postal Service, which he has railed against for years, and likely move him closer than ever before to forcing the service to renegotiate its terms with companies and its own union workforce. Trump's Treasury Department and the Postal Service are in the midst of a negotiation over a $10 billion line of credit approved as part of coronavirus legislation in March. Trump has indicated that he wants the Postal Service to dramatically raise fees for delivering packages for customers such as Amazon in exchange for tapping the line of credit. Trump has long argued that Amazon doesn't pay the Postal Service enough, a charge the agency has fiercely contested. (Amazon's chief executive Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.) "Louis DeJoy understands the critical public service role of the United States Postal Service, and the urgent need to strengthen it for future generations," said Robert Duncan, chair of the board of governors, in a statement. "Postal workers are the heart and soul of this institution, and I will be honored to work alongside them and their unions," DeJoy, who will start June 15, said in a statement. The White House declined to comment. After criticizing the Postal Service for years, Trump has been consolidating his influence lately. Three Republicans and one Democrat sit on the board of governors after the vice chairman, David Williams, a Democrat, resigned last week. The departure came after Williams told confidants he was upset that the Treasury Department was meddling in what has long been an apolitical agency and felt that his fellow board members had capitulated to Mnuchin's conditions for the $10 billion line of credit, according to four people familiar with Williams' thinking. Williams didn't respond to a request for comment. Democrats have urged the Postal Service to hold firm with the Treasury over the terms of the loan, betting they could win more money for the agency in another round of legislation and threatening the Trump administration with taking the risk of disrupting mail service. But in recent days, the Postal Service's board of governors has appeared open to some of the Trump administration's terms, according to the four people. The precise terms could not be learned. "[William's] main frustration is that he felt the Treasury Deptartment was interfering in an apolitical board and an apolitical agency," said one person who spoke with him. A Treasury Department spokesman declined to comment. DeJoy will be the first postmaster general in two decades who did not rise through the agency's ranks. He would have to navigate a financially fraught agency while also working with its powerful labor unions, among the last public sector unions left with significant clout in contract negotiations with the government. In part because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Postal Service is projecting a $13 billion revenue shortfall by the end of the fiscal year in September. Trump has for years seized on the rates Amazon charges companies like Amazon to deliver packages. The business of package delivery has proven increasingly vital to the service's finances as First Class mail has deteriorated, and Trump has alleged the agency charges Amazon and other companies too little. The Postal Service has rejected those accusations, arguing it is charging competitive rates in an environment where it squares off against UPS, FedEx and even Amazon's growing delivery service. Megan Brennan, the current postmaster general, who announced her retirement late last year, had clashed with the Trump administration over its efforts to take more control over postal finances and operations. Trump had urged her early in his tenure to increase fees for Amazon and other companies. The announcement of Brennan's successor comes at a tumultuous period for the Postal Service, whose already shaky financial footing has grown weaker during the coronavirus pandemic. Trump, responding to a report in The Washington Post in April, threatened to block the $10 billion Postal Service loan unless officials dramatically raised shipping prices on online retailers. "The Postal Service is a joke," Trump said publicly last month in the Oval Office. He called for the agency to quadruple its shipping prices. Many analysts warn that if the Postal Service did that, it would put itself a massive disadvantage in the marketplace. DeJoy, a North Carolina native, has played a prominent role in Republican politics, particularly since Trump won the presidency in 2016. DeJoy has given more than $2 million to the Trump campaign or Republican causes since 2016, according to the Federal Election Commission, including a $210,600 contribution to Trump Victory on Feb. 19. He has given more than $650,000 to the Trump Victory Fund and more than $1 million to the Republican National Committee. DeJoy was tapped as the finance chairman for the RNC convention in August and has worked in recent months with Katie Walsh, a top Republican operative, to orchestrate the event. A RNC spokesman declined to comment. DeJoy's wife, Aldona Wos, serves as vice chairman of the president's Commission on White House fellowships and is Trump's nominee for Ambassador Canada. She previously served as ambassador to Estonia under the George W. Bush administration. DeJoy has donated more than $157,000 to Republican candidates, committees and Superpacs since the start of the year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics The current chairman of the Postal Board of Governors, Robert Duncan, served as RNC chairman from 2007 to 2009. He was confirmed in 2018 after being appointed by Trump. DeJoy is the owner of a real estate and consulting firm in North Carolina, after serving as chairman and CEO of New Breed Logistics, according to his family's foundation page. New Breed was sold to XPO Logistics. He is a longtime donor to Republican causes, according to the FEC records. Under the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus relief passed in March, the Treasury was authorized to the loan the Postal Service, which says it may not be able to make payroll and continue mail service uninterrupted past September. Mnuchin rejected a bipartisan Senate proposal to give the Postal Service a bailout amid the negotiations over that legislation. Brennan, with the consent of the Board of Governors, went to Congress to ask for a direct bailout of more than $89 billion to stave off pandemic losses and other long-running accumulated debts. Top Treasury officials were furious at the ask, according to a person with knowledge of their frustration. The coronavirus has rapidly exacerbated years of revenue losses for the agency as it struggles to adapt to a digital age amid a decline in first class mail. Postal officials have said that mail volume is down by a third during the pandemic and continuing to spiral down as businesses scale back solicitations and advertisements. Package volume is up, but not enough to cover the other losses, the officials say. Air India will begin its largest repatriation operation on May 7 with as many 64 flights that will fly to international destinations to evacuate stranded Indian in other countries. Here's a list of all the flights, their time and their destination. Air India will start the evacuation operation from the Delhi-Singapore flight on Thursday around 11 p.m. from IGI Airport. The flight will arrive back to Delhi at 7 a.m. on Friday morning. This, however, could be delayed as crew of the flight is awaiting mandatory Covid-19 test result. Similarly, Air India Express will operate Cochin-Abu Dhabi-Cochin and Kozhikode-Dubai-Kozhikode services. These will be the first in the 64 ferry services which will be operated by the two airlines from May 7-13. Air India complete Schedule. Air India complete Schedule. Air India complete Schedule. Air India complete Schedule. Air India complete Schedule. Air India complete Schedule. Besides one-way ferry service, Air India invited passengers, who qualify under the government's new international travel norms to apply for passage from India to various destinations the airline will send its aircraft to conduct evacuation flights. The development comes as India will commence one of the world's largest air evacuation operations from May 7, when the two airlines will start the first phase of the mission. As per plans, these two airlines will operate 64 flights in seven days to bring back 14,800 stranded Indians from 12 countries. Overall, more than 190,000 Indian nationals, who would have to pay a one-way ferry service charge, are expected to be brought back in the airlift operation. (With inputs from IANS) Thiruvananthapuram, May 7 : Two aircraft from the Middle East will arrive on Thursday night at two Kerala airports carrying around 360 passengers from Abu Dhabi and Dubai. All arrangements have been made by the state government keeping in view the COVID-19 situation. The flight from Abu Dhabi to Kochi is expected to arrive at 9.40 p.m. and likely to have around 171 passengers, and the one to Kozhikode will be from Dubai and will have 189 passengers. All those who arrive at the Kerala airports will be asked to pass through a special aerobridge from where they will be tested by health officials. The general guideline is all pregnant women and children will be send to their homes for two week quarantine, while those with underlying health issues would be send to hospitals. The entire luggage would be disinfected. It has also been decided to send all people who are from outside the Ernakulam and Malappuram district to their respective corona care centres at their home districts. State Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel said the pregnant women and children, besides two passengers who are coming with a Covid negative test, will be send to their respective homes and would be under 14 day quarantine. "Apart from that there are around 51 people who have multiple health issues and all of them would be send to hospitals for their treatment. All the others, who have no symptoms, would be send to corona care centres in the various districts that they hail from and those showing symptoms will be send to the Covid hospitals," said Jaleel. Likewise all those arriving at Kochi would be sent to their respective districts where corona care centres have been. set up. The Air India Express aircraft to bring passengers from Abu Dhabi left at 12.30 p.m. on Thursday. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text A pair of former performing beluga whales are gearing up for the final leg of their journey to the worlds first open-water sanctuary dedicated to their species. Little White and Little Grey will make the 6,000 mile trip to live out their days in peace in a 32,000 square metre pool on the south coast of Iceland. In a first for conservation, the 12-year-old whales will be released into 10m deep Klettsvik sanctuary off Heimaey island in June. They have been living in a temporary facility for the past year to train them to use rocks for exfoliation and fatten them for the cooler temperatures. The large sanctuary for the beluga whales is a marine first / PA But British charity the Sea Life Trust said they had adapted successfully and will now make the final move. Little Grey and Little White have made amazing progress since arriving safely to the beluga whale sanctuary last year and we're really pleased to say they are now ready to be moved into their new open water home, Andy Bool, its chief, said. "With current lockdown measures in response to the Covid-19 pandemic due to be eased in the coming weeks across Iceland, it's right that we make the best decision for Little Grey and Little White and move them into their new home. "We'll continue to carefully monitor their health and wellbeing, as well as the ongoing situation and Icelandic weather closely, ahead of the planned move in June." The whales, expected to reach 35 to 50 years of age, were flown from China after years entertaining aquarium crowds. The journey will be narrated by comedian John Bishop for an ITV documentary. 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. GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) on Thursday said it has offloaded its 5.7 per cent stake in Indian FMCG major Hindustan Unilever for around Rs 25,480 crore. The company had received the shares as part of the scheme of merger of its subsidiary GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Limited (GSK India) with Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL). "GSK has, through its subsidiaries GlaxoSmithKline Pte Ltd and Horlicks Limited, today agreed to the sale of 13.37 crore ordinary shares in HUL at a volume-weighted average price of approximately Rs 1,905 per share, raising gross proceeds of approximately Rs 254.8 billion," GSK said in a statement. "Following settlement of the sale, GSK will no longer hold any HUL shares," it added. As per reports, this is largest block trade ever to have been carried out in the Indian equity market. On April 1, 2020, GSK had announced the completion of its divestment of its popular healthcare drink brand Horlicks and other consumer healthcare nutrition products in India to Unilever. When GSK originally announced the divestment of Horlicks in December 2018, the company said it expected gross proceeds from the overall transaction to be approximately 3.1 billion pounds and net proceeds to be 2.4 billion pounds after hedging costs, taxes and other expenses. With the appreciation of HUL's share price since then, GSK said it now expects gross proceeds from the divestment to be 3.4 billion pounds and net proceeds at 2.9 billion pounds. This includes the proceeds received on closing of the transaction on April 1, 2020 and the expected proceeds from the sale of its Bangladesh business, which is expected to close later this year. The board of HUL had on April 1 approved the acquisition of "the Horlicks Brand for India from GSK for a consideration of Euro 375.6 million (Rs 3,045 crore), exercising the option available in the original agreement made between Unilever and GSK." Other brands of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd (GSKCH) such as Boost, Maltova, Viva and some other products like Eno, Crocin and Sensodyne had also come to HUL's portfolio by virtue of the merger. On December 3, 2018, Anglo-Dutch FMCG giant Unilever announced the acquisition of health food portfolio, including popular brands Horlicks and Boost, from GSKCH India and over 20 other markets for 3.1 billion pounds (about Rs 27,750 crore). Hindustan Unilever scrip declined 0.86 per cent to close at Rs 1,992.50 on the BSE. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Despite the current relatively fewer COVID-19 related deaths across Africa in relation to other parts of the world, the World Health Organisation (WHO), believes about 190,000 people could still die in the continent if pandemic is not properly managed. This estimate was drawn by WHO African region study on Thursday. Eighty-three thousand to 190 000 people in Africa could die of COVID-19 and 29 million to 44 million could get infected in the first year of the pandemic if containment measures fail, the study said Currently, data from worldometer said 2127 deaths have been recorded in Africa, with Egypt leading (495), Algeria ( 490) and Morroco (183). Nigeria has recorded over 100 fatalities. Specifics The research was based on prediction modelling and used 47 countries in the WHO African Region with a total population of one billion as case studies. The new estimates are based on modifying the risk of transmission and disease severity by variables specific to each country in order to adjust for the unique nature of the region, the report said. It observed slower rate of transmission, lower age of people with severe disease and lower mortality rates compared to what is seen in the most affected countries in the rest of the world. This is largely driven by social and environmental factors slowing the transmission, and a younger population that has benefitted from the control of communicable diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis to reduce possible vulnerabilities, it said. According to the report, the lower rate of transmission suggests a more prolonged outbreak over a few years. READ ALSO: The study also revealed that smaller African countries alongside Algeria, South Africa and Cameroon were at a high risk if containment measures are not prioritised. The predicted number of cases that would require hospitalisation would overwhelm the available medical capacity in much of Africa, it said. Recommendations The study says countries across Africa need to expand their capacities particularly in primary hospitals and ensure that basic emergency care is included in primary health systems. All countries in the WHO African Region are using these results through the WHO country offices to inform their containment actions. The detailed methods and results are currently in press at the British Medical Journal-Global Health after extensive peer review and validation, it said. Silver lining? Meanwhile, at a virtual meeting via twitter on Thursday, the WHO regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, said COVID-19 will likely not spread as exponentially in Africa as it has elsewhere in the world. It likely will smoulder in transmission hotspots. (But) We need to test, trace, isolate and treat, Ms Moeti said. She, however, warned that COVID-19 could become a fixture for the next several years unless a proactive approach is taken by many governments in the region. She stressed the importance of promoting effective containment measures which she noted was ever more crucial, as sustained and widespread transmission of the virus could severely overwhelm the health systems. Curbing a large scale outbreak is far costlier than the ongoing preventive measures governments are undertaking to contain the spread of the virus, she said. Ms Moeti also announced these new projections at the meeting. Bhubaneswar, May 7 : The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday granted permission for construction of chariots for the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and his siblings at Odisha's Puri. However, the decision on conduct of Rath Yatra will be taken by the Odisha government keeping in view the conditions prevailing at that point of time, it said. The activity of Rath construction is allowed to be undertaken in the Ratha Khala, which is situated on both sides of the Grand Road in front of the Temple Office and Sri Nahar (Palace), subject to specific conditions, MHA under secretary Ashish Kumar Singh said in a letter to Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy. The MHA said that no religious congregation shall takes place in the Ratha Khala and complete segregation of Ratha Khala should be ensured. "The new guidelines on lockdown measures issued by the MHA on May 1, 2020 including the National Directives for COVID-19 Management should be compulsorily adhered to," it said. Earlier, the state government had sought permission of the MHA for construction of chariots during the lockdown period. The Jagannath Temple managing committee had recommended the state government to allow construction of chariots for Rath Yatra scheduled to be held on June 23 this year. Chariot construction was supposed to be started from Akshaya Tritiya festival. Over million devotees throng Puri town to witness the annual Rath Yatra. The temple doors have been shut since March 20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only day-to-day rituals are being done by the servitors. Heartwarming footage shows the moment a dog and his owner's girlfriend were reunited after being separated for 56 days during lockdown. Jessica Cristofolini, 24, from Mezzocorona, Italy, was able to visit her boyfriend Fabrizio Bottamedi, 27, as the country lifted lockdown restrictions on Monday. Fabrizios dog Aly, 8, is very attached to Jessica and couldn't contain her joy as she saw her entering the gate. Aly kept leaping and trying to kiss Jessica until she removed her facemask and returned the affection. Fabrizio Bottamedi's dog Aly is very attached to his girlfriend Jessica Cristofolini, from Mezzocorona, Italy Jessica said: 'It was very moving, 50 days felt like a lifetime and I was worried she would not recognise me after all that time. 'Instead, she went crazy with happiness as soon as she heard my steps approaching.' Italy's lockdown came into effect on March 10. On Sunday, they moved into 'phase two'. The rules say that bars and restaurants can resume takeaway services while buildings sites. Building sites and factories were also allowed to resume production. People were allowed to visit their relatives, although not their friends, and only within the region where they live. Jessica, 24, was worried that Aly would not recognise her after they were separated for 56 days during lockdown Empty streets and alleyways in Venice were a symbol of the crisis in Europe but on Monday St Mark's Square was full of people as local traders gathered in the piazza. Trains and platforms were busy again and masks are compulsory on public transport. Italy's government said regional governments were responsible for ensuring social distancing on public transports. Aly could not contain her joy when Jessica came through the gate after they were separated for so long Jessica said that Aly went crazy with happiness as soon as she heard her footsteps approaching Aly kept leaping and trying to kiss Jessica until she removed her facemask and returned the affection Milan metro passengers stood on designated spots on platforms and trains to enforce a safety distance. Parks re-opened for jogging and exercise and people are required to observe the 3 feet 'spacing' guidelines. Italy recorded 369 deaths yesterday with the total reaching 29,684. They recorded 1,444 new infections. Health minister Roberto Speranza urged Italians to remain prudent in phase two. Most South Carolina residents should have received U.S. Census forms like these in their mail recently. Robert Behre/Staff Visakhapatnam: Governent school teachers in Vishakhapatnam were brought in to control the massive crowd of tipplers, pushing and shoving each other outside liquor shops, as centre allowed alcohol shops to reopen. Along with a handful of policemen, volunteers were deployed to regulate the chaotic queues outside liquor shops in the coastal city, which has reported at least 35 COVID-19 cases. The move of deploying teachers as volunteers at liquor shops has drawn flak from various quarters. Assistant Commissioner of the Excise Department, Bhaskar Rao told ANI over the phone: "Out of a total 311 alcohol shops in the district, 272 shops are functioning in the district. Due to heavy crowd, government teachers were deployed at wine shops to manage the crowd. The teachers distributed tokens to those who lined up to buy alocohol. Buyers then approach the shops when their numbers comes." In Visakhapatnam district's Anakapalli town, two teachers said they were tasked to regulate the queues and see that social distancing is maintained among buyers. Lakshmi Narayana, one of the teachers said, "I am a teacher at Buchaiahpet mandal. This is Mahesh, teacher from Anakapalle mandal. We are paired up and put on duty at this wine shop. Two teachers have been deployed at every wine shop. See, the profession of a teacher means service. We are ready to provide service anywhere. But we are feeling guilty to do our duty at wine shops. All teachers are condemning this. We are ready to do any service that government needs. But we request not to be placed at wine shops." The teacher added, "Our District Educational Officer (DEO) has asked us to report at the police station. The police allotted the place of duty. We are doing what we were asked to do. When the government asks, we have to oblige. But we request the government to use our services elsewhere." Meanwhile, women held a protested outside a liquor shop in the city. One protester said: "Vegetable markets stay open for only 3 hours but liquor shops are allowed to remain open for 7 hours". Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday hiked the prices of liquor by 50 per cent, a day after it imposed a 25 per cent hike, which takes the overall hike in liquor price in the state to 75 per cent. The revised rates came into effect from Tuesday. The hike has been imposed to discourage alcohol consumption, according to the chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's office. Working as a cub reporter some 40 years ago, I was sent by my boss at the Tavistock Times in Devon to interview a local spinster on her 100th birthday. She said something that struck me as remarkable at the time, although it was perhaps not all that unusual for a member of her generation, born in the 1870s. In the course of her long life, she told me, she had spent only one night away from the Dartmoor cottage in which her mother had given birth to her a century earlier. Whatever the truth, it appears that we Britons along with Spaniards, Italians and others whose fellow countrymen have suffered most from the virus may find ourselves waiting longer than most for holiday villas or hotel rooms abroad The fateful night in question was sometime during the 1920s, when a sudden heavy snowfall had made it impossible for her to get home from a shopping expedition to Plymouth, just 14 miles away. That excitement aside, she had led what seemed to the young me to have been an extraordinarily unadventurous life. Excluded Never in her 100 years on this Earth had she ventured even as far as Bristol, let alone visited London or anywhere across the sea. And there I was thinking Id seen precious little of the world, having by then never travelled beyond Ireland to the west, or Greece to the east. Yet what struck me most forcibly about my interviewee was that she was one of the most serene, good-humoured and apparently contented old ladies it has ever been my pleasure to meet. She had no strong desire to see Buckingham Palace, the Eiffel Tower or the Parthenon, to swim in the Mediterranean or eat tapas in Torremolinos. She was perfectly happy at home, she said. In her opinion, travel sounded like an awful lot of bother, which she could well do without. Four decades on, I find myself coming round to her point of view. Indeed, Im not among those who are tearing their relentlessly growing hair out over this weeks news that opportunities for foreign travel may be severely restricted for the foreseeable future. She had no strong desire to see Buckingham Palace, the Eiffel Tower or the Parthenon, to swim in the Mediterranean or eat tapas in Torremolinos. She was perfectly happy at home, she said Much of Europe, we are told, is extremely nervous about allowing entry to British tourists, having seen our alarmingly high mortality figures since the coronavirus outbreak reached our shores. Some countries, such as Germany, the Czech Republic, Malta, Slovakia and Croatia, are said to be considering opening up tourist corridors to link summer holiday resorts that have been least affected by the pandemic. Others including Australia and New Zealand, China and South Korea are reported to be thinking of creating tourist bubbles, from which holidaymakers from the worst-stricken nations would be excluded. Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, warns that travel to and from America may not be opened up again until 2021. Whatever the truth, it appears that we Britons along with Spaniards, Italians and others whose fellow countrymen have suffered most from the virus may find ourselves waiting longer than most for holiday villas or hotel rooms abroad. But will this really be such a heavy burden to bear? Looking back, yes, Im delighted that I finally got to visit the U.S. when I was well into my 40s. That was when dear Mrs U, bless her, saved up her air miles from Sainsburys and gave me a ticket to New York as a Christmas present. Not even she had spent enough at the supermarket to finance two tickets and, anyway, someone had to stay at home to look after the boys. So I went alone. I was there for three unforgettable days, on my one and only trip to the U.S. She still hasnt been. But what I tend to forget is my arrival at the check-in desk at Heathrow, where I was told that my seat on the outward flight to New York JFK had been allocated, for no apparent reason, to someone else. Disaster Not to worry, said the smiley young woman behind the desk. A flight to Newark, New Jersey, would be leaving from Gatwick in a couple of hours, and shed book me on that for no extra charge. Just follow the signs to the airport transfer bus, and I should be in good time to catch the plane. And I was supposed to be grateful? All right, this was only a minor inconvenience for a fit fortysomething travelling alone with one piece of hand-luggage. But what if Id been a mother with fractious children in tow, or an OAP with a bad back? Id have been wishing Id stayed at home before even setting off. And this was more than 20 years ago, before the new rules came into force after 9/11. Who in their right mind would willingly fly from a British airport today, forced to queue for an age in those snaking cattle pens, before taking off our belts, jackets and shoes and walking through the metal detector, only to hear the wretched thing bleep, and submit to a frisking on the other side? Another year, when we were staying near Toulouse, I was rushed off to hospital gushing blood from my head after Id stabbed myself on a chandelier (dont ask me how, its a long story) [File photo] Yes, of course foreign travel has its sublime compensations. No photograph Ive seen, for example, can fully convey the mind-blowing experience of walking into the vastness of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. If I hadnt been there on a family holiday a few years ago, I would never have understood quite how astonishing it is that this colossal edifice was constructed almost 1,500 years ago, in the reign of the Roman emperor Justinian I. But then again, I cant think of Istanbul without remembering that for most of our stay, we were worried sick about our youngest son, who was confined to bed in our hotel, suffering one of the worst cases of the runs Ive ever come across. It would have been unnerving enough if hed been afflicted at home. Parental anxieties are multiplied a hundredfold when illness strikes abroad. Indeed, I can think of barely a single family holiday weve taken overseas which hasnt been marred by some disaster. There was our trip to Tuscany when our eldest, then no more than five, laughed so uproariously at somebodys joke that he fell off his chair on to a stone floor and broke his arm. Recovering Then there was the time we had a puncture in Normandy as I was racing to catch the ferry home from Cherbourg. Another year, when we were staying near Toulouse, I was rushed off to hospital gushing blood from my head after Id stabbed myself on a chandelier (dont ask me how, its a long story). Even when family holidays abroad have gone smoothly, theyve seldom been entirely satisfactory. Ive found that the first few days are generally spent recovering from the stress of the journey, acclimatising and learning local ways and where to shop and eat. Then, as soon as Im starting to relax, its time to pack up and go home again. So, no, though Im sorry for people who havent yet seen the Taj Mahal, the Empire State Building or Venice on a spring morning, I wont pretend it breaks my heart that Im unlikely to see them again any time soon. Other countries can keep their corridors and bubbles. Im quite content to stay here in my South London suburb with perhaps a trip to Norfolk, Scotland or Wales when the lockdown eases. As for Mrs U, who still has a hankering to visit the States, I promise that if the good Lord spares me, Ill try to take her there one day. But for the moment at least, strictly between you and me, Im happy to have the perfect excuse to stay at home. My centenarian interviewee was right. Travel is an awful lot of bother, which we can well do without. Harry Potter star Rupert Grint and girlfriend Georgia Groome have welcomed their first child. In a statement the couple announced that they were now proud parents to a baby girl, just a month after confirming they were expecting their first child. Rupert, 31, and Georgia, 28, announced their pregnancy in April after Georgia stepped out with a noticeable baby bump. Exciting: Harry Potter star Rupert Grint and girlfriend Georgia Groome have welcomed their first child (pictured in June 2019) In a statement a representative told The Mirror: 'Rupert Grint and Georgia Groome are delighted to confirm the birth of their baby girl. 'We would please ask that you respect their privacy at this very special time.' The couple are yet to reveal the name of their baby daughter. In April Rupert, know for playing Ron Weasley in the hit franchise, confirmed he and Georgia were expecting their first child. A representative for the actor told MailOnline at the time: 'Rupert Grint and Georgia Groome are excited to announce they are expecting a baby and would please ask for privacy at this time.' Happy news: In a statement the couple announced that they were now proud parents to a baby girl, just a month after confirming they were expecting their first child (pictured) Rupert and Georgia who's famed for her role in Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, have been together since 2011. Last month, Georgia debuted her baby bump as she and Rupert stepped out in North London to stock up on supplies amid the COVID-19 lockdown. The happy couple were pictured strolling along in the sunshine after visiting a pharmacy, and a Whole Foods to pick up some groceries. Georgia was fresh-faced for their outing with her brunette tresses hanging loose, while carrying her phone and some pharmacy purchases in her hand. Long term: Rupert and Georgia, who's famed for her role in Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, have been together since 2011 (pictured in 2017) Last year, the couple sparked marriage rumours as Georgia was spotted wearing a gold band on her wedding finger during pub lunch. The Double Date actress rocked a trendy denim pinafore dress and a grey oversized jumper. Georgia opted for minimal accessories during their cosy lunch date, with attention centred on her gold band. Rupert also stepped out with a simple ring, which he wore on his middle finger. MailOnline contacted Rupert and Georgia's representatives for further comment at the time. Shock: In December 2018, Harry Potter fans expressed their shock at discovering Georgia starred in the 2008 coming of age comedy, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (pictured in 2011) In an interview with The Guardian in 2018, Rupert opened up about his about settling down and revealed his hopes to have children someday. He said: 'Turning 30 felt strange. It just doesn't feel like I'm there yet and I don't know what the future holds. I'm just going to go with the flow, keep playing interesting characters and see what happens. 'I'd like to settle down and have kids soon. If I had a son, would I call him Ron? It's quite a good name, but probably not. And Grint's a tough name to pair a one-syllable first name with.' In December 2018, Harry Potter fans expressed their shock at discovering Georgia starred in the 2008 coming of age comedy, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. Despite the couple's long-term relationship, many enthusiasts were late to realise the London to Brighton star's acting history. Disbelief was first sparked among admirers after a fan tweeted in 2019: 'I was today years old when I found out Georgia from Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging has been going out with Ron Weasley since 2011 ????.' Fatherhood: 'I'd like to settle down and have kids soon. If I had a son, would I call him Ron? It's quite a good name, but probably not' Georgia, who is also said to have also dated actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson, is best known for playing Georgia Nicholson in the 10-year-old comedy. Rupert became a global superstar after starring as Ron Weasley in Harry Potter, making his first debut in 2001 and filming his final scenes in 2011. Since the series, Rupert has starred in a slew of TV roles, including the sitcom Sick Note, the crime drama Snatch and a Poirot role in a series called the ABC murder. Childhood stars: Rupert rose to fame alongside Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe as Ron Weasley, making his first debut in 2001 and filming his final scenes in 2011 Trump was late to use the language of war, but once the extent of COVID-19s destruction became too hard to ignore, he fully embraced it. The world is at war with a hidden enemy, Trump tweeted in mid-March. WE WILL WIN, he reassured Americans. He depicted the foreign virus as an Invisible Enemy, and saw America as being on a wartime footing and himself as the wartime president. He called Americans warriors and urged them to defend against an attack that was worse than Pearl Harbor worse than the World Trade Center attack on 9/11. The finding means that Cardinal Pell was aware of allegations of sexual abuse against Ridsdale at least a decade before Ridsdales offending was investigated by police and possibly earlier; the commission noted it would be surprised if Mulkearns deceived Cardinal Pell at a 1977 College of Consultors meeting when Ridsdales appointment to the Edenhope parish was discussed. The finding is damaging to Cardinal Pell and provides further evidence of the blind spot Australias most senior Catholic had towards Ridsdale, a prolific child sex offender who Cardinal Pell shared a home with in the 1970s and accompanied to court in 1993 and offered to provide character evidence for. Gerald Ridsdale outside court in 1993, accompanied by George Pell. Credit:Geoff Ampt In other instances of alleged neglect of victims of abuse in the Ballarat diocese, the royal commission accepted Cardinal Pells testimony over that of his accusers. The most serious allegation aired in the royal commission against Cardinal Pell was that, in 1983, he offered to bribe David Ridsdale to take allegations of sexual abuse against his uncle to a church hearing, rather than police. Loading David Ridsdale testified that he told Cardinal Pell in a February 1983 phone call that Gerald Ridsdale had sexually abused him, to which Cardinal Pell allegedly responded: I want to know what it will take to keep you quiet. Mr Ridsdales account was supported by his two sisters, Patricia Ridsdale and Bernadette Lukaitis, who each told the royal commission their brother called them shortly after his conversation with Cardinal Pell and said the then bishop had tried to bribe him. Cardinal Pell recalled having a phone conversation with Mr Ridsdale at the time but denied the words attributed to him or that he ever tried to buy Mr Ridsdales silence. I never impeded or discouraged anyone from going to the police, he told the royal commission. The royal commission found David Ridsdale was an honest witness but the conversation didnt take place as he described. We are not satisfied that Bishop Pell said the words attributed to him or otherwise sought to obtain Mr Ridsdales silence. It is more likely that Mr Ridsdale misinterpreted an offer by Bishop Pell to assist as something more sinister, it found. The royal commission found that in two other instances, Cardinal Pell was falsely accused by otherwise honest witnesses in apparent cases of mistaken identity. Edward Dowlan pictured in 1994. Credit:Geoff Ampt The first centred on an allegation dating back nearly 50 years. A former student of Ballarats St Patricks College testified that he told Cardinal Pell in either 1973 or 1974 that a teacher at the school, Edward Dowlan, was beating and molesting another boy. According to the unidentified witness, Cardinal Pell reacted angrily and told him to go away. Dowlan, a notorious Christian Brother paedophile, has since been convicted of 42 counts of child sex offences between 1971 and 1985. Cardinal Pell told the royal commission that the exchange with the boy didnt happen and that at the time, he was not living at the St Patricks presbytery, where the conversation was alleged to have taken place. The royal commission found the boy must have spoken to a priest other than Cardinal Pell. We do not doubt that BWF went to the St Patricks presbytery and reported to a priest that BWG had been beaten and molested by Dowlan and that the priest responded generally as he alleged. However, while we accept that BWF genuinely believes he spoke to Father Pell, we are not satisfied he did. We do not know the identity of the priest he did speak to. The royal commission made a similar finding about another alleged incident in which a boy said he overheard a comment made by Cardinal Pell at a funeral in reference to Gerald Ridsdale, when he allegedly said: Gerrys been rooting boys again. Cardinal Pell said the allegation was demonstrably false. The royal commission found Cardinal Pell didnt attend the funeral and didnt make the comment. The evidence leads us to conclude that the event as described by BWE is unlikely to have occurred. It is likely that he overheard the conversation. However, that conversation was not between the priests he nominated and was not in the context of that particular funeral. In another instance, the royal commission accepted the evidence of Timothy Green that in 1974, he tried to bring concerns about Dowlan to Cardinal Pell and was met with resistance. The Eureka pool in Ballarat. Credit:AAP Mr Green relayed to the royal commission a conversation he had with Cardinal Pell in the changerooms at Ballarats Eureka Pool, when he told him words to the effect: Weve got to do something about whats going on at St Pats ... Brother Dowlan is touching little boys. Mr Green testified that Cardinal Pell said the suggestion was ridiculous and walked out of the changerooms. The royal commission found: There is no evidence to suggest that Mr Greens identification of Father Pell is mistaken. The final supermoon of 2020 will be on view for all to see tonight. It will be the last supermoon visible until April 2021. Today will be the best day to see it, but the moon will be almost as good on Friday, according to Astronomy Ireland. The moon rises at 9.15pm on Thursday and 10.50pm on Friday. The full moon in May is also known as the flower moon, signifying the flowers that bloom during the month. Astronomy Ireland is encouraging lunar fans to look to the east on Thursday evening. This is one of the closest full moons of the year, hence the name supermoon," said David Moore, Founder of Astronomy Ireland magazine. There will be a second phenomenon known as 'The Moon Illusion' which makes the already bloated full moon look even bigger to the human eye, perhaps twice as large as normal. The Moon Illusion, an optical illusion, makes the human eye-brain combination think a moon low on the horizon is much closer than it actually is. Mr Moore has also called for people to send the magazine their pictures of the supermoon. Many people get very creative around the time of Supermoons and we want to publish the best of these photos in Astronomy Ireland magazine, he said. According to Nasa: The Maine Farmer's Almanac first published 'Indian' names for the full moons in the 1930s. "According to this almanac, as the full moon in May and the second full moon of spring, the Algonquin tribes of what is now the northeastern United States called this the Flower Moon, for the flowers that are abundant this time of year. Other names include the Corn Planting Moon and the Milk Moon." Dr Greg Brown, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory in the UK, told the PA news agency: The moons orbit around the Earth is not entirely circular, instead a slightly flattened circle or ellipse. As such, it is sometimes closer to and sometimes further away from the Earth. While definitions vary, a supermoon typically occurs when a full moon coincides with the moon being within the closest 10% of its orbit. After Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri confirmed that rescue flights will be operated to bring back Indians stranded abroad, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) website has crashed due to an unprecedented number of visitors. This information was shared by MoCAs official twitter handle which tweeted, The MoCA website is down due to unprecedented traffic. Team NIC is working on it. Details regarding evacuation flights will be put up on the Air India website soon. Kindly check there directly. Our apologies for the inconvenience caused. The MoCA website is down due to unprecedented traffic. Team NIC is working on it. Details regarding evacuation flights will be put up on the Air India website soon. Kindly check there directly. Our apologies for the inconvenience caused. MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) May 6, 2020 In a recent digitally held press conference, Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had confirmed that Air India will be operating 64 international flights from May 7 to May 13 to bring back stranded Indians from foreign countries. Going forward, the process of private airlines joining is possible as well. Although allowed as a special case, Air India will charge the passengers for the ticket price, unlike the earlier rescue flights which were operated free of cost. Cost of tickets from London to Mumbai will be Rs 50,000, and cost to San Francisco will be Rs 1 Lakh. This gives a breather to the airlines who are waiting for the government to lift the travel ban, which has exceeded more than 40 days. Since March 25, all the domestic air carriers have parked their planes due to the ban, suffering a massive economic setback. This is for the first time, govt has allowed airlines to operate the flight on a chargeable basis. The 64 flights planned include - 10 flights to UAE, two flights to Qatar, five to Saudi Arabia, seven to the UK, five to Singapore, seven to the United States, five to the Philippines, seven to Bangladesh, two to Bahrain, seven to Malaysia, five to Kuwait, and two to Oman. Out of the 64 flights, 15 flights from 7 countries will come to Kerala, 11 flights will come to Delhi, 3 flights to Jammu and Kashmir and 1 Flight to Lucknow. It was also stated that this is a special mission, and all those who avail of this will be charged - and on arrival, all the passengers will have to be screened and will have to be subjected to 14 day quarantine period. In addition to this, it was also announced that those who are in India but have long term visas and work opportunities outside and want to return, may be considered to be sent back to those countries in the same flights. Although there is no confirmation, the government is in talks with airlines to resume the domestic air services in a staggered once the lockdown is lifted post-March 17. Also Watch: The reproductive rate for Covid-19 in Ireland is now considered stable, while admissions to hospitals and ICUs have halved since last week. Health Minister Simon Harris told the Dail on Thursday the reproductive rate is now between 0.3 to 0.8, according to estimates carried out. He said: The R0 was previously in a range of 0.5-0.8 it is now between 0.3-0.5 in some estimates and the overall rate is now considered stable at around 0.5. Last week, hospital admissions were at around 40 per day, whereas this week it is around 20 per day. Last week, ICU admissions were at about 4-6 per day modelling now shows it is at two per day this week. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the Dail that Ireland is moving slower than other countries when it comes to lifting restrictions. He said: It is true we are slower than countries much less affected than us like Australia, New Zealand, and slower than countries much worse affected than us, like Spain and Belgium. I would rather have a plan that we accelerate if things go well, than one we might have to pause, or draw out, or go back on, if they dont. He said when Ireland first introduced the lockdown back in March, there were 70 people in ICU and while progress has been made, a cautious approach is being maintained. He said: The stakes are too high to rush things now. Meanwhile, a medical expert said it is not enough to just flatten the curve when it comes to coronavirus. Professor of general practice Liam Glynn told Newstalk FM that Ireland should not be satisfied with only lowering the level of Covid-19 transmission. He said: We have come a long way in terms of the flattening the curve, and all the signals in terms of hospitalisations and intensive care admissions all seem to be dropping. The question now is where we are going? It is not just enough to flatten the curve, in my view, I think we really need to be talking about crushing this curve and trying to eliminate Covid-19 entirely. #COVIDWATCHIRL May 7th @mikey0callaghan with @UL @ICGPnews Everyone has shown what we are capable of by decreasing #COVID19 daily growth from 30%+ to now under 2% We should as much as possible choose elimination not just suppression of #COVID lets finish the job #CrushTheCurve pic.twitter.com/jgnTK1vXLL Liam Glynn (@LiamGGlynn) May 7, 2020 The coronavirus death toll in Ireland rose to 1,375 on Wednesday after 37 more deaths were announced. There were 265 new confirmed cases, taking the total to 22,248. Prof Glynn said Ireland has an advantage in combating the virus, as it is an island. We have the advantage of trying to figure out how we do trade and travel across a border, and how we do it safely. If we go for elimination, the only way the virus can get on to this island is by importation, he added. Meanwhile, teaching unions will meet on Thursday to discuss contingency plans for the Leaving Certificate exam if it cannot go ahead. There have been calls for clarity on the exams, which are scheduled to start on July 29. No decision was announced following a meeting between the education minister, education officials and school leadership groups on Wednesday. (TNS) When workers start to return to California's Bay Area high-rises and office buildings, there is one thing they should plan on: a second wave of the coronavirus.That is according to technologists and legal experts who say the best way to fortify a workplace is to take measures to guard against the virus, but also plan for what happens when the coronavirus penetrates those defenses.The best approach for an employer in thinking about this is to prepare for additional waves of the virus spreading, said Michael Warren, head of the labor and employment practice at the law firm McManis Faulkner.Other than essential measures like reconfiguring office layouts and using personal protective equipment, planning for future spikes in the virus will also require a range of technology to trace and screen employees.You have to have access control and an ability to quarantine, said Mary OHara, chief human resources officer and senior vice president of internal communications at Blue Shield of California. You have to make sure that people psychologically and actually know ... the workplace is safe.One Sunnyvale company, NextNav, hopes to use a technology called the Metropolitan Beacon System to pinpoint employees in three dimensions while at work to more exactly determine where an infected worker was in a building and with whom that worker might have been in contact.NextNav CEO Ganesh Pattabiraman said he hopes his technology can be integrated into contact-tracing apps for smartphones so that businesses wont necessarily have to quarantine entire buildings.You can be more specific if a person took a certain elevator and entered a certain floor of the building, Pattabiraman said, noting his technology can determine a users location within about 10 feet using sensors deployed throughout a city.Companies also increasingly will have to take the office-as-fortress approach, screening employees as they enter while limiting contact with surfaces that could transmit the coronavirus.San Franciscos Proxy already makes hardware and software that allow employees to use smartphones to access office areas with minimal contact. The company is looking to expand its contactless offerings in the face of at least a partial return to work during the pandemic, according to CEO Denis Mars.Mars said the company already has created doors, turnstiles and elevators that obey the wave of a phone instead of the push of a button. He said he also wants to create attachments for iPhones and iPads that allow workers to check and log their temperatures before entering a building.Another more simple technology, Plexiglas shields between workers, also might become as in demand in office buildings as they are in many still-operating essential businesses.That is according to Katrien Van der Schueren, owner of Voila, a design studio that typically makes bespoke office furniture but now produces Plexiglas shields for customer service businesses.Van der Schueren said she believes offices may begin distributing personal barriers employees can carry around and clean in an office or begin hanging sheets of Plexiglas, as if in an art gallery.Van der Schueren admits that barriers alone will not be sufficient to curb the spread of the virus, however, and said even details like office furniture will have to be reconsidered.The type of fabric offices choose will become really important, she said. It needs to be able to be easily disinfected.Before workers even get to the office, another issue is the manner in which employees arrive to work, according to Martha Doty, a labor and employment attorney at the Alston & Bird firm. Many Bay Area employees rely on public transportation to get to work, which represents an infection risk and may cause employees to rethink or think about continuing remote-work possibilities, Doty said.Six Bay Area counties and the city of Berkeley extended shelter-in-place orders through May, but many businesses are eager to power up again despite the risks as the prolonged measures cause increasing financial strain.Recent data from a Bay Area Council survey of business leaders found 71 percent want restrictions lifted in the next month. Of the 178 leaders surveyed, 60 percent said they had laid off workers or will be forced to do so under shelter-in-place orders.In a survey of almost 1,000 office managers mostly in the Bay Area, San Francisco office-cleaning-technology company Eden found over 70 percent of those surveyed are planning to return to physical workplaces in one form or another by July at the latest.Reopening state and local economies will not be as simple as flipping a switch, however. Gov. Gavin Newsom said last week an initial phase would allow curbside pickup for retail stores and nonessential manufacturing, but even that is weeks away.Some companies like electric-car manufacturer Tesla have considered opening sooner. Tesla management told some of its employees at its Fremont manufacturing plant to return to work starting April 29, but pulled back before implementing the order.Legal considerations also potentially hinder a return to physical work as much as technological ones.Companies would be wise to stagger workers return to the office, but need to careful about discrimination, according to Rebecca Stephens, an attorney with Farella Braun and Martel.Companies cannot identify older workers and older people with disabilities and say youre not coming back because youre high risk, Stephens said, a particular challenge for employees who may be unable to work from home.Warren of the McManis Faulkner firm said forcing employees to return can be complicated especially if there has been an infection at a worksite.An employer cant force you to come into a known hazardous work environment, he said.Infections at work could also precipitate workers compensation claims, even if a company follows government safety guidance, Stephens said.All of these stumbling blocks could lead to continued work-from-home arrangements even after the shelter-in-place orders lift according to Randall Micek, regional vice president of Menlo Parks Robert Half staffing company.Micek said that trend could result in Bay Area companies broadening their search for talent beyond the region as remote work becomes the norm.Suddenly, their talent pool grows exponentially, Micek said. The Twitter account of the George W. Bush Presidential Center released a video May 2 in which the former president, responsible for war crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan and many other countries and the deaths of millions people, called for compassion and kindness in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and a lessening of partisan political warfare. Bush recited the words he certainly didnt write over soft music, as generic stock photos and short video clips of healthcare workers, farmers and food bank volunteers cycled through. The former president, as he did ad nauseam throughout his presidency, invoked the imagery of 9/11 and the theme of shared sacrifice in an attempt to soothe the growing popular outrage over the Trump administrations handling of the coronavirus pandemic which has killed nearly 70,000 as of this writing. The video is one of the more pathetic efforts by the ruling class to invoke national unity in an American society torn apart by class divisions. Class tensions, already simmering before the pandemic, expressed themselves in the comments made by thousands of users, who replied to Bushs platitudes with healthy anger and derision. George W. Bush Presidential Center video (Bush Center Twitter) After the video received fawning coverage in the corporate media, Donald Trump took to Twitter and expressed his displeasure. He did not express anger over the hypocritical and sugary character of Bushs messaging, but because the former president remained silent during Trumps impeachment and Senate trial. Trump said of Bush, He was nowhere to be found speaking up against the greatest Hoax in American history! As usual with the narcissist-in-chief, Trump evidently finds a global pandemic that has taken a quarter of a million lives less important, and certainly less personally distressing, than his own sufferings at the hands of the right-wing Democratic Party campaign over Russia and Ukraine. Bushs empty message of unity struck a chord within sections of the political and media establishment who abhor Trump for his crudeness, vulgarity, and inability, unlike his predecessors, to pretend to care very much whether working people die. But thousands of social media users denounced the video as the latest hypocritical attempt by the mass media and the political establishment to rehabilitate Bush, who prior to Donald Trump, was the most hated US president in modern history, ending his presidency with an approval rating below 30 percent. One tweeted: Our politicians in D.C. just gave away the store to American-based international corporations while tens of millions of American citizens & small businesses wont be able to pay rent or their mortgages this month. Another said, The worst president in history (Trump) makes the second worst president in history (Bush) seem not so bad by comparison Condemning Bushs call for national unity, one person commented, Just like we rallied to defeat that country with nonexistent WMDs. Let us remember empathy and simple kindness, said another, attaching photographs of Iraqi prisoners tortured at Abu Ghraib. Eulogized by Obama in 2013 at the opening of his presidential library as compassionate, George W. Bush earned the title torturer-in-chief for personally approving the CIAs use of novel enhanced interrogation techniques, such as waterboarding, which the agency implemented on a broad scale following the events of September 11, 2001. Besides the water torture, these methods included sexual humiliation and assault, sleep deprivation, abdominal striking, shaking, shoving, stress positions and hypothermia. Several prisoners died in CIA custody as a result of such treatment, while others were permanently damaged, mentally and physically. As for decrying excessive partisanship, Bush and his top political aides like Karl Rove and Vice President Dick Cheney were notorious for smearing all critics of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as terrorist sympathizers, along with anyone who objected to the USA Patriot Act, mass wiretapping and other surveillance operations. In addition to manufacturing lies which were spun to sell the Iraq war, Bush also displayed his kindness for his fellow countrymen following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The Category 3 storm destroyed the outdated levee system protecting New Orleans and killed over 1,800 people while inundating entire swathes of the city, some of which remain uninhabitable to this day. In phrases that could today come out of the mouth of Trump (or any state governor), Bushs White House aides for months urged the public to not play the blame game by pointing out the administrations incompetence, neglect and malfeasance in handling the crisis. The Democratic Party, which held office in both the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana, was equally implicated in the preventable deaths of hundreds of US citizens. The social anger following two terms of the Bush presidency found distorted expression with the election of Barack Obama. Upon assuming the presidency in 2008, Obama sought to turn the page on the previous administrations numerous crimes and never charged anyone associated with the torture program. That is one reason why the military-intelligence apparatus, and its corporate media apologists, continue to look back on Obama with favor. Demonstrating that class unity rises above partisan politics Obama reneged on campaign promises to prosecute torturers, which was authorized at the highest levels by Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Instead Obamas Justice Department went after whistleblowers and publishers such as Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange, while expanding the use of illegal drone assassinations throughout the globe. The call for national unity by the former president is only one more attempt by the ruling class to smother all critical reflection as to why the US, the richest and most militarily powerful country on the planet, has more cases and deaths from COVID-19 than any other. Bushs slick social-media packaging will be no more successful than Trumps endless lies and self-promoting press briefings and rallies. New RAC membership renewal procedures On behalf of Radio Amateurs of Canada, I would like to thank you for your continued support of Amateur Radio in Canada and internationally. Your membership has helped RAC in its two primary objectives: to support and promote Amateur Radio in Canada and internationally; and to provide valuable programs and services to RAC members (see below). As a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the RAC Head Office in Ottawa has been closed temporarily and we are no longer able to send out membership renewal notices by mail and we will be sending out email notices instead. We would appreciate it if you would please watch for these messages in your inbox and also in your junk folders this is especially true if you have Outlook or Hotmail email addresses. In addition, you can assist us by checking to see when your membership will expire by logging on to the RAC website and going to the My Membership webpage (https://www.rac.ca/my-membership/). You can also find it on the mailing label of the paper version of The Canadian Amateur magazine or by calling the RAC office as described below. If you need to renew your membership you can do so by using one of the following options: Online: by completing the online renewal form (or by clicking on the Join Radio Amateurs of Canada logo on the top right of the RAC website). Payments must be made by credit card or by PayPal. (or by clicking on the Join Radio Amateurs of Canada logo on the top right of the RAC website). Payments must be made by credit card or by PayPal. By phone: by calling 877-273-8304 from 10 am to 4 pm EST/EDT, Monday through Friday (except statutory holidays). You may pay by credit card or you may send a cheque for the appropriate amount to the RAC head office. By mail: if you prefer to have your renewal form processed via standard mail, you can download an application for your region from the Membership Renewals webpage and mail it to the RAC Office. 73, Glenn MacDonell, VE3XRA RAC President ------ RAC Membership Benefits: A Reminder I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of just a few of the important services and benefits RAC provides to its members. Radio Amateurs of Canada represents all Canadian Amateurs at all levels of government: 1) At the Local/Municipal Level: RAC works with municipalities on such issues as regulations governing the placement of antennas and assists Amateur Radio clubs and other organizations in Public Service and Emergency Services (ARES) functions throughout the year. 2) At the Regional/Provincial/Territorial Levels: RAC works with governments on such issues as Distracted Driving Legislation and Emergency Services. 3) At the National Level: RAC represents all Amateurs on the Canadian Amateur Radio Advisory Board (CARAB) and works with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on important issues such as tower legislation, RF interference and spectrum grabs by business. 4) At the International Level: RAC is a member of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) which works with the United Nations International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to preserve and expand our frequency spectrum allocations. RAC sponsors a representative at the World Radio Conferences (WRC) and their Preparatory Meetings to protect existing spectrum and open new spectrum. All of these items are intangible benefits that RAC members enjoy but members also enjoy tangible benefits including: RACs membership journal, The Canadian Amateur (TCA) magazine available in both print and digital (eTCA) formats includes regular columns, features and technical articles of interest to Amateur Radio operators. The RAC QSL Bureau System distributes QSL cards for RAC members to countries around the world. The RAC Affiliated Club Program and Liability Insurance Program provides documents and other useful material to help local Amateur Radio clubs to be more efficient and also provides affordable $5 million liability insurance to their members. Two annual contests the RAC Canada Day Contest and the RAC Canada Winter Contest and the RAC Operating Awards for Radio Amateurs worldwide. The RAC Field Organization coordinates traffic-handling (National Traffic System) and emergency communications (ARES) across Canada. The RAC Scholarship and Grant Program applies member donations to provide financial support through scholarships, research and equipment grants. The RAC Youth Education Program provides support to teachers and schools wishing to implement an Amateur Radio program or project. I hope this gives you a good idea of how a membership in Radio Amateurs of Canada is of direct benefit to you. Of course, what is not mentioned is that all of these services rely on the hard work of volunteers throughout Canada including those who serve on the RAC Board of Directors and Executive, as Section Managers and in Field Services, as volunteers at RAC Headquarters to name just a few. The challenge for us is that we do not have the membership base that the American Radio Relay League has in the United States and we rely on and appreciate the support of every single member. We hope that you decide to continue to do so by renewing your membership. Glenn MacDonell, VE3XRA RAC President and Chair Radio Amateurs of Canada The Kano State Government has discharged 16 more COVID-19 patients from its facilities after they tested negative for the virus. A statement signed by the commissioner for information, Muhammad Garba, on Thursday indicated that this brings the total number of discharged patients in the state to 22. He said among the discharged patients were Abdulrazak Habeeb, the co-chair, state task force on COVID-19; Aminu Tsanyawa, the state commissioner for health; among others. The commissioner said the patients tested negative twice for the disease. He advised the public to continue to observe strict personal hygiene. How I survived COVID-19 Meanwhile, the co-chairman, Mr Habib, has narrated how he recovered after 20 days in isolation. Mr Habib, a professor of medicine at the Bayero University, Kano, got infected while serving on the task force. In an audio clip obtained by PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday, Mr Habib said he was discharged after he tested negative. My name is Abdurrazak Garba Habib. I worked at the department of medicine within Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital at Bayero University, Kano. I am happy to inform you of my discharge from COVID isolation centre here in Kano following a negative follow up test result. READ ALSO: I got infected while serving as part of Kano State Task Force on COVID-19. I suffered a moderately severe disease, with high fever, cough, mild shortness of breath, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhoea, severe weakness and ultimately mild shock. I was sick for about one month. And on admission for twenty days, treated with nine medication. .oxygen, steam inhalation, using black seed, olive oil, ginger tea, among other things. Overall, I lost seven kilograms of weight, he said. Mr Habib lamented how health workers are being infected with coronavirus. He advised strict adherence to lockdowns, social distancing, use of facemask and personal protective equipment. I will like to reiterate the need for us all as healthcare workers to enlighten COVID is true. And we should adhere to known effective preventive measures of social distancing, lockdown, use of facemask, provision and utilisation of full personal protective equipment for at risk personnel. I am saddened to learn several colleagues have been infected. I pray they have fast (and) full recovery. PREMIUM TIMES Tuesday reported how the Kano State Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Sunusi Bala, said 34 doctors have tested positive to coronavirus in the state and one later died. He explained that many of the victims were doctors working at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) and other private clinics in the state. BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 Trend: President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon made a phone call to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on May 7, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani presidential press-service. Hailing Azerbaijans aid to his country in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, President Rahmon described it as a clear example of brotherly relations at this difficult time. President Aliyev stressed the importance of the fact that friendly and brotherly people of the two countries stand side by side at all times, especially during a severe pandemic, characterizing it as a natural manifestation of the friendly relations. The presidents exchanged views on the measures taken in the two countries to combat the coronavirus pandemic and discussed issues related to the bilateral relations, including prospects for the economic cooperation, transport and transit issues. A 58-year-old assistant sub- inspector of police has died of coronavirus in Maharashtras Solapur district, an official said on Thursday. With this, five police personnel from the state have so far succumbed to the viral infection. The assistant sub-inspector, posted at Solapur MIDC police station, was admitted to the civil hospital there on Tuesday after he tested positive for coronavirus. He died while undergoing treatment at the hospital on Wednesday, the official said. The victim, who was set to retire after four months, was on duty till last week, he said. Maharashtra Police expressed grief over the personnel's demise. "DGP and all ranks of Maharashtra Police offer their condolences to the bereaved family, the state police said in a tweet. Last month, three personnel of Mumbai Police and one of Pune Police died of COVID-19. So far, 456 police personnel, including 42 officers, have tested positive for coronavirus in the state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 20:39:57|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BANGKOK, May 7 (Xinhua) -- All beaches in Pattaya are being declared off-limits to people from the upcoming Saturday until the end of this month, said a senior official of the tourist resort city on Thursday. Barricades are being set up along the perimeters of the beaches in Pattaya City in eastern Thailand to keep out any visitors and local villagers from Saturday until the end of this month, according to Cheeravat Sukhonthasap, head of the city's Cleanliness and Orderliness Office. The latest measure in Pattaya apparently followed events in which many people have not only visited the city's beach areas but also broken the social distancing rule by engaging in group activities such as swimming in the sea and drinking sprees on the beaches for hours, Cheeravat said. Pattaya has eased up measures against the COVID-19 pandemic by allowing the sales of alcoholic beverages and removing road checkpoints for people getting in or out of the seaside city. The authorities have been calling on members of the public to strictly observe social distancing to protect themselves from possible infection. Enditem ALISO VIEJO, Calif., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Genes, a leading rare disease patient advocacy organization, in partnership with the Orphan Disease Center at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, will host this year's RARE Drug Development Symposium in an online setting to continue support for rare disease drug development during the COVID-19 pandemic. This interactive event, designed to connect, educate, and inspire rare disease advocates and researchers, features tracks for both beginners and advanced participants for a more tailored and engaging experience. Sessions will focus on the drug development process with roundtable discussions called RARE Rounds as well as the annual CUREAccelerator Live! event, a philanthropic pitch competition from Cures Within Reach that gives participants the chance to vote for the next breakthrough repurposing treatment. In addition, featured speaker Christopher P. Austin, M.D., director, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will discuss "Innovations & Collaborations Advancing Translational Research for Rare Diseases." "We've entered a new landscape," said Austin. "Despite the new reality we all find ourselves in, we are here to help push needed treatments and cures forward in innovative ways for the rare disease community." On behalf of the rare disease community, Global Genes and the Orphan Disease Center are grateful for the continued support of all sponsors and would like to especially thank Horizon Therapeutics, this year's Gold Sponsor, and Alexion Pharmaceuticals, the event's Silver Sponsor. All rare disease patients, advocates, researchers, and industry stakeholders are invited to participate in this year's event, happening June 1112, 2020. Visit the event page to register. About Global Genes Global Genes is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization on a mission to connect, empower, and inspire the rare disease community. We provide hope for more than 400 million people affected by rare disease around the globe. To date, we've educated millions of people in more than one hundred countries about rare disease, equipped patients and advocates with tools and resources, and provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in support for innovative patient impact programs. If you or someone you love has a rare disease or are searching for a diagnosis, contact Global Genes at 949-248-RARE or visit the resource hub at Globalgenes.org. SOURCE Global Genes Related Links http://www.crdnetwork.org Responsible mobilization to tackle the consequences of the health crisis Performance showed good resistance in the first quarter of 2020 Organic change in sales: -7.3% Adjusted operating margin before acquisitions1: 18.7% Solid balance sheet and financial position Active protection of Legrand's model in a highly deteriorated context 2020 outlook still uncertain Determined measures to protect profitability and cash generation Solid fundamentals for the future Regulatory News: Benoit Coquart, Legrand's (Paris:LR) Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Responsible mobilization to tackle the consequences of the health crisis Faced with a global health crisis of unprecedented magnitude, Legrand mobilized very quickly to ensure the health and safety of employees a priority while respecting our commitments to all stakeholders. In a spirit of solidarity and responsible action, the Group has also taken a number of initiatives, among them the priority supply of critical equipment to hospitals and other healthcare institutions, and support for local communities, including the creation of a fund dedicated to nursing homes for the elderly, such as EHPADs in France. Legrand has also announced2 reductions in the remuneration of the Chief Executive Officer and the entire Executive Committee for the year as a whole. Performance showed good resistance in the first quarter of 2020 In the first quarter of 2020, marked by a significant decline in business at the end of the period, Legrand reported: a -2.2% fall in sales, reflecting an organic decline (-7.3%) that was offset in large part by a sustained increase in the scope of consolidation (+4.8%) and a slightly positive currency effect (+0.7%), and an adjusted operating margin before acquisitions1 of 18.7%, one point lower than in the first quarter of 2019. These trends reflect the good resistance of the Group's performance, despite the deteriorated environment. Given its solid balance sheet, Legrand also had substantial available cash at March 31, 2020, along with well controlled debt of long maturity, which together guarantee the Group's ability to fully preserve its development model over the long term. Active protection of Legrand's model in a highly deteriorated context The health crisis has triggered a sharp deterioration in the world economic outlook with a deep recession expected in 2020, leading Legrand to suspend its targets for the year3 on March 264. An organic fall in sales was confirmed in April 2020, which saw a retreat of -41% for the month. On this basis, Legrand anticipates a marked decline in sales in the second quarter of 2020. Subject to a favorable trend in the global health situation, the second half of the year should see a sequential improvement. Against this backdrop, Legrand is resolutely deploying a series of measures designed to protect both profitability and cash generation. The Group enjoys a balanced global presence across a variety of markets and verticals driven by numerous megatrends, and is also maintaining its focus on the fundamentals that underpin a business model built on profitable and sustainable development as it prepares for the future. In a deteriorated and uncertain environment, Legrand can rely on the adaptability of its solid and proven model, and the unwavering support of its experienced and fully engaged teams." Responsible mobilization to tackle the consequences of the health crisis Faced with a sudden worsening in the global health crisis and world economy, and on the strength of its structure's efficiency and responsiveness, Legrand immediately mobilized to focus on protecting the health and safety of employees, in particular by strictly applying recommendations from officials and from the World Health Organization, which included rolling out Group-wide guidelines on best practices. The Group is also working actively to ensure continuity of service for customers, whose businesses are critical to keeping the economy functioning. On May 5, 2020, almost all of Legrand's logistics centers were open and customer care operations (including both sales and service teams) were up and running in most of the geographical areas it serves. In addition, Legrand is honoring all of its payment obligations, particularly to suppliers, and is maintaining its proposed dividend for 2019 at 1.345, unchanged from the previous year, compared to the 1.42 initially proposed. Moreover, the Group has rapidly rolled out a number of community support measures in the countries where it operates, including: in Europe, delivering respirator parts in France; supplying urgent healthcare provider call solutions in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom; and donating videoconferencing systems to retirement homes in the Netherlands; - in the United States, developing cable management systems for field hospitals in New York in four days, and converting a production line to manufacture face masks in Indiana; and - in the rest of the world, by distributing meals to populations in need in India and in Cambodia, and by supplying emergency UPS systems to a university hospital in Kolkata. As part of its ongoing support for vulnerable individuals, Legrand also announced the creation of a solidarity fund for nursing homes for the elderly, such as EHPADs in France, to help patients and staff working in these institutions. Finally, as a gesture of solidarity by the Group's management and Directors, Legrand also announced6 a -25% reduction in the target value of the Chief Executive Officer's total annual compensation, and a freeze in the fixed compensation in respect of 2020 to the Executive Committee, for whom the target value of the annual variable portion of compensation has also been significantly reduced; and - a freeze of compensation in respect of 2020 to the Board of Directors, who have forgone the increase initially planned. Performance showed good resistance in the first quarter of 2020 Key figures Consolidated data ( millions)(1) 1st quarter 2019 1st quarter 2020 Change Sales 1,550.0 1,515.7 -2.2% Adjusted operating profit 305.2 282.6 -7.4% As of sales 19.7% 18.6% 18.7% before acquisitions(2) Operating profit 285.9 260.0 -9.1% As of sales 18.4% 17.2% Net profit attributable to the Group 190.4 167.1 -12.2% As of sales 12.3% 11.0% Normalized free cash flow 240.2 230.4 -4.1% As of sales 15.5% 15.2% Free cash flow 60.4 133.8 +121.5% As of sales 3.9% 8.8% Net financial debt at March 31 2,553.9 2,872.1 +12.5% See appendices to this press release for definitions and indicators reconciliation tables. At 2019 scope of consolidation. Consolidated sales In the first quarter of 2020, sales totaled 1,515.7 million, down -2.2% from the first quarter of 2019. The organic decline was -7.3%, with decreases observed both in mature countries (-5.1%) and in new economies (-13.4%). The impact of the broader scope of consolidation came to +4.8%. Based on acquisitions made in 2019 and 2020, and on their likely dates of consolidation, the impact should be around +3% in 2020. The currency effect is a positive +0.7%. Applying average exchange rates observed in April 2020 over the last nine months of the year, and taking into account the exchange-rate effect for the first quarter of 2020, the theoretical impact on sales of currency fluctuations should be about -0.5% for full-year 2020. Changes in sales by destination at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates broke down as follows by region: 1st quarter 2020 1st quarter 2019 Europe -5.1% North and Central America -4.2% Rest of the world -17.2% Total -7.3% These changes at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates are analyzed below by geographical region: Europe (42.4% of Group sales): in the first quarter of 2020, sales in Europe were down -5.1% at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates. In Europe's mature countries, sales retreated organically by -7.4% in the first quarter of 2020, recording a more marked decline in the month of March as lockdown measures took effect. Although warehouses for finished goods were kept open, this trend was observed in the main countries, including France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Spain. However, sales increased in a limited number of countries, including Germany and the Netherlands. In Europe's new economies, despite a demanding basis for comparison, sales increased +9.4% from the first quarter of 2019 at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates, driven by ongoing projects started in 2019, as well as a still limited impact of the health crisis over the quarter, with good showings in Turkey, Hungary, Russia and Poland. North and Central America (39.8% of Group sales): the organic change in net sales was negative at -4.2% in the first quarter of 2020, with the decline steepening for March alone. In the United States, sales retreated -3.9%. Good performances in user interfaces and busways for datacenters were not enough to offset the retreat in other ranges such as PDUs or control and lighting solutions. Sales decreased slightly in Canada and more markedly in Mexico. Rest of the world (17.8% of Group sales): sales declined -17.2% at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates compared with the first quarter of 2019. In Asia-Pacific, sales were down -20.6% in the first quarter of 2020 as business decreased by close to 50% in China over the whole period, and as sales marked a clear decline in India a market where the increase in the first two months of the year was not enough to offset the strong retreat recorded in March alone. In Australia, sales increased over the period. In South America, sales declined organically by -12.0% in the first quarter, with many countries, including Brazil, reporting a sequential deterioration in business in March as the first lockdown measures were implemented. In Africa and the Middle East, sales retreated -12.6%. Business was down in the Middle East, where the first impacts of the health crisis were combined with a persistently difficult geopolitical and economic environment. In Africa, where the 2019 basis for comparison was particularly demanding, sales also declined in a number of countries. Adjusted operating profit and margin Adjusted operating margin before acquisitions (at 2019 scope of consolidation) came to 18.7% of first-quarter 2020 sales, one point lower than in the first quarter of 2019. Against the backdrop of a sharp and sudden deterioration in the business environment, this performance reflects good profitability resistance, linked to the Group's early adaptation measures and efficient management of pricing. The impact of changes in the scope of consolidation on the adjusted operating margin after acquisitions was -0.1 points, setting the latter at 18.6% of sales in the first quarter of 2020. Adjusted operating profit was 282.6 million, down -7.4% from the first quarter of 2019. Net profit attributable to the Group Net profit attributable to the Group was 167.1 million, down -12.2% from the first quarter of 2019, i.e. -23.3 million. This was due primarily to: a fall in operating profit (-26 million); an unfavorable trend (-6 million) in net financial expenses and the foreign-exchange result; and a decrease in the absolute value of corporate income tax (+8 million), linked to the decline in profit before tax, and with the corporate tax rate almost unchanged at 28.5%. Cash generation Cash flow from operations amounted to 14.7 of sales in the first quarter of 2020, down by -2.9 points. In the first quarter of 2020, normalized free cash flow was down -4.1% to 15.2% of sales. Moreover, working capital requirement came to 8.9% of sales at March 31, 20207, -3.1 points lower than in March 31, 2019. Balance sheet structure The Group's balance sheet at March 31, 2020 was solid, with key features including: cash and cash equivalents of 1.8 billion; and - net debt of 2.9 billion, an EBITDA8 ratio of 1.9 and long-term debt maturity. Legrand also has significant residual financing capacity. Active protection of Legrand's model in a highly deteriorated context 2020 outlook still uncertain The current health crisis is creating a rapid worsening in the global economic outlook for 2020, with a severe recession now anticipated. In this deteriorated and uncertain context, the Group announced on March 269 that it was suspending its 2020 targets10 Sales continued their organic fall in April 2020, with a retreat of -41% for the month alone that confirmed trends observed in the second half of March in several countries. On this basis, Legrand anticipates a marked decline in sales in the second quarter of 2020, reflecting the adoption of many lockdown measures. Compared to the second quarter of 2020, and subject to a favorable trend in the global health situation, the second half of the year should see a sequential improvement. Determined measures to protect profitability and cash generation Drawing on its experienced and fully engaged teams, a structure that is as close as possible to its markets, and solid performance management processes, Legrand is focused on protecting both profitability and cash generation. Against a backdrop of sharply declining business volumes, initiatives taken to date by Legrand include: adapting the Group's production, administrative and commercial cost base; - stepping up the pace of initiatives linked to its industrial footprint, including in particular changes in the configuration and number of sites; - postponing non-priority investments; - adapting and tightening careful management of working capital requirements and treasury. Solid fundamentals for the future With operations in nearly 90 countries, Legrand operates in a variety of markets from residential to commercial and industrial buildings and in both new construction and renovation. Its business is driven by profound, long-term technological and societal megatrends that include fighting climate change, digitization of buildings, new ways of working, and more. Lastly, Legrand offers a host of essential products that help keep the economy operating smoothly by ensuring business continuity and efficiency in data centers; by protecting systems, goods and people; and by promoting assisted living. Backed by a global, balanced presence in critical business areas, plus the commitment of experienced and fully engaged teams, the Group is thus actively addressing the fundamentals that underpin its model of profitable and sustainable development, to prepare for the future. To this end, Legrand continues to: develop its leadership positions which generate around 2/3 of total sales and have secured its place as an industry pace-setter in particular through ongoing R&D efforts and a stream of new product launches; - deploy initiatives to incorporate digital technologies into its product offering through the development of connected products under the Eliot program and into its processes; - actively dock newly acquired companies within the Group. Examples include Focal Point11, a front-runner in the United States for specification-grade architectural lighting for non-residential buildings, acquired at the beginning of 2020; - pursue a demanding, responsible long-term approach: despite the current economic and health crisis, the Group is thus prepared to achieve the 2019-2021 targets announced in its fourth CSR roadmap, focusing on its Business Ecosystem, Human Development and Environment. The Board adopted consolidated financial statements for first-quarter 2020 at its meeting on May 6, 2020. These consolidated financial statements, a presentation of 2020 first-quarter results and the related teleconference (live and replay) are available at www.legrandgroup.com. Key financial dates: General Meeting of Shareholders (behind closed doors): May 27, 2020 Ex-dividend date: June 1, 2020 Dividend payment: June 3, 2020 2020 first-half results: July 31, 2020 Quiet period 12 " starts July 1, 2020 Quiet period " starts July 1, 2020 2020 nine-month results: November 5, 2020 Quiet period13" starts October 6, 2020 About Legrand Legrand is the global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures. Its comprehensive offering of solutions for commercial, industrial and residential markets makes it a benchmark for customers worldwide. Drawing on an approach that involves all teams and stakeholders, Legrand is pursuing its strategy of profitable and sustainable growth driven by acquisitions and innovation, with a steady flow of new offerings-including Eliot* connected products with enhanced value in use. Legrand reported sales of close to 6.6 billion in 2019. The company is listed on Euronext Paris and is notably a component stock of the CAC 40 index. (code ISIN FR0010307819). https://www.legrandgroup.com *Eliot is a program launched in 2015 by Legrand to speed up deployment of the Internet of Things in its offering. A result of the group's innovation strategy, Eliot aims to develop connected and interoperable solutions that deliver lasting benefits to private individual users and professionals. https://www.legrandgroup.com/en/group/eliot-legrands-connected-objects-program Appendices Glossary Adjusted operating profit: Adjusted operating profit is defined as operating profit adjusted for amortization and depreciation of revaluation of assets at the time of acquisitions and for other P&L impacts relating to acquisitions and, where applicable, for impairment of goodwill. Busways:electric power distribution systems based on metal busbars. Cash flow from operations: Cash flow from operations is defined as net cash from operating activities excluding changes in working capital requirement. CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility. EBITDA: EBITDA is defined as operating profit plus depreciation and impairment of tangible assets, amortization and impairment of intangible assets (including capitalized development costs), reversal of inventory step-up and impairment of goodwill. Free cash flow: Free cash flow is defined as the sum of net cash from operating activities and net proceeds from sales of fixed and financial assets, less capital expenditure and capitalized development costs. KVM: Keyboard, Video and Mouse. Net financial debt: Net financial debt is defined as the sum of short-term borrowings and long-term borrowings, less cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities. Normalized free cash flow: Normalized free cash flow is defined as the sum of net cash from operating activities-based on a normalized working capital requirement representing 10% of the last 12 months' sales and whose change at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates is adjusted for the period considered-and net proceeds of sales from fixed and financial assets, less capital expenditure and capitalized development costs. Organic growth: Organic growth is defined as the change in sales at constant structure (scope of consolidation) and exchange rates. Payout: Payout is defined as the ratio between the proposed dividend per share for a given year, divided by the net profit attributable to the Group per share of the same year, calculated on the basis of the average number of ordinary shares at December 31 of that year, excluding shares held in treasury. PDU: Power Distribution Units. UPS: Uninterruptible Power Supply. Working capital requirement: Working capital requirement is defined as the sum of trade receivables, inventories, other current assets, income tax receivables and short-term deferred tax assets, less the sum of trade payables, other current liabilities, income tax payables, short-term provisions and short-term deferred tax liabilities. Calculation of working capital requirement In millions Q1 2019 Q1 2020 Trade receivables 809.3 716.0 Inventories 911.7 852.4 Other current assets 211.7 210.5 Income tax receivables 79.7 58.1 Short-term deferred taxes assets/(liabilities) 87.4 96.9 Trade payables (642.0) (590.0) Other current liabilities (589.9) (584.5) Income tax payables (45.7) (54.0) Short-term provisions (89.1) (120.8) Working capital required 733.1 584.6 Calculation of net financial debt In millions Q1 2019 Q1 2020 Short-term borrowings 459.1 1,114.1 Long-term borrowings 3,168.4 3,578.7 Cash and cash equivalents (1,073.6) (1,820.7) Net financial debt 2,553.9 2,872.1 Reconciliation of adjusted operating profit with profit for the period In millions Q1 2019 Q1 2020 Profit for the period 190.8 167.1 Share of profits (losses) of equity-accounted entities 0.3 0.6 Income tax expense 75.2 66.8 Exchange (gains) losses 0.8 5.5 Financial income (3.2) (2.5) Financial expense 22.0 22.5 Operating profit 285.9 260.0 Amortization depreciation of revaluation of assets at the time of acquisitions and other P&L impacts relating to acquisitions 19.3 22.6 Impairment of goodwill 0.0 0.0 Adjusted operating profit 305.2 282.6 Reconciliation of EBITDA with profit for the period In millions Q1 2019 Q1 2020 Profit for the period 190.8 167.1 Share of profits (losses) of equity-accounted entities 0.3 0.6 Income tax expense 75.2 66.8 Exchange (gains) losses 0.8 5.5 Financial income (3.2) (2.5) Financial expense 22.0 22.5 Operating profit 285.9 260.0 Depreciation and impairment of tangible assets 42.4 46.2 Amortization and impairment of intangible assets (including capitalized development costs) 26.1 31.7 Impairment of goodwill 0.0 0.0 EBITDA 354.4 337.9 Reconciliation of cash flow from operations, free cash flow and normalized free cash flow with profit for the period In millions Q1 2019 Q1 2020 Profit for the period 190.8 167.1 Adjustments for non-cash movements in assets and liabilities: Depreciation, amortization and impairment 69.1 78.6 Changes in other non-current assets and liabilities and long-term deferred taxes 8.8 15.4 Unrealized exchange (gains)/losses 3.4 (19.3) (Gains)/losses on sales of assets, net 1.1 (16.5) Other adjustments 0.2 (1.8) Cash flow from operations 273.4 223.5 Decrease (Increase) in working capital requirement (184.0) (84.9) Net cash provided from operating activities 89.4 138.6 Capital expenditure (including capitalized development costs) (29.3) (23.5) Net proceeds from sales of fixed and financial assets 0.3 18.7 Free cash flow 60.4 133.8 Increase (Decrease) in working capital requirement 184.0 84.9 (Increase) Decrease in normalized working capital requirement (4.2) 11.7 Normalized free cash flow 240.2 230.4 Scope of consolidation 2019 Q1 H1 9M Full year Full consolidation method Debflex Balance sheet only 6 months 9 months 12 months Netatmo Balance sheet only 6 months 9 months 12 months Trical Balance sheet only 6 months 9 months 12 months Universal Electric Corporation Balance sheet only 6 months 9 months Connectrac Balance sheet only Jobo Smartech Balance sheet only 2020 Q1 H1 9M Full year Full consolidation method Debflex 3 months 6 months 9 months 12 months Netatmo 3 months 6 months 9 months 12 months Trical 3 months 6 months 9 months 12 months Universal Electric Corporation 3 months 6 months 9 months 12 months Connectrac 3 months 6 months 9 months 12 months Jobo Smartech Balance sheet only To be determined To be determined To be determined Focal Point Balance sheet only To be determined To be determined To be determined Disclaimer This press release may contain forward-looking statements which are not historical data. Although Legrand considers these statements to be based on reasonable assumptions at the time of publication of this release, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed or implied herein. Details on risks are provided in the Legrand Registration Document filed with the Autorite des marches financiers (Financial Markets Authority, AMF), which is available on-line on the websites of both AMF (www.amf-france.org) and Legrand (www.legrandgroup.com). No forward-looking statement contained in this press release is or should be construed as a promise or a guarantee of actual results, which are liable to differ significantly. Therefore, such statements should be used with caution, taking into account their inherent uncertainty. Subject to applicable regulations, Legrand does not undertake to update these statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of publication of this release. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy Legrand shares in any jurisdiction. 1 At 2019 scope of consolidation. 2 For more information, readers are invited to refer to the press release issued April 11, 2020. 3 Targets announced February 13, 2020, and defined as "excluding any major changes in the economic environment possibly linked to developments in the world health outlook". 4 For more information, readers are invited to consult the press release issued March 26, 2020. 5 Dividends will be paid in full out of distributable income. For more information, readers are referred to the press release issued April 11, 2020. 6 For more information, readers are invited to refer to the press release issued April 11, 2020. 7 Based on sales for the last 12 months. 8 Based on EBITDA for the last 12 months. 9 For more information, readers are invited to consult the press release issued March 26, 2020. 10 Targets announced February 13, 2020, and defined as "excluding any major changes in the economic environment possibly linked to developments in the world health outlook". 11 For more information, readers are invited to consult the press release issued February 27, 2020. 12 Period of time when all communication is suspended in the run-up to publication of results. 13 Period of time when all communication is suspended in the run-up to publication of results. The reader is invited to verify authenticity of press releases by Legrand with the CertiDox app. More information on www.certidox.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200506006042/en/ Contacts: Investor relations Legrand Ronan Marc Tel: +33 (0)1 49 72 53 53 ronan.marc@legrand.fr Press relations Publicis Consultants Vilizara Lazarova Tel: +33 (0)1 44 82 46 34 Mob: +33 (0)6 26 72 57 14 vilizara.lazarova@publicisconsultants.com In the run-up to the 23rd Prism Awards to be announced virtually on Friday, 15 May, we chatted to this year's cohort of 'young voices' about their fresh approach to the judging process. Lerato Motloung What does this recognition and opportunity mean to you? Briefly tell us about your experience in the industry. Comment on the judging process. What has the response been to this years entries? What makes winning work stand out? Prisa also introduced the Student Campaign of the Year in 2016. Why do you think its important that PR students are included in such initiatives? What do you think young minds bring to the table? What have you learnt working alongside the cluster judges? Comment on the current state of PR. In this series of interviews, we find out what theyve learnt working alongside the cluster judges (albeit remotely) and what their young minds bring to the virtual table.I am still not sure what it means for myself as a young judge. We have already judged and chosen the winning campaigns, but arent going to get the full experience we had hoped for. I truly hope that we will receive another opportunity to get the full 'PYV' experience next year or when the Covid-19 pandemic wears out. Lerato Motloung, PR and digital strategist at Creative Shoppe, commenting on the cancellation of the physical Awards and the general impact of the pandemic on the industry.Here, our interview with Motloung...I always asked myself if doctors or scientists ever doubted their skills even after spending so many years at school to perfect it. Well, I noticed that sometimes we all go through that. What this opportunity means for me is that I am recognised in my industry as a young, up-and-coming PR professional. It also shows me that we never stop learning and being chosen as a PYV is giving me the opportunity to continue learning from those who came before me.I havent been in the industry that long. Between 2013 and 2015 I was studying Corporate Communications and Marketing at the University of the Free State. In 2017 I enrolled for a Diploma in Media Practice: Public Relations at Boston Media House. I only started practising PR in 2018 when I started to volunteer at agencies such as The Alore Group and Magna Carta. In 2019, as I was completing my final year of studying, I got exposed to amazing opportunities, such as volunteering at the Prism Awards, assisting with publicity and PR for the South African Music Awards and landing an internship at Creative Shoppe. That is where I harnessed my digital marketing skills, working under Olwethu Leshabane, who is an amazing marketing communications practitioner and media entrepreneur.The judging process has been tricky. All the entries we received were amazing and I found myself wondering where to fault them. Looking at all the campaigns submitted, I have picked up some inspiration to take back with me to work. It was a tough two weeks of judging, but it was worth it.In our cluster (group), we are judging the digital and social media relations category. The campaigns have been exciting to judge, given that a few of them made waves on social media. There is also the virtual reality and gaming category, which is new to most of us, so that was a bit of a challenge.I love a good story. I wish I could have given bonus points for the campaigns that had an amazing story to share. I also believe in message quality over quantity. It's rarely ever about how many messages you can get out to your targeted audience, but more about, Did it resonate with them and did it reach them?. What stands out for me is when an agency is able to take the challenge they are faced with and create something memorable from it.I truly believe that this is one of the most important categories. Students being involved while they are still studying gives them an opportunity to get a hands-on experience of the competitiveness in the industry. Unfortunately, I didnt have the opportunity to enter our campaigns, but volunteering at the Prisms gave me an experience I wish all PR/Communications students could get.We have the privilege of growing up in an era where social media (TikTok, Instagram, SnapChat), 4IR (virtual reality, artificial intelligence) and digital media (as opposed to traditional) exist. We have been gruesomely exposed to these things and it works in our advantage when we're having to find new and improved ways to make PR work.Team work makes the dream work. What that means is I really wouldnt know how I would have handled the responsibility of having to decide on my own. The other judges have also made me so comfortable in learning to ask questions, I never truly believed in the statement: There is no such thing as a dumb question, till the judges created a safe space for me to ask what I am not sure about.We are currently in the digital era and thus PR has had to go digital too. For instance, digital media relations and social media are recently added categories in the Prisms. Five years ago that category didnt exist. PR is being forced to adapt to technology and the rise of AI. We constantly need to change the way we communicate with our stakeholders. The traditional methods are slowing losing momentum. The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday rejected claims by Tanzanian President John Magufuli that coronavirus tests in his cou... The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday rejected claims by Tanzanian President John Magufuli that coronavirus tests in his country had been faulty. Recall that Tanzanian President, John Magufuli, had on May 3 ordered a probe on the countrys coronavirus testing kits after samples taken from a goat and pawpaw tested positive. The President had said that the COVID-19 testing kits, which had been imported from abroad had technical errors. Reacting, WHO Africa director Matshidiso Moeti during a press prodding rejected the claim. He said, We are convinced that the tests are not contaminated with the virus. We are not in agreement with (Magufulis) point of view, Moeti said. Also speaking, Dr John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control (CDC), maintained that Tanzania was using test kits supplied by the Africa CDC in collaboration with the Chinese Jack Ma Foundation, which met international standards. Tanzania is using the same test that everyone is using, NAN quoted him as saying. He noted that it was improbable that the tests were faulty. Meanwhile, Tanzania has suspended the director and quality control manager of its national laboratory pending an investigation after the allegedly faulty results. He appeared at Belfast Magistrates' Court charged with rape and a number of other offences. A 62-year-old Co Antrim man allegedly raped his wife after locking her inside their home, a court heard. He is accused of launching the attack when she returned from work on Monday, May 4, threatening to kill her if she made a complaint. The defendant, who cannot be named, then allegedly tried to take his own life at their property in the Carrickfergus area. He appeared at Belfast Magistrates' Court charged with rape, attempted rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, threats to kill and false imprisonment. A detective claimed the woman discovered the front and back door had been locked after she arrived back at the house. Her husband then allegedly began punching and choking her in the hallway and living room. She was forced upstairs and raped, before a further sexual assault was attempted in the kitchen area, according to the police case. The detective said the woman was allowed to leave at that stage, walking to a relative's house in a neighbouring area. Following his arrest the accused made no comment during police interviews. Opposing bail, the detective stressed the seriousness of the alleged assault. "The complainant suffered multiple bruises, abrasions and a broke rib," he said. "During the attack he threatened to kill her twice if she made a complaint to police." Concerns were also raised that the man could self-harm if released. District Judge Mark Hamill was told he tried to hang himself after the incident. Disputing the police version of events, defence solicitor Stewart Ballentine insisted his client had no intention of taking his own life. He described how the accused has been in isolation during the Covid-19 due to health issues. Emphasising the couple's long-term marriage, Mr Ballentine argued there have been no previous domestic incidents. "In response to the charges he replied 'No, not guilty'," the lawyer added. Bail was refused, however, due to the risk of further offences and interference with witnesses. Judge Hamill remanded the man in custody to appear again by video-link in four weeks time. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 00:41:53|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday urged countries around the world to replace their differences with solidarity, eliminate prejudice with reason, and foster great synergy against the COVID-19 pandemic. He made the remarks in a telephone conversation with his Uzbek counterpart, Shavkat Mirziyoyev. On behalf of the Chinese government and people, Xi extended sincere sympathies and firm support to their Uzbek counterparts over their fight against the coronavirus disease. The COVID-19 pandemic has once again proved that only building a community with a shared future for mankind is the right way forward, Xi pointed out, adding that solidarity and cooperation are the most powerful weapons in the fight, which has the well-being of all humanity and the development and prosperity of the world at stake. Countries across the world, he suggested, should strengthen cooperation to overcome the current difficulties and safeguard the common homeland of mankind. It is a fine tradition in bilateral relations for China and Uzbekistan to share weal and woe and help each other through thick and thin, Xi stressed. Recalling that the Uzbek government and society extended a helping hand to China in the toughest period in China's battle against the contagious disease, Xi said the Chinese people are also concerned about the outbreak in the Central Asian country. Aid supplies from the Chinese government, local governments and enterprises have been arriving in Uzbekistan, and experts from the two countries have shared their experience in COVID-19 prevention and control via teleconferencing, noted Xi, adding that China will continue providing support and assistance for Uzbekistan's fight against the epidemic. The Chinese president said he hopes that Uzbekistan will continue protecting the normal work and life of Chinese nationals on its soil, and believes that under Mirziyoyev's strong leadership, the Uzbek people will surely overcome the epidemic. China-Uzbekistan relations enjoy a solid foundation and great potential, Xi said, adding that the two sides should continue firmly supporting each other and translating challenges into opportunities. While joining hands to combat the pandemic, Xi added, the two countries should promote all-round cooperation in a flexible manner, and ensure the smooth implementation of those projects they have agreed upon within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. He also suggested that China and Uzbekistan deepen collaboration in such multilateral mechanisms as the World Health Organization (WHO) and work together to maintain world peace and development. For his part, Mirziyoyev said that under Xi's wise leadership, the Chinese government has taken firm, decisive and highly effective measures and brought the epidemic under control in a short time. The Chinese people have shown incredible solidarity, cooperation and courage, and set an example for other countries, he added. He thanked the Chinese government and people for providing selfless humanitarian assistance for Uzbekistan at its most difficult time, noting that thanks to China's valuable experience and help, Uzbekistan has made remarkable progress in the prevention and control of the epidemic. Facts have proved that China is a reliable friend of Uzbekistan, said Mirziyoyev, adding that Xi can rest assured that Uzbekistan will treat Chinese nationals in the country like its own citizens and take good care of them. Mirziyoyev said he fully agrees with Xi that, in the current situation, the international community should strengthen solidarity and cooperate closely within multilateral frameworks such as the WHO and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. He added that he looks forward to meeting with Xi as soon as possible after the pandemic, so as to promote the joint construction of the Belt and Road and the continuous development of bilateral cooperation in various fields. The Uzbek side, he said, stands ready to work with China to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. Slate is making its essential coronavirus coverage free for all readers. Subscribe to support our journalism. Its easy to get a test for the novel coronavirus these days. At least, one kind: an antibody test. This one essentially looks to see if the virus has left its mark in your bloodstream, evidence of a past infection. A couple weeks ago, antibody tests were newfangled and hard to findI know a guy, juggernaut tech commentator Kara Swisher wrote in the New York Times on April 15 to explain how she got her hands on one. There were rumors on my local Nextdoor group about where Gov. Andrew Cuomos statewide testing would be taking place. For a couple random days in late April, it was at a local grocery store; people scrambled to stand in the long socially distanced line before the tests ran out for the day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, antibody tests are widely available. You dont have to make an appointment with your doctor nor do you need to have had a bona fide COVID scare to get onetheyre at quickie medical centers across America. CityMD started offering them last week. GoHealth Urgent Care announced that it would be performing them as of Tuesday, available for people to check if they had been exposed to the virus whether or not you experienced symptoms. You can even get approved for an antibody test from your couch: Doctor on Demand, a telehealth platform, is advertising antibody tests, too. (Youll need go somewhere in person to get the blood draw). On Monday, I myself put some things in a pursethrillingand headed around the corner to a local CityMD to get one. I got in line outside behind one other person, and a few minutes later was ushered in. I checked myself in at a touch-screen kiosk, then sat down in a waiting room chair, between two empty ones sporting signs that read, This chair reserved for social distancing. I wanted to ask other people why they were there, but I also didnt want to open my mouth to talk, or force anyone to open their mouths to talk to me; we were of course wearing masks, but I am acutely aware that masks are imperfect. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As is the test I was there to take: Antibody tests are, right now, a tool for scientists and politicians to get a grip on whats happening on a populationwide level, over time. But for one individual, they just arent accurate enough to really tell you much at all. They wont allow you to go back to work, or visit a friend worry free. And though I live in the national epicenter of the pandemic, I havent even been sick lately. But I cant help but want the data point. Also, my editor asked if I would do this. Advertisement Advertisement Heres how getting an antibody test goes: A nurse calls me back and does the usual: asks for height and weight, takes my blood pressure. She asks if Ive been sick, and I tell her I was coughing a lot back in February. This is enough! She puts some needles on a tray for the blood draw, then leaves, with all the fanfare of a routine STD test. A doctor comes in a few minutes later, asks the question about if I was sick again, then starts picking up the materials on the tray to get started. Theyre doing lots of these tests now, yes, he tells me. It takes forever for the needle to go in as it always doesI worry that I will pass out, as has happened in the past with me and needles, especially now that its dawning on me that I came to a health center, where there are sick people, in the middle of a pandemicbut then its over, and the doctor is moving toward the door. The results will be ready in three to five days. Maybe in a few months they will be useful, he explains. As to what they will mean now, what they will mean for me personally he just shrugs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In spite of myself, I felt great walking home, a Band-Aid and a cotton ball in the crook of my arm. Soon, I would finally have some information. A little data point, for me! If I got a positive, I could look into donating plasma. And I have to be honest: I thrilled at the idea that if I got a positive, I might be able to go to the grocery store or go on a walk with a friend without feeling as much fear of catching or spreading it. Even though I, a science journalist who has read and written extensively on the fact that antibody tests are not immunity passports, knew that even if the test returned positive, I shouldnt change anything about my daily behavior. As the tests are new, the exact accuracy is currently unknown, said an info sheet that CityMD gave me on my way out. Its possible the test would miss antibodies from the virus (a false negative), or pick up on ones from a different virus (a false positive); its possible that even if I had antibodies from the novel coronavirus, those wouldnt make me perfectly immune. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My worry, as more and more people get antibody testing, is that the results will be used to loosen our personal restrictions on what we do and dont do. That should give folks offering tests pause, as it did for Rite Aid chief operating officer Jim Peters. The science at this point has not arrived at a conclusion that antibody testing will create more benefit than potential harm, he said on Good Morning America on Thursday, explaining why his drugstore chain is not offering antibody testing at this time. Sending people back to work, for example, after a positive antibody test may not be appropriate and may be dangerous. I brought the concern to Todd Latz, the CEO of GoHealth, which is currently offering the tests. Latz is based in Georgia, where relaxed stay-at-home orders and open restaurants mean that individuals are left to make a lot of choices for themselves about how much they will distance. He said that he believes by offering people the antibody test, we [can] properly inform them, in a discussion context, about what this means and what it doesnt mean, said Latz. In other words, people wont overinterpret the results, because doctors will remind them not to. Advertisement Advertisement I find that answer unsatisfying. Going back to work could be especially tempting for folks who really need to get back to work at, say, an hourly wage job at a restaurant. Its also easy to see how bosses might use antibody tests to put pressure on people to get back to work, as opposed to continuing to offer the flexible work from home hours, and sick time, that we all would ideally have access to in our national group effort to not transmit the virus. Yes: There are scientific upsides to more antibody testing. The more people who take them, the better well start to get a handle on the true spread of the virus (though doing this via a statewide testing program seems like a better way to supply that data than going to a for-profit chain). In the near future, we might even have more knowledge about what the tests mean, as both Latz and the doctor who took my blood pointed out, allowing us to have a deep backlog of people who have test results and are ready to receive some clear direction. That were in this bind at all is because we failed to do what we really needed to: widespread testing at the onset. But barring a clear reason from your doctor or a specific situation, getting an antibody test at this point is, at best, a somewhat inessential reason to leave the house. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you are still craving a test, consider this: Getting my resultsthey were negativeput a huge damper on the rest of my day. It felt like being waitlisted for my dream college, or rejected after a promising first Tinder date. I was surprised at the weight of my disappointment. I sat staring at the CityMD portal feeling like Id been battening down the hatches for nothingso much staying inside and mask wearing and not making plans to visit my parents for their birthdays. And I had nothing to show for it. My body hadnt seen my hard work and quietly handled the virus for me. I know logically that all the staying at home had helped me avoid the thing, after all, potentially slowing spread and saving other people, too. Were in a group populationwide effort, trying to all follow similar rules, and getting an antibody test for the purpose personal knowledge is kind of beside the point right now, no matter how the test turns out. I know if it had been positive, it wouldnt have meant anything for me either, really. That would have been hard to grapple with, too. For more on antibody tests, listen to this weeks What Next: TBD. Refugees at Kalobeyei Settlement in Kenya receive two-month rations of soap, jerrycans and firewood. UNHCR/Samuel Otieno The UNs Humanitarian Chief, Mark Lowcock, has called for swift and determined action to avoid the most destabilizing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as he releases a US$6.7 billion appeal and an updated global plan to fight coronavirus in fragile countries. COVID-19 has now reached every country, with nearly 3,596,000 confirmed cases and over 247,650 deaths worldwide. The peak of the disease in the worlds poorest countries is not expected until some point over the next three to six months. However, there is already evidence of incomes plummeting and jobs disappearing, food supplies falling and prices soaring, and children missing vaccinations and meals. The humanitarian system is taking action to avert a sharp rise in conflict, hunger, poverty and disease as a result of the pandemic and the associated global recession. Todays updated Global Humanitarian Response Plan has been expanded in response. It includes nine additional vulnerable countries: Benin, Djibouti, Liberia, Mozambique, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Togo and Zimbabwe, and programmes to respond to the growth in food insecurity. Todays new appeal and updated humanitarian response plan were released at a virtual event hosted by Mark Lowcock, alongside the Executive Director of WHO Health Emergencies, Mike Ryan; the President and CEO of Oxfam America, Abby Maxman; the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi; and the Executive Director of WFP, David Beasley. The plan was first launched by the UN Secretary-General in March. UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock said: The COVID-19 pandemic is hurting us all. But the most devastating and destabilizing effects will be felt in the worlds poorest countries. In the poorest countries we can already see economies contracting as export earnings, remittances and tourism disappear. Unless we take action now, we should be prepared for a significant rise in conflict, hunger and poverty. The spectre of multiple famines looms. If we do not support the poorest people especially women and girls and other vulnerable groups as they battle the pandemic and impacts of the global recession, we will all be dealing with the spillover effects for many years to come. That would prove even more painful, and much more expensive, for everyone. "This pandemic is unlike anything we have dealt with in our lifetime. Business as usual will not do. Extraordinary measures are needed. As we come together to combat this virus, I urge donors to act in both solidarity and in self-interest and make their response proportionate to the scale of the problem we face. The COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan is the international communitys primary fundraising vehicle to respond to the humanitarian impacts of the virus in low- and middle- income countries and support their efforts to fight it. The plan brings together appeals from WHO and other UN humanitarian agencies. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and NGO consortiums have been instrumental in helping shape the plan. They are key partners in delivering it and can access funding through it. The plan provides help and protection that prioritize the most vulnerable. This includes older people, people with disabilities, and women and girls, given pandemics heighten existing levels of discrimination, inequality and gender-based violence. The plan includes programmes that respond to the growth in food insecurity. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, said: The caseload in most countries in the Global Humanitarian Response Plan may seem small, but we know that the surveillance, laboratory testing and health systems capacity in these countries are weak. It is therefore likely that there is undetected community transmission happening. At the same time, confinement and other measures are having a major impact on essential health services. Its extremely important to maintain these services, from vaccination to sexual and reproductive health, WASH and mental health. Abby Maxman, President & CEO of Oxfam America, said: NGOs, especially at the local level, are on the front lines of this crisis every day, and we are seeing that the most vulnerable among us are being hit the hardest. We are ramping up and adapting our response around the globe to provide life-saving aid such as clean water and sanitation, food, cash and other support. To make our response most effective, we now need to ensure our colleagues and partners have safe access to the most vulnerable communities and to see the rapid delivery of flexible funding. We owe it to our heroic colleagues and the communities they work with to keep their voices and needs at the centre of this response and to get this right. Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said: The pandemic is inflicting deep wounds across our world. For people who fled wars and persecution, the impact on their mostly hand-to-mouth existence and on their hosts has been devastating. Together with our NGO partners, the UN is determined to stay the course and deliver for refugees, internally displaced, stateless people, and their hosts, and ensure their inclusion in public health responses and social safety nets. The needs are vast, but not insurmountable, and only collective action to curb the threat of the coronavirus can save lives. Timely, generous and flexible response from all our supporters is critical. David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme, said: On any given day, WFP offers a lifeline to nearly 100 million people. Unless we can keep those essential operations going, the health pandemic will soon be followed by a hunger pandemic. It is critical that the global community delivers a global humanitarian response built around a strong logistics backbone that will protect the worlds most vulnerable citizens from humanitarian catastrophe. Since the plan was first launched on 25 March, US$1 billion in generous donor funding has been raised. This includes US$166 million from OCHAs pooled funds to support efforts across 37 countries, with US$95 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund and US$71 million from 12 Country-based Pooled Funds. This has enabled: The installation of handwashing facilities in vulnerable places like refugee camps; and the distribution of gloves, surgical masks, N95 respirators, gowns and goggles, and testing kits to help vulnerable countries respond to the pandemic. The creation of new transport hubs from which supplies can be transported by air. More than 1.7 million people around the world, including health workers, to be trained in virus identification and protection measures through WHOs online COVID-19 training portal. Everything achieved so far has only been possible because of the generous funding from donors. It can only continue if additional funding is made available that is proportionate to the scale of the problem we face. Analysis by the UNs Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs shows that the cost of protecting the most vulnerable 10 per cent of people in the world from the worst impacts is approximately US$90 billion. This is equivalent to 1 per cent of the current global stimulus package put in place by OECD and G20 countries. It calculates that two thirds of those costs could be met by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund if they are supported to change the terms on which they help the most vulnerable countries. The remainder will need to come from increased official development assistance over the next 12 months. Note to editors The COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan May Update is coordinated by the UNs Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs with inputs from UN agencies and NGO consortiums. The Plan complements plans by the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The report is embargoed until 0001 EST / 0600 CET Thursday, 7 May. For further information, please contact: SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) House Republicans said Wednesday that Illinois' pandemic control plan needs GOP input and again urged Gov. J.B. Pritzker to convene the Legislature. The Democratic governor on Tuesday presented a five-phase plan to reopen shuttered businesses and ease the social distancing guidelines necessitated by the coronavirus crisis. Republican lawmakers said Pritzker's plan moves too slowly to save many businesses or take the state back to how it was. Pritzker closed schools and implemented a stay-at-home order in mid-March to slow transmission of the coronavirus. Rep. Dan Brady said Restore Illinois proves the state's pandemic response continues to be a decree by one person. With this plan it could be months or even years before the state would fully reopen as we wait for a treatment or vaccine, said Brady, a Bloomington Republican. I have already heard from countless business owners that if the governors plan continues, they wont be able to reopen whenever the time comes. On Wednesday, the Pritzker administration reported 136 more deaths from complications of COVID-19 and 2,270 new cases. Overall, 2,974 people have died and 68,232 have confirmed infections. The Legislature hasn't met since early March and the spring session is scheduled to adjourn May 31. There has been little public discussion about convening even to vote on a budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Pritzker said he has talked repeatedly with lawmakers of both parties and implemented many of their suggestions. Republicans said they should be allowed to convene under guidelines developed by the Illinois Department of Public Health for the General Assembly's return to the Capitol: Temperature readings upon entering the building; excluding the public and lobbyists; and voting on legislation with members maintaining 6 feet of space between them. Some members would have to take seats in the public galleries. House Speaker Michael Madigan, who could also call the chamber to action, said its clear "Illinois is not out of the woods" and discouraged a quick return to Springfield. Illinois is in the second phase of Restore Illinois, with rapidly increasing COVID-19 cases and deaths leveling off. More social interaction is allowed at each stage, with the final one coming only after a vaccine or cure has been introduced. Republicans and others concerned about the economy noted that under the plan many businesses won't reopen until the later stages. Under the plan, the state is split into four regions, and some could progress through the phases more quickly than others. But, a region experiencing a resurgence of the coronavirus can be bounced back a phase. In the face of pressure from central and southern Illinois regions where there are lower coronavirus case numbers than in Chicago, Pritzker has emphasized that he's guided by medical experts and scientific modeling. Dixon Rep. Tom Demmer dismissed Pritzker's suggestion that those pushing to reopen are blind to the data. Theres a lot of complexity that comes into establishing these multifaceted plans, Demmer said. And when we have that level of complexity, we need to have input from a wide variety of stakeholders." Chicago officials said Wednesday that the number of new coronavirus cases among Latinos has surged in recent weeks, deepening concerns that the virus disproportionately affects minority communities. Public health officials say a month ago 14% of people in Chicago who tested positive were Latinos but that proportion has risen to 37%. The citys population is about 29% Hispanic, according to public health officials. Mayor Lori Lightfoot called the numbers breathtaking and said community leaders and health care providers will help the city communicate more with Hispanic residents. Nothing about this is OK and we can never allow ourselves to think that it is, Lightfoot said. Pritzker said one-third of the state's 200 COVID-19 testing sites are in Latino communities and many have bilingual support. ___ Check out more of the APs coronavirus coverage at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak ___ Associated Press writer Kathleen Foody contributed from Chicago. ___ Follow Political Writer John OConnor at https://twitter.com/apoconnor Were hearing a lot these days about how we should trust the experts when it comes to dealing with the coronavirus. Well, John Ioannidis is the experts expert. He is a physician and statistician at Stanford University who was described in an Atlantic Monthly profile as one of the worlds foremost experts on the credibility of medical research." Back on March 17, when the panic about the pandemic was reaching fever pitch, Ioannidis wrote a piece for an online site that injected a bit of realism into the debate. It was headlined A fiasco in the making? As the coronavirus pandemic takes hold, we are making decisions without reliable data. With contrarian views like that, Ioannidis is a hard guy to get a hold of these days. But when I finally got him on the phone, he told me the most ominous predictions were flawed because of a lack of data. The resultant alarmism, he said, led to decisions to impose lockdowns on the population as a whole rather than targeting resources in places where they were most needed, such as nursing homes. Based on what we know now, much of our strategy was completely wrong, he said. We did the exact opposite of what we should have done. We locked everyone inside and we sent people with Covid to nursing homes. Could we have got it more wrong than that? That would have been tough. The first major Covid-19 outbreak in the United States occurred at a nursing home just outside Seattle in mid-February, with 35 fatalities. That should have been a warning of where the danger lay, but New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo presided over policies that let hospitals send Covid-19 patients to nursing homes to free up hospital beds. At the moment they said this was a coronavirus, we should have known that what we needed to address was to protect nursing homes and hospitals, he said. At a press briefing yesterday, the Murphy administration revealed that almost half of the CV-19 deaths in New Jersey 4,261 out of 8,549 total deaths - were in nursing homes and other long-term-care facilities. Instead of focusing on that problem, Murphy employed a strategy emphasizing a lockdown for all New Jerseyans. When I asked the governor about that Wednesday, Murphy replied, Look at the progress were making. Its because people are staying home and not going out. Maybe. But maybe not, said Ioannidis. Prohibiting mass gatherings was a good idea, he said. But the presumption that lockdowns helped is very speculative. We dont know that. (If lockdowns work, why is it that 66 percent of new cases from New York are people who had self-quarantined?) What we do know is that coronaviruses have been around for more than 50 years, he said, and this is far from the first time such a virus has caused multiple deaths in nursing homes. This particular coronavirus is spreading widely. But among the general public, many people are doing so well they dont even notice they are being affected, Ioannidis said. That original mortality rate of 3.4 percent put out by the World Health Organization was based on data that took into account only those who were suffering and dying from the disease, he said. If those numbers are true, lock me in the refrigerator and close the door and dont let me out even if Im screaming, he said. When you count all the cases with light or nonexistent symptoms, as he did in a study in California, the mortality rate falls into the range of influenza, Ioannidis said. Influenza can kill tens of thousands per year, but we have no way of knowing in advance whether an upcoming influenza season will be a good one or a bad one, he said. Covid-19 is equally unpredictable, he said. But many politicians are insisting on unrealistic progress before lockdowns are lifted, Ioannidis said. They say we have to have a vaccine before we end lockdown measures, he said. Well we havent developed a vaccine for coronaviruses in 50 years. How can we develop one in two months? In the meantime, he said, we need to recognize that lockdowns have caused great economic harm and prevented people from getting treatment for other conditions. But theres room for hope, Ioannidis said. Past coronaviruses have made a big splash and then receded. Now this is a very bold statement and I may be wrong, he said. There is a chance that the real epidemic wave has already gone in most places. Thats not the kind of comment that makes headlines on the internet. But the way our politicians are handling this outbreak, we better hope that prediction turns out to be true. ADD - GOOD READING FOR THE GOVERNOR: The Stanford University Medical School has been an island of sanity in the coronavirus craziness that has driven our country into economic disaster. Here is an excellent plant from Scott Atlas for getting America going again. An excerpt: The basis of reassuring the public about re-entry is repeating the facts about the threat and who it targets. By now, studies from Europe and the U.S. all suggest that the overall fatality rate is far lower than early estimates. Read the whole thing. Or better yet, get the governor to read it. Central gov't spokesperson denounces violence in HKSAR People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 14:01, May 06, 2020 BEIJING, May 6 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson for the State Council Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office on Wednesday denounced violence and the "burn with us" mentality in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), calling them the political viruses of Hong Kong society and the enemy of the "one country, two systems" policy. "Hong Kong will not enjoy a day of peace until violence is eradicated," the spokesperson said in a statement, noting that the central government will never sit idly and allow this destructive force to act wantonly. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Gov. Phi Murphy will hold a 1 p.m. press conference on Thursday to provide the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic in New Jersey. The gathering at the Trenton War Memorial will be streamed on the governors YouTube channel. Murphy will be joined Thursday by Department of Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. The states online unemployment claims system has gone down multiple times in recent weeks as thousands of newly jobless New Jerseyans attempted to file. The governors office has also received countless complaints from people who have been waiting six weeks or more to receive their unemployment check. His administration said Wednesday that the state expects to clear the backlog of claims from gig workers early next week. State Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli, communicable disease service medical director Dr. Edward Lifshitz and State Police Superintendent Colonel Pat Callahan will also be at the press conference. Murphy will speak publicly two other times later Thursday. At 6 p.m. Thursday, he will be on East Orange Mayor Ted Greens Facebook live before appearing on NJTVs Coronavirus Q&A at 6:30 p.m. At least 8,244 in New Jersey have died of COVID-19 related causes since March 10. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. A garbage truck driver who fatally struck a Sydney grandmother pushing a pram has been found not guilty of the most serious charge levelled against him. In the NSW District Court on Thursday, Judge John North found Teremoana "Tere" Tekii not guilty of dangerous driving occasioning death over the crash in February 2018. A less serious back-up charge of negligent driving occasioning death is scheduled to be mentioned at his next court appearance on June 30. Tekii, 29, was on his last job of the day when he reversed up a narrow Dee Why service road and collided with 58-year-old Hane Mathieson as she walked her two- year-old grandson. The United States welcomes Iraqi PM Kadhimis new government, and support to extend its permission to import electricity from Iran for 120 days, State Department press service reported. "Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo spoke today with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. Secretary Pompeo welcomed Prime Minister Kadhimis new government, which was confirmed by the Council of Representatives. They discussed the urgent hard work ahead for the Iraqi government, implementing reforms, addressing COVID-19, and fighting corruption. In support of the new government the United States will move forward with a 120-day electricity waiver as a display of our desire to help provide the right conditions for success. The Secretary and the Prime Minister also discussed the upcoming U.S.-Iraq strategic dialogue and how they look forward to working together to provide the Iraqi people the prosperity and security they deserve," the statement said. On April 27, the United States announced that it would extend for 30 days an exception to Iraq for sanctions for the purchase of energy from Iran. In December 2018 and in March 2019, the US already decided to withdraw Iraq from the sanctions restricting the purchase of energy from Iran for 90 days. The Iraqi government has repeatedly stated that Baghdad so far has no alternative to replace gas imports from Iran. As reported earlier, the Iraqi parliament has approved the composition of the government, which was proposed by PM candidate Mustafa al-Kazemi. It is no exaggeration to say that there is now no guaranteed safe place in Trinidad and Tobago. We have moved from the stage of being prisoners in our homes behind metal bars to being afraid to enjoy the beautiful outdoors and even to sleep, for fear that if crime comes knocking we may have no recourse but to cower and beg for our lives. The society is being overpowered by the force of the criminal will with insufficient resources to resist and break that power. CSE:CDPR MONTREAL, May 7, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Cerro de Pasco Resources Inc. ("CDPR" or the "Corporation") (CSE: CDPR) (OTCMKTS: GPPRF) (Frankfurt: N8HP) ("CDPR" or the "Company") has released its audited condensed consolidated financial statements accompanied by the management's discussion and analysis ("MD&A") for the year ended in December 31, 2019. The documents have been filed electronically with SEDAR and will be available on the Corporation's website: www.pascoresources.com. The Corporation also outlines its 2020 Strategic Objectives: Complete the acquisition of the Cerro de Pasco Mine with Volcan Compania Minera S.A.A. (BVL:VOLCABC1)("Volcan") outlined in the press releases on March 31, 2020 and November 28, 2019 , (the "Transaction") and , (the "Transaction") Improve the efficiencies of the main operating assets contemplated in the Transaction, namely the oxide mining and leach processing plant and the two base metals concentrators currently treating stockpiles. Complete Mineral Resource Estimates of the business combination on completion of the Transaction. Specifically, the new NI43-101 Mineral Resource Estimates will include the following areas: Oxides Sulphides Excelsior stockpile Miraflores stockpile Pyrite stockpile Rumilliana stockpile Commence with the exploration of the Quiulacocha historical tailings deposit Conduct metallurgical test work on the Quiulacocha tailings material Complete an Environmental Audit for baseline operations Commence a post-transaction, dual-listing process to the TSX-V/TSX and BVL ( Lima ) Stock Exchanges About Cerro de Pasco Resources Cerro de Pasco Resources Inc. is a resource management company, with a focus on applying the latest technology in the production of commodity metals through the treatment and reprocessing of all material resources, dumps, tailings, mining waste etc. at Cerro de Pasco in order to secure long-term economic prosperity. CDPR strives to meet to the highest level of environmental, social and legal compliance. CDPR provides extensive knowledge of Cerro de Pasco's challenges and potential, based on first-hand experience and a team of top experts. Forward-Looking Statements and Disclaimer Certain information contained herein may constitute "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "seeks", "expects", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "could", "might", "likely" or variations of such words, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "will", "could", "would", "might", "will be taken", "occur", "be achieved" or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements, including the expectations of CDPR's management regarding the completion of the Transaction as well as the business and the expansion and growth of CDPR's operations, are based on CDPR's estimates and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of CDPR to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are subject to business and economic factors and uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements, including the relevant assumptions and risks factors set out in CDPR's public documents, available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Although CDPR believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements and forward-looking information. Except where required by applicable law, CDPR disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. SOURCE Cerro de Pasco Resources Inc. For further information: Guy Goulet, CEO, Telephone: +1-579-476-7000, Mobile: +1-514-294-7000, [email protected] Related Links http://pascoresources.com/ London, May 7 : In a U-turn, the UK government that earlier decided not to use the global framework proposed by Apple and Google for its coronavirus contact tracing app has now asked software developers to look and help switch to the exposure notification technology offered by the US tech giants. The about-turn is result of privacy watchdogs criticizing the UK's government's decision to go alone on its contact tracing app that "will be less effective than incorporating Apple and Google's software, while also gathering too much personal information in a central database," reports The Financial Times. The NHS app "has also raised concerns about whether the UK app will be compatible with those under development by other countries which are using the Apple and Google", the report said on Thursday. Keeping this in mind, the government has asked software developers to "investigate" switching its contact-tracing app to the global standard proposed by Apple and Google. The NHS is scheduled to begin testing the in-house contact tracing solution as part of wider efforts to monitor and mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Last month, despite privacy and security concerns, NHSX which is the digital arm of the UK's health organization, decided to create a centralised contact tracing app on its own. The framework proposed by Apple and Google is a decentralised one, meaning that the tracking information will not be stored in a central server. Apple and Google had offered their expertise to help NHSX build its own app. "We've been working with Apple and Google throughout the app's development and it's quite right and normal to continue to refine the app," an NHSX spokesperson was quoted as saying. France has also rejected comprehensive APIs from Apple and Google in favour of an app that will store users' information in a central database. The UK is one of the few countries that has chosen to create a contact-tracing app that is incompatible with the contact-tracing API currently being developed by Google and Apple. In their latest update, Apple and Google have stated that their exposure notification apps (earlier called contact tracing apps) are prohibited from seeking permission to access users location services. Use of the Application Programming Interface (API) will be restricted to one app per country to promote high user adoption and avoid fragmentation. If a country has opted for a regional or state approach, the companies are prepared to support those authorities, the tech giants said in a statement. On April 10, Google and Apple announced a joint effort to enable the use of Bluetooth technology to help governments and health agencies reduce the spread of COVID-19 through contact tracing, with user privacy and security core to the design. Both the companies have provided developers with new resources to help them make exposure notification apps, including user interfaces (UI) and sample code for both iOS and Android. The U.S. Department of Commerce is close to signing off on a new rule that would allow U.S. companies to work with China's Huawei Technologies on setting standards for next-generation 5G networks, people familiar with the matter said. Engineers in some U.S. technology companies stopped engaging with Huawei to develop standards after the Commerce Department blacklisted the company last year. The listing left companies uncertain about what technology and information their employees could share with Huawei, the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker. That has put the United States at a disadvantage, said industry and government officials. In standards setting meetings, where protocols and technical specifications are developed that allow equipment from different companies to function together smoothly, Huawei gained a stronger voice as U.S. engineers sat back in silence. The Commerce Department placed Huawei on its "entity list" last May, citing national security concerns. The listing restricted sales of U.S. goods and technology to the company and raised questions about how U.S. firms could participate in organizations that establish industry standards. After nearly a year of uncertainty, the department has drafted a new rule to address the issue, two sources told Reuters. The rule, which could still change, essentially allows U.S. companies to participate in standards bodies where Huawei is also a member, the sources said. The draft is under final review at the Commerce Department and, if cleared, would go to other agencies for approval, the people said. It is unclear how long the full process will take or if another agency will object. "As we approach the year mark, it is very much past time that this be addressed and clarified," said Naomi Wilson, senior director of policy for Asia at the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), which represents companies including Amazon.co Inc , Qualcomm Inc and Intel Corp . The U.S. government wants U.S. companies to remain competitive with Huawei, Wilson said. "But their policies have inadvertently caused U.S. companies to lose their seat at the table to Huawei and others on the entity list." The rule is only expected to address Huawei, the people familiar with the matter said, not other listed entities like Chinese video surveillance firm Hikvision . In adding Huawei to the list last May, the Commerce Department cited U.S. charges pending against the company for alleged violations of U.S. sanctions against Iran. It also noted that the indictment alleges Huawei engaged in adeceptive and obstructive acts" to evade U.S. law. Huawei has pleaded not guilty in the case. A Department of Commerce spokesman declined to comment. A Huawei spokeswoman also declined to comment. aI know that Commerce is working on that rule," a senior State Department official told Reuters on Wednesday. "We are supportive in trying to find a solution to that conundrum." The White House and departments of Defense, Energy, and Treasury did not immediately respond to requests for comment. aInternational standard setting is important to the development of 5G," said another senior administration official, who also did not want to be identified. "The discussions are about balancing that consideration with America's national security needs. Six U.S. senators, including China hawks Marco Rubio, James Inhofe and Tom Cotton, last month sent a letter to the U.S. secretaries of Commerce, State, Defense and Energy about the urgent need to issue regulations confirming that U.S. participation in 5G standards-setting is not restricted by the entity listing. "We are deeply concerned about the risks to the U.S. global leadership position in 5G wireless technology as a result of this reduced participation," the letter said. In the telecommunications industry, 5G, or fifth-generation wireless networks, are expected to power everything from high-speed video transmissions to self-driving cars. Industry standards also are big business for telecommunications firms. They vie to have their patented technology considered essential to the standard, which can boost a company's bottom line by billions of dollars. The ITIC's Wilson said the uncertainty has led U.S.-base standards bodies to consider moving abroad, noting that the nonprofit RISC-V Foundation (pronounced risk-five) decided to move from Delaware to Switzerland a few months ago. The foundation oversees promising semiconductor technology developed with Pentagon support and, as Reuters has reported, wants to ensure those outside the United States can help develop its open-source technology. CAMBRIDGE Even though a return to pre-pandemic production levels is weeks away, all 8,500 employees at the Toyota plants in Cambridge and Woodstock will be back at work by Tuesday. Theyll be met by thermal scanners, a mandatory face mask policy and a series of new protocols marking a changed environment and a "new normal" at the plants, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada president Frank Voss said in an interview Wednesday. "We have been here for the last seven weeks working on making this a safer place," he said. "I feel very confident that we have got a good system in practice." The company says most work stations along the lines allow for physical distancing, but barriers have been installed where thats not possible; workers in those areas must also wear face shields. Barriers and physical distancing will also define cafeterias and break rooms, and hundreds of hand sanitizer stations have been added. Production ground to a halt in mid-March at all of Toyotas North American manufacturing plants over COVID-19 concerns and slumping auto sales. Workers have been paid during the shutdown, and Voss said no layoffs are anticipated moving forward. "Weve committed to long-term employment stability," he said, adding theyre proceeding with the planned hiring of several hundred summer students as in past years. A total of five employees based at the Cambridge plant have tested positive for COVID-19, although at least two of those cases occurred in the weeks after the plants closure. If any additional cases were to arise at the plants once employees return, "we would make sure that we are doing the right things from a safety perspective," Voss said. The line in that area would be stopped, close contacts would be identified, and the area would be sanitized and restarted when safe to do so. Some employees have already returned in advance of the larger restart. A recent health and safety complaint prompted a Ministry of Labour investigation that did not lead to any orders being issued against Toyota. All employees will complete an online health survey before they return. Having passed it, team leaders (akin to a lead hand) will return to the plants on Monday to train. At one of the main entrances in Cambridge, 10 lanes with thermal scanners should process about 60 employees a minute. All other employees will return on Tuesday, when theyll spend the day on orientation, training and "work hardening," Voss said. "They havent been building cars for seven weeks. To avoid any kind of ergonomic risk, well take it slow." Theyll run the lines for the first time on Wednesday, with only a handful of cars produced each shift; a slow ramp-up begins Thursday. "We are going to keep it at a slower pace for probably an extended period of time," Voss said. "It wont be before June that we start to get back into a rhythm, but its all about making sure that we do this right." Vizag: As several states have started arranging for transportation to send the stranded migrant workers back to their respective native states, in Vizag thousands of factory workers took to the streets to demand their monthly wages. The workers of HPCL refinery at Vizag`s Pedagantyada held a protest demanding the payment of their April month's salary before being sent off to their respective homes. Some workers also complained of neglect on the part of the company and that they were not provided adequate food. "We work at HPCL refinery. No one from L&T came to see us during the lockdown. Only one staff member came and arranged food but now there`s no food," one of the labourers was quoted as saying by ANI. The workers protested on the streets of the city, police had to be called to restrain the protesters. While, on Wednesday atleast 12,000 migrant workers were sent to their respective states from both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. As many as 13 Shramik trains were arranged for their transportation. The train left early Wednesday morning to ferry workers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand back to their home state. Meanwhile, Andhra has reported 56 fresh cases of infections taking the total tally to 1,833 with 38 deaths. Upon her 2011 breakup with Prince Harry, then-25-year old lingerie model Florence Brudenell-Bruce proclaimed in what the Telegraph deemed Garbo-like fashion that she intended to remain mum about the short-lived summer romance. Now 34, Prince Harrys ex is opening up about her relationship with the young royal, going so far as to say she found the press terrifying during her time in the public eye. Now happily married, St. George talks candidly about her past public relationships Before she became involved with Prince Harry, St. George spent two years in the public eye as she accompanied her lover, Formula One driver Jenson Button, around the race circuit. The pair met via mutual friends while she was in her final year at Bristol School. Florence continued to live with her parents, Andrew and Sophie, throughout her relationship with Button, says UK Daily Mail. The reason she stayed in the family home, she explained, wasnt for the convenience of having her mum do her laundry, but because she genuinely enjoyed their company. On the verge of her breakup with Button, St. George said that although shell always remember her time with the race car driver as wonderful and exciting, she wont at all miss the constant noise and excitement of the F1 race circuit. Of that long-ago period of her life, she noted: I was strutting down Formula One pit lanes and that was really fun. And though I was in front of a camera to a degree, I kept it quite minimal. But then I had another relationship. . . The prince and the fashion model Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex | Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images When discussing her exciting, albeit brief, affair with Prince Harry, St. George explained that their short relationship was reported on extensively by various media. St. George spoke more on the publicity: what it was like to be under that focus I found it really terrifying Although some reports say that the prince broke off the relationship, the leggy blonde told Tatler it was she who called things off. I made a decision quite quickly that it wasnt the right thing for me. I have utmost respect for anyone who does live in that spotlight, but it left me with a total fear of the camera. Because they started dating in private, it is unclear when the prince, who was in training to become an Army Air Corps helicopter pilot, first met his fashion model lover. It is known, however, that in July 2011, the UK Daily Mail revealed that the queens grandson had been secretly dating Florence Brudenell-Bruce for around four weeks. Florences life post-prince Before dating the prince, Florence was romantically linked with the man to whom she is now married. His name is Henry St. George, and hes the vice president of the Grand Bahama Port Authority. Did the prince attend their July 2013 wedding? If he did, it was kept completely quiet. Today, the St. Georges are the proud parents of two kids, Iris and Jimmy, and split their time between homes in the Bahamas and London. [May 07, 2020] UK Cloud Services Provider Deploys Veeam and Cloudian Storage Solution for Ransomware Protection and Office 365 Backup SAN MATEO, Calif., May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cloudian today announced that Central Technology Limite d (CT) , a leading UK cloud services provider and Veeam Cloud & Service Provider (VCSP), has introduced new ransomware protection and Office 365 backup services built on Veeam software and Cloudians HyperStore object storage platform. The new service offerings will enable CTs customers to meet their evolving data protection needs, as data volumes, malware threats and user demands continue to increase. Ransomware Protection Through Data Immutability CT provides managed services, cloud and business continuity solutions to a broad base of customers that includes legal, manufacturing, charitable organizations and professional services clients. Recognizing the growing ransomware threatmost recently manifested by hackers capitalizing on the surge in remote workingCT wanted to offer these customers robust ransomware protection-as-a-service. To provide the foundation for this service, CT turned to Veeam and Cloudian. The two companies have partnered on an Object Lock solution that makes backup data copies immutable and, therefore, invulnerable to hacker encryption or deletion. This data immutability ensures availability of an uninfected copy for quick, reliable recovery in the event of a ransomware attack. Complete Protection for Office 365 Data In addition to its new ransomware protection offering, CT has introduced Secure Cloud Backup for Office 365 that leverages Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 and Cloudian HyperStore. A fully managed service that provides comprehensive backup and replication, this new data protection offering includes unlimited storage and retention for Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Teams and OneDrive for Business. With CTs Secure Cloud Backup for Office 365, Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 backs up business-critical Office 365 data directly to HyperStore, providing a fast, secure disk-based data protection solution for CTs customers. This includes protection from accidental deletion, security threats and retention policy gaps, thereby ensuring business continuityall at up to one-third less cost than the largest public cloud backup services. Enhancing our Veeam environment with Cloudian reflects CTs commitment to employing best-of-breed technology to help our customers protect their data in an ever-evolving world, said Christopher Barr, technical director at CT. As our new ransomware and Office 365 backup services demonstrate, Cloudians limitlessly scalable and highly cost-effective object storage is a key element of our ability to expand our business and deliver greater value to our customers. It is exciting to see this joint solution helping with the challenge of ransomware threat and other increasing data protection demands, said Dave Russell, vice president, Enterprise Strategy, at Veeam. Were delighted to see CT taking advantage of this collaboration to offer new services and the resulting peace of mind to its customers. To learn more about how service providers can help their customers protect against ransomware attacks, register for a May 13 webinar featuring representatives from CT, Veeam and Cloudian at https://bit.ly/2YfyF2M. For additional information on Veeam and Cloudian solutions: Watch this video on ransomware protection at http://bit.ly/2V1S3hX. Visit this webpage focused on combatting ransomware at http://bit.ly/3bIK2EF. Read about protecting Office 365 data at https://bit.ly/3cYUlnA. About Cloudian Cloudian is the most widely deployed independent provider of object storage systems, with the industrys most advanced S3 compatibility and an extensive partnership ecosystem. Its award-winning flagship solution, HyperStore, provides limitless scalability and cloud-like technology, flexibility and economics in the data center. Cloudians global data fabric architecture enables enterprises to store, find and protect object and file data seamlessly across sites, both on-premises and in public clouds, within a single, unified platform. Learn more at cloudian.com. EMEA Media Contact Will McCurdy Red Lorry Yellow Lorry [email protected] +44 (0) 20 7403 8878 U.S. Media Contact Jordan Tewell 10Fold Communications [email protected] +1 415-666-6066 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 20:50:58|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KUWAIT CITY, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait on Thursday reported 278 new cases of COVID-19 and two more deaths, bringing the total infections in the country to 6,567 and the death toll to 44, the health ministry said in a statement. Currently, 4,142 patients are receiving treatment, including 91 in ICU, according to the statement. Meanwhile, Minister of Health Bassel Al-Sabah announced the recovery of 162 patients from the coronavirus, raising the total number of recoveries in the country to 2,381. The Kuwaiti government has imposed a nationwide curfew to contain the spread of the coronavirus. On March 13, Kuwait suspended all commercial flights. The government also closed stores, malls and barbershops in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. Enditem Elon Musk has a vision of linking human brains to computers in order to avoid our species from being outpaced by artificial intelligence and this dream is set to become a reality. Speaking on Joe Rogan's podcast, the billionaire said his company Neuralink will have a version of its brain implant ready 'within a year.' Musk explained that the process involves removing a chunk of the skull, robots then insert electrodes into the brain and the device into the hole, with only a small scar left behind. Neuralink, which was founded in 2016, is designing tiny flexible 'threads' that are ten times thinner than a human hair with the goal of treating brain injuries and trauma. The tech tycoon also revealed that the technology could develop into a full brain interface in just 25 years, which would enable 'symbiosis' between humans and AI. Scroll down for videos Speaking on Joe Rogan's podcast, Elon Musk said his company Neuralink will have a version of its brain implant ready 'within a year' 'We're not testing people yet, but I think it won't be too long,' Musk told Rogan. 'We may be able to implant a neural link in less than a year in a person I think.' The news follows Musk announced in February tweet that the firm, which he co-founded, improved the initial design of the implant. 'Wait until you see the next version vs what was presented last year. It's *awesome*, he wrote. In the podcast, Musk dished to Rogan about the technology, how it is implanted and what it can do to improve the human body. In the podcast, Musk dished to Joe Rogan (pictured) about the technology, how it is implanted and what it can do to improve the human body. 'We're not testing people yet, but I think it won't be too long,' Musk said. 'We may be able to implant a neural link in less than a year in a person I think' Neuralink, which was founded in 2016, is designing tiny flexible 'threads' that are ten times thinner than a human hair and can be inserted directly into the brain The tech tycoon explained that the device is about one inch in diameter, similar to the face of a smart watch, and is implanted by removing a small chunk of the skull. A small robot connects the thread-like electrodes to certain areas of the brain, stitches up the hole and the only visible remains is a scar left behind from the incision. 'If you got an interface into the motor cortex, and then an implant that's like a microcontroller near muscle groups you can then create a sort of a neural shunt that restores somebody who quadriplegic to full functionality, like they can walk around, be normal maybe slightly better overtime,' Musk explained. When asked about the risks involved with placing a foreign object in the body, Musk said there is 'a very low potential risk for rejection.' 'People put in heart monitors and things for epileptic seizures, deep brain simulation, artificial hips and knees that kind of thing,' he said, noting that 'it's well known what is cause for a rejection or not.' The tech tycoon explained that the device is about one inch in diameter, similar to the face of a smart watch, and is implanted by removing a small chunk of the skull Along with curing aliments, the chip could change the way human beings interface with each other. 'You wouldn't need to talk,' Musk said, who foresees the technology going further to enable 'symbiosis' between humans and AI. 'I think this is one of the paths to like AI is getting better and better,' Musk said. 'We are kind of left behind, we are just too dumb.' 'So how do you go along for the ride?' 'If you can't beat them join them.' 'We are already a cyborg to some degree,' Musk told Rogan. Musk explained that the process involves removing a chunk of the skull, robots then insert electrodes into the brain and the device into the hole, with only a small scar left behind 'You got your phone, you got your laptop If you're missing your phone, it feels like missing limb syndrome.' However, the CEO noted that our data rate to electronics is slow, but combined with a computer and we could communicate just as fast as one. This would improve the symbiosis between human and machine and Musk said that in 25 years from now, assuming civilization is around, there could be an entire brain interface. This means all the neurons would be connected to an AI extension of yourself. 'You already have a computer extension of yourself and an online extension when someone dies, it is like an online ghost,' the tech tycoon said. 'It would just be that more of you would be in the cloud instead of your body.' Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 04:57:27|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on Jan. 20, 2019, shows former U.S. ambassador to China Max Baucus delivering a speech during a celebration marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of China-U.S. diplomatic relations, in Los Angeles, the United States. (Xinhua/Qian Weizhong) "They knew it was wrong, but they didn't stand up and say anything about it. They felt intimidated." WASHINGTON, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus said that the U.S. government's anti-China rhetoric reminded him of the McCarthy era. "The administration's rhetoric is so strong against China. It's over the top. We're entering a kind of an era which is similar to Joe McCarthy back when he was red-baiting the State Department, attacking communism," Baucus said in an interview with CNN on Wednesday. "A little bit like Hitler in the 30s. A lot of people knew what was going on was wrong. They knew it was wrong, but they didn't stand up and say anything about it. They felt intimidated," he said. Photo taken on April 19, 2019, shows Max Baucus, former U.S. ambassador to China, speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2019 Penn Wharton China Summit in Philadelphia, the United States. (Xinhua/Yang Chenglin) "And now in the United States, if anybody says anything reasonable about China, he or she feels intimidated, afraid his head is going to be chopped off. And back in the 30s in Germany is very similar. People who were responsible in the U.S. and especially responsible in Germany couldn't speak up," the former U.S. ambassador continued. "I worry that some of that's happening now, and it's very dangerous. And I think it's in part because the Republican administration, Donald Trump, realizes that the economy is not doing well, probably because of the coronavirus and therefore they have to pivot, they have to blame somebody and they're blaming China. And it is very difficult to get back on track after the election, whoever's elected," he added. Photo taken on Jan. 28, 2014, shows U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) testifying during his confirmation hearing to be the U.S. ambassador to China before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., the United States. Max Baucus, President Barack Obama's pick for the new American ambassador to China, earlier promised to work hard to improve Sino-U.S. relationship, which he called as "one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world." (Xinhua/Zhang Jun) When asked about if his comparison between the current atmosphere in Washington and that in Germany in 1930s was "provocative", Baucus clarified that "I think we're moving in that direction, and I'm not saying we're there yet, but there are a lot very responsible people in America who know that this China-bashing is irresponsible, and we're going to pay a price the more it continues." Baucus served as U.S. Ambassador to China under the Obama administration from 2014 to 2017. Before that he was a Senator from Montana for nearly 36 years. As COVID-19 deaths continue to increase in the United States, some individuals in the Trump administration have tried desperately to deflect criticisms about their blunders by blaming China. A screenshot of Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai's opinion piece published on the website of The Washington Post on May 5, 2020. (Xinhua) In an opinion piece published Tuesday by The Washington Post, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai called on some U.S. politicians to end the blame-China game and focus on tackling the COVID-19 pandemic that killed over 74,000 Americans as of Thursday afternoon. "It is time to end the blame game. It is time to focus on the disease and rebuild trust between our two countries. As President Abraham Lincoln called for 'the better angels' in his inauguration speech, I hope that the wisdom of preceding generations will guide us to choose the right side of history and work for our shared future together," Cui said. Diverse rainforest-dwelling creatures, rugged landscapes, centuries-old First Nations cultural sites and meandering coastlines draw thousands of visitors to the northern B.C. archipelago of Haida Gwaii every year. The areas travel site describes it as a place that is beyond the edge of your world. As the temperatures rise, welcoming visitors to Haida Gwaii is both a point of pride and a major economic driver. Due to COVID-19, the tune has changed. Fearing the potential catastrophic consequences of just one person with the coronavirus coming to the island, the local communities that comprise the archipelago have one simple message: Haida Gwaii is closed. To drive the point home, locals are doing what almost no one does in the age of social distancing: gathering to demonstrate. Scores of people gathered on the side of the road through Skidegate, a small community that acts as the gateway connecting Haida Gwaii to the mainland by ferry. They didnt call it a road block, per se, but they talked about implementing one if things escalated. It was a not-welcome party with the 100 or so protesters spread out at least two metres apart. People here thought it was more important to send the message not to come and even put ourselves more at risk by gathering, said Billy Yovanovich, Chief Councillor of the Skidegate Band. Lets just take a huge stand while we can. For B.C.s remote island communities, fear of a coronavirus outbreak is acute. The locals are close-knit and cut off from the rest of the province by a boat ride (or two), and leaders have concluded that the arrival of coronavirus on their shores could be the perfect storm for an outbreak. Its already happened in Alert Bay on tiny Cormorant Island off the north shore of Vancouver Island, where a devastating outbreak claimed the life of a First Nations woman. To make matters worse, these island communities are some of the most desirable summer destinations in the province of B.C., famous for the kayaking, wildlife watching and hunting. But all that has, for now, taken a back seat in Haida Gwaii, where the current thinking is that the best defence against coronavirus is not to let visitors come at all. Even the tourism website goHaidaGwaii.ca features a glaring red banner warning visitors not to travel to the area during the pandemic. Ultimately, business owners, Skidegate band members and supporters from elsewhere in Haida Gwaii formed the not-welcome party of about 100 people, telling drivers arriving via ferry that unless they were permanent residents, Haida Gwaii was closed. The Alert Bay incident hits so close to home, they lost someone who was only 57 years old, Yovanovich said of the outbreak on Cormorant Island, where the people are still reeling. Outside of Namgis Chief Don Svanviks house, he and his wife have placed two boxes: An inbox for mail, neighbourly messages and baked goods and an outbox, where they put extra supplies like rice for anyone who may need them. Its an unusual arrangement for the Cormorant Island family, where neighbours are, under ordinary circumstances, just as likely to hug when they meet outside each others homes as they are to offer baked goods or help with an errand. But the island of only 1,000 people, consisting of the village of Alert Bay and Namgis First Nation, is under strict lockdown due to COVID-19, which has struck at least 26 members of the community, and sent shock waves of anxiety that the virus may lay undetected elsewhere on the island. Before the virus took a disproportionate toll here, the risk of COVID-19 to Cormorant Island seemed real, but remote. The communitys seclusion even seemed to play in its favour. If Im honest Id say yeah, I thought we were a little bit safer here, Svanvik said Friday, between checking crab traps and taking conference calls about the local state of emergency. At the same time, I thought: If it gets here, then thats like, holy cow, were a small, close knit community on a small island. Alert Bay Mayor Dennis Buchanan, was thinking along the same lines taking every precaution to wash his hands, limit contact with others and not touch his face. So he was shocked when he tested positive for COVID-19. Further testing in the community revealed a cluster of 26 positive cases. I think what weve learned is in small communities where people know everybody theres a lot of personal contact, he said. If you run into someone you havent seen (for a while) you either shake their hand or give them a hug. The worst case scenario was realized last weekend when a Namgis woman became the first First Nations person in B.C. to die of COVID-19. Within our community, most of the people have lived here all their lives. In sad times, everybody comes together, Svanvik said. With the loss, were unable to come together and support one another. So the people of Cormorant Island do what they can leaving goods in outboxes, sewing masks and communicating virtually because they cant meet in person. They know that the only surefire way to protect against the virus would be to not let it enter the community in the first place. But the time for that has come and gone. Weve been dropped in the deep end and weve got to sort things out as we go, Svanvik said. Cormorant Island isnt the only remote community in Canada dealing with COVID-19 challenges. Last week the Baffin Island community of Pond Inlet became the first place in Nunavut with a positive COVID-19 test, prompting an emergency response team to fly in and testing in labs thousands of kilometres away. The restrictions on Pond Inlet were lifted when the test was discovered to be a false positive. For the 5,000 permanent residents of Haida Gwaii, whats happening in other small communities looms large. About half of the people living on the archipelago are Haida members including elders working to pass on the Haida language to younger generations. Last week, Yovanovich and Robert Williams, a Skidegate councillor, were working on the bands emergency response. At the same time, Williams grandfather was conducting Haida language lessons over Zoom, a video conferencing app. We have a handful of fluent speakers left, theyre doing all they can to protect our Haida language right now, Yovanovich said. We just cant afford to take that chance. As of this week, there have been no coronavirus cases detected on Haida Gwaii, but an epidemic of fear has spread deep and wide in the community. Yovanovich described an incident three weeks ago, when a visitor to Haida Gwaii took the ferry to Skidegate, and later discovered by phone that someone he had been in close contact with on the mainland had tested positive. Rumours spread like wildfire, with many residents becoming frantic with fear that one infected traveller could put all of Haida Gwaiis vulnerable population at risk. The areas emergency operations team has asked the province to ban people who live outside Haida Gwaii from boarding the ferry altogether, unless theyre essential workers or delivering supplies. So far, the province has not agreed to do that, leaving First Nations groups like the Skidegate band to erect their own checkpoints aimed at deterring travel. Were all right in this thing together and every measure we take to avoid it is worth the effort, Yovanovich said. If things get worse as the weather gets warmer, he said theyve talked about escalating their efforts by putting up blockades and closing the reserve land. To Svanvik, the Namgis Chief, taking protective measures now is the only way for other island communities to be sure they wont face the same tragedy as Cormorant Island even if the risk seems remote. Its counter intuitive for us to not get together, not to hug your friend or sibling or grandchildren, he said. Svanvik likened the islands social distancing measures to wearing a seatbelt, something he used to brush aside the need for until his grandson called him out on it years ago. He said Papa, your seatbelt, Svanvik recalled, adding that when it comes to protecting his community from coronavirus, he now thinks: Better put my seatbelt on. Read more about: Michael Flynn was Donald Trump's first national security adviser - REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser to Donald Trump, had his criminal case dropped dramatically by the US Justice Department on Thursday despite initially admitting to the crime. It amounted to a remarkable about-turn by the department, which for three years has insisted Mr Flynn lied to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador shortly before taking office in 2017. Mr Flynn had once even pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI agents. He then became a key cooperator for special counsel Robert Muellers probe into Russian election meddling and connections with Mr Trump's 2016 campaign. But in recent months Mr Flynns lawyers have taken a more confrontational approach, including attempting to withdraw his guilty plea, as more evidence has emerged about the FBIs role in carrying out interview. Newsletter embed Telegraph US 2020 Newsletter Expert insight and exclusive analysis on the 2020 election, written by our US team. Sign up Furthermore his case has become a cause celebre among the American Right, with Mr Trump voicing claims that Mr Flynn had been a victim of an FBI set-up. Mr Trump last week said that Mr Flynn had been exonerated as new evidence of the FBIs behaviour emerged and did not rule out allowing the former general to return to his administration. On Thursday Mr Trump reacted to the news by praising Mr Flynn as an "innocent man", a great gentleman and a great warrior. He said Mr Flynn had been targeted by the out-going Barack Obama administration, calling those who investigated him human scum and warning of a big price to pay. Asked if he would reach out to Mr Flynn, Mr Trump said: "I will At the appropriate time. I think hes a hero. It was a scam and a hoax. But as conservative circles hailed the decision as a victory for fairness, critics expressed shock and said it proved the Justice Department has become politicised under Mr Trump. Story continues Claire McCaskill, the former Democratic senator for Missouri, said the news sends a chill down my spine, adding: We have lost our way and respect for the rule of law. The case centres on conversations Mr Flynn had with Sergey Kislyak, then the Russian ambassador to the US, before becoming Mr Trumps national security adviser in January 2017. Mr Flynn discussed sanctions with Mr Kislyak. He then denied the fact when news of the conversations emerged, including to FBI agents who interviewed him about it on January 24 2017. Mr Flynn was fired shortly afterwards when it emerged he had misled Mike Pence, the US vice president, about the nature of the calls. He later pleaded guilty to the crime of lying to the FBI. However the conduct of the FBI during the saga has come under increasing scrutiny and new evidence has emerged, all cheered on by Mr Trump who has alleged an attempt to discredit his presidency. One handwritten note from a senior FBI official mapping out the purpose of the Flynn interview read: "What's our goal? Truth/admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?" On Thursday, the Justice Departments new court filing said the FBI interview with Mr Flynn was untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI's counterintelligence investigation into Mr Flynn". It said the case would be dropped after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information. Amid the ongoing debate in the medical fraternity about the efficacy of the plasma therapy on COVID-19 patients, a private hospital in Indore has claimed that four such persons recovered from the infection after undergoing this therapy. A district health official confirmed that plasma therapy was used on some coronavirus positive persons at the privately-run Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences (SAIMS), and said that as per the doctors at that hospital it helped these patients in their recovery. Talking to PTI on Thursday, head of the Chest Disease Department at SAIMS, Dr Ravi Dosi, said that one of these four patients is a 26-year-old woman. "According to the protocol set by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for the plasma therapy, we had started clinical trial on the woman and three male patients aged 23, 40 and 55 years from April 26. Now all four patients are free of COVID-19 infection," he said. Consent was obtained from all four patients prior to the clinical trial of plasma therapy, he added. Indore district's Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO), Praveen Jadia, said, "At SAIMS, the use of plasma therapy was done on some COVID-19 patients and according to the doctors there, it helped them in the recovery." He said that plasma therapy would also be used on some coronavirus positive patients at a government-run hospital in Indore soon. "We hope that it would help the patients in their recovery," Jadia added. Convalescent plasma therapy involves injecting patients with plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19 infection. The theory is that the plasma will have the antibodies required to boost a sick person's immunity response to the coronavirus. Dosi said that after treatment and plasma therapy under the prescribed protocol, the repeat samples of four patients tested negative for COVID-19. In addition, reports of the CT scan of their lungs also confirmed that they have been free of coronavirus infection, he added. Dr Dosi, however, said, "We are not yet announcing any results regarding the effect of plasma therapy on COVID-19 patients. We want to try this clinical trial on a few more patients. We will share the results of clinical trial with the ICMR." He also said that more than 30 people who were free from the infection after treatment have expressed their desire to become plasma donors. The experts said that the antibodies develop in the blood of the people fully recovered from COVID-19, which help them to fight the disease in the future. Indore is among the worst-hit districts by COVID-19 in the country. As per the official information, 1,699 patients of this epidemic have been found in the district so far, of whom 83 people have died during treatment, while 595 others have been discharged from hospitals after recovery. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mumbai, May 7 : Taking a stern view of a macabre video showing Covid-19 patients sleeping alongside the dead in a city hospital, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Thursday ordered a probe into the incident which ignited a major political controversy. She personally visited the LTMG Hospital in Sion to look into the matter and hold discussions with the concerned authorities on the issue that rocked the social media and shocked the citizens. "Its not yet clear where it (video) is shot... But now that we know such a thing is happening, we have ordered a probe into the incident and those found guilty will face the repercussions," a grim Pednekar told IANS on Thursday. The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Nitesh N. Rane posted the chilling video purportedly showing the Covid-19 patients sleeping alongside the dead in the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)'s LTMG Hospital, Sion, a major Covid-19 treatment facility. The issue, which was first highlighted by IANS yesterday (May 6) snowballed into a huge row today. "Since disposal of bodies of both Covid-19 and non-Corona patients is an issue, we are setting up a high-level committee to suggest guidelines for the same. It will submit a report by the weekend and we shall act on it," Pednekar added. The Mayor said due to the lockdown since May 25, in case of Covid-19 deaths, the immediate family members of the victims are unable to come and collect the bodies. "Either the family members are themselves in quarantine or unable to travel to the various hospitals to claim the bodya Other relatives are reluctant to take away the bodies. Since it's a matter involving different faiths and customs, we do not interfere much," Pednekar admitted. Though the Mayor appeared non-committal on the video shoot location, state BJP Vice-President Kirit Somaiya claimed that the person who shot it reportedly identified it as the Sion Hospital's Ward No. 5, ground floor, dedicated for emergency/Covid-19 where the "pathetic condition of dead bodies along with patients" was filmed. Coming down heavily on the civic administration, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said the "Sion Hospital incident is extremely serious and shocking." "Patients who are being treated are lying beside dead bodies. This is utterly inhuman. Is there no one to care for Mumbai? Govt must immediately look into this and ensure that it doesn't happen ever again," Fadnavis urged. The petrifying video posted by Rane showed the Covid-19 treatment ward in the Sion Hospital where around half a dozen dead bodies are lying on beds next to the living patients undergoing treatment there. The bodies were tied up in black plastic bags, a few also had some kind of a sheet or a blanket spread on them even as other Covid-19 patients were lying on adjacent beds, either ignorant or oblivious of their ghoulish surroundings. Surprisingly, despite supposedly being an isolated treatment centre, several persons - who don't appear to be health workers - were seen casually moving around in the ward, including the female relative of one patient lying on a bed. Though Pednekar couldn't ascertain for how long those bodies were lying on the ward beds, she said the rules are they (bodies) must be shifted out within 15-30 minutes of the death. Senior Mumbai Congress leader and former Union Minister Milind M. Deora said he was "outraged to see corpses laid beside the sick at Sion Hospital". "Why isn't the BMC following WHO prescribed protocols when disposing of Covid-19 corpses? Public hospital staff are doing their best with limited resources at hand. Mumbai's administration needs to step up NOW," urged Deora. In a fresh assault today, Rane said first the Sion Hospital Dean termed the video as fake and now it says the relatives don't come to claim them (bodies) so they are kept there. He contended that people have lost faith in the BMC and its health department, and demanded the resignation of Municipal Commissioner (Praveen Pardeshi) if he can't handle the situation and stop playing with lives. Maharashtra has notched 16,758 Covid-19 cases and 651 deaths, while Mumbai has recorded 412 fatalities and 10,714 patients till date. (Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in) Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Lost time Many Texas special education students say they are still waiting for help to make up for delays and denials Lost time Many Texas special education students say they are still waiting for help to make up for delays and denials Published on May 7, 2020. More than two years after the U.S. Department of Education demanded that Texas education officials provide extra help for thousands of students denied special education, the state has failed to provide clear guidance to school districts, leaving struggling children to flounder, records show. Federal officials in 2018 ordered the Texas Education Agency to try to undo damage caused by an arbitrary cap in place in Texas for years that instructed districts to keep the number of students receiving special education services under 8.5 percent. By TEAs own estimate, the number of existing and new students who were likely in need of special education but were not receiving it was as high as 189,000. Being denied or delayed special education can trigger a requirement under federal law that students be provided with compensatory, or makeup services. But last school year, the first year the state started tracking those services, fewer than 7,900 of more than 101,400 students identified as eligible for special education were helped to compensate for lost time either due to delayed testing or previous denials, a Houston Chronicle investigation shows. More than 85 percent of Texas 1,200-plus school districts did not identify a single student they thought should have been referred for special education testing before the 2018-2019 school year, according to TEA data. Administrators from across the state reported conflicting guidance over which children should be considered for makeup services. Some districts were unsure how they should count those students in surveys. Public records requests to the TEA for guidance on providing makeup services turned up conflicting instructions. Now, in the age of coronavirus, millions more families across the country are going to be looking to educators for help in making up lost time for disabled students who lost critical assistance during weeks of home instruction. But Texas, the only state that has tried to provide makeup services on a mass scale, should serve as more of a cautionary tale than a role model for other states, critics said. TEAs efforts to guide districts have been completely ineffectual, often leaving parents to fight for their children to get the help they need, said Dustin Rynders, supervising attorney for education at Disability Rights Texas. The key lesson, he said, is there has to be a mandate that its considered for every child who is deemed eligible for special education. TEA officials declined a reporters requests to interview state officials in charge of special education, saying they were too busy working with districts. But in a statement, officials said they now have a monitoring process in place and if problems of a systemic nature are discovered, corrective actions are ordered. They also wrote guidance advising special education committees in schools to consider providing compensatory services once campuses reopen after the COVID-19 closures. There is no question that with schools closed during the coronavirus pandemic, TEA officials, teachers and district-level special education coordinators are working overtime to help. However, past missteps have generated mistrust among some parents. Lisa Flores son, Massimo, was tested by his Austin ISD school and diagnosed with autism and dyslexia in February 2018. He switched schools at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, and the help he was receiving stopped, his mother said. Eventually, school officials had a dyslexia specialist create a plan for the now-13-year-old, but district officials are not responding to her emails asking about makeup services, she said. With his school closed due to the coronavirus, Massimo is missing out on some of the regular special education services he was getting, which Flores believes he also might need to be compensated for once schools reopen. My son is already three grade levels behind, Flores said. He was making the most progress with dyslexia instruction, but that was one-on-one. Now hes just getting online resources. Who qualifies? Schools have an obligation to ask parents for permission to test their children for special education if they suspect a student might have a disability, said Perry Zirkel, a recently retired professor emeritus of education and law at Lehigh University. If the student is tested and found eligible, he said school staff are compelled to ask several other questions. Chief among them: Should this student have been tested and getting services before? If school officials reasonably suspected or knew the student may have had a disability but didnt provide him with services for months, Zirkel said, then the student likely would be eligible for whats known as compensatory services. Compensatory services, in essence, provide students with extra help in order to make up for the services they may have missed. You owe him not only an (individualized education plan) in the future, Zirkel said, but you need to make up for what you didnt give him in the past. Determining what those makeup services look like differs based on the students needs, how long they were without help and a host of other factors. And with COVID-19 closures, there are other questions to consider. Zirkel said the first question is whether the district violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act by not providing services. If so, districts then must consider whether it was possible to provide services remotely. Other questions include whether schools made a good-faith effort to help and whether the student fell further behind because of the gap in services. For some students, the pandemic is compounding years of delays in getting extra help. Isabella Van Vliet knew something was making it difficult for her grandson, Gabriel Garza, to learn since kindergarten. He didnt know his ABCs and could barely count even through third grade, although teachers in North East ISD just outside San Antonio let him pass to the next grade level each year. Data shows that of 1,294 students found eligible for special education there in 2018-2019, zero received makeup services. Fewer than five were tagged as students who likely should have been evaluated before that school year. After years of hounding the school and eventually hiring a special education advocate, school officials tested Gabriel at the end of fourth grade in 2019 and found he has both ADHD and is mildly autistic. He has been getting services for nearly a year, but he still struggles. He shuts down when he doesnt understand his homework. Despite Van Vliet transforming his bedroom into a classroom complete with a full-sized whiteboard and seeking outside tutoring, school records still show hes not on grade level. Van Vliet pushed officials at Windcrest Elementary School to provide him with extra help to try to make up for the years Gabriel was unidentified. I keep asking, Can yall get him to catch up? Is there an extra service you can do to catch up? Van Vliet said the schools response was consistently no, that theres nothing they can do. The school failed him all those years and wont take responsibility to get him to catch up, she said. Clear guidance needed One of the biggest lessons in Texas effort to make up for its arbitrary cap on the percentage of special education students, first revealed by the Houston Chronicle in 2016, is the need for clear guidance on who qualifies for extra help and how to track them, special education directors across the state said. In response to a Chronicle public information request, the TEA said in fall 2019 it could not locate a single record showing that it had given guidance to school districts about compensatory services for students who may have been previously denied prior to coronavirus concerns. But emails obtained by the newspaper show confusing and conflicting guidance offered in 2018 may have led to widespread confusion in the Houston region about makeup services. One attorney in the Houston area told local education leaders that special education committees should ask whether every student they identify should get makeup services in case of a previous delay or denial. That did not sit well with former Region IV Special Education Director Ginger Gates. She believed those committees should consider makeup services only if a parent or teacher says the student may have been denied in the past. Gates emailed TEA Special Education Director Justin Porter for his opinion in October 2018. You are (as usual) completely correct, Porter wrote to Gates. While we dont want kids to be missed who would be eligible and in need of additional/compensatory services, soliciting claims in the way that attorney describes isnt necessary. Administrators in the Dallas area said they heard similar guidance. In Garland ISD, officials said they only considered students who parents or teachers said had been denied in the past as eligible for make-up makeup services. TEA officials declined to make Porter available for an interview and wrote that school-based special education committees are expected to include any and all appropriate services for students. But Rynders, with Disability Rights Texas, said the TEA knows districts denied hundreds of thousands of children special education services and that they have an obligation to make sure every campus-based special education committee asks about compensatory services. It is offensive, Rynders said. The state has an affirmative obligation to identify people who need services. How can the state do that, Rynders asked, if the parent didnt know that compensatory services exist? Records also show the TEA muddied the waters before its federally mandated special action and corrective action plans to fix special education were sent to the U.S. Department of Education. Between a March 2018 draft and the final plans were released on April 23, 2018, officials removed almost every reference to compensatory services, instead replacing the phrase with additional services. In surveys sent to ISDs and charter schools, officials asked how many students received additional services. When asked by a reporter why the language was changed, TEA officials first said that it was because of the legal meaning attached to compensatory. However, they later said it was because of instructions from the U.S. Department of Education. Zirkle said it does not matter what term districts or the TEA or the federal government use districts are still obligated by federal law to provide makeup services if officials violated IDEA. TEA data shows Brenham ISD awarded additional services to 143 students. But Leslie Villere, the districts special education director, said none in her district were given compensatory aid. Villere said she took additional services to mean the number of students who were new to special education or students who were now receiving special education services in addition to their regular classwork. I may have done it wrong, but thats how I interpreted it, Villere said. If they want us to interpret it differently, they just need to give us more guidance. Among Texas 10 largest school districts, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Northside and North East ISDs did not award makeup services to any students in 2018-2019, according to TEA data. Houston ISD identified 740 students who should have been evaluated earlier during the 2018-2019 school year, compared with 3,365 students who were tested last school year. S. Lachlin Verrett, who oversees special education in Houston ISD, said regional education service centers have developed procedures to identify and serve students who need help catching up. He said HISD remains committed to identifying students it has missed in the past. We have to make sure students get the services that they need, and if theyre not getting it, whether its a misstep at the campus level or something we failed to execute at the district level, we have to fix it, Verrett said. Dorene Philpot, a special education attorney based in Galveston, said the definition TEA gave for additional services is essentially the same as compensatory services, just without the same legal obligations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. I suspect that their real motivation was that if the word compensatory was used, then that puts parents and others on notice that there might be something their kids are entitled to but didn't get, Philpot said. Catching up after coronavirus Rynders, with Disability Rights, said hes been encouraged by some school districts responses to the COVID-19 closures. Several school districts, including Klein, Katy and Duncanville ISDs, sent letters to parents that specifically mentioned special education students may be entitled to compensatory services after this is over. And, although the TEA still has provided little help for compensatory services relating to the cap, it has been more responsive in addressing makeup service needs that may arise out of the current school closures, according to recent guidance documents the agency has released. State officials, who created a COVID-19 task force, told districts to consider makeup services for students once the closures end. They also offered innovative resources for teachers and speech pathologists to help students remotely and reduce the need for makeup work. Selene Almazan, legal director for the national Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, said parents should still collect data while schools are closed. Are students reading slower than they used to? Make a note of it, she said. Were they previously able to do something they now struggle with? Log that, too. Are they gaining ground in areas? Write it down. Flores, who has been trying to get makeup services for her son, Massimo, has that data in spades. She asked her sons school to update his individualized education plan by testing his performance right before schools statewide shut down. Even armed with that information, Flores worries that when she asks for more compensatory services from the COVID-19 closures, shell get the same answer as she has gotten for her previous requests for additional help: silence. The onus is still on parents to ask for compensatory services, and it will still be on parents once this is over, Flores said. I doubt any district will preemptively offer compensatory education. They will stay quiet and only consider it if a parent brings it up. Support our journalism Help our journalists uncover the big stories. Subscribe today. Shelby Webb is a suburban education reporter for the Houston Chronicle, covering trends across districts in Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery and Brazoria counties. She previously worked as an education reporter with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in Florida from 2013 to 2016 and attended the University of Florida. Follow her on Twitter @shelbywebb. Reach her by email at shelby.webb@chron.com. Marie D. De Jesus is a staff photojournalist for the Houston Chronicle where she has concentrated on developing relationships with Houston's diverse immigrant and marginalized communities. Prior to the Chronicle, De Jesus worked for the Democrat and Chronicle located in Rochester, New York and the Victoria Advocate in Texas. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter, or reach her by email at marie.dejesus@chron.com. Designed by Jordan Rubio and Jasmine Goldband. *** Can creative sparks fly through plexiglass? Is the water cooler chat a thing of the past? Company bosses preparing to reopen offices shuttered due to the coronavirus pandemic are contemplating radical changes to the workplace to keep staff safe. Hand sanitisers and thermal scanners are just the start. Some firms are considering remodelling their offices to minimise the risk of a second wave of infections. Long rows of desks may be out, work stations sheathed with glass sneeze guards may be in. As he prepares to return thousands of staff to offices across Italy, Davide Sala, Pirelli's HR boss, is applying practices already adopted in the tyre company's operations in China. The changes included temperature tests, face masks and more space between desks that allowed the group to resume at least some office work. 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 "We're going to use the China model elsewhere," Sala said. "There will be more space for staff, fewer people in rooms and the layout of the offices will have to change." Sala is looking at whether to designate staircases for entry and exit, limit lift use to one person per ride, introduce a shift system for lunch, stagger work times while also having people still work from home and re-imagining desk layouts. "The real break with the past will be in redesigning the offices," he said. China is ahead of most of the world in lifting restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the virus and Pirelli is one of many multi-national companies to have tested post-lockdown measures there. How radical and permanent those changes are is not yet known, as scientists struggle to fully understand the virus and drug companies strive to find a vaccine that protects people. But strategies deployed by companies including WPP, Rentokil Initial and PageGroup show how a typical 9-5 day at a hot desk in a packed building will not be resuming when governments globally give the green light for offices to reopen. PACKED LUNCHES For the world's biggest advertising company WPP, staff will return gradually and on a voluntary basis, Chief Executive Mark Read told Reuters. "What we can say with confidence is that more people will be working from home in the future, and I think we can say we'll still have offices," he said. Almost all WPP's 107,000 staff have been working from home since mid-March. In China, it has slowly introduced its 7,000 staff back to its 50 offices over the past two months after a four-week shutdown. WPP has also adopted flexible working hours, limited the number of people in elevators and, with the canteen buffet off the menu, staff are bringing in their own food. PageGroup, the UK-listed recruitment company, has set aside one entrance at offices in China where staff line up each day for a temperature check and to collect a mask, Rupert Forster, managing director of the China business, said. It's also encouraging people to bring in their own lunch to avoid busy communal areas and is minimising large group meetings. Those measures will form the blueprint for the management team overseeing the return of some 7,500 staff to other offices, Forster said. It's a similar story elsewhere. Since reopening its seven main branches in China last month, Rentokil's 600 staff stay in the office for about 4-5 hours a day, a spokesperson said. It has also rejigged seating plans, making sure there's an empty seat between each desk. SANITISING OFFICE LIFE International real estate company Cushman & Wakefield, which has overseen the return of almost a million people to offices in China, has come up with a visible workplace design to help clients prepare their employees for the 'six feet rule' of social distancing. "It comes down to some basic concepts, things like coloured carpet or, in a less sophisticated or expensive application, taping off what six feet workstations look like. So it's very visual," said Bill Knightly, who works on the company's COVID-19 taskforce. In some cases, they're proposing installing plexiglass or some other form of sneeze or cough guards to give additional insurance - a pandemic twist on the old cubicle model. For workers used to interacting on open plan floors, sanitising office life and boosting remote working could limit their opportunity to swap ideas and weaken company culture. It also makes integrating new staff more difficult. "What we have to watch out for is the unintentional creativity and watercooler discussions. You lose that,a said Hauke Engel, partner at McKinsey's sustainability practice. Some companies are seeking short-term fixes to get through the next few months. "Companies are hesitant to invest at scale in what may be a transient situation," said Enkel. He declined to give a figure for the size of investment that may be needed. But others are preparing for a more radical makeover of building design to ensure workplaces can still thrive alongside this virus and any future health threat. That may mean more flexible layouts with breakout areas, more personal space and ventilation systems that clean the air and kill pathogens, according to Darren Comber, chief executive of British architect firm Scott Brownrigg. Buildings may have bigger elevators, make staircases more pleasant to promote their use, and use paint, films and materials that kill viruses. "If you need a mask, then you haven't dealt with the problem," said Comber. At Pirelli, Sala is bracing for those kind of radical structural changes. He estimates a staggered restart at the companys offices will take four months. Then the second phase will start with architects and consultants advising on how to remodel offices. He thinks retooling factories was easier. "Redesigning the offices is the real challenge." A minimal and therefore innocuous dose of an antibiotic coupled with highly sensitive measurement technology could save time and money in the development of new active ingredients. The shortcut lies in being able to do pharmacokinetic testing earlier, which consists in establishing proof that the potentially antibacterial agent can actually become effective at its desired site of action. Microdialysis, which involves the insertion of a small probe into the tissue, provides precise measurements of drug effectiveness. This makes the development of vital drugs faster and more efficient. Image Credit: Facaccia, CC BY-SA 3.0. The effectiveness of antibiotics makes them bad business. Markus Zeitlinger, a specialist in internal medicine with a special focus on pharmacological research The statement sounds paradoxical, as the discovery and development of antibiotics was a milestone in medical history and has saved the lives of many people. Nevertheless, many pharmaceutical companies are withdrawing from the field because the development of the active ingredients is not a lucrative undertaking. Antibiotics are effective against bacterial infections and, depending on the active ingredient, kill specific germs quickly. Like all living organisms, bacteria change and can become resistant. In addition, well-established antibiotics are also used carelessly or inappropriately, which means they become increasingly ineffective. The development of antibiotics to the point of getting them approved is just as costly as that of cancer drugs. But they are only administered for a short time. Furthermore, new antibiotics are used restrictively against multi-resistant germs, which also brings down revenues, says the head of the University Clinic for Clinical Pharmacology at the Medical University of Vienna, describing the situation that motivated his project. The good news: in a study, his research group has successfully tested a method for the accelerated development of antibiotics. Currently, Zeitlinger is also tapping into this knowledge in the search for suitable drugs to combat the coronavirus. In cooperation with different companies and researchers, the physician is working on numerous projects for the accelerated development of already available und promising substances for the fight against Sars-CoV-2. Pharmacokinetics shortcut The most common bacterial infections are pneumonia, soft-tissue and urinary tract infections and inflammations in the abdominal cavity following surgery. Funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, the study was devoted to finding a shortcut in the development process for two of these four sites where antibiotics are used. Foci and bacterial biofilms are most frequently located in the lungs or between body cells. Antibiotics therefore need to achieve a certain concentration level in a specific tissue in the human body in order to be able to kill a germ, is Markus Zeitlingers simple explanation of the technical term pharmacokinetics. And pharmacodynamics, expressed in lay terms, describes whether the germ dies on contact with the antibiotic. In the case of a potential antibiotic, these two factors together enable predictions of its effectiveness, which can speed up the development process and thereby make it more attractive. Pharmacodynamics is tested in vitro using conventional methods. Before testing pharmacokinetics (i.e. whether the active ingredient will reach the desired site of action), animal testing is carried out to ensure that the substance is harmless to the human body. The project team were able to show that the pharmacokinetics for the lung and soft tissue can be demonstrated with harmless microdosing and highly sensitive detection methods. In the future, this would make it possible to decide more quickly whether an active ingredient should undergo further testing or be discarded. Same kinetics at minimum dosage In the two-year clinical research project (2017-2019), pharmacokinetics in the target tissues were tested on the basis of an already approved drug. This is the question the research team set out to answer: would it have been possible to develop this antibiotic using the new approach? Upon giving their informed consent, 18 healthy volunteers were administered the antibiotic ciprofloxacin intravenously. The volunteers received one normal dose and one definitely harmless microdose marked with radioactive C14. Despite the low concentration, the marker allows the active ingredient to be detected in the lungs and soft tissue by means of accelerated mass spectrometry (AMS). In order to detect the pharmacokinetics in the tissue, the researchers performed lung lavage (Broncho Alveolar Lavage/BAL) on the sedated test persons and determined the concentration level of the active ingredient in the fluid flushed from the lungs. A microprobe in the thigh (microdialysis) was used to measure how much freely available antibiotic was contained in the fluid between the tissue cells to kill off the germs. Only three institutions in the world have an AMS measuring device that can detect two radioactive atoms in a prepared shovelful of soil. The University Hospital in Vienna cooperated with the TNO Institute in Zeist (The Netherlands) for the tests. Early prediction of effectiveness The clinical trial has already been completed and all test persons are doing well. By means of microdialysis, we were able to show that pharmacokinetics can be described well even by a harmless microdose which was proportional to that of the conventional dose i.e. independent of the amount of active ingredient. Markus Zeitlinger It was also possible to establish the site of action for the lung lavage fluid. The exact correlation is currently being measured a second time. If the prediction of the effectiveness of the drug can be achieved accurately with a fraction of the usual dose, pharmacodynamics can be simulated and refined in order to determine the effective dose. In this way, we hope to speed up research on essential drugs and thus make it more attractive and efficient. The combination of microdosing and tissue pharmacokinetics can save up to two years and two million euros in the development of potential antibiotics, says the clinical pharmacologist. In a future study, his team will examine whether the microdosing concept can also be used to test an ointment. Cascades Reports Solid Results for the First Quarter of 2020 "First quarter sales increased 7% from the prior quarter. This reflected improvements in all business segments, most notably in Tissue, European Boxboard and specific Specialty Packaging products . . ." Mario Plourde, President and Chief Executive Officer May 7, 2020 - Cascades Inc. (TSX: CAS) reports its unaudited financial results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020. Q1 2020 Highlights Sales of $1,313 million(compared with $1,227 million in Q4 2019 (+7%) and $1,230 million in Q1 2019 (+7%)) As reported (including specific items) Operating income of $90 million (compared with an operating loss of $1 million in Q4 2019 and an operating income of $72 million in Q1 2019 (+25%)) Operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBD)1 of $161 million (compared with $76 million in Q4 2019 (+112%) and $139 million in Q1 2019 (+16%)) Net earnings per share of $0.24 (compared with net loss per share of $0.27 in Q4 2019 and net earnings per share of $0.26 in Q1 2019) Adjusted (excluding specific items)1 Operating income of $90 million (compared with $75 million in Q4 2019 (+20%) and $68 million in Q1 2019 (+32%)) OIBD of $161 million (compared with $152 million in Q4 2019 (+6%) and $135 million in Q1 2019 (+19%)) Net earnings per share of $0.42 (compared with $0.30 in Q4 2019 and $0.14 in Q1 2019) Exercised option to acquire the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec's ("CDPQ") 20.2% interest in the Greenpac Mill, increasing the Corporation's ownership to 86.3%; Transaction was settled January 3, 2020 for a total purchase price of $121 million. Net debt1 of $2,212 million as at March 31, 2020 (compared with $1,963 million as at December 31, 2019) reflecting FX impact ($140 million) and the acquisition of CDPQ's interest in Greenpac Mill ($121 million); Net debt to adjusted OIBD ratio1 at 3.5x. 1For further details, please refer to the "Supplemental Information on non-IFRS Measures" section. Mr. Mario Plourde, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Our first quarter results are a testament to the dedication and hard work of every one of our employees during these challenging times. We are very proud of their commitment to support our customers and communities by ensuring that our facilities meet the heightened demand for the essential tissue and packaging products we produce. Within this difficult context, first quarter sales increased 7% from the prior quarter. This reflected improvements in all business segments, most notably in Tissue, European Boxboard and specific Specialty Packaging products as a result of consumer buying patterns related to Covid-19 and strategic actions taken in recent quarters. Sales growth of 7% year-over-year was largely driven by increases in Tissue, which benefited from higher volumes and favourable average selling price, sales mix and exchange rate. Containerboard sales also increased year-over-year, as higher volumes and a beneficial exchange rate offset the impacts from a less favourable sales mix and lower average selling price. Sales in European Boxboard decreased slightly year-over-year largely due to lower average selling prices, while lower sales in Specialty Products reflect a business divestiture and mill closure in 2019. First quarter adjusted OIBD of $161 million, which is net of a $10 million expected credit loss provision taken against accounts receivable amounts across our business segments, increased 6% sequentially and 19% compared to the prior year period. The sequential performance was driven by improved results in Tissue that reflected volume growth combined with a higher average selling price. Stronger sequential performances from the European Boxboard and Specialty Packaging segments also benefited from volume growth. European Boxboard results also reflected lower raw material pricing and lower average selling prices, while the reverse was true for Specialty Packaging. The year-over-year growth was entirely attributable to the improved performance in the Tissue segment. Discussing near-term outlook, Mr. Plourde commented, "At this time we expect second quarter performance to be the result of a combination of tailwinds and headwinds in our different business segments. Specifically, Tissue results will reflect elevated raw material prices due to higher white recycled grade fibre costs and a greater use of virgin pulp due to lower levels of available recycled material. Containerboard margins are also expected to be impacted by higher OCC prices. Volumes in both Tissue and Containerboard are also forecasted to slow sequentially following an easing of the Covid-19 related pantry stocking trends seen in the first quarter and lower demand levels following business closures. Near-term Specialty Product performance is expected to reflect stronger consumer packaging trends, the effects of which should offset softness in industrial packaging. Boxboard Europe results are expected to increase slightly, supported by steady demand and announced industry price increases. Our priority is the health and safety of our employees, ensuring the continuity of our production to meet the needs of our customers, supporting community initiatives and working in partnership with customers impacted by the current business environment. We will remain vigilant in our cash flow management, and expect our projected available liquidity levels to meet future requirements. We will adjust investment plans further should they be required while continuing to manage our debt level. Given the uncertainty regarding the potential impact from the Covid-19 pandemic over the coming months, we are focused on prudent cash flow management, and have therefore reduced planned capital expenditures to a range of $175 to $200 million for the year, down from $250 million previously, but are maintaining our current dividend policy. Analysis of our Bear Island conversion project has continued at a slower pace given current circumstances, and as such we will not be providing any updated specifics or schedule at this time." Analysis of results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020 (compared to the same period last year) Sales of $1,313 million grew by $83 million, or 7%, compared with the same period last year. This reflected increases in all segments with the exception of Specialty Products, but was largely driven by the Tissue segment, where sales grew $98 million, or 28%, compared to the prior year. Specifically, sales in the Tissue segment reflected increased consumer demand in light of Covid-19, higher average selling price, more favourable sales mix and foreign exchange impact, and the addition of Orchids assets in the second half of 2019. European Boxboard sales decreased by $7 million, or 3%, compared with the previous year. This was largely driven by lower average selling prices in both recycled and virgin boxboard and a less favourable Canadian dollar euro exchange rate, the effects of which were partially offset by higher volumes. Sales in the Specialty Products segment decreased 12% or $16 million year-over-year, reflecting the divestiture of the European activities and closure of the felt vinyl backing mill during the second half of 2019, the impacts of which outweighed the benefits from higher volume in Consumer packaging and favourable exchange rate. Lastly, sales in the Containerboard Packaging group increased by 4% or $17 million year-over-year, due primarily to higher volume and, to a lesser extent, by a more favourable exchange rate. These benefits were partially offset by a lower average selling price and less favourable sales mix year-over-year. The Corporation generated an operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBD) of $161 million in the first quarter of 2020, which is net of a $10 million expected credit loss provision taken on accounts receivable amounts across the Corporation's business segments in relation to the current uncertainty caused by the pandemic. This compares with the $139 million generated in the same period last year, an increase of $22 million. The annual improvement was driven by the Tissue segment, where results benefited from lower raw material prices, volume gains, and more favourable average selling price and sales mix. European Boxboard results also improved slightly year-over-year, as benefits from lower raw material costs and higher volumes offset the impacts from lower average selling prices and higher production costs. The decrease in Containerboard results reflect a lower average selling price, higher operational and freight costs and less favourable sales mix, the effects of which mitigated the benefit from lower raw material costs. Specialty Products performance reflect higher operating and maintenance costs, partially offset by volume gains and improved realized spreads in some sub-sectors. On an adjusted basis1, first quarter 2020 OIBD stood at $161 million, versus $135 million in the previous year. The main specific items, before income taxes, that impacted our first quarter 2020 OIBD and/or net earnings were: $1 million charge related to an environmental provision for a Specialty Products plant in Quebec that was closed in a prior year (OIBD and net earnings) $1 million unrealized gain on financial instruments (OIBD and net earnings) $17 million foreign exchange loss on long-term debt and financial instruments (net earnings) For the 3-month period ended March 31, 2020, the Corporation posted net earnings of $22 million, or $0.24 per share, compared to net earnings of $24 million, or $0.26 per share, in the same period of 2019. On an adjusted basis1, the Corporation generated net earnings of $39 million in the first quarter of 2020, or $0.42 per share, compared to net earnings of $13 million, or $0.14 per share, in the same period of 2019. Founded in 1964, Cascades produces, converts and markets packaging and tissue products that are composed mainly of recycled fibres. To learn more, please visit: www.cascades.com . SOURCE: Cascades, Inc. I am happy that she did get to do so much with the life she was given, she said. She didnt just sit at home and, Im going to work, work, work, work, work, and then when I go on retirement, then Ill go and do my traveling. High-speed internet service is helping people to guard against COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Many people have come to depend on high-speed internet to work from home, take part in online classes and get the latest news. In Kashmir, however, Indian government officials are enforcing a ban on the technology. News reporters say the ban is preventing people from learning or sharing important information about the virus. Kashmiris were cut off from the internet for seven months after the government ended the states right to self-rule last August. In March, internet service was reestablished. But Indian officials limited mobile phones to 2G service. India claims control of about 60 percent of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan and China control the rest. At a court hearing on Monday, the Jammu and Kashmir government said the 2G service was good enough. Government lawyers warned that high-speed internet could be misused to spread false news or help terrorists plot attacks. Bilal Hussain is a Kashmir-based reporter. He told VOA the ban on high-speed internet has caused problems for doctors and the local media. We are forced to work on 2Gdoctors in Kashmir are not even able to download material they need for COVID-19, Hussain said. Reporters can be arrested for going against the state narrative, he added. Indian officials have brought charges against at least four reporters in Kashmir since the government announced measures to control the spread of the coronavirus. Gowhar Geelani is one of the four. The governments campaign has grown very, very ugly, Geelani said. The aim seems to be to control the narrative, he said. Communication blackout The lack of high-speed internet during the coronavirus pandemic is aiding its spread and gambling with peoples lives, Access Now says. The rights group has been following events in Kashmir since last August. As of Tuesday, India has reported 46,711 cases and 1,583 deaths from the virus. It said Jammu and Kashmir has a total of 726 cases and eight deaths. Samuel Woodhams is a London-based digital rights researcher. He said that 2G is ineffective in a world where many countries use 4G or 5G. 2G is so slow that evenGoogle may not load, he told VOA. Woodhams said that Indias decision to slow internet connections is simply a way to avoid public and international scrutiny. Governments can claim that it isnt an internet blackout, he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the internet blackout that lasted until March was to prevent the spread of terrorism. Aliya Iftikhar with The Committee to Protect Journalists told VOA that it appears the Indian government is trying to use the pandemic to distract from what they are doing in Kashmir. Im Susan Shand. VOAs Niala Mohammad reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story 2G adj. second generation technology narrative n. a storyline ugly adj. unattractive to look at pandemic n. an illness that travels from one country to another gamble v. to play a game in which you can win or lose money or possessions digital adj. of or relating to information that is stored in the form of the numbers 0 and 1 scrutiny n. Looking closely at something blackout n. to remove all lighting or technology distract v. to stop thinking about or paying attention to someone or something and to think about or pay attention to someone or something else instead BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7 By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend: The value of trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan amounted to $16.08 million over first two months of 2020 compared to $50.2 million during the same period of 2019, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstans Statistics Committee. The share of Azerbaijan in total value of Kazakhstans trade turnover was 0.1 percent during the reporting period of 2020 compared to 0.3 percent during the same period of 2019. Kazakhstans export to Azerbaijan amounted to $13.1 million over the period from January through February 2020 compared to $47.1 million during the same period of 2019. Azerbaijans share in total volume of Kazakhstans export amounted to 0.1 percent during the reporting period of 2020 compared to 0.5 percent during the same period of 2019. In turn, Kazakhstans import from Azerbaijan amounted to $2.9 million over the first two months of 2020 compared to $3.1 million during the same period of 2019. Azerbaijans total share in Kazakhstans import was 0.1 percent during the reporting period of 2020 which corresponds to 0.1 percent in the same period of 2019. Total volume of Kazakhstans trade turnover amounted to $13.7 billion in the period from January through February 2020 which indicates a decrease from $14.3 billion during the same period of 2019. Kazakhstans export amounted to $9.08 billion during the reporting period of 2020 ($9.9 billion in the same period of 2019), whereas import amounted to $4.6 billion ($4.4 billion in 2019). --- Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh Agartala, May 7 : Even as 54 Border Security Force (BSF) men and eight family members in Tripura have tested coronavirus positive in the last five days, authorities are yet to identify the source of infection though they are working to ensure no further spread of the virus among the troopers. "We are working round-the-clock to prevent further spread of the disease and to identify the primary and secondary sources of infection," BSF's Tripura Frontier Deputy Inspector General C.L. Belwa told IANS. Top BSF officials, including 138 Battalion BSF Commandant J.K. Singh, are taking action on a war-footing to identify the primary source of the dreaded disease. The BSF authorities are also making ready their hospital at the Tripura frontier headquarters at Shalbagan, near here, to treat infected BSF personnel. Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, who holds the Health and Home portfolios, has directed the Tripura Frontier Inspector General (IG) Soloman Yash Kumar Minz to submit the report of an inquiry initiated by the BSF after outbreak of novel coronavirus in 138 BSF Battalion stationed in Ambassa (Dhalai district), 82 km north of state capital Agartala. Education and Law Minister Ratal Lal Nath told IANS that the state through Principal Secretary (Home) Barun Kumar Sahu had written to the BSF IG for the report along with details of the source of corona infection. Nath, who is also the Tripura Government Spokesman, said that so far 366 persons, including 80 doctors and health workers and 286 BSF jawans, had been identified for directly or indirectly coming in contact with the infected BSF troopers. After a woman and a Tripura State Rifles (TSR) jawan were cured and discharged from hospital, the northeastern state was declared coronavirus free on April 25. However, two BSF jawans -- including a Head Constable -- tested positive on May 2 at the 138 Battalion. Till late Wednesday night, the active corona cases were 62, including two women (wife and relative of the jawans), their five children and a mess worker. Former BSF Tripura Frontier DIG Samir Kumar Mitra told IANS on phone from Kolkata that authorities must undertake a massive campaign to make both BSF men and border residents about prevention of coronavirus. "The BSF troopers while patrolling must use hand sanitizers, face masks and other protective gears as they come in close contact with infiltrators from across the borders and Indian villagers staying on international borders," the former BSF official said. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Visakhapatnam, May 7 : The swift response of the official machinery in Visakhaptnam in the aftermath of the gas leakage from a chemical plant on the city outskirts early on Thursday may have helped in saving many lives. Though the number of villages and the population affected had initially raised fears of many fatalities, the speed at which the police, disaster response force, revenue and other wings of the administration reacted ensured timely medical attention to the victims. The presence of the police force on the ground due to the lockdown, the availability of medical personnel for the ongoing Covid-19 situation and diverting the buses arranged for transportation of migrant workers for evacuation saved the day for the authorities. It was at around 3.45 a.m. that Styrene gas leaked from the LG Polymers plant at RR Venkatapuram, apparently due to the failure of the safety system. The high concentration of gas in the vicinity of the plant soon engulfed five surrounding villages, jolting the residents out of their sleep. With difficulty in breathing, irritation in eyes and nausea, they rushed out of their houses and ran helter-skelter. Many including children and women collapsed while running and fell unconscious. As the survivors recounted, nobody knew what was happening and everyone wanted to save themselves. Residential areas in a range of 1.5-2 km were affected by the gas leak. As Styrene is a heavy gas, it did not spread but settled in the area surrounding the plant, affecting a population of 12,000. While the tragedy claimed 11 lives, 340 people were rushed to the King George and other hospitals in the city. The condition of 15 of those affected is stated to be critical. Officials said that 22 cows, calves, buffaloes, six stray dogs and a cat also perished in the incident. It was through a call on dial 100 that the police received the alert about the gas leak. A Rakshak or police patrol vehicle nearby was alerted and it reached the scene within 10 minutes and alerted other Rakshak vehicles and fire services. Soon, 108 ambulances rushed to Venkatapauram to shift the affected people to the hospital. The mike systems fitted to the police vehicles were used to appeal to the people to come out of their houses and reach safer places. The Quick Reaction Team of the police, National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, Andhra Pradesh State Police and other police forces were pressed into service. About 800 people were evacuated. Police Commissioner R.K. Meena himself shifted the affected people to the hospital in his vehicle. One of his deputies took ill while evacuating people. The police and other authorities also conducted door-to-door search to ensure that no one was left behind. After the affected people were brought to King George and other hospitals, the focus shifted to their treatment. The authorities immediately mobilised additional human resources and equipment to provide medical treatment. Indian Navy also chipped in. It provided five Portable Multi-feed Oxygen Manifold sets to the King George Hospital (KGH). Technical teams from the Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam (NDV) rushed to the KGH to assist in quick installation to provide oxygen to a large number of patients. The Portable Multi-feed Oxygen Manifold system was designed by the NDV to enable one jumbo size oxygen bottle to supply oxygen to six patients simultaneously during Covid-19 Pandemic. Officials said 25 such sets were provided to the district administration for use in Covid designated hospitals earlier. A boiler at an NLC India thermal power plant exploded here on Thursday leading to a brief spurt of blaze causing serious burn injuries to two contract workers and comparatively milder wounds to six others, who have been hospitalised, an official said here. The mishap occured at the sixth unit of the Thermal Power Station-II, in the evening and two workers sustained serious burn injuries, an NLC official told PTI. "Due to pressure, there was an explosion in the boiler and it led to a flash fire injuring six workers and two technicians," he said when asked on the accident. The boiler is 84-meter high and when the accident occured, the workers and technicians were at a height of about 32 meters, the official added. Following the accident, the power generation was halted and the injured were rushed to a private hospital in Tiruchirappalli (about 147 km from here) after first aid and treatment at an in-house health facility. On preliminary assessment at the health facility, doctors said two contract workers sustained serious burn injuries while the wounds of others were comparatively minor. The TPS-II is a 1,470 MW facility and has seven 210 MW units currently generating 450 MW power. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jerusalem Israel's Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may form a new government while under indictment for corruption charges, clearing the way for him and his main rival to join together in a controversial power-sharing deal. The unanimous decision, released just before midnight, ended a more than yearlong political stalemate and prevented the country from plunging into a fourth consecutive election in just over a year. Netanyahu and his rival-turned-partner, Benny Gantz, said they expected their coalition to be sworn into office next week. After battling to three inconclusive elections, Netanyahu and Gantz announced their "emergency" government last month, saying they would put aside their rivalry to steer the country through the coronavirus crisis. But critics and good-government groups said their deal was illegal and challenged it in the Supreme Court. In particular, they objected to the creation of a new position of "alternate prime minister, " a post that will allow Netanyahu to remain in office throughout his corruption trial. Over two days this week, the court looked at two questions: whether an indicted politician can be given authority to form a new government, and whether their power-sharing deal which includes new legislation was legal. In its decision, the 11-judge panel rejected all of the challenges. "We did not find any legal reason to prevent MK Netanyahu from forming a government," the court said. "The legal conclusion we reached does not diminish the severity of the pending charges against MK Netanyahu for violations of moral integrity and the difficulty derived from the tenure of a prime minister accused of criminal activity," it added. The judges ruled that while the coalition deal presents significant legal difficulties, the court would not interfere in its contents following changes submitted by Netanyahu and Gantz. Eliad Shraga, a lawyer representing one of the petitioners against the coalition deal, expressed disappointment but said he would respect the decision. "We will continue to raise the flag of morality," he told Channel 12 news. paragsachania Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Belur/Bangalore Posts: 6,902 Thanked: 23,902 Times re: Education Industry during & post Covid-19 At first, we really need to see the growth rate of infection start slowing down (distant dream) Then, Parents ought to be taken into confidence by school management on how if they plan to reopen regular schools in few months have taken all necessary steps to ensure: - Sanitization (classrooms, labs, rest rooms, buses, common areas, books and library) - Social distancing (teacher-student, student - student, caretaker - student, driver - student etc) - Educate and emphasize all of their staff including children about the virus on more frequent basis None of the above is easy to achieve, especially with kids and like everyone else, I will also be extremely apprehensive about sending my kid (5th std) to school despite of all the awareness and education that we have provided in the last 2 months. No matter how much you try, kids till certain age in company of other kids will easily forget few norms and end up touching their faces, ears, eyes or even each others many times during a day. Heck, we still do not allow kids in our apartment to play together in the common area for the same fear because they would access the lifts, touch railings and play equipment etc! In the parents group too, everyone is raising questions on how the school plans to introduce various measures in future to contain the spread if at all they plan to reopen in August/September. The virus is here to stay for a long time and that means any measures taken will have to be for long term. Further, anyone who is infected (and asymptomatic) can spread this in school to others - It could be students, teachers or support staff who can be carriers. Hence, there is absolutely no way you can be sure of that someone looking normally healthy is not infected and continue with your usual chores at school. How will the school authorities even keep a check on that? Before lockdown they did send a mailer requesting kids not to attend school for 2 weeks if any one of their parents have had an international trip but now (today) an international trip is not the only reason!! In the end, for me it will be wait and watch. Wait over the next few months to see where we are with respect to spread and vaccine, watch what the health authorities have to say to schools on implementing guidelines and ensuring that they are adhered to. Honestly, even though I have been dropping my kid to school over the last 3 years, she would be the last person I would want to take risk with by sending to school even after 4 months from now till there is really a certainty that all is well. But I shall wait and watch. Online classes are not as effective as proper school teaching but then, we need to accept this as a norm for an year when most IT Organizations are finally embracing Work-From-Home culture for a similar reason even with educated adults. None of the above is easy to achieve, especially with kids and like everyone else, I will also be extremely apprehensive about sending my kid (5th std) to school despite of all the awareness and education that we have provided in the last 2 months. No matter how much you try, kids till certain age in company of other kids will easily forget few norms and end up touching their faces, ears, eyes or even each others many times during a day. Heck, we still do not allow kids in our apartment to play together in the common area for the same fear because they would access the lifts, touch railings and play equipment etc!In the parents group too, everyone is raising questions on how the school plans to introduce various measures in future to contain the spread if at all they plan to reopen in August/September. The virus is here to stay for a long time and that means any measures taken will have to be for long term.Further, anyone who is infected (and asymptomatic) can spread this in school to others - It could be students, teachers or support staff who can be carriers. Hence, there is absolutely no way you can be sure of that someone looking normally healthy is not infected and continue with your usual chores at school.How will the school authorities even keep a check on that? Before lockdown they did send a mailer requesting kids not to attend school for 2 weeks if any one of their parents have had an international trip but now (today) an international trip is not the only reason!!In the end, for me it will be wait and watch. Wait over the next few months to see where we are with respect to spread and vaccine, watch what the health authorities have to say to schools on implementing guidelines and ensuring that they are adhered to.Honestly, even though I have been dropping my kid to school over the last 3 years, she would be the last person I would want to take risk with by sending to school even after 4 months from now till there is really a certainty that all is well. ButOnline classes are not as effective as proper school teaching but then, we need to accept this as a norm for an year when most IT Organizations are finally embracing Work-From-Home culture for a similar reason even with educated adults. Last edited by paragsachania : 6th May 2020 at 10:37 . (Newser) Tara Reade, who has accused Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her in 1993, has been interviewed on camera by Megyn Kelly. The former Fox News host announced the interview Thursday, the same day it took place. "Her story & some tough Qs in a riveting exchange," Kelly posted on Twitter. "A ton of news coming." The interview will go up on Kelly's Instagram and YouTube accounts, the Hill reports, but she didn't say when that will happen. Kelly also plans to release highlights ahead of time. In one Twitter teaser, per USA Today, Reade says she doesn't want Biden to apologize to her at this point, but she wants him to drop out of the presidential race. "Please step forward and be held accountable," Reade says, addressing the former vice president. "You should not be running on character for the president of the United States." story continues below It's Reade's first on-camera interview since Biden denied her accusation on MSNBC last week. In addition, she has retained a law firm, Wigdor, that represented women who accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault. The firm issued a statement saying that it has no political motivation in taking Reade as a client, but that it believes "every survivor of sexual assault has the right to competent legal counsel." Reade worked on Biden's Senate staff when she said the assault took place. In her interview, Kelly told the Hill, Reade "gets very candid, very emotional, and handles many direct challenges to her account." She said she realizes Biden won't quit the race. "But I wish he would, Reade said. "Thats how I feel emotionally." (Reaction to Biden's interview was mixed.) Courts must protect the poor and the underprivileged during the coronavirus pandemic even though that might cause friction with the executive, Supreme Court judge, justice Deepak Gupta said in his virtual farewell speech on Wednesday. In times of a crisis such as the ones we are living in, the courts must protect the poor and the underprivileged, because it is they who are hit the hardest in trying times. When the court does its duty and acts in favour of the citizens, sometimes there will be friction, but a little friction in my view is a healthy sign that the courts are functioning properly, he said. The judge also said that a judge should decide cases on the basis of the Constitution alone and should not let their personal beliefs interfere with their role. Since the top court is shut due to Covid-19, Justice Gupta was given a virtual farewell through Zoom app by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), the first such farewell function given to a retiring judge in the 70-year history of the court. ...[It is] virtual because of the medium of communication, our feelings for you are very real, Chief Justice of India SA Bobde conveyed in a video message.The function was attended by the president of SCBA, Dushyant Dave and attorney general KK Venugopal. When Gov. Kate Brown announced in late April that healthcare providers would soon be allowed to perform nonurgent medical procedures on Oregonians, there was an unexpected segment of the states population poised to benefit: Pets. In addition to hospitals, surgical centers and dental offices, veterinary clinics also were given the green light to resume all medical procedures on May 1, setting the stage for pet owners to move forward with spays, neuters, dental surgeries and everything in between. The move not only opened the door for clinics to ease the pain of suffering animals, but also delivered a dose of hope to the dozens of clinics in the Portland area struggling to stay afloat during the coronavirus crisis. We were set up so I can do my job and survive by just doing exams, said Dr. Alexandra McLaughry, who owns and operates BarburVet in Southwest Portland. But for a lot of clinics, performing surgeries and other procedures is vital. Thats how we make our bread and butter and pay the bills. Portland is widely considered one of the most pet-friendly cities in the United States, boasting the most dog parks (33) per capita of any large city in the nation and a smorgasbord of indoor and outdoor recreation opportunities for four-legged friends. It used to be almost as likely to sit next to a dog at a brewery or bar as it was a human. But while COVID-19 has brought much of society to a virtual standstill, it has not decreased the need for animal care. In fact, some clinics say demand has only intensified the last two months as pet adoptions have increased and pet owners suddenly confined inside with their dogs and cats amid stay-at-home orders have started noticing more issues with their furry friends. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no evidence that animals play a significant role in spreading COVID-19, so treating patients is not a concern for veterinarians. But everything else surrounding the treatment is, and clinics have had to overhaul virtually everything they do to help clients and take care of patients. Overall, this has been a very strange time, said Michele Zawadzki, a doctor of veterinary medicine at Mt. Tabor Veterinary Care. At first, it was pretty stressful for everyone and we werent sure how much work wed be able to do or even if we would be laid off. But now, six weeks into this, I think people are starting to feel like its just the new normal. And the new normal is unlike anything the veterinary world has experienced before. Nowadays, pet owners rarely step foot inside a veterinary clinic to accompany pets for evaluations. Instead, they pull up to clinics in cars and phone the front desk to initiate appointments. Nurses, covered in masks and gloves, walk outside to retrieve pets from parking lots, then take them inside for an examination while owners remain in their cars and await further instruction. At some clinics, like Mt. Tabor, veterinarians and nurses assess patients and call owners on cell phones to discuss medical options. At other clinics, like BarburVet, veterinarians set up virtual evaluations during which they allow patients to watch and communicate through smartphones as medical professionals care for their pets. They dissect problems and discuss treatment options live, as if everyone were in the exam room talking face-to-face. Zawadzki said she and her peers had found our groove with the new process, but it took three times as long to see and treat patients a 15-minute visit now lasts 45 minutes. She also has noticed a spike in anxious pets and owners as the emotional and interpersonal experience of veterinary care has grown cold through technology. People are so grateful that were open and Im grateful to be able to come to work and help sick animals, Zawadzki said. But, also, I really miss seeing clients. You form really strong relationships with people and we do a lot to help them make difficult decisions with their pets. This is hugely important to people and these are very caring situations. Things are just different these days. Added McLaughry: Its like working in a whole new job and were all kind of learning on the fly. It can be quite emotional when youre telling clients hard news and thats even more challenging when you have to do so on a screen. McLaughrys new job has included almost no surgeries. Shes performed just three over the last six weeks, when clinics have been limited to emergency procedures exclusively under governor orders designed, in large part, to conserve supplies of PPEs. Likewise, Zawadzki, who normally performs surgeries three days a week, has had just five surgeries over two days the last six weeks. But that all changed on May 1, of course, when Brown lifted her ban on nonemergency procedures for humans and animals, alike. McLaughry has a neuter scheduled for Thursday and Zawadzki said Mt. Tabor would resume all medical procedures later this month. The clinics have dozens of pets lined up on waitlists, seeking a variety of care. Veterinarians can begin treating patients with nonurgent procedures so long as their clinics have an adequate two-week supply of PPE on hand and follow strict infection control guidelines. Furthermore, in addition to practicing social-distancing and continuing to practice telemedicine, clinics are required to take a measured approach to resuming procedures. The process will be reassessed every two weeks. McLaughry said her clinic was busier now than it has been at any point since she opened it six years ago, in part because many nearby clinics in Southwest Portland have temporarily shuttered and sent business her way. She doesnt expect the frenzy to end anytime soon. I feel blessed that were allowed to be open and practice, McLaughry said. For some people, especially elderly people who live on their own, their pet is very important to them. And that was true way before any of this. Im grateful that I can be open and provide services for pets. There was a point when DoveLewis wasnt sure it would remain open. The Northwests only nonprofit, 24-hour emergency animal hospital and intensive care unit is a vitally important facility for pets and owners, treating more than 25,000 animals a year. But, like other businesses and nonprofits during COVID-19, it had to rethink everything it does. The hospital employees 170 people and ensuring their safety, as well as that of their clients, was paramount. When stay-at-home orders arrived in March, Ron Morgan, the DoveLewis President and CEO, said there was a faction of people lobbying for the hospital to temporarily shutter for the sake of safety. But thats just not who we are, Morgan said. Its human nature to be worried and concerned about personal safety. I dont blame anyone for that. But we wanted to stay open and meet the demands of our clients. So, instead of closing, Morgan started hosting virtual town halls with employees and he and his team worked more than 25 days in a row to craft a new standard operating procedure, navigating the ever-changing threat of the virus and the CDCs evolving safety playbook along the way. Like neighborhood clinics, DoveLewis asks pet owners to wait outside and consult with veterinarians over the phone during visits. But because many patients arrive with an emergency, and a high percentage of clients walk or use public transportation to travel to the hospital, the facility also permits a handful to wait inside. Theyve even hired a 24-hour security guard team to patrol the property at a cost of $20,000 a month to provide an extra layer of safety to their around-the-clock service. Morgan said the hospital had seen a small dip in visitors, but because it is the only facility of its kind in the area, things remain busy. Nearly 1,900 patients visited in April, roughly 100 fewer than in April 2019. It didnt help that the hospital had to pass on about 30 surgeries because its surgical teams, after a 90-minute deliberation, deemed the procedures elective. Theres definitely going to be an economic impact from all of this, Morgan said. I dont think the worst has hit us. But even so, amid all the mayhem of the last two months, Morgan has been emboldened by the nimbleness and camaraderie of the veterinary community. I know that everybody has felt the economic pain of not being able to do elective procedures and endured a great amount of stress trying to keep business open, he said. I hear from so many people who say, I think I can get by with this for a month or two. Anything longer than that, Im not so sure. But we all understand that we need to take care of our staff and keep people healthy so we can take care of patients. The vibe has been filled with disappointment because of how this affects us personally, but also an understating of the bigger picture and that we all need to do our part. Zawadzkis clinic sits on Southeast Belmont, across the street from a food cart pod and a coffee shop. Occasionally, during the day, she gazes outside the window and sees a stream of people stopping by the businesses and even hanging out. She cant help but feel concern that some arent taking the treat of COVID-19 seriously and realizing the gravity of the situation. But the indifference of others has not and will not deter her from helping patients, despite the risk. We have seen more new puppies and kitties and more new adoptions during all of this, Zawadzki said. People are like, I have time to train a puppy now. And they are going to need to be spayed and neutered. There are lots of animals that still need our help. Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories New Gallup Panel survey data from April 13-19 show that 33% of adults in the U.S. labor force have been laid off or have seen reduced hours because of COVID-19. That amounts to an estimated 54 million U.S. workers. April Unemployment Rate Could Be as High as 15% These data suggest that the May 8 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report will show an unemployment rate ranging from as low as 7.5% to as high as 14.6%, depending on how successfully the BLS is able to classify furloughed workers as unemployed, given the unusual circumstances of the pandemic. Only 7.5% of respondents who would be considered part of the labor force, using conventional definitions, report being unemployed and not looking for work, but a large number of workers also report that they have been temporarily laid off, and the BLS intends to count these workers as unemployed regardless of whether they are looking for work or not. Four in 10 Laid-Off Workers Approved for Unemployment Insurance A Gallup survey conducted April 20-26 addresses the adequacy of economic relief programs in the U.S. The data show that 43% of laid-off workers have been approved for unemployment insurance. Additionally, estimates indicate that 20% of small businesses have been approved for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), representing roughly 10 to 16 million workers (or 6% to 10% of the labor force). Among a group of 20 wealthy countries analyzed in a recent Brookings report, the U.S. has seen the largest surge in the number of workers filing for unemployment insurance benefits as a share of its workforce. Half of Businesses Receiving PPP Don't Need It Unlike income support programs in other countries, such as in New Zealand and Ireland, the PPP compensates businesses regardless of whether they have seen revenue losses, raising concerns about inefficiency and poor targeting. This aspect of the law is reflected in Gallup's survey data of business owners, which finds that 17% of small-business owners with income losses report receiving PPP, compared with 20% of all small-business owners. The data show that roughly half of PPP recipients (48%) do not report a loss in income. What the BLS Is Likely to Report There are good reasons to expect that the BLS unemployment numbers will be grim. As of the week ending April 25, 28.1 million Americans (17% of the workforce) had filed for unemployment insurance since early March, according to administrative data from the Department of Labor. (The claims numbers are slightly higher if a seasonal adjustment factor is applied.) For the upcoming BLS reporting period, the relevant number of claims from the Department of Labor as a share of the workforce is 15%. This suggests that the BLS official unemployment rate could be around that number, but not everyone who is unemployed files a claim -- and because of changes in eligibility rules, not everyone who receives unemployment insurance benefits is out of work. Gallup has polled on employment and coronavirus-related topics since March 13 through a COVID-19 tracking survey and added questions on March 27 to explicitly measure economic harm from COVID-19. Gallup has used a more limited set of survey items than the BLS and different wording, so the numbers are unlikely to match exactly -- but as The Wall Street Journal reported in 2016, Gallup's unemployment estimates from past surveys have been very similar to those from the BLS. The current Gallup survey uses slightly different employment items, but in the early weeks of the pandemic, the estimates were close to the official BLS unemployment rate for early March. Two measures were constructed to attempt to predict the official unemployment rate for the week ending April 25. The first uses only Gallup's single-item employment measure, which asks people to describe their "employment situation" in the past seven days. Being employed means working full time or part time for pay. Not being employed is more complicated. Alternatives include being a homemaker, a full-time student or a retiree, all of which are considered options that would typically classify someone as out of the labor force and ignored in the official unemployment rate. Gallup also allows people to say they are "unemployed/laid off and not looking for work" or "unemployed/laid off but looking for work." In most cases, people who say they are unemployed and not looking for work would be counted as out of the labor force by the BLS when calculating the official unemployment rate. The one important exception is that workers are counted as unemployed if they say the main reason they were absent from work last week was that they were "on layoff" but that they expect to be recalled within six months. For these temporarily laid-off workers, the BLS does not require that they are actively looking for work to be part of the labor force, and therefore, they should be counted as unemployed. The federal government shutdown of early 2019 provided a recent episode in which many workers were furloughed, presenting challenges for the BLS. In that case, 104,000 federal workers were classified as temporarily on layoff, according to a BLS retrospective report. Yet, another 153,000 did not meet the criteria for being counted as on layoff, because they told the BLS they were absent from work for some "other" unspecified reason (presumably, they might have said "the shutdown" if that were an option). The BLS considered these workers to be misclassified as employed, but they did not correct the data to maintain its integrity and consistency with established methods. To avoid this scenario during COVID-19, the BLS instructed survey interviewers in March to classify people who said they were absent from work as a result of the coronavirus as unemployed on temporary layoff. In mid-March, the BLS recorded a large increase (of 1.1 million, between February and March) in the number of people classified as unemployed on temporary layoff, but the agency also noted a large increase in the number of people classified as employed but absent from work (roughly 1.6 million). This suggests that the BLS coding rules still allow for some ambiguity when it comes to classifying workers furloughed from COVID-19. To follow the BLS methods as closely as possible using the Gallup Panel, all individuals are classified as unemployed if they say they are unemployed and looking for work, and as being in the labor force if they are employed or if they are unemployed and looking. The table below shows that the unemployment rate increased from 5.0% in mid-March (close to the BLS unadjusted measure of 4.5%) to 7.5% by the week ending April 19. This method, however, fails to count many furloughed workers as unemployed, since most of them are not looking for work. Therefore, an additional measure was created that reclassifies survey respondents who report being temporarily laid off and not looking for work as unemployed. This nearly doubles the unemployment rate, to 14.6%. Given this, it is estimated that the official BLS unemployment rate for April will fall somewhere between 7.5% and 14.6%, depending on how successful the BLS is at reclassifying furloughed workers. If the agency meets its goals, it should be close to the 14.6% estimate. It should be noted that 12.6% and 16.6% are within the 95% confidence interval for this upper-end unemployment estimate. Various Measures of U.S. Economic Disruption From COVID-19 Mar 13-15 Mar 16-22 Mar 23-29 Mar 30-Apr 5 Apr 6-12 Apr 13-19 % % % % % % Cumulative unemployment insurance claims as share of workforce (not seasonally adjusted)* 0.2 1.9 5.6 9.4 12.4 15.0 Unemployed and looking for work as share of workforce 5.0 4.2 6.9 6.4 7.4 7.5 Unemployed, including temporarily laid-off workers, as share of workforce - - 9.1 12.1 12.6 14.6 Percentage of workers laid off as a result of coronavirus - - 14.5 15.1 15.7 18.0 Percentage of workers laid off or put on reduced hours - - 27.6 28.2 29.9 33.1 *From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Gallup Panel, 2020 Gallup's Estimates of Economic Harm Whatever the official unemployment rate is for April, it will understate the true economic damage because it does not include those with reduced hours or pay. This number can best be calculated from BLS data by adding the change in total employment (in other words, job losses) to the number of workers who were forced to drop from full time to part time for economic reasons. In the March release, this number was 4.1 million, which is much higher than the reported change in the number of unemployed workers (1.1 million). Another way to measure economic harm would be to look at what the BLS calls U6 unemployment. This includes in the total number of unemployed workers anyone who is not working but wants a job plus those working part time for economic reasons (as opposed to a personal preference). These workers represented 2.5 million people in the March release. Gallup also has estimates for these more comprehensive measures of harm. Defined as anyone who has been laid off or has seen reduced hours as a result of COVID-19, one-third of the labor force has been harmed. That means 54 million workers. Thus, it is expected that BLS data would show that roughly 50 million workers had either lost their job or faced reduced hours between February and April. An Assessment of Relief Programs Thus far, Department of Labor data show that 17.8 million people have filed a continued claim for unemployment insurance, suggesting that 63% of the 28.1 million people who filed for unemployment have received a benefit. This is close to our estimate from survey work conducted April 20-26, which shows that 55% of those who have applied report being approved. We find that the approval rate is 65% among laid-off workers who have applied for benefits. That still leaves a large number of people without benefits. Indeed, we estimate that 43% of all workers who have been laid off have been approved for unemployment insurance benefits. The share is even lower (14%) for those facing reduced hours. Access to Unemployment Insurance Benefits for U.S. Adults and Workers Harmed by COVID-19 U.S. adults Laid off Hours reduced Laid off/Hours reduced % % % % Eligible for benefits 11 54 25 35 Percentage who applied 9 66 30 40 Approval rate for those who applied 55 65 47 58 Percentage of total population who were approved 5 43 14 23 Gallup Panel, Apr 20-26, 2020 One question is whether alternative relief programs have filled the gaps. The most prominent candidate is the PPP, which was recently signed into law to provide loans -- that can be forgiven if certain conditions are met -- to small businesses to retain their workers on the payroll. So far, only 2% of all U.S. adults and 4% of adults with income loss have been approved for the program, but this is not surprising since it is generally only relevant for the self-employed, nonprofit leaders and business owners with fewer than 500 employees. Almost half of small-business owners surveyed as part of the Gallup COVID-19 tracking study have applied for the program, whether or not they have lost income as a result of COVID-19. In fact, the correlation between loss of income and approval for PPP is not significant, providing evidence that the program has benefited companies regardless of whether they've been harmed by the pandemic. The approval rate has been just over 40% among those who have applied, meaning that around one in five U.S. small-business owners have been approved for program benefits. Another way of stating this is that 80% of small-business owners who've lost income as a result of COVID-19 have not been approved for PPP funding. Access to the Paycheck Protection Program for U.S. adults and Small-Business Owners U.S. adults All adults with income loss Small-business owners Small-business owners with income loss % % % % Eligible for PPP loan 7 12 43 41 Percentage who applied 5 11 44 42 Approval rate for those who applied 45 41 46 41 Percentage of total population who were approved 2 4 20 17 Gallup Panel, Apr 20-26, 2020 The Small Business Administration reported that 1.6 million PPP loans had been approved through April 16 and an additional 2.2 million through May 1, with an average loan amount of $133,750. Using employee compensation data from the Social Security Administration as a benchmark, it is estimated that somewhere between 10.4 and 15.7 million workers have indirectly benefited from the PPP. That is certainly a substantial number of workers (6% to 10% of the labor force) -- but even at the high end, that is far fewer than the 28.1 million who have filed unemployment insurance claims and far fewer than the roughly 50 million who report being either laid off or working reduced hours. The failure to get unemployment benefits to those laid off from COVID-19 is particularly striking given that the U.S. has relied far more on the unemployment insurance system than other OECD countries have, as recently found in the analysis published by the Brookings Institution. In the sample of 20 wealthy countries, no other nation has seen a larger share of its workforce file for unemployment insurance. Instead, other countries -- like New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark -- have relied on programs that channel support through employers, preserving the employer-employee relationship. At the extreme end, in New Zealand, 59% of its workforce has received a benefit through its "job keepers" program. In France, Switzerland, Germany and Israel, at least 20% of workers have benefited from programs that subsidize reduced hours or temporary layoffs. It remains to be seen whether these programs will prove more effective at facilitating a rapid economic recovery once the disease is contained -- but in so far as they reduce the risk of permanent separation from an employer, that outcome seems likely. Councilmember Curren Price Talks Renters and Landlord Rights During COVID-19 Crisis District 9 Councilmember Curren Price Jr. hosted a livestream event on Thursday in collaboration with LA CityView to discuss renters rights and protections during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rights of California renters ADVERTISEMENT Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order that banned evictions for California renters on Friday, March 27, protecting the rights of the tenants facing challenges brought on by the coronavirus. In Los Angeles about 60 percent of residents are renters and in Prices district and other parts of South Los Angeles, the number is closer to 80 percent. Going into this crisis, I think the council is very sensitive to making sure that we have programs and policies in place that help preserve housing; that dont get rid of it but help preserve it, Price said. In addition to the moratorium placed on evictions, rent increases are also frozen during the crisis for rent stabilization ordinance (RSO) units and renters not capable of paying rent have around 12 months after the emergency to make up past due payments. Although the stop of evictions applies to all renters, the rent increase suspension is only relevant to those living in a property that falls under the RSO, buildings built before October 1, 1978. Rushmore Cervantes, general manager for the Los Angeles Housing and Community Investment Department (HCIDLA) said during the live stream that RSO housing represents almost 80 percent of multifamily housing stock in the city. ADVERTISEMENT A resource Cervantes indicated to viewers looking to find out if they live in an RSO building was to text RSO to (855) 880-7368. Furthering the effort to protect renters, property owners are also not able to Ellis their property, a law that allows landlords to withdraw their buildings from the market, evicting the tenants during this time. We want to make sure we create a stable community while were going through this collectively as a society to make sure that [residents] remain at home, Cervantes said. These protections will remain in effect until the end of Mayor Eric Garcettis stay-at-home order. Tenants who cannot make full or partial rent payments are advised by Cervantes to notify their property owner A-S-A-P and visit the HCIDLA website at www.hcidla2.lacity.org to download a form that cautions the landlord in a formal way. The rights of property owners The diversity of landlords in Los Angeles ranges from mom and pop who only manage a handful of buildings and tenants, to major corporations owners. Most of the ordinances put into place as a result of COVID-19 cater to renters but there are efforts to assist property owners as well. Cervantes recommends that landlords with loans contact their banks and see if they are eligible for temporary relief of payments. The federal government has offered six months forbearance of payments for property owners if they have loans that are backed or guaranteed by [relevant loans] and they can also request an additional six months thereafter, Cervantes said. Property owners can also seek out funding through small business administration (SBA) loans at the local and federal level. The important thing is to make sure that the lines of communication are open between the tenant and the landlord so that if the tenant is having some issues, some difficulties, the landlord is aware of it, Price said. There are protections that the tenant has but theres some rights that the landlord also has. How to protect yourself as a renter Cervantes said landlords cannot coerce proof of documentation that states why a renter cannot make a payment and they do not have the authority to make a tenant enter into a repayment agreement. Tenants have the ability to pay back the forbearance amount, within 12 months. It doesnt specify on day one, it doesnt specify over a 12-month period of time; It specifies within 12 months following the end of the pandemic, Cervantes said. After the 12 months, renters are responsible for past due rent payments whether they remain on the property or not. Price advises that tenants should keep [their] records that show financial difficulties due to the pandemic. He also said that immigration status has no relevance to who is covered by this. Although courts are not taking cases regarding landlord-renter disputes outside of critical cases during the pandemic, it is possible after the stay-at-home order is lifted. Documents such as pay stubs or medical bills can be used as a defense. If a renter finds themselves faced with an eviction notice, contact HCIDLA immediately in order to gain guidance and possible free legal services. Its a scary notice and we want everyone to know, both landlords and tenants alike, youre not allowed to do this right now, Cervantes said. Public Counsel attorney Silvana Naguib works with renters facing eviction and homelessness as a result of a lawsuit. Naguib said if a landlord is harassing a tenant to ask for communications through emails or text messages in order to have proof of the exchange. Naguib advises that anyone who may be concerned that their landlord may lock a tenant out of their housing to be prepared by taking their cell phone, keys and a recent utility bill that show that [they] live there and call the police. You dont have to respond to every email, you dont have to respond to every text and you dont have to respond to every call, Naguib said. We understand landlords are hurting for money as well. [May 07, 2020] WiTricity Technology Integral to Ratified China EV Wireless Charging Standard WiTricity's patented technology is foundational to the Chinese national standard ("GuoBiao" or GB standard) for wireless electric vehicle (EV) charging ratified and published by the China Electricity Council (CEC) on April 28, 2020 and announced on May 6, 2020. Standardization is critical to large-scale deployment of wireless charging for EVs both in China and around the world, allowing any equipped EV to use any standard wireless charger. For the past four years, WiTricity has been actively involved in the Chinese EV wireless charging standardization process through its work with China Electric Power Research Institute (CEPRI), China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC) and the CEC. With a global IP portfolio of over 1400 issued and pending patents, WiTricity has declared twenty Chinese patents as "standards essential" to systems implementing the GB standard. Chinese automakers and their Tier 1 suppliers rely on the GB standard committee to define the EV wireless charging solution to be deployed in China. The ratified standard is now a major market enabler for deployment on vehicles and in public charging infrastructure. WiTricity has worked closely with the GB standard committee on several significant technical matters, including efforts to harmonize the China standard with other international standards (SAE J2954, ISO 19363, IEC (News - Alert) 61980) that will be published in 2020 and 2021. The China automotive market is by far the most aggressive in transitioning to electric, and Chinese automakers are seeking ways to make the EV ownership experience even more appealing to new buyers. Wireless charging makes charging as simple as parking your car and walking away, ensuring that full battery capacity and range is seamlessly available to the driver. Wireless EV charging with WiTricity's magnetic resonance technology delivers the same power, efficiency and charge rate as conventional plug-in charging methods with no compromises. Wireless EV charging is not just convenient, it is critical for the automatic charging of future fleets of autonomous vehicles, such as robotaxis or delivery vans. WiTricity plays an actie role in working with Tier 1s in China to design and realize systems that will meet China's GB standard. Zhejiang VIE Science & Technology Co., Ltd. subsidiary (VIE) and Anjie Wireless Technology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. (Anjie) have licensed WiTricity's technology and industry-leading designs which include all needed peripheral systems such as foreign object detection, position detection and communications. These companies develop and commercialize highly efficient EV wireless charging systems for sale to leading automaker brands in the China market. VIE has completed construction of its pilot production facility to assemble wireless charging systems for its initial OEM customers. Anjie recently demonstrated a fully autonomous parking and wireless charging experience on an Xpeng Motors' EV, showing the world what the future of autonomous, electric mobility will look like in the years to come. "It's a significant milestone for WiTricity to have our patented wireless charging technology embraced in the Chinese GB national standard. China is the world's largest EV market, the global EV trend setter, and a key market for WiTricity. Following our close work with CEC, CATARC and CEPRI, we're thrilled that the GB standard is published, creating a clear path for automakers and their Tier 1 suppliers in China to implement wireless charging," said Alex Gruzen, WiTricity CEO. "We are proud of the work we've done in China to make EV ownership more appealing to everyone with our hands-free wireless charging." For more information, visit www.witricity.com. About WiTricity WiTricity develops wireless power solutions using its patented magnetic resonance technology. WiTricity works with top global automakers and Tier 1 suppliers to deploy EV wireless charging, helping realize a future of transportation that is electrified, shared and autonomous. See how WiTricity makes EV charging easy, transparent and hands-free. Get to know WiTricity. Following its recent acquisition of the Qualcomm (News - Alert) Halo IP portfolio, WiTricity has solidified its position as the "go-to" provider of EV wireless charging technology to automakers and Tier 1 suppliers. Licenses already have been announced with Toyota, Aptiv (formerly Delphi (News - Alert)), Mahle, TDK, IHI, Shindengen, Daihen, BRUSA, Anjie Wireless, Green Power, Yura and VIE. Global corporate investors now include Qualcomm, Toyota, Intel Capital, Delta Electronics Capital, Foxconn, and Schlumberger (News - Alert). WiTricity is also collaborating directly with leading carmakers to drive global standards for wireless charging systems. Standards initiatives include the SAE International, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), STILLE, China Automotive Technology & Research Center (CATARC), China Electricity Council and the Chinese Electric Power Research Institute (CEPRI). Visit us, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005340/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Copa Holdings (CPA) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.75 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.56 per share. This compares to earnings of $2.11 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 12.18%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this holding company for Panama's national airline would post earnings of $1.98 per share when it actually produced earnings of $2.17, delivering a surprise of 9.60%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times. Copa Holdings, which belongs to the Zacks Transportation - Airline industry, posted revenues of $595.45 million for the quarter ended March 2020, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.46%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $672.17 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Copa Holdings shares have lost about 61.6% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's decline of -11.2%. What's Next for Copa Holdings? While Copa Holdings has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Story continues Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Copa Holdings was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is -$2.36 on $232.03 million in revenues for the coming quarter and -$0.43 on $1.66 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Transportation - Airline is currently in the bottom 47% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Copa Holdings SA (CPA) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research The head of the World Health Organization's Europe office said the agency is deeply troubled by reports of increasing domestic violence against women, men and children in countries including Belgium, Britain, France, Russia, Spain and others amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a press briefing on Thursday, Dr. Hans Kluge said that although data were scarce, countries across Europe are reporting up to 60% of women are suffering domestic violence, noting that calls to help hotlines have jumped about five times. He warned that continued restrictive measures needed to suppress COVID-19 could have a devastating impact on vulnerable women and children. If lockdowns were to continue for six months, we would expect an extra 31 million cases of gender-based violence globally, Kluge said, citing data from the UN Population Fund. Evidence shows that interpersonal violence increases during every type of emergency, he said. Kluge said authorities should consider it a moral obligation to ensure help services are available to communities. He said that some countries have already responded to the emerging crisis, noting Italy's development of an app where people can request help without making a phone call, and programs in Spain and France where pharmacists can be alerted to problems by people using code words. Kluge said the reported numbers were still only a small measure of the actual problem since people suffering from abuse often decline to report it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Yves here. Readers may have noted that suicide rates were already high among farmers, often due to them getting caught under rising levels of debt as the economics of their operations became less favorable over time. Its hard to imagine how they will get through the hammer blows of trade wars, climate-changed induced severe weather events, and even worse, coronavirus. By Sandy West. Originally published at Kaiser Health News Richard Oswald, still mourning the loss of his familys homestead to flooding along the Missouri River, is planting corn and soybeans into ground that last year was feet deep underwater. Its probably good, he said, to not have too much time to think. Diversion therapy is the best treatment for farmers right now, said the 70-year-old from Atchison County, Missouri. Being busy helps. In an industry rocked over the past year by record rates of bankruptcies, suicides and mental health crises spurred by weather extremes, trade wars and faltering economics, COVID-19 has fostered even more uncertainty for the future of Americas farms. Already the pandemic has decimated agricultural markets. For the men and women struggling to operate farms and associated businesses across the country, concerns are rising that the existing mental health crisis in farm country is about to get worse. If you look back over the last 20 or 30 years of U.S. agriculture, the events of the last 36 months or so couldnt have come at a worse time, said David Widmar, an agricultural economist with the industry analysis firm Agricultural Economic Insights. Everyone in the economy is facing a headwind right now; its just that the ag space is really behind. Producers have had almost seven bad years of bad news. To be sure, the global pandemic has taken a toll on mental health among people in all industries. But farming was battling high rates of suicide before the crisis hit. For example, men in rural Missouri have had the highest rate of suicide deaths in the state, at 35.6 per 100,000 residents in 2017, according to a February Missouri Hospital Association report nearly double the statewide rate of 18.8. The U.S. rate at that time was 14. Calls to farmer assistance hotlines have only increased since the COVID-19 pandemic first caused businesses and school systems nationwide to shut down, said Jennifer Fahy, a spokesperson for Farm Aid, which runs one of the hotlines. Farmers are expressing increased concern about being able to sell their products, at what price and how this will play out. I dont think it is even close to what we will be hearing after another month, or two months, Fahy said. There is just so much unknown right now. Members of Brazil's Army East Joint Command unit carried out a disinfecting operation to the sounds of army band music played at the Urgent Care Unit Marechal Hermes, in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday. Together with employees from Rio de Janeiro's state government, they cleaned the public areas help prevent the spread of COVID-19. "We brought the music band from the First Army division to calm patients down," said Colonel Rego Barros, the spokesperson for the East Joint Command. "I am afraid because there are so many people dying," said Michele Elen, a patient fearing for her health and that of her loved ones who came to the unit with COVID-19 symptoms to get an X-ray. According to Johns Hopkins University count of coronavirus cases, Brazil now has 121,600 confirmed and 8,022 deaths directly related to the virus. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the new coronavirus can cause more severe illness and lead to death. Sudhir Suryawanshi By Express News Service MUMBAI: When the nationwide lockdown was imposed, mango farmer Asif Shahbazker was staring at huge losses. But technology and an enterprising agriculture officer came to his rescue. The Bandra resident who owns the 200-acre Ranse Farm in Uran in the Konkan region was able to seal orders for 20,000 Alphonso mangoes in a month through WhatsApp. Asif said they are not only getting a fair profit but also contributing a portion of it to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to fight COVID-19. When the mango season started at the end of March, the government declared a lockdown across the country due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We were struggling to sell such a large quantum of mangoes during the lockdown. Exports were also banned -- 40 per cent of our mangoes are exported. But our local agriculture officer Kranti Chaudhari was a ray of hope. She helped us connect with various high-end residential cooperative housing societies, said the farmer. He said they have shared their WhatsApp number with various housing societies. Once they place the order, we deliver it to their doorsteps. One box containing four dozen mangoes costs Rs 1500. Last year, we sold the same boxes for Rs 700 to wholesaler traders at the agriculture produce market (APMC) in Vashi and they were again sold at Rs 2000 to Rs 2500 to consumers. This year, we removed all middlemen and directly connected to the end-users through social media. Consumers are getting mango boxes at Rs 1500 against Rs 2000 from traders while we are getting Rs 1500 against Rs 700 from traders. This is a win-win situation for both of us, he said, adding that they will use the same technology next year to sell the mangoes. Asif said they are facing a labour crunch this season. We used to engage at least 100 labourers to produce mangoes, but this year we have to manage with 15 only. Local workers cannot join because their houses are quarantined and police did not allow them to go out. We follow all social distancing practice while selling the mangoes. Masks, sanitizers and gloves are used by our workers while dispatching mangoes to housing societies, he added. Kranti said after the lockdown was imposed, residents of her housing society complained about the shortage of vegetables and fruits which led her to connect the farmers to city consumers. We helped the farmers sell their produce at various residential colonies. Farmers and consumers both are happy with this chain. We have been doing this at a very small scale. We want to develop it on a larger scale so that the farmers will not be exploited by middlemen and traders while consumers will also not be deprived, she said. As major European countries cheered a drop in coronavirus death rates this week, a top United Nations official warned of a looming crisis in poor countries that could "boomerang" back to rich nations unless they help contain it. "No ones safe until everybodys safe," said Mark Lowcock, the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs. He said many low-income countries could see coronavirus infections peak in the next three to six months, and they will need an infusion of emergency aid in the coming weeks to keep the pandemic from decimating their already fragile health systems and struggling economies. "The countries where we work have the potential to act as kind of reservoirs for the virus if there isn't significant effort to contain it in those places," Lowcock said. On Thursday, the British accountant and U.N. humanitarian chief plans to ask rich nations for $6.7 billion in pandemic assistance for as many as 50 developing countries from Latin America to Africa. The funding plea could be a tough sell as the United States and Europe reckon with the pandemic's crippling effect on their own economies. So far, the COVID-19 outbreak has inspired an every-country-for-itself response, with governments turning inward rather than rallying a coordinated global response. 'Dangerous dynamic': Coronavirus threatens new 'Cold War' between US and China But Lowcock and other health experts say that go-it-alone approach won't work against COVID-19. You have a chance of avoiding whats currently a one-year problem becoming a 10-year problem with all the consequences we can forecast: instability, migration, space being created for terrorists and so on," Lowcock said. Lowcock's plea comes as Britain, France, Spain and Italy and other European countries registered their lowest daily death tolls in several months and began cautiously reopening parts of their economies. Story continues Spain is now allowing some adults outside for exercise. On May 11, France will begin a staggered reopening of schools, allow selected business to resume operations, and let people travel within 60 miles of their homes. People line up to receive food handouts in the Olievenhoutbos township of Midrand, South Africa, on May 2, 2020. In Italy which became the first country in Europe to apply a national lockdown and where nearly 30,000 people have died of the virus more than 4 million people were allowed to return to work on Monday. People are happy to be outside, but were also worried. Were all scared of losing the gains weve made so far (in flattening the infection curve and driving deaths down)," said Domitilla Perri, a clothing shop owner in Rome. "My shop wont open up until May 18, but its anybodys guess whatll happen then. You see people out now, but they arent really buying much." Italians were also allowed to visit relatives for the first time since March, as long as they did so in small groups and the visit doesn't take them out of the region where they live. Restaurants and coffee bars, until now limited to delivery services, were permitted to offer takeaway options. Parks and public areas reopened. And mourners could attend funerals again, but only up to 15 people at a time. Social distancing rules remained in force. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's government plans to further loosen Italy's lockdown in two-week increments going forward. But he warned that if the coronavirus infection rates or death toll starts to worsen, that timeline could be pushed back. Britain will unveil its plan for easing a coronavirus lockdown on Sunday. Fragile health systems In other parts of the world, the outbreak is just beginning to take off. From Afghanistan to Yemen, infection and death rates remain relatively low, but officials are bracing for a coronavirus onslaught. Lowcock said theres still great uncertainty about how the pandemic will unfold in many poor countries, where the climate and demographics may alter its spread. Its also not clear, he said, how the virus will interact with malaria, HIV/AIDS, malnutrition and other health challenges. What is clear: The health systems in many poor countries are ill-equipped to cope with the pandemic. "On a normal day, we have our constraints and limitations in terms of dealing with the health challenges," said Asad Majeed Khan, Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S. "Even a resource-rich country like the United States or those in Europe have found their systems overwhelmed by the speed and scale of this disaster," he said. "Our health system in any case is fragile." Experts say one of the most vulnerable countries is Yemen, which has been ravaged by years of war, starvation and cholera. The first cluster of coronavirus infections was confirmed in Yemen on April 10, and humanitarian officials fear the virus will tear through with unprecedented speed and severity. "The factors are all here: Low levels of general immunity, high levels of acute vulnerability, and a fragile, overwhelmed health system," Lise Grande, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, said in a statement last week. Tom Frieden, former head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said public health authorities "need to be careful of dichotomies: open versus closed, us versus them," when trying to tackle a disease that has infected more than 3.7 million people around the world and killed more than 260,000. "We're all in this together," Frieden said during a May 5 media call organized by the World Economic Forum, a Geneva-based organization known for engaging the business world to help to tackle the world's ills. A couple wearing gloves walks hand in hand, in Rome, Wednesday, May 6, 2020. The number of people who have recovered from coronavirus in Italy is higher than the number of people who are actually positive for the first time since Italy created the first red zones on Feb. 21. Others on the call expressed particular concern about how the virus will unfold across Africa and the potential for it to circle back to other continents from there. "We will not be able to eliminate COVID-19 cases everywhere if we still have a lot of cases on a continent with 1.2 billion people," said John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on the same call. As of May 6, Africa had nearly 50,000 coronavirus infections, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which serves 31 of Africa's 54 nations. While that figure is far lower than other regions of the world, the World Health Organization noted in its weekly update ending May 3 that the continent's case totals increased 41% from the previous week. A stark illustration of Africa's coronavirus preparedness: In Mali, there is an estimated one ventilator per 1 million people about 20 in all, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Infection. Africa's paradox: It may be the worst and best place to ride out coronavirus Still, South Africa has joined several European and other countries, along with some states in the U.S., in easing lockdowns. The process in South Africa is, however, proving tricky and complex. There are a growing number of cases being found in high-density settlements and shantytowns, where millions are facing growing desperation. "I heard about food parcels coming to near where I live and went there. I got some food after standing for hours in a very long line, but others did not get (anything)," said Grace Xolo of Khayelitsha, a sprawling shantytown of 400,000 majority black South Africans on the lowest economic rung. "I think of my family and friends and they are hungry. Some are angry. President (Cyril) Ramaphosa must save his people. We are starving, said a tearful Xolo. Previously a street vendor, Xolo is part of the informal economy that makes up 20% of South Africa's GDP and employs millions of the working poor. She is now prohibited from making a living and has been trying to register for government aid, without success. The peak of South Africa's coronavirus outbreak is expected to come between late July and September. 'If you don't work, you don't eat' On the other side of the world, Alejandra Leon is used to crisis. She runs a medical clinic on the Venezuela border near Cucuta, Colombia, the heart of the exodus of 5 million Venezuelans from their collapsing country. They have seen political clashes, a surge in infectious diseases, and a rising number of women and children arriving at their door in increasingly desperate conditions. Since COVID-19 quarantines put the region on lockdown in late March, fear hovers over her clinic, both for medical staff and the migrants they treat. Many migrant shelters and aid providers have closed their doors, leaving the clinic struggling to treat patients with scarce resources. When the crisis began, Leon said some of her team resigned because they were unable to get basic protective gear or rubbing alcohol. Meanwhile, informal work sustaining many Venezuelans has dropped off, leaving migrants even more vulnerable. Weve been trying to make it better, Leon said. But now were regressing because the majority of people who arrive dont have a way to feed themselves. The pandemic has prompted waves of Venezuelans to return to their country, which has been locked in an economic, political and medical crisis for years. But in Venezuela, the coronavirus has only pushed the country further to the brink. The situation under the quarantine is critical because if you don't work, you don't eat, said Yonaimer, whose asked that his last name be withheld for fear of retribution. We have a son, we have to sustain him somehow. But how we are now, we have our hands tied. Yonaimer and his wife fled last year to Peru, traveling more than 2,500 miles to feed their two-year-old son back in rural Venezuela. But they were forced to return after they struggled to survive working on the streets of Lima. Now, as the former migrants hit two months under quarantine, they and millions others across the region face a brutal question: risk illness or hunger. "I try to buy arepas and only eat one vegetable a day to survive, so we can give our boy three meals a day," he said. "My biggest fear is getting sick and not being able to do anything. ... we havent gone out in the streets. But the fear is that if we stay like this, were not going to be able to survive, because now, theres no aid." More damaging for everyone Niki Popper, a mathematician at Austria's Vienna University of Technology, said that while countries are beginning to open up and thus obsessing over how to keep their coronavirus growth curves "flat," there's good reason to think the infections resemble less of a "curve" and more of a "loop" in which cases will come back endlessly. "We will face new growth. It depends on different aspects," he said, such as how well populations adhere to social distancing measures. Lowcock is convinced that to have a chance at staving off these residual cases, and other destabilizing economic and social spill-overs, wealthier countries must make a sizable emergency increase in foreign aid to the world's poorest countries. In his pitch, Lowcock has begun telling politicians in rich nations that if they do not help fund poorer countries' coronavirus responses, it will create instability, migration and numerous other problems from conflicts to famine that could spiral into a more sweeping global political crisis. The virus will "boomerang back" to the U.S., Europe and other Western nations if they do not help contain it in low-income countries, he said. "What we need is extraordinary measures," he said. Contributing: Eric J. Lyman in Italy, Chris Erasmus in South Africa and Megan Janetsky in Colombia This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus: UN official warns of global 'boomerang' of pandemic 07.05.2020 LISTEN The ruling New Patriotic Party's Communications Director in the Eastern Region, Mr. David Prah has called the bluff of the Former President and the flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. John Dramani Mahama for his purported petition to the CID against Mr. Kwame Baffoe a.k.a Abronye describing his actions as very hypocritical. During his interaction with the media in Koforidua, Mr. David Prah expressed the view that former President Mahama has been encouraging Kelvin Taylor, NDC assigned Communicator who has been insulting and denigrating the President Akufo-Addo and other top NPP Government officials in the country. Mr. Prah argued that all the insults, aspersions and derogatory statements from Kelvin Taylor have the endorsement of Mr. Mahama and the NDC party. "My brothers and sisters, you know this Kelvin Taylor is an assigned Communicator for NDC and Mr. Mahama to insult, denigrate and subject the President Akufo-Addo and other Government/NPP officials to public ridicule, an assignment he (Kelvin Taylor) has executed and continue to execute to the delight of the former President John Mahama, Executives and the entire NDC membership," Mr. David Prah stated. Mr. Prah's statement comes at the back of petition by the former President Mr. John Dramani Mahama to the Police CID against the New Patriotic Party's Bono East Chairman Mr. Kwame Baffoe aka Abrony3 that he ( Mr. Mahama) is behind the death of former President Atta Mills, an allegation he (Mr. Mahama) has denied. Mr. David Prah wondered why Mr. Mahama will deny and take position on an allegation he has sent a petition to the Police CID for an investigation. "I believe the NDC, Mr Mahama should wait for conclusion of his own petition and not to clear himself by his quick denial," Mr. Prah advised. He advised former President Mahama to personally make himself available to the CID anytime he is called upon to assist with the investigation and not to over rely on his supposed Lawyers to run errands on his behalf. Speaking to this reporter in Koforidua, Mr. David Prah stated Mr. Mahama can go ahead to petition the Inspector General Police (IGP) until he stops his Sammy Gyamfi, Kelvin Taylor, Asiedu Nketia, Koku Mawule Nenevor and Kweku's Boahen from insulting President Akufo-Addo and other NPP Executives, they will continue to expose he (Mr. Mahama's) and his NDC party's hypocrisy. The Eastern Regional Communications Team Leader has called on Mr. Mahama to first educate his NDC Communicators on intellectual political communications and issues based campaign which Ghanaians deserve. "However, Mr. Mahama will leave his NDC Communicators to insult and spew invectives on their political opponents including our revered Senior Citizens who criticised them and turns to complain when same is done to him." He indicated that Mr. Mahama is only seeking attention and hope to gain sympathy from his party members for his failure to name his running mate asking Ghanaians to ignore same. According to the vociferous NPP Eastern Regional Communications Director, the erstwhile Mahama NDC Government remains the worst in the history of Ghana that subjected Ghanaians to torture through the painful and unforgettable Dumsor, GYEEDA Scandal, SADA thievery, WAYOMI Saga, Bus Branding Cash, NCA Spy Machine Scandal, Collapse of Industries, Mass Youth/Graduate Unemployment, Inflated Project Cost, Insults on Chiefs, Traditional and Religious Authorities, Distribution of Headpans to Kayayies policy, etc. Mr. David Prah appealed to Ghanaians to continue to support Akufo Addo led NPP Government to continue to provide good governance in these crucial times of COVID-19. He urges Ghanaian to continue to follow the necessary protocols such as regular washing of hands with soap under running water, use of alcohol based hand sanitizer, wearing of nose/mouth covers, practicing social/physical distance, staying home if one has nothing needful doing outside, etc. to enable us protect ourselves against the dreaded pandemic. Mr. David Prah admonished all well meaning Ghanaians to ignore the opposition leader, his cohorts and their level of dishonesty and hypocrisy. Photo: The Canadian Press Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's Chief Public Health Officer, speaks during a press conference on Parliament Hill during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Tam says a COVID-19 outbreak gripping the northern Saskatchewan community of La Loche is an area of concern.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick REGINA - Canada's chief public health officer says a COVID-19 outbreak gripping Saskatchewan's far north is an area of concern. Dr. Theresa Tam says not only is the region remote, but it's home to Indigenous communities. People are taking it extremely seriously because these are more vulnerable situations," she said Wednesday during her daily briefing in Ottawa. Health officials in Saskatchewan say the novel coronavirus arrived in the Dene village of La Loche, 600 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon, last month via travel from an oilsands work camp in northern Alberta. It has since spread through the community, making it the region in the province with the most active cases and triggering a lockdown there on non-essential travel. Two elders living in a long-term care facility in La Loche have died from complications related to COVID-19. The nearby Clearwater River Dene Nation and the English River First Nation have also reported cases. In recent days, the outbreak has been driving up the number of cases in the province, which surpassed 500 infections on Wednesday. All but three of the newest 25 cases announced are from La Loche. In the far north region, there are 138 active cases. Tam said there's a significant number of health workers going door to door to search out infections and there's capacity to do lab testing on site. The Public Health Agency of Canada has also offered its support, she said. Also on Wednesday, the Saskatchewan Health Authority reported a COVID-19 case in a second northern hospital. A worker at the Meadow Lake Hospital has tested positive. Earlier, the health authority reported an infected patient from La Loche had stayed at the Victoria Hospital in Prince Albert. Perry Bellegarde, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, has called the northern outbreak alarming. He said First Nations communities are more vulnerable because of overcrowded living conditions and a lack of hospital access. Two weeks ago, Premier Scott Moe announced Saskatchewan had "flattened the curve" and would reopen some services and businesses. La Loche has not been allowed to ease any restrictions under the first stage that started Monday. Moe said he remains confident in moving ahead with the plan in the rest of the province, where there hasn't been the same spike in infections. At a news conference Wednesday, the premier said testing and contact tracing have been ramped up, so he expects the number of infections will keep rising. He also said things have changed in the province since he set a target of doing more than 1,000 tests a day for COVID-19. Moe had asked health officials to try to achieve that and then bump up testing to 1,500 daily by the end of last month. Government data shows numbers have consistently fallen short of both targets. "The testing that needs to be done is being done," Moe said. There has been a drop in demand for tests, he added, but it is increasing again as officials try to contain the outbreak in the north. Moe said while he hasn't abandoned his earlier target, what has changed is how the virus is spreading. At the time he set the goal, the premier said the infection was being spread through large gatherings and travel, but now it's mostly transmitted through the north. Meanwhile, Alberta has said it will spend $4.5 million on equipment to reach 16,000 tests per day. Earlier this week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford blamed local public health officials for not meeting provincial testing targets. Like other provinces, Saskatchewan has said increased testing will be key to relaxing restrictions around COVID-19. It recently expanded its criteria to include mild symptoms like loss of taste or smell. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2020 Donald Trump accused Obama administration Justice Department officials of treason as the agency moved to drop all charges against his first national security adviser, retired Army General Michael Flynn The Obama administration Justice Department was a disgrace, the president said in the Oval Office. Its treason. Its treason. The president slammed those who were at the top of DOJ and the FBI in the late days of the Obama administration, who began looking at Mr Flynns contacts with Russians and his private business dealings, dishonest and crooked. He again blasted those now-former officials for going after a duly elected president (himself) and other fine people, including Mr Flynn and others who once were in his inner circle. About his first national security adviser, whom Mr Trump said he fired for misleading Vice President Mike Pence in February 2017 about those Russian contacts, the president on Thursday referred to him as an innocent man who is now an even greater warrior. The department dropped the charges about a week after internal documents surfaced showing FBI officials questioning how they could get enough on Mr Flynn to convict him or at least get him fired from his White House position. He had pleased guilty to charges of lying to federal investigators. During another wide-ranging pool spray with reporters as he met with Texas governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, Mr Trump denied having contact with one of his military valets who tested positive for coronavirus, putting the sometimes-deadly respiratory disease inside the presidents inner circle. Ive had very little contact with this person, the president said, saying White House staff had been tested on a weekly basis before announcing they would now be tested each day. Testing is not a perfect art. ... Even when you test once a day, something happens where they catch something, Mr Trump said, appearing to accept the kind of risk he is asking Americans to accept as states begin to open again. About the military aide, Mr Trump said: I know who he is. Hes a good person. Ive had ... very little contact with him. Lone Star state of mind Texas has over 32,000 confirmed cases and nearly 900 deaths. It has not had two straight weeks of declining cases, which White House guidelines state should exist before any states begins a recommended three-step opening process. Mr Abbott has allowed many businesses to reopen, and the White House is hailing his guidance as a model for the rest of the country. Though local reports of restaurant openings detail sparse attendance, Texans have the option. Come May 18, they will also have the option of going to gyms that opt to open -- though while wearing gloves but not masks. Large movie theatre chains like AMC and Cinemark, however, are refusing to open their facilities just yet, citing concerns over a surge in cases in the Lone Star State. The Texas chief executive met with the president one day after an audio recording surfaced -- which was not disputed by his spokesman -- in which he acknowledged opening any state will further spread the deadly respiratory disease. Listen, the fact of the matter is pretty much every scientific and medical report shows that when you have a reopening ... it actually will lead to an increase and spread, Abbott said on the recording. Just because there may be an increase in the number of people that test positive, that alone is not a decisive criteria, he added. Mr Trump earlier this week went further, saying his push for governors like Mr Abbott to open their states would lead to additional deaths. The president, like many GOP governors, is mostly interested in reviving the American economy. Its possible there will be some deaths directly caused by his push to reopen the country because you wont be locked into an apartment or a house or whatever it is, Mr Trump told ABC News in an interview taped during his trip to Arizona to tour a mask production facility. Take a look at whats going on. People are losing their jobs. We have to bring it back, and thats what were doing, he added. We cant sit in the house for the next three years. Echoing her new boss, new White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Wednesday evening made clear the president wants state leaders to make most of the remaining major decisions about how to deal with the health crisis and whether to reopen their states will be made in state capitals. This is a governor-led effort. The president has said that governors make the decisions as to move forward and we encourage them to follow our phased approach, she told reporters during her second official briefing. UPDATE: 12:25 PM From Fairfield police: It is with great sadness that we provide this update. At approximately 10:30 this morning, Bryce Costawong, was located and found to be deceased. There is no indication of foul play or threat to public safety. This incident continues to be under investigation. There are no further updates at this time. We ask that everyone respect the familys privacy during this most difficult time. EARLIER STORY FAIRFIELD It has been nearly 24 hours since a 19-year-old was last seen in town and police are asking for the publics help to find him. Bryce Costawong, described by police as an Asian-American with black hair and brown eyes, was last seen around 11 p.m. Tuesday in the area of High Ridge Road and Newport Place in Fairfield. The teen, who police said is about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs about 120 to 130 pounds, is believed to be wearing a dark blue hooded sweatshirt with dark gray or brown fleece pajama pants and slip-on shoes or slippers. Police said Costawong frequents parks and walking trails including at Lake Mohegan and the Cascades open space area. Anyone with information on his whereabouts or who sees him is asked to call Fairfield police at 203-254-4800 or 911 immediately. Miley Cyrus is being praised after acknowledging her experience is rare and she really has no idea what this pandemic is like because of her privilege. During an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the 27-year-old opened up about her privilege and how it relates to the pandemic while discussing the booking process for her Instagram show Bright Minded, which she has been shooting from home. According to Cyrus, she has had potential guests not respond to her offers to be on the show, but understands why they may be hesitant. The door is always open!" Cyrus said. "Im sure some people I was reaching out to felt the same way I do, which is that my experience is so rare, it almost doesnt feel right to talk about. This isnt Covid-19, what Im experiencing. "My life has been pushed pause on, but really I have no idea what this pandemic is like." Cyrus then elaborated on how her experience differs from most people in the country and around the world, telling the outlet that she is comfortable in my space, and able to put food on my table and [I am] financially stable". And thats just not the story for a lot of people, she continued, adding: Im sure a lot of the hesitation for other people saying yes to doing the show is because it almost doesnt feel right for celebrities to share our experience. Because it just doesnt compare." On social media, Cyruss response prompted gratitude from her fans, who said it was refreshing to see a celebrity acknowledge how their experiences differ from those of most people. It's so refreshing to finally see a celebrity speak about coronavirus so humble and self-aware, one person tweeted. Another said: I am no fan of @MileyCyrus but how refreshing to have a celebrity openly admit they are not qualified to talk about the effects of the pandemic. So nice to have a bit of realism in a sea of BS. Well done girl. Cyruss comments come after multiple celebrities have faced backlash over tone-deaf comments made amid the pandemic. The Progressive Conservative government is boosting planned infrastructure spending in a bid to help "restart" Manitoba's economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 7/5/2020 (621 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The Progressive Conservative government is boosting planned infrastructure spending in a bid to help "restart" Manitoba's economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Thursday, Premier Brian Pallister said the province would shell out an additional $500 million on top of already-announced infrastructure investments of $3 billion over the next two years. The Manitoba Restart Program will include water and sewage projects, road and highway resurfacing and repairs, bridge repairs, municipal infrastructure priorities and potential new cost-sharing construction projects with other levels of government, if agreements can be reached. "Today's announcement builds on our commitment to ensure critical funding to Manitoba municipalities as promised in Budget 2020 remains intact, despite unprecedented financial pressures on the provincial government and record borrowing levels," Pallister said. Specific projects will begin to be determined in the coming weeks, he said. On Wednesday, Saskatchewan announced a $2-billion increase in infrastructure investment over two years to boost economic growth in the Prairie province. The Saskatchewan government said the investment was part of a two-year capital plan that would now reach $7.5 billion. Chris Lorenc, president of the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association, welcomed Thursday's announcement, calling it a "necessary first step" in helping the economy recover. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Premier Brian Pallister announced the spending of an additional $500 million that would expand on already-announced infrastructure investments of $3 billion over the next two years. "It will help stimulate employment in our industry. It will, without question, stimulate the expenditure of money which means money circulating in the economy," he said. Lorenc said Ottawa must also step up to the table to "lead a full national economic reinvestment recovery strategy." Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman said he is awaiting details of the new program from the province. However, if the government is looking for shovel-ready projects, it doesn't have to look any further than the north end sewage treatment plant upgrades, he said. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "We've been waiting since last fall for the province to fully commit to supporting that project," he said. Meanwhile, the premier told a news conference Thursday he was "very excited" about a new multi-billion-dollar federal-provincial program that will top up payments for low-wage essential workers. Last month, Ottawa announced a plan was in the works to boost the salaries of essential workers who make less than $2,500 a month. On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa had reached agreement with the provinces on a $4-billion deal, with the feds kicking in $3 billion. The provinces will decide who qualifies for the assistance, Trudeau said. Asked how he envisages the program working in Manitoba, Pallister said the details would be worked out in the next few days, and he expected to have something to announce "early next week." larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca DENVER - A U.S. appeals court on Thursday ruled against a Utah gun rights advocate who challenged the Trump administrations ban on bump stocks, the gun attachments that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire like machine-guns. A three judge panel from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver said a lower court was right to reject a request from Clark Aposhian to temporarily block the ban, which took effect last year, because he did not show he was likely to win his case. The appeals court also said he failed to show that blocking the ban would not hurt the publics interest. The decision came two months after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal of the ban, enacted as a result of the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas. A similar challenge to the ban is set to go to trial in July in Texas. The Las Vegas gunman was able to fire more than 1,000 rounds in 11 minutes, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds of others. President Donald Trump said later the government would move to ban bump stocks, a sliding stock that replaces standard stationary stocks on semi-automatic rifles. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives eventually adopted a rule that defined bump stocks as machine-guns under the National Firearms Act. The law defines a machine-gun as one that shoots more than one shot automatically by a single function of the trigger. A bump stocks uses the recoil energy after a shot is fired to keep a gun firing by rapidly bumping the trigger against the shooters finger. Aposhian argued that the law was clear and the ATF did not have the authority to adopt the rule that led bump stocks to be covered by it, something only Congress should have the power to change. In a solo dissent, Judge Joel Carson said the law only refers to the trigger itself, not any external action, pointing out that mechanical bump stocks require the shooter to apply constant forward pressure with their non-trigger hand and cannot function all by themselves as the law requires. The ruling only addressed Aposhians bid to temporarily block the ban while his challenge is considered and will continue, his lawyer, said Caleb Kruckenberg of the New Civil Liberties Alliance.. Aposhian could ask the full 10th Circuit to consider his bid for a temporary injunction, go back to district court in Utah or appeal to the Supreme Court, he said. Kruckenberg said the case is not about gun rights but about who has the authority to make the law. The ATF estimated there were about a half-million bump stocks in the country when its rule was enacted, automatically making the devices illegal. Before they know it, they might be prosecuted, Kruckenberg said of bump stock owners. Sunday was World Press Freedom Day, a date set by the United Nations to celebrate freedom of the press and the defense of media from attacks on their independence. If there was ever a critical time for fact-based journalism, it surely is now in the age of the coronavirus. Yet, the pandemic is exacerbating the many crises that threaten such journalism with extinction, not just in autocracies like China and Russia, but even in democracies like ours. For President Trump, World Press Freedom Day was just another day to condemn journalists who challenge his lies and deceptions about the coronavirus. For the rest of us, it should serve as a vital reminder that the coming few years will be pivotal for the survival of press freedom, which is threatened by a series of crises compounded by COVID-19. The crises facing for freely reported, independent, diverse and reliable information are succinctly described in a new report by the organization Reporters Without Borders. We are entering a decisive decade for journalism, says RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire. The coronavirus pandemic illustrates the negative factors threatening the right to reliable information. These include a Geopolitical Crisis, as COVID-19 offers authoritarian regimes a chance to impose measures on frightened publics that might otherwise cause problems. Hungary, among many examples, recently passed laws making it easier to prosecute journalists. China (No. 177 of 180 on RSFs World Press Freedom Index) is promoting its authoritarian model worldwide as an alternative to liberal democracy including a new world media order in which journalism is tightly controlled. The pandemic shows the danger of such a model: China was able to hide the outbreak by suppressing the remaining small space for investigative journalism that existed before the crisis. Meantime, the coronavirus era amplifies the technological crisis that permits propaganda, rumors and conspiracy theories to compete unimpeded with fact-based journalism. The pandemic has amplified the spread of rumors and fake news as quickly as the virus itself, the RSF report notes. This includes state troll armies from Russia (No. 149 in the index) and China that spread rumors that the virus was manufactured by the U.S. military. Of course, in the United States, online conspiracy theories are promoted by tweets from the president and his avid supporters, including Fox News commentators. Which brings us to the democratic crisis, in which leading democratic politicians openly foment hatred of journalists. In this category, RSF cites Donald Trump and Brazils Jair Bolsonaro (No. 107), who continue to denigrate the media. This last category, I believe, is crucial. Americans may be inured to Trumps pile-on against fact-based media, but the coronavirus era reveals just how dangerous it has become. The presidents vitriol against solid reporting already redolent of dictator language will become increasingly dangerous as public anger grows over his dismal handling of COVID-19. It is almost impossible to imagine what the media scene will look like one year from now, except to say that the economics of fact-based media will be even more daunting. Yet, if the COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is that the republic wont survive without a free press capable of challenging lies dispensed by dishonest leaders. The time for figuring out how to save a free press from collapsing is now. PHOTOS: Decatur press rolls out last pages; production moving to modern plant Trudy Rubin is a columnist and editorial-board member for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Email trubin@phillynews.com. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has announced that our state is moving into an initial phase of economic recovery, known as Safer at Home. It relaxes restrictions on many businesses while keeping others, like restaurants, heavily limited for now. The hope is that all businesses will be allowed to resume a modified type of operation shortly. There are good reasons to get our government back in its lane concerning our civil liberties. Our freedoms are fundamental and precious, and having them curtailedeven in a time of high riskis a serious matter. As we move past the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, wherein many decisions were made for us by our government exercising emergency powers, we will have the right to make more decisions for ourselves and our families regarding appropriate risks and behaviors. At this crossroads, the question begins to change. It is no longer merely, What am I legally allowed to do? but also, What is the right thing to do, both for myself and others? Sooner or later, we learn that freedom is another name for responsibility. You can use it wisely to bring positive outcomes to yourself and others. Or you can use it recklessly, bringing harm to yourself or others. Public health requires cooperation among the citizenry. It is the place wherein no man is an islandwe depend upon one another to achieve certain protections and outcomes for all. Its the same reality that we confront on the subject of vaccinations. Because of personal health challenges, some people cannot get vaccinated against severe illnesses like smallpox or measles. They depend on those of us who can receive vaccines to do so to establish herd immunity. Only when the disease is suppressed among the general population are they safe. It seems that with COVID-19, theres a similar fault line in play: much of the population appears to have little risk associated with the virus. Yet for the elderly and the immunocompromised, the risk is very real. They will only be free to return to relative normalcy and freedom when we achieve better control of the contagion. Achieving that suppression depends on several things, like better testing and the development of an effective vaccine. But you and I have a role to play, as well. Through a Christian lens, we have an easy parallel from which to take cues. Christ tells us to love God as our first order of business, with loving our neighbor being the very next priority. So with our restored liberty likely soon in handfreedom to shop and dine and move about as we see fit what does it look like to love our neighbors in a global pandemic? I think it will often look like a willingness to be inconvenienced. It might mean wearing the confounded maskeven though its itchy and hot and makes your glasses fog upwhen we go into situations where social distancing is harder to maintain. It might mean waiting your turn to get into a business that is currently at full capacity to make your purchases.n] It might mean continuing to engage in some awkward social distancing gymnastics as we socialize, worship, and do business, no matter how silly it feels at the moment. It might look like doing a few things that you would prefer not to do, and refraining from doing a few things that you would. Doesnt love always boil down to self-sacrifice at the end of the day? And if were honest, these sacrifices of compliance with best practices for reducing virus transmission are small ones. Yes, I know this is America, and we want what we want, and we want it now. And we are accustomed to getting products, services, and experiences with dizzying speed, tailored to our desires as consumers. Flexing that muscle is a hard habit to break. But we can check ourselves if we are willing. Bottom line: I never want the government to tell me what to do. But Jesus? Hes got some things to say to us in this moment. And I think his example encourages us to consider the least of these as we get back to business as usual, and to go the extra mile in the little things as an act of love for our neighbors. Dana Hall McCain, a widely published writer on faith, culture, and politics, is Resident Fellow of the Alabama Policy Institute; reach her on Twitter at @dhmccain. API is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit research and educational organization dedicated to free markets, limited government, and strong families, learn more at alabamapolicy.org. Ministers should call on the NATO military alliance to use its resources to airlift PPE and testing supplies to areas with shortages during the coronavirus outbreak, shadow defence secretary John Healey has said. The Labour frontbencher said giving NATO a bigger role in battling the disease could prove vital in the coming months as countries try to avoid a second wave of infections. He said putting greater NATO cooperation 'at the heart of our international response' would be 'good for Britain and good for our closest allies too'. His comments represent a dramatic shift in Labour's approach to the organisation which was distinctly cool during Jeremy Corbyn's time as party leader, with the veteran left-winger having spoken out against it on numerous occasions. Labour frontbencher said giving NATO a bigger role in battling the disease could prove vital in the coming months. Pictured, PPEsupplies are loaded on to an RAF plane last month NATO has already been involved in delivering vital help in the fight against coronavirus. But Mr Healey believes this could go further - especially as the world tries to suppress and then keep the disease under control. Mr Healey said greater use could be made of NATO's 'Rapid Air Mobility' process in order to quickly airlift vital supplies and resources to areas which have the greatest need. He also believes resource-sharing needs to be stepped up between the alliance's allies to alleviate shortages of PPE and testing kits wherever they may arise. Mr Healey, who was made shadow defence secretary when Sir Keir Starmer became Labour leader, said: 'Coronavirus doesn't respect national borders. Our response to coronavirus must be international too. 'Our NATO allies are facing the same challenges we are, and by stepping up our joint work with other countries, we can get the equipment and manpower to where it's needed most. 'UK Government Ministers should put NATO co-operation at the heart of our international response to coronavirus. 'It's good for Britain, and good for our closest allies too.' Labour wants the UK government to take the lead in arguing for NATO to step up its work in fighting coronavirus. The party believes that unless all countries keep coronavirus under control in the coming months the UK will run the risk of importing fresh cases even when it has suppressed the outbreak domestically. The armed forces in the UK have played a key role domestically during the outbreak, with Ministry of Defence logistics experts helping local areas to make sure supplies get to where they need to go. Armed forces personnel have also played a very visible role at the nation's drive-through testing centres, administering swab tests to essential workers. Mr Healey's comments represent something of a new dawn in terms of Labour's approach to NATO. The party's former foreign secretary, Ernest Bevin, was a driving force behind setting up the alliance. But relations were strained during Mr Corbyn's tenure as leader due to him having previously called for NATO to be disbanded. Chris Snider has been named head of Risk Services for Zurich Canada. Formerly the manager of Risk Services Property, Snider fills a role that was vacated by Scott Thomas, who was named Head of Human Resources. Snider has been with Zurich Canada for 15 years and has held roles of increasing responsibility. Prior to becoming manager of this team, he was a senior risk consultant and portfolio executive for Property. He has acted as the Regional and Technical Lead for Business Resilience in North America and represents North America in the Group Business Resilience Technical Center. Certified as an associate member of the Business Continuity Institute, Snider is passionate about bringing business resilience solutions to Zurich customers. He shares his expertise on supply chain risks and business resilience and is responsible for annual business resilience calibration training for new risk engineers through Zurich North America and Zurich Canada. Looking to continue the valuable work that Scott has done with this team over many years, we now look to Chris to take this function to the next level as Risk Services is strategically positioned to be the core of our enhanced service offering to our customers, said Zurich Canada CEO Saad Mered. Snider will serve on the Zurich Canada Executive Committee, reporting to Mered and functionally to Tom Fioretti, chief risk engineering officer, U.S. Commercial Insurance, Zurich North America. Topics Canada The DUP MLA Alex Easton has apologised after he was caught on camera shopping for shoes during Thursday's health committee. He explained his shoes had been worn through and no shops were open. "But that is not an excuse," he said. First Minister Arlene Foster said at a Stormont press briefing on Thursday that Mr Easton was wrong to be shopping online during the committee. "Alex has acknowledged he should not have been doing that," she said. "I think what we all need to do is ensure we work very hard to deal with all the issues in front of us." Cameras in the senate chamber caught the North Down MLA on his laptop looking at a pair of shoes. Footage was broadcast on the Assembly's coverage of the committee. It had been discussing the Public Health Agency's response to the coronavirus pandemic. Read More Mr Easton, who sits on the health committee, took part in the hearing. He had asked officials about the number of outbreaks of the virus had been found in care homes. Expand Close Alex Easton on his computer shopping for shoes. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Alex Easton on his computer shopping for shoes. In a statement to the Belfast Telegraph Mr Easton apologised, saying it would never happen again. I apologise unreservedly for disrespecting the Committee," he said. "My shoes were worn through. The shops are closed. But that is not an excuse, I should have found time outside of the committee to resolve the matter. "It will not happen again. I have written to the Assembly Speaker and the Committee Chair to apologise. PROPOSALS for a multi-million euro liquid gas terminal in north Kerry have hit a fresh blow after an intervention by the European Court. Friends of the Environment Ireland initiated an appeal to the High Court against a decision made by An Bord Pleanala to extend the planning permission up to 2023 for the Shannon LNG project, which could bring up to 50 permanent jobs, and 500 building roles. The High Court then sought direction from the European Court of Justice. And in a decision announced late last week, its advocate general Julianne Kolkott said the national appeals body should have sought an up-to-date environmental impact study before extending the projects planning permission. 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. It means New Frontiers, which is the latest company behind the huge project, will likely have to submit to an environmental probe if it wants an extension of planning permission. As of now, it cannot proceed. Ms Kolkotts 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. In a statement this week, Friends of the Irish Environment welcomed the opinion and added they hope the final court decision would affirm the important points of law outlined. Fears have already been raised that the controversial gas-pipe project may not happen if the Green Party enters government. 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 told the Limerick Leader last week 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. But many are in favour, pointing to a potential need for this system to copper-fasten Irelands gas network supply into an uncertain future, with Russia increasingly holding the key to oil. The boost in terms of jobs has also been a major factor, with the Tarbert Development Association in favour. Acting is a profession that you take up in haste. You don't get up and decide one day that it's your calling. It takes resilience, courage, determination, and a series of heartbreak to tread on a part that never guarantees anything in return. For Irrfan, this journey began with the National School of drama and initial acting offers that turned into chopped-off minor blink and miss roles. But did he give up? Instagram He would have sulked for nights and cried his heart out but giving up was never an option for Irrfan. Instagram Today, as we look back and trace his journey, we realize that Irrfan's journey wasn't just about him but he inspired, supported, and stood up for many who had similar dreams. Irrfan/Road To One such incident has been recollected by oscar-nominated and National Award-winning filmmaker Ashvin Kumar, who worked with Irrfan in his 48-minute short film "Road To Ladakh". Irrfan Khan/Alipur.films He said he worked with Irrfan in 2004 and the entire experience changed his outlook towards professionalism and filmmaking. Irrfan Khan/Alipur.films An emotional Ashvin says he feels "cheated" on Irrfan's sudden demise, on April 29. A drop out of London Film School, Ashvin recalls he had no budget to pay the actor. He requested Irrfan if he could come forward to support the film. "I wrote Road To Ladakh' keeping Irrfan Bhai in mind. I needed his support and he did that quite willingly." He remembered that despite all odds, Irrfan stuck to his commitment of supporting a first-time director. Talking to IANS, he said, Irrfan Khan/Alipur.films "I remember when we were in Delhi before leaving for Ladakh, that evening Bhai had met with an accident. He injured his wrist. He had all the medical reasons to back out as I was not paying him and he was voluntarily supporting the film. But he said, I promised you, I will keep my words'. The more I got to know him, my respect for him as an individual amplified. He did not know back then that he had high altitude sickness, and we discovered that once we went to Ladakh. He was sick, with an injured wrist and living under extreme weather conditions inside a tent like all of us. But he did not give up. He constantly supported us." The last leg of the film involves a bed scene that was quite aesthetically shot and unveils the truth of the male protagonist. Irrfan When Ashvin was asked what it was like to be a debutante and work on such a complex scene, he said, Irrfan Khan/Alipur.films "That was a crucial scene and I had to justify the scene with certain aesthetics and projection of raw emotions. I remember Koel was a little reluctant. Although Irrfan made her comfortable, there was a certain inhibition. So, I said to Irrfan if he could remove his clothes to justify the moment. He did, and finally, it came across very beautifully. You see, in the film, Sharon (Koel Puri) was the safety blanket of Shafiq (Irrfan). Once he came out of that, he was killed." When he was further asked so as to how he would like to remember Irrfan, he added, Irrfan Khan/Alipur.films "Irrfan Bhai had a tremendous sense of destiny and way ahead of his time. That is why perhaps he struggled much more than many, despite being so talented, in his short-lived career. I so wanted to collaborate with him once again because every time I had word with him -- especially when he visited London -- I just realized he had so much to offer. He changed the scene in alternative cinema' and I wanted to make more films with him. In a way, emotionally, I feel cheated! Irrfan Bhai left too soon." The story of the film revolves around a strange relationship between a terrorist and coke-snorting fashion model on a chance road trip they end up sharing in Ladakh. You can watch the film here: by Stefano Mosca It is reasonable to put on hold the Eucharist because of the coronavirus, but it is equally important not to consider it normal, as if one could do without the sacrament. Forgetting the Eucharist leads to corruption and violence. The opposite rebuilds personal and social life as the fate of two villages shows. Here is the second part of the testimony of the missionary in the Philippines. Lakewood (AsiaNews) In order to contain the spread of the coronavirus, governments in many countries, from the Philippines to Italy, have banned public Masses. Fr Stefano Mosca, a PIME missionary in the Philippines for 17 years, understands the reasons for this decision, but believes that without the Sunday Eucharist, Christian social life risks falling apart. As parish priest in Lakewood (Zamboanga del Sur, Mindanao), Believers without the Eucharist have entered a survival mode for a while, and this absolutely cannot become normal. The experience of two villages where taking the Eucharist has reshaped life is a case in point. This is the second part of his testimony. For the first part, click here. Although I am worried about my people, unlike my brother parish priest in Kumalarang, who hands out the Eucharist on the street, I talked it over with the local mayor and police in order to celebrate three Masses every Sunday in the parish church in Lakewood for all Christians in the centre and the villages. The parish church is wide, well-ventilated, and open walled with iron gates. With people respecting the distances of two metres and wearing a mask, it can accommodate up to 120 worshippers for Mass. After we got written authorisation, we celebrated the first three Masses last Sunday, 3 May, but very few participated. Not even the people in the centre, very close to the church, came to the service. This made me realise one thing: I am committed to talk and beg left and right for permits, but my people, who have not received the Eucharist for two months, have not yet understood that Christian life is not really the same as one that is well nurtured. The coronavirus has become a good excuse for many Christians to avoid coming regularly to Mass and communion. Truth be told, many did not even come before, but now they have found the right excuse. These Catholics lead a dubious Christian life. Many allow themselves to be easily corrupted by politicians to obtain privileges and favours. They become ruthless in business, moneylenders, racists against tribals. Some are shopkeepers who cheat by selling everything twice as much in this period of crisis, pushing many poor people to the brink of hunger because they cant buy their products at inflated prices. They dont receive the Eucharist and these are the fruits of their Christian life. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Eucharist strengthens our charity, which tends to be weakened in daily life. Yet many of my Christians are witnesses of events of change, of renewal that have occurred in their villages thanks to the Eucharist, but these are easily forgotten. In two villages, Pinoles and Baking, people did not come to church. In Pinoles the chapel was closed for three years. In the church in Baking you only saw a few old women, no men and no whole families; sometimes only teenagers and not always. At one point, the two villages elected a captain, a village chief who turned out to be a criminal. He killed his political opponents mercilessly and with impunity. He did not talk to people, but lorded it over them using the rifle. In the village, with everyone drunk; stabbings and fights with deaths occurred a regular basis. People were terrified, afraid of leaving their homes. Breaking-ins were commonplace with thieves holding families hostage until they got what they wanted. Police were careful not to intervene. Some Christians came to complain to the priest and I told them: All this is normal in a village where Christians have not eaten the Eucharist for years, where the chapel is closed, where farming, business, is now your God. Go back to church with your husbands, eat the Eucharist regularly, and this hell will soon end. I conducted more Masses in the chapels. Once a week, those who want can take part in the evening Mass in their chapel in addition to the monthly Sunday Mass. Many people, even many men, came back to eat the Eucharist on a regular basis. The criminal captains fell out of favour; the new politicians are all Catholics, Church-going people, always at Mass on Sunday, attentive to the needs of the people. They often contact me to talk things over as to what to do for the village. There are no more drunken killings and thieving. The two villages are now at peace and there is a good atmosphere of brotherhood also with the tribals and other religious groups. What miracles the Eucharist can perform in the heart of men and in society! This is why I repeat that whilst it is reasonable to suspend the communion for the faithful in this long period of quarantine, I strongly believe that eating or not eating the Eucharist every Sunday are not the same thing. Believers without the Eucharist have entered a "survival" mode for a while, and this absolutely cannot become normal. Normality must mean eating the Eucharist in order to be strong in a life of faith, charity and hope which otherwise weakens under the devils blows. For me, this is the real crisis of today: a Christian life that is on hold under given circumstances, but hoping that it will not be entirely extinguished. At least 11 people charged for posting content critical of the governments handling of the coronavirus outbreak. A Bangladeshi cartoonist and a writer are among 11 people to be charged for posting content on social media critical of the governments handling of the coronavirus outbreak in the country. Two of the 11 cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore and writer Mushtaq Ahmed were arrested on Wednesday by the Rapid Action Battalion paramilitary forces under the Digital Security Act (DSA), which critics say is a serious threat to freedom of expression in the nation of 168 million people. Police have arrested at least 40 people in recent weeks under the controversial law that activists say is being used to suppress criticism of the governments handling of the contagion. The impoverished South Asian nation has reported 11,719 virus cases and 186 deaths so far, but experts say limited testing by authorities means the true figures could be much higher. Spreading rumours The 11 have been charged with spreading rumours and misinformation on Facebook about the coronavirus situation, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Shamim Ahmed told AFP news agency. They are also accused of undermining the image of the late Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the nations founding leader. An investigation officer told the Daily Star newspaper that Kishore and Ahmed were arrested on charges of posting anti-government content on Facebook. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who enjoys an absolute majority in Parliament, has been accused of suppressing dissent and jailing opponents. Kishore was working on a Life in the Time of Corona cartoon series that included caricatures of ruling party leaders and allegations of health sector corruption. Ahmed has been a vocal online critic about the alleged shortage of protective gear for doctors. The DSA passed in 2018 authorises prison sentences for up to 14 years for anyone who secretly records government officials or gathers information from a government agency using a computer or other digital device. It also sets similar punishments for people who spread negative propaganda about the countrys 1971 war of independence and its founding leader Sheikh Mujib. Assault to freedom of expression Activists and journalists fear misuse of the law. It is seen as an assault to freedom of expression, to the right to life and livelihood, human rights activist Rezaur Rahman Lenin told AFP after the latest charges. The government should instead nurture a free press which can greatly help in curbing the pandemic. Bangladesh reported 790 new infections on Wednesday its fourth-straight one-day record of fresh cases. The government on Monday extended its nationwide lockdown to May 16, but has allowed factories and some shops to reopen to kickstart the economy. There are deaths. We are sorry for that. But the number of deaths is still low compared to other nations, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said on Tuesday as he acknowledged that the reopenings could drive up infections. Bangladesh has also lifted restrictions on people congregating in mosques for prayers from Thursday. Places of worship are to provide hand sanitiser and devotees should wear face masks and use their own prayer mats, the religious affairs ministry said on Wednesday. Prof Neil Ferguson has stepped down Police should consider action against the scientist who was forced to step down as a Government adviser after admitting he broke the social distancing rules he had been influential in bringing about, Matt Hancock has suggested. The Health Secretary said the "extraordinary" actions of Professor Neil Ferguson, who The Telegraph revealed allowed his married lover to visit him at home, had left him "speechless". Speaking after the disclosure led the Imperial College scientist to quit his role on the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage), Mr Hancock said he had taken "the right decision to resign". Signalling anger within the Government at Prof Ferguson, whose research was pivotal to the UK entering lockdown in March, Mr Hancock also indicated that he should be prosecuted. The Health Secretary's intervention came as a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police confirmed on Thursday that the force was "looking into" the incident, adding: "We are aware of the reports, and the Government guidance refers to everybody." Asked whether the police should prosecute Prof Ferguson, Mr Hancock told Sky News: "It's a matter for the police as a Government minister, I'm not allowed to get involved in the operational decisions of police matters. "But I think the social distancing rules are very important and people should follow them. "They [the police] will take their decisions independently from ministers that's quite right, it's always been like that. "And that's why, even though I've got a clear answer to what I think as a minister, the way we run the police is that they make decisions like this. So I give them their space to make that decision, but I think he took the right decision to resign." Asked whether he believed Prof Ferguson should have remained on Sage, Mr Hancock added: "That's just not possible in these circumstances. Story continues "Professor Ferguson is a very eminent and impressive scientist, and the science that he has done has been an important part of what we've listened to. I think he took the right decision to resign." Separately, Home Office minister James Brokenshire said that while Prof Ferguson's resignation was a "matter of regret", his actions meant it was an "appropriate course" of action. The backlash comes after The Telegraph disclosed that Prof Ferguson had allowed his lover to visit him at home in London on at least two occasions during the lockdown, on March 30 and April 8. His actions have given rise to allegations of hypocrisy, with critics pointing out that his research with Imperial College London which warned that 250,000 people could die with drastic action influenced the Government's decision to enter lockdown. Approached for comment, Prof Ferguson told The Telegraph: "I accept I made an error of judgment and took the wrong course of action. I have therefore stepped back from my involvement in Sage. "I acted in the belief that I was immune, having tested positive for coronavirus, and completely isolated myself for almost two weeks after developing symptoms. "I deeply regret any undermining of the clear messages around the continued need for social distancing to control this devastating epidemic. The Government guidance is unequivocal, and is there to protect all of us." Houston restaurants were allowed to reopen for in-dining on May 1 in accordance with Gov. Greg Abbott's guidelines. While some were able to reopen the first day of limited service, others waited. Restaurants that reopened last week: Dine-in at these Houston-area restaurants This week, several more restaurants are following suit. See below for additional restaurants reopening for in-dining. Missed the most recent top news in Cambridge? Read on for everything you need to know. Cambridge Health Alliance to offer coronavirus testing to all Cambridge residents starting Friday Cambridge says that any resident, regardless of whether they have current symptoms, will be able to get tested for COVID-19 at the Cambridge Health Alliance East Cambridge Care Center, 163 Gore St., starting on Friday. Read the full story on Universal Hub. 104th Fighter Wing conducts flyover of Mass., other tributes held to honor front-line workers fighting coronavirus The 104th Fighter Wing took flight over Massachusetts on Wednesday in a show of support for front-line workers who have been battling the coronavirus outbreak since early March. Read the full story on 7News - WHDH Boston. Cambridge real estate market remains steady, brokers say The Cambridge real estate market's pricing and demand has remained mostly steady amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to area brokers and landlords. Read the full story on The Harvard Crimson. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Actresses, Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini, are both returning to Netflix for the second season of the series, Dead To Me. The series is one of a twisted friendship and murder cover-up. Dead To Me was debuted during the last Spring. In season one, Cardellini played the role Judy while. She befriended widow Jen (Applegate) through their grief support group because Judy killed Jen's husband in a hit-and-run and felt desperately guilty about it. The mystery was more about how the lonely, explosively angry Jen would react to such a crazy-making betrayal. Though largely shaped around its clockwork rhythm and predetermined twists, the debut season of Dead to Me was an addictive watch for its proudly raw edges. The series, created by Liz Feldman, filled in all the sad details in Jen's probably doomed marriage: her husband's infidelity, their many fights and, most compellingly, the fallout from her double mastectomy (inspired by Applegate's own history with breast cancer and the procedure). Judy in season one was largely beset by her own female troubles five miscarriages, a diagnosis of infertility and, finally, a broken engagement to the emotionally abusive Steve (James Marsden). That was backdrop for the Molotov cocktail that was Jen's grief-soaked rage a still relatively rare depiction of female complexity. The second second is likely to be the reflection of season one, although with some more details, twists and turns. ---Daily Guide Biden Vows to Reverse Rule Strengthening Protections for Students Accused of Sexual Assault Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, who faces an accusation of sexual assault, said hed reverse a rule promulgated this week that strengthens protections for students and others accused of sex assault at or near colleges if hes elected president. Survivors deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and when they step forward they should be heard, not silenced, Biden, 77, said in a statement. This new rule gives colleges a green light to ignore sexual violence and strip survivors of their rights. It lets colleges off the hook for protecting students, by permitting them to choose to investigate only more extreme acts of violence and harassment and requiring them to investigate in a way that dissuades survivors from coming forward. Bidens campaign has been roiled by accusations from Tara Reade, a former staffer who filed a complaint claiming Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993 when he was a senator. Biden denied the accusation last week while refusing to call for the release of records that might shed light on the matter. Other records, held by the Senate, cannot legally be disclosed, according to Senate lawyers. The new rule requires schools to select one of two standards of evidence, the preponderance of the evidence standard or the clear and convincing evidence standardand to apply the selected standard evenly to proceedings for all students and employees, including faculty. Tara Reade poses for a photograph during an interview in Nevada City, Calif., on April 4, 2019. (Donald Thompson/AP Photo) Schools must also give the accuser and accused an equal right of appeal during a Title IX proceeding. Other measures include defining sexual harassment to include sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking, as unlawful discrimination on the basis of sex; and requiring that schools offer clear, accessible options for reporting sexual harassment. This new regulation requires schools to act in meaningful ways to support survivors of sexual misconduct, without sacrificing important safeguards to ensure a fair and transparent process, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said in a statement. Title IX was passed in 1972 and protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal funding. Biden claimed the rule disregarded students civil rights under Title IX and vowed to reverse it in January 2021 if he becomes president. Ill be right where I always have been throughout my careeron the side of survivors, who deserve to have their voices heard, their claims taken seriously and investigated, and their rights upheld, he said. Erin Perrine, a spokeswoman for Trumps campaign, said in a statement that Biden was unwavering in a presumption of guilt for the accused including Brett Kavanaugh before the Reade accusation came to light. That presumption of guilt included the disastrous Title IX regulations under the Obama-Biden administration, making it more difficult on college campuses for the accused to receive a fair hearing and their due process rights, she said. Does Joe still stand by his presumption of guilt for the accusedor has he set a new standard for himself in the face of his own sexual assault accusations from a former staffer? LONDON (dpa-AFX) - International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. (IAG.L) Thursday announced that CEO designate Luis Gallego will succeed Willie Walsh as Group chief executive on September 24. In January 2020, IAG announced the appointment of Gallego, currently Iberia chief executive, as its CEO. He would succeed Walsh, who then decided to retire from the CEO role and from the Board on March 26. However, in mid-March, IAG announced that Walsh agreed to delay his retirement for a short period to tackle Covid-19 and that Gallego will continue in his role as Iberia chief executive for the next few months to lead the response in Spain. Antonio Vazquez, IAG's chairman, now said, 'We can confirm today that Luis Gallego will take over the leadership on 24 September, the expected date for IAG's AGM, when Willie will step down as CEO. We are grateful that Willie delayed his retirement at this challenging time providing the airlines' management with the necessary stability to focus on the immediate response to the crisis.' 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. George Pell failed to act on and investigate complaints of sexual assault against two Melbourne priests, and was probably at meetings where allegations against another four clerics were discussed. Previously redacted findings made by the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse in December were published on Thursday morning, following Cardinal Pell's acquittal last month of child sex charges. George Pell in 1996 when he was named as successor to Melbourne archbishop Frank Little. Credit:Sebastian Costanzo In a section devoted to sexual offending by priests in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, the royal commission found Cardinal Pell failed to act on a direct complaint to him about Peter Searson, a priest at Sunbury and Doveton who was accused of abusing children and raping a young woman. Cardinal Pell was an auxiliary bishop in 1989 when a delegation of teachers went to him to raise concerns about Searson's "sexual misconduct" as well as allegations of animal cruelty and other inappropriate behaviour. Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 23:40:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LONDON, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The British government has not seen any evidence to suggest that the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 was man-made, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said. Hancock made the remark while attending a Q&A program with Sky News on Wednesday to answer questions from the broadcaster's viewers and readers on coronavirus. Asked by viewer John Fletcher whether there is any link between the virus and laboratories researching virus in China's Wuhan, the secretary said: "well, we have looked into this but we don't have any evidence that this is a man-made coronavirus." "I understand what John (the viewer) is getting at but we haven't seen any evidence of that link," he added. Hancock was then asked about why U.S. President Donald Trump had pushed the theory and whether Americans shared any evidence with their British counterpart. He said: "We haven't seen any evidence of a link and so there is nothing I have seen that confirms the discussion, the allegation that John is referring to that I know some people are talking about." Meanwhile, on May 1, the World Health Organization (WHO) reiterated that the 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." 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. Enditem A Georgia father and son were charged with murder and aggravated assault Thursday evening in the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery after newly released video appearing to show the moments before his death intensified pressure on authorities to make the arrests. The charges come more than two months after Arbery was killed. Two local district attorneys recused themselves from the case before the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was brought in. The agency made the arrests the day after the investigation began. The video shows two men approach a young black man jogging on the street. After a brief interaction, gunshots can be heard and the jogger stumbles to the ground. The footage ignited outrage across the political spectrum, with former vice president Joe Biden comparing it to a lynching and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, calling the shooting "absolutely horrific." President Donald Trump, speaking at an event in the Oval Office on Thursday, said he expects to get a "full report" on the incident and called the death "a very sad thing." Police have not confirmed the footage is of Arbery, but Arbery's family's attorney says it depicts his killing. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the murder in partnership with District Attorney Tom Durden, has scheduled a news conference Friday morning to discuss the McMichaels arrests. Gregory McMichael, 64, a retired police detective, saw Arbery jogging and believed he looked like a suspect in break-ins in the neighborhood, according to a police report. A local news report found only one burglary was reported to police between Jan. 1 and Feb. 23. McMichael called his son, Travis McMichael, 34, and they armed themselves with a handgun and shotgun, respectively. They chased Arbery in a truck, according to the report, and Gregory McMichael told police that he shouted to Arbery, "Stop, stop, we want to talk to you," before, according to their statements, they pulled up beside him in their truck. Reached by phone Thursday afternoon before he was arrested, Greg McMichael said, "There are many, many facts out there that have not come to light." "This is all based on the video and newspaper story, all the stuff that led up to that still hasn't been released," he said. Greg McMichael refused to comment further because the case is under investigation. He referred to his attorney, Alan Tucker, who did not return an email requesting comment on the case. The case has been assigned to a carousel of prosecutors, beginning with Jackie Johnson in the Brunswick Judicial Circuit, who recused herself from the case in February because Greg McMichael was previously an investigator in her office. The case then went to George Barnhill, district attorney for Georgia's Waycross Judicial Circuit, who also recused himself, after Arbery's mother complained that Barnhill's son worked used to work with McMichael in the Brunswick District Attorney's Office, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. On Tuesday, Durden - the latest district attorney to take on the case - said in a statement that the case should be presented to a grand jury for consideration of criminal charges. Arbery's attorney, Lee Merritt, noted in a statement that grand juries in Georgia are temporarily suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic and urged that the three suspects named in the case be taken into custody immediately, pending their indictment. A statewide moratorium on judicial proceedings was extended this week until June 12, meaning it could be another month before the case is heard. Meanwhile, protests have erupted in the town. The NAACP held one Wednesday and is planning a 10 a.m. demonstration at the courthouse in Brunswick on Friday. Also Friday, Jason Vaughn, Abery's former football coach, is organizing a social media-based memorial where participants will post videos about their 2.23-mile runs in honor of the slain jogger. He died Feb 23. The killing has resurrected ever-raw wounds of white on black violence, which has become more visible in recent years thanks to the prevalence of cellphone cameras. Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, spoke passionately about the incident during a virtual campaign roundtable focused on African-American issues Thursday, telling participants that watching Arbery "shot down in cold blood" was like seeing him "lynched before our very eyes." He called the fatal shooting the latest example of the "rising pandemic of hate" in America. Biden has said it was the protests involving white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 - and Trump's lack of a full-throated condemnation of them - that spurred him to run for president. During the Obama administration, shootings of unarmed black teenagers Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown drew massive protests, sparking the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and bringing wider attention to issues of race and justice. Trump, who argued there were "very fine people on both sides" of the Charlottesville protests in 2017, said in the Oval Office Thursday, "My heart goes out to the parents and the loved one of the young gentleman." Kemp, the governor, sought to assure Georgia residents that the state is taking the case seriously. "Earlier this week, I watched a video depicting Mr. Arbery's last moments alive," he said in a statement Thursday. "It is absolutely horrific, and Georgians deserve answers." Georgia Democrat Lucy McBath, whose run for Congress was inspired by the death of her son, Jordan Davis - an unarmed black teenager gunned down at a gas station over his loud music - called Arbery's killing a "murder." "Outrageous and unconscionable. This is murder. Full stop. We cannot continue allowing this to happen in America. I hurt for this young man's family. We must demand justice," she tweeted. Other members of the state's congressional delegation also responded to the video. "What I saw on the video is disturbing and wrong and looks like a criminal act. It must be thoroughly investigated, and I can't imagine why it has taken this long to come to light," said Rep. Douglas Collins, a Republican, who is running for Senate. His Republican opponent, Sen. Kelly Loeffler, tweeted: "I am deeply concerned by the death of Ahmaud Arbery, and I join Georgians across the state in calling for swift action and immediate answers. My prayers are with the Arbery family for their devastating loss." Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only black Republican U.S. senator, said it's time for America to face some "hard truths." "Every.single.time. The excuses pour in - "he looked suspicious". . . "we thought he was committing a crime". . .The fact remains, #AhmaudArbery was hunted down from a pickup truck and murdered in cold blood," Scott said in the first of a series of tweets on the subject. "My heart breaks for his family, and justice must be served." Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 7, 2020) - Ely Gold Royalties Inc. (TSXV: ELY) ("ELY" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that due to investor demand in connection with its previously announced marketed private placement, the Company and a syndicate of agents led by Clarus Securities Inc. and Mackie Research Capital Corp. (the "Co-Lead Agents") have agreed to increase the size of the previously announced offering to C$15,000,000 (the "Offering") at a price of C$0.80 per Unit (the "Offering Price"). In addition, the Company shall grant the Co-Lead Agents an option (the "Over-allotment Option") to sell an additional 2,812,500 Units, exercisable in whole or in any part, for a period of 30 days from and including the closing date of the Offering. The aggregate gross proceeds of the Offering if the Over-allotment Option is exercised in full shall be C$17,250,000. The Company intends to use the net proceeds raised from the Offering principally for future royalty acquisitions and related project generative activities, and secondarily for general working capital purposes. The Offering is scheduled to close on or about May 21th, 2020, and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals of the TSX Venture Exchange. The securities to be issued under this Offering will be offered by way of private placement exemptions in all the provinces of Canada. The Shares to be issued under this Offering will also be offered offshore, including in the United Kingdom pursuant to applicable exemptions and in the United States on a private placement basis pursuant to exemptions from the registration requirements of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The securities referred to in this news release have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from the U.S. registration requirements. This release does not constitute an offer for sale of, nor a solicitation for offers to buy, any securities in the United States. Any public offering of securities in the United States must be made by means of a prospectus containing detailed information about the issuer and its management, as well as financial statements. Story continues About Ely Gold Royalties Inc. Ely Gold Royalties Inc. is a Nevada focused gold royalty company. Its current portfolio includes royalties at some of Nevada's largest gold mines, including Jerritt Canyon, Goldstrike and Marigold as well as the Fenelon property in Quebec, operated by Wallbridge Mining. Ely Gold's royalty portfolio includes several advanced projects that are scheduled for production by 2023. The Company continues to actively seek opportunities to purchase producing or near-term producing royalties. Ely Gold is also generating development royalties through property sales on projects that are located at or near producing mines. Management believes that due to the Company's ability to locate and purchase third-party royalties, its successful strategy of organically creating royalties and its gold focus, Ely Gold offers shareholders a low-risk leverage to gold prices and low-cost access to long-term gold royalties. On Behalf of the Board of Directors Signed "Trey Wasser" Trey Wasser, President & CEO For further information, please contact: Trey Wasser, President & CEO trey@elygoldinc.com 972-803-3087 Joanne Jobin, Investor Relations Officer jjobin@elygoldinc.com 647 964 0292 Forward-Looking Caution: This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the timing and size of the Offering, the anticipated use of proceeds, the required TSX Venture Exchange acceptance of the Offering, the future exercise of options on the Company's properties, the ability of the Company to generate and acquire new royalty interests, the Company's prospects for future revenue generation, management's assessment of the risks associated with the Company's business and stated plans for further near-term exploration and development of the Company's properties. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "aims," "potential," "goal," "objective," "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. 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 to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include the risk of accidents and other risks associated with mineral exploration, development and extraction operations, the risk that its partners will encounter unanticipated geological factors, or the possibility that they may not be able to secure permitting and other governmental clearances, necessary to carry out their stated plans for the Company's properties, the Company's inability to secure the required Exchange acceptance required for the Offering, and the risk of political uncertainties and regulatory or legal disputes or changes in the jurisdictions where the Company carries on its business that might interfere with the Company's business and prospects. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effect. This press release, required by Canadian securities laws applicable to the Company and the Offering, is not for distribution to U.S. news services or for dissemination in the United States, and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States of America. The securities described in this press release have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (as amended) (the "1933 Act") or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons (as defined in the 1933 Act) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws, or 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. This press release, as required by applicable Canadian laws, is not for distribution to 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/55536 Fashion shift online picks up even as stores reopen FILE PHOTO: Outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Berlin By Emma Thomasson BERLIN (Reuters) - Retailers selling fashion online are emerging as the winners of the coronavirus crisis as consumers are staying home even as stores start to reopen, results from major companies showed on Thursday. Shares in Zalando , Europe's biggest online-only fashion retailer, jumped 11% to a new record high after it said it expects full-year sales growth of 10-20%. RBC analyst Sherri Malek said the fact Zalando had added 39% more new customers in April was "evidence of the accelerated consumer shift from offline to online". In contrast, H&M , the world's second-biggest fashion retailer, said local currency sales had tumbled 57% in the March 1-May 6 period, while online sales grew almost a third. H&M started to gradually reopen stores from late last month, but 3,050 or 60% remain closed. In Germany, its biggest market where the lockdown has been gradually lifted in recent weeks, sales were down 46% so far in the second quarter, and they fell a third in China. "In those markets that have begun to open up, trade in the stores has initially been muted," it said on Thursday in a statement ahead of its annual general meeting later in the day. More than half of Germans surveyed by consultants McKinsey have not gone shopping for non-essentials even though stores are reopening, with most looking to minimise risks. The survey conducted between April 30 and May 3 showed that 41% of Germans plan to shop less apart from groceries, with more than half of consumers worried about the state of the economy. In Spain, Zara-owner Inditex started to reopen some of its smaller stores by appointment on Thursday as part of a gradual reopening in its home market where shops have been shuttered for more than seven weeks. LUXURY SLUMP Global sales of luxury goods are expected to slump by 50% to 60% in the second quarter even as some countries begin to ease lockdowns and despite signs of recovery in the Chinese market, consultancy Bain said on Thursday. Story continues Online luxury has remained resilient though, Bain said, and the crisis will speed the shift to digital shopping, which is expected to reach 30% of sales by 2025 from 12% in 2019. Sportswear firm Puma expects its second-quarter results will be worse than the first as so many of its stores are closed, but is optimistic its sales will bounce back as the crisis has led more people to exercise. Chief Executive Bjorn Gulden said fewer people are going shopping in China than before the crisis, but those customers who come to stores are buying more. Hugo Boss reported a similar trend in Germany, saying although shoppers were still scarce, those who do venture out are willing to spend more than usual at the fashion house best known for its smart men's suits. Bain said that in China store traffic has nearly halved from a year ago, but people are more inclined to buy and the average spend has also increased. Hugo Boss said online sales jumped 39% in the first quarter to account for 11% of total sales and accelerated again strongly in April. Puma saw e-commerce grew around 40% in the first quarter and by 77% in April. The Puma CEO said that reinforced the company's decision before the crisis to invest more in online logistics, although e-commerce sales were slowing again in China as stores reopened. Zalando, which sells fashion and beauty products in 15 European markets, said it has signed up 50 new brands to its marketplace in the last three weeks including Vaude, American Eagle Outfitters and the Lipsy London label of Britain's Next. To help more bricks-and-mortar retailers sell online, Zalando said it would extend an offer to shops to digitize their assortment to Spain, Sweden and Poland in the third quarter. (Additional reporting by Sonya Dowsett, Anna Ringstrom, Niklas Pollard, Sarah White and Silvia Aliosi;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) The domestic aviation industry, which has been severely hit by the coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent lockdown, is expected to crash-land this fiscal with a massive revenue loss of Rs 24,000-25,000 crore, a Crisil report said on Thursday. Airlines will be the worst-affected segment, contributing more than 70 per cent to the losses (around Rs 17,000 crore), said Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, Director and Practice Leader, Transport and Logistics, Crisil Infrastructure Advisory, during a webinar. Airport operators are likely to suffer losses worth Rs 5,000-5,500 crore and airport retailers will see a hit of Rs 1,700-1,800 crore, he noted. Crisil estimates indicate that the Indian aviation industry will crash-land this fiscal, witnessing a revenue losses worth Rs 24,000-25,000 crore. That would reverse the growth trend of around 11 per cent per annum, which the industry has logged over the past ten years, making it one of the most adversely-affected sectors of the economy, the agency said. Projecting higher losses for the industry, if travel restrictions last longer in hubs such as Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata, Crisil said it expects the aviation sector to take at least 6-8 quarters to reach pre-pandemic levels. These are preliminary estimates, and aggregate losses could increase if the lockdown is extended beyond the first quarter, Padmanabhan said, adding that as and when operations resume, overall operational capacity will hover at 50-60 per cent for the rest of the fiscal. Consequently, mergers and acquisitions of airlines, and relook at expansion plans of private and upcoming greenfield airports would be possibilities, he noted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) University of Buea Archives The contract of Barrister Nkongho Felix Agbor alias Agbor Balla, Instructor at the English Law Department of the University of Buea, UB, has been terminated on grounds that he breached university guidelines when he set an exam question on the socio-political situation in Cameroons North West and South West Regions. Decision No. 2020/0326/UB/DVC/TIC/AcA/AA to terminate the contract of Agbor Balla is dated Wednesday, May 6, 2020 and signed by the universitys Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ngomo Horace Manga. Members of a disciplinary panel set up through service note no. 2020/071/UB/VC/DVC/TIC/AcA/TTSD/AA on April 3, 2020 are said to have unanimously agreed that Agbor Ballas contract be terminated at the end of a Disciplinary Hearing Wednesday, May 6, 2020 at the Board Room of the Central Administrative Block despite Agbor Nkonghos boycott. The rights activist is said to have breached professional obligations when he set an exam question on the Anglophone Crisis in a first semester level one course titled Political and Constitutional History of Cameroon. The question read: The Anglophone crisis since 2016 was caused by lawyers and teachers strikes. Assess the validity of this statement. (40 marks). The Disciplinary Panel resolved that the question violates Article 40 and 42 (paragraph 1) of decree no. 93/027 of 19 January 1993, modified and completed by decree no. 2005/342 of 10 September 2005, to define provisions common to all university institutions. Expected to enter appearance in defense, Agbor Balla rather sought the services of Sheriff-Bailiff Tapa Justin Lebrin to serve the Vice-Chancellor his Appearance Under Protest. The four-page document was received on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor by his private secretary early Wednesday morning. In the protest, Agbor Balla picked holes in the disciplinary hearing, positing that it fell short of due process. Based on the outcome of the Disciplinary Panel, Vice-Chancellor Professor Ngomo Horace Manga decided to terminate with immediate effect the Contract of Mr. Felix Nkongho Agbor Balla recruited as Instructor in the Department of Law through decision No. 2015/0514/UB/AcA/TTSD/TSS of June 2, 2015. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Teaching, Professionalization and Development of Information and Communication Technologies, the Registrar, the Director of Academic Affairs, the Director Of Finance, the Dean of the Faculty of Laws and Political Science, each in their areas of competence, are charged with the implementation of this decision, which shall be registered and communicated wherever necessary, said Professor Ngomo. Agbor Balla took to Facebook and Twitter Wednesday night with the following words: They celebrated when I was arrested; wished me death whilst I was in jail; prayed that I should never leave jail; jubilated when the minister wrote to the university; rejoiced when I was summoned but unfortunately for them they are not God. I have forgiven all of them. It would be recalled that the Minister of State for Higher Education and Chancellor of Academic Orders, Professor Jacques Fame Ndongo had on April 20, 2020 instructed the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buea ,Professor Horace Ngomo Manga to put a definite end to all on-campus activities of Agbor Balla which breach the ethics and deontology of the University. Sources at UB say the Minister of States letter followed complaints from parents sent to his office. Cameroon-Info.Net recalls that when the crisis in the North West and South West regions started in October 2016 with the Lawyers and later Teachers strike, Agbor Balla was President of the Fako Lawyers Association (FAKLA) as well as President of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, CACSC. When pressure came to bear on government, the CACSC was banned on January 17, 2017 and Agbor Balla arrested same day along with Dr. Fontem Neba who served as Secretary General of the Consortium. Brought before the Yaounde military court for promoting terrorism among other charges that carry the maximum sentence, Agbor Balla was freed when President Biya ordered the discontinuance of proceedings against him and others on August 30, 2017. Human Rights Lawyer Agbor Ballas trouble at the University of Buea may not be unconnected to his civil society activities and his recent indictment of government for the February 14, 2020 killings in Ngarbuh, pundits say. Researchers from University of Groningen, University of Mannheim, and SAP Germany published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that explores the potential benefits of winning back lost customers and the best strategies for accomplishing that goal. The study forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing is titled "Tolerating and Managing Failure: An Organizational Perspective on Customer Reacquisition Management" and is authored by Arnd Vomberg, Christian Homburg, and Olivia Gwinner. Do attempts to regain lost customers pay off? Experts report that the costs of reaching out to lost customers are generally far lower than the costs of contacting new customers. In addition, the chance of winning back a lost customer is up to eight times greater than of acquiring a new customer. In recognition of these advantages, McDonald's announced plans to invest from $150,000 to $700,000 per location in the U.S. to win back lost customers. However, experts also report that customers can defect strategically. Customers defect because they anticipate improved offers such as lower prices from competitors. In such a scenario, a firm's win-back activities could unnecessarily lower firm revenues. In addition, resources are misallocated if win-back offers to defected customers provoke negative attitudes in loyal customers (e.g., feelings of unfairness if loyal customers pay higher prices than defected customers). Using a cross-industry data set, the research team reports that reacquisition increases firm profits. The positive outcomes of customer reacquisition such as increased revenues more than offset the costs of customer reacquisition management such as price concessions. However, the study also demonstrates that managers need to understand the important role that a company's culture plays in effective customer win-back. While winning back lost customers can lead to increased profits, win-back processes are often unpleasant for employees. Vomberg explains that "Employees likely perceive customer defection as an undesirable occurrence. Usually, employees do not freely and deliberately discuss their mistakes. They may fear blame from colleagues or punishment by superiors. Thus, company cultures that reward success and punish failures can instill reluctance in employees to address customer defections." The study demonstrates that successful customer reacquisition management requires a failure-tolerant organizational culture that encourages a constructive treatment of failures. In failure-tolerant cultures, employees feel free to voice ideas, discuss customer defections openly, and assume responsibility for the reacquisition process. Such feelings of responsibility spur employees to work harder, be more creative, and act unconventionally when reacquiring customers. As a result, employees address more defections and increase win-back success. However, failure tolerance can also have a boomerang effect: High levels of failure tolerance reduce win-back success. Highly failure-tolerant cultures can induce laxness in employees. Once employees have internalized a tolerance for failure, they may make decisions with less due diligence and effort, provoking more and increasingly severe failures in customer relationships. More and increasingly severe failures can create irrecoverable damage to win-back success. Win-back guidelines also increase win-back success. Such guidelines establish and enforce strict formal rules and procedures that employees must follow when reacquiring customers. These guidelines help employees detect customer defection, formulate expected actions, and outline monitoring activities to ensure learning for future reacquisition attempts. Homburg adds, "Importantly, formal reacquisition guidelines do not conflict with motivational effects that failure tolerance raises in employees. Instead, the guidelines help unfold the full potential of failure tolerant cultures. In other words, such guidelines help employees structure the otherwise unstructured context of customer reacquisition management." These findings have managerial implications. First, even if customer acquisition and retention management are well-established in company practice, managers should stimulate reacquisition activities. Addressing failures, shortcomings, and defections is likely less appealing than acquiring new customers, so win-back endeavors must be encouraged. Second, to benefit from reacquisition activities, Gwinner suggests that "... managers organize for customer reacquisition management. Managers need to establish cultures that are open to failure. However, managers need to be aware that failure tolerance can create "too-much-of-a-good-thing" so that high levels of failure tolerance reduce reacquisition performance. Thus, managers also need to recognize that failure tolerance is not a substitute for management." Third, currently only few companies have comprehensive reacquisition guidelines in place. Because those guidelines steer employees towards successful win-back and also amplify the performance effects of failure-tolerance cultures, managers should establish reacquisition guidelines. More information: Arnd Vomberg et al, Tolerating and Managing Failure: An Organizational Perspective on Customer Reacquisition Management, Journal of Marketing (2020). Journal information: Journal of Marketing Arnd Vomberg et al, Tolerating and Managing Failure: An Organizational Perspective on Customer Reacquisition Management,(2020). DOI: 10.1177/0022242920916733 Because of the coronavirus, Michigan residents are being offered an unprecedented, online glimpse into the federal courts. A hearing in a federal lawsuit that accuses Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of unconstitutionally limiting ballot access for political candidates through her stay-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic is being streamed live online at 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 7. Members of the public who wish to watch the hearing by way of video meeting platform Zoom, must register on the U.S. District Court website prior to the hearing. The federal courts began streaming certain hearings in order to allow public access without violating social distancing requirements. Usually, members of the public would need to pay for parking in downtown Detroit, shed their phones and pass through strict security checkpoints in order to catch a glimpse of a hearing in this matter. Republican U.S. House candidate Eric Esshaki, Oakland County 47th District Court Judge candidate Matt Savish and Wayne County Third Circuit Judge candidate Deana Beard sued Whitmer last month, claiming her March 23 stay-home order, meant to slow the spread of COVID-19, impaired their ability to run for office, since they couldnt feasibly collect the necessary petition signatures to run for office with residents ordered to social distance and remain in their homes. Michigan previously said it had no intention of making any concessions. U.S. District Judge Terrance Berg on April 25 agreed the circumstances created unconstitutional barriers to the ballot and called for exceptions to the requirements. Attorneys representing Michigan then agreed to extend the filing deadline from April 21 to May 8 and to allow potential candidates to collect signatures digitally. Berg, however, felt Michigan needed to concede even more. He ordered the number of required petition signatures required to appear on the Aug. 5 primary ballot be cut in half. Whitmers administration objected and appealed Bergs ruling. Appellate court judges this week agreed, in part. They said, while Michigan must adjust its requirements for candidacy in order to account for unusual circumstances created by the coronavirus pandemic, they disagreed that a federal district judge had the right to determine what those concessions should be. Michigan could adopt the same three-part adjustment that the district court ordered ... because the point is not that the adjustments were right or wrong (or too much or too little), but that the federal court cannot impose such specific manner-of-election requirements on a state without breaching the express delegation of authority in the Constitution, the Court of Appeals ruled. The case is now back before Berg in Detroits U.S. District Court to determine what changes Michigan will make to its August ballot requirements and who will determine what the adjusted rules will be. 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 Appellate court says district judge overstepped his authority Federal judge sticks with signature reduction order Six weeks into extreme social distancing, how are Michiganders still catching coronavirus? Whitmer vetoes bill that would have limited governors emergency powers General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia is assertive in his conclusion that the directives given by President Akufo-Addo to fight the deadly new coronavirus are not binding on the members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). He explained that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 in the country, every instruction given by the President has been flouted by NPP government officials. Commenting on Dr. Bawumia's recent attack on the NDC Presidential Candidate, John Mahama, General Mosquito as popularly called maintained that the Vice President simply wants to introduce irrelevant issues other than the COVID-19. I think that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has nothing to contribute to the COVID-19 debate and fight and he wants people to stop concentrating on the virus and talk about probably the one-village-one-dam, one-district-one-factory and one-constituency-one-million dollars because since the outbreak of the virus, I have not heard anything from him except that he launched an app (the COVID-19 Tracker App) which they said can track people with the virus . . . " . . Every attempt made by these people is aimed at shifting our focus from the fight against the virus and in the end discuss something different, but if the President is satisfied that there is no emergency anymore, then he should lift the restriction and do his politics," he stated. According to the NDC Chief Scribe, whereas President Akufo-Addo has called for nationalistic approach to resolve the COVID-19 scourge, his very own appointees at every given opportunity do not say anything about the pandemic. He cited the action by the National Identification Authority (NIA) the first day President Akufo-Addo banned public gathering to continue registering people in the Eastern Region, and the EC's decision to hold a meeting on the elections with its regional officers in Accra as examples. "The conduct exhibited by his members since the directives were issued make me feel safe to draw this conclusion that the laws of the President are made for the opposition and not members of his government, he asserted. Listen to him in the video below Source: Daniel Adu Darko/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 Imee: Extend tax relief for good Samaritans amid Covid-19 pandemic Senator Imee Marcos has introduced a measure seeking to reward good Samaritans who emerged during the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. Marcos' Senate Bill No. 1429 seeks to recognize the private sector's efforts in assisting the government through donations and fundraising initiatives. The senator noted that a provision in the Republic Act No. 11469, otherwise known as the "Bayanihan to Heal as One Act", grants full tax benefits to the private sector - companies and individuals alike - that have donated to the government, non-government organizations (NGOs), hospitals and other medical facilities in the battle against Covid-19. "This bill seeks to extend the same benefits to the 'good Samaritans' in the country who have tirelessly and selflessly donated their funds, skills, products and other resources to their fellow Filipinos in times of calamity, often in spite of physical and financial losses they themselves endured," she said. Marcos said such acts of generosity should no longer be punished with the additional payment of donor's tax. Under the bill, any individual who makes a donation to the government, Department of Health-accredited hospitals, local government unit (LGU) hospitals and other medical facilities and health clinics during a state of calamity shall be entitled to donor's tax exemption and income tax deduction. If enacted into law, Marcos proposed that the measure be retroactive starting from January 2020 and onwards. The nationwide lockdown has been good for Instamojo, the digital payments platform for micro-businesses, as more and more entrepreneurs go online with coronavirus forcing people to stay at home. Upbeat about the spurt, the Bengaluru-based startup hopes to be profitable this year. As the lockdown, in its seventh week, has made physical meetings and offline services impossible, freelancers like stand-up comedians, gym and yoga instructors and teachers have taken their services online and Instamojo is playing the role of an enabler. We are onboarding about 1,500 merchants daily and this is happening completely organically, chief executive officer Sampad Swain said. In the last week of March, when the lockdown started, the number had dropped to 800. Swain said many trainers who used to take classes in housing societies, schools and parks moved online and turned to Instamojo for payments and interacting with customers. The platform has 1.2 million merchants, who offer services and products to consumers through the startup. 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 I think what demonetisation has done for payment companies, COVID-19 has done for micro-businesses, forcing them to look for options online and that has benefited our business as well, he said, referring to the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus. Coronavirus LIVE updates Like all other businesses, the coronavirus did hit Instamojo hard. In April, it cut 10 to 40 percent salaries of two-thirds of the staff. But, there will be no more cuts as the business had picked up, Swain said. Among multiple businesses that the platform caters to, online spiritual classes have seen the biggest jump of 311 percent. B2B services are up 117 percent and education 66 percent. These are the businesses that have aggressively gone online while travel, beauty, clothing and accessories have taken a hit. Instamojo, backed by Blume Ventures, AnyPay, Kalaari Capital and others, started in 2012 as a payments platform for small businesses selling products and services online. Over the years the company has expanded into ecommerce, lending, logistics and is on course to be a full-stack software service and ecommerce company. In February 2020, it acquired GetMeAShop to offer website building, customer relationship management and analytics services to merchant partners. Except Mojo Express, which is the logistics arm and was not making deliveries due to the lockdown, Swain said all other businesses were recording a 30 to 40 percent growth. Our gross margin has gone to 57 percent compared to 37 percent in December last year, backed by an increase in our net revenue and reduction in our marketing spends and higher transaction volumes, he said. The company had reduced its net burn, the price paid to acquire new customers, by more than 50 percent, its lowest ever. Given the dramatic improvement, Swain is confident of becoming profitable this year. If it happens, Instamojo will be one of the few companies in the fintech space to make money. With 98 percent of its merchants below the Rs 20 lakh revenue threshold, Swain wants Instamojo to be the go-to platform for micro-businesses across the country. When asked about the firing of 13 people, Swain said the integration with GetMeAShop caused redundancy in certain roles, so they were asked to go, it was not because of the pandemic. (CNN) - President Trump has offered to send medical aid to Russia, according to a readout of a phone call with President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin and White House said today. Russia hit a grim milestone over the weekend, officially recording the highest number of coronavirus cases the country has seen in a 24-hour period, with 10,633 people testing positive. "In discussing the coronavirus pandemic, a positive assessment was given to bilateral cooperation, [both presidents] agreed to further increase coordination in this direction, the Kremlin said. "In particular, the American side offered to send a batch of medical equipment to Russia. White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere confirmed the details of Trump's call with Putin in a series of tweets. He said the President "reiterated that the United States is working hard to care for Americans at home and is also ready to provide assistance to any country in need, including Russia." The Kremlin added, "Russia and the United States are capable of achieving a lot in solving the pressing problems of our time, like ensuring strategic stability, combating terrorism, resolving regional conflicts, and countering epidemics." The leaders expressed satisfaction with the conversation, which was constructive and substantive, the Kremlin said. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Trump offers to send medical equipment to Russia" The moon sets over a house in Bamburgh, Northumberland, on Wednesday morning, ahead of the final supermoon of the year. (PA) Britain is set to be greeted by the May full moon this week the final supermoon of 2020. The full moon in May is also known as the "flower moon", signifying the flowers that bloom during the month. Other names for it include the hare moon, the corn-planting moon, and the milk moon, according to Royal Observatory Greenwich. A blue super moon rises over the City of London on 31 January 31, 2018. (PA) What is a supermoon? A supermoon is a full moon or new moon that coincides with the point closest to Earth in its elliptic orbit. The term was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979. A supermoon is about 6% larger than a typical full moon and around 14% bigger than a micromoon, which is when the moon is at its furthest point from Earth. Greg Brown, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory, said: "The moon's orbit around the Earth is not entirely circular, instead a slightly flattened circle or ellipse. As such, it is sometimes closer to and sometimes further away from the Earth. Read more: Photographer takes 'clearest-ever' photo of moon by combining phases in one image "While definitions vary, a supermoon typically occurs when a full moon coincides with the moon being within the closest 10% of its orbit. When exactly is this weeks supermoon? The peak of the supermoon will take place on the morning of Thursday, 7 May, but Britons will have to wait until the evening to see it. Greg Brown said: "Technically the exact moment of full moon is 11.45am, however the moon will not be visible in the sky in the UK at that time. Nasa said on its website: "The next full moon will be on Thursday morning, May 7, 2020, appearing opposite the Sun (in Earth-based longitude) at 6:45am EDT. This means Britons watching for the supermoon will have the best visibility at around 10:45pm UK time. Read more: Scientists believe there may be life on the moon that travelled there from Earth The moon sets in Bamburgh, Northumberland, on Wednesday morning, ahead of the final supermoon of the year. (PA) How can we see the supermoon? The moon will appear quite low in the sky and will travel in a west-southwest direction, before setting at around 6:09am on Friday morning. However, the spectacle can also be witnessed online. A free YouTube stream from the Virtual Telescope Project will allow those stuck indoors because of lockdown to see it in the skies above Rome, Italy. Story continues Read more: In pictures: Stunning entries from the Astronomy Photographer of the Year awards A pink supermoon is seen over Belvoir castle in Leicestershire on 7 April, 2020. (AP) When is the next supermoon due to take place? This event marks the third and final supermoon of the year. Greg Brown said: "Because of how the dynamics of orbits work, these usually occur in runs of two or three with longer gaps of several months between each set of supermoons. The next supermoon will be visible in April 2021. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK New Delhi: Indian Navy's INA Jalashwa entered Male port in Maldives on Thursday morning for evacuating Indian nationals as part of Samudra Setu programme. The ship will leave for Kochi from Maldives on Friday carrying nearly 1,000 Indian nationals onboard who were left stranded due to lockdown imposed to contain the deadly coronavirus COVID-19. In view of the prevailing lockdown, Indian Navy has been tasked to evacuate stranded Indian nationals from Maldives as part of phase one commencing May 8. Indian Naval Ships Jalashwa and Magar headed to the Maldives capital on May 5. A total 14 ships have been kept ready to bring stranded citizens from Gulf countries and out of it two sailed on May 5 early morning. These ships have made arrangements as per the standard protocol laid out to deal with suspected Covid people, like social distancing and sanitization. Indian Navy has removed non-essential equipment in order to accommodate the evacuees. Further, INS Shardul attached to Southern Naval Command has also been engaged and it is to bring stranded citizens for Dubai. There are 14 ships on standby and waiting for the Central government directions. "They would start sailing once the government issues directions," said as senior Indian Navy official. The Indian Navy has carried out similar evacuation operations from overseas on earlier occasions, as part of Operation Sukoon in 2006 and Operation Rahat in 2015. Navy had carried out evacuation efforts in war-torn areas like Lebanon (2006) and Yemen (2015). Before that, evacuation was carried in 1990 during the first Gulf war between Iraq and Kuwait where around 1.5 lakh people were evacuated. Imperial Valley News Center Israels Largest Bank, Bank Hapoalim, Admits to Conspiring with U.S. Taxpayers to Hide Assets and Income in Offshore Accounts Washington, DC - Jeffrey A. Rosen, the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, Richard E. Zuckerman, the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Departments Tax Division, Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Don Fort, the Chief of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), announced Thursday the guilty plea of Bank Hapoalim (Switzerland) Ltd. and filing of criminal charges against Bank Hapoalim B.M. for conspiring with U.S. taxpayers and others to hide more than $7.6 billion in more than 5,500 secret Swiss and Israeli bank accounts and the income generated in these accounts from the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS). BHSs Chief Executive Officer appeared on behalf of the bank to enter the guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil. As part of todays resolutions, along with resolutions entered into with state and federal partners, Bank Hapoalim B.M. (BHBM), Israels largest bank, and Bank Hapoalim (Switzerland) Ltd. (BHS), its Swiss subsidiary, agreed to pay approximately $874.27 million to the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve, and the New York State Department of Financial Services. Todays resolution is the second-largest recovery by the Department of Justice in connection with its investigations since 2008 into facilitation of offshore U.S. tax evasion by foreign banks. Todays resolutions and payment of $874 million make clear that tax evasion cannot be taken lightly, said Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen. A fair tax system requires even-handed compliance, and honest conduct by all participants in the system. The Department of Justice continues to aggressively prosecute banks and other financial institutions that help U.S. taxpayers conceal their income and assets in offshore bank accounts, said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman. Today, Bank Hapoalim is being held accountable for its conduct it has admitted to its crimes and will surrender all fees it earned, repay the United States for lost tax revenue, and pay a substantial fine. Israels largest bank, Bank Hapoalim, and its Swiss subsidiary have admitted not only failing to prevent but actively assisting U.S. customers to set up secret accounts, to shelter assets and income, and to evade taxes, said U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman of the Southern District of New York. The combined payment approaching $1 billion reflects the magnitude of the tax evasion by the Banks U.S. customers, the size of the fees the Bank collected to provide this illegal service, and the gravity of the illegal conduct. There is no excuse for a foreign financial institution to unlawfully assist wealthy Americans in flouting their responsibilities to pay their taxes, said IRS Criminal Investigation Chief Don Fort. With todays guilty plea, Bank Hapoalim is taking responsibility for their role in deliberately breaking the law and undermining the integrity of this nations tax system. Offshore tax evasion is a top priority for IRS Criminal Investigation and we are wholeheartedly committed to bringing offenders to justice. Todays resolution serves as proof that financial institutions engaging in tax fraud face dire criminal and financial consequences for their behavior. The vast majority of New Yorkers follow the rules and pay their taxes, thereby contributing their fair share towards critical state and federal government operations and public services, said Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell of New York State Department of Financial Services. There are some, however, who went to great lengths to avoid paying their share, and Bank Hapoalim offered a whole array of services to U.S. citizens, including New Yorkers, that knowingly facilitated their tax evasion. DFS will not tolerate such behavior from banks that operate in the State of New York. DFS thanks our federal partners at the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the Federal Reserve Board for their assistance and coordination during this investigation. Thursdays resolutions include agreements with BHBM and BHS (collectively, the Bank) under which the Bank agreed to accept responsibility for its conduct by stipulating to the accuracy of extensive Statements of Facts. BHBM further agreed to refrain from all future criminal conduct, implement remedial measures, and cooperate fully with further investigations into hidden bank accounts. Assuming BHBMs continued compliance with its agreement, the Government has agreed to defer prosecution of BHBM for a period of three years, after which time the Government will seek to dismiss the charge against BHBM. According to documents filed today in Manhattan federal court: BHBM is Israels largest bank and operates primarily as a retail bank with approximately 250 branches throughout Israel and more than 2.5 million accounts. In addition to retail banking services, BHBM offered private banking services for onshore and offshore customers through its retail branches and its Global Private Banking Center. BHBM also wholly owned Poalim Trust Services Ltd., which provided trust formation and management services. Outside Israel, BHBM owned BHS, a Swiss subsidiary that provided private banking. BHS is headquartered in Zurich and at times during the prosecution period had branches in Geneva, Luxembourg, and Singapore. BHBM also had branches in New York, Miami, the Cayman Islands, the United Kingdom, and Jersey. From at least in or about 2002, and continuing until at least in or about 2014, the Bank conspired with employees, U.S. customers, and others to: (1) defraud the United States with respect to taxes; (2) file false federal tax returns; and (3) commit tax evasion. Employees of BHBM and BHS assisted U.S. customers in concealing their ownership and control of assets and funds held at the Bank, which enabled those U.S. customers to evade their U.S. tax obligations, by engaging in the following conduct: Assisting U.S. customers with opening and maintaining accounts in the names of pseudonyms, code names, trust accounts, and offshore nominee entities; Opening customer accounts for known U.S. customers using non-U.S. forms of identification; Enabling U.S. taxpayers to evade U.S reporting requirements on securities earnings in violation of the Banks agreements with the IRS; Providing hold mail services for a fee, avoiding any correspondence regarding the undeclared account being sent to the U.S.; Offering back-to-back loans for U.S. taxpayers to enable them to access funds in the United States that were held in offshore accounts at the Bank in Switzerland and Israel; and Processing wire transfers or issuing checks in amounts of less than $10,000 that were drawn on the accounts of U.S. taxpayers or entities in order to avoid triggering scrutiny. At least four senior executives of the Bank, including two former members of BHSs board of directors, were directly involved in aiding and abetting tax evasion of U.S. taxpayers. Under todays resolutions, the Bank is required to cooperate fully with ongoing investigations and affirmatively disclose any information it may later uncover regarding U.S.-related accounts. The Bank is also required to disclose information consistent with the Department of Justices Swiss Bank Program relating to accounts closed between Jan. 1, 2009, and Dec. 31, 2019. The agreements provide no protection from criminal or civil prosecution for any individuals. BHBM will pay a total of $214.38 million, which has three parts. First, BHBM has agreed to pay $77,877,099 in restitution to the IRS, which represents the unpaid taxes resulting from BHBMs participation in the conspiracy. Second, BHBM has agreed to forfeit $35,696,929 to the United States, which represents gross fees (not profits) that the bank earned on its undeclared accounts between 2002 and 2014. Finally, BHBM has agreed to pay a penalty of $100,811,585. BHS will pay a total of $402.53 million, which also has three parts. First, BHS has agreed to pay $138,908,073 in restitution to the IRS, which represents the unpaid taxes resulting from BHSs participation in the conspiracy. Second, BHS has agreed to forfeit $124,628,449 in gross fees to the United States. Finally, BHS has agreed to pay a fine of $138,998,399. These payments were approved by Judge Vyskocil today in connection with BHSs plea and sentencing. Both the penalty and fine amounts take into consideration that the Bank, after initially providing deficient cooperation through an inadequate internal investigation and the provision of incomplete and inaccurate information and data to the Government, thereafter conducted a thorough internal investigation, provided client-identifying information, and cooperated in ongoing investigations and prosecutions. The Bank further implemented remedial measures to protect against the use of its services for tax evasion in the future. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is also announcing today that it has reached a resolution with BHBM, by which BHBM has agreed to a consent order, certain remedial steps to ensure its compliance with U.S. law in its ongoing operations, and a civil monetary penalty of $37.35 million. Additionally, the New York State Department of Financial Services is announcing a similar resolution by which BHBM has agreed to a cease and desist order and a monetary penalty of $220 million. This agreement marks the third time an Israeli bank has admitted to similar criminal conduct. The Bank Leumi Group (in December 2014) and Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank Ltd. (in March 2019) entered into DPAs with the Department of Justice admitting that they conspired with U.S. taxpayers to prepare and present false tax returns to the IRS by hiding income and assets in offshore bank accounts in Israel and elsewhere around the world. Deputy Attorney General Rosen, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman, U.S. Attorney Berman, and Chief Fort commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated this case, and Assistant Chief Todd A. Ellinwood and Senior Litigation Counsel Nanette Davis of the Tax Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sagar K. Ravi and Timothy V. Capozzi of the United States Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York, who prosecuted this case. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman also thanked Assistant Chief Kathleen Barry and former Trial Attorney Timothy Russo of the Tax Division for their substantial assistance. ANN ARBOR, MI -- After one Ann Arbor restaurant closed its doors, its next-door neighbor has reopened. A Subway restaurant at 411 E Washington St. in the YOUnion student housing building closed temporarily on March 19 after the coronavirus outbreak led to severe declines in revenue, owners Bhargavi and Gaurang Joshi said. By the end of March 13, our sales were down by 94%, said Gaurang Joshi, whos been running the business since 2012. Neighboring restaurant Wilmas, in the same building, shut down for good in April. Owner Sava Farah cited financial concerns and conflicts with her landlord. Downtown Ann Arbor Wilmas restaurant closing permanently In mid-April, the Joshis received a loan through the Paycheck Protection program, and their landlord, SmartStop Asset Management, deferred their rent for three months, he said. On April 30, the restaurant reopened for carryout and delivery, with new safety standards in place, such as markings to keep customers 6 feet apart, sanitizing surfaces every hour, screening employees and requiring them to wear masks. Soon, the shop will have a shield between cashiers and customers. I call this the new abnormal, Joshi said. For us, I think its going to probably not reach the full potential for at least another six months. We are definitely worried ... up until the first week of March, we were doing fine and suddenly, in less than two weeks, we went from 100% revenue down by 94%." Our rent is definitely about 18% of our revenues so it becomes very hard for us. There is a question of survival. I just hope that people recognize were open." Four employees were furloughed, but one returned for the reopening, Joshi said. All 345 residents of the YOUnion lofts will receive a voucher for a free meal as a courtesy from the landlord, said Kelly McInerney, assistant general manager. Customers can order online and receive deliveries through DoorDash and Uber Eats, Joshi said. The location is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Ann Arbor moves forward with sidewalk gap filling, street resurfacing projects Ann Arbor bus system gets $20.7M in federal funding Ann Arbor Farmers Market to reopen May 9 for curbside pickup 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. Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces. Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus. Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus. In order to curb violations of social distancing norms, crowding and law and order issues during sale of liquor in the city, both the Delhi government and Delhi police enunciated several measures on Wednesday, including issuing tokens/coupons to the buyers and maintaining order in the queue with the help of barricades and marshals. As per the order issued on Wednesday, which HT has seen, the Delhi government has directed the departments incharge of government-owned liquor shops to take all measures to ensure people coming to buy booze do not violate rules in force to contain the spread of Covid-19. The Delhi Police, on the other hand, has suggested to the government to extend the timings of the sale, hiring of private volunteers for crowd control, if needed, and opening of private liquor shops except those located in markets, malls and commercial complexes. Currently, the shops are allowed to open from 9 am to 6.30 pm. Thousands have lined up in serpentine queues since Monday when the government allowed sale of liquor in the city in conformity with the Centres guidelines relaxing the national lockdown. Only 172 government-owned shops have been allowed to operate. There are a total of 864 liquor shops in the capital. Police officials said on Wednesday only 80-90 shops were open and there were huge queues of buyers jostling for their turn. A senior police official said, In the first two days, almost half the shops did not open or were shut within hours because of different reasons such as shortage of stock, fears of security or the possibility of a riot-like situation. On Tuesday, the government recorded the sale of alcohol worth Rs 4.50 crore, excluding Rs 3.15 crore in special corona cess, a senior excise department official said. To beat the huge crowd at liquor shops, the Delhi government officials are also deliberating on the idea of home delivery especially after several states including Punjab, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal launched web portals to enable home delivery. However, the police are yet to officially send any recommendations on the idea. Currently, the Delhi Excise Act prohibits online sale of liquor, which effectively means that home delivery cannot be started unless the law is amended. However, these are extraordinary circumstances and laws like the Disaster Management Act can be invoked to make temporary provisions. The government has taken no call on the issue so far, said a senior government official. Delhi has 864 liquor shops of which, 475 are owned by government departments ranging from tourism to industrial and infrastructure development. The other 389 are owned by private individuals and enterprises. THE NEXT STEPS Another senior government official said on Wednesday that the Delhi government has already asked the municipal corporations in the city to conduct a survey of standalone private liquor shops in areas under their jurisdiction. Further call on allowing such shops would be taken only after the survey is over. A decision is likely to be taken soon, said the official. The police have given a go-ahead to the idea now, said a senior police official. The situation is improving with time but it will be better if private shops are also opened. This is one of the suggestions we have made to the district magistrates. The crowds have thinned after the special corona fee at 79% of MRP was imposed on liquor but people are still standing in queues that are several hundred meters long in several places, the senior police officer said. Delhi police officers said that the local police have asked the management of the government-run liquor shops to hire private volunteers who will help them in maintaining social distancing. At places such as Ghazipur, Govindpuri and Uttam Nagar, volunteers have already been engaged to help manage the crowd. Our message is clear. If people do not maintain social distancing, we will ask the district management to close the shops, another Delhi police officer said. HOME DELIVERY OF LIQUOR: EXPERT SPEAK Experts say home delivery of liquor could help ease crowding at vends across Delhi. A former senior excise officer in Delhi told HT about how protocols for provision regarding home delivery of liquor in Delhi were first drafted by the excise department in 2002 but never materialised and it was in 2009 the excise rules rather prohibited any internet-based delivery system. Currently, home delivery of liquor looks like the only and best way to ensure social distancing in liquor shops. Under the several drafts that were prepared between 2002 and 2009, the excise department had proposed engaging third-party agencies for the delivery service and also listed detailed plans pertaining to delivery services, said the former official. Signs come after several countries announced they were easing some restrictions caused by the spread of COVID-19. There are signs the European Union is preparing to reopen borders. That is after several countries announced they were easing some restrictions caused by the spread of COVID-19. But it is a tricky decision as the summer tourism season approaches. Al Jazeeras Laurence Lee has more. May 6, 2020 News By Terri Moon Cronk Defense.gov DOD Sends Annual Civilian Casualty Report to Congress The Defense Department has sent Congress the annual report on Civilian Casualties in Connection With U.S. Military Operations. The report is a requirement of the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act. DOD assessed 132 civilians were killed and 91 were injured during 2019 as a result of U.S. military operations in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia. The report did not identify any civilian casualties resulting from U.S. military operations in Yemen or Libya. "Over the past 19 years, we, alongside our allies and partners, have fought to protect our homeland, liberate millions of people from tyranny and safeguard civilians from terrorism," said James Anderson, who is performing the duties of undersecretary of defense for policy. "While our forces have taken unprecedented steps to prevent civilian suffering in these conflicts, we recognize that U.S. military operations, at times, inadvertently injure and kill innocent civilians. It is a sobering fact that we take very seriously," he said. The report emphasizes that U.S. forces take extraordinary efforts to reduce the harmful impact of military operations on civilians. From planning to operations, the military routinely evaluates targets to minimize the potential for civilian casualties. DOD evaluates all reports of civilian casualties, including reports provided by individuals who were present during the operation, including military personnel and local civilians, non-governmental sources, the news media and social media. DOD also reevaluates reports of civilian casualties when new information is presented, according to the report. In 2019, DOD made 611 payments in response to property damage, personal injury or death that was assessed to have been incident to U.S. military operations in foreign countries even though there was no liability or obligation to do so, the report states. These payments, known as "ex gratia" payments, help to express condolences, sympathy or goodwill, and are used to support mission objectives. Ex gratia payments are one of several actions DOD may take when U.S. military operations injure or kill a civilian, or damage or destroy civilian property. Other options include providing medical care, or other appropriate measures that might be consistent with mission objectives and applicable law, according to the report. DOD continues to identify how the actions it takes from allocating resources to developing weapon systems and training its forces can better protect civilians, while continuing to defend U.S. national interests and support key partners. "The U.S. military has long sought to go beyond our legal requirements, to further protect civilians through a variety of practices," Anderson added. "However, we will not be complacent there is more that we can and should do," he said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Enoch Benjamin, a union leader at JBS Beef plant in Souderton, died of respiratory failure from COVID-19 in early April, the family said. Read more Lawyers for a veteran meat-packing worker who died of COVID-19 last month have sued his former employer, the meat giant JBS, accusing it of wrongful death and negligence over the Haitian immigrants fatal encounter with the coronavirus. Enock Benjamin, 70, a union steward from Northeast Philadelphia, worked at JBSs Souderton slaughterhouse, and died on April 3 from respiratory failure brought on by the pandemic virus, according to the Philadelphia Medical Examiners Office. The suit, filed Thursday in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, says that JBS failed to protect workers with masks and other safety measures at the 1,400-employee meat-processing complex, and instead tacked onto the production schedule a Saturday kill program in March to satisfy demand in the public panic purchases of ground meat. By choosing profits over safety, JBS demonstrated a reckless disregard to the rights and safety of others, the suit claims. JBS was not immediately available for comment. The suit is among the first of many expected to be filed nationwide against a U.S. meat-processing industry ravaged by the pandemic. Crowded conditions in pork, beef and poultry plants and the transportation of essential meat-processing workers to jobs in packed vans have led to outbreaks across the nation. In late April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order compelling meat processors to remain open to head off shortages despite mounting concerns of plant worker deaths and illness due to COVID-19. Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to classify meat plants as essential infrastructure. Worker safety experts said that the order would prevent local health officials from ordering meat companies to close plants to protect workers. Trump has also said it would solve any liability problems but it was unclear how that would work out in practice. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week that Pennsylvania had more COVID-19 positives among meat-processing workers, 858 cases at 22 plants, than any other state. The Inquirer also reported in late April on a Bell & Evans poultry worker in Lebanon County who died. The suit filed Thursday says that JBS, one of the worlds largest beef-processing companies, has experienced virus outbreaks at least at six other meat plants, in addition to Souderton. These are in Greeley, Colo.; Plainwell, Mich.; Green Bay, Wis.; Cactus, Texas; Worthington, Minn., and Grand Island, Neb. JBS closed the Souderton meat plant for two weeks in April for sanitizing and to implement social distancing inside the complex. The plant was closed for the cleaning when Benjamin died. Among the precautions the company planned to take when the Souderton plant reopened were promoting physical distancing by staggering starts, shifts, and breaks; increasing spacing in cafeterias and break and locker rooms; dedicating staff to continuously clean facilities; temperature-testing employees; providing extra personal protective equipment, including masks; removing vulnerable employees from the plant with full pay and benefits; and relaxing attendance policies so people dont come to work sick. Wendell Young IV, president of the 35,000-member United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776, which represents the hourly JBS workers in Souderton, has said he was satisfied with the JBS improvements. Benjamin had been a shop steward at the plant, commuting about 40 minutes between his home in Oxford Circle and Souderton. He had a wife, son, and daughter. The Benjamin family is represented by plaintiffs firm Saltz Mongeluzzi & Bendesky in Philadelphia. 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. Robert Mongeluzzi is a partner in the firm, which reached a $160 million settlement against U-Haul for a 2014 food truck explosion in North Philadelphia that killed a mother and daughter and injured 11 people. He said Benjamin was really living the American dream. Its terrible that he died because the company did not take precautions. Mongeluzzi said that he expects other lawsuits to be filed against employers or institutions with clusters of workers such as prisons, nursing homes, cruise ships and meat-packing plants. He said that the CDC and OSHA issued guidance for workers on March 9. The Benjamin suit claims that JBS ignored federal guidance and put plant workers in the cross hairs of a global pandemic. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is once more pushing to have his border wall painted black, a design change that is projected to add at least $500 million in costs, according to government contracting estimates obtained by The Washington Post. The president's determination to have the steel bollards coated in black has fluctuated during the past several years, and military commanders and border officials believed as recently as last fall that they had finally talked him out of it. They consider the black paint unnecessary, costly and a significant long-term maintenance burden, and they left it out of the original U.S. Customs and Border Protection design specifications. Trump has not let go of the idea, insisting that the dark color will enhance its forbidding appearance and leave the steel too hot to touch during summer months. During a border wall meeting at the White House last month amid the coronavirus pandemic, the president told senior adviser Jared Kushner and aides to move forward with the paint job and to seek out cost estimates, according to four administration officials with knowledge of the meeting. "POTUS has changed his mind and now wants the fence painted. We are modifying contracts to add," said one official involved in the construction effort who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of being fired. Trump, during that meeting, directed aides to seek input from North Dakota-based Fisher Sand and Gravel, a company the president favors. Fisher has a $400 million contract to build a section of new barrier in Arizona, an award that is under review by the Department of Defense inspector general. The Post obtained a copy of painting estimates that federal contracting officials produced, and it shows costs ranging from $500 million for two coats of acrylic paint to more than $3 billion for a premium "powder coating" on the structure's 30-foot steel bollards, the high end of the options the officials have identified. The White House has not yet chosen a grade of paint, but Trump has insisted for years that the barrier should be black to discourage climbers. He has favored a shade known as "flat black" or "matte black" because of its heat-absorbent properties. The president has promoted the border wall in tweets as well as in private conversations in recent weeks, aides say, amid criticism of the administration's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. He also has touted the structure - along with his efforts to block immigration - as a defense against the virus and a benefit to public health. Trump has made the border wall a pillar of his reelection pitch, promising to finish 500 miles by early next year, a goal that will require crews to nearly double their pace in coming months. Crews have completed about 175 miles of new barriers so far, according to the latest CBP data. The White House declined to comment. A White House official speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters said Trump believes the black paint would make the structure more difficult to climb and less likely to rust. CBP did not respond to requests for comment on Trump's decision to have the wall painted. The steel used for the project is designed to be weather resistant, with a 30-year service life, despite exposure to intense solar radiation and extreme temperature changes. Painting the bollards would add significant costs to what already is one of the most expensive federal infrastructure projects in U.S. history. The unpainted metal absorbs a significant amount of solar energy in the desert environment, and black paint would increase its ability to retain heat - or "emissivity" - by less than 10 percent, according to Rick Duncan, a materials engineer who works for trade associations and specializes in rooftop coatings. "It won't make much of a difference," Duncan said. "There's no technical reason to paint it to make it hotter." He also said the black paint will lose heat absorption as it fades from exposure to the sun. Sections in southern Arizona and other desert areas probably would need to be repainted after about 10 years, Duncan said. The White House has obtained about $15 billion for the project so far, two-thirds of which has been diverted from Defense Department construction funds and counternarcotics programs. CBP projections indicate the money will pay for approximately 731 miles of new barriers, but those estimates did not take into account the president's painting plans. Officials working on the project said the paint job risks slowing the pace of construction, because crews will need to return to already-completed sections of the barrier, which quickly oxidizes into an orange hue with exposure to the elements. Engineers also note that painting sections that are already set in concrete and weathered will be significantly more expensive than painting the bollards in advance of setting them in place. "Painting it before it's installed would be cheaper," said Ed Zarenski, a retired construction cost estimator in Massachusetts who worked on large public works projects. "Otherwise you'll have to run a bucket truck on both sides of the barrier." One official with knowledge of the plans said it wasn't clear how the painting crews would operate on the Mexico side of the barrier, where only a narrow strip of land separates the two countries. Painters would potentially need to apply the black coating using a specialized boom long enough to extend up and over the barrier from the U.S. side. The Trump administration had a section of new barrier in California painted black last year, at a cost of about $1 million per mile, but U.S. troops provided the labor for that effort, reducing costs. The private contractors are projected to charge about $1.2 million per mile to apply two coats of acrylic paint, estimates show. That is by far Trump's cheapest option, but documents note that repairs to the structure will be impossible to color-match with the acrylic paint, making welds and other patches obvious and unsightly. Scarring is certainly a factor in high-traffic border regions. The Post reported last month that smuggling crews in the San Diego area sawed into the new bollard fencing 18 times during a one-month span last year. Other midrange paint options include a military-grade epoxy coating and sealant used for dams, canals and other hydraulic infrastructure projects, known as System 21, the documents show. It is highly resistant to abrasion and rust, and is amenable to welding, but the cost would be at least $4.5 million per mile. Even more expensive would be a black powder coating, a process commonly used to paint cars and appliances because of its sleek appearance. It would cost $6.8 million per mile to apply, according to the government estimates. Trump told military commanders and border officials to research different painting options and to consult with Fisher in particular. Last year, after Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., heavily promoted Fisher to the president as a cheaper option for building the border wall, Trump urged aides to give the firm a building contract. The North Dakota company and its owner have donated to Cramer and the president, and the company sued the government when its border wall bids were not accepted. The U.S. Army Corps awarded the company a contract worth up to $400 million in December to complete 31 miles of new barriers along a national wildlife refuge in Arizona. After lawmakers raised concerns about White House interference in the contracting process, the Pentagon's inspector general said it would audit the Fisher deal. One administration official working on the project said Trump's mention of Fisher in a recent meeting about the wall project did not amount to an attempt to influence the painting contract, and instead reflected his opinion of the company and its CEO, Tommy Fisher, who the president sees as an innovative thinker and loyal supporter. Attorneys for Fisher did not respond to requests for comment. During the same White House meeting, Kushner expressed frustration at the pace of land acquisition in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, where the Trump administration is preparing to seize hundreds of parcels of private land from owners who have refused to sell. Trump's son-in-law, who is also at the center of the administration's pandemic response, has been placed in charge of overseeing construction. He expressed frustration at this role during the meeting, telling others the wall was not his favorite project but that he is the only one who can get it done. A White House official said Kushner was only reiterating that the wall's progress had been much slower - and had produced less coverage than Trump wanted - before Kushner took over the effort. The White House declined to discuss Kushner's statement. Three officials with knowledge of the meeting said Kushner complained that the current firms contracted to assist with land acquisition were not moving quickly enough, and he urged military commanders and border officials to work with larger firms capable of performing a broader array of services, such as survey, title work, appraisals, condemnation packages and design. The administration plans to build about 150 miles of new barriers along the banks of the lower Rio Grande, where nearly all of the land is in private hands. Raini Brunson, a spokesperson for the Army Corps of Engineers, confirmed this week the agency has requested information from additional real estate firms. "In response to new requirements and changing market conditions, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regularly seeks input from industry to inform future acquisition strategies," she said. As the White House border wall meeting wound down, Trump was shown pictures and charts of the wall, and was pleased to hear that crews remain on track to complete nearly 500 miles by November. About 75 new linear miles have been added since the beginning of the year, so contractors would need to more than double the pace of construction in the coming months to fulfill that goal. Imagine if, in the middle of an emergency meeting to discuss your citys response to a devastating pandemic, you got called a drug addict pedophile. By another government official, at that during a ten-minute meltdown of raging homophobic slurs and f-bombs, hurled directly at you. When public servants act like fools, we typically focus on the foolish behavior. But today, we offer something different: gratitude to those abused souls who put up with the fools on our behalf, who endure the often degrading experience of public life in America. Heres to the unsung heroes who try to hold things together. Our hats are off to Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora, the openly gay target of the unhinged tirade from Councilwoman Robin Vaughn described above. It must have been tempting to stomp away and give up. Especially since Vaughns rhetoric on these calls had already gotten her banned from participating, the Trentonian reported. Let us not forget the good people of Edison, either, who are doing their part. While representing this town with one of New Jerseys largest Asian communities, at a moment when anti-Asian sentiment is dangerously on the rise due to the coronavirus, their council president re-shared this meme on Facebook: We dont eat Chinese food any more okay black people if you with me repost. Joyce Ship-Freeman promises it had nothing at all to do with COVID. She was simply upset, she told us, after seeing a CNN story about a McDonalds in China, banning black people. What does this have to do with boycotting every Chinese restaurant owner around here, as small businesses struggle to stay afloat? The Asians and everybody, they all around the world and they all go together, she told us. What happens in their country happens here too. Thats how the blacks feel about it. Therere more, so hear her out: After first conceding that Out of frustration, yes, I shared the meme, and assuring us shes since deleted the post and apologized, she said: I dont even think I shared it, because somebodys been hacking my Facebook since January. I just took the blame for it to let it die. Right. Is she one of the crazies? You decide. The Trenton councilwoman, Vaughn, refused to comment at all, simply texting us back a news story noting that some folks are planning a rally to support her, after her vicious homophobic diatribe. It reminds us of the reaction in some quarters of Jersey City, when residents demanded that Joan Terrell-Paige remain on the school board, despite her anti-Semitic ranting. In the wake of the mass shooting attack on a local Kosher deli, shed expressed empathy for the homicidal assailants, railing against brutes in the Jewish community of her mostly African American neighborhood of Greenville, and advising everyone to hear the shooters so-called message. The twice-indicted Sudhan Thomas is no longer president of this school board, at least. But every Jersey City official still has to put up with Terrell-Paige, because we dont prosecute crazy. Fringe groups are loud and often successful at getting their people elected. Everybody else runs and hides, because they dont want the bad publicity of engaging with them. It happens on school boards, on city councils, and yes, even at the White House. We can call for these people to step down, but more often than not, they wont. Given what we are facing right now, what we need most desperately is for the trusty, sane people to stand firm. We thank them for putting up with it, for keeping their wits about them, and hope they dont let the crazies wear them down. 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. If you would like updates on New Jersey-specific coronavirus news, subscribe to our Coronavirus in N.J. newsletter. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. TORONTO, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- African Gold Group, Inc. (AGG.V) (AGG or the Company) is pleased to announce that SENET (Pty) Ltd (SENET), the Companys contractor for the definitive feasibility study (the DFS), has completed the engineering assessment on an expanded throughput scenario at the Kobada Gold Project in Southern Mali. The expanded scenario suggests throughput could exceed the DFS target of 100,000oz per annum. Process plant highlights: A 3 million tonne per annum ROM feed combined with a gravity circuit and a carbon-in-leach (CIL) section A simplified, compact process plant flowsheet, minimizes the requirement for expensive and long lead process equipment Tried and tested process flowsheet, simple to operate and cost effective, in terms of capital and operating costs Flowsheet design allows for ease of construction, reducing the project development schedule Low hardness and abrasiveness characteristics of ore, result in a low overall power demand and reduced wear on liners and mill media Low deleterious elements result in low reagent use and low operating cost Flexibility to exceed 100,000oz per year Highly flexible process able to treat a variety of ore grades and types with no significant increase in reagent consumption The positive result of the metallurgical testwork has allowed SENET to design a plant offering the flexibility required to effectively treat all ore types from the Kobada Gold Project. Incorporating experience at other West African operations, the plant is designed with ease of construction and operation as a priority. The simplified flowsheet is expected to also reduce the construction schedule to roughly 18 months from 22 months. Overall power consumption is expected to be low given the soft nature of the ore at Kobada. Following on from our very successful metallurgical testwork results, I am very excited to be able to report on our final process plant design, comments Danny Callow, Chief Operating Officer of the Company. Our flexible and robust oxide processing plant requires low power and uses proven technology able to treat our blend of saprolites and laterites. Our gravity and CIL process provides a 96% recovery of gold with low reagent consumption and low power requirement. All of these components contribute to a low all in sustaining cost (AISC) and competitive capital cost. At current gold prices, we are keen to advance this project to construction as soon as possible. We have focused all of our energy on reducing the construction schedule from 22 months to 18 months and identifying suppliers who are experienced in project delivery in West Africa. Story continues By utilising previous experience designing and building a number of West African process plants, SENET has been able to significantly reduce the construction schedule to an estimated 18 months. Some of this time saving is due to having completed a significant amount of the detailed engineering on the Kobada process plant, as well as identifying international suppliers able to provide the capital equipment in the shortest possible time. We are very pleased to be involved in the detailed design of the Kobada processing plant. Our experience in developing mines in West Africa for almost 30 years has enabled us to fast track the design of the Kobada plant. The positive results out of the testwork programme has allowed SENET to complete the Front End Engineering (FEED) for the entire plant. SENET has furthermore progressed large sections of the plant to a point of detailed engineering stage. We are delighted to be working with AGG in the further development of the project. The progress we have made in the last few months will no doubt allow AGG to develop the project rapidly. We are also exceptionally pleased that we were able to complete this work on time and significantly under budget given the challenging circumstances of Covid-19, says Hugo Swart, Operations Director of SENET. About SENET SENET is one of the leading project management and engineering firms in the field of mineral processing in Africa. For almost three decades SENET has provided project management, multidisciplinary engineering, procurement and logistics management, and construction services to the mining and mineral processing industry. About African Gold Group African Gold Group is a Canadian listed exploration and development company on the TSX Venture Exchange (AGG.V) with its focus on developing a gold platform in West Africa. Its principal asset is the Kobada Project in southern Mali. For more information regarding African Gold Group visit our website at www.africangoldgroup.com. For more information: Daniyal Baizak VP Corporate Development (416) 861 2966 Cautionary statements This press release contains forwardlooking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forwardlooking information includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding, timeline for delivery of the DFS, the construction schedule, design of the Kobada Gold Project mine, results from the Companys metallurgical testing programme, gold recovery, process plant flowsheet, expected output of the Kobada Gold Project mine, hardness and abrasiveness of ore, reagent use and operating costs and other design elements of the Kobada Gold Project mine, the all in sustaining costs of the Kobada Gold Project and other statements with respect to the future plans or intentions of the Company. Generally, forward looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", aims, "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; the actual results of exploration activities; regulatory risks; risks inherent in foreign operations; and other risks of the mining industry. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. 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 RELEASE. NASA TV to air Cygnus departure from space station Northrop Grumman's Cygnus cargo craft approaches the International Space Station delivering about 7,500 pounds of research and supplies to the Expedition 62 crew. NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan would command the Canadarm2 robotic arm to reach out and capture Cygnus after a two-and-half-day trip that began with a launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Credits: NASA Nearly three months after delivering several tons of supplies and scientific experiments to the International Space Station, Northrup Grummans unpiloted Cygnus cargo craft is scheduled to depart the International Space Station on Monday, May 11. Live coverage of the spacecrafts release will air on NASA Television and the agencys website beginning at 11:45 a.m. EDT, with release scheduled for noon. Dubbed the SS Robert H. Lawrence, Cygnus arrived at the station Feb. 18 with supplies and science experiments following its launch on Northrup Grummans Antares rocket from NASAs Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. Flight controllers on the ground will send commands to robotically detach Cygnus from the Earth-facing port of the Unity module, maneuver it into place, and release it from the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Station commander Christopher Cassidy, KF5KDR of NASA will monitor Cygnus systems as it moves away from the orbiting laboratory. Within 24 hours of its release, Cygnus will begin its secondary mission, hosting the Spacecraft Fire Safety Experiment IV (Saffire-IV), which provides an environment to safely study fire in microgravity. It also will deploy a series of payloads. Northrop Grumman flight controllers in Dulles, Virginia, will initiate Cygnus deorbit to burn up in Earths atmosphere Monday, May 25. More information on Cygnus mission and the International Space Station can be found at: http://www.nasa.gov/station This is the fourth Kofax award we have won over the years and underscores our ability to deliver innovative solutions across the Kofax Intelligent Automation platform. Optima Global Solutions Inc., a software and services firm specializing in providing IT consulting and digital transformation solutions, today announces it has been named Solution Partner of the Year by Kofax, a leading supplier of Intelligent Automation software to digitally transform end-to-end business processes. The award was presented to Optima during Kofaxs 2020 Global Kick-Off event. Optima was recognized for its transcend AP accounts payable solution leveraging Kofax TotalAgility, to streamline business-critical processes. Kofax TotalAgility delivers cognitive capture and process orchestration, applying artificial intelligence (AI) to unstructured content to streamline information-intensive processes by building greater efficiency, visibility and control into operations and reducing manual labor and potential for error. This results in reduced costs, improved cycle times and enhanced regulatory compliance all with ease-of-use and flexibility. Additional Optima solutions optimizing Kofax TotalAgility include transcendHR for employee onboarding, transcendEX for expense submission and reporting, and transcendVP an integrated self-service vendor portal. The solutions implement and enhance Kofax Intelligent Automation platform functionality including Cognitive Capture, Process Orchestration, Advanced Analytics, Mobility & Engagement enabling enterprises to effectively scale their transaction volume, automate key business processes, reduce cycle times and costs, and achieve unprecedented efficiencies. Were extremely honored to be acknowledged by Kofaxs Solution Partner of the year, says Mahesh Yadav, Founder & CEO of Optima Global Solutions. This is the fourth Kofax award we have won over the years and underscores our ability to deliver innovative solutions across the Kofax Intelligent Automation platform. Optimas business process domain expertise utilizing Kofax technology has enabled them to develop highly-specialized solutions to meet the needs of enterprise customers, says Chris Strammiello, Senior Vice President of Channel Sales at Kofax. They continue to innovate Kofax TotalAgility offering accounts payable, employee onboarding, expense management, and vendor portal solutions enabling frictionless workflow of data and processes. Optimas flagship product, transcendAP, streamlines the procure-to-pay lifecycle including cognitive capture, extraction, validation and approval of invoices. It enables users to eliminate paper-intensive tasks and address complex accounts payable issues through exception processing, process analysis, analytics, compliance reporting, and ERP integration in near real-time. Complementing transcendAP, Optimas transcendHR delivers complete end-to-end automation of new employee or consultant hires; transcendEX provides a browser-based mobile solution to automate expense submission and reporting; transcendVP enables AP departments to offer vendors a secure self-service portal for managing invoice submission, status and review. Customers utilizing Optimas solutions include City of New York - Department of Social Services, Duke Energy, Pet Partners, and Leviton Manufacturing. About Kofax Kofax software enables organizations to Work Like Tomorrow today. Kofaxs Intelligent Automation software platform helps organizations transform information-intensive business processes, reduce manual work and errors, minimize costs, and improve customer engagement. We combine RPA, cognitive capture, process orchestration, mobility and engagement, and analytics to ease implementations and deliver dramatic results that mitigate compliance risk and increase competitiveness, growth and profitability. Kofax provides a rapid return on investment for over 25,000 customers in financial services, insurance, government, healthcare, supply chain, business process outsourcing and other markets. Kofax delivers its award-winning software and solutions through its direct sales and services organization and more than 850 indirect channel partners and integrators in more than 75 countries throughout the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. For more information, visit https://www.kofax.com/. About Optima Global Solutions Inc. Headquartered in Lawrenceville, NJ, Optima Global Solutions is a leading provider of business automation software and services specializing in digital transformation solutions for enterprise customers. Optimas intelligent automation solutions platform for accounts payable processing, employee onboarding, expense management, and vendor management enhance efficiency and improve employee productivity and reliability for customers, employees, vendors and business partners. For more information, visit http://www.optimags.com/. Charlie Biando (right) keeps his eye on the espresso as he steams a pitcher of milk for a cappuccino, as Elixr owner Evan Inatome (center) and manager Brian Honsinger work the counter at their Philadelphia coffee shop in 2018. Read more UPDATE: Gov. Wolf outlines plans for reopening in early June A South Philadelphia restaurateur has removed almost half her dining room tables and more than half the bar stools. The owner of four coffee shops in the city is considering expanding retail hours to make up for a future without free-spending customers camped out at tables. And an executive at a Montgomery County company that provides such automation systems as factory robotics is preparing for a potential surge in business as the coronavirus remains as threatening to human workers as ever. All of these business leaders share a desire to reopen their establishments as quickly and safely as possible during the pandemic. And they have something else in common, too: They have no idea when theyll actually be able to do so. Philly is going to be the last to open in Pennsylvania, said Gina Rucci, who owns Popis Italian Restaurant by the Packer Park neighborhood of South Philadelphia. But Im telling every business owner I know: Start prepping now so you can immediately get back to work once the city reopens. Rucci removed eight of the restaurants usual 20 dining room tables, and went from 14 bar stools to six. Her returning staff are rolling up silverware in napkins or using prepackaged utensils. A parking lot that Popis owns may become an outdoor dining area in warmer weather. Were doing a lot of takeout and delivery five days a week, but we want to reopen dining to customers, so were spreading tables apart at a safe distance, Rucci said. So why wont the mayor just tell us when we can open our doors? READ MORE: Philly-area restaurant owners are planning a hard reset for reopening during coronavirus Frustration over Mayor Jim Kenneys reluctance to provide a timeline for when businesses can reopen is growing among some small-business owners, even though the decision actually rests with Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, whose phased reopening plan calls for counties to be recording considerably fewer new coronavirus cases than Philadelphia is still seeing before restrictions can be lifted. Some of those business owners are planning to participate in a Reopen Philly rally on Friday outside City Hall to protest the lack of a schedule for Philadelphias reopening plans. READ MORE: Reopening businesses during coronavirus is complicated: Im so afraid of letting anybody in the place You cant set a timeline, Kenney said Wednesday during his daily briefing. The timeline is what the virus dictates and thats been the case since the beginning. ... Unless the data indicates that its safe, then its not safe. The push to reopen comes as numerous states that initially werent as hard hit by the virus begin to lift their restrictions, despite public-opinion polls that show majorities oppose reopening businesses right now, even at the cost of continued economic suffering. A Washington Post-University of Maryland survey released this week found that 78% of Americans would feel uncomfortable eating out at a restaurant right now, and 67% would feel uncomfortable going to a retail clothing store. Asked whether he could unilaterally reopen the city for business, Kenney said: First of all, I wouldnt do that. Second of all, I dont know the legal answer to that question. But we are in constant contact with... the governors office, on a regional basis, so that were all walking in the same direction. Evan Inatome, the founder of Elixr Coffee, is both optimistic about reopening, and cautious. He said he doesnt want to rush anything. Inatome founded the company in 2010 with his brother-in-law, Winston Justice, a former Philadelphia Eagles football player. We went from bustling to an 80% drop in revenue, he said. We have a wholesale business, too. That has dried up almost altogether. Elixrs 33 employees have been cut to just two including him. A $70,000 loan through the federal governments troubled coronavirus Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses has helped him get ready to open. But the reality is Im not going to hire as many people back because theres nothing for them to do," Inatome said. "We cant make up jobs for people. Inatome foresees day-to-day business being significantly different for a long time to come. Our plan is to reopen in a way that doesnt put anyone at risk," he said. We dont have a timeline for reopening. I cant envision the world where customers come into cafes for a long time." A small first step may be expanding Elixrs retail hours beyond the current 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., so more customers can come to the store. Ron and Cliff Miller, the father and son owners of Adelphia Plumbing & Heating, said a PPP loan helped them weather the financial pain and keep their 20 full-time employees paid and able to service the 100 or so high-rise buildings theyre contracted with in Philadelphia. Were in better shape than most, because we have a backlog of work," Cliff Miller said, referring to customers who deferred repairs and maintenance during the shutdown. "If I were a restaurant Id be scared. If [the state] hadnt allowed construction for another month, then without the PPP we would have been in bad shape. Other businesses that arent customer-facing have already hired back workers, such as Mobile Outfitters, a Manayunk manufacturer of equipment for mobile phones. Previously, the companys sales were mostly in exports, particularly to Italy, where the global pandemic has hit especially hard. I was in Milan at the end of February, and we saw this coming, company co-founder Eric Griffin said. So after furloughing employees and successfully applying for a PPP loan, Mobile Outfitters pivoted to making masks and other personal protective equipment. We brought everyone back," Griffin said. But our core business was selling [phone cases and accessories] in shopping malls. So how can we do that? The company has sold 100,000 face shields so far, Griffin said, with buyers including such people-intensive businesses as hotels, restaurants, IT service companies, and call centers. Phil Marchese, chief operating officer of Automation Distribution in Hatfield, said the company is hearing from more customers interested in automating parts of their businesses. ADI is a distributor of high-tech automation and robotics, serving companies in such industries as manufacturing, and e-commerce fulfillment and logistics. Its customers include the aerospace and defense company Northrop Grumman, as well as Image First, a health-care linen and laundry services company with headquarters in King of Prussia. As companies prepare to get back to full staffing levels and production, Marchese said, we are hearing common themes in conversations with our clients. The first is that manufacturing and supply-chain capacity needs to come back to the United States." But the higher cost of manufacturing means companies may turn to automation and robotics, Marchese said. Ron and Cliff Miller, the Adelphia Plumbing & Heating owners, are willing to be patient. Its not up to the mayor, Ron Miller said. Its up to the virus. Staff writer Sean Collins Walsh contributed to this article. Dahiru Saleh, the judge who pronounced the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, is dead. Details of his death are... Dahiru Saleh, the judge who pronounced the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, is dead. Details of his death are sketchy but reports have it that he died in Bauchi state and would be buried in his hometown of Azare, still in Bauchi, on Thursday evening. Until his death, he held the title of Mutawallen of Katagum emirate in Bauchi. He was the chief judge of the federal capital territory (FCT) high court. June 12, 1993 election was adjudged as one of the most credible in the history of the country. MKO Abiola, the Social Democratic Party candidate, was leading Bashir Tofa, his National Republican Convention rival, by a wide margin but the exercise was cancelled ahead of the final announcement of results. This threw the country into months of chaos as protesters hit the streets, calling on Ibrahim Babangida, then the military president, to step down. For weeks, numerous individuals have been longing to cast off the collar of quarantine brought on by the current health environment in hopes to, at long last, leave home. Susan Daly is not one of those people. As a matter of fact, home has been her No. 1 destination for over two months, and shes more than ready to spend as much time as she can there, cheerfully and gratefully. For the 18-year-old Lake Catholic senior, cabin fever has nothing to do with the taken-for-granted luxury of being home. After learning she had mononucleosis earlier this year, Daly was later diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome a condition in which the immune system attacks the nerves at the end of February. Weakness and tingling in the extremities are among the first symptoms which quickly spread, eventually paralyzing the entire body. Daly spent a month in the Neurological Institute at the Cleveland Clinic before transferring to the Cleveland Clinic Childrens Hospital for Rehabilitation, where she stayed for weeks. On May 6, after a total of 71 days, Daly was finally welcomed home to Mentor in the parking lot of the Great Lakes Mall between the old Sears building and Hobby Lobby. The surprise jaunt to the mall was arranged by Dalys family, who decided to put a twist on the recent practices of novel coronavirus community parades. After cruising through the lot and waving out the back window of a limousine, Susan was greeted by friends, additional family, and Lake Catholic teachers and staff. With choruses of We love you! filling the air, much of the crowd frantically flashed Sue Dawg and Susan Strong signs right before Daly and her family exited the car. Susans been a wonderful student at Lake Catholic for four years, said Campus Minister Alison Ellis. She cares so much about other people and thats well known, so it was quite easy to rally people together to step up to help support her and welcome her back. The spirit is positive. While local rehab is in her future, Daly plans to embrace her Susan Strong motto in continuing whats been described as the fight of her life. Her plans also include attending Ohio University in Athens this fall. This is the story of two great families the Daly family and the Lake Catholic family, said Mark Crowley, the schools president. The Dalys are tremendous people and they are bringing out the best in our Lake Catholic family through our prayers and support. So whats someone whos been through so much singularly looking forward to? My bed, Susan said emphatically, smiling and wiping back tears while surrounded by loved ones. Im just so happy to be home. The NPP, led by its National Chairman, Freddy Blay, on Wednesday, May 6, 2020, paid a courtesy call on the National Chief Imam, Sheik Nuhu Sharubutu. They made a donation of some food items and an undisclosed amount of money. The items donated by the NPP leadership as part of the party's support for the Muslim Community in this period of Ramadan included several bags of rice, sugar, cottons of milk, among others. The National Chairman of the party used the occasion, first of all, to thank Almighty Allah for bestowing on the Leader of the Muslim Community in Ghana, who recently turned 101, His enormous blessings, long life and grace, thereby making him an embodiment of wisdom and source of hope in the national life of Ghana and beyond. Chairman Blay then requested from the Chief Imam, to say special prayers for the NPP as well as the Akufo-Addo Government and indeed for the rest of the nation and the world at large to, inter alia, overcome the existential threats posed by the deadly Covid-19 pandemic. On his part, the revered National Chief Imam gracefully obliged to the request and said the special prayers. He also, through his official spokesperson, Sheik Arimiyawo, expressed gratitude to the NPP leadership for the donations which he said had come at the right time due to the pressure on the Office of the Chief Imam to fend for the have-nots in this period of Ramadan Fast. He also intimated that the NPP has been very consistent in supporting the Muslim Community during Ramadan and other religious occasions whereupon he thanked the party executives and wished them well. Other members of the NPP delegation were the General Secretary of the party, John Boadu; the party's First Vice Chairperson, Madam Rita Asobayire; the National 3rd Vice Chairman, Omari Wadie; the National Organizer, Sammi Awuku; the National Youth Organizer, Henry Nana Boakye; the National Women Organizer, Madam Kate Gyamfua; the National Nasara Organizer, Abdul Aziz Futah and his two deputies; a Nasara Founding Father, Alhaji Maiga, the Greater Accra Regional Nasara Coordinator and a host of others. ---Daily Guide